200 Miles to Liberty

by P. A. Glaspy

  “Fire a warning shot toward the ground beside him. Let him know that’s the only one he’ll get.” Hutch had slowed slightly but had not come to a stop.

  Darrell did as he was told. When the gun went off, the man jumped instinctively away from the projectile, which moved him out of their way. There were screams from the crowd as they all moved away from the road. Marco set his sight on the person closest to them in the group. The man regained his composure and started back to where he had been. Darrell expelled the spent casing and chambered another. He took aim at the man again.

  “That was your only warning, sir. Please stay back!” he said in a raised, authoritative voice.

  The man’s face was filled with rage as he yelled, “What gives you the right to use that ride? It’s government property! The government works for us! Everything is fair game now. Survival of the fittest. There’s more of us than there are of you! How are you going to stop all of us?”

  At his words, Marco rapped on the roof of the camper twice. Two rifle barrels appeared, one from a side window and the other from the front. The back hatch on the Humvee opened and a third became visible. Hutch rolled his window down part way to reveal himself pointing his pistol at the crowd. Damon was leaning out the other side with his own sidearm trained on the belligerent man.

  The sight of all the weapons had the crowd moving back quickly, the man in the road included. Hutch took advantage of the opportunity and pressed the accelerator. As they passed the crowd, the man who had tried to bar their way ran beside them as he yelled out a final time.

  “You’ll all go to hell for this!”

  Hutch murmured from behind the wheel. “I sure hope he’s wrong about that.”

  ~~~~~

  Long before sunrise, the Chairman was up and busy going through intelligence reports. A knock at the door hours later was not enough to take his eyes off what he was reading.

  “Come!” he barked, as he continued to scan the documents, a smile growing on his lips.

  One of his aides came into the room, closing the door behind him. He bowed timidly and said, “I have more news, Excellency.”

  The Chairman looked up at that and motioned impatiently with his hand. “Well, bring it to me!”

  The aide hurried over and handed the folder to the Chairman. Taking it, the Chairman dismissed the man with another wave of his hand and sat down at his desk. He opened it and quickly started skimming through the contents.

  “Ha ha! It is working!” he exclaimed to the empty room. He pressed the intercom button on his phone.

  “Yes, Excellency?” A female voice rose from the speaker.

  “Get the council together immediately! I want everyone here in one hour!” Not waiting for a reply, he disconnected the conversation.

  He continued going through the reports, jotting notes as he went. He was startled when the intercom delivered the female voice again.

  “The council is here and waiting for you in the conference room, Excellency.”

  Looking at the clock on his desk, he saw that almost an hour had passed. He had been so engrossed in what he was reading he hadn’t realized that much time had gone by. He quickly gathered all the information together and headed for the conference room.

  The assembled council members rose from their seats as he entered. “Be seated,” he said as took his place at the head of the table. Once the men were sitting down, he began.

  “The reports I am receiving from news agencies and from radio transmissions around the world confirm that the United States is in turmoil. The people are already acting like wild animals, pillaging, stealing, and killing each other. The government is all but abolished, while their weak president tries to control an out-of-control populace. I believe we can speed up our timeline for invasion. I want our troops ready to deploy in ninety days. Is there any reason that cannot be done?”

  The council members looked at each other but none replied. The Chairman waited for someone to speak. Finally, one of his generals rose from his chair.

  “It will be done, Excellency. We will see to it.”

  The Chairman smiled. “Very good. We will be growing something different this spring. We will plant the seeds to start the growth of our new power in America!”

  Chapter 5

  Elliott and Lauri had been standing in the kitchen arguing for at least thirty minutes. All eyes were on them.

  “I’m not saying you can’t help with the cooking and cleaning, Lauri. I’m just saying you don’t have to do all of it.” The exasperation in Elliott’s tone was not missed by anyone watching the interaction.

  Hands on her hips, Lauri replied, “And I’m just saying there isn’t much outside I can do for this family with my knees in the shape they’re in. These are things I can do. Everyone is going to have to do their part. This is the part I am able to do and it’s something I’m good at.” Her hands left her hips as she crossed her arms with a flourish. Elliott shook his head.

  “Fine. And you’re right — everyone is going to have to do their part and pull their weight for us to survive. In fact, maybe we should write down everything that needs to get done every day and assign chores to everybody.”

  “I think Uncle Will would be great at pumping water!” Cameron offered.

  Elliott raised his eyebrows at his youngest grandson. “Which would leave you more time for chopping and hauling wood, Cam. Oh, and milking the goat. Good idea.”

  Cameron opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, then closed it into a firm line. Aaron snickered, Ethan chuckled, and everyone else besides Elliott had a confused look on their face.

  “Not sure what private joke y’all have going on there, but Cameron milking a goat is something I’d love to see!” Will said, eliciting laughter from everyone except Cameron. “I’d be more than happy to pump water, but that wouldn’t take up a whole day. I think a chore list is a great plan. I have absolutely no idea what it takes to get by without electricity or grow food, outside of what I’ve seen Mom do in the backyard. What else can we do to help, Elliott?”

  “We’ll get all that sorted out in the next couple of days. There’s not near as much to do in the winter as there is in the spring, summer, and fall. We will need to do some hunting real soon to beef up our food stores. We can pressure can the meat, which we’ll probably start doing tomorrow with what’s in the freezer. It already feels like it’s warming up outside, so we need to work on that stuff first. I see a lot of soups and stews in our immediate future. We can spend the rest of the day getting everything you brought with you stored away. We’ll get the chore list put together this evening. In the meantime, let’s —”

  A knock at the front door interrupted Elliott. All heads turned toward the living room. Elliott held a hand up for quiet and started toward the sound. Ethan followed, as did Joel. Everyone else drifted to the doorway between the two rooms.

  Elliott looked through the peephole then opened the door. Taylor was standing there with what was apparently his wife and kids. Taylor smiled at the men standing in the doorway.

  “Hi Elliott! I was hoping we could get some more water from your well. Oh, by the way, this is my wife, Wendy, and my kids, Heather, Grayson, and Derek. Kids, say hello to Mr. Marshall.”

  There was a chorus of “Hellos” from the kids. Elliott stepped out onto the porch, followed by Ethan and Joel, who closed the door behind him. He pointed out to the pump in the yard.

  “You’re welcome to pump up as much water as you can carry, Taylor. If you need any help working the pump, just let us know.” He started to turn back toward the house when Taylor spoke again.

  “Um, I was wondering if we could talk to you about something else, Elliott.”

  “What’s up, Taylor?” Elliott asked with a slight hesitation.

  “Well, we’re not really set up for a situation like this. We have a fireplace but not a lot of wood for it. I was going to get a buddy of mine to bring me some next week. He cuts and sells firewood on the side. I don’t have a chainsaw or
an ax, just a small hatchet. You know we don’t have water. Our food will only last us about a week, two tops, and that would be a stretch. I’m not sure how we’re going to get through this.” Taylor paused, as if waiting for something.

  “I’m really sorry, Taylor. I might have an old ax you could use; it will probably need to be sharpened. As I said, you’re welcome to the water any time.” Elliott didn’t go on.

  “I … um … was wondering if maybe me and my family could stay here with you? You have a big house, and we could all stay in one bedroom. We’d help out with things that needed to be done … I don’t really know what that would be, but I can do anything I put my mind to. You only have to show me how to do something once and I’ve got it down. I really need to find a better place for my kids. Your house is toasty warm, you have plenty of water, food …” He left the sentence hanging, looking expectantly at the three men.

  Elliott shook his head. “I’m sorry, son, but we have a houseful. We don’t have room for anyone else.”

  “But there are only four of you!” Taylor exclaimed. He stared at Joel. “Wait, you weren’t here earlier. Where did you come from?”

  “That’s none of your business,” Elliott said in a low, menacing tone. “You should get your water and go on home now.”

  “Five then! Five of you and five of us. Ten people can get a lot more done than five. We can help each other!” Taylor’s voice was taking on a desperate sound.

  “We have a lot more than five people here now. We can’t take you in.”

  Taylor stepped toward Elliott as if to grasp his arm. Elliott stepped out of his reach and stuck his hand in his pocket. Taylor stopped and said pleadingly, “What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to survive? I can’t sit and watch my kids starve or freeze to death!”

  Sadly, Elliott replied, “I don’t know, Taylor. Maybe you could hunt for deer or rabbits, squirrels, or raccoons. There’s plenty of wildlife around here.”

  “I know nothing about hunting! I don’t even own a gun! What am I going to do, chase them down?” he cried, sarcasm dripping with every word. “I guess since you have everything you need to survive you don’t care what happens to anyone else. Nice attitude toward your fellow man. Come on, kids. Let’s get our water and go.”

  The three men watched in silence as the small family headed toward the hand pump on the well. Seeing the pain in his friend’s eyes, Joel stepped up beside Elliott and spoke in a low voice.

  “It’s a hard thing to do, not helping others when they ask for it. We had to do it before we left home. It doesn’t feel very Christian-like, but you can’t help everyone, especially in a situation like the one we have found ourselves in. At some point, you have to decide whether you’re going to help a lot of people for a short time or take care of your family for as long as possible. This is not going to be over anytime soon. We have nine people here who are going to need to eat and have a roof over their heads. Is there any food to spare? Not that I’m saying you should give any of it away.”

  Still watching the Livingston family, Elliott replied, “No, there isn’t. We may have to ration ourselves before spring. I wish I had been more prepared. Even with the things I’ve done — extra flour and sugar, lots of toilet paper, jugs for water — it’s nowhere near enough for this situation. Honestly, I don’t think I ever really believed anything like this would happen. I just felt a little better having the extras.”

  “Well, I’m truly thankful you have what you do, old friend. I don’t know where we’d be without you and this place. I only wish we could have brought food with us. I’m thinking that will be our main focus, outside of staying warm. I really wish I could have brought the generator. That would have been a big help, I think.”

  They watched as Taylor and his family started back down the driveway. Taylor turned back and shot them a hateful look then continued on his way. Elliott and Joel headed back toward the house. Elliott seemed lost in thought and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

  “You know, I’ve got an old generator out in the barn. The engine went bad on it and I never got it replaced. I wonder if we could do something with that.”

  Joel’s eyes lit up. “It’s worth taking a look at it. Let’s check it out.”

  The two men walked around the side of the house toward the barn. Looking down at the slush on the ground, Elliott commented, “Yep, it’s definitely melting. The stuff we have out on the back porch in coolers we’re going to be needing to cook soon.”

  They went to the barn and opened the door to go in. Flossie bleated at them, as if she were delivering a reprimand to the men for disturbing the quiet atmosphere. Ignoring the petulant goat, Elliott led the way to a stall in the back that held multiple items covered with an old tarp. Peering into the dim area, Joel said, “Looks like more than an old generator under there.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got a few other things here. Projects I started and didn’t finish, pieces and parts I thought might be useful someday, that kind of thing.”

  Elliott pulled the tarp off the equipment causing a cloud of dust to be released in the stall. He waved a hand to clear the air in front of his face then leaned over a work bench. Joel ventured further in and peered over his shoulder.

  “I forgot I even had this old thing!” he exclaimed as he pointed to one. “That’s an old belt-driven water pump I found at a junkyard. Had an idea to rig up a solar set up for it to use if the power went out. I didn’t pay hardly anything for it, but I never got around to getting the solar panels. Maybe we should see if we can find some. We might still be able to hook something up to the well. Here’s the generator.”

  Joel squatted down beside the machine Elliott was pointing to and looked it over. Years of dust had given it a brown hue. Rubbing a finger across the top of the frame, he found red underneath. He spied an old rag on the bench above and pulled it down. Dust motes danced in the light filtering in between the slats of the barn wall as he wiped the generator off to get a better look at it.

  “Well, it’s certainly an older model. It doesn’t even have an electronic display, just a voltage gauge. My guess is if we clean it up and figure out how to power it, we might be able to use it.”

  “Yeah, but what can we use in place of the engine?” Elliott asked.

  Joel looked at the generator, then the old water pump, and finally turned to look at the tractor sitting in the middle of the barn. He turned back to Elliott with a huge grin and replied, “I’ve got an idea.”

  Chapter 6

  While waiting for the rest of the Joint Chiefs to arrive, Everley and Roman started working on their plan of action. They had notes strewn around the office. With no heat in the building, the room was frigid, but both men had slipped off their overcoats and jackets. Whether caused by the physical activity in the office or their elevated states of agitation, they were comfortable without them.

  Phil was studying a sheet full of scribbling. “What’s the timeframe, Charles? How long will it take once we put everything in motion?”

  Everley looked up from his papers. “It will be immediate. There can be no hesitation or cessation once we start the operation. After we place the president in custody, you will step in to run things until Tanner is sworn in. As far as when? That ball is in Olstein’s court, but I don’t think it will be very long. When the rest of the Joint Chiefs see this,” he said, holding up the missive delivered by David Strain, “they won’t stand for it. Make no mistake: the president is declaring war on all of us.”

  A knock on the door turned their attention to it. “Come in,” Phil said.

  The Joint Chiefs filed in, faces a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. Standing awkwardly in a semi-circle with her two fellow chiefs in attendance, Air Force General Angie Bales addressed the two men. General Bales was the first female chief in history.

  “I can only guess this has something to do with the president … again.”

  Everley nodded. “Everyone, take a seat.” Phil was gathering the randomly strewn papers f
rom the sofa and armchairs as the generals came over and sat down.

  “Angie, I gotta say again how glad I am you just happened to be in town when this happened,” Everley said. “We’ve got everyone but Admiral Stephens and General Weston, and we’re going to need all hands now. Phil, you’re up.” Everley sat on the arm of the sofa as all eyes turned to the Speaker.

  Phil looked down at the list of executive orders and took a deep breath. “The president has been quite busy this morning. He has demanded we return to the bunker immediately so that he can inform us of his new EOs. I have a copy of them here.”

  General Carl McKenna laughed. “He’s acting like a child. I think we should just ignore him and wait out his little temper tantrum as long as possible. His plans are ridiculous. No one is going to give up their food or gas, and they most certainly are not giving up their guns. No guns, no way to defend themselves and keep their food and gas.”

  “I wish we could do that, General. As you know, that was the original plan: to procrastinate as long as possible on carrying out his orders or demands or whatever you want to call them. However, that is no longer an option. These new orders will tell you why.” Phil began reading the list.

  “Executive Order 148917: Effective immediately, no new president will be sworn into office for the foreseeable future. The current President, Barton Olstein, will remain in office for the duration of this catastrophic event as the country will need as much stability as possible in our present state to persevere. A regime change is not prudent at this time.”

  “Okay, he starts out with an unconstitutional edict. He can’t do that. Nowhere is it written he has the power to proclaim himself as permanent ruler,” Angie stated. “He can be removed from office under the Twenty-fifth Amendment for that statement alone, because he has obviously lost his mind!”