War Dogs Trilogy: Wounded Warriors of the Apocalypse

by AJ Newman

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  Chapter 26

  The Walker farm - Walter Hill, Tennessee

  Major Tidwell was on the other end of the radio. “General, we’re under attack by a superior force at the new headquarters in Smyrna! We’ve killed dozens, but they keep trying to swarm over us. We need reinforcements soon, or we’re lost.!”

  John said, “We’re on the way.”

  Tidwell responded. “Watch for traps. This started as an assassination attempt. A special ops team infiltrated our command post and blew up your quarters and the wooden slingshot. We lost a dozen men but killed all of theirs. The enemy currently occupies most of the homes south of our headquarters.”

  John turned to me. “Jason, we need your help. Can you loan us the two working slingshots so we can have an edge on the enemy? I’ll also need to pull my men to fight up in Smyrna.”

  I turned to Father James. “Can you get the slingshots ready to go? Please load the trailers with gas jugs and the pipe bombs.”

  The priest said, “We actually have four of the weapons ready to go, and they all have full ammo loads. I have two more in production, but they won’t be ready until we can scavenge some more rubber tubes and sheets.”

  I motioned for Maria and John. “John, you need a tested field leader. Maria, please go with John and lead one of his platoons. John, I’d go, but I need to stay here and get ready for an attack here if they overrun your group. Stay in touch with the radios. Can you leave us one Humvee with twin SAWs?”

  Maria told us she’d be glad to help John and then John shook my hand. “Thanks for Maria, and of course you can keep the Humvee. Good luck.”

  They roared up the driveway and out of sight. Father James had us pray for them before letting us prepare for the potential fight. As soon as the prayers were completed, I rounded up our resistance group and the other community leaders.

  The meeting started with a brief update on the enemy’s attack on the General’s headquarters. I moved on to tell them that if I was the enemy and had some extra troops, I would also attack us once the General’s troops left to go to their base.”

  Karen asked, “What can we do to prepare?”

  I said, “I’m going to give each of you a piece of our defense plan. It has three main parts, and if everyone completes their assignment, we’ll stop them and perhaps decimate their ranks.

  Ross, you’ll be in charge of the slingshots. Mom, you’ll be responsible for the safety of the non-combatants. Marge, you and Billie will take charge of our defense of the farm. Michelle, you’ll be over our firefighters. I’ll oversee the entire operation. I want to meet with you in one hour on Mom’s back deck. Ross, come with me.”

  Michelle asked, “What firefighters and why do we need them?”

  “I’ll explain later.”

  We scurried around for the next hour, putting my plans in place. The smartest thing I did was to place spies around the area to alert me to any enemy movements. All of them had walkie-talkies, and I stayed in touch with them. Chrissy was the first spy to tell me about enemy movement.

  “They’re slowly filtering in from the forest across the road at the front of the house. There’s one behind every tree,” said Chrissy.

  I called for Kira. “Any activity, Kira?”

  Kira replied, “No, not yet, but I’m worried. I don’t see anyone moving by the Humvee behind the house yet.”

  I replied, “Don’t worry, that’s why I parked it there. Just keep an eye peeled.”

  I pushed the talk button, “Chrissy, when they get about two hundred feet from the house, call me and then run up the hill to Syd’s home to safety.”

  “I need to stay and fight.”

  I raised my voice. “No! Your orders are to go to Syd’s house and prepare to defend it in ten minutes if you don’t see any enemy!”

  Then after regaining my composure, I asked, “Do any of you beside Chrissy see any enemy movement?”

  No one saw any more of the enemy but Kira. She said, “It’s obvious the enemy is also attacking the front of the property from the northwest. They’re not slowing even though we have the numerous foxholes with the dummy fighters. Wait, they have those RPG things you warned us about. They have a lot of them.”

  I replied, “Kira, escape, and duck into the culvert as planned.”

  The culvert in front of the house diverted rainwater from the dry ditches north of the farm into the large creek below the farm. It was five feet in diameter and over thirty feet long as it cut diagonally under the road. Kira low crawled through the grass and bushes but found a raider between her and safety. She took her bow from her back, nocked an arrow, and hit the man in the throat. He stood there, gasping for air, and then collapsed without a word spoken.

  Kira continued to crawl until she could slide into the ditch. Then she ducked as she walked into the mouth of the drain and joined Mom, our children, and other non-combatants. Father James welcomed her and pulled her deep into the tunnel.

  The enemy was almost close enough to use their RPGs. I waved at Ross and Mark. “Begin firing! Now!”

  Both slingshots lobbed gallon jugs of gasoline that landed about a hundred feet in front of our home. The jugs exploded, hurling burning gas in all directions. Each explosion sent thick black smoke up into the air. The attackers were caught in the open, and several ran back with their clothes on fire. They screamed, which panicked the men to their rear. The sight of a twenty-foot tall wall of fire scared the daylights out of them. Many turned to run. Men ran into each other, dropping their weapons as they sought to escape the fire. No one helped their blazing comrades, and only one of them thought to stop, drop, and roll. This ended their advance on the farm but didn’t stop them from shooting wildly at the farmhouse and barn.

  Ross and Mark shot four each of the gas bombs, and then Ross began lobbing the large pipe bombs behind the enemy as they turned to escape. The large pipe bombs blew up and threw men and body parts onto their comrades. The clusters of six small pipe bombs blew up and peppered the ones left standing with shrapnel.

  Mark lobbed the napalm bombs into the middle of the mass confusion. The burning napalm stuck to the men’s clothing, and the smell of burning flesh filled the wind. Thick black smoke covered the slaughtered men who had planned to kill or capture my friends and family. I scanned the flaming battlefield, and no one was left standing. Most of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Some of the bodies were twisted into grotesque shapes with arms stretched out, begging for help. Their mouths wide open, silently screaming in pain. I estimated over sixty men were trapped in this Dante’s Inferno. Most were dead, and the others burned alive.

  A bullet ricocheted off one of the slingshot’s armor and hit me in the chest, but my tactical vest stopped it from harming me. Father James had added the half-inch thick shields when Mark mentioned they’d be sitting ducks when a fight started. The armor wrapped around the sides and gave protection from three sides. More bullets came from the trees where the raiders’ leaders were hiding.

  I turned my attention to their leaders, hiding a couple hundred feet behind them. I radioed Marge and Billie to flank them from a safe distance and pick off anyone who tried to escape the next bombardment.

  “Men, your targets are nine hundred and fifty feet away. Get ready, aim, fire!”

  The second-generation slingshots easily dropped napalm jugs and pipe bombs down on the gang’s leaders. As before, the leaders turned tail to escape. Mark and Ross performed a masterful job of dropping napalm and pipe bombs around them, penning them in until napalm could be lobbed into their midst. Only a few escaped by leaving early; however, Billie’s team captured them.

  My biggest worries now were the burning trees and brush only twenty-five yards from Mom’s home and our barn. Father James had prepared for the fires by wetting down the home and the entire front yard. He’d left the pipes in place that carried water from the lake up in the hills. The attached garden hoses had enough pressure to spray about twenty feet, and Michelle’s
team quickly put out the last of the fires.

  Marge had the east side of the raiders’ position. Most of her people were well trained but had little experience. They had a variety of hunting rifles and shotguns. Several of the leaders ran toward her people. They hid until the last second and then ambushed the raiders, who died fleeing for their lives. Marge signaled that there were no survivors.

  Billie called to say all of the ones trying to escape were killed or captured. She added that she had two high value captives ready to spill what they knew about the coordinated attacks on the General’s HQ and our community.

  While several teams searched for and dispatched survivors, Kat, Karen, and I took the two captives into the barn. One turned out to be the number two leader. After a short session with Kat and Karen, he told us everything he knew. Apparently, having a rat under a bucket over your gonads made one talkative. The ladies were very effective interrogators. While they did their thing with him, I called my troops together and had the slingshots brought down the hill and reloaded.

  The captives told us that Colonel Griggs had been the leader of the raiders all along, and he was to attack the General’s headquarters three hours after the attack had begun on our farm and the General’s HQ. They wanted to pin the General’s team down, so he couldn’t help us. Griggs didn’t think it would take more than an hour to overwhelm us and then head north to take part in the attack on the General’s men.

  I shot both captives in the head and asked Ross to bury the vermin far away from the farm. Then I gathered the community and said, “It’s not over. The rest of the raiders are going to attack the General’s headquarters in an hour and a half. I’m taking our fighters up there to help the General’s people eliminate the raiders once and for all. I need volunteers for this mission.”

  Thank God, Mark, Karen, and Ross volunteered along with all but a few of our people. I asked Billie to stay behind and protect against any aggressors while we were gone. Hell, just the smell of the burnt flesh and burning napalm would make most men turn tail and run. I gave them a brief overview of my plan, and then we loaded up into our two Humvees and the rest of our trucks. We only had an hour to travel the nine miles to the Smyrna Police building before the fight would be starting.

  I tried to radio the General to let him know we were on our way, but no one answered. Our radios didn’t have much range on purpose. We didn’t want to attract unwanted attention, but that hindered communication.

  Our convoy took Holley Grove Road over to Lebanon Pike, and then we worked our way over to Jefferson Pike, which took us most of the way to the General’s headquarters on Enon Springs Road. I tried the walkie-talkie several times but didn’t reach anyone until I heard Sergeant Miller finally reply.

  I said, “There was an attack on our farm. We killed about eighty. We’re a mile away. Do you have enemy contact?”

  Miller responded, “No contact for over an hour. They made several large attacks and then melted away. Our scouts reported them filtering in toward us from the north through the woods and the subdivision.”

  I replied, “We’ll come down Nissan Drive and come back south of you to guard your rear and west side. We brought our slingshots, cannons, and a small army.”

  Miller said, “I think we can handle them. The General is set to ambush their left flank in ten minutes. That should distract them, and they shouldn’t see you getting into place.”

  Enon Springs Road - Smyrna, Tennessee

  We hauled ass south on Nissan Drive, then cut east around the Walmart and cut through a subdivision until we were only two hundred feet south of the General’s HQ in the police station. We could hear a fierce fight going on north of the HQ but didn’t have any spotters to help aim our weapons. I sent several scouts east of our position to find targets in the woods. Then, I called Miller.

  “Miller, we’re behind you in the woods. We have no targets. How can we help?”

  Miller sounded panicked. “Lob some HE and napalm due north over our heads and range from eight to a thousand feet. Then the same distance and fifteen degrees left and right of center. I’ll direct your fire.”

  “Will do. What happened to your slingshots?”

  “Sabotage.”

  Ross and Mark fired two jugs each and waited. Miller called back. “Add one hundred, and fire for effect.”

  They started lobbing a mixture of gas, napalm, and pipe bombs with Miller giving directions. We could only see the smoke rising and hear muffled explosions. I was glad I didn’t have to see the burning men today. That didn’t last long because Missy called in on her radio, “There’s a large group of men massing to attack from the park on the other side of the woods.”

  Mark asked, “Ask her for an approximate range.”

  “Missy, can you guess the range from us to the men?”

  “Jason, the men are at least at the outer range of the slingshots. They’ll be charging you in a few minutes. A man is standing on the back of a truck yelling at them. Tell Mark to fire a jug one thousand feet and straight down Williamsburg Drive.”

  Mark’s crew lined up the slingshot, and Mark pushed the button to draw back the jug in the pocket. He pulled the lanyard and crossed his fingers as the fuse on the napalm jug sparked through the air. Missy watched and waited. Then the jug exploded above the west side of the parking lot.

  Missy yelled into the mic. “Drop one hundred, shoot five napalm jugs, then drop two hundred and fire ten more!. Then blow the bastards up that are trapped between the fire!”

  I told the lady warriors manning the mortars to pound the area two hundred yards from the police station and make a curtain of explosions to ward off any raiders who survived the slingshot bombardment. They began firing as fast as they could, with only four ladies manning the four mortars.

  Mark fired the jugs for the drop one hundred range, and Ross fired the ones to drop two hundred feet. The scene was the same as earlier at the farm but this time, a large group surged south toward Missy. She called. “Swing left about ten degrees and shoot.”

  I yelled in my mic. “That’s on top of you!”

  Missy yelled, “Fire now!”

  I trusted her and yelled, “Shoot per Missy’s instructions!”

  Napalm jugs and pipe bombs rained down on the surging men and cut their escape off. Missy called back in and said, “We’ve got a mess on aisle three. Looks like crispy critters and well done raiders.”

  I had the speaker on, and most of my people laughed. Some later told me that killing people should never be funny. I calmed them down and told them everyone had their own way of coping with this kind of horror. Of course, I chuckled and agreed with Missy.

  I sent Karen’s and Marge’s teams out to mop up any survivors. I told her to run back here if she saw any large enemy force. She was also told not to veer north and get into the battle still raging north of our position. We kept lobbing explosives and napalm for several hours in support of the General’s troops.

  We staved off several small attacks on the headquarters during the remaining fight and only suffered two wounded fighters during the battle. I was pleased we’d accomplished my goal of not losing a single friend while giving maximum support to the General. Yes, we were fortunate and made some of our luck by thinking outside of the box to develop some antique weapons.

  Missy had avoided danger by running further south and jumping in a creek that fed Stone River. Some napalm landed close enough to burn her, but she stayed under an outcropping and ducked under the water to stay safe. She’d known the creek was there and knew she could run fast enough to reach it before the bombs arrived.

  The only weapon that didn’t live up to expectations was the huge crossbow. One ten-pound arrow killed one soldier, and the other twenty just scared the crap out of a few more. We needed exploding warheads to make them effective killing machines.

  The General and Miller had a much worse day.

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  Chapter 27

  Enon Springs Road - Smyrna, Tennessee
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  John saw the men charging his position from the large mansion across Enon Springs Road. He cursed because his slingshots could’ve massacred them as they charged through the hedgerows into the homes in front of him. One of his trusted guards had sliced the rubber tubes that gave the slingshot its power to lob the explosives and napalm. John’s Humvee had run out of .50 caliber BMG bullets, so he was stuck fighting hand to hand.

  Maria looked at the broad street and yelled, “Miller! Take some Semtex and poke it in those bowling balls we were going to test the slingshots with! We can roll them at the enemy when they try to cross Enon Springs!”

  John scrambled to gain any advantage over this unrelenting enemy. He radioed Sergeant Brown. “Brown, pour gas and diesel fuel in the ditch in front of us. Maybe we can slow them down a bit.”

  A few minutes later, he smelled the stench of the gasoline and diesel mixture when it flowed down the ditch. John was only a short time from panicking. He had never studied tactics beyond what a sergeant in the Army learned in the field. He was now painfully aware that this battle was close to being lost. He was sure the next massive charge would overrun his command, and all would be killed. He pondered, surrendering, but then Miller shouted in glee. “General! Walker and his people are only a mile away, and they brought the artillery!”

  John was pleased but knew they had to survive until help arrived. He saw another mass attack crossing the street and told his men to hold fire until the raiders were to the ditch. He tossed a match onto the puddle of gas at his feet, and the flames raced to the ditch, engulfing the men as they surged forward. John didn’t realize his plan had worked much better than he’d hoped for because the fuel had run under the street through a culvert. Now, both sides of the street were on fire. The attacking force had run through the fuel to cross the street, and now their boots caught on fire. They panicked and ran in all directions.