Chapter 1

You have already read a story from what has happened. You know what took place. This is simply my take on it. I was there.

I offer truth. I do not accuse the others of not telling the truth – I only know what it was that I saw and felt. That is what you will find here. As with all other people, you will get to know what passions and prejudices I had and still have. You will get to see the story from my eyes.


***


I sat in my apartment the day it all started. At the time, I remember vividly. I should it was a time of sorrow for me – before the first person died. Before the first riots started. Before the first shots were fired in self defense.

It was late at night and I was wallowing in self pity. My ex wife was not letting me see my son, Austin. Sure, it was against court orders. It was illegal what she was doing. But to force her to do the right thing and let me see my son would take a long time and a lot of money through the courts. The money I had – some of it, anyways. The time was unbearable.

So I sat in my grief. My .45 caliber Glock to my head. I was contemplating ending it all right here. A single pull stops the pain for me. It gives the ex what she wants more than anything. Then a thought…

It takes my boy’s father away from him.

No way. No how. Not this time, sir. The Glock goes back where it belongs – in my holster, awaiting some poor, unfortunate bad guy. I really hope I never meet that bad guy. I might unleash all this pain on him and he really would not deserve that.

I wipe away the tears. Can’t let anybody see me this way. I have few, if any friends that have ever seen me cry – or even really emotional in any way. I’m not prone to getting mad, upset, sad, or even overly happy. It’s just not my way.

Back to the ol’ drawing board. Gotta figure if I can go see my son some other way. The business won’t run itself, but I could call in a few favors and get a few things done while I’m away.

Just then I get a call. Who the hell is calling at this hour??? Caller ID says it’s the Ex. Shit. What now?

“Hello?”

“Kyle. Thank god you are there. Are you OK?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” I looked out the window to see if she was watching me from across the street or something. I’d be mad as hell if she was sitting there, watching me about to off myself, then calls me when I chicken out! It was dark, but she would not have the sense it takes to stay hidden.

“Haven’t you heard?” She says. She’s in a panic. She is inside – I don’t hear any background noise or anything.

“Nope. Don’t watch the news. Bunch of liberal-assed sissies…”

“It’s happening. All of the stuff you told us to plan for. I haven’t planned. Oh, god, I don’t even have a gun!”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Just stay inside till everything blows over. We are safe here. I am going to my dad’s. He will have supplies. God, I hope he’s all right.”

Phone clicks before I can ask about my son, or even where they are. Now I’m worried. She’s got me all worked up. I’m still looking out the window when I see Kara. She’s the new belle in my life. Why the hell is she here at this hour? I might be in for a good surprise!

Kara is great. She likes to shoot. Very easy on the eyes. Great cook. About the only thing she doesn’t do well is build things. I met Kara at the video store a year ago. She was helping me and my son select something to take home.

At the time, The divorce was almost final, and the ex lived in town – in an apartment we had rented in my name. The plan was for her to live there until things finalized, then I would move in as we sold the house. Neither of us wanted to keep the house, and she wanted to move back home.

I was OK with both selling the house, and moving into the apartment. I buy and sell things online and turn a little profit in so doing. I keep most of the goods in a storage space not far away. I make a lot more now that I can devote more time to it. After the alimony and basics, I take home about $5K a month for me to do with as I wish.

So here I am, I’ve got a couple of weapons. I tell people online that they were lost in a tragic boating accident. That gets a kick out of them. I have stashed away some supplies. No details for you now, dear reader. That will come.

Back to Kara. She pointed out some movies that she thought I would like. I think I liked them. She liked my boy. That was cool. When I went to check out, she asked for the ID and I gave her my CCW card.

“Oh, you are one of those people who makes me feel safe.” She said. Beautiful blue eyes. Excellent “child-bearing” hips. I love the hips – not too big, not too small. Other parts are good, but that’s really my style. Now she had my interest. She likes guns, likes my boy, and she has a build I really like. Oh, boy!

So the big “D” gets finalized and I finally feel comfortable making a move. It was the only natural conclusion. Always on the lookout for the next ex…

She takes a liking to me and I to her. She is only 20. Sheesh! But her head is screwed on straight. You can’t say that for a lot of folks.

She walks into the room. Gorgeous. That word resonates every time I see her. It describes her on the outside and the inside.

“Hey, babe. Whacha up to?” she asks.

“Not much. Just got a call from the ex. Seems there might be something going on up there.”

“You mean you haven’t heard?” She asked – a little perturbed.

“About what?” I ask.

“Oh my god. I can’t believe… haven’t you even seen the reports on TV or the internet?”

“No. I haven’t turned anything on today except the computer for work. Got over a hundred thousand in orders.”

“Well, I’ll fill you in. Major American cities are getting destroyed every few minutes. There’s no rhyme or reason to any of it. We will have just heard of a new one getting attacked and blown up when another report comes in. It’s so completely random.

“I know we live in a really small town, and there is no reason to bomb us, but I think we should go the country. My mom knows some folks out in the boonies. If we go there, it might be best. But we need to get her, first!”

“I’ll go with you. Sue might call again. Like I said, she was upset. If she calls, I’ll likely go and get Austin. Don’t worry – I’ll leave her there! Here, take this rifle,” I said. My mind was racing from

I handed her my second AR15. It was a flat top with a tactical holosight, forward handle, and a flashlight on the front. I also handed her a “battle bag” – a bag with six full 30-round magazines. Side pouches on the bag had a folding knife, a lighter, and some other sundries.

I grabbed my AR15. It was a flat top model, also. The holosight had a magnifier that was able to flip out to the side for tactical use. The red dot co-witnessed nicely with the iron sights when the rear sight was flipped up.

In addition to the rifle, I grabbed two battle bags for myself. I checked the Glock – it was in place. I grabbed two spare mags for it and put them in a side pocket on one of the ammo bags.

We took Kara’s truck (I told you this gal was something else, didn’t I?). Mentally, I was going over all of my preparations in my mind. I wanted to get as much of my things as possible ready to be mobile. I’d talked about this to Kara before and we had decided to use her truck as the vehicle of choice. We would keep about half of the ammo and supplies there, and keep it close to the apartment so we could watch over it.

The road to Kara’s mom’s place was a side road. Due to the late hour, there was almost no traffic. It was too quiet. In the distance, I saw a farm and the farmer had his shotgun out. I made a mental note – he looked like he was preparing, too.

The radio reports confirmed what Kara had told me. Major American cities getting trashed left and right. Who was doing this? And why? Terrorists probably. Man, I just didn’t know how right I was.

I made sure the rifles were in the back seat and covered up. I was pretty sure it was illegal at the time for us to be carrying fully loaded rifles in the car with us. I didn’t anticipate there would be many police about, but I did not want to chance it, either.

“Kara, I know what you said about going out into the country, but our town is only about 5000 people strong. I think we should stay in town – just in case. Let’s bring your mom to my place. All of us can stay there. I have room – just need to move a few things around.” I offered.

“OK. But if we get any word that smaller towns get targeted, we go.” She said.

“Fair enough. You think Carla will be OK with coming with us?”

We pulled up to Carla’s house.

“Yeah, mom always gets freaked out. She will want to be protected.”

I stayed in the truck as Kara went in to get her mom. I figured she would take a while, as it was 3 am and they had to get some clothes and other things, too.

Nice start.  Will this tie in w/ the previous story?

Same world. Same major events. I am still writing the first few chapters and I have not decided whether these folks will meet Matt & the gang.

Input on that?

Would you like to see it?

Avoid doing it?

I like your work, please keep writing. IMHO keep these characters separate from the others in your previous story. I think it will make it easier for you. But I'll still read the story, just please finish it.

sweet, the boating accident thing was funny enough to make my day and I have a headache...

I just had to put that in there...  

I was wondering when you would start the next one.  Thanks

Patrick

In on one

Chapter 2

Twenty minutes of waiting can play tricks on your mind. It sure did mine. Finally, Kara and her mom came out of the apartment, a couple of bags in hand. I was pleasantly surprised there wasn’t much in the way of luggage.

I’d met Carla once before. Pretty lady – actually only about 12 or 15 years older than I am. She seemed to be nice enough. Kara talked a lot about her freaking out and getting very upset about various small things. If that was so, she would have to change.

Kara drives again. I pick up an AR 15 and turned to Carla.

“Have you ever shot before?” I asked.

“Yeah. A shotgun and a .22. It’s been a while, though. What’s that?” she says.

Kara keeps a steady pace, lights on high beam. She looks and scans for trouble. Not on high alert, but ready to move into action. I notice her right hand is near her sidearm.

“This is an AR 15. I am going to show you how to shoot it soon. But for now, I want to get you familiar with it. I have one at my place for you. First I want you to know the basics of safe gun handling. These basics are to be minded at all times.

“First, all guns are always loaded. Treat them as such. Repeat back to me what I just said.”

Carla repeated it back to me.

“Second, never point the muzzle at something you are not willing to destroy.”

She nodded and repeated. I could tell she would make a good pupil.

“Third, keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to fire.”

Again, she repeated the rule back to me.

“Fourth, be sure of your target and what is beyond it.”

Carla again repeated it back to me.

“Now say all of them.” I demanded.

Carla replied, with only minor help. I was more and more pleased. We repeated them several more times on the way to my place.

“This is going to seem like a lot, but you will see in a few days, there really isn’t that much – it becomes repetitive. The pistol I will give you will be even easier. In the next few days I will take you shooting several times. We will get you up to speed quickly.

“First things first. A pistol is a pistol and a rifle is a rifle. A rifle is much more effective at stopping the enemy than even the largest pistols. There are several reasons for this, but I will go into those later.

“I will show you the rifle. Again, it’s an AR 15. It uses either 5.56 mm ammo or .223 ammo. Here is the detachable magazine. This one holds thirty rounds. You can interchange magazines and ammo with any US soldier or Marine using and M16 or M4. They all shoot the same stuff.

“Here is the manual safety. If you observe the four basic rules of gun handling, you will not need a manual safety. However, it is here for you just in case.

“This is the trigger. Again, only put your finger here when ready to fire. Here is the stock. Adjust it to a point you feel is comfortable. This rifle and the one I am going to give you have a six-position stock. Keep it in your favorite position.

“This is the sighting mechanism. It is a holographic red dot. Put the dot where you want the bullet to go. This is the switch that turns it on. I will show you in the next few days how to aim and hit what you aim at – both with the red dot sight here and the backup iron sights.

“This is the magazine. It is detachable. When you put in a new magazine, tap the bottom of the magazine firmly to ensure it is seated in the rifle. Then pull down on the magazine to verify this.

“Here is the charging handle. Pull in this direction. It is used to put a new round in the chamber after you insert a new magazine. Alternately, if the bolt here is open after the last round in the magazine is fired, this button here can close the bolt and feed the next round into the rifle.

“This is a semi-automatic rifle. That means it fires one round every time you press the trigger. Make every round count. Remember – if it is worth shooting, then it is worth shooting twice. If it is worth shooting twice, then shoot it twice again to make sure. I like two to the body one to the head. We will train you to that point, as well.

“This is the forward handle. You may move yours as far forward or rearward as you like, or you may wish to remove it altogether. Most people like it as it makes the weapon more manageable and it will seem a little lighter, too.

“We will go over all of these things every six hours or so. Also, we will teach you to disassemble your rifle and clean it properly.”

“What do you mean ‘we?’” She asked.

“Kara and I will help and teach you.” I said.

“Kara, you know all of this?”

“Yes, mom” Kara replied. There was a sheepish smile on her face.

“We are almost here. Kara and I will transport the rifles inside. You stay between us. We do not know when, where, or even if there will be more attacks.” I said.

On full alert, we exited the truck. Carla did her part by staying between us. We cautiously moved to the back of the building, where my apartment was. Nothing was out of place or weird looking.

Once inside I went straight to my stash. I grabbed another AR for Carla.

“Here is your rifle. There are many like it, but this one is yours. My gift to you.”

“Uh. Thanks. I guess.” Carla responded.

“Mom, that is a nearly $2000 setup he just gave you. You could be a little more enthusiastic.” Kara said. I could tell there was something eating at her.

“No worries.” I said. “And that rifle is yours, Kara.”

That made her smile.

“Now when it gets light, I need to go to the home improvement store. There are some things I need to make this place a little safer for us.” I said.

The news reports occupied the next few hours. Cities were getting destroyed everywhere. The carnage was building. Even military installations were being attacked. This was the apocalypse. That’s OK – I am a preparation nut. Only now, who is the nut? I say it is the person who did not prepare!

As the late hours wore on, I grew more and more tired. The initial adrenaline “dump” was wearing off. I got to the point where being assaulted by a Wal-mart receipt checker – turned rent-a-cop would not have even caused me to blade at a 45 degree angle and yell. I was getting sleepy.

I don’t know when I dozed off, but I awoke at nearly noon. I was angry at first because I had wanted to go to the home improvement store to get some things.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I said rather loudly to Kara.

“Listen.” She pointed to her Ham radio.

I listened. It took nearly fifteen minutes to take it all in, but I realized that she was right.

“…military bases inoperative and unresponsive to communications efforts. Civilian police are now limited mostly to county sheriffs from all accounts. Word has it now that illness is spreading in certain areas. There is little information on the actual illness, but symptoms are consistent with the flu. Listeners are advised to seek appropriate medical attention if they become ill. Those who do not need to venture out should not.

“Again, to repeat the information to all listeners, this is the Survival Commando broadcasting from parts undisclosed in the USA. I am compiling all data I can and getting it out over the CB, Ham radio, and a local station where I live. My call letters will be KSRV. I will broadcast on station 100.7 FM tonight at 9 pm Eastern, 8 Central, 7 Mountain, and 6 pm Pacific. I have received verified information from major news corporations, trusted friends and informants nationwide, as well as personal monitoring of numerous broadcast outlets.

“Satellite TV is still on, and a few channels are broadcasting from undisclosed locations. It is imperative that these locations remain anonymous, as our attackers would most certainly try to take them out, given the chance. Sources report and I have verified most of the reports that the top 125 cities in the USA by population have been completely destroyed. Unverified reports of the next 25 cities having met the same fate. It is likely that all cities over 50,000 in population can reasonably expect the same treatment.

“Biological warfare has been waged against the US armed forces. As of 5 pm Eastern time today, no major military branch could be reached in any form by any means of communication. We have reason to believe that an extensive attack has all but wiped out the US armed forces domestically. No word on overseas military. Media, civilians, and off duty military have all tried, but they have found most, if not all military bases inoperative and unresponsive to communications efforts.

“This just in, it has been confirmed by Terrorist networks in the middle east that several terror groups, working together, have claimed responsibility for the bombing, biological attacks, and spreading a deadly strain of the flu on American soil. All of you listening out there – either seek shelter that would be impermeable to germs, or get access to flu medication. And doing both seems a good idea right now!

“I repeat, terrorist networks are taking responsibility for these attacks and they claim they are attacking with a flu-like virus. Although it is unknown if they will help, it would certainly not hurt the listeners out there to take stock of flu remedies and immunizations.

Unfortunately, there is not much of the National Guard left to protect us, so the citizens must take their destiny into their own hands. The President…” She turned off the radio.

“Bastards!” I swore.

“Now about that training you owe me.” Carla said.

this will be a really good story, I love it when things get interesting.

Chapter 3

I scanned the area. No threats visible. The door in front of me opened, and I was rushed inside by powerful hands.

“Now you remember this when all hell breaks loose!” Came the gruff voice.

“Of course. You know where to find me. We will need to band together.” I replied.

Six small canisters were stuffed into a bag, which was stuffed into a larger bag. I put the bag under my jacket. Wearing the jacket in the summer was definitely uncomfortable, but the immunizations were needed. And I did not want to advertise to anybody around as to what I had in my possession.

“Take one dose today, then the other tomorrow. 24 hours apart. Call me if you need anything else.” He said.

“Frankie, are you ready with other preparations?”

“Probably not like you, but I can hold my own. My advantage is that since I’m a doctor, I have access to medicine. In a worst-case scenario, I am sitting pretty to trade for whatever I might need. Speaking of which, how are you going to pay me, Kyle?”

“Like this.” I took off the rifle I was carrying. It was an old Chinese SKS, in good condition. I also gave him a few hundred rounds of ammo for it. “Do you know how to use it?”

“No. Show me.”

We spent several minutes. Doc took to the lessons well. I guess when one has made it through medical school, learning how to operate a firearm seems much easier.

I could do without the rifle. I had my weapons of choice. And I was trading a perfectly good weapon for the immunizations. Word had it that Flu vaccines were going for well over $1000 a pop on the black market. But then again, semi-automatic rifles were going for five times that.

People knew what was coming. At least where I was. It was going to be war and nobody questioned it. The only concern was how to win and who would lead. I figured that would get sorted out soon enough.

“Thanks, Doc.” I said. “You and the missus come over to my place if stuff gets really rough. I could use another man in the place.”

“Better yet – you all come to my place. It’s bigger. We are out in the country. Well water, generators, etc. We had to be prepared for winters without the comforts of city living like you have.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Frankie.” I turned and left. I might well have to take him up on that offer. Defending an apartment hideout would only go for so long if we were directly attacked.

Kara and Carla were waiting in the truck for me, rifles at the ready. Around us were few if any people. Most of them armed. It is true what has been said – an armed society is a polite society.

I hopped into the truck and grabbed my rifle. I tipped my hat up a bit to allow a better field of view. I like boonie hats. Not many folks like me, but that’s OK. I don’t care what others think of fashion. And I happen to think the boonie hat is quite fashionable, thank you very much.

We drove back to the apartment, Kara at the wheel, as usual. To my left I saw a disturbance. It appeared to be National Guard. We had all given up on that thought after the radio broadcast. But here they were, and they seemed to be coordinating the gathering citizens.

“Kyle, look!” Carla said.

“I see it. What do you make of it?”

“I think we should go there. Now.” She said.

Kara started to slow. The truck.

“No. Keep going. We can come back after a quick stop at the apartment.” My voice was much more firm than usual.

“But they are here to help.”

“Yes, but I have something here I do not want to be forced to share. We cannot run that risk!” I said. I made sure to keep the intensity in my voice.

Carla was having none of it. “No! We need to go there now. They may not be there when we come back! I don’t want to take that chance.” Carla was getting an argumentative edge to her voice.

“Kara, stop the truck over on the side. Put on the hazard lights.” I said.

Kara did just as I had indicated.

“Now listen here,” I lowered my voice to a stern whisper. “If you want to go there, then that’s just fine. You go and go now. But if you go, you will never step foot in my place again. As long as you seek my protection, I make the rules. Don’t like it, then you are free to leave. But as long as I am in charge of your safety, I will never have my judgment questioned. Things will NOT be up for debate. Now, what will it be?”

“You are just trying to push your ‘power’ on me. You want to force me to give the gun back and leave my daughter. I won’t take it.” She responded.

“The hell I do. I do not force either of you to stay with me. You can keep the guns I gave you – I never asked for them back – and never will. Hell, I’ll even give you 1000 rounds if you go. I am not going to keep anybody around that doesn’t want to be here.”

“Then why are you doing this?” She pleaded.

“I am not going to give you a reason right now. You can stay. Or you can go. If both of you want to go over there and meet up with the military, then go and I’ll walk back. I will not have my directions questioned. For that reason and that reason only I refuse to tell you why. You either trust me and want my help… or not.” I opened the door of the truck and extended my palm out the opening in a display of allowing Carla to leave.

A moment of tense silence.

Carla reached over to the door and closed it. “I want you to protect me and my daughter. If you still will.” She said, humbled.

“I will protect the both of you as long as you choose to stay with me. I am not a dictator, you may stay or go as you wish. But under my watch you will do as I say… WITHOUT this kind of drama. EVER.” I made sure to say the last part very slowly, clearly and with unquestionable authority.

Kara silently put the truck in gear and pulled away as Carla shut the door. Both women sat in silence for the rest of the trip. Fortunately the trip was a short one.

Once at the apartment, Carla went to the second bedroom – the one we now referred to as ‘her room’ and shut the door. We could hear soft crying behind the door.

“You know, it has been a long time since someone has stood up to her like that. She would have kept at it with you under any other circumstances.”  Kara said.

“In other words, she will try the power-play again.”

“Maybe. Normally I would say you could count on it. But with these uncertain times, I think she is actually measuring her words and actions. It is really quite odd – I’ve never seen her do this before.”

“Well, I won’t have the drama. This sort of shit always rears its head at the worst possible times.” I said.

During the conversation, I had been preparing the vaccinations. Now they were ready. I turned to Kara, “this will hurt a little, but the flu vaccine in here is supposed to keep you safe from all of the stuff the terrorists are supposed to be using out there.”

The shot was quick and Kara barely winced.

“Now let’s get your mom.” I said.

“Let her calm down first.”

“She may not have that luxury. Besides, I have a way to explain why I had to lay down the authority card earlier without losing face and without giving in to her drama-desires. At the same time, it will build her need to listen to me.” I said.

I knocked at the door.

“Go away. I need to be alone.” Came the reply.

“We leave in two minutes to meet up with the National Guard ad see what they are doing. Plus, I have something for you.” I said.

The door creaked open. I pushed it all the way open, startling Carla.

“I know you think of yourself as my mom, but you aren’t. You’d be lucky to be my big sister.” I said. Carla started to tear up and tried to shut the door.

I grabbed the door firmly.  “I’m not going to play these games. Get out here now!” I did not raise my voice, but there was no mistaking the authority.

Carla slowly capitulated and moved to the middle of the room. I took a syringe and removed the cap.

“This is a flu vaccine. It will be all but worthless if you do not take the follow-up dose tomorrow. This will protect you from the biological weapons. This is what I got while we were out. This is what the National Guard could not find on us.” I said.

“But why not?”

“Because they would have required I tell them where I got it, or worse – they could have taken it and made us give it to them to ration out as they saw fit. I am going to ensure we can live as long as possible. That doesn’t leave much room for giving in to whims for reasons I do not agree with.”

“I see. So you were really just trying to protect us?” She said. Finally! A break-though!

“Yes. And it would have taken me too long to explain that to you. And a time is coming when you will have to do as I say without questioning it, and time will be of the essence. And you will need to be used to doing it, without questioning me and immediately. And if you don’t at that time, you may die and I won’t be able to do anything about it. And you will have nobody to blame but yourself.”

“I see.”

“I hope so,” I said. “Because the threat is real. And the bad guys are coming for us. And I’ve prepared for this a long time. People used to call me a nut job, or worse. These same folks are now going to refer to me as a visionary. Or they may try to take advantage of my preparations and rob me. And I won’t let that happen.”

A knock at the door interrupted us.

I shouldered my AR and cautiously answered it after checking the peephole. It was a young man – no more than twenty years old. He was dressed well and seemed sheepish.

“Hello, sir. My name is Mark. My friends and I have broken down and were wondering if you could jump us off?”

“Your car’s battery died while you were driving down the road? That is odd.” It was more of a comment than a question.

“No, sir. We have been here visiting friends and the car battery died while the car was parked here.” He replied.

Seemed legit enough. I kept the rifle slung and closed the door of the apartment immediately. I walked with the man to my truck to get the jumper cables. All the while, his eyes were glued to my rifle.

“Where’s your car?” I asked.

“Over there,” he pointed to a vehicle across the parking lot.

I got in the truck and started it up. The man hopped in. I noticed him fidgeting with his collar while walking around the rear of the vehicle before he got in. That should have been my first warning sign.

We got next to his car and I popped the hood. Again, I noticed him fidgeting with his collar.

“You a bit warm, buddy?” I asked.

“No. Uh, yeah, a bit.” He said.

I grabbed the cables and proceeded to attach them to my battery.

“Pop your hood.” I said. He was fidgeting with his collar again, only this time there was something to it…

“Uh, OK. It may be a minute, my buddy has the keys. Here he comes.” The man said.

I turned to look and lo, there was a surprise. My eye caught sight of the young man doing the universal symbol for “kill it” by slashing his throat with the invisible knife. As I panned to his friend, I realized what was happening.

The friend had a pistol in his hand. I could not make out the model or type. The friend’s face was very stern and I could tell he meant no good to come to me. He was walking straight toward me with a menacing look on his face.

Time slowed down. I fought a massive adrenaline dump. However, my mind did not indicate I should blade at 45 degrees as many might do in this situation or similar. That sort of crap tactic is best used on rent-a-cop wannabe’s at the local mega-superstore.

No, I had a better tactic. I moved forward. I charged the man with the gun while unslinging and shouldering my own rifle. He brought the gun up in my direction.

I fired.

He wavered and could not get his bearings.

I fired again and again.

He went down.

I felt a jolt as my weapon was grabbed from my left side. The tussle was on. The prize was my weapon. The corner of my eye saw the first man struggling to get to his feet.

A single mistake is all it ever takes in any fight. If you keep from making that mistake, your only concern is to watch for your opponent to make it.

My opponent made his. He took one of his hands off the weapon to re-establish a grip. My mind was racing and immediately took notice of the additional leverage I had. I snapped the rifle barrel toward the well-dressed man with whom I grappled. His other hand grasped the weapon, but he was too late.

Three rounds of 5.56 mm justice licked at his midsection. Inside him, bullets tumbled and fragmented just as they had been designed to do.

He staggered away. I took aim and finished him with a well placed shot between the eyes. In my heightened sense of awareness, I actually remember seeing the back of his head mushroom with the effects of the bullet’s forceful exit from the cranial cavity.

I turned to the first man – the one with the pistol. He was alive, but bleeding out rapidly. He just could not raise his weapon to fire at me. I was under no such limitation, however. I closed the distance and fired at the head. My movement was too quick and the bullet only caught a bit of his cheek and jaw. That part was blown away, but he was still alive.

His pistol was now pointed at me in one last desperate attempt. He fired. My left shoulder registered no pain, but instead an impact. Like a solid punch from a big man.

I fired again, and this bullet flew true to its mark. Again I watched as the splatter and peeling of flesh happened before my eyes.

Then it struck me – I had killed another.

I fell to my knees, shaking all over. Not fear, not pain, but a general feeling of disgust. And exhilaration. And joy. And sorrow. And of empowerment.

I looked at my hands. Blood covered them. My rifle wore the same coat of blood. It must have been from the well-dressed man.

And I looked up, a nauseating feeling rising in my stomach. And a pain radiating form my shoulder. And I saw lights. Blue lights.

Police.

Shit!

OK, now you're starting to get me interested!

I'm more interested!!!! MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR please

   

That's great!  WE NEED MOAR!!

Chapter 4

Killing had been easier than I ever thought. And harder. There were no magic shots or one hit stops. Battle was ugly, and I was only now beginning to understand that.

I waxed somewhat remorseful of this newfound knowledge as I sat in the sprinkling rain. The cops had passed me by – on their way to a call more urgent I guess. The rain was beginning to wash away the blood, slowly. I would need a better clean up. And what would I do with the bodies? What could I do?

There was nobody around as far as I could see. Nobody had come out of their houses. Nobody cared – if they were even there. I would find out later that nobody was there in all likelihood. They were at the downtown square, getting instructions and rations from what remained of a National Guard unit.

I looked at my rifle. It had saved me. I counted and recounted the remaining rounds in the magazine. I had fewer than twenty rounds left in that magazine. I was focusing on the minutia like that right now – anything to take my mind away from the truth of what had transpired.

I stood to my full height and brushed myself off. It didn’t really do any good. I looked around and quickly found the car that the two assailants had. I figured I would put their bodies in their own car and let that be that. I hated that they would be here in the parking lot of my apartment complex, but I did not really know what to do with them.

The task was very hard. I struggled and strained at the dead weight of the two men I’d slain. It took nearly half an hour for me to put them in the car. I continually looked around for witnesses. Nobody.

When finished, I walked back around to the apartment. Inside, I found Kara and Carla hiding with weapons in hand.

“Where the hell have you been?” Kara was furious. “There’s been gunfire out there. Didn’t you hear it? Oh my god – you are bleeding!” She realized the blood on me.

“It is not my blood. I was attacked. I fought. I shot. I killed.” Was my reply. I wasn’t in a talkative mood.

“Was that you shooting?” Carla asked.

I nodded.

“Are you all right?” Carla again.

I nodded negatively and held my head in my hands.


*****


It was several hours before I regained some of my composure. I ate nothing. I drank little. It was getting dark outside. Then that’s when the first of the problems started.

Gunfire erupted. Not from behind us as I would have expected, being as that was the direction of the parking lot of the apartment complex and it led to the road. No, the gunfire came from the front of my apartment. There were woods in front, then a small subdivision past the woods. This is where the shots came from.

The shots were erratic. There were several types of guns being used – pistols, shotguns and rifles, I presumed. We all took cover and grabbed our respective weapons. I had cleaned up and put on fresh clothing by this time.

A stray bullet struck the outside wall of the apartment, where the brick formed a corner. We all stayed low. Occasionally, I would venture a peek out the window to look at what was going on. The woods made it very difficult to see.

Finally the curiosity of Kara got the better of her. It must have been sheer agony to know I had been in a gun battle, and that there was another one going on outside. She was yearning to put her skills to the test, and it showed. I was more cautious – now more fully aware of the consequences of battle.

Kara grabbed me and told her mom to stay put. I promised not to let us get to close, but just take a look at what was happening. I really did not want to go out there with bullets flying around, but sometimes there is no stopping a determined female.

I pulled my boonie hat low. We ran quickly to the cover of the woods. When we entered, I began breaking off twigs here and there and putting them into belt loops, hat loops, and other spots to help mask myself with local foliage.

Kara kept a low profile and carefully made her way through the wooded area. I kept behind her about 15 yards and to her right about 5 more yards.

We came to the opposite edge of the woods. The area still had occasional gunfire. We were in a really bad spot to be able to see any of the action.

Kara pointed to a house in the same direction as the shots fired. She motioned that she intended to move quickly and wanted me to cover her. I obliged.

She moved like a panther. Fast, but accurate, she was behind the edge of the house in seconds. Then she motioned for me to come on over. I did so.

We peered around. The sight was one to behold. Several people – neighborhood homeowners, I assumed – were perched behind their respective cars, weapons in hand.

At the street crossing – a three way stop – were three vans, circled almost like old west wagons. I could see movement between them. It appeared to be several men. I could not see their dress or make much out at all.

“Doug, get over here!” Yelled one of the homeowners at me. I immediately realized he mistook me for somebody else.

Not wanting to get shot for looking suspicious, I ran over to him, keeping the brim of my hat down so he could not see my face. I had shed the excess twigs at the edge of the woods, so he had no reason to suspect me.

As I neared, I raised my head and the man quickly realized I was not who he thought I was.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I am Kyle. I live in the apartments on the other side of the trees. What’s going on here?” I said.

“These guys started robbing one of my neighbors. We all confronted them, but they shot back. We are at a standoff. But none of us want to let them get away with it. We called the police – almost an hour ago – but they said they have their hands full and we will just have to deal with it ourselves.

I looked around. Darkness had enveloped us all. The men were parked under a street light. That meant the could see what they were doing, but so could we… if we played our cards right.

Cover was minimal. There was some concealment here and there. I figured pretty quickly that the men and women out here were not likely to be well trained. And there were not many of them – maybe three families.

“OK, the safest way to do this is not to charge them and force them to surrender.” I suggested.

“There won’t be a surrender. Haven’t you heard? There is no more law and order. We are responsible for ourselves now. These thieves would kill us for what supplies we have – and that is not much. We need to eliminate them.” The man said.

I got a sick feeling in my stomach. I knew what had to be done. I knew how to do it. And that sick feeling was me knowing what I would have to do. And that they would all count on me to do it!

I wretched right there on the street.

“OK, now that I’ve got that out of my system, tell me – which house is yours?” I asked.

“Why?”

“Well, I want to get in to one of the houses up the hill, and preferably one with two stories. That way I can shoot them from above. It is a basic tactical advantage.” I said.

“My house would be no good. But you can use the empty house up the hill on the left. It has been for sale for months before all this shit happened.” The man said.

I looked up and sure enough, the house he pointed at was two stories, up on the hill – albeit a bit further than I had wanted to be. There was a “for sale” sign in the yard and the grass had not been mowed recently.

“Perfect. Kara, come with me.” I said.


*****


In my perch I sat. The window gave a good angle and the street light was more than enough to illuminate my quarry. I was facing the latest of several internal quarrels with shooting at these men.

I finally decided that next time, I would not get involved.

But here I was, perched and ready. I longed for a more powerful scope. But I had a holographic sight and a 3-power magnifier. That would have to do.

I estimated the range at 250 yards. Kara estimated it to be 225. My magnified dot and circle reticle was squarely on the head of one of the men.

Kara gave the “all clear” signal and I breathed – in, then halfway out and held.

Trigger squeeze.

Red blossom.

The men in the circled vans panicked and looked all about. None of them saw us. The fired back randomly at the other people in the neighborhood. Only a few token shots rang back. That was at my order. I did not want to get caught in their cross-fire.

I acquired my next target. Steady. Reticle on target. Breathe. Exhale half. Hold it.

Trigger squeeze.

Missed!

He moved on me at the last second and now both of them were running about, acting like a couple of fools. I aimed at center mass on one and fired more quickly this time.

The bullet struck the target and the man clutched his chest. I was not sure if there had been tumbling and fragmentation on the part of the bullet – we might have been too far away for that. Nevertheless, the man was down and bleeding.

The last man took an aggressive stance over the hood of one of the vans and began shooting again. I had a still target and my reticle found its mark.

Breath control.

Squeeze.

Red blossom.

Mission accomplished.

I wretched in the floor this time.

Good addition. Looks like he found some friends.

More good work keep it up.

I want to read the rest already...........

lostangel to Usagi, come in Usagi.....

Usagi here.

Update coming soon!

nice.

Chapter 5


I sat in the floor of the empty house, sick to my stomach. Kara had her arms around me. That was a good feeling in a sea of bad feelings. My mind was racing, but there were two clear thoughts that kept coming back to me.

First, I realized that it had been a day and a half since the world went to hell. In that time, I’d killed my first person. Then done it again four more times. Each time became easier. I was not comfortable with that. But in each case, there was no question in my mind that it had to be done.

Second, probably the most prevalent, was of my son. Austin was out there in the middle of this shit. He’s so young. Not prepared for any of this. My heart yearns for him. I want to be there, to protect him.

He is hundreds of miles away. Several devastated cities between us. I will go, but now is not the time. As much as it pains me, I cannot go now and still be able to protect the two women in my charge. I am torn. But I realize that I could not do anything.

No. That is wrong. I can protect him. I must. He is my boy.

“I’ve got to get home. I must use the phone.” I announced.

“The people are gathering down in the street. I’m sure they will want to talk to you. They look like they need you.” Kara said.

“No. I can’t take care of any more people. I’ve got to get to Austin. I can take care of him.” I said.

We left, Kara trying to keep me calm. I was doing my best, but that was not going to happen. I stormed down the street and right past the gathering crowd. There were the calls and pleads as I walked past. Several even followed me into the woods.

I trudged on. The only thing on my mind was my son. Kara stayed close behind me and did her best to ignore the people following us, asking me to teach them and lead them.

I started to worry. If they followed me long enough, they would find out where I lived. That would not end well. I started planning in my head how to lose them.

I would go around the apartment building, get in my car and drive away. No, that would not be good. Somebody might figure out what I was doing and just look for my apartment there anyways.

I would cut through the long way in the woods. That would bring me out at the end of the apartment complex, and I could hike over to the next apartment complex and lose them in there. That was a good idea.

I shifted direction so as to put the plan into motion, but when I turned to inform Kara, I realized we were alone. The people from the neighborhood had given up on me, or realized I would not help them any further.

BOOM!

What in the ever loving hell was that??? A damned cannon???

Instinctively I had ducked down. I scanned around. Kara had done the same.

BOOM!

I thought I was going to go deaf, the noise was excruciating. My ears were ringing. I dug in my pocket and put in my earplugs I’d used when shooting the men in the neighborhood. Kara was doing the same.

I looked and found the source of the sound. It was a tank. But this was no US tank. It had Chinese writing on it! The camo was different, too. The metal beast was on the other side of the apartment complex, moving this way.

Then I began to hear the concussions of similar shots all over town. My beloved hometown, in the heart of the USA was being attacked. I moved over to the corner of the tree-line. I did not want these bastards seeing me. Kara followed without having to be told.

Enemy troops flanked the tanks – many in vehicles of varying sorts. Many on foot. Carrying AK47’s and similar weaponry. They spread out and took the apartment buildings one at a time. The skirmishes were brief.

Before I knew it, Americans were being taken prisoner. And for every one taken alive, another would resist and fight and be shot! I could not believe my eyes.

I scoped out the distance. My apartment was some 700 yards away. The tanks were another 350-400 yards beyond that. There was no cover between me and my apartment.

SHIT!

We could never get to Carla in time. And if we even tried, we would be shot. This was not good. Oh, God in heaven, what am I going to do? This is my girlfriend’s mother. We must save her, but we can’t – it is sure death.

We watch. Another building taken. It takes them just moments to clear an individual building. The sheer numbers of the enemy troops is astounding. There must have been several thousand here. And from what I could hear coming from other parts, the same setup was being repeated in many parts of town. I did a quick estimate and figured nearly 30,000 troops to take this town. We don’t even have that many people here!

Carla stepped out to look around the building. She was trying to get a grip on where the troops were coming from and where she should run.

“I’ve gotta let her know where we are!” Kara exclaimed.

“Can’t do it. There’s not enough time for her to get here without being seen. Then we are all toast.” I said.

Tears streamed down Kara’s face. I felt her pain. Somewhere, Austin was facing this same fate more likely than not.

One question – who were these troops? Where did they come from? At this distance, my 3-power scope did not help enough. I needed more power.

Carla looked around. Kara stood up and waved. I pulled her back down.

“Stop it!” I said forcefully. “Our only hope is to let her be captured, then rescue her.”

“How can you say that?”

“We are only two – they have two thousand over there. We don’t stand a chance in a direct engagement. Our only hope is to turn to guerilla tactics.” I said the words, but I still did not believe they were coming out of my mouth.

We sat and wept as the tank moved to my apartment building. To her credit, Carla came to the door and peacefully surrendered when the enemy came. At first I wondered what had gotten into her. Then I realized. By coming peacefully, she had let the troops believe this was not an apartment of anybody who would fight back – they had no reason to search it and they moved on to the next.

Carla was a damned genius! We would still have access to the supplies and preparations I had made! The troops left it alone and went straight on to the next apartment.

Kara wept and so did I. It was not a happy time. I wept for Carla. I wept for my poor, poor Austin – he same had to be happening to him, as well.

Time passed. The pitch black of the night concealed us. We watched as the soldiers moved on to the other apartment complex. Then on to the subdivision we had just helped.

Transport vehicles were running in loops to take the prisoners away. More people were shot on the spot than were taken hostage. I realized just how lucky Carla was right now.

Cars that rolled by were assaulted. Many were shot to bits. Some were arrested and the passengers taken captive. And on we looked. I began to feel somewhat guilty that we were not taken. But that was part of the plan.

We had to wage guerilla warfare now. We would get together with others like us and break the prisoners free. We would attack the troops left behind to assume control of the town. I knew that despite their numbers, the enemy had limited soldiers – and only a fraction would stay behind. Most of the soldiers would be needed for the next town.

I shared these ideas with Kara as the hour grew later. We then slept, in turns, until the sunrise.


*****


I awoke to the warmth of the sun. It was still low in the sky – just over the horizon by maybe its own width. I nudged Kara awake. We listened intently for half an hour and scanned carefully in all directions, trying not to make any grand movements that might be seen.

We made our way back to the apartment carefully. We stopped often to scan in order to make sure we were not being watched by any visible foe. Before we knew it, we had made our way to the building.

The entire place was quiet as a tomb. There were no more people around. No cars on the road. It was very eerie.

The apartment was empty, but we cleared it tactically anyways. No sense taking chances.

My mind was still racing. Who were the soldiers? Where had they come from? Why had they attacked us? I knew that they had been able to attack us on our own soil because of the initial bombing that took out major cities and military installations. We were practically defenseless – from a standard military point of view.

But they forgot one thing. We are Americans. We are the original cowboys.

During World War II, Admiral Yamamoto from Japan was noted as saying the Japanese dare not attack America on her own soil because there would be “ a rifle behind every blade of grass.”

These motherfuckers were about to find out just how many rifles we had!

Good stuff!

sweet, I'm liking this a lot more than I did before...

Please.  Need more.  Great story looking forward to a new chapter.

HELL YES!!!   "WED DAWN" Chinese style.

Chapter 6

The blackness in the sky was giving way to the first colors that would announce the rising sun. I peered into the containment facility using binoculars. Birds were chirping, the air was crisp and there was a dampness from the dew forming on the ground.

In the compound were held the hundreds of prisoners taken from our town by the invaders. Our invaders came from China and the middle east. I had determined that much. Most that were armed carried AK 47’s and such.

Inside the fences were structures, housing many people. The living conditions were unfit for animals, much less people. Suffering was widespread and even though most slept now – it was an uneasy sleep for them. In a few hours, several soldiers would come and release them for the morning meal. When that happened, those still asleep would be jarred awake by the cruelty and yelling.

My fellow Americans were being treated horribly. The mud underfoot gave the look of just how dirty and grimy their environment really was. I couldn’t stand it. Their clothes were tattered and bloody. The conditions were simply horrid.

I used my 2-way radio and clicked to Kara. She double-clicked back. This was the predetermined signal we were ready to execute the plan. I settled into my hiding spot and turned up the magnification on my scope to its full 24-power setting.

The scope sat on rings that also gave some rise. The rings attached to a quick-detach rail which sat on the flat top of my AR. I wore a pouch on my left with my regular holographic optic and its flip-to-the-side magnifier. I am firmly of the opinion that the quick detach rails are a real wonder of modern science – simple, yet solve so many of life’s little problems!

I thumbed the selector to fire. I looked through the scope again and again I cased out the enemy. I had picked this spot and this angle because I would only need to shoot five of the enemy to break the hostages free – and only two in quick succession. I was camped out just over 300 yards from the fence, so making a run for it in either direction would be fairly quick.

I took aim on the first guard – he was of Chinese decent. I fired and his head popped before my eyes as I looked on. The suppressor on my rifle did its job. As I scanned to the next guard, he had no idea of what fate awaited him, nor of what had just happened to his buddy. Hope Buddha doesn’t punish the unaware, because he is going to find out in just a minute!

Another angry clap rang out.

The second guard fell in a bloody heap. I scoffed internally at all those who said the 5.56 mm round was underpowered. Tell it to these dead guys!

I took aim on another and fired. He slumped over. Now only one nest left and there were two guards – on either side of the encampment. This one would be hard. I focused and reminded myself to take my time. No sense rushing it. I had seven minutes left before I needed the shot to be made.

I watched as the Asian men spoke to one another and kept casual guard. It was obvious that none of these men really thought there would be any resistance or conflict. They had captured America’s sheeple and they knew it.

Little did they know that these were my fellow countrymen – my brothers. And like any good big brother, I was not going to let them go without a fight. And I was no sheeple.

The man on my right lit a cigarette and turned his back. Now was the time!

I took aim, waited a split second more and squeezed the trigger. The man on the left dropped as planned. The man on the right did not even turn around. He held his head down over the railing as though exhausted – or perhaps looking for someone below.

I took aim on the high backbone of the second man as I had no clear headshot. One shot and he went down. There was an initial scream, but he died so quickly that it was not long – maybe a second or two. It would take the other guards a while to figure out what had happened.

I removed the high powered scope and attached the more tactical sights. I left unnecessary gear in my spot and ran full tilt toward the compound, turning on my optics as I went. As I neared inside of 100 yards, I flipped the magnifier to the side. If I had to engage the enemy now, it would be best with two eyes open.

I ran straight to a predetermined patch of fence I had marked with three tufts of grass the night before. A swift kick sent the cut-away fencing to the ground and revealed the five foot tall and three foot wide hole I had labored to cut while not being detected the night before. I tied an orange ribbon to the edge as I went through so I could find it again easily on my way out.

One of the shot guards was dead nearby, I ran to him and picked up his AK. At the time I was thinking it would be good to arm one of the prisoners for the escape. I looked at my watch – ten minutes before a patrol would come to this side of the camp.

I immediately went to the building where Carla was housed. From the pack on my back, I pulled the large bolt-cutters I had brought. There were two more bolt cutters and very little else in the pack as I knew there would be little else needed.

I cut the pad-lock off of the exterior of the door and flung the door open. The prisoners inside – my fellow Americans – blinked at the brightness of the rising sun at my back. It took them a minute to realize I was no captor. Then they were abuzz!

“SSHHH!” I said. “Be quiet or they will hear us. I am going to free everybody. If you follow me, I have a large truck waiting and we can take you all away back to safety.”

“They will just shoot us if we run. I don’t know why you have tried to rescue us!” One of the men said.

“OK, look. I have staked out this place for days.” I said as I worked furiously to cut each set of handcuffs and the long chains running between the individual prisoners. “I know their patterns. If we hurry, we can get to the truck and they will never notice.

“But they will shoot us if we run. They have told us so!” the man exclaimed.

“Don’t come if you don’t want to. Fine with me. I’m here to free my soon to be mother in law. I won’t beg anyone else to come. But if you do, you can rest assured you will be free again.”

There were other murmurings and plenty of arguing, but I paid no attention. Carla was free and that was who I had come here to get. I turned and left the shack with Carla in tow. I handed her my ammo bag and rifle – thinking that the red-dot holographic sight would be easier for her to use than the iron-sighted AK. It would also be a bit lighter to carry.

I sped over to the second building and cut the lock. Inside, I looked around and found a strong looking man who I freed with a deft slice form the bolt-cutters.

“Cut the others free and those that want to escape can go out with us. Orange ribbon on the fence is where the hole is. Follow us to a waiting truck and we will get you out of here. If you like it here, or are too afraid to run, just stay – I won’t argue with you.” I said quickly. As soon as the man’s wrists were free, he set to work cutting the others loose.

I repeated that process and that phrase at the other two buildings. All in all about two thirds of the people headed for the hole in the fence. I did not like that so many chose capture to freedom, but I did not ridicule their choice either. I knew that in the end, people like that would slow us down, argue about tactics, or otherwise work against us. I needed people on my side.

Looking at my watch, I motioned to Carla, “We have two minutes to get free of the fence and five more minutes to cross the field to the truck.”

“What do we need to do?” Carla asked. Everyone in the crowd turned to look and listen.

“Carla, you lead the group over this rise to the tree. Just beyond that area, Kara is parked in a large furniture truck. Get in the truck and get out of here. I will provide cover fire and fight with them, escaping to get back to you after dark tonight.”

“Good luck.” Carla said and kissed my cheek before turning and leaving.

The people I’d set free followed her. I ran as fast as I could back to my hiding spot and took cover under the grass covered netting I’d used as camouflage. I wore ACU colors, but decided that blending perfectly with the local vegetation was best.

I watched through my binoculars as the people ran up the rise. Then I heard the yelling from the camp. It was coming from the nest I’d taken out last. The one man I’d shot in the back had fallen to the ground below and been found by a passing enemy soldier.

They were coming our way! I grabbed the scope from its secure location and made sure the locking lugs were open. When I tried to put it on my rifle, I got a surprise. It didn’t fit.

The AK! Damn it!

I had forgotten that I had given the AR to Carla. The AK I had taken from the other soldier was now in my hands. I was going to have to make 300 yard shots with iron sights from an AK – an inaccurate platform at best given the range I’d be shooting.

Frustration set in. I let it form and evolve in me. It turned to anger. Good – I can use anger in a fight!

I figured out a quick backup plan – the soldiers had seen the escapees and were now chasing them, firing off an occasional shot. The 500 plus yard distance between the former prisoners and the soldiers was enough to keep the soldiers from getting any hits – particularly on the run.

A good rule of thumb in combat is to not give away your position, unless it does a greater good. The soldiers were not going to catch the prisoners, and they realized it, but they could take steady shots and potentially take a few of them while other soldiers radioed in for help from troops in vehicles.

I had to put a stop to that. Another rule of thumb in combat is that if you are out of your preferred fighting range, close the distance. I decided to do this. I ran low, keeping unnoticed primarily because I was flanking the troops – their attention was over 90 degrees away on the escaped prisoners!

As I got closer, I fired a couple of shots – about 150 yards off. I knew that the weapon at this range would do good to keep a 3-inch group, so I aimed for center of mass. I preferred headshots, but I was unsure I could reliably hit from this range.

Most soldiers I shot went down. That was good. I moved frequently so they could not draw a bead on me. Problem was I could not do the same, unless I picked a target on the move. I learned a new fact of combat at this point.

I learned something else – guns go empty in fights. And I had no more magazines for the AK! Again I was angry. But, keeping my head, I realized I still had my pistol. I was less than fifty yards from the fence and the compound at this point. Trucks were going past on the road toward the area where Kara had been parked, waiting on her mom and the other escapees.

I figured I would throw the enemies off a bit. I darted straight for the fence! I would go inside the compound and fight from there. Most of the soldiers would not be there, now – they were too busy fighting me or chasing the others.

I ducked back into the fence using the hole I’d cut the night before. I ran straight behind some of the shacks they’d housed the prisoners in. As soon as I rounded the first corner, they stopped shooting at me. They realized they might hit their own men!

My pistol drawn, I cautiously moved form cover to cover in bursts of speed. I compound and the vehicles waiting just outside that area. And the four guards I’d have to elude or kill to get there.

A hand grabbed me by the shoulder…

I LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a damn good story by one hell of a writer.  Keep it up!

Thank you.

You made my day!

Grat story so far.



Ron

You really must continue this story.  If you give us your address, we will send you pizza and beer.  Anything to continue the good read.

ETA probably not beer.  The whole interstate commerce thing.  But Pizza for sure!

Great story so far. Keep up the good work.

Chapter 7

“I know what you are going to do, but you’re gonna need help. Let us help you, son.”

The man who spoke to me had a deep and somewhat gruff voice. He looked as haggard as any of  the other prisoners. There were about a dozen of the folks who had initially stayed behind with him now. I guess anybody can change their mind. Especially when freedom is on the line.

“OK, then. You guys create a distraction, I’ll take out the guards from their flank.” I said. It wasn’t much of a plan, but we did not have time for more elaborate concoctions, either.

“Deal.” The man said. I never asked his name. I did not want to get attached to him only to see him get killed.

Sure enough, the group started hooting, hollering, and generally making a loud commotion. I cut behind two other buildings to get to the side. The soldiers never noticed me, but they did take notice of the small crowd of rabble-rousers.

I waited until the soldiers got close. Only three of them came, the other one kept guard at the gate. My heartbeat ticked the seconds down – three beats for each second. Three loud roaring heartbeats. It took forever.

My .45 was raised. Being a Glock, it was ready, of course. I took aim on the nearest soldier. A gentle squeeze of four and one half pounds of pressure activated the three internal safety devices and freed the firing pin to speed into the chamber of the pistol, striking the primer.

CLICK.

Malfunction! Dear God, what if they heard me? My mind raced, and I knew what to do, but in a situation where seconds count, I kept hearing the instruction from pistol and rifle training – both the live instructors and the ones on the DVD’s I had purchased: “I’ve never seen a stopwatch in a fight, and I’ve never met someone who was in a gun fight who saw a stopwatch, either.” The voice was the familiar, slightly sarcastic, Marine who had made a living teaching folks how to safely and properly fight with guns.

I slapped the bottom of the magazine. I racked the slide, taking mental note of how much I hate the term “racked” when it is used to refer to working the action of a pistol. I squeezed again. I probably used five pounds of pressure this time, because the shot hit about two inches to the right of where I aimed.

BANG.

My ears registered what my eyes had seen an eternity ago – the firing of the near half-inch bullet into the skull of the soldier some twelve feet in front of me. The point of impact was right behind the ear. The effect was as expected.

The soldier lost that fight.

I advanced, because that is how I fight. And also because they were armed with rifles and thus kept their advantage at any range. Therefore, I might as well dictate the range so as not to allow them to fight how they would prefer.

I squeezed twice on the trigger – my sights on the head of the second soldier who was wheeling around in slow motion. Both shots hit his head. The result was spectacularly gruesome. A rifle would have been better, but the pistol shot was perfectly sufficient this time.

Everything was happening in slow motion. I watched the third soldier wheel toward me. I was trying to get my sights on him, too. My arm was moving too damn slow! He raised his weapon at me. I already had him. Squeeze.

CLICK.

Another bad round! Last time I ever use the cheap crap in my gun again! Shit!

I dropped into a forward roll. The soldier had his rifle raised at me before I dropped so I knew the only way to not get hit was to “change my level” by getting below the waist level of my opponent. Dodging at this range would have taken too long and besides, there was some cover – stacked wooden crates – in front of me.

Tap.

Rack.

God – I hate the use of the word “rack.”

I peeked up over the box, realizing as I did how dumb that move was. I saw the soldier, but his weapon was no longer trained on me, it was whirling back toward the group. The group was almost on him.

Check that, they got to him.

He was fighting and firing, but it was too little, too late. He hit two of the prisoners, both of whom died very quickly. The rest of them overpowered him and took the gun away. Last thing I saw was the gruff-voiced man with the AK, pointing it toward the fallen soldier’s head.

I was running to close distance on the last soldier – the one who had kept guard at the gate. I kept cover between me and him except for short bursts when I had no other path to take. I heard the AK behind me fire. I knew what the prisoner had done. I would have, too.

As I advanced, I heard more gunfire from my six. What the hell was that? I kept my eyes locked on my target. I saw the last soldier flinch, as though he’d been punched by an invisible man. He did this again and again. It was as though choreographed with the rifle fire from behind me.

Then I connected the dots.

The prisoners were shooting at him. With me in between them and their target! I was beyond mad. I turned and saw exactly what I had just deduced. Anger boiled. The soldier fell in a heap.

I decided in a rash instant what to do. I could not afford to keep these unsafe people with me. Besides, hadn’t they originally chosen to stay behind instead of freedom?

I lunged at the fallen soldier. This one was from the middle-east. He was not of Asian decent, that much was obvious. I wondered what that all meant. I grabbed his AK and the three extra magazines he had on his body.

Running to one of the trucks I heard shouts form behind me. It was the former prisoners. I ignored them and made a quick beeline toward the vehicle. Keys were in it, so I started it and sped away before the others could catch up.

The hell with them – they could do for themselves now for all I cared.

As I drove, reality sank in. In the last ten minutes, I had killed again. And again. And it bothered me. It bothered me because I actually enjoyed it. Those were enemies and they deserved it in my mind.

I looked down at the weapon with a mind full of disgust. Disgust at the fact that these people actually had the nerve to attack us on our own soil. Disgust at the fact that several factions had banded together to take what we Americans had rightfully established. Disgust even for the commie weapon in the seat. As soon as I got back to the apartment, I would have to throw it in storage and get my AR out again.

Even if Carla didn’t hold on to my weapon, I had another. And another. Two is one and one is none. Hell, by those rules I still had a half-dozen or so.

Despite all of the action to start the day, the ride home was not eventful. Naturally I took the scenic route so as to make sure I was not being followed, and to make sure there was not trouble in the direction I was going.

Then I remembered. I’d left my good scope on the battlefield. I would have to go back and get it. The sooner, the better. I decided I would that night. No time like now. Plus, there would be little security – the commies had nobody to guard but themselves.

I got home and Carla and Kara were already there. Hugs all around. We exchanged small greetings before talking business.

“The different people went their own ways. Most went off in one group, saying something about an underground resistance movement. Maybe two-thirds of the ones we saved were in that group. The rest just went all over. Back to their homes, I guess.” Kara explained.

“Anybody follow you here?” I asked.

“No. We ran around in circles for a little while – to make sure there were no enemies, or Americans following us. We did not know who we could trust.” Carla said.

“Good,” I replied. “You were right. We do not know who can be trusted. Other people, if they get desperate enough, might come after us to take our provisions. I made sure I was not followed, either – by the others that got out or the enemy.”

“More prisoners escaped?” Kara asked.

“Yep. They had a change of heart. Made my escape easy. But they were careless and dangerous, so I decided to let them fend for themselves after we cleared the gate.”

“I don’t blame you there.” Kara was right, too.

“Tell me more about this underground resistance,” I said, turning toward Carla. “What’s the scoop?”

“Word has it that it is led by a bunch of current and ex-military. Lot of survivalists and folks who… prepared like you did.” Carla said. She brought beers for us all from the kitchen.

“Seems to be a trend. Those who prepared were… well, prepared!” I said.

“That’s not all. Word is they want to fight back – not just survive.” She said.

“That thought had crossed my mind. Just not sure, though.”

“Think about it – by yourself, there’s no way. With others, working together,” she raised an eyebrow. “Might just work.”

We pondered that thought in silence for a moment.

“Mom, did they say where these people are – the resistance?” Kara asked.

“They talked about some meeting spots. But those might have been compromised. They also talked a lot about radio transmission. It seems the police scanners are the way they are communicating here because their HAM guy bit the dust resisting the initial invasion.”

I smiled. Without a word I rose and went back to the laundry room. I shuffled for a few moments through the sundry items. When I returned to the living room I earned a couple of interested looks from the ladies. I held a police scanner in my hands. A battery-operated one at that!

Then a thought hit me. Right when I took a sip of my cold beer Carla had retrieved from the fridge.

Electricity.

Why in the hell did we still have electricity? Why didn’t the invaders cut the power?

“Carla, did you overhear any of the guards talking, or anything like that?” I asked.

“Very little – why?”

“We still have lights. Why didn’t they cut the power?” I asked.

“Probably cause they wanted to use it.” Kara said. “Makes sense, if they wanted to take over, why destroy everything? Just take the people out, then use the stuff we leave behind.”

And that my friends, is what attracted me to this woman. Not just the fabulous child-bearing hips – which I was staring at right now. Not just the soft feminine looks. Not just the fact that she shared my love of our God-given Second Amendment rights. But for her mind. The way she thinks is just… perfect.

And at that moment, my friends, she brought me a sandwich.

We were going to win this war. And it was not because of me. It was because God gave me the perfect woman – like Leeloo in “The Fifth Element” or Ripley in the “Alien” movies. No – not like Ripley. I never found Ripley that attractive. Sure, she was OK, but not that hot. But I digress…

The wonderful simplicity of it all was that Kara had pointed out the motivations for the whole war. It had all started with jealousy of the American way – our lifestyle. That and fear. These things led to anger. Anger always leads to hate. Hate led to the planning, the invasion, and the very reason we were going to have to kick their collective asses back home!

I sipped my American-made beer. I took a bite from my sandwich. I glanced at my AR-15. I looked at my beautiful, blonde, all-American girlfriend.

I looked down at the American Flag patch on my ACU’s.

I knew what we had to do. But I could not do this alone. I flipped on the police scanner. I listened to the static.


*****


Hours passed.

Nothing.

I slept a bit.

Still nothing.

It got dark out.

Still nothing.

I decided to go get my scope back. Kara and Carla warned against it, but I knew what I had to do. They promised to stay behind and monitor the scanner.


*****


It was past midnight. I had been out here at the enemy compound for several hours. The night was cool. A welcome change from the oppressive heat we had been having here at the end of summer. I was motionless about two hundred yards from my spot. I had been here at this spot for almost an hour, trying to get the timing of the guards down. I was actually closer to the compound than the original spot – because this area had a bit more cover.

They changed things up a bit. They were certainly more unpredictable. But they still had their weaknesses. Tonight, like before, they still had a window of about three to five minutes between shift changes where I could move without being detected.

Shift change.

I bolted for the spot. I made it without being spotted and well within a single minute. I had time to make a mad dash back to where I had just been. And that was a good idea, because I had something naughty in mind.

Silently I detached the quick release on my AR – taking off the tactical optics. I put the scope on the AR just as quickly and quietly. I settled in and dialed up the scope.

I did not have night vision, but the scope was of a high quality, so the artificial illumination within the compound was more than enough to get a clear view of the shooting I had planned.

My rifle was wearing its silencer. At two hundred yards, there was no way they were going to hear the report. Using my bipod, I steadied for the first shot. Patience.

Then a loud bang from the distance. The man I had in my sights went down!

Then another loud bang. I swung my scope in the general direction of the gunfire and scanned.

Nothing.

Whoever they were, they were well concealed. Smart choice. Gunfire erupted from the compound. Good thing for me – it was in their direction, not mine! But who was “they” in this case? Were these the resistance fighter?

I decided that whoever they were, we shared a common enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, in this case. So I began selecting targets.

First one was in a raised gun nest. There were three men laying down suppressive fire from the height advantage. They seemed well shielded by large steel uprising walls. But only to the side that they were firing from.

From my side, they were unprotected and uncovered. I set my sights on the nearest one. Trigger squeeze. Mist of blood. Guy next to him went down too. Holy crap! My first double-kill!

The third man took a moment to realize what had happened, but he only took cover form the point of view from where the rest of the fight was happening. He didn’t know where I was or where the shot came from. That was simple logic – since the two men were in a row. This guy must have been a real idiot.

Last mistake he ever made. I squeezed the trigger again. The man fell, tilting his muzzle upwards as he slumped onto the butt of the gun.

I repeated the process a few more times. Only one man did not go down with one shot – but that was intentional more or less – I did not have a clean shot and I felt wounding the enemy was not a bad thing, either. I was right and he was out of the fight.

Then, all of a sudden, a man rode by on a motorcycle – some twenty yards from me when he went by. He was really moving, too. He rode by the fence and shouted something at the invaders. I could not make it out, but it was definitely a taunt.

The man rode off, never changing direction.

When he was gone, I noticed so too, was the gunfire from the unseen allies. The enemy fired a little more, but soon realized the assault was over.

I shut down, too. I laid low for a while as they scanned the area with large spotlights. They would not be able to see me – my cover was behind several large rocks and a tree. All the while I waited for the spotlight searches to end, my mind kept racing.

Who were those guys? Were they the underground – the resistance? Were they random Americans turned Guerrilla warriors? Were they military forces?

All the signs pointed toward the underground resistance. Soldiers would not have employed those tactics. However, they were organized and no random mingling of Americans would have been able to do what they did how they did it.

I thought about this the whole way home. I crept into the apartment silently. I could hear both women sleeping. My mind was racing and I had to have answers. I slipped into bed, enjoying the warmth of Kara next to me. She stirred.

“Remind me in the morning to tell you.” She said, but then she was back to sleep.

Must not have been that important.

Good Stuff, thanks.

Taggity

Is this what you meant to say?

"Last time I ever use the cheap crap...  gun again! Shit!"

Chapter 8

My dreams haunted me. My thoughts were on my son. He was far away – if he was still alive – and likely living in the squalor just like I had seen here in town with the prisoners. I couldn’t stand the thought of my little son having to endure that.

If I found out where he was, I’d break him free and kill the men that held him.

But that was a pipe dream and I knew it. I was more or less stuck here. Travel would be difficult at best. I realized this and resigned myself to that fact. That was a horrible feeling. I would never wish that on anybody.

When I woke, these thoughts were fresh on my mind. It took a moment to shake my mind free of them. Kara was up. I could hear her talking. Carla, too. I smelled the coffee they were brewing and the breakfast they were cooking. I checked my watch – 7:40.

I went to the bathroom and performed the three “S” functions. As usual, that took less than fifteen minutes. I dressed quickly and quietly and went to the kitchen area.

“Mornin’ ladies.” I said.

“Hey, sleepy-head. How late were you out there?” Kara replied.

“Too late. And I saw some things that would be of interest to you. But first, you mentioned there was something I would want to know.”

“Yeah. I listened to the scanner, just like you said to do. It was static all day.”

“I guess we will have to find the underground resistance some other way, then…” I started.

“No. That’s not exactly true. See, the scanner was static all day. Just after sundown, however, that changed. There was a… broadcast…” she said.

“Broadcast?”

“That’s what it sounded like. It sounded pre-recorded. It may not have been, but I’m pretty sure it was. It was on a loop – because the same message played four or five times before it went off.”

“What did the message say?” I asked.

“I wrote it down – ‘To any remaining Americans that can hear this message. This is being played on AM, FM, HAM, and police frequencies. If you can hear this message I have three main things to say.

‘First, there are other survivors like you – who have not been taken hostage. We are banding together to work on the effort to resist and drive out the invaders. You are not alone.

‘Second, we welcome all Americans to join us. At this time, we will not be allowing any middle-eastern or Asian looking folks unless you can show an ID. Under the current circumstances, you know why we will not make an exception to this rule.

‘Third, we will help any American, regardless of ability to contribute. However, all will contribute. Gone are the days of welfare, laziness and mooching off of others. Everyone who joins us will be expected to do only one thing – pull his own weight.

‘If this is something you want – to be free and to re-establish our country as the greatest on the face of the Earth – then do the following: Meet us at the bridge at 1:00 pm local time. If we see invaders with you, we will fire. If you look like our enemy, you will be scrutinized. If you have nothing to hide, say the Pledge of Allegiance to the watchman.’”

“Kara, is that all?” I asked.

“Yeah. That was it. It replayed a few times, that’s how I wrote it down.”

“What do you think?”

“I am going there today. I will bring my weapon and all the ammo I can carry. Mom said she will, too.”

“Good. Looks like we can keep each other company.” I said.

I mused on that thought. It must have been the same folks that fought there last night. What I saw was guerrilla warfare. Had we come down to this? Perhaps they resorted to that until they built up numbers. Perhaps they had other reasons.

I couldn’t wait to see what the motive was.


*****


“Now listen up. This is especially true for all new initiates.” The Lieutenant spoke with authority and conviction. “I only have one rule. Everybody fights. Nobody quits. If you don’t do your job, I’ll shoot you myself.”

Now I am a man who enjoys movies. In fact, I knew where this quote came from. But the fact that Lieutenant Harris said it without so much as flinching let me know he at least believed his own words. So I did, too. Kara and Carla sat nearby as the short lecture continued.

“Newcomers will go through our basic training lessons for no less than three days. Those who cannot get their skills up to par will stay until they do. Our standards are objective, so you will be judged fairly. The main thing is we do not want under-prepared people out in the field. That gets folks killed.

“The most basic thing you can learn is that following orders and directions is required at all times. In most cases, failing to do so will get you killed by the enemy. In cases where failing to follow an order doesn’t get you killed, it will get you kicked out. We want people here who want to be here. We have established a chain of command for a reason.”

I looked about the room. Carla, Kara, and I were three of the seven recruits they had gained today. We were a ragtag group – differently dressed, nobody in this group with real military training.

“You will learn several main areas that will be of benefit to you,” the Lieutenant continued. “Marksmanship, unarmed combat, how to maintain your rifle, team tactics, individual tactics, and basic first aid will be your lessons.”

I raised my hand.

“Yes, sir?” Harris asked.

“For those of us with a pistol. What training, if any, will there be?” I asked.

“Good question. Good choice. You will get no additional training. This is just three days. We are trying to get you ready for the basics. That’s all the time and expertise we have here right now.” He replied.


*****


I fired the rifle again. Again I was on target. This was very routine. The range-master had become accustomed to the fact that I was the best marksman in the group. He had spent a lot of time with Carla, who really needed it.

Kara was holding her own. You could see her getting more and more used to shooting the AR-15. Initially, she had been off target, but a quick adjustment to the aiming dot in the optic fixed that right up for her. I don’t know how it got misaligned.

Most of the other recruits were just so-so. Nobody really could hit with iron sights at 100 yards with consistency, but as the range-master stated, most of our conflicts would take place much closer than that. Those who could shoot really well were taken note of, for future reference.


*****


First aid was one of the more boring studies for me. Most of it seemed common sense. I was surprised how few of the other recruits could really get it, though. It was like the trainer was speaking another language to them.

Still, I steadied myself on the work at hand and learned and practiced as they told me to. Didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself.


*****


The instructor had me helping other students field strip the AR-15. Kara was helping, too. She had learned the weapon inside and out just a few weeks ago, and that was more than most.


*****


Team and individual tactics were inter-related. First we went through individual tactics. We covered topics such as malfunction clearing and how to tactically sweep a building. I realized then that the invaders had done a lot of things wrong.


*****


The hand to hand combat classes were my Achilles heel. I had done little work in this area before now, so I was for the first time in any of these classes, a brand new beginner. Jabs, crosses, kicks, takedowns, groundwork, and the like were all foreign to me.

Fortunately, I was not the only one. The basic skills required to get passed were fairly easy. I promised myself to learn as much as possible after hours and any other time available.


*****


“Order is the most important value to any military type unit. Therefore, you will learn the rank structure we are using – nationwide – to keep the order and let everybody be on the same playing field.”

I looked at Sergeant Will Taylor. He was one of the few with prior military experience. He had also served as a police officer. It really was not surprising that he survived and was at the forefront of the resistance movement in my town.

“In this new day in age, we have far fewer people in armed service. In fact, what we are doing is more like the minutemen or militia of old than regular military as we came to know it.

“We have less need for ranks than was needed by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. If any of you served in any of those outfits, please understand that there was never any disrespect intended for changing things up – just for better ease of command.

“The way it is now – in our group and others like us throughout the US – is we have four enlisted ranks, four officer ranks, and four flag ranks. Navy and Air Force operation will have different names, but none here had relevant experience, so that does not apply for the time with us. Understand they do it the same – just with different names.

“Private, Specialist, Corporal, and Sergeant are the enlisted ranks. After graduating these classes, you will all be awarded the rank of Private. Those who survive and earn promotion through the ranks can look forward to being an officer – the ranks are Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and Colonel.

“Flag ranks are Brig General, Major General, Lieutenant General and General. This more abbreviated rank structure will have several advantages over the way the military used to do things. Mainly, experience and contribution will translate directly to authority. No paper tigers. No 2nd Lieutenants taking orders from grizzled Sergeants. Rank will actually mean ability.

“Any questions?” the Sergeant concluded.

There were discussions, but nobody really cared about rank changes. The Sergeant was only the messenger anyways. We all had bigger fish to fry.


*****


Basic took me three days. Same for Kara. Carla took over a week. In any event, we all were assigned the same squad on accounts of our relationships with one another. Lt. Harris was fond of putting people together who already knew each other – it cut down on new drama.

I like a lot, moar coming soon?

Chapter 9

I was watching Gus get himself ready. I had no doubt he could fight and fight well. We shared a foxhole, along with Carla. Kara would be in my group, but she got promoted to Specialist same as I had. Now we each led a group. Groups were teams of three, led by a Specialist. Three groups forms a squad – and ours was led by Corporal Ramirez.

When Kara got promoted to Specialist, she was given her own group. She really deserved it, even though we were only a few days into operating with the underground resistance – or UR for short. Kara had been a key player in the raid of an invaders’ supply truck headed for the occupied part of town.

In our little town, we just barely had a proper platoon by the new standards – five squads that report to a Sergeant. We also had Lieutenant Harris in the chain of command. I still was not sure if he was in command of any other resistance fighters in other towns.

So here we were, about to do battle in a somewhat organized manner. Carla, Gus, and I had taken up cover in the same place I had fought from earlier – the place with the trees and rocks. As soon as we had arrived, I made a beeline for the area with reckless abandon.

I knew the layout of this area, and I knew this spot would offer additional protection – real cover and not just concealment. So we had set up. Carla and I with our AR’s and Gus with his classic weapon – a very nice M1 Garand. We were to wait on leadership to tell us when to begin the assault.

The plan was pretty simple – from the outset, we had the enemy flanked. We would from before the firing would begin. This would give us the advantage to fight as long as possible, before making our inevitable retreat. It was known we could not take the compound now. They were too many, and had the defender’s advantage. Our mission was to hit and run.

Thus we had a lot of ammo – and there was an additional group assigned to our squad whose whole purpose was to bring extra ammo during the fight. So there we were, waiting for dawn’s early light. Waiting for the order from Lt. Harris. Waiting to kill or be killed.

We each set up and took aim. Extra mags set out – but not too many of them – in easy reach ready for the firefight. Each of us with multiple ammo pouches stuffed full of additional magazines. Even Gus had over 100 en bloc clips for the Garand.

Our target was first the nest – the elevated watchtower platform. There were five of the enemy there. The platform was surrounded by a waist-high wall constructed out of 2x4’s. I knew the Garand would be getting a workout today. My 5.56 mm ammo, although quite lethal, would lose a significant amount of energy in penetrating that wall. This might affect the bullet’s flight path and lethality.

On the other hand, the .30-06 round fired from the M1 would retain more than enough energy to blast through the wood and carry on, perhaps through two soldiers and the wood beyond. The only downfalls of the M1 would be the lower number of cartridges Gus could fire between reloading and the recoil. Gus’ shoulder would be quite sore after this day.

I reflected on this absently as I discussed the plans with Carla. She also would be firing the 5.56 mm round, so we discussed taking headshots on soldiers as they peeked up to fire their rifles. Carla’s optic setup was identical to mine – a single red dot holographic sight with a 3-power  magnifier behind it. The magnifier could swing out to the side for more tactical movement.

As we finished the planning, the radio crackled to life:

“All squads, the operation is a go. Commence with the plan. You may fire at will. Repeat, fire at will.” Came the command.

“Fire at will, folks.” I relayed to Gus and Carla.

We began shooting, rather out of synch, at the nest. The soldiers in the fortress all began ducking and weaving as the gunfire erupted. Many were caught unawares and paid the ultimate price for that error. However, we only hit one of the guards in the nest before they all took cover.

“Carla, if we shoot through the wood, that may only injure. Wait for your shots and pick off the ones that pop up and try to shoot. I will do the same. Cover the ladder on your side. Anybody tries to go up or down it, take them out!” I ordered.

Gus was busy waiting for an enemy to pop up. His aim through the sixty-year old peep sights was true – I had seen him shoot before. Then our earlier conversation dawned on me, and I realized something:

“Gus, shoot through the wood. Keep up a steady rate of fire! Shoot where you would hide if you were in the nest. Take ‘em out with the big gun. Carla and I will take out the riflemen with our scopes!” I said over the increasing noise of gunfire all around us.

Gus started blasting away at what would normally be knee level behind the wooden wall. About three or four shots in, we saw his handiwork manifest itself just like we’d planned. An enemy soldier popped up in terror. Evidently, Gus was cutting them to shreds through the wooden planks.

Gus fired and fired. When empty, I could sometimes make out the metallic ping sound of the en bloc clip ejecting over the hail of gunfire all around us. It was hard to hear it, though, through the ear plugs and rifle fire.

The big .30-06 rounds would announce their presence, however, in a most spectacular fashion. The wood would splinter and nearly explode on impact from the high-speed and heavy bullets’ impacts.

An enemy in the nest popped up and leveled his rifle to our right, at another group. Carla was all over it, moving to put the dot on the enemy, she placed a perfect headshot at our range and the threat was no more.

Gus kept up the firing. I noticed something dripping down the ladder. My spotting scope helped me identify the substance – blood. Good chance there were not many soldiers left alive in that nest.

“Wait up, now. Let’s see if they poke their heads out when we stop firing at the nest. If nobody comes out in two minutes, we select another target and move on.” I said.

Gus and Carla nodded in understanding. I couldn’t help but wonder if the heard me, or just intuitively understood. We waited.

Nothing.

From the nest, that is. Almost everywhere else was swarming with rifle fire. I picked out the uppermost floor of an old hotel that was being used as one of the command centers of the compound. I could see movement through the windows.

“There, top floor. Movement inside. Let’s take them out.” I said to the others in my group.

As I put my 3-power magnifier in place, I thought absently about my son, off somewhere. Likely a prisoner in a place like this. My heart had a sudden pain of desperation for him. Then I had a moment of clarity.

All of this supposed military type training and actions would never lead to real victory. We were no military unit and never would be. Even if we could, the enemy had all of the advantages – numbers, tactical strongholds, training, and the fact that we were still all caught off guard.

My mind refocused on the scene at hand, but it slipped by like dust in the wind. Carla, Gus and I fired on the upper level for a long time. Well over an hour. All the while, the natural cover we had held out as planned.

Then, one by one, we saw the groups making their respective retreats. And then it was our turn. And we left. And we took our rifles and we took our unspent ammo and we made a hasty retreat with the others. And I was absent the whole time – my mind preoccupied.


*****


I lay in bed late that evening. Kara’s body pressed next to mine. I reflected on the truth of the psychological link between sex and violence. And though I would rather be no place else, my mind was elsewhere.

“I must go and get Austin.” I said all of a sudden and very matter-of-fact.

“What? Now?” Kara asked. She had been drifting off to sleep.

“Yes. I must get him. I will keep him safe. His mother can’t do that. I can.”

“How will you know where he is?”

“I don’t I can only suspect where he is. But that is all I need. He is too little to be away from adults. So all I have to do is find his mother, or her father, and I will find him.”

“And what if you don’t…” she trailed off, afraid to finish the question.

“I will find him – dead or alive. I cannot keep going on haunted by not knowing.”

“That’s fair.”

“Listen, I can’t ask you to go with me. But I cannot protect you here if I go, of course.” I said.

“I am going with you. If you ever doubted that, shame on you.” She said. “I know you will keep me safe, no matter what. I also know I want to be with you, no matter what.”

Kara surprised me, but I shouldn’t have been – this is the kind of girl she is. She’s just like that. I finally found one worth keeping. It was an added bonus that she was a strong fighter and good looking to boot.

We lay there and talked about logistics for some time. Later, as we both drifted off, my mind went from fitful images to fitful dreams. I did not sleep well, but that wouldn’t matter.



The next morning, I loaded the supplies into the truck silently. Kara spoke to her mom and Gus, who had been bunking with us at my apartment for a few days now. We suspected, and rightly so, that he had a thing for Carla. He was older than her by a good fifteen years or more, but that didn’t stop him.

Kara let them know what our plans were. Naturally, Gus wanted to come with us and so did Carla, but we convinced them they were safer here, and with the UR than on open roads in what would likely prove to be hostile territory.

I reflected on the actions and activities of the UR. In many ways, they had the right ideas. But in many other ways, they did not understand how to fight this enemy that had so quickly dominated the USA.

My thoughts stayed on this as I loaded the ammo, water, food provisions, and other supplies. I used my truck and had the cover on the bed locked tight. I turned the thought over in my mind several times to analyze what I would do if I needed to defeat this enemy and I was the one in charge. How would I do that?

Whatever the solution was, it was not battlefield oriented like we had seen. The UR leadership was so focused on executing proper strategy on the battlefield, they never stopped to think about any other strategy, or even what it was that they wanted to accomplish.

Before I knew it, my wandering mind had helped me effortlessly load the truck. It was not overloaded. I planned it that way, but we had everything we would need. I figured it would take us some extra time to get to where Austin lived – maybe three times the normal drive time – maybe more.

Kara joined me and we climbed into the truck – off to be the hero of the day to a small boy hundreds of miles away. I never realized what exactly I was undertaking. Little did I know that I was just starting this great adventure.

Fantastic
















More please

Excellent new chapter.  Lookig forward to reading more.

Excellent

PART II – A Hero is Born

Chapter 10

I avoided the main highways at all costs – they were littered with the occasional military caravan full of soldiers who were itching for target practice. The enemy was of many nationalities – Chinese, middle-eastern, Russian, North Korean, Iranian, even some Cubans – those loyal to Castro I figured. Evidently, all these bastards had ganged up on us behind our collective backs.

After nearly a full day of driving, we had made a little more than one fifth of the distance. A big part of the time had been taken up finding more gasoline. That had been a chore. But now I had some siphoning gear. Damn, that had been hard to come across, but we had managed.

We found a small, unoccupied town and a place with several deserted cars to park for the night. I figured one more “abandoned” vehicle would let us blend in with the surroundings. The bed of the truck was going to be where we slept tonight, although I figured to change that moving forward. Staying indoors would still be safer, but tonight there was just not much of a choice.

Sleep took over Kara and I both. It was a relaxing sleep, and that was good, because what would happen next would require every ounce of my energy.

“Rise and shine sleepyhead.” A rough voice said.

I did not recognize that voice. I glanced over and Kara was not there. I looked up, while reaching for my Glock. The face was surrounded by several others. I could not tell which one was the one who had spoken.

It was bright, but still early. I guessed about 6 am. The sun was shining straight at me, affecting my vision and ability to see the men that were waking me. Worse yet, my Glock was not in its holster.

I shifted my body to reach for my AR15. It was not in reach. I groped around, searching for the handle. Nowhere.

“It ain’t there, sweetheart.” The man with the rough voice said. It was the man second from my right. Not that big, but somewhat intimidating to look at.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. I was groggy, but I knew better than to give myself away.

“Your mouse gun.” He said. “We took that when we took your lady friend.”

I looked about, searching for Kara. I could not hear her. And the limited view I had from the bed of the truck meant I could not see her, either. “Where is she?”

“Don’t worry, she is safe and sound with the rest of our group. Now, you come on, too.”

I typically dislike being bullied around. This day was no exception. “Come on to where, exactly?” I asked.

“With us. We are gonna take you back to the boss. He will want to… meet… you.”

“And if I don’t want to go?” I asked.

I saw for a split second the imago of one of the men moving toward me with the butt of his rifle heading toward my face. Blackness overtook me.


*****


I came to, in a dark place. I batted my eyes several times to make sure I was seeing clearly. I was. It was just dark in here. There was a light down the end of what looked like a hall to my left – but it was very far away and cast little light to where I was.

I tried to move, but felt my wrists and ankles biting at me. They were tied very tight and the pain was becoming more noticeable. I struggled a few more moments, but the bands were secure. I felt for my pockets, trying to work my hands around to the front left pocket where I kept a knife. But I could not reach it. Had I been able to reach it, I would still have been out of luck, as the knife was not there.

I heard a female voice down the hall, struggling. I could not make out the words. But a stronger, male voice was making demands, telling her she would cooperate. Then the door to that room flew open and I realized it was Kara. And she was being led away.

I moved more vigorously to free myself this time. I did not call out to her, because I knew that what little advantage I might have would be the element of surprise. My efforts were wasted, as I had come to suspect they might be.

I reflected for a moment. I knew my only way out would be by using my mind – not necessarily by muscle.

My captors were American. All the men I had seen were either white or black, and they spoke with no foreign accent – just the local droll. So this means they were not likely the terrorists and foreign military. But why then would they take us prisoner?

I let my mind race for a few more moments, then I tried several alternate ways of escape – dropping to my knees, trying to climb, and other methods. I deduced I was tied to a shelving assembly. Whether it was anchored to the wall or not would not matter – my cords were tied between the shelves, making it impossible for me to go up or down to escape. The only way out was to cut the cords.

“It gets to you, doesn’t it?”

The voice startled me. It was not my voice. I don’t remember having spoken. I looked around, but I could not make anything out.

“Your eyes have not yet adjusted. You took a solid blow to the head, my friend.” The voice said. He was to my right. Probably taking advantage of the fact that what little light came from the hall was next to him and blinding me to his presence and exact whereabouts.

“Who are you?” I asked. Not for any reason other than to help me pinpoint his location.

“I am Burt. I have been assigned the task of keeping guard over you.” Burt said.

“Assigned? By who?” I wanted to figure this situation out.

“By Carl, of course.”

“Who is Carl?” I asked.

“He is the Mayor here. What he says, goes. That will be for you, too, my friend.” Burt advised.

“And what if I just want to go on about my business?”

“That will be for Carl to decide. Obviously, he did not want you to keep on going this morning  because you are here now.”

“I figured that much. Say, Burt, what time is it?”

A small light illuminated about three feet from the doorway. It was a watch light. Now I knew where he was, exactly. And my eyes were adjusting.

“A little after ten AM.” He said. “Why?”

“Just wanted to know how long I was out.” I said. With that, there was a beeping at Burt’s waist level. He answered what I figured to be a cell phone.

“Burt here. Yes. Got it.”

Burt closed the phone and headed over to me. “Looks like Carl will see you now.”

He pulled my hands close to the edge, and put handcuffs on me, but on the outside of the shelving. He then cut the cords. I never had a chance to make a move. I decided not to resist. Whoever these people were, if they had wanted me dead, I’d have been dead by now. I reasoned there might be a way to negotiate with them.

We traveled down the hallway and around, up some stairs, and past a few more turns. Eventually we came to a large opening into what I figured was a main room – full of people. At the far left side was a large, raised podium. It was arranged with tables and chairs. Behind the tables were several men. The rest of the room was arranged in such a fashion so as to be seated facing the podium.

I presumed this was the city council, or whatever similar functioning governmental body.

My suspicions were confirmed when Burt announced, “Here, Mr. Mayor, is the other we found this morning.”

“And, sir, what is your name?” A man in the center of the podium asked. He looked a bit taller than the others. I presumed he was Carl.

“Kyle.” I said. Intentionally not offering my last name as a distraction so I could see how they did things around here.

“Kyle. What is your last name?” Carl asked.

“It is of no significance. My first name will suffice.”

“If it is of no significance, then you won’t mind sharing it.” Carl said.

“But I do mind. I do not know why I am being asked questions. I do not know WHO is asking the questions. And most importantly, I cannot seem to understand why I am being detained!” I said.

“I am asking the questions. I am Carl, Mayor of this town. You are being detained at my request.”

“Then you can request I be released?”

“Yes, but I have no desire to do so. See, I do not know WHO we are detaining. You say your name is Kyle. But you refuse any other information. This leads me to believe you are possibly connected to our… invaders… out there.” Carl said.

“I am no terrorist. I have killed plenty, though.” I said.

“Killed? You say? So now you admit to the taking of life. Further reason for me not to release you.” Carl said.

I was really beginning to dislike this guy. “In fair combat, I have killed the enemy, yes. I am fully responsible for taking multiple lives. Never one who did not attack me first, or ally himself with those who had already attempted to take my life and the lives of my fellow countrymen.” I said, surprised he let me get that much out.

“That’s enough from you!” Carl yelled. His face had smirked up almost instantly. It was like he flipped out.

An older man to the right spoke up, “Carl, we need more people who know how to defend themselves, the Chinese might come back…”

Carl cut him off, “nothing out of you, either! Jed, we don’t have the police presence or the ability to deal with murderers like this.”

“Carl, he killed the enemy – OUR enemy. He deserves to be free like the rest of us. He’s the only one in this room who has fought for freedom.” Another man said.

“You in the Army, son?” Carl sneered at me.

“No. Never been in any of the branches of service. All the defending I’ve done has been in the past few weeks.” I answered.

“See, this clown does not deserve freedom. For all we know, he could have just killed other Americans.” Carl said.

“Then why was I on this side of the fight? If I was one of the invaders, I’d be in one of their bases. I certainly wouldn’t be traveling alone – I’d have others with me. And I wouldn’t be carrying American weapons.” I said.

“You have a point.” Said the first man – the older one. “Carl, you gotta give him a chance. He might even be able to show some of us how to shoot to protect ourselves. That way we would not have to hide…”

Carl cut him off, “Shut up. I’ll give this pecker-wood a chance. But he does not get to keep his weapons. We will keep them locked up for the good of the entire community.”

“Like gun control is what we need right now…” I started.

“Shut up. Be thankful I’m giving you this much of a chance. Pray I don’t change my mind. Now get out of here.” Carl shouted.

“What about Kara?” I demanded.

“Her judgment is the same as yours. But she’s got some brains – at least she knows when to keep her fool mouth shut. You should learn something from her.” Carl said. He turned and stood in a single motion and waved one arm as if to say ‘that’s all here.’

The other “council members” stood and walked away. Most, if not all of them wore an expression of contempt toward Carl. My estimation was that he was the town bully and none of them had the wherewithal to stand up to him.

I knew I had it in me to stand up to him. But I also knew I was disarmed and the timing was just wrong. But I knew what I would do if my time came.

But for now, my objective was clear – I could not get to Austin without being armed, and this town had my weapons locked up at Carl’s whim. I did not like any of that. I figured it might be easier to ‘reacquire’ my own weapons here than to scavenge some outside of town. So I would stay here until I either had the guns back, or until I realized I could not get them back.

“Kyle!” It was Kara. Tears streamed down her face. She did not look hurt, but she was not feeling safe, either.

“Kara. Are you OK?” I asked.

Kara related to me what had happened to her. She had been treated much better than I had been. That was good. She relayed how Carl had been suggestive toward her. I couldn’t blame him, Kara was very good looking. However, my temper boiled inside as she spoke. I wanted to get to Carl and wring his neck. And I wanted out of here.

Now.

Great new chapter.  After reading it, cannot wait for the new chapter.

Chapter 11

I rushed out of the main room with Kara in tow. I had to get away from that imbecile and his followers. I had sensed that most of the people in the room felt bullied by Carl and his tactics. What I did not understand was why they continued to allow him to rule over them. It made no sense. Perhaps they lacked the gumption to replace him? Maybe they feared the consequences.

I was about to get a crash course into their point of view.

I rounded the bend in the hall and took the nearest door, which was marked “EXIT.” I thought that was odd. Then I realized why. Outside the door was a tunnel. The type that cars go through to get under a mountain. I guessed from looking side to side that the tunnel was about a half mile in length.

Now I knew my way out. That was part one.

Part two was getting my gun and things back. Part three was leaving this place. I intended to execute those as soon as possible. I turned around, keeping Kara close, and went back inside. My target was wherever my guns would be kept.

Soon after re-entering, I found a small group of people. Carl was not in the mix, so I spoke confidently, though in a low tone so as not to attract too much attention.

“Hey, guys, where would I go to pick up my stuff?”

“What stuff do you mean?” One of them fired back.

“When I was brought here, I had a pack on, with supplies in it. Kara here did, too. We also had a couple of rifles and I had a pistol.” I said.

The looks on their faces changed. Several of them shot glances back and forth to one another.

“Guns are not permitted here.” The man said. I was surmising he was the quasi-leader of this little group.

“That’s fine. I don’t intend to be ‘here’ much longer.” I said back.

“That’s what Carl wants you to do – leave. He just didn’t come out and say it.” Another man said.

“And that’s fine with me. I need to be somewhere else. So if you would just be kind enough to point me in the right direction, I’ll go get my things and be leaving.” I snorted.

More glances. More looks. These men were uncomfortable, at best. Finally one of them nodded and jerked his head to his left. His eyes pointed up the hall.

I realized immediately that this was as much help as I was getting from this group. “Thank you, gentlemen, for your time. I leave in peace.” I said.

Kara and I turned up the hall. At the top, space opened up, and there were several doors around. I glanced this way and that, looking for a clue. Bars over a half widow into one of the rooms looked to me like a big glowing sign, saying ‘get your guns here!’ I made a bee-line for that door.

I looked inside. I could see a person rummaging around in the back room. I looked about inside the room and saw several weapons. My rifle was behind a set of bars that held it secure, along with Kara’s rifle. I could not quite make out what was below them, but it resembled our ammo packs. I could not see the pistols there.

“May I help you?” Thee man who’d been rummaging around had seen me while I had been scouting out the room.

“Yes, sir. I am here to claim my rifles, there,” I pointed at them. “Also, if it is not too much trouble, I would also like to claim my pistol, though I do not see it here. It is a full size Glock in the .45 caliber.”

“Well, that will be a problem. See, Carl has said that we do not allow guns here.” The little man said.

“Then there is no problem at all – you see, I do not wish to be here. As soon as you hand me my guns, I will be leaving.” I argued – politely.

“Well, I certainly cannot give them to you…” he started.

“And I won’t be leaving without them. So what are you going to do?” I said. I wanted to put the ball in his court. I figured I could out maneuver this man in a battle of wits.

“I won’t be doing anything. This gentleman, on the other hand…” he said, pointing to a man approaching me from behind and to the right.

It was Carl.

“Hello, there, Kyle. Causing trouble already?” He said with a condescending tone.

“Nope. Just getting MY belongings so I can leave.”

“You don’t like our little place?” He said.

“The place seems perfectly fine. It’s the company I cannot abide.” I snorted. I noticed two men coming up behind where Kara stood.

“See, these little smart-ass comments get you nowhere.” Carl said, his face getting redder by the moment.

“Then let me have my things. I’ll be on my way and you won’t have to worry anymore about me upsetting you with my words.” I said.

“That’s just the problem. This attitude of yours makes it impossible for me to trust you. I don’t arm men I don’t trust. So you see, your choices are really quite limited. Just go on and leave.”

“Can’t do that. This world is no place to be traveling unarmed.” I said. I started to realize I would get nowhere with him. I now wanted to measure him.

“Well, I’m sure we could negotiate something,” Carl started, turning toward Kara. He ran the back of his hand down her smooth face. Kara turned away. “I’m sure your little pet here has something to… bargain with.”

He looked her up and down. His eyes lingered at the juicy parts. I could feel my blood boiling.

“No way, Carl. Not gonna happen. We can, however, be civil about it. I have little to offer, but I can work. And if you want to trade…” I blurted out before he cut me off.

“You have nothing I would value. Now, little Kara here…” his hand went to her chest.

My fist went to Carl’s face. Solid. It rocked him back. I hit him twice more in the noggin before his two goons were on me.

The other two men fought their way to try to get a grip on me. I realized their tactic quickly – they wanted to get a hold of me so they could hold my arms and let Carl punch me at will. I was not about to let that happen.

Unfortunately, ‘let’ never got to the equation. The two of them overwhelmed my defenses and punches and they managed to move to my sides, one after the other. Finally, they got a hold of my arms.

Two punches to my stomach from Carl. He was so big, they would have hurt even if I wasn’t a sitting duck. With my arms pinned away from me, though, all the wind was knocked out of me. I gasped for air, but none came.

A blow to the head stung me. I could feel the blood coming out of my nose. I lowered my head, hoping he would only connect with the top of my crown. Instead, Carl kicked me in the groin. I was no good to anybody at this point.

I heaved and vomited right there from the shot to my crotch. My stomach cramped to badly that I doubled over in pain and nausea.

Carl could see this fight was over. He turned his attention to Kara. She fought wildly, but he called one of the goons over to help him hold her.

“Help me take her to the spare room.” Carl said.

I knew immediately this couldn’t be good. The shopkeeper took his place at my left arm where the one goon had let me go to help Carl grab Kara. The other goon bent me over backwards onto the shop service window counter. I watched in horror as Carl and the first goon went into a side room several yards away.

I looked up and said a short prayer. I knew I would need strength and a good idea. I needed the element of surprise. Here I was, splayed over a counter on my back, legs on the ground. Then an idea came.

Great Story!!!!!


Keep the updates coming

Thanks for the replies.

ETA: Chapter 12 is almost done. I need to review it in relation to chapter 13.

Good story, keep it coming



Ron

I have a feeling that Carl is gonna get fucked up before this is over.



More please