FORTRESS: A Post Apocalyptic-Dystopian EMP Attack Thriller (Reckoning Book 3)

by Lee West

  “What’s this place?” she asked flirtatiously.

  “It’s the base supply hub. We keep the troops supplied and coordinate all transportation.”

  “Wow. That sounds really important.”

  The man immediately puffed up with pride and said, “Supply is the most important billet in the fleet! Without us we’d never win a war. Nobody ever stops to consider that for every soldier or sailor on the front lines, it takes three of us to keep them fighting.”

  “Sounds dangerous too! Like the frontline medics who risk their lives saving our troops.”

  “Oh yeah, it’s plenty dangerous. In fact, we have a supply truck headed to a hot zone this evening. I’d be surprised if they made it back,” he said proudly.

  “Do you mean up to the mountains? I heard something about the university being one of the—what did you call it—hot zones?”

  “It sure is! We’re sending the last supplies to them tonight. We have to wait until after nine p.m. tonight to make the run in the dark. Otherwise the Reds might see our truck coming and hit it. Trust me, no one wants to fight on an empty stomach!”

  Meg processed the information. She tried to quickly calculate if she could get more out of the man or if pushing the envelope would make him suspicious. She decided to push for a little more.

  “After nine. Geez. That seems so hard for the drivers. Do all the trucks leave so late? Or is that just the ones going to the mountains? How do they drive in the dark?”

  The man hesitated. A twinge of suspicion crossed his young face then disappeared as she smiled at him encouragingly.

  “No. We’re pretty safe going east. Those trucks leave all the time. The mountains require us to be a little more cautious. Tonight’s truck is the last one we’ll send over there for a while. They’ll drive with night-vision goggles.”

  “That’s so smart of you to plan it that way,” she said, smiling. “How much training does it take to drive with those goggles? Seems like they’d have tunnel vision.”

  “You have no idea how hard it is. I got a chance to—”

  Before he could continue, another soldier from one of the desks called for him. Meg used the diversion to make a break for the door before the man could ask her about herself.

  “Thanks for your help! I’ve gotta go!” she said as she moved quickly.

  She could hear the man sputtering a response as she fled toward the door. Once outside, she smiled to herself at how easily she’d obtained the information they sought.

  — 37 —

  Joe and Mike sat in the tent waiting for Meg’s return. Joe hated using her to obtain the transportation information because he worried for her safety. They could not afford for her to get caught helping the enemy. None of their plans would come to fruition if that happened, and it would likely end with her arrest. Meg burst into the tent a few minutes later. Her face looked flush from running and she panted, catching her breath.

  “Were you able to get any information?” whispered Mike.

  After a few more seconds of catching her breath, she sat down and said, “Yes. They have one last truck leaving tonight at nine for the mountains. The guy over there said it’d be a while before they send another one.”

  “We don’t have much time,” said Joe, glancing at his watch.

  “We need to get over there and wait for an opportunity to jump on the truck,” said Mike.

  “I agree. But how will we know which truck is heading for the mountains?” asked Joe.

  “The guy I talked to said that the other supply trucks travel during the day. The one to the mountains has to leave late in order to travel at night. He said if they went to the mountains during the day, the Reds could discover the movement and destroy the truck. Are you guys sure you should be doing this? It seems way too dangerous. Maybe we should just ask Riley to help us warn the troops about the innocent civilians on campus? I’m starting to get a really bad feeling about this plan,” pleaded Meg.

  “I’ve thought of that too. But there’s just no way for the troops to grab the patriots without getting killed. They’re all mixed together,” said Mike.

  “I agree. If I were planning the attack, I would consider the civilians collateral damage,” said Joe.

  “I need to head back to my tent to grab a few things. I’ll meet you outside the chow hall at eight thirty,” said Mike.

  “See you then, man.”

  Joe knew Mike didn’t have anything to get from his tent. None of them had arrived at camp with possessions. Mike merely sought to give them privacy to say goodbye—and Joe took advantage of the kind gesture.

  “I know you’re worried. So am I. But I feel like I need to do this. If I sense any danger, I’ll get out of there immediately and play it safe. There’s nothing that can keep me from coming back to you. You have my word,” said Joe.

  He gently kissed her, savoring the moment. Even though they’d kissed countless times before, this one felt different because of the preciousness of its finality.

  “You’d better come back,” she said.

  They held each other silently for a few more moments until he broke away. He looked into her eyes one last time and left the tent. Joe jogged to the chow hall, where he expected to find Mike waiting. He hoped he’d made the right decision to leave Meg in order to save their friends.

  “Hey, Mike! You ready?” asked Joe as he ran up to him.

  “Sure am. Let’s do this.”

  They moved quickly to the supply shed. Once the building came into view, they stopped and studied the exterior layout for a moment while trying to look as casual as possible. Joe noticed that the trucks left from the back of the building. There must be a secondary gate, which enabled them to leave without driving through the base. He knew the loading bay would be their best chance of hopping on the truck.

  “Let’s go to the loading bay. Maybe we’ll be able to figure out which truck is leaving,” he said to Mike.

  Mike nodded in agreement. Then the two men walked briskly around the building to its back side. Several trucks had been parked with their back gates open to the loading bay. Joe had no idea how to tell which one would leave this evening.

  A man walked out of the building onto the loading platform. He looked right at Joe and Mike and yelled, “Finally! We’ve been waiting for the two of you!”

  Joe hesitated, unsure how to respond. Mike casually walked forward before Joe had a chance to think through their next move.

  “Yeah, sorry about that. You need us to load the truck that’s leaving tonight?” asked Mike.

  “Of course I do! Geez. Get these boxes into the truck at bay one! And move it! We don’t have a lot of time,” yelled the man.

  Mike and Joe quickly started loading boxes into the truck. Joe assembled the boxes toward the back of the truck in such a way that would enable them to hide without detection if someone looked into the back of the vehicle. Finally his mood started to lift. This just might work.

  As they got down to the last boxes, Joe heard a commotion coming from the inside of the building. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see the man who told them to load the boxes arguing with two uniformed soldiers. The man pointed in their direction and shouted something. Then one of the soldiers looked at a document on a clipboard.

  “Shit! I think they’re onto us. We need to go, NOW!” he whispered quickly to Mike.

  They moved as fast as they could without looking like they were running toward the truck. Each carried several boxes in their arms in an effort to maintain the charade. Joe glanced over his shoulder toward the interior of the shed. He could no longer see the men and had no idea if that helped or hurt them.

  “Come on, get to the back of the truck! We’ll have just enough room to hide,” he said to Mike.

  The men dove into the small hiding spot they had created, listening to the sounds around them for clues as to whether they would get away with the scam.

  Mike shifted in place, squirming to get into a comfortable position. “This is
going to be a long ride.”

  “I know. Sorry, I should have given us a little more room,” said Joe.

  “Shhh!” whispered Mike tensely.

  Joe strained to listen to the sounds coming from outside the truck. As they’d gotten into the truck, they’d closed the canvas flaps, plunging them into near darkness. Their ears took over for their nearly useless eyes.

  “I just need to get this package out to the forward observation post!” said a soldier.

  “That truck leaves tomorrow! I told you that! You’ll have to come back then!” another man said.

  “It can’t wait until tomorrow. I thought you had a truck leaving tonight?”

  Joe recognized the man’s voice now that he heard it again. Riley stood outside in the loading bay, arguing with the supply officer.

  “We do, but it’s going to the mountains, not FOB West,” said the manager.

  “I didn’t say anything about FOB West. I need these to get to the mountains to the FOB up in that arena,” said Riley.

  “Well, you should’ve been more specific! Truck’s over there in bay one. Add whatever you want. It leaves in five.”

  Joe looked at Mike through the darkness of the truck’s interior. If Riley saw them, they would never be able to leave the base. He would make sure of it. One of the flaps opened, causing light to stream into the truck.

  Riley stepped onto the back of the truck, making the truck’s suspension move down under the added load.

  “Joe? Joe? You here?” whispered Riley.

  Joe and Mike looked at one another, unsure what to do.

  “Joe? Mike? Come on out. I’m not here to bust you.”

  Joe stood slowly, looking at Riley. “How did you know?” said Joe quietly.

  “You’re one of the most decent guys I ever met. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never made it through basic. I saw the look on your face when I said your friends were as good as dead. I knew you’d try something to save them, even if it’s a harebrained, crazy idea.”

  “It is a crazy idea, but we have to try,” said Joe.

  “We?”

  “Mike’s here too. He’s just too wedged in between boxes to stand or talk,” said Joe.

  “Hey, Riley,” whispered Mike.

  “I have to get out of here. I just wanted to bring you a couple of things that’ll help.”

  Riley tossed a bag to Joe. Before Joe could look into the bag or even say thank you, Riley jumped out of the truck and closed the canvas flap. A few moments later the truck roared to life and took off from the base.

  — 38 —

  The bag Riley gave him contained two flashlights, a detailed map that included the university, several water bottles, and a night-vision scope. Riley had thought of everything they needed to effectively get their friends out of the university. Joe knew he could never repay Riley’s kindness.

  “I have to say, for the first time since we hatched this insane plan, I actually believe we’ll make it back in one piece,” said Mike.

  “You didn’t think we would before?”

  “Not really,” said Mike.

  “Me neither, I just pretended for Meg’s sake.”

  “I wonder if the radio will allow us to hear communications between the U.S. forces? That could really keep us out of the fray.”

  “I’d imagine that’s why he gave it to us,” said Joe as he flipped on the radio.

  The noise of the truck obscured the sound of the radio, necessitating Joe to increase the volume to the loudest level. Chatter between various lookout posts and base ensued.

  “Why would they be talking so much? Won’t the Chinese be able to hear them?” asked Mike.

  “Not necessarily. They can scramble the messages to hide what they’re saying. Some of what we hear might be misinformation designed to trick the enemy into thinking they’re doing something different than what is actually happening.”

  “Clever. I always wondered how our troops could communicate in the open.”

  The men sat quietly as the truck drove them back to the mountain where Joe’s brother died. Preoccupation with saving their friends had taken most of Joe’s energy for the past several days. Now that he had a quiet moment, the grief over Jeff’s death hit hard.

  “We should be getting close soon. What do you think?” asked Mike.

  Joe shook off the heavy negative feelings and peered out the back of the truck. The mountains loomed in front of them.

  “You’re right. We’re getting close. Soon we’ll be shifting onto the mountain road. According to the map, we’ll travel right past the university to get to base. That’s assuming the FOB Mountainside is located at Brett and Nancy’s house. In either case, I think we should jump off the truck well before we get near the university.”

  “I agree. We’d be better off entering campus from the south side. From there we could probably get into the tunnels without detection,” said Mike.

  Ed had concentrated their watch standers to the north and east side. This enabled them to see anyone who entered the campus through its main gates. The south side of the campus abutted the forest, where no people entered the campus.

  “Alright. Get ready to jump. We’ll need to make sure once the truck turns onto the main mountainside road that we’re ready to go.”

  Joe secured the pack Riley gave him onto his back as best as possible. Whoever drove the truck barely slowed down when making the sharp turn into the mountains. Nerves over the mission must have influenced the driver’s abilities. If the truck took the route Joe and Mike predicted as the only avenue to getting to Brett and Nancy’s house, then the mission would be extremely dangerous. The truck would have to pass the university’s Chinese stronghold.

  Mike stood next to Joe at the back of the truck. They each held a side of the flap open as they traveled closer to their jumping-off point.

  “Let’s get as close to the campus as possible. I don’t want to have to pick our way through the dark forest for too long,” said Joe.

  Mike nodded in agreement. The man’s face looked knotted in a tight grimace of stress, making Joe even more worried.

  “We’re almost there, just a few more minutes. When I give the signal—jump!” said Joe excitedly.

  The truck rumbled past the turnoff to the Better Way survivalist camp. Joe searched the tree line for any indication of what had happened to the camp. A large plume of thick acrid-smelling smoke rose from the area where the camp would have been.

  “Sorry, man,” said Mike, reading his mind.

  Joe needed to stay focused. He could grieve later when he returned safely to Meg.

  “Okay. This is it! Three, two, one—JUMP!” yelled Joe.

  The men jumped off the back of the truck at nearly the same moment. Joe hit the ground hard. He attempted to roll in order to break his fall, but the force of the impact prevented him from tucking into a protective roll. His shoulder bore the brunt of the impact. A searing jolt of pain ran through his arm, causing him to scream out loud.

  “You okay?” asked Mike from a few dozen feet away.

  “I’ve been better, but I’ll live. You?”

  “I’m good. Let’s get out of the road. For all we know, they’re watching us,” said Mike.

  The men quickly moved off the road into the forest. The mountainside provided all the navigational information Joe needed at the moment. If they kept the slope of the mountain to their left side, they would eventually make it to the campus.

  “You want to flip on the flashlight for a second? I can barely see anything,” said Mike.

  Joe grabbed the flashlight from the pack. Just when he opened the bag, a series of loud popping and hissing sounds echoed throughout the forest. The supply truck veered left and right wildly, like it had hit a spike strip, as the driver sought to regain control of the speeding vehicle. The driver finally overcorrected, causing the truck to careen toward the side of the road, where it hit a rocky outcropping at full speed. The truck instantly flipped onto its side and slid down
the road. Sparks flew out from under the truck, igniting its canvas cover and engulfing the truck in a fireball.

  “Holy shit!” said Mike.

  After skidding longer than Joe thought possible, the fiery truck came to a stop on the side of the road.

  “We need to help the driver!” said Joe, getting up.

  Before Mike could say anything, several soldiers ran out of the trees toward the truck. One of the men moved quickly to the wrecked driver’s side door. He lifted his gun and without hesitation shot three times into the truck, killing the driver. Joe grabbed the night-vision scope and surveyed the scene, confirming what he already guessed. Chinese soldiers in full combat gear quickly inspected the burning cargo before disappearing into the trees.

  “We need to go,” whispered Joe. “Chinese soldiers.”

  Joe led them quietly and cautiously into the dense forest, headed in the general direction of the university. Getting in and out of campus without detection would be paramount to not ending up like the truck driver. A short walk later, the dark shapes of several university buildings came into focus through the trees, prompting Joe to slow down.

  “Hold up! Let’s regroup before we go charging onto the campus. For all we know, they’ve posted more guards,” said Joe.

  Mike slowed and then stopped. “Fine by me. I haven’t run so hard in years! I could use a few minutes,” said Mike as he panted, taking deep gulps of air.

  After catching his breath, Joe used the night-vision scope again to scan the university. “Let’s pick our way toward that building right there,” he said, pointing toward one of the closer structures. “If I recall correctly, that should be the chemistry building. There’s a tunnel entrance over there.”

  “You sure? I never walked over there,” said Mike.

  “I’m positive. Meg and I went exploring one day in search of some alone time. We walked all over the tunnels and the forest,” said Joe a little sheepishly.

  He hated nearly admitting to Mike that they’d sought a place to fool around, and felt grateful that Mike did not ask a follow-up question.