by Lee West
“Okay. I’ll follow you,” said Mike.
Joe searched the university grounds with the scope, trying to spot any hidden sentries. “Looks clear. Ready?”
After Mike responded, he took a few more breaths to regain control of his breathing—before sprinting toward the university. He slammed into the side of the stone building and waited for Mike. A few seconds later, Mike joined him. They pressed their bodies up against the cold façade and waited. Joe listened intently for any sounds that might indicate they had been spotted.
“I don’t hear anything. I think we’re good. You good?” he said to Mike.
“Good as I’ll ever be.”
They turned the corner and entered the building.
“Stay alert. We have no idea what’s on the other side of the tunnel door,” said Joe.
Joe flipped on the flashlight as they descended the pitch-dark stairwell into the basement. All of the signs to the tunnels had been previously removed in order to hide the entrances.
“Sure you know where to go?” asked Mike in a whisper.
“I’m sure. The door is just a few feet from the bottom of the stairs.”
It took them only seconds to arrive at the entrance to the tunnels. Joe grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door.
— 39 —
Mike followed Joe into the tunnels, thankful that his friend knew how to find an entrance. The tunnel seemed as deserted as usual. Most residents of the tunnels never ventured through this side of the subterranean world. Once inside, Joe turned to him.
“I’m going to use the night-vision scope now,” said Joe. “Put a hand on my shoulder and follow. I don’t expect to run into anyone yet, but if we do, I want to have some warning.”
“Good idea. Lead the way,” said Mike, glad Joe had thought of that.
They navigated the darkness until Joe stopped them before they emerged into the common area. They needed to determine who sat on the communal couches before going in.
“How are we going to find Frank?” asked Mike.
“I don’t know. Part of me really hopes he’s just sitting here on one of the couches. As stupid as that sounds.”
“We need a better plan.”
A young woman, likely a student, walked into the common area. Joe did not recognize her.
“Do you know her?” he asked Mike.
“No. I don’t think she was here when we were. I recall Ed saying people come to the campus all the time. Maybe she’s new?”
“Could be. Either way, we can’t trust her. I have an idea. Stay here,” said Joe before walking toward the woman.
“Hey—have you seen Frank?” he said to her as he approached.
“Frank? Umm, I have no idea. Could be upstairs. Beats me,” she said, barely looking at him.
As he turned to go back to Mike, he heard an unmistakable loud snort. Frank was the only person he knew who could snore like that. He quickly spun around and headed toward the noise. Frank lay on a thin mattress on the floor of the east tunnel entrance.
“Frank! Frank!” whispered Joe as he nudged his friend.
“What? What is it?” said Frank, startled.
“It’s me, Joe. I need you to come with me. Right now! Be quiet and get up! We need to move.”
The look of confusion on Frank’s face turned to understanding. He got up quickly and followed Joe back through the common area toward the south tunnel.
“Frank! Geez! You’re a sight for sore eyes,” said Mike, greeting his friend.
The men walked deeper into the south tunnel, away from anyone who might enter the common area.
Turning to Frank, Joe said, “We need to get you and the others out of here. Brett and Nancy are completely wrong. Our government didn’t attack, the Chinese did. They’re too hopped up on a mind-altering drug to know it,” said Joe.
“Shit! The Chinese! I knew something was off! Too many of them have been arriving for them to all be students,” said Frank.
“They’re using the university as their stronghold. Our troops are attacking tonight. If we don’t get out of here, we’ll all die,” said Mike.
“We can’t be seen. They’ll ask too many questions. Besides, we have these,” said Joe, taking out his flashlight.
He cupped the light to contain its illumination before shining it on Mike’s forearm—exposing a shiny ink pattern.
“Larry had the same one. What is it?” asked Frank.
“It marks us as friendlies. Larry would have known that,” said Mike.
“It appears Larry knew a lot of things he never told us,” said Frank. “I’ll get Brett, Nancy and Marvin to the entrance of this tunnel. Give me a few minutes. We’ll meet you there.”
“Meet us in the woods, just as the trees start to get thick. I don’t want to wait around in the open,” said Joe.
“Okay. I’ll be back.” Frank took off back to the common area.
“You think he’ll be able to do it?” asked Mike.
“I don’t know. Let’s get out of here. If the plan fails, we’ll be ready to bolt,” said Joe.
— 40 —
Joe watched the group walk slowly from the south tunnel toward the forest. Somehow Frank had convinced the three professors to leave the safety of the tunnels. He debated when to show himself, not wanting to spook them. They were already suspicious enough from Wondra. It might not take much to trigger a full-blown paranoia attack and send them running back for the tunnels. He’d wait until they reached the forest and then say that they had been lurking in the woods, looking for an opportunity to rejoin them on campus. They were already in earshot, so it wouldn’t be much longer.
“I think we should stay inside. You heard what they said. The troops are closing in on us! I don’t want to be anywhere near the outside. We should be hiding!” said Marvin.
Before Frank could respond, a string of red tracers shrieked through the campus, ricocheting off a nearby building and scattering. Green tracers answered from several high windows, showering the direction of the original gunfire.
“Move! We need to go faster!” Frank shouted at them.
“What’s happening?” shouted Brett.
“The government’s coming!” said Frank. “Ed needs us in the forest observation post to report enemy positions. We need to get there immediately.”
Nancy started to protest, but she was interrupted by what looked like a full-scale attack on the university. Red and green tracers zipped past them, followed by several large explosions that rippled through the campus. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of helicopter rotors joined the fray. Joe decided to use the chaos to their advantage. He burst out of the trees and waved toward his friends.
“This way! Come on! Hurry!” he yelled. “The army is going to flatten this place!”
“Joe? How did you get here?” asked Nancy as she ran toward him.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later! Come on!” said Joe.
They ran through the dark forest as quickly as Marvin’s slow pace would allow. Joe had no idea how they would get back to base, because his plan had only focused on getting his friends out of the university before the military destroyed it. They ran onto the main road, heading away from the large-scale military operation erupting behind them. Suddenly a heavy-duty truck raced in their direction.
“Get off the road! We need to hide from these government assassins!” yelled Brett.
Joe knew arguing with the drugged would not do any good, so he took a different approach. He pretended to trip and fall flat on his face, forcing the others to trip over him or veer around him as they caught up to him in the darkness.
The delay worked as he had hoped. The others bunched up onto him. Their delay allowed the truck to catch up to their location. Joe jumped up off the ground and displayed his arm patch to the oncoming vehicle.
“What the hell? You’re one of them now?” screamed Nancy.
Soldiers swarmed them. They shoved Mike and Joe aside and grabbed the others. The men quickly
zip-tied Brett, Nancy and Marvin, then threw them into the back of the truck. None of the soldiers touched Joe or Mike.
“You guys going back to base?” asked Joe.
“Sure are. Our unit is pulling back. The Reds have the road blocked. You guys are lucky we spotted you!” said one of the young soldiers.
— 41 —
Several months later, Joe and Meg remained at Mike and Sharon’s house, hesitant to leave the people they had come to view as family. After they’d managed to rescue Frank and the others from the university, a joint U.S. military task force hit the mountainside area hard. Any stronghold the Chinese had established at the university quickly evaporated under the United States’ superior fighting power and military skills.
With the Chinese headquarters destroyed and local commanders scattered, the U.S. task force pushed the remaining Chinese forces out of the area, establishing a new front line on the other side of the mountains and putting the Chinese on the defensive.
It took about a month of intense drug intervention and detox for Brett, Nancy and Marvin to finally test clean of Wondra. Joe and Meg decided to wait on base for them while Mike and Frank hitched a ride with a military unit back to Mike’s house. Once the lab tests cleared them of the drug and they passed a series of psychological tests, Joe and Meg brought them to Mike and Sharon’s house. The idea had been to meet Mike’s family and then leave for the city. However, no one seemed to want to separate. Despite the strange circumstances that had united them, they had grown into a family.
“Are you sleepyheads awake? If you want pancakes, you’d better hurry!” said Sharon.
“Be right there!” said Meg groggily.
Joe rolled over and kissed her tenderly. Leaving her to rescue the others had been one of the hardest things he ever had to do.
“Sharon’s pancakes are the best I think I’ve ever had. So I’m not waiting for you. I love you, but pancakes are pancakes,” said Joe as he slipped out of bed.
“I’ll be there in a minute. Save me some?”
“Can’t guarantee anything,” he said with a wink.
Even though they didn’t have a large house, Mike and Sharon managed to accommodate everyone. Now that Sharon and the kids had returned home, the house felt filled with love. Joe fully understood why Mike desperately wanted to find his family and restore his home life.
“Hey, little man! You eat all my pancakes?” said Joe to Mike’s son, Pete.
“No. Daddy did,” said the boy seriously.
“Nice. I thought we had an understanding, Pete? You were supposed to back me up!” said Mike with a laugh.
Nancy came into the room, holding their government-issued shortwave radio. “It’s almost time for the announcement!” she said excitedly.
The U.S. troops with the help of the civilian-led Home Army managed to hold the East Coast, thwarting the Red Tide, as many now called the Chinese invasion. Citizens had been given shortwave radios when they left the intake facilities. The communications department of the U.S. Army issued regular statements regarding the war effort at set times throughout the day. News of the outside world brought everyone together.
“Okay, here we go!” said Nancy.
She fiddled with the dial, setting it to the maximum volume so everyone could hear.
“This is a broadcast of the United States Army. The East Coast continues to be held by U.S. forces. Repeat. The East Coast continues to be held by U.S. forces. The U.S. and Canada have pushed the Chinese out of the Pacific Northwest, securing the following states: Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming!”
Everyone erupted into a spontaneous cheer. The U.S. and Canada had finally made significant headway against the Red Tide. They knew these areas had been hit hard during the invasion. The Chinese plan involved occupying the entire North American continent. The U.S., Canada and Mexico scrambled to face the threat as a unified force, which they named the North American Alliance. Colloquially everyone called the alliance MAC for Mexico-America-Canada. People said those countries would hit the Chinese like a “MAC truck,” and they did. Once the countries pulled together, the Chinese never stood a chance. Unlike the invaders, the MAC forces fought for their homes and families.
“You can lower it now. He’s just repeating the stuff we already know. They always play the entire loop,” said Brett.
A shriek outside startled everyone, and they all ran to the window. Marvin had little Pete on his back. The old man made braying sounds as he slowly galloped around the yard.
“For a lifelong bachelor who said he never wanted kids, Marvin seems in his element with Pete,” said Nancy.
Marvin and Pete had been inseparable since the day Marvin arrived at the Jensen home. The two played for hours at a time, forming a special bond.
“Breakfast was delicious as usual! Let me clean the kitchen for you,” said Meg.
Sharon and Meg went into the kitchen while the others sat sipping coffee in the living room.
“Thanks for everything, Mike. It’s been really nice staying with you guys,” said Joe.
“We’d like all of you to stay for good or at least until this thing ends,” said Mike.
“No, we really can’t. You’ve been so generous, but we need to give you your house back,” said Nancy.
“A couple more days and we’ll leave. Marvin invited us to stay with him in the city,” said Brett.
“Marvin doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere,” said Mike, nodding to the outside. “Sharon and I really want all of you to stay. Frank said he would help us build a couple of yurts in the backyard.”
“Yurts? You mean like igloos?” said Joe.
“Sort of. They’re round tent structures. They take no time to put up. We have a couple of them in a kit we bought a few years ago. We used them to house extra friends one year when we hosted a high school reunion on our property. They worked out great. You’re welcome to stay in those or here in the house until everything blows over. Really, we’d love it if you did.”
“Thanks. That means a lot to me. I’m sure Meg would agree that we’d love to. Besides, I’ve never built a yurt before. This could be fun!” said Joe.
Later that day, Meg and Joe walked to the food-distribution hub for the area. They pulled a couple of little red wagons in order to haul the food back. The government provided regular drops of food and water to everyone at prearranged locations. Mike’s property had a well, but not enough food for the ten of them. Basic items like flour, sugar, grains and beans had been provided.
“I can’t believe how lucky we are,” said Meg. She tried to get a little closer to him to hold his hand, but the wagons clanked together, forcing her away.
“I know. We have each other and friends that are more like family. It’s all we’ll ever need.”
“Yes, we do. And pretty soon we’ll have our own family.”
She lovingly touched her belly, indicating that a little surprise grew inside her.
***
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IF YOU ENJOYED THE RECKONING BOOKS, I KNOW YOU’LL LOVE MY BLUE LIVES APOCALYPSE SERIES
THE BLUE LIVES APOCALYPSE SERIES—POST-APOCALYPTIC/DYSTOPIAN/ACTION THRILLERS
Sam and Jane Archer walk out of a backcountry-hiking trip into a living nightmare.
The electrical grid has been down for two weeks, plunging the world as they once knew it into complete chaos. Citizens live in helpless terror of violent gangs—the police hunted down and killed on sight. Food and essential resources have dwindled to nothing, taken by the wild bands of marauders that have risen from the collapse to murder and plunder at will.
Little hope remains, as Jane, a local police officer, and her husband Sam, a military veteran, start the harrowing journey home to save their only daughter Lea—before she is consumed by the madness.
SURVIVE AND ESCAPE (BOOK 1)
RESIST AND EVADE (BOOK 2)
; PROTECT AND SERVE (BOOK 3)
About the Author
Lee West is the pen name for a well-known constitutional scholar and liberty advocate. Lee resides in the heart of “flyover” country, balancing a professional career with the joys of a hectic family life, two tireless dogs, and a community of friends. Lee particularly enjoys spending time outdoors with family, regardless of the weather! From snowshoeing to kayaking, cross-country skiing to hiking, mountain biking to recreational shooting, Lee brings (drags!) the entire crew along—even if the dogs are the only willing participants.
As a military veteran, Lee has spent countless hours advocating on behalf of veterans for increased benefits, better representation and more equitable treatment by employers and the government. Lee stands proud with the millions of veterans who have sacrificed in the past to preserve liberty at home and abroad—and all of those who carry that torch forward today.
Lee has also spent a significant amount of time working closely with the selfless professionals comprising our justice system—from law enforcement agencies to our courts. The Blue Lives Apocalypse series is dedicated to the “men and women in blue,” who show up without fail or question.
Lee encourages you to reach out with questions about the series at [email protected].