by Phil Maxey
“Did you see this Geneva when you were in Atlanta?” said Sam.
“I’m not sure… maybe. There were a lot of people that came in and out of the large room just outside where I was kept. He might have been one of them and I wouldn’t have known. Tinley seemed to be in charge of everyone there.” She closed her eyes and opened them. “We need to stop for a bit, there’s a group of E.L.F’s passing the highway ahead of us.”
Everyone but Abbey strained their eyes to see beyond the low beams of the Humvee but couldn’t see anything.
Cal’s voice came on the radio, repeating what Abbey just said. They pulled over. In the still of the night, strange calls and the sound of heavy hoofs drifted on the snow that was falling around them.
A clunk came from the roof of Abbey’s vehicle, followed by a light scraping.
“What the hell is that!” shouted Sam, who raised his gun upwards.
“It’s okay, it’s Mo, when he gets tired he rides on the roof, usually we don’t hear him.”
Sam sighed. “I’m not sure if that makes me feel any better.”
“Don’t worry he hasn’t got a problem with anyone here. He’s just a bit anxious about the creatures up ahead.”
Sam kept looking up. “Right…”
Hours passed and they came within radio range of the camp. Bass clicked on his radio. “This is Sergeant Bass from the Roswell squad, we are just checking in. Over.”
There was a short pause and then an anxious voice replied. “This is central operations, we have been under attack. Over.”
Disbelief rippled around the cabin.
“Under attack from what? Over.”
“Not, a what, a who. We think two jet fighters, and at least three helicopters attacked a few hours ago. Some of the manufacturing plants in the north quadrants have been destroyed, as well as some planes on the ground. Over.”
“Bass, tell him to get Zach,” said Abbey.
“Where is Major Felton? Over.”
“The major is out in the field inspecting the damage. Over.”
“Is the attack still ongoing? Over.”
“Appears to be over. We downed two of the helicopters. Over.”
“Casualties? Over.”
“Most of the civilians in the factories were killed. They took us by surprise. What is the status of your mission? Over.”
“Brad’s outpost has been destroyed. We don’t know if he was killed. He could have been captured. The Hell Fire gang looks like the cause. Over.”
*****
Zach sat on a desk in central operations, holding a badly printed piece of paper.
“Citizens of the so called Camp Bravo. What you have witnessed tonight, is just a brief taste of what lies in your future. You thought you were safe behind those walls, when in fact you were just delaying the inevitable. You may have wondered why your ‘outposts’ are being destroyed. This is because you do not control this continent, we do. The Army of Hell Fire.”
Zach handed the paper to Amanda Holland who was standing. “This crap was dropped from one of their helicopters, before they started firing off missiles.”
“I thought you was in charge of our defenses? Where were they?”
“By the time the soldiers on the walls realized they were hostile, it was too late. They had the right call signs, so nobody fired on them.”
“How did they have them?”
“The same way they got into the dam, the night the E.L.F’s attacked, the same way our food stores keep being set alight. They have people inside the walls. We have over twelve million people inside the camp, only a few belong to the gang, but that’s enough.”
“Death by a thousand cuts,” said Garland, sitting near the desk. “Can’t we just increase the numbers on guard?”
“I’ve already done that, but we only have a limited number of people to play a lot of roles.”
Holland looked pensive. “Maybe it’s time for martial law.”
“If we do that, we are playing right into the Hell fire army or whatever they call themselves, hands.”
“Then we put together a force and wipe them out. We still have Apaches, correct? Can they cover the distance to Atlanta?”
“They would have to refuel on route otherwise it would be a one way trip. But as you know, putting anything in the air is risky, even with the Cascaders. The attackers tonight probably started out with more helicopters than made it across our walls.”
“That’s what he wants us to do,” a voice came from the back of the large room that Zach immediately recognized.
“What the hell is he doing here?”
“I brought Elijah in some weeks back to advise on the Hell fire gang situation.”
“You can’t trust him! How do you know he’s not a spy?” shouted Zach.
“I can assure you, he’s not.”
“Yes, but…”
Elijah sat relaxed on a seat nearby. “And this?” he did a circular motion with his fingers. “This little party we are throwing now? This is what Geneva wants. Us arguing while he implements his next move. He wants us to divide our forces, that’s what each move he has made so far is designed to do.”
Zach stood up. “This is not a game Elijah, people died tonight, real actual people.”
“If you’ve been doing this as long as I have, it’s all a game. No offence.”
Jennifer Grove, Hollands political advisor, rushed in and whispered into Hollands ear.
She looked angrily at Zach and Elijah. “Both of you put your shit behind you, and work out what we are going to do,” she then left.
Zach and Elijah looked at each other.
“Well if he wants us to come at him hard, we can’t do that,” said Garland.
Zach sighed. “No. But we need to do something, if we wait, we might not be organized enough to withstand any next attack.”
“What advantage do we have, that we presume he hasn’t?” said Elijah already knowing the answer.
“Cascaders?” replied Garland.
“Yes. We have individuals that can control those creatures out there.”
“We send a small force of Cascaders, backed up by a squad. And the Cascaders bring the E.L.F’s to Atlanta,” said Zach.
Elijah smiled. “Then someone slips in and cuts the head of the snake.”
All three nodded in agreement.
“It’s been a long night, I’m heading home, I’ll be back in early to make this possible,” said Zach.
On the road back to his house near the lake, Zach radioed Fiona and Cal to meet him there. By the time he arrived, their car was parked on the frost covered muddy grass out front, and shadows moved behind the living room curtains.
Soon he was inside with them sipping on some coffee.
“I don’t know Zach, these people are not soldiers,” said Abbey standing. The burning candles provided just about enough heat. Cal and Fiona sat on the sofa with a blanket across them.
“We don’t need them to be soldiers, that’s what the squad is there for, to protect them. They just need to do what they do.”
“And use the E.L.F’s against the Hell Fire gang?”
“Yes.”
Abbey looked down. “I don’t know Zach. The E.L.F’s attacked humans because that was in their nature, but we would be using another species to kill other humans.”
Zach looked at Fiona and Cal.
“How many would we need?” said Fiona.
“Around twenty.”
Fiona looked at Cal. “What do you feel about this? Do you think there are twenty that are ready to fight outside the walls?”
Since the battle on the walls, he had had hardly any contact with the other Cascaders, so he cast his mind back to his time in the detention center. “Maybe. But Abbey’s right, they’re not soldiers. They’re wives, mothers, sons, just normal folk.”
Zach sat down in a chair. “Look. They hit a number of our prime manufacturing factories and grain stores earlier. The dam is still weeks away from being online and the
camps got maybe a few month’s worth of extra food supplies left. We can’t just sit here and let them keep chipping away at us, but we can’t go all out and attack them, because that’s exactly what they want us to do. We could take a few squads in there, and do what damage we can, but we know next to nothing about what’s in Atlanta. We have one advantage that we think they don’t have yet, and that’s…”
“Us,” interrupted Abbey.
Zach nodded. “That’s what tips the scales in our favor.”
“How do we get the E.L.F’s to Atlanta?” said Fiona.
“Unless commanded otherwise, the E.L.F’s seem attracted to… Cascaders,” it was the first time Zach had used the term, and it stuck in his throat a little. “We just pickup whatever we can on the way to Atlanta, then send them in to attack. While they are distracted, a second squad slips in and takes out their leader, the Geneva guy.”
A silence fell upon the room.
Abbey looked up. “Okay, I’ll talk to some of the others and see who’s in.”
Zach looked concerned. “No, Abbey it’s too dangerous, you’re still recovering.”
“Zach, if you want anyone to come on this mission, I need to be the one to approach the others.”
Zach shook his head even though he knew she was right.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Fiona sat with Cal in the front of the Humvee. “This is going to be the last one,” he looked at her. “I’m done after this. Whether we kill that fucker or not, I’m done. I’ve hardly seen Steph at all over the past few weeks,” her voice tightened. “If you want to carry on, I understand, but I can’t do this anymore.”
Cal put his hand on hers and smiled. “Then this is my last one too.”
The convoy of one light tank with a compliment of soldiers, two Humvees, one with a turret gun, and two army supply trucks sat just behind the east gate, in the bright morning sun.
Michael, Dr. Chapman and Abbey sat in the back of the first truck looking around at the twelve other Cascaders. She could feel how anxious most were. They signed on because she made a compelling case that their abilities were needed, like the time on the wall to push back the E.L.F’s, but this time she wasn’t sure they were doing the right thing and she couldn’t allow them to know her doubt.
An older teen sat with his knee bouncing up and down. “Wyatt, why don’t you come and help me with the supplies,” Abbey smiled at the others, and she and Wyatt jumped down, onto the slush covered road. “You can leave your backpack here.”
“Oh… right, sure.” Wyatt handed his pack to the others inside. “How can I help?”
They walked to the back of the other truck, which was filled with supplies, ammo and explosives. Abbey noticed Wyatt was looking even more anxious.
“Ha, no, don’t worry you don’t have to do anything with those. I just wanted a chance to talk to you before we left.”
Wyatt nodded nervously.
“Are you sure you want to go on this mission? Because it is a mission, it’s not a comfortable journey outside the walls and then back by nightfall. You’re going to have to use your abilities against people.”
“I… I know, and I want to play my part.”
“Good. Stick with the others, and just follow what the commanding officers tell you to do and you’ll be fine, okay?” she smiled, and he nervously did the same, and then walked back to join the others in the other truck. If it was any other situation she wouldn’t have taken an eighteen year old along on a mission like this, but she had reports from a lot of people from the battle on the wall, that he was particularly gifted with his abilities and controlling E.L.F’s and that’s what they needed. Even so, she had already asked Cal, Zach and the others to keep an eye on him.
Michael walked up to her, with Zach and Bass just behind.
“How’s everyone looking, are they all set to go? They know what they need to do?” Zach said to Abbey and Michael.
“Wyatt was looking a bit nervous so I had a quick talk with him, but he’s now ready. The others are good.”
Zach looked at Michael. “You’re clear on your role?”
“Totally. If any of them sense anything funky, they let me know and I let you know and then you tell me what you want them to do… I think.”
Zach smiled. “That’s exactly it.”
Fiona and Cal joined them.
“Let’s do a quick run through while everyone’s here,” said Zach getting out an old map of the southern states. “Today we do an eight hour journey to Jackson, and we camp down at the pharmacy we stayed in last time. That’s a good base of operations moving forward, and it should be too far still from Atlanta for any of their patrols to spot us. We will be leaving the light tank there, and it will act as a relay for our communications back to the camp if needed. We then move forward to Atlanta and establish a fall back location on the outskirts of city. Then we put the plan into effect. Everyone clear on that?” each person nodded. “Today is about, get to Jackson and even though I have a hard time believing I’m saying this, picking up any E.L.F’s we can along the way. With a truck full of people with abilities I’m hoping that goes without any problems but stay prepared regardless and there’s always a chance Geneva’s people might have metal birds in the sky, and either spot us and relay back that we’re on the way or attack us. Central operations has had drones in the sky for the last few hours and they say apart from normal E.L.F activity there’s no sign of the Hell Fire gang for a few hours drive to our east. Right, let’s get going.”
Fiona hugged Zach which he wasn’t expecting and then Bass, and Abbey did the same to Cal and Bass. Soon, Fiona, Cal and two other soldiers were in the first Humvee, with Zach, Abbey, Sam, Isaiah and corporal Greggs on the gun in the second Humvee. Bass, as with the last journey to Atlanta was the tank commander.
The sun glinted off the large steel gate as it slowly slid to the side, making the ground shake as it did and revealing a few rotting bodies of E.L.F’s. The road ahead was covered in frost and a light scattering of snow, but was clear.
As they pulled out, Wyatt looked around the eleven others. Each was well wrapped in winter clothing. Of the elderly siblings, Gerik was busily talking to Ashley the ex-florist, while his sister was quietly sitting lost in her own thoughts. Evan, who was a former construction foreman in his fifties was talking to Sara the librarian who looked younger than her late twenties suggested, but most of the others were keeping to themselves.
Mo landed on the back of Abbey’s Humvee, just behind the gun turret and made Gregg’s jump. “What the h…” Mo flapped his wings a few times, hissed and then settled down. Gregg’s swallowed in relief. “Never going to get used to this,” she said under her breath.
An hour before they set off, Abbey gave a few chocolate cookies to all the non-cascaders, and got each person to approach her monkey bird hybrid pet and give him a cookie. Abbey was standing next to them, and Mo took the gift enthusiastically. She wasn’t sure if it was enough to get Mo to trust her friends, but hopefully it meant he wouldn’t actively be aggressive towards them. Zach suggested that maybe Mo should be left behind, tied up with a few hundred yards of rope and as much scraps of food as they could find, but she wasn’t having any of it. She knew this would be a dangerous trip, but she couldn’t help but feel that it would be more dangerous without her new friend watching from high above.
Bass informed Zach that it was looking good ahead, and they were soon making good progress on the highway east.
Abbey looked at the small trees with frost covered leaves and thought of Brad, and what might have happened in Roswell. “I’m sure he’s alive, he will be too useful to Geneva to kill.”
Zach looked at Abbey. He didn’t have much hope Brad was still breathing. “We don’t know what’s in Geneva’s mind, other than he’s another madman like Tinley. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. He might be alive, but the chances are he’s not.”
Abbey didn’t want to hear what Zach was saying, and looked away. “I know.”<
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They were soon traveling through a part of the highway with lots of abandoned vehicles, and beyond were numerous homes and businesses of a small city. Wyatt, Abbey and Cal felt something at the same time.
“You’re sensing something?” said Fiona while driving, to Cal.
He clicked on his radio. “There’s a group of E.L.F’s about six miles to our south, and some to our north. The way they are moving I would say they are in the air above us. Over.”
In the other Humvee Abbey was already looking at the skies.
“Can you see them?” said Zach.
“No, but they’re up there, they must already know we’re here.”
Zach clicked on the radio. “Convoy we need to stop. Bass, keep yourself and your men inside. Over.”
They quickly pulled up, and Abbey jumped out and ran to the back of the truck. “Are you all ready?”
Most replied they were, and they all jumped down from the back.
“Okay let’s all join hands, maybe that will help.”
Standing in a small circle, their hands reached out to each other, as large shadows suddenly swept over them. Abbey could sense Mo’s anxiety, but couldn’t let herself be distracted.
“Okay I want you all to find the creatures that are flying above us in your minds. Reach out to them, and make them feel welcome.”
“Hippy dippy bullshit,” said Evan quietly, but closed his eyes nonetheless.
Michael peered tentatively out the back of the truck upwards at the large flying creatures circling above the convoy, they were easy to spot against the bright blue patches and white clouds. One of them suddenly broke formation and dived down towards the group holding hands that were just yards from him. He raised his gun, but the creature swooped and then hovered looking downwards, it then flew back up.
Most in the group could feel the updraft from the creature’s wings as it passed close by.
“I’m not sure if I like this…” said Wyatt.
“Just keep concentrating, and we’ll be fine,” said Abbey looking upwards. The E.L.F’s flying above them looked very similar to Mo. She then realized that Mo wasn’t on the back of the Humvee anymore but was flying high above with the others of his ilk. She smiled. “Okay we can stop.” They all let go. “Everyone look up.”