Dark Days (Book 1): The Collapse

by Davis, James

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Ashley asked.

  "That's my Grandma Betty Sue. The person you two are looking for." Tanya replied.

  "Oh thank god! They took the picture of you Dub gave us. We weren't sure we would be able to find you in amongst all of these people." Karen said.

  "Is there somewhere around here we can all talk in private? We have a few things we need to talk about." Ashley said.

  “Yeah, follow me." Tanya motioned to the others. She led them outside to a small storage shed then stopped and looked around to make sure no one was watching.

  “We’re going to see one of the soldiers, but he's on our side so don’t worry.” Tanya said as she knocked a shave and a haircut. Moments later the door opened revealing a man dressed in military fatigues. He quickly looked over the four women then waved his hand motioning for them to come inside.

  "Tanya, what the fuck? You can't just bring all your friends out here." The soldier said.

  "Wait a minute, I know who you are. You're Steve aren't you?" Karen said. Tanya turned to her with a confused look on her face.

  "Yeah, we watched you and that other guy on the road earlier. That other guy killed that old man and you got pissed!" Ashley added. Now it was Steve's turn to look confused.

  "You weren't any of the people that we had in the truck, so where did you come from?" Steve replied.

  "We were hiding on the side of the road where you stopped. We saw everything." Karen said.

  "Wait, what are they talking about Steve?" He took a few minutes to fill her in, then asked:

  "So what brings you all here?"

  "We came to get Betty out of here, but seeing as its Betty and Tanya, we'll be getting both of them out." Ashley said. Tanya leaned into Steve and whispered something unintelligible. Steve nodded then said.

  "Alright look, Tanya and I have been working on plans to get out of here. The plan only involved three people, but it shouldn't be a problem with two more. The only issue I see right now is I can't just walk into the armory and take out a bunch of guns and gear." Ashley and Karen cut him off.

  "We can help with a few guns. Our husbands snuck out here before we came and tossed a bag of guns and ammo behind the dumpsters on the west side of the camp."

  "Have you went and got them yet?" Steve asked.

  "No, not yet, we just got here earlier today. We were going to wait till we found Betty to grab them." Karen said. Betty finally spoke up.

  "Can't Dub just come and take out the fences so everyone can get out?"

  "No way, that's too risky. The higher-ups are already talking about locking this place down ever since the message came in from the president.” Steve said.

  “What message?” Tanya asked.

  “A couple of days ago, the president sent out a message to all the FEMA camps stating that he wanted us to start forcing people into the camps. That's why I decided to help Tanya and Betty get out of here.” Steve said, leaning down to kiss Tanya on her forehead.

  “I guess that makes sense, seeing as that bastard is responsible for this entire mess.” Ashley spat.

  “Wait, what do you mean?” Steve and Tanya said at the same time.

  “Really? You don’t know?” Karen said with an arched eyebrow.

  “No, we don't have a clue what you’re talking about.” Ashley and Karen spent the next few minutes explaining the little that they knew and promised that the guys could offer more information when they got out of this place. When they finished Steve stood there staring at the wall for a long minute before speaking.

  “They never told us anything like that. They just kept telling us it was North Korea.” Steve said, running his hands down his face in frustration.

  “This changes nothing. We are still getting the hell out of here, no later than tomorrow.” Tanya replied.

  “Yeah, definitely tomorrow before they start locking everyone up.” Karen said. Over the next couple of hours they all sat there going over the details of how they would make their escape. Once finished, they all walked back outside where they could hear a guard shouting for everyone to come eat. After dinner Ashley and Karen made their way to their bunks for some much needed shut-eye.

  Chapter 15

  "You, get up! Let's go!" A man's voice commanded as the ladies woke to the sound of metal tapping the bunk bed.

  "Go where, where are you taking us?" Karen asked as she moved to stand from the bottom bunk.

  "Not you." The soldier replied snidely.

  "You." he said, pointing toward Ashley.

  "I don't give a shit who you meant, I asked a question. Where are you taking her in the middle of the night?" She looked around, noticing the other dozen women the soldiers were waking and herding into a line.

  "Where are you taking all of these women?" She demanded again.

  "Don't you worry about it, we'll take good care of em. Now go back to sleep." he said, flashing a devilish grin.

  "Fuck you!" Karen spat.

  "It's fine," Ashley said, sliding off the top bunk and joining the other women in the line. Karen watched as the soldiers ushered the group of women out of the tent, Betty Sue and Tanya were right up front. She didn't know where they were going but it couldn't be good.

  She waited for the guards and all of the women to be out of the tent before slipping out of her bed and quietly walking to the back of the tent. Dropping down to her stomach, she slid out under the bottom. Karen raised her head, making as little movement as possible, looking left and right. Seeing no one, she jumped to her feet and ran as fast as she could until she made it to the fence.

  Looking around, she spotted the dumpster about twenty yards down the fence. She ran toward it, staying as close to the fence as possible. Dropping down to her stomach once again, she reached behind the dumpster, feeling around until her hand grasped the bag. She pulled it out, unzipped it, and retrieved a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver.

  She flipped out the cylinder, revealing five bullets. Flipping the cylinder back into place, she quickly pointed the pistol toward the sky and fired three shots in a row. She slid the bag back in place behind the dumpster and stood up, taking a quick look around and running toward the tent. She could hear voices and footsteps.

  "Drop your weapon!" A voice shouted from behind. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face a group of soldiers, rifles ready and aimed at her. Raising her pistol, she pointed it toward the two men and fired the remaining two shots, striking one of the soldiers in the shoulder. She dropped the weapon and turned to run. A forearm connected with her throat, knocking her to the ground. She struggled to breathe as she looked up to see Tish standing over her. Before she could regain composure, two soldiers had lifted her from the ground.

  "Take her inside, she can join them," Tish shouted. Karen struggled to break free as her captors carried her toward the building.

  "That's our signal, they're in trouble!" Hank exclaimed, waking Chris from his sleep in the passenger seat. Chris quickly became alert, grabbing his rifle. Hank squeezed the button on his radio.

  "Base, we got the signal, bring the wagon, we're gonna have to go in after them." he said, releasing the button. Randy's voice came over the radio.

  "Copy, we're coming your way."

  They heard it long before they saw it. Chris and Hank were crouched by the side of the road as the abomination Dub had constructed screeched to a stop next to them. Dub was driving and Clay popped his head out of the top next to one of the massive 50 cal rifles. Randy was riding shotgun.

  "Hey fellas, going my way?" Clay grinned. Ignoring his joke, the two men climbed into the truck, Chris joined Jeff in the back next to one of the gunports, as Hank got in place to man the second 50 cal.

  "Hold on tight girls, we're going right through the front door." Dub shouted as he floored it, aiming for the large gate.

  "Two ahead," Clay said to Hank as they aimed their weapons and sent a barrage of bullets toward the two guards. Gaping holes opened up all over the men as they were all but cut in half. The truck hit t
he gate, crumpling it like an aluminum can and crushing the poor soldier who was a little too confident in its structural integrity.

  "Over there!” Clay shouted, pointing to a large green tent with a line of women rushing into it. Dub mashed the pedal to the floor and the Monstrosity roared as it took off across the parking lot. The massive bus slid to a stop next to the tent and Clay jumped out of the back with his AR-15 raised and ready. Hank followed closely behind as they made their way around to the tent entrance. They took up positions on either side of the tent entrance and Clay raised three fingers to Hank, and then lowered each finger one at a time. When he was on his last finger, they both rushed inside the tent, sweeping their weapons from side to side, searching for hostiles. All they found was a half-empty tent and a group of scared women and kids. They each lowered their weapons and walked over to the women.

  “Where did they take the rest of the women that were here?” Clay asked.

  “Betty Sue, Karen, and Ashley, do any of you know them?” A short redheaded girl spoke up.

  “A bunch of the soldiers came in here about twenty minutes ago and grabbed a bunch of the girls right out of their beds.”

  “Where did they take them?” Hank said.

  “I’m not sure. I would check inside the school though.” The redhead replied.

  “Alright ladies, the gate out back is down, you should grab what you can carry and get you and your children out of here,” Clay said. They ran back out to the Monstrosity and climbed back in.

  “They took them inside the damn school. Let's ram this big bastard right up their asses!” Clay exclaimed.

  “No! If we do that and the girls are in there, we could possibly hurt them.” Hank shot back.

  “Alright, well then Chris and Randy, trade us spots and cover us when we jump out. Dub get us right up next to the school.” Clay replied. Dub pulled the truck across the parking lot and headed for the school. Randy and Chris mowed down a few more soldiers that tried to rush the bus as they got closer to the school.

  “That's good,” Clay shouted to Dub as he and Hank jumped down from the bus and took up positions on the side of the school entrance.

  “We can’t just rush in here like we did the tent. One of us needs to open a door, and then follow the other in,” Hank said.

  “Yeah, you’re right, follow me in,” Clay said. Hank grabbed the door handle and looked back at Clay.

  “3...2...1,” he whispered as he flung open the door and followed Clay in. “Clear.” Clay said after checking the hallway and continuing down to the first classroom door. They stacked up and counted off again, then burst into the room covering it all almost immediately.

  “Clear.” They both said at the same time from each side of the room.

  “Alright, on me.” Clay said, as he stacked up to exit the room. He took a quick peek around the corner to make sure the hallway was still empty, when suddenly a barrage of bullets slammed into the doorframe above Clay’s head.

  “Motherfuckers almost got me!” Clay screamed, as he dropped to a knee.

  “Did you see how many were out there?” Hank asked.

  “No, I didn’t even see the shooter.” Clay replied.

  “What the hell do we do now? We can’t just stay in here,” Hank asked.

  “Alright, here's what we do,” Clay replied as he walked over to a bookshelf and grabbed a couple of the books.

  “I’ll throw these out in the hall, they should be just nervous enough to start shooting at the books, and then you lean out while their attention is off the door and take them out,” Clay said. Hank nodded and got ready to pop out and fire. Clay tossed the books out of the door but nothing happened. No shots were fired. They looked at each other stunned.

  “There is no way in hell those idiots are that smart!” Clay said to his brother.

  “This could mean one of two things. Either they are that smart, or they fired at us the first time and took off. My money is on them leaving.” Hank replied. Clay quickly stuck his head around the edge of the door then slowly stepped out into the empty hallway. The soldiers were nowhere to be found.

  “Where the hell did they go?” Clay said, looking back at his brother. Hank shrugged.

  “Let’s go find the pricks!” Hank replied. They started down the hallway checking each classroom they passed. When they made it to the end of the hall, they took up positions on both corners. Clay lifted his three fingers again… the fifty cal opened up, cutting off their countdown. Hank and Clay looked at each other for a split second and then turned and ran as fast as they could back to the entrance. This time when they got to the door they ignored the countdown and slammed through them with rifles up and ready. They spotted targets about fifty yards away and they each snapped off a quick double tap, hitting both of the men in the chest.

  More soldiers came pouring out of the entrance around the corner, and the fifty lit up again peppering the men with the large caliber rounds that sent arms and legs flying through the air. They could hear Chris and Randy’s battle cries as they unloaded into the onslaught of soldiers. It seemed like forever, but was only seconds in reality. The group of soldiers was either dead or dying from missing limbs or massive holes in their bodies.

  “Where the hell are all the women?” Hank shouted over the ringing in his ears.

  “That had to have been a decoy while the other soldiers put distance between us and the girls.” They ran back to the Monstrosity and climbed up and in.

  “Go, go, go,” Clay screamed as he dropped down into the seat and started to reload his mag. Dub smashed down on the throttle and the massive tires grabbed and shot the bus across the parking lot towards the school. Dub aimed the bus at the corner of the building and sped up even more. He slid the bus around the corner of the school and they could see the soldiers forcing the women toward a waiting convoy made up of MRAPS, M35’s and Humvee’s.

  “We can’t let them get to those trucks!” Hank screamed over the extremely loud engine noise.

  “Chris, Randy, take out that convoy before the girls get to it!” Clay screamed, as they got closer. Chris and Randy opened up on the convoy, sending fifty caliber rounds tearing through the trucks. They were all focused on the destruction of the convoy when a barrage of bullets peppered the front of the Monstrosity causing everyone to drop down and take cover. Chris fell to the floor, groaning in pain from a round that had slipped through the gaps in the front armor of the bus, embedding itself into the side of Chris’ chest. Gasping for air, Chris gritted his bloodstained teeth and yelled as loud as he could manage to get his brothers’ attention.

  “Cla…” he started, but dissolved into a coughing fit, thick frothy blood spurting out from his mouth. “CLAY! HANK!” He finally managed to gasp out. His two brothers turned away from the battle raging outside. Eyes wide, they scrambled back to the rear of the bus, dropping to their knees on either side of Chris. Hank tore open his pack and dumped it on the floor, searching for first-aid supplies.

  “Hold on brother, we’re going to get you fixed right up!” Clay said as he held pressure on the large wound in the side of his brother's chest.

  “Here, put this on it and keep holding pressure.” Hank said, as he handed Clay a compression bandage. Clay placed the bandage on the wound and pressed down hard enough to make Chris cry out.

  “Fuck!” was all Chris could get out before coughing again. He was losing a hell of a lot of blood, and his skin was growing pale, beads of sweat covered his brow.

  “You guys ta… ta… take care of these bastards and ge… get Ashley and Karen back.” Chris said, barely getting the words out.

  “Don’t you fucking start talking like that! You’re going to be fine! Stop being a pussy!” Clay said with tear filled eyes as he looked at the amount of blood Chris was losing. Chris put on a weak smile, showing his bloodstained teeth and shook his head.

  “I love y… y…” Chris’ eyes faded to a blank stare as his final breath left his body. He was gone.

  “No!
” Clay screamed as he started compressions on Chris’ chest. Hank wiped the tears from his eyes and grabbed Clay. Clay looked up at Hank through his own tear-filled eyes.

  “We have to save him!” Clay shouted through gritted teeth.

  “Clay, brother, he's gone.” Hank said wiping his eyes again. Clay stopped the chest compressions and sat back shaking his head, as he looked at Hank who wore the same expression. They sat there staring at each other as rage continued to build inside them both. They grabbed their rifles, not looking at Dub or Randy and threw open the back door of the bus. They both wore a murderous expression as they jumped down from the Monstrosity and took cover behind it.

  “We’re going to kill every last one of you sons a bitches!” Hank screamed as they checked their rifles, ready to pop out when the two fifty’s fired up. Jeff crawled back to take over the fifty that Chris had been using and stood up taking control of the weapon. Jeff and Randy opened up again on the convoy of trucks, putting them out of commission for good this time. The soldiers turned and forced the women back inside the school when they realized their convoy wouldn’t be going anywhere.

  “Y’all better hurry up and get in there before they get a choke point setup. I'll stay out here and watch the bus.” Dub said as he turned to look at his two sons. Clay and Hank were already headed to the entrance of the school by the time Jeff and Randy climbed down from the Monstrosity. Once they were all at the entrance they stacked up on the right side of the door.

  “On three.” Clay said, holding up his three fingers again. The four men burst through the door, immediately coming under fire. They dove inside the first two classrooms to their right and left.

  “Anyone hit?” Randy yelled out over the intense gunfire coming from the end of the hall. The other three men reported back that they hadn’t been hit.

  “You still have any of those flashbangs?” Hank asked. Clay took off his pack and started digging through the contents.

  “Hell yes, I do!” Clay said, handing it to his brother. Hank looked across the hall to Jeff and Randy and showed them the flashbang. They both nodded and raised their weapons, ready to rush the soldiers that were steadily firing at the doors. Hank pulled the pin and quickly tossed it down the hallway. A series of shouts came next.