Resistance Rising

by Matthew Savage

  She didn’t want people to hear but she wanted an answer. She figured they were alone now, why not ask. Captain Underwood and Mary were doing their married couple routine while Sergeant Miller walked some paces behind like another person trying to get to work. Sarah hadn’t realized how packed the city was. From their complex, they would assume that the city was empty. This made it hard to tell if you were being followed. At the moment Sarah didn’t mind. She wanted to know if she had missed a sign that Steven liked her. His face was flushed with red and Sarah knew she had caught him.

  “It is a good cover as you can tell by Will and Mary,” Steven said. He tried to cover up his intentions.

  “So it was just a cover?” Sarah asked.

  Steven’s face went even redder.

  “No, I wanted to hold your hand. The first time I saw you when I was spying as the homeless man. I thought you were gorgeous. When you came to the base I wanted to spend as much time with you as I could. I guess I always liked you. I pushed really hard to get you on our team. Your brother too, but I really wanted an excuse to see you more.”

  Sarah grabbed his hand. It was sweaty. She could tell he was nervous telling her this stuff. He tried to pull his hand away. Sarah didn’t let him.

  “I always kind of liked you too,” Sarah confessed.

  They were waiting at a light when Sarah kissed his cheek. Steven looked at her. They met each other’s eyes. They held their gaze for a moment before Steven leaned in and kissed her. After splitting apart Sarah looked around to see if the team had noticed. Captain Underwood and Mary were talking to each other and Sergeant Miller was focused on something in the window of the building they were next to.

  Sarah and Steven walked into the townhome complex and headed for their main house. Sergeant Miller had walked the long way around. He must have been checking for any signs that people had infiltrated the complex. When Sarah and Steven walked into the house Captain Underwood had just hung up his phone.

  “Agent Young is on his way to get us now,” Captain Underwood said.

  “Good,” Steven said.

  “Before Sergeant Miller gets back though we need to talk,” Mary said.

  “About what?” Sarah asked.

  “We saw the kiss.” Captain Underwood said.

  Sarah’s stomach sank. Captain Underwood and Mary knew something was up between the two of them. Their secret was out.

  Chapter 18

  Unwelcome Guest

  The early morning arrived faster than Nolan wanted. He tossed and turned most of the night. He continued to have dreams about his father. Instead of the prison, he was being kept in the barn. Major Fulton would torture him and while Nolan watched helplessly. Then Terri would come and rub the Major’s back. When Nolan finally gave up on sleep he sat up in his cot. The barn was warm but it would have burst of cold air rush through from an unknown crack in the wall.

  Nolan dressed, doing his best not to disturb his squad. He had trouble getting Terri off of his mind. He half debated on going back to her place, but he knew he couldn’t. Lee told Nolan that he liked her, but she doesn’t like him back. Was that still wrong? Nolan didn’t want to have that conversation. He wondered how long they could keep it from him. Should he keep it from him was there anything to hide? Well, besides the sex. He decided to go for a small walk to clear his mind.

  Nolan stepped outside and the cold air engulfed him. It was significantly colder now than it was after leaving Terri’s though, he was very hot after their sex. He didn’t want to think about that at the moment. It was still dark outside as Nolan walked the usual glow from the upcoming sunrise was very dim. Nolan figured that he must have only slept for a few hours. He walked the grounds of the farm, he wanted to walk farther, but the only clothes he had made him stand out. He wore clothes that made him look paramilitary. He made his way back to the barn after several laps around the grounds. It was still dark and he hadn’t brought his watch with him. He figured it was around three thirty in the morning.

  Nolan carefully opened the door to the barn. He could hear Ian groaning in his sleep. Nolan didn’t wish to disturb his sleep but Ian seemed in real distressed, in whatever dream he was having. Nolan against his better judgment went to wake up Ian. Nolan had barely put his hand on Ian’s shoulder when Ian shot up in bed. He looked around as if confused about where he was. He was sweating profusely. Nolan could see discolor on his shirt from the sweat.

  “Shh,” Nolan said trying to get Ian to calm down. “You are safe.”

  After a moment Ian was able to control his breathing.

  “Sorry, sir,” Ian started. “Just having a bad dream.”

  “It is alright,” Nolan said. “Mind if I ask what the dream was about?”

  “Battle... My parents were there… It… It was only a dream,” Ian said trying to control his voice.

  “Get back to sleep,” Nolan said.

  “I am alright, sir,” Ian said.

  “You know you don’t have to call me, sir. I am only a squad leader and for all I know it is just for this mission.”

  “I am sorry, Nolan.” He said between deep breaths.

  “Don’t be sorry. Get some rest.”

  “I am not sure I will be able to sleep. What are you doing up?” Ian asked.

  “Bad dreams,” Nolan replied evenly.

  Ian seemed to understand immediately. Ian looked at Anthony with envy as slept soundly snoring a little.

  “Think we’ll ever be able to sleep like that again?” Ian asked.

  Nolan watched their fellow squad member’s chest rise and fall. Nolan didn’t think he would ever be able to sleep like that again but he wasn’t going to tell that Ian.

  Nolan lied and said, “Of course we will.” This seemed to comfort Ian. “I was walking the grounds to clear my head. Want to join?”

  “That sounds good,” Ian said.

  He got up and dressed. They both entered the cold dark morning air. Nolan could hear birds singing. Ian looked at Nolan when they were far enough away from the house.

  “Did something happen with you and Terri? You were gone for a long time when you went to get pillows.” Ian asked.

  “I… Yes,”

  Nolan gave the quick version of what happened. Ian smiled as if he had known. They took several more paces before Ian spoke again.

  “You know Lee likes her right?” Ian said.

  “He told you?” Nolan asked surprised.

  “No. It doesn’t take much to notice though.”

  “He warned me about it,” Nolan confessed. Nolan explained the conversation. “She doesn’t want him though.”

  “That is just as obvious as him liking her.” Ian said.

  “This will be between us,” Nolan said.

  Ian nodded his head. He then looked at Nolan with a questioning looking on his face.

  “Have you heard from your sister?’ Ian asked.

  “I have not why?” Nolan wondered where this came from.

  “No reason,”

  Nolan suspected there was a reason but Ian didn’t seem ready to tell him. The two walked around the grounds until they were by Terri’s, her light was on. Nolan debated on knocking on the door but thought better of it. Ian smirked as if he watched the debate happen in his head. Terri’s door opened and she called to them but it was more of a loud whisper.

  “Hey,” She said. “Come on in,”

  The two of them headed for her house. Terri had bed hair but still looked amazing to Nolan. She looked at the two of them.

  “What are you two doing up?” Terri asked.

  “We…” Ian started. He hesitated.

  “It was cold in the barn. We went for a walk to warm up.” Nolan covered. He didn’t want to admit they both had trouble sleeping.

  Terri invited them in and started up a pot of coffee. Nolan spotted the time and it was four thirty in the morning. Nolan really wished he had gotten more sleep. The three of them small talked. Terri asked Ian where he was from. Ian told some of the truth but
Nolan knew how he had come to fight with the D.I. As far as Nolan knew Captain Underwood was still looking for Ian’s parents.

  It was around a half hour later that there was a knock at the door. Nolan wondered if anyone slept on this farm. Terri stood and opened the door. Lee stood there with a suspicious look on his face. He seemed to relax a little when he saw that Ian was also there. Terri invited him in.

  “Morning,” Lee said to them. “What’s got you all up so early?”

  Nolan told him the lie about the barn being a little cold. He didn’t seem to buy it but didn’t have another explanation. Terri questioned Lee about his reason for being awake so early.

  “I am going to and spread the word about what happened to Lucas Valley to some people who have shown support. Gotta get the word moving. I was going to ask if you want to join. We could cover a larger area.”

  “Good idea.” Terri started. “I know some people who wouldn’t be happy about what is going on.”

  Terri excused herself to get changed. Nolan wished he could go back with her. Lee spoke which brought him back to reality.

  “My dad is calling in our people. He wants to tell them what has happened, and he wants you to be the one to do it.” Lee said.

  “Me?” Nolan said surprised.

  “He thinks it is a good idea. It would show the D.I standing with us.” Lee said.

  “I can do it,” Nolan said. “We will head back to the barn and get Anthony moving.”

  The two of them left the house and walked towards the barn. Ian watched Nolan as they walked. He must have felt awkward as well. Nolan hated the feeling of being on edge with Lee. Nolan was going to need to find out what will happen to this group if they join the D.I. Would Terri come with him back to command? Nolan pictured them staying in a room together. He was always away from the base. How often would he really see her?

  They opened up the barn door and Anthony was sitting up in bed. He looked at them and laughed.

  “I wondered if you two had left me,” He said.

  “Not to worry. You’re still stuck with us,” Nolan said.

  “At first, I thought you might have went back for more, Nolan,” Anthony said. “That was until I saw Ian was gone.”

  “Go back for more?” Nolan asked coolly.

  “Don’t play dumb. I know what happened.” He said. “Tell us was it good?”

  Nolan blushed.

  “That’s a yes,” Anthony said.

  “I didn’t say anything,” Nolan said defensibly.

  “So it was bad?” Anthony teased.

  “No,” Nolan said.

  He knew right away he fell into the trap. Ian and Anthony laughed. Nolan flushed, but gave in and laughed with them. Anthony teased him about getting a farm girl. Nolan shook his head. After they controlled their laughter. Nolan made them swear that they wouldn’t say anything. Nolan began to fill in Anthony about what had happened this morning. Anthony had a serious look on his face.

  “It is happening then,” He said.

  “It is. If I can, I want to attack as soon as we get word from D.I command. I want to know they can help the prisoners if,” He corrected himself. “When we free them.”

  “If they couldn’t help the family how can they help all those people?” Anthony said.

  “I am not sure. We will have to do something though,” Nolan said.

  He would call after the meeting with Lee’s group. The squad got ready and Nolan wrote some bullet points he wanted to talk about. He was never much of a public speaker. That was always Sarah’s thing.

  It was still dark when the first of the cars started to arrive. Nolan sent Ian to the house to tell his Uncle Danny that his people were arriving. The groups of people arrived mostly together. Nolan recognized a couple of faces. He wasn’t sure of anyone’s name, though. The people were dressed in casual clothes. Nolan figured they didn’t have a uniform which made sense to him; he wouldn’t want to stand out in a uniform if he was doing what they were. Being with the D.I when he was in battle uniform it meant he was there to fight. During the battle of The Fortress, his uniform seemed to give him strength.

  Danny arrived and the barn was almost full. Many of the people greeted Danny. Some seemed confused to see Danny. ‘Were they not used to seeing Danny outside of the house?’ Nolan wondered. Danny seemed to count everyone in the room. He must have wanted to make sure everyone was present. He cleared his throat.

  “Listen up,” Danny called out. “I have someone here who needs to speak to all of you.”

  Nolan stood on a hay bale. He was several feet above everyone and he could feel all their eyes on him.

  “Some of you may have seen me around the last couple of days,” Nolan said. Danny seemed to be counting again. He must have been missing someone. Nolan continued. “I am Corporal Nolan Hunter of the Democratic Insurgence.” This started some stirs. “I was asked here by a member of your organization to talk you all into joining. I understand a lot of you wish to remain separate. I can’t say I blame you,” He looked each one of them in the eye. “With what you all have been through, I get it. You have been forgotten. Ignored. I wouldn’t want someone else taking control over me, but you can’t fight this war by yourself.” Nolan paused deciding which way to go. He needed them to understand what is happening. “As some of you noticed Lee and Terri aren’t here. They are spreading the news.”

  The grouped looked around at each other. He heard some people asking ‘What news?’

  “You are aware that the people of Lucas Valley disappeared. Some may even know that attempts to find them have been ignored by the local law enforcement and the United States Security Bureau. We found out yesterday that the USSB has taken the town captive. Against their will, they are being forced to make weapons. Some of these weapons have been stolen by all of you.” The room was silent. Nolan could see the shock on the faces. “That is what this current government does. They take what they want. They don’t want to create jobs they want people to do their bidding for free. I am here to tell you all that is not going to fly with the Insurgence. We don’t enslave our citizens. We don’t let them die,” His voice grew louder. “We aren’t going to ignore our people. We are going to stop this factory. Save that town!”

  The group cheered.

  “Together we can take back this country,” Danny said. The group grew quiet. They shuffled to find Danny. His wheelchair made it so he was much smaller than everyone but his voice was just as loud. “I can’t tell you all what to do. When we save the people of Lucas Valley, I am going to join the Insurgence. I hope you all do the same. Nolan doesn’t know the people there. He doesn’t owe them anything. He has done more for that town than any of us. I think his dedication to helping shows what the D.I is willing to do. Who is with me?

  “I am,” a young man said from the front.

  “I will also come with you, Danny,” A woman called out.

  More voices followed. They said the same thing. They would all join. Nolan nodded at Danny who nodded back. Nolan looked out at the faces of people who were ready to fight.

  “I am putting together a plan to rescue this town. I don’t want those people to have to work another day in that factory.” The group cheered. “Let’s get to work,” Nolan called out.

  He jumped down from the hay bale and felt a rush of energy in him. Danny shook his hand, looking pleased. Nolan looked around at the room. A woman came up to Danny and asked for directions. Danny didn’t answer but looked at Nolan.

  “Find out what kind of weapons we have in this barn, how much ammunition, and what we need. After that we can start to plan out how were are going to do this. If you all have full inventory list that would be great.” Nolan said.

  The woman nodded and did as Nolan instructed. She barked out orders and people moved about the barn. Nolan ordered Anthony to watch over everyone. Danny gave Nolan a pat on the back.

  “I think it is time for me to head back. You have it from here,” Danny said to him.

  Nolan
and Ian followed Danny from the barn. They walked outside and the sun had started to rise. Danny stopped and looked around at the sky and the grounds.

  “This place is wonderful isn’t it?” Danny said. Nolan nodded. “This town is ready to fight,”

  “That’s good because the fight is coming. When we go through this there will be no stopping it,” Nolan said.

  “That’s true,” Danny paused. He seemed to come back to reality. “What are we going to do with all those people?” He asked.

  “I am going to contact the command. Tell them what we got going on and what we need,” Nolan said.

  “They are going to help?” Danny asked. A part of him still must have been suspicious.

  “They will do all they can,” Ian said confidently.

  “I hope so, I am not sure how long we would be able to keep all these people hidden,” Danny said.

  They headed towards the house. The ramp for the wheelchair was on the far side of the home. Nolan suspected that Danny didn’t like being seen in his wheelchair. They helped him up the wheelchair ramp to the porch.

  “Speaking of hidden,” Danny started. “Did any of you see Mark?”

  “I don’t think so,” Nolan said. He tried to remember everyone in the crowd. He only knew a few people there so he figured we would remember seeing a familiar face.

  “I know I didn’t,” Ian said.

  “I wonder where he is. He didn’t answer his phone this morning when we placed the call for everyone to come in,” Danny said. “I wonder if something happened. He doesn’t normally miss things.”

  “Should we check?” Ian asked.

  “How?” Nolan wondered.

  “Perhaps when Lee gets back I will have him stop by Marks,” Danny suggested.

  “Would he have called if something came up?” Nolan asked.

  “Normally. We don’t have very strict rules,” Danny nodded at Nolan’s expression. “I know what you are thinking. Until now we have mostly been a militia. We don’t have any way of strictly enforcing rules. At this point, if we are too strict people will just leave. We can’t have that if we are doing criminal activity.”