Resistance Rising

by Matthew Savage

  Assault on the Factory

  The fireball was massive. The soldier's stationed at the front scattered, some tried to put out the fire, and others were trying to get their bearings on what happened. They heard alarms start to sound in the factory. Nolan knew this was his opening. He rushed towards the flaming front gate. Terri was by his side doing the same. Nolan opened fire on the guards. The sounds of his guns seemed to spark something in the remaining guards. Most turned to see him and Terri charging the factory. There were ten guards along the fence, all raised their weapons but none were able to fire, for the rebels in their trucks and vans opened fire.

  The vehicles rushed past Nolan and Terri, stopping by the fence. The fence had collapsed. The people in the trucks and vans jumped out and opened fire on any USSB agents in the area. When Nolan caught up he began to organize.

  “We need Alpha and Delta Squad to follow me towards the prisoner housing,” Nolan instructed. Ian, Anthony. “I need you two to move into the factory. Get any town’s people to the cars.”

  “Understood,” Ian said.

  Nolan took the two squads around the factory. One squad was led by Terri. The two squads were made up of ten people each. Nolan wasn’t sure exactly where the town’s people were being held but they all had marched around the side of the factory when they observed them.

  The USSB agents seemed to retreat towards that same side of the factory. Nolan signaled for the others to spread out. The agents were firing sporadically. Nolan hoped this confusion would last. They needed the advantage if they were to free the town’s people without harm.

  As soon as Nolan and the squads turned a corner around the building they spotted what looked like pens made for animals. To Nolan’s horror, the town’s people were in them. Guards standing at the entrance of the pen raised their weapons Nolan fired taking down both guards.

  The group moved quickly to free the people in the pens. Nolan was sick by the conditions they were being kept in. There wasn’t a roof over the pen and the bottom seemed to be lined with mud. Judging by the smell it also served as the place the people were expected to use the bathroom. The people inside were thin. Most had sores on their face from sunburn. Nolan thought the people were slowly withering away.

  USSB agents exited the factory towards the pens, Nolan in a rage opens fire at them. This brought the squads enough time to get most of the people out of the line of fire. The USSB agent’s shot at anything that moved. People left in the pen where riddled with bullets.

  Anger filled in Nolan at the fact that the USSB had no problem killing unarmed civilians. Nolan fired as fast as he could at the agents. He saw one agent fall, then another, then another, and another. His squad fired at the guard tower where two guards were stationed. The guards fired down at Nolan’s rebels and the fleeing towns people. Nolan watched as Terri fired one shot and the agent on the tower was hit falling backwards head over heels. The dead agents landed with a large thunk the body shook with the shock of hitting the ground. Other people from the squad fired, killing the remaining agent on the guard tower. Nolan could see the limp hand hanging off of the edge of the tower.

  “Delta squad take the people back. Alpha we need to breach the factory.” Nolan ordered.

  He had seen more agents when they were here the day before. He wondered where they were. His squad spread out taking down the agents exiting the factory. Bodies fell on top of each other, members of Nolan’s squad continued to fire at the dead agents. Blood and bone sprayed into the air. Nolan moved forward and they walked over dead USSB agents.

  “Sir?” One of the squad members started. “Where are the rest of them?”

  “More agents are most likely inside,” Nolan said. He went on his radio. “Ian? Anthony? Do you copy?”

  “We got you,” Ian’s voice said from the radio.

  “How are things going by you?” Nolan asked.

  “We have engaged the USSB. We freed some of the workers. Agents are moving towards the back of the factory.”

  “I think there must be another entrance on the far side,” Lee said over the radio.

  Nolan turned to the squad.

  “We are going to head towards the back of the factory. We need to ambush any escaping USSB agents.” Nolan said. “We need to make sure we watch our fire. We might run into people from Lucas Valley trying escape.” The squad nodded. Nolan could tell by the look on the people’s faces that they were scared. “You all are doing great,” Nolan tried to encourage. He wished he could say more but the clock was ticking. Nolan went on his radio. “Terri?’”

  “Go ahead,” Terri said.

  “When the vans are full have them take off. When you’re finished bring your squad around the back. We are going to cover the rear and enter from the other side.”

  Terri acknowledged and they headed for the back of the factory. Nolan could hear gunfire from inside the building. His heart pumped hard in his chest. They reached the back of the building and Nolan had his squad spread out.

  “We are on the far side of the building,” Nolan radioed.

  “Understood. You should have people heading your way now,” Ian said.

  The door opened and the USSB agents that were left scattered. They were retreating. Nolan signaled for his squad to open fire. One by one the agents fell. Some crawled on the ground to escape while others attempted to fire back. Nolan estimated that fifteen agents were killed.

  “Where are all the agents? I know there should be more.” Nolan asked more to himself.

  Terri and her squad immerged from the corner. Nolan rushed over to her. She seemed pale. Her gun was shaking in her hand. Nolan put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Why would they do this to those people?” Terri said. Her voice cracked. Nolan knew she was fighting off tears.

  “We are just pieces of a machine to the government. Our well-being doesn’t matter. What matters right now is that there are still people inside who need our help.” Nolan told her. He held her shoulders so she was forced to look into his eyes. “I am going to take my squad in and get any workers left in there. We need to meet up with the others inside.”

  Terri nodded her head. Nolan looked at the other members of the squad. They all seemed to be in shock. Nolan thought about how he must have looked in his first gun battle. None of these people had never been in battle before.

  “I am going to have you all wait by the back door. I will radio you when we exit from here. Anyone who isn’t one of us you need to take out. Don’t let the USSB get a position in the back. We have them surrounded. We need to keep the advantage.” Nolan told them.

  Nolan grabbed his squad and moved towards the door. He lined them up and radioed to Ian and Anthony that he was about to breach. He opened the door and was met by three USSB agents trying to escape. He was so close to them when he fired his weapon that their blood splattered onto him. Nolan and his squad stepped over the dead agents. One of the squad members shot a dying agent in the head. Nolan could hear the skull crack as it fell to the ground.

  The factory was loud. The machines were still going. It seemed the people who had been working them left their post when the battle started. Nolan could hear gunshots in the factory. He told his squad to be careful of their fire. The last thing Nolan wanted was for any of his team to kill the town’s people in friendly-fire.

  Nolan left the machines running. The sound would give him some cover so they could move behind the agents inside. Nolan spotted one room. A single USSB agent stood in front of it. Nolan signaled his team to hold their position. Nolan moved as quietly as he could toward the agent. When he was close enough Nolan took out his knife and slit the agent’s throat. The agent dropped to the ground in a pool of blood.

  Nolan signaled to his squad to come to his position. Nolan had his gun ready and opened the door. The room must have once been a boardroom of some kind. There was a table in the middle. The room was packed shoulder to shoulder with workers. The people inside didn’t seem much better off than the workers t
hey found outside. Nolan lowered his gun. The group coward and moved to the other side of the room when they saw him.

  “I am Nolan Hunter with the Democratic Insurgence. I am here to rescue you.”

  The faces seemed to understand right away. The people came towards him everyone wanted to touch him as they passed. Several people shook his hand, while some people thanked him. Nolan radioed to Terri that they had town’s people coming out. Nolan did a quick count and only counted thirty people.

  Nolan led the town’s people out the back to Terri’s group. He instructed Terri to take them back to the vans. Nolan went back in and found his squad. Who all waited by the conference room door. Nolan wasn’t sure how long it would take for them to clear this factory. They had only gone a couple feet in. The group continued through the factory. It seemed that the other squads had kept the agent's attention. Nolan found one room labeled Ammunition. It was as if a light turned on in his head. He turned to his squad.

  “This is the room. If we can blow up this room. The whole factory will go.” Nolan said.

  One woman asked, “How are we supposed to get it to blow?”

  “That is what I need to work out. We also need to get all the people from Lucas Valley out of here.” Nolan instructed. “We need to regroup with the others. After that, we can make a plan.”

  They moved through the factory as fast as they could. Every corner Nolan turned he expected to find USSB agents. The factory seemed empty. After moving through almost the whole factory Nolan radioed Ian.

  “Have you found the rest of the people from Lucas Valley?” Nolan asked.

  “We found around one hundred of them,” Ian said. His voice was strained. “We are getting a lot of resistance up here though.”

  “We are on our way,” Nolan said.

  They were making their way through one corridor when they heard gunfire. The sounded seemed odd to Nolan not as sporadic as he would expect from a gun battle. It was more synchronized. Nolan’s heart pounded as rushed towards the noise. Bang! Bang! It was as if several people were firing at once. Nolan found the room where the gunfire was coming from. He kicked open the door. There were ten USSB agents in a line. Nolan fired his gun. Several of them dropped to the ground dead. The others scattered. Nolan’s squad entered the room and they fired at the remaining agents. After they were sure the agents were killed, Nolan got his first look at what the agents were firing at. They were killing the town’s people. Piles of dead people were in the corner of the room.

  A wounded USSB agent spat blood. Nolan rushed over and grabbed the man by the collar. The man was as white as a ghost. Rage pumped through Nolan’s veins.

  “Why were you doing this?” Nolan asked.

  “We… We… have orders,” the agent said.

  Nolan hit the man. He punched the man over and over. He could feel the man’s skull break under his fist. The man tried to fight but Nolan would kick his wounds and continue to hit him. Nolan felt a hands on his shoulder. His squad pulled him off of the dead agent. Nolan was cover in blood. His hands ached with pain. They heard a knock on the door from the other side of the room. Nolan grabbed his gun. One of the squad members opened the door and they found more town’s people. Most of them were crying and all seemed scared. Nolan announced himself as he did last time. The people were grateful but less warm to him this time. Nolan figured him being covered in blood wasn’t that welcoming.

  “Thank you for saving us,” an older man said him. “They received orders to terminate all of us after the factory was attacked.”

  “We saved the people outside and found some others. You all will be fine,” Nolan said.

  “Did you find a young woman with blond hair? Her name is Cindy,” one person asked.

  “Or little boy, he is eight years old,” A woman asked.

  All of them asked about loved ones they had been separated from. Nolan tried to keep the people calm without inspiring false hope. Nolan knew it was too far to go back so they would have to protect the people and go out the front.

  “Does anyone know how to use a gun?” Nolan asked the refugees.

  Several people raised their hands. Nolan grabbed guns from the dead agents and passed them out. Nolan told them they were going to make their way out of the factory. He made sure everyone was able to walk on their own. Those who were injured were given help. When everyone was situated they entered the work floor. The machines were still running. Nolan could hear USSB agents firing at the other rebel squads over the sound of the machines. Nolan opened fire on the agents as the squad entered the factory floor. The agents were caught off guard, and Nolan and his squad were able to make short work of them. Nolan asked one of the workers to shut off the machines. The silence that followed felt unnatural. Nolan watched as Ian came out from behind a damaged machine. Anthony also moved out from behind some machinery. Ian’s face was shocked when he saw Nolan’s.

  “What happened to you?” Ian asked.

  “Do you need a medic?” Anthony asked.

  “Not my blood,”

  Nolan motioned for his squad to take the refugees out of the factory. He then explained what the guards were doing. Ian looked like he was going to be sick. Anthony had a fire in his eyes. Nolan explained about the ammunition room.

  “I could easily rig something to make it blow,” Anthony said.

  He seemed excited about the possibility of making something blow up. Nolan went on his radio.

  “Terri?” Nolan called.

  “Go ahead,” Terri said, her voice was calm.

  “Head back to the front we are going to get moving on destroying the factory.”

  “Sounds good,” Terri said. She seemed relieved to be leaving.

  Nolan ordered the squads to head outside and wait for them. Lee entered the room and found Nolan.

  “Our count so far is around a thousand people,” Lee said. “We are still missing around fifteen hundred.”

  “Those fifteen hundred won’t come. The Security Bureau started executing workers when we attacked.” Nolan said.

  Lee put his hands through his hair. He paced for a moment.

  “It is all our fault,” Lee said.

  “We couldn’t have known that this is how they would react to our attack,” Nolan said. “We saved almost one thousand people. That is something.”

  “You’re right,” Lee said. Nolan thought Lee seemed to have trouble believing it.

  “I know. Now, I need you to get everyone out of here while we prepare to blow up the factory.” Nolan ordered.

  Lee nodded and led the squads towards the doors. Nolan, Ian, and Anthony headed back towards the ammunition room. Nolan had to retrace his steps before they finally found the ammunition room. When they opened the door they found boxes upon boxes of bullets, Cases of grenades and a variety of equipment that Nolan felt was used for crowd control. Anthony immediately got to work trying to find the best way to detonate the bullets.

  “When all these ignite we are going to have a huge explosion,” Anthony explained. “We just need to find a way to set it off. We aren’t going to want to be near this place when it blows.”

  Anthony stacked the bullets in the center of the room. Nolan followed Anthony’s led. When the pile was high Anthony looked around.

  “We need something to set this off,” Anthony said. “Do we have any detonators?”

  “What we have is what we got,” Nolan said.

  “You have a grenade right?” Anthony asked.

  “Just the one,” Nolan said.

  “I got a crazy idea,” Anthony said. “I will chuck the grenade. That will set it off.”

  “No way!” Nolan said. “You said the explosion will be huge. We can’t have you throw it into the room.”

  “Do you have a better idea?” Anthony asked.

  “We could shoot it,” Ian said. “That would set it off right?”

  “I think so,” Nolan said.

  “Where is the fun in that?” Anthony said.

  “Nolan,”
Lee’s voice came over the radio.

  “Go ahead,” Nolan said.

  “We have a problem here?” Lee started. “I think we have company. You’re going to want to get out here.”

  Nolan thought for a moment. He gave his grenade to Anthony.

  “I hope you have good aim,” Nolan said.

  He grabbed Ian and they started running for the exit. Nolan could hear Anthony pull the pin and throw the grenade. They all sprinted through the corridors as fast as possible. Nolan looked back and saw Anthony running to catch up with them. Nolan counted in their head. He knew there was only a matter of seconds. Nolan counted down, when he got down to one…

  BOOM!

  The explosion threw the three of them to the ground. Smoke immediately filled the hall. Nolan could feel the heat from the fire. Nolan stood. He grabbed Ian and Anthony and got them moving towards the exit. Nolan’s eyes burned from the smoke. Nolan heard another explosion more of the ammunition must have started to ignite.

  Nolan saw the faint exit sign. He led the guys towards the door. He pushed the door open and Nolan took his first breath of fresh air. The three of them dropped to the ground and crawled away from the door. Nolan looked back and saw black smoke pouring out of the door. The three of them stopped and Nolan lay on his back. He looked up at the blue sky. He could see clouds passing overhead. The sky started to darken as the fire from the factory grew.

  Nolan heard something faint in the distance. He thought he knew what the sound was. Suddenly he seemed to remember where he was. The sounds he was hearing were gunshots. Nolan stood. He looked behind him and saw in every direction USSB agents closing in on the factory.

  Chapter 25

  10-24

  Sarah couldn’t figure out how they had circled around. She could hear gunfire coming from around the building. She figured the rest of the men were trying to hold off the others that followed them.

  “You had to make things difficult,” Reese said.

  “You didn’t think we would let you get away with this, did you?” Sarah said.

  “I really hoped to keep you for myself. I guess that won’t happen now.”