Resistance Rising

by Matthew Savage

  “You’re not serious are you?” Lee said.

  “Nolan, these people have been starving and working nonstop,” Ian said.

  “I understand that, but if we are going to get out of this everyone needs to fight. Long enough so that we can make a hole in their lines and get out of here.” Nolan told them.

  Nolan stood and ran over to Mark who was next to several town’s people. He explained his plan to Mark who didn’t seem thrilled. The town’s people who overheard seemed ready.

  “We will do what we have too,” one woman said.

  Nolan smiled. “Sounds good. I am gonna find you some weapons.”

  He ran off. Nolan dodged gunfire as he went to every dead agent on the ground. He grabbed as many weapons as he could. He guessed he must have armed around half of the town’s people.

  From behind them, Nolan spotted USSB agents. They must have gotten through the fence. Nolan raised his weapon and opened fire. Several of the town’s people followed his lead. Nolan moved to block the oncoming agents. He grabbed Terri and her squad.

  “Keep firing on them. I don’t want us to get boxed in,” Nolan ordered.

  At the moment their positions were being held but Nolan knew it couldn’t go on for much longer. They were running out of ammunition. Nolan knew there was no point in surrender. The USSB would only kill them. Nolan watched from the front as USSB agents drew closer and closer. From behind them, Nolan could see agents entering through the fence. The fire from the building was growing. Nolan suspected this helped keep the agents back. The smoke was getting thick. Nolan wasn’t sure how long they could remain close to the building. The rest of the ammunition was going to blow at any time and when that happened they aren’t going to want to be close to the factory.

  Nolan could see a large mass coming from behind the USSB. Nolan’s stomach sank. It seemed the USSB was getting reinforced. Nolan wasn’t going to be taken, prisoner. He wasn’t going to end up like his father. Nolan made the decision right there that he would fight until his last breathe. The large group started firing their weapons, but not at Nolan’s group. The mass of soldiers fired at the USSB agents.

  “It’s the people from Quad Cities!” someone yelled.

  Nolan spotted groups of trucks and four-wheelers. Riding down the USSB agents. The group seemed more like a mob. Some had makeshift weapons while others had what looked like hunting weapons. Nolan spotted one man using a crossbow on USSB agents. Nolan was brought back to reality when several people around him fell to the ground. Nolan turned and saw Major Fulton firing his pistol at him. Nolan raised his weapon and returned fire.

  “Pull back,” Nolan ordered to the others. “Get cover.”

  Nolan made sure Terri was low to ground when she moved. Nolan gave covering fire as the group of people retreated. Major Fulton stood firing at the members of Terri’s squad. One of them took a bullet in the back. The bullet exited out of the man’s chest spraying blood out from his shirt. People tried to drag the dying man.

  “Leave him and find cover!” Nolan ordered.

  The Major drew closer his troopers were still some ways behind him. Nolan was running low on ammo. He needed to buy everyone time to find cover. Nolan knew it was dumb but decided it was his only option. Nolan rushed Major Fulton. As he had hoped it caught the Major off guard. In a few long strides, Nolan managed to tackle Major Fulton. They rolled on the ground. Nolan punched the Major as hard as he could anywhere he could. The Major dropped his gun.

  The USSB agents stopped firing, none wished to hit Fulton. The Major hit Nolan on the side. This knocked the wind out of Nolan for a moment, but he didn’t let go of the Major. He knew the only thing keeping him from not being killed by the other agents was the Major.

  Gunfire erupted. Nolan for a moment thought they must have decided to take the chance. He saw Terri and other members coming towards him. They fired above Nolan pushing back the USSB agents who still didn’t want to risk hitting someone with such a high rank. Nolan realized how thick the smoke had become. Nolan knew the fire must be growing. He started to feel heat from the factory.

  The USSB agents didn’t give up on the Major, they spread out firing back at Nolan’s group. They fired far enough away from where Nolan and Major Fulton fought. This was most likely to ensure they didn’t capture the Major but still had a slim chance of hitting him. The Major kicked Nolan in the chest and rolled on top of him. They were face to face. Nolan wouldn’t let Fulton get too far away for fear of grabbing his pistol. Which now Nolan wished he would have spotted where it had landed.

  “You aren’t going to win this war boy,” Major Fulton said. “You and your stupid sister will be killed and I am going to be the one to do it.”

  “You think so?” Nolan said.

  He head bunted the Major. Nolan felt Fulton’s nose break. He could taste some of Fulton’s blood. Nolan spit it in his face. He kicked the Major back. He needed to find the Major’s gun. He needed to find it before Fulton did. Nolan heard the click of a hammer on the gun. Nolan slowly turned. Major Fulton had found his gun and pointed it at Nolan. Nolan was far enough away where he knew that he couldn’t get the gun out of Fulton’s hands in time.

  Major Fulton started to speak but the broken nose seemed to make his voice sound muffled as if he had a cold. “That was a good attempt. Once again you just won’t beat me.”

  The gunfire on both sides seemed to stop. Nolan had his back to his team. He knew they didn’t have clear shot. Major Fulton had his back to his agents. They didn’t have a clear shot on Nolan. It seemed it was just the two of them. Nolan looked behind the Major and could see the black smoke pouring from the factory. He saw flames rising above the roof. Nolan wished the rebels were far from here.

  “Even if you kill me,” Nolan started. “This war will continue and we will beat you. The people of this country aren’t going to take your shit. This is just one city rising up. What happens when the rest of them do?”

  “I’ll fucking kill them too.” Major Fulton said.

  Nolan watched as his hand tightened around the trigger but before he could fire. A massive explosion erupted from the factory. The remaining ammunition detonated. The wall behind him and Major Fulton burst into flames before collapsing. Nolan was thrown to the ground. A piece of the factory landed on him and his shirt caught fire. Nolan rolled on the ground trying to put it out. He could feel burns on his face from heat. Nolan felt hands grab him. Terri along with several other rebels grabbed him and helped him to cover.

  “We need to get out of here,” Terri said.

  Nolan ached. It was a struggle for him to get to his feet but with their help, he managed. Nolan turned and saw the USSB agents climbing the fence and running from the factory. Major Fulton crawled behind his men escaping.

  They turned the corner and Lee and Ian were loading as many people as they could into the vans. Anthony was shooting at the fleeing USSB agents. He spotted Nolan and ran to help him. Anthony seemed to take all of Nolan’s weight and helped him to one of the trucks. The people in the back were wearing jeans and t-shirts. The truck, Nolan concluded belonged to one of their rescuers. Terri got into the bed of the truck next to him. She held his hand as they drove from the factory. Nolan could feel large bumps from the uneven ground. Terri seemed to go a bit a green every time they hit a bump.

  “I say crush as many of those dead fucks as we can,” An unfamiliar voice said.

  Nolan realized the bumps they hit were dead USSB agents as they escaped. Nolan sat up with the help of Terri and watched one more time as the factory exploded and a massive fireball flew into the sky.

  “I am glad we weren’t there when that happened,” Nolan said.

  “Trust me you got a pretty good hit from the last one,” Anthony said.

  Nolan could feel his face burning. He went to touch it but Terri stopped him. She told him something about how he can’t touch it. He was tired. He could feel himself falling asleep. He tried to stay awake but he couldn’t his whole body hurt. E
verything became dark and the rocking of the truck seemed to put him to sleep.

  Major Fulton crawled on the grass. He watched as USSB agents ran as fast as they could from the burning factory. He stood and watched the rebels flee in their vehicles. The Major turned to his men.

  “I need someone to radio to the Quad Cities. I need them to gather any law enforcement they can and track down those rebels!” Major ordered.

  Sergeant Marx ran to Major Fulton he grabbed the Major’s arm and put it around his shoulder. He helped support the Major and took in him the opposite direction. Major Fulton was confused. ‘We shouldn’t be running away. We should be running those rebels down!’ He thought

  “Sir, I think we lost the Quad Cities,” Sergeant Marx said. “During our attack. We got word that the city was under siege.”

  “What do you mean under siege?” Major Fulton asked.

  “It seems there was an uprising. The town raided our headquarters. Some of our agents managed to escaped but most were killed. We issued an alert and the National Guard was called to aid us. They are on their way to pick us up.”

  “How did this happen?” Major Fulton asked. He wanted to turn around and kill as many of those people as he could.

  “I am not sure, sir.” We have to go to the next small town over. That is where we will wait.”

  “How many of our forces did we lose?” Major Fulton asked.

  “I am not sure. When we arrive in the town I will get a head count.”

  It felt like a long walk before. They spotted the town. There were only fifteen agents when they walked into town. Major Fulton found the first house and knocked on the door.

  “I am Major Fulton with the United States Security Bureau. We need to use this home to watch my men.”

  The woman that stood in the doorway seemed frightened. ‘She had every reason to be if she refuses us.’ Major Fulton thought. The woman nodded her head and held the door open. The men entered the living area and spread out. Some removed their clothes to revile wounds. The woman gathered her children and helped take care of any of the wounded agents. It wasn’t long before National Guard troops entered the town. Major Fulton went out to greet them. A Lieutenant Colonel with a very rough face stepped out of the first Humvee.

  “You have gotten yourself into some trouble now Major,” The Colonel said. “Governor Higgins is not pleased, and that is putting it lightly.”

  “I need you to gather your forces. We need to attack the Quad Cities while we have the advantage,” Major Fulton told him.

  “I don’t know how you people do it in the Security Bureau, but here I outrank you. I would watch what you say to me.”

  The Colonel walked past Major Fulton and into the house. He watched as the woman helped the agents. The Colonel scuffed. He called for medics to come into the house. He thanked the woman and marched over to Major Fulton.

  “I hope you didn’t threaten this family with slavery when you entered their house,” The Colonel said.

  “Of course not,” Major Fulton said.

  “Don’t give me that shit. I know who you are. You got us into this spot in the first place.”

  “Who are you?” Major Fulton spat.

  “I am Lieutenant Colonel Richard Black. You can call me Colonel or sir,” Colonel Black said. “I am here to clean up this mess. You are going to go back to the Capitol and answer to Governor Higgins. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole country had already heard what happened here. This thing just got a lot worse because of you.”

  Two soldiers walked up to Major Fulton and took him to a Humvee. He was joined by several of his agents including Sergeant Marx. Major raged inside. How could he have let this happen? He knew how. That Hunter child once again had brought him down. First, The Fortress, and now the Quad Cities. These cities couldn’t fall they are too important, if other rebel cells learn that they can stand up to the United States government what could that do to the safety of the country. He needed to bring that city down and destroy the Democratic Insurgence, before more Americans are hurt in the act.

  Nolan woke up inside a building. He looked around and could see a tall building outside his window. He was in a hospital bed. He was hooked up to several machines. They took him to a hospital? How did they expect to explain this? Nolan looked around the room. Terri was sleeping in a chair. He cleared his throat and tried to move in the bed. Terri woke up immediately and looked at him in a panic.

  “Don’t move you’ll hurt yourself.” She said. She moved over and grabbed his hand.

  “You brought me to a hospital? That wasn’t a smart move. The USSB will know where we are.”

  “Trust me. They have an idea where we are,” Terri said with a laugh.

  Nolan didn’t find this funny.

  “Then why are we here?” He said. He started to move as if to disconnect himself from the machines.

  “Don’t do that,” Terri said. “The doctors are taking care of you. We took back the Quad Cities.”

  “Took back?” Nolan asked.

  “Well… we sort of threw out the Security Bureau,” Terri said.

  “Threw them out?” Nolan was confused.

  “After we left Danny got to work gathering the people. It seemed as soon as he mentioned what happened to the people of Lucas Valley it sent the town over the edge. People gathered and stormed the USSB office. The hospital is actually next-door. You can see it a little from your window.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Nolan said. He paused for a moment. “How bad is my face?”

  “Your burns weren’t too bad but the doctors are working hard. They cleaned you up but are monitoring you. They said you should be out in a few days. They suspect you had possibly second-degree burns on your face.”

  “I need to get in touch with D.I Command,” Nolan said. He moved as if he would get up and be able to use the phone.

  “We will set something up in here for you but you have to rest,” Terri said.

  She rubbed his hand. There was a knock at the door and Lee entered the room. His face went red and he saw Terri holding Nolan’s hand. Nolan tried to pull away from her hand but she held on tight.

  “I figured I would find you here,” Lee said.

  “Where else would I be?’ Terri asked.

  Lee grunted and muttered something under his breath. Nolan felt Terri’s grip tighten on his hand. Lee stuttered and Terri interrupted him.

  “We were never together, Lee. You have nothing to be mad about,” Terri said.

  Nolan wished he wasn’t having this conversation. Lee seemed uncontrollably angry. Nolan hoped he wouldn’t attack him because he was defenseless. Lee rounded on Terri.

  “You both knew how I felt,” Lee raged. “You went along with it anyway. How am I supposed to feel about that?”

  “This was our choice. Be happy for me for once!” Terri yelled back.

  Lee’s face turned red. He turned to leave the room. He stopped at the door and looked at her.

  “I am stopping at the house. Do you need anything?” Lee asked.

  Nolan had a hunch that Lee wanted to leave but he couldn’t leave without asking if she needed anything.

  “Anything I need I will get myself,” Terri said.

  Lee stormed out of the room. Nolan felt like something was swimming in his stomach as Terri rubbed his hand. She stood up for them. He had never experienced something like that before.

  Nolan nodded off and when he woke up his Uncle Danny was in the room. Nolan looked out the window and could see the sun setting. Danny smiled at him when he woke up.

  “We have the phone set up so you can call command,” Danny said.

  “Thank you,” Nolan said. His voice sore.

  “The National Guard has been mobilized. From what our scouts could see, they are getting ready for attack,” Danny said.

  Danny’s voice seemed sad. Nolan knew it felt like they had finally gotten their freedom and now the government is going to take it back, by force. Nolan sat up. He cleared his th
roat.

  “Let me get in touch with command. I will make sure they back us up in the battle. I am not going to let the city fall.” Nolan said.

  Danny smiled. Nolan held out his hand. Danny took it. Nolan held on tight and looked him in the eyes. He wanted Danny to believe what he was going to say.

  “I promise this city won’t fall. The country is looking at us now. We have to win to show that it is possible to beat them. We are going to take back this country.”

  Chapter 27

  Next Mission

  The journey back to port was a somber one. The group had all remained with Agent Young’s body. The Captain of the ship had brought a large crate to keep his body in. It was the closest thing to a coffin they would get at the moment. Sarah could feel the lines on her face from where tears had ran down turning the dirt and dust on her face into a crust. Steven tried to wipe some of them away. They had crusted too fast. She needed to wash her face. She excused herself and tried to find a restroom. This boat didn’t seem as smooth as the boat they came on. Either that or the waves had gotten worse. Either way, Sarah could feel the ship rocking much more. This turned her stomach. Walking down the hallway as the boat rocked it made her feel like she was in a fun house. She eventually found a bathroom.

  Sarah locked the door behind her. She had to keep a hand on the wall to keep her from feeling sick. She looked in the mirror and she could see that she was covered in dust. She rubbed her hands in her hair and dust covered the sink. She could see the black lines from the dirt on her face from where she had been crying. She turned on the water and rinsed her face. She didn’t have any soap for her face but at least the dust and dirt would be removed. When she dried her face she looked into the mirror. She had bags under her eyes. To Sarah it looked as though she hadn’t slept in months.

  “You’ve looked better,” Sarah said aloud to herself.

  There was a knock on the restroom door. Sarah finished washing her face and opened the door. Steven stood there. There was something about seeing him that made her realize how real everything has been. She threw herself into his arms. She could hear his steady heartbeat. She didn’t want to leave his arms. She felt him kiss her forehead. It comforted her more than she could ever tell him.