by Warren Ray
The celebration was fleeting as the RPG they fired had taken out all of the guys manning the barricade.
Nordell shook his head in frustration. His position was quickly becoming untenable. In no time, the rest of the fifteen vehicles would be coming down Washington Street and would overwhelm them. On the other side of the burned out barricade, that other company would soon approach them as well. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be stuck between them. His only option was to take out what he could from the approaching convoy and then get the hell out of there.
He stopped his vehicle and surveyed his surroundings. He looked to his left and liked what he saw. It was a three-level parking garage. It was a perfect place to take cover while firing at the enemy.
He hit the gas and did a U-turn. He swung two hard rights before entering the darkened garage. He stayed on the first level and parked in the middle after turning the truck around for a quick exit.
He had six men with him and told them his game plan. They ran and each lined up behind a cement barrier.
Nordell marched to the one nearest Washington just as the remaining ten vehicles of the convoy started coming. He popped a grenade into the launcher and shouldered it. He locked his legs while he followed the van as it slowly went around the still smoldering barricade. Nordell could see some of his men bloodied and dead from the explosion.
Just as the van, came around the barrier Nordell pulled the trigger. The rocket took off speeding through the air covering the seventy yards in mere seconds. It struck the van and turned it into a bonfire instantly killing everyone inside.
The convoy of vehicles stopped dead in its tracks. This is what Nordell wanted to happen. Make them flinch and throw them off guard. They may have superior numbers, but he would make them pay dearly for every inch of ground.
Nordell yelled to his guys to open fire.
The earsplitting gunfire echoed throughout the garage as a non-stop hail of bullets began hitting the convoy.
Some of the Jijis began pouring out of the vehicles while the ones at the backend of the convoy peeled off to get behind buildings for cover.
Nordell bent down and picked up the SAW. He racked the slide back and opened fire. The effect was devastating as rounds ripped into the vehicles puncturing tires, windows, and anyone still inside.
While the gunfire continued to wreak havoc across the street, no one noticed four Jijis coming in from the other end of the garage. They opened fire and immediately took down two of Nordell’s men.
The surprise move caused some of this men to panic, but the rest of the guys fired back at them. It was to no avail, however, since the Jijis had taken up defensive positions behind the concrete pillars.
Nordell needed to recover from his mistake. He should have had that entrance guarded. He swung the SAW over at them and pulled the trigger. The rounds began chewing through the concrete throwing rock chips in all directions. Nordell marched toward the Jijis while yelling at his guys to fall back. The report from the big gun was so loud that he could hardly hear himself let alone his men. They weren’t paying attention to him but were still firing at the enemy. He had to stop for a second to get their attention.
Only three got the message before the fourth was cut down while trying to flank the enemy. Nordell could see he was dead and was forced to be satisfied he still had three men with him.
At this rate of fire, there was no way, he’d be able to reach the enemy before running out of ammo. He began backing up. He looked across the street to see the Jijis from the convoy regrouping. This position was no longer advantageous. They needed to get out of there and fast.
“Let’s haul-ass out of here,” he yelled. “Get that launcher!”
Nordell still had one more RPG and wasn’t going to leave the valuable weapon behind.
Once everyone was loaded, Nordell jumped in and peeled out of the garage. He half expected to see the exit blocked off but was relieved no one was around.
He came up to Washington Street and looked across the way. Jijis were coming across the Grand River in droves. Their superior numbers would soon overwhelm them, but he just needed to keep them off balance to give everyone time to get out of Jackson.
Additional gunfire echoed in the air. It was coming from the kill-box Nordell had set up. They had strict instructions to wait until they had a sizable number inside the box before opening fire.
He took a right and headed back to his original position. The building he had initially been using was engulfed in flames. The fire would jump to the next building, which would eventually spread throughout the whole downtown.
He came up to Michigan and pulled his binoculars out. He looked down at the kill-box. Jijis from the west must have hurried towards the fight because they were spread out all over the place. His guys in the tall buildings were firing down on them and doing their best to hold them off, but there were just too many bad guys to handle.
Nordell hopped out of his truck and got in the bed to scan his surroundings. He didn’t like what he saw. The enemy was starting to close in on all sides.
He yanked out his radio and called out to Hollis.
“John, what’s it look like?”
“Not good, Nick. They’re everywhere with more coming up from the hospital now. Way I see it, we don’t have much time before they have us surrounded.”
Nick’s mind raced around considering the situation. He had no doubt they were going to lose the town. It wasn’t a matter of if but when.
Colonel Ali Baba had come up with a solid attack plan and had plenty of men to use as pawns to get what he wanted.
It has been just over a couple of hours since the attack started and the enemy began moving away from the hospital. This meant Colonel Ali Baba must be confident enough with the situation to send even more men up here. Then again, many of the Shadow Patriots had already escaped from the hospital. This drew down the number of targets the Colonel had to shoot at.
They needed to hold this area for just a little bit longer, so he keyed the radio and called out to Eddie who was still up on the interstate.
“Gunny, what’s your status?” asked Eddie.
“Not good Eddie. We’re about to be surrounded. I need some help down here.”
“No problem. I got a bunch of guys here from the hospital with more coming in. They want some revenge.”
“Roger that.”
Nordell’s shoulders lightened a bit at that the news. Not only would this help give the citizens more time but also enable his sharpshooters to get down from their positions.
Chapter 66
Iron River Wisconsin
Winters sat at the edge of the woods about thirty feet from the entrance of the barn. He could see the girls sleeping on the hay while he kept an eye on the road. It had been three hours since he saw the two Caddies. They hadn’t come back yet, which worried him. If they don’t come back this way, then they might be waiting for him up the road. He’d have to take an alternate route. He’d been studying the map and didn’t see many choices especially the closer they got to Saint Ignace, Michigan where there was only one way to get across the water and onto the mainland of Michigan. If that gang were smart, they would keep watch on the bridge and ambush him there.
If forced, he could always go south, but that would take him around Chicago, which was the last place he wanted to go. Despite the radiation from the dirty bombs, there were still gangs roaming around the toxic city. He preferred to take the scenic route as it always meant fewer people on the road.
It was too much to think about right now because he needed to sleep. He entered the barn and knelt down next to Laney who had volunteered to take the next watch. She was sleeping on her back which was making her snore lightly. Collette faced the other way. He put a hand on Laney’s shoulder and shook it a couple of times while whispering her name. It took a few tries before she opened her eyes.
“Is it time?”
Winters nodded.
“Okay.”
Winters ro
se up and extended his hand. She grabbed on and stumbled while standing.
“Careful there.”
“Oh man, I’m tired,” she said while arching her back.
“You gonna be alright.”
Laney nodded and then yawned. “Yep. Just give me a minute.”
Winters gave her a bottle of water and led her outside telling her about the two Caddies.
Laney gulped down some water and asked. “So, like, how are we gonna get out of here?”
“Not sure yet. I’m hoping they’ll come back by, which is why I want you to keep an eye on the road.”
“I can do that.”
“At this point, we’re going to have to drive at night and hope not to pass anyone.”
“Okay. Go, get some sleep. I’ll get Collette up in a few hours.”
“Wake me if those cars drive back by.”
“I got this, Cole. Go…go…get some sleep,” said Laney as she shooed him away.
She sat down after Winters collapsed on the hay. It had been a long night, but especially for him because he had the extra baggage of worrying about them. He didn’t like the idea of bringing them into a war zone. He never said anything about it, but then he never did ask them to begin with either. If he had, she would have said yes in a heartbeat. Collette would have done the same thing.
Laney took the cap off the bottle of water and took a large gulp. She owed him. Hell, the whole town owed him and rightly so. Had he not killed the scum who took over the town, then right about now, she’d just be getting home after a long night of partying. She scoffed at the thought. Partying my butt. Fulfilling my duties was more like it.
She winced remembering when Fowler called her a prostitute and made demands. I’m not a friggin prostitute. There wasn’t a choice in the matter but then she had to admit that there was a choice. It wasn’t a great choice because her family needed to eat. Damn it. I am a prostitute. Hell, I even worked double for more food. She slumped her shoulders in disgust. They took my virginity and used me like a throwaway toy.
She stood up and shook her arms while twisting around in a dance. All the girls did this as a way to fight off the negative thoughts. It was something to help remind them that those bastards forced them to have sex and would pay them with the food they had stolen. It was supposed to be food for the whole town, but they took it. They raped us and kept on raping us. We did not have a choice.
She stopped dancing and looked at the butterflies on her leg remembering getting them with Finley and Collette. It hurt at first, but then you got used to it. They agreed on butterflies because of the rebirthing metaphor.
She broke out in a smile because she was finally transforming into something much stronger than before. She wouldn’t let those bastards win and get depressed by something they did. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t Collette’s fault, or Finley’s fault or any of the other girls.
She took a deep breath to help calm down. She hated being alone, and this was why. Idle time produced idle thoughts. She sat back down and checked the M4 to keep busy. She relished the training Sergeant Hicks had given them. She thought her father and grandfather taught her everything there was to know about guns while she hunted with them. Sergeant Hicks, however, showed the best way to line up a shot, how to squeeze the trigger, to breathe, to field strip a rifle and most important, how to think while in a firefight. He kept putting them through the Urban Warfare course until they each passed with a high score.
The training helped immensely when she went after Butler as he was trying to escape. She knew just what to do to stop him. Then there was that creep Fowler. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation nor any regret either because he deserved it , just like all the others back home.
Laney looked at her watch. Ugh. What felt like an hour to her, had been only thirty minutes. Still another two and-a-half hours before Collette’s turn for guard duty. This was going to be a long wait, so she grabbed the backpack Sergeant Armstrong gave them and rummaged through it. She smiled as she pulled a bag of Hershey Kisses out. The man knew exactly what teenaged girls liked.
Chapter 67
Jackson Michigan
Scar was confident after firing a grenade at the cops that it would scare the hell out of the rest of them, at least for a while. He left Bassett and Burns to hold down the fort down while Meeks drove him and Amber to the other side.
As they were coming up to Waldron Road, they spotted a couple more pickup trucks filled with town’s people coming down the road. The trucks hit the brakes when they saw the cop car, but Meeks threw his hand out to wave at them.
“Hell, I’d think we were cops too,” said Meeks.
The lead truck got the message and picked up his speed pulling out behind them as they passed by.
They reached Taylor’s position and pulled up to them. Rounds flew over their heads as they got out and shuffled over to them.
“They seem pretty optimistic,” said Taylor.
“How many?” asked Scar.
“Not sure but from all the gunfire, probably six, maybe seven.”
Scar hoped there’d be more but no matter, they’d fire a grenade into their midst and shut them down for awhile. He wanted to get back into town and get a SITREP. As it was, he was hearing second hand reports that were being relayed to him because they were out of radio range. What he did know was that most everyone was out of the hospital, but causalities were high. The remaining personnel were regrouping with Eddie.
There was still no word from Nate, Elliott or Reese. He was holding out hope, but he had it in the back of his mind that they were dead. There was no time to mourn, and he wouldn’t stop hoping until he knew for sure.
Scar pulled the launcher out and grabbed a grenade. He peeked over the hood of the car and calculated the distance. He pointed it up and squeezed the trigger.
The grenade landed right on the top of the cop car with another spectacular explosion. It took out all the cops, and suddenly there was an eerie silence as flames shot up in the air.
“Damn, that thing is something,” said Taylor.
“Yeah, it is,” Scar responded. “Badger, I need some of your guys over at Bassett’s position.”
“Whaddya got in mind?”
“I need to get back into town.”
“Gonna leave me that grenade launcher?” asked Taylor.
“Ah…no. Besides, you’ve got the SAW.”
“Never hurts to ask.”
“Just keep this exit open.”
“Not a problem.”
Scar looked at Meeks and Amber. “Let’s go.”
Meeks raced up South Jackson Road and barely slowed down as he took a right on Kimmel Road, which paralleled the college campus where everyone was gathering. He was pleased to see Nordell’s Block Captains had coordinated transportation up and down the road to pick up anyone on foot. They would deliver them to the college and then head back out to look for more stragglers.
Every time Meeks passed someone they would run and hide from them because of the squad car they were driving.
“Got to ditch this damn thing,” said Meeks.
“Still might come in handy,” said Scar.
“Where we headed?”
“Downtown. Last I heard, Nordell was still holding firm.”
They were still six miles away and out of range of the small radios. The closer they got to town the more chatter they were able to hear.
Scar keyed the radio.”
“Gunny, Gunny, this is Scar, over.”
It took a couple of tries before Nordell replied.
“What’s your status?” asked Scar.
“We’ve got ourselves a Charlie Foxtrot.” Nordell was using a polite way of saying they were screwed. “Ali Baba has us surrounded. Anyone that escaped from the hospital headed to Eddie’s position. He’s leading a force down my way right now.”
Scar gave Amber a worried look.
“What’s your fix?” asked Nordell.
“Coming up Business 127 in ab
out five.”
“Roger that.”
Scar lowered the radio. Nordell took a chance to give his fellow citizens as much time as he could. It was a risky gamble but worth it to the retired Marine. His only concern was the safety of his people. Now, he would need help if he were going to make it out of there.
He looked inside the bag at the remaining three grenades. He would need to pick his targets wisely.
Scar turned to Amber in the back seat. “Where’s that map?”
Amber dug it out of her bag and handed it to him.
“Meeks take a left on High Street. I want to come up Francis, which goes right into downtown.”
“Whaddya got in mind?”
“Won’t know till I lay eyes on the situation.”
Meeks flipped on the blue lights as he turned onto Francis Street. So far, they hadn’t run into any Jijis. The quiet residential neighborhood was abandoned of all signs of life, which was a good thing because it meant the citizens were gone.
Meeks slowed down as they passed through the Morrell Street intersection. They didn’t see anyone, but Meeks proceeded even more cautiously as they approached the downtown area.
“Up there,” said Scar as he pulled his binoculars out. “On Washington.”
“I see ‘em,” said Meeks.
Two vehicles were blocking the intersection with four Jijis manning the blockade.
“Take a left here.”
Meeks turned onto West Franklin Street and drove a block and a half before finding an ideal driveway in which to hide the squad car. He pulled it into a dirt driveway between two houses and parked it in the back.
“Let’s go.”
Black smoke climbed high in the sky as sporadic gunfire echoed throughout the area. Everyone grabbed their gear and scooted between houses to reach Wesley Street. They ran down the street before coming to a narrow stretch between two buildings, which was blocked off by a fence with a wooden door.