Revolution

by Mark Church

  14 the reluctant army

  Jake and Cole are behind the main house splitting wood for the stoves. A thin layer of snow covers the frozen ground, which make the task all the more difficult.

  Cole raises the ax high before driving it down onto the prepositioned stump. The stump splits in two, sending each half flying in opposite directions. Jake places another stump on the chopping block and steps back. Cole once again raises the ax but before he can drive the ax downward, blood and bone explode from the center of his chest as the report from a rifle rings out. Cole slowly collapses to his knees as blood pours from the gaping wound. Surprise and agony share his expression as he manages a final, labored breath and falls on his side.

  Jake rushes towards Cole and gathers him up in his arms as soldiers pour out of the woods. Looking down at his son, it’s clear that he’s dead. Jake’s heart breaks in two for the second time in his life.

  Jake gently lays his son back onto the ground before picking up the ax and, in a reckless rage, he charges the advancing soldiers. He only manages a few steps before multiple bullets rip into him, causing him to fall forward. Lying face first in the snow, Jake uses what little strength he has left to turn himself onto his back.

  The encroaching soldiers surround him. Jake struggles for each breath as an officer pushes through the ring of soldiers.

  “Is this the one that we’ve been looking for?” asks the officer.

  “I believe it is, sir.”

  “Kill the rest of them,” the officer barks out the order. “I’ll deal with him.”

  As the soldiers continue their advance on the Refuge, the officer turns his attention to Jake and demands, “So you really thought that you could stand up to us.”

  Jake tries to raise his head and offer a reply, but he is unable to speak above a whisper.

  “Don’t try to talk,” grins the officer evilly, “that shit has got to hurt.”

  Jake lowers his head back to the ground. Screams of terror and gunfire fill the air. The emotional torment of not being able to help those he loves proves more excruciating than the pain of his injuries.

  Over the next few minutes the shots become fewer and fewer until they stop all together.

  “It sounds like your little group isn’t all that tough after all,” mocks the officer.

  The hatred in Jake’s eyes burns bright.

  Once again, the officer mocks him. “Well look at you – you’re at death’s door and you still have a little fight left in you. Let me see if I can remedy that.”

  The officer places the barrel of his pistol on Jake’s forehead and pulls back the hammer. The click of the hammer seating in place is the nightmare’s final act before Jake bolts upright in his bed.

  Startled awake by Jake’s groaning and flailing, Amy asks alarmingly “What is it? Are you okay?”

  Jake is still trying to fully regain his bearings, to beat back the horrifying vision from his dream. The scene that played out in his mind’s eye seemed all too real. His shirt is soaked with sweat and he is hyperventilating.

  Amy is relieved when she realizes that it is only a nightmare. She puts her arms around Jake, which helps to restore his calm. His breath begins to slow as he allows Amy to lower him back onto the bed. She cradles him in her arms and pulls him close.

  “It was just a nightmare,” she soothes.

  “But it seemed so real,” Jake murmurs.

  “Tell me about it.”

  Jake hesitantly describes his dream. The details are hard to get through because they evoke the same anxiety and distress as the dream itself. When he’s finished, it’s clear that he’s still shaken.

  “Cole was already dead, and I couldn’t get to you and Kayla. I was losing everything and everyone I love!”

  Amy tries to reassure him, “It’s not real and it will never be real.”

  “I’m not so sure. The soldiers we saw yesterday weren’t in town for a social call.”

  “Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean they are coming back.”

  Amy doesn’t believe that for a minute. She is just as scared, if not more so, than Jake. In spite of her fears, she tries to put on a brave face.

  “Our destiny doesn’t end like that,” Amy continues calmly.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “I just am,” Amy pulls Jake even closer. “We love each other too much for it to end like that.”

  Jake allows himself to be coddled. He’s been the rock for so long it feels good to give up the reins if only for a little while. Amy strokes Jake’s hair as he nuzzles her breast.

  One thing leads to another as soothing turns to arousal, and arousal to passion. Each gives and receives affirmation of their love.

  The closeness and physical release of the nearly spiritual act is just what the doctor ordered. They are both relaxed and refreshed by their love making.

  “I don’t hear anyone else stirring, one of us should go stoke the stove.” Amy notices the cold temp as her skin cools from the warmth of their lovemaking.

  “I’ll flip you for it,” Jake jokes.

  Amy puffs out her bottom lip and musters up her best ‘poor me’ frown.

  After a few seconds of that beautiful but pitiful face, Jake has to laugh, “Okay, okay, I know when I’m beaten.”

  “Thanks, sweetie!”

  Feigning exasperation, Jake huffs, “What am I going to do with you?”

  “More of what you did a few minutes ago, I hope,” Amy playfully suggests.

  Jake smiles and kisses her on the cheek before saying, “Do you really think I’m that easy?”

  “I don’t think anything.” Amy emphasizes the word “think” with a sarcastic grin.

  Rolling his eyes, Jake says with faux annoyance, “I’m going to tend to the fire.”

  As he’s leaving the room, Amy calls out, “Love you.”

  Jake pauses for a moment and looks back at Amy before affirming, “Love you back.”

  ✽✽✽

  When Jake enters the kitchen both dogs begin wagging their tails. Shadow jumps to her feet while the male struggles to rise. It’s evident that he’s stiff and sore from his injuries. He eventually manages to stand and, all things considered, he appears to be doing quite well.

  “Are you guys hungry?” Jake asks the dogs.

  They begin circling Jake, their tails wagging even faster. Jake retrieves a few pieces of smoked venison and offers them to the dogs. They gulp the morsels down greedily.

  “I bet you guys need to go outside.” Jake walks towards to the back door.

  The dogs beat him to the door and whine impatiently. When Jake reaches the door, he turns the knob and pulls. It barely opens a crack before Shadow forces it the rest of the way open with her nose and barrels through. Bull follows close behind.

  Jake closes the door but remains there to watch the dogs through the glass.

  Once off the back porch, Shadow races from spot to spot with Bull loping slowly after her. Each diligently marking their new territory. It’s really quite comical – a squirt here, a squirt there before an anxious dash to another prime spot.

  The first light of the new day is just beginning to push the gloom of night into the recesses of the forest.

  Jake reflects back to his earlier nightmare as he scans the tree line for signs of movement. His gaze moves to the woodpile, which prompts him to replay the dreams most horrific scene. A cold chill runs up his spine as sweat pops out on his forehead.

  Fortunately, it’s not long before the antics of the two dogs recapture his attention. He realizes that he has been holding his breath, so he forces himself to breathe deeply which helps to settle the butterflies in his stomach.

  Assuming that the two dogs aren’t coming back anytime soon, Jake returns to his original tasks of stoking the stove.

  John enters the kitchen. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.” Jake returns the salutation. “How’s Kate?”

  “Slept through the night without incident. Her bandages l
ook pretty clean so the bleeding has mostly stopped.”

  “Great news. Is she awake?”

  “Yeah, for now. I told her if she promised to stay in bed that I’d bring her some tea.”

  “I’m working on that right now.” Jake throws some kindling into the stove.

  “I’ll stoke the one in the living room,” John announces as he strides off to the other room.

  John is only gone a few minutes before he returns to the kitchen, as Jake is placing a large, water-filled kettle on the stovetop.

  “So, what do you think? Will the soldiers return?”

  “Without a doubt!” John has given this a lot of thought through the long dark night. “They were a typical reconnaissance detail and they found what they were looking for.”

  “And what is that?”

  “A population that survived their initial sweep. My guess is that they intend on finishing the job.”

  Jake looks to the ceiling and lets out a sigh, “Can we beat them?”

  John looks to the floor and rubs his chin with his hand, “Unlikely, and not without help.”

  “Should we run?”

  “Run where? They won’t leave us alone; they’ll pursue us wherever we go.” John restlessly pulls out cups and sassafras leaves for brewing Kate’s tea.

  “Then what do we do?”

  John turns and looks Jake full in the face. His gaze is level and his manner matter of fact, “We stand and fight.”

  “But you said…” Jake begins before John cuts him off.

  “I said that it’s unlikely that we can beat them, not that it’s impossible. If we can raise a militia, and train them properly, we may be able to hold them off for a while. If we can encourage communities countrywide, heck worldwide, to band together and fight back, we may be able to up our odds.”

  Jake is somewhat encouraged. “Do you really think that we would stand a chance?”

  “A chance,” John nods his head. “Maybe not a good chance, but a chance.”

  “That’s all I’m asking for. How do you suggest that we approach this?” Jake’s vigor is renewed by this smallest thread of hope. Just the possibility of success has his juices flowing.

  “We need to organize local communities first. Diplomacy is not my forte so I’ll leave that part up to you.”

  Jake nods, “Okay – I can start by requesting a meeting with all of the community leaders in our area. I’ll explain the situation and ask them to join us. If I can get them to agree, will you volunteer to serve as our militia commander to help train our volunteers?”

  “Given that was my role in the military, and the fact that I know our adversaries’ tactics, I’d say I’m qualified for the job.”

  “So, is that a yes?”

  “That’s a yes.”

  “Feel like hiking up to the communication outpost after breakfast? I’d like to try to contact New Town on the radio.” Jake is eager to begin formulating a plan.

  “Sure. As long as Amy doesn’t mind looking after Kate.” After the strain of waiting for Kate to awaken John now feels confident enough in her healing to seek some way to expel his pent-up energy.

  Scratching noises at the back door interrupt the men’s conversation.

  “It didn’t take those dogs too long to decide it is warmer inside.” Jake laughs as he walks to the door.

  He opens the back door and allows the two frosty dogs to reenter the kitchen. They head straight for their makeshift beds and circle a few times before plopping down and curling up, exhausted by their outing.

  John pours three cups of tea and offers one to Jake, “I’m going back to my room and have mine with Kate.”

  Amy enters the kitchen and overhears John, “How is Kate this morning?”

  John tone is upbeat. “She’s sore but she should make a full recovery as long as her wound doesn’t get infected.”

  “Don’t worry about an infection”, comforts Jake. “We’ll get her some of the antibiotics we found at the communication outpost.”

  “Are you going up there today?” Amy wonders if the men didn’t have enough adventure yesterday to hold them for a month.

  “Yeah”, replies Jake, “Grab a cup of tea, I want to fill you in on a few things.”

  “I’m going to take this to Kate”, says John. “What time do you want to leave?”

  Jake gives a moment’s thought and replies, “In about an hour.”

  “Okay, I’ll be ready.”

  After John leaves, Amy pours herself a cup of tea and sits at the kitchen table. Jake proceeds to fill her in on his discussion with John. Amy listens quietly as he outlines their plans, her facial expressions conveying everything that she does not verbalize.

  When Jake is done, he asks, “Well, what do you think?”

  “I think I’m scared. In the back of my mind I always knew this day would come but I was hoping I was wrong.” Amy sips her tea contemplatively and sighs.

  “Pretty much the same for me. I guess we were just kidding ourselves.” He has treasured this quiet time with Amy and hates to see it end.

  Amy stares down at her cup. Jake tries to read her body language as he gives her time to consider their situation. She is wearing her best poker face.

  Jake retrieves the hot water kettle and tops off their cups. When he returns to his seat, Amy sits upright, squares her shoulders and, in a defiant tone, says, “If it’s a fight they want, then by God, we’ll give ‘em one they won’t soon forget.”

  Relieved that Amy is onboard, Jakes reaches across the table and takes her hand before squeezing it gently and saying, “I wish things were different.”

  Amy looks squarely at Jake and, with a slight frown, agrees, “Me too.”

  It’s not long before the others begin streaming into the kitchen looking for breakfast. When they are all accounted for, except for John and Kate, Jake asks for everyone’s attention.

  Sensing the seriousness in Jake’s demeanor, Mike and Gena tell the kids to go wash up. When they have gone, both parents take a seat at the table.

  When everyone is settled, Jake begins describing their predicament and how he believes it should be addressed. They let him finish without interruption. After laying out his case, he looks around the table. The risk of what he is suggesting is clearly registered on each of their faces – except for Cole, eager would better describe his expression.

  Gena turns to Amy, “What do you think we should do?”

  “I agree with Jake, we can run but we can’t hide. They’d eventually find us. It’s better to fight them on our turf, where we know the landscape and we have the numbers to stand up to them.”

  Addressing Jake, Mike asks, “Do you think others will join us?”

  “I’m betting on it. The folks in New Town have too much to lose to cut and run. I’m guessing many of the other area communities are in the same boat. I’ll know more about their thoughts later today.”

  Jake goes on to tell them that he’d understand if they chose to leave instead of making a stand. After all, Mike and Gena have young children to consider.

  The table grows quiet for a moment before Cole exclaims, “We can beat them back – I know we can!”

  Mike looks at Gena and speaks for both of them, “We’ve made our home here – and we have nowhere else to go.”

  Gena nods before looking around the table and saying, “You are all family, and you don’t desert family.”

  “Then it’s settled. We stay and fight for what is ours.” Jake nods appreciatively. He’s found gold around this table. Their relationships steadfast, their bonds, unbreakable.

  15 pay dirt

  Hannah looks at her desk calendar and is amazed at how the weeks have flown since starting her new position. Ken has been too busy to pester her much so rebuffing any romantic overtures hasn’t been an issue and, while the amenities are wonderful, she hasn’t lost sight of her true objective.

  Her exposure to the inner workings of the government has created the conduit of information that Eva h
ad hoped but, up to this point, they’ve yet to hit a home run – that is, until today.

  ✽✽✽

  Hannah exits the elevator and proceeds down the hall to Ken’s office. The door is closed but not latched so her light knock causes the door to move inward slightly.

  “Hello, Ken, are you here?”

  No one answers.

  Hannah tries again, “Yoo-hoo – anyone home?”

  Still no answer.

  Hannah looks behind her. The hallway is empty. Her intuition prods her to risk entering. Gathering her courage, she pushes on the door. It slowly begins swinging open. She looks around to confirm that the office is unoccupied before tentatively stepping towards Ken’s desk.

  As she draws near to the desk, she sees a folder marked, ‘Classified - Operation Terminus’ lying in plain view. Hannah is surprised that seemingly important documents were left in open view. She can only presume that the door was left unlocked by mistake.

  Hannah checks behind her again to make sure no one’s there before reaching for the folder and opening it. The contents of the folder is a multi-page document, but the first page appears to be a summary and what it describes is soul crushing. The document details objectives, tactics, and specific dates for a military initiative to exterminate or enslave the rebels, who are defined as anyone operating outside of the government’s control.

  Hannah takes out her phone and accesses its camera feature. She begins taking photos of each of the pages in the document. After taking a photo of the last page, she hears the elevator bell chime. She quickly replaces the document and closes the folder before hurrying towards the door. Her heart is hammering in her chest and her breathing begins to feel constricted. She reaches the door at the same time the elevator door opens and Ken steps out. As he turns to start down the corridor, he sees her coming out of his office. He is understandably surprised.

  “Hannah, can I help you with something?” Hannah hears the note of suspicion in his tone.