by Nathan Jones
CHAIN BREAKERS
Book Three of
The Nuclear Winter Series
By
Nathan Jones
A continuation of the story in
the Best Laid Plans series.
Copyright © 2017 Nathan Jones. All rights reserved.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is coincidental and unintended by the author. While many locations are real, the author has taken license in describing them, and some locations are fictitious.
Table of Contents
Author's Note
PART ONE
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
PART TWO
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Author's Note
At times Chain Breakers takes a detour from the story of Aspen Hill to follow the story of Pete Childress, a former resident of the town who left during the fight against the Gold Bloc, as he continues the fight against slavers in the eastern United States.
Because Pete plays a main role in Chain Breakers and the reader won't have seen or heard much from him since the Best Laid Plans series, I've included a short summary of what we know about him.
Pete was a 16 year old sophomore in high school at the time of the Gulf refineries attack. A friend of Rick and Wes Watson, we're first introduced to him when the three volunteer to help Lewis, Trev, and Matt patrol the northern border of town when the refugees are first making their way down from Utah Valley during the weeks after the Gulf burned. Pete continues to volunteer for roadblock duty throughout that first winter.
During the winter Pete's mom, Lacy Childress, dies of pneumonia contracted due to weakness from hunger and the chill. In the spring Pete's dad, Ian Childress, dies during the first attack by Turner's raiders. Left an orphan, Pete insists on joining the fight against the raiders and holds his own well.
Having proven himself trustworthy, Pete joins the volunteers leaving with Matt and Trev to fight the blockheads closing in on the Rocky Mountains. He joins Matt's squad, slightly conflicted at the assignment. On the one hand it means he's with the veteran defenders and he'll have more chances to fight the enemy. On the other hand his friend Alice Thornton, who he'd dated in the past, is part of Trev's squad and he wants to be with her.
Alice is also an orphan, after having lost her dad during the attack by Razor's gang during the fall after the Gulf burned, and her mother early the next spring to hunger and weakness. She'd been taken in by the Watsons to the delight of Rick, who'd been interested in her for a long time.
Rick is also in Matt's squad, and throughout the training and early days fighting the blockheads Pete and Rick strike serious sparks over Alice, until finally they individually go to Matt and demand he transfer them over to Trev's squad to be with her. After thinking it over Matt decides to transfer Rick to Trev's squad, wanting to keep Pete around so he can keep an eye on him. In spite of still being separated in different squads Pete and Alice become lovers for a short time, doing their best not to draw attention to their relationship for Rick's sake.
During an ambush on a blockhead patrol Pete, in the heat of the fighting, shoots a fleeing enemy in the back as well as an enemy who's thrown down his weapon and is attempting to surrender. This alarms Matt, and convinced that his friend is unstable and a danger to his squad mates he insists on transferring Pete to the main camp to serve in a support role, well away from any fighting. With Alice's help Pete tries to get transferred to Trev's squad instead, but trusting Matt's judgment Trev denies the request.
After Trev's squad is ambushed and Alice is nearly killed, she and Pete have an intense argument and break things off. Shortly afterwards Pete steals a weapon from Sergeant Davis's armory and sneaks away from camp to pursue his own war against the blockheads.
For the remainder of the fight Pete slowly works his way east, picking off blockheads where he can find them and surviving by hunting, scavenging, and taking supplies from slain enemies. Eventually his one-man fight catches up with him, and he's wounded during an ambush against a blockhead truck just west of the Colorado Rockies.
To his great fortune he's found by a US military truck under the command of Lieutenant Dell Faraday. He learns that the fight against the blockheads in Utah is done and the enemy is fleeing, hotly pursued by the US military under the command of Generals Lassiter and Erikson. Faraday invites Pete to sign up and join the chase, and Pete eagerly accepts.
He's part of the fighting to drive the Gold Bloc remnants out of the eastern States, which has been claimed by Canada with the grudging acceptance of the United States in the Rocky Mountains. Fighting side by side US and Canadian forces push the enemy west of the Mississippi River, which eventually becomes the eastern border of the territory the blockheads name the Central Controlled Zone. As this story begins Pete is stationed in Illinois along that river border between Canada and the CCZ.
PART ONE
CHAINBREAKERS
Prologue
Moving Out
Trev could hardly believe it, but Robert Paulson and his people actually intended to follow through on their plans to move back and resettle the ruins of Aspen Hill.
They weren't wasting any time, either. It had only been three days since Lewis and the others returned to new Aspen Hill with a truck full of desperately needed food purchased in San Antonio, and the would-be settlers were already raring to go.
Trev had half wondered if the arrival of that food, and the promise of future trade runs for more food providing hope of stability, would change their minds, but if anything it had done just the opposite.
He had to admit he just didn't get it.
Sure, he could see the benefits of living down in the valley: the temperatures were milder, the ground was slightly more fertile, there were more reliable water sources with the canyon stream and the town's spring both providing a plentiful supply, and a few of the town's fruit trees, berry bushes, and gardens had escaped the wanton destruction of the blockhead occupiers and would still provide some food. Assuming the colder temperatures of nuclear winter didn't kill off the buds and young plants.
And not least among their motivations was a desire to reclaim land that was theirs. Those who owned land around the town certainly had reason to enforce their claim to it, people like Jack Dawson who owned a large chunk to the southwest and wouldn't give it up unless someone pried it from his cold, dead fingers. Then there were others who'd only owned houses with yards but felt equally vehement, even though many weren't going to be rebuilding on those lots. And then there were others who hadn't even been residents of Aspen Hill when the Gulf burned, who still wanted a change for one reason or another.
Yes, Trev understood all the reasoning and had no arguments with any of it. At the same time they'd all spent more than nine months building the new town of Aspen Hill and settling in to live there. That was a lot of work put into the place, a lot of planning and preparation and use of materials. He couldn't believe Robert and the others wanted to walk away from all of it just for slightly better living conditions elsewhere.
And it was a nuisance for those they'd be leaving behind, although Trev felt a bit selfish for thinking so. But no one could argue t
hat a lot of skilled, qualified people were leaving with Robert.
First off the man himself was the town's only professional carpenter, and skilled at making furniture to boot. New Aspen Hill was still in the process of building houses for everyone, which meant Robert hadn't had a chance to get around to making any of that furniture yet.
On top of it Robert had married Hailey Nelson yesterday, which of course had been a delightful event, but it meant she'd be going with him. Hailey was one of the only people in town with extensive knowledge in getting useful products out of the town's herd of sheep and goats. She knew how to make cheese, kefir, and other products with goat milk, how to use wool and goat fibers to make cloth, and how to make leather from animal hides. Although she'd been happily passing on that knowledge to anyone interested, especially Trev's cousin Mary and Edna Watson, losing her would be a serious setback in Aspen Hill's work in that area.
And there were dozens of others with useful skills or a solid work ethic who'd be leaving, including some of Trev's defenders. Even the shelter group was losing someone, one of the refugees who'd come with Jane named Helen, a young mother who was engaged to Robert's friend Jonathan. Originally they'd planned for her and her young daughter to stay behind while Jonathan got things ready for them, then the couple would wed and the family would move into their new home. But in the flurry of the group's plans to leave she'd changed her mind.
The event had stirred the entire town into excitement, which would've almost been a festival atmosphere if it didn't mean nearly a hundred family, friends, and neighbors were leaving.
Trev and a few dozen others had spent the last two days helping the group prepare for the move, including loading up the truck with the first load to go down, and gathering the other supplies so they could be quickly loaded in further trips. That was going to be quite a few trips, since while the people who were leaving only had so many possessions, there was also a lot of supplies and materials the town was sending down with them.
Not to mention the people, who couldn't really ride in the truck unless they wanted to stack up like firewood in a very awkward pile. With that consideration, and the fact that the town was critically low on fuel and the United States in the Rocky Mountains had yet to receive their first shipment of newly refined fuel from Canada, most of Robert's group was going to be trekking down on foot. They'd have to push hard to make it there in one day, especially those carrying supplies, but friends from new Aspen Hill would be going with them to help.
Deb was going to be walking with the others, to help Hailey herd the few animals the town was sending along with the group. Trev had some serious reservations about his wife making such a strenuous trip when she was in the early stages of pregnancy, especially since their last attempt had ended in a miscarriage. But she'd insisted, and the best he could get her to agree to was that she'd take his bike and not push herself too hard.
He'd also sent Jim along, getting his younger brother's promise to look after her. Trev would've gone himself, but he had his work cut out for him loading and unloading the truck.
Although the possessions of a hundred people took up plenty of room, most of what would be filling the truck for multiple trips was lumber. Robert had requested that they be allowed to take new Aspen Hill's entire store of seasoned logs and newly cut timber, which was a serious request and one that the town's leaders had collectively blown a gasket over.
At least until the carpenter pointed out that his people would be abandoning their homes, meaning the town would suddenly have a couple dozen available cabins and stick-and-mud huts: new Aspen Hill could solve all its housing needs without any more construction necessary.
Robert also pointed out, less than politely thanks to being shouted down by Matt, Trev, and several others at the time, that another alternative would be for the departing people to dismantle their homes and take those logs with them.
“You could either hold onto the materials to make a bunch of new houses, or you could have the houses themselves,” the carpenter concluded. Then he smiled grimly. “The first choice means both the town and my settlers have to work hard, while the second means just my settlers work building our new houses while the town reaps the benefit of their previous labor.”
It was hard to argue with that logic.
In fact, after a bit of consulting among themselves Chauncey, Ben, Catherine, and Matt even agreed to fork over a few more supplies, as meager payment for the homes Robert's settlers would be leaving behind. The carpenter was right that both sides wanted the split to be amicable, especially if Robert insisted on calling his new settlement part of Aspen Hill. Under his leadership, of course.
The morning had dawned bright and clear, the truck was ready to take the first load down, and the crowd of townspeople surrounding the settlers getting ready to set off on foot had finished saying their farewells. In a moment Trev would join Robert, Matt, and Lewis packing into the cab of the truck to leave.
Once they reached the site of the new town, planned to be built along the banks of the Aspen Hill Canyon stream south of the old town's ruins, they'd meet the few dozen men from Robert's group who'd left yesterday to get things ready. With any luck those men had already got to work clearing the ground, digging foundations, and setting up the temporary camp.
As Trev hugged Deb goodbye and reminded her again not to push herself, receiving only an impatient eye roll in response, he couldn't help but notice that Linda had joined Jim standing nearby. His younger sister tried to be casual about it, but her eyes followed Robert and Hailey as the newlyweds moved around the truck. The handsome carpenter was busy checking the pressure in the vehicle's tires, while his new wife trailed along behind holding the tire pump in case it was needed.
Trev was aware Linda had a longtime crush on the man, and probably felt a bit glum about him getting married yesterday. He made his way over to her. “Going to say goodbye?”
His sister looked annoyed rather than embarrassed. “Why? He's married.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of saying goodbye to both of them,” Trev said, trying not to frown. “I thought Hailey was your friend.”
“We haven't spoken in months.” Linda sniffed. “As for Robert, he's a self-absorbed jerk.”
Jim snorted, although he looked more irritated than amused. “You're one to talk, Pot.”
Their sister reddened. “Right, I'm always calling the kettle black. Because I can't ever criticize anyone for anything, even if I'm right, since you think I have every flaw in existence so it makes me a hypocrite to point them out in others. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.”
“If you ever did it would be a miracle,” Jim shot back, although he looked a bit guilty.
“Take it easy, you two,” Trev said. He pulled Jim aside and spoke in a low voice. “Take care of whatever work Hailey needs with the animals so Deb can take it easy.”
His brother rolled his eyes. “Okay sure. But you do realize she's not made of porcelain, right?”
“I just want to be careful.” Trev clapped the young man on the shoulder before starting for the truck. “Thanks.”
He ended up last into the cab, which was actually the best spot since he got the passenger window seat. He ended up next to Matt, with Lewis on the other side and Robert at the wheel.
“Is it too late to ride on the roof?” Matt grumbled as he mashed his tall, wiry frame over to make room.
“You could ride on the step and hold onto the rearview mirror,” Lewis answered, scooting over as much as possible without getting in the way of the stick shift. “Probably wouldn't be the most dangerous thing you've ever done.”
Trev pushed over a bit more so he could close the door, then wedged himself against it and tried to turn sideways to give the others more room. “At least we're all skinny.”
“And it'll be a fairly short trip.” Robert started the engine and shifted the truck into gear, awkwardly maneuvering the stick around Lewis's leg. “I appreciate you guys coming to help.”
There were gracious murmurs all around as the carpenter carefully maneuvered them through the waving crowd and down to the road that wound across the valley. He turned right, starting them towards the eastern slope. Once they got up that it would be mostly downhill through the mountains from there until they reached the bottom of Aspen Hill Canyon, with the ruined town less than two miles from its mouth.
With its lower elevation the new Aspen Hill valley was an oasis of spring, while in the surrounding mountains winter was slow to retreat. A few feet of snow covered the ground, but thankfully Robert's men who'd gone ahead had taken the time to clear the road for the truck. This early in the morning patches of ice made the drive treacherous in some places, but otherwise it was fairly easy.
As they drove the conversation mostly revolved around the magnitude of building a new town for a hundred people, especially with good trees few and far between in the drier, more desolate valley. Although Robert was also very enthusiastic about the prospect of constructing a sawmill at some future date.
“Building with full logs is a bit wasteful,” the carpenter said. “Not terrible for insulation, although there are better ways to do that, too. But imagine how much better it will be to be able to get back to construction with 2x4s, plywood, all of that.”
“Nails?” Trev asked doubtfully.
Robert shrugged. “Well we'll have some trading to do no matter what. For that matter we'll need the equipment for the mill, which might be hard to find.” He quickly changed the subject, seeming eager to veer away from reality and back to his hopes and dreams.
The man's biggest concern seemed to be whether Canada's infusion of fuel would be enough to make powered saws cost effective, or whether it might be possible to dam up the stream at some spot in Aspen Hill Canyon to produce enough water pressure to run a saw.