The Changing Earth Series (Book 4): Battle for the South

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  “I have to know if my brother’s okay. You can find out,” Dexter pleaded. “Please, Harold, I have to know.”

  “You’re asking a lot, Dex,” Harold replied.

  “I know, but…” Dexter tried to think of some way to convince him.

  “Okay, I’ll tell you what I can do,” Harold said suddenly. “Come with me.”

  They walked down the hallway to Harold’s office where he had a computer set up. Sitting down at the machine, Harold logged into the Federal System.

  “This is a list of all the deceased from the invasion thus far,” Harold said flatly.

  “Oh my gosh!” Dexter was looking at thousands of names.

  Harold entered Daniel’s name into the search and found no matches. He had the same results for Dexter’s grandparents’ names and Major Virgis’s.

  “See, Dexter, there’s hope,” Harold assured him.

  Dexter breathed a sigh of relief. There’s hope, he repeated to himself.

  “Now go, Dex. You only have a few hours,” Harold told him.

  “What’s wrong, Harold?” Dex wondered why Harold seemed so pressured.

  “The feds are sweeping the city for tunnels. That block will get swept in two days and that entrance is scheduled to be sealed in four hours,” Harold explained.

  “Got it,” Dex replied, heading for the door.

  “Here, take this,” Betsy said meeting him by the door with a bundle of pemmican bars. “I know you have a pack stashed somewhere close,” she smiled, hugging him. “I love you, Dexter.”

  “Take care, Dex,” Harold said affectionately as he left.

  Dexter negotiated the perils of the city, grabbed his pack, and hustled toward the home he was supposed to go to with his team. Bennet is going to be pissed, he worried. Locating the home, he called Trucker to him and climbed the stairs. Before he could even knock, the door opened enough for him to see MSgt Bennet standing in it.

  “Get in here!” he commanded sternly but kept his voice low. “Boy, I should…” Bennet declared, flaring his hands through the air.

  Dexter knew he was ready to come unglued, but he was respecting the secrecy of this location. He won’t do anything, Dexter told himself confidently, for now. Squeezing into the tight hallway with the giant of a man, Dexter tried to explain.

  “Daniel’s name wasn’t on the list,” Dexter told him.

  “What are you talking about, Dex? Where have you been?” Bennet surged.

  “I went back to Harold’s. I knew he could find out if Daniel was okay. He showed me a list of the deceased and it was long, but Daniel’s name wasn’t on it. Neither were my grandparents or Major Virgis’s,” Dexter informed him.

  Thank God, Bennet thought.

  “It still doesn’t excuse you breaking formation and heading off on your own. What if something would have happened?” Bennet stormed quietly.

  “I wasn’t alone. I had Trucker,” Dexter smiled, stroking the dog’s head.

  “Still, Dex. Not okay,” Bennet insisted.

  The woman who owned the house approached. She had beautiful brown skin and wore her hair naturally. Its soft curls were gorgeous as they bounced out into the air, giving her face a delicate teardrop shape.

  “Is this your boy?” Yolanda asked as she approached.

  “Yes, ma’am, thank you for letting us wait for him,” Bennet replied respectfully, eyeballing Dexter maliciously.

  “Before the feds started sweeping the tunnels we could have waited all night, but now, I’ll be sad to see my little piece of the refugee underground railroad shut down.” There was truth in her voice. “Come on, guys, I’ll show you the way.”

  They walked down the hallway of the little home and passed an archway that opened into a sitting area. Victorian sofas decorated it. Johnny was playing with a young black boy with an afro like his mother’s. They were tossing a ball back and forth across the wooden floor, laughing as it bounced and hit the boy in the forehead.

  “Mr. McClintock,” the woman said politely. “It’s time to go.”

  “Oh, Mom,” the boy said sadly. “Can’t they just stay a little while longer?”

  “I’m sorry, Boston. I wish they could stay longer, too, but it’s just not safe,” she replied.

  “Okay, Mommy,” Boston answered, dejected.

  “I sure had fun playing, Boston. You take care of that mom of yours,” Johnny said to the boy.

  Boston got up and hugged Johnny.

  “You’re okay, Johnny. You come back and visit any time,” Boston said very maturely in his little boy’s voice.

  The adults chuckled at his grown-up move that made him look even cuter.

  “Hey, Johnny.” Dexter tried to greet his buddy.

  “Hey, Dex,” Johnny said flatly, not making eye contact.

  Dexter remembered his harsh words to his friend, but now was not the time for apologies. They continued down the hall to a door that led to something very rare in Texas, a basement.

  “You know, there was a time when one of my ancestors was shown a road to freedom, just like this,” the woman explained as they descended the stairs. “That woman went on and had a family and a very full life. This will be the last time I get to do the same for you all, so I want you to step out of that tunnel, new men, ready to change the world,” she lectured as she led them to a far wall.

  “Ma’am, we will do our very best,” Bennet replied.

  “I’m sure you will,” she said, looking up at Patrick Bennet. Then her eyes went to a large armoire. “Now, help me move this.”

  The young men snapped into action with a look from Bennet, and a blank wall of paneling was revealed. She popped out a section and it opened into a dirt tunnel.

  “Climb down this tunnel and it opens into a conduit that runs power and fiber optic cables. Turn left and keep crawling. You have four miles until you will come to another dirt tunnel. Follow it and knock at the door. They know you are coming.

  “It’s gonna be a tight fit for you, big man,” she told Bennet while patting him on the shoulder.

  “I’ll manage,” Bennet said. In reality, he hated tight spots and was dreading the experience completely. The thought of another Great Quake happening soon made everything worse.

  “Thank you for all you’ve done,” Bennet said, watching Dexter coax Trucker into the tunnel.

  “New men,” Yolanda reminded him.

  Chapter 20

  The wheels of war were turning at dawn the next morning. Vince and Erika were given a set of hard-plate body armor. It was lightweight compared to other armor she had worn in the past and didn’t restrict her movement much.

  “It is going to suck, wearing all this gear in this hot muggy weather,” Vince commented.

  Erika’s mind lingered on her family. Her children were scattered across the country and she had no idea what was happening to them. Star should have been with Sean’s band in Dallas on June second. Dexter should have been in the badlands with Johnny. Daniel, she sighed heavily, Daniel should have been safe with his grandparents in the North. Now, everything had changed, and God only knew their fate.

  “Helloooo…Erika,” Vince broke her train of thought. “I miss them too but you’re going to have to get your head in the game. What would Bennet say? Suck it up, cupcake, we got a job to do.”

  Erika chuckled at him, but he was right. To stay alive, she would have to know the plan inside and out, where they were going and what strategies they were employing. As soon as the Militia went through the gates and filtered through Old Austin they would start to encounter federal checkpoints. Luckily, they were all being minimally staffed do to the invasion in the North. The Militia would send in small insurgence teams to quietly take out these checkpoints in hopes of maintaining radio silence as long as possible.

  Bernie Hamilton, one physically fit, sixty-plus year-old man, was heading back to Louisiana to establish an alibi. They wanted to keep his involvement with the resistance a secret if possible.

  Ted Ferguson would
head north with the main force. His two top commanders were Katie Kennedy and Juan Gutierrez. Juan had been injured in the hospital in Houston. He had barely survived the incident and his recovery would be long. Derrick, the Northern commander, could not return to the Northern Region and was assigned to take Juan’s place.

  There would be no going back to the Federal Region for Mr. Ferguson. His identity would be known, and he would be hunted along with his commanders as long as the Federal Government remained in the hands of FEMA and the Social Safety Party.

  Erika and Vince were headed west with Cassidy’s team. Her two top commanders, Phillip Johnson and Eli Salo, would accompany them to the town of Brady, which sat at the southeastern tip of the Ogallala Lake. From there Phillip would take a team north across the lake to meet with the western Militia. The combined squads would rendezvous with Cassidy at the southwestern gate and attack it from both sides. The hope was that before all was said and done, most of Texas and the southern half of New Mexico would be back in free hands. It still held true that the Federal Forces had many bases in New Mexico. On the other hand, they had many more people tired of big landowners receiving all the federal funding while they lived in squalor. They were ready to bleed for their freedom, and it was questionable if these Federal Forces would turn upon the citizenry they lived among. Now was the time to strike.

  It was an uneventful day for Vince and Erika. The adrenaline pumped as they watched the troops forming ranks and loading in transports. Armored vehicles rumbled by and even a few tanks that the Militia had from private owners or acquired after the Great Quake. After that, they had loaded their gear into a jeep and joined the caravan. Kyle was assigned as their driver.

  Erika watched the deserted desert roll by while her head sweated under her helmet. Her long hair stuck to the sweat around her neck and the wind swirled it everywhere. Vince seemed to have found a calm spot. Erika gazed at him in his armor, holding his rifle. She knew he was a lover not a fighter, and could only imagine what was going through his head.

  The city of Brady was a beautiful city. Most of the feds had already been cleared out and the people cheered wildly for the incoming Militia army. Sitting on the southern tip of the Ogallala Lake, Erika took in the sight for the first time. She was awestricken. The lake was huge, and the edges dropped off in deep cliffs down to a beach front.

  Phillip broke off from the main squad and led his team north to a ferry that would escort the troops to the other side of the lake. They would enter New Mexico from there; timing would be the key. Like Erika, it was essential that every individual knew their mission inside and out so that, if separated from the group, everyone could work on their own.

  The main unit would split one more time before they reached the gate. Cassidy was leading a team of twenty soldiers that would board a train scheduled to enter the walled gate. The communications hub was located by the tracks inside the wall. The train would take them in, and after Cassidy’s group took out the communications hub, they would light a flare and the squads would converge on the gate to draw fire while the inserted teams removed the snipers. Smaller teams could then move about to finish clearing the concrete gun emplacements and trenches that lined the wall. The checkpoint would be theirs after that.

  The assault would take place at night. Less light would challenge the skill of the snipers and make the flare easier to see. Erika knew from her many trips across the country that there were many train tracks crossing Texas. One went right up the side of the highway they would take to attack from the south, but it was not the one that Cassidy’s team would use. It made an abrupt turn to the east. Erika’s group would hold up in Pecos and wait for Cassidy’s team to continue their trek west to the next set of tracks, where the train would be waiting. They were going to board somewhere in the deep canyons that time had made, and the Great Quake had exacerbated.

  Each new city created a challenge. They had to be carefully scouted and the skeleton Federal Forces crews had to be strategically plucked out. Once the all-clear was signaled they rolled into Pecos, a city that had been left behind by the Great Quake. Brothels serviced the men that worked in the oil fields to the north, and people still clung to the edge of an agricultural existence. Erika guessed the federal funding hadn’t reached this town.

  Cassidy’s team took five jeeps. They would try to stay off federal roads from here on out. The farmers with land between here and there were more than happy to provide a path. They knew that if everything worked out, they would be free in the morning.

  Eli Salo oversaw the group Vince and Erika were assigned to. He ordered the team to get some chow and get their gear in order since they had time to burn. Eli didn’t talk much to Vince and Erika. Kyle explained to Erika that Eli had been a close friend of Cassidy’s father. Reflecting on the circumstances of the situation, Erika understood why he would harbor ill feelings toward her.

  Erika sat, eating a bowl of rehydrated mac ’n’ cheese. She looked at all the young people. Some of them she would never see again. She couldn’t think of that now. They believed in their cause and had no regrets. We tried all the diplomatic paths we could think of, she reminded herself.

  Erika reflected on the first time she headed into battle. It was right after the Great Quake. There was a kind couple, Henry and Carol, who’d nursed Erika back to health after she had been submerged in the toxic lake water that wiped the city of Sacramento off the map. Erika softly ran her fingers over her scarred skin. The scars faded as time went on, but the memories did not. She left Henry and Carol, headed for home, when she ran into a man named Doug who decided it was a good idea to keep people as slaves. Erika made it home to her beloveds but later Harold, Henry’s son, came looking for help. Henry and Carol’s home was raided, and they were taken prisoner by Doug. Erika had to help. These people saved her life.

  This battle was much different from that one. It would be, but a moment written in history. A tiny piece of a long war that was just beginning. It was a complicated plan, and three teams would have to work in unison. Her gear was far more efficient than what she used in her first battle. A tank would lead them in and her team would follow it. They would provide cover for it, and then exit the vehicles to clear the trenches.

  Vince had been eerily quiet for a while now. She looked at him, wondering what was going on behind those eyes.

  “You okay?” Erika asked.

  “I’m so pissed, Erika. Frustrated with life, missing my kids. All I need is a target and I’ll kill all those bastards,” he vented.

  Erika chuckled at him. “I think you’re going to get your chance.”

  Chapter 21

  “How did I end up behind the dog?” Bennet grumbled, as he continued worming his huge body down the dark tunnel.

  He felt like a sausage being squeezed through its skin. He was hot and his slimy sweat, which should have allowed him to glide along like a slug, didn’t. His eyes stung as the relentless drips filled them. Wiping the sweat away, he strained to see through the blackness.

  “At least you don’t have his nose up your ass,” Dexter responded, trying to maintain a jovial atmosphere.

  He was feeling the oppressive confines of the tunnel himself and had to find a way to lighten the mood or he would flip out.

  “We should only have a few yards to go, sir,” Smith assured him.

  They trudged along steadily without another word.

  Johnny was feeling awful. The whole time they crawled along in the dark, the only thing he could think of was the last time he had talked to his father. Johnny had urged him to leave the capital. General McClintock was committed to avoiding war. He knew what that would look like. It would be neighbor against neighbor. He stayed, hoped, and prayed. They had ended their conversation in disagreement. Now, Johnny was terrified he might not get the chance to say goodbye and make things right.

  Finally, they reached another tunnel. They could crawl a little taller in the dirt than the concrete. After knocking three times the door opened. Ser
geant Jensen met them on the other side.

  “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” MSgt Bennet announced upon exiting the tunnel.

  “Major Virgis sent me to collect you, sir,” Sergeant Jensen informed him. The dim light of the basement made his white eyes glow in the silhouette of his dark skin.

  “Then he made it to the rendezvous point?” Bennet asked.

  “He’s in route, sir,” Jensen announced happily. “Escorting the Moore child and grandparents.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Dexter announced, relieved.

  “This is Private First-Class Moore,” Bennet said, introducing the two men. “I’m sure he’s curious how Star and Sean are doing as well.”

  “Trouble in paradise, sir. Long story short, Star is headed to the rendezvous point, and Sean’s band is heading back north with the blessings of the Federal Forces,” Jensen replied.

  “How’s that?” Dexter wondered.

  “I’ll let her explain that, but your brother and grandparents are being escorted by Major Virgis,” Jensen informed him.

  “And what about my father?” Johnny asked frantically.

  “No good news, Corporal.” The two men had become acquainted in the past. “He’s still alive, but we’re not sure for how long.”

  “Fuck,” Johnny replied, dejected, kicking a box in the corner.

  “The Militiamen are on the move, sir.” Jensen changed the subject. “Looks as if they are headed to take back Dallas along with Northern Texas. Well, at least as far east as the battleships can reach.”

  “Do you think they’ll try to take the southwestern wall?” Bennet queried.

  “Dead radio silence from the feds in that area, sir. They are scrambling to find out what is going on, but their forces are still occupied in the North, so there’s little they can do now,” Jensen informed him.

  “They’ll be going after that wall. Mark my words,” Bennet schemed. “It could unite the Southern Militiamen to the soldiers roaming the badlands. Now is the time to take it.”