Children of Wrath

by Ryan King

  Frank nodded. "Going to look for Joshua, I see."

  "Can I see David and Bethany before I go?" Nathan asked.

  "I'm sorry, Nathan," Frank said. "You're not to have any contact with anyone."

  Nathan saw how hard this was on Frank and felt an urge to comfort him, but couldn't find the strength or energy to do so. "Will you tell my wife what happened?"

  Frank nodded.

  "And tell her that things are getting bad, to do what I told her...and that I love her."

  "I will," said Frank.

  Nathan sat for another minute in silence.

  "Did anyone argue for me?" he finally asked.

  Frank nodded. "Several on the council were sympathetic, and both Harold Buchannan and Butch Matthews were strong in defending you."

  "But it wasn't enough, I see."

  "It was enough to keep you from getting hanged," Frank said. "That was the original sentence. Harold and Butch both threatened to resign if that happened."

  Nathan smiled a little. At least his friends had tried. "Who's going to take over the SSA?"

  "No one," said Frank. "President Campbell convinced them that having an intelligence organization that can be used against elected officials is just too dangerous. Anyone who takes your place could potentially be a J. Edgar Hoover and have blackmail files on everyone."

  Nathan shook his head. It was so stupid and shortsighted, although most of the blame was probably on his head. "So, what now?"

  "My officers will take you down the hall," Frank said, looking nervous. "I hope you understand. I can't watch the next part. This will have to be our good-bye."

  Nathan nodded and after a few seconds stood. He stuck his hand out and Frank shook it firmly.

  "Everything in my report," Nathan said, pulling Frank close, "and everything I suspect about the president and the WTR is true. Think about what that means."

  Frank just nodded and then turned and knocked on the door. "It's Frank, coming out."

  The door opened and Frank spoke to the two officers there for a few seconds. He then turned and looked at Nathan one more time. "Good luck, Nathan." Then he walked away.

  The two officers stepped in and held out a set of handcuffs. Nathan had a momentary urge to resist. To make a go for a gun and maybe fight his way out. Maybe he could escape and hide. Maybe he could get away without having to kill anyone. Maybe they wouldn't take their frustration out on Bethany and David.

  Nathan held out his hands and let them put the cuffs on.

  *******

  Nathan sat in the back of the state police cruiser, trying to soak up every last image of Paducah. Once they passed out of the city and into the countryside to the west, he looked with fondness on the land and the people. He remembered what it was like outside of the JP from their journey here and knew what they had built here was something special.

  As they approached the bridge to cross over the Mississippi into Cairo, Nathan saw a larger–than-normal number of cars and people around the checkpoint leading over. The state troopers pulled up to the barrier where instead of the Ballard County Regiment Troops, there were men who looked to be from the McCracken Regiment. On closer inspection, Nathan recognized the distinctive markings incorporated into the uniform that denoted one of Timothy Brazen Walker's particular gangs, all loosely known as Brothers For Life.

  The state trooper rolled down the window and hooked a thumb toward the rear seat. "Got an exile to send across." As if to emphasis the point, the trooper in the back grabbed Nathan's shackled wrists and lifted his arms to show the fresh bloody brand of "EX" in the webbing of Nathan's right hand.

  "Go ahead and step out here," the man said.

  Nathan could tell the trooper wanted to protest, but more of Brazen's men were around the car.

  "I'm going to call it in," said the trooper in the front, but before he could press the send button, another man opened the passenger side front door and slid in, shutting the door behind him. He then reached out and unplugged the end of the handset from the radio.

  He turned to look in the back with a smile. "Why hello, Nathan."

  "Hi, Brazen. Been a while."

  The trooper in the front looked uncertain what to do, "Are you busting him out or something?" he finally asked.

  Brazen shook his head. "Nothing as dramatic as all that. I just want to be the one to send him on his way. I'll make sure it gets done."

  "I'm not authorized to release the prisoner anywhere except on the other side."

  Leaning up to look at the trooper's uniform, Brazen said, "Officer Jazenski, I bet your family lives on Fourteenth Street, don't they? My men go by there all the time."

  The man's jaw tightened, but he didn't say anything.

  "Come on now," Brazen said. "I'll make sure it gets done, you got my word on that."

  "Your word," snorted the trooper in the back.

  Brazen turned and looked at the trooper in the back seat and then made a point of looking at his nameplate.

  The smile on the man's face vanished in an instant.

  "Okay," said the trooper in the front, "but I'm going to make a full report of this incident to my higher and explain how you interfered in these proceedings."

  "No, you won't," said Brazen.

  The trooper looked flustered. "What do you—"

  "You're going to go back and report that you took Nathan Taylor across the river and turned him loose," Brazen explained. "You'll say that with great dignity and poise, General Taylor turned his back and walked with a very calm air down the road until he could no longer be seen." Brazen looked at the man in the back. "Both of you will say this. And don't even start that whole game of ‘what if we don't’ business. I think you know. I better not hear one word of this from anyone. Realize if blood comes to your door over this, it's your fault and I won't feel a minute of guilt."

  The driver's face was red, but he nodded with a scrunched up face. "Go ahead then. Get this traitorous bastard out of my car."

  "Thank you." Brazen nodded to the man in the back. "Go ahead and take his cuffs off."

  After the cuffs were off, one of Brazen's men opened Nathan's door and he stepped out. As soon as the door was closed again, the police cruiser roared off in a squeal of tires.

  "What nice men," Brazen said to Nathan.

  Nathan smiled. "What is all this about? Are you busting me out?"

  "Do you want to be busted out?" Brazen asked with an arch of his eyebrows.

  Looking down at his branded hand, and then the far shore, he shook his head. "No, I don't want to live hiding in people's basements and not be able to see my family. Might as well go see if I can find Joshua."

  "That's what I figured." Brazen motioned for one of his men, who came up carrying a large backpack, another bag, and an assault rifle. "Wanted to give you some going-away gifts," he said, dumping the contents from the bag on the ground. A good pair of boots and set of clothes tumbled out as well as a thick jacket. "I don't think they gave you the chance to pack or change before grabbing you from the office. Go ahead and put these on. You'll need them where you're going. Besides, it's starting to get cold at night."

  Nathan felt like he was going to cry in gratitude as he stripped down and changed. All of the clothes he saw were actually his. Some of his newer stuff and the boots were his best pair.

  Brazen saw his look. "Your wife helped me get this together."

  "Thank you, Timothy."

  "That ain't all," he said, picking up a wide pistol belt to clip around Nathan's waist.

  Nathan looked down to see it contained his .45 automatic and his hunting knife. Ammo pouches, canteen, and other useful items hung from the belt.

  "You'll have to find out what is in the pack later," Brazen said, lifting it up and helping Nathan get it onto his back. He next handed Nathan his rifle.

  "I can't thank you enough," Nathan said and meant it.

  Brazen smiled. "Think nothing of it. Us exiles have to stick together."

  Nathan turned
toward the bridge, "I guess this is good-bye."

  "Not that way," Brazen said and pointed down toward the riverbank about a quarter of a mile away. A small motorboat sat in the water with a man standing nearby smoking. "Lots of people watch the far end of the bridge. Some less than scrupulous types might even prey on anyone we send across. Missouri," Brazen said with a shrug as if that explained it all.

  "So, I'll just ride the boat to the other side?"

  "I'd get a little ways south from the bridge," Brazen said. "Maybe find a little river or cove to get you inland. Get off quick, send the boat away. Then find a good defensible position and see if anything comes at you. If it does, just shoot it."

  "Sounds like you've got this all planned out," Nathan said.

  "This isn't my first send-off," Brazen said. "The JP is getting rather fond of exiling anyone who speaks out against anything these days."

  Nathan nodded, thinking about what that meant. How had he been so oblivious to everything going on around him? His entire focus had been the WTR and the conspiracy with Paul Campbell.

  "Better go," Brazen said. "Until we meet again."

  "Until we meet again," Nathan said, sticking his hand out.

  Brazen shook it and then pointed in the direction of the river.

  Nathan nodded, shouldered his pack and rifle, and walked off toward the boat, wondering if he would ever set foot in the JP again.

  Part II

  Missouri

  Chapter 1 - Genesis

  Joshua came awake to rhythmic beeping sounds. The unmistakable smell of disinfectant and cleanliness filled the air. He heard someone moving nearby and opened his eyes.

  Nothing looked right. There were bright electrical lights. Joshua saw expensive and working medical monitors. He lay on a clean and warm bed. Joshua realized he didn't hurt...that bad. He reached up toward his head carefully.

  "Careful," said a man, walking into view. "It's still healing. Best not to touch or pick at it."

  "Where am I?" Joshua asked.

  The man who appeared to be a doctor nodded. "We'll get to all of that in a minute. How do you feel?"

  Joshua had to think. How did he feel? "Fine, I think. A little groggy, like I can't really wake up."

  "That's to be expected," the doctor said. "You're coming out of a medically induced coma. We had to do that to let your body heal. You really could have died. Never seen so much infection in someone who was still able to walk."

  "Coma?" asked Joshua, looking around more. "How long was I out?"

  The doctor tilted his head like he didn't want to answer, then did. "Seven days."

  Joshua's mouth dropped open.

  "It was the only option," the doctor explained. "We were able to treat the infection, get some nutrients and fluids into you, and do what we could for your head and arms."

  Looking at his bandaged arms, he glanced around for a mirror but didn't see one. "How is it?" he asked, pointing toward his head.

  "Weeell," said the doctor, "you're probably going to want to wear a hat from now on, but good news is you should save a bundle on haircuts."

  "That's good," said Joshua, feeling a little sick.

  The doctor moved over and began taking his pulse. "If we were in a hospital, before the world went to shit, I would have given you skin grafts, but that's not an option here."

  "Where is here?" Joshua asked.

  The doctor looked around. "I'm supposed to go get Meryl and your friends as soon as you wake up. They wanted to break everything to you...shock and all that. Didn't want you to freak out."

  "I don't think I have the energy to freak out," said Joshua. "Can you give me a little hint?"

  Looking around nervously again, the doctor bent low and said in a low voice. "You're in the Genesis Condo. It's a giant underground survival shelter, but very upscale. People pay, or paid, a lot of money to come here for two weeks a year."

  "An end-of-the-world condo?" Joshua asked.

  The doctor nodded. "Yeah, it was all the rage there for a time. Genesis has twelve units spread throughout the U.S. and one in Canada."

  "So, you buy time shares to stay here?"

  "Not me," said the doctor. "I work for Genesis. Good money, but a little of a pain if you don't like being stuck underground for months at a pop."

  Joshua was struggling with the concept. "So how would people know to get here? Did many make it before the bombs fell?"

  He shook his head. "That's not how it works. The condo was full when the bombs fell. If they hadn't, the people here would have stayed another three days and then we'd have gotten another fifty-two families. Pure chance. I think most people paid for the simple novelty of it all."

  Something else struck Joshua startling him. "Electricity!"

  The doctor grinned. "Pretty cool, isn't it? We got four turbine generators on an underground river a few hundred feet below us. Crazy how we used to take electricity for granted and now it's almost supernatural when you see it."

  "You were supposed to come get us when he woke," Meryl said from the door.

  Joshua turned to see a small but athletic middle-aged woman with sandy hair. Close behind her were Henry and Aaron squeezing around her. Their clothes were clean, and they had both obviously had a haircut and had recently shaved.

  "Glad you finally decided to wake up," said Henry.

  "Yeah," said Aaron. "I wanted to sound reveille, but no one would let me."

  Joshua reached out a hand to them. "Thank you. For saving me."

  "Nothing to it," Henry said. "Figured you had gathered all the info you wanted to and were ready to go."

  "That I was," Joshua answered and then hesitated before asking. "What about the rest of our boys? Do we know what happened to them?"

  Henry shook his head sadly. "I only saw a couple of them from a distance. A few were hung shortly after we were captured."

  "It was pure chance Henry and I linked up and were able to come up with a plan," said Aaron.

  "I don't know what happened to the rest of them," said Henry. "If they were like us, they were strongly encouraged to join the MA and then dispersed to some unit."

  "Maybe they'll escape too," said Aaron.

  Joshua smiled. "Maybe so." He caught Meryl's eye. "We owe you our gratitude."

  "We owe 'em more than that," said Aaron with a roll of his eyes.

  Joshua looked at them questioningly.

  Henry glanced at Meryl with discomfort and then explained. "They made us buy into the Genesis Condominium. We’re now each a proud share owner."

  Laughing, Joshua thought they were joking, but closed his mouth when he realized they were very serious.

  "We had to write IOUs for one million dollars each," said Aaron. "Wrote one on your behalf too. Hope you don't mind."

  "Still seems kind of steep to me," said Henry. "We ended up with just a bunk in the common room even though we paid for the full deluxe package."

  Meryl shrugged. "Inflation and limited supply I suppose."

  Joshua looked at Meryl as if she were crazy. "You're serious? You can't really expect to get that money. Even if you did, what the hell would you do with U.S. currency anyway? It doesn't even burn that well, I know."

  Meryl frowned at him and crossed her arms. "It's in the Genesis bylaws."

  "They're real sticklers for the rules around here," explained Aaron.

  Realizing his mouth was hanging open, Joshua shut it with an audible pop. Looking at Meryl he realized she seemed to have an air of authority about her. "Do you mind if I ask who you are?"

  Her frown vanished. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forget that you've been asleep for a while." She walked over and stuck her hand out. "I'm Meryl Underwood, the Condo Facility Manager. I keep this place running and make sure everyone gets their needs met and remain relatively happy."

  "I don't envy you your job," Joshua said and meant it.

  Taking his comment as a compliment, Meryl smiled broadly. "It's not that hard. Genesis really set this place up for the long haul. It wa
s designed to be locked up for five years before having to compromise the barrier. We're well stocked with everything we need."

  "Why were you outside that night?" Joshua asked.

  Meryl sighed. "One of the air filtration systems wasn't working. If we had to, we could have ignored it, but it puts more pressure on the other filters, which shortens their lifespan."

  "You had much run-in with the Missouri Alliance?" Henry asked.

  "Not really," answered the doctor, deciding Meryl had relaxed enough for him to re-engage in the conversation.

  "Then how did you know we were wearing MA uniforms?" asked Joshua.

  Meryl looked uncomfortable. "That's a long story," she finally said, "and you look awfully tired. Everyone, why don't we let Joshua get some rest? He still has a lot of recovery and doesn't have to catch up all at once."

  "I'm okay," said Joshua. "There are a few more questions I need to ask."

  "Later," Meryl said, laying a hand on his arm. She patted him, then gave the doctor a knowing look. She herded Henry and Aaron toward the door.

  "We'll check on you tomorrow," said Henry.

  "Get lots of rest," Aaron added.

  Joshua turned to ask the doctor a question, but saw him injecting a clear liquid into his IV. Before he could ask what the doctor was doing, he was out again.

  Chapter 2 -Biding Time

  David's fists were clinched, and he forced them to relax and open. He wanted to take out his anger on the two soldiers escorting him, but knew it wasn't their fault. They were just following General Matthew's orders.

  No, the one who deserved his anger was his mother.

  He rehearsed what he was going to say as they walked to the little cabin near the water. David saw that it was like the others around it, and he recognized every corner and stone. A bit of his ire ebbed away. They had all lived in this cabin for a while. It had been an oasis after the hell of traveling to the JP. Their family had all been happy here together.

  But that was over. There was no happy. There was no “we.” David knew what needed to be done, but his mother had interfered. As if he was a child. As if he was not a grown man. An officer. Someone who had fought and killed and led other men.