HADRON Dark Matter

by Stephen Arseneault

  Chapter 26

  _______________________

  The defenders were up before dawn. Ammunition was gathered and taken to the prospective ambush sites. Seven teens from the local high school were waiting for instruction. Mace took them up the hill overlooking the highway, settling them into their firing positions and giving direction for their retreats.

  The final vehicles were stacked in place, closing off Highway 219 coming north from Union. The occasional car was diverted and given directions as to how to go around. Arguments took place, but were quickly quelled with the show of guns.

  Up on the ridge overlooking the highway, Jane walked the line making sure everyone had adequate ammo. Instructions were repeated time and again. No firing until Mace, Jane or Johnny opened up first. After that it would be fire-at-will until the call for a retreat. All were anxious and nervous.

  Dr. Jeff moved the loaded van onto the bridge, positioning it where it was most likely to cause structural damage. With everything in place, the group of defenders settled in for the wait.

  Don landed the helicopter behind the first barricade, Mace came down to meet him. “They're on the move. Fires are already starting up in Lindside. I expect they'll be hitting Rock Camp in about a half hour. And Union maybe an hour after that. The barricade at Union has two men manning it. They'll be dead before that town siren sounds.”

  Mace said, “OK. Give me one last ride down to Union. Maybe at least some of the people can head out toward Sweet Springs. Besides, we have to let them know the road through here is blocked.”

  A short ride had Mace jogging toward the northern barricade going into Union.

  The two men guarding the road waved him to a stop. “What's your business?”

  Mace said, “You need to be sounding that town siren. You have at least two hundred very bad people coming up 219. They'll be here in under two hours.”

  The man said, “If they've got no business here we'll wave them through.”

  Mace shook his head. “Not going to happen. They burned and pillaged Peterstown all day yesterday. Lindside is burning as we speak. Rock Camp is next and then they’ll be here. They’ll kill everyone whether you resist or not!”

  The man became nervous.

  Mace continued, “Look, this is your last and only warning. Tell your sheriff they are definitely coming. And tell him 219 going north is blocked. If anyone wants to run they will have to go out toward Sweet Springs.”

  The man nodded. “Sweet Springs?”

  Mace sighed. “Yes! This highway is blocked! Now go tell your sheriff he only has about an hour! Two hundred murderous thugs are coming to Union!”

  The man turned nervously and began to walk as the other stood with his mouth open.

  “Run!” Mace yelled.

  Once back in the ‘copter, Mace shook his head. “They’re dead. That whole town... wasted.”

  Don said, “We did what we could. Time to go and protect our own.”

  As they landed, Mace looked over at his friend. “I'll keep an eye on Cam. You can set down on the road north of the creek barricade. No sense in you wasting fuel while we wait. If an hour passes, go for another recon round and bring me back any news.”

  Mace hopped out and began the short hike up the hillside. Don lifted off, setting the helicopter down on the road north of the creek as instructed.

  A heavily-breathing Mace reached the top where the others waited. “Lindside is burning. Camp Creek will be feeling it any minute. Union in about an hour. We gave the sheriff one last warning. What happens there now is all on him.”

  Jane and Cam walked the line, handing out water and giving statuses to the nervous teens.

  Johnny placed his hand on Mace's shoulder. “You did what you could. And hey, you have already gone above and beyond. Two busloads of women have you to thank for their lives. If anyone listens in that town, you will be responsible for them getting out of there and living.”

  “A part of me wishes I was down there in that town. That’s the combat I was trained for and have experience with. This hiding in ambush is not my strong suit.”

  Johnny nodded. “It's not any of our strong suits, but it's where we are. On a positive note, this will probably all be settled before this day is over.”

  Mace laughed. “Don't think that's really looking on the bright side of things.”

  “No. I guess it's not. 'Hunker down' as our defensive coach at Georgia used to say.”

  Mace replied, “That's where you played, Georgia?”

  Johnny nodded. “Seems a lifetime ago.”

  Mace shook his head. “Seems working that bar was a lifetime ago as well.”

  “In a way, it was. I can't see how things will ever get back to that. Even if power came back on now, too much has transpired for a quick return to what was normal.”

  Mace checked over his weapon. “Meh. Normal wasn't all it was cracked up to be. If I went back to that bar next week I'd probably just fall right back into my rut.”

  An hour passed before the first call came across the hill. “Cars! Here they come!”

  Mace took aim through his sight, following the lead car. “What? No... no, no, no!”

  Johnny said, “What is it?”

  Mace stood. “It's the stupid townspeople! I told them the road was blocked!”

  Mace began a run down the hill. “Hold all fire!”

  As he slid the last half dozen yards, coming to stand beside the road, the first of the Union cars stopped at the barricade, backing up in a long line.

  The sheriff came riding up alongside the others, standing in the back of a pickup. “What is the holdup!”

  Mace flagged him down. “You idiots! I told your people the road was blocked!”

  The sheriff's pickup stopped beside Mace. “Now look here! You unblock whatever it is you got going there!”

  Mace rubbed the sides of his head in disbelief. “The road is blocked! There is no unblocking it! I told your people to tell you to head to Sweet Springs!”

  The sheriff stood with his hands on his hips. “Listen up, cowboy, under the authority given to me by the city of Union, West Virginia, I order you to unblock this road and to let us through! These people don't want to go to Sweet Springs. We voted and we are heading to Ronceverte. Now move that blockade!”

  A portly man in a suit waddled up to the truck. “What's the problem here, Sheriff?”

  The sheriff pointed at Mace. “This man is the problem, Mayor. He's got the road blocked.”

  The mayor looked at Mace. “Sir, I'm Mayor Ronald Bacon. Could you kindly unblock the road and allow us through, we don't have much time.”

  Mace shook his head. “Not happening, Mayor. We have the bridge there at the creek set to blow as well. We're stopping those marauders here. I told your sheriff they were coming two days ago. I warned him not two hours ago that this road would be blocked and to go out toward Sweet Springs.”

  The mayor turned around. “Is that true?”

  The sheriff replied, “We voted, Mayor, the people picked Ronceverte!”

  The mayor shook his head. “Never hire your cousin just because your wife says to. All right, people! Listen up! We are turning this caravan around and heading to Sweet Springs! And let's be snappy about it. We don't have much time!”

  As the cars began to turn, another pickup sped along the gravel on the side of the road, skidding to a stop. “Sheriff! They're hitting the town! Got two explosions on the south side! They blew right through the barricade!”

  A nervous mayor turned around. “Mister, I'm begging you to open up that road. We've got nowhere else to run.”

  Jane and Johnny slid down the hillside behind Mace. “What's going on?”

  Mace grabbed the mayor. “Listen to me carefully, Mayor. I'm only telling you this once. You people are going to have to abandon your cars and run. That blockade is not coming down. You hear me? You are walking to Ronceverte. There is no other way!”

  The mayor replied, “You can't be serious.
Some of these people are elderly!”

  Mace took a deep breath. “Mayor, you have one chance to save your people. Tell your sheriff that I’m in charge and you will all do exactly as I say. You probably have a half hour before the people in back here start taking bullets to the head. If you want to save them, you have to make a decision now!”

  The mayor squirmed and fidgeted before spitting out the words, “Sheriff, this man is in charge! You direct everyone to follow his exact orders!”

  The sheriff protested. “What? You can't be serious. Ronald, this man is just a hooligan! He has no authority!”

  Johnny stepped up beside them, bumping the much smaller sheriff. “You made the right call, Mayor.”

  Mace yelled, “OK, I want every car to pull up as close to that barricade as you can. Bumper to bumper. Park in the ditches! You will be getting out and walking past it. Take only what you can carry for the next twenty miles. And offer whatever assistance you can to get everyone through as fast as possible! Now move out!”

  Mace directed Tres: “Get up there. Have them park those cars all the way across. Even into the ditch on each side. And I want all keys taken with them. All keys. And pack them all up as tight as you can. Cam, you lead the teens in getting the people out of their cars and moving. Instructions are to park up as far as they can, drop everything and take their keys. Got it?”

  Cam nodded. “Got it.”

  Mace waved. “Go get 'em.”

  Cam turned. “You heard the man! Let's get these people past that blockade!”

  Jane asked, “What you have in mind for us?”

  Mace took a deep breath. We're going as far back as we can and going up on that hill. Slowing down the first to get here is the only chance those people in the back have.”

  Mace slung his pack over his shoulder as he broke into a jog. Seconds later, the horn of a truck sounded behind him.

  Jane and Johnny stood in the back with the sheriff. “Get in! No sense in running!”

  Johnny threw out a hand, taking hold of Mace and pulling him up as the truck rolled by. The line of cars stretched back almost a mile.

  Mace looked at the worried sheriff. “How you feel about your decisions now, Sheriff?” The sheriff scowled. “Not what I had planned. This road should be open.”

  Mace nodded. “On a normal day it would be, but today's not normal. And guess what, Sheriff, you’re going to stick with Johnny, Jane, and me until we get the last one of your people past that barricade.”

  The sheriff stuck by his decision. “I acted rationally. We're a democracy. You don't own this road! If anyone dies here today, it's on your head! You'll be standing in front of a jury begging for leniency!”

  As they approached the last fifty cars, the cracks of gunfire could be heard and muzzle flashes seen. The windshield of the pickup was peppered with lead and the stunned driver swerved into a ditch and slammed to a stop against a rock. The four passengers in the back flew out onto the grassy side of the road. The sheriff rolled to a stop, ending up in a sitting position. The top of his skull split apart as two slugs impacted at the same time.

  Mace flipped off his safety and began shooting from his prone position. Johnny rolled over behind the dead sheriff, taking aim and squeezing the trigger. Jane followed, lying behind the sheriff's legs. The five marauders in the first two vehicles saw an early exit as their windshields became riddled with bullet holes. A third vehicle skidded and steered onto the roadside, striking three townsfolk as they ran, before stomping on the throttle and coming toward the overturned pickup. The driver took head shots from two separate rifles before slumping over, flipping the car into the ditch.

  Mace was first up, grabbing Jane by the arm. “Come on! We have to get up on that hill!”

  As the three climbed, two trucks with half a dozen men between them sped past on the other side of the road. Hapless townsfolk were gunned down as they attempted to flee their cars.

  At fifty feet up the hillside, Mace took position behind a tree. “Keep going! Get as high as you can and work your way back!”

  Jane yelled down as she continued to climb. “We aren't leaving you!”

  Mace took careful aim, making a kill shot on the driver of the lead truck, sending it into the back of a nearby sedan. The second truck slammed into the back of the first before coming to a stop. The marauders began to pepper the hillside with lead. One by one, Mace took careful aim, taking out the remaining five.

  As he turned to scamper further up the hill, three sedans skidded to a stop and eight figures jumped out. Again the hillside turned into a field of popping rocks, trees, and dirt as countless bullets impacted.

  Johnny and Jane countered, taking out all eight shooters in ten seconds, six going to Jane. A flood of marauder vehicles then followed.

  Mace yelled, “We can't help these people now! Let's get back to the blockade!”

  A full run along the ridge took ten minutes. Two dozen attackers were climbing over the stacked cars, shooting into the crowd of townsfolk as they ran. As Mace, Johnny and Jane reached even with the blockade, Cam came up the backside of the hill behind them.

  Mace directed, “Spread out across here and take out anyone shooting at the people first!”

  The hillside erupted as a half dozen teens fired their rifles. Six marauders standing on the backs of cars fell at once. Six more climbed up to take their place. Another volley saw the same result. Seconds later, gunfire was directed at the defenders’ position. One of the teens was the first to be hit, taking a hot slug to the calf.

  Mace yelled, “Hold the line until those people make the bridge! Forty seconds!”

  The first fatality of the defenders was Syler Sanks. His body rolled forward, tumbling down the steep hill before coming to rest partially upright against a tree. The body drew a hail of bullets, offering the group an opening to move.

  Mace yelled, “Townies are on the bridge! Fall back to the vehicles! Move it!”

  The group scampered over the crest of the hill and down the northeastern face. Johnny carried the injured teen. They got into the vehicles they had positioned and spewed grass and dirt as they charged across the open space toward the bridge. Marauders stood on the blockade, firing across the field at the vehicles. After skidding to a stop, the four adults and seven teens scrambled across the bridge and began their climb up the next hill.

  Dr. Jeff was waiting for them. “The van is ready to go. See that set of silver tubes across the back? Each one is filled with gunpowder. Hit any one of those and you set off those propane tanks beside them. I soaked half that stack of fertilizer with diesel. Everyone will want to cover their ears, even from up here. In fact, I would move everyone just over the hilltop but the shooter.”

  Jane stepped up. “I'll take the shot. From this distance it's a no-brainer for me.”

  Mace glanced over at Johnny, who was nodding his head. “OK. If you can wait until some of them get close, maybe we can take out a few extra.”

  Tres pointed. “They have a front-loader of their own! That barricade will be down in a few minutes!”

  Mace patted Jane on the shoulder. “Squeeze the trigger, cover your ears, and keep your head down. This will be far bigger than anything you have ever experienced. I've been within a hundred yards of a few intense explosions. They can be disorienting, even from this distance. Give us a yell just before you pull that trigger.”

  Jane staked out her prone shooting position. “Got it. Get over that ridge. The first of them are coming across that field!”

  Mace scrambled up, taking position on top of the crest. “All of you listen up. When you hear her yell, roll back and cover your ears quickly. Until then, it's open season on anyone crossing that field!”

  The teens spread out on the crest. One rifle after another echoed down the hill. The occasional marauder fell.

  As the far barricade came down, the front-loader crossed the field with a half dozen cars passing it.

  As the industrial machine reached the bridge barricade,
Jane yelled out, “Four!”

  Two seconds later, a tremendous explosion rocked the ground. The valley echoed back and forth as a grand fireball rose up from the bridge. Parts of the van pinged and plinked on the hilltop around them. Fifteen marauders lay silent and flat on the field below. Another dozen behind them were crouched or crawling, moving slowly. The front-loader was in flames.

  Mace looked down at the bridge. The explosion had cleared the other vehicles, but the base of the bridge remained intact.

  As the smoke cleared, Mace stood. “Get up! Move it! The bridge didn't blow! Go! Go! Go!”

  Jane scrambled the last thirty feet up the hill, shaking her head from the concussion wave that had just passed her by. “I can't hear a thing! Ears are just ringing!”

  Johnny took her arm and pulled her along.

  Mace yelled, “Get down to the vehicles and go!”

  Tres yelled back as they hopped and jumped down the back face of the hill toward the roadway below. “Vehicles are gone! Looks like the townspeople took them!”

  Mace replied, “Skew to the left! We need to stay away from that road!”

  The rotor wash from the helicopter thumped overhead as Don swooped in just above. As Mace looked up, Don pointed at the field in front of them.

  Mace yelled, “To the field! Move it!”

  The dozen defenders scrambled out of the woods as Don set the chopper down in front of them. Mace pulled open the door. You teens first! Can you carry them all?”

  “I can! I'll have to come back for the rest of you!”

  “Drop them at the Ronceverte bridge. They can fill in the townspeople there. You can catch us going in this direction!”

  Seconds later the overstuffed chopper lifted off. The strain of the engine could be heard as it lifted higher, disappearing over the next hilltop.

  Mace looked at the others. “Who needs ammo?”

  Tres replied, “I lost my bag at the other hill. I have half a magazine left.”

  Jane checked. “Four mags.”

  Johnny added. “Two.”

  Cam shrugged. “I'm out.”

  Dr. Jeff: “Don't have a rifle, just this pistol.”

  Mace said, “I have three mags.”

  Mace waved everyone on as he began to jog across the field. “We've got three miles to get back to the cave. If Don can't make it back to us, we're running the whole way. Jane, give one of those magazines to Cam. Tres, here, take this one. And the two of you preserve that ammo. This is all we have until we get back. Jeff, you stick with me!”

  Nods were returned as the group hustled across the open field. A brief view of the roadway below showed a long line of Union townsfolk slowly moving along. Mace cringed at the thought of what they were about to endure. The marauders were coming.

  Mace mumbled to himself as he ran. “Hope the buzzards are already pecking at your eyes, Sheriff. You just killed all those people.”