by Robert Boren
“They’ve got a long way to go before they get that far,” Chance said. “And the city gets denser. Slower going.”
“They could lob shells that far now,” Dirk said. “If they wanted to.”
“I need to talk to Jason,” Eric said. “Wonder if the land line still works here.” He got up and went to the kitchen. The old wall phone was still next to the fridge. He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear. “Got a dial tone.”
“You think it’s safer to call your brother with that?” Kim asked.
“Yeah, they have a problem with land line calls – even land line to cell phone. I’m calling him now.” He pulled out his iPhone and looked up Jason’s number, then punched it into the keypad on the wall phone. It rang three times, and clicked.
“Jason,” Eric said. “Don’t say where I am.”
“Thank God. We were afraid you got snagged in that mess at Stonewall.”
“We went way out of the way to get around it. We’re staying put for a while. Can’t use 290 or I-10. You see what’s going on in Austin?”
“No, I was just about to go to sleep.”
“Turn on your TV. Southern Austin is under attack. Tanks. We counted thirteen on the video feed.”
“Oh, God,” Jason said, silent for a moment. “I see it.”
“Anything bad happen there since last time we talked?”
“No, things are okay here, so far,” Jason said. “Be careful staying where you are. They know about it.”
“I know, that’s why I used the land line. This place is defensible. I think we might stick around for a while.”
“Well, if things get bad here, maybe we’ll end up there. We’re out in the open, too close to the interstate. If we didn’t have our toys guarding us, we’d probably already be gone.”
“I hear ya,” Eric said. “I’m gonna get off the line. Take care of yourself.”
“You too, bro,” he said.
Eric hung up the phone and came back out. “What’s happening?”
“A police armored vehicle came too close just now,” Chance said. “It’s splattered all over the place.”
“Oh no,” Eric said.
“Why aren’t they doing something about this?” Alyssa asked, eyes wide.
“They will,” Dirk said. “They’ll bring in planes. It’s the only way.”
“That will kill a lot of people,” Sherry said, eyes filling with tears.
“Yeah, it will,” Francis said, pulling her closer. “No choice at this point.”
“This is how the Europeans felt during World War II,” Kim said. “Never thought we’d see that here.”
“They have a limited supply of tanks,” Eric said.
“Ground troops,” Dirk said, rushing over to the TV screen and pointing. See. They’re mopping up, killing people hidden in the rubble.”
“My God, look how many there are,” Kim said.
Everybody was silent for a while, just watching the carnage as the tanks and enemy fighters worked their way north. Then there was a bright flash on the video, and one of the tanks blew up.
“Jets,” Dirk said. “About frigging time.”
More bright flashes followed, and then some Apache helicopters came into view, circling above the scattering enemy fighters, mini-guns blazing. One of them blew up.
“Damn, they’ve got stingers,” Chance said.
Kim looked at Eric, teary eyed and trembling. He held her close.
“Can we stay here?” she asked.
“Yes,” Eric said. “I got Jason. They might even end up here. They’re too exposed in Fort Stockton.”
“Good, I was hoping you’d say that,” Don said. “I was looking at that barn. We could fit all our vehicles in there.”
“We could,” Eric said.
“There a back way in here, Eric?” Dirk asked.
“Not without off-roaders. Like Jeeps or Broncos, and even those would be tough. There’s a pretty big creek blocking the way, and some gnarly hills.”
“Good, because that thin section of road is very defendable,” Dirk said. “It’s between a big cliff and a mountainside.”
“Any neighbors around?” Chance asked.
“There’s a ranch on the other side of the little valley,” Eric said. “Cattle and horses.”
“You know the owners?” Dirk asked.
“I know who was here. Not sure if they still are. The Merchant family. Old man and his wife, three daughters. Middle one is about my age, one’s several years older, and one a couple years younger. There was a brother, too, but he passed away before they moved here. Have no idea how many of the kids still live at home.”
“They good folks?” Francis asked.
“Yeah, but they keep to themselves.” Eric chuckled. “There were rumors that they were making white lighting. Don’t know if it’s true or not.”
“The video’s gone,” Kim said, pointing to the TV.
“We’re sorry, but we had to shut down the video feed, by order of the Texas National Guard,” the commentator said. “We are still watching the situation with units on the ground.”
“They don’t want to show the carnage,” Dirk said. “That won’t matter too much longer.”
Chapter 19 – Secure Locations
“We’re far enough away now,” Hendrix said, racing north up South Congress Avenue. “Damn, look at the fire back there.”
“My apartment might be toast,” Maria said. “Imagine if I wouldn’t have come out with you tonight.”
“I was just thinking that,” Hendrix said. “I don’t think I could’ve taken losing you.”
He glanced at her, seeing her glassy eyes starting at him.
“Watch the road,” she said quickly.
“Yeah,” he said, still driving fast, weaving around slower vehicles. Now the air was filled with sirens, police and fire department vehicles racing down the southbound side of the street.
“Those tanks are gonna blow them up,” Maria said.
“The Air National Guard will have to handle this,” Hendrix said, glancing at her again as she wiped tears out of her eyes. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, voice trembling.
A strange sounding alarm went off on his phone.
“What’s that?” Maria asked.
“Emergency signal,” Hendrix said. He fished his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “Gotta pull over for a moment.” He swerved over to the side and typed a text message, then hit send.
“What now?”
“I told them I was almost to the bunker, and that it’ll be open. Might end up with company tonight.”
“Who?” she aside.
“Other government people who are too far away from the other facilities,” he said.
“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t know all this existed.”
Hendrix watched his phone until it dinged with an acceptance message, then drove back onto the road.
“How much further?” Maria asked.
“We go up to 15th Street and make a left. Then it’s just a few miles,” he said. “We’re away from the trouble now, at least. I can barely hear the cannon fire.”
“It’s still going, though,” she said. “All those poor people. We gonna be able to stop this?”
“Yeah,” Hendrix said. “I expect to hear some fireworks pretty soon, now that the emergency message went out.”
“Oh, geez,” Maria said.
“Where’s your mom?”
“She lives north of Lake Travis,” Maria said. “Hope Celia is safe.”
“She should be okay,” Hendrix said. “If she’s near the capitol, she’s probably in that big medical section next to I-35.”
“Yeah, I think that’s where she is,” Maria said.
“There’s 15th Street,” Hendrix said, turning left. The road was empty. He sped up, glancing over at Maria again. She was staring but looked away quickly.
“I don’t feel those drinks at all now,” she said.
“Me neither,” Hendrix
said. “Funny how adrenaline will shove that out of your system so fast. You feeling okay?”
“Tired and scared,” Maria said. “Good thing this didn’t start half an hour earlier. We were pretty trashed.”
Hendrix chuckled. “Yeah, we were, but I was having such a nice time.”
“Me too,” she said. “A little embarrassing when I think about it now.”
“Why, because we got flirty?”
She was quiet for a moment. Hendrix glanced at her as she stared at him. She didn’t look away this time.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” he said. Then he heard her sniffling. “Oh no, I really blew it, didn’t I? I’m so sorry.”
“We have to talk later,” she said quietly. “After we get there.”
“I was trying so hard not to blow it,” he said softly.
“Just drive,” she said. “It’ll be fine.”
He gripped the wheel, full of regret, and kept his eyes on the road.
There was a large explosion to the south, the sky lighting up bright. Then another, and another.
“My God,” Maria said.
“Scratch some tanks,” Hendrix said. “I hope the civilians got far enough away from that.”
“Me too,” she said.
“There’s my place,” Hendrix said, turning into the long driveway and hitting the remote on his visor. A heavy-looking gate rolled to the side and they drove in. It closed quickly behind them.
“That’s beautiful,” Maria said, looking at the colonial revival house. Hendrix drove in the back, hitting another remote. The garage door opened and he pulled inside, hitting the button again to close it.
He took a deep breath and looked at her. “Welcome to my place. Sorry it isn’t under better circumstances.”
“I’m glad to be here,” she said. Hendrix got out and opened the door for her.
“We have to go into the bunker first,” Hendrix said. “I have to start up the systems and check in.”
“Okay.” She grabbed his hand and walked with him to the door, which he unlocked. They walked into a small hallway. There was an elevator door to the right. Hendrix put a key into the slot on the console next to the elevator and turned it, the doors opening within a few seconds. They got in and Hendrix pushed the button to take them down to the bunker.
“This doesn’t go upstairs, does it?” Maria asked.
“No, this is just for the bunker. It’s a hardened elevator. The bunker is sealed. It can take a nuclear blast pretty close by and survive.”
“Wow,” she said, getting closer to him. The doors opened into a hallway. Hendrix walked to the door just across from the elevator and input a code on the keypad. There was the sound of a seal breaking, and the door opened. It was heavy, like a bank vault.
“Geez,” Maria said, looking at it.
“I know, always thought this was a huge waste of money,” Hendrix said. “It’s old, built in the 1950s.” He showed her in, then went to a console to the right, just inside the door. He turned on the monitor and slid out a keyboard tray, inputting a password and waiting. The screen came up and he clicked several check boxes on the touch-screen monitor and touched a button that said “CONFIRM” on it.
“What does that do?” she asked.
“It tells the state’s emergency system that we’re here and open for business,” he said. He turned on a bank of monitors next to the PC station. They showed video feeds of the front gate, the driveway inside, and the garage.
“So how long until people start showing up?” Maria asked, following him to a door on the opposite wall.
“Could be five minutes. Could be not at all.” He opened the door. “This is the living area. If somebody calls it’ll buzz in here. There’s the kitchen to the right. Oh, and the bathroom is that door on the left.” He pointed to a door across the hallway from the kitchen door.
“Not exactly an open floorplan,” she said, laughing.
“It’s the 1950s,” Hendrix said. “Should have seen the furniture that was here when I got this job. I replaced a lot of it in the last couple years.”
“You look so worried,” Maria said.
“I upset you,” he said. “Let’s go sit in the living room.”
“Okay,” Maria said, following him.
He motioned to the couch. “We can sit there.”
“Can you hold me for a minute?” she asked, trembling.
“Oh, of course,” Hendrix said, taking her into his arms. She hugged him tight, the tears coming. After a few seconds she was sobbing. He caressed her back, trying to comfort her, tears welling in his eyes.
“It’s safe here,” he whispered. “We’re gonna be okay.”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Thanks. I was so scared. We can sit now, as long as you sit next to me.”
“Of course,” he said. They sat, her turning towards him.
“Can we talk now?” she asked softly.
“Yeah,” he said, looking like a child in trouble.
She smiled. “You look like you’re about to get slapped. You don’t get what’s going on, do you?”
“I went too far tonight,” he said. “Especially after you started feeling the drinks.”
“Stop,” she said. “I see the real you now. It hit me hard tonight.”
He looked at her, heart pounding, not sure what to say.
She sighed. “I think I’m falling for you. Don’t you see it?”
“You are?” he asked, eyes tearing up. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m sure,” she said, touching his face.
“Just tonight?” he asked.
“It started yesterday, but I didn’t realize it. Then today, when you were looking at me in the office. Oh my God.”
“When?” he asked.
“After you told me how much you liked being with me. Remember?”
“Yes,” he said quietly.
“Nobody’s ever looked at me like that before,” she said. “That’s when I realized how you feel about me.”
“I told you how I felt,” Hendrix said.
“Yes, you told me, that day I got mad at you. I thought it was all just lust with you. That look today was different. It shocked me.”
“You could tell that I’m in love you,” Hendrix said, tears starting down his cheeks.
“Yes,” she said. “I didn’t see that before, and then tonight happened.”
“I didn’t mess it up, did I?”
“You really think you’re horrible, don’t you?” she said.
“Well, I’ve…”
“Stop.” She moved closer and kissed him, gently at first, passion building between them. They broke the kiss and stared in each other’s eyes.
“I can’t believe it,” Hendrix said.
“Neither can I,” she said, her breath heaving, eyes full of life and love.
Hendrix stared into her eyes. “So what do we do now?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I have a lot of thinking to do. Let’s just get through tonight, okay?”
A buzzer went off.
“Somebody’s here,” Hendrix said. He got up. “C’mon, let’s go back to the console and see who it is.”
“You want me to hide somewhere?” she asked. “You know, so everybody doesn’t know.”
“No way,” Hendrix said. “I don’t care who knows. You don’t, do you?”
“No,” she said, her arm going around his waist as they walked to the console. He looked at the video.
“It’s Holly and Chief Ramsey.” Hendrix chuckled. “There’s a pair.” He hit a button and the gate opened. They drove inside, parking next to the garage door.
“Why don’t you go get the TV turned on in the living room, and put it on a news channel. I’ll let them in.”
“Sure,” she said, reaching up to kiss him one more time. She turned to leave.
“I could get used to that,” he said, smiling at her. She turned back and gave him a coy smile. He pushed the garage door o
pener button and watched as it rolled up. Holly and Chief Ramsey rushed in.
“Close that right now,” Ramsey shouted. Hendrix nodded and hit the button again, before the door had opened all the way. They watched it come down, then rushed in.
“You guys okay?” Hendrix asked.
“Lock the big door,” Ramsey said. “All the gates around the perimeter secured?”
“Yeah,” Hendrix said. “You guys look terrified.”
“Mr. Hendrix, the news is on,” Maria said. “You better check this out.”
“Maria’s here?” Holly asked.
“Yeah,” Hendrix said. “We were having dinner about a block away from where the tanks started shooting.”
“My God,” Ramsey said, watching the big vault door close.
“Why so worried? I saw the jets start blowing up tanks before we got here.”
“Mr. Hendrix!” Maria called.
“Coming,” he said, leading the men inside. “What is it?”
“It’s not just tanks,” she said, horrified look on her face. “There’s troops. A lot of troops.”
“That’s what we’re worried about,” Ramsey said. “We estimate that about twenty thousand troops have entered the city from the south so far. We’ve knocked out about half the tanks, but we can’t take out the men without troops of our own.”
“State and city officials have been ordered into their secure locations,” Holly said. “This is going to be a siege.”
“Oh no,” Maria said, eyes wide.
“This facility will be used as one of the communications hubs,” Ramsey said. “Glad to see you have Maria here. You know the protocol, don’t you, Maria?”
“Yes sir,” Maria said. “I haven’t had to use it, but I’ve had the training.”
“Good,” Ramsey said.
“Are we expecting others here tonight?” Hendrix asked.
“Doubtful, and we’ll have to leave soon,” Holly said. “We’re making the rounds before the troops can get this far north. At the rate they were moving, they’ll hold the southern part of the city in short order.”
“They can do that with twenty thousand men?” Hendrix asked.
“That’s not all they have. There’s another eighty-thousand or so on the way here, coming up I-35.”
“Oh my God,” Maria said, her hand going to her mouth.
“Yeah, what she said,” Holly cracked. “We’ve got to go. Lock up right after, and stay down here. Both of you.”