Kingdoms of Sorrow

by JK Franks

  The group made their way down to the edge of the canal and began freeing the dock from the big telephone pole sized pilings.

  The dock was floating on its own thirty minutes later. It was not as stable as he had hoped, but if they kept most of their weight in the center of the rain-slicked platform, then three men could paddle it from the edge. It took several failed attempts before they got the feel of it. The paddles came from several wooden benches that they tore apart. They were heavy and unwieldy but did the job.

  They got moving and were over to the island within ten minutes. Well, shit, that actually fucking worked, Peterson thought with relief. As most of his group snuck onto the island, two Judges struggled to get the ungainly craft heading back east toward Dobbs’ group. Peterson turned and followed his men through the thick trees toward the old town. He paused for a moment when he thought he heard something—a helicopter. The driving rain made it impossible to know for sure. Whatever. He was being paranoid. The sounds of the storm were bizarre and ever-changing.

  Chapter Ninety-Two

  The Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk came in low and fast from the south, just ahead of the approaching storm front. The Navy chopper flared for a quick touch down on the landing pad of the Aquatic Goddess. Todd was first off, dressed in full battle gear, and quickly followed by the younger Garret and nine other Marines and Navy SEALs. Ignoring the rotor wash, the soldiers immediately fanned out, weapons up, looking for threats and targets.

  Todd ducked low and ran to meet Bartos who was coming out of the bridge wing just as the huge chopper lifted and sliced quickly back out to sea.

  “Shit, man, nice of you to show up,” Bartos eyed the men. “Your cavalry’s a bit lighter than I hoped.”

  Todd scowled, “Yeah, it’s not what I wanted, but it’s what I could get—for now. Let’s use them. Where are our main threats?”

  Bartos brought him up to speed on the prior attacks. Solo was still guarding the island below. “They’re going to keep throwing men at that canal until they manage to get across. All we can do is keep trying to dust them off.”

  Todd spoke briefly to Lieutenant Garret who suggested placing most of the civilian defenders to the rear, island side of the ship. The locals had already swapped hunting rifles for carbines and close quarter arms.

  Bartos followed Todd up to the bridge deck where they found Jack and Angel. Jack hugged his old friend. Angel leveled her eyes at him with a look that expressed strong disapproval. “Hey, Chief. Where’s Scott?”

  Todd shook his head, unable to speak, his eyes on the verge of tears. The message was clear to all.

  “Well, shit,” said Bartos. “Goddammit!”

  Angel’s worst fears were coming true. She forgot about her own fears as she thought of Scott. Her tears began to flow. “Please, no . . ..”

  Bartos steeled himself the only way he knew. “We have to put that away for now.” Despite his brave face, the emotion was thick in his throat. “We can mourn him tomorrow. Today we have a war to fight, and we have got to figure this shit out.”

  She was weeping openly now, “Don’t be an ass, Bartos, I can’t—”

  Jack pulled her close, “Angel, we have to. Bartos is right. We have to get through this day first. Scott would say the same.”

  Out the window, Todd could just make out the enemy massing. Cars and heavy trucks were pulling in by the dozens. The line of those waiting to get close stretched back for miles. Sighing heavily, he pulled himself together somewhat and looked over at the Cajun. “Remember when the tourist season used to start like this?” He shook his head. “They weren’t as well armed but usually just as crazy. Better bring me up to speed. What are we facing?”

  “Well, Cap, in the skirmishes so far, we figure we’ve taken out about seventy-five of the Judges down there. Seems like all that did was piss ’em off. They’re a crafty bunch, and they don’t scare easy. They may work for the crazies, but don’t underestimate ’em. Bobby gave me the run-down, most Judges seem to have been military, special ops or SWAT cops.” He looked out the side window. “They’ve already gone through a lot of our defenses. They’re obviously regrouping for another try. They seem determined to take us before the main group gets here. As we know, they don’t usually fail at this, although aside from Memphis, I don’t think they’ve come up against much in the way of a fight. When they get in range, we’re slinging lead at them, but no way our ammo will hold out for long at this rate.”

  An explosive thud rang out several hundred yards to the east. “And now we will have to rebuild the ferry dock if we survive this,” Bartos gave the slimmest of grins.

  “What about our people?” Todd asked.

  “So far, we’ve lost nine, mainly to random sniper shots, although one was likely self-inflicted. We began the day with 364 souls on board, plus a shitload of cows and pigs. Angel and Jack did well getting the word out. Many of these farmers and ranchers are damn good shots. We put guns in their hands and let ’em know we expected them to fight. They’re assets, but that group you brought will surely help.”

  Jack spoke up. “Todd, is this all the help we’re getting from the Navy? What do we do when the rest of the Messengers arrive?”

  “The Navy will come when we call. They just can’t come until then. They are, well . . . they’re busy. They may also only be able to make a couple of attack runs, so we have to make it count.”

  “How the fuck we gonna do that, ask them to line up like good li’l Christians?”

  “Good question, Bartos. We need to be ready to draw the main group into a confined area, preferably away from the AG. I don’t have any ideas right now, but let’s get thinking on it. Do you think that Navy chopper overhead might have put some fear into them?”

  Bartos looked out to sea. “They probably heard it, but I don’t think any were able to see whose bird it was. I’m sure they’ll be surprised to learn we have friends like that. Come on down. Let me introduce you to Bobby and his new…um, godson—and you can see Kaylie, let her know about DJ.”

  Todd shook his head, “I’m not quite ready for that conversation yet. Thanks for going and rescuing him, I—that meant an awful lot to Scott, and I’m sure to Kaylie, too. That was one of the last things that he and I talked about. He hated putting you at risk, but he was very grateful. I take it Bobby’s wife didn’t survive?”

  “No. Those bastards . . .” He shook his head no. “Bobby hasn’t said much, and Kaylie has been pretty stoic about it so far.”

  Todd nodded, “DJ is anxious to see her—if we can secure this area, that is. They won’t let him come over here until then. He’s not going to take away the pain, but hopefully, he can take her mind off things somewhat. I also want to hear more about what happened with Abe. I still can’t believe he was feeding intel to those guys.” He shook his head in disgust.

  Jack glanced at the radar screen then looked out the south side windows again. “Man, this storm is massive. Looks like it’ll be a monster. It just keeps getting bigger.”

  Todd walked over and looked out, scowling, “Let me assure you it is, we’ve already met. It’s at hurricane strength, and it’s huge.”

  Bartos pointed down at the far side of the canal, “Preacher, looks like more of your Cameltights are starting to arrive.” Buses, cars, trucks and motorhomes were coming into view and forming a long line behind a handful of tactical trucks and military vehicles. “Crazies to the north and a hurricane to the south. This is turning into a very bad day, guys.”

  Jack just stared out the window silently mouthing, “Amalekites, you idiot.”

  Chapter Ninety-Three

  Bartos and Garret rotated out all the men on watch so they could get some hot food, dry clothes and a bit of rest. The Marines and the Navy guys were reluctant to leave their posts, but they were in for the duration; it was the wiser move. The rain, which had started to fall several hours earlier, was not bad yet, but everyone on the AG was prepared for what was coming. The Messengers, it seemed, were clueless about the ap
proaching weather. They set up camp alongside the canal including what looked to be a damn revival tent.

  Throughout the night, they had heard calls of distress coming from the canal. Apparently, the supreme leader had no problem sending his followers to their death. More than once they also heard Solo tearing into something. His demonic growls were as intimidating as the group he was attacking.

  It took several hours before Todd reluctantly went down to the sick bay, dreading his next conversation. “Oh, my God, you’re back! Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Kaylie had him in a ferocious hug. “I was so worried! Did you get DJ?”

  “Hey, sweetie, good to see you. I assume this is your dad?” He smiled at Bobby and then over to the small boy huddled on the far side. “And who is this little guy?”

  “This is my traveling partner, Jacob. You must be Captain Todd.” Bobby shook the man’s hand. He saw the glimmer of despair cloud the man’s face. “DJ—he’s okay?”

  Todd sat on the empty chair, “Yeah, yeah, DJ’s great. He and his lab team are all on one of the Navy ships. He can come up after this mess here is settled. Kaylie, he misses you greatly, and he sent this.” He held out a small envelope that the young man had given him before he left.

  Kaylie grinned from ear to ear and took the letter, giving Todd a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “Scott’s not with you. Where is he?” Bobby asked.

  Todd looked at his hands, slowly, so slowly. It took everything he had to make himself look at Bobby. The man did resemble his brother. More weathered, certainly, and not as fit as Scott, but the similarities were unmistakable. Kaylie had stopped opening the letter and gone to stand by her dad’s bed.

  “Listen . . . I’m afraid . . . I’m so sorry, but Scott . . .” the words didn’t want to come. He took a deep breath as his eyes began to tear. “Scott didn’t make it.” His own voice sounded alien to him as he passed the terrible news to Scott’s family. He looked pleadingly at each of them, hoping against logic that they would not fall apart. “He was swept out to sea trying to save the rest of us from an infected patient.” He leaned back like a boxer waiting for the next blow to land. There, he had gotten it out. Now he felt like he was going to be sick.

  Kaylie cried out as if wounded, while Bobby simply dropped his head, reaching over to take his daughter's hand. “Are you sure, I mean . . . you know?”

  Todd couldn’t look at them now; he focused on the boy instead. The child's haunted eyes seem to stare deep into his soul. “The raid happened at the peak of the hurricane . . . the waves were the size of skyscrapers. The Navy had Search and Rescue in the air and on the water for days . . . they found nothing. Then—well, then it became a recovery mission. So far, they’ve still found no sign of them. They finally called it off just before we landed here.”

  “So . . . so . . .” Kaylie struggled between tears to get the words out. “So, he could still be alive?”

  “I wish I could say so, honey, I, oh God I so do, but no, he surely drowned. No one can survive the open sea that long without supplies, even in normal conditions. It was a hurricane. The ocean was a monster that night, anything but normal. I was out there with some of the SAR teams, all seasoned Navy guys, and honestly, we were all scared to death of it. The ocean took him, I’m so sorry.” He looked away. “It won’t give him back.”

  Kaylie’s sobs echoed through the stark, near-empty room.

  “I am so sorry, Kaylie and Bobby, it’s my fault he went. I’ll have to live with that, but I am sorry to you both, and to Scott. He is . . . he was a good man, a good friend, he was . . . the very best of us.”

  No one said anything for several long minutes. Bobby released Kaylie’s hand and gently rubbed the young boy’s hair. “Thank you, Todd, but he wouldn’t want that. He would not want you carrying that guilt. You know Scott. He wouldn’t do something unless he felt it was right.” Bobby looked at his daughter and down at the tattoo on his hand. “I am only beginning to realize that I knew just a part of my little brother. He was obviously much more—a much better man than I was. He saved my daughter. He managed to help save me from 400 miles away. And from what I hear, he helped you put this town back together. In doing so, he—well, I think he found himself again.

  “Much of that was thanks to you, Todd, and Jack and Bartos. You guys were the bond, and I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for him—that you’re still doing for him. There is a war going on outside these walls, and you came here, in the middle of it all, to tell me about my brother. Scott was right about you. You’re one hell of a friend. Todd, he loved you, and my daughter loves you, and this boat needs you. If Scott is gone, I know it’s not because of anything you did or didn’t do. So please, don’t ever blame yourself.”

  Todd stood and gently laid a hand on the man’s arm in thanks. He turned and hugged Kaylie, unable to speak. He left them to deal with yet another loss. What was it about that family? They were such good people. They don’t deserve any of this.

  DeVonte caught him on the stairs. ”We got a problem, Cap. They want you on the bridge.”

  Chapter Ninety-Four

  The rain was coming down in torrents. The radar clearly showed that the eye of the storm had jogged east quite a bit over the last few hours, which put the eye wall on track to make landfall near Biloxi. Todd had heard the Navy meteorologist discussing it: it appeared that it would be a glancing blow to Harris Springs if the track continued to turn east; if the main storm stayed over the warm waters of the Gulf while part of it was over land, however, it would continue to feed and strengthen instead of dying off over land like most did. The predictions for the storm surge meant that if all that water were pushed onto land in front of the storm, it would cause massive flooding. He needed to confirm that the mooring lines were secure, but there was no way to safely do that now. The massive ship would act as a giant sail in the hurricane force winds. If the ship broke free, they would likely be pushed over against the far shore, right where the Messengers were waiting.

  He entered the bridge to see Bartos staring back down the canal to the west. “What’s up, Cajun?”

  Bartos handed him the rifle scope and pointed. “Looks like I missed something when we cleared the area. They have a raft or something, I can’t make it out in this rain too well. Since they’re in the channel, we have to assume some of them are already on our side.”

  Todd held the scope and braced on the window frame, looking back over the ship. “I see it now. Doesn’t look very stable. I don’t think they’re going to get many of them across with that thing. You have anything that could take it out?”

  Bartos thought on it. “A sniper could take out the men paddling it, but the ones on land will just send someone out to retrieve it. They seem to have no problem sacrificing bodies to get what they want. If they’re smart, they’ll come up close to the hull. Due to the curve of the ship, we can’t see all the way down to the waterline, not until they are up near the bow. No easy way to get weapons up there, but we could try one of our napalm bombs . . . might get lucky.”

  Todd thought on it. Bartos had filled him in on all the weapons they had, both conventional and improvised. “Let’s keep those in reserve . . . we don’t want them to know about those until we have more confirmed targets in our sights.”

  “So, we just let the raft go?” Bartos asked

  “See if Garret’s men can take out the men. If so, go for it, but otherwise, ignore it. I’m more concerned with those that are already on the island.” Todd could see his friend did not like the plan. “Bartos, this is what we call a very dynamic and evolving scenario. The storm, the Judges, the Messengers, us. We have to make the right plays at the right time.”

  “I know, I know, but when can we call in the Navy?”

  Todd pointed to the highway on the far side. “Not until that slows down.”

  Bartos looked back at the seemingly endless line of cars, horses, buses, and foot traffic joining the growing mass of Messengers on the far shore.

&nb
sp; Chapter Ninety-Five

  The Judges on the raft slipped by right alongside the Aquatic Goddess. They were exposed and began paddling furiously toward the far shore.

  Two Navy SEALs on board had taken concealed positions on the bow with 50. caliber Barrett sniper rifles. Their synchronized shots hit both men center mass. The massive rounds carried both bodies well off the floating platform.

  The reaction from the far shore was a volley of shots that hit the ship erratically and ineffectively.

  The SEALs watched as the raft floated farther down the canal and was soon out of sight. Todd and Bartos had expected them to send more swimmers out to retrieve it, but none made the attempt. Over the next hour, the reason became clear as several trucks hauling large pontoon boats appeared on the far side. With no boat ramps remaining on that side, they backed the trucks as far down the bank as they could, then used their ample supply of manpower to lift the boats from the trailers and carry them down to the water.

  Bartos and Todd watched as they loaded the boats with men and equipment. “Now it gets fun.”

  “Bartos, my friend, you have an odd sense of entertainment.”

  “Yeah, I know. I have to go get Solo. Keep an eye on things, will ya?”

  Todd continued to watch the Messengers, wondering who was in charge and, more importantly, when he should call Commander Garret for help. After a round hit the thick glass in front of him, he decided now was probably the right time. Garret answered immediately but did not have the good news Todd was hoping for.

  “The Air Boss indicates the weather right now is too bad to send attack jets for at least the next few hours. I’m sorry, Todd, but you know how limited our flight ops are in weather like this. We can fly above it, but you guys need more precision on a strike than we can deliver right now. Our only ordinance we have left is conventional, we have no infrared and no laser guidance. In other words, we would have to blind drop the damn things nearly on top of you. No telling where any of them would land with that wind you’re about to get.”