The Fall of America | Book 3 | Enemy Within

by Benton, W. R.

  In the old days of the Sioux, a shaman was a spiritual leader, doctor, and interpreter of dreams and visions. A real Sioux shaman could cast spells, remove spells, make it rain, call the buffalo near for hunters, tell the future, and much more. However, in the village now, the shaman was a doctor primarily, who also used contact with the spirit world to assist him in healing. Dreams and visions rarely needed clarification these days, but the shaman could also do that if requested.

  “What are you thinking about?” Mongoose asked in sign language as she rode beside him. Burrows had insisted that all adults and children learn to use real Indian sign language. He felt few, if any, others would know the language, and it would allow complete communications without a spoken word. The warriors found it helpful to be able to communicate and never speak a word in the field, unless there was no choice.

  “I was thinking how our People came to be a feared tribe.”

  “We are a strong tribe and our warriors, both girls and boys, start training very young. We protect our lands, take what we want from the weak, and our enemies fear us. Does not just the mention of our name, Eagle People, send a shudder through our enemies?”

  “Yes, but I was thinking of how the People came to be. How Professor Burrows saved our ancestors and gave our tribe meaning. Look at the many things we have and can do that others cannot, all because of the man.”

  “Enough talk on the trail. It is not smart to sign when we should be scanning the woods around us.”

  “I understand.” Amon signed and then grinned. Mongoose was Sally's nick name, but it fit her perfectly. She was one hell of a fighter and deadly with a bow. Unlike the Sioux, where men were usually the only warriors, the Eagle People used both genders. At first, they'd had so few folks that everyone had to fight, but now they were many more. We discovered the women are more vicious warriors than the men, he thought as he scanned the countryside. And, while they may not have our strength, they make up for it in cunning.

  They were on land the Eagle People claimed as their own, but the land was rich and full of wild game. The plenteous farmland that had once fed the world wheat and corn, had overgrown and wind blown seeds were carried and dropped all over the land. Their lands were located in the western portion of the old state of Missouri and included much of eastern Kansas. In a days ride on their land, different types of land was seen; from trees and high cliffs to wide open plains. The People often said that God had placed them in an area that only a fool would starve to death.

  “Stop, I see a man down.” Ralph said as he approached from the front, where he'd been riding point and looking for danger.

  “Dead?” Mongoose asked.

  “I didn't check him alone. I rode back for help.”

  “Amon, go with him and keep your eyes open, because it may be a trick. The Wolf People are wily and I think they should change their names to Coyote People. A wolf is not nearly as ingenious as a coyote.”

  “Let's go.” Amon said, and pulled his battle ax.

  Moving forward, neither man saw anything out of place or any suggestion they were in danger. Amon usually felt when someone was watching him, and it was a finely tuned sense or warning system he'd developed. Most people had the same skill, but most ignored it, where he had not. Right now he felt safe.

  About ten feet from the man, Ralph said, “You check him, while I cover you.” He pulled his bow and made an arrow ready.

  Sliding gracefully from the back of his mount, Amon made his way to the downed man. When he was close, he could see a puddle of blood under the man's head and chest. He looked, but saw no exit wound. “Must have been a spear thrust, because I see no exit injury.” he said.

  “He is dressed like one of our People, so roll him over and see if he yet lives.”

  Holding his ax ready, Amon rolled the man over on his back and gave a gasp.

  “Good God, it's Alex.” Ralph said.

  “He's got a hole in the middle of his chest, but there was no exit hole.” Amon squatted beside the man.

  “What do you mean, a hole?”

  “A round circle, and I have no idea what kind of weapon could make an injury like that. He is still breathing, but it's ragged and labored. We need to get him to the shaman or he'll die.”

  “What is Alex doing out here?”

  Amon shrugged and then said, “Get Mongoose and let her see this. While you get her, I'll do what I can to slow or stop his bleeding.”

  Ralph pulled his horse around and was gone in a minute.

  Amon was looking at Alex's face when the injured man's eyes opened and he said in a voice just above a whisper, “The Wolf . . . People attacked . . . village. Most dead . . . but we . . . scattered. Over . . . too fast. I am the—.” Suddenly, Alex began to shiver and jerk violently. He gave a loud sigh, there was a rattling from some place deep in his chest, and then his head fell back loosely—he was dead.

  When Mongoose rode to the man, she asked, “Will he live?”

  “No, he's dead. He did speak, and told me his village was attacked by The Wolf People, and many were killed. He said the attack happened quickly and they were overrun.” Amon replied.

  The woman warrior dismounted, walked to the dead man, and said, “I see but a small hole in him. Is that what killed him?”

  “I have no idea what caused his death. He may have experienced internal injuries or suffered a head injury we are not aware of, but I've never seen such a wound in my years as a warrior. It is a perfect circle.”

  Mongoose squatted beside the dead Alex, pulled her knife and then opened the man's chest, by cutting into the bloody hole. Inside went her small hand and a few seconds later, she removed the object of her search—a bullet.

  Holding the spent bullet in the palm of her crimson covered hand she said, “The Wolf People have guns, or have at least one gun. A gun was used to kill Alex. This is not good for us. If they have guns and we do not, we'll soon be gone as a People. They'll take our land and all we call our own. Hurry, we must reach our village and let the council of elders know of our finding. Ralph, tie Alex to a horse and bring his body with us, to show our elders.”

  “I'll ride for a horse now and I'll not speak of what we've found.”

  Mongoose nodded to the man and then said, “Amon, take Thomas, Lee, Baker, and Wilson with you. I want you to check Alex's village and see what direction the attackers have gone. See if there are any survivors, but also check how the dead met death. If they were shot, get me a count. Also try to determine how large the raiding party was. I'm asking you to do much, without being seen. Once you know what I have asked, return quickly to your People. I'll wait for you there.”

  “Sally, this is not good if they have guns. Where would guns come from? How would they make the powder? I have many questions but no answers.”

  “Go and see what you can find. It may be only one gun was used. Once you have visited the village we'll know much more. Now, round up your men and leave.”

  Amon nodded, walked to his horse and mounted, all the while scared of what he might find at the village.

  Miles from the village, Amon knew a massacre had occurred by the dense black smoke rising to the sky and the vultures circling overhead. Occasionally, one of the birds would hang by a wing and slowly descend in a circle to a meal below. Seeing the birds angered him, because he knew they were eating his People, but he knew they had a place in the circle of life. He'd been taught that all things that were born one day died, and that included all humans, even those you love.

  Using sign, he said, “Thomas, drop back and cover our rear. I'll take the point and you three hang in the middle. Once near the village, I will enter alone. Understood?”

  All nodded, and Thomas turned and rode behind the group down their back trail.

  Amon looked to the sky and thought, God, protect me from what I am about to see. I love my People; to see so many dead will disturb me greatly. I ask for your help in the days to come as I try to understand why this has happened. Give me strengt
h, Lord. This I ask in the name of Jesus, amen.

  None of the others thought his behavior was strange or weak, because it was the way of a real warrior. One walked the path given by God, and at times a man needed His help to continue. They'd all prayed in the past, and they'd do it again in the future. Most of them prayed twice a day, first at sunrise and then at dusk, because it was way of a true man or woman.

  He moved toward the village slowly and unlike villages of the Sioux, the lodges were made of dirt or scrap pieces of lumber from a city or town. Most looked like sod houses made in the 1800's by settlers on the open plains. They only required wooden logs overhead, to allow the sod a place to rest after the roof was in place. They weren't pretty, but they kept a person warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

  About fifty yards from the village, he spotted the first body. It was a young girl, close to fifteen or so was Amon's guess, and she'd been raped and then her throat cut. Her unseeing eyes were huge and reflected her fear. He dismounted, walked to her clothing, and picking it up, he covered her naked body. I know our men do the same, but it seems so wrong when it is my People who are the victims. I need to look for more, he thought. There will, I'm afraid, be many more.

  As he neared the perimeter of the village, he began to see more and more bodies, until he dismounted and tied his horse to a spear. All the victims he'd seen so far had been killed with arrows, spears, or knives. There had been a large number of attackers, from what he could tell, and they'd simply overwhelmed the small village. The women were all used, the men mutilated, and there were no dead children that he'd seen. Usually, kids were taken back to the a village and raised as their own, if they were young enough. Most of the time the children were too young to remember ever being with another People. The Eagle People children would be raised as members of the Wolf clan.

  When he neared the center of the village, he found the chief, shaman, preacher and their women hanging up-side-down over a large smoking fire. They'd been opened with a knife and long lines of purplish intestines were hanging down, covering their faces, but it didn't matter. The skin on their faces had burned to the point their flesh had melted before it turned black. All were alive when tied and the fire had been lighted. Amon had seen it before and his own People did it at times to their enemies, but usually only to captives who were brave. The warrior class was rough, but the dead here, these were not warriors. The killings had been done as a warning to others of what the Wolf People would do.

  He gagged at the smell, puked and then fell to his knees as he dry-heaved. The smell was horrible and there was little or no wind, which made it worse. He stood, shook his head at the senselessness of it all, and continued checking the village. My God, a whole village slaughtered, but why? Usually an enemy tribe will steal horses or maybe a woman or two, but I've never see a whole village destroyed. Are the Wolf People out to kill all of us? Are they attacking other People as well?

  He counted over 200 dead and not a one killed by a gun. It was near the well, when he saw a beautiful woman fully dressed and sprawled out in the dirt. She was one of his People and a warrior from her clothing. She'd been shot at least three times in the chest, but she must have killed many, because she'd not been mutilated or raped. Usually if a woman was injured, men would line up to use her, with the man who'd put her down going first. Or, if she was only slightly wounded, they might make her a slave. Most slaves that had escaped or been rescued stated they would preferred death to being a slave. He squatted beside her, pulled her blouse open, and noticed the shots were all close together and could be covered with his closed fist. There was little blood on her, so he knew she'd died from internal bleeding. He covered her face with a bandana he removed from her throat.

  Damn me, not a single survivor that I can see. But, some may have fled from the fight. I need to return to my men, they will be worried, he thought and then moved for his horse. They were too few in his group to bury so many, so the dead would remain where they fell.

  Once with his men, he said, “No survivors, not a one that I could see, and over 200 dead. I only found where one warrior, a woman, had been shot. The Wolf People may have guns, but if they do, they do not have many.”

  Suddenly, Lee spotted movement in the woods to the left and signed, “Our left side has movement but it is off in the distance.”

  Amon signed, “Prepare to be attacked, but do nothing unless they start first. We are too few to fight against a large group.”

  - - -

  Eagle People available for the Kindle

  The Fall of America:

  Book 1 Premonition of Death

  Kindle : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F1S4BAG

  Also available for Nook, iBooks, Kobo and at Smashwords

  What if it all came crashing down?

  It started with the "Biggest" stock market crash in history. Banks shut down under the weight of their bogus investments, and the financial sector failed. People looked to the government to make it all better. They couldn't! Hyper-inflation, mass unemployment and infrastructure started to breakdown. The food trucks didn't show up at the stores and the shelves went empty.

  The Fall of America: Book 1 Premonition of Death is the beginning of a new series, about an average man who's life goes downhill fast, once society breaks down. Set in the rural south, a scorched-earth showdown with some local thugs leaves John and his wife homeless, and on the run. He hears rumors of a survivalist group made up of former military personnel, and finding them may be his only hope. Just basic survival becomes vicious, resistance at any cost, as the devastated country comes under new siege—invading Russian troops.

  ALIVE AND ALONE

  100+ miles from the nearest road...

  Kindle version: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANV97IW

  On a trip to the Lake Clark area of the Alaskan bush, a sudden arctic weather system forces down the small plane of Dr. Jim Wade, and his son David. Both have survived the crash, but not unscathed. Food, fire and shelter are all a priority. Following the death of his father, now it is up to David to figure out what to do next, and how to survive, on a remote Alaskan mountain - in winter!

  This is a story of survival, resilience and of the spirit to live. It is both authentic and accurate, having been written by a former Air Force life support survival instructor. For ages 10 and up

  The Fall of America:

  Book 2 Fatal Encounters

  Kindle : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JRK6ANU

  What if it all came crashing down?

  The Fall of America: Book 2 continues John's story of survival and resistance after society breaks down. Russian invaders continue to try and pacify the areas of the South under their control. American resistance groups divide their forces into small cells to better operate effectively behind enemy lines. But as their efforts begin to gain ground the Russians respond with harsh reprisals; mass executions become the norm and prison camps soon spring up in remote small towns. “Fear brings compliance,” is their motto.

  The battle for Mississippi gets hot, and a violent world gets even more ugly. Can the U.S. partisans survive the overwhelming Russian Army and its thermal detection technology/helicopter gunships and scorched earth tactics?

  FALL OF AMERICA #3: Enemy Within

  FALL OF AMERICA #4: Winter Ops

  The series continues...

  In The Fall of America: Book 3 the battle for America rages on. John and his fellow partisans evolve from a rag-tag group of rebels into an organized force. Embarking on more challenging and dangerous missions, they target larger Russian installations. Using classic guerrilla war tactics the resistance forces attack the gulag prisoner camps and Russian air bases.

  But their efforts are not without casualties on both sides and the Russian's respond by instituting a campaign of brutal civilian massacres in reprisal. John's commitment is sorely tested when the Russians show an increasing knowledge of the rebel's plans and defenses. Could there be a traitor in their ranks? What sort of person could betray t
heir fellow Americans?

  The Fall of America: Book 4 marks a turning point for the American rebels in their fight against the invading Russians.

  Ambushing a Russian convoy, the rebels discover cases of the 9K32 Strela-2M missiles, or as the Russians call them, arrows. These Arrows, man-portable shoulder-fired low-altitude surface-to-air missiles change how the partisans operate—they go on the offensive against the Russian's key advantage: their Air power.