Apocalypse in the Homeland: The Adventures of John Harris

by Anthony Newman

  Joe filled him in on the situation and he replied, “I understand and we’ll set up the meeting for later in the week. Just get back to me when you can. Oh, by the way, were the tracks on the small side?”

  “Yes, they were. How did you know?”

  “We’ve had someone watching us and stealing food from time to time. The footprints have always been much smaller than most men’s prints.”

  “Thanks for the heads up. We are heading back to our camp and after we find Capt Harris, we will return with Steve Jones, one of our leaders, to discuss ya’ll joining our country.”

  ***

  He woke up with a throbbing headache and blood in his left eye. His wrists hurt and were scraped and bruised. He looked around and saw someone trying to lift an ATV and turn it back right side up. The person was too small to move the ATV more than a foot or so and cursed after each effort. She was a small blonde haired beauty and he wondered what was under the bulky snowsuit. He felt guilty looking at her for some reason.

  “Wait a minute and I’ll help you.”

  The person was startled and quickly turned around with a gun in her hand. She was a beautiful young woman. He did not recognize her and saw that she was battered and bruised. He joined her in lifting the ATV and with a mighty grunt; they righted it in one surge.

  They both fell to the ground exhausted; he looked at her and said, “I’m sorry young lady, but I can’t remember anything. Who am I and where the fuck are we? I don’t believe I know your name.”

  She was startled and replied, “Jim, don’t kid me. I know that you were hit in the head, but we’ve been together for over a year now. I’m Kristen.”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t even remember how I got here or where we came from. Why are we out in the snow on such a gloomy day?”

  “Why Jim, I believe that hit on the head has addled your brains. You wanted to get away from the camp to spend some time alone with me. It’s so crowded and hard to be alone.”

  “What camp? Hell, I can’t even remember where my home is or my last name.”

  “Are you serious? Your name is Jim Jones and you are from somewhere down south. You drifted into the area a year ago and saved me from a biker gang. They were about to rape me and you shot them all and I took you to our camp.”

  "I’m sorry, but why are you living in a camp?”

  “Jim, we live together in a camp. You are my husband. I’m Kristen Jones, I love you and you love me. Well, we aren’t actually married, but it’s the same these days since the world fell apart.”

  He went to the side of the ATV and looked in the mirror. He saw a man with graying dark hair with rugged features dressed in BDUs. He had never seen that face before.

  “I don’t want to argue with such a beautiful young girl, but I must be 30 years older than you and ten times as ugly. Why would you hook up with an older guy like me? Wait a minute. What do you mean by the world fell apart?”

  “OMG, you really don’t remember. The USA and Europe were nuked by the Iranians and were helped by some rogue US officials. Some say the President was leading the group. Anyway, you saved my life and there are two women for every man thanks to the thugs and biker gangs. They kill all of the men that they don’t need as slaves and keep all of the good looking women as sex slaves. I thought you could protect me and you are great in bed, so we have been together ever since.”

  “You’re kidding. I hate progressive liberals, but even that scum bag wouldn’t nuke his own country. Wait a minute....we're sleeping together? I think I’d remember that.”

  She walked over to him and gave him a long wet kiss and said, “Do you remember now?”

  “That was fantastic, but I still can’t remember who I am much less who you are. I could get used to this though.”

  “Well anyway, we got nuked and it shut the whole country down. No electricity, no running water, no TV and no video games and even cars don’t run! Man, we’re back in the Stone Age."

  “Then how does the ATV run?”

  “One of the brains at the camp said that our ATVs were stored in metal shipping containers and that protected them from the MP blasts.”

  “That’s EMP for electromagnetic pulse and it would destroy electronics and our power grid.”

  “Jim, we need to get back to camp before we're caught out in the open. The thugs and gangs don’t get out in the snow much, but we can’t take a chance. They are armed to the teeth and we only have a few old rifles and shotguns.”

  “Then why do I have an M4, Berretta and a Kel-Tek?”

  “We were out scrounging for food, weapons and medical supplies and you found them in a ransacked police station."

  He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but in his gut, he just didn’t trust this beautiful young lady. John Harris had forgotten everything about his past and was now trying to figure out who Jim Jones is.

  ***

  “Now Beth, we don’t know John has been harmed; we just know that he has been kidnapped. We’ll send a search party out immediately after the storm lets up.”

  “Look, I know that John is a big boy and can take care of himself, but I just have a terrible feeling about this. The snow will obliterate the tracks and all we know is that they headed out east coming towards us. They could be anywhere. That ATV can fly across this snow; they don’t need roads.”

  The late spring blizzard lasted for several days and dumped six inches of snow onto the existing 18 inches. The three two-man search parties came back empty handed. They did find several other survivors that would be glad to join them, but no trace of John Harris.

  Steve, Imelda and Joe travelled back to Cody to meet with the town officials and enlist their help in finding John. While they had very constructive dialog, the town folk were not interested in joining a search party during the worst winter in the history of the territory.

  “Steve, I’m sorry, but your man is long gone and probably dead by now. If this was a normal winter, I’d deliver up 50 men to help search, but these storms just keep rolling in on us every week or so. It would be certain death for anyone caught out in the open.”

  “Mayor, I understand and we will keep our teams searching. Now do ya’ll have any short wave radios or any way to contact the ISA or PSA?”

  “I’m sorry, but we only have handheld walkie-talkies that work and a few short range CBs without any way to power them. Can’t you just call your government? What kind of country sends soldiers out without communications?”

  Steve told them most of the story about the plane crash and how they arrived in Wyoming. He kept John’s real identity secret.

  “The ISA is planning on sending troops and support into this area, but the original plan was to begin early summer next year. I think they will speed this up to search for us.”

  “You don’t feel that they will think that you are dead?”

  “No, this team has been through tougher battles than this and I strongly feel that they will soon be sending a small army up this way.”

  “I know that you are high up in their government, but you really think that they will expend that much of their resources looking for six people when they are in a fight with the Cartel and the USA?

  “I know they will.”

  ✼✼✼✼✼✼

  ✼

  Chapter 6

  On the Road Again.

  Jackson, Mississippi

  2022

  The trip to New Orleans on Highway 10 was uneventful since the roads had been cleared and the gangs killed or run out of the area. The city was still in ruins and not on the schedule to repair due to most of it being flooded.

  Baton Rouge was the capital and had electricity, running water and other services.

  They took Highway 55 North out of New Orleans towards Jackson, Mississippi to pick up Highway 20 West. Since it was already 3:00 p.m. and they hadn’t made it to Jackson, Scott decided to spend the night just south of Jackson on the outskirts of Byram, Mississippi. Jackson still had some gang activity and he
wanted to stop long enough to clean out the gangs and meet with the local townpeople.

  Scott met with Lieutenant Cates of the 82nd and Lieutenant Pope with rangers to set up a plan for defenses for the night and recon of Jackson. The rangers would handle the recon and the 82nd would set up guards around the convoy. They also discussed sending a scout group ahead of the convoy for the rest of the trip. Three Humvees and 12 soldiers should be adequate. Once they were North of Dallas, the Apaches would join them and they would have constant air cover. They also had a small scout helicopter to spot trouble along their path. It was on a flatbed trailer and could take off and land from the trailer.

  Joan looked over the convoy and said, “Scott, we look like an invading force with 12 Humvees, 13 trucks, a mobile hospital and 140 troops. We will attract quite a bit of attention form the locals.”

  “Yes, Gus and I discussed the question of go big or go small and big won out. We wanted to be able to protect ourselves, but also wanted the locals that we meet to feel safe and feel we can protect them. Remember, we double in size when we get to Albuquerque. How is the morale?”

  “The ranger’s morale is always great. Mine would be better if I was sleeping with you instead of with a bunch of smelly rangers. I’ll bet your cot is more comfortable than my piece of ground.”

  “Darling I’d rather be on the ground with you, but then all of the women rangers and 82nd would want to sleep with me. I have to sacrifice.”

  She punched him in the gut just as Sonny and Jim came around the corner.

  They turned to walk away and Sonny said, “I saw nothing, but if I did, I would spank her.”

  Scott replied, “Then she would kill me and there would be a big stink and Gus would get pissed and when Gus gets pissed all hell breaks loose.”

  Joan replied, “Good choice,” and walked away.

  Scott came up from behind and pinched her butt saying, “I didn’t say that there’d be no consequences.”

  She turned, kissed him and then caught up with Sonny who was still laughing.

  The night was interrupted several times by small arms fire in the distance towards Jackson, but was otherwise peaceful.

  Scott was eating breakfast when Lt. Cates joined him with a Sit Rep.

  “We took out several small groups of gangs and one small time drug lord last night. Sorry about disturbing your sleep.”

  “Just doing your job. Anything big enough to worry Gus or me?

  “No, but we learned that on the west side of Jackson a self-styled dictator has Highway 20 blocked and is demanding payment to pass.”

  “Will he take lead in payment?”

  “I guess he won’t get a choice. Pope sent Sonny with a team of snipers around to their backside to harass them and I have several squads moved into position during the night. Sonny’s team will open up on them just before we use our mortars to rain hell down on them. We have all avenues of escape covered and should totally wipe them out. They won’t know what hit them. They also have several hundred prisoners that do all of the work for them. They have several fairly sophisticated drug labs and farms in operation and use the prisoners to man them.”

  “Can we free them without loss of life?”

  “I can’t promise that, but I’m confident that any loss will be minimal.”

  “Not to the ones killed. Proceed and keep me informed.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound callous like I don’t care…”

  “Barry, that’s just something that Gus said to me during the operation to free the prisoners in Mobile. All lives matter. It stuck with me.”

  “Sir, I will keep it in mind.”

  “Lighten up and go kill some bad guys.”

  ***

  “Bo, I just got a message from our guys in Mississippi. It appears that the ISA has a large convoy headed north on Highway 55. They are made up of 82nd Airborne and ISA Rangers and are camped just below Jackson. My men want to attack and wipe them out before they establish more settlements. What do you want me to tell them to do?”

  “First, tell them not to attack. This could be the break that we’ve been waiting for. They may have found out where Harris is and are going to get him. Tell them to have a couple of small teams dress up like gang members and harass the convoy and kill a few every day or so. Hit and run, but do not engage them. They will chew you up and crap you out like shit through a goose.”

  “Sir, I beg to differ. My men are top notch and can hold their own with any army.”

  “Pride goes before a big fucking fall. Dismissed.”

  ***

  Sonny’s snipers patiently waited on the orders to begin taking out the enemy targets. They had watched the gang members going about preparing for the attack on the convoy without realizing that they were about to die before they even saw the convoy. There were approximately 100 armed gang members spread out along Highway 20 at their choke point. They had been busy placing some burned out cars filled with explosives along the route about 100 yards before their position. They had a couple of guys that looked like ex-military, but for the most part, they were undisciplined.

  “Sonny, you are cleared to begin firing and mortars will begin lobbing shit on them in 30 minutes. Good luck.”

  Sonny waved, got his team’s attention and gave the signal to begin firing. All of the snipers had suppressors on their rifles so they got off three or four shots each before the gang knew they were under attack. The dumbasses were hiding behind cars and stacks of tires with their backs to Sonny’s team. It was downright impossible to miss and was easier that shooting fish in a barrel. Just as the gang members wised up and ran to the other side of their cover, the mortars started raining down on them. Body parts, car parts and dirt were blown into the air and littered the ground. The mortars fell for about five minutes and there was nothing left to kill. The Rangers and 82nd Airborne methodically searched the area for gang members and shot all survivors.

  The mopping up was almost complete when several soldiers were shot and fell dead. The rest scrambled for safety and returned fire without really knowing where to shoot.

  “Sonny, have your men look for snipers.”

  “Will do.”

  They searched for an hour, but only found the locations that the snipers fired from. There were cigarette butts and spent casings from a .308 caliber rifle.

  “Scott, I don’t think that the snipers were with the gang members. I think they were well trained military snipers. If I had to guess, they are from the USA or the Chosen People.”

  “I think that you're right about the military training. Who is our best tracker?”

  “Private Jones is the best.”

  “Put a team together to support him and find those bastards. We lost two men and a woman to those bastards. I want payback.”

  They cleared the roadblock and started towards Dallas on Highway 20 without any issues. The bridge over the Mississippi was intact and had been cleared by the people of Vicksburg. The city was in good shape and had strong leadership that would fit in perfectly with the ISA’s culture. The farms and ranches were producing and needed someone to buy the excess products. Scott gave them a radio and had them trained to use it. They would contact the ISA and start working on joining the new country. Scott radioed back to Jim and asked him to send a team to help train the locals to protect themselves until the military could secure the area.

  They stopped a couple of times while local towns removed roadblocks that had been erected to keep the thugs and gangs out. Scott used the opportunity to have discussions with the local leaders and told them that the ISA would be placing outposts in the area to rid the country of the gangs. This news was well received.

  The day was boring and slow going since the road was only partially cleared of wrecked and stalled cars. There hadn’t been any road maintenance for over two years. They averaged just 40 miles per hour and were stopping just west of Mcintyre at the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant. Captain Bob Jones had asked Scott to check out the facility
, see if it had any useable ammunition and determine if it was operational. He had sent a small team along to evaluate the plant and decide if it could be brought back into production.

  They got off 20 at the Minden exit and headed South on 371 a few miles then took Highway 164 East just below the plant. Scott stopped the convoy in the city of Doyline and sent several scout groups to check the plant for intruders.

  There were only 95 people still living in Doyline and they were initially scared when Scott’s advance team rolled into town, but when they found out that they weren’t with the USA they were excited to see them. The leader offered the high school for accommodations for the night. They even had running water and lights thanks to some large generators and jury rigged pumps.

  Again, Scott gave them his canned speech about the ISA and that they were now becoming a part of the new country. Just as the leader shook Scott’s hand she stepped to his left then fell to the ground with half her head blown all over Scott.

  Everyone took cover as several bullets ricocheted off the vehicles and brick walls. The bullet was meant for Scott and the poor woman just stepped in the wrong direction. Scott saw a flash from a building about a block away and returned fire with his M4 while his team circled back around the building, but the snipers had disappeared. Scott went back to the ambush site and found the mayor’s husband holding his dead wife in his arms and weeping.

  “Please find the men who did this and kill the dirty bastards. I have three kids who will grow up without a mother thanks to them.”

  “I promise you that we will do our best to capture them and bring them to justice.”

  Scott and Jim met with the town council and told them the ISA was bringing food, weapons and ammunition to help the town until a permanent base could be established in the area.