The Days of Noah, The Complete Box Set: A Novel of the End Times in America

by Mark Goodwin

  One of the guards opened fire and shot three of the prisoners.

  David found a tree for cover and took aim. “Yep, let’s give these boys some cover fire. Isaiah, you and Benny make sure all the detainees are getting on the barge and confirm that Kevin made it back to the tug so he can pilot it the other side of the river. We’ll try to buy them a few more minutes, but we’ve got to evac real soon.”

  “You got it.” Isaiah crouched down and headed back down toward the river with Benny trailing close behind.

  Noah rested his rifle on a downed tree and took aim toward the pursuing guards. As soon as he was sure none of the fleeing prisoners were in his line of fire, he began shooting. David, Jim, and Elliot did likewise.

  The guards fell to the ground to seek cover as soon as they started taking fire from Noah and the others.

  Elliot yelled out, “Stay sharp; we’ve got another team trying to flank us from the east.”

  Noah joined Elliot in laying down suppressive fire toward the approaching enemy force.

  David continued to fire toward the team to the northwest. “Guys, we have to cut and run. These guys are trying to fix us.”

  Jim kept firing. “There are still more prisoners coming.”

  No sooner had the words left Jim’s mouth than automatic gunfire began to rain down on the stragglers from a guard tower between the baseball field and the center soccer field.

  David changed magazines and continued to shoot. “I think we’ve helped as many as we can. We have to pull back now, guys. Follow my lead.”

  David and Jim pulled back about fifty feet while Noah and Elliot laid down cover fire. As soon as Noah heard David and Jim begin to fire again, he and Elliot knew it was their turn to fall back. The four men continued this leap-frog maneuver all the way back to the Jon boats, just like they’d done in training.

  Once in the boats, David yelled, “I can’t believe Kevin still hasn’t pulled out. He’s going to get himself killed.”

  David broke radio silence for the first time since the operation had begun. “Kevin, you have to get out of there now! We’ve got enemy coming in from every angle. Pull out now!”

  Kevin’s voice came back over the radio. “Roger that!”

  Noah looked at the tug a couple hundred feet down the river from his boat. The barge was full of escaped prisoners. It crept away from the shoreline at a painfully slow pace.

  David shook his head. “He’ll never get them out of there on time. The tug is too slow. We’re going to have to take the Jon boats down there and give them some cover fire. Noah, you shoot, and I’ll drive. Jim, Elliot, you guys do the same thing from the other boat, but call Isaiah first and let him know we’re running a little bit behind schedule. When you see the enemy hit the shore, stay back and use the barge for cover. You’re on open water, so you won’t have any other cover besides it and the tug, so keep moving. Just don’t run into us!”

  Elliot said, “Ten-four!”

  In the brief seconds between the last firefight and the next, Noah thought about the curious mix of military lingo from the vets and the ten codes used by the men from the sheriff’s department. No matter, they were functioning as a cohesive unit on all other levels. Noah jumped in the boat, and it was soon buzzing through the water between the tug and the shore. And just in time because the guards were arriving at the river bank and firing on the barge. Noah lay prone and rested his barrel on the rim of the boat as he began shooting. He saw one of his rounds hit a guard square in the forehead. The shock of having just shot a man barely outweighed the surprise that he’d hit anything at all, with the jolting up-and-down motion of the moving boat.

  The death of the single enemy soldier seemed to put the other guards around him in touch with their mortality, as they fell to the ground and took cover. Noah continued to fire toward the shore as did Elliot from the other boat, which darted back and forth.

  Once the barge was three-quarters of the way across the river, David broke toward the other bank. Jim followed and they quickly arrived on the opposite bank.

  “Everybody okay?” David asked.

  Noah continued to squeeze off several rounds toward the other side of the river since the opposing side was doing the same. “I’m good.”

  “We’re all still here,” Elliot said.

  “Alright then, let’s get back to the van and move out.” David started toward the van, but then his leg gave way under him, and he toppled to the ground.

  Noah assumed he had just tripped on something and bent down to help him up. “Come on; let’s go.”

  “Ahh! I can’t. I took one in the leg.” David’s face reflected immeasurable pain as he grabbed his thigh.

  Noah called out, “Jim, give me a hand. David’s hit.”

  Jim pulled one of David’s arms around his neck while Noah grabbed the other. Elliot hit the release on David’s rifle sling to get it out of the way and make it easier for the others to help him back to the van.

  Isaiah flung the side door of the van open when they arrived. “Is David okay?”

  “It’s just a flesh wound.” The look of agony on David’s face was less convincing than the actual words.

  Isaiah assisted Noah and David in getting David situated on the seat directly behind the driver’s seat.

  Benny quickly unsnapped and removed the individual first aid kit from the MOLLE straps on the back of his assault pack. He retrieved the EMT shears and cut the leg out of David’s cargo pants. He pulled a Mini Mag flashlight out of his satchel and turned it on. “It’s not spurting. It looks like it just missed your femoral artery. I’ll stick a QuickClot sponge on both sides of the wound channel and wrap it with a compression bandage.”

  David nodded his approval as his face winced in pain.

  Noah slid the side door of the van shut as it began to roll slowly through the woods. “Is there any shrapnel inside?”

  Elliot opened the Israeli battle dressing and handed it to Benny.

  Benny took the bandage and began wrapping it around David’s leg, securing the hemostatic sponges to the front and back. “It’s too dark. I can’t tell. He has a clean exit wound on the back, so maybe not.”

  David forced a smile. “I’m sure it was a full-metal-jacket round. If it’d been hollow point, the back of my leg would look like the Grand Canyon.”

  Noah smirked. “Save the comedy routine and try to relax. We all know you’re a tough guy.”

  “Yes, doctor.” David rolled his eyes.

  Isaiah continued to drive slowly with the lights off for operational security. “Hang on back there. I’ll get you back as soon as possible.”

  “No rush,” David replied.

  Jim put his hand up. “Everyone be quiet for a second.”

  Noah strained to hear whatever Jim was listening for. “Sounds like a chopper.”

  Jim dropped his head. “That’s what I thought I was hearing. You better try to pick up the pace, Isaiah.”

  The sound of the motor pushing harder roared through the inside of the van as Isaiah pushed the gas pedal. “Will do.”

  The sound of the chopper got closer and closer. A distant echo of automatic gunfire rang out.

  “Sounds like Kevin’s group is fighting them off,” Jim said.

  David strained to sit up. “That’s a fifty cal. It’s coming from the chopper, not Kevin. We need to pull over and try to draw their fire. The detainees are all in vehicles with no means of defense.”

  Elliot grimaced. “That’s suicide.”

  “Maybe not. Isaiah, pull over when you find some cover. Everybody bail out except me, Benny, and Isaiah. You guys spread out and focus your fire on the fuel tank, which is toward the back of the aircraft. I’ll see how much damage I can do from the side of the van.”

  Noah didn’t like the plan, but it had already been discussed that David was in charge, and his decisions were to be followed without question. “Are we using FMJ ammo or tracers?”

  David slid to the side of the seat as the van rolled
to a stop. “Tracers. That’s why it’s important for you guys to spread out. The glowing phosphorous is going to give away your positions. At least if you’re not all piled up on top of each other, they’ll have a hard time picking a single target. And wait till the chopper is close enough to hit. I’ll send up a few shots to draw them in.”

  Noah nodded reluctantly and changed his magazine to the phosphorus tipped rounds. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  Elliot opened the door and rolled out of the van followed by Jim and Noah.

  David gingerly positioned himself on the ledge of the van. “Jim, you head that way about twenty yards. Noah, you head off to the south, and Elliot, there’s some good cover back in that clump of trees. Once you run out of tracers, head on back to the van.”

  The men all nodded and headed off to their respective positions.

  Noah sprinted around the van and toward a nearby tree line. The edge of the woods was only about twenty feet from the vehicle, so he continued further back into the forest. The faintest glimmer of light was peaking over the horizon to the east, but it was nowhere near enough light for him to see the ground beneath him. He could hear the chopper still shooting in the distance, so he briefly suppressed the on button of the tactical light attached to his rifle to see where he was going. As he walked further back into the woods, he tried to make a mental note of the path he was taking so he could make a hasty retreat back to the van. Noah found a point in the woods with enough of a clearing in the tree tops to be able to see a chopper if it were to come over him.

  Noah clicked the light off and found a good firing position. He sighed deeply as he glanced over his right shoulder. “It’s going to be daybreak soon, and we will be sitting ducks on these open roads. This was a bad plan.”

  Noah heard David fire two shots to draw the chopper to the team. Seconds later, the aircraft was overhead and peppering the trees near Noah’s team. As it passed, he heard one of his group fire several shots at the helicopter. It continued south past the group and then turned around for another fly-over. Just before it flew over Noah, it began firing indiscriminately into the woods. Noah could hear the bullets hitting the trees and ground just ten feet to his right. He moved to the west side of the tree he was leaning against to shield himself in case the rounds got closer. He looked up just in time to see the chopper flying over the clearing in the tree tops. By the time he had his rifle up and ready, only the tail section was visible. Noah tried to guess where the underbelly of the fuel tank would be and fired four rounds in the direction of the passing helicopter.

  An exchange of gunfire passed between the enemy aircraft and the rest of Noah’s group as it continued on toward the north.

  Noah waited to hear the chopper turn back around. He looked to the east again. Now the faint glimmer of daybreak had the distinct orange glow of dawn. Anxiety began to well up in him as he thought about the consequences of losing the cover of darkness. He had to stop his mind from going into a full panic mode. Noah forced himself to recall a Bible verse, any verse to keep him from freaking out. Nothing came to him. He called out in a whisper, “Jesus, please, help us out of this and give me peace.”

  The prayer was answered in the form of a still, small voice rising from the pit of Noah’s soul. It was the eighteenth Psalm. Noah had read it several times but never memorized it. Nevertheless, he could hear it being whispered from inside of him. Soon, he found himself reciting it word for word. “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”

  Noah stopped speaking as he heard the chopper drawing nearer, but he could still hear the verse being spoken from inside. Gunfire rang out as the helicopter approached the team for another pass. Noah anticipated the moment the chopper would be over the clearing. He could hear the bullets raining down in the trees nearby and heading his way, but he wasn’t afraid. The Psalm was still audible to Noah, even over the gunfire.

  Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.

  Noah took aim at the clearing above. He tried to focus solely on the position where he expected to see the chopper appear, but the voice speaking the eighteenth Psalm was growing louder and louder into a thundering crescendo. Noah resumed reciting the scripture along with the voice as he took aim. “For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.”

  Instinctively, Noah pulled the trigger repeatedly. He saw the bright white lines of the tracers zipping upward and heard the thump, thump, thump of the rounds hitting the bottom of the chopper. Even so, Noah was caught completely off guard by what followed.

  The helicopter burst into a flaming ball of fire, and debris shot out in every direction. Noah covered his eyes from the bright light and quickly ducked behind a tree. The scripture reading was still going on inside Noah’s head, but it had returned to a soft whisper. Noah moved his lips with the words as fire and metal continued to fall down through the tree branches. “He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle . . .”

  The voice faded to a whisper and was no more. As suddenly and mysteriously as it had risen, it was gone.

  Noah stood up from behind the tree and walked briskly back toward the van. Between the soft glow of the early morning sky and the intermittent fires from the helicopter debris, Noah was able to see his way out of the forest and back to the rest of the team.

  Jim and Elliot met him at the van where Benny was helping David back into the van.

  “Good shot!” Elliot slapped Noah on the shoulder.

  “Absolutely unbelievable!” Jim said.

  “We’ll tell war stories when we get back to my house. Let’s load up and get out of here before more choppers show up.” David’s voice was direct.

  The guys piled in quickly and shut the door.

  David barked out, “Roll out, Isaiah.”

  The men braced themselves for a quick takeoff.

  “Isaiah, let’s move!” David repeated his order, but Isaiah took no action.

  Benny crawled to the front. He looked back at the rest of the men. He didn’t have to say a word. It was obvious that Isaiah was dead.

  A pang of sorrow shot through Noah’s heart. Seconds ago, he’d been so excited about destroying the chopper.

  Noah looked over at David, who was staring at the floorboard.

  David didn’t look up. His voice was soft and sorrowful. “Move Isaiah to the back of the van. We need to get out of here.”

  Noah opened the sliding door and walked rapidly to the driver’s side. Elliot and Jim followed. The three of them gently retrieved Isaiah’s body from the seat while Benny moved into the passenger’s seat.

  Noah sat in the rear next to Isaiah’s body on the ride home. He ran his fingers over Isaiah’s eyelids to close them. A single bullet hole was leaking blood out of the very top of Isaiah’s head.

  Everyone was completely silent on the way home. Noah kept his thoughts to himself. He thought about what a good friend Isaiah had been to him and his family. He considered how much tougher the days ahead would be without Isaiah’s friendship.
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  Noah looked toward heaven and wondered why God would grant him such a miracle to take out the helicopter yet wouldn’t lift a finger to spare someone who’d lived a life so in line with what God wanted. Noah looked back down at his lifeless friend and muttered, “It isn’t fair, God. It just isn’t fair.”

  A single tear ran down Noah’s cheek, and it was soon followed by a steady stream. Noah tried to redirect his focus as he whispered to himself, “Well, I guess Isaiah’s struggle is over and he’s receiving his eternal reward. I suppose I’m more sad for me than for him. Lord, thank you for the time I had with my good friend.”

  The van made it back to David’s without being followed or attacked by any other enemy aircraft. They’d performed a great rescue mission, but no one was in the mood to celebrate.

  CHAPTER 2

  The weak have one weapon: the errors of those who think they are strong.

  Georges Bidault

  Saturday morning, Everett climbed down from the loft to find Ken making coffee and fidgeting with the shortwave radio. “Good morning.”

  “Hey.” Ken didn’t look up from the radio. “Sounds like that info we fed to Spindle was put to good use.”

  Everett picked up the old-fashioned, blue-specked coffee pot from the burner and poured himself a cup. “Oh yeah? What happened?”

  “A resistance group pulled up some track in front of the train we looked up. They used the derailment as a diversion to bust detainees out of three separate fenced-in enclosures.”

  Everett sipped his coffee. “And they got away with it?”

  “So far. But DHS is sending in some more goons to search the surrounding areas.”

  “And you got all of that info from the radio?”

  “I picked up some hams talking about it. None of the news stations are covering the event.”

  “Oh. You were on the ham radio before Lisa went to bed?”

  “No. I can pick them up on the shortwave.” Ken held the small AM/FM/shortwave radio up and pointed to a button on the side. “Right here, where it says SSB; that stands for single side band. Click that when you’re in shortwave mode and you can pick up the ham frequencies.”