by Mark Goodwin
Noah turned off the burner that the pressure canner was on. “This is hard to digest. It just doesn’t seem real. I guess you two have been mentally preparing yourselves for this to happen. For me, though, I’m in shock. I can’t even think of what I need to do next.”
Cassie looked like she’d seen a ghost. “I’ve been monitoring the situation and trying to wake people up, but nothing could have prepared me for this.”
Benny sighed. “Me, too. I knew it was going to happen. I’ve seen the preparations being put in place for decades. After a while, I started to doubt myself, like it would never happen. Now they’ve pulled the trigger, and everything is falling right into place.”
Noah looked at Benny. “What’s next?”
Benny shrugged. “I suppose DHS will continue to manage the crisis. They’ll probably allow a certain number of people to die off from hunger and disease. Once Americans see that the crisis is spiraling out of control, they’ll beg for anyone to save them by any means necessary. We’ll see someone ride in on a white horse with a solution to the problem, which will most likely grant authority to a global government. It might be the UN or some other entity that emerges from the current UN structure. They’ll get a new cashless monetary system up and running and integrate it with the new global government.”
“The Mark of the Beast?” Noah asked.
Cassie said, “If not, it will certainly be something that moves us in that direction. Once the New World Order is established, the people of the new society will be calling for the heads of those who caused this crisis to be delivered on a platter.”
“Which is being blamed on Christians,” Noah said.
Benny added, “And American nationalists who want the US to remain sovereign and gun owners, which go hand in hand with patriots.”
Cassie looked at the floor. “Basically, us.”
Benny stood. “The good news is I think we have some time. Hopefully we can get a plan together.”
“How long do you think we have?” Cassie looked up at Benny.
Benny shook his head. “Not sure. Long enough for people to die of starvation. Of course, they could speed things up if they release a virus in the camps. I’d say at least three months. If DHS keeps folks in the cities cooped up all winter, they’ll be itching to get outside this spring. If they can’t, they might riot and give DHS an excuse to start firing on civilians. Lots of different ways this could play out.”
“So three, maybe six months?” Noah asked.
“Hard to say. I would have never expected things to have progressed to this level within thirty-six hours of the attacks.”
“I’m heading over to Isaiah’s to fill him in on the developments. If I don’t see you tomorrow, then I’ll see you Thursday morning at David’s. Thanks for the sandwich.”
Noah walked Benny to the door. “Thanks for the phone. I’ll bring you some canned turkey when I see you next.”
“Sounds good.” Benny smiled and walked out the door.
“Drive safe,” Cassie said.
After Benny had left, Noah said, “My head is spinning. Can I see your notebook? I want to start brainstorming.”
“Sure, brainstorming what?” She handed him her notebook and pen.
“A plan.”
“Alright, what type of plan? We’re working on food preservation right now; we’re training with David as often as we can to get better with our firearms. We have a wood stove and can scavenge enough timber to cover what we can’t produce on our own land. We have a pretty good growing season and plenty of land. We could double or triple the size of the garden. Our Bible study group is very blessed to have folks with all sorts of specialized skills. David is experienced in combat and medicine. Isaiah is a very well-qualified pastor, as far as I’m concerned. Benny is a wiz with technology. Becky knows anything about farming that we don’t already know, including livestock. Jim and Sandy have run their own business and are well connected in the community, politically, too. And if it ever became a need, Sharon can cook for a large group herself, and she knows how to delegate responsibility.
“I’m convinced that God has put us all together, so we can get through this. We’ll do our best, and trust God for the rest.”
Noah jotted down the attributes of each member of their group as Cassie rattled them off. “That’s good. This is what I’m talking about. I just need something on paper that I can look at. I feel like, if we have a cohesive plan with contingencies, it will help us stay focused when challenges come along. I have to be honest; yesterday, when I was looking down the rifle sights at that agent, I was panicking. I thought about you and Lacy and wished I had more time to think things through, if I were going to die. I’m afraid that might not be the last time I’m in a situation like that, and I want a clear plan for you to follow if I don’t walk away with my life.”
Cassie stared at the jars on the counter. “I don’t want to think about that.”
Noah put his arm around her. “But we need to. Standing up for what’s right just became a lot more dangerous. If I’m only a Christian, or a patriot, or an American when it’s safe, then I’m none of those things at all.”
Cassie nodded and was silent for a moment. Finally, she said, “I thought you only had your pistol with you. Where did you get a rifle?”
Noah knew he’d slipped up. “What?”
“You said you were looking down the rifle sights. At Isaiah’s house.”
“I did? Oh, I meant pistol sights.”
Cassie looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Sounds fishy, Mister.”
Noah changed the subject, quickly. “We better get back to canning, or we’ll be up all night.”
Lacy came in the room. “Mommy, I’m hungry. Can I have some turkey?”
“Sure, baby. Do you want a sandwich with chips?”
“Yes, please. Can I take it in my room and eat at my play table with my dolls?”
“Yes, but don’t give any to Sox.”
Lacy protested, “But daddy. . .”
Noah made eye contact with Lacy, shook his head softly, and put his finger in front of his lip.
Cassie took out the bread and a plate. “But daddy what, baby?”
Lacy put her hand over her mouth as she fought to not giggle. “Nothing.”
Cassie shot Noah a stern look as she finished making the sandwich. “If she wasn’t so cute right now, you’d be in trouble.”
The rifle issue had been laid to rest, so Noah gladly accepted the reprimand for overfeeding the cat. “Back to the conversation, I’m trying to think how we can disseminate the information from Benny and Martha. I don’t think the Internet is going to be free much longer. I’m sure DHS will figure out something to use as an excuse to start censoring the web. Leaks are bound to come out, and alternative news sites will start posting information. The people trying to take over can’t afford to allow that.”
Cassie said, “I agree. Maybe we can use the Tails OS and Tor to get some stuff out on the net while we still can. I can build fake social-media profiles and start spreading as much info as possible till I get shut down. Perhaps start putting up some info on message boards and forwarding info to alternative media sites that will keep broadcasting until they’re shut down.”
Noah nibbled on some turkey as he stared at the stock pot. “Good. But most importantly, we need a plan to get information out to the rest of Sevierville. These are the people we need to convince to fight alongside us.”
Cassie made herself a sandwich. “I think reaching both the citizens of Sevierville and the folks outside is equally important. The whole country is in this together, but I see your point. Do you want a sandwich?”
“That would be great, thanks. I don’t suppose the Mountain Press would be willing to run an article.”
Cassie continued making the sandwiches. “No, they’d be shut down immediately. But. . .”
Noah waited for the rest of the sentence. “But what?”
“But, if there was a guerrilla new
spaper that was being circulated around town, the Mountain Press might do a piece in condemnation of the guerrilla paper because it was spreading news and information contrary to the facts being given directly to the media by DHS. The Mountain Press would appear to be telling people to stay away from the paper, but it would actually be raising awareness of it.”
Noah’s eyes lit up. “And if you tell people to stay away from something, they’ll run to it like rats to cheese!”
“Don’t get too excited; it’s just an idea. I have to be very calculated about how I present the story to my editor.”
“And you would write the guerrilla paper?”
“Yes, and print it on a single sheet of regular paper. We can print a bunch of them and leave them at various places around town.”
Noah couldn’t help his enthusiasm. “What will you call it?”
“Paul Revere!”
“Because it is essentially proclaiming the tyrant is coming, and will sort of keep people updated; like one if by land, two if by sea?”
“That too. But primarily because Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre was a key element in the revolution.”
“I know which engraving you’re talking about. But isn’t it true that the engraving unjustly demonizes the British soldiers and that the image is historically inaccurate?”
“Maybe if you are looking at the engraving as being a purely historical work. But if you’re looking at it as a representation of the overall tyranny of Great Britain against the colonists, I believe it captures the spirit of what was being done to the colonists precisely.”
“I know you said a lot of the founders were actually Masons, but Revere wasn’t, right?”
A look of disgust fell over Cassie. “Yes, he was. I have to call it something else.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble.”
Cassie thought for a moment. “I’ll call it the Tallmadge Letter, but I’ll use a picture of Revere riding on his horse for the visual, over top of the name.”
“Who was Tallmadge?”
“Benjamin Tallmadge. He was the guy who ran the Culper Spy Ring for Washington.”
“And he wasn’t a Mason?”
“Washington was, but as far as I know, Tallmadge wasn’t. He was a Federalist, which is bad enough, but if I try to name it after someone who was perfect, the choices are going to get pretty thin.”
Noah snickered. “Yeah, the Jesus Letter wouldn’t really portray what the paper is all about.”
“Not that everyone involved in Freemasonry is intentionally subscribing to the ideology of the New World Order. Washington even wrote a letter specifically warning of the Illuminati and the Jacobins’ plans to separate the people from their governments. He also stated that he was sure that Freemasonry was not involved in the plot. Since the Illuminati did not come into being until 1776, Washington’s brand of Freemasonry likely predated that particular occult order. Although I’m sure Adam Weishaupt used his connections through Freemasonry to influence the Constitution.”
“Weishaupt was the founder of the Illuminati? You think he influenced the Constitution?”
“Yes, and yes. I think he played a part in some of the wording, particularly the First Amendment. Masons refer to God as the Great Architect. This leaves room for any or every man’s definition of God to be the Great Architect. It could be Jehovah, Allah, Baal, or Lucifer.
“As most of our founders were professing Christians, it’s odd that the First Amendment guaranteed freedom of religion rather than freedom of Christian worship. Even freedom to worship Jehovah would have been inclusive to Jewish Americans and more in keeping with the majority. After all, we can assume from the Salem Witch Trials, nearly a century earlier than the Constitution, the majority of the founders had no intention of protecting the freedom to practice witchcraft.”
“Jefferson fought against Muslims in 1801 in the Barbary Wars. Do you think they were completely unaware of the dangers of radicalized Islam fourteen years earlier? Could they have all been so ignorant that they sought to protect Islam, a religion founded by a man whose youngest wife was six years old, to the same degree as the freedom to worship the risen Christ? Do you think it was their intent to waste the blood of those who sacrificed everything for freedom, on a religion that encourages fathers to murder their own children who convert to Christianity? Islam even performs honor killings on little girls who are victims of rape. Trust me, Satan’s hand was hard at work during the founding of this country. And if the wording of freedom of ‘religion’ rather than ‘Christian worship’ was the only thing he managed to change, look at the dark flower that demonic seed has blossomed into today.”
Noah had always half listened to Cassie’s theories before. Since most of them were coming to fruition, it was impossible to not pay full attention. “Wow. And you think Freemasonry and Adam Weishaupt’s Illuminati were the tools Satan used to change the course of our nation?”
“That’s exactly what I think. And you put it perfectly: change the course. If you’re traveling only a few hundred feet, and you need to change course, you have to make a drastic directional turn. If, however, your journey is over several thousand miles, the slightest nudge that moves you only a fraction of a degree will eventually leave you miles and miles away from your intended destination.”
Noah digested the analogy. “And that’s exactly where our country is: miles away from the intended destination of our founders.”
“That’s enough of my theoretical philosophy class for today. Back to the newspaper name. I like The Tallmadge Letter. Sounds sort of cryptic. So what do you think about keeping the image of Revere on his ride above the title?”
“It will clue people in on the purpose and make it recognizable. I think it would clearly represent the mission of the paper, sort of a call to arms. But you’re the journalist, so I’ll follow your lead on the paper.”
“Thanks. Your right. Paul Revere’s message to the minutemen to prepare for battle is exactly the purpose. I’m going to get started on it while you finish up with the turkey.”
“Should you use the Tails OS, so no evidence of the letters will be left on the hard drive?”
“Oh, that’s right; Tails has an office suite. Yes, I’ll do that.”
“Something else I’d like to do is find a fallback position. Like a little hunting cabin, off the grid and way out in the woods.”
Cassie was heading toward the living room, but stopped. “That’s pretty ambitious. We don’t have much cash.”
“If the banks don’t reopen, no one will have any cash. People might be looking to take whatever they can get, just to put a little money in their pocket. Our bullion holdings have appreciated enough to buy a small place if we found someone willing to settle in precious metals. Given gold and silver’s recent performance, it might not be too hard to find someone willing to barter.”
Cassie walked back in the kitchen. “But that’s the only savings we own, and we don’t really have a way to earn anything except by bartering the little bit of extra produce we could grow in a larger garden.”
“With the gold and silver price increase, we have over $100,000 in metals. I bet we could find a little place for less than half of that if we looked around. Besides, it’s about survival. Gold and silver won’t matter if we’re not around to spend it.”
“But what are we going to do? Hide out in the woods while the New World Order takes over? I want to fight back.”
“And you’ll be doing your part with the letter. But you have a daughter, and she needs a mother to take care of her.”
“You mean a mother and father.”
“I mean a mother.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m trying to say that if Sevierville gets overrun, I have an obligation to stand and fight. But I need to know that you and Lacy will be safe.”
Cassie’s eyes started to well up. “I’m not going to run and hide while you fight.”
“I don’t think it would be just you an
d Lacy. It would probably be Becky, Lynette, and Sharon, too. Becky can shoot, but you would most likely be in charge of security.”
“I can’t talk about this right now.” Cassie wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve and walked away.
Noah’s heart beat hard in his chest at the thought of having to leave his family alone, but he couldn’t sit on the sideline. If there was going to be a fight, he was determined to be in it.
CHAPTER 13
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionist, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. And then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Martin Niemöller
Everett wore a huge smile as he and Courtney walked up the hill late Wednesday morning. This was their third trip into the woods to look for game, and they had finally made a kill. While no deer had been seen, the single squirrel and one quail provided the morale booster to keep hunting.
Courtney turned a log from the woodpile up on end to create a cutting surface and laid the squirrel on it. She took her knife out of the sheath and held it over the animal. She took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
Everett knelt beside her. “Do you want me to try?”
She handed him the blade. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“No, but you can walk me through it.”
“I’ve never skinned an animal. Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Oh, I assumed you’d done this before. You seem so outdoorsy.”
“So you expected me to kill the food, skin the food, and cook the food. Is that it?”
“I shot the quail,” Everett said defensively.
“Just kidding. Do the best you can. I’m sure we’ll develop a system eventually.”