by Bobby Akart
It was a long trip back to Texas. The three Armstrong kids got their minds right and saddled up as the sun rose on the Great Plains to their east.
Cooper got settled into his saddle. The horses were in high spirits, anxious to move and get their body heat up. He surveyed each of his riding companions. The five of them looked like they’d just ridden off the set of a Young Guns movie.
“Let’s do this,” said Cooper as he encouraged his horse through the snow. Around the lean-to shed they’d used for shelter, four-foot drifts had accumulated because of the wind. Luckily for the riders, that same wind had helped clear the roads and keep the snow depths to under eight inches in most places. The temperatures were still below freezing, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, enabling the warm sunshine to do its work.
They agreed to ride until around four o’clock that afternoon before looking for adequate shelter for the night. Pacheco had the only operating watch, an old kinetic timepiece made by Seiko. The lack of miniaturized electronics had saved it from the bombardment of electrons created by the EMP.
Everyone knew their horses and their capabilities. All of their rides were between the ages of six and ten, ideal for a long equestrian journey. All of their horses were calm and sensible, but none had ever been ridden in traffic. The group laughed when Riley suggested they keep an eye out for snowplows clearing the road.
This group of five had an advantage over novices who kept horses as possible bug-out transportation. They were comfortable in their saddles. Eighty percent of saddle sores came from improperly fitted saddles. Another benefit to a horseman’s experience, they knew a wool saddle pad was the best investment you could make.
The first day, they headed due south along Canadian Route 2 toward the Montana border. Following the cavalry system, they stopped for five to ten minutes every hour to allow their horses to graze where grasses were available.
Within minutes of leaving the Calgary city limits, they were in the wide-open countryside. With the Rocky Mountains rising high to their west and the vast plains spreading out to their east, there was much to see and admire.
During the apocalypse, especially in a world without power, the human mind gets to admire nature in its natural beauty without noise, moving vehicles, or electronic devices to capture the attention. It was serene, peaceful, and in many respects, an improvement on the way of life people had grown accustomed to.
They made incredible time that first day. Traveling nearly forty miles, largely on the enthusiasm of the horses, so it was closer to 4:30 when they approached the first town along the highway—Nanton.
Suddenly, peace and serenity were replaced by police and security.
Chapter 22
November 27
Raven Rock Mountain Complex
Liberty Township, Pennsylvania
President Harman was in an untenable position. It was now the third day from the single greatest attack on America since its founding and she had not yet made a decision on whether to fight back against the enemy, the dual menaces that had been responsible for unrest in the world for decades.
Diplomatically, she quickly learned that America’s allies were there in name only. Both South Korea and Japan feared an escalation into a war that would necessarily be fought on their soil. Both Russia and China had geopolitical interests in keeping the flawed North Korean regime in power; therefore they used rhetoric to back down the United States from retaliating. And finally, the Europeans, who had proven for twenty years that they were more than willing to fight a United Nations-sanctioned battle, with the U.S. leading the way, asked to opt out of this one. Short of a UN mandate, they were unwilling to put their nations’ lives at risk for another.
Only Israel and America’s newest ally in the region, Saudi Arabia, were willing to take on the Iranians. Iran, as the largest state sponsor of terrorism, had escalated its attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent years by arming Yemeni rebels with small arms and missiles. Iran had sponsored Hezbollah, Shia militias, and Hamas, all direct threats to Israel.
The president had been informed, via the State Department, that Israel and Saudi Arabia—unlikely allies, but two nations who agreed to come together to fight a common enemy, Iran—were waiting for her green light.
They would first unleash a barrage of missiles on Iran military interests and nuclear facilities followed by a precision air attack upon the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. An invading ground force wouldn’t be necessary, as the two countries had no desire to occupy Iran but, rather, to destroy its military capabilities.
This morning following the presidential daily briefing, President Harman called her top military leaders into the conference room to provide her a full assessment of her military strike options that did not include a nuclear attack.
“Here’s the way I see it,” said President Harman after making a few introductory remarks to her top military advisors. “If the consensus of world opinion is that an EMP attack on another country does not give rise to a nuclear attack, then military strikes upon North Korea by us, and upon Iran by our regional allies, should not constitute the beginnings of a world war. If we’ve been warned against use of nuclear weapons, then we should be able to warn China and Russia against interfering with our punishment of Kim Jong-un.”
Secretary Gregg smiled slightly and nodded his head. He wished the president had reached this conclusion earlier. If she had, then the debilitating EMP attack could have been avoided.
The president continued. “Today, I intend to make a decision on our course of action. Fish or cut bait, as they say. First, I’d like to get a total picture of each country’s military assets in the region. Secretary Gregg, please proceed.”
Secretary Gregg? She’s being formal today. Tread lightly, Monty.
“Thank you, Madam President. I’ve prepared a graphic for us to use as a reference based upon our best information just prior to the attack. I suspect the troop movements of the Russians and Chinese have shifted considerably toward the border of North Korea.”
“Why is that?” asked the president.
“Not for invasion purposes, Madam President,” replied Secretary Gregg. “Their concern is millions of North Korean refugees fleeing the war zone and flooding their countries seeking refuge.”
He powered on the monitors, and the screen revealed a detailed graphic depicting the Korean Peninsula, together with each country in the region, showing troop-strength levels and key military assets.
Secretary Gregg continued. “First, in the top left of the graphic, you’ll see there are five clearly marked missile launch sites and two nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities. These are hard targets that would be a first priority in our attack.”
“What about their mobile launch capabilities?” asked the president.
“Yes, those are an issue. The DPRK began to retrofit Chinese trucks originally sold to them for hauling timber. The trucks were modified into transporter-erector-launch vehicles, or TELs. These vehicles are naturally mobile and capable of moving an ICBM into position and launching it on the desired trajectory. We have tracked these in the past, but with our deployment of Constant Phoenix, as we discussed yesterday, we’ll have instantaneous notice of a launch.”
The president studied the graphic and pointed to the right side, which summarized the South Korean and Japanese military contribution. “If the decision is made to attack the North, we will assist South Korea in its defenses and a possible ground invasion. Japan will only assist to the extent of air support and patrolling the Sea of Japan for North Korean vessels.”
“That’s correct, Madam President,” said Secretary Gregg. “South Korea will deploy their newly developed blackout bombs to paralyze the North’s power grid. It’s part of their three pillars of national defense. First, their Kill Chain program will detect, identify, and intercept incoming missiles. Secondly, the South will focus on Kim’s command and control structure by launching attacks against government leadership targets. Lastly, they’ll use the blacko
ut bombs, an EMP weapon similar to the ones we used in the Gulf War in 1990 and as used by NATO in Serbia a decade later.”
“Okay,” interrupted President Harman. “North Korea’s army is massive. Their air capabilities are more than double ours in the region. They have over five thousand tanks ready to move on South Korea. And their million-man army has grown with the addition of six million in reserves. That’s a formidable force.”
“It is, Madam President,” said Secretary Gregg. “Over the years, as I’ve said before, prior administrations have been singularly focused on the nuclear weapons programs of both Iran and North Korea.”
“Rightfully so,” interjected the president.
“I agree; however, recent events have strengthened the traditional military capabilities of both nations. Iran’s military spending in recent years has quadrupled. Naturally, in any conventional military conflict, Iran wouldn’t stand a chance against the United States. They can hold their own in the Middle East. Further, they’ve expanded their naval assets considerably. They have placed a considerable amount of emphasis on building frigates and destroyers, some of which have sailed into the Gulf of Mexico in the past. They should not be underestimated.”
The president sighed and referred to her notes. All eyes were upon her as she studied the graphic provided by Secretary Gregg.
“I’m not interested in getting mired down in another Vietnam or extended Gulf War. If I decide to move forward with military action, my goal is to retaliate, stand them down, and hopefully pave the way for the removal of the Kim dynasty from power.”
“Madam President,” interrupted Secretary Gregg, seeing this as his best opportunity to convince the president of the right tactic to follow, “we can accomplish your goals in around fifteen minutes after you give us the order. Operation Airborne Alert has been ready to deploy for years. If we deploy our full nuclear retaliatory capability, within minutes, there will be nothing left of Kim and his rogue state.”
Chapter 23
November 27
The Armstrong Ranch
Borden County, Texas
While the wives assigned kitchen duty gathered dishes and utensils from the thirty-some underground dwellers of the Armstrong Ranch nuclear bunker, Major, Lucy, and Preacher moved into the small walk-in closet that stored weapons and doubled as their communications room. They had taken rotating shifts—alternating between sleep and monitoring news reports from the AM radio.
“After hearing that little dictator’s speech, I feel better about moving out of the bunker,” started Major. “It appears that he’s made his point.”
“Well, the WBAP news commentators seem to think most countries are in full support of the U.S. standing down,” added Lucy.
Preacher nodded in agreement. “Why make a bad situation worse, right?”
Major let out a deep sigh. “All things being equal, we’d stay in here for another week or so just to be safe. But like so many things, the number of people this shelter can protect looked good on paper, but not in practice. We’ve got twice as many in here as we can support.”
“We can’t play God with their lives,” added Lucy. “How could I possibly look in their faces and say you can stay, but you must go?”
“I agree,” replied Major. “I think we can all leave this morning and return to our homes. Our daily focus has changed substantially.”
Preacher ran his fingers through his hair and furrowed his brow. He pushed out his jaw and placed his well-worn cowboy hat on his head. “Well, if the news reports are correct, we could be overrun by millions of refugees from New Mexico to Colorado to California. We need to set up our security, Major.”
“It’s less than a hundred miles to Hobbs from here,” said Lucy. “If they’re walking, they could be here within days. In older cars, anytime.”
Major pointed toward the door handle to indicate there wasn’t anything else to discuss. “I think we’re secluded enough as not to be the invading hordes’ first stop, but we also have to be wary of others in our vicinity. Borden is a small county of less than seven hundred known residents. But as we all know, there are still a lot of illegals who work from ranch to ranch for their daily pay. Most ranchers aren’t as generous as we are. There’s a good chance those folks have been kicked out into the cold and will be looking for food. We’re the largest and arguably most successful ranch in the four counties surrounding Lake Thomas, along with the Four Sixes and the DeWitts’ place. My guess is we’ll be high on the local refugee list, if you know what I mean.”
Preacher grasped the handle and led them out as he added with a sense of urgency, “I think we need to get started.”
Major waited for Preacher to grab Antonio and two other ranch hands. They were assigned rifles, and the four men emerged through the hatch into the empty stall. The sun was just beginning to rise, revealing a light fog hovering over the river in the distance.
The horses sensed the activity and began to get excited. Major couldn’t decide if it was because they were agitated or simply glad to see their human companions.
The hands were instructed to walk around the barns and storage sheds while Major took Preacher around the ranch house. They carefully checked every room and potential hiding space for anyone who might have snuck onto the ranch overnight. After they were satisfied the area was clear, they began bringing the families out of the bunker.
The women brought their personal belongings and assisted their children into the fresh air. The rising sun and the cool, fresh air had an instant effect on everyone’s demeanor. Both a sense of relief that their world was intact, coupled with the prospects of normalcy buoyed their outlook.
Major recognized their euphoria and immediately realized it was time for some blunt talk. Life might look normal, but it was far from it. He instructed Antonio to work with the ranch hands to retrieve the weapons cache and the many cans of ammunition out of the bunker.
One by one, green duffel bags of rifles, hard plastic cases of handguns, and dark green steel cans of ammo were handed through the hatch. After everything was topside, Major instructed Preacher to divide the weapons among the fourteen households.
Each of the families was assigned a twelve-gauge shotgun, a rifle chambered in .308, and a nine-millimeter handgun. Major had a minimum of a thousand rounds for every weapon he’d acquired, but he didn’t distribute the full allocation to each family. One ammo can contained sixty double-ought buck shotgun shells. Another contained two hundred forty .308 Winchester Core-Lokt bullets. The third can contained six hundred one-hundred-fifteen-grain nine-millimeter rounds.
As the weapons were assigned, Major spoke to the group in English, with Antonio translating into Spanish. Over the years of employment at Armstrong Ranch, the Mexican families were encouraged to learn conversational English and use it daily. Most adults had become fluent, and their children all were. To prevent any misunderstandings, Major insisted Antonio provide a Spanish translation as well. This was about their survival and security. Conversations about life and death were not an appropriate time for English class.
“Good morning, everyone,” he began. “It’s cold this morning and I know you’re anxious to return to your homes. I want you to understand something. The world has changed. As we told you the first night, America was attacked by another country. All of the electrical power across the country is not working except in Texas. We are the only state that can still turn the lights on, pump water from our wells, and listen to the radio.
“That’s good for us, but it also comes with bad news. Soon, the grocery stores around the country will run out of food. This may even happen in Texas. People from other states will become desperate, and they will try to come into Texas to survive. We don’t have enough to feed everybody, only our own. This means the new people will be hungry, scared, and eventually, angry.
“We will have a new job at the ranch, one that we took for granted before—security. Here’s what that means. Every minute of the day and night, we have to stand wat
ch over Armstrong Ranch and the families who live here. Right now, all I care about is all of you and the food resources we take care of every day. You must constantly be aware of your surroundings. Watch for intruders. If a fence is mysteriously knocked down, come to us immediately. Take nothing for granted. Always trust your instincts if you sense danger.
“You have all been assigned weapons. A rifle and handgun for the ranch hands. A shotgun for the adult who stays at home. Men, carry your handgun at all times, even when at home. Ladies, your children will no longer go to school. When you come to the barnyard or the garden to help Miss Lucy, bring your children. Even the young ones. We will set up school and activities for them. We will teach them to take a role in the garden, the barnyard and around the ranch as their age allows.
“At night, I need you to keep your lights dim. We live on flatland that can be seen for miles. Anyone driving along the highways and roads, even from a long distance, will see our lights on. This will bring them to our doorstep.
“Avoid outdoor fires, even in your chimeneas. From now on, we’ll be burying our garbage down in the ravine. The smoke from fires can be seen for many miles. This will also bring us unwanted visitors.
“We need to be focused, aware, but not paranoid. Constantly look around and survey your surroundings. Later this morning, we will deliver a two-way radio to each home and show you how to listen to our frequency and how to contact us. These are simple radios, but a vital resource to our survival.”
Major finished and then Lucy stepped in front of him. “We love you as we love our own children. Everyone here is a member of the family. Let’s all protect one another, and we’ll get through this just fine. I promise.” Then Lucy paused, and with a tear in her eye she continued.
“Dios te bendiga.” God bless you.