Fifty Falling Stars

by Wesley Higginbotham

  “Enough talking.” The man on the tower said. “You folks want in or not?”

  Kirk led the family half way across the bridge. They stopped in a north-south line facing the wall.

  “All right. Are any of you sick or carrying any communicable diseases?” The family responded in the negative. “Good. Starting with you,” the man said pointing at Scott on the north end of the line, “tell us a quick version of your history. We want to know what you did before the collapse and how you ended up here. We’ll determine if you have any skills that the town needs.”

  Scott looked down the line at Kirk. Kirk nodded. Scott began talking. He told them about his time in the Navy years ago and how he had worked in various office jobs since then. Scott recounted the story of how everyone but Kirk had fled Chicago and made their way cross country. He glossed over some of the more harrowing details that happened in Seneca and the compound at Lombard. When he finished, Sherry told her story. And down the line it went until it came to Kirk’s turn.

  “You better have something good, mister. So far we haven’t heard anything that we can use. Bankers, desk workers, academics; not what we need. Scott’s time in the Navy might have been useful, but I’m afraid he’s too old now to be of any use.” Kirk glanced down the line and saw Scott deflate. He assumed that Scott would be happy that they might not be let in. He had argued against making contact with the town in the first place, but Kirk guessed being told you weren’t good enough, even by something or someone you didn’t want, still didn’t feel good.

  Kirk studied the man in the tower. Something about the way the man spoke gave Kirk the impression he might have been a military man at one point. He had mentioned something about Scott’s military service. Maybe that was one of the things they were looking for. “Captain Kirk Chandler, U.S. Army Special Forces.”

  “What branch of special forces?” Will asked.

  “Green Berets.”

  Will turned to Joey. “Dude, you know I don’t know much about the Army. I was in the Marines. All we really cared about the Army was not accidentally shooting you guys when you got in the way. Do you know anything about the Green Berets?”

  “I worked in a deployed unit once that supported some of their guys. I met a couple of them, but I don’t know a whole lot about them. Why?”

  “I’m just trying to verify that this guy is not lying to us. I find it hard to believe that out of all the people we’ve seen come through here and stop at the town, that a Green Beret just happens to stroll up out of the blue.”

  “Good point.” Joey said. “How are you going to test him?”

  “Would you know the units of the special forces guys?” Will asked.

  “Maybe.” Joey admitted.

  Will yelled down to the man. “Captain Chandler, what unit were you in?”

  “Fifth Special Forces Group, Third Battalion.”

  Will looked over to Joey. “What do you think?”

  “Sounds good enough for me. Maybe Sheriff White will be able to tell. He was in the Army for a long time” He paused and ran his hand through his hair. “You want to let them in?”

  “I don’t know yet. While it’s not on our list of skills, I don’t think we can pass up a real spec ops guy. He’d surely have something to contribute to the town. Wouldn’t you think?”

  “Probably.” Joey said.

  Will turned toward the family standing in the road. “Captain Chandler, you may stay, but I’m afraid I can’t let the others in.”

  Kirk shook his head. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He said to the family.

  “After all of that, you’re not even going to consider it?” Will asked. If the guy was telling the truth, he hated to lose that expertise, but he didn’t know if the expense of the rest of the family was worth it.

  Kirk looked back up at Will. “We’re a family. I’m not going to abandon them. Not for this town, or any other.”

  Sherry looked at him with tears in her eyes. Kirk couldn’t tell if it was because she was proud his decision or the loss of living in the town.

  “What are you doing?” Joey said to Will.

  “I was trying to see if they were that tight of a group. I was hoping we could get him without the baggage. But, you heard him. They’re a family. He called my bluff.”

  “Wait!” Will called out. He hoped that whatever this guy could do would be worth the baggage. The sheriff might chew his ass for this, but he doubted that he would get in any real trouble. “Walk to the left side of the road and drop your gear. Some of our guards will come out and collect your gear. Others will escort you to the quarantine facility.” Will paused. “Welcome to Celina.”

  Kirk looked over to Clay and smiled. Clay and Leesha smiled back. Sherry kissed him. Even Scott shook his hand. “You conned me, but I knew you wouldn’t leave us, you tricky bastard.” It amused Kirk to see Scott excited about the whole ordeal and moving into the town.

  Chapter 27

  On the third day of their quarantine, a tall, sandy-blond haired woman in a nurse outfit came in to examine them. She introduced herself as Nurse Baker. Lucy grabbed her attention when she began asking the nurse detailed questions about what the woman was looking for. Once the nurse had pronounced them clean of any apparent, infectious diseases; two of the guards walked over to Kirk. “Mr. Chandler, Sheriff White would like to talk with you. Please follow us.”

  He was agitated being away from his stuff for so long and being kept locked up in the quarantine room. “What about the rest of my family?” Kirk asked.

  “They’ll be taken to the courthouse, given their stuff back, given work positions, lodging, and food chips. You’ll get to be with them once you’re done with the sheriff.”

  Kirk turned to Sherry. “I’ll catch up to you when I can. Just don’t let anyone get into any trouble until then.” He gave her and Clay a smile. He didn’t like being separated like this, but went along because he didn’t have much of a choice.

  The men led Kirk out the door of the quarantine shed. Kirk saw the clear sky and warm sun of midmorning. He turned to one of the guards. “So, where is this Sheriff White?”

  “Normally he works out of the courthouse or the Sheriff’s Office, but he’s making the rounds today, inspecting things and visiting the guard posts. We’ll catch up to him on the western gate.”

  Kirk fell silent, hoping that the men might talk among themselves, and he would be able pick up additional information about the town and how it was run. The guards didn’t talk much, even to each other.

  The men led Kirk to the southern watch tower of the west gate. One of the guys climbed the tower and the other motioned for Kirk to follow. When Kirk got to the top, the man that preceded him addressed a tall older gentleman. “Sheriff, this is Mr. Chandler.”

  The old man turned around, his white hair poking out from underneath a baseball cap with the word “Sheriff” written across the front. “So, you’re the Green Beret?”

  “Yep. Kirk Chandler.” Kirk extended his hand.

  The sheriff took it. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Chandler. I’m Sheriff Terrance White.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sheriff. So, why did you want to see me?” He was tired and pissy and would have loved to have done this meeting some other time.

  The Sheriff frowned at the attitude. “I just wanted to meet the man that has caused such a fuss around here. We don’t have a whole lot of military folks around here, much less a Special Forces guy. Word of your arrival spread like wildfire through the town. Given our food situation, I wasn’t too pleased that Will Baker let you and your family in, but I’ve come to trust Will’s judgment in the last month or so since he’s been here. Boy’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s a former Marine. Did you know that?” Kirk shook his head. “I guess if he felt it was worth the extra burden to allow all seven of you in for just your experience, I guess I’d like to find out just what it is you think you can offer us.”

  “Well, I’ve got a lot of unique skills. What exactly
are you looking for?”

  The sheriff smiled. “They said in the interview that you bragged about watching the town for a couple of days before you just walked up to the gate. I guess we can start with what you learned.”

  Kirk thought for a moment. He knew this could be a critical step in his relationship with the sheriff and the town, but the man deserved to know the truth, especially if he was one of the town’s power brokers that could help Kirk make his new home more secure for his family. “Well, the first thing is your defenses.” The sheriff frowned. Kirk guessed that the man had probably set up most of them. Better tread lightly. A small voice inside of him said. He ignored it. “The basics are good, but they’re not run particularly well. Your guard changes are predictable, as are your roving guards. I didn’t see any patrols or signs of patrols while I was looking around. You’ve done a pretty good job at securing the roads into town, but they could be better. I do like the idea you have put into place with the secondary perimeter around the center of town, but it could be stronger. I noticed the hospital, which you seem to have running and functional, is not protected. The rivers are a pretty good natural defense, but I noticed that you still have some standing timber along them. A trained team could swim or float across the fiver, use the trees for cover, and be inside your perimeter before you had a clue. You have crews harvesting and cutting lumber. Why not have them take those trees first? Since there is really very little you can do to fortify the river bank, at least remove all possible cover. That way any enemy trying to sneak in would have to cross hundreds of yards in the open with no place to hide. The electricity, which I commend you on restoring, is also kind of a problem. The street lights and uncovered lights from the houses give off a lot of light pollution. That’s actually how we found your town. We saw the lights reflecting off of the low clouds in the sky like a big neon sign that read ‘come kill me and take my shit.’”

  Kirk looked around. Some of the guards were pissed, their pride injured. Some were blown away, impressed by Kirk’s ability to break down all of the town’s security flaws in seconds. Others just stared, speechless. The sheriff fell into the last category.

  “That it?” Sheriff White said. “You know. There were several people in town that thought you were just bullshitting about being a Green Beret to gain entrance to the city. I’m not entirely sure myself, but I think you just convinced me.”

  “But our defenses are fine.” One of guards argued. He was one of the men from the first category. “We’ve held off all of the gangs and refugees without any real trouble for this long. Who does this asshole think he is to just come in here and rip on everything we’ve done?”

  “You misunderstand me.” Kirk said. “I didn’t mean to say that all of your hard work on the walls and gates was worthless. You’ve actually done a pretty good job, all things considered. Especially since you don’t have that many trained men and guns for everyone. I’m just saying that it could be better, and since I assume that I live here now, I’d feel better if these issues were fixed.”

  No one spoke for a minute. Finally the Sheriff spoke up. “While I appreciate your suggestions, you make it sound like we’re going to war against a well-trained army, not some lowlife gangs or starving refugees that just want some food. We’ll take your suggestions under advisement. I think you need to go to the courthouse now to meet up with your family”

  “Terrance, I’d like to talk to you alone, if you don’t mind. You seem to be in charge here and know your troops and their moral better than me. There is some info that might better be said in private before it gets out the town in general.”

  “Hell no.” One of the guards Kirk had pissed off said. “We really don’t know much about his guy. He didn’t say much in his entrance interview and even less during the times we talked to his group while they were in quarantine. I don’t think you should be alone with him.”

  “He’s right.” Kirk surprised everyone with his agreement. “If you have a man here you can trust to keep his mouth shut, I’ll be happy to be chaperoned.”

  The sheriff scratched the two-day-old stubble on his chin as he thought. “Charlie, you stay up here. Would the rest of you gentleman please climb down off the tower?” The guards grumbled, but they left. Kirk looked at this Charlie fellow. Just his luck. He was one of the ones he had pissed off. “Charlie here’s been one of my deputies for years. We can trust him… So, after all of that showboating, trash-talking bullshit you just pulled in front of my men, you better have a good goddamned reason for this ‘additional’ info.”

  “Sorry about that, Terrance. I’m a little tired. I’ve been up for three days.”

  “You’ve been in quarantine for all that time. What, the accommodations not good enough for you?” Charlie asked.

  “It wasn’t that. I kept constant watch over my friends and family in case your guys came in to kill us during the night.”

  “Well, there was never any danger of that. We just had to be sure that you weren’t carrying anything contagious. You of all people should see the importance of disease suppression in times like these. Besides, we took all of your gear. You didn’t have any weapons. What were you planning to do if my guys had decided to do something?” The sheriff asked.

  “I do see the importance of the quarantine and think it’s a good policy, but from our perspective, it’s a little daunting. ‘Sure, you can join our little club as long as you give up everything you have and get in this box for three days.’ The thought did cross my mind that it would be a perfect way to lull us in and dispose of us quietly, gaining our supplies at little or no danger to yourselves.

  “As far as your guys taking our gear… Let’s just say that I found their training to be a little lacking.” Kirk looked at Charlie, who sported a twelve-gauge automatic shotgun, carried at the ready, and a revolver on his hip. “This is just show and tell. I’m not going to make a move.” Charlie nodded. Kirk reached his right hand down into his pants and between the upper parts of his ass cheeks. When he pulled his hand out of his pants, it held the little three eighty pistol that Scott had loaned him. He stuck his left hand down the front of his pants. He grimaced as the tape tore hair from his inner thigh and pulled out a four-inch locking blade, folding knife.

  “Shit.” Charlie swore under his breath.

  “I would suggest a strip search on new recruits.” Kirk said as he placed his weapons into his much more comfortable pockets.

  “Suggestion taken.” The sheriff said. “So what is this news that you thought only I should hear first?”

  Kirk told the men about his encounter with the militia at Owensboro. He left out no detail. Charlie paled when Kirk recounted seeing the women tied to car hoods and being used by whatever thug happened to walk by. Kirk thought Charlie might hurl when he discussed the butchering of the dead.

  “That’s why I think we need to seriously look at the holes I pointed out in the defenses.” Kirk said. “I don’t know what sort of training or capabilities these guys have, but to organize and mobilize a force that large to do something as simple as raid a semi-fortified town, requires some structure and leadership. Like I said, I’m not even sure who the leader was, although it think it was the thick-set Hispanic guy. I know nothing about him personally. He could be ex-military for all I know. The only thing I can say for certain is that if you judge a general by his troops, this bastard is a fucking animal.”

  “I know that you’re thinking this guy’s a hundred miles away from here, raiding towns in northern Kentucky; and I hope you’re right. But we found our way here. He could do the same. And if there’s one band of degenerates out there like that, there’s bound to be more. I think it’s just a matter of time before one of them needs to cross the Cumberland River and accidentally finds this town or picks up a stray CB transmission like the one I heard your guys calling in the day we approached the town. He didn’t use call signs or codes or anything. Those messages are out there for everyone in listening range to intercept. All I’m saying is that
it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared as best we could.”

  The sheriff studied Kirk. “I wish I could believe you were exaggerating all of this, son; but I see the truth in your eyes… Thank you for not putting this out in front of the other guards. You were right about that, but don’t ever pull any shit like you did before, criticizing all our work and my authority in front of my men. I can’t have that.”

  “I call it like I see it… I apologize.” Kirk said.

  Sheriff White rubbed his temples as if thinking about what Kirk said hurt him. “You’ve made a lot of suggestions. In light of what you’ve just told us, they’re probably necessary and worthwhile. They’re just going to be hard to do with the food shortage. We’re already working pretty hard and eating half rations. Besides, do you really think we can get this place that much more secure?” Kirk smiled. “What are you smiling at, son?”

  “Hard work to get as close to perfect as can be. That’s how we stayed alive in my old Army unit.”

  “I do have a couple of conditions for living here and lending my expertise to the security of the town.” Kirk said. The sheriff frowned. “All right, let’s call them favors. You said you don’t have any scouts?”

  “No, we don’t. Why? What are your favors?”

  “The first one is that I would like ten men and fourteen of the horses I saw in the fields to establish and train a team of scouts to roam outside of town and report back any threats. Second, I’d like Clay, Leesha, and Jimmy, (the black couple and the teenage boy in my group) assigned to my scouting teams. I’ve already halfway trained them on our trip here. And third, I’d like Lucy to be assigned to hospital duty. The girl’s got a strong calling for medicine. I think she’ll really prosper there. Sound like a deal, Terrance?”