Resurrecting Home

by A. American

  “We need a chainsaw to drop this tree!” Jamie shouted.

  “I’ll go get one from the Suburban,” I replied as I started to run for the truck.

  Out on the road I got a better view of what was going on. Livingston did indeed bring the cavalry. I could see a couple dozen people, both Army BDUs and the uniforms of the refugees were intermingled along the line of the fire. One of the large trucks rolled slowly down the road. As I was pulling a chainsaw out of the Suburban, a voice called to me, “Hey, need water?”

  I turned to see two women in the back of the truck. “Hell yeah!” I shouted.

  One of them tossed a canteen to me. When I caught it I was momentarily stunned—it was ice-cold. I ran it across my forehead, savoring the chill, then quickly spun the top open and turned it up. The water was so cold it hurt when it hit the back of my throat, making my head ache. Swallowing the icy water, I looked at the woman. “Ice? Where’d you get ice?”

  “We have a big ice machine at the camp, so we brought a bunch with us. That officer guy thought you guys would need it.”

  “Can I have a couple more canteens?”

  She nodded, grabbed them, and handed them over. Taking the chainsaw with my free hand I ran back to the fire. As I came up I handed Thad a canteen. He looked at it for only a moment before turning it and drinking deeply. I handed another to Jamie and the last to one of the Guardsmen.

  “Damn, you’re a lifesaver,” Jamie said as she unscrewed the bottle.

  “My Lord, that’s good,” Thad said as he ran the cold bottle over his forehead.

  Holding out the saw, I asked, “What do you want to cut?”

  Still drinking from the canteen, Jamie pointed to a pine tree on the edge of the fire. “Which way do you want it?” I asked.

  She jutted her thumb over her shoulder, indicating the road. I quickly started the saw and made my way through the smoking tangle. In a matter of moments the small tree was falling back away from the fire. One more task handled.

  We worked for what seemed like forever. Gone now were the small spot fires, and there was now a continuous line of fire on the south side of the road. We were losing, and we were exhausted. That exhaustion reached dangerous levels when Jeff collapsed, simply overcome by heat and dehydration. He fell standing between Danny and Thad, and the two of them quickly pulled him away from the fire, out onto the road. Sarge must have seen them because the Hummer was quickly there. I patted Danny on the shoulder, pointing out to the road. He nodded and I ran out to check on Jeff.

  Livingston and Sarge were tending to him when I got there. He was unconscious and Sarge was wiping his face with a wet rag. “This just isn’t working. We need to get everyone the hell out of here before we lose someone,” Livingston said.

  Sarge looked at the line of flames on either side of the road and nodded. “Yeah, it’s time to call it. We can’t control this.” Looking at me he said, “Get ’em off the line.”

  I nodded and ran back to the line, coming first to Thad. “Sarge said to get everyone off the line. We’re pulling out, pass the word.” He nodded and we both began spreading the word down the line.

  It didn’t take long for the word to spread and people were quickly spilling out onto the road where the trucks were waiting. Danny, Thad, and I went over to the Hummer, where Sarge and Mike were still tending to Jeff, who was now resting against a tire of the truck, sipping from a canteen.

  “Let’s get everyone loaded up and headed back to camp,” Livingston said.

  Sarge looked at me. “We tried, Morgan. I know you’ve got a plan B. Let’s hope that one works.”

  As I looked back at the enormous fire, Mike came up beside me, looking utterly defeated.

  “Mikey, what went wrong?” Sarge asked.

  “Too much wind, too much real estate, not enough people or equipment. It was just too big a job, really.”

  “What are we going to do now?” Danny asked.

  “Get the hell out of here to start with,” Sarge replied as smoke swirled around the truck.

  “No shit, Sherlock. But what are we going to do about this now? This is out of hand.”

  “I would suggest you go home and get your people ready to move.”

  “Shit,” Thad replied.

  “Yeah, I think we’re all in the shit now,” Sarge replied.

  Jeff awoke, coughing and sputtering.

  “Good to see you awake, buddy,” I said. “Can you walk?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, just help me get up.”

  “Let’s move, people! We need to get the hell out of here before it gets any hotter,” Livingston shouted.

  “We’re headed home. I’ll call you on the radio later,” I said as Danny and Thad helped Jeff up.

  “Come by the camp first. Fill up your trucks,” Livingston said. I was surprised by his generosity, but accepted it. If we were going to have to get on the move, it made sense for us to have a full tank.

  We followed Sarge and Livingston into the camp, pulling up in front of the CP. Before I could ask Sarge about the fuel, Danny tapped my shoulder, jutting his chin in the direction of a man walking toward the bunker.

  “Recognize him?” Danny asked.

  I studied the man for a moment. He looked damn familiar. Before it came to me, Danny said, “Remember putting him in a set of stocks?”

  “Oh shit, yeah, I do. What the hell is he doing here?”

  “Remember Mark took him off and disappeared with him?”

  “Yeah, I remember him now. What the hell is he doing here? I knew those guys were sent by the damn federal goons,” I said.

  Sarge looked over to see who we were talking about. “What’s his story?”

  “We caught him in a raid one night on our place. We had him in a set of stocks for a while, actually,” I said.

  “Before that deputy Mark disappeared with him,” Thad said through the cab.

  Sarge spun around and rested on the side of the truck, sucking his teeth. “Well, that’s interesting.”

  “What’s he doing here?” Danny asked.

  “He’s the newly elected leader of these people,” Sarge replied as he swept his arm over the camp. “And a damn stupid one, if he’s telling people to stay here at this camp.”

  I looked back at the man as he went into the CP. “I’d keep an eye on him before you all go.”

  “Yeah, I’d watch your back if I were you,” Danny agreed.

  “That dude’s going to be trouble,” Danny muttered as we headed for the gate.

  Chapter 9

  Sarge walked into the command bunker and fell into a chair in Sheffield’s office. Livingston took the one beside it. Sheffield looked at the two of them for a moment. “You two look like shit. I’m guessing it didn’t go well.”

  “No, it didn’t. We lost control of it, and it’s now on the south side of the road,” Livingston said.

  “We tried our damndest, but it got away from us,” Sarge added.

  “So how long do we have before it’s here?” Sheffield asked.

  Livingston shrugged. “Hard to say, but not long. Not long at all.”

  “You need to tell these people again to leave. They can’t stay here,” Sarge said.

  “We also need to get this move done as fast as possible. We need to get the hell out of here,” Livingston added.

  Sarge shook his head. “They’re nuts—they’ve got to leave. If they stay here they’ll die.”

  Sheffield took it all in. “All right, I’ll speak with Neil again, but I don’t think it will make a difference. As for the move, keep it rolling. Our orders tell us we have to be out of here ASAP. The fire only reinforces that fact. You two get cleaned up, and I’ll get with Neil.”

  When Sheffield finished, there was a knock at the door, and everyone looked up to see Neil standing there. “Got a minute, Captain?”

  Sheffield waved him in. “Just the man I needed to see. Come in.”

  “That’s good news,” Neil added.

  Sarge looked at th
e man. “You people still planning on staying here?”

  He nodded. “Yes we do. Now that you’ve stopped the fire from coming this way, we don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “We didn’t stop it. It’s already jumped the road and heading this way. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: you folks would be better off leaving here. There’s just nothing out here for you. With the fire now certainly on a course for the camp, it’s a death wish to stay here.”

  “There isn’t a tree for several hundred yards around the camp, there’s no way the fire will touch it,” Neil replied. “Plus, you’re leaving us food and supplies. We’ll be all right. Better than scavenging on the road.”

  “What we’re leaving you won’t last long. Neil, I urge you to look at this sensibly. You could have lives on your hands,” Livingston added.

  “I urge you to look at the mess you’re leaving us in. Buncha cowards abandoning the people, I say. I’ve come here to negotiate terms. What weapons will you leave us?”

  “You’re some kind of special dumbass, aren’t you?” Sarge spat back.

  Neil glared back at him. “You are cowards. You’re running with your tails between your legs, abandoning all these people.” He looked back at Sheffield. “What about my weapons?”

  “Your weapons? I thought they were for the good of the group,” Sheffield said flatly. “When we’re finished moving, I’ll give you the key to the armory.”

  Neil thought about that for a moment, nodding his head, then asked, “What about those buggies you guys ride around in? Are you leaving any of those?”

  “No, they’re going as well,” Livingston said.

  “We’re going to need some way to get around, and you’ve got several of them. Leave us one or two.”

  “Neil, I told you we were taking all our equipment with us. We’ll leave you some stuff, tents and that sort of thing, but everything else goes with us,” Sheffield said.

  “We’re not leaving any buggies here to get all burned up,” Sarge added.

  “Those buggies are pretty important to some of the guys here. They’re not going to be happy when I tell them you aren’t going to leave one. They might get a little pissed off,” he said with an edge in his voice.

  Sheffield looked Neil directly in the eyes. “Just remember what I told you: I hold you responsible for their actions. You, nobody else.”

  “I’ll do what I can, but these folks don’t work for me.”

  “If any of these people here start getting the idea that they’re going to try and take anything, or start any sort of trouble, just remember we have more than enough capability to stop anything you’re thinking about,” Sarge added.

  Neil waved a hand. “No, no, I’m not saying we’re planning anything. Just that some of these guys are wanting a vehicle—you know, to make it easier to get water and things like that.”

  “I understand. There’s a lot of people out there that would like to have one of them, but we’re not leaving them. You wouldn’t have any fuel anyway,” Sheffield replied.

  Neil looked agitated and shifted in his seat. “What do you mean? There’s fuel in those tanks out there.”

  “And we’re taking it,” Sarge said and pointed to the north. “I know you can’t get it through your thick fuckin’ skull, but there’s a massive damn fire coming this way.”

  Neil was getting more agitated. “Now, this is bullshit—we’re going to need fuel too. You can’t just abandon us here with nothing.”

  Sheffield sat up in his chair. “First, we’re not abandoning you. We told you to leave, and you want to stay. We’re leaving you gear, but you’re not getting whatever you want. It’s our property and it goes with us.”

  Neil snorted. “Your property? It belonged to the Department of Homeland Security. Your guys took it when you ‘liberated’ this camp,” he said.

  “We’re done here,” Sheffield thundered. “We’ve got a lot to do and I can’t have you pestering us for more. Just keep your people out of our way, and when we’re done I’ll give you the key to where your weapons are stored.”

  Neil sat there, not moving to leave. Sarge stood up. “That’s your cue to kick rocks.”

  Neil glared at him but got up and headed for the door. As he went out he stopped and looked back. “I’ll be around when you guys are ready to leave so I can get that key.”

  “We’ll give it to you at the gate,” Sarge said.

  Annoyed, Neil asked, “You’re going to make me walk all the way to the gate?”

  “Yes, yes, we are,” Sarge replied with a smile.

  Sarge watched him go, then turned around to the other two men in the room. “He’s going to be trouble. I’ve got a feeling leaving them here is going to create a pretty serious issue for the area. Morgan and them boys said they’ve run into him before,” Sarge said.

  Livingston looked over in surprise. “Where?”

  “Said they caught him in a raid on their place one night. They actually built a set of stocks and put him up in them. Then some deputy sheriff took him off.” Sarge cocked his head to the side. “You guys sure none of them federal boys decided to ditch their uniforms and fall into the crowd? That one’s sure worried about getting his hands on some guns.”

  Livingston and Sheffield looked at each other, then Sheffield replied, “I can’t say it didn’t happen.”

  “We need to sniff around. I’d like to know if he’s something more than what he’s representing himself to be,” Sheffield said.

  “We have the database with all the refugees in it. I’ll go through it and see when he came in here,” Livingston said, standing up.

  Sarge shook his head and leaned on his walking stick. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

  * * *

  The runs to the armory were getting hairier and hairier. There were numerous civilians on the roads, and all of them saw the convoy as salvation. When the trucks didn’t stop or offer any sort of aid, they became irate. So far the convoy had been fortunate and hadn’t had to use force on any of them, save a few warning shots fired. However, closer to the armory proved to be easier. The sheriff and his crowd weren’t an issue: they made sure to have the road into town open as soon as they saw the convoy rolling toward them. And the civilians here kept their distance, staying across the street at a minimum. Most of them loafed about in the shade watching the new activity, while others sauntered up or down the road.

  Ian was standing at the gate to the armory when the trucks rounded the corner. Mike smiled at him and gave him the finger. Ian returned the salute.

  Mike climbed out of the turret after Ted shut down the Hummer.

  “How’s tricks?” Ted asked.

  “We’re busy, that’s for sure,” Ian replied, then shouted to the driver of a truck, “Pull up to the maintenance shop!”

  “Having any trouble with the natives?” Mike asked.

  “They’re keeping their distance. The only time we have direct contact with them is when we go to get water out of the lake. That’s always interesting.”

  “The lake a popular place?” Ted asked.

  “Yeah, during the day everyone’s down there. The kids go swimming and the adults go fishing.”

  “They aren’t worried about gators with the kids in the lake?” Mike asked.

  Ian laughed. “Yeah, I asked them about that. They laughed at me, saying if I saw a gator to let them know. Apparently they’ve shot them out and don’t see them anymore.”

  Ted nodded. “Makes sense. Hell, I’d be eating lizards, if I had to.”

  “Had to? Hell, I like ’em. Could go for one right now,” Mike quipped.

  Ian laughed. “Mikey likes it.”

  Ted shook his head. “He’s like a dog: he’ll eat anything.”

  “I resemble that remark.” Mike laughed.

  “Back to business, boys. Is this the last load?” Ian asked, looking at the cases of MREs and ammo stacked before him.

  “One more, I think, and we’re done,” Ted ans
wered.

  “Wow, really? When’s it coming?”

  “Soon—they want to finish this today.”

  “We have to. We tried to stop the fire with a back burn, but it jumped the road. It’s bearing down on the camp now,” Mike said.

  “Yeah, Smokey the Bear here couldn’t get the job done.” As Ted spoke, the sheriff and a couple of his men rode by on ATVs. Ted nodded his head at them as they passed. “What about them?”

  Ian gave them a dismissive wave. “They’re a goofy bunch, really.”

  “What the hell’s he doing around here? Enforcing the law?” Mike asked.

  Ian shrugged. “Not much that I can see. They zip around here on the ATVs, stop and talk to people every now and then. Come to think of it I’ve never seen them do anything, good or bad.”

  “Are there any other barricades set anywhere?” Ted asked.

  “I don’t know. We’ve only done very local patrols. I’m waiting till we’ve got more bodies here before we venture too far away.”

  “There will be plenty soon enough,” Ted replied.

  Ian paused for a moment, looking north at the anvil of smoke as it piled up in the sky. “Is that thing going to make it all the way down here? Is it possible?”

  Mike gazed at it as well. “It very well could. The cedar fire near San Diego in oh-three burned over two hundred and eighty thousand acres, hundreds of homes, and killed more than a dozen people, so yeah, it could.”

  Ian swallowed hard. “Don’t even want to think about that. On that happy note, let me go check on these guys unloading the trucks.”

  “I want to take a ride,” Ted said. “Go find Jamie and get her truck to go with us.”

  Mike nodded and wandered off into the buzz of activity to find her. He found her at the back of a truck, in a line of soldiers passing ammo along as it was unloaded from the truck. He waved at her. “Come on, we’re going to take a ride.”

  She stepped out of the line, those on either side moving in a bit to make up for the loss. “Where we going?”

  “Ted wants to take a ride through town. Go find the guys you rode up here with. We want enough security.”