Survivors

by Rich Goldhaber

  I asked, “So how should we deploy our forces?” “We’ll set up a first line of defense just like we talked about, but only with a third of our force. I’ll also park a bunch of trucks over by this minor entrance on Ben Griffin Parkway. That way, they only have one road to access the campus. We’ll deploy the rest of our force in trucks near our apartments. They can quickly deploy to meet wherever the main point of the attack occurs. As soon as they get close, we’ll send up a drone to monitor their movements.”

  I asked, “Why not have Blaine monitor what they’re doing in his airplane?” Lieutenant Monroe answered, “We have an advantage, because we know what they’re doing, and they don’t know that we know. If we send up Blaine, we’ll lose our advantage, and that’s an advantage I don’t want to lose. The drone is silent; I doubt they’ll figure out they’re being followed.”

  Chapter 33

  Beth prepared a large batch of scrambled eggs for our resident’s breakfast. A small portion of eggs and some fresh orange juice started my day. Vince interrupted my meal and wanted to immediately meet with the governors. He showed us the latest images of the Tampa area. “These pictures were taken at 8:46 a.m. Their parking lot is empty, and this one picture shows them heading south on Route 75. I’m guessing they’ll arrive down here in about ninety minutes. Private Duncan estimated there’re about one hundred of them. I’ve called Private Beckham at the dairy farm, and they are presently in a truck positioned about twenty minutes northeast of here. That way if the bad guys come here or go to the farm, we’ll still have resources in the area. I’ll launch the drone in a few minutes.”

  “Let’s immediately get everyone here. You need to explain our strategy,” I said. Stan had found a loud ship’s bell that we now used to call everyone to an emergency meeting. In ten minutes, most of the adults were sitting in the dining area. Lieutenant Monroe, dressed in full combat gear looked at the group.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this morning a group of about one hundred bad guys left the Tampa area. We believe they are headed here. In a few minutes I will launch a drone to monitor their position. Given the latest intelligence assessment, we believe their attack may come in several places. We will deploy a third of our force in pre-arranged positions in the woods on both sides of the main access road. Private Norton’s team will lead that force.”

  Private Norton stood up and waved to the group. Monroe continued, “The other defenders will be positioned in trucks on the road near the North Lake Village. As soon as we ascertain where their main force will strike, we’ll move the other defenders to that sector. I will be in charge of the main force. If they are headed here, then I will reposition our forces defending the dairy farm and deploy them just east of the campus.

  “We have the element of surprise. We will be victorious. I have placed maps of the campus on the table over here. I have divided the community into sectors designated with different letters. If I order you to move to sector “D” you can look at your map to see where that is. There will be five professional soldiers here to help defend the community, but you all know how to use your weapons. Together, we can do a lot of damage. Are there any questions?”

  A guy from Marco Island asked, “Do we take prisoners?”

  Monroe said, “If you take prisoners, what does the community plan to do with them?” Patty stood up. “I suggest we have a speedy trial this afternoon, and the jury can agree on a fitting sentence if they are found guilty.”

  A woman who I did not know asked, “What will they be charged with?”

  Patty answered, “Terrorism and attempted murder is my guess.” Mary stood up. “I don’t know what’s going to happen here, but I’m guessing there will be a lot of injured people. Paul, Phyllis, and I will be in the emergency operating room to take care of the injured. Remember, get the wounded to the emergency room as soon as possible; every second counts.”

  With no further questions, the children were brought to their classrooms under protest, and Lieutenant Monroe walked over to a small catapult launch apparatus and checked in with one of his men. The man operating the system hit an icon on his laptop computer. A signal was transmitted up to a satellite and then back down to the drone. Communications were established, and the soldier said, “Ready to launch Lieutenant.”

  “Go ahead Baker.” The soldier touched another icon and the slingshot catapult launched the miniature plane into the sky. The soldier manipulated a small joystick and the drone rose into the bright blue sky and headed north. Lieutenant Monroe asked the soldier to execute the search plan.

  I studied the laptop computer. A camera mounted under the airplane was directed ahead of the plane, and I could see Interstate 75, and as the plane reached 1000 feet, the pilot followed Interstate 75 north searching for the caravan of thugs. He made contact fifteen minutes later. The group of about fifty cars was a little north of Punta Gorda and headed south.

  Monroe immediately called the soldiers positioned near the dairy farm. “Private Beckham, they’re headed here. I want you to put the pedal to the metal and get over here as quick as you can. Position yourself as we discussed last night.”

  Monroe screamed, “Private Norton, take one third of the residents up to the main entrance. We’ve got about thirty minutes before the fireworks start.”

  Private Norton motioned to a group of residents near two trucks and ordered them to climb aboard. Norton and another soldier were carrying cases containing what Monroe said were modern day bazookas. Norton’s team left for the front entrance, and ten minutes later he called the Lieutenant. They were all in position, lying in wait on both sides of the entrance road.

  Other residents, all of whom had their weapons, were now loaded into three U-Haul trucks, and ten minutes later Private Baker said, “Sir, their caravan has split up, about one third are moving south on Ben Griffin Parkway and the rest have turned east on Alico Road.”

  Okay soldiers; let’s move to Sector F on the double. As our three trucks moved on the road to the northeast corner of the campus, Monroe kept in contact with his people. They were all now linked into a common communication channel. The dairy farm soldiers contacted Monroe and indicated they were now in position.

  Our truck screeched to a stop, and everyone jumped out of the back end. Monroe gathered everyone around him. He held up his map. “Their main force has stopped at the end of a dirt road about a mile east of here. They’ll be coming in on foot and moving alongside the edge of the lake which extends like a finger just east of where we’re standing. I have positioned the soldiers from the dairy farm in a gully behind their forces. I want all of you to form up in a battle line behind this group of palm trees. Take positions behind cover. Wait for my signal before you begin to fire. There will be gunfire from the main entrance, but don’t worry about that. It’s a diversionary attack. This is where their main force will attack. The dairy farm team will follow the bad guys, so make sure you don’t shoot at any of them. They will all be wearing yellow bands on their helmets.”

  We all deployed along what would become a skirmish line. I looked around at our people, and I couldn’t help but think of our country’s revolutionary war and the citizen soldiers who defeated the British. Jessie moved behind a tree with her quiver of arrows and her bow. I wondered why she had refused the rifle. How could her weapon ever compete with a modern rifle?

  We were all hiding behind trees or in the tall wild grass. I could see a group of about sixty men and a few women carrying rifles moving slowly along the southeast corner of North Lake.

  Suddenly, I heard the sound of two loud explosions near the front entrance. The diversionary attack had begun, and the bad guys were undoubtedly surprised to find themselves in an ambush. The other attackers hearing the unexpected explosions and gunfire began running along the lake’s bank toward our position. When the attackers were almost in front of us, Monroe screamed. “Fire now! Give them everything you’ve got.”

  At the first salvo, two dozen thugs fell to the ground. The others, not fully und
erstanding what had happened, began running back in the direction of their cars. The dairy farm soldiers, who had been trailing the enemy, now cut down the remaining enemy combatants before they had a chance to escape.

  Monroe screamed cease fire, and then there was this eerie silence. He spoke into his telephone. “Private Beckham, look for any wounded and be careful. Private Norton, report please.”

  Norton replied, “All enemy combatants are taken care of; there are no survivors. One of the residents has been wounded. As we speak he is being driven over to the emergency room. I have set up sentries to look for any others Sir. How about you guys?”

  “It’s over here Norton. We’re checking for wounded right now.” I couldn’t believe it was over. Some of us walked over to see if any of the enemy was still alive. A man was lying on the ground face up with an arrow in his gut. He was still alive, but there was no way he would survive. He was trying to pull the arrow from his belly but he died before he could remove the deadly arrow. At least there was no doubt about who had killed this man. Jessie stood over him and pulled the arrow out of his body.

  Beckham reported, “Lieutenant Monroe, there are no survivors, and all our soldiers are AOkay Sir.”

  “Well done Beckham and Norton.” Lieutenant Monroe then focused his attention on his team of citizen soldiers. “Well done all of you. Now let’s remove these dead bodies from the battlefield.”

  Stan explained it would be easier if he just brought over the Bobcat and buried them right here. Monroe thought it was a good idea. He then spoke to Private Baker. “Private, do you see any stragglers or anyone hiding in their cars?”

  “No Sir, all’s clear.” “Well then, why don’t you bring the drone home; you did a fine job soldier.” Jessie and I took one of the trucks back to the apartment complex, and then she and I drove over to the emergency room. Jessie quickly changed into some surgical scrubs, and after washing her hands and gloving up, she walked into the operating room.

  Standing outside, I heard Mary say Donny Harper was on the table with a bullet wound to his right thigh. Mary spoke to her patient. “Donny, you’ve got a bullet wound to your right thigh. It’s not life threatening, but we’re going to have to put you to sleep so we can sew you up. Don’t worry; you’re going to be fine.”

  Mary injected a drug into an injection site on the IV drip she had started, and Donny immediately closed his eyes. Mary, with Paul’s help placed an airway tube down Donny’s throat and then began administering anesthesia through a mask she placed over Donny’s face. Jessie once again was in charge of all his vital signs. Mary held a scalpel in her hand, and after confirming Donny was under, she opened up his leg with a single slice of the blade. The tourniquet above the bullet’s entrance site prevented excessive bleeding.

  It took Mary about a minute to find the bullet and remove it with a forceps. Then she cauterized some of the smaller veins. She loosened the tourniquet and tied off the minor bleeders. She waited a few minutes to make sure she had stopped all of the bleeding and then began sewing the young man up.

  It was all over in twenty minutes, and an hour later Donny was being awakened by Phyllis. Mary was shaking as she collapsed onto a chair outside the operating room. She looked at me. “Only one casualty; it’s hard to believe. I was expecting a lot more.”

  I answered, “Lieutenant Monroe had it all figured out. It was professionals against amateur thugs.”

  I decided to look at the entrance road. Like a historian, I took note of the devastation. The soldiers had taken out the first and last car in the attacking group with two missiles. With their movement stopped, the soldiers and residents alike caught the bad guys in a deadly crossfire. Most were probably killed before they could leave their cars, and the others were mowed down as they sought cover.

  As I walked back to the North Lake Village Apartments, I thought about how our people responded to this threat. For the most part, they all assumed they needed to step up to the plate and fight for their survival. They all understood the threat, and they all understood the risks. They all stood there in that battle line and fired their weapons at the evil men and women who were trying to take away their new-found way of life.

  It took guts, and I was proud of them all. I also took note of the lack of a celebration after the battle. There was no yelling and screaming or jumping up and down in a victory dance. They all seemed to be fully aware of the ethical cost of killing other human beings, and it clearly disturbed them all.

  I sat at a table in the dining area and observed my fellow citizens. The children came running out of their classrooms demanding information about the battle. The older kids, especially, wanted to know every detail about the fight. Most of the adults didn’t want to talk about it. They just avoided the question and merely said we had won.

  Bill came up to me and sat down. “Who would have thought in the same day I had to kill some evil people and then worry about shit backing up in the toilets? Is this my new role in life?”

  I laughed, “So my master plumber, what’s the problem?” “First, you need to understand what happens to the crap when it’s flushed down the toilet. It goes down into the sanitary sewer. The sewer system slowly goes deeper in the ground as gravity conveys the crap toward the sewage treatment plant; but the closest plant to us is over nine miles away. That’s a long distance to flow downhill; so every few miles or so there’s a pumping system that lifts the sewage upward to the next line of sewer pipe. Actually, there are two such pumping stations in our sanitary sewer system, and obviously they had no electrical power. So eventually the sewer just backed up.”

  I laughed again, “You know Bill, you really know your shit.” We both laughed at my joke, and then he continued. “We’re going to steal solar arrays from the houses in the area and bring power to the pumping stations and sewage treatment plant. There is good news however; Manny’s people can use the end product of the treatment plant as fertilizer.”

  “So when will I be able to use my toilet again?”

  “With any luck, tomorrow in the afternoon.” Bill left to get his team started on the toilet problem, and I poured myself another cup of coffee. Paul sat down a few minutes later and told me Donny was doing well. “Jim, I want to have a meeting tomorrow. The people are in need of spiritual guidance. I can see it in their eyes. Many are embarrassed about what they did today. What do you think?”

  “Why wait until tomorrow Paul? Let’s do it tonight after dinner. Should the children be there?” Paul thought for a moment and said, “Yes, what I have to say they should hear. My message will be of hope and the future.”

  With the sewers clogged, I decided to take a swim in the lake. Several of the residents had the same idea, and the cool water felt wonderful. There was something therapeutic about taking a bath in the ocean or even a lake. I dressed in some fresh clothes, and Jasmine, Hunter, and I left for dinner.

  Chapter 34

  The word had been passed around the campus, and I believe everyone in our community stayed after dinner to listen to our community’s chaplain. The children as well as many of the residents were sitting on the grass. Phyllis wheeled Donny from the emergency room. He insisted on being there. Even the soldiers from MacDill were there.

  Paul Wooden walked up to a table near the front, pushed aside some dinner plates, and sat down facing the community. This singular act was a major departure from what any of the residents had ever experienced from their religious leaders.

  “My fellow residents, thank you very much for coming here tonight. After today’s experiences, I thought it would be helpful if we all met and shared our thoughts. I am a relative newcomer to this community. As many of you know, before the global pandemic I was the head of a small church in Cape Coral. After I arrived here, I asked our leader if I could start a church. It is after all my chosen profession. Jim surprised me by saying yes, but with the understanding that my spiritual work must service the entire community.

  “At first I felt disappointed; perhaps more dis
appointed than you know; but I spent the next few days thinking about Jim’s constraint. Yesterday I had an inspirational moment. Perhaps some people would say God spoke to me. I’m not sure if it was God or just one of my better angels, but here’s what I realized for the first time in my life.

  “There have been so many people killed in the history of humanity in the name of religions: Jews versus Muslims, Sunni versus Shia, Blacks versus Whites, Catholics versus Protestants; more deaths than I care to imagine, and all in the name of God. It wasn’t the fault of religions, just the misguided spiritual leaders of those religions

  “This global pandemic forced me to question my faith. How could it not. Each of us here tonight have lost love ones: mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and countless friends. What kind of God would kill over 99.9% of humanity? For what purpose? These questions were very disturbing to me. Finally, I saw a glimmer of understanding. Maybe there was a Divine purpose after all in what was done.

  “My friends, look around this meeting. I see; blacks, whites, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Jews, Muslims, and I’m certain a few agnostics and atheists.

  “What happened today was a fight of good versus evil. Luckily the forces of good were victorious. As I walked around our complex this afternoon, I was struck by the lack of celebration. Instead I saw profound sadness; sadness for the taking of human lives; something none of us ever thought we would be forced to do. I believe the reactions I saw today on all your faces is a sign of a society steeped in moral conviction. You have indeed passed God’s test.

  “The melting pot of the cultures and religions and ethnicities that has made our country great was here in force today. I have seen all of you embrace with no constraints your fellow residents. I am reminded today of the words of Martin Luther King in his famous I have a dream speech. Ladies and gentlemen and children, all of you who are here tonight, you are seeing before you the realization of Dr. King’s dream.