“Corporal Owens,” said Tucker. “Would you be interested in leading a team back to that town we passed a ways back? You would have six trucks and twelve soldiers. We have a supply list we need filled.” Lieutenant Stein and Sergeant Tucker had decided to send six trucks as this was the only supply run they were planning. They would grab everything they needed and hopefully survive the winter without any problems.
Owens nodded. “Your wife spoke to me last evening about picking up a few things. She’s really concerned about the kids. Just tell me when and I’ll go.”
“When we all packed up to head for the mountains we only loaded necessities,” Lieutenant Stein said, looking at the trees which hid much of this narrow area of the valley. “If you’re willing, you can go tonight. I’ll gather some of the civilians together and see if we can come up with a list that’s not too outrageous. One of our medics will go along to pick up some medical supplies.”
“Guess I’m going to town,” said Owens with a wide grin.
“Just be careful,” Tucker cautioned. “This isn’t a joy ride and there’s a possibility you could be spotted by the Trellixians. Under no condition are you to risk leading them back here.”
“We’ll be careful,” promised Owens. “They’ll never know we were there.”
-
Captains Garcia and Lisa, plus Privates Peterson and Hambridge, were back at the front skirmish line. Someone had sent one of the ATVs to pick them up to get them back faster. With the reduction in the number of refugees coming through, Captain Garcia had moved to the forward skirmish line where his Rangers were to take full command.
“Sergeant Anderson,” said Captain Garcia as he walked up to the sergeant standing by the small bridge spanning the creek. It had been wired with demolition charges in case the Trellixians showed up. Forcing the aliens to enter the water and wade across the creek might buy valuable seconds for the defending Rangers and Marines. “Anything happen while we were gone?”
Anderson shook his head. “No, we had four more civilians come through but other than that it’s been quiet.”
“I have a mission for you,” Garcia informed the sergeant. “There are reports of a large number of civilians along with some soldiers in a small valley nearby. Care to lead a patrol to see what’s there?”
“Sound interesting,” Anderson said. “How far is this valley?”
“Twelve miles,” Garcia replied. “I’ll arrange for a couple of the ATVs to take you and the Rangers going with you most of the way. You’ll have to hike in about four miles as the terrain is too rough for the ATVs.”
“Two ATVs will limit me to five Rangers and myself.”
“We’ll have the ATVs make two trips. That will give you eleven Rangers. Pick your expanded squad and make sure you take some heavy weapons. You could encounter anything out there.”
Garcia saw Lieutenant Symington hurrying toward them with a concerned look on his face.
“Captain, we just received a message from Major Dolan. Evidently some Trellixian shuttles have landed just outside these mountains. He expects us to see Trellixian troops in our area within forty-eight hours.”
“Where’s Captain Morrison?”
“Doing an inspection along the skirmish line,” replied Symington. “He should be back in a few hours.”
“Should we cancel the mission?” asked Sergeant Anderson.
Captain Garcia shook his head. “No, if the Trellixians are moving into our area we need to warn the people in that other valley. It makes your mission even more important. I want you out of here within the hour.”
Anderson nodded and hurried off.
“Lieutenant Symington, let’s make sure our people are ready. Before we bed down for the night make sure everyone has been well-fed and knows what might be coming toward us.” Captain Garcia turned toward Lisa. “Captain Reynolds. It looks as if we’re about to find out if your special equipment can pick up a Trellixian. Tomorrow you stay by those instruments and do whatever you have to do to let me know before the aliens get here. Our lives may depend on it.”
-
Lisa nodded. She felt anxious, knowing what might be ahead. She had never been in a battle before and had no desire to be. However, Professor Wilkens was depending on her and the others to gather as much information on the Trellixians as possible. She was determined to do her job and to not fail.
-
Four hours later Sergeant Anderson gazed at a trail heading up a small mountain. They had to go over the mountain and back down the other side to reach the valley. Because of the height of the mountain they would be out of radio contact with Captain Garcia. The trail was a large game trail probably used by elk and other animals, including black bears. A few bears had already passed through their skirmish line. Everyone had just moved aside and allowed them through.
Private Richards adjusted his pack with his left hand and groaned. “I should have packed less.” He held his MK 17 Scar assault rifle cradled in his right arm.
“How much food do you have in there?” teased Private Hastings. “I saw you filling up your pack.”
“Just enough to tide me over until we get back,” protested Richards. “A man’s got to eat.”
Sergeant Anderson had his own favorite weapon slung over his shoulder: a Mossberg 590A1 12-gauge shotgun with a seven-shot capacity and a shortened 18.5-inch barrel. He figured if he ran across a Trellixian a shot to the head from his shotgun would make short work of the alien.
“Let’s move out, get over this mountain, and start down the other side before it gets dark. We’ll make camp and then approach the civilians in the valley early in the morning.”
“Damn, another night in the Rangers of camping out underneath the stars,” muttered Private Richards as he began trudging up the trail.
-
Early the next day Corporal Owens was in the small town of Evergreen, Colorado. There was a Walmart Supercenter on Swede Gulch Road where he hoped to find a big part of what was on his supply list. So far they hadn’t seen any people in the town, though Owens suspected a few were in hiding. They also hadn’t spotted any Trellixians. They had parked their trucks beneath an awning at a gas station and as soon as the sun came up they would begin their search for the items on the list Lieutenant Stein and Sergeant Tucker had given them. With any kind of luck they could be in and out of the supercenter in a few hours, load up the lumber from a local lumberyard, and be ready to return to the valley as soon as the sun went down.
-
Corporal Owens was asleep in a nearby evacuated home when he was awakened by Private Stark.
“Corporal, there’s some movement at the end of the street.”
Owens stood and went to the window and looked in the direction Stark pointed, seeing two large figures walking down the center of the street. The house they had decided to take refuge in was several blocks from where their trucks were parked.
“Tell everyone to remain still and not to make a sound. The aliens may not know we’re here.”
Stark nodded and went off to speak to the rest of the soldiers while Corporal Owens continued to watch. He picked up his M16, making sure a bullet was in the chamber and the safety was on. He continued to watch the two figures as they came closer and walked slowly past the house. They were taller than a normal human and clad in protective battle armor with a helmet and protective visor. With a chill Owens knew he was seeing his first Trellixians. The two Trellixians stopped, looked around, and then continued down the street. Owens watched them until they were out of sight. He had nearly stopped breathing when the aliens stopped.
“Do you think they spotted us?” asked Private Stark in a whisper. His face was pale and his voice unsteady.
“I don’t think so,” Owens replied. “It may have just been a normal patrol. We’ll stay here for a few more hours and then go to the trucks. If there are no more signs of any Trellixians we’ll hurry up and get them loaded. Make sure everyone knows they’re not to shoot at anything unless I give the o
rder.”
“Damn, they were ugly,” said Stark, looking down the street in the direction the two Trellixians had gone. “Did you see those weapons they carried?”
Corporal Owens nodded. They hadn’t resembled any weapon he was familiar with.
-
Sergeant Anderson led his squad down a rugged slope when he spotted movement in front of them.
“Don’t move,” a man called out as two heavily armed soldiers stepped from behind a large boulder. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
Anderson came to a stop and signaled those behind him to do the same. “I’m Sergeant Braden Anderson with the 75th Ranger Regiment.”
“The Rangers?” asked the man. “I’m Private Sloan with the Colorado National Guard. What are you doing here?”
Anderson took a few cautious steps forward. “We’re in the next valley to the south. Some of the civilians who passed through our lines informed us you were here. I was sent by my commanding officer to see if you need any assistance or if you would be interested in moving to a more secure location farther into the mountains.”
“I don’t know,” Private Sloan replied. “We have a good place here and it’s pretty defendable.”
“Can you take us to your commanding officer?”
“If you were anyone else except a Ranger I would say no. However, being who you are I’m pretty certain Sergeant Tucker and Lieutenant Stein will want to talk to you. If the rest of your men will stay here with Private Lawrence I’ll take you to our camp.”
Sergeant Anderson turned toward the other Rangers. “The rest of you stay here. I don’t expect any problems.”
Private Richards sat down on a large rock, sliding out of his backpack and laying it next to him. He rummaged around until he found a Hershey’s candy bar. “Time for a snack.”
Sergeant Anderson shook his head and turned back with a nod to Private Sloan.
“Follow me,” Sloan answered. “If the sergeant or lieutenant says it’s okay I’ll send someone to bring in the rest of your Rangers.”
-
Sergeant Tucker was inspecting the tents when he saw Private Sloan coming toward him with a soldier he didn’t recognize. With surprise he recognized the Army Ranger insignia on his uniform.
“Sergeant, this is Sergeant Anderson of the 75th Ranger Regiment. We found them coming down the far slope.”
“How many others are with you?” asked Tucker. He was curious what an Army Ranger was doing here.
“I brought eleven others with me. We’re from the next valley to the south. Major Dolan ordered my squad to this valley as we heard more survivors were camped out here. We’ve been escorting survivors to a number of secure areas behind our defensive skirmish lines.”
Sergeant Tucker looked thoughtful. “How many soldiers are in the next valley?” He was curious. He had known a number of regular Army units and others were rumored to be in the mountains.
“Enough,” replied Anderson, looking around. “We’ve set up two lines of defense to ensure the Trellixians can’t reach the civilians. It looks as if you have quite a few people here.”
“Over three hundred civilians,” Tucker answered. “We also have a full platoon of regular Army troops as well as thirty-two members of the Colorado National Guard.”
-
Sergeant Anderson was surprised by the large number of civilians as well as troops. “I understand a lieutenant is here.”
“Yes, he’s with the regular Army platoon. We’ve agreed to share command.”
Anderson was a little surprised by this. He would have expected the lieutenant to take over. Looking around Anderson noticed the tents, the cabin, and the wind generator. Other than the wind generator everything was pretty well-hidden. “Where is the lieutenant? I would like to speak to both of you.”
“He’s inspecting our defenses at the mouth of the canyon that leads into this valley. We have four M240L machine guns set up there.”
“Any claymores?”
“A few,” replied Tucker. “I would feel better if we had more.”
Anderson nodded. “We may be able to help you with that if you decide to stay in this valley.”
“It’s pretty isolated and hard to get to,” Tucker replied. “It’s one of the reasons we came here. We sent some trucks out to a nearby town last night to do some scavenging and pick up some supplies to help us to make it through the winter.”
“I’d be careful about sending anyone out of this valley. From the reports we’ve received we are expecting the Trellixians to make a push into these mountains any day.”
Sergeant Tucker didn’t like hearing that from the look on his face. “Private Sloan, send someone to get the lieutenant and also have Sergeant Anderson’s Rangers brought down here,” ordered Tucker. “I think we’re all interested in hearing any news the sergeant may have as to what’s been going on outside this valley. We haven’t heard anything since we came here other than what a few refugees have told us. Some of their stories were pretty wild.”
Sergeant Anderson nodded. “Get the lieutenant and we can sit and talk things over. I do have some information as to what’s been happening. Perhaps, after we finish talking, you may decide to leave this valley for one of our secure areas.”
Sergeant Tucker shook his head. “We’ve worked hard getting this valley set up so we can live here for a while. As difficult as it is to get to there’s a good chance the aliens will never spot it.”
“Maybe,” Anderson replied doubtfully. “The problem won’t be the entrance to this valley but whether they spot you from one of their shuttles or attack craft. They’ll just fly over the mountains. What will you do then?”
He was met by silence as Sergeant Tucker mulled over that warning.
-
Several hours later Sergeant Anderson stood with Lieutenant Stein and Sergeant Tucker, inspecting the machine-gun pits as well as the placement of the claymores.
“Are you sure I can’t talk you into coming back with us? I can guarantee the safety of your people at one of the rear areas. There’s food, water, medical supplies, and there will be heat for the winter.”
“Plus overcrowding,” added Sergeant Tucker. “While we appreciate the offer we would prefer to stay here and take our chances on the aliens not finding us.”
Anderson mulled this over, looking around. The valley was peaceful and quiet. Perhaps if he were in their situation he might say the same thing. “Let me do this. I’ll leave you a radio so you can contact us, though someone will have to climb to the top of that small mountain for it to reach us. I’ll also see if I can get you some additional claymores from one of our supply caches.”
Lieutenant Stein nodded. “We would appreciate that. There may come a time when we take you up on your offer if the aliens find us.”
“Let’s hope they don’t,” Anderson answered.
“It’s a relief to know there’s still a chain of command,” replied Sergeant Tucker. “I wish President Drummond had made it out of Washington.”
Anderson nodded in agreement. “Fortunately Vice President Hathaway and a number of other senior staff members got out. This war with the Trellixians isn’t over by a long shot. I don’t know what hidden assets we still have left but I suspect they are quiet substantial.”
“It’s good to know we haven’t lost everything,” said Lieutenant Stein, looking back up the valley where the cabin and tents were. Even from here they weren’t visible.
“Let’s head back and eat lunch,” suggested Tucker. “How long will you and your Rangers be staying?”
“We’ll leave first thing in the morning,” Sergeant Anderson replied. “I’ll have a couple of my Rangers come down here and inspect your defenses in more detail to see if they can offer any suggestions. Then, in the morning, we’ll make the trek back up the mountain and see about getting you more claymores.”
-
In the town of Evergreen, Corporal Owens was pleased as he looked at the results of their scavenging. All six
trucks were crammed full of supplies. Three trucks were piled high with lumber and other building supplies while the other three were full of the remaining items on the lists they had been given. Corporal Hatter had just about stripped the supercenter of its medical supplies, particularly the pharmacy.
What pleased Owens the most were the two three-thousand-watt wind generators they had found in the back of the Walmart. Owens knew the stores didn’t normally stock these so the two generators had to be a special order for someone. He had also made sure to get some green and brown paint to cover the generators. White would stand out too much in the valley. He also intended to paint the one near the cabin. They even found a number of 12-volt deep-cycle batteries and a couple power inverters.
“We’re ready to move out,” reported Private Stark.
It was still a few hours before dark and there had been no more sightings of any Trellixians, though they had spotted one of the alien shuttles flying down Interstate 70 earlier. This made Corporal Owens uneasy as they needed to use the interstate to get back to the valley.
“We’ll leave as soon as the sun sets. I’ll feel a lot better when we get back to where the other trucks are parked.”
“Same here,” replied Private Stark. “It’s spooky as hell walking around this town. It’s almost as if all the people just vanished.”
Owens nodded. They had entered a number of homes looking for food supplies. In several they had found food on the tables as if the families had been interrupted in the middle of their meals. Owens hoped many of them had escaped into the mountains.
-
Owens waited a full hour after the sun went down before he gave the order to set out for the valley. As they pulled out of the town of Evergreen he couldn’t help but wonder if people would ever live there again. It sent a chill down his back thinking of all the empty homes and towns across the country. No matter how this war ended he knew many of those homes and towns would remain empty. It was sad, realizing all that had been lost. With a deep sigh, Corporal Owens thought of his own home and wondered if he would ever return to it. He knew there was a good probability he never would.
Earth Fall: Invasion : (Book One) Page 19