The Resistance: Book 5 of the After The Event Series

by T A Williams

  “Don’t think we’ve forgotten you.”

  Before Ally could say anything Adam pulled a bag out from behind the counter and handed it to Dena. Ally could see over a dozen arrows sticking out of the bag.

  “We figured you could always use some more arrows,” Dena said with a smile.

  A lot had happened since the world went dark. Through that time and all the struggles, Ally had forgotten a lot of things. As she looked over at her presents and took that first bite of the powdery cake and felt her taste buds come alive at the onslaught of sugar, she realized this was a moment she refused to allow herself to forget.

  Ben

  Getting from Manhattan across the water to Long Island was the problem. With the Screamers overhead, occasional helicopter patrols and regular foot patrols, it was going to next to impossible to cross one of the bridges unnoticed. So if they were going to get noticed they needed to make sure they could blend in.

  Ben watched as the two Chinese Humvees drove down the empty street and stopped near a car that was burning in the middle of an intersection. A Chinese soldier manned the machine gun in one of the Humvees and swiveled it around slowly 360 degrees, searching for trouble, while three soldiers got out of the other Humvee and carefully walked up to the burning car. Dex was their best shot and he had no trouble hitting the man on the machine gun. The soldier’s head exploded as the sound of the gun going off echoed throughout the empty streets. Ben fired a burst at one of the soldiers standing near the fiery car, dropping him; the other two dropped at the same time. Dex’s second shot hit the driver of the second Humvee before he could back up to leave. There were still two more soldiers in the last Humvee and they fired blindly toward the buildings all around them. Ben and the others stayed hunkered down behind windows just out of sight. A burst of fire from across the street, either from Crimson or Reaper, ended the resistance in short order. The entire exchange probably lasted less than thirty seconds.

  They moved quickly. Reaper and Crimson each took a Humvee and the others piled into them, and in less than a minute they were driving through the streets toward Long Island. Ben was in the Humvee that Crimson was driving, along with Ty and Ghost. No one said anything. While no one would admit it, they were all waiting for that familiar scream. They knew that if they heard it there was a 50% chance they were going to be dead in seconds. But that scream didn’t come. They drove through the Brooklyn Bridge and soon found themselves in Queens.

  Just as planned, they drove several miles and then pulled off and abandoned the Humvees. They had considered trying to use the vehicles to get all the way to Long Island but Watt warned them of the Chinese checkpoints set up along the way. So once again they were on foot. The Humvees did give them one last parting gift: food, ammo and much to Ghost’s delight, a grenade launcher.

  The next few days were slow going. Watt’s ankle limited their speed; that, combined with the possibility of Screamers patrolling the sky, led them to move slowly and carefully. The days consisted of them moving from alley to alley while they were in Queens, to them moving from building to building when they finally managed to get to Long Island. Yet despite all that they moved with a purpose. For the first time they had a tangible goal.

  “This is the kind of neighborhood I want to live in one day,” Dex said.

  They were walking down a residential street with what had once been nice two- to three-story houses on both sides. The yards had since been taken back over by nature and even now most of the houses had vines crawling up the sides of them. Despite all that it was obvious this had once been a very nice neighborhood.

  “Don’t think you could have afforded this neighborhood on military pay,” Crimson said.

  Dex frowned. “I probably would have gotten a private sector job eventually. Security for some big-wig or celebrity. Maybe work for one of those private military firms. Shit, when we finish kicking the shit out of the Chinese the least Uncle Sam could do is give us first pick at a place to stay.”

  “I wouldn’t live here,” Ghost said, looking around. “Too many people. Give me a house surrounded by farmland, with no one around for miles.”

  Ben thought of the farm. He remembered the open fields and how he would run around them all day dreaming of adventures. It felt like a lifetime ago. Now here he was walking down a deserted street in a war zone with an assault rifle in his hands.

  “What about you, Crimson?” Dex smiled. “You a city girl or a country girl?”

  “I’m not a girl,” she said simply.

  “Fair enough,” Dex said, shaking his head.

  “Quit talking about the future and the past,” Reaper said, falling back into their group. “Focus on the present or you’re going to get everyone’s head blown off.”

  “Yes sir,” Dex said slowly.

  Reaper sped up and walked ahead of them again. Ben noticed Dex clench his jaw tightly but the man didn’t do or say anything else. The sound of birds chirping filled the afternoon air and the cool breeze blew through Ben’s hair; despite where they were it was actually quite nice. The peaceful feeling was dashed as the sound of gunfire ripped through the air and caused all of them to run for cover. Ben dove into the ditch of a nearby overgrown yard and got into a prone position but couldn’t find anything to fire at. The sound of gunfire continued but the sound of the battle was clearly happening several blocks away. Ben would have been embarrassed but as he got to his feet he watched the rest of the squad doing the same.

  “Up two blocks,” Ghost said as he pulled out his binoculars. “Looks like we got two Chinese Humvees focusing fire on an old parking garage.”

  “They shooting at friendlies?” TY asked as he wiped himself off. The look of panic hadn’t yet left his eyes.

  “If the Ricers don’t like them then they’re friendly,” Crimson said.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Reaper walked over and looked through his own binoculars. “Our mission is to get to that EMP. This little skirmish should serve as a distraction to give us some time.”

  Ben turned to him. “Wait, what? What if those are soldiers?” His thoughts turned to Mason.

  “Then they know how to take care of themselves. Let’s move out,” Reaper said and began to walk in the other direction.

  Ben watched as the other soldiers around him hesitated. Ghost looked like he was going to say something but stopped. Crimson’s face turned red and she didn’t move.

  “Sir,” Ben started, “with all due respect, if those are fellow soldiers we need to do what we can to help them.”

  Reaper stopped where he was, with his back to him. The man didn’t move but Ben watched as he pulled his chest up. The man turned around and his face was dark. “I’ve given you an order, soldier.”

  “You’re ordering me to abandon people in need.”

  “It doesn’t matter if I’m ordering you to jump off the goddamned Empire State Building,” Reaper was on him within seconds. The man stood next to him, looking down his crooked nose, just even with Ben’s eyes. “An order is a damned order and you better follow it.”

  Ben felt his hands shaking but he focused so his voice was even. “I can’t follow that order, sir.”

  Reaper’s face grew red and Ben could see the rage building up.

  “Sir,” Crimson said,, stepping forward, “as far as we know those men may have secured the EMP and due to unforeseen circumstances have to hoof it back somewhere for repair. If we leave them to the enemy then our mission is a failure.”

  Reaper’s eyes didn’t leave Ben. “We have our orders.”

  Ghost cleared his throat and stepped forward. “I’m with them, sir. They need someone to kill Chinese and that was exactly what I was trained for.”

  Reaper finally looked up and shifted his gaze to the others. Ben felt like a giant weight had just been lifted off him.

  “You defy my orders and go running to play the hero and you are not only jeopardizing the mission but the entire war. You know what this means?”

  “Yes sir,” C
rimson said. “I don’t mean to lose this war. But I also know what I’d lose if I turned my back on my brothers and sisters.”

  Reaper’s hand fell to the sidearm on his waist and floated there. Crimson and Ghost noticed but didn’t budge.

  Dex finally stepped forward but faced away from Reaper and toward Crimson and Ghost. “The longer we debate this the worse it is going to get. You all disobey orders, then it will be noted and even if we win this war you will have to answer for it.”

  “Agreed,” Crimson said quickly.

  “Yes sir,” Ghost said shortly thereafter.

  Reaper looked back down at Ben.

  “Understood,” Ben said, meeting Reaper’s gaze. For a second he just stood there and then he turned and walked toward Crimson and Ghost. He again felt his hands shaking but he kept them close to his side in order to hide it. By the time he got to Crimson and Ghost, Ty was at his side.

  “I’m with you,” Ty whispered.

  The sound of a helicopter came from the distance and began to get louder.

  Reaper looked at Dex and Watt. “Find cover; we’re about to have company.” They crossed the street and took shelter in one of the houses.

  The others went to the other side of the street and ducked down under a tree.

  “All right, we got a plan here?” Crimson asked.

  Ghost looked through his binoculars. “Looks like they are firing at the third level of the parking garage; whomever they are after is held up there.”

  The helicopter approached from the north over a grove of trees and floated over the parking garage, just out of firing range.

  Ben ran the figures in his head. Two Humvees and a helicopter. “Ghost, you still have that grenade launcher?”

  The binoculars fell from Ghost’s eyes and he smiled. “Hasn’t left my side since I grabbed it.”

  “How many grenades do you have?”

  “One locked and loaded and five ready to go.”

  The helicopter hovered just even with the third floor and the attached gun opened fire into the garage.

  “Ghost, you take the helo; Crimson, grab two of those grenades and we’ll take the Humvees,” Ben said. It was quiet for a second and he looked over and saw both Ghost and Crimson staring at him. Inside of annoyance he saw a smirk on Ghost’s face and a small smile on Crimson’s hardened face.

  “Yes sir,” she said and grabbed two grenades from Ghost.

  They cut through the overgrown yards and the dilapidated fences, quickly but carefully making their way behind the Humvees and the helicopter. They sprinted across the open street separating the residential neighborhood from a business district and found themselves directly behind the enemy. They stopped behind a bank and gathered themselves.

  “Watch for friendly fire and wait for my mark,” Ghost said over the sound of guns firing as he slipped off to get closer to the helicopter.

  The firing from the garage had all but stopped. A burst of gunfire came every twenty seconds or so, but whoever was up there was either hurt or running out of ammo.

  Crimson handed him a grenade and as he grabbed it she didn’t let go. He met her eyes and she nodded once and then let go. Ben paused for a second, summoning his courage, then left the safety of the bank and crossed a small alley and took up position behind a large ATM. Ty hid behind one a few yards away. The Humvees were less than twenty yards away. The sound of their guns firing was deafening and Ben could feel the ground shaking under him. Ben caught Ty staring at him so Ben pointed two fingers at his eyes and then directed his fingers at the enemy. Ty’s eyes grew wide and he nodded his head and turned back toward the Humvees.

  They all waited for chaos to erupt, and erupt it did. The helicopter hovered for a moment then the sound of it rapidly accelerating filled Ben’s ears. Ben looked up and saw as the helicopter veered away from them and then exploded into a ball of flame. For a second all he did was stare but he managed to pull his attention away long enough to pull the pin from his grenade and toss it under the Humvee closest to him. It landed on the ground a few feet away and rolled just behind the rear. Crimson’s grenade exploded, lifting the Humvee closest to her high into the air, where it flipped over and landed upside down. The few seconds it took for Ben’s grenade to explode felt more like hours but it finally went off. The blast from Crimson’s grenade must have pushed his to the side because when it went off it hit on the driver side of the Humvee, causing it to flip over sideways, where it came to rest.

  Crimson was on her feet seconds after the Humvee came to a rest, and she circled around her Humvee and fired off several shots. Ben and Ty circled around theirs and he saw a bloody hand reach out from inside the Humvee as a Chinese solider began to pull himself out. The soldier managed to pull his shoulders and waist out from under the Humvee. The bloodied soldier looked up and his eyes met Ben’s and for a full second they just stood there. Ben watched as the soldier’s face transformed from pain to fear and ultimately exploded into a ball of meat and bones. He looked to the side and saw Crimson there with her gun still pointing at the soldier.

  “We don’t have the ability to take prisoners right now,” she said, her face expressionless.

  Before Ben could say something he heard the sound of screeching tires in the distance and saw Ghost sprinting at full speed down the street toward them. A Chinese Humvee was gaining behind him. Ben, Crimson and Ty took up position behind the still-smoldering wreckage of the Humvee and tried to find a clear shot. As the Humvee got closer to Ghost a soldier hung out of the passenger window with his gun in hand. Ben opened fire and Crimson and Ty soon followed. A few shots hit the hood and sides of the Humvee but the soldier remained unscathed. The soldier pointed his rifle and fired. Ghost went down.

  “No!” Ben screamed as he stood up and began walking toward the approaching Humvee.

  The soldier hanging from the side fired at him and the bullets hit the pavement near him, shooting sparks into the air. Ben stopped where he was and let out several more bursts, one of which hit the middle of the windshield. As the Humvee got within fifty yards Ben took a deep breath and waited for the impact and the pain that would follow. He focused to make sure he would at least take the soldier down with him. A burst of fire from the parking garage hit the driver side of the Humvee, sending it veering to the left and straight into the front of the bank they had been hiding behind only minutes earlier. Ben pushed aside the fear and turned toward the crashed Humvee. He raised his rifle and slowly began to approach it. Crimson came up on his right, Ty on his left.

  The Humvee continued to rumble for a few more seconds and then shut off suddenly, leaving them in total silence. The front end of the Humvee was partially in the brick building. Ben paused as he saw that the solider that had been hanging out of the window didn’t make it all the way through the brick building, not all of him at least. Ben circled around to the side and saw the driver grabbing at the steering wheel and trying to pull himself up. Ben didn’t hesitate. He let out a burst into the man’s chest and ended his life.

  “Ty, cover the street. I’m going to get Ghost,” Crimson said as she took off toward the downed man.

  Ty’s head swiveled from one side of the street to the other. Ben pointed toward one end and Ty focused on it. Ben focused on the other side. The firefight had gone on too long. Company would be coming any second. Ben glanced up at the sky but didn’t see anything. He ignored the fact that he would hear it before he saw it.

  “Ben, I need help,” Crimson yelled.

  Ben ran toward her but he could tell by her body language before he even got there. Ghost was gone. The man was on his back, his shirt red with blood, and his eyes stared up peacefully at the sky.

  “Coming up on your right,” came a voice from the direction of the parking garage. Four soldiers came running up to them. Dirt and debris covered their face and clothes but they seemed unharmed. “We got to move befor-” the soldier in the lead stopped when he saw Ghost.

  “Ben, help me get him out of here,” Crim
son said as she took one side of Ghost. Ben took the other.

  Ghost had walked to the battle but they carried him back from it. As they approached where Reaper and the others had been they saw the man standing there watching. His face was a mask of pure anger, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he turned and they followed him deeper into the residential jungle. As the sounds of vehicles and another helicopter filled the air they ducked into a partially opened garage. Ben and Crimson laid Ghost down on the ground and before Ben could stand up all the way, Reaper grabbed him and slammed him against the far wall.

  “His death is on your hands,” the man screamed, spittle flying onto Ben’s face. “His kid doesn’t have a dad because of you.”

  Ghost was an intimidating soldier who made you earn a smile and always seemed ready to take on the world if necessary; the realization that he was someone’s dad hit Ben hard.

  “You grab your gun and get the hell out of my squad,” Reaper said.

  “Ghost died doing what he trained for, what we all joined for,” Crimson said. “His choice was his own.”

  Reaper let go of Ben and turned on Crimson. “He was a soldier and a soldier follows orders.”

  “He did follow orders,” Crimson said calmly. “Just not yours.”

  “I’m the one in charge,” Reaper yelled. “My orders are the only ones that matter.”

  “I don’t want to get in the middle of anything,” one of the rescued soldiers said, stepping forward, “but they saved our asses. We were pinned down and didn’t have a chance.”

  “Stay out of this,” Reaper said, not taking his eyes off Crimson.

  The woman didn’t waver and even took a step forward. “I know why I’m here. I’m here to kill Chinese. Why are you here?”

  Dex stepped in between them. “What’s done is done. We have a mission and if we are going to accomplish it we need to get out of this sector ASAP.”