They both returned to the kitchen. Benjamin told the sheriff about his agreement with Walter. “Good,” responded the sheriff. “I know how hard it is for you to make that decision. So I want to say thank you on behalf of the colonel.”
Mary was stunned about her husband’s decision. But at the same time, she expected it. It was highly characteristic of Benjamin to think of others before himself. It was also the same characteristic that drew her towards him. Hence, she protested no more. Her tears, however, declared a silent protest.
“Will you explain it to Justin for me?” said a teary-eyed Benjamin. A crying Mary simply nodded. He then landed a tender kiss on her forehead.
“We will be leaving tomorrow,” said the sheriff. “I will be planning another route for us to take to avoid being ambushed on the road again,” he added.
Benjamin and Walter both gave a light nod. It seemed as though all of the energy were drained out of them.
The morning after, Benjamin packed his things while Justin was still asleep. He made sure to do this before Justin woke up. He did not know how to explain to his son why he was leaving again. When they reunited at the farm, he promised him that he will never leave their side again. He did not want to break that promise. But he had to.
Mary stood by the door as he was finishing packing his things. She said nothing. He just looked at him with a blank look on her face.
When he was done, he took a moment to look at his sons, both of which were sleeping soundly. It felt like déjà vu. He was reminded of that day when he left for work and they were due to leave for the farm. Things were never the same again after that. But he considered himself lucky that they were able to return to each other’s arms.
“When you are leaving?” Mary asked as she noticed he was starting to drift away.
He paused momentarily to breathe deeply before responding. “The sheriff said within the next half hour,” he said with a heavy heart.
Mary shrugged, as if trying to push away her emotions. “Promise me you’ll do anything to be safe out there,” she said, pausing in between her words to regain her composure. “I’m sure the boys will be pretty devastated that you’re leaving again. But I want you to promise me that we will see you again.”
“I promise…” Benjamin responded without any hesitation. Then, he gave a heartfelt smile.
Mary smiled back, despite her tears. She knew that her husband made good on his promises.
Their conversation was interrupted by Walter who was sent in by the sheriff. “Ben, we need to go,” he said.
“I’ll be there,” he said. Mary then gave him a tight hug.
“I need to go now. But can you promise that you and the kids stay safe until I get back?” he told Mary. She nodded, unable to speak through her tears.
Benjamin picked up his things and headed for the door. The rest of the group waited on him as they were getting ready to leave.
After over two hours of travel, they finally arrived at the Millington Naval Air Station. Sheriff Taylor drove them there, together with his other deputy. They took a different route from when they came to the farm to divert potential attacks from the marauders. Even if it meant taking a longer route, they were willing to take the compromise to ensure the convoy’s safety.
They decided to leave behind the other two wounded deputies. Since Benjamin had just performed surgery on them, they need to rest and recuperate. Sheriff Taylor, together with Benjamin and the rest of the group, promised to return to the farm once they find somewhere safe as their new place of refuge. In the meantime, Benjamin has to perform his civic duties as per the executive order.
As soon as they entered the base, the retired colonel Caesar welcomed them in, as though he was expecting to see them.
“Good morning,” he greeted with a cheery smile. Benjamin gave him an awkward and forced smile in response. He felt something was odd about the colonel’s demeanor. He also has a bit of resentment towards the colonel as he was now forced to be away from his family again.
“Come on inside, we have plenty of things to talk about,” he added while motioning for them to follow him. “But first, you need to get some rest. It must have been a long drive from the farm. You guys up for some drink?” he offered.
“Just water, please,” Benjamin responded on behalf of the group.
Along their drive back to the city, the group had seen the aftermath of the riots for the first time. It has been days since they escaped to the farm house. It looked like a war zone with immeasurable devastation. The light posts were down, the buildings were empty, the streets were filled with debris from burnt emblems and public properties – it was eerily silent in the city.
At one time during the drive, Walter and Benjamin happened to look at each other. They had the same expression of disgust on their faces. For Benjamin, it reminded him of the siege at the hospital. Then he wondered what the residents of Southcrest had to go through with such a widespread devastation. The images of the events in the hospital and the devastation in the city will forever haunt his mind, he thought to himself.
The colonel briefed them about the status of the city following the riots since Martial Law declaration. It basically summed up what they had seen along the way. But the colonel has important intelligence report about the status of the army and how they can restore peace and order.
“As you might have noticed, the city is basically empty now,” he started. “Many of the city folks had followed the route that you took, which is to head to the suburbs thinking that there is safety waiting for them out there.”
Everyone looked on intently. Meanwhile, the colonel paced back and forth, trying to examine everyone as he explained the scenario to them.
“As more people moved out of the city, the marauders were also moving out of the city. There was no food, no water, and no shelter for them. The next logical step is to go somewhere else. The ironic thing is that people who escaped for safety did not realize that the violence followed them along,” he said, pumping his fist in the air for emphasis.
“Benjamin,” colonel raised the doctor’s attention. “I want you to run and oversee the community hospital again. “Your friends here will help you put it back into operation,” he added, referring to Walter and Anthony. They all looked at him stunned. The hospital was almost completely destructed. They knew that putting it back into operational status will entail a lot of work.
“On the other hand, the militia will temporarily act as the city’s deputies,” he said, turning his attention towards Chris and his companions.
“But here’s the catch – we aren’t talking about Southcrest here. We will be moving into a neighboring city. Some of the army personnel were able to spot a neighboring city that is not as devastated as Southcrest is. We think that would be a good place for us to start anew,” he concluded.
Blank and puzzled stares filled everyone’s faces in the room. Some of them thought that the colonel’s plans were too ambitious, if not downright impossible. However, most of them expressed their willingness to contribute to making the plan come into fruition. Benjamin was one of those that belonged to the former group. But he was willing to do anything to restore peace and order, especially if it meant that he and his family will have peace of mind once again.
***
Chapter 26 – Cooperation
“Yes. What about today?” said the colonel as he spoke through the radio. He brought the radio as close to his ears as possible. The voice coming through the radio from the other line was almost inaudible.
Benjamin was sitting on a chair a few feet away. He tried to listen in but the signal from the other end of the radio was too choppy. He could not decipher what was being said.
“Okay, no problem,” the colonel spoke again. “We’ll be there.”
At this point, Benjamin gave up on his efforts at trying to gather information. He decided to wait on the colonel to update him instead.
“I’ll keep you posted,” the colonel said as he wrapped u
p the conversation on the radio.
Benjamin looked at the colonel then raised his eyebrow. He was seeking information from him.
“That was the sheriff from the neighboring farm,” the colonel started. “As I mentioned earlier, we have decided to join forces with them.”
“We?” Benjamin asked with sarcasm, raising his eyebrow again.
“Dr. Perry, I want you to trust me on this one,” he pleaded.
“Colonel,” Benjamin started as he leaned forward from his chair; “If I did not trust you, I wouldn’t be here.In fact, trust is the only thing I have right now,” he tactfullyremarked.
“Or else I would not want to leave my family again like I promised my kids,” he went on to add. The colonel acknowledged his response by giving him a light tap on the shoulder.He knew the Perry’s well and how tightly knit they are as a family.
“And I thank you for that,” he said, trying to pacify Benjamin’s emotions. “This will work out. And when it does, we can live in harmony again - free from violence or any threat.”
Benjamin smiled at the thought.
“Don’t you want that for your family, Dr. Perry?” colonel asked him. Benjamin tacitly responded with a smile.
“As I was saying, we need to meet with the sheriff of the neighboring farm. The agenda is how we can work together as a team.We have to find out how we are going to defend the farm from invaders while we work on restoring the town as a whole,” he said.
“Who’s going?”
“You can go with me. You decide who from your friends you’d like to join us for the meeting,” said the colonel.
“I’ll take Walter,” he said.
“Okay, I’ll talk to him,” the colonel said as he was about to leave the room.
“No, I’ll take care of that,” Benjamin stopped him. To this, the colonel simply nodded.
“I’ll let everybody else know.We can meet here again to discuss the final plans,” said the colonel before walking off.
The group had gathered in the holding room of the base. They were trying to come to a consensus as to who will go back to the farm. The ones left in the farm will help the others defend it from the marauders. The other half will join the colonel. They are to meet with the sheriff and other refugees from a neighboring farm. They will be joining forces with the other refugees in order to restore peace and order in town.
“Who’s willing to go with me to the meeting with the sheriff?” the colonel asked the group. “Please raise your hand,” he instructed them.
“I’ve already asked Benjamin to go with me, he’ll be bringing along Walter,” he added. The room fell silent for a while.
Chris stood up as everyone looked on, “I volunteer to stay at the farm. I think I could help out with improving our defense over there. Would you like to join me there?” he said turning to his friends from the militia. They confirmed and said that they would be fine to go back to the farm.
“What about you, Anthony?” the colonel asked. Anthony looked startled as he was asked to make a decision on the spot.
“I think I will be going back to the farm, too,” he shyly replied. Benjamin looked at him and gave him an approving nod. Anthony smiled back.
Benjamin was feeling more confident about their plans. He can now feelassured, knowing that Chris and the rest will be going back to the farm. He knew that they can help guard the farm from the marauders. He also trusted Anthony to look after his family.
“I guess that is settled now. By the way,” the colonel said as he turned his attention to Benjamin and Walter. “Sheriff Taylor is going to come with us as well.”
“We will be dropping you off at the farm. Then, we will be headed to the neighboring farm so we can speak with the refugees there,” said the colonel. “We are not certain for how long the meeting is going to take. But we will be back to the farm as soon as we are done.”
All of them nodded. The colonel asked if there were any more questions they wanted answered. No one responded. He concluded the meeting and invited the three men to join him as they get ready to leave.
Later that day, Sheriff Taylor’s unit carried Benjamin, Walter and the colonel as they set off for a meeting. The convoy dropped off the others back to the farm.
Benjamin opted not to see his family at the farm. He did not want to see his kids for now; he knew he would have trouble explaining himself to them, especially Justin, after he broke his promise.Instead, he instructed Anthony to let them know about where he is headed. Anthony reassured him that he will look after Mary and the kids.
As for Walter, he briefly talked to his wife, Victoria. Hewas relieved to know that she continued to get better. But their short reunion was interrupted by the colonel. Hewarned Walter that they had to leave for the meeting.
“Every minute counts,” he said. Walter said his farewell to his wife.
Victoria wiped the tears off her face, trying to stay strong for his husband.She followed the sheriff’s patrol car with her eyes as it was driving away.She kept her eyes glued to the vehicle as it kept getting smaller and smaller while it was getting further and further, too.
Chris noticed Victoria standing by herself by the side of the road. “It’s time to get inside,” Chris invited her back in. “It’s too dangerous out here,” he added, while looking around the perimeter.
She acknowledged and joined him as they went back inside the farm house.
A couple of hours after the convoy had left the farm, the Taylor family, together with the other refugees, were settling in for the day. They gathered together in the kitchen. Anthony and Chris gave updates on what the colonel had discussed with them. However, they forgot to leave someone outside to serve as watch.
The group of marauders wasalready within a few blocks away from the farm house. They were inching their way closer with each passing minute. They knew from last time that someone was watching over the farm. Hence, they concocted a plan to come in as stealthily as possible.
They were spread out in the surrounding vicinity of the farm.It was part of their plan to ensure that all areas are covered, thus providing no escape for anyone who were inside the farm house. Their main goal was to drive the family away from the farm, if not, kill them altogether. If that happened, they would be free to loot the house and strip it off of any of their remaining supplies.
Big Dave, the leader of the marauders, was sending out onefinal signal to his men. He was waiting for them to return the agreed signal indicating that they were already in position. When they gave out the signal, it was all set to launch the attack.
The kitchen was located at the back part of the farm house. Hence, the group was completely oblivious to what was going on outside. Chris and Anthony were stillgiving out updates and information.Anthony was in the middle of narrating the events of the last twelve hours whenan echo of gun shots disturbed the peace in the farm.
Aaron was unable to move, not sure where to go or what to do. He tried to move but his body froze in place. The next thing he remembered was seeing Chris yelling out instructions that he could not hear amidst the noise.
Chris instructed them to duck. He looked at Aaron and it seemed as though he was not hearing anything. He decided to pull him down by grabbing one of his arms.
Meanwhile, Mary cried out her kids’ names after the first shot was fired. Michelle, too, quickly grabbed her kids who were running out of their room. “Randy! Tonya! Come on over here,” shecried out. She then hugged her kids tightly upon seeing them.
There was a pervading cry of panic filling the room. The kids and women cried out in unison. It was making it more difficult to communicate through the rain of bullets.
“Stay low! Stay low!” Chris kept yelling as most of them were becoming disoriented.
“And stay there! Don’t attempt to move or go elsewhere!” he instructed the women and the kids.
Mary wrapped her sons around her arms. She hugged her sons tighter when they were wailing in fright. Michelle also shielded her kids with a hug.
Aaron motioned for them to hide behind the kitchen’s countertop table.
Meanwhile, Anthony came to Victoria’s aid. He told her to hide behind the countertop table as well. She crawled her way there as quickly as she could.
“Aaron, where are the weapons?” Chris asked.
“It’s over there to your right,” he said while pointing to a cabinet to Chris’ right. “Open that and you will find a container. Open the container up. You will find it there along with some ammo,” he added.
Chris quickly crawled over to the cabinet and found the weapons hidden inside a container. He started distributing it to the men so they can launch their defense. He took some ammo and filled up the magazine in his .44 magnum.
Chris yelled out additional instructions for them to execute their defensive plan. However, it was difficult to hear what he was saying. He supplemented his instructions with hand signals. His friends from the militia gave him the thumb up sign to confirm that they are ready to make a counter-attack.
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