Mike looked at Randy. “I want you take twenty men and work your way down to this point. Place Claymores here and here. If any of the bikers make the attempt to jump off to either side for cover, they’ll jump on top of the Claymores. Once you have your mines set, work your way back up to your main position and have one man ready to detonate the mines. Dig in and wait. I’ll begin to make my way toward the camp in thirty minutes. Does everyone understand what they’ll be doing and where they’ll be going?” Each man nodded.
“Let’s end this despicable group’s reign of terror once and for all. Set your watches. We begin the attack in exactly one more hour from… now! Good luck and Godspeed.”
Each group headed toward their designated area. Mike sent runners to notify the critical teams that the attack would launch in one hour.
Roger and Harlan walked the small retreat from one end to the other as they were introduced to the other members. In all they were twenty six strong. Eight couples and ten children that ranged from four to sixteen, with six girls and four boys, lived there. The main compound was comprised of small sleeping areas with one common area used for dining and social events. All of the buildings were geodesic domes.
The structure where they held their social events was thirty feet across and had two stories, with a large fireplace located on one wall. The kitchen and eating dome was smaller… twenty five feet across. It also had a fireplace on one wall. The living domes were all two stories tall and fifteen feet across. Each had a potbellied, caste iron stove located in the middle. The main dome was in the center and the living domes, which were laid out in a circle with adequate space of twenty feet dividing one from the other, surrounded it.
To one side of the kitchen were two beehive ovens and a large rock-lined fire pit with a rotisserie apparatus overhead that had a crank and handle. Another well sat just inside of the kitchen. Off and away from these structures were three smaller domes that appeared to be about ten feet across. One was for storing dry foods, one was a work shop and the third was a cover for a deep root cellar.
“We were very careful about who we invited in to our complex here,” Bill explained. “It was a struggle. Everyone wanted to be in charge. A few Indians and too many Chiefs. We solved that by having an election every two years. This began once we started building what you see here and after we recruited most of the members. Some came later. We’ve had two elections since we first began. If at any time we don’t like the way someone is leading us, we have the right to hold a council meeting and remove them from office if we all agree to it. The council is comprised of what we call the elders, that’s all of the adults here. Once children reach sixteen, they can be part of the council and they have a vote.”
“What was your criteria to be considered for membership ?”
“The primary rule was that we tried to find people who were multifaceted in terms of their ability to do certain things. Take Jerry over there,” Bill gestured. “He’s an excellent mechanic and can make anything run. I don’t think there is any kind of a machine he can’t fix. He’s also a gunsmith. If it has anything to do with guns, he can do it.” Jerry was smiling.
The woman next to him was also smiling. She was a pretty strawberry blonde woman named Peggy. Bill continued in his matter-of-fact way, “Peggy can grow anything and is the principal person in charge of our gardens. We grow everything for our table and she makes sure that we collect seeds from every harvest. She is also the canner and cook of everything. Not only do we raise vegetables and fruit, we also have a few animals that we raise for food. Chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, a few cows and some hogs give us our meat. They’re located way back there away from us and the prevailing wind.”
He pointed out and away from the crops area. “We also have a few horses for riding and to help with large work projects like stump removal.”
Another woman and her husband were introduced. She was a little gaunt looking, but she had a big smile. Her name was Linda and her husband was called Calvin. She was a registered chemical engineer and Calvin was a pharmacist. They took care of mixing and formulating whatever remedies and medicines the group needed. Anything from scratch such as soap and shampoo were easily concocted.
They worked in conjunction with another man and woman who were herbalists. She was a registered nurse and he was a physician’s assistant and emergency medical technician who once worked as a medic for a fire department.
The rest of the small group’s members were introduced to Roger and Harlan. The two men from Avalon were duly impressed. These people had a miniature Avalon. They had a system that made them self-sufficient. There was more to see and Bill explained it all in infinite detail.
Two sources of power were especially worthy of pride for this group. First, they installed a bank of solar panels on a large rotating platform which was operated by two small electric motors that rotated the entire solar array to match the movement of the sun. As the sun rose, the panels followed the sunlight and repositioned themselves after dark to wait the next sunrise. The generated electricity was stored in a bank of batteries for future use.
Computers in the social dome housed DVD players and a library full of movies on CDs. There were two wide screen TVs with a centrally located panel for connecting headphones. They were adequate to keep the boredom down to a manageable level. Although the solar panels and batteries allowed them to have electric lighting, they chose to use candles much of the time.
The second notable innovation, used in lieu of gasoline to power their wood splitter and generator, was a gasification device consisting of a 55 gallon barrel with a smaller, fifteen gallon barrel inside of that. Both were made of steel. The top of this apparatus contained a hose that came off of the top of the smaller steel container. A fire was started in the larger drum and wood was stacked inside the smaller drum. The wood inside the smaller steel container was heated to generate a volatile gas could be that pumped into any given machine needing a power source.
Harlan was intrigued with the group’s ingenuity. “How difficult was it for you folks to put together enough money to begin this project?”
“It took us three years to find the ‘perfect’ place for our group. Once we discovered this abandoned ten acre tract, we immediately started the purchasing process. It was previously a working farm, but the owners and heirs had died off years before and it just sat here abandoned.”
“You’re glossing it over too much Bill,” his wife interrupted. “It was so difficult finding the right piece of land that we nearly gave up all hope of finding what we needed. Most of the land we looked at was way too expensive for us to even contemplate purchasing.”
She was laughing as she remembered some of their escapades. “Like that place over in the Valley. The owners wanted ten million dollars for it with two million down. It may as well have been a billion dollars because we simply couldn’t afford it. Then the Realtor called us about a month later and asked us if we were interested in taking a look at this place.”
“We made arrangements to spend a couple of days checking it out. We brought our dirt bikes with us and explored every inch of the place. We found it had adequate trees, enough open space to grow food and a very good year round water supply. We had the flow measured and it had enough flow rate to power a small dynamo… but with the regulations in place, we weren’t allowed to install one.”
Roger asked, “What did you do?”
“We bought one anyway and stored it for a later project. The rules have changed somewhat since the war.” That made them all laugh.
“So how were you able to make the purchase in the end?”
“Sally Duncan was a vital asset to the group. She had invested heavily in the stock market before the war began. She didn’t do it as an occupation. She was simply self-taught and learned enough to be on the lookout for distressed sales that were good deals. She acted quickly when the opportunity presented itself. She had the good luck of having amassed a small nest egg and, combined with her other ass
ets, the bank afforded her a decent credit line.”
“She was introduced to Bill and Linda at a community picnic. During this first meeting, they realized they had quite a bit in common. They agreed, in particular, about the way things were shaping up not only in the country but throughout the rest of the world.”
“They talked about politics, terrorism, the nuclear threat that seemed to be hanging over everyone’s head and the dire shape of the economy. One subject that was particularly bothersome to them was the constant wars the U.S. seemed to be engaged in. They exchanged phone numbers and addresses. Later they got together socially at another small event.”
Sally interjected. “When Bill and Linda talked about putting together a compound for future survival, I was very interested. I didn’t have much knowledge about any of this stuff, but I was concerned enough to do a bit of research on the subject. The more I read, the more I wanted to participate.”
“Tell them about how you showed us that the purchase of this place was possible.”
“It was no big trick. I simply suggested we get everyone together who was serious about the project and form a corporation with a board of directors. With a legal commitment from each of us, we formed rules that specified our obligations and our responsibilities. Once we composed the document, each of us submitted a credit report to the board of directors.”
“At that point, we had the power to swing a deal over and above what any single individual could do. We decided as a group that there wouldn’t be any free loaders in our band. We added only those people we felt had the credentials to contribute to the group. It took over a year to get everyone signed on the dotted line.”
“Each of us committed a certain portion of our assets to the corporation, guaranteeing those expenditures the board of directors determined necessary. With that committed to a legal contract between all of us, the deal was sealed.”
“Do you mind telling us how much you paid for the land?” Harlan wasn’t shy about asking, but the question made Greg wince.
“No, we don’t mind… it’s irrelevant now anyway. The bank that held our loan no longer exists. It’s our land and we have a legal set of papers to prove it. We paid a million dollars for what we have here on paper and we’ve invested over two-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars on the improvements. Our total out of pocket split between all of us has come to about four hundred thousand dollars… give or take a few thousand.”
That was impressive information. There was a lot more to see, but Roger and Harlan needed to get going. After the group fed them, they climbed into their gyro copter, started the motor and took off toward Avalon. It was time to get back to see how the battle preparations were coming along.
Their trip had been productive and Doctor Dan, the new Governor of California, would be pleased to hear the news.
Chapter 19
The Battle
MIKE WATCHED THE second hand on his watch sweep toward the exact moment the battle would begin. He had maneuvered his dune buggy toward the front of the entrenched troops, waiting to begin. He was looking through his binoculars out at the large slaver camp. He didn’t see any movement, so he motioned for the others to come closer.
“We’ll head in that direction. Can you see that draw over there below the stand of trees?” They all nodded. “Once we get there, we’ll cut to the right. That should bring us right on top of them. Don’t stop for any reason. If a buggy is disabled, one of us will pick you up. We’ll go in shooting. We cut straight through them and then retreat back this way. We want to piss them off enough to go for the chase. This is the return direction we’ll take.” He pointed to the entrenched troops hiding in wait.
“Try to avoid those boulders. It won’t be easy. If you hit one, it will disable your dune buggy. Mount up and let’s get this done. Good luck.”
They started their engines and Mike’s machine lurched forward. Once he hit the open field, he would cut right and head for the enemy campfires.
The slavers didn’t notice the dune buggies coming until the first shots rang out. The large group quickly came alive, as if someone had swatted a bee hive with a stick. Shots were returned. A cloud of dust rose from the floor of the valley and merged with the smoke from the firing weapons.
Mike and his people were headed straight at the large group of motorcyclists who had their machines parked adjacent to tents and other shelters. There were at least fifty or more campfires burning. The dune buggies swung around and headed in the opposite direction with their throttles wide open.
Slavers jumped on their bikes and charged after them. The thugs didn’t realize they were being led back to the bivouac area where Randy and his people laid in wait. Mike hoped nobody would get trigger happy and fire before the bikers got to the trap. The men on dune buggies would swing left once the trap was sprung and try to cut off retreating slavers.
When Mike and the dune buggies reached Randy’s people, they stopped and waited. The slavers were confident these interlopers would be easy pickings, so they just kept coming. The dust was unbelievable. Mike took out his binoculars and watched the hundreds of dirt bikes coming his way.
“Hold your fire… not yet.”
Suddenly, a large explosion rang out and a large eruption of motorcycles, dirt and rocks flew through the air. The tank was above them near the hospital and had fired on the approaching bikers. Mike winced.
It was too soon.
The machine guns from Randy’s group opened fire and the mortar shells exploded all around them. Mike yelled for the dune buggies to follow him, and they headed toward the right of the oncoming motorcycles. They set up a line of fire at the bottom of the hill which was far enough away from the main ambush to prevent the retreat of those already in the trap.
In the distance, Mike could see more motorcycles coming toward them fast. The slavers didn’t know their pals were in an inescapable trap. Several of the bikers tried to flee but were cut down with rifle fire.
Mike dispatched one of the dune buggies to tell the others to bring the tank down so the big gun could be concentrated on the slaver’s camp. The dune buggy took off throwing dirt and rocks from behind its wheels. Mike and his people pressed the attack and it looked like many of the slavers were throwing their hands up in the air in surrender. The firing continued from his troops and many of those who were attempting to surrender went down in a hail of bullets.
Slasher saw what was happening and realized early on that his people were being slaughtered and there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. The gunfire withered. Several times he heard a bullet zip passed his head. It sounded like an insanely maddened bee racing away into nothingness. His first reaction was to race away toward freedom. But he realized he would be seen and that would tarnish his image forever. Even cutthroats had an honor code.
“It’s another slaughter, Boss! They have better weapons than we do, and our boys are getting ground into hamburger.”
The slaver Lieutenant spoke in short breaths. Bone Breaker needed to go up to the front and see for himself. This was irritating, to say the least. Every time he had the opportunity to fight these ‘farmers’ they cut his people to pieces. Bone Breaker kick-started his Harley and headed for the thick of the battle. Several people followed him. He arrived at the base of the hill that went up toward what appeared to be the main battle group that was firing down on his people. He took out his binoculars and peered through them. A man to his left crumpled when a fifty caliber bullet tore into his head. Another one went down, then another.
Eric looked at his Spotter. “I see a big man that just showed up. I think he’s the slaver leader. Do you see him there on the blue Harley? He’s at the base of that hill… at the twelve o’clock position. Right next to the last two we picked off.”
“I see him. Take the shot!”
Just as Eric was about to squeeze the trigger, the side of the slaver leader’s head exploded into a pile of shredded tissue and bone. He slumped forward with a surprised look on half o
f his face. Bone Breaker fell forward onto the handlebars of his motorcycle as another bullet went through his side. He flinched momentarily and fell off to the ground.
Bone Breaker was dead.
“Was that you?”
“No, it was him. Go left to your nine o’clock. See the guy wearing the red bandana. He still has a rifle at his shoulder.”
Tim shifted the scope to his left and saw the man. He had a wide smile on his face. “He appears to be pleased with his work.”
“He sure does. We need to find out who that guy is.”
Eric called a Soldier named Chester Black over. “Look through Tim’s scope over in that direction.”
The man positioned himself properly. “What am I looking at?”
“Can you see the guy down there with a rifle to his shoulder? The guy with the red bandanna? He’s over there at about the nine o’clock position.”
“I see him.”
“Remember him! I want you to go and point him out to the Admiral. Tell him that he is the guy who just shot and killed the slaver leader. Think you can do that?”
“I sure can, Sergeant.”
“Then do it.”
Chester scrambled down the grade to Mike, who was directing fire at the slavers. “Sir, can you see that man over there with the red bandanna on his head? He’s holding a rifle over his shoulder.”
Mike shifted his gaze from the action toward the man. “I see him. What about it?”
“He just shot and killed the slaver leader.”
Eric’s brother, Lieutenant Chris Bell, was directing fire at the slavers with a number of riflemen at his position. He said something to one of his Sailors and as the man turned to answer him, a bullet tore through the Lieutenant’s throat and blood sprayed all over the young Sailor’s face and chest. Chris slumped over and his eyes dilated. He was dead instantly. The blood soon stopped spurting and merely bubbled out of the wound.
Avalon: Beyond the Retreat (The Avalon Series Book 2) Page 17