“Okay, Dad. I’ll do what you ask.” Katrina moved toward the doors. “Do I want to ask what this is about?”
“No.” Sgt. Major Floyd put his reading glasses back on. “Have a good time tonight sweetheart.”
Katrina watched her father’s face again in the lamplight. She thought of all the doomsday conversations they had while she was growing up. This request almost sounded normal. Always prepared, it’s what made him worry less. She shook her head as she opened the door.
“Hey Dad,” she said softly as she looked back at him. “Get some sleep please. You need a break.”
The Sgt. Major grunted in response.
*
The teens grabbed their jackets. Cpl. Boulder was waiting out front in the duty van. He drove them off base and past the abandoned buildings surrounding the main strip. The van turned off on a side road and headed up a steep hill.
“Close your eyes,” Katrina told her friends as they entered the park. “I want you to be surprised when you get there.” She kept checking to see if anyone looked as the van bumped along the dirt roads that led to their destination. At the highest peak, Cpl. Boulder pulled into the lower parking lot and turned off the engine.
“Alright,” Katrina laughed. “You can open your eyes now.” She zipped her coat up before climbing out of the van. The wind was blowing crisp on top of the mountain. Katrina led her friends up the short walkway which ended at the vantage point.
The moon shone full on the desert below them. During the day, the remnants of the grey ash blown into the desert brown dirt made the earth look sickly. At night, with the moon shining, the barren landscape looked as clean as fresh fallen snow.
“That’s the Salton Sea,” Katrina pointed to the vast area of cracked earth. “And this,” she said turning her eyes skyward. “This is how the heavens look.”
The night sky stretched out across the world. Millions of stars pierced through the black and flickered their lights subtly. The full moon had a misty halo encircling it and wisps of clouds danced over the glow. Her friends were silent as they stared in awe.
“This is amazing,” Mia finally whispered. She laid down on the sidewalk and put her arms behind her head to stare at the sky. Dreya laid beside her sister and pulled Jayden down too as she sat. Rose and Leroy walked further down the path. James motioned to Katrina and they headed to the bench.
“Not too far,” Boulder said as he leaned against the railing.
Katrina gave him an exaggerated thumbs up as James said, “Yes Corporal.”
She pulled her feet underneath her on the bench and huddled deeper into her jacket. “Well we are off base and alone-ish.” She turned to him. “What do you want to talk about?”
James put the palm of his hand against her face. It was warm despite the cold breeze and Katrina turned toward it. “You know I love you right?” he said.
“You’ve told me that,” Katrina smiled.
“The other day at the range it was…” James struggled to find the word. “It was hard for me to imagine that we were in a dangerous situation together. I kept thinking how best to protect you and not how best to do my job. I don’t like the idea of you being out there.”
Katrina pushed his hand away. “Excuse me? How is that my fault? That sounds like your problem. You need to get out of your own head and focus on the mission.”
“Katrina,” James spoke her name painfully. “It isn’t fair. I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt and you are punishing me for it.”
Her voice rose as she put her feet on the ground. “Again, not my problem. I didn’t like the idea of you getting hurt, but I had to get over it. Now it’s your turn to do the same.”
“Is that what this is then?” he asked. “Some kind of lesson that you want to teach me.”
“No,” Katrina yelled in frustration. “This isn’t about you at all. I just need to do something, anything so I’m not sitting around waiting while everyone else has a purpose.”
“But you do have a purpose,” James said softly.
“What?” Katrina snapped. “Washing dishes and baking cookies.”
“You’re my purpose.” James winked. Katrina quickly stood up and he grabbed her hand. “Don’t leave,” he pleaded with her. “We can work this out.”
“There is nothing to work out,” Katrina said coldly. “If I want to fight, I am going to fight. You can stay home if you don’t want to see it.”
“Please,” James begged as he stared into her eyes. Cpl. Boulder interrupted the moment with his deep chested laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Katrina turned to him as she crossed her arms.
“It’s no use kid,” he said to James with the laughter still etching his voice. “I went through this same fight a million times with Catherine. She is going to do what she is going to do. Might as well suck it up now and learn how to cope.”
Katrina’s arms dropped to her sides. “Oh my gosh, I am such a jerk,” she whispered. “I forgot about your wife. Do you know where she is?”
Cpl. Boulder looked up at the sky. “Not really. She was on a ship somewhere when the bombs went off. We haven’t made contact with it yet, but I’m sure she is still out there somewhere. It’d take a lot to bring her down.” Boulder smiled to himself and then he looked back to Katrina. “You saw the stars. Time to get back to the real world.”
“Five more minutes?” Mia whined as she sat up from the sidewalk.
“Negative, kid. Limp yourself back to the van. That’s an order.”
James held Katrina’s hand as they walked to the vehicle. She laid her head against his shoulder and he stared out the window the whole drive home. When the van stopped, he kissed her forehead and went up to his room without saying a word.
He’ll just have to get over it, Katrina thought as she walked the stairwell to her own room. She pushed away the feelings of guilt as she climbed into bed.
Chapter 9
“Be careful when you jump off the ramp,” Mia cautioned her as they stood on the tarmac. Katrina wore the girl’s uniform. It was too big for either of them, but Mia had softened it by washing so it was no longer uncomfortable. Katrina dropped her pack in the pile of bags and smiled at her friend.
The Sgt. Major called formation and Katrina jogged over to stand in line.
“Today we go to liberate the kids from Shelter 17. These kids formed their own rebellion and tried to escape. Unluckily for them, the new government had a replacement unit arrive as they overtook the compound and the kids were overrun. What do you think men? Should we go help the rebels escape again and send some fascists to hell?” The ground shook with the vibrations from the various “rahs” and “hooyahs” sounding from the troops. The Sgt. Major smiled. “Let’s go get them.”
Three Ospreys and two AH-1 Cobras took off from the airfield and chugged through the early morning sky. Katrina’s unit consisted of four Army enlisted, a female Navy officer, a Corpsman, and three junior Marines. They sat packed into the Osprey with the other units. Her father and James were in the lead helicopter. They would be the first to touch down.
Her Kevlar hung low on her forehead and the flak jacket weighted down her chest. She focused on her breathing as the fear began to course through her body. Closing her eyes, she visualized the plan.
The two Cobras would remain in flight to cover the troops on the ground. Two of the Ospreys would land quickly, right after one another, and the troops would move fast on the guards. The plan was to attack quickly before the guards ran down to the shelter and bolted themselves in. If that happened, Senior Chief Dillon would lead his explosives team to blow down the doors.
Smooth and fast. Easy on paper. Katrina watched the third Osprey break away from the formation and wait. The third helicopter was designated as the medical and transport vessel. It was mostly empty and could hold up to 30 people. Its job was to wait until called down. She took a steadying breath. This meant they were close.
The Navy Ensign touched Katrina’s shoulder and motio
ned for her to go last as the bird began to descend. The first helicopter landed, and the troops went running with their rifles pointed at the tent structure which sat above the shelter. Her helicopter touched down gracefully and she followed the officer’s line out of the back.
Katrina’s feet touched the ground and her pulse began to race. Mind on the mission, she told herself. Except, as the helicopter took off, she looked briefly around for her dad and James.
The sound of bullets being fired from her left pulled her back to the moment. She pointed her rifle toward the direction of the shooting and began to fire. There was a barricade built into the desert sand where some of the guards had taken refuge behind. They were firing rapidly at the incoming troops.
Katrina’s unit moved behind one of the trucks and fired back at the barricade until the Cobra flew overhead. The gunner unleashed the 20mm. The shooting from the left stopped and Katrina’s unit moved forward again.
The troops stormed the tent structure, moving carefully through the partitions and clearing each area. Katrina heard the men shouting to one another but she heard no more weapons being fired. She finally saw her dad as the Sgt. Major made his way down Tunnel 1 into the shelter. James looked to Katrina and whistled. She caught his eye as he moved with his unit down Tunnel 3. Calm washed over her, and she followed her own unit as they moved to the medical area.
“Don’t shoot,” Dr. C. knelt in the dirt with her hands in the air.
“Traitor,” the Ensign spat as she came up to her. Dr. C’s face flushed, and she turned her head to the ground.
“She’s not,” Katrina stepped up next to Dr. C and turned to face the Ensign. “She is one of the good ones, ma’am. She helped us escape.”
Dr. C looked up and smiled ear to ear as she heard Katrina’s voice. “Oh sweetheart,” she cried. “I’m so glad you are okay.”
“Get her back to the landing zone,” the Ensign commanded.
“Wait.” Dr. C turned to Katrina. “It’s a trap. The kids are in the desert with a group of armed guards. The shelter is rigged.”
A scream caught in Katrina’s throat as she took off running toward the tunnels.
“Floyd!” the Ensign shouted. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“It’s a trap!” Katrina yelled back and she saw Dr. C begin to fill the officer in.
“Dad,” Katrina cried as she ran down Tunnel 1. The last man had just entered the doorway and she pulled him back. He turned with his weapon raised but relaxed as she shoved him against the dirt wall, screaming for her father. The Sgt. Major had just walked through the door to the hallway across the room when he stopped at the sound of his daughter.
“It’s a trap Dad,” she yelled. “They aren’t in here.” Sgt. Major Floyd nodded once and walked back into the room. She saw fear briefly flick across his face before the hard lines of his eyes replaced it. Katrina breathed in a moment of relief before absolute panic set in.
James.
Katrina took off running through the room and back up the tunnel. The Sgt. Major was ordering her to stop but the blood pounding in her ears blocked him out. When she came to the surface, she saw the Ensign and Corpsman from her unit pulling out the men from Tunnel 3.
She froze in her tracks. Her heart was in her throat as her eyes searched wildly for James. The men that had been pulled from the tunnel were on their knees and coughing. She forced herself to move closer, step by step as she looked at each dirty face on the ground. She couldn’t find him.
Her heart raced even faster, and she felt nauseous. He is in there. Katrina’s mind spun with incoherent thoughts. Not there. Not that tunnel. I should have run here first. But my dad. Please God, don’t let him die in that stupid room.
One of the Army soldiers from her unit pulled her back by the shoulder. She hadn’t realized that she was stepping closer to the tunnel. Katrina looked at the hand on her arm. His wedding ring was beaten and scuffed, so dull it didn’t shine, but he wore it still.
She turned back to see James pulling the last man up the steps and her heart leaped out of her chest. Resisting the urge to throw off her Kevlar and run to him, she stayed back with the waiting soldiers from her unit.
The Corpsman rushed to help the fallen man he was carrying, and James turned to find Katrina. His lip curled into a slight smile. “Don’t go down there. It’s a mess.” Katrina burst out laughing despite the circumstances and the Sgt. Major gave her a quizzical look as he approached the group.
“You men alright?” Gunny Drake barked at the coughing troops sitting on the ground.
Katrina hadn’t noticed Dr. C attending to the injured men until the woman rose to address the Gunnery Sgt. “Over that dune.” She pointed west. “The guards are hiding with the kids. They’ve been planning this for a while. When they heard the helicopters coming, they ran.”
“Sgt. Major.” Gunny Drake looked over the horizon. “They can’t see us from there. We have the element of surprise.”
Sgt. Major Floyd nodded and directed the radio operator to send the Cobra to that location. The firing was rapid and the words “all clear” crackled back over the line.
Gunny Drake split up the troops to surround the area where the teens were being held. In Katrina’s unit, one of the Marines hotwired a truck and drove the vehicle slowly across the open desert as the rest of their team walked behind the cover. There was no firing from either side and they safely reached the dune.
Katrina saw the bodies of the guards laying spread out around the desert floor. The dandelion kids stood in a huddle further away. A tall blond girl was pulling at the ropes, breaking the teens free. Katrina smiled as she recognized Becca.
She started to run and almost tripped over the body of a fallen guard. Looking down, she recognized the face of Lt. Bayer. Huh, I guess I did see you again, she thought in passing. But you didn’t see me. I think I expected something more dramatic from you. Guess real life isn’t like the movies.
Katrina kept running to the group of kids and removed her helmet. Becca screamed in joy when she saw her, and the girls quickly worked to cut the rest of the ties. Willow was crying as Katrina freed her wrists and she awkwardly hugged her over the flak jacket.
“I knew you’d come back.” Ethan smiled to Katrina as he put his arm around Willow. All the helicopters landed so the troops and refugees could get on board. Katrina pulled Becca over to her unit and introduced her to the Ensign. The rest of the kids were freed, and the Corpsmen ushered them to the waiting helicopter.
“Hang on a second,” Katrina told her team as she jogged over to her father. She whispered into his ear. He nodded and stood up straight.
“Not those three.” Sgt. Major Floyd pointed at Lark, Anthony, and Brett.
“What do you want us to do with them?” A Marine asked as he put his hand on his rifle.
“Leave them here.” Sgt. Major Floyd directed.
Anthony and Brett glared at Lark as he cried out, “You can’t be serious!”
Katrina smiled with cold eyes as she shrugged. “I guess it is good to have friends in high places. That’s the only thing you’ve been right about so far.” The cloud of dust the helicopters kicked out during takeoff absorbed the three boys and made them disappear.
Katrina watched the sky as they made their way back to base. The flak jacket no longer felt as heavy on her chest.
Chapter 10
The sun was setting as the helicopters came into the airfield to land. The gold of the sun’s rays smashing into reddish pink clouds looked more vibrant than Katrina ever remembered seeing. The helicopters touched down and she felt giddy as she ran out to stand in formation. She barely heard her father’s voice as the Sgt. Major dismissed the troops. The minute he said “fallout”, she searched the faces to find where James was standing.
Katrina caught him looking for her and they instantly ran to one another. In the middle of the chaos, he grabbed her easily around her waist and flak jacket. He lifted her in the air, and she tried to wrap her legs ar
ound him as he spun her in a circle. They both laughed. Then she grabbed the sides of his face and leaned in to kiss him.
“The Sgt. Major is coming, bro.” Jayden punched James in the shoulder. Katrina groaned as she let go and jumped down from James’ embrace. Dreya ran up to hug Jayden with Mia hobbling close behind her. She turned to smile at Katrina.
“How was it?” Mia asked as she reached the group.
“You didn’t miss much,” Katrina told her, “but look who we found.” She pointed toward the Osprey where the rest of the dandelion kids were standing uncomfortably as they waited to be told what was going to happen to them. Dreya cried out as she saw them there and the five friends ran over to greet them all.
Becca turned and laughed with tears in her eyes as Dreya embraced her. Ethan shook James and Jayden’s hands, his free arm draped protectively over Willow’s shoulders. Willow was crying incoherently but kept saying “thank you”.
“I’m so glad you guys didn’t ditch us for good,” Becca laughed. “It’s like a dream. I can’t believe it’s over. But…” She looked around. “Where the heck are we?”
Dreya smiled at her. “I’ll fill you in on all the details later. First, let’s get you guys some real food.”
“No more MRE’s?” Laura raised an eyebrow.
“No more,” Mia promised.
“Katrina!” the Sgt. Major called from across the tarmac. She turned to see her father pointing to the administrative office as he stared at her.
Nodding, she turned to her friends. “Um, guys. I’ve got to go. I think I’m in trouble.”
*
“Want to tell me why you disregarded my no hero rule?” Sgt. Major Floyd calmly asked after Katrina closed the door to his office behind her.
Katrina shrugged. “I wasn’t trying to be a hero. I just reacted.”
“If you want to fight with us you need to learn to follow orders.”
She glared at the Sgt. Major. “You’re welcome for saving your life Dad.” Katrina folded her arms across her chest.
Project Dandelion: Resistance Page 4