Jayden hurriedly dropped his bags and came back to Dreya. She was a wreck and clung to his side the whole morning. Katrina left them alone and waved to James as she walked to her father’s office. The Sgt. Major, Senior Chief Dillon, and Major Sprague were sipping coffee as they sat around the room.
Natalie Sprague brought in a tray of muffins which she placed on the center desk. The men nodded to her politely before reaching hungrily for the plate.
“Take one too Katrina,” Natalie laughed. “Hurry, before they are gone.”
Katrina smiled and shook her head no as she leaned back against the far wall. She watched her father grab another muffin. The crumbs from the last one still decorated his chin.
Gunny Drake walked into the room and looked longingly at the muffin tray. “Take one,” Natalie said as she carried the plate over to him.
“Thank you, ma’am.” The Gunnery Sgt. grabbed two. “We are just about ready.” The men and Natalie made their way out the door.
Katrina waited quietly against the wall while her dad drained his coffee cup. They walked together in silence down the hall.
“So,” Sgt. Major Floyd said as they rounded the corner, “You are okay with not coming with us?”
“I am Dad,” Katrina looked at Natalie kissing her husband goodbye. “My mission is here this time.”
He nodded. “You take care of this place for us. And Katrina, if anything happens while I am gone, you know where to go?”
“Yes,” Katrina smiled. “Hurry back and stay safe.”
“I always do.” He grabbed his daughter in a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. “I love you. See you later.”
“See you later Daddy.” They both looked over at James who stood alone in the parking lot waiting for her.
“Go say goodbye to your friend,” her dad sighed. “He looks like a lost puppy just standing there.”
Katrina crossed her arms. “I do have a birthday coming up soon, you know.”
“We’ll see,” the Sgt. Major grumbled as he walked away.
James’ eyes lit up as Katrina approached. “I thought I’d have to leave without saying goodbye.”
“It’s never goodbye.” Katrina held his hand. “Always see you later.”
James nodded and leaned down to kiss her. “Don’t miss me too much,” he whispered.
“I’ll try not to,” she winked.
Gunny Drake called for the troops to load up on the buses. James held Katrina’s hand a second longer and she smiled as she kissed his cheek again.
“Stay safe,” she whispered as he reluctantly pulled away.
“I’m ready,” Dreya said as she walked over to Katrina. She watched the line of mixed camouflage as they piled onto the buses.
“You sure you don’t want to stay?” Katrina asked.
Dreya wiped her eyes. “No. It’s better now. I cried my tears and now it is time to go.”
Katrina walked with her friend into the building. I’ll deal with my tears later, she thought. Just not today.
Chapter 13
Katrina scratched at the burnt oatmeal which coated the bottom of the steel pot. She tried soaking it while she washed the other dishes, but they were already done, and the gunk still hadn’t loosened. Now she was chipping away at it with a long handled metal spatula and cursing her fate.
It had been a week since the troops left. The radio call last night was cryptic, but they were safe. From what the COMS guy could decode, they hadn’t made it to Washington yet. There was a skeleton crew still operating on base, mostly made up of light duty or injured members. Mia relentlessly grumbled about being left behind. Her ankle was doing much better.
With the two major tanks and most of the aircraft gone, Katrina spent the week helping the mechanics repair the remaining vehicles not fit for duty. Regular maintenance on some, total head scratching on others. She chose to help the mechanics because the shop was far away from the hospital and the school. The two places where Rose and Dreya would sucker her into working with them.
Katrina scraped the final bit of oatmeal out and washed the pot for the tenth time before placing it on the drying rack. At least I won that battle, she huffed to herself. She took off her gloves and went to change out of her wet clothes.
Mia had just finished mopping the cafeteria when Katrina walked out of the kitchen. “Don’t you dare walk on my clean floors,” Mia lectured. Katrina couldn’t find a dry exit, so she put rags under her shoes and glided past the tables which made Mia giggle. “Where are you off to today?” she asked as she put up the mop bucket.
“They are working on this old tank, trying to get it running again. I have no clue what I’m doing but I bring parts.”
“Oh, please let me come with you,” Mia begged. “Dreya is doing her hospital shift and I just know she will make me change bedpans.”
*
The tank was an older M1A1 Abram that wouldn’t drive anymore. The mechanics had the engine in pieces trying to figure out what was wrong. The cannon still worked though, so Mia decided to name the tank Gunny.
“It kind of looks like Gunny Drake too,” one of the mechanics laughed. “Dirty, old, and bulky. Just don’t tell him I said that.”
Mia and Katrina brought the requested tools and tried to learn all they could about Gunny. The day grew late with no real progress. The girls left the shop and headed back to the cafeteria to catch up with Dreya and Rose.
*
“You know we could use you both at the hospital,” Dreya said as they sat down with their trays of food. “With most of the medics gone on this mission, the hospital is severely understaffed. There are still like sixty inhouse patients and we are running out of supplies. It would be helpful to have some extra hands.” Dreya pushed her mystery meat around on her tray before nibbling on a cracker.
Katrina and Mia looked at each other. “We can go get supplies,” Katrina offered as she swallowed her food.
“Oh God yes,” Mia laughed. “We can do a supply run. What do you need us to get?”
Dreya shook her head. “Everything close by has already been raided. It’s too risky to leave now anyway. We will be fine until they get back and you can go then. For now, I thought you might like to help where you are needed.”
“I just said that I’d help.” Mia put her hand dramatically over her heart as she looked to her sister. “But you said you didn’t want it. You ask for too many things, don’t be greedy.” Dreya glared at her as Mia hurriedly finished her dinner.
*
The girls had nothing to do that Saturday, so they walked over to Natalie’s house. Natalie was baking cookies for the holiday party that the school was hosting in a few days. She gave them all jobs to do. Katrina ate more than she decorated.
“You know your teeth are blue,” Dreya said laughing at her. Katrina stretched her lips over her teeth to hide the evidence which caused everyone in the kitchen to double over in laughter. When they finished wrapping the trays, they sat on Natalie’s back porch to watch the sun set.
“The school for the younger kids is running pretty well now,” Natalie said. “Most of the teens are either fighting or working though, and they don’t want to come to class.”
Dreya put a pillow across her lap. “I don’t think there is much else to learn right now other than how to survive or be useful. School seems kind of pointless when no one is hiring you for your degree.”
“Well what happens when we finish rebuilding? Maybe you’ll wish you had that degree then,” Natalie said.
“If that happens in our lifetime then I will go to night school,” Katrina smirked.
“I’m already 18.” Dreya shook her head sadly. “Let’s just keep teaching the little ones and hopefully they won’t have to make this decision when they get to be our age.”
All five of them silently watched the colors change across the sky.
“You know what?” Natalie whispered. The girls turned to look at her. “Katrina baked cookies today and she didn’t die.” They al
l burst out laughing again and Katrina crossed her arms.
“Technically,” she said above the noise, “I didn’t bake anything. I just helped decorate and taste test.”
At the end of the night, Natalie made the girls promise to come back in two weeks so they could help bake treats for the returning troops. Her friends giggled and teased Katrina all the way back to the barracks room.
Chapter 14
The water in the brook rolled gracefully over the slick rocks. Purples, silver, glittering browns. The colors were deceiving. Once they were dry, the stones would be the same colored dull rocks as the ones on the shore.
She stepped barefoot into the stream and felt the sandy earth shift between her toes. The birds were singing above her. Through the mist, she saw James peek out from behind a tree. She tried to walk forward but the bottom of the brook was pulling her in.
Don’t panic. Quick sand. It’s worse when you move.
She looked back to where James was to tell him that she needed a stick, but he was gone. The birds overhead began to screech louder, almost like a…
Katrina bolted awake to the sound of the base sirens blasting. It was still dark, and she frantically looked around the room. The siren was unrelenting. An emergency? She shook her head. An attack. Shit.
Katrina jumped out of bed. She hastily put on her shoes and grabbed her jacket before running down the hall to Mia and Dreya’s room. She threw open the door and saw the sisters tying their own shoes.
“What is it?” Dreya’s eyes were red as she fought through the fog of sleep.
“Someone is attacking the base. Mia, is your gear still packed?” Katrina asked calmly.
Mia nodded and grabbed her bag from the wall locker. Rose met them in the hallway and the girls took off running out of the barracks building.
Military members were rushing through the streets and jumping into vehicles. In the distance, Katrina could see the lights of the few remaining helicopters starting to take off from the airfield. The machine guns from the Cobras were firing at the incoming planes.
Katrina reached out and grabbed a Staff Sergeant who was heading to a van. “What do we need to do?” she asked as she stared into his eyes.
“What does it look like kid?” he yelled. “We need to fight.” He pushed her hand away and paused as he saw the girls behind her. “Get them out of here,” he hurriedly whispered. “I don’t think this is going to turn out well.”
Mia thrust her pack into Katrina’s arms. “I’m coming with you Staff Sergeant.,” she said.
“Can you fly?” he asked, eyeing her skeptically.
“No, but I can shoot.”
“Mia!” Dreya screamed after her sister.
“There isn’t time Dreya,” Mia yelled back over her shoulder. “We have to do something.”
Dreya clasped a hand over her mouth. “The hospital,” she cried. “How are they going to evacuate them?” Before Katrina could answer, Dreya and Rose took off running down the hill.
The sky was lined with approaching aircraft. She counted at least twenty and more were still coming over the mountains. Katrina watched the steady stream of personally owned vehicles leaving the base in a long line. She knew they should be leaving too.
The base was seriously undermanned. They won’t have enough fire power. They weren’t going to survive this. She took a deep breath and forgot years of training in self-preservation as she ran down the hill to help Dreya.
*
The doors to the hospital were flung open and staff rushed from the building. Dr. C was on the first floor directing some Corpsmen on which ambulatory patients could leave in vehicles.
“Oh, Katrina,” Dr. C cried out when she saw her. “You’re alright!”
“What do you need us to do?” Katrina asked as she and Dreya rushed to her side.
“We have to transport so many. They have to be in a hospital. They won’t make it if…” her voice trailed off as she looked outside.
“Okay,” Katrina nodded. “Where can we transport them to?”
Another officer walked over to Dr. C. “There is a base in Arizona that we have control of. They might be able to make the flight there, but we don’t have enough medevac helicopters. We’ve been trying to radio the airfield to see if they can get us a transport helicopter, but we can’t get through.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Katrina ran to the emergency room.
The Corpsman gave Katrina the keys to an ambulance.
“We should stick together,” Katrina said to Dreya as she jumped into the driver’s seat.
Dreya shook her head. “I’m going to get the patients ready for transport. Bring us back a helicopter.” Katrina nodded as she slammed the door and drove toward the airfield.
This is stupid. Katrina clenched her teeth as her hands tightly gripped the wheel. Why do we need to risk dying for this? Bases are targets. Military is a target. Why are we putting ourselves in the middle of this? Katrina’s eyes burned and she blinked to clear them.
Focus. We have to help. If not us, then who? People talk all the time, but no one actually steps up to the plate. Yeah, but do you want to die for this? Katrina pushed the thought away as she pressed the gas pedal harder. At least it will be a memorable death, she laughed to herself. That is if anyone is around to remember it.
The enemy was being held back by the firing Cobras, but a Huey broke through, dropping a Zuni rocket on the building to Katrina’s right. Debris flew into the road and Katrina swerved to avoid it. A blazing fire erupted in her sideview mirror as she drove even faster.
The ambulance tires screeched as she slammed on the breaks. There were two Ospreys left on the ground. Good, Katrina thought. I only need one. She raced across the landing strip, her heart pounding in her chest.
The Staff Sgt. from outside the barracks was yelling at the men to get inside the helicopter.
“Staff Sergeant!” Katrina yelled as she grabbed his arm once again. “We need the second helicopter. The hospital still has patients that need to be airlifted.” The coldness melted from the man’s eyes for a brief second and Katrina knew she had him. “Please,” she begged. “They need our help. We just need one.”
The Staff Sgt. looked at the last van of his men that were pulling up behind them. “Load up,” he yelled as they piled out of the vehicle. “It’s going to be a tight squeeze. Drop whatever weight you can.” The troops began moving cargo off the plane.
“Thank you,” Katrina gushed in relief. They both turned to the sound of a plane crashing in the desert. The sun had fully risen and the dust cloud from the explosion instantly filled the sky.
“Enemy down,” the Staff Sgt. chuckled as he ushered the remaining men into the aircraft.
“Will we win?” Katrina worriedly looked at the man’s face.
The Staff Sgt. pointed over the mountains at the ten more helicopters moving in. “No,” he said in a flat voice. “They must have taken the coast of Southern California. Those planes are out of Miramar Air Base. God knows how they survived the blast unless those government bastards moved them ahead of time. A shit ton more are coming.”
“Where will you go?” Katrina asked as she watched the firefight crisscross the sky.
“They’ll head for Barstow next probably, in order to get the supplies. We will head them off there to mount a defense.”
“That’s on the way to Washington.” Katrina’s eyes filled with hope. “Will the deployed troops be able to meet you?”
“I sure hope so kid. I’ll radio them when we get there.” He ushered the last man into the helicopter and ran to tell the pilot of the second Osprey that the hospital needed him. The pilot nodded and took off toward the medical landing pad.
“I’ll buy you some time,” the Staff Sgt. shouted to Katrina. “But you need to get out of here like I told you earlier. Once we can’t hold them back, they’ll burn the vehicles and bomb the remaining buildings.”
“Thank you,” Katrina shouted back. “Hey and if you see Sgt. M
ajor Floyd, tell him his daughter remembers the day she was born.”
The Staff Sgt. looked confused, but he agreed. “Good luck to you kid.”
The helicopter engine started, and Katrina ran back to the ambulance. She drove down the road in a hurry. One of their Cobras crashed in the field to her side. It was so close that Katrina watched a blade fly across the road. Without thinking, she jerked the steering wheel to take the vehicle through the desert.
The ambulance bounced over the uneven terrain until she reached the crash site. Katrina saw the nose end of the Cobra smashed and crumpled into the dirt. She jumped out of the vehicle and rushed to the pilot. He was dead. The plane couldn’t have fallen from that high, Katrina thought as she stepped back to take in the damage.
Out of nowhere, a figure came running out from behind the crash while screaming. Katrina turned, ready to fight, and she saw the person run up and kick the warped metal of the aircraft.
“Ouch!” Mia cried out, holding her newly healed foot. “My God, that hurt so much!”
Tears welled in Katrina’s eyes as laughter bubbled in her throat. “Mia.” She grabbed the girl’s shoulders. “Were you in that plane?”
“Was I in it?” Mia cried with tears streaming down her face. “I was shooting from it! I took one of the government’s planes down.”
“I saw,” Katrina said gasping. “Do you know how lucky you are right now?”
“I don’t feel lucky,” Mia cried. “I got shot down. My pilot is dead. And I hurt my freaking ankle again.”
“Oh my gosh girl,” Katrina said as she half carried her to the ambulance. “You are such a trip.”
Mia stopped to wipe the snot from her nose as she stared at the vehicle. “Why are you driving an ambulance?”
“Just get in,” Katrina laughed as she helped the girl into the passenger seat. “We have to go help your sister at the hospital.”
Chapter 15
Mia bounced around in the seat as Katrina maneuvered the ambulance back to the road. The enemy dropped more rockets, destroying the vehicles next to the mechanic shop.
Project Dandelion: Resistance Page 6