He spoke for a few more minutes and then gave the final blessing, and services were over. As people stopped to say a few words with Father Dan at the front door of the church, Tom pulled me aside and told me Mark wanted to talk to us. We found Mark around the side of the church with Billy and Top.
"I just heard from the Colonel. He will be here tonight with 82 soldiers and another 16 dependents. He said don't worry about housing for the dependents tonight; they would all just sleep in the barracks. He also said there has been some military action in Northern Virginia."
Chapter 25
Later that evening we heard a loud rumble, and Mark let us know that was COL Murphy's convoy. Mark's men opened the gate to the outer berm, and a steady stream of vehicles entered. In the lead were several Humvees and an MRAP, followed by two school buses, two semi trucks, four five-ton trucks, a deuce and a half, and finally another MRAP. Every vehicle was towing either a trailer or a fuel tanker. Mark, Tom, and I rode our ATVs out to where people were beginning to get out of trucks and school buses. A soldier about my age jumped out of the lead MRAP. Mark saluted him, and then turned to us. "Denise and Tom, this is COL Murphy, our commander. COL Murphy, this is Denise Armstrong and Tom VanZant, and they are the people who are making this possible for us." The colonel shook our hands, and thanked us for our help. I was surprised by the colonel. I expected someone who was older, crusty, and grizzled, but this colonel had sandy blonde hair, an athletic frame, a twinkle in his green eyes, and smile lines on his face. I thought that was interesting, but good, too. We chatted for a few minutes until another soldier came over and tried to catch the colonel's eye. The colonel saw him and excused himself to give orders to the men to secure all vehicles and then assemble in the field next to where they were parked.
Once the soldiers were lined up, with the dependants forming a small group off to the side, the colonel turned to address them.
"We've had a long and difficult trip to get here, and I know you are all tired. For tonight, we will show you to the barracks so you have a place to sleep. Keep in mind that twenty-two of our fellow team mates have also arrived and are already settled in the barracks. Tomorrow, we will sort out everyone's billeting, and will take care of getting the dependants settled. Our quartermaster has put cases of MREs in each barracks building, as well as jugs of water. Please do not use the bathrooms, as they are not yet working. Instead, latrines have been dug outside of each barracks. Get a good night's rest, and we will see you all at 0630 tomorrow. Dismissed."
After they were dismissed, I was really surprised to see the men walking in an orderly manner through the gate to the inner berm and the barracks buildings. Some of the men who arrived earlier came out of the barracks, and it was good to see old friends greeting each other. There was a lot of handshaking and back slapping!
I invited the Colonel to come back to the house so we could talk in a more private area, and he accepted. I gave him my ATV and hopped onto Tom's ATV behind him. As we rode back to the house, I could see the Colonel looking around approvingly at the barracks, the berms, and all of the other construction.
When we got back to the house, Tom, the colonel, and I sat down in my office to talk. Janet saw us in there, and came in a few minutes later with a tray with cups of tea and some fresh pastries that she made that morning. I introduced Janet and explained her role as chief cook and bottle washer, and she just grinned. She told the Colonel to help himself, and he almost groaned as he bit into the buttery, flaky crust. Janet had a broad smile on her face as she slipped out of the office.
"How in the world are you all managing to live this well? I have not seen anywhere in this country where people are eating regularly and eating stuff like this!" Before I could say anything, Tom jumped in.
"Planning and preparation. We stocked up before the event, and since then, we planned out what we needed to salvage. It is not an accident that we have things good here. It takes a lot of work and especially a lot of teamwork. We've all learned a lot of new skills, and we've sacrificed to be in the position we're in. The important thing is, though, that we share what we have with others, and it seems every time we do that, good things come back to us."
I interrupted Tom and interjected, "Colonel, not to change the subject, but we are starving for information here. Mark told us about the hostage situation with our government, and said there was some action in Northern Virginia. Can you tell us any more than that?" I really needed to know what was going on, and to know how close to us it could get.
"First of all, Denise, my name is Carter. Unless you want me to call you Major all the time, please just call me Carter. Now, the action in Northern Virginia happened when Homeland forces tried to move out of Washington, D.C., into Arlington. I don't know why they thought they could just cross the bridges there, but that is exactly what they tried to do. The Patriots on the Virginia side had already planted explosives on the bridges, and when there were enough troops and vehicles on each bridge, they set off the explosives, all at the same time. The Francis Scott Key Bridge is completely gone. The 14th Street Bridge is also gone. The Arlington Memorial Bridge collapsed in the middle, but at least you can see where the bridge was. I'm sure Homeland will try to repair that bridge. Oh, and the Fenwick Bridge was vaporized.
"I don't think this will slow them down too much – but they lost a lot of troops and equipment when those bridges went down. The really good news is that there is a strong Citizen's Militia in Virginia, too. I have several squads of Rangers who chose to stay and work on strengthening the Virginia and Pennsylvania Militias, providing training and helping them to repel the Homeland forces. I also have several squads here in North Carolina and in South Carolina as well. As they get Militia groups up and running, the Carolina squads will continue to move south, and the Virginia squads will move west, hopefully finding enough civilians, vets, and former law enforcement to rise up and fight off the enemy. Right now, the Pennsylvania militia is holding off the Homeland troops in New York ,and it seems there may be the start of a New York militia helping them, but I worry that if they can break through to Ohio, we could be in trouble. I have a squad of Rangers up there helping to hold that point. Did Mark tell you about the hostage situation with the President, Congress, and Senate?" I nodded that he had. "Good. We have been able to get quite a few congressmen and senators out and have put them into hiding, or maybe protective custody is a better way to put it. We know where the President is being held, and we think we are pretty sure about the Vice President, too. At this point, about 80 percent of the military are on the side of the Patriot Rebellion. That's what we are calling this. The good thing is we were able to rescue most of the Joint Chiefs, and they are raging mad at the people who caused all this. They are helping us get the access we need to coordinate troop movements and equipment. We are still in the process of getting troops where we need them, and when we do, we will begin to rid this country of the scum that are trying to take it over. It will be a rough battle, since there are now about six million UN troops here, but we plan to deplete that number pretty quickly.
"Now, what can we do for you? We are extremely grateful for the barracks, and for everything you are doing to support us. I have one semi truck and several trailers with food stores, and one five-ton truck with MREs. The MREs can be stored for troops going into the field, but the rest of the food is yours, unless you want us to set up our own field kitchen."
I explained to the Colonel – I mean, Carter (boy, old habits die hard!) – that our kitchen crew would welcome any of his cooks to join them, but that we would rather keep all of the food service in one place. I asked him if he would check with his men and see if any of them had any well-digging experience, as we needed to add a few more wells to get running water going again in all areas. He agreed to ask his men and said that Mark had already talked to him about some of his men helping on scavanging runs to salvage as many supplies as possible, and he thought that was a good idea.
I asked him about the dependents he
had with him, and he said of the sixteen, seven are wives and nine are children. Only three of the kids are actual dependants; the other six are orphans they picked up along the way. He wasn't sure of the exact ages, but said they were all probably between 10 and 14. I told him about our youth dormitory, and said if they had not already bonded with some of the troops, they were welcome to stay in the dorm.
Tom cleared his throat, and said, "Carter, by the way, I have the guys moving a couple of RVs over next to your barracks. The solar for the barracks will also power the RVs. I thought you and the other officers needed a private place to stay and where you could hold private meetings with your staff."
Carter smiled, and thanked Tom profusely for being so considerate. We chatted for a few more minutes, until Carter stood up and said he needed to get back to his troops. "Can you come meet the troops tomorrow morning? Say around 9? Oh, and we will have troops outside the inner berm on security patrols from now on. Mark says you all have inner security down to a fine art. Tomorrow after meeting the troops, we can meet and set up some protocols for how you want us to handle things." With that, he shook our hands again and headed back to the barracks.
Tom looked at me and shook his head. "He's not what I remember colonels to be like from my Army days!" I smiled and agreed with him. This colonel was different than my experience, too, but in a good way. For the first time since all of this started, that little voice of foreboding in the back of my head settled down a bit to let a ray of hope in.
◆◆◆
The next morning, Tom and I walked over to the barracks area. We found lots of activities going on. The troops all had their personal belongings lined up outside the barracks. Teams of troops were unloading boxes and crates from the school buses. One of the semi trucks was parked off to the side of the barracks with its back doors open. There were boxes and crates stacked along the semi, as well, and it looked like the men were unloading the semi, too. I saw Mark directing a few troops to install a high fence on top of the outer berm. There was a group of dependents who were sitting on the ground away from all the activity, and it looked like they were going through their packs.
"Denise! Tom! Over here!" We turned to the sound of the voice and saw Carter coming out of Tom's RV with a coffee cup in his hand. We walked over towards him and he waved us into the RV. "It feels awkward inviting you into your own RV! Good morning!"
Tom climbed into the RV after Carter, and remarked "You've got quite the activity going on here this morning! I'm impressed at how industrious everyone seems to be! What's going on with the semi?"
"We have one semi loaded with food that I sent over to your kitchen this morning. The semi by the barracks is going to be our weapons storage. We loaded so fast that other than food, things got mixed up and placed on different vehicles. Once the semi is unloaded, we are going to dig a spot for the trailer and then cover it with dirt to give it some protection. Then, we'll reload it with some better organization so we can get to the things we need in a hurry." He took a sip of his coffee, and then looked at us and said, "I'm glad you both are here. Let me call Mark so he can be in on this meeting." He pulled a small radio off his belt and directed Mark to come to the RV.
"While we are waiting for him, can I offer you both some coffee or tea?" Tom and I both declined as we took the proferred seats at the dinette table. Carter thanked Tom again for letting him use the RV. He said he had the best night's sleep in a long time last night, and he was very grateful.
"I've been out walking around your compound since early morning, and I have to tell you I am incredibly impressed with what you all have accomplished here. I want to be absolutely certain that anything we do will not interfere with what you are doing. I figure it will take a week or two to get the troops settled, and then we will begin our guerilla operations."
I was a little puzzled about their guerilla operations, and told that to Carter. "If Homeland is surrounded by the Pennsylvania and Virginia operations, why would you want to do guerilla stuff here in Western North Carolina?"
"That is a great question. It seems that Homeland, over the years, infiltrated small groups of fighters throughout the midwest – kind of like terrorist sleeper cells. While all of the main forces are on the east coast, these little cells are getting active, sabotaging infrastructure. We believe these cells were responsible for much of the so-called terrorist acts that kicked off this whole charade. Our primary job is to go out and eliminate these cells, hopefully before much more damage can be done. Our secondary job is to provide support to the communities where the cells have created damage. While we are doing this, we will be looking for other communities like yours that we can support and hopefully help grow. In addition, though, Homeland also is trying to establish a base of operations in southern Florida. So far, they have had difficulty landing supplies and troops thanks to the naval blockade by the Patriot Navy – that is, elements of the US Navy that are on our side in all of this. We need to be sure we are ready to repel them if they are able to get their foot in the door down there."
I nodded my head thoughtfully. That sounded like a very worthy plan. I still had one more question, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer. I asked anyway. "Do you have any idea what the casualty count has been so far, and what is anticipated?"
Carter suddenly looked sad. "We estimate that so far, we've lost more than two thirds of our population. The initial rioting took out a lot; the terror acts took out a lot more. Then, when the grid failed, everyone who needed electricity to stay alive, like people in hospitals and nursing homes, people who needed oxygen, dialysis, chemotherapy, or even some simple surgeries would have been next to go. This was a bitterly cold winter, and with many homes across the country without heat, water, or food, many more would have died. There will continue to be casualties as a result of the cells and the actions of the Homeland forces, and finally, illness from poor hygiene, sanitation, and nutrition will take a fair number of victims. I say two thirds now, but by the end of the year, I expect we will be closer to a ninety-percent casualty rate."
I shook my head. That was unbelievable that we could have lost so many people so quickly, and for what? A power coup on the part of the far left politicians who did not want America to be what the founding fathers wanted it to be? That just makes me mad. If they didn't like this country the way it was, why didn't they just leave? I knew the answer to that – if they left and went to a country that truly was a socialist state, they couldn't have all the little perks that they have here, and that just wouldn't do. They wanted to have their cake and eat it, too. They were surrounded by body guards with guns, yet they didn't want the average citizen to be able to defend himself. They made millions, yet thought they could speak for the rest of us middle-class people. Suddenly, I heard Tom calling my name, and realized I had tuned them out while I was thinking. I apologized, and Carter smiled and continued what he was saying.
"First order of business is well-diggers. I have several men who have helped drill wells on their own property, and one who worked for a well-digging company operating the drill. Now all we need is the equipment, and we will be good to go. Two of Mark's men took the well-digging team into town to see if they could find equipment to do the job. When they get back, hopefully they will have everything we need to get some wells dug. Tom tells me everything is plumbed, and we just need to hook up the water. That is amazing. We take things like running water and flush toilets for granted, but it will sure be a treat to have both again!"
Just then, Mark entered the RV with a notepad and pen in hand. After greeting everyone, he asked what he'd missed. "Nothing yet. I was just telling Tom and Denise about our good fortune with people who know how to drill wells. Now, let's talk about billeting our troops and dependents. Let's start with the dependents. Do you have room for the six kids in your youth dormitory? If so, I'd like to get them settled over there. I have seven troops with wives, and two of those troops have kids. Mark tells me that you have several garden apartments that are emp
ty. Can we give one apartment to the soldier with his wife and two kids and one to the soldier with a wife and one child – his wife is expecting, by the way – and then, let the other five wives each have a room in another two apartments? That way, they will have a place to stay and will have room for the husbands when they are not gone on assignments. If any of those married couples then has kids, we will help build another garden apartment building, if that is OK with you. Since the barracks hold sixty people each, and with my men plus the twenty two who are already in the barracks, that gives me one hundred and four men. I would like to split them over all three barracks. That way, as we pick up additional troops, they can be integrated into our existing unit rather than being isolated by themselves. I find that makes for better teamwork and integrates new people faster. I did keep the eight marines together, though. I thought that would make them happy, since they've been together a long time."
I thought that was a good idea and said so. "Do you think you will find a lot more troops willing to join you?"
Carter replied, "I hope that if we can't recruit current military, we can recruit civilians, veterans, and anyone else who wants to join us. I suspect that before too long, we will probably have to build a female barracks, too."
I chuckled and told him I thought he was being optomistic, and that was a really good thing. I then asked him to give us an idea of what his troop missions would be. After all, if we are going to have a partnership with this man and his troops, I wanted to know what they would be doing.
Premonitions (Book 1): The Farm Page 27