by Mark Goodwin
When they arrived at the checkpoint, Stan introduced himself and said, “It’s an honor to have you here. Please sit and eat your meal. I’ll talk while you eat.”
Adam nodded and sat down at the picnic table just off the road.
Stan continued, “We weren’t an organized militia before the crash. We all know each other through work, church, relatives and such. Most of us are from Pikeville and didn’t get involved until after it was occupied. We all know people who are still in Pikeville. We got out as soon as DHS started rolling in there. They have the roads blocked now. There ain’t no gettin’ out for those who are still there.”
“Who are you taking orders from?” Adam continued working on the MRE menu number twenty, spaghetti with meat sauce, while they chatted.
“The Kentucky National Guard,” Stan responded. “Can we give you a lift somewhere?”
“I’d love a ride home. My wife is probably worried sick.” Adam dropped his head as he thought about having to tell his brother’s widow, Shelly, the bad news.
“Sure thing, brother,” Stan arranged for Charlie and Pete to drive Adam home. “You guys take it slow. If you see any trouble, come on back and we’ll figure something out,” Stan said as they entered the truck.
CHAPTER 3
“Let us consider, brethren, we are struggling for our best birthrights and inheritance, which being infringed, renders all our blessings precarious in their enjoyments, and, consequently trifling in their value. Let us disappoint the Men who are raising themselves on the ruin of this Country. Let us convince every invader of our freedom, that we will be as free as the constitution our fathers recognized, will justify.”
-Samuel Adams
Unlike Adam, Justin Clemens and Gary Brewer kept their battle rifles and full militia gear for their return home. They were more than 100 miles from London, Kentucky.
“What’s your call?” Justin deferred to the older and wiser man.
“We’re not far from Prestonsburg, we could walk there and try to get a ride or get a message through, but I don’t trust anyone right now,” Gary replied.
“It’ll be a long walk without any provisions,” Justin commented.
“I have a sister in Hazard. That’s about fifty miles from here. We can forage for acorns and wild garlic for two days. There’s fresh water all along the way. But this is a group decision,” Gary said.
Justin approved Gary’s plan. “I think that sounds like a plan. I agree. I don’t know who to trust. I wouldn’t want to just walk up to anyone. I’ve got no identification or anything to use as currency besides my gun.”
Gary shook his head. “Same here. Let’s start heading west. That should run us straight into State Road 80. We can follow the tree line most of the way to Hazard.”
They stopped by the small stream at the bottom of the hill to fill their canteens. They hadn’t planned on being gone more than twelve hours, so they had no means of purification. “I’d rather take the small risk of getting something from the water than the greater risk of getting dehydrated,” Gary said.
Justin replied, “I guess the moral of this story is to at least have some water-purification tablets when you go out on a mission. They weigh practically nothing and don’t take up much room.”
Gary said, “I just had a thought. What if we used the Betadine swabs from our IFAKs?”
The militia all carried an Individual First Aid Kit for all combat missions. The kits held an Israeli Battle Dressing or IBD, an ACS chest seal, Quickclot and an assortment of other first aid supplies. Among the supplies were Betadine swabs for disinfecting wounds.
“I don’t know,” Justin said. “It’s iodine. It’s the same ingredient as water-purification tablets. I just don’t know what else might be added in there.”
“If it was poisonous, I don’t suppose you could clean an open wound with it,” Gary said.
“That sounds logical,” Justin replied. “You try it first, and if you die, I’ll tell everyone not to use Betadine to purify water.”
Gary punched Justin in the arm. “Smart aleck.”
They both laughed, filled their canteens and put two of the swabs in each of their canteens. The two men walked several miles through the woods.
Gary broke the silence. “We should’ve ran into the road by now.”
“I wish I had my phone for GPS,” Justin replied.
Gary said, “DHS would probably have us by now if you had your phone. If it’s pinging a GPS satellite then they can find you.”
“That’s true,” Justin declared. He put his hand up for Gary to stop. He pointed in front of them and whispered, “Deer.”
Gary shook his head. “That’s a big buck.”
Justin looked at Gary as if he were asking for permission.
Gary said, “I’m hungry too, but we can’t take the chance of being heard when we take the shot. We don’t know how far we are from Pikeville. We could be around the corner from a DHS outpost.”
Justin shook his head in agreement and continued the march toward home. Soon, they arrived at a paved road that ran north and south.
“Should we follow this road?” Justin asked.
“I’d say we should,” Gary answered. “Question is, do we go north or south. Home is south, but so is Pikeville. And it’s infested with DHS grunts.”
Justin recommended, “Why don’t we stay back off the road and follow it south, at least ‘til we see signs of trouble. If we spot any DHS vehicles, we’ll turn around.”
Gary patted Justin on the back. “I’ll second that motion, soldier.”
Justin smiled and they followed the road south from the cover of the brush. Not long after, they came to a crossroad.
Gary looked at the signs. “US 23 south runs straight into Pikeville. I’m pretty sure it’ll hit State Road 80 if we take it north.”
“North it is,” Justin replied.
A few hundred feet down the road, they hit a bridge that crossed the Levisa Fork River. “I think we should run across this bridge one at a time,” Gary said. “There’s no cover on the bridge and no other way across the river. If a patrol rolls up while one of us is crossing, whoever is still in cover can give the person crossing some suppressive fire.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Justin agreed.
Gary continued, “Keep in mind, this road is probably a regular thoroughfare for DHS. So, if it’s more than one patrol vehicle, don’t engage. If we’re drastically outnumbered, we’ll have a better chance of surviving if we just run for it.”
Justin nodded his approval and the two men approached the bridge.
“You cross first,” Gary scanned both directions and said, “Go!”
Justin shot across the bridge at breakneck speed.
Gary shook his head and muttered to himself, “Oh, to be that young again.” Once Justin was safely in the cover of the roadside brush, Gary made his crossing. He ran as fast as his knees would carry him. Gary caught his breath and the two men resumed their trek.
They hit their desired course, State Road 80 southbound, in only thirty minutes. The two men soon discovered a meadow on the side of the road.
“There’s a pond over there in that meadow. Let’s go check for cattails.” Gary was hopeful.
“Okay,” Justin concurred.
“Did you ever eat cattail?” Gary asked.
“No,” Justin answered.
Gary explained, “Most of the plant is edible. The roots have a lot of starch which can give us some energy to get us home. You just chew the starch out of the root and spit out the fiber. It’s a little too rough to digest. I doubt they will have any of the big flower spikes this early in the season. If they did, they could be roasted and eaten like corn on the cob. We can still peel them and eat the tops as well. It’s a little like cucumber.”
The two walked to the pond. “Sure enough, those are cattails,” Gary proclaimed. The duo collected as many cattails as they could. They peeled the tops and ate them raw. They bound the roots into bunches and st
uffed them into their pockets to eat later.
As the sun began to get low, they scouted out a remote campsite. “We should be sure to make camp far enough from the road to have a small fire. These cattail roots will be much tastier if we roast them.” Gary said.
“I think we’d be safe on the other side of that hill.” Justin pointed to a knoll in the direction they were traveling. They continued on to the proposed area and built a lean-to shelter out of branches and debris from the forest floor.
They roasted the roots for their dinner. “We have about twenty miles to go, ‘til we hit Hazard,” Gary said.
“We’ll make it.” Justin chewed the root he had just toasted. They took turns sleeping and keeping watch.
CHAPTER 4
“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
-Psalm 27:14
Karen Bair and the rest of the girls sat somberly at Adam and Janice Bair’s home. Adam’s two daughters, Mandy and Carissa, sat close to their mother. They seemed to fear losing the whereabouts of yet another parent. Shelly, the young bride of Wesley Bair, said, “I know we can’t call, but couldn’t two of us drive over to Lt. Joe’s and see if he knows anything?”
“I agree with Shelly,” said Rene, Justin Clemens’s wife. “I’ll ride over there with her. Joe knows me. Justin and I stayed at his house for a couple days after we left West Virginia.”
“Adam was very specific,” Janice protested. “He said we shouldn’t leave until they return.”
“What if they don’t return?” Shelly asked. “How long should we sit here? We can’t just sit here forever. I need to know what happened to my husband.”
“If something went wrong, we need to know,” Rene said. “If there’s trouble, we might need to bug out. DHS went house to house, searching homes, seizing weapons and locking up people they considered a threat in Huntington. If they do the same thing here, we need to be ready.”
Karen, Matt’s wife, chimed in, “I think Rene has a point. If there is trouble, it wouldn’t be good for us to all be here in one place.”
Janice finally agreed. “Shelly, you and Rene run over to Joe’s and see what he’s heard. Don’t hang out. We need to know, also.”
“We’ll be right back.” Shelly went to grab Wesley’s AR-15 and put on her coat.
Janice asked, “Rene, do you have a gun?”
“I have a pistol,” she answered.
“Can you shoot a rifle?” Janice inquired.
“Yes,” Rene replied confidently.
Janice went to get Adam’s AR-15 for Rene. The two young women buttoned up their coats and headed for the door. Carissa, Adam’s youngest started to cry. “Don’t leave, Aunt Shelly! Don’t leave!”
“I’ll be right back, sweetie. I promise.” Shelly hugged the little girl.
“Come sit next to me, Carissa,” Karen called.
Carissa sat by Karen with tears still streaming down her face. Adam’s two girls stopped asking when he would be home hours ago. The anxiety of not knowing if the men were still alive was worse than getting the news of their deaths.
Shelly and Rene started the truck and sped off. After the girls left, Janice said, “I’m going to make some tea. Will you have some with me?”
“Yes, please,” Karen replied. Neither of them said anything. Karen knew if twelve-year-old Mandy and eight-year-old Carissa weren’t there, she and Janice would be speculating on what had happened to the men. No good could come of letting their minds make up scenarios, so it was best that they just wait it out.
An hour passed and the sound of a truck pulling in the drive was heard by all. The two young girls were the first to run to the window. “It’s Shelly and Rene,” Mandy alerted.
The two girls came in and Shelly briefed the group on what they had learned from Lt. Joe. “Their team set up an ambush outside of Pikeville. They had information on a supply convoy coming through a narrow pass and over a bridge. Their team was positioned all around the ambush site. The supply convoy never arrived. Instead, attack helicopters showed up and federal troops surrounded all of the militia positions. Lt. Joe says he thinks it was a trap. Everyone ran in different directions and they’ve kept radio silence since the reverse ambush. Adam made contact with a militia checkpoint on the Kentucky-Virginia border. He’s getting a ride back. No one else has made contact yet.”
Janice began to cry. “Thank you, Jesus.” The tears ran down her cheek.
“Daddy’s okay?” Carissa looked at her mother.
“Daddy’s okay.” Janice pulled her youngest daughter close.
“So they’re probably all coming back. They’re just laying low and moving slowly,” Karen added.
“Joe didn’t have any more details. He wouldn’t make any assumptions. I hope that’s true,” Shelly said.
The little bit of positive news lifted the spirit of the whole room. The girls’ conversation was much livelier than it had been only an hour ago.
Twenty minutes passed and the sun was getting low. The sound of a vehicle pulling in the drive got everyone’s attention. They all ran to the window this time.
“It’s them!” Rene exclaimed.
As the truck drew closer, it became obvious that only three men were in the truck.
“I wonder who isn’t with them?” Karen’s heart almost stopped.
Adam jumped out of the truck and it began to pull away.
“Where are they going?” Rene asked.
“It’s only Adam. Those must’ve been the men who gave him a ride from the checkpoint,” Shelly deduced.
Adam came in and Janice hugged him to the point that he had trouble getting a full breath. Carissa and Mandy joined in the embrace.
Karen was the first to ask, “Where’s Matt and the others?”
Adam answered slowly, “We had to split up and ditch our radios so we couldn’t be tracked. Everyone bugged out to the woods. The others may be home later tonight or in the next few days. It depends on where they bugged out to and how they chose to get home.”
“So everyone survived the attack?” Shelly asked.
Adam looked at Shelly, then immediately dropped his head and started sobbing.
“NO!” Shelly screamed in defiance. “NO!” she screamed again. This time it was filled with anger. “No,” she said again, as if she was pleading for Adam to tell her it wasn’t so. Her final “No” was barely distinguishable from her sobs.
Janice was the first to grab Shelly and hold her. Rene and Karen just looked at Adam. They peered at him in the way two convicts might look at a judge as they awaited their sentence.
“And Matt?” Karen asked.
“What about Justin?” Rene pleaded.
Adam looked up and wiped his face. “The last I heard when we went dark, they were together and still alive.”
Karen’s heart sank to her stomach. This was worse than before. Only moments ago, she was sure she would be reunited with her life-long beau. Then, Matt wasn’t in the truck. Now, she was back to not knowing if he was alive or dead. The excitement and disappointment left her drained. She sat on the couch and the tears began to flow.
Adam fought back the tears as he took Shelly’s hand. “Wesley loved you with every ounce of his being. I want you to know that you’ll always, always have a home here with us. You’re my sister, and we’re your family.”
Shelly kept crying, but hugged Adam. She had no living family. The last time Shelly saw her parents was at her and Wesley’s wedding. She never heard from her parents again after that. Most folks assumed they were murdered on their way home to Louisville. After the collapse, police were all but non-existent and the cities were war zones.
Adam regained his composure and gave everyone the best details he could. Karen listened, but each word left her feeling like she knew less than before it was spoken.
Karen said, “I have to go home. It’s getting dark and I haven’t been home to feed the cat all day. Miss Mae is probably starving.”
Janice said, “W
hy don’t you bring her back over here. You can stay here tonight.”
“I’ll be alright,” Karen said. She almost resented Janice because Adam was alive. She knew she shouldn’t, but she just couldn’t help it. An hour ago, they were all sisters bound by circumstance. Now, Janice’s husband was alive and safe. Even Shelly had a definite answer, not that Karen was in a hurry to be in her shoes.
“I’ll go home with you,” Rene said. Karen and Matt were letting Rene and Justin stay with them. They had fled the occupation of West Virginia by DHS.
“Alright, let’s go. Goodnight all,” Karen said.
Everyone wished them goodnight and they headed home. On the way back, neither Karen nor Rene spoke.
Once they arrived home, Karen said, “We have to stay positive. We have to hope for the best.”
Rene nodded her head in agreement as she petted the cat. “Do you want to play Rummy? Justin and I used to play it a lot. It might keep our minds off of things.”
“Okay, but you’ll have to refresh my memory on how to play,” Karen agreed. “I don’t think I can go to sleep for a while.”
Rene went to get her deck of playing cards. It was one of the few possessions she still owned. When they left West Virginia, she and Justin came with two backpacks and the clothes on their backs. Karen considered how much more trying it must have been for Rene. Although, Karen’s worldly possessions were not comforting her much in the time being. The card game did lighten their mood and took their minds off the situation enough to eventually get sleepy.
When Karen put her head on the pillow, the anxiety gave way to sorrow and the tears began to flow. “God, please watch over my husband, wherever he is. Please let him be alive and please bring him home to me.” She continued to pray and cry until she slipped into an unconscious rest.
CHAPTER 5
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow.”