American Reset (The Economic Collapse Chronicles)

by Mark Goodwin

  Karen was alarmed. “How did she get hit? I thought you were just watching the roads outside of town.”

  Matt said, “Yeah, we were, but some of the Federal troops made a run for it and we had to engage them. We’re on the National Guard’s radio. We just wanted to tell you all that we’re fine. I love you, see you tonight.”

  Karen’s voice came back over the radio. “I love you, too. Be safe and hurry home.”

  Adam took one minute to say hello to his two daughters then signed off.

  They returned to the chow tent where a colonel was debriefing Gary and Justin. Adam filled in a few more details when he arrived. He told the colonel about the four men that got away.

  “They won’t last long out there. The National Guard will keep guards around the city until Pikeville can reform their militia and police department. You fellas did a great job. Y’all stay as long as you like. When you get ready to leave, stop by the fuel truck. Give the man this gas voucher and he’ll fill up your tank.

  An hour later, Doc found the men in the chow tent. He got a plate of food and sat down with them. “Shelly is out of surgery and resting. She’ll have to stay for a couple days. I’m going to stay here and help out. I’ll keep an eye on Shelly as well. You guys head on back and I’ll call Lt. Joe and keep everyone updated on when we’ll be coming back.”

  Adam nodded, “Do you need anything from us?”

  Doc said, “They’re short on medics. They’ve assigned me a tent, given me clothes. They’re making me feel right at home.”

  Matt said, “Don’t get too comfortable. We need you back at Fort Bair eventually.”

  Doc said, “Thank you very much. And thank you for the hospitality, but this is my calling. If they have a place for me, I may stick around a while. You know I’ll come visit though.”

  Matt felt a pang of sadness for a moment. He had been through a lot with Doc. They had kept each other sane in the work camp. “Okay, but if it doesn’t work out, you’ll always have a place to lay your head.”

  The men said their farewells and headed out.

  CHAPTER 41

  “We owe our unceasing gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, who safely carried us through our arduous struggle for freedom.”

  -Samuel Adams

  The next morning Shelly lay on her bed after Doc finished changing her bandages. She noticed a young pilot walking through the recovery room and talking with some of the injured. He walked past her bed and glanced. He turned back around and walked over to her. She couldn’t help but notice that he was an attractive young man.

  “We’d never let anyone as pretty as you get shot in Texas,” he said.

  Shelly rolled her eyes and tried to fight back the smile. It didn’t work. Soon her face was glowing red. “I didn’t get shot. It was shrapnel from an F-16’s missile that hit me.”

  The pilot’s facial expression changed rapidly. A look of horror overtook the light-hearted smile. “No! Really?”

  Shelly laughed. “I’m kidding.”

  “I’d hate to see what you’re like when you’re not injured. My name is Ryan,” the pilot said.

  Shelly felt a sliver of guilt as she replied, “I’m Shelly.”

  What could it hurt? The pilot was just being friendly. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. Wesley had only been dead for a month, though. It was too soon to even look at a boy the way she was looking at Ryan. But this guy looked familiar.

  “Wait, what’s your last name?” she quizzed.

  “Randall,” the pilot answered.

  “No way!” she said. “Big fan of your dad’s. My whole family is a big fan. Well, the people I call my family anyway.”

  “Thanks,” Ryan said. “What do you mean by ‘the people you call your family?’”

  Shelly had the perfect out. She explained everything. She told Ryan about Wesley and how she had no other family besides Wesley’s now.

  Ryan said, “I’m sure Wesley was very brave. All of your family sound like real patriots. And, you know, that’s what family is. It’s not necessarily who you’re born to, but it’s the people you share your life with. I’d love to meet them some time. I’ll be back in Kentucky in a couple of months. Would it be possible to stop in and meet them?”

  Shelly couldn’t see the harm in that. After all, Adam and Matt were such fans of Paul Randall, who was she to deny them the opportunity to meet Ryan? “I suppose that would be okay.” She gave him the address.

  Ryan put his hand on Shelly’s and her heart jumped. “Get well soon. It was very nice meeting you, Shelly.”

  “Likewise.” Shelly didn’t feel so bad. After all, she couldn’t help it if it felt nice to be noticed. Ryan seemed to get the message as well. She wasn’t trying to say “No.” She was just trying to say, “Not now.”

  Back at Fort Bair, Rene relieved Matt and Mandy from their post at noon. After the raid on Pikeville, the post near the road was the only post being manned. The observation post on top of the work shed was decommissioned for now. The men were rotating the late-night and early-morning shifts, and the women were taking the day shifts.

  Matt returned to camp with the newest member of the security team. Karen was preparing lunch for everyone who was hungry.

  Karen said to Matt, “I hope you’ll be able to manage your post alone next week, Mandy will be starting school with me.”

  Mandy spoke up, “We’re having school? Where?”

  “Right here,” Karen said. “At least for now. Once things settle down, we’ll try to move it to the church.”

  “Who’s coming?” Mandy asked.

  Karen replied, “A few other kids from church. I’m sure it’ll grow in time.”

  Mandy asked, “Are Alison and Tammy going to be coming?”

  Karen replied, “I spoke with Alison’s mom on the radio. She’ll be attending. I’ll probably see Tammy’s mom at church this weekend. I’m sure she’ll want to come.”

  Mandy said, “That’s great. Since the collapse, I hardly ever see my friends.”

  Matt said, “Things will start getting back to normal. It will be a slow process, and things will never be the way they were before, but things will be getting better. In fact, I think it will be much better.”

  Lt. Joe wandered out to the picnic table for lunch. “Matt, you’ve got a fella on the radio who wants to talk to you. Says he’s in Florida.”

  Matt asked, “Frank?”

  Joe replied, “Yeah, Frank. You better hurry up though. I might eat my lunch and yours, too.”

  Mandy and Carissa both chuckled at Joe’s comment. His sense of humor did a lot to keep things light around the camp.

  Matt shook his head. “I’ll run you out of Kentucky if you eat my food.”

  “I’d like to see you try,” the lieutenant joked.

  Matt proceeded to the office which was now set up as the communications room. He picked up the mic. “Frank?”

  “Hey man,” Frank said.

  Matt said, “Wow, it’s good to hear your voice. So you made it. Are the blockades coming down? Have you heard anything?”

  Frank said, “I’m sure things have been rough all over, but you wouldn’t believe what it was like down here when they cordoned off Florida. Yes, the barricades came down. After D.C. fell, most of the troops abandoned their posts. The gangs in Jacksonville broke through the barricades into Georgia. They’ve pretty much cleaned out Florida, so they needed new territory.

  “By the grace of God, my family is fine. Most others around here have lost someone. Disease, starvation and attacks from the gangs have thinned out the population around here. I’m sure it’s much worse in the population centers. You did the right thing by getting out of here when you could. Your buddy, Jack, didn’t make it. Our community was hit by a gang out of Jacksonville. He was shot and killed in the firefight. He took two in the chest. He didn’t suffer.”

  Matt was stunned. “What about Tina?”

  Frank said, “She’s in bad shape. She never really snapped out
of it after their ordeal of trying to make it up here from South Florida. After Jack died, she really took a turn for the worse. She doesn’t talk, hardly eats. I doubt she’ll make it much longer. We give her food, shelter and everything she needs, but she has no hope.”

  Matt inquired, “Don’t you have church services in your community?”

  Frank shot back, “Bro, who are you talking to? I lead a Bible study at my house every Wednesday night. We have a worship service every Sunday morning here. I’ve tried to talk to her, but she’s hung up on the opinion that if there was a God, he wouldn’t let all of this happen. I’ve explained how Deuteronomy 28 actually says all of this stuff will happen when a nation turns its back on God. I told her the fact that all of this happened is proof that the Bible is true and that there is a God. But at the end of the day, people choose what they want to believe. We’re all free moral agents.

  “Enough about me. How is your family?”

  Matt proceeded to tell Frank about his capture and rescue, Wesley’s death and all the other trials they had faced. Then he asked, “Would you consider moving up here?”

  Frank replied, “Once the militia can reorganize, we’ll get these gangs under control and Florida won’t be a bad place to be. The current population is a fraction of what it was before. We’ve got fresh water, lots of good farm land and you know how nice it is down here in the winter.”

  Matt inquired, “Do you think Florida will join the Coalition?”

  Frank said, “Most folks around here felt abandoned. We understand that Randall’s plate was full without having to lend us a hand, but I think we’ll be trying to do things on our own for a while. I’m sure we’ll want a good relationship with the Coalition. We’ll be happy to establish free trade and that sort of thing, but we made it on our own this far.”

  Matt agreed, “That’s understandable.”

  The two men finished their conversation and bid each other farewell.

  Matt returned to lunch where everyone else was finishing up.

  Lt. Joe said, “Karen made sure I left you something to eat.”

  Matt shook his head and made himself a plate. “As soon as the borders are secured, I’m going to make rebuilding your cabin a priority. You’re too mean to keep around here, Joe.”

  Justin finished his meal but was still sitting at the table next to Matt. “Rene and I are heading out next week. We’re going up to Louisa. All of the former West Virginia Militia are meeting up there. They’re petitioning the Coalition for support to retake Huntington. Once we take Huntington, we’ll have momentum to clear out the rest of the state.”

  Matt inquired, “You’re taking Rene? She would be more than welcome to stay here.”

  Justin smiled. “I know. I told her that, but she’s determined.”

  Matt slapped him on the shoulder. “I’d go, too, but Doc says my fighting days are over. I’m a little past my prime.”

  Justin said, “You’ve done your share. And I’ll never forget what you’ve done for Rene and me. You gave us a home and kept us well-fed.”

  “It’s been our pleasure to help out,” Matt said.

  Justin added, “I think Adam is coming. He said he’s depending on you and Gary to keep an eye on things around here. The crops are already starting to come in. Hopefully we’ll have West Virginia settled in time to come back and give you a hand with harvesting and canning. You know I’ll always be available to help out with anything.”

  Matt said, “Thanks.”

  Matt finished his meal. He looked around at his home that had been transformed into a military base. It had seemed like such a hardship at the time, but now everyone would be leaving. Once the borders were established, Gary and Debbie would be returning to their home. Adam’s family would be going back to their farm. Lt. Joe would have a new cabin up on his property by Wood Creek Lake and Doc seemed to have found his calling as a military physician.

  He and Karen had come to see Justin and Rene as family. The house would seem empty without them. Soon it would be just Karen and himself. And Miss Mae, of course.

  CHAPTER 42

  “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

  -2 Chronicles 7:14

  Six months after the attack on Washington, D.C. the political landscape of the former United States transformed immensely. Paul Randall was elected as the President of the American Coalition. While the states within the Coalition still held their sovereignty, they pledged mutual defense to one another. They adopted the original Constitution with an enhanced Bill of Rights. The enhanced amendments would attempt to safeguard against the injustices that had grown out of the oversized Federal government. Attempts to pass laws which violated the Bill of Rights in word or principle were deemed to be treason and punishable by death. This measure would cause every lawmaker to carefully consider the peril of their very lives before proposing a law that could be construed as unconstitutional. After the final count, the Coalition States would come to consist of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia.

  The northwestern states solidified a confederation that was based on the original US Articles of Confederation. Those states included Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas and Northern Colorado. Utah later petitioned to join the confederation as did Nebraska.

  New Mexico and Southern Colorado formed the Southwestern Union. The majority of residents in several counties of Arizona pushed to join the Southwestern Union, but others vehemently objected. The schism resulted in a mini-civil war within Arizona. Borders were regularly redrawn with the sovereign state of Arizona losing more and more ground to the Southwestern Union. The Southwestern Union formed strong trade and mutual defense treaties with Mexico which helped to squeeze the remaining holdouts in Arizona.

  Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama retained all the laws of the former United States as they had stood before the collapse. The strong Federal government of those states came to be known as the Southern United States of America.

  The cities of the northeast were completely unrecognizable. The United Nations sent in massive humanitarian aid as well as UN peacekeepers. They established a foothold in the Northeast and began to push toward the West. They eventually held all of the Northeast except for New Hampshire. They took control of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. The UN claimed authority over New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, but insurgents regularly attacked UN installations killing UN peacekeepers and looting supplies. The insurgents were decentralized fighters made up of freedom fighters, independent militias and large street gangs that migrated out of the population centers. Each geographic region had its own group dynamic. There were also freedom fighters in upstate New York, but most were eventually pushed out by the UN and forced to migrate to the Coalition or join other factions to continue the battle against the United Nations.

  The UN took control of the states they deemed to be war-torn disaster areas and stated that they were there to foster democracy and help the states return to prosperity. Technocrats from the UN Security Council were appointed over those states as governors. Democratic elections were promised to those states, but never came to pass.

  Virginia was a battlefield for many months. The eastern portion of the state, like Delaware and Maryland, was decimated by the nuclear fallout from the attack on Washington D.C. The western portion of the state was hotly contested ground in a fight between local militia and a consortium of private military contractors that sought to rule the land. The private military group that came to be known as Dark Horse eventually took possession of the state. It was ruled by a council of three men who came from the three largest defense contractor firms that made up Dark Horse. They represented Black Water, KBR and DynCorp. The UN recognized Virginia as a corporate state and regularly employed Dark H
orse in fighting insurgent cells within UN-held territories.

  Florida and Alaska both remained independent nations. Both maintained very good trade relations with the Northwest Confederation, the American Coalition and the Southern United States.

  China established military bases all along the west coast, Nevada and Hawaii. The official narrative was that it was a humanitarian effort, but the fact that the Chinese flag flew all along those regions told a different story. The Chinese established hard military borders that extended from the southeastern border of California, up the eastern border of Nevada and down the middle of Oregon and Washington. They now held complete control of the west coast of the former United States. The region was soon recognized by the UN as a territory of China known as the People’s Republic of Western America.

  This fragmented arrangement of the former United States created new tensions along the borders of the new nations and territories. The ideologies that were so close geographically were worlds apart philosophically. Still, these borders were respected and the policy of live and let live was observed by all; at least for the time being.

  Matt sat on the porch next to his wife and breathed in the cool November evening air. He contemplated the dramatic events that had made so many changes in the population and borders of what he had always known as America. Karen took Matt’s hand and placed it on her slightly rounded stomach. Matt took comfort in knowing that what was left of his country would be a free land to raise his child.

  His child would grow up free to worship God, free to speak, free to carry a gun, free from warrantless searches and invasions of personal effects. His child would be born a free citizen of Kentucky who would never see the effects of inflation from a central bank which steals the wealth of its people through criminal devaluation of the currency. His child would use silver and gold as money and currency. His child would keep the fruits of his labor, free from state and Federal income tax. His child would own the land passed by Matt and Karen without threat of seizure by property or death taxes. Matt and Karen’s child would live under a Federal government constrained to the necessary evils it could commit on the limited budget of what it collected through tariffs. The revenues extracted by taxing imports would have to be enough for the Federal government to perform the minimal tasks of protecting borders, enforcing contracts and very little else. Kentucky would be constrained to the revenues collected through a state sales tax. This would fund the state militia, roads and a handful of government salaries.