Calls To Arms_A Story of the Imminent Collapse

by Sn. Frank Bates

  "So, what's the score between you and Nurse Janette?" Joseph teased him trying to change the subject.

  "You know what she meant to me. I've been feeling the same ever since I met her. It's just that I had to give up our relationship to find myself again after my folks died." Steve smiled.

  "Well, I want you to know that I'm happy for the both of you. I think you've matured so much?" Joseph tapped Steve's shoulder, and they laughed.

  "How's my car? It was sweet of you to bring her here." Steve teased back.

  "Shut up. I repaired and cleaned it, do you want to see?" Joseph asked.

  "Maybe tomorrow. You should get some rest. I know you're on duty." Steve replied. He wanted to help in the hospital, but he has a lot of work to do on the farm. Joseph asked him if he can monitor Grandpa's condition while Sheriff Katcher hasn't found out about his profession. Then Colonel Eaton also assigned him and Nurse Janette to take care of their hostages.

  "He should be super tired," Steve muttered to himself and smirked when he saw Joseph’s walkie-talkie over the dining table beside his cup.

  He was about to clean their mugs when the he hit Joseph’s radio then it hardly fell on the floor. It got whacked and turned into pieces when he saw a small blinking rectangular chip that isn't supposed to be on any radio, and the blinking red light looked suspicious. He wondered if he should show it to the Colonel, but he decided to ask Joseph first. It's the only person that he trusts in the house aside from Nurse Janette.

  Early morning, Steve immediately knocked on Joseph's room. He opened the door and saw Maxine and their kids asleep.

  "Hey." Joseph greeted while rubbing his eyes.

  "Hey. I wanted to see the car. Can you go with me?" Steve asked, but he looked straightly in his eyes. Joseph knew that Steve wanted to spill something, so he quickly changed his sleeping clothes. They walked fast at the back of the farm near where the cars were parked.

  "We're far now, what is it that you want to talk?" Joseph asked without hesitation.

  "How many radios do you have in here?" Steve questioned. Joseph stopped for a while and tried to recall.

  "One for me, Walter, Captain Ellis, Finley, dad and another extra. That would be six. Why?" Joseph answered.

  "Do you still have them all?"

  "Yes, we still use it. Why?"

  "Can you give them all to me?"

  "Okay, you're getting weird." Joseph got pissed because Steve wasn't giving reasons.

  "I saw this in your radio when I accidentally dropped it." Steve handed out the chip that was still blinking from his pocket.

  "What's that?" Joseph had no idea.

  "I don't know, but I'm guessing it's a hacking chip. It was somehow the same with the chip the Marauders used when they attacked Los Angeles. Remember? When they tied a bomb on the Governor's body? They showed it on TV." Steve explained.

  "Yea, but it's still blinking. Is it working?"

  "I don't think so. It won't work if not connected to a device, but we have to destroy all of it."

  "It must be the three Marauders that were hiding on the grass and in the barn. We thought that the radios got broke before their attack, so we put it inside the barn. The next day, the walkie-talkies were working." Joseph remembered the day he got surprised that radios suddenly worked.

  Captain Ellis came back to the farm to convey Walter and to fetch Joseph for his hospital service. Steve explained what he found out about the chip and Joseph connected it with the three Marauders that were hiding inside their perimeter a few days ago. They gathered the five radios and opened their bases then everyone got surprised to see five blinking chips. The Marauders hacked their communications, and it was the reason why they easily intercepted their every move.

  "Should we break it?" Steve asked.

  "Or we can use it to our advantage." Captain Ellis suggested.

  "How?" Tony asked.

  "We keep them and use it as bait. We can send false messages to capture Big Ira. We kill him then we end the war. We have to get to the root to kill the leaves." Captain Ellis explained.

  "Great idea. We need to plan accurately," Finley answered, and it was the first time that both of them agreed on a thing.

  "I guess I'll leave it to you." Captain Ellis smiled, and they both nodded.

  "It's safe that we keep it to this group. We don't know who to trust out there. For the meantime, we retain on our everyday duties while I get more information through our hostages." Colonel Eaton suggested.

  Colonel Eaton interrogated the hostages inside the barn together with Captain Finley, Tony, Steve, and Walter. The Colonel asked them if where was Big Ira, but nobody wanted to talk. A man in his middle twenties, one of the hostages, said that they'd rather die than spill out the truth. Colonel Eaton looked at Captain Finley then nod. All of a sudden, Captain Finley stabbed the foot of another hostage. The guy shouted in pain, as a thirteen-year-old boy immediately ran towards him.

  "Please don't hurt my father!" The boy blocked the guy and spread his arm.

  "I'll tell everything I know." He added. The guy tried to stop his son, but he insisted.

  "Follow me." Colonel Eaton said then they went to Grandpa's room as per his request. Grandpa requested if he can know the details from the Marauders.

  "What's your name?" Grandpa asked the boy.

  "Carter, sir."

  "Tell us everything you know. Remember we want the truth." Colonel Eaton ordered.

  "We were just civilians when Marauders captured our family a few days after Senator Forbes died. They moved in the town and knew that my father is a policeman, so they added them to the group. Big Ira also wanted me to work with them, but Father insisted. Then they threatened the lives of my Mother and Sister." Carter confessed to Grandpa Carmichael and Colonel Eaton.

  "Where is Big Ira?" Grandpa Carmichael asked.

  "They've been hiding in our farm. Four miles of north from here."

  "Why do you keep on attacking this farm?" Grandpa Carmichael interrogated Carter, but he stopped for a moment before answering.

  "Big Ira believed that a large chest containing golds has been on your farm."

  "A chest of what?" Grandpa Carmichael can't believe what he heard.

  "Golds that could make him the wealthiest man on the planet. He said that it was his father's fortune, but your father stole it." Carter said to Grandpa, but he had no idea about the chest of golds.

  "Tell me more." Grandpa Carmichael said.

  "Big Ira's father and yours were partners in the Army back in the days. On a mission against a group of rebels, they found that chest of gold. Big Ira's father was about to steal it to provide his family a better life, but your father stopped him. They fought until Great Carmichael killed Big Ira's father. That was the time when your father retired from the Army while Big Ira and his family left with nothing. Then he hated the government, the police, the Army, everyone especially members of your family." Carter told the story that he heard from his father and Big Ira's conversation.

  "How can we know you're telling the truth?" Colonel Eaton inquired because it seemed that Grandpa Carmichael lost his mind.

  "I know that." Carter pointed at the blinking chip on the bedside table.

  "They used it to hear other people's conversation, or plant it on a bomb where only them can stop.” Carted added.

  “Why did you spill those information?” Colonel Eaton asked then tears fell on Carter.

  “Please help my family. I don't want to kill other people anymore. Please help us." The boy cried and fell on his knees as he begged.

  "Boy, we trust you for now. But do you know those hostages aside from your dad that's valuable to capture Big Ira?" Colonel Eaton questioned.

  "Big Ira's sister," Carter replied then wiped his tears.

  After the interrogation, Colonel Eaton returned Carter in the barn and thanked him for telling the truth, but for the meantime, they have to put them there to protect the farm. Colonel Eaton promised Carter to help his family then Steve
treated Carter's father and fed all the hostages. The Militia members guarded the hostages while Finley, Colonel Eaton, Walter, Steve and Grandpa Carmichael held a meeting.

  Colonel Eaton, Tony, and Grandpa Carmichael personally went to Sheriff Katcher to ask for his help while Steve dropped off at the hospital to inform Joseph and Captain Ellis about their plan in putting an end to the war. Nobody wanted to get help from the Government because they don't know who to trust, so they claimed that it's a battle of survival between the people at Carmichael's farm and Big Ira's troops. On the other hand, Finley went to Carter's farm to spy on the place from afar, and build a better offense. Carter's farm was quiet. There were armed men scattered around the perimeter, but there were fewer because a lot have died, and Big Ira sent out most of his men to save his sister. It has the same structure with Carmichael's farm, walls with barb wires, but only fences at the front yard. They are that confident that no one will attack their place. The two-story house was on the right side, and another group of armed men was standing around. Finley thought that the hostages were in one of the rooms upstairs then he immediately left the area after surveying.

  Later in the afternoon, they decided to use the radios and send false news to one another to provoke Big Ira.

  "We captured Big Ira's sister. What should we do? Over." Finley said through the radio.

  "Kill her." Captain Ellis responded, and they smiled at one another.

  Sheriff Katcher with his twenty deputies arrived at the farm then Joseph, Captain Ellis, and his Army followed. Everyone was preparing to fight except for Grandma Carmichael and Joseph's youngest son. Joseph wanted them to stay inside the house while Sheriff's deputies protect the farm together with Tony, Maxine, Victoria, Rashida, Nurse Janette, Bobby, Ross, Vicky, and Denise. Everyone said they goodbyes to their families and closest friends. They kissed and hugged without knowing if it would be the last time they would see one another.

  The eight-man Army boarded the truck while the ten-militia rode their motorcycles including Finley. Colonel Eaton hopped on the vehicle they stole from the base camp together with Grandpa Carmichael, Sheriff Katcher, and Erwin. Steve started the engine of his car with Joseph on the passenger's seat. The vehicles headed north. There was only one main road going to Carter's farm, so they stopped midway and saw two trucks were coming from the other direction. Finley and four other militia immediately turned right and went inside the forest. Steve’s car followed, all of them ran at full speed. They circled the woods until they reached the road again, and turned left. Finley celebrated because his plan worked.

  On the other hand, the two Army trucks and the rest of the Militia positioned themselves behind bullet shields. The Marauders started to shoot, so the Army and Militia did the same. They exchanged shots for minutes when Colonel Eaton saw Finley's bike.

  "They're here!" Colonel Eaton announced.

  Finley positioned the remaining RPG then Steve and Tony pulled their horns. They caught Marauders' attention, so the Army and Militia immediately get on their vehicles then reversed. When the Marauder fighters looked behind them, a rocket was already coming then their two trucks exploded. The army trucks riders immediately went inside the forest and followed Finley's group while the militia riders stayed to make sure that all of the intruders were dead.

  They continued their journey to Carter's farm as the sky was getting dark. Finley and the other militia riders led the way then the Army trucks, and Steve's vehicle. Everybody slowed down as they were near the farm. They surveyed the area, and it seemed that the situation was what they expected. Big Ira was still unaware of Joseph's group. The militia riders turned towards the farm then threw grenades on the fences and inside the farm. After the explosions, the Army trucks dashed the posts then Steve's vehicle headed at the back of the house. Steve and Joseph searched on the barn to look for Carter's mother and sister. As they opened the barn, they inhaled the rotten smell, and got horrified to see bones, skulls, and dead bodies.

  "Oh, my God," Joseph muttered as they covered their nose.

  "So it was true, they've been eating human meat. I heard it from Mrs. Daniels before." Steve replied. They tried to search for anyone alive, but none of the corpses were breathing.

  The Army and the Militia formed a circle line with their bullet shields to make sure that they'd kill the Marauders in every point. The armed men outside the house got killed because they were less in number. They all went inside the house, and there were only a few Marauders. Finley, Captain Ellis, Sheriff Katcher, Grandpa Carmichael and Colonel Eaton went upstairs to check the rooms while the rest of the Army and militia protected the ground.

  On the last room, Finley and Captain Ellis needed to push the door using their bodies because it was locked. As they opened it, Big Ira was sitting on a club chair beside a bed, and they immediately pointed their guns at him.

  "Where are your hostages?" Grandpa Carmichael asked as he looked around the room.

  "Hi there, Mr. Carmichael. I assume you've heard about our fathers' story?" Big Ira answered.

  "Surrender now!" Colonel Eaton shouted, but Big Ira only laughed.

  "To who? You? You've also betrayed your government, Colonel. Tell me, where's your loyalty now?" Big Ira replied then grabbed a remote control beside him and quickly pushed a button then the ground started to shake.

  "What's happening?" Finley asked.

  "I've made a device to collapse this house and planted bombs beneath the ground because I knew this day would come. Now, we'll all die!" Big Ira shouted and grinned.

  "No, only you will die. Go to hell with your father." Grandpa Carmichael said and shot Big Ira several times on the head and body.

  "Let's go!" Captain Ellis said as the walls started to crash.

  Everybody hurried back to the vehicles. The militia and the army were already waiting on the ground.

  "Hurry!" Erwin shouted when he saw Grandpa, Colonel, Sheriff, Captain Ellis, and Finley went out of the crashing house.

  "Where's Joseph?" Grandpa Carmichael asked.

  "They should be here. Come on, ride!" Sheriff Katcher answered. Then Steve's car appeared behind.

  "Let's go!" Joseph shouted then all vehicles drove at maximum speed away from Carter's farm. They were just eleven feet away from the house when it exploded, then the remaining parts of the farm. The explosion followed the vehicles to the fence. Everyone stopped for a moment when they reached further. They were all panting, while Carter's farm was burning.

  When they went home, everyone was happy that no one got hurt. Except that the hostages almost escaped, but fortunately the deputies were there to kill them except Carter and his father. They felt grief to find out that Carter's mother and sister already died, but they were grateful that Big Ira was dead. Sheriff Katcher promised to help Carter rebuild their farm, and send his deputies to recover Big Ira's body and present it to the media.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  After Big Ira’s death, lives in Humvees went back to normal. Sheriff Katcher with the help of his deputies, Captain Ellis' Army, and Finley's Militia tried to bring back the peace and order in their town. People's lives continue, and they allowed refugees to stay, but with the condition that they need to help the townspeople to produce goods.

  The search and rescue team found Big Ira's dead body because crashed walls protected it from the explosion, but most Marauders turned into ashes. Captain Ellis and Finley with their respective groups helped Carter and his father demolish the debris, and build a makeshift house. Sheriff Katcher invited the local press including Maxine to announce that Big Ira is dead, and it had reached the Government's attention. Most officials felt relieved, but the General seemed discontented because he wanted to kill Big Ira. His death somehow brought silence, but the problems of the country remained. Scarcity, inflation and corrupt officials. The solution lies on the Government's hand as they monitored Humvees' progress.

  Grandpa Carmichael decided to look for the buried chest of gold on their farm. He surveyed the gro
und using a device that identifies gold. The machine beeped behind the barn, so he dug the soil. Five feet below the area, Grandpa Carmichael saw the wooden box, but it was locked. He was curious to know the truth, so he broke the chain. Grandpa opened the chest, but it was empty. There was a letter saying that Great Carmichael returned the golds to its righteous owner. He didn't mention the name for the owner's safety, because people will keep on looking those golds and hunt the owner.

  Colonel Eaton, on the other hand, returned to the base camp. Captain Ellis tried to interfere because the General might kill him, but Colonel insisted. He said that he knew a few people who were an ally besides he had to bring Big Ira's body to the Government. The officials decided to burn the dead body and throw it in the ocean. When Colonel Eaton returned to the base camp, the General looked at him like he wanted to kill the Colonel. However, Colonel Eaton didn't back down, and he's not afraid of the General nor anyone.

  The medical team that Sheriff Katcher developed had arrived, and they were in a night shift. Joseph led the hospital management along with Doctor Steve, Walter, Nurse Janette and Erwin. They also recruited other public servants and volunteers to help them rebuild their town. Money was still a problem around the country because of the inflation, so people pay services in exchange for good trades. Joseph didn't want to be selective about the things, but for as long as they are beneficial.

  Sheriff Katcher found out about Victoria's profession, so she asked her if she could lead the school in town. She was hesitant, but Walter pushed her to do the right thing, and do it for their son who got killed. Victoria agreed then volunteer teachers helped her taught the grade-schoolers.

  Life at the farm sustained. Grandpa Carmichael and Tony rebuild their farmhouse, and they hired new farm men to help them produce crops and take care of the animals. Grandma Carmichael was still in charge of the kitchen with Maxine and Rashida.