“Don’t hurt us,” a woman clutching an infant cried.
“We’re not here to hurt you,” Darren consoled her.
“What are you doing here?” Erika wondered, approaching them.
“They were taking us to Mexico to be sold,” the woman answered. “With the flooding, they held us here until they could get through the south again. We have people that need medical attention.”
“We’ll get you taken care of,” Erika replied, looking to Darren.
“Nickoli,” he called. “Take these people to my wife at the med center.”
“Aren’t you Erika Moore?” a man questioned from the group of refugees.
“Yes sir, I am,” Erika replied.
Bennet and Vince tucked in close to her.
“We want to fight with you,” the man responded.
Erika looked to Bennet.
“We could use the help. The soldiers that fell have weapons. Get your group together, arm yourselves, and report to this man here,” Bennet instructed, indicating Darren.
The remainder of the unit was sweeping through the complex, rescuing people and taking out any federal stragglers. Bennet radioed to Nickleton about their success. From what Erika heard, it sounded like Nickleton was having his own problems.
“We need to rally our forces and go give them some backup,” Bennet insisted.
“Let’s do it,” Vince replied.
Regrouping the forces, they continued to push on towards the east. The militia forces that came before them already cleared a path, but that didn’t mean they could let their guard down. The ruined city provided many areas to hide, and the medics were kept busy with multiple casualties because of it.
The fighting intensified as they reached Centennial. Nickleton’s forces made it in, but they were soon surrounded by Federal reinforcements. The pressure that the joining force put on their rear caused them to pull back to the north a little, and Darren’s people flooded the south, connecting the two forces together. Bennet was hesitant to take Erika in, though. They waited on the outside line where he knew they could retreat if they needed to.
The house they hid in used to be a brick structure, but the earthquakes had pummeled it. However, the brick material formed huge barricades to hide behind and fire shots from. The night slipped into twilight, and the blackness was only offset by the small-arms fire and the occasional explosion from a grenade.
“Shouldn’t the militia be cutting off the reinforcements by now?” Erika asked Bennet.
“They’re about to make their move now. Stay ready to hold the line. We don’t want any of them retreating into the southern region,” Bennet told her as he left to go inform Darren what was happening.
Erika lay on her stomach, peering out a perfect hole, waiting for the retreating feds, when suddenly the ground started shaking. It wasn’t just another small quake. It was massive. The darkness reined as everyone stopped shooting and clung to their positions. Screams were heard as buildings collapsed and buried anyone too close: federal, militia, mercenary, refugee; it did not discriminate. Vince made his way over to Erika during the endless shaking. It went on and on. More buildings fell, and the strange mist turned to a strange snow. In the dark, Erika assumed it was the dust from the buildings heavy in the air. Bennet appeared next to them and handed them both gas masks.
Strapping hers on, Erika hated it immediately. It was hot, stuffy, and restricted her vision. The nighttime was black enough without the added glare on the plastic mask. She tried to breathe normally, but she felt stifled like she couldn’t breathe at all. As she pulled her mask off, Bennet smacked her across the head.
“Keep it on!” he demanded.
Finally, the shaking stopped. Screams echoed through the night before the shooting began again. Medics scrambled everywhere around them and Erika felt lost in time. A bullet whizzed past her head, bringing her back to reality. Vince peeped up over the stack and slowly squeezed the trigger on his rifle, boom.
“I got him!” Vince declared proudly.
They peeked up together and watched a new line of soldiers approaching. Firing their guns, they could hear the advance of the mercenary forces to the right.
“Push forward!” Darren yelled as the federal soldiers fell.
“Let’s go to Nickleton,” Bennet told Erika.
Moving them along with hand signals, they weaved through the mass of fighters pressing north.
“How you doing, baby,” Erika asked Star as she moved along.
“I’m fine, Mom,” Star replied, dizzily.
Erika watched her sharply for a moment. Her stride was off, and her head was bleeding badly from her ear.
“I want you to find a medic and go get some help,” Erika instructed.
“Mom, I’m fine,” Star insisted.
“No, you’re not,” Erika rebuked.
“Come on, Super Star. Why don’t you listen to mom on this one?” Vince concurred.
Star stared at them in disbelief. She looked to Kyle.
“I think they’re right. You’re missing half your ear, girl,” he told her.
Star sighed deeply. “Fine, but you guys better kick some ass for me,” she responded, heading over to a medic.
Erika watched her go and Star helped the medic carry another body out on the way. She’s one tenacious lady, Erika mused.
They finally reached the entrance to the Best Western that Nickleton’ s forces were occupying. He met them on the street.
“I’m not going back up there with the quake activity. It’s gonna come down soon,” he predicted.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Bennet replied.
They set the men to work building a large barricade at key entrance routes and dug in for a long night.
Chapter 25
As the night wore on the endless noise of gunfire filled Erika’s mind. The flashing lights illuminated the dust thick in the air. They gripped the ground as aftershocks shook them to the core. Erika noticed that if she could continue to shoot through the shaking, the advantage was hers, but her accuracy was terrible.
“You’re just wasting ammo,” Vince told her as her legs rode the wave of the earth.
“No, I got a couple,” she yelled back.
Erika crashed down next to Vince into a pile of dust particles. The whiteness flew up around her.
“This stuff is getting thick,” she told him.
The sun was coming up, but did little to help the visibility.
“That’s why I told you to keep your mask on, cupcake,” Bennet told her as he approached at a low ready.
“Do you think it’s from the quakes, or is it Yellowstone?” Erika asked.
“Both,” he replied, firing a shot at a soldier approaching down the barricade. “LtCol Virgis radioed me, it’s true, Yellowstone is erupting.”
“Holy shit!” Vince replied, sitting back on his heels. “Please God, take care of my parents,” he prayed.
Erika fired more shots out.
“What’s the plan?” she wondered.
“The mercenary army is cutting them in half. We have to wait,” Bennet replied. “I doubt the planes will go up in the morning. The feds can’t risk it.”
Just then his radio sounded. It was LtCol Virgis on the other end.
“Massive amounts of federal reinforcements are coming from the airport. The mission is FUBAR. We’re headed your way,” the radio sounded and then filled with crackling.
“We’ll be ready for you, sir,” Bennet yelled into the black box.
“Kyle, go down the line and tell them to be on the lookout for the mercenary army headed this way!” Bennet commanded. “Wait here, I’ll be back,” he told Vince and Erika as he took off down the line of volunteers.
Another quake shook the ground furiously and the foundation of the Best Western cracked loudly. Vince and Erika looked to one another and ran to the south as the building gave way and came crashing to the ground. The dust joined with the volcanic ash in the air and covered Vince and Erika in a s
hroud of darkness.
“Erika!” SSgt Gleeson yelled.
“Over here,” Erika replied through the dust.
Vince found her as well when Erika called out, and she felt him grabbing her hand in the cloud.
“There you are,” Victoria declared, approaching with Kyle. “Nickleton and Cassidy are east of here.”
“Let’s go,” Kyle said, urging them forward through the haze.
The dust was so thick they could barely see in front of their face. The gunfire had quieted around them and the shroud bore down heavily. They were ever-vigilant with their rifles, never knowing if they were going to run into feds or friendlies.
“Hey, guys,” Darren remarked as they approached a large number of Militia members. “Glad you made it. I’m all turned around in this haze.”
“We’re trying to get to MGySgt Nickleton,” Erika explained.
“Use your compass. They are east of our position, holding the northern front,” Darren told them.
Kyle led the charge forward. Victoria, Erika, and Vince formed the wedge behind him.
“I hope Bennet is okay,” Erika told Vince.
“Focus, baby. We need to be on point,” Vince reminded her.
“I’m on it,” Erika said, focusing her mind on the threat in the haze rather than the whereabouts of her loved ones.
As they crept along, they heard a group of voices up ahead in the shroud of dust. Kyle motioned to them with a questioning look. He couldn’t tell if they were friendlies or not either. They slowly stalked the voices. Peering out from behind the corner of an old building, they saw the federal uniforms. Erika signed for them to spread out in a U-shape. When she gave the signal, they opened fire. The federal soldiers never saw it coming from the dusty veil.
Erika stepped over the fallen soldiers. Her heart ached for them. If only they could have settled the future of our country with talk rather than violence. There was no going back to the federal system now. It would be the death of her, for sure.
Looking up to make certain she was with her team, Erika saw a laser light shooting through the haze directly behind Vince.
“Sniper!” Erika warned quietly.
The team hit the deck, watching another laser sight, trying to find a target in the mist. They scrambled on past the red lines cutting through the dust. As they neared the eastern side of Centennial, the sound of gunfire picked up again. They made their way to a group of buildings that the Militia were fortifying heavily. As they approached, Bennet found them.
“Oh, thank God, you guys are okay!” Bennet said, approaching them with a wide grin.
He wrapped his arms around Erika giving her a tight squeeze and then wrapped his arm around Vince in a bro-hug.
“When I saw that building come down, I just about puked,” Bennet told them.
“We couldn’t see a thing,” Erika replied, catching her breath.
“We’ve got a whole team of snipers that have moved into those buildings over there,” Bennet informed them, pointing out into the haze.
“We ran into them. They’re not using thermals or we would have been goners for sure,” Erika admitted.
“Has LtCol Virgis’s team made it back yet?” Vince wondered.
“No, they’re okay, though. The dust has changed the situation. They were able to press back in on the flank and are having some success now,” Bennet assured him.
“Another aftershock’s coming,” Erika told them, knowing the feeling of the air before a quake.
True to her prediction, the ground started trembling, causing four of the surrounding buildings to come down. They heard screams in the distance from some of the snipers who fell with the buildings.
“Well, I guess that’s one way to take care of them,” Bennet chuckled. “Let’s dig in and help hold the line.”
“Yes, sir,” they responded, spreading out behind a wall of concrete to wait again.
The line was held easily for a couple of hours. Few federal soldiers made it through. They even took a moment to munch on a pemmican bar that they prepared for the long battle they were expecting. Pulling the gas masks up, they would take a bite and then cover their faces again to chew.
The full light of day was now upon them, but it made little difference. The sky was illuminated in a sickening orange haze and the volcanic ash continued to fall. There was a thick layer that covered everything in about a foot of the dust.
“How we doing over here, guys?” Cassidy asked, approaching out of nowhere.
“We’re still kicking,” Erika answered. “Where have you been?”
“Playing mediator with commanding forces. It’s the worst part of this job,” Cassidy chuckled.
“Feel free to join in the fight,” Vince commented, greeting Eli, Patrick, and most of her team.
“Where’s Ned?” Erika wondered.
“Took one to the leg,” Eli answered. “He’ll be fine.”
“What about Star?” Cassidy wondered.
“Bullet to the ear. Good thing, too. One inch over and I wouldn’t have a daughter anymore,” Erika fretted.
“Glad she’ll be okay,” Cassidy agreed.
Nickleton came running over to them through the fog.
“The feds have a large group of reinforcements headed our way. It’s gonna get real again, quick. Get ready, people!” he commanded.
“Yes, sir,” they replied, packing up their canteens and provisions.
He continued down the line, talking with the commanders of the units. They never saw him return to his post as the wave of federal forces fell on them. They were held at bay with the grenade launchers that the mercenaries supplied to the militia, but soon they ran out of ammo.
The ground before them looked like it was Swiss cheese, and the feds took advantage of the new landscape to hide from the barrage of gunfire. The bullets whizzed over their heads. Erika dared not peek above the concrete bags as the chips joined the dust in the air. She watched the sniper lasers searching the area behind them. Slowly crawling on her belly through the white volcanic ash, Erika made her way to Vince’s side.
“We’re pinned,” she told him, pointing to the red lights.
“They’ll run low on ammo soon,” Vince assured her, hoping it was true.
Bennet’s radio crackled with news of additional federal soldiers, pushing the western front back again. He looked at them with concerned eyes as he hugged the ground behind the bags.
“Another quake,” Erika yelled to the team.
As the ground began to ripple, Erika heard the shooting stop. The feds were put off guard by the thunder of the ground upheaving. Erika stood up and fired out into the haze, her rifle sounding off above the roar of the quake. She heard men screaming from the hole she was firing at as Bennet ripped her back to the ground.
“Are you crazy, woman?” he shouted at her.
The quaking began to quiet, and the bullet barrage continued. The radio sounded again. From what Erika heard, the battle was not going well for the mercenary forces. Her ears perked up as a voice she hadn’t heard before lit up the airwaves.
“Attention, all American traitors,” it began.
Erika looked at Vince, disgusted by what the feds called them.
“We know you have Erika Moore with you. We’re willing to leave the west if you are willing to trade her for it. You have one hour to decide.”
Erika’s heart pounded out of her chest. How did I ever end up here? she wondered. Vince looked at her. His eyes were wild at their request. Bennet was still staring at the radio in disbelief.
“What will Merkley do?” Erika questioned Bennet.
He looked at her with indecision in his eyes. He doesn’t know either, she thought to herself.
“He won’t do anything!” Cassidy insisted. “It’s not his call alone and there is no way we would agree to hand you over to the feds.”
Erika looked at her with relief, but then a loud megaphone sounded from the federal soldiers standing off with them.
�
��We know Erika Moore is over there. This can all be over if you walk her over to us,” they demanded.
“If you want her, come and get her,” Cassidy cried, kneeling to fire a magazine of bullets out at them.
Eli tried to pull her down immediately, but Cassidy stood her ground.
Erika watched a laser appear on her forehead. “Cassidy!” she cried as Cassidy’s skull exploded like a melon.
Chapter 26
“No, no, no . . . ” Erika cried.
She caught Cassidy in the air and cradled her body to the ground.
“She’s gone, Erika,” Bennet told her, pulling Erika down as the bullets whizzed by.
Vince crawled over to her and held her in the white volcanic dust.
“What are we going to do now?” Erika asked, dumbfounded by the loss of her friend.
“We keep fighting,” Vince told her. “The day is not over yet.”
Bennet’s radio sounded. It was LtGen Merkley’s voice on the line. He spoke in gibberish that Erika couldn’t understand.
“What the hell is that, Bennet?” Erika wondered.
“Officer’s codes. He is communicating with the leaders of the federal forces. They are switching to a private channel where they can’t be overheard,” Bennet informed her. His eyes grew tortured with indecision. It was a look Erika had never seen in his eyes before.
“LtCol Virgis, are you out there?” Bennet questioned into the radio.
“I’m reading you loud and clear, Bennet,” Cole answered.
“I’ve got trouble in paradise,” Bennet responded.
“12-16-76-98,” Cole responded.
“What the hell does that mean?” Erika wondered, feeling extremely vulnerable. Her life was being decided by forces she had no control over.
“We’re pulling back to the homesteads in Como,” Bennet told her. “We need to get you the hell out of here and back underground.”
The laser lights were still searching the ground behind them and the bullets continued to flake off the concrete above their heads.
“We need to split up,” Eli suggested. “We need volunteers to distract the fighters while we get Erika out.
“I’ll stay,” Bennet volunteered first, but Erika wished he hadn’t.
The Changing Earth Series (Book 5): Dark Days in Denver Page 17