Dystopia (Book 4): The Dark Days

by Cooper, DJ

  “Oh right, I don’t think you’ve met them yet.” Turning to wake Mark he looked back and said. “We’ve gotta get back ASAP. Dez and Ryan are gonna wanna hear this one.”

  Turning to begin packing his gear he was mumbling to himself, “shit! I can’t believe this. Dez is gonna be pissed.”

  Grabbing his arm Laurie looked at him, shrugging her shoulders with her palms up silently asking him what he knew. “Care to enlighten us?”

  He huddled with them to give them the short version. “I’ll tell you all about them on the way back, but they were friends before everything went to hell. Afterwards they came to the house before we moved. Dez knows them well, they were part of the same group.” He was careful not to say that they were friends of Matt’s because he didn’t want to upset Mark.

  They packed up and made their way to the jeep that was covered by some brush on the other side of the hill. It was about a two-mile hike to get to it and then another two hours back to the farm down dark country roads. They wanted to get there as soon as they could because the roads were sometimes dangerous at night. There were other gangs roving the country side that were just as bad as George’s.

  Twice they had to go a different route due to road obstructions which usually meant ambush. The information was too valuable to wait but the two-hour trek took them three and a half hours before they made it to their last turn before the farm and relative safety.

  There, sitting and waiting, was none other than Roger and Ray. Waving them over they jumped on the back of the jeep and rode back to the farm. Laurie pestered them for answers. “What were you doing out here?”

  “When we get to the farm, we’ll go over it all.”

  “Yea, but why were you sitting there?”

  Roger looked at her slightly irritated. “What were you doing out there?”

  She sighed and sat back. “Fair enough, we’ll all go over it when we get there. Loel here, still ain’t told us what he saw.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Yea? Then why don’t we know who it was?”

  “Who was what?” Roger asked.

  Loel sighed, “can we just get there?”

  In ten minutes time they were pulling into the entrance to the farm. Roger and Ray hopped off the back before it even stopped, walking off to the side of them. Following the others climbed out grabbing their gear and heading for the barn. Roger stopped them and sent Laurie in to get Dez and Ryan to meet them outside. “It’s the middle of the night. Let’s not wake everyone just yet.”

  They sat down at the picnic table and waited. Loel began to light the lantern and Roger reached out and stopped him. “Best we leave it for now.”

  “What is up with you two?”

  “There are eyes on us. Unfriendly eyes.”

  “What?”

  “Shhh keep your voice down. We know where they are but we need to talk to Dez for a few minutes. Each of you will need to pay close attention.”

  They sat quietly waiting for the others. When Dez saw them, she hurried to hug them. “Where have you been?”

  “Busy, real busy. Let’s chat.”

  They sat around the table to hear what Roger and Ray had to tell them. Loel pulled Ryan aside before they could begin and asked Ray to join them for a few moments. “I saw who it was.”

  “The mole?”

  “Yea.”

  “Well?”

  “You’re not gonna believe it. But as we waited nothing happened for days. They just kept going out in raiding parties and returning. Then last night a truck came in. Laurie actually spotted them and neither her nor Mark know them so no one but me knows who it is at this point and I thought it best we kept it that way.”

  “Ok, well… Let’s have it.”

  “It was…” Looking down and off to the side, he could barely believe what he saw. “It was Gary. I saw him plain as day and I think it was Kimber with him. I could tell it was a woman and it looked like her, but she was more in the shadows.” Looking up at Ryan who shook his head side to side in disbelief. “You know they were Matt’s friends, right?”

  Realization struck like thunder. Ryan’s eyes wide. “Matt… That’s where they went. They hooked up with George and now they’re raiding the community. We thought as much but we weren’t really sure about anything. When they attacked in town and Tawny was killed, I wondered if it was Matt that put the bounty on Dez or if it was just George’s doing. I swear…” He trailed off when Loel nudged him shaking his head and looking towards Mark. Quieting his voice, he continued. “I wonder how long they’ve been feeding them information.”

  “I’d say a while and now nothing is secure.”

  Ray just stood and said nothing until Ryan asked him what his thoughts were. “Some of the things we’ve been dealing with make more sense now. There have been times when our efforts have seemed futile. Roger and I said we were headed back to Texas a little over a week ago because we couldn’t figure out some of this. C’mon over and let’s chat with Roger, but I think you’re right to leave Matt out of the equation for the moment. I’ll let Roger know after.”

  Loel paused, “Let’s not tell Dez quite yet. She already has an idea it’s him and has for a while now, we all did, but she’s really gonna be pissed.”

  “That’s not fair to her and I’ll not do it. She has done so much for this community, and if she wants to lose her cool, then I say let her. She needs this anger to bring her back to her old self.”

  “Okay… but I’ve seen her pissed, and no one wants to see that.”

  They laughed a brief moment and Ryan whispered. “I do… Just not at me.”

  They sat around the picnic table in the dark discussing things, and as Loel predicted, Dez was full of rage. Roger grabbed her arm, “Put away the rabid mama bear for a hot minute. You’ll get your chance, but you’re not going off half-cocked and get yourself killed.”

  Dez was fit to be tied and Ryan threatened to do so before she finally calmed and agreed. “I know, you’re right. Let’s take care of these animals once and for all. We can’t take any chances and we’ve waited too long to get George. Matt will get his due and so will Morgan, all in good time.”

  Ryan held her hand and smiled at her. She knew they were right but felt pure rage inside. Nodding to herself listening to the reports and information, she barely shrugged when they said the mole was Gary and likely Kimber. Ryan nudged her to see if she was listening. She looked up at the expectant faces. “What?”

  “You didn’t even flinch when we told you it was Gary and Kimber.”

  “Yea, I know. See, some people are constantly into the drama of the minute. They were always like that, one-minute someone’s best friend and then the next. You know like the changing of the wind they were in another direction. I didn’t want to believe it but it doesn’t surprise me. As a matter of fact, I’m relieved.”

  “Relieved?”

  “Yea, now we don’t have to worry about them or that it’s another. And besides, they were Matt’s friends more than mine, I could never suffer through Kimber’s incessant rants about someone. I always wondered if she’d talk about friends that way to me, then what was she saying about me? It’s one way I judge a person’s character and frankly I pushed them to join the militia.” Looking to Ryan, “sorry, I didn’t mean to make it a militia problem. I just figured that it would give them constant drama to keep their minds working because while Gary was lazy he would at least try and Kimber… Well, I’ll just leave that out there.” Again, looking up and around the table. “Although I didn’t really care for them, I never thought they’d do something like this.”

  The sun was rising and Dez suggested they go inside. It was time for the others to start working and they would have the barn to themselves. Inside they found Janice already had the coffee going expecting them. Dez put a hand on her shoulder as they passed her and nodded to her. There was no one at the farm that Dez didn’t trust implicitly. Even Mark and Rita were not a question in her eyes.

  Roger
whispered to her. “Are you absolutely sure of everyone?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  Squeezing her shoulder he went to the table and helped himself to some of the coffee Janice had set out for them. Sipping it he looked surprised. “This is real coffee!”

  Beaming with pride Janice smiled before she returned to the kitchen area. Raising it to Dez, she just nodded to him. Asking Jeremy, John and Amy to join them she sent the others outside to begin the day’s chores. If they were being watched it had to look like a normal day. Connor and Rebecca went to the lookout posts sending Rich and Toni to the meeting in the barn.

  Toni was one of their best snipers and Roger wanted to know if she could handle what they would need her to do. “Sure, after all that I’ve seen thus far, not much phases me anymore.”

  I am going to give you the locations of the two scouts watching this place. We need them taken out before the others get here. Ray will go with you to help you find them, but you must be sure. We can’t tip them that we know they’re there. Ray is a good shot and will take one while you take the other. Can you do it?”

  “Just show me where.”

  She kissed Jeremy as she and Ray moved through the opening that the mortars had made. They left it on the outside but added a door to the inside as an escape.

  Laurie had already been sent to bring Sam while Julie went after Aaron and soon they would be arriving. The meeting had to be secret there was much to be done and all of it behind the scenes, some of the local farmers were colluding with them. Not because they wanted to but out of fear and this made trust an issue. This effort to rid the area of these predators had to be precise or they would come back again and again.

  Once Sam and Aaron arrived the map was opened, and they began to share the information each had gathered. The initial speculation about their whereabouts had turned out to be correct. Sam had sent Eric and Jona to scout the quarry. They’d returned with not only drawings of the area, fortifications and locations of things like munitions but also confirmation on Matt and Morgan. More than that they’d found the half-burned office trailer and inside discovered a map of the tunnels. This one had been like the one in Louisville where they were as wide as they could go and were now mining laterally. There were three air shafts and one other exit to the mine. Inside there was a large cavern with a number of side tunnels. All in all it was not yet even close to the size of the Louisville one. At least it was manageable, if it were too big they could simply hide out in there or use other exits. This one only had the one other exit which would be used to their advantage.

  Dez sat shaking her head. “George never was all that smart, but I would have expected Matt to have thought of the tunnel maps.” Looking up to Sam and shifting her eyes in thought back and forth, an idea. “Where did they get this map?”

  “They said it was in a frame that was screwed to the wall.”

  “Ok, Ok…hummm.” She sat looking at it thinking.

  “What’s up?”

  “I’m thinking this is either an old map and the tunnels are more extensive, or a concept map and not all of them are actually there.” She kept looking at the map, flipping it and trying to peer at the corners.

  Ryan asked her what she was doing but before she could answer she hurried off to her area. A few moments later she returned with a magnifying glass.

  “What’s that for?”

  “Somewhere on this map there will be a date.” Looking over at Janice she asked her to come over. Janice came walking up to the table looking at everyone like a child who’d just been caught with matches. Dez asked her if she knew when the mine opened. “Sure, it was a big deal when they came into the area. Some loved the jobs while others complained about the water table and other issues. I’d say it was ohhh, about five or six years back I’m guessing.”

  “Ok, that’s good.” Looking up she continued, “how far could they have made it?”

  Handing the magnifying glass to Ryan she told him she just couldn’t see. Dez wore glasses and they’d been broken when the bomb went off. She had another pair but they weren’t quite right. Everyone looked the map over trying to find a date. Parts of it were singed and unreadable. Finally Sam put his hand out opening and closing it in a gimmie motion. Ryan quickly handed him the magnifying glass where he could see the date was seven years earlier.

  “Good! This is a concept map, that’s why they left it. All the tunnels on this map do not exist.”

  “How is that good?” Jeremy asked.

  “Well, we know it is no bigger than this for one. We can also see the phases, the first of which is obvious, but it is probable that this was maybe a ten year or even more map. The trick is to know what is the second and so on. I think we can find this out by the air vents.” Pointing to a mark on the map.” There would be no vents in tunnels not dug yet. It’s not like we got handed the playbook for some pro ball team, but we can figure it out from this.”

  Looking around the table at them, they all stood blinking at her in silence. Suddenly, she felt awkward and began to fidget. Roger stood nodding with his arms crossed looking at the map.

  “If she’s right, this could work.”

  Each had their tasks to complete. A team was to seek out and note the vents throughout the woods above the mine. Another team would be tasked with gathering men, while the command team would work with the military that was left in their area. Much of the resources were moved to Lexington and some of the other larger cities as they advanced and liberated camps. No information would be given to anyone outside of those sitting at the meeting that day. The first line was to establish the breath of the tunnel system and locate the vents. After that the plan would go into motion.

  Nothing would stop Dez from taking part in the biggest skirmish they’d seen since the beginning. Although Ryan wanted her to sit it out he knew that was too much to ask and vowed he would protect her.

  Chapter 20

  The Day of Darkness

  I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.

  -Alexander the Great

  The tunnels had only made it to phase two, which meant there were only two tunnels off the main cavern. Roger reminded them not to be overconfident. “Remember what it got George that day back at the house.”

  They sent runners ahead of the main force on their way to the mine, picking up stragglers and others from outlying farms and towns. This was the day. The day the raids ended, and community would begin they said. This would be the day that they could sleep without fear, the day when they’d all be free from the evil hand of George and his crew. They wanted to take them peacefully if possible, but most knew George would have no part of that.

  The reports from the mine were vague on the numbers because some, like the camps were forced labor. There were areas housing women that were used by the men. The reports told of screaming in the night, they considered maybe these women were not there by choice. They saw a man shot in the field while struggling with a basket and another dragged behind a truck until the slingshot motion flung him into a steel girder. The man’s long dead body wrapped around the leg of the conveyer system, the truck didn’t stop. When it emerged from the cloud of dust all that remained on the rope was a bloody arm, the man’s body nearly cut in half by the steel.

  The gruesome sight caused the scouts to grimace on more than one occasion, but this scene induced vomiting from the young Jona. He was only eighteen and had already seen his fair share of death and violence. Another angry young man yet to be tempered by the firm hand of the militia training. Astrid, not yet eighteen was in the woods at the fringe of the mine area. She’d not seen the goings on and Jona would not allow it. Ray came up and whistled to her in a code they’d made up. She whistled back and then whistled for Jona. Pointing him out to Ray, he nodded and waved her to the waiting mass of fighters and farmers. That were waiting at the bottom of the holler.

  This force would be the frontal team, they would come at the main gate
and surround the main mine area. It was little more than a large pit so the only way out from the fortress of sheer cliffs was up the road and out the gate. A small group with tear gas was set at each air vent and another at the only other exit. They’d wait until the wee hours of the morning and let them get drunk and fall asleep before the attack would begin. The first wave would drop tear gas and a few minutes later flash grenades into the air vents and then cover them. While they didn’t go straight down and had fans in them the flashes and noises were meant to startle them. Real ones would only inhibit the gas from getting to them.

  Dez with Ryan and Jeremy led the team to the rear exit to the tunnels. Knowing that George was a coward they were sure he would sneak out the back when the fighting began, and they were right. It wasn’t ten minutes and out emerged George and a few other men. Coughing and sputtering they’d not noticed the guns on them. That is, until Dez decided to be cute. “Good morning boys, care to tango?” George fumbled for his sidearm, but Jeremy placed the barrel of his gun right to his head. “I wouldn’t if I were you. Really, she don’t need a reason to take your head clean off.” Looking at Dez who was aiming at his head with a 12-gauge, finger on the trigger. Each of them dropped their guns without a fight and were bound, gagged and stuffed in a truck to wait. The tunnel was sealed with a car that was set to drive and slammed right into the hole in the hillside. They doused the car in used oil and gasoline and set it on fire to keep anyone else from using the exit and to push more smoke into the tunnels. They left a small group of fighters to watch the exit of whom was Astrid, fierce and angry she wanted to go to the main force to fight but was given another task.

  Dez sent her and two others to the vents to begin dropping charges, this would cave in the sections of tunnel. She and the others ran into the woods with their charges and began the task. At the third vent stood a man, he was a full foot, or more, taller than her. In his hand a knife, oozing with blood. Terrified for her friends she reached for her gun. He began to approach her, slowly, smiling. “Honey you’ll learn to love it.” She slowly raised her gun with both hands and stood fast, not so much as a flinch as he approached. Trying to startle her he yelled and lunged at her. The gun fired, and the man fell at her feet. She’d shot him clean through his right eye. He still reached for her and grabbed her ankle. Still, she didn’t move, but stood looking down at the man. Lowering her gun, she slowly pulled the trigger and shot him again. He was dead. Looking up she could see the other two, holstering her weapon she kicked him off her ankle and returned to her task. Mumbling under her breath. “That was for my mother.”