“At ease,” General Shepard said in the microphone.
Everyone stood at ease, ironically, in almost perfectly military synchronization.
General Shepard continued, “As many of you know, our country . . . our world order is in a state of total collapse. The human race has become an endangered species. Humankind’s back is against a wall, and that wall is our extinction. We are, very likely, the last chance of not only a once proud and great nation . . . but of all humankind. We are also the last of the United States Army. That means that everything we do, we do now in the name of the Pacific Army of Fort Gold Rush, the United States Army, and in the name of our fallen country. We are the hand that holds the pen to write what may be humanity’s final chapter. Still, there is hope. When they one day speak of how humanity survived these dark days, they will speak of Fort Gold Rush and the heroes who fought to defend it. They will know that we did not give up, that we fought, we defended, and that we survived to rebuild our world. I would not hold out this hope if I did not have complete faith in your ability to succeed. You will be the warriors and navigators leading us out of the darkness . . . and back into the light. It’s standard procedure that all soldiers salute the rank, not the person, but there does come a time when one soldier salutes another as a sign of immense and personal respect. I salute you now . . . for your honor, fortitude, integrity, grace under pressure, courage under fire, and above all . . . your valor.”
General Shepard stood at attention and saluted us. Every soldier and officer stood at attention and saluted back. I know this child soldier thing is hard for even him to swallow, but I respect him. But not everyone’s gonna see that through their personal pain.
The kids chosen for the Black Shadow were boarding the buses to head for the training camps, all of which were separated by age and sex. Most of the parents got up to see their children off. I saw Nathan board his bus with his friends and he and I made eye contact. I got in my truck and followed behind them. The main gates opened up and we drove east toward the training camps. There were two of them, ominously designated, Camp Sledgehammer and Camp Terminator, both were near Mt. Shasta, but had some distance between them. Camp Sledgehammer was located just outside of the town of Mt. Shasta in a huge open field surrounded by tree covered hills. Camp Terminator was located twenty-five miles away in a field at the foothills, just a couple miles north of Carrick – Camp Terminator had a better view of the mountain, Mt. Shasta. You do have to stop to admire Mother Nature’s work – even in these surreal times. Camp Sledgehammer was the first half of training for the younger kids, twelve to fifteen-years-old. The idea was to let them mature and grow, and prepare them for the second half, where they would receive the military training – a preparatory camp before they’d go for the more advanced training. Conversely, Camp Terminator was for the older kids, ages fifteen to eighteen years old.
General Shepard placed me as one of the officers of the pre-planning and training team. The significant downside is that Captain Benson is the lead officer in charge of the Black Shadow program, so I will be forced to work with him – a small problem since the military frowns on striking a superior officer because he’s a walking talking prick with ears. Military Rules – what are ya gonna do? The other issue is that I have to work with the teens in Camp Terminator, so that’ll put me in a tough spot in terms of training Nathan. It was a two-hour drive, but the scenery was easy on the eyes if you like that sort of thing. Although, I’m sure the training camps were not anything like the kids expected, both Camps cover considerable areas, with multiple layers of fences and razor wire. The camps were designed and looked similar, but Camp Terminator had more military training courses and a larger armory.
While the drill instructors were doing their thing in welcoming the new recruits into military life, the rest of the officers, including myself, attended a meeting about necessary preparations for Black Shadow training – I didn’t speak, just listened. There’s a lot of work to be done, and virtually none of it was gonna be smooth.
When the meeting was over Captain Benson called, “Harvard! Hold up.”
“Yeah?” I asked.
“I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to know why you’re so interested in training these kids.”
I left a long pause before answering, “These kids are the future. They’re the ones that are gonna keep fighting after we’re gone, and I want to do my part in preparing them for what’s out there.”
Captain Benson nodded in understanding.
“Yeah, you of all people know too well what’s out there. You knew what kind of messed up shit was out there before the world went down the hellhole’s abyss of shit,” Captain Benson stated.
My expression didn’t change, and I gave him a hard stare, making him uncomfortable. Captain Benson caught my stare, his eyes widened momentarily.
He started again, “Well anyway, I’m glad you volunteered. We need all the help we can get. Although, I must remind you that while we are acting entirely in the best interests of the Pacific Army, citizen support of this program is noticeably lacking.”
Then he stopped walking and said, “One more thing, and I’m gonna cut to the chase. We both know that everyone is still afraid of you and not without good reason. We don’t need you to—”
“General Shepard already gave me this pep talk, you don’t have to worry about me bringing up old habits,” I interrupted.
“Oh . . . great. Well, we got a lot of work to do and hopefully things will go as smoothly as possible without problems.”
You just jinxed it. Bad shit always seems to happen anyway.
After the day’s headache of work, I took the opportunity to make a quick check on Nathan. I drove by and saw that he and his friends were learning how to set-up tents – so they hadn’t finished building their bunkhouses or cabins yet. Most of the camping equipment they were using was Mountain Men stuff – the big outdoor and hunting retailer that was so dominant before the outbreak – they did make the best Bowie knives. Nathan saw me and we met up to talk in private. It was by the armory and the sun was going down, everyone was getting the fires started.
Nathan leaned against the armory wall and greeted, “Evening Captain.”
I greeted, “Hello son, how’s the first day going?”
“Well . . . they’re going to be keeping us busy. For now, it’s gonna be a lot like being in the scouts with all the outdoor and survival training, though a little more physically demanding. All of our self-defense training from school is still happening and we still have to do all the normal schoolwork, plus homework. So, yeah. As they say, ‘welcome to the suck.’ The good part is that this is a beautiful place. I like looking at that mountain,” Nathan explained.
“Looking on the bright side, that’s good. Helps to maintain a positive mental attitude . . . makes this less difficult,” I said.
There was a long silence between us before Nathan spoke, “You said that you would be giving me better training than what they’re going to give us.”
“Yeah, I’m still figuring out when we can start. I need time to work out our respective schedules,” I said.
“Well, no need to rush. I’m not going anywhere, as they say.”
“No, I reckon not. You know, we are doing this.”
“I know we are. I’m not backing out or anything. I’m just saying there’s no time limit, because we got nothing but time.”
“Not as much as you might think. And make no mistake, Sonny, your survival and that of your friends depends on it.” I left him to think about that as I walked away.
****
With some creativity at the expense of his studies, I determined the overlapping gaps in our schedules and found time for my ‘brand of training’ – so a lot of work, no small measure of growing up and some filling out occurred in the two years since ‘Nathan’ and I had that conversation.
The camps have improved on their quarters as well as their training, but I gave Nathan a head start on his training, as well as
teaching him more important lessons to protect him from human predators.
“Alright people, listen up. That group that has been harassing our patrols has been spotted up north is larger than we expected. They’re all armed and extremely dangerous. Intel suggests that they’re headed our way down south, but we’re gonna hit them first. They’re based here in a small town of Monroe about fifteen miles north of Yreka – lots of houses and small buildings, so that means there’re a lot of places to hide. We estimate that there’re more than a hundred plus hostels,” Major Lopez explained.
“Great, rich fucking target environment,” a lieutenant said – clearly too much TV – why is there always some chucklehead talking about a target-rich environment?
Captain Benson stated, “They are primarily located here in this neighborhood, among these houses here on the north side, and more by the school here. We’re going to be coming at them from the south and east side. Teams Red X-Ray 1-5 and Red X-Ray 2-6 will come from the south and teams Echo Charlie 5-7 and Echo Charlie 3-8 will take the east. If shit goes sideways, back-up will come and we won’t have to play it quiet anymore. We have Black Hawk Gunships and Little Birds that’ll also attack if there’s higher numbers. Any questions?”
An officer raised his hand.
“Yes, Amos?” Captain Benson pointed.
“Do we need to evacuate the kids back to the Fort?” Lieutenant Amos asked.
“No, we should be able to handle this and both camps have plenty of defenses.”
Not such a good idea. Should put as much distance between them as possible.
“They have vehicles, right? Wouldn’t it be safer if we—”
“There’s nothing safe about any of this Lieutenant. We have a job to do and we’ll get it done quiet and clean. We’re not wasting time and fuel escorting kids on something that won’t happen. Plus, there’s plenty of time to give warning to the camps if a few bandits stray,” Captain Benson stated.
“Yes sir,” Lieutenant Amos replied.
So glad we are leaving humanity’s survival to people like Benson and Campbell. As my father used to say, ‘oh joy’ – somehow seemed fitting here.
Everyone, including me, geared up. I was leading Red X-Ray 1-5 with Red X-Ray 2-6 following close behind led by Lieutenant Amos. Because guns and ammo are scarce the Pacific Army has been trained to use alternative caliber arms besides the usual 5.56 rifles, like the 7.62x39 AK rifles, the 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 224 Valkyrie, etc., Echo Charlie teams were using suppressed Heckler & Koch HK416s and Colt M4A1s with several optics, lasers, and vertical foregrips; and Red X-Ray teams were using suppressed rifles in 7.62x39mm with the same number of optics, lasers and fore grips as Echo Charlie’s weapons.
A lot of guys were using the CMMG MK47 Mutant AR-15s, the rest of Red X-Rays were using tactical AK rifles like the RAK-47-T-MP rifle from Riley Defense, or the Polish WBP AK rifles with the quad rails from Atlantic Firearms, or one of the AK rifles of the SAM7 series from Arsenal. I armed myself with a RAK-47-T-MP rifle from Riley Defense with quad-rail and full-length rail above the charging handle with a vertical foregrip, laser, suppressor, full-auto option, rail-covers, and a EOTech holographic sight and magnifier.
There were several guys with FN Minimi 7.62 MK3 light heavy machine guns equipped with heat shields and ELCAN scopes along with a team of snipers for both sides. We geared up with MICH-04 Fast Ballistic Helmets that had L-3 GPNVG-18-ANVIS Ground Panoramic Night Vision Goggles and Ops-Core RAC Headsets. We look like the Navy Seals that hunted Osama Bin Laden, except with AK rifles and other weaponry.
Once we were geared up and ready, we got into the armored trucks and rolled out with the convoy. The normal technical vehicles and Humvees drove ahead, but the other vehicles were following behind, standing by in case things went sideways. We reached our destination where the town was in sight. Their bonfires could be seen from our vantage point.
“The town is just up north; we’ll leg it from here. Go silent, no noise,” I said on the radio.
It didn’t take us long to get close to the town. There were a couple of lookouts, but we took them out with our suppressed weapons. The bandits were armed with assault rifles and shotguns. They wore military and police gear that they probably stole from those they killed. One bandit had his back turned and I snuck up behind him, grabbed him while covering his mouth and snapped his neck. Several other Red X-Ray 1-5 guys grabbed a bandit’s mouth and stabbed them in the throat. One bandit saw me, but before he could sound the alarm, I threw my knife into his throat and he slumped against the wall and fell – I pulled out my knife and stabbed his eye socket deep enough to reach the brain.
As we moved up, there was a horrible stench in the air.
“What the fuck is that smell? It’s loud,” Private Morgan said.
There were several around campfires eating cooked meat. When we got close to flank around them, we saw that they weren’t eating animal meat. They were eating human meat. There were dead humans laying in a pile close by, while two of them were cutting them open. Another pair of bandits was preparing them for the fire to cook them. The smell made us want to gag.
“Ah Christ. These guys are fucking cannibals,” Private Morgan said.
“Keep it together. Stay on mission,” Lieutenant Amos said.
“Clear these buildings,” I sighed.
They stacked up and entered quietly. We did the same. There were seven bandits asleep and snoring in the living space, and judging by the empty moonshine bottles everywhere, they were also drunk. I pulled out my knife and used hand signals to tell my guns to slit their throats. Everyone, including me, got into position and simultaneously stabbed and ripped open their throats, then we put a silent round into their skulls.
“Room clear,” I said.
“Building clear,” Lieutenant Amos said.
Even though I remained focused, I kept getting flashbacks of Amara. I was recalling when Amara wanted to get a dog.
****
“Come on, Grim! Haven’t you always wanted a little guy who’s always happy to see you when you get home? No matter how grouchy and sour you are?” Amara asked.
“No, because I already have someone who’s happy to see me and the best part is, she’s toilet trained,” I answered.
“And she has a home that makes her feel safe. Do you know how many dogs feel scared and alone? The least we can do is give one a home and make it feel loved.”
“Oh boy, you’re pulling out all the stops.” When she wants something, she’s relentless.
As we walked up the pathway that led to the animal shelter, I felt the impending inevitability of going home with one of these poop machines.
I let out a heavy sigh.
Amara looked at me and asked, “Alright, what is it?”
“I just don’t feel like having an animal in the house. They shed, they’ll knock over stuff, and worse of all, you gotta pick up their shit. I really don’t want to be that guy standing on the grass with the baggy picking up the dog’s f’ing droppings! I’m really not looking forward to that,” I said.
Amara left a long pause before speaking again with a very serious expression – I recognized it, it didn’t bode well – the kind that said, ‘I’m not kidding anymore.’
“Is that why you won’t adopt a dog? It’s a hassle to pick up after and care for it?” Amara asked.
“Amara, come on,” I started.
“Say you need shelter, you need food, you need love, and more importantly, you need a chance in life, but instead, they deny you aaaall that because some selfish fuckstick doesn’t want to pick up your poop?”
There was a long pause between us.
“You know that’s not right Grim. And besides, when you fall in love with this dog, you won’t care about picking up after it.” Amara walked into the shelter acting like that was the end of the conversation. It was, history told me I’d just lost. ‘Resistance is futile’ – and would only lead to my further demise . . . probably sleeping on the couch while
the new dog assumed my place in the bed beside this sassy, but incredibly fascinating and beautiful woman. Whatya gonna do? Sacrifices have to be made.
****
Loud gunshots jolted me. The gunshots were coming from the east. Everyone in both Red X-Ray 1-5 and 2-6 got to cover and out of sight. The bandits were all scrambling to their feet, grabbing their guns, and running toward the gunshots.
“This is Red X-Ray 1-5, what the fuck is going on? Over,” I said, on the radio.
“Echo Charlie Teams have been compromised. Their cover’s blown. Over,” Private Garrison said on the radio.
“This is Echo Charlie 5-7; we’re taking heavy fire on our position east of town! We need immediate assistance!” Captain Park said.
“We’re on our way to you, hang on!” Lieutenant Amos said.
“Gold Command, this is Red X-Ray 1-5. Echo Charlie has been compromised, we need backup ASAP, over,” I said over the radio.
“Guess we don’t need these anymore,” Private Morgan said, taking his suppressor off his rifle.
“No, keep them on. Our cover’s not blown, let’s follow them to their vantage points and strike the bandits from behind,” I ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
We waited as large groups of armed bandits were running toward the Echo Charlie teams. As soon they passed us, we followed them as they ran into the open street. As a large group was out in the open, I ordered my guys to drop them. They were all dropped in the street before making cover – dead bodies with bullet holes were lying in puddles of their own blood. We snuck up on the next group and dropped them as well. The third group saw us and began to return fire – now we don’t need the suppressors.
I used hand signals telling three of my guys to throw a frag grenade on the heel of my flashbang. Three of my guys pulled out a frag grenade and got ready as I pulled out a flashbang. I tossed it high and immediately after it went off the bandits stopped firing. My guys took this chance to throw their grenades and when they exploded, there was only silence. As we moved up, we saw that most of the bandits were in pieces, while some others were trying to get their bearings back. We killed them quickly. We went through that neighborhood and saw both bandits and Echo Charlie teams shooting at each other. The bandits had the numbers and heavy firepower, I knew we were gonna need the birds.
The Dark Days Series | Book 2 | Sanctuary Page 21