The helicopter landed on the deck of the ship Sarah and the others were greeted by medics. The medics quickly took Nolan and Steven to the medical bay. Captain Underwood took his clip out of his gun.
“Two bullets.” He said. "That is all I got."
“I got one in the chamber,” Sarah said as she followed Captain Underwood’s lead.
The helicopter took off to rejoin the battle. Sarah watched as a large explosion engulfed part of the building. She knew it was the explosives they had planet but something else happened. Other sides of the prison started to smoke and Captain Underwood stood shocked.
“They are burning it.”
Several minutes had passed as they watched the prison burst into flames.
“How many prisoners are in there?” Sarah asked.
“Not sure.” Captain Underwood said.
A door opened and a man entered and walked towards them. Captain Underwood stood at attention and when Sarah saw the rank she and Orson followed. All three saluted as Commander Miller walked towards them. Commander Miller put his hand out in a motion trying to tell them the saluting was not necessary. The Commander was tall and broad. He looked to Sarah that he must have been a bodybuilder. Sarah figured he must have been in his fifties judging by the small amount of gray in his hair.
“Please, you three, as you were.” Commander Miller said.
“Are we under arrest?” Captain Underwood said as he looked at the troops following him.
“Arrested for what?” The Commander said surprised.
“For disobeying orders and starting this battle.”
“Captain I’ll have you know Admiral Hayes has been looking for an excuse for a fight for a long time now. We showed some of our cards tonight. Now they know how serious we are.”
“Isn’t that the problem?”
“Of course not Captain. This shows everyone how serious we are. There is no going back now. We are now openly fighting the government.”
The door from which Commander Miller entered came Sergeant Underwood she was filthy, her hair looked gray from the amount of dust in it. She ran to Captain Underwood and they embraced. Captain Underwood looked her in the eyes.
“You look like you have been through hell.” He said to her
“Look who is talking.” She said and kissed him.
Sarah looked for a moment at Orson. He was covered in dust and his clothes were ripped she looked down at herself and saw blood on her hands. She wondered how they must have looked to the Commander
“Where are Nolan and Steven?” Mary asked as she looked at them.
“They are fine,” Sarah answered. “They are in the medical bay. Nolan was hit and Steven took a hard hit on the head.”
She looked relieved. “Where is Laurence?”
“He didn’t make it,” Orson said his voice cracking.
A tear fell from Mary’s eye and she wiped it away. She seemed to be pained. Sarah looked at Mary and judging by her appearance she could imagine what she had gone through. Captain Underwood put his arm around Mary.
“We need to be heading in.” Commander Miller spoke breaking up the moment. “I am afraid we are off. The National Guard will be here in a few short hours and we need to be far from here when they arrive. My troops are leaving as we speak.”
Chapter Twenty
The War Begins
Sarah and the team headed down the stairs to the storage bay, where the survivors of the battle gathered. The room was chaotic as medics ran around checking on the injured. The room was loud. People were looking around for friends, some people screamed from the pain of their injuries. Mary could see puddles of blood on the floor, people were crying over friends’ bodies. Some just sat in shocked silence. Sarah was caught off guard by someone running into her and hugging her. It was Ian and her heart soared knowing that he was safe. He looked just as dirty as Mary but also had dried blood on his face.
“Are you hurt?” Sarah asked
“I am fine,” Ian said.
Sarah noticed he looked a little green in the face. The door opened behind her and Steven and Nolan walked in. Nolan’s face was clean from the blood. His arm was wrapped but his shirt sleeve had been ripped and dried blood was still present on his arm. Steven looked a little dazed but other than that he seemed alright. Nolan hugged Sarah before hugging Ian.
“You made it,” Nolan said in a strained voice.
“I did. It wasn’t easy that was for sure.” Ian then told them of some of what happened during the battle. At times he had tears in his eyes and at times he would stop speaking as if he was seeing it all over again. Sarah hugged Ian and he cried in her arms. Sarah and Nolan looked around and Nolan took off. He ran for a girl. Karli had been sitting on the ground. Her ankle was being wrapped by a fellow soldier Nolan hugged her and talked to her as her leg was being wrapped.
Sarah felt the engines start under her feet and the ship started moving. She wasn’t sure where they were going. She knew that it would only be a matter of time before the US found them. Places to hide a boat are limited when on water. Sarah walked over to Karli, who was telling Nolan how happy she was that he was safe. She told them of what Sergeant Clearwater had done on the hill. Nolan and Sarah were shocked at how much had happened. Sarah did not want to tell them how their mission had failed. She felt as though after everything they had gone through she didn't need to hear what happened. Very few people were left it was unfair to break more terrible news to them. To Sarah’s displeasure, the subject came up anyway when Ian asked how it was to have their dad back. Sarah and Nolan did not speak but merely looked at the ground. Ian knew what it meant and he put his hand on Sarah’s shoulder. Sarah decided she was going to go and see if the medics needed help. Ian joined her while Nolan stayed with Karli. Nolan could barely move his arm with it wrapped. He took a seat next to Karli who put her head on his shoulder.
Sarah found the head doctor on the ship who instructed them on what to do. Sarah helped check people and if it was small wounds she was able to help patch them up. Anything that was beyond that, she would yell for a medic. So many people had wounds they couldn’t feel. As she walked around she looked for the people who she knew but had not been seen yet. She knew Aaron and Evan had both been at the battle but had not seen them yet. Sarah found Sergeant Clearwater.
“Are you doing alright?” Sarah asked unsure what to say to Susan. She had both her arms wrapped and looked as though she was in extreme pain.
“I have been better. Pain meds are starting to wear off.”
“I’ll see if I can get you some more.”
“Don’t,” Susan said going to reach out for Sarah. She quickly remembered her hands being wrapped and winced from the pain. Sarah stopped and knelt back down. “Other’s need it more than me. Have we gotten a count of our dead yet? I heard after the retreat they tried to gather the dead from the battle. Not sure if anyone had counted or tried to identify anyone.”
“I haven’t heard anything.” Sarah and feared what they would be told.
She knew they had lost a lot of people. Sarah asked where they would go now for the original plan was to take the helicopters back. Susan told Sarah that she thought they were going to go north to a port. From there most of the members would get rides back to the headquarters. Sarah hadn’t thought about how they would get back. Sarah told Susan that she would come back but wanted to continue to help the medics. Sarah could tell they were overwhelmed. She knew this was many people's first time in a battle and everyone was feeling the effects. After several hours things seemed to have settled. Most of the injured were attended to. Nolan had gotten his wound looked at again and it was cleaned more thorough than when he first got looked at.
“They said I got lucky it wasn’t deep at all. A clean wound and shouldn’t take long to heal.” Nolan told Sarah. “Have we heard anything about who we lost?” This he said in a quiet voice. There were people around and he didn’t want to be overheard.
“I have not. I haven’t seen Captain
Underwood in a while.” Sarah and Nolan looked around the room again as if now she would see him.
“Last I saw he was walking somewhere with Commander Miller,” Karli added. “I was going to see if I could find a friend of mine. I never did find her.”
Sarah spotted Steven who when he saw her, he rushed past other people in order to get to her. She had an awkward moment, where she wasn’t sure what to do when she got to him so she just smiled at him.
“What is it?” Sarah asked. She could see by the look on his face that something was wrong.
“Where is Nolan, Karli, and Ian?” Steven asked. “I need to speak to all of you.”
Sarah led Steven to where they all were sitting. Ian came walking up. He had been in the bathroom and looked around at all them sitting as Steven crouched in front of them.
“What’s going on?” Ian asked.
“I have some news for you all,” Steven said. “They gathered some of the dead from the battle surprisingly some managed to survive. One of those was Evan he was badly hurt.” Steven paused for a moment. “I am afraid he didn’t make it though, he bled out while they were moving him.
Karli screamed before crying. Tears started falling from everyone’s eyes.
“There is one more thing,” Steven said interrupting everyone’s tears. “Aaron was found dead on the battlefield beside him.”
Sarah didn’t think it could have gotten worse, but it just did. Sarah couldn’t believe that they had been killed. She felt guilty for bringing them. They were the first people they woke up to come with to attack The Fortress. Now it seemed much more her fault for what happened to them. Steven left them to grieve. They all silently cried. Sarah went into Nolan’s arms tears running down her face. It seemed more personal now that they had lost their father, Aaron, and Evan. Sarah wanted to fight she wanted to get back at the government. When she broke apart from Nolan she could tell he was feeling the same way.
“We can’t let this stand.” Nolan’s voice cracked. “The government has taken too much from us. They killed our father and our friends. I am going to kill that Major if it is the last thing I do.”
Nolan’s eyes were red and his face was contorted. Sarah knew that if he was able to go and find the Major and his men now, that Nolan would continue to fight. He would fight until Major Fulton was dead or he would die trying. That thought scared Sarah more than anything. Nolan was all Sarah had left now and she would do anything to protect him. Nolan looked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing. Susan stopped by and her eyes were bloodshot. Sarah asked if she had heard. Susan didn’t speak as they told her what happened. Tears fell down her eyes and fell into Sarah’s arms. Sarah did her best to hold Susan without hurting her.
“You all were my first class,” Susan said in a muffled voice from speaking into Sarah’s chest.
“It’s ok,” Sarah said.
She knew it wasn’t but she wasn’t sure what else to say. Warm tears started falling from Sarah’s eyes. Susan started to hyperventilate Sarah led Susan outside to the deck so that she could get some fresh air. They walked out and the fresh air hit Sarah like a cold blast. Immediately Susan started to calm down. They sat in silence for a while watching the ship cut through the water. The door opened and Mary came out. She walked right up to her sister and held her.
“I know it is hard,” Mary said. “I am afraid that this is only the first that we will lose.” Mary looked out into the distance as if she was looking into the future. “This was only the first battle. Many more will be fought. We are lucky we made it out of this one but who knows if we'll be lucky again.”
It was sometime later that the ship pulled into a dock. Large amounts of people rushed the boat. Sarah recognized that they were doctors and soldiers for the Insurgence. Captain Underwood found them and told them how they were to board another boat to headquarters.
“Aren’t the USSB going to be able to find us?” Nolan asked.
“Of course not we own the ship and it is disguised as a cruise line. It will mean that we can sail right under the government’s nose.”
“Where does this ship go?” Nolan asked.
Sarah wondered the same thing. How do they hide these boats?
“They will make their way around ahead of us and out to sea. Some headed towards the Great Lakes and they will be almost to Canada by now.” Captain Underwood said. “Let’s get moving. We got a lot of people to move before it becomes suspicious. Luckily it is early. The sun should be us soon and the ships had better be hidden when it does or else they can be spotted by the sky.”
Sarah and the others entered the great cruise liner. The injured were moved to the inner cabins while others were allowed outside. They were instructed to keep the lights in their rooms off. Sarah found a room with Steven and Nolan told her that he was going to help Karli get to her room. Sarah’s room had two beds and a brief disappointment fell over for a moment. She thought she knew why but pushed the feeling away. She undressed as much as she could with Steven being in the room. It seemed that as soon as Sarah’s head hit the pillow and closed her eyes she was asleep.
Sarah felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled she sat up fast for a moment forgetting where she was. She had heard gunfire in her sleep and quickly realized it was a dream. Sarah was sweating profusely and Steven looked concerned.
“You alright?” Steven asked. “You were mumbling and tossing and turning.”
“Bad dreams.” Were the first words out of her mouth. “Did we arrive?”
“We just started docking. They will have trucks for us to ride in. Will said we should be back at the base in an hour or so.”
“Good.” Sarah laid back down. She couldn’t get her father’s face out of her mind.
“I’m sorry about your dad,” Steven said.
Tears started making their way back into Sarah’s eyes. She longed for sleep so that she could stop crying at least for a little while. Steven sat on the bed next to her.
“I wish we could have done more.” Steven kept talking. Sarah pulled him next to her and he held her as they both laid in bed. She felt the ship come to a stop. She knew this moment had to end but, for a second, she had hoped they could stay so that she wouldn’t have to leave his arms. Unfortunately, Steven sat up and took Sarah’s hand. They walked out the door of the room and down the hall following the troops. Semi-trucks were waiting for them. The soldiers marching into the back and the trucks took off towards headquarters. Steven was right when he said it would take an hour the truck ride was rough and uncomfortable. There were some seats in the truck but for the most part, everyone stood. The ride back to headquarters seemed to take forever. Sarah wasn’t sure if it was because the port was so far from the hotel headquarters or if it was because she was emotionally exhausted.
The door of the truck opened and Sarah recognized the familiar lights and look of the hanger. She was surprised at how many people were awake now. The groups of people helped them out and soldiers brought them food while some helped the injured. Sarah was so surprised at the greeting. She had half expected all of them to be detained and imprisoned. Director Moore was standing as if waiting for Sarah’s team.
“I got Will's message. I am sorry about Neil. There won’t be time for punishment.” Director Moore started. “We were warned however that if we pull anything like that again. We will face a harsh punishment.”
Sarah wasn’t sure what the punishment would be but she also wasn’t going to ask and press her luck. Director, Moore ordered them to get some rest. This couldn’t have meant more to Sarah. She wanted nothing more than to just sleep.
Hundreds of miles away Major Fulton’s convoy was entering the National Guard base. He exited the vehicle and looked around at his men. They were helping people on stretchers towards the medical building. A squat Captain approached Major Fulton and stood at attention.
“Major, you have a call from Governor Higgins. She wishes to speak immediately.”
The Major frowned and followed the Cap
tain. They marched past groups of soldiers who all saluted as he passed. Major Fulton did not acknowledge them. He entered the building where he was to take the call. The Captain led to a room and opened the door for him but did not enter. Clearly, this conversation was for Major Fulton only.
He entered the room and a large screen was on the wall. On the screen sat Governor Higgins. She was the governor of the Midwest. She was a middle-aged woman and she was dressed in nightwear. She had a glass of wine next to her and an ashtray with smoke coming from it. Clearly, she had been doing some drinking and smoking before the call.
“Major do you mind telling me why my National Guard were ordered to wake up in the middle of the night. What happened to our Prison?” Governor Higgins yelled doing a poor job at controlling her anger.
“Our Prison ma’am,” Major Fulton said in a calm voice. “Last I heard it was under the jurisdiction of the United States Security Bureau. Not you. We are able to command the National Guard as we deem necessary. I proved this with my command of the forces waiting for this attack.”
“Yes, you did prove something, Major. You proved that you can allow an attack to go horribly wrong. while you are in command. I will be sure to talk to President Marshal about what happened.” She said and crossed her arms as if to say she had the final word.
“Indeed they attacked. We got to see their resources. They have ships that are cruising our rivers. They have some aircraft. They are resourceful but they rushed into a battle that they were not prepared for.” The Major said pacing the room. “These are things we did not know before. The President will be pleased we found weaknesses.”
“Weaknesses?” Governor Higgins yelled.
“This may be a loss but with this attack, we will be able to use all of our potential. It will be only a matter of time before we are able to eliminate these Insurgents.”
She was silent for a moment.
“I will be arriving in the Capitol tomorrow.”
Governor Higgins had a scared look on her face when he spoke these words.
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