2nd Earth 2: Emplacement (13 page)

My personal favorite is strawberries, we found a very large field of them growing wild last year, so we trimmed them out some, and this year they were fabulous. Tomatoes are another of my favorites, and it seems like the tasty dishes we make from them are fast making them a favorite for just about everyone. Dayna and Robin have learned how to make spaghetti sauce, just like Ma Horton made it. They also found recipes for making spaghetti, and many different kinds of macaroni, so spaghetti and meatballs is one of the favorite meals we can have around here. James and Jenna, who seem to know just about everything there is to know, found an area where apparently the people who lived here before we did, grew mushrooms under two of the barns.

I saw the trap door in the floor, and when I checked it out it looked like a whole mess of toadstools to me. They saw them and were as excited as the children when they were picking strawberries. I was with them when they discovered them, so I asked them what good toadstools are. You can’t eat them, they are poisonous. They told me I’m pathetic if I can’t tell the difference between a mushroom and a toadstool. I informed them that I have never had trouble telling them apart before. All the mushrooms I have ever eaten have come from a can. I’ve never seen canned toadstools. I do have to admit that the mushrooms really add to the taste of the spaghetti sauce, and sautéed, they are great with a steak.

13

It is now September, the weather is still beautiful, but the nights are starting to cool off a little, which actually helps us sleep better. It’s Saturday night and we had a really nice get together in the meeting hall at Ryan and Carol’s group. This spring and summer they were able to add six houses to their group, and they are really proud of the success they are having with their crops this year. All the groups are, even though we consider ourselves one big family and community, there is still a feeling of ownership to our individual groups. Barbs group has grown the most in the past year. With the help of Josh, Isaac, Jake, Adam, Ben, and Hank, and some help from the other groups, they added sixteen homes to their group. They are now totally able to take care of just about any emergency that may come up.

We are just getting ready for bed when we get a call on the CB from Doc McEvoy saying that they have some strange men riding around their property on motorcycles. It is too dark to make out exactly who they are or how many there actually are. So far they are just riding around making noise and making verbal threats to the people living there. Some of the others of our group must be hearing this message, because we see lights go on in at least seven of the twelve houses we have in our area.

We hear Gary’s voice come over the radio telling Doc that he and some of the other young men will be right over to see what is going on. There are similar messages from all the other groups within a few minutes. I decide to at least see what is going on, if there is no gunfire then maybe it’s just a bunch of people passing by, just wanting to irritate someone. I don’t really believe that, but I can always hope, can’t I?  Just as I get to the bottom of the stairs and start to reach for the door knob taking me outside, I hear automatic weapon fire coming from our barns. I look out the window to see the bursts of rounds being fired at our houses, and the men that are heading out to the barns, to get the motorcycles. We are walking into an ambush in our own yard, and it sounds like they may be using the weapons that we have out in the barns, just in case we need them.

The women come running downstairs to see what is going on. I have a rifle in my hands, but I don’t want to use it until I can absolutely identify a target. Teddy, Jerry, and Steve have their rifles and are coming downstairs cautiously. Actually, Teddy stops at the first landing and asks me if I want him to go up into the attic to get high ground, and see if he can pick out any targets. I tell him to go ahead, but don’t shoot. We don’t want to draw fire at the house with the women and children still in harm’s way. I am trying to see if any of our men are down out there in the yard, but the lights that are usually on, have either been turned off, or have been shot out.

We have a radio downstairs as well as the one upstairs, and we are starting to get calls from some of the men in our group telling us they are okay, but that was a close one. We are also getting calls from the other groups telling us that they ran into the same thing we did when they started to go to the Docs aid. While we are talking, trying to figure out what is happening; a voice comes over the radio that I have never heard before. He is telling us that we are surrounded, and have no recourse, but to surrender. He tells us if we do that, he will allow us to take our personal belongings and leave. That is everyone, except the women they decide to keep. The voice tells us that they intentionally fired not to hit the men the first time, but from now on they will shoot to kill, if they see anyone or if we try to resist.

Apparently they have every group covered, because we have heard from all of them, except the newest group that started the new farm, when we came back from Rochester last winter. Come to think about it, we have not heard anything from them. Tim and Charity were going over there tonight, because Ken and Carrie, along with Dan and Cassie, moved there this summer, to help them out with the electrical work that was badly needed. Don and Olivia are there as well, he has been helping them hunt, and get enough meat processed for the winter. A new voice on the radio tells us we have until daybreak to make up our minds, then they will start shooting into the windows. He says he doesn’t want to do this, because then he will have to keep some of us men around, to fix the broken windows before winter. He has one nasty laugh, I have the feeling I have heard it before, but I simply can’t place it right now. I know it will come to me.

The tunnel system is working great right now. Gary and Sara, as well as Billy and Ramona, come to our house to see what I think we should do. Gary says he recognizes one of the voices. It’s one of the guys that got away when we stopped those guys from attacking Barbs group the day they came here. That’s when we met Gary for the first time. We are trying to figure out how these guys know so much about us, when Jerry says that some of the younger men have been talking to different groups on the shortwave radio that is kept out in the barn. He says they got to bragging about everything we have done here, and when the other guys didn’t believe them they told them about the guns in the barns and other things they realize now that they shouldn’t have.

The first question we ask them is if they told them about the tunnels we have. He assures us they didn’t. We start to formulate a plan to get the women and children to safety in the tunnels. While that is being done, I am planning to use the tunnel out to the woods, to get free and see if the new group is indeed under siege as we, are or not. Teddy calls downstairs and tells me he could take out at least two, maybe three, in the big barn. He says he has been watching all the barns from the attic by moving from window to window, and so far has counted ten men. He couldn’t see all of them directly, but he saw shadows and could see some of them turn to talk to someone else. I have been on missions with trained soldiers that couldn’t give me a report that detailed. I compliment him for being as observant as he is, and tell him I need him to stand guard for his mom and the others while I go after help.

We get the women and children into the tunnels, the men stay in the houses with guns, just in case anyone tries to rush them. I leave Gary and Sara along with Billy, to take care of this group, while I work my way through the tunnel to the orchard, then work my way to the new group, hoping they are not in the same mess we are. We talked about coming up through the tunnel into the barns, but decided that if anyone doing that was caught, it would alert the attackers to the tunnels. Then we would be in a world of hurt. I am saying a silent prayer just about every step of the way. The tunnel didn’t seem this long the last time that I came through it just to check it out. Of course that time our lives were not in danger, and it was more for fun than an emergency.

I am carrying three weapons with me tonight. I figure any trouble I might see will be up-close so I am carrying two .45 automatics with silencers that I found at the Marine base, and my familiar 9mm Sig. I am also carrying night vision glasses, for when I get out of the tunnel. It seems like hours, but it can’t be more than twenty minutes, before I get to the end of the tunnel and out of the shed. This is one of the darkest nights I can remember, it’s a good thing I have the night vision glasses with me. It’s also a good thing I have traveled this trail dozens of times this past summer, so I know exactly where I am going. I usually take one of the more worn paths to the other groups, but this time I am trying to go between the groups, and get to the newest group, which is a couple of miles away.

I don’t dare try to call them, because they will probably intercept our conversation, and if they are not already there, may get there sooner than I can. Luckily the leaves have not started falling yet, so I can walk the path with very little noise. This fact proves to be a lifesaver at least for me, because after about fifteen minutes I hear voices coming from the area where Barbs group lives. These are definitely not any of the men from there, they are complaining about having to go to Doc McEvoys group to help out there. They don’t know which group it is, but from their conversation I can figure that out. Apparently they are carrying ammunition to that group. I see them long before they see me. In fact I’m not sure they ever do see me, or the small muzzle flash from that .45. We will have to bring the backhoe out here to bury them later today.

I get to the farm without further incident, and sure enough the attackers must not know about this group, because there is no sign of any activity that is not totally normal. I know the people in these homes very well, but Ken and Tim are still very much surprised to see me show up at this hour of the morning. It only takes a few minutes to explain the situation and be on our way back with twenty good fighting men. From what I heard, Doc McEvoys place has the least attackers at it, so we decide to head there. We are all equipped with night vision glasses and just about all of us are carrying weapons with silencers, or have guns as well as a bow and arrows.

Since the attackers here are expecting their friends, when we get to the first barn, where the attackers are, Tim and I decide to go right in pretending to be the reinforcements. We are wearing hooded sweatshirts with the hoods up. There are just four men in this barn, and two of those are sleeping. The two that are awake, start to complain about us taking so long, but a six inch blade in your chest can quiet even the biggest mouth. The other two, will never wake up in this world. In the other barn, there are apparently three more men. Don puts an arrow through the chest of one of them that gets just a few feet too close to the door. Ken and Rod rush the other two taking them out without firing a shot.

We are very careful when we let the men in the houses know that they are no longer being held under siege. We now have enough men to break into groups, and go to the other groups to get them freed as well. Luckily we have the silencers, because it is not quite as easy at Barbs group. It’s a good thing we get some reinforcements from Josh and his team once we finally get the attackers pinned down. We get word that the others were able to get Ryan’s group freed as well. The sun is starting to come up when we start for our group, and when we are still a good half mile away from the tunnel mouth, we hear the report of a .50 talking loud and clear. We figure either they found out what we have been doing, or they have a predetermined signal to start the attack. Some of our group continues on to the tunnel, while the rest of us head for the farm planning to come up behind the barns, and hopefully catch the attackers off guard.

As we get closer, we hear sporadic gunfire, and then we hear motorcycles going in the other direction about as fast as they can go. We are hoping it’s not our men running. Tim and I come up on the first barn from the rear and there is no sign of anyone in or around here. We make our way to the other barns, expecting to be shot at, but nothing happens at any of them. When we come up behind the one closest to our house, we hear people inside so we cautiously sneak in the lower door trying to see who is here. Gary sees me at the same time I do him, and it’s a good thing we recognize each other, or we may shoot each other. 

There is a group of our men and some women carrying guns going through the barns making sure that no one is hiding. Just as we are about to go into the house, we hear that nasty laugh and a motorcycle speeding away. Three of us fire at him, but with hand guns it would take a miracle to hit a target that far away. I decide to quit trying, when I hear the report of that .50 again and see the rider on that motorcycle fall off and roll to a dead stop. The motorcycle runs into a tree and stops much quicker than the man did. A couple of our young men have their motorcycles out now, so they go to make sure the rider is not getting up. I look up to where the shot came from and see Teddy smiling at me from the attic window. Tim pokes me in the ribs, and points to the wall of the barn.

“Your son shot that big hole in the side of the barn; you can fix it before winter gets here.”

He is smiling when he says it, I think we both know what we will find when we get up to where that hole is. Everyone is coming out of the houses now. Robin comes up to me along with Melissa, Dayna, Becky, and the children all except Teddy. Teddy is walking toward us, when Karen tells me Teddy deserves a spanking for leaving the tunnel when mommy told him not to. When he gets to us he hands me my .50 and Robin smacks his butt lightly. We all agree that since the threat is over, at least for now, that maybe we should go back inside where it is at least warm, and have some breakfast.

When we are all seated around the table, Teddy tells me that Gunny and Grampa Jon came to him and told him what he had to do. They told him to get my .50 with the heat scope, find the leader in the barn, and shoot him, and anyone else he can see with that gun. They told him that the bad guys were getting ready to attack, and that some of our family would get killed unless he stopped them first. He says he was scared like he was in Rochester, but they stayed with him like they did there, and told him exactly what to do.

“When I looked through the scope, I could see a man standing in the loft of the barn, and I could tell he was the one talking on the radio, because I could see that he had the mic in his hand, talking into it. Gunny told me to take careful aim on the man’s body and squeeze the trigger just like you always taught me. I did that and the man looked like he flew across the loft into a bunch of them. I aimed at the group and fired a couple more times, and the men started scattering. That’s when the men came out of the tunnel in the barn, and the houses, and chased the bad guys away or killed them. When I saw you shooting at that last man on the motorcycle, I figured you didn’t want him to get away, so I shot him too. I don’t like shooting men Daddy. Why don’t they just leave us alone? There is plenty of land for them to do what we have done here.”