Strengthen What Remains (Book 2): A Time to Endure (17 page)

A
nearby soldier pointed. “Is that a pack of wild dogs?”

Using
his binoculars, Caden quickly found the brown, slender animals with pointed
ears and bushy tails.” No, those are coyotes.”

“Really?
I grew up not far from here. I never saw wild animals running down the street.”

“This
isn’t the metro area you grew up in anymore.
And it may never be again.
He walked along the parapet of the roof watching
the pack until they were out of sight.

A
lone dog barked.

Standing
at the ledge he took in the full sweep of the view, abandoned cars, fire and
smoke, the silence broken only by the wind or an occasional bird or dog. Seattle
was gone or uninhabitable. The surrounding communities were dying flesh
clinging to a corpse.

Clanging
from the stairwell announced the arrival of the radio operator. Caden grabbed a
bag of equipment from him and moved it a shady spot while the specialist went
back for the antenna and cable. When he returned, Caden said, “As soon as
you’re setup, notify command that we’re in position.”
  

In
the distance a woman screamed.

Caden
wondered if the woman and the coyotes had found each other. He shook his head.
The animals had been on the edge of the parking lot and the scream seemed
distant and from the wrong direction.

Vehicles
engines thundered.

A
single shot crackled in the air.

The
woman screamed again.

Sporadic
gunfire mixed with screams echoed off nearby glass and steel buildings.

The
men on either side of Caden looked through binoculars, talked and pointed.

Gesturing
toward the burning tower one private said, “It’s hard to see that way with all
the smoke.”

Caden
slid along the ledge.
The first crack of
gunfire came from the south.
When he thought he was looking in the right
direction there were too many shots, too much echo, and too much talking to
figure a bearing. “Quiet everyone,” he ordered. “If you actually see something
or
know
where a shot came from report
it, otherwise look and listen.” Pointing to the man closest to him he said,
“You stay with me on the south side. Sergeant, station the others on each side
of the roof. Let me know if anything approaches our position.”
Gunfire, a great start to the day.

Clutching
his radio he called, “Fletcher, do we have units in the buildings at the edge
of the parking lot?”

“On
the east and west, that’s a roger. No contact reported at this time. I’m
working on getting soldiers on the north and south.”

Frustrated,
Caden replied, “I think the shooting is coming from the south.”

“Roger,
I concur, we’re crossing the parking lot now.”

From
atop the building he looked down as Fletcher led eight soldiers in a sprint
across the asphalt. Caden turned to the man at his side. “If they come under
fire, provide cover.”

In
seconds the nine reached a building on the far side and broke open a door.

Caden
relaxed a bit as the men disappeared inside, but smoke continued to obscure his
view and annoy his nose as he scanned the city beyond. He struggled to follow
the vehicles by their sound.
The rate of
gunfire accompanying the cars suggests they are firing at something, but what?

Fletcher’s
voice came over the radio. “We see six to eight males in three civilian
vehicles. They’re firing at something forward of their position—buildings,
cars…who knows.”

“Roger
that,” Caden said. “I heard screams. Do you see a female?”

“Negative…no,
wait…roger, two people are running toward our position.”

Caden
moved along the roof until he saw down the street. In the morning shadows it
was difficult to see detail. He couldn’t be sure of gender, but they held hands
as they ran. Farther up the road a car turned the corner and headed toward
them. A passenger hung out the window firing a pistol.

One
of the runners fell.

The
other knelt beside.

The
two struggled to stand.

“Fletcher,
this is Westmore. Provide cover fire.”

Gunfire
poured down the street.

The
two runners huddled against the building. Then they seemed to realize they
weren’t being fired upon and together hobbled on towards Fletcher’s position.

Burning
rubber on the pavement the car retreated down the street, spun around the
corner, and disappeared.

“We
have the runners,” Fletcher announced over the radio. “One is injured. I’ll
bring them to the main building. Have a medic standing by.”

With
one last look across the now quiet city, Caden headed down the dark stairwell.
While on the first flight, the lights flickered and then came on.

From
far below someone shouted, “Thank God for electricity!”

Amen
.
The engineers must have hooked up the generator
. Caden exited the
now well-lit stairwell and headed toward the elevators along a hallway that was
a hive of activity with soldiers moving boxes, cleaning rooms or setting up
gear.
   

A
tapping sound filled the air. “Ah…is this thing on?”

Caden
looked up at the speakers of the now working PA system.

“Ah
we’ve got the lights on…you know that, but most other things aren’t working
yet, like the heat and elevators. Ah…that is all.”

 
Within sight of his destination Caden did an
about face and walked back to the stairs.
At
least I’m going down.

Near
the bottom he met two soldiers carrying a body bag. He followed them down the
last flight of stairs and into the lobby.
 

As
the two men carried out the body, Fletcher and others arrived. With them were
two gaunt and dirty teenage girls. The eyes of the girls followed the body bag
out the door.

One
of the teens had a bandage around her right leg and was supported by the other.

Two
medics came from behind Caden.

The
eyes of the girls fixed on the approaching soldier and they cringed.

Fletcher
whispered to Caden. “They wouldn’t let us touch them.”

Caden
looked around the lobby. A dozen men with guns stood with two traumatized
girls. “I saw a female medic arrive earlier. Get her.”

Minutes
later, the woman medic helped the wounded girl onto a stretcher.

“Are
you two sisters?” the medic asked softly.

Still
holding hands, they both nodded.

“If
you let go of your sister, I think we can fix you up in that room right over
there.” She gestured with her head and then looked at the other. “You can wait
just outside.”

The
stretcher was carried into a nearby exam room.

Fletcher
motioned for the other girl to follow him as he walked to Caden.

“This
is the man I told you about. His name is Major Westmore.”

She looks a year or so
younger than Vicki and DeLynn, but that might be because she is half starved.
“Call me Caden.”

The
girl’s eyes drifted to the exam room.

 
“Would you like some food?”

She
nodded and for the first time looked him in the eye.

A
soldier brought an MRE.

The
teen devoured it and then used her dirty fingers to get the last.

When
she finished, Caden’s stomach growled, and he realized he hadn’t eaten since
breakfast.
I should have asked for two.

Once
again, the girl looked toward the exam room.

“What’s
your sister’s name?” Caden asked. “What’s your name?”

“She’s
Beth. I’m Amy.”

“Where
are your parents, Amy?”

For
several moments she was silent. Tears streaked her cheeks. “Dead.”

Her
tears had led him to that conclusion already, but he was surprised by the word.
“When?”

“A
couple of weeks ago.”

Caden
took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It would help if you told me why you
stayed in this area and about the guys who shot at you.”

 
Amy’s eyes drifted to the exam room door, and
back to her feet. “Our car wouldn’t work after the bomb went off. No cars
worked. My dad had a shotgun and a pistol, so we stayed in the house for over a
week. We didn’t have much food or water, but we stayed. Then the fire came and
we had to leave.”

Amy
sighed and for several moments was silent.

Caden
was about to say they could talk later, when she spoke.

“Dad
protected us—for a while.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “They call themselves the
15
^th
Street Gang. They shot Dad and then Mom. Then they took us
and….” Her eyes closed.

“I
understand. How did you know to come here?”

 
“They talked about soldiers moving into this
building. They plan to leave. When I got the chance, I grabbed Beth and
ran.”
  

Smiling,
Beth hobbled from the exam room on a crutch. One leg was clean and bandaged.

Caden
decided to suspend the interview. He pointed to the medic. “I’ll have her get
both of you cleaned up and settled.”

“Can
my sister get some food?”

“Yes,
I’ll make sure she does.”

Caden
looked for the first sergeant and found him helping to unload medical supplies.

As
he neared the group Caden said to Fletcher, “Walk with me.”

The
two men crossed the parking lot to the grassy strip and smaller buildings along
the edge. “This is what worries me.” He pointed to the wide access roads and
green lawn. “If we’re attacked, this is the way they will come.”

“You
don’t expect the guys we encountered today to do anything like that do you?
They’d get caught in a cross fire.” Fletcher pointed at several nearby
buildings where soldiers were stationed.

“From
what Amy told me those thugs are leaving the area, but others might do
something stupid. Our job is to establish this logistics center. Let’s try to
keep them outside of the perimeter.”

Fletcher
nodded. “We can use abandoned cars and sandbags to block access, but it will
take at least a day to secure the entire area. Do you expect any trouble
tonight?”

He
shrugged. “Probably not tonight. But we were told to expect gang and criminal
activity and, from what the teen told me, that is what we’re dealing with.”

Fletcher
nodded agreement. “Those guys stay up late and sleep in, but I’ll make sure
we’re prepared for them if they come this way again.”

“We
should be ready for anything.” Caden smiled. “Even the zombie horde you were
talking about.”
 

“Also,
keep a squad ready for quick reaction. If something happens I can take them
and….”

“I
should lead them, Sir.”

Caden
frowned. He had been a lieutenant when he left the service and lieutenants lead
soldiers in combat, but Governor Monroe had promoted him when he took this job.
He was a major and the senior officer on site. “Yes, First Sergeant, you’ll
lead them.”

“I’ll
get on it.”

Over
the next few hours, the soldiers cleared abandoned cars from the parking lot
and used them to form part of the defensive perimeter. The first supply convoy
brought more soldiers and another generator. The two provided enough power for
all the buildings.

Later
convoys brought more medical equipment, fuel, food and other supplies. A triage
area, surgical rooms and mess area were established in the main structure.

As
the sun slid below the western buildings, Caden set out to inspect the work of
the day. Even as he walked along the southern perimeter talking to sentries and
inspecting barriers, more trucks arrived. Two were marked with red crosses.
More soldiers jumped from the back of a third. Men unloaded crates from
another.

By
the time Caden had inspected the eastern and northern defenses, all that
remained of the sun was a fading orange glow. A whirling sound caught his
attention and he watched as a drone launched into the air.
Clearly this base is growing larger than our orders implied.

He
glanced at his watch.
Nearly seven.
Returning his gaze to the drone as it disappeared into the darkness, he
concluded it had been a good day, but wondered about the night.
  

Turning
back toward the main building, he pondered what next needed his attention. His
stomach growled.
I missed chow.
He
headed toward the conference room that had been transformed into the mess
hoping there was at least an MRE available.

At
the far end of the room a dozen soldiers clustered around a few tables. An
older man stood at one end talking.

Caden
spotted a cross on his uniform.
I didn’t
realize a chaplain had arrived.
He paused and listened.

“…book
of Nehemiah, in the Old Testament, the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed by
war. Nehemiah returns to the city of his ancestors to restore what has been
destroyed. We are like that.”

“We’re
not building anything,” a young soldier said.

“In
the literal sense, no not yet, but I am certain that time will come. The
terrorists tore down several of our great cities and now we’re here, at the
edge of one of them, to begin restoring what has been lost. When you’re
standing guard as a sentry out on the perimeter, you’re like Nehemiah on the
wall. Behind you is justice, order and democracy, and in front of you, what you
keep out, is the enemy—ignorance, tyranny and chaos.”

As
the chaplain continued Caden glanced around for an MRE or even an apple. Then
his radio squawked. “Westmore, this is Fletcher. Sentries report gunfire.”

Food will have to wait.
He was glad for the
elevator that took him to the makeshift command center on the top floor. The
pastel pink room was the office next to the stairwell. Cables ran from it to
antennas on the roof. Filing cabinets lined up along the windows provided
protection from gunfire. In the center stood a large table with a map of the
area spread on it. On the far side a soldier flew one of the drones. Nearer to
the door, Fletcher stood beside the radio operator which, at the moment, was
silent.