The Blue Ridge Resistance (4 page)

“Same here, brother,” Evan replied. “So are you going to do it?”

“I think so,” said Jason. “Unless Sarah absolutely objects, but I’m sure she will feel the same.”

“Well, good,” Evan said. The two men quietly rode the rest of the way home, each silently reflecting on the events they had struggled through as a team, beginning that fateful day that started out as a routine layover in New York, when everything changed forever.

Chapter 6: The Unexpected Visitor

Just as Evan and Jason were nearing the Homefront, they heard an aircraft overhead. Both men were caught off guard, as the skies in their area had been silent for quite some time. The aircraft was flying low, barely above tree top level, and the unfamiliar sound startled the horses. 

Looking frantically to try to get a view of the aircraft, Jason said, “What the heck? Do you see it?” he asked.

It was hard to spot the aircraft right away due to Evan and Jason’s position in a heavily wooded area, surrounded by hilly terrain. Just as Evan started to reply, the single-engine airplane came into view over a ridge and flew directly overhead. Evan exclaimed, “Holy Crap! Was that the Maule?”

“Our… I mean… Judith’s Maule?” Jason asked.

“I think so,” replied Evan as the aircraft flew out of sight.

“No way. Is that Ed?” Jason asked in disbelief.

“It has to be,” replied Evan, hoping his assumption was right. “We did leave him a map of our location and told him he was welcome to join us if things got too bad for him in Ohio. He’s probably looking for a place to land. This is some rough country compared to Ohio; he may have a hard time, especially with it getting dark.”

“Well, we can’t follow him on horseback with this terrain. Let’s hurry home and get on the CB. We can see if the other homesteads can get a visual on him and get us a position,” Jason said as he nudged his horse and rode hard for the Homefront with Evan in trail.

Upon reaching the Homefront, Evan and Jason rushed into the house where the women were gathered around the radios in the basement. “Thank God you’re home,” Molly said. “Several of the other homesteads have reported a low-flying aircraft in the area and they are a bit concerned, to say the least.”

“Get the Thomas farm on the radio right away,” Evan said to Judy, who was sitting at the radio operator’s desk.

“Okay, but what’s going on?” she asked.

“It’s Ed Savio… Just get them on the line quick before he runs out of gas or daylight.”

Judy hailed the Thomas farm and received a quick reply from Judith. Evan reached for the microphone as Judy quickly handed it to him. “Judith, this is Evan. Ed Savio… from Ohio, is in your plane, and may be looking for a place to land. Get Luke or Nate to go outside and keep an eye and an ear out. When they see him, pop one of the flares that are in the basement down by that old water heater. Ed is probably looking for a friendly place to land, and your back pasture may be the flattest clearing we have around here.”

“What… my plane? I don’t… Oh! Of course!” Judith replied as it dawned on her what Evan was saying. She had all but forgotten about trading the
Little Angel
for the Maule, as she felt it was more a symbolic gesture than an actual transaction. At that time, she was just happy to be a part of a group and saw the trade as merely her finally being able to contribute. She quickly ran down to the basement and began to look for the flares. Finding them exactly where Evan had said, she grabbed several and ran back up to the porch, calling for both of her sons. 

Nate came running from the barn to see what she was shouting about, fearing that they may again have intruders. “What? What is it mom?” he asked frantically.

She tossed him the flares and said, “I’ll explain later. Run out to the back pasture and stand in the middle. If you see a white and red airplane, a little one, pop one of the flares to get his attention. If he sees you, try and wave him in to the pasture. He’s a friend. That’s the plane I was telling you about that we left in Ohio!”

Nate turned and ran out to the back pasture as his mother had requested. As he quickly made a turn through one of the fence gates to get to the open pasture, he lost his footing with his prosthetic lower leg, slipped, and fell, dropping the flares into a puddle of mud and water. As he struggled to get back to his feet, he cussed under his breath at his clumsiness and heard the low RPM hum of a small single-engine aircraft as it neared the farm. “Crap!” Nate said, realizing that he may miss his window of opportunity. 

He grabbed the flares, got back on his feet, and ran for the pasture. As he saw the plane come over the trees, he attempted to pop one of the flares to no avail. “Damn it!” he said, knowing that dropping them in the mud and water was the likely cause. The aircraft was now directly overhead as he attempted to light the second flare, and again nothing. He tossed it to the ground and attempted to light the last remaining flare; with a
poof
, it was ablaze with smoke and a bright red torch-like flame. He began to wave the flare frantically with his arms while chasing the plane. Just as it was about to clear the next tree line, he thought that he had missed the opportunity. The plane then made a gentle turn to the left and began to circle overhead. Nate continued to wave the flare to the pilot, as if to say, “Come on in.” After another circle overhead, the aircraft began to fly away to Nate’s dismay. 

As the aircraft flew over the tree line and the sounds began to fade, Nate tossed his flare on to the ground in frustration. As he stared at the ground and kicked the flare, he could hear the sounds of the aircraft’s engine grow louder once again. He looked up to see the airplane coming back towards the field with its main wheels just barely dragging the tree tops as it made an approach to the pasture. Once the airplane cleared the treetops, the pilot cut the power and slipped the aircraft in for a bouncy touchdown on the rough, old cow pasture, sliding to a stop in the wet grass. 

As Nate began to walk over to the airplane, his mother Judith came running up to him. “Oh, thank God! Yes, that’s him,” she said with a smile on her face. She grabbed Nate by the hand and ran towards the Maule as she saw Ed Savio climb out of the pilot’s seat.

As he stepped out of the plane, Judith ran up, gave him a hug, and said, “Welcome to Tennessee, Ed.”

“It’s Judith, right?” he said.

“Yes, Judith Hoskins,” she replied.

“I’m sorry, but our meeting back in Ohio was so quick and frantic that I didn’t really get a chance to commit everyone’s names to memory. But I sure do remember you,” he said.

“What are you doing down here?” she asked.

“Things aren’t going so good up north, or in a lot of places, for that matter. I’ll explain more in detail later, but my options were getting limited so I thought I had better take Evan and Jason up on their offer to meet up with you all down here before things got any worse. I also needed to get your plane back to you,” he said with a smile.

Nate just stood there scratching his chin, trying to soak it all in. His mom had clearly been on quite the adventure to be the owner of an airplane, when she used to be afraid of flying.

“Is Evan or Jason around? Is this Evan’s place?” Ed asked.

“No, this is a dear friend’s farm. I live here now with my two sons and a few other people you haven’t met,” she replied.

“You found your sons? What? How? Oh my God. How in the world did you do that? I thought they were out west somewhere with no contact,” Ed said, confused by the situation.

“It’s an extremely long story,” she said. “We’ll catch up this evening. I’ll tell you everything.”

“But wait, now that I’m thinking about it, weren’t you going to Newport with that young mother and her child?” Ed asked, confused by his cloudy memories.

“Yes, Peggy and little Zack are down here with us as well. Newport wasn’t what we had hoped it would be,” she replied with a solemn look on her face.

“Oh,” he said. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she replied.

Nate then stuck out his hand and said, “I’m her son, Nate Hoskins. Pleased to meet you, sir. I don’t remember all of the details of the story, but I do know you helped my mom and the others make it down here to safety, and for that I will forever be in your debt.”

“Well, son, if it wasn’t for your mother and her Maule here, I would have been stuck in Ohio with no way out, so I guess we can call it even,” Ed said with a smile as he returned Nate’s handshake. “And if you hadn’t flagged me down, I would probably be in the trees in a few minutes. My fuel tanks were on fumes and I only knew the general area where everyone may be, not the specific location, at least as it is seen from the air. It’s gonna be dark in just a few more minutes, and I would have had a hard time finding a friendly place to put this thing down. I would have had to just put it down on someone’s property and hope for the best.”

“Let’s get you up to the house,” Judith said. “We were just about to sit down for dinner, and I’m sure you are starved after your long flight down. While we are getting dinner ready, I’ll set you up on the radio so you can contact Evan and Jason over at the Homefront. I’m sure they are dying to hear from you. They saw you fly overhead and called us on the radio, telling us to try and flag you down.”

“That sounds perfect,” Ed replied. “And I can’t wait for you to catch me up on everything.”

~~~~

Back at the Homefront, after having contacted Judith, Evan made contact with the other homesteads as well, asking for reports of any sightings of the plane. At this point, all they could do was wait and hope for some news. Evan and Jason were sitting in the basement near the radio station, monitoring the common homestead frequency while discussing what might be going on up north to make Ed pack up and leave his beloved property. 

“I hate being in the dark about what’s going on out there,” said Evan as he got up to pace back and forth to work off the stress of waiting. “Ever since our HAM guys have been dropping off of the air, I’ve had a bad feeling. I’ve tried to ignore it and hope it’s nothing, but I just can’t shake it.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Jason replied. 

Just then, Griff came into the basement and said, “Hey, guys, how did the meeting go? I’ve been out on the perimeter and didn’t realize you got back. Judy mentioned something about an altercation at the Thomas farm and something about an airplane.”

“Heck, I don’t even know where to begin,” Evan said as he sat back down. “It’s been an eventful day, to say the least.

Before Evan could continue, a radio transmission came through the CB with that old, familiar New York accent that Ed just couldn’t shake after “immigrating to America”, as he liked to call his move from New York to Ohio. “Hello, Homefront,” he said. 

Evan grabbed the microphone and replied, “Well, hello there! Where the heck are you, and what’s going on?”

Ed replied, “I’m with Judith and her group at the farm. They flagged me in, just as I was about to give up hope of finding you before I ran out of gas or daylight. Anyway, they tell me you guys are bringing their horses back tomorrow. I’ll just see you then, and we will catch up on everything, which I’m sure is a lot from both sides.”

“We are so glad to have you,” Evan replied. “Rest up from your trip and we will see you tomorrow.”

“Roger that,” Ed replied and was off the air.

“Well, it’s a good thing we just acquired more housing,” Jason said with excitement in his voice from having their old friend join up with them in Tennessee.

“More housing?” Griff said with a confused look on his face.

“Oh yeah, we both get our own place if we want,” Jason said. He then explained the day’s meeting with Daryl and the other homesteads. 

Griff didn’t know what to think. He was excited about the prospect of having a place for his family—and for Greg’s potential future family—in their new and uncertain world. At the same time, he was apprehensive about the security concerns that spreading the group over such a large area would bring. The men discussed the pros and cons for themselves, as well as the community of homesteads as a whole, for the next hour. They carefully thought things out from every angle and finally decided to give it a try.

Once they had come to a consensus, Evan said, “If conditions dictate, you guys can always fall back here, to the Homefront, for mutual security. We’re all set up for the numbers, can easily revert back if need be, and I think we should always continue to work as a team in that regards. I think the community, and your families, will be better off in the long run, and you have both earned your place around here.”

“Well, let’s go talk to the women about it, and as long as they are game, let’s do it,” Griff said.

Chapter 7: News from the North

The next morning seemed to come early for the Homefront, as the adults stayed up a good portion of the night, catching up on the events of the day, as well as the long discussion concerning the ramifications of their potential change in living arrangements. They also caught Griff, Molly, and Judy up on Ed’s involvement during Evan, Jason, Peggy, and Judith’s harrowing journey from New York to Tennessee, and how they likely would not have made it without his help and generosity. The old Ford truck he loaned them to get to Jason’s family, along with the intelligence he provided about the situation throughout the state, especially the Cincinnati area, had been a key to their success. Ed was one of those pieces of the puzzle that seemed to just fall perfectly into place, and now here he was in Tennessee.

After breakfast, Evan and Jason saddled up Mildred’s horses and grabbed their daypacks and rifles for the outing to the farm to deliver the horses and retrieve Ed. They got Jake’s mountain bike, removed both wheels, and secured the frame and wheels to the packhorse’s saddle so Ed could ride back with them.

As they got under way, Jason jokingly said, “Man, I’m spoiled by this horse after just one day. I hate the thought of going back to a bicycle.”

Evan chuckled and said, “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve been thinking more and more about the need to possibly venture outside of the area on a supply run for fuel and other things we’ve burned through—most of which we can’t replace with what is available for barter amongst the homesteads. If the situation is getting worse out there, we should consider getting something planned sooner, rather than later, before it gets too risky to travel. Maybe we should put horses on our shopping list, especially with the distance we’ll be apart after you and Griff get settled in at your new homes.”

“Things sure are getting busy around here in a hurry,” replied Jason. “Our to-do list is getting pretty long. We are busy enough with food production and security, and now we have moves to make, homes to repair, supply runs, and who knows what else is just around the corner.”

“Yes, they are,” Evan said. “But at least Ed will be an extra set of hands and an extra gun when need be.”

As they reached the Thomas farm, Evan and Jason approached with caution as usual, but with a little extra care, considering the encounter with strangers the previous day. Once Nate waved them on up the driveway to the house, Mildred met them on the porch with her customary offer of fresh, hot coffee. As they proceeded into the house, Ed stood up from his seat on the couch and joined Evan and Jason in a group hug. 

“Damn, it’s good to see some familiar faces,” Ed said.

“We’re glad to have you, man!” Jason added, patting him on the back. “Did you ever make it to my place to get your truck back?” he asked.

“Na, man, I wrote that thing off,” Ed replied. “It wasn’t worth risking my neck to get it back. No big deal though. I would have had to leave it behind, anyway, as all I could bring was what fit in the Maule. I’m just glad it’s the 235HP model,” he said jokingly. “About six months ago, my position with the state dissolved when the governor was arrested by the feds on some sort of subversion charges. It’s all a bunch of crap. Once they got him out of the way, they installed an interim puppet governor, which goes completely against the state constitution, but then again, since when do constitutions matter to this administration? Once their Marxist puppet was in place, the entire chain of command was dismantled; state officials loyal to the lawfully elected governor were either arrested as accessories to the crime, or they simply disappeared. Whether they disappeared under their own accord, or were simply taken out, remains to be seen. But the sad fact of the matter is, Ohio is now securely in the hands of the administration. Even though a lot of the guardsmen deserted when the feds basically seized the state, they now have their hands firmly on the guards’ assets and facilities. The last word I received before my contacts completely dissolved was that they were setting up for the arrival of United Nations peacekeeping forces. Ohio is rumored to be a staging area for their expansion into the Midwest. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and the Philadelphia and Washington D.C. areas are already said to have blue helmets patrolling the streets.”

Evan and Jason just stood there silently, shaking their heads, trying to take it all in. Jason looked at Ed and said, “Damn. It’s hard to imagine just how this will all shake out. It’s not like we can just vote things back to the way they were. The country is so fragmented and disconnected now, just getting the states together to discuss things seems impossible. Especially considering the fact that some of the states, like Ohio, don’t have legitimate governments in place, anyway.”

“I know, man,” replied Ed. “That’s why I bugged out of Ohio and came looking for you guys. I didn’t want to just keep sitting there, waiting for it to get worse. The new governor banned the private ownership of all firearms, ammunition, body armor, and night vision equipment throughout the state. There was no chance I was going to comply with that, and rather than end up in prison or worse, I packed some gear into the Maule and left.”

“I swear, I think a zombie apocalypse would be easier to deal with,” Jason remarked.

Evan chuckled and said, “You and zombies; it always comes back to that.”

“That’s because it’s the only way I see a reset happening,” Jason replied only half-joking. “At least that way, you would have clear-cut good versus… uh, living versus dead, and once you killed off the zombies, you could just pick up the pieces and try to resume life as it was before. In this case, though, the zombies are among us. They are our fellow Americans who are taking advantage of the collapse, subverting the Constitution and our way of life in order to turn this country into just another socialist state. So many bad deeds have been committed by our own at this point, how do you even tell who is on our side?”

“They aren’t just taking advantage of the collapse, they are part of it,” Ed interjected. “Remember how many of the attacks were initially reported as jihadist activities by first responders, which were later scrubbed and re-written as homegrown tea party terrorists or the like?”

“Yeah, that crap pissed me off,” replied Jason.

“Well, after the initial attacks, there was no attempt at tracking down those responsible. Sure, there were some empty speeches and rhetoric, but no action was ever taken,” added Ed. “After the dust settled, the president quickly forgot about those promises of bringing those responsible to justice. He immediately seized upon the situation to begin implementing his ideology of centralized government control, and never again mentioned the attacks. The governor’s office received numerous reports of high-ranking officials within the DHS and DOD being replaced with individuals who had close ties with known Middle Eastern terrorist organizations. It’s almost as if the attacks were planned, with people involved in the coordination of those attacks being rewarded with promised leadership roles, waiting on the sidelines ready to be plugged right in. Sharia law is being practiced in some areas with no government intervention of any kind. Christians, Jews, and other groups have been run out of those areas, or worse, just like we’ve seen play out overseas time and time again.”

Evan spoke up and said, “I just don’t get it though. Why would a communist or Marxist-minded individual, which many clearly are, team up with Islamic radicals? That makes about as much sense as a rabbit helping a wolf catch a deer. Sure, he’s on the wolf’s good side… up until the point the deer has been eaten, but what keeps the wolf from eating the rabbit next?”

“Nothing; nothing at all. You see, I guess they are thinking in the short term,” Ed explained. “‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’, as the old adage goes. Initially, they both want the same thing. They both dislike the Judeo-Christian ethic the country is founded upon, they both hate capitalism and free markets, and they both hate individual liberty, to name just a few. The only problem is that communism/Marxism/progressivism, whatever you want to call it, is completely incompatible with any religion, not just Christianity. That’s why communist states throughout history have always eradicated religion and became atheist states. You see, you can’t get a man to give up control of his life to another man when he believes his God guides his way, above all others. That’s why our nation was founded on the basic principles of Judeo-Christian ethics, where certain rights are bestowed upon us by our creator, and are governed by no man or system of collectivism, where the majority controls the minority. How those two strange bedfellows go their separate ways in the end of course is an interesting question. I would guess that they both have plans for that in place already.”

“Damn, Ed,” replied Evan. “You sure know how to kill a good mood.”

“Tell me about it. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t in a position to be in the know. It would be a whole lot easier to just be ignorant and go with the flow,” Ed jokingly replied.

“That’s what got us in this problem in the first place,” Jason quickly added. “Everyone was so wrapped up in the political correctness scandal of the day, or their reality shows, that not enough people were paying attention.”

“Amen to that,” Ed said in agreement.

“Well, guys, as much as I love a good doom and gloom conversation, we should probably get going,” Evan said, changing the subject. “I guess we should put the Maule in the barn. There are a bunch of tarps out there we can cover it up with. That’ll make sure it doesn’t get too filthy to fly without a wash. You never know when we may need some close air support, and we want to keep it ready to scramble,” Evan said with a chuckle. “Then we just need to put the third bike back together and start our trip back to the Homefront to get Ed settled in. We’ve got a lot on our plates these days, Ed. We could sure use an extra set of eyes and hands around here. I’ll catch you up on everything else over the next few days as you get settled.”

With that, the men spent the next few hours getting Mildred’s horses taken care of, the airplane hidden securely in the barn, and their things ready for the ride back to the Homefront. Ed packed his most important items in his backpack for the ride, along with his Springfield Armory M1A rifle slung over his pack and his Smith & Wesson M&P 40 pistol on his side. They planned to retrieve the rest of his things from the Maule over the next few trips to the Thomas farm and as time permitted.

Before they left, insisting that they begin their ride on a full stomach, Mildred fixed them all a nice lunch to send them on their way. After they ate, as they began to climb onto their bikes, Ed looked at Evan and Jason and said, “Guys, I think I’m gonna be a diehard country boy in no time. I’ve not eaten this good or been treated this well since it all started to go down.”

“We’ll see if you still feel that way after we put you to work,” joked Evan in reply.