The Fall of America: Premonition of Death (16 page)

"That's not history, that's opinion!"

"Well, your words ring true, but what I just told you is fact. My wife was a school teacher for thirty years, and she bitched about the lessons all the time. Now, enough bullshitting. I want Willy and his team, which includes you, to do a recon north for a few days. Rumor has a Russian unit up that way and we need to see if they're in our area of operations."

"And, if they are in our A.O.?"

"Look, listen, and then come back here. If you're seen, consider your mission a failure. We want to get in, see what's going on, gather some intelligence, and get out without them being aware we were there. Got that?"

"Uh-huh, it's sounds simple enough, but I doubt it will be."

"You do what Willy orders and all will turn out well, unless someone walks into your night position like the last time. Things like that are rare, but they do happen from time-to-time. Oh, and before I forget, leave your wife behind this trip. Our nurse is tied up right now and won't be coming back anytime soon, so I need her here. Take Vickie with you so you're not short."

CHAPTER 17

T
oday, a day later, I'm on point and moving slowly through a cypress swamp, keeping an eye out for gators and snakes, and looking intently for the bad guys. I step over a log, but before my raised foot strikes the water, I see movement. Looking at the waters surface, I see a huge cottonmouth swimming away from me. While not really scared of snakes, the image makes me shudder. I keep moving forward as I try to get my heart rate back to normal.
Damn, gotta use a little more caution than I have been. But, it shows we're quiet enough if the snake didn't know we were approaching,
I thought.

Off and on we change point until darkness, when Willy whispered, "We'll spend the night here."

Vickie's eyes grew large, because we were still in the swamp and no dry land was visible in any direction from where I stood.

"How can we sleep here?" She asked.

"Sit in the water or climb a tree," I replied.

Willy grinned, and whispered once more, "I'm using a tree, but only because gators can't climb trees."

Vickie smiled and didn't say much, but I felt she thought she'd be safe in a tree, so I added, "Snakes can climb trees and are often found in trees. Also, if you use a tree to sleep in, secure yourself or you'll fall out once asleep."

Her smile quickly disappeared as the rest of us selected trees to spend the night in. I wasn't worried about snakes in the water, but being attacked by hungry gators and some were very aggressive. What most folks don't realize about a swamp is it comes alive with movement and noise once the sun goes down. I noticed we all selected trees that covered the four main compass points of north, south, east and west.

Once in my tree, I tied myself to the trunk and cleared the limbs and moss from the area directly overhead. I removed an extra large hook that easily screwed into the tree trunk. In the days before the fall, I'd used the same hook to support my bicycle many times. I hung my shotgun from the hook and placed another hook on the other side to hold my backpack. I removed a small bottle of insect repellent and applied it liberally to my exposed skin. The last thing I needed was come down with a West Nile Virus or malaria.

From near Vickie's tree I heard a faint, "Shit!" and then a splash in the water. The original splash was followed by a number of louder splashes that sound like a fight going on.
Gators fighting over what Vickie dropped,
I thought, and grinned. She'll learn, if she lives long enough.

I have no idea what she'd dropped, but it'd stay there until morning or gators ate it. I heard gators stirring in the water below and the sounds of thousands of insects, frogs and maybe even the boogieman. Strange noises come from swamps at night, and we heard them all this night.

Once the moon came out, I could see swirls in the water when snakes and gators moved, and moonlight reflect off the small waves. Suddenly I heard a loud scream that equaled any woman I'd ever heard in a horror movie, but I quickly identified it as a panther or other large cat. While most in Mississippi thought no such animal existed, some of the good ole boys have been saying for years they did, and I believe them right now. While not overly concerned, I felt for my shotgun in the inky darkness under the canopy of my tree. Feeling the warm metal, I relaxed a little.

The night was long, but I dozed off and on most of the time. When morning came, a thick white mist cover the swamp like a veil. I climbed down my tree and waited in the knee deep water for the others. Soon, Ralph, Tom and Willy were at my side and a very tired Vickie walked to us a few minutes later.

Whispering, Willy asked, "Get any sleep?"

Vickie shook her head.

Willy gave a crooked grin and said, "Okay, Tom, you take point and stay out about 30 yards. Vickie, you pull slack and cover the rear. Let's move."

Well,
I thought as we started moving,
at least the water is warm and the sun is shining.

Shortly after noon, we exited the swamp and moved into some oaks. Three Claymores were placed, a guard designated and the rest of us got some much needed sleep. I must have fallen asleep instantly, because when I opened my eyes next, Tom was squatted beside me. He whispered, "Your turn."

It felt good to be out of the swamp, so I moved under a large pine and placed my shotgun in my lap. I placed one of the Claymore clackers near my left leg and did a lot of thinking about nothing. It bothers me that our country is in pieces, and I pray one day I'd see it unified again, but Top didn't think it'd happen again in our lifetimes.
A man has to have hope, or there is no reason to live,
I thought.

It was then I heard a noise of some kind of machine, and it was in the air. In just a split second I recognized the familiar sound helicopter! I moved to the others and touched each one on the foot. They came awake instantly.

Willy listened for a few seconds and then pointed at himself and Tom. He then pointed to a nearby clearing and finally, using his index finger and his middle finger pointed at his eyes. They'd go see what was flying around overhead. They moved to the edge of the clearing.

From what I could hear, the "whop-whop" sound of the bird was continuous and didn't vary, so that meant it was moving in a straight direction. However, it was getting closer and louder. If we were lucky it'd fly right overhead and Willy could identify it.

A few minutes later the sound was was gone and silence returned to the woods.

Returning from the edge of the clearing, Tom whispered, "I made it out to be a Chinese Habin Z-9. Mainly by overall design, the horizontal tail fins near the tail, and enclosed tail rotor. What do you think, Tom?"

"All I can say for certain is it had a red star on the tail boom. I don't know much about aircraft of foreign countries."

"Were they looking for us?" Vickie asked, and I could see the sleep had done her little good.

"No, the aircraft wasn't flying a search pattern and I think it was simply moving from one spot to another." Willy replied and then ordered, "Saddle up, we'll keep moving until dusk."

Damn,
I thought,
I should have had a bit to eat before I went to sleep.

The rest of the day was perfect, meaning we'd seen no one, and when we stopped near dusk, Willy pulled out a map. Under cover of a poncho and using his flashlight, he got our location, plotted a course and then said, "We'll move on in five hours."

As he folded the map, Ralph asked, "We're close, aren't we?"

"Less than five miles from where Top suspects a base camp may be located. Tom, you're on guard as the rest of us eat, so move up under a tree. Before we eat, get the Claymores out and then we'll all eat back to back."

I was tired, sleepy, hungry and not in a real good mood as I pulled out an MRE and read the label in the dying light, 'Chili with Beans.' I groaned, knowing they'd be fighting in my gut in an hour or so. However, I had to eat, so I opened the pouch and started eating. I must have been pretty damned hungry, because the meal was excellent, and a few minutes later I was asleep.

I had the last shift of guard and woke the group almost to the minute five hours had passed. All moved into the bushes to take a leak, and I smiled when I realized there was no sound. Most soldiers in the old days coughed, cleared their throats or spoke as they did their morning toilet, but we were as silent as death. Only the quiet and cautious were still alive now, the others long dead.

Once saddled up and ready to move, Willy pulled out his lensatic compass, looked at the glowing dial and said, "I'll lead and John, you pull drag. We'll move slowly due to poor light, but keep the noise to a minimum." He then slung his shotgun over his shoulder and pulled his pistol. He knew he'd not be able to keep us on course and carry a long gun.

It was slow going even with the moon out, and I fell so many times I felt like a complete fool. Then, less than two hours later, Willy stopped. He signaled for all of us to stay, but must have changed his mind, because he then pointed to me and motioned for me to come with him. As I moved forward, the others spread out on the ground and if seen from above, they'd have resembled a star. I noticed the Claymores were not placed, so Ralph must have expected us to leave in a hurry.

Willy and I moved forward very slowly and often he'd stop to listen. I heard nothing and saw even less due to the trees blocking the moonlight. After close to ten minutes we spotted a small clearing in front of us. I saw right off it wasn't natural, because I could see stumps and the trees had been removed close to the ground.
Shit,
I thought,
a mine field. I hope he doesn't want to cross the damned thing; there is an excellent chance it surrounds the whole complex.

Pulling his knife and then reaching behind him, Will cut a small switch. Whispering to me he said, "Not likely they have any pressure detonated mines, but there could be some trip flares or Claymores with trip wires. Stay in my footprints."

I nodded, and then he slowly moved forward crouched over. As he advanced, he was constantly moving the switch he'd cut from the tree in a figure eight in the air, about six inches above the ground. Suddenly he stopped, turned ninety degrees and moved his switch once more. I knew he'd just discovered a trip wire. He moved forward once more, now on a new path.

I don't scare easily, but moving over a minefield knowing if I made a mistake I could very easily die, frightened the living hell right out of me. My rear was puckered so tightly I could actually feel the pressure, as I could feel the sweat running freely down my forehead. The temperature was cool, but my sweat was from fear and not heat, and more than once I wanted to go back. Except, I couldn't, because the only safe place was right behind Willy. I wouldn't make it ten feet until something would explode or go off.

Finally, we moved from the clearing into some trees. Willy squatted, as I did once I reached his location. "Just on the other side of these trees is where the base should be. We'll move until we can see lights, then we'll crawl to where we can see the place. If it's large enough, they might have dogs, so that could be a problem."

He pulled out an old pill bottle and then a small plastic bottle. He handed them to me, so I asked, "What?"

"One is pepper and the plastic bottle has ammonia. Both are hard on dog noses if they get after us. Sprinkle a few drops of ammonia on our back trail and then a few feet later some pepper, but only if dogs get to be a problem. Any questions?"

I immediately thought of Dolly, who I'd left with Sandra and smiled. "No."

Just minutes later we neared another clearing, and off in the distance I saw more lights than I'd ever seen in one place since the fall. Willy got down and once I was prone he whispered, "Crawl forward, but stay behind me. When I stop, move to my side."

Crawling is slow business, especially when you don't want to disturb the grasses or draw attention. I'd seen a number of high towers, which I suspected held searchlights, and maybe more than just a few machine guns. Someone in a tower, if looking in our direction, would see any grass moving as we crawled. No, he might not actually see us, but the movement would get his attention.

After a long time, Willy stopped and motioned me forward with his left hand. Once in place, I saw we were next to a road and the base was right in front of us. Pulling a small tablet from his pocket, Willy began sketching the camp layout and from the dim light of the base, I saw the first thing he drew was the compass directions on the paper.

As he drew his illustration, I scanned the base and marked as much of it as possible to memory. The first thing I saw was a runway, which worried me, then six towers from where we were positioned. I saw no aircraft parked in the open and no building large enough to house anything very large. I saw a guard with a huge German Shepherd walking between two high fences right toward us, but the man looked bored as hell to me. I elbowed Willy and pointed.

I felt a light breeze on my face and knew the dog couldn't smell us, so all we had to do was remain still and all would be fine. The man followed the fence-line and when it turned about 90% he started his stroll down the other stretch. From where we were, I saw no housing or barracks or much of anything else. I felt Willy tap me with his hand, and we moved back into the woods.

Over the next three hours, we completely circled the base and gathered as much information as we could. From what I could see, the place was well defended, had excellent lighting from someplace, and was something we'd want to avoid. Well, in my mind I wanted to avoid it.

Willy touched my left arm and I saw a guard with a dog approaching, but this time he was outside the double fences. The dog suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. I slipped the safety on my shotgun off.

The guard wanted to move on, except the dog didn't like the idea, and I suspected our scent was in the air. Willy touched me again, and at that exact moment the dog starting barking. The dog handler removed the leash the animal ran right at us.

Willy's shotgun sounded once and the dog fell, whining loudly. Willy began to crawl backward as he said, "Let's move, and fast!"

A siren suddenly blared, indicating the base was under attack, which was far from the truth. Once in the trees, we moved as quickly as possible in the darkness. I heard a loud pop, followed immediately by a
hiss
, and knew flares were being sent high into the sky. More pops followed.

By now the sun was slowly coming up, turning black to gray, and I was concerned, knowing the Chinese chopper could have came from the base we'd just visited.
Sonofabitch, how did those guys get all that gear and supplies? Do they have other choppers on the base?
I thought, and then realized something else.
Shit,
w
e have to go back through that mine field!

Suddenly, I heard dogs barking behind us and knew they had our scent. They were far enough behind us that I hoped they'd not reach us until we'd navigated through the mines.
We don't have the time to do Willy's circles of figure eights to get to the other side,
I thought, and hated the thought of running blindly through the field. If if we just run, one or both of us will be either killed or injured, and if captured one equals the other, because we'd die in either case.