The Resolution (21 page)

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Snake

Not long after the Hinds passed over the Wolf Creek Bridge, Evan and the others could hear the rumble of the convoy’s diesel engines approaching from the distance. The militiamen’s hearts all began to race as they were preparing to take on a well-armed and well-trained professional military force. Having never fired a Browning M2 machine gun before, Evan went over everything in his head. How to reload. How to address malfunctions. How to accurately predict point of aim versus point of impact with the iron sights of the M2. The machine gunner’s belts were not pre-loaded with tracers, in order to avoid being seen, and being inexperienced with the gun, Evan couldn’t help but have all of those questions and more racing through his mind.

Evan gripped the spade-style handles of the gun, with his thumbs hovering lightly above the butterfly triggers. As the convoy snaked around the corner and onto the bridge, Evan couldn’t help but think of how it resembled a serpent winding its way down the road, on a hunt for food. From what he could see, the convoy consisted of five Humvees, obviously sourced from the U.S. military, as well as three DHS-marked MRAP light-armored vehicles, and two U.S. built medium-duty utility trucks in the personnel/cargo configuration. The two lead vehicles were both MRAPs, as was the vehicle bringing up the rear, with the Humvees and utility trucks filling in as the body of the snake.
They could bring their own helicopters, but couldn’t bring their own trucks,
he thought as he watched them work their way across the bridge.

As the last MRAP reached the end of the Wolf Creek Bridge, Evan was startled as the first AT-4 was fired, immediately disabling the MRAP, sending flames and debris flying in all directions, blocking the bridge. This explosion was followed by a cacophony of deafening thuds as several more AT-4s were fired, as well as the detonation of the IEDs placed along the south side of the road, just over the edge toward the river.

Evan opened fire immediately, startled by the power of the big .50 caliber Ma Deuce. At first, the scene was chaotic, with smoke and flames engulfing the convoy, and a deafening barrage of gunfire from the hillside, as the vehicles below were peppered with the heavy rounds from the .50 caliber M2 machine guns, as well as the Barrett M107 precision rifles.

In what seemed like minutes, but in reality was merely seconds, small arms fire from the vehicles on the road erupted, as well as the heavy machine gun fire from one of the MRAP’s roof-mounted machine gun turrets that had remained intact from the indirect hit which had disabled, but had not destroyed, the vehicle.

Evan focused his fire on the machine gun down below until his ammo belt ran dry and he was forced to make his first combat reload of the big M2. Struggling at first, but quickly getting a grip on the situation, Evan loaded the belt, cycled the rifle, and re-engaged the target. He could hear bullets ripping through the trees all around him as the UN-flagged soldiers on the road below concentrated their fire on the muzzle flashes of the machine gun operators, as they were the most visible targets to acquire.

One of the machine guns to his left fell silent. Assuming the operator had to reload such as he did, he expected it to resume firing at any moment. Its continued silence, however, gave him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that one of his fellow militiamen had already fallen.

As the return fire from the UN convoy began to lessen in intensity, Evan looked up and was horrified to see one of the Mi-24 Hinds streaking up the valley toward its comrades under fire below. As the Hind neared the convoy, it began a turning climb towards the hillside where the militiamen were positioned, opening fire with its 12.7mm machine gun when one of the remaining AT-4s, held in reserve, fired its anti-tank rocket directly into the flight path of the approaching Hind, clipping its tail rotor, sending it spinning and crashing violently into the hillside, where it erupted into an inferno of burning jet fuel.

As the second Hind made its approach, it made an abrupt turn to its right, avoiding the billowing cloud of black smoke from its smoldering comrade, and fired its S-8 rockets into the hillside, causing massive explosions, sending bits of debris and shrapnel flying high into the air, forcing Evan to dive down onto the ground to avoid being hit while the debris fell all around him. The helicopter then immediately pulled into a steep climb, barely clearing the top of the ridge. It flew directly over Evan’s head, disappearing over the ridge and down into the next valley.

~~~~

Tyrone and Pastor Wallace were observing the towering clouds of black smoke from both the direction of the Wolf Creek Bridge, as well as the Homefront and its neighboring homesteads.

“Pastor...” Tyrone said, wishing to ask him a question.

“Yes, Tyrone?”

“At what point should we evacuate the women. I mean... if we wait until we see a threat, a threat can see us as well. And I would venture to guess that any potential threat can outmaneuver and outrun a group of women and children.”

“I know; I was thinking the same thing just now. I think we should...” before Pastor Wallace could finish his sentence, a black Ford pickup truck came down the road from the west with several men in the back. “Maybe we’re too late,” he said. “Let the others know we’ve got company.”

As Tyrone turned to warn the others in the church, one of the men in the back of the truck began waving his arms frantically. Tyrone stopped, and looking closely, recognized Ed and Nate from his encounter in the woods that fateful night when he met them, along with Evan, Jason, Charlie, and Jimmy.

“Wait,” he said as Pastor Wallace cycled the action on the pump shotgun he was carrying. “That’s them. Those are the men who sent us here. The men who helped save Sabrina.”

“What? Oh, my Lord. Thank you, Lord. It’s the Hoskins boy and that fellow from up north,” Pastor Wallace exclaimed.

Tyrone ran to the truck to greet them as they pulled into the parking lot. “You made it back! Hot damn, you made it back! Evan and Jason told us about what happened. We’ve been praying every day, long and hard, for your safe return.”

Ed jumped out of the truck and gave Tyrone a hug. “So Evan and Jason made it back?” he said with a smile on his face. He turned to Nate. “Nate, they made it!”

“Sorry to interrupt the reunion, guys,” said Pastor Wallace, “but there is a lot going on right now that you need to be aware of. You see that smoke off in the distance?” He pointed toward the east and Wolf Creek Bridge. “That’s a militia ambush of a UN convoy that’s been rolling through each of the towns along its way, causing trouble for anyone associated with a militia.” Then he turned and pointed to the southwest. “Do you see that smoke over there? Two military helicopters flew over the ridge into the area of your homesteads, and the smoke has been rising up over the hills ever since.”

“Oh, my God!” exclaimed Nate. “Peggy? Mom? Luke? Is everyone okay? What happened?”

“We aren’t sure, but Evan, Jason, and Daryl are at the bridge with the militia. Everyone else from your parts bugged out to an old mine back in the hills behind the old Muncie place. Do you know where that is?”

“Not the mine,” Ed replied. “But we know where the Muncie place is.”

“I really don’t know what to tell you, boys. We have no idea the extent of what’s happened up that way. We’ve not received any reports from the militia or the homesteads.”

Nate looked at Ed and said, “We’ve got to get up there. We’ve got to help them.”

Ed looked at Pastor Wallace. “Do you have transportation we can borrow? These kind folks are friends of Henry and Meredith here,” he said, pointing to the occupants of the truck. “They brought us all this way and risked a lot, but we can’t ask them to go directly into harm’s way like that.”

“Take the ATV in the back shed. There should be enough gas in it to make it up there and back,” Pastor Wallace replied.

“Henry, you and Meredith stay here with Pastor Wallace and the church. They are good people. You can trust them. Nate and I have to go see what happened at home. We’ll come back for you.”

He then turned around upon hearing the sound of the ATV with Tyrone aboard. “Hop on, Ed,” he said. “Nate, you stay here and help guard the church. I’ll make sure your family is okay, no matter what it takes.”

“Now, Tyrone, we need you here,” said Pastor Wallace.

“Look,” Tyrone said with a serious voice. “I turned my back and ran when friends of mine were in trouble once before. I’ll never do that again. I owe these people my life. Now, Nate, you know you aren’t in any condition to go up there with Ed. Where’s your leg? I’m going, period.”

Henry spoke up and said, “I’m quite handy with a gun, Pastor. I’ll help fill in for Tyrone, as well.”

Ed climbed onto the back of the ATV with Tyrone, carrying the AK-74 he had acquired earlier in their journey, and Tyrone had strapped his bolt action .30-06 chambered Winchester Model 70 onto the front rack with bungee-style tie-down straps. The two men pulled away as fast as the ATV would go, leaving the others standing and watching.

“Okay, let’s get everyone inside,” Pastor Wallace said. “I think you should all come in and ride this thing out. It’s not safe for you to be driving off anytime soon.”

Chapter Thirty-Six: No Challenge Too Great

As Tyrone and Ed arrived at the Homefront, they were horrified to see that all that was left was smoldering ruins and one remaining brick wall. It had been completely destroyed, along with everything Evan and Molly had worked so hard to acquire, which had helped nearly everyone in their homesteading community during the onset of the collapse. The two men didn’t utter a word. As Tyrone hit the throttle, Ed pointed the way to the Thomas farm.

As they neared the Thomas farm, they could see the smoke in the distance, and to their horror, they once again arrived to see that Mildred’s beautiful old farmhouse had also been burned to the ground. “We’ve got to get to the mine,” Ed said. “If that’s where they all went, we need to make sure they are okay. We can’t just ride right up to the mine though. We need to check it out from a distance. Otherwise, we may clue someone in on their whereabouts.”

“Just tell me where to go,” Tyrone replied.

“That way,” Ed said as he pointed up ahead, and off they went.

Stopping just shy of a mile from the old Muncie place, which had been slated to become the new Vandergriff home, Ed and Tyrone hid the ATV in the brush, readied their rifles, and set out to make the rest of the journey on foot.

“If the mine is behind the Muncie place, we need to get on the opposing hillside so we can get a good vantage point to see if there are any threats in the nearby area. Then we can—” Ed was interrupted by the crack of several gunshots coming from the direction of the Muncie place.

“Damn it!” he said. “Let’s get going.”

As they neared the Muncie place, Ed said, “How good are you with that thing?”

“The rifle? I’ve never really had the chance to shoot it, but Pastor Wallace showed me how.”

“Here, trade me,” he said, handing him the AK-74. “Here is how this thing works. You cycle the action with the charging handle here to pick up a round from the magazine after you reload, or if it becomes jammed to clear it. This big lever on the side is the safety. Up is safe, the middle is fully automatic, all the way down is one shot for one trigger pull.”

“Fully automatic like a machine gun?” Tyrone asked.

“Yes, exactly. I’ll take your Winchester up on that opposing hill. I’m a pretty good shot at long range. I used to have my own rifle range in my backyard up in Ohio. Anyway, you creep around toward the Muncie house, but don’t give yourself away. I’ll get up on that hill, and when I see the threat, I’ll start to pick them off from a distance. The AK is easy to use. Point, aim, spray, and pray. What I want you to do is be the last line of defense for the people in the mine if they try to escape, or if someone attempts to enter the mine. Once I start firing, you should get a good idea where the threats are when they return my fire. If they are carrying those things,” he said, pointing at the AK-74. “I’ll be at an advantage at that distance, which should help even the odds.”

“Sounds good. Good luck, man,” Tyrone said, shaking Ed’s hand before turning to slip off into the woods toward the Muncie place.

Once Ed got himself positioned on the opposing hill, he scanned the area with the 3-9x scope on the Winchester. Starting out at 3x, the lowest magnification setting, gave Ed the widest field of view, enabling him to scan the area quickly. On his second pass across the other hill, he saw several muzzle flashes, followed by the crack of the shot ringing out across the valley. Zooming in on the target with the scope on 9x magnification, Ed recognized the flashes as coming from the same type of Russian troops that had taken them hostage during the roadside ambush of the tractor. “Bastards,” he whispered to himself as he continued to scan the area.

Seeing muzzle flashes coming from within the cave, Ed felt some relief, knowing that at least someone from the homesteads was still alive to be putting up a fight. He just had no idea who. For now, that simply didn’t matter. His new mission was to eliminate the foreign threat, to liberate his friends who might still be alive.

Taking a slow and steady aim at one of the soldiers from the prone position, concealing himself behind the blades of tall grass that grew on the hillside, Ed thought to himself.
This must be like... three hundred to four hundred yards. I should have never used distance markers and a laser range finder on my range back home. Now I’m spoiled. Oh, well, here goes,
he said to himself as he adjusted his hold for the distance and prevailing wind, took a deep breath, and then gently squeezed the trigger, sending the 180-grain, soft-point hunting round flying across the valley and directly into the back of his intended target. Seeing the man drop from the kneeling firing position to the ground, Ed thought,
That’s one.

Ed adjusted his aim to the next soldier in view, who was frantically informing his fellow soldiers of Ed’s shot. Ed could see six men total, one of whom he had already taken out of the fight. Placing his cross hairs on the frantic soldier pointing in his general direction on the hill, he held his breath and let another round fly, ripping through the man’s stomach, dropping him to the ground where he writhed around in pain for a few seconds before the movement stopped.
A little low,
he thought.

The other soldiers then began to scatter, and turned to focus their fire on Ed’s position. As rounds began to land in Ed’s general area, he realized they must have seen the muzzle flash of his last shot.
Thank goodness they have AKs,
he thought, referring to their lack of long-range prowess.

He took his aim and fired another shot, taking another one of the soldiers out of the fight.
That’s three.

As he adjusted his aim for the fourth man, he felt a series of stings impact his right leg. “Damn it!” he shouted in pain, rolling over on his good side to assess the situation. “Crap! Oh, God, that hurts,” he said as he watched the blood run from his leg. Removing his belt, he made a tourniquet to stop the bleeding until he was clear of the threat and could take the time to deal with his injuries.

Finding it more difficult to hold his aim with the searing pain in his leg, Ed hovered his cross hairs on the next target, who was now much better concealed, and let a round fly. As he felt the recoil from his rifle, another sharp pain erupted as a bullet ripped through his left arm, causing him to drop the rifle.

Clutching his arm with his hand, Ed moaned in pain and lifted his hand to see a sizeable chunk of his bicep missing. “Oh, dear God,” he said aloud. As bullets kept impacting the ground around him, he knew that he must push through the pain and finish the fight. It was his only way out at that point. He was in no condition to retreat from the hillside, and they had a fix on his position.

Letting go of his arm, allowing the profuse bleeding to continue, Ed picked up his rifle and attempted to cycle another round into the chamber, only to realize it was empty.
Damn it!
he thought.
I forgot these things only hold three in the mag and one in the pipe.

With his only good arm, Ed fumbled around in his pocket for the extra cartridges he had gotten from Tyrone; once he retrieved them, he began to load them, one by one, through the open action of the rifle. It was a slow and painstaking process with only one hand and the distraction of severe pain throughout his body.

Picking up his rifle and propping it up on his dead arm, Ed cycled a round into the chamber, took aim, and fired another shot. Looking through the scope, he could see that the shot hit the soldier he was aiming for, leaving one visible threat. As he cracked a smile, a bullet smashed through his collarbone, sending a shockwave of unimaginable pain through his body. With the rifle still propped up on his dead arm, he struggled to reposition it, as he knew one more threat remained. He attempted to aim the rifle, but his body began to shake; he started to go numb and had trouble simply holding the rifle in place. As his vision began to blur, he saw a series of muzzle flashes through the scope as Tyrone appeared, firing wildly from the hip with full-automatic fire, killing the last of the soldiers. Ed cracked a smile as his vision faded to black, and the world around him went silent.