Apocalypse in the Homeland: The Adventures of John Harris (11 page)

“Levi, this is Ramla, the Americans are under attack by these Chosen People. Do you want us to assist them?”

“Ramla, stand down unless they are going to be overrun.”

“Will comply.”

“Ramla, we want to make sure these are the good guys before we introduce ourselves. Continue following them until Albuquerque and then Zion Two will take over from there.”

“Aaron, this group appears to be the real deal from the ISA. I want to place two operatives into the group heading north immediately and send ten more from several drop points to infiltrate Mobile, Pensacola and Port Arthur. I know they're our friends, but the USA was our friend and their president started this whole disaster.”

“Mosha, it’s not that we don’t trust them, it’s that we can’t trust anyone until we get our country established. We seem to be spending most of our effort killing drug gangs based out of Mexico and South America. I do agree with your plan. Execute it ASAP. We need to know if ISA will use its power to protect us. I never thought they would intentionally harm us.”

“I am sending Ziva and Amit. They will be saved by the ISA and join their ranks.”

“Good choice. Who would suspect such angels of being spies?”

***

“Amit, hit me and I will hit you back. We need to look like we were beaten and bruised. Mori, get us some worn and dirty clothes.”

Amit slugged Ziva and the fight was on for about ten minutes. The punched, hit and scratched each other until they were bleeding and Ziva’s left eye was swelling shut.

“We need to convince them we escaped from a drug gang and they saved us. Men will be easy to convince, but these people are like us and have quite a few women warriors so make sure that you fool them also.”

They only took knives and a handgun each to the chopper and were flown to Denton, Texas to try to make contact with the convoy.

***

Scott’s plan was to take Highway 635 around the top of Dallas to US 77, head up to Denton and take Highway 35 north to Oklahoma. Half of Dallas was under the control of a local drug lord and as much as Scott wanted to go in and kick him out of Dallas, he had to remember that his mission was to find the missing President. They didn’t encounter any major issues, however someone took several shots at the convoy as they exited 635 and headed north on 77. No one was injured and they kept rolling on towards Denton.

The convoy was about a mile from the 35W and 35E interchange when the lead vehicle signaled back that there was a road block ahead in front of the North Texas Stadium. Scott had his driver take him to the front of the convoy and found them under fire from the top tier of the stadium. Several of the Humvees were firing at the snipers on top of the stadium to no avail.

Scott grabbed the radio mic and said, “This is Alpha One. Apache Six what is your location?”

“Alpha One this is Apache Six. We are five miles north of your location.”

“We have a roadblock and snipers pinning us down. Can you remove them if we paint them for you?”

“Can do.”

“Captain, have your men get the lasers out and paint the roadblock and that damn sniper on top of the stadium.”

“Will do. Will be in range in three minutes.”

The gunship fired three rockets from a thousand yards away and blew the roadblock to tiny pieces. Then it launched three more and took out most of the top tier of the stadium. The convoy moved forward for about a mile when there was a tremendous explosion and the lead Humvee flew into the air and landed back to earth on its side. All inside were killed instantly.

“Alpha One, this is Alpha Two. The SOBs planted an IED beside the road. Lead Humvee is destroyed with all dead.”

Suddenly there were bullets striking every vehicle in the convoy from several directions. Every Humvee returned fire with the 5.56 Twin Saws or twin Ma Deuces. The gunfire stopped as suddenly as it started. Scott had the Apaches scout the area and they didn’t see a living soul. The enemy struck and quickly disappeared.

“Alpha Two this is Alpha One. Get our dead, take the Ma Deuces and any ammo from the damaged Humvee and have Zebra Three search and destroy any surviving thugs.”

“This is Alpha Two. Roger.”

***

Joan was Zebra Three’s squad leader and as usual out front helping search the area around the stadium. They found and shot three surviving gang members in the first hour and started working their way into the stadium when one of her men called for her.

“Joan, we have some civilian women who look pretty beat up. I would like to take them back to the convoy and let Doc look at them, but we need you to convince them to go with us. You need to bring a couple of women rangers along.”

“Let me see them first. I want to make sure they aren’t gang members trying something sneaky.”

“These are two young women who are beaten, dirty and don’t look like they would hurt a fly, but they just might kill someone trying to hurt them.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Take me to them.”

“You’re the boss. Let’s go.”

The two young women were huddled in a corner and looked like they had been living in a gutter for years. They were beaten, bruised and smelled like week old garbage. They had been beautiful girls before the gang had abused them. Both had kitchen butcher knives in their hands and were threatening the rangers, who were trying to calm them down.

Joan walked up to them and said, “Ladies, we are the ones who killed the bad guys who held you prisoners. We just want to help you.”

“We don’t know you and just want you to leave us alone. We can take care of ourselves.”

“If that’s what you want, we will leave you alone, but we have a doctor and some food for you. We are heading north and will be stopping for the night. There you can get a hot bath and a change of clothes. After we feed you and ask you about the gang activity in this area, you will be free to leave if you want to. We are looking for people to join our new country, the ISA and you might be interested in that after you hear our leader’s presentation.”

They put down the knives and one spoke up, “I am Ziva and this is Amit. We were captured several months ago and have been treated like slaves. Thanks for killing those assholes and setting us free. We don’t have any place to go or any family. We were visiting the USA on vacation and were driving from LA to Nashville to visit some American friends when the bombs went off. We were west of Dallas and took months to walk there hoping that we would find refuge. The city is in chaos and drug gangs have taken it over. We just want to go back to Israel and see our parents.”

Joan felt a tear well up in her eyes and said, “I’m sorry to tell you, but Israel no longer exists. The UN and Iran exploded several nukes along its border. We retaliated and now Iran no longer exists along with the major Islamic supporters of the UN. The radiation from the nukes fired on Israel and the bombs that wiped out Iran have made the area hot for a thousand years. The Jewish people were fleeing the country and now we have lost contact with them. We assume hundreds of thousands got away in time, but don’t know for sure. We also don’t know where they relocated due to massive loss of satellites from the EMP blasts. I’ve heard that they didn’t want the Islamic terrorists to know where they went and avoided the few satellites that we have in service.”

The two ladies were crying and holding each other for awhile before Joan could get them up and go to the convoy.

“Lieutenant Pope and Sargent Harris come on in and have a seat.”

They saluted and joined Scott in his tent to be debriefed on the stadium mission.

“Sir, the Apache attack and our machine guns killed 27 and we killed 3 during our search. We also found two female hostages and brought them back for medical treatment. They claim to be Israeli citizens. Joan, tell the major about these women.”

Joan passed on what she had learned and added, “If these two can get past their losses, I think that they will make good additions to our team. I believe all Israelis are trained in weapons and most served in their military.”

“Probe them and see what you think. We’ll place them under your wing for now until we decide what to do with them. Dismissed. Joan, can you stay for a minute?”

The lieutenant left and Scott drew his wife close and kissed her. They embraced for a few minutes; then Scott got back to business.

“Keep those women away from anything sensitive and test them until you trust them or shoot them. If they pass, you can add them to your squad. Love you, now get back to your squad.”

“What no loving tonight? I’m over ready myself.”

“Sorry, but I have a late night with my staff. Tomorrow will have to do.”

She punched him and said, “The honeymoon is over.”

***

Ziva and Amit received a brief inspection by the doctor and were assigned to ride in Joan’s Humvee. They took pleasure in watching the rangers gag on their smell. They had taken great pains to wallow in rotten vegetables and garbage before being found. Ziva thought this might delay the inevitable flirting from the male Rangers. They pulled off the road and drove into a stand of trees by a small stream. Joan made sure that their bath water was ready in record time and personally burned their clothes. When they were done bathing Joan took their clothes into the make shift shower, left and allowed them to dress in private.

Joan saw them come out of the shower and said, “Now the doc wants to give you a more thorough examination.”

“Because we smell better now?”

“Ya’ll were pretty rank when we picked you up. Didn’t the gang members let you clean up at all?”

“Yes, we were allowed to bath regularly. We hid in a dumpster to get away from them when we saw the explosions. We weren’t smelling like roses, but we were clean.”

Ziva looked down and had tears in her eyes as she said, “The gang wanted us clean when they passed us from man to man.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through such horror. Our ongoing mission is to wipe this scum off the face of the earth. Have you heard of the Chosen People?”

They both said no.

“Well they are a bunch of racists who eliminate everyone except white people. Watch out for them if you leave us. Jews would not be welcome in their camps. I guess that ya’ll received the usual military training in Israel?”

“We both had the basic training all civilians receive, but neither of us served in the military.”

“If you join us, you will learn to fight and help protect the ISA. We treat men and women the same as far as combat roles. Every person 12 and above is trained to fight and kill if necessary.”

Joan caught Scott after supper and told him that she still wanted to observe them; she thought that they might make good additions to her team.

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Chapter 13

“You cut that man’s throat and didn’t blink an eye or shed a tear, yet you are so gentle and kind to me.”

“Darling, that guy would kill us in a heartbeat and not think a thing about it. It’s easy for me to keep my private life separate from my survival life. I want the same things everyone does, a loving wife, food and shelter. Try to fuck with those and my bad side will appear.”

“I’m staying on your good side.”

“Let’s finish packing and get side by side for the rest of the night.”

***

“Jerry, I can’t tell you how shocked I was when Jim pulled his knife out and cut that man’s throat. Blood was squirting from his neck while Jim calmly wiped his blade on the man’s shirt like he’d done this a hundred times and it was old hat to him.”

“I told you this man was just what we needed. He can train our team, kill our enemies and then have an unfortunate accident. Our people will want him to be their leader before too long so be ready when it’s time for his accident. We will pray over his grave and hail him as a true hero.”

“Can I have Kristen when he dies?”

“Only if you stay out of his way until the time comes when we don’t need him anymore.”

***

The next day came way too early for John. He woke up at 3:30 a.m. with Beth curled up against his back. He checked the time and cursed when he realized that they had to get up in 30 minutes to prepare for moving their camp to the warehouse. He lay there thinking about the move, then suddenly played back the last few minutes in his mind. He thought Beth was curled up against his back. Who the hell was Beth? Damn, maybe it was on old girlfriend or ex-wife, but then who was Ann? He sure as hell didn’t want to call Kristen Beth. That would get his balls cut off. He lay there until the alarm went off trying to picture Beth’s face, whoever the hell she was.

Kristen woke up and got on top of him and made love to him as she did every morning. They finished and lay there for a few minutes before getting up and dressing.

“Kristen, have we had sex every morning since we met?”

“No, we started when you moved in with me. Are you getting tired of making love every morning?"

“Hell no, I love it and hope I can keep up with you.”

She responded, “I do all of the work and you get the benefit.”

He pinched her and they got dressed and ready to move.

Kristen boxed up all of their possessions while John loaded them into the truck. They had the truck about half full and drove over to Tom’s house and helped him and his wife pack up and load their belongings into the truck. They had a boy that was eight years old and a small dog so the cab would be crowded. John and Tom decided to move the boxes around and ride in the back with their rifles ready in case the bad guys tried to attack.

“Tom, let’s drive over to Jerry’s and get this circus on the road to our new home. Kristen, let’s go!”

Kristen stuck her arm out the window, gave John the finger and yelled, “Okay Mr. Bossy.”

Tom’s wife looked over at Kristen and said, “You two act as though you’ve been together for years. Is Jim a good man?”

“I really am falling for him and yes we get along very well. He takes charge and gives orders, but he is also kind and gentle. He is also damn good in bed.”

“That’s TMI. I just wanted to make sure he isn’t beating on you and didn’t want to know what was going on in your bedroom.”

“Twice a day every day so far.”

Tom’s wife blushed and said, “That will wear off in a few months and then ya’ll will behave like an old married couple.”

They drove slowly over to the warehouse area to make sure they weren’t driving into an ambush. Tom’s wife saw camping trailers parked at the RV dealer and said, “How big is this warehouse? Would those campers fit inside? It would beat trying to build rooms.”

Kristen got John’s attention, stopped and pointed at the campers and yelled, “Let’s live in them inside the warehouse.”

John thought it was a fantastic idea and started planning how to move the campers.

They had a safe drive and didn’t see anyone along the way. He opened the doors and posted two men as lookouts while the others unloaded their possessions. He told them about the campers and asked Tom to lead the effort to move all of the vehicles out of the warehouse to make room for the campers. He then led the convoy back to their camp to help move more of their friends.

“Jerry, Tom’s wife had a great idea that will make our lives much better. She saw the campers at the RV lot and suggested that we move them into the warehouse and live in them. I asked Tom to clear out the warehouse and get ready to start moving campers in.”

Jerry’s face turned red and he snapped back at John, “Don’t do that again. I’m the leader and I make all of the decisions. Do you understand?”

“Jerry, you may be the leader, but you don’t make all decisions. You are not a dictator. If you keep that tone, everyone will leave the camp and strike out on their own.”

Several of the others chimed in that the idea was good and each wanted a camper.

Jerry saw he was losing ground and said, “I’m sorry for snapping at you and of course it’s a good idea.”

John thanked him and finished helping him load his things onto the truck. It only took three trips to get everyone moved and Tom had the warehouse cleared out and three trailers moved in during that time.

Jerry immediately went over to Tom, had him move the trailers to a new location and continued to direct the placement of each one until all 65 trailers were in the building. The building would hold over a hundred more and still have room for a large common area. Several people tried to give him advice, but he snapped at them and ignored their advice.

Tom walked up to Jerry and said, “Several of our families have had campers and have started the refrigerators and heaters on their campers.”

Jerry snapped, “It’s their home now. Why can’t they enjoy a little heat and a cold refrigerator?”

John chimed in with, “Carbon monoxide.”

This embarrassed Jerry and he said, “Jim, do you have to butt in on every conversation?”

“Yes, if it means keeping our people from dying while they sleep. Jerry, you are our leader, but you need to start listening to the others. You don’t have all of the answers.”

“Well, if you don’t obey orders, you can just pack up and leave.”

This pissed off the people standing around the conversation.

One spoke up and said, “Jerry, you have helped hold this group together and we owe you, but you are not a dictator. We are a community and everyone has a say in how we do things. You owe Tom and Jim an apology. They probably saved many lives by catching the carbon monoxide problem.”

Several in the crowd agreed and spoke up to Jerry who was pissed off and walked away from the conversation.

One woman said, “Jim should be our leader. He has military experience and knows a lot more about survival than the rest of us.”

***

Jeff listened and left to join Jerry outside the warehouse.

“Jerry, they are saying that Jim should be our leader and he knows much more than you do. The damn traitors forgot who saved their sorry asses and kept this group together. It’s time for that accident.”

“Yes, let everyone get settled in and we will take Jim on a scouting mission and he won’t come back.”

They didn’t see or hear Tom’s wife emptying the chamber pot on the other side of the stacked pallets. She stayed quiet until they finished and went back in the building before she went to find Tom.

“Tom, I never trusted Jeff, but I always liked and respected Jerry. Those two are plotting to kill Jim because they think that he is trying to become our leader.”

“What makes you think that they would hurt Jim?”

“I overheard them plotting against him. Jeff said it was time for Jim to have an accident and Jerry said they would go scouting and Jim wouldn’t come back.”

“I’ll get Paul and a couple of the guys I trust and we’ll figure out what to do. How close to Jerry is Kristen? Could she be in on this?”

“She hates Jeff, but she and Jerry appeared to be pretty close when we joined the group. I don’t think so. She is in love with this guy we call Jim and would never hurt him or let anyone hurt him.”

“Good, that will make what we have to do much easier. I’m off to see Paul.”

***

Later that evening John was having supper with Kristen when she said, “Jerry had no right to jump your ass like that. I’m surprised that you kept your temper.”

“How close to Jerry are you?”

“Not that close. He and Jeff found me walking down the road and took me into their group. It probably saved my life, but that doesn’t give him the right to boss everyone around. He was the leader when most of us joined and stayed the leader even though he made many mistakes. We don't know much about surviving and you do.”

“He resents me being here. Why did it take so long for this to rise to the surface?”

“I think you held back on giving him advice and frankly didn’t want the burden of leadership. Jerry has made some big mistakes thinking the government would come to our rescue and didn’t get us ready for the long haul. Jim, you must step up to the plate and become our leader if we are going to survive.”

“I’m glad to help in any way possible, but Jerry and Jeff will resist and may even fight us over who leads the group.”

“Honey, just watch your back around Jeff. He still wants me and would do about anything to try and make me his.”

“Were you two ever together?”

“No, but he thinks that since the world fell apart he can do what he wants and have anything or anybody he wants.”

“He will have to kill me to get you. You are my world and I love you with all of my heart. I don’t think I can live without you.”

Kristen heard John’s words and started crying because she felt the same way and was frightened at the same time. She thought, “
What if he hates me when he finds out that he isn’t Jim Jones and that I have been part of the deceit?
”

John said, “Don’t cry; I will be with you forever.”

***

Tom filled Paul in on the plot against John and they agreed on two more men to take into their confidence. Paul’s brother, Tim, and Tom’s best friend, Ralf, were brought in on the situation.

“We must confront them and ask them to leave our group,” Tom said.

Ralph replied, “Tom, I agree that it appears to be exactly what you think it is, but what if your wife misunderstood the conversation. They could have been just blowing off steam and cooled off.”

Tim added, “I don’t think we have enough to go accusing them. We need more evidence.”

“So you want to lay back and let them take John into the woods and kill him?” asked Paul.

“No, but if they want to kill him and make it appear to be an accident we can watch and stop them. Then we know for certain that they are guilty.”

“I don’t know about that. They could kill him before we can stop them.”

Tom stood up and said, “Tim, would you risk Paul’s life if Jerry and Jeff were plotting against him?”

“Hell no, I’d shoot both of them.”

“Then that’s what we have to do. Let’s take them out on a scouting mission and they don’t come back.”

They all agreed and started planning their trip with Jerry and Jeff.”

***

Jerry held his weekly town meeting every Thursday and tried his best to listen to his people and help resolve their concerns. He was sick and tired of the whining and gripes. Once he got rid of Jim, he could start ruling with a tight fist. These people needed to be told what to do and when to do it.

“Jerry, we need to run pipes for water and sewage.”

“We need to set up someone to remove garbage.”

“We need more propane.”

Tom spoke up and said, “Paul told me that there is a propane dealership about five miles from here on the other side of the airport. Let’s go fetch several big tanks of propane back to our place.”

Jerry replied, “Great idea. I haven’t been out for a while. Jeff will join us. Jim, please figure out the water and sewage problem while we are gone.”

The meeting ended and Tom went to get his field pack and tell his wife that he would be back later in the day. He rounded up Paul, Tim and Ralph and told them that the mission was a go.

The six of them loaded up in Jerry’s truck, took Zoo Drive to 40
th
Street and headed north. They drove cautiously and watched for roadblocks and ambushes. Tom saw a couple of people and noticed that several jumped behind buildings as they approached. Jerry and Jeff were in the cab of the truck and were laughing and talking the entire drive, while Tom and his team were looking for a good spot to ambush their soon to be ex-leader. Suddenly a shot rang out and the passenger side window shattered. Jeff slumped over and Jerry sped up and parked his truck behind a semi in a parking lot. Bullets continued to strike close to them while Jerry tended to Jeff.