Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie (105 page)

Dane and Mick headed down and recognized the men who'd been held captive with them near the rock quarry. They spoke for 20 or 30 minutes before Tommy and Bill got back in the truck and headed down the road. Mick and Dane came back up the hill.

They said the men stopped by to tell Mick they'd seen his notes in town but they already knew about the weapon because
they're registered landowners and received their supply of gas masks.

Mick said they tried to drill him about our plans to protect ourselves. He told them we planned to stay in the basement and ride it out. He doesn't want anyone
, other than the compound members, to know about the tunnels. I thought that was a smart move.

Anyway, they said they'd be doing the same. They have three houses in a subdivision with basements and they're set up and ready to go.

They asked if we were still on for the trade meeting scheduled for May 26th and Mick told them that we'd be there if we were still alive and the threat had disappeared. They were happy with that and headed home.

Now, we wait.

The men have plenty of work on the compound to keep themselves busy. They need to build new floors in the guard tower and finish replacing the little wooden buildings.

There's still lots of cleanup to do in the onion field, but we've had an influx of HDI's coming out of the woods behind the Masterson place. I've heard at least eight gunshots since supper. There'll be more bodies to take care of in the morning.

An idea suddenly occurred to me and I need to write it down so I'll remember. It's the safe room at the Masterson house. It must have an air filter of some sort. Would it run on a generator? I have no idea what size the room is, but it might be able to support two or three people. Is it airtight? I'll mention it to Mick. Maybe we can take a look at it tomorrow. Maybe he and I should honeymoon in there while the rest of 'em stay in the tunnel room. Yeah, right. I couldn't stand to be away from my kids at such a dangerous time.

Tomorrow's the 18th. Chris told us about this on the 15
th
, but he knew about it the day before. Did he factor in that day when he said “within ten days?” These are the types of details I need to know. I plan to corner him and ask him first thing in the morning.

What am I forgetting? There has to be something I'm forgetting. I can feel it. Maybe it'll c
ome to me while I'm sleeping, if I sleep. I'm beginning to feel anxiety coming on. I'll probably be up before the sun tomorrow.

Bye for now.

Monday, May 19

I was right. I was up at 3:30
AM.

I sat on the back porch and listened to the crickets, birds, and night time animals.

As I sat there, I realized that those sounds will be gone for a long time after this idiotic weapons is dropped on us. I wonder what it'll do to the environment and ecosystem. I wonder how long it'll be 'til the birds come back. I hadn't even thought about it 'til I sat on the porch this morning.

I wish I had a cigarette or ten. I know they're really bad for you, but they calm me. The last one I had was the one I got from young Kenny on the day Kevin and Rona were hurt. I'd probably cough my lungs out with the first drag. Oh, well. I do feel better without them but, man, I really liked smoking. Ah, the good old days.

I can hear the military folks getting up already. They like to do PT if there's no danger in the air. I'm not talking about the kind of danger we're expecting. I'm talking about the “in your face” kind of danger.

Emma and Nana should be coming in the door any moment now. I think their assistants will be Sabrina and Anna. They'll have to wake them up. They're typical teens and like to sleep 'til noon.

I wonder if I can sneak back to bed and fall asleep beside Mick again. Oops, never mind. He's awake.

See ya later.

10:50 AM...

The men were cleaning HDI bodies out of the field before breakfast this morning. Mick left early and came up the hill for tools to work on the floors inside the right tower. He told me that all the HDI bodies were holding shell casings in their hands.

The hunter gatherer HDI's were picking up shell casings. It shocked me and didn't know what to do with the information. I couldn't think of anything to say so I stood there with my mouth gaping open and tried to figure it out.

Several seconds went by before we heard a barrage of gunfire coming from the left tower. Mick looked through the living room peep holes and saw soldiers running down the hill with their rifles. Then, he looked across the field and said “HOLY SMOKES” as he ran out the door.

I would guess there were 25-30 HDI's in the field and they were hunter gatherers. They were walking in random patterns and picking up shell casings.

The guards were having a hard time of it, getting head shots on them, because they'd bend over at the most inconvenient time. Several of them made it to the trailer fence and were trying to make a body ladder to crawl over.

The soldiers boosted one another up onto the top of the trailers and helped the guards eliminate them all. Mick heard someone yell “shoot 'em in the legs first” and that's what they did. They shot the legs out from under them and took their head shots while the HDI's were lying on the ground. Ten minutes later, they were all eliminated.

Body cleanup began immediately after the last one was assumed dead. The men were very careful approaching the bodies in case a bullet had simply skimmed off a cheekbone or grazed a skull instead of hitting the brain. Mick waved from the field which indicated to me that they were all dead. Jason drove the truck and trailer down and out the gate. It took about an hour and a half for the leery men to load all the bodies. They've taken them to the power lines to unload and burn.

We don't know where they came from. Ian and Rick said they weren't in the woods when they were stalking North Koreans. This is a mystery, and why in the world would they want shell casings? Anyway, the field is clear again and those not on burning duty have gone back to their projects.

It's time to start lunch preparations and I'm on the cooking crew.

See ya later.

1:23 PM...

It's time!

The alert signal sounded thirty minutes ago. I'm grabbing my pack and computer.

See ya from the tunnel room, I hope.

9:00 PM...

We're in the tunnel room and eve
ryone's still getting settled.

It's quiet. People are moving around carefully and whispering as they try to get comfortable. We're using the big spotlight that Monty and Jack had rigged up when they built the air filtration system. It works a lot better than flashlights and solar lanterns.

A lot of folks are wearing their gas masks, and I keep reaching toward mine and then pulling my hand back. I think I'm waiting on the soldiers to don theirs. I feel somewhat safe without mine as long as they're without theirs.

I don't know what to do. Should we be listening for aircraft? Can we rely on the click codes to get it
right? I pray they get it right.

Someone's “clicking” to Chris and he's “clicking” back. I have no idea what any of the codes mean and I hope Josie will make her way over here soon to tell me what she knows. We don't wanna step out of this room too early.

Because of the HDI's this morning and the alert right after lunch, we didn't get a chance to check out the safe room in the Masterson house.

We're a little crowded in here but it's not too bad. At least we don't have to worry about the animals making noise and alerting anyone standing on our heads. I'm pret
ty sure there are no NK's above the ceiling.

We ate creamy potato soup with bacon bits mixed in for supper. Nana and Emma prepared it while we were getting things done. I'm grateful that we had the fire drill. Things moved a lot smoother when the real alert sounded.

I'm thinking about Jeremy and his cohorts in Beggar Cave. Please Lord, let them be okay. Please let the plastic doors hold up and keep the poison out.

Is this truly the last day we'll have to deal with HDI's?

That's really the only good that could come from this. I won't be able to stop looking for them for several weeks. I've become accustomed to listening carefully when I'm near the fence and in the meadow. I've been somehow trained to check behind every corner and vehicle on the street whenever I go off the compound. It's gonna be a hard habit to break and I'm not entirely sure I'll let it go.

The soldiers will leave after the threat has passed. Ian and Isaac will stay behind. I don't know if Rick will stay this time. He's such a soldier at heart. I'm not sure he could stand to be away from that life too long. He's really good at it. I wonder if the military would accept part-time solders again. Heck, that's what the National Guard was.

Mick plans to leave as well. He says he will fight to keep our rights and property. I pray that the real military can win and we can start all over again. It'll be a lot easier now that we don't have deal with the North Koreans, Chinese, HDI's or ungodly mutant flies.

I think I'll sneak over near the radio
, and maybe I'll be able to hear whatever the soldiers are whispering about.

Lord, I hope we make it. I wish they'd just get it over with so we could begin the countdown. Actually, I wish our troops would find the dictator and take him out before he gives the order to drop the bomb. I can wish, can't I?

I took a Benadryl and it's kicking in. I'm gonna lay my head down, just for a few hours...

10:30 PM...

I'm in a Benadryl fog. I'm trying hard to bring myself out of it. I really am.

Chris woke us 15 minutes ago and said the aircraft had just flown over, which means Kapper Hill is probably covered in poison right now.

Mick's over in the corner with the rest of the military men, whispering up a storm. I have no idea why they're whispering. The only thing they can do is stay here and try to live.

I don't know what to do. There's nothing I can do. There's nothing any of us can do. The real wait has begun and we're being held hostage again. I hope we're able to escape this time.

Josie say's we're getting click codes from Beggar Cave. They heard the planes fly over and, so far, they're all okay. The horses are a little spooked but that's to be expected.

Now, we wait for word from home base. We need confirmation that the planes bombed the area. We need to know what's going on outside. I'm praying. I'm praying hard.

Bye for now.

Tuesday, May 20

I'm awake and I know by the clock on this computer that it's 5:00 AM. I think I'm the only one awake. Scratch that. I just looked over toward the radio area and I can see one of the soldiers sitting up and monitoring it with a solar lantern that's turned way down low.

The radio area is near the front of the room and the radios are sitting on a big, square coffee table that the furniture crew brought home. I feel like I'm partially blind because I can't tell who the soldier is. I think he's one of the nine who came home with Rick and Ian.

I just waved at him and he waved back. He can see me because I'm lit up by the bright computer screen. I guess we'll both sit here in silence. I hope my pecking on the keyboard isn't bothering him.

Everyone was up late last night, talking about the bombs. The Benadryl I took got hold of me and sent me back to sleep not long after I talked with Josie.

I wish someone would wake up and tell me if they learned anything else. Maybe I should make some racket to wake them up. Nah... I'll let 'em sleep.

I don't feel any different. My skin's not tingling and I'm not having trouble breathing. If those planes really did drop the bomb, maybe we're gonna make it through.

The kids are sleeping like logs. They're all around me.

Michael’s not even aware that Amber has her feet near his nose. Deuce has his face pressed up against the wall. He may feel more secure that way. I remember hugging the wall when I was a kid. My sister and I had twin beds in the same room. We both had a wall to hug.

Someone else is
awake. I can hear them tinkling in the potty area. There's a shower curtain surrounding the area, but it gives you a false sense of privacy. When the room is quiet like this, potty sounds can be heard all around.

I see a tiny flashlight coming out
. I can't tell who's carrying it. It's gotta be one of the women or girls. It's too short to be one of the men. It's heading towards me. I'll bet its Nana.

I don't know what to do. I suppose I could get up and start making biscuits
, but I'd make noise and I'm sure I'll wake someone. Oh Well, they need to get up anyway.

Uh Oh. I think Nana just stepped on Dane's stomach. I can hear him grumbling and he's getting up. Nana replied to his grumble with a whisper. She
said “You shouldn't have been laying in the path.” I can't believe I wanna laugh. I want to laugh like an insane person. This is crazy.

I don't know what this day will bring other than paranoia and fear. I dread it.

See ya later.