Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students are in detention when Nuclear War explodes.Game on, they are on their own. (16 page)

“Don’t come back if we are under attack,” David repeated.

Zeke paused, checked his K-Bar knife, then slipped out into the night.

31.

The moon was now visible, and provided a faintly visible silhouette. Zeke could use that, but he had to be sure he was not horizoned, like the green book warned the pilots about.

He moved carefully from one pile of smashed cars to the next. These cars just ran off the overpass, one after another, into huge piles that had tipped over.

He paused, and then slowly dropped to the ground, like preparing for a push up.

He heard it again. A muffled sound.

The fallout ash was several inches deep, and the dirty white color reflected the moonlight. He didn’t see anyone moving. His pulse was racing so fast that he could feel the sound of his blood slushing through his heart. His mouth was bone dry, but his hands were so sweaty they slipped on the shotgun.

He suddenly recognized the muffled sound. It was the sound of someone walking carefully, in boots, through fallout dust. Karen’s boots had made that exact sound.

The sound stopped.

Zeke wondered if he was breathing loudly. He couldn’t judge the distance, or direction of the sound. His arms began to burn as he held himself up out of the ash so he could breathe.

He sensed, rather than saw, movement to his left. The sound was getting closer. Then he saw small clouds of dust between the cracks of the smashed cars directly to his left. Legs were moving on the other side of the car, less than four feet away. He stayed on the ground, but raised his shotgun through a crack, and pulled the trigger.

Immediately a full clip of bullets ripped into the smashed cars above his head. Then he heard a thump, and dust splatter as the shooter fell.

The shooter wasn’t dead yet, but his chest looked like hamburger meat. The shotgun was brutal at three feet. The
shooter reached for his AK 47, as Zeke kicked it away. Zeke quickly slit his throat with the K-bar. He still hoped that no one had been able to get a fix on his location in the dark, and he didn’t want to fire again.

The hardest thing to do after a firefight is nothing, Doron had told him from some combat history book. Zeke hid under an open space from the cab of a semi-truck.

He heard shouting from at least three voices in a foreign language. The voices came closer then moved to his right. He could see three silhouettes very close together. They shouted like they were calling for the shooter.

The dust! Zeke shouted to himself. When they found the body, it would be easy to follow his tracks. He now wished he had the M-16. He had already chambered another shell in the shotgun, and had two more in the pump. He would have to take two out on the first blast, or he was done. He decided to fire the shotgun with his right hand, and shoot the 9 with his left hand. He knew, without knowing how he knew, that when they found the body they would bunch close around it, and then he would attack.

So he waited.

More screaming. They had found the body, and gathered around the corpse. Zeke ran straight at them, screaming, and as they turned, fired both the shotgun and the 9 at shoulder level.

The shotgun hit all three of them in the face. Their AK 47s riddled the ground, and each other, as they fell. Zeke missed all three with the 9. Zeke dropped the shotgun, then grabbed the 9 with his right hand, shooting each one in the head.

Zeke never gave his next action any conscious thought. He realized he was running towards the overpass. His hands were shaking, he had soiled himself. But his legs flew over the dust and debris. He tried to remember not to run in a straight line, but to zig zag.

He could hear David say “Its Zeke!” and blow his
whistle.

Zeke held his shotgun above his head with both hands pointing sideways, the agreed return to camp signal, and ran back to camp.

“Are you hurt?” David said.

Zeke tried to answer, but could not talk. His mouth was chalk dry. David handed him his canteen. Zeke drank it all, spilling precious water as his hands shook. David took the canteen, and poured water into Zeke’s mouth.

“I am fine,” Zeke said trying to control his voice.

“I got in a firefight with the greens, killed four. Didn’t see any one else waiting to attack us from the pancaked cars,” Zeke said.

“I got the green book they carry, and a map.”

32.

Zeke watched David scan the map quickly to see if they were targeted on the map, but only the interstate and the railroad tracks were marked in see through yellow marker.

“The greens probably just heard us, and followed us until we camped. They thought we were an easy target, or maybe the women just looked fine,” David said.

There was handwriting in ink on the front cover, also in a foreign language. Zeke checked his watch again, they had less than two hours until dawn.

David patrolled the perimeter, alone. Karen was still unconscious. He checked her forehead, she had a fever. Doron just lay still, quietly staring at the stars. Liu was sitting next to Karen.

“The gas can is ready when you give the signal,” Liu said.

“Great. In about thirty minutes we are going to move Karen and Doron to the other side, but leave the fire burning. We will probably be attacked just before daylight,” David said.

Liu nodded.

“We picked up several AK 47s. Here’s one for you and a couple of clips,” David said. Liu checked the chamber, then pulled the hammer chambering a round and propping the AK 47 up.

“Liu, we don’t know how many are going to attack us. We are down to four shooters and Ashley. If we start losing this firefight, grab a motorcycle and run. Zeke and I can provide cover for you to get away,” David said.

“No,” said Liu instantly.

“Liu, you really don’t want to be captured,” David said.

“Understood. I already decided- I
won’t
be captured,”
Liu said.

It was quiet for a few seconds.

“Karen talked about that a lot on the woman’s side,” Liu said. David looked away.

“I will play it out here,” Liu said quietly. “I am not leaving Karen,”

“Or you,” Liu said slowly, looking at him.

David did not respond.

“Ever watch the You-Tube video “
White Flag
” by Dido?” Liu asked.

“Yes,” David said.

“There won’t be a white flag of surrender.”

33.

“Its David,” he shouted as he crawled up the overpass to Jorge and Ashley’s barricade on top. David could see Zeke at their fallback position about twenty feet down range.

Ashley had added chunks of cement debris with shooting space on all four sides about two feet high. Zeke had dropped off an AK 47 and four clips, and Ashley had the shotgun slung around her shoulder.

Jorge was drinking his coffee that looked like maple syrup. Ashley had been crying, her hands shook, and she was staring out towards the semi pileup.

“When do our guests arrive?” Jorge asked.

“Probably just before dawn, ” David said.

“What’s the plan?” asked Jorge. His voice quivered, his hands trembled, and he spilled the coffee. He tried to hide it from David.

“You are in good company,” said David, handing him a rag. “If anyone is not terrified, they don’t understand the situation. This is not a video game.”

“In an hour, about thirty minutes before dawn, Zeke and I will come relieve you here,” David continued.

“You will retreat to where Zeke is now,” David continued, pointing.“Karen, Doron and Liu will join you there. The greens will probably attack through semi pileup and the overpass,” he said.

“Why attack there?” Jorge asked.

“They have cover until just before they reach us, and they can attack us on both ends,” David said. “We need to be flexible, but that’s what I would do.”

“And if they do, Zeke and I will light the gas on the side of the overpass to backlight them. Anything on that side of the gas you shoot,” David said looking at Ashley.

“Why are they attacking us?” Ashley cried.

“Probably they were just going on a trip, then saw us and decided to steal our food or motorcycles,” David explained, leaving out the women sex slaves part.

“Now they want payback for their dead,” David finished.

Surprisingly, Ashley accepted that as normal, and quit crying.

“David,” Jorge said.“If everyone is running, don’t wait for me, I will slow you down.”

“No can do,” David responded, shaking his head as he paused, scanning the perimeter.

“We do not leave anyone behind,” David said.

It was quiet, then David squeezed Jorge’s shoulder, and got up to leave. David noticed, but pretended not to, Jorge’s tears.

After David crossed the overpass, he could still faintly hear Jorge tell Ashley, “David will not leave us, no matter what.”

34.

Everyone made final preparations for the attack. Liu stoked a roaring fire, and wrapped Karen like a cocoon in her wool blanket. Zeke and David folded a poncho lengthwise, then slid her wool blanket on top of the poncho.

“Stoop low, stay beneath the rubble,” David said as they carried her out, grabbing the corners of the poncho. They slowly carried Karen to the fallback position.

The first streaks of dawn backlit the rubble to the east. It was still dark, and the stars were visible in the west. The patchy ground fog would help the attackers, David thought.

David’s hands trembled as he checked his M16, his 9mm, and each reload clip again. He turned his head to puke, but not quick enough, splattering his backpack.

This was for real, there would be bloody, mangled bodies in the next few minutes. Like from last night. But whose bodies would litter the ground this morning? Not only had the Nuclear War Club never practiced combat maneuvers as a group, half his group had never fired a gun. You are a lousy leader, he thought to himself. David smiled as the thought occurred to him that he should have checked to see if the library had a paperback, yellow and black book “Combat Leadership for Dummies” .

He noticed Zeke was trying not to stare at him. David was pretty sure this was not how combat commanders were supposed to inspire soldiers in battle, so he swallowed hard.

Then he saw something move, or thought he did, in his peripheral vision. Dad always told him to keep his eyes scanning on patrol, peripheral vision could catch movement. He couldn’t be sure it was the greens. He had not slept in twenty four hours. He would try to hide it from the others, but he was not just scared, but dry mouth terrified. He knew just how desperate this firefight would be, maybe to the knife. And his combat adrenaline had now been ignited by Jorge’s high
caffeine coffee syrup. It all had fried his nerves.

Am I hallucinating, he wondered. Focus, focus, he told himself, run a checklist. People lives are depending upon me, he thought as he wiped off his hands. If I shoot at a non-target, I expose our new position and destroy our advantage. Confirm before acting, get into position, he told himself, that’s the checklist.

He motioned for Zeke to stay, and slithered down to the midpoint of the overpass to check. He saw it again, there were dust clouds near the semi pileup. He silently pointed to Zeke.

Zeke raised his thumb and moved his rifle, trying to acquire a target. Seemed like dust clouds of four maybe five people. They were hidden behind the cars, but the disturbed, dirty white dust was now visible.

The greens were coming up between the overpass and the car pileup, just as David had predicted. David squinted, but was unable to see anyone. He needed to know how many were coming.

David saw the point man jump behind a car, pause, and motion to his right. David could not get a clear shot, and the man on the right circled around the campfire.

The man on the right was between David and the campfire for a brief instant, as he ran for cover. David fired three times, hitting his chest, then immediately shifted back to the point man. But the point man did not move, and David could not get a shot.

David heard the downed man gurgling in his blood, and saw him trying to reach his AK 47. He shot him again twice, and saw someone else moving to his left. David lit the gas, and scrambled up the overpass.

The gas running down the cement lit up the entire overpass, and he saw Zeke shooting at the point man.

David tried to war-game what the attackers would think. It was hard to think, all he wanted to do was act, to charge, to shoot. The attackers now had one more man dead, they were getting aimed fire from three directions, and the gas
illuminated their every move. They had lost a four man patrol to a recon ambush outside the camp, so they probably assumed there must be
at least
another patrol out there to reinforce the camp. Two of their men hung from the overpass.

The point man shouted something about the US Army, and directed the two on his left to retreat.

David took aim at the two on the left but missed. Zeke was shooting at them also, but they ducked behind the semis.

Doron suddenly stood up with an AK 47 and ran down the overpass, chasing the two on the left. Doron emptied a full clip as he shot both within fifteen feet. David was stunned at Doron’s pursuit, it was like something out of a John Wayne war movie, but they moved quickly to give him suppressing fire. The football training of blocking for whoever is running with the ball kicked in. Zeke tried to track the point man, but they lost the trail.

David thought his watch must be broken. There was no way all this happened in about a minute.

35.

“We need a truck for Karen,” David said.

“I can go, I am fine now,” said Doron.

Doron saw Zeke raise his eyebrows at David .

“Yes, I just puked, and am shaking,” Doron said. “But Zeke, you and everyone else were all puking too.”

“We will take three motorcycles, Zeke, David and me,” Doron said, trying to sound confident.

“David, the best place to get an old usable truck will be off the interstate near the railroad tracks, the low cost ‘buy here pay here’ dealers where you pay by the week. I used to be a repo man for them. They keep a key when they sell the car. If the buyer doesn’t make his weekly payment by Friday, they repo it, or turn on the satellite kill switch, which disables the engine,” Doron explained.