Sweetness in the Dark (45 page)

“The screams were all we could bear. We both armed ourselves, sneaked into the backyard and looked over the back wall,” Kevin stopped. The thought of what they’d seen in the other houses was still too painful for Kevin to talk about.

“It’s OK, Kevin. We’ve seen and heard similar tales,” Paul said.

“Well, right then my friend and I knew we had to leave. The gangs were too big to fight off. We headed back to our houses and started packing. My dad loved gardening and had one of those large garden carts. We packed all the things we thought we’d need into it,” Kevin related.

Kevin told of their decision to head to a farm in Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg. It belonged to the family of his college roommate and Kevin had spent a couple of summers working the farm. It took a week to hike there.

“Before we left we went next door to a family that we both had known for years. We knocked on their door to tell them we were leaving and they should join us. The mother with two daughters had been hoping that her husband would make it home,” Kevin said. “After the previous night, we finally convinced the mom to have her two daughters join us. We gave her directions to the farm, but she wouldn’t leave. She was determined to stay and wait for her husband.”

“People have been forced into making terrible choices,” John said.

“Well, the daughters were adamant that they would stay with the mom. We had to physically force them to leave with us. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

Eventually the foursome made it to the Gettysburg farm. Kevin explained how they dealt with the hordes of people heading north since the Virginia authorities had cut off the escape south. The wave of humanity trying to find food and shelter had been overwhelming to him.

Arriving at the farm, Kevin was nervous about what type of reception he and his companions would receive. Luckily he was greeted with open arms.

“When they saw the fire power we had with us, any reluctance just evaporated. Their farm was in a small valley in the hills west of Gettysburg. There was only one small overgrown track into the farm. The owners had purposely let the access get overgrown. A locked metal gate at the road further limited access. We quickly cut down a number of trees to seal us into the valley,” Kevin said.

The next few weeks started a routine that would carry them through the winter. Kevin’s friend had been in the Army and understood securing an area. He set up training in weapons and security for everyone. They organized random patrols to monitor the area around them.

With the supply of .22 caliber ammunition that was typical of any farm, each had become tolerable marksmen. To conserve ammo on the larger caliber guns, limited training took place.

The owners of the farm had been putting food away for years so they had adequate supplies, but they still ate conservatively since they didn’t know how long the chaos would last.

Kevin enjoyed the roving patrols each day. Usually he and one of the sisters would circle around the hills and inspect the surrounding countryside through their binoculars. Oftentimes they would run into others moving through the woods trying to escape the continuing mayhem. Kevin would watch from a concealed place to make sure they weren’t a threat to the farm.

On one of his trips, Kevin explained how he had found a small rock overhang that concealed a small cave. He slithered on his belly into the hidden spot and found it was big enough for several people. He started quietly stocking it with supplies, on the chance that the farm would become untenable.

By spring, the patrols found almost no life out beyond the hills. The local populace was either dead or had moved to more secure climes.

“Do you know how long it takes to starve to death?” Kevin asked.

John and Paul shook their heads. Luckily they had lived in a state where they hadn’t had to find out first-hand the answer to Kevin’s question.

“Forty days. That’s it. A little over a month without food and you’re dead as a doorknob.” Kevin answered his own question. “Some go a little faster, some slower, but by at least seventy days, everyone’s dead.”

The farm dwellers had voted that to offer food to their neighbors would risk their lives. Kevin had seen from his forays into the surrounding areas how long their neighbors took to succumb. Others shunned patrol duty to avoid witnessing their neighbors’ deaths.

But Kevin and his veteran friend took responsibility for the farm seriously and overcame their revulsion at all the deaths to make sure the people at the farm stayed alive. That was until late spring when the bad guys came.

“We were on our usual patrol route and we hadn’t seen anyone in weeks. The entire area seemed dead. My friend and I were sitting against a tree overlooking the entrance to the valley when we heard the noise of a truck approaching,” Kevin said. “We just naturally dropped down onto the ground and pulled out the binoculars. The truck came slowly up the road stopping at each residence.”

Kevin described how the truck moved methodically, checking each place. When it got to the driveway into the valley, it stopped. The two watched as one man got out and climbed over the metal gate, leaving the driver alone in the truck He proceeded up the driveway to the first fallen tree. They watched as the man listened and looked up the overgrown road.

Kevin didn’t know if they should shoot them both right then. They were easily in range. The bodies and truck could be disposed of. Their companions might never learn of their fates.

“The man outside signaled something and we saw the man in the truck lift a radio to his face. He began talking. It was too late. Whoever they were scouting for was now informed that something was worth a more careful look at our location. We crawled away and ran back to the farm to warn them.”

The rest of the story was typical of what Paul had learned from others. The gang soon arrived, moved up the road and found the farm. Kevin’s compatriots had put up a vigorous defense in their stone house, but the opposing numbers were too strong.

When the rocket-propelled grenade tore a huge hole in the front of the house and killed four of the defenders, Kevin grabbed one of the surviving sisters and headed out the back door. The two of them were the only survivors. They hid in their cave for the seven days that the gang took to loot the farm of anything edible. What remained, they took with them.

Now reduced to what he had squirreled away in the cave, Kevin and the younger sister fought daily to stay alive. Luckily he had stored a stainless steel bolt action .22 rifle ahead of time. It allowed him to hunt small animals. With a Rocket stove to cook on, they survived on watery, wild game stew.

As the summer wound on, the game became harder to find, but the potato crop in the field was close to harvest. The stew became thicker if not more starchy. It kept them alive, at least until the gang returned. The potato crop was quickly harvested and Kevin was left hiding out in the cave once again.

“The gang finally moved on. But now the little valley was totally devoid of anything to eat. I decided it was time to move to somewhere that still had some game. That was a big mistake.” Kevin’s eyes watered up with emotion. He bent his head down to collect his thoughts before continuing.

“It’s OK, Kevin. You don’t need to tell us. We understand,” John offered as he placed his hand on Kevin’s newly shaved head.

“No, I need to tell it. We were crossing a high bridge on a railroad line heading west. We had been following the tracks for a week or two on the assumption Ohio might be better off than Pennsylvania. Neither of us had had anything to eat for I don’t know how long. We were barely able to walk. I was ahead when I turned to make sure the sister was still moving. She had disappeared,” Kevin said. His eyes now streaming with tears. “I looked over the edge and there she was. Dead on the riverbank. No sound. No scream. She just gave up and walked off the bridge. And the awful thing is, I didn’t even have the energy to go check on her. I just turned around and kept moving west.”

That was where the Idaho volunteers had found him the next day. Lying under a highway overpass, where he had crawled to get out of the rain. Two days later, he was in Richmond.

“I want to make it up to her, and her sister. And to my friends that died defending the farm. And my family, who are certainly dead somewhere. I don’t know how, but I need to find justice for them. And for those poor wretches I had to watch slowly starve.” The sternness in Kevin’s voice showed his determination.

* * *

A request came in through military command for a representative of the new government to meet with some citizens near Lake Placid, New York. The President asked Paul to fly up and see what the trouble was and suggested that Amanda might be helpful. The President didn’t offer much other information. Upon hearing of Kevin’s survival, the President said that he could travel with the group.

Amanda wasn’t keen to take another flight when the President offered to loan them his plane for the excursion. But the violent weather of the day before had moved on, ushering in a beautiful blue sky. The ride to upper New York was like riding on glass.

“Well, that was more like it,” Amanda exclaimed as she stepped off the plane. The Area Commander of the UAS forces was there to meet them. He gave a quick briefing as they headed into Lake Placid.

“We ran into this group two days ago. At first we thought they were just another criminal gang. We’ve been sweeping them up regularly as we crossed the state. But they raised a white flag and asked for a meeting,” the commander offered. “Turns out they’re part of an organized militia that formed right after P-Day. They had realized that a lot of people would be heading their way and knew the area couldn’t feed them all.”

“Smart people. With probably twenty million people within a week’s hike, they knew survival meant defending against all outsiders,” Paul said.

“Exactly. They quickly organized and set up a formable defensive zone. They had enough old vehicles still running to set up a quick response company that could counter any threats that might overwhelm their lines. Then they realized that folks in northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine were doing the same thing.”

“So they formed a new Algonquin Nation,” Kevin said. He referred to the confederacy of Indian tribes the first colonist ran into in northern New York. The Algonquin Nation was one of the strongest Native American tribes that the early settlers had to deal with.

“Yes, sir. And like the Algonquins, they’re pissed off. Seems that they’re holding us personally responsibe for not showing up a year ago. I figured this was a political problem. I can blast them out, but it doesn’t seem right,” the commander said.

“No, we aren’t going to blast any law-abiding citizens defending their homes, Commander,” Paul said.

When they reached the agreed-upon meeting place, Paul, Amanda and Kevin joined the commander in greeting the three representatives of the local militia. All three were middle-aged men who kept their firearms handy. The spokesman of the militia opened the talks after introductions.

“So you’re the new government. Didn’t care much about the last one. So what does the new one offer? You look like you’re ready to attack us, like you’ve been doing all the way across the state.”

“Sir, I can assure you that we have only attacked criminal elements when we meet them. If you followed our progress, you know that suppressing the gangs and bringing security for the survivors has been our priority,” Paul said.

“You can bet we’ve been watching you. We keep our feelers well out in advance so we know who’s coming our way. And you folks have taken down some nasty pieces of trash. We thank you for that,” the spokesman said. “But it’s taken you long enough. My people have been hanging on by a thread.”

“Well then, let us bring up a convoy of food. No strings attached. We do not come as conquerors. We are liberating the country and offering security. It might be a year late, but better late than never. And trust me when I say, it could have been never.”, Paul emphasized.

“We’ll accept the food, but we’ve voted that we are not so sure we want to accept your ‘security’. We’ve been doing OK on that account by ourselves, and we figure that we can only trust ourselves right now.”

“Spoken like a true American. We have no intention of forcing ourselves on you if you don’t wish. In fact, in the areas that we have moved into, there will be free and open elections as to whether or not those areas become part of the new country. If you eventually decide that going it alone is your best option, we will respect that,” Paul said.

He looked at the UAS Commander and noticed a scowl on his face.
Obviously this wasn’t a popular policy in some circles
, he thought. But the full Cabinet had decided and submitted it to the Congress to place into law. Paul was confident that all three bodies would approve a voluntary approach to the other states and provinces.

“Thank you, sir. I will take what you say back to my people and they can decide. And thanks again for the food.”

As the three men stood up to leave, Amanda joined in the talk. “Excuse me, but I notice that none of your women could make it to this meeting. May I return with you so I could meet with them?”

“Lady, they do what we say,” the leader said. But the other two men quietly took him aside and whispered something. “Well it seems that my friends here are a little more liberated than I am. They agree that you can join us.”

What was she doing?
Paul thought. He couldn’t guarantee her safety if she was with this militia group by herself. Paul started to panic and the UAS Commander began to protest, but Kevin stopped them both.

“Perhaps I could join you. I’ve been fighting my personal survival battle myself and I might offer a perspective that would be beneficial,” Kevin offered.

The leader again spoke, “Sure, why not. You look like you just stepped out of hell. And besides, you won’t eat much from the looks of you.”

Amanda told Paul not to worry, that she would just be staying with honest Americans. She and Kevin waved as they headed up the road in the back of the militia’s Jeep.
That was great negotiating
, Paul thought.
I gave up my girlfriend and my brother-in-law and what was it I got? I’m not cut out for this stuff
.