The Journal: Cracked Earth (30 page)

“I know it was a mess in here. I’ve been
cleaning all day. It was impossible to wash anything without water,
and what little we melted we had to use for drinking.”

“I was listening to the radio some last night
and again this morning,” David said in a serious voice. “There’s a
gang on ATVs working their way up 695, heading this way.”

“Was there any word on where they are now?” I
asked in alarm. It’s a long road between here and Marquette, over
thirty miles.

“They were last seen at Ravens Perch.”

Ravens Perch was a long bypass off of 695,
several miles away. There were some nice homes and some older
homes, and there were at least fifty and that would keep a gang
occupied for a few days. There was very little between Ravens Perch
and Moose Creek, only a small settlement of a dozen houses called
Midway. The gang was close.

“David, this is valuable news. I need to get
this information to Ken and Karen. Maybe we can set up roadblocks
or something.” My mind was reeling. If the gang was heading to
Moose Creek, we here were first and on their way.

“Ken and Karen?” he questioned. “I thought
they were retired.”

“Once all this started, they were pulled out
of retirement by Sheriff Lacey. Law enforcement just doesn’t exist
up here, you know that. They’ve been doing a good job and we’re
lucky to have them.” I turned to John. “You can stay and see what
else you can find out. I have to get to town and warn them.”

“I’ll go with you, and we can come back
later,” he said, not wanting to stay. David and Jane were strangers
to him.

“That okay with you, David?”

“Sure.”

“Keep listening and write down anything that
you think we should know,” I reminded him.

Our first stop was Ken and Karen’s house;
they weren’t there. I wasn’t hopeful about the township offices
since it was so late in the day, so we tried Anna’s place. George
said that she was at the office.

When we arrived at the township building,
Anna, Ken and Karen were all there. I wasn’t the least shy about
interrupting their huddled conversation.

“Have you heard yet about the gang coming
this way?”

“We found out a few minutes ago,” Anna
answered. “We really need to get you a radio or some way that we
can reach you.”

“How did
you
find out?” Karen
asked.

“David Myers’ ham radio. The latest word was
the gang is at Ravens Perch,” I said. “Have you thought of anything
yet to stop them?”

“We were looking at the maps to see where the
best place for a blockade would be,” Ken said.

“I would suggest Big Guppy Creek. It’s swampy
on both sides. A load of timber would seal it off,” I said. When he
raised his eyebrows at me, I said, “Hey, it’s my job to think the
worst case scenario. The Little Guppy is too close to where they
are now and we need as much time as possible. Next we need to seal
off 150 at the Hairpin, though that will depend on if it’s been
kept open. The snow is our best barricade if not, but that’s
secondary. The Big Guppy is our best hope of stopping them.” I
tapped my finger on the map. “We need a logging truck, already full
would be ideal. Who’s left in town?”

“I’ll go talk to Danny Greenwald. Danny
always has a few hundred logs stacked nearby,” Ken replied.

“You look troubled, Allexa,” Anna said when
she sat down across from me.

“If we can’t stop them, they’ll be heading
for Moose Creek, pillaging everything in their way. My plowed road
is like a neon sign,” I stated. “Is there any chance of getting
reinforcements from Marquette?”

Anna scowled. “We tried that first, with no
luck. In fact, it was Lacey who called to warn us. That was less
than an hour ago.”

“It’s time that we organize our own
militia.”

It troubled me that the county sheriff waited
to tell us about this threat.

“I agree. I think we certainly have enough
guns in this town,” Anna chuckled. “But do we have enough
ammo?”

“Our shooters will just have to make every
round count.”

I mentally calculated what I had for our
weapons, thankful that I had stocked up before the government
controls went into effect. I hoped others had done the same. The
government knew that they couldn’t take our guns, so they took the
ammo instead.

“Why would Sheriff Lacey warn us then not
help us? That’s confusing to me,” Anna said, resting her chin in
one hand.

“Anna, they want everyone
in
Marquette. They don’t want us rogue communities functioning, that’s
why our power was shut off. It’s a matter of control. Control the
power, the food, the gas, everything, and you can control the
people.”

She stared at me in disbelief.

“Have you had any communication with other
officials?” asked. She nodded.

“I’m going to bet that in spite of the
surface helpfulness, they really haven’t done anything.”

She nodded again.

“I’ll venture that they suggested that
everyone should come to Marquette, where they will be taken care
of. Of course, don’t forget to bring any food that you have and all
of your guns.”

“How did you know that?” she asked, sitting
up straight now.

“It was only a guess, Anna, but I would also
imagine that when somebody did that, their guns would be taken away
‘for the good of the community.’ Any food they brought would be
confiscated, again ‘for the good of the community.’ If they really
wanted us to function, they would have found a way to leave our
power on. In fact, how did this ATV gang get past the National
Guard roadblocks? And why didn’t Lacey stop them long before they
got organized? I don’t like the way this is shaping up. Not at all.
That’s not the issue at the moment. Right now we need shooters, and
organization.”

I looked at the enlarged map of the
township.

“If they get past the roadblock here,” I
said, pointing to the area where the Big Guppy crossed 695, “the
next spot to hit is only a few miles north in Midway. We know, and
maybe they know, there’s little there, so they might keep
going.

“If we position shooters here, and here,” I
said, stabbing my finger at the map, “and here, all staggered so
there’s no crossfire, using the houses in Midway for concealment,
good shooters can take quite a few and the wheelers won’t know
which way to shoot first. What do you think, Karen?”

“I think you have a devious mind, Allexa,”
Karen grinned. “If we can get everyone in place quickly enough, the
surprise factor is to our advantage. It could work.”

“So now we need to round up our militia. That
will be your job, Karen. The next step is, what if they get through
that trap? There are a lot of homes still occupied between there
and here,” I scowled, “including mine.”

* * *

JOURNAL ENTRY: February 8

I pulled the FRS radios out of the faraday
cage and put all fresh batteries in. The Family Radio System is
limited in range, but should work well for this purpose. One radio
each for me, John, and Jason. I gave Don one, too, with the
instructions to keep it on and keep it close. I also delivered one
to David.

* * *

“With your ham you might get enough of a
warning to give us some warning. Will you do that?” I asked,
holding the small unit out to David.

“Of course. Is there going to be
shooting?”

“Likely. Does that bother you?”

“No, but I’m nearly out of ammo and it would
be a shame to just get started and run out.”

“What are you shooting?”

“308. Been good for deer,” he grinned. “We’ve
been living on venison. I have to tell you that mac and cheese you
gave us tasted mighty good.”

“Walk back with me and I’ll give you a box.
We could use an extra shooter.”

*

“Mom, I should take the roof position,” Jason
insisted. “I’ve spent more time in a tree stand than you, and I
know I’m better at the long shot.”

“I agree. Why don’t you take a look and see
where your best vantage point is,” I replied. I turned to John when
Jason left. “He really is the best shot of the three of us.”

“I know he is. I have no problem admitting
that, Allex.” He gave me a crooked smile and a quick hug.

* * *

“You were up there a long time,” I said to
Jason when he came in a half hour later.

“Once I got up there I realized that I might
be seen from a distance, so I mounded up a line of snow to conceal
me. Kind of like a snow fort,” he grinned. “Plus, if the Wheelers
do come down this road, we don’t know which direction they’ll come
from, so I had to make the fort on three sides.”

“That’s a great idea,” John complimented.
“Will you show me what you have in case we have to switch
positions?”

After they came down, we lined up rifles and
ammo, both for window positions and for quick grabbing for the roof
spot. We are as ready as possible. Now we wait.

* * *

JOURNAL ENTRY: February 9

The response from the community was stunning!
Every male from fifteen years old to seventy, and several women
volunteered. They showed up at the township hall with rifles in
hand and ammo filling their pockets once they understood the
potential danger. The rest of the women prepared in town. Many of
them were ready to shoot or make a stand, while the others offered
whatever support would be needed.

Danny was sent to drop a load of logs at the
Big Guppy, and Ken and Karen organized the volunteers. A total of
twenty-five men and women, armed to protect their town and their
lives, headed for the small settlement of Midway Village, less than
a quarter mile stretch of a dozen homes. Lenny was sent ahead to be
a lookout. His electric four-wheeler was incredibly quiet and he
took up a position a mile south of the village slightly past a bend
in the road. Having him there to give the alarm will make a world
of difference to those waiting.

* * *

While the blockade of logs kept the gang from
using the road, what I hadn’t counted on was the creek freezing. A
couple of the snowmobiles charged around the logs through the snow,
only to discover a frozen marshland that was not even remotely
capable of stopping the determined four-wheelers. Onward they came.
When Lenny saw the first sled go around the bridge, he headed back
the short distance to Midway to spread the warning. Fortunately,
everyone was in place. Unfortunately they’d been there for hours,
and many were getting tired. The roar of sleds and wheelers could
be heard a mile off, and the adrenaline started pumping, wiping out
any signs of fatigue.

As anticipated, when the Wheelers came upon
the first of the houses, they slowed down for a better look, likely
scoping out which would be worth ransacking first. Once most of
them were within the fire-zone, the concealed shooters opened up.
With fire coming at them from both sides, those that could roared
past and kept going north. Out of two dozen men on eighteen ATVs,
only ten were killed. Two of our men went down. George, a sweet old
man, managed to drop two of the Wheelers before he was shot, and a
youth I was not familiar with was fatally wounded. There should
have been higher totals. It should have been like shooting fish in
a barrel. In hindsight there was fear of hitting each other. The
Wheelers’ numbers were down, but not enough, and now they were
prepared for resistance.

* * *

The FRS squawked. “I just spotted five
machines pulling into our road. They’re coming in slow and
cautious,” David whispered into the hand radio.

Jason zipped up his waiting snow coveralls,
pockets already packed with full magazines, pulled on his hat and
gloves, grabbed his rifle and was out the deck door within thirty
seconds to take up his position on the roof.

“Don! Did you get that?” John called on into
his hand-held unit.

“I’m on it. Out,” my brother answered.

John opened two front windows just enough to
stick a barrel out. He manned the bedroom window and I would take
the dining room because it was closest to Jacob.

“Jacob, I need a really big favor. You need
to keep Tufts from getting scared. Can you do that for me?” Tufts
had finally come to accept Jacob, and spent most nights sleeping
with him.

Jacob nodded.

“It’s going to get noisy, so I want you to
wear these, okay?” I gave him shooter ear muffs. He grinned. “You
know what makes Tufts feel really safe?” I asked. “Being under the
covers! So maybe you could keep Tufts under the blankets. Okay?”
Jacob grinned again and put the muffs on. I covered him and the cat
with two layers of blankets. With the windows open it would chill
off fast in here.

David called on the FRS, “One of Wheelers is
hanging back. He’s mine. You’ve got four.”

John had the AR-15, and the twelve-gauge,
both with extra magazines. I had the M-14, extra mags and the
twenty gauge. I gazed into his clear blue eyes. He gave me a deep
kiss and turned to take up his position. I was hoping for a certain
declaration from him that never came.

My window had a low sill, so I tossed a seat
cushion on the floor to kneel on, set the barrel of the M-14 out
the window and glanced down at the three full magazines on the
floor by my side when the first Wheeler slowed in front of the
house.

My insides turned liquid with fear, and I
shivered. A shot then rang out from across the road. Don! The
Wheelers turned as one unit towards Don’s house. The furthest one
to the south raised his rifle. Everything dropped into slow motion.
He fired. My brother jerked from the impact and fell backwards, the
wooden deck rails offering no protection at all. Instantly, Nancy
burst out the front door from the relative safety of the house,
screaming for Don. The third shot hit in the center of Nancy’s
bright yellow “Welcome to Florida” t-shirt and a large red blossom
appeared. She crumpled to the deck.