Invasion (2 page)

CHAPTER 3

Joshua wanted to take the horses, but Grace felt that they would draw unwanted attention to themselves.

“It’s only ten miles,” she teased. 

“But it’s five miles up and five miles down,” Joshua countered.  “You’re gonna wish we had the horses a few miles into this.”

It was 6:00AM, they were supposed to meet Grace’s mother at a location that was ten miles away in six hours.

Grace never gave her friend Anna a chance to volunteer for the mission.  Anna’s nose and eye were black and blue from where she had been punched by a freaker two days earlier.

Violet, Joshua’s mother, and a nurse, thought that Anna’s nose was broken and that her eye socket might be fractured.  The swelling was just starting to go down, and she was beginning to look normal again.

Anna seemed okay with the decision for her to stay at the farm with Bob and Violet.  The couple was happy to have the girls, and the girls made themselves at home.  Violet took right to the care of Anna, and Anna soaked in the attention.  She also seemed to show a real interest in the medical talents of Violet, so Violet had started working with the girl on triage types of procedures.

The time they spent together was a diversion for both women.  For Violet, it drew her attention away from her youngest son, who was being led home by Grace’s father.  It also took her mind off Joshua, and the fact that he was about to leave on a mission of his own.

For Anna, it took her mind away from the fact that her parents were most likely killed in the nuclear attack on Atlanta.  She held out hope, but really preferred not to talk about it.

Joshua scanned the road up ahead.  The pair had trudged along the side of the road and tried to keep to the tree lines as best they could.  They had seen one black helicopter about an hour after they left the farm.  It was flying along the ridge behind the farm and was several miles away.  It wasn’t a threat, but with the radio traffic about hunter drones and helicopters, they were very mindful of any noises.

“How far is it from here?” Grace asked.  They had been walking up hill for the better part of thirty minutes.

“It’s over this ridge, and then about three or four miles.  Even though we’re a long way off, there’s a great view of the city from up there.”

Grace nodded and looked to the top of the road, she could see an old blue water tower at the apex of the hill and assumed that the ‘great view’ was somewhere close to that.

“Sounds good,” she said bending down to tug at one of her socks.  She was still getting used to the loaner boots that Violet had given her.  They were about a half size too large, so the extra pair of socks she had on was making her feet sweat. 

“Can we stop for a minute, I want to take these extra socks off.”

“Sure,” Joshua nodded and looked down at the boots, as if he could see the socks.

“Over there,” Grace pointed to some large boulders up in the woods.  She didn’t wait for a response; she simply started walking towards the rocks.

Joshua kept his rifle ready and leaned against the rock as Grace unlaced her boots and removed the extra layer of socks.  “Why do you think this all started?” he asked.

Grace tucked the socks in one of the pouches on her backpack and put her boots back on.  She was fairly knowledgeable about world events, politics and history.  She could recall hundreds of discussions around the dinner table with her parents about current events and the impact of political decisions. 

Grace was often more knowledgeable than her friends and sometimes more up to speed than her high school teachers.  Before the world changed, she thought she wanted to go to college and study International Relations with a focus on European and Russian relations.  Her father thought she would make for a great diplomat and possibly work for the State Department.  She spoke four languages, and was actually thinking about listening to her father and going into the diplomatic corp, or the FBI.  She had a fleeting thought about the CIA, but stuff like that seemed really out there…that is until the world changed.

“I think it’s a klaster,” she said, letting the Russian roll off of her tongue.

“You think it’s a what?” Joshua asked.

“A klaster.  It’s Russian for cluster,” she answered.

“Do you speak Russian?”

“Da, ya govoryu po-russki,” she said with a smile.  “I also speak Spanish, French, passable Chinese and really great English!”

“Damn!  That’s impressive,” Joshua said, nodding his head in approval.

“Both my parents took Russian in college.  Mom says that’s the first time they met.  Dad doesn’t think so.”

“Did they go to the same college, or something?”

“No, Dad went to Auburn and Mom went to William and Mary…she says they met on some mid-semester language trip over seas one year.  Supposedly, they both crossed paths while touring with the schools in Russia.  Dad doesn’t seem to recall that, so I guess Mom didn’t make a great first impression,” she said with a smile at the memory.

“What about the Chinese?” Joshua asked in reference to Grace’s language skills.

“Yeah, I’m taking first year Chinese as a senior year elective.”

“As an elective!  You’re nuts,” Joshua deemed.

  “No,” she said, “I just like languages.  Really, once I was able to make the transition from the Latin languages to Russian, Chinese just fell into place,” she said, trying to make herself seem humble. 

“That must take some work to keep it all straight.”

“It’s all really just a process,” Grace said, trying to verbalize her language talents; something she really never thought about.  “Once you know the structure, you…”

The ground shook as the air around them rumbled with the boom of a far off explosion.

“What the…what was that?” Grace asked, dropping her banter about her language talents.

“Sonic boom, I think,” Joshua looked to the sky.  “There!” he pointed.

Grace followed the trajectory of his arm pointing to the early morning clouds.  Overhead there was a lone jet streaking across the sky.

“Is it ours?” she asked.

Joshua squinted up to the sky.  “I think it’s an F-18.”

“Navy!” she said before he could.

“Yup,” he agreed.  “Look at that!  He just fired a missile!”

They watched as the missile streaked away from the fighter jet and headed towards the city. “Come on!” she commanded, breaking into a run to get to the top of the hill.  They reached the crest of the hill and crossed the road to lean against the guardrail and view the city.  From this vantage point they followed the trail of rocket smoke to the impact area.

The rocket had impacted something several thousand feet above the city, leaving a small cotton ball cloud hanging in the air and debris falling to the ground.

“It took out a drone,” Grace observed.

“Looks that way, and there he goes,” Joshua pointed to a speck of aircraft moving at the speed of sound and heading east.  “Looks like we’re getting into the fight.”

“It’s about damn time,” Grace said, and they started down the other side of the mountain ridge.

CHAPTER 4

This is a broadcast of the Emergency Alert System and an official broadcast from the Government of the United States of America.  Broadcasting on all frequencies and all bands. Please stand by for an update from the President of the United States of America.

“My fellow Americans, the Government of the United States of America is intact.  We are effective, and we are in control of the country.  We are now operating at an undisclosed location within the borders of the U.S.  Our Republic is strong and there is no reason to believe propaganda to the contrary.  Let me repeat.   Our grip on the underpinnings of this country and how it operates is stable. 

As an update to my earlier statements, the forces of the People’s Republic of China, have taken direct control of several of America’s greatest port cities.  These include the cities of Mobile, Alabama.  New Orleans, Louisiana.  Galveston, Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas, San Diego, California, Los Angeles, California and Seattle, Washington.

From these strongholds, our satellites show that they are unloading super container ships filled with supplies, troops and weaponry to support their illegal and heinous attacks on our sovereign country.  Based on our intelligence and action on the ground, it is our belief that these forces intend to divide the country geographically along a north to south line from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Mobile, Alabama. They have landed troops in every state to the west of this line.  The governors of the states west of the line have ordered their state’s National Guard units to engage the enemy.

If you are within 150 miles of this line, which includes the cities of: Mobile, Alabama; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri; Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, Iowa; and finally Minneapolis, Minnesota; you need to understand that this area is possibly the most dangerous strip of land in the world today.  This is a modern day kill zone.

As of today, the United States has not retaliated with a nuclear strike against the People Republic of China.  We have not done this because we command the high ground when it comes to the lives of innocent people.  This is an extremely unpopular decision and one that is questioned with every passing second.  But, we are not murderers like our invaders.  We are not going to capitulate to an eye for an eye and a city for a city and ten million lives for ten million lives!

We…Americans…are… better…than…that!

We will fight these enemies on our ground and we will win!

Right now, our Naval forces are deployed to attack and support the defensive posture of our military forces along the port cities and along the north/south line I just mentioned.  The United Kingdom is also sending naval forces and marines to help in our fight.  They do this action at great risk to their own people as we have learned that the Government of China has threated a similar fate to any country that attempts to aid the USA.

My fellow Americans, except for the loyalty and resolve of our Canadian and British friends, we are fighting this world war on our own.

So, with the support of the remaining loyal members of Congress, and under the order of the current State of Emergency, I am supporting your Constitutional Right to form militias and fight this enemy at every turn. 

I have commanded our forces in the field to work with individuals, groups and formed militias that want to fight.  This is the kind of force that won our freedom over 200 years ago, and this type of force will preserve that freedom today!  If you are active duty, reserve or former military, seek out your closest National Guard base and make yourself available to serve. 

Regardless of your former branch of service, your leadership, your skills, and your training will be necessary to help bind this new American defense force and turn back our enemy.

Now is the time for Americans to stand up and fight.  Now is the time to do what is necessary to survive.  This country is counting on you to rise up and defend our way of life, our liberty and our country!

In concluding today’s broadcast, join the fight if you can.  Leave this new kill zone; go east if you can and west if you feel that you have no alternative. If you have military training, now is the time to employ it.  Seek your National Guard instillations. Our enemy is ruthless; they are responsible for the slaughtering of millions of American lives.  Don’t let these American’s deaths to be in vain.  Defend what is ours!  Protect our way of life!  Fight for your brothers and sisters…fight for your home…fight for America!

May God bless the United States of America!”

This has been a broadcast of the Emergency Alert System and an official broadcast from the Government of the United States of America.  Broadcasting on all frequencies and all bands. 

“So, it looks like we’re inside the KZ,” Bob Tiller said somberly to his wife, after listening to the broadcast.

“What did it mean when he said, the remaining
loyal
members of Congress?” she asked.

“I heard that too,” Bob said, shaking his head.  “I don’t know; do you think there are members of Congress that are traitors?”

“Why would someone do that to their own kind?” she asked somberly.

“I guess if all you care about is power, well, we know it can corrupt.  What about when he said something about propaganda?  I haven’t heard any propaganda on the radios yet.”

She wrung her hands together, feeling distraught and having more questions than answers.  “What should we do?” she asked with somberness.  Both of her children were currently somewhere out in the Kill Zone; that was her priority, not propaganda or traitors to her country.

“Well, we’re a prepared family, and it looks like we have some new friends that share our thoughts and values…” he paused, looking out the window, as if the world were changing, and he could see it through the glass.  “Let’s do what we always do.  Let’s help people as best as we can.  We know that Ian is getting close with Adam and the Scouts, now all we have to do is bring back Joshua, Grace and her mother.”

“And then what?”

“Then, I think we decide what to do as a group.  We’ll always be stronger as a group,” he said, turning away from the window.  The two-way radio had just chirped with chatter and he went to answer the call.