Survivors (34 page)

“Now today, we are faced once again with a
threat from the north. I’m sure most of you are
aware that several days ago we were able to free a
group of women who were being held captive as sex
slaves at Fort Gordon just outside Augusta, Georgia.

“Some of you may remember Brad Davis,
who lived here for several days before he and his
friends decided to leave our community. He recognized Jessie, who was also being held captive at
Fort Gordon, and now this group knows we were
the ones who freed their captives, and I think you
can all imagine that they’re out for revenge.

“Very few of you know our friends at MacDill have operational control of a number of spy
satellites. These eyes in the sky have allowed them
to keep a constant watch on the activities at Fort
Gordon. They have identified a massive buildup of
people around the base. We estimate there are now
about 500 terrorists assembled there.”

There was a sudden increase in talking as
our residents learned of the vast number of terrorists. I waited for the talking to die down.

“They have broken into the fort’s armory
and are prepping a number of weapon systems. It
doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out they
plan on attacking us, and if they are victorious, I
think you can all imagine what might happen to
our community and our women.”

I looked around the room and realized
many of our children were being led away from the
meeting by concerned foster parents. “I guess I
should have asked the children to leave before the
meeting started, and I apologize for the oversight.”

There was total silence now, and for the
first time I could see the crew of the USS Jimmy
Carter together in the back of the dining area. They
were all quietly listening to our meeting. I continued, “Luckily, we have a plan. We have the advantage because we know what they’re doing, and
we also have a significant amount of airpower.

“Our plan is to lure the attackers onto Big
Hickory Island. For those of you not familiar with
the place, it’s a narrow key just a little south of
Fort Myers Beach. We plan on destroying all of
them while they’re trapped on this narrow strip of
land.

“Tomorrow morning I would like all of the
men and women who helped drive off the last attackers to meet here at nine o’clock. Anyone else
who wishes to help defend our community should
also be there. We will begin preparing for the imminent attack, and Major Connors and Lieutenant
Monroe will be here to explain our battle plan in
more detail. Are there any questions?”

A middle aged man named Berry, I forgot
his last name, was standing near the front and
asked, “How do you plan on luring them onto Big
Hickory Island?”

I repeated his question in the microphone
so everyone could hear the question. “Berry, that’s
a great question. As their forces approach the Caloosahatchee River, we will blow up the bridge on
Interstate 75. Some of our forces will be positioned
just north of the bridge and they will attack the
enemy from their rear flank and then slowly retreat
westward in an attempt to get their main force to
follow them. Other bridges will be destroyed as our
forces retreat onto Big Hickory Island. Then we’ll
blow up the bridges just north and south of the
island and they’ll be trapped.”

The crowd gasped at the thought of all of
our bridges being destroyed, and there was once
again a buzz of chatter in the area. Finally there
was silence, and I continued. Your Board of Governors has already voted unanimously to approve
this plan. As you know, we are a representative
form of government, but I would like a show of
hands from all of our citizens. All in favor of the
plan I have outlined, please raise your hands.”

It seemed every person in the room supported our recommended action. Not a single hand
was raised to object. A man’s voice screamed out
from the middle of the room. “We all support you
Jim; we’ll do anything to protect our community.”
His statement was followed by a thundering shout
of approval.

I stepped down from the podium and the
meeting broke up. Several hundred men and women hung around and offered the governors, who
were standing in the front of the room, their total
support. As the place emptied out, I saw Captain
Sanchez and his men meeting in the back of the
dining area.

Finally, he and his officers walked over, and
we all sat down at the nearest table. He was sitting
directly across from me and said, “Jim, my entire
crew talked about what was happening. As I expected, there was concern among some of the crew
for using Cruise Missiles against Americans. We
decided to listen to your little speech before we decided what to do.

“We listened very carefully and watched the
reaction amongst your people. After the speech we
talked and it was unanimous, we all agreed to do
whatever it takes to ensure your community is protected. Perhaps as importantly, the vast majority of
my crew would like to settle down here, that is if
you’ll have them. In this world of chaos, this seems
to be a lone oasis of freedom and common sense.”

I walked around the table and gave Ed a
heartfelt hug; very unmilitary I’m sure. Then I
shook the hands of each of the officers. We sat
back down and talked about the upcoming battle
until I was interrupted by Patty. I introduced her to
the officers, and then she placed a paper and pen
on the table. She addressed the governors. “This is
an Article of War. I have summarized the case
made by Jim. I want to make sure this is totally
legal. History will record on my watch we did the
right thing. I want you each to sign the document;
I have already witnessed it.”

I read the short one-page declaration of
war. Patty had translated my speech into legalese.
I signed the document and passed it over to Jessie.
She read it and signed as did the other governors.
Patty picked up the document and retired to her
apartment.

Captain Sanchez laughed, “I love it here
Jim; you’ve even got a lawyer to keep you all honest.”

Throughout the meeting and afterward,
Hunter and Jasmine sat quietly at the back of the
room. Jessie and I excused ourselves and walked
with them back to our apartment. Hunter asked,
“Is there going to be a war?”

Jessie answered, “I hope not Hunter, but
we’ll do whatever it takes to protect our community.”

It was my wedding day, and it started out
with almost six hundred people, both men and
women, meeting in the dining area. Major Connors
and Lieutenant Monroe had driven over from MacDill. Sammy Lafayette had flown Ami and Blaine
over to Tyndall Air Force Base to pick up the
Apache and two A10 Wart Hogs. Blaine had passed
his flying test and was A10 certified by Captain
Stewart.

Arnie had driven over in a truck filled with
small arms. He set up an easel in front of the
group with a large map of the area. He explained in
detail the battle plane he and Lieutenant Monroe
had developed. Our forces would be split into four
groups. A good-sized force would position itself on
Interstate 75, just south of the Caloosahatchee
River Bridge. They were there to defend the bridge
in case it couldn’t be blown up.

The second force, led by Lieutenant Monroe
would be positioned just north of the bridge and
would be responsible for luring the enemy’s main
force onto Big Hickory Island. A third group of
small teams would be responsible for blowing up
the other bridges crossing the Caloosahatchee River. The main force would wait in dozens of trucks
just south of Big Hickory Island. They were our
mobile reserves, and if everything failed they would
stop the enemy at Big Hickory Island or if the bad
guys were able to move south on Interstate 75,
they could quickly reposition themselves to defend
the campus.

The residents were in a somber mood, and
they all listened intently to Major Connors. His
troops had saved them once, and they hoped his
soldiers could do it again. Lieutenant Monroe
called out the names of some of the residents he
had fought with in the last battle. I guess one battle makes you a battle-hardened veteran. Jessie
and I were both on his list. We would be a part of
his group.

After the initial meeting, we broke up into
assigned teams. Vince led us off to one side of the
dining area. There were twenty-four of us, and he
explained many of us were going to die in this battle, but we were the key force. If we did our job
well, then the enemy would be defeated. He set up
a whiteboard against a chair and then used colored
markers to explain his strategy in detail.

We would commence our attack on the
right rear flank of their column as soon as the
bridge was blown. Our goal was to inflict minor
damage and make the enemy believe our force was
large but poorly equipped. We would be using machine guns mounted on the backs of jeeps, and the
jeeps were being modified at the air base and
would be ready for action the next morning.

We would be supplied with handheld FGM172 SRAW Predators. They were fire and forget anti-tank missile systems. After our initial attack, we
would retreat slowly along Bayshore Road. He
picked up one of the Predator systems, and we all
gathered around as he explained how the system
worked. Each of us took turns arming and aiming
the weapon. It was like a modern-day bazooka but
with a bigger punch.

Vince Monroe finished our lecture and requested we all meet up at MacDill to pick up our
jeeps at 0900 hours. That seemed a bit early for
what would be our first day as husband and wife. I
turned to Jessie. “I guess we’ll be spending our
honeymoon at the military base.”

She replied with a kiss on my lips and a
snicker. I think she was thinking the same thing.
With our official training over, Jessie and I headed
back to the apartment to prepare for our wedding.

I looked out the back of my apartment and
the beach was overflowing with people, except for a
ten-foot wide aisle leading from my backdoor down
to a platform set up near the water. Hunter and
Jasmine were dressed in their ceremonial outfits,
and they looked beautiful and very proud to be
participating in the service. Beth was with Jessie in
one of the bedrooms and I was prevented from seeing her. I guess things hadn’t changed much in
some traditions. At exactly four o’clock our community violinist began playing famous pieces of
classical music.

Beth appeared in the living room and nodded to Paul, who immediately left the back of the
apartment and walked slowly to the platform. The
violinist stopped playing, and that was the sign for
Hunter and Jasmine to do their thing. Hunter
picked up an eight foot ceremonial wooden staff
with alternating beautiful long red and white feathers sticking out from the side.

The kids began walking slowly toward the
platform with Hunter holding his staff high in the
air. Just before he reached the platform he stuck
the staff forcefully into the sand. He and Jasmine
then walked over to the large ceremonial rock holding the sacred fire. They lit the fire, which began to
burn slowly and then shouted an Indian chant followed by “Let the ceremony begin”. With Jasmine
standing proudly in front of the podium, Hunter
walked over to a large drum and began beating a
slow rhythmic beat.

That was my signal to begin, and I walked
slowly forward to the continuing beat of the drum.
I reached the front of the audience and saw Margaret in a wheel chair. I was shocked to see her, and I
bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. That’s
when she started crying, and she never stopped
until the end of the service.

The violinist began playing
Here Comes the
Bride
and I turned just in time to see Jessie
emerge from our apartment with Manny smiling
while tears of joy ran down his cheeks. I could tell
it was going to be one of those days where everyone
cried.

I quickly realized this simple ceremony
brought outward everyone’s recollection of friends
and relatives who had been lost in the pandemic.
Jessie was smiling from ear to ear, and when she
arrived I whispered, “You look beautiful.” That’s
when she began to cry. It was one big cry-fest.

Paul then announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, Jim and Jessie will now participate in the
sacred Rite of the Seven Steps ceremony. They will
stop seven times while walking around the ceremonial fire and at each stop exchange a gift and a
vow to help them as husband and wife.”

Hunter continued to beat on the drum
while Jasmine followed us as we began walking
around the fire. At the first stop Jasmine handed
me a sprig of rosemary. I handed it to Jessie and
said, “This herb is the symbol of fertility, may you
be so blessed.”

We continued on, and at the next stop Jessie handed me a small rock and said, “This rock is
a symbol of power, may you be so blessed.”

At the third stop I handed her a flower and
said, “This flower symbolizes beauty, may you be
so blessed.”
At the fourth stop Jessie gave me the feather of an eagle and she said, “This eagle feather is a
symbol of bravery, may you be so blessed.”

At the fifth stop I gave Jessie a feather from
an owl and said, “This feather from an owl is a
symbol of wisdom, may you be so blessed.”

At the sixth stop I placed Jessie’s wedding
ring on her finger and said, “This ring is a symbol
of my never-ending love, may you be so blessed.”

At the last stop, Jessie placed a ring on my
finger and said, “This ring is a symbol of my neverending love, may you be so blessed.”

Hunter then stopped beating the drum and
the four of us stood on the podium in front of Paul.
He smiled at the crowd and said, “As is our custom, I have an official Certificate of Marriage issued
by Patty, our community clerk. The couple standing before you has already signed the document
just prior to the ceremony. They insisted on a simple ceremony following the beautiful sacred fire
ritual. I will follow their wishes, but I also want to
say a few words about these two wonderful people.”