After the Fall: Jason's Tale (15 page)

One morning Sarah came running down the stairs and
breathlessly reported that there was some smoke way to the south. They all ran
to the roof lookout. Jason studied the smoke through his binoculars. It seemed
too large for a campfire, but he couldn’t tell much else. It was fairly far
away, but very disturbing.

“What do you think it is?” asked Anne.

“Not sure. It seems to be more than just a campfire.”

“Clifton Furnace is in that direction,” Catherine said.
“Could a fire have started in the town?”

“I doubt a fire could have started spontaneously,” Jason
replied. “We haven’t had any storms with lightning. Something’s up.”

“Could it be a gang?” Sarah said with tension in her voice.

“Maybe.” Jason hoped she was wrong, but he had a growing
knot in his stomach:
this could be trouble.

The family went down to the kitchen to discuss the
situation. “I could go and scout what this is. It looks like it’s a ways off,
so I might—”

“No way!” Sarah said. “You can’t leave us alone…tell him,
Mom.”

“I agree,” said Anne. We have to stick together, if anything
happened to you, we’d be in a terrible spot.”

“Let’s talk about the worse case and prepare for that,”
Catherine said.

“Okay,” Jason abandoned his idea. “We won’t have as much
information, but Catherine’s right, we can figure out the worse scenario and
plan for that.”

“So what is that?” asked Anne.

He paused, then said, “Possibly a large gang like the one
that attacked Sam and Judy’s place. That is what I’ve worried about all along
as we’ve worked on the defenses for the house. They’re dangerous, but on the
positive side, these groups aren’t well organized. It’s not in their nature.
They don’t fight in a disciplined way and we’re probably all better shots than
they are.”

“Do you really think so?” Catherine asked.

“Yes, you especially, you’re a good marksman.”

“You mean markswoman,” corrected Sarah.

“If you say so. The point is, not only is Catherine a better
shot, you and your mom probably are also. We represent a formidable team if we
don’t fall apart in the noise and pressure of a battle.” In spite of their
concern, everyone looked proud of themselves.

“The key is being able to function in the heat of a
firefight. It’s loud and dangerous. I’ve made you practice with a lot of noise
and distractions, but that is nothing like what we will experience if a gang
attacks us.”

Jason talked about whether or not they could shoot another
person. He knew that Anne and the girls could not afford to hesitate. “If we
are attacked, you must be able to aim your rifle at someone and pull the
trigger. I know you can do that with a target. You’re all comfortable with your
weapons, but this time you won’t be shooting at targets.”

Sarah looked doubtful. There was a long silence. Catherine
finally asked, “When that small group attacked us, you fired some shots after
it was all over. You’ve never talked about that. What were you doing?”

Jason decided it was time to put all the cards on the table.

“I went carefully up to each person that I had shot, in case
they still had their weapon and could use it. I didn’t want them to shoot me.
The two that were alive, I shot…and killed. The third one was already dead.”
There was silence in the kitchen.

Finally Sarah asked, “Could they have lived…if you hadn’t
shot them?” Her voice was timorous and tentative.

“Probably not,” he replied. She began to look relieved, “But
if they could have lived, I would probably still have shot them.” Sarah now
gave Jason a concerned look, as if seeing him anew and not sure of what she was
seeing.

“Sarah…everyone…these are very bad men. The ones that
attacked us meant us harm. If they could have killed me they would have and
then probably raped and killed all of you. I wasn’t interested in
rehabilitating them or giving them another chance.” He paused to look at each
girl. “The normal rules about how we behave have gone out the window. This is
anarchy and barbarism. There’s no authority to stop these people. And the group
coming may be worse than the last one.”

Jason continued, “I’m not trying to rationalize my behavior,
but I want each of you,” he looked directly at Sarah, “to have no hesitation about
shooting these savages. Do not hesitate!” She started at his intensity. “We’re
not pursuing them, Sarah. If they went another way and never came here, we
would be happiest. But if they come here, we’ll probably see right away that it
is not an innocent visit but an attack.”

“And we need to be ready to surprise them. We do not need to
be like the other farms they’ve raided and whose owners they’ve killed.” Anne
added to the point.

At last Sarah responded, “Okay, I get it. Don’t think about
them as people we can reason with, just targets to shoot.” Jason nodded. She
got it better than he hoped, maybe better than she realized.

From that moment on, they focused their activities on battle
preparation. There was no more cooking or shooting and when night came they
didn’t light any of the oil lanterns. Jason hoped whoever was in the town would
not notice the valley and not venture into it. Thankfully most of the work on
the house was completed as they didn’t dare risk doing any more hammering.
Water was gathered and stored, blankets arranged to wet down and suppress
fires.

Jason went over and over how they probably would arrive—by
the road this time, maybe even in pickup trucks, if they had gotten older ones
running—and how the family would fight them. The battle plan was that Catherine
and Anne would aim their fire at each edge of the area in front of the house.
It was critical to keep the group from surrounding the house. Sarah and Jason
would concentrate their firing on the center of the attack. Jason would operate
from the roof position and Anne and the girls would shoot from separate
positions on the second floor. Sarah would be called to help with either side
if Anne or Catherine felt they needed additional firepower. Jason slipped some
drainage pipe through holes in the attic floor so he could communicate with the
girls from his rooftop position. He didn’t know if it would work, but they all
felt better to be connected in some fashion.

Now they watched and waited. Was it a gang? Would it show
up? The smoke had gone away. Maybe whoever had made it had gone as well and not
noticed this valley. Jason wondered how long they would have to remain in
stealth mode, before he could declare an “all clear”.

Bud’s career as a sniper consisted mostly of shooting game
for the gang. At times when he shot a deer he would enjoy a brief moment of
popularity. Big Jacks, the leader, had run a biker gang. They were involved in
drug running through the Carolinas and southern Virginia, mostly crystal meth
and weed. When the power went out, they discovered that many of their bikes
still ran. They were older models without electronics. With this mobility, Big
Jacks immediately set out on a looting spree. He gathered fuel, guns and
ammunition first, food second. Smaller gangs, some with motorcycles, some with
older pickup trucks began to attach themselves to Big Jacks. To them he
represented the strongest force in a time of increasing anarchy. Jacks’ brute
force stood out, even amidst the lawlessness. He attracted men who disdained
order and obeying rules; men who functioned outside the law and were
comfortable there. They took pride in their outlaw status and now, with civic
order breaking down, their lawless behavior only increased.

When things got too hot in the Charlotte area, Jacks set out
on the road to find easier pickings in the smaller towns. The countryside was
disorganized. State government was non-existent and federal authority had
limited reach. It was left to each town, large or small, to organize themselves.
Getting organized meant gathering resources and protecting them from gangs like
the one Big Jacks ran. His plan was to take over a town large enough to support
him and his gang although exactly how he would do that remained unclear. If his
gang became large enough, he figured he could overpower local resistance and
put a town under his control. The town’s resources would then be his. He could
live grandly as a kingpin and add to his domain with raids on other towns. The
leaders of smaller gangs that joined him shared his plan and provided
assistance in keeping his growing band of outlaws in line. They would prove
helpful in controlling a larger town after his conquest. Visions of power,
wealth and women drove him and the gang. Loyalty was maintained by keeping the
group fed and holding out the hope that they were not just on an endless cycle
of raiding and starving.

Another method of creating loyalty was more personal. Each
new member pledged themselves to Big Jacks. He told them that, even though they
swore allegiance to him, they were free to leave. Then after a pause he would
add that after they walked out of camp, they would be considered food and
hunted down. That message created a strong deterrent.

Big Jacks kept his gang on the move raiding, killing, and
engaging in cannibalism when hunger drove them to it. The gang was growing and
looking for larger communities to raid for the food, women and any other
comforts the towns could provide.

Bud was able to detail the defenses of the communities they
came upon as they slowly worked their way north. He and the other snipers would
shoot the guards, softening their defenses for the rest of the gang to overrun.
He never quite got used to the cannibalism, but did not abstain. He
rationalized his actions by telling himself that he would become suspect with
the others for holding back. Engaging in this horrific practice kept the gang
bound together—numbing their sense of humanity and compassion, making them more
merciless.

They numbered around seventy when they arrived at Clifton
Furnace. The town was a small cluster of buildings and side streets at the
intersection of two county roads. One road from the south met another at a “T”
junction with the other running east to west beside a river. The town had
formed around an iron smelting furnace that processed the local iron ore found
in the hills. Over time as more people settled there a diverse economy grew,
providing goods to the surrounding farms. The town was a practical collection
of businesses that had morphed into quaint, country establishments. It became
one of those hidden country gems that city people flocked to. There was a
general store with a wooden floor, reminiscent of a century ago. The remains of
the smelting furnace were preserved and shown off to tourists.

There were few people left in Clifton Furnace when the gang
arrived. A dozen residents hung on, gardening and harvesting what they could,
taking comfort in each other’s company. When the people in the village saw the
gang coming, many ran off in a panic, leaving their possessions behind. The few
that didn’t escape were rounded up. Three women and two men were caught. After
scavenging the town for its remaining food and liquor, the gang began to party.
In the midst of the celebration Big Jacks grabbed one of the women and the
other two were given to the gang. The men were tied up and later killed, as
food ran low. When the gang grew tired of the women, they, too, were killed and
eaten.

The village provided few other resources. Some mechanical
gear was found in the local garage which the gang used to service their
pickups. While they were there, Big Jacks decided to send small groups out to
gather what they could from local farms while the main group remained in the
village. Bud told Big Jacks about a valley to the north that was very secluded
and probably had some good resources.

“The valley is well hidden with only one way in as far as I
could tell.”

“Why do you think it’s worth goin’ there?” Big Jacks asked.

“Well, if it’s hidden, it may not have been raided.”
Whenever they came upon a farm or small town that had been raided, very little
remained to be scavenged. He continued, “I was up there. We found two farms
empty but the third had people in it and was well defended. I figure they had a
lot of stuff to protect. I bet it’s good pickings.”

“So, just because someone ran you off, you think there’s a
goldmine of stuff to raid? And that’s supposed to be worth my while to go up
there?”

“There are more farms further up the valley. If they all
have food, it could add up to a good haul.”

“So how many of you was there?”

“Just four of us. We were ambushed as we snuck up on the
house. They knew we were coming. If you sent more men they wouldn’t stand a
chance.”

“Okay, we’ll see if you’re right. But you better hope I’m
not sending men out for nothing.”

The senior members of the gang assembled to decide who would
go out to raid. Big Jacks relayed Bud’s story.

“Bud says there’s some farms north of here that haven’t been
raided. Easy pickings he thinks. I’m going to send a couple of pickups to run
through the valley and see what they can collect.”

“You need to send two? How far is it?” one of the men asked.

“It ain’t far. I’m sending two ‘cause one of the farms fought
back. Bud got run off from there.”

“Bud gettin’ run off…that don’t mean much,” someone said.
The others laughed.

“Maybe not, but I’m going to send the pickup with the M60 on
it. Bud’s going as well.”

Everyone agreed with Big Jacks’ decision since there was
evidence of armed resistance. Most farms put up little to no resistance when
they arrived. The smart or lucky ones simply fled at the arrival of the gang.

The M60 was a light machine gun with a bipod support that
the gang had adapted to be mounted to the roof of the cab. It created a solid
platform from which to fire in a wide arc. The weapon was belt-fed and shot a
powerful 7.62mm NATO round. With the gun’s rapid rate of fire, Big Jacks
figured his men could quickly overcome any resistance.

He had stolen the gun from a National Guard armory. With
that raid he had also acquired a .50 caliber M2 machine gun, but with limited
ammunition. It was a massively lethal weapon which he planned to use in taking
over a large town.

The next morning the raiding party set out for the valley.
They made their way ten miles up the county road that followed a stream, then
turned right over the narrow iron truss bridge onto the local road leading into
the valley where Jason, Anne and the girls waited.