Dark Days Rough Roads (46 page)

“Ok,
Roger, what about the woods though?”

“I’ll
watch those for right now.”

Roger
called Mark next. “Mark, we have them moving in closer over in the wood line.
You over there at all?”

“Ya, I
have a spot next to Lisa and Kayla, who are in the fighting positions. We can’t
really see anyone yet. They are holding off at quite a distance. All we’re
getting are probing shots. I only have half our guys over here firing back to
help keep up a level of surprise.”

Haliday
heard a light thump followed by four more. He looked over at the street and saw
smoke rising around the woman. The militia used their launchers and put smoke
down on the road to attempt retrieval. They had a Jeep speeding in toward the
location of the wounded woman.

The
crow’s nest started to take more suppressing fire and Alan dropped down to the
loft floor. He ran over to the middle of the cabin. Earlier he had removed a
Velcro cover and piece of insulation. This revealed a one foot by one foot tin
roof vent that he raised up. He would be able to avoid the shots at the crow’s
nest, but still help fire along this side of the house to help out. He picked
up an AR resting there.

Out past
the woman, two rifles had started the barrage in order to provide cover for
this Jeep. It was coming in completely dark, not a single light on. Mike was
over on this side of the house and he launched a flare into the sky above the
road. The smoke was illuminated and looked eerie. The Jeep laid on the brakes
momentarily, then it continued on. NVG’s, Haliday thought, the flare ruined it.
The driver had to stop and take them off.

The
suppressing fire continued. They fired between the crow’s nest and Mike’s
fighting position. Mike couldn’t get his head up to take any shots. Suddenly
the wood line on the other side of the house erupted in gunfire. Mark ordered
them all to return fire. Shots were being fired from both Haliday’s group and
the militia regularly now.

Across
from the neighbor’s house came even more fire. Kevin, Dawn and Diana returned
fire striking the house and surrounding landscaping. Kevin swept the shrubs and
trees from side to side anywhere from six inches to a foot off the ground. Dawn
swept the areas from 2 to 3 feet off the ground and Diana sprayed the house and
took aim at areas she saw muzzle flashes.

Haliday
was ready to go and sought out the targets. He had taken over the hide after
the militia sniper had fired in order to utilize it against the aggressors.
None of them really knew what happened and with all the action they thought
their own man was still over there covering their movement. Haliday put an
occasional shot into a safe zone for just that effect.

*****

The woman
reached the motor pool area and ran inside. She opened the door and started the
deuce that they had armored the side of. She moved it out and her first stop
was by the downed militia member who had given her cover. The other militia man
ducked beside the deuce and it inched its way toward the admin building as he
dragged the downed man over there.

He laid
the body along the side of the admin building. A few more people came out of
the admin center. They climbed up into the back of the deuce and hunkered down
low behind the plate metal. The deuce headed off toward the other buildings. It
would pause and someone would get down and into a defensive position.

The positions
the militia had set up had included sand bag emplacements, some short metal
walls angled at 45 degree angles and placed near the corner of buildings and
some cinder blocks that had been stacked two deep and filled with sand. They
used whatever was found at the airport prior to the EMP strike.

The deuce
made another trip and loaded up some more people. The townspeople could only
take an occasional pot shot, but didn’t hit anyone. The group here at the
airport was definitely the safest. The townspeople would have to regroup and
figure out another plan of attack. The deuce delivered more militia to their
positions.

They had
twenty people dedicated to fighting positions around the buildings. The sniper
on the roof would help extend their reach. The outlying areas of the airport
they would have to leave alone for now. It was all open space and runway, so
there were no buildings or supplies to defend. The rest of the militia was
there to respond where needed and to help coordinate.

Rob was
talking with Brad. They had to get this under control much faster. Right now it
was simply a standstill with both sides waiting for the other to make a move.
Rob asked Brad what he thought. “We’re screwed with that man on top of that
admin building. We have to flush him out somehow. The distance we’re at is
killing us.”

One of
Rob’s group had positioned himself up on the feed store’s roof where he had
seen Haliday fire from a couple of days earlier. He took aim at the militia
sniper’s position and fired a shot. The shot dropped far too low. The man’s
rifle was underpowered. He raised his rifle to adjust the aiming point and
fired again to try and flush the man out.

The
militia sniper was aware of this position and dialed in his scope. He had
invested in an ATN gen three scope and looking at the man on the feed store
roof was not a problem at all. He fired his round and struck the man on the feed
store roof in the top of the shoulder. The round travelled through his upper
body cavity. The man tumbled down off the roof and fell to the pavement.

Brad
asked Rob who the best shot was. Rob told him it was Tom. The guy had a knack
for hunting. Go get him. Rob jumped in the four wheeler and went and got Tom.
When he got back, Brad pointed to the map. He said, “Tom, you think you can climb
a tree over in this clump here and get the bastard on the roof of their HQ?”

Tom
looked over the map and looked at the scale. “It’ll be hard. I won’t lie, but I
might be able to do it.”

Brad
looked at Rob, “Can we get him there?”

Rob said,
“Sure, give us about 20 minutes.”

“Ok, you
get there, and then get Tom up in that tree.” He told Tom to wait for the
signal.

“What is
the signal going to be?” he responded.

“It’s
going to be like the Fourth of July. When the fireworks start, you try and get
that guy.”

“Rob,
after you take Tom there, go around and get these guys ready. Tell them to
launch on my signal. I’ll pop a flare, and once they start, it’s Toms ball game.
Anyone else who can get a shot in should take it.” Rob and Tom got back on the
four wheeler. Rob drove down a ways and cut back up through the same path
Haliday used to ambush the track.

They came
across the track and both Rob and Tom just looked at it. It gave them shivers
to think about the people sitting in that thing burning. The stench of burnt
rotting flesh was pungent. The militia had not been able to get the bodies out
of the track. They both looked at each other then looked up toward the trees in
panic, but nothing was there.

Rob had
to back up the four wheeler and find another route. The track blocked the path
and he couldn’t get past the trees in the woods. They hurried up, and they were
cutting it close. They had to make sure Brad didn’t start early. Rob skirted
the woods and passed along a brick and block company. Those would have been
useful to build some blockades, he thought.

He turned
the lights off on the four wheeler and they crossed the road. They parked and
got out and headed toward the clump of trees. As they passed the house, Rob saw
people looking out the windows. He told them to get in the basement. The people
just watched. Rob told Tom, “Some people think this is a game, and they just
want to watch. Like it’s a giant Xbox or Playstation.”

Rob gave
Tom a boost and he started climbing the tree. He kept looking over at the roof,
half expecting to get hit. He climbed as high as he could get and braced
himself. He could barely make out the militia sniper. He watched and waited for
movement. This was not going to be easy.

The
militia was talking back and forth as they tried to identify where the
aggressors were. The flare went off and arced over the airport building then
came down without incident. In a matter of minutes, several large fireworks
started going. Michigan had just come around to allowing the good stuff to be
sold, and as with any state that sells them, they were abundant in tourist
traps.

As the
fireworks were dancing in the sky several more flares were launched toward the
buildings and mainly toward the admin building. Numerous fire work tubes were
aimed at the buildings as well. The militia almost laughed at the attack;
however, the admin building was getting pelted consistently. One lucky shot
made it into the militia snipers position and he moved to avoid it.

Tom took
this opportunity along with two more townspeople and started firing. Fifteen
shots had been fired rapidly toward the sniper. He laid up on the roof as blood
ran down from the rooftop. The militia positions returned fire toward the
riflemen but were taking hits themselves from almost 30 different people. The
sniper threat had been removed but at the cost of one more of Rob’s group dead
and two injured.

Tom
scrambled down the tree amidst the fire. He fell the last seven feet and came
down on his ankle, snapping it. Two townspeople assigned to regular posts here
provided enough fire so Rob could get Tom out of there. He took Tom back to the
four wheeler and drove him over to the tooling shop they had started to use as
their meeting area. They had a nurse there and she would do what she could.
They were not able to convince any doctors to get involved yet.

Rob went
back and met with Brad again. With the sniper gone now, they would make some
moves to get closer. They thought of every possible contingency. Getting into
the compound would be vital to eliminating as many of the militia as they
could. Rob wondered how Haliday was doing.

The Jeep
stopped about 10 feet from the woman. Two guys jumped out and ran over to her.
They each grabbed a side of her and got her to her feet and were taking her to
the Jeep. She couldn’t move well and they struggled moving her. She was
insisting they take the man’s body with them. The man down turned out to be her
husband.

The
driver of the Jeep was yelling at them to hurry. They had to get out of there
quickly. The smoke was practically gone. He put it in reverse and continued to
yell at them to rush. As he waited for them he fired his own rifle into the
house and at the landscaping areas around it. He was panicking; this rescue was
taking far too long.

The driver
was firing only toward the house now thinking people were at the windows.
Blake, Mike and Kevin were returning fire along with Alan, who was firing from
the second floor portal. There were Three more militia groups firing at the
house from this side. The Jeep driver stopped firing and popped a can of smoke
and tossed it in front of him hoping this would help continue to blind them.

Alan was
taking aim into the center of the smoke when a round came in grazing his cheek
and splintered the wood next to him causing bits of wood to fly. He backed away
and put the rifle down. He grabbed a pouch from his pocket and tore it open and
held it to the massive gash which had gone almost gone completely through his
cheek.

He called
downstairs for help. Bev came up the steps with a bag. She took the quick clot
off his cheek and squeezed the gash together. She placed a few butterfly band
aids over it and then taped another bandage over it. Right now this was going
to be the best that he was going to get.

Haliday
fired, striking the Jeeps’ driver in the back of his head. The round penetrated
the windshield as well. The driver fell limp and the Jeep slowly rolled in
reverse as the militia members were trying to get the woman into the side of
the Jeep. They dropped down and crawled toward the vehicle in the ditch. They
weren’t sure where the round came from.

The woman
started to crawl that way as well, but was having a hard time. She was pleading
for help. There wasn’t going to be any. The men who attempted her rescue were concerned
with getting out of the area and getting to a safer location, so they let her
lie there. They actually considered whether or not to try to get in the Jeep.

Across
the street by an empty house Kayla saw some movement and called it out. Mark,
David and Lisa along with Kayla kept an eye out over there. The angle was
difficult for Kayla and she was trying to keep an eye on the woods. She yelled
over to Mark and told him they needed help on the west side wood line.

Mark
called Alan, who went over to the other side of the house and opened that
portal. His cheek was still stinging like crazy. He eyed the woods and looked
for the militia. They had really started shooting down the strobes now. Only a
couple of them had NVG’s but even that gave them an advantage. The depth
perception and detail lacked severely because they were early generation one
NVG’s so they were mostly for movement or observation.

Mark
called out more movement by the empty house Kayla had pointed out and confirmed
it was militia. He fired single shots in that direction. Lisa and David waited
as he did this. As soon as they saw the first flash they opened up on that
location. They each fired around 15 rounds. Around 15 feet away from that area,
another militia member returned fire, emptying a full clip toward them. There
were at least two militia members by this house.