It was 2235. Minutes seemed like hours. In live minutes we would know what we were up against. The marauders were dressed in a mixture of blue jeans, and camouflage pants. Many of them looked fat and out of shape, their guts hanging over their pant line. It didn't matter, you don't have to be skinny to pull a trigger and hit your target.
Go time, 2240. I checked my watch and nodded to John and Will to remain very quiet. Nothing. No sign that they heard Jan's call. Then it came. I heard the group make the sound "Shhhh!" all in unison, signalling their fellow bandits to be quiet. Then… loud laughter from the group, and one person shouting,
"Fuck you bitch! You have it, we want it!"
Then came loud laughter, cursing and weapon's fire into the night sky.
I had to grab William's arm to keep him from standing up in anger. The flames were disappearing, and I could no longer see the tops of them as they sunk below the lip to the silo doors. Time was running out. Using the binoculars, I could see some sort of welding/cutting device being lugged inside the fence. These men wanted us dead.
It was a matter of survival of the fittest. I made the decision. Rather than wait for them to overpower us inside the complex, I decided to hit them while they were all close together. It is a decision that will haunt me forever. I told John and Will to get down as I loaded the M-16 mounted grenade launcher. I knew how far I was from the tanker. I adjusted the sights for my one hundred meter target. I sat there meditating for a moment, pondering on my decision. No more time to think. No more time to hesitate… I pulled the trigger.
The grenade whistled through the air toward the fuel tanker. It landed about two or three meters from the middle of the trailer and detonated, sending hundreds of steel shards into the metal skin holding the thousands of gallons of gasoline. Then came a huge explosion. I don't remember what happened after that.
My next memory was of John and William taking turns giving me CPR at the base of the razor wire fence. I later found out that the concussion of the blast knocked me off my feet and threw me backwards ten meters into the bottom section of the fence. They noted that I was lucky to hit a centre section of the fence, and not the post, or the razor wire.
I have been in bed since that day, recovering from burns and a probable concussion, according to Jan. John and William carried me back to the command centre and made the radio call out to the rest of the marauders. We assumed that some were out on "herding" duty. John broadcasted the following message on all available frequencies:
John repeated this message for half an hour. As of right now, we have received no response to the warning. I only hope John's deception worked. Either way, after killing almost fifty living men, I have issues to deal with. In a way, I was happy to be knocked out to the point of near death, if only because I could not hear their last screams.
This is not the end of the "Day by Day Armageddon" saga, but only the first part of the story. I hope you have enjoyed my tale of one survivor's story of perseverance. What will happen to the survivors as the story unfolds? Many questions are left to be answered, and in time, they will be.
Stay
vigilant, stay quiet, and stay alive.
-J. L. Bourne
The survivor stands alone. Outnumbered by hundreds, he makes a last stand. He fends off his attackers from the front, unknown to the dangers that lurk behind him. In the back of his mind, he realizes that there aren't enough bullets left on the planet to deal with the threat.
-Day by Day Armageddon, Vol. II
-
Dead Land
THE END
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