Cries Of The World Read online

  “Blah, blah, blah?” Blake asked, “Are we getting into technical Army terminology here?”

  “Yep, it’s in the manual,” she teased.

  “I don’t like that they took that food by force,” Blake nodded towards the truck, “and if they are the good guys…” his words trailed off and he looked over at Davis.

  “I know, trust me Baby, I know. The real question is, now what?” Sandra poked him in the side and grinned when Blake jumped.

  “Why are you asking me?” Blake asked, ready to have asked his wife the same question.

  “Because, oh fearless leader, this is your family’s homestead. Oh, and because you’re our fearless leader.”

  “No, no I’m not. I’m just a blogger and country boy,” Blake told her.

  “Not anymore,” Corinne said, walking up to them.

  “What do you think?” Blake asked Corinne, nodding towards Davis.

  “Don’t try to take anything by force. You…” Corrine took a deep breath, looked away a moment and wiped her eyes, “You and your family got me and a lot of other people out of a very bad situation.” Corinne said, referring to the slavers, “They were supposed to be the bad guys. Now the good guys are basically acting the same way? I don’t know; if this is as Boss Hogg says it is… I don’t know. I just don’t know.” She turned abruptly and walked towards the tree line.

  Blake took a deep breath and went over to John Davis and his head of security. Pulling a folding knife out, he gently took the Sgt.’s arm and cut the zip tie off, and then did the same for Davis.

  “Thank you sir,” Sgt. Silverman said, rubbing his wrists.

  “So,” Davis said with a sneer, “Are you ready to let us inventory your supplies and take appropriate actions?”

  “No,” Blake said softly. “I’m not against doing my part and helping out, Governor. Truthfully, I think we’ll have just about enough for our own people up in the hills. We’re not sitting on Solomon’s mine up there, no matter what you think you heard from the radio.”

  “Listen, by executive order I have the right to—“

  “Act like a thug? A bandit? A Thief? Listen Davis,” Blake said, grabbing him by the lapels of his sweat soaked suit jacket, “We’ve been dealing with thugs, bandits and thieves ever since the power went out, including rogue factions of the government were either buried shallowly or left out for the animals to pick over. Like I said earlier, I don’t mind helping if we have extra… But until we get some of the bigger farm machinery working, we have just about enough for us. When we get that going, I’ll be in a better position to share.” Blake said, his anger rising making him red in the face.

  “Oh yeah? Buried them all?” Davis said, knocking Blake’s hands away, “So you are admitting to attacking government forces? Look at you and your people,” Davis said, motioning with his hands.

  “Yeah?” Blake asked, not sure where the question was going.

  “Every single one of them is healthy and not a single one looks like they’ve gone hungry,” Davis snarled, spittle coming out of his mouth.

  “You don’t look like you’re starving yourself, Guv.”

  That almost sent Davis into a rage, but Sgt. Silverman put his arm up to stop the charge.

  “Most of my city is dead! People are starving. We’re trying to rebuild in a structured manner according to FEMA guidelines—“

  Blake interrupted, not able to hold back, “How is it you’re not starving? Or did you lose a couple hundred pounds in the crash diet? Listen,” he paused as Davis tried to surge at him again to be held back by Silverman, “Listen, maybe staying in the cities doesn’t make sense anymore. Not until you get the services back up and running. There’s nowhere to grow food, nowhere to farm, nowhere to dispose of waste… Your water quality is probably horrible—“

  “Those are all problems we’re dealing with. There’s just too many people and not enough infrastructure to support them. People are dying,” Sgt. Silverman answered, hiding a placating hand up in front of Davis.

  “I’m not heartless,” Blake continued. “I basically have the same issues you do, but I can at least grow or hunt my own food out here. You get me the parts and a couple mechanics and I can probably help everyone out. I’ve got quite a few farm families here with crops in the fields with no way to harvest or transport. If you can help with that, I can help with the food.” Blake said, telling them what he’d been thinking about already.

  “Now that sounds reasonable,” Silverman said, looking at Davis, who seemed to be calming down.

  “You know, you don’t have any right to refuse us. I was given authority—“

  “Oh, stop,” both Silverman and Blake said at the same moment.

  Surprisingly, Davis shut up, but shot Silverman a death glare.

  “Listen Davis, I don’t think you have enough men or manpower or working equipment to take us by force. If you’re legitimate, I’m willing to work with you. Isn’t that worth more than empty threats and chest thumping?”

  Davis glowered.

  “Are my men free to go?” Silverman asked.

  “I’ll have to ask my wife how we handle that part. I’m just a homesteader.” Blake admitted, walking away from Davis with Silverman in tow.

  “I appreciate you not killing us outright. I’ve been telling that fool you can’t roll up on people like that, not when we have no Intel. He could have gotten us all dead.” Silverman’s face was hard and mostly expressionless.

  A hint of anger showed through his expression, though, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Blake marveled at the man’s self-control. He’d just been humbled, and his professional skills put to a test which he’d failed.

  “Do you agree with all of this?” Blake asked, motioning to the transport and reefer truck.

  “No, but the orders are legit and legal.”

  “What about some of your guys, they aren’t all military, are they?” Blake asked.

  “No, there’s scum and merc’s mixed in with my men. It’s a disgrace. I think half of them are criminals. Honestly, if we weren’t so short handed, I’d have them digging latrines back in the city just to keep the stupidity away from me and my men,” Silverman said, starting to calm.

  “Why do you stick around with this outfit then? I mean, you took an oath… Don’t you and your men feel that operating like this is breaking it?” Blake waited as the pause between replies grew and grew.

  “Tell you what, in a week or so I’ll see if I can scare up a few mechanics and parts. We’ll sit down and have a cold beer. I’ll fill you and your men in.”

  “And women,” Sandra said sweetly.

  “And women, but I don’t think you’re going to be drinking, Ma’am.” Silverman said, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

  “Blake, I can fix just about anything…” Sandra started to ask.

  “No babe, you’ve got too much going on. Besides, the baby—“ Blake said before Silverman interrupted.

  “Ma’am, I do have to warn you though, by executive order… All military and ex-military have been activated and pressed into service. I do believe that means—“

  Blake cut in. “No, she’s pregnant and she isn’t going anywhere right now.”

  “I’m in no position to force the issue, I’m just passing the word along. I imagine that as soon as things get more organized...” Silverman broke off and Sandra nodded.

  “We’ll see. Right now it sounds like we’ve got NATO running our country. There’s been no new legal orders coming out from our government, so until there is… I’ll stay right here. I’m sure most of us will actually.” Sandra told him, her arm snaking around Blake’s waist.

  “You got room for a few more?” Silverman asked, chuckling and walking away.

  “Do you think he was serious?” Sandra asked.

  “I think so,” Blake told her.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, the security team met up to debrief and Sandra, Duncan and Sgt. Smith talked about what worked and
what didn’t. It was a mixture of former military and Sandra’s squad with some homesteaders thrown into the mix. Nobody had been hurt, besides the Humvee. Other than having an elevated watch placed on the end of the lane, and a couple of spotters further down the road, it turned into a normal afternoon. A little more excitement than they were used to lately, but a good reminder to always be ready and always be on guard.

  It also gave Blake time to get back to the house in time for Rebel Radio. He didn’t have a prepared topic for the evening broadcast, but he had a vague idea what he wanted to talk about, compliments of one Boss Hogg, John Davis. Government outreach, rebuilding etc. What had happened that day could have been bloody for either side, though it was mostly going to be the governors’ men if they were the ones who had tried to push things!

  Someone somewhere had a cassette player and when David keyed up the mic, a kid in California played Gorilla Radio. Lisa began dancing a little bit and Duncan laughed. Sandra slid in next to Blake and almost giggled at the sight. Lisa had confessed her love for Rage Against The Machine a while back, but this had been a new angle and a new twist. Maybe they could switch things up as old technology was found that still worked, or they could make new technology when the country started the rebuilding process. If it made the listeners as happy as it did the homesteaders, it was worth the effort.

  “Good evening everyone, this here is Blake Jackson, Back Country J from my blogging days. Welcome to another Rebel Radio broadcast. Tonight, I’d like to tell you a story and then ask all of you a question. This is going to be more interactive than you’re probably used to, but I’m downright curious what you all think about the situation I have going on.

  “See, the interim governor showed up at our property today to take inventory of our supplies in order to redistribute them to those in need. If I thought we’d have a ton extra, I’d probably do it. You all and Lord knows how many survivors we’ve brought into the Homestead, but until we can get a way of getting more food to mouths, we just can’t give up what they were asking. Now, I don’t know if they’re legit but I have a feeling they were.

  “See, they came in with troops and mall ninjas according to my lovely wife,” he said pausing to look at her.

  Sandra took the microphone and hit the transmit button, “Yes, mall ninjas,” and handed it back.

  “So that didn’t go down well and we had to send them away empty handed. If their stories are legit, it sounds like they are trying to set things back up in the cities. That doesn’t make any sense to me right now and, from what I hear, big cities are even worse than the camps. Especially if you had an airport nearby…”

  Blake let that trail off a minute. He’d heard the figures from somebody on the broadcast once. 5,000 airplanes in the sky over the United States at any given moment. 9/11 happening in an instant, thousands of times over, and the devastation had been horrific.

  “So, if folks like this are legit and want to take your supplies or force you into camps by executive order… I mean… The Constitution and the Bill of Rights have basically been suspended. Now, we have NATO ‘Peace Keepers’ - and I use those words loosely - helping to enforce things because of scattered resources and personnel that didn’t show up,” Blake said and broke off.

  “You can do this,” Sandra whispered to him, rubbing his shoulders.

  They had talked about it earlier, and a government that wanted total control, such as John Davis had alluded to, was no government they wanted to work with. That was treason, pure and simple, and every person at the homestead would have to make a decision. They’d mentioned that all troops were being activated, current and former, and to report in. The messages that Sgt. Smith had been getting weren’t too far off if the Governor was legit…. But how to vet that?

  “So do we want a government that wants to come in, take half of everything we got and send it to the cities and refugee camps for redistribution? I’ve prayed over this and I kind of think if I get extra and I can afford to give away I will, but is that the right thing to do? I don’t know. I’d love to hear from all of you, because I’m sitting pretty remote here and I’m sure you’ve all had to do come to this decision much sooner than I did. Over.” Blake sat back and waited.

  There was a long pause, and only the static was on the air. Blake started to sweat, never had there been a silent frequency. Had he pushed things too far? Was his traitorous attitude too much for them? He’d been a loner and a blogger forever. All he wanted to do was to do his own thing, but if he could help someone else out, that would be great. Lately, he’d been doing it over the radio. That didn’t make him a DJ or even more of an extrovert, he just looked at it as one more way to help and teach.

  “Hey Blake, how many of them walked away?” a male voice asked.

  “All of them,” Blake replied.

  “Mighty generous of ya. I figured you’ve got the biggest mobile Army in the middle of the country. I don’t know why they would poke the bear like that. Hell with them, it’s Martial Law right now and even the people in charge aren’t always the best for the public. Heck, we saw that with the President - and I have no clue how he got elected to a second term. Over,” the man said, and Blake had to smile.

  If it didn’t turn into a political discussion, they might actually be able share some information.

  “Sandra,” David said, his headset half pulled away from his ear, “I’ve got a Lieutenant or Sargent Silverman on the scrambled unit asking for you. He’s asking for authentication. You want this?” he asked, showing the portable handset with the combo headphone/mic.

  “Yeah, I’ll take it,” Sandra whispered as Blake’s radio came alive with more people weighing in on the subject.

  “Wait one,” she said into the mic and gave Blake a hug before heading towards the bedroom.

  “Ok, that’s a good point,” Blake told someone, trying to steer the conversation back on topic, “But if there was a way to help, how do you tell the good guys from the bad ones? I mean, I had a rogue guard unit buying and selling humans just months ago. This was part of the government. They claimed they were legit, I’m sure acting within what they felt was Martial Law… But, they still did what they did. I don’t want to get into a shooting war with the legitimate government, but every single one of them was wanting to shoot first, take what they wanted and… Sorry, I’m getting worked up. I want to hear from you.”

  * * *

  Sandra read off a set of numbers and Silverman read a different set back. When Boss Hogg wasn’t looking, he’d slipped a piece of paper to her. A code so they would always know if the person on the other end was actually the ones talking to them, or that they weren’t under duress. It was pretty simple but effective. Sandra would tell him 10 9 8 7 6 for example, and for however long the number was, you added numerically at a prearranged spot and add them together. 10+1, 9+2, 8+3, 7+4, 6+5, turned into 11, 11, 11, 11, 11 for example. It was supposed to be the ultimate double safety check, and no, they didn’t start with 1-10, that would have been too simple.

  “You got my attention Silverman, over.” Sandra said.

  “You guys really thumped Davis’s nose bad today. Are you guys truly looking for a fight? Over.”

  “Not looking for one, but we’ve dealt with the corruption from the government already. Don’t know who is for real or not. The fact you guys had a trailer full of food you took from others… I don’t know. You guys are no better than the raiders. Over,” Sandra retorted.

  “I was just following orders, over.”

  “So were the Nazis. Over.

  There was a long pause.

  “You’re going to have to start picking a side, sooner or later. Over,” Silverman said quietly.

  “What side is that? Over.”

  “Whether or not to join or bow to the new government that’s being formed or to fight it, be self-contained. Over,” Silverman said, but he sounded disgusted at the thought.

  “New Government?” Sandra asked, losing the etiquette most used on the radio. I
t was a pretty obscure channel, one she’d given him as a just in case. She hoped this wasn’t the just in case.

  “Yeah, there isn’t much in the way of command here and the President’s final orders are being carried out. With most of the house and senate gone now, it’s really hard to say what’s going to happen. I heard Blake on the radio and decided I had to choose my own side finally. For me, my men and our families. Over.”

  Sandra kicked back and sat on the edge of the bed. Laying down, she looked up at the ceiling.

  “What side is that?” Sandra asked him, wondering if she was going to get any answers or if he was wasting her time.

  “Well, our guys, and not the merc’s that Davis brought along, are the real soldiers. A bunch of us don’t feel comfortable with our orders and we all plead an oath to the constitution. Now that’s getting scrapped and those in charge are talking about a reset. I’m not high enough in the food chain to know much, but I overheard a lot. Listen, I’m probably bugging out sometime soon, AWOL. With our troops and families still loyal to the USA. I just wanted to let you know that in case Davis does something stupid. It’s not me and it’s not us.”

  “I will. It sounds like you’re expecting some sort of revenge attack by the sound of it? Davis getting his ass handed to him probably has him all up in arms, doesn’t it? Over.”

  “Yeah Sandra, I really think he is. It can’t be tomorrow, but he was spitting mad and talking all kinds of shit on the trip back into the city. If he goes through with half of what he’s threatening…” Silverman’s words drifted off.

  When it was clear he’d finished his thought, Sandra keyed the mic. “Ok, will keep in mind. You’d literally have to have more than a battalion strength to even bust in here,” she lied, “so I’m not overly worried.”

  “Remember, this is not me. I’m out. I’m leaving with whoever will go in the next day or two. He’ll probably blame that on you guys as well. Listen, I have to run. Over and out,” Silverman said.

  “Over and out.” Sandra replied, staring at the ceiling.