The Resolution (20 page)

“I guess you haven’t gotten the whole story on that, have you? Well, if we make it out of this, we’ll give you all of the details on our way back home,” Jason replied with a grin.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Well, guys,” interrupted Evan. “You heard the man, let’s see if we can carry this stuff down this scary steep hillside without killing ourselves before the commies even get here.”

He threw the heavy M2 machine gun over his shoulder while holding onto the barrel. With the M2’s tripod lashed to his pack and his VZ58 with its stock folded and hanging by its sling from his shoulder, Evan struggled down the steep hillside with Jason and Daryl following along behind.

Nearing their positions, Evan stopped and turned to Jason and Daryl, gave them both a hug, and said, “I can’t wait to tell you the story, Daryl, so stay alive. You, too, Jason. I’m sure you’ll have your two cents to add. But seriously, we’ve been through a lot together. Stay safe and don’t make this the last time we see each other. Every single person back home needs us.”

“You, too, brother,” Jason said, returning the hug.

With that being said, each of the men slipped into their assigned shooting position and began to get themselves set up for both the battle and the wait that precedes it.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Waiting Game

As the last rays of light from the day’s sun peeked over the hills to the west, Evan could not help but sit and think about his family back at the mine, and the struggles they might face until his return. He hoped and prayed that someday, they would no longer have to live in fear of what lay around every corner. He then remembered that’s exactly why he was perched high on that wooded hillside. He knew that the actions of individuals such as him, Jason, and Daryl, standing up against tyranny with groups like the Blue Ridge Militia, was the first step in achieving that peace, stability, and freedom they longed for.

As his thoughts continued to drift, he heard footsteps approaching behind him. Reaching for his VZ58, he heard a familiar voice say, “Relax, Evan. It’s just me, Terry.”

“Oh, hey, Terry. Any word?”

“Yes, actually. Just as our intel suggested, the convoy reached Hot Springs right on schedule. Most of the town was evacuated and safely in their bug-out retreats, so in that regard, it has been relatively uneventful. The disturbing bit of news we’ve received from our eyes and ears on the ground, however, is that they seem to truly have a list of individuals associated with the militia and any sort of resistance. The homes of many of our key players in the area have been burned and destroyed while all the others were left virtually untouched. I’m not sure how they got their intel on us, but they, without a doubt, have a list and they’re checking it twice.”

“That’s disturbing news,” Evan said.

“We’ve got to stop these guys. If not, they’ll burn us all out and keep us on the run, picking us off one by one. And as long as all of the region-wide hits over the next several days go as planned, they’ll be spread way too thin to hit back on any one group. On a brighter note, Q said we’ve received word from out west.”

“Really, what’s that?”

“The occupiers out that way, mostly Chinese troops flying the UN Peacekeeper flag, have been trounced pretty hard, and they’ve got them on the run. The Northwestern Defensive Coalition has declared that Idaho is now free of any occupying forces.”

“Where did the Chinese go?”

“We didn’t get all of the details. We assume west towards Seattle, which was their initial staging area. The important thing, however, is that those guys out there in the mountains of Idaho have proven to us, and to the occupiers, that when Americans stand up to tyranny, we can overcome anything.”

As the thunder off in the distance reminded Terry of one of the main reasons he was out making his rounds, he began to dig around in the large camouflaged pack he was carrying. He pulled out several items and said, “Here, from the sound of things, you’ll need this. It’s a camo tarp and a concealment net. Get yourself set up for a wet and rainy night. It appears thunderstorms may be on their way.”

“Thanks, man,” Evan said, taking the items. “Oh, and do me a favor. Send my regards to Jason when you’re down his way. I assume you already visited Daryl?”

“I will, and speaking of that, Daryl says hey.”

As Terry slipped off into the darkness to make his way to Jason’s position, Evan once again heard thunder off in the distance. He looked up at the dark cloudy sky and thought,
Just great. That’s exactly what we need, sitting on this steep hillside.

~~~~

Back at the old abandoned mine, as Griff and Greg stood watch at the entrance, Judy walked up behind them with two extra blankets and said, “Here, it’s getting cold in here.”

“Oh, thanks, baby,” Griff said. “How is everyone doing? How are the kids handling it?”

“Other than cold, fine. Well, poor little Zack isn’t doing so well. He had another one of his panic attacks about a half hour ago. Peggy has him calmed down for now. Being confined in a dark space is probably the opposite of what he needs emotionally, considering what happened at his grandparents’ home and all.”

“Yes, I can hardly imagine,” replied Griff.

“Why is it so cold in here? You’d think these thick rock walls could keep us warm,” she asked.

“Caves and mines generally stay very cool. The terrain surrounding them is too thick for any of the sun's daytime radiation to warm the air inside. If it was sealed off, I imagine it would be even colder with none of the warmer air getting in from the outside.”

“Is everyone else still awake?” asked Griff.

“Sarah and the Jones boys are asleep. Mildred is telling old-fashioned bedtime stories to the others. She’s such a jewel of a lady.”

“Yes, she is indeed.”

“Everyone else is snuggled together in groups under all of the blankets to stay warm. Oh, and Lloyd volunteered to stay up tonight to keep his lantern going on its lowest setting to give some background light. Most of the kids have probably never been anywhere this dark before. It’s crazy. You can’t even see your hand in front of your face without some sort of lantern or flashlight.”

“That’s why most cave critters, like bats, don’t use their eyes, or have lost their eyesight over time.”

“Damn it, Griff,” she said, punching him in the arm jokingly. “Don’t get me thinking about bats and cave critters. I’ll never sleep now!”

He and Greg both shared a chuckle. “Okay, okay, sorry. Anyway, Greg and I should be relieved in about an hour and a half. As soon as we get off we’ll come join you in a snuggle pile.”

“Okay, then,” she said as she kissed Griff softly on the lips. She then turned and gave Greg a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll be waiting up for you. See you soon.”

Griff smiled, then turned his attentions back to the darkness of the night outside. As he heard thunder off in the distance, he said, “I wonder if Evan, Jason, and Daryl have a roof over their heads tonight.”

~~~~

As the rain came pouring down on Evan’s tarp, with thunder seemingly booming all around him, he was thankful for the delivery that Terry had made earlier in the night. Before the rains started, he laid the tarp out flat with the long end going up the hill behind him. He then sat down on the tarp, gathered all of his gear on it as well, and pulled it back overtop of himself. This meant the fold was uphill behind him, preventing water from running underneath him and his equipment. He had also strung his camouflaged concealment net above the tarp, from some branches directly overhead, in order to hide the visible signature of the tarp from above, as Terry had instructed.

As the heavy rain impacted the plastic tarp, the sound was deafening, drowning out all of the natural sounds around him. He could see streams of water flowing to his left and to his right around the tarp.
That entire convoy could roll right in front of us on the road below and take Del Rio, and I’d never even know they went by!
he thought to himself.
I can’t see or hear a thing!

Convinced that staring downhill at the road was a useless endeavor at that point, Evan curled up on the dry portion of his tarp shelter the best he could and returned to his thoughts of his beautiful wife and children in the mine back home. He wished he was cuddled up with them all at that very moment.

~~~~

Early the next morning, Evan was awakened by the sound of birds chirping all around him. The sun was peeking over the hills and mountains to the east. As he yawned and stretched, he pulled the tarp back to reveal a beautiful sunrise moving its way above the horizon. As he gazed at the beautiful sight, he saw something dark coming out of those very same morning rays of light, followed by the sound of several helicopter main rotors, traveling in a westerly direction right toward him.

Holy crap!
he thought as the realization surged through his body, rapidly accelerating his heartbeat. Giving his M2 machine gun a quick once over to make sure it was still ready to go, he swung the barrel around to face the threat, knowing that taking on a Russian Mi-24 Hind with a mere machine gun, even if it was a .50 BMG, was suicide.

As the approaching helicopters grew nearer, he could tell they were flying directly up the valley, over the Wolf Creek Bridge and up Highway 9 in the direction of Del Rio. As they flew past, they were at his eye level from his position perched high on the hillside. The two Hinds were an ominous sight as they flew up the valley, seemingly unaware of the men’s positions on the hillside as well as along the riverbank down below.

~~~~

As Tyrone walked around the outside of the church, making his morning security sweep, he heard the sound of the helicopters approaching from a distance. Ducking back behind the large heating oil tank, he watched as they flew directly over the church, and then followed the contour of the terrain, peeling off from the valley and heading into the hills to the southwest.

Running for the front door of the church, he saw that Pastor Wallace was already standing outside, watching the helicopters disappear over the hills in the distance. “What do you think they're up to?” he asked.

“They seem to be heading in the direction of the homesteads where Evan Baird and the others live,” the pastor replied with a look of concern on his face. “They must have an interest in the place, considering they already wiped out Mrs. Thomas’s entire herd of cattle.”

“Let’s hope and pray they’re just doing more recon,” Tyrone replied.

“Yes, that we will do. I guess that’s all we can do for now,” said Pastor Wallace as the two men turned to walk back inside the church.

~~~~

As the morning sun began to shine its way through the entrance of the mine, cast through the tree branches outside like a thousand individual rays of light, Will Bailey and Linda Cox had taken the first watch of the day and were admiring the beauty of nature’s magical light show. “It doesn’t look like such a screwed-up world from here, does it?” Will said.

“No, no, it doesn’t. But of course, the only part of this world that is screwed up is the human side. The animals, nature, the earth itself, they’re all fine. I’m sure they’d be much better off without us, too.”

Will started to reply, but they both went silent when they heard the rhythm of the helicopter rotors as the flight of two Mi-24 Hinds flew up the valley, closely following the contours of the terrain. “Oh, my God, they’re back!” she exclaimed.

“Go tell the others,” Will said. “I’ll keep my eye on them to see where they go.”

Linda nodded in agreement and ran back into the mine as Will watched closely with his binoculars.

After only a moment, Griff, Charlie, and Lloyd came out of the depths of the mine with Linda to get a look for themselves. “What’s going on?” asked Griff.

“They went over that hill toward—” Before Will could finish his sentence, they heard a deep thump off in the distance, followed by billowing clouds of smoke.

“Oh, my God,” Linda exclaimed. “Did they crash?”

Her statement was immediately followed by another deep thump and another plume of black smoke.

“No...” answered Griff. “They’re hitting something. I would venture to guess it’s our homes.”

They all stood speechless as they came to terms with what might be happening to their homes and their livelihoods. After two more explosions and the resulting billowing black clouds of smoke, the helicopters reappeared over the opposing ridgeline and swooped back down into the valley before them.

“Just be thankful no one was home today,” Griff said as he watched the helicopters and tried to guess their next move.

To his horror, as he watched them from a distance through the riflescope on an AR-10 he had brought from the house, he saw one of the helicopters land while the other circled overhead. “Ah, crap!” he said.

“What? What is it?” asked Charlie.

“One of the Hinds just touched down. There’s only one reason they would do that.”

“What?”

“The Mi-24 Hind is a sizable helicopter. It’s not only an attack helicopter; it also has an eight-person troop transport compartment in the back. My guess would be they’re putting boots on the ground to sweep the area for people who may have fled the homes.”

A sinking feeling went through them all as they watched from afar. Charlie turned to Griff and said, “We need to go on lockdown. We need to get everyone else as deep in the mine as we can. We also need to get some guns up here to fight them off, if it comes to that. We can’t just die cowering in the bottom of this stinkin’ hole in the ground without at least putting up a fight.”