rt V.


Jackson finally fell asleep. I had stoked the fire and adjusted the wind break to steer the heat towards the tent. Maybe it was the turkey MRE with its latent triptophan that took him out. He was used to a heated barracks and a Humvee to take him around, not a twelve hour horseback ride in the snow. I could not sleep. The jet roar continued. The horses were restless. I took the Army rationed shovel from Jackson’s pack and, well, broke into the house after all.
What a different world I entered. Silent, abandoned, frost on all the walls and floors. Crunch of my feet echoed.
I broke in from the back through the basement area. I made my way up the stairs to the garage first to open the door..Oh that’s right..An electric garage door opener..Shit..Release the catch..Ok..Now open..Then I noticed the car, whew! BMW 320I.
The door slid heavily, snow had gathered at the door front. I went out and tethered the horses and led them up to the front of the driveway. No need to secure them as I pulled the garage door down. Some how they understood and just snorted and shook off the snow they had gathered on their coats.
“Shhh”. I patted them both. “Let see what we got”.
The main door to the house was bolted, no problem, pried open with the shovel.
An amazing kitchen, all oak wood, glass front doors, marble counters, Moen faucets on the sink..Tried it..No water. I opened the fridge. Remains of a lettuce head and some old tomatoes but nothing at all.
“Well horses here we go”.

The stallions relished the meal as frugal as it was. I wiped off the remaining snow melt with rags I found in the garage and resumed my haunting.
I didn’t know what I wanted to find. Some perverse sense of intrigue kept me opening doors and looking through things. This was once a home and a family and what was I doing here? Clothes were still in the drawers and closets, the beds were empty of blankets and coverings, most likely to cover this family on their own search for something better.
Why have these people left and so many of us stayed to survive? What happened…? Then I turned and saw the dresser. The photo frames of the family left behind. I looked over them, family parties, softball games, children, memories, the children. The children. Amie..Becky.. They may have only been photos of some one else’s life. They may have been my own anyway. They were back at the apartment on my own dresser! Damn!! Oh so stupid!! I had to get to Amie and Becky no matter what!

I ransacked the house, anything we could carry. The sun was soon to rise and we had to get to that airstrip and find out what was going on. My mission had changed though. I wanted to get to my family.
I gathered some matches in a drawer and left over canned goods and headed for the garage. Wait!..Voices, shouting! The Army! Yes they will take me…..
It was not the Army. It was not the Army at all.

They had dragged Jackson from his slumber and tossed the tent into the fire. The flames illuminated the whole back yard. Three men with rifles at his point. Jackson was dumbfounded shouting any answer the gun men barked at him. I slung out my M-16 and checked the clip. Full. Drew back the breach and stood back from the window looking into the back yard.
‘Not the horses..Not the horses..’ I kept saying in my mind.
One of the three men motioned to another towards the house. Game over. Time to party!

I moved forward and took aim…

Glass shattered in front of me. One down. Jackson dove. I lined up the next one running..POUMP! POUMP!..He fell into the brush. The third? SHIT!!!
Shots fired!.
“Jackson”!!! I raced down the stairs, forward sites ready!
I got to the back door I broke into. M-16 raised I kicked it open. The body slumped into the threshold of the door. Whew!..Ok he is dead..

I crept out, remembering my old X-Box Rainbow games checking all around for anything and any one.

“JACKSON?’

“Yeah, here”.
He was in the snow laying cramped in the glow of the fire.
“Got that last motherfucker!”. His 9mm side arm laid in blood next to him.



Part V-VI


I ran to him still scoping the upper deck of the house and the grounds.
“Where is it, Jackson?” I said “Where are you hit?”
‘Ahh..shit. shoulder, I, I, think”.
I was a nervous wreck, still scanning and trying to roll that poor kid over so I could see his wound. It was his upper chest.
“Breathe for me and spit”
Inhale, cough, he spit. No blood. Thank God.
“ I fell…I fell asleep, where, where are the horses, I don’t see the horses.”
“They’re in the garage, they are fine, hang on. Where is the med kit?” He pointed to our packs stored under the deck.
“You broke in anyway you asshole?”
“Yes, I broke in anyway.” I stripped open the kits and tore open gauze pads. True as a soldier he was, he held the pressure on those pads. I reached behind his shoulder. Felt wet ooze.
“ I think it went through.” I said
“Betcha, the back looks worse..” Jackson slumped in my arms. Ok..Ok, inside, I need him inside so I can see what is wrong. The snow was coming on strong now and I needed to get him in. I slung the med kit pack over my shoulder. Jackson was still half in his sleeping bag. Poor bastard barely got a chance to get out of it. They must have dragged him out bag and all from the tent.
I just grabbed the sleeping bag and let his body slink into it as I dragged it. I dragged it over the dead body in the basement door and into the cellar. Dark as shit I kicked my way through whatever was on the floor and found a table, or, workbench, whatever the hell it was. It was now an operating table. I pulled the glow tubes from my pants and cracked them.
‘You know what the hell your’ doin?”
“No, but I’m the best chance you’ve got buddy.”
His shoulder was definitely broken, but he wasn’t bleeding internally. That was the good part. I just had to sew his back up and stop the bleeding from the blow out of the bullet. This operation lasted over an hour.

Jackson passed out during my stitching. I kept him warm and his head up to shunt the blood away from the wound. I waited another long hour and started a fire in the fireplace to melt snow and wash his wound and wet his mouth for hydration. Finally, he woke up.
“Fuck.”
That was the most positive thing I could ever hope to hear.
“How do you feel?”
“Like Shit.”
“Want an MRE?”
“No.”
“ I am going to give you something.”
“A naked brunette?”
“Ahh, mmmm, no, ahh something to help you sleep and hold off infection”. What a thing to say, I knew he would be ok from that response only if… I didn’t wait, I stabbed a surrette into his neck and his eyes glazed. His torso was wrapped up in gauze and almost mummified.
“Mmmmm, Combat Injury Cocktail..”

He was right. A combination of antibiotics, and pain killers. Jackson dozed off mumbling an old Springsteen song
“…dddoonnnn..somee..where ona last trans..pooww..drive..”

Time to get to work. I had to get Jackson to Hanscom. I had to get to my family.


I went back to the garage. The horses had shit on the floor, oh well, welcome to life. I eyed the BMW. Why would they leave that here? Where are the keys? I didn’t think to look for keys. Think. Think. People hide things in the most obvious place to avoid being found..Mmmm.. Where are those keys?
I walked over to the car and tried the door. It opened.
God Damn!!..
I looked in all the usual spots. The visor, the glove box, under the seat. Nothing. I looked out the windshield toward the garage work bench. Several jars and cans of screws, nuts and bolts. I spilled them onto the floor; nothing..Shit!!
I sat back into the car. Think, think, think!
I pulled down the rearview to bitch at myself. There it was. The child seat in the back. I spun around and tore at the bottom of it and felt that familiar metal and the jingle.
Fucking-A-Yeah!!
I started the car. Gas gauge slammed to full and the “All Wheel Drive” light flashed ready to engage. The horses startled and pounded the garage floor. I shut off the car and pocketed the keys. DO NOT LOSE THESE KEYS!!!
I opened the garage door. Then I had a stark realization. There was over a foot of snow in the driveway. Even though the roads were windswept and clear in some areas, this driveway was buried. I was going no where if I did not get it cleared.

I spent another hour shoveling.

By now it was Eight O’clock in the morning and the sky was clear. Time to get Jackson into the car. I was exhausted. We were two days over what we estimated and I had a wounded soldier on my hands.

Damn he was heavy. I did the Fireman’s rescue with him over my shoulder. ”I am waayy too old for this shit..” Into the back seat he went, sorry car seat, toss your ass to the floor.
I gathered the sleeping bags and covered Jackson. The med kit, MRE’s, saddle bags all went into the trunk. I gathered every thing we had that would fit. Yeah, foreign cars are awesome but you can’t haul shit with them. What I would give for a Jeep, Chevy Truck or a Lincoln Navigator. Go ahead, laugh. When the end of the world comes you too will want a huge SUV.
Now, the horses, what to do about them.
The garage doors were open. I untied them, dropped the saddles and opened an MRE of cookies and gave them melted snow water. After a few minutes I did the “chck—chck” call and they turned out into the driveway.
They knew, animals are smart. They snorted in the cold and nudged me as I patted them. I took their reins so they both looked at me.
“Go home!. Go find home.” I pointed south. “Go find Mike. Go find Mike..” I pointed again
I went behind the horses. Here we go. “Go home!, find Mike!” I slapped them both and hollered. Off they ran. Believe it, or not, they took a right at the end of the driveway and headed fucking South. BMW drive time..

The car was awesome. The sun was out, cold, crisp. Great day for an All Wheel Drive in the snow with a stolen luxury car!




Part VI

Well, we headed out done the road. I kept it in 2nd gear so the tires would grab and the car would respond to the mess ahead of me. Where the snow drifts had opened I drove through, sometimes on some one’s lawn. There were cars parked and abandoned, doors open, snow gathering in the interiors, empty houses, some burned, I even saw a couple people who stayed in their homes trying to shovel. I just kept driving past the amazed stares of a car that worked and had gas. Trees looked as they always do after a snow fall; absolutely beautiful. After about twenty minutes I arrived at the overpass to Route 2. There was the sign. “Hanscom AFB”.
The amazing thing was how the snow was packed solid. Apparently other people got the same idea and traveled this way. The snow was packed down solid from feet, carts, horses (piles of horse shit in the road) and whatever they could find to travel in and I was able to just drive over the 1-2 feet of packed snow with the car.

Jackson came to life. “How the hell did you get a car?”
“I stole it.”
“So, what was all that about, ’some one’s house’ ?”
“ You’re a soldier. Contingency plans, we had contact with the enemy so we killed them and had to change our tactics.” Jackson just laughed. I did too. It felt good. We actually laughed for a few minutes at the crazy situation we were in.
The road got a little more crowded with debris. Cars were abandoned, carts, piles of belongings. Jackson sat up. He ignored my concerns for him. I had to do a slalom in the snow with the Beemer finding my way through the ever growing pile of human leavings. Smoke and helicopters were in the distance.
“We are close.” Jackson said.
“ Yeah, who the fuck are all these people?”
“Refugees, remember the planes?”
“What are they all doing here?”
“Something is going on.” Jackson sat up more.
Ahead was a sentry patrol. Two Humvees and a bunch of soldiers dressed in winter cammo with M-4’s and one in a turret with a Mark-4 grenade launcher. They waved us to slow and stop.
A Corporal came to the car.
“Sorry folks, refugees have a 48 hour wait unti…..”
Jackson hit the window button and handed out his ID. The Corporal snapped to attention.
“I’m shot.” That’s all Jackson said.
“Sir!, yes Sir!” The Corporal moved of to a Humvee and pulled out a phone.
“Stick with me, you’ll go places.” Jackson patted the back of my seat with his good arm.

The thud grew louder and soon a CH-60 with a huge red + on the side was drifting snow everywhere as it landed in the median beside where we stopped. Medics poured out with a stretcher. I got out and opened the back door to the Beemer.
Jackson limped out and leaned to the Medics. “He comes with us!” Pointing to me. They nodded. Jackson got comfortable and we all trotted, heads low to the chopper.

The Blackhawk went straight up and high. Jackson took a cigarette from a Medic (go figure). Another checked his wounds and commented to me on my stitching. The chopper leaned forward, I looked out the window. Below was a trail all along the highway of Route 2 of people, cars, tents, human waste, smoke and debris. All of them trying to get out. I looked south and thought I saw two horses running along Route One-Eleven. We flew on to Hanscom. I fell asleep.. I fell deeply asleep.

What a great dream. Amie was playing softball with her team. She clocked one out into center field, the center fielder missed so Amie got a double. Then ,strangely, she left the plate and came towards me. What the? ’Amie? You still have a play?’
‘Dad.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Dad.
‘Amie,get back in..’
“ DAD!”
“Dad, wake up!.”

I opened my eyes to the most beautiful young women God ever put on this Earth.
“Dad! Hello?”
My eyes went wide. Where..what..”Amie?’ Behind her a well dressed Officer.
“Mister Maider, I am Colonel MacKensie, are you awake Sir?”
I sat up. Amie?. I grabbed her and cried. Amie just held me and tried to mediate. Strong girl.
“Dad, the Colonel has to talk to you .Yes I am here.”
‘Where’s you’re Mother?”.
“She has class and the hospital so she sent me.”
I looked at her, No, she was not the child that went away anymore. She was a young woman and could hold her own now. Thank You Rebecca. Thank you Rebecca.

“Mister Maider.” Said the Colonel. I looked up.
“ Thank you for bringing one of our’s home safe and sound. I am here to debrief you before your departure.”
“Yes Sir.” Departure?
‘ Seems you had a stay with DHS?”
“Coast Guard Auxiliary, some Search and Rescue..Not much.’
“Well it helped your town and Jackson to get here.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, after LA we evacuated the sea coast cities just in case. We held the line just inside the Metrowest areas and Marlborough was the line here in Mass. Don’t worry, we have a new team in place there and your friend..” He looked at a paper..” Niel, has high regards for you and Jackson. In fact he wanted you to know that the new calf is doing well and he has not yet fired his 203. Can you offer anything to this? “
I just snickered and shook my head to no.


The interview went on to its end and the Colonel parted company. I went to see Jackson with Amie and we had a good heart to heart and parted our ways. Our VIP passes got us to the head of the line as the C-130 was rotating propellers on the tarmac. Amie and I ducked into the rear ramp and took our seats. Amie had done this before and showed her old man how to strap in.
The plane turned out into the clear, cold winter sky. Where we were going would be warm. Amie turned to me and held my arm and said her truck is at the base where we would land..Her truck? She could drive at 14? There was hope yet..Thank you Rebecca, Thank you America…The plane rolled and lifted…off..



Epilogue


Amie and I held each other as we took off.
“Does she still love me?”
“ Yes. She has been waiting for you.”
I could not hold back the tears.
“ I tried to save our home.”
“We made a new home, for us dad. You taught me that.”
“Seems you learned a lot of things while we were apart.”
“ I only did what you told me to do.”


We relaxed for the flight home. The nation went on and picked up the pieces. It was really that simple. Once everything fell apart it was only natural to start again from the beginning. People took up the role of government, not the government itself. That is what a true Democracy is all about. Senators and Congress people were booted out and average Americans took the seats. The President’s power was greatly diminished in 2015 with the passage of the Constitution Re-enactment Bill. Everyone was out of work so everyone just pitched in and went back to work. The military ran the nation until we got fuel and our own resources into production. Cars came out of storage slowly but they never became as prevalent ever again. Horses and bike paths were allocated on the existing streets and ‘rights of way’ were enacted. The manure was collected steadily and methane became a second source for power. We went back to buying American again. Anything we needed we sought out the people who knew how to do it. People were paid in gold, silver, diamonds, gasoline minted coins but no paper money. That was gone forever. The air was cleaner, everything was recycled. It took another two years but we got there.
It’s not that we did anything new, or, develop some new technology. We just stopped what we had been doing and did things the way they used to be done. We recycled our trash not for the environment but rather the raw materials we could get from it. The entire nation changed it mindset and we rebuilt the culture and country itself, not with government help but with our own American spirit. The huge grocery mega stores became trading places and Farmer’s Markets. You paid in coins, gold, diamonds, or traded services. The term ‘Goods and Services’ actually meant something again. Even children had jobs. Many families let the kids go and perform services (chores) for someone you owed. This was not forced labor and parents kept a keen eye out.. Children learned the benefits of a hard days work and the rewards there of.
It was comforting to see the changes each day. Things were no longer falling apart. Things were beginning again! With the new Citizens Congress in place legislation was passed quickly to start drilling our own oil and gas with tight environmental oversight. With the old lobbyists and government out of the way, industry began humming again, green technology actually was put into use and not just argued over. Wind, solar and our own petroleum became the General Motors and Fords of This new nation.
We just went back to basics.We rebuilt homes and moved in families at dirt rates. We all farmed now, fed our communities together, produced, traded and brokered. The NYCE reopened its doors on October 10th. The first IPO’s of the day were the The New National Farmer’s Exchange and Colorado Shale Oil, Gas and Solar. The price for each was an easy $2.75 a share.







“Are any tomatoes ready?” She said
“Maybe another few days.” I replied.
She leaned towards me and kissed me. Amie came to us with her boyfriend. They brought the first of the cucumbers and a basket of corn.
“I shot a couple of rabbits today.” Amie said.
“Lets go home and make supper then.” Rebecca said



THE END