2nd Earth 2: Emplacement Read online

  Tim shows me my fifty caliber rifle with the heat sensing scope. I was hoping he got that out of the van before they were attacked. I can see a four story office building that should give me a pretty good range of vision, and help me spot our enemies. Teddy asks if he can come with me. I tell him that our new friends need him here, besides if anything happens to him, his mom will skin me alive. I slip out the back door and make my way to the building I saw. Tim, James, and Jenna estimate the enemy as being about ten or twelve strong. They are basing that on what our friends have told them, and what they were able to see from the windows. These people are much better at military tactics than any we have met so far. I am impressed with the composure that Isaac, Ben, and Hank are showing. They have been taught by us, but have no real formal military experience. They are good men to have on our side. I have to quit thinking about anything except what I have to do right now. It’s been a long time since I have needed these skills.

  It sure is cold out here, all I want to do is get our group together, and head for home first thing in the morning. I am at the building now, I get inside and work my way up to the fourth floor without being seen. At least there have been no shots in my direction. They are continuing to shoot at my friends in the building I just left. I have a walkie-talkie that I can stay in touch with Tim on. I am telling him my progress as I make my way up to the fourth floor. I get there and find out I can’t see what I wanted to, so I decide to go up to the roof. I am worried about that, because there are places where the snow is coming right in through small holes in the roof, where it has obviously rotted away. Just how rotten it is I won’t know until I am up there. I get to the roof and I can feel the roof giving under my feet, but not all the way, so I keep going as close to the edge as I can get.

  There is a raised edge on this roof, about three feet high. I am crouching, to keep from being seen from below, until I get to where I expect to be able to see our attackers, or at least some of them. I am right in that respect, from where I am now I can see into the buildings that they are holed up in. I am continuing to talk to Tim telling him what I see. I ask him if I should kill or just warn those people, after all they haven’t killed any of us. He tells me I’m getting soft in my old age, the Daddy Zeus he used to know would never think about giving them a second chance. I tell them what the people I see look like and Sam, the leader of the group, tells me the guy I am looking at assaulted one of the teenage girls last summer. He doesn’t finish saying it when that fifty speaks loudly, and we have one less attacker.

  I am spotted by at least three of them, so I have no choice anymore. I take aim one at a time and take out all three of them firing at me. I can see two women sneaking out the back of the building where I shot a man just a minute or so ago. They look like all the fight is gone from them. It’s always easier to attack people who can’t fight back. I am looking for more targets, or at least proof that they are calling it quits, when I hear a sound that scares me instantly. I can hear the roof creaking under me, and then I hear the report of a large caliber gun directly below me. I feel the bullet tear into my leg and go out the other side, just before I crash through the roof into the room below. I try desperately to hold onto the gun, but the hole I am falling through is jagged, and rips it out of my hands.

  I land hard and awkward, I feel the bone in my leg break, and my arm is broken where I landed against a desk, or something down here. I must also have some broken or badly bruised ribs, because I can hardly breathe. I am more worried about the guy, or whoever it was that fired that shot. They must still be down here, or hopefully I got lucky and fell on them. There is not that much luck in the world. I can see the fifty about ten feet away, but I am not sure I can move that far to get to it, even if I don’t get shot again before I can. I try to move toward it and the pain in my leg, arm and side is pure agony. I can’t recall ever being hurt this badly before. I hear a very nasty laugh coming from my left side, and it’s all I can do to turn my head in that direction. I see a man holding an M16 military rifle, casually pointing it at me.

  He is smiling, and obviously since he has the upper hand, is in no hurry to finish me off. In fact he tells me he is debating whether to shoot me, and put me out of my misery, or to just let me die of exposure. He figures in this cold, and with my injuries, I may even last until morning. He is wearing a Special Forces uniform from the army. He also lights a cigarette, which is the first that I have seen since I have been in this world. He actually looks old enough to have been in the army when the war started. That would explain the military tactics being used in this attack. He smiles again; he asks me what I am thinking about. He says that he will take a guess.

  “You are wondering where I got my training from. I am wondering the same thing about you. You are not old enough to have been in the military before the war, so where did you learn urban war tactics? We have heard on the short wave radio that there are some people that claim to have come from a different dimension, or maybe even a different world. Are you and your friends downstairs some of those people? It is a shame to have to kill such a worthy opponent, but I have plans for those young ladies, and I know you won’t just drive away and leave them for me. Besides I can use those vehicles that you so thoughtfully brought to me. I tell you what, I will give you to the count of ten to get to your gun and try to kill me. If you don’t, I will put another bullet in your other leg, and let the cold kill you. Sound fair to you? Okay, it’s a deal.”

  I am under no delusions, there is no way I can get to that gun, but I am going to try anyway. I try, but I can’t even move enough to get turned toward the gun. He is laughing again when he says that it is too bad, but he is just going to have to shoot me. I look toward him, and then I hear a voice tell him that they don’t think he ought to do that. I see the look of surprise on his face as he turns toward the voice, and then I see the large red stain spreading across his chest. I don’t even hear the report of the rifle until the attacker is falling backward. My rescuer fires again, knocking our attacker down for good. I can hear Tim’s voice coming over the radio yelling, asking if I am alright. Everything that just transpired couldn’t have taken more than a minute or two. I can’t reach the walkie-talkie mouth piece, so Teddy brings it to me still carrying his rifle. Tim asks me again if I am okay, and I tell him I will be thanks to my son. Tim tells me that Teddy snuck out when no one was watching. He thinks he is coming after me.

  I tell Tim that Ted is now with me, and I couldn’t be happier or prouder than I am right now. Tim says that the attackers seem to have disappeared since I killed those three. I tell him that at least one stayed behind, and I think he was their leader. I stress the word was, I tell them that I am going to need some help very soon, or Dayna, Robin, and Melissa are going to be very angry with him. They have a little trouble finding me, but Teddy cleared a path large enough for them to get through, to put me on a stretcher and carry me out. The pain is terrible, and I think I am starting to get hypothermia, because I am shivering uncontrollably. I manage to tell them how to find the garage where Sara and Gary are before I pass out, from the pain I guess. I wake up with Teddy sitting beside me. I tell him he better get some sleep, because we are getting out of this place first thing in the morning. I also tell him how proud I am of him. Not for killing another man, I’m proud that he did not panic, or do something foolish. He conducted himself as well as any seasoned soldier that I have ever served with.

  He turns red from embarrassment, and tells me that he learned from the best, his dad. He asks if I will be upset if he asks if he can snuggle up close to me tonight to sleep. Even with the heat on it is still very cold in here. Every time he moves it hurts like heck, but I still remember the first man I killed. Even though it was in self defense, I still wondered if there wasn’t maybe something else I could have done. When I am asleep, or at least I think I am asleep, Ma and Gunny come to see me. Gunny tells me what a fine job I am doing with Teddy and the other children, but that I better learn to keep my mind on business w
hen I am in a fire fight like that one last evening. The way I feel, I ask them if it is my time to join them. They tell me not yet, they have talked with the head man, and he says that I still have a lot of work to do in this world. There is another couple standing with them, but before I can meet them I am jarred awake by being put into the back of one of the vans.

  Teddy yells at whoever almost dropped me, I try to tell them I will be okay in a little while, but I pass out as fast as I woke up. The next thing I know I am lying in my bed at home and Dayna, Robin, and Melissa, along with the children, are standing around the bed watching me I guess. It sure feels good not to be cold again. I try to move, but I still have that terrible pain in my side, arm, and leg, actually both legs. Doc McEvoy and Doc Betty are standing just behind the family. I can barely speak, but I do manage to ask how long we have been home, after Dayna holds a straw up to my mouth so I can drink. Robin says that we have been back for three days, but that it took four days to get back from Rochester, so it has been a week since I got hurt.

  Doc Betty tells me that they had a heck of a time setting my broken leg and my arm. She asked me if I knew that I was hit twice by bullets, once through the leg that I know about, and once in the side. That one I didn’t know about. She says it glanced off the ribs and made a terrible gash along my side. She says that also broke several ribs, but without any x-ray equipment it is almost impossible to tell how many. She says they were afraid that they were going to lose me a couple of times, because of the fever and what sounded like pneumonia in my lungs. They ask me how I got injured so badly, no one saw it, so there is only speculation how it happened. I recount the incidents of that day that seems so long ago. Robin tells me that Teddy wouldn’t tell her exactly what happened. He just told her that he did what he had to do, to make sure the other guy didn’t kill me. Apparently I kept slipping in and out of consciousness on the trip home. I don’t remember anything about it.

  Tim, Charity, Sara, and Gary come into the room. Tim tells me that if it weren’t for my idea to get a snow plow, we may still be up north. He says he is from New York and never saw snow like that before. With the plow they could push enough snow off the road to get the other vehicles through. I tell him that I remember it as being a family decision. Tim laughs and says he tried to take credit for it, but the others reminded him that it was my idea. It’s not important who has the idea. It took the whole team to make it happen. Sara asks me how I’m feeling. I tell her about as well as can be expected, if you don’t expect too much. Everyone laughs then she tells me we’re even. I must look confused because she laughs and says that she finally got to see me naked like I did her when she got injured in the other world.

  Melissa tells her to watch what she’s saying with the children around. Sara says she’s sorry, but the twins are already on their way to tell their friends that their daddy and Aunt Sara saw each other naked. Even Melissa laughs about it, we are one big family, and there are very few secrets anyway. Dayna asks if I would like something to eat besides broth. Apparently I have been waking up enough to get a couple mouthfuls of broth down, but that is all. The children must be satisfied that I am not going to die just yet anyway, because they find somewhere else to be to play with their friends.

  Between sips of soup, I tell them all I can remember about the attack and the fighting. The last thing I remember is Teddy wanting to be close that evening after the fight. Tim surmised what must have happened when he came up and found us in that room. He says they were all afraid that I was not going to make the trip home. It was a brutal trip that they all hope to never have to go through again. I am getting very tired, but I am curious if all twenty people came back with us. I am also curious what the difference is between soup and broth. Dayna smiles and tells me that the soup has meat and vegetables in it. She didn’t let me have any of those yet. I must have heard him wrong, because I could swear that Tim tells me they brought back forty-five people. I don’t get the chance to ask again because I am out like a light.

  11

  When I wake up again, it must be night because Dayna is lying on a cot next to the bed I am in. Little Timmy is sleeping with her, it sounds so soothing to hear the people you love sleeping soundly. I feel like I need to go to the bathroom, so I start to swing my leg over the edge of the bed, but my arm won’t move so I can throw the covers back, and when I even think about moving my leg, the pain is excruciating. I have definitely never been hurt this badly before. I must let out a groan or something somewhat louder because Dayna is now awake and so is Timmy. She is up as quickly as I have ever seen anyone go from a sound sleep to being awake. She sets Timmy on the bed next to me and asks if I’m okay. She is rubbing my forehead while she is asking. I try to talk, but my mouth is too dry, she gives me a drink using the straw again. The water is nice and cool, it feels really good going down my throat.

  Betty comes into the room without even knocking. I ask her what if we were messing around, then she would be embarrassed. She laughs and tells me she would be amazed if we were messing around in my shape. I tell her I really need to go to the bathroom, so if they wouldn’t mind helping me to the bathroom, I will be forever grateful. Betty tells me I don’t really have to go; it just feels like I do. She lifts the blanket and shows me that I have a catheter in to drain my bladder. She says she will take it out when I start waking up regularly. Then I can use one of those bottle things like they did where I came from. I am still too weak to hold Timmy, and my ribs hurt too much for him to sit on my chest, like he always did before we went north. He can still talk to his daddy though and he does just that. The fact that we can’t understand a word of what he is saying doesn’t mean anything. We carry on a very interesting conversation anyway.

  This time I am able to stay awake a little longer, and I even get a couple of small pieces of vegetable in my soup this time. The days go by and my wounds and injuries heal. I am able to get out of bed long before I can do anything. I am not the type to spend my time in bed or even sitting around. It has been colder than last winter even here, and we think we may have a little more snow this year as well. Dayna confirms that they did indeed bring back forty-five people from Rochester. Not all of them were from Rochester, but forty were. There was another group of fifteen living a few miles from the first group, and five of our attackers, who were women, asked if they could come with us. They never wanted to get involved with those other guys, who were not quite so fortunate when they attacked us. Everyone says they are hard workers, and there has been no trouble, so they are welcome. The last five came running out of a building in one of the towns we were going through on the way home.

  Since our group is the strongest, all the groups had a meeting and decided to put most of the new houses up at the smaller groups, rather than wait until the groups maybe join up, somewhere in the future. That makes great sense to me, which also explains why I haven’t seen the crews working on the houses in that direction. Many things are happening around our community. Since each group has a meeting house now, everyone decided to have school for the children in the meeting houses, instead of in each individual home. The classes are not necessarily broken up by age, but by how well the children can read and write. Since only a few of the people who have come here could read before they came, there is no criticism or people picking on others because they are perhaps a teenager and in a class with a six year old.

  Teddy has taken it upon himself to help the twelve and thirteen year old girls learn how to read. He is so much more confident than he used to be. The day I could finally get out of bed, and get out to the front porch, he pulled up in front of the house with the largest buck I have ever seen. Jerry and Steve told me that he dropped it with a single arrow. We had a very good talk while I was stuck in bed. He told me he has nightmares sometimes, but they are always that he wasn’t there to help me. I assure him that I will be forever grateful that he was. I also told him how proud I am of him for the way he has handled the situation. Everyone knows what he did saving my life,
but not one person heard it from him.

  The new people are happy to be here, and to be able to learn how to be self sufficient. Well as self sufficient as you can be in a large family like ours. Frank, his son Eric, and Dayna’s dad Tom, have been refiguring how many acres of each crop we will need to feed the much larger family than we had last year. They are getting ready to plant some of the crops already. I should know better than to open my big mouth, but I have never learned how to think before I speak sometimes. I ask them if it isn’t still a little early to be planting. Last year we waited until the middle of March to plant the beans and the potatoes. Robin tells me I’m a great husband and father, but I have a lousy sense of what time of year it is. She shows me the calendar that we made at the beginning of the year, and it is actually the third week in March. I guess I just didn’t realize that the time has been ticking away since I was injured.

  There is plenty of help to make up for my inability to do much of anything yet. I have been helping teach the adults how to read and write. Since most of the new people are women Dayna, Robin, Melissa, and now Becky, don’t want me teaching them unless they are with me. Many of the women who have been with the family since we started have been practicing their handwriting. I asked Dayna about that and she said that she thought she had already explained that to me. I assure her if she did, I do not remember what she told me. This time she tells me that she has heard that the memory is the second thing to go. Then she laughs along with Robin, Melissa, and Becky. Those women spend way too much time around Betty, Sara, and Jenna. I finally find out by accident. I am pretending to be taking a nap on the sofa while the women are practicing their writing in the kitchen. Sara and Jenna come by and ask them how it is going and they tell them that they should be ready to start writing in the new Bibles soon.