Chapter 13
It is
not often that one as young as I was at that time to have witnessed the purest
form of war and military strategy. I
want to start this chapter by talking directly you my dear readers about the
experiences I was about to have that day at such a young age, no child should
have to see the things that I saw that day, things that would haunt me for the
rest of my life and make me the person that I am today. Although this world was new to all of the
adults that surrounded me, it was the only world I knew, I was too young to
remember anything different. A world
where this kind of brutality was not an everyday occurrence was unknown to me
at the time. I could not understand a
world where things were not insane. But
for all the horror that had been presented to me, today would be an awakening to
my young mind. It was a world no child
should have to ever experience or see, innocence was lost that day, and it was
not just the innocence of children that would perish, it was the innocence of humanity in general
that would fall. The knowledge that what
even the best of us can be pushed to do.
I was
in the cafeteria when I saw Karen take Hal under her arm and I secretly
followed them listening to their conversation and her attempts to sway this man
to keep their secret. I had a deep respect even at my young age for the woman
who had taken me in and treated me like her own daughter. To this day I will never forget the example
she had set for me and how I endeavor every day to become the woman she
was. She was as strong as she was gentle
a fierce woman but a gentle and concerned mother. I only hope that I will be able to maintain
that kind of balance for my own children.
I
spent the time watching them like a fly on the wall prideful in my own
sneakiness. I listened intently to their
conversation and could not understand how anyone could deny Karen anything she
wanted. Eventually the pair made their
way back to the main foyer at the entrance to the emergency room where Rich and
Brian were waiting with supplies for Hal.
They spoke briefly to him and opened the door so he could leave. As soon as the door closed behind Hal the two
men were busy securing the locks on the door and barricading it. At this point
the adults took no notice of me and I was able to hear everything that was
said, I followed Karen around like a lost puppy as she went from person to
person explaining what Rich and Brian had told her.
“Rich
and Brian are sure that no matter how he may feel about us it is inevitable
that he will tell whoever sent him about us.”
She told everyone who had gathered in the cafeteria to listen about what
the man had been doing lurking outside the hospital.
“If
he’s dangerous then why did Rich and Brian let him leave?” The voice was Shrapnel the old man and Iraq
war veteran.
Karen
looked at the man, a look of agreement and understanding at the wisdom of the
man’s words. “In a perfect world I would
agree with you but the moment we begin to act like those we would fight against
nothing would separate them from us and we would be no different than them.”
“If we are to die then let it be standing for a world where we have mercy on a
stranger and care more about helping them survive than treating them as an
automatic enemy, yes we could have
killed him but that would have only delayed the inevitable. Whoever sent him would come looking for him
when he did not come back. Rich and Brian
thought it might be better if we showed kindness. Maybe then Hal might decide to keep what he
knew to himself. But we have to prepare
for the chance that whoever sent him will be coming and soon. If we are going to live in this world then we
have to fight for what we want and the way we want to live.”
Everyone
was silent after Karen’s speech. She was
right, if they began acting like bad people then then the world that they loved
that had been lost would be lost forever, but if they fought for what they
believed in then if they were to die at least they would have died for
something they believed in. The people
at the hospital wanted to hold onto the values of the world that had been lost. It may not have been perfect but there was
potential in a future that world could have provided. There was no future in a world of violence
and death and slavery.
I spent
the day following my new mother Karen around as the hospital came alive with
the activity of the adults preparing for what might come. When we would see Rich or Brian the
conversation would be less hopeful and enthusiastic than Karen’s speech had
been to everyone else. They were sure
that whoever had sent Hal would be coming the next day. They would want to take advantage of an
attack before the people in the hospital had adequate time to prepare for the
attack. From what other survivors had said at the meeting that the people who
were most likely coming were well armed and anything but friendly. Rich and Brian knew that if they came they were
coming to kill and enslave. There would be no negotiation there would only be
slaughter. Rich told Karen that he would
do everything within his power to protect the people that had come to see this
place as home and he would be damned if some wanna be thugs were going to come
and destroy his hard work. He would
laugh although I could tell it was not a laugh of humor but of worry over what
was to come.
At some
point in the night I fell asleep and did not awake till the early morning the
following day. I was in my bed but Karen
and Rich were not in theirs. I had
become used to being awake before them it gave me comfort to see them
sleeping. A kind of peace would come
over me as I would watch the rise and fall of their chests. It was the only time I really ever felt truly
safe from the world. When I made my way
down to the cafeteria many of the adults were busy at work. At my young age I had no idea what they were
up to. So many of them had materials and
weapons in their hands and were bustling to and fro. I tried to find Karen and Rich but before I
could make my way around the building I was accosted by the old man who babysat
the kids. He grabbed me by the hand and
said I had to follow him and the other children to the basement where we would
be safe. I said I wanted to see my mom
and dad but he said there was no time they were busy and the bad people were on
their way. At this I was sufficiently
afraid and I allowed him to escort me to the other children. I had never been to the basement of the
hospital. The concrete stairs down to
the dark basement were creepy and frightening for the kids. We did not understand the magnitude of the
situation upstairs and many of us were crying. I have to be honest at this
point and admit I was one of the children crying. I would love to take some artistic license
and say that I had been brave but let’s be honest not many children could be
brave at such a dramatic series of events.
Karen
took to helping Rich, Brian and John board up the windows of the hospital while
the children were being ushered down to safety in the cellar. She desperately wanted to take Sati into her
arms before they took them down but she had to keep her mind on the task at
hand. Rich had formulated a plan but in
order for it to work Karen had to be extremely mindful of her task. There was no room for error in what she was
doing and she was the only one available to do it. Karen holstered her sidearm and slung her
rifle over her shoulder and made her way outside. “Now for the difficult part.”
She thought to herself as she disappeared into the woods.
While
Karen was setting about accomplishing her task Rich, Brian and John were busy
making their way around the hospital looking for any weak points that may give
the enemy access to the hospital. It was
John’s idea to close everything off and try and create a chokepoint in the main
entrance to the building. If the enemy
were forced through only one point of access they would be easier to cut
down. That was assuming the enemy did not
have access to explosives and could make their own door.
When
all the preparations had been made for the battle Rich and Brian were sure was
coming they had a moment to gather everyone in the cafeteria for a briefing
about what was likely to happen. When
they entered everyone was seated nervously, quiet, waiting for Rich to
speak. For a moment Rich stood there
looking everyone over and he thought to himself that it was not fair that these
people who only wanted peace had to defend themselves like this.
“My
friends.” He began. “We believe that
there will be a group of people here sometime today to try and take this
building away from us and I want to stress that they have no intention of
making a peaceful play for it. When they
come and we are fairly certain they will, they will come to take and destroy
everything we have built. Today is a day
like no other that we have faced. The
Static may be a formidable enemy but they lack the cunning of a thinking human
being. Today we will have to defend the
way of life that we have built for ourselves.
Now we have an option to abandon the building before they get here or we
can fight for what we have built. This
place has become more than just a safe haven for the people here. It has become a home and a place where our
children can grow and learn to survive in the harsh world that has presented
itself to us. In this situation it would
be easy to cut and run and I would blame no one for doing so but if you believe
as I believe that what we built here is worth defending then join us in this
fight and defend our home.”
There
was silence after Rich’s speech and for a moment he feared he had not been able
to reach these people. He was about to
say something else when the whole room burst into applause and cheering. These people wanted to fight. They had worked hard to build this place and
they were not going to let some thugs take their home away.
“Okay
people then if we’re going to do this we are going to do it right. Shrapnel has come up with a posting plan for
everyone here. We will need to move the
medical services to the top floor to help the wounded and a roving medic team
to aid anyone during the battle. We will
also need a small group of people that can keep track of enemy movements and
report it to the main fighting force.
This is the real thing people if we want to live in peace then we will
have to defend that.” Everyone nodded in
acknowledgement, they understood what the future could hold and they all wanted
to defend what they had built they were not going to roll over for thugs and
bullies they would defend this building and innocent people within.
Everyone
immediately set about to their assigned tasks with Shrapnel taking the
lead. Barely a word was exchanged
between the group as they were assigned their tasks and went about readying for
the battle they knew was to come. If you
were to be an outside observer you would be astonished by the lack of fear and
the incredible amount of control these people displayed in their preparation
for what was certain to be a deadly event in the coming hours, if you were
looking for those who would be fearful of the outcome you would not find
anyone. Shrapnel looked on with pride as he watched these people who had no
desire to fight ready themselves for a battle they did not want. He felt for them. He was a veteran of many battles and never
had he seen a group of civilians acting in such a brave and strong manner. These people were desperate to hold on to any
semblance of normality and he knew they would fight to the death to ensure
their survival, this made Shrapnel proud to be with these people. The time was
soon to come where the true test of courage would be challenged and Shrapnel
would be at the front lines. He hoped
what Rich was planning it would be a better plan that their enemies.
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