The Day America Died Trilogy Read online

  ***

  I woke up with the strange feeling that someone was spying on us. Ally was in my arms, and I could hear her cute little snore, but the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. I heard breathing behind my head and quickly rolled over to see Susie’s dog staring me in the face. My sudden movement scared him, and he jumped off the bed yelping to get out of the room. I strained my foot towards the sliding door and opened it enough to allow Duke to run down to Susie’s bed. Susie had the bottom bunk of a bunkbed on the opposite end of the trailer. Callie had the top bunk. We had a master bedroom with a sliding door on either side of the queen bed. You actually had to leave the room to walk around the bed. Not much privacy. My movement woke Ally up, and she drew me near and hugged me. Her eyes never opened.

  “Are you hoping yesterday never happened, and we are on a camping trip down at Barkley Lake?”

  “Nope, we’re in Orlando camped just outside of Disney World, the kids are outside playing with the neighbor kids, and we have time to fool around before you take us to breakfast. If I keep my eyes closed it might come true.”

  “So if the campers rocking, don’t bother knocking.”

  “Yeah, something like that. Now I’m going to open my eyes and go back to our problem filled world.”

  “Wait, keep your eyes close for another few minutes while I tell you how much you mean to me and I want to live with you forever.”

  “Well, I’m waiting.”

  “For what?”

  “For you to tell me how much you love me and you want me forever.”

  “I just did. That was me saying all that stuff that you just repeated.”

  “Oh, I thought that you would add some detail and sweep me off my feet.”

  “You are off your feet and naked in bed with me. I must have already swept you off your feet.”

  “Too much wine.”

  “What do you mean? Too much wine?”

  “I mean that if that’s all you had to say to get me in bed, I must have had too much wine.”

  I said, “I’ll show you too much wine,” as I tickled her.

  “Stop before you regret it. I get even.”

  I stopped tickling her, kissed her and kicked the door closed so we could get dressed.

  “You gave up too soon.”

  “No, I looked down the hall and saw Susie peering out of her bunk to see what was going on.”

  “She’s twelve; she probably knows what was going on.”

  “Darn, now I’ll have to slip her a sleeping pill before we can….”

  “Shush! The walls have ears and, so do Susie and Callie.”

  “I was going to say have fun. Now get up sleepyhead.

  “Bummer. Back to the trouble filled world.”

  “Yep, what’s for breakfast?"

  “Now that’s my silver tongued devil that used the magic words that are the key to her heart.”

  “I try hard to impress.”

  “Go tell the others that we are having pancakes on the picnic table at our house.”

  I got up, went to the bathroom and walked out to the living room when I realized that I didn’t see Callie.

  “Where is Callie?”

  Susie, replied, “Her and Paul fell asleep by the campfire. I’ll bet they are still there.”

  “Shouldn’t that be Paul and her?”

  “Grammar Nazi!”

  I charged out of the trailer and over to the front of our new abode to see Callie lying in Paul’s arms under a blanket by the long dead camp fire. They had their clothes on, so my daughter’s virtue was still intact. I watched for a minute and wondered what to do about young love and our screwed up world.

  I took my foot, nudged Paul’s back and said, “Wake up sleepyhead. Wake your woman up. We’re having pancakes at our house in an hour.”

  “Hello Zack, this isn’t what you think.”

  “Yes it is, you two fell asleep with your clothes on and slept in each other’s arms. You love my daughter, and she loves you. Nothing happened. Did I miss anything?”

  “No, sir.”

  “See you at breakfast.”

  As I walked towards the other campers, I thought that those two needed to get married before one of them was kidnapped, killed or pregnant.

  I went around the campers and beat on the doors. I told them to wake up and come on over for pancakes. I caught Mike off to the side and wanted to fill him in on my thoughts on rescuing Joan.

  “How are you doing buddy? Don’t worry. We’ll get Joan back.”

  “I’m okay. I know. She’s too mean to die and has probably kicked their asses and escaped by now.”

  “I hope so,” I said and then filled him in on my plans.

  “I spent all night thinking the same things. Sally came up with a way to find out what we need. Look at this.”

  He had a small electronic device in his hand and Said, “It’s a small sound activated voice recorder. It uses a memory card instead of tape so it will record as long as the battery lasts.”

  “It’s electronic and probably fried.”

  “No, it works just fine. It was in that metal skinned warehouse where we found the food. The packaging had one of those anti-static bags and aluminum foil, so it was EMP proof. All we have to do is to sneak into city hall and bug Prescott’s office.”

  “Oh, I thought you had come up with something difficult to do. Can I assume we have to go back and retrieve it also?”

  “Yes, but we can do it. It will be 2:00 in the morning and there will only be one guard making rounds.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “Well, that’s what I’d do.”

  “I would just put my valuables in my safe, lock up the office and go home.”

  “That’s even better.”

  “I found Callie and Paul sleeping together this morning.”

  “Have you given her the sex talk and some contraceptives?”

  “Yes and no. Hell no, I don’t want to think about that.”

  “Look, we were sixteen, and that’s all we thought about.”

  “Whoa, they had all of their clothes on and were asleep by our campfire.”

  “That doesn’t change anything. You’re going to be a Grampa before you know it.”

  Sally was coming out the door, heard the conversation and said, “Mike’s right. Even girls have those thoughts, daddy. Of course, I was 25 before I had sex.”

  “Sally, you just turned 25 this year.”

  “I was a late bloomer.”

  Mike said, “So I was the first?”

  “Oh, yes dear,” she said and gave him a peck on the cheek.

  I replied, “My ass.”

  “Wait for dad; let’s get back to Callie and Paul. Paul already lives in the extra trailer; let them set up housekeeping in it. Roger can marry them. He was a policeman once upon a time. Then your grandkids won’t be born out of wedlock.”

  Roger and Lynn walked up behind Lynn and me said, “Don’t worry. Paul was a perfect gentleman all night long. Well, I couldn’t see what his hand was doing under the cover every now and then, but I’m sure it was innocent.”

  I gave her the finger.

  “Seriously, Zack, they behaved well. I watched for the first four hours, and Roger had the last four.”

  “Oh shit, we forgot to post guards.”

  “No, Lynn and I were the guards last night. That boy has more character and restraint than I ever had at 16. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Hell, let them move in together. You can marry them, you're our leader.”

  I gave them all the finger, walked over and sat down on the picnic table. I knew something had to be done because it was just a matter of time when sleeping would turn into a different meaning than what I found this morning. I knew that the world had slid back in time, but I still wasn’t ready for Callie to grow up.

  Callie and Paul joined me at the table before the others arrived.

  Callie sat down next to me and said, “Daddy, nothing happened las
t night. Paul is always a gentleman. I want to marry Paul. He wants me also. We might starve to death or be killed by Prescott’s men before we turn 18. We are both very mature and have done about all of the growing up we’re going to do. Please.”

  Before I could speak, I saw the others heading towards us. I waved them off and said, “I think Paul’s mom should be part of this discussion.”

  “What discussion should I be part of?”

  Callie repeated what she had told me and said, “I promise to be a good wife to Paul, and I know he will take care of me.”

  I nodded at Ally; she nodded back and then said, “Paul is this, what you want?”

  “Mom, Zack, I want this more than anything. I know I have a lot to learn, but I have you two to help me, and I know that no one could love or take better care of Callie. We don’t want to be slipping around behind your backs; we want to be married.”

  Ally and I looked at each other and Ally said, “So Callie, you two will be married before your father and me. You two tomorrow morning and us right afterward. We’ll get your uncle Mike to perform the ceremony.”

  Ally went into the trailer, came back, walked up to Callie and said, “I like for you two to use my wedding band until you can get one of your own.”

  I gave Paul my class ring and said, “Use this for your wedding band until you can get one of your own.”

  “Yes, I’d like that very much, thanks, Dad and Mom.”

  Yes, it got mushy after all of that. I was still in shock, but I love Paul like a son, and now he will be my son-in-law. The others came over, and we announced the future Mr. and Mrs. Stone. They applauded, hugged Callie and shook Paul’s hand. I was still in a daze. Joan will kill me.

  “Ally, the pancakes are delicious. Thanks for our first official meal in our new home.”

  “While the ladies are cleaning up, we’ll plan the infiltration of Owensville.”

  “Whoa, wait for a minute big boy. Y’all do the cleanup while we take Callie inside and give her some motherly advice on how to handle men who try to get themselves killed. Then after we are done, we’ll all help make the plans.”

  “Yes dear.”

  “So, Mike and Zack bike into the city while Paul and Roger set IEDs on their escape route. Mike bugs the office while Zack pulls lookout duty. The rest of us wait at the truck as a backup in case shit happens. All four of you ride the bikes back the four miles to the truck, and we all drive back to the hideout.”

  I answered, “That sums it up except we’ll hide the bikes in the bushes when we head back here. If you hear gunfire, get ready for a battle.”

  “If the worst happens and they chase us, there won’t be many of them left alive if the IEDs work, so the worst case is we kill a bunch of them, hideout in the woods and go back to the hideout later when they’re not following.”

  Ally said, “Looks like we are on for tonight and have weddings tomorrow.”

  Callie said, “I wish mom could make my wedding, but it could be weeks before we rescue her.”

  “Okay everyone, get some rest, Ally and I will pull the first four hours of guard duty, Callie and Paul the next four and then the rest of you can divide up the rest of the day. I want everyone ready to travel at midnight.”

  I watched Paul and Callie go into their new home together and wondered.

  As if she read my mind Ally said, “Don’t worry, they will wait until tomorrow.”

  The time passed quickly as we discussed what we needed to do for the newlyweds. Ally and I got about six hours of sleep and got ready for a long night.

  The drive over to Owensville was tricky since we traveled without headlights. We had to go about 20 miles per hour and were nervous we would be heard or seen before we could enact our plan. I was driving and had to stop once for a cow and then for a tree branch that had fallen. We replaced it in case someone had put it there to see if anyone was using this old road. We arrived a mile from the roadblock and hid the truck in the brush. We unloaded our bikes, kissed our girls and headed on into Owensville on the Greenway which ran away from the city to the river and then along the river to the downtown area where the Mayor’s office was located.

  ***

  “Don’t worry, she's progressing well. She woke up and talked with me today. I’m going home, and you get some rest.”

  The doctor was talking to his nurse. Joan listened to make sure her escape plans were still good.

  “Shouldn’t she be handcuffed?”

  “No, she’s too weak to go anywhere. I’m responsible for her, and besides, I gave her a shot that will keep her knocked out all night. They're moving her to Anderson in the morning, and she would try to escape if she knew that.”

  “I should have known you had everything covered. I’m going to make up my cot and get a good night’s sleep. This will be an easy night.”

  The clock on the wall ticked off every second for the three hours Joan waited until 1:00 am to make her move. She slowly slid off the bed, put the nurse’s tennis shoes on, grabbed a bottle of water and slipped out the back door. She knew she couldn’t walk straight through town, so she decided to make it to the waterfront, take the Greenway around the city to the southeast side of town and walk to the hideout. She thought she could cover the distance before daybreak or the nurse waking up. She didn’t know the doctor had slipped the nurse a sleeping pill, so she walked as fast as she could while staying in the shadows. She made it to the Greenway and found three bicycles beside the entrance. She chose one and took off on it. She used to ride ten miles a day, and she enjoyed the breeze.

  Everything was going according to her plan when she rounded a bend and saw something coming at her. She swerved but still hit something head on. She went head over heels and hit something soft. Her leg was under her, and it hurt like hell. She heard voices and felt someone moving on top of her. Someone had her pinned down. She started punching the person and knew that she would kill to get back to her daughter and family.

  ***

  I was riding with Mike in the middle with Roger on the right side and Paul on the left. The air was crisp and had smoke in it from the fireplaces. It was getting down in the ’40s at night, and a fire felt good this time of year. We had just set an IED and rounded a bend when something flew in, knocked me off my bike and careened into Paul.

  I could hear Paul saying, “Stop hitting me and I’ll get up. It’s a woman, and if the bitch doesn’t stop hitting me, I’m going to kill her.”

  Paul yelled in pain, “Oh shit. Get her off me; she’s kicked me in the balls.”

  “Get your hands off my tits, asshole.”

  “Joan, is that you?”

  “Mike, is that you?”

  I spoke up and said, “Paul, get your hands off of your mother-in-law’s tits. She’s small but vicious.”

  Paul moved away from Joan, and I helped her up and gave her a big hug. She was trembling in my arms, and I could tell that the collision shook her up and made her mad at the same time.

  I said, “Keep your voices down. Joan, we were coming into town to find out where you were so we could rescue you.”

  “The doctor helped me escape. I just walked out.”

  “Mrs. Johnson, I’m sorry we collided with each other. I hope you’re okay.”

  Mike hugged his sister, thanked God she was okay and said, “We need to get the heck out of here and head back to the truck before someone misses her. We can swap stories later.”

  Joan lifted her bike and said, “The wheels bent. I’ll have to ride with someone.”

  “Paul, give your mom-in-law a ride.”

  “Mike, I’m riding with you. He tried to play with my…. What is this crap about mom-in-law?”

  I replied, “Callie and Paul are getting married tomorrow.”

  “The hell they will.”

  “Joan, shut up and ride.”

  Joan didn’t shut up, but she kept her voice low while she cursed and grumbled something about over her dead body. We stopped and retrieved the IEDs so no o
ne would think Joan had help. I made her take her bloody blouse off and hung it on a limb at the river’s edge, so maybe they would think she fell in the river or tried to swim to the Indiana side.

  We were back at the truck in a little over an hour and rode up to four amazed women.

  “Joan, you’re safe!”

  “Mama, I thought I’d never see you again. Let’s take you home. Paul, help me get mom in the truck.”

  Paul stood there with his mouth open and moved slowly towards Joan.

  “What’s wrong boy? You shouldn’t have any trouble holding my hand after running yours all over my body. Baby girl, you haven’t even married this bum yet, and he’s already making passes at his mother-in-law.”

  “What?”

  Paul replied, “Momma Joan, that was an accident, and you’ll scare Callie talking like that. I know you’re just kidding about killing me.”

  “Don’t call me momma. There isn’t going to be a wedding, and that’s final.”

  Callie replied, “Mom, we’re getting married, or I’m shacking up with him like you did with Todd and Chuck.”

  She didn’t reply, and we drove slowly in the dark back to the hideout.”

  Joan heard about the details of the wedding and said, “Oh hell no! If my daughter’s getting married, she’ll use my wedding ring.”

  Joan caught Ally and me off to the side and asked, “Did we bring those boxes of birth control pills and condoms from the farm?”

  Ally answered, “Yes, are you worried about Callie and Paul?”

  “Yes and the rest of you. We don’t have a doctor to deliver a bunch of babies.”

  Other than the ring issue, the weddings went off without a hitch. It was difficult to honeymoon in a trailer in a cavern with other people all around, but it can be done.

  Joan and Paul told that story about the collision for years with it growing like a fisherman’s story that got bigger and bigger year after year. We had the weddings the next evening after we got some rest. Later we swapped stories about what happened at the farm and the events around that day. Joan still mourns for Chuck but has learned to love Paul and dotes on him and Callie. This part of our story ends as well as can be expected, and we just need to survive this winter and take one day at a time.