Future History

Susan grunted as she slid back out of the hide. Bobby and Kelly did the same. Captain Denim led them down the hill they were on into a small gorge. As they approached, a section of the cliff face retracted sideways into the hill. Inside the cave was brightly lit, there was a long hallway, which led to a huge room filled with tanks and trucks and humvees.

"Holy shit!" shouted Kelly. "All this was right under our noses!"

"Yeah, the Chicoms noses too," said Susan. "There is another one in Illinois and another west of here. We have people out telling all the state militias where theirs are. Plans are being made to kick the Chicoms the hell out of America."

Captain Denim cleared his throat.

"We are, Captain. The best strategists of the entire militia are working to clear our land of the communist hoard. As we speak, harbors along the west coast, are being demolished. Airfields were made unusable. We are getting ready for one of the biggest battles of the war and I think these places, two to a state, will be the turning point," said Colonel Johnson.

Kelly just looked with awe at all the hardware at the disposal of her dad and his soldiers.

"How long to move your people over here?" asked Colonel Johnson.

"Well, if there are any tunnels between here and there, time wouldn't matter."

"True. Let's go have a look at the blueprints of this place. Someone outfitted that cave system of yours for some purpose," Colonel Johnson said walking away.

Susan waved everyone after him giggling as she hurried to catch up. Kelly hurried to catch up to Colonel Johnson. They went down several hallways with rooms on both sides. Then they were climbing a series of stairs. At the top of the stairs, there was a massive room with computer stations all around. An aisle ran around the room with doors in the wall. Colonel Johnson was sitting at a computer station typing. Looking up Kelly saw a big screen just to the left of the computer station hanging from the ceiling. As she watched, it lit up. On it was a structural drawing of the complex. She watched as each lever of the place flashed up on the screen.

"Back one," Kelly shouted.

"What?" Colonel Johnson.

"Do it, John," said Susan.

The image on the screen changed. Kelly looked at it carefully. Then she was reaching past Colonel Johnson and running her finger along a tunnel in the mountains. It ended in one of the empty caverns of her home cave system.

"There are ours now," she said tapping the point on the screen. "We follow this tunnel and we are here." She tapped the place in the complex where the passage led. "I have wondered about that passage, but it was dark and a little constricted on our end. I guess we could widen it now that we know where it goes."

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle," said Colonel Johnson.

Susan just hugged Kelly to her.

"That's my niece," said Susan proudly.

"Son of a..." said John Denim."And that's not even all that far."

"And I will bet the tunnel is now well lit," said John Johnson.

"Well, let's go get the guys who are still outside and then go see," said Susan.

"Captain Denim?"

"Sure, why not." John Denim turned and hurried away.

"Well, young Kelly, lead the way," said Colonel Johnson.

Kelly, feeling a little embarrassed, led the way to the level with the tunnel in it. At the level of the tanks, they waited for John Denim and the two who had been on watch. She then led them down a level to the far corner where there was a massive blast door. Stopping she looked at the door with concern on her face, she looked behind her. Colonel Johnson nodded and stepped forward. He carefully looked at the door, then reaching to the right, took a key, an old fashion skeleton key, from a hook there. He put it in the lock and turned. There was a loud click. Colonel Johnson spun the wheel in the middle of the door and pulled when it stopped. There, on the other side, was the tunnel. Brightly lit.

Giggling, Kelly led the way down the tunnel. It was a smooth walk as the floor was level and clear of any rocks or dirt. It was about six feet wide and ten feet tall. It didn't take them long to step through a narrow rift in the wall and come out to an empty cavern. Kelly chuckled at John Denim as he gasped realizing where he was.

"We were going to expand into the cavern," he said.

"We'll need to make this opening bigger," said Susan.

Kelly stood there looking around. When she saw the foot pedals behind a big rock, she just walked over and stepped on the one marked 'O'. A rumbling came from the wall in front of her. Stepping back, she watched as the opening they slipped through parted. It was now as big as the tunnel behind it.

"No we won't," said Kelly giggling.

They could all hear feet running toward them. John Denim swore. Kelly admonished him. He stood in front of everyone as six of his men came charging into the cavern followed shortly by Kelly's dad.

"How? Where? Son of a bitch!" he shouted as he caught sight of the tunnel entrance. "Kelly?"

"Hi, dad. Guess what we found?"

"Why this?" asked Susan.

"Probably because it's closer to the roads," said Colonel Johnson.

"But you can't get a tank through there," said Susan pointing to the tunnel.

"No, but you can get a lot of people into here and into that tunnel through to the bigger complex."

Susan nodded as everything became clear to her.

"Kelly?" Jacob asked again.

Kelly went over to her dad, took his hand, and led him into the tunnel. Bobby followed them as kind of a read guard. Susan turned and quickly followed her niece.

"All right, I want this place sealed up and everyone packed up to go..."

"Hold on a second, John," said Colonel Johnson.

"Yes, Colonel?"

"Um, let's wait until your commander returns before we start making plans to reorganize his command."

John Denim looked at John Johnson. He then nodded.

Chapter 28

"Kelly, where are you taking me? I know there was another underground cavern, that's where you went, but how did you get back so quickly without coming in the front... I see this tunnel leads us to... what?"

"Just wait dad, just wait," said Kelly.

"Jacob, prepare your mind to be blown away," said Susan softly from behind him.

The tunnel ahead ended and Jacob gasped. He really couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him were row upon row of tanks. There were other vehicles, but he didn't see them, just the tanks. Being an old tanker himself, he dropped to his knees almost crying. He just knew that they could beat the crap out of the Chinese now. Kelly was beside him holding him. Susan was in front of him, looking into his eyes to see if he was suffering from a stroke. He wasn't, so she moved aside.

"How?" he gasped.

"We don't know, but you can now move our people here to keep them safe. We still have a lot to explore in this place. We found one way in, there has to be a way to get all these tanks out. So much to learn," whispered Kelly.

Jacob smiled at his daughter hugging her to him as he knelt there.

"Come on, let's get you up to the command center," said Susan.

"Command center?" Jacob asked climbing to his feet. "John Denim!" Jacob shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Geez, dad," said Kelly covering her ears.

"You still have it, Jacob," said Susan laughing.

"Sir?" said John Denim as he stood in front of Jacob.

"Get back to our... well go, get Marie, started organizing the move to here. I want all civilians out of the... our cave and in here as soon as possible. Are there barracks here?" Jacob asked turning to Susan and Kelly.

"Yes, dad, up a level, plenty of room and then some," replied Kelly.

"Show me," demanded Jacob.

Nodding Kelly stepped off, stopped, turned, looking at her father. Jacob started a little, then joined his daughter. John Denim went off into the tunnel. Susan stood there just looking out over the tanks. To her, they looked like victory.

Chapter 29

Western Virginia Free Militia

Carol Mulligan crept through the woods. She had been out this time for a month. Her prey was becoming harder and harder to find as they were pushed to the east and north. Carol Mulligan was, had been a mother and wife until the Chicoms had invaded America. She had, for a little while, gone catatonic with grief. After that, she just existed day to day with a group of people that had found her clinging to her dead children, her husband at her feet. The people who found her struggled to help her bury her family. They then brought her to their camp, fed her, and gave her a safe place to sleep. She helped by working around the camp.

It was almost a year when she finally came back to the here and now. Looking around, she realized that she was in a rebel camp of sorts. She finally understood what these people had been trying to tell her ever since the people around her had brought her here. She looked at everyone in a new light. She watched as they organized themselves. She watched, as people she hadn't seen before came and talked to the leaders. She watched as groups of people left, not coming back for days, sometimes weeks. She especially watched one man. She found out this man had also lost his family. Luke was his name. She watched Luke. Intently.

Luke left the cave system they were in alone each time he went out. Sometimes he was gone for a month at a time. Others he was back in a few days. He never smiled. He never laughed. He just took care of his rifles and sidearm. Carol watched. Luke noticed Carol watching him. He didn't mind. He could care less if someone watched him here, in camp. Then one day Carol had watched enough and she approached Luke. Luke looked up as Carol stood in front of him as he sat on the ground. Nodding, Luke patted the ground next to him. Carol was immediately beside him.

"Ask," ordered Luke.

"How many?" asked Carol.

"I stopped counting at a hundred."

"Where do I get a gun like yours?"

"Ah... you want to learn how to shoot?"

"I know how to shoot. I just don't have a rifle to shoot with."

"How good are you? What did you shoot?"

"Good, so my husband told me. Deer mostly. Some wild boar."

"Distance?"

"Two hundred yards, sometimes more, sometimes less. I only had a ten power scope and a 223."

"Ah... AR15?" asked Luke.

"Yes."

"Follow me," said Luke rising.

Carol fell in beside him as they walked back into the cave. They halted at a table, behind which were a lot of metal cabinets. The man sitting at the table looked up and smiled at Luke.

"Who's your friend Luke?"

"I don't know..."

"Carol."

"Carol," said Luke.

"I see. Whacha need Luke?"

"Gear, for Carol. I'm going to take her out and see if she shoots as well as she says she can," replied Luke.

The man behind the table looked at Luke, then at Carol, then back at Luke again.

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Okay. I have three M-24s in .308, an L96A in .338, an M107 in .50BMG, and a TP1 in 7.92."

"Carol?" asked Luke.

"That L96A, is that .338 Lapua?" asked Carol.

"It is."

"How much ammo do you have for it?"

"Ah, good question, dear. I have 600 rounds, most of them are under 5 years old."

"Okay. Scopes?"

"It comes with a 20-40. It also has a night scope attachment and I have the scope for that attachment."

"Wait, when did you get that in?" asked Luke.

"I now have two, would you like to change rifles, yours doesn't have an attachment point for it?"

"Uh... no," replied Luke.

It would seem Luke likes his current rifle.

"I'll take it," said Carol. "Along with an M-4 and a 1911 if you have one."

"I do. But wouldn't you want a nice 15-round Glock?"

"Nine millimeters, right?"

"It is."

"No, the 1911 will do just nicely," replied Carol.

"She'll need clothes too. And a gillie suit," said Luke. "Oh by the way Carol, this Burt. He's in charge of supplies. You need something, he's the guy to see."

"Nice to meet you, Burt," said Carol extending her hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Carol," replied Burt taking Carol's hand for an instant.

Chapter 30

Two days later, after an extensive day of Carol showing Luke what she knew about the weapons she had chosen, they were out of the cave system and hiking through the woods to the south.

"I've had my best luck to the south of us. More and more of the Chinese are starting to slowly move north in small two to four-man units. Probing our lines, I would think. Anyway, that's where we will be heading. Southeast of here is a Chicom base. It's about a week away. We'll see if any of them stray north toward us."

Carol just nodded as she walked alongside Luke. It took them two days to get to the hill that Luke wanted to set up on. At the foot of the hill, they both put on their gillie suits and slowly walked up to a place Luke had used before. It was big enough for them to both lie in wait. It took them a good ten minutes to crawl into place. Once there they both started to look around them for targets. Not too close, though. They took their time, as they would only be shooting once from here.

"Right fifteen," said Luke softly.

Carol moved her rifle in the direction indicated. She stopped suddenly. In her sights were four Chicom soldiers just calmly waking through the woods.

"On three," whispered Luke. "You take the two to the right, I got the guys to the left."

"Roger," whispered Carol lining up her sights.

"One... two... three."

The crack of the two rifles came on three. Two men went down. A half second later, two more cracks echoed through the hills, and two more men were down.

"We go now," said Luke.

Carol nodded as she moved back out of their hide. They went down the hill into the woods and underbrush quickly, headed away from the direction the men had been coming from. After about ten minutes, Luke stopped taking a knee. Carol did too. Luke just listened. So did Carol. They could hear yelling and shouting from the direction, they had come. Nodding, Luke got up and headed them back to their cave system. Carol followed although she wondered why.

"Boy, you two really cause a stir with the Chinese. They are tearing up the frequencies about two snipers that sound like one," said Major Jamison as Carol and Luke entered the cave system.

"That's what I thought would happen," replied Luke nodding.

"Well, when are you two going back out there?" Jamison asked.

"As soon as I talk with Carol, we'll be back out there, except we will not be doing anymore synchronized shooting."

"I really think you two should."

"We were lucky to find four idiots just strolling around the woods. It won't happen again. I will show her about being silent in the woods. I will teach her everything I know. Then she will be on her own. Or you could assign a spotter to her."

"No!" Carol said almost growling. "I will work alone."

"Okay, okay," replied Major Jamison. "If you think you can do it?"

"I can or I'll be dead."

Luke grunted at her answer. Jamison just nodded. Luke had told him the exact same thing when he first showed up here. Jamison nodded.

"Well, get going," he said.

Luke and Carol turned and left. Luke led her to a small side cave where he stored his things and slept. Carol followed him in.

"You can stay here or find your own place. I won't bother you, as we will probably never be here at the same time. I'm going to get something to eat and then I'm out of here. If you want you can come with and I will teach you some of the finer points of being silent in the great outdoors."

Carol nodded setting down her duffle.

"Okay. I want to survive no matter what I told the Major, so if you don't mind I will tag along with you."

"Good. You are an excellent shot and I would hate to lose you," said Luke headed out of their little side cave.

Chapter 31

Three months later, Carol, by herself, was hiding in a group of bushes on the side of a hill not too close to a Chinese installation. Her estimate was a mile and a bit. Looking through her scope, she could see any number of targets. Yet none of them seemed to be all that important. Then she spotted one man, walking ahead of a group of about 10 following him. As she watched he looked to be shouting orders to everyone, he passed. Nodding she lined up her shot. When she pulled the trigger, she watched as the crack of the bullet echoed around the hills in the area. Just as the bullet hit the man in the head, everyone else was looking around for the shooter. Smiling, Carol slipped backward out of her hide and left the area.

Two days later, she was on the opposite side of the installation. Over the past two days, she had watched as patrols scoured the hills where she had taken the shot. Chaos reigned on the base for about two hours after she killed the man. Now there was a new man giving orders, only he was doing it from inside somewhere. She watched as man after man came out or went into a tent close to the entrance of the compound. Carol waited. Without moving, for two days. Then a man she hadn't seen before stepped out of the tent and stretched. Nodding she lined up her sights and squeezed the trigger. The man crumpled to the ground. The crack of the bullet brought everyone out into the open. Then she spotted the glint of gold on the collar of another man who just stood there looking down at the man Carol had shot.

Smiling, Carol took the shot. As the body fell to the ground so did everyone else. Carol slowly backed out of her hide and was off in a direction away from the base. It took her two weeks to get back to the cave system. As she dropped off her equipment, she felt the excitement in the cave system. When she stepped out of Luke's and her side cave, she was confronted by not only Luke but Major Jameson. She looked at them, questions in her eyes.

"That was you?" asked Luke.

"What was me?" asked Carol.

"You killed that General down on the Tennessee border?"

"I killed two officers, I couldn't see their rank."

"Okay, we're in lockdown for a bit. You caused quite a beehive of activity with what you did. It seems you killed the two highest officers in Virginia," said Jameson.

"Good. Now maybe they'll realize that none of them are safe here and leave," replied Carol smiling. "They were good kills."

"I'm sure they were. I have no problem with what you did. We only have to take some precautions to keep them from finding us."

"I'll kill them too for what they did to my life," growled Carol.

"I understand," said Luke. "Why don't we go get something to eat, Carol?"

"I am hungry. Okay," replied Carol a little calmer than she was just a second ago.

Luke and Carol sat at a table eating. They sat across from each other. Luke was watching Carol carefully as he spooned the stew in front of him into his mouth. Carol watched Luke as she ate her stew.

"What?" Carol finally asked.

"Tell me," said Luke.

"No. It's very personal."

"I know."

Carol's shoulders slumped. Her head dropped as she stared into her stew. God, she was sick of stew, even though it was always fresh, always hot, and always good.

"It wasn't all that long ago. We, my husband, daughter, and I were living in an isolated cabin in the wood of Kentucky. I was out hunting something for dinner when I heard the gunfire from the cabin. It took me too long to get back. By the time I got there, my husband was dead, and my daughter was savagely beaten and dying. Those assholes had raped her. She was twelve. I sat there holding on to her and my husband for... I don't know how long. Then some of the people here found me I guess."

"It wasn't us. It was a group from Kentucky but you were so close to us that they brought you here. You were lucky they had a doctor, a real doctor, with them. She patched you up, stayed here, the rest of her people stuck around, and helped us kill Chicoms. Dan wants to give you a medal for killing who you did."