Jericho: The X Factor
Chapter One: To Jericho with Love
She didn't know what she was going to find the day she rode into Jericho city limits. There were rumors that people had survived. That they were trying for a fresh start, but it was just rumors. It was her job to find out if it was true.
And that was how she found herself ridding at breakneck speed toward Jericho, Kansas. She checked behind her to be sure the team was alright, they had been ridding for days now with out stopping. Horses were the most reliable form of transportation at the moment. They didn't run out of gas, and they could go were even four wheel drive vehicles couldn't.
"Lock and load guys, this is Jericho territory. Who knows what kind of a reception we're gonna get here." She said transferring her horse Paco's reins to her left hand and hefted her sawed off shotgun with her right, checking the rounds before flipping the barrel back into place. Behind her she heard others doing the same thing.
No matter what they were ready.
Eric Green was not having a good day. It had started with him and Mary having another argument about, what else? April and the baby. Then the bar was running out of supplies. Which was followed by a quick succession of about fifteen people who had complained in various states of agitation ranging from sad to pissed, wanting to know, in short when things were going to get better. Which he didn't know.
And now he was miles out on the road on patrol freezing his ass off. Eric pulled his horse up suddenly; looking up to the hills that surrounded Jericho. Was that movement at the top of the hill? He swung up his rifle and trained the scope on the ridge. He scanned the terrain along the tan colored hills spotted with newly fallen snow. Nothing. And then…there, was that what he thought it was? Horse men?
"Shit." Eric wheeled his horse around and spurred it into a gallop. Fifteen minuets later Eric was clattering down Main St. He pulled up outside of City Hall, and leapt from his mount.
"There's riders, up on the ridge. We have to go now." Eric shouted. "Get every one you can, and rally outside. Let's move." The men on guard outside the City Hall jumped into action scurrying to gather all of the rangers they could.
Men pored out into the square, and twenty minuets later a mixture of vehicles and horses were booking it toward the ridge.
Not that they ever got that far. They had just passed into the woods, outside the last subdivision when they were stopped short. Someone had felled several trees across the road.
"What the hell?" Jimmy said from the open window of his squad car.
"This wasn't here when I left." Eric said, giving his horse a pat on the neck to keep it calm.
"This tree was cut down." Stanley said from his own horse.
"Who would…?" But Eric never got a chance to finish, because about thirty guns were suddenly trained on Jericho's border patrol.
They were all mounted and none of them wore the same uniform. Army fatigues from dessert storm, jungle green marine uniforms, black op's assault ware, and blue jeans and flannel. What they did have in common was that they were all heavily armed, they all looked battle hardened, and they all wore some kind of bullet proof armor.
Jericho's men were surrounded on both sides and from behind. Four horsemen cantered down the road in font of them, the horses took the trees in a bound of glossy coats and shimmering manes. Assault rifles held at the ready by their riders.
The riders pulled up in a v formation, the two on Eric's left wore army dessert fatigues, one male and one female. The man on the right wore a black Special Forces uniform. The middle one was female. She wore blue jeans and a red shirt mostly covered by a green bullet proof vest and over that a jean jacket. Her head was covered by a Red Socks baseball hat.
"Who's in charge?" The girl said, her voice reeking of command.
The boarder patrol all stood frozen, not able to believe what was happening. Eric suddenly realized just how unprepared his brother had been trying to tell them they were.
"I am." Eric said inching his horse to the front of the group. "And you are on Jericho soil, state your business." His voice sounded braver than he felt. They were out numbered and by the way these people were holding their weapons they knew what they were doing. The girl laughed pulling up her rifle and moving closer to Eric.
"Well then, I am Commander Kaye Knight and these are my men." She said.
"And what are you doing in Jericho?" Eric demanded keeping his gun trained on Commander Kaye Knight.
"I'm looking for someone." She said. "He would have come through just before the bombs." She rested the butt of her rifle on her leg. "His name is Jacob Lewis Green."
Jake Green had just finished up a long morning of working on the wind turbines. He hadn't been sleeping well and it was beginning to show in his features. Dark circles around his eyes, and his lips were chapped and splitting.
All he wanted to do was go home and sleep, but every time he closed his eyes images of Afghanistan, and Iraq filled his mind. And lately even more nightmares had danced through his dreams, visions of hospitals filled with bullet ridden bodies strewn about in paper gowns. Doctors operating on dead patients, April on a metal gurney with white glazed over eyes her dead child clutched in her arms. Men dieing of radiation poisoning, their skin flaking off, boils and sores blooming over their arms. All of it just waiting for him to lay down to rest before creeping up on him to take hold.
Jake continued his shuffle down Main St. trying not to let his limp show to much.
"Jake!"
Jake snapped his head up to see Stanley ridding toward him at full speed.
"What is it?" Jake asked praying that it wasn't anything else that had gone wrong.
"Riders, they came into town. Twenty five or thirty of them all armed. The leader is asking for you." Stanley said pulling his horse to a stop.
"Should we take the car?" Jake asked.
"No time. Come on we can ride there tandem." Stanley said holding out a hand for Jake. He took it and swung up. They didn't talk as they rode out of town, Stanley slowed when they reached the woods.
"Everyone's just up there. They've got us surrounded, but they haven't asked us to drop our weapons or surrender or anything. The Commander said she has to speak to you." Stanley informed him.
"Well let's go then." They slid off of the horse and kept walking. They rounded a turn in the road and were intercepted by two men on horseback. One was older maybe fifty with a beard that was salt and pepper colored. He wore green camo with the ranger patch on the arm. The other was younger and dressed in a ratty old wool coat with a blue NYPD bullet proof vest.
"He's back!" The older one shouted over his shoulder, and every one in front of them shifted to allow Stanley and Jake to walk by.
"Be careful Jake." Stanley said stopping to let Jake continue on to the front of the boarder patrol group alone.
Eric was waiting there a shot gun trained on a group of four riders who stood inside the circle of men.
It was the Socks hat that did it. There was no mistaking that worn out piece of cloth. Or the girl beneath it.
"Kaye?" Jake said barley believing his eyes. Kaye let out a whoop of joy before swinging her leg over her horse's back and launching herself into Jake's embrace.
Eric and the others had raised their weapons at the Commander's sudden movement, but now they lowered them as they watched Jake hugging Kaye a smile that hadn't been seen from him in weeks now firmly in place.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He said pulling back to look at her.
"You weren't in San Diego when the bombs hit. I had to find you." She said ruffling his hair then hugging him tight again.
"And what, you had to bring the cavalry?" Jake said gesturing toward the mounted soldiers. Noticing for the first time some familiar faces, two others had dismounted following Kaye.
"Shit Dan, is that you?" Jake said letting go of Kaye to hug one of the men. "And Mikey?" Jake grasped the other guys hand in hello.
"God it's good to see you guys." Jake murmured releasing his hold on Dan, and Mikey.
"We thought that it was about time we saved your ass for a change Jake." Kaye said smiling. Then her expression sobered.
"We need to talk Jake." She looked around at the Jericho Border Patrol. "Alone."
Ok so there's the first chapter, hope yall enjoyed it. Review and I will write more. But I probably will write more anyways.
Much love
Lavalata