Keep Moving
"Wake up men!"
Pike's loud and commanding voice thundered in my ears, pulling me out of my nest of slumber. I rose to my feet weapons in hand and looked at the officer as he stirred the rest of the men. His eyes were swollen and baggy, there was a slight distance in his voice. Something had went to shit.
"I just got word the FEMA retaliated quicker than expected to our raid of the Fort Worth and Bilderberg facility. They implemented a counter attack last night," his voice began to trail, "Everyone is dead as of now. All that remains of the Regulators are the small training squad back at HQ and this one."
There was a small rustle and stir among the men. I looked around at these pathetic men. That sparky resonance of hope had all but flickered out of them. As much as I hate having to associate with people anymore, I knew that if I wanted to see my Jesse ever again, I might need their help to do it. Fuck….I'm not a hero.
"Well I saw this coming," I spoke, "you didn't just expect the most ruthless and powerful police force in the world to just take it lightly did you?"
Everyone turned to me with a shocked expression. This was the first time I had actually spoken up and communicated with the squad. Maybe they thought I was going to be their leader. Well as long as they think so, maybe they will get me where I need to go.
I continued, "You didn't think those assholes who own the planet were going to excuse a tiny group of American rebels to embarrass them the way we fucking did? Men, we showed a world of tyranny that Americans never surrender even when their country does. Shit, we showed FEMA that they are nothing more than a bunch of chicken-shit pussies with guns."
I know had the entire squad at my fingertips. They clung to my words. Their morale was indebted to the words flowing from inside my emotionless mask. They brought me back to a time where my life wasn't encased in hell. I felt like a soldier again….I kinda felt like a human.
"You know what men? We are going to blast into Houston, guns blazing, get us some more weapons and men. Then we are going to destroy their will to live again. We are going to show them that this is our country and they can't do shit to us!"
They roared with passion, I knew now they would give me every ounce of power they had in them. They were mine. Unfortunately, I didn't believe a word I told them. My hope had evaporated long ago. I lived in a world that beat me senseless until I had no recollection of what the word hope meant. It doesn't matter as long as they believe it.
"Welcome to the team, son," Pike said, "Alright men, move out we hit Houston within the next few hours."
We placed the FEMA stickers on the convoy and the drivers donned the FEMA equipment. We would now get through the checkpoints with little trouble. We drove on the highway for at least twenty minutes before arriving at the checkpoint. We all remained quiet as the road agent spoke with our driver.
"Just got this load of prisoners from Fort Worth before this attack with orders to get them in the Houston Camp," he stated with perfection, hell I almost took him for an actual FEMA fucker.
"Alright, move along," he stated.
As we drove by, the officer kicked the side of our convoy. They always did that. They thought it scared the prisoners inside. It only made me angry, violently angry. I had to restrain myself from jumping out and slitting his fucking throat.
After five more checkpoints, we had arrived at our destination. We parked inside the camp and from the outside we heard the drivers speaking with the guards. Suddenly there was no more talking. The drivers had grabbed their necks and snapped them away from their bodies.
Suddenly the back doors opened and we flooded out into the area. I was hit with the familiar stench of death. Everything I had experienced at Fort Worth came back to me in a violent flash. My arms and legs ached. My face burned. I felt naked in the heat. Jennings's devilish laugh pounded my ears.
The camp siren sounded, pulling me back to reality. I raised my rifle and waited as the events fast-forwarded in front of me. A regulator fell in slow motion at my side as did another.
"SNIPERS!" Someone screamed.
I reacted quickly with my sights in the surrounding watch towers. There they were. Their scopes set to pick us off one by one. We shot at them from our distance. Some fell, others were too far off. I heard Pike's voice bark orders as the ground patrols flooded into the campground.
" '115 you and Johnson take the snipers!"
I darted down the side of the camp, taking quick cover everywhere I could. The young soldier followed in close. I did not stop, thus keeping the sniper from taking a clear shot. Within moments we had reached the tower. I climbed the wooden ladder just underneath leading into where the sniper was placed.
"You stay down here and cover me!" I barked at the man.
I leaped up into the tower and kicked the gun away from the officer who held it point blank at my face as I entered. With a quick thrust, I threw myself into the guard and let my knife lead into his side. I then pushed him over the side of the tower. Bye-bye.
Quickly thinking, I grabbed the sniper rifle which lay just at my feet. I aimed it across the camp at the remaining tower. Perfect. I had a clear shot at the last sniper.
Click. BANG!
I then aimed my scope at the remaining guards engaged in a fire fight with the squad. Both sides had received heavy casualties. It's time I end this.
Click. BANG! Sck! Click. BANG! Sck! Click. BANG!
It was almost a soothing poem in my head as heads popped into explosions of brain matter. The sweet rhythm of battle would always be something I'd never forget. After two more well placed shots, the camp was ours. Within the next hour, women and children were escorted out of the camp and given food and directions to safer places. Men were suited up and given guns. I'm sure few of them could actually use them correctly but it was the closest thing to reinforcement we had.
We gathered all the equipment and supplies we needed. We were then order to set this place ablaze. As we did so, I looked around. Why did I feel so strange about putting this place to ash? I hated it with every once of hate I could muster. Why?
Soon the camp was nothing more than a ring of fire. Flames engulfed the area in its hateful grasp. Blankets of smoke filled the air and intoxicated the sky in its drunken, black dance. We left very quickly as we knew that FEMA would set its cross hairs on us within an hour.
Just like that, we were back on the road. My past, just like that camp, was a raging fire. It had consumed me and my sanity. It had burned me alive. Yet the journey continues….maybe I can make it to her after all. Maybe there was…..hope..
