Cat Revolution
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters to Calvin and Hobbes or Garfield. They are owned by Bill Watterson respectfully. However, Dilger and Boxer are my creations.
The battle was won for the dogs. A great battle had been played out in the swamps that were overlooked by this rocky ridge that had no name until now. It was called Bloody Ridge and for good reason. An entire division, 24,000 individuals were slaughtered either killed, wounded, and captured. As the smoke settled, and patter of fire had long since died, what were once enemies now turned to each other. Stretcher bearers and medical teams came down to help with the immense amount of wounded and to bury the dead that bobbed about in the swamp.
Having borne a part across the swamp in the hopes of claiming artillery pieces, Calvin instead was offered the surrender of remnants of Gold's command including the general herself whom couldn't. Knocked out by traitor Hobbes, she was removed to a field station to join the rest of her command whom were fortunate enough to survive.
Calvin picked his way through the haze of battle, tripping over the many bodies from the previous fire fight, rooting out any of those whom were still putting up a struggle. A tall figure emerged through the forest, hands raised in the air.
"Halt, or you will be shot!" Calvin yelled.
"Whoa, easy there, Trigger. I'm just a humble tiger looking for his friend," came the response.
"Hobbes? Hobbes!" the boy shouted, throwing himself at his friend. After a while, the two recorded the swamp, found a fat boulder in which to sit on and began to exchange their sides of an incomplete story.
"What happened to you? Last time I saw you, cats were forcing me on the back of a truck?" Calvin asked, sitting on a flat boulder.
Taking pride in himself, "Well, I decided to go undercover as a spy and see what was happening. Using my intelligence and sneaky ways, I managed to influence my way all the way to the top where I managed to persuaded the cats into a false sense of security and thus into this trap."
"You were a spy?"
"Yes, I was"
"Terrific" becoming unraveled in his seat, "Then you can help us. Where is their base?"
"It's in Indianapolis"
"Did you see my parents?"
"I'm afraid not. Garfield has numerous camps, using the populous as labor."
"What is he doing now?"
"Looks like he's digging in. A lose would be significant, and we can deal even more if we move fast."
Their mouths fell silent as burial parties moved past with heaps of slain cats. It had been a gruesome battle, and the dogs, despite their victory, were still in no shape to move out. There were too many problems internally to deal with. If the two worked together, perhaps they could get this rag a muffins into a fighting force in just a few weeks. However, time wasn't on their side. Garfield was smart and was still gathering forces under his belt. A second division had just arrived in town, Hobbes knew about it, and quite possibly would throw that against them. Someone was needed to keep the wound he had suffered here open and bleeding, Hobbes took it upon himself as that person.
"I'm going back" he snapped to Calvin. "They don't know about me, yet. All I have to do is pass myself off as a survivor, then I can stoop around at will."
"Wait. Go back? You can't. There is much work that needs to be done. You can't take a vacation now!"
"I must. Garfield will sense something if i'm missing along with a whole division."
"He'll suspect you even more if you're the only one that returns."
"I'll take that chance" crossing his arms.
Calvin still remained uneasy. It was a perilous task. If those cats even caught a whiff of deceit, the gig would be up. Weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Calvin gave in. "Good luck, ol' buddy. You'll be promoted upon your return." Shaking hands, the tiger departed from the ridge, following the same wilderness covered road going back to Indianapolis. Watching his friend disappeared down the road, Calvin sighed, removed himself from that seat and climbed ever higher to an another boulder, sitting down on this rock next to Dilger. All about them, stretcher parties were still working double time to remove wounded and dead. It had been a hard day. A hot, hard, yet glorious day.
"Our soldiers have covered themselves in glory," Dilger said, almost to himself.
Indeed they had. Just a large hand full managed destroy an entire cat division. Including bagging over 2,500 prisoners and twenty-four pieces of artillery, seventeen colors or flags were captured as well, paraded by their captors in the faces of prisoners.
"They won't stop coming." Dilger said to Calvin, whom nodded in agreement, "We have a chance now. Either we stay and regroup or we attack."
"What does your instinct tell you, Calvin? Your animal instincts?" Dilger asked his comrade.
"What?" Garfield fumed. "How could Gold fall into a trap?"
Hobbes was lost for words, "It was a bitter battle, your excellency. Those cats, our soldiers, threw themselves against the enemy lines repeatedly, bravely, their banners were seen waving triumphantly from their walls." Glorifying the lopsided battle.
It didn't dim Garfield's feelings. He had suffered a hearty blow, a mortal one if he didn't move fast. As his new second division filed into town, taking up position around it's outskirts, a third division was being organized. Pounding his fists, a nervous aide entered the room.
"What is it?" his leader roared.
"Uh, sir, we have prisoners here that you might find interesting." his voice nearly faint with fear.
"Is it Odie?" Garfield leaned forward with a raise eyebrow.
"No, sir. We have captured two rebel cats trying to raid our supply trucks plus, Lord Devotous, leader of the California Revolution has just delievered several prisoners from Angel Grove as tokens of appreciation."
"Very well, bring them in. Excuse me, Mr. Hobbes, this is a matter of what a leader does"
Bowing away, Hobbes marched out, glacing over his shoulder to see teenagers being forced onto their knees before Garfield, along with two cats, one pink and one gray.
Aroused from his prison cell, Odie and several others were prodded out onto the main street where soldiers by the hundreds were filing past, banners flapping the breeze. It was a hot day, but still their guards pushed them on towards the outskirts where other parties are already at work digging trenches, forts, and pillboxes. Issued a small sledge hammer and told to break a rock, Odie went to work, parched of thirst and starving he did so with fatigue while up above him, standing on the thick walls of Fort No. 6 facing due south was Hobbes whom was now promoted to general supervisor of construction of Garfield's defenses. Looking all about him, Hobbes was impressed by the maze of trenches, rifle pits, abatis, nests, the whole lot. Swarming like ants, cats and prisoners alike were working together to accomplish this simple task. the fort in which he stood was only half way completed. Talking to an officer, he found out it's measurements were going to be twenty feet high, walls eight feet thick made of earth and backed by timber, covered two whole acres and shaped as a hexagon with gun ports at each angle.
Just down below, a worn Odie was issued a small sledge hammer and ordered to break a large boulder that couldn't be moved by hand. Chipping away at granite, this worn out prisoner glanced about him under a blistering sun to wipe his brow. Out of the corner of his eye, he sighted a familiar looking face descending the walls. It was Hobbes. Holding in his conjecture, feigning to attract attention, Odie slammed his hammer down, thundering an echo that called for the tiger whom turned and made eye contact. It was here that this dog came up with a novel motion to exchange information, knowing that his guards were ignorant of Morse code, but Hobbes knew some. His hands ripped and torn, Odie clutched his tool and began to tap out seemingly useless dots and dashes onto the stone face. Yet, Hobbes picked it up from across the quarry and noted it with a smile and a nod. Watching him leave, Odie sighed and relaxed only to be berated by a guard for being lax.
When darkness descended, the work, for the most part, ceased. Here, Hobbes slipped out of town to convey knows to Dilger and Calvin about the task that lay at hand. To his surprise, the tiger stumbled into their sentries just two miles from the outskirts, hiding in wood lots and in trenches of their own. Coupled with no fires and no moon, Hobbes blundered into them and was nearly shot. Managing to convince them that he was friend of Calvin and Dilger, Hobbes was taken to their head quarters, a run down old farm house. There, he found Dilger resting on a straw bed and Calvin warming himself by a small fire nearby.
Hearing the front door squeak open, Calvin turned his head and looked, "About time you showed up. What did you find out?"
"A lot," Hobbes replied. Gathering them around a small dinner table, Hobbes threw down a dirtied sheet of yellow legal paper. On it were crude drawings of the town and all of it's defenses.
"The ground was flat in it's approach towards the works, then gradually rises up till it was about thirty meters above other terrain. It's angles was not steep, allowing artillery to fire down on attackers" Hobbes explained referring to the twelve forts.
Calvin was impressed and despaired. It looked impossible to take them on, but he wasn't finished. Connecting the forts were two solid trenches, ten yards behind the other, fronted by an abatis or line of sharpened stakes. A third trench was being constructed as they spoke, a fall back position. All houses, dwellings, any obstructions on or near these lines were being cleared out. Charging them head on like what Gold did would be suicidal. All they had was a rag tag band that was slowly organizing in the rear. Competent officers were hard to come by and soldiers with spines even more so. It was an entirely new division, Garfield's 2nd defending these works. Their quality was not known but quantity, over 29,000 by early estimates, dwafed their army by over 20 fold. Newly formed, it was untried in the field of combat. Even so, it still vastly outnumbered and outgunned the dogs. Trainloads of fresh supplies and reinforcements came in daily into depots as word quickly leaked out that Gold's Division had been destroyed. A considerable loss that no one was able to capitalize on.
"We must find a way in," Dilger said, "If we don't hurry, Garfield will turn the town into a fortress. It will take over 10,000 soldiers just to take one fort. We do not have the time. Our soldiers we have now are tired and hungry. There is only enough food for a couple of days, and the water here is foul and unsavory. If we were to move to another position, we could be attacked and overwhelmed or we lose our chance right now. We must attack now."
Hearing the leaders words, Calvin and Hobbes grew even more frustration as fatique wore them down to a nub. "What if we tunnel underneath it? I mean, use the sewer networks?" Calvin asked reclining in a seat, feet elevated onto the table's surface.
"Can't Garfield sealed them all up. What isn't needed was blocked or destroyed," Hobbes interceded. "He has also given the go ahead to construct antiaircraft guns on roof tops, but none have arrived just yet. Given that, we do not have any aircraft or sorts to attempt a airborne attack."
Grim as it was, the three continued to ponder, unwilling to give up. Their minds were consolidated into one great one. Tiger had cunning, Dilger had intelligence, and Calvin had recklessness. Garfield had a weakness, just needed to find it. For a better part of the night, they threw ideas at one another, each one being shot down in rapid succession. Too costly, too dangerous, too stupid.
"Aw, hell, why don't we just blow the whole darn thing up!" Calvin spoke in frustration.
"Brilliant!" Hobbes yelled, jumping from his seat. "That's brilliant! If we blow a hole in their line, we created a breach in their defenses, then we can charge in while the enemy is stunned. Calvin, you're a genius!"
"Thank you" sounding puzzled.
Listening to the two work, Dilger felt relaxed. Everything was well in hand with those two. Judging roughly, Calvin estimated that it would take 200 pounds of explosive to create a big enough hole. When going over a list of capture enemy stores which included artillery shells, it amounted to over 1,000 pounds of gunpowder. "That will work" Calvin shrugged. When dawn broke, work was ready for the many dogs that come to fight for Dilger, Calvin, and Hobbes. Captured artillery shells were broken open, it's powder drained into a large 55 gallon barrel, the best suitable container to be had. It was tedious work. One spark could set the whole concoction off in their faces. Calvin supervised this while Hobbes had to determine on how to get this barrel into the works. Garfield was expecting a report on the situation soon, and sentries bristled the works, making infiltration difficult.
One by one, artillery shells were cut open and contents poured into the barrel as several others Jerry rigged a fuse, one that wouldn't require Hobbes to be so close for detonation. A friction primer and a 100 feet of lanyard proved to be just enough.
"When you get this inside their works, find a spot where the blast won't be wasted. Find a mine or a shaft, or even a magazine." Dilger conferred with his assassin. "We have only one shot with this and you're our only hope."
"I won't let you down"
Shaking hands, Hobbes told Calvin, "When you see my explosion, I'm going right into hiding. You find me this time."
Laughing, his friend agreed. Alone, Hobbes began to roll the drum on it's side across the earth heading north, his detonator concealed in a small satchel at his side. Whistling uneasily as he did, the tiger spied the cat works on the horizon, slightly elevated higher than where he started. Watching his progress through a set of field glasses, Calvin was already at the edge of his seat then it he fell right off of it when a figure suddenly emerged, stopping Hobbes just short of Fort No. 6. The two talked to one another for some time before, together, they rolled the keg right into the defenses.
"What's going on?" asked Calvin.
"Not sure" Dilger replied, "But he's in there. Best be ready to attack when it goes off"
"Where will you be in all this?" Calvin had to ask, walking away backwards.
"I'll be around. I can't go with you. You'll do fine, just keep you eyes open and your arse down. The cats will hear from us today"
Setting about his task, Calvin organized what officers he could to orchestrate the assault. Once Hobbes touched off the charge, the dogs would swarm into the breach it creates, flanking left and right to take forts with it's cannons, using them against the cats to further their attack. Speed was crucial. If the defenders moved fast enough, they could catch them in a cross fire and the results would be a catastrophe. Dilger also urged that they use captured artillery pieces in support with what little ammunition was left. With all that aside, the dogs prepared themselves as the day wore on and time grew short. Hobbes had been out of sight for some time now, the only way to know of his progress was to see his explosion, set to go off at precisely 10:00 a.m. Every rode on Hobbes. If nothing were to happen at 10:00 a.m then it would be assumed that Hobbes captured or killed and the attack plan thrown away and a new one written up. Praying to himself, Calvin hoped it didn't come to that.
"Easy, this oil is precious. Our men need it to cook and to heat themselves," Hobbes told a soldier as they rolled the barrel across wood bridges that spanned the network of trenches.
"Where is this going to?" the soldier asked.
"Fort Number 6"
Obliging left, there path took them right towards the back entrance where a nervous sentry stopped them. When asked what was in the barrel, Hobbes replied casually that it was heating oil. Looking over a list, the guard found that no oil was supposed to be delivered, and rejected them entry. Enraged and falling behind schedule, Hobbes had to find a new location and fast. Explosion or not, that attack would begin in forty minutes. Looking about, several workers appeared out of a hole at the main line.
"What are they building?" the tiger asked resting his arms on the barrel.
"Oh, a well. See, no water lines come out this far, so soldiers are digging wells for fresh water up here. That one is dry, so it's being filled up," the soldier said.
"Oh really? Well, since no one wants this oil we might as well throw it in as well" Hobbes stated, the barrel was of no importance if no one needed it. The soldier was rather distraught that a whole barrel of fuel was being wasted, but he was a soldier and obeyed orders. Get rid of it.
Rolling, cursing, muttering, and straining, the two forced the mine into the whole where they found it to be just big enough. Dropping it in, Hobbes slipped the fuse in unseen and let the length of rope go in his fingers.
"Very good, that will be all" Hobbes said to the soldier.
With him out of the way, Hobbes casually began to walk away as well, further into town. Clock was ticking away, the mine was ready. One simple jerk would cause the eruption. Waiting anxiously in the tree line just 500 yards away, Calvin couldn't contain himself. It would be a dream come true to see an explosion of this magnitude in real life. When the length of rope went out, Hobbes found a shallow dip in a field where he went prone. Unconcerned guards and prisoners went about, walking past the shaft as Hobbes swallowed hard, placed his face into the earth and jerked the rope.
As a result, a slow rumble shook the earth. Everyone for a mile felt it, then the ground around the shaft suddenly ripped away and threw itself into the air. Tools, dirt, and helpless bodies went one hundred feet into the air and began to rain. Neighboring forts were being bombarded with nails and rifles. When the cloud cleared, a thirty foot by thirty foot crater remained. No one directly in the blast survived, and those in the forts were completely stunned. Some remember it for it's ear shattering roar, others for it's shock wave, whatever the case, the results were rather disappointing to Calvin, whom never had the chance to see an entire fort blown to Kingdom Come.
Taking the lead, Calvin yelled to all those in ear shot, "Now is our chance! For Glory or death! Charge!" Before he could complete his pep talk, dogs broke out in a cheer and surged forward in a wave, rushing up the slope towards the enemy works. The crater did it job all too well, a gap was created in abatis over 30 yards across, and the defenders were too stunned to even reply back, some even ran. adding his two cents into battle, Dilger, having already arranged captured artillery and presighted them, let loose with a support barrage aimed at raking the parapets, sweeping away defenders whom dared to stand up with solid shot and shell.
Overhead, dark clouds formed. Starting out as a trickle, a rain soon turned into a down pour rapidly filling up the crater and other trenches. Occasional thunderclaps illuminated hundreds of figures surging towards the crater. Starting out in the lead, Calvin was soon passed by his soldiers, cheering, chanting, waving and firing their weapons all on run. Yelling in response, he cursed them for wasting ammunition.
"Save it when you have targets!" he yelled. Pushed and shoved all the way, the first individuals pushed through the wreckage of the abatis and paused at the very rim of the crater...