Chapter 4 Caleb Martin
Period 4
January 17, 2013
I was to be shipped out to Fort Reaper which was being set up about fifteen miles to the east of Longview along Interstate 20. I was being sent out with a few others from town to help form the Texas Territorial Home Guard. Our purpose was to set up a 'defensive perimeter' around the Texas border and around any major city to hold the line in case of a Confederate counter- offensive. I was scared of what we were headed to yet I was doubtful that any Confederate force, large or small, would be able make it across the border without being slaughtered. I also knew we were on the offensive team but the 'mighty' Texas Union was about to kick a hornet's nest. The mornings in Longview grew ever colder and it was a sign that winter was encroaching. It was one of the only ways of telling time these days and the few working clocks had their own dedicated staff to keep them running. Leaky water pipes had icicles beginning to form around them and sixty or so other Home Guard soldiers and I were huddled together dreadfully waiting for our transport to arrive and ship us out to Fort Reaper. Rumor had it that even Home Guardians from as far as Dallas, Houston, El Paso, and San Antonio were coming to either Fort Reaper or several forts just like it all over our country.
Our rides had finally come and the vehicles were substandard. While the real soldiers were being trained for an upcoming invasion, we were all cramped into a slew of decrepit Volkswagen 'hippie Buses' and we were off on our way. The journey was quite unpleasant as someone kept passing gas and the abandoned backcountry roads were riddled with potholes and at some points nonexistent. Parts of the Interstate had become littered with the rusting hulks of abandoned cars making it impassable to our large convoy of eight or nine buses. So instead we took the road less traveled to our destination.
After five miles of hell we finally arrived at the fort. It was a huge and menacing structure that stood out of the ground. It had been a church at some point or another, one of those mega-'televangelist' ones, I believe. The backside of the structure was the original part of the church. The Texas Union Armed Forces added their own defensive 'pizazz' to the rest of it. The crumbling walls had been replaced with cheap cinder block and plywood ones a recon tower made of old school buses jutted through the roof. It was dusk now and far off in the distance one could see the city lights of nearby Tyler, Texas. Tyler was about a quarter of the size of Longview and it was a cesspit. Even though it was less than forty miles from Longview it was not part of our state but instead was part of its own narrow border state that went as far north as Texarkana. It had a notorious reputation for being Texas' Las Vegas. About ninety percent of its economy was centered around organized crime. Gambling, prostitution, illegal drugs, and gangs ran the city to the ground. Sometimes their garbage comes running down to use along the Interstate but it keeps our law enforcement in employment.
After some exterior sightseeing we entered the fort and the inside was humongous. In its pre-war state it must have been able to hold thousands. The interior seemed more like a cave not a building. Around two-hundred of us were stationed here and all of us seemed to barely be noticeable in the huge church. You could tell the fort had been hastily erected, the church pews became beds, a 'war room' had been established by the altar, and sledgehammer-sized holes were punched into the walls to serve as gun ports. The church was designed more like an auditorium and hence was multi-story. I walked up the stairs to the second floor and saw crate after crate of just about everything. Food, water, medical supplies, guns, and bullets, lots of bullets filled the place from floor to ceiling. I was surprised that a group our size would need this many supplies but it turned out that it was not for us. This is also a last minute rest stop for regiments marching into the unknown to take the Confederates. There was a third floor as well but it seemed inaccessible as someone had apparently demolished the staircase. What bits I could see from the second floor seemed odd. The floor seemed to be laden with all kinds of makeshift explosives! Everything from barrels of gunpowder to propane tanks lined the walls and I was taken back.
Confused, I decided to ask our squad leader Lieutenant Gentry about the purpose of the bombs. He said that should the Confederates manage to overrun Fort Reaper we will evacuate and our 'general' will blow the place, after all it's not only a way into Texas but also a supply goldmine. We will take some of them down. Our leader, General Bustamante, was a numbers man. He was obsessed with numbers and statistics and was hell-bent that the Confederates would never be capable of crossing the Texas Union border because it "calculated out to be near-impossible.
At dinner Lt. Gentry pulled out a little metal green box out from his satchel and set it on the table. He called our squad to gather around and so we listened attentively. He opened the box and inside was a dozen or so little black pills. We were each given one and instructed not to eat it unless we were captured.
"What is it?" asked one of the guys. I think he was a barber back in Longview, Russian American I believe.
"It is cyanide." replied Gentry. The Russian was shocked; I think his name was Sergei Vladimirovich or something like that.
"I could never take my own life! God forbids suicide! I'd go straight to Hell!" Sergei shrieked.
Lt. Gentry laughed, "Listen altar boy, a Confederate prisoner is going straight to Hell anyways. Trust me the pill is faster."
Sergei was getting upset, "I wish I was back in Ukraine, at least there I wouldn't be dealing with this crap!" He was Ukrainian American not Russian, but who cares.
"Yeah but then what? You would be sitting in post-nuclear and frozen Ukraine getting attacked by hostile mutants and who knows what else is out there." claimed Gentry.
"You think that you are so smart. In Kiev where I lived there is a subway system that was designed to be deep enough to double as a bomb shelter. All the former Soviet countries had the same deal. You know the Cold War and stuff, right?" said Sergei.
But the lieutenant persisted, "And then what, you are going to just lay down arms and leave your fate in the hands of half a century old Soviet technology? You really believe that a communist regime who couldn't even feed its own citizens will build bunkers for them?"
Thankfully Sergei realized that Gentry would not stop until he won so Sergei let him win. As Sergei stormed off deeper into the church a little plop was heard in the trashcan and a small black pill was seen in there.
Inspection started early in the morning and it was by far my least favorite part of the endless days here. If the General found something out of line he would hit you with his 'whippin stick' which was an old novelty whip from a souvenir shop based around some old adventure movie. The Stick, as we called it, stung the surface of the skin for quite some time and I still have pink line rolling down my back from the last several inspections. Life at Fort Reaper was boring. Cooking here, a game of cards there but otherwise the days had begun blur together as one meaningless existence. I did not want to fight them no matter how cruel they are. I am tired of crawling around in the dark and I even contemplated taking Gentry's "Magic Black Pills" today but could not bring myself to do it.
A sat asleep when I noticed a hissing noise and a light yellow cloud of who knows what flooding the room. A began to tear up as a burning sensation filled my eyes. My vision became increasingly clouded and soon I could not see. I heard yelling and I yelled a response in pain back. The yells escalated into screams as the pain became unbearable. The cloud entered my lungs and I could not refrain from puking in a desperate attempt to get it out of my lungs. It hurt to breathe and I could hear others screaming out too. Our cowardly attackers were suppressing us with tear gas. The battle had already hit home before we even could make the first move.
Soon a series of thunderous crashing noises rung my eardrums and soon after I heard lots of gunfire, screaming and explosions. The noises drew closer and I had no choice but to either die or hide. Blinded, I dropped to the ground and made my way to one of the nearest church pews. I hid and I could slowly feel the pain subsiding but I still couldn't see. Hiding, I fumbled blindly for my automatic and my pistol but I must have dropped my gun because I only felt my pistol in its holster. After a good ten minutes of waiting under the pew, the fighting was now practically on top of me. I still could not see and nervously hoped that I would not be found. I heard more screaming and Lt. Gentry started the evacuation out. He was going to blow the place and I couldn't see a way out. I found a potentially safe corner and hid.
I could hear a victory cheer from the Confederates as I could hear the sounds of the ancient VW Buses driving off. I could not see the blast as the building begun to collapse but I could feel the fire licking my skin so delicately. The Confederates were frantically trying to flee the massive structure as it crumbled around them. More screams and then this beast of a building finally came for me. I could hear a support column or ceiling collapsing and then felt as a ton of rubble buried me alive. I had survived but my ribs may have been broken. More screams as the dead were busy dying. I couldn't take the pain anymore and blacked out.