General Fiction posted March 30, 2014 | Chapters: | ...32 33 -34- 35... |
Confronting an enemy that is close at hand.
A chapter in the book Yosemite
Nightmares & Surprise Dreams
by michaelcahill
The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.
Background The world is in chaos. Survivors in Yosemite attempt to forge a viable society against all odds. |
Previously, Johnny and Christine had discovered an underground bunker. It appeared to be well stocked and looked to be possibly of great size. It may have been for emergency use or left over from the cold war. That had not been determined. Some more information about possible explanations for some of the global calamaties were forthcoming from a talkative forest ranger. Just before they were going to return to camp, gunfire broke out. From Half-Dome they witnessed an attack on their bunker that was easily repelled at great loss of life. Upon their return a shot rang out in the direction of Johnny. We pick up the story as Jen and Annie rush to check on Johnny and Christine's condition.
Jen dropped down by my side. "Johnny, are you hit? Are you okay?"
Annie mimicked the same questions to Christine. Linda stood motionless in stunned silence. I was fine and I could see that Christine was to as she rose to her feet. She put her hand out. I took hold and rose to my feet as well.
"I'm fine. Looks like I owe Christine my life. Well, I already gave her that. I suppose a box of chocolates will have to do." I smiled and Christine smiled back. She sensed that attack apparently. "What happened? Someone shot at us? At me? Who was it?"
Jen looked stunned as she spoke, "it was Carlos. He looked like he was in a trance. He freaked out when the shit hit the fan. He started screaming and shooting crazy. Damn, man, it looked nuts. It didn't matter really. It seemed like someone kicked an anthill. The woods emptied out and there they all were. Guns, spears, rocks you name it just a crazed attack. We opened up and it was the end of time. Jesus Christ, Johnny! It was like they had no minds. They just kept coming, crawling right over the dead bodies and then falling dead on top of them."
"What happened to Carlos?" I was hoping he wasn't dead. I would like to know what the hell he was thinking. We had been friends long before this all went down.
"I shot him." Jen looked to be on the verge of tears. They didn't come though. "I don't know. I just reacted. He's lucky I had a gun. An arrow would have been right in the heart, instinct. A gun? I'm not that good a shot. I think I got him in the shoulder. He looked okay. I don't know."
I heard Christine's voice, in my head, say "no", then she spoke to me, "It's not him, Johnny. Dream team. Round em up now. Right now. There part of the enemy. Kill them if need be. Alive is better. I'm stronger."
I looked at Jen, Annie and Linda. "You heard her. Let's go do what we need to do."
We entered the camp with weapons at our side. We looked at eased. Christine nudged me slightly. I heard, "To the right", in my head. I glanced casually in that direction. Tom, Turner and Nikolai were in a discussion with our target. All five of them were there.
As though their heads were attached, they turned in our direction.
Christine yelled, "Now!"
Tom and Nikolai drew their weapons. Turner sat their unmoving.
All five began to rise to their feet as we arrived with our weapons drawn. I could feel a buzzing in the back of my head. It felt like the same sensation that accompanied the last false vision. I could see that Christine felt it too.
One of the five dropped to the ground holding his head and another followed quickly after. Annie, Jen and Linda had guns to the heads of the other three, but their hands were shaking.
"Hold on! Resist them!" Christine shouted.
I reached one of the ones on the ground and pulled his head back. I put the gun to his forehead. "They stop or your head is going to be missing its brain."
Nikolai had his gun trained on Tom. Tom had his gun trained on me. I concentrated all my thoughts on Tom. His hand began to shake. I felt a little surge in my mind and his hand dropped.
All resistance ceased. The five dream team members had eight guns trained on them held by very unhappy individuals. They looked terrified. I looked behind me and saw Rhonda standing there. She had that "I'm smarter than everybody smirk" all over her face. I had the feeling she might have something to say.
"That son-of-a-bitch had a gun pulled; a gun on you, Johnny. I just can't believe that son-of-a-bitch would do that. I saw that and I thought to myself, "you son-of-a-bitch, you better put that gun down or Rhonda's gonna come over there and kick your butt", but, I didn't want to interrupt anything like you told me. You always told me, "Now Rhonda, when people is talkin' you gots to wait untils they're finished and then you can talk cause that's polite," remember when you taught me that, Johnny? So, I just stood here and waited thinking how I was gonna kick Tom's butt if he didn't put that gun down. I guess I musta thought pretty loud cause that’s just what he did."
Tom instructed his men to chain the dream team up and post guards on them. He posted guards to keep an eye on the guards and yet another team in secret to keep an eye on both of the other teams. He didn't like the feeling of having someone playing inside his head.
I couldn't wait to converse with the so-called dream team. How in hell did they end up as a unit in the United States Marines? That just blew me away. This was just one rag tag platoon. How many more platoons were there and more importantly where were they? We were a small group here. There had to be larger groups. There had to be full-fledged countries still in existence. We weren't imagining stealth bombers and cargo planes. Someone had the capacity to transmit signals to our brains. We had no power, but the world was not powerless. Bombers don't fly on dreams.
The inner circle had more questions than it had answers and it seemed that priorities were becoming more difficult to rank. The state of the planet certainly mattered. The threats to the compound clearly were of immediate interest. The dreams could hold the key to our ultimate survival or demise. Plus, there was a huge underground bunker system that only some of us knew about.
I began with the most current occurrence, "What is the status of the attackers. How many survivors were there and what is their state of mind."
Nikolai seemed anxious to speak, "There are over one hundred uninjured and another sixty or seventy wounded in various conditions. The wounded are being tended to. The others are being detained and processed as we would any stragglers. I am assuming that you don't wish retribution."
"Correct. It would be pointless, good call. What is their attitude? Does it look like they will be able to fit in?"
Nikolai had a ready answer, "I would say that they are anxious to do so. I imagine, judging by their condition that this is a considerable improvement for them. I don't envision any problems. Of course, there are always individuals. But, there is no way to know that."
"What about Carlos?"
Jen looked embarrassed as she responded, "he is already up and back to work. He is not pleased with himself. As much as I understand that he was being controlled, I still have misgivings. I hate saying that. But, why him? Why was Tom pointing a gun at you and not Nikolai who was sitting right next to him? Why was Turner just sitting there? We can't ignore the facts. Rhonda, for God's sakes, helped more than Carlos or Turner. I don't see how that can be ignored. I felt them right inside my brain. I resisted. I don't trust someone that doesn't have resistance. Carlos tried to kill you and Tom was willing to. That's the bottom line."
"I hear you Jen. I'm not blaming Carlos or Tom either. But, you're right, we have to be cautious with them. It has nothing to do with their loyalty or friendship. It's simply a practical matter." Jen's loyalty was impressive. It would not be forgotten, Nikolai as well.
All of this had great significance. Christine motioned me over to her. We went off together to talk. There were priorities that we had to establish.
Jen dropped down by my side. "Johnny, are you hit? Are you okay?"
Annie mimicked the same questions to Christine. Linda stood motionless in stunned silence. I was fine and I could see that Christine was to as she rose to her feet. She put her hand out. I took hold and rose to my feet as well.
"I'm fine. Looks like I owe Christine my life. Well, I already gave her that. I suppose a box of chocolates will have to do." I smiled and Christine smiled back. She sensed that attack apparently. "What happened? Someone shot at us? At me? Who was it?"
Jen looked stunned as she spoke, "it was Carlos. He looked like he was in a trance. He freaked out when the shit hit the fan. He started screaming and shooting crazy. Damn, man, it looked nuts. It didn't matter really. It seemed like someone kicked an anthill. The woods emptied out and there they all were. Guns, spears, rocks you name it just a crazed attack. We opened up and it was the end of time. Jesus Christ, Johnny! It was like they had no minds. They just kept coming, crawling right over the dead bodies and then falling dead on top of them."
"What happened to Carlos?" I was hoping he wasn't dead. I would like to know what the hell he was thinking. We had been friends long before this all went down.
"I shot him." Jen looked to be on the verge of tears. They didn't come though. "I don't know. I just reacted. He's lucky I had a gun. An arrow would have been right in the heart, instinct. A gun? I'm not that good a shot. I think I got him in the shoulder. He looked okay. I don't know."
I heard Christine's voice, in my head, say "no", then she spoke to me, "It's not him, Johnny. Dream team. Round em up now. Right now. There part of the enemy. Kill them if need be. Alive is better. I'm stronger."
I looked at Jen, Annie and Linda. "You heard her. Let's go do what we need to do."
We entered the camp with weapons at our side. We looked at eased. Christine nudged me slightly. I heard, "To the right", in my head. I glanced casually in that direction. Tom, Turner and Nikolai were in a discussion with our target. All five of them were there.
As though their heads were attached, they turned in our direction.
Christine yelled, "Now!"
Tom and Nikolai drew their weapons. Turner sat their unmoving.
All five began to rise to their feet as we arrived with our weapons drawn. I could feel a buzzing in the back of my head. It felt like the same sensation that accompanied the last false vision. I could see that Christine felt it too.
One of the five dropped to the ground holding his head and another followed quickly after. Annie, Jen and Linda had guns to the heads of the other three, but their hands were shaking.
"Hold on! Resist them!" Christine shouted.
I reached one of the ones on the ground and pulled his head back. I put the gun to his forehead. "They stop or your head is going to be missing its brain."
Nikolai had his gun trained on Tom. Tom had his gun trained on me. I concentrated all my thoughts on Tom. His hand began to shake. I felt a little surge in my mind and his hand dropped.
All resistance ceased. The five dream team members had eight guns trained on them held by very unhappy individuals. They looked terrified. I looked behind me and saw Rhonda standing there. She had that "I'm smarter than everybody smirk" all over her face. I had the feeling she might have something to say.
"That son-of-a-bitch had a gun pulled; a gun on you, Johnny. I just can't believe that son-of-a-bitch would do that. I saw that and I thought to myself, "you son-of-a-bitch, you better put that gun down or Rhonda's gonna come over there and kick your butt", but, I didn't want to interrupt anything like you told me. You always told me, "Now Rhonda, when people is talkin' you gots to wait untils they're finished and then you can talk cause that's polite," remember when you taught me that, Johnny? So, I just stood here and waited thinking how I was gonna kick Tom's butt if he didn't put that gun down. I guess I musta thought pretty loud cause that’s just what he did."
Tom instructed his men to chain the dream team up and post guards on them. He posted guards to keep an eye on the guards and yet another team in secret to keep an eye on both of the other teams. He didn't like the feeling of having someone playing inside his head.
I couldn't wait to converse with the so-called dream team. How in hell did they end up as a unit in the United States Marines? That just blew me away. This was just one rag tag platoon. How many more platoons were there and more importantly where were they? We were a small group here. There had to be larger groups. There had to be full-fledged countries still in existence. We weren't imagining stealth bombers and cargo planes. Someone had the capacity to transmit signals to our brains. We had no power, but the world was not powerless. Bombers don't fly on dreams.
The inner circle had more questions than it had answers and it seemed that priorities were becoming more difficult to rank. The state of the planet certainly mattered. The threats to the compound clearly were of immediate interest. The dreams could hold the key to our ultimate survival or demise. Plus, there was a huge underground bunker system that only some of us knew about.
I began with the most current occurrence, "What is the status of the attackers. How many survivors were there and what is their state of mind."
Nikolai seemed anxious to speak, "There are over one hundred uninjured and another sixty or seventy wounded in various conditions. The wounded are being tended to. The others are being detained and processed as we would any stragglers. I am assuming that you don't wish retribution."
"Correct. It would be pointless, good call. What is their attitude? Does it look like they will be able to fit in?"
Nikolai had a ready answer, "I would say that they are anxious to do so. I imagine, judging by their condition that this is a considerable improvement for them. I don't envision any problems. Of course, there are always individuals. But, there is no way to know that."
"What about Carlos?"
Jen looked embarrassed as she responded, "he is already up and back to work. He is not pleased with himself. As much as I understand that he was being controlled, I still have misgivings. I hate saying that. But, why him? Why was Tom pointing a gun at you and not Nikolai who was sitting right next to him? Why was Turner just sitting there? We can't ignore the facts. Rhonda, for God's sakes, helped more than Carlos or Turner. I don't see how that can be ignored. I felt them right inside my brain. I resisted. I don't trust someone that doesn't have resistance. Carlos tried to kill you and Tom was willing to. That's the bottom line."
"I hear you Jen. I'm not blaming Carlos or Tom either. But, you're right, we have to be cautious with them. It has nothing to do with their loyalty or friendship. It's simply a practical matter." Jen's loyalty was impressive. It would not be forgotten, Nikolai as well.
All of this had great significance. Christine motioned me over to her. We went off together to talk. There were priorities that we had to establish.
Recognized |
Trying to level some aspects of the story. Most things about the world are unknown to the people in Yosemite. So, the state of the earth is speculative. The real enemy is a guess as well. There are clues, but nothing is very solid. Wonderful input that is keeping me on my toes and preventing me from drowning. I'll try not to throw anything insane into the mix for a while!! This would be totally impossible without your help. Thank you so very much. mikey
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