what you would expect in an area more densely populated. Food and supplies are going to be a problem, but it seems people are just reacting to this right now, they haven’t figured out that what is there is all that is going to be there for a while. And these?” Rodrigues pointed to his weapon, “Useless. If the shit comes down, it will be tooth and nail, clubs and knives. The guns don’t work at all.” Rodriguez leaned against the wall.
“Well, I am glad we met up then. I think we can help each other. Are there more out there, more squads patrolling?” Eric looked genuinely concerned.
Rodriguez shook his head. “Most are just trying to protect the base. A bunch of enlisted ran off, wanted to find their family. The Old Man shut down the gates, said to shoot anyone who tried to leave. But like I said, Major, the guns don’t work anymore than the medicine. Our job was to get to the Academy, tell them that Stone was in charge and we were going to act in concert. They told us to go fuck ourselves. The Commandant came out himself to the gate and told us to tell Stone to go fuck himself. It wasn’t great, and the Old Man isn’t going to be happy.”
Eric nodded again, and turned to one of his men and made a little motion behind the Lieutenant’s back. “Okay, here is the deal. We are telling you to fuck yourselves too.” He looked up at the officer and saw the shock on his face. “Now, I need to know, are you going to stay and join up this downtown group, bolster our defenses? Or, are you headed back to base to give Stone doubly bad news?”
The man turned to tell his men to rise, but Eric reached out, pulled Rodriguez’ chin with four fingers and pushed against the back of his head with the palm of his hand, snapping the younger officer’s neck. Rodriguez fell dead where he was. Men reached for their rifles, just realizing that the students had already grabbed ahold of them. “Men, men, I am sorry you had to see that. What the LT just told me is something you need to hear. The world has changed, and we aren’t going to get orders from Washington, ever. Now, as I see it, you have two options. One, you can join us, I will train you in expert hand-to-hand and close quarter combat, and you can bolster our ranks. Option two is we confine you. If anyone tries to escape, we will track you down and kill you. This shit is real. The Old Man is looking to seize a little kingdom here, and I can’t let that happen.”
One of the men, an overweight sergeant in his early forties, rose up. “He is right. I wasn’t supposed to hear it, but I overheard what Loo was saying to the guards at the Academy gate. This is the new thing, Stone ordered martial law and told the academy they had to comply. The academy told him to go fuck himself. I heard it.” The pudgy non-com turned toward Eric, “The name is Meyer. I, for one, will join you.” Eric saw what Meyer was doing. There were no men in the unit who knew they had served together, so there was no way for them to know they were being played. Meyer was showing his loyalty to his old commander.
Eric walked over and shook the man’s hand. The rest of the men agreed also. Suddenly Eric’s group had gone from sixteen to twenty-seven. He walked to the front of the room, the last dim light of dusk escaping. “Form ranks. Help the new men find their place. Men, this is a new existence. Something serious has happened, and there is no longer a civil or military authority. We will create our own. You all know your rifles don’t work, I just found out that medicine doesn’t work. It is imperative you learn to protect yourself. We are the beginnings of a new order, a new life. There are few of us and we control this block. Tomorrow we begin to build, to train, to gather resources and to take more area. Welcome to the new order.”
The men responded with “Hua!” in unison. He looked into the eyes of what of the students, a man recently drummed out of the Army named Miles
“Well, I am glad we met up then. I think we can help each other. Are there more out there, more squads patrolling?” Eric looked genuinely concerned.
Rodriguez shook his head. “Most are just trying to protect the base. A bunch of enlisted ran off, wanted to find their family. The Old Man shut down the gates, said to shoot anyone who tried to leave. But like I said, Major, the guns don’t work anymore than the medicine. Our job was to get to the Academy, tell them that Stone was in charge and we were going to act in concert. They told us to go fuck ourselves. The Commandant came out himself to the gate and told us to tell Stone to go fuck himself. It wasn’t great, and the Old Man isn’t going to be happy.”
Eric nodded again, and turned to one of his men and made a little motion behind the Lieutenant’s back. “Okay, here is the deal. We are telling you to fuck yourselves too.” He looked up at the officer and saw the shock on his face. “Now, I need to know, are you going to stay and join up this downtown group, bolster our defenses? Or, are you headed back to base to give Stone doubly bad news?”
The man turned to tell his men to rise, but Eric reached out, pulled Rodriguez’ chin with four fingers and pushed against the back of his head with the palm of his hand, snapping the younger officer’s neck. Rodriguez fell dead where he was. Men reached for their rifles, just realizing that the students had already grabbed ahold of them. “Men, men, I am sorry you had to see that. What the LT just told me is something you need to hear. The world has changed, and we aren’t going to get orders from Washington, ever. Now, as I see it, you have two options. One, you can join us, I will train you in expert hand-to-hand and close quarter combat, and you can bolster our ranks. Option two is we confine you. If anyone tries to escape, we will track you down and kill you. This shit is real. The Old Man is looking to seize a little kingdom here, and I can’t let that happen.”
One of the men, an overweight sergeant in his early forties, rose up. “He is right. I wasn’t supposed to hear it, but I overheard what Loo was saying to the guards at the Academy gate. This is the new thing, Stone ordered martial law and told the academy they had to comply. The academy told him to go fuck himself. I heard it.” The pudgy non-com turned toward Eric, “The name is Meyer. I, for one, will join you.” Eric saw what Meyer was doing. There were no men in the unit who knew they had served together, so there was no way for them to know they were being played. Meyer was showing his loyalty to his old commander.
Eric walked over and shook the man’s hand. The rest of the men agreed also. Suddenly Eric’s group had gone from sixteen to twenty-seven. He walked to the front of the room, the last dim light of dusk escaping. “Form ranks. Help the new men find their place. Men, this is a new existence. Something serious has happened, and there is no longer a civil or military authority. We will create our own. You all know your rifles don’t work, I just found out that medicine doesn’t work. It is imperative you learn to protect yourself. We are the beginnings of a new order, a new life. There are few of us and we control this block. Tomorrow we begin to build, to train, to gather resources and to take more area. Welcome to the new order.”
The men responded with “Hua!” in unison. He looked into the eyes of what of the students, a man recently drummed out of the Army named Miles
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