Slow Collapse 4: Conclusions, page 6
“Huh?” Bradley grunted in confusion.
“The semi-trucks in the loading docks,” Ted grunted. “That’s where I was heading. Most of the drivers carry first aid kits.”
Immediately, several people ran to the loading docks to check the trucks as another person returned from somewhere with a handful of paper towels, shoving them into Bradley’s hands.
“Get a bullet out of my gun, and someone see if you can find a pair of needle nose pliers and a lighter,” Bradley shouted as he used the towels to help stop the bleeding.
“I found some medical supplies,” one of the team shouted from the back of one of the trucks.
“Gauze and tape?” Christine yelled back as she took over holding pressure on Ted’s wound while Bradley assessed the medical supplies that had been gathered.
“Good,” Bradley said as someone showed him a set of pliers. “Was there any rubbing alcohol in any of the trucks? No? Any hard liquor? Sanitize those pliers with the alcohol and then pour some over my hands. Ted, this is gonna hurt like a sum bitch, but it has to be done.”
“Yeah, I know,” Ted said through gritted teeth.
Taking the now sanitized pliers, Bradley removed the blood-soaked towels from Ted’s shoulder and went to work, probing the wound in search of the bullet. Ted lasted about five seconds before passing out.
“He’s out,” Christine said.
“Good, now I can really look,” Bradley said as he worked the pliers deeper into the wound. No exit wound told him that the bullet was still in there, and it had to be removed. Bradley felt the pliers hit something hard and knew he was home.
“I think I got it,” he nearly screamed. “Yes, I got it.”
“Christine, gently pull that bullet you took from my gun out of its casing, and do not spill any of the powder, we’re going to need it,” Bradley told her. “The way this is bleeding there is no way we can get him back to town. We are going to have to cauterize the wound.”
Slowly, he started to withdraw the pliers, holding them firmly so he didn’t let go of the bullet. It felt like ages had passed before he finally saw the smashed bullet. One last quick yank removed the bullet and Christine was right there to put pressure back on the wound.
“Lighter?” Bradley asked and had three lighters thrust in his face.
“Thanks,” he said grabbing one along with the casing filled with gunpowder. “Stand back.”
Christine once again removed the blood-soaked towels and Bradley quickly poured the gunpowder into the wound then flicked the lighter and brought the flame close to Ted’s shoulder while simultaneously leaning back. A small gout of flames erupted from the wound, instantly cauterizing it, and bringing Ted to full consciousness.
“HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!” he screamed as pain seared through his shoulder. He looked at Bradley, stating, “You’re an asshole!”
“Big, deep, and wide,” Bradley grinned at him. “Glad to have you back with us.”
It took them another fifteen minutes to finish bandaging Ted’s shoulder and to get him on his feet. It took another five before he was able to walk, with assistance, back outside to his horse. Despite his protests that he could make it on his own, Bradley assigned one of the team members to accompany him back to town to get better medical assistance.
Having assured himself that Ted was okay enough to make his way back to town with assistance, Bradley returned to the store and the waiting captives. While Bradley and Christine had been stabilizing Ted’s injury, two of the team members had moved the captives back into the storeroom, where they secured them to await Bradley’s decision as to their fate.
Bradley was surprised when he started asking questions, that the two prisoners were so docile and were answering all of his questions without much encouragement. In fact, he was pretty sure they were telling the truth about everything. With little urging on his part, the prisoners soon spilled their entire story.
Having fled their homes, the small group had somehow banded together and had hidden in the back of the store to keep away from people. Fearing for their safety, they had all agreed to shoot first and ask questions later if anyone had come into the store. Their plan was then to flee out the side door and into the woods. According to the two captives, the guy who had shot Ted was actually trying to get away when Bradley's team came charging through the side door after them. Bradley wasn't fully sold on their story, but it did seem plausible, and he could remember thinking something along the same lines himself not too long ago. Strange how quickly people can change, he thought.
The remaining two captives seemed almost broken after witnessing the last of their group shot while trying to escape from the store and Bradley and his team could sympathize with that feeling, most of them having lost loved ones to the war.
Bradley left the two men tied up in the storeroom and gestured to his team to join him in the front of the store. He honestly didn’t want to kill the two men just for trying to defend themselves but thought he should have the team vote before making a final decision.
He wasn’t surprised when the vote was unanimous. One of Ted’s men spoke up and said he felt the two might be an asset to the town of Ashland. Another spoke up and admitted it would be hard to kill them when the group had only been trying to survive in this crazy new world.
Returning to the storeroom, Bradley addressed the prisoners, "All right, you can come with us, but you're gonna have to walk. Tell me, what's left in this store?"
"Just junk no one wants," was the answer he got, and which he already knew to be true.
"Food or anything useful left in the trucks at the loading dock?" Bradley asked.
"Already picked clean," the quieter of the two whispered, then offered, “But we haven’t had time to check the sporting goods store down the street.”
Bradley got the impression they were intimidated by him and wondered why but didn’t feel like taking the time to find out. He wanted to get the job done and get back to town to check on Ted.
It appeared that luck was finally on their side for once. For some unknown reason, the sporting goods store had been overlooked by looters and was nearly full of supplies. Bradley instructed the two men to find some snowshoes to help make the walk back to town easier. He also asked Christine to make sure the two had something to eat and drink while the rest of the group was loading up supplies as he had noticed how gaunt they looked and he was worried that even walking in the path cleared by the horses, the two would struggle to make the walk back to town.
While the team started to load the much-needed supplies onto the horses, Bradley went searching for the hidden stuff. Most people don’t realize that what you see on the sales floor isn’t always the good stuff. Those items were usually kept under lock and key in a separate part of the store and only brought out for certain customers.
After searching the rear storage area, Bradley moved on to the office where he found a hidden door disguised as a bookshelf. He had only noticed it because he saw an odd scuff mark on the floor behind the desk. Behind the bookshelf, he discovered a room that would make a gun enthusiast cry with envy.
All along the back wall of the twenty-by-twenty-foot room were shelves full of stacks and stacks of ammunition. The side walls were adorned with racks containing rifles of all sorts of calibers, some with massive scopes that Bradley assumed might be sniper rifles. Not that he had extensive knowledge of weapons, but the bigger rifles with scopes looked kind of like the sniper rifles in some of his on-line games.
The middle of the room was filled with two rows of floor-to-ceiling shelving, placed back-to-back. On these shelves were boxes of night vision gear, tactical vests, and the ceramic inserts for the vests. This was a massive score for the small town of Ashland and Bradley couldn’t contain his excitement over the find.
Returning to the sales floor, Bradley could see his team had been busy. Even after numerous trips to load the horses, the sales floor was still packed with items that could be of use. All sorts of camouflage clothing, survival gear, and other items that would make this a wonderful haul for the town remained.
Bradley was a happy man indeed. Taking Christine by the hand, he told two of the men to head to the car dealership to see if they could get any of the vehicles running, then he instructed the rest of the team to keep loading as much gear on the horses as they could handle. Once they were done, he told them to set a guard on the sporting goods store and then to rendezvous at the car dealership. From there they would determine their next course of action.
Bradley was hoping the two men he had sent to the car dealership could find a few working cars, or enough parts in the shop to get some of the vehicles running. He wasn’t worried about finding cars with full tanks of gas, he was just hoping they could get them running and that some of the vehicles might have enough gas in them to make it back to town. Bradley’s idea for the cars was anything but conventional. The first purpose, of course, was to help get the supplies they had found back to town quickly, but the other idea he’d had was to use them as roadblocks.
No, they would not stop a Soviet tank from rolling over them, but it might slow them down. They might also serve as a deterrent, completely blocking off smaller side streets and alleys, reducing the number of citizens they would need to patrol the town.
While the rest of the team was busy with their tasks, Bradley and Christine headed a little further down the street to check out another store whose sign he had noticed on their way to the Wal-Mart. It was a wilderness outfitters store that specialized in uncommon items. Bradley had a hunch that they should have checked this store much sooner than they had.
As he entered the store, with Christine guarding his "six", he almost started crying. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the store were multiple versions of battery-powered generators that recharged their battery banks through solar and wind power. They were whisper-quiet and emitted no harmful fumes. A few of these and some electrical heaters might have saved hundreds of lives.
As he stood there transfixed, Christine turned to see why he was being so quiet. She noticed what he was looking at, and took a deep breath, mumbling, "Ah shit," as she immediately understood what was going through Bradley's mind.
"You could not have known. We’re from Minneapolis, for God's sake. We couldn't have known this was here."
"But we could have looked sooner," Bradley said, his voice rough with unshed tears. Being chosen as a leader, especially when you didn't want it, was tiring and sometimes too much to handle. This was one of those times.
"Bradley," Christine whispered softly to him. "We have to keep moving. We can deal with your thoughts later. Right now, this team needs you to lead it."
"You're right," Bradley replied quietly, regret still weighing heavily on his soul. "Let's get to the dealership. We can get this stuff after we get some working vehicles."
After securing the doors to the shop as best they could, the two returned to the car dealership, where they saw the rest of the team had gathered, horses loaded with goods.
The two men they had sent ahead had already procured several vans and a plow truck. Bradley gave instructions for the guy driving the plow truck to clear the path back home, after stopping at the outfitters to clear a space for the vans close to the front of the store. The team would then load the generators and any other useful items from the outfitter’s shop into the vans before following the plow truck back to town.
Bradley sent the most experienced riders back to town, leading the loaded horses. His instructions were for them to leave the unloading of the horses to another team from town, help offload the equipment from the vans, and then accompany the van drivers back to the sporting goods store and outfitters for another load of supplies and equipment.
The team continued to shuttle back and forth until all the stores had been emptied of parts and supplies, and all of the running vehicles had been relocated back to town. It wasn't something he was proud of, brazenly stealing like this, but Bradley knew times had changed, and you either adapted with them, or died.
CHAPTER NINE
ROAD TO MINSK
BELARUS
Nathan drove, keeping to smaller roads as much as possible but following the main highway headed into Minsk. Andy kept watch from the passenger side while the rest of the team huddled in the back of the Suburban, thankful that this portion of the country wasn’t overly populated but staying alert in the event of any threats. A truckload of heavily armed men would definitely draw attention, but the urgency of the situation drove the necessity.
They knew they had to get to Minsk and hook up with Irina. The plan was for the team to radio the resistance once they were close, but they had lost all their radio gear in the plane explosion.
“What if we can find a way to transmit?” Zach asked, pointing to the dead CB radio mounted to the dash.
“You know how to make it work?” Andy asked.
“I might,” Zach said.
“Ok, here’s the plan,” Andy said. “We still have a long way to go, and a lot of people between us and our mission. We will continue to use the Suburban, until such time as we can’t.”
“Once we have to leave the truck, we’ll have to hoof it, and it’s gonna be through some murky shit, by the looks of the map. Move at night, bed down during the day. Be on the lookout for any type of radio equipment we can use in case we can’t get the CB working. Stealth is key, so no shooting unless no other option exists. Understood?”
They all nodded in agreement then jumped in surprise at a loud pop. Seconds later, they felt the Suburban shudder and Nathan pulled to the side of the road.
“Shit,” Nathan muttered, climbing out of the truck to inspect the flat tire.
“Tough luck SEAL,” Andy snarked. “Do what you were trained to do.”
As Nathan changed the tire and Zach worked on the radio, the rest of the team spread out and kept watch along the desolate Belarusian country road. The sun was beginning its slow descent over the horizon, casting long shadows across the fields before the two were finished. Nathan dusted off his hands and motioned to the others to load up. The truck rumbled to life and Nathan once again steered them east.
Back inside the Suburban, Andy turned on the now-functioning radio and scanned the frequencies, hoping to chance upon a signal. Static hissed and popped in the speakers, an eerie accompaniment to the tense atmosphere.
"There's got to be something we can use," he muttered, straining to listen beyond the white noise.
The team remained vigilant, eyes scanning the surrounding countryside for any sign of trouble as they continued on their journey. Unbeknownst to them, their journey was about to take an unexpected twist.
Up ahead Nathan could see the lights of a small village on the horizon, but it was still too far away for him to make out any details. The team tensed the closer they got to the village. As they crested the top of the next hill, their eyes widened at the sight before them.
The village was bustling with swarms of Belarusian army personnel. Without a plan and with no time to lose, the Americans were faced with a daunting prospect. Hoping they hadn’t been spotted, Nathan drove the truck as fast as he dared in the dark using his night vision goggles instead of the headlights. Heading towards a small barn he had noticed at the edge of the village.
As he approached the dirt drive leading to the barn, he slammed on the brakes and turned rapidly into the dirt lot, stopping the Suburban on the side of the run-down barn where they were hopefully hidden from anyone in town who might look in their direction.
The team immediately grabbed their packs and bailed from the vehicle, taking up defensive positions at each end of the barn. Once in position, they realized just how screwed they were. The Belarusian army had transformed the once-quiet village into a bustling hub of activity. Patrols were being formed and heading out from the village in all directions leaving the Americans trapped. With the enemy swarming the streets, their chances of survival seemed slim. But amidst the dire circumstances, a twist of fate intervened.
Just as Andy started to order two of the guys to recon the interior of the barn, a quiet sound reached their ears. It was the sound of the pre-arranged signal that would be used by the Resistance to identify themselves to the team once they reached Minsk. Motioning his team to stand down, Andy rose to meet the mysterious shadow who emerged from the depths of the barn.
A resistance fighter, known only as 'Viper', slowly emerged from the shadows near the open barn door. Possessing inside knowledge of the Belarusian army's movements and learning about their hunt for any survivors of the downed military plane on the Lithuanian border, Viper had anticipated the direction the SEAL team would most likely be traveling and had devised a daring plan.
Viper knew, if the rumors he had been hearing were true, the team would have to pass through this little village on their way to Minsk. Rushing to get ahead of the approaching Belarusian military, Viper arrived with just enough time to set up some distractions. He hoped they would be disruptive enough that he could retrieve the lost team and escort them safely to Irina in Minsk.
After a quick round of quiet introductions, Viper explained his plan to the team. With Andy keeping watch on the town, the rest of the team loaded up, splitting between the Suburban and Viper’s vehicle which had been hidden in the barn. The minute everyone was settled, Viper signaled to Andy to hop in the Suburban and then remotely activated a series of hidden explosives, he had strategically placed throughout the village. The ground shook as the bombs detonated simultaneously, sending shockwaves rippling through the Belarusian ranks.
The team watched in awe as the carefully orchestrated chaos unfolded. Before the dust had settled, Viper jumped into the driver’s seat of his vehicle, and followed by Nathan driving the Suburban, raced on a carefully planned path through the town. The explosions had plunged the entire village into darkness, buying the Americans a precious window of opportunity.
After traveling for several miles, Viper turned down an unmarked dirt road that led to a small, hidden farm. Motioning for Nathan to pull the Suburban past him and into the open barn, Viper parked and quickly exited his vehicle to close the large doors. He motioned for his passengers to join him and together they entered the barn as Nathan, Andy and the others were exiting the Suburban.
