The Shattered Earth (Surviving the Fall 3)

Tents and cots are set up across the base as emergency fuel stores and rations are brought out of storage. The worst contingency plans for the base included the possibility of short-term housing of civilians, but as more people walk and are brought to the base, the commander begins to feel the pressure of having too many mouths to feed.

Word filters down that the federal emergency service departments are establishing shelter cities in key locations across the country. As Nellis continues to clear their vehicles and aircraft of effects from Damocles they are ordered to deploy men and equipment to key locations of the country. Seeking to alleviate the strain on his base, the commander orders that all civilians in the base be questioned to find out which of the shelter cities they wish to relocate to. While not everyone gets to go where they want, more people than not begin to fly out, heading closer to their families and loved ones than they were before.

For the families and individuals who live in the area and don’t wish to leave, the commander has no answers. So long as the strain on the base’s resources is lightened by shipping off tourists or residents who have family or connections in other areas, those who wish to stay can do so. If, however, too many people wish to stay on base, the commander makes it clear that he will begin forcing people out.

Fear that was lessened by the relief offered by the base now explodes back into the forefront of the survivors’ minds. Every new bus that pulls in filled with survivors is another reminder that they may be kicked out at any moment. Every new family that walks to the front gates and requests aid is another set of mouths that may become the tipping point that causes everyone to leave. Tensions are rising as quickly as they were eased and there is little that can be done to alleviate them without causing harm to those most in need.

Chapter 13

Las Vegas, Nevada

It was dark when Rick started awake, catching himself in a half-snore and wondering for a few seconds where he was. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep but his exhaustion from the last couple of days had worn on him enough that he slept for a few hours. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the room, trying to figure out what would have woken him up.

The lantern was still beneath the table on its lowest setting, Jane was still lying in her bed and the door to the room was shut. Rick realized that what had woken him wasn’t what was in the room but what was outside instead. The once-distant roar of the twin diesel engines was far louder and more ferocious than before. In fact, the noise was growing so loud that Rick wondered if they really were on the third floor of the building.

“Th’ hell?” Rick whispered to himself as he stood up, holding the shotgun loosely in one hand as he walked over to the window. Outside, down on the street, was a convoy of six Humvees driving along. Each of them had a ring of bright lights around the edge of their roofs that illuminated their surroundings for a few hundred feet. The lights near the front and back of the second, third, fourth and fifth Humvees were angled downward to keep them from interfering with the lead and rear vehicles, but the lights on their sides were angled outward.

The lights made it easy for Rick to make out the shapes of gunners sitting in the turrets of each Humvee, swiveling them around quickly as they scanned their surroundings. They followed a well-defined pattern and ensured that there was always at least one gun pointed in any general direction at any one time.

As the vehicles cruised down the Strip, they suddenly broke their line formation and fanned out to block both sides of the road before shutting their lights off. They halted in the street below the building where Rick and Jane were and he pushed open the glass door leading out onto the balcony just outside. The night air was cold and the wind whipped dust into his eyes as he walked out onto the balcony. With the door open he could hear the engines more clearly and he saw, half a mile down from the Humvees, what they appeared to be waiting for.

Two more Humvees drove along, heading for the line that was waiting for them. The pair of vehicles drove erratically as they swerved around in the road and jumped the median more than once. One of them fired a few bursts from its machine gun at something behind them, but whoever was driving the vehicles seemed more concerned with escaping than anything else.

When the two fleeing Humvees got within a few hundred feet of the six lying in wait, the six turned on their lights and a loudspeaker flared to life.

“Halt the vehicles immediately or we will fire upon you!” The time between the warning and the first burst of fire from the six vehicles seemed improbably short to Rick, though he imagined it seemed shorter than it actually was. The pair of fleeing vehicles showed no signs of halting their advance, though they did turn on the road as they sought somewhere else to flee from their unseen pursuers and the vehicles that had surprised them on the road ahead.

Fire belched from the end of three M2 machine guns as they dispensed fifty-caliber rounds into their targets. Though the Humvees being shot were armored, they stood little chance against the intensity and immensity of the fire. The tires were the first to go on both vehicles and they swerved wildly as their inexperienced drivers fought to keep them under control. Rounds punctured through into the engine and passenger compartments next, spilling vital fluids from both the vehicles and their drivers.

One of the Humvees came to a halt by smashing into a large palm tree in the median of the Strip. The other flipped over as the mortally wounded driver tried to turn into the blocked entrance to a casino across the road. When the vehicle finally skidded to a halt the fire from three of the six Humvees halted and the back doors on each vehicle opened. Soldiers poured out, heading towards the two damaged vehicles with their weapons raised, ready to put down anyone who showed any signs of resistance.

Rick was so absorbed in watching the events unfold b

ehind him that he nearly missed hearing the clatter of the hotel room door opening and slamming shut again. He whirled around, raising his shotgun, but no one was there. His eyes flicked to the bed and, despite the darkness of the room, he could see that the place where Jane had been sleeping was empty. Rick charged back into the room and threw open the door to see Jane jogging down the hall, one of the lanterns in hand.

“Jane!” Rick yelled at her. “Where are you going?”

“To get help from them!” She looked back at Rick and motioned with her hand. “Come on!”

“We don’t know who they are for certain! That’s a really bad idea!” Rick shouted back at her but she didn’t stop. He cursed under his breath before running back and grabbing his backpack from the bed. He tossed the shotgun into the gun bag, looped it over his back, grabbed the other lantern and ran out of the room and down the hall.

Jane was already at the bottom of the stairs and near the front door to the hotel by the time Rick caught up with her. In her hand he could see she was carrying a piece of white cloth, likely one of the pillowcases from the room. “What are you doing?” He shouted at her, but she continued running for the front entrance. She burst out of the door waving the pillowcase and lantern above her head and started shouting at the people outside.

“Hey! Help us! Help!”

The soldiers were busy pulling bodies from the wreckage of the two Humvees when Jane ran out. They turned around, drawing down on her and moving to surround her.

“Drop your weapon!” One of the soldiers screamed at her and she looked at them, confused. Rick slowed down at the entrance to the building, not wanting to further complicate the situation by bursting out after her.

“Please, help us! We’ve been running for days now!”

“Drop everything in your hands and lay face-down on the ground now!” The lead soldier screamed at her and Jane suddenly closed her mouth. The color drained from her face as she realized the magnitude of the situation she was in and she slowly lowered the sheet and lantern to the ground.

“Get down!” The soldier took a step forward and shouted at her again. Jane held her hands up as she dropped to her knees. The lead soldier motioned for his companions to move forward. Two more soldiers stepped forward and grabbed her by the arms and began pulling her toward one of the six Humvees still parked in a row across both lanes of the Strip.

“Hey!” Rick stepped out of the front entrance of the hotel and raised his hands into the air, holding a lantern in his right hand. “Take it easy with her!”

The soldiers turned to Rick and raised their rifles, but he was already dropping down to his knees. “Yeah, yeah.” Rick shook his head. “I know, get down on the ground.”