From The Ashes: America Reborn (10 page)

DANGER IN THE ASHES

We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature has placed in our power . . . The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

–Patrick Henry

Ben Raines is back to visit his old home in north Louisiana, where he encounters a group of rednecks led by Hiram Rockingham, a man whom Ben had known many years before. The two men dislike each other intensely. Ben hates ignorance of all kinds, and Rockingham revels in it, proud of his lack of education and ignorance.

Ben has returned to set up an outpost in spite of the ignorance and resistance of many of the current inhabitants. He is sure that the only way to restore order to the country is either to educate those who refuse to see reason or to kill them before they spread their poison farther. Another threat that the Rebels must deal with is the feared Night People, cannibals who have infested much of the country. Ben has become convinced that the Night People are headquartered in New York City and that eventually the battle will take them there. He sends Ike and Tina north with two hundred soldiers and twenty-five scouts to check it out.

At a meeting in the town center, Ben lays it on the line. Hiram will see to it that all the children will begin attending a rebel school for reeducation. If Hiram doesn’t agree, Ben will send troops and gather the children without his permission. Hiram caves in but in secret begins to plot his revenge.

Tina and the scouts are outside of Memphis; returning eastward they begin daytime recon and reclaim of city areas. Near the airport off I-240 they run into trouble. The place is crawling with Night People. Tina and the scouts hole up in a hangar and prepare to spend a long and dangerous night. At dawn Tina hooks up with Ike and his troops. It’s clear that cleaning the Night People out of the cities will be a difficult job. Tina and Ike head for Nashville and on to New York.

Back in Monroe, Ben confronts Hiram, who has burned a cross as part of a growing resurgence of the KKK. Ben and Hiram fight. Ben humiliates him, and it’s now clear that only the death of one of them will resolve the hatred between them. Later that evening one of Hiram’s sons is killed as he attempts to assassinate Ben. Hiram holds Ben personally responsible for the death of his son.

The Rebels’ problems aren’t just with the rednecks either. A group of black militants control a sizable territory and are threatening to begin a war against all whites. Ben and Cecil meet with them, and the leader, a man named Lamumba, agrees to discuss peaceful coexistence. Though the man is angered by the idea, Ben enforces his dictum that all children, black and white, attend school.

Meanwhile, Hiram, believing that his son Billy Bob has betrayed him, decides to make an example of him and has him whipped, tarred, and feathered. But the idea backfires when Billy Bob turns against his father before he dies and urges all the children to listen to the teachings Ben has to offer.

Ben becomes momentarily concerned that a new recruit, an officer named Patrice Dubois is actually an IPA spy. It is a difficult situation because Cecil has become involved with her romantically, but under interrogation she proves that she has become a Rebel sympathizer and is welcomed aboard.

Responding to a call for help from a group of freedom-loving citizens trapped in Michigan by a band of outlaws and fighting for their lives, Ben is surprised to hear from his longtime adversary, General Georgi Striganov. Striganov has been encamped in Canada since his defeat at Ben’s hand. He makes amends for past differences and tells Ben that he has troops ready in Canada to come the aid of the party in Michigan. Ben takes him up on the offer and bitter rivals become reluctant allies.

Finally, Hiram goes too far when he shoots Ben’s son Buddy, wounding him seriously. Despite injuries of his own, Ben goes after the ignorant redneck, bent on revenge. When Hiram dies in the jaws of an angry alligator a twenty-year-old debt is finally settled. While Ben prepares to go to Michigan, Ike and Tina journey toward New York and an amazing discovery.

From a group of citizens near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Tina learns that President Logan personally visited them shortly after the Great War. He told them that their area was the only one safe from radiation for many miles around, and they must never leave. Ike realizes that the only parts of the country actually destroyed in the war were Washington and Baltimore. The rest was a hoax perpetrated by Logan. Just in time, Ike discovers that these seemingly peaceful citizens are really Night People. The hideous creatures are spreading like wildfire and getting stronger. He fears that they will have their hands full in New York City.

Ike decides to stock up on arms and equipment at Fort Dix and other military bases along the way. While the posts have been looted many times, Ike knows where to look, and the Rebels find much in the way of equipment in tunnels beneath the surface. The biggest piece of luck is the discovery of several flamethrowers. They will be of great use in the battle to come.

Back in Michigan Ben learns of a warlord named Monte who has struck a deal with the Night People, supplying them with human food in exchange for women, and that his army is several thousand men stronger than intelligence suspected. He also learns that most of the troops are in the New York area. Ben tries to warn Ike, but someone is jamming radio frequencies.

Ike realizes he’s in trouble, however, and begins to set up inside Fort Dix, using every weapon at his disposal, including several battle tanks, to create a defensible perimeter against the Night People. A vicious firefight follows; the attack by thousands of enemy forces is relentless, but Ike and the outnumbered Rebels emerge victorious. Ben learns that the mission to Michigan was a hoax to keep the full Rebel force away from the East Coast and begins planning an immediate move east to protect Ike and prepare for the assault on New York City.

NINE

General Raines left us alone for a time, and I asked President Jefferys a number of questions about the intricacies of the government of the SUSA; questions that General Raines had hedged on. President Jefferys smiled when I mentioned that.

Cecil Jefferys: Oh, he knew the answers. Hell, he set the whole damn operation up. He just wanted me to get involved in this interview, that’s all.

WWJ: Sneaky, isn’t he?

Cecil Jefferys: My friend, you don’t know just how rough Ben can be when he sets his mind to it. That is one man you do not want for an enemy. He never forgets.

WWJ: Does he hold grudges?

Cecil Jefferys: You would certainly be safe in saying that, I assure you.

I left President Jefferys and went wandering around the capital complex, looking for General Raines. I finally found him sitting on a bench in a small park between two buildings. He was petting a small dog.

WWJ: Whose dog?

Ben Raines: Belongs to one of the people who work here. Dog walks to work every morning with its owner. Never leaves this park area, and goes back home with the owner every evening.

WWJ: Does everyone in the SUSA own a dog or cat?

Ben Raines: Just about. I will have several dogs and cats when I leave the field. I like dogs. Did you find Ike?

WWJ: He’s out in the field doing something or other with his unit.

Ben Raines: We’ll hook up with him before you leave. Even if I have to take you out into the field. Did Cecil ask you to become a resident of the SUSA?

WWJ: As a matter of fact, he did.

Ben Raines: And . . . ?

WWJ: I told him I’d think about it. But I will probably move into the area.

Ben Raines: Good. We need more writers and reporters and columnists in the SUSA. Those who can report fairly and without bias, that is.

WWJ: How do you know I can do that?

Ben Raines: Oh, I had you checked out as soon as you asked to come in and do this interview.

WWJ: Then the rumors are true?

Ben Raines: What rumors?

WWJ: That you have a network of spies and informants outside the SUSA? All over what used to be called the United States.

But the General would only smile at that.

WWJ: The newspaper that serves this area is very good; well staffed with good writers. But very conservative.

Ben Raines: In most areas, yes, it is. You have noticed that there really isn’t much news to write about in the SUSA?

WWJ: That did come to my attention.

Ben Raines: There is practically no crime to report, except for the occasional domestic squabble.

WWJ: No dope pushers in the SUSA?

Ben Raines: Oh, there used to be. We got tired of warning the dealers and finally rounded up all the sellers of cocaine and heroin and hanged them.

WWJ: You . . . hanged the dealers?

Ben Raines: That’s right. That sort of takes all the thrill out of the business.

WWJ: I can certainly see where it would.

Ben Raines: We did have an armed robbery attempt here about six months ago. But the three robbers were shot to death before they could get out of town. Our main source of trouble is along our borders.

WWJ: People wanting to live in the SUSA crossing over?

Ben Raines: People who want something for nothing trying to cross over. There is a big industry now outside our borders manufacturing fake I.D.s for the SUSA. They won’t stand up under any type of check by the authorities, but people keep trying.

WWJ: You can’t blame people for wanting a better life.

Ben Raines: I can blame these people. They want something for nothing, that’s all. They don’t want a job, they want a position. And if they can’t get a position, they want the working public to support them and their kids—forever. We don’t want those kinds of people here, and we won’t have them.

WWJ: So you turn them back?

Ben Raines: At the border, whenever possible. If they’re caught here in the SUSA, and they almost always are, we escort them back to the border and kick them out.

WWJ: Including the kids?

Ben Raines: Including the kids.

WWJ: That’s hard.

Ben Raines: There was a time when, if the child was under a certain age, we kept the boy or girl and placed the child, or children, in foster homes. But we’re overloaded with kids. We can no longer do that.

WWJ: You just took the child away from the parent?

Ben Raines: Many times, yes. But only after carefully interviewing the parents. It doesn’t take long to determine what type of people they are. Not if you know what to look for and what types of questions to ask. Believe me, we’ve got it down to a science.

WWJ: Some people just need a helping hand.

Ben Raines: We’ll help those types of people get back on their feet . . . without hesitation. It’s the other types we don’t want here.

WWJ: Do you have any type of public assistance here in the SUSA?

Ben Raines: Oh, sure. And we’ll give a qualified family food and shelter and clothing and medical care and retraining until they’re ready to go to work. But we will not pay for healthy, able-bodied people to lie up on their asses and do nothing.

WWJ: How do you prevent that, especially if they have children?

Ben Raines: People who are physically incapable of working, but still have some mobility, or are retired and volunteer to do it, will take care of the kids, freeing the parent to go to some type of school, usually a vo-tech. If the parent refuses, out they go . . . very quickly. Usually within forty-eight hours.

WWJ: I have to ask this: The people who take care of the kids, are they qualified?

Ben Raines (after a short laugh that was filled with sarcasm): They’ve usually raised kids of their own, and done a good job of it. You hug children when they need it. You discipline children when they need it. You feed children when they’re hungry. You give them rest periods and play periods in a safe environment. It doesn’t take a goddamn rocket scientist or a government agency’s nine million pages of rules and regulations.

WWJ: Somehow I knew that would be your answer.

Ben Raines: You’re learning.

BOOK #9

VALOR IN THE ASHES

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

- Casablanca

Ben Raines and the Rebels had been moving forward with their plan to set up Rebel-supported outposts in small communities of survivors across America. They are soon forced to acknowledge the fact that these rural settlements will always be in jeopardy of attack from the cannibalistic Night People who now totally dominate what is left of America’s urban areas.