Blinding White Flash

By J. Richard Wakefield Version 1.03 Last Updated Sept. 21, 2009

Synopsis
The winter of 2016, called Black Winter, triggers the beginning of the end of modern civilization due to natural gas depletion. Millions freeze to death, millions more loose their jobs. Coupled with an oil embargo in the Middle East, and North America is in economic collapse. Riots abound. China, hungry for oil and raw materials, uses the chaos in the United States to invade Canada to get at our forests, farmlands and above all our tar sands for the oil. They must be stopped. This sparks a world war. This is a story of a father and son team, from a small town in Southwestern Ontario, who join in the fight to repel the invaders. During their yearlong journey through the Rockies and into the north lands of Alberta they find out what the effects of peak oil has meant to the people they meet along the way. This includes what happens in hospitals, to those in jails, to roving gangs who take over and rule like dictators, to those dedicated to preserving some part of our past, to the kindness that exists in some people regardless of the hardships they are in. During their journey they meet people whom they become friends with, to subsequently have them separated due to events they cannot control. A sad realization that what they were experiencing was a short-lived version of what happens in normal daily lives -people come and go in and out of our lives. One finds out that he has no problem doing his job, in fact realizes he is a natural, and in his true realm. The other thought he could kill, but finds out during their trip that he can t do it. The two understand the other, but often lock horns over their differences. The big dilemma for the military action is how to stop the invaders from coming through the Rockies. This problem is exacerbated by the limited fuels available for military machinery. High tech military might is useless without the oil that runs it. This means more feet on the ground than technological superiority. Volunteers are needed on mass to help the defenses, but one of the characters just does not believe in playing by the rules and wants to act on his own. This leads to conflicts between him and the military command, but at the same time saves their butts. The story is also about how the actions of one person can have wide ranging cascading effects, known as the Law of Unexpected Consequences.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Point of no return ........................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Black Winter................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 3: Luxurious Train Ride ................................................................................... 54 Chapter 4: Training ...................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 5: First Day on the Job ................................................................................... 102 Chapter 6: Money to Burn........................................................................................... 131 Chapter 7: Saving Antiquity ........................................................................................ 148 Chapter 8: Debunking Myths ...................................................................................... 165 Chapter 9: The Gangs of Grand Prairie........................................................................ 199 Chapter 10: Bed and Breakfast .................................................................................... 229 Chapter 11: Siege of Slave Lake.................................................................................. 250 Chapter 12: The Quare Fellow .................................................................................... 273 Chapter 13: Bridge on the River Athebasca ................................................................. 295 Chapter 14: The Sky is Falling .................................................................................... 322 Chapter 15: Counter Strike .......................................................................................... 349 Chapter 16: Blinding White Flash ............................................................................... 369 Chapter 17: The Letter Comes Home .......................................................................... 393

Chapter 1: Point of no return

Feb 28, 2016 Rachel was crammed into the boxcar doorway. The barrier of bodies behind her s prevented her from reaching the relative safety further inside, and she held on to the people around her to avoid falling out. As the train started to move, a man ran up, screaming to be let in. He held up a young child wrapped in a blanket. The woman next to Rachel grabbed the child, and the man tried to get up and into the doorway. The train was now moving faster than he could run, and he stumbled and grabbed the closest thing he could find Rachel purse and coat sleeve. Three other s people held on to Rachel waist, arms and legs and shouted at the man to let go, but he s, wouldn Rachel was hanging of out the doorway, screaming and pushing on the man t. s hands, trying to pry open his fingers. Finally her purse strap broke and the sleeve of her coat ripped, sending the man tumbling to the ground. Rachel watched in horror as he fell on the rail and was cut in two by the wheels. Shaking with fear and horror, Rachel could only feel grateful that she didn fall t with him. The orphaned infant cried, triggering a tidal wave of grief that flowed through her. What happening to us, she thought. The whole world is falling apart. s An hour later, with the cold wind biting at their faces, they came to Milton, a town along the Niagara Escarpment west of Toronto. The train stopped in the shunting yards on the outskirts of town where armed police and military personnel were waiting for them.

5 As soon as the train stopped, they started to pull people off at gunpoint. One of the officers yelled,You can leave the city! It not safe. We can feed and house you, t s but if you leave you die from the cold. Get off the train! ll Rachel was forced out of the doorway and several people fell on top of her, one woman breaking her arm in the fall. Crushed by a large man, Rachel escaped with minor bruises. They were herded through deep snow to a field, where they were told that as soon as the freight train left they would be put on a commuter train and sent back to Toronto. Rachel was hungry, but the little of food she managed to hoard was lost with d her purse. And she had to piss in the worst way. Looking around for a bush to hide behind, she spotted one at the back of the field. It seemed to take her forever to wade through the deep snow, under attack from the frigid air and the need to pee. She eventually made it to the bush. Seeing that no one was around, she squatted, the cold air snapping at her bare bottom, and relieved herself as quickly as she could, narrowly avoiding falling into the snow. Steam rose up from between her legs, and the smell of urine was strong. I getting dehydrated, she thought. m She trudged back, sucking on some snow, and thought about her situation. There was no way she was going back to Toronto. She couldn understand why the authorities t would send them back. She stopped in the field and looked around. The freight train was gone, and the commuter train for Toronto was pulling in. People were formed into lines to board the train. She decided to head for a line of factories at the west end of the field and wait for the train to leave. Hopefully another freight train would come and she could hitch a ride

6 to London. But she have to walk further down the tracks to avoid the soldiers and hop d on board as the train was moving out of town. There was no way of knowing when the next train would arrive, and when she reached the abandoned factories, she looked for a road to get out of the deep snow. But the roads were not plowed and it was still a long walk into town. She crossed the tracks and looked down to where the commuter train was loading people. She waited for it to leave, and when the soldiers got into their vehicles, she made her move into town, following the tracks. Night was falling, and the air grew even colder. As she approached the edge of town, she saw a few people walking along the road that crossed the tracks. Locking eyes with a dazed looking man stumbling along through the snow, she was startled when he spoke. Follow us if you want some food, the army has some at the curling rink. So much for keeping a low profile. At the relief station, she queued up for a bit of bread and thin potato soup. It tasted fantastic, made precious in light of her ordeal, and warmed her to the core. The best part, though, was thawing her numb hands on the bowl. She wished for a second bowl for her frozen feet. Though every room was crowded with people, she finally found a place in the arena and bunked down for the night. The next morning she headed back to the railway line and walked westward along it. By mid-afternoon she came to another town and the main junction yard where the tracks split into four. Now which way, she thought. Damn it! Damn it! There must be someone here who can tell me, she said.

7 She knocked on a few doors of homes along the track, but no one answered. Finding the tiny section man office, she entered, looking for anything that would show s her which way to go. A large railway map hung over the desk. Thank God, she said. Regaining her orientation, she now knew which way to go. Straight west. It was too dark to continue her journey and no train was in sight. She found a cot in the office and covered herself with newspapers and rail schedules and fell into a deep sleep. She was awakened the next morning by a hand shaking her footWake up, this is private property. You can sleep here. t Startled, she pushed her body hard against the wall to get some distance. Don be scared young lady. But you can stay here, I sorry. Oh, no. You t t m can stay here. t She sat at the end of the bed and looked at the man. He was thin, his heavily wrinkled and pockmarked face framed by a long beard that had more gray than brown. Sunken eyes, beneath thick graying brows looked at her in an innocent and friendly manner. I sorry, she said,I trying to get to London. My parents are there. Which m m way is it? Oh, my, it a long way west from here my dear. You will never make it on foot s from here. Oh, no, never on foot. It too cold, too far s I was hoping to catch a ride on a train.

8 Oh, my, that very dangerous my dear. Deadly you know. You don want to s t play on trains. Besides, there won be any now for weeks. The line is all snowed in t west of here. So much snow, so cold too. No, no trains for a long while I guess. d Shit, how am I going to get there? Oh, my, no, you can You freeze to death my dear. You can go to London. t. ll t You have to go back. Where did you come from? ll No way I going back, not after what I seen in Toronto. m ve Oh, my. Oh. Hum, what are we going to do with you then my dear? You can t stay here. No food here, and no oil for the stove, neither. When do you think I be able to go? ll Oh, like I said my dear, it might be a week or more. They are trying to clear the tracks, but oh my, the snow so deep and difficult. s The man thought for a bit rubbing his hands through his beard. When was the last time you ate, my dear? It been a while, couple days. s Oh, dear me. You must be starving. Poor pretty girl like you should not be starving. So many people starving these days. She nodded yes. Well, we can have a young lady like you starving. Come home with me, it t s not far. My Mable will make you some soup and bread. OK dear? She wondered if it was a trap, but realized she could have been trapped right here. He seemed harmless enough his eyes certainly looked honest.

9 And it warm too, we have the fire going. He added. Oh, yes, a nice wood s fire. I love to sleep in my big chair by the fire, you know. What you name? Rachel asked. s Oh my, yes. Of course, we have not formally introduced ourselves have we? He chuckled. Alester Campbell my name, but you can call me Aleveryone else s Ol in the railroad does. Nice bunch of guys. Kidders and jokesters. Pleased to meet you Al, Rachel said shaking his hand. His grip was soft and gentle, and a little frail. She felt that if she squeezed too hard, his bones would break. Come my dear, it not far. Just about an hour walk down the road, but we will s s cut through the railway line to get there, the roads haven been cleared. I pay my taxes, t but they don clear the road. Oh my. t Once at Al place, Rachel was served a nice meal prepared entirely from Old s preserved foods, nothing fresh. With all her winter clothes off, the two got a chance to have a good look at Rachel. Her clothes looked like that had been slept in for many days, in fact it was more than a few days. So they gave her some clothes to change into. That better, my dear, Al said. You look like Sophie, those are her clothes. s Doesn she look like Sophie, Al said, turning to Mabel. t Oh, a little bit, dear. Rachel is much younger, and has black hair and green eyes, Al. Sophie had light brown hair and blue eyes. She looks like Sophie to me. Looking at Rachel, Mabel said with a wink,he getting old. s Who Sophie? s

10 Sophie is was our granddaughter. We raised her from a baby when her mother died in a car crash some 20 years ago now. Don know where her father is. t Where is she now? She died my dear, tears starting to roll down Mabel face, her lip quivering. s She died over the winter from pneumonia. She never was a well girl, always coming down with something. I so sorry, Rachel said getting up and looking at the shrine on the wall. m Pictures, awards and medals chronicled an active school life. Al never got over it. But it was God will, I say. She in a better place now. s s Mabel changed the subject back to the food. They had been canning for decades and had more than enough to make it through, even with Rachel. They discussed her options, but it was clear she was putting herself in too much peril if she were to push on now. As long as she agreed to help around the garden, Rachel could stay with them until the snows abated.

April 30, 2016 The March snows made it impossible for Rachel to leave the Campbell house, s let alone try and make it to London. Alester often had to forgo his morning trek to the yard to get his orders. The worst time was when Rachel had to lower herself from a second floor window and shovel the snow away from the door so they could get at the woodpile.

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11 Rachel made attempts every day to call home on the phone. No luck. Sometimes there was no dial tone, sometimes it the line went dead after dialing, or offered a busy signal. However, the snows had stopped and warmer weather was arriving. Alester came back from the yard and told her that emergency shipments of fuel and heating oil from the Sarnia refineries were starting to flow again by rail, and the trains would start running in the morning. Rachel would be able to catch one of the empty return trains to London. Mabel filled a knapsack with potatoes, frozen cobs of corn and apples, plus a Ziploc bag full of powered hot chocolate and sent her off with a hug. She followed Alester where he flagged down the first train. He has to stop here away to wait for

s one coming east. It a single line track west of here. Let see if I can get you in the cab s for the ride. The engineer said there was no way she could ride in the cab. Police and the military were checking trains in Cambridge for riders and sending them back to Toronto. He did not want to loose his job because of her. But, he added with a wink, if she were to stow away in a car somewhere out of sight, he never know. d The train slowly pulled ahead until the locomotive was out of sight near the far end of the yard and stopped. Alester helped her on to one of the flat cars that had a piggy-back trailer on it. She could hide in the wheel well, out of sight and sheltered from the wind. After stopping in Cambridge to leave half the cars, the train arrived in London late that night and deposited the remaining cars on a siding. She decided to sleep in the car until morning.

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April 31, 2016 It was a long walk west through the city to her mother Super Centre food store, s where Rachel hoped to find her mother She checked phone booths along the way, but didn find one that functioned. t It took most of the day to get to the store. She met very few people on the way, most of whom just stared at her with empty eyes. Passing through the city core, she saw many burned out homes, whiffs of smoke still rising here and there. People wandered around in a complete fog, either ignoring her or asking if she had food. She reluctantly had to say no. As the sun rose in a clear, untroubled sky, it melted the remaining snow, creating small lakes. This, together with the slushy snow, made walking difficult and exhausting. Stores along one of the main roads were empty except for discarded goods scattered on the floors. Windows were smashed and snow lay deep inside the buildings. Twice she thought she saw bodies sticking out of the snow and debris, the faint stench of decay reaching the street. By nighttime she reached her mother store. It had been ransacked too. The s main doors were pulled down and lay shattered at the side of the building. Snow filled the entrance. The building didn have many windows, and with no streetlights on, it was very t dark inside. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. Her first thought was to get to her mother office. She knew exactly where it s was, up the front stairs and at the very end of a hallway. It was pitch black, and she

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13 traced the walls with her hands as she edged down the passage to her mother office. s Groping around the room, she found her mother desk. Her computer seemed untouched s and the phone was on the cradle. She lifted it to discover that the line was dead, then felt through the desk drawers. Uh, there it is, she said, and turned on the flashlight she found. Returning to the main floor, she looked for food, hoping that the looters had missed some. No luck. She checked every aisle, but the shelves were empty save for things that were inedible, and most of this spilled on the floor and trampled. Dried blood was splattered on the shelves and floor. A flash of reflective light caught her eye. It was a can of cream of broccoli and cheese soup that had gotten stuck inside its dispenser. She found a can opener and put both in her knapsack. She made her way to the frozen food section and found it bare, and stinking of rotten food. Same with the meat section. Circling around to the fresh vegetable section, she saw a large pool of dried blood on the ground, a streak of it leading to the front doors as if someone had been dragged away. Now she was frightened. What had happened? Was her mother alright? She needed to find somewhere to crash for the night. Her parent house was a s 30-minute drive north of the city. It would be foolish to try and walk it this late in the day. She found a pillow and blankets in the clothing section of the store, and settled in for the night in her mother office. s

May 1, 2016

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14 Anne got up to answer the knock at the door. Her dogs had run to the foyer and were barking. She opened the door, but couldn make out the figure standing in the t brilliant sunlight. But the dogs knew who it was, their tails were wagging vigorously. Hi Mom! the voice said. Rachel! Anne said as she opened her arms to hug her daughter. Oh, my God, it really you! It been so long. Come in, come in, you look starving. s s I haven eaten in two days. God, I tired too, I walked all the way from t m London, took me all morning. As Rachel came in out of the bright light, Anne got a better look at her daughter. She had obviously slept in her clothes for days. Her hair was long and stringy, and she had no makeup on. It was a face Rachel would never leave home in. Oh, my, Rachel, you a mess. re Yes, I been through a lot to get here. ve Well, you come right into the kitchen and I make you something to eat. Ben, ll it Rachel! s Shit, Shit! Ben said, ignoring the sounds from upstairs. He pressed the Back button on the mouse, andPage cannot be found appeared on the screen. He looked up at the cable modem. Damn Internet has crashed again. Damn, damn. He had seen the numbers yesterday on the markets, realizing his retirement nest egg had evaporated Along with Anne inheritance. The day before, Ben had explained to Anne how both his s pension from Rogers Communications and her inheritance had vanished with the crash of the market over the winter. It was a hard blow.

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15 He desperately wanted to check their bank accounts, and was increasingly frustrated when he couldn get through. The bank main website was up and running, t s But wouldn accept the password that granted access to his account. The Home page t declared that everything was stable at the bank and that the Federal Government guaranteed accounts up to sixty thousand dollars. That statement alone gave him pause, and now he wasn sure there was any money in their bank accounts. Not being able to t find out made him feel even worse. Ben, come up here! he heard from up stairs. It Rachel. s Yeah, I coming! he yelled up. m What going on with Dad? Rachel said. s Anne explained that he was trying to find out what was going on with their money. Something about the markets crashing Anne explained. He come up, she said. He bloody well better, she thought. Have you heard ll from your brother? Rachel paused, looking for the right words. The last time I was with Bobby was just after I talked with you last on the phone. But nothing since then. That was four months ago! Anne said. She had been worried sick about her youngest child. Do you realize I haven talked with him since Christmas day? He came t to your place and you didn call me? t Rachel saw the frustration in her Mom eyes. Sorry, Mom, I tried to call but s only local calls were working. Then the phones died completely. So he OK? Right? He OK? s s

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16 Anne recalled the day Bobby left their home in Markham some 5 years ago, just after Anne father died. Bobby and her father were close. Robert, as his father called s him, was a rebel. Very socialist and anti-American. Bobby grandfather encouraged s such behavior, having been a shop steward and union activist all the forty years he worked at the Toronto Star. Bobby got involved in any peace or environmental march he could find. His father and he often got into heated arguments. Ben thought that the utopia Robert espoused was a pipe dream in Ben view it was better to live free in a flawed s capitalist system than live oppressed in a flawed socialist system. The collapse of the U.S.S.R. and the change in China to a more open economy was proof socialism did not work, Ben tried to explain this to Robert, in vain. Any time you have a dictator you have corruption, period, he told Robert. I d rather be on my own than have to live in the hands of overpaid, under-worked, socialist government employees. Robert wanted more government involvement to dictate how society should live. He wanted complete government control of all the banks, and the break-up of large multinational corporations who he said controlled the government. Planned civilization was the perfect world Robert wanted. He also wanted to have a guaranteed annual income for everyone so that there would be no poverty. Robert rarely had a job. Rob, look, if everyone is rich, then everyone is poor, it all relative, Ben would s try to explain,There no way that money can exist to eliminate poverty. Governments s do not create wealth, businesses do. People who make things and sell them generate wealth. You cannot dictate wealth by government decree. A planned civilizationcan t

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17 work because there no competition, and it competition that prompts innovations s s which better our society. But Robert wouldn listen, and at eighteen he left home to live with friends in a t commune which Ben took as nothing but a , drinking and pot smoking refuge for those too lazy to work at a real job Though Robert called a few times to talk to his mother, . the last time they saw him was when he walked out the door. He doesn blame Dad for the fight, Mom. He just thinks Dad political views t s are old and outdated, Rachel said. I old and outdated? Ben said coming to the top of the stairs into the kitchen. m No Dad, you not old and outdated. Bobby thinks your political views are. re Hi sweetheart, he said kissing her on the forehead,Just a second, I gotta turn off the generator. You guys have no power neither? Rachel said Either dear. Most of the time, no. It failed last March and has only been on a couple of times since, Anne said. So tell me more of Bobby. She hoped for good news, that Bobby was doing well and would find his way home like Rachel did. There isn much to say. He showed up at my place one day with a few friends, t looking for a place to crash and eat. He stayed for a couple days, then left. Some protest he had to go to. You know Bobby. Yeah, I know Bobby, that the problem, Anne said with a sense of deep s disappointment as she recalled her son attendance at all kinds of protests. s Mom, it really bad in the city. Bobby told me that at one of the protests he s attended, some shooting broke out and he thought several people were killed.

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18 Oh, my God, and he was there? I knew it! I knew it! Was it the police? No, some gang, he said. Bobby and his friends were trying to stop them from looting homes when someone in the mob fired. Mom, that what he was heading out to s do again, stop another gang. Shit! Shit! He gonna get himself killed, I know it. Nothing from him since? s No Mom. I sure he fine. But that was four months ago. Since I heard from m s him that is. And the violence is getting worse. The night before I left, soldiers entered the city, Mom, hundreds of them. Apparently they were shooting looters on sight. Fighting broke out in the early morning, just down the road from my place. Lots of shooting. From my window I saw a couple soldiers standing over a body. Then they put him in a body bag and tossed him in the back of their truck. I could see a big pool of blood where he had lain. It was horrible. So I decided to come here. I told you to leave the city a long time ago, Ben said, coming back in and sitting at the table. I know, I know. You stayed because of that prof at Ryerson who knocked you up, right? Quiet Ben! We aren going to rehash this all over again are we? t Ben kept quiet, but he recalled an argument he had with Rachel when she was pursuing fashion design and began taking courses at Ryerson. She had gotten pregnant by David Langford, the department head at her school and had an abortion. She had missed so much class time, spending it instead with her lover, that she had to leave school. It was a big scandal. The professor almost lot his job and his wife threw him out.

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19 Rachel was left unemployed and had moved into a small apartment near the campus with David. No, he left me and went back to his wife and family during the winter. I knew it, love and drop Left you on your own to fend for yourself. I told m m! you twenty years difference was way too much, but you wouldn listen. t Not entirely on her own, Ben, Anne confessed,I been sending your ve daughter, your flesh and blood, money to live on. And you decided to keep that a secret? The money doesn bother me, if she t needed it, she needed it. But you could have told me. Ben was agitated over being left out of the loop. You were busy trying to help Ron when he had to come home. I didn want to t add another worry to your plate. Their oldest son Ron was a civil engineer who, before the first economic crash, worked for a large firm in Vancouver. His work often took him to places like Hong Kong and Japan, a lifestyle that made it difficult to find a wife. In the summer of 2015 Ron came home. His firm business had dwindled as higher oil prices reduced the s number of projects they could bid on. It wasn profitable to work overseas anymore, and t the Chinese were arbitrarily cancelling contracts, generating massive legal battles to recover damages. But it was like flogging the proverbial dead horse. So Ron, along with many others, was let go. Ignoring Ben, Anne continued to ask Rachel questions. How did you get here? Anne said.

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20 The subway system was running sporadically, and a few of us got to Kipling station. Then we hopped a freight train. There were so many people on the train! Cops tried to pull people off, some fell under the tracks...It was horrible! Tears rolled down Rachel face, and she shivered as she recalled seeing the man fall under the wheels. s Shaking that thought out of her head, she continued. I got all the way to London and went to your store. But it had been ransacked. I spent the night there before I walked here. Ben and Anne had moved to London when Anne siezed the opportunity to manage a new SuperStore opening in town. Anne business shrewdness and ability to s work with the employees and not against them assured the store success. s The store been empty since April, Anne replied with a tone of s disappointment. We had a riot and shooting, right in the store. So I closed it down, haven been back since. I been trying to contact head office, but the long distance t ve lines are dead. I managed to get a hold of some of my employees, but many didn make t it through the winter, Anne said, tears in her eyes. So Dad, what the news on the Internet? Rachel asked wanting to change the s subject. Not much, it up, then it down. More down than up. And we don have s s t much fuel left for the generator, either. Ron out now looking for some. Many of the s homes around here were abandoned over the winter, so he scrounging around those for s some gasoline. But it doesn look good. t

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21 We heard news before I left that the Chinese had invaded Azurbizan or Turkystan or some stancountry for their oil and were at war with the Indians over it. Did you guys hear anything? Yeah, we heard that too, but with almost no electricity we can listen to the t radio much, Ben said. Bobby was right. The world is coming to an end, Rachel said. Robert? So, where is my little socialist buddy anyway? Ben asked Rachel. Is he still running around with those hypocrites? His friends are not hypocrites Dad, they just have a firm far left view of life. No they are hypocrites. Remember the day he brought a bunch of them home for a party. He introduced me as a hard nosed conservative. One of them said that I was stupid, and called me all kinds of nasty things. Racist, Fascist, a Nazi I couldn t believe it. They say they for human rights and equality, but when it comes to re Conservatives, suddenly it OK to be intolerant. Hell, if they had substituted Blacks or s Hispanics for Conservative, their own group would cry racism. But, nooo, it ok to be s politically racist. Oh, that made my blood boil, and I told them. I wasn there, Rachel said trying to avoid the subject. t But Ben would not let up. Well, it still bugs me Rachel hasn heard from him in a while. He been going to protests, Anne t s interrupted. Although he was annoyed that he got cut off just before he made his point, Ben relented. That him, alright, always with the radical nonsense s

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22 It not nonsense, Ben. You drove him out of our house, Anne said turning to s stare at Ben. He could feel the darts flying from her eyes and decided not pursue the subject any further. Turning back to Rachel, Anne continued I shouldn have taken that promotion and moved out here. I should have stayed t with my boy. I going to have to go and find him. m How? Ben retortedHow the hell are you going to get to Toronto from here? We can even get into London from here without walking. t That what I did this morning, Dad, took me all morning. s See, Anne, you never make it. And even if you did manage to get into the city, d and past all the riots, how the hell would you find him? I don know, I don know! All I know is that I have to find him before he gets t t himself killed. Dad right, Mom, it really bad in the city. People are burning homes. One of s s my friends said he saw someone hung from a lamppost. In broad daylight! You can go t there. Ron came in the back door. Hey Sis! Rachel got up and they hugged. Good to see you Ron, she said. Yeah, how the hell did you get here? She explained again the trip from Toronto. Well, I glad you here. Have you seen Bobby? m re Now Rachel (Anne?) had to rehash that.

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23 Ron, we have to go and get your brother! Mom, that impossible. There no fuel anywhere, I looked in every empty s s house. Do you know that more than half of them now? From what Sis says, it suicide s s to go into the city. That assuming you can even get there. Ben interjected. s Yeah, Mom, forget it. You can help him, Ron said. t He knew the risks, Ben said. You too damn cold, Ben Robson! Anne said. re Rachel tried to change the subject again. How did you guys make it through the winter? I tell ya, I glad we here in a small town and not in a city. Putting in the ll m re geo-exchange saved us. At least we had heat. Ben said. The garden paid off too, we grew enough to last the winter. Many didn Anne t, added. Dad got out that old army rifle to protect us against any possible intruders looking for food. He kept it loaded and it never left his sight. Ron added. Anne cringed, remembering that argument. You still have that? I thought you got rid of it when the government introduced the gun registry? Not a chance I would done that for exactly that reason. She remembered ve Ben saying. Better to have it and never need it than to need it and wish you kept it. d Coming back to the conversation Anne said,So you still think you could kill someone.

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24 If they come in here looking for food, they kill us. I do it without ll ll hesitation, Ben said firmly. I don think you could. t I might not like it, but the logic of the situation would demand that I kill, then think about it afterwards. Yeah, Mom, it a no brainer. Rachel added. Well, I really tired Mom, s m thanks for the bread and tea, but I really need to get some sleep. Oh, yes, of course, you must be tired. Here, I set you up, come. ll Alone with his father Ron said. Dad, old man Wilson, from a round the corner... Yeah, what about him? His grandson was killed last week at a barricade. Some shootout with a group from Windsor. Shit, which one was he at? Anyone else killed? It was the one on the Talbot Road exit from Highway 401. Yeah, several others were killed, but they stopped them. Damn, we gonna see more of that. How the barricade at Strathroy holding re s out? Wilson said they have the one on Highway 402 rebuilt and the other one on Highway 22 is being repaired. He said they think it was Americans. One of the trucks that rammed the barricade had Ohio plates. That poor kid, Ben said shaking his head at the loss. What was David, fourteen? He used to cut our grass. What a loss for the Wilsons.

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25 We haven had a probe against the east barricades yet. Wilson said he heard t they holding in Cambridge. Ron paused for a bitI still think I should go and help at re the barricades. Take it up with your mother, you know what she said about that. I go but she d won let me either. t Dad, there something else I need to tell you before Mom gets back. s What? Wilson said he heard on his ham radio something about an invasion. What kind of invasion? He said it was just rumour, but that someone in Seattle was broadcasting that the Chinese dropped a nuclear bomb on Honolulu. What, is he Anne came back into the kitchen; Ben did not pursue the rumour. She fell asleep before her head hit the pillow! Anne said. Ben held his finger up to his mouth, gesturing to Ron toShh Anne saw it. Shh what? What going on? s Ben and Ron looked at each other, wondering who would talk first. Ron knew his mother would not let up so he said,David Wilson was killed at one the barricades. I knew it! That why I don want either of you two going there, she said, very s t sternly. Somebody got to guard the gates Anne. s

25

26 Then let it be somebody else grandson who dies, not you. You need to be here. s If you died how the hell would I make it alone? Do you think about that?!

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27

Chapter 2: Black Winter

May 5, 2016

The lights came on just after dusk.

First thing Ben did was turn on the radio. The all news station was already broadcasting. It was a talk show discussing what had happened during the winter that caused so many deaths. They picked up on the show's host.

"..you let the air out of a tire, the output is constant, until, suddenly, the pressure drops off and no more output. Is that not correct professor?

"That is correct, Darrel. the other voice said,A gas well output is not like oil output. At least with a dying oil well, you get ample warning of the decline. Output drops slowly over several years, sometimes decades, until almost no more can be pumped out, regardless of how much water is pumped in. Gas wells don't work that way.

"Which is why we had no warning when the gas started to drop off, right?

"Partly, we did have lots of warning, even as far back as two thousand and four.

"Twelve years ago? So how did it come to this?

"Since at least two thousand and four, natural gas supplies during the winters had just barely kept up with consumption. Over the summers, producing wells in North America outputted more gas than was consumed. That excess was stored, in liquid form, for the winters when demand was higher than the output from the wells. Luckily, due to mild winters, that delicate balancing act had worked. By the spring of each year, there was

27

28 just barely enough reserve gas left. All the industry knew that, with one bad winter, there would be a serious problem.

"Such as this winter.

"Yes, quite. In North America, in the beginning years of the twenty-first century, thirty five percent more wells were tapped just to keep up with output. That is, the same output was realized, but only because the number of wellheads was dramatically increased. We drilled fourteen thousand wells in two thousand and three yet output dropped by three percent. This was an extremely unsustainable situation.

"So why didn't we import gas from overseas?

"Gas from other sources, such as Russia and the Middle East, was no solution. Russia faced its own crisis not long after two thousand and seven, when its supplies started to be strained with increase consumption from the emerging former Soviet Union countries of Eastern Europe. There, bickering over prices with countries like the Ukraine and Poland, where those countries were alleged to have stolen gas from pipes destined to Western Europe, caused major problems. But wells drying up was also a contributing factor in Russia not able to send LPG-"

"Liquefied petroleum gas.

"-yes, correct. They were not able to send LPG to the U. S. Besides, there were no facilities capable of unloading LPG onto the west coast in the volumes required. Even if all the ports that were planed a decade ago where built, which would have cost ninety billion dollars, the most LPG could supply was not more than fifteen percent. It was all a recipe for disaster that manifested itself in February of this year.

"Well, we're out of time professor, thank you very much for explaining why we have no natural gas flowing today.

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29

"Well, that's not really true, we still have gas flowing, just its rate is much lower today than we need to keep our people warm. I'd like to add one more tidbit of information if I may.

"Sure, go ahead.

"In 2005 the US Army Corp of engineers released a report on peak oil and oil security. In that report -- and I have the quote here -- just a second. Ah, yes, there it is, page 35. This what they said about natural gas. Quote:

'In 1997, 600 rigs kept production flat. In 2001, more than 1,000 gas rigs were needed to keep production steady and in 2002, 725 rigs are deployed but U. S. natural gas production fell by 6 percent. There are only 1,200 to 1,300 gas rigs in existence making it difficult for U. S. producers to reverse these trends. ' End quote.

"That's for the US, and here for Canada it says, quote. And understand that this was back in 2005. Quote:

'Canada currently produces 6. 3 Trillion cubic feet per year, with about half meeting its own needs and the remainder being exported. This provides about 16 percent of the current U. S. supply. Canada is experiencing the same rapid decline rates on its natural gas wells as in the United States and it is hard pressed to keep up production. The Canadians have opened up ocean drilling off their east coast and are now exporting directly into New England by pipeline. There is also a growing movement in Canada that feels they should preserve what natural gas they have for their domestic market. Thus we see pipeline exports from Canada dropping and they need to be replace by another source of supply. ' End quote.

"And finally this interesting statement in their conclusion of natural gas reserves as of 2005. Quote:

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30

'It is estimated that there are 272 Trillion cubic feet of essentially stranded gas in the lower 48 states because access is denied due to environmental considerations or it is on Federal lands. There is an additional 100 or so Trillion cubic feet currently stranded in Alaska. The American Gas Foundation recently issued a report indicating that the need for public policy makers and industry decision makers to immediately address critical issues that will have a significant impact on the availability and price of natural gas for decades to come. They do not expect under any scenario that the natural gas market will return to the conditions that prevailed in most of the 1980s and 1990s-when there was a surplus of supply and relatively low, stable prices. They also conclude that a failure to act swiftly, decisively and positively on issues such as constructing liquefied natural gas receiving terminals and an Alaskan gas pipeline, diversifying our electricity generating mix and increasing access to domestic supplies of natural gas would prolong and exacerbate problems affecting natural gas markets and all consumers of natural gas. ' End quote.

"The point is, Darrel, that even back as far as 2005 the US government knew what was going on both on the oil supply issue, and the natural gas supply issue. But it was ignored. Instead the government, the media and hence the public were fixated on this human caused global warming nonsense, which we now know to have been an utter hoax.

"It just boils my blood how stupid we were. How manipulative the environmental movement was. And now we are paying the price for that degradation of science for economic and political gain. Thanks for having me Darrel, though a tad bit too late I'm afraid.

"Yeah. And gain thank you.

"My pleasure.

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31 "That was professor Henry Bateman. He is a geologist at the University of Western Ontario. We're gonna take a quick break and when we come back, we will talk with a meteorologist from Environment Canada about what it was about this winter that is now called Black Winter. Stay tuned.

Hunger woke Rachel up. As she staggered into the kitchen still half asleep, she said. Hey, power!Dinner smells good!"

"Yep, I figured I'd make us something hot," Anne said.

"Shhh!" Ben said,We're listening to the news.

"We're back folks. This is the Darrel Sweet Show. Today is Tuesday, May fifth, two thousand and sixteen and it's nine fifteen pm. Normally I'd say how sweet it is, but not today. Not after what has happened. At least I made it through the winter, many did not. There is still no body count, and we've been out of the winter season for a month now. But I can tell you that from what I've heard cities, like Toronto and Hamilton and Montreal, were hit bad. There are still troops in the streets trying to keep law and order, but there simply is not enough of them.

"But it's the winter we just came out of that was the trigger for the mess we find ourselves in. We tried to get Alyson Alfaro from Environment Canada, but the line just dropped. We'll keep trying. So in her absence I'll try and explain what happened. First it was the unusually cold February, sustained by a low jet stream for several weeks, which saw an Arctic air mass cover all of Canada, and some of it went as far south as the lower Mississippi valley. Frost at night in Florida occurred nonstop for almost three weeks. Reports are that most of the orange groves there have been destroyed.

"In Ontario, the old records for sustained cold were shattered, with minus-thirty Celsius or worse at night, for three weeks straight. Daytime temperatures were rarely above

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32 minus-twenty Celsius. Out west and the prairies were much colder. Reports are that Regina hit minus forty, without any wind chill added.

There was a pause.

"Ok, no luck getting our guest, so we are going to move on. On the line I have Shelly Lund, she is the NDP MP for Ottawa Centre and Minister of Social Services. Miss Lund, can you hear me?

"Yes Darrel, I can hear you," The voice said barely audible.

"Miss Lund, what can you tell me about the gas situation. You guys are part of the government now, with your coalition with the Liberals. So you guys are going to take the brunt of this.

"I mean, Darrel, this is all from the previous Conservative governments. The ten years of inaction by them brought us to this.

"With all due respect Miss Lund, you guys have been in power now for over a year, kicking out the Conservative minority with your coalition with the Liberals. There wasn't even an election, you just took over power and now we are stuck with this government. So, tell me and any anyone who is listening, you guys did not know that there was a gas shortage?

"I mean, Darrel, it was the Free Trade treaty Canada signed with the U. S, by a Conservative government I will add. Basically, as far as energy is concerned, the U. S. had first dibs on any gas produced in Canada before Canadians. This meant that during this winter the U. S. siphoned off more natural gas, leaving Canadians with much less than we needed. And this is our own gas! We pipe gas to the U. S. and it wasn't that Canadians could just turn off the tap, as it were, as all Canadian gas was diverted back into Canada from the U. S. If anything, the U. S. could turn off the tap to Canada.

32

33 Which, once the high consumption in the U. S. over taxed the system, is what happened in Canada.

"So you're blaming the Americans? But aren't they in just as bad shape, if not worse than us?

"We don't really know that. There's no evidence they suffered as much as we did.

"Excuse me Minister, but they have had millions freeze and starve. But I'd like to bring in another guest. I have on the line Romeo DeQuarez from the Canadian Natural Gas Suppliers Association. Mr. DeQuarez thank you for joining my show.

"Thank you for having me Darrel, and please go easy on me.

"OK, I'll try, but you gotta admit that this is really bad. We were told decades ago that shale gas was the savoir. It would produce gas for decades. What the hell happened?"

"The consequences of gas depletion were devastating, Darrel, there is no doubting that. Yes, it seems our assumptions about the amount of gas we could recover from shale deposits was a bit off.

A bit off? When a well lifespan is only four years not forty years, that a hellova a lot s s being off on your estimates, wouldn you say? t

Yes, it is. And our rate of production decline was way off too. We expected a 3 to 4 percent decline rate from these wells. It was closer to 16 percent.

You do understand the consequences of this? You do realize what you people have done here. Our society is virtually shut down because you people can supply the gas? t

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34 I not sure what you want me to say Darrel. In the early part of February, m governments ordered all industries that were not essential to shut down. This meant all malls, office towers, and factories. Hospitals and food stores were exempt. At first, this was mandated only at night, but within a few days, it was clear that this was not enough.

Mr. DeQuarez, people were burning their homes trying to keep warm.

"To keep people warm in their homes, a full sixty percent reduction in gas consumption was required. That's huge. Thus, by the beginning of the second week of the cold spell, all non-essential consumers were ordered to shut down completely. This meant schools, universities, government offices, and even police and fire stations. Many of them were closed, forcing a doubling and tripling-up of the stations that were allowed to stay open. People were ordered to stay at home, and venture out only to get food.

"But then that did not work either did it?

"No, by the end of February people were ordered out of their homes and into malls, subway stations, large warehouses.

"Why is that? Don't they use more gas?

"Not on a per volume basis, no. It's the volume to surface area ratio that is important in keeping heat in. A single large flat warehouse will use a lot less gas to keep it warm than a thousand small homes with very small volumes.

"That's when the military came in to force people to move out.

"Yes. And it worked; by the beginning of March we were actually using sixty two percent less gas than at the beginning of February. Which allowed things to get at least a bit stabilized.

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35 "But that over crowding cause all kinds of logistic problems, right?

"I would think so, but I don't know for sure of any specifics.

"But, people must have brought their animals, pets, clothing, and valuables with them?

"I certainly would have, Darrel. Remember when that hurricane hit Louisiana back in two thousand and five? People were forced to abandon their pets to slow death. I remember seeing the rescue attempts of those pets. It was heart wrenching. I would never leave my animals like that, and I didn't. We left for an arena shelter set up in our small town, and we took our dog and cat. My daughter took her macaw, that's a big bird.

"Yeah, I know what a macaw is. So you're saying the shortage of natural gas it's not your fault. From what I've heard politicians want your head--"

"Please, let me explain. We need to put this into perspective. This went on, as noted, for three weeks. By the middle of the third week, the supply of gas stored up for that winter virtually ran out. People discovered that their furnaces were not coming on, and those with gas stoves had nothing to cook with. Within a few short hours, home temperatures dropped belowzero---"

"Those with fireplaces headed to local parks and ravines to chop up wood. Darrel interjected. That's when the fights broke out as people scrambled to get what they could. Some fired up their barbeques inside to heat their homes. Some went into their cars and ran them just to stay warm. Methods people used to keep warm resulted in many deaths. Carbon monoxide poisoning was rampant. House fires erupted all over. Water mains and fire hoses froze. With no water, there was nothing firefighters could do. I understand that whole subdivision blocks would burn as one house caught another; this was inevitable, since building codes permitted homes to be built only a few feet from each other. Thousands were left homeless. Hotels, which were forced to close, were forced to re-open and accommodate the homeless.

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36

"I guess, Darrel, people did what ever they had to to keep warm, yes. In cities like Toronto, people abandoned their condominiums and headed to the basement corridors running under the city, bringing bedding with them. Just as in the London subways during World War Two, Toronto's subway system was crammed with people keeping warm. Some older homes in the city that had not been converted to gas, and used oil instead, were better off. Oil supplies were not interrupted, not at that time anyway. Now it is.

"Many of these people crammed neighbors into their homes, but they had to refuse many, many more.

"Yeah, that's when the military was called in to help evacuate people from their homes and set them up in schools.

"But many were found frozen in their beds weren't they Mr. DeQuarez.

"Darrel, I'd like to make it perfectly clear to your audience that there was nothing we could do about this. No one expected the winter to be this bad. If it had been a normal winter we would have been fine.

"Darrel, can I get in here please?

"Sure, Miss Lund, go ahead.

"Mr. DeQuarez, you got to admit that the U. S. siphoned off gas we needed.

"No I would not admit to that at all. Well output was not keeping up with demand, period, and the industry started to see wells dry up completely as they tried to up their output. Look, we did everything we could. Orders were still on to keep everything closed

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37 to keep consumption down right into March. And, Darrel, Miss Lund's government was kept abreast of all of this right from the beginning.

"Not like this, we were never told.

"Yes, you were.

". this could happen.

". last fall we wrote areport.

"There was no report.

". that showed. Yes there was, we sent it directly to the Prime Minister and he.

"There was nothing to show this.

"Yes we did.

"No, it was never.

"Unbelievable, are you calling me a liar?

"Whoa, whoa, no one can understand what you are saying when you talk over each other. Miss Lund, that report was made public and your government did not act. Darrel interjected.

"I'm not sure Darrel they could act. They were in a serious economic mess themselves by the middle of February," DeQuarez said.

"What do you say to that Miss Lund?

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38

There was a length of silence.

"Guess she left us. We are going to talk to an economist about the economic mess we are now in later in the show. So Mr. DeQuarez, that's when the economic impact was about to begin as people started to run out of money, because with work closed, businesses were not paying any salaries, and no taxes to governments.

"Yes, Darrel that's correct. We weren't getting much from our customers either you know, but we kept working, kept trying to keep the gas going.

"By the end of the third week of February, the jet stream finally moved up above the Canada - U. S. border, bringing with it somewhat warmer weather, in the minus five degree range for Southern Ontario. We thought we saw a light at the end of the tunnel that the worst was behind us. Boy where we wrong. That's when the second weather event hit with the deathblow: snow, and lots of it. A warm Gulf Stream air mass, pulled by the northward movement of the jet stream, came up the Mississippi Valley. There it met this still-entrenched arctic air mass sitting over Ontario, and the snow fell hard. In one week, more than two meters of snow fell around the Great Lakes and Maritimes. Fueled by this upward movement of moist, warm air and the westward movement of arctic cold, it fell for two weeks, almost nonstop.

"By the end of the two weeks, some five meters of snow fell. That's up to the eves in most two-story homes, Darrel. And it was not just the snowfall, but also several days of high winds drifting the snow against the leeward side of buildings, sometimes as high as ten meters. Still gas well output was not keeping up with demand, and the industry started to see wells dry up completely as they tried to up their output. Darrel, I want to emphasize, we in the gas industry did what we could to keep the flow going, but when there is simply not enough gas there's not much we can do. And with all due respect to the Minister, the U. S. did get hit bad. We may have a colder climate, but they have a

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39 huge demand for natural gas. The economic impact in the U. S. is worse than us in my opinion, and no, Darrel, they did not shut off the valve on us.

"We have her back on the line, Miss Lund, what do you say to that?

"Well, Darrel, it was the previous government that did not plan for this. And because of that we could do little. In mean, look, it was us who sent in troops, against the wishes of the Liberals, to not only keep the peace, but also to help people trapped-"

"It was NDP and the Conservatives who out voted the Liberals on this, correct?

"Yes, Darrel. As usual the Liberals were indecisive. We needed the troops to bring in food and supplies. We did what we could, but like everyone else, we had problems getting staff to work.

"So everyone is to blame but none of you are. That's what I'm hearing?

"Look, Darrel, the people themselves are to blame. DeQuarez interjected. We've been warning for years for people to cut back their consumption, insulate their homes more, drop their temperature more. We begged factories to reduce demand during non-working hours to preserve what little gas we had left. You couple that inaction with the continued growth in population, almost all of it immigration, and what we have today was inevitable. Yet there was no way anyone was going to say we need to stop or even slow, immigration as you would be labeled a racist. Yet had we stopped immigration ten years ago we would have had a million and a half of less people having demand on the system today. But political correctness prevented that, so we pay the price today.

"So you're saying that even if we did conserve, in the past that is, new immigrants just ate up any savings?

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40 "Yes, absolutely, Darrel. But if you tried to explain that you got labeled a racist, or worse.

"Mr. DeQuarez, many would say that is not so, that immigrants don't consume more resources. Who was the largest consumer of natural gas in this country?

"I can't see how a million and a half new people would not have increased demand, Darrel. New homes, new schools, new churches, new hospitals, and so on. They all used natural gas. Thus they must have contributed to higher demand.

"If your question is referring to the oil sands in Alberta, then yes by far. The oil sands projects consumes almost half of all the natural gas this country uses for everything else. But that is the cost for having the oil we need. Without the natural gas, there would not have been any oil.

"Darrel, can I get in on this?

"Sure Mss Lund.

"I mean, we have been trying to shut the oil sands down for decades. They spewed too much greenhouse gases into the atmosphere-"

"We could have used that global warming this winter could we not? Darrel said.

"No Darrel, this winter was caused because of global warming-"

"Whoa, wait just a second. I can't see that, I'm sorry. All these years you guys kept saying the climate was going to warm up. Now we have had the worst winter in recorded history and you blame it on global warming?

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41 "Yes, we do. The NDP has advocated greenhouse gas reductions for decades Darrel, and now we see the effects of no one listening.

"Ms. Lund, didn't a number of scientists come forward years ago complaining that all the alarmism was unfounded, and nothing but a hoax?

"Some did, but they are just a bunch of oil funded denalist radicals.

"Right. Several thousand scientists all together are a bunch of radials funded by Exxon, so we can ignore them," Darrel said sarcastically. Well, Ms Lund, looks like your wish for reduction in C-O-two has happened, but not because of any treaty, but because oil and gas production are rapidly dropping, and the end users, people, are dying. OK, sorry guys, I'm out of time. Thank you both for coming on the show.

Next, after the break, we will talk with Toronto's Fire Chief whose workers had the grim task of checking homes for bodies. Then later we will talk with a leading economist at one of Canada's big banks, and a professor of history who will try to tie this all together, so stay tuned.

There was a pause.

"This is seven fifty AM, all news London. I'm Darrel Sweet, back in a sec.

Instead of commercials, which would normally have been broadcast at this time, there was only music. Classical music.

"What happened here Mom? Rachel asked.

"Almost everyone out here has a wood stove. Huddled in their living rooms, people managed to keep warm out here," Anne said.

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42 Our geoexchange system worked great while the power was on. Ben added.

Anne and Ben interchangeably explained to Rachel there were road closures everywhere because of the snow, especially the highways. Railways closed, too. Plows simply could not keep up. The reason was a simple, snowball effect. With roads closed, there was no fuel coming into the cities. Snowplows need fuel. The more they plowed, the more fuel they used, but because few roads at first were able to be kept open, not enough fuel was coming in. A fuel ban was put into effect (people could not get out of their homes, anyway, as suburban streets were less of a priority).

By the end of the second week of March, just about every food store was starting to run out, including Anne's Super Store. Fights were breaking out all over the city in those stores that still had food. Most people tried to walk to these stores, and some used snowmobiles. But soon, they were useless as their fuel ran out.

The show returned.

"Welcome to those of you who survived what is now called Black Winter. I'm Darrel Sweet and this is am seven fifty, all news London. Well, we can't get a hold of the fire chief, sorry folks. But I can tell you this. We were lucky here in London. It wasn't anywhere near what happened in Toronto, and other major urban cities, from what I've heard from colleagues around the country. The devastation caused by the lack of heating gas is thousands dead in their homes, tens of thousands, in some cases huddled together in families. It hit the poor hardest. With few means of travel and the transit system virtually shut down or rarely operating, they had no escape. Now the grim task of clearing those homes is on. And they have to do that with roving gangs trying to take control.

There was pause.

"So instead of that coverage I'll start on the economic story.

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43

"Now the government faces a real crisis: the deaths of masses of people by starvation. There is little the government can do. Airports are all still closed, rail lines were closed then though open now, and roads were barely open. Some of the food that came from the U. S. was cut off from entering Canada by reason of their own snow blockage and lack of fuel.

"By the end of the snowfall in the last week in March, it was virtually all over. It was then that the economic hit came. The weather warmed up and the snow started to melt, causing huge flood conditions. But with that, the flood of bills to people's homes started to come as mail service resumed. Though millions who pay out of their bank accounts found those to be just as depleted as the gas. Those damn companies kept withdrawing from people's accounts through the entire crisis.

"The price of natural gas shot up more than a hundred times, and home heating oil shot up almost the same amount. The price of a barrel of oil is currently two hundred and fifty dollars. Gasoline is starting to flow again but when it does arrive people are out bidding each other to get a few liters. Five to twenty dollars a liter.

"To get a better perspective on the current economic situation we have on the line Barb Battelle-Jankowski. She is chief economist at the Royal Bank. Hello Ms. BattelleJankowski, do I have that correctly pronounced?

"Yes, Darrel, thank you for having me on the show, but we have to make this quick, as I told your producer.

"I understand, so explain what's happening economically.

"Well, uh, in a nut shell it's not pretty. The market is down more than seventy percent, and still in freefall. They closed the market for a week, again, the tenth time this winter, and as soon as it reopened it went into immediate tailspin.

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44

"So closing the market made it worse.

"Uh, not sure about that, but it wasn't a good signal. I mean, it was damned if they do damned if they don't, you know what I mean? But, hum; one has to wonder how the economy can recover from this. You know, one or two days would not have been a serious problem to the economy. You remember when the southern part of Ontario had its blackout in the summer of two thousand and four, well that cost billions in productivity. Money forever lost, you know? But this time. , you know we had here a situation where the entire country was shut down for nearly two months, you know? And, I might add, most of the U. S. states bordering with Canada are in the same boat as us.

"So what happens to the average person, since the vast majority of people are now out of work.

"Yes, I mean, people simply can not pay their bills. That proved to be the Achilles heel of this terrible situation we are in, you know.

"Is this the collapse of civilization, as we know it? We'll have a guest on in a few minutes to give us her views on this later in the show.

"I'm no pessimist. But. Hum, I want to believe the economy will turn around. It will turn around, you know? This. . this will be a golden opportunity for people with resources to capitalize on the situation.

"You mean rich people profiting from the demise of everyone else.

"Well, hum, I wouldn't put it that way. That's not what I mean.

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45 "But that *IS* what it means, and I'm not the only one. But that is not what I want to talk about. I want to get at these foreclosures. The banks were heartless and ruthless. You people threw whole families on the streets in the middle of the worst winter in memory.

"Well, hum, Darrel, hum, with no money. People had no income, you know, so people could not pay their bills. With shops and businesses closed for almost two months, people had no salaries. Leases needed to be paid, and banks need to be paid on their mortgages and loans. It's everyone's responsibility, obligation, to. Uh, hum. It's strictly business, you know. It's nothing personal on these people, it's strictly business.

"Sounds heartless to me. In a time of crisis, when civilization is crumbing before our very eyes there is no such thing as business. It becomes *VERY* personal to have one's entire family on the streets in the middle of winter. But there was some compassion wasn't there Ms. Battelle-Jankowski? Isn't it true that bank employees were exempt from these foreclosures? You hit everyone else, except your own people, right?

"Hum. Well, you know. Hum. Ah," a long pauseYes. What do you want me to say, Darrel? It's just business. You need to understand that we needed to keep staff working, know what I mean?

"Yeah, I do all too well, you needed staff to keep working so you could turf people into the streets. You people need a reality check. Let me ask one more question. Is it not true that the reason the government voted to forced a moratorium on payments is because you people were selling mortgages to private investors at pennies on the dollar, and it was these investors who threw people out on to the street?

"Yes. Well. It's true we sold these mortgages, yes. You know, hum, it wasn't us. I mean, we did not throw families on the street.

"Maybe not directly, but the outcome is the same. You're still doing it by proxy. Actually, I have one last question. I know you have to go. Is it not true that the Liberals voted

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46 against the moratorium? That it was the NDP and Conservatives who out voted the Liberals?

"Yes that is true.

"Why would the Liberals not vote for this?

"I don't know. You'd have to ask them.

"But I am right now. Is it not true that you are a prominent riding association president for a Liberal riding who's MP is the Minister of Finance?

The line hung up.

"Guess I hit a nerve. There is no doubt in my mind that prominent Liberals in Canadian big banks blocked all efforts to invoke this moratorium. The problem for the banks, however, was in finding people who were willing to force people from their homes. In spite of what our previous guest just said, banks themselves are offering huge salaries to anyone willing to enforce their contracts and foreclose. This is so very wrong, they just don't get it. Here the banks have tens of billions in equity and in the dire need of this country, of every one of you, they still must prey on you.

"You can take some comfort to know that the government is in the same boat. They are currently in a huge fight with lenders, as the government, led by the NDP and Conservatives, are demanding that loans and mortgages be given a reprieve for these past four months. Legislation is in the works to force banks if they don't voluntarily comply. But some of these institutions are foreign owned and can flout the law, if they want to. But how they will evict people from their homes is a big question. The government certainly does not want millions of people wandering the streets.

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47 "All this has made the economy a real mess. Most peoples' jobs are gone when their businesses closed. Some businesses can't even open because many of their employees simply cannot get to work, or died during the winter. Besides, it's essentials, mainly food, that is more important to people, everything else is irrelevant. So even if your local mall were to open, no one is going to shop.

The government has started a food-aid program, which will cost tens of billions, and financial aid programs so people can buy food and fuels, but that will cost tens of billions more. All this is money the government has to borrow, at very high interest rates. Last I heard the government was borrowing money from the banks in order to pay the banks the losses they were incurring for the defaults on the loans. The banks cannot be happier. But this immensely adds to the debt problem. Already some of the larger banks are refusing to lend the government any more money.

"Interest rates are now well above twenty percent, and defaults are skyrocketing. Even the federal government will eventually not be able to make interest payments to the bank, feeling the pressure to help the public instead. This will be felt all over North America.

"In spite of what the Minister said, the U. S. is in just as bad a situation, economically, as Canada, if not worse. The biggest depression ever, worse in order of magnitude and number of people affected, has now taken hold. It's nineteen twenty nine writ large folks. Rioting is occurring throughout the U. S. and the military had been called in from all over the world to try and stop the rioting.

". just a minute, I've been handed a note.

There was a short pause.

"Gee, this just keeps getting worse! Unbelievable. Seems the Saudi Royal family has been executed and the country is now in the hands of Islamic radicals. Saudi Arabia, the only country that has kept the OPEC states in line, has fallen into anarchy. This report

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48 claims that it is quite likely that all the Middle East countries are going to shut off oil to the U. S. This will starve the U. S. of oil and crush what's left of the economy there, and here too.

"Now the US did have fifteen-billion barrels of oil in their strategic reserves, but that was ten years ago. Crude unprocessed oil that was pumped into old salt mines. But over the past ten years that has been drawn upon to make up for shortfalls. Thus that reserve is almost exhausted, from what I've been told.

"So this leaves us with the last oil deposit in North America capable of supplying some quantity of oil. The Alberta tar sands.

"There is more. The big news elsewhere, if you have not yet heard, is the Chinese and Indians are in a war over oil in the Caspian Sea area. Rumours are that a number of nuclear bombs have been dropped, including one on Honolulu. On the phone I have professor Charmaine Freeman, she is professor of History at McMaster University. Hello Dr. Freeman.

"Hello Mr. Sweet, and it's professor of foreign studies, and I'm on an advisory panel with the United States government on military powers in the world. I'm a bit of an expert on foreign military.

"Oh, I'm sorry. So, what's going on? Did this happen?

"It seems so. We know China and India are in a war over oil around the Caspian Sea. It looks like this is spreading with the U. S. getting involved.

"How many nukes have been dropped?

"No one seems to know, Darrel. Seoul, South Korea, Tokyo Japan, Delhi in India have been reported to have been hit.

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"Including Honolulu?

"Were not sure of that yet, Darrel, but there is no communication with the city.

"But surely we should know about this? What's keeping us from getting more information?

"We're not even sure of that. Hell, Darrel. she paused for a sigh. . I can't even call my mother in California; the phones are dead out there. I don't even know if she is dead or alive.

"For our listeners, explain how this war happened.

"Sure. China's consumption of oil, from two-thousand onwards, was increasing at some ten to fifteen percent per year. They had signed agreements with Canada, Argentina, and, with their new rulers, several Caspian Sea countries for oil. In fact, with its newfound wealth, it was buying up Canadian and other oil companies. It was a complex web of companies, often obtaining more than fifty percent ownership and control. A controlling ownership meant they could put people on the board that would give them what China wanted; and it wanted more oil.

"Darrel, We have known for decades that China has been spying on the US. Spying on military secrets, spying on industrial secrets. Just image what they have amassed over the years. Just imagine what they have learned to use against us. It would not be a big leap to think they are directly involved in this collapse somehow.

"China sees them selves as the next great superpower. Their view seems to be that the U. S. had its fair share of that fame, and this has gone on quite long enough. They are quite willing to let the U. S. become a third-world nation, and they would win the war against

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50 the west, not by dropping bombs, but by out competing it economically; just like the U. S. did in the cold war with the former Soviet Union.

"China really does not care what happens to the U. S. or the rest of Western society, even though it was those countries that fueled their economy. They see it as possible for them selves to go it alone, especially with dwindling oil reserves.

"But what we do have here, what China wants, is the tar sands, our forests, and our grains. They will come here, invade us, to take what they need.

"Do we really have the grain they require? Isn't there better places in the world to take over for their grain.

"Darrel, the corn crop in the U. S. alone accounts for forty percent of the global harvest. They also supply seventy percent of the world's corn exports. In one year the U. S. exports fifty-five million tons of corn, which is a quarter of the world grain exports. In Iowa the corn harvest is more than all of Canada.

"Wow, I didn't know that. But what about India with their huge population, will they be coming here too?

"I doubt it, they don't have the military infrastructure. But India, too, was seeking to keep enough oil for its economy. At first the two countries had an alliance, but that soon broke down. They were often in bidding wars with each other over the remaining oil fields. By about ten years ago, China wanted to buy part of the oil sands production, but the NAFTA agreement with the US prevented any selling of Canadian energy to anyone but the US. And China desperately wanted that oil. They complained to the UN to force the US to rip up NAFTA. The alarm bells were sounding ten years ago, Darrel, but no one heard them, or more likely, chose to ignore them.

"So what does this mean about what is happening now?

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"Well Mr. Sweet, Canada was being pressured for years by the U. S. not to cozy up to China. They knew what China was up to. But the anti-U. S. socialist agenda of the NDP and left-leaning Liberals put pressure on the Conservative government to ignore the U. S. and not fuel the 'world-domination agenda' of the U. S. ; or that's what they saw, totally ignoring the more-than-exposed view that China was contemplating.

"And then the NDP and the Liberals took over control of the government.

"Yes, how utterly undemocratic.

"So what do you see the Chinese doing next?

"First, they sent a force of fifty million soldiers into the east Caspian Sea area. India tried to send just as many, and the largest war ever is currently taking place there. It is my view, Darrel, that China is going to invaded North America in a bid to secure the tar sands and the oil reserves in the Arctic, our forests and the bread basket of the world, our prairies. Up until now, they have been reluctant to make such an invasion, instead thinking that the invasion into the Caspian Sea area would be enough. But with the U. S. in such chaos, they have a golden opportunity.

"And what's going on with the U. N over all of this?

"Unbelievable, Mr. Sweet. The Chinese knew there would be worldwide outcry about it, with the UN demanding that it stop; but China knows that the U. N. is impotent with its policies and besides has veto power over any decision. Darrel, they have the veto power to stop the U. N. from stopping them. Go figure that one out!Thus there is nothing any country would do about it except to take them on head on, and no one wants to do that.

"Wow, so you think the Chinese are on their way here?

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52 "Yes, Darrel I do.

"Sorry, but I really can't see them doing this.

"Darrel, it is precisely why you and every one who thinks that it can't or won't happen that I'm convinced it will. Look, they know the U. S. is at a crossroads now, with major rioting in the streets, with huge numbers of people starving and killing each other for what scraps they can find, with troops being utilized internally to quell the rioting, with dwindling fuel from the Middle East, now to shut down completely, and the huge problems that still threatened that area. Thus they know there is little the U. S. can do. Besides, with two hundred million troops, no one can stop them.

"Two hundred million troops? You think they can move two hundred million troops over here?

"Not all over here, but world wide. Certainly they are capable of over whelming not only our puny army but that of the U. S. too. This Great Black Winter gives China the window it needs. The invasion of North America, which they had been planning for years, is on. The goal, of course, will be to get to the tar sands before the next winter. They must have a secure foothold on the west coast before November of this year. They will send what ever troops necessary to ensure that happens. We will certa.

The power went out.

The four of them sat in total darkness and total silence for a few minutes, frustrated they could not hear more, but also digesting what was said. Finally, Ben lit a small oil lamp. Anne grabbed it and left for their bedroom with out saying a word. Tears were in her eyes. Ron lit another lamp.

"Well," Ron said at last,At least the power was on long enough to eat.

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53 No one spoke.

Finally Ben got up from the table. I'm tired, I'll see you guys in the morning.

"'night Dad," Rachel said.

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Chapter 3: Luxurious Train Ride

May 8, 2016 Anne woke up to the radio. Power was back on. They all got up. The sun was bright, no clouds. It all looked so perfect outside, like there was not a problem anywhere in the world. Regardless of what was taking place around them, it looked like it was going to be a perfect day. But it was not to be.

The announcer came back on after the music ended.

This is Minnie Prater sitting in for Lula Herman, God rest her soul. And this is all news radio, seven fifty am in London. This is the day's top news story.

"Hundreds of ships have been spotted off the Pacific coast. Seems we are about to be invaded.

The announcer then made the call to arms for all able bodied men, and women, who wanted to protect the country. They interviewed a number of experts who described what it would be like under Chinese domination. Of course it was hyped up and speculative, but the bottom line was clear. The Chinese were coming here to rape the land for oil, timber and food. There was even speculation that they were coming to settle, displacing Canadians and Americans, because of severe overcrowding in China. In a way, a repeat of history when the white man displaced aboriginals, in the very same land, more than a hundred years earlier.

That at best Canadians would be left with nothing and would mean starvation for most, if not freezing to death in the winters.

At worst it would mean total domination and enslavement. Either way not something Ben was willing to live with, Ron either. Both wanted to sign up.

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Anne would have nothing to do with it. She hated war at all costs. In that regard she was like her son Bobby, whom Ben reminded her was most likely dead because of such views.

Fighting is the only option, Anne. This isn't like defending a barricade, it's complete occupation by a foreign country.

I hope all of humanity dies then. This planet would be better off!" she cried. Ben could hardly disagree.

The announcer gave by town and cities where and when to sign up. In two days a bus would make the rounds picking up people in the London district. Birr, their village, was in the morning the next day. Ben and Ron started packing.

As Ben decided what to take and what to leave behind, he started to realize how much things had changed in this new era. Tooth paste, for example. He wondered where it would come from, and even if companies did make it how would it be shipped? The world had changed so much that not even the basic essentials were going to be factory built and shipped to all corners of the world. Surely, he hoped, local companies that could ship with reasonable effort and little fuel, could be built but only if profitable. Looks like we could be back to the seventeen or eighteen hundreds," Ron said realizing what his father was thinking.

Ben then decided that he had better take note of what they absolutely needed. Sleeping bags, utensils for cooking and eating, vitamin C tablets for sure, but he had to make sure enough was left at home. Some soap for the possibility that he might have a hot bath, but doubted it. Even some garlic powder he put into a small ziplock bag, just in case. Ben loved garlic and its medicinal uses were wide.

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56 He took powdered milk, a couple chocolate bars they had left from Anne's store at Easter, and powdered orange juice. A few tins of meat. He hoped the army would be capable of feeding them, but he recalled his Grandfather saying in WWII when Canadians liberated Holland, that they almost starved. In fact, one of the stories he told with pain was being ordered to shoot and kill a young German POW they captured because they could not feed him. Such visions now haunted Ben as he wondered what his future held. But it did not deter him from going.

And what am I supposed to do here while you are gone, Ben?" asked Anne walking into the bathroom where Ron and Ben were loading up supplies. What am I supposed to do? You know you will be killed, both of you. At least let Ron stay if you must go. I don't want to lose my second son. It should be us old people who go to fight wars, not the young who have so much to live for.

Mom, you couldn't keep up. Physically that is.

"Oh, yes I can, so let me go instead of you.

Out of the question, Anne," Ben said.

She stormed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom slamming the door .

"So what should we do Dad? Ron asked.

"Up to you. I'm going. If we do nothing we will die or be enslaved sometime down the road. Besides, it's the principle of the whole thing. To allow invasion from another country just to fulfill their own needs, when we have done nothing to harm them, makes my blood boil. They gotta be stopped, or at least we gotta try.

The rest of the night before they headed out, Anne pleaded with Ron to stay. That somehow they could make it through any Chinese invasion.

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No one slept much that night.

May 9, 2016

Ben rose before sunrise and got Ron up. They ate a bit of breakfast.

Ben went into his room where Anne was still in bed pretending to sleep.

"Anne, I know you're awake. I need to talk to you before we go. He took off his wedding band and was going to hand it to Anne.

"Why are you giving this to me?

"Our two bands should be together.

"You're not expecting to come back are you? she said starting to choke up.

"There's no way to know," Ben said in a soft voice.

"No, to make sure you come back you keep it on at all times!" Anne replied sternly.

Ben put it back on his ring finger. Kissing Anne, told her he loved her and he would return safely. She did not kiss him back.

It was 6:30 am when Ben and Ron headed out the door. Anne did not get up to see them off, still mad. It was raining, low dark overcast clouds. The mood of the weather matched Anne's mood.

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58 They walked silently to the corner, packs on their backs, Ben with the old . 303 Lee Enfield jungle carbine. It had been in the family since his grandfather, on his mother's side, returned from the Pacific campaign of WWII .. Ben's grandfather won a few medals while serving with the British Army in what was then called Burma. He couldn't remember the last time the rifle had been fired. It was stored carefully for years, and never registered with the Federal Government's controversial Gun Registry when it was in force. Ben's view, which turned out to be correct, was that the government was doing nothing more than making criminals out of law abiding citizens instead of dealing with true criminals with weapons.

With the onset of the chaos during Black Winter criminals with guns caused havoc with the unarmed populous in the major cities resulting in many innocent people being shot and killed. Luckily those who flaunted the law and kept their weapons secret were able to fight back and protect their families.

By the time they walked the three miles to the road junction the rain had started to let up a bit and the sky brightened. No one else was at the intersection, but others were seen coming up the roads from all directions.

Within the hour twenty people showed up, probably the bulk of those who made it through the winter and were fit enough to join up. Some of the wives were there to see their spouses and sons off. Tears where in their eyes before the bus even arrived.

It was near noon by the time the bus arrived, almost filled to capacity. Everyone leaving said their goodbyes and climbed aboard.

They arrived at the old Via railway station in central London just after 1pm. The rain had started again. Sitting on the track were five eighty-foot high cubed boxcars, windows roughly cut on the walls and the doors were open. At each end of the consist were two large tank cars withWater Only" crudely painted in white on the sides.

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59 The boxcar doors were open with men inside welding and hammering, altering the insides to house about 80 people in each car. Multi-layered bunk beds were built against the walls, and a crude toilet was being quickly installed.

Several other busses were there, with more arriving. In all nearly five hundred people showed up, more than could fit in the cars available.

They were greeted by a Canadian Warrant Officer. Behind the long handle barred mustache was a well-worn face. He was stout and well built. His short hair was barely visible under the red beret. He was in full combat uniform. Though hard to judge his age, he was at least in his mid to late fifties Ben thought. Definitely a career soldier hardened by many years of military life. But he was actually a once retired soldier returning to do his bit for the effort.

Alright you ladies, gather round!!" he shouted like it was his normal tone of speaking. The Warrant Officer climbed up into one of the doors and shouted at the crew inside.

OK you lot, stop all that racket, I can't hear myself speak!!"

Silence almost immediately.

Welcome to your transportation into Hell! These cars are going to take you from here all the way to Calgary! That's seven days lads, so you had better all start to get to know one another, and quickly. Any equipment and firearms you have can go with you, and keep them close! You will be fed. The food is arriving as I speak. Water is in the tank cars at the ends. Each boxcar has it's own water supply line from these cars.

We are waiting for the train to arrive from Windsor which we will be added to before we head to Toronto and then on out west.

Will we be able to get out of the cars at some time? someone interrupted.

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The warrant officer stared with wide eyes at the individual. Some snickering started.

Quiet all of you!!" he shouted. You are in the army now and you will abide by the rules and orders I, and any one else with rank says to you, understand!!

Now before the train gets here, you must all sign up. In the station a Corporal is waiting to get your 'John Henry' on the dotted line. I want two lines. If you have already been in the militia or army at any time in your life, go through the left door, if not, go through the right door. That is all, get moving!!"

He jumped down from the car and marched off into the station, the crowd followed.

I guess, Ron, I'll be going in the left door, you're at the right. Hopefully we will get to ride together on the trip," Ben said.

I hope so, Dad," Ron said going off into the right door.

Ben waited in the short line about an hour before getting to the desk. There a young lady in uniform, a Corporal, was taking all the information. Next!" she said without looking up.

Name and outfit you served in and when?" she asked Ben looking blankly at him.

Ben Robson, I served in the Queen's Own Rifles in my late teens," he replied.

And when was that, the year please,"

More than thirty years ago, I served for three years, getting to rank of Corporal," Ben replied.

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61 Thirty years ago!! That means you must be over fifty, right?" she asked.

Yes, fifty-two to be exact.

We are not taking any one over the age of forty-five. Next!!"

Wait, don't just drop me out like that, my son is signing up and I'm physically fit, I want to do my part. I can fight.

Nope, those are the rules. Next!"

Look, Corporal, who do I need to see to resolve this, I want to go!"

Shit, OK. Just a sec. She got up and went over to the Warrant officer. Ben could hear her sayFucking pain in the ass!" as she got up.

As soon as she explained it, the Warrant officer stared at Ben the same way he did the guy who interrupted him, maybe that was his normal stare Ben thought. Then the head shaking no started. She came back.

Sorry, no exceptions, Next!"

Disappointed, Ben left the line, and the building. He waited at the right door for Ron, who eventually emerged.

Dad, I'm signed up, took long enough.

They won't let me go because I'm too old," Ben said.

Crap! No way!" Ron replied. No exceptions I guess. Follow the rules, they made that clear when I signed up.

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Look, Ron. This is going to be chaotic when the cars start loading, I'm going to stow away with you.

Dad, they'll find out and send you home, maybe even just drop you off with no way to get home.

I'll take that chance. I'll think of something as an excuse.

The train from Windsor arrived late on the adjacent track. The train was mostly the same types of boxcars with windows cut in them and many arms and heads sticking out. They uncoupled the long string of cars from the three locomotives pulling it. Then the locomotives were switched onto the tracks with the waiting cars and coupled up.

The Warrant officer ran out of the station yelling.

OK you ladies, get on the train now, we have no time to lose. We're late already. Get moving!!" After a few seconds,Some of you will have to cram into the cars that just arrived, there's not enough room in these cars". He then pointed out a line from the group and ordered them to follow him to the other track.

Ben saw this as the chance to stow away. Sticking close to Ron they got into a car quickly before anyone noticed Ben was in the group.

The beds were stacked 5 high, two deep on each side of a narrow walkway between them. At one end was a normal home toilet bolted to the floor with a tarp one could pull around for privacy. At the other end was a small propane stove with a large propane tank beside it. In the corner beside the stove was a small sink.

Under the lowest bunks were boxes of food, mostly tinned meats and beans, some bread wrapped in newspaper, and some tins of coffee.

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Oh, wow five star accommodations!" someone kidded. They started to introduce themselves. Most were from the city itself, all unemployed. Some were lawyers, salesmen, shop owners, and many factory workers from the Labatt's plant. Some, like the group that came with Ben were farmers and small town business people.

This isn't the only train from here," Ben overheard someone say to a friend. They are loading cars at the CP line out by the GM plant for all their former employees, I've heard thousands have signed up,"

Other than that, most of the chit-chat was just that, idle chit-chat. Some were asking what was going to happen to them, others concerned about leaving family behind. Others just itching to kill Chinese.

Someone asked the Warrant Officer walking by outside the car about the militia from town as one of his friends was in the militia at the base in London.

Get on board now, lad," The Warrant Officer said to the man. They all shipped out last week, every one of them. They should be in Alberta by now, I would expect.. I'll be traveling with you lot. You all belong to me now! Now get on board, quick, quick!!"

Once the last man was in the car the door clanged shut. Within fifteen minutes, with the rain pouring down again, the cars started to move. They were attached to the rest of the consist, and then off they headed east towards Toronto.

By this time it was nearing 7pm. I'm hungry!" someone said,Let's breakout some of that food and eat.

Look," Ben interrupted,I seem to be the oldest here, and I want to have some order in this car. We are going to be in here for a week at least, and we have no idea when we will get more food, so we need to make sure everyone gets their own share.

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Who the hell are you old man to tell us what to do? Someone shouted from the far side of the car. Agreeing grumbling came from around him.

I'm a nobody. Ben Robson is my name. I've been in the militia, and I have a good idea what we are going to go through. Training and then combat. You had all better start to get used to little food, equal sharing, and start to form camaraderie with everyone in this car. Your lives are soon going to depend on friendships you make between now and when we get into battle. Our common enemy is the Chinese invaders, not each other. There is no room for selfishness between us, otherwise why are you here?

"I'm here for the money gamps!" someone shouted.

"Then you are here for the wrong reason. The government is broke, they have no money to pay you.

"But they promised four hundred dollars a week!" someone else complained.

"Don't count on it," Ron replied,my father knows what he's talking about. He's been in the militia. I'm not here for the money. I'm here to protect my country and my family. All of you should think that way, and if not, then start or get off this train!"

Silence filled the car. They sat in their bunks with only minor talk between friends in the car until they arrived at McMillian railway yard in Toronto, nearly three hours later. By that time it was dark and the rain finally stopped. The clouds were breaking up with a young crescent moon starting to peek through.

The car doors opened and someone shouted from outsideEverybody out now!"

"Stay close to the cars and do not wander off!" he shouted again as he went to the next car opening that door and shouting the same thing.

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The locomotives were uncoupled from the train at the far end, and four new locomotives coupled onto the opposite end. Several other trains with these newsoldiers" were arriving and leaving simultaneously. Some trains were full of passenger cars, but most were converted freight cars. Some trains had military equipment on large flat cars. All trains had the same ultimate destination, they were all heading west.

As soon as the new locomotives were coupled on, someone started back up the line shouting. Back on the train, lets go!!"

"Damn, not even a ten minute leg stretch," someone complained.

As soon as this fellow arrived at Ben's car, someone asked about food.

What the hell do you think that food under your bunk is for you moron!" he yelled back.

They looked at Ben as being the real moron in the group.

"But keep in mind you lot," he continued,that food must last you until the next stop which could be days from now, so conserve! Now get in so I can close the door!"

In the dim car, someone lit a candle. I found a box of candles under my bunk. Ben how many should we light?" he asked.

"Just a few, so who can cook Spam? Ben asked holding up a can.

That night they ate a bit of Spam and some boiled potatoes. The coffee they agreed to keep for the morning. By midnight they were all asleep with the train well on its way towards Sudbury, their next stop in the morning.

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66 In the morning, around 10 am, it was bright and sunny as they slowly pulled into Sudbury. The sun shone onto Ben's eyes waking him up as the train rounded a curve. They agreed to eat the bread before it went stale, and the coffee too. Someone found a box with peanut butter. Some saying they had not seen peanut butter since last summer. It was a nice feast. Soon they stopped at the station. They were the only train there. They stopped for two days in order to trade train crews, then they were off again.

May 15, 2016

During the day, cards were played, books were read, and some pacing up and down the narrow aisle. Some complained they were already bored.

By the dinnertime of the following day they were running along the north shore of Lake Superior. No one on board had been up this part of Ontario before. Ron had his head out the door looking towards the front of the train. They were making a long left curve. Hey Dad, check this out," he said.

Ben arrived at the door just as they were emerging from the trees onto along tall bridge. Down beyond a bend in the green river they could see the lake --Lake Superior.

We're on the CP line, we must have switched over from the CN line in Sudbury," Ben said, but no one seemed to care or understand. The CN line is much further north, so we must be stopping in Thunder Bay," he continued, again to blank stares.

He looked back at the scenery. The distant lake had tiny sparkles of light reflecting from the evening sun, like thousands of stars on a sky of green. In the distance plumes of dark clouds hung over the lake. Once across the bridge the train snaked to the right as it hugged around a hill when the lake disappeared behind trees. As they started another right turn around the hill the lake reappeared below them. The low sun was streaking rays of yellow through the distant rain clouds, which reflected off the green of the lake. Wisps of dark gray fell from some of the darker towers of clouds. The odd lightning flash hit the

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67 water lighting up the bottom of the clouds. Ben and Ron just stood there in the doorway, not saying a word, marveling at the scene.

Next stop was Rossport where they spent the day waiting for clearance. Then off to Thunder Bay, arriving by late evening. It was a long boring trip with no stops between. They had traveled into the rain, which was coming through the open windows soaking the bedding. Here train crews changed again, they topped up the water, handed out more bread, and let everyone have a stretch for about an hour. Then back on the rails again. Next stop was a daylong wait in Winnipeg, then a fifteen hour run to Brandon, Manitoba.

They arrived in Brandon in the late afternoon. Several trains were waiting. Some came from Ottawa full of soldiers, some came from Quebec as Ben overheard soldiers talking in French. They appeared to be full time regular forces fully armed and equipped. There were flat cars on some of the trains with military vehicles, including some of the newer Canadian made Leopard III tanks, tanks made right in London. Those trains got priority to head out first. But they did not leave much time between trains leaving. Some trains were returning from out west, many of them were grain cars coming from the prairies where the effort was on to pull all the stored grain from the west as possible to feed those in cities in the rest of the country. There were also many freight cars full of civilians being evacuated from the west coast.

This stop was the first time since they left London that they saw the Warrant Officer again. He was in the old caboose at the end of their train. A bit more comfortable than the cars they were in.

Ben hid his face as much as he could behind other men, but occasionally he thought he saw the Warrant Officer eyeball him and snicker.

The Warrant Officer ordered them all to gather around away from the track in the station's parking lot.

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68 "We have to stay here for a day, too many higher priority trains must get through first. We leave first thing in the morning. No one is to leave the area, we have arranged for a good meal for all of you. Should arrive within the hour. The local residents have all chipped in to make you all the best dinner you are likely to have for along time, so take advantage of it!"

And he left to go back into his car. Everyone just hung around the parking lot, some smoking their last cigarettes. By 8pm several horse drawn carts, some trucks and people showed up with lots of food. Tables were set up in long rows, and the food opened up on them. Boxes of paper plates were opened at one end.

The Warrant Officer then reappeared, as if out of nowhere shouting. Ok, Ladies, time to eat. Now make a nice orderly line, anyone butting in will be out with no dinner!!"

The food was magnificent. Hamburgers, steak, chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, even fresh fruit! Ben and Ron loaded up their pockets with those, with an agreeing wink of the eye from the pretty young lady serving them.

Hey, I thought you said share and not be greedy!" someone beside Ron said.

Feeling caught like a child with his hand in a cookie jar, Ben tried to come up with an answer. We don't know

The young lady came to the rescue. That's Ok, there's enough to take with you on the road. You won't know where the next meal will be. Right?" as she winked again at Ben.

"Yeah, that's what I was going to say," Ben said.

The guy shook his head as he too filled his pockets.

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69 Some of the people serving the soldiers wished them all to come home and thanked them for what they were about to do. Some prayed.

By 2 AM everyone was loaded to the hilt when the Warrant Officer came running up to the parking lot.

"Alright ya fat piggies, it's time to leave! We've been given the green light. We won't be stopping until we reach Calgary in two to three days time, so load up any food left on the tables, you're gonna need it! Now move!!"

With fresh locomotives and crews the train ran fast along the long flat straight track across the Saskatchewan prairies. The sun was bright and not a cloud in the sky, in fact they had the car doors open so as to keep the heat down.

Ben marveled at how flat the land was, and everywhere farms were being tended to by thousands of people. Seems as many as could be evacuated from the west coast were working on farms. Few machineries could be seen, though lots of horses.

This is what it must have been like in the Eighteen hundreds out here," Ben said to Ron.

Very labour intensive in those days, seems we have reverted somewhat, Ron said.

Shape of things to come," Ben said nodding.

Regina was reached by the evening of the next day, they were making good time. Luckily, or by design, the train did stop after all, good thing too as the food and water were running out. There, they stayed a few hours while everything was replenished, though the food was not so great. They managed to siphon off some food from a stopped supply train heading west. The Warrant Officer almost had to threaten that train's crew to get at the food. It was back to Spam, stale bread and softening potatoes.

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70 By nightfall, they were off again ahead of the supply train. Ron could not sleep. With little exercise the last couple days, plus the monotony of the sounds of the train, it was difficult to sleep. So did the heat. Temperatures on the prairie were hot, over thirty degrees Celsius by midday, and barely under fifteen by night. The fast breeze created by the train made the weather bearable.

Ron gazed up at the stars in the clear sky. He looked far off to the north near the horizon to see if there were any northern lights. This far north surely he would see some, but nothing. There hadn been any sunspots for at least a decade, which is why the planet t was plunged into colder climate, just like during the Little Ice Age. Ron drifted off amongst the snoring.

I wasn't until the morning of the following day that they arrived in Alberta. A couple times they had to wait for hours on sidings for trains coming from the west to pass. In some cases several passed with barely a minute between each one.

What a nightmare for railroad dispatchers this must be, Ben thought to himself. Many times they noticed that engineers on passing locomotives were women, young and old. Radio chatter they could hear were also female voices. Just like in World War Two, he thought to himself.

May 24, 2016

The train stopped just across the boarder into Alberta, about three hundred kilometers east of Calgary. They were in a shallow depression carved out by a creek in the otherwise flat plain. Here the Trans-Canada Highway, a main four-lane divided highway, ran along the south side of the tracks. South of the highway was a small road leading off disappearing into the gully beyond. Trees outlined a small pond on the west side of the road at the junction with the highway. To the west the highway bent a little south then disappeared up on the plain. To the east the highway bent up a bit northward and also

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71 disappeared over the horizon. Not a soul was on the highway. On the north side of the highway's shoulder were piled boxes and crates.

Everyone was ordered out of the cars, to bring everything they could out and to stand on the highway. The sun was high and hot. Cracks in the pavement filled with tar stuck to their shoes.

The Warrant Officer checked every car to make sure no one was on board. He then radioed to the train crew, and off the train continued.

Stay off the tracks, there is another train right behind us. The road is safe, no cars to hit you!" he yelled.

I want everyone to line up on the road in proper formation facing north. Do it now!" he ordered as soon as the train was far enough away for him to be heard.

Here is your new home for the next few weeks. This is where I will turn you girls into soldiers! In these boxes and crates are tents and supplies. Get a tent city set up north of the tracks along the creek. Follow that road off the highway north. He pointed to his right. Keep in groups of your car mates! There are some civilian homes west along that road. Stay away from them. Just follow the creek. Now get at it!"

Ben was just about to open a box when a hand grabbed his shoulders from behind. It was the Warrant Officer.

So you are that determined are you!" he said angrily. You know I could just leave you here or send you home on the next train.

He had to stop for a minute as a train heading west came roaring through. It was mostly trailer cars loaded with military equipment. As soon as it was gone Ben replied, Look Warrant, I want to defend my country, I have had some military training long ago and I

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72 was a damn good shot then. I was an IT manager with thirty-two employees under me when I retired. I know how to lead, and I know some of the military. You need me here to help you get these greens into shape. You're all alone here to do this aren't you Warrant?"

Smart ass aren't we! Come into my office, we need to talk. And the Warrant Officer took Ben, with a firm grasp of his arm, across the highway to the south side away from the rest who were opening the boxes and crates.

What's your name? he asked.

Ben Robson.

How old are you Robson?

Fifty two this year.

Damn, Robson, you're almost as old as I am, you think you can keep up with these kids?"

I guess we'll see won't we.

Not a good answer, he retorted. Anyway, I'm not going to be alone. There is no way the military would expect me to train sixteen hundred men on my own. Tomorrow fifteen regular soldiers arrive to start the training process. So I don't need you. But what you can do is set an example for them to follow. I fear many of these yahoos are not here for the patriotic duty.

That's an understatement," Ben acknowledged.

So then in that regard you can help. But I will be watching you carefully and as soon as I see you can't be of value, I'll have your butt on the first train home, understand?

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Yes Warrant," Ben replied. I understand. But you understand this, if you turf me out, I'll find some way of getting back. I'm not going to be left out, not by you, or anyone else.

The Warrant Officer thought for a second and realized the determination. Well, fuck Hell " he said. I came out of retirement to help the cause himself. Fair enough. In the mean time get over there and help out. Make sure they get set up properly, think you can handle that?

Sure thing Warrant. Ben went with a grin on his face to help his son unload a crate.

By nightfall they had moved everything to the north of the tracks along a creek. They made fires with the crate wood, and finally got all the tents up and sleeping bags in place. They actually enjoyed themselves for the rest of the evening singing and laughing at stupid jokes. The night sky was clear and bright with billions of stars. If not for the reason why they were there, it could have been a Moment of spiritual enlightenment.

In the morning the hard work was going to begin.

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Chapter 4: Training
May 25, 2016

Everyone was wakened by the blast of a whistle, screeching up and down the row of tents.

Get up you lazy fat bodies!" that familiar voice cried out. Time for you ladies to get to work. Now up and at it! Into formation in front of your tents for inspection!!"

Ben tried to get up, but his back was aching big time. It had been a long time since he had to sleep on hard ground. Not since camping and canoeing with the family when they were much younger. He drifted off with those memories.

The lake was calm and little effort was needed to glide the canoe with the paddles. Perfect for teaching the boys how to steer and turn. Ron and Bobby were splashing each other with slaps of the paddles on the water. Loons were calling in the distance, which then turned into whistles.

Ben woke from the dream as the whistle blasted right outside his tent. Robson you better still be alive. Now get up and get out here now!!"

Ben then remembered where he was. I miss my younger days, he thought. Rubbing the crusties out of his eyes, Ben reluctantly got up. The other five in the tent were already getting dressed, and heading out. Ben rushed to do the same, somewhat hunched over in pain. As he came out of his tent a bright yellow-orange ball rose from the horizon right in front of him. Wisps of thin gray clouds were highlighted with gold and orange. But, instead of the beauty, all Ben felt was the bright light hurting his eyes. He wondered if he should have come here in the first place, but only for a Moment.

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There was no food. Someone forgot to inform the local people that troops would be here that day. The Warrant Officer walked up and down the line, everyone was at attention in front of their tents. After he informed them of the food situation, his next task for the troops was to build latrines.

I want them built downstream from the tents. Six built to start. Holes must be six feet down, and four-foot square. That's for the shitters. I want ten pissing tubes inserted around the shitters. All the materials you will need are sitting on the road. Now get at it! Robson you can organize the labour," he said with a smile poking his finger into Ben's chest.

The troops headed up to the road. They were greeted with many crates sitting piled on the side of the highway that were delivered during the night.

Except there was still no food.

The crates contained uniforms, rifles, ammunition, prefabricated latrines and cooking equipment. As they unloaded the crates, moans of no food could be heard. Ben and the Warrant Officer split the troops into two groups, one to build the latrines and the others to deal with the rest of the supplies.

The Warrant Officer took about twenty to build a rifle range on the south side of the road against the wall of the canyon. Another group were ordered to build the dining tents, and others to sort out the uniforms and equipment.

By noon it was a beehive of semi-chaotic activity as they tried to figure out how things went together. Amazing that simple tasks like putting together a prefabricated latrine, with instructions, can get fouled up. It took them an hour just to figure out how to erect the latrine over the hole. Several times the Warrant Officer had to tell them to dig the hole deeper. Even the pissing tubes were inserted into the ground wrong.

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Unless you want to mount the tubes like a woman, you had better put them in the ground on an angle!" he yelled at them. They had to re-dig them all.

By 4pm just about everything was completed to his satisfaction. Ben was relieved that he did not have to do much heavy lifting, even though by mid day his back no longer hurt.

He was involved with sorting and checking out the rifles. There were lots of them, and he had a lot of help. There were many ex-cops in the troop and they naturally gravitated to the weapons.

Also all the privately owned weapons were brought to the tent for inspection. Most were shotguns and hunting rifles, but some were military, like Ben's Enfield and someone else's M1 Garand. There were even a couple of AR 15's and two bolt action Remington sniper rifles with scopes.

We've got some pros here," Ben said to the ex-cops.

None of those sniper rifles are ours, we don't know who these belong to," said one of the cops.

They then opened the boxes of rifles supplied by the military. Bloody hell," one of them complained. Fifty year old FN's. I though they were no longer in use?"

Yeah Cold War relics from the past. We get the shit stuff," another one complained.

They work," Ben said. And for training they will do just fine for those who have never fired before.

I'll be using my AR -fifteen, not this bit of crap," said another as he threw down an old Sterling sub machine gun.

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For now," Ben continued, let's just get these sorted out and into the tent. How many of each do we have?"

Who the hell assigned you leader of this group? I was a Staff Sergeant in the Windsor Police Force. I don't need to take orders from you," said one rather hefty tall man, a bit balding at the top.

Ok, fine," Ben said with his hands up walking away. You organize it then, I really don't care.

Ron found Ben lying in the sun at the side of the highway. Dad, the Warrant will give you shit if he sees you laying down.

"Where is he?" looking up at Ron and covering his eyes from the setting sun. I must have dozed off, what time is it?"

Near seven pm and we still have no food. The guys are getting really grumpy. The Warrant is off to one of the farm houses to see if he can get us some grub.

The sound of vehicles came from the west around the bend of the road towards them. Ben and Ron watched two military trucks pulled up and stopped in front of them. A sergeant got out of the lead truck and walked over to them. Who's in charge here?"

The Warrant Officer is, but he is out trying to get us some food," Ben replied.

Soldiers in combat uniforms poured out of the back of the trucks carrying their C6 rifles and stood behind the sergeant. Most of the soldiers were corporals and sergeants, only a hand full were privates.

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Ok boys this is your troop. Unload some food for these guys, seems they don't have any. Tuning to Ben the sergeant said, How many of you are there?"

Hmm, not sure. My guess would be fifteen hundred.

Not for long," replied the sergeant. I will be taking many of you away to another training camp.

The Warrant Officer arrived back at camp about an hour later with a pair of horses pulling a wagon with several people on it. The smell of food was in the air. "Eat up boys, the foul up has been corrected!" He went over to talk with the sergeant.

After a bit of discussion with the sergeant the Warrant Officer turned back to the feasting men. Ok ladies, things have been sorted out. First I will give you the good news. I'm leaving. You will be left in the hands of the Sergeant here.

Some clapping was heard in the distance, which petered out pretty quick with that stern stare of the Warrant Officer.

Don't be so quick to be rid of me. Sergeant Hammel here is meaner than I am! His job will be to whip you girls into soldiers. Secondly, many of you will be leaving with the trucks and going directly to Calgary for specialized training. Everyone who was once a police officer will be leaving in the morning.

Mumblings of about fucking time" were heard. Ben got the distinct impression that these ex-cops thought themselves better than the rest because of their previous status and he wondered how many of them would actually hold up under combat. He would never find out, however, he never saw any of them again.

Finally, stay off the highway tonight", continued the Warrant Officer, There is a large

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79 convoy of trucks heading east. Evacuation of people and equipment from the coast. Which brings us to the bad news. He paused a bit, looking at the sergeant, then down to his feet. Slowly he lifted his head. We have confirmation that the Chinese have landed in Vancouver. Hundreds of thousands of them are pouring off ships all the way up to Prince Rupert" The crowd stopped eating and there was utter silence in the tent, save for the crickets chirping outside.

So it has started," the sergeant said interrupting. We expect them to start to move into the mountains and make their way east within the month. We have troops all along the passes waiting to ambush them, but with their number of boots on the ground it's only a matter of time before they make it through the mountains.

Where are the U.S. planes and army?" someone yelled.

They have their hands full," the sergeant continued. It seems the Commie have landed just as many troops near Los Angeles and up the whole west U.S. coast. The Brass have nothing to send us. Besides, from what we have heard aviation fuel is in such sort supply that it's impossible to get any aircraft up here. Our own military can't get a single plane in the air yet.

So it's grim boys," The Warrant Officer continued. Your training will be only one week instead of three or four I was hoping for. Then it's off to the mountains to support the defense.

How are we to stop hundreds of thousands of enemy?" someone else asked.

The sergeant walked amongst the men. Look, we know this will be tough, and looks rather hopeless. But we do have some advantages on our side," he said.

Yeah, like what? said the same ex-cop Ben had the problem with. We have antiquated

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80 equipment; little ammunition, almost no training, and most of these guys are too out of shape. How are we to stand up against such hardened troops?"

The Sergeant continued with Look, we have a number of advantages. The biggest is the Chinese supply line. To feed and supply that many troops, through only a handful of passes in the mountains, will be their biggest challenge. I don't know the plans or details of how The Powers That Be are going to deal with this, but my guess would be that they will want to draw the Chinese as far as possible into the mountains and then hit them hard. The ultimate goal is to hold them until the winter. That means holding them off for six more months at the least.

The crowd started rumblings of no way", How the fuck are we to do that?", and Game over, game over!" Even cries of I want to go home.

With that the Warrant Officer jumped in. Look ladies, their ultimate goal is to gain control of the tar sands and colonize the west coast. That we can be sure of.

And the prairies for food," interrupted the Sergeant.

They will stop at nothing to get to that goal. The sergeant has told me that they are slaughtering people by the thousands in Vancouver," continued the Warrant Officer.

In the distance they could hear a rumbling sound.

That's most likely the evacuation convoy. I'll stop them and ask them if they will take any of you who want to chicken out now. But first let's ask them if stopping the Chinese is worth attempting, shall we? Ask them if they should evacuate only to be later enslaved or killed.

Ok, if you want to leave, then do so when they get here. But remember if you don't put

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81 in an effort now to stop the Commies, you will be later on when they move further east and take full control of this country.

So make up your minds now! as he gave that stare through the entire tent.

Lights now shone across the gully as the trucks came around the curve. A few of the much younger guys got up and headed for the highway, about twenty in all.

Realizing that an avalanche of desertions could easily start, Ben got up and stood on a table. STOP!" he shouted. The sergeant is right. If you leave now you will be in a worse situation down the road. We must stop them before they gain a foot hold here.

The men ignored him and continued to move to the road.

WAIT, PLEASE!"

They stopped and turned to look at Ben.

Look, I know you're scared. And if this was a movie, the writers would have some spectacular speech for me to make that would put tears in your eyes and you would return and help. But I don't have such a speech ready.

All I can say is that we need you. We need every single one of you. Every man counts. You leave and you weaken us all. Yes, we came through a bad winter, many people died. Yes, most of us lost everything when the economy collapsed. But economies can be rebuilt.

If we lose to the Chinese you will lose the one last thing that we all have. Freedom.

What good is freedom if you are dead old man?!" one yelled back.

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82 Do you have family? Do any of you have relatives back home? Are you willing to not only give up your own freedom to slavery but theirs too? Die, yes. I won't mince words, the likelihood of you being killed is very high. And I won't use the lame excuse that we all must die sometime because many of you have the potential to a long life. But choose a short life free or a long life in despair, starvation and enslavement.

Look, if the Chinese take us over, they will not be kind. They will torture, rape and kill at random. They won't give a shit about who you are, or who your relatives are. Think about what all conquerors have done throughout time. Think about that before you make up your minds.

I know some of you are thinking that if you leave and we succeed in stopping the Chinese that you will have benefited from our sacrifices. If that is the kind of person you are then no speech, no amount of persuasion will change your mind. Do what you feel you have to do.

Speech over," and he sat down.

For a few minutes, as the trucks started passing by, the twenty talked together, some shaking their heads. Most returned to the tent. A handful went to the road and waved down a truck.

Good," Ron said to his Dad I wouldn't have wanted to be in a fox hole with one of those pricks anyway.

The line of trucks was huge. Mostly transport tractor-trailers, some busses full of people, and some tanker trucks. All four lanes were used. The sound was deafening. And it went on and on for almost an hour. Intermixed were cars with roofs loaded with stuff.

Wonder how far they will get before they run out of fuel," Ben said to Ron.

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They probably don't care as long as it is as far east as possible,"

A half dozen military trucks at the back pulled over and stopped. Then as the last of the convoy rounded the eastern curve up out of the gorge it became quiet again.

By now it was near 10pm and quite dark save for the few candles and lamps burning on the tables.

OK, Ladies, pack it in for the night, and let's give a round of thanks to the locals for this fine meal," the Warrant Officer said starting with the clapping. The entire troop stood up applauding.

On their way to bed, Ben and Ron got into line at a pissing tube. Ron looked up at the clean cloudless sky.

Amazing the stars," he said.

Ben walking up to his tube said, Yeah, in the universal scheme of things we matter not do we.

The morning brought the same thing as the previous day, just the voice was different. It was that of their new sergeant. Orders to get up and fall in line. All the new soldiers were hitting the tents getting everyone up. The sun was barely over the horizon. They were all ordered to the pissing tubes first, then up onto the road to get into formation.

The Warrant Officer was there. OK, ladies, I want all you ex-cops to fall out and get into the trucks. Now!" About two hundred of them moved out of formation and onto the trucks. Not long after, the convoy disappeared west over the crest of the canyon.

Then a train came up from the west and stopped. It was all mainly the large tank cars that

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84 carry petroleum. The Warrant officer, without saying goodbye, went over to the train and got into the engine. The train headed onward east taking the Warrant Officer back to get a new formation of raw recruits. Ben never saw him again.

So many people come and go. He thought to himself. Sad it is that we have such brief encounters with our fellow humans. He wondered if in different circumstances they might have been friends. But it was these very circumstances that he even met the fellow in the first place. Then he realized that he never found out his name. Seems he was only known as Warrant" by his fellow soldiers.

The morning brought calisthenics and a five-kilometer run (for those who could do it). A pancake breakfast was served around 9am by the locals. Then they were broken up into fifteen different platoons each with one of the regular soldiers in charge. They were then set up in different tasks and training in parallel.

This included lectures on military tactics, marching, hand-to-hand combat techniques, marching, live fire rifle practice, marching, eating, marching, and drills. Oh, and marching too.

Ben and Ron never made it to shooting that first day, seems most of their day was in the tent listening to lectures and marching, lots of it. For Ben the days, more than thirty years before, in the Queens Own Rifles vividly returned.

That night a fight broke out in the mess tent over one of the locals who was oriental. One of the troopers went at him with a knife and tried to kill him. Several wrestled the assailant to the ground with the poor victim yelling he was Japanese/Canadian not Chinese. Unfortunate misunderstanding that will be acted out many more times.

Ben started to wonder, Are we going to go through this all again? Are we going to imprison anybody who looks Chinese? All those millions of Chinese Canadians? I wonder if there was any objective in all of those millions of Chinese immigrating to

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85 North America? Eyes on the ground? Whose side will they be on? Ben would not consider himself racists by any stretch of the imagination, Ron once dated a black girl, who was very intelligent and seemed to fit into the family. But times have changed and doubts start to enter one's mind.

That night the sergeant figured the men needed to blow off some steam and ordered the men to take it easy for the night. Many campfires were started with groups laughing and singing, but generally just talking. Ben found Ron at such a fire with some ten other people. The talk was of what was to come, how they would fair. This lead to the meaning of life to begin with.

Ben walked in just as someone said, .God's will whether we live or die.

Spoken like a true Christian. Ben said sitting down.

Ron lowered his head and said in a low voice, Here we go.

You're a fellow Christian old man?" the man said.

Oh, shit, now he's done it. Ron said to himself.

No, I wouldn't be caught dead being a hypocritical Christian. Ben replied.

Dad, please don't get started, drop it. Ron said.

You are an atheist then?" the man insisted.

Oh, shit, wrong question to ask my Dad. Ron came back.

Yep. I'm of no religion. Atheist and proud of it. Ben said proudly.

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86 A non-believer!" some gasped.

So you think we all got here by chance, it was all an accident?" the man asked in defiance.

Yep, chaos rules and I can prove it. Ben said

Dad, don't get started. Ron pleaded.

Why not? He started it not me, you know how I feel about this. Ben replied.

Yeah, and that's what I'm afraid of Dad!"

No, you can't. It's God's will, so there cannot be any chance, the man said thinking that Ben would in no way be able to prove anything.

So there's no chance involved when only one sperm in a million in your ejaculate fertilizes an egg? There's no chance involved when you have sex with your wife when she happens to be fertile? There's no chance involved when you met your wife in the first place?"

No, as I said it's God's will.

So God is guiding the only sperm that will fertilize an egg? He is somehow interfering in physical laws to make that happen?"

"You atheists just don't get it. God can violate physical laws any time He wants.

So then why bother with millions of sperm? Why not just the one magical sperm in each ejaculate and only when the woman is fertile. 'cause if she isn't then God's will won't happen will it?

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Look, there has to be chance involved in conception. Think about this. You have children I presume. If your family were to move, due to your decision for a better job, or lack of a job, or what ever, then those children of yours will marry different people and hence have children that would be born, than if you had stayed. The decision you are making is free will

But those children would not be born if you did not move and your kids marry different people. Other children would be born instead. Understand what I'm getting at?"

No I don't follow. God makes these people regardless of your decisions. He knows your decisions before you make them.

And that's free will!! Ha! That's pre destination. Look, let me see if I can make the point better.

My father was a Canadian soldier in World War Two, he met my mother while serving in the army. He was stationed to guard the British shores against possible German invasion that never happened. He and my mother met at a pub. She was up for an officer command, but she would have had to stop seeing my father who was a private. She had a choice to make. Her choice, no other forces involved. She chose my father. Her free will. That's the free will you people claim has to exist. They married that year, moved to Canada after the war, another choice my mother had to make leaving all her family in England. They had three children, one me.

Thus if Hitler had not started World War Two, my father would not have gone to fight the war, he would have never met my mother and I would not be here today. So here we have a whole series of free will decisions by a whole pile of people that if any one of them were made differently, I would not be here. In fact, many of you here would not be alive if not for World War Two. So your god deliberately forced Hitler to start World

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88 War Two and kill millions of people just so that you and I could eventually be born? Sorry, I can't accept that. Chaos and chance are the only rational explanations."

God did not force Hitler to make his decisions, Satan did. But the rest, your parents, that's just free will, the man retorted. But God knew these would all happen so you, and the rest of us, could be born. You are here because God willed it.

What a cop out! If you have free will then you must be bound by chance events. And millions of people making free will choices is just a form of chaos. You cannot have free will and a god that dictates and manipulates reality to make things happen the way it wants. Does not make sense, and I would argue is contradictory.

"God made the Devil to challenge us, to make you think the way you do. You will see the light if you were to just take Jesus into your heart and get born again.

"That's funny, yeah, blame Satan for all the things you cannot answer. Look, I'll believe all your fairytales if you can answer me a question about the creation.

Of course, it's all in the Bible, he said eagerly thinking he'd make a convert.

Ok, so the creation happened, God created birds, for example.

Yes, on the fifth day He created the fowl of the air. And God said it was good.

So they were adult birds? I mean if you looked at them they would appear as adults?"

Yes, I would presume so.

But they were just created, no juvenile stages.

No of course not.

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Now some of these birds migrate right.

Yes, one of God's miracles, the man said looking into the air.

And when these birds migrate, they find their way with cues on the ground.

God has a hand in how they get there.

Well, not really, experimentation shows that they follow the terrain. Change the cues and the birds get lost. That's been verified.

So you say.

"So says the observations. That means these birds have learned the cues from their parents from the previous years migrations. But right after the creation there wouldn't have been previous migrations. Right?"

No.

So how did the birds know how to follow the proper route?"

God showed them.

By implanting a memory of a route that did not exist until after the creation?"

Yes, he could have done that.

"Ah, I see.

Dad, you got your answer, let's pack it in, Ron piped up.

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Oh, but I'm not done yet.. Just getting started, Ben said back. Ok, so let me ask you this. When God created trees, for example, he created them fully grown. In fertile soil?"

Yes, 'And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.' God made the world perfect. he said.

In soil that is made from pervious years of fallen leaves, and years of decomposition that did not happen? So, and this is the final question. Right after the creation would it have been possible to know the world was created? The creation was so perfect that everything worked as if it all had a past? It would have to be so wouldn't it, right?"

God created perfectly. But the Bible does not tell us how God created, not the specifics that you desire. You don't need that when you believe in His word.

Ah, but you see the specifics are very important to me, for me to understand how this all happened. If fact, I fail to see how you could accept anything unless you understood the specifics. To me to understand how the creation actually happened would be paramount. But let me put forth a question to you.

If God created so perfectly with a past that never existed, then I submit to you that God created everything ten minutes ago, and there is no way of knowing any different.

No because I have a memory of my past, and I have the Bible, the written word of God that says otherwise.

Ah, but you see, by your own admission, God could have created all your memories in your mind. They never happened. Same with the Bible, he created all that perfectly ten minutes ago.

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91 No, I don't believe that. God would not do that.

Remember God does work in mysterious ways! I can see it now, you get to heaven and God tells you what I just told you was true. And he likes to do this because he loves to see the expression on the faces of people like you. It's all just a big game to Him. Right?!"

I can see it's pointless trying to show you the way. Satan has your soul. You are incapable of believing.

Well, you are right about that last bit. I don't believe anything at all. I accept what the scientific evidence tends to indicate and that evidence is over whelming for evolution. Not some being that likes to play nasty, cryptic games with his flock.

Dad, I think now is the time we packed it in. It's going to be a long day and I'm tired. Ron interjected trying to defuse the situation before it got worse.

Then go ahead Ron, I'm just getting started.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Ron got up and left, so did several others. Three stayed including the born again Christian who started the argument.

So how do you explain human and dinosaur tracks together in limestone?" another asked.

You mean Paluxy Texas?" Ben asked.

Yes", he replied.

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92 I can't believe you still believe in that. That was well investigated back in the nineties by scientists and creationists as to be a huge hoax. There are no human prints there at all, except the one's carved to look like human.

What about

No, there is no 'what about', you need to read up on what has been debunked in creationist arguments. Ben interrupted All of these arguments creationists have used to debunk evolution have all been proven to be either fabrication, flawed science or out right misrepresentation of how evolution works.

Dad, give it up, you know you will never convince him, come to bed!" Ben heard Ron from a distance.

He's right, your son, I have my faith and you can't shake it, and you have yours and I'll never be able to convince you that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Maybe when your life is near the end you will see the way, the man replied. The three went to their own tent.

Fat chance on that, Ben said to himself.

Ben sat there alone at the fire, feeling rather frustrated that he could not continue the discussion. He'd always found toying with these people such fun when he was at University, but he guessed that as such people got older the old dog new tricks" axiom applied. He too got up and went to bed.

The morning saw the same routine. Eat, shave, shower, calisthenics and the long morning march. Near lunch they were broken up into their respective groups. Ben's group got to be on an offensive charge against another group.

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93 Huddled around, their corporal said pointing south Ok guys, the enemy is up on that ridge. We move up the gully and attack their position. So let's move.

Someone pointed out Attack with what, none of us has no weapons?"

None of us have any weapons. Ben said correcting the young man but no one took notice.

We only have enough rifles for the shooting. Besides that's not the issue. The point here is to get you used to how an attack is done and what to expect. So follow me!" And off they went south of the highway. Ben and Ron were last.

They crossed the dirt road and headed into a canyon carved into the earth by a stream. At the base of the canyon they stopped. The enemy is up this canyon on top of the ridge. We are going to head on attack, let's go!" Off they went.

Ben grabbed Ron. Wait," he said. This is nuts and would be suicide.

You want to disobey orders and do something else?"

You would never attack full on, you would try and occupy them from the front while sending a squad around and hit them from the rear, that's what we are going to do.

Two others, overhead Ben and stopped. Count us in, one said.

What's your names?" asked Ben

I'm John.

And I'm Dave."

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94 There was a side branch to the canyon to the left, but it was steep. We go up there and come around from their right flank. Ben said.

In the distance they heard gunfire. Someone has blanks by the sound of it, Dave said.

They reached the top, with Ben very out of breath, but off they raced to the west. They could see the enemy bunkered down in the distance. They made their way around to the back of the defensive position, and attacked the rear. It totally took the enemy group off guard, and they surrendered.

The rest of the group came up the slope to the top of the ridge to find his enemy handson-the-head guarded by Ben and his small squad. Ben's squad leader looked real pissed.

You broke rank and took this on your own!?" he yelled at them.

It was my call, Ben said. And it was the right one, we won.

That's not the point, you did not follow orders!"

But that is the point. The orders were flawed and would have killed all of us. We must be able to think our way out of problems in an innovative way. It's the only way we will have a chance against superior numbers when we engage the Chinese.

The corporal was furious and stomped off to camp ordering everyone else to follow. The other corporal of the enemy group ran up to their corporal and they started an argument which continued right until they got back to camp.

That night Ben was brought up to the sergeant and given a stern talking to about following the chain of command. Did you do this when you were in the private sector?" the sergeant asked Ben.

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95 We were always told to take the initiative and do what had to be done to get problems solved. I often disobeyed 'orders' when they were in conflict with how I thought things should be done. I was rarely wrong. Pissed some people off, but made the bean counters happy which is all that counted, he replied.

Well, this is different, this is the army. You do what you are told to do.

Maybe," Ben said.

What the fuck does that mean?"

Just that, maybe. I'll judge that when the time comes.

"You won't last then.

Why 'cause you will kick me out of the army? Won't matter, I'll fight on my own if I have to. Recall we are all volunteers.

Irrelevant, look I don't want to argue this any more, we're going in circles. You will do what you are told. If not for me, or yourself, but the others. Irregardless of how much you may think you are right, we can't have the whole group going off on their own.

Regardless.

What?

You said irregardless, there is no such word.

Fuck, you really do have a problem don you. t

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96 Ben thought for a second, then decided the conversation was useless to continue. You are right about that, OK, I'll bite my tongue, however, I reserve the right to challenge anything at the end of the day.

Fine, but remember our common enemy is the Chinese not each other.

Yepper, fully understand that.

Good, go pack it in for the night, tomorrow your group is firing on the range.

About time," and off Ben went to bed.

Same morning routine, things rarely change in the army, especially when it comes to breaking new recruits down and then build them up again in the army's own image. Ben's back was slowly improving as he got used to sleeping on hard ground. After the ritual routines Ben's group spent the morning in lecture going over the FN C1 rifle. Then in the afternoon it was off to the range.

One of the corporals in charge of the shooting range had them line up at their positions. He lectured them on the safety issues, but one comment utterly surprised Ben.

Take a guess at the average number of rounds it takes to get one kill?" the corporal asked the group.

One person yelled out Ten", another said No, one hundred. No way, no more than twenty, some one else said.

It's fifteen thousand, the corporal said. Ben was flabbergasted by the number and said. No way," to Ron, who just shrugged.

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97 Yes, fifteen thousand rounds are fired for each enemy soldier killed. That's a horrible rate. Imagine for every million Chinese soldiers we would need fifteen billion rounds of ammo if we were to kill them all. There simply is not enough ammo to go around. So the rule will be shoot only at what you can hit. The corporal explained,this means waiting for them to get closer, and being able to hit your target. That means being able to see your target. If you are hiding behind something and just shooting blindly, you aren't going to hit squat. You must sight and aim at your targets. And that means you need to learn how to shoot. That's what we are here for today.

They were then given one rifle each and a box of twenty rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

Ok guys, this is a one hundred meter shoot at stationary targets to get you used to firing the weapon. Load the magazine with five rounds only. Put your hands up when you are loaded.

After a few minutes all hands were up.

OK, now sight your targets and fire off the five rounds so we can sight your rifles. Go!"

Ben sunk his elbows into the soft sand holding the rifle tight into his shoulder. It's been some thirty years since I've done this. Be nice and calm and collected. He thought to himself. He fired off the first round. Then sighting again, fired off the next, then the next until all five were spent.

Looking around, most were all still firing. Ben took out the magazine, opened the breach, put the weapon down and sat up. It was several minutes before all were finished.

They then in unison headed down to their targets. Ben wondered how well he had done, he held the rifle as steady as he could and lined it up exactly the same each fire.

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98 When he got to his target he was pleasantly surprised. All five rounds would fit within the palm of your hand. Down and to the left by about six inches though. He knew he was well sighted.

Others did not fair so well. Ron did OK for his first time shooting, all on the target but spread out. Others were terrible. Some missed the target completely every shot, which they found out was due to aiming at a neighbor's target instead of their own. They got a lecture from the corporal on that one.

Looking at Ben's the corporal just glanced and passed by. Ben was not the only one in the group that had tight grouping; two others were just as tight. When the corporal asked where they learned to shoot, they both replied that they were once members of the Ontario Rifle Association and went to shoots all the time. One of them was the very person Ben had the religious discussion with and had brought his own sniper rifle with a scope.

Listen up all of you," the corporal said bring the three top shooters forward. These three will now be your mentors when it comes to shooting. You will learn from them. I want you to break up into three groups one for each and train these guys how to shoot.

Ben took his fifteen or so off to one side. Look guys I haven't shot in thirty years, but when I was in the QOR I was a pretty good shot. I had a system. It's really simple. The first rule is how you sight before you shoot. I know what they said in class, but I do it a bit differently. Everyone get down and follow along.

They all got into the prone position, sighting their weapon on the target.

First, pound your elbows into the ground so that they are snug in the sand. Now put the far sight right in the middle of the rectal. Then move the weapon so that the top of the end sight is right in the middle of the target. Move your eye around without moving the rifle and get a mental image of where every part of the target lines up in the rectal. Take in a

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99 breath, and then let it out and hold it. If you hold your breath in your heartbeat will make the rifle move. Then slowly pull the trigger until the rifle goes off. Go ahead.

They practiced this a number of times with no ammunition. Then Ben went over to the corporal to inform him that they were ready to try live ammo.

The day went well, Ben's group were keeping up just as well as the other two groups. It started to be a bit of a game between the three to see who could end up with the best shooters.

Near the end of the afternoon, after a brief lunch break, the corporal in charge lined them all up for a new shooting exercise.

Everyone line up!" he yelled. This will be a rapid fire test to see how fast you can take out multiple targets. As you can see we have five targets at the one hundred meter line. These represent enemy that is running towards you. They are at different distances and as you can see they are scattered across horizontally. You get only five rounds, one for each.

Each one of them took turns with the same rifle. After each was done someone would go down range and check for holes and patch any up. Most shots missed their targets completely. Some took so long to aim that the corporal chewed them out saying they were so slow aiming they would be dead from a bayonet. Only a few in the group hit all their targets. Then it was Ben's turn.

He took the rifle and ran down to the left along the shooting line, watching the distant targets as he went. He then suddenly stopped, turned and from a standing position aimed quickly at the far left target and fired. The recoil sent the barrel up, but he guided it back down towards the next target to the right. Just before it came into view in the rectal he fired. Up the barrel went again, and he controlled it back down to the next target and fired. Then again to the target at the far right and fired.

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He put the rifle on safety and walked over to the corporal with a big smile on his face.

What the hell was that!" he yelled at Ben. You only took four shots!"

Yep, but I got all five.

The corporal gestured for someone to go down range and check. Sure enough there was a hole in every target.

Two with one. So you think you are so smart, eh, Robson? But they would have been running!"

As you said, corporal, running towards us, thus as I moved over they would have turned and one would have ended up behind another anyway. Two for the price of one.

You got lucky Robson. Next!"

Someone came up behind Ben and whispered into his ear, Gutsy move man!

Before they new it the day was over. Bit of a let down as it was one of the few times they actually had fun.

An evening five-kilometer run was ordered before dinner as it was going to be a bit late. After the run they had a great meal. The sergeant stood up and announced that they were going to have a DVD movie, the locals had brought a large flat screen TV, generator and DVD player.

You only have time for one movie tonight, and another tomorrow. But the following day after that we move out to Calgary and your new assignments. Seems you are considered battle ready by the brass. God help you, the sergeant announced.

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The movie was an old comedy, Dirty Old Men, but few found it funny as they contemplated what was to come.

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102

Chapter 5: First Day on the Job

Jun 26, 2016

It was late day, sun long below the mountains, when they arrived in Cochrane, Alberta. They had left camp before the sun rose and did not get out of the boxcar all day. It had been a long boring hot ride; often waiting on sidings for hours so other trains could pass. Though they did get to see some of Calgary as they spent three days there waiting the last leg of their journey.

It was a sea of chaos. Officers shouting orders. Soldiers getting on trains for destinations west of town, other trains arriving with refugees from mountain towns. Injured people getting medical attention and full body bags being loaded into refrigerated freight cars.

Even though it was dark, almost as dark as the nights out in camp, there were lights trying to keep up with the activity. They failed often, and when they plunged everyone into darkness there were huge moans from the crowd.

No one seemed to be in charge. Good thing Ben thought to himself, because he always considered that unorganized chaos often got things done over organized chaos. He did not put too much credence on people ability to solve unplanned disasters. s

They were all ordered off the train by some Captain, and a U.S. army Captain at that. They were told to kept together but move away from the train. And not a few minutes after the train was cleared that it moved off the siding back east to Calgary.

They found themselves sandwiched between sidings in the yard and had to walk a long way to get around the train beside them, away from all the other activity.

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103 They were informed to find a place to crash for the rest of the night and to report in the morning for orders. In the dark Ben and Ron found a vacant house along with several others already asleep and snoring. They spent the rest of the short night trying to get comfortable curled up on a dinning room floor.

The next morning, after a night that Ben and Ron shared with other snoring men, sleeping on a dining room floor, they reported back to the tracks. There an officer introduced himself.

Good morning to you all, my name is Captain Chris Staines. I a U.S. Army officer m here to get you guys all sorted for your next assignment. But first I want to let you know what going on. s

There was a long silence as he looked at a sheet of paper.

The Commies have landed and have moved into the mountains in the south passes and are moving quickly. Several regiments of the U.S. Marines and Canadian Army have engaged them but are not doing too well from what we have been told. The Reds are still moving east. However, a stand is being launched where we hope to stop them from advancing any further. And it is in the effort to stop them that you will be heading to next. Within the hour. There is no food here, none at all, so we hope that you filled up on route.

However, a stand is being launched where we hope to stop them from advancing any further. And it is in that effort that you will be heading to next, within the hour.

There is no food here, none at all, so we hope that you filled up on route.

In fact, they had not eaten since leaving Calgary. No one said anything to the Captain.

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104 The train you will shipped out on is loading up with regular soldiers, Canadian soldiers from out east who arrived this afternoon. You will be joining them. Soon trucks will arrive with your weapons and ammo.

The trucks did not arrive until as the sun was setting behind the mountains turning their flanks into colourless shades of gray. Staines showed up. Follow me now.

He headed off to the trucks with everyone following like ducklings follow their mother.

At the truck a U.S. Army sergeant was handing out old M16, Vietnam War vintage, rifles and ammo. Only 3 magazines, sixty rounds, each. Everyone had to sign for their weapon and was told to bring it back when they were done with it.

Yeah, right. Ron thought.

Ben and Ron were near the end of the long line. Ron looked at his watch; it was 2:30 am. So much for sleep tonight.

The next train west was not for another day, so Ben and Ron spent another night on that same flat floor. In the morning the train was waiting for them on the siding. Before entering the train, the Captain had them all line up in military fashion as if on parade ready to address the men again.

Aaaaatenhuuun!! Listen up! I want the following people to come forward and stand over by the right.

He rhymed off a small list of names. Ben heard his name called. He stood there a bit dumbfounded and wondered if he had been caught. The age issue. Then the officer shouted his name again when no one moved.

Ben Robson front and center!!

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Ben broke ranks and ran to the front.

What your problem, you deaf? Over to the right with the others! s

As Ben arrived with the new group he saw the two sharp shooters from camp were also waiting. Seemed they were separating those that had some military and shooting history, which meant they would most likely see combat before the others of their group. Bit of a sobering thought to Ben and he started to get a bit scared. Though he did not know it, he had good reason to be as his first combat experience was a little more than twenty-four hours away.

The officer continued with a few more names. Ron was not amongst them. It seemed s they would be separated for good.

Another U.S. Officer showed up, this time a Major, and talked with the Captain. The Captain pointed to Ben new group and the Officer came towards them. s

Get in line and attention now!! He yelled to them.

My name is Major York, I part of a special sniper unit in the Marines and we need m some of you to help with our logistics. You are all flagged as having some experience with precision shooting and you will be supporting our guys in the field.

I want all of you in the first car at the head of the train, there you will meet some of our snipers and get to know them and pair up with them. Move now as we are leaving in a few minutes.

As the group left for the train, Ben went up to the Major.

Major York, can I ask a question? Ben said to him.

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Nope no time, move out, As he turned and walked away. Ben went up to him and shouted a bit this time. Please sir, just a few seconds, PLEASE!!

Ok, what is it private?

I not a private, I militia volunteer. m m

Same thing, that your question? s

Please, my son did not make it to this group and I really like to be with him, so either I d go back to them, or he comes with me.

Sounds like an ultimatum to me, what your name? s

Ben Robson

Ben Robson what?

Ben Robson, SIR!

Little old aren you Robson, as he looked down his list. Hmmm, seems you have t been flagged.

What does it say?

Nothing, Ok, what your son name? s s

Ron, Sir.

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107 Not on the list. When we get to the pass I try to get him to join you in this group, but ll no promises.

Thank you, Sir But Ben doubted that would happen. Looking back to see if he could see Ron, but couldn Ben headed off to the train. t,

Stop! the Major ordered Ben.

Sorry sir, forgot to salute, Ben said and saluted.

No, no, no, stop that, no saluting officers in a combat zone, we don want to be picked t off by snipers ourselves. No I was going to ask you what you are planning with that old Enfield you are carrying.

Nothing, it my Grandfathers he brought back with him. Was going to keep it just in s case if that is OK.

Yeah of course it is, but you may have a hard time getting ammo for it. When we get settled in Revelstoke come and see me I might be able to scrounge some for you. Now we had better head off before we miss the train.

Sir, you are going to keep your promises that I can rejoin my son. You aren t bullshitting me.

York just looked at Ben as if he was caught in a lie. Look I can promise anything. You t gotta appreciate things are very hectic. But as soon as I get to Revelstoke I put in that ll he join us. But at the Moment my hands are tied. We need experienced people first. He needs more training.

Ben nodded his head and was given a hand up by some guys in the boxcar. He soon was introduced to everyone. Most of them were Sergeants and Staff Sergeants.

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Welcome to our clan One of them said.

It was a long and slow ride through the mountains. Which made the waiting worse. Ben looked around the dark car. Small lights reflected off their faces, the rest of their bodies deep in darkness. Most were hardened soldiers, those who were not either joking around or playing cards, just stared into space. Ben wonder what they were thinking, but it was just stone cold stares.

Those who were volunteers like himself, looked markedly different in their expressions. One man was visibly shaking as he was being trained by a soldier on how to use the radio. Another was rubbing his hands together as if they had something on them he could not get off. He looked up at Ben, and stopped. Then looked away at the soldiers playing cards.

Ben was assigned with one other fellow and two sharp shooters into a foursome. Both were Staff Sergeants, Ross Koenig and an oriental fellow Kim Hoag. Koenig was tall

and thin with very short blond hair; he appeared to be in is late twenties or early thirties. His face was fair and clean-shaven.

Hoag was shorter than Ben and a bit bulkier with several days of stubble on his chubby cheeks.

The other helper was Keith Bratt, a 36 year old former bank employee from Regina who belonged to a hunting club.

Hoag spoke to the two of them. No, I not Chinese. My ancestors were Korean. We m fought in World War Two, Korea and Viet Nam for the United States. My brother is somewhere in the Sierra Nevada mountains fighting the Commies there.

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109 You job will be to keep us loaded. You will load magazines and be goffers for more re ammo and anything else we need like food.

You will need to be familiar with our weapons and how we work, and above all you must keep up with us, Koenig said.

In the dim light of a camping lantern they went over their weapons and practiced how to load magazines. Koenig and Hoag were using three different sniper rifles that Ben did not recognize.

This is a Super Magnum eight point six millimeter sniper rifle built by the British, fantastic rifle, almost a two kilometer killing range. Eighteen power scopes. Quick loading ammo in these clips, you must make sure we have ten rounds in each clip, and keep the clips loaded at all times. Hoag said to them.

This one is the AS-fifty semiautomatic sniper rifle, also British. We use it for high penetration and fast steel-on-target requirements, Koenig said.

And this baby Hoag said pulling a rifle out of its bag, is the CheyTac point fouro-eight Intervention Model Two Hundred bolt action rifle. Fires a point four-o-eight inch specialty round. High penetration at very long distances. Twenty seven hundred feet per second muzzle velocity and it still super sonic at over two kilometers. This baby is real s cool. Comes with a computer system that tells us how to set the sights for wind speed, air density and even the earth rotation, Hoag said. s

Except it kinda takes some of the skill out of the game, Koenig said with a bit of disappointment in his tone.

Yeah, but does a might fine job and that what counts, Hoag said. s Why three? Keith asked.

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110 Gives us the ability to select the weapon for the target choices we may face, Hoag said.

Actually, I own the AS-50. I just like to shoot it, Koenig said.

The morning was cloudy when they arrived in the rail yard in Revelstoke. The town had been completely evacuated of civilians; all that remained were soldiers and support staff. This was the base of operation for the south pass through the Rockies.

Several other trains where there; some just leaving to make room for their train. The trains were unloaded and quickly herded off into town. Ben group went to the sniper s command post in the Revelstoke Lodge Hotel.

Ben and Keith were told to wait outside while the two sergeants went inside. A few hours later they emerged.

Ok, we move out tomorrow, said Koenig

Next morning they loaded up their gear, most of which was the sergeants, into a commandeered civilian pickup truck. It would take them into the pass where the defense position had been set up.

As the sun started to peak through the clouds, Ben marveled at the mountains he had never seen before, they were as beautiful as he had hoped they would be.

One peak was tipped with snow. Clouds rushed over it forming a slow swirl on the leeward side. He could see where a landslide had cleared a swath of trees. Below that he could see a stream falling over a tall cliff. The patchwork of colours -- greys, browns, greens and the blue sky-- almost looked like a huge mural on a wall. It all looked so peaceful. He always wanted to hike in this majestic land, but never got the chance to vacation here. He wondered if he would have a chance to fulfill that dream.

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111 They were joined by many other vehicles, and in some cases horses, transporting equipment to the pass where the first major attempt to stop, or at least slow down, the Chinese army. Further west other defense positions were set up and had already engaged the Chinese, but this was a limited effort designed to slow the advance enough to prepare a more hardened defense plan.

The Albert Canyon was narrow heading due west, not far from Revelstoke. The Trans Canada Highway went through the narrow Eagles Pass of this canyon before it split at the Three Valley Gap. Part of the pass went left and headed somewhat southwest. The highway followed around Shuswap Lake took a tight right turn and headed north.

As they drove along the highway through the pass, Ben was intoxicated by the sheer beauty of the scenery. But that was punctuated with a depressing sight. Lots of logging. Huge patches were bare, trees completely removed. Entire sides of the mountain to the snow line were stripped. A testament to the years of the logging industry selling raw lumber to the ballooning Chinese economy decades earlier.

Part way into the pass they were stopped by MPs at a roadblock and ordered off the trucks. They would have to haul ass on foot. The Chinese army was less than a day away further up the pass. Trucks were coming from the west towards them, retreating soldiers from a previous battle not two days before.

Many of those soldiers were unloaded here, but the wounded continued east to an unknown future.

Ben group was ordered to the south side of the river that ran out from the lake through s the pass. They stopped were the railway line crossed the road which crossed the river. Engineers were preparing the bridge for demolition. In the distance a huge explosion could be heard bouncing off the canyon walls.

We follow the railway line to where we set up, Koenig said.

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Before long they came to a tunnel. More engineers where at work preparing charges.

Pointing above the entranceThat where we go, Koenig said. It was a long climb, and s a hard climb. Ben just ached, but he noticed that Keith must also be in pain as he was sweating profusely.

Eventually, after the two snipers made several checks of locations, they picked a spot. It was high above the canyon. The road and river was a long way down. They could see a long way west too, including the lake at the far end. Smoke was rising from the canyon west of their location. Ben could see the rail line lead off in the distance toward the smoke. Engineers must have blown a railway bridge. Was that the noise we heard before? He said, to which Koenig just nodded.

This looks perfect, what do you think Kim? Koenig said.

Looks good to me, but I check out a bit further down the slope. Back in a flash. ll

That night it was clear but cold. They could not build a fire less it be a signal to the Chinese, but the two sergeants did have a small propane stove. The four of them had a hot meal of spam and potatoes, and best of all, hot chocolate. Ben topped it off by sharing his last O-Henry bar he got while at the training camp.

So what the plan? Ben asked. s

Bed, Hoag said as he snuggled into his sleeping bag,Keep it down so I can sleep.

Sleep is important, Koenig said,We need to be top shape for the morning.

As Koenig prepared his sleeping area Keith asked,How many of these have you been to?

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What do you mean? Koenig replied.

Shoots, snipering out people in war?

As Koenig laid his head down to sleep, he rolled over away from Keith and Ben saying matter of factly None.

Wait a second, Ben piped up,What do you mean by none.

Koenig rolled back over to face them. This will be our first time killing. OK?

But I don understand, you snipers, surely you have experience, Keith replied t re somewhat dismayed.

Oh, yes, Kim and I have worked together now, what Kim, six maybe seven years. All that came from Hoag was light snoring.

He falls asleep at the drop of the hat that guy. Look, we have been training, with both live fire and computer simulations, Koenig continued.

Like Delta Force Three, Ben jumped in.

Well, something like that yes.

I used to play that game on line all the time against real people, Ben interrupted,Loved being the sniper, but that is a far cry from actually doing it live. He was now getting concerned about whom he had hooked up with.

Yeah, we would play American Army a lot. It was one of our key training simulations. What is strange is we have always shot better live than in those games. Look, we have

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114 won tournaments, and not just in the US. Though we have yet to beat you Canadians, damn good your guys are, Koenig said.

Yeah, why are you guys here and not them? Keith asked.

Oh they are here now, scattered all round and the other side. They arrived in that convoy we just saw arriving earlier. They were further west harassing the shit out of the Commies from what we were told. Mighty fine job if you ask me.

Koenig stopped for a second, then continued the original thought.

The bottom line is we have fine rifles and Kim and I can shoot the eye out of a fly at a thousand meters, so there is no worry. As far as we are concerned they are targets down there. Innocent people we would never be able to kill, but these Commies, no hesitation at all. That what we were trained to do. Now pack it in, believe me you need the sleep, s I suspect tomorrow will be a long day.

He rolled back over.

Keith had already gotten into his bag and was drifting off. Ben got in his and gazed up at the bright stars. The moon had already set behind the mountains making the night sky a brilliant cascade of twinkling lights. Behind that, the soft glow of the Milky Way. Milk from a woman breast. he thought to himself. Then he remembered Anne back s home and realized he had not written a letter since leaving the training camp. Better do that when we are done here was his last thought as he drifted off to sleep.

July 3, 2016

Ben was wakened by a kick to his leg. Get up, they here, Hoag said dropping a re granola bar on his chest. The sky was blue, the sun had not quite risen over the Selkirks.

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The daylight brought a much better view of where they were situated. It was a small flat area with many trees and fallen rocks around them. Behind them an almost vertical wall of rock. The two snipers were in the prone position nestled amongst trees sighting their rifles. They had their camouflage netting on and had covered each other with branches and pine needles. Ben crawled over beside Keith who was looking down at the road with binoculars.

Hoag was looking through a small telescope while Koenig was aiming a laser ranging device down to the road. Seventeen hundred and twenty six meters to the road Kim, he said. We will start off with the AS-50. Hand me my Baby Ben, thanks.

Where are the Chinese? Keith asked as he looked west along the canyon to the lake. I don see anything. t

They are just around the bend in the pass. Hoag replied.

You can see them? Keith asked.

No, scouts there have radioed in.

Ben noticed that each was wearing a small radio set on one ear.

Roger that, Koenig said. Yep and they are moving forward I just He paused listening. Roger that, He said again.

Ok, I have a question if I may? Ben asked.

Koenig raised a finger at him listening, thenRoger that. Looking at Hoag he said, They are sending a single vehicle up the road, they may know this is a trap.

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Go figure, it the best spot for one, Hoag said. This will make it harder for us. He s gazed into his scope west up the pass.

What do you want to know? Koenig came back.

With so many of you here, isn there the possibility that you will all target the same t thing? Ben asked.

Hoag came back with,No, we have informed HQ of our position He held up a small GPS device, as have all the other teams and they then give us a quadrant within which we shoot. And it not just snipers, down below the main army troops are there and will s engage from close range across the river.

You see that steep slope on the far side of the canyon from us? Koenig asked. Engineers have planted explosives all along the top and sides. They plan to bring the mountain down on top of the Commies as they go through the pass. We not to fire or re expose ourselves at all until they blow that first.

Shit, Ben thought to himself, This is going to be one hellova show.

Car coming, Hoag interrupted

Ben borrowed the binoculars from Keith. A blue civilian truck came slowly out from behind trees to their left on the road below. It would stop for a second, then slowly move up the road again. It stopped right below them. Four Chinese soldiers got out and looked around. They peered up with their own binoculars.

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117 Don worry Koenig said,The sun is in the wrong direction to reflect our glass back at t them. Both Koenig and Hoag were looking right back at their targets below.

Roger that, Koenig said with his finger on the radio piece in his ear. No shooting and keep out of sight.

Two of the soldiers were left on the road while the car slowly drove further up. As Ben followed with the binoculars, he noticed that the road in front of the car was blocked with trees that were felled and dragged across the road. The car stopped right at it. The two remaining soldiers looked around at the barricade, then got back in and turned their vehicle around. They picked up the other two soldiers and then squealing the tires raced off back from where they came.

There was utter silence except for the slight breeze blowing through the trees.

Can I ask another question?Ben asked.

What is it with all these questions? Koenig replied.

I want to understand what going on and what not going on and why? s s

Ok, shoot, what do you want to know now?

Will there be any air support for us, I have not seen a singe plane since we signed up and came out here.

That because, Hoag answered,aviation fuel is almost non-existent. Certainly we s have been told that there is fierce fighting going on in the US west coast, seems our Air Force is just hammering these guys to a pulp, but up here we have been told not to expect any air support.

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118 Yeah, I doubt it though, Koenig replied,I saw a train with flatcars carrying Apache gunships when we were in Calgary. They be here if we need them. ll

A-Ten Warthogs, that what I like to see, Hoag said. I tried to join up and be an As d Ten pilot, but I red-green colour blind and they won let me fly, so now I a sniper. m t m But you gotta love those A-Ten guys. I seen them in action when I was in Iraq. ve

Koenig raised his finger again listening to the radio. They on the move, get ready. re

Now both of you keep these mags loaded, we may switch out rifles so you need to pass it up quickly, Koenig said. And we may both shoot once things get rolling, so you two will have your hands full. Shit, I hope we have enough ammo.

You have one hundred and fifty rounds for each weapon, Ben informed them. Won take long to go through that, Koenig came back. t

It wasn long before a large convoy of vehicles showed up below them. Included were t flatbed trailers with earth moving equipment, seems the Chinese were expecting something and came prepared.

Soon the road was jammed with vehicles. They stopped just short of the barricade. At the front of the column was a white stretched limousine. The doors opened and a few soldiers emerged. Then the rest of the vehicles started to disembark their troops who immediately set up defensive positions. As Ben looked down through the binoculars his heart started racing, the sheer number of soldiers was overwhelming as they poured out of the trucks. Holy Shit! Ben said looking at Keith, who was visibly shaking.

We here... Koenig said to the radio. Roger that, we have a clear view of that re target. A pause for a few seconds, then. Wilco.

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119 Koenig peered through the scope of his rifle. Kim, which one is the kingpin, can you pick him out?

Checking He paused looking through the telescope. It looks like the guy to the right of the group by the limo. Wait Yep, someone just saluted him. What a moron. The guy on your right is the target, but moving. Wait, he now looking at the map on s the car hood, you can send it when ready.

Got an eyeball on target. This is going to make my day. There was silence, then a deafening crack as Koenig AS50 fired. s

Nothing for a brief Moment then,BINGO! Nice shot, he gone!! Hoag said in glee. s Beeeautful shot Ross! Did you see his body explode?!

Oh, yes. The car looks like someone threw a can of red paint on it. Koenig said. Ben looked away from his binoculars and said to Koenig. Geeze!! Un-fuckingbelievable.

Yep, that what the shock wave of a bullet traveling at twice the speed of sound does to s a body. He said to Ben.

We call it reaching out and touching someone. Hoag said with a chuckle.

There was utter chaos below, solders running for cover, others trying to figure out where the shot came from. Then there was a sudden and loud series of explosions from the far side of the canyon. Ben could not believe what he was witnessing. A whole section of the mountain started careening down towards the highway below. As it contacted the convoy it swept away cars, trucks and the earth moving equipment like a broom sweeps up children toys. s

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120 Wow, look at that, Hoag said laughing,Yahoo!! Take that you Commie bastards!! he yelled.

The entire valley was filled with dust. They could see nothing below as the plume made its way east and west through the canyon. It reminded Ben of scenes of pyroclastic flows that race down volcanic slopes.

That will hold them off for a bit, Koenig said,Pack up, we are going further west. Won be any more targets here. t

Then other loud explosions could be heard from their left in the canyon, and gunfire erupted. Plumes of rising flames and smoke rose through the dust. The battle was on.

The four of them headed further west to get a better view of the remaining convoy. It was non-stop shooting and explosions as they made their way through the rough terrain and trees.

They found a spot that was lower down and closer to the road. The far side was a mess, vehicles burning, and still much shooting. Explosions of rockets that were fired by the Chinese occurred all around them.

We getting hammered, Koenig said. Radio traffic is hectic and confused, but seems re the Chinese are trying to make it across the river, pushing burned vehicles into it to make a bridge.

They managed to get a spot where they had a clear view of one of these make-shift bridges. Hoag sighted with the laser. Fifteen hundred and thirty seven meters, he said. I think both of us need to shoot.

Right, lets get started, Koenig said.

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121 They laid down behind some rocks, and sighted targets. Koenig with the Magnum while Hoag set up the M300. Soon they were shooting and it was all Ben and Keith could do to keep up loading.

That thirty-two for sure for me, Hoag said. s

I up to fifty two, Koenig said with a smile. m

Bull shit! You not going to out do me you pointy eared Elf! Hoag said laughing. re

But soon there was a huge blast right in front of them. They were spotted. No one was hurt, but it was damn loud and gravel and wood splinters flew all over them.

Time to reposition, Koenig said calmly.

I stay here. Ben how many 408 are left? Hoag said. ll

Just a second, Ben said counting,Twenty nine.

Ok, so let switch over to the AS-50. We may need the 408s later. Keith you go with s Ross and find a better position. Ben you help me, Hoag said to him. ll

Look through the telescope and pick me out targets, want to find those rocket guys, Hoag said to Ben.

Ben searched the ground around the road. Vehicles, most of them burning, were in all configurations. The rockets could have come from anywhere, how will I find them? he asked Hoag.

Take your time and systematically search each area in your view.

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Then another rocket hit nearby.

Down below Ben could see movement as Chinese soldiers trying to get into position. Then some went down and did not move. Many Chinese were using vehicles as cover from which to shoot from. Then Ben spotted three of them just behind an over turned truck on the far side of the road. Through the telescope he could see the flash and blast of smoke from the truck, then an explosion right in front of him.

I see them, he said, See that truck on the far side turned over, they are just behind it at the front.

Just a sec, looking Seemed Hoag looked for a long time, then a huge bang as the AS50 went off.

Right through the truck body. Did I get them? s

Ben looked back into the telescope.

Shit, Ben, you must look through that when I shoot. You see a red spray when I hit ll one of them and I need to know.

Ben searched the truck, but no one was visible. Then he saw a head move up and it looked like he was about to fire his rocket when the AS50 sang out again. Seemed forever, but a short second later Ben saw not just a red spray, but an explosion of body parts that flew into the air. I think you go him that time.

Oh, yes, I saw it myself. Where the other two? s

Looking I think they are still there. Wait, he getting ready to shoot! s

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The AS50 rang out again.

Nope you missed, I saw him duck.

Where did the round go?

Don know. Did not see it strike. t

No, you can see it travel. Put the focus slightly out and I fire again. You see the ll ll vapour trail the bullet flies through the air. Watch for any impact on the ground too. They will also think I can hit anything and may pop up their heads again. t

Ben put the telescope slightly out of focus. Hoag fired again. Sure enough Ben could see the trail.

You are slightly to the right of the truck

Must be some wind.

Oh, there he is getting ready to fire!

One more shot rang out from Hoag. Ben saw the red splatter as arms and chunks of body flew into the air in all directions.

That got him good, He said.

Now the third guy I suspect is right there too behind the truck, let find out, Hoag said. s He pulled out a shell from his pocket and held it up for Ben to see. This is a special armour piercing round for thick metal penetration. It got a depleted uranium core, feel s the weight.

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Ben held the shell in his palm. It was the biggest he seen, the bullet was much longer d than the others they had been using and it weighed a ton. Man, this thing will fire?

Oh, yeah, with this Momma you don have to hit your target with the round, flying bits t from the engine block will kill anyone behind it. Watch this.

The shot rang out. Ben saw the truck jump into the air and a large red cloud jettisoned from behind. Holy shit you got him right through the truck!

Yep, that why I like the AS-50 for that kind of shooting. Want to give it a try? s

Now that was a question he was hoping to hear but did not want to ask. But then he paused as it meant it was time to kill someone.

I guess you never killed anyone before. It easy, just point and squeeze the trigger. ve s Here try it, Hoag said.

Hoag passed the AS50 to Ben. He then sighted looking for a target, any target.

Just in front of that truck we hit, Hoag said.

Yes.

Do you see those guys behind the tractor? There's two of them there.

Oh, yes, bloody plane view. Out in the open aren they! t

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125 Yeah that the great thing about sniping, the targets don know they in your sights. s t re Go ahead pick one off.

Ben tried to keep the site steady, but it was moving around too much. His heart was racing and he was shaking. He could see through the scope these guys were shooting at something, and that meant friendly soldiers were dying.

Calm down Ben, he said aloud. He remembered the very instructions he gave at the training camp, now he would have to recite to himself. Take in a breath, let it out and hold it. Sight the target and hold it steady. Then he squeezed the trigger. The kick from the rifle was amazing light. Hardly any recoil at all.

Nope, you missed. Too high, I saw it bounce on the ground behind them. But I think they did not see your shot, try again.

Ben re-sighted. One of the Chinese was in clear view; he could see almost all of him crouched down behind the tractor. He did the same breathing routine and squeezed the trigger.

That it, you got him! Did you see him disintegrate!? Nice going, you a natural!! s re Hoag shook his hand. Welcome to the clan!!

Ben could not see the actual hit, the rifle moved too much, but he could see a bit of what was left of the corpse on the ground. It was a mush of exploded body. His first kill. He often wondered how this would feel. He knew he could do it if he had to, but this was not how he expected it to happen for the first time. He was not sure how he felt. Some part of him was proud that he was able to pick someone off from such a distance. Another part of him was sad that his innocence was gone. He was now a real soldier who had killed.

What the matter Ben? Hoag asked laughing. s

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I not sure, I getting mixed feelings, what did you feel on your first kill? m m

Nothing, it a job I been trained to do, and we need to keep at that. You empty the s ve magazine of the AS-50 then we will change over.

For the next few hours Ben and Hoag picked off targets one by one. There seemed no end to them. More poured in from the west. Ben lost count of how many he killed, certainly he missed more than he hit by at least 3 or 4 to one. He thought he sucked at this.

The amazing thing was all this time they them selves were not targeted again. Not a single round went near them, though the shooting from both sides seemed never to end. By near the end of the day, it all started to get quiet. Smoke and stench filled the canyon. Koenig showed up by himself.

Keith dead, He said matter of factly. Koenig himself was bleeding from the face and s blood was all over his left arm and side. We got hit by a rocket. Hit our spot dead on. Keith was split in half; most of this blood is his. I OK. m

He sat down against a tree to catch his breath. For Ben this was the first loss of a colleague, though he never new much of Keith, he felt deep sadness at his loss. We just leave him there? Ben asked.

Yep, for now, too many pieces of him to pick up.

The sun set to quietness, the shooting had stopped. Below them the burning vehicles and debris, which had started a small forest fire below them, made the canyon a hue of red and orange glow, with eerie rising smoke.

Hey Ross, Ben used the AS-fifty today, got some kills. Hoag said in the darkness.

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Excellent, how was the experience? Koenig asked Ben.

Ben said nothing, shrugged his shoulders, and just huddled by a rock trying to keep warm.

He says mixed feelings. But that will pass soon enough. Hey, let eat. Want to eat s Ben?

How can you guy be so cavalier about this?

First order of business, survival. We gotta keep our strength up, Koenig said. Because that is what we are trained to do and that is what this is about. People will die and we will kill people. It called war. Besides, isn that what you came here for, to kill? s t Ultimately yes, I just need to come to grips with this, Ben said. Then he thought of where his son was during all of this. How he wanted to share with Ron the day s experience.

They had a small meal and were ready to try and get some sleep when things erupted again. Far in the west flares went up, shooting started and explosions with large fireballs rising in the darkness.

Koenig listened to the radio. They are trying to come up our side of the river from the lake. He listened more. We holding them off. re

After about an hour it was all silent again.

July 5, 2016

In the early morning light Ben was (woken) up by a huge explosion from across the valley. Koenig attached the radio to his ear.

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Shit, they are trying to come up the far side through the mountains. Koenig said. Grabbing the M200 he went into position to see what they could. Hoag was on the telescope peering right across the canyon to the far side.

From their left, westward, more shooting started.

Koenig listened to the radio. Roger that. Peering back into the scope he said to Hoag,They want us to pick off targets on the far side. Get me a range Kim.

Hoag sighted with the laser. Damn, I put it at some twenty-five hundred and eight-nine meters, and the wind is picking up over there I can see it in the trees. I recalculate the ll data for you then I find you some targets, Ben keep us loaded. ll

After searching for a few minutes in the telescope Hoag found Koenig some targets. I can see them moving up the flanks of the ridge. They moving in and out of the trees re though. Wait, there is one running along the edge of the trees, can you see him?

The M200 sang out, after about five seconds the body disappeared into a cloud of red. Hoag said Nice lead Ross, you got him on the run! And to top it off I think you just broke the world record for a kill!!

The battle intensified over the morning on both sides of them. From the left it appeared to get closer whereas on the far side of the canyon they could see the enemy advancing.

Hoag kept Koenig busy finding targets. Not all were hits, Ben noted that he missed two maybe three of each kill. Then he thought that he himself might have been pretty good after all. Though this was much further against moving targets.

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129 By midday a sound they did not expect. The whap, whap of helicopter blades coming in from their right.

Soon a dozen or more Apache attack helicopters hit the far ridge, turning it into a sea of fire. More headed to their left as they attacked enemy positions. Below them they felt the earth rumble from a huge explosion near by.

July 7, 2016

Koenig listened to the radio. We are bugging out now. They blowing the railway re tunnel and bridges and we need to get out of here before they napalm the whole mountainside.

Good cause we are all out of ammo. Ben said.

They made their way down to the tracks where they had first come up. The Apaches made only the one attack. Seemed it did little to slow the Chinese down as shooting was getting closer.

They reached the tracks and started moving along it to the east. Engineers were telling them to make haste as they were going to blow the east entrance of the tunnel.

Nearing where they disembarked their trucks days before they could see a mass of soldiers trying to evacuate the area. In the distance eastward they could hear a high pitched whining sound echoing up the canyon.

It was Hoag A-10 Warthogs. Five of them as they turned overhead navigating through s the narrow canyon at tree top height. Ben could see the wings were loaded full of ordinance, as well as clusters of bombs under its belly. Hoag cheered with his fist in the air. The closest pilot waved at them. The planes quickly disappeared west, then it

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130 seemed all hell broke lose. Huge fireballs erupted above the trees on top of the canyon. The shooting stopped.

A train and some trucks were waiting to evacuate everyone who was left. Some would not make it and have to try to walk back to Revelstoke. Ben group hung onto the front s of the diesel as it was just leaving.

So, Ben, how did you like your first day on the job? Koenig asked.

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Chapter 6: Money to Burn

June 30, 2016 Ron was more than a bit put off that he did not get a chance to say goodbye to his father. He just watched his father's train head out of Cochrane Yard. For over an hour he just stood there in disbelief that he had come all this way just to be abandoned.

Captain Staines came up to those standing around Ron. Those of you who have had previous military training step forward. Move over to the left. Line up!)

About half of the group left the parade line. They too were sent to board another train. By this time Ron was practically asleep on his feet, as were others.

Staines came back over. You lot report to Cochrane High School. North of the tracks on Fourth Avenue. There food. And get some sleep. Of what remains of the night. If s there are no more foul-ups you will ship out in two days.

To where sir? someone asked.

You going to Revelstoke to help with evacuation and defense preparations. You will re also get more training for combat.

They all followed First Street west until they found Fourth Avenue in the darkness, the school was easy to find, around a bit of a bend within a small residential area. Soup and bread was all that was being served in the cafeteria. Then Ron went in search of a place to sleep on the floor in one of the classrooms. At least some blankets and pillows had been scrounged from local residences.

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132 The next morning, oatmeal and apple juice was served. Ron was sore from sleeping on the hard floor, everyone was complaining. At least the washrooms worked a bit but the showers had no hot water, just a dribble of cold water. Ron was worrying about his father. What did they have him do? What was he doing? Would they be able to get back together? The thought of never seeing him again sent a chill down his spine.

Jul 2, 2016

In the afternoon they reported to the station, as they had done every day waiting for orders to move to the front. But today was not the day, again. It would be another day of organizing and preparing logistics for those who were on the front lines. A small train was there waiting to head to Revelstoke. It had a dozen flat cars with what looked like helicopters covered in tarps on them. It also had a number of tank cars, box cars and three coaches. It was waiting for the line west to be freed by an incoming train from Golden.

Ron and many others were just milling around and chatting about the choppers. They sat in the sun for hours when some one came up screaming.

A train is on fire!! We need help! He ran off.

Ron looked around but did not see any smoke in the town. Then someone pointed way off west. Over the trees they could see a column of smoke rising into the sky.

The guy came back again still screaming at people to help, but no direction was given of who was to do what. Ron grabbed him and asked what was going on.

The train is coming into town, one of the cars is on fire. We need to get the fire equipment out! then he ran off in a panic.

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133 Moron, Ron said to someone beside him. Is anyone actually doing anything?

Doesn look like it, everyone is still standing around. t

Fire trucks arrived hooking up to the hydrants on the other side of the tracks. But one of the firefighters at the truck put his hands into the air. No water was in the hydrant.

In the distance the column of smoke was getting closer.

Taking their time getting here, the man said to Ron.

If they come in too fast it will just fuel the flames and more cars will catch on fire, so I would guess they are coming in real slow, Ron said.

Many minutes later the train came into view rounding the curve and coming through the road overpass. Three cars back from the locomotive a large oversized boxcar was fully involved in fire. Thick black smoke rose over the town. The steel walls were dripping down and dragging on the ground. The car behind it was also starting to sag closest to the fire and the paint was all blistered and burned off. Smoke was starting to emerge from its doors.

The crew brought the consist right into the middle of the yard, but stopped short of the military train. They stopped the engine right in front of Ron. The crew got out and uncoupled the locomotive from the cars, then drove off up the tracks and past the military train.

A man in a gray suit and tie, looking like some typical banker, came past Ron and started to scream at the brakeman who uncoupled the cars. He was a short thin man, somewhat balding with thin rim glasses.

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You idiot! Do you know what in those cars? That all banking documents. The s s lifeblood of the whole west coast economy is going up in smoke! You got to protect the rest of the shipment before we loose it all!!

Ron walked over to the brakeman when the banker left to find someone in charge.

Can you not uncouple behind the fire and use the engine to move the burning cars out?

We could but the engineer won do it. He afraid the engine will catch on fire or the t s other train.

There a couple of flat cars over the far side there. You could use them as a buffer. s

Where?

See them way over there by that building?

The brakeman radioed to the engineer. They agreed after some discussion. The brakeman left to help couple the flat cars.

The banker came back, almost in tears. What he doing now? s

Ron came over to the banker and said,They getting some cars then recouple and split re the burning cars from the rest of the train.

Oh, thank God. What a mess, what a mess! All that paper gone! All those documents, gone!

What was it all?

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135 Stock certificates, bonds, and other tangibles. The other cars have corporate, law, government and banking documents.

Wait, all those cars are loaded with money?

Yes, some currency too, about two hundred million in Canadian currency, and one hundred million in U.S. currency. It all in that second car. We collected it from banks s in Vancouver and Victoria. We loaded the cars weeks ago before the invasion, but they would not move the cars out of Golden until there was room on the tracks. I babysat ve these cars for weeks. We finally get going and one of the cars burns. How? How would that have happened?

He ran off in the direction of where the crew was coupling up to the flatcars.

The locomotive came up and coupled onto the burning cars, now two of them fully involved in flame. The brakeman had to go under the furthest cars then come up to the one on fire from underneath in order to uncouple the two burning cars from the rest of the train. The military train backed east out of town to get out of the way. They then took the burning hulks away and placed them on the track where the flat cars came from.

Everyone watched as the cars burned sending small burnt confetti of stock certificates into the air. Bits of smoldering one hundred dollar bills fell around Ron.

The banker just sat there on one of the rails. Ron walked over and sat beside him. The banker pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, removed his glasses and wiped the tears from his eyes.

Putting the glasses back on and adjusting them he said to Ron. I must look a real mess. He straightened his black stained solid red tie.

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Laughing a bit Ron said. Yeah, just a little. But the least of your worries by the looks of it.

The banker picked up a charred bit of a U.S. bill that floated down out of the sky. It had what remained of the $1000 from a corner.

Looking at it he saidWhat am I going to tell my boss? This is all investorsmoney. Big companies, small companies. They all big investors, billions of dollars worth. re

What your name? s

William, William Norris-Lester.

One of those hyphen names, eh? Billy, let me guess. This all belongs to rich investors right.

It William. Not all of it, much of it was mutual funds that held RRSP money of s ordinary people like you. I mean, some, of course, are also rich and powerful people. What am I going to do? (All up in smoke!) He loosened his tie a bit and undid the top button of his shirt. All up in smoke

You mean they were rich investors.

Oh, yes I guess now it all up in smoke, William said almost crying again. Gone, all s of it gone. No you not following. They never were rich before the fire. None of that was worth re anything.

What do you mean, they stocks and bonds. It billions of dollars. re s

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137 Billions of worthless dollars because the underlying companies are either broke, gone, or will be gone soon.

No, no, no, no. Once we get the Chinese out, things will be back to normal and the stocks will have value again. He seemed to be trying to convince himself.

Then you truly do not understand do you? How are we going to rebuild society without a cheap supply of oil?

Oh, no. Market forces will fix things. I mean, the market always fixes things in the long run. Right? We have the oil sands, we have lots of oil.

Bill. That why the Chinese are here. They are after the tar sands. Besides it not oil s s sands, it tar sands. That not oil up there. It like the tar that they use to pave the s s s roads. It has to be altered to make the oil. And that takes energy, that we no longer have.

What? What are you talking about? No, I don believe it. We have only used half the t oil in the ground in more than a hundred years. That means we have a hundred years of oil left. That what I been told. Right? s ve

Ron looked long and sideways at William as if he was some kind of freak. Well, he kind of was. He was a banker. How could he understand?

Bill, it not what in the ground that matters. Sure there maybe one hundred years of s s oil still in the ground, but not recoverable at the rate we needed. There the geological s peak oil and then there is suppy peak oil. Geological peak oil is when we have consumed half the oil in the ground. Supply peak is when we have reached the maximum rate of extraction of oil. And it supply peak that has hit us. s

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138 Billy, you only understand the financial part of this whole thing, but not the logic and the geological limitations, nor how depletion works. Let me ask you something. If you double your consumption every year and use half of your product in one hundred years, how many years are left?

One hundred years. He said matter of factly.

No. Think about it. You double your consumption every year, and there is only fifty percent remaining. How many years are left of the product? Think Bill!

It then seemed to hit William and he answered. One year.

Very good Bill, you catching on. How much was our consumption of oil increasing re before the crash?

This William seemed to know something about, if only through the rose coloured classes of the economic point of view.

On average the world increase in oil consumption was about 3.5 percent per year. China was higher at around 10 to 13 percent. It was a great and prosperous economy with lots of money to be made. I mean, I made so much in commissions on sales to China, it would make you envious. A proud expression filled hi face.

Bill, ah, no, it wouldn I over that wealth building crap, it what got us into this t. m s problem. Now, if I were to invest money at 3.5 percent interest each year, how long does it take to double your money?

About 25 years.

So do the math Bill, how much oil is left if we used half in 100 years of consumption doubling every 25 years. How many years are left Bill?

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Oh, my god. Twenty five years! It hit poor William like a ton of worthless money bundles.

The poor banker was beside himself as he slowly got up and walked away from the tracks, his head down.

The locomotive coupled to the rest of the money train. William got into the locomotive, then turned to look at Ron. He slowly lifted his hand up a little in a gesture of goodbye. As the banker train headed east out of town, military train that was now passing slowly s by heading west to the fighting.

July 4, 2016

Ron was getting anxious to get out of town himself and rejoin his father. But it seemed that no officers were around that could give him any information when he was to ship out. They were all in Calgary for some emergency meeting and wouldn be back for a t couple days.

Ron wasn going to wait. In the deep night a train arrived heading to Revelstoke from t Calgary with supplies. It rolled slowly through town. It gave Ron the chance to stow away in a boxcar with a door not fully closed.

In the morning the train finally arrived in Revelstoke after a long stop over in Golden in the middle of the night. He got out of the car and asked someone where the headquarters was located and was directed to city hall. Inside City Hall Ron asked the clerk at the front desk if it was possible to locate someone. He gave his father name. She checked the database on her computer. Yes, she s said,He in a sniper unit that were in the fighting west of here, they should be arriving s back here tomorrow night.

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140 Fighting? Ron thought. The chill down his spin returned.

Major York was walking past Ron and over heard the conversation. Your Rob Robson?

Ron, sir.

Sorry, yes, Ron. I promised your father you would join him. They out at the front, re and as she said, should be back by tomorrow.

Thank you sir, Ron said with a sigh of relief. So he OK then? s

I would presume so, haven heard anything else. Are you assigned to anything? t

No sir, I stowed away on a train last night to get here.

York laughed,Ok, he said,I have some work in the meantime if you want to keep busy.

Sure will pass the time.

Good, go to the police station on West Forth Street, there are a couple of men sorting through fire arms; they need help. You find food there too. Gotta go. Good luck ll ll finding your father.

Thanks, sir.

Ron headed over to the station. There he met a police officer who told him to go out the back where they were sorting through a large cache of weapons.

Three other men, in their early twenties, were opening a large number of crates, boxes and even bags, all filled with guns.

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Ron introduced himself and they shook hands. Trevor, Simon and Tom were their names.

So where did all these come from? Ron asked.

They from Vancouver, Victoria and BC provincial police stations. They were boxed re u pin a hurry just before the invasion. There no organization at all or who they belong s too. They were just dropped off over the past week. Tom said.

Yeah, we have to sort them out and see if any are usable or not, Simon added.

Ok, so what do we do? Ron asked.

They were to lay them out onto the pavement into weapon types, record the serial numbers and check that they would work. It was a big job. Pistols were the most numerous, mostly Glocks, but a large number of Berettas too. Lots of boxes of ammunition also had to be sorted out. A large number of shotguns, several MP5 sub machine guns and a few sniper rifles where also in the pile. There were even a number of AR15s civilian assault rifles, likely rescued from owner homes. s

Ron pulled out an old Sterling SMG from a box. This one looks old. He said.

Yeah, that the one the Canadian Army used to use in the seventies. Simon said. s

Hey, did you know that was the gun used in the Star Wars movies? Trevor said. The hand held one that shot those energy pellets, or what ever it was.

In the distant west rumbling interrupted their thought. Ron stopped recording to look west.

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142 It started a couple days ago. Tom said. The helos headed out this morning into the pass. We haven heard anything of what happening. t s

My Dad is somewhere there, I trying to find him. Ron said. m

Good luck on that, don like your chances, Tom said. t

Thanks for the hope, Ron said. That chill returned. He pretended to count the pistols in a box.

Opening a long box, Ron spotted a Lee Enfield rifle wrapped in plastic. Unwrapping it he noticed it had a sniper scope on it. He had an idea. Hey guys, look at this.

Yeah, it an old Enfield Mark Four, what of it? Simon said. s

It has a scope on it, I wonder if it would fit my father Enfield. s

What kind does he have?

The short version. A carbine.

Ah, the number five with the conical flash suppressor on the end.

Yeah, that it. s

Yep, it should fit. I seen a couple of them with scopes. Take it, and the mag too. ve

You think?

Uh, for sure, Tom said. We to look for anything useful. If it is take it. re

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143 Why don you just take the rifle with it? Simon said. t

The one my Dad has is kinda sentimental to him. It has family history.

Ah, yes. That I understand. Simon said.

And there 303 ammo too. Tom said opening one of a number of smaller boxes that s were beside the rifle. Kuwel, there at least a couple hundred rounds here. Give me the s rifle and I take the scope off fer ya. ll

You guys sure know your weapons, Ron said.

We all do. We from the same sport rifle club. Simon is into black powder. Ya re know, the flint locks? He makes his own slugs and powder, well, he used to until this happened. Hey come and check this ou.. Tom said leading Ron to a weapon that was wrapped in a blanket. Look, it a Ross rifle. s

What so special about this one? Ron asked picking it up. s

Canadian made for World War One. Very rare. Feel the weight.

Bloody heavy.

Yep, and open the breach.

Ron tried to rotate the bolt handle. It won turn. t

That because it doesn turn, pull straight back on the bolt. s t

Ron pulled hard and it finally opened. Wow, so there is some lock on it to stop a shot from opening the breach.

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Yeah, that was its downfall. Damn great marksman rifle, but terrible in the battlefield. s Kept jamming, especially in trench conditions, couldn tolerate all that mud. Not only t that. Soldiers in a rush to clean the rifle often assembled the parts in the wrong order, and so when it fired that bolt would fly back in their faces. Needless to say, many Canadian soldiers threw them away for the Enfield instead. This one a real beauty. A Mark Three s in mint condition. It coming with me. s

So a lot of soldiers died because of a design flaw? Ron said.

Yepper, and the political scandal was huge too. Simon, who was the politician who wore the Ross?

Ah, I think it was Borden. No wait, it was Sam something, umm, oh, I remember. Sam Hughes. Cost him is political career, Simon said.

Well, if Simon says then it must be true, eh? Tom said laughing.

So because of one person, soldiers, who otherwise might have survived the war and had families, died instead, Ron said.

Lot of that going around these days, Simon said.

Yeah, that called war. Tom said. You looked puzzled. s

Ah, just something my father said when we were in training. Ron said recalling his father claim about life and chance. He said that humans are here, each individual s person, only because of chance events.

Especially when dumb mistakes are made by people costing the lives of many, like the Ross, Tom said.

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As I said, a lot of that going on around here these days, Simon said.

Yep, you have to wonder how some higher power is controlling things, doesn it, Tom t said.

My life is now totally fucked up, Simon interrupted. I had a great job in Victoria. It s gone. My father is was --a border officer in Vancouver. Have not heard from him at all. My girlfriend has been evacuated out east. I probably never see her again. A life ll and family we were supposed to have is gone now because of some fat slanty-eyed pricks on the other side of the earth want our oil. BASTARDS!! He yelled facing west.

Chance events dictate who lives, who dies, and who never gets born. Dad was right. Ron thought to himself.

By the end of the day they finally had all the weapons sorted. A policeman came and took the list. Go over to the Regent Inn just around the corner, they serving meals for re everyone twenty-four seven. Not much, corn, rice, some chicken and spam. But it s enough. Find some where to sleep and report back here in the morning.

After chow, Ron found a vacant house in town, and along with his new-found friends, packed it in for the night.

The next morning they went back to the police station where the officer told them to pack up the larger arms into boxes as they were being taken out on the next train. The Glocks were to be issued to any officers who needed one. Ron took a dozen and went over to the main HQ.

He was down to his last three Glocks when York came out his office door.

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Do you want one of these sir?

Hi Ron. Don need one, thanks. What you can do is give them to your father sniper t s team when they return later today. Just a second. York went back into his office and came out with a box. Just in case I don see your Dad, here is some 303 ammo I t promised him. I was going through some military museum stuff at the police station and found it. I helped myself to a number of items that might come in useful here, along with this old German Luger. He pulled it out from the holster on his left side. Now this is an old beauty isn it? Anyway Putting it back. t

Pardon my ignorance, but isn it supposed to be in the right side? Ron interrupted. t

"Cross body draw is pretty efficient and it looks kinda neat with the handle butt showing forward, don ya think? Any how, gotta go, good luck. And he rushed out the door. t

Ron went over to the clerk and asked,When is the train expected to return?

I not sure, some time late day. Go over to the railway museum and wait there for m them, She said.

By mid afternoon Ron made his way to the tracks. He was getting excited that he would be reunited with his father soon. His mind drifted to better times they had together. Building projects, fixing the house, preparing the garden back home.

His daydream was interrupted by a weird sound from the east. It was five low flying jet aircraft. They were down through the canyon as they flew overhead. Ron could make out the pilots and their huge under wing bomb loads. The planes had twin tails and twin engines, and what looked like a huge barrel sticking out the nose. The plane nose was s painted with menacing shark teeth.

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147 The A10 banked and headed into the canyon at tree top height west of town. Soon s explosions were heard and balls of black smoke rose like a volcano in the distance where the planes headed.

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Chapter 7: Saving Antiquity

July 7, 2016

So, Ben, how did you like your first day on the job? Koenig asked.

Looking off ahead down the tracks Ben said. I not sure. I ache all over. I hungry m m and I tired. I should feel guilty or at least pissed off, but I not. I almost glad. m m m Ben paused for a bit. Maybe because it was not up close and personal, nose to nose, you know? All the targets were so far away, like some computer game. No, I am glad to have seen and done all this. But at the same time I feel I should be ashamed. Should I not at least feel sick at killing?

That up to each individual, Koenig said with his hand on Ben shoulder. You did a s s mighty fine job and you did not panic. That shows a sign of control and cool headedness.

Or a fool, Ben laughed.

No, if you were a fool Ben, you would have run off as soon as the shooting started, Hoag said. Believe me, I seen it when I was in Iraq. ve

Ben was still not sure what to think. One thing he did know, life for him had changed forever. All he wanted to do at this point was try and find Ron and talk to him about what he done. That would come soon enough. d

As the train rounded the curve to the bridge over the Columbia River, five Apache helicopters lifted off from the airport to their south and headed up the canyon.

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149 Give hell!! Hoag yelled up at them with his fist in the air. Lucky bastards! I wish, em oh I wish, I was one of those guys! Flying tree top through the mountains. What a ride!

The train came to a stop just opposite the railway museum. Ben got off the north side of the tracks. Ron was waiting on the south side of the tracks and completely missed his father.

July 11, 2016

After crossing paths and just missing each other, Ron four-day search for his father was s finally rewarded. He was told Ben group was up on the main road near the railway s museum.

Finally seeing his father working on some equipment with two other men, Ron yelled,Hey you there! Ben turned and smiled at his son. Walking over, Ron gave his Dad a hug, something Ben had not had since Ron was a young child.

. Glad you alive Dad. Good to see you. re

You finally made it here. Boy, I glad we back together, it been one hellova m re s time.

So what happened up there? We could hear the rumblings.

Ben gave him a day-by-day, event-by-event recount. Ron was overwhelmed with what his father had endured.

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150 As they talked, off to their left they could hear a commotion as two people loudly argued. Ben and Ron stopped talking so as to eavesdrop.

No, we can move it, too damn big! The man in an officer uniform said. This other t s fellow was nicely dressed, suit and tie, which Ben thought was a little out of place. He was tall with long black hair. His face had definite Canadian aboriginal features. He also appeared not to take any crap from anyone.

Yes, you are! You moved all the other museum stuff out, and you moved the firefighters museum out, you can move my museum out too! You guys promised a week ago. My father-in-law is the mayor of this town. And if you don move my museum, he t will tell your superiors!

I not authorized to move your equipment. It my superiors who are saying no, not m s me. I sorry. The officer said and left the man. m

The man just stood there and looked as if he was about to cry when he looked over at Ben and Ron. They won save the museum. t

What is it you trying to move? Ron asked walking over to him. re

All those railway cars over there, plus the locomotive. Want to come and see?

Sure, Ben said.

I Ray Corrigan. I the curator of the museum, He said. m m

I Ben and this is my son Ron. We from Ontario, They shook hands then headed m re around the fence where the museum tracks connected to the main line. Ray informed them that last month the CPR had relayed the switch reconnecting the museum track so they could get all the museum equipment out. s

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After a short tour, they went and sat out of the sun in the gazebo. Ray continued with his complaint. We spent all last month carefully packing the museum artifacts, and those s of the Three Gap Museum, and putting them in these cars. Some of it was difficult to get out without breaking it -- heartbreaking. As you saw the building is empty except for 5468 our steam locomotive. They won move it because they are worried it will not t move out of the building. It been there nearly sixty years. But it part of our heritage. s s If we don keep our heritage what are we as a civilization? t

Well, civilization is in question at the Moment. We are not even sure we will have one in the long run, Ben said.

I not going to be that pessimistic. I will die before I see our heritage lost. If we don m t get this out of here the Chinese will destroy it for sure. That train is the last train out of here and they won risk taking all this to Calgary. t

They sat there for a Moment in silence. What if it didn go to Calgary? Ron asked. t

What do you mean? Ray asked.

Well, maybe it the distance. What if they took all this to -- what the name of the s s next town? Ron asked

Golden, Ben and Ray said together.

Yeah, what if they took this to there first. At least it out of here. Then once in Golden s try and get another ride to Cochrane, and so on to Calgary.

Take it all in steps you mean? Ray asked.

Yes. Exactly.

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I be right back, Ray said hurrying off. ll

Ray found the officer outside the city hall directing operations for evacuation. Sir, Ray said,How about a compromise?

What? The officer said looking at clipboard of paper.

Take my equipment to Golden. At the most, that five hours the locomotive will be s gone. You won be ready to evacuate until the morning anyway. We have your t ll engine back before daybreak.

The officer thought for a minute. I wish I could, I really do. I know we were supposed to get you all out last week, but it wasn in the cards. t

Please, we can do this.

If the colonel finds out he go ballistic. If that locomotive of yours derails everyone ll here will be trapped. You understand that. Right?

Yes, but it so important to preserve our history. If the equipment does not go, I don s t go and will try to reason with the Chinese.

Fat chance. I heard what they have done in Vancouver. They trashed museums, ve ve schools, and libraries. Burned them all. So you won stand a chance. t

The officer thought for a second. Ok, look, see if the damn locomotive will even move. You can take the rest of your equipment to Golden, but if that engine won move it stays. t But you gotta get back before dawn, we are all outta here then.

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153 Yes, Sir!! I get that engine to move if I have to push it myself! Thank you! Ray ran ll back to the museum.

Ben and Ron were looking over the old railway equipment when Ray returned.

They agreed!! I talked with the train engineer and he pretty sure we can get to ve s Golden and back before the morning. We going to move the equipment onto the main re line first, then try to move 5468.

The museum old railway cars stored outside were coupled on to the diesel. As it pulled s the consist out, they groaned a bit, but at least it all moved out and onto the main line. Ron and Ben opened the large doors of the gray building to expose the back end of 5468 to the last of the day sunlight. s

The diesel engine came back into the museum compound and coupled to the steam engine. Ray made one last check that the breaks were off. Then gave the sign to the engineer. Ben and Ron stood back.

The diesel powered up, black smoke poured out of the exhaust stack. It wheels s shuttering on the tracks as it tried to grip the rusting rails. But nothing moved.

The engineer powered down and called the curator over. They talked a bit, with Ray shaking his head no. Then with another talk from the engineer, Ray saidOK, but be damn careful!

The engineer pushed his diesel forward into the steam engine to take up the slack. He then poured on the power with the breaks on. Then releasing the breaks it shuttered forward in a leap with a huge clang of the couplers. It worked. The steam engine moved a few inches. Then without losing the Momentum the engineer powered up more, 5468 slowly squealed its way out of the building.

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154 Ray came over to Ben and Ron. It just needed a little kick to break free. Lucky he did not rip the coupler out. But we are in business!

That great; so good luck then, Ben said. s

Thanks. Hey you guys want to come for the ride? I let you ride in 5468 cab, Ray ll s said.

We gotta eat and get some sleep. Besides in the morning they are having us all bug out, Ben said. But thanks for the offer, otherwise I would have gone with you. Good luck to you Ray.

They shook hands, then Ray ran off to get into 5468 cab. Slowly it inched its way out s of the compound and onto the main line. The screeching and squealing sounds slowly dissipating as the moving parts freed up.

Some days I know how she feels! Ben said to Ron as they watched. Ray looked out the window and saidI facing the wrong way. Oh well. Thanks guys, you saved part of m our history. Good luck to you both!

Slowly the diesel powered up and pulled the consist of cars east out of town. They did not go fast, just a few miles per hour.

It will take them a long time to get to Golden at that speed, Ron said.

Yep, I didn think he could make it back by morning anyway. At least he on his t s way.

They headed back to the Regent Inn as the sun fell behind the plumes of smoke and clouds that hugged the western peaks. Another sortie of Apaches headed out overhead.

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155 In the distance west they could hear rumblings, as their payloads were unleashed upon the enemy.

Early next morning Ben and Ron hooked up with Koenig and Hoag again. They had some breakfast together, then got the bad news.

The Chinese are breaking through. They circumvented the blockade in the canyon ve and are working their way here. We leave within the hour. We are heading to the pass east of here, Koenig said. We are going to try the same thing. Bottle neck them into another canyon there.

Yeah, except we can leave yet until the engine for our train returns. Damn guy left last t night with stuff from the museum and he not gotten back yet. Bloody shit head who s decided that! Hoag said.

Ben and Ron looked at each other trying to look innocent.

After breakfast, they got their gear together then headed to the tracks. The engine finally arrived at around 9:45 am. Ron went over to the engineer and asked how it all went. He said things went fine, just slow and that Ray was trying to get another train crew to move him further.

Everyone who was left got on board. Ben realized something. Hey, Ross, he said tapping him on the back,Are we just going to leave them the town intact?

Yeah, can be helped. Not enough of us to burn the buildings. There a crew going to t s blow the bridges and the runway at the airport after we leave. But that it. s

Just then they heard loud booms very close, six of them off to the immediate west.

Guess you spoke too soon Ross, Hoag saidThey just blew the bridges.

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Vehicles sped past them with people hanging from every door and window. were running to the train.

Others

Something up, Ron said. s

Jets could be heard heading their way from the west. It was the A-10 warthogs. Five of them were racing eastward down low to the ground. One of them did not sound right. Look! Ron said. He been hit! s

The trailing A-10 had a long trail of smoke and flames coming from the right engine. As it lumbered low overhead Ben could see most of the engine was missing and you could see the sky through holes in the tail fin. Part of the right wing was also missing. They could see the pilot was having a hard time keeping control, but he quickly disappeared into the canyon they were about to go into.

Then that officer who talked with Ray the day before came running by. Get moving, get this train out of here now!! They come through the pass and are just on the other side ve of the river. Move it, move it!! as he climbed into the diesel.

With a large plume of black smoke ejected from the stack the locomotive pulled out of town so fast that Ben and Ron where thrown from their feet onto the boxcar floor. They could here more explosions and gun fire to the west. It was a close call.

Sitting in the open doorway of the boxcar, Ben was trying to figure out how he should feel about his previous days. But instead he was more interested in admiring the scenery. It was all so very majestic. The mountains rose high above them with snow-covered peaks. Green sides of the slopes had streaks of gray coming down from beyond the tree line. The colours seemed to change hue as their perspective changed moved along the tracks.

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157 Ben had finally gotten to where he always wanted to visit. He wish Anne were with him. He was stirred out of this daydream by Ron saying, Hey, guys I got three Glock ve pistols with holsters and a couple extra clips of ammo, who wants one?

I have one. So no thanks, Hoag said.

I take one, two is better than one. I tuck it in my boot just in case, Koenig said. ll ll

So that leaves one for each of us Pop!

What?

Here, Dad just take the gun.

Ah, OK, good idea, thanks.

Oh, and Dad I got this from a rifle I found. It a scope for your rifle, Ron said pulling s the scope from his inside pocket.

Oh, cool, Koenig said. I haven seen one of those in years. Nice piece. Eight power. t I can put it on for you, but it will need to be sighted. When we stop I do that. ll

That would be great, thanks you two, Ben said.

Have you had a chance to fire that old thing yet? Koenig asked of Ben antique. s

Never had the chance. In all these years I had it, I never got a chance to fire it. ve Locked it up so no one knew I had it.

Wise, but too bad. They had one hell ova kick because of their small size. And there was the so called wandering zero with them.

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What that? Ron asked. s

I don think it was ever confirmed but rumours were that when they were used in t Burma and fired too often they lost accuracy. But I have seen photos, old ones from World War Two, where they had sniper scopes on them.

As Koenig got out his toolkit and installed the scope in the Enfield, Hoag said. It will only be good for short ranges, maybe five hundred meters at the most. The barrel is too short, too much deviation over longer ranges.

Yeah but in the Burmese jungle you rarely got that far from your quarry, so then it did not matter much, Koenig said.

It will do me, Ben said. Ron, have you tested these handguns?

No, thought we would once we stopped.

Shoot out the door, Hoag said.

Both Ben and Ron took a few shots of their Glocks while sitting in the door of the car.

Hey, don get carried away guys, never telling when you will get more ammo, Koenig t said.

The train snaked through towards Rogers Pass east of Revelstoke. Smoke was rising in a column against the far peak. As they passed by the site they could see it was the A-10 that was damaged. The back section of the plane was fully involved in fire. The nose was still intact. The canopy was back from the burning hulk along a long line of gouged ground. It looked like the pilot landed and safely got out, but no one could be seen.

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159 The train stopped about two hours later in the station stop of Glacier. Mount Macdonald rose up in front of them, now with the orange-red sun shining on its western slope making it stand out in the darkening east sky.

Some people got off to join others waiting in the large open valley. Ben was getting up to get his stuff when Koenig grabbed him and said. We don get off here, we have to go t to Golden first to get supplies. Then we are to set up on the east side of Rogers Pass to make our stand.

So who are these guys then? He said.

Not sure, I suspect they will be setting up a position on the side of the mountain there. Has a nice view down the valley.

Soon the train was on its way again. Just as they were to disappear into the Canought Tunnel Ron spotted engineers up above the portal setting charges. Bridges the Trans Canada highway went over were also being readied to be blown up. Emerging on the east side of the tunnel, more engineers were setting charges above the entrance to the east portal of the tunnel.

They could occasionally see the highway from the train. It was clogged with soldiers on their way to Rogers Pass.

Wow, Hoag said,This is a major defensive they are setting up here. Look at them all!

Yep, this could be the biggest battle yet. I can see tanks, even howitzers. There see them behind those trucks? Koenig said.

Ben wondered if they would be assigned into this pack. Ron just stood there watching the road as it went by them.

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After a few more stops they finally made it to Golden. As they came over the bridge over the Kicking Horse River they could see a large number of Apache attack helicopters in the park on their right. Hoag said it looked to him to be the same ones they saw in Revelstoke. I give anything to go over there and chat with those guys, He said with a d sigh in his voice.

They then passed the airport that was full with aircraft. Mostly helicopters, including Black Hawks. But what dropped Hoag mouth the most was four A10 Warthogs bring s refueled. They were the same ones that napalmed the Chinese in Crows Pass.

A new rickety looking spur of track branched off this line and went into the airport. The planes were being refueled directly from tank cars sitting on the siding.

I have no doubt now that Rogers Pass is going to be a major military defensive. Just look at all this hardware, Koenig said.

And the scares fuel funneled into supplying it, Ben said to Koenig who nodded in agreement.

The train stopped in the large Canadian Pacific yard south of town. It used to be their coal car repair facilities, now it was a rally and sorting yard for the whole west coast for shipping military equipment, supplies, and manpower all along the mountains. The yard was full of various cars containing military vehicles, including tanks and more artillery. Some trains were heading south to supply fortifications in Kimberly near the U.S. boarder where another major defensive position was being set up.

In the far distance on the east side of the yard Ben could see the Museum train, still not moved out of town. Ben pointed it out to Ron. Yeah, I see it. It only been a day, give s him a chance, they get a ride out with all these trains here. ll

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161 They were ordered to go over to the soccer field on the east side of town. There they were told they could get a meal in the community center.

It was a long walk, past a cemetery and along 14th street. It seemed longer because of the equipment many had to carry with them. The soccer field was a tent city with barely an open spot. Most of the tents were set up for regular soldiers, and there were lots of them. And not just Canadian soldiers. Ben noted uniforms from Britain, the US, Mexico, even Jamaica.

Koenig and Hoag spotted York, and took their leave from Ben and Ron. See you guys in the mess tent later, eh? Hoag said waving goodbye.

Ron and Ben went over to a guarded tent that had HQ on a sign.

Ben and Ron Robson reporting for assignment, Ben said to the female Warrant Officer at the front desk.

What unit are you with? She said.

We both volunteers, Ben said. re

Oh, so you may not be in the system then, She said clicking on the mouse several times. Ok, Ron you are supposed to be in Cochrane unloading supplies. Obviously you not. re

Yeah, I stowed away on a train. Wanted to get back with my father.

Understandable, but you should have checked in first. They don even have you as t missing. I update your status. After some typing, she said. Ok, so Ben Robson, ll you assigned to the Eleventh Sniper Squadron of the Royal Regiment of Canada. They re

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162 are here, just arrived on the train from Revelstoke. Is that how you got here, or did you stow away too?

Laughing, Ben said,No, Ron found me in Revelstoke and we both came here on the train. I was with the snipers yes.

Ok She said looking at the screen. Ok, have you eaten yet?

Not making the connection, Ben answered. No, we were just going after this. Why?

There is an announcement coming at dinner. It will affect your next assignment, so wait until then.

Leaving the chow line with their trays loaded up with hamburgers and mashed potatoes, Ron looked around the mess tent. I don see your friends Dad. t

They must be doing something else. Find anywhere to sit.

They were just about to take the first bites when a General entered the tent. Ben and Ron were too far back to see very well, especially when everyone stood up at attention. The General told them to continue eating. His message was blunt and to the point.

The Chinese have broken through our defensive line and are in the process of over running Prince George. Thousands of Chinese are moving east through the mountains en masse. It was a major battle, which has failed. We have lost many. At least one hundred thousand of our troops have been surrounded and are now stranded in Prince George. Completely cut off.

Make no mistake, this is bad. We need to stop them from advancing past Jasper. And if they do break out of the mountains, the whole of the corridor to the oil sands is wide open to them.

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I here to inform all of you who have not yet been assigned to anything that you will m be shipped to Jasper to fortify that defensive position. A train for Lake Louise is leaving at twenty three hundred hours tomorrow. That the earliest we can ship you out until all s the traffic is finished coming into here. You will then be bussed to Jasper. So make sure you are all on that train tomorrow.

That is all.

And he left to complete silence in the tent, until someone accidentally dropped a tray on the floor. Then discussions broke out.

Guess that where we are going next, eh Dad? s

Yep, I would imagine so. Let eat up and get find somewhere to sleep. Damned tired. s

They spent the night in one of the large sleeping tents. Ben dropped off regardless of the snoring from everyone else, but Ron lay there contemplating the future. He was wondering when he would have to kill. After listening to his father story he was s beginning to have some doubts, he was beginning to be scared.

July 17, 2016

On their way into the mess tent they met up with Koenig and Hoag coming in. We are shipping out first thing tomorrow morning back to Rogers Pass, what happening with s you two? Koenig asked.

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164 We going to Jasper, Ben replied. re

Jasper? Why way up there? Hoag said.

They need more help. Apparently the Chinese have broken through further, some big battle we lost or something. So we been ordered to go. ve

Oh, that too bad. We could have used you guys. Guess we had better get that Enfield s sighted up for you right after we eat. They have set up a range over the lake south of here, Koenig said.

They spent the better part of the day at the range. Koenig brought more .303 ammo he was able to scrounge. They fired off all day long with their various weapons. Eventually the Range Officer kicked them out so others could get in and practice.

Ben, Ron, Hoag and Koenig had one last meal at dinner together. Then said their goodbyes, as Ron and Ben were to ship out that night. Koenig said to Ben. Remember, shot only at what you know you can hit. You a natural Ben Robson, kill as many of re these pricks as you can. Good luck.

Thanks very much. Much appreciated.

The sun started to fall behind the west mountains as Ben and Ron boarded a train east along the Kicking Horse River. From the open boxcar doors they waved at Hoag and Koenig.

Good luck guys and good hunting, Ben called.

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Chapter 8: Debunking Myths

July 18, 2016

They arrived in Lake Louise in the middle of the night. Ben was hoping to be able to take in the scenery more so than during the quick pass through their first day here. But it was not to be. They were hustled off the train and directly into twenty school buses for the trip to Jasper.

What they were told would be a five-hour drive took them thirty. There was no hope of getting any sleep in the rocking and bouncing busses, especially since Ben and Ron ended up at the back of one of them.

They had to stop a number of times for problems with the vehicles. They almost lost two on a hair-pin turn as they hit each other in the darkness. Took them two hours to pry the metal off a wheel of one so it would run again. Another one of them ran out of fuel just short of Jasper and everyone from that bus was crammed into the other nineteen.

But finally, near noon, they arrived in downtown Jasper, hungry and tired. The town was a mess. People were everywhere, all military. Along the main road, lines and lines of dead and wounded soldiers waited for the next train to take them east to Edmonton.

In the middle of town, their convoy was ordered to the Beaver Hill Lodge just on the edge of Jasper as that was all the available space remaining. Negotiating the traffic jam was difficult, but they finally, slowly, made their way back out.

Ron was becoming sick at the sight. The long bus ride coupled with the number of bodies covered with nothing more than blankets, some of which got blown off the mutilated bodies by the wind, was turning his stomach 165

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The lodge, looked like another huge tent city. They disembarked the busses and were shown the mess tent and assigned a tent number to get some rest. They were to spend the next several days helping out with body bags and burial detail.

July 27, 2016

(In the morning they were to get back on the busses and head west. Again they went through town. The never-ending sea of covered bodies lay in lines on the side of the road. Also a never-ending line of wounded shipping out by rail to destinations east. Ron tried not to look.

After several more long hours in the cranky old buses, they made it to camp just south of Moose Lake. A large tent city was set up on the west side of the river. A train was on the east side, preparing to move back to Jasper. It was loaded up with retreating wounded and dead soldiers from an attack the day before at Croydon, just north up the pass towards Prince George.

Apparently, the Chinese had taken the town of Prince George. In an attempt to move east quicker they had commandeered a train from the large Canadian National railway yard in Prince George. They were coming rapidly towards Jasper by rail.

A team blew up the tracks at Crydon and tried to attack the train as it approached town. It was a massacre for both sides. But at least the Chinese were back on foot from that point south. And on foot they were. Making their way quickly down the valley with little resistance. They were also being re-enforced by thousands of Chinese coming up from the south pass. They would soon be on the opposite side of the Selwyn Range.

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167 Allied troops were everywhere and it looked like there was no organization, but there was. The plan was to prevent the Chinese from passing Moose Lake. The long narrow lake filled the valley between the mountains. The road and railway line followed a narrow foothold on the east side of the lake. The land was rugged and it would provide an excellent place to hold off a large enemy army. All efforts were into fortifying this valley.

July 28, 2016

Ben and Ron were awakened before the sun rose. It was a good sleep for Ben even though the ground was hard, damp and cold. Getting up was tough, however, as Ben s bones ached.

OK everyone gather around, Major Hamilton yelled as they emerged in the early morning light. Form up with your platoon leaders now.

Ben and Ron plattoon was commanded by a new Lieutenant. Very young and clearly a recent graduate of the Royal Military Collage. Good morning every one, I Leftenant m Russel Garrett. . Opening a map he continued, We are going to set up a defensive position in the mountains. This canyon is where we are heading. We expect the Chinese will use this and try and cut us in the middle. We will follow a logging road to an open area where we will set up a defensive position and stop the Chinese from getting through. Get your things together. We pull out now.

They marched most of the day along a small rugged logging road. Eventually they came to a long narrow opening where trees had been stripped down. Fresh cut logs were piled on their left. The right still had trees part way up the slope where it became too steep to cut them. The left side was also very steep above the logs.

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If they come it will be right through here, Garrett said to his troops.

One of his sergeants said,Yep, this is a good ambush spot. I get everyone set up. Will ll be dark soon.

No fires sergeant!

Yes sir. They won be happy about that. t

Garrett pointed to one of the corporals,Keep all the 240 here, they will be able to get s multiple kills with each round if we fire right into their advance. Keep them out of sight!

Yes sir, The corporal said.

And make sure .of your targets.

Yes sir.

Garrett spotted Ben with the sniper rifle. You our snipe? re

Kinda, I havn had much experience. t

You kill anyone with it yet?

Not this rifle, but I did when we were in Eagles Pass.

You were in Eagles Pass? Damn, I wanted to be there, but could not get here in time. I heard it was quite the show.

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169 Yes sir it was. Sir, can I ask something?

Yeah what is it private? Garrett said turning to look at his map.

Is this your first combat experience? You seem well organized.

Shhhh, Garrett said leaning over to Ben. Yes, He whispered. But I been training ve for this my whole life, if you catch my meaning. So you think you can hit someone with that old thing?

Oh, that won be a problem, I get them. t ll

Excellent. I want you to set yourself up near me. I find you choice targets. Pick a ll good spot then I join you once I check that everyone in place. ll s

My son here is my loader and spotter.

Good, that fine. What your names? s s

Garrett got his troops set up into aC shape around the open field. Flank positions were set up high inside the tree line. Ben, Ron and Garrett, along with several others with the heavy machine guns, occupied the middle looking down the long open valley. Garrett sent a couple scouts ahead into the darkness.

Nothing happened that night. It was chilly and damp. Ben could feel it in his bones as his joints started to ache. We must be high up in the mountains. The air feels thin, Ben said to himself. They slept very little.

The morning brought cloud and a bit of drizzle. One of the scouts came running back out of breath.

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170 They are just on the other side of the open space, lots of them.

Did they see you? Garrett asked.

Not a chance, the scout said.

Excellent. Help out with one of the M240 s.

Ben sighted down range with his Enfield. It wasn long before a helmet appeared over t the crest of the shallow hill. One in sights, he said.

Wait until they are all exposed, Garrett said.

Waiting

The rain started to come down harder making it difficult to see. Ever so slowly the Chinese were forced to funnel into the open by the terrain. It wasn long before the area t was full of Chinese all rifles ready and cautiously moving forward. Ben heart was s racing, he could hear loud thumping of each beat in his ears. Calm down, can shoot like t this, calm down. He said to himself. He took in a deep breath and held it tight to force his heart to slow down. He succeeded to some extent.

Snipe, do you see any officers in the front? Garrett asked.

Oh, yes, I had my scope on him for quite some time. Got a perfect head shot. He ve s so close I can tell he has not shaven in a couple days.

Fire when ready, Garrett whispered.

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171 The Enfield got its first kill since World War Two. Its sound echoed off the canyon walls and trees making it difficult for the Chinese to figure out where the shot came from. It did not matter, the rest of the company opened up with everything they had.

The sound of battle was loud and chaotic. Lots of screaming of orders, on both sides of the lines. Ben could here someone yelling,They moving up the left, take them out! re and look out! Look out!, Get those mother fu . The gunfire sounded more like loud pops. Pops of differing pitches and tones, sometimes in rapid succession, but mostly over lapping. This was punctuated with the occasional explosion from grenades and rocket propelled grenades.

Ben sighted around the field looking for targets. Garrett was busy with other duties, coordinating troops to where they were needed to hold off flanking attacks, dominated his time. Ron was not much help either. When Ben looked over to him, he was huddled behind a large rock loading Ben clips. Ron hands were trembling so bad that he s s occasionally could not feed a cartridge into the clip, dropping it on the ground. It then had to be cleaned of mud, which slowed the process immensely.

At first Ben only popped up to get a quick shot off so he did not get hit himself from the flying bullets. But soon he realized that a few were hitting near him though mostly snapping overhead.

As he looked through the scope he could see some of the Chinese were firing but not looking. They had their rifles over the top of some log, or rock firing way in the air too afraid to stick their heads up to see what they are shooting at. Ben watched one of them through the scope, lining up the crosshairs just above the top of the rock a soldier was hiding behind. All Ben could see was a waving AK 47 frantically firing. Sure enough, the soldier stopped firing and peered over the top of the rock. Ben fired. The head disappeared not to return again.

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172 Now this is fun. Ben said to himself, and searched for another. Sure enough he found four more and took two of them out. Damn, my kill ratio is still low. He said to himself.

At one point looking for targets a number of rounds impacted the wood around Ben. He ducked to wait it out. Someone had spotted him. He peered over the top of the log and he caught a glimpse of the muzzle flashes as more rounds pelted in front of him. He ll have to change his mag, Ben said. Figuring that what was happening now, he popped s up and aimed at the spot. It was a rock and tree stump but no one was there. Then he saw a shadow between the two and he fired at it. The shadow disappeared.

Think I got him. Ron gave a shaking thumbs up.

A real sense of accomplishment ran through Ben body. Wow, what a rush, He said. s

The Chinese did not stand a chance. They were trapped out in the open unable to find targets of their own. Ben could see through the scope that some were trying to run back towards the trees. He was able to pick some of them off as they tried to escape. He wasn entirely sure, but he thought he might have gotten a double kill. Just as he was t aiming on the back of one running into the forest another body went across his view as he fired. He was sure they both went down.

The battle lasted barely ten minutes when the last shot was fired with Garrett yelling,Cease fire! Cease fire!. Echoes of Cease Fire! could be heard from others amongst the trees. Occasionally a shot would come out of the woods. Then finally no one moved in the open valley.

The two sergeants who were assigned to each side of the opening came to Garrett with a report that no one from their side was hit. One of the sergeants reported that there were more Chinese that had not come into the open. They had retreated back into the trees.

They won stay there long, Ben said. They will make another attempt tonight. t

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Oh I don doubt that for a minute snipe, Garrett said. t

By mid afternoon there was a second attempt, this time they assaulted the flank positions, but the slope of the valley was too steep. Many Chinese died, no one from their side even had a scratch, except after the attack when one man fell off a steep bank, dropped some twenty feet and broke his leg. When questioned by his sergeant he said that he wanted to look through the bodies for any souvenirs.

Hearing this, Garrett told his sergeants in no uncertain terms to stay out of the killing zone, and told their corporals to enforce that. No one was to venture into the bodies for any reason. He did not want to risk anyone getting killed.

The hurt soldier did not want to leave the line, besides it would drop their numbers by three, he wanted to be here for the next assault. After the medic splinted his leg and gave him a shot, Garrett assigned him as one of the M240 loaders.

Ben never got a shot off this attack as he was in the wrong position, and by the time Garrett, Ron and him got into position the fighting was over.

Leftenant, we should go out there before the night comes and get their weapons and ammo so we can use it against them. No point in leaving it out there being wasted, Ben said.

We should have enough ammo for one more assault, but I send someone to inform the ll Major and get more ammo for the morning.

I go, Ron said eagerly. I don mind missing the action. ll t

Not on your own, take someone else with you and get out of here now, Garrett said.

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174 Dad, you be careful.

I be here when you get back. Just hurry. ll

So you think we should get out there and scrounge what we can snipe? Garrett asked.

Yeah, I do. Never know what out there until you look, Ben replied s

Corporals! Garrett yelled out.

Yes, Sir, One came over.

Gather a small team and scour those bodies for anything we can use. Even their own weapons and ammo.

Yes, sir.

Both corporals reported back that they did get many AK 47s, but not all that much ammo from each soldier, two to three clips each. They did manage to get a few rocket propelled grenade launchers and rockets.

One thing is weird, one of the corporals said. They all have this picture and some scribble on the back.

And they all have this small bag of white powder, said the other corporal handing it to Garrett.

Ben looked at the picture. That Mao. s

Mayo, Who? Garrett said.

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175 Mao Zedong. China first communist leader. He united all the peoples of China. They s treat him like a god now. Must be some inspirational propaganda on the back. What in s the bag? Ben said handing the photo back to the corporal.

Looks to me like heroin or some other drug, Garrett said.

Oh, and sir there was this map on a dead officer, one of the corporals said handing it to Garrett.

The map showed this enemy plan to come through the valley, but also in several other s valleys further south of their position the map showed where other advancements were planned.

We need to get this to HQ fast, Garrett said.

On it, sir, The corporal said.

Corporal, Ben said to the corporal.

Yes sir, He said back.

I not an officer, but I have a question. Did you find any food or water on the m bodies?

Water yes, their canteens were full. But little food. Each one has a small plastic bag, you know those zip lock bags, with a little rice in it. That was it. Not even the officer has anything else.

Now that is interesting! Garrett said. But don give it out, I would not trust it. t

Right, don eat it, Ben agreed,But that is telling isn it. t t

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It wasn long after nightfall that the Chinese tried again to make it through the valley. t With many flares, being lit up like daylight, in a confined space, and their side hidden in the tree line, it made no difference. The Chinese were slaughtered.

Ben could not see any targets in the scope at night, so he helped with one of the M240s with belts of ammo. The gunner, however, was having too much fun to share the shooting with anyone.

Many did run out of their own ammo, and started to use the AK they got from the dead s Chinese. At first it almost looked to the Chinese that they were shooting at each other as the AK47 has a distinctive sound to it. The rockets they got from the previous dead Chinese definitely helped as well.

By the early morning, Ron came back with several hundred more soldiers, including several mortar teams, and a couple more heavy machine gun teams.

A warrant officer with the group came over to Garrett with a hand written note of instructions. Looks like the Chinese are trying this in a couple of places. He said to Garrett. Hamilton said if you want to take a break and get some food, these guys would relieve your men.

Not a chance, we having too much fun here. Pass the word Warrent, we hunker down re for the long haul. Pass out the ammo and food to everyone. Get those mortars set up back down the road.

Right Sir, the warrant officer replied.

Dad, Ron said to Ben,I managed to scrounge up some more 303 rounds, about two hundred.

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177 Excellent, we are back in business.

They hunkered down for full week. It rained most of the time. Soaked to the skin it was difficult to eat, sleep, and hit their quarry each time the Chinese attempted to penetrate the valley. Though conditions for the Chinese was much worse, each attack failed to get past the defensive position. Losses were heavy on the Chinese side, but still the only casualty on Ben side was the broken leg and a few burns from flinging cartages. One s man stood too close to the back of an RPG and got his back and shoulder singed. Another man accidentally grabbed the barrel of his hot gun, giving him a nice long scar across his palm. But he too refused to leave his post.

Aug. 7, 2016

That evening attack Ben sat it out again unable to see in the dark. He watched over the s rock that he and Ron were hiding behind. Tracers flew overhead, explosions lit up the trees and flares danced in the night sky making it look like the trees were moving. He looked down at Ron who appeared to be sleeping, knees pulled up to his chest and his head down on his knees.

Ron? Ben said touching his son head. You can be sleeping with all this noise. s t

No, I trying to close it all out. m

Ah. Ben sat down beside his son. You know what this reminds me of?

How can this remind you of anything? Ron said looking right into his father eyes. s Ben sensed fear in Ron face. s

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It does. It reminds me of the fire works night we had at your grandpa Barlow house. s You guys were so young, you must have been nine or ten. The three of you danced in the yard twirling sparklers.

I don remember. t

Yeah, your great grandma was there too, the year before she died. Remember she was always drinking beer. Would get drunk and you could not understand a word she said. Funny old girl she was.

Yeah, I remember her. Now I remember that night. Bobby and Rachel almost blew their hands off.

Oh, shit, yeah I remember that. Your Mom freaked, and you, you shit, you just laughed.

Laughing Ron said,Yeah, it was funny at the time. Ron paused for a long time. Ben looked up at the flashing lights.

Dad?

What?

Do you think we will make it?

Who knows? You know, if you don want to be here you can just leave. Get out with t some of the wounded, they never know. ll

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179 I can I promised Mom I look after you and bring you home. So I gotta stay. But t. d I beginning to feel that I can do this. It comes so easy for you. You pick off and kill m t another human and it doesn fizz you at all. But I can stand this. t t

Guess you more like your Mom then. re

Garrett came running by shoutingSteel rain, get small! Steel rain, get small!

What? Ron said.

Not sure, but I think the get small means just that, duck for cover.

It Paladin howitzers. Some one beside Ron said. They came in yesterday, four of s them. This is going to be quite a show!

Within a few minutes the sound of artillery shells screamed overhead. They burst in the air over the Chinese positions down the valley. This rained down smaller bomblets, which produced an endless clatter of explosions, some quite close to Ben and Ron. Some of the artillery was full shells, exploding in the trees shredding them into flying shards. A loud thud occurred just in front of Ron. It was a piece of a man torso with one part of s an arm still attached. Ron kicked it behind a log out of sight.

Soon it was all quiet. Ben and Ron sat the rest of the night without saying anything.

Aug. 11, 2016

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180 Ben had used up all the ammo for the sniper rifle early the following week. His kills were now at least over fifty he figured, but he was not sure losing count early on. He was getting to the point that he was comfortable and cool during firefights. Carefully positioning himself so as to not be hit or seen, but able to pick off targets.

Early one morning Ben and Ron met up with Garrett on the chow line. It was damp, but at least the rain had let up. Tents were set up way back on the road, far from the firefights. They took shifts there and back to eat.

Any news when the sun will come out, sir? Ron asked.

I haven heard anything. I bloody soaked right into my crotch! You know how t m gross it feels having to pull up cold wet underwear after you take a crap!

Not a vision I want to think about when I gonna eat, Ben said. m

Garrett laughed.

Sitting on a log they tried to consume some coffee and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. One of the sergeants came over to Garrett.

Sir, scouts have not seen any Chinese down the valley. I think they bugged out sir.

I wouldn count on that, Ben said drinking the coffee. t

They are getting ready for another assault, I sure of it, Garrett said. Keep your crew m frosty sergeant we can let them get the upper hand. t

Just as the seargent was about to leave. Just a sec, I have a thought. Can I make a suggestion Leftenant? Ben said.

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181 I guess, what is it?

Well, if you were them, what would you do now?

I rethink attacking into this valley! the Sargent replied laughing and high fiving d Garrett.

Exactly.

I don think they will bug out, Garrett said. t

Neither do I. They are going to attack but this time from the flanks, Ben said.

No way, the sergeant said,It too steep. s

And because, sergeant, you don think they can do it means that that exactly what t s they will do, Ben said.

What do you know, you just a volunteer! The sergeant said looking down at Ben re

Wait, Garrett said with his hand up in front of the sergeant face. Why do you think s that snipe?

Think about it. They won stop, they won commit any more troops into the valley, t t what does that leave? If I were them, that what I do. Come way around as far as s d possible, then come upon us from higher ground on our flanks.

Naw, there no way man, The sergeant said. s

Garrett thought about it for second. Finishing his coffee he said to the sergeant. Send scouts into the flanks up the ridges on both sides.

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Sir, there is no way

Sergeant, do it and that an order. s

Yes, sir, He said with a nasty side look at Ben.

Before noon the Chinese tried a major assault on their position, from the flanks as Ben predicted. Luckily the scouts had spotted their accent onto the ridges several miles away. Garrett repositioned most of his men further up the west side of the flanks, leaving some as a decoy.

Garrett control and command was impeccable. He positioned his men exactly where s they needed to be funneling the Chinese right down into the valley, right where he wanted them.

The firefight was intense. It had not gone on for more than a few minutes when Ben heard the sound of engines. He wasn sure the direction they were coming from, but t thought, Sounds like they are sending tanks on us. The sound of rapid-fire cannons could be heard from behind them. Ben looked through the trees towards the road to see five buffalo armoured personnel carriers that had arrived and were blasting at the Chinese.

Fresh replacements poured out from the back of the vehicles. With this extra fire power the battle was over in less than fifteen minutes.

The newly arrived officer in charge told Garrett to get back to camp to take a breather and get his men cleaned up.

As they walked back, tired, wet and hungry, Garrett thanked Ben for his insight.

Bloody lucky guess snipe.

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No guess, just logic, but thanks anyhow, Ben said.

Sept 4, 2016

Ben was ordered to see Garrett in the mess tend. I have an issue with your son. I m going to talk to Hamilton when we get back. Garrett said.

About what?

He never fired a shot this whole time. You guys have been here, what more than a month now? I just noticed it a couple weeks ago. Thought I wait and see how he did, d but he did not improve. I even saw him give away all his ammo. I get the impression he is here only because you are. Doesn look like he wants to be in this fight. Too quick to t volunteer to go back and get more ammo. You know what I mean? You must, you ve been together for a while.

Ben knew he was right, he was getting worried himself about whether Ron was cut out for this kind of life.

What are you going to recommend?

I give him another week. But after that if you can convince him to become a soldier ll t then Well. I guess -- I have to report him to Hamilton. And that he be utilized ll behind the lines for something he will be more suited and comfortable with.

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184 But then I go too, we are not going to be separated. I promised his mother I look after d him.

I figured as much, will be too bad to loose your skill.

Sept 10, 2016

It was dark by the time they got back to base camp. The rain started to somewhat let up, on and off with drizzle. They were soaked to the skin. Ben and Garrett went to talk with the Major before changing. Ron tagged along.

In the Major tent a number of other officers where there around a map on a table. s

They came at us hard on the north end of Moose Lake last night. But we stopped them, they over heard one officer say as they got inside the dry tent.

Yeah, they wont make it through either side before too long, we brought down a ve good portion of the mountain up to the lake on both sides, another said.

Great, Hamilton said. So what your prognosis then? s

Well, they can get through here the first one said pointing on the map, nore here, t or here, any more. So they will look for other places to get through, like these passes to our west, the first officer said pointing to where Ben and his group were the week before.

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185 Yes, we already been holding them off there for a month. Garrett led a team to ve intercept them. What your report Leftenant? Hamilton said. s

We held them off, Sir, Garrett said. We got them in a real bottle neck. I figured a couple hundred the first assault. I don think they expected us to hold them off. We lost t no one the whole first week, just a couple of flesh wounds. Then they tried at our flanks, but the terrain was too steep. Then they tried a number of assaults at night. It was fish in a barrel for the most part. We ran out of our own ammo several times, so we used their own weapons against them.

Excellent, great work. Turning back to the other officers, Hamilton saidI fortified ve all the valleys here, and here, and here. He said pointing to the map. In accordance to the maps the Leftenant got from a dead officer. Most of our spare troops are there now. This should hold them off for a while longer.

The meeting lasted about an hour, discussing various items. Offensive ideas, any air support, and so on. Ben and Garrett stayed behind once it was over and after the officers, save Hamilton, had left. What can I do for you Leftenant?

Sir I have an issue with one of our volunteers. Garrett said, then explained his concerns.

The Major thought about it and then said. I can leave you here then. Your son will be t too much of a liability. I going to send you two off the front lines. There other work m s that needs to be done that won put others lives in jeopardy. Report to me in the t morning and I know for sure where I send you. ll ll

Turning back to Garret Hamilton said. Indications are that the Chinese are in full force, some two hundred and fifty thousand or more and coming this way. Between just you and me, Garret, those officers might be a tad over confident at holding off so many. I m

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186 not. Turning back to Ben he said. So you won want to be here when the shit really t hits the fan. Dismissed.

As they left the tent, Garrett said. Well, snipe, I going to change out of these wet m cloths then get some food. In case I don see yas again, good luck eh? t

Yeah, let go over to the clothing tent and get changed too, Ben said to Ron. s

What did he mean we won see him again? Ron said. t

We leaving in the morning. They are shipping us to another location. re

Why?

Ben thought Should I lie, or tell him the reason? Not sure, we find out in the ll morning.

Ben and Ron came out of the supply tent into a heavy downpour of rain. So much for dry cloths! Ron said to his Dad.

They made it over to a make shift tent with a bunch of men sitting inside. It was just a blue tarp tied up between trees. They had a fire going under the tarp in an effort to keep warm. The crowd was laughing, joking, and farting (to howls ofyou stink! andThat s the smartest thing you said all day. ) Basically, in spite of the weather, they were ve having a pretty good time.

As Ben and Ron came up to get under the tent, a pocket of water dumped from the tarp onto a few of them on the far side, almost putting the fire out. Those that did not get wet laughed. One of them got up and disappeared into the darkness, later to return with a long branch, which he used to make a peak inside the tarp so the water would run completely off.

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Ben and Ron found a place to sit on the ground near the fire.

So when the hell are we going to get air support? someone asked.

Yeah, and napalm the shit out if these pricks! someone else said.

There not enough aviation fuel to permit many air strikes. Ben said. Someone asked s that very question at the briefing. The fuel shortage has gotten worse over the last few months, something about concentrated air strikes along the U.S. west coast.

This whole oil shortage was a farce. Nothing more than attempt to get more money from us that backfired, someone said.

It a well known fact that most oil wells have only produced about fifty percent of their s volume, even when empty of liquid. Many years ago several of the oil companies stated that the price needed to rise to make extracting oil from the surrounding walls of the oil caverns viable. Well the price rose through the roof and no talk of extraction, someone else complained. It all a bunch of bull shit. Such as buying oil from themselves, then s selling it back to themselves at hugely inflated prices.

Yeah, and I heard that oil is naturally created in the ground all the time. So there can t ever be a shortage, someone else stated matter-of-factly.

That the abiotic theory of oil creation, Ben said,It as true as astrology and s s creationism. It a myth. Oil was formed by dead organisms in shallow seas some one s hundred million years ago. All oil comes from specific types of sedimentary rock that is less than four hundred million years old.

That bull shit. What the fuck do you know old man? someone said. s

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188 He is correct, and oil does not come from caverns either. It a lot more complicated s than that, the man who got the branch said. He had been quite the entire time Ben and Ron arrived, just sitting there with his head down.

What do you know? the complainer said to the man.

More than you will want to know. I was an oil geologist. I did my PhD in Saudi Arabia. And I know that you are not right.

This should be interesting, Ben leaned over and whispered to Ron.

Yeah, like what? the complainer came back.

This is not going to be easy to explain, very complicated but I dumb it down as much ll as I can for you. First off, oil is not in caverns, never anywhere in the world. Oil is found in specific geological structures, folds in the rocks, like a rug folds when you push on it. The oil migrates into these folds from source rocks, which could be thousands of feet lower than the fold and from hundreds of miles in all directions.

The folds must have porous rock, it not a big cave or cavern. It could be s unconsolidated compact sand, or rock that has microscopic pours or voids. Too small to see with the naked eye, you have to use a microscope to see the size of the pours or sand grains. Then to contain the oil you must have a hard impenetrable cap of solid rock to keep it all in place.

As he talked he was drawing in the dirt what he was describing.

Even if you have all the structures in place, and the oil there, there is no guarantee that there will be oil to extract. I was once on a drilling team in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia and we checked structures that should have had oil. But there was none. Zippo,

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189 nodda. It had either never formed any oil, or it all migrated to the surface millions of years before.

Almost all the oil in Saudi Arabia comes from a small part of the eastern area against the Persian Gulf. Just about the rest of the peninsula is void of oil.

He paused for a sec and looked up to see if the rest were listening. Indeed, they were eyes focused on the geologist. So he continued.

The oil must be under pressure; you cannot just suck the oil out of the ground. The pressure must be kept above twelve hundred pounds per square inch or dissolved gases bubble out of the oil and you end up with a gas cap. What you end up with is flat oil, like in a pop can when you open and leave it too long. Once that happens, gas starts to crowd out the oil in the well. So high pressure must be maintained, three thousand pounds per square inch. And that not easy to do for long periods. Equipment breaks down all the s time. Then the wells have to be shut down and the pressure pumps fixed or replaced.

Under the oil you must have a water table that will push the oil up and displace it as the oil is extracted. Except you can extract it too fast or the water will start to cut into the t oil coming out. I seen as much as seventy five percent water coming out of a well. ve The rest oil. I heard in some Russian wells that the water cut is several times the oil ve output, something like four or five percent oil.

A number of problems happen all the time, not just the water and gas problems. Your note of fifty percent is optimistic; few deposits get that much out in the life of a field. I did my PhD on the Barri oil field in the eastern end of Saudi Arabia. Once it finally died in 2009, it only produced twenty four percent of the oil that was in the reservoir. The rest could not be extracted. The Bakken deposit here in the mid-US is even worse, less than one percent is extractable.

I don believe that, the complainer interrupted. t

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You can believe what ever myth you want, but the fact remains I was there, I did the research on the deposit. So I know the facts. Look, there are many things that prevent oil from being able to be extracted. The viscosity of the oil realizing he probably lost most in the crowd. the flowness of the oil, how easily it flows. There different types s of oils, some flow better than others. Barri was a slow moving oil. The problem was, basically with all oil wells, is water. After a spell of oil with no water, eventually water, the ground water below the oil, starts to cut into the oil because it can move more easily than the oil.

Once you start to get cuts of water mixed with the oil of up to sixty to seventy percent the oil field can become uneconomic or takes more energy to extract the oil than you get back, so it history and it shut down. s s

Also the rate of extraction is important. If you draw a well to fast, the pressure drops too quickly and you can actually get less of the deposit than if you had drawn it down slower. This happened in the early sixties in the US. It a delicate balancing act. s

But don they pump water into the well to get the last of it? Someone asked. t

Yes, to a degree. Every aging well gets water pumped in, but it not to get the last of it. s You can never get the last of it. Pumping water into the sides of a reservoir is to keep the pressure above the bubble point so the dissolved gasses don form. Mostly it seawater t s they pump in. But when they do that it causes all kinds of problems. The seawater starts to come up the production wells and corrodes the well. There is even a bacterium that gets pumped into a well which eats the oil and makes it useless.

One of the fields, the name escapes me at the Moment, north of my PhD field, produced huge quantities of hydrogen sulphide gas, up to twenty percent. That stuff will kill you just as fast as cyanide. Eventually they had to shut it down leaving more than half the oil in the ground.

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By the time I was finished my PhD, that was back in 2006, all the major oil fields in Saudi Arabia were in terminal decline in their output. All out effort was given, billions of dollars spent, to try and keep the reservoirs producing. Even the mother of all fields, the giant Ghawar field, was in deep trouble while I was there. Only the north-east part of the field was a good producer, the rest of it wasn By 2010 even the east end of Ghawar t. was almost spent.

There was even romours flying around that Iraq was diverting oil through a secret pipeline to Saudi Arabia to give the illusion that they could still keep pumping the flows they claimed they could. Though I never saw this pipe, so it just rumours. s

But there is oil elsewhere in the world, so there must be lots more than just Saudi Arabia. There is no way we could have checked the entire planet. Someone said

Of course there is. I not an expert on the other giant fields, except that there are only m five super fields in the world and all were in steep decline when I got my PhD. And the Ghawar field in Arabia is the largest of all fields found anywhere on the planet. And yes we have checked the entire planet.

Recall all the media about the big finds in Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico? Well, they weren big finds. They were big only in degree of the past decades, but big in real t terms? No they were not. The offshore Brazil field was supposed to be thirty-three billion barrels, which sounds like a lot, but in perspective that only four years of US s consumption. Those in the know knew that if this was a huge find as the press claimed, we were in serious trouble. So no, we have searched just about everywhere, and what is found are just small deposits. We were at a point where we were consuming five barrels for every one we found. That is not a good sign.

But how do you know you looked everywhere? Someone else said. ve

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192 We don have to look everywhere. Those places that are Precambrian, like the t Canadian Shield, we don even have to look t cause it too old and not the right geology. s We don need to look in mountains t cause if there was oil there before the range got pushed out of the sea, any oil would have long seeped out during orogenesis -- mountain building. Of course the oceans will not have any oil except just off some shores in specific formations, like the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil. But even those deposits of oil were in steep decline in the middle of the last decade. So yes, we are confident the entire planet has been checked. And even if there is more to be found, it will be too deep and most likely not of good quality because of the temperature to be viable. There are places we have looked expecting to find oil only to come up dry. Many more of those than finds, I might add. Nope, all the good, cheap, easily accessible, sweet oil, as it called, is gone. We either burned it all, or turned it into plastics, much of s ve which is now in garbage dumps.

He stopped at that point and looked at the crowd. But he could see the skeptic was not getting it.

Look, if there was any deception going on, it was with how much oil the Saudis said they had. Back in the early two thousands they claimed they had some two hundred billion barrels of reserve oil. They lied. Not even close, and I knew it when I was there. Oh, they did have one heck of a lot of oil in the ground, but most of what remains is not extractable, or extractable at very small rates.

But investors did not want to hear about it. It was all a mass of delusion and game playing. But in the end it was the fields themselves that had the last say as they all dropped their production.

So if there is so much oil still in the ground why can they just drill more holes? t Someone asked.

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193 Because, again, it not a pool like a lake or swimming pool. It more like a sponge. s s The rock is the sponge, but with extremely tiny holes. The holes contain a mix of oil and water. Once the pressure is gone He paused for a second. When you wring out a sponge is all the water out of it?

No one said anything, so Ben saidNo, it still moist. s

Exactly, The geologist said pointing to Ben. That because no matter how much you s squeeze, apply pressure to the sponge, there will always be water left. Now make the sponge hard and with smaller pours. You end up with even more left behind that cannot be extracted. You could drill a hole every few feet and you would not get enough oil even to fill the pipe to the surface.

So we leave about half the oil behind? Ron asked.

Yes, that a close estimate. Depends, most less than that, a few are more, the s geologist said.

I told someone a few months ago that we have used about half the oil in the ground.

Well, kinda. No one knows how much oil is in the ground. The furthest we went was twenty thousand feet. It bloody hot down there. You could cook a roast at those s temperatures, and it hotter the further you go. So the likelihood of finding more very s deep is unlikely and very expensive to check. Drilling is the only way to know for sure. And when you drill a lot of dry holes your funding tends to dry up faster than your dead holes.

But the general consensus is we have consumed about half of all the oil. What remains is either difficult to extract, or is a dead field where you leave anywhere from seventy five to forty percent of all the oil behind that is unrecoverable in any given field.

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194 So does that explain things enough? Ben asked looking around at everyone. The myths and legends out there make it so difficult for the truth to be known.

Or even accepted, the geologist said looking at the skeptic. Look the bottom line is that we ran out of cheap oil, or close enough to the end of the extractable, easy to reach, cheap oil. There going to still be oil extracted when this is all over, perhaps for the next s fifty years, but it will be what is referred to as sour oil and the volume of extraction will be less than ten percent of peak production. The heavy stuff that is too low in hydrogen and too high in dissolved gases like carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. It will be expensive to refine. We will never go back to the days of driving to the cottage every weekend. That over. Those of us who understood this knew decades ago we were s coming to this point.

It was going to come someday anyway, we just happen to be the unlucky ones living at the time it comes to an end.

Wait just a second. I heard all about being able to replace oil with hydrogen. A great hydrogen economy was going to save us all. What happened to that? some one asked.

Oh, that really simple to answer. It was a pipe dream that was quietly dropped a few s years back. No matter what people said, people I might add who do not understand physics, hydrogen is not a fuel. It a carrier of energy. You don mine hydrogen. It s t does not exist free on the earth. You have to extract it from water or methane. Thus it takes energy to make hydrogen.

In fact, it takes more energy to make hydrogen than out get out of hydrogen when you burn it. That just the physics of reality. There is no way around it. Then there is the s problem of storing the hydrogen. You can contain hydrogen in any containers. The t molecule is so small, its viscosity is virtually zero, and hence it leaks from every bottle you put it in. It can be transported like natural gas because it takes so much energy to t pump it.

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Aircraft can use it because the size of the fuel tank would bigger than the aircraft itself. t

You cannot make plastic from it either.

Then there is the burning of it. Fuel cells require platinum to catalyze the process into electricity. Platinum is more expensive than gold and in much less abundance. Plus it turned out that fuel cells have a very short lifespan of only a few years.

And that is why it was finally dropped, even after all that hype, and all the millions spent. That it would save the world? Anyone with high school physics knew it did not stand a chance.

Everyone was silent for a while absorbing what the geologist had just told them.

So what happened that you ended up here? Ron asked.

Well, let see. By 2010 we were working on the Khurais field in the centre of the s peninsula. They had attempted to extract oil from it in the eighties but mothballed it. It wasn performing well. Once Ghawar was showing signs of age, however, pressure was t put on to get these old unused fields on line and fast. They wanted us to extract, at one point, two million barrels a day from this field. The best it ever did back in the early eighties was one hundred and forty four thousand barrels a day. They wanted a ten-time increase! Impossible. But that is what they told the gullible press and investors it could do.

So it was a lost cause. We had real problems with the deposit. Water, gas and even sand came up the wells. We tried everything. Even pumping the extracted gas back into the well to keep pressure up. But every time we did that and started to get a bit more oil, it would all drop off again and much quicker. It was all because of the geology of the

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196 rocks holding the oil. Too inconsistent, and too nonuniform in structure. The underground aquifer was a big problem too, it was just too week to push the oil.

Funny, one day I got to be in the room where they display the theoretical model of the field in three-D. It was amazing to see. You put on these three-D glasses and you could literally walk around inside the reservoir. But the model was only as good as the data they put into the computer. Turned out that they spent all this money on a super computer and the bloody thing couldn predict squat. There was always something we t found by drilling that was not in the simulation.

And this was after they had already dropped the field as a candidate in 2005. But by 2010 things were so desperate in Saudi Arabia to be the king of oil, that they put eleven billion into my field, and got nothing for it. The reservoir was spent. So they dropped the project and I came home hoping to work in the tar sands. But they did not need a drill engineer who specialized in horizontal drilling. It was all mined.

So I been unemployed for almost seven years. Go figure, in Alberta, an oil geologist, ve who couldn find work. So I was in the midst of changing my specialty to steam t injection, the method they were using in the tar sands to help flow the deep tar into wells when all this happened. So I volunteered.

Well this is too deep for me, sorry I still don believe it, the skeptic said getting up and t leaving into the rain.

nuff for me too. Someone else said as they all got up and headed to their tents. The fire was dying anyway, and there was no dry wood left to burn.

Thanks for clarifying all this, Ben said.

Oh. My pleasure. But this was nothing new, Simmons wrote about this in detail ten years ago in his book, the geologist said.

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If it was technical guys like them would never have followed it and gotten bored. But what I find bizarre is that no matter what you tell some people, if their beliefs are well entrenched then there is no changing them.

No kidd If there is one thing I have learned about humanity it that the more n. s complex civilization gets, the more fantasy people use to explain it, the geologist said.

Oh, I can disagree more! Ben laughed. t

Well my turn to say good night, maybe see you in the morning, eh? the geologist said

Hey, we never got your name? Ron asked.

Does it matter? We most likely all going to die soon, so what does it matter that you re know my name or I know yours? the geologist said with a tone of depression.

Because for some reason the human mind needs to know. We, well most of us, feel a deep hole when we meet someone and not know their name, Ben said.

I guess. Even in all this madness we desire to keep some traditions going, including introductions. Sure, why not. It Shadewald, Bob Schadewald, pleasure to meet you s guys, The geologist said shaking their hands.

Just as he started to leave, he turned back to Ben and Ron. You know, there was a rumor floating around since 2007 that oil was being secretly piped from Iraq to Saudi Arabia to give the appearance that they could keep up their flow rates. I never saw any evidence of it when I was there, but that means it could not have happened. Plus, by 2007 the Saudis could not even produce enough natural gas for their own domestic use. They used it for electrical generation and for their desalination plants. But by then they were starting to

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198 run out of natural gas before we were. They had to buy from Iran to supplement their own needs. I find it all so paradoxical. Good night.

Yep, sleep dry, Ron said

Fat chance on that, he said as he left.

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Chapter 9: The Gangs of Grand Prairie

Sept. 10, 2016 In the morning Ben and Ron, joined by Garrett, went over to the command tent to get orders. It was still raining -- a constant drizzle.

The major was trying to eat some peanut butter and jelly on bread between the constant bombardment of interruptions. He did not look too pleased. At least his coffee mug had wisps of steam coming out of it.

You Looking up at Ronhave a problem with killing?

What, sir?

Son, this is a simple question, can you kill your enemy? Yes or no?

I not sure sir. m

Shit your pants when the shooting starts?

Something like that, yes.

Asking Ben Garret said,You his father I understand. re

Yes sir. Ben said.

So what your take, can he do the job or not. s

I not sure myself sir. He seemed gungho enough when we first came here, but I m guess reality has hit home. He helps me good enough. Ben said.

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That not good enough for me. He either does his job on the line or I ship him out. Do s you understand that son?

That would be fine by me sir. Ron said looking down.

Soldier, look at me! Do I ship your butt out of here or not? I can have anyone of my t men put in danger because you developed some moral reason for not killing your ve enemy.

Ron looked up at the angry face in front of him. I guess you will have to ship me out then sir.

Looking back at Ben Hamilton said,I guess that means you too right. Where he goes you go, right. Even if I forbid it soon as I turn my back you will go AWOL. Am I correct?

I afraid so sir, yes. m

Shit! Fucking volunteers. I can afford to loose men this way, he stopped and thought t for a minute.

You two report to the town of Hinton, Hamilton continued. There you will be given new orders. We need to make sure towns around here are evacuated, that will be your job on route to Fort McMurray. Everyone will eventually be pulling back to McMurray for our last stand. You can help prepare there before we arrive. Get on the next train. Get out of my sight!

As Ben was about to leave, he turned back towards the Major. I guess we can thank you for getting us out since you see no hope of winning here, Ben said.

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I have no idea what going to happen. It in God hands now. I don know, but s s s t maybe you can do some good. Do something more meaningful than staying here to get killed. Don thank me. Just do something to save lives in all this nonsense. Dismissed. t

Good luck to you sir, Ben said as he turned and left the tent.

The two of them got their gear together and took the next train back to Jasper. Most of those being put on the train with them were either dead or wounded. Ben and Ron were in a boxcar with a large number of wounded soldiers, some in bad shape. Blood lined the floor like fresh wet red paint, with some of it congealing into thick globs.

Back in Jasper they were assigned to burn bodies. Many bodies. There weren enough t people to bury them now, so they were stacked up like cordwood in piles, interspersed with logs, and the whole lot burned. It was the quickest and safest way to deal with all the rotting corpses. But it was an ugly gruesome job.

Sept 18, 2016

They left Jasper on a mid afternoon sunny day, the clouds finally giving way. They were assigned to a nurse to help a carload of wounded. Her uniform was covered in blood, her hands permanently stained red. She had little equipment, no IVs, mostly old sheets cut for bandages. Ben and Ron helped her as much as they could. Ron and her worked on some young kid with a large chunk of his chest missing. They could see his heart beating in his open chest surrounded in a pool of blood. But soon it stopped beating.

She looked at Ron, a single tear rolled down her left cheek. If we win this war he will not have died in vain, Ron said trying to reassure her. She shook her head saying,. One thing history has shown us is that eventually, as time changes history, all soldiers have

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202 died in vain. Ron could hardly disagree. Screams of other men took her attention away.

Finally after what seemed ages, they managed to stabilize those that were still alive. Ron asked the nurse some questions. Seems the base camp medic unit was swamped. Only those who could be patched up and sent back to the lines were being treated there. Everyone else was sent to Jasper where they sorted the wounded into savable and not so savable. The not so savable were shipped by train to Hinton.

The rest of the journey was the sound of click-clack of the car rolling along the tracks muffled by moaning and crying. Some asking for their Mommas, others praying. One man was bitching about how he was never going to have sex again with a missing leg. Many others were just quiet and not only because they were incapable of saying anything, but also in deep shock.

Ron went over to one boy, not much older than his brother he figured, who was curled up in the fetal position staring. He tried to talk to the boy who said nothing and continued to stare.

He got no wound, the nurse said,they just found him like that. s

It was only some seventy kilometers to Hinton, just on foothills of the mountains on the Athebasca River, but it took them more than four hours to get there.

As everywhere else they been, Hinton was a hectic place. It was the main road and ve railway line to Edmonton from Jasper just on the boarder of Jasper National Park. It was not a very big town; some ten thousand people once lived there. Most had been evacuated and the town was now a staging area for the front lines. The railway yard had been quickly expanded into near by parks to accept more traffic. Trucks were everywhere unloading supplies into railway cars. Cattle were being butchered in one of the schoolyards and loaded into rail cars for the trip west. North of the tracks new recruits

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203 were getting their last training before heading to the front. Ben wondered how many of them would return from the front in the same condition as those they just spent four hours with. As the train pulled into the west end of town, they could see that the golf course was being dug up for mass graves. The train stopped in midtown . They got off and were told to report to the municipal offices near the hospital.

As they walked along Switzer Drive pass the hospital on the south of the main highway they could see wounded being treated on the parking lot. The Environmental Training Centre, beside the hospital, was also set up as a makeshift medical treatment center for those with minor injuries. The school across from the hospital, was used as a temporary morgue. People passed them pushing gurneys with bodies wrapped in sheets.

At the Municipal office, across from the Environmental Training Centre, the two of them stood in line for more than two hours to see the commanding officer. Ben thought it was such a waste of manpower with all these people just standing around basically doing nothing. Ben always hated waiting in lines.

Finally that evening Ben went in alone to see the officer.

Your name, he said without looking up. Ben replied. The officer looked through a list. You not here, what unit are you with? he said reading his computer screen. re

I not from any specific unit, there two of us. We were told to report to you by m s Major Hamilton in Jasper. Something about going around and making sure towns are evacuated as we head up to Fort McMurray.

Oh, that group. He said getting other papers out of the pile on his desk. OK, here it is. Yes now looking at Ben,I need to send a half dozen men to Grand Prairie and then on to Slave Lake. People still in both towns. We sent a crew up there yesterday to blow a

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204 bridge but they did not report back. You will be leaving first light. See if you can find my demolition crew.

Is there a warm dry place to sleep?

Yeah, in the school over on Sunwapta Drive near the rec center. In the morning report to the RCMP office beside the school.

What about food, sir Ron asked showing up beside his father.

Yeah, in the rec center they have set up a kitchen. Dismissed.

At the rec centre they ate what they could, mostly fatty hamburgers, the content of which Ben questioned. It was served up with boiled potatoes and some powered juices. Though the school was crowded they found a spot in the office and packed it in for the night.

After pancakes mostly, with a few strips of ham, they arrived at the RCMP office just next door. The corporal at the front desk said the major was out and would be back by tomorrow. They would have to wait until then.

The next day Ben and Ron returned to the station. Still no major the corporal said. Stuck in Edmonton, she said.

Three days later, still no major. Ron was getting bored while Ben was getting antsy to get going.

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205 By the fifth day they had helped in the kitchen, given blood and even buried a few bodies in a schoolyard. There were so many bodies coming back from the front. And then there was the never-ending stream of soldiers arriving, training, and leaving for the front.

By the sixth day the major finally showed up, a British Army Major. Ben told him what they were supposed to do next.

Yes, the officer said,I see the request papers here. Just a second Robson. as he read the papers. Ben wondered, with all this chaos, how a paper trail could be maintained. There was a computer on the desk that the officer was typing into. Other computers were also manned, by mostly women, all typing and printing reports, which were handed to the officer. Yes, he said to Ben Grand Prairie and Slave Lake before reporting to Fort McMurray.

Sir. Can I ask really dumb question?

Sure Robson, shoot.

How is all this organized, I used to run an IT department before I retired, I mean before the war, and I curious how this has been set up. m

No idea. He said. All I can tell you is that setting up the Internet was a top priority and it seems to be working nicely. I can call up all sorts of locations to see what s happening. He paused to read the screen after a few clicks of the mouse. Ok, getting up he said,Come with me Robson.

They left the building together and went around the back to the parking lot. Four men were standing beside a red 2008 Ford F-250 crew cab pickup truck. It had seen better days, now somewhat rusted with many scrapes and dents.

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206 Robson, this is Sergeant Rick Ashbourne of the British Army, he is in charge of this lot. You will ride with them to Grand Prairie. Good luck to you. Then the officer went back into the building.

Ben shook hands with them all and introduced each other. Sergeant Harold Smith said,just call me Smitty, but don call me late for dinner! He laughed. Rick looked t sideways at Ben shaking his head and said with a touch of British accent. Tries to be a joker. But I think he half a bubble off plumb, if you catch my drift. s

What you say Ashbourne? Smitty said. s

Nothing, nothing at all, Mate, Rick replied rolling his eyes.

Dennis Sloan and Joe Giannozzo were the other two, both Canadian corporals.

I just Joe, he said. m

And I just plane Dennis, the other said. m

Dennis had two rifles, his C6 standard issue rifle, and a U.S. M21 semi-automatic sniper rifle. Joe rifle was the new Italian Beretta AR-100. Rick and Smitty had US made s M4s. Rick rifle a small scope and camouflage painted on it. s

They had a good laugh at Ben antique rifle. s

Suits you old man! Smitty laughed.

Hey, I bagged more than fifty with this old girl, Ben said with a proud smile. ve

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207 And that all that counts, Rick said. s

Hey, Dennis, that fifty more than you, eh! Smitty said poking Dennis in the shoulder. s

Fuck you, Smitty! Asshole, can wait to see how good you are! Dennis said. t

Smitty turned to Ben and said,He fell out of the boxcar and twisted his ankle as soon as he arrived here.

Hey, I was pushed! Took me a week before I could walk again.

We all gimps, Joe said,That why we are here. I got dysentery the first day I re s arrived. Smitty, what your excuse again? Tell the new guy why you are here,eh? s

Nothin bad luck that all. , s

Bull shit, tell why you here, Dennis said. Come on, tell him! Poking Smitty em re back.

I think I got the clap from some hooker in Calgary. Made me sick as a dog.

That will learn ya not to stick your dick where you shouldn eh, Smitty olboy! t Dennis said laughing.

So why are you here old man. You look healthy enough, Joe asked.

Not any sickness, at least not with me. Ben was not sure he should tell him his son might be yellow, as it used to be called. It my son. He had to leave the lines so I came s with him. I hope we will all fit in the truck.

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It will be tight sir, but we manage, Rick said. ll

Sir? Oh, I no officer Sergeant, Ben replied. m

I know, but you as old as my old man, and he an officer in the army. I not sure re s m this old truck will get us there, the tanks only half full. It all they could spare. Maybe s we will get lucky and find some fuel.

Ok, I get Ron then we head out, Ben said. ll ll

As they piled into the old truck to get underway Smitty said,We are the Goon-Platoon of Bad Asses!

Rick, who was driving, leaned over to Ben and said softly,See what I mean?

Eat my shorts, Ashwipe! Smitty said laughing.

It took them several minutes to drive out of town because of all the congestion. They headed west to the junction of Highway 40 then all highway driving north along the foothills of the Rockies.

They had been driving for almost an hour when Ben again noted the slashed scenery. Huge swaths of trees were cleared and the land lay bare. It looked like an enormous quilt of bare ground cut into the forest with some trees still standing in small patches. In some of the bare patches small saplings had been planted, but they looked too artificial in such neat rows.

Smitty perked up,Wish we had some bloody music to listen too.

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209 I check, Ron said. He looked in the glove compartment, then pulled down the visor ll in front of Ben. There were a few CD in a holder. He looked through the scratched s CDs for something appropriate. Hey, here one. Queen Greatest Hits. First song he s s played was We Are the Champions.

Yeah! Alright! Smitty said started to sing with the lyrics, and slowly they all joined in.

Hey! Smitty said,Just like in the movies! Bobbing his head to the beat and playing his rifle as a virtual guitar.

After a few minutes, Dennis said,Smitty! Did you shit your pants?! Rolling the window down fast he said,You fucking stink!

Godamnit, that rancid, man! Joe said sticking his head out the window. s

Blimey. Now that was damn nasty. Worse than a dog fart, Rick said turning the blower up full. What the fuck did you eat?

Smitty just smiled proudly playing his air guitar. Suck it all in boys, suck it all in! He said.

They stopped in the small town of Grande Cache for some lunch and to look for fuel. The town was empty, not a soul was in sight. There was no power and the gas station looked like it had been ransacked. Even if there was any fuel in the tanks, they had no way to get it out.

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210 They checked the town out, first the RCMP office, schools, then the hospital and medical centre. No one. The stores in the center of town were all ransacked. Cars were abandoned all over town, but none they checked had any fuel.

They decided to stop at the Tim Hortons to have some lunch. Of course it was empty, all the windows were broken.

Damn, I miss my Timmys! Smitty said. I used to have one of their double-doubles every day. Think I going through withdrawal symptoms! he laughed. I going to m m check out these empty cups and Rrrrrool up the rim! Maybe I win something! He ll continued laughing.

Ben remembered he used to take Anne to work and they would stop in the Timmys every time so she could have aLarge coffee, double milk, double sweetener and a shot of butter caramel. he could still hear her say it in his head. He missed home, and her very much.

Rick came and sat down beside Ben.

Not a soul in town, He said.

So why are you here? Ben asked,Seems the rest were injured or sick.

Yeah, I was at Moose Lake and got hit in the helmet with something big. Woke up three days later in that hospital with one hell ova headache. Thank God for Kevlar.

The rest were chatting, with the sun in an almost clear sky high above them, when a large flash of light came from over the crest of the mountain to their south. They all stood up

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211 to look. Then another flash and right after that a third. There was no sound save the birds chirping in near by trees.

A nuke? Ron said quietly to his Dad.

Maybe.

Ben got out their map. Rick there is a road east of here that runs along this crest of the mountain, we should get a good view from up there. I think we need to check this out.

Sounds good. You lot stay here. Let go. s

Ben and Rick drove back along the road from where they came. Just south out of town they came to a logging road. As they ascended the slope of the mountain they had a clear view to the east and south, because all the trees had been cut down off the slope of the mountain.

Wait stop the truck and turn it off, quick! Ben said.

Rick applied the breaks hard throwing them into the front dash. Listen! Ben said.

They both got out and listened to the low rumbling as if from far off distant thunder, but the sky was clear.

Let keep going, Rick said. s

After about an hour they made it to the top of the ridge where they stopped.

Rick surveyed the sky with his binoculars. Yep, there it is. Have a look.

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Ben checked the skyline. Where?

Almost due south, see the clouds?

Yep, got them. Looks like three mushroom clouds.

Rick put the map on the hood of the truck and oriented it to true north.

Calgary is dead along that line, Ben said.

The command post for the whole west coast was in Calgary, Rick said.

Shit. We better head back and tell the others.

They headed back into town. It was too late in the day to head out, so they bunked down in a house opposite the Tim Hortons. The house was left as it was when lived in, save some clothes and other personal items. Fine china filled the cabinets, there was even some rotted dried food in the warm freezer.

Oct 3, 2016

The road dropped down into a valley, crossing the Smokey River, then followed the valley east out of the mountains. They were still not even half way to Grand Prairie. As they left the mountains behind them they again emerged into huge deforested areas. A desolate landscape. It went on for mile after mile. Ben wondered if Calgary now looked just like this.

After more than an hour of driving Rick said. Looks like we aren going to make it to t Grand Prairie, we on empty. re

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How far away are we from town? Ron asked his Dad.

At least ten clicks, Ben replied,We just keep going until the fuel runs out. You ll never know. These old trucks always had more in the tank when it hit the E.

Only a few kilometers later the truck started to sputter and rolled to a stop at the side of the highway.

End of the line for this old girl, Rick said.

Why don we just stick a tube up Smitty ass and connect it to the engine? We get a t s d couple miles out of him at least! Dennis said.

Smitty wiggled his bum at Dennis.

They all got out and continued to walk the last seven kilometers to town. There was a chill in the air, they could see their breaths.

The road started to make a long descending left turn as it dropped into a valley. On their way down they could see the road turn to the right with a bridge over a river. There was a roadblock on the far side of the bridge and several people standing around the barricade.

Bloody hell, they never blew the bridge, Rick said.

Yeah, and maybe why. Look at those guys on the far side, Ben said.

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214 They got weapons, Ron said looking through binoculars. Something not right ve s about this. They look like small firearms, like Uzis or Mack10s or something. Where would civilians get such weapons?

Ok, Ben, Ron and myself will go down to the bridge, the rest of you blokes take up sniper positions along the ridge. Move out now and we wait here for an hour before we ll set out, Rick said to them. If I raise my left hand high in the air that the signal to s shoot.

Can I go with Joe and Smitty to the ridge instead, Dad? Ron insisted.

Sure, Ben said realizing Ron didn want to get himself into a spot. Then you can t cover me with the Enfield and I take your M16, Ben said as they exchanged weapons. ll

OK, that fine. Dennis, you join with us then, Rick said. s

Sure thing,. Joe you take the M21, he said handing the rifle to Joe.

After the hour was up, the trio moved down the road towards the bridge. Something told Ben to hide his Glock. He took it out of its holster and put it in the left side of his pants under his coat, but left the coat open. Rick saw this and cocked his head a bit.

Something just not right here, Ben said. s

It probably nothing, Rick said. s

Once down by the bridge, the road took a sharp right turn. They walked casually across the bridge. Five men were at the barricades on the opposite side with their weapons pointed at them. They were indeed Uzis and Mack10s.

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215 As they got to the barricade Ben said to the guards,Good day gentlemen. Is there a place in town where we can get food and rest. We been walking for days. ve

STOP and drop yo motha-fuckngat now! one of the guards shouted.

They stopped, but kept their rifles down at the ready. Ben slung his M16 over his shoulder freeing his hands.

Ben looked the five guards over. They were very young, mid twenties, three of them were black, one appeared Latino, the other white. They all had tattoos on the face and hands. Look chaps, Rick said,We Canadian soldiers and we come here to warn re ve you of the Chinese advance. The town needs to be evacuated.

Put the fucknpiece down, NOW motha-fucka!! the guard yelled again.

Look old boy, we will not drop our weapons. We not here to threaten you, we are re here to help clear out the town, Rick said firmly.

The guards bickered amongst themselves, then one got onto a radio. Some twenty minutes later a large black civilian Humvee showed up. Two from the front got out and pointed rifles at Ben and his group. One from the back then got out and started to walk towards the barricade. Ben was quite amused at the sight. A young lad, not more than twenty-five, was all decked out in a menagerie of items. He had on what looked like a Roman helmet; which had red tuffs protruding from the top. He also had on the top part of a suit of armour from the Dark Ages. Military metals dangled from the armour, sounding like wind chimes as he walked. There was an old Colt revolver in a holster on his right and a sword dangling from his left side. He had blue jeans on, but what looked like Jack Boots on his feet. He looked like a real idiot. Someone pretending to be

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216 powerful because of what he wore. Ben was bewildered as to what was going on here, but was not going to underestimate him or these guards.

Once at the barricade, in a commanding voice as if he was some sort of god, the kid said to them,Hey, du, who the fuck are yo and whatcha yo doinon my block, son?

We are military soldiers. We just came from a battle near Jasper against the Chinese. It won take long for them to be here, a fortnight at best. We here to make sure all t re towns are evacuated to Edmonton, Rick replied.

Yo homie, I run this shit, yo understand? And yo motha-fuckas can stop me. t

You think you can hold off the whole Chinese army with this bunch of amateurs? Now, be reasonable, and put your guns down. We are not a threat; we just want some food and a place to sleep, Ben said.

Yo pay me tax, yo know. Or yo motha-fuckas bounce!

What tax? Who the hell are you the Queen of England? Rick said.

As the man said, this my town. This MY town, yo get it. And yo pay the man tax to ll get in. I want yoguns.

Not a chance. Please, just let us in, get what we need, then we will leave, Ben said trying to be nice, but knew it would not get anywhere. Obviously these guys were some sort of gang and had taken control of the town.

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217 Just at that point a young girl got out of the Humvee and started yelling. Help me please! She was dressed in only an open short fur coat. She had nothing on underneath. The driver quickly grabbed her and stuffed her back into the Humvee.

What going on here? Ben asked. s

Nothin yomind yo motha-fucken business, son! Now if yohomies want to live yo , ll hand over yoweapons. NOW!! Yosee what I say homie? He yelled. m n

Ben walked up closer to the barricade towards the kid with his hands open to his side in a gesture of peace. Within about two meters Ben stopped and said,Look, I don know t what you think you are, but we are coming in and checking things out, got it homie! pointing his finger at the kid face. s

The kid laughed and said,What yothree against my eight!

There are more of us on the ridge behind me who have you all in their sights right now. All I have to do is give the signal and you are all toast. My guys do not miss, Rick said firmly.

With that some of the guards dropped behind the barricade and others pointed their weapons into the air towards the ridge.

Yobluffin I see no anyone but yo son. . ,

Of course you cannot see them idiot! Ben retorted.

I don believe ya shit homie. Like I said yo bluffin. Now, for the last time, hand over t yoweapons!

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In frustration, Ben turned to his left as if to walk away, then rapidly swung his right hand around with the Glock and put a shot right through the kid helmet almost dead between s the eyes. The kid flopped straight down in slow motion, disappearing behind the barricade. Ben just stood there, gun up, amazed that he actually hit his target without thinking, without aiming, it was all automatic.

Rick and Dennis dropped to one knee and started shooting. Rick shot one to Ben left. s At the same time a bullet cracked past Ben ear and took out the guard on the right. The s remaining guards started shooting wildly missing every shot, which were few by the time Rick and Dennis took out one each. Joe on the ridge took out the two guards at the Humvee. One remained, hiding behind the barricade. He put up his hands to surrender.

The whole time Ben just stood there, gun still raised up, in self-amazement. He snapped out of it as he noticed one of those hit on the ground tried to pick up a weapon. Going past the barricade, Ben said to himStay down, don get up! But he continued to try to t point his weapon at Ben. Ben casually pointed the Glock at the kid head and fired as he s walked past. Ass hole! He said, then pointed his Glock at the last one who was now cowering on the ground with his hands in the air. Don shoot! Don shoot! he said t t trembling.

Don move, Ben said. Rick, check out the Humvee and make sure there is no one else t here. Pointing the pistol at the kid forehead, Ben said,Get up, s

Slowly he got up and put his hands behind his head. What the fuck is going on here? Ben asked.

The kid started to talk. Apparently, they were a drug gang from Edmonton. With all the soldiers there and the evacuation of civilians from the city they could not continue their

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219 business. So they fled Edmonton and ended up here. The gang took control over the towns folk who remained, the die-hards who were not evacuated. Several once rival gangs had joined forces and had divided up the town. He figured there were some twohundred gang members in town, they had forty of their own on the south side of town. They were all well armed.

Shit, Ben, Dennis said,Maybe we should bypass this town altogether.

The young girl was brought to Ben. She was frightened and cold. She could not have been more than fifteen. Everyone is dead, Rick said.

What your name? Ben asked her. s

Melanie Pierson, sir, she said with her head down shivering in the cold.

Ben put his hand under her chin to raise her head up to look into her eyes. What ever these guys have done to you, it over now. s

The girl smiled at Ben. Can I go back into the car? It warmer in there, She asked. s

Of course, Rick help her out.

A few minutes later the rest of the troop showed up. Hey Smitty, come and look at this guy, Dennis said picking up the sword from the dead kid.

What the hell is he supposed to have been? Smitty asked laughing. Something of a mix of a Roman solder and a knight of the round table, eh?

One of their gang leaders I guess, Ben said. He thought he was a big shot.

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Not any more, Smitty laughed. Looks like he got the big shot in the end, eh?

Hey, I know what this sword is, Joe said looking closely at it. It Gandalf sword, s s from that movie Lord of the Rings. One of those replicas they sold on the Internet and stores. It even has the scabbard for it. Oh, man, I loved that movie. Best movie ever made.

Take it then, Ben said

I think you should have it, you killed him, Joe said.

What the fuck would I do with a sword? I can see myself getting close enough to use t it. It yours. s

Ron came over to Ben. Dad, what should we do, go into town or skirt around it?

Just a sec, I going to talk to the girl and see what going on in town. m s

Rick and Ben had a long talk with Melanie in the Humvee. Indeed the town had been quartered for four of the main gangs. Seems they were thrown out of Edmonton and Calgary and at least one from Vancouver. They had arrived at different times. A small battle broke out in town. Several townspeople were killed and wounded in the gun fighting in the open streets. Eventually a truce was found and the town divided up. Remaining towns people were enslaved to serve the drug lords. Smaller drug gangs were known to be outside of town too.

The girl informed Ben that the guy he killed was one of the lieutenants. The leader was in a posh house by the golf course surrounded by heavily armed guards. It would be

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221 impossible to penetrate. She also said that the gang would surely hunt Ben and his group down for killing these guards.

Rick asked her if she knew anything about a demolition crew sent here, but she knew nothing about them. Anyone who came to the town was likely enslaved or killed she said.

They discussed their options. Ben said it would be impossible to liberate the town. All agreed it was too risky. They certainly needed to go somewhere, night was falling and they needed some food. So they decided to walk around the town in a wide circle on the west side. It was farmland so they were sure to find a house to sleep in and hopefully find some food.

But what to do with the prisoner and the girl? She begged to go with them. She was not going to go back and they were not going to force her. The prisoner was another matter.

If you let him go, he will tell the Boss about you, she said standing beside Ben shivering.

I won No, I promise I wont say nothinto anyone, man! the prisoner said also t. shaking but in fear.

Don listen to him, she said. He a sniveling little shithead of a snitch. You can t s t trust him.

Ben walked over to the kid. Strip off all your clothes, he said,Everything.

What? -- No it too cold, you know, I freeze. s ll

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222 Too bad, do it now! Ben said pulling his Glock out and pointing it at the kid head. s

The kid stripped down naked. Covering his genitals in his hands to hide them he stood there shivering. Ben picked up the clothes and boots and handed them to the girl. Get dressed, he said to her. You coming with us. re

Rick picked out a clean T-shirt and socks from his own pack and handed them to the girl. She went into the Humvee for privacy.

So what do we do with him? Ron asked.

This Rick said and shot the kid in the head. Scum like this should not be allowed to live.

Ron looked down at the naked body. Blood briefly spouted from the hole above the ear, then trickled to a stop. Blood also pooled out onto the pavement under the right side of his head from the wound left by the exiting bullet. The stunned expression on the kid s face did not change. Ron felt coldness on his face. Wiping it with his hand he saw it smeared with blood. Ron stomach ejected its contents into his mouth and nose as he s raced over to the ditch, pushing Smitty out of the way, and puked.

Fuck man, you almost got lung butter on my boots! Smitty said.

The Humvee was useless to them since they had to walk around the town, so they drove it off the road and into the ditch. Then took out some parts making it inoperable. They scavenged whatever ammunition they could from the corpses. Then dragged the bodies into the ditch beside the Humvee. Lastly, they dismantled the weapons the guards had and scattered the parts into the river, but keeping the ammo for themselves.

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223 Their aim was to walk for a few hours west, then head north into the farmland. In a large cornfield, with the stocks much taller than they were, Joe saidThis is cattle corn guys, not really for us to eat.

Better than nothing. I starving, Rick said as he filled his pack with ears of corn. m

Something not right, Joe said. s

What? Ben asked back.

What today date? Anyone? Joe asked. s s

It October the fourth, Dennis replied looking at his watch. s

My uncle owns a farm, and it way too late in the season for this to still be here. It s should have been cleared weeks ago. Joe said.

They emerged at the north end of the field with a farmhouse in the distance. They heard gunshots, just two. Peering through the binoculars Ron said,There a couple of guys by s that barn, looks like they have someone else. They punching and kicking him. Oh, re shit They just shot him. Then the crack of the shot echoed through the field.

More gangs? Smitty asked.

Most likely, Rick said.

Should we go around? Ron asked.

What are they doing now? Ben asked Ron.

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224 Peering through the binoculars he said. They gone. I don see anyone. We should re t go around.

What d think Rick? Ben asked. I think we need to check it out. ya

Sure, move up to the barn. Rick said.

I still think we should go around. Ron said.

They made their way to the back of the barn. Horses and some cows could be heard in the barn. Rick peered around the corner. No one there, but there are two bodies on the ground against the wall. He whispered to the others.

Just then they heard yelling from the farmhouse on the other side of barn. Two men were screaming at someone in an oriental language and broken English. Rick looked again and saw two men with handguns pulling a young boy along. He was screaming,oh, please don kill me, please! t

The two men put the young boy against the wall of the barn and raised their pistols to shoot. Rick swung around the corner and shot them both in the head in quick succession. The young lad, bleeding from the nose and mouth, dropped to the ground.

Rick grabbed him and quickly dragged him back around the barn to the others. He was told to keep down.

What going on here? Ben asked the boy. s

Regaining composure, and a bit surprised, he said,It some Asian gang, six more are in s the house. They have a number of us from the farms around here. They raped my ve

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225 sisters and killed all the men. That was my brother and uncle on the ground, he said starting to sob.

We definitely should go around, Ron said.

No, no. Please, you must save my mother and sisters! the boy said.

Six, we can take them, Rick said.

Chinese soldiers? Ben asked the kid.

No, he said,I heard one of them talk about waiting to join up with the Chinese Army when they got here.

That won happen, Rick said. Where in the house did you see them? t

The kid drew the layout of the house in the sand, an old two story Victorian farmhouse. He pointed to where he last saw the gang-men. Three were in the living room, the boy thought they were snorting cocaine, and the other three were upstairs in the bedrooms with his sisters, mother and several other women.

Ok, Rick, Joe and Smitty you guys come with me, pistols only. Dennis, you and Ron cover the entrances back and front in case they try to escape, Ben instructed them.

You taking charge Ben? Rick asked.

Oh, sorry, I guess that your job. s

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226 No, Rick said in a chuckle,You do a might fine job as far as I concerned. re n m Let do it. s

Melanie stayed to console the boy.

Ron nervously removed the Glock out of its holster and took the safety off.

Slowly and stealthily the group walked up to the house pistols up and ready. They entered the back door quietly.

They be expectintheir two to return soon, we gotta make this quick, Rick whispered ll to them.

First room was a small mudroom with laundry machines. At the very right was the door to the kitchen. Rick slowly opened the door pistol first. There was no one in the large kitchen, though the table had several messy plates and the counter was piled with pots and dishes.

Ben entered the mudroom after Rick. He felt scared, but he quickly regained control remembering that logic dictates his actions, not emotions. If you pause, if you think, you dead. re

Upstairs they could hear crying and the occasional screaming. Down the far hallway they could hear men talking in some oriental language. A door on the far right went into the dining room. On the left was the hallway. Rick gestured to Joe and Smitty to go into the dining room. On the left at the end of the dining room was a door to the front hall, which was open.

Rick and Ben slowly crept down the hallway pistols at the ready. The floor made no creaking sounds. Good old solid pine floors. Ben thought to himself. Rick stopped, holding up his hand. Screaming could be heard from upstairs.

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Rick pointed to a large picture on their right at the bottom of the stairs. He could see the men in the living room through the reflection of the glass. He held up three fingers to Ben indicating how many were in there. Rick quickly rounded the left doorway that went into the living room and shot them in quick succession. One each in the chest.

Ben ran up the stairs with Joe and Smitty following. The stairs made a one hundred and eighty degree turn at a landing. Before they reached the top an oriental fellow came hobbling out the right bedroom with his pants down around his knees and a gun in his hand. He was about to shoot when Ben tripped on the stairs trying to duck, at the same time managing to get a shot off hitting the man in the upper leg.

Screams still came from the back bedroom. Joe stepped on Ben back to get by and went s around the corner with Smitty trailing as they passed the washroom and into the master bedroom at the back of the house. As they barged in one of the men tried to shoot, but missed Joe by a hair. Smitty shot him three times in the chest. The second man dove out of the window. Six women were huddled against a wall crying.

It all over, Joe said. We the good guys. s re

Outside they heard a number of shots. Smitty went to the window. The man who jumped out was on the ground. Dennis walked up to him, and fired off another shot to make sure.

Ben came into the room with a young girl wrapped in a blanket. Rick came in saying all were down.

Thank you so much, one of the older women said getting up. They been here for ve days. They raped the younger girls. Pigs!! She kicked the dead man on the floor.

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Let get them out of here, Ben said. They helped the women down the stairs and out s the front door. Still at the top of the stairs Rick said to BenAnd what of this guy. Pointing his pistol at the wounded man head. s

The man screamed at them in an oriental language, cringing while holding his bleeding leg.

Wait! the woman said. Let me have him. She went down the stairs and into the kitchen. She returned to the top of the stairs with a long kitchen knife. She grabbed the man genitals with one hand and cut them clean off with one slice of the knife. The man s screamed out in agony as she walked into the bathroom and flushed the parts down the toilet. Let him bleed out. She said cleaning her hands off with a towel, and going back down stairs.

Rick and Ben looked at each other, each holding their own genitals in their hands. Oh, fuck, man, I felt that myself! Rick said as they headed down the stairs.

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Chapter 10: Bed and Breakfast

The victims were sitting in the front yard under a large chestnut tree in full fall colours when Rick and Ben emerged through the front door and stopped beside the woman. The young girls were still crying. Melanie came to the front with the young boy. One of the women holding her daughters and what appeared to be her mother, opened her arms to the lad, hugged him hard crying. I thought they killed you! she said.

No, Mom, these guys saved my life.

You OK Ryan? an older woman said checking him over.

I not hurt much grandma, I fine. He paused for a bit. Mom, Jack is dead, and so m m is uncle George. They hugged even harder together. Everyone else listening also started to get tears in their eyes.

Two of the women thanked them all for saving their lives.

We should go to my place across the road. the woman standing beside Ben said throwing the towel down. I have a bed and breakfast with lots of room for all of us. We can clean the girls up there. Besides I bet you guys are hungry. ll

Ben could now get a good look at the woman in the twilight of the setting sun. She was a handsome woman with long light brown hair. Shorter than Ben with a nice build. She had a look in her face that she was in charge of her own destiny, and no one was to screw around with her.

She helped up one of the young girls and started down the driveway to the road.

The woman home, also Victorian style, two and an half stories, and well maintained. s 229

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They huddled in the dark on the porch at the front door. I fire up the generator, stay ll here, the woman said as she went around the back of the house.

The porch, with its intricate woodwork, filled the whole length of the front of the house with a nice gazebo on the left side. They only had to wait in the dark for a few minutes when the lights came on.

The woman opened up the front door. The entrance was large with a wooden staircase on the right side of the hallway. To the right of the stairs was the living room with a fireplace. To the left was the dining room that had a beautiful table and chair set as well as a fully loaded china cabinet.

The young girls were taken upstairs. Ben and his group went into the dining room. The woman and another went into the kitchen.

The woman returned to the dining room with several loaves of bread and jug of well water.

What your name ma s am? Ron asked the woman.

Dorothy Bryant, but you can call me Dolly, she said smiling at Ron. That Gale in s the kitchen. Helen and her mother Jane were the ones who thanked you outside. The rest introduced themselves to her.

Gale came into the dining room and said her goodbyes. I gotta go home and feed my birds, she said and left. Gale was a shorter woman, with a little heavier build than Dorothy.

After the mild feast Dorothy invited them all to have a hot bath. The house had four bathtubs and she had started boiling water on the kitchen old wood cook stove. Each s

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231 took their turn. Ben went last enjoying a good soak, something he had not had since being at home.

Dorothy came into the bathroom. Eye closed, just wanted to bring you a fresh towel. I s also cleaned your clothes. Found some of Roger clean underwear that should fit you s too.

Who Roger? Ben asked. s

My ex-husband, she said leaving and closing the door.

Later that evening Ben went out onto the porch to sit in the swing chair. The night air was cool and crisp. The stars were peering in and out of swiftly moving wisps of white clouds against the black sky.

After the lights all went out Dorothy appeared with a lit oil lamp and two cups of hot chocolate.

Turned the generator off. Here, this will keep you warm, she said sitting beside Ben. Well, you certainly look more human cleaned up and shaved!

Ben just shrugged.

Winter will be early again this year, she said looking up at the sky.

They talked for a bit exchanging histories. Dorothy was 48. Roger and her divorced some five years ago. Her daughter and their family were somewhere in Montreal but had lost contact with them over the winter. Her son was somewhere in Edmonton with the forces. She had run the bed and breakfast for fifteen years.

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232 Dorothy biggest concern was her mother and father who were in a nursing home in s Edmonton. She asked Ben if he knew anything about what was going on in Edmonton. She had not heard from her parents since the winter. There had not been any contact with any of the nursing homes. She told Ben she hoped they were all evacuated east. Ben assured her that would be the case, but he was guessing.

So how did you make it through the winter, Dorothy? he asked.

I grow a lot of my own food, always have. Visitors just love homegrown food. Since long before peak oil hit I was well aware of the problem of oil depletion. So I put in a greenhouse that I can grow in all year. I had a ground-source heat pump put in the house and greenhouse that really cut my heating and cooling costs. I have lots of fruit trees and bushes and the well water here is great. You know of the generator, and before the winter I had a thousand gallons of farm gasoline delivered. It in a big tank at the back s of the barn, out of sight. It lasted me the whole winter with about a quarter to spare. I also have a windmill, solar panels and battery system that powers part of the house. I get my meat from my local farm friends and I do chores in return. So basically I selfm sufficient and have been for ten years.

Smart woman. We put in a heat pump too, with the tax credit grant the government gave out, Ben said

A lot of farms around here did too. But I knew long before peak oil hit that it was coming so I put the heat pump in years ago. The Internet was invaluable, full of information on it and I followed it daily with newsgroups and chat rooms devoted to peak oil. They helped immensely.

Yeah, I read quite a bit about it too, but people were in such denial. No one wanted to hear about the end of civilization as we know it, or, knew it. If anything the scare over global warming dominated people minds so much that peak oil wasn in the news at s t all.

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Yeah, then those scientists came out, when was that, seven years ago?

Somewhere then, yes. Chemists and physics started the ball rolling, Ben replied.

Took a while though, didn it. To squashed the whole global warming scare I mean. A t lotta people credibility went down the toilet! s

Took them long enough to come forward. They should have set the record straight before it got so far out of hand. But the media just loves scare stories. Out doing each other to make the future scarier and scarier.

Oh, and how. Dorothy laughed. At least they finally did come forward and complained about how the doom and gloom scenarios the media hyped was all wrong.

Lotta good it did. By the time they did it was too late. The damage was done, and it gave peak oil the head start it needed to be bad, worse than it should have been if we had the warning decades ago of oil depletion instead of global warming. Imagine what we could have done with the hundreds of billions spent on global warming. Makes me want to cry sometimes. Then once global warming was put aside anyone who brought up peak oil was dismissed, another wolf and the public ignored the warnings. cry ,

Oh my, yes. Gale was in Edmonton before moving here. She was fired from her job because she posted information about peak oil at work. Even her friends stopped coming around. They said she was too doom and gloom. Funny, though, the doom and gloom of global warming was OK to talk about. People, they are so... She paused looking for a word.

Gullible?

Well, certainly that. No, I was thinking more of sheep.

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Haha! Yeah, I once saw someone post on the Web who called everyone sheeple .

Oh, yes! Hahaha! Sheeple, that funny. I have to remember that one. But sooooo s ll true, eh?

How did she fair?

Who?

Gale.

Oh, right. Well, she cashed in her RRSPs and bought the farm down the road. She s divorced too, but gets lots of help from us around here. She into birds, big ones. She s has a cockatoo, an African Gray and a Quaker parrot. They sleep in the same room as her. Her babies she calls them. They are so smart, and talk a storm. The gray whistles like you would not believe. Amazing animals. They self aware you know. She told re me a story about her Quaker when she lived in Edmonton. She also had a cage of finches in the same room. She would come home from work and the Quaker would be in the finch cage. Seemed the bird figured out how the doors to the cage worked. So Gale put cloths pegs on the doors. But the Quaker figured out how to open those with her beak. They would all be on the floor and she would be in the cage again. So Gale put garbage ties on the doors figuring there would be no way now. But, no, all the ties would be on the floor and the bird in the cage. Seems the Quaker figured out that if you pull hard on the ring the ties would unwind.

Wow, now that is one smart bird. I have to admit I enjoy the company of animals. We have dogs, the wife loves them. You don have any animals? t

No, not now. We had a Plott Hound who died five years ago.

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235 A what?

A Plott Hound. It is like a bloodhound, but a different breed. He was so lovable. We called him Rutherford. When he ran it was like goofy from the cartoons. And his bark, if you can call it that, was funny as hell.

He died of old age?

No, he was only ten when he died of cancer. We buried him right over there under the willow tree. I really miss him. We got divorced just after that.

Can I ask why, or is that taboo?

No, it OK. Dave, Gale husband, and Roger were best friends from university and s s both worked as oil chemists for Syncrude. Their hours were long, but it was great money. Sometimes he would stay in Fort McMurray for weeks on end working on projects, or so he said. I sure he was, I don think he had time for a mistresses. So we m t never saw much of each other. I gave him an ultimatum to either slow down or we call it quits. Guess he liked his job more than me. Same happened to Gale.

Gale spent the winter at my place. Her and her birds slept in the living room. I closed down the top floors. No point in heating them. Since the peak oil crash, and the rationing started, we had no visitors. No one vacationed. No allocated fuel for vacations.

Same with us.

Just farmers, like me, wink wink, got more fuel, hence my thousand gallons. But most farmers ran through their ration of fuel before the end of the season though. That was hard on them. Many crops and cattle were lost. The guy down the road had a dairy farm, all mechanized. When the power went out, he ran on his generator. All the milking machines were electrically operated. But his fuel ran out. Without being able to milk the

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236 cows on time, several of them died. We all scrambled to find diesel fuel for his generator. I only had gasoline. We even milked many of the cows by hand. That was a long day. But he lost almost half his herd. It was like that all over apparently.

Yep, no one was prepared for the crash, Ben said shaking his head in disgust.

But it not like there was no warning signs, Ben. The warnings were all over for s anyone who wanted to see them long before the global warming fiasco. I read on the Internet that they knew in 2005 that all the major oil fields in the world were in terminal decline. Yet they lied to us saying they had trillions of barrels of oil. But all the geologists who knew, and were brave enough to come forward, said it was all lies.

Ben told her about the geologist he met in Jasper, and his lecture to the campfire audience.

Dorothy continued. Yep, there was all that hope of oil in the tar sands were Roger worked. He denied there was peak oil too. Yet he told me they needed a barrel of oil for every two they extracted. Fifty percent of the oil we got from the tar sand was used to extract the oil from the sand in the first place. Now how long can that last? Ridiculous.

Yep, I heard about that. Shows the true desperation we were in but no one was willing to admit.

Yes, Roger said these were just challenges to overcome she said rolling her eyes. , He said that technology would save the day, that why he was working so much, to s invent that technology. Fat lot of luck it does us now. Asshole. I called it the technology religion. All faith and little facts. Roger got mad at me for saying that. Hahaha!

You not religious? re

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237 Not any more. I was raised a Catholic, but I was put off by the old geezers at the pulpit spewing their anti female rant. Bunch of old farts. Some of them were charged with fondling one of the quire boys right here in Edmonton way back when I was much younger. No jail of course, the Vatican shipped him off to Africa or some such place like that. So I got disillusioned at a young age. But it was when I went to the University of Calgary, where I studied biology, and got introduced to biological evolution that the tide really turned. I saw no use for an old man in a bathrobe. Not for earth life, nor my s life.

Well, I have to say I amazed to find a fellow atheist! m

She leaned over to Ben and said,Actually, I have a bit of irony I share with few people. I think that if there is a God, that he will embrace atheists more than anyone else in heaven because we used the gift of rational thinking He gave us!

Oh, I like that. Sure must get your religious friends a bit of a jab, eh?

They laughed for a bit and exchanged stories about their religious debating encounters.

Ben attention turned to the gangs and the men at the house. He didn want to spoil the s t evening by bring it up sooner. Dorothy didn say anything to the question. t

It OK if you aren comfortable talking about it. s t

Oh, no. It OK. It just that was It was . a terrible few days. She said in a low s monotone voice. Excuse me, I remembering the men who died. A tear started to roll m out of her left eye and down her cheek. She wiped it way with her hand. Actually, I haven had time to sit and digest what happened. She paused for a second and wiped a t tear from the other eye. We really thought we were all going to die. She took a deep breath to regain composure.

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238 Dorothy then told him what happened.

The Chinese men came out of Grande Prairie three days ago after being ousted by the four gangs controlling the town. They found Helen outside the front with her daughters and took them hostage. Dorothy had seen the commotion from her place and went over to see what was going on. Bad move. Gale had come over just this morning to see why Dorothy did not come over for their morning tea together and got caught up in the mess.

Dorothy told Ben she had heard of horror stories as to what had happened in town. The mayor and police chief were both shot execution style by one of the drug lords right in front of the town hall. The townsfolk that remained were forced to witness the shooting.

The town tried to fight back, but that when the drug lords unified and killed many s townsfolk.

They sat quietly for a Moment.

So, Ben, what in mankind future? What will become of us do you think? s s

Don know. Many seem to think we will revert back to the dark ages, but I disagree. t We have the technology, not withstanding our religious like faith we have in it, but we do have the infrastructure. Electricity is easy to make, so I sure we will have that for a m long time to come. Our understanding of the world is light years ahead since then. But certainly I can see the population being at the level it is now, or was. t

Yep, this war will reduce that by a lot, I sure of it. m

And it the wars we don know about. I sure countries like Indonesia, and South s t m America, and even Russia, are in conflict. Russia population was in decline just at the s turn of the century as it was.

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239 Yeah, I read on one of the websites that they predicted a ninety percent drop in human population.

Well, no one has a crystal ball. If anything we know that with things in chaos there is no prediction that will turn out to be true. But I suspect we will drop a lot, then do what is called a dead-cat-bounce.

Yes, I know what that is. We recover a bit then go into decline again to the final equilibrium. Sad isn it. We have come so far only to have it all pulled from under us. t

It was getting too complicated. Too much to manage. Managed chaos, now we have unmanageable chaos. It was bound to fail being so interdependent on one commodity -cheap oil.

Dorothy nodded her head. They sat silently for a bit longer.

It late, you should get some sleep and head out of here as soon as you can, she said. s

Yes, you will be leaving too right?

Soon as we can get organized. Which way should we go?

Head back south down Highway 40 to Hinton, you will be able to get a train there to Edmonton.

There is a train here in town, but there is no way we can get to it. It arrived to evacuate the town just after the first gang showed up. The crew were either killed or enslaved. It s still there, but no one can get near it now.

Do you have any vehicles that work? Ben asked.

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Gale has a school bus, she used to be a driver after she moved in here. Funny, she would take her cockatoo with her to pick up school kids. They just loved it. Happier times, she sighed. I think she said it still has fuel in it. I have a van and jeep TJ both of which have some fuel. We can top them all up with what I have left in the tank. Where are you heading tomorrow?

Ben informed her that they were to go to Slave Lake and then on to the defensive position at Fort McMurray. He asked her if she knew of anything about Calgary. She hadn t heard anything. When he told her of the nukes she started to cry.

So it come to this. she said holding her head in her hands. Unbelievable what we s humans do to ourselves.

They sat there in silence for a long time. Ben got up saying,I take my leave of you. I ll gotta get some sleep.

Oh, sure thing, Ben, you can take my bedroom past the kitchen. It small but nice s enough. Goodnight.

Oh, no I don want to put you out of your own room. t

That OK. I should sleep upstairs in case one of the girls wakes up. So go ahead. It s s real comfy.

Well, I kindly thank you then. night.

Pulling the blankets off the bed, Ben noticed there were no sheets, but instead fur blankets. Even the pillowcases were very soft fur. Now that different, he though to s himself.

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Ben settled into the double bed, between the two fur blankets, and blew out the candle. Unlike cold sheets that take time for your body to warm up, the fur blankets warmed immediately. It was a softness and comfort he had never experienced before. It was bliss.

Ben was just about to drift off when there came a soft knock at the door as it opened. Light from a candle filled the room. It was Dorothy. Sorry to disturb you, but I seem to have miscalculated how many beds and couches I needed. There nothing left for me. s So I going to have to sleep here with you, she said softly as she closed the door m behind her.

Ben was taken aback and did not know what to say. She got undressed except for her underwear and bra. As she opened the covers and climbed in Ben said pulling the covers tight around him. I naked and I married you know. m m

Yes, I know you married. I saw the ring on your finger. re

Look you have the bed, I find Ron and sleep in his bed. ll

Your son is on the couch. Look, all the beds are filled, even your military buddies are doubled up in beds.

Then I sleep on the floor. ll

I sure you have not slept in a bed since you left home. m

No, not much. Once actually. But I manage. ll

It reeeaall comfy isn it, she said in a soft slow voice. Look, nothing going to s t s happen, now go to sleep. She nestled into the bed and turned away from him.

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And devoted to my wife, you know, he said more trying to reassure himself than anything.

I know, it OK. she said blowing out the candle and snuggling into the bed. s

Ben slept like he had never slept before. He had this wonderful sex filled dream. Then awoke to find it was not a dream. His manhood, engorged by the dream, was being taking advantage of by Dorothy. He opened his eyes to a set of tits in his face and an undulating body on him. He did not say anything, but participated in the action, holding her breasts in his hands.

Dorothy eventually cringed her face in ecstasy. She then gave a huge moan dropping on top of Ben in sweat. Ahhhh, that was great! she moaned. Your turn, you go.

Ben completed his task.

I sorry Ben, it been a VERY long time indeed. Besides, with what going on no m s s one is sure any of us will be here much longer. She got off Ben and lay on her back with her bare body fully exposed in the early morning light.

Glad to be of service, Dorothy. I just hope I don have to explain this to my wife. t

I sure she will understand. I sure she is getting quite horny not having you around. m m Believe me, as a woman, she will understand.

I gotta take a piss, Ben said getting out of bed and putting his pants on. When he came back into the room she was still lying on the bed, arms out, legs spread apart in all her glory.

Now that is a wonderful sight. Ben said.

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Ah, I paralyzed. That was a wonderful orgasm. Much better than self pleasure, she m laughed.

They could hear movement in the kitchen. Damn, guess I better get up, she said. I d could have gone for another round too, she said with a disappointing tone.

They got dressed and left the room. Helen and Gale were up and starting breakfast.

How the girls? Dorothy asked emerging from the bedroom with Ben. s

Sleeping soundly, finally, Helen said.

Looks like you did OK last night yourself Dolly! Gale laughed and winked.

Dorothy radiated happiness with the thought of this morning splendor. Jealously filled s Gale eyes. s

Eventually everyone was up. The women made a breakfast on the cook stove of bacon, fresh laid eggs and potatoes Gale just pulled from the ground.

Dorothy sat next to Ben after the feast. We have to do something about Helen house. s We need to bury her relatives and do something with those scums, she said.

Sure, we do that before we leave. ll

Helen won go back into the house. She wants it burned. t

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244 Ben and his crew went back over to the farmhouse and buried the two men the gang had killed. The animals in the barn were freed. Then they dragged the three gangsters from outside into the kitchen of the house. The one who was castrated tried to make it down the stairs, leaving a long trail of blood on the steps. He lay dead at the front door in a large pool of congealed blood.

Dorothy and Gail went from room to room to rescue any mementos that should be preserved, such as photos and jewelry. Ben group took whatever ammunition they s could use from the bodies. Then they lit the house on fire. They watched from Dorothy place. Helen, her son, daughters and the grandmother huddled on the ground s and cried.

Rick came over to Ben. Shit Govena, that smoke will be seen for miles.

We be long gone before anyone comes. Don worry about it. ll t

Ben group would get he school bus brought up from Gale farm. The girls packed up s s what they could into Dorthy van and jeep, including three birds in large cages. No way s Gale was going to leave her babies behind to die she told them. Ether they go or I stay, Gale said.

Ben came over to Dorothy, You going to take Melanie with you, right. re

Of course, she seems like such a nice girl. She been a great help with the others. s She been through it all herself. Ben Dorothy said to him her hands on his s shoulders,I like to come with you. d

That would be nice. But I think you will be more useful with your friends. They need your cool headedness. Get to Edmonton, but don stay long. I suspect they will send t you all out east pretty quick. Too close to the action once the Chinese get through the mountains.

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I guess you are right, she sighed. I really going to miss my home. I love it here so m much.

With any luck you come back and it will be just as you left it. Knowing damn well in ll his mind that was a lie. How are you going to get to the highway? There is a bridge just a few miles west of here across the river. Then the road takes us back to Highway 40. We will make it undetected OK. Now you must head north, to Highway 59 before heading east. There is a road block at the junction of 42 and 2, so you will have cross Highway 2 north of there, then head east along back roads before getting back on the highway to Slave Lake.

We do that, thanks. I do have a request, Ben handed her an envelope. I hope you ll don mind, but I took the liberty of using your stationery to write my wife a letter. It t s been too long since my last one to her. Can you get it mailed for me please?

Dorothy took the envelope. What else is in here? Feels like a ring.

Ron and I were in Jasper burning bodies. Those killed in the fighting. It was awful. Many of them had wedding bands. Most were You know, I can understand stealing a dead man shoes, or some jewelry, even a watch maybe, but wedding rings? That just s s plain wrong. Wedding rings are too personal, too sentimental. It means someone is home waiting for that person to return. But they don Their wife is left wondering, t. getting nothing. I even tried to save a couple of rings, recording who they belonged to. You know, to have then sent home. But the sergeant there I know he did not send them off. He probably just kept them for himself. I don want that to happen to me. t Anne must get my wedding band. She would not let me leave it at home. There an s inscription inside both our bands. LOVE BIRDS It our life long bond. The rings s should be together for future generations. In case I don make it. t

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246 You know what Ben, I consider it an honour to personally deliver it myself. I make d ll sure this gets to Anne. She hugged Ben and kissed him. And you will make it home. Not looking at him she turned and headed to the Jeep. Ben watched as they drove off.

What was that about Dad? Ron asked.

Nothing, Ben said with tears in his eyes.

Boss, Smitty said,What the plan, eh? s

I looked at the map, we should be able to make our way to Highway 2 by side roads ve and miss the town altogether, Rick said. We should leave now.

They made their way north on the dirt roads eventually coming to Highway 59. They turned right to meet Highway 2. At Highway 2 they continued across onto a paved township road. They traveled this road for several miles east through farmland. No activity could be seen anywhere. Though fields still had many cows and horses.

Eventually they arrived at a tee junction. Ben looked at the map. They would have to head south to Highway 43 as there was no other crossing over a river. So they turned right. So far so good Ben thought. All paved roads. They were not going overly fast, but still making good time.

Ben sat at the back by himself reflecting on past events, wondering what surprises the future was going to expose. Others started singing and telling jokes.

Ron came over to him after a while. Sitting by his Dad he said ,S Dad, your so up quiet.

Ah, just reflecting. Need some quiet time.

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247 What was it with that woman?

Oh, nothing much, we just had a good talk together.

Ron sat there quietly for a minute then said,Wait a sec. He stood up and turned to look down on his Dad. I saw her go into the back room. You were in that room weren you. t You had sex with her didn you! t

Some of the other guys near the back turned to see what was going on.

You did, didn you Dad! he demanded. Ben did not answer but looked out the t window

Jeeze. Fuck, Dad, how could you do this to Mom!? I thought you were faithful to her!

Ben looked up at Ron. I have for twenty six years, Ron. I did not plan this. I did not even initiate this. She did. I was asleep. Look, I feel guilty enough. I knew it was wrong. You don need you to rub it in. t

Dad, what the hell was she doing in your bed to begin with!? he demanded to know.

Because there was nowhere else for her to sleep? he asked as if he knew Ron would never believe him. He was right.

Shit Dad! Ron left in a huff to the front of the bus to sit alone. Ben just sat there and resumed looking at the outside scenery going by, but not taking notice of it. He wondered how he was going to explain this to his wife when he got home. He almost did not want to make it home and have to confront Anne wrath. s

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248 At Highway 43, they turned left. Not a soul on the road. They followed the highway, past a lake with many cottages, all abandoned, until they arrived at Highway 49 where they turned north taking them to Highway 2A to Slave Lake.

They arrived into town after some five hours of driving, and almost no fuel left. They turned off the highway and drove up Main Street into the heart of the town business s section. They were surprised to see the town had not been completely evacuated. Some were leaving in what vehicles they had, but others, who did not have vehicles, seemed to be stranded sitting in front of City Hall with their baggage beside them.

The town fire chief saw them arrive and came over to see who they were. A smile s came to his face when he saw Canadian troops emerge from the bus and shaking everyone hands as they got out. He asked who was in charge. Dennis pointed to Ben s still on the bus. The Chief entered the bus just as Ben was walking up to the front.

High, my name is David Montano, I the Fire Chief. I hoping you guys can help us m m get these people out of here. The Chief was short and somewhat over weight. He was balding at the front, but still retained long shoulder length straight hair at the back.

Yeah, that why we are here. What the hold up? s s

Fuel, David said. People have hoarded too much leaving many with nothing. We ve heard the Chinese passed through the mountains and are only two or three days away. Plus the nuclear annihilation of Calgary has everyone in a panic to get out. They re leaving by anything that can carry them. Those that can, of course. A big fight broke out the other day. It getting out of control here. s

Not unexpected. Oh this was. We were loading up the old folks from the nursing home into the last bus we had, when a bunch of people started to demand they be left behind. Too old, lived

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249 their lives already. Things like that. The Police Chief had to pull his gun on them. But he now gone too. Left as soon as he could. Shithead. s

But we stayed, all us fire volunteers. I sent one of my men ahead yesterday to Edmonton to try and get some help here to get the rest of us out.

I can comment on where the Chinese are. Haven heard anything since we left Hinton t t three days ago. But they had not broken through there, at least not then. We were holding them off.

No, this is further south. We heard they are pouring out of the mountains like a ve waterfall. Moving rapidly west around Calgary, and many more moving north towards Edmonton.

It wouldn surprise me. t

I going to send a couple of guys south by horse back to be our scouts. Hopefully they m will give us some head time before the enemy gets here. They are coming this way aren t they? For the oil patch.

Ben nodded his head yes. That sounds like a smart set of plans, David. Nice to find someone with his head on straight.

You guys can stay at any of the Inns. I even arrange for someone to cook you guys a ll hot meal.

We all thank you very much, David, Ben said shaking his hand.

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Chapter 11: Siege of Slave Lake

Oct 16, 2016 Scouts returned with bad news. They ran into some refugees fleeing north. A large force of Chinese had taken control of Grand Prairie. It would only be a matter of time before they started marching up the very road Ben group traveled just a few days ago. They s could be in town in less than a week.

Ben hoped the girls made it out in time.

Talking options with David, Ben decided they would load up as many people into the bus as they could squeeze and let them get as far out of town as possible until the fuel ran out. Then they would have to walk.

David objected and said that with so many people arriving every day fleeing from the west there is no way they can evacuate to Edmonton. He said that maybe they should stay in town, or at least hide in farmhouses and cottages around the area. Winter was not far away; forcing people to walk in the cold would be a death sentence. He speculated that the Chinese were interested in getting the tar sands, not human extermination. Ben was not so sure he was right. But the basic logic was sound. Better that they take their chances in homes away from town than walking on the road the long cold miles to Edmonton. It had been snowing the last couple of days with a light dusting blowing around the ground. Dorothy was right, winter was going to be early, again.

So they used the bus to shuttle people out of town until it ran out of fuel, which was only a few trips.

One evening Ben was pondering over his maps, by camp stove light in a cold motel room, while he let his mind wonder. It seemed logical with winter soon upon them it would be wiser to hold off the Chinese as far from the tars sands as could be possible. If

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251 only they could get a large enough force to defend the area. Once stopped, let winter wage the war for them. With such long supply lines, the Chinese would have a very tough time replenishing troops in the winter.

He noted the Athebasca River had only three bridges crossing it east of town. Two roads and one railway bridge is all that allowed for any access east. Ben felt the urge to see this area first hand. Could it be a strong hold? Could they defend it? He had to know.

Next morning Ron, David and Ben headed out to see the bridge on horseback.

The road took a slight drop before crossing the bridge, then made a longer trek up the opposite side. They rode to the east side of the bridge. The river was wide and swift. David said that they had received more rain this summer than normal and all the rivers and lakes were high.

This is perfect, Ben said.

Perfect for what? Why are we out here? David asked.

Possible defensive position, Ben said. We have deep forests on the west side of the river. Farmland there on the east side that is higher than the west side. It will mean a funnel point for the Chinese. The only way across the river is this bridge.

And the railway bridge and another road bridge just north of here, yes. But there is no way we can hold them off here. We have no soldiers, well, except you six. I think you will need more men.

And that why we need to get this to command so they can set up a defensive position s right here.

You think they are going to listen to you? Not a chance.

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But try we must. We need to get a message out.

A couple of guys are still on the short wave asking for help to evacuate, but so far no reply. Seems either they can hear us, or they have written us off. We better start t d heading back, it will be dark before we get home.

Back at town, the troop debated their options. Ben unit wouldn leave Slave Lake s t unless everyone was evacuated. This proved tough. The airport was useless of course. No mechanized modes of transport existed; everyone with one had already left. There were lots of cars and trucks around, but no fuel. They must have been one of the earliest casualties of fuel shortage, and so close to the tar sands project!

Oct 21, 2016

A train arrived during a heavily overcast day. Ten freight cars and one locomotive. Five hundred Canadian troops piled out of the cars. Surprised, Ron went over to the train to meet the troops. He met a Captain, Gerald Owen. A tall man with light hair and mustache. He was in full camouflage uniform, though somewhat tattered and worn.

Ron noticed the officer cap badge on his beret right off --Hastings and Prince Edward-s which he recognized immediately. Gooday Captian, Ron, said. You with the Hasty Pees?

Yeah, who are you? he replied. And how do you know the regiment?

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253 My grandfather was in that regiment, served in Sicily in World War II. He used to talk about his military days all the time. I Ron Robson, my father and I are from a small m group of six soldiers. We have come all the way from the battle at the pass west of Jasper. We were sent here to help evacuate the town. But it looks like too many can t get out.

The commies have broken through there and are on their way to Edmonton, Jerry said.

Yes I know, scouts have reported that they are on their way here. So we thought we might have to hold on here before the snow comes, Ron said.

Ha, no. Not a chance. No, we are to evacuate everyone from here, burn the town, then head back east to Highway 63. We got a place there to hold them, Jerry said looking ve around.

We found a great location just a few kilometers from here. Ron said. We were out there a couple days ago to check it out. It a perfect place to set up a strong hold. There s are only three places to cross, and if we blow the railway bridge that will leave two. Maybe even blow the two road bridges. Let me take you there and I show you. You ll got explosives?

Yes, we came to burn the town and blow those bridges. But we are not staying. Jerry said, getting a bit annoyed with Ron attempt to be a military strategist. s

Ben came up with David the Fire Chief. Burn my town? he said.

I have my orders, retorted Jerry firmly. The Chinese have surrounded Edmonton on the south and west. They have a large division moving north. We know about them heading to this town, it one of the only routes from the west to the tar sands. s

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254 I don care about your orders, Ben interrupted. We have an excellent location. We t know the Chinese are coming up from the southwest. Our scouts spotted them two days ago. Lots of them apparently. You will have your hands full with that lot in a few days. At our spot we can hold these guys at bay preventing them from re-enforcing that other push from the south.

Now Jerry was getting even more annoyed,Another armchair strategist. But he tried to be polite. They have not gotten into Edmonton yet, we have stopped them west and south of the city. Troops from England and Europe arrived in the city. Some ten thousand of them volunteered and more are coming, even from South Africa and Mexico. Then the Captain hesitated. But I have my orders, he said after a few seconds.

Your orders come from those who are not here now, Ben said. They don know the t terrain here. I guarantee you this is a place to hold them off. You know, Captain, as much as I do, how important it is that we hold them until the snow comes.

With that, snow did start to float down on the ground, large fluffy flakes.

Let us at least show you this location, Ben pleaded.

The Captain could humour these guys a bit, and he did have a sense of fairness. What would it hurt to have a look? He thought. He would have some time as they prepared to burn the town. Ok, you can show me later when I have some time, Jerry said. And call me Jerry, we kinda informal between officers. re

I no officer, I a militia volunteer, Ben admitted. Some are regular forces here, m m where ever they are helping out somewhere.

How long have you been with this group? asked Jerry.

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255 Since we left Jasper to come up here, almost two months ago now I guess.

You know they nuked Calgary, eh?

That what we thought we saw, so it was dropped on Calgary? Ron asked s

We think by missile, they have no aircraft that we have seen. Three nukes. The city is gone. We figure over a million people vapourized. It was our rallying point for the whole west coast, all the generals and politicians were there.

They stood there quietly for a Moment, then Jerry added,But we are back up and running in a small town somewhere in Saskatchewan. Hopefully too far for any more missiles and too small to be noticed on a map. Jerry looked around,Man you still have a lot of people here in town.

Ron replied,Most have gone. But more arrive every day. The Mayor is still here too, somewhere.

It took several hours before the last of the civilians were loaded into the freight cars. Mostly elderly, women and young. Some men and teenagers requested they stay and fight.

No, there will be no fighting here. We came to burn the town down completely. Would help us a lot if you guys could give us a hand, Jerry said. With that the Mayor came up shaking his head. He was a short and stocky guy, even a bit on the fat side. How he managed to keep the weight on during the winter was a mystery. Some sort of glandular problem some said. He had long graying hair and a long beard with streaks of gray. He was the cousin of the Fire Chief.

Burn my town? Over my dead body!! he screemed as he ran over to the Captain. You can burn the town, we want to come back home when this is all over. t

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You joking right? Ron asked. re

If we don burn the town the Chinese will use the homes and buildings for shelter this t winter, and burn it for fuel away. And do you honestly think you will be back here any time soon? Jerry said.

Or ever again, Ben added. Burn it, and we better get started now.

The Captain ordered his men to start the process. Ben group and some towns folk s helped torch homes and stores.

Oct 24, 2016

Ben and Ron went to the daily status briefing Jerry held. Previous repeated requests for Ben plan was rejected. But today, Jerry finally gave in. OK, before the day ends, let s s go and have a look at this spot of yours.

Ron, Ben and Jerry got into the cab of the locomotive, now uncoupled from the train, and headed to the river.

They got to know each other a bit more while they took the train ride to the bridge. Ron got Jerry up to speed on their previous adventures.

So your grandfather was a Hasty Pee in World War II? Jerry said eager to hear any stories about his unit.

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257 Yeah, on my mother side. He died five years ago. What was he Dad, ninety five? s Ron said.

Ninety four I think, Ben said.

Did he see action? Jerry asked.

Ron did his best to recall the war stories his grandfather used to tell. He was involved in liberating towns in Sicily and Italy. Stories like having to shoot some poor starving and very young German prisoner because they themselves had no food. Seeing an entire middle-ages church rocketed by planes because of one sniper. And the time a bullet landed in his trousers while sitting in a trench. And before his deployment to Sicily guarding the shores of England with nothing more than a pick axe handle. Plus the medal he got for single handedly taking out a German machine gun nest that had his unit pinned down.

Was he wounded? Jerry asked.

Yeah, once, but not in combat, Ben said,he got shot in the hand in his barracks by someone playing with their revolver. Other than that he made it through the whole war without a scratch. In one firefight he and two others are all that survived, or so the story goes. He tended to exaggerate a bit.

I think we all do that to some extent. Still, damn lucky! But not much has change, has it, just the people involved, Jerry said.

As they crossed the trestle over the river Ben was shown the engineers who were rigging the bridge for demolition.

See, Jerry said,we already started getting ready to blow the bridges. We dropped ve these guys here before we came into town. All three bridges are rigged with explosives.

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The tracks curved to the right southward and up the valley east slope. They stopped at s the highway crossing on the east side of the river at the top of the valley several miles later. Walking down to the road to the bridge Ben showed him his plan and how the terrain would hold the Chinese. Three engineers were on the bridge rigging it with boxes of explosives.

But this will only work if snow comes right? Jerry asked.

Kinda, yes. With the bridges blown they will have to wade the river and in this temperature that would be deadly for many of them.

Unless they build their own bridge from that forest.

But that would take time, regardless, this is a bottle neck for them.

Let me think about this. Back to the locomotive, let get back to town. s

When they got back there was a lot of scurrying as people tried to pile into the train.

Rick came running up to Ben. The Chinese are just west of town, not more than ten miles or less.

Shit! Jerry said. Yelling to the train engineer. Couple these cars and let get out of s here!

Some who could not get on the moving train simply tried to run down the tracks and highway. They left behind a burning smoking town, though they did not get time to burn all the buildings.

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They stopped the train at the railway trestle. Jerry ordered the bridge blown, and the road bridge just to the north. We keep the highway bridge open for as long as we can, he ll said.

At the highway crossing, Jerry ordered all his men off the train and to take up defensive position along the east side of the river. Ben group joined in. The train left with the s last of the townsfolk. Jerry sent a message to for more men.

It was very quiet, save for the odd person running across the bridge from the west side.

After about an hour two horses rode up to the bridge. It was the scouts. The Chinese were in town. Lots of them were pouring in.

Snow was now falling more heavily and night was soon to come. Just a few hours of light left.

They expect us to blow the bridge, so we should see them come to take it soon, Jerry ll said. He deployed about thirty men on the west side of the river to cover the road and ambush any Chinese. The plan was to hold them off there, then high tail it across the bridge.

The other option, Ben suggested,would be to keep low and let them start across the bridge then blow it when they cross over.

Except they will see the charges, no way to hide them. I going to set up my m command post in that farmhouse over there, Jerry said pointing to his right. Set your guys up where you want.

Will do, Ben said.

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260 They waited in the cold snowy darkness for what seemed hours over looking the river. Then all hell broke loose on the far side. Gunfire erupted, flairs lit up the night sky. It lasted about fifteen minutes when Ben saw shapes running across the bridge firing back down the road. Ben could see light flashes, lots of them, from far down the road. About a minute after the last man came across, there was a tremendous explosion, then another, as the charges detonated. It lit up the whole valley like balls of lightning. Chunks of concrete came raining down on Ben position and he was several hundred meters away. s

Smoke filled the valley floor, then all was quiet.

Ben and his crew spent the night preparing foxholes. They expected an attack by morning. He was right. It wasn long after daybreak, with light snow still falling, that a t hail of bullets started to hit their side from the far side of the river. All along the entire visible length of the river, Chinese soldiers hit the water and attempted to wade across.

It was a monumental mistake. The water was far too deep, too swift and too cold. For Ben side it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Some made it to the east bank, but the s side of the bank was too tall and they could not scale it. Those who did make it up the bank were easy targets, especially for Ben Enfield and Dennis M21. But it was those s s trapped in the river that suffered the most, being swept down stream.

By mid day, they had tried three times to beat the river. Several attempts to raft it with logs also failed. Snow was coming down harder now, the temperature was dropping fast and the wind was picking up. A large low-pressure system was making its way from the Yukon to right over their position.

By nightfall, a full blizzard was in force. Ben and his crew hunkered down in their foxholes as best they could and tried to keep warm. It would be a long night.

The morning after the storm was bright and sunny, but very cold, minus ten Celsius. It was damn cold. The river separating them from the Chinese camp was starting to freeze

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261 over in places with areas free with flowing water bubbling up. Bloated bodies bunched up along the shore.

The snow now was deep, almost a foot had fallen and blown into the valley making drifts more than two feet high. Ron got out of his foxhole, looked at his watch,. It was five am. Cold and hungry he headed to the farmhouse. In the distance, behind him, he could see clouds of smoke rising from the trees on the far side of the river. He could hear the sound of hacking and chopping in the distance under the smoke, with the occasional tree crashing to the ground.

Arriving at the farmhouse Ron walked along a path of many footprints to the front door of the farmhouse. Inside, it was dark and dingy. The floor complained from the cold and Ron weight as he headed for the kitchen. Mist formed in front of him as he opened the s door and walked in.

Close the bloody door! someone yelled.

Inside it was warm, but dark. All the windows were covered with blankets. To Ron s right was an old flat top cookstove roaring with a fire. Jerry was at the kitchen table.

Hey, Ron, it you. How your guys doing? s

Damn cold, just came to report and find out what you wanted us to do.

Come sit, have some coffee. The previous owners left us some, Jerry said. Seems your Dad got his wish.

First round to us, Ron said sipping some hot coffee.

They talked a bit. Ron filled a thermos with more coffee and headed back out to his foxhole.

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The Chinese made several more attempts to cross the river that day, with the same results. They even tried further up and down stream, but it made no difference. The river took its toll. There was only one place were the water was shallow enough and that was just south the where the railway bridge was. In the middle of the river was a sandbar. Waist deep at best, the Chinese tried again and again to cross, but Jerry had concentrated more troops there and they just cut the Chinese to pieces.

The train arrived that night bringing with it food, ammo and 500 more men. Jerry talked with the lieutenant that came with the train and informed him of this plans to stay put. That this was indeed a great defensive position. He asked the lieutenant to return to Edmonton and get more men and supplies. Food, tools, winter clothing and tents, as much as could be spared.

The lieutenant informed Jerry that satellite photos showed there could be one hundred thousand Chinese troops, or more, west of his position. Most were still in Slave Lake, and some were reported to be scouring around the countryside, supposedly to scrounge for food.

It had been almost three days after the train had left and no attacks had been attempted from the far side. Both sides were hunkered down in preparation for the long winter. In that time more snow had fallen, another foot at least. Getting around was difficult not only for thegood guys, but also for the Chinese. Finally a level playing field, the odds were even.

The train did arrive again after four days, with two hundred and fifty more troops, and the supplies they needed. Most important, was a radio that arrived for Jerry to keep command up to date with their situation. Supplies were coming in weekly from that time on. They were now well armed and well protected from the winter.

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263 Ben and his group had dug a deep foxhole, and covered it with logs and boards to make a room one could stand in. They had packed bails of hay they found in a near by barn around the walls as insulation. Bails were also used on the roof with snow packed on top to hide their position. Beds lined the outer walls, which were nothing more than bails of hay with blankets laid out on them. They had made a wood stove out of a 45 gallon drum which sat in the middle of the room with its pipe penetrating the roof. The floor was covered with a thick layer of hay. The room smelled like a horse barn. All six could comfortably sleep and move about in the room. They also made two side rooms that would act as their firing positions with an excellent view of the river below. Horse blankets, which they also found in the barn, were hung between the door openings to the side rooms. The room was lighted with some back windows, carefully removed from the barn, installed in the bails. They also had one Coleman lamp and stove.

They weren the only occupants of their room. A couple of mice had discovered it and t had burrowed into the floor and walls. They were often seen scurrying around the room. They could be heard at night when all was quiet.

Dec 25, 2016

On Christmas day Jerry came inside to see how everyone was doing and to pass on news. Most were sitting by the fire trying to keep warm, and eating some soup down before it froze. The rest were on watch in the side rooms.

Merry Christmas, Cap. Want some soup? Rick asked him.

No thanks, you guys enjoy. But I have a proposition for you. A Christmas present of sorts. Want some target practice? he said,We are setting up a line of snipers to pick

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264 these guys off on the far side. We can see them moving about in the trees. Easy pickings.

Sure thing, getting bored here anyway, Joe said.

Jerry showed them on a crude map where the best positions would be and for everyone to pick a spot. Dennis and Joe picked a spot and left. Smitty and Rick stayed to guard the remains of the bridge. There were chunks large enough to get across, though not easily. It needed constant observation to make sure no one used it.

The next morning, Boxing Day, Ben picked up his Enfield rifle and the father and son team headed off to the river to the spot they picked.

They came in from the east, well back from the water edge so as not to be seen from the other side. Then came to a spot above the river edge behind some cedar trees. Great s cover from both the cold and prying eyes.

They placed themselves well into the large trees, and covered themselves with a white blanket. Ron started to peer across into the occupied woods on the other side of the river with the binoculars. Ben got the rifle ready.

This is a good spot, Ron said,but I don see anyone yet. t

This is the first time they had been this close to the river since the last assault. Almost three feet of snow had fallen since. All the bodies that were down along the banks were now blanketed in white. A frozen sea of corpses.

Think I got one, Ron said. Way back, he chopping wood. See him Dad? s

Where?

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265 Just straight ahead small clearing way back through the trees.

Tents could be seen way back through the trees, in some cases logs were put up as both wind breaks and protection from being fired upon. Some of the Chinese tents were surrounded by mounds of snow to keep the wind out. Whips of smoke lazily hung within the trees trying to escape. But off in the distance Ron could see a couple of them chopping at a tree to get it down.

There, see them now, they just chopped the tree down, Ron said.

I see them now. Sighting up, how far would

Ben was interrupted with a single shot being fired from their right. The still morning air carried the sound making it seem much closer than it was. It was actually way off north of them.

Looks like someone else has a target, Ben said. He resumed aiming but there was no one there any more. He waited. Sure enough the three Chinese men reemerged from the ground and started to chop at the tree.

It looks like about 700 meters Dad.

Yeah, think so, this will be tough through the trees.

With the rifle nicely secured on a fork of a branch and the trunk of the cedar, a firm grip of the stock with his left hand, Ben took a deep breath and let it all out. The mist of breath rose above his face, fogging the scope. He cleaned it off and sighted again. With his lungs deflated he held his breath, resighted on one of the Chinese and waited for him to stop moving.

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266 With a loud crack the shot was off. The cold windless air carried the sound for miles, echoing off the far trees.

You got him Dad, nice shot! said Ron with excitement.

What about the other two, I don see them. t

They disappeared pretty quick.

In the distance they heard two more shots, or was it just one echoing. Then one more from the south and another from the north. Then another from way off north. The sound was unmistakable, C6 so the shooting was all from their side. s,

Fish in a barrel by the sounds of it, Ben said. Ron smiled as he shivered in the cold.

The two other Chinese at the tree never showed their heads again. So they looked around for more targets. They spotted two starting a fire near a tent, and much closer. They were trying to hide behind some trees, but Ben had a clear shot.

You want to take some shots Ron? Ben asked.

Nah, I getting cold Dad, let go and get warmed up. m s

But I can get one of those two.

Not today, let eat and get warm. My fingers and toes are getting numb. s

They slithered out of the tree and up the bank. They were in no hurry to get more kills in this cold as they would have days to practice their shooting.

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267 The next day they returned to the same spot. Ben took out four before he finally gave the rifle to Ron. Here, you take some shots.

No, It Ok, you continue. s

So you still don want to shoot. t

Ron paused for a second, then look into his father eyes. s

Dad, I haven killed anyone yet and I still don think I can. t t

I was hoping you were over this. I thought you gained confidence. d

Oh, I tried, believe me, I tried. During their attempts to cross the river, that first ve ve day. I sure I missed every one though. I was frightened, to be honest. But it just the m s thought of killing someone. You do it fine. I just can seem to do it. I thought I could, I t really did, but I not so sure. Jasper was a real eye opener, Dad. I was petrified during m the whole time we were there.

But I thought you killed that guard at the bridge? You had my rifle.

I gave it to Smitty. He said he wanted to take one out with it. I was happy to oblige.

So what do we do now? Ben said. It going to happen sometime you know. s

I know, but the longer I leave it the better I feel. You keep going, doesn seem to ll t bother you. And it doesn bother me that you are doing the killing. Just not sure I t m ready yet.

Ok, I think we have had enough for today anyway, Ron, Ben said holding Ron s shoulder. You time will come. Let get warmed up. re s

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For eight more days they came to this same spot, but only Ben did the sniping. He averaged three to five kills per day over a four-hour period.

On the ninth day he had killed seven before their shift ended. Ben was finding this all too easy.

Always suspicious when things are too easy, he said to Ron who was sighting for another target. Something wrong here. s

What could possibly be wrong? Ron asked.

Have you noticed there has not been any return fire the whole time we been doing ve this. They must know where we are by now. But it all too quiet from their side. All s along the whole front, in fact, we heard, what at most a half dozen return exchanges? ve

So? They can see us I suppose. Or conserving their ammo maybe? t

Or they just too damn cold. I dunno, but I don like it. Let go. Enough for today, re t s I cold. m

They carefully moved out of the trees and back into the woods to the east. The sun was near noon and a wind was starting to blow from the west, clouds were approaching.

By the time Ron and Ben got back to the farmhouse to report to Jerry it was snowing again. At least it was slightly warmer from the previous weeks. Minus ten Celsius showed on the therMometer hanging on the house wall. s

They went inside and found the farmhouse was full of boxes and bags in every room, up to the ceiling. Even up the stairs leaving only a narrow walkway. They walked sideways down the hall to the kitchen door past all the boxes. Soon as they opened the kitchen

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269 door a large cloud of steam poured up and along the ceiling of the hallway. Inside it was toasty warm. The far end of the room was also piled ceiling high with small boxes. Jerry was at the cookstove stirring a large pot that was steaming. The radio was chattering with various voices.

Hey, guys. It fucking nippy out there today. Got some soup, nice and hot. Kinda s crude with dried potatoes, but it does have some meat in it. Come, sit and have some.

Jerry informed them that it looks like they were going to be staying the winter, and that the boxes was the large shipment of food that came from Edmonton. Some of the boxes contained winter clothing and blankets. Next week they were going to get more reinforcements to bolster the line. They discussed how the shooting was going and how they were to prepare for the long cold winter. of food and clothing with them. Before Ben and Ron left they took boxes

The sniping went on for another week. They were up to over fifteen hundred confirmed kills all totaled. Drop in the bucket. But still very little return shot from the other side.

On the fifteenth day of sniping Ron and Ben were coming back out of their favorite tree. The sun was setting in their backs.

Just one today, eh, Dad?

Yeah, long wait for just one today. How many is that this week?

Twenty two including today.

Ben was still very suspicious about all this, it was all far too easy. Something was not right. They went off to the farmhouse for their regular briefing before a meal and packing it in for the night.

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270 At the farmhouse they were the only team present. Jerry was there, as always, eating some soup trying to keep warm by the fire.

Everyone else already been and gone, Jerry? Ben asked.

No they did not bother to report to me, too cold I guess. The therMometer outside the window there says minus 32 Celsius.

A lot colder with that wind, Ben said rubbing his hands by the fire. Something is not right about this whole sniping thing.

What do you mean?

Today is an example. We waited all day for one kill. And it was such an easy kill. This guy came out of his tent, almost pushed out, and stood there. Ron waited to see what he was going to do, but he just stood there, right in the open. So we popped him off. Two more guys came out of the tent and dragged him in. Don you think that odd? t s

Not following, what the problem? s

I beginning to have a suspicion which I want you to test for me. m

Test? What kind of test?

Stop all sniping.

But we are having such success.

And there in lies my suspicion. I think we are making the situation worse. Blowing into his cupped hands, Ben continued,Besides of the two hundred thousand Chinese we think

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271 are out there, our sniping really does nothing to drop that. But worse, I think we are actually helping them survive the winter.

What, you think they are eating the guys we kill?

Yep, exactly. We know they would have a very hard time supplying all those troops, and we are helping them with that food shortage, I sure of it. m

Oh great. Wonderful. Shit!! Ok, I pass it along that we stop sniping for a week and ll see what happens. That should tell us what they are up to.

Great.

What do you think they will do if we stop culling them?

Not sure, maybe decide they situation is perilous and try an attack, or, they may just re start to cull their own. We won know until we test them. t

Shit. But that means that they will be able to make it through this winter. So come the spring they will have strength to make an assault. I better pass this on to HQ.

Sniping stopped for a week, but the teams went to their spots every day and watched. At first, same thing as before. Someone would come out of a tent and stand there, as if waiting. For almost an hour they would stand in the cold. But this time no shots came to greet them. Eventually, by the seventh day they gave up and stopped sending lambs to the slaughter.

The ninth day brought a change. At night they were seen digging up some of the first battles casualties which were buried in the show along the river. But it was also when bone-chilling screams from the far side cried out usually followed by a gunshot and then silence that secured what they feared would happen.

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They were indeed now murdering their own troops to feed themselves. That meant that the Chinese would be able to survive the winter and launch an attack as soon as they could.

HQ, upon realizing the situation, ordered everyone out of the area. There was no point staying there waiting for the enviable when they could be utilized elsewhere and start preparations. They were all to report to Edmonton.

A train arrived five miles east of their location so as not to alert the Chinese of the retreat. A small number of fresh troops where brought in to keep an eye on the far side.

In the middle of the night they made cold march along the snow-covered tracks to the train. The train arrived in Edmonton just before dawn.

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Chapter 12: The Quare Fellow

Jan 25, 2017 The train stopped on the north west side of the city before the main railway yard. They were let out on sidings just by an industrial area. A cop was there wrapped in heavy clothing. She told them all to report to the school just through the residential area to the east a few blocks away. There they could hunker down for the night and get orders in the morning.

The roads weren plowed and it was long walk through the two-foot deep, now hard t packed, snow. It was completely black save for the light from the white snow and a pale eerie glow in the east. On their left Ben saw rows of homes, some with a flicker of lights inside, but most were black. Smoke rose from the chimneys in others. The park on their right that paralleled the road had no trees. You could see they were all cut down.

Even some of the homes had either their garages torn down for fuel, or entire homes had been dismantled.

In the gloomy darkness Ben made out the school name: Athlone Public School. Another cop greeted them inside the school front door. With such a long line of soldiers, she s was a bit put off. Jerry told her how many there were. She told them they could take only a few of them as there was little room left in the gym. Soup was being served, but not much left she told them. There was room in another school and community centre just up the road. The rest would have to go there. Jerry agreed he would take his men to the community centre.

Once inside Ben noticed all the pictures and plaques were gone, either removed or stolen, leaving a clean spot on the gray concrete block walls.

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274 He glanced at a faded, dusty remnant of a Grade 5 artwork displayed on one wall down s a hallway. They had done self-portraits using pastels, and one in particular grabbed his attention by some one who signed it David, Apr 2016. The thick globby pastels from the immature hand rendered a portrait that looked too gaunt, even haunting, like something from The Scream. He thought it was fitting, as children know how to tell the truth in ways adults would rather deny.

Make shift wood stoves were set up in classrooms. Most were filled with local residents who were waiting their turn to evacuate, or had no way of keeping warm in their own homes. Rail lines were clogged with troop and supply traffic, so few were allowed to leave to go east at any one time.

Ben and his original group went to the gym. The gym was very packed and a bit chilly. One wood stove in the middle had been installed, there was also a cook stove near the stage. Kids fed the stoves with pails of coal from a pile in one corner near the double doors to the back of the school.

At least it was warm near the stoves, but huddled masses made it difficult for Ben s group to get near the warmth. At least it was warmer than were they just came from.

Someone else was handing out blankets, which they took.

Ben and Ron found a spot away from the doors and packed it in for the night. Other s looked around first. Smitty, of course, had to see what food remained.

Feb 7, 2017

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275 Ben and Jerry moved back and forth between the two camps to check in on each other s groups. There was no room for Jerry troop at the Community centre so they stationed s themselves at a near by mall just to the north.

One morning it was bright and sunny, but bitterly cold. It was all the stoves could do to keep the room warm. The double doors opened to loud moans as the bright sun and cold air entered the large room. A horse drawn sleigh had arrived with some more coal from the railway line where Ben group first arrived. Everyone, including Ben group, helped s s shovel the coal onto the pile.

Everything was brought by horse and cart. Seemed to Ben that things were well organized. But it only seemed that way.

Certainly locally they were well organized. During the day people went towork. That meant doing various chores that needed to be done. Mostly it was women, older men, and young children. The factory area where the rail line was had been transformed into cattle barns. The cows, chickens, pigs and horses that were evacuated from farms to the west, now in Chinese hands, were penned in the warehouses and industrial strip malls. They all had to be fed and tended to, and their waste shoveled into the parking lots. Some of this manure was formed into bricks and given to people to burn.

The restaurant in the shopping mall, where Jerry group was, became a slaughterhouse s to cook up the animals for local food.

Jerry soldiers were put to good use. They spent three days dismantling newly framed s homes just behind the mall north of them for fuel and wood for the animal pens.

Six days there and no one from the military had come to talk to the soldiers. They were the only soldiers there. With all of them jammed into the two locations, you would think that someone by now would have inquired as to where they were. But nothing. The chaotic part was evident in this case.

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Feb 16, 2017

Ben group volunteered to go and help unload a railcar of coal into the horse drawn s carts. It was a dark snowy day, but at least the cold had let up somewhat. Back to the tracks that they disembarked from there was a tank car sitting on one of the sidings. It was once an LPG car, which had the top third cut off and was loaded up with coal. Five auto rack cars, those huge long railcars that automobiles were once shipped in, were on the same siding and were being used to load cattle for shipment out of the city. There were also a number of boxcars on the next siding that were being unloaded of their supply of bails of hay, all of which had come from farms in Ontario.

Ben group climbed into the tank car and started to fill buckets with the small chunks of s coal. It was hard work as the top was covered in snow and some of the coal had frozen together.

Ben noticed the boxcar right beside where someone had spray paintedGive Em Hell!! A gift from Melbourne Ontario. Ben knew where that was. It was not far from his home.

He just sat there on the pile of frozen coal looking at the words. A deep sense of loneliness flowed through his body. He missed home, he missed cutting the grass, he missed tending his garden, and most of all he missed his wife.

He could see her now, in his favorite sundress and a large straw hat shading her soft beautiful face. She was trimming the rose bushes. He surprised her on her first birthday just after they moved to Birr with those very roses. She smiles at him and threw him a kiss. She touched him on the shoulder from behind.

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Hey Dad, Ron said stirring Ben from his thoughts. Ben turned to see who had grabbed his shoulder. What wrong Dad? s

Wiping a tear from his left eye. I miss your Mom. Let get to work. s

This looks like Anthracite coal, Dad, Ron said huffing trying to chip away at the frozen mass.

Yeah, most likely it would have come from Pennsylvania. Which is strange, Alberta has all kinds of coal. I wonder why we aren getting it from here. t

To Ben that meant things were somewhat organized, if not confusing. There was no shortage of food nor coal or wood to cook and keep warm with. Maybe there was hope yet of ending all of this on a good note he thought to himself.

Feb 24, 2017

By the end of another week they heard a sound they had not heard in a long time -aircraft. Lots of them were landing and taking off from just south of their position. Locals said the airport was just on the other side of the railway yard south of them. Jerry said he would go and check it out.

Several hours later Jerry returned and informed them all that they were to pack up and head out. Thousands of troops were amassing in the airport hangers. Seems they were indeed completely forgotten about, but were now to be absorbed into the bigger mission.

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278 Preparations were now underway to fortify the tar sands patch before spring. That s where Ben and Ron were going next.

All of them reported to the small private aircraft hangers on the north-west corner of the airport. A long line bent around like a snake inside. It would be hours standing inside a cold hanger before Ben and Ron got to the table. They gave their names to the corporal at the desk.

She leafed through pages of paper looking for them. Ben explained where they had been. She had found Jerry group, and Rick group fine and gave them their assignments, but s s Ben and Ron she could not find.

She called over a lieutenant. He looked at his computer screen, then looked up at Ben and Ron talking to the corporal. Returning to the table, She said to them. Go down to the south west side of the airfield and look for a sign that says Hanger D. Look for the officer there. They will know where to place you volunteers.

They found the hanger at the most southern end of the west side of the airport. A number of cannibalized aircraft where there, most of them missing engines, and other parts. An old CC 130 transport aircraft was beside the hanger and even a couple of old Canadian CF 16 military jets, missing their engines and obviously stripped for parts.

Inside a sergeant showed them where to go. At the back offices a Captain was there typing on his computer. Ben and Ron walked in.

The officer stopped and looked up at them and just stared. The man face was so s pockmarked that the expressiona face like he been bobbing for fries came to Ben s s mind.

Ron and Ben Robson. We are to be assigned here from what we were told, Ben said.

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279 Do you know who you are talking to? Stand at attention and salute an officer!

Ben smiled and said,You kidding right? re

The man stood up like a rocket. His pock-marked face stared unfriendly. Stand at attention now! He screamed. I fucking sick and tired of you volunteers thinking this m is just a vacation! You have no military discipline at all. Fuck, if I had my way I lock d the whole lot of you up in the stockade until you learned!

Ben just looked at him. Ron stood up at attention. Ben grabbed Ron arm and shook his s head.

Look, sir, the rules are we don have to put up with this regimental crap, or we outta t re here.

I put you both on report! Do as you are told! NOW!! ll

Fuck this shit, Ben said taking Ron out of the room. What an idiot, with all that needs to be done and we have some pencil pusher demanding respect.

To which the Captain overheard. You fuck! You respect the rank, not the man! he yelled as Ben slammed the door behind him.

A Warrant officer heard the commotion and came over to them.

You shouldn antagonize the Captain. Who are you guys? t

Ben explained why they were there.

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280 Ah, OK. We have no volunteers here. They are all out the east end of the city in a separate camp. I could send you there, but you are all going to end up in Fort McMurray anyway, so I can accommodate you here. Just keep out of the Captain way. s

Will he be coming too? Ron asked.

No, he got irritable bowel bad. Always gotta be near a washroom. He desk bound s s for the war I afraid and I think that why he bitter. He wants into this fight as much m s s as the rest of us, but they won let him. By the way, I Warrant Joe Soludo. t m

They shook hands. You have to leave all your weapons here in the hanger. I tag ll ll them and make sure you get them back. We don want anyone carrying at the Moment, t too risky someone getting shot.

Ben handed over the Enfield and Glock. Ron gave him his M16 and Glock. Nice old Enfield. Even has a scope. You a sniper? Soludo asked Ben. re

We did a bit at Slave Lake.

You were at Slave Lake? Everyone heard of that battle. Lucky shit man to have been s there.

Ron didn think it was lucky. Damn cold it was, he said. t

It is true what they say, they ate each other? Soludo asked.

We think so, Ben said. It certainly looked to be the case. It why we abandoned the s area.

Oh, no, Soludo said. They sent some three thousand troops there last week. They blasted the area first with HIMARS.

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Hi what? Ron said.

HIMARS. Mobile rockets. Six were sent up there by train. They blanketed the whole town and river area with rockets. Each one wipes out everything in a one-kilometer area. But unfortunately they spent the rockets they could allot. The launchers were needed south of Edmonton. I saw them come through here yesterday. Then once the troops moved in to the river area no fighting had been reported. Maybe the Chinese bugged out.

I doubt it. There was supposed to be at least two hundred thousand of them there, Ben said.

That not the report we got. s

Wonder if they left, Dad, Ron said.

No, they wouldn have left. They somewhere else, Ben said. t re

Soludo took them out behind the hanger and into a long warehouse like building. There, soldiers were trying to keep warm and fed, some trying to get sleep.

You hook up with these guys for the time being. You be here a while. We not ll ll re bugging out for at least a week. If you want you can take in movies in the mall just south of the airport. They play them all day long. Welcome to the club.

After some lunch of ham and cheese on white bread and some water, Ben and Ron went over to the shopping mall. Wandering through the now empty stores Ben remembered the days shopping with his wife. He thought she would cry seeing clothes and items thrown all over. Nothing of any value was left.

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282 The halls and storefronts were lit by lanterns. Guards, mostly old men, were scattered around the mall.

Movies were being shown in some of the larger stores. Some of the rooms were full of people, mostly soldiers. On the storefront windows, written on paper, was the name of the movie being shown. They walked past each one judging which to watch:

The Barn Haven seen that. What is it? Ron said. t

Murder mystery with Samuel Hyatt. I think it was the last movie in the theaters before the winter crash. We, you mother and I, went to see it for her birthday the day it came re out. You know your Mom, she loves mystery movies. Then the crash happened the following week.

Can stand him, let try another. t s

Who can you stand? t

Hyatt. He a terrible actor. s

Laughing, Ben said,Yeah, guess you right. He was the bad guy in the movie. But the re movie was good. You Mom read the book a couple of years ago. re

The Somalia Incident Had enough of war for a bit, Ben said.

Laughing was coming from the next store. They looked at the note. Seinfeld. No way, Ron said.

Yep, can stand sitcoms. Never did find them funny, Ben said. t

Yeah, if I was George I would have jumped off a bridge long ago!

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They laughed.

Next store was Star Trek. First Contact. Nah, keep looking, Ron said.

BeachesChick flick, they said together.

Aliens 2. Ah, now that a good movie, haven seen it in decades. Any seats? Ben s t asked looking in.

Plenty, not even half full, Ron said.

We just about to restart the movie guys so have a seat, said an elderly man at the re DVD player. Ben and Ron sat near the middle with a clear view of the large LCD TV mounted on a table.

Hey, old man, which version is this? Ron asked.

Version? he replied back.

Yes, the director cut or the short version? s

I think it the long one. s

At the beginning do you see the family that finds the eggs?

Yes.

Then it the full one. s

Great, much better. Ben said. I hate movies that are chopped up.

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Just as the movie was going to start Jerry came in. Hey, Aliens fans too I see, he said, sitting next to them. Best horror movie made. Hey, where the popcorn Pops? s

Sorry, no popcorn, the old man said.

Just as the movie got to the part after the sentries shoot up the aliens in the tunnel and at the same time as the Hudson character, Jerry saidThey wall to wall down there. re Turning to Ben he said. Think of those as Chinese not aliens.

They chuckled a bit.

An officer showed up at the entrance to the store looking for someone. Jerry the man said, gesturing him to come over.

Damn, Jerry said, and got up to see what the man wanted. They talked for a bit but Ben did not take notice. Then they left.

He going to miss the end, Ron said. s

I sure he seen it before. Don think the end will be different in this version. m s t

After the movie they wandered the halls of the mall a bit. You know, after all the years I complained to your mother about aimlessly wandering shopping malls, the hours I stood in stores waiting for her to pick out one blouse, only to leave it at the last minute, I give d anything to have that back again.

Come on Dad, don be so gloomy. Let go into town and have some fun. The old guy t s said there a couple of bars open on the main drag, Ron said. s

Na, I tired, and a bit hungry. You go and have a good time. m

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They went their separate ways for that evening.

Ben found there was a little food left at the mess hall. Cookies and a bit of raw milk fresh from the dairy cows held nearby. He then headed back to the warehouse on the west side of the airfield to find a place to sleep.

Make shift stoves were made from 45 gal drums vented outside tried to keep the room warm. Bodies snored everywhere. He found an empty spot near the door and lay down for the night.

Ron went downtown. In the cold streets people were laughing and joking, and some puking in the snow. The occasional bar fight spilled into the street in front of him. All the stores were trashed; goods not wanted strewn on the streets. He found a place that had lights on and lots of singing inside. He went in to check it out.

They were playing 60 music. Beatles, Guess Who, Rolling Stones. There were mainly s soldiers in uniform, but also many women -- young girls looking to have fun. With few lights on anywhere else in the city, Ron figured they must have had a generator.

They were even selling beer! Ron fumbled in his pockets for some chump change when a young lady came by and said to the bartender,Forget it. I pay. The man handed ll Ron a draft of beer.

The woman sat there looking at Ron drink his first beer in a long time. She was thin, with long straight blond hair. A beautiful looking young woman in her early twenties. Under her open fake fur coat she was wearing a black leather top that was opened almost to her navel exposing the sides of her breasts.

How long it been? the woman said to him. s

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286 Oh, that nice, even cold too. I haven had a beer since last fall. s t

No, I not talking about the beer, honey. Getting her lips close to Ron ear, she said m s slowly and softlyDon you want to be balls deep in my shaved, moist warm ---- tight t ------ pussy? Meeeeooow. Then she gently nibbled on his ear.

Ron grip on the glass of beer tightened as he closed his eyes. Shivers went down his s spine with every lick of her tongue penetrating into his ear. Desire flowed throw his body like a tidal wave right down to his toes.

Oh, that. Um, well. It it been a while. A very long while. s s

Her hand reached down grabbing his enlarging snake. Well, then, these guys must be full, just waiting to be released. I can change that. I have a room not far.

Flashes of joy entered Ron head as he envisioned them together in mad sex. The devil s side on his shoulder told him to go for it. But the angel side on his other shoulder reminded him of past experiences. Ron treks around the world for his firm had put him s in similar positions before. Not that he did not succumb to temptation, he did, but a friend got AIDS from someone once, on the same trip as him, and it scared him big time. He didn have a condom, the machine near the rest room he could see was mangled and t empty, and it was highly unlikely he would be able to buy one anywhere. That scare returned.

Moving her hand from his pants he said,Ah, that a nice thought. Thanks but, um, no s thanks.

You don find me pretty? t

Oh, yes. Oh, very much especially since I been in battle. But that not the issue. ve s

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287 You gay? My brother is home too. re

Ah, no. I not gay. m

Then you married and want to be faithful. re

No, I not married, it just m s

Just what, you don have any money? I sure you have something we can trade. t m

No, it not that either. s

Then Oh, you think I have AIDS or the clap right?

Well, since you brought it up.

The girl just left in a huff.

Whew, close call Robson, he said to himself and continued to enjoy the beer to the last drop. Then it dawned on him. I could die in this war and never have sex again. Shit, I just blew it. Just as he was getting up to pursue her, the man next to him said.

Want me to do the bitch?

Ron looked over. The man was heavily bearded with long straggly hair that looked like it had not been washed in months. He also had tattoos on his forehead and hands. There were three partly healed long vertical scratches on his left cheek in parallel that cut through what looked like a swastika tattoo. His eyes appeared to bulge out of their sockets.

That up to you if you want to have sex with her. Ron said looking away. s

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No, not fuck the bitch, man. Do her in for you.

Ron looked over in disgust and was about to leave when two men on the far side of this guy grabbed him from the back. Hey what gives? Let me go! he said trying to struggle free. Just at that point a third man brushed past Ron and punched the guy hard right into the stomach. He bent over coughing and sputtering.

They dragged the guy out the front door of the bar, joined by two more men at a near by table. Ron followed them out the door to see what they were going to do.

By the time Ron got out the door into the darkness, the men had already punched the guy into the snow on the road. Blood was coming from his mouth and nose staining the trodden hard snow crimson. He was crying like a baby for them to stop beating him. Ron was just about to go over and try to stop the punching and kicking when a sixth man grabbed Ron from behind and whispered into his ear,Don t.

After a few minutes of pummeling this guy hard, in the face, ribs and legs, the one who punched him in the bar told them to stop. He then stood over the guy and said,James MacMaster, you have been found guilty of murder and rape in the first degree. We sentence you to death.

He then pulled a baseball bat out of his long coat and told two others to hold him down, head facing the snow. Blood dripped from MacMaster face. The man with the bat s raised it high over his head and brought it down full force onto the back of MacMaster s neck. Ron heard the sound of snapping bone as MacMaster dropped to the snow and did not move.

One of the men checked his pulse.

Is he dead? the man with the bat said.

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The man taking the pulse held up one figure. After a few seconds he said,he gone s now.

The man holding Ron let him go, got some paper out of his coat and ran a line on the bottom of the paper with a pen. Good day Gentlemen. That three today. Two more to s go and we all done this list. re

Turning to Ron he said, In their infinite wisdom, and pressure from human rights groups, prisons were opened and everyone was set free last winter when the power and gas went out. We were formed to hunt these men down and exterminate them, like the vermin they are. MacMaster was a murderer and rapist who was spending life behind bars. Not sure, but we suspect since his release he killed again at least once, if not s more...

So the scratches, Ron thought.

Not any more.

The man walked over to MacMaster, looked down at him and spat. Now how does it feel, eh? He looked up and started to walk away saying,One less motherfucker.

Just as the executioners were about to leave Ron said,You just going to leave him re there?

The man turned back to face Ron,Yeah the garbage men will pick him up in the morning. He be frozen then and easier to move. ll

Then they all walked away disappearing into the darkness. Ron went back into the bar for another drink.

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290 Ron came back to the airfield quite late, a little tipsy, and found a place to crash near Ben.

Mar 1, 2017

They spent the next two weeks at the airfield. It was boring. They weren even able to t do any practice shooting. Occasionally they went over to the rail yard to help load or unload cars. They saw all the movies they wanted to at the mall. But seems the BlockBuster near by was ransacked and few DVDs remained.

Smitty showed up after a while. He been trying to track Ben and Ron down. Seems he d was now a military orphan of sorts so he was allowed to join their troop.

Boy that Captain is a real idiot, eh? I told him to lighten up a bit and he nearly jumped out of his desk at me, he said laughing.

Well, you regular army. We volunteers don need to put up with that kind of crap, re t right, Ron said also laughing.

So how do I get out of this chicken shit army and join the volunteers? Smitty said jokingly.

Not going to matter in the end, Ben said.

Few planes arrived while they were at the airport. Until one day a large one-time airliner showed up and what seemed to be high ranking officers got off and headed to the airport offices. s

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March 16, 2017

Everyone was ordered to one of the large hangers. The sun was bright and the days were getting warmer, though still freezing.

A two star General showed up at the front. He walked up a ramp and onto a wing of an aircraft that was sitting at the back of the hanger.

I Major General Roland Bradley, my grandfather was General Omar Bradley, he m said with pride. Men you are all about to embark on a very dangerous mission, he said as if he had said it to crowds like this before.

You will defend the tar sands from the enemy. They will no doubt attack this spring and your job will be to stop them cold.

He went on about being proud of the soldiers, about the job they had done before. Thoughts of yada, yada, yada filled Ben head. Damn, I really hated that show, he said s aloud.

What, Dad? Ron asked.

Nothing, just day dreaming.

After what seemed like an hour the General finally completed his speech withGod save America. Oh, and Canada too, he added with an after thought.

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292 Ben wondered if there would be a Canada after all this is over. If not occupied by the Chinese, the long dream of the US to make Canada another state may finally come true.

So now the re-organization started. Ben companions since Hinton were being s reassigned back to their original units. It was not likely he would see them again Ben though to himself.

As they said their goodbyes and good lucks, Joe handed Ben the sword he kept since d Grande Prairie. I like for you to have this. I made a harness for it so you can strap d ve it on your back. We kinda knighting you in our own way for the efforts you have done re and your leadership that kept us alive.

I consider that an honour. Thank you very much, Ben said. ll

We may see each other yet again, in Fort McMurray, as that were we will be assigned s next, Rick said. But just in case we don good luck to you all. They went off leaving t, Ben, Ron and Smitty standing alone with the snow now lightly falling around them and the sun trying to shine through a thin vale of clouds.

Let get some food, Smitty said as he headed back into the hanger. s

It was another week before they got orders to ship out. They headed to the railway yard and were loaded onto an autorack car that was previously used to move cattle. Bails of straw is all there was for seats. Holes were cut in the sides of the car for windows, and even a drum was in it burning wood. But it was stinky, drafty and crowded on both levels of the car. A long string of such cars headed out north to Fort McMurray. Cattle to the slaughter. someone yelled.

There was no food or water for the whole trip. And it was a long trip, twenty two hours it took them. They had to pass other trains coming back down. Most of the trains south carried equipment from the tar sands. Huge trucks, diggers, and cranes on flatcars. In the

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293 deep woods hastily laid track had to be used as passing sidings. At one of these sidings the car just before Ben derailed. There was no rerailing equipment. They spent the best s part of three hours just trying to figure out how to get it back on the tracks. Eventually another train showed up behind them that had a rerailer. But that took another two hours to get the car back on the rails.

Of course, now with two trains so close and no sidings long enough to accommodate them, it made for a nightmare to pass trains coming down the line. It was all done by radio between train crews, there was no central dispatch. But they did finally make it after a long cold night in an old smelly, rusty and squeaking freight car.

They disembarked the train at the end of the line by the airport on the south east side of Fort McMurray. Workers were busy laying new track expanding the hastily built yard, most of the work was being done by hand, though some heavy equipment from the Syncrude operations was seconded to help. The airport and surrounding area was cluttered with big rigs from the tar sand pits ready to be evacuated. Some were being loaded onto flatcars.

In town, no residents were left save for the police, hospital and emergency workers. All of those were housed in the city hall to conserve heating fuel. The nearby Sawridge Inn was the military headquarters for the area for the time being, but even it was being readied to evacuate in face of a future Chinese attack on the area.

School and transit buses waited to take them into town. They disembarked the busses at the Composite High School in the centre of town. There they spent the night and were fed. The next day they got back onto the buses and headed north across the Athebasca River, then out of town.

They turned into the main entrance of the Syncrude plant on the west side of the river. Ben was amazed at the size of the operation. Huge plants, settling ponds and the excavation for the tar sands was overwhelming when seen in person. The sheer size of

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294 the complex showed clearly why it was so expensive an operation. Some activity was still going on, but they pasted long lines of equipment heading south to be loaded onto railcars for evacuation.

They stopped west of the operations just past a creek. Long lines of tents were erected, military people were scurrying everywhere. This was the base of operations for the entire tar sands defense.

The first thing Ben noted was the smell of oil on the air. A heavy, slightly sour, unmistakable smell, recognizable to many who have walked past a roof being tarred. It used to be called the smell of money around here.

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Chapter 13: Bridge on the River Athebasca

Apr 7, 2017 For early April it was hot in the bright sun, though the air was still a bit crisp. Everyone was gathered for a meeting with the operations commander. They waited for hours for him to arrive. Ben just enjoyed the warm rays as he faced the sun with closed eyes.

Gary Hawker, of the Canadian Armed Forces regular army who was the new commander, ordered a general meeting first thing in the morning to introduce himself. He was a thin, tall man with a drawn face shadowed with several days of unshaven stubble.

Welcome to hell, or hell to be. The end of the road, as it were, where we make our last stand. It is here that it will be the end of this world for most of you.

Now that you are all feeling good, I give you the bad news. There is lots of food in ll the mess tent. If you want to call it food. You can all shower in the shower tent, but don t count on it being a hot shower. If, in the very likely event that you get injured or wounded, unless you are lucky enough to get killed, we have a fine medical treatment tent just on the other side of the shower tent. It no MASH but they may get lucky and s be able to save a few of you. It all tents here. Tents everywhere you look. You will s sleep in tents, you will eat in tents and you will shit in tents.

We have everything you will need or want, as far as we are concerned. But let me tell you right off, this will likely be the most boring assignment until the Chinese get here. Two hundred and fifty miles of clearing is being done around the tar sands by Syncrude employees. Soon you will be digging your defensive trenches and guard the killing zone day and night.

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296 As far as we know the Chinese are still far off, no further than Slave Lake to the west. It going to take them weeks to get here through the dense bush, maybe longer. So you s will sit in your trench and watch the empty field non-stop.

You know the saying for a soldier. Long days of boredom, with short periods of terror. That will be true here as any other time in history.

Should you feel so inclined to come and pester me with meaningless problems, my office is that trailer just over there. At least I don get a tent. But don bother coming to t t me unless, well just don bother me at all. t

On the back wall of the trailer is your unit name and the area you will be assigned to. Each unit has an area in tent city. Go and get your assignments, dismissed.

Smitty and Ron started to move with the crowd, until Ben grabbed them and said, Wait until they are all done. Let get some food then come back. s

Oh, I in for that! Smitty said. m

Others over heard and thought it a great idea since the back of the trailer was now a mass of bodies and confusion.

In the chow line loading up their trays Ben, Ron and Smitty overheard a Lieutenant talking with a sergeant who right hand was in a cast up to the elbow. s

Hawker wants us to go and blow a bridge south of here. So go and get a team of about twenty men and three engineers. We can use the golf carts to get there so we won have t to do the long walk.

Yes, Sir. Will get on that right away.

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297 You looking for volunteers? Ben asked the Lieutenant. re

Yes, I am, why, you want to join?

Sure, the three of us would love to join. Better doing something than sitting in a boring foxhole. Right Ron?

Ah, I guess, thanks Dad for asking first, Ron replied rather uncomfortably.

It will be a blast! Smitty said. Get it, blow up a bridge, a blast Ahh, forget it. Yeah, I in. m

OK. Great, after you men eat meet me at the trailer, Hawker just needs to give the final word. I Walter Downs of the Royal Regiment of Canada by the way. m

They shook hands and introduced each other.

When Ben arrived at the trailer, Hawker was outside talking to Downs going over a map. Hawker did not look up when the three of them arrived. Finally the sergeant with the cast arrived saying. We ready to go Lieutenant. re

You can go with that cast Sergeant, Hawker said looking right at him with his drawn t face and his eyes that appeared to pop out of their sockets.

I need a replacement then, Downs said. ll

That guy there a sergeant, isn he? Hawker said pointing to, but not looking at, s t Smitty,Just use him.

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298 After a few more minutes they headed off to the golf carts that were waiting for them on the road. One had a trailer that was loaded up with boxes of C4 explosives with three men waiting.

Twenty volunteers were there including Rick, Dennis and Joe. You didn think you t could slip out with out us so easily did you? Rick said to Ben.

Ben laughed. You are most welcome to come!

Thought they assigned you guys back to your units? Smitty asked.

We wanted to stay together, Dennis said. Rick convinced his lieutenant that we work better as a crew.

Yeah, we a band of misfits now, Joe said laughing. re

A number of soldiers were standing beside the road handing out boxes of ammo and water. Load up on all the ammo you can carry, one said.

Why if there are no Chinese around? It too damned heavy! someone from their s group complained.

You never know, the soldier said back. Orders from the Colonel. Besides you lazy shit you not even walking there. re

Once saddled and loaded up with as much as they could carry, they were ready to head out.

They headed eastward, then turned right down a dirt road. Dust filled the area between the trees that the road cut through. Some of the trailing carts had to back off to keep from choking in the gray plume of dust ejected by the carts in front.

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It was a long drive as the bridge over the Athebasca River was further south than Fort McMurry. Other than the sounds of the carts on the dirt road, it was all quiet.

Except for a few dips over small creeks, the road was straight and flat. The sun was high in the sky with its blinding light and sweltering heat. Black flies tried to chase them, but were too slow to keep up with the flying men in the carts. Smitty got a mouth full of them as they flew through a swarm. Joe and Dennis laughed as he choked.

In the late afternoon they arrived at the top of the valley of the river. The road bent left down to the river some six hundred feet below. The river curved from their right around to their left. At the river they could see the double span Bailey bridge. The road rose on the far side back up the valley to become level with them on this side. In the river, left of the bridge was a sand bar near the far bank.

They disembarked from their carts. Downs stood in the middle of the road peering through the binoculars. So did Ron.

Anything? Ben said to Ron.

No, looks quiet. Lots of trees on the far side like here.

Downs talked to the engineers. Looks easy enough to blow, he said to them.

Yeah, piece of cake. An hour to set the charges, then lay the line back up here and we will have a nice show when she blows, one of them said.

Sergeant! Take up positions on this side of the river. Don go too far. t

Yes sir, Smitty said.

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300 They took up a loose defensive position high above the river. Downs stood on the road watching with his binoculars.

The engineers drove down to the bridge, got out and were starting to unload their charges. A bullet hit Downs in the chest. He dropped down to his knees as they heard the sound of the shot fired echoing back and forth across the valley. Downs hovered there for a second then fell over on his left side. His arms and legs briefly shook a bit then stopped. More shots rang out at the engineers on the bridge.

Everybody down! Ben yelled as more shots started to impact around them. Shit, Shit! he said to Ron. Did you see where they came from?

No sorry Dad, I was watching the engineers.

Ok. Anybody else hit? Don answer unless you are! Ben yelled out. Don want to t t let the Chinese know how many there are of us.

No one answered.

So what the plan boss? Smitty said making Ben his surrogate officer. s

Ben thought for a second. Do you know how to set that stuff up to blow the bridge?

Yeah, think so, been a while since I played with C-four, Smitty said.

I know how to do it too, Rick said.

OK, we need to take these guys out, Ben said trying to peer over a rock.

How? Ron said.

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301 Out flank them. There can be too many of them. Do you think? Ben said looking at t Rick.

Fuckers weren even supposed to be here in the first place! Smitty said. t

Well, if I were to send a squad to baby-sit a bridge I send at least fifty, Rick said. d

Fifty! Ron said excitedly Let go back and get reinforcements! s

No, we can Ben said. OK, Smitty,-- t,

Why not? Ron interrupted.

Because we don have time. Smitty you and Rick take half the guys to the right. Go a t long way before you cross the river.

This is a bad idea Dad!

Ron, shut up! Ben said. He was now getting nervous again, he could feel it in his gut. Don have time for this crap, Robson. He though to him self as took in a deep breath and t paused for a second. Ok getting back to normalWhere that map? Anyone know s were it is?

On the ground beside the Lieutenant, I can see it from here, Rick said.

I be right back! Smitty said. He jumped up and ran across the road and without ll stopping bent down to pick up the map and disappeared into the far side. Shots followed him all the way. A few minutes later he came through the bush behind Ben.

Here you go. Now that was fun! he said trying to catch his breath.

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302 You were almost dog meat! Rick said laughing.

Ben studied the map. Ok, look here. Way to the right past this oxbow turn in the river it wider, so it will be shallower. Smitty go back into the bush and get across the river. s I take the rest and go off to the east side here, looks like we might be able to cross ll there. That should be wide enough to get around to the back and hit them from above. Damn I wish we had radios.

None, sorry., Rick said. So how do we coordinate?

Let me think . The old fashioned way. If we make the distances we travel the same, say one hour. Then at that hour we cross the river regardless where we are then go back on the other side for another hour we should get behind them at about the same time right?

Theoretically, Rick said

Oh great, theoretical. Dad Ron said.

But any error Rick cutting him off, in measurement and it won work. t

Yeah, I know that, Ben said So don make any errors in measurement. t

Murphy law, Dad, Murphy law, Ron tried to remind his Dad. s s

Ignoring Ron, Ben said Ok, so here is roughly where you guys cross, and here is where I cross.

Would be nice if we could each have a map, but this is the only one, Smitty said. How will I know where we are for sure?

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303 Ben folded the map along the road, then carefully ripped it along that fold. There, now you have your map and I have mine. Let go. s

Kuwel! Smitty said laughing.

Dad, this is broad daylight. Can you at least wait until dark? Ron asked trying to get t heard.

We can wait. If they have not radioed for backup, they certainly have sent runners to t let the rest know we are here. So it won be long before reinforcements arrive. And, we t take the chance that our own reinforcements won get here in time. So that means we t have to blow the bridge, and now.

Rick nodded in agreement, Yeah, they will expect us to attack in the night or the morning. They won expect one so soon. The longer we wait the more they will expect t us. If we are going to do this we gotta go now.

If you want, Ron, you can stay here and watch. Would you prefer that? Ben said to him appreciating Ron apprehension. s

Yeah, I stay here, Ron said in a very disappointed tone. ll

OK, take the Enfield and I take your M16 and all your ammo. If you can take a shot ll do so.

I try. ll

Here, take this too, Ben said removing the sword and hilt from his back.

Why are you still carrying this thing around, Dad?

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304 Never know when it might come in handy.

Yeah, like you gonna chop someone up with this. re

Ben ignored the comment. Smitty, it four twelve now, is that what you have? Ben s asked.

It is now, I the same, He said fixing the time on his watch. m

Ok, so at five-fifteen you cross the river. Then at six-fifteen we attack at the same time. If you see them before then, wait. And don be seen yourself. Go inland along the ridge t before going into the river. And stay above the ridge on the other side.

Got it, Rick said. Ben Rick held out his handThis will work, but good luck all the same.

Thanks Rick, give hell, Ben replied shaking Rick hand. Go now to the other side m s of the road, looks like half the guys are there. Then we move out in two minutes.

See you on the other side, eh boss? Smitty said as he and Rick slithered into the bush behind them.

Ben crawled on the ground to the other ten men on his side to get them ready. He rounded them up back into the bush where they could not be seen. Give Ron anything that makes noise. Go light. Don take anything you don need. Hydrate up now and t t leave your canteens behind. We move out Ben looked at his watch now.

Good luck Dad. Be safe. Don do anything stupid. t

Stupid might be the only way of winning this fight. I see you on the bridge in a ll couple hours. Off Ben went with is small force.

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There was no real ridge on Ben side as the land gradually sloped down to the river. s They kept into the trees as much as possible. Occasionally Ben looked through to the river when he could see it so as to not go too far inland.

5:15 arrived, and they headed right to the river. At the bank, Ben peered up stream from where they came. He could see the sand bar but not the bridge. Dennis and Joe were next to him.

Damn. Not far enough, Ben said quietly.

If we go further around that bend to the left they won see us cross, Dennis said. t

Right, let go. Fix bayonets, Ben said to his men. s

They crossed just around a small point in a sharp right turn of the river. The water was deep and cold. In places they could not touch bottom and had to help each other across. But now they were ten minutes behind.

We gotta chance it and run across the ridge when we get up there, Ben said to Dennis.

Right, let move it and quietly! Dennis said to the rest. s

It was difficult to move along the south ridge as there were several gullies from streams that flowed into the river. But they moved as fast as they could.

6:15 arrived as they made it to a pond along the south arm of the road. Ben looked at the map. They were too far south. Shooting start in the distance from Smitty side north of s them.

Move it, we run down the road! Ben said.

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The road made a bit of a left turn before it dropped into the valley. Down about half way down the road to the bridge they could see Chinese soldiers running across from right to left towards the shooting.

They dropped to the ground at the crest of the ridge and started firing down the road. Dennis looked behind them,Good, trees behind us, will make it hard to see us.

Shoot in front and let them run into the bullets! Ben said to his men.

They downed more than a dozen. Seems the Chinese could not figure out where the shots were coming from. Some of them stood on the road and fired across to the north side of the river where Ron still was. No shots were fired in their direction.

What fools! Dennis said.

Yeah, it probably the echoes that confusin s s em, Joe said.

Dennis sighted them with his M21 and easily took them out.

Ben was not taking any chances that the Chinese would see them. He sent two to each side of the road into the bush to watch for any that tried to come up at them.

The shooting from the distant left was now intense. Screams could be heard.

Six more Chinese were taken down at the road by Ben group. Then shooting started s right near them to the right. Ben took four men into the right side to take on the Chinese that were obviously coming up the ridge through the bush. Dennis and Joe stayed lying on the road picking off anyone who ran across.

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307 Sure enough, several Chinese were attempting to come up the right side through the bush. The two soldiers he sent previously were holding them off, but barely. Having four more made the difference.

After they must have downed about eight or more the Chinese stopped coming. Before long shooting was fast and furious on the road right across from them on their left. Ben heard calls for help by the two he stationed on the left. He took three men with him leaving the original two to guard the right flank. He must have been further down the road than he thought because as Ben and his men emerged from the bush into the ditch of the road they saw a small band of Chinese in the far ditch hiding from the snipers on the road further up. The Chinese saw Ben too.

Shooting started to cross the narrow road. But there were too many Chinese. One of Ben men dropped immediately before he could even shoot. One other was hit in the leg s and arm, almost taking it off. Ben and the last one dropped behind the road into the ditch. Then the Chinese started to lob grenades into his side, killing the wounded man and one other.

Ben backed into the bush to meet the two who were guarding the right side.

Then more fire erupted from the far side of the road, forcing the Chinese out into the open where Dennis and Joe cut them down. The shooting stopped.

Hey, yo, Ben! You in there? he heard in a familiar voice.

Smitty? Ben yelled back.

Yep we got them, you can come out, come out, where ever you are! Smitty said laughing.

They met up in the middle of the road.

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You got them all? Ben asked.

Yep, we did, some thirty or more before we heard the shooting here and came up to help. Nice job on that road cutting them down!

Thanks, but we lost three men. Dead.

I lost four and one wounded. Rick and one other are down checking out those you took out on the road.

Well, night is coming and we had better blow the bridge and get out of here before reinforcements show up.

They ran down to meet Rick. More than two dozen bodies of Chinese lay dead on the road.

I checked them all, Rick said. Searched the bodies but found little food, and only ve two clips of ammo for their AK s.

They looked down at the fresh corpses. The bodies looked very thin. Eyes sunken in stretched skin. One was an officer, most likely the one in charge.

Rick continued,I searched his body, but nothing of importance except what looks like a diary with this photo in it. It all written in Chinese scribble. You know for smart s people they have one weird writing.

I guess, Ben said.

Look at the food. It all dried cooked meat. Nothing else. Makes you wonder what s meat it is, doesn it, Rick said throwing a chunk of meat down on the dead officer. t

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Ben did not want to think about that.

Dennis was also checking one of the soldiers when he pulled out the same picture of what looked like some statesman. Two other of their guys pulled out the same photo from several more bodies.

Ben recognized it from the battle in Jasper.

That Mao mug shot, he said. They all have them. s s

To keep their faith going I would imagine, Rick said.

Fuck you, Dennis said ripping his photo into little pieces and tossing it into the air like confetti.

They all went down to the bridge. Smitty and Rick started to set up the charges. Ron came down to greet them.

Hi Dad, any dead from our side?

Ben nodded, Too many.

What about them, do we just leave them?

My three are up near the top of the ridge, what about yours Smitty?

Smitty looked up from his work attaching fuses. They are way back into the bush, pointing over to the bank with a length of wire in his hand. it will take too much time to get them. Just get yours, and the engineers and lets get out of here, he said returning to his task.

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Hey! One alive! one of the soldiers said as he checked the engineers. s

Yeah barely, but he alive, Ron said looking at him closely and taking a pulse. They s got out a medic kit and dressed the two bullet wounds that were in his lower stomach.

Don wait for us to set the charges. Ron get these wounded out of here now, Rick t said.

Right. Let load them into the trailer and you two take them back to the camp as fast as s you can, Ron said to two soldiers.

You three get three more carts and go back up the ridge and collect our dead, Ben said pointing to three of the men.

It took Smitty and Rick about an hour to set the charges and run a line to the north ridge. The sun was starting to set behind the trees.

Everyone ready for fireworks? Smitty said.

Do it, Ben said back.

Happy Guy Fox day! Smitty said as he pushed the plunger. The bridge went up in a ball of fire and smoke that filled the valley. Pieces even made it to their side dropping like hard rain.

Smitty, you moron. Guess you used too much C-four! Rick said laughing.

Smitty just gave a huge smile on a face full of pride.

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311 They loaded themselves onto the carts, while Ben stood at the top of the road looking down at the river. The sun was now low, an orange-red ball sinking behind the trees. The tips of the trees on the far bank were a green red huge upon a dark blue sky. The dust around the bridge was settling and the cloud plume from the explosion was drifting eastward down the river. It too was illuminated by the sinking sun giving it an eerie shade of gray and red. But the scene is not what Ben was seeing. He was thinking about what just happened, the rush and the fear, and how it thrilled him that his plan worked. A small grin came to his face as he nodded his head.

Hey Ben, Rick said,You coming?

Ben turned and stepped into the front seat of the cart.

Commander always the last off the field, right boss? Smitty laughed.

As they were heading back to camp Ben said, Smitty, I need to say thank you for saving us.

Hey, don mention it. You do it for me wouldn you? t d t

Ben did not say anything as he was reflecting on the day events. s

Wouldn you! Smitty said. t

Of course, oh, sorry, just day dreaming.

Well, let hope you won have to! Smitty said laughing. s t

By the time they got back to camp it was dark. Ben, Rick and Smitty went to see Hawker. Rick filled Hawker in on what happened.

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312 Robson, your first command. Seems you did a bit of all right. Well done. Great job to all your men, too. First thing I send a platoon down there to guard the road. Go get ll some food and some sleep. Come and see me in the morning for a briefing, Hawker said.

In line at the mess tent, which for late evening was full of people eating, Ben asked Ron if he got any shots off at the bridge.

No, they were moving too much. I tried to scope them with your rifle, but I didn get a t shot off, sorry, Ron said, picking up a tray and utensils, trying to act disappointed, but really relieved.

Don be sorry. Your time will come and you will do what needs to be done. t

Dad, I be damn glad to get home and get away from this. I beginning to hate it. ll m I beginning to think I not cut out for this after all, Ron said getting mashed m m potatoes plopped on his plate.

You may think that now, but when were done here and back home in our comfortable beds you miss all of this, Ben said grabbing some chicken legs. ll

Miss it! Not a chance. How do you figure I miss this? ll

It been the same throughout history. Sure it rough. Sure war is hell. But it has one s s thing that is utterly unique that changes a person forever. It binds soldiers together so strongly that they almost would give anything to get back into the action, to relive the war life.

And what is that one thing?

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313 Living at the edge of death. You feel more alive close to death than any other time. I see that now. You get totally hooked on the adrenaline. Each battle you are in fear of dying, but when you live through it you have such a rush. I felt it many times already. ve At the canyon when the wall came down, at Jasper when I was sniping, and even though I did not kill anyone at Dorothy liberating them was such a rush. It was probably for me s the most important thing I ever done was to be involved in saving those people. ve

Just think, saving Melanie from those gangs, and if they got out alive and made it home, she will marry someone and have kids. If we did not liberate her she would never have had any kids. I, we, all of us, will have made that happen. If we did not do what we did none of that will happen. Her children will owe their lives to the six of us.

And the biggest rush of all was taking back that bridge. Now that was close combat. I came really close to buying the farm there. Felt damn good when we won. That it was me who made that happen and it worked. A great sense of accomplishment.

You know, I had successful projects I designed at work. They felt great when it all ve worked. But that was nothing compared to today. It was light years ahead of anything I done. Once I do get home I will miss all of this very much. ve

So you get a thrill out of killing people, Ron said finishing loading his plate.

Not just any people. Absolutely not, only those who deserve it. I felt nothing when I popped that kid at the bridge in Grand Prairie. It just had to be done. I felt no thrill to do it, kinda felt sorry for the asshole actually.

I dunno Dad, I still don think I miss this. Nightmares maybe, but not miss it. t ll

You really don know who you really are until you are in this situation. Until you are t faced with having to kill someone. Until you get shot at. It not for everyone, that for s s certain, Ben said.

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The six of them sat together at a table near the back of the tent.

What for certain? Smitty said. s

What you feel when you kill, Rick said, obviously eves dropping on the previous conversation.

Oh, that, ah, piece of cake Ron. Once you done it for the first time the rest come ve easy, Smitty said, then looked over past Ron to the front of the tent. Hey, look what just came into the tent, he said grabbing Rick arm. s

What? Rick said.

Look a whole group of women. Wow must be a hundred of them now in line. They look fresh. Must have just arrived, Smitty said.

Any reason why women should not fight with us? We had women in combat for ve decades, Ben said.

Yeah, I know. In all the time I been in the forces I seen lots of women, but not ve ve this many in one group. Hey, look at that one, the one with the long light hair. She s hot!

Hawker came into the tent and shook the woman hand. Must be their officer, Ron s said. Then she left with Hawker with a tray of food. The rest of the women mingled with the crowd as they tried to find seats. Four filled the empty seats at Ben table. s

Ben got the small ziplock bag out from his inside pocket. It was almost empty. He opened it and sprinkled the last of it on the leg of chicken on his plate.

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315 What that? Rick asked. s

Garlic. The last bit of home I brought with me. Now all gone, He sad with a sad tone.

Rick spoke to him, but Ben could not hear as he recalled the day he left Anne to come here. He felt quite lonely now, deeply missing her.

After about an hour of idle chitchat and stories in an attempt to woo the women Ben said, I tired, gotta pack it in. If you guys want to talk with the ladies go ahead, I see you m ll in the morning.

Ron came into their small sleeping tent quite late. He whispered knowing he woke his father up,Sorry Dad, we got carried away talking to the chicks.

Ben stirred a bit then drifted off again.

Apr 8, 2017

In the morning, the six of them got up and made their way to the shower tent. A Warrant officer was there who told them that the women were showering and to come back after breakfast.

Ah, we miss that! Smitty said disappointed. Just a peek? C mon, give us a peak, will ya? he said to the warrant officer who shook his head no and pointed to the mess tent. Damn, Smitty said disappointed.

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316 As they finished a half decent pancake breakfast and were just leaving the troop of women came in to eat. With is eyes following them Smitty said, I catch you guys ll later, I going to have a second breakfast. m

What about the meeting with Hawker? Ben asked.

Tell I preoccupied, he said and followed the women into the mess tent with some m m of them giggling as he talked to them.

What a flirt, Ben said.

Pops, I gotta have a shower, see you later? Ron said.

Yeah, I stink, gotta get cleaned up myself, Joe said. Dennis headed off with Joe.

I already saw Hawker early this morning, and I gotta get cleaned up too, Ben. But Hawker wants to see you asap, Rick said

k, I catch up with you guys after the meeting. ll

As Ben came up to the trailer, a long industrial trailer often used as offices on construction sites, and was about to open the door when the woman that Smitty pointed out the night before appeared from inside.

Not paying attention, Ben bumped into her making the empty tray of plates and utensils fall into the sand.

Oh, I sorry, Ben said startled at what he done. m d

Good morning, she said in a French accent and smiling at Ben as they both bent down to pick up the mess.

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Good day, ma am, he said back standing back up and handing her a cup.

Excuse me please, fhe said..

Of course, as he let her get by him.

How the hell are you Robson? Hawker said as Ben came into the trailer.

You wanted to see me?

Yeah, that was one hellova job you did yesterday. I talked with one of the sergeants who went with you and he said you saved the mission.

I guess. Someone had to make a snap decision.

And that you did. I passed it on to HQ. They aren too pleased that the Chinese are this t far into our area. We are sending scouts out all around to see if there are more.

So what did you want me for?

Well, I going to have to send your guys to the front right away. But I want you to m stay behind as we are having an officer meeting at seventeen hundred hours to go over what the plans are. I want you there.

Sure, but why me? I no officer. m

No you aren But your reputation precedes you. Sergeant Ashbourne told me all about t. Jasper, Grand Prairie and Slave Lake and I like your style. You a born leader Robson re and I really short of officers. So I may need to call upon your cool headedness and m ability to command in the next battle. Which, no doubt, will be a doozy. So the more you

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318 know what coming down the pipe the better it will be for all of us. Anyway, that s s latter. I gotta pay the water bill, drop the kids off into the pool, and replace it with some food.

Ben just shook his head and snickered as Hawker passed by him out the door.

Later that sunny morning they got their orders as to where they would be stationed on the line. It wasn far, seems Hawker made sure they were close to camp. Smitty, Rick, t Dennis and Joe were in the trench to Ben right, something Hawker also made sure of. s

Get the site ready Ron, I be by later, some meeting with officers later this aft, Ben ll said to Ron.

Officers? So you got promoted?

No, Hawker just invited me. Take lots of food your gonna be there a while.

At five PM Ben went to the mess tent where the meeting was held. It was filled with officers. Hawker was standing around a table with several officers looking at a map of the area. A large C shape was scribbled on the map surrounding the whole tar sands area. It was the defensive position of their forces.

Ben sat at a table with a number of lieutenants. They introduced each other.

Hawker finished with the map and stood at the front of the crowd.

OK, this will be short and sour. You all have your assignments.

I have confirmed that the Chinese are moving through the woods up the west side of us towards the north. Some larger forces have moved south and advancing to the highway.

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319 In about a week they should take the road, and then it will only be a matter of time when they get to the rail line cutting us completely off.

So far the rail line and the airport is how we are getting supplies. The road has been closed.

And now the bad news. We are short man, and woman, power. Currently there are about a hundred thousand of us. But the Chinese are at least three times that. We have very little armour and even less artillery. Much of it is waiting to get here by train, but some fowl up is happening. I don know what it is or when it will arrive. t

And even more bad news. There is no air support. I asked many times, but ve apparently there is not much aviation fuel and at the Moment what they have is flying in supplies for us. And that too may be cut off soon.

You think with some half million troops about to surround us that they could allocate d a few drops of fuel for some B52 but I guess not. s,

But the good news is we have lots of food. We raped the town for every can or scrap of food before it was evacuated. And we have an adequate supply of ammo. Oh, and lots of toilet paper, so that should make everything peachy keen right?

But seriously guys, this is going to be hell on earth once the enemy makes its move. So you all need to be frosty and keep your men, and women, in line and ready at any time.

Make sure your troops are well hydrated and fed. We have civvies who are filling and delivering thousands of fifty litre containers of water for the troops, so there is no excuse. If there is no other advantage we have over the Chinese it that we are fed well while s they appear to not be. We can thank that intel from Robson encounter with them at the s bridge. We can only hope this advantage wins the battle.

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320 Any questions?

Hawker spent the next hour answering questions, that were mostly specifics for the individual area. s

After Hawker finished, Ben was just getting up when he bumped into someone walking behind him. Oh, I sorry, he said. It was that woman again. m

That OK, excuse me please. s

That twice, Ben said watching her as she left the tent. Then a hand came on his left s shoulder.

Hey Ben, good to see you, Jerry said.

Oh, hi. They shook hands. So where are you stationed?

They got my platoon down near the highway south of Fort MacMurray. Where are they setting you up?

Just west of here along the line.

Hey, I heard about the bridge. Nice job. You got a thing for bridges, eh? he said laughing.

I guess, thanks. Well good luck.

Yeah, you too. They shook hands again as they started to leave the tent.

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321 Oh, and one more thing! Hawker said above the din. Someone just asked and I forgot to tell you. Prisoners. If you get the unlucky experience of capturing a senior officer, have him sent to me. Otherwise, I don want to know about it, if you get my drift. t

We had a visit from Amnesty International couple weeks ago. They wanted to make sure we treated any prisoners fairly and humanly. They had heard rumours of torture for information, not from us, but elsewhere. They would not say where. I asked the woman if the Chinese had allowed them into Vancouver to see how our people were being treated under Chinese domination. She said that they were not allowed in to see anything.

So, gentlemen, the best way to avoid these yahoos is to not take any prisoners. Understood? He paused to see nodding heads throughout the tent. Good. Good luck all and dismissed.

Ben headed to the front lines alone.

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Chapter 14: The Sky is Falling

Apr 9, 2017 By the time Ben arrived at his foxhole, Ron had already set it up. The area from their foxhole to the tree line, called the killing zone, had been bulldozed flat, not a single tree or even stump was left. Nothing anyone could hide behind. It was like this the whole perimeter, some 200 miles. Excess dirt was piled into a tall berm, about ten feet high, in front of which all the foxholes were dug. Each foxhole could hold four men side by side with little space around them. The trees felled from the killing zone supported channels and tunnels through the berm. Trees were also used to prop up the front of the foxholes for protection.

At the tops of the berms speakers were set up, large speakers pointing out across the killing zone. Linked by satellite radio they played all manner of loud music; rock, heavy metal, classical, interrupted with Chinese messages designed to put doubt into the enemy minds. There even came the occasional POW screaming in horror as if being s tortured. Commonly known as propaganda. It played non-stop.

Ron had everything organized and had expanded the foxhole. He built a sleeping area to the right with large logs over it and dirt piled on top making it level to the ground. Two claymore mines were at each corner of the foxhole facing into the killing zone. Five grenades were neatly sitting on a flat board easily accessible. Food and water was stowed in the sleeping hole. To the left, around a corner, Ron had dug a latrine.

Two old M16 rifles and their ammo were at each corner of the small foxhole. Their M60, a belt fed machinegun, was positioned in the middle of the foxhole where Ron had set up a cleft in the logs. It had a perfect view down the killing zone. Six boxes of ammo, about 1,200 rounds, were sitting ready to the left below the gun.

"I see everything is all set up ready to go," Ben said

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"Of course, I'd be bored otherwise. Where the hell have you been? I've been here since yesterday.

"Officer stuff, you wouldn't understand," Ben said smiling.

"Yeah right...

"They were just letting us know what was going on, but I seemed to get the impression from Hawker that he was holding something back.

"What?"

"Wish I knew. Maybe there are more Chinese than he is letting on. Maybe we have fewer resources for us than he is willing to tell us. But I got the feeling that it was not good.

"Wonderful... They have us pretty thin here, the next foxhole is a hundred meters on each side and only two guys each like us. Except the rest of our crew are in our right foxhole together. Someone else is supposed to come and help us here. But I don know t when he coming. s

"More are coming, I saw them back there getting organized. They should be here by nightfall. They're a mix of Europeans, German, French, English and Irish. I even saw some from Norway and Iceland. Seems we really are in World War Three and it will be fought right here.

After a few minutes of silence, Ben said, Ron, you know you are coming closer to the Moment of truth.

I know, Ron said.

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When they come out into the open, you are going to have to do it for sure.

Yeah, I been thinking about that a lot since there is nothing else to think about. I ve m hoping I ready now. m

That night it was dark, blacker than Ben had ever seen it. Overcast and no fires were allowed at all. There was no sound, no movement in the trees beyond the killing zone.

Ben took the first watch. Ron relieved him some time around three am. Neither could really sleep.

Finally in the East behind them the sun started to force the blackness to retreat. The height of the berm would prevent the sun from shining on them for another few hours. Fog started to rise in the killing zone as the sun heated the ground. The trees disappeared behind the gray.

"They are out there, Ben said.

Where, I can see anything but the fog, Ron said looking through the binoculars. t

I can see them, but I can feel them. Something is telling me they are out there, real t close. They will come now," Ben said. The fog will allow them to get closer before we see them.

"Hi guys," came a voice from behind them coming through the tunnel. This tall fellow emerged into their foxhole. He was wearing a Norwegian uniform. His English was almost perfect, very little accent.

"I'm Ove Schei. Pleasure to meet you both," he said peering past them into the fog beyond. Looks like the game's afoot.

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"I'm Ron and this is my Dad Ben. Glad to have you on board. Were are you from?"

"I'm from the northern town of Mo, in Norway.

"Just Mo?" Ron asked.

"Yep, Mo. Actually we are across the bay from Mo. It's a fishing village. It took me a month to get here.

"Wow, no kiddin.

"Well, it was either come to Canada or go to the Caspian. I've always wanted to see Canada. He fumbled in his pocket for his wallet and took out a picture. This is my wife and child. Both are named Anna.

"Hey Dad, Mom's name, what are the odds eh?"

"And this picture is of the area were I live taken from our front door.

Ron looked at the amazing scenery. It was a long narrow bay with low well-worn mountains on the far side. The house must have been high up as in the foreground below were many well maintained homes.

"This is why I'm here," Ove said. To protect our home land by protecting your home land.

What gives with you being here? Don you have your own unit? Ron asked. t

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326 Yeah, most of the rest of our guys, there about a thousand of us, are on the north side. s But they asked for volunteers to help fill in gaps. I kinda got volunteered because I speak English. So, here I am.

Not long after that they started to hear gunfire in the distance from their left. More from their far distant right soon joined it. They got into firing position.

"Here they come," Ben said. The sound of gunfire on either side was getting closer.

Ben had been looking through binoculars scanning the fog beyond. The fog was getting closer, about half way in the killing zone, with whiffs of it appearing right in front of them.

Ben could see faint dark figures in the fog.

Ron was just about to start shooting with the M60, as others in the foxhole on their left had already started firing.

"Wait," Ben said. Only shot at what you can see. Don't waste ammo, and remember short controlled bursts, we don't want the M60 to over heat. Ron, you can do this right?

Ron gave a shaking thumbs up as he sighted down range.

The crack of bullets started whizzing overhead.

"They're shooting at us," Ove said.

"Wait, not yet," Ben replied. They are just shooting wild, they can't see us yet.

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327 Ben got into position with his Enfield sighting the moving figures in the fog. One by one Ben got shots off and the images disappeared. Then the Chinese broke through the wall of fog.

"OK, Let them have it, but shoot at targets!"

Ron just stood there peering down the gun sights, but he did not shoot. He was shaking s and sweating profusely.

Ron, start shooting! Ben said.

I can he said in a weak voice. t,

Shit. Fuck! Then give me the damn gun and I do it! ll

No, I can do it.

Then get at it!

Ron started short bursts of fire from the M60. Figures in the fog dropped in front of them. Ron realized how easy it was. Squeeze the trigger and bodies fall in front of you. That s all there was to it. Soon he was properly shooting at specific targets.

Ove had already started with his AG-3F1 picking off targets, all the while keeping an eye on Ron's belt so he could help reload. He had a tool that would allow someone to clip two belts together. The end of one and the beginning of another, so as to prevent the gunner from having to stop shooting. Within seconds, Ove had linked in the next belt and was back at firing himself.

Soon Chinese gunfire was impacting the wood in front of them. The odd explosion was around them. The three of them kept firing. Over all the defense along their line seemed

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328 to make some difference. Bodies fell, others filled the gap and just kept coming, but eventually the line thinned.

Then it stopped, the Chinese retreated into the fog, which by now was starting to dissipate.

"Round one for us, guys!" Ove said.

"For now," Ron replied. He was visibly shaking, and sweat poured down his face into his eyes. He used the end of his uniform sleeve to remove the sweat and stop the stinging.

That was just a probe, they be back soon enough, Ben said. Putting his hand on ll Ron shoulder he said, you did it. s So,

Yeah, I did, wasn so bad. They were way off and I could not see their eyes. Maybe t that the difference. s

You did good son.

Yeah, but look at me. I shaking like a bowl full of jelly! m

Screams for medics could be heard on either side of them. Ben looked at their neighbors with his binoculars. Rick, Smitty, Dennis and Joe were intact as they gave the thumbs up to Ben.

It wasn't long when a horn sounded from the trees.

"Here they come again," Ron said.

"Wait for it," Ben said

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329 "Waiting," Ron replied.

A wall of green uniforms emgered from the trees.

"Shit that's a lot more!" Ron said as he started firing.

"They won't stop this time, the first wave was a probe," Ove said.

Ben started picking off targets with the Enfield, but it was difficult shooting as it was hard to distinguish bodies from the mass. So this is what it must be like for a lion going after one in a herd of prey. He thought to himself. It wasn't long when Ben ran out of .303 ammo for the Enfield. He then continued with one of the M16 rifles.

Ove's AG-3F1 had a grenade launcher on it, but he only had about twenty rounds for it. Occasionally he would fire one off and a few bodies would fly in the air in the distance.

The Chinese were getting much closer, almost past the halfway marker they painted white on a rock. Then overhead they heard artillery rounds.

"IN COMING!!!" Ben yelled. They ducked down. But the explosions were in the distance, in the killing zone.

"It's ours!!" Ron said as he resumed shooting.

Smoke now filled the killing zone as did the fog previously. The advance stopped.

Within a few minutes the shelling stopped, then resumed way off to their left. Seems they were only able to cover a small area, which they shelled for a time before moving trajectory onto another location. As soon as the explosions stopped in front of them, the green mass rose and started to advance again.

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330 Now return fire was getting very close splintering wood in front and behind them.

"Ron this is the second last belt, one left after this one," Ove said.

Behind them two soldiers arrived through the tunnel.

"Nope here are four more belts and another gunner," one of them said dropping boxes on the ground, and left back through the tunnel as quickly as he had emerged. The other fellow set up his machine gun and started firing too. His uniform had Holland on it.

"They've come to pay us back for their liberation it seems," Ben said to Ron. The man stopped shooting, looked at Ben and smiled, then sighted back through the gun.

But there were just too many Chinese and too few of them. The spacing between foxholes was too great and the Chinese were advancing in the areas not covered.

Ben looked over to his right and he could see Chinese almost at their friend foxhole, s just a few yards away. They were too busy firing ahead to see them come in from their left flank. Ben aimed the M16 in that direction and started firing at those Chinese. Some went down, but they got closer, almost into the foxhole.

"I'll be back!" he said. Jumping up he ran over to the other position firing. Some of his shots took out more than one at a time, passing through to the next victim. Too soon he was out of ammo, but almost there. He dropped the rifle and pulled out the sword he'd kept on his back. By this time the Chinese had overrun the foxhole and hand-to-hand combat was taking place.

Rising the sword high over his head with both hands he charged at one of the Chinese who had his back to him. Just as Ben was dropping the blade down the soldier turned towards him. The sword clipped the side of the helmet and clove onto the left shoulder with such force as to open a huge gash right down to the pocket on his uniform. He went

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331 down without making a sound. With out looking down Ben pulled the blade oit with his foot planted on the man's chest and then thrust the blade into the throat of another who had seen what had happened and charged at Ben with his bayoneted rifle.

Blood squirted far to Ben's left onto the face of another soldier who also just turned and was starting to attack Ben. The soldier was blinded with blood in his eyes. Ben swung the sword around and severing the left arm while the blade ripped into the man's side crushing ribs. With that blow the blade broke from the hilt. Ben was left holding only the handle up to the hilt.

He threw it at a forth soldier which hit him right in the face knocking his helmet off. Ben then pulled out his Glock and fired off four more rounds into three other soldiers.

He was just about to fire on a forth when the soldier knocked the Glock out of Ben s hands with the butt of his rifle, which he dropped and then lunged at Ben. Nose to nose the soldier tried to get Ben on the ground, while holding Ben right arm behind him. s The soldier right hand went for Ben throat squeezing hard. He couldn draw his s s t breath as fingers dug into his neck. Ben pulled out his bayonet with his left hand and thrust it into the man ribs right to the end of the blade, just right of the heart. The s bayonet turned in Ben hand as it was forced between ribs. The soldier eyes started to s s pop out of his head and a blank stare looked past Ben. His grip loosened.

Funny what goes through one mind when under traumatic stress, especially when s triggered by a smell. With his first breath Ben noted right off, being so close, that the soldier stunk. He smelled of sweat, urine, shit and some other raunchy odor he could not recognize. It was almost overpowering. In disgust Ben looked the man over. But then it dawned on him and wondered if he smelled just as bad himself. The soldier certainly looked just as unshaven as he did.

Ben noticed the insignia on the epaulets had three gold bands and one star, obviously some officer. He wondered what rank that was equivalent to and wondered if he had

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332 scored abig one. It seemed like minutes went by as Ben looked at the blank stare, but all this went through his mind in only a second or two.

The only sound the officer made was very quiet high-pitched squeaks. Then the officer started to look up and directly into Ben eyes. Ben could see the face of a defiant man s starting to form in the officer expression. The officer tried to speak, with spit emitting s from his lips into Ben face. The officer grip on Ben throat started to tighten again. s s s Think I just about had enough of you, Ben said and gave the bayonet a hard thrust ve to the left, which rotated the blade slicing open the right ventricle, stopping the heart. The man slumped to the ground only making a quick grunting sound.

Now that was up close and personal! Ben said to himself.

It was over. All the Chinese who attacked the position were dead or wounded. The five of them had killed some dozen or more. Rick and Smitty were the only two left alive. Joe and Dennis were dead.

They both stood there, both covered with blood, and looked up at Ben. Thanks, Mate," Rick said then turned and got back into his foxhole. You paid me back boss, Smitty said handing Ben pistol back to him. It was the first time Ben saw Smitty be serious. s

Ben picked up one of the AK 47s and headed back to his position. By this time the line had stopped advancing. More mortar and artillery fire came in. But it was the napalm that stopped the advance. Several F15's had run the strip and dropped both cluster bombs and Napalm. During Ben's altercations first hand he missed seeing it. But not the aftermath. Flames scoured the land in the killing zone. Those Chinese that were still alive were retreating back into the trees.

Ben arrived back at his position with horror. Ron was hit. The Dutchman was also hit but not bad.

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333 "They got him in the chest," Ove said. We did what we could but there were too many of them.

"Ron!! Shit! Shit!" Ben shouted jumping into the hole and checking Ron out. Three bullets hit Ron in the chest on the right side. They were bleeding profusely and with every breath Ron took two of them bubbled. Get the kit! Get the kit!!" he screamed at Ove.

They did their best to stop the bleeding, but the rounds were through-and-throughs. He was also bleeding out his back. The shoulder blade was shattered, his liver and right lung penetrated.

"Ben, there's no hope," Ove said. I'm sorry.

Ron grabbed his father by the shirt and pulled him to his face.

"Dad," he whispered,It's OK. He paused in pain. Did not think we would make it this far Dad. Then he stopped, blood started to come out of his nose and mouth.

"Dad. I did it, didn I? I a true soldier now, right?" he said again in pain. t m

Yes, son, you did it. I proud of you. m

"Tell Mom... he stopped blankly gazing into his father eyes. s

"Ron!! RON!! NOOOOOOO!!!!" Ben burst into tears screaming, blaming himself for leaving the foxhole.

As he held Ron tight he could see one of the Chinese soldiers in front of the foxhole was moving. Ben's emotion turned into rage. He jumped up to the soldier and started

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334 punching him and kicking him. He picked up an AK47 lying near by and shot the man in the head.

"MOTHER FUCKERS!! DIE ALL OF YOU!" as he moved about the mass of green and red bodies. Anyone that moved Ben shot in the head. One, just a young kid who had his leg blow off, held up his hands in a gesture to not shoot him. Ben placed the end of the barrel right on his forehead and shot. Fuck you!"

Ben was soon out of ammo. He then started to bludgeon any alive with the butt of the rifle. With each thrust blood, bone and brains flew into the air. Exhausted, Ben finally dropped to his knees, surrounded by mutilated bodies, and cried.

"Ben!! BEN!! Hey Robson!!"

Ben turned to face the yelling, but through his tears he could not see who it was, but the voice was familiar. Two figures came up to Ben and knelt beside him.

"Ben, it's Rick and Smitty," one said to him with his hand on Ben's shoulder.

"Ben we have to leave now," Smitty said. I think you killed that guy many times ve over. He worm food, now let get out of here! s s

Ben just shook his head no.

"Ben they are going to aerial bomb this whole frontier with B52s in the next hour, we gotta leave now, Rick said while he emptied his canteen over Ben head washing some s of the blood and brains from his hair and face. Smitty, help me pick him up.

Ben was taken back to the foxhole were Ove had placed Ron on his back and shut his eyes. The Dutchman had already left for medical treatment. Ben went over to his dead son and knelt down crying.

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"Ben, we must go now! Help me with him," Rick said.

"Boss, you gotta leave Ron, we can't take him with us," Smitty said.

The four of them left through the tunnel taking whatever equipment they could carry.

"Wait," Ben said,we forgot Ron. RON!! Let's go we got to leave!"

"Ben, Ron's dead, snap out of it. We gotta get out of here now!" Rick said.

Ben stopped in his tracks and stood up erect. Just a second," he said. Looking up at the late afternoon sun Ben wiped his face. Smitty gave him a canteen of water, which he drank, then emptied over the top of his head. He stood there a second and said, Anne's going to kill me. I promised I look after Ron and I blew it. d

"No, it would not have mattered," Ove said,There were too many of them. It was just a very unlucky shooting that got to Ron. There or not, Ben, he would have died anyway.

Ben looked at Ove. Won't matter, that doubt will linger with me forever now. He paused for a while before they headed back to camp. Rick, where's the rest of the crew?"

"Dead, we are all that's left Boss," Smitty said.

"Ben. Joe and Dennis are gone, remember?" Rick said

"Dead," Smitty Said. We gotta get out of here now!"

They ran back off the field. It was about 2 hours after they left, with the sun now setting that the B52s flew high overhead. All they could see were the vapor trails. But soon the boom to their west bellowed out, it was non-stop. The west sky glowed red and orange.

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Get all the pricks! Ben thought.

"Puts a whole new meaning to the phrase 'The Sky is Falling' doesn't it," Ove said.

Back at camp it was dark and chaotic. Thousands of troops we coming back off the line. Some were escorting prisoners. Ben took long looks at them with deep hate in his eyes. But he did notice that they were very thin, eyes sunken. The POWs held out their hands begging as they passed troops eating. As one fellow, in a French uniform, was about to hand out some apples to a POW, Ben went over and slapped them out of his hands. With a stern look at the French soldier he saidAbsolutely not! Let them starve!" and walked away. Without needing to understand the words, Ben uniform, covered with drying s blood and guts, intimidated the young French soldier enough to make the point.

They had not walked too far when a loud argument erupted behind them. Ben turned to look. A Captain was tearing a strip off the Lieutenant who was guarding the prisoners.

We do not take prisoners!! he yelled several times. The Lieutenant tried to scream back that it was inhumane to kill the prisoners, and that there were rules to war. The Captain pushed the Lieutenant to the ground to get a clear line of fire on the prisoners. But first he aimed at the Lieutenant on the ground and said,Get out of my way. He then re-aimed at the prisoners. This war has only one rule. It took two clips of his M16 to finish the job.

When they were all dead, everyone just stood around and looked at the Captain. Just staring at him. The Captain looked up at his audience.

The only rule of this war is we do not take any fucking prisoners, period! he said and walked off. Ben and his group turned and walked on. Ben thought was Fucking A to s that.

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337 Ove, realizing he indeed was slightly wounded, left to join the long line at the medic tent. He shook their hands, and bid them a fare well. Ben never saw him again.

"Let's get some food ourselves," Rick said steering Ben to the mess tent.

The lineup to the mess tend was guarded by a Master Warrant Officer, a rather large man that, in his previous life, look like he was either a football player or a bar bouncer. Pointing to Ben he said in a bit of a Scottish accentHe not goen in there look like s n that! Get over to that tent othere to get cleaned up and a new uneeform. m

They went off to the left towards the shower tent. There were many soldiers in there cleaning themselves of dirt and blood. The line up to get into the shower was long. The Warrant officer guarding the entrance told Ben to have a seat with the others and would call him when it was his turn for a spot.

He sat on a crate for only a few minutes, when, with nothing to do but think, visions of Ron, Dennis and Joe filled his head. The more he remembered them, the more the grief built until he could not hold it in any longer. He started to sob uncontrollably, his whole body shaking.

You ok? a soft voice said as a light touch of a hand fell on his shoulder. Ben turned. Through his tears was a young woman, sitting beside him. He did not even see her sit just seconds before. It was the woman he bumped into at the trailer and mess tent.

Lilly knew deep grief when she saw it. You ok? she said again softly with a tone of sorry.

Regaining control, Ben nodded his head slowly.

You were at the front? Ben asked trying wipe the tears from his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

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In a nice French-Canadian accent she said,yes, to the south. We meet again. My name is Lilly LaPort, what yours? s

Ben Robson.

They shook hands. That was you who I saw at the trailer, no? She said.

Yeah that was me. I sorry I knocked over your tray, he said sniffing back the mucus m in his nose.

No need to be sorry, I should have looked where I was going.

Ben paused for a second as she held his left hand with both of her just like a nurse s, would to a family member who just lost a loved one. But she did not press as to the d reason for Ben grief. She figured he tell her when he ready. s d s

What the hell are you doing in this war? Ben said.

I used to be the charge nurse in the geriatric ward of Ottawa General Hospital. My husband signed up, and I did too, She said.

Hence the handhold now made sense to Ben.

Where is he now? he said gently and slowly freeing his hand from her soft grip.

[unknown] I do not know. I came much later, after when they closed down my wing. I was looking for him, but I suspect he was in Calgary when it was hit. [tragedy]

She paused for a second as Ben turned away trying to pretend she was not there as more tears filled his eyes.

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Something has happened, no? Please tell me.

Ben told her what happened. She re-held Ben hand as he described what happened. s

She attempted to comfort Ben, but as in all such cases, comforting words generally do not help. It certainly didn with Ben. t

Hey you! the Warrant Officer said to Ben. Your turn. Let get the lead out we have s people waiting!

Ben got up and tried to move away. Lilly held his hand tight.

You need to look after yourself. After you get cleaned up come and get some food. Then get some rest. And that an order from a nurse! she ordered Ben with a smile on s her face.

He looked into her pretty green eyes and smiled. Nodding his head he said,yes ma am.

Ben stepped up to the empty spot at the wash table. He removed all his cloths, which a young soldier stuffed into a large plastic bag. A pile of such uniforms was burning near by just outside the tent. At the wash table a pail was filled with hot water. A shelf was suspended above the table by chains. A wood stove was burning in the middle of the ring of tables boiling water. There was one young civilian teenager who was tending the tables. He put a fresh towel beside the soap and a washcloth above Ben spot. s

As Ben started washing himself he felt another huge deep wave of grief flow through his whole insides. He was slowly trying to wash himself. It looked like he was barely moving, like he was in some slow motion.

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340 It seemed to him to take a long time to wash as the young man behind the table leaned over to Ben and said in a quiet voice,Excuse me sir, I don want to press you, but t everyone has only 3 minutes to shower. You going to have to make it quick or that re guy at the entrance will throw you out, naked or not.

Ben looked up and nodded,Ok yeah sure -- thanks kid for the heads up.

Ben dried himself with a nice blue beach towel with the Nemo cartoon characters on it. Starting with his face to not only remove the water and tears, but also to try and take away the grief.

Looking at it he started to chuckle, but then sorrow overcame him as he realized this was once some child towel. His own kids once had one. He wondered what had happened s that the towel would end up here. He wondered what happen to its previous owner.

New clothes on, leaving the tent he felt almost human again, but hunger was now gnawing at him. First order of business -- survival. Like Lilly said, I gotta eat, he said to himself.

Ben walked alone to the mess tent, with that Warrant Officer giving him the nod to enter.

At the mess lineup Ben over heard two Canadian officers talking about what was going on.

"This is not good," one said.

"No, we will get more info tonight at the meeting, you have to be there," said the other.

Ben noticed that the two looked grim, very grim indeed. What's up?" he said to them.

"Nothing," the first one said.

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"What, are you my wife?" Ben replied. Any time something is wrong that's what she would always say. 'nothing'. Games people play, what crap. Why can't you just be honest and tell me what the hell is going on. My son just died today and I want to know if it was worth it.

The officer was none too pleased to be compared to someone's wife, but in Ben's stern stare it was quite evident that he was angry.

"I can't get into specifics, that will be at tonight's meeting, but it's rumours," the other officer said.

"What rumours?" Ben asked.

"Come to the meeting and find out," the second replied.

"He can't come. It officers only," the first one said. s

"You know who this is?" the second asked the first.

"No.

"This is Ben Robson, he's the one that held off the Commies during the winter at Slave Lake. He the one that blew the bridge south of here," the second officer said. s

"Oh, that was you?" the first one asked pointing at Ben. We've all heard about it, nice to see you're still alive!" shaking Ben's hand. I'm John Crispe and this is Ken Reynolds".

"How do you know me?"

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342 "I know Gerald Owen quite well. Saw him in Edmonton just before we came here. He told me all about it and pointed you out to me," Ken said.

"I was there?"

"Yep, watching some movie in the old shopping mall. You had a son didn't you, where is he?"

Ben did not answer. The officer then remembered what Ben had just said.

"Oh, shit, sorry man, when did it happen?"

"Today during the assault.

"That's what this meeting is about. Come, it's at twenty-one hundred hours, in thirty minutes, so eat fast.

The food spread was like nothing Ben had seen in a long time. Roasted chicken, spare ribs, steaks, mashed potatoes, salads, even pies, ice cream and cakes.

Looks like the Last Supper Ken said stuffing his pockets with cookies and apples. ,

Yep, that what this is, John said, filling his pockets with chicken legs and hard-boiled s eggs.

What do you mean? Ben asked.

The military doesn feed you like this unless they think most of us, if not all of us, are t about to enter a battle we cannot win, John replied.

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343 Ben did not bother to fill his pockets except for two tins of Coke Cola, an addiction he could not refuse.

Rick and Smitty saw Ben and gestured him to come and sit with them. The tent was crowded and luckily they kept some spots available. So the two officers joined them at the table. They talked quite a bit while they were eating the great feast. But Ben could not get any more from the two about what was going on. As the meal wore on and the conversation turned to their adventures, Ben started to remember Ron. He played more with his food than ate it as tears started to form in his eyes.

Smitty saw Ben melancholy, stopped talking, looked straight into Ben eyes and said s s with a smileAre you OK there, boss?

Yeah, I guess. I just not hungry. m

Well, then don waste the food! Smitty said stabbing a large chunk of potato off Ben t s plate and eating the whole thing at once. They all laughed at Smitty full cheeks. s

After dinner the two officers took Ben over into a large tent that had recently been erected beside the contractor trailer. They sat down on folding chairs. The tent was full, must have been two hundred, all officers. Supported at the front was a map of the Tar Sands mine area.

There was much talking. Ben overheard some officers talking about the air support, that finally it had arrived. Another said that this area was a top priority and air resources were pulled from all over to strike here.

Others Ben overheard talked about Chinese strength, that some ten million troops were in North America up and down the whole coast. Others talked about how the Chinese had over stretched their own supply lines and would soon fail. Another scoffed at the remark and said that was wishful thinking. One officer noted that some POWs caught were thin,

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344 verging on starvation, had no ammo and were all carrying the same photo. The Chinese, one fellow said, had been ordered to attack hand to hand and not supplied with a single round. They were expected to use our own weapons against us, he said.

Another officer noted that the Chinese had calculated their own losses and were supplying only what they needed to make a successful mission. There were others who heard rumors that the war had escalated into a nuclear exchange, that the U.S. had been hit and they hit the Chinese back. But no one was sure of anything.

Still another noted how one POW said he had eaten his own dead soldiers to stay alive. Ben knew that was no rumour.

John came over with none other than Gerald Owen. Look who I found! John said.

Hi Ben, good to see you again.

John whispered something in Gerald ear. He then looked at Ben and said,Gee, Ben, s I so sorry about your son. He was a good man. m

Thank you, Ben said.

A U.S. Marine Major sat down beside Ben with a tray of food.

Fuck starvin he said in a southern drawl. n ,

Ben smiled at him.

The Major pulled out a bottle of hot sauce and put some drops on his mashed potatoes. He took a bite and rolled his eyes, opened his mouth wide breathing in and out. Then taking a drink of water. Man, that great stuff! Wow! he said taking another mouthful s of potatoes.

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Hot stuff? Ken asked.

Oh, yes, the Major said,Put too much and it will rip you a new asshole on the way out. Good persuader too.

Persuader? John said laughing.

Oh, yes. We caught some spies taking pictures. It took two bottles of this stuff, but one of them talked.

Spies? Ben asked.

Yeah, fuck spies, he said shaking his head. They were dressed up like media. Press, n guys with cameras, video equipment. You know. You seen them all around here, ve right?

They nodded.

Well, one of them got killed on the front lines today. And when they got his corps to the morgue five of his friends showed up demanding his equipment. It got violent and we had to arrest them.

Now, you have to wonder, right? Why were these press guys so worried about the dead guy equipment, right? s

Well, I tell ya, I had to go and take a look why. So me and the guys looked through all his equipment. And I found a cell phone on him. You all know there is no cell service here. These guys all are using satellite phones, so why the cell phone, you know? Why a fucking cell phone. So I turned it on and there were pictures he taken with it. Pictures d of maps and equipment we have. Pictures of senior officers.

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Now why would he have that on a cell phone, ya gotta wonder. We only allow specific things to be photographed around here. So it got me think that him and his buddies are n up to no good. So I went to where we had them in custody, and asked them some questions. I got some of my guys to strip them down and search everything. Oh, they looked fuck worried. They were definitely up to something no good. n

That when we found a tape recorder of some of our officers talking strategy. And the s satellite phone. What they were supposedly talking to their head offices with? Well, I had it call the last number, and guess who answered at the other end?

A fucking Commie officer! They were fuck spies! So we needed them to talk. What n had they passed on, what the Chinks knew. But they wouldn say anything until I used t my old friend here, he said holding up the bottle.

What the fuck did you do to them with that? John asked.

The Major leaned across the table and pointed the bottle at John. You put this on a man balls and he screams like no scream you ever heard before. But that did not s ve make him, or his buddies, talk. Oh, no. They thought they could hold out. Yeah, right! Not a chance against this stuff. Bet your life on that. He then laughed. One sucker did. Poured a lot into his mouth and he choked to death right on the spot. Took a long time too. And not before he screamed and squirmed first! Ear piercing screams.

He wasn going to talk anyway. Wanted to scare the others. Almost worked. I could t see the one who would eventually talk. You know the face when you see it. So just to hammer the point home, I put some drops in the eyes of another. He won ever see t again. You should have seen his eyes swell up, and scream. Now that was a loud one. Just like a baby crying for his Momma.

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347 Then the other guy, the one I spotted, he started to spill his guts. The other two tried to make him shut up, so my men hustled them out of the tent so I could be one on one with the fucker.

All I had to do was show him the end of the open bottle, and he told me everything I wanted to know.

And you know who I hate more? Everyone shook their heads. It fuckers who will s do anything for money and their own hides. These guys were paid to spy on us. Such traitors don deserve to live. I was going to shoot the fucker I was so mad, but the t counter intelligence guys showed up and took them and all their equipment away. Assholes. Took my fun away.

They didn get time to digest what the Major had just told them as a Warrant Officer t came in at the front.

"ATTENNNNSSSSION!!" he yelled interrupting everyone else conversations. s

All went quiet and they all stood at attention. Several senior officers came in at the front. Two were U.S. Army Generals, General Bradley was one of them, and one was a British Army Colonel.

"As you were. Be seated Gentlemen," said one of the officers, who was in a U.S. Army uniform and had three stars on his shoulder and hat. He was a striking AfricanAmerican. Tall, well built man. He towered over everyone. His uniform was impeccably perfect. But his face told a different tone, it looked worn and tired. Something was not good.

He held on to the top of the podium and leaned towards the crowd as if to give a stern lecture. He had no script.

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348 "My name is Lieutenant General C.G. Grover of the United States Army and I have something very important to tell all of you.

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Chapter 15: Counter Strike

Gentlemen, I sure you will all agree that things are not going well for us, General m Grover started. The Chinese have far more troops on the ground than we do. Estimates are that some one million troops are already past the mountains and more are unloading along the coast.

We have also found out that the enemy is currently in the process of shipping millions of families to permanently occupy the entire west coast cities, small interior towns and farms. They are here to stay, folks.

That means we have virtually no chance of evicting them, let alone stopping their advance. We anticipated this and have come up with a contingency plan.

He pointed to the map.

This is a map of the tar sands site complex. As you can see it quite large. The Chinese s have moved up to the northern flank from the west, and are now starting to move east across the top. Here, along the bottom they are moving east also, already cutting the road and rail line, and will soon move north to join those at the top.

They have bypassed Edmonton altogether, with the sole goal of taking the tar sands. Giving the podium a pound with his fist, this we will not let them do.

We have planted twenty-seven ten-megaton nuclear bombs all around the perimeter of the tar sands. They were buried at strategic locations around the complex last month. We will set them off, making the entire tar sands area unusable to the Chinese. Thus giving them no reason to be here.

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350 We see this as our last chance. We all understand what would happen to North Americans if they achieve their goal. And if we are to lose this resource there is no point in letting them have it.

This decision was not reached lightly and all parties involved see it as the only option left to us. We may be pushed back into the seventeenth century, but at least we will still have some sort of civilization that can be rebuilt.

We also know that this would be a devastating blow to the Chinese. Things are not going well in the Caspian Sea. The Indians are giving the Chinese quite a wallop. Seems the Muslims too have joined in. We are no longer a target of Muslim terrorism any more. The Chinese are their target now. The Saudis and Iranians have even resumed some oil shipments to us. Guess they realized who their real enemy was.

The issue before us is when do we set off the nukes? Oh and also, we plan to drop three twenty-megaton bombs, one in each pass through the Rockies. This will cut off the Chinese troops, preventing any more from advancing. That action will take place only after the nukes have been set off here. We wait for any miracles -- we pray to Almighty God for any miracle -- we will take anything that will help us stop the Chinese, but we are not holding our breath.

Colonel Hawker of the Canadian Armed Forces will continue to be in charge here, or shall I say General Hawker. Congratulations on your promotion sir. Hawker nodded in thanks. It will be his decision when to have the nukes set off. I will now pass the floor to him to explain how this will happen. I bid you all God Speed.

Hawker got up from his chair at the front to take the General place. They shook hands. s Grover handed Hawker a set of stars for his uniform, then left Hawker alone at the front. Just as the Generals were leaving, someone jumped up and said.

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351 General, General Grover, sir! What is going on? We heard rumors of a nuclear ve exchange. What can you tell us?

The General stopped and looked at the back of the crowd. He paused for a second and one of the other officers whispered something into his ear. He shook his head and could be over heard saying,They deserve to be told. General Bradley pointed his finger at Grover as if giving him a stern warning, but no one could hear his whisper. Grover shook his head as he returned to the podium. He took off his hat, setting it down in front of him. His slightly balding gray hair showed his true age, or was it an apparent age hastened by tragic events and decisions of life and death.

As he played with his cap he said,you all know about Calgary, and for those who don t know Phoenix was also hit. It was our command post for the west coast. He paused for a bit. You all know we are very short of fuel. The Chinese dropped low yield nukes on our major oil refineries. Texas, Oklahoma, Toronto. They have left our cities alone. A very strategic attack against the one commodity we need the most to fight back -- fuel. Without those refineries we will be hard pressed to rebuild society. Luckily we intercepted some of the missiles aimed at the refineries at Sarnia and Newfoundland. The refinery in Edmonton is also still up and running. We suspect the Chinese want to take that one in tact. So some fuel is getting out, but it just a small trickle of what we need. s

They also targeted our military infrastructure. The worst was when they nuked our Pacific Fleet. Two nukes hit Honolulu wiping out the entire fleet there. Then they hit a battle group at sea. One that was going to intercept their troop convoy. We have only three carriers left. Two are in the Arabian Sea and one is in Norfork undergoing repairs from when the nuke hit near Galveston.

That s that what has hit us so far. Some have landed in Russia and Europe, but I s don know for sure where. Someone told me London was destroyed, but we have not t confirmed that.

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352 There have been nuclear exchanges between the Indians and the Chinese. We think the Indians started it by hitting Peking with at least one.

We have retaliated. We dropped one in the Pacific to take out a fleet of ships heading this way

Ben thoughts drifted to the destruction of the world wildlife with all these bombs s s going off. It made him sick.

We dropped a few on China itself. But there are now no doubts about the enemy ve s resolve to not stop. They seem to have anticipated this and moved people out of their cities. At least that the intelligence reports I seen. But we all know about military s ve intelligence, don we. t

There have been no nukes dropped on us or by us in almost a week now. We kinda re letting the Indians and Chinese duke it out. That all I can tell you. s

General! someone yelled standing at the back,how did the Chinese manage to pull this off? How did they get past our satellite system? How was it that we did not know they were coming and stop them?

Ben could not see the individual way at the back of the tent, but assumed he was British by the accent. Yeah, what the hell happened to the satellites? he thought to himself turning back to see what the general would say. Many others were now talking with each other about this question. Someone yelled over the din,Did they nuke our satellites?

Ok, Ok, Ok, tone it down people! Grover said looking long and hard at the individual then turned to look at one of the other generals in his entourage. That general gave a shallow nod to Grover. He put his hat back on and made sure it was fitting properly then said: This is not easy to admit. Seems we were caught with our pants down. He took a deep breath thinking how to explain what happened.

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There was some high tech weaponry against our satellites, he said. We think they launched baseball sized anti-satellites, from high flying aircraft most likely, that honed in on specific satellites, which exploded on contact killing them. But that is only part of the story, he said.

Then after a bit of a pause and a look of embarrassment that came quickly over his face he continued. What happened... What went wrong Grover stumbled looking for the right words. Look this was totally unexpected, I want you to understand that. Totally unexpected. He paused again as if looking for the right way to explain things. During the economic crash the situation was very bad, especially for us in the U.S. We almost had a civil war break out. Hell, we did have civil war break out -- hundreds of them all over the country. The cities became war zones. Many military people, including highranking officers, took weapons and went home to defend their families. We even had an aircraft carrier and several submarines return home against orders or the crew would have mutinied. He paused looking down at the floor.

I too was guilty of doing this. He raised his head back and looked straight into the eyes of the crowd. I went home to protect my grandchildren. God helped me as I did save them from sure death. But the cost was much greater, I afraid. With so many m desertions there was not enough people around to man the equipment. Our satellites did detect the Chinese. Rest assured that we did see it. But with almost no one left to do anything about it And it took so long to recall everyone And many key people were killed in the rioting. There simply was not enough time. God forgive us that we protected our families at the cost of so many other lives.

Unable to continue, as tears glistened in his eyes, he left the podium and walked out of the tent, which was now so quiet that the proverbial pin drop could have been heard.

Several others in the audience got up and followed the General out.

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354 Hawker started walking up to the podium in an attempt to refocus the crowd. The trigger for this doomsday device is in my trailer next to us. We don actually set off the nuke t when we press the button, instead it sends a signal to NORAD and they set them off.

When they get this signal it means there is no hope left. We must remain in radio contact at all times with all sectors. If you lose radio contact, or have to evacuate, head here as fast as you can and we make the decision. I be in the trailer twenty-four seven. ll Remember they must be over-running the complex before we push the button.

There is no point in rehashing anything else, we need to move fast and make the last stand. The old radios, which you know were not working well if at all, have been abandoned. And you will never guess where they were made. China! Just like everything else we consumed, the Chinese could make them cheaper. So, you will all be given new satellite radios. These are made in Germany, but we are unsure they will always work. Seems the Chinese have figured out a way to jamb them.

Changing subject to something brighter, I have a number of promotions to announce. Will the following people please come forward.

The general rhymed off five names, one of which Ben recognize: Lilly LaPort. Then last name he heard was his own.

Ben that you! Get up there! Gerald said, pushing Ben out of his chair. s

As Ben walked up to the front to join the line Lilly smiled and gestured to stand beside her.

Hawker got small boxes off the podium, one for each of the five called and said to the audience. These people, who are all non-military volunteers, have shown outstanding bravery and leadership in the field of battle. We want to recognize their efforts by giving

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355 them the proper military rank of Captain. They are from this point on to be respected and treated like military officers, they have earned it.

With the crowd clapping, Hawker turned to each one, read out their name and explained the situation that gave them the honor for receiving the bars. For Lilly it was her efforts at recruiting female soldiers and their fight holding off the Chinese south of Edmonton throughout the winter. Seems, against overwhelming odds, Lilly women held off a s major advance until reinforcements arrived. Then it was Ben turn, who was nominated s for his efforts at Slave Lake through the winter and the recent bridge attack.

I know this really is just a set of bars, and with what is coming may not be much in the long run, but still I salute you all for your fine efforts. You have made a significant difference in our fight to save our country, Hawker said saluting.

You have your new assignments in the morning. Good luck to us all. Dismissed. ll

Ben pulled himself away from the well-wishers to look at the map. On it were arrows showing where they knew the advancing Chinese were, and their approximate numbers. It did not look good. Up the left flank a large arrow circled around to the north, and at the bottom they were clearly past the highway cutting them off from Edmonton. It looked like a large mouth of some beast with them the tasty morsel of food.

Colonel Hawker, can I ask a question about this, sir, Ben said.

Sure, and it General now, Hawker said coming to the map and tapping on the stars he s just put on. Lilly was curious and also came over to see what Ben was up to. John, Gerald and Ken, who had arrived at the podium to congratulate Ben, stopped to listen.

Oh, right. Congrats yourself . But aren those US stars? You don get Canadian t t general pips?

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356 Ah, it all a bunch of crap anyway, isn it, eh. What on your mind? s t s

We are clearly cut off aren we? Ben asked t

Yes. Our only link now is air support. Daily flights will start in the morning dropping food and supplies at the airport. But on the run, they won land, Hawker said. t

But that won last as they get closer will it? t

Probably not, what your point Robson? s

Sir, what the best defense? s

I not following. m

Cutting the general off, Gerald said,An offensive strike.

Exactly! Ben said. Sir if you will indulge me a second. We can buy ourselves some time by attacking them at this prong of their advance, Ben said pointing to the bottom arrow. Remember in the movie We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson how he attacked the North Vietnamese?

That was just a movie, Hawker said,Hollywood.

No sir, that was a true story, it happened.

What happened, I never saw it, Lilly asked.

It a story about U.S. cavalry Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore. They landed some three s hundred troops in hostile territory and defended a small area against some four thousand hardened Viet Cong soldiers. On the third day Moore decided he was not going to just sit

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357 there and get slaughtered. Understanding that even with four thousand troops having to ring his position would thin them out. So he launched a head on attack onto the enemy command post. It worked. They plowed through the enemy lines like a hot knife through butter. The Viet Cong suffered heavy losses in that battle and Moore won it because of his strike and for a simple reason. The Viet Cong did not anticipate that the U.S. troops could attack.

Sir, we are in the same situation. The Chinese think it just a matter of time before they s over run us, and they are right. But they won expect us to attack. If we attack here, say t mid way cutting this arm in two, and a second attack at the tip here, and a third attack between the two we could exterminate this arm. That would open both the road and rail line. Do the same on this north arm and it could buy us weeks of time before they recover.

Hawker looked intrigued, holding his chin with his hand scrunching his face, he thought about it. Damn makes sense to me, but I can authorize such a maneuver, it would have t to be approved from HQ, and I be surprised if they approve it. d

We can wait General. It would have to be soon before they advance too far, Ben t replied. I leave it up to you to convince them. ll

How many soldiers do you want for these raids? Hawker asked.

Looking at Gerald Ben said,What do you think Jerry, five hundred for each attack force?

Gerald nodded his head in agreement. At least that, he said.

Shit, not a chance that will happen, Hawker said, but I ask anyway. ll

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358 Just before the Hawker walked away, he said to Ben. I see why you were nominated for those bars, well deserved. I get back to you with an answer by morning. You know ll where I be, in the trailer. Good night to you guys. ll

Goodnight sir, they said.

And so Armageddon arrives, Ben said to the other officers he was with. Stepping out of the tent he looked up at the night sky. It was clouding over as the stars slowly were hidden. Strange Ben said aloud.

What is it? John said.

I don see any horse drawn chariot coming in from the sky, so I guess that miracle is t not going to happen.

What he talking about John? Ken asked. s

Read the last chapter of the Bible, Lilly said quietly And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.Or something like that.

Ken looked at her strangely.

I Catholic. My mother made me memorize much of the Bible. [Frustration, m apprehension, unwilling, unwanted] I still remember bits and pieces, as she winked to Ken.

And that why I don subscribe to it, Ben replied looking at her. s t

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359 As the five of them walked amongst the tents they heard music and singing. Behind the mess tent a fire was roaring and there was a large crowd. Several people were playing fiddles while others were dancing and singing. They walked over to have a look.

It was a fresh regiment of Newfoundland soldiers that had arrived, some twenty five hundred of them. They called themselves the Newfy Screechers. And indeed, many of them had brought the famous drink and were sharing it with anyone who wanted to try it.

Ben stood there enjoying the show, even laughing a bit at the antics. Interesting, he thought, how the human mind deals with fear. His thought was interrupted when Lilly grabbed his hand and said[Come dance with me] Come dance with me!

No, no, I sorry I not a good dancer. m m

Awe, come on, try it! she said.

Can I have the honors Miss LaPort? Ken asked holding out his hand and bowing. And off they went to have a good time. Ben just watched.

Gerald standing beside Ben asked,you know they won approve of your plan. I think t it brilliant and would work. s

Yes, I know they won approve it, but we are going to do it anyway, Ben said turning t to Gerald. Instead of asking permission and get turned down, act on what you know must be done and beg for forgiveness afterwards. I built my career on that philosophy and it has never failed me in 25 years. You with me?

By yourself? Are you nuts? You need the men, you need the other attack forces. One won do it. t

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360 Yes, again I ask are you with me? You attack at the tip of their prong; I go into the ll bottom. We just need one to help with the middle, and I know just who to ask.

Who?

Ben turned to stare at the dancing pair.

Ken or Lilly? Gerald asked.

Both of them. Between them they have more than a thousand troops under their command right, Ben said.

I guess so, I have six hundred and twenty, but you don have any. t

Oh, but I will, he said turning back to Gerald. They would not have put bars on my shoulders if they weren going to give me a command of troops, right. t

Shit, so you plan to disobey orders. You loose those bars faster than you got them. ll

With a subtle laugh Ben said,and in the end when the nukes go off it will really matter what happens to me?

Well, I think you need to sleep on it. Let pack it in for the night, Gerald said. s

Next morning Ben went to the trailer after breakfast. Hawker informed him that his plan was turned down, not unexpected. The reason sighted was that it would take away too many troops from the defensive positions. On the positive side, Ben was given command of four hundred soldiers on the south flank and was shown his position to hold. It was south of Fort McMurry just west of Highway 63. He was ordered to get there as soon as possible and get ready as a large attack was to be expected to take the town.

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361 Frustrated, Ben returned to the mess tent to join his friends. Each one had been given written orders. Gerald was to defend the east side of the south flank; John and Ken were each given positions to Ben left position. Lilly was given a position behind Ken as s auxiliary support, something she was not happy with.

They shook hands and headed off to their respective positions.

Ben arrived at his new camp by midday. Rick and Smitty, who asked to be with him, where in the command tent waiting for Ben. They both were now Lieutenants and Ben gave them positions to over see.

Ben gathered his whole platoon around for a small talk. He explained the nukes. Everyone seemed to expect such as the rumours about it were circulating. Those that did not hear the rumours at least understood. Quietly they headed back to their foxholes.

By the time Ben got to a foxhole the sun was starting to set with brilliant streams of light streaking through the clouds. It had rained the whole day. Turning to look at it, he wondered if it could be possible that they would beSaved. He shook his head and said to himself, shit Robson, get a grip.

That night Ben could not sleep much, it was too quiet. That was uncomforting. It meant that Chinese were preparing their major assault. He got out of his hole and went back to the small command tent where the radio was set up. A female corporal was manning the radio.

Good evening sir, she said. We are in contact with HQ.

Good, what your name corporal? s

Sally Schaffer sir.

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362 Well, miss Schaffer can you tell me if there is any action anywhere?

No sir, it been quiet all day. s

Ben thought for a second. Can you contact other units individually?

Sure, just tell me the unit and I can patch into them.

Don remember the units these guys are in, do you have a map of who is where. t

Oh, yes sir, right here.

They looked over the map. There were many units marked on it, and all Ben knew was approximately where they were.

I need a big favour from you Sally. I have friends in other units that are somewhere to our left. If I give you their names can you find them for me? But I don want HQ to t know I looking for them. Can you do that? m

I do what I can sir. ll

Ben told her their names and approximately where they were assigned. Sir, you can sleep in my bunk if you want, I wake you when I find them. ll

You just keep me awake calling. ll

No sir, I can use the keyboard. I be as quiet as this mouse, she said holding up the ll computer mouse.

Sally dimmed the lights, and Ben fell right to sleep.

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363 In the morning, it was raining again, just a light drizzle. Sally had found and contacted everyone. Ken, John, Lilly and Gerald.

Ben sent them a text message:

Guys, this quiet is not good. It means the Chinese are advancing around instead of attacking. This is an opportunity we should exploit. We need to attack their positions and open up the railway line and highway. Get your troops on side and text me back when you confirm.

One by one they replied. Only Ken was hesitant. Being a career military officer he was prone to wanting to follow orders. His friend John, also a career officer, was a bit more adventurous and was willing to take chances. Gerald, knowing Ben better than the others, was behind him whole heartily. Lilly was all set to go.

Ben texted them back:

If we do this it must be done at night. My suggestion is tonight after midnight. Weather is supposed to be raining, better for us. Return text when ready to comply.

Several text messages where exchanged organizing their attack. Ben would run through the middle of the arm, Gerald, the furthest east of the arm, would attack the Chinese front prong. Lilly and John would attack the middle after the other two had sliced through Chinese lines. Ken agreed to be backup if needed.

In total they had nearly three thousand troops between them. They agreed the attack would start at midnight.

Ben got his men into position, just short of the Chinese line. The Chinese had no defensive position at all, no foxholes. They could be heard moving in the bushes in front

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364 of Ben troops talking as they marched east. Ben checked his watch. Right at midnight s they attacked the Chinese position head on.

They ran full tilt into the Chinese line, shooting anything that moved. Often bayoneting their prey as they made headway into the lines. Chinese soldiers fled away from them in fear. As the rain fell, lightning struck with brilliant flashes of light and loud thunder that sounded like shelling. That helped immensely as it put more fear into the Chinese.

Resistance was almost non-existent as they continued their charge. It took about an hour when they finally were free through to the other side, about 2 kilometers from the start of the attack. They had sliced clean through.

Ben ordered that they hold the west side of their front to keep the Chinese back and separated. The others radioed in that they had also succeeded. Gerald hit them hard at the fingers of the Chinese advance and had them on the run. Lilly and John were sweeping up between them. Even Ken group participated once he saw the success. s

The Chinese were scattering into the forests south, cut off from their command and even from each other. The assault was a tremendous success. By the morning Ben and John s group had joined up. Lilly and Gerald by mid morning. Ken group mopped up where s they could.

Amazingly their own casualties were very light, few wounded, and fewer killed.

Most importantly the road was opened, and so was the railway line.

It wasn long before a radio message came through from HQ. t

Sir, Sally said to Ben,General Hawker is on the phone for you, he sounds real pissed.

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365 Ben grabbed the mike,General, I have great news, we opened up the road and pushed ve the Chinese back west.

Robson you were ordered not to attack, you disobeyed orders! You think that just because you got bars that you can command at your will? The Grover is hopping mad with me. Get back here at once, you are all relieved of command!

Hawker, sir, you can tell the general to go fly a kite. I staying put. You want me out m of here, you going to have to come and relieve me in person. Out. re

He handed the mic back to Sally.

Next day Gerald and Lilly troops reached Ben position to fortify the line. The s s Chinese did not counter strike. The first train in two weeks came up the tracks with more troops and supplies. Even trucks started to come up the highway from Edmonton.

With the rain pouring down, the five officers got together in the middle of Highway 60 and gave themselves a high five. Ben opened up his two cans of Coka Cola and they drank them as if it was the finest, most expensive Champaign in the world. The last time Ben felt this good was years ago when he and his programming team finally figured out a major problem. That day his whole office staff threw a great party.

By the third day after the attack, General Hawker had ordered more troops to fortify the line further south. He showed up himself to see things first hand. The rain finally stopped and the sun was now starting to shine.

Ben said to Hawker,You got your miracle. One that we forced to happen not sitting on our knees praying.

You got lucky Robson. Seems you have put the Chinese into disarray. They have retreated back about ten miles west of here. Looks like they did underestimate us. As far

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366 as I concerned you did a bang up job. But Grover is real pissed, but he will get over it. m I ordered an attack against their north arm. It finishing now. So far the same results. ve s

Once the Chinese are huddled in a concentrated zone regrouping the General has decided it worth hitting them with an air strike. That should start any time. s

As soon as we get enough supplies and reinforcements we will be pulling back to the original line, this is far too long to defend when they decide to strike back.

It wasn more than an hour later that they could see the contrails in the sky high above. t Then the booming in the far west. It lasted for nearly two hours. They all had a sense that they might actually beat the Chinese after all.

Four days later they were ordered to pack up and head back to the perimeter defensive position. They had succeeded in getting significant supplies and equipment, even some Abrams and Leopard II tanks shipped by rail had finally showed up.

Just as Ben and his troops were packing up, someone shouted,Look up at that! Pointing to the western sky. He said he saw a bright flash. Within seconds streams of tiny meteorites fell through the sky, in broad daylight. Then another bright flash followed again a few seconds later with another stream of meteorites.

What is it someone was trying to say when south of them a brilliant white flash filled the sky.

Nukes! Get Down! someone yelled.

Over the horizon that ominous mushroom cloud started to grow. It took a few minutes before the blast wave hit them and then the thunder. Trees were pushed right over, sand and dust filled the air. Flying pebbles felt like buckshot against the skin.

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367 They hit Edmonton, Ben said. Pack up now, we are getting out of here.

It took them most of the rest of the day to get back to their defensive line. Ben headed straight for the command post back at the Syncrude plant.

It was past midnight by the time he got there, and it was crowded with people. A meeting was being held in the mess tent. There, Hawker was finishing up what he knew. Ben was briefed by an officer beside him. One nuke hit the south side of Edmonton. Two others were stopped with the missile defense system. The prevailing winds were eastward from the city and there was no danger of radiation in this area. Worse was they were cut off from high command. Though the command post was in a small town north of Regina, the radio relay towers were in Edmonton, and the satellite system was periodic at best.

After Hawker said his piece Ben headed out of the tent to go back to the lines when he ran into John and Ken. You prick! This is your fault! Ken screamed at him. I knew we should not have attacked them. It because of you they nuked Edmonton! Then he s lunged at Ben grabbing him by the throat as they both fell to the ground. Ken started punching Ben in the face. John and some other officers tried to pull Ken away as he was trying to kick Ben. It all your fault!! You fucker!! I should kill you! He tried to get s his pistol out of its holster but someone pulled it out his hand. They dragged Ken away screaming at Ben.

Lilly arrived to see what the commotion was about. She was shocked to see Ben lying on the ground and bleeding profusely from his nose and left eye. She went over and knelt down to Ben. He right Lilly, Ben said, wiping the blood from his face. If we had not s counter attacked they probably would not have dropped a nuke. Ben lay back on the ground staring into the sky with his nose and left brow bleeding. Lilly tried to clean him up.

The Law on Unintentional Consequences reigns supreme.

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What? Lilly said.

There will always be consequences that one cannot foresee. Consequences that are worse than what you did to initiate the consequence.

You could not have known, Ben.

That not the point, Lilly. No, that is the point. It the fact that one single decision by s s one person can cause unexpected consequences, such as the deaths of millions of people and change the course of history. It been the same with all wars throughout time, and s we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. It times like this that I wish s the human race would just vaporize. The planet would be better off without us.

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369

Chapter 16: Blinding White Flash

Lilly helped Ben get up. [Amazement at blood pouting out] You gonna need a stitch re or two above that eye, let get you to the medic tent. s

As they were just about to go into the tent, Hawker came up. Just a minute, he said pointing at Ben. I want to see you right now!

[astonishment, angry retort] He hurt, Lilly said back. s

I don give a flying fuck. Come with me now! t

Two sergeants were ordered by Hawker to arrest Ben and take him by force if need be. Lilly went along.

In the trailer Ben was pushed down into a chair. Sit there and wait, Hawker said as the sergeants stood guard over him. Hawker then spoke into the radio. I have him here sir. There was a pause as Hawker listened to the headset. Send him home? Is that what I heard sir? He paused again. Sir the radio is breaking up, I can hear you. Then t Hawker shut the radio off. Asshole, he said turning to Ben.

They want to court marshal you and send you home. Lot of good that will do. He paused thinking for a bit. Look Robson, what you did might have bought us a week or two of time. Certainly boosted moral here. We even got supplies in we desperately needed. But they want your head on a platter because they feel it was your action that set off the nuke. Personally, I think they were going to do that anyway. Edmonton was a stronghold that they could not breach without heavy losses. But the bosses don see it t that way.

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370 He sat in front of Ben. Blood was dripping down from Ben left eye. Hawker handed s him a tissue, but Lilly took it and cleaned his face.

So, Robson, what am I to do with you? Do you want to go home and get out of this hell hole, cause if you do now your chance, Hawker asked looking Ben right in the eyes. s

No, Ben replied right away.

Take your time and think about this. Don be hasty. t

I did, and I want to see this through to the end.

You know what they are planning if we get overrun?

I not stupid. I know what at stake. m s

I know you not stupid, far from it, Hawker then paused and sat back. But then re again maybe we are all a bit stupid to stay here.

No, I say patriotic and logical. We are here because someone has to be. d

Hawker nodded his head.

Ben, Hawker continued,This is what I going to do. Lilly he yours. You do with m s him what you want. But he holds no rank.

Ben took the bars off his uniform and handed them back to Hawker. It was symbolic anyway, really did not mean anything to me, Ben said.

I feel the same of these damn stars they put on my shoulder, Hawker said.

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371 Ben asked if he could go find his son and bury him. Hawker agreed. He told Lilly that she was to send her troops to the same area where Ron was killed.

Lilly took Ben to the medic tent to get that stitch. Doc says you gonna have quite the re [shiner, black eye, sore eye] shiner, she said as they left the tent.

Yeah and no raw steak to put on it, he said.

As a former nurse, I can tell you that that was just an old wives tale. [fairy tale, not true]

I know, I was kidding.

They chuckled.

By now it was getting late. They managed to get the last of the grub at the mess tent, not much, some potatoes, beans and a bit of salad, but surprisingly enough Ben got a can of Coke. Lilly took Ben to her company crowded tent, all women, where they found a s place to sleep for the night.

Early the next day, before sunrise, Lilly, Ben and her troops headed back to the lines after chow. It was a quiet day. Many people busily doing their jobs, but few said much. Edmonton was on their minds. Hatred was in their hearts. All efforts were to do one thing. Kill the enemy.

By the time Ben found his foxhole again the sun was well into the morning sky shining down against his back. It was warm with brilliant streams of light streaking through the fluffy clouds. Ben found three new recruits in his foxhole. Ron was gone. They informed Ben that they buried Ron last week on the other side of the berm. They had also cleared away some of the Chinese corpses that were now rather raunchy. The sun had been making it worse.

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Wolves could be seen and heard squabbling over a corpse in the killing zone, as if there were not enough for all to eat. Hawks and eagles joined in the feast. It seemed every turkey vulture in Alberta was circulating overhead. Many more were also gorging them selves on human flesh.

Ben also noticed other physical changes around the foxholes. Large logs were stacked a few feet high to make a very large grid work in front of them. He saw this on the other side of the berm as he had to make his way through the maze. Back there, they had made only narrow channels leading into the tunnels.

It was clear these were to slow down any further advance. It would turn out to be the lifesaver, if you can call it that.

Ben was basically all alone. Everyone he had known was either dead or gone. He missed his son, and most of all, his wife. Just the three young kids in a muddy hole in the ground was all he had for company. Jason, Nick and Alex were their names. Barely eighteen they looked. Unshaven, and grubby looking to boot. Ben gave them some food he brought with him. They ate as if they had not eaten in days. Jason said that it had been since yesterday when they last had any food.

Lilly came by the next day to see how Ben was doing. These three clowns are calling me Grandpa, he said to her.

Look you guys, you treat this man with respect. He been through more than you ever s will, even if you survive. Got it! [imbeciles, morons, unrespectful]

Yes ma am, they said together.

Lilly made sure they had lots of water, food and ammo. A little bit more rations than the rest of her company.

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373 Apr 20, 2017

Lilly dropped by with some fresh apples, water and some packages of C-Plus orange crystals. Now that something we haven seen in a long time! Jason said. s t

They worried about scurvy, Lilly replied with a bit of a chuckle in her voice. re

Wonderful, they don want us to get scurvy but what about my foot? Alex said. t

What wrong with your foot? Lilly asked. s

Just look! Alex took off his right shoe.

Oh, gross! Jason said, turning away. You stink dude!

[disgusting appearance] That necrophorum, Lilly said opening a pouch from her s pocket.

Necro what? Ben asked.

Foot rot. You must have gotten a cut on your foot, she said putting a blue power on the swollen area.

How about a hang nail? Alex said.

Wee, that will start the infection. This will help, Lilly said throwing the pouch away.

What was that? Ben asked.

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374 Copper sulphate. Now keep your feet dry and change your socks [regularly, often], all of you!

Yes, ma am, they all said in unison.

Lilly took Ben aside. I heard on the radio that there has been no movement towards ve us. No idea how many there are out there or where they are. Apparently satellite photos are sketchy and [ambiguous ], ambiguous, she said to him.

Let get away from this stench, Ben said. They left for the far side of the berm. s

They spent the day together talking. Lilly asked about Ben family back home, and his s previous life. Ben asked her about how she made it through the winter.

It was bad. [Awful, depressing, unfortunate], she said. I was on the geriatric ward at the hospital. We had a lot of very sick elderly people. First the heat went off. We scrambled to get electric heaters in the rooms. Mostly stacking people in one room. We could barely get into the rooms ourselves to tend to them. Then the heat came back on as they allocated gas to hospitals. But later the power went off.

I lived at the hospital. I did not go home at all for all of January to March. Besides in an apartment what was I going to do between shifts? Freeze in the darkness? So I stayed.

But later it got worse, much wrose. By the beginning of March we started to hear that nursing homes were euthenizing some of the really old and immobile patients. It was only rumours, but made us think.

They murdered old people? Ben asked.

I guess, if it was true. It turned out to be true at the hospital. The heat went off again at the beginning of March. Then the power went off. The generators only had enough fuel

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375 for a couple days. When that ran out we had no power at all, [nothing]. All those poor people on life support died almost immediately. But it was the ones who were close to death, that were not on life support that we were trying to save. But it got so cold. We lost just about all of them. Hence they closed down my ward. A tear formed in the outer corner of her eye, and ran down her left cheek. [anything appropriate she can say here?]

But you said some were murdered?

Yes, we pretty sure. I was reassigned briefly to the ICU. It was awful. Many died re from the cold. She paused for a second. Others died because we ran out of medications. But some started dying that we thought shouldn have. A suspicious tone t formed in her voice. They were very old or very sick. Some in comas. It was suspected that someone was injecting them with high dose of morphine or digoxin. [Mercy killings], mercy killings people said. Once spring arrived there was a big investigation started, but with so few resources and so many people dead all over it was dropped, she finished shaking her head in disgust.

I guess it could be argued that it was better over all for these people. Imagine if they had survived, trying to stay alive under the conditions we have now.

Murder is still murder. Ben realized there would be little point in playing Devil s advocate.

After a few Moments of silence, Lilly said,That when I left and joined up. s

Do you regret that decision?

Nope, look at the friends I made, Lilly said with a big smile. You know, we had ve one old gal at the hospital. She was with it the end. But had bad arthritis and could til not walk or even grab things. But funny old gal she was. She was a hundred and six.

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376 Think about that Ben. She lived through the greatest achievements of man. She saw the first airplanes. She lost a brother in the first war, a son in the second war. She saw the computer age and man landing on the moon. And she saw at the end of her life the end of all of that triumph of our society. She probably was one of the few people that saw the whole of modern society from beginning to its end. [Incredible]

Yep, in all of human history, some ten thousand years of some form of civilization, it s only been these last one hundred years that we took off, so to speak.

Yeah, literally we did. But now gone, all of it. Now that makes me very sad.

Did you know this was coming?

Not really. I was one of those in [denial], how is that said, denial? My husband and I thought global warming was the problem facing us. Andr was a financial advisor for the teacher pension fund. We both thought the market place and our technology would get s us out of the problem. Then this all started but we were sure that technology would still save us from [Imbeciles to be so gullible]

From what, end of oil?

I guess, yes. You know, they talked about hydrogen and ethanol. How were we to know it was all a myth? I studied economics at university, then went to nursing for my second degree. None of this about oil running out was there. I feel [betrayed ], betrayed to some extent. We should have been warned. Governments should have acted.

They couldn or wouldn for the same reasons as you. They were in denial. t t

You really think so? If it was so well known even ten years ago, how would politicians not know? [Untrustworthy imbeciles]

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377 Ben just shrugged. Maybe they did.

Oh, I sure of it and they deliberately kept us in the dark. They knew damn well there m was no way out of the mess and there was nothing they could do about it. They let it happen Ben because they did not know what to do.

And if they did know and did tell everyone that there was only a few years of oil left, what would that have done?

[I don know], I don know, made it better, or done something to prevent the collapse. t t Stockpile natural gas and oil. [ Something, anything].

Lilly, if that had made the news like the hype on global warming did all those years, don you think panic would have taken place sooner? There was nothing governments t or any one could have done to prevent oil from running out.

Global warming, yeah, I beginning to think that was a [smoke screen], a um, a m smoke screen to keep our attention away from the real peril, the end of oil. [Oh, that makes me mad thinking about it!]

Then don no point now. You know the saying, no point crying over spilled milk. t,

Except this is spilled blood.

Ben nodded. After wandering around for a bit Ben found Ron grave just a few meters s back from the tunnel. It had been marked with his Enfield stuck in the ground for a headstone. He sat there in silence for a long time. See, [spilled blood]. Spilled blood Ben, Lilly said all choked up.

After a while they returned to the foxhole. Thanks for burying my son, Ben said to them.

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We didn know who he was, sorry for your loss sir, Alex said. t

It was quiet, not even any birds chirping. You guys want some music? Lilly asked.

Music, you have music!! Jason asked excitedly.

Oui, Lisa, my radio operator, has one of those I-pods, it stuffed with music, hundreds s of them. [Let see] as she scrolled through the list on the tiny screen. Cool, movies s themes. I love movie themes. Titanic, Braveheart, Lord of the Rings, three of those, Apollo 13, quite a collection. Which?

You pick, Ben said.

What, no hard rap? Jason asked.

What the hell is hard rap? Ben asked.

Hey man you not up on the newest? Dude, you are outta touch. re

And I should be touch Ben said head down, looking sideways at Jason. in ?

Nope, sorry none of that [crap], Lilly said knowing full well she just scrolled past that folder. Let try Braveheart, seems fitting enough for us. s

They listened to the music for hours, often over and over. Eventually the batteries died.

Amazing, Ben said as dusk approached. We achieved so much as a species. We made it to the moon. We created the biggest information sharing system ever. We created such wonderful technology. We were on the verge of much more great things. It was as if we really could get to a Star Trekian society. And we blew it.

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It wasn our fault the oil ran out, Nick said. t

Sure it was. If not you directly, certainly your parents and theirs before them, Lilly replied. For decades we [gluttonned], um, gluttonned our selves on oil as if there was no tomorrow. Well tomorrow is today.

Yep, we did not learn, Ben said, we did not realize, or want to realize, that eventually oil would run out. When I was a kid it was that decades away, I be dead by Ah, s ll then. And so here we are. I amazed at what people believe. They believe what they m want to hear, regardless of the reality of the arguments. Back at the turn of this century people were warned of the peak oil to come, but no one listened. Even those who were bold enough to try and explain it were dismissed and ridiculed, some even lost their jobs, or ostracized, for talking about it at work. Deep denial.

Lilly nodded and pointed at herself.

So it all your fault, gramps. Your generation. None of us were born when you people s drove all the big fancy cars all over. But our generation has to pay the price, Jason said rather angrily.

Yep, you right. Problem is, for some reason of evolution, humans, or most humans, re don think far ahead. If they did they would not have smoked, or over ate and gotten fat. t They would have known that for future generations conservation was paramount, Ben said. But we didn Economic boom times, like the fifties or the nineteen sixties, made t. the future look bright. It would go on forever. Consumerism is what counted, the throw away society is what we created. Clear road to disaster, for anyone who had eyes to see it.

The problem was the whole conservation process was politicized. Green organizations sprouted up all around the world who would do nothing more than protest any time they

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380 felt the urge. Sometimes violence emerged. Idiots. That then tarred, pardon the pun, the rest of those who were genuinely concerned and wanted to change government policy diplomatically. But it was too late by the time any influence would have worked. Besides, politicians only looked to the next election. Sounds like I against democracy, m but I not. I rather have democracy with all its failings than have dictators who only m d want the power of control.

But it is that very democracy that killed the society we developed, Jason said. I was studying political science when all this started. Almost finished my degree too. I wanted to be a politician and change things for the better. Guess that won happen now. t

What do you mean democracy killed civilization? Alex asked.

Well, Jason continued,democracy and capitalism is the only true freedom for the masses. But to get that freedom you need jobs and food for the masses. You also need the masses to have the ability to create their own destiny, which for most is more wealth and having fun. Problem is a system like that there is no collective common direction for society. Some socialist governments try to do that, but they end up with all kinds of problems, especially when they try to tax the populous too much for their programs. There a lot of resistance to that, plus when taxes are too high it curbs economic growth. s

And it economic growth that fuels society, but you can do that unless you have s t plentiful cheap energy like in oil. See?

Think so, I never really thought about it, you know. I mean, it so way above my head, s dude, you know? All I cared about was that I had food on my plate and friends to party with.

Not any more dude, we your only friends now, Jason said. re

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381 And this aint no party neither. What a bummer eh? Nick said with a very disappointed tone.

They paused for a Moment. Then Lilly started up.

I once worked for a medical supply company before I was a nurse, and it was all sell, sell, sell. Did not matter if the client needed it or not. It was all about getting the money. And the lies. [unbelievable]. My boss would come with me to client meetings sometimes and just lie through his teeth, anything to get the contract. I couldn take the t sell pressure. The quotas you had to have in sales. And it was mostly public hospitals we sold to. We would get the most money we could out of them. No wonder health care was such as huge expense for governments.

It just [wrenched my stomach], upset me, to see my boss driving expensive cars. His wife wearing ten thousand dollar rings. Everything was about obtaining more wealth. It was all just a game to him. And it was all from tax dollars.

When he sold his house to move into a much more expensive one, he was all upset when he found out he could have gotten a few grand more for the old one. He stewed about that for weeks. Oh, and the money he lost when some big company he had shares in tanked. Wow. That one really hurt him. He lost a lot. Fired his broker and everything. Course that made him even more anxious to earn even more to catch up on the losses. That whole month he was on a rampage to sell hard. [suggestions to intermingle French here]

The man never understood what life was really about. I realized I wanted to help people, not swindle them. So I got out.

Might seem callous, but I hope he did not survive that winter. He was not the kind of person who could have survived. If he did, he would have lost everything anyway. Looks good on him. Guess I sound a bit bitter don I? t

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And now it too late, Alex said with a bit of anger in his voice now, not listening to s Lilly and trying to return the topic to who to blame. We pay the price. s

There is another problem we may be facing in the near future, Lilly said trying to get past the blame game.

You mean worse than this? Alex said. How can it get worse than this?

A pandemic, Lilly replied. We heard rumours at the hospital that some flu viruses, maybe one of the bird flu viruses, was about to sweep through the world. It would be almost impossible to stop it now because with little ability to make and disseminate vaccines. So the viruses will spread rapidly. It could kill several hundred million people, on top of those dying in wars like this one. What a mess we have created.

So running out of energy precipitates many other things making the situation much worse, Ben said shaking his head.

As you said, Ben, maybe the planet will be better off with us gone or almost gone, Lilly said.

Yep. Actually, it really very ironic. We are causing a mass extinction of life on this s planet, as bad as previous ones in the geological past. But those were caused by events that evolution did not create. They were from outside factors, like meteorite strikes. But this mass extinction is a product of evolution itself us. So evolution created humans which in turn causes a mass extinction of the rest of the biota, Ben said. But looking around he could see than no one seemed to understand what he was saying. Lilly looked to appreciate the irony.

He continued. Well, in the long run, millions of years from now, there won be any t intelligent species left to admire us, or laugh at us, or take pity on us. We will all be just

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383 fossils in stone long forgotten. Everything man has done, all his art and creations, all his efforts, will all be dust. With a deep sigh Ben said, That the real sad part for me. s

For more than a week nothing came from the other side. Ben and Lilly listened to her satellite radio for any messages. But there was nothing about any Chinese attack anywhere along the line. It was getting hot just sitting there in the sun. It didn even t rain for the whole week.

Ben made the three kids take turns at night watch as he slept in Ron sbedroom. One morning during a meager breakfast of bread and peanut butter and some C-Plus, they were in idle conversation, but as always the topic of when the attack was to come always came up.

They may be sitting this out waiting for us to all starve, Jason said at one point. Though so far food was being transported along the railway line, and airdropped, along with ammo. The north end of Edmonton was still somewhat in tact. The nuke was low yield and devastated mostly the southern end of the city. The railway yard and airport where Ben and Ron spent the winter was still in tact and usable.

I suspect they are just preparing their attack, Jason said.

This went on for another three weeks with nothing happening. The old soldier adage of weeks of boredom punctuated with brief Moments of terror filled Ben mind often. s

Lilly visited Ben often, keeping him abreast of what she knew. So far the railway line was still open, but they weren using the highway any more. It was too easy to be t ambushed. The railway line was further east and through dense bush. However, airdrops of food and ammo had stopped, not enough aviation fuel. They were keeping reserves for later. No more troops were arriving either.

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384 Though it quiet at the front, elsewhere it wasn Lilly informed them that she heard that t. a major push by the Chinese was underway moving east south of what was left of Calgary. They had almost reached the Saskatchewan border. South of Edmonton, they were also pushing east. Lilly figured it was just a matter of time before they would be cut off again if they got far enough east.

Yep, makes sense, Ben said. Starve us out. Keep us busy with other fronts. How much food do you think we have?

At best two to three days once the supply line is cut. Though they are sending as much as they can. Hawker has already ordered rationing. [we be more hungry now] ll

We can expect them to attack within the next few days then.

But it was not to be. After another long boring week Lilly came to tell them that the trains had now stopped coming. The advance east of the Chinese had cut off the last railway link. They were on their own.

Three days after the last train arrived, Lilly came to Ben foxhole. They have stopped s the eastward advance, she said.

That it. They will attack any day now. s

Oui, I fear you right. I got to go back to camp. They ordered all officers for a re ve meeting. Hope I get back before things start. If not, Ben , she gave him a big hug and kiss on the lips. [Be careful!]. You take care of yourself you hear me Robson. That an s order! She left.

What with you and her? Jason asked. s

Ben just looked at the three of them. You would not understand.

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You lovers? Alex asked. re

No, just very good friends. Something of very short supply and deeply needed around here. Let make sure we are set. Focus on the job at hand. s

June 26, 2017

The next day saw the change. In the distance they could hear booms, lots of them far off to the north. Nothing happened at Ben area that day, but they could hear non-stop s action in the distance to their right. That evening Lilly arrived back at the foxhole. She informed them that somehow the main force of Chinese had circled around the top and were advancing from there in force. So far they were keeping them off, but Hawker had ordered most of their forces to the north to hold them off.

That a diversion, Ben said. They will either have an arm come in from the west or s south to strike through to take over the command post. Moving troops is exactly what they want us to do to thin us out here.

Lilly agreed. She was ordered to leave only a small number of soldiers here. The rest were to go north. But she was not going to do that. Though it was the right decision it would turn out to be too few anyway in the end.

Lilly stayed too long. It was now dark. I never find my way back. Guess I spend ll ll the night with you boys. [I enjoy this] ll

Fine by us! Jason said with a wink towards Ben.

Ben lifted his middle finger to him. They all laughed.

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386 The night was moonless, clear and warm. No wind, the air was still. The occasional shooting star is all the activity they saw. In fact it was too quiet, except for that continuous distant echoes of thunder far to the north.

Ben and Lilly were lying in the bedroom but could not sleep. In the total darkness, Ben said to her. Lilly, do you hear anything out there at all?

No.

Hey guys, when was the last time anyone heard wolves fighting over a body? Ben asked leaning out into the foxhole.

Not since yesterday, Nick said.

Exactly. We at least heard that once in a while, but nothing tonight. Get me one of those flares.

Ben got up. Nick handed him a flare, which he shot off into the sky. The rocket streamed way up and over the killing zone then burst into a bright light. As it parachuted down Ben looked through his binoculars into the field. The light went out.

[Anything ]. Anything? Lilly asked now also up and out of bed. She knew something was up too. Ben intuition was too good to ignore. s

Maybe. Nick, fire another.

They didn have to. The foxhole to the right fired one off, so did several on their left. t The whole area was lit up almost like daylight. Through the binoculars Ben saw them.

Shit!! They right here! He started firing with the M60 just meters in front. re Shooting started to come back at them. The Chinese had spent the night crawling

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387 through the mass of decaying corpses and were right up to the log maze. That was all that stopped them from crawling further and right into the foxholes.

All along the line shooting started. It was between foxholes that was the Achillesheel though. Too few foxholes, too few soldiers, all too far apart. There the Chinese stood up and advanced slowly through the log mazes to the berm and towards foxholes in an attempt to circumvent. Luckily, it proved tough to get through the log mazes.

Everyone in Ben foxhole was shooting at anyone who popped their head up. But there s were just too many. Lilly spotted some coming up from the right. She fired off all her magazine, killing many, but they just kept coming.

Explosions were now getting very close. A flash bang went off right in front of them. It blinded them all. This gave the Chinese the advantage to make their way through the log maze.

Let get out of here!! Nick screamed. Alex had already run out the back. Jason stood s up and fired the M60 from his hip standing on the top of the foxhole. He was screaming as he fired. Many Chinese dropped in front of him. But the belt of ammo ran out. He stood there screaming but nothing came out of the gun. He was cut down with a hail of bullets, blood and flesh ejecting from his back.

Nick then ran out of the foxhole. Ben slung his M16 over his shoulder and grabbed Lilly pulling her through the tunnel too. Bullets followed them.

Once on the far side of the berm they could see shooting was occurring on either side of them. Even from the top of the berm. Chinese were firing down on retreating soldiers.

[Need to warn HQ]. We got to get to my tent and warn them, she said to Ben.

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388 They made their way through the log maze as fast as they could. Seemed forever before they made it to the tent. When they got there the tent was empty. [Where are they, damn!] Shit, they all left, Lilly said.

Where the radio? Ben asked. s

Damn! [That bitch!] That bitch! [It gone] She took it with her! [Idiot! I killer s ll her!]

We gotta get back to camp. Now! Ben yelled as shooting now started to get closer. Others were running past them in full retreat.

The Chinese were not far behind them all the way. Bullets often cracked the air past them. They were just coming into camp when a stray bullet hit Lilly in the leg. She went down hard face first into the dirt.

[I hit!] m

Come on! Ben yelled at her as he tried picked her up, but she screamed in pain.

[It burns!, put me down!] She said cringing in pain as he put her down. [I can go on.] t No. Go, you gotta get to the trailer!

I not leaving you behind! m

Ben grabbed someone who was running past them. The kid had no weapon and was crying. Ben punched him in the face and told him to get a grip and help him with Lilly.

The three of them hurried through the tent lines. Shooting was now on all sides of them. Lilly dropped to the ground by the shower tent. [Hurt too much!] I can go on, Ben. I s t

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389 think they got my femoral artery [bastards!], I bleeding bad. [This is not good] Ben m put her down. The kid ran off.

Hey, Ben, this is where we first met, remember?[some reflection comment]

How could I forget? It was an honour meeting you.

No, the honour was all mine, Ben. It been a wonderful experience knowing you Ben. s Your wife would be very proud of you if she were to know what you have done here. [some emotional comment]

Come on, let go, I can carry you, not far to the trailer. s

He tried to pick her up in a fireman carry, but she screamed in pain to put her down. s Blood gushed from her wound.

No, no. [Leave me], Leave me.

I can I won t. t!

Ben, it won matter. You know what they have to do. You must go and make sure it t happens. If they haven fired off the nukes by now, something has gone wrong. You t gotta go now.

But I want to stay with you.

Ben, please. I love you too, but you must do this. [I love you too]

He started to cry. Lilly picked up the rifle and gave it to him saying. Now go, please. Once you press the button, come back here. You have time. [I be waiting for you.] ll ll

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390 He handed the rifle back to her. You keep this. Hold them off until I get back. He hugged her and they kissed long. Ben ran off to the trailer.

It was clear the Chinese had made it into the compound. People were running all to the south. Sounds of explosions and gunfire were all around them now.

Ben ran as hard as he could, each step sent waves of pain through his legs and back. But his mind started to drift. He was automatically navigating the maze of tents, but he didn t take notice. Ben could hear no sound, just the flashing lights as explosions occurred near by. But the pain of each step made his mind drift away.

Ron, Bobby and Rachel were playing in the back yard, laughing and throwing sand at each other. Ben saw himself coming up to the front door from a hard day at work. He was just about to open the door when Anne came out from behind the house on his right. She was wearing his favorite low cut halter dress. The sun brightened the exposed upper part of her breasts. Her tanned legs gracefully carried her body towards him. She was all smiles. Ben raised his pistol at her face, which turned into surprise and horror. The gun went off.

Ben snapped back into reality. He had made it to the trailer, which was riddled with bullet holes all over it. In the dim light Ben saw a Chinese solder dead right in front of him, his bayoneted rifle lying between Ben feet. Ben had his Glock in hand, how it got s there he could not remember. As he fired other round into the man head to be sure he s said. Take that you fucking prick! You bastard!! You took me away from my wife! You took me from my family! FUCK YOU!!! He emptied the last of the rounds into the corpse.

He entered the trailer muttering many more obscenities. Inside everyone was dead, except Hawker who was badly wounded on the floor. Ben went over to him. Just then someone burst through the door. Ben turned to fire his empty gun. It was Smitty.

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391 Glad to see you still alive, boss! he said laughing. Damned confuckulated now, re eh!

Jerry ran into the trailer at that time too, bumping into Smitty and almost knocking him over.

So this is all of us that left? Jerry asked. s

Smitty was just about to speakwhen a hail of bullets came through the trailer missing everyone. Jerry went out the door and started firing.

Ben looked at the table where the button was supposed to be. It wasn there. t

Damn, were is it? Smitty look around for it.

Hawker pointed up near the ceiling over Jerry head. With his last breath he said to s BenDo it! Then his hand dropped down. He was dead. Jerry looked overhead. On a shelf over the window was small metal box with an antenna on its side.

He got the box down and opened it. There was the button. A large red ordinary looking button with a key inserted beside it.

Ben came over. The three of them did not say a word but knew exactly what had to be done. Jerry turned the key to ON. He was just about to push the button when Smitty grabbed Jerry hand and said,No. s

Turning to Ben, Smitty said,Boss, do the honours.

Ben pushed the button and a red light came on beside it.

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392 They waited what seemed like minutes. Flashes from near by explosions and the sound of gunfire filled the room. Come on, come on, what are they waiting for? Jerry said.

Press it again, Smitty said.

Jerry pressed the button several times quickly.

Then Ben remembered. Lilly! he said. As he opened the trailer door Ben was greeted with a blinding white flash.

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Chapter 17: The Letter Comes Home

Aug 21, 2017 Anne was weeding the tomatoes, and filling a basket with the fruit when the sky started to darken. But it was mid afternoon, and no clouds in the sky. She looked up to see a partial eclipse of the sun starting. She had never seen such a sight. She sat there, in the middle of the tomatoes and watched as the moon covered most of the lower half of the sun. She marveled at the beauty. Birds in the trees quieted down thinking night was falling. It was all so eerily quiet.

About an hour after the eclipse had past, returning to her chores, the dogs perked up and ran to the house barking. She looked up to see three women by the back door.

Hello?one said.

Hey you there! said another in a strange voice.

Don worry the dogs won hurt you. Maybe lick you to death though. Just a minute. t t Anne said to them, getting up and walking out of the long garden carrying the bounty with her.

She could see that two of the women were about her age. The third was quite young. The young girl was holding a large birdcage with a big white bird inside. One of the other women was holding two more cages, one with a large gray bird and the other a smaller green one.

As she came up to them, the gray bird started whistling like one does to get a dog to come to them. Then whistled like a man does to a pretty woman.

Pickles, now quiet, the older woman with the two cages said to the gray bird.

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OK. Pickles quiet, the bird said back.

As Anne came up to them the woman without any cages said. Are you Anne Robson?

Yes, who are you?

I Dorothy Bryant, this is Melanie Reed and the one with the rude parrot is Gale m Armstrong. I have something for you from Ben. Dorothy handed her Ben letter. s

Anne could not believe what she was holding. The only letter she ever got.

I thought he was dead, and my son too, she said with tears in her eyes.

I don know if he is still alive, the last time I saw them was November. We been t ve trying to get here ever since to deliver this letter to you. I promised I would.

Anne hugged Dorothy hard. Thank you so much.

She opened the letter, pulled out the ring and read the letter to herself. Part way through she looked up at Dorothy, then continued to read the rest. She dropped to her knees after the end and cried.

Melanie help me get her up, Dorothy said.

They went inside the small house to the kitchen. Rachel was there preparing dinner. What wrong Mom? she said coming to the table where Anne sat down. Who are all s of you?

They introduced each other and explained the situation. Rachel gave her Mom some water.

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395 Rachel, come in the living room with us, your Mom and Dorothy have some talking to do, Gale said leading Rachel out of the kitchen.

These are your birds? Rachel asked Gale.

Yes, these are my babies.

My babieeees, the African Gray said.

Wow, even speaks, Rachel said.

Yes, this is Pickles. He a rascal. Always saying the wrong thing at the right time. The s white one is Winnie. She an Umbrella Cockatoo and the little green one is Kosmo, a s Quaker Parrot. Do you mind if I take them out, they been in the cage too long and ve they are hungry.

Sure, I have some apples, fresh from our trees, Rachel said.

I want Banana, Pickles said.

What did he say? Rachel said,sounded like he said banana!

Yes that what he asked for. Sorry Pickles, no bananas. How about an apple? Gale s said.

Pickles looked sideways at Rachel and his eyes pinned. Eventually he said,I want apple.

Rachel was floored. She had never seen a bird like this and wondered if Gale was a ventriloquist as she went back into the kitchen and then emerged with an apple. She cut it and gave a piece to each bird. Pickles said,Thank you!

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Wow, a polite bird! Rachel said.

Yeah, but he give you a good nip if not careful. Winnie is the real suck. ll

Rachel got Winnie on her arm and the bird pushed her head into Rachel chest. s

She wants you to scratch her head.

Wow, that amazing, I never knew birds were so affectionate. s

That why I could not leave them to die. I been carrying them since we left Alberta s ve last November.

It took you eight months to get here?

Yes. Your father and brother and a couple of other men saved our lives. We lived on farms outside of Edmonton. Your father rescued us from thugs. Then we spent the winter in Edmonton waiting to be evacuated. Finally in April a train took us to Regina. Spent a month there working on a farm for food.

Then in May we got a train to Orillia, I think, was that the name of the town Melanie?

Yes, remember we had to walk so far to get to the town, Melanie said.

Oh, right. We walked so much it hard to remember them all. Yeah, we spent two ve s weeks or more there before we got a bus to Barrie. It ran only once a month.

We couldn get into Toronto t cause of the riots there, Melanie added.

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397 Yeah, that right. People in Orillia told us that Toronto was lawless and trains were not s going there any more. That how we got stuck in Orillia. s

Then we got a bus to Owen Sound. That was a nice town, remember Gale? Melanie said.

Yes, the people there were so nice. We worked on a farm there until the end of the June plantings. Then some old farmer said he had to go to Stratford to get family. He ran his car off his own alcohol he brewed himself.

Yeah, he really stunk of the stuff too. Yuck! Melanie added.

What an old rust bucket it was. Kept stopping all the time. Then he have to get out d and fix something.

He swore a lot too, Melanie added.

Finally we made it to Stratford, but had to stay there for almost a month. So close to here, yet no way to get here. Finally a train came which got us to London. Then we got lucky. A farmer was there from this town delivering some of his produce to go on the train. He brought us back here.

Yeah, behind a pair of stinking horses, Melanie added holding her nose.

And now we finally here. re

Wow, quite the journey, Rachel said.

While that conversation was going on, Dorothy and Anne were talking.

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398 How did he look? Was Ben OK? He has a bit of a cholesterol problem. Was Ron OK? Anne asked excited to hear something.

They both looked lean with long hair and beards. But they looked OK.

Do you think he and Ron are still alive?

To be honest, I don think so. You heard they set off the nukes in the tar sands? t

Only rumours. There is almost no news about anything. But I suspected they were dead if they had not come home by now. Tears swelled up in her eyes.

They set off enough nukes in the tar sands to make them uninhabitable for a hundred thousand years. They wouldn have done that if there was any hope of winning. The t Chinese must have over run the tar sands.

But how do you know the two of them were there?

Not entirely, but I pretty sure. While we waited to be evacuated from Edmonton last m winter, I looked for Ben. I suspected they would spend the winter in Edmonton. But I had no luck finding him. I went to all the bases I could but no one heard of him or Ron, nor had them in their databases.

Then someone told me to try the airport on the west side of town as a mass of troops was gathering there to go to the tar sands. But by the time I got there they had all left. Some cranky captain remembers seeing both of them, but they would have gone to Fort McMurray with the rest to defend the tar sands. That all I could find out. They shipped s us out the next day. Lucky they did, because the Chinese dropped an atomic bomb on Edmonton.

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399 Dear god. So he is dead then. Both of them. Anne dropped her head, and placed her hands over top, then looked up running her face through her fingers, a tear rolled over her left cheek and dripped onto the table.

I would think so. The fighting over now and you have not heard from either of them, s so that would be my guess.

Anne could no longer hold it back and cried. Dorothy hugged her and cried too.

He was a good man, both of them were. They rescued us from sure death, Dorothy explained the siege on the farm.

After a few minutes Anne asked,So the fighting is over?

Looks that way.

Well, that good, Anne said wiping the tears from here eyes. s

But there more. We heard in Regina that the U.S. dropped nukes in the mountain s passes cutting off some three million Chinese from supplies. They now stranded in re Alberta and the south of Saskatchewan. Most are starving. They expect the rest of them to die next winter. Any left will be mopped up next spring. So it looks like it all but s over.

Well, Anne said wiping tears from here face,I guess you guys are tired and hungry. Rachel, make sure we have enough, put on some more potatoes and carrots. They re fresh from the garden. Then after dinner we boil some water so you can get cleaned ll up.

You know, Anne, this is precisely the warm hospitality we gave to Ben and Ron. They were so dirty and worn looking. Long hair and scruffy beards.

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And thin?

Yeah, a bit. They did look a bit underfed. But he had lots at my place, I made sure of that.

Poor Ben. He loves his food loved his food. When he left here he had a bit of a potbelly. Not from beer or anything but because he spent so many years behind a computer. A thin Ben, wow, I don think I remember ever seeing that. I probably would t not have recognized them, he never liked his hair too long.

They ate a good supper and talked some more.

We tried to call you from Stratford and London, no luck getting through, Dorothy said.

The phones stopped working last year. One of the lines went down and no one has been out to fix it. But I understand they work a bit in town, Anne said.

You know what the real bummer is? Rachel asked everyone at the table.

No what? Dorothy asked.

Here she goes, Anne said knowing what coming. s

What Mom? Shit, she always like this. s

What Rachel? Melanie asked.

There no cell phone service any more. I can call anyone. s t

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401 She used to be on that thing non-stop, when she was a young teenager. That much I m thankful is gone, Anne said.

Mom, that not fair. But not even the regular phones aren working neither. Like, I s t m stranded up here, you know?

Rachel, what we will really miss, once it all gone from the town, things in the s abandoned homes, is the things we used to take for granted. Things like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, Anne said counting on her fingers. And clothing, most of which was made in China and Taiwan, which will take decades to rebuild the factories here, won be on t store shelves. Hell, there won be many stores any more, not like it used to be. We will t also miss little things, like plastic wrap for our food so it won go bad. And fresh foods t in the winter. And we will miss our fridge because there no power. s

And look Anne lifted her right foot up to show off her shoe,. look at my runners, held together with duct tape! What will I do, what will we do, when we can wear these t shoes any more?

And what happens if we get sick? putting her foot back down. The heath care system is not what it used to be, you know. No more ambulances to the hospital, not for a long time, then only maybe.

Miss your cell phone. Hah! Give me a break, that the least of our worries. Hell, we s already miss running water. Having to bring buckets of it from the well just to flush the toilet, or bath and cook with. Did you enjoy having to do that in the winter? Yeah, Rachel, there is much more we are really going to miss than stupid cell phones, Anne said angrily. They just don get it yet do they? Anne said to Gale and Dorothy. God I t mess Ben. Damn him for leaving me alone!

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402 After a bit of a pause of silence Gale said trying to liven up the tone. I can tell you what I won miss. Waking up in the morning to a hundred or more spam emails trying to sell t me drugs to make my penis longer and harder!

They laughed and agreed. With that one the mood returned to a more happier tone. Even Anne cracked a smile.

As the sun started to set Anne told them that they pack it in when the sun goes down and get up at daybreak.

As you can see there no electricity, Anne said. Not this time of year. Only essentials s get that. We all cut off. They had it back on in the winter. Well, more off than on. re But they working on it from what the farmer behind us said. They hope to get the re Bruce nuclear plant back up and running for this winter. So we don stay up at night, t don want to run out of candles, they hard to get. t re

Not an issue, we exhausted anyway. Hope you have room for us, Dorothy said. re

It would be too crowded here. So I suggest you go next door. The old girl died last winter. She was eighty-six. She made it through Black Winter, but I guess she gave up on life and died last January. We kept checking on her, found her dead and frozen in bed. Couldn bury her, so we put her in her garden shed, piled in wood and burned it. The t house has been empty since. It a bigger house and all the furniture is in there. You s ll have plenty of room.

I guess she won mind will she? t

Actually, she was a kind old soul, she would have enjoyed your company. Oh, and don go into the basement. t

Why?

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Her late husband built a huge model train set when he retired. Fills the basement completely. Amazing work, the detail is exquisite. He must have been obsessed with it. Anyway, without lights you will hurt yourself on it easily, know that from experience. The old girl refused to dismantle it. He died before we moved here, some eight years ago. She would spend hours just sitting down there looking at all the work he did. Exquisite detail. Real art if you ask me.

Guess such hobbies will be a thing of the past now in this new era we are living in. Gale said.

Yeah. That kinda sad in a way, Dorothy said. s

I saw the house across the road was burned what happened? Gale asked.

Yeah, that another sad story, Anne said,Timmy McBride, an ex cop with a thick s Irish accent. He retired long ago, but got into bad debt after his wife died some years back. He was heavy into gambling and re-mortgaged the house to try and pay his debts. Then he couldn pay that with his pension, so they tried to evict him. This is the fall t right before Black Winter. So he burned the house down and hung himself from that oak tree in the front lawn. The old girl next door found him in the morning. Scared her, she was shaking badly. They knew each other a long time. If only he had waited a few more months for the moratorium.

Many in town were evicted before the moratorium. Banks were ruthless, dragging whole families out onto the street. They even tried to shut down the dairy farmer behind us because he was in default on his loans. Go figure, the man was feeding us, and the city, and the bank wanted to shut him down. Assholes. I sorry, but it unbelievable. m s

Luckily they were stopped. All the farmers in the area, and most of the town, showed up the day the sheriff tried to evict him and put on a big demonstration. They stood there,

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404 pick and shovel in hand, daring the sheriff. That happened a couple times before they finally gave up.

The town was half the size before the winter because of the foreclosures. Then we lost almost the other half in the winter. There are a lot of nice vacant homes in town. Some have come back from the city, most just disappeared.

And Judy next door, Rachel said.

Oh, yes, that was awful. She was a diabetic and during Black Winter she died because they could not get any insulin. Then the husband, Ralph, could not make the mortgage payments, so they evicted him and his three girls. They never came back, so that house is empty too.

We taken over the property for chickens so we can have fresh eggs for breakfast, ve Rachel added.

Anne paused for a Moment, then hung her head down, tears dripping from her cheeks. What do we do now? she said.

Well, I a survivor. We are all survivors here. We make it just fine. Is there any m ll organization in town? Dorothy said.

Yes, we started that. I work on the dairy farm behind us twice a week for our milk ve and butter. The old guy still knew how to make it the old fashion way. The farm next to him used to grow tobacco, now he got wheat growing, so hopefully in the fall we will s have local bread. The town will pitch in and cut it all by hand. Someone is trying to get the old Labatts plant in London up and running to crush the wheat into flour.

So the future is looking bright then, Gale said cheerfully.

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405 Yep, Dorothy said,We are going to be just fine living here.

I have a question though Gale asked, how will we know the date so we can plant properly and know when it Christmas and New Year? s

Well, Ben actually thought about that before he left. Him and Ron built a sun calendar out of concrete. It in the back yard. You line up the pointers at sun set and the sun s shines a spot on the date. Quite ingenious, but that was Ben, Anne said. She paused for a bit and chuckled. He even thought we should change the year. This would be year twelve A.P.

A.P.? Dorothy asked.

Yeah, A.P. stands for After Peak. He figured that peak oil was sometime in 2005 and it now 2017. So it twelve A.P. s s

They laughed, and thought it not a bad idea.

A few minutes later Dorothy laughed to herself.

What, Gale asked.

I just had an interesting thought. Imaging some five hundred million years from now. The Earth has completely transformed the continents and all traces of our civilization are gone. Disintegrated or buried forever. Oil is remade from all that life, and a new intelligent species creates a whole new civilization based on that cheap oil. They think they are the pinnacles of evolution, so proud of their science and accomplishments. They even have a space program and go to the moon. And guess what they find?

What? Rachel asked.

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406 What on the moon, Rachel? Gale asked with a knowing smile at the irony. s

Rachel did not make the connection.

Our former presence is there from all those Apollo missions to the moon. After five hundred million years it would all still be there, covered in a few inches of dust, but still there, maybe even the footprints.

And what if it was us, in this civilization, that had come across such relics of a previous advanced society on the moon. Would that have made a difference in our exploitation of our resources? I think not, but would still be humbling to us to realize that some distant civilization was just as advanced as ours and blew it all, Dorothy said.

That was a bit of too heavy philosophy, too much for one night, so they packed it in.

The girls all became fast friends and organized many things to make life in the new post carbon era somewhat comfortable. Melanie and Rachel married. Both of their husbands worked good jobs mining the two former garbage dumps near London, where they separated out plastics, getting paid by the pound for what they could dig out by hand. They could even afford to have children.

It was amazing to see the difference in young kids when there is no TV and no distractions. Schools reopened and taught what was needed to survive, plus a little history about the Petroleum Era and all it failings. Ecology and learning to live s modestly within the bounds of nature where top of the curriculum.

Gale and Dorothy worked on a horse-breeding farm not far from Birr. The animals were in high demand. Anne continued to work part time on the farm behind her home, but mostly spent her time working the ever expanding garden and, during the winters, organizing social events in the town. Things like artwork, educating the local children, and repairing clothing.

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Dorothy and Anne held workshops on how to grow and preserve food, and more important, how to start a new year growth from last year seeds. They saved many s s lives in town with these skills alone.

On April 8, 2024 a big calibration was given in town, with all the towns folks participating. Dorothy had planned the event weeks in advance. The date was significant as it was a total eclipse of the sun that tracked right through their area. It was the biggest feast in years. And a twice in a lifetime celestial event for Anne. But most important, it was the year that was a turning point for them all.

It marked the day that Anne was elected Mayor of Birr. Dorothy was elected Food Prefect, the second most important position beside the Mayor.

This involved keeping track of foods grown, by whom, and how each crop was rationed out and worth in hours of labour. It was an agreed upon method to keep the town stocked with food, keep enough seed for the following year, make sure rotation was done on each farm, and if someone crop would fail, there would be enough from other farms to cover s the shortfall. Since it was of such importance, it was the only town administration that was tracked by computer.

Electrical power from all the nuclear plants finally came to an end. Only hydro and a bit of wind is all the generation capacity that was left. But it was enough as Ontario had lost much of its population over subsequent winters. This was the year it leveled off., though at less than a quarter of the size in 2015. Except for the large numbers of people who went off to the war and died, the vast majority of them died in the cities.

It was also the year that democracy raised from the ashes. In the previous years, with all the confusion and chaos, groups of communists had tried to take over some of the surrounding towns and cities. In some cases succeeding, such as in London, where they ruled like dictators for a few years until, in the summer of 2024 they fell apart. Many of

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408 them were subsequently charged, tried and hung for crimes against the citizens of the town. From that point on freedom returned. Businesses also started to return to life, producing for local consumption. Even some transportation resumed with bio fuel derived from local corn. With the population so low, there was no competition for food, and the bio-fuel factories built before Black Winter were restored to operation. Though horses were still the main mode of transport for the average person, and would stay that way for millennia.

In October of 2046 Anne got very sick from a viral infection and died, just before her 80th birthday. She died in bed surrounded by all her family, including photos of Ben, Ron and Robby. The entire town showed up to the burial at the parkette in town where many others were also buried. But before she died she gave Dorothy Ben letter to read. s

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Dear Anne. Love of my life, my soul mate forever. I miss you so much. Don know if any t letters have reached you or not. But I tried. Ron is with me and he is fine and ve says hello. We in good health, better I think than when I sat at work in front of a re desk. So much has happened, I don know where to start. It been horrible, but at the t s same time invigorating. We have taken lives and we have saved lives. Basically it s a mess. Calgary was nuked by the Chinese, so the future is really fuzzy and unknown. I don expect to come home. t But do not fret. You will survive. You will tell our grandchildren about us. That s how we will live on. But I have a confession. I was unfaithful to you. Only once. Her name is Dorothy Bryant. She reminded me so much of you. Brave, cool headed, and smart. It an s indescression I regret very much as it was not what I wanted, and I feel it violated your trust. I hope you will forgive me. We march next into the unknown. I will always keep you in my thoughts. Your love for life and forever. Ben

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