Timothy Nugent Author
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Chapter 95 - Away From Home
🕑 Added 2025-01-08 20:30:47 +0000 UTCBlake lounged before his campfire and warmed his hands before the flames. His back was to his small tent and bedroll, which had surprisingly survived the rain of bullets earlier that day. The tent required only minimal duct tape to seal the holes, but half his water bottles were destroyed.
That’s fine, I’ve got a bottle in my Spatial Storage, and I can find more water here.
Luckily, after his display of force, Blake had been transported to a boreal forest, reminiscent of Northern Canada, Scandinavia, or Russia. Water and firewood were plentiful, as were the swarm of small, annoying insects. He slapped his neck for the hundredth time, when the holo-chat request he had been waiting for finally arrived.
Finally, we can start the meeting.
Blake accepted the call, and two separate feeds appeared before him. The first was his family, along with Jordan and Brent. They were inside the cookhouse and the remnants of a late dinner remained on the table. The second screen was Jessica. Blake recognized her office in the Payson faction hall.
“Hey, Blake, are you doing okay?” His father asked.
“Great!” Blake grinned. Unfortunately, the statement was ruined when he was forced to slap his own cheek. “Sorry, lots of bugs here.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be bulletproof?” Oliver asked as the peeled the wrapper from a cupcake. “How are bugs biting you?”
“They aren’t, they’re just annoying,” Blake replied. “It tickles when they crawl over my beard.”
His brother snorted and said with a full mouth, “That’s not a beard.”
“Oliver, chew first!” Donna reprimanded her oldest son. She then turned to Blake. “Are you sure you’re okay staying the night on another planet?”
“It’s fine, mom,” He assured her. “I’ve done this hundreds of times. All the monsters are dead, and I’ve got my tent and roll already set up.”
“And, the battle at the fire tower didn’t cause you any problems? I know you messaged me you were fine, but I’ve seen what you consider ‘fine’.”
“I really am good,” Blake repeated. “I just got a few bruises, which are all healed now.”
“Just a few bruises from all that?” Oliver swallowed quickly and asked in disbelief. “That was badass! They’ve been playing footage of the tower falling for hours!”
Blake frowned. “How’d they get footage? Didn’t they have the area blocked off? I doubt the Feds released it.”
“Bro, you can see the tower from the grocery store parking lot. People have been camped out there ever since the interview, and they got real cameras that can zoom.”
“You really stirred up a hornet's nest there,” His father informed him as he collected the plates into a pile. “The president announced a state of emergency, and our senator’s calling for investigations. Evidently, DHS didn’t have the authority to set up here like they did, let alone fire upon US citizens. They’re calling whoever’s in charge back to Washington for hearings. There’s been a lot of pushback on TV ever since the locals saw the tower go down.”
Blake snorted. “I bet they are. Are they packing up and leaving now?”
Peter frowned and shook his head. “No.”
“I thought what they were doing was illegal, though? Shouldn’t they be pulling out?”
“They are arguing that the state of emergency gives them the authority to stay,” Jessica replied.
“What does a state of emergency allow them to do?” Jordan asked, speaking up for the first time.
The holo-chat remained silent, as no one seemed to know the answer. Finally, after a short delay, Jessica responded again. “According to the internet, it allows the government to bypass most legal restrictions. They can declare martial law, temporarily suspend civil rights, and it allows them to deploy the military to suppress insurrections.”
Brent cursed and asked Blake directly. “Will the shield hold up to bombs?”
“I think so,” Blake answered.
“What do you mean, you think so?” Brent demanded. “I thought you said they couldn’t get through it no matter what they did?”
“I said the police and the FBI can’t get through it,” Blake corrected. “I have no clue what the military is capable of. I’m pretty sure it won’t stop a nuke.”
“No one is going to nuke Pinetop,” Donna adamantly stated.
I sure hope not. That would be insane.
“Yeah, they’ll start with missiles and bombs first,” Oliver unhelpfully agreed.
“They won’t do that either,” Donna argued. “The president most likely declared a state of emergency so they could evacuate everyone in the area.”
“Have they started doing that yet?” Blake asked.
Donna shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m sure it will come soon.”
“Uh…” Oliver drawled. “Does anyone else have any internet? My phone can’t connect.”
Blake watched as everyone in the room with a phone checked their connection.
“I’m not connected either,” Brent offered.
“Same,” Jordan agreed.
“My laptop won’t connect,” Donna added.
“The internet is working fine here,” Jessica informed them. “Perhaps the cell tower is overloaded? I’m actually surprised it continued to work when so many people descended upon the town.”
“It was slower, but we could still get data,” Donna replied.
“I bet the government cut us off,” Oliver suggested and shook his phone in disgust.
“If it remains down, I can keep everyone abreast of current events,” Jessica offered.
“Thank you,” Donna nodded. “I would appreciate that.”
“You are welcome,” Jessica returned. “And Blake, thank you for the nano. Our constructors are building new bunkhouses as quickly as they are able. With all the new arrivals, most have been forced to share rooms, and are beginning to feel cramped.”
“Shit!” Jordan cursed. “My son is still out there, and I’ve got no way to contact my ex. How am I supposed to let them know where to go?”
“Yeah,” Brent spoke up. “My family’s out there, too.”
“If you give me their phone numbers, I can contact them for you after this meeting,” Jessica offered.
“But, what if they don’t have cell service either?” Brent’s voice rose.
“It’ll be fine,” Blake assured him. “It’ll be mostly safe for the first three days. Monsters won’t appear until then.”
“What do you mean, ‘mostly’?” Brent demanded.
Blake grimaced. “Well, people are going to freak out a bit when electricity stops working and words appear before their eyes. People are going to start looting. But, don’t worry, I’ll be back before then, and I’ll personally collect your families.”
“Speaking of coming back,” Donna segued. “The portal is now seventy feet up in the air. How will you reenter it?”
Blake smirked. “I can teleport twice in a row. It won’t be a problem.”
“What if they bring in a boom lift or a ladder truck and block the portal?” Peter asked in concern.
He shook his head. “Won’t work. Like I said before, it’s been tried. The portal will just spit me out further away.”
“But, how will you get back in if it’s blocked,” his father added.
Blake snorted. “I knocked down that tower pretty easily, I’m pretty sure I can cut down a cherry picker.”
“But, they’ll be firing upon you,” his father reminded him.
“They fired last time too, didn’t matter.”
“But they weren’t expecting you. This time, they’ll be ready,” Peter warned. “What happens if you get hit by an RPG, or they bring in a tank?”
Blake frowned. “I get what you’re saying, dad, but it’s hard to hit someone who can teleport. And, if they do escalate like that, I may have to take them out. Launching an RPG into a dry forest sounds like a recipe for a nasty fire.”
Oliver hooted, “Kick their asses!” while his parents frowned.
“Please avoid that, if you can,” his mother pleaded.
Peter nodded in agreement. “And not just for moral reasons. They didn’t declare a state of emergency until after you assaulted the fire tower. If you start killing soldiers, they might actually start bombing us.”
“You make a good point,” Blake admitted. “I’ll try to avoid it if I can, but I’m not going to just let them kill me.”
“Of course not,” his mother agreed.
The sound of a distant explosion filled the holo-chat, and everyone but Jessica and Blake jerked in surprise.
“What the hell was that?” Oliver blurted.
Everyone froze to listen, but the sound did not immediately repeat itself. After a while, Donna broke the silence. “We should head outside to see if a building collapsed or something.”
“That can’t happen unless someone on the inside blew it up,” Blake disagreed. “Since you guys are the only ones there, that can’t happen.”
“Uh, Blake?” Donna sounded nervous. “What about the ‘back door’?”
Blake frowned as he considered the secret tunnels he had Owen install in the quarry. Only the three of them knew about the second exit, but that did not mean the FBI might not locate the trap door.
“Wait, this place has a back door?” Oliver blurted. “I thought the gate was the only way in and out?”
Blake ignored his brother and answered his mother’s concern. “Even if they found the trap door, the shield is a sphere and extends underground. They would still need to get through that, and they can’t.”
“Seriously,” Oliver demanded attention. “Why did no one else tell me we have a back door?”
“You didn’t need to know, and you’re horrible at keeping secrets,” Blake stated bluntly.
“I am not.” Oliver defended himself. “I …”
Suddenly, another explosion interrupted his brother’s rant.
“Okay, everyone outside,” Donna ordered and stood. “We need to figure out what’s going on.”
Blake watched in concern as his family and friends filed out of the room. The group made it as far as the lobby stairs, when another explosion jolted them. After they recovered from their surprise, they quickened their pace and were soon outside.
“I don’t see any damage,” Jordan offered.
“I’m telling you, it can’t be from the inside. Whatever’s happening is outside the shield,” Blake insisted.
“If it is, it's probably by the front gate,” Peter suggested.
As a group, they cautiously walked down the gravel pathway towards the town’s entrance. When they were halfway there, another detonation occurred. However, this time they could clearly see the blast.
Ten feet above the gate, the iridescent shield solidified at the epicenter of the explosion, and then once again became transparent. Without the cloud of smoke which remained, there would be no proof that anything happened.
“Can someone go up on the battlement and see what’s going on?” Blake asked.
“No,” Donna disagreed. “We need to stay as far away from that as we can.”
“Mom, it’s perfectly safe, trust me,” Blake insisted.
“I’ll do it,” Oliver offered. He began to stride forward, when his mother caught his shirt. “Wait. What if something gets through?”
Blake sighed. “Mom, you should be able to check the strength of the shield through your town interface.”
“I can?” she asked in surprise. Then, her eyes crossed as she navigated the menus. A moment later, she said, “It says the structural integrity is at one hundred percent.”
“See, nothing can get through until that hits zero.”
Suddenly, another explosion resounded.
“Uh,” his mother stammered. “It just dipped down to ninety-nine point seven before it ticked back to one hundred.”
“Are they bombing us already?” Brent asked.
Oliver pulled away from Donna. “I’m gonna go check it out.”
Blake watched as Oliver sprinted ahead and raced up the stairs. When he reached the top of the battlement, his brother peered out the crenelation at the national guard beyond. Blake rotated the holo-chat’s view until he, too, could see the source of the explosions.
The police and FBI vehicles were now gone, replaced by the national guard. Large camo cargo trucks, Humvees, an armored personnel carrier, and even a large towed artillery gun were present. Although, the artillery had yet to be offloaded from its trailer and readied.
At least fifty troops stood in groups and watched three of their fellow soldiers lift a shoulder mounted rocket. A few seconds passed as they armed the device and then backed away.
Suddenly, a plume of fire appeared behind the soldier, and a rocket blasted forward into the wall. Almost faster than the eye could follow, it impacted the shield, which once again turned opaque on impact.
“Holy shit!” Oliver blurted. “That was awesome!
“Okay, you can come down now!” Donna yelled from below.
His brother nodded and skipped down the stone stairs to rejoin the rest of the group.
“I’m not sure releasing the hostages was a good idea,” Jessica stated carefully.
“Yeah,” Peter agreed. “Now they aren’t worried about reprisal.”
“Honey,” Donna gave her husband a look of warning. “It was the right thing to do.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Blake shrugged. “They can’t get through the shield. Honestly, they probably shut down the cell towers in the area and evacuated everyone so no one could record them bombing us. I bet they don’t want the public knowing what they’re doing.”
Jordan turned his head and spat. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Perhaps I could get the word out,” Jessica offered.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Blake replied. “You don’t have a shield to protect your town yet, and I don’t know how easily they can track you. I’d rather you guys stay as far away from this as you can.”
Jessica nodded. “That seems reasonable. I will have a few people watch the forest entrance as well. It’s far enough away that if they locate us, we will have enough time to escape.”
“Good idea,” Blake told her.
“I think I also may have a way to stop them from bombing you,” Jessica added. “Although, that will require tribal leadership to play along.”
“Anything’s worth a try,” Blake nodded. He then turned to his mother, “Keep watch on the shield’s strength. If it doesn’t recover immediately, or dips down below seventy-five percent, let me know. I’ll head back and take care of them.”
Comments
Chuck K
I think you underestimate how much power he has hidden or downplayed to his parents so they treat him normally. Plus knowing something and having true faith/belief are different. They might know he is bulletproof but seeing is believing. Plus they have seen him on deaths door many times now.
L Pedersen
Shades of waco. While part of me wants to say that this is unrealistic, I know better. And I don't want to be negative but I thought the dialogue for most of the meeting was just stupid. It's as if the last 70 chapters didn't happen, when are they gonna start trusting Blake?
John Doe
Nope. Not desperation. 1. It would be standard procedure to test the degree of protection that the dome offers. This was just a preliminary test of the dome. 2. Unka' Sam takes a VERY dim view of ANYONE being able to say NO to them on their own soil. They don't tolerate that AT ALL. 3. The units outside of Mayberry RFD were described as being National Guard units. Thus, this could be a power play by the state governor (with the blessing of the White House since the F.B.I. were absent from the scene). 4. When Unka' finally gets serious, the National Guard will only maintain the road perimeter and "other" assets will take over the close to the wall scene containment.
Bakerbob
it reeks of desperation from the government to use rpg and use heavy explosive ordonance for what is a teenager having beaten another teen, admitedly with magical alien powers
Laura Pilkington
now that would be a hell of a send off before the apocalypse hits. Blake would actually need to respect the brrrrr
Undead Writer
Thanks for the chapter!
Howard Nugent
Loved the chapter!
John Doe
Jessica is going to indirectly leak what the National Guard is doing via old fashion e-mail to journalists and the tribal council. Close in Cell towers will be blocked, but the media will be able to use telephoto views to broadcast the explosions from outside of the cordoned off area. Put a camera on any surrounding hills and America will have a front row seat on the evening news.
Thundermike00
Before the world ends in two weeks, would the US military become more compact with the number of military personnel surrounding this dome? It would be pretty funny if they stayed until Doomsday, then joined the city and became the fighting force of the new city.
John Doe
Many National Guard units have A-10s. Expect them to work their way up to depleted uranium ordnance via warthog soon. :-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II
John Doe
"“Yeah, they’ll start with missiles and bombs first,” Oliver unhelpfully agreed. “They won’t do that either,” Donna argued. “The president most likely declared a state of emergency so they could evacuate everyone in the area.”" Methinks that Donna does not live on Planet Earth very often. Heh! :-)
Laura Pilkington
tanks suck against infantry, which is why they have an infantry escort military wouldn’t try tanks. they’d try antipersonnel mines. and, lol, flamethrowers. mining us soil would be a hell of a move though
John Doe
Ahh...more fuel for my addiction! Thank you for the new chapter, today. Every new release is like a mini-Christmas. :-)
Chuck K
The old world fighting the new, doesn't look good for old uncle Sam.
Lance Wheeler
The show of strength is not working.
Andreea Robertina
Thank you for the chapter!
