The 200 Year War

"WQBC will stay on the air as long as we have power." 8:51 PMhe strained voice of the announcer promised over the background static. "Right now we are using our emergency generators. The latest news received indicates that all the major cities on both the East and West coast have been hit by nuclear blasts. All our military installations have been hit. Troops are being landed by plane at all major airports throughout the country. Parachutes have been reported coming down in man of the remote areas, and unconfirmed sources report that a flight of missiles was fired from the eastern seaboard shortly after the attack began, but no one was sure what type they were, nor what their targets were. Government officials are at a loss as to the reason for the attack. We have been at peace for the last thirty years. There have been no hostilities anywhere on earth since the end of the Arab crises. The latest wire service bulletins that came through before communications were interrupted indicated no new hostilities."

"The announcers voice droned on into the wee hours of the night passing along fragments of news that he was able to pick up form ham radio operators around the country. About two A.M. he got a message from an operator in Pocatello Idaho.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if any of you are still listening, I have just received word from an eye witness in Pocatello. He has seen the enemy soldiers! They are dressed in green uniforms with red berets. They are looting and - - -."

The station went silent. James smashed his fist into the dash, bruising several knuckles, let out a curse and began tuning across the dial, but could find no other station still on the air. He spent the rest of the night wondering how an enemy could sneak such an effective attack through our defenses, so completely destroying our ability to defend ourselves, and most of all, why? The world had been at peace for more than thirty years. There just wasn’t any reason for such an act. He spent the next few days exploring the cave and wondering what he would do. The cave was much larger than he had suspected. It went back into the mountain for nearly five miles and there were eight large caverns with many side passages. Plenty of room to store supplies and equipment.

Knowing that at best, he was in for one mighty long and lonely siege, he started pillaging the countryside for supplies that he could add to his stores. The main roads were clogged with mangled and burned vehicles. He had to use the back roads and stick to the smaller town. The highways were almost impassable, and already starting to attract vermin as the dead began to smell. The large towns were filled with people driven to madness by fright. The small ones were deserted. Most of the people had fled to the large cities seeking shelter and protection from the invaders.

On his second trip, in a small town, he had just come out of a hardware store when he saw a car coming down the street. He ran into the street waving his hands and yelling. The driver rolled down the window and stuck out his hand. As the car drew closer, James saw the sunlight reflect on something in the mans hand.

It was a gun!"

James dived for cover just in time. Several slugs went through the plate glass window of the hardware store, and the car sped away down a side street. James stood on the curb cursing and shaking his fist at the receding car.

"These people have gone crazy," he mumbled to himself, as he took a large caliber pistol from the seat of the truck and tucked it in his belt. "Best to stay away from them from now on." He said to himself as he loaded the tools he had taken from the hardware store.