Them-2 Chapter 45

Chapter Forty Five – Near Greenbriar State Forest, West Virginia

The mood around the glowing fire that night was glum. Scouts reported no sight of the loonies heading in their direction, but no sign of the children had been found either. They had scoured the area until dusk without a trace of evidence that anyone had been on the roads or in the woods, and they had several expert trackers with them.
Kayle was a nervous wreck. All she could think of was Caitlin. Her precious little girl was out there somewhere, and she knew it. But, there was also a nagging thought in the back of her mind that refused to go away. A miserable thought that she kept forcing back into her subconscious She was snuggled close to Huck for warmth as well as consolation. For his part, Huck was also trying to avoid the ugly possibility that the children had died from exposure or were taken by the ants.
The thought on most everyone’s mind was if the loonies intended to attack the camp. Everyone hoped they would not but the scouts reported a large concentration of people were still in and around the White Sulfur Springs area. If Moses planned on moving all his people to the new bunker complex, it seemed that they should be moving in that direction.
The idea of sleep was the last thing Kayle and Huck thought of. They both knew they would need their strength for what would come the next day, whether it was an assault or more hours of agonizing searching. However, sleep failed to come.
Just as daylight was breaking, Huck received an urgent call from First Sergeant Brett. “The enemy is coming,” Brett stated. “They’re about three miles North and advancing in mass. They don’t seem to have much organization, more like an undisciplined mob.”
“Any sign of more coming in from any other direction?”
“No movement from the West or South.”
“Maintain perimeter integrity,” Huck replied, signaling for someone to wake the camp. Within minutes people were rushing to their assigned positions on the perimeter. It seemed odd to Huck that most of them were civilians, many carrying crossbows and hunting rifles. Women were moving the children to the safety of the cave up the hillside a ways. Huck desperately wanted to make Kayle go with them, but he knew that would be impossible in view of the fact that many women were running with their men to their fighting stations.
He signaled to Horse and Kayle to join him in the command Bradley. As soon as the ramp was up they headed North to link up with First Sergeant Brett and move into their own assigned sector of the perimeter.
Before they reached their position, a loud explosion sounded in the distance. “What was that?” Huck asked over the radio.
A fast reply came back. “Holy shit! Tanks! They have tanks sir, and that round destroyed one of our 113’s.”
“How many tanks?” Huck asked. It was a good thirty seconds before he received a reply. “Three tanks, sir. They look like M60A3’s. There’s four old M113’s following right behind them.”
The Bradleys had 2.5mm M242 chain guns with nine hundred rounds each. They would be effective against the M113’s but not the M60A3 Tanks. The only anti tank weapons they had available was on the command Bradley. They had one TOW missile. Each Bradley normally carried seven TOW missiles each, but they had been stripped down for their mission against the ants. Thankfully, someone had overlooked one of the TOW’s.
“They don’t know if we have anti tank capabilities,” Huck told First Sergeant Brett. “Let the tanks get out in the open and we’ll knock them out.”
“Three tanks with one TOW?”
“If we can disable one tank the other two may run for cover,” Huck stated. “At least they’ll think twice about hitting us head on. They won’t know we have only one TOW missile. As soon as I engage the first tank, move all armored vehicles to safe positions behind hills so the remaining tanks can’t take them out.”
By the time they reached their sector, the tanks opened up again. No armored vehicles were hit but the shrapnel from one round knocked the treads off one of the older APC’s. It looked as if the enemy’s plan was to roll right in and destroy whatever stood in their way.
Sergeant Smith manned the TOW missile launcher. The maximum range of the TOW was three thousand meters. Due to the difficult terrain, when the M60A3’s were within a thousand meters, Smith fired the TOW. The missile struck the port side of the lead tank and ripped the treads off. It was not a kill shot, but it was good enough to keep the tank from moving anywhere. The other two tanks immediately ran for cover.
The armored personnel carriers behind the tanks spread out and emptied their squads of soldiers. They were smart enough to know they couldn’t take on a Bradley and win.
First Sergeant Brett came on line. “We spotted at least three groups with anti-tank weapons!” he bellowed. “Can’t tell from the distance but they looked like old M47 Dragons. My driver says he was certain that at least one of the groups carried a Javelin.”
Both weapons were anti-tank weapons capable of destroying the Bradleys. The Dragon had an effective range of 1,500 meters, the newer FGM-148 Javelin had a range of 2,500 meters. If the men carrying them knew what they were doing, they posed a deadly threat to the APC’s and Bradleys.
“Have all armored vehicles pull back to our secondary line,” Huck ordered. The secondary line was no more than a hundred meters outside the perimeter of the camp. It was more protected by rocky outcroppings and a dense tree line, but the drawback was that the enemy could also get in closer.
The damaged enemy tank continued to fire deadly 105mm rounds. The accuracy of their gunner was very good. He managed to disable three more of Huck’s armored personnel carriers before they could regroup. One of the APC’s was a solid hit, killing the soldiers inside.
Once they were back in the secondary position, Huck moved to a small knoll where he could get a better view of the small battlefield. The remaining two tanks were moving forward again. Evidently, when they failed to fire another TOW, the enemy took the risk in hoping that they had no more. From his position on the knoll Huck directed counter fire back at the enemy armor and the masses of enemy infantry starting to surge forward. Although the Bradley’s 2.5mm M242 chain guns could not stop the tanks, the enemy’s APC’s and infantry was held at bay and the tanks took shelter.
They were rapidly running out of ammunition. They had not been supplied for extended combat and they had no logistics train to draw from. Obviously, the enemy commander realized this and he was forcing them to use their ammo at a prodigious rate.
“Enemy infantry coming in from the East!” Gunny Gilbert radioed from his position on the perimeter of the camp. “They’re coming down the mountainside like a bunch of lunatics. We could use armored support back here.”
Huck surveyed the area with his field glasses. The enemy had split its forces and sent several thousand around to flank the perimeter, several thousand more to the South in a pincer movement, and the remainder was pressing straight in. They could not maneuver because of the deadly fire of the tanks. The situation was becoming critical.
“Enemy tanks are sending rounds into the perimeter!” Gunny radioed again. “We are taking casualties.” All three M60 Tanks were now lobbing shells into the campsite. They had obviously placed several teams up on the mountain to direct the fire. Whoever was in command of the enemy was doing a brilliant job with the untrained forces he had available.
“We have to take pressure off the campsite,” First Sergeant Brett yelled over the radio. The next thing Huck noticed was the First Sergeant’s Bradley moving out at maximum speed in the direction of the enemy armor. The Bradley advanced in a zigzag pattern, taking advantage of the terrain, and started drawing fire from two tanks. The Bradley returned fire with its 2.5mm M242 chain guns and started chipping pieces off the M60’s.
The tanks could not hit the rapidly moving target but a sudden flash from the right caught the Bradley broadside. It was a Javelin anti-tank missile. The Bradley was blown several meters in the air and flipped over on its back like a dying beetle.
Burt was watching the battle from the safety of his armored truck high on a mountainside. The powerful binoculars he used brought the entire engagement into full view. He smiled as the tanks started lobbing rounds into the hippie camp and grinned even wider as the two remaining tanks started moving in for the kill.
“Hot damn! He yelled. “That crazy Army puke knew what he was doing. We’re kicking the shit out of them.” Burt was referring to the retired Army Sergeant Major who commanded his forces. Sergeant Major Dennis Peterson was not commanding the forces out of loyalty to Burt or Moses, he was doing so only because Moses had his entire family hostage. Failure to do his job would result in their death. Burt had described in gory detail the hideous ways in which they would die.”
“We have incoming communication,” the radioman in the command Bradley yelled to Huck.
“Huckleberry, this is Crapshooter, over.”
Although there was a bit of static on the satphone, Huck could make out the words clearly. “This is Commander La Roche, what’s with the Huckleberry crap, over?
“Positive ID my man,” the caller replied. “General McKenzey told me you were in a bit of a situation down there. I am coming in from your south riding my Hog, over.”
Huck smiled for the first time in days. The Hog the pilot was referring to was the A-10 Thunderbolt, nicknamed the Warthog or just Hog. It was a close air support plane that was exceptionally tough and could survive direct hits from armor-piercing rounds. Best of all, it carried a variety of disposable weapons, its primary weapon being the 30mm Avenger Gattling cannon that fired depleted uranium shells at 4,200 rounds per minute. It was known as the tank-buster because it could turn armor into Swiss cheese in seconds. It also carried a full compliment of Maverick air-to-surface missiles, cluster bombs, laser-guided bombs, and two sidewinder missiles.
“Crapshooter, we have two M60A3 tanks maneuvering in to engage us and a third is laying back lobbing rounds into our perimeter. There are four old M113 APC’s crawling this way also. I am popping smoke, now.” Huck directed Sergeant Smith to release the smoke to identify their location.
“I identify yellow smoke,” Crapshooter radioed back. He was circling over the area.
“Enemy tanks are two-forty at eight zero zero yards,” Huck replied.
“I see your camp and have identified your perimeter,” Crapshooter replied. “Making crap run now.”
The A10 thunderbolt dove like a hawk on the M60 tanks. The 30mm Gattling gun opened up and sounded like a giant zipper as it peppered the tanks. Within a few minutes, all three tanks were completely destroyed. The Warthog then went after the old M113’s. They didn’t stand a chance either.
“This is Crapshooter, enemy armor neutralized, over.”
Huck replied. “Thanks Crapshooter, you saved our bacon. Over.”
“All in a day’s work,” Crapshooter replied. “By the way, General McKensey has another present for you. Should be here in about six minutes. I am dropping red smoke to identify enemy positions. Need you to pop smoke to identify your perimeter, over.”
“That’s affirmative,” Huck replied.
Firing all around the battlefield stopped as both parties watched the awesome destructive power of the Warthog as it obliterated the armor. Unfortunately, Huck’s armor was almost out of ammunition so there was little he could do except pull them back to the edge of the camp perimeter as additional protection. As soon as he gave the order, the enemy infantry started pressing in again.
Huck ordered blue smoke to be pulled on all sides of the base camp. Within minutes he heard the sound of aircraft in the distance. He spotted them with his high power field glasses. It was a large flight of C-130 Hercules transport planes.
“Huckleberry, this is Green Giant One,” over.
Huck smiled. “Green Giant One, go ahead, over.”
“This is Green Giant One, identify enemy surrounded with red. Identify friendly surrounded by blue, over.”
“That’s affirmative, over.”
A few moments later, hundreds of paratroopers started descending from the clear blue sky. They were on the far side of the enemy and conducting a mass drop. For a good twenty minutes more and more paratroopers descended to join the others. As soon as they hit the ground, they organized into company size combat assault units. The people inside the perimeter started to cheer.
“Enemy combatants, this is Colonel Eugene Ziegler, commanding the 504th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. We know you are monitoring our radio frequency. I have two full battalions of combat experienced paratroopers. You are to cease your assault on your objective and lay down your arms or I will have no choice but to order an assault, over”
A few moments later, a tired voice replied. “This is retired Sergeant Major Dennis Peterson, commanding the forces of his imperial scum-bag. I am ordering my people to lay down their arms. If any of them resist, feel free to shoot them, over.”
“Acknowledged. We will not fire on fellow Americans unless forced to do so at the risk of our own lives. However, we will not tolerate anyone who resists.”
“This is Sergeant Major Peterson. One of the scumbags who ordered this attack is at coordinates DE1749586. Feel free to terminate him with extreme prejudice, over.”
Huck took time to reply to the Sergeant Major. “We understand your cooperation with said scum-bag was against your will.”
“Hostages, sir.”
“Understood, out.”
Huck spotted a trail of vehicles making dust as they moved rapidly away from the area. An armored truck led them. The rats were leaving the ship.
“Huckleberry, this is Crapshooter, over.”
“What you got, Crapshooter?”
“Low on fuel, leaving area of operation, can’t follow rats. Wanted to let you know I spotted one of the giant ants at this location.” He provided Huck with the GPS Coordinates. “The creature was digging by a huge bolder. I wanted to take him out, but I was also briefed that you have missing children in the area. If the ant was digging for the children, I might cause more damage, over.”
Huck’s face lit up. “Thank you, Crapshooter. We’ll check it out immediately. I owe you one, over.”
“Make that vodka, Crapshooter out.”
Huck looked at Kayle. “Pilot spotted an ant not far from here, place called Kates Mountain. Looked like it was digging for something, or someone.”
“We were up there yesterday.”
“The coordinates are well off the road, worth checking out.”
Kayle nodded.
“Gunny, this is Huck, over.”
“Gunny here, over.”
“We’re going to check out an ant sighting a few miles from here. Take command until I get back, will ya?’
“Semper Fi, Sir.”