The Great Escape
Under the Division Support Command, or DISCOM, the Forward Support
Battalions provide direct support in maintenance, supply and medical areas
to the maneuver brigades.
The DISCOM unit concentrates on maintenance and supporting all soldiers of the
command. Service projects and response to natural disasters remained
an important mission of the DISCOM in Pennsylvania.
The mission of DISCOM remained unchanged during the war. However, the
desperate necessity of the situation could be realized within DISCOM as
easily as with the troops up at the front. Or so the leadership said...
Now medical supplies, vehicles, and heavy weapons were in short supply,
airpower was a thing of the past, and central governments barely exist,
if they exist at all. Gasoline has been almost completely replaced by methanol or
ethanol. The small trickle of petroleum that becomes available on the market
is ridiculously high priced, and is used for lubricating engines, rather than as
fuel.
It had been said that the army marches on it's stomach. Apparently Napolean
didn't study much anatomy. However, it was true, that without the beans, bread,
bullets, bombs, and so on, the effectiveness of the world's armies was greately
diminished. All war is terrible, but how terrible for a war to drag on needlessly,
and to be waged by sick, hungry, and ill-equipped troops.
Finally, all of the combatants simply gave up, and the focus in some areas,
became rebuilding. Thousands of years of civilization were destroyed
in a few short years. For nearly a year now, the actual war has mostly
cooled down into skirmishes, infiltration raids, and general unrest.
Electromagnetic Pulse has destroyed the internal components of most digital
technological niceties such as computers, television, and medical equipment.
Few things more complex than a transistor radio have survived, and even if
part of a system was immune to EMP, other components that were not are
now fried and cannot be replaced. Sadly, even though the will to return
to civilization exists, the tools that modern society relies so heavily
upon, simply do not exist, or if they do, have now ceased to function...
Date: 30 APR 03
Not long ago, Will Jackson and Jack Booker had been paired up as a high tech
maintenance team at the 228th FSB. It was too confusing to have a Jackson,
and a Jack around, each one answering when only one was called. Some people
in the Battalion thought the two used this fact for pranks and practical jokes,
but this was never proven. Will Jackson was good with alot of
technical items, but computers were his specialty. Jack Booker was
also very skilled, but his expertise was in electronics. The two man team
worked well together, but confused the living daylights out of everyone in
the Battalion. It wasn't long after his arrival that Will Jackson, the computer
wizard, or "Wiz", had made a name for himself.
Wiz and Jack had been working late in their shop. The building
was cheap aluminum sheeting over a wood frame, and measured approximately 100'x250'.
They had great freedom in their workshift, and chose to work the strangest
hours, sometimes clocking in at 0200, and working a long shift until noon,
just so they could go tearing around the base on Wiz's dirtbike. By the
same token, the two would often party until Oh-dark-hundred (late!), and
then sleep it off, and clock in sometime in the mid-afternoon.
April 3rd, 2003 was one of the latter types of days. After nearly two hours
the two had finally gotten into a rhythm, and were repairing and maintaining
various gadgets, making some progress on the waiting carts, full of radios,
computers, and other techno-goodies.
Rather suddenly it happened. Machinegun fire and explosions from
outside! First the noise and general din of an attack was heard. Then felt.
The two quickly dropped to the concrete floor, forgetting what they were
doing, and became more interested in self preservation. After a brief respite in
the initial attack, Wiz ran to find someone who know what was happening.
Soon, he spotted Herald, a mechanic, his weapon at the ready.
[Jackson]
[Herald]
[Wiz]
[Jack]
[Wiz]
[Herald]
Helicopters appeared from nowhere, and began firing rockets into the
nearby troop barracks. The explosions popped loudly, showering glass
and other debris over the top of the maintenance shed. Jack and Wiz saw
no sign of the man that was beside them, alive, only seconds ago.
[Jackson]
Wiz drew his Beretta Model 92, and chambered a round. He nervously
checked his grandfather's old pocket watch. Thank God It still worked...
From across the compound, the two friends caught a glimpse of a shape
approaching them. It was small at first, but then grew. Apparently it
was heading right for the maintenance shed...
[Jack]
=========================
Date: 30 APR 03
Dr. Trevor Novak was a member of the 28th Division's 28th DISCOM
(Division Support Command). Specifically, he was in the 728th Support
Battalion, Company F (Medical). The Company has three component units,
an HQ platoon, a Treatment platoon, and an Ambulance platoon. Novak was
a Medical Doctor in the Treatment platoon, and reported to a Major Angus
McCall.
Elements of the 28th Division participated in the raid on Washington DC
back in December, and had mutinied against the rest of the 28th
Division, (PA Army Reserve/National Guard). The situation was rather
confusing to say the least. Even knowing who was on who's side could
give a soap opera devotee's mind a workout...
When the mutiney came about last Dec., young Doctor Novak remained
loyal, and stayed put at the base at Fort Indiantown Gap, which is about
20 minutes East of Harrisburg, along the I80 and I78 interchange.
Normally, the Forward Support Battalion would move up with the other
units in the division. However, THIS (whatever THIS was) was NOT
normal...
Novak knew Philly is a wreck, and teaming with less-than-nice people. So
he was glad he was are in the relative safety at "The Gap", as the base
was called by everyone in the area, military and civilian alike. In
Harrisburg, Trevor knew things were not much nicer. Members of DISCOM,
as well as the Aviation Brigade (thankfully WITHOUT the Apache and
Blackhawk
choppers-they'd been grounded about 4-5 months now), had been sweeping
the streets of Harrisburg, Camp Hill, and Mechanicsburg, looking for
deserters. Or malcontents. Or someone who cheated them once at cards.
Thankfully the base hadn't been touched by this madness. But on the off
chance -- Novak was prepared...
Novak could get things done as an officer and a doctor that others might
not be able to pull off. Sometimes it was just a smile or a joke, or it
was listening to incoherent babble for awhile, that would make others
more at ease around him. Or allow him to blend in, or go unnoticed. It
was this uncanny ability that enabled Dr. Novak to assemble a cache of
supplies, and keep it hidden on base. The real trick would be getting
out, or really knowing just when to get out...
The maintenance area was a vast conglomeration of prefabricated
buildings and modern concrete structures. The overwhelming majority of
buildings, however, were simple, non-permanent structures of wood and
aluminum, that dated from WWII. So much for non-permanent... It was in
one of these abandoned maintenance sheds that Novak stashed his goods.
It took him nearly four months to quietly, unobtrusively assemble the
lot, but he was actually quite proud of the load of gear he had begged,
borrowed, or stolen from various points on the base. Plus, he had
conned a friend, Keefer, to fix this shot-up HUMVEE that Novak had seen
being used on one of the machinegun ranges. It didn't look like much,
but it ran pretty well.
[Novak]
Novak was in his office in the hospital, pacing around,
wondering about the possibilies of getting the men to donate blood, when
suddenly, several helicopters appeared from nowhere, and began firing rockets into
the nearby troop barracks. The explosions popped loudly, showering
glass and other debris over the top of the infirmary. "Choppers?"
thought Novak. "They look like ours. Damn. I thought all the aviation
fuel dried up months ago".
Trevor realized that in all probability the choppers would shoot anything
that moved, then again this was probably the beginning of a full scale
attack which would mean that the base was about to get inhospitable.
Trevor ran out into the hallway and began shouting, "Quickly! Get all
the wounded into shelters, and prepare for evac. Begin to pull
out after the bombardment ends. I need a few volunteers to help scout
out an exit" Looking around to the first 3 people he saw, he pointed.
"You, you, and you -- Just volunteered. Now follow me..."
Once the ''volunteers' assembled, Trevor took a peek outside. There appeared
to be general confusion outside of the hospital, but the attack seemed to
be limited to just the choppers. At this point, it looked as if there were no
hostile ground forces inside the base. Trevor thought of how far inside the
base he and his patients were, and that it would take several minutes to drive
out of the base, if indeed that would be possible.
Looking for a pattern, for any scrap of information that might prove useful,
Trevor noticed that the helicopters seemed to be not only hitting the
barracks, but also were shooting up everything in sight. "You'd think that
at least they (whoever THEY were) would be interested in the equipment..."
Counting the helicopters, Trevor saw at least one Apache AH-64 gunship leading the
attack, along with at least five UH-60s. The U60s were armed with door guns,
rocket pods, and forward-firing MGs.
Trevor considered the possibility of him and his volunteers reaching his
my HUMVEE, but realized the action was completely impractical at this point.
The group could all fit on/in the HUMVEE, but it wouldn't be the most comfy
ride with all of Trevor's cached supplies stored in it... Plus, the
HUMVEE was hidden several buildings down the street from the infirmary
where he was. Besides, there were 4 wounded under his care. Counting them
and the 3 volunteers, that makes 7. And that is somewhat MORE cramped with
all of Trevor's gear in the back of the HUMVEE.
Yet a glimmer of hope existed. The base at Ft. Indiantown Gap was huge.
The helo force was overwhelming, but not in such great numbers as to
take out everything at the base simultaneously. Trevor realized that the
force could not be everywhere at once...
While Trevor continued to consider his options, the infirmary took a
missile hit, and was being hosed with MG fire... "Good thing the
infirmary is sandbagged...", thought Trevor. "Get those wounded out
of the infirmary -- move 'em deeper into the building. And don't fire
back at 'em... it'll just make 'em madder..."
His trio of volunteers helped the wounded, some who could hobble or
walk, others who were completely bedridden, out of the infirmary, deeper
into the building.
Trevor's best guess at the strongest point in the building would be
either of the
two surgery wards. He directed his volunteers to help the wounded to
those adjoining rooms...
Time: 1815
Dr. Novak, his trio of volunteers, and his quartet of wounded, hunkered
down in the Surg-1 and Surg-2 suites, and took cover from the attack.
After nearly five minutes of sheer terror, the rattle of machinegun fire and
the pop of missiles exploding had apparently ceased.
All seemed to calm down, until the fire alarm went off. One of his volunteers, a
woman with "Yates" stenciled above her right pocket, crouch-walked over
to the wall display, and called out the extent of the alarm.
[Yates](NPC)
[O'Neill](wounded, non-ambulatory NPC)
[Arbogast](wounded NPC)
"Aw shaddup! Why'd we all come here in the middle of the flippin'
burning building, anyway?..."
[Trevor]
At the very least, the group was thankful that the Hospital was built on
the ground level. And was not several stories high...
[Trevor]
Two of the volunteers made their way out of the burning building, and
onto the street. The helicopter group faded into the distance, heading
west. Small arms fire could be heard from the north and east sides of
the compound, perhaps just 4-5 blocks away. It sounded as if at least
6-8 people were shooting...
The volunteers returned, and reported to Dr. Novak. Trevor noticed
that the gunfire seemed to be in the opposite direction of the building
harboring his HUM-VEE. Also, that there were no smoke or explosions
occuring in the general direction of the HUM-VEE's location. There was
nothing but the bleak stillness of the aftermath of the chopper's
attack...
...And here, the fire was spreading rapidly in the hospital. Trevor rapidly
grabbed what medical supplies he could, and, assessing the building like the hopeless patient
she was, he realized that all was lost here. As he flung himself through the burning
door, Trevor brushed his right arm abit too close to some burning debris, and
his uniform caught fire, painfully burning his arm. It seemed to be only
a light, superficial burn, yet it still hurt... Trevor's desire for remaining
in that place has vanished, anyway.
Suddenly, a building about 2 blocks east of the hsopital erupted in an
explosion. Trevor thought of the oxygen and many other medical gasses
in the hospital that were likely to explode when in contact with fire, and urged his
group to clear away from the building.
A loudspeaker on a nearby pole crackled, then a booming voice growled.
"Attention all personell. This Col. Winter. The inner compound has been
penetrated by hostile US forces. All personell are to escape by whatever
means become available. Extreme caution is advised, we are in the midst
of a mutiney. This is no drill. Repeat -- the inner compound..."
Trevor recognized Col. Winter's voice, and assumed that the message
was on the level. Suddenly, the message was interrupted by what could
only be a small arms burst at close range...
Several of the volunteers had armed themselves with pistols, but
anything heavier was not readily available. Yates was one so armed, and
she strongly suggested the group not hang out to meet those doing the
shooting.
Trevor ordered the volunteers to evacuate the wounded towards the building
where he had hidden his HUMVEE. While the group trotted that way, Trevor
kept an eye out for a trailer, but found nothing that had not been wrecked
in the attack.
So Dr. Trevor Novak, and his trio of volunteers, assist the four wounded
people to safety outside the building. Under the Dr.'s guidance,
they reached a disused warehouse, and Novak was seen to
heave a sigh of relief that the building was intact.
When he had cached his supplies away, Trevor had cleverly cut the
original lock and chain on the double doors, and replaced them with his
own. That way they were secure, but probably no one would be interested
in this building, anyway, since it had be unused for so long... So
while Yates and the others played lookout, Trevor produced the key from
his wallet, inserted it into the lock, and popped the device open. A
good heave-ho! on the rusted, sliding double doors, and they flew open.
Despite his precautions, Trevor was even happier to see the outline of
the HUMMER underneath the tarps. And was even happier to see that the dust
he had spread on the floor had been undisturbed, and that his stuff was
all there. Trevor approached the shape, and threw back the tarp, like a groom
uncovering his bride...
[Arbogast]
[Trevor]
It was a tight fit, but it was workable. O'Neill, on the litter, would
ride in back, atop the gear, along with 1 of the volunteers, who would monitor
his condition. Yates would ride on the left side in the backseat, so she
could sweep that side of the vehicle with fire, if needed. Doc would
ride shotgun, M16/M203 in hand. Arbogast, and the 2 other wounded would
cram into the backseat, and hope for the best. The final volunteer, a
pimple-studded motorhead nicknamed "Cruiser", would drive.
After a 2 minute wrestling match that seemed like 2 hours, Cruiser
prevailed over the engine, and the HUMMER started. Cruiser looked toward
Doc, who nodded, and put proverbial pedal to metal.
The HUMMER hesitated a moment, then shot out of the building.
[Cruiser]
[Novak]
Trevor gasped, "Go faster!... Go faster!..."
He sighted on the black shape and attempted to identify it...
Date: 30 APR 03
The chopper appeared to communicate with the HUMMER, using some sort of
signal. Blinking lights? But Novak quickly realized the blinking
lights were, in reality, machine guns firing at the HUMMER. The opening
burst riddled the back of the HUMMER, and several people in the back
screamed in fear and/or pain.
[Arbogast]
[unnamed wounded #1 and #2]
[Cruiser]
[Yates]
The chopper opened up again, riddling the area behind the HUMMER with
fire. This would be approximately where the people who BAILED would
be...
[Cruiser]
The chopper was 50' in the air now, waiting to pepper the HUMVEE. Trevor
popped off an M203 grenade at the chopper, but it went high and to the
right. The grenade arced down to the ground, and exploded in a clump of buildings with a dull
thud.
The chopper opened up with MG fire, which chewed up the road behind the
HUMMER. Bullets zinged by, or richocheted, but the HUMMER was miraculously
untouched.
Yates failed to clear her jammed M92 pistol. Then Trevor sprayed the chopper
with his M16. Trevor felt good that he was doing SOMETHING... until
his M16 jammed. He fumbled to clear the weapon rapidly...
Cruiser squealed the wheels on the pavement, threw the HUMMER in a
sliding turn that would humble Starsky and Hutch, and headed down a
narrow alley between buildings, hoping to shake the chopper off...
Which turned out to be a good move. The chopper was forced to give a
little distance, or it would crash into a 3 story building that Cruiser
just maneuvered around. So it does, tho' somewhat wobbily. It opened
up again with the MGs, and ripped up the back and midsection of the HUMMER.
The chopper again fired the MGs, scattering bullets and kicking up
dust, but doing no apparent damage.
Finally, Yates cleared her jammed pistol. Yet Trevor failed to clear
his jammed M16.
Cruiser headed down the safe (well, relatively safe) alley at full speed, praying that
the Chopper was not in a position to fire.
[Yates]
Cruiser anticipated entering into the choppers field of fire, so he tried
the ole Starsky and Hutch skidding turn again, but... well, he lost
control, and the HUMMER slammed HARD into a warehouse.
The impact of the crash was tremendous. No one was strapped in... The
HUMMER was doing about 50 when it plowed into the building. Cruiser
banged his head off the wheel. Doc went up over the hood and
rolled, twisting his left leg, and knocking the wind out of him. Yates
spilled out the opposite side of the HUMMER, and had a peculiar right
angle, in her right forearm.
And then two guys scrambled out from behind a counter, and pointed pistols
at you...
Looking at your watch, it was 1825 hours. What an afternoon!
==============================================
Date: 31 APR 03
Before Wiz and Jack could even react, a HUMMER plowed right into the
building in which they were hiding...
Wiz and Jack scrambled out from behind a counter, and pointed pistols
at the group of people before them...
A chopper swooped overhead, apparently circled 2 or 3 times, then flew
off into the distance...
[Wiz]
The people were dressed in US Army fatigues. None currently were holding
a weapon. The driver of the vehicle was thrown, Wiz was pointing his gun at
him.
[Wiz]
The former HUMMER riders still looked a bit woozy from the collision, and to
no one's suprise, they didn't answer right away...
[Wiz]
[Yates](an NPC)
[Wiz]
"I have no $%#*ing idea whose side I'm on right now. I don't even
know who is attacking! And I'm going to go ahead and assume that you
ARE on my side and that you ARE from this base. For all I know, Americans
are attacking us right now. But, it appears we have the same idea...
get the hell out of here. So..."
Wiz began to help the fallen people back to their feet. "Have any idea
where to head after we get out of the base?"
[Novak]
[Yates]
[Jack]
[Novak]
[Cruiser&Yates]
[Jack]
Jack's question went unanswered, while everyone looked around
the room, and sized up each other for ranks and so on.
Novak, referred to as Dr., wore Captain's "railroad-track" bars. He
had Medical insignia, too. He would be the ranking officer present...
Wiz, 1st man in shed, wore camou pants, a black tanktop, and had a 2LT
bar on a hat.
Jack, 2nd man in shed, wore camou BDUs, sleeves rolled up, and had a
toolbelt with small tools around his waist. He wore Spec4 "icecream
cones" on his collar.
Yates, the sarcastic, athletically built blond woman, wore Spec4
"icecream cones" on a hat. She was dressed in olive drab Army running
shorts, and a tight-fitting black T shirt. She resembled the actress
Sharon Stone, but was somewhat shorter and more muscular.
Cruiser, the pimple-studded driver, wore BDUs with the single stripe of
a PFC.
[Cruiser]
The young driver dusted himself off, and walked behind the HUMMER.
"S***! Aw, man, O'Neil!....", and with that, the kid lost his lunch in a
noisy SPLASH! on the concrete floor. "Doc... Oh, God! They've had it
fer sure!..."
[Novak]
Jack said a few ill-remembered words over the men, then covered them with a
tarp in the middle of the room.
[Novak]
"Everyone into the warehouse. Unless someone has a main battle tank,
hiding's the only thing we can do".
===============
Date: 31 APR 03
Novak began bandaging Yates' arm.
[Yates]
"Hey, watch it, buddy. That's TEN-der!"
[Novak]
The group pondered each other, and their situation, for a few minutes,
until bursts of gunfire broke the stillness...
[Yates]
[Cruiser]
[Yates]
[Wiz]
The sounds of short bursts and single shots, and the occasional explosion
from a grenade could be heard, steadily becoming nearer to the maintenance shed.
[Novak]
[Yates]
[Jack]
[Novak]
[Wiz]
"Okay, so maybe we DON'T have hardly any weapons. But I'm sure we can
throw together some gasoline bombs, and you can... umm..." Wiz kept talking
as he helped Cruiser mop up blood from the back of the Hummer.
[Cruiser]
[Wiz]
Finally, he got help, and moved a heavy, olive drab crate containing
a linked belt of 25mm API (armor-piercing incendiary) ammo. He put this next
to the large heap of debris which had accumulated in the middle of the room.
This contained 33 rounds, according to the stenciled letters on the crate.
This would burn and explode, obviously. Perhaps so obviously as to take
people's attention off of the group...
[Wiz]
[Doc]
As Wiz began to make a few cocktails, Doc looked at what he was doing with
alarm. "Hey, what are you doing? Don't waste gas, it's not like there's any
place convenient to fill up anymore.
[Wiz]
"I couldn't find any gas -- I used cleaning solution".
[Doc]
"OK, but put any gas, spare parts, and the like into the Hummer.
We need to assume that we're not coming back, and what we
carry is what we'll have. There might be used oil and the like in drums.
Although I can't remember if the stuff will explode, it should still burn.
Use that instead. At the very least it will make alot of smoke."
[Wiz]
[Doc]
The group discussed their options for a few moments...
So everyone gathered their stuff together, Wiz checked out his dirt bike,
and Cruiser made sure the HUMVEE started.
[Wiz]
[GM]
There was really very little similarity in 2003 to what the area was in
1998. The most memorable place was a nice restaurant, called the
Country Oven. They specialized in Prime Rib, and served an awesome
peanut butter pie. Trouble is, in 2003, it was illegal in PA to purchase meat 4
days out of the week. There was an "arrangement" between the restaurant
and the base, where for a price, things could be had. The base had ringed
the restaurant with sandbags and wire, and posted guards there to keep
order.
Wiz and Doc, being officers, splurged once in a while, and
bribed the waiter for a nice 20-ouncer, done to order. They both vaguely
remember seeing each other there, except they weren't aquainted at the
time.
Nearby in Bordnersville was a Nursery and Garden Center, two small public
airports, a Lowes (hardware/home furnishing chain store), a
Giant(grocery chain), a Short-Stop(convenience store), a high school, a
shopping center, and many houses, most of which were damaged, many of
which were totally demolished. Most of the businesses had been
THOROUGHLY picked over and looted. (Don't even ask... ) Most of the
people had moved away or onto the base, if they could justify it. Some
people still lived in the town, and were pretty nervous about the base.
Nighttime in the town was crazy! Insane! Nuts!... The base sent out
patrols in squad strength, usually augmented with one or two vehicles.
There was some sort of "Fifth Column" movement operating there, and occasional raids
were directed at the base. Some of the men from the base talked about
getting together and cleaning out the town for the good of everyone, but
the orders never came down, and it would have been nuts to leave the base for
long.
RTs 78 & 81 were Major Interstate Highways in the vicinity. They were in
poor repair in 2003. This means bridges, exit ramps, overpasses, etc.
were probably NOT passable, and that some "cross country" travel would be
required to traverse these obtacles. So travel at your own risk...
Harrisburg, the Capitol of PA, was a mere 20 minutes SW on RT 81 from
here. As had been stated, Harrisburg was in a state of Anarchy. Some
units from the base had been assigned guard duty at the Capitol Complex,
but that ended a couple of months ago, when the surviving units pulled
back into the base, and severely limited travel into and around the
area. Doc had treated many casualties from the riots and unrest in
Harrisburg. One of the last remaining commercial radio / TV stations
broadcasted from Harrisburg, and the news from there was, well, "limited"
by the Government.
The PA Turnpike (RT 76) ran east and west in the southern 1/3 of the
State between Pittsburgh and Philly. No reports on how safe it was, or
the condition of the roads...
RT 80 was a major interstate highway that also ran east and west, only
it was in the northern 1/3 of the state.
Doc went to Med School at the Hershey Medical School, in Hershey
(Chocolatetown). The factory closed about 2 years ago. Darn! The
college was affiliated with Penn State, and even in 2003, it had an
excellent reputation.
Wiz was born and bred in Alabama (you can still hear abit of the
accent...) He went to school at Carnegie Mellon, which also had an
excellent reputation. That school was in the eastern section of
Pittsburgh, so Wiz would have a thing or two to tell you about that
city.
Jack once lived in York. He knows that the situation there was about the
same as in the other cities. He'd rather not return there. Cruiser was
from a small farming community outside of Lancaster, and he said that
Lancaster was even worse than York, with the displaced city gangs roaming the
countryside, stealing livestock and killing those who resist. Philly
was nuked on July 4th 1999, and nearly four years later, it was still a
radioactive wreck. Pittsburgh was rumored to be run by a consortium of
local businessmen. No news on Scranton-Wilkes Barre...
Yates argued convincingly with several encouraging pieces of
information. She was from a small town called Port Trevorton, which was
about 45 minutes north of Harrisburg, on RT 15. The town was little more
than a few houses, a church or two, a gas station, and a family
restaurant. It was quietly nestled on the banks of the Susquehanna River. At least
that's how it was when she left 3 years ago...
back to our story...
[Yates]
[Doc]
[Yates]
[Cruiser]
[Jack]
Everyone nodded or otherwise responded in the affirmative.
"Okay remember the restaurant. Mount up folks." Doc started the engine of
the HUMMER.
[GM]
[Cruiser]
[Doc]
[Jack]
[Doc]
[GM]
[Wiz]
Wiz, with Jack covering him, sped out of the warehouse, weaved in and
out of a few blocks of the compound to draw attention away from the main
group, and then wheeled around and tore a** toward the Country Oven
restaurant.
[Doc]
[GM]
[Wiz]
[Wiz]
They quickly moved in and tried to determine if any hostiles were in the
place. Certainly they both were hoping there were not...
===============
Date: 30 APR 03
[GM]
Jack readied his pistols and quietly stalked into the lobby. Broken
glass was everywhere. Wiz entered on Jack heels, and kept a lookout
while Jack proceeded.
Directly ahead was an employee entrance to the kitchen, and to the left
was the cashiers counter and the bar. The quaint, antique stained glass
windows around the bar now laid in a million pieces on the floor. There
were bulletholes, probably from massed automatic weapons, all around the
bar, and not a bottle of liquor was intact on the shelves. There were also
several bodies, civilian and military, strewn around the place. They appeared to have only recently been killed...
Further into the place, to the left, were two dining rooms. The first,
was smaller, and more private. The second was quite large, and boasted
16 or so 8-person tables, in addition to 25-30 4-person tables.
Jack signaled silently to Wiz that he heard movement in the next room,
the kitchen, if you both remembered correctly. Jack whispered an idea.
[Jack]
"On the count of three, we'll burst in, and surprise 'em. Sound good?"
[Wiz]
"OK..."
Wiz wasn't really sure about this, but...
[Jack]
"1..., 2..."
Suddenly the doors from the kitchen burst open. To their amazement, it
wasn't a squad of Green Berets, and it wasn't a musclebound cook armed
with a nasty meat cleaver. Just a cat. A rather scroungy, scrawny cat
at that. Jack almost shot the thing out of sheer shock, but decided not
to risk the noise.
Jack and Wiz heard noise outside. Rushing to a window, they saw a car
whip into the parking lot. Sure enough, a familiar bullet-riddled
HUMVEE was parked outside the restaurant. It was Doc and the others,
who arrived here without major incident.
Date: 30 APR 03
[GM]
Wiz and Jack had searched the place, and came up with
a 6-pack of Coors Lite that someone had left behind, under one of the
bodies. He must've fell on it when... There were 6 bodies in the
main dining room, and another two behind the bar. All wore US fatigues,
and all had been stripped of equipment, weapons, and money. The kitchen
had lots of pots and pans, and utensils galore, but no food. There were
three huge walk-in freezers, but all had been stripped. There were some
prep areas with herbs and spices, but these too had been picked over --
no sugar, salt, pepper, or flour, just other stuff like marjoram, thyme,
etc. There were two large dumpsters outside that were not searched
yet...
[Doc]
Doc organized the efforts of the group. "Yates, Jack, check out the restaurant... see if there's any food in there.
If so, grab it. It's going to be a really long time before we can expect
regular meals. If there are any people hiding in there, pay for the food or
trade with them. I don't want to start wasting ammo on a stupid fire
fight".
"The rest of you fan out for now. Keep an eye on the approaches, we want
to have plenty of warning so that we can get under cover or run for it.
Especially look out for Choppers."
The group thoroughly searched the restaurant. Once the people were in position, Doc began to take inventory of what
equipment they had now, paying especial attention to the equipment that
the others had put onboard the Hummer.
[Doc]
[Cruiser]
[Doc]
[Wiz]
Wiz rounded up several cardboard boxes, and began loading utensils,
cooking pots and pans, spices, lightbulbs, toilet paper, and other
essentials, to be placed in the HUMMVEE. Jack kept watch by the main
entrance.
The cat slinked around the room, but then froze in fear in the middle of the room.
The cat was perhaps the skinniest animal of it's type that Doc had ever
seen. It was obviously malnourished, probably a kitten 2 months old,
give or take. It showed no outward signs of rabies, and looked about as
fearful as anything else would be at this place. Doc reached out to pet
the small animal. It cowered, but then slowly, cautiously approached,
and let the man pet him. It was a black and white cat, patches over the
body of the thing much like a cow. The animal had a white face, and a
black "moustache", like maybe Hitler, or more accurately, Groucho Marx.
The kitten emitted a pitiful "mrrrOWWW!" as Doc petted and scratched
it. As Doc turned to leave, the animal did it's best to follow, right
on his heels.
Cruiser and Doc carefully left the restaurant thru the kitchen's service
exit, to a loading dock. This dark place had space for two trucks to
pull up and load/unload. The dumpster was concealed behind a brown
latticework screen, but was easy for the men's noses to spot. The
dumpster was painted green, and was quite large, about 1.75m tall, 3m
long, and 2m wide.
Cruiser, armed with a pistol, approached the dumpster while Doc covered
him with the M16. Cruiser slowly approached, then flung the lid to the
dumpster open. The lid creaked and grated, then slammed home into the
open position. The most remarkable thing about the dumpster was the
smell. It stunk. It smelled. It darned near knocked Cruiser off his
feet. Well, in a way, it did, because he soon bent over and vomited for
the second time that afternoon...
Doc covered his nose to shield it from the offensive smell, and
investigated while Cruiser did the old heavy-ho! on the loading dock.
The food, or whatever, was thoroughly decomposed. Flies swarmed out
from the open door, and rivaled the smell in their ability to choke a
person. Some of the stuff was identifiable as lettuce and vegetables,
there was some badly molded bread, but the rest was just like sludge.
A large hill or slope was visible from the loading dock, looking to the
north. Up on this hill some 600m away, puffs of smoke could be seen.
The flash of muzzle blast from rifles then became visible. A single
bullet ping!-ed into the dumpster, and Cruiser was back up onto the
loading dock in an instant.
[Wiz]
The gears of Wiz's mind were grinding away on a plan.
"I'm not going to leave any of those bastards alive if I can help
it... If you all drove off, I wonder if they will think that we all left.
I and one other person who wants to volunteer could climb up on the
roof and wait. They may come to investigate, they may not... If they do,
we will kill as many as we can and then...
Doc picked up the cat and stuffed it into a pocket, and then yelled back,
"Wiz, may I point out, that we've only limited ammo, we really don't
know whose side these folks are on, and there's already been enough
killing. We've taken what we could find, let's get the F*** out of here
while we still can."
Doc hustled the others into the HUMVEE, and showed every intention of not waiting
around for Wiz.
[Wiz]
"Where to now?..." he called after Doc.
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Time: 1800
Place: 228th Forward Support Battalion(FSB) base, Ft. Indiantown Gap
People: Wiz / Jack(an NPC)
"Whats going on Herald?"
"I don't know for sure but some group is poundin' the base! I can't believe
we're being attacked!"
"Attacked, what do you mean attacked? Crap!"
Then turning to Jack, "Shall we fight?"
I don't know... We have no idea who's attacking, huh?
Terrorists, The Russians, Mexicans... None of us are ground-pounders,
and we've only got pistols -- Heck, my vote is we get the flock outta
Dodge! And fast!
Wiz and Jack grabbed their weapons, and attempted to identify the
enemy, but the speed of the attack was so swift that they both just
stood there, dumbfounded.
The look of panic on Herald's face was unmistakable. Suddenly, the man jumped
up, saying "I'm outta here, dudes!", and with that, he ran out
the door, crossed the courtyard, and entered the nearby barracks.
Wrinkling his nose, he gestured with his thumb, saying "What the?......"
Time: 1800
Place: 28th DISCOM (Divisional Support Command), Ft. Indiantown Gap
People: Dr. Trevor Novak
Novak had little to do for the moment. That would probably change if
one of the patrols returned from the State Capitol. Over the past 5
months since arriving here, Novak had learned more than any professor of
medicine could stuff into his head. He had facility in treating burns,
gunshot wounds, amputations, rad / chem / bio sicknesses, and the list
continued.
Location: Surg-1 and Surg-2, adjoining suites in the hospital building.
"I'm reading fires in Triage, Wards A, B, C, and E, X-ray Suites 1 & 2,
MRI chamber, OT/PT, and Surg-2 Storage. So, that leaves the D ward, the
infirmary, Surg-1, Surg-2, and Nuclear Medicine untouched. Crap, 3/4ths
of the building is on fire!"
"We're all gonna roast in here! Gemme out!"
Trevor turned to Arbogast, "You would prefer to be where you could be shot to
pieces, perhaps?..."
"OK , Everyone, let's evacuate... walking wounded help carry out the
non-walking wounded. I'm going to see if I can salvage as much of our equipment and
supplies as possible. Stat!, people... provided that we don't roast, we'll be
needing to get ready for incoming wounded."
Eyeing the bulletholes, Arbogast smirked, "Does it run?..."
Trevor thought of something smart, but kept his reply to himself.
Cruiser apparently thought that the HUMMER's accelerator was it's most
most important feature, because the vehicle surely showed no signs of
slowing down. Cruiser careened in and out of streets, in between the
narrow spaces between barracks, did an admirable bootlegger turn on the
Battalion Commander's Office garden, and had nearly exited the
Maintenance area when the chuf-chuf-chuffing of a helicopter's rotors
could be heard.
Looking up and behind them, Novak could see a large, black shape not far
above and behind...
Time: 1835
Location: exiting the maintenance area.
The man has had enough, PANICed, and bailed out, even while the HUMMER was
moving. He hit hard, rolled, and...
They likewise PANICed, and bailed out, tumbling on the asphalt...
Cruiser tromps the pedal down even further, yet the HUMMER can give no
more. "That's all she's got, Doc! Hang on, I'll try weaving..." Cruiser
jarred the HUMMER around, and like on a wild rollercoaster ride, the occupants
were slammed to and fro.
Screamed an unladylike streak of swear words at the chopper, and opened up
on them with her M92 pistol. She fired a few rounds, then cursed again
as her pistol jammed...
The youth shot a nasty look at Novak, and spat, "I ain't stoppin', Chief.
Don't even F****'n say it..."
Mentioned something concerning urinary function and the chopper, and fired
5 rounds at the chopper with the M92. At least 2 bullets
glanced off the chopper, but there seemed to be little or no effect. Finally,
Trevor cleared his jammed M16.
Time: 1825
Place: Smashed-up Maintenance Shed, 228th FSB, Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA
People: WIZ, JACK(npc), DOC, YATES(npc), CRUISER(npc)
Wiz's first reaction was to draw his gun. Then he waited until the
copter left, and inspected the people in and around the HUMMER.
Wiz wasn't certain whether they were the enemy or not. Wiz aimed his
gun at the nearest of the thrown passengers and demanded,
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Wiz looked at the thrown man and asked, "Who are you and what are you
doing here, and why was that helicopter after you, and exactly which
side are you on?"
Wiz looked at the thrown man and again asked, "Who are you and what are you
doing here, and why was that helicopter after you, and exactly which side are
you on?"
The former HUMMER riders still looked a bit woozy from the collision,
and to no one's suprise, they didn't answer right away. But finally, a blond
woman stood, and, unimpressed that two pistols were pointed in her
general direction, she gave her sarcastic reply. "We're dangerous
MEDICAL personnel from the flippin' HOSPITAL. Obviously, we've crashed
our friggin' TRANSPORT, and sh*t, we're all AMERICANS, you bonehead --
just who's side are YOU on, anyway?..."
Wiz placed his gun back into it's holster and turned to the lady.
"Yes... Away!"
"Doc, don't be a wiseguy... could you do something for my arm -- it
hurts like a b******!... we've gotta regroup -- whoever these people are
that are attacking, U.S., Russkies, mutineers, whatever... they still
might be a threat. They had choppers -- I thought all the air had been
grounded for at least 5 months. And we got d*** for weapons..."
"Well, if you're not the attackers, then, who are you?" Jack looked
sly for a moment. "What unit are you guys with, anyway?..."
"Hospital. Let me fix this person's arm first, and I'll tell you
all about it".
Yates motioned the kid nearer and talked quietly to him. She cradled her
broken arm with her good one. He dug in a fanny pack for some ammo,
and then cleared and reloaded Yates' M92 pistol for her. He looked quite
comical with the large purple "goose egg" enlarging above his left
eyebrow.
"If we leave, then can't we be shot as deserters?"
Doc checked the bodies to see if they were still alive. Realizing they were not,
he helped Cruiser and Wiz get the bodies out of the Hummer. "If anyone
knows last rites, say them now, and quickly. Otherwise, let's get busy..."
Novak, realizing the responsibility of the safety of the group, ordered them
to cover.
Time: 1835
Place: Smashed-up Maintenance Shed, 228th FSB, Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA
People: WIZ, JACK(npc), DOC, YATES(npc), CRUISER(npc)
She yelped in pain and looked as if she might punch the Dr. at one
point.
Doc smiled and said, "Sorry, I'd offer you something for the pain,
but I left my anestesiologist back in my other hospital..."
[Yates]
The blond woman smiled abit through a grimace of pain.
"Sounds real close, and just north of here.
"How can you tell direction? We're indoors..."
"Shut up!... Yeah, definately north..."
"Here is what I think we can do," Wiz said, standing. "We all want to
get out of here, so we combine our efforts. You've got this HUMMER, which
actually helps us all out a lot. I've got a few essentials I'd like to
load on there, if you don't mind. And don't worry, I won't touch your
medical supplies". Looking around, he said, "We have plenty of stuff
in here, we just need to decide what we need to take, and what we can do
to get us out of here. When we leave, I can speed on ahead and attract
attention with my bike", he said, pointing to an old dirt bike. "I'm not
sure what else. Maybe we can find something to burn and create smoke, but we
can't stay here much longer. We need to get out, and get out fast. Any
objections?", Wiz asks, but he is already looking around for makeshift
weapons, and ways to create a diversion or cover while the group makes their
escape.
"If it's just small arms, it may be a ground assault, in which case we'd
best leave south."
"Hell, that sounds good to me.
"I'd rather take my chances DOING something rather than gettin' shot
like fish in a barrel."
"I agree with that. Okay people, we've got maybe 5 to 10 minutes to
get everything ready before they start sending out search parties.
We need to make enough smoke to distract the choppers, so find anything
that will make smoke, tires, green wood, dirty oil, anything.
If someone has a smoker or something, then throw that in too.
Let's get cracking.
The techie began to think outloud while he set to work.
"S***! I've never touched another person's blood before. H***, I've never
touched a dead ANYTHING before, let alone a PERSON..." The young kid
looked as if he might puke again, but thankfully, he held it...
Wiz knew this place -- it was his workplace. He came up with several
computers in various states of repair, electronics devices (likewise
broken), etc. These were largely housed in plastic cases, which he thought
should probably smoke or burn as requested. Also, he stacked up several
spools of coax cable, and empties three shelves of plastic conduit.
These he had seen smoke and burn when a voltage spike went through the
O-Club last February.
Wiz found some room in the back of the Hummer, and rigged up some
netting from the back, up over the top of the HUMMER,
which created an area where more cargo could be carried. He was very
careful to avoid messing up the Doc's stuff. Once that was done, he
started looking around for empty bottles, rags and gas. He found no gas,
but substituted cleaning solution, and thereby put together a
few "Molotov Cocktails". He continued mentally itemizing everything
in the shed that could possibly used to make a weapon, or confusion,
or anything that would help.
The techie agreed and began getting the few cans of used oil together to make
a smoke screen.
"Maybe find some tires or something, they make alot of smoke when they burn.
About what you said earlier -- If you want to risk it, then run
interference -- I guess telling you to be careful is kindof an understatement.
Is there somewhere we can meet if we get separated?
Wiz strapped the rest of his own possessions into the Hummer before
dragging as much burnable stuff right outside the door. He took a lighter
to it and asked, "Everyone ready?" He started up his motorbike. "On the count
of three? I'll meet you outside of the base." His emotions of fear and
excitement at the danger, nearly overwhelmed him, as he ignited the pile
of oil-soaked papers that served as the fuse for the building-sized
"smoke bomb". In a flash, he worried if the fuse was long enough.
He didn't want to risk his neck, but...ohh well.
"The central and north parts of the state are largely agricultural. Alot
of the problems we might encounter are PEOPLE, and there are very few
PEOPLE living where I came from. In my little town, there are fish to
be caught in the river and nearby streams. And the woods are full of
deer, rabbits, and squirrels, just waiting to be roasted over a nice
fire. The farms, they've been untended for awhile, probably, but...
well, with some work... we could find seeds somewhere... Anyway, fewer
people means fewer idiots taking a potshot at us. For what it's
worth..."
Doc says, "Well, the restaurant sounds like a good place to meet, let's say
that we'll meet there in two hours. Any who aren't there are going to be left
behind." Doc looks thoughful for a few moments. "It's premature to talk
about where we're going if we don't know who's going. I think Yates has
the right idea though."
"I'm not staying HERE! I'm goin'!!!"
"I can't go home. I got nowhere to go... I might as well hang with you
guys..."
"I'm going where Wiz goes, until he starts acting nuts again." Jack
feigned a punch to Wiz's left bicep. Well, I don't think anyone's gonna stand in line waiting to be shot here.
We're ALL going, right?"
Yates and Cruiser piled into the Hummer. Cruiser rode shotgun, and
Yates got in the backseat. Yates checked her pistol, and Cruiser eyed
Doc's M16...
"Doc, if you're gonna drive, could I?..."
Sure, knock yourself out. I think I got some grenades in the back of the
Hummer. You might want to load those in too.
Jack, giggling with nervousness, whipped out two revolvers, opened them
in a fancy maneuver, checked them, and then flipped them closed. He
hopped on the motorbike, in back of Wiz, holding the revolvers loosely
at his sides like a comical cowboy on a horse from some goofy western
movie...
Doc looked at Wiz, to see how he wants to resolve this. He didn't really
have a problem with Jack riding with Wiz, but he thought that Wiz would
probably lose some precious mobility if Jack rides with him. On the other
hand, Jack could provide some much needed extra firepower for Wiz.
So the little group quickly made it's plans for escaping the base. Rifle
shots and the explosion of grenades could be heard nearby.
Occasionally, yelling, shouting, or a single unnerving scream could also
be heard.
Cruiser, Yates, and Doc left shortly after Wiz and Jack. Doc careened
the HUMVEE sharply around several turns, did a passable imitation of a
bootlegger turn, and crashed the gate doin' 98... or more like 58
mph... Cruiser would lend support with Doc's M203. Yates alternated
between hanging on, and bouncing around when she lost her grip.
Both groups could see the smoke rising from their erstwhile hideout, the
maintenance shed. Shortly, the 25mm autocannon rounds went off, first
just a few pops and bangs, then, the remainder of the belt cooked off in
a rapid burst. Anything in or around the shed was no doubt shredded.
Wiz and Jack on the dirtbike, had a substantial lead on the HUMVEE. The
main fence around the restaurant had been battered and torn down. There
were apparently no people around, so Wiz and Jack dismounted, and began
the long, painstaking wait for the others in the HUMVEE.
Wiz decided to use the time as best he could, and pulled his bike right
inside the place where the wall used to be. He drew his gun and motioned
for Jack to do the same. Jack didn't have to be told, though. He was ready
with those two .357 Magnums...
Time: 1900
Place: The Country Oven Restaurant, near Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA
People: WIZ, JACK(npc)
The two friends dismounted, and began checking out the restaurant. The
walls had been sandbagged, and firing loopholes had been added. A thin
whisp of smoke rose from a stovepipe in the roof. It was very quiet
outside the place.
Time: 1900
Place: The Country Oven Restaurant, near Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA
People: WIZ, JACK(npc), DOC, CRUISER(npc), Yates(npc)
Doc shook his head when he saw the bodies. "Such a stupid waste..."
He looked around awhile longer. "Hmmm, grab one of the big soup pots and
a frying pan. I highly doubt any of us have the equipment necessary to cook
for a large group of people... get all the knives, and all the spices. I figure in a couple of years
there'll be precious few prepackaged, and most importantly, well-preserved
spices around. Cruiser why don't you and I check out the dumpster.
"Right, Captain."
It may be disgusting, but soon, food will be food... Besides, there may be
survivors... Wiz while we're at that, why don't you set up a watch and
then see if there is anything that you can salvage. I guess things like
light bulbs, spare parts and such."
"OK, sounds good to me..."
Wiz rushed out the back when he heard the gun shot then ran back in
on Doc and Cruiser's heels. "Well F*$@. Nothing is going to go right.
I've got most of the things packed up now, let's grab the rest..."
"Alright, you've got a good point. I just hate leaving those
bastards alive after they attacked us!" Wiz jumped on his cycle and
drove off after the HUMVEE.