Survival in the Ashes.

Ashes.

William W. Johnstone.

"Over the mountains Of the moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, Ride, boldly ride,"

the shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado."

- Edgar Allan Poe

Chapter 1.

Ben Raines and his army of Rebels had fought many battles over the decade since the world exploded in germ and nuclear war, bringing an end to civilization as people had come to know it. But as Ben and his Rebels drove towardSt. Louis , after waging war in the Northwest against the racist forces of Malone, Ben was thinking that this upcoming battle could well be the greatest and most decisive battle of his decade-long career against anarchy and for the restoration of civfliza-tion.

On the east side of 1-55, ma.s.sing in great numbers, were the mercenary forces of Kenny Parr, the terrorist forces of Khamsin-the Hot Wind-and the mercenary armies of Lan Villar. Very conservative estimates placed their numbers at ten thousand strong.

Behind Ben Raines and his Rebels, coming up from the west, were the forces of Sister Voleta, Ashley, and a ragtag a.s.sortment of human crud, all of whom had but one thought in mind: to destroy Ben Raines and turn the world into an outlaw haven.

The clanking of the engine pulled Ben out of his musings.

"What the h.e.l.l's wrong with this thing?" he asked his driver, Cooper, as the four-wheel-drive vehicle bucked to a halt, smoke wafting from under the hood. Those inside quickly evacuated the vehicle, grabbing equipment as they exited.

"Blew an engine," Cooper said. "d.a.m.n, this thing was supposed to have been rebuilt." He lifted his mic.

"This is Cooper. Bring the other vehicle up. The Eagle's been grounded." Rebels quickly extinguished the fire under the hood and the equipment was off-loaded just as a nine-pa.s.senger, four-wheel-drive wagon pulled up. It looked enormous sitting next to the disabled Blazer.

"When and where did you find this boat?" Ben asked, inspecting the big wagon.

"Two weeks ago" Dan Gray said, walking up. "I've had people working on it at every stop since then. You need more room. It's armorplated and the gla.s.s is bulletproof. The engine is the largest we could find. Four fifty something or another.

You'll have a lot more room in this, General."

Ben looked at his watch. "h.e.l.l, we're close enough. Let's break for lunch, Dan. Dismount the people and tell them to find shelter. This is where we make our stand."

They were a few miles south ofSt. Louis proper.

Cecil was in command of the battalions inSt. Louis . . . or what was left of the city. General Striganov and his people were digging in between the city and Ben and West's position. Ike was north of the city, digging in.

Ben walked to the communication's van and stuck his head inside. "What's the latest word?" "Hostile forces still pulling in and setting up on the east side of the river, General," she told him. "They're facing us along a thirty-mile stretch. Latest estimates are about eight thousand .

. . with more expected. They have artillery, but no tanks as yet."

"Lan Villar is confirmed?"

"That's ten-four, sir. Our scouts report that Khamsin and Kenny Parr have been spotted as well."

Ben nodded and thanked her. He walked away, chewing on a sandwich and washing it down with water from his canteen.

"Traffic coming up from the south, sir," a Rebel pointed out.

Ben turned, squinted his eyes, and smiled. The un- mistakable rattle of many VW engines reached his ears. To the rear of the VW column, a shiny black hea.r.s.e was rolling stately along.

Ben walked out onto Highway 61/67 and waited until the strange convoy drew abreast of him. A familiar face looked out at him from the lead VW van.

"For a peace-loving hippie, Thermopolis," Ben said, "you certainly pop up in the most violent of places."

"We were listening to your radio transmissions, Ben," the aging hippie said. "Actually it was Emil who convinced us that we should lend a hand in this fight. It concerns us all."

"What command do you want to fight under, Therm?"

"Doesn't make me the slightest bit of difference."

"Well, I've got the short battalion, so you can stay here with us." He smiled. "You feel like putting up with Emil?"

"I've been putting up with him for five hundred miles, Ben."

"We've had some additions since I saw you last.

Some outlaw bikers have joined up. They're called the Wolfpack; headed by a man called Leadfoot.

Another group of female bikers is with them. Wanda and her Sisters ofLesbos ."

Themopolis stared at him and finally shook his head.

"Ben Raines, you attract the strangest G.o.dd.a.m.n bunch of people I have ever seen in all my life. And I was a hippie inNew Orleans for ten years!"

Ben laughed and looked inside the VW van.

"h.e.l.lo, Rosebud."

Therm's wife returned the smile. "h.e.l.lo, General Raines."

"What'd you do with the children?" Ben asked.

"Took them to Base Camp One and left them.

We felt they'd be safe there." Thermopolis smiled. "Even though by the time we return, their heads will be pumped full of patriotism and duty and all that c.r.a.p. We may never be able to deprogram them."

"You're a fraud, Therm," Ben told him.

"You're just as much a harda.s.s as I am. The only difference between us is that you need a haircut."

Thermopolis laughed and put the VW in gear.

"In your opinion," he said, and drove off toward the staging area.

As the van pa.s.sed by him, Ben caught a glimpse of blond hair in the back seat. He gritted his teeth. Jerre. He nodded his head at her. She returned the curt nod.

As the caravan of hippies pa.s.sed, Ben nodded and spoke to Zipper and Fly, Santo and Swallow, Whistler and Wren, Wenceslaus and Zelotes, Adder and Ima, Udder and Ura,Willow and the others who made up the large commune.

The platoon of Rebels who had been a.s.signed to the commune pa.s.sed by and they waved and yelled at the general. Ben tossed them a left-handed mock salute and waited for Emil Hite to pa.s.s by. At least Ben hoped he would pa.s.s by and not stop.

The black hea.r.s.e stopped and Emil jumped out. The little con artist who professed to be the earthbound voice of the Great G.o.d Blomm drew himself up and saluted.

"Lafayette, we are here!" he shouted.

Ben sighed and eyeballed the little man. Emil had discarded his flowing robes and changed into tiger-stripe BDU'S, black beret, and high-heeled cowboy boots. He was a bit unsteady on his feet.

Buddy and Tina, Ben's kids, walked up, both of them smiling. Colonel Dan Gray, CO of the Scouts, stood by them, his little dog,Chester , by his boots. Dan struggled to hide his smile.

With some a.s.sistance, Emil climbed up on the hood of the hea.r.s.e.

"Oh, no!" Ben muttered.

Emil started to slide off the hood and waved his arms frantically, finally regaining his balance. "We have traveled many a hard and dangerous mile to reach you, General Raines. Through fog and rain and gloom of night . . ."

Ben tuned him out as best he could, hoping that the speech would be a short one. For all his theatrics, Emil and his followers had proved to be some tough fighters; they would stand against terrible odds.

Emil finally wound down and managed to get off the hood of the hea.r.s.e without busting his b.u.t.t.

"Good to have you with us, Emil," Ben said. And Ben was telling the truth. Ben liked the little con artist, for Emil could always be counted on to provide some comic relief when the situation got grim. "Follow Ther-mopolis and his people and dig in."

"At your orders, sir!" Emil shouted, saluting.

"My people will fight to the death . . ."

"Emil!"

"dis . . We shall fight on the beaches and the hedgerows . . .".

Ben groaned.

"dis . . We shall fight in the streets and from the bunkers . . ."

Even the little dog,Chester , was looking at Emil very strangely.

"Right, Emil," Ben said. "I appreciate your coming up here . . ."

"And when ammunition is no more, we shall fight with entrenching tools and clubs . . ."

"Thank you, Emil. Your loyalty is very nearly overwhelming." "We shall never surrender and ever with liberty and justice . . ." Emil looked confused for a moment.

"I said that wrong."

Ben patted the man on the shoulder. "It's all right, Emil. I understand."

With Emil gone, Ben turned to Dan Gray. "Have there been any shots exchanged, Dan?"

"Negative, General. Both sides appear to be too busy digging in."

"So it's shaping up to be an artillery battle."

"At first, yes. But that will change very quickly as those on the east side of the river learn we have them outgunned."

"We're going to have to keep a sharp eye on our rear and our flanks. Voleta and Ashley will be coming up hard and fast."

"I've set up posts stretching fromHannibal in the north toSalem in the south. They're dug in and well concealed alongside every road capable of sustaining heavy traffic."

"Good. All right, Dan. Let's go see how our people are doing."

Dan took the lead and a.s.signed Scouts to the rear of the short column, with Ben and his personal team in the center, Cooper at the wheel of the big wagon.

Everyone who could use a shovel was busy filling sandbags, digging bunkers, and finding heavy timbers to add support. Tanks and artillery were being positioned and fortified. Along the river, working unseen, Rebels were quietly occupying empty warehouses and other buildings and setting up heavy machine gun positions, fortifying their positions with sandbags and railroad ties.

Ben and his teams moved into General Striganov's sector. The Russian had dug his people in deep and quickly. Striganov handed Ben powerful binoculars and moved them toward a window of his CP, located close to the river. "Take a look, General."

The activity across the river jumped into the lenses.

"Jesus!" Ben said. "It looks like the staging area inEngland before D-Day."

"My thoughts exactly," the Russian agreed with a smile. "I, too, have seen old newsclips of the storming of the beaches."

Ben turned to Corrie. "Tell Ike to send his demolition people north and south, Corrie. Blow the bridges that are still standing fromQuincy toCape Girardeau. We'll make the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds come across the river if they want us. After you've done that, b.u.mp Base Camp One and have all PU!'S readied and flown up here.

Land them at that strip we cleared at Saint Clair."

"Yes, sir."

Ben and his teams drove into the ruins ofSt. Louis , using Interstate 55, picking their way along.

Cecil and the mercenary, West, had deployed their troops south to north within the city, fromWeber Road in the south toHall Street in the north.

St. Louiswas a study in desolation and ruin. Time and fire and a.s.sorted vandals and crud and punks and Night People had turned the city into a wasteland. The suburbs of the city, where Ben had his people to the south, and Ike to the north, were bad enough, but inside the city itself, it was ruin . . . most of it by human hand.

Cecil Jefferys and Ike McGowan met Ben atCaron-deletPark and the men shook hands.

"They're dug in tight across the river," Cecil said.

"I've seen. All right, so we've lost the element of surprise. I'm pa.s.sing the word up and down the line, personally. Let's get all our artillery and heavy mortars in place and the enemy's positions spotted and coordinated. When can you have that done?" "By 1800 hours."