FIRE FROM
THE SKY:
DAMNED NATION
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FIRE FROM THE SKY: BOOK 10: DAMNED NATION
by N.C. REED
Published by Creative Texts Publishers
PO Box 50
Barto, PA 19504
www.creativetexts.com
Copyright 2020 by N.C. REED
All rights reserved
Cover photos used by license.
Design copyright 2020 Creative Texts Publishers, LLC
The Fire From the Sky Logo is a trademark of Creative Texts Publishers, LLC
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.
The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual names, persons, businesses, and incidents is strictly coincidental. Locations are used only in the general sense and do not represent the real place in actuality.
KINDLE EDITION
FIRE FROM
THE SKY:
DAMNED NATION
N.C. Reed
For those gone ahead.
We love and miss you.
We’ll keep the home fires burning.
Thanks are always due on any project like this. While the writer takes the credit, there are people all through his or her background area that make a project like this what it is, or what it becomes. People we turn to for help, for information, for assistance of whatever kind.
I always must thank my family, particularly my wife and nephew, who are my sounding boards. I bounce ideas off them all the time, and some of those ideas end up here, in print.
My parents, who always believed I could do things I never thought I could. I wish they had lived to see these books in print, but must believe that they can still see, and are proud.
My readers, who have made this all possible. If it were not for you, there wouldn’t be a reason for me to be here at all.
And to my publishers, Creative Texts, who do so much more than just publish. I couldn’t ask for better hands to be in.
FIRE FROM THE SKY
Dramatis personae
The Sanders Family and Farm
Gordon Sanders – current patriarch of the Sanders family
Angela Sanders- wife of Gordon Sanders, mother of their three children
Robert Sanders – oldest son of Gordon and Angela
Patricia Sanders- wife of Robert Sanders, mother of their two children
Abigail Sanders – oldest child of Robert and Patricia
Samantha Walters – Abigail’s best friend, currently living with the Sanders
Gordy Sanders – youngest child of Robert and Patricia
Alicia Tillman – only daughter of Gordon and Angela, second child
Ronny Tillman – husband of Alicia Tillman, father of their three children
Leanne Tillman – oldest of twins by two minutes
Leon Tillman – youngest of twins by two minutes
Clayton ‘Fussy’ Tillman – newborn addition to the Tillman family
Clayton Sanders – youngest son and child of Gordon and Angela
Lainie Harper – Clayton’s girlfriend
Greg Holloway – childhood best friend of Clayton and Jake Sidell. Deputy Sheriff of Calhoun County, now lives with Gordon and Angela
Jake Sidell – childhood best friend of Clayton and Greg Holloway. Mechanic and business owner, now lives on the Sanders’ farm with his seven-year-old daughter Jacqueline (Jac)
Jacqueline Sidell – daughter of Jake Sidell with his late wife, Kaitlin
Members of Clay’s old unit
Jose Juarez – current second in command of Clayton’s security duties for the farm
Martina Sanchez – Jose’s fiancé
Roberto Sanchez – Son of Martina Sanchez, 8
Rae Sanchez – daughter of Martina Sanchez, 6
Shane Golden – considered third in command, normal go-between for the group and new people
Nathaniel ‘Nate’ Caudell – scout for the group
Cristina Caudell – Nate’s wife
Baby John Caudell – Nate and Cristina’s newborn son, less than a year old
Kaitlin Caudell – Nate’s older sister, and Registered Nurse
Nathan Caudell – Kaitlin’s son, 16
Stacy Pryor
Kevin Bodee
Tandi Maseo – medic
Ellen Kargay – Tandi’s girlfriend
Mitchell Nolan
Beverly Jackson – Mitchell’s girlfriend
Jonathon ‘JJ’ Jackson, Beverly’s son, 14
Xavier Adair
Friends of Gordy’s worked into the unit
Zach Willis
Titus Terry
Heath Kelly
Corey Reynard
Kurtis Montana (newly arrived with Shane’s group, but normally fitted with the other teens)
Amazon Squad (but don’t call them that)
Talia Gray
Kim Powers
Amanda Lowery
Danica Bennet
Freda Fletcher
Devon Knowles
Petra Shannon
Heather Patton
Eve Albert
Jena Waller
Mikki Reeves
Gail Knight
Savannah Hale
Carrie Jarrett
Eunice Maynard
Carol Kennard
Janessa Haynes
ORIGINAL HILLTOP COMMUNITY and other newcomers
Gary Meecham – gunsmith, sharpshooter, one of the group leaders
Dixie Jerrolds – schoolteacher
Ashton Jerrolds – Dixie Jerrold’s son, 7
Marcy George – ‘emancipated teenager’ 17
Samuel Webb – current ‘patriarch’ of the surviving Webb family members
Luke Webb – brother to Samuel
Seth Webb – Brother to Samuel – 16
Lila Webb – Sister to Samuel – 15
Daisy Webb – Widow of Micah Webb
Jasmine Webb – Widow of Matt Webb
Darrell Goodrum – blacksmith
Carlene Goodrum – wife of Darrell and mother of their three children
Anthony Goodrum – son, 16
Jamey Goodrum – son, 10
Cara Goodrum - daughter, 8
Victoria Tully – former National Guard member, EOD specialist
Byron ‘Brick’ House – friend of Leon the Elder with murky past
Terri Hartwell – veterinarian student caught by the Storm, now part of the Sanders’ Farm
Olivia Haley – 17, classmate of Gordy’s, orphaned by Storm, now living with Gordon and Angela
Caroline – sister, 7
Libby – sister, 5
Amy Mitchell – rescued from attack soon after Storm
Lisa – daughter,9
Janice Hardy – 18, came with Lainie Harper, has an eidetic memory
Callie Weston – rescued from attack on the farm
Carl – son, 4
Tammy Denmark – rescued from attack on the farm
Diane – daughter, 3
New Members of Hilltop Community
&nb
sp; Kandi Ledford – former 2nd Lt., U.S. Army
Sienna Newell – former 1st Lt., U.S. Army
Virgil Wilcox – former SSG, U.S. Army
Jaylyn Thatcher – surgeon, former Capt., U.S. Army
Roddy Thatcher – husband of Jaylyn, truck driver
Clifford Laramie – fuel truck driver
Moses Brown – butcher/meat cutter
Trudy Leighton – Shane Golden’s cousin
Gwen Paige – Trudy’s girlfriend
Millie Long – teen picked up by Shane’s group on the way east, now Leon Sanders girlfriend
Dottie Greer – husband James, truck driver, working when Storm hit, invited to live at farm
Helena – daughter,8
Quentin – son,7
Evelyn Lacey – soap maker
Jordan
Clem Pickett – Newly elected Mayor
Clint Dawson – Militia leader
Ben Draper – economic leader
Doreen Milligan – economic leader
Lewiston
Van Bronson – Deputy Sheriff
Marvin Seward – Mayor
Walter Goggin – Deputy Sheriff
National Guard Contingent
Major Andrew Whitten
Captain Lake Adcock
1st Lieutenant Triana Flores
2nd Lieutenant Faron Gillis
1st Sergeant Hewie Maxwell
Sergeant First Class Shaun Gleason
Staff Sergeant Lowell Martinson
Sergeant Ted Deering
Author’s Note: Those listed as part of the Hilltop Community may or may not actually be staying on the Hilltop at any given moment. All are listed with them as either those who arrived at the farm just before the disaster struck, or were invited to stay afterward, and are not part of the Sanders’ family group or extended family (or part of Clay’s old outfit at the Troy Farm). For instance, Brick and Janice live in Leon’s old house due to their connection to Leon but were not a part of the Sanders’ group beforehand.
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EPILOGUE
AFTERWORD
PROLOGUE
“Sir, we have word from Sergeant Breaker.”
Norman Gaylord Cartwright looked up from his desk to see his aide standing in the door of his office.
“Come in, Charlie,” he waved. “What’s wrong?”
“Sergeant Breaker says he can head up to the area where the spy was lost, but it will mean taking only part of his crew. They’re still having problems with the farm they took over. He’s in a tough spot where the people are concerned. He needs them for labor, and there’s no real alternative. He’s already executed over a dozen holdouts that he’s captured trying to help prisoners escape, but others have been successful. Breaker maintains that if he divides his group to do the scouting mission, his problems will only intensify. And he is right in the middle of harvest.”
“Yeah, that last part is where the problem is, I’d imagine,” Cartwright mused. “So, I assume you already know who is available to go?”
“There are three groups that are currently unassigned, sir,” Charlie nodded. “One is here on the grounds, under Officer Haywood. He has fifteen guards and twenty-two trustees. The second is Sergeant Woody, who has eighteen guards along with twenty-three trustees. The third is Officer Emory. He has fifteen officers of various branches and twelve trustees.”
“Who is closer?” Cartwright asked, fingers drumming on the desktop.
“That would be Officer Haywood, sir,” Charlie replied. “By horseback his men would need roughly ten days to get there, assuming good weather and travel.”
“He should have enough men to do the job, don’t you think?” Cartwright mused. “Where is Woody, anyway?”
“Sergeant Woody is roughly two days ride south of us, looking into a report of a large number of horses available in that area. Available meaning available to be stolen. Officer Emory and his men are on their way back from subduing the Flatgap uprising,” Charlie threw in.
“And everyone else is tied down at the moment?” Cartwright asked, fingers still beating a tattoo on the desk in front of him.
“Yes sir,” Charlie nodded. “Sir, with all due respect, this idiot was a long way from where he was supposed to be,” he indicated Roberts’ file, stamped ‘Talent’ and now with an X across it. “This is a long way for us to try and project power, sir. I say this only because I’m not sure we have the manpower to take and hold such an area.”
“We don’t,” Cartwright agreed at once. “And normally I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell about it, to be honest. But Roberts indicated there was a lot of livestock in that area, and that they had enjoyed an abundant harvest. Taking that for ourselves would let us keep our friendly relations with the towns around us and keep ourselves fat and happy through the winter at the same time. We need breeding stock, and we need seed almost as badly, though we’re getting some of that already. That’s what makes this little anthill mildly important,” he tapped the dot of Lewiston on the map.
He studied the map in silence for a minute more before looking at his aide again.
“Order Haywood to recon the area and see for himself what’s available. If he thinks they can handle it, let him, and call for the trucks once he’s finished. That should be doable, don’t you think?”
“I think it depends on whether Roberts accomplished anything before killing himself, sir,” Charlie admitted. “And if there are any zealots in the area that Haywood can use against the townspeople.”
“Good point,” Cartwright agreed. “They may not be able to take the town but should still be able to scout it out. If nothing else, they can chip away at them until they surrender. Pass that along to him as well.”
“Yes sir.”
CHAPTER ONE
“Copenhagen. Wintergreen, Long Cut Copenhagen.”
“Dude, for real?” Corey Reynard looked up at Titus Terry. “Wintergreen? You may as well have been dipping Skoal!”
“Nothing wrong with Skoal, now,” Gordy Sanders commented. “Wouldn’t use it myself, mind. Just saying is all.”
“Wussies, every one,” Zach Willis scoffed at his friends. “Extra Long Cut Natural Copenhagen. No preservative or nothing. Only plain old tobacco.”
“Lancaster Premium chewing tobacco,” Heath Kelly interjected, shaking his head. “Great taste of good, quality tobacco.”
“Old Kade always used that Mint Copenhagen,” Gordy said quietly. “I used to tell him it might as well have been candy,” he huffed a slight laugh, remembering their late friend.
“Yeah,” Titus sighed. “Damn, man.”
“Didn’t mean to bring the conversation to a halt,” Gordy said into the silence. “Sorry.”
“Got to face it, sooner or later,” Corey replied philosophically.
The five friends were laid out on the creek bank fishing, at least in theory. In practice, no one was paying much attention to their floaters. The creek did have fish, by no one really cared if they caught anything.
For the first time in many weeks, the five of them were all off watch at the same time, and had no other duties, chores or training to take care of. The crisp air of early autumn made for an enjoyable afternoon as the teens lounged on the creek bank.
Just three months or so before, there would have been a sixth presence there with them, in the form of the ever cheerful and irrepressible Kade
n Ramsey. But Kaden, or Kade as he was universally known, was gone. Killed in a gun battle not far from where the five friends now sat. Gordy’s comment had reminded them of something they had momentarily forgotten.
“Beverly says we can’t feel guilty about having a good time,” Corey Reynard said finally, breaking the silence around them. “She says we can’t let survivor’s guilt eat away at us. We have to accept that it could just as easily been one of us.”
“Jody says the same thing,” Heath agreed quietly. “So did Clay.”
“Wonder how many times they lost friends?” Titus asked the sky as he looked up. “Aside from Mister Barnes, anyway,” he added. John Barnes had been lost before he and the others had joined the group at the Sanders’ Farm, but even they felt his absence weighing on the rest.
“No telling,” Gordy admitted. Unlike his friends, he had been there when John Barnes had died. “Clay never talks about where he’s been or what he’s done, at least not in detail. Ain’t never heard the rest do it, neither. I’d imagine it ain’t something they want to think on.”
“Likely not,” Corey nodded slowly. “I don’t. But it seems like if we don’t talk about old Kade once in a while, we’re doing him wrong, somehow. Don’t it? Like we don’t remember him?”
“We’ll always remember him,” Gordy replied. “And remember that the people responsible for his death are buried under the eastern fence line. No one got away.”
“That’s true,” Titus nodded.
Zach sat quietly, listening. Times like this were difficult for him to participate in, so he remained silent for the most part, listening to his friends and trying to emulate their behavior. Their emotions.
“Well, I don’t think these fish care anything about biting,” Corey said suddenly, winding his line and removing the bait he’d been using. “What say we take this party somewhere else?”
“What you got in mind?” Titus asked, reeling in his own line.
“We can go for a ride,” Corey mentioned. “Can’t speak for the rest of you, but I need the practice, myself. I’m finally getting the hang of handling a horse, but I definitely need more time in the saddle. Riding is gonna be important in the days ahead.”