SHEEPDOGS

Ed Soto
A Band of guerrillas fight for freedom
and surviv

Dedicated to my friends, family,

and all those who encouraged me
throughout the writing process

1
Blood is Thicker Than Water
Get in the RV, Frank! my brother Rex yelled.
I finished loading the RV and got in. After a drive through the woods, we were going
through the Virginia mountains, fleeing what was taking place around us. Dark clouds hung over
us, reminiscent of the dark clouds that hung over the United States.
War had embroiled the United States of America, a war marked by unspeakable brutality.
The road to this conflict was paved with blood. On September 11th, 2016, fifteen years after the
devastating attacks on the World Trade Center, the Willis Tower in Chicago was bombed. Sixty
people died and around 100 were injured in the bombing. Two disgruntled veterans aligned with
the militia movement were accused of carrying out the attack.
Following the bombing, the president declared martial law in the Chicago area and
elements of the Illinois National Guard occupied the city. Canadian soldiers supplemented the
occupation force. The patriots aware of this were outraged at a foreign army occupying American
territory and spoke out against the occupation. Little did they know that their voices would dig
their graves.

The bombers were at large for two days until they were killed in a shootout with police in
Oak Lawn, Illinois. This was only the beginning. On Thanksgiving Day, five gunmen stormed
Philadelphia International Airport, killing thirty-three people and wounding another twenty.
Thankfully, SWAT teams from the Philadelphia Police Department had put down all five
gunmen.
The week leading up to Christmas 2016 saw a wave of bombings take place in New York
City. On December 18th, a car bomb detonated in Times Square, killing three people. The
following day, a subway train exploded in Brooklyn, killing hundreds. The next day, an airplane
exploded before takeoff at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Many small-scale bombings took place throughout New York City over the following
days. The worst bombing that week came on Christmas Day. Bombs were detonated inside the
Empire State Building, resulting in its collapse. Thousands died that fateful day. December 25th,
2016 would be forever known as Black Christmas.
Later that day, the president issued an executive order calling for martial law nationwide
and the total erosion of Americans privacy and free speech. Besides nationwide military
occupation, anyone suspected of being a dissident would be extrajudicially incarcerated or
executed. Tyranny had come, all in the name of stopping the right-wing wave of terror.
Many brave people stood in defiance and died doing so. Others complied with sheep-like
obedience. But, push would come to shove. On January 14th, 2017, a band of guerrillas called
the Queen City Panthers engaged in a firefight with federal troops in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Queen City Panthers were formed by a trucker named Paul Reid. Outraged at what
was unfolding, Reid and twenty other men rose up against the occupation. The Panthers held out

for about an hour until reinforcements arrived. All twenty-one Panthers were killed. On the other
side, twenty-seven federal soldiers died in the skirmish. This was the spark that lit the flames of
revolution. The Queen City Panthers act was replicated all throughout the country. The
revolution had begun.
Two sides formed. There were the loyalists, comprising the federal government and those
who still showed their allegiance to it. An unorganized resistance fought them. The loyalists were
better equipped and disciplined. In addition, the loyalists also had the advantages of air and naval
superiority. The rebels had a numerical advantage as well as knowledge of the terrain and greater
mobility.
Within six months, the rebels had the loyalists on the ropes. However, the loyalists had an
ace up their collective sleeve, international support. On July 20th, 2017, a UN resolution passed
calling for a peacekeeping force to be deployed to the United States. This was the largest UN
peacekeeping force in history, consisting of around 3,000,000 troops.
The UN force was called UNOAM, short for United Nations Operation in America.
NATO and other US allies such as Japan, Australia, and New Zealand also carried out operations
as part of UNOAM. Mercenaries also fought on both sides of the conflict. The Second American
Civil War was one of the largest military engagements since World War II.
A change in command and strategy turned the tables. The loyalists relied on tried and
proven counterinsurgency tactics such as fireforce to take out the resistance fighters. Air and
naval bombardments also intensified on an exponential level. Insurgent casualties mounted.
Those who could leave the country did so. Those who couldnt, stayed, and either joined
the fight or fled to whatever safe areas they could find. We belonged to the latter group. There

were three of us, all brothers. The oldest was my brother Bear. His real name was Bill, but we
gave him that nickname due to his large size.
Bear was a fullback in high school and drove a tow truck for a living. He was twentyseven when the war started. The middle brother was my brother Rex. He was a computer
repairman and tinkered with machines a lot when he was younger. He was twenty-three when the
war broke out.
Finally, there was me, Frank Sullivan. I was studying business in community college. I
loved guns. My love for them was instilled in me by my family. Our parents would take us
shooting every other weekend. In spite of being the youngest, I ended up becoming the secondbest shot in my family, only behind my father. My favorite gun was the AR-15.
It was August 13th, 2017. It was raining and water covered the roads. Inside the RV, Bear
drove and Rex sat next to him in the passenger seat. I was lying on the couch reading a novel.
Soon, we discussed dinner.
What do you guys want for dinner? Bear asked us.
Chili sounds good, I said.
Yeah, we havent had chili in a while, Rex said.
I cant stand chili, Bear said.
Well, youre outvoted. Were eating chili, I said.
Fine then, Bear said with disappointment in his voice.

The mountain passes were becoming difficult to navigate. As a result, Bear tried slowing
down. Suddenly, he hit a puddle, and the RV fishtailed before crashing through a guardrail and
rolling multiple times. I was knocked unconscious in the accident. When I came to, I had a pain
in my head. I saw kitchenware littering the floor of the RV.
There was moaning coming from the drivers seat. After getting back up, I made my way
to the front of the RV. Bear was moaning in pain and holding his leg. Rex appeared to be tending
to him.
Whats wrong? I asked Bear.
I think I broke my fucking leg! Bear said.
You cant move it at all? I asked.
No, and my foot is stuck in the goddamn pedals! Bear answered.
While I was helping Bear, I heard a group of men talking outside. It sounded like they
were speaking in Arabic.
Get out of the vehicle, now! one of the men shouted.
Oh shit, I whispered.
This time, the whole group of men yelled Get out of the vehicle!
Rex and I tried to find hiding places in the wreckage of the RV. Bear attempted to keep
himself quiet. There was no use in fighting back, but we werent going to give ourselves up
either. Soon enough, the mangled left-side door of the RV opened and I saw a rifle barrel poking
out from the doorway.

A face appeared moments later. It was the face of a soldier. His eyes were bloodshot and
full of hatred. He spotted us and pointed his rifle at us.
Get out of the vehicle right now! the soldier exclaimed.
Rex and I followed the soldiers order and climbed out of the RV. I counted at least eight
other soldiers when we got out of the wreckage. The soldiers wore Qatari flags and the standard
blue UN helmet. The first soldier, who appeared to be the squad leader, ordered two other
soldiers to pull Bear out of the RV. In the meantime, the squad leader interrogated us.
Are you terrorists? he asked in his broken English.
No, were non-combatants, Rex said.
They all say that. You are nothing less than domestic terrorists, the squad leader said.
You would know about terrorism, you derka derk asswipe, I said.
The soldier punched me in the face and yelled Your mouth will kill you!
Give it time and a bunch of pissed off rednecks will kill you, I responded.
Shut up, Frank! Rex said.
Annoyed, the soldier kicked me in the face. The two soldiers pulled Bear from the RV
and laid him against its mangled remains. Upon seeing Bear, the squad leader gave the soldiers
an order. I was unprepared for what happened next. The two soldiers beat Bear with the butts of
their rifles. He was screaming in pain. His screams branded themselves onto my mind. They then
shot Bear three times in the head and chest and spit on his corpse. I was both saddened and
infuriated.

Go to hell, you fucking cunts! I yelled.

Laughing, the squad leader said You will join him shortly.
After they killed Bear, the soldiers ordered us into their nearby armored personnel carrier.
I was so consumed by negative emotions that I stayed silent in the vehicle. However, it wasnt
enough they killed our brother. They had to taunt us as well.
I cant wait for you to die in Petersburg so I can fuck all the women in your family, the
squad leader said.
Why dont you go fuck a camel? I responded.
Keep making your jokes. You will not have much time left for them, the squad leader
said.
Just relax, Frank, Rex said.
No, fuck these guys, Rex. If we ever get out of here, Ill find these assholes and blow
their brains out! I bellowed.
You will not kill anyone. You could not even defend yourself against us! the squad
leader said.

2
Lost and Damned
After several minutes, we arrived at New River Valley Correctional Facility. The prison
was sprawling with Homeland Security personnel. These personnel were armed with various
weapons such as rifles and submachine guns.
The Qatari soldiers escorted us to a group of DHS prison guards before leaving the
prison. The guards walked us into the prison and shoved me into a cell on the first floor. Rex was
separated from me.
A putrid stench lingered inside. I saw at least two cockroaches crawling on the walls of
the cell. There were no beds or bathroom amenities either. Another man was in the cell. The man
had scruffy brown hair and an untrimmed beard.
Hello, I said in a nervous tone.
Hey, whats your name? the man asked.

Frank, yours?
Jimmy, Jimmy Davison.
How long have you been in here?
Since Sunday.
What happened?
I had a sniping position set up near a blue helmet camp and I fell asleep and got
captured.
Wow.
In my defense, I was up for nearly two days straight.
How many did you kill?
About thirteen.
Not bad.
Are you any good with guns? You seem like a city-slicker to me.
Im from Richmond, but I know a thing or two about guns.
How did you end up here then?
Weve been traveling around the state running away from all this shit going on. Our RV
crashed and some blue helmets found us.
What a way to get captured.

I know, right? Where are you from?

Narrows.
Oh, thats not far from here.
Nope, lived there my whole life.
How are the women over there?
Its a small town, so you dont have a big pool to choose from. The choices arent too
bad though. My wife was from there.
What happened to your wife?
I went out hunting for food and when I came back to the campsite, I saw her stripped
naked and hanging from a tree. They threw my one year-old son into the campfire, too.
Those animals! God, I hate those blue helmet bastards!
Youre not the only one.
When are they shipping us off to Petersburg?
Saturday.
Weve got two days left in this place.
What a way to go, huh?
It had to end in this shithole.
Yep.

So, hows the food in here?

Well, do you like stale bread and water that tastes like dog piss?
Oh God, no.
Youre going to have to. Its the only thing they feed us in this place. But at least you
only get fed twice a day.
Im not sure whether to be upset or happy about that.
Theres less of that shit you have to eat.
Jimmy and I continued to shoot the breeze for several hours to pass the time. There
wasnt much else to do. We got to know each other during that time. I learned that Jimmy loved
to shoot bolt-action rifles, the Mosin-Nagant in particular. He had owned a Mosin-Nagant that
was made during World War II.
I liked bolt-action rifles myself, but I preferred the AR-15. During my younger days, I
fired various types of guns, ranging from Revolutionary War-era Kentucky rifles to modern-day
bullpup assault rifles.
A long time passed before our dinner came. Jimmy was right. They served us stale bread
and water that tasted like dog piss. There was only one cup of water and a piece of toast. We
divided the food between us and reluctantly ate it.
How come you havent gotten sick from this nasty ass food yet? I asked.
Im actually wondering that myself, Frank, Jimmy said.

You know, the last conversation I had with my brothers before we got captured was
about what we would have for dinner.
What did you decide to have?
Chili.
My wife used to fix me up a good bowl of chili. She would put sriracha sauce,
jalapeos, and lots of cheese in it.
That sounds delicious, dude. You seem like the type that loves spicy food.
I love spicy food. I cant go one day without putting hot sauce on something I eat.
Im a total lightweight when it comes to hot food.
Ive been eating that stuff for years. Im used to it by now.
You know, part of me regrets that we got captured the way we did.
What do you mean?
We got captured trying to run instead of standing up and fighting.
You cant beat yourself up about that.
We took the cowards way out, Jimmy.
At least you tried to run instead of betraying your own people like these loyalist
motherfuckers are doing.
I guess. I just wish I could have done more with my life than what Ive done.

What were you doing before the war?

I was in community college studying business.
What kind of business were you planning on opening?
Probably something related to investing. I dabbled in investing when I was in high
school.
Oh yeah?
Yeah, I made a good amount of money too.
Have you ever thought about getting involved in real estate?
It crossed my mind. Why do you ask?
Youd like that line of work.
I have an uncle that does, well did, real estate out west. If hes still alive and we win this
war, I might be able to get in touch with him.
Were going to win this war, Frank.
Why do you say that?
First of all, we have the moral high ground. Theyre the ones taking our rights and
committing all these war crimes against us and against innocent people. Second of all, we have a
numerical advantage. For every beehive they swing at, there are a thousand bees ready to sting
them. Third, its We the People that theyre facing. These liberal idiots may like them, but real
Americans like you and me know the deal. They cant get our hearts and minds.

I wouldnt underestimate those liberal idiots, Jimmy.

Why is that? They hardly even think. They cant do anything worth a damn or hold
down a meaningful job. Liberals are a bunch of weak, sheep-like pussies.
That may be true, but they control the media and they can influence peoples opinions.
Why do you think political correctness is a thing?
Let me tell you something, brother. A tree with no roots falls easily. Weve gone from
being a country that had values and stood for something to one where you cant take a stand for
anything without hurting someones feelings. We went from being upstanding people who
worked hard every day and had morals. Now weve got to deal with these homos and these damn
Muslims trying to take our freedom from us. A lot of people would show them respect quicker
than they would the average worker or a veteran. I may only be twenty-four, but I grew up oldfashioned.
Its a shame I dont have many friends like you back in Richmond.
Maybe when all this shit blows over, you can move over to Narrows.
Maybe, but there are more opportunities in Richmond.
Youve got time to think about it.
Were going to be shipped off to a death camp in two days. Thats really not a lot of
time, Jimmy.
Well, you know what I mean.
I still cant believe this shit.

How do you think I feel? Im the dumbass that fell asleep and got captured.
You got captured fighting. Thats all I can say.
This is really fucking you up, aint it?
Yep.
Look, Frank, thats not anything you can fix.
That makes me feel even worse about it. Twenty years of life coming to an end like this.
I hadnt done anything worth shit yet, either.
I dont know what to tell you.
Theres nothing else to say.
I went off to a corner of the cell and lied down, reflecting. The fact that I was about to be
sent to my death in two days and that I had done nothing to stop it depressed me. To put it
bluntly, the three of us were cowards. Jimmy and his fellow rebels fought so we could run like a
bunch of pussies.
Jimmy and I hardly said two words to each other after that conversation. It was probably
better that way. I didnt want to argue with the only other person I had in my cell with me. I
wondered about how Rex was doing. Did he also have a cellmate? Was he having the same
feelings that I was having?
I had a hard time getting to sleep that night. Too much was on my mind. All I could do
was lament about how fast things had changed that day and how unfair those changes were. I

wasnt suicidal, but I believed that it would have been fair that those soldiers killed me instead of
Bear.
Out of the three of us, Bear had the most to lose. He had a house and a fiance (who
escaped to Australia right before the war broke out) who would now have no way of knowing
what happened to him. Meanwhile, I had nothing. At least Rex had a job. I hadnt even gotten to
that point yet.
We had guns in the RV. We could have fought back. It may have been signing our death
certificates, but any resistance would have been better than just allowing ourselves to get
captured. Those soldiers were demons! We would have done this country and this world a service
if we put them in body bags.
That night went by like an eternity when in reality it had only been a few hours. After a
while, I fell asleep. Needless to say, Ive had better nights of sleep. However, I got some good
rest lying on a cold, bare floor. Before dawn, Jimmy woke me up. At first, I was annoyed at this.
What the Hell do you want? I asked.
I have an idea, Jimmy declared.
What are you talking about?
Were getting out of here.
What?
You and me are getting out of this place.
How are we going to do that?

The guards come in our cells every morning and beat the shit out of us to wake us up.
Its supposed to be a way to break us down. If you do what I say when I say it, well get out of
here.
Are you sure this will work?
You want to fight, dont you?
Yeah.
Now is your chance. You can sit here and do nothing or you can die fighting.
All right, Ill take it.
Thats what I want to hear. Go stand by the door.
Okay.
When the guards come in here, you take his punk ass by surprise.
What do we do after we take down the guards?
Dont worry about that. Just listen to me.
We have to get my brother out of here too.
Your brother?
Yeah, Im not leaving him here to die.
We dont have a lot of time, so we have to move fast.
All right, fine.

Minutes went by and I could hear footsteps outside. I stayed in position and prepared
myself for what was about to go down. My adrenaline was pumping. Soon enough, there were
guards outside the door. I backed away a bit, and the door opened. I sprung into action, shutting
the door and rushing one of the guards.
Jimmy attacked the other guard, snapping his neck. I wrestled the nightstick away from
the guard I attacked and swung at his face rapidly. Before long, I tackled him to the floor and hit
him in the eye with the nightstick, bruising his eye. The guard tried to reach for his pistol. Thus, I
tried to keep him from pulling the gun on me. Before long, Jimmy came to my aid. We ganged
up on the guard and I muffled his screams while Jimmy snapped his neck too.
Put the gear on. Were going out in disguise. Make sure you put the helmet visor down,
Jimmy said.
Okay, we need to go find Rex, I said.
Lets make it quick.
We put the riot gear on and left the cell. With urgency, we looked around for Rex. After a
thorough search on the first floor, we saw no sign of him.
We have to check the second floor, I said.
Were wasting time here, Frank, Jimmy said.
Look, Im not leaving him.
Okay, just know our window is closing.

We went up to the second floor and searched once again. Before long, we found him. He
had a cellmate too.
I found him, I said.
Good, lets get ready to kick some ass, Jimmy said.
We burst into the cell and killed the guards inside. Rex and his cellmate were confused as
to what was going on and stood by. We then raised our visors and revealed ourselves.
Thank God you guys are here, Rex said.
Act natural and let me do the talking, Jimmy said.
Got it, I said.
Lock the door behind you, Jimmy said.
We did what Jimmy said and made our way to the front of the prison. Things seemed to
go well until a guard confronted us.
What are you doing with them? the guard asked.
Weve received orders to take these men to Roanoke. They have valuable intel that
could assist friendly forces there, Jimmy said.
After a brief pause, the guard said Very well.
We made it to the front of the jail and proceeded toward an armored vehicle. Upon
getting inside, Jimmy had to figure out how to operate the vehicle.
You sure you can do this? I asked.

I got this, Jimmy said.

Jimmy soon figured out the controls, and we were on our way out of the prison.
Whats your name? I asked Rexs cellmate.
Jason, yours? he asked.
Frank, I said.
Nice to meet you, Frank, he said.
How did you end up in there? I asked.
We were defending a house in Blacksburg and the blue helmets surrounded us and we
got captured, Jason said.
Great, hows the fighting over there, by the way? I asked.
Theres some pretty hardcore stuff going down over there. Its not for the faint of heart,
Jason said.
What happens now? Rex asked.
It looks like you guys will be resistance fighters now, Jimmy answered.
Wait, what? Rex said.
Yall cant keep running forever, Jimmy said.
Rex, hes right. We cant keep pussying out of this war. Theres a reason why we
survived. This is the reason, I said.

I used to fix computers for a living. Im not cut out for this shit, Rex said.
Were Sullivans, Rex. We can do this, I said.
I dont know about this, Rex said.
We dont have much of a choice now. The rebels broke us out of prison, I said.
All right, I guess were rebels now, Rex said.
So, how did you get captured, Jimmy? Jason asked.
I was sniping for two days straight and I fell asleep. They found me, Jimmy said.
Im surprised they didnt just kill you right there. Theyve been treating snipers pretty
harshly, Jason said.
Yeah, Ive heard. You know, you dont sound like youre from Virginia. Where are you
originally from? Jimmy asked.
Los Angeles, but I ended up going to college in Blacksburg, Jason said.
Oh, thats cool. Whats LA like? Ive never been there, Jimmy said.
Its a nice city, man. Theres lots of beautiful women and things to do. Unfortunately,
this war fucked everything up, Jason said.
LA sounds nice, Jimmy said.
Weve got a lot of idiots there though, Jason said.

I can imagine. Thats why I love the country, lots of nice and informed people, Jimmy
said.
Yeah, Blacksburg is kind of boring, but I felt like my IQ was raised a few points, Jason
said.
Our friend Frank here was a college student too, Jimmy said.
What were you studying? Jason asked me.
Business, I answered.
Nice, me too, Jason said.
Jimmy told me I should consider real estate, I said.
Should you? Jason asked.
Well, Ive dabbled in investing. Thats what I was planning to do before all this shit
started. I cant imagine that Id be too bad at it, I said.
I was going to try to invest in vitamin stores and that kind of stuff. My Dad was a
bodybuilder when he was younger and he opened a vitamin shop right before I was born, Jason
said.
No homo, but you seem to have picked up his genes, I said.
Thanks, man, Jason said.
Dont start kissing and buttfucking back there, Jimmy said.
Fuck you, Jimmy, I said.

You know, they say people who are homophobic are insecure about their masculinity,
Jason said.
Fuck both of yall, Jimmy said.
Im sure youd like to do that, Jim, I said.
Frank, you best be quiet before I kick you out of this vehicle, Jimmy said.
After several minutes, we arrived in Narrows. Narrows was like any other small town in
the Virginia mountains. The town was quiet and nestled in the landscape. It was relatively
undamaged by the war. A few buildings looked as if they had been hit, but the vast majority of
the town was intact.
We entered a neighborhood and Jimmy parked the vehicle outside a nearby house. We got
out and walked to the front door of the house. My conscience was now clear. I could carry out
my convictions and fight.
Whose house is this? I asked.
My neighbor Matts, hes been leading us through this war from day one, Jimmy said.
Nice, I said.
The door opened and a tall bald man stood at the opposite end of the doorway. He had a
natural scowl and scars on his face, probably from fighting. He was an intimidating figure to say
the least.
Come on in, he said.

We did as he said and took a seat on his couch. The house itself was tidy and spotless.
The only thing unusual was the extreme number of guns lying around the house. There were two
shotguns lying on either side of the doorway, an M4 with an ACOG scope leaning on the couch,
and an MP5 on the kitchen table. Matt himself was carrying a SIG Sauer P220 pistol on his
waist.
Who are these guys? Matt asked.
Some recruits I took from prison, Jimmy answered.
How did you get out? Matt asked.
We snuck out, Jimmy said.
Nice, Matt said.
Pointing to Jason and I, Jimmy said These two guys will be a good addition to our
team,
Are you serious? Matt said.
I was captured fighting in Blacksburg, so I have a bit of combat experience under my
belt, Jason stated.
Im the best shot in my family next to my Dad. He did a few years in the Corps so he
knows his way around guns, I said.
What about you? Matt asked Rex.
I can build gadgets and do all kinds of crazy shit with a computer, Rex said.

We can use you guys. Im always down to take more foot soldiers and I need another
person who can build fancy weapons to help us out, Matt said.
Another person? Rex asked.
My friend Stuart is real smart. Hes a god with electronics. He built us a bunch of
devices that have really given us a hand, Matt said.
Cool, Rex said.
How many guys do you have now? I asked.
A little over twenty, Matt said.
What kind of missions do you guys typically go on? I asked.
Hit and runs primarily, we also do sabotage missions and some other stuff, Matt said.
Youre speaking my language, I said.
Im sending you boys on a mission tomorrow, Matt declared.
What kind? I said.
Just a normal hit and run, you guys need the experience, Matt answered.
We should use that vehicle. Itll really help, Jimmy said.
Oh yeah, Im sending you on the mission too, Jimmy, Matt said.
Glad to be back, Jimmy replied.

Okay, I want you to go to Stuarts house. Hes right across from us. Go see what he
needs help with, Matt said to Rex.
Got it, Rex said.
You three are staying here, Matt said to the rest of us.
Rex left the house and the four of us were left talking amongst ourselves. At first, Matt
continued asking me questions. It was awkward, but I guess he had no other way of vetting us.
What made you decide to join the resistance? Matt asked.
Those fuckers killed my brother and almost killed us, I said.
What happened? Matt said.
We were in an RV running all around the state trying to get away from this shit. Our RV
crashed, and they found us. He got injured in the accident so they saw no point in taking him to
the prison. Those UN twats are a bunch of fucking animals, I said.
You can say that again, Jimmy said.
What are your political views? Matt asked.
Honestly, Im more of a libertarian, but I have some conservative views on things, I
said.
Cant imagine too many gun owners who dont have either of those political positions,
Matt said.
Whats the deal with this mission? Jason asked.

Theres a loyalist supply convoy headed for Blacksburg. Our job is slow them down and
take out what we can, Matt said.
How many other guys are going? I asked.
Im sending about fifteen men total. The rest of us will be here preparing for some
sabotage missions in the near future. My friend Ross will be in charge of you guys, Matt said.
Sounds like a plan, Jason said.
Make sure you guys are armed with plenty of pipe bombs, rocket launchers, and
grenades. That damn convoy is going out with a bang, said Matt.
Hell yeah! I said.
Make sure you learn from these guys. Theyve been through Hell and survived it. If you
pay enough attention, you can do the same thing, Matt said to me.
All right, I said.
Do you guys want a beer? Matt asked.
Im not old enough to drink yet, Matt, I responded.
Let me tell you something. Youre old enough to carry a weapon through some thirdworld country and get your dick blown off, so in my eyes, youre old enough to drink a fucking
beer, Matt said.
Sounds good to me, I said in reply.
Let me get you all some beers, Matt said.

Matt got up and went to the kitchen. My first impression of Matt was that he took his job
seriously and didnt care what rules or obstacles stood in the way of getting the job done. In my
eyes, he seemed to be a good leader. After a moment, Matt returned with a six-pack of beers. We
each took one and shared a toast to our newfound freedom. Immediately after, the drinking
began. Things lightened up after that.
How many six packs do you have? I asked.
I hoarded a whole bunch. A man needs a drink, Matt replied.
Matt is my go-to for alcohol. I save my whiskey for those special moments, Jimmy
said.
What special moments? I asked.
One of us dies or something major like that. I was still a family man before all this
started, so I had to stock up more on food and water, Jimmy said.
I understand, I said.
We chilled for the rest of the afternoon. When nighttime came, we slept in Matts living
room. To be honest, I was looking forward to the mission the following morning. I would get my
first taste of combat.

3
First Taste of Blood
We woke up at about 4:00 AM and got ready for the mission ahead. All fifteen of us met
in Matts backyard and got a final briefing. After the briefing, we got locked and loaded.
Matt took Jimmys advice and used the armored vehicle we had stolen from the prison on
this mission. We would take positions in the woods surrounding the road and ambush the convoy.
Some of us would ride in the stolen MRAP to our location. The rest of us would ride technicals,
pickup trucks with machine guns mounted on their beds, to our destination.
We would not engage the enemy for very long, only for a few minutes. It was just long
enough to do damage but not long enough to give them time to kick our asses. This operation
was intended to go like clockwork.
By 4:45 AM, we left Matts house for our ambush position on Interstate 81. I decided to
ride on one of the technicals. During the ride, I got to know some of my fellow resistance
fighters. The three of us initially kept to ourselves, but it wasnt long before the others noticed
us.
You guys must be new, one rebel said to us.
Yeah, we broke out of jail yesterday, Jason said.
You guys must have some experience then, huh? the rebel said.
I do. I was at Blacksburg. These guys are pretty fresh though, Jason said, pointing at us.
What are your names? he asked us.

Frank, I answered.
Rex, Rex said.
The rebel shook our hands and said Im Brock, nice to meet yall.
Noticing Brocks Barrett M107, I asked him Whats the recoil like on that .50 cal? Ive
never shot one before.
Smaller guys cant handle it. Im a big guy and it still hurts me pretty good, Brock said.
Do you have any incendiary rounds? I asked.
Ive got a few, Brock said.
That convoy is going to blow up like the 4th of July, Jason said.
So, how was everything in Blacksburg? Brock asked.
Its wild, bro. We only controlled a few key areas of the city when we started fighting.
Now were in control of most of it, Jason said.
Ive heard that theyre trying to withdraw men from Christiansburg to keep control of
the city, Brock said.
Exactly, theyre trying. Christiansburg is about to be free in a matter of days, Jason
said.
Lets hope, Brock said.
When we arrived, we prepared to ambush the supply convoy. The minutes we spent
waiting for the convoy to arrive were tense. I stood ready with my rifle, prepared to lay down a

wall of bullets against the enemy. Before long, the convoy was within sight and we got our final
orders.
Use your explosives and machine guns on the convoy first. I want to see explosions.
Focus on the lead vehicles and work your way down, Ross said.
We all acknowledged Ross orders. Within moments, the convoy was victim to our
explosives and machine guns. Many of the vehicles erupted into fireballs. Shrapnel and twisted
metal flew all around. The loyalists were taken by surprise.
I tried to get shots on the loyalists that had now exposed themselves. After some time, we
were also under machine gun fire. Ross radioed Brock and ordered him to silence the machine
guns. After some time, one of the machine guns was taken out. In the spur of the moment, Ross
ordered a withdrawal. Brock and two other men would cover our retreat.
The mission was a success. We didnt count any of the enemy casualties, but it was a
substantial amount. Meanwhile, we hadnt taken a single casualty. I felt some satisfaction for
what had unfolded over the previous two days.
Good job, everyone! You guys kicked ass! Oorah! Ross said.
Those are supplies the loyalists in Blacksburg arent getting, I said.
Hell yeah! Jason said.
How was that for your first taste of combat? Jimmy asked.
I want more, I said.

Those blue helmets are in Hell regretting being on the wrong side right about now,
Jimmy said.
You can say that again, I said.
We arrived back in Narrows, doing nothing else for the rest of the day. I went to Stuarts
house and check on him and Rex. The two were busy building something in the garage. It looked
like some type of cannon.
What are you guys building? I asked.
A DIY recoilless rifle, Rex answered.
Ah nice, I said.
We need to get some more heavy firepower and we cant rely on captured loyalist gear
all the time, Stuart said.
I got you, I said.
Im trying to get a couple of radio jammers built so we can jam any drones that fly over
here, Rex said.
Hows that coming along? I asked.
It seems to be coming along good. I should be finished by the end of the day, Rex said.
Thats cool, I said.
How did the mission go? Rex asked.
It was awesome. We lit them up like the 4th of July, almost literally, I said.

That sounds awesome. Maybe we can really get the upper hand when we finish building
all this shit, Rex said.
Maybe, I said.
Matt said were going to sabotage two bridges tomorrow, Stuart stated.
Did he? I asked.
Weve got plenty of explosives to get it done. I can make more if we need it though,
Stuart said.
Which bridges? I asked.
Theyre near Barren Springs, Stuart said.
Wheres Barren Springs? It sounds far, I said.
Theyre about an hour away from here, Stuart said.
Why so far? I asked.
The bridges around here have already been blown up and were close enough to where
we can stop them from being rebuilt, Stuart said.
That makes sense, I said.
If we take out those bridges, it should slow down reinforcements coming to the area,
Stuart said.
Thats a lot of room for us to be ambushed, I said.

There are insurgents all throughout these hills. Well be okay, Stuart said.
There are loyalists all throughout these hills too, I said.
Just relax. Everything will be fine, Rex said.
I guess youre right, I said.

4
Caught in the Dark
At around 3:00 AM the following morning, we all woke up and convened at Matts
house. Despite waking up so early, I actually felt rested. After Matts briefing, we loaded up onto
the technicals and left. The technicals would take us to within five miles of our targets. We would
proceed toward the bridges on foot once we were within range.
The bridges themselves were defended by two platoons of loyalist marines. We would
neutralize the defenders of the bridges, blow them up, and get the Hell out of there. The darkness
of the night was to be our ally.
All twenty-six of us were sent on this mission. Jimmy and I shared a cigar on the way to
the drop-off point. The general atmosphere before the mission was relaxed. The ride felt more
like a party than a combat mission.
I may not smoke a lot, but this is a pretty good cigar, I said.
I told you, Jimmy said.
Im going to turn into a real redneck if I hang out with you long enough, I said.

Thats the goal, Jimmy said.

Did you see that recoilless rifle that Stu built? I asked.
Yeah, that thing is real nice, Jimmy said.
Let me get some of that cigar, Jason said.
All right, I said to Jason before giving him the cigar.
This is really good! Is this a Cuban? Jason asked.
Its Dominican, but the Cuban cigars are good too, Jimmy answered.
Several minutes later, we arrived at the drop-off point. We were dumped about five miles
out from the first bridge that we were planning to blow up. The march to the bridges was the
crucial part of the operation.
Keep your eyes peeled. Theres no telling whos out here in these woods, Matt said.
Let your eyes adjust to the darkness, Ross said.
Did you guys hear about whats going on in Texas? Jimmy asked.
No, whats going on? Matt asked.
The loyalists have been getting their asses beat there since this war started. They decided
to drop some tactical nukes yesterday, Jimmy answered.
Getting desperate, I see, Jason said.
Theyve been desperate. You do realize that theyre terribly outnumbered, right? I said.

These motherfuckers are so arrogant that they dont even realize theyre fighting a
losing fight, Jimmy said.
Thats what makes them dangerous, Ross said.
What do you mean? Jimmy asked.
The more desperate and arrogant someone is, the more bad things someone is willing to
do, Ross said.
You have a point, Jimmy said.
They think they can destroy us by killing us, but theyre wrong, Matt said.
Winning hearts and minds is how you win a counterinsurgency. Killing people doesnt
do shit. I figured a lot of these dickheads would know that, seeing as a lot of these same guys led
us through all these damn wars, Ross said.
We soon heard a noise. The noise startled us all. We looked around and pointed our rifles
all around. Within seconds, a flashbang detonated near us. The flashbang disoriented me. I
wasnt able to fight back, so I hit the floor. We were now engaged in a fierce firefight.
When I regained my vision, I crawled toward a tree and joined in the fight. I had no idea
where specifically the loyalists were, so I fired in the general direction that everyone else was
firing in.
I cant get a clear shot! I said.
Look at the muzzle flashes and shoot in that direction! Jimmy said.

Get some grenades down there! Matt yelled.

I threw two grenades toward the loyalists and continued firing my M4 at them. We tried
to burn them out with our flamethrower but it had little effect. No matter what we did, we
couldnt gain an advantage. Suddenly, a grenade exploded near me and I was knocked
unconscious.
When I was conscious again, I was lying on a couch in somebodys house. My head was
wrapped in bandages. I looked around the house and wasnt familiar with what I saw. It clearly
wasnt Matts house.
Ross looked back at me and asked Are you feeling okay?
My head hurts a bit, I said.
Thank God youre all right, Ross said.
Hows everyone else? I asked.
We lost four, and another three were wounded, Ross said.
Damn, I take it we aborted the mission, I said.
Yeah, it was too risky to go through with it, Ross said.
Where are the others? I asked.
Around the neighborhood, Jimmy is at Matts house if you want to see him, Ross said.
Okay, am I going to be all right? I asked Ross.
Youll be okay. Nothing important got damaged, Ross answered.

Thanks, Ross, I said.

I left the house and went to Matts. When I entered, the atmosphere was somber, in stark
contrast to when we left. Matt and Jimmy were taking shots of whiskey. Sadness painted their
faces.
Hey, guys, I said.
Hey, Frank, they both said.
I cant believe this shit, I said.
Neither can we. Do you want a shot? Jimmy asked.
Sure, Ill take one, I said.
Jimmy poured me a shot and said This is what I saved the whiskey for.
Its a shame we had to wait until now to enjoy it, Matt said.
Do you think someone got wind of what we were up to? I asked Matt.
No, we just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, Matt said.
I had a feeling this was going to happen, I said.
Youre being too paranoid. Youre going to get thrown some curveballs during these
sorts of things, Jimmy said.
I guess, I said.
We should make a toast, guys, to those we lost tonight. Cheers, Matt said.

Cheers, Jimmy and I said in unison.

All three of us touched glasses and drank a shot. The past few days were an emotional
roller coaster. I had gone from being captured, to being rescued, killing several loyalists in a
successful mission, and mourning over my fellow rebels all in only four days. Unfortunately, this
was only the calm before the storm. My experiences during the war would become even more
dynamic.

5
Back on the March
A few days after we were ambushed, we took out an artillery battery outside of
Blacksburg. We rode the technicals to our destination. As usual, we operated under the cover of
nightfall.
We were on guard even more after the ambush. We all kept our eyes in the foliage,
watching even more carefully for any movement. I was manning the machine gun on one of
technicals, standing ready.

On a positive note, it was a beautiful night. The moon and stars were shining bright in the
dark sky. The sounds of war taking place around us did little to take away from the beauty of that
night.
What are we going to do with the artillery pieces once we pacify the battery? Ross
asked.
Blow them up probably, Matt said.
Why not keep them? Rex asked.
Keep them? Matt said.
We can hook them up to the back of the trucks and take them with us, Rex said.
Wont they be too big? I asked.
Theyre light enough, Rex said.
There are only nineteen of us right now, so we can only take one or two, Matt said.
Thats all we need, Rex said.
I like the way you think, Rex, Matt said.
Thanks, Matt, Rex said.
How are we going to learn to fire those sons-of-bitches? Jimmy asked.
Its not anything we cant learn, Im sure, Matt said.

After a few minutes journey, we were within sight of the battery. We positioned the
technicals to where we could fire our machine guns at the battery and take the soldiers down
quickly.
When all was said and done, Matt yelled Weapons free!
We opened up on the enemy and they dropped like flies. There was little that the
artillerymen could do to protect themselves. After we killed the artillerymen, we moved up to the
artillery pieces. We scavenged anything we could from the dead soldiers and left with the guns.
Good job, everyone. Our boys fighting in Blacksburg will have less artillery firing at
them, Matt said.
Weve also got some more supplies too, I said.
We need to figure out where to place these guns, Matt said.
We can look at a map of the town and find a good place to put them, Ross said.
Yeah, Matt said.
On the drive back, things were calm. However, this calm only lasted a relatively short
time. On our return to Narrows, we came under small arms fire from loyalists hiding in the
woods. I fired my machine gun at the trees, hoping to tear them apart with my bullets. The rest of
the rebels followed suit.
Pay attention to the muzzle flashes! Jimmy said.
Acknowledging what Jimmy said, I tried to shoot at wherever I saw muzzle flashes. The
high volume of bullets that we sent at the loyalist soldiers was enough to take a few of them

down. Some of us then threw grenades into the woods. The grenades detonated within seconds
and some of the gunfire had subsided.
Matt, I think we need to just keep going, Ross said.
Youre right. If we stay still, were dead, Matt said.
Matt gave the order to continue driving back to Narrows. We had gotten into another
close shave, this one only lasting around ten minutes. Thankfully, we hadnt sustained any
casualties.
That was a close one! I said.
They almost got us again, Jason said.
Im just glad they didnt throw any goddamn flashbangs at us, Matt said.
Me too, Jimmy said.
What are we going to do when we get back to Narrows? I asked.
Find out where to place those damn guns, Matt said.
Sounds like a plan, I said.
When we got back to Narrows later that morning, Matt and Ross decided to only use one
gun due to the fact that we were operating with such small numbers. We placed this one gun on
the hills outside of the town. Four men were assigned to operate the artillery piece, the minimum
needed.

It was difficult deciding how to allocate fifteen men to fight platoons of loyalist soldiers.
This mirrored the issue that the loyalists were facing. It was difficult mobilizing a few million
soldiers against a hostile population that numbered in the hundreds of millions. Thankfully, we
had help from the local police and other rebels in the area. They would be of great help later on.

6
Sleeping on the Job
A week later, we ambushed a UN camp a few miles outside Narrows. The occupants of
the camp were a platoon of Italian alpine troops. It was decided that ten men would go take out

the camp. Ross would be in charge. The camp itself was off the bank of a river, so we would
have to get there by boat.
We set off at around 1:00 AM. The boat we took was a standard inflatable boat with a
small engine. The trip would take a couple of minutes. In the meantime, we went over our final
battle briefing and instructions.
All right, well catch these guys by surprise and take them out, standard hit and run. Im
on point when we land, everyone else follows. Jimmy, youll be all the way in the back with that
flamethrower. Ross said.
Got it, Jimmy said.
When I call you up, be prepared to move, Ross said.
All right, Jimmy said.
Brock, find a vantage point with a good view of the camp as soon as possible, Ross
said.
Okay, Brock said.
Our ten man squad was laid out as follows: there were five riflemen, a flamethrower, a
machine gunner, two shotgunners, and a sniper. We normally operated in platoon sized elements,
but it would have been better to split up into smaller squad-sized elements such as the one that
we were currently in or smaller.

We parked the boat off the shore and Ross led the way once we were on dry land. Things
seemed to be going normal until we smelled fire. We were unsure if it was the enemy camp and
even more unsure about what to do next.
Should we go toward the fire? I asked.
That may not even be the camp, Ross said.
Yeah, it could be a decoy, Jimmy said.
So what do we do? I asked.
Well just proceed the original way. The coordinates we were given said that the camp
was supposed to be there anyway, Ross said.
All right, I said.
Lets move, Ross ordered.
Eventually, we arrived toward the camp. Brock situated himself with his sniper rifle and
we got ourselves ready for the ambush. Ross then gave the order to open up on the enemy.
Weapons free! Ross yelled.
We subjected the enemy to a barrage of small arms fire. At least ten of them fell. Others
scattered and ran for cover. We exchanged gunfire with the loyalist troops. After some time, only
a handful of them remained. However, we heard more movement nearby.
Hey, I think weve got company, I said.
Take them down! Ross said.

I fired in the direction of where the noise came from. The others joined me. Enemy fire
came back at us from that direction. We needed something heavier to deal with the loyalists.
Jimmy, get up here with that flamethrower, now! Ross yelled.
Im on it, Ross! Jimmy responded.
Jimmy hurried over with his flamethrower and burned the foliage, frying the loyalist
soldiers where they were. Our machine gunner shot a burst at the loyalists to make sure that they
were dead.
Oorah, boys! Good work! Lets get back to the boat. Ross said.
We made our way back to the boat and began the journey back to Narrows. We were
given another great morale boost after the events that had taken place a few days earlier, which
pleased all of us.
You know, I wonder what ended up happening to those bridges, Jimmy said.
They might still be operational, I said.
Some other rebels may have taken them out, Ross said.
Did they? I asked.
Thats what I heard. It could just be a rumor though, Ross said.
I hope they did. I dont want them to have any more ways to get in and out of this area,
I said.
I dont think any of us do, Frank, Ross said.

Yeah, I said.
Have you heard some of the stuff Jason told me about Blacksburg? Jimmy asked.
Like what? I asked.
The reprisals against snipers for one, Jimmy said.
Thats not just in Blacksburg. Theyve been doing that all throughout the country, Ross
said.
Its really bad over there though, Jimmy said.
What do they do? Ross asked.
They captured one and castrated him a few days ago, Jimmy said.
Fucking monsters, man, I said.
Then there was another that got tied to a vehicle and dragged around for a few miles,
Jimmy said.
Oh God, Ross said.
These stories shocked and angered me. The more of them I heard, the less I viewed the
UN soldiers as humans. What kind of human could kill innocent people without remorse like
that? This was not just a minority of loyalists treating people this way. I daresay it was the
majority that committed these atrocities. It was ironic that an organization that was supposed to
be a champion of human rights had committed some of the greatest human rights violations of
the war.

Once we returned to Narrows, I had a drink with the guys. I mostly just stayed quiet and
kept to myself during this time. After that, I slept on Matts couch. I had a dream that night. In
the dream, I was walking around on a barren plain and heard voices calling out to me.
We can help you. Just follow us, the voices said to me.
Who are you? I asked.
Just follow us, the voices repeated.
I complied and walked toward the voices. Moments later, I woke up. I was confused as to
what the dream was about. As a result, I spent time trying to determine the meaning of the
dream. Was it a foreshadowing? Was it a random dream? Time would eventually reveal the
meaning and purpose of the dream.

7
On Home Turf
The loyalists had been bombing Narrows for a week straight. The aerial bombardments
did little to impact our combat effectiveness. In the meantime, we were harassing the loyalists
almost daily. At times, we carried out missions multiple times a day.
We interpreted the bombings as a sign that an attack was coming. This interpretation was
given substance when our eyes and ears in Blacksburg, Archer, had given us word that a
mechanized infantry battalion was heading in our direction.
Upon receiving the news, we did everything we could to prepare. Our artillery pieces
were strategically placed right outside the town. In addition to that, we had planted boobytraps
and IEDs on the roads leading into Narrows.
We had also collaborated with the local police to protect the city. To supplement us, we
had other rebels and armed citizens of the town helping us. Altogether, there were about 400 men
and women on our side. The loyalists had about 600, plus armored vehicles and air support.
On the morning of August 27th, the town was bombed one last time before the loyalist
attack. We placed ourselves in the police station and surrounding buildings inside the town. The
police would be the first line of Narrows defenses. We would provide them artillery support.

We stood ready to fight. It was anticipated that the police would slow down the loyalists,
but wouldnt be able to stop them. Soon, the artillery opened up on the enemy. From what I could
hear, the battle sounded like a frenzy.
Brace yourselves, boys, Matt said.
I was going through a cocktail of emotions that morning. Part of me was ready to fight,
but another part of me was terrified. This was the heaviest fighting I had seen so far. About fortyfive minutes had gone by before we saw police officers retreating into the town. Our time was
coming. Narrows defense now rested on us.
Get ready! Matt yelled.
Within moments, we saw an M2 Bradley rolling down the streets with soldiers following
it. Matt ordered us to open fire. We shot rockets at the Bradley and bullets at the enemy infantry.
I had cut down several of them with my machine gun. One rebel fired another rocket at the
Bradley, which hit one of its treads. The Bradley was now stationary and all it could do was fire
from its current position, which it did.
We had done a good job of not allowing ourselves to become easy targets for the Bradley.
However, some of the remaining police officers were hit by the Bradleys chain gun. Matts
facial expressions showed that he desperately wanted that Bradley taken out.
Take out that fucking Bradley! Matt bellowed.
Two more rockets were shot at the Bradley before it exploded. We erupted into a short
celebration and then focused our attention on the loyalist infantry.
Theyre coming from the north too, Stuart said over the radio.

What? Matt said.

Theyve got men coming from the north too, Stuart responded.
Okay, Ill see what I can do, Matt said.
Well have to send guys over there, Ross said.
All right, we need thirty guys to the north of the city. The blue helmets are sending
troops that way. Ross, youre in charge, Matt stated.
Thirty men, lets go! Ross commanded.
We provided cover fire for Ross and his men as they left the police station. Whatever
explosives we had left we used on the enemy infantry. More of them rushed toward us. The
situation was getting critical.
They are not taking this police station! Matt yelled.
Keep doing what youre doing with that machine gun, Frank. We want to make sure
theyre pinned down, Jimmy said.
We kept the loyalists pinned down with everything we had. They had us outnumbered,
but we had several force multipliers on our side. However, they gave themselves an advantage by
using their numbers to attack us from both sides.
Were running out of explosives here! Jimmy said.
Whatever you have left, make them hurt! Matt yelled.

Some of the other rebels were killed by the loyalists. We were now down to about 100 in
the police station. I counted nearly 250 men on the opposing side. After an hour, we were down
to ninety men. We barely made a dent on the loyalists in that hour.Were getting our asses killed
out here! I yelled.
Call in some artillery, Jason said to Matt.
Ross boys need it more than we do, Matt said.
Dammit! Jimmy said.
Can we get onto the roof? Matt asked.
I think so, Jimmy said.
If we can, I want Frank and a few other people up there. Were taking the high ground,
Matt said.
All right, Jimmy said.
We managed to find a way to the roof of the police department. Once we did so, we
rained down bullets on the loyalist troops. Progress was being made now that we had another
force multiplier.
Burn in Hell you blue helmet motherfuckers! Jimmy said.
Eat shit! Jason exclaimed.

We focused our hatred toward killing the loyalist soldiers. Every one of them were pests
that had to be destroyed. They showed no mercy toward us, and we would show none toward
them.
Dont leave any of those motherfuckers standing! I want every last one of them dead!
Matt ordered.
Hey, Im starting to run low on ammo, I said.
I have an M4 slung on my back. Take it, Jimmy said.
I took the M4 from Jimmys back and he gave me three magazines. I set the rifle down
next to me and fired my machine gun until I had exhausted all the rounds. From then on, I used
the M4.
Im running out of ammo too, Jason said.
Fucking hell! Murphys Law had to bite us in the ass today, didnt it? Jimmy said.
Strategize your shots. We have to shoot for accuracy now, guys, Matt said.
Im out of rounds, Brock said to us on the radio.
Something needs to turn around fast, Jimmy said.
Guys, something weird is going on, Ross said over the radio.
Whats happening? Matt asked.
It looks like weve gotten some help, Ross said.
From who? Matt asked.

I dont know who. They stormed in with some IFVs and a bunch of infantry and took
the blue helmets out for us, Ross said.
Hallefuckinglujah! Matt said.
Thank God, I said.
Help is on the way, boys! We just have to hold on for a little while longer, Matt said.
While we waited for them to arrive, we continued to watch our shots and conserve ammo.
We still had to hold on.
Keep watching your shots, guys. This aint over yet, Matt ordered.
Due to the lower volume of gunfire we were sending toward them, the loyalists were
gaining the upper hand. They were now pinning us down and forcing us to stay behind cover. In
spite of this, we still tried to get a few shots on them.
Dont stop shooting at them! Theyre not going to get an inch closer! Matt yelled.
Does anyone have any rifle grenades? I asked.
I have one left, Jimmy said.
Jimmy gave me a rifle grenade from his rucksack. I loaded it into the rifle and shot it off.
The resulting explosion killed two loyalist soldiers.
Good job, Frank! Matt said.
Keep putting down fire! Were not letting them get inside! Jimmy said.

We exchanged fire for another few minutes. Soon, we all ran out of ammo. Thankfully,
help had arrived. A BMP infantry fighting vehicle opened up on the loyalist soldiers with its
main gun.
The boom of the gun shook the immediate vicinity. The machine gun on the vehicle did
its work as well. Infantry arrived shortly after. These infantry were dressed in plain clothes and
body armor, some wearing the stereotypical operator ball cap. Most of these men were large,
muscular, and bearded.
After breathing a sigh of relief, I said God is great, guys.
Good work, everybody. We kicked ass! Matt said.
Whoever these guys are, they sure saved us, Jimmy said.
Hold down the fort! Well take it from here! one of the men yelled out to us.
A few of us went downstairs to meet the men. When we got down to the street, we
discussed the next course of action.
I really appreciate you guys helping us back there, Matt said.
No problem, we want these bastards gone as much as you do, the commander said.
I think I recognize you, I said.
You do? the commander said.
Youre David West, arent you? From Sentinel International? I said.
The very same, he said.

Sentinel International were a group of mercenaries formed by billionaire real estate

mogul John Saxby. Saxby was a patriot and maverick who made his money from high-rise
construction projects throughout the world.
Disappointed with how the US government was handling the ISIS threat, he formed
Sentinel International in 2014. Sentinel International recruited experienced veterans and former
special forces operators into its ranks. They proved themselves highly effective against ISIS
forces in Iraq and Syria, sustaining minimal casualties.
Eventually, they were hired to combat Boko Haram militants in Nigeria. Again, Sentinel
International was an effective force. When the war started, they fought alongside the rebels.
Saxby fled to Belize.
They initially operated in Richmond, but were sent to the Virginia mountains. They made
a name for themselves operating in Christiansburg, playing a pivotal role in the resistance victory
there. It was an honor and a privilege to fight with them.
Were going to have to withdraw. Were out of ammo, Matt said.
Well keep some men posted here then, West said.
Okay, sounds good, Matt said.
The mercenaries drove the loyalists out of Narrows. From that point forward, we and the
other remaining rebels were attached to Sentinel International. Sentinel established a base in
Narrows following the battle.

8
Brothers in Arms
For over a month, we continued our low-intensity raids on the loyalists in the mountains.
The mercenaries then received orders from Saxby to march on the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional
Airport. The loyalists control of Western Virginia was slipping and Roanoke was the lynchpin of
their strength in the area. Once Roanoke fell, the rest of Western Virginia would fall relatively
easily.
On September 29th, we set off from Narrows to Roanoke. By this time, Blacksburg had
been liberated. The loyalists were surrounded. It was estimated that around 25,000 loyalist troops
were in Roanoke, facing about 80,000 rebels.
At least two previous attempts had been made to capture the airport, both had failed. We
hoped the third time would be the charm. Chances were, we were better equipped and better
trained than the previous attackers.

We more than likely also had a better tactical approach in regards to our attack on the
airport. Around 700 loyalist soldiers defended the airport. The airport was in the northern part of
the city. We would split into two battalions to capture the airport. West would command one
battalion. The other battalion would be commanded by Arnold Kruger, Wests second in
command.
West was a distinguished Delta Force veteran with over twenty years of experience under
his belt. Kruger was a veteran of the French Foreign Legion who hailed from South Africa. Both
were skilled at their craft. We were attached to Wests battalion, who was attacking from the
west. Krugers would attack from the north. Early in the afternoon, we stormed the airport.
When we attacked, we worked in tandem with the IFVs. We kicked off the initial combat.
After this, the IFVs would lead the way and punch through the enemy defenses. We were locked
in urban combat, cleaning up what the armored vehicles had missed. Soon, we had come under
sniper fire.
Does anyone see the sniper? West asked.
Ill try to draw his fire, Jason said.
Be careful, West said.
Jason sprinted from one side of the street to the other. A shot rang out and we could now
locate the sniper.
Pointing to a nearby building, Ross said Hes in that building! Light it up!
We did as Ross instructed and concentrated our fire on the sniper. A team of us would
have to charge into the building and make sure that the sniper was taken out.

Ross, Frank, get in there and clear that building! Matt ordered.
Ross and I ran toward the building. When we arrived at the door, Ross kicked it in and we
searched for the sniper. A few moments passed, and we found the sniper dead. He was lying in a
puddle of his own blood, his body riddled with bullet wounds.
Looks like weve done our job, I said.
Lets use this building for cover, Ross said.
Okay, I said.
After trading fire for a few minutes, we proceeded closer to the airport. The IFVs came
under attack from rocket launchers and were getting bogged down. Resistance was becoming
fierce.
We need to find those damn rocket launchers, Matt said.
Make it quick. I dont want to lose any vehicles, West said.
Keep your eyes peeled for rocket launchers! Jason said.
We noticed a rocket being fired, luckily not hitting the IFV. When we saw the
infantryman with the rocket launcher, we saturated the area with bullets.
If you see anyone with a rocket launcher put them down! West said.
Theres one on the rooftop down that way, Jimmy said, pointing toward a building.
Take it out! Matt yelled.

The IFV fired its main gun again. The boom from its gun was even more prominent. With
the help of our armor, we kept working to make our advance smoother. The loyalists werent
making it easy though. Eventually, machine guns were raining down bullets on us.
Get to cover! West yelled.
Let the armor take it out! Matt said.
Did we take out all the rocket launchers? West asked.
I havent seen any more of them, I said.
All right, lets move up, West said.
Once we cleared out the Beacon Hills area, we made it on to Peters Creek Road. We
continued on this road to the airport. The loyalists were still mounting a stiff resistance. They
used the buildings surrounding the road as firing positions with spectacular results.
Find any cover you can! Matt yelled.
What are we going to do if they send reinforcements before we take the airport? I asked
Matt.
Well kill them too! Matt responded.
Most of the loyalists are deeper in the city, anyway. The majority of the area around the
airport is held by friendly forces. The problem is that theyre too strong here for the average
force of rebels to put up a good fight, West said.
Some men will have to go into that Kroger, Ross said.

Ill send some of my boys in there. It looks like theyve got it armed to the teeth, West
said.
Thats nothing compared to the actual airport, Matt said.
Well have Krugers boys giving us a hand, West said.
How far have they made it? I asked.
Theyre pinned down right now. The loyalists have got them in a crossfire, West said.
Shit, I said.
If all goes well, we should link up with them shortly and the loyalists on that road will
be surrounded, West said.
We need to move, Matt said.
Yeah, lets pick up the pace, West said.
We need to hurry up and move, guys! Krugers boys are held up on the approach to the
airport. If we meet up with them, we can give them a hand and take this airport! Matt relayed to
the rest of us.
Use the armored vehicles for cover if you need to, Ross said.
I want some men in that Kroger, now! West said.
Let the armor soften them up a bit first, a mercenary said.
Two shots were fired at the building, blowing holes in the entrance area. Around fifty of
the mercenaries rushed the building. In the meantime, we were steadily getting closer to Krugers

men. When we finally reached them, they were relieved. The nearby buildings were caught in a
pincer movement. It wasnt long before all the loyalists on that block had been taken down.
Well have the armor flood into the airport and the infantry will follow close behind,
West said.
Well just continue with what were currently doing? Kruger asked.
Yes, West said.
We should hit the airport with cannon fire from the BMPs before we move inside,
Kruger said.
Well do that, West said.
The armor moved on to the airport. We followed close behind in our own advance.
During this time, we had seen numerous loyalist aircraft parked on the runway erupt into flames
from the BMPs cannon fire. From a distance, we opened fire on the loyalists. During this time,
we were instructed to either lie prone or crouch in order to make ourselves as small of a target as
possible.
After a short gunfight, West ordered us forward. There were makeshift machine gun nests
firing on us, but they stood little chance against the IFVs. The constant movement was taking its
toll on me; I was running out of breath.
Were almost done here guys. Just keep pushing, West said.
We just need to clear out the main building, Matt stated.

Several of the BMPs began to fire on the airports main building. The constant barrage of
fire caused heavy structural damage to the building. It was quite a sight to watch. The final push
was here.
Were on the home stretch, boys. Move it! West said.
We all rushed into the building and became embroiled in close-quarters combat. This
slowed down our capture of the airport.
Frag out! West yelled.
West threw a grenade at a nearby cluster of loyalists taking cover near a kiosk. The
grenade detonated and killed the loyalist soldiers. Their bodies were horribly disfigured by the
explosion.
Lay down some suppressing fire, were going up! Matt said.
The battle devolved into hand-to hand combat. I managed to take down a handful of
soldiers, but most of the work had been done by Matt, Ross, and the mercenaries. We had lost a
few men during this fight.
Before long, the first floor of the airport was cleared. Instantly, we moved on to the next
floor. Upon reaching the second floor, we were greeted with rifle grenades. Several of our men
died, but we were adamant about capturing this airport. Once again, the close-quarters combat
had us pinned down.
If you have any rifle grenades, blow those fuckers to Hell! Matt said.

Soon, a machine gun had opened up on us. This time, there were no armored vehicles
available to help us. Also, it was harder for us to advance on it. The machine gun had to be taken
out fast.
Give me a smoke grenade, Jimmy, I said.
What are you about to do? Jimmy asked.
Im taking out that machine gun, I said.
That thing will rip you to pieces if youre not careful, Jimmy said.
I know what Im doing. Just give me a smoke grenade, I said.
All right, fine, Jimmy said.
Jimmy handed me the smoke grenade and provided me with cover fire while I made a run
for it. I threw the smoke grenade in the middle of the hallway and a cloud of smoke covered the
hallway. With myself shielded, I sprinted toward the machine gun. Once I was in a good spot, I
fired about three shots at the machine gunner and took him down.
Hell yeah, Frank! Good job! Matt said.
After that, I hurled grenades at whatever loyalists I saw. I was successful since many
loyalists had been put down. Our advance was sped up, and we continued on with clearing out
the airport. Within an hour, the airport was entirely cleared of loyalist forces. West ordered us
into defensive positions in case a counterattack came. Thankfully, we were given time to rest.
While waiting, we also had time for idle chit-chat.
That was good what you did back there with that machine gun, Matt said.

I was just thinking on my toes, I said.

Thats what we need out here, Matt said.
Thanks, Matt, I said.
Since youve been with us youve been like a fish in water, Jimmy said.
Remember what we talked about in the prison. Im just glad I was given a second
chance, I said.
Do we even know if a counterattack is supposed to come? Jason asked.
Its possible. This is one of their main lifelines to the outside world. They wont let it go
that easy, West said.
Im surprised they only defended this place with a few hundred men, Rex said.
The loyalists are stretched thin. Most of their men are too busy trying to hold the city,
West said.
This is good progress, Jason said.
A few minutes had gone by and the counterattack had come. There were three M2
Bradleys, one M1 Abrams and hundreds of loyalist infantry. It would be a bloodbath.
Theyve got a fucking tank! I yelled.
Get some AT4s on their armor! Kruger ordered.
Rockets and bullets flew all around. Eventually, we had taken out one Bradley and
disabled the tank. However, the tank was still capable of firing on us. The BMPs shot at the tank.

After a while, the M1 Abrams was finally taken out. Two Bradleys and the loyalist infantry
remained. The loyalists called in air support and an Apache helicopter opened fire on us. Several
of us were killed, but that didnt deter us from fighting.
Light them up with those machine guns, boys! West yelled.
One of the mercenaries ran over to West and said Sir, Colonel Kruger is down.
Im in charge now, West said.
Yes, sir, the mercenary said.
Focus on taking out those Bradleys, West ordered.
Yes, colonel, the mercenary said.
The mercenary ran back to his post, and we continued to fire at the loyalists outside.
Soon, another Bradley had been destroyed.
Theres just one more left. Take it out! West said.
Moments after Wests order, the last Bradley was destroyed and the remaining loyalist
infantry withdrew from the area. Regardless, we shot them as they fled. Some fell, but most of
them successfully escaped. We had done it, the airport was finally ours.
Good work everyone! West said.
Should we dig in or proceed forward? Matt said.
Well figure that out later, West said.
Thank God we can rest now, I said.

That shit was crazy, Jason said.

I havent seen action like this since they attacked Narrows, Jimmy said.
Theres plenty more to come, West said.
Are you happy with what youre getting, Frank? Jimmy asked me.
I guess so. Im enjoying kicking loyalist ass right now, I said.
This is nuts. Maybe we signed up for a little too much fighting with these guys, Rex
said.
This is right where we need to be, Matt said.
Maybe Matts right, Rex, I said.
What are you talking about? Rex asked.
Were here to fight the loyalists. This is where they all are. Were willing to fight and die
for the cause, so why not go where theres a good fight? I said.
I dont know about this, Frank, Rex said.
We dont have a choice, Rex. Were already here, I said.
I have to talk to you, Rex said.
Okay, I said.
Rex pulled me off to the side, and we had a conversation. He seemed worried, not only
about himself but also about me. To be entirely honest, I didnt want to have this conversation.

Whats wrong? I asked.

We need to get out of this country. I cant do this anymore, Rex said.
Where the Hell are we going to go? A lot of these countries would rather take terrorists
as refugees than us. Our only choice is to stay here and fight.
Im just worried, all right. Im worried about you and about us.
What is there to worry about?
Us dying or getting hurt for one.
The risk of that happening doesnt seem avoidable at this point.
I guess Im still not used to all this.
Everything will be fine, Rex.
If you say so, I love you, bro.
I love you too, Frank.

9
The Meat Grinder
We lost about one hundred men taking the airport. Its capture made it even harder for
loyalist troops in the area to resupply. We dug in and made it harder for the loyalists to recapture
it. We knew a more powerful counterattack was coming.

While we did this, Roanoke was bombed and shelled around the clock. Reinforcements
had arrived in the area and many parts of the city were recaptured by the loyalists. Rebel
casualties skyrocketed. However, the resistance fighters did not go down without a fight. Out of
around 3,000 loyalist reinforcements, 600 had been killed. Several tanks and helicopters had also
been destroyed. The loyalists were desperate.
The airport was defended with machine gun nests, trenches, foxholes, and other
makeshift fortifications. Our BMPs were placed in various tactical positions. We also had antiaircraft guns positioned around the airport. We were going to successfully defend the airport or
die trying.
The airport was attacked on the morning of October 3rd. Prior to the loyalist assault, A10 ground attack aircraft attacked us. The A-10s had softened us up, but they had done no
substantial damage to us. Once the A-10s did their work, we had been attacked by about 2,000
loyalist infantry and three Challenger tanks.
The BMPs and our anti-tank guns did what they could to take out the tanks. Meanwhile,
we worked on the infantry. We put down suppressing fire and kept them pinned down where they
were. One of the Challengers fired on us, however, and killed some of our men.
Before long, a Challenger was destroyed. The other two were still a huge pain in the ass
though. Two of our BMPs were taken out. We were down to thirteen BMPs. West soon ordered
us to fire rockets at the tanks.
Somebody do something about those goddamn tanks! West yelled.

Jimmy grabbed a rocket launcher and fired on one of them. Once he fired the shot, he
moved to another position and fired off one more shot. Jimmy focused his attention on the tanks
treads. If the tanks were immobile, they were sitting ducks.
I was behind a machine gun once again. This time, I was using an M240, otherwise
known as a 240 Bravo by loyalist soldiers. Out of all the machine guns I had used up to that
point, that one was my favorite. Jason was next to me using an M249 SAW, another captured
loyalist weapon.
The battle was like something out of an action movie. There were explosions all
throughout the area. Blood and guts flew on both sides. The sounds of gunfire were the master of
the area. Who would have thought that a bunch of rednecks from Narrows would fight alongside
mercenaries against tanks and thousands of enemy troops? The situation actually sounded more
and more like an action movie.
Another Challenger tank was destroyed, but at the cost of another two of our BMPs. After
some time, the loyalists called in more air support. This time, we were attacked by an Apache
attack helicopter.
The Apache fired off a few rockets and then lit us up with its chain gun. Our anti-aircraft
gunners tried to shoot it down, but only managed to inflict enough damage to the point where it
needed to withdraw from the vicinity. We were all relieved when the Apache left. Much to our
inconvenience, reinforcements arrived in the area. We were angered by this. West was especially
infuriated by the situation. At the very least, there was no additional armor to worry about.
The last Challenger was finally taken out. This time, it cost us three BMPs. We were now
down to eight BMPs. The battle began to shift in our favor until we subjected to artillery fire.

The artillery had us ducking and running for cover. They were doing a good job of keeping us
suppressed.
This fucking artillery is pissing me off! West yelled.
If they keep on, theyll be ready to charge at us any second, Jimmy said.
Thats what they want, Jimmy, Matt said.
A shell exploded dangerously close to us. Jason fell and shrieked in pain. His arm was
hanging by a thread. Blood was all over Jasons clothes. Upon seeing this, we tried to call for
help.
Hey, we need a medic! I yelled.
A medic ran toward us. But, before he could even reach us, he was gunned down by a
sniper. This angered West and the rest of us even more. The loyalists werent going to give up
that easily.
Keep your heads down! West yelled.
One of us should try to find the sniper, I suggested.
We have more important things to deal with than one sniper, Matt said.
The line is going to collapse if they keep shelling and strafing us, West said.
Are there any other medics around? We have to help Jason, I said.
We need a medic over here, now! West yelled.

Before long, another medic made his way toward us. This time he was successful. While
he treated Jason, the shelling stopped. This time, it was followed up by another air bombardment.
A handful of bombs were dropped and another one of our BMPs were taken out. Several friendly
infantry had been killed by the bombs as well.
Hold the line, boys! West said.
The BMPs need to keep those infantry pinned down if we want to stay alive out here,
Jimmy said.
Thats what theyve been doing, Jimmy, West said.
We need to keep doing our part, dude, I said to Jimmy.
These air attacks are taking a lot out of us, Matt said.
We just need to keep up the pressure. Weve almost got them beat, West said.
The loyalist infantry began to fire rockets at our armor. We tried to locate the sources of
the rocket fire and respond accordingly. Those BMPs were vital, and we were adamant on not
losing another one that day.
There are a couple guys with AT4s in that shopping complex down there, Frank. Light
them up! Jimmy said to me.
I did as Jimmy said and put down a constant stream of bullets toward the shopping
complex. After several bursts, I concluded that the soldiers were down. After that, I tried looking
around for other soldiers armed with rocket launchers.
Good work, boys! Keep it going! West said.

With his encouragement, we downed a few more loyalist soldiers. The loyalists decided
that they would try one last move to take the airport. They would charge at us. Before they did
so, we were under artillery fire once again. Apart from the thunder of the artillerys explosions, I
could hear the screams of pain from our men. I sat motionless while the artillery pounded us.
When it finally stopped, I still hadnt gotten up.
Get up, Frank! Jimmy yelled.
Jimmys command snapped me out of what was going on. I went back on my machine
gun and tried to shoot down as many infantrymen as I could. The infantrymen came at us with
fixed bayonets. When they reached us, we shot them dead with our sidearms and fought them in
hand-to-hand combat.
Two loyalist soldiers had attacked me. I shot one of them and engaged in a fierce brawl
with the other one. He tackled me to the ground and tried to shoot me with his pistol, but I was
working to wrestle it away from him. A few stray bullets were fired, thankfully only going up
into the air or hitting the sides of the trenches. Soon, I was able to point the gun at him and shoot
him in the face twice, killing him.
I got back up and tried to assist my comrades. Jimmy managed to put a loyalist soldier on
the ground. He and I teamed up to beat him dead. Eventually, more of them came at us. Now,
three had swarmed me. Jimmy shot one of them; I shot the other, and the last one charged at me
with his bayonet. I ducked down and kicked the soldier in the leg. Following that, I shot him as
well.

This hand-to-hand combat lasted for several minutes and resulted in us beating them. We
thought the battle was over, but we were dead wrong. I spotted helicopters off in the distance
dropping more soldiers off nearby. Another wave of loyalists was marching on the airport.
How many more of these bastards are they sending? I asked in an angry tone of voice.
I told you theyre not giving up that easy, West said.
Goddammit! I said.
Get back into your positions! Were not done just yet! West ordered.
Frank, get ready with that machine gun in case they charge at us again, Jimmy said.
Got it, I said.
Are you sure we have enough men to beat these guys? Matt asked.
Hell yeah, theyll get exhausted and quit if we keep doing what were doing, West said.
The A-10s strafed us once again. A BMP and one of our anti-tank guns were taken out,
along with a few infantry. The zipper-like sound that the A-10s gun made was an iconic one.
Every time I heard it, I was struck with terror.
Its making another run! Jimmy yelled.
Get down! West ordered.
The A-10 came back around and strafed some more. A few more of our infantry were
killed, but it made a less substantial dent on our forces. Fortunately, the A-10 left the area, and
the infantry were now by themselves.

Theyd be stupid to charge at us again, Matt said.

After what we did to them earlier, yeah, I said.
They have to be getting to a breaking point, Jimmy said.
Lets get them there quicker, West said.
How many men have we lost so far? I asked.
I have no clue, but maybe 150 from what Ive seen, West asked.
Shit, I asked.
Thats more than I would like, but we still have the upper hand, West answered.
They might send even more reinforcements, I said.
Thats impossible. Theyll still need men to hold the city, West said.
Whatever you say, I said.
Lets get this done, West said.
The firefight continued and the loyalist soldiers surrendered after a long, drawn out
battle. Some of them withdrew, but the vast majority of them surrendered to us. More than 1,500
loyalist soldiers were killed trying to recapture the airport. Around 170 of us were killed
defending it.
As the surrendering soldiers walked toward our positions, West said You guys are part of
Sentinel International now. If you dont like that, youre dead.

We looked around for officers and NCOs and interrogated them, trying to get whatever
valuable intel we could get from them. Many of them were actually compliant. The soldiers
captured were a joint US and British force. Following the battle, most of them were tired and
demoralized. Matt and Ross interrogated a squad of captured British soldiers. Jimmy and I stood
by them with our guns trained on them.
How many men are currently in your unit? Matt asked.
After this engagement, less than 400, the squad leader said.
What can you tell me about loyalist positions in this area? Matt asked.
The city center is strongly defended. Theres a multinational force in charge of the
downtown area too, the squad leader answered.
What else? Ross asked.
There are a few American marine battalions in the south of the city. Theyre holding the
neighborhoods around there, the squad leader said.
What about armor, artillery, and those sorts of things? Ross asked.
Most of the loyalist artillery positions are outside of the city, the squad leader said.
What about armor? Matt asked.
There are only a couple dozen tanks around here, the squad leader responded.
We interrogated the soldiers until we could get no more useful information from them.
Once we finished, I examined what was around me. The surrounding area looked like it had been

hit by a tornado. Bodies and limbs were strewn throughout the ground. Seeing all the
dismembered corpses and the extreme injuries of our wounded disgusted me.
Look at all this shit, Jim, I said.
I know. Its crazy, aint it? Jimmy said.
Its sick, I said.
War brings out the worst in people, Frank, Jimmy said.
I wanted to fight, but I didnt think I would see this much crazy shit, I said.
Are you having second thoughts? Jimmy asked.
Hell no, but Im realizing more and more how fucked up this war is, I said.
Thats why we have to hurry up and win it.
Those loyalists are a bunch of fucking animals.
This is why we fight, Frank. We fight to avenge this shit right here.
Yeah.
I hope Jason is going to be okay.
Me too, his arm looked pretty bad.
Those A-10s are some terrifying sons-of-bitches.
You can say that again.
Do you know that those are one of the hardest aircraft to shoot down?

Yeah, I heard something about that.

Its that gun. That gun scares the shit out of me.
Same here, dude.
I cant go without looking up in the sky now.
Me either.
Rex soon walked over. The look on his face said it all. He looked disturbed by everything
that had taken place. Jimmy and I tried to talk to him, but he didnt seem very responsive at first.
Are you all right, Rex? I asked.
I dont even know, Rex answered.
What? I asked.
I dont even know, Rex said.
Do you want to talk about it? Jimmy asked.
The bodies, the fucking bodies, Rex said.
What else? I asked.
The blood and the limbs and shit, its so fucking disgusting, guys, Rex said.
Were either really crazy or really brave. Maybe its a little bit of both, I said.
I think its both, Rex said.
The loyalists are even crazier than us, Jimmy said.

Youre right, I said.

You guys want to know something? Jimmy asked.
Sure, Rex and I said.
I dont understand how somebody could be a soldier and be an atheist. After looking at
shit like this, youd either be begging God for forgiveness or begging God for answers, Jimmy
said.
There are no atheists in foxholes, I said.
Aint that the truth, Rex said.

10
The Death Blow
Thankfully, we had some time to rest after the battle to defend the airport. The images I
saw during that battle still stick with me to this day. We had about a week to lick our wounds and
get ready for the push to the city center.
The airport was reinforced by friendly resistance fighters and captured loyalist troops. We
had about 5,000 troops at our disposal. Originally, we started off with a 2,600 man mixed force
of mercenaries and rebels. Things were looking good, but it had come at a high price.
On October 11th, we pushed on to Roanokes city center. We collaborated with local
resistance forces in the area during the operation. Several thousands of loyalists were defending
the city center. However, they were surrounded on all sides by enemy forces.
Once again, we worked in tandem with our armored vehicles (the remaining ones). West
and the mercenaries led the way. The loyalists took refuge in buildings lining the streets and
opened fire on us. The armored vehicles fired on the buildings, making our job easier.
Initially, we were taking fire from the nearby mall. West ordered some of his mercenaries
to clear out the mall. We provided them with cover fire as they entered the mall. The rest of us
continued our advance.

We were ordered to clear out an adjacent shopping center. West divided us to clear out
sections of said shopping center. Luckily, much of the shopping center was small stores and
restaurants. Jimmy was next to me wielding an M249 SAW. He lied prone and lit up the loyalists
in the shopping center.
Give them Hell, Jim! I yelled.
The glass windows of the buildings shattered and some of the enemy fire died down. I
fired a rifle grenade at one of the restaurants, killing a loyalist soldier. I went in and out of cover
firing on the loyalist troops. We held the line against the enemy until the rest of the mercenaries
arrived, having completed their objectives. After that, we swarmed the loyalist positions and
cleared the shopping center. Once that was done, we moved forward. The heavy fire directed
toward us had slowed us down, however. It seemed as if every nook and cranny in front of us
was occupied by a blue helmet.
Frank, get a grenade up there! Matt ordered.
Im on it, I said.
I threw a grenade into a nearby building. The grenade exploded, but not much happened.
We were pinned down and something had to be done quickly.
Theyre all over the fucking place! Jimmy yelled.
It seems that some of the loyalists near the airport withdrew toward this area, I said.
Some of them? They have a whole army down here! Jimmy said.
What the Hell are we going to do? Rex asked.

David, we need to call in reinforcements from the airport, Matt said.

Ill send a few in, but were going to have to hold the line until they get here, West
said.
We can do that, Matt said.
Weve got company up in the windows, Rex said.
Rex, Matt, and I fired at the windows of a nearby building. Matt then ordered Jimmy to
fire on the windows with his SAW. Our efforts were bearing fruit.
Die, you blue helmet pieces of shit! Matt yelled.
The BMPs fired shots at the surrounding buildings. They followed up their shots with
machine gun fire. This softened up the loyalists a good bit. We couldnt help but cheer at the
loyalists suffering.
Just hold on, boys! Reinforcements are on the way! West said.
A mercenary next to me fell dead after taking shots to the head. Blood was seeping from
his head. I turned away and kept fighting, trying to block those images from my head.
If theyre defending this area so much, I can only imagine whats downtown, Rex said.
Hopefully other rebels will get wind of whats going on and give us a hand, I said.
Lets hope, Jimmy said.
How long will it be until those reinforcements get here? Matt asked.
Theyll be here within five to ten minutes, West said.

How many are coming? I asked.

About 1,000, West answered.
Grenade! Jimmy yelled.
We all sprinted away from the grenade and got to cover. The grenade exploded after
about five seconds. Fortunately, none of us were hurt in the explosion.
Lay down more suppressing fire on those fucks! West ordered.
We did as West commanded and increased the volume of rounds heading in their
direction. Some of the mercenaries took advantage of this and moved up. I saw two of them fall
trying to advance. One of them was writhing on the ground. I ran over to help him. I asked Rex
and Jimmy to cover me as I ran into the street. The bullets whistled by me. When I got to the
wounded mercenary, I carried him to a nearby alley where other mercenaries had taken cover.
We need a medic! I yelled out.
Thank you so much, kid, the wounded mercenary said.
Dont mention it, I said.
I kept yelling for a medic until one came. I and other mercenaries covered the medic. The
mercenary was groaning from the pain. The medic treated him as soon as he arrived on the scene.
Is he going to be okay? I asked the medic.
Maybe, he had a bullet go through his stomach. I dont think it hit anything important
though, the medic responded.

Good work getting him over here, kid. another mercenary said.
Dont thank me. I did what I had to do, I said.
You still did a good job back there, the mercenary responded.
Thank you, I said.
The reinforcements came, and we pushed on. At this rate, we were still at a crawling
pace, but we steadily made our way closer to the city courthouse.
Use the BMPs for cover if you have to, guys! West said.
Suddenly, the lead BMP was taken out by enemy fire. As a result, we were stuck where
we were. We would have to make a detour around the loyalist troops.
This is not fucking good! West said.
Were going to have to go around, Matt said.
That means that well have to clear this area ourselves while they back out of here,
West said.
I guess thats what well have to do then, Matt said.
All right, the BMPs are backing out of here. Were going around. Well need to clear this
area out ourselves though, West announced.
Do you have any rifle grenades, Jimmy? I asked.
Ive got a half-dozen you can have, Jimmy answered.

Jimmy gave me a half-dozen rifle grenades, and I fired them toward the loyalists. I was
successful in taking out a machine gun and a handful of loyalist riflemen. For the rest of the time,
I stuck to shooting regular rounds.
The BMPs backed out of the road they were stuck on after a few minutes. We managed to
clear the next two blocks of loyalist soldiers. The ones who couldnt fight any longer withdrew
deeper into the city.
Move up, boys! West commanded.
By this time, the city courthouse and our other objectives were within sight. This
encouraged us to press on. This was the hard center of the loyalist defenses. Now was the most
crucial part of the battle.
Right here is going to be a bitch! Theyre not letting this area go! West said.
We need to kick it up a notch! Matt stated.
The loyalists called in air support on us. We were bombarded by an attack helicopter. We
tried to stay in the alleys and make ourselves small targets. The BMPs tried firing at the
helicopter which actually succeeded. The helicopter spiraled down and crashed to the ground.
Shoot at that helicopter. Leave no survivors! West ordered.
Loyalist soldiers ran over to the wrecked helicopter and tried to check for survivors. If
there were any survivors, we would get to them before the loyalists did.
Are you sure anyone survived that? Jimmy asked.
Possibly, were putting them down as long as theyre running over there, West said.

Lay down suppressing fire around the helicopter! Matt ordered.

Fuck that! Lets fire an AT4 over there and finish those cocksuckers off! I said.
We need AT4 fire on the helicopter! Jimmy said.
One of the mercenaries ran up with an AT4 and shot at the helicopter. He placed a direct
hit on the helicopters fuselage. The mercenary fired another shot at a cluster of loyalist troops.
While this took place, I noticed an M1 Abrams tank rolling toward us.
Guys, weve got company, I said.
Shit, we need to take out that fucking tank! Matt said.
Hey, you! Shoot at that tanks treads! West ordered the mercenary with the AT4.
Yes, sir! the mercenary said.
He fired one shot at the Abrams treads. He narrowly missed. Adjusting his fire, he shot
another rocket at the tank and hit the treads. The tank was now stuck.
Make sure those loyalists dont get that tank moving again! West ordered.
Jimmy, light that area up! I commanded Jimmy.
All right, Frank, Jimmy said.
Jimmy opened fire and many of the loyalists running toward the tank were mowed down
by his bullets. The tank fired a round in our direction. The explosion destroyed much of a nearby
building. Some mercenaries using it for cover were killed. The mercenaries limbs were strewn

on the ground and one could hardly recognize their bodies. Bricks were thrown around the
vicinity.
That tank is not getting operational again! West bellowed.
Keep doing what youre doing, Jimmy! I yelled.
The BMPs flanked the M1 Abrams and opened fire. Before long, the M1 Abrams was
destroyed. We advanced forward and prepared for the final assault on the city center.
We need to split up! I want the bulk of our men to take the courthouse, another hundred
to take the TV station, and another two-hundred to take the police station! West ordered.
Were taking the courthouse! Matt said to us.
Most of our force advanced onto the courthouse. It was being fiercely defended by the
loyalists. Luckily for us, we had the BMPs softening them up for us. The loyalists were still
putting down a beating on us.
Stay down! Dont let those machine guns get a shot on you! West said.
Let the BMPs fire at them for a bit first! Matt ordered.
Fire some AT4s! West said.
A few AT4 rockets hit the building and reduced the amount of enemy fire coming at us.
The BMPs also shot some more rounds at the building. It was safe enough to proceed into the
courthouse.
Lets go, guys! West said.

We charged inside, and we engaged in close-quarters combat with the enemy from that
point forward. Before long, the building was cleared and all our objectives had been captured.
The remaining loyalist soldiers in the immediate area had surrendered.
We cut down the UN flag from the courthouse, then spit on and stomped on the flag. Matt
took out a folded Gadsden flag from his rucksack and raised it on the flagpole. Once the flag was
raised, we engaged in the iconic rebel yell from the Civil War. We also fired our guns in the air in
celebration. The mercenaries joined us in the celebration.
Jimmy gave me his lighter and said Burn that shit, Frank!
I lit the UN flag on fire and spit on it as it burned. I took pleasure in every second that
that flag was desecrated. This spelled out the beginning of the end.
Today marks the day that Roanoke and Western Virginia slipped from the loyalists
hands. This city will soon be ours! West announced to us.
We cheered and fired our guns in the air again. The loyalists were going to see what they
had unleashed. Hell had arrived for them. This is what all the blood spilling and the death had
resulted in.
Mission accomplished, guys! I said.
The mission is accomplished for the most part, but its not entirely over yet. Theyre still
hiding out in those neighborhoods, Jimmy said.
Do you still regret getting involved in this war, Rex? I asked.
Not so much anymore, we sent a bunch of loyalists to Hell today, Rex said.

Youre damn right we did, I said.

I wonder how many we killed today, Jimmy said.
Im guessing a couple thousand, I said.
We really took a lot out of them in that case, Jimmy said.
I wonder how long itll be until this war ends, Rex said.
This shit will be over soon. Theyre running out of men to throw at us. Im telling you,
Jimmy said.
Im so happy right now, dude, I said.
Me too, brother, Jimmy said.
We lost 203 men out of 3,000 taking the airport. The loyalists lost 3,300 men out of
6,000. Morale was boosted, and we were becoming feared throughout Virginia. The first part of
our vengeance was almost complete.

11
A Time to Breathe
After capturing downtown Roanoke, some of us were sent back to the airport to aid in its
reinforcement. It was a much needed break from the fighting. I decided to go to the field hospital
at the airport and make a few visits. First, I went to go see Jason and check up on him. From
what I had heard, he seemed to be recovering well from his wounds.
When I saw Jason, his arm was still in a cast. He looked groggy, presumably due to the
effects of his pain medication. He seemed pleased to see me.
How are you doing, Jason? I asked.
Im doing all right, man. How are you? he asked.
Im doing better now that we got sent back here.
I heard you guys captured the downtown area.

Yep.
How was it?
They put up a good fight, but we were able to get it done.
Thats great.
How long is it going to be until that arm heals?
Its going to be a long time.
Damn, that sucks, Jason.
It is what it is. Its good to hear you guys are still killing it out there.
Literally.
Wed get through this a lot faster if I wasnt hurt.
Laughing, I said Whatever you say, Jason.
This war is going to end soon. I can feel it.
Me too, Jimmy said theyre running out of men to throw at us.
Hes not wrong.
This is going to be one Hell of a story for the grandkids, isnt it?
What is?
How I got captured, put in prison, and became a resistance fighter.

Sounds like some action movie or video game shit,"

Yep,
I never thought I would make it this far, to be honest.
What do you mean?
I thought I would have either died in prison or back in Narrows somewhere.
I thought it was over when we were captured. I would have never thought we were
going to escape from that shithole.
Thank God for Jimmy.
Jimmy is a pretty all right guy. Hes become one of my best friends.
Didnt one of your brothers die when you guys got captured?
Yeah, those cocksuckers killed him!
Im sorry I brought it up.
Im not mad at you. Its still fresh.
I apologize.
Lets just change the subject.
All right.
What do you want to talk about?
These Sentinel guys kick some serious ass.

A lot of them are former special forces, remember?

I know, but still. These are some pretty hardcore guys.
West used to be in Delta Force.
Oh, I know.
You know what I dont understand?
What?
Why do these loyalists still think they can win? Most of the people are against them.
Hell, a lot of the rich are against them, just look at Saxby. They have no chance to win our hearts
and minds.
These guys are dangerously arrogant. Theyre the type of guy that tries to beat up the
jock twice as big as him, gets his ass kicked, and still thinks he can beat him up.
That sounds a little specific. Are you talking from personal experience?
Maybe, maybe not.
Were you the bully or the jock?
Ill let you figure that out for yourself.
Did you get your ass beat and started working out or were you already that big?
Ive been big since I was like twelve. I played football, remember?
Oh yeah.

Im the one on all this medication and I still remember this stuff.
You know, you got to get me into bodybuilding.
We should keep in touch when all this is over. I can show you all kinds of bodybuilding
shit.
You sound like the type of guy that probably gets laid every day.
Ive been around the block, but I havent gotten laid that much.
More than me, I bet.
Are you still a virgin?
Yeah.
I dont understand how. Youre a pretty good-looking dude.
I was the guy that mostly kept to himself in high school. I had a few friends, but I wasnt
too social growing up.
Bro, I should put you under my wing. I can teach you how to spit game and get all kinds
of chicks, man.
I may or may not take you up on that.
Well, not like there are any females here to spit game at, but you get what Im saying.
I was about to say.
Listen to me, my white brother. Just listen to me. I can teach you a lot about shit.

Whatever you say, dude.

Trust me, man.
So whats the food like in here?
Its nothing special, but Ive had worse.
What kind of stuff are they feeding you?
Some MREs and that type of shit.
You were right about the nothing special part.
Better than nothing, I guess.
Its a nice change of pace being here.
Why is that?
It gives me time to think about shit and what Im going to do when this damn war ends.
Thats assuming you survive.
Well yeah, of course I have to survive. But, you cant just use the assumption that youre
going to die as an excuse not to plan for shit.
Youre right.
Yeah, theres not really much else to do around here, anyway.
What are you thinking of doing?
I may just finish my studies in college and figure things out from there.

I might do the same thing.

This war made me grow up real quick.
Me too, I was partying almost every night in college and now were here getting shot at
and seeing people die all around us.
Now I know how my uncle felt.
Your uncle?
My uncle was a Vietnam vet. He got drafted shortly after he finished high school. In his
words, it aged him by twenty years.
Thats what war does, man.
Yep.
Im getting tired man. Ill talk to you later.
All right, Jason.
I left Jason and looked around the hospital for the mercenary I saved the day before. I
hadnt been able to see whether he survived or not. When I found him, he was wide awake and
active. He was happy to see me.
Its you again, he said, smiling.
Yeah, how are you doing? I said.
Im doing all right. How are you?

Im doing okay. Im just glad we got a bit of a break.

I see.
You know, I never got your name.
The name is Arthur.
Im Frank.
I wish we could have been given a better opportunity to meet each other.
Thats life.
Thats for sure.
So, why did you join Sentinel?
The UK hardly did a bloody thing about ISIS even though they were in our fucking
country. I was already part of the English Defense League and I felt that the UK had to do more
to fight these terrorists.
I understand.
I have a lot of sympathy for those of you that are trying to get out of here. Our
government cares a lot more about these Islamic goat shaggers instead of us native British who
fought and died for our country. A lot of these migrants havent done a bloody thing for Britain.
It was the same here in America before all this started.
Im surprised a race war hasnt started in the Western world by now.

Personally, I dont think a race war would have started. I think it would have been
something like this, but just on a bigger scale.
Thats also possible. I really wish we never joined the EU. Something like what were
facing in England would have never happened.
Whats the propaganda like in England? What are they saying about us?
Well, they label us all terrorists and say that the insurgency is made up of racist religious
bigots from the countryside.
Of course, thats total disinformation.
Theyre the media. What else can you expect from them?
Especially from the liberal left.
The left started this war. They started all the bullshit in Europe. Theyre responsible for
all of this. Those of us who oppose them are the real victims.
Maybe Europe needs a revolution of its own.
It does. I dont know how much more we can take.
It would be harder to revolt in Europe. The average European doesnt have access to
guns like the average American does.
Harder? If anything, it would be easier to revolt against the EU and its leaders. Their
strength is split between here and Europe and wherever else theyre deployed and they already
have small numbers to begin with.

You may have a point.

We would need international support.
Good luck getting that.
We could get support from Russia.
Evidently there are Spetsnaz operating here. Did you hear about that?
Yes, I have actually.
What do you think about that?
It may or may not be true, but I havent seen any. I hope they are here. Theyre a
valuable asset in any fight.
Ive heard a lot about them.
We heard a lot about what they did when I was in Syria.
You were in Syria?
I was in the SAS before I joined Sentinel.
Thats cool.
The SAS was a lot of fun.
Was it?
I got to see a lot of the world.
Thats one way to travel.

Insertion by parachute is the best form of travel in my opinion.

Would you do it all again?
I sure would. I was a good soldier to my country and I would gladly serve her again.
I wanted to join the Marine Corps, but I fucked up my back in a car accident and I
couldnt enlist.
Any particular reason for choosing that branch?
My uncle and father were in the Corps.
I have an uncle that fought in the Malayan Emergency.
Malayan Emergency?
It was Britain and the Commonwealths Vietnam. However, we actually won ours.
That was a nice underhanded jab at America. Why didnt they just call it a war?
Certain investors would lose money if we called it a war.
I feel like a lot of these wars in the Third World are started by corporations.
Thats pretty much the truth.
How do you feel knowing that you were fighting for corporations?
I didnt know it when I first joined. Eventually, I got to a point where I stopped caring. I
couldnt and still cant see myself doing anything but being a soldier.

I honestly didnt really have a direction for my life before this war started. I guess the
war decided for me.
How old are you?
Twenty.
There are twenty year-olds that dont know what direction they want to go or even care.
At least you want to go somewhere.
At least.
You not being able to join the military was a blessing if you think about it.
I realize that now.
You have plenty of time to think about what you want to do. Just focus on getting
through this war alive.
Im sure were all focusing on that.
Thats your job for right now.
I may end up becoming like you.
What do you mean?
I mean being a soldier for my whole life.
What makes you think that?
Well, I seem to be fairly good at it.

Being a rebel is not the same as being a professional soldier.

I understand, but the concept is the same.
Yes, but there are differences between the two.
I get that. Im sure its not anything I cant adapt to.
You could probably do it.
There will be plenty of war to go around for everyone in the near future.
Theres already plenty here.
I think Im going to go ahead and go. Ill see you later, Arthur.
See you, Frank. Think about what I said.
All right, will do.

12
Sweeping Up
I was at the airport for about a week. From there, we were sent to the southern end of the
city. The loyalists dug themselves in and made every one of their positions a stronghold. The
mercenaries had taken out some of these strongholds, but the bulk of them still remained.
The loyalists carried out reprisals in whatever areas of the city they still controlled. They
publicly executed hundreds of people at random. Prisoners-of-war were especially treated with
brutality. However, the loyalists attempt to demoralize the resistance fighters had only served to
anger them even more. Rebel attacks had spiked as a result of the reprisals. The rebels also
showed merciless brutality in return.
Many captured loyalists were instantly shot. Some resistance fighters would strip the
loyalist soldiers naked and carve Judas into their chests before hanging them from street lights.
The loyalists reciprocated this act.
It was October 18th when we were sent back to the front. We hopped on some MRAPs
and drove to our objective. During the ride, we discussed our mission. It was quite simple; we

would form two pincers and attack from the north. Once the neighborhood was cleared, we
would occupy it and attack the rest of the loyalist positions from there.
The loyalists have got machine gun emplacements all around that neighborhood, Matt
said.
Theyre making their last stand in these neighborhoods, Jimmy said.
I want everyone to keep their heads down and dont do anything crazy out there, Matt
said.
Especially you, Rex, Id rather not burn to death today, Ross said.
I got it, Jimmy said.
As we drove around, I noticed the corpses hanging from the street lights. As I described
earlier, they were stripped naked, and each one had Judas carved into their chests. Other dead
bodies simply lay there in piles off the side of the streets. When we arrived at our drop-off point,
we had instantly come under fire. We all sprinted out of our MRAPs and got to cover. Matt then
ordered us to put down suppressing fire on the machine gun.
Jimmy, throw a fucking grenade up there! I said.
Jimmy threw a grenade toward the machine gun. After a couple of seconds, the grenade
detonated and the machine gun was successfully neutralized. After that, we proceeded forward.
Many of the enemy troops had taken positions inside houses and opened fire from these
positions. These houses would all have to be cleared one by one. This would slow us down and
split our strength.

Jimmy, you and me are going in that house over there! I said, pointing at a house across
the street.
All right, Frank, Jimmy said.
Give us cover! Were moving in! I announced.
Jimmy and I ran toward the house, taking cover wherever we could and gradually getting
closer to the house. Once we were in front of it, I led Jimmy in, kicking the door in. In moments,
I saw a grenade roll down the stairs.
Oh shit! I yelled.
We leaped for cover and the grenade went off. Immediately following this, there were
footsteps approaching. I pulled out my sidearm, a SIG Sauer P220, and shot the loyalist twice.
He went down, and we ran up the stairs. Another loyalist lunged at Jimmy from a nearby
doorway. He and Jimmy got into a brief scuffle before Jimmy tackled the loyalist to the ground
and fatally stabbed him in the head.
The house was now clear, and we left. We decided to provide suppressing fire for other
rebels charging houses. Before long, we cleared the entire block, and it was time to move on to
the other loyalist positions. One house had three machine guns mounted in each window. Matt
threw a smoke grenade in front of us and a handful of us rushed the house.
Rex let loose his flamethrower and incinerated the machine gunners while we charged in.
We quarreled with some loyalist troops when we entered the house. They were quickly taken out.
After this ended, we went upstairs. Upstairs, we had come across some ammo caches. Taking
advantage of the situation, we filled up on ammo and grenades and kept moving.

We only have a few more houses left to clear, boys, Matt said.
We heard rumbling outside. A BMP had come to our aid. We left the house and ran
behind by the BMP. The BMP opened up on a house, almost leveling it completely with its main
gun. Once the gun was reloaded, it opened fire on another house and destroyed that one.
You know the drill! Follow the BMPs! Matt commanded.
The fleeing loyalists were either killed by us as they ran away or were crushed under the
treads of the BMP. Things were looking good, but as usual, things would take a turn for the
worse. There was an M1 Abrams in the neighborhood as well. When we saw the Abrams, we ran
away as fast as we could. Unfortunately, the Abrams was able to kill a few of us with its extra
guns.
Dont let that tank see you! Matt said.
Some of the other rebels attacked the tank with grenades, rockets, and anti-materiel rifle
fire. One of the gunners on the tank was killed by sniper fire. Like usual, we tried to fire at the
tank treads and bog down the tank. The BMP fled in order to get to a more advantageous position
to fire at the tank.
The BMP fired off a shot and hit the side of the tank. Predictably, the first shot did little.
The tank tried to point its gun at the BMP, but was unable due to the narrow width of the street.
At that point, all I could do was laugh. The BMP reloaded its gun and fired at the tank again.
This continued until the tank crew decided to surrender. We didnt take their surrender seriously.
Their surrender was viewed more as an inconvenience than a relief.
Get on your knees, bitches! Matt ordered.

The tankers got on their knees and a group of us stood around them with our weapons
pointed at them. The tankers had a look of fear on their faces. They may have known what was
coming. We decided not to waste our time with them any longer.
Put them down, Frank, Matt ordered.
Wait, dont kill us! a tanker yelled.
Why not? You had no problem killing us in that fucking tank! Jimmy remarked.
Do it, Frank, Matt said.
I walked down the line shooting each tanker in the face. After they collapsed to the floor,
I shot them all one more time for good measure. I thought little about what I had done. In my
mind, I just exterminated four pests.
Cocksuckers! Jimmy yelled.
Come on, they were surrendering, Rex said.
Who gives a fuck, Rex? I said.
We just committed a war crime! Rex said.
Just grow a pair and shut the fuck up, Rex. Its not anything they wouldnt do to us, I
said.
Doing it to them doesnt make us any better! Rex said.
They get to see how it feels. Remember what happened to Bear? I said.
We cant use that as a justification for this! Rex said.

Look, Im done dealing with you, I said.

After we executed the tankers, we continued clearing out the neighborhood. Whatever
loyalists that surrendered were instantly shot. Some of us took pictures of the corpses. Others
spat on the corpses or stomped on them. We wanted to make examples out of the loyalists. They
would know what would await them if they invaded our homes and attacked our families.
This is justice, Jimmy said.
This is murder! Rex said.
Theyre about to break. Once they see this shit, itll break their will! I said.
Thats not what happened with us! Rex said.
We have the moral high ground, Rex. Whatever they do to us, they deserve twice as
much, I said.
Were turning into a bunch of fucking monsters! Rex said.
Rex, take your fucking panties off and put on your man pants! Im sick hearing your
goddamn complaining! I bellowed.
Dont tell me what to do, dipshit! Im your older brother! Rex said.
You may be older than me, but youre acting like a fucking baby! I yelled.
Fuck you! Rex said.
Why dont go play a goddamn video game? Thats all your sorry ass is good for out
here! You obviously cant handle a real war without crying, I said.

Rex came at me and we fought each other. Eventually, he put me in a headlock. I

managed to fight out of the headlock and pull my knife on Rex.
Dont move, Rex! I yelled.
Jimmy ran toward us and pulled me off of Rex. He tried to get me to calm down, but he
was getting angry as well. I was seeing red at this point. To be honest, the thought of killing my
brother had crossed my mind during that exchange.
Both of yall need to take a minute and calm the fuck down! Jimmy said.
Im just going to take a walk. Ill talk to you guys when Im cooled down, I said.
I walked away and tried to clear my head. Rexs pacifism was annoying me to no end.
Why couldnt Rex understand what was going on? Why didnt he have the same desire to get
revenge on those bastards for killing our brother and our comrades-in-arms?

13
A Matter of Choice
Several days passed, and we continued clearing neighborhoods. We were very effective at
doing so. Our successes had inspired other rebels in the area, which sped up the process of
liberating the city. We were sent to another neighborhood in the southern portion of Roanoke.
This neighborhood was defended by nearly 1,000 loyalists. There were machine gun
positions and anti-tank guns placed throughout this neighborhood. There were expected to be
three loyalist infantry fighting vehicles operating in the vicinity.

Rex and I had patched things up by this time. I still did not feel any regret or sorrow for
doing what I had done to the loyalist soldiers, however. We simply moved past the matter. The
only thing I had regretted was pulling the knife on him.
All right, boys, were going to attack the neighborhood in a direct frontal assault. That
way well be close to the BMPs. I want to get through this fast, Matt said.
What if we attack from the flanks? I said.
Why from the flanks? Matt asked.
We wont be right in the loyalists line of fire and we can take them by surprise.
We wont be able to have the BMPs support us though.
Thats all right. We wont need them. Plus, Wests men are already getting pinned down
after attacking from the front.
I think we should stick with the original plan.
I dont know. It might not take us as long if we go the other way.
Im the one in charge, so were sticking with the original plan.
The kid has a point, Matt, Ross said.
Really, Ross? Matt said.
Hes right, Jimmy said.
Fine, I guess well assault the neighborhood from the flanks then, Matt said in an
annoyed tone of voice.

We loaded up onto the MRAPs and moved toward our drop-off point. We had a few
minutes of calm before putting ourselves back into the danger zone. Jimmy commended me for
standing up to Matt.
You did a good job standing up to Matt back there, Jimmy said.
I dont really see it as standing up to him. I just thought it was better if we did it the
other way, I said.
Still, that was some pretty good thinking there, Jimmy said.
Thanks, Jim, I said.
So, youre a battlefield strategist too, Brock said.
I guess I was today, yeah, I said.
The goal was to link back up with West and the other mercenaries. They had gone in
before us and were pinned down. Once we came to relieve them, things would move a little
faster. We became locked in a firefight with more loyalists on the first block we had to clear. I
had taken cover behind a house. A rifle grenade exploded near me. Some shrapnel penetrated my
skin, and I had small cuts on my legs.
I want that machine gun tearing them up, now! Matt ordered.
Rex lied prone and fired his machine gun at the loyalists. As he fired, we advanced, and
split up to clear the houses in the area. Ross, Matt, and I decided teamed up to clear one of the
houses. Matt led the way as we stormed in. There were two loyalist soldiers lying dead by the

doorway. This house had only one floor, so everything was clear. As we left, the door behind me
opened and I was grabbed by the throat. Springing to my aid, Matt shot the loyalist dead.
We left the house, this time unfettered, and kept on clearing out the houses. Everything
was moving fast until we came across one particular house. This was a two-story house occupied
by a machine gun crew. One by one, I saw rebels fall dead making bullish charges at the machine
gun. I took matters into my own hands once again.
I need cover fire! Im taking out that MG! I announced.
Be careful out there, Ross said.
My fellow rebels provided me with cover fire and I sprinted from house to house, taking
cover from the machine gun as I advanced on it. When I got close, I crept up next to the machine
gun, pulled out my sidearm, and fired three shots at the machine gun crew at point-blank range,
killing both crew members.
Once I did that, I charged into the house itself. A soldier ran out to meet me and I took
him down with one shot. When I made it in the house, I holstered my pistol and searched around
for any more loyalist soldiers. When I looked in one of the bathrooms, I saw a loyalist with his
hands up in surrender. I pointed my rifle at the soldier and led him outside. I then ordered the
soldier to get on his knees and put his hands behind his head.
Gesturing at the dead bodies and destroyed surroundings, I said See this? You did this.
The loyalist soldier had no response. I executed the soldier with a gunshot to the head.
The rest of the rebels advanced once they saw me come back outside. We could hear Wests men
off in the distance, but there was still a long way to go before we reached them.

We saw one house with a hole in its roof. A booming sound could be heard inside the
house as well. There was a mortar in that house. I observed that the mortar crew was firing in
Wests direction. Ross and I were ordered to take out the mortar. A handful of loyalist soldiers
were in the house shooting at us. A few rifle grenades came their way, and we didnt hear a thing
after that. Once inside, we rushed upstairs to kill the mortarmen. The mortarmen instantly
surrendered to us. Instead of acknowledging them, we shot them dead. After exiting the house,
we rejoined the rest of the rebels.
West and his boys should be close, Matt said.
Theyre getting flanked right now. They cant hold out for that much longer, Jimmy
said.
We continued to clear out the remaining blocks until Wests mercenaries and their BMPs
were within sight. After that, only about two blocks of houses were left. From what I observed,
one of their BMPs was destroyed and a few of the mercenaries were using it for cover.
Where are the other BMPs? Matt asked.
Theyre trying to flank these guys, West answered.
Lets get as much firepower as we can on those buildings! Matt announced.
We had run low on rifle grenades, thus we tried to use our machine gun fire to keep them
behind cover while others rushed inside. I lied prone with my M4 and did what I could to keep
the blue helmets suppressed. Some time went by and one house was cleared. Then we focused
our attention on the others. Before long, a BMP was rolling down the street. We kept up the

pressure while it leveled the remaining houses. Another neighborhood was now under our
control. Victory was getting closer.
Mission accomplished, gentlemen! West said.
Hell yeah! I said.
With the neighborhood under resistance control, we took time to rest. Jimmy and I sat on
the porch of an abandoned house and talked.
Maybe that was a good idea after all, Jimmy said.
Apparently so, I feel bad for Wests guys. That must have taken them a long ass time to
get through there, I said.
I guess you could say we saved their asses this time, Jimmy said.
I laughed and said Weve paid them back for Narrows now.
Matt walked over to us and decided to interrupt our conversation. He had a rather
annoyed look on his face. Jimmy and I were wondering what was on Matts mind. It clearly
wasnt anything positive.
Frank, I need to talk to you, Matt said.
Whats going on? I asked.
Youll find out here in a second. Just come over here, Matt said.
Whatever youre going to tell Frank, you can say in front of me, Jimmy said.
If I wanted you to contribute, Id ask you to, Jimmy. Give us some space, Matt said.

Hes just going to tell me anyway, Jimmy said.

Fine, Matt said.
So whats going on? I asked.
I just want you to remember whos in charge here. Just because youve shown a few
little glimpses of being brave doesnt mean you can order people around, Matt said.
Why are you telling me this? I asked.
For future reference, Matt said.
Hey, hold on. What are you trying to do, Matt? Jimmy asked.
Jimmy, this is an A and B conversation, Matt said.
Dont sit up here and intimidate my friend like that, Matt. Youre not a Navy SEAL
anymore. You cant just bully people into doing what you want them to do here! Jimmy said.
Im the one in charge of you guys, so I can do what the Hell I please, Matt responded.
You know, Matt, I used to have a lot of respect for you, but youre being a total asshole
right now, I said.
Why dont you shut up and learn your place, Frank! Matt said.
First, I had to argue with my brother, now I have to deal with your ass too! Good God!
Im leaving, guys. Im going to go see Rex, I said.
Go then! Matt said.

Fuck you, Matt! Jimmy said.

We all went our separate ways. I made my way over to Rex, who was in a house across
the street from us. He wasnt doing much apart from looking at his machine gun. I stormed into
the house furious.
Whats wrong with you? Rex asked me.
Matt is a huge dick, I said.
What happened?
Jimmy and I were sitting talking, and he comes over trying to boss me around and
saying that I had to remember who was in charge and a bunch of other bullshit. I dont know
what his problem is.
Wow, what an ass.
Honestly, I think hes just mad that I had better idea than he did.
Well, military guys tend to be captain of the ship type guys. Theyre conditioned into
that way of thinking. The military is very authority-oriented.
And? That doesnt give him an excuse to be a dick.
Youre right, but it happens.
I guess.
Hell probably get over it with time.

Lets hope he does. I dont want to have to deal with this shit every time I disagree with
him on something.
I know, bro.
Hey, Im sorry for pulling a knife on you the other day.
Its cool, dude. Things just got hot, and we werent thinking straight. Dont beat yourself
up about it.
All right, man. I still think that I should apologize for it.
Its fine.
Okay.

14
Last Stand
The Battle of Roanoke continued for about another month and a half. During this time,
we fought the blue helmets in the streets and cleared them out of every last nook and cranny they
hid in. By the end of the battle, they were only in control of a few heavily defended enclaves
throughout the city.

The city was crawling with rebel fighters, eager to pick off unsuspecting blue helmets.
The surrounded loyalists knew this and dug in for the storm. One enclave that had to be pacified
was a mall and a nearby shopping center, which were both converted to fortresses.
Machine gun emplacements, armored vehicles, and foxholes were all present at these
shopping centers. They would come under attack from all sides by both resistance fighters and
mercenaries. The attack would come in the thick of night.
By this time, Arthur had recovered from his wounds. The animosity between Matt and I
was still there. A lot of the other rebels were also growing tired of Matts authoritative attitude. In
spite of this, we tried to put our feelings aside and get the job done.
When we got to the objective, the rebels had already commenced the attack and were
bogged down by the heavy enemy defenses. Casualties were mounting and our arrival was
turning things around in their favor. Two Challenger tanks were firing on the local rebels. One of
them, however, was stuck in place.
We split up and took positions, firing on the enemy troops defending the area. We and the
BMPs tried to finish off the tanks. The sheer volume of machine gun fire kept us from moving
up.
Get the BMPs to fire on the machine guns! We can take care of the tanks! Matt said to
West.
How the Hell are you going to take out those tanks? West asked.
We can climb on them and take them out that way, Matt said.
If you say so, West said.

West ordered the BMPs to fire on the machine guns and other infantry in front of the
mall. While the BMPs fired, we moved up with caution. Realizing what we were doing, the
machine gunners on the tanks turned their attention toward us and opened fire. Many rebels were
cut down. We tried to take cover behind whatever we could. Annoyingly, we were slowed down
once again.
Throw a smoke grenade up, Jimmy, I said.
Jimmy threw two smoke grenades in front of our path and we rushed the tanks. We shot
the machine gunners and dropped grenades into the cockpits of the tanks. After this, we charged
into the mall. Some of us stayed back to clean up any surviving loyalists.
Once inside, we took fire from loyalists taking cover behind kiosks and stores. For
several minutes, we skirmished with the loyalists. On several occasions, bullets whizzed right by
me. Suddenly, there was an explosion. Matt fell over and had a hard time getting back up. He
was covered in blood and writhing in pain. The whole right side of Matts body was impacted.
His arm was heavily lacerated and his pant leg was in tatters. The explosion pierced his
bulletproof vest. Any animosity I felt toward him had gone out the window at this point. I ran
over to his aid.
Matt, can you hear me? I asked.
Yes, Matt struggled to utter.
Can you breathe? I asked.
Barely, Matt responded.
I need a medic! I yelled.

We dont have a lot of time, Matt said.

I kept calling for a medic and one eventually came. The medic tried to patch Matt up and
all I could do was watch. He may have been an asshole to us, but we still cared about him (or I
did at least).
Is he going to make it? I asked.
I dont know. Hes losing a lot of blood, the medic responded.
Goddammit, I said.
Ill see what I can do, the medic said.
Ross took charge and ordered us to move forward. I and a few other rebels gave cover
fire during the advance before we moved up ourselves. Matt and the medic had withdrawn from
the mall. We were taking fire from three sides. Our flanks and front were crawling with enemy
troops.
Now were the ones fucking surrounded, Jimmy said.
We can push through. Weve just got to be smart about this, Ross said.
I hope Matt is all right, I said.
Me too, Jimmy said.
Lets win this for him, Ross said.
We kept fighting the loyalists and slowly whittled them down, but we were taking a few
losses of our own. After a while, we cleared the first floor and moved on to the second. From

there, we worked on clearing out each store. However, this was not without getting tangled in
another firefight with the loyalists.
A rocket came at us and exploded near us. Thankfully, none of us were hurt by the blast. I
was dazed from the explosion, however. Once I recollected myself, I picked up my rifle and shot
at the loyalists once more.
Jimmy, I want you to lay down a constant stream of fire with that machine gun! Ross
ordered.
Im on it, Jimmy replied.
Jimmy opened fire with his M249 SAW and sent the loyalists back behind cover. As he
did this, some of us proceeded. A number of loyalists surrendered. We ordered them to get on the
ground, but not everyone complied. A rebel had his weapon pointed at two surrendering loyalists.
The two loyalists then engaged the rebel in a hand-to-hand scuffle. While they fought, I saw a
grenade fall to the floor.
Grenade, watch out! Jimmy yelled.
The rebel tried to run away but was tackled by the two soldiers. The grenade exploded,
and the three were caught in the blast. All three of them were horribly disfigured by the grenade.
Moments after the blast, the loyalists opened fire on us once again. We scattered and ran for the
nearest piece of cover we could find.
Fucking loyalists! I yelled.
I had a feeling this shit would happen, Ross commented.

Looks like this aint quite over yet, Jimmy said.

I sighed and said I guess not.
If they try to surrender again, kill them all! Ross ordered.
Thats what we should have done in the first place, I muttered to myself.
Put down another stream of fire, were moving up! Ross said to Jimmy.
Got it, Jimmy said.
Lets move, boys, Ross said.
We proceeded forward and cleared out more stores. After a long while, the mall was
finally captured. The other shopping center was still being fought over. We were on the move
once again. From what we knew, much of the shopping center was already under friendly
control. When we got there, we linked up with the other rebels in the area. We met up with West
and tried to get an update on the situation.
Whats the skinny? Ross asked.
Theres a school nearby and our boys are pinned down there. Most of our forces are out
there, the rest are still fighting for this shopping center, West answered.
Well head down to the school then, Ross said.
We moved on the nearby elementary school. The BMPs were firing on the school while
the mercenaries shot at the blue helmets from outside. As soon as we got to the school, we
charged in Soviet-style. The mercenaries followed behind us. The blue helmets downed some of

us as we entered the building, but there was little they could do to stop us from getting inside.
Our attack was more like a stampede. In a matter of minutes, the elementary school was taken.
About twenty loyalist soldiers were captured. We interrogated the soldiers we thought would
have valuable information. Those that didnt were shot immediately.
Good work, everyone! Give it a matter of days and Roanoke will be free once again.
Local forces should mop up the rest of these positions in the city, West announced.
We all cheered and went back to the airport. When I arrived at the airport, I went to go
see Matt at the field hospital. He was unconscious but had a heartbeat thankfully. I looked around
for a medic to ask what had happened.
Is he going to be okay? I asked a medic.
Hell be okay. We had to do an emergency surgery to stop the bleeding, so itll be a
while before he comes off the anesthesia, the medic said.
What a relief, I said.
I left the field hospital and went to go see the other guys. I told them the news and they
all either celebrated or breathed a sigh of relief. In spite of what I had gone through with Matt, I
was happy to know that he would recover. Roanoke was liberated for the most part and it was
almost time for us to return to Narrows as well.

15

Out with a Bang

Two days went by before we were on the move again. Local resistance forces had
mopped up the remaining loyalist positions, forcing them to withdraw from Roanoke. Even
though they were running, we werent going to let them leave without any harassment.
The loyalist withdrawal from Blacksburg was unorganized and withdrawing forces were
regularly involved in skirmishes with rebel fighters. The loyalists still hadnt learned their lesson
after numerous attacks on their convoys.
We were going into the New Year buoyed by our successes. As a result, our attacks were
even more effective and more brutal. It was December 21st, and the snow had covered the city.
There would be a fusion of blood and snow that day.
A loyalist convoy was moving through the north of the city near the airport. We got ready
to ambush their convoy. Just like in the countryside, we would take out the lead vehicle and work
our way down the line. Only about eighty of us attacked that convoy, all of which were rebels.
We waited until Ross gave the order to fire.
The convoy approached, nothing more than Humvees and a few APCs. They were
relatively easy targets. With weapons captured by the loyalists and borrowed from the
mercenaries, we would have an easier time than before. Once the loyalists got close enough, it
was time.
Weapons free! Ross yelled.
We fired rockets at the lead vehicles. The vehicle leading the convoy was taken out in a
short amount of time. The loyalist soldiers in the Humvees ran out and tried to find cover, but we

gunned down many of them before they could do so. I ran up with my flamethrower and
incinerated a couple of them. They screamed as the flames covered them.
With time, the loyalists broke and ran, abandoning their vehicles completely. This was an
even worse decision. They now had nothing protecting them from the storm of bullets directed at
them. Several of the loyalist soldiers collapsed on top of each other as they were shot dead. The
ones who managed to survive were the lucky ones. When they all fled, we searched the dead
soldiers for supplies. I found more ammunition and some grenades among other things. Others of
us decided to take the fallen soldiers firearms.
Roanoke is officially free, everybody! Soon enough, theyll be out of Virginia entirely,
Ross said.
We fired our guns into the air and did rebel yells. All we could do was celebrate. We
inflicted another loss on the loyalists without losing a single man. This was one Hell of a
Christmas present. After the ambush, we went back to the airport and prepared to leave the city.
The time we spent here was crazy, yall, Jimmy said.
I saw a lot of wild shit, but I wouldnt take it back for anything, Brock said.
Im glad we made it through this, I said.
Me too, Frank, Jimmy said.
Once we were packed, we met up with Ross and West who were talking. They were
discussing what to do next. We stood there and listened to their conversation.
So, it looks like this is it, Ross said.

Unless we get orders to stay here, then yeah, West said.

It was pleasure fighting with you guys.
Ditto, Ross.
Good luck in Richmond. Im sure you guys are going to need it.
Fuck yeah. Its chaos over there.
See you, David.
Bye, Ross.
What happens now? I asked Ross.
Sentinel got orders to return to Richmond. Were going back up to the mountains, Ross
said.
It was a good run while it lasted, Jimmy said.
Yep, I said.
Well spend the night here in Roanoke and make our way back tomorrow, Ross said.
We stayed in Roanoke for one more night before making the march back to Narrows. The
rebels that had become attached to us during the attack on Narrows remained with us when we
came back although a good portion of them had been killed during the Battle of Roanoke.
Roanoke was officially free, and it was only a matter of time until Western Virginia would be
liberated.

16
New Battleground
More than a year had gone by since the liberation of Roanoke. We carried with our lowintensity raids in the mountains. Sentinel International eventually disbanded after John Saxby
died. His airplane exploded in the Atlantic Ocean. After a while, the loyalists were kicked out of
Western Virginia. We decided to go down to Danville to carry on operations there.
During that year, I had been wounded twice while fighting the loyalists near Danville. I
had also won great respect from many of my comrades due to my performance in combat. Matt
especially grew to respect me.
We would harass supply lines to the North and attack loyalist troops on the North
Carolina-Virginia border. During our exploits on the border between these two states, we
encountered a few rogue loyalists. They were former British Royal Marines from 42 Commando.
These marines had been assigned to the North Carolina coast, but were later reassigned to
fight in Danville. During the battle, they switched sides and joined local rebel forces against the
loyalists. They were only a platoon-sized element of thirty men, but they did a lot of damage to
the loyalists.
They were veterans of Afghanistan and the war in Libya, along with several engagements
here in the United States. Their commander was Sergeant John Cook. Cook was a veteran of the
Sierra Leone engagement in the early 2000s and a hardened war hero.
The first operation we took part in with the marines was the attack on a loyalist camp on
the border. The loyalists kept a tight rein on the border between the two states after the numerous

defeats in Virginia in order to prevent the insurgents from resupplying. Richmond and the
Washington DC area were the only major cities in the area held by the loyalists at this point.
Tactical nuclear weapons were used in Northern Virginia, turning the tide of the battle in the
loyalists favor. There was not a lot we could do for our fellow resistance fighters in Northern
Virginia, but we could make it easier for Virginia to receive supplies. On January 4th, 2019, we
attacked the camp. Our attack would take place in two directions. Cooks marines would attack
from the rear and we would attack from the front, fixing the enemy in place.
We took full advantage of the darkness of night and positioned ourselves in the perfect
place for an ambush. Many of the soldiers were asleep, but some were still awake standing guard
or doing other things. However, they were all unprepared for what came next.
Weapons free! Matt yelled.
We sent a barrage of bullets at them. Many of them fell dead instantly, others tried to get
to cover and fire back at us, but their shots did little. We fought with them until Cook and his
marines arrived. From there, we engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Our brawl
with them was relatively short. Before long, the entire enemy camp was cleared out.
Nice work, lads. Lets go back to Danville, Cook said.
We marched back to Danville as a group. Danville was free and several of the resistance
fighters that lived there had given us a place to stay. Many of the local citizens enjoyed the
presence of the rogue marines. Others were wary of them, however.
I stayed with a Royal Marine in a house a few miles from downtown Danville. The owner
of the house was a resistance fighter named Brian James, more commonly known as Bubba.

Bubba took part in the liberation of Danville and joined in a few raids with us. Before the war,
Bubba was a Danville police officer.
I talked with my roommate, Alastair, on Bubbas porch. Alastair Jones was a lance
corporal in the Royal Marines. He had a history of military service in his family. His father
served in the Royal Marines during the Falklands War and in Persian Gulf. His grandfather
served in the British Army during the Second World War. He came from a family of nationalists
and supporters of UKIP.
He was a native of Sheffield and took part in political activities as a teenager. We got
along quite well. Bubba was still sleeping. We stayed up joking around and just shooting the
breeze. By now, we had been accustomed to the awkward hours that we were awake, so we
werent tired.
So, I heard you single-handedly took out a machine gun in Roanoke, Alastair said to
me.
Twice actually, I said.
Some of you loyalists are tough bastards.
Some of us, yeah.
I saw some crazy shit during the fighting here in Danville.
Like what?

When we were still fighting for the loyalists, one of them tried to blow himself up with
grenades in an effort to kill the rest of us, but we killed him and got away in time. I thought I
wouldnt have to see another suicide bomber since I left Afghanistan.
Sounds like something a really passionate rebel would do.
Really passionate rebel? I just figured that was most of you.
Well, a lot of us are passionate but in varying degrees.
So its a fairly mixed bag.
Yeah.
Thats not too much different from a regular army.
So, what made you decide to change sides, anyway?
We were ordered to execute a bunch of civilians who were accused of collaborating.
They were defenseless and hadnt done anything to threaten us. We could have taken intel from
them, but the high command ordered us to kill all collaborators. After that, it just became too
much for us.
Its a good thing you guys had that change of heart.
We may not be able to bring those people back, but we can avenge every last rebel we
killed.
Its an honor to be fighting with you guys.
Thank you, same to you.

We continued talking until the morning, and then we ate breakfast and discussed further
moves against the loyalists. We would mainly focus on making sure Richmond was not
reinforced or resupplied and harass loyalist forces right across the North Carolina border. North
Carolina was still being contested.
The western part of the state and many rural areas were under resistance control, but the
larger metropolitan areas were firmly controlled by the loyalists. We wouldnt take a direct role
in the fighting down there, but we would do what we could to help.
By this time, the loyalists were relying less on land transport to resupply and rely more
on resupply and reinforcement from the air. However, over the past few months, loyalist aircraft
attrition had skyrocketed. At least one loyalist aircraft was shot down in Virginia per day. The
loyalists were losing their air superiority over the state.
We would take full advantage of this situation in the future. If things continued the way
they were going, we could use air support against the loyalists. All we needed to do was get some
rogue loyalist air units to support us on missions. We would continue doing our part to increase
loyalist air attrition. We had captured Swedish RBS-70 rockets and used them to shoot down any
aircraft that flew over Danville. With them, we shot down at least ten loyalist aircraft, mostly
transport aircraft, during the months we had been in Danville.
Matt and Sergeant Cook were debating where to focus their attention. Matt thought we
should do more hit-and-run raids against loyalist convoys. Cook felt we should focus on crossing
into North Carolina and harassing the loyalists that way. I believed that Matts way was better,
surprisingly enough.

If we keep up the pressure across the border, well keep Virginia protected and keep any
loyalists from coming in to reinforce Richmond and other areas, Cook said.
Well, if we attack their supply lines, well cut off the flow of supplies to the city and
well be more effective in helping take back Richmond that way, Matt said.
What do you think we should do, Sullivan? Cook asked me.
I agree with Matt. A more direct attack on them will be more effective, I said.
Cook looked at another marine and said Corporal Dwyer, what do you think we should
do?
Sergeant, the rebels could attack the supply lines if they choose and we can cross the
border and do our raids, Dwyer said.
We can do that as well, Cook said.
It may be better to alternate the severity and frequency of our attacks to throw the
loyalists off, Sergeant, Dwyer said.
I like the way you think, Corporal, Cook said.
Well try a mix of both, then, Matt said.
All right, Cook said.
So it was agreed that we would try a mix of both strategies. It was somewhat similar to
what we were already doing, but this time we would split to get up more accomplished. We had
no idea how effective this strategy would be, but it was worth trying. Bubba and some of the

local rebel forces would give us a hand. With that settled, we planned our next mission. Little did
we know that our next mission would be planned for us.

17
Scavengers
The following night, we found out that a loyalist transport plane had crashed outside
town. We would find out what was in that plane. If there were any supplies intact, we were
taking them for ourselves. If there were soldiers in the aircraft, every last one would be killed.
The rebels would check the plane while the marines went on a border raid in the
meantime. By 10:00 PM, we had loaded up our trucks and set off toward the remains of the
plane. It felt good being able to drive through a large city without being ambushed by blue
helmets.
What do you think is in there? I asked Matt.

Hell if I know, its probably just some ammo and food, Matt said.
Probably, I said.
There could be some more weapons in there, maybe some bigger guns we can use,
Jimmy said.
Thats also a possibility, Matt said.
The loyalists might try to get to that aircraft first, though, Ross said.
Lets pray that they dont, I said.
When we arrived at the plane, the fuselage was still smoking. The plane was mangled and
one of the wings had been knocked off the plane. We formed a perimeter around the airplane and
a small squad of us checked for anything of value.
Frank; you, me, and Jimmy are going in, Matt said.
Matt led us into the aircraft and we saw dead bodies sprawled on the floor of the aircraft.
There were also crates in the aircraft. Luckily for us, the crates were still intact. The three of us
began to move the crates out of the wreckage and on to the trucks. Suddenly, there was an
explosion and gunfire followed.
Ambush! Get to cover! Matt yelled.
I took my assault rifle and fired at our attackers. Brock picked them off with his sniper
rifle, pinning the loyalists down.
Someone get on the machine gun of one of those trucks! Matt ordered.

Im on it, Rex said.

Rex manned the machine gun and fired it at the tree line. In addition to sniping and rifle
fire, the loyalists now had to deal with machine guns bearing down on them. The gunfire from
the blue helmets started to subside.
Keep it coming, Rex, Matt said.
Eventually, the loyalists withdrew, and we left the scene with the crates. We had another
close call with the blue helmets, fortunately everyone survived this one. When we got back
home, we opened the crates. The crates contained guns, ammunition, and more heavy-duty
weapons. We had come across a gold mine. When Cook and his men came back from their
mission, we planned out our next mission.
There are mercenaries operating around here, Cook said.
Who? Matt asked.
Swaard Defense Corporation, Cook said.
Swaard Defense Corporation was a private military company from South Africa. Many of
its mercenaries were aging veterans of the wars of apartheid-era South Africa. They had fought
alongside Sentinel International in Nigeria, however the loyalists had paid them more money to
fight against them here in the United States.
The government felt they could be trusted more than Sentinel International because these
mercenaries were solely after money as opposed to actually having political motivations like
Sentinel. Taking their combat experience from Africa, they put it to good use fighting in various
areas of the South. However, unlike Sentinel, they stuck to raids and counterinsurgency

operations, as opposed to larger scale battles. They only had a few hundred men compared to
thousands like Sentinel International, anyway.
Well have to get as many men as we can on this. They have us outnumbered, Matt
said.
Youre right, Cook said.
We can get Bubba and the rest of his guys to help us out, Matt said.
Well have to, Cook said.
Take those heavy guns. Were not pulling any punches, Matt said.
Yes, Cook said.
Well attack the camp at night. Any vehicles they have will be the first things we take
out, Matt said.
Especially the aircraft, Cook said.
The aircraft we can probably take for ourselves, I said.
We dont know anyone who can fly and it would be a bad idea to take the aircraft while
they still have air superiority here, Matt said.
Thats not going to last very long at this rate, I said.
Lets not take that chance, Matt said.
All right, I said.

You guys will start the attack and well come from the other side and box them in,
Cook said.
That sounds like a plan, Matt said.
Once the meeting was over, I left and chatted with Bubba. He was having breakfast. He
sat at his dining room table eating country-fried steak and bacon. I sat across from him and
started a conversation.
That food looks delicious, I said.
In his rough voice, he asked You want a piece of bacon?
Sure, Ill take a piece.
So how did it go with that plane?
We took a whole bunch of ammo and guns from the plane, but on the negative side we
got ambushed.
Did anyone get hurt?
We all made it out in one piece.
Thats good.
Were going across the border later tonight to attack these mercenaries. Were going to
need your help. I said.
Id be glad to help. What kind of mercenaries are we dealing with?
Some old South African guys, theyre literally only in this for the money.

I wouldnt underestimate those South Africans. South Africa used to have a pretty
badass army at one point. These old guys might know a thing or two about combat.
That may be true, but so do we.
A lot of those guys fought people just like us. Theyve got this down to a science.
Were not communists and unlike the average rebel in Africa, were fairly good with
guns.
Still, these guys have experience with counterinsurgency operations.
A lot of the regular loyalists do too, but look how well theyre doing.
Thats down to strategy and how theyre employed. These guys are mercenaries and
dont have to do things by the books.
Thats true.
So, how many of them are there?
A couple hundred.
Ill try to see how many guys I can get out there.
Well need them.
You know, Im surprised they havent dropped any tactical nukes around Richmond.
I hope they dont. Richmond is my hometown and Id be really pissed if they did.
Seriously?

Yeah, born and raised.

Why the Hell arent you over there, then?
Its a long story.
Ive got time.
Fine, me and my two brothers tried to escape around the state and get to whatever safe
areas were left and we ended up in the mountains and got caught up with a bunch of rebels.
How did they even find you guys?
You ask a lot of questions.
Im curious.
Well, these blue helmets captured us and we were sent to the New River Valley jail. I
met Jimmy in there and he helped me, my brother, and Jason get out. From then on, we just
decided that we were rebels.
What happened to your other brother?
They killed him.
Damn.
Yep.
You know, that story would make one Hell of a movie.
It would make a good movie.

Ive got coffee left over if you want it.

Ill get some in a little bit.
Okay.
Can I turn on the radio? I havent been keeping up with shit for the past few days.
Sure, go ahead,
I turned on the radio and listened to the news. The news reported that rebel forces
stormed the Florida capital in Tallahassee. Also, the resistance was making progress in
Jacksonville. Elsewhere in the country, a small revolt was put down in Seattle. In addition, the
governor of South Carolina, who was sympathetic to the resistance, was assassinated by loyalist
special operations forces.
I listened to the news for a little while longer before getting out of my seat and leaving
the house. I took a walk to clear my mind and relax myself. It was cold and snowy outside. That
was what I was used to, so I quite liked the weather. When I got back to Bubbas house, I relaxed
and shot BB guns with Jimmy and Jason.
As expected, I was a better shot than both of them. Jimmy wasnt too bad of a shot either.
Jason was understandably jealous of me. Bubba joined in later on and was actually more accurate
than me. I was annoyed at this, but since Bubba was a veteran police officer and rebel fighter,
this was not entirely surprising.
Nightfall eventually came and Bubbas men rendezvoused with us at his house. From
there, we loaded up the trucks and set off. Altogether, we had about 150 men. We were facing a
force of around 400 men, thus being outnumbered by almost three to one. To add to that, we had

to face armored vehicles, air power, and other assets that were no longer available to us. This
attack would not be easy or without any losses on our side. I could feel it. Bubba was right to be
wary.

18
Falling on their Sword
The mercenaries had set up a base in Virgilina, a small town on the border with North
Carolina. Much like us, the mercenaries were carrying out raids across the border. They had been
subjected to attacks by rebel guerillas before, but these attacks were largely unsuccessful.

The town was fortified according to our intelligence, but it wasnt anything more than we
had encountered before. Just as back in the mountains, we were counting on the element of
surprise. We had an hours drive to Virgilina, so we did whatever we could to pass the time.
Hey, wasnt that Kruger guy back in Roanoke a South African? Jimmy asked.
Yeah, but he was in the French Foreign Legion, Ross said.
Those guys are badass, Jimmy said.
I heard theyre fighting out in Louisiana, I said.
Thats funny. Dont they do basic training out in Algeria? Jimmy asked.
Yeah, but they do some training in South America too. Theyre pretty much putting that
training to use in Louisiana, Matt said.
I remember hearing a story that two hundred of them were attacked by over two
thousand rebels. They killed eight hundred of them and only lost seventeen, Ross said.
That sounds accurate, Matt said.
I trained with a few of them before. They were pretty okay guys, Ross said.
Really? I asked.
I mean we gave some of the American legionnaires a hard time, but they were some nice
guys, Ross said.
I dont see why an American would want to join the French Foreign Legion, anyway.
We have the best military in the world, Jimmy said.

You get an excuse to go to Europe, I said.

Well youve got a point there, Jimmy said.
If I wasnt such a diehard patriot, I might have done the same thing, Matt said
Eh, I wouldnt want to live in France now, anyway. Theres a bunch of damn liberal
commies over there, Jimmy said.
Still, I dont think a lot of people would turn down the chance to live in Europe, I said.
I probably would, Jimmy said.
Why? Is it too liberal for you? I asked.
Pretty much, Jimmy said.
Switzerland isnt too bad from what I hear, I asked.
Id take this country over Switzerland any day, Jimmy said.
Me too, but if you want the closest thing to America then there you go, I said.
I have a feeling something big is going to happen in Europe, Matt said.
What do you mean? I asked.
Theyre having shootings and terror attacks virtually every week. The right is trying to
rise up and shit is getting crazy, Matt said.
Thats not too much different from what happened here, Ross said.
I wouldnt be surprised if some civil war starts over there too, Matt said.

The map of Europe is about to be redrawn, I said.

This is Europe were talking about. Europe always has something going on, Matt said.
Well especially now, were talking some World War II level stuff, Jimmy said.
Some fascists are going to end up taking power in some of those countries, Matt said.
I could see it, I said.
After a while, we were outside Virgilina. As we approached the town, I noticed lights up
in the air. A whirring sound accompanied these lights. It was an attack helicopter. We shot at the
helicopter with our rifles. The helicopter opened fire and the two lead vehicles were destroyed.
Brock acted quickly and drove into the tree line. We got out of the vehicle as fast as we could.
The other rebels followed suit. The bullets from the helicopters machine guns landed all around
us and some of us were hit.
Soon, we were taking small arms fire from the ground. We got into position and returned
fire. For minutes, we exchanged fire with the mercenaries. They wouldnt be dislodged easily,
but we werent giving up.
Cooks boys are coming! Just hang on! Matt said.
I cant believe they just killed Bubba, I said.
Cover me, Im reloading! Jimmy said.
I gave Jimmy cover fire and some of us proceeded forward. As we advanced, the
mercenaries moved further back into the town. Things were more up close and personal.

Grenades exploded near us. Several of the rebels had been killed by the grenades. Luckily, we
were doing the same to them.
How long will it be until Cook gets here? I asked Matt.
Just a couple minutes, Matt answered.
Okay, I said.
A machine gun opened up on us from a Family Dollar. Other riflemen were next to the
machine gun following suit. Soon, a tank rolled down the street. We instantly took cover and
tried not to expose ourselves to the tank.
Hey, Rex, fire some AT4 rounds at that tank, I said.
All right, Im on it. Cover me, Rex said.
I gave Rex covering fire as he ran up to the tank and fired a shot off. He quickly sprinted
back to cover. The tank fired a round which exploded near us. Matt then came up with an idea
that saved us all.
We should flank the store and avoid the tank, Matt said.
That sounds like a good idea, Ross said.
Get ready to move, boys, Matt said.
Some of the rebels gave us cover fire as we escaped from the tank and ran onto 8th Street
before following us. The nearby Virginia Grocery was unoccupied. A few rebels promptly
stationed themselves inside it. We advanced onto the Family Dollar. Rex fired another AT4 round

at the wall which gave us an opening into the store. Some of us went in the store and the rest
fought the mercenaries in the streets.
When we charged in, we shot a few of them dead and the rest we fought in a hand-tohand brawl. Matt and Ross put several of them and the rest of us did the best we could. Soon,
they were all down and we joined the other rebels fighting in the streets. The attack helicopter
returned and wreaked havoc.
All of a sudden, a rocket hit the helicopter, and it came spiraling down. It exploded when
it hit the ground. I saw Cook and his men charging the street. They laid down machine gun fire
against the blue helmets. Jimmy and Ross rushed the T-72 tank in the street.
They climbed onto the tank, killed the machine gunner, and dropped a grenade inside.
The two sprinted away from the tank before the grenade went off. We and the marines boxed the
mercenaries into a small corner.
The gunfight continued for a little longer until the mercenaries finally surrendered. We
ordered them to line up on the street and get on their knees. They came out of their positions with
their hands up and complied with our orders. The mercenaries commander came out holding his
arm. He had been shot in the left arm. He got on his knees and Matt interrogated him. Jason and I
stood guard.
Do you know how many troops are on the border? Matt asked.
Fuck you! the commander yelled.
Matt punched him and asked How many fucking loyalists are on the border? Matt
asked.

Why dont you go suck off your kaffir friend? the commander said.
What did you just call me? Jason asked.
I called you a fucking kaffir! the commander said.
Say one more thing and Ill blow your brains out, Jason said.
Do it, you black monkey! the commander said.
Jason shot the commander in the face and yelled Racist asshole!
We forgot that these guys werent the most racially inclusive of people, I said.
Hell yeah! Ill execute every last one of these bastards if theyre as racist as he was,
Jason said.
Just relax, bro, I said.
We turned our attention to his second-in-command, another older Afrikaner. Fortunately,
this man was more cooperative than his superior. He had a rather disgraced look on his face as if
he had been more than just defeated in battle.
Whats your name? Matt asked.
Hendrik, the mercenary said.
How many troops are on the border that you know of, Hendrik? Matt asked.
About 10,000 total, Hendrik answered.
What do you know about armored units and air power? Matt asked.

There are still mechanized units in the northern part of the state. Air power is also strong
too, Hendrik said.
Okay, get up. Youre coming with us, Matt said.
All right, Hendrik said.
We interrogated other mercenaries and took some of them back to Danville with us. It
was a cramped ride. Our trucks barely had any room for the survivors. We forced the survivors to
join us under threat of death. They agreed to the terms. Some were used as recon troops and
others were simply infantrymen.
Since Bubba was killed entering the city, the house was ours. We had a drink in memory
of the rebels we lost attacking Virgilina. It was a bitter shot to drink. In spite of the successful
mission, it would have been nice to have fewer casualties.
Good work out there, everyone. Virginia is a bit safer from the loyalists now, Cook
said.
Thats one less racist dick on the Earth, too, Jason said.
That too, Cook said.
That man was a huge asshole, I said.
To be fair, I didnt like him much either, Hendrik said.
Oh yeah? I asked.
Yeah, he was pretty abrasive, Hendrik said.

Glad to know not all of you mercenaries are the same, Cook said.
Werent you in Sierra Leone, Cook? Hendrik asked.
Yes, I was. Why? Cook asked.
Do you remember Executive Outcomes? Hendrik asked.
Yeah, were you part of them? Cook asked.
Yep, Hendrik said.
I heard a lot of good things about you guys, Cook said.
Yep, we kicked a lot of RUF ass back there, Hendrik said.
I had a piece of that, too, Cook said.
I fought in Angola with the 32 Battalion, the most decorated unit of the South African
Border War, so Ive seen a thing or two when it comes to guerrillas, Hendrik said.
I bet you have. We used to know another South African guy that fought in the French
Foreign Legion, Jimmy said.
I know a few guys that went into the Legion after apartheid ended. They told me they
wouldnt fight and die for a communist like Mandela, Hendrik said.
That sounds reasonable, Cook said.
I was almost tempted to join them, but I didnt want to leave South Africa, Hendrik
said.

I could understand that, Cook said.

I miss my homeland, but I dont miss the people in charge of it, Hendrik said.
I feel the same way, Cook said.
I have no problem with blacks or fighting alongside blacks, but I have a problem with
overly nationalistic communists that hate whites like the ANC, Hendrik said.
Well, its the new trend to hate whites nowadays I guess, Cook said.
Loving your country and defending it used to be called patriotism, but people call it
racism now, Hendrik said.
Aint that right, Jimmy said.
We continued to talk and rant for the rest of the night until we finally went to sleep. All in
all, it was a fun night. We all rested for a few days. We saw enough combat in the past week or
so.

19

All Gave Some, Some Gave All

Our next target would be a strongly defended UN camp across the border in North
Carolina. This was camp was occupied by a mechanized infantry company with IFVs, air
support, and artillery. This camp would be a harder target than Virgilina. We needed as many
men as we could get to attack that camp.
Once again, we would send in half of our force to attack them and the other half would
link up with us. We had camouflaged our faces and wore our customary dark clothing for the
raid. The mercenaries observed that there were three IFVs at the camp and 350 blue helmets. We
were going in with about 200 men.
The loyalists had many force multipliers, but at the very least, we had the element of
surprise and the darkness of night. Also, we were battle hardened and had plenty of combat
experience by this point. In addition, we at least had some heavy anti-armor weapons to combat
the IFVs.
Ross would be in charge of us this time. Matt and the other half of our force would come
in separately. Ross briefed us on the mission one last time and we went over everything before
we got there.
Okay, when we get there, I want our rocket launchers to focus on the tanks and our
machine guns to keep the blue helmets pinned down. Dont fire a shot until I tell you. Matt,
Cook, and Hendriks mercenaries will come later and well keep them boxed in and take them all
out, Ross said.
How long after we begin the attack will Matt and the rest of them be there? I asked.

It should only be about ten minutes until they get there, Ross answered.
Okay, I said.
And make sure that RBS-70 is set up in a good place, I dont want any helicopters
harassing us for too long, Ross said.
Okay, Rex said.
You guys remember back in Narrows when we faced another mechanized infantry unit?
Jimmy asked.
That shit was nuts, I said.
I know, right? Jason said.
I wonder what those Sentinel guys are doing now that Saxby is dead, I said.
Probably out killing people like they normally do. I doubt that Saxby dying did a lot to
stop them, Ross said.
Probably not, Im sure he would have wanted them to keep going anyway, Jimmy said.
Probably, Ross said.
We went through some adventures with them, man, Jason said.
That was some of the heaviest fighting Ive ever been in, I said.
Same here, Rex said.

Can you believe how much weve gone through together in more than a year? Jimmy
asked.
Its been a long year, though, Jason said.
Well, war aint fun. It does that, Jimmy said.
Aint that the fucking truth, Ross said.
You know what, Im glad to have been fighting next to you guys for all this time, I
said.
Including Matt? Jimmy asked.
Including Matt, I said.
Haha, okay then, were glad you decided to join us, Jimmy said.
Thanks, Jimmy, I said.
Look at us out here talking like this is our last mission together, Jason said.
This is war. You never know if its your time to go, Ross said.
Youre right, Jason said.
Im surprised you dont already know this, Ross said.
Im not a soldier. I just never really thought about that like that, Jason responded.
Its hard not to get too attached to people you kill and die with, Ross said.
Thats accurate. Honestly, yall are some of my best friends, Jimmy said.

We reached the camp and got in position. We watched the soldiers in the camp for a little
while longer until Ross gave us the command to open fire.
Weapons free, Ross said.
The attack began and instantly, several of the soldiers were cut down by our bullets.
Before long, they were returning fire. Suddenly, a rocket headed straight for us. It touched down
near us and exploded, kicking up dirt and sending shrapnel flying. Ross was hit by the rocket.
His lower extremities were severed by the rocket. There was blood all over his clothes as well.
Ross! I yelled.
I ran over to him and tried to help him however I could. The blood was gushing into my
hands and I noticed that he was having trouble breathing. I was becoming alarmed.
Unfortunately, we had no medics around, which only compounded the problem.
Its over, Frank, Ross said.
No, its not, I said.
Im not going to make it, Ross said.
Yes, you are, goddammit! I yelled.
No, Ross said.
I need help over here! I yelled.
I kept requesting help, but no one was able to do anything. Not much time passed before
Ross expired. I laid my head on his chest and cried for a few moments. When I composed myself

again, I continued firing at the loyalists. The Bradley crews fortunately had been taken out early,
so now only infantry remained.
Youre in charge now, Jimmy, I said.
Sadly, Jimmy responded.
All of a sudden, we saw a Cobra attack helicopter flying up in the air. We tried to hide
from the helicopter. The Cobra fired its Miniguns and tore several of us up. Disfigured limbs and
guts were hurled up into the air and strewn throughout the ground. The Cobra then fired a rocket
and another handful of us had been killed. Much to our relief, however, the helicopter left.
Matt and the others need to hurry up and get over here, Jason said.
Frank, get on the radio and ask Matt where he is, Jimmy ordered.
Got it, I said.
I got on my walkie-talkie and called for Matt, hearing no answer. I kept at it for several
minutes and there was still nothing. The situation was getting desperate and his help was
important. The more silence there was on the other end of the walkie-talkie, the angrier I got. I
threw my walkie-talkie down and rejoined the firefight.
Matts not answering, I said.
What the Hell? Jimmy said.
Yo, if you guys have any explosives, use them on those bastards! Jason said.

One of the rebels fired an AT4 round at a cluster of blue helmets and killed them all. The
gunfight had entered a bloody stalemate. Rex kept them pinned down with his machine gun, but
they were doing a good job of whittling us down too. Soon, they opened up with a machine gun
of their own.
Take cover! Jimmy yelled.
Well have to do something about that machine gun, I said.
Ill see if Brock can take it out, Jimmy said.
All right, I said.
Jimmy radioed Brock and once again, there was no answer on the other side. When there
was noise on the other side, it was a heavy breathing sound. We couldnt hear any actual words.
After a while, Brock spoke, but he had to gasp for breath every few words.
They hit me, Brock said.
Are you going to be all right? Jimmy asked.
I have no idea, Jim, Brock answered.
Were going to try to get you out of there, okay? Jimmy said.
Yall might want to make it quick, Brock said.
Okay guys, Brock is hurt and we need someone to go get him, Jimmy said.
Ill go, Rex said.
Are you sure? I said.

Yeah, Im sure, Rex said.

You know where he is, right? I asked.
Yeah, just cover me, Rex replied.
Okay, be careful bro, I said.
Rex got up and ran toward Ross position. We all covered him as he attempted to rescue
Brock. Machine gun bullets whizzed by him and landed near him. Moments passed before he
collapsed to the ground and was squirming around. He had been hit.
Rex! Fuck! I yelled.
I rushed over to Rex and saw he was still alive and responsive. He was holding onto his
thigh and groaning. His hands were red from the blood. I looked around in my rucksack for
anything that could help him. Eventually, I came across a rag and gave it to him.
Keep pressure on the wound with this. Do not let go, I said.
Okay, Ross said.
Rex leaned back against a tree stump and kept pressure on his wound and I ran back to
inform Jimmy of what had just happened. Once again, we tried to radio Matt and see where he
was. Again, we heard no response.
Grenade! Get down! a rebel yelled.

The grenade went off and my ears rung from the concussion. Jason was lying on the
ground, his face disfigured from the blast. Jimmy was holding his arm. At this point, I was
infuriated. I wasnt going to let anyone else die.
Jason, get up! I yelled.
Jason stayed motionless. I begged and yelled for Jason to get back up, but my pleas were
to no avail. I swore my head off and fired my rifle at the blue helmets in anger. I was seething
with hateful rage.
Youre all going to Hell! You hear me? I exclaimed as I fired my gun.
Youre in charge now, buddy. I cant shoot for shit, Jimmy said to me.
Were going to have to withdraw, I said.
What about Matt? Jimmy asked.
Fuck Matt! Were getting killed out here! I said.
Well need the survivors to cover our retreat, Jimmy said.
Those of us who survived either covered the withdrawal or collected as many wounded as
they could and withdrew. A good portion of the wounded and dead had to be left behind. Once
we retreated far enough away from the camp, I called for us to be evacuated. I put Rex down and
tried to tend to him while we waited.
Am I going to die, Frank? Rex asked.
Hell no, I said.

It fucking hurts.
I know, Rex. Were going to get help.
If I dont make it, I just want you to know that I love you, and Bear, and Jimmy, and
everyone else.
Stop talking like that.
It might come, Frank.
I ordered another rebel to come over and help me pull the bullet out of Franks leg. It
would be a nasty job, but it had to be done if we wanted to save Rex. I was willing to do
anything to save my brother.
Okay, Rex, were going to pull this bullet out and try to close the wound. Itll hurt like
Hell so just be strong, I said.
All right, Rex said.
The two of us worked frantically to get the bullet out. Unfortunately, this only caused the
bleeding to speed up. Rex screamed in pain and begged us to stop. I gave him a bullet to bite to
keep him quiet. He wasnt dying on my watch.
Just fucking stop! Rex yelled.
We need to get that bullet out, I said.
Just leave it. It wont change anything.
Goddammit!

Hey, Frank.
Yeah?
Remember back in the mountains when I tried to talk you out of fighting?
Yeah, why?
Looking back on it, I was wrong. I did this for a good cause and I would do it all again.
The end is coming, Frank. The only thing I can do now is ask for forgiveness for not wanting to
fight sooner.
Its not the end.
It is down here. But its only the beginning. Soon, well all be together again as a
family.
Rexs head slumped over and he died. Instantly, I was brought to tears. My only
remaining brother was dead, and I had no other family around me anymore. After a few moments
of crying, my sadness turned into anger. I fired my gun off in the air and kicked tree stumps all
while cursing at the top of my lungs. Jimmy ran over and tried to calm me down.
Fucking cocksuckers! I bellowed.
Frank, calm down! Jimmy said.
Why? Those assholes killed my brother and most of our friends!
Getting angry wont bring them back. Believe me, I hate them too, but we have to keep
our cool.

I cant believe this shit!

Its all right, Frank.
Our rides came, and we set off back to Danville. I spent the ride drowning in grief. I
hardly said a word to anybody. In fact, we all sat silent on the ride back. Why didnt Matt come
with reinforcements? I was feeling anger toward him over what happened. I would confront him
about it once we got back to Danville.
When we returned, I went to go see Matt. I went to the house he stayed in and banged on
the door. The door opened, and a woman answered the door, presumably the owners wife. I
asked her where Matt was and she pointed toward the kitchen. As soon as I went in the kitchen,
all Hell broke loose.
What the Hell, Matt? I said.
What? Matt said.
What the fuck was that back there?
What are you talking about?
We had to withdraw. We lost most of our men. Jason died, Ross died, and my fucking
brother died!
Damn.
Is that all you can fucking say to that? What the Hell is wrong with you?
What do you want, Frank?

I want answers! Why the Hell didnt you come with reinforcements?
We were ambushed and had to withdraw.
If thats what happened, why couldnt you tell us that?
If thats what happened? That is what happened!
You know what?
What?
I think you did this on purpose.
Where the Hell are you getting that from?
You couldnt trust us, so you had to make sure we died.
Youre fucking crazy.
Am I? I dont hear you denying it!
Why dont you just go back home and relax?
No, Im not leaving until you give me an answer!
I gave you your fucking answer, leave!
Youre a goddamn liar!
Matt pointed his pistol at me and yelled Get the fuck out of here! Im getting sick of
your shit!

I pulled my pistol on Matt and said If Im going to die, then youll die too for killing my
brother!
Shut the fuck up, Frank!
Go to Hell!
The woman who answered the door intervened and said If both of you are going to fight
then get the fuck out of here!
We complied with the womans wish and left the house. Both of us went our separate
ways and didnt speak for the rest of the day. I went to go talk to Jimmy after the argument. He
was getting his arm treated. The couple who lived in the house Jimmy stayed in was pulling the
shrapnel from his arm and tried to mend his wounds.
What happened? Jimmy asked.
I confronted Matt, I answered.
Oh Jesus. What did you do?
Gave him a piece of my mind and we ended up pulling guns on each other.
Oh God.
Something seems fishy.
I agree.
Why didnt he come with the reinforcements?
Ive been trying to figure that out myself.

What do you think?

The only conclusion is that something bad went on behind the scenes, but I hope theres
more to it than that.
When are we burying everyone?
Sunset.
Thats appropriate.
I think I should go back to Bubbas. Ill see you later.
Ok, Frank.
I left the house and spent much of the day either crying or reminiscing. I couldnt be
bothered to eat or get out of bed. When sunset did come, and it was time to bury everyone, I had
to force myself out of bed.
The dead we could recover were put in body bags, ready to be buried six feet under. The
Royal Marines fired their guns into the air as a salute to the dead rebels. All this happened while
the Star-Spangled Banner and other patriotic songs played in the background. Eventually, it
came time to lower the body bags into the ground. I held back the tears from my eyes as I saw
them go down. Jimmy and I stood next to each other during the proceeding. Matt was nowhere to
be found. This aroused my suspicion even more.
Each grave was marked with a makeshift wooden cross with the name of the deceased
carved into the cross. Some of the graves had flowers or pictures in front of them. In front of

Ross was his rifle, stuck into the ground. Rexs had a picture of him. Flowers were in front of
Jasons.
When all was said and done, everyone left. I stayed by the graves and spent some more
time with my brother or brothers, rather. For a while, I sat there praying and asking God why this
happened and what they had done to deserve their fates. Then, I issued my fallen comrades a
promise.
Im going to find out why this happened to you guys. Your deaths will not go
unavenged. I promise you. I love each and every one of you, I said.
I was planning to leave Matt. He couldnt be trusted. I had no clue where I would go, but
I had to get away from him. Jimmy later came outside and joined me. I was going to tell him my
intentions, but as loyal as Jimmy was I didnt think he would join me.
How are you feeling, Frank? Jimmy asked.
I dont even know, Jim, I answered.
Thats all right, man.
They were brave bastards, werent they?
Yep.
I sure was honored to be fighting next to them.
Me too, brother.
I have to tell you something.

What is it?
Im thinking about leaving this place. I cant fucking trust Matt anymore.
Where are you going to go?
I honestly dont know. Ill figure it out.
I cant let you go by yourself, Frank.
What are you saying?
Im coming with you. Ill get some of the others to come with us, too.
Seriously?
I cant trust Matt either. We need to get as many people as we can away from him.
I didnt think you would feel as strongly as I did about it.
I had time to think today and nothing about this adds up. He may have wanted to kill me
and I dont want to be around him long enough for him to succeed if thats truly what hes after.
Thanks for sticking by me, Jimmy.
No problem, brother, so what happens now?
Get some more of the guys. Were loading up and camping outside of town.
Okay, Ill get the others.
Jimmy went door-to-door and recruited people to come with us. We eventually got a few
dozen people to join us. Once we recruited enough people, we loaded up the trucks and left for

the outskirts of Danville, which would be our new headquarters. Matt was completely unaware
of all this.
As we drove, we listened to the radio, trying to keep with news of the fighting in other
parts of the country. An uprising had started in New York City. Daily, occupation troops were
being shot or blown up by IEDs in the city. In Virginia, the resistance started to gain more ground
in Richmond. On the west coast, a pipeline shipping guns from Canada to the rebels was
discovered by loyalist intelligence services. Montana, Idaho, and the Dakotas were more or less
under complete resistance control as well. The war was still in our favor.
Altogether, we had about fifty-five men. The marines and some of the South African
mercenaries went with us. About half of the survivors from the attack on the loyalist camp had
joined us. We had also taken many of the large weapons and other armaments from Matt and the
remaining rebels.
So, what did Matt say to persuade you guys not to help us? I asked Hendrik.
We werent even told about the mission, Hendrik said.
Seriously? I asked.
Yeah, Hendrik replied.
Im sorry about your brother, Frank, Cook said.
Thank you, Sergeant, I said.
Well avenge him and all the other men we lost, Jimmy said.
Hell yeah, we will, I said.

So whos in charge? Hendrik asked.

I guess Frank is, Jimmy answered.
Yeah, I guess it is me, I said.
I trust Jimmy more than anyone else out here. Ive been fighting with him the longest
out of everyone here. Hes a good guy, Jimmy said.
We arrived at a good spot outside of Danville and set up camp. We placed our RBS-70s
and other anti-aircraft devices around the camp, ready to shoot down any aircraft or drones that
approached our position. I ordered the rebels to dig foxholes and create makeshift machine gun
emplacements. We would have to rely on hunting and scavenging from the woods for food and
drink.
It was settled that I would be in charge and Jimmy would be my second-in-command. I
was now a leader. I took the lives of my men even more seriously now that it was my job to get
them through this war alive. We sat around and drank a toast to the men we lost. That battle was
one that was forever impressed onto my mind. The images and the sounds from it still haunt me
to this day. Flashbacks from the battle still wake me up at night.
I hope Bear and Rex are safe on the other side, I said.
Theyll be fine, Jimmy said.
Maybe Rex is right. Its probably just the beginning, I said.
Yeah, all we can do now is keep fighting for them. Its what they would want us to do
anyway, Jimmy said.

An old saying in war is that you can never get too attached to your mates. Thats
something I had to learn the hard way, Cook said.
Ironically enough, we were talking about that right before we went out on that mission,
I said.
When youre a soldier, this is something you have to deal with every time you go off to
fight, Cook said.
Believe me, I know. I guess I just hadnt fully prepared myself yet, I said.
I dont think anyone does, Cook said.
What are we doing tomorrow? Jimmy asked.
Were just going to hunt for food and get re-upped on supplies. After we do that, well
go on some missions, I said.
I can do that, Jimmy said.
I think by now we all know these woods pretty well, Hendrik said.
Lets hope the loyalists crash more planes through here, Alastair joked.
Weve got anti-aircraft weapons in place, so its a possibility, I said.
I have an idea, Jimmy said.
What is it? I asked.
We could cross the border and try to liberate some of the POW camps and prisons to
increase our numbers, Jimmy said.

Thats a good idea, I said.

You and I should try to get intel on POW camps in this area, Jimmy said.
Well do a bit of recon and talk to some other resistance fighters and see what the deal
is, I said.
Not bad for a number two, huh? Jimmy asked.
Yep, not bad, I remarked.
We sat around conversing until we were exhausted enough to fall asleep. The last day or
so had taken a lot out of me. Commanding my own band of guerrillas would take even more out
of me.

20
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
We spent the past week hunting and gathering in the woods. By this time, my hunting
skills had improved, but they were nowhere near Jimmys. We had gathered some intel on a
prison just across the border in Rockingham County, North Carolina.

Rockingham County was part of the Greensboro metropolitan area. Greensboro was the
scene of some intense fighting. We would make an incursion across the border, liberate the
prisoners, and come back across the border with them.
Our intelligence had suggested that a loyalist National Guard regiment was in the area.
Most of the troops in the area were fighting in the big three cities of High Point, Winston-Salem,
and Greensboro. Our operation to liberate the prisoners would take several days. We had to
weaken the regiment to where they were too weak to protect themselves against our attacks first.
For several days, we were successful at doing this. Numerous times, that regiment was victim to
our ambushes. Eventually, we felt safe enough to begin our attack on the jail.
We boarded the technicals and set off for the prison. Jimmy and I were in the lead
vehicle. We were already posted across the border, right outside the town where the prison was.
When we reached the town, we saw the familiar sight of corpses hanging from street lights and
piles of dead bodies off the sides of the roads. Vultures were beginning to feed on them. The
stench of the bodies contaminated the air.
When we reached the courthouse and prison, we split up and commenced the attack. We
cut down many of them with the machine guns on the technicals. The machine gunners
continued to provide us with suppressing fire as we moved onto the prison. The instant we went
in the prison, the guards quickly surrendered. At gunpoint, we ordered the guards to release the
prisoners. They obeyed, and the prisoners were released. After they were released, we shot the
guards dead.
Standing outside the prison, I announced Youre all going to die. Either you die on your
knees you die fighting!

We handed guns to as many prisoners as we could and got moving. With the prisoners,
we helped the others, who were fighting in the courthouse. Once the courthouse was swarmed,
the surviving enemy troops were executed, and we left the scene. We resorted to commandeering
some of the enemy transport vehicles in order to transport all the rescued prisoners.
On the way back, however, we were ambushed by loyalist aircraft. A Cobra attack
helicopter opened fire on us. One of our vehicles had been destroyed, and we resorted to driving
into the woods to protect ourselves from the gunfire. Thankfully, the Cobra vanished.
We eventually reached our base back across the border. The operation was a success.
Now we had about fifty more men at our disposal. As a result, I was now in command of around
110 men. Every man had some form of battle experience and was hardened before the enemy.
It had given me a confidence boost as a leader although the raid was Jimmys idea. I
decided to split my men up into squads of ten. These squads of ten would be mobile ambush
squads. I had learned plenty of guerrilla warfare tactics and strategy from my year and a half in
combat and was happy that I had a chance to put what I learned to good use.

21
The Last Confrontation

For several weeks, we raided loyalist columns, carried out raids across the border, and
liberated other prisons in the area. By now, we were up to nearly 300 hundred men. Things were
only looking up from here.
Our main headquarters was still outside Danville. At this point, we still operated in small
squads of ten men. I was thinking about aiding in the liberation of Richmond. It would be nice to
come back home. In Richmond proper, the loyalists were pushing back. They were making
massive gains. However, the resistance wouldnt take this sitting down. In the meantime, we
would make sure the loyalists couldnt make any further gains in the city.
We hadnt heard from Matt during this time and I preferred to keep it that way. I had no
idea what he had been up to and didnt care. He was probably out raiding with the remaining
rebels loyal to him.
One night, I had difficulty sleeping and conversed with one of the rebels standing guard.
All the squads had linked back up at our camp outside Danville. Most of them were sleeping by
this time. The night was peaceful. Only the crackle of our campfires could be heard. A full moon
hung in the sky on that cold night.
I couldnt help but reminisce about the fun that Rex, Bear, and I had in the snow as kids.
We loved playing hockey and sledding. I longed for a return to those days. All of a sudden, I
heard movement off in the distance. I picked up my M4 and looked around for any enemy troops.
You guys hear that? I said.

The other rebels got their weapons ready and scanned around. There was an explosion,
and a rebel was killed. Gunfire erupted moments later. My men were awakened by the guns and
jumped into action.
Its a fucking ambush! I yelled.
It was miraculous that I survived the initial contact. I was only yards away from the
enemys position. I soon got an understanding of the situation. The enemy fire was coming from
the nearby tree line. I hurled a grenade in that direction hoping to reduce some of the enemy fire
coming our way. I was somewhat successful. However, the enemy fired a rocket heading straight
for one of my machine guns. Sadly, the machine gunner was taken out.
I sprinted over to another position, wanting to have a better place to fire from. I saw
bullets land near me, churning up the snow beneath me. One of the Royal Marines was wounded,
lying in the open. Jimmy ran to him and tried to drag him to cover. I covered Jimmy. We were
taking fire from two directions. The enemy was becoming overwhelmed. They fired another
rocket at a group of my men, killing six of them.
Keep yourselves spread out! I ordered.
How many of these wankers are there? Alastair asked.
Definitely less than us, I said.
Keep up the pressure guys, this aint over yet! Jimmy yelled.
So far, we lost about twenty men in this attack. However, our assailants lost a higher
percentage than we did. After some time, they engaged us in close-quarters combat. They
charged at us and we cut down as many of them as we could with our gunfire. In the midst of all

the fighting, I noticed that these were plain-clothed men. They were not soldiers, but fellow
rebels. I also saw Matt. My blood boiled at the sight of him.
Backstabbing prick! I yelled at Matt.
We were caught in a hand-to-hand fight with the remaining rebels. Several of them were
defeated easily. Matt had done the same to some of my men. When I confronted him, we grabbed
and shoved each other. Matt kicked me in the stomach. He followed it up with a kick to my face.
I grabbed my knife and tried to stab Matt with it. He grabbed my hand and stopped me from
stabbing him in the head. I then headbutted Matt, and he went down. I picked up my M4 and
pointed it at him, ordering Matt to surrender. Matt put his hands up in surrender and the rebels
under him had followed suit.
I knew I couldnt trust you, you two-faced dick! I yelled.
Youre the one who betrayed me, Matt said.
Youre the one who left us to die!
We questioned the captured rebels and once that was finished, we executed them all
except for Matt. I had something special in mind for him. He would feel the pain he inflicted on
all of us. I would enjoy every single second of it.
What are we going to do with Matt? Jimmy asked.
Go get some rope and tie him up against a tree, I said.
Jimmy and another rebel went to get rope. When they returned, I restrained him and we
tied him against a tree. Once he was tied up, I ordered Matts pants to be pulled down. His pants

and underwear were stripped off and he was now nude from the waist down. I pulled out my
knife and began to cut off Matts penis. Matt screamed in pain. Once his penis was severed, I did
the same to his testicles. It was a painful ordeal for Matt all the way through.
Since you werent enough of a man to stay loyal to us, Ill make sure you cant be
distinguished as a man, I said.
Matt was horrified at what he saw. His face only encouraged me to keep torturing him. I
shoved his severed genitalia into his mouth. After this, I punched and kicked Matt to a pulp.
Blood ran down from his nose and mouth. Both eyes were nearly swollen shut. His jaw was
broken.
Theres one more thing I want to do to this asshole before I kill him, I said.
What? Jimmy asked.
Pull up his shirt, I ordered.
Jimmy pulled up his shirt, and I began to carve the word Judas into Matts chest. Matts
muffled screams were music to my ears. When everything was finished, I pulled out my pistol
and prepared to finish him off with a shot to the head.
Rest in pieces, Matt, I said.
I pulled the trigger without hesitation. Matts head slumped over, showing that he was
finally dead. At last, I had avenged my brother and my other friends that had been killed in North
Carolina.
I got down on my knees and said This is for you, Rex.

Hes dead, Jimmy said.

Yep, thank God, I said.
What do you want us to do with the bodies?
Dig a hole in the ground and bury them. I want Matts body stripped naked and hanging
from a tree. Let that serve as an example.
Im on it.
I walked away from the camp and spent time alone thinking. I thought about the past year
and how the war had transformed me. I had gone from a humble college student to a battlehardened killer. To me, the war was something that I needed in order to grow up. Being in the
leadership position that I was in helped me grow up even more.
Jimmy later joined me. When he arrived, he engaged me in a conversation. He seemed
concerned about me. After what just happened, he wasnt entirely wrong to be concerned. Im
sure he felt a degree of guilt about helping me kill his neighbor.
I cant believe it had to end like that, Jimmy said.
I did what I had to do, I said.
Yeah, he showed his true colors.
He sure did.
How are you feeling right now?
Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I bet.
You seem concerned.
Im still trying to wrap my head around all this.
Confusing, isnt it?
Yep, it is.
Jimmy and I spent a while talking until all the bodies were finally dug into a hole and
covered up. For the remainder of the day we licked our wounds and stood guard against further
attacks. By now, we had no other rebels to worry about. We could now fully devote ourselves
against the loyalists. In the attack we lost twenty-eight men. We killed all thirty of Matts men.
Once the bodies were disposed of, we spent much of our time shooting, hunting, honing our
hand-to-hand combat skills or just trying to keep ourselves warm.
I sat in front of the tree Matt hung from, watching his corpse hang lifeless. I looked at the
corpse with disdain. Every second I looked, the more I thought that corpse deserved to hang
there in shame. Matt died a traitors death. Alastair sat down next to me and we talked.
You know, some of the most brutal things Ive ever seen and done were during this
war, Alastair said.
This is America. This war is no joke, I said.
Clearly.
What are you getting at?

All Im saying is that this war has brought out the worst in everyone Ive known, even
myself.
Even yourself?
Ive never enjoyed killing as much as I have since Ive been fighting here in America.
Im almost the same way.
What do you mean? Youre an American. Youve been here your entire life.
Fighting tyranny is in the average Americans DNA. Its in the average Brits DNA as
well. Any real American would take pleasure in fighting tyranny and those who serve it.
I guess youre right. Maybe thats what we felt when we switched sides.
That could very well be the case.
Theyre still failing to win the hearts and minds of the people.
I think theyre trying to win our hearts and minds by intimidation, but its not working.
One can get over fear.
Yeah, I had gotten over fear when I first started fighting this war.
Everyone who fights has to go through that. This is the worst engagement I have ever
been a part of and its even worse if youre a loyalist. The loyalist high command are complete
bellends. Their strategy is total shit.
Obviously, they keep doing the same shit and expect different results every time. But,
we keep beating them.

I hope this war ends soon. I miss my wife and child.

I didnt know you were a family man.
I had a son right before I shipped out. I got married a few months before that.
How old are you?
Twenty-two.
Youre only a year older than me.
Did you have a family apart from your brothers?
They all went to Australia. We didnt go with them because we decided to be badasses
and tough it out, I guess.
Thats a shame. Family life is very fulfilling and makes one feel like they belong.
This is my family.
What?
I feel like I belong here. Ive had a sense of belonging ever since Ive been fighting this
war with everyone here. All of these guys are like my brothers.
I understand that feeling. The Royal Marines are like my second family. Its a shame that
things had to pan out the way that they did. If I were to come back to Britain, I would be court
martialed for treason and God knows what else.
As long as your conscience is telling you youre doing the right thing.

22
Death from Above
I decided to move us closer to Richmond. We set up camp a few miles outside of
Petersburg. Petersburg and Colonial Heights were being fiercely contested at the time. The
loyalists had the upper hand, however. For about two weeks, we raided loyalist armored
columns, supply lines, and ambushed enemy positions near us.
Intelligence gathered from our recon missions and information we received from other
rebels indicated that a company of British paratroopers would be landing outside Richmond.
These paratroopers were part of the famous 2 Para, one of the most accomplished units of the
Falklands War.
We set ourselves up at the drop zone. There was a nearby farm that some of my men
used. They tore holes in the walls of the farm for their rifles. I split up my force into companysized elements. These company-sized elements were combined ten-man squads, able to split with
ease.
We heard the rumble of the aircraft as they approached the drop zone. Within seconds, the
aircraft were within view. Moments later, the paratroopers jumped out of their planes. The
parachutes looked like confetti raining down from the sky.
Hold your fire. Dont expose us, I ordered everyone.
The paratroopers eventually made it to the ground and within seconds, I gave the order to
open fire. When we did so, the paratroopers were caught off guard. A mix of rifle and machine

gun fire filled the air. The paratroopers were still trying to become fully operational when we
attacked them, so not all of them could defend themselves.
The ones that were able to fire back did so. From the enemy I could see, they used
identical weapons to the Royal Marines. The marines seemed to be somewhat familiar with their
tactics. Within the first few minutes, about fifty enemy paratroopers were killed.
These paras are going to know that us Royals are on top! Cook said.
Hell yeah, sergeant! Alastair said.
Royals? I asked.
Thats what marines call each other back in Britain, Cook answered.
Thats funny, I said.
We saw an A-10 flying in the direction of the farm. The farm was destroyed by the
Minigun and rocket fire from the A-10. I ordered everyone to stay low and keep themselves as
small of a target as possible. The paratroopers, realizing that their losses were too severe,
withdrew. Some of them stayed back to cover the retreat. We exchanged fire with them until they
retreated as well.
Let them go, I ordered.
I and a few other rebels checked out the destroyed farm. The farm was on fire. Most of it
was destroyed. The bodies inside were charred and disfigured.

I remember being in Afghanistan and these marines were inside a vehicle in front of us.
The enemy ambushed us and I saw them burn to death right in front of me. My God, it brings
back the memories, Cook said.
These guys sacrifice wont be in vain, I said.
Lets get out of here, Cook said.
We loaded up and left the area. About 100 blue helmets were killed; we lost twenty-five
on our side. 2 Para lost almost an entire company. When we got back to the camp, it was
business as usual. We intercepted loyalist radio transmissions and got an idea of what to do next.
The information we could find suggested that more supply convoys were moving toward
Richmond. Consequently, I formulated a plan to take out these supply convoys. I would order
attacks on multiple columns a day if necessary.
Once we had the following days work all planned, I listened to the radio with Alastair,
Jimmy, and Sergeant Cook. The radio transmission reported that much of the Midwest was
liberated from the loyalists. Many of the larger American metropolitan areas such as New York
and Los Angeles were firmly under loyalist control, however. In Europe, there was a wave of
terrorist attacks all throughout the continent. London Heathrow Airport was bombed early in the
morning. A few hours later, the Stockholm Arlanda airport was bombed. Hundreds were killed
and wounded in the bombings.
I cant fucking believe this! Cook yelled.
I wonder who was responsible for the attacks, I said with sarcasm.

We shouldnt have even been sent here as long as we have to deal with these things in
Europe, Alastair said.
If things continue the way they are, were going to have to rally some men together,
Cook said.
What do you mean? I asked.
Were going to start our own resistance movement in Europe. Well get together with the
English Defense League and PEGIDA and see what we can do, enough is enough, Cook said.
How are you going to do that? You guys are wanted men, I asked.
Well coordinate everything from here, Cook answered.
Something like this has been long overdue in Europe. I dont understand how you can
tolerate this kind of thing over there, I said.
I dont understand either, Frank. I really dont, Cook said.
Our governments caused this. Theyre the ones who did this. Theyre the ones
responsible for the world going to Hell, not us, Jimmy said.
Back in Roanoke, I was talking with this Sentinel mercenary about the same thing. He
was in the English Defense League, I said.
Who? Cook asked.
Do you know Arthur Blackman? I asked.
Oh God, Arthur is here, Cook said.

You guys know each other? I asked.

We were childhood friends in Luton, Cook said.
Oh wow. Its a small world out there, isnt it? I said.
Hes a nice chap, Cook said.
Yeah, he was an okay guy, I said.
The second coming has to be close, Jimmy said.
Yeah, lets hope, I said.
It sure is shaping up to look that way, Alastair said.
Its about time we get right with God. Things are getting hot, Jimmy said.
I have no regrets about anything Ive done. The only thing I regret is that I didnt do
them sooner, I said.
I still have to live with the guilt of killing the innocent people that Ive killed here,
Alastair said.
All we can do now is try to make sure we dont do it again and repent for what weve
done, Cook said.
I got up and left. I left the camp once again. It was a while since I had a meaningful
conversation with God. In spite of what I experienced and what I had done, I was still young and
weak.

I got on my knees and said Lord, its been a while since Ive talked to you. I cant beg
you enough for forgiveness for my cowardice. I hope youll show the same forgiveness to Bear
and Rex and the rest of my family as youve shown to me. Please grant me and my men safety
and help us to be victorious against our enemy. Give us strength and will to keep fighting. Put
your hand on us and put your hand on our country. Open the eyes of those who still havent
begun to fight. Give them the guts and the fighting spirit they need to resist. In your name,
amen.
Are you all right? Cook asked.
Im fine. I just needed time to myself.
You know, Ive been taking time to think about all this.
Think about what?
This war.
What about it?
The worst thing someone could ever do is nothing. From men that Ive talked to, they all
saw no point in being here, but they did nothing about it. Thats why this war is continuing. We
dont feel that this is right, but we continue to follow the orders.
Exactly. I said.
We need to convert them to our side. We need to keep them alive and persuade them to
join us. Killing them will only serve to anger them.
Maybe youre right.

Morale is low in the ranks, Frank. They just need a reason to join us.
I guess revenge has been getting the best of us.
I can tell.
Maybe if stuff keeps happening in Europe, theyll have to withdraw troops from here.
Either that or try to increase recruitment.
One can only hope that they choose the first option.
The longer Ive been here, the more that I realize I need God.
What do you mean?
Nobody seems to have an answer for why people are the way that they are. Nobody else
knows why things like this happen.
Exactly.
I just have so many questions and certain things just dont make sense to me.
Like what?
Have we done anything to deserve being in this situation? Everything happening here
and in Europe has to be judgment for something that weve done.
It very well could be and let me tell you why. For too long, weve let these things
happen and weve let them keep stepping on us. Weve been complacent for too long. In my
honest opinion, I think God is judging us for our laziness and cowardice.

That answer makes the most sense to me, to be honest.

I want to go back home.
To Richmond?
Yeah.
Theres nothing stopping us from going there.
We would be more effective around here than in the city itself.
Right.
Maybe if we get even stronger that day will come.
Do you have any mates that joined the resistance?
A few of them did, but I have no idea what happened to any of them.
If we ever go there you can find out for yourself.
Hopefully.
With our numbers we could make a difference in Petersburg and Colonial Heights.
You think so?
Were talking about two smaller cities. We can have some influence over the battle
there.
I think I might just do that.
So this means were fighting in the city again?

Well get situated on the outskirts of the city and figure out what to do from there.
All right, then.
I looked at a map of the area and found a hotel for us to stay in outside Petersburg. The
owner of the hotel was charitable enough to give us refuge in the hotel. All 338 of us stayed in
the hotel for free, in exchange for its protection.
The hotel management, knowing what we were doing, was more than willing to
cooperate and do what they could to help us. We rested the next day in preparation for our attack
on the armored column moving toward Richmond. I would only send about twenty men on the
mission. The rest of the men would stay back and protect the hotel.

23
Rallying the Troops
We spent about two weeks at this hotel, using it as our base of operations. Since we had
internet access, I ordered Stu to disseminate propaganda that would persuade people to join the
resistance. We used the idea of a future conflict in Europe as a reason for the loyalist soldiers to
switch sides among other things.
We had also been trying to turn more loyalist soldiers to our side, having great success.
Within those two weeks, about fifty loyalists had deserted and came to our side. These troops
came from various parts of Europe.
The hotel itself was heavily fortified. We set up pillboxes all around the hotel and rocket
launchers in the windows. We had snipers on the roof of the hotel as well. Stu also built a UGV
to aid in the defense of the hotel. This UGV was armed with a DIY Gatling gun and was operated
by remote control from afar.

Jimmy was in command while I took the opportunity to get some sleep. Unfortunately, I
was woken up by the sound of guns. The blue helmets had attacked the hotel. Jimmy rushed to
my room to wake me up.
Theyre here, Frank! Jimmy yelled.
I got up, grabbed my rifle, and looked outside. We were dealing with hundreds of loyalist
troops. From what it looked like, we were facing twice our number. Thankfully, we were
prepared for this.
Tell everyone to stay in their positions and keep returning fire, I said to Jimmy.
Got it, Jimmy said.
I fired my M4 from the window of my room, picking off as many loyalists as I could. Our
UGV had also been put to the test. It was effective in its job of keeping the loyalists pinned
down. The rapid stream of gunfire coming from its Gatling gun struck terror into the hearts of the
enemy troops. I fired off a rifle grenade at a group of advancing loyalists. They were swiftly put
down.
During this gunfight, we lost several men. However, they werent unscathed. Loyalist air
support eventually arrived. A Cobra attack helicopter opened fire on us. Several men were killed.
The Cobra then fired rockets, killing even more of our men and destroying our UGV. Without the
UGV, the loyalists would have an easier time advancing on the hotel.
The snipers on the roof did what they could to keep the loyalists pinned down in front of
the hotel. Their well-placed shots took out many of their men. As their force became smaller,
they got desperate.

Keep them pinned! I yelled.

One of the loyalist soldiers fired off a rocket toward me. The rocket came dangerously
close to going through the window. Shrapnel and parts of the wall flew through the air. I gathered
myself again and continued raining bullets down on the loyalist infantry in front of me.
These guys aint giving up! Jimmy said.
Theyre going to have to sooner or later, I said.
More time passed, and neither side was able to dislodge the other. We put down so many
loyalist soldiers in the initial firefight that things were about even now. All we had to do was
keep making them sweat.
Throw some grenades! I yelled out from the window.
My men did as I instructed and threw grenades at the loyalists. Those that werent killed
by the explosions were disoriented or kept pinned down. Unfortunately, air support would come
to their aid once again.
Holy shit! I yelled.
The Cobra destroyed more machine gun emplacements and killed most of the snipers on
the rooftop. The situation was getting worse on our side. Once the Cobra left, we breathed a sigh
of relief and kept fighting.
We are not letting them take this damn hotel! I bellowed.
Keep up that suppressing fire! Jimmy yelled.

With the machine guns we had left, we worked desperately to keep the loyalists where
they were. They were not moving forward on our watch. Stuart fired his AT4 at the loyalists and
took more down. After a brief celebration by all of us, he did this one more time. More loyalist
troops fell from the explosion of the rocket. By now, things were stabilizing and everything was
going in our favor.
Okay boys, keep up the good work! Weve almost got this! I said.
The exchange of gunfire continued. The loyalists continued fighting until it came time for
them to leave the area. A significant portion of the blue helmets stayed behind to cover their
comrades. Before long, they left the area also. Another battle was won. Our confidence was
boosted once again. I had a force to be reckoned with on my hands. I was proud of every single
one of those men and the work we had done so far.
Good work, everyone! Those bastards will know not to fuck with us now! I said.
Do you think its still safe to set up a base here? Jimmy asked me.
Yes, most of the loyalists are across the river in Colonial Heights. Well be fine.
If you say so.
We scavenged as much supplies as we could off the dead loyalist soldiers. We managed to
pick up more rifles and more food and ammunition. In addition, we collected more body armor
and other protective gear. After this, we gathered the dead bodies and found places to dispose of
them. We buried the dead bodies in the ground. No funerals for them, all they got was a simple
burial. They did not deserve to be buried with full honors.

When that was done, we finished cleaning up the area, and I got a final casualty toll. We
lost forty-four men in the engagement. The loyalists lost about 330. Once again, it was a brilliant
success. After everything was finally finished, we rested and things went back to normal.

24
A Turn South
For weeks, things continued as normal. Our low-intensity guerrilla raids were taking a lot
out of the blue helmets. Eventually, I decided that we were capable of carrying out larger-scale
objectives due to our numbers. I set my eyes on the Dinwiddie County airport.
For nearly a week, we carried out reconnaissance and intelligence gathering missions on
the airport. Our findings concluded that the airport was defended with a company of 150 UN

soldiers. There were also a handful of helicopters parked in the airport. This was intended to be a
breeze.
We prepared ourselves for the attack, camouflaging our faces and covering ourselves with
foliage. After checking our weapons and loading up the trucks, we left for the airport. Our force
split up to attack the airport from two different directions. We would squeeze the outnumbered
force in a pincer movement. Our technicals and machine gunners would cover our advance and
follow behind us. We would blow up the helicopters and set up a base at the airport once the
loyalists were taken out. I would command one pincer. Hendrik would command the other
pincer. We would also have snipers posted far away to take out any machine gun emplacements.
During the drive to the airport, I prayed and shared some food with Jimmy. We ate some
captured MREs. To be honest, it was a good meal. Once we finished the MRE, we shared a beer.
We all needed to calm our nerves and remove our inhibitions before the attack.
Well have to dig in and really defend this airport when we take it, I said.
Hell yeah, Jimmy said.
How long do you think this will take? Alastair asked.
Im hoping itll only take a few minutes. God forbid they dont send any reinforcements
there, I said.
They better not, Jimmy said.
When we arrived at the airport, I got out my binoculars and took a final look at the
airport. Much to our horror, reinforcements were deployed to the area. There were also sandbags
built up in various areas around the base.

Look at this, Jimmy, I said.

When Jimmy looked through the binoculars, he said Holy shit, we werent expecting
this.
Do you still want to go through with this? Cook asked.
Yeah, were already here. Its do or die now, I answered.
The technicals rolled up and their machine gunners opened fire. We followed suit. The
machine gunners kept up their fire, and we sprinted forward. We took a minimal amount of fire
during our advance. A rocket was fired at us. Several of my fellow rebels had been killed.
Another rocket was fired in our direction and a technical exploded.
Soon, we fell victim to an increased amount of enemy fire. More of us were killed. We
were the ones pinned down now. After some time, enemy air support arrived. The attack
helicopter fired on our technicals, destroying most of them. Our cover fire was now gone. More
of my men had also been killed by the helicopter.
This isnt going very well, old chap, Alastair said.
No shit, I said.
We were reduced to nearly 190 men. As luck would have it, more reinforcements were
sent in. However, things were not over yet. We fought them as well.
If they want a fight, theyve got a fucking fight! I yelled.
We all fired from either a prone or crouched position, shooting at the main buildings of
the airport. Things had slowed down, and the fight was on.

Dont leave so much as one of them standing! I yelled.

Suddenly, I felt blood hit my cheek. When I turned to my left, Cook was down. He had
taken a shot to the head. The Royal Marines were saddened and horrified at the death of their
commander. I was too.
Sergeant Cook is down! Alastair yelled.
The marines, now angered, fought even harder. Alastair in particular was angry, he
unleashed a storm of obscenities against the blue helmets as he shot at them. Many of the others
followed suit. A rifle grenade exploded near us. Another marine was killed and one had sustained
wounds in the leg. There was little we could do to help him as he bled to death.
This is not good, I said.
Were going to have to get out of here, Jimmy said.
Not yet, we can do this, I said.
If you say so, Im just telling you that were running low on men here. We have to get
this done, Jimmy said.
We stayed engaged in the firefight with them in spite of being pinned down. After the
attrition began to increase, I ordered a retreat from the area. About ninety men were left. I
ordered a squad to cover the retreat. Many of my comrades were cut down by the enemys
bullets. Since most of our technicals were gone, we were forced to sprint as fast as we could
away from the scene. Once we got to a safe distance away from the airport, I rested. I was
winded from all the running. We stopped to take a breath and determined our next course of
action.

What the Hell are we going to do? Jimmy asked.

I have no clue, Jim. I need to think, I said.
This is a load of shit.
We need to get to a safe enough distance away from the loyalists. Theres no telling
whos out here in these woods, so be on your toes.
We set off marching for a safe place to set up camp. My feet and arms were tired and
hurting. I had to endure the pain and keep on marching. Our lives depended on it. Now more
than ever, the night unsettled me. I scanned around and opened my ears for any movement in the
trees.
I cant believe those wankers killed Cook, Alastair said.
I cant either, Alastair. Were going to make them pay. I promise, I said.
When the Hell did they send in reinforcements? They werent there yesterday. Hendrik
said.
I have no idea. They completely caught us by surprise, I answered.
Suddenly, I heard a noise. A grenade exploded and several of our men fell dead. A flurry
of gunfire hit us moments after, killing more of my men. We returned fire, taking cover wherever
we could.
These motherfuckers aint finished! Jimmy yelled.
Were getting out of here alive! Take out every last one of them! I yelled.

I heard the screams of my men as they were hit by the enemy bullets. We went from
ninety men to about sixty-five during this gunfight. We also killed several men on their side. I
was determined to fight to the last man if necessary.
Im running low on ammo! Alastair said.
Use your sidearm if you have to, I said.
As the fight continued, more of us were running out of ammunition. We were forced to
watch our shots and focus more on accuracy. Soon, my men started to drop like flies. I lost
another twenty men.
We need to get out of here, Frank! Jimmy yelled.
Where the Hell do we go? Theyve got us surrounded, I said.
Weve got to find a way out.
Do you have any smoke grenades?
Yeah.
Throw one at them,
All right.
Punch a hole in their line! Were getting the fuck out of here! I announced.
Jimmy threw a smoke grenade, and we did what we could to get out of the area. Then, we
were embroiled in hand-to-hand scuffles with the enemy. By the end of it, I was down to
nineteen men. Thankfully, we managed to escape. We marched even further away from the city.

My legs were bound to give out any second, and I had to muster every last ounce of willpower in
me to keep on going.
Im so sorry, guys. This is my fault, not yours. Im sorry, I said.
Shit happens, Frank. Just make sure we make it out of here alive, Jimmy said.
Most of my men had been killed because of me. I now had to live with the guilt that all of
these men were killed because of my strategic and tactical failure. Eventually, we found a safe
place. I had an opportunity to rest and think about what to do next.
What do we do from here? Alastair asked.
What do you guys think? To be honest, Im at a loss right now, I said.
I say we leave the country, Alastair said.
Leave the country? We cant leave, I said.
I need to go back to Europe. Cook is dead now and I have to help with the resistance
movement back in Europe, Alastair said.
What do you think, Jimmy? I asked.
Where are we going to go? Jimmy asked.
Any country thats not part of the EU, there are a few European countries taking
refugees from here, Alastair said.
I guess that sounds like a good idea, Jimmy said.
Lets do that, I said.

How do we get out of the country? Jimmy said.

Well have to go to Newport News. The city is free and well take a boat to Europe.
Lets hope we dont get blown into the water by the loyalists on the way over there, I said.
Okay, Jimmy said.
Thatll be Hell to march over there on foot, Hendrik said.
Who said were going over there on foot? Jimmy said.
What are you thinking? I asked.
Were going to have to steal some cars to get out of here, Jimmy said.
I dont have a good feeling about that, I said.
You want to live, dont you? Jimmy said.
Yeah, I said.
Well, were going to do what we have to do to survive, Jimmy said.
Youre right. Lets rest for a few minutes and then well keep on moving, I said.
All right, that sounds good, Hendrik said.
We rested for a while until it was time to get back on the move. The march continued for
a few miles until we rested again. The cycle went on until we marched ten miles. Once we
marched the ten miles, we set up camp for the night. That night, I was afraid to go to sleep for
fear that the enemy would find us and we wouldnt wake back up again. I tried to pray to calm
my nerves so I could get to sleep.

Lord, keep us safe as we sleep. Please relieve my guilt and let me and the rest of us
make it out of here alive. Please give us strength as we try to escape. Give us peace of mind and
clarity as well. Thank you for everything youve done for us and keeping those of us who are still
living alive so far. In your name I pray, amen, I prayed.
After a while, I was able to get to sleep. My nerves were eased after I prayed. I never
thought I would cherish sleep as much as I did that night. I slept soundly. Nothing could wake
me up. The next morning, I was ready to lead my men again. I was getting closer and closer to
God as the war progressed. The more bad things happened, the more I realized that I needed him
to survive and keep my sanity intact. The old saying There are no atheists in foxholes
definitely rang true.

25
Ready to Die

As soon as we woke up the next morning, we got ready to move out. I thanked God for
allowing me to make it through another day. We ate breakfast and set off on the march for
another ten miles. We had to be near a small town. If we got to one, we would stay there for the
day.
How far away are we from Newport News? Jimmy asked.
Were about an hour and a half away by car, so maybe eighty miles, I said.
Shit, Jimmy said.
Were not too far away from a town. Once we get to the town, well stay there for the
rest of the day, I said.
Thank God, Jimmy said.
We marched for a while until we saw houses. Much to our relief, we reached the small
town of Disputanta. I was happy to have finally reached civilization. We were all tired.
Disputanta was a typical small country town. It was quiet and there wasnt much there to do or
look at. To us, it might as well have been Heaven. We took refuge at a nearby inn. Again, we
were allowed to stay for free in exchange for our protection services. When our rooms were all
assigned, we took off our rucksacks and rested.
I took some time to myself and prayed. While I prayed, I was overcome with grief and
sadness. These feelings were so overwhelming that I broke down in tears. I prayed for God to
rescue me from my pain and to give me strength.
During my struggle with myself, I pulled out my pistol. I put the pistol to my head, ready
to pull the trigger. I was wrestling with myself to pull it. Most of my family was gone and a vast

majority of my men were killed, thus I found no point in staying alive and thought of myself as
inadequate.
I was consumed with self-loathing. The memories of the death and the bullets and the
blood were rushing through my mind like a waterfall. The screams and the dismemberment were
further carving themselves into my soul. I was in a full blown mental breakdown.
I want to die! I want to die! Lord, please just take me now. I dont think I can do this
anymore! I yelled.
Frank? I heard Jimmy say.
I turned around and saw Jimmy. I now felt embarrassed. What Jimmy saw was a broken
and mentally destroyed man. Part of me wished that he had come to kill me. I wanted to be put
out of my misery.
Whats wrong? Jimmy asked.
I cant do this shit anymore, Jim. Im just ready to fucking die! I yelled.
What?
Im better off not being here anymore. Ive failed all of you. Im not fit to lead you guys
anymore.
Dont say that.
Its true.
What are you talking about? Thats not true.

Almost everyone died because of me, Jimmy. I got all of those men killed and I have to
live with that now!
Relax, Frank. Give me the gun.
No!
Give me the gun, Frank.
Take it and kill me!
You need to stay alive. Youre not a bad leader, Frank. Im glad to be fighting under you,
brother.
The screams, I still hear the fucking screams!
Frank, youre scaring me.
Shut the fuck up!
I pointed my pistol at Jimmys face, prepared to shoot him. I wasnt thinking clearly. A
bunch of emotions were running through me and I didnt care who I would hurt. I was ready to
kill anyone. Jimmy was shocked at this.
Get that fucking pistol out of my face! Jimmy yelled.
Make me! I exclaimed.
Jimmy pulled out his own sidearm, and we were now in a Mexican standoff. In the midst
of my mental breakdown, I didnt care that I was about to kill my best friend.
Dont do this, Frank, Jimmy said.

Why shouldnt I? I asked.

Think about Bear. Think about Frank and Jason and everybody else. Would they want us
to be going through this?
Breaking down into tears, I said No.
Put the gun down, Frank.
I threw the gun down on the floor and cried. Jimmy hugged me and tried to get me to
calm down. I was regaining control of myself. Once I dried my tears, Jimmy and I tried to talk
things out.
What happened? Jimmy asked.
Its too much, Jimmy. I caused all these men to get killed. I did this, I answered.
You didnt do it. Shit happens. There was no way of knowing that they sent in
reinforcements and dug themselves in.
This is bullshit.
Listen, Im proud of you, Frank. Im sure your family and our friends would be proud of
you too.
I guess so.
Youre doing a good job as a leader.
Every day, I doubt the validity of that statement.
Youre doing fine. You need to get on your knees and pray, Frank.

Thats what Ive been doing. Thats why I feel so bad about myself.
Thats the Devil doing that to you. If God was really speaking to you, He wouldnt
torment you like that. None of this was your fault, okay?
If you say so.
Come outside and share a beer with me.
All right.
I went outside and shared a beer with Jimmy. The alcohol served to calm me down even
more. I was thankful to have Jimmy as a friend. He had done so much for me. I had his back and
he had mine. Hendrik, Alastair, and the rest of my men joined us. Besides drinking, we smoked
and joked around. Things were feeling normal again.
The more we joked, the more I was reminded of my brothers and our friends. I would
avenge them. Every sacrifice made on our side would be repaid with loyalist blood. Our fallen
were heroes, and I regarded them all very highly. Before long, night time came, and it was time
to sleep. I rested easy that night. I was glad I could calm down and relax.
The next morning, I woke up fully rested. Once everyone woke back up, we marched on
once again. This time we would go on to Waverly. Waverly was about ten miles away from
Disputanta. It would not take a terribly long time to arrive there by foot.
We left early in the morning. I was still aching from all the physical exertion over the past
day or two. Thankfully, I was able to suck up the pain and lead. We would take a break every
three miles until we arrived.

How long do you think itll be until we make it to Newport News? Alastair asked.
Maybe just two days, I said.
Im surprised we havent been ambushed by any loyalists around here, Jimmy
commented.
Dont jinx us, Jimmy, I said.
There are hardly loyalists around here. They know if they set foot out here in the
country, theyll get killed, Hendrik added.
Good point, Jimmy said.
Part of me still wants to stay here and keep fighting, I said.
Were still going to be fighting. Were just doing it from somewhere else. Well come
back, Alastair said.
I hope so, I said.
Are there any hotels out there? Jimmy asked.
There have to be. If not, well have to hobo it out, I said.
Thats not much different than what weve already been doing for nearly two years,
Jimmy said.
Exactly, weve still got it in us to keep on doing this, I said.
I hope we can refill on food soon, Hendrik said.

We may just have to scavenge out in the woods or something, I said.

People like to stereotype us country boys as savages in the woods. During this war, the
stereotype became more and more true, Jimmy said.
I laughed and said Its always been true for you.
Fuck you, Jimmy said.
I love you too, Jimmy, I said.
Glad to know youre doing better after yesterday, Jimmy said.
I am too, I said.
I was really worried about you, Jimmy said.
I know, dude. I know, I said.
What happened yesterday? Hendrik asked.
I dont want to talk about it, I said.
All right, I understand, Hendrik said.
You know, for an old guy, youve still got a lot of fight in you, Jimmy said to Hendrik.
Hell yeah! Im not finished yet, Hendrik said.
I hope Im like you when I get older. Youre in really good shape, I said.
I have to be good shape. Im still a soldier. If I didnt stay in good shape, Id probably
get depressed and just shrivel up and die, Hendrik stated.

Is that why you did the whole mercenary thing? I asked.

A lot of us that came back from the Border War ended up doing the same thing when
apartheid ended. Our army let a lot of us go and we couldnt see ourselves doing anything else,
Hendrik said.
Was the pay good? Jimmy asked.
The pay was reasonable. Its not a whole lot, but it helps put the grandkids through
school, Hendrik said.
Oh okay, Jimmy said.
No offense, but Ive heard a lot of bad things about South Africa. I dont know how the
Hell somebody could live there, I said.
What kind of things have you heard? Hendrik asked.
The attacks on white farmers, the rapes, the shitty economy, all kinds of stuff, I said.
Well, theres some validity to those things. South Africa is run by a bunch of leftist,
communist fucks, Hendrik said.
If its so bad there, why dont you just leave? Jimmy asked.
I tried. There were a bunch of white farmers in Zimbabwe that were being attacked as
well and Australia wouldnt let them in. They treated me the same way, I said.
Thats bullshit, Jimmy said.
Very much so, Hendrik said.

You cant keep your family there. You guys need to be somewhere safe, I said.
I thought about going to the UK or the Netherlands. We have relatives in both
countries, Hendrik said.
What stopped you? I asked.
The war stopped me. I got sent here before we could make a final decision, Hendrik
answered.
This war seems to have thrown off a lot of peoples plans, I said.
War does that, Hendrik said.
I think thats just life period, Jimmy said.
One thing I noticed about life is that it likes to throw a lot of curveballs at you, I said.
How did you come to that realization? Alastair asked.
Mostly from this war, but also from looking back on things that happened in my life, I
said.
Youre not wrong, Frank, Jimmy said.
I think the thing Ive learned the most is to be prepared for that kind of shit, I said.
Thats all you can do, Jimmy said.
I wonder how everyone up north is doing after that nuke went off, I said.
What do you mean up north? In Alexandria? Jimmy said.

Yeah, a Hell of a lot of people died or are going to die because of the radiation from that
nuke, I said.
I have a feeling its going to be in the millions because of the nukes they dropped in all
those other places too, Jimmy said.
Hell yeah, I said.
Funny how theyre the only ones who have used nukes but freak out if we want guns to
protect ourselves, Jimmy said.
Its all about having a monopoly of power, I said.
I know, but still. The hypocrisy pisses me off, Jimmy said.
Me too, Jim, I said.
This is similar to what happened back in South Africa, Hendrik said.
Is it really? I asked.
Well, there are some similarities. Although the apartheid government had its problems,
they were a lot better than the ANC, Hendrik said.
Africa is just fucked. Its a giant hellhole, Jimmy said.
Youre not entirely wrong, Hendrik said.
Seriously, is there any country in Africa thats not a total shithole to live in? Jimmy
said.
Not really, no, Hendrik said.

Its depressing, Alastair said.

The whole world is depressing, to be fair, I said.
Well, Africa and the Middle East especially, Jimmy said.
The Middle East has some good places. Very few, but theyre there, Hendrik said.
Well yeah, theres Dubai and Israel and some other places. The rest of that area is a
depressing, war-torn shithole, Jimmy said.
Yep, I said.
How far away are we from Newport News? Jimmy asked.
Im guessing about sixty to seventy miles, I said.
Thats good. Were getting a little bit closer, Jimmy said.
Were going to march that many miles in only two days? Alastair asked.
Fuck yeah. I dont know what the big deal is. You guys are military trained. You have
the physical stamina to get it done, I said.
We do, but thats still a lot, Hendrik said.
Come on, Hendrik. You have to show us young boys how to do it old-school, I said.
Believe me, I can teach you a thing or two about doing things old-school, Hendrik said.
We continued our conversation until we arrived in Waverly. When we arrived, we looked
around for any hotels we could stay at. Thankfully, we were able to find one. I shared a room

with Jimmy and Hendrik. When we settled into our rooms, we lied down on the beds and
unwound. We werent too far away from Newport News. All we needed to do was complete the
next sixty miles and we would be on our way to safety.
Thank God we made it here, Jimmy said.
I know, I said.
Who is sleeping on the floor? Hendrik asked.
Frank, Jimmy said.
Fuck that, I said.
Hendrik and I already called the beds, Jimmy said
Thats some bullshit, I said.
The sleeping arrangements were settled. For the remainder of the day, we rested. During
our rest, we played cards, smoked, and listened to the radio to keep ourselves busy. When we
listened to the radio, it was reported that there was a mutiny on a loyalist warship off the coast of
New York. They engaged in a skirmish with a loyalist naval task force. Unfortunately, the ship
was sunk. The resistance was gaining ground in the fight for Richmond. In Europe, meanwhile,
there was a shooting at a subway station in Munich. Twenty-three people were killed and
seventeen were wounded.
All of Bavaria was on high alert after the shooting. Switzerland announced that their
borders were entirely closed to any further immigration for one year. Austria also moved troops
onto their border with Germany in an effort to ensure that the terrorists would not escape into the

country. When Alastair heard the news, he shook his head in sorrow and went outside the room
for a moment. I went to go talk to him. When I saw him, he could barely compose himself. He
was outraged and with good reason.
I need to be in Europe, Alastair said.
Well make it over there. Just give it some time, I said.
How can I still be here while my fellow Europeans are bleeding and dying because of
what our government allowed to happen?
Soon enough well be there and do something about this.
I know, but every day I feel worse and worse knowing that these things are happening.
I understand.
I worry every day about my family and the fact that Im not there to protect them scares
me, Frank.
Do you have a plan as to how were going to go about this?
I was going to plan it all on the boat ride.
Do you know anyone in England?
I know a few people who will be sympathetic to the cause.
When we get to Europe, we need to get in contact with them and coordinate this whole
thing.
What do you have in mind?

Ill tell you when we get there.

All right.

26
Closer to an Escape
The next morning, we woke up, ate, and set off back once again. I felt as if I was getting
a massive leg and cardio workout during this march. I decided to put Hendrik on point. In spite
of being fifty-eight years old, he was in great shape. I had become fit from all the fighting and
exercise I had done during the war, but he was even more fit than the rest of us.
Hendrik was almost able to run a five-minute mile in his advanced age. He could still do
hundreds of pull ups and thousands of sit-ups. Every morning, he exercised after he woke up. His
exercises ranged from jumping jacks and sit-ups to tricep dips and mason twists.
His exercise was interesting to watch. He got through the exercises with extreme speed.
Occasionally, Alastair and Cook would work out with Hendrik. Even more rarely, Jimmy and I
would work out with them. Hendrik and the Royal Marines made us look terrible.
Were going to try to march thirty miles today, boys, I said.
Good thing Hendrik is up in front, Jimmy said.
I know, right? I said.
Hendrik, dont start running and leave us behind, Jimmy said.
Hendrik laughed and said Okay, Ill try to go slowly and see if you guys can beat me.
Youre not going to be that fit forever, old man, Jimmy said.

Maybe not, but thats no excuse not to stay that way for as long as I can, Hendrik said.
Youre right. One should always work to improve themselves, I said.
Exactly, Hendrik said.
How long has it been since youve talked to your family, Frank? Jimmy asked.
My parents? I havent talked to them since we left Richmond, I said.
How long ago was that? Jimmy asked.
Nearly two years ago, I answered.
Damn, thats a long time, Jimmy said.
Yeah, I said.
Can you believe not being able to talk to somebody in two years? Jimmy said.
Thats ridiculous, Alastair said.
To be fair, I dont think any of us have had contact with our families in a very long
time, Hendrik said.
Good point, I said.
I miss my family, Alastair said.
We all miss our families, Alastair, I said.
How often are we going to stop? Hendrik asked.
Every four miles, were taking fifteen minute breaks, I said.

That is childs play, Hendrik said.

Not for us, its not, I said.
You guys need a challenge, Hendrik said.
This is enough of a challenge for us. Believe me, Jimmy said.
If only Jason was still here, he would probably enjoy this, I said.
I know, he would love these long ass marches, Jimmy said.
Oh, I noticed that he was into fitness as well, Hendrik said.
It ran in his family. He got that from his father, Jimmy said.
I think I remember him saying something about that, Hendrik said.
He wanted to open a vitamin store when this war ended, I said.
What a shame he had to go like that, huh? Hendrik said.
I know, fucking terrible, I said.
Were you always in good shape, Hendrik? Jimmy asked.
Yeah, for most of my life I was. Back in my army days in South Africa, I was the fastest
runner in my company, Hendrik said.
You were a stud werent you? Jimmy said.
Were? I still am a stud, Hendrik said.

We laughed, and I said You work out like one. You dont really look like one anymore
though, I said.
Regardless, I worked out like one and looked like one back then as well, Hendrik said.
It sure is a nice day today, Jimmy said.
It was almost spring and the forest air was chilly, but fresh. The environment was
tranquil. Fortunately, it wasnt summer. If it were, we would have been drenched with sweat.
It is quite nice, isnt it? Hendrik said.
We should be coming upon another town, I said.
We should take a rest there, Hendrik said.
You know what we havent done in a while? Jimmy asked.
What? I asked.
Go to a bar, Jimmy said.
Go to a bar? There may not be any out there, I said.
There could be, Jimmy said.
Well definitely need it. Ive been needing a drink over the last few days, Alastair said.
Thats what weve been doing, I said.
It always feels different around other people. Maybe there are some fine country women
out there, Jimmy said.

You feel ready to move on? I asked.

Of course I miss my wife and my boy, but I think its time to move on. Theyre not
coming back, Jimmy said.
I cant wait until we finally get out of here, Alastair said.
Believe it or not, I cant either, I said.
Oh really? Jimmy said.
Ive always wanted to go to Europe. I just didnt think it was going to be like this, I
said.
Same here, brother, Jimmy said.
How the Hell are we even going to get a ship to take us over to Europe? Hendrik asked.
Well find a way to get over there, Alastair said.
Are you sure about that? I asked.
Yeah, Im sure, Alastair said.
I just dont want us to march all the way over there for nothing, you know? I said.
It wont be for nothing. Well find a way out of here. I just feel like I need to go back to
Europe. I need to be fighting there instead of here against those who really should be supporting
us, Alastair said.
I understand, I said.

Then we have to worry about not getting blown out of the sky or sunk when we are able
to get out of the country, Hendrik said.
That too, making it out of here in one piece is going to be a bitch, I said.
Remember, we dont want to end up like Saxby, Jimmy said.
Exactly, I said.
I wish we were still with those guys right now, Jimmy said.
Me too,
All of a sudden we heard helicopter blades buffeting the air. We took cover when we
heard the sound, staying silent and doing everything we could to make sure that we didnt expose
ourselves. When the helicopter passed by, we kept on moving.
That was a close one, I said.
Lets hope there arent any more of those sons-of-bitches around here, Jimmy said.
Ive seen enough attack helicopters than I care to remember, I said.
Suddenly, there was an explosion. One of my men fell dead. We took cover and engaged
in a skirmish with enemy forces. I heard some of the bullets go right by me. Others hit the trees
near me. I threw one of the grenades that I had left toward the enemy. We did what we could to
fight back, but we had already taken enough losses. I decided to order a withdrawal. By now,
only the four of us were left.
Were getting out of here! I said.

Sounds good to me, Jimmy said.

We fired and ran away from the enemy at the same time. We sprinted far away from the
enemys fire. Bullets churned up the dirt and whizzed past us, narrowly missing us. Thankfully,
none of us had gotten hit.
Where are we going to go? Jimmy asked.
Were going back to Waverly, I said.
All right, I said.
We rushed back to Waverly, moving as fast as we could and staying vigilant. It eventually
got to the point where we had to run back to Waverly. I hoped that there were no more blue
helmets around to deal with.
This is fucking bullshit! I said.
Murphys Law, brother, Jimmy said.
Ive had enough of Murphys Law, I responded.
You and me both, Alastair said.
Stay alert, guys. The rest of us are going to die out here if were not careful, I said.
We should try to get a ride over there by car, Jimmy said.
Who the Hell is going to take us to Newport News by car? I asked.
We can talk to people. Plenty of people out here are willing to cooperate with rebels,
Jimmy said.

Well talk about that later. Lets focus on getting back to the hotel in one piece, I said.
When we arrived, we stayed in the same hotel rooms that we stayed in the night before.
The first thing I did when I got to the hotel room was pray and thank God that I had stayed alive.
I see youre really taken that get right with God thing serious, Jimmy said.
Of course, I said.
Has it made you feel any different?
I feel less vulnerable and maybe a little more humble.
Really?
Yeah, Jim.
I needed God the most after my wife and son were killed. That was the lowest point in
my life.
Loss is definitely hard to cope with.
Im just glad that at least some of us are still alive. That was definitely a close one.
Yes, definitely.
So what do we do now?
Well stay here for today and Ill decide what to do from there. This kind of set things
back a bit.
Sounds like a plan.

I know for sure that were going to have to take a different route to Newport News.
Definitely.
I could go for a drink right now.
Me too, its a shame Im all out of whiskey.
Maybe we could try to barter for alcohol at the convenience store.
What are we going to barter?
We still have some ammo. We can barter some ammo for two beers.
All right, do you want to go over there?
No, I think Ill pass.
Fine, Ill go.
Due to the collapse of the dollar, Americans were forced to barter for products they
wanted. People would normally barter precious metals, alcohol, ammunition, or other useful
items in exchange for other useful items.
Jimmy returned from the convenience store with two beers for each of us. We opened the
beers, exchanged a toast, and started drinking. Then, we started playing cards. I had gotten plenty
of practice playing poker with Jimmy. Before, he would regularly beat me. Now it had gotten to
the point where it was uncertain who would win.
Hendrik and Alastair joined in the game. Hendrik was a highly experienced poker player.
He played poker a lot during the South African Border War. I daresay he was the best poker

player out of all of us. Every poker player has a tell that they show whenever they have good
cards. Hendriks was hard to read.
Royal flush, Hendrik said.
I fold, I said.
I fold too, Jimmy said.
Same here, Alastair stated.
This is bull. Ever since Hendrik came in here, hes fucking beaten us every single time,
I said.
The old boy has more than thirty years of experience, Alastair said.
Hes got this shit down to a science, Jimmy said.
Are you sure you still want to play? Hendrik asked.
You know what, fuck this. Im done, I said.
Same, Alastair and Jimmy said in unison.
You guys are funny, Hendrik said.
Let me ask you something, Hendrik, I said.
Sure, what is it? Hendrik said.
When you first got here and were ordered to fight us, how did you feel about it? I
asked.

Well, I felt bad about it at first. This wasnt much different than how a lot of South
Africans were treated back in the day and still are treated. When you captured us, I decided that
enough was enough, Hendrik said.
Interesting, I said.
Why do you ask? Hendrik said.
I dont know. I just wondered why you were so willing to collaborate as opposed to your
superior, I said.
Johan was probably just angry that you had a black man fighting with you, Hendrik
said.
Did he think the same thing you thought? I asked.
For the most part, but he really hated blacks, Hendrik said.
Did you guys used to know each other? Jimmy asked.
I met him fighting with Executive Outcomes back in Sierra Leone. I only served in
combat with him. We never really came back in contact with each other until I joined Swaard,
Hendrik said.
What was he like? Alastair asked.
He was a good soldier, but he liked to rant about kaffirs and seemed to enjoy fighting the
RUF a little too much, Hendrik answered.
Was he in the Border War too? I asked.

He was, and he lost a few friends, but he came from a very religious Afrikaner
nationalist background so he hated blacks long before that, Hendrik said.
A lot of people say the racial divide is bad in America. I think its ten times worse in
South Africa, Jimmy said.
Youre not wrong, Hendrik said.
Werent there integrated units in the South African Army during that time? I asked.
Yes, I served with many black soldiers during the war. They were good soldiers too,
Hendrik said.
If they let blacks serve in the army, why didnt they give them full rights? I asked.
To be honest, I have no clue, Hendrik said.
Well, that guy was a huge asshole, I said.
I agree. I dont really miss him very much. Honestly, I dont miss any of them very
much, Hendrik said.
So, what are you going to do about your family now that youre not getting paid?
Alastair said.
I have no idea what Im going to do, Hendrik said.
Thats just a fucked up situation to be in, I said.
Your family probably thinks youre dead since they havent heard from you in so long,
Jimmy said.

I wouldnt be surprised if they thought that, Hendrik said.

At least you two have a family to come back to, I said.
Im very sorry about what happened, Hendrik said.
Didnt you say your family fled to Australia, Frank? Jimmy said.
Yes, but once again, my brothers are dead and I havent heard from my parents since the
war started, I said.
I really feel bad for Bears fiance, Jimmy said.
She probably has a hard time sleeping every night because of the uncertainty. She has no
way of knowing that hes okay or if hes dead or not. I wish I could just go over there and finally
tell her the truth and instead of having her suffer from all the worrying, I said.
Its tough to be separated under these circumstances, Alastair said.
I know. Were learning that the hard way, Jimmy said.
Then theres the question of whats going to happen when this war finishes and we
actually survive it all, Alastair said.
Exactly, well have to clean up and rebuild and start over from scratch basically, I said.
Now I know how some of the natives felt in Sierra Leone and Angola and all those other
places where I fought, Hendrik said.
How does it make you feel? I asked.
Worried, sad, and a bit depressed, Hendrik said.

We all feel that way right about now, Jimmy said.

I think some of us will be a little bit happier when we get to Europe, Alastair said.
Why do you think that? I asked.
I dont know. I guess itll be change of pace for everyone, new faces and new places to
see, Alastair answered.
Itll be more of the same though. The same shit were doing here well be doing there, I
responded.
That may be true, but at least youll be away from all the bad memories that you have
here. There is a bright side, Alastair said.
Youve got a point there, I said.
We continued conversing until it was time to go to sleep. I prayed before I went to sleep
for safety for myself and the others. I also prayed for God to guide us through this war. What I
really needed than more than anything was guidance and motivation.

27
Little Green Men
The next morning, I woke up Jimmy, and we tried to plan a way out of the country. We
couldnt take the current route we were going on and had to go on another. Jimmy and I agreed
that we would take another route out of the country through the woods. We would go to
Rushmere and take a boat across to Newport News. We moved out quickly. Thee four of us
stayed vigilant as we marched through the woods, looking around in the foliage as we proceeded.
That day, we would go to Rushmere and spend the night there.
I hope we dont get attacked this time, I said.
We better not, Jimmy said.

Hendrik was back on point. We marched at an accelerated pace in order to make it to

Rushmere as fast as possible. It was exhausting, but it was something that needed to be done to
ensure our safety. We saw a squadron of fighter planes fly over us. The planes were probably
bound for Richmond. I still wanted to go to Richmond and help free it. So far, Richmond was
mostly under resistance control. Loyalist casualties were increasing daily. There were bombing
raids on the border between Alaska and Canada taking place after sympathetic Canadians were
discovered collaborating with resistance fighters in Alaska. Canadian law enforcement worked
with loyalist forces to prosecute anyone suspected of collaborating.
Most of Arizona was under resistance control. Arizona resistance fighters were now
trying to protect the border against drug smugglers and criminals coming across. The US
government had armed some of these gangs to fight the resistance. When loyalist soldiers
realized that this was happening, there was a significant portion of troops that switched sides and
fought against their former comrades-in-arms.
In Europe, there was a shooting in Norway that killed four people. The perpetrator
claimed that he carried out the shooting in the name of the global Jihad and that Allah had
commanded him to wage war against the infidel Norwegians. Shortly after reports were released,
the Norwegian government tried to cover up certain details of the shooting, such as the shooters
religious affiliation and ethnicity. The Norwegian people were outraged at this.
Back in Virginia, we chatted as we marched to pass the time. So far, nobody had
ambushed us. Regardless, we were still on our toes. Eventually, we heard some movement in the
foliage. We looked around until we saw something. We saw a group of armed men dressed in
camouflage and pointing AK rifles at us. They had surrounded us.

Are you with the resistance? one of the men asked.

The man had a strong Eastern European accent. These men had no flags on their uniforms
or anything that identified what country they were from. We had no clue what to do next, thus we
kept our guns pointed at them.
Yeah, were with the resistance. Who the Hell are you guys? Jimmy said.
That is not important, the same man said.
These guys sound like Russians, Hendrik said.
If you are with the resistance, we have come to help you, the man said.
Help us? I asked.
We are here to assist the resistance, the man said.
Whats your name? I asked.
I am Captain Ivanov, the man said.
Oh my God, its true. There are Russians here, Alastair said
How are you going to help us? Hendrik asked.
We can give you men and training to assist you in your fight against the loyalists. Just
follow us and we can explain further, Ivanov said.
Should we follow them? Jimmy asked me.
I guess so, I said.

We lowered our weapons and followed the men back to their camp. I had plenty of
questions for Captain Ivanov. I was now beginning to decipher the meaning of the dream I had
back in Narrows.
Why are you guys here? I asked.
Our country sent us here to fight the loyalists. Weve been fighting the United States
government in Ukraine and Syria and our government decided to open a third front in America,
Ivanov said.
How many men are operating here? I asked.
I cannot say, Ivanov said.
How long have you guys been here? Jimmy asked.
We have been here since the very early stages of this war. I can answer more questions
when we get to our camp, Ivanov answered.
When we got to their camp, I was determined to question Captain Ivanov and get a better
understanding of what was going on. There were campfires dotting the immediate area. The men
seemed to be minding their own business. The four of us followed Captain Ivanov, and we
continued talking.
So explain all of this to us, I said to Ivanov.
What is there to explain? Ivanov asked.
What motivation does your country have to send you here? Jimmy asked.

Have you ever heard the saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend? Your
government has been aggressing against our country for far too long. When our government saw
what took place here, we were deployed to this country, Ivanov answered.
What have you guys been doing? I asked.
We provide training to resistance fighters, assist them, and carry out missions against
loyalist forces in this area, Ivanov said.
All right, I said.
Is there anything else you would like to know? Ivanov asked.
Do you usually establish contact with resistance forces like this? Alastair asked.
Not normally, it was just a matter of coincidence that we were on a mission as well,
Ivanov said.
I think it was a little more than a coincidence, I said.
Call it providence or whatever else you want to call it, Ivanov said.
I appreciate your help. Thank you, I said.
Do not thank us, Ivanov said.
I have a question, Jimmy said.
What is it? Ivanov said.
What unit are you guys from? Are you Spetsnaz, FSB, or what? Jimmy asked.

We are Spetsnaz. That is all I can disclose to you, Ivanov answered.

The four of us gathered in private and discussed the situation. To be honest, everything
was still very confusing, and we decided to play things by ear. We didnt entirely trust the
Spetsnaz soldiers.
What do you think, guys? I said.
They seem like good chaps, but I dont know if I can trust them, Alastair said.
I agree with Alastair, Hendrik said.
Me too, Jimmy said.
So what do you think we should do? I asked.
Lets stay cautious, Hendrik said.
I like that idea, I said.
Do you have any experience with Russians? Jimmy asked Hendrik.
They trained the communist during the Border War, but that was thirty years ago. I dont
know what to make of this, however, Hendrik said.
We should just be careful, Alastair said.
Okay, I said.
Once we finished our discussion, we tried to socialize with the other Russian soldiers. We
saw two by a campfire and sat down next to them. The soldiers had rather cold expressions on

their faces. They looked at us and looked back at the campfire. The initial exchange was
awkward.
Hello, how are you guys? I asked.
Good, one of the soldiers said.
What are your names? I asked.
Popov, the soldier said.
Ilyin, the other soldier said.
Let me talk to them, Jimmy said.
Okay, fine, I said.
Have you ever fired an M4? Jimmy asked Ilyin.
Yes, I have. I prefer the AN-94 though, Ilyin said.
AN-94? Ive never heard of that one, Jimmy said.
It is a relatively new rifle. It is limited issue to the Russian military. Most units still do
not have them, Ilyin said.
Oh okay, Jimmy said.
How long have you guys been in the Spetsnaz for? Hendrik asked.
I have been in for ten years. I have served in the army for fifteen, Ilyin said.
I have served in this unit for about five years, Popov said.

Where have you guys been besides America? Alastair asked.

I have been to Chechnya, Ukraine, and Syria. Popov served in Ukraine with me, Ilyin
said.
What are the differences between the four countries? Hendrik asked.
Resistance fighters here in America are better skilled and better armed, Ilyin said.
Really? I said.
They are some of the most ferocious and most well-trained rebels I have ever seen,
Ilyin said.
I would have thought ISIS would take the spot for most ferocious, I said.
ISIS are not very tough. They are nothing more than thugs with guns, Popov said.
He is right, Ilyin said.
Who do you think was your hardest opponent out of all four? I asked.
The UN soldiers here, Ilyin said.
I kind of figured you would say that, Jimmy said.
It is not just one nationality that you have to fight against. There are Americans, British,
Germans, many countries forces here that we fight against. A lot of these countries have the best
militaries in the world, Ilyin said.
I used to be in the Royal Marines, Alastair said.

British armed forces? Popov asked.

Yes, Alastair said.
What happened? Ilyin asked.
I felt convicted to change sides. I couldnt follow the orders anymore, Alastair said.
That tends to happen when one fights for the wrong side in a conflict, Ilyin said.
Ive noticed, Alastair said.
The same happened to me, Hendrik said.
Really? Ilyin asked.
Have you heard of Swaard? Hendrik asked.
I have actually. You were operating in North Carolina, were you not? Ilyin said.
Yes, we were captured and changed sides, Hendrik said.
I see, Ilyin said.
What did you do prior to that? Popov asked.
I had done some mercenary work in Africa before the war broke out. Before that, I
served in the South African Defense Force during the Border War, Hendrik said.
You have the most experience out of all of us, then, Popov said.
Probably, Ive been soldiering for about forty years, Hendrik said.

Why so long? Do you not have a family? Do you not want to retire and spend your time
with them? Ilyin said.
I would like to, but I have to do this to keep food on the table and put the grandkids
through school. I dont have many other skills, so I figured I might as well do this before Im too
old and have to retire, Hendrik said.
I understand that times are difficult, Ilyin said.
Exactly, Hendrik said.
Do your families know where you are? I asked.
No, we are not allowed to disclose to our families or anyone else that we were deployed
here, Popov said.
Oh, thats right. Thats how special operations works, I said.
Exactly, Ilyin said.
Why did you guys decide to serve in the military? Jimmy asked.
In Russia, we are forced to serve mandatory time in the army. I simply decided to stay
because of my family. My great-grandfather served in the Great Patriotic War and I was inspired
by his service to our Motherland, Ilyin said.
Great Patriotic War? Jimmy asked.
The Second World War. That is what we call it in Russia, Popov said.
I have a great-grandfather that served in Montgomerys Eighth Army, Alastair said.

Mine took part in the attack on Berlin at the end of the war, Ilyin said.
Mine fought at El Alamein, Alastair said.
Maybe they crossed paths at one point in time, Popov joked.
Ive met so many people through this war. It feels like this war is a social network for
me, I said.
What do you mean by that? Ilyin asked.
Ive run into rebels, Russian special forces, British marines, and South African
mercenaries. It seems like the entire world is here, I said.
You do know that this is the largest military engagement since the Second World War,
right? Hendrik said.
Thats true, I said.
Where in Russia are you guys originally from? Jimmy asked.
I am from St. Petersburg, Ilyin said.
I am from Ryazan, Popov said.
Wheres that? Jimmy asked.
It is near Moscow, Popov said.
Russia is a very big country. There are a lot of unique cultures there, Ilyin said.
Oh really? I dont know a whole lot about Russia to be honest with you, Jimmy said.

It is an interesting place, Popov said.

He is right, Ilyin said.
I believe him, Jimmy said.
What are we doing tomorrow? I asked.
We are going to Richmond. We will meet with local resistance forces there and take an
airfield, Ilyin said.
Oh Jesus, I said.
What is the matter? Popov asked.
We had previously attacked an airport and failed. We lost most of our force during the
attack, Hendrik said.
How large was your force? Ilyin asked.
We had about 340 and by the time we made it to safety, we had around twenty, I said.
We will do things differently, Popov stated.
I hope so. Id rather not lose anyone else trying to take some small fucking airfield, I
said.
I bet it feels great to go back home, huh? Jimmy said.
I know. I cant wait, I said.
You are from Richmond? Ilyin asked.

Yes, Im from Richmond. I havent been home in almost two years, I said.
That is a long time, Ilyin said.
Its been far too long. Its time for me to come back, I said.
I understand, Ilyin said.
Its time for me to come back to Europe as well, Alastair said.
No, Alastair, were right where we need to be. Were all staying here, I said.
What about Europe? I need to be there, Alastair asked.
Dont worry about that, Alastair. There are already enough willing revolutionaries there.
Its time for a revolution. Its only a matter of time until it starts, I said.
I guess youre right, Frank, Alastair said.
Leaving the country wasnt really feasible in my opinion, anyway, I said.
Thats debatable, Alastair said.
You were trying to leave the country? Ilyin asked.
Yeah, I answered.
Why? Ilyin asked.
Weve been trying to get to safety and possibly start a revolution abroad in Europe too,
due to everything taking place there at the moment, Alastair said.
Oh, I understand, Ilyin said.

It looks like it would be better to worry about things here before we worry about Europe
though, Jimmy said.
I see, Ilyin said.
How many operators do you have here in this area? I asked.
I can tell you that we have about fifty here in this camp. I cannot disclose how many
operators are here in America, Ilyin said.
How many rebels are going to be at that airfield? I asked.
Around two hundred of them, Ilyin answered.
Have you taken a look at the airports defenses? I asked.
Of course we have, we are well prepared for the attack, Ilyin said.
Im sure you guys are. You have much better training than we do, I said.
It will be an easy job for us, Ilyin said.
Lets hope so, Jimmy said.
Would you guys like to listen to the radio? Ilyin said.
Ilyin turned on the radio. All we could hear was broadcasts in Russian. We couldnt
understand any of it. Once the broadcast ended, Ilyin did his best to translate it into English for
us.
What happened? I asked.

The resistance is gaining further ground in Richmond. Resistance fighters in New York
City are also winning against loyalist forces. The North Carolina capital in Raleigh was just
captured by resistance forces a short time ago, Ilyin said.
Thats great news. We seem to be winning on most fronts, I said.
That is encouraging, Popov said.
How long do you guys think itll be until this war finally ends? I asked.
The loyalists do not have long. They are simply outnumbered and cannot face the will of
the American people. The loyalists do not have more than a year until they are defeated, Ilyin
said.
It sure seems like it. They could possibly be beat even earlier than that, Jimmy said.
That is certainly a possibility, Ilyin said.
Sure is, Jimmy said.
Weve got those wankers on the ropes. We just need to hit them a few more times until
theyre finally down for the count, Alastair said.
Well, it was good talking to you two. Im going to talk to Captain Ivanov, I said.
All right, it was good talking to you as well, Ilyin said.
I got up and went to go see Captain Ivanov. When I saw him, he was deep in thought. I
felt bad about interrupting him; however, I waited until he acknowledged me before I said
anything to him. When he acknowledged me, I got down to business.

Is our next operation for tomorrow fully planned? I asked.

Of course it is, Ivanov said.
What is the plan of attack?
All fifty of us will attack the airport and keep the main force distracted. The rebels will
attack from the rear. They will be our main assault force,
How much do you know about these rebels?
What do you mean?
I mean their abilities and their training. How good are they as a force?
If the performance of rebels that I have previously encountered is any standard to go
from, I think they are a very good force. Why do you ask this?
As good as the rebels are here, theyre still no match for trained loyalist soldiers,
especially if they are outnumbered.
We are special operators. These sorts of operations are our specialty.
Im just speaking from my own personal experiences. Rebels here in America are a
mixed bag. Some are really talented and well-trained and others arent so much.
I understand your concern. That is why we must work on establishing contact with these
resistance fighters and train them to increase their combat efficiency.
What are the defenses looking like at the airport?

There should be about 300 loyalist soldiers defending this airport. This is easy for us to
do.
Okay, then.
What are your reservations in attacking this airport?
Ive attacked an airport before and it didnt go well. I guess Im just worried that this
will be a repeat of that.
Things will be different. We will do things different.
I hope so.
We are well-prepared and well-trained to make this attack. We have been doing
reconnaissance on this airport for several days and are prepared for whatever they will throw at
us.
If you say so.
I left Captain Ivanov and lied down by myself, praying and thanking God for another day
of life. I was grateful that He sent the Russian soldiers to rescue us. Rex and Bear inevitably
crossed my mind. This was the first time I would be home in nearly two years. This time, I
would come home without them. I was saddened by this. In fact, I shed a few tears. I looked up
at the sky and talked to my brothers, in a figurative sense.
Im coming back home, guys. I miss you two very much. Just know that I think about
you guys every day. Im fighting to avenge you and Im going to win this war for you or die
trying. I promise that your deaths will not be in vain. Whats Heaven like? I hope things are

better up there. If I die, I hope Ill be reunited with you guys and well be together as a family
again. Im going to make you guys proud. Your little brother isnt a baby anymore, hes a man
now. I love both of you very much. Good night, I said.
I then thought about the friends I lost, the friends I had fought and spilled blood with. In
particular, I thought about Jason Brooks, Ross Colhoun, and Brock Russell. The three of them
were some of the best rebels to have fought on the battlefields of America. I hoped that they were
in Heaven with my brothers. Soon, I closed my eyes and went to sleep. For us, the war was back
on. The first phase was over and the second phase had just begun. The next day and the future
would be one Hell of a homecoming for me.