Those Who Remain: A Postapocalyptic Novel (The New World Book 7)

  THOSE WHO REMAIN

  A POSTAPOCALYPTICAL NOVEL

  BOOK 7

  THE NEW WORLD SERIES

  G. MICHAEL HOPF

  Copyright © 2016 G. Michael Hopf

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  For information contact:

  geoff@gmichaelhopf.com

  www.gmichaelhopf.com

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13:978-1539031314

  ISBN-10:153903314

  DEDICATION

  TO GORDON VAN ZANDT AND THOSE LIKE HIM

  PROLOGUE

  October 20, 2066

  Olympia, Washington, Republic of Cascadia

  Gordon marveled at how different Olympia was since the last time he had been there. Like an excited schoolkid heading off on a field trip, he gazed out the window in awe at the splendor. While the others just chatted about everyday things, Gordon kept interrupting them with, “Hey, look at that,” and, “Wow, things are so nice.”

  Haley looked at Gordon with pure love. She had missed her father so much over the years and it was so good to have him back.

  “Hey, guys, look, right there, look, over there,” Gordon said excitedly, pointing to a statue of tank and him on top holding the flag. It was reminiscent of the scene after the Battle of Rainbow Bridge during the early days of the Great Civil War.

  As the SUV drew closer, Gordon’s enthusiasm vanished as he saw the statue had been tagged and spray-painted with ‘tyrant’ and ‘murderer’.

  “They, um, they’ve defaced the statue,” Gordon somberly said.

  “Yeah, it’s those douche bags from the CPP,” Sebastian said, referring to the ultra-leftist Cascadian People’s Party; they were a third party that had been gaining popularity with the youth.

  Gordon sat back in his seat and grinded his teeth.

  “I can see the steam coming out of your ears,” Haley said to Gordon.

  “Those bastards are the reason we’re here,” Gordon said.

  “They’re a loud but small group, nothing to worry about,” Haley said.

  “Not true,” Gordon said.

  “Then how about enlightening us,” Haley said.

  “When we get to where we’re going, I’ll debrief everyone.”

  ***

  The SUV pulled up to a gated driveway and stopped.

  A man wearing dark sunglasses stepped out of a small guard shack and approached the vehicle.

  The driver rolled the window down and said, “I’ve got Leatherneck plus four.”

  “Copy that,” the guard said, clicking a button and opening the gate.

  “Let me guess, you’re Leatherneck,” Hunter said to Gordon.

  “Yeah, I guess they still use that call sign.” Gordon chuckled.

  The SUV pulled in and drove up the oak-lined gravel driveway. When they rounded a turn, a large manor came into view.

  “Wow, who lives here?” Sebastian asked.

  “Autry Lewis owns it,” Gordon replied.

  “First we get flown in and now we’re staying at his house. You’re making me nervous, Grandad,” Hunter said.

  Gordon didn’t reply, he just grinned.

  “Like your grandfather said, Autry is a dear old friend,” John said from the front passenger seat.

  The SUV came to a stop under a large porte cochere. The driver jumped out and opened the back doors.

  Gordon climbed out first, stretched and said, “It smells so different here.”

  The front door of the house opened and a shadowy figure appeared.

  “Is that who I think it is?” Gordon asked loudly.

  “Well, would you look at who decided to come back to life.” Autry whooped.

  Gordon walked over to his old friend and gave him a firm hug. “Good to see you, my friend, been a long, long time.”

  “Too long,” Autry replied. He still sported his signature beard and short cropped hair, but the years had taken the brown and replaced it with gray. Outside of that Autry had aged well and still towered tall with a lean muscular build.

  “You look good, my friend, the years haven’t harmed you one bit,” Gordon said admiring Autry’s youthful build.

  “Hey, easy there, I might mistake what you’re saying as flirting,” Autry joked.

  John walked up and embraced Autry. “Good to see you.”

  “Same, same, wow, it’s like old home week,” Autry said, a big grin gracing his face.

  Hunter and Sebastian sauntered up.

  “Autry, these are my grandsons, Hunter and Sebastian,” Gordon said, introducing the boys.

  “Nice to meet you,” Autry said, shaking their hands firmly.

  “And I know you know this beauty,” Gordon said, referring to Haley who stood a few feet back.

  “Of course, how are you, Haley?” Autry said, embracing her tenderly.

  “Nice to see you, Mr. President,” Haley said, keeping with protocol.

  “We won’t have any of that. Just call me Autry.”

  “If you insist,” Haley said shyly.

  “Please come in,” Autry said and escorted them inside the large house.

  ***

  Inside, Gordon looked around at the ornate decorated house.

  “Looks like you’re still living large,” Gordon said.

  “Life has its ups and downs, as we both know, but money always comes easy to me,” Autry said, draping his arm over Gordon’s shoulders. He looked at his old friend and said, “So glad to see you, it’s been forever, man.”

  “That it has,” Gordon said.

  “Let’s go get you a drink, huh?” Autry asked.

  “Do you have anything to eat?” Sebastian asked, coming forward.

  “Sure,” Autry said.

  “Always thinking with your stomach,” Hunter mocked.

  Tapping his stomach, Sebastian said, “A man has to eat.”

  Autry ordered a staff member to bring food, turned to Gordon and the group, and said, “Follow me into the parlor. The others are waiting.”

  Hunter was anxious to see who the others were.

  Autry walked them down a long hallway to a double set of eight-foot doors. He grabbed the rubbed bronze handle and turned. He pushed them open and with a welcoming arm swing said, “Come on in, folks.”

  Gordon walked in first, followed by Hunter, John, Haley and Sebastian taking up the rear.

  Inside the large room sat several men.

  With everyone inside, Autry closed the doors.

  Hunter paused when he saw his boss, the ambassador. “Ambassador Tiller?”

  “Mr. Rutledge, good to see you,” said Josh Tiller, the Cascadian ambassador to the Republic of Texas.

  “What are you doing here?” Hunter asked, approaching Josh.

  “I’m here to help,” Josh replied.

  Hunter was shocked and stood with his mouth half open.

  Gordon walked around the room and introduced himself to each man before taking a seat.

  Autry stepped forward with glasses of scotch and handed them out until everyone had one. He raised his glass and said, “A toast to continued liberty in our two republics.”

  “What is this?” Hunter asked. He was feeling uneasy about the meeting now that it appeared they were concocting a scheme to take out political foes.

  “Hunter, please just sit down and let them explain,” Haley said.

  “No, I can’t. What is this? Because this is looking a bit odd,” Hunter said.

  “I can assu
re you this meeting is not unusual,” Josh said.

  “Please explain,” Hunter fired back. He was clearly getting upset. His devotion to doing things with integrity and by the rules was at conflict with what was possibly going to be proposed.

  Gordon cut him a look and softly said, “Grab a seat, enjoy this wonderful scotch, and listen with your ears not your mouth.”

  Hunter shut his mouth and did as Gordon said.

  “We have one more guest coming, shall we wait?” Autry said.

  “No, we should proceed. I’ve filled him in on everything. These folks are up to speed, so let me do that,” Josh said. He put his glass down and started. “Let me introduce myself, I’m the secretary of state of the Republic of Cascadia. The gentleman to my right here is Allison McBride, the undersecretary of state, and opposite him is Xavier Gohmert, the director of the International Intelligence Service. Three weeks ago, border agents in southern Oregon stopped several people entering illegally. We thought they were the typical Central American refugee types fleeing the communist regime in Central America, but when we began to interview them, one gave everything up and immediately requested political asylum in exchange for information on what he and his two comrades were doing. After some red tape, we granted him temporary asylum depending on the value of his information. After two days of exhaustive interviews, the information he gave was almost unbelievable. He disclosed a plot between William Ayers Coleman and the Central American People’s Republic. You all know who William Coleman is, he’s the leader and soon to be presidential candidate for the Cascadian People’s Party.”

  Gordon cleared his throat and interrupted, “He’s also the son of Elizabeth Karen, so you know the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

  “As President Van Zandt said, he’s the only son of Elizabeth Karen, the former councilwoman from the pre-constitution days of the republic,” Josh said.

  Hunter gave Gordon a curious look.

  Josh continued, “A week later, a classified memo came across my desk in Austin from an unnamed local law enforcement source in Austin. The memo detailed an encounter between the Austin police and what at first was thought to be local crime gang. When they searched their apartment, they found a ton of intel showing these weren’t just local thugs but agents from the CAPR with a plan to undermine the government in Austin as well as a link to us here in Olympia. Again, William Coleman’s name was found, as was others in his inner circle.”

  “A commie conspiracy,” Gordon mumbled.

  “To put in plainly, yes, that’s exactly what it is,” Josh agreed.

  “What is Coleman’s plan, you think?” Haley asked.

  Everyone looked at her, as they weren’t expecting her to speak.

  “We think it’s twofold. He is assembling a core of grassroots support, specifically with the youth. He plans on using this support in next year’s election, and secondly, we believe he is also assembling secret cells to carry out attacks in Cascadia against the government and infrastructure in the event he loses. We believe he has his sights set on taking over the republic, either legitimately or through a coup,” Xavier answered.

  Gordon chuckled.

  “I’ve spoken with the president of Texas and they believe there’s a movement there as well,” Autry said.

  “I’ve heard all I need. What’s the game plan?” Gordon said.

  “Let me say that it’s an honor to have you here, Mr. President. When we heard you were still alive and that you were coming out of hiding to help us stop this scourge, well, we feel honored,” Josh said.

  “I just want our republic safe for the next generations. These leftist scumbags always want to take things over and trash it. Their neo-fascist beliefs spread like a venereal disease in a frat house. The fact that I’m here says you want to do this via direct action,” Gordon said.

  A knock at the door silenced the room.

  Autry jumped up and headed towards it. “Looks like our special guest is here.” He opened the door and in stepped Leonard Shiver, the current president of the Republic of Cascadia.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Shiver said as he briskly walked in and up to Gordon. “Mr. President, what an honor.”

  Gordon rose slowly, took Shiver’s hand and shook it firmly. “Mr. President, nice to meet you.”

  “No, the pleasure is mine,” Shiver said. He found an empty seat and sat down. “So, where are we?”

  “Sir, I’ve caught them up on the general overview of what we’re dealing with,” Josh said.

  Hunter’s jaw had dropped as he sat staring at Shiver. Just a week ago, never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined being where he was.

  “Good, so, gentlemen, William Coleman and his People’s Party aren’t just a political group, they represent a clear and present danger to our republic. I wanted to just have them arrested, when word came down several days ago that President Van Zandt was still alive and that he holds critical information that could help in our case against Mr. Coleman. When we move on them, we want to have everything in order so that we get a conviction. He is a charismatic man and has developed a large and passionate group of followers. We don’t want to just take him down; we need a case that shows this has been a plan of their group for a very long time,” Shiver said, his gaze now on Gordon.

  “That’s it, you just need the tapes I have?” Gordon asked.

  “Not just those old tapes, we need you to come forward and tell the people your story concerning his mother. This will help our PR campaign against Coleman. We need to connect all the dots.”

  “I’m not sure if I want to be paraded around. I was under the assumption you would need me in a different capacity. How about I just give you the tapes and I go back to McCall? however; . I’d like to add that the info I have against her is over fifty years ago. None of it pertains to him,” Gordon said.

  Haley cocked her head and asked, “What?”

  Gordon looked at her and said, “We’ll talk later.” He turned back to Shiver and said, “I’d like to add that the info I have is over fifty years old and only pertains to her. It may not have bearing on him.

  “But, Granddad, I thought that coming out was part of your plan,” Hunter interjected, the look on his face clearly showing his confusion.

  “Let’s all of us talk later,” Gordon said waving his hand in a gesture for him to be quiet.

  “I can understand your caution, but please reconsider. How amazing of a story would it be for you to reemerge just in time for the fiftieth anniversary celebration this Friday? And the information will be critical, our press staff will be able to spin those tapes against him,” Shiver said with a big smile and exuberance in his voice.

  Haley leaned in and whispered to Gordon, “You okay, Dad?”

  “I’m fine,” Gordon grunted.

  “President Van Zandt, did you bring that information with you?” Shiver asked.

  “Yes,” Gordon replied.

  “Good, we’ll need that ASAP. Because of its age, we’ll want to clean it up using our tech,” Shiver said.

  “So you’re just going to arrest them, that’s it?” Gordon asked.

  “Yes, but we need to build a solid case so we put these assholes away for a while. We can’t allow Coleman and his media allies to help him generate sympathy. We need to have a rock-solid case and the tapes will help,” Shiver said happily.

  “But this isn’t a law enforcement situation, this is a military one. This man is planning a coup and has ties with one of our enemies, an enemy that vows to destroy us. Hell, they’re currently fighting a proxy war against Texas along the Texas-Mexico border,” Gordon asserted.

  “We’ll handle this, Mr. President. You don’t need to be concerned,” Shiver said.

  Gordon stared at the president and felt sorry for him. He looked at his pale cheeks and soft doughy hands. Now he knew why the republic was slipping further away from its founding principles. The men and woman now didn’t have what it took, much less know what it meant not to have freedom
or to live under the threat of death each day. His countrymen had become weak and he had seen enough. He stood up and said, “Well, I’m tired and I think I’ll go catch some sleep.” He looked at a surprised Autry and continued, “Where am I sleeping?”

  “Oh, um, follow me,” Autry said.

  “But the food didn’t come yet,” Sebastian complained.

  “I’ll have it sent to your rooms,” Autry said.

  Everyone in the room stood up out of respect for Gordon.

  Haley, Hunter, Sebastian and John followed Gordon out.

  Autry pointed down the hall to a large staircase and said, “Go upstairs and go right. You all have that upper wing of the house.”

  “Thank you,” Gordon said.

  “Let’s talk in the morning, just you and me,” Autry said.

  “Sure thing,” Gordon replied.

  Autry gave Gordon a smile and went back inside the parlor.

  When the doors closed, Gordon turned to John and said, “Pussies, I thought you told me they were serious? You said they were going to take care of Coleman and his cohorts.”

  John shook his head and said, “I’d like to say it was a mistake of mine, but they assured me of your safety and that your help would take Coleman down.”

  “I guess they define taking someone down differently than we do. Times certainly have changed,” Gordon smirked.

  “Dad, what’s going on?” Haley asked, concerned.

  Gordon pointed to the room and said, “With us, not what they’re talking about in there, but don’t you worry, I have a plan.”

  “Pinch me, this is so exciting,” Hunter said joyfully.

  Gordon looked each direction down the halls, and seeing no one, he said, “Let’s go upstairs. I’m tired, let’s meet up later.” Gordon turned to Hunter and said, “Meet me in my room in twenty.”

  ***

  Hunter tapped on Gordon’s bedroom door, but no one came to open it. After waiting a few minutes, Hunter turned the knob and found it unlocked. He opened it slightly and said, “Granddad?” After no reply, Hunter opened the door further and saw the balcony French doors were wide open. The brisk cool wind was whipping through the room setting the curtains adrift like sails. “Granddad?”