THE TOCABAGA CHRONICLES: (BOX SET PART III - BOOKS #9-10) Read online

  THE

  TOCABAGA CHRONICLES

  BOX SET – PART III

  BOOKS #9-10 OF THE SERIES

  By Thomas H. Ward

  Copyright©2015. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic mechanical methods.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  BOOK #9 - THE CRIMSON CROSS

  BOOK #10 - POWER OF THE SWORD

  MORE BY THOMAS H. WARD

  .

  BOOK #9

  THE CRIMSON CROSS

  PREFACE

  If you’ve been reading my chronicles then you know all the problems that we run into almost every day. The Tocabaga security forces are on full alert due to the Ebola threat. We can’t afford to let new people on the island because they may be contagious.

  Hordes of people are moving to Florida from the northern states. They bring crime, trouble, and death with them. We’ve heard they’re fleeing the northern states due to the climate change. The weather has become unseasonably cold. The Hordes create many problems, but the main one is over-population causing food shortages.

  We have to be alert and ready to fight to keep our way of life safe. Someday the country will return to the rule of law and liberty under the United States Constitution. Until that day returns we must endeavor to persevere.

  My name is Jack Gunn, and these are my chronicles.

  RECAP OF JULY 14, 2025,

  MY LAST ENTRY

  SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT

  It was a busy night. We raided the Green Zone clinic, fighting our way in and out, and captured the much needed anti-Ebola vaccine EVB150. Some of Rico’s men had Ebola so we decided to take him the necessary doses. When we arrived at the 54th Avenue Bridge we found that Rico’s compound was completely engulfed in flames.

  The fire was so hot we stopped 200 feet away. I told my crew to stay with the trucks while I checked it out. I phoned Rico but there was no answer.

  I managed to move within 100 feet of the front door at the main building but the heat was too intense. I saw shadows running away from the fire in the other direction. Then two men and a woman came running over to me. Their clothes were burned in places and maybe their bodies. I couldn’t tell because of the black soot on their faces and hands. They were within 15 feet of me when I pointed my gun in their direction.

  I warned them, “Don’t come any closer.” They stopped in their tracks. “Have any of you seen Rico?”

  One of them said, “Hey, aren’t you Jack Gunn?”

  “Yeah. What the hell is going on here?”

  The woman replied, “They’re killing everyone. Please let us go, we don’t mean you any harm.”

  I lowered my M4 and they took off running. I shouted, “Who’s killing everyone?” They kept running and didn’t look back.

  Moving closer to the fire I yelled, “Rico … Rico!”

  I stood there holding my hand up to cover my face from the heat. I yelled again for my friend. People running around inside the compound trying to escape. They were trying to climb the razor wire fence.

  I stood there as long as I could and then backed away from the heat. I heard several explosions and the crack of bullets going off from the heat. I noticed dead bodies lying on the street. They appeared to have been shot, but I couldn’t tell. I sure as hell wasn’t going to touch them because they might be infected.

  Suddenly the 10 foot high fence collapsed from the heat and five men rushed out at me. When they approached I shouted, “Stop! Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot.”

  They didn’t respond, so I started to slowly back away from them. They looked like zombies. They were in shock for sure. I yelled again but they kept coming. Moving backwards, I tripped over something in the street and fell on my ass.

  When I fell, they rushed towards me. I scrambled, managing to swing my M4 in their direction, and opened fire on full automatic. I sprayed rounds back and forth, as they dropped to the ground five feet away. I kept scooting backwards, on my butt, to make sure I was out of their reach.

  That was too close for comfort. Thank God, none of them touched me. I breathed a sigh of relieve, stood up, and brushed off my pants. I wondered if they were trying to kill me, take my gun, or what.

  I yelled some more for Rico. After half an hour of yelling and peering into the flames I walked back to the vehicles. “Let’s get the hell out of here! I couldn’t find Rico. Maybe he’s dead.”

  No one said a word as we drove back to Tocabaga except for Tommy. He asked me, “What do you think happened?”

  “I don’t know. I just don’t know what happen.”

  We arrived back on Tocabaga and put the vaccine in a refrigerated storage unit. The eight of us went to the Green Room for a much needed drink. Tony poured us all a double shot. We held up the glasses for a toast and looked at each other, not saying a word. After downing the booze, I said, “Good job guys. I’m beat. See y’all later.”

  I went home, took a shower, and went to bed. It was just turning daylight as I crawled into bed trying not to wake my wife. She softly asked me, “You ok?”

  “Yeah, I’m ok. I just need some sleep.” She lightly rubbed my shoulder. The one that always hurts from the fight I had with al-Qaida terrorists. Ever since I fell into a 10-foot pit it has never been the same. It hurts like hell when I raise my left arm.

  I’m glad she didn’t ask me more questions because I didn’t feel like talking. I didn’t want to think about what happen to Rico or I’d never fall asleep.

  I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the new Invisible enemy.

  JULY 14, 2025

  CONTINUED

  I woke up late in the day. It was almost 5 pm as I went downstairs for some much needed grub. Hemmi said, “Tommy told me that Rico was missing.”

  I gave her a kiss and replied, “Yeah, his whole compound was burned to the ground. I phoned him but he didn’t answer. I searched the whole area for him.”

  “Well, you did your best. He’s probably around somewhere. Like you always say, he’s the toughest man you know.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  Hemmi stood there with her apron on. “What would you like to eat?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  She whipped up some fried fish and flat bread along with a few oranges.

  While eating I told her, “I gotta call Sessions today and advise him that we got the Ebola vaccine. Tomorrow, I wanna go search for Rico again.”

  “You just need to take it easy,” she said.

  “Where is everyone?”

  “The kids are out playing and I think the guys are on guard duty.”

  I grabbed a cup of coffee laced with JD and went out on the patio for a smoke. I pushed the speed dial on my cell to call Sessions. “Captain, I have some good news. We captured 30,000 doses of EVB150. They’re in refrigerated storage, until you pick them up.”

  “That’s great news, Jack. We’re in Miami getting ready to assault the Federal Bank tonight. There’s a lot of Feds here, but I think they’ll surrender without a fight. When we have the vaccine we’ll fly it to SOCOM for distribution. I’ll send a chopper to Tocabaga to pick up the doses you have in a few days.”

  “Captain, if it’s ok, I’d like to keep 1,000 units here just in case. W
e went to Rico’s compound yesterday to give some out. The whole place was on fire. A lot of people were killed. Rico is missing.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Sorry to hear that. I know you were good friends.”

  “Yeah, I hate to think about it.”

  Sessions said, “After we secure the vaccine we’re moving out to the Keys. The objective is to mop up any Chinese Military still lurking around. Oh, by the way, we sank that invisible gunboat yesterday.”

  “That’s good to hear. Good luck, Captain.” That was the end of our conversation.

  I pushed Rico’s speed dial but there was no answer.

  I thought something terrible has happened to Rico and his family. Maybe they became infected. Maybe they died in the fire or someone killed them. I have to find out what happened.

  I jumped in my truck and did a quick tour of the island checking on my security forces. Everything seemed in order and most of the men were in good spirits.

  Arriving at the Green Room I found all my men from the night before, along with Doc Scott. Doc said, “Tomorrow at 10 am is the service for Albert. You need to say a few words.”

  I said, “Yeah, of course I will. By the way, how’s his wife and kids doing? Will they be there?”

  “They’re great so far. There’s no sign of any fever. I’m setting up a live video feed for them to watch at home. I don’t think it’s a good idea they attend. A lot of people are worried about becoming infected.”

  “Yeah, we have to keep them in quarantine.”

  I said, “Tommy, pour your old Dad a drink.” He knows what I like and handed me a double shot of JD with a water chaser.

  I lit up a smoke and took a sip of JD. It burned going down, but it tasted so good. I like to sip my booze to enjoy the favor. I looked at the group and said, “I need two volunteers to go with me to search for Rico after the service tomorrow.”

  No one said a word except for Army Mike. “Count me in, Jack.”

  Tommy replied, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, but I’ll go along.”

  “We won’t take any chances. It’ll be a quick trip,” I said.

  “You’re right it’s going to be a quick trip. I don’t wanna be hanging around an infected zone,” Mike commented.

  Doc asked me, “What are you going to do if you find Rico? What if he already has Ebola?”

  I took another sip of whiskey and a drag on my smoke. These were good questions.

  “Yeah, what are we going to do?” Mike asked.

  I looked around at everyone and said, “Here’s my thinking. If we find Rico or anyone we can’t come in contact with them. Most likely everyone has been exposed to Ebola. We can’t help them. All we can do is provide some food and water.”

  Doc butted in, “You could check them for a fever. If they don’t have a fever then they’re not contagious. Then you could give them the oral vaccine EVB150. I have two infrared thermometers you can use so you don’t have to touch anyone. If they have a fever over 101, then it’s too late for the vaccine.”

  “Ok, good thinking, Doc. We’ll need some rubber gloves just in case,” I advised.

  Tommy commented, “Let’s take some Hazmat suits along.”

  I said, “No. Hazmat suits just make you feel over-confident. Then you take stupid risks. We’ll take 100 doses of vaccine, rubber gloves, and the thermometers. We’re going there to find Rico and his family, not to save everyone. Anyone who has a fever or shows signs of Ebola, we put them out of their misery. That includes Rico.”

  Doc advised, “Remember, Ebola can live up to 60 days in a dead body. I recommend that you burn any bodies using gasoline.”

  “That’s a good point. We’ll bring along five gallons of gas. Anything else?” No one responded.

  “Ok, if nothing else let’s get some food.”

  Tommy and I went home for dinner and went to bed early. Tomorrow would be another crazy day. There’s no telling how long we would be gone or what would happen.

  JULY 15, 2025

  We had a memorial service for Albert. I was disappointed that only a few people showed up to show their respects. Not many people actually knew Albert since he was more or less new here. They didn’t know he served in the Navy.

  They didn’t know he was a kind man. All he wanted to do was help others who were sick or injured. That’s why he became a medic. In my eyes Albert was a hero who gave his life to protect the people of this community. I’ll make sure he gets a white cross in our little Tocabaga grave yard. Everyone who dies here gets a white cross unless they were a bad guy.

  After the service Mike, Tommy, and I drove to Rico’s compound. We arrived only to find smoldering ashes and a lot of dead bodies in the street. In the daylight we could see that most of the dead had been shot. The stench was horrible so we covered our faces with surgical masks to reduce the smell and provide some protection in case the disease was airborne.

  We drove around the perimeter of the destroyed compound and counted 54 bodies. We poured gas on them and lit them up. There were more dead people inside the compound but we didn’t dare go inside. The area was still hot with small fires burning inside.

  The main building was a pile of bricks with one wall still standing. Judging by the damage and the intensity of the fire this place was fire-bombed. Some kind of fuel had to be used to burn down a brick building.

  It was like a burned out ghost town. It gave me the creeps. There was nothing else we could do so we decided to mount up and leave. We wanted to get out of the danger zone.

  As we drove back over the 54th Avenue Bridge, which crosses Interstate 275, Tommy stopped the truck and pointed. “Look.”

  Down the road we could see a group of people heading south, towards us, about one mile away. It was a large group, which I estimated to be around a 1,000 people. Most were on foot, but there were a few vehicles. I pulled out my binoculars and gazed at the horde.

  Slowly scanning the rag-tag group I saw it was made up of men, women, and children. They were moving in a formation. They had scouts in the front and a rear guard. The majority of the women and children were in the center of the formation. Men located on the perimeter all carried some type of weapon. I couldn’t make out the exact types, but some had rifles.

  Tommy said, “Let me have a look.”

  I commented, “They seem well organized.”

  As Tommy viewed the horde he commented, “Yeah, but it looks like a scout spotted us.”

  I grabbed the spy glasses for a look-see. A scout on a motorcycle was pointing at us from about a half mile away. He spotted us alright.

  I handed Mike the glasses for a look. “The cycle is coming our way.”

  “Let’s leave before we have a run in with them,” I said. Tommy mashed the gas and we took off.

  Mike commented, “I wonder where they’re from.”

  “I wonder where they’re going.” I replied.

  “I hope they aren’t coming to Tocabaga,” Tommy replied. “That’s a large group. They probably have 400 fighters.”

  “I think you’re right. I hope the poor fools don’t stop at Rico’s compound.”

  No one else said a word as we drove home. We all knew that if the horde stopped at the compound it could mean death for the entire group.

  Arriving at Tocabaga I had Tommy and Mike go to the Fort and set up the radar system. We needed this to detect any boats coming to the area. The radar would be set-up in the HQ radio room. It would be monitored 24-7 by two men. If the radar detected any boats then a radio call would be sent out to our rapid reaction force.

  Our rapid response team is made up of 20 men who are on call all the time. It has four teams with five men in each one. Each team has one light machine gun and everyone carries an M4. The two Hummers with the 50 caliber guns are at their disposal. Of course Tommy, Rick, Mike, and I are members of the rapid reaction force.

  While the radar was being installed I looked for Rick. I found him at
the Green Room. It was almost 5 pm. I asked Tony for a drink. Sitting on the floor next to Rick was one of his German Shepherds.

  Rick has two big German Shepherd guard dogs. He keeps them at home most of the time for his wife and kid’s protection. These dogs are smart, protective, and oddly enough friendly to most people. Dogs like this can sense who’s a friend and who isn’t. They are unique well-trained dogs.

  Rick asked, “Did you find Rico?”

  “There were just dead bodies and no Rico.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot. We saw a horde of people moving south on 275.”

  “What do mean a horde?”

  “It looked like about a thousand people. There were men, women, and kids moving south in a rag-tag military formation.”

  “Shit, I hope they don’t find our location,” Rick said.

  “Yeah, I agree.” Looking at Rick’s dog I said, “It’s too bad we don’t have more dogs like Klaus here.”

  Upon hearing his name Klaus walked over to me with his tail wagging. I rubbed his head and he sat down next to me.

  Rick looked at me and commented, “I could breed my dogs if I had some new blood.”

  “Maybe we could find a dog running around out there,” I said.

  “Why do you wanna do that?” Rick asked.

  “I wanna use them for security. Remember when the al-Qaida terrorists infiltrated here? We could have used dogs to find them. Hell, we could have used dogs to find the Invisibles.”

  “If we can find the right dog we could breed them. It has to be a male or female Shepherd that’s no older than four or five years,” Rick said.

  “Where could we find a dog like that?”

  “Years ago, there was a Shepherd breeder not far from here. Over in Gulfport. I purchased my dog Heidi from him. She’s the best dog I have.”