He wished he could think of anything to do for her there, and felt a bit selfish being so glad his own immediate family was safe with him. There were others in his extended family whose fate was unknown and not looking good, and he grieved them, but he couldn’t fully know what his wife was going through. He could only imagine, and that made him hold her all the closer.
Whatever the ceremony did for morale, it definitely seemed to bolster everyone’s determination to push forward. The next day marked one of the most productive Aspen Hill had seen. Considering how hard everyone had been working even at the worst times getting ready for the winter, that was something remarkable to see. For a time, at least, people seemed to have pushed aside the specter of Rogers and the trouble that loomed over the town. They were getting back to their lives, which was a relief to see.
It wasn’t to last, though. Three days later, five days after the major came for their surplus food, they finally found out how he intended to respond to being run out of town.
It started late in the afternoon, when Trev on far patrol tersely radioed in to report that he’d seen a large group of refugees approaching on foot.
Matt felt a sinking in his gut at the news. This had been the most likely way Rogers would come at them, by simply sending the refugees he’d demanded the town take in. That would put them in the uncomfortable position of having to turn them back, with all the attendant guilt, and he’d be able to blast them in the court of public opinion.
“Is it the 220 women and children Rogers wanted us to take?” he asked his friend, giving Sam and the rest of his family a reassuring look as he stepped into his boots, grabbed his M16, and headed out the door. The gun certainly wouldn’t be used in this situation, but taking it was second nature to him now.
“I wish,” Trev replied grimly, voice staticky over the radio from a distance. “We’ve got adult males, mostly between the ages of 20 and 35 as far as I can see. I’m still counting, but a rough estimate puts them at around a thousand.”
Matt stumbled over nothing, heart suddenly pounding in his ears as a ball of pure panic and dread slammed into his gut. A thousand. That was more than the entire town’s population. There was no way Rogers could’ve thought they’d even be able to take in so many, let alone would agree to it, and the chance of violence resulting from it was incredibly high. Was the man insane?
Chauncey’s voice joined in. “How far out?”
“They don’t seem to be in any hurry,” Trev replied. “I’d say we’ve got two hours before they reach town. Although I strongly advise against letting them get anywhere near us.”
“I agree completely,” Matt said. He made for the town hall tent, as the central location in town and the spot where the most people tended to be found. “Listen up, everyone. We’re going to gather every single person in town who can competently carry a gun, then we’re going to meet these refugees on the road and turn them back politely but firmly. We leave in a half hour.”
That sounded like a long time, but when it came to gathering and gearing up hundreds of people, not to mention preparing them for a confrontation, it wasn’t nearly enough. If he’d just rounded up the defenders they could’ve been gone much faster, but he didn’t think sixty or so people, even well armed and equipped, would be enough to scare off a thousand men if they were determined to keep coming.
Aspen Hill needed a serious show of force.
Speaking of numbers… “Trev, can you see how many of these guys are armed?” he asked as he ducked into the town hall tent, where several of the town leaders and a dozen people had already arrived.
There was a long pause. “I think it’s good news there, at least,” his friend replied. “I don’t see any weapons at all aside from knives, walking sticks, and a few hunting bows and crossbows. These guys don’t seem to have many possessions aside from the clothes on their backs, and definitely no supplies.”
Well that was good and bad news. It meant they’d be easier to deal with and probably wouldn’t try anything, but if they had no supplies they’d also be more desperate.
Matt wasn’t sure what Rogers thought the end result would be of this tactic, but it obviously wouldn’t be a good outcome for any of them. And while the thousand refugees headed their way represented a threat and a problem, he still pitied them for being dragged into this as pawns in the camp coordinator’s scheming.
He made his way over to Chauncey first. “I’m already on the radio about this,” the retired teacher said. “Although Rogers has the edge on us here since he sent these people, so he’s had days to justify it and fabricate a story.”
“What story?” Matt demanded.
The older man grimaced and scratched the end of his stump. He usually took off his prosthetic when he was manning the radio, since he spent a lot of his time there and the wooden limb was uncomfortable. At first he’d kept it on when people were around, slightly self-conscious about it, but since that wasn’t really practical in the town’s hub he’d become more relaxed.
“Nothing complex, which doesn’t help us any,” Chauncey admitted. “Word around is that we agreed to take in the people he’s sending our way. The story broke just hours ago, and I didn’t link it to us since our town wasn’t mentioned by name.”
“We agreed?” Matt said incredulously. “To take in more than our entire population in young, single male refugees?”
“I’m spreading the truth as best I can,” his friend said grimly. “But in the meantime we’ve got a thousand displaced people to deal with and it’s our word against Rogers’s. We’re not going to come out of this looking any better.”
“Speaking of which, I’d better get to dealing with those thousand refugees.” Matt clapped the retired teacher on the shoulder and turned to the gathering group. “All right, everyone. Let’s coordinate to split up and scour the town for as many townspeople as we can get to come with us, as long as they can keep up a reasonable pace for a half hour or more. We want everyone armed with rifles, body armor for as many as we can, dark clothing if possible so we look more coordinated and competent. Emphasize that we’re not going to a fight, just to intimidate them into turning back. I don’t expect violence, but don’t dismiss the possibility.”
In a few minutes he’d gotten almost everyone split up to their tasks. As for the dozens of people who’d already gathered, curious about what was going on, he started organizing them in handing out the town’s store of weapons, ammo, and other gear. He also put the obvious noncombatants to work sorting out enough water and provisions to last everyone the night if necessary, including camping gear to that list. Most people were sensible enough to have prepared packs with the essentials, and the others quickly ran home to throw them together.
Lewis, Gutierrez, Jane, Trent, Rick, Alice, and others he could depend on quickly arrived to pitch in. Matt put them to work splitting everyone into squads, with them and others among the most competent volunteers and defenders as leaders. He declined to lead his own squad, since he’d need to focus on his role as Mayor and spokesman.
Too bad Trev seemed determined to be out on his own the last few days. Matt was all for leading by example and being willing to do the less desirable tasks and all that, and Trev was definitely doing an important job scouting the approaching refugees to make sure there were no surprises.
Even so, he would’ve preferred if the leader of the town’s defenses was actually here, leading its defenses.