The Cedars of Lebanon

4. Engage

In the car, Erica ponders her past. It's clearer now; none of her choices could have made a difference. Man. Made after God's image, but never in charge of his destiny. All things, no matter how sturdily built, will inevitably fail. Like she and Thomas. Like this world.

The buildings along the street are largely deserted. Some are even boarded. Erica sees bodies on the street and also hung by the windows. She sees graffiti on a brick wall. "Thank you world."

And without warning, the convoy comes to a halt.

"Car 01, why are we stopping?" asks Gedeck.

"We got a problem, boss."

There is a crowd up ahead. They hold machetes, clubs, torches - and their faces are covered in tattoos. They are the Lost - violent horde that roams the Lowlands ever since the government went into hiding. The Lost have no objectives - they loot food and weapons, kill and rape innocent people wherever they go.

KSK soldiers swiftly step out of their vehicles like choreography. Guns are trained forward, eyes lined up with holographic sights. "Wir sind Bundeswehrsoldaten! Disperse immediately or we will shoot!"

The crowd does not comply. Instead, they look to their leader, a bony, wiry-haired woman masked in a white skull. She is standing at the center front, sneering while contemplating her next move. When it becomes clear her numbers are superior, she strikes down her torch.

Stillness at first, followed by the outburst. The war cry shocks the air while the ground trembles with fear. "They are the ones who abandoned us! Kill them!"

"All callsigns, open fire!" A hail of rifled rounds is immediately drawn to the horde. The soldiers aim, shoot, and aim again, dropping one unlawful citizen after another.

A rocket-propelled grenade slithers from one of the buildings and hits the lead vehicle. The soldiers are blown to the ground. By the time they get up, they are run over by the horde.

One of Captain Gedeck's men slaps his vehicle and points at a nearby alley. "Line's not going to hold, get the fuck out of here, now! Go go go!"

His driver steps on the pedal and leaves other vehicles behind. Erica is devoured by her seat, and she hangs onto her seat belt dearly. The sound of gunfire, screeching tires, and drumming engine gradually wind down as they merged into a nearby highway.

"Everyone okay?" asks Captain Gedeck.

"Yes," says Erica, her mind barely in one place. "I think so."

The quietness returns. Erica looks out of the car window, seeking calm from the rolling hills and wandering clouds. She tries to recall a verse from the Holy Book, one that proclaims God's promise to restore all the wrongs. But at the moment, it is not coming to her at all.

Captain Gedeck calls his HQ. There appears to be new instruction. He hangs up and turns to Erica. "Change in plans, Dr. Mohler. You're not going to America anymore."

"What happened?"

"A domestic terrorist snuck inside the Colorado bunker and detonated a micro-fission bomb. All the ninety-nine people are presumed dead."

Doors to the future keep closing, and Erica is tired of following. "What we can we do now?"

"Continue to Ramstein. Someone else is waiting for us there."