Chapter 27 — The Liberation of the Camps
A serial novel in the form of correspondence among a family while the world as we know it collapses around us. I recommend you start at the Introduction:
https://readmedium.com/climate-for-change-introduction-5331d5ab9313
But you can start anywhere you want.
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Chapter 27 — The Liberation of the Camps
Email:
Dear Family,
First off, Benji is safe and sound. We rode all day on our snowmobiles and reached Ely around sundown the day before yesterday. We camped in some abandoned buildings. Then, at first light, we made out for the camp.
Based on Benji’s letter where he talked about setting land mines, I convinced the soldiers to approach the camp by driving on the frozen lake. We tried to stay close to the opposite shore from the camp and not out in the open so they could not see us coming from far away. When the Circle soldiers thought we couldn’t risk getting closer on the snowmobiles, we continued on snowshoes. We stayed on the ice but followed the shoreline in order be near the visual cover of the trees. We are dressed head to toe in white uniforms, which must have helped.
When we could finally see the camp, we took up a position and watched through a telescope. We dug holes in the windblown snow banks and had some lunch, while our spotter watched the camp to assess the defenses. He noticed where the guard towers are and where the fences are. He watched to see when the guard duty changed, and he watched for surveillance drones. It was hard to be within sight of the camp and not be able to attack, but I knew that we needed to take the time to do it right.
Our attack started just after midnight. There was no moon last night, so it was pitch dark. The Circle had given us all sets of night vision goggles, and they really work. We approached slowly on our bellies across the snowy lake. We moved, then waited for a while, then we moved again. In this way we made our way slowly. When we were a hundred feet or so away from shore and the fence, we stopped for a long time. I didn’t know what we were waiting for, and we had been told to stay absolutely silent. Finally, I heard two muffled puffs, followed by screams from the guard tower nearest to us. One of the Circle soldiers with us is a sniper. He had a silencer attached to his rifle, and he must have been waiting for the perfect time to shoot the guards.
As soon as our sniper shot, we were given the word to move in. We moved quickly. We had bolt cutters with us, and we moved quickly through the fence. Once we were inside the perimeter, we used our night vision goggles to watch the guards running all over the place. Our militia and the soldiers were shooting them when possible. The prison guards were much more concerned with running away than with fighting back. We must have taken them completely by surprise! Soon we heard the sound of truck engines starting up and driving away. The battle was over before it had even begun. We did not take a single casualty. We killed eight guards and wounded three others, whom our medic attended.
As the sun was rising, we went from building to building to let the prisoners know they were free. I saw Ben almost immediately. He looks well, if quite skinny. We hugged for what seemed like an hour. He sends his love to you all and can’t wait to see you.
After we secured the camp, Ben said we had to go down the road to free Daisy and her camp. I was apprehensive because we had won this battle with the element of surprise. We wouldn’t have that with her camp, but we all knew we had to try. About midday we had Benji lead us through the woods on a snowshoe trail to the back entrance. When we came close to the fence, we saw the prisoners just walking around the camp. They called out to us and told us to come to the front gate. They told us that all of the guards had just left on trucks that morning before breakfast, and no one had said anything to the prisoners.
I think that the guards at Ben’s camp were so terrified that as they fled, they told the guards at Daisy’s camp what had happened. They had no way of knowing that we were just a small group of poorly trained militia and a few soldiers. From the damage we did to the camp, they must have assumed that the whole Circle army had come. I bet Daisy’s camp guards decided it wasn’t worth fighting and dying.
I am emailing you both using one of the Circle soldier’s phones. My email account has been restored. We are trying to figure out what we do now. We can’t take all the prisoners back on the snowmobiles. We are assuming General Stewart still controls the major roads. For now we have given firearms to some of the former prisoners and asked them to guard the camp. Our Circle soldiers are in communication with their superiors.
I hope to see you all very soon.
Love,
Dad/Grandpa/Peter
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Next chapter:
https://readmedium.com/chapter-28-the-airdrop-643d21eb36c2
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Author’s note: And if you are not yet a Medium member and want to find out what happens to Benjamin, you have two options:
- Join Medium. I think it is worth it! Use my referral link: https://gaertner-andy122.medium.com/membership
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