The Fall of America: Winter Ops by W.R. Benton Read Free Book Online

so we'll fetch you.  Also, mark your location on a map one of the bike men will carry, so we'll have it on file.”
    I was tired and not just physically, but emotionally as well.  I asked, “Top, do you see an end to this bullshit, or are we going to fight forever and all of us die in the end?  Do you honestly think we can beat the Russians?”
    “I think we'll win, but it may take years.  Look at the length of the war in Vietnam or when the Russians invaded Afghanistan and you'll see it didn't happen overnight, but in both cases, the larger and stronger army eventually left.  Will you and I see it happen?  I honestly don't know, but as an American I'll be damned if I will let anyone invade my country and do nothing.  I think most Americans want to resist, but some are too old, some have no military skills, and others may not be healthy enough to fight.”
    “I hear you. You know, I often dream of America like it used to be, the land of plenty, and now we either fight or we're dead. The Liberals are all dead or have changed their method of thought.  I was told most of the prisoners in a gulag last an average of three months.  Hell, they have no clothing, some lack shelter, 900 calories a day, no blankets, no doctors and no medical help at all.  I read in a report that over five hundred a day die in the Jackson gulags alone, most from sicknesses.  That's almost 200,000 people a year and from one prison alone.”
    Top nodded and replied, “I read the same. Look, we can't save them all because it's impossible, and we both know it can't be done.  However, we should try to free as many as we can and when we can, if for no other reason than it pisses off the Russians.”
    My eyes felt like they had sand in them, so I said, “I'm going to catch some sleep.  Is there anything else I need to know about tomorrow morning?”
    Top lowered his head and replied, “Yep there is.  Last week two partisans were captured by the Russians, but instead of taking them as POW's they burned them to death with a flamethrower.  When you leave tomorrow you'll have six captured Russians to take with you.  At some point, those six are to be tied to trees or posts and killed the exact same way.  Colonel Lee wants you to do it on a hill near interstate 55, which as you know, leads to Jackson, so their charred bodies can be seen from the road.”
    “Burn them to death?  Damn, Top, that's a rough order.  I . . . I don't know if I can follow this order.”
    “The Russians must learn that for every captured American they kill, we will execute three of their men, and we'll kill them exactly as they do our people.  We have only recently started taking enlisted captives and we keep them deep in swamps in wooden cages.  See the order is carried out.  Now, you get some sleep.”  Top turned and walked away.

    The next morning the sun was out, but it was still cold and the snow had stopped.  Dark gray, almost black clouds, were off to the west, holding a promise of more rain, sleet or snow.  As we prepared to leave, Corporal Scott neared.
    “Something on your mind, Scott?” I asked.
    “Yes, sir, there is.  Are we really going to burn the Russian prisoners we have?”
    “That's my orders. I don't like the idea much either, but the Russians did the same to partisans they captured a while back. They have to be shown that for every American they murder, we'll kill three of theirs, and the same way.”
    “I . . . I can't think of a more horrible way to die.  Do you think we have to stoop to their level to win this war?”
    I had a map in my hand, so I placed it on the table, met his eyes and said, “The Russians are animals in this war and they have absolutely no compassion for our people, none.  But, to answer your question, no, we don't need to stoop to their level, we must go lower.  We must show them such barbaric behavior so that they become panic-stricken of us, and leave our country.  Now, if you have a problem with your