The Wakeful Wanderer's Guide to New New England & Beyond

Ramapo

Barnabas took two dozen men in three trucks and headed up the rough roads through mixed territory to meet Daschel and the Raiders. Bethany (Nora) had sent a message to his office. It was a countdown. He had twelve hours to get to Ramapo, before leading the attack in the morning. Brady was left to take care of business in New Atlantic.

The roads were rough, but the trucks were built to handle them. Decades of neglect had reduced long stretches to rubble. It was slow going. His navigator, a young trainee named Ted felt confident they would arrive by evening.

They passed close to xombie villages between the loyal city of Princeton and the enemy territory of Trenton. The monsters there were not well organized, but deadly enough. They knew they were being watched as they rolled by. The roads near the xombie communities were re-enforced with a sleek material which all but silenced the old overly patched tires of the black trucks. 'Soon we will have roads like these everywhere,' thought Barnabas, delighting in the anticipation of the fruition of his plans. 'New materials, plentiful grain. A restoration of the natural order.' He allowed himself to drift off in his imaginings of a bright and prosperous future. He didn't see the roadblock up ahead until the trucks stopped.

The gunmen jumped out the back and took up defensive positions. They were surrounded by the ruins of old strip malls, the tops of most of the buildings gone, walls turned to rubble. The contents of these stores had been looted decades ago. Barnabas looked out the window of one of the trucks to see a faded sign for "Jiffy Lube" painted on a sturdy structure to the left of the vehicle. There was a makeshift barricade placed across the road ahead. Old cars, trucks, chairs, garbage, piled up. There were no people anywhere.

Two of the gunmen fell. They were the youngest of Brady's trainees. The gunmen wore armor and helmets, and Barnabas could see through the window tiny needles stuck in the armor of the standing gunmen. They were being fired upon by unseen snipers.

"Get back in the trucks!" He yelled. They couldn't hear him through the closed windows. These soldiers were well trained. Brady had taught them not to fire until they had a lock on a target. Once they started firing, Barnabas knew, there would be no hope of giving orders. He got low in his seat and rolled his window down. He saw the needles sail overhead and he yelled again. This time the gunmen began to respond. Three more went down, the needles finding the gaps in the armor. Poison? They may have been fired remotely. The truck's armor protected the remaining men, and they rolled over the parking lots of the strip malls and sped away. Five men lost. These inhuman monsters would pay for that. No time for revenge. It would be coming soon enough.

The men carefully picked off the remaining needles from their armor and the interior of the trucks and put them in empty cans as they sped away from the ambush. Looking back, Barnabas could see no evidence of the xombies anywhere. They had attacked them remotely via their accursed bots. They drove past more xombie villages, expecting another attack, but none came. Everyone was on edge. By sunset, they arrived in the camp at Ramapo.

The camp was impressive. There were scores of fires and tents. The Raiders had arrived in large numbers. Daschel had done well. Rifles were cleaned and arranged in rows. Loot had been gathered from the surrounding villages. Hopefully, the cost to retrieve it had not been too dear.

There was lamb and chicken roasting on spits. Barnabas was served a large portion and ate it with vigor. Whiskey was poured. Daschel handed him a cigar he had been saving for this occasion.

"Shouldn't we wait?" Barnabas asked. "We haven't won the battle yet."

"I have no doubts, my brother," said Daschel. "Besides, I brought two more." He chomped down on the torpedo-shaped stogie, showing his impressive white teeth. The two brothers smoked and drank, soaking in the feeling of the impressive powers at their command.