Lionhearts (Denver Burning Book 5) by Dennison Algor X

Author:Dennison, Algor X. [Dennison, Algor X.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-05-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17: Into the City

Walt, Mike, and Liam were standing with Alma Rojas atop a sizable hill, North Table Mountain Park, overlooking the outskirts of Denver to the east. They had traveled south from Boulder that morning, along the edge of the mountains until they reached Golden. Alma’s experience coming away from Denver indicated that the main highways were treacherous and the only way through the National Guard’s cordon was to the south, so they had been trying to reach a point where they could enter the city unmolested. What they were now seeing through Walt’s binoculars, however, painted a slightly different picture.

There were remnants of a ragged military line along the freeway, but it was mostly broken up now. A few burned-out hulks that had been painted Army green until fire scorched them black were resting along the roadway. One old bulldozer was left intact, but the word “Nope” was scrawled across its yellow side as a final verdict on its efficacy (and likely that of the military force in general).

Patches of collapsed tents and mounds of abandoned crates showed where soldiers had taken up their positions, only to leave them empty and undefended shortly afte. Here and there a pair of worn-out boots with a broken rifle or a cross made of sticks still protruded from the grass to mark the death of a soldier.

Two miles to the northeast there was a small camp populated by men that wore bits and pieces of uniforms. They had two dead Army trucks incorporated into the rough barrier that stood between them and the city proper. But Walt was unsure if they were really affiliated with an actual military unit. If so, they certainly weren’t advancing anywhere or containing anyone.

“Lot of fighting has gone on here over the past couple of weeks,” Walt said.

“How can you tell?” Liam asked. He’d always begged his father for war stories, but Walt wasn’t proud enough of anything he’d done or seen in the military to brag about it to his son. This was the closest Liam had ever gotten to seeing his father as a warrior hero.

“Well, there’s the bodies, for one thing,” Walt said. Liam reached for the binoculars but Walt held on to them. “No, you don’t need to see that. There are plenty of them down there, though, in the grass along the road. Many more unmarked fallen than ones that got a marker. Only about half seem to have been soldiers. And then there are the pock marks all over the roadway. Bullet ricochets might have left some of those, but it looks like somebody set up a mortar or something. Grenades, maybe.”

“All quiet now, though,” Alma murmured. “Much better than when I came through. We ran it at night, and I kept waiting for a bullet to catch me in the back. But we made it to the hills okay, all of us. A miracle, an answer to prayers for sure.”

Walt nodded. “Although if we do get into a scrap now, everyone will hear it in this silence.

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