The Four Horsemen Part I: I Am the Fourth

By LeeMichael Charboneau

The Four Horsemen: I am the Fourth is the first book in a four part series of fiction books. The Horsemen are an elite group of Army special forces led by Captain John Wallace, who have given up everything they have for their country. They are faced with the seemingly impossible task of stopping a gradual invasion of America by a newly unified Korea.

Follow the Horsemen on their mission through the eyes of Carl Jackson, an inexperienced young man with nothing left to lose. After his grandparents are taken away to a Korean labor camp on American soil, Carl and Wallace become two unlikely friends in their quest for liberty and vengeance.

Everything in life has a cost; what will it cost each of these men to get their life back?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781304956156

Book preview

The Four Horsemen Part I: I Am the Fourth

The Four Horsemen Part I: I am the Fourth

Acknowledgments

To My Parents, for always providing me with the tools necessary to help me succeed.

To all my editors, and cover artist, I’m truly happy with the way everything turned out. It would not have looked the same without your hard work. I am truly grateful for all of your assistance.

To Mary, for being a great friend and spending countless hours with me even when we weren’t talking about anything important. I would not trade a minute.

To Eugene, for showing me that life is meant to be lived, and that the only person in control of your life, and your destiny is you. Miss you…

To all the veterans who have served, are serving, or will serve in the future,  this country is a great place because of all that you do on a daily basis. Every man or woman who serves is a hero to me, and I am truly grateful. God bless.

I don’t think watching Star Trek late on Saturday nights makes me an expert on space, but I’ll give it a try,

--RIP Eugene (2009)

This book is a work of fiction and its contents are not meant to represent any real persons or events. Any resemblance to actual events, or people, living or dead is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

Copyright

© 2013 by LeeMichael Charboneau

Published by arrangement with the author.

Library of Congress Registration Number: TXu 1-886-898.

ISBN: 978-1-304-95615-6

Content ID: 14533089

Prologue

The America of today is much different than the one my parents and even my grandparents grew up in. My grandfather fought a war nearly 68 years ago. His fight began in Vietnam in 1971. Today we fight a different war, but to me it seems like it’s all for the same reasons; freedom. And freedom isn’t free. Such is evident with the history of conflicts that have occurred over time; Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and today North Korea. War never changes. People die. The streets run red with blood and the whole balance of the world is disrupted. We’re aware of the consequences, but still we fight, for what I will never know.

This all started in 2012, four years before I was born. Barrack Obama was the nation’s president. As Election Day neared, Obama campaigned again on a platform of change. Unfortunately American’s began to sober up. They were tired of false promises and political parties that couldn’t agree on what was best for the nation. In an attempt to captivate American hearts again, Obama staged an immediate recall of military troops from Afghanistan. By this time there were only a small number of ground troops in Libya aiding NATO forces. As November 6, 2012 neared, Obama regained some of his popularity, but to the surprise of Democrats, he didn’t win, and to the surprise of Republicans, they didn’t either.

Gasoline averaged over $5 per gallon, the housing market never recovered from its previous crash, and inflation was getting out of control. Americans made a decision to take the path less traveled. An Independent candidate by the name of James Robinson emerged victorious. It was an immense surprise. Robinson had done little campaigning. The big name candidates were shocked, but Americans were not surprised at all. They thought Robinson was the change they needed. When Inauguration Day arrived, Robinson immediately went to work. While Obama and his family were heading back to Chicago, Robinson was lobbying Congress to bring all military troops back from Libya. While the troops were flying back home to the states, Robinson once again entered the capital building, and after a few days of deliberating, Robinson convinced Congress to put a federal cap on gas prices. For many years after that, every gas station you passed, no matter where you were going, had a sign that was stuck at $3.99 per gallon. The American people rejoiced. With stationary gas prices the nation’s economic stability was returning, and people had more money to spend on luxury items instead of pure essentials.

The year I was born, 2016, Robinson ran for re-election. Both the Democrats and Republicans put forth formidable opponents to battle Robinson on the political stage, but to no avail. Robinson won in a landslide stealing nearly 68% of the popular vote. Americans were happy with the work he was doing and with the way he had transformed America thus far. The president was an incredible orator. He gave frequent speeches and Americans hung on his every word. As 2020 approached, Robinson’s two terms as president were almost complete. America’s loved him and so did Congress, but rules were rules, and due to the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution, Robinson’s time in office would surely be coming to an end…or would it?

Robinson wasn’t the only great leader throughout history. Adolf Hitler was great in his own rite. Much like Hitler, Robinson was a great orator, people loved him, and he had special friends on the inside. Robinson wasn’t as good and pure as he seemed. He was no different than any other man who led our nation, and he had several connections within Congress who quickly came to his aid as the term was coming to an end. Several members brought legislation to the floor of the Capital Building in order to repeal the 22nd Amendment. Senators and representatives thought he was insane. There was uproar in the capital building. They thought Robinson was crazy and there was no way they would ever repeal such legislation. Every man has his price however; every man can be bought. Members of Congress began receiving threats; in the mail and over the phone. Robinson had established an elite group of men and women while in office; an underground following that would follow his orders and only his orders. As some men lobbied to repeal the bill on the floor of the Capital Building, other men on the outside put pressure on members of Congress. Many members of Congress folded and committed to repealing the Amendment, but there were still some members that required persuading. Several members were victims of violent attacks and one member was even killed by Robinson’s men. The death of a Minnesota senator was enough to persuade enough members of Congress to get the necessary majority to repeal the 22nd Amendment.

As 2020’s Election Day approached, the American people were blind to Robinson’s antics. Once again Robinson won re-election, but not nearly with the margin he had in the previous election. For eight years now America seemed to be a one party system. The Independent party ran the nation and the Democrats and Republicans were soon a distant memory of a government long ago. Robinson soon declared Martial Law and staged a complete take-over of the nation. Efforts by the Senate and House of Representatives to stop Robinson were futile. Military forces ran members of Congress out of Washington D.C. within a few weeks of the election. There was no inauguration ceremony as there had been for the last 250 years. The federal fuel cap was removed and gas prices among other items were rising to unaffordable levels. Tax money flowed into the capital in mass quantities. Robinson ignored all rules of inflation and began printing mass amounts of paper currency.

It did not take much longer for America to distrust Robinson. Robinson had gotten rid of the government most people knew and replaced it with his own system. The government was soon lead by President Robinson, a vice president, and a Commander of the National Army. There were no longer separate branches of the military, and the electoral process was eliminated as well. Americans looked on helpless and anxious, not knowing what Robinson would do next. In spring of 2021, Robinson appointed his good friend Alexander MacMillan as his vice president. MacMillan had risen to the rank of captain when the United States still had a separate army. If anything happened to Robinson, MacMillan would take over leadership until he relinquished power to another vice president of his choice. However, Robinson didn’t expect anything bad to happen to him; as he traveled with a heavily armed entourage of secret servicemen.

Small pockets of resistance began sprouting up across America in 2023. Protests were quickly put down. To make a point, Robinson burned the original copy of the Constitution on national television. It was the true sign that the freedoms Americans had grown to love, had been completely taken away. America had become a true dictatorship, which caused outrage. It was the last straw, and widespread violence erupted throughout the nation. People formed large factions of resistance and began rioting and looting. Mobs of people came through cities and towns in waves and destroyed their own shops and storefronts to make a point. Police tried to control the violence, but it was far too out of control for local municipalities to handle. Robinson sent in the National Guard, one of the few pieces of Americana that still existed, to try and quell the problems plaguing the nation. For a brief stint of time this tactic worked, and Americans were driven back into submission. As the New Year arrived however, the mobs reemerged and violence exploded into unseen proportions. It became so dangerous that even the National Guard was instructed to withdraw from certain areas of the country.

It’s funny, for years we watched news channels, read magazines and we as Americans couldn’t figure out how third world countries, plagued with poverty and violence, could even get by. Now America was one of those countries. State governments were powerless. Companies failed and many people who couldn’t get by became homeless. Camps began sprouting up all over the country. Within these camps emerged miniature democratic governments. Every camp had a leader and though most camps were able to co-exist peacefully, many could not. People were fighting for survival and over scarce resources right on our very own soil. It had become clear that Robinson didn’t care about his people whatsoever.

A few more years ticked by and all of Robinson’s money printing days had finally caught up to him. The economy was quickly cracking under its own weight. There was no way to pay back debt to global economies we owed money to. The Chinese were first in line owning most of our debt. Perhaps the most interesting part of this story was the quiet observer of the world that no one ever considered was watching America fall to pieces. North Korean leader Kim Jung-un, the son of Kim Jong-il, watched as America grew weaker and weaker. Over decades North Korea grew to loathe America and its culture because of their opposition to North Korea’s nuclear program. Kim Jung contacted Robinson in early 2026 and stated that they would be settling up on some things. Unfortunately Robinson didn’t have any idea what Kim Jung was trying to say. Decades of nagging about a nuclear program were quickly forgotten by Americans but not regarded as ancient history by the Koreans. Robinson didn’t know whether to take North Korea’s conversation as a threat, advice, or as just plain nonsense. By the time Robinson figured out what he meant, it was too late.

On a crisp February morning, a convoy of C-130 military prop planes began making unauthorized landings at San Francisco International Airport. I remember watching the arrival on the news. My grandparents and I watched in anticipation of what was going to happen. I was sitting between my grandparents on the couch; a ten year old boy excited about what the world had to offer. The news cameras zoomed in on National Guard vehicles approaching the planes on the tarmac. In the span of an hour, a dozen planes had arrived at the airport. Ignoring all traffic patterns the planes had assembled in two semi circles of six planes, evenly spaced. Until 12 planes landed at the airport, no one had emerged from any of the aircraft. Each plane had a capacity of 64 paratroops. Twenty National Guard jeeps and Humvees approached the planes on the tarmac. Cameras zoomed in as the troops dismounted from their vehicles. My smile faded as the troops raised their weapons towards the rear doors of the aircraft. Almost simultaneously the hatches of the planes began to open. Before the doors slammed against the concrete of the tarmac, gunfire erupted from inside the planes. My grandfather covered my eyes with his hand. I could still hear the gunfire. It soon grew silent on the television rendering the news reporters speechless. The only sound I could hear was my grandmother quietly weeping.

There had been 45 National Guardsmen and they were all gunned down by nearly 800 Korean troops that emerged from the aircraft. The whole ordeal lasted a few mere seconds it seemed. My grandfather turned off the television and uncovered my eyes. I remembered slumping back in against the back of the couch. My grandmother wrapped her arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

Let’s play a board game eh kiddo? I heard my grandfather say.

What is seen cannot be unseen they say. Though today I’m 23 years old, I’ll never forget what I saw on television that day. I’ll never forget the shock on my grandfather’s face and the tears shed by my grandmother. I’ll never forget that day and I’ll never forget the love for my country that emerged that day. Despite the love that emerged, the worst of the world also emerged. Not long after the crisis at the airport, Robinson emerged on television to discuss how the United States would deal with Korean presence on their soil. By the time Robinson had come on television to discuss the situation, the Koreans had completely taken over the airport without any more violence. All Americans were forced from the premises and a large perimeter was set up around the area.

The situation that occurred at San Francisco International Airport this morning was quite tragic, Robinson began his speech. Americans can be sure that such violence will be met with swift retaliation. The attack on the National Guard will not go unanswered.

I remember there were some other minor details unimportant really to the cause; unnecessary fluff to take up more time that could have been used for better purposes in my opinion. The United States soon began full out attacks on North Korea. People thought daily bombing runs would cripple the small nation, but they were wrong. Back and forth America and Korea battled bombing each other’s soil. Oddly enough, Korea never attacked any soil east of the California-Nevada border. There was also an unwritten rule that neither nation would resort to using nuclear arms in their attacks. Due to the concept of mutually assured destruction (MAD), both nations knew that use of nuclear arms could very well end the existence of the planet as we know it.

With the west coast taking heavy damage, Robinson attempted to enlist the assistance of neighboring nations in their fight against North Korea. Unfortunately after much searching, not one nation, not one member of the United Nations would assist the United States in their pleas for help. Past allies of the United States cited poor treatment of its citizens as well as past issues with the U.S. poking around in the business of other nations while ignoring problems on its own soil. So there it was; the United States was at it alone. No help, no assistance of any kind would come to our nation.

When it seemed as if things could not become any worse, some good news, if you could call it that, emerged. To attempt to end the violence, Robinson had agreed to specific terms with Kim Jung-un. With diminishing resources, and a stubbornness not to surrender, Robinson agreed to let the Korean’s open concentration camps within the United States. The cease fire stated that the Koreans would stick to the California only, but that quickly fell through. Within a year or so, the Koreans had spread throughout the west coast and had completely taken over the big island of Hawaii.

The cease fire was intended to group people in camps to provide them with care and resources they weren’t ordinarily receiving in the towns and in some cases camps Americans resided in. In reality the camps were a horrible idea that took away the rights and freedoms of the people inside. It didn’t work out well for the Jews during World War II, and it didn’t work out well for Japanese in internment camps after the war. The Koreans started the camps by segregating people by age. Seniors were put in camps together with other people ages 60 and beyond. Some of the younger individuals took care of those who were older and not getting around so well anymore. The camps were comprised of shabby looking buildings, poor resources and female Korean caretakers. There were not nearly enough attendants to take care of the sick and aging in the camps. Many people didn’t last long upon arrival. In fact many people who arrived in superb physical condition sickened and died within a few months. The life expectancy was pretty grim.

Camps began sprouting up along the Pacific Coast Highway that had been crippled during previous bombing runs by the Koreans. The camps were numbered starting with #001 and continued in numerical order. If a camp dissolved, or was shut down, the numbers were never recycled. There were about three hundred camps along the California coast and on the Big Island by 2030, three years after the cease fire was agreed upon. The east coast saw its first camp in January of 2031 nearly five years after the Korean invasion of California. That was the last straw for Robinson. He decided it was time to take charge and put his foot down on the Koreans. With secret service agents by his side Robinson took over national television and issued a formal statement.

Citizens of the United States, I come before you to address the dire situation we have upon us, Robinson began. The people of North Korea have taken over parts of this great nation not previously agreed upon in the original ceasefire. For months I have been mobilizing and concentrating the forces of our national army. Today I am giving the Korean military 48 hours to shut down camp #338 in North Carolina and move back to the west coast per our original agreement.

Robinson, like Hitler, enjoyed speaking for long periods of time; sometimes up to hours on end. This speech was taking place outside of the front doors of the White House. He continued into his second hour of speaking, but on this day his speech would be cut short. Robinson always travelled with absurdly large amounts of security forces. For some reason the agents who lined the ironclad fence in front of the White House were not at their posts as they usually were. For many years there was much speculation as to why the agents were not in front of the fence. Some said they were lumped in other areas of the grounds, and others joked that they were just tired of Robinson’s politics.

I loved politics and as much as the American people hated Robinson, I still enjoyed watching the president speak. I was still young, but I remember that my grandparents didn’t allow me to watch the speech President Robinson gave that day. I saw videos of the speech long after that day. News cameras were always zoomed in on Robinson so the whole podium was visible. He paused in mid sentence and looked up over his glasses. A man was sprinting across the lush green grass of the White House lawn. He wore a black pinstriped suit with his jacket buttoned, rigid against his body. As he approached Robinson and his three secret service agents on the small stage he stood on.

Deal with him, Robinson said pointing as the man approached. His glasses were slid half way down his nose. Now! Robinson was now yelling. The cameras panned out and as the man arrived within 20 yards of the podium, his suit jacket flailed open. He reached for a submachine gun clipped to his side. Secret service agents reached for their weapons.

Get down sir! one of the men yelled. It was too late however. The man held the gun close to him and sprayed a barrage of bullets onto the stage. One of the agents tackled Vice President MacMillan and lay on top of him. The two remaining agents fired their handguns at the charging man. He was struck five times and killed instantly. His limp body fell to the grass and his weapon bounced to the ground. One of the agents fell back onto the stage floor; he was struck twice in his leg. The other agent was not wounded and quickly holstered his weapon. Robinson, clearly the assailant’s target was struck numerous times. MacMillan crawled over to try and assist Robinson, but it was too late. The assassin was clearly after Robinson and succeeded in killing his target. Later identified as Clay Michael Anthony, Anthony was nicknamed as the man on the lawn; the only man in 18 years to succeed in making it onto the grounds of the White House.

MacMillan took over the presidency immediately; skipping his so-called friend’s funeral and burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Anyone who celebrated Robinson’s grizzly death would soon be disappointed. As the American people soon realized, not much would change. In fact when it seemed as if things could not get any worse in America, they actually did. MacMillan grew to sympathize with the Koreans. He believed that decades of America poking around in foreign politics had finally come to a head. In exchange for having to abolish their nuclear program, Korea was allowed to stay in America, so long as the two cultures could co-exist peacefully. Unfortunately MacMillan turned a blind eye to the fact that camps continued to sprout up all over the country. Protests continued. Violence raged on. Homelessness grew. The America most people remembered was fading off into obscurity.

So here we are; eight years later. It’s 2039 and the nation has lost its drive, its patriotism and I can’t bear to watch the stars and stripes be walked on. The few flags that still wave are tattered, and figuratively stained with the muddy footprints of Korean army boots. It’s amazing how people can take their freedom and liberty for granted when it has never been taken from them. I know that given the option, I would gladly die for freedom. Freedom is a right that all people should be able to enjoy. I hope that one day we can bring it back so our children and grandchildren will get to enjoy the rights that our forefathers created. If not today; then perhaps tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, then we’ll die trying. Our job isn’t done until the world is once again safe for democracy.

In the Beginning

My name is Carl Jackson, I am 23 years old and up until a few months ago, I lived with my grandparents in the small community of Jonestown South Carolina. I had lived with my grandparents since I was four years old. Grandma Rita and Grandpa Joe were my father’s parents. Unfortunately when I was a child, my parents were killed by a drunk driver. It was a cold rainy night and my grandparents were taking care of me while my parent’s had a night to themselves. My folks were cruising down a rural road on their way to pick me up from my grandparent’s house. They stopped at a stop sign in front of a dusty road. As they started to take off again, a rusty pickup truck with no headlights on slammed into the side of my parents’ car. It was a grizzly accident. My folks’ car rolled several times. The driver who hit them was ejected through the windshield of his truck. Everyone died in the accident. The local law enforcement said it was one of the worst accidents they had investigated in recent times. But that’s all I want to say about that. There’s no point in talking about people I barely knew and especially ones who are long gone.

After that night I never left my grandparent’s house. From that moment on I had always lived there and I always knew my grandparents as my parents. We were a poorer middleclass family living in a small colonial house. Jonestown was a small coastal town. We were only ten minutes away from the ocean at most. Summers were absolutely beautiful! It was cheap entertainment; my grandpa and I walked the beach all the time. We had one television in our one story house and we never owned a computer. Our home consisted of a kitchen, one bathroom, two bedrooms and a living room.

I graduated high school, but I never ended up going to college. Not only could I not afford to go, but as my grandparents grew older, I made it my responsibility to assist in their care. They turned 84 years old this year, and in our messed up country, and with our choppy medical care, that’s pretty remarkable. But not too long ago, my grandpa started to get really sick. He went from being fully mobile, to very lethargic. Grandpa Joe barely moved now. He slept most of the time in bed or on the couch. If he needed to get from point A to point B, he’d shuffle around the house with the use of a cane; an aid which he had never needed before. Grandma Rita on the other hand was still fully mobile, healthy, and fit as ever. She was a real trooper. Rita helped feed Grandpa Joe, bathe and dress him.

How are you doing Gramps? I would ask.

Just fine kiddo, he’d say weakly. Grandpa laid on his pillow and forced a weak smile. His hand was frail and cold as he clutched mine while he lay on the couch. I’d get up from the floor to help my grandmother in the kitchen and have to fight off tears. My grandparents were the only family I had ever known. I didn’t know what I would do without them. I didn’t have another relative or friend in the world. There were very few people I trusted and fewer I would even consider calling a friend. When I was in high school there were a few people I considered friends but they quickly disappeared after graduation. I was unable to forge many relationships because of my devotion to my grandparents; I lacked time, and most people lacked understanding.

The Koreans had continued building camps along the east coast. Camp #602 appeared in the north part of Jonestown. We got a postcard in the mail that said the Korean military would be traveling through the town and extracting residents of the town and transporting them to camps suited to their needs. In other words it was a friendly way of saying they were going to break up families and cause more destruction to American towns. The postcard noted that Construction has begun; Camp #602 Arriving Soon. Exact words; I wouldn’t lie. Sort of corny writing I never understood. I mean, everyone knew what the camps were all about. Scarce resources, poor care of the citizens within their borders, and for the older folks, once you were marked to go to a camp, odds are you would die there. It was a horrible truth, but a truth that tens of thousands of Americans were forced to live through every day. When we received the card in the mail, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ma Rita so afraid. I didn’t know what to do to help her. I guess there really wasn’t anything I could do. If the Koreans arrived, we’d deal with what followed.

Grandma used to work at a hospital, so she pulled a few strings and had a hospital bed delivered to the house for Grandpa Joe. It took up so much space in our tiny house, but it made taking care of my grandpa so much easier. We could tell it made him more comfortable. He actually looked like he had a little bit more life in him once the bed arrived. As he started to get some of his strength and energy back, we had the awful discussion a grandson never wants to have.

Carl I feel great today, he said.

That’s great Granddad! I said. My mouth hurt my cheeks were spread so wide in a smile. Grandpa was 84, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t think there was a little bit of life still inside of him.

But Carl we gotta have a talk, Joe continued. I know it’s nothing anybody wants to talk about, but it’s going to happen someday. There was no denying it; he was talking about…the great gig in the sky. No one lives forever, but my grandpa was something else. If you got to know him like I did, you’d sure as hell think the man was going to live a hundred more years.

Come on Granddad don’t be silly, I moaned. I waved him off like he was crazy.

No Carl, he said sternly. Now he was sitting up in the bed. I hadn’t seen him sitting up in a couple months. I know we joke a lot kiddo, but we gotta talk serious about this. I sighed.

Fine Granddad. I surrendered. I figured if my grandpa needed me though, it was my duty to give him all the attention he wanted and deserved.

You’ve got to promise me some things, he said.

Sure Pops, I replied. I had so many nicknames for him. Anything for you.

Atta boy kiddo, he said with a smile. His teeth gleamed in the light. That was the funny part about my granddad; he was an old man who still had all the same teeth. They were perfectly aligned and shiny, pearly white. Reach into that dresser over there and get me the cigar box in the top drawer. We had an old beat up dresser against the back wall of our living room. As I stood up to retrieve the box, I saw my grandmother standing in the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed and a single tear rolling down her right cheek. She still smiled however and I faked a smile back. I struggled to get the drawer open and when I did, the redwood cigar box sat right on top. It had a painting of a farm on the lid. I handed him the box and he began to smile again. He scooted about trying to get more comfortable. I shifted his pillow so he could sit up more. My grandpa slowly opened the lid and looked over at me. He opened the box a little more and started laughing as he looked back at me. He pretended like he didn’t know what was in the box, like it was some sort of mystery. The lid flopped over the back of the box. I could hear metal sliding around in the box as Grandpa slid his fingers around the inside of the box. He laughed as he produced a silver wedding band.

This is mine kiddo, he said. While he was really sick, his hands swelled and he was unable to wear his wedding band. I could tell he was pleased to wear it again. But everything else in this box, I want you to have. My grandpa looked upset as