by Sage du Toit
There were some gasps and grumbles from people and one person said, “Who decided you were going to be our boss.”
John looked at the person who said it and said, “Do you want the job?” He quickly shut up and Sam could hear some low whispers that didn’t sound happy. John continued on, “However, I’m not the boss. I’m one of a group of people that has done most of the work since N-day while others of you elected to sit around and not volunteer to help in any shape or form and that’s not going to happen in the future. If you don’t like that then we will be happy to outfit you in MOPP gear with a rucksack with seven days’ worth of food and supplies and you can hit the road!” There was some grumbling and she heard a few mumbles about taking him up on that offer, but no one actually stood up. He said, “Well? Any takers? Doesn’t look like. Just know that if you refuse to help or if you cause problems or break any laws, yes there will still be laws, then you will be sent on your way whether you like it or not.
“There will be rosters for guard duty, we will need to protect what we have from the lawless out there, because there will be lawless. There will be search parties going out to look for other survivors as well as supplies that we will need. We will need cleaning crews, cooking crews, hauling crews and all sorts of other tasks. Plus, we will need people to lead those crews. We will be having regular meetings after this to make decisions for everyone. This will be a democracy and right now I am just the voice for the hardest working people of that democracy.”
“The weather is warm right now, as we all know. And now is the time we need to start planting a garden and growing food for our future. But we can’t do that until we can go outside and clear the soil of the Nerve agent, IF we can even do that.” John turned to Tom and looked at him and Tom shook his head in a negative. John resumed, “Well our expert Chemical Warfare guy says no. Most of you probably don’t know this but Tom was a CBRN, which pretty much means he was the premier specialist in all things Chemical and Hazardous. He is one of the main reason’s most of us are still here today. Without his knowledge of decontamination, most of us probably would have already died. Not to mention how lucky we got that he happened to be in that mess hall on that particular day with all of his decontamination equipment!”
Suddenly everything made sense to Sam. Of course, that explained so much! She wondered if he was also the one who the decontamination trailers had been ordered for. After all he said he was getting ready for a mission overseas and Maria said the trailers had been special ordered for someone going on a mission overseas. Sam looked closely at Tom but his face was blank and serious.
Tom took over for John and hearing his smooth southern voice almost gave her goosebumps. He said, “Tonight it is storming pretty hard so we are not going to post a guard outside, but in the future, we will have multiple guard posts. For tonight we will have two guards manning the warehouse and two guards patrolling the hotel area. The shifts will be for 4 hours each.” He looked at a piece of paper in his hand and Sam realized it was the duty roster she had written out in the mess hall. Tom said, “Teams two and three raise your hand”. Eight people raised their hand he continued, “If you were on an assignment today or assisted after arriving here with cooking or putting up the tents or hauling supplies in, put your hand down.” Joe, Benny, Rebecca and Amy put their hands down. Tom nodded and looked at the list, “I know that team four all helped out today, that leaves team five, all of you raise your hands, now any of you that helped out today, lower your hands.” None of them lowered their hands, including the team leader. Tom looked at Alonzo Garcia who had been part of his Green Beret unit with disapproval and said, “Well the previous roster had team five on duty at 04:00 so it looks like we can just keep that as is. The other four that have their hands up will do guard duty from 00:00 – 04:00.” With that he picked up a wind-up alarm clock that Joe had brought from his house and put it on the center counter in the middle of the room and he said, “And here’s your watch.” He had retrieved his last night and it looked like he wasn’t going to give it up again.
Chapter 14
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John sat down with his wife and took the toddler from Sam who had been holding her while she slept. Tom continued on and Sam was beginning to yawn. She tried to cover it up, but her stomach was full and it had been a long day. She looked at the clock he had sat down and she saw it was 20:10. She looked at John and his wife, they were each holding a little one. The toddler was asleep on John’s shoulder and Tabitha was discreetly breastfeeding the baby under a blanket. They were both very good babies, they had barely made a fuss during dinner. She had asked Tabitha what the babies names were and she said that toddler was Angela, but they called her Angel because she was their little Angel and the baby was Georgina. Sam had smiled and asked if Angel could have a pizza crust and handed hers over. The toddler had happily chewed on the hard-rubbery crust for most of the meal.
Tom was going over the room assignments and Sam was half listening in. He said that since there were 60 people total, including the families, there were plenty of rooms at this time. However, as they rescued survivors, if those survivors had families they would need the larger rooms so therefore the largest rooms were going to be reserved for families only. He looked at a list they had compiled earlier of the rooms and he told John what his room number was going to be and wrote his name on the list. Tom looked toward the table of Dozier Hall people and asked if one of them could go to the desk to hand out keys as people were assigned rooms. When they were going over the list with the Dozier Hall people earlier, they had marked down which rooms they were occupying and they were not going to make them move. Even though a few of them had taken bigger rooms than they needed.
John and his wife headed out with their little ones. Next Tom told Joe that he and his wife could have a bigger room if they wanted and Joe said no, a queen or full bed in a simple room would be fine. Tom gave him a room number and they left. Tom said that next he would assign rooms to anybody that wanted to bunk together in the same room. But to keep in mind that most rooms had two full beds or a single queen bed and that all rooms had a separate living room area with a couch. He waited as people talked and then he said, if you want to pair up in rooms then make a line in front of me and I will get you out of here. About 12 people came to the front and he spoke quietly to each group of them. He was writing room numbers on a post-it note pad and handing it to them to take to the front desk.
Once he had all of those people sorted he looked at his list and told everyone else to line up single file and he would assign rooms. Sam decided to wait it out to the last. She didn’t really care what room she had, as long as it had a bed. Jerry and Maria were still sitting at the table talking but everyone else had gotten up to get in line. Tom wasn’t standing that far away from their table, so occasionally she would catch pieces of conversation. Most people were just happy to get a room with a bed, but some people wanted queen beds and one single person even asked for a king bed. He simply told them no sorry, individuals were only getting the rooms with full beds.
She saw that Amy was almost to the front of the line and she couldn’t help but pay attention a little more. She heard Amy say, “Why don’t we share a room together, that would save space for someone else.”
Tom looked at her and said, “Well that’s very thoughtful, but I’m already sharing a room with someone but Leroy there might be willing to share with you.” Tom gestured at one of the Green berets that was standing behind Amy and he stepped up and smiled broadly saying sure, he would love to help conserve space for others.
Amy looked miffed and said, “Never mind, just give me a singles room.”
Jerry and Maria were standing up to get in line and Sam joined them. There were only a few people left. Sam waited to the last and watched as Jerry and Maria walked off together. She looked at Tom and smiled, “I hope you gave those two rooms close to each other.” He laughed and said they were right next door to ea
ch other, and he added that they even had a door linking the two rooms together. Sam laughed and asked him what room she was going to be in and he looked at the list. Then he shook his head and said, “Hmmm sorry, it looks like there aren’t any rooms left, I guess you are going to have to bunk with me.”
Sam’s heart started pounding. She was suddenly not sleepy anymore. He looked at her and said, “Is that OK? Are you alright with that? If not...I’m sure I can find you a room.” She was speechless for a moment and then she said, “No, I’m sure bunking with you should be fine, I would rather save space for someone else anyway.” and she smiled a cheeky smile. He laughed and said, “So you heard that?” Sam just smiled and laughed she couldn’t believe the nerve of that girl.
They headed to the front counter and Sam realized that all of the tables were still full of dirty dishes and they hadn’t planned out breakfast for the morning. She asked Tom about those duties and he said they were all tired and none of them had had a decent night sleep all week so they would worry about it tomorrow when they woke everyone up. The clerk gave Tom the key he asked for and looked at Sam to find out her room number but she said, “I’m with him.” and it made her heart leap. The clerk just nodded and then she thanked Tom and she told them that she was so glad they showed up. They had no idea what was going on, other than if you went outside you died.
Sam asked her what her name was and she it was Christy Burrows, then Sam introduced herself and then both she and Tom said, “Good Night”. Sam looked back as they were walking away and the only people left in the dining area were the Dozier Hall people. They walked down the hall and when she asked what their room number was he told her 160, so she started looking for the right direction to go and he grabbed her hand. They walked hand in hand down the hall until they came to 160. He unlocked the door and looked at her almost hungrily. She was nervous as hell but she was afraid to show it.
He opened the door and she looked into the room expecting it to be pitch black, but there was already a lantern on in the kitchen area and she could see another light coming further in from another room. Surprised she walked inside and looked around. The room was like a mini apartment. A small kitchen that even had an electric stove and medium sized refrigerator with several cabinets. The living room had a full-size couch sitting in front of a big screen TV and two armchairs with a small desk and chair in the corner.
He shut the door behind her and she heard locks clicking while she looked around. He then came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck kissing her lightly. He had a five o’clock shadow and it gently scrapped her skin as she leaned back into his gentle kisses. She suddenly felt a yawn coming on and she fought it but it just came out and he chuckled. He turned her around and kissed her full on. She leaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Suddenly he reached down and picked her up and carried her into the next room. He laid her down on the bed and kissed her again. She moaned and said, “This bed is so soft, I’m so glad to finally be laying in a bed...and looking forward to sharing it with you.” He kissed her again and went back to the kitchen and turned out the lantern. He came back and pointed to the door leading to the bathroom and told her the bathroom was stocked with supplies for them, including toothpaste and toothbrushes.
Sam practically jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She hadn’t had a toothbrush since this began, they were all using their finger to brush their teeth with the little bit of toothpaste the Green berets shared. She brushed her teeth almost luxuriating in the feel and she paused wondering if Tom had been suggesting she brush her teeth because she had bad breath. She looked at him standing in the doorway and she took another toothbrush and handed it to him. He laughed and joined her in brushing his teeth.
Once they were done he kissed her and looked her in the eyes. He said, “I know how tired you are, because I’m just as tired and as much as I want to make love to you right now I would like to wait until we are both not so tired. Is that alright with you?” Sam nodded and said, “I want to too, but I agree, I’m just so tired I would really just like to lay in the same bed with you and sleep.”
It was still hot out and the room was a bit stuffy so they stripped down to t-shirt and underwear and lay in the bed facing each other with their fingers intertwined between them. Tom had turned out the last lantern and the room was pitch dark. Sam felt her head sink into the pillow and she listened to the light rain that was still coming down outside. Before she realized it she was fast asleep.
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21 December 2020 (Continued)
Douglasville, GA
Sam had just finished eating the last of the rice mixture for lunch and she was already thinking about dinner. She knew it would take a couple of hours to cook the beans and she was worried about burning all of that propane. But as she pulled the covers up to her neck and hugged the hot water bottle she considered that it might also help to heat the room a little. She checked the beans and saw there was a very thin layer of ice over the top. She picked out a few floating beans and tossed them and then swished the pot around to see if there were any bad beans or rocks she missed.
She drained the water out into the bathroom sink and added fresh water. She had cooked beans at home many times, they were one of her dads’ favorites and he always said he liked her beans better than moms. It always made her feel accomplished if she could out cook her mom! Sam looked at her spices and knew to wait on the salt. She thought about adding some honey, but then she remembered the diced tomatoes that had onion, garlic and chili peppers in it. She added the can to the pot and then some garlic powder, chili powder and cumin from the spice rack. She turned the heat on high and waited for it to boil.
She stood near the stove absorbing the radiant heat coming from the flames. There was only a small draft coming from the vent. She had just opened the window a crack and let the flap fall back down. She hoped the fumes would find their way out the crack without letting the little heat she had go out. Just as the beans started to boil the flames underneath it started to flicker and went out. She quickly changed out the propane canister and relit the burner under the pot. It quickly started boiling again and she turned the flame down to let it simmer. At least she didn’t have to worry about changing the canister out in the morning while she was half asleep.
It was time for another feeding and she heated up the bottle by just scooping out a cup of the bean water and then pouring it back in and wiping the outside of the bottle off. No point in wasting propane to heat more water. Lucky seemed to be getting use to her taking Mew every few hours but occasionally she would come see where she was going. This time she followed her out to the bedroom and smelled the bottle she was giving to Mew. She licked the warm milk off Mew’s face as she was trying to drink and Sam shewed her away so Mew could drink in peace. Lucky went to the cat tree and stretched up and scratched the post and climbed up to bat at one of the toys. Sam realized it was quite a bit warmer in the room since she started cooking the beans, which is probably why Lucky came out.
Mew was done and she burped her and showed Lucky she was taking her back. Lucky followed and gave Mew a good cleaning after she put her down. Sam looked over the other kittens and noticed that the last of them had finally lost their umbilical cords. She then noticed that the two white ones seemed to have a spot of something on their nose and she tried to wipe it off. She took one of them out to the light to see better and realized it was a color spot. They weren’t white after all, their color was just coming in now. She was excited to see what they would turn out like. She held the little white one up to check its gender and it looked to be a female too, she would check the other one later.
She put it back and went to stir the beans. She didn’t want to drift off to sleep while the beans were cooking so she decided to make a quick peek out to the laundry room to see if she could find something to pull the attic door down with. She bundled up and even put her boots her and when she step
ped out of the room she could tell how much colder it was outside of the room.
She looked all through the laundry room and didn’t find anything. Just as she was turning to leave she saw a small hook behind the door and it had an eye hook on the end of a pole hanging from it. She realized she had just found the key to the attic. She took the pole and was going to go back in the bedroom but decided that since she was already outside she might as well check it so she wouldn’t have to open the bedroom door more times and let out heat. She pulled down the attic door and a metal accordion ladder slightly unfolded. When she had the door all of the way down she pulled the ladder and it extended all the way to the floor and locked in place. She looked around the ladder and found the lever to unlock it so she would be able to push it back up when she was done. She then shined the flashlight up into the pitch-black attic.
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16 July 2020 – N-Day +6
Fort Jackson, SC
Sam woke-up and found that she was snuggled up to Tom’s back. There was just a peek of sunlight through the curtains and she could feel that the temperature dropped just a few degrees during the night, so it wasn’t as blistering hot in the room. She wrapped her arm around Tom and hugged him lightly. She couldn’t believe she was here in bed with him.
He rolled over and said, “Good Morning Beautiful” and kissed her on the forehead and then the nose. He excused himself and got up and went to the bathroom. She could hear his urine splashing in the toilet and then the water come on as he washed his hands and then brushed his teeth. When he came back she excused herself and did the same thing.
