Eric had this nagging feeling something wasn’t right with what he just saw. He also found it strange that in all their travels when leaving the mountain climbing camp, they only came in contact with a few living people. It was puzzling. Perhaps their pain had driven them from hiding. Although Eric was aware now after visiting with the canyon people about the slavers and what they were into, and doing, he knew that they had resurrected slavery and he was well aware of the fact that they had resorted to cannibalism at times. Perhaps their sickness and the pain they were experiencing had driven them out from hiding. It was a supposition, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He yelled to the others,
“Take a break.”
In reality, the people were suffering from horrendous fever and were trying to get to the cooling waters of the ocean but died after some reached it.
The soldiers and Marines rested again before moving up toward the beach highway to stop again and settle down to eat. Eric turned the radio on to see if there was anything coming in on the shortwave. It was a lot easier to hear without the surf. It took a while as he twirled the dial through the frequencies to find someone talking. He paused briefly when he heard a man saying something about a plague.
“Nobody knows where it came from. No one can pin it down exactly, but I’ll tell you what we do know. It can kill in as little as a few hours or a couple of days from the time you contract the infection. Your joints begin to hurt, and you develop a pounding headache. Within an hour or so, small pimples break out all over your body and began to grow and change color. They fill with pus and in a little while the pimples go from a bright red to dark purple and yellow pus begins too ooze out. It is almost always fatal. We’ve been told in all probability only one person out of five-hundred survives.”
There was a pause. Eric and his men lost the signal, but it came back strong after a few seconds.
“I’ve just been handed a message from the station manager. This is just about the scariest thing I’ve ever reported; listen to me everyone; you can contract it if you are in close proximity to anyone who has it. Don’t touch anyone. The plague can be airborne, it is spread through the air. If anyone is sick, don’t get close to them.”
There was a pause.
“My God, my head hurts…”
He paused again,
“I’ve got it. My God, I’ve got it! Oh Lord—Have mercy on me! Honey—If you’re listening, stay home, don’t go anywhere. I love you!”
The station went dead there was noise in the background, but it wasn’t discernible.
Eric and his people were stunned. He looked into the faces of his men and they were looking at him. He was at a loss for what to do or what to say. One of the soldiers yelled at him,
“Sergeant, we need to do something! What are we going to do?”
Eric felt himself floating away, and for a moment he felt detached from it all. He seemed to be hovering over this in a dream, and he was a spectator instead of a participant.
“Sergeant! What are we gonna do?”
Eric came out of it and looked at the young soldier and all of the men who were counting on him.
“We need to get back to the box canyon boys. That’s our only option. Let’s hope that none of us have contracted it yet. It’s going to take several hours to get there, we will know if any of us are sick before we go through that tunnel. Move—Quickly.”
They broke camp immediately and headed toward the cliffs. Eric wasn’t sure they were going to be able to find the box canyon again, but he knew they needed to try. They were vulnerable to this new killer, and they had no way to defend themselves against it. They couldn’t see it, or feel it and if they smelled it, they probably had it. Once you were infected you were dead. It was too late. Eric knew that if any of them got it. They would all get it.
Not breathing wasn’t an option. How do you not breathe, he wondered as he walked? The hike, at their rapid pace, was grueling with all of their weapons and gear. They could not stay out here in the open. If they stumbled onto anyone else that was sick, they might not be lucky the next time. The canyon people were safe, so far. He was scared. A lot more scared than he would admit to.
◆◆◆
They walked for three hours. Here and there things seemed somewhat familiar. Eric called a couple of his people near.
“Does anyone remember any of this terrain?”
“Sarge,”
It was Darrell,
“There’s the creek! Remember, we went north from here?”
Eric did remember and turned toward the hills to the north. It wasn’t much longer until he saw the rocky outcroppings leading to the secret tunnel.
“This was lucky. We need to keep heading in this direction, and I think we need to make a few turns. Everyone look sharp and keep scanning for the path to the entrance.”
Tim found a path that had been recently travel,
“I’ve got a trail here. It has to lead us to the opening in those rocks ahead.”
Good old Tim, Eric thought as he gave his spotter a big grin. He was right of course. Tim was one of the best trackers he had ever known. Eric often thought that his friend was part Indian, but Tim always denied it.
“You ever hear of a Scottish Indian?”
Tim scoffed.
Another forty-five minutes of walking and they found the turn that led them to the tunnel. Eric knew if he had not passed this way before, he would likely never have found it. He made a mental note to hide their telltale signs to ensure that no one else could find them. Al Gomez came to mind. They walked in single file and soon came out of the tunnel into the canyon. It was a welcome sight for all of them, almost like coming home. They believe they would all be safe here. Eric said a small prayer that none of them had any stiffness or headaches in them. He was relatively sure they weren’t sick. It had been a long time, and according to what he heard on the radio, they should show signs within a few hours. Nobody seemed to be sick. He crossed his fingers just in case.
Eric let out a piercing whistle to alert the canyon dwellers they had arrived. It wasn’t long before he saw Charles coming toward them carrying one of the M-16s at the ready. He wasn’t smiling. Eric thought Charles wasn’t too pleased to see them.
Eric hurriedly tried to explain, holding his hands up in front of him as he approached Charles,
“I’ve got some bad news to share with you. I can understand that you aren’t too happy to see us again, but please, hear me out.”
Charles nodded. He was curious and decided that all these men couldn’t be judged on the actions of only one of them. He would hear them out. Eric and his men followed Charles back to the main camp and they sat down at the gathering place where they had all been the night before. Some of the young women gathered close to the young soldiers. Eric addressed the group.
“Listen up! I understand how the hormones work and that we all have urges. Control yourselves. And you ladies need to do the same. This is not the time to be playing games with any of my men. I encourage all of you to respect each other. We are confronted by a new challenge. After we left here, we came across what appeared to be a family. A man, his wife, and two small children were lying on the ground covered with sores. They were dead or dying on the same day they contracted a new disease.”
This elicited a couple of mild shrieks from the women and several of them put a hand to their mouths.
“We came back to not only warn you of this new danger, but to ask you to please allow us shelter here with you until the sickness passes. Out there beyond the tunnel is a killer like none we’ve ever faced before. It kills indiscriminately, and it kills nearly everyone who comes in contact with it according to what we heard on the radio. And from what I’ve seen with my own eyes, it kills nearly everyone who comes in contact with it. It’s a pretty rough way to go.”
“We will pull our weight,”
he continued,
“We will share all that we have with you, and we offer at least one other thing; protection from i
nvaders. Please consider our request. If we are forced to leave this place, we might all die from the sickness. We will abide by your decision however, whatever it is…”
Charles and several women moved away, out of earshot. They talked for what seemed like an hour. Eventually Charles and the women came toward them; the look on Charles’ face wasn’t encouraging. He looked sad and defeated. His shoulders slumped, and Eric braced himself for the news.
“We have decided to accept you all into our fold, temporarily.”
He eyed them all and then continued softly,
“I have to tell you in all honesty that I am opposed to this decision because of the incident that occurred last night. I fear that something else might happen. You are all armed soldiers, and our group is comprised of mostly women. You could overpower us at any time. I hope this decision will not be something that I live to regret.”
“On the other hand, I realized that we are sheltered here and somewhat secluded from the outside world. We cannot, in all human compassion, turn our backs to people and send you all back out into a world filled with this sickness that could surely cause you all to die. I’ll go along with what the others have decided. We were all young once and most of us can remember what it was like. I cannot fault anyone for being attracted to any of these women. I’m married to one of them and realize and understand the needs between a man and a woman. However, my request is that you remember the times we live in. The other thing is that Marine or soldier, whatever he was, raped one of our young women last night. He’s gone; he’s no longer with us.
“What was once normal in our world changed when we were nuked. Nothing is normal any longer and we are all dependent on one another. In some ways I like that, but in others, I don’t. None of us can predict what another person will do. Please, for the love of God, have some respect for each other and remember that everyone has feelings just like you do. Don’t take advantage of anyone for your own personal gain. We will not tolerate it. I will not tolerate it.”
Charles turned and headed for one of the small houses across the campsite. Most of the young women and soldiers cheered. Although Eric felt good about what Charles said, he understood the unspoken message and worried about it as well.
These men might be under his command for the time being, but he only knew one of them well enough to predict most of his actions, and that man was Tim. The rest of them were people he met at the mountain climbing camp, and they were practically strangers to him.
That night Eric gathered his soldiers and Marines around him.
“We are fortunate that we have been allowed to stay here. You all saw those infected people out there. By tomorrow we will know whether any of us has been infected. Hopefully none of us has. If not, this will be a good place to pass the time until we feel it’s safe to leave. We’re in pretty good shape right now. With our store of food, combined with theirs, we should be okay for a while. I think once we feel it’s safe to leave here, we’ll want to go to the beach and see how much food we can catch and bring back to these people to replace what we will consume.”
Then he paused and looked at each of them.
“You all understand what Gomez did here. That cannot happen again. If it does, I will kill the offender myself.”
He let his warning sink in.
“Does anyone not understand that?”
None of them said a word.
“Dismissed!”
The women came forward as a group when the meeting was over, those who had decided to pair up with one of the soldiers each resumed her position. Most couples locked arms and meandered toward various private spots. It was amazing how in only one day and a night, their feelings could have cemented so quickly. Of course, the fact that they were the only men and women in the world at this juncture seemed to help things along.
That night, the soldiers tuned in to a radio transmission. Everyone in the enclave gathered around to hear the radio announcer.
“The plague is spreading to every locale, and people are literally dying in the streets. Even the people who were collecting the bodies with protective clothing contracted the disease and died, as well. No one is safe. No place is safe.
“There is no way of counting the death toll at this time. Some have estimated the deaths in the U.S. alone at upwards of one-hundred-million people.
“Do not touch anyone who is infected. Stay away from crowds, and do not breathe the air in the vicinity of anyone who is sick. The disease kills the victim as quickly as a few hours from infection, to within a day or two. From what we can ascertain the disease is nearly 99 percent fatal. Those of us here at the studio are buttoned up tight, and no one comes or goes. So far, we are all safe. Our food from our civil defense stores will last a few months. I pray we can hold out that long before we are forced to leave this building.
“The infrastructure on the East Coast is nearly destroyed, and nothing has been heard from anyone on the West Coast. People in the east are moving inland toward the mid-west.
“We have had word from some authorities that we must all maintain hope. We will broadcast every hour on the hour. This is your announcer, David Williams signing off in Springfield, Illinois.
“God bless everyone.
“WCXT… Out.”
Everyone listening to the broadcast was stunned. No one commented; they simply stared at the radio, or at each other. They all said a silent prayer they would survive this new and deadly threat. It was the first radio broadcast anyone from the canyon dwellers had heard since they moved here, and the second one for the soldiers.
Eric felt somewhat vindicated by the broadcast. At least Charles and the rest of the group understood what he had told them about the family they found after leaving the canyon was real and not an excuse to return.
They were all going to be at the camp for some time to come.
◆◆◆
Eric and his men-built latrines and dug a well on opposite sides of the canyon away from the small stream. The well was lined with stones, as was the custom in days long gone. They built a fish trap in the stream by stacking rocks in a way to ensnare many of the fish swimming in the water, and they worked in the garden; weeding and making a rudimentary irrigation system.
They also made improvements to the canyon dwellers makeshift houses. Several men gathered firewood. They cleaned and maintained the walkways as stones were embedded in the earth, which made walking about from place to place easier and less dusty for everyone.
They built a nice cooking area lined with rocks so that virtually anything could be cooked over the fire. One of the soldiers explained to the women that there were three types of fire needed for cooking.
The first was intense, a hot fire for boiling, the second was a slow, steady medium heat for frying, broiling, or roasting, and the third was a sustained, low fire for heating food. They simply lowered or raised the cooking grate away from the fire to increase or decrease the heat. They could also increase the intensity of the fire by using a bellows and lowering the heat by sprinkling water on the coals. They fabricated a rotisserie and mounted it in place with a handle to turn the spit.
Most of the soldiers and the women teased each other and talked excitedly as if they were children. Their mood was oddly festive considering their situation.
The soldiers built a pool downstream so they all could bathe in relative comfort. It had a couple of steps that led down into the water and a place to sit down. This was accomplished by stacking rocks in areas that were excavated to accommodate them. They also erected a screen for privacy made from small trees that sat upright, stockade-style, lashed together. Now everyone could be at their leisure and bathe in private. Although the water was cold initially, once immersed it was tolerable.
They establish a schedule to ensure a modicum of privacy. All of the soldiers had soap from their hygiene kits and the women encouraged them to share. They put in a flagpole to show anyone from a distance the pool was in use. There was a blue flag for the men and a red flag
showed everyone approaching that there were women using the bathing area. The blue flag was dyed with berry juice as was the red one.
Another welcome accessory was the shower. The soldiers took a five-gallon plastic bucket, drilled holes in the bottom, and fastened a rotating device inside that resembled a dish split down the middle. A rod connected the two pieces. A handle was placed on the outside of the bucket and a rope was tied to the handle. When the rope was pulled the two pieces in the plate raised and allowed the water to flow out of the bottom of the bucket.
It was semi-watertight but wasn’t intended to be absolutely leak-free. It was designed to reduce the leaking water just before it was put to use. There was a small hook on the outside of the shower stall to secure the rope in place.
The bucket was mounted on a long pole that was secured toward the opposite end of the bucket on a swivel which was fastened in place with a long rod that went through the long pole and a post set down into the ground, securing the center pole. It was a raise and lower lever device. They lowered it to fill it with the water and then raised it up to be in position, where the bucket was secured and ready for the shower. This way they could keep enough water to bathe while the rotating apparatus was in the closed position they could soap up, then pull the rope and release the water to rinse off.
A counterweight was placed on the opposite end of the water bucket to ease the raising and lowering of the bucket once the bucket was filled with warm water. A barrier was built around this to enclose it with an open doorway to give access to the shower area.
It was an instant hit.
◆◆◆
The soldiers routinely conducted various classes which proved to be beneficial for everyone. They taught the women how to make soap. Since it involved the use of lye (sodium hydroxide), they had to make sure they wore protective gloves scrounged from the nearby houses, and they made makeshift safety masks to avoid accidental contact with the corrosive compound. Other than this, they only needed basic supplies; a candy thermometer was the hardest to find. They used a hand egg-beater as a blender and the bottom of plastic bottles for the molds. They also wrote down the recipe as they refined their homemade soap:
Avalon- The Construction Page 9
