Isolation | Book 4 | Holding On

by Jones, Nathan

  The federal official looked solemnly around the packed square. “With Zolos in our rearview mirror and everyone more or less cooperating, our administration's number one priority is getting this nation back up and running as quickly as possible. Which, while it may seem like a daunting task after what we've all suffered in these last months under the looming specter of the virus, is not as hopeless as it may seem.”

  She waved at the buildings behind her, mostly obscured from view by the barricade she stood on. “The nation's infrastructure, the power, water, sewer systems, and everything else that allowed us to enjoy our previous standard of living, are all mostly intact. Most were even responsibly shut down before the situation became too dire, so they just need a little work to be brought back up and running again.”

  A low, hopeful murmur spread among the citizens of Stanberry. Ellie was certainly happy to hear that news, although part of her wondered if it wasn't a bit too easy.

  Gorstrom surprised her as she continued her speech. “I know that after the nightmare we've all suffered, that probably seems almost too good to be true. And to be perfectly blunt, unless we make some necessary but difficult adjustments it might be.”

  The murmurs turned confused and disappointed, and the government official hurriedly continued. “Tragically, our population has been reduced to barely over eighty million people, spread fairly evenly throughout the country. There just aren't enough people in any one area to keep the infrastructure there operational, and with so few people in those areas it wouldn't be productive to try. On top of that, there are key industries that are critically lacking in available workforce, and not enough people in the areas they operate in to recruit from.”

  “Am I hearing this right?” Hal murmured to Ellie as Gorstrom paused to let her words sink in. “She wants us to pack up and move and start all over again?”

  “I think so,” Ellie replied, the prospect making her heart sink.

  Gorstrom was here to help them regain the society they'd lost with Zolos's arrival, all right, but it sounded as if it could only be done by uprooting them from this town and moving them to where they were needed. Where, barring the relative few who had the needed education and skills, most would have to be trained to entirely new work, probably work they had no desire to do.

  That didn't sound very fun at all. But if the alternative was continuing to live here in more and more primitive conditions, as resources slowly ran out and survival became a real challenge, it was probably worth it.

  Although considering the fact that Ellie's area of expertise was essentially business management, mostly in an office setting, she might be in trouble. Unless she got really fortunate and her skills were needed in that regard, she was probably going to end up doing unskilled manual labor or training in an entirely new profession from scratch.

  At least Hal, with his inarguable skill in roofing and construction, both likely to be in demand even with existing infrastructure, would be able to do what he was good at.

  Gorstrom continued as they were all absorbing the impact of her words. “The most vital of those industries to keep operational are oil and natural gas drilling and fuel refining. With fuel, we can keep up the large scale farming operations on the Great Plains, producing enough food to feed us all. With fuel, we can keep other industries operational and goods being shipped where they're needed.

  “But that means we need more workers down along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where many of our refineries are located. Especially, we need to find people whose current expertise and training can be easily transferred over to jobs in that field. Machinery operators, engineers, factory technicians, mechanics, people with drilling experience. And of course all the jobs required to keep those people going in their jobs.”

  The stately woman looked around gravely, letting her words sink in before speaking firmly. “That is the situation, good people of Stanberry. We can give you power, and flowing water, and heat and air conditioning and working toilets and everything else you've been missing since Zolos knocked our country on its butt. But we can't give you any of it here.

  “So to reiterate, resources are plentiful, but with so many tragically lost to Zolos manpower is critical. Stanberry has done a fine job weathering the storm, and from the sounds of things you're well on track to long term prosperity. But you'd be trying to rebuild back to where we were from scratch, while if you relocate to one of the areas where we're gathering we can give you a leg up on getting back to a good life.

  “And while the Gulf of Mexico is the place we need people most, and most convenient to you where you live, it's not the only option. You could also relocate to Pennsylvania, or Kansas, or any of half a dozen other places where we're gearing up to rebuild.” She smiled thinly. “You could even pick Alaska, if seafood and harsh winters are your thing.”

  Gorstrom paused again, but it was obvious her speech was winding down. “You're welcome to stay in your homes and continue surviving as best you can, hoping we might eventually have the manpower and resources to get the infrastructure here operational again . . . sometime in the distant future. Or you can move to an area we're rebuilding and help the United States pick itself up by its bootstraps and go back to being the strong and prosperous nation we once were.

  “That is all. Feel free to go back to your daily routine.” Lowering the megaphone, she turned and started climbing back down from the barricade.

  Borden was quick to step to the front of the crowd. “Guys! Stanberry is going to be having a celebration in the town square this evening. All of you who've barely been outdoors for months, feel free to come out and join us. It'll be potluck, and we'll be breaking open the stores of scavenged food and drinks.”

  He waved in invitation, as if they'd all be going over there right now even though evening was hours away. “Come celebrate this momentous day with the town.”

  There were more cheers and approving murmurs at that, and the crowd broke up into smaller groups of friends to discuss everything they'd just heard.

  Ellie reluctantly hugged Hal and the kids. “That's my cue to get back to work coordinating between the relief workers and the camp, since they're next for the vaccine.”

  “Yeah, we should probably head back to the house,” her husband agreed. “The chores haven't disappeared just because Zolos is on its way out.” He hesitated. “Unless you're thinking we should relocate like she says . . . working on the garden and house would be kind of pointless if we're just leaving it behind.”

  She knew it was unreasonable to dismiss the suggestion out of hand without at least giving it some thought and talking it over, but she honestly had no desire to leave Stanberry. It had become home. “It's an interesting idea, and it makes sense,” she allowed grudgingly. “But don't you think she made it seem too good to be true?”

  “A little.” He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. “I've seen plenty in my life that's been too good to be true. You're the first thing that's been every bit as good as you seem.”

  Ellie felt her cheeks heat as warmth spread through her at his words. “You too, honey,” she murmured, then straightened purposefully. “We might as well keep going on our projects for now, even if we just end up leaving them behind for the rest of the group. It's the least we can do.” Giving him a quick but heartfelt kiss, she reluctantly stepped away. “I'll try to be back quick, so we can get on with preparing your birthday party.”

  Hal laughed and looked around at their friends and the kids. “I don't know, I think it might be fun to join Borden's celebration. You guys can trot out the cake and sing the song before we go, or when we get back.”

  “Okay.” She hesitated, looking at him. “Do you think we should pack up to where we'll have utilities and everything?”

  He thought it over for a second, then shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin. “I don't know, it's kind of fun to rebuild back to where we were from scratch.” He nodded toward the camp. “But we can talk about this more later.”

  It
sounded like he might be leaning towards leaving, or was undecided either way. Which was fine, since she supposed she was too.

  They'd all have to discuss it at length, get everyone's opinion and see what everyone planned to do, before making any decisions.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Celebration

  Nick was carrying Tallie on his shoulders as the group walked into the Norsons' yard after Gorstrom's speech. But he paused there and set her down to play while he looked out at the houses, the garden, the outhouses, and all their other projects.

  He'd thrown himself into backbreaking work these last few weeks to make it all happen, and just a few hours ago he would've been standing here looking at everything they'd accomplished with pride.

  But now?

  A garden was a garden, sure, and no amount of technology or amenities was going to make it much better. But the dugouts were ugly, slapped together things, at best with a bit of scavenged carpet but more often with tarps for flooring. Practically prehistoric living conditions.

  Same with the outhouses, and the solar-heated tanks for the showers Hal wanted to build, and all the rest of it. Part of him didn't want to abandon this place after all the work he'd done here, but as a consultant he was more than familiar with writing off an incomplete project when the client flaked on payment and he'd just be wasting his time.

  This wasn't a life he wanted for his children, for Gen if their relationship went the way he hoped, and Billy, and Ellie and Hal and his siblings and all their friends.

  It seemed absurd to think that anyone else would want to stay here in these dingy hovels scraping in the dirt to survive, when someone was offering them a chance to have power and running water and reliable sewers and even internet.

  How could anyone not want to jump at that chance?

  Gen urged Billy to run off and join Tallie playing in the yard, then came over and wrapped her arms around Nick, joining him staring out at the yard. “It looks a lot uglier than it did this morning, doesn't it?” she murmured.

  It was good to know he wasn't the only one whose mind had gone in that direction. “We worked hard for it, but we're mostly amateurs and it shows,” he agreed.

  She sighed. “At the same time, Billy's grandparents aren't likely to abandon this place no matter what challenges staying here presents, and I'd hate to take him away from them without a good reason. Not when we've gotten so close, and they've done so much for us.”

  Reality crashed home, and Nick felt himself deflate slightly as the prospect of helping rebuild a society where his skills actually had some value slipped away. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I have to consider Ellie and the kids, too. I have the feeling she'd jump at the chance to get back in her element with something like Gorstrom's rebuilding effort, but if she chooses to stay it would complicate things with the kids. I couldn't take them away from her, even if it might be better for them, and I don't want to leave them behind either.”

  Gen hugged him a bit tighter. “Well maybe when we talk things through with everyone, we'll be able to come up with a good solution everyone can be happy with.”

  “Maybe.” They'd have to wait for Ellie to get back before they could really discuss the matter anyway, and in the meantime if they did decide to stay, they should probably keep going on the work to be done here.

  Speaking of which, Hal was making his way over, wearing his tool belt and looking all business. “Ready to get back to roofing?” he called to Nick.

  Nick nodded and gave Gen a quick goodbye hug, then stepped away. “Let's get to it.”

  ✽✽✽

  One of the things Ellie liked about administrative work was that in moments like this, time usually didn't drag. Granted, that was because she was usually rushing to put out one fire after another and didn't have time to kick up her feet and be bored, but still.

  Even considering that, the afternoon flew by as she got the quarantine camp sorted out and made sure everyone got the vaccine who needed it. And that wasn't even the end of the job that needed to be done, either.

  Just like with the town, Gorstrom got up on one of the sentry perches to give a speech as soon as everyone had the vaccine. Then she wanted to see the town and the camp's supply stockpiles to judge what they needed, and oversaw unloading more stuff, especially much needed medical supplies and nutritional supplements, from the convoy's semi trucks.

  And then she wanted Ellie and the other camp leaders to start canvassing both the main and survivors' camps, to see how many thought they might be interested in relocating to be part of the rebuilding efforts. Which was still a delicate task since she had to keep up the usual precautions until they were sure the vaccine had taken effect.

  Before Ellie knew it, it was almost time for the town's celebration. Not to mention Johnny was arranging a celebration for the camp as well, which she felt obligated to at least pay a visit to, from a safe distance for now.

  It was already so late, and she hadn't even had a chance to get back and spend time with her husband on his birthday. So she finally tore herself away from talking to one person after another and sought out one of Gorstrom's aides to deliver her clipboard and report in.

  Instead, she was pleasantly surprised when the relief administrator herself broke away from the beehive of activity that always surrounded her to exchange a few words.

  Gorstrom accepted Ellie's clipboard and asked a few pertinent questions about what she'd been up to over the last few hours. Ellie was a bit worried that the stately woman would object when she announced she was signing off for the day, but Gorstrom simply nodded in appreciation, glancing out over the camp busily preparing to celebrate the day's events.

  “You've done good work here, Mrs. Westmont,” she said. “We've done this in half a dozen towns so far, and this is about the smoothest we've been able to get this many people organized and vaccinated, supplies distributed, and their information gathered for our records.”

  “Thank you,” Ellie said, surprised. “Your aides know their business, so it was mostly just following their instructions.”

  The older woman smiled wryly. “You'd be surprised how often that can be an issue. Even with the best of intentions, instructions can be misunderstood. And some people are just downright cantankerous and make trying to help them feel like pulling teeth.”

  Gorstrom paused. “Speaking of my aides, one of them mentioned you have some experience helping out in a quarantine camp. Colorado Springs, was it?”

  Ellie nodded. “I got stuck in LA with my now-husband when this all started. We had to make our way across the country by car and even on foot to get home. On the way we got scooped up by the camp and did three weeks there.”

  The relief administrator apparently wasn't in the mood to hear her life's story. She continued, slightly impatiently. “And you organized a program there to help keep the residents occupied, healthy, and hopeful for the future?”

  Surprised and a bit impressed that the aide had been paying that much attention to Ellie's offhand comment, and Gorstrom had been interested enough to inquire about it, Ellie nodded again. “A lot of it was Cathy Johanns, the relief worker who went to bat for me. I couldn't have done it without her.”

  “Well it showed admirable clear thinking and leadership potential,” Gorstrom said. “We could use people like you in our rebuilding efforts . . . we don't have any more quarantine camps, or at least won't soon, but we do have lots of people to organize into productive activity. I believe you mentioned you were a manager-level consultant before all this, making workplaces more efficient and improving morale and employee cooperation. Sounds like this would be right up your alley.”

  Ellie had mentioned that. To a different aide; how much attention was Gorstrom paying to her? On one hand it was flattering to be given an offer like this, especially by someone as impressive as the relief administrator. But on the other hand . . .

  “I've got my family to consider,” she said reluctantly. “We're settled here, part of this community. And we've al
ready made so much progress.”

  “I understand,” Gorstrom said. Grief briefly flashed across her stately features before being quickly suppressed. “If any of my family had survived, I'd feel the same way. But I hope you'll consider whether it wouldn't be better for them as well as for you if you joined the rebuilding efforts. We can offer you generous compensation, and you'd be doing important work.”

  “Thank you, I'll give it some thought,” Ellie said. And she would, even though she knew which way her heart was leaning.

  “Good.” The stately woman briefly squeezed her arm, then abruptly changed the subject, tone turning businesslike. “Now that we've got the vaccine administered to everyone in the area who needs it, there's another issue I need to look into. I've heard something of a conflict you had with another town?”

  Ellie nodded warily. “A few weeks ago, yes. It was quite an ordeal.”

  “I can imagine.” Gorstrom's expression suggested that what she was imagining wasn't completely sympathetic. “You wouldn't be the only people that ended up in conflict with another group. Not by a long shot. But if we're going to get the nation back on track we need to get past such ugliness, and that means I need to get to the bottom of this conflict and determine if it's going to be a continuing problem.”

  “I don't think it will. Their leader, Jay, is dead, and we haven't so much as glimpsed any of his followers for weeks.”

  “Even so.” The administrator motioned towards the camp her convoy had set up between the town and the quarantine camp. “Let's go grab a cup of coffee in my office, and you can give me a full accounting of the incident from your perspective. I trust your input.”

  “I'd be happy to,” Ellie said, although she wondered if this was going to be a problem; hadn't the war with Jay caused them enough trouble? “But I wasn't exactly at the center of the action. I spent most of that time in isolation for my three weeks, watching what happened from a distance or hearing about it over the radio.”