by S A Ison
Leaning closer, he whispered, “I think I found Yuma’s wife’s head. I went to take a leak and found a woman’s head. She was Japanese, I think, with long black hair.”
“Shit, yeah. I didn’t want to say, but she’d been decapitated.” Phoenix said, looking over his shoulder at the sleeping form of Yuma.
“I took the head and hid it. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t think that seeing his wife’s head was the way to remember her. I feel bad, but I don’t know.” Julian ended with a helpless shrug. Phoenix nodded his head, a sad smile playing across his face.
“You did right. I agree. That shouldn’t be the last thing he sees of her. You can tell rescuers later, where you put it.”
“Yeah, pretty gruesome. Do you think it will be hard to find our way out of this place?” Julian asked, taking another sip of coffee. He enjoyed the heat of it as it made his way down to his empty belly.
“I honestly don’t know, but, yes, I don’t think we’re going to have an easy time of it. My friends and I hike outside and west of Boston, near Quabbin Reservoir. Beautiful area, and we mostly hiked along trails. I don’t know if there are trails around here. Everything is covered with snow. The thing, I have no idea where we are. I don’t know which direction to go. I’m just hoping if we come across a road, we just follow it.” Phoenix shrugged.
“Happy Thanksgiving guys.” Lydia’s voice was a little rough and sleep heavy. She came to sit between Julian and Phoenix, giving each man a quick hug. Her dark auburn hair was wild and knotted. She had purple smudges under her eyes, and looked like warmed over hell. Julian thought she looked cute, despite her bruised and swollen mouth and nose. He grinned and lifted his pink sippy cup in greeting.
“Happy Thanksgiving.” Both men said together.
“Oh, coffeeeeeee.” Lydia whined. Then began to giggle when Thor stuck his muzzle behind her ear and snuffled her. Lydia pushed the dog away, and petted him. Julian poured more coffee into the cup and handed it over to her. Then, he reached for a tin of cookies. He handed that over and both Lydia and Phoenix took a couple. There was no talking as the sound of crunching filled the tent. Phoenix added another log. Lydia sighed heavily and handed the cup back to Julian.
“I sure hope we can at least be in a hotel by this evening, I want a bath in the worst way.” She said softly.
“I wouldn’t say no to a friendly shower, that’s for sure.” Julian smiled.
“It should be light in another hour, guess once everyone is up, maybe we should leave?” Phoenix suggested.
“Sounds like a plan, Stan.” Julian grinned.
Ω
Chaparral, NM
Janet Abellano woke with a jerk and regretted it. Hissing through her clenched teeth, she sat up slowly, and wiped the drool from the side of her face. She’d given up badgering the marines and the techs near 2am and had gone back to her office. She had stood them all in a line and chewed them out. Christ, it was as if she were surrounded by Neanderthals. Well, she was. Even the techs weren’t that bright, perhaps a step above the marines. All the female techs could do, was huddle and cry. Jesus, was she ever that young or insipid? She hoped not.
Her head throbbed, between the stress of yesterday and an uncomfortable night on the couch. Looking at her wrist watch, she was shocked that it was just after 10am. She stretched slowly, experimentally and her body only protested a little. She went to the coffee pot on the credenza and checked it. There was still some in there, but it was cold. She poured herself a cup, figuring she could heat it in the lounge. She’d also see if there were something in the refrigerator. She’d forgotten to eat her dinner last night. She’d brought something with her, yesterday morning.
Leaving her office, she walked down the corridor. The lights flickered and had that odd humming noise. She gritted her teeth. Those useless marines and techs had better have found a way out or she’d chew them a new one. She was pleased to see that the women weren’t in the lounge, and she went to the microwave and set her cup inside. She pushed a few buttons and waited for her coffee to heat. Going to the refrigerator, she opened it.
“Damn it! What asshat has eaten my dinner?” She snarled, looking around the empty room. She bent again and searched the bright interior. She grabbed an apple, it didn’t look great, bruised and slightly dented. She’d have a thing or two to say this morning to the clandestine bandit. The microwave beeped and she retrieved her coffee. She sighed heavily, taking in the aroma of the coffee. Arabica blend, she smiled. Abellano sipped her brew as she made her way to Hilleman’s office. She didn’t bother knocking and walked in.
Looking down at the sleeping man, she was sorely disappointed in mankind. Between the Neanderthals and Hilleman, it would seem that she was surrounded by lesser creatures. At least O’Connor had been a bright young man, or was back when. Still, Hilleman had proven eager enough and had built the project back to where they needed to be. It took both he and Gilder’s combined brain to figure out what O’Connor had done single handedly. It was only through her own constant hand’s on approach, that they got the weapon into space at all. And now, someone had taken control of the weapon. Had O’Connor sold them out? It was something she now asked herself every hour.
Reaching down, she shook the sleeping man. He jerked with a start and looked up, confused.
“I take it that you’ve failed to reach anyone?” her acerbic tone brooked no nonsense.
“No, Dr. Abellano. I’ve tried everything. Either we’ve been severed from the outside world, or there is no one on the other end.” Hilleman said, running his short stubby fingers through his thinning gray hair. His glasses lay on the floor beside him.
“What do you mean, no one on the other end?” She barked, annoyed and just a little frightened.
“Dr. Abellano, someone took Pythagoras, the warning message I got from the satellite feed said Pythagoras Falls. That means that the software detected an outside entity breaking through the firewall and 1024-bit encryption. It was not our own algorithm, that’s why we got the Pythagoras Falls protocol. Honestly, we should have had time to kill Pythagoras, Falls protocol is an early warning of sorts. Whoever hacked into Pythagoras knew that they’d have to activate and use it, before we could kill it. They killed us first.”
“Then we need to get out of here and get to Fort Bliss. I’m going to see if those fools have found a way out of this place. I can’t believe that we’re stuck down here. And I’m wondering why no one from Fort Bliss hasn’t come to get us out either. Someone is going to burn for this, I assure you.” She huffed and turned and left Hilleman on his couch. She rubbed at her nose. His office stunk, like farts and bad breath. She took a deep drink of her coffee to clear her palate.
Arriving at the elevator, she was pleased to see that the fools had gotten it open. Abellano leaned into the elevator and looked up, the roof of the car was open and she could just make out the cables. She could not see the top, some sixty feet above. A sneer pulled across her wrinkled lips; it took putting her foot up their collective asses. Good, now they could get down to the business of getting out of there. She walked to each of the offices and rooms, looking for the techs and marines. She figured they were sleeping, or perhaps the men were with the female techs. Possibly some kind of saturnalia?
It was unnervingly quiet in the complex below ground. The hum of the overhead lights and the clicking of her heels on the hard linoleum floors was the only sound. She and the other scientists were due to turn over Pythagoras to a team of techs after the new year. There had been one last test for the systems, slotted for January. Once that last test was completed, Abellano and her team were finished.
Each room she came upon was devoid of human inhabitants. She made her way back to Hilleman’s office. He wasn’t there, so she went to the lounge. She found him there, his head buried in the refrigerator.
“Where the hell is everyone?” She barked and was satisfied to see Hilleman bump his head on the interior of the appliance when he jerked up. He turned, his glasses askew and rubbed
the back of his head.
“What? What do you mean? And someone ate my lunch.” He grouched.
“You could lose some weight and I mean, they got the elevator opened, where are the marines and our techs?”
Hilleman looked down at his paunch, placing both hands on each side and shaking it a bit. Abellano had to bite the inside of her cheek, it would seem that IQs had dropped since yesterday.
“Maybe they’re gone already? Maybe they left?”
“What? And not notify me? No, they’re goofing off or sleeping somewhere. Help me look for them.” She ordered and left the lounge. She heard Hilleman’s footsteps behind her and heard him opening doors. She stopped at the women’s restroom and walked inside. When Hilleman followed, she turned and shoved him out.
“I need to use the facilities. Christ. Keep looking and pull your head out of your ass, while you’re at it.” She snarled and slammed the door in his face. Shaking her head, she went to a stall. She used the paper shield. She wished she had her own bathroom. The women techs were in charge of cleaning the bathroom and they did a very poor job of it. They didn’t give security clearances to domestics.
Dr. Abellano left the woman’s bathroom and resumed her search. There were only so many places they could be. She ended back at the elevator and looked into the car once more. Hilleman came up behind her and she turned.
“They’re not here. I think they climbed up that thing.” He said, chewing his lower lip as he looked up. He pulled a small LED pen light from his shirt pocket and flashed it up into the opening above them. They looked at the long ropelike cable that held and moved the elevator car.
“How are we supposed to climb that?” Abellano wondered out loud.
“Hell, if I know. Maybe they went for help? Maybe someone will turn it on from up top? Or, send some kind of ladder down.”
“They’d better make it quick. We need to get to Fort Bliss.” She huffed and walked back to her office.
Jordan watched Dr. Abellano walk away. He stuck his tongue out at her and shot her the middle finger. Christ, he hated that bitch. He sighed heavily, turning he wandered back to the lounge. Going back to the refrigerator, he rifled through the bags. Nothing looked appealing. Everything was either old or dried out or just didn’t look safe to eat. The lights flickered and he went back to the offices he’d checked earlier. He opened drawers and pushed papers around. He smiled when he found a Snicker’s bar. He’d have to eat it fast, otherwise Abellano would take it from him.
He walked back to his office; his ears attuned for her approach. Jeeze, what a miserable sour puss, he thought. It was Thanksgiving and he knew they were having a spread today at the chow hall, at Bliss. He was going to have to figure a way out of this place. The candy bar helped him think and he hummed as he entered his office.
Ω
Castle Town, MT
Miles stood outside, looking around, a soft smile on his face. It was only about a foot of new snow, that was good. Sometimes it dumped three feet if it were a blizzard. The air was crisp and sharp and he could hear the chickadees fussing in the trees. He had a small bucket of sunflower seeds and he went to several feeders scattered about the yard and filled them. He saw dark eyed junco peppered along the ground by the base of trees. They hopped and disappeared into some of the snow drifts against the trees.
He smiled, he’d grown up in New York City, and he’d worked in Washington D.C. the majority of his career. When he’d gone to New Mexico to work, he’d been intimidated by the vast expanses of land. Areas with little to no human encroachment. His father had taken him camping in the Pocono mountains. It had been a special time for him, a time he shared with his father. He thought that perhaps that was why he’d chosen this remote place. It reminded him of those times.
He looked up when several blue jays squabbled down at him. Apparently, he wasn’t moving fast enough for them.
“Keep your shirts on, you’ll get it soon enough.” He laughed. Albert cocked his head from side to side.
“Not you, boy. I’ll feed you in a little bit. I just wanted to get these noisy guys out of the way.” He grinned; Albert’s tail wagged quickly. He lifted the lid to a feeder and scooped out a cup of seed and poured it in. It made that grain shushing noise and he added another scoop. He walked toward the next feeder and ducked as a large blue jay swooped overhead to the now full feeder. The chickadees flew in as well and he turned to see the war of the birds ensue. The chickadees won, the blue jay got a sunflower and flew off.
His life was now a slow kind of cadence, it moved with the seasons. Below, his home was stuffed to the gills with food and things he thought he might need for the long winter. Living remotely, Miles had tried to prepare for every eventuality. Though push comes to shove, he could drive out in the dead of winter, it would be a hard go. So, he kept stocked up on everything. Birdseed and dog food were at the top of his list.
Miles looked to the direction in which the plane had gone down. He’d take the chains for the tires, just in case. He had good snow tires on the jeep. He’d also load up a few medical supplies, just in case he ran across someone. He was sure he was wasting his time; the rescuers were likely already there. Or would be there today. He had to admit, that he was just the tiniest bit lonely.
Miles had never formed deep relationships, that just wasn’t how he was made. He had done his share of dating, but those usually fizzled out. His father had told him that Miles hadn’t spoken until he was nearly four years old. His grandmother had the care of him, and he’d gnawed her old theoretical mathematic tomes. She had been an educator. He thought that was where he’d gotten his love of numbers and puzzles. His world had been a small one, consisting of his grandmother and father. His mother had died when he had been born.
Albert’s bark brought him out of his thoughts. He finished his task and went back down into the house. He fed Albert and then fried himself some bacon and eggs. He had sheets of frozen bacon in the reinforced outdoor shed. In winter, Miles was able to keep plenty of frozen meats on hand. The bears had gone into hibernation, so there was little worry from that quarter. In the pantry, he had several cartons of eggs, coated in mineral oil to keep them longer.
He fiddled with the radio and couldn’t pick up his normal station. It must have been the snow, he thought. He gave up and turned the radio off. It was his only link with the outside world at times. He’d found himself venturing out more and more of late. This year, he’d spent quite a bit of time on the road, going to different towns. He’d even ventured to Helena, which was a tremendous risk. He couldn’t understand himself sometimes. Perhaps the isolation was getting to him. He had visited the veterinarian, Dr. Tisk, twice this year with Albert, had gone to a dentist to have a tooth pulled. That had taken a large chunk of change. He couldn’t risk going to a doctor, unless an absolute emergency.
Miles had to live his life below the surface of the surrounding world. He could pop his head up from time to time to glimpse the world, but he couldn’t stay up too long, otherwise, he’d be found. But the pull of humanity had become stronger over the last couple of years. Perhaps that was why he was going to try and find the crash site? Once more, he didn’t understand himself and what drove him.
Ω
Fargo, GA
Retired Colonel Blake Rondeau stood on the porch, he looked at the temperature gage, it was already 62F. It would be a warm Thanksgiving, but warmer still for the denizens of Miami. He thought that perhaps by now, they were getting a clue as to the shit storm they were facing. It had been a nightmare leaving Miami, the freeways were clogged with holiday travelers. He had to avoid the interstate and had worked around the secondary roads. Even those were congested from time to time and he had to drive onto the side of the road. A few times up on sidewalks, which had drawn stares from pedestrians. He had his KC9 ready, should anyone try to stop him.
Alice had wept for the first few hours, which was understandable, but had started to grind on his nerves. They’d passed numerous people on foot
and families, who stood by their cars, waiting for what, Blake didn’t know.
“Should we stop and help that family?” Alice had asked, of a young family, a woman holding a baby and a toddler at her feet.
“No, they’re already dead. They just don’t know it.” He said and that brought on a new wave of tears. It was the hard truth. Many would die, within weeks, thousands, then millions would die. He wasn’t going to be one of them.
“Look Ali, I’m not trying to be cruel. You need to understand, something has happened, and it has taken out our electrical grid. Some kind of event.”
“How do you know?” Alice asked, staring at the people as they passed.
“It was my job to know. We have lost power, the newer cars no longer work, planes fell out of the sky.” He stopped when he heard her choke and looked over, her face in her hands. He sighed, and bit back his annoyance. He had to remind himself that Alice wasn’t a soldier, wasn’t used to death. He wasn’t either, but it had been his job for years, to expect or deliver death.
Blake turned his face to the breeze; it wasn’t much and it was already humid. Life without air conditioning was really going to suck. They at least had a mosquito netting over their bed. There was no power as yet in the cabin. Blake had not set up the solar panels nor equipment, knowing an EMP might knock it out, making it useless. It was in a heavy steel container, that he’d harden against such an event. The container sat back behind the small cabin. It was securely locked with heavy chains and padlocks. It had been one of the first things he’d checked on last night, when they’d gotten there. Today, he’d get the panels on the roof, which already held the brackets. He’d then set up the inverter and bank of batteries.
They’d have enough power to use a fan, lights and a small solar refrigerator. They had a two-hundred-gallon water catchment system behind the house, so their toilet worked and they had cold running water. There was a Berkey water filtration system on the small kitchen counter, to purify their drinking water. It was gravity fed, so all they had to do was put the water into the canaster and let it drip through the filters.
