by C A Bird
“How’s the radiation level?” came the reply from below.
Mark checked the radiation indicator. “So far it’s in the green.”
“Great.” They heard Glen’s voice through a speaker as he acknowledged the couple’s presence and opened the door. The man ran back to the car and grabbed a bag and the three of them entered the complex, the massive rock face sliding back into place after they’d passed.
Only twenty-five minutes had passed when Micah returned from dinner. Mark stayed in the control tower for two more hours, his eyes glued to the monitor, hoping against all odds that he would see Jill and her family enter the parking lot. A taxi had arrived bearing a slim older woman and she and the cab driver had entered the shelter together. Mark smiled, knowing the cab driver was one of those ‘people without an invitation’ Vernon Richenour was so worried about. Several other cars had arrived and the passengers had been admitted to the shelter.
Will joined them and offered to take a turn monitoring the instruments, but Micah protested he was fine and would notify them if he received anything. Will, checking the radiation monitoring devices, called Mark over and pointed at the readout.
“Mark, take a look at this. There’s a slight increase in background radiation. It’s not strong enough to worry about yet but we’ll have to watch closely and check anyone else who arrives for radiation contamination.” He walked back over to where Micah kept fiddling with the radio. “How about it Micah?”
This time Micah’s enthusiasm seemed dampened, “Not a damn thing Sir, not a damn thing.”
August 21, 6:10 p.m.
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Pete and Sandi came crashing through the last foliage and stood momentarily disoriented by a jumble of cars parked in the clearing before them. Three other cars hemmed in Pete’s truck but he thought he could get it out if he drove over some thick brush.
“What the Hell?” He stared at the cars and then turned to Sandi as if for an explanation. They advanced to the nearest car. It was unlocked but nobody was in sight. There was a bicycle laying on its side, the panniers lying next to it on the ground.
“Where is everybody?” She stared through weary eyes. Her face was streaked with dirt, and tears had made muddy tracks down her cheeks. Pete had traveled so fast in returning to the truck she’d had trouble keeping up with him. It took them over two hours to get back around the mountain, much less time than it had taken to hike out to their campsite in the first place, but the faster pace, even though she had dropped her pack, took its toll and her leg muscles ached from the exertion. The sun had gone behind the western cliff and the ghostly shapes of the cars gave an impression of loneliness that sent a shiver down Sandi’s spine. There was a deadly silence pervading the clearing.
They moved among the cars disbelieving, both of them thinking this is just what the end of the world should look like. Sandi sank wearily onto a rock alongside the cars, too tired to continue, and Pete came over to put his arm around her. “Sandi, I don’t know where all these came from but it doesn’t look good. They must have been running from whatever happened. Maybe there’s a hell of a lot more cabins up here than I thought. We could look for them if you feel like it.”
“Oh Pete, I’m too tired, couldn’t we just stay overnight in one of the cars? It’s getting dark and it seems a lot colder.”
“Alright, let’s find a van. He looked down and gave her a wink. She looked exhausted and he realized he too was very tired. They had been so worried they had panicked, but they needed to think more clearly now and plan a sensible course of action. He still wanted to get to Las Vegas as soon as possible and figured they could take a nap and then he would get his truck out. Suddenly he heard a crackling sound that seemed to come from the rock itself as the speaker came to life.
“Please don’t be frightened. There’s a group of people in a bomb shelter underground here. If you’ll follow my instructions we can let you in. There’s been a nuclear war and it’s dangerous for you to be exposed. The elevator will open and you can enter but you have to leave your equipment outside.”
The side of the mountain grated and then slid aside revealing a large cave with an elevator at the rear. The weary twosome looked at each other, hesitated for a moment and then Pete helped Sandi to her feet as they walked, without Pete’s pack, into the cave. He was worried about what lay ahead but knew there was no other reasonable choice. The man was obviously correct about the war. Pete had witnessed the evidence of that, although he didn’t want to believe it, and he was worried about Sandi, concerned she couldn’t go much farther.
They stepped into the huge elevator, which looked like it could carry a great number of people. Robes were hanging on pegs on the side of the elevator. “Please place your clothing in the hamper and put on the robes,” the speaker instructed them. The outside door began to close and, for a brief moment, Pete considered fleeing before it was too late, but the door slid shut and he’d lost the opportunity. They stripped down, feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed, Pete turning his back to give Sandy some privacy. They put on the robes, plain knee length robes with no buttons, just ties. They felt the elevator begin to descend and Sandi shuddered in Pete’s arms. It seemed to go down for miles, but in a few moments the door on the opposite wall opened and someone in a space suit motioned them into the next room.
“Hi, don’t worry, I just need to check you for radiation.” The man carried an instrument he extended to them, moving it from head to foot. “My name’s Glen, welcome to our home. You go through this side door, and there’s a shower that you exit on the other side where you’ll find clothes. Leave the robes in the bin on this side of the shower and go through the next door. You seem to be clean. Did you come from down below?”
“No, we were camping in the mountains when we saw the flashes.” Pete helped Sandi to the door the man indicated.
“That’s good. It’s why you haven’t picked up any radiation.”
“How many others are here?” Sandi asked him.
“You guys look beat. Go on through first. All your questions will be answered after you’re decontaminated. I’m going a different way so I’ll see you later.”
They turned to the door Glen had indicated and pushed the button adjacent to it. It slid aside and they entered a small room with a hamper to one side and plastic curtains separating the room from the showers. A sign on the wall read,
“LEAVE ALL CLOTHING IN THE BIN. SHOWER AND WASH YOUR HAIR. STEP THROUGH THE SHOWER TO THE OTHER SIDE WHERE YOU WILL FIND CLOTHING.”
They slipped off their robes and dropped them into the bin, beginning to feel self-conscious with all this disrobing. They stepped into the same shower stall even though there were two. There were no controls for the shower, only a single button, so Pete pressed it and a stream of water at just the right temperature, and with considerable pressure, washed over them. In a few seconds it became warmer, until it was very hot, but bearable. They clung together for comfort in the strangeness of the environment. The water stopped suddenly and then started again, this time smelling of a strange odor and Pete suspected it was a disinfectant or decontaminant or both. It too stopped, and a second harder water rinse sprayed like needles against their skin. They waited a minute, but it appeared the shower sequence was over. Opening a solid door on the backside of the shower they stepped out onto a tile floor where they found shelves with folded clothing. They selected their sizes and dressed in shorts, tee shirts and a soft pair of slip on shoes. The clothing fit them within reason. Sandi’s was green and Pete’s blue. “Welcome to the future my dear.” Pete said.
She smiled and pushed a button that caused the door to slide aside and they stepped into still another large airlock. Two men were waiting for them. One looked like the face in the spacesuit.
“Hi, It’s me again, Glen, and this is Doctor Jim. He just wants to give you a once over to see if you’re alright and then, if you’re hungry, we can get you something to eat.”
“Hi, I’m
Pete Thompson and this is Sandi Baker.” He shook their hands.
“Gee, I’m sorry,” Glen looked a little embarrassed, “I thought you were married or I would have sent you through decontamination separately.”
“It’s okay.” Pete tried to alleviate the man’s embarrassment as Sandi blushed. The strain of all that had happened struck her at that moment and she sagged against Pete. The movement was not lost on the doctor.
“Let’s get to the infirmary so I can examine you two.” The door opened to reveal a hallway and the doctor led them down a corridor and into a typical medical exam room. Let me check out the lady first son, she looks a little tired. You can wait over there.” He pointed to a chair against the far wall. “Come here and have a seat young lady.” He walked over and took her arm. She looked up at him gratefully. He was a large gentle looking man with soft brown eyes full of genuine concern. She started to tremble, close to tears, but maintained control as she sat on the edge of the exam table. The doctor pulled a curtain for privacy.
“You kids have been camping huh?” You look like you hiked a hundred miles.” He told her.
“When we saw the flashes from the bombs we panicked and came back really fast. I guess I’m just a little tired.” She was grateful to have a chance to relax for a minute before having to worry about the future.
The Doctor checked her eyes and throat, looked in her ears and listened to her heart and lungs, and then helped her to lay back. He was palpating her abdomen when he looked in her eyes. He started to speak but she shook her head almost imperceptibly. He helped her sit up.
“Young lady you seem to be fine but you need to get some rest. I want to see you in my office as soon as you’re rested. Promise?”
She was looking at her hands folded in her lap. “Yes, I’ll come see you.” She slid off the table and he held the curtain for her. Pete looked concerned and came to help her to the bench.
“She’s fine son, come hop up on this table.”
An hour had passed since their arrival in the lot outside and Pete realized he was famished. They hadn’t eaten since earlier in the day before the unbelievable flashes of light started them on their flight back to his truck. Glen directed them to the mess hall and then excused himself, needing to return to the entrance in the event other survivors arrived.
They entered the cafeteria, which was decorated with pictures of mountains, meadows and seascapes on pale yellow walls. The dining area was carpeted while the serving area had linoleum. Approximately a dozen other people occupied the room, some dressed in similar attire to theirs. The majority appeared to have finished their meals and groups were sitting or standing around talking.
“Good evening.” Pete said to a woman sitting at the next table. “I don’t have any money. How did you pay for the food?”
“You don’t. Just help yourself.” She said. There was a cafeteria-style food dispensing area along the right wall, but it was unused. Refrigerator/freezers with glass doors were along the back wall opposite the entry door. Pete selected a dinner of Roast beef, potatoes and a vegetable, and popped it into a microwave oven while Sandi took a salad over to a table and sank down gratefully. Pouring them both glasses of milk from a dispenser, Pete brought the glasses to the yellow plastic table with matching plastic chairs that gave it the appearance of a fast food restaurant. They ate most of their meal before they spoke, each lost in his own thoughts.
“I guess we’re safe for the time being. I’m sure they’ll let us leave if we want to.” Pete said.
“Oh, Pete, I don’t think I want to leave. It must be deadly out there. Where do you think we could go? I really don’t have any place to go.” She started to cry again.
He reached over and took her hand. “I know, Sandi. You should stay here but I have to find out if my family is dead or alive. I couldn’t stay here without knowing for sure.”
“Well, I have no way of knowing what’s happened to my family, but I do know there’s no way for me to find out.”
“Okay listen, I’ll tell you what. We’ll stay here for a while and see what happens. I’m sure they’re trying to find out what’s going on outside. I don’t want to leave you here with strangers.” They finished their meal in silence and put their trays in the window provided.
Glen told them to look up Marilyn Simmons for room assignments, so they started down the corridor to find out where she was located, and coming to an intersection and turning right, Pete walked directly into someone. “Whoa, excuse me, I . . .” He looked up at the surprised man he’d bumped into and stood dumbfounded. Then his father grabbed him and they were hugging each other and pounding each other on the back until Pete could hardly breathe.
“Pete, oh my God, you’re safe!” His mother was crying and then Pete was hugging her and they were all talking at once.
“Dad, Mom how did you know about this . . .?”
“Jerry and his family are here too!” his mother told him through tears.
“How did you find this place, Pete? I never told you about the box.”
“What box?”
Then Pete noticed the look on his mother’s face as she stared behind him. Pete remembered Sandi and turned to see her trying to smile through a steady stream of tears.
August 21, 9:50 p.m.
Sangre de Cristo Mountains, NM
Aaron regained consciousness and knew if he didn’t get up immediately his life would end without him ever knowing what had happened. With a Herculean effort he pushed himself to his knees, his freezing joints and muscles protesting with pain, then climbed unsteadily to his feet and stood there swaying, with waves of nausea washing over him.
“We’ve got it clear!” A man cried triumphantly and cheers went up from half a dozen others.
Aaron thought he was dreaming. His bandaged arm, hanging limply, had gone numb again. He looked around, vaguely conscious of the ATV crumpled against a tree. He forced himself forward, creeping through thick pinyon pines to reach the edge of a road. Just ahead he saw a mass of cars and trucks, a jackknifed semi-truck blocking all the lanes. The other vehicles had ploughed into it. Two people lying by the side of the road appeared to be injured, but Aaron knew that he didn’t dare try to help them even if he were in any condition to do so. Several men and women were bellowing orders, working to clear the vehicles from the road. The highway traveled through a long shallow depression at this point, a high bank along both sides just above the tops of the vehicles. Two more cars and a one and a half ton flatbed truck were stuck behind the crashed cars. Ropes had been attached to the jackknifed truck trailer and to the bumpers of two three quarter ton pickup trucks. They’d managed to pull the trailer around to clear a narrow passage between the trailer and the bank.
Aaron sneaked to a point opposite the flatbed truck and waited impatiently as the group split up and climbed into various vehicles. As cars started up and began maneuvering through the passageway he eased himself to the edge of the embankment. The last and largest pickup truck barely cleared and as the flat bed entered the narrow cleft Aaron eased himself over the edge of the embankment and slid down, jumping to the bed of the truck. He landed hard, twisting his ankle, but immediately flung himself forward under the small window in the back of the cab. The truck scraped against the side of the embankment, jamming momentarily, and Aaron held his breath as the driver gunned the engine and slammed it in gear.
“Please,” Aaron whispered. “I need a break.”
The tires squealed, rocks spitting backward as the tires spun, and the truck scraped forward as pieces of the embankment crumbled and fell onto the truck bed pummeling Aaron. The screeching sound of tearing metal reached him as the flat bed’s front fender hooked the rear of the semi but, gears grinding, the flat bed jerked free and bounced onto the road with Aaron lying on the truck bed, curled into a tight ball.
As the truck sped up the road he tried desperately to stay awake, not knowing where the truck was going, or how he would know when to get off, but he drifted in and out of s
leep, or possibly consciousness. The map in the signaling transmitter had indicated a roadside sign, an advertisement for a non-existent cigarette that was the code for the turn off. He needed to go north at Eagle Nest and knew if they hit the small town of Cimarron that they’d have gone way too far. He tried to stay alert but finally dozed off, until he was awakened with a start by the sound of voices. The truck wasn’t moving and the driver, a short man with his belly hanging over his belt, was up ahead talking to the driver of one of the other vehicles. “I think we should just barrel on through town so we don’t run into no trouble. There’s probably no one there anyway and my brother’s place is stocked so we don’t need to stop and get any food or supplies. His cabin’s just before Cimarron so bear right at the next intersection. Aaron peeked around the edge of the cab and saw the two men talking beside a battered road sign that said “Eagle Nest - 1 mile.”
Not far now. “What the . . .” The fat man was returning to his truck and was staring malevolently at Aaron. “Get the hell off my truck you asshole!” His companion, a large woman dressed in coveralls, who looked like she could hold her own in a fight, jumped down from the passenger compartment.
“Wait, please, I’m injured. Just let me ride to Eagle Nest. I’m not hurting anything.” He pleaded, holding out his good arm to the man.
“I said get off my fucking truck or we’ll kick your ass off.” The man signaled to his friend in the front vehicle.
“Okay, okay, I’m going.” Aaron scooted to the rear to avoid either the man or the woman and as soon as he jumped off the back of the truck, with sharp pain shooting through his ankle, he immediately limped into the bushes to avoid inviting violence. He heard the engine fire and saw the cars speeding off down the road. Although physically hurting, he was mentally anguished as well; at the violence he had encountered, at the loss of civility, and especially at what atrocities he had been forced to commit in the space of a few hours. He waited until he was sure they were gone and struggled toward town.
