by Marcus Sloss
“Eddy. Eddy said you were awesome to work for. He said this community was in it for the long haul, not to simply survive until tomorrow. Hence my very first question: What do you do with the community next?” Sarah said while pointing beyond the farming fields. “Every answer was to improve the lives of those already here. Sure, it will help additional refugees, but with time it will be more stable than Aspen. Especially if the raiding options hit a tough portal spawn and the community has to hunker down. Aspen has far more people. So many that, if they get a few bad portal spawns, they will starve. Hell, they were already rationing before the gargoyles. You have farm fields already. I doubt they even have seeds yet.”
An alert pinged on my Gpad from Gary. They were coming through the gate now—scanning would be done in an hour. I sent a quick thank you and returned my attention to our guests.
“Well, we don’t have room for you at this very second, but that is easily rectified. There are still fifteen hours and forty-five minutes remaining on the golden shimmer. You have your wealth along with the ability to acquire enough building materials for longhouses. Do you need vehicles?”
“We have a lot of vehicles. Mostly electric SUVs for hauling families in. They have enough torque with off-roading capabilities to pull down trees, I would think. We have only a few trailers,” Isaac said. There was an agitation about what he wanted to say next. Laura placed a hand on his to calm him. “We were wanting titles along with three seats on the council you call Mother Hens. Our main contention is on how you are the king. Your power has no actual checks or balances. We want a new rule where the majority council can override your authority.”
Perci played with her Gpad for a moment. That was her wheelhouse, as they said. She gave a humpf, a frown, and then placed her hands on her hips.
“Before we go into the power struggles, let me state that each of our titles equate to an actual skill. No offense, a lawyer has no skill in today's world. If you look at every one of our earls or dukes, they all have an impact that is positive for the community.”
It was Jason’s turn to get antsy. “I… I do not know. Before Isaac, I was the mayor and the people trusted me to get them this far. You’re right, though. I am not a soldier, farmer, or much else in this new world.”
“Okay, I have an idea. Maybe Perci will agree—it is her decision. We make Sarah a duchess so she can lead Echo Team. Isaac and Laura get earl titles. When the rest of your people arrive, they can vote for the last two slots. Those two earls who are voted in will be given tasks to manage for the community later,” I said. The reactions were mostly positive. I folded my arms for this next bit. “As for the power diversity… No. I am not going to have non-military people superseding my decisions. The last thing Stronghold Mansion needs is a power struggle with the back door dealing for votes. Not to mention this is not a civilized society anymore. All this exists because of my idea, Perci’s influence, and then the community's hard work. Eddy, Bradley, and others have not complained that I am a dictator.”
“You not being one now does not mean you could not become one later,” Laura said, and Sarah rolled her eyes.
“Discuss it—like I said, those are my terms. Your people vote. If Jason here and—”
“Daniel.”
“—and Daniel get elected, awesome. I look forward to hearing about your decision or counteroffer. Just know I am not going to have a long debate on the matter.”
They grumbled, mumbled, and held in their comments. I locked eyes with Perci and jerked my head to indicate we should leave. The RV rocked a bit when we stepped outside. My Gpad was quiet for the moment. I checked the drone footage. Vehicles from Aspen and Mansion were steadily moving back and forth from the Xgate. With most of the electronics quickly looted, the teams were converting trees. The colonel was using snowplows to haul concrete to create cinder blocks. I knew a lot of his defenses were berms or chain link. Cinder blocks were a good idea for a lot of structures. Maybe next rotation we could do something similar. I was okay with plywood homes for now. Personally, I would rather have homes crafted like the RVs. Steel alloy with bulletproof windows. I sighed and let the video close.
I crooked my elbow for Perci to follow me. We walked for the cave road. The slongers were rooting around happily between the trees. For such an odd-shaped animal, they maneuvered very well. The small herd tended to stick together while cleaning up the forest floor. Aliens were so... alien. I had no other way to put it. My mind drifted to that ferox cat.
I had always wanted a pet. After the goldfish, I felt I could win my parents over. Goldie lived for a year with a clean home, no issues, and even grew fat. My expert care was a clear sign I was capable of handling more responsibility. Dad would not even debate the issue. “We are not discussing pets. Ever!” and I would lose. His strategy worked. My yearning for animal companionship ceased after Pauline and I had sex at fifteen. Then my desire was about getting laid and pets were forgotten. Prison life and military life turned me into something else. I wanted both. Before Saudi, I would dream of a home life with a beautiful woman, a dog, and a large couch. Not sure why. That was my dream, though. There were variances of my subconscious desires, which recurred for a long time. Until I started to be haunted by my past and the dead.
I shook the thought off to focus on farm fields. My arm gave a slight pull to Perci who was daydreaming also. We went over to the ramoth pen. I saw Dalila with Tina, feeding the animals. The trek across the field allowed us to take in the day’s brisk spring weather.
The clouds were racing up high with a hidden wind we avoided down here. The spring birds were flying between thickets of trees. I spotted a drone up high and checked my Gpad. Douglas was watching the survey teams checking our valley walls. I closed the Gpad. They would update me when ready.
“Hey, Cap, Perci,” Dalila said when we neared.
“Hi, Dalila. Hi, Tina. What do you think of the ramoths?”
“Freaky. Aliens are so odd. I went over their habitat sheet. I will need to build a cover of some sort, almost like a dog pen. Enough for a small group to ball up together during the day,” Dalila said while watching the animals with hands on her hips. “They are nocturnal, which I do not understand, but again, aliens are odd. We will make the best of the situation. I really hope these eggs taste good.”
“Have you fed them yet?”
Tina shook her head no. She pet a ramoth’s shaggy fur. She stopped to address me. “No, I wanted to ensure they could not get out first. I need to talk to you about the bunny situation. Even with giving some away, we are near capacity of what the two of us can handle. We get the odd volunteer, but—”
“I will handle it. I think we need to appoint a manager and set teams,” Perci said with a frown. “This may come off as rude, but the question becomes who manages the team. I know you are great with the bunnies. If you are running twenty-four-hour crews, you will manage the bunnies less.”
I saw what Perci was doing. She was trying to maneuver Dalila into saying if she wanted the job first before seeing if we would offer it to her. I thought Dalila had done wonders with the bunnies so far. Dalila hesitated to respond.
“Do you want to manage people or bunnies?” I asked directly.
“I want to work with the slongers. Horrible name, by the way. The ramoth will literally eat you if they get underfed. Plus, I do not want to be responsible if they attack someone. With that said, I still want to be a soldier,” Dalila said with a timid tone. She winced at the words, fearful of reprisal. “I know I have been doing good work here but I really want to adventure.”
“I like working with the animals, if my opinion matters,” Tina said with a smile.
“Okay, we have potential changes incoming. If you want off the bunny detail, I will make it happen,” I said.
Isaac sent a ping to my Gpad. They had made a decision.
We walked for RV3. I was curious about what they would counter with. My proposal seemed fair to me. Perci knocked the dirt off her boots first. I
followed behind her into the RV.
I flowed around the coffee machine and added a splash of warm black goodness to my cup. Sarah tapped her fingers against the table while they waited for my attention. With a sip of my coffee, I turned.
“So, what is your counter?” I asked.
“We cannot reach a consensus. I am in favor. The rest are not,” Sarah said. “I am going to get my stuff if that is okay with you, Cap. I will be moving in regardless. I am not going to Denver or staying in the Cornerstore shopping plaza if you fail to reach a deal. Even if it means I become a regular soldier.”
“See you soon. Take a truck if you need one. Keys are in the ignition,” I said with a friendly smile.
“Thanks, Cap,” Sarah said while exiting the RV. I blew on my steaming liquid.
“What is the hang-up?”
“We do not want to have to wait for housing. We want more say on the actual council. Which is just your wives, and some mothers? We need an actual—”
“Government?” I asked.
“You run things like it’s a military oper—”
“We are in a fucking war zone. The last week has been peaceful. You just lost your most eager soldiers to the colonel and now you will lose Sarah, your most competent military person. Wait, you all asked for refuge in Aspen, correct? Knowing full fucking well he is running a dictatorship there.”
Isaac smiled while batting his hands down trying to calm the situation. I was getting agitated.
“He is running a military operation, not renaming himself king.”
“I go by Cap. We created a system to ensure people understood we were not adhering to the old ways. We got negative feedback for it then too. Which was great. Our troublemakers vanished overnight. The troops fell into line and the results are measurable before your eyes. I am not here to…” I calmed my rant. “I am not here to babysit. The community protects the weak by forcing the strong to work. We do not idly cower inside brick walls hoping the storm blows over.”
“What else were we supposed to do?” Daniel said with a scoff. “Only the rich can afford to live up here. If you have not noticed, the rich do not farm or do police work. We are not equipped to survive the apocalypse.”
“You adapt or you die. In this case, you adapt to my rule, or you die when the next attack targets you. Or you die from a lack of clean water. I am getting a headache here. If lives were not on the line, I would literally go ballistic. I think I have been too nice. Actually, I know I have. My offer stands firm. Take it or leave it. You will build your own homes under my rules. The rules are nonnegotiable.”
“And out comes the dictator,” Laura said with a huff. “Come on, husband. I told you this was a waste of time.”
“Hold on,” Jason blurted. “There is no alternative. You two are delusional. Or your wife is, at least. Where the hell are we going to go? We have no soldiers. Arming ourselves will not solve our problems. We need food, we need clean water, and we need power.”
“Is it worth giving up your freedoms?”
“You just don't want to let go of being in charge,” Isaac said with a deflated sigh. Laura lost her composure with that statement. She started beating on Isaac until Jason stopped her.
“I think it is time for you to leave, we have rules. And Laura? You are breaking them,” Perci said with the door open.
Laura went on a tirade of screaming curses. None of what she was spewing made much sense. The reality was she was not ready to be anything besides the boss. I cut off Laura’s Gpad while she fumed on her way out the gate.
I sent a message to the Gpads in the Cornerstore plaza.
“I met with your leaders today. I offered sanctuary in exchange for following our rules. You would have to use your funds to help our defense, you would build your own homes, and you would be respected as community members. Power corrupts. As a military leader, I know this. It is hard to let go of power. Laura has endangered all your lives by demanding I limit my power in exchange for increasing hers on the council. In times like these, maybe she is right. However, Stronghold Mansion is not at the point where our community needs a different power dynamic. Our council solves problems and I have yet to override them, and they have yet to find a problem with me. Our system will stay in place for now. With that being said, if you find yourself concerned about your current situation, we will accept refugees. You will get to elect one noble family per one-hundred-and-twenty-five members. I think the offer is fair. I have my own community to protect, so this is the last you will hear about this from me. I wish you all good luck in the future, even if you decide poorly.” - Captain King Eric, Stronghold Mansion
Perci gave me a slight nudge for attention. “What will they do?”
“My guess is they will fracture. Drama. Oh well. I wonder what Gary has found. How about we go look?” I said.
Perci was about to reply when the sound of a helicopter in the far distance reached our ears. Perci’s Gpad pinged. She showed me the message.
“Momma inbound.” - BIC Linda Growlen
CHAPTER 3
My Gpad alerted me I had a message from Gary. I knew soon I would be busy dealing with Linda Growlen. I imagined the president would not tolerate being interrupted. I called Gary to hasten the conversation.
“What have you found, Gary?”
“Is that a helicopter I hear?” Gary asked.
“Gary, answer the question, please.”
“Oh, well… the data is odd. I am not a geologist.”
“I thought the whole point of the devices was to have them do the work for you.”
“They label the minerals in a way I do not understand. I cannot advise buying a miner at this point. If we use the time to study the manuals and do more surveying, maybe next week. I am—”
“No need to apologize. I need you to go back to building. Focus on putting up four more longhouses,” I said to Gary. Even if the Cornerstore residents did not come here, we could spread out more.
The helicopter was visibly bigger now as it crested the mountain from the north. I was surprised to see a Black Hawk with doors closed and no gunner weapons out the sides. They were in a hurry, though, as they raced down the mountains, barely above the treeline.
“Use all our allotted space to create materials you need. I will dump our funds into armor, weapons, and defense emplacements. Thanks for trying, Gary.”
“No problem, Cap, I will get right on it. Thanks for letting us try. These items have resale value, so not all is lost. Or we can keep trying to figure out how to operate them. Gary out.”
I smirked. The man was picking up on the military lingo. I called Torrez, who answered immediately.
“Go,” Torrez said.
“I need you and Felix to use ninety percent of our wealth on military gear. The other ten percent set aside so Jacky can buy what the other section leaders need.”
“No miner, invest in military gear. I was surprised you did not do this to begin with,” Torrez said.
“Well, we have mediocre defenses already. Increasing our wealth is not a bad idea with the hope we persist. We will have to go to Denver this round if we do not raid whoever we get for our blue portals. All great for a debate later. Go shopping. Take Slister’s team to help. Standardize our gear, please.”
“On it, boss. Who’s in the helicopter?”
“My mother-in-law,” I replied. Torrez chuckled before closing the connection.
Perci was typing to have the helicopter land outside our wall to the south in the cleared field Norm had not planted in yet. I followed her as she jogged to our wall to greet her mom. The helicopter snapped the air with its rotor blades as it slowed for a landing. My Gpad flared red. Update in progress, service unavailable scrolled across the screen. I ignored the message to catch up to Perci. The helicopter kicked up loose pine needles and dead tree bits left over from the tree clearing.
The loud noise of the engines turned into a whine as they spooled down. I arrived at the gate, seeing the visitors waiting for the
blades to stop spinning before exiting. The Black Hawk was crammed full of people. I saw no supplies. Shit. I wanted to rub my temples.
The engines stopped whining before the blades ceased rotation. Linda Growlen stepped out in urban fatigues. To her right was none other than George Gepstein. The man who did not kill himself in the flesh. We smiled at seeing each other. The man had been a close friend after my return from Saudi Arabia. I was somewhat surprised to see him still breathing.
A light truck horn blasted at me while we were blocking the path. Torrez waved to Gepstein as he sped for the Xgate. His convoy rolled out with Slister’s and Gary’s teams with him. I ignored the convoy behind me to greet the new arrivals.
I noticed a few high-ranking officials shuffling behind Linda and George. She must feel comfortable being here, because there were no guards with her this time. Perci received a handshake from her mother. George and I did the man-hug back-clap thing. When it was my turn to shake hands with Linda I deflected her extended arm to embrace her. I dragged Perci into the hug. I knew she desired affection from her mother that was normally neglected.
“Alright, you goon, unhand me,” Linda said sternly.
“You did not bring enough guards to order me around. These generals are all out of shape and wearing parade uniforms,” I said, teasing the woman.
“Ugh, I know. They insisted on getting out of the bunker to inspect their troops,” Linda said.
“Colonel Reinhardt is in Aspen, only a two-hour drive. Probably twenty minutes by air.” My comment was greeted with flat stares.
“You are a pain, Eric. I have rebellions throughout the entirety of our once-great nation. You were the only one I predicted would secede. Instead, it is bad. These goofballs want to try to maintain power over bases that no longer take orders. I have generals requesting the impossible…” She let out a long sigh while pinching the bridge of her nose. “I am here for a different reason than to vent about the collapse of the United States. The doctor here has gifts. Gifts that may change how we progress forward. We are short on time and I need your arm.”
