“Gramma!” she greeted happily.
“Oh, Shiloh.” The older woman jumped in surprise. “You startled me.”
“Sorry, didn’t expect to see you.”
“No power still, so I have to cook food somehow. Can’t expect an army to work on empty stomachs,” she answered. “I’m guessing the power might be out all day so I’m going to keep the stove on so we can at least have a kitchen.”
“I think that’s also why Sheridan wanted the big fireplace in the main room—doubles as a hearth in a pinch,” pointed out Shiloh. “You know how she and Terry are big history nuts… emphasis on the ‘nuts’.”
Lorraine snorted with laughter, but this was flat. “Given how long the power has been out I’d say it was more than handy at this point, wouldn't you?” stated Lorraine and she sighed. “The phones are out too. Tried to call your Aunt but no dial tone. That’s not the only thing… Shy, Terrence died this morning.”
“What? How?” Shiloh took off her heavy outer wear and accepted a cup of hot chocolate from her grandmother, wrapping her hands around it for warmth. “How is Sheridan?”
“Not doing too well. Marissa is taking a turn with her now.”
“Good. I’ll find her later, but first I’ll see if I can find that old radio that Grampa had, the one that cranked up instead of using batteries,” said Shiloh. “It should be around here.”
She started to look for it as Derek came in carrying an armful of wood for the stove.
“Morning Shiloh, what are you looking for?” he asked.
“Remember that old radio my Grampa had? The one with the crank not the batteries?” asked Shiloh as she continued to search through cupboards.
“Yeah, it’s in my shop area,” he answered as he piled the wood up beside the door. “Wouldn’t bother though. None of the stations are working.”
Shiloh looked up at him sharply. Although his tone was conversational, she knew he meant something more serious. Lorraine failed to notice the way they looked at each other but Shiloh understood. She mouthed, Not even the emergency stations?
He shook his head, his eyes betraying his concern. He looked worried and that, in itself, worried her.
She took a breath and said brightly, “Well, it’s a good thing there’s lots of people about for you to cook for, Gramma—I’m going to need them.”
Shiloh jogged to catch up with Derek, and when she did she grasped his arm and brought him to a stop. “What is this about Terrence?” she asked.
“Sheridan just found him this morning,” answered Derek, and he pointed to the garage. “We had no other place to put him for now, and since that’s not heated, we wrapped him up and put him in the garage.”
“Jesus,” breathed Shiloh. “Anyone know how many days he’s been out of his meds?”
Derek shook his head. “If he ran out when all this went down, then he’s been without a few days,” he answered, and then he sighed. “What kind of messed up situation is this?”
“When the power comes back on, Sheridan may be able to sue,” pointed out Shiloh, and when Derek lifted an eyebrow she shrugged. “It won’t bring him back, and it may not go anywhere, but that should have been available to him. The government is culpable for failing to make it so he could get in and get what he needs.”
“Are you saying it’s been longer?” asked Derek.
“Yeah, he told me not to tell Sheri,” answered Shiloh. “He tried to get his prescription renewed, but he was told they had nothing left. The shipment never arrived. He had to go to the hospital and wait for ten hours just to get three days of supplies.”
“When was this?” asked Derek, his brow crinkling.
Shiloh’s voice lowered, and her tone was flat when she finally answered, “Last week.”
CHAPTER SIX
Daniel Wither paced in the center of the rotunda that once formed the City Council Chambers while Victoria watched.
The rotunda was not a large or impressive room, but it sufficed for their use. As their meeting was by no means official, Victoria sat in one of the seats where citizens once watched the council proceedings.
“He won’t give up,” she finally pointed out. “His type never does.”
There was no doubt as to which he she referred to.
“I have no doubt of that, ‘Madam Mayor’,” he answered.
Victoria sighed heavily and glared at Daniel.
“No more of that—if there’s no Canada… or anything else… then I’m hardly mayor. And even if I am, what am I mayor of? A crumbling building in the shadow of a city of ghosts,” she answered grimly. “Despite every effort we make, we will fade into obscurity.”
He stopped pacing then and turned to look at her. “So, you want me to give up?”
She snorted. “Hardly.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” he asked.
She rose from the chair and leaned on the divider between the two sets of seats. “We survive and we take note of history changing around us. Like others did when they found themselves in the same situation, I am sure.”
Spoken like a real politician, he mused. They were all about making a mark on history. She still had a point, though. He continued. “Easier said than done, given our present situation, Victoria.”
This earned him another sharp glare in response. He shrugged his own response. Part of him wanted to be thoroughly involved in making sure the core survived, but a very large part him knew it was already lost.
She just did not realize this yet.
“Anyone else, outside of Sheridan, you left behind out there?” she asked.
“In what way?”
“I can clearly see a troubled mind when it’s before me, and yours is plainly fraught with something,” she answered. “Where’s your other family, Dan?”
“Somewhere out there,” he answered, and he took a breath as he closed his eyes. “You already know about my daughter, and mother. I also have my two brothers, and their families, to think about. I have no idea if they’re all right or if they’re as dead as the majority of this city now is.”
She sighed and looked up at the flags that hung behind the Mayor’s seat. “You’re not the only one. When I left my house this morning it was just like any other day. I had no idea what would unfold today and to remember hugging my husband on the way out, it kills me to wonder if it was the last time I ever will see him alive. I imagine it is much the same for you—and for others.”
“You have no idea,” he answered as he turned back to face her. “I wasn’t even supposed to be here today. If it weren’t for Fitz, or running into you I wouldn’t be. And now we’re stuck here like everyone else.”
Victoria leaned forward, and they both looked at each other. “Have you found Fitz yet?” asked Victoria.
“We’re looking,” Daniel reassured her. “I haven’t forgotten about her at all… and I’m just as worried.”
Victoria blew out a breath, her eyes closing slightly as she let herself fall back into the chair. “Good,” answered Victoria. “Because I haven’t forgotten either.”
* * * * *
The force from Garrett standing up made the chair squeak as it slid across the floor. With one hand on the window frame, he braced himself so he could climb up to the window. He tried to see what was going on, but the angle was wrong.
But he could hear the shouting.
Garrett slid down to stand with his feet flat on the floor and pulled on his coat. He ran outside and waded between the two, narrowly avoiding a punch himself, and pushed them apart. While Garrett was not tall, he was solidly built and more than strong enough to stop any fighting.
“We have bigger issues at hand, here,” he growled at them.
“Garrett, I’m hungry and this bastard stole my ration!” claimed the first one.
“I did no such thing! You lost it… fair and square…”
Garrett glared at him and asked, his eyes narrowing, “What do you mean ‘lost it fair and square’?”
It was al
most amusing to watch the both of them suddenly turn silent, but he did not have the patience for their excuses, not in their current situation. “I’m waiting,” he said.
“Who made you king of the mountain?” asked the first one defiantly.
With a heavy sigh, Garrett turned to face the questioner and the other inched away almost as if he knew what was coming. The punch took the other by surprise and knocked him on his rear end.
“We do not steal food from others,” he said as he cracked his knuckles. He then turned to the other one. “Nor do we gamble our share away.”
He gestured with his head and the other gave the remainder of his ill-won gains back to the first. The first man pushed himself to his feet, rubbing his jaw. “So, what do you suggest we do?” he asked, a bit sullenly.
“Anyone have a fishing kit or some way to hunt and trap?”
The two men looked at each other and looked down. The second one started to laugh. “Well, not that I know of… but…”
“But?” asked Garrett.
“I’m sure we could rig something,” he suggested.
They looked at the other man. “I think I might have seen a fishing kit in one of the trailers.”
“Go look,” suggested Garrett.
The two took off and Garrett sighed. He had been afraid this would happen after they lost contact with the rest of civilization. Unfortunately, with no way to clear the road back to town they were stuck up at the dam.
Supplies were running low. But with the right tools, they would be able to at least fish and trap. The error most people made when coming into the wilderness was that they assumed all animals hibernated through the winter but the truth was only a few did and were the exception. Others either did what they could to eat or stay warm or migrated further south. For some, this was south.
This meant it was still possible to hunt a small amount of game.
The two men returned and Garrett looked over what they had brought him. He inspected the pieces visually and then began to sort them into two piles.
The first one watched him curiously for a while and was silent as the second one asked, “What are you doing?”
“It’s a summer kit which means it’s meant for using on a rod and reel meant for casting. The lures are fake which means the motion of the rod is what gives it the illusion of life… it’s what attracts the fish.” Garrett continued sewing a different lure with the pieces gathered. “But if I can make a lure that will naturally twist and turn in the current, it won’t require the motion of the rod and will still attract something. Hopefully, something that won’t break the line.”
“Is there anything big enough out there to break the line?” asked the younger one.
Garrett nodded his head, and the first one said, “Yeah, some big sturgeon and Muskie in the lake. They’d snap your line in seconds. You wouldn’t even have a chance to react before the lure was gone.”
He thought for a moment and then snorted. “Ironically sturgeon is good eating if cooked right.”
“That means going out on the ice.”
“Yep,” answered Garrett as he looked at the both of them. “Stay away from the dam where the ice is thinnest. The ice is likely a good few feet thick or more. You can drive a truck out onto it without any problems at all. The trick will be boring a hole through it to fish.”
They were quiet for a time and the younger one appeared to be mulling things over. “There’s an auger in the same shed,” he pointed out. It’s not exactly for ice drilling but we could use it as such.”
Garrett snorted. “How do you think ice augers got their start?”
As he watched them run off, he tapped his finger on his arm. Fights had been breaking out regularly. Normally, keeping their cool would be hard enough, thought Garrett. But with empty bellies and not much in the way of entertainment the fights are going to only get worse.
As hardworking and focused as they were a solitary truth remained.
Sudbury had always been a mining town. Even after it became a city, and then amalgamated into the City of Greater Sudbury, the core of that heritage remained. It was stubbornly ingrained into the men and women working the mines and smelters, and no less into the people who worked in fields supporting that industry. Garrett breathed that heritage. He bled it.
He had been conceived in its heart, as had his father before him.
And like these workers he was frustrated.
I should be down at Shiloh and Sheridan’s, drinking with Derek and my brothers until we can’t remember our own names, his lip curled slightly as he clenched his fist around the rebar in his hands. The urge to break something grew stronger.
But it deflated just as quickly.
I can’t.
If I do, then the example I need to set is lost, he thought. The others will devolve into brutes. I know how they feel—I’m at the breaking point too. We should be at home either doing something stupid to brag about next week to our buddies or playing with our kids.
“Dammit,” he breathed as he let the frustration leave with each breath. “Now what am I going to do?”
* * * * *
The road between the rest of the city and the university on the south shore of Lake Ramsey no longer existed. Or, at least, for all appearances it did not. No one could see it or travel on it. The snow had clogged it so much that the only way to guess where it was by the houses that faced it and the slow, flat, meandering path back to the city.
No buses came, no trucks, no cars even. The road was empty of vehicles and Robert Kaine found himself waking up to a dark room lit only by the dull red of emergency power.
“What is going on here?” he grumbled as he sat up from the cot he kept in his office
He had no family, no one waited for him. His apartment was nothing more than a place to register an address and to occasionally entertain a guest or two.
He let out a sigh before sitting up and hobbling over to his desk. He slipped his glasses on after checking them for dust. Peering through them, he checked the data on his computer screens.
I thought I’d have more time, he mused, sitting down heavily. I knew this would eventually happen… but now? Why now?
The initial shock faded and Kaine pulled open a drawer. Taking the notepad and a pen out from the drawer, he drove his attention back to the screen. Already some of the others were blank as communications failed between the university and other points in the world.
“Who the hell is Harnet?” Kaine wondered aloud as he looked up while crinkling his brow. “I mean I know who he is, but I don’t remember him being my age…”
Muttering to himself, he moved to the next screen. As he finished marking down the name of the commander in Lively, all the computer screens went black before he could make note of anything else. Dammit it all!! I didn’t have time to take all that down! he railed.
One by one, the rest of the screens went blank. All that remained was one satellite feed and the radio scanner and he could go over their archives later. The ones that had gone dark for security reasons did not save their messages once the power was cut. Whatever information had been on them was now lost.
“Damnit all to hell,” he swore. He sank back into his chair, rubbing his knee realising he was already out of time.
Well, this winter is just going to be fan-tab-u-lous… he mused as he drummed his fingers on his desk. At least I’m stuck here and not at home. That’s something.
He tapped his fingers on his chair.
I can’t ignore this. There will soon be a need for food, heating, and fresh water. A way to keep our area clean to prevent illness and disease, he thought. He had no idea if the others would be on board or what it would take to convince them of how immediate their need to survive was.
Unless, of course, he quietly found others who figured out what was going on and simply did what he needed to do to ensure their survival without tipping off the others.
Once it became apparent that our civilization was gone—our food suppl
ies never to be replenished—my foresight would make them see me as a hero. He tapped his fingers on the arm again. Not a bad outcome. Might not make me popular with the others, though.
Far better that then the alternative of slowly starving to death while they figured out how to survive. Kaine just had to find these others while working to convince the stubborn members of the need.
Kaine pushed himself out of his chair. No point sitting in here thinking about what to do. I need to start planning, he thought as he leaned on his cane. He pulled open the door and the cane’s taps on the floor echoed in the empty hallway.
He shivered, and pulled his sweater tighter around himself. When did it get cold in here? His eyes opened fully. Heat… no power, no supply to the boiler room. We have no heat anymore.
Kaine moved quicker to the basement of the main building. He hoped that it was not being heated by natural gas. Controls that would no longer be available meant that the pipeline shut itself down. It was a safety measure to prevent uncontrolled back flows and possible explosive returns.
The problem was that, if the university still relied on natural gas, there would be no supply and that meant no heat.
I remember a big budget meeting about the possibility to switching to geo-thermal. Please, please, please… let that have been approved, Kaine begged to the God that had never listened to him before. If they had switched, then all he needed power for was to switch on the system and distribute the heat. The source itself was completely independent of the grid.
The basement was dark—so dark he could not see his hand in front of his face. Kaine pulled out his penlight and shone it down the hallway. Memories of horror movies and zombie flicks ran through his head.
I now regret that unfortunate obsession, he thought. As popular as it was for awhile.
The echoes of his cane on the floor here bounced more than above ground. The hallway was half the width, and also the ceiling was closer to the ground. Kaine swallowed and pushed on.
He almost walked by the door he needed, in fact, he would have if his usual pace was not slowed by needing his cane to walk.
After Oil Page 6
