The reverend and his small staff that stayed with him, were all afraid of a lynch mob!
Once reporter said a wealthy businesswoman was missing and was nowhere to be found. Her car was still parked in the valet area where special members parked.
Some suggested she may be held hostage inside the reverends private section of the church, and this sent him and his small crew into a tailspin!
But his lines were cut to the telephones, and no one seemed to have their cell phones with them; they were in their lockers. It was where he had always demanded they keep them. Now, they had no access to them.
Then with things as bad as they were, the reverend still plotted on how he could get out of his situation, and still be able to get to the compound!
book two
chapter eight
The next morning, Cynthia’s trucks started to arrive at the compound. No one could see them coming or going.
Day in and day out, they dropped their loads under the cover of night and in a secured location somewhere in the compound.
Hannah and Charles had explained to Cynthia that it would be up to her to secure that compound, and there was enough of an arsenal to do so.
All Zhian technologies would have to eventually be returned to the Caldiron Ranch but, for now, she had all at her disposal.
Once all the shipments were secured within the compound, all shroud equipment was removed.
Ellead was put on loan to assist Cynthia in transporting those that would live on the compound and whatever they needed would be supplied.
Cynthia felt good about finally being able to make a difference again and to be able to help these people that had been ripped off just like her but much worse.
Many of those members of the megachurch had given everything they had to live in that compound, she had only donated a half dozen truckloads of supplies within the last year, which she never missed anyway.
That morning during the meetings between Lawson, Hannah and Charles, her staff and those on Earth II, it was decided Cynthia should take charge of the compound completely.
Once it was up and running efficiently, she could step down if she so chose and move to the ranch, one of the settlements of freedom, or Earth II if that was what she wanted.
Cynthia was thrilled at the idea. She loved being in charge. It was all she had ever known.
Her parents had groomed her from a small child that one day, she would be the sole heir of the Chadwell wealth. That she would inherit hundreds of companies and thousands of employees she would be responsible for.
“Sounds good,” Cynthia said, and she added, “I’m ready to get started, there are a lot of hungry people in that megachurch that need to be fed and then transported.”
Everyone shook hands and at that point, a hug was in order. Cynthia, however, was more than happy to part with that second skin suit of hers, and that emergency transport thing; that was the worst trip she had ever been on.
What little she could remember was that she was mostly whacked out for days until she got her equilibrium back.
Cynthia was ready and so was Ellead. Ohtron was just now landing after securing those semi-trucks and then having to collect all the shroud units. An operation well executed, by the way, Ohtron mentioned to Hannah.
“Ohtron, take yourself and your bitrons and report to Cynthia right away, you have much more work to do!” Hannah said and added, “Good job by the way!”
Just then, Cynthia was getting ready to board Ellead when Ohtron landed in front of her and said, “Ohtron here mam, reporting for duty!”
“Well, what are you waiting for my man, hop to, and get into wherever it is you are going to sit and hold on!” Cynthia said with the fullest smile and loudest laughter she had heard coming out of her mouth in years as they boarded!
“Ellead,” Cynthia asked just before launch time, “Do I have enough time for just one martini?”
“It’s already made mam, look inside the bar replicator, I believe it’s exact to your liking mam?” Ellead replied.
“Thank you Ellead, it always is!” Cynthia said.
With Ohtron tucked away in the cargo bay, the martini glass empty, Cynthia gave the word she was ready and they lifted off from the Caldiron Ranch.
The agents still inside the megachurch had arranged for the first group of folks to be transported to the compound. They were waiting in the back parking lot of the church with bags and kids in tow.
When Ellead lifted off, the agents got another group ready and had them waiting on the next trip. This continued on for days, but the move was going well, and the reverend had no idea what was going on since the cameras were turned off from the church area and all he could do was guess.
In less than a week, the megachurch was emptied out. Everyone had taken their tents with them and what little possessions they owned, and you could hear a pin drop it was so quiet in there.
Meanwhile back at the compound, it’s new residents had set up their tents and a cooking area, so everyone could eat together.
Cynthia had gotten everyone together each day for a meeting of the minds, she liked to call it. And everyone began throwing ideas out there about how they would like to see everything set up.
By the following Sunday, they held their first service on the grounds of the new compound. Everyone agreed Cynthia should speak first, and no matter how much she resisted, she found herself at the podium.
Thank you so much. Please, be seated and God bless all of you! You have handouts that you were given before service, please look them over and decide who you would like to be your leader and also fill the other positions on the list. My name cannot be among your choices.
However, I will need to give final approval of the positions you fill. We will need to run them through the background check among other things. It is with great sorrow we meet this way, under these dire circumstances.
Yes, I was one of the big donors of this project, but I was never aware of the reverend’s plans. When I did discover them, I called in help from several areas making sure all of you got what you were promised.
We will need to work in teams to complete some of the buildings that were not finished yet. Housing is at the top of the list. Then you will need to choose someone who will be in charge of your supplies, cooking, cleaning, record keeping and so on.
I am uncertain of how long these hard times may last. From the looks of things, it will only get worse out there. You will need to secure your entire perimeter as quickly as you can. Many will try to infiltrate this camp and take what you have. These are desperate times.
But today, please, enjoy your services and we’ll start getting organized this afternoon. Thank you.
Cynthia stepped down and was shaking. It had hit her all at once of the burden she now carried. For now, Cynthia decided to take up residence in Ellead and he was perfectly happy to accommodate her. This way, she could monitor the entire operation right from his control center.
That evening, Ohtron was dispatched to help the new residents get organized by flying the perimeter and reporting back where their weakest points were. He and his bitrons were excellent at security detail until more training could be done.
The new security team immediately began to organize. The four-wheel drives and jeeps on the property were very helpful. The supply team began record keeping of which vehicle was fueled and how much.
The medical team was selected, and they took over one of the larger buildings and began setting up a clinic, some hospital rooms, medical supplies and a team of those qualified to run it.
The mess hall, which is what everyone voted to call it, was now complete. That team knew exactly how many would be eating, how much supplies they would need for any given meal and signed those supplies out from storage.
The cooks had taken it upon themselves to have a dozen or so buckets filled with fresh dirt and had planted herbs and spices to enhance the flavor of the meals they cooked.
A team was created to operate s
everal greenhouses, this way they could grow fresh vegetables year-round to accommodate such a large group of people. But the cooks insisted they grow their own herbs, and they took a great deal of pride in doing so.
One team, in particular, was created to log all the other teams, their progress, what they needed to improve on, and also to make sure that everyone in the compound had work to do and they oversaw all labor.
Meanwhile, back at the megachurch, it had been a month since the reverend had seen the sun.
To be trapped in his own church was ridiculous and he and the few staff who were in that meeting and had been with him this whole time began breaking through the wall behind the pulpit.
The building was made of stone so all they could do was move to another room, one at a time and get to a window to escape and all the while, avoid possibly thousands of angry church members.
There was no way Cynthia was going to let him escape, but she took a great deal of pleasure in watching him pace the floor every day. Plotting how he would get out of the church and get to his compound as fast as he could.
The reverend had no idea his people had ever left the church, much less that they had taken over the land he planned on occupying with just a select group of his choosing.
In just one month, the church already began decaying. A lot of trash was left behind from those that moved to the compound, and the stench was unbelievable, thought Cynthia as she waited for the reverend’s breakout plan.
A security team was quickly dispatched from Ellead and Cynthia and her own team on their way to the megachurch.
Then just as the final blow to the wall broke through and a hole big enough to crawl through was present, the men began crawling through it one after another.
With guns stuck up their nostrils, each stood up and raised their hands high above their heads as ordered.
The reverend was the last one through the hole because he was a coward and wanted his staff to be attacked first if anyone was waiting on them on the other side of the wall!
Stunned, all the men and the reverend just stood there looking around. Not a soul was there but these folks with guns and the entire church were in shambles.
“What’s going on here, Cynthia?” The Reverend asked.
He was stunned and nearly speechless as Cynthia was one of his chosen to live on the compound, and here she was holding a gun at this head!
The reverend’s staff was led outside one by one and set free. But that freedom would be short-lived because they had hell on Earth in front of them. They would now live among the hungry, angry crowd that destroys everything they see, steals and robs to survive. They too would have to live this way or die.
“Tie him up and put a gag in his mouth, I’m sick of hearing his voice!” Cynthia demanded.
One of the reverend’s helicopters was fueled and ready. The reverend was led to the helicopter and placed in the front seat.
That is when he began resisting with all his might! He hated the front seat of his helicopter. It had always scared the hell out of him and he much preferred the back seat.
“Aw, what’s the matter reverend? Afraid, are we? I bet you thought I forgot about your fear of the front seat, didn’t you?” Cynthia remarked and began laughing as loud as she could.
The reverend started shaking his head no over and over and over again. But the pilot took off and told the man to shut up, it was going to be a very long ride!
Lawson was waiting on the helicopter to arrive at Alcatraz or as he preferred to call it the prison rock. Just as soon as the reverend stepped foot on that rock, he knew exactly where he was and was even more terrified.
He was led indoors and run through the shower, searched thoroughly and assigned a prison number and a prisoner jumpsuit.
“Don’t worry so much reverend,” Lawson informed him and also said, “You’ll be in solitary confinement because there are a lot of people here who know who you are, and they are mad as hell at you!”
“But why am I here in the first place? The members got everything!” The reverend complained.
“It’s for your own safety that you are here. A lot of people are out for your head, Collinsworth!” Lawson stated sternly.
Lawson had been at the rock a week now and decided to stay a little longer and make sure everything was secure once the reverend had arrived.
He wanted to make sure that the operation was running smoothly and to finish his report he would be giving Hannah back at the Caldiron Ranch as well as Syra on Earth II.
Lawson reminded the pilot he had his own pod transportation and would see the pilot back at the Caldiron Ranch in one week.
Cynthia had left the church doors wide open and her men had unlocked all doors to the building. It was now free for anyone who chose to take over it and do whatever they wanted.
It was excellent for shelter, especially for those still without a home and stuck living on the streets. They could at least be out of the rain and weather and she had hoped they would find some peace and stop fighting.
Everyone traveling with Cynthia was thrilled the operation went as smoothly as it did.
There wasn’t much left at the megachurch of any use since all the gasoline, diesel and the storage buildings had been removed and relocated to the compound. But it was at least shelter if anyone needed it in the future.
Ellead gave his crew a flyover of some of the really troubled areas they had seen on the news.
“Oh, my goodness, it looks like the end of the world down there!” Cynthia said.
Agent Smith replied, “Well it damn near is Mam!”
Once they got back to the compound, it was time to rename the place because Cynthia was sick and tired of hearing it called that.
When she brought this up to the residents, everyone was thrilled that they could take part in renaming their new home.
Everyone immediately began throwing names out there and most of them were really good. This is when Cynthia suggested they put it to vote and they did right away.
The final name that won was Appalachian Retreat. Cynthia was fine with whatever they came up with, and this one as good as any of the others that had voted on.
A few days later, Lawson arrived and was ready to start the training for the security detail.
Many of the men and women already signed up had some experience as police officers or light military training. But they would also need to learn security through setting traps, wiring the perimeter with explosives, electric fencing, the field cameras, and the live cameras so they could monitor the perimeter from their security com center.
Meanwhile back on Earth II, the Zhian Sphere had been watching Earths weather patterns and sent Syra a warning which completely caught her off guard!
Syra immediately called upon Hannah back on Earth to an emergency conference. Hannah and her people at the Caldiron Ranch had already noticed the weather changing a little early this year and had some concerns.
When the conference ended, Hannah sent word for Cynthia back at the Appalachian Retreat to contact her right away. This raised a great deal of concern for Cynthia and she rushed back to her com center to speak with Hannah.
Hannah explained to Cynthia of the conference and informed her they would include her settlement in it from now on.
It had been decided that in the future, the Appalachian Retreat would be included in the conferences as well as Settlement One, Settlement Two and Settlement three. Many still referred to them as the settlements of freedom.
Cynthia was warned of the coming winter and to make sure the retreat was well prepared for it. By spring, those who survive it in the cities will be searching for a new home and security would need to be increased.
When the call ended, all she could do was return to Ellead and just vent. Ellead was a good listener and had Cynthia’s martini waiting in the bar replicator
The weather patterns had been changing drastically in the last 10 years, but now it seems things had sped up much faster than Earths scien
tists predicted.
They just did not have the means to monitor the patterns as well as the Zhian Sphere back on Earth II could and they were caught off guard.
The dire warnings were sent to scientist all around the world; some would take it seriously while others simply laughed it off as being overly cautious.
Cynthia immediately called everyone into a meeting and they went over the report from Hannah. She explained that winter of epic proportions was expected.
This next winter was expected to be colder than any known to man or ever recorded. It would be longer than expected and freezing temperatures well below zero and as low as possibly minus 30 were predicted.
This prediction was just for the east coast of the United States. The further west, the worse it was predicted and was looking pretty grim.
The southern states such as Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas also had dire warnings of possible weather conditions that could cost millions of lives if they were not prepared for it.
Since all housing construction was now complete and the perimeter secured, operations were running pretty smoothly. Cynthia and her team immediately went to work on getting the retreat prepared for the coming winter months.
The largest building on the property was a lodge that had 150 rooms in it, each with two beds, a fireplace in the lounge area, a large kitchen and dining room area.
And so it was agreed that this would be the place set up for an emergency should the weather get so bad residents would need to vacate their homes and shelters.
The builder teams were already planning on reinforcing the roofs of every building because of the weight of snow. Now, they would make sure they were doubly protected.
All snow removal equipment received much-needed maintenance and was relocated near the lodge.
Shelters were erected that would keep all vehicles out of the weather and chains were set up near each vehicle to chain the tires once the conditions turned worse.
The greenhouse was revamped, and a heating system installed because no one expected the solar panels to keep up, especially since they expected overcast and snow most days.
The Chronicles of Syra Omnibus Page 36
