Exodus (Aftershock Series Book 2)

by Michael R. Watson

  “Okay, try to hold out and stay where you are. We’ll be there as soon as possible,” Grayson relented. “Grayson signing off.” He didn’t wait for a reply, motioning for the radio operator to break contact. He turned to his vice-governor and friend, Bill Hanes, who’d heard it all. “Bill, can you have my helicopter fueled up? We’ll need the extra fuel tank. And I’m going to need four men from security to go with me as a precaution. And make sure they’re armed.”

  “I’ll get right on it, Charles. If you’re expecting trouble, maybe I should go along too.”

  Grayson smiled. “That won’t be necessary. I need you to stay here and keep a handle on everything.”

  “Why are you going at all?” asked Bill. “You should stay here where you’re needed the most and have me go instead.”

  “Perhaps, if it had been anyone other than Davis. I’d like to take a first-hand look to see if the situation can be salvaged. I’m afraid of what I’m going to find.”

  “Are you going to re-establish Davis as Governor?”

  “No. I believe I made a mistake. It’s time for a change.”

  ***

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Gant led John upstairs to the main entrance, exiting into the bright outside afternoon sun. The air was a refreshing change from the stale closed-in air of the lower level. Both took a deep breath with satisfaction.

  The Raiders horses were lined up inside the gate, tied to the chain link fence. None of the other riders were in view except for the two that Adam and Aaron were leading away toward the garages.

  Gant slowly turned to look at his surroundings. He hadn’t thought he would ever come back. While Master of the Guard he had developed a connection to the place. Not a love, but a familiarity. Now, he felt no connection at all. He glanced up to the row of windows of the administration offices, not expecting to see anyone, but then saw a figure in the window of the corner office. Looking closer, he recognized Damon who was looking back at him. There was recognition with no sign of emotion on either man’s face.

  John noticed Gant’s attention was directed to the upper level windows. Following his gaze, he also saw Damon. He pulled on Gant’s sleeve. “Let’s go,” John coaxed, stepping toward the gate. Without hesitation Gant was at his side.

  Tent City was outside the fence and approximately one hundred yards to the east of the prison compound, near enough to have ease of control over the workers and to monitor the activities inside, and far enough away to be out of mind. The influx of homeless had been even more than Davis had anticipated with the eastern border of the ‘city’ having to be continually expanded. Later, Davis had been thankful he’d had the foresight to establish its closest border at a fair distance, keeping the inevitable stench away.

  Gant and John untied two of the horses out front, borrowing them as they rode to the main and only gate of the Tent City enclosure. They had left their horses back where they’d entered the prison. At first, Tent City had provided a gathering place for the displaced people who arrived there looking for help and a sanctuary. It gave them comfort to talk to others in the same situation. Then, as work was forced on them, and some attempted to leave, they were forced to build a wall of abandoned vehicles. It wasn’t escape proof, but it made it more difficult for anyone to leave with their family. They had become victims again.

  As they approached the gate at a gallop, Gant called for John to hold up. There was no sign of a guard at the gate or any activity inside. He nudged his horse forward slowly, John following closely behind. The gate was open. Gant dismounted, handing his reins to John. He walked into the guard shack, disappearing from John’s view, making him a bit uncomfortable. Coming back out, Gant shook his head. Standing in the entranceway, he looked down the center lane of the makeshift community. There was no sign of life and it was eerily quiet. John dismounted and came to Gant’s side.

  “Where do you think everyone is?” John asked.

  “I don’t know. My guess would be that these guards left with the others. And I suppose the people left when the guards did. I just don’t know where they would have gone? Not having anywhere to go was one of the things that kept me here.”

  “Same here. I didn’t have anywhere to go before learning about Paradise.”

  “I’d say we both lucked out,” acknowledged Gant.

  “Let’s take a closer look,” John said, handing Gant back his reins.

  They both mounted back up, riding slowly side by side down the center lane, randomly stopping to check inside various tents. Finding no one and only a few smoldering cook fires, it appeared as though everyone had left in a hurry. Reaching the end of the lane, they hadn’t heard or seen any sign of life. Seemingly, Tent City was abandoned, raising a variety of questions. A foul odor hit Gant’s nose. He crinkled and rubbed his nose, raising the kerchief around his neck up over his nose. At the end of the lane was their latrine and dump. John had forgotten about the stench, becoming surprisingly accustomed to it after years of living with it.

  “If they’ve already gone, they’re aware of their new circumstances and we don’t need to worry about them,” stated Gant. “Wherever they’ve gone, at least they’re free and don’t have to deal with the governor any longer.”

  “I’m not ready to give up just yet. I had friends here. I’d like to know what happened to them. Do you mind?” asked John.

  Gant smiled. “You lead and I’ll follow.” He looked around them at the living conditions. “I’m sorry, John. I didn’t know it had gotten this bad.”

  “I know,” replied John, reining his horse around to leave. “Let’s try the fields. Maybe they’re still working.”

  Without powered farm equipment, anyone living there was put to work in the fields, watering, weeding, or harvesting, or were put to work tending the livestock. Mothers and fathers were expected to keep their children at their sides, teaching them how to continue with their duties when they were gone. The crop fields and garden plots covered hundreds of acres. The closest fields were located a quarter-mile from Tent City. Windmills were used for watering, even though each only produced a trickle with each stroke. The water had to be carried in buckets for the garden and livestock. Gant and John wouldn’t be able to see the fields or the stock pens until rounding the edge of a tree row.

  “Do you hear that?” asked John.

  They both stopped to listen. There were voices. John smiled and then kicked his horse into a gallop, Gant directly behind him. John rode past the end of the tree row to see a huge gathering of people sitting on the ground. These had to be the missing people. As they rode up, the faces in the crowd turned toward them, and the people stood. John recognized some of the faces. Now, there was no question that these were the people from Tent City and by the size of the gathering, it appeared that most if not all were there.

  One of John’s former neighbors, Roy Wilson, recognized him and made his way through the crowd toward him. “John, it’s good to see you. We didn’t expect to see you again after they hauled you off. And we were concerned when your family disappeared.”

  Roy seemed to be asking for an explanation, but he didn’t want to go over everything that had happened. “We’re all fine,” he offered.

  Roy didn’t push it. “Do you know what’s going on? All of the guards, the ones from out here and from inside the compound, just left with their families, only saying they wouldn’t be back. At first we celebrated, but then we came to realize we’re truly on our own. What are we suppose to do?” The crowd had moved in to surround them, looking for answers.

  John could see the fear and desperation in their eyes. “It’s true,” he shouted for all to hear. “The guards are all gone. They quit and took their families away. It turns out they weren’t much happier in their situation than you were.”

  “What about Governor Davis? Is he still in there?” asked Roy. “Is he still going to provide for us?”

  They were grateful the Guard was gone because it had immediately made their lives easier. But the gov
ernor, no matter how bad he was, had made sure they had just enough food and water to survive, rationing sparingly from his stockpiles and from what Grayson had brought. They were in a catch 22, hating the life they had, but also grateful for the little they received.

  Gant sympathized with them to a certain degree. He had been in their same predicament, under different circumstances, but still trapped as they were with nowhere else to go. At least when he had decided to leave, his eyes were wide open, knowing the hardships that were coming. On the other hand, it made him angry. They were no longer under the governor’s control and free to live on their own terms, but had no idea what to do or how.

  “You don’t need the governor!” shouted Gant. “You have water, you’re in charge of the fields now, the garden, and the livestock. If you decide to stay, what else could you need?”

  “What do you mean if we decide to stay?” a man shouted back from the crowd. “We have nowhere else to go?”

  “John,” said Roy,” we’ve all decided to stay.” He paused “We just don’t know if we can make it without some help.”

  Gant looked at John and in a soft voice so as not to be overheard, “Ryder, Darby, and their group aren’t going to be able to take much away in two wagons. It won’t even make a dent in everything that’s down there. Why not tell them to help themselves?”

  John nodded his agreement and then faced the crowd. “There’s plenty of food and supplies in the lower level of the prison compound. The Raiders are loading wagons with a small portion of it right now to take back to their settlements.”

  “We saw them ride in. That’s one of the reasons why we’re out here. We were afraid they’d attack us. We’ve heard the stories and didn’t want to cross paths with any of them.”

  “They won’t harm you. I give you my word,” promised Gant. “Just let them get out of the way before you go in.”

  “Do you think the Guard is coming back?” asked Roy.

  “No,” said Gant, “but, to answer your earlier question, the governor is still in there and if I know him the way I think I do, he’ll do whatever it takes to replace the Guard who left. That’s why you need to take advantage of this lack of security and get in and get out while you can.”

  Roy and those nearby had looks of concern reappear on their faces. “I hope he doesn’t replace them, because if he does, we’ll be right back to where we were,” said Roy.

  “One thing at a time,” said John. “Whether you stay or not, you’re going to need supplies.”

  “Thanks for letting us know what’s going on,” said Roy. He reached up to shake John’s hand. “We’ll be up after we’ve talked.”

  “If I don’t see you again, good luck,” said John. He then rode back toward the prison compound with Gant at his side.

  ***

  “How long until we get there?” asked Chief Governor Grayson.

  “About an hour,” replied the helicopter pilot through his headset. The Blackhawk had a cruising speed of one hundred and seventy miles per hour.

  Grayson sighed heavily. He had been told that the total trip of four hundred miles would take about two and a half hours. It had already seemed like an eternity. He had better things he could be doing back home and if it had been anyone other than Davis, he would have sent someone else in his place. But then none of the other sectors had been a problem like this one had.

  On the positive side, he was able to see the countryside along their flight path. The first time he’d made this trip the sky had still been filled with billowing columns of dark smoke from a black and smoldering landscape of homes, businesses, and entire towns, all engulfed in flames. Now, there was neither fire nor smoke, only the charred remains, silent and void of life. Long lines of motionless and dead vehicles cluttered the buckled roadways. Their flight path not only took them over rural areas and small towns, but over Tulsa and Oklahoma City, seeing first-hand the aftermath of the total devastation they had suffered. He could only sit in silence, thinking about the thousands who had been injured, killed, or left homeless by the quakes. He hoped the survivors had learned to adapt over the last five years and he prayed that somehow his efforts would reach the people who might still need it. From what he’d heard, few had died as a direct result of the earthquakes. It had been the aftermath, the crime, and the lack of food and water that had caused the greatest loss of life. He was grateful when the quakes had stopped. That meant the rebuilding could begin, someday.

  He knew people were suffering throughout the region, attempting to survive in terrible conditions. Thankfully, he had the means to make a difference. With great effort he had been able to set up aid centers in three other regions, one in southeast Arkansas, one in western Oklahoma, and one in south central Nebraska.

  The one in western Oklahoma, Sector 4, had been the only one with constant problems. Apparently, things had gotten out of hand without Grayson having any indication. Hopefully it wasn’t too late to turn things around. This trip was giving him a reason to investigate and determine what could be done. But first, he had to make sure the governor was safe. Secondly, he wanted to set things right as best and as quickly as he could, if possible. He didn’t want the citizens there to suffer because he had used poor judgment in choosing a person to help them.

  ***

  The former Guard and their families were about a mile from the compound. Jason’s wife, Clare, and their daughter had been continuously asking him where they were going. They had been rushed out before knowing where they were going or why. He didn’t have an answer. He was concerned himself, but tried to remain positive. They were getting away and that would have to be enough for the moment. It was better than staying. They were traveling south, the same direction Gant and his family had gone. He knew they had found a place to start over and he was placing their future on faith, praying that he and the other guards would be as fortunate.

  The further they walked, the better he felt about his family’s well being. Their safety was all that mattered and he wasn’t sorry about placing his family first and foremost. Now that they were a safe distance from the governor, he began to think about other things, and they were giving him pangs of guilt. They had left the compound without knowing whether Gant, John, and his boys had been successful in rescuing Ryder and Levi. Now the Raiders were there too. Perhaps they were helping them.

  After being captured and at the Raider’s mercy, they had been treated fairly, letting them all go, which they didn’t have to do. It couldn’t have been easy. After all, they had come to be enemies over the past five years and there had been no reason for them to believe they were actually telling the truth about leaving the service of the Guard and going back for their families. There had been a great deal of trust involved in what they’d done.

  With their families now safe, away from the control of the governor, they owed the Raiders for the second chance they’d been given. A thought occurred to him. If they were going to make it in the wasteland, they were going to need the Raiders help on how to survive day to day and where they might be able to go. He hated how it sounded even to himself. Selfish. There was truth in it though and he had his family to think about. He didn’t know if he or the other guards were capable of making it on their own out there, providing for their families.

  On the well worn dirt road, they walked along a tree row of thorny hedge trees, running adjacent and parallel to the broken and unusable pavement of the old paved road that led to the prison. The inviting shade of the trees would provide a welcome place to stop, rest, and make plans for what lay ahead. They had packed up and left so abruptly, grabbing what they could, this was a good place to take inventory of what they had brought.

  Jason turned back to the line of families that followed, holding up his hands as a signal for everyone to stop.

  “All men come forward!” he shouted.

  He waited patiently as the men took care of their families, helping to get them situated in the shade. Slowly, the men made it up the line, gathering near J
ason. The first men to come forward bombarded him with questions, but he refused to answer until everyone was there, not wanting to repeat himself multiple times.

  “Men!” he said, loud enough to get their attention and for all to hear, “I think we should take a moment to consider something.” The men fell silent. “Now that our families are safe, how would you feel about going back and helping the Raiders?”

  “Are you kidding?” one of them asked.

  “Why should we?” asked another.

  “You know why,” said Jason. “We wouldn’t be here with our families if they hadn’t showed compassion and let us go.”

  “But the fact is they did let us go. And I doubt if it had anything to do with compassion, but to keep from having to deal with us. I say we keep going,” another one said.

  There was a rumbling among the men. Jason didn’t hear one voice in favor of going back. He would have to use the selfish argument.

  “You need to consider another reason,” said Jason. The men fell silent again. “We’re most likely going to need their help in getting re-established somewhere. And I think it’s very unlikely that they’ll want to help us if we abandon them.”

  The gathering of men had no immediate argument. But soon the silence changed to a low hum of hushed murmurs continuing to grow louder. He couldn’t tell whether his words had convinced them or not.

  Jason added one more bit of reasoning, “The only danger in there would be if some of us stayed. Do you know if anyone did?”

  They looked around, checking for missing faces. He saw a few heads shaking.

  “Then there shouldn’t be any danger at all.”

  There were more whispers in the group. One of the men stepped forward. “We’d like to talk it over with our families before we give you our answer.”

  Jason had expected as much and had no reason to argue. It would give him a chance to talk it over with his own family too. Whatever the men decided, whether for or against his suggestion, the decision would affect them all. He nodded. “That’s fair. Come back when you’ve reached a decision. It would be nice if we were all in agreement, but each of you should decide for yourself. And just to let you know, I plan to go back, regardless. I’d just like to know if I’m going alone.”