by L. S. Wood
The many skyscrapers of this new old modern time of yesterday year were yet another part of the new cultures downfall on the earth, now rendered mostly useless by the big neutron blast, now nearly vacant compared to just over a year ago. The many huge skyscrapers around the planet became death traps for many hundreds if not for the thousands of working staff and inhabitants who remained in them at the time of the disaster. The instant atmospheric saturation and penetration of wild neutrons wiped out everyone working on or above the first fifteen floors in most all tall buildings. The mighty mishap took great numbers in those still on the lower floors as well turning many of these people into thoughtless walking zombies. In most buildings right along with all the other people not having the chance to descend down to the basement floor where most survived, except for the few who were trampled to death in the great exodus in people fleeing, trying to save themselves from disaster.
The tall skyscrapers of the planet had now become mostly tall edifices of tall useless spaces especially without their precious blood flow of electricity flowing through their wired veins of life to keep these structures alive. Great metropolitan areas were evolving in depths down in the earth below the earth’s surface where electricity was still functional. The correct depth below ground allowed the magical electric juice to flow lucratively in its wire veins of life. It was not dead as above the earth’s crust where the neutron fields saturated the earth’s atmosphere. Up there it sought out and destroyed any source of electrically generated power.
Sometimes it would include minuscule impulses generated by some poor animal’s nervous system, destroying whatever was in its path trying to seek out the generating source of power whether it is an animal organism committed to the ground, or a foul, or insect of the air.
This neutron monster took away innocent lives from people who barely scuffed their stocking dry feet across a positively charged wall-to-wall carpeted floor with static electricity in it or from being on a wool scatter rug thrown down for neatness. They were all killed dead, wiped out instantly rendering them useless for just scuffing their feet nonchalantly across anything that caused them to generate a mere impulse in static electricity around them.
The thing, this creature from out of the air in the world, would come right out of nowhere and suck the life out of every electrical impulse generated, whether it is from a statically charged rug, or the minutest of electrical impulses generated in their bodies when touching things that would cause a spark generated. It was best to keep yourself static free in order to live and survive in this newly evolving world with the Thing of death floating freely everywhere above. The invisible neutron field of death was the most dreaded creature of all times by everyone living on the face of the earth now.
The northward bound bus made its first overnight stop of its trip to Vermont with its foursome, the only passengers on it at the time, at the Grand Colonial Trader Hotel. The mere nostalgia of the building along with its fascinating dressed staff were quite interesting to say the least, especially in these poor times of great despair. The Grand Colonial Hotel seemed to be putting on the dog for all of its many guests and visitors. The entire staff members were all dressed up in garb of colonial time dress of yesterday year. The halls and walkways around the hotel were all lit up with old time traditional colonial style gas generate lights and lanterns of a hundred or better years ago.
The entryway into the huge reception hall had a magnificent gas fired crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling greeting everyone with its beauty and awe who entered there in. The distinctiveness of this building had been a preplanned structure of beauty, to represent a great nostalgic mansion of grand southern hospitality from the past by its original owners and planners.
It had been previously preplanned a long time ago to be built this way long before the big blast of missiles came to the area, and had been planned to go into full operational service the following week just after the horrible tragedy that had struck upon the earth in which case the hotel didn’t open on time. Its grand opening delayed to a few months later, when the appropriate time would happen for the likes of such a unique building of its time came.
With having the luck of the Irish, the new building sat close to the capital of the country. The new hotel flourished immediately the second it opened its doors for business, frequented by state representatives and foreign dignitaries frequenting the Washington D.C. area doing their jobs representing their lands and states in Washington.
Everything in the hotel operated by hand naturally or by bottled gas, so it read on an informational bulletin hung as they entered the building. This bothered the hell right out of Ann considerably. Everything inside the Colonial Grand Hotel looked very antique yet wonderful, the way it was supposed to look over a hundred years ago.
The gas fixtures reminded Ann as a very small girl visiting her grandparents’ home down in South Lunenburg, Vermont of a bad experienced she had being around her grandmother’s propane gas cooking stove, and it was not a very happy remembrance either. She was having a grand old time in helping her grandmother cook an apple pie. She was helping her grandmother and turned on the gas to the oven for cooking the apple pie, then went to the counter to fetch the match without having it readily in her hand with her when she first turned it on.
When she opened the oven door and lit the match, the built up gas in the oven exploded right in her face, singeing the hair on her head, burning her eyebrows and eyelashes off, and leaving her looking like a dirty scorched red tomato with soot all over her head. It was a wonder she did not have second and third degree burns all over her face and her arms now, for she was almost de-haired from the exploding burning gas that melting the hair off her head.
She went around for the longest time sporting the awful looking sunburned skin with several awful looking pealed blotches of skin around her head and arms to follow this horrible experience. No wonder she hated the thought of sleeping in a building that was fully operated by gas. Ever since that incident, any kind of gas has definitely not been one of her more favorite devices of use for anything using it. She has all ways shied away from any gas appliances that used natural gas or bottled propane for their source of heat or power.
Ann would rather have liked the old modern conveniences of electrically operated appliances back in her life. She felt the world around her just was not going to be the same again, for she could sense it. She knew things would be a whole hell of a lot different now that she and her family walked through the main doors of the Colonial Trader to rest their tired bodies from sitting so long on that damn bus, bumping along the highway for most of the day. Most all the big hotels and more the small motels along the way remained closed or boarded up along the deserted roadways. The owners of the Grand Colonial Trader were lucky, for if their fancy hotel was located anywhere else but where built outside the country’s capital, it too would have probably not been open for business and all boarded up like so many the others.
A handful of lucky hotels and motels along the roads leading back home to Vermont remained open for business. Mostly for their prime locations built so close to large metropolitan areas barely busy enough to afford them staying open, having the conveniences in gas appliances maintaining their life from the beginning, and helping to keep them alive.
The Mitchell family, shortly after checking into the Grand Colonial Trader, sat down in its elegant dining hall and ordered their evening meals. The children after sitting for just a short while, became rather rambunctious, having been trapped in their rolling playpen with seats for so long having nowhere to run or play all day to rid themselves of their built up youthful energy.
They were sick and tired of having to behave themselves for as long a time they had had to especially after having done the same exact trip just four short days earlier. The excitement in having their mommy back home with them and taking the very long bus trip down to Florida was becoming just too much for two little child
ren to endure, and they were letting it be known to everyone around them, especially Ann and Ben.
Both were very thankful the dining room remained almost empty of any guests at the time. The children managed to quiet down when their meals came lastly to them.
After eating a few mouths full, Amber fell fast asleep in her booster seat as the littlest one Sarah fell fast asleep in her high chair before dessert came. Ann picked up Sarah out the high chair while Ben took Amber in his arms. They carried their two children up the stairs to their room for a quiet night’s rest, Ann hoped. They tucked their two children into the king size bed set up beside theirs for the night. Ann instantly began feeling sad about what she had been missing daily held hostage in space away from them for so long. She was excited in having the experience of carrying Sarah up the stairs and merely tucking her into her bed even though it was not their home.
When they first entered into their sleeping accommodations for the night after dinner, they saw a pushcart in the middle of the floor with a bottle of Baltic’s finest champagne tonic on ice on it. The cart held a fancy clear lead crystal ice bucket filled with ice and sitting alongside the ice bucket were two very elegant tall stem champagne glasses along with two long stem roses stretched out on the cart beside each glass. Ann glanced over in Ben’s direction and said in a low voice mouthing the words, “You shouldn’t have Ben.” “I didn’t.” Ben replied whispering. “I think whoever did it got the wrong room, but I wish it had been my idea.”
After putting the children into their bed for the night someone knocked gently at their door. “See, Ann, I told you they must have gotten the wrong room number. I was not telling you a story when I said I didn’t order them. Someone is here to retrieve the champagne tray and bring it to where ever it should go. Sometimes mistakes do happen you know even in fancy places like this one.” Ben went over and answered the knock at the door. Upon opening the door quickly not to awake the children, they saw a young lad standing in the hallway with a spray of beautiful flowers held tight in his right hand. “I am truly sorry miss, sir, as I forgot to place these lovely flowers on the cart with the champagne.” “Are you sure you have the right room, sir? Neither I, nor my husband remember ordering any champagne or flowers for this room.”
“Ah miss, are you Lieutenant Ann Mitchell, miss?” “Yes, Yes I am.” “Well then, miss, I have the right room then ma-am. These flowers are for you miss.” The door boy handed Ann a beautiful spray of assorted roses and flowers with a card attached to them.
Ben reached into his pocket, and preceded to hand the young lad a tip for his services. “That won’t be necessary, sir. Your short or long stay here with us at the Colonial Grand Trader Hotel is paid in full for the entire family’s stay here with us. Here is your money back from your evening meal with us, thank you. Everything is on the house for you and your family during your stay at the Grand Colonial Trader, miss.”
The young lad quickly made an about face and swiftly walked away. Ann and Ben just stood there looking at one another with joyful looks of bewilderment upon their happy faces. Someone special was lurking in hidden shadows of the night and was definitely looking out for their welfare, for it pleased Ann to no end and bewildered the hell out of Ben.
The flowers, the champagne, their meals, and stay at the Grand Colonial Trader Hotel was printed upon the thank you card attached to the bouquet of beautiful flowers, was complimentary to Ann and her family from the nations around the world, especially the citizens of the United States, signed the President of the United States.
With a note also attached to the card that read on as such. “Happy to have your recovery team safely back home with us, Lieutenant. It took great courage on your part to volunteer for such a dangerous mission in trying to help save the world and the people in it from such an outrageous menace lurking in our midst. Sorry you became one of the tragic sufferers that day Ann, but in a total different manner. It must have been a very difficult time going through what the crew aboard the Twitchel went through, especially you being the only woman onboard the craft. A year of not knowing one way or another if your family was safe or not especially your children, if one or both were still alive or dead must have taken quite the toll on your motherly mind.
Glad to have you all back home safe and sound. Would like very much for you and your family to come to the White House tomorrow a.m. for a quick visit with the First Lady and I, Lieutenant. Your short stay while in the Washington D.C. area at the Grand Colonial Trader Hotel is complimentary, provided by the good people of the United States, with whom so many prayed for you each and every day I am sure for your safe return back home to us. We are more than delighted to provide you your every need while you are here in the Washington D.C. area, and thank you again very much, Lieutenant, for your heroism. We hope you will decide to come. We shall send an escort for you and yours first thing tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. sharp.” Sincerely, President Stallman.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The White House
Outside the Grand Colonial Trader, a diesel powered luxury sport utility limo pulled up out front at precisely 0900 hours sharp. It displayed the usual White House’s emblems of the United States of America seal attached to its two front doors. The military driver jumped out and opened the side doors to the limo for Ann so she and her family might climb inside for their short but long limo ride to the White House.
White House security had tripled itself with many more soldiers surrounding its perimeter than it had usually had in the past. Today there were no electronic security devices or systems in place to protect the president because of the lack of electricity on Earth to operate the devices should someone try to breach the grounds of the capital or any of its many buildings. The same held true for the pentagon and its secured establishments.
Ben was more excited in his being able to meet President Stallman than Ann. She truly did not care one way or another in meeting him. She did not want to waste any more precious time away from her mom and dad, for all she wanted to do at that time and moment was to get back onto that wonderful bus that was being held over for them back at the Colonial Grand Trader and get going back home to Vermont. She could not wait to spend quality time with her aging parents. The two of them being elderly and all made Ann fret all the more about being gone for so long, and now another day wasted almost fried her rump to the sizzling point, but she would do it for her country and for Ben.
How many, many times had she hoped and prayed at night and during those long lonely days away been able to see and hold both of her parents alive just one more time again, and in a good state of health. All she wanted to do was to put her arms around the two of them one at a time and tell them just how much she loved them and had missed the two of them so much. She had never felt a need like this before, but now knew how they must feel seeing how much she had missed her own children for so long, and this unexpected visit to the White House made her fret about her parents all that much more.
Ann looked the picture of a perfect military poster model, posing for an Uncle Sam’s I Want You poster. When she awoke, she dressed herself up in her freshly pressed military dress Air Force blues after having the in-house service press them for her after she read the note from the president. When they stepped out of the escort vehicle in front of the White House, the secret service men immediately escorted Ann, Ben and the two children off to the oval office where President Stallman and the First Lady were having tea. The two happily greeted the four of them with open arms. President Stallman shook Ann’s hand and introduced her to his lovely wife, Pat, and then Ann introduced her family to them.
“Welcome my dears, welcome. Oh, my-my-my, oh you poor dear, lieutenant. You trapped up there in space all by your lonesome without these two little precious darlings with you. Oh my, oh my. What a pity it must have been. It must have been real hard on you not knowing whether these two little precious ones were still alive or not especially for over a whole l
ong year.”
“Yes ma-am it was.” “Well, you certainly deserve some sort of heroic decoration, a medal, or something for that, doesn’t she, dear?” The first lady turned toward her husband expecting some sort of an instant reply from the president immediately. President Stallman saw the need in his wife’s request and shook his head up and down in total agreement with the First Lady, while Ann smiled back a crimsoned colored grin of total embarrassment.
The thoughtfulness of the First Lady was nice, but Ann had other things on her mind. All Ann wanted to do at that point in time was to be on that damn bus going home with her family, and not stuck there in Washington D.C. being flattered over for having been stuck up in outer space for so long. She was sick of being gone away from home for so long.
It was not that she was not grateful for all the attention she was receiving, but she was very homesick, more now than she had ever been before while stuck up in the space station this past year. She knew at that time there was no possibility of her getting back home, but now she was so close to it that it made her more sick to think she had to wait yet another day before she could get to see her folks.
She made the best of the day visiting with the President and the First Lady. The First Lady took a great liking especially to Ann’s two little girls, while President Stallman wanted to know every little damn detail from Ann on how she was or was not treated onboard the International Space Station being the only American woman onboard. Some of his questions were quite personal of how she managed with so many men alone, and Ben’s ears were listening with great interest with wide-open ears to hear and see what he might learn of what her last year’s life aloft had been like. President Stallman did not pull any punches in his questioning either, and wanted to know precisely down to the last gory detail of just how well the large Russian staff aboard the space station had treated her along with the rest of Commander Anderson’s crew.
