by David Nees
The doctor looked around, then walked them further along the corridor, away from one of the patient rooms. She continued in a low voice. “People have disappeared. People who crossed the authorities, or who the authorities think crossed them. Sometimes it’s not clear what happened.” A look of anger or concern crossed her face. “You must understand, people don’t just disappear nowadays. Everyone is pretty much accounted for with the militia in control. All the food is centralized, so we all have to be registered—to have a ration card—in order to eat. And if you don’t show up at your food center, you’re not eating. The only way you could disappear is if you left town…or if something happened to you.”
“You sure they just didn’t decide to leave? I did two years ago.”
“And leave their families behind?”
Jason had no response. The doctor went on. “And I’ve heard that sometimes the families disappear as well. Neighbors talk about people coming at night and taking them away. Some people won’t talk about it at all.”
“Do the authorities know this? Has anyone told them?”
“It is the authorities. At least that’s what everyone thinks. No one’s talking…because they’re afraid. Nobody fully trusts the police, and they certainly don’t trust the militia. Look, last year one of our doctors was helping Lieutenant Cameron collect some supplies for your baby’s birth. Well, he started to complain about how things were being run. Asking why we couldn’t have more freedom of expression, freedom of movement. I heard him. Others heard him as well and now he’s gone. We don’t know what happened to him…where he went.”
She continued after giving Jason a moment to absorb what she had said. “In addition to that, the authorities are also taking the children away. I don’t mean secretly. This is official policy.”
“Taking the children?” Jason said in shock.
“Separating them from their parents. They’re being kept in a separate building downtown. The word is the place is set up like a boarding school. It was started for orphans from the initial chaos after the EMP attack. Now it’s used to free parents to work on rebuilding essential systems in the city. But many of us think they’re indoctrinating the kids.”
He stared at her. “What?”
“Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Listen. The only times parents can see their kids is on weekends, and not always then. But the word is that if the parents have done something wrong, crossed the authorities somehow, they get assigned to work the weekends. And those parents may never get to see their kids.”
“Doctor…” Jason tried to make his tone very diplomatic. “I just saw kids playing back where we parked the convoy. I was looking right at them.”
She nodded. “They’re kids whose parents are not in trouble with authorities. They’re let out for today. For this big happy day City Hall wants to bestow upon us all. But you can be sure there are some kids still being shut up in the school.
“You said, indoctrination. You think they’re trying to turn the kids against their parents?”
“Or they’re using the kids as leverage over the parents. Maybe both. Who knows what those in power are trying to do. But there’s a pattern here. A disturbing one when added to how they’re controlling the rest of our lives. It’s like living in a police state.”
“What about the Army? Can’t they help? Lieutenant Cameron is an honest officer. I can personally vouch for him.”
She shook her head. “The Army is window dressing. Showing everyone we’re still in the U. S. of A. so everything’s fine. But how many are even in town anymore? A bunch left early this spring. There may be only thirty or fewer left. They’re so reduced in number that they can’t really do anything. And no one’s sure we can trust them.”
“They may be few in number, but I’m told they’re in contact with the colonel who left this spring. Maybe they could get him back here to clean things up.”
The woman shook her head in doubt. She closed her eyes and ran her hands over her face. After a moment she looked up at him and smiled tiredly. “Please keep what I’ve said to yourself. Don’t talk to anyone. You never know who might be an informant and you could get me and my nurses in trouble. I just want someone outside of the city to know things are not good here.”
“I’ll keep this quiet, but I don’t know what I can do about it.”
The doctor nodded. “I don’t know either. But I want someone outside the city to know. My nurse has probably have been telling your wife and daughter a similar tale. There are bribes sometimes used to get people to follow official policies, and, if that’s not enough, coercion. Never outright threats, but the way things are said, you get the idea you better go along. And there are informants all around. No one’s sure who to trust.” She stepped back, “With all that said, things are getting better. We get regular meals now, as I said. No looting, almost no crime or gangs stealing. And the people in charge are working on projects that will be good for us.”
“Like what?”
“Getting the electricity back on. That’ll be a big help. And improving sanitation. I’m grateful for all of that. I’m just worried that we’re heading down a very bad path.”
“Again, I don’t know how I can help,” Jason said.
Dr. Morgan smiled at him. “I don’t know either, but it helps to let someone outside know my concerns.”
Chapter 11
They didn’t have to wait long before Kevin arrived in the Humvee. “Did you get all the vaccinations done?” he asked as they drove back through town to the trading area.
“No, we have to come back again. They couldn’t find one of them,” Anne replied.
Catherine peered out at the buildings. Riding in the front seat, with a good view gave her the urge to see more of the town. “While we’re out, let’s go to some of the other gathering spots. I’d like to see some of the town.”
Kevin looked at Jason in the rear view mirror. “We’ve got time,” Jason said.
“Why not?” Kevin answered.
They soon drove up to another large parking lot. More people were at this one than had been at the convoy site. A stage of sorts had been erected at one end. It appeared to be made of lengths of metal scaffold tubing joined together with wood planks attached on top. It stood about five feet high with a set of stairs at one end. It looked to Catherine like a place regularly used to make announcements or hold meetings. Workers busily tended a row of mismatched grills from which rose the mouth-watering aroma of grilled pork. A gaggle of kids on the sidewalk were being coached through a carnival-like game of tossing softballs into a series of buckets.
They got out of the Humvee. Anne asked “So should we just wander around?”
“Let’s look for someone in charge,” Catherine said. People began to approach. At first Kevin got most of the attention with his uniform, along with a lot of uneasy looks, but as the townspeople realized who they were, a crowd began to grow around them. Finally they found the organizer working feverishly to get a kid’s three-legged race organized. Upon realizing who the visitors were, he abandoned his efforts and hustled them up onto the stage. Catherine was taken aback. She had thought they would just mingle and ask some questions, but now they were on stage, in front of everyone.
There was a battery powered bullhorn on the stage floor. The man picked it up and put it to his lips, and his words squawked out so loudly they startled Catherine. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” he bellowed into it. He looked proud and excited. “IF YOU WOULD GATHER TOGETHER PUH-LEEZE! IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE THESE VISITORS TO OUR FAIR CITY!”
“Oh God,” Anne muttered.
“They didn’t even do this when we got to the trading area,” Jason said in a low voice.
The games stopped and everyone began to converge on the stage to join the excited people already lined up in front. The rotund announcer watched happily. When he judged that the crowd had thickened enough, he raised the bullhorn again and bawled, “COME IN CLOSE! CLOSE, IF YOU WOULD! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MAY I INTROD
UCE JASON…RICHARDS! THE MAN WHO KILLED BIG JACKS!”
The murmuring stopped. And then the crowd exploded.
Catherine saw Jason step back almost reflexively as the people cheered loudly. The announcer went over to Anne and whispered to her. She answered and he put the bullhorn back to his mouth, “AND ANNE…RICHARDS!”
Another roar. Catherine’s mother looked as pale as she held Adam close with a protective hand over his ear.
“AAAAND…CATHERINE…RICHARDS!”
And that cheer was the loudest of all. And then the crowd began to chant, only a few people at first, but building: “CATHERINE! CATHERINE! CATHERINE!”
She felt herself flush. Kevin had positioned himself just behind Jason. He smiled and looked back at her with pride.
Catherine noticed the organizer scanning the crowd while the shouting was going on. Finally, he raised the bullhorn and yelled, in a shout that was closer to normal speech, “Thank you! Thank you! Now…if you would all quiet down… please quiet down…our visitors would like to say a few words.”
The cheering dropped off and stopped with remarkable obedience. The man turned and held out the bullhorn to Jason.
Jason took it and stepped forward. For a moment he seemed uncertain about what to say. “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you. We…my family and the farmers of our valley, are glad to be in town…glad to do some trading. We’re happy to be able to bring food for everybody.”
“We’re glad you came, too,” a man shouted. “We get to eat barbecue, and it don’t count off the ration card!” The crowd cheered.
“Tell us about the battle,” another shouted.
“How’d you take them out?” came another shout.
“Well…” Jason looked over at Anne for support and launched into an explanation of the battle, but Catherine thought he began to lose them in the details, and when other people began to call out questions he looked considerably relieved.
“Is it dangerous outside the city?” someone called out.
“No. Well, it’s more dangerous than before the EMP attack, but if you’re careful and know how to defend yourself, it’s not that bad. We’re doing well outside of town.”
As Jason went on talking and answering questions, he began to look more relaxed, but then the crowd began to call for Catherine, yelling her name over and over. The organizer was beginning to look nervous. Catherine looked at her mother, Kevin, and finally Jason. They smiled back at her.
“Go ahead,” Kevin said, smiling. “Everyone wants to hear from the real hero of the story.”
Jason handed her the bullhorn. She took it, and pulled the trigger. It squawked loudly and she jumped back. Everyone laughed.
She hesitated, then tried it again, her voice sounding funny, amplified through the poor speaker. “Hello,” she said. The crowd applauded and cheered.
“I’m not sure what to tell you,” she continued.
“Did you kill twenty men?” someone shouted out.
Catherine shook her head, then, remembering, she pulled the trigger and said, “No.”
“How many did you shoot?”
“I don’t know,” she replied in a hesitant voice. “I didn’t count. It was a busy time with everyone shooting.”
“You weren’t scared?” another asked.
“Yes. I was scared. I guess we all were. But we knew we had to keep fighting, keep shooting, keep taking the enemy down.” She paused. The crowd went silent. “It was that or be killed, and we weren’t going to be killed.”
Another cheer erupted, and clapping that did not die down for a while.
“What’s it like…outside?”
“It’s beautiful. Our valley is the most beautiful place I know. That’s one reason I wanted to defend it…why we all did. The air is fresh, the mountains grand, the water is clean…I don’t know of a better place to live.”
Everyone grew quiet again, and she went on talking about the valley and how she loved living there. The crowd hung on every word. After a couple of minutes the organizer, now quite uncomfortable, surprised her by coming over and taking the bullhorn from her hand.
“Thank you for talking with us. I’m sure you have to be going and we have barbecue to enjoy.” He then started herding the group off the stage.
Back in the Humvee, Catherine asked anxiously, “Did I go on too long?”
“No,” Kevin answered. “Jason talked about the battle for longer than you did. But we did seem to make the man uncomfortable.”
“Maybe we gave the crowd a different view of life outside the city. One they aren’t getting from those in charge,” Jason said.
“They seemed to have heard all about us…especially Catherine,” Anne said. “You seem to be a modern-day hero.”
Catherine rolled her eyes. “I don’t know where that came from. Did you start this?” She asked, turning to Kevin.
“Not me. I’m as surprised as you. I’m just happy to be marrying a celebrity. Now if there were only still talk shows you could go on. We could make lots of money.”
“You mean she could make lots of money. What’s this ‘we’ stuff?” Jason said.
“Well, after we’re married, what’s mine is hers and what’s hers is mine.”
“But there aren’t any talk shows and there’s no money. So we’ll just have to make do on whatever you’re paid and my hunting, which is probably more profitable than your pay,” Catherine said.
“Much more profitable. My pay consists of rations and Army scrip. Not sure what that’s worth outside of the service. Are we done touring?”
She looked at him. “…Oh, what the heck. We still have some time, let’s keep going.”
They drove over to another center. This time a lot of tables had simply been set up in the street outside the food center itself, but there was a podium on a low stand. After finding the organizer, a professional-looking woman with an amazing bouffant of copper-colored hair, they gathered behind the podium. Again the crowd started chanting Catherine’s name, and the organizer held the bullhorn out to her first. This time she was less shy about talking with the crowd, and she decided to start straight out by talking about the same things they had answered questions about before, the beauty of the valley and the battle at the bridge. The practice from the last time helped. After she had spoken for perhaps ten minutes, people started to shout out new questions.
“Are you the best shot in the group? I heard you can hit a tin can at two hundred yards.”
“I’m not sure about that, but I’m the best shot here, except for Jason,” Catherine replied, winking at Kevin.
“Better than the Army guy?”
“I think so,” she replied.
“Will you marry me?” a young man shouted from the back of the crowd. A chorus of boos and laughter burst out, and the man was immediately pummeled by his friends.
Catherine raised the horn and responded, “I don’t even know you. So I couldn’t marry you.” She paused for a moment, then continued, “But thank you for the offer. I’ll take it as a compliment.” The crowd began cheering again and the young man smiled proudly at his buddies.
“Anyway,” Catherine went on, “I’m engaged to be married. To this man, Lieutenant Cameron.” She turned and pointed to Kevin where he stood at the side of the stage. There was a new wave of cheering and applause.
The questions continued. The people were hungry to hear about the outside world. She told them how life outside the wall was possible, maybe filled with more danger, but also filled with more freedom and satisfaction. She noticed that the organizer seemed to be getting more and more antsy this time too. The woman seemed more timid about cutting them off, but they were finally thanked and hustled off the stage. Back in the Humvee, they agreed that it was time to head back to the trading area. The city had to be almost ready to start negotiating.
“We seem to be sounding a bit subversive,” Jason remarked as they drove back through town. He sounded rather pleased by the idea. “The organizers definitely got uncomfor
table when we mentioned personal freedom, did you notice?”
“It was even more powerful when Catherine spoke,” Kevin said.
Catherine looked at him. She couldn’t disagree. The reaction of the crowds had been clear to her. “Is that because I’m a girl? Or is it because I’m young?”
“Maybe a bit of both,” Kevin replied.
“Kids are growing up faster now. They have to,” Anne said. “But maybe those in town don’t see that. We know it’s true, especially when one has to fight for one’s life.”
A silence fell. Catherine felt the weight of her experiences return. By their looks, Jason and Anne were feeling the same thing.
Chapter 12
When they got back to the trading area, they saw the people were now relaxing and enjoying the food. No one was looking at the goods anymore. Kevin drove past the sawhorses and the glaring militia, and pulled the Humvee back into its former place. Anne said she was going to find something more to eat and then nurse Adam. Catherine and Jason headed for the store where the negotiating was to commence.
It was one of the empty retail spaces that faced the large parking lot. They walked past two guards at the doorway. Inside, Catherine noticed the dimness and looked back at the windows. They had been covered with paper to keep the negotiations obscured from curious onlookers.
A long row of folding tables ran across the middle of the room, and three large whiteboards had been nailed to the right-hand wall. There was light coming from the ceiling. Two fluorescent lights were on! Catherine stared at them in surprise. Somewhere close by she heard the sound of a generator running.
It appeared that the main negotiations had already begun. Tom Walsh stood in the middle of the row of tables, addressing the town representatives with Clayton Jessup by his side. She didn’t see Frank Mason, but a man she had been introduced to by the name of Robert Goodman, Mason’s senior staffer, was sitting in a chair beside the platform and seemed to be leading the discussions. There were a half dozen other people sitting at the tables who had been helping to tabulate the goods. Two of them were frantically scribbling in pads, evidently taking notes. Some seemed to be just observing the process. Catherine and Jason quickly found seats next to Tom, near the center of the room. She guessed that Tom had held the seats for them.
