When Jenny found the small group, playing in the playground near the community building she stopped before Julie could see her and watched. Callie was a real pro. The MAG was lucky to have her as a member. She was great with small children. It allowed parents to do what needed to be done without worrying about their children.
The older children, six to nine years old, also had an activities director to watch over them and keep them busy when they weren’t with their parents. Ten, eleven, and twelve year olds, too, had someone to keep an eye on them, and direct their activities. Teens were basically unsupervised own, but expected to lend a hand with whatever needed to be done. They were given plenty of time for themselves.
Jenny eased away, going back to the family’s camp. She ran into Craig on the way. “Mother, Miss Marigold asked me to go to the community building library with some other kids. Is that okay?”
“Take your FRS radio,” Jenny said. “And get mine out, too. Should have already done that.”
“Yes, Mother,” Craig said, opening one of the camping equipment totes. He handed a radio to Jenny and fastened the other one to the belt of his pants.
“If you go off on your own, for any reason, I want to hear about it,” Jenny said. “You know the rules if something happens.”
“Yes, Mother.” Craig started to turn around and head for the community building, but stopped and turned back to his mother. “This is something bad, isn’t it, Mother? Not just a practice, like before.”
“I hope it turns out to be just practice,” Jenny replied. “But yes, this could be bad. If I’m not handy, do as Miss Marigold says. Okay?”
“Okay, Mother. But if you need me, just call me.”
Jenny managed to hold back her tears until Craig was on his way toward the community building again. But then two tears rolled down her cheeks. Since Craig’s father had died nearly sixteen months before, Craig had done everything he could to be the man of the house.
Even only eight, he seemed to understand, to a large degree, what the MAG was and why Jenny thought it necessary to be a part of it. It was a big help not needing to worry about Craig much. That allowed her the time she needed with Julie. And private time for herself.
She walked slowly after Craig, headed for the community building herself, to draw a work assignment. She needed something to keep her busy and thoughts off the potential problems ahead.
Thankfully, help was needed in the greenhouses. It was work that Jenny not only didn’t mind, but preferred. It made her feel like she was really contributing. In a long term scenario, God forbid, she would be a teacher, among other duties. Right now, for the short times she’d been at the retreat for practice drills, she hadn’t been able to use her professional skills.
When it was time for the noon meal, she went back to the community building and found first Julie, and then Craig, as the two groups came to the building for their lunches. Julie immediately began telling Jenny all about her morning activities. Craig sat quietly beside them, waiting for the call to form the serving line.
Jenny had to hand it to the people in charge of the community kitchen. They could work wonders with storage foods. There were the constant, normal sounds of a cafeteria in full swing for some time, and then Harvey Chambers, the man responsible for getting the MAG started called for attention.
Jenny gently shushed Julie, and turned to listen to Harvey. He looked grim. “Ladies and Gentlemen. The assessment team’s decision to call this alert is becoming more and more validated as we continue to get further information.”
“What information?” called out one of the diners. “There is nothing on the news.”
Harvey frowned. “There will be a time for questions at the end of the announcement. To continue, it is the team’s unanimous opinion that a nuclear strike is imminent. It was believed at first to be a terror strike. But further information indicates a strong possibility of a widespread attack on the United States by one or more hostile nations.”
There were gasps and sudden muted conversations as Harvey continued. “With the possibility of nuclear war we are implementing the nuclear attack plan. We still have quite a few people left to come in, so I’m asking everyone to double up on the duties. Everyone weapons qualified should report to James as soon as possible to get put in the rotation for security watch.”
Craig knew what that meant and looked over at his mother. She seemed to be taking it in stride. But it worried Craig. He knew she could shoot. She’d brought him with her once when she practiced here at the retreat. He accepted the fact that he was too young to be armed, just as his mother had told him, but she’d shown him how to be safe around her PPK pistols, and the guns here at the retreat.
Craig turned his attention back to Harvey. “Now, we all hope that this is a false alarm. We’ve had a couple of minor ones in the past, as most of you know. But please don’t treat this as such. The assessment team has many sources it accesses to come up with these warnings. They are hearing the same thing from many of them. If the team does get information that the danger is non-existent, or over, then the all clear will be announced and everyone can go home and forget about this event.
“As to the question about the sources of information, and the fact that the news doesn’t have them… We have people on the team very adept at reading between the lines of news stories. There are a few with contacts with unimpeachable in-the-know sources. And don’t ask who they are. I don’t know, and I wouldn’t tell you if I did know. But trust them. I do. Now please carry on.”
Jenny thought there were a couple more people that would have asked questions if Harvey hadn’t hurried off. She put it out of her mind and helped Julie finish up her lunch.
“I’ll take the stuff up to the trash, Mother. I know you have to go sign up for watch duties.”
“You caught that, did you?” Looking at Craig’s earnest face.
Craig nodded and began to gather their lunch things in preparation to taking them to the big waste cans and the cleanup station at the end of the cafeteria style serving counter.
“Okay, Craig. Thank you. I got you up very early this morning. After you are finished, I want you to go to the camp and lie down for a little while.”
“I’ll be around with Julie to do the same thing in a little while.”
“Yes, Mother,” Craig replied, his hands full. He walked calmly toward the serving counter and Jenny sighed. With Julie propped on her hip, Jenny headed for the security station to get her assignment. She’d pick up her issue Auto Ordnance M1 Carbine and accoutrements when she went on duty.
But that wasn’t going to be until the next morning, fortunately. When she went back to the camp and unzipped the tent door as quietly as she could, Jenny found Craig lying on top of his sleeping bag, fast asleep.
Julie was nodding off herself, in Jenny’s arms. Jenny put her down on her little sleeping bag. Julie was instantly asleep; her arm going around her Teddy Bear that Craig had apparently set by the bag for her.
Jenny gave Julie a kiss on the forehead, and then did the same with Craig, before lying down herself for a much needed nap. She stirred once, when another MAG member stopped at the camping area and set up camp beside them.
When Jenny woke and glanced at her watch it was a little after four in the afternoon. She looked over at Julie’s sleeping bag, but Julie wasn’t there. Craig wasn’t on his bag, either. Jenny scrambled outside and then suddenly stopped. Craig was playing quietly with Julie.
Julie ran over to her mother when she saw her and said, “Craig said we needed to be real hush, so you could sleep. Did I hush enough for you, Mommy?”
“Yes, you did,” Jenny said, giving her daughter a big hug and kiss on the cheek. Jenny looked over at Craig and mouthed the words, “Thank you.”
Craig just smiled in return.
“Mommy, can I have a cookie?” Julie asked, looking intently at her mother’s face.
“Let’s see what they have for us at the community building,” Jenny said.
“Mother, is it all right if I go see what Donny and the other guys are doing?” Craig asked.
Jenny hesitated. But the camp was secure. Far more secure than her neighborhood in town. “You don’t want to come get a snack?”
“No, Mother. You said we would have to make things last, once before. I can skip this one.”
“Oh, dear!” whispered Jenny. “Such an observant little boy I have.” Again she hesitated but then said, “Go ahead. Keep your radio with you.” She looked up at the sky. “If any adults come by and tell you to get to the shelter, do you know what to do?”
Craig nodded eagerly. He pointed to the community building. “There, in the community building. There will be someone to show me where to go.”
“Very good, Craig. Go run and play now.”
Jenny and Julie made their way to the community building dining area again. “Just one, Sweetheart,” Jenny told Julie, before Julie could grab several of the cookies on a small platter. “And how about juice. There is apple, orange, and grapefruit.”
“Ew! Grapefruit! No, Mommy! I don’t like grapefruit.”
“How about the apple? You like apple.”
“Okay, Mommy. Apple is okay. It’s not yucky.”
The server on duty smiled at the two as Jenny took a box of apple juice from the bowl of ice containing beverages and Julie took one of the cookies. “You want some coffee?” She asked Jenny?”
“Thank you, no. Just a bottle of water.” Jenny picked up one of the bottles on the table after she’d given Julie her juice. “Let’s go sit down and enjoy these, shall we, Julie?”
Julie nodded her mouth full of cookie and followed her mother to one of the tables. Angela saw them when she came into the building and went over to join mother and daughter. Jenny smiled, but it was a brief one. “Any more word on what is going on?”
Angela shook her head. “No. Harvey is really sweating it. This isn’t the same as the training. It’s much more tense. I keep going over and over what I have here, plus what I brought, and keep thinking of more things we might need, if this doesn’t turn out to be a false alarm.”
“We can only hope it is,” Jenny said, helping Julie get the straw in the juice box. “But I know what you mean. I keep thinking there is so much more that I could have done to get ready for this. So many of the people here are so much better prepared than I am.”
“But it is a MAG, don’t forget. You have everything we require for membership. You’re part of the group and can draw on the resources of the MAG as needed. I have no doubt you’ll earn your keep.”
Jenny nodded, keeping an eye on Julie. She was nibbling on her cookie, walking around and around the table next to theirs. “I just wish I could have contributed more to the common stocks.”
“Like I said,” Angela reiterated, “You’ve done everything and more to qualify for a spot here for you and your children.”
“Thank you. I just hope we can fulfill the obligations. I want my children to have a chance at a real life, no matter what happens.”
Before either could say anything else, they both saw Harvey come running into the building. He headed straight for the entrance of the shelter. Just then Angela’s beeper went off. “I’ve got to go. Something is happening,” she said and headed for the shelter entrance.
Several more people came running in, also headed for the shelter. Julie had stopped her trips around the table and stood watching. “Mommy?” she asked, turning to look at Jenny.
“It’s all right, Sweetie,” Jenny comforted her daughter. “Why don’t we go find Craig? Okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.”
Before they reached the outer door of the community building the alarms started sounding. Jenny hesitated, thinking about Craig. But there were others outside, keeping an eye on the children. And he did know what to do. And there was Julie to think about.
Jenny turned around and headed for the shelter entrance, after picking up Julie in her arms. Already the shelter entry team was at the doors, ushering people down the stairs, stopping each person to get their name and to allow the previous person to get down several steps before the next person followed.
Jennifer gave the woman her name, and Julie’s and told her that her son would be coming shortly.
Fully understanding the fear she saw in Jenny’s eyes about Craig, the woman said, “I’ll mark it. If he’s not here by the time we start slowing down I’ll get a search started. Please go on down. We don’t want to have to look for you and your daughter, too.”
Jenny went down to the air lock entry and was ushered through. Julie was starting to huff just a little, in preparation to starting to cry. Jenny quickly reassured her and took her over to the children’s area of the huge underground shelter. They found Julie’s labeled box and took out a couple of her favorite toys so she could play with something familiar. It had been part of the preparation process for the children.
Almost immediately she and a couple of others about her age began to play together and Jenny went over to be close to the entrance of the shelter to watch for Craig. She didn’t have to wait long. He came out of the air lock carrying Julie’s Teddy Bear.
“Oh, Craig! You shouldn’t have delayed getting here to bring back Teddy.”
“She sleeps better with it,” Craig replied. “I had plenty of time. You know I can run really fast.”
Jenny hugged Craig. “I know. I know. Thank you. Will you take it to our bunk area?”
“Sure, Mother.” Craig started to hurry away, but turned and asked, “Is this it, Mother?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Jenny said carefully. “Harvey and the others wouldn’t have brought us down here into the shelter, without telling us it was a drill, if there wasn’t something serious happening. When I find out, I’ll tell you. Okay?”
“Okay, Mother,” Craig said and headed for the sleeping areas of the shelter, carefully dodging around people as more and more came into the shelter.
Callie showed up a few minutes later, half out of breath, and took charge of the smaller children. Jenny hurried over to the Shelter Captain’s station, but suddenly slowed down. There were a dozen people milling around, obviously wanting the same thing. To find out what was going on.
Jenny decided to wait for the announcements that were sure to come. It is how things worked during the drills. There was no reason to believe that it would be any different now. The first announcement came just as Jenny decided to sit down where she could watch Julie. The announcement wasn’t about what was going on. It was a call for some helpers to move food from the community room kitchen to the shelter.
It was something to do and Jenny jumped at the chance. People were still straggling in from outside, but there was plenty of room to go up the stairs as the others came down. There wasn’t that much to move. Those in charge of the provisions never took out much more than would be consumed the next community meal. It was mostly some of the fresh foods that others had brought when they came to the MAG compound, just as Jenny had done herself.
The task done, Jenny went over and waited out of the way for the announcement of what was happening. It was bound to come soon, even if it was instructions to leave the shelter, the crisis being over.
But it wasn’t that, when the announcement came. “Listen up people,” came Harvey’s voice over the intercom system. He was in the EOC of the shelter. “We have some information for you. I’m afraid it isn’t good. There have been two confirmed nuclear strikes on the United States. One on Washington, D.C., using multiple warheads. The other is New York City, also with multiple hits.
“The information that we are getting indicates that there are many more targets being hit. New York and D.C. are the only two confirmed. And…” Harvey’s voice faded away and some mumbling was heard in the background.
Harvey’s voice was shaking when he continued. “There has just been an announcement on t
he NOAA Weather Radio that the United States is undergoing a massive nuclear strike. People are being told to enter the nearest, best shelter they can find. We are officially at war with China and Russia.
“I’ll give you additional reports as we get them. We’ve just lost outside communication. I suggest you get ready for shockwaves, in case there is an off target strike near us.”
The entire shelter had been deathly quiet, except for Harvey’s voice. But that ended when Harvey’s voice did. It was shear pandemonium. People shouted and screamed. Some moaned and groaned. A majority cried silently.
Jenny went to Julie and picked her up to hug tightly. She saw Craig coming and opened her other arm to take him into a hug, too. “Come now, quickly,” Jenny said. “We need to find a place to sit down on the floor, away from the walls.”
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