“Well, it looks to me like they did a pretty damn good job.”
Joe tried the bolt cutters on the padlock, to no avail. The high security lock was double tempered steel. The bolt cutters were no match for it.
Jesse jammed the crow bar behind the hasp and was able to break it free from the door.
The door itself was more difficult. It was secured by a heavy duty deadbolt, locked into a solid steel frame. But by taking turns pushing the crowbar, and applying every bit of strength they had left, they were finally able to jimmy it open.
They stepped inside a pitch black building.
Going from a pure white environment to one of total darkness was their most vulnerable moment and they all knew it.
“Stay close to the ground, and don’t go any farther until our eyes adjust,” Frank instructed in a whisper.
While laying there waiting for his pupils to dilate, Frank sniffed the air.
He said, “No cigarette smoke. No smell of burned wood. No exhaust fumes from generators or vehicles.”
The others smelled clean but stale air and agreed with Frank’s assessment.
The warehouse was unoccupied.
Now, the only question was, what was in it?
Gradually, the trio’s vision adjusted and they were able to see a bit. They pulled out the flashlights they’d brought with them and walked down a main aisle.
What they saw startled them. Everywhere they looked were pallets and pallets of food and paper goods. Not just at floor level, but also stacked five rows high in storage bins.
“Damn!” Joe said. “This is better than Christmas morning.”
“Okay, now what? We probably need to do this methodically.”
“The first thing I want to do is find batteries. This is my last set, and if these flashlights go dead we’ll have a hell of a time.”
“Agreed. This is my last pair also, and they’re getting pretty dim.”
“Let’s look around for a walk-in refrigerator. In my Army quartermaster days, that’s where we stored them. The cold temperatures extended their shelf life.”
Jesse attempted a lame joke. “Well, if that’s the case, around here they’ll last frickin forever.”
Before long they stumbled across a large metallic room with a sign on the outside: “Film and Battery Stockroom.”
Inside the room, which was in reality a large refrigerator, They found hundreds of cases of AA, C and D batteries. Frank tore open a case of D batteries and used two of them to replace the ones in his flashlight. It instantly got much brighter.”
“Yes! They’re still good! Okay, I’m going to take a couple of dozen. We’ll split them up when we get home. Let’s go see what else is out there.”
Frank’s friends switched out the batteries on their own lights and followed him back out into the warehouse.
They began on the first row. A large black and yellow sign said “Aisle 01” above their heads, right next to a sign that said, “Stay on your toes. OSHA is watching your every step.”
Jesse chuckled. Not anymore, they’re not.
As they progressed down the aisle, they examined every pallet of boxes to see what was on it. They were amazed at the variety of items that Symco had stocked. Pretty much everything a convenience store or restaurant sold was here. Only in vastly larger quantities.
They stopped when they came to a pallet of boxes marked “Charmin Bathroom Tissue.” All of the families had gotten used to going to the restroom by sitting on buckets, which were then dumped into holes dug into their back yards. But most of them were low on toilet paper, and a couple of the families had resorted to ripping the pages from phone books. Jesse tossed several rolls into his bag, and they moved on.
A few pallets later they came across a pallet marked “Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.” Again, they tore one of the cases open, removed a few boxes, and moved on.
An hour later they were headed back home, each of their bags stuffed past capacity, slogging through the heavy snow.
When they started, the heavy packs on their backs made them wonder if they had overdone it and tried to carry back too much. But the mere excitement from what they’d found and been able to gather caused an adrenaline rush and gave them more strength. And by following the same path back, it was a bit easier going, since much of the snow had been pushed aside.
Still, it was almost sunset by the time they made it back. It had taken them longer than they expected, and their families were worried.
They stopped at Joe’s house and dumped their bounty in a big pile on Joe’s living room floor. They divided up each item between the families, and set aside piles for the other two families still on the block as well. Lenny and Sue Geibel were a sweet elderly couple. Everyone knew that Lenny would have gone along to help, but was medically unable. And Widow Spencer, now seventy and headstrong, got an equal share as well. She was the unofficial mother and grandmother for the others. A wise old woman who took no guff, and expected no special treatment.
Jesse dispatched his two teenaged sons to deliver the food and supplies to the Geibel family and to Widow Spencer. Jesse took his family’s share and prepared to go home, and Frank did the same.
Joe suggested, “Why don’t we meet back here at sunrise again? If we’re up to it, I’d like to go back tomorrow. I want to get as much out of there as we can before somebody else discovers it and claims it as their own.”
Frank said, “I’ll be here.” Jesse shook his head yes as well.
And everyone slept a little better that night, with full bellies and a hope for a better tomorrow.
Chapter 19
Lenny, the truck stop’s yard man, spent his first night in the compound lying in a winter sleeping bag next to the burning campfire. Despite the rough accommodations, he still slept better than he had in weeks. At least here, he wouldn’t have to worry about being shot or bludgeoned in his sleep by marauders. Here, he was among friends. Or at least acquaintances.
The next morning, Scott Burley grabbed Lenny’s shoulder and shook him awake.
“Wake up, Lenny. We’re gonna make some bacon and eggs for breakfast in a little bit. You’re in the way, though.”
Lenny shook himself awake.
“Where in hell did you get eggs?”
Scott laughed. “Hell, we have half a truck full. It’s those liquid eggs that come in a quart carton, like a carton of milk. One of the trailers we grabbed was half full of them. We found out that once they thaw out, they’re good as new. So I keep half a dozen or so in my sleeper cab to thaw out, and we cook ‘em up for breakfast every morning. We get the bacon out of another trailer that was full of sliced bacon and breakfast sausage.”
Lenny had been having Ramen noodles and frozen TV dinners for breakfast, lunch and dinner for several months. His mouth watered just thinking of a bacon and egg breakfast.
Tina came over and sat down beside him. The sweet way she smelled reminded him that he hadn’t seen or talked to a woman in well over two years. It also reminded him that he hadn’t bathed or shaved in weeks.
“How do y’all clean up and shave around here?”
“You didn’t see our latrine over there?”
“No. I got up in the middle of the night and wound up pissing under one of the trucks.”
“Well, don’t do that. Marty will pitch a fit.”
“I didn’t know you had a latrine.”
It’s on the north wall. Third trailer from the end. It’s the one with the wooden steps leading up to the trailer.”
“You built a latrine inside of a trailer?”
“Sure. We found a whole trailer full of hardware and stuff, headed for a home improvement store. And we had just emptied out another trailer. We were trying to figure out what to do with the empty trailer and then we decided, let’s build a latrine in there.
“So we took a reciprocating saw and cut a round hold in the floor, and then put a camping toilet over the top of it. Now it just drops onto a pile under the trailer.”
&
nbsp; “Don’t it smell?”
“Oh, heck no. It freezes within just a few minutes. When everything starts to thaw out, it’ll stink to high heaven. But we’ll be out of here then anyway.”
“What about washing up and shaving?”
“You didn’t let me finish. We ran an electrical cord into the trailer with a portable heater. Any time the generator is running, the heater blows in there, and we insulated the back of the trailer. So it’s usually actually warm in there. Even after the generator has been off for a few hours it’s tolerable.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
“It ain’t the Hilton, but under the circumstances it’s a slice of heaven. Anyway, we put a sink in there too that was in the home improvement trailer. It’s one of those sinks that’s sunk into a stand alone cabinet for a small bathroom. We ran a drain line and drilled another hole under the sink to get rid of the water. So the sink drains.
“The only thing we haven’t got in there is running water. So what we do is heat a pot of water on the campfire, then carry it in there and dump it into the sink. We wash up, shave and brush our teeth and whatever, then we drain the sink and it’s ready for somebody else. That pot of water sitting on the coals over there is for me. We call it a spit bath.”
Lenny was impressed by the ingenuity the group had displayed.
He asked, “Since I don’t have a place to sleep here, is there another empty trailer I can modify into a home?”
“There aren’t any others that are completely empty, no. But there’s one that’s about half empty. And all of the trailers have been picked at, so they all have holes in them now. You can probably move what’s left in the one trailer out and into the other trailers. Come on, I’ll show you where it is.”
Tina took him to a trailer on the south side of the compound.
“It was full of furniture. We took some of the recliners and tables and stuff out of it. That’s where all the furniture around the campfire came from. We’ve been burning the bookcases and mattresses and other stuff we didn’t think we’d need in the fire, a little at a time.
“Go ahead and decide what you want to keep, and move the rest out to the other trailers. If you can’t fit it in the other trailers, just stack it out of the way until we can burn it.”
“Thanks, Tina. I really appreciate your help.”
“Don’t mention it, Lenny. You owe me one, but we’ll figure out how you can pay me back real soon.”
She winked at him and walked away.
Lenny was confused by her wink, and didn’t understand what she meant. But he brushed it off and crawled into the trailer that would become his new home.
The trailer had a little bit of everything. He quickly identified a couch, an easy chair, and two floor lamps he wanted to keep.
He crawled to the front of the trailer and found a stack of double mattresses and three rolls of carpeting. Something else he found there pleased him. He saw the air vent that told him that even though this trailer was last used to haul furniture, it had a reefer unit mounted on the outside front of it.
Lenny was elated. He knew that this trailer had once been used to haul frozen goods or produce. And that meant it had to be insulated. The walls, ceiling and floors of these types of trailers were specially designed to keep cold air in. And Lenny knew that it would also keep cold air out. Now he just had to figure out a way to heat the trailer. Then he’d have a fairly comfortable place to call home until the world thawed again.
He started carrying dinette chairs and bookcases to the end of the trailer, so he could move them out to other places, when his nose caught the very distinct aroma of bacon frying. The mere scent caused his mouth to water, and he decided to hold off on his project.
He hopped down from the trailer and carried one of the wooden dinette chairs to the campfire. There he broke it into pieces and added the wood to the fire. Marty walked up at the same time and was pleased to see Lenny contributing to camp chores.
“Good morning, Lenny. You getting settled in okay?”
“Hi, Marty. Yep. I’d say so. Let’s just say that today looks much brighter than yesterday did.”
Chapter 20
Mark and Hannah lay in bed, her head upon his chest. He ran his fingers through her long chestnut hair and asked what she was thinking.
“Oh nothing, really. More like wondering. Wondering what our future holds for us. Wondering how much we’ll have to struggle to survive after we get out of here.
“Sarah and I talked once about how Markie’s face would light up in wonder when he saw his first butterfly. And I’m looking forward to seeing that. And when he gets to play on grass for the very first time. But what if there aren’t any butterflies anymore? What if their cocoons, or their larvae buried underground, were frozen just too long for them to reanimate? What if he never gets to experience those things at all?
“And what about birds? And lady bugs? And fire flies? And all of God’s little creatures that we always just took for granted? We just always assumed they’d be there. But what if they’re not? What if they’re gone forever?”
“But, honey. You’re the scientist. You should know that most creatures will always find a way to survive.”
“I’m an astrophysicist, baby. Not a biologist. I don’t know any more about a particular species’ ability to survive than you do. I just think it will be a miserable world without some of God’s tiniest creatures. And it would be a shame if Markie and his baby sister never get a chance to know them.”
Mark smiled. “That’s the first time you’ve talked about a second child in awhile. Does that mean you’re ready?”
“Not quite yet. I want there to be a gap between them so that he’s old enough to protect her. Let’s wait until he’s five, and then we’ll start trying again.”
“Back to the bug thing, I think I can put your mind at ease a bit. Have you ever read a book called What if the Bees Went Away?”
She got a strange look on her face.
“Why?”
“Back about four years ago, when we just began making plans for the mine, I bought a copy at Barnes and Noble. I was concerned that the freeze would kill off all the honey bees, and then after the freeze was over we wouldn’t have them to pollinate our crops.”
She looked at him with a “go on…” face.
“Anyway, this book was written by Robin Bell. She’s a scientist too, from Montpelier, Indiana. She wrote this book talking about what would happen if a virus or something threatened to wipe out the honey bee, and whether or not mankind would be able to survive without them. A really brilliant woman who was very knowledgeable about the subject.
“Her contention was that we have nothing to worry about. She said insects have an internal instinct to preserve their species. And that they would know when their numbers started to dwindle. And they’d take action to protect themselves by going to ground. Literally. By burrowing holes into the earth and building hives there. Hives that would allow their larvae to safely hibernate for many years.
“She also said that bees with access to caves would seek moderate temperatures to move to. Places where they could survive year around, even in the winter. Like in deep caves and caverns, which are full of food for them.
“She went a step farther and said that most insect species, and birds too, have similar instincts. And that some of them would survive viruses or plagues that might destroy most of their species.
“I think that we’ll be surprised by how many birds and insects survive the big freeze. And I think we’ll see them again. Maybe in limited numbers at first. But I think as the years go by and they multiply, that they’ll repopulate the earth and become common again.
“Although I personally hope that it’s the end of some of them, like mosquitoes and spiders.”
“Don’t forget roaches. Yuck!”
Hannah smiled a mischievous smile that told Mark she knew something he didn’t.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked.
; “Wow, baby, that’s pretty profound, coming from a guy who usually just reads sports magazines. I certainly hope you’re right. I want to experience all the best things the world has to offer with Markie and his baby sister. Even the buggy parts. And I’ve read the book, and you’re right. Robin is a brilliant scientist and an excellent writer.”
“Robin? You sound like you know her.”
She couldn’t contain her laughter any longer.
“You goofball. I knew her in college. She went to Baylor with us. She and her family live in San Antonio, not even fifty miles from here. She’s still a good friend of mine.”
Her face suddenly dropped and her smile faded.
“I hope they’ve all survived. I’d love to see her again after this is all over”
Mark tried to bring her back from the sadness she was feeling.
“Then I’m sure you will. I love you, doll.”
Hannah rolled over and Mark put his arm around her waist.
“I don’t know what the world will be like when this is all over. It’s likely going to change in a thousand different ways. But my love for you will never change. You know that, right?”
She looked into his eyes.
“Of course I know that, honey. Sometimes knowing that is the only thing that keeps me from giving up.”
Chapter 21
Bryan had passed the word around the mine earlier that morning to expect a gunshot around nine a.m. The male calf that had been born three weeks before had made it through the newborn stage and was suckling well and gaining weight. He could now be considered healthy, which meant it was time for the oldest bull to be slaughtered.
To keep from running out of cattle feed before the breakout, the group had to keep a tight control on the size of the herd. That meant killing one head each time a new calf was born.
It wasn’t a pleasant task, but was a necessary one. After the breakout, when prairie grass was plentiful and they could grow grains on a large scale, they’d let their herd grow. Now, though, it wasn’t an option.
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