The Event Trilogy (Book 1): Life After the Meteor

by Larson, Thomas

  I actually got out of the cabin early this morning and headed to the flag pole area. I had this insane idea that I should do some working out, well, kind of stretching and Tai Chi sort of stuff. To my surprise I found that there was a group already there. Nick and Grace were doing yoga, Margo, Cody, Delaney, Charlene, the Major, Asuna and a couple of others were all getting ready for a little jogging. I knew I would probably regret it but I joined in the little run.

  I was surprised that I was able to do as well as I did. I had not run for years, and knew I would suffer stiff muscles for a couple of days, but the idea of running was actually a good one. The events of Otis had opened some eyes that we had become complacent and could find ourselves in the shit very easily.

  Over breakfast the Flyboys were planning their day. It has been a week or so since the last radiation check and they need to go out and do it all again. They seem to be doing okay with the loss of Armand. In their mind the crash was really more a case of pilot planning or error. They thought that he took himself out of the game because of his impending break with Grace but then it could be just an attempt to push the fear out of sight.

  One of the things that I have noticed with myself is that now that we are in this more chaotic existence that we are much quicker about some things, quicker and to a very big degree living much closer to the edge of the cliff. In the old world we could take the time to absorb and deal with events. The options were much more open. Using our relationship status as an example there was always that idea that men/women were like trains or buses. If you missed one, or if it was not the right one, there would be another coming along shortly. Now, the buses were pretty limited and usually very much in demand. If something happened to the one you were riding, (yeah a bad pun) then you may be walking alone.

  For some people this is not so big a deal. Many of us have reached a point through life and loss that we can cope with it. But there are those who must be in a relationship. It is part of their definition of themselves, so losing that, that part makes them feel incomplete and can lead to a downward spiral. In thinking about it, Armand was someone who needed someone in their life. But to think that after all that he had seen and experienced, why he would take himself out, I just don’t know.

  The Fly Boys are going up later this morning and when they do they will re-create last week’s radiation test paths. They drew straws for who had to fly the path that Armand did. Ron drew it. The run was complete by midafternoon; they had cut the straight west part of the flight out. When they returned, the data was given to Lance and Cody and they plotted the numbers. There was no significant change in the north sectors. It was hot radiation wise, but not that bad to warrant immediate evacuation. Tomorrow they would do the southern side of the run.

  I spoke with Frank about bolstering the fence line and brought him with me when I talked with The Three about the potential of adding trailers on the inside of the fence line of the camp. It was not the best received idea that I presented but they conceded the need. As an alternative, I suggested that we might just get the trailers on-site for placement if we needed to. The only issue there was that we would need to keep recon on the area.

  This meant putting up a plane each day and doing a circle around the camp at a distance of about 30 or 40 miles. The distance figure was more a guess but it was based on the idea that a walker could cover about 2 miles an hour on flat clear terrain. Our surroundings were not flat or clean so we figured that maybe half that would be more likely. As a result, if we did the noon fly over, we would have enough warning to prepare for our visitors well in advance.

  The down side of the plan was that we would use our aviation fuel up by mid-November. In the end they decided that it was best to leave things as they are for now. But find the needed trailers and at least until we get close to snow we would keep them out of camp.

  Cyril is a mess, he has not showered in a week and smells pretty ripe. He is hardly eating. We are doing everything we can to bring him back to normal, but like I said earlier about the incomplete person, he had been with Arcelia for so long that he is lost without her.

  Oct 13th

  On a side note, I am feeling the impact of the little jogging, but I joined the group again this morning. It was a pretty morning to run. I was a little slower than the rest this morning so Asuna hung back with me.

  Autumn is upon us. Except for that motorcycle ride with Asuna I have not really had time, or taken time to see the changes in the season. The leaves have really changed, and to look out on the lake in the morning with the steamy haze coming off of it with the leaves in the background, it makes me think that such a beautiful place has such a brutal side hidden just below the surface. We had nine Zoms hit the fence last night, not a record but a few more than usual.

  In the back of my mind I am thinking more and more about the living alone thing that I have been accustomed too. When I was living in Manchester back before The Event, I had become pretty used to it then suddenly with the changes I got very used to living with people right there 24/7. Now with Anne gone, and Margo pretty much moved in with Cyril to try to keep him going I find I have this open space again. I know I could get reasonably comfortable in that. But maybe I am changed and do need that little bit of noise and contact with another person.

  Cyril was actually showered and shaved this morning. At breakfast he seemed to be his old self again. I looked at Margo and she just shrugged. It didn’t make a lot of sense, but it seemed good.

  The results of the radiation testing came back today. Lance and Ethan had plotted the numbers. It looks like we are still within a tolerable number. But Ethan thinks that even at this low level it will eventually have an impact on our health. The upside is that we can survive the levels through the winter and then if the levels are still where they are come springtime it may be necessary for us to move on. There is no guarantee that we will find a safer location but it may be something we need to consider.

  It is a kind of quiet day for tasks for me so I think I will take a little time to clean up some details on what has been going on over the last month or so. So often there are no significant events that take place to make me write about them.

  We have all in one form or another been preparing for winter. There have been a number of hunting and trapping trips that have taken place. It has been Delaney and Margo who have done a vast majority of the hunting. They have become accomplished little trackers. Unfortunately the game has become less prevalent in the area and they have had to venture further out. That makes me nervous, but they are quite capable and careful.

  Matt, Joseph and Henry with enlisted aid from other camp members have been busy shoring up the fencing. Frank and Teckla have been busy making certain that the vehicles are ready to move if we need them. Nick, Grace Taylor and Heather have been working on long term food storage, canning and drying. The smokehouse that has been created by Matt and Henry has seen lots of action.

  Steven, Mark, and the Flyboys have been onto the project of keeping what flying machines we have ready to go. The Doc and Charlene have been on top of getting whatever medical materials they can. They regularly ask Asuna and I to make runs to health / vitamin stores or scavenge medical facilities to look for things. Michelle and Tanya are storing up herbal cures and use Margo, Delaney and Cody for finding those items while on their hunting trips.

  Asuna and I have become the city scavengers of the group. Two or three days a week we head on out to try to find things. It varies from building materials to medications to food. We are given a shopping list by one group or another and off we go.

  Of course along the way we may find some other items of interest. The idea there is that somewhere down the road we may find ourselves in a trading situation. This would be particularly significant come spring if we decide or need to move. Food and fuel is an obvious item as is guns and ammunition. But I think that in some regards any other tribe or clan that has gotten this far along would have supplies of that nature. So we also tend to look fo
r items that would be of a more luxury nature. Those items would include jewelry, alcohol and power generating equipment.

  So as I said, we all keep pretty active in our survival efforts. It is now just a case of hoping that we have prepared in the right way, and enough.

  Oct 14th

  Asuna has been pretty much my new wingman and it is working well. Up early, off for the morning run, yes, I am actually running now rather than a little penguin shuffle like in my old running days in the 1990s. But then I am weighing in at about 170 rather than a fluffy 240. Then it is breakfast, a shower, and she and I have taken up the task of teaching some of the youngers military and police tactics for room entry and building searches. She and I click and have each other’s moves down.

  It has been about a week since the Otis rescue. I spoke with The Three about a return trip to check and see if they are okay. Mission is approved for tomorrow. Steven has agreed to fly us in to the area with maybe a touchdown depending on the situation. Matt and Larry have also volunteered to go. We loaded up some petrol bombs just in case and also talked with the flyboys about a support mission if we needed it.

  I found Cyril sitting at Arcelia’s gravesite. I watched him for a little bit and he seemed to be having a conversation with her. I know what it is like; I have had many with Anne after her death. I left him alone.

  As I walked back toward the cabin I just asked, “Anne, are we still good?” We were.

  Oct 15th

  Good news, the run went well, breakfast was good, and we are ready to go see how our “friends” at Otis are doing. We were airborne by 10. As we cleared the mountains, I began to try reaching them by radio. I received no answer. I kept trying as we got closer and closer, but still nothing.

  We did a fly over of the island, at first there was nothing. Then on the south side of the island we were able to make out the remains of a battle, there were bodies strewn about, and in one area a circle of the dead on a small hill. There was a little break in the mountain and the remains of what seemed to be an outpost.

  I had seen this before with the biker on the west side of Lake Danahee. A group became surrounded and cut off with the Zoms just coming and coming, there was no escape, no means for rescue and finally the tide just overran them.

  Steven set us down in the middle at the top of the hill and we looked around. The smell was beyond what one could imagine. It was the smell you never get used to, never forget, the decaying of human flesh. In the center of the mass were four remaining bodies that had been the final remnant. It appeared that when it got to that point they had taken their own lives. The save one bullet for yourself scenario. I only recognized one of the people. It was Elgin. I wondered if we could have done more for them, but really, no there was not. I felt bad, but it is the new way.

  We decided that we would use the kerosene we had brought just case, to burn the mounds of rotting flesh. Steven, who had stayed in the chopper told us to get moving because we had company coming. The helicopter had created some interest and the Zoms were heading back our way. So as Asuna, Larry and I poured the fuel and started the fires, Matt said a few words over Elgin and the others; then we were airborne again.

  As we were heading back, it was a quiet trip. But as we flew along Matt handed me a Katana, he said that he had found it under Elgin. Matt knew that I had always talked about the Japanese Officer’s sword that I had once seen at my grandparent’s house and that was supposed to have been lost. I guess it is the last part of the family legacy or link to Flanders Road (Southington), our old homestead and where I grew up.

  Our report when we returned was hardest on Teckla. She was the closest to Elgin of any of us. I know that she probably felt a lot of the same guilt I did for not doing more, even though there was no more that we could have done without putting ourselves in harm’s way. He had the chance to join us a couple of times and chose not to. What could we do?

  Oct 16th

  This morning’s run was a little faster, and more dedicated. I am not going out that way, like Elgin, or the Biker or … Anne, I am going to not get trapped, and I am going to do what I must to keep as many of us alive as I can. I know we will lose some, but it is not going to be because of weakness from me.

  There was a big meeting this morning with The Three, Doc, Lance, and Ethan. I was invited as was and Tanya, Matt and Asuna. Lance and Ethan had created a couple of maps showing where many of the East Coast nuclear power plants were. They had also found a map that had been made years ago showing the fallout patterns in the event of nuclear attack. Those maps combined are not a happy picture.

  The map shows were we originally considered that the sources of radiation might have come from. The Blue circles show where larger airburst nuclear missiles had been set off. The green dots showed where we figured the suitcase nukes were used. There were many more green dot sites, but to try to figure them all was too much work, and Lance and Ethan considered them to be not really a likely cause of the problem.

  It was the red dots that were what they considered the main concern. Those are the location of the nuclear power plants that exist in the northeast. We had always considered that it would have been the NY power stations that were giving us the issue particularly those out by the Great Lakes but we were wrong. The map below is one that Ethan was able to find. It is an older map from the heyday of the fears of nuclear war. It shows the jet stream wind patterns and how that would impact the flow of fallout from west to east.

  Red, real bad

  Orange, kind of bad

  Brown, a little bad

  Now granted this shows the impact based upon the attacks on our ballistic missile silos in the west, as well and some command and control facilities in the area. But it is the wind patterns that are important. Looking at the map it would seem that we are actually close to a safe zone. But we were very wrong as to the origins of our radiation. It is coming from the plants that are much more to our south. We are taking the heat from New Jersey, lower Pennsylvania and Virginia. The plants we first suspected are spewing further to the north of us.

  Now this is a little premature thinking in some regards because as Lance explained, “We are not certain that all plants have had a meltdown, or at least not yet and we don’t know what impact the loss of power has had on the plants.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Teckla.

  “We are not certain if any of the plants were shut down safely before they became un-manned.”

  Ethan pointed out, “One of the other factors in the estimation is that we are working off of a wind flow radiation map from the 60s. How much the Jet Stream has changed over the years is an unknown.”

  So far the readings that we have obtained have pretty much concurred with the map. That would mean that perhaps the winds have not changed that much. In looking at the locations of nuke plants it appears that if we could get across the Mississippi River we would or could be out of harm’s way radiation wise. But in looking at the map it is pretty clear that we would have to cross through the hot zones. The easy fix would be to find a plane, or number of planes that would get us quickly through the zones because the drive would probably contaminate us all.

  The other option seems that it might be workable for us to move a little to the northeast up into the Adirondack Mountain area or up into central Vermont. But at this point the move is really out of the question, we are coming into the winter season and we could not realistically get ready to survive the winter with such short preparation in a new location.

  Besides, as Lance pointed out, we are on the cusp of a “little bad” zone so the radiation was not that bad. Doc Barkley concurred that we were getting little more radiation than if we were living under a high tension power line. If we stay here for a few years it could be an issue, but six months it should have minimal impact. We just have to keep an eye on the readings and maybe it would be wise to create some form of shelter that would keep us safer in the event of a sudden raise in the radiation levels.

  In the d
iscussion of shelters, Asuna looked at me, and then suggested, “We might have an idea on that.”

  She told them that I had been working on a couple of things that might do the trick if modified slightly. I was confused at first thinking of the Yurt but it was a variation on the Hogan that she was actually thinking about.

  In essence building a Hogan, but heavily covering it with dirt, or just build most of it underground. The Three thought there might be some merit to the idea and asked if we could come up with plans. We had to get this done soon but it could be done. We would meet again tomorrow to further brainstorm on this.

  After the meeting, Asuna and I headed back to look at my notes. It could work for the short term but we really need to think about moving if we are going to survive in the long term.

  Oct 17th

  Asuna and I spent a good part of last night talking about the ideas that could be used for a radiation shelter to protect us in the event of a spike in the wind. One of the ideas that we came up with, and realistically it was the easiest and most effective was that in the event of a dangerous rise in the levels we simply make a temporary move to Waterlveit. We have Steven ferry a small group in, get the place open and cleared on the inside and then have the rest of the group drive in through that back garage door. Steven could set the chopper down on the roof and we would be set. The lower levels of the Arsenal infirmary were also the command and control center and we would be as protected in there as we would be if we built our own underground dirt bunker and it would be a lot more comfortable.