Deputy Hester put his fingers to his lips and let out a shrieking whistle, bringing the crowd up short.
“What happened to Steve?” shouted Cody’s dad. He was a small man with a big snarl.
Grandpa cleared his throat. “During the course of our hike, Steve Skaggs fell over the precipice. His body could not be recovered.”
Andy Milton—Luke’s dad—jeered. “Did you even try?” Mr. Milton worked at Harper Lumber, reeked of beer, and always had a cigarette tucked behind one ear.
Lisa Butler raised her hand. “Did you see anybody?” I remembered her sitting on her lawn, rocking her dead dog, the day Grandpa had led us from the church to city hall. Now she wore pajama bottoms and her short hair was so greasy that it lay flat against her head.
“No. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t survivors.”
Several people shouted questions at once.
“One at a time!” The deputy bellowed.
Grandpa pointed to Sharon Webber, the Roslyn Grocery manager. All her stock—along with everything the foraging groups found—was being kept in a large, community warehouse off Arizona Street. “What about Bellingham? I…I have a sister there.”
“We don’t have specific information on Bellingham or any of the other coastal cities.”
Grandpa pointed at Robert Ormann. He and his wife Jenny owned the local farmers market. “Jenny’s dad broke his hip in the quake. He needs long-term senior care. We need help. If this is such a big crisis, why haven’t we had any contact from federal agencies?”
Grandpa’s eyes found us in the crowd. It was time to let the town in on the whole truth behind our situation. “David? Would you come up here, son, and tell the folks what you know?”
David wormed his way to the front and climbed to the sixth step on the staircase. The room fell quiet. “Good morning,” he said sheepishly. When no one answered, he cleared his throat. “Yellowstone is made up of a chain of large lava pools called calderas,” he began. “Scientists have mapped out about fifteen of them stretching from the northwest corner of Wyoming to the southeast corner of Oregon. These lava pools interconnect with several smaller pools throughout Nevada and California. An intricate maze of fault lines weave across these calderas—” He held up his hands, lacing his short, round fingers to illustrate his point. “—including our own Cascadia and the San Andreas in California. An eruption at Yellowstone has the potential to trigger earthquake swarms in all the major fault lines across the North American continent, from Vancouver to San Diego. If that has happened…then the entire west coast could be gone.”
Everyone in the room stared at him in stunned silence.
“As for the rest of the country, we’re talking tidal waves, extreme weather, and inches—if not feet—of ashfall. It is possible,” David continued, “that the entire country, maybe the entire world, has suffered a cataclysmic multi-event, which would explain why we haven’t heard from FEMA. Because there is no FEMA. Not anymore.”
“This is ridiculous!” Lem Richmond bellowed. “Everybody knows it was Mount St. Helens that erupted!”
“Get this kid outta here!” Andy Milton sneered. “Just because his daddy is a bigwig scientist, doesn’t mean we have to listen to him! Where are the experts?!”
“In Seattle,” Grandpa responded.
The room hushed again.
“Listen, people,” he continued. “I admit that the scenario my grandson is describing is dire, but we’re gonna keep sending out patrols in the hopes of connecting with cities outside our county area. We need to get past the shock and start thinkin’ fast if we expect to come outta this thing on the right side of daylight.”
“What good are patrols gonna do us?” Lem Richmond spat.
“Our mission here in Roslyn hasn’t changed, Lem,” Grandpa stated. “We need to get basic services and utilities up and running. We need to start rebuilding. And we need to reconnect with the outside world. But everybody has to work together or we’re all gonna be lost.”
A deep voice boomed from the doorway. “Well, thank you, Sheriff Donner!”
I was shocked to see Mayor Skaggs walk into the rotunda, followed by several very large men who stationed themselves by the door.
“Appreciate the speech,” he continued, “but it lacks flare.” He crossed the room and climbed one step higher on the staircase than David. “I’ll take it from here, kid.” The menacing look he gave my brother sent a shiver down my back.
Then the mayor turned to the crowd. “Good people of Roslyn,” he began. “The sheriff is right. It has become clear that our entire country has been hit by a devastation greater than anything this planet has known since the dawn of recorded history. It’s time to face the facts. We are on our own.” He gave my grandfather an intense stare. “So, before any more of us die,” he said pointedly, “we’re gonna need a plan.”
“That’s right!” Eliza stated.
“We’re gonna run out of food and water pretty soon,” John Voss added.
“My pantry is almost empty,” eighty-two-year-old Ava Gorski whimpered. Her husband of fifty-five years had been killed during the quake.
Grandpa held up his hands. “Folks, we’ve got teams out gathering food and supplies from abandoned homes and buildings every day—”
“And how long do you think that’s gonna last, Sheriff?” Mayor Skaggs demanded. “A week? Maybe a month? We are in a crisis, people! A crisis with no visible end! Ash is choking the life out of our world. Animals are dying—birds are literally falling from the sky. Lemme add this up for you folks.” He held up his fingers and counted off. “We have zero sunlight. That equals zero plants. Which equals zero animals. Which equals zero food for you and me. Zero food equals zero people. This is an extinction level event, ladies and gentlemen! And we need to decide, here and now, if we are going to be victims of this devastation or survivors!”
He said this last word with such enthusiasm that the entire crowd cheered. I had to force myself not to join in. It was inspiring to hear so much passion after feeling discouraged for so long.
“That’s what we’re here for, Mayor,” Grandpa spoke up, “to come up with a plan. But a plan isn’t going to solve anything if we don’t work together as a community.”
“Well, now, Sheriff, as the duly elected mayor of this town, I have already come up with a plan.” He looked out over the crowd. “Wanna hear it?”
“Yes!” they all shouted.
The mayor held up one finger. “Stay alive.”
We all looked at each other.
The mayor chuckled. “That’s it, people. Do whatever it takes, but stay alive.”
Vivica Davis crossed her arms. “All due respect, Mayor, but that doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”
“That’s the beauty of it, Viv—its simplicity! There is one simple rule: survival of the fittest.”
“Which means exactly what?” Charlie Eagle asked in a measured tone.
“Which means makin’ some hard decisions, Charlie.” His eyes fell on Lisa Butler. “Miss Butler. How’s your elderly mother doing?”
Lisa gave him a wary frown. “Fine.”
“And how much insulin does she have left?”
She hesitated, then muttered, “Three days.”
“And how long do you suppose your mother will live beyond those three days?”
Lisa glared at him. “One, maybe two days, unless we can find—”
“How many of you would like to give some of your food to Lisa’s mother who will be dead in five days?”
Everyone in the crowd shrank back a bit.
Robert Ormann sputtered. “Are you actually suggesting that we stop feeding Lisa’s mother?”
“I am suggesting, Mr. Ormann, that your sickly father-in-law not be allowed to take food out of the mouth of Andy Milton’s healthy son.”
Andy Milton squared his shoulders and glared a challenge at Robert Ormann.
“Bring it on, Milton!” Robert Ormann challenged back.
“I’m not
saying this is gonna be easy, people,” the mayor continued. “But feeding all the sick and the dying in the infirmary will only harm the rest of us in the end.”
“I hear those Cascadia Baptist freaks have a lot of food stored up!” Andy Milton announced.
“And the weapons to protect it,” John Voss reminded.
The mayor smirked. “Yeah, we’ll be takin’ those, too.”
“Mayor,” my grandfather said carefully. “I think you need to go home and get some rest.”
Frank Skaggs’ expression went stone cold. “Said the man with the invalid grandson.”
My grandfather blanched; my heart dropped to my stomach. I felt Milly squeeze my hand. The world was turning itself inside out right in front of my eyes.
“Mr. Richmond?” the mayor called out. “Would you like to give your son’s food to the sheriff’s grandson?”
Lem Richmond crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. “Hell, no!”
The crowd erupted into jeers and cries of outrage. Familiar voices sounded strange, twisted with greed or horror. People started yelling and pushing.
I saw my grandfather rush up the stairs to protect David as many in the crowd tried to get their hands on Mayor Skaggs. The men the mayor had brought with him surged forward in a violent wave that left several people bloodied and on the floor. Deputy Hester tried to step in. John Voss landed a punch that knocked the deputy sideways. Lem Richmond joined the fray, sending John Voss backwards into Mike Jorgenson and knocking Jenny Ormann to the floor. Robert Ormann jumped on John Voss, and soon everybody was pushing and shoving everybody else.
A shoulder jammed into my stomach, knocking the air out of me. A heel landed on my foot. I panicked when I lost sight of Milly and Tim; I got shuffled to the back of the room where the rioting crowd swallowed me up. Punches and elbows were being thrown all around me. I stood in the middle of the brawl, watching neighbor turn against neighbor, and I wanted to scream at all the madness.
Micah pulled me out.
He moved me back against the far wall and stood over me, his broad back and strong arms a cage that kept the others out. I stared up into his determined dark eyes, knowing I was safe.
“You all right?” he asked. The crowd moved in blurry chaos all around us.
I nodded, my heart hammering. “You?”
He shrugged. “Been better.”
Suddenly the deputy’s ear-splitting whistle cut the air. The crowd froze. Micah and I turned toward the staircase.
Grandpa Donner’s voice boomed out over the crowd. “Enough! Is this what we’ve become in just two weeks? A group of people willing to beat the tar out of each other to survive?”
Frank Skaggs, his face bloody and his hair tousled, looked completely insane. “And your grandson is the first one on my list!” Enraged, he pointed at my grandfather. “My son was your responsibility! A life for a life!”
“For God’s sake, Frank,” Deputy Hester implored, “Steve’s death was an accident.”
“There are no accidents, Jim! Only failures to lead!” Skaggs’ hateful stare settled on David. “That this monstrosity lives while my perfect son is dead! That is true injustice!”
David’s flushed face went white and a searing fire sparked to life inside me. I moved to step around Micah, intending to defend my brother, but Micah blocked my way. “Quick to listen,” he whispered. “Careful to speak. Slow to anger.”
My grandfather responded in measured tones. “Regardless of what happened to Seattle, this city will continue to abide by the laws and governances of the United States of America.”
“America’s gone!” Skaggs shouted. “So is Judge Holmes and so’s the courthouse! We’re livin’ in a brave new world where only the strong will survive! Why should we feed the dying? Why should we give our precious resources to helpless people like that—” He pointed at David. “—when the boy is just going to die anyway?”
Several people shouted out their agreement and I felt the world slip out from under my feet. These were our neighbors, our friends.
My grandfather’s mustache twitched. “Listen to me, people. I know things seem bleak and I know you’re scared, but if we start fightin’ each other, none of us are gonna survive.”
“That’s a touching sentiment, Sheriff.” Skaggs jeered. “But I think I’ll take my chances. What about the rest of you?! Are you with me—or against me?”
Many in the room cheered.
“Then let’s get to it!”
The mayor turned on his heel and walked out of city hall, his goons following him. He left with a full third of Roslyn’s citizens in tow. It was a devastating loss.
Micah sighed. “This isn’t good.”
“I can’t believe he said that about my brother.”
“He’s a broken man, Seraphina—”
“That doesn’t give him the right to deny anybody food,” I countered.
Cody and Luke swaggered up to Micah. Both of their fathers had just walked out the door with Frank Skaggs.
Cody sneered at me. “You comin’, Abrams?”
“Yeah.” Luke snorted. “We’re done wallowin’ in ash with these losers.”
“I’m staying,” Micah replied.
I blinked at him.
“You’re what?” Luke demanded.
“And you’d be smart to do the same,” Micah added.
Cody and Luke exchanged a smirk. Then Cody pointed his finger at Micah’s head, like pointing a gun at his victim. “Later, Abrams.” He pulled his pretend trigger and both boys left the building.
Micah took me by the hand. “Come on.”
My palm tingled down to my fingertips as he pulled me through what was left of the crowd to the staircase. We emerged in front of my grandfather, who looked relieved to see me safe.
“Micah,” Grandpa Donner said. He looked back and forth between the two of us, clearly not sure about the young man he’d put behind bars more times than he could count.
Micah met his eyes. “I’m sorry about how things went today, sir.”
Grandpa clapped him on the shoulder. “Thank you for lookin’ after my granddaughter.”
“It’s my pleasure. Anything I can do to help.”
David scowled at us from the stairs. “You can start by taking your hands off my sister.”
Micah looked down—as if he’d forgotten we were holding hands—and then let go of me.
Milly hurried over with Tim. “Sera,” she gasped. “Are you okay? When I lost ya in the crowd, I—” She noticed Micah standing beside me.
“See,” Tim said to her. “I told ya she was all right.”
Her face red and puffy from crying, Milly still managed to smile slyly at me. “Nothin’ important, huh?”
She wasn’t going to be satisfied until I spilled my guts to her about Micah. Welcome to life with Milly Odette as my best friend.
Deputy Hester approached, rubbing his sore jaw. “Some of us were talking, Sheriff. If Skaggs is bold enough to attack Apostle Phillips at the commune, he’s likely to try the city food storage next.”
Grandpa sighed, his face drawn with fatigue. “Take some volunteers with rifles down to the warehouse and keep watch.”
“I’d like to help,” Micah offered. k`1`2
Grandpa gave him a serious look. “Have you ever fired a weapon, son?”
“More times than I’d care to admit to the sheriff.”
Grandpa chuckled. “All right, then.”
Micah turned his gaze on me. “You gonna be all right?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure. Each day only seemed to get worse.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered.
With those words, Micah headed out with Deputy Hester and several others to protect the community warehouse.
David’s face was tight and red. “Well, I’ll certainly sleep better knowing Micah Abrams is guarding my food.”
Grandpa Donner set his big hand on my brother’s shoulder. “David, forgiveness is the first impulse of a fearless
heart.”
David scowled. As far as he was concerned, Micah’s crimes would never go unpunished.
Tim squared his shoulders. “Grandpa Donner? I’d like to guard somethin’, too.”
“Me, too,” Mike Jorgenson spoke up.
“Count me in,” said Lisa Butler.
One by one every hand in the room rose into the air, young and old, men and women.
Grandpa looked out over his eager volunteers, nodding with pride. “Looks like we’re gonna need more guns.”
Only a handful of people in the state knew about the old National Guard armory outside the city limits of Roslyn. My grandfather was one of those people.
We drove up Cedar Gulch Road in the sheriff’s SUV, none of us saying a word. All our heads were still spinning over what had happened in the city hall rotunda. Skaggs had divided the town in a matter of minutes, but the law-abiding citizens of Roslyn were not going to sit back while he and his followers looted the town.
We pulled into a potholed parking lot, the headlights illuminating a familiar stone building.
“Why are we stoppin’?” Tim called from the back seat.
Grandpa threw the SUV into park. “Because we’re here.”
I squinted at the building. “Are you sure?” There’d been a cave-in on the left side, probably from the earthquake, but otherwise the building looked just like it had ever since I could remember.
“Isn’t this the old roller rink?” David asked.
Grandpa got out of the truck and headed up the buckled paved walk choked with weeds. I stared at the building, the setting of countless elementary school birthday parties.
Tim gave me a confused look. “I thought he said he was takin’ us to an armory.”
“Maybe he’s lost,” Milly suggested.
I nodded. “All these crumbling buildings look the same in the dark.”
“Maybe you should all stop yammerin’ and follow me,” Grandpa called back.
We clicked on our headlamps and followed Grandpa up the cracked cement walk to the side of the building, where a twenty-foot chain-link fence, shrouded in thick vines, stared us in the face.
The Goliath Code (The Alpha Omega Trilogy) Page 9
