The man wiped his face with a towel. His head sagged for a moment, and then he looked back into the camera and continued.
“I wish I could have helped you out sooner, but I had to make sure I had enough energy rerouted for one good blast.”
His head sagged again before he continued in a strained voice.
“I wanted to be damned sure I got it right. I’ve been reluctant to contact you or try to help you out with what I saw from here, but if someone had deliberately placed the bio agent aboard to kill all of us, for all I knew, someone would hit a switch and blow the station all to hell. I’m glad I played it safe. Now that rotten bastard is buried under a mountain. If there are any of you New World creeps left out there listening, you have no leader. It’s time you get your heads out of your asses and realize you were following a goddamned fool.”
The ferocity of his words seemed to tax his strength, and he tipped his head back for a moment. Then, he continued in an even louder, angrier tone.
“The creep is dead. You now can become productive citizens of your own countries and help rebuild them. To all you Freedom Fighters, I salute you. Damn good work.”
“One other thing, I have re-enabled all the satellites that are important. I disabled all the tracking satellites last summer. Jarmain had no way of knowing where you were.”
With tears in his eyes, his voice choked and faltered. “The shuttle is still attached to the station and . . . it has a good fuel supply left. The virus aboard would be too dangerous for anyone to visit here, or for the station to fall back to earth some day. I’m going to use the shuttle to push Skylab as far away from earth as possible.”
He slowly moved his head back and forth, and a grin appeared as he stared once more at the camera.
“I suppose you could say I am going on a long one way journey.”
He managed a slight chuckle, and then wiped his face again.
“Before I leave earth’s orbit, I’ll transmit the pictures I’ve taken of the landmasses around the world to help you create new maps. Sorry I can’t do more, but I’ve done what I could. When I get out farther than we’ve ventured before, I hope the cameras I’m going to set on automatic will send back some photos for some time to come. I figure if I shut everything down except the power supply to the cameras and the photo transmission computer, they could be sending you pictures of the heavens for about five years.”
He had a thoughtful look for a moment.
“I believe my final speed when the shuttle’s fuel is depleted will be about a hundred sixty thousand miles per hour. Let’s see, that would be about 32 and a half million miles per day, nine hundred, seventy-five million miles a month. In five years, that should put the camera out about seventeen billion miles. You know, I really didn’t sign on for that long of a trip.”
He stared at the camera, a slight smile curling his lips. “Come to think of it, when I’ve reached deep space, I suppose I’ll be pretty close to where God lives. As hard as it is to say goodbye, I guess I’d best get started pointing this piece of junk away from earth. Good luck to all of you, and God bless all the good people of Earth. Skydog, Out.”
~~~
“Holy shit!” Max Johnson, the anchor on duty in the television station exclaimed. “Skydog, if you’re still listening, the entire world thanks you. Thanks for blasting that idiot. Again, if you can hear me, we will have you in our prayers. The map transmissions are coming through just fine. Oh, man, Skydog, I don’t know what to say. Thank you simply isn’t enough, but God go with you, my friend.” Max wiped tears from his eyes, knowing the man in the space station was doomed.
~~~
Even though the brave man seemed to think he might live for a while as he guided the space station on a trip that would never end, Skydog evidently thought it would be easier on himself to end contact with Earth immediately. He needed to be coherent and able to function well enough to complete his mission. As time wore on, nothing more was ever heard from Skydog, and the space station was no longer a bright, shiny star in the night sky. Sky Dog was, indeed, going on a long one-way journey.
~~~
The entire population of Stephan’s compound was outside enjoying the fresh air. The kids ran barefoot in the grass and played in the brook, while the women sat on a fallen tree and basked in the wonderful hot sun. The trees were green, and the grass smelled sweet. Many of Alice’s flowers were in colorful bloom around the yard in old flowerbeds, which needed a good weeding. Ralph hurriedly constructed four tire swings so the little ones could have a good time.
A low roar echoed through the valley and continued to get louder. Soon, a large Huey roared up through an opening in the trees and landed in the old garden spot. The men were back from the battle.
Everyone, including the kids, ran to the garden gate and waited for the rotors to stop before converging on their husbands and fathers as they climbed from the bird. Enrique had a sling on his left arm, and Dick’s leg was bandaged. Cord and Brandon helped them out. Both had suffered a gunshot wound in Denver, but the wounds weren’t serious.
“How did you know we were coming? Why are you outside?” Stephan yelled over the bedlam around him and Susan.
“Oh, you don’t know? Wow, do I have a story to tell you.” She took him in her arms and laid another kiss on her returning hero.
~~~
Reports around the country came in:
Sean’s group hadn’t been so lucky in Idaho, losing fifteen, and eight wounded. The enemy in Boise had dug in, and it took over a week to wipe them out. Joe lost a leg at the knee but would be fine. “Well, there goes my bike riding,” was the only comment he made. Sean immediately used the short wave to notify the television station as well as his fellow Special Forces of his victory over Boise and his losses and wounded.
Mr. Twister, in Phoenix, was killed when his forces fought alongside others to liberate the city. Half his fifty men were killed and six wounded. It took eight days before the battle for Phoenix came to an end. The US flag soon covered the name on the map at the Denver studio.
A flag was placed on Boston after a two-day battle. Captain Terror was seriously wounded and his group lost five.
No word had come in from Charley in North Carolina, Ryan in Tennessee or David someplace in Texas. The map had more flags every day, and the anchors ran crazy answering the short wave to take reports or answer questions.
Someone thought to have each city set up a reporting station. There the people were to fill out papers similar to the census. America would know how many citizens she had and where.
Restoring electricity, phone lines, and transportation would be an overwhelming task in itself. Poles had snapped off in the hurricane winds. The earthquakes caused avalanches to bury lines, power stations, highways, and railroads. Bridges were down, leaving wide stretches of water that divided areas. These were just a few of the problems facing the President and the rest of the leaders. They had a nation to keep alive through the upcoming winter. A few vegetable gardens could still be planted but not nearly enough to feed the starving hordes by mid-winter. How to keep people from freezing was another problem. Gas lines and refineries were broken. Fuel reserves couldn’t be trucked or sent by rail.
“Dammit! I feel like we’re back a couple hundred years in time. Can we find out how many Governors survived?” President Lawson asked. He sat looking at the new map of the United States being shown on the Denver station. ”We have no capitol. D.C. is gone.”
The country was definitely divided.
~ 32 ~
“I believe most people can survive the coming winter,” Cord said that night as the adults sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and discussing what was on TV and what they were to face. “We have what . . . maybe one third of the population alive? The sick and elderly have died off, leaving the young and strong. Rural people are better off than the urban population. There’s plenty of wood to burn for heat, and there should be plenty of wild game. Thank God, Dr. Mezman found the cure for Mad Cow
, and Dr. Benjamin, found a cure for those other diseases hitting the deer and elk several years ago. All those are safe to eat. Streams, ponds, and rivers have fish. Most of the survivalists have made it this far and won’t have problems. People are going to have to help their neighbors out this winter. Come spring, gardens can be planted and folks should be getting on their feet if they have the non-hybrid seeds that can reproduce. We have plenty of them stored here.”
“I’m wondering how many sheep, cattle, and hogs made it through the storms and the winter,” Alice said. “I’m hoping many of the ranches weren’t hit by the enemy, and the ranchers made it with a few head at least.”
“Now, that would be a good business to start,” Stephan answered.
“We’re still going to have to be very careful. There’s going to be roaming bands taking from others. You know, like after the Civil War,” Brandon said. “Even though we can be outside now, it’s still going to be dangerous.”
Everyone shook their heads in agreement.
“I’d love to bite into a nice juicy peach right now,” Irma said and laughed. “I hope a few orchards survived.”
“Well folks, changing the subject here. Amanda and I have discussed going back to the Denver area.” Rocky looked thoughtful for a moment and then added, “It’s our home, and we want to start over there. I might work at that new television station. I’d like that. You know, I’d feel like I was being productive and not just sitting on my butt. But how do we get there?”
“Gail and I have been discussing going back to our place, too,” Dick commented. “My leg is doing pretty good. Like you, Rocky, we don’t know how to travel home. Flying in the helicopter is out as Gail is afraid to fly.”
~~~
The next day, Stephan, Cord, Brandon, Mike, and David left on motorcycles to scout the area down the mountain, and past the village. They had no plans other than to ride and see what they could discover. They found a road curving up the mountain and decided to follow it. There was a Park Ranger lookout. The tower had been knocked flat on the ground, but sitting there with minor body damage was a pickup. The key was in the ignition, however, the battery was dead. A boulder had crumpled the fender into the tire, but it could be pulled out with a little effort. The tires looked good.
“It’s a standard transmission,” Brandon stated. “Maybe if we push her down the hill, she’ll kick over and run. What do you think? If we can get her running, Rocky and Dick have their transportation home.”
“Yeah, great idea. Maybe we can find some gas back in the village. Worth a shot,” Stephan answered.
After putting his bike in the back of the truck, and bending the fender away from the tire, Brandon jumped in the cab. The rest of the men pushed, and the truck rolled down the hill. Before long they heard a sputter, then another, and finally the engine turned over and ran. Brandon stopped at the road below and left it running. “Drives sluggish,” he yelled to the men who’d followed him on their bikes. “I think the gas is bad.”
Brandon nursed the truck back to what used to be the village. As they had hoped, they found an underground tank but had no way of siphoning the gas out.
“This stored gas will be better than what is in the truck. I think I read once where stations put additives or something in the large holding tanks.” Brandon told the men.
The truck would have to stay in the village, as the road to the farm was blocked with overturned vehicles.
Everyone was outside when the group roared in. “Rocky, Dick, we have great news,” Mike yelled after the loud bikes were shut off.
“Oh, yeah, what’s that?” Rocky called out.
“Found you a set of wheels. You guys have transportation home.”
“It’s a two-seater, utility Park Service truck, so you four will have plenty of room,” Cord commented.
Within an hour, Dick, Gail, Rocky, and Amanda were packed, had said their goodbyes, and sat on the bikes behind Mike, Ralph, Cord, and Stephan . . . riding down the road to the village.
~ 33~
“I want to go down in the valley and see if our horses are there,” Mike said.
“Sure, why not. We’ve had good luck so far today.” Cord answered.
The men felt great riding free down the mountain road. It had been so long since they could enjoy themselves.
At the bottom of the mountain they followed the valley road. Before long they saw a farm and decided to see if anyone lived there. Stopping their bikes, they announced themselves a good distance from the tattered looking house. Getting no reply, they entered the yard cautiously. No one was around, so they decided to check out the property. Out behind the house was an apple tree loaded with green fruit. They heard a squeal and found an old sow and several porkers roaming the area, scrounging for food. The men quickly herded them into a large pigpen.
“We have apple pie and pork chops so far,” Ralph chuckled. “You know this isn’t a bad little place to live. I like it here. Look there.” He pointed to a small creek running close by.
“Yeah, it is a nice place, Ralph. Let’s go see how bad the house is,” Stephan answered.
Once inside, they were surprised to see the roof hadn’t leaked. The home wasn’t all that bad. It was a sprawling four-bedroom ranch. A number of windows were broken, the rooms filthy from blowing dirt, but basically in good condition. The full basement was dry and nice. “I think the mountain protected the house from the winds,” Stephan commented.
“I’m going to bring Irma and the kids down and see what they think about moving in. We can keep it warm enough with the fireplace and the wood stove in the kitchen. That is, if the owners don’t show up and shoot me for trespassing.”
Cord walked in. “Don’t think you’ll have to worry about that Ralph. I think the owners were killed out in the garage. There’s dried blood all over the floor. Someone probably robbed them and took their car. The pickup is still here, and the garage door was left open. I have a feeling the hogs ate the remains long ago. Hogs will eat anything.”
“I’d say they were an older couple, too, judging from the contents in the house and the pictures on the walls,” Stephan said.
“Let’s look at the barn.” Ralph started off in that direction.
Opening the barn doors, Stephan and Ralph were met with the sweet smell of hay and the odor of dung. At the far end, Ralph found a tractor in good shape and plenty of implements. “I always wanted to be a gentleman farmer,” he said, laughing and climbing into the tractor seat.
“Hey Ralph, come here,” Mike called. He pointed toward the creek where four cows and three yearling calves calmly stood. “Wanna play cowboys and round them up?”
“Hell, yeah,” Brandon answered.
The men spent the next hour getting the scared cattle into the fenced pasture next to the barn. Brandon took off on his bike, checking the fence to make sure there was no way the cows could escape. In a few minutes he returned. “Fence is in good shape, Ralph.”
“We have time to scout on down the valley if we hurry,” Cord said.
The men rode farther down the valley and discovered another empty homestead set back and protected by the mountain.
The home was a long structure with a huge living room in front, and, behind that, a large dining room. Through the dining room was a large, well-equipped kitchen. A door opened to a hall on the south side of the dining room and revealed three good-sized bedrooms. The door on the north side of the dining room was identical.
“Wow, I like this place,” Raul said. “I wonder if Enrique and his family would like to move here with me and Juanita. With six bedrooms, there’d be plenty of room for both our families. Gosh I can’t wait to show them. Let’s see what’s out back.”
“Hey, Raul, I found a door to a basement,” Mike called from the kitchen. “It’s nice down there, too.”
Out back, they found a garage with an old station wagon sitting inside. Tacked on the wall was a hand written letter in a zip lock bag.
“If you want to live
here, please do so. Our elderly parents died and are buried in the family cemetery up on the hill. Please put flowers on their graves once a year and tell them they are from Mary and Henry. We are in bad health and have decided to take our own lives before the snow comes. We only have enough medication until then. You will also find our grave up there near Mom and Dad. We have it dug, and we will cover ourselves with heavy tarp. This has been a wonderful home, and I want so much for a nice family to enjoy it. God Bless you. Mary and Henry
“Well, I’ll be damned,” one of the men whispered.
“I’m gonna find their grave and get them covered,” Raul said. He walked toward the barn to find a shovel.
~~~
The next day, Ralph and Raul rode bikes down the mountain to the two farms. They started the tractors, found some log chains, and drove back up the mountain to the village. They had to pull the overturned vehicles off the road so they could move their families to the new farms.
Irma, Maria, and Juanita were ecstatic to learn of their new homes down in the valley. They started planning right away what they should pack. The men told them the homes were fully furnished, so they didn’t need to take much except clothes and food.
All the women insisted on going with them to help clean the homes and wash the bedding before the families moved in. Raul and Ralph drove the old station wagon and truck from the compound.
The cave women were having the time of their lives getting out and into new surroundings for a change. Of course, they fell in love with the ‘real’ homes and were a bit jealous of Irma, Maria, and Juanita.
Patriots Awakening Page 35
