“I don’t understand the point of this anymore,” Jake said. “Lewis took off on his own, and the longer we sit here waiting for him the greater the chances they’ll find us. Is that something that you really want to risk?”
“Of course not,” Maggie said. “If there’s one thing I think we all agree on, it’s that we’ve all had more than our fair share of taking risks. Enough to last us for the rest of our lives, and then some. But Lewis was in our charge. He was the only one of all the EarthShip community that volunteered on his own to come with us. We can’t just leave him in the hands of these people. God knows what could happen to him.”
“Believe me, I understand the principle and moral argument, Maggie. Never leave a man behind,” Dawson said. “My troop never did. Not once during our entire tour did we ever leave someone behind, but these are extraordinary circumstances. There does come a point where we have to move on. We don’t even know where to look for him, and just going into town puts all of us at risk. We’ve been lucky so far and managed to survive without being detected. We won’t be able to keep this up. It’s not a question of if, it’s a matter of when. One of these days, their patrols are going to wander too close. They’ll spot one of us, and then we won’t be able to explain ourselves.”
“Yes, we’ve done our time and need to move on. Now’s as good a time as ever,” Owl said, pacing around the room. “That Lewis had his own ideas and motivations for coming with us. I’m not so sure that they lined up with our own. It’s time we headed home. Wherever it is you folks call home. Me, I know where mine is. It’s as far away from these crazies as I can go.”
“That’s it? We just barely got here. From the beginning, you never really wanted to be part of this.” Chase said with disappointment in his voice. “That’s not what Lewis did when we needed his help. He didn’t just desert us; he wouldn’t do that. A bunch of us wouldn’t even be here if it hadn’t been for Lewis stopping these terrorist bastards when they took children from the EarthShip community. He never gave up on them, and we can’t give up on him. Not now.”
Maggie moved to put a hand on Chase’s shoulder to reassure him, but Chase just shook it off. “Chase, please,” Maggie tried. “I understand you’re close to him, and that you two worked together, but sometimes adults do things that don’t make sense.” Chase looked at her with misted eyes. “Lewis is a bright guy, and he’ll figure things out. He’s a survivor, like everyone else from the EarthShip community. If they did get a hold of him, he’ll find a way out. I know it.”
Suddenly the front door of the house slammed shut, and they heard footsteps running down the hall. Every one of them took a quick look around the room and accounted for everyone that should be in the house. They were all sitting in the living room of the abandoned home. Before any of them could scramble for their weapons or head for cover, the footsteps entered the living room.
“Of course I’m a survivor; a brilliant, resourceful survivor.” It was Lewis. Chase wiped his eyes as Veronica squeezed his hand. “What I really find surprising is that you people actually hung around here all this time and waited for me. It’s touching really, but hardly necessary.” Everyone looked around at one another with confused glances.
“What are you talking about?” Jake said. “And where the hell have you been?” He looked to Maggie. “You better have a damn good explanation for things. Maggie here is about ready to string you up by your short and curlies. So make it a good one.”
Lewis looked confused that he’d done anything wrong, then glanced in Maggie’s direction and decided from the look on her face that maybe Jake knew what he was talking about. He decided to get right to what he needed to say.
“It’s OK,” Lewis said hurriedly, but with confidence. “I’ve been doing a little scouting around town and gathering information on the terrorist groups. Without a doubt, they’ve established themselves as an imposing force at the mental hospital. Pretty impressive actually, when you consider how little time they had to set it up. Hijacking and stealing American military weapons, vehicles and ammunition made it a lot easier. Still, it’s an impressive operation to be sure. We were naive to think we could come here and do anything about them. I can’t believe that I let you guys talk me into doing this.”
“Are you saying we should just give up?” Dawson said. “I thought you were the brains of this outfit; isn’t there anything you managed to figure out since you’ve been gone all this time?”
“As a matter of fact, there is. And I think you’re going to be impressed.”
Chapter 33 ~ Spoils of War
Seven days later, the explosion of the mental hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia was impressive. It ripped a crater-sized hole under the foundation where the hospital had been, which extended for hundreds of yards past its perimeter. What made it even more spectacular was the fact that none of the local inhabitants died in the explosion. The entire town survived, with the exception of the terrorist invaders who had no business being there in the first place. Lewis hadn’t just single-handedly come up with a plan for wiping out a major threat to the country, but he’d managed to make contact with a secret resistance network. Using that network, he was able to ensure that none of the local inhabitants were harmed. Underneath the very noses of the terrorist organization ruling the town, the citizens had established a network of communication and resistance that had remained undetected. The terrorists were more concerned with their operations outside of the city than the citizens within. Their focus was on bringing down an entire country state by state if they had to. They counted on their military presence and occasional shows of force to instill a sense of fear amongst the local inhabitants, to keep them subservient. But what they didn’t count on was the resilience and determination of those same people to fight back in the most secretive of ways. The locals knew their town. They had intimate knowledge of the town, and they used that knowledge to its utmost. That knowledge included city infrastructure, equipment stores, and all manner of hiding places.
Lewis managed to tap into all that, and then some. He researched resources to see what was still available in the city that they could use. Surprisingly, even a small town has a plethora of resources, which once combined with ingenuity, could be used to accomplish the impossible.
The secret resource turned out to be garbage. Regular everyday garbage, or more specifically, the garbage dumps and landfills located just outside of town. As much as the EPA does its best to regulate the proper disposal of a city’s garbage, sometimes things don’t get done exactly according to the rules. One of the side effects of landfills is methane gas. Over the years, methane gas tends to accumulate in pockets.
Lewis’ plan, which worked exceedingly well, was to collect the methane gas. That in and of itself isn’t as easy as one might imagine, given that the gas itself is odorless. But Lewis would not be deterred, and with the help of the town’s people, he was able to overcome the obstacle. Not only overcome it but actually use it to his advantage. The fact that methane gas was odorless gave them a distinct advantage over their adversaries. Once enough of it was collected from the dumps it was just a question of tapping into the water supply for the mental hospital. That was relatively simple once he had the right people on board. The terrorists had forced city maintenance workers to keep the mental hospital functioning above everything else. Its working plumbing was essential to their operation. Lewis was well aware that underground methane gas could contaminate wells. People living in rural areas have to be careful about using wells to ensure that the water doesn’t contain methane gas. Another feature that Lewis turned to his advantage. It was surprising how much methane gas they were able to pump into the water supply in only a few days. Once they had a continuous supply feeding the mental hospital, all they had to do was wait long enough for the buildup. They knew that eventually, once there was enough gas inside the facility, someone would either light a match, candle or fireplace. Then, the inevitable happened.
“I’ve never seen such a spectacu
lar display of fireworks in my entire life,” Jake said. “This has been the best Fourth of July display ever.”
“Is this the Fourth of July, Daddy?” Veronica asked Dawson.
“No, Veronica, it’s even better.”
“I suppose we could have waited till the Fourth of July,” Lewis said. “That would’ve been pretty symbolic.”
The group of them looked around at each other, smiling, then almost in unison they all mouthed the words, “Nah.”
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If you liked Final Days, you'll love these other books, also by Norman Christof:
EMP Survivors Series
Destination Lost
America's Sunset
America's Sunset
Coming Home
Final Days
Parables From The Apocalypse
Endings
Revealed
Mutation
Awakening
Rising
THANK YOU FOR READING!
Norman Christof
The author greatly appreciates you taking the time to read his work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or telling your friends about it, to help him spread the word.
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America's Sunset: Final Days: A Post Apocalyptic Fight For Survival Page 14
