The Shelter: The Aftermath

by Ira Tabankin

  Ricky sat in the center of the room sipping a cooling mug of coffee waiting for people to enter, he was quickly rewarded with two of his target families arriving within minutes. He got up and wandered to the table where the two families sat smiling, they saw Ricky approaching them, one whispered to his wife, “Here comes the asshole.”

  “What do you think he wants?”

  “Who knows?”

  “Do we have to listen to him?”

  “He is Jay’s son-in-law.”

  “I understand, I’ll put a smile on my face.”

  Ricky smiles asking, “Mind if I join you?”

  “Brian smiles saying, “Please.” Pulling a chair out for Ricky to sit while thinking, I wish he’d go away, I don’t trust anything he says.

  Ricky smiles, “Have you heard the good news?”

  Both families look surprised, they turn to face Ricky, Brian says, “Please tell us.”

  “Jay’s coming out of his coma, he’ll soon be back with us.”

  “We heard a rumor, as his son-in-law we know you’d have the inside information.”

  Ricky smiles thinking, Got them hooked. He continues,

  “He’s coming back. However, there appears to be one small issue.”

  The look of excitement on their faces instantly fades, they are shocked and worried.

  “What’s wrong? Is he going to be okay?”

  “I’m sure you know he died on the table, his heart stopped, when it stopped, his brain didn’t have any oxygen, there’s a strong chance he’s going to return to us with some degree of brain damage.”

  Ruth is shocked. She covers her mouth, tears form in her eyes,

  “Oh my God! He’s going to be brain damaged? What are we going to do? Who’ll lead us home? Poor Lacy, I better go to her right now.”

  I can’t let her go to Lacy and tell her what I just told them, Lacy will know what I’m doing and have me locked up or worse. I’ve got to find a way to stop her.

  “Ruth, I don’t think that’s a good idea, she’s in the medical facility with the doctor and Jay, I think we ought to give her time to get over her shock. We need to show her how much we love her and give her a little time to adjust to the situation.”

  Ruth pauses thinking over what Ricky saying, No matter what he’s said in the past, he sounds logical and caring. I think he may be right. We need to hear him out. Maybe he’s changed.

  Ricky looks into Ruth’s eyes, he sees her nod in silent agreement, he continues,

  “We should show Lacy and Jay all of the love and support we can while we help them get over whatever mental issues Jay has. As a community, our problem is we aren’t going to know if Jay’s telling us the truth or the truth as he sees it from whatever issues he’s suffered when his brain lost oxygen. He may sound totally logical one moment and the next say something that’s absolutely insane or goes against what we all know to be true. Our problem is going to be trying to figure out if he’s telling us the actual truth or the truth as he sees it from whatever damage happened to him.”

  Others who entered the mess area later drifted over to stand and sit around the small group listening to Ricky. Many thought he was usually full of crap, currently listening to him, many thought that he had somehow changed, which was good for the community. Ricky knew they were standing around and behind him, he slowly increased the volume of his voice so everyone could hear him, he thought, this is even better than I thought possible, more than half of the families are here listening. All I have to do is sow the seeds of doubt, human nature will do the rest. Soon, no one will believe anything Jay says, he’s going to lose his authority without knowing what happened.

  Ricky’s discussion spread through the shelter, Jay’s mental condition was soon the only topic of discussion in the shelter. Tony returned to his room to see Nancy,

  “Hon, have you heard the latest crazy rumor?”

  “Tony, do you mean the one that Jay’s crazy or suffered some mental disorder while he was in his coma?”

  “Yes, where the hell do these things come from?”

  “I don’t know. Cheri told me she heard it while she was getting coffee for her and Fred.”

  Tony sits down on the bed next to Nancy, he looks into her eyes, saying, “I have no idea who starts these rumors.”

  Nancy reaches out to hold Tony’s hand, “Tony you’re close to Jay, and you know Doctor Basco better than most, is it true? Do you think Jay will wake from his coma with some sort of mental problem?”

  Tony shakes his head, he stands in the small bedroom, before he opens his mouth so speak, he hears his neighbors’ voices, he’s reminded of the thin walls and lack of noise control, he whispers, “Nance, the truth is, no one knows when or if he’ll wake from the coma, or in what condition. Doctor Basco doesn’t know what the long-term effects will be. All we can do is pray and wait. We won’t know anything until Jay is awake and able to answer questions.”

  “Then where did the rumor come from?”

  “I don’t know, I can tell you when I find the SOB, who started it I’m going to bring back the old punishment of cement overshoes.”

  “Tony, don’t talk like that, we’ve worked hard to overcome the mobster image. This isn’t the time to remind people what you do for a living.”

  “What I used to do. I don’t think there’s enough of a market to return to my old business.”

  “We both know that as soon as things settle down people will want things, things only someone like you will be able to provide them. Once we’re back on the surface and the financial market settles, your business will bounce back. I’ll bet you your business will increase because the things people are going to want are going to be much harder to find, so the prices will zoom up. I know you have warehouses someplace stuffed with things people will want.”

  “True, except at the moment the country doesn’t even have usable currency.”

  “So barter with your customers, ask for items that will be in high demand, ammo, food, beer, cigarettes. There will always be people willing to pay or trade anything for such items.”

  Tony smiles, “Nancy, that’s why I love you so much. You’ve always been my best Consigliere.”

  “We make a good team. Jay and Lacy are good friends, they’re our best friends outside of the business. They’ve done a lot to help us and they’ve most likely saved our lives. I suggest you find out who’s working under the table against him. Finding snitches and working under the table is what you know how to do better than anyone else down here. Tony, find who’s behind this and set them straight or make them disappear. Whatever you do, don’t leave anything that will point to us. We’ve been accepted as a family like everyone else, we need to maintain that. It’s going to be critical moving forward.”

  “I agree, I’m going to ask John to review the recordings to see if we can spot who’s been acting out of the ordinary.”

  Nancy leans over to whisper in Tony’s ear, “Tony, I’d keep my eye on Jay’s asshole son-in-law.”

  “Nancy, Todd is John’s right hand, he’s saved my ass more than once. He worships Jay, there’s no way I believe he has anything to do with the rumor.”

  “Not that one, keep both of your eyes on Ricky. I don’t trust anything he does. He’s been acting funny lately. I bet he’s the one behind the rumor.”

  “What does he have to gain by undermining Jay?”

  “He doesn’t like Jay, never has. That was clear the first time we met him, his body language broadcast his dislike of Jay. If he succeeds in undermining Jay, he’ll be able to move the community to the left. He’s made his political beliefs well known, he’s fought Jay on almost every issue since he joined us. Tony, be careful. If the source of the rumor is Ricky, you’re dealing with one of Jay’s son-in-laws. No matter what you do, you’re going to be walking on very thin ice. It could turn around and bite us on the ass. It’s clear that Jay doesn’t like Ricky, but he’s still married to Jay’s daughter.”

  “I know, I’ll be very car
eful.”

  “Good, now go find out who the traitor is. The sooner you find him or her, the better we’re all going to be.”

  Chapter 12

  “Sarge, let’s see if we can find the front door to the underground facility that is sitting almost under our noses, feel dumb yet?”

  “Sir, I find it hard to believe that a facility that large is sitting right under our noses.”

  “Looking at the diagram the GPR produced, it starts at that hill behind us and it goes under the fields behind us. It then extends way back to that second hill on the horizon. It’s easy to see what happened here, these people would come under attack, when they thought they couldn’t fight any longer, they would race into their shelter where they would hide until their attackers left or I bet they surface at night to raid those who drove them underground.”

  “Sir, why haven’t they attacked us?”

  “They must know or suspect we’re the Army, they may think we out gun them. I bet they’ve been watching us since we arrived.”

  “Captain, why haven’t they contacted us?”

  “Sarge, would you without being able to confirm our identity?”

  “Sir, I agree, how are we going to get them to talk to us?”

  “I’m sure they have cameras watching us, I suggest we put up some signs telling them we want to talk to their leader.”

  Laughing the sergeant replies, “Like, take me to your leader?”

  “Yup.”

  “Okay, I’ll get the guys making some signs. Any idea how long it's going to be before they respond?”

  “I don’t think it’s going to be long. The question will be if they believe us. Take pictures of some of our dog tags, place them in the signs, maybe they’ll help build trust. I want them to open the door versus us having to find and knock on it, they might have their front door filled with booby traps. I don’t want to lose anyone when we’re trying to save them.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll set up some of our tablets to show a video of us and our dog tags. I’ll set the tablets around the castle increasing the odds they’ll see at least one of them.”

  “Sarge, do NOT set up the message as a power point, if I were in the shelter and saw a power point presentation, I would come up here and open fire on us.”

  Laughing, the Sergeant nods his head in agreement while saluting and leaving Captain Black to his paperwork.

  Captain Black thought to himself, What kind of man spends millions on an underground shelter large enough to house fifty or more people, plus build these defenses around his home. I want to meet this Jay Tolson. I hope it’s on peaceful terms.

  @@@@@

  I’m in a hospital, but I don’t know where. I tried to move my arms and legs, nothing happened, that can’t be good. I also tried to speak, no deal, there’s something in my throat. I’m starting to get worried. I don’t want to live if I’m paralyzed, I can’t face life where my mind is alert and I can’t communicate or move, I won’t live with an active mind wrapped in a dead body. My mother willed herself to die, I’ll do the same thing. I refuse to be a burden to my family and loved ones. I never thought I’d end up like this.

  “Jay, can you hear me? Are you happy to be back? Are you ready to spend the rest of your life lying unmoving in a bed, unable to speak, unable to move, unable to even take care of your basic needs? You’ll lay in your own piss and shit as you slowly starve to death. Every day will feel like a year. Is this how you want to spend the rest of your life? You won’t be able to express to anyone you’re in pain. And you will be in pain. Pain like you’ve never imagined. Your body will soon be covered in bedsores, they will get infected, your mind will scream for God’s mercy. Mercy which will be denied to you.”

  “I’m not supposed to be here. However, as your brother I got permission to come and make you one last offer. You have one chance left to leave this place of sorrow and join me where you will be an honored being of power and have the respect you’ve always craved. You lived most of your life wanting our father to respect you. If you join me, he will fear you. You will be able to get even for all of the years he tormented you.”

  “Robert, I’m not going with you. Even if I’m doomed to spend the last of my days mute and paralyzed, I’ll find a way to help my family.”

  Robert laughs, he leans over me whispering, “You’re making the largest mistake of your short life. You will pay the price of your denial for all of eternity. Jay, I tried to help you, when I leave I don’t think we’ll ever see each other again.”

  “Robert, will you answer one question for me?”

  “It depends on the question.”

  “Why?”

  Robert laughs as he fades away.

  @@@@@

  The President is furious, he’s been visited by most of his cabinet, the workers in the various agencies are stopping work. He calls the Secretary of the Treasury who informs him,

  “Mr. President, their union rep met with me, he informed me that if we’re not paying them with anything they can use to pay their bills and buy food, they’re not going to work. They want the store’s shelves refilled.”

  “We’ll see about that. The unions may yell and threaten, but they wouldn’t dare cross me. I’ll set a meeting with the Presidents of the unions. We’ll meet again after that meeting. You’re dismissed.”

  The services people rely on for their basic survival; clean water, electricity, heat and food distribution have ceased due to lack of usable payment. Entire industries disappeared. Trucks have stopped transporting food and inventory resupply to stores. Millions of people have left America’s cities looking for a better life, they’ve gone in all directions looking for help and a safe location to start over. Most are hungry and scared. Many of those who left the cities don’t understand why help hasn’t come, they question where FEMA and the Government aid is. People who aren’t used to walking are quickly tired by long hours on the road. The old and ill fall out of line, they make camp along the remains of the Interstate highways. The camps are easy prey for any who only care about their own survival. Swarms of hungry refugees from the cities took whatever they could find, they stripped the land, they broke into buildings and homes looking for anything usable, they left behind burning buildings and ashes of people’s dreams.

  New currency doesn’t automatically put goods on the shelf, government workers, who for years have been part of the elite are angry there’s very little inventory to purchase in the capital. People have started to strike demanding the store’s shelves be refilled.

  The Federal Government can’t figure out how to get products back on shelves. The President’s cabinet, most who’ve never held a job outside of government are confused why their master plans aren’t working. They haven’t learned there’s chasm of difference between theory and reality.

  @@@@@

  The countryside is filled with refugee camps where people who’ve left the cities are struggling to survive. Food has become the most pressing need. People trade anything they have for something to eat. Teens and women are forced to trade their bodies for a meal. Hungry people shuffle from village to village looking for handouts or offer to work for something to feed their families. People who thought the government would bail them out quickly learned the government wasn’t able to provide them with anything except hopelessness. FEMA spent their time generating power point presentations for the Congress and the President. They showed up in a couple of cities to hand out some MREs and bottles of water for media cameras, then they disappeared.

  The Department of Treasury isn’t even able to provide currency that was worth something. The real unemployment rate exceeded 45%, most of those who had jobs weren’t being paid, they worked simply to have something to do and hope they will be paid in the future with something of value. Millions walked off their jobs because they weren’t being paid. Unions went on strike with no end in sight. Electrical power failed when people walked off their jobs. Very few first responders remained on the job, the rule of law failed whe
n those who kept order went home. The rule of law was replaced by the rule of might. Small communities banded together to provide security for each other. Unarmed, mostly liberal communities became easy targets for gangs and looters. Barriers were built from what used to be status symbols, expensive cars and furniture became walls around small groups of homes.

  The wealthy quickly learned their stocks and bonds were worthless, the stock markets were closed after falling over 8,500 points in two days, the government hasn’t announced when it will reopen the stock and commodity markets.