The Shelter: The Aftermath

by Ira Tabankin

  “We’ll soon see about that won’t we? Jay, really, from a medical point of view, how are you feeling?”

  “Doc, I feel a little stronger, I still can’t move my legs and I seem to have memory blocks. When I try to remember the events that led up to me being here, some things don’t exist. It hard to describe. The best way I can say it is, some memories don’t exist or never happened. The funny thing is, I can’t remember what I can’t remember.”

  Ricky hears Jay’s last statement and smiles, he rushes to the cafeteria to spread a rumor that Jay’s lost most of his memories. Ricky is overjoyed. I couldn’t have scripted it any better. He said the words I needed him to say in front of many witnesses. He destroyed his own credibility. No one will be able to trust anything he says. If he can’t remember certain events and timelines, who’s to say if he’s thinking everything through clearly, he can’t be our leader if he can’t remember yesterday. Oh my, God, this is too perfect. Even those on the fence will have to believe me. Jay’s words have reached the cafeteria before Ricky. As soon as he enters he’s bombarded by people who’ve heard the rumor that Jay’s lost all of his memory. Randy grabs Ricky’s arm,

  “You’re his son-in-law, surely you have the inside track. How bad is his memory loss? Will he remember any of us? Will he remember he’s supposed to bring us home? Does he think this is where we normally live? Ricky, you’ve got to tell us the truth.”

  Ricky looks over his shoulder, there are fifteen people with more entering for breakfast that wander to where Randy is talking to him waiting to hear his answer.

  “Randy, I was there when he told doc he can’t remember things. His own words were, he doesn’t remember what he can’t remember. He could have forgotten everything, or maybe just how to defeat our next threat. Maybe he’s forgotten where he hid his money so we’ll never have the funds to rebuild our homes. Maybe he’s forgotten who we are.”

  Randy steps back taken by surprise.

  “He really said that?”

  “Yes he did, I was standing right next to Lacy when he told the doc.”

  Randy shakes his head, “Oh my God, we’re screwed. We have no hope, no leader, no funds, no way to return home. We’re going to have to accept whatever the Army offers us. I lost my appetite. I need to think about what our future holds for us.” Randy takes a cup of coffee and leaves fifteen frightened, worried people behind in the cafeteria.

  Ricky looks at the families frozen in place,

  “It’s not the end of the world. We can get through this. I’m going to suggest we hold elections for our new leader. You remember elections don’t you? Before Jay took all of your rights away from you, we voted for our leaders. Well, I’m going to suggest at lunch today when the Army returns that we hold formal elections. We should have the right to decide who leads us. We have to return to one adult, one vote. We’ve been a dictatorship, it’s time for us to have a say in who leads us.”

  The other families sit in the cafeteria thinking Ricky might be right. Many thought he was a nut, but he’s starting to make sense. A few think that if voting for their own leader was good enough for the founding fathers, why isn’t it good enough for them?

  Chapter 19

  “John, you haven’t heard our plans yet. I’m asking you to hold your temper until you hear what I say to the community in the shelter.”

  “Captain, we didn’t see all of these people arrive, where did they come from?”

  “I called an engineering division to build the new facility. Helicopters dropped them off with their equipment and supplies. With your cameras out in the front, you couldn’t have seen them.”

  “I don’t like what I’m seeing. I admit I don’t know what your plans are. However, I have to say, I don’t like what I’m seeing.”

  “John, you and the others have lived here or underground, protected, safe while millions are dying, hungry or fighting for a scrap of what you throw away. I think you’ve done a remarkable job, yet, I look at the shitty conditions the rest of the country is living in and then you, you sound like spoiled two-year-olds. I’m tired of hearing your complaints and bullshit. You have your own hospital, your own rec rooms, movies, fresh water, food, heat and AC. You have the gall to stand in front of me telling me you don’t know what I’m doing and you’re pissed at me? I’m trying to improve the conditions of our fellow Americans.”

  “By stealing from those who had the foresight to prepare? You are no different from the communist. You’re from the government, you’re here to help, we should bend over and take it up the ass. No, sir. I won’t take it and I think I can speak for Jay and Tony, we’re not going to take it.”

  “You forget, I know where your shelter is, I know how it’s made, I’ve removed most of your mines and traps. You have 39 people? I can, if need be, sweep you aside without breaking out a sweat.”

  “Captain, don’t be so sure of yourself. If you have nothing else to show me, I’d like to return to the shelter.”

  “John, have breakfast with me before you leave.”

  “Is anything going to change over MREs? I hate powdered eggs.”

  “How about real eggs or pancakes?”

  “Did you steal supplies from the people who live around us?”

  “There aren’t any people living around you anymore. Their farms are empty, gangs or mobs killed their owners. We found them deserted. We brought most of their animals here.”

  “Are you taking over their farms?”

  “I thought of giving them to your people.”

  “You’re going to take over our farm and move us to the neighboring farms which have no protection? You are a typical government asshole.”

  “I didn’t say anything of the sort. Can you trust me for a few hours?”

  “Not after what I’ve seen.”

  “I thought you’d be happy to see your homes repaired and the new fence, we’ve improved your security.”

  “For us or you?”

  “For you.”

  “Sorry, I don’t believe it. The guard towers and machine guns show me you’re building a new base camp/fort on Jay’s land.”

  “John, it's seven o’clock, please give me five hours, till noon, when I can explain everything to everyone at the same time. I think you’ll understand and accept and even support my plan.”

  “Captain, out of respect, I’ll give you your requested five hours. I would like to return to the shelter now.”

  “John, if I allowed you to go back now, you’ll tell everyone what you saw, they would get upset and not be open minded at the meeting. I have to decline your request. You’ll return to the shelter with me.”

  “Are you arresting me?”

  “John, consider yourself my guest.”

  “This is going to be a hell of a day.”

  “You’ve got that right.”

  @@@@@

  The strategic planner of ISIS, Mohmand Al Afi stands at the head of the conference table in Mosul, Iraqi. “My friends, we have our best opportunity we may ever have of invading the Great Satan. The Great Satan is weak and bankrupt. Their Army is feeding their people instead of standing guard. They don’t have the financial or moral ability to put up an organized resistance to us. We should load ships full of holy warriors. We’ll tell the infidels we’re sending them oil, the tankers will be full of tens of thousands of soldiers and weapons. We’ll be in the belly of the beast before they realize what’s happening. By the time they wake up in D.C. it will be too late, we’ll be converting or killing their people.”

  One of the staff asks, “What about their Navy? Won’t they stop and search our ship as it approaches the Great Satan?”

  “No, their Navy is occupied providing assistance to their people. Their remaining aircraft carriers are feeding the people who live around their bases. We’ll dock in ports far from any navy base, we’ll transfer to trucks until we’re hundreds of miles away from the port. We’ll wait until we reach the Satan’s belly, we’ll start with their small towns and villages
. By the time word reaches their leaders it will be too late for them to stop us.”

  The people seated around the table smile while yelling “Allah Akbar!”

  ISIS troops begin filling modified tankers, each ship holds ten thousand heavily armed Islamic troops. Six ships with a total of sixty thousand holy warriors are on their way to bring the word of Allah to the Great Satan. Mohmand Al Afi sends a message to the White House saying he represents what’s left of OPEC, he’s dispatched six tankers each filled with 150,000 barrels of crude. He tells the puny fake president at the White House, the tankers will enter the Mississippi River to bring the oil to one of the few functioning refineries located in New Orleans. The White House is overjoyed, they promised to send payment in gold for the oil. The Secretary of the Interior informs Al Afi that the refineries in New Orleans have been destroyed. He suggests to Al Afi he dock in Memphis, which still has a functioning refinery. Al Afi quickly accepts the promise of payment while muting the phone and laughing. He turns to one of his aids, “The fools are going to send us gold for our invasion. They are even making it easier for us by sending us to Memphis.”

  “What do you expect from stupid infidels?”

  “They will either accept the law of Allah or burn in Hell’s fires forever.”

  “Your highness, what are you going to tell them when no oil flows to their refinery?”

  “Their refinery is going to have a serious accident which blows it up just as our tankers begin to dock at the port.”

  “An excellent plan.”

  “Allah has blessed our holy mission.”

  When the tankers dock at Memphis, a squad of ISIS Special Forces slips off the tankers, they steal a van which they take to the Valero refinery. The quietly work in the shadows and corners where there're no cameras. They place radio controlled explosives where they will blow up the large pipes carrying oil and other petroleum around the facility. The explosion sets the oil and gasoline inside them on fire. They hope the burning oil and fuel will flow over the refinery destroying it. They hide the plastic explosives under pipes, behind storage tanks and next to the high power poles which carry the electrical energy to the refinery. Once the refinery is burning, they send a message it's safe to unload the warriors from the tankers. They know all of the security forces in the area will be busy fighting the fires, not looking for invaders.

  When all of the bombs are set, they push the transmit button. Fifty explosive charges ignite the stored fuel and oil which was being processed into gasoline. A massive light blots out the sky, it covers the refinery which is quickly covered in flames. The blast wave moves from the center of the refinery at hundreds of miles per hour. The fire spreads to every inch of the refinery destroying the sole functioning refinery in the South. The fire causes a firestorm which spreads to the local towns making hundreds homeless. Two hundred die in the explosion and fires. The refinery which had been built in 1940 with a capacity of 190,000 barrels of crude a day was gone. Twenty volunteers died fighting the fires before it’s decided to allow the refinery to burn itself out, which takes a week. At the end of the week, the people look for the tankers which were tied up at the pier, they are surprised to see the tankers are gone. The holy warriors they left behind split into two groups of five thousand each, one moving east and one west on Interstate 240. They offer one chance to convert to everyone they meet, any who turn them down are killed, either by beheading or being burned alive.

  In Iran, Al Afi’s aide, Osama reported to him, “Sir, our plan to attack the Great Satan from the inside out is beginning to show progress. We are overwhelmed with recruits who want to join the holy warriors.”

  “Excellent, train them so they can recruit and train more. We have to remember millions of Americans are armed. We don’t want to get into a fight over every blade of grass. Allah has smiled on us, he created the economic meltdown which placed the Great Satan in a state of internal strife, hunger and fear. Many of their cities are already in ruin. The people have lost faith in their government. Their once powerful military is in shambles, much of it is trying to restore order and support their citizens. They are fighting amongst themselves, they are in a race war and a food war. We will arrive not as holy warriors but as saviors. We’re going to bring much-needed supplies to the people. When the people begin to trust us, we’ll be in a position to spread Allah’s word. They will have the choice of life under Allah or death. Most Americans are fat and weak, both physically and spiritually. Most follow the God of gold and false riches, they’ve fallen off the path to eternal bliss in paradise. We will show them the true path to paradise.”

  “Yes, holy one.”

  “Encircle the city, no one gets in or out. We’ll cleanse Memphis, we will build our base of operations there. Turn Memphis into paradise on earth so others will want to join us. We’ll offer an alternative to their chaos.”

  Rumors of the attack on Memphis spread quickly out of the city, militias quickly race towards the city, some race to fight ISIS, some want to save Memphis, some want to revenge the destruction of Graceland. Huge battles are engaged between both sides along Interstate 240. Al Afi is worried his people are being bogged down fighting the militias and small groups of the US Military. ISIS arrived with small weapons, they used stolen vehicles from civilians who were forbidden to leave the city. The smoke from the burning city blots out the sky.

  @@@@@

  El Chapo’s people have killed 30% of the law enforcement in the rural Southwest, leaving many areas with no first responders. Armed citizens begin to take up the slack, gun battles begin between the cartel’s army and armed citizens. The cartel has automatic weapons and training, armed citizens are fighting to protect their homes and know the land like the back of their hand. Vicious battles break out across the south interfering with the distribution of drugs, which forces El Chapo to issue orders to either kill everyone armed or move to another town. He doesn’t want to fight useless gun battles which mean nothing to his overall strategy. Arizona is turned into a new wild west where anything can happen. Gun fights become the normal way to settle disagreements. El Chapo decides to send his son to Arizona to take control of the situation and restore order. Without order, his drug sales and gold aren’t safe. People are more concerned with settling their private grievances than they are in getting high.

  @@@@@

  “Jay, what’s the last thing you remember?”

  “Do you mean today or before I was shot?”

  “Let’s start with today, tell me what you remember from when you opened your eyes.”

  Did I speak with dad when I was sleeping? If so that doesn’t count. What do I remember? I remember speaking to my father, when I opened my eyes, what did I see first?

  “Doctor Basco, I remember opening my eyes, and nothing until I pressed the call button.”

  “Did you press the call button as soon as you woke? Did you lay in bed for a while? Did you try to move your legs or do anything else before you pressed the call button?”

  “Doctor, I don’t remember. It’s as if there is a hole where there should be something. I have no memory of anything before I pressed the call button.”

  “Can I show you what our CCTV recorded?”

  “Of course.”

  “Hold my tablet, that’s you in bed. You’re waking, you can clearly see your eyes are open. You’re lifting your right arm and making a fist, opening and closing it, then you do the same with your left hand. You try moving your legs, you can see you do manage to make your toes move. You smiled at your accomplishment before you turned your head looking for the call button. Here you are at the five-minute point finding the call button, you hold it up to make sure it’s actually what you’re looking for, then you press it. Lacy hears the alarm generated by the call button, she enters here.”

  “I remember everything from when I pressed the button.”

  “Do you remember anything from before pressing it?”

  “Nothing. I have no memory, I’m seeing it for the first
time.”

  “Lacy, Jay I’m going to run a few tests to see if I can determine what’s causing your memory loss.”

  Lacy has a worried look on her face, “Doctor, is it serious?”

  “I need to understand what it is before I can figure out if it’s serious.”

  “Jay, I want to run a few memory tests, is that okay? They're like word games.”

  “Can I have my breakfast first?”

  “Jay, we can do it while you eat. I’m going to write a couple of words, I want you to memorize them, sometime during your breakfast, I’m going to ask you to repeat them back to me.”

  “Sounds easy enough.”

  “Lacy, do you want to eat with Jay? I can order you a tray.”

  “That would be good, thank you.”

  “Jay, here are three words, look at them, memorize them.”