The End - a Post Apocalyptic Novel

by G. Michael Hopf

Touching his face, Samantha finished their special moment by saying, “Now go put your boots on.”

  The funeral was tough on Gordon, seeing his good friends go through the loss of their only child was excruciating. He could not imagine having to go through this with one of his own. He was given a brief moment to talk with Jimmy, who reassured him that he did not blame him. Jimmy really placed the blame on himself for not being more prepared. He had just assumed they had more inhalers. Simone could barely walk; Jimmy had to support her the entire time. She sobbed throughout the ceremony. Her sobs and wailing made many in attendance do the same.

  They buried Mason in their back yard; the scene resembled something from the 18th century. An uneven hole was dug in the earth, two shovels were sticking out of the pile of dirt that sat next to the hole and Mason was wrapped in his special Star Wars blankets that he loved so much. All who attended brought flowers with them and as they passed the open grave they tossed them in. After the last person came by, Jimmy approached the grave and grabbed one of the shovels. He gripped the handle tightly as he drove the shovel into the fresh dirt. After dumping the first shovel of dirt onto Mason he stopped. Overcome with grief he fell to his knees and began to sob. Gordon could no longer just standby idle. He stepped forward, grabbed the other shovel and began to fill the grave. Gordon couldn’t imagine the pain his friend was feeling, he fought back his own grief but held back so he could finish.

  When the ceremony ended, many just left, a few went up to Jimmy and Simone and offered their condolences. There would be no food platters or drink to be offered. Simone sat in the weathered outdoor chair, staring blankly at Mason’s now covered grave. Gordon was going to walk over and say something but he felt it was time to leave; he took Samantha’s hand and graciously walked out of the house. They left the kids at home with Nelson because they felt the kids were too young to see their friend buried. They walked back to their house, holding hands. Silence was between them, no words could convey how they felt. Gordon looked at his watch; he would soon be pulled before the board and grilled about the events that night. He was ready for them; he was ready for the inquisition and spectacle that Mindy had in store for him.

  The troubles of the day temporarily lifted when he and Samantha were greeted with joy by their two children. They both ran out of the house and into the arms of Gordon and Samantha. They both embraced their kids and held them close. Gordon held his little daughter and kissed her. She knew something was wrong and said to him, “I missed you, Daddy. I love you!” Those words filled Gordon with intense emotion. Hunter had heard Haley and he repeated the same thing to Samantha. Gordon looked over and Samantha looked at him. They both smiled. The love they felt for each other was present in that moment and more powerful than at any other time.

  It was time for Gordon to go. Samantha grabbed his hands and looked at him. “Gordon, I love you. I’ve got it all covered here. Go and take care of this for us.”

  He smiled at her and said, “I will honey. I’ll be okay.”

  Gordon arrived at the community clubhouse a few minutes before the scheduled emergency board meeting. The room he was to be questioned in was also used to inventory the items his teams brought back daily. Boxes of food, water, supplies and accessories lined the walls. In the center of the room were two long tables, they had been cleared and chairs set up, a single chair faced both tables, Gordon assumed that was for him. He smiled to himself then spoke out loud, “What a joke.”

  “What’s a joke?” said someone behind him.

  He turned and saw it was Eric.

  “Hey,” Gordon said stretching out his hand.

  Eric took his hand and said, “Hi Gordon.”

  “What are you doing here?” Gordon asked curiously.

  “I heard about this hearing and wanted to come support you.”

  Looking very surprised Gordon said, “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  Gordon hadn’t been able to discuss Eric’s new position on the security force that night because of the situation with Mason. Fortunately, Jerrod had met up with him the next day and took him out on a quick trip to the hospital where Mason had died. While Gordon had not been successful in getting the inhaler to Mason in time, the night proved successful for the community.

  Gordon and Eric carried on a very casual conversation before Mindy, Dan and the board arrived. They quickly took their seats at the tables. Not taking a seat, Dan stood off to the side of the room. Mindy carried a binder along with a mallet.

  Sitting in the center seat, Mindy looked left and right to wait for her colleagues to sit before she gave her attention to Gordon.

  Gordon just stood near the seat facing them and stared back at her. Seeing them all made him feel like being defiant.

  Mindy grabbed her mallet, tapped the table and said, “I hereby open this emergency meeting of the Rancho Valentino Board. Would all present please take a seat,” she looked directly at Gordon, who did not move, he just stared at her.

  She tapped her mallet again and said, “Mr. Van Zandt, can you please take a seat now so we may begin?” She looked past Gordon and saw Eric, “I’m sorry but this is a closed meeting.”

  Gordon turned around and gestured for Eric to leave.

  “Are you sure?” Eric asked.

  “I’ll be fine,” He then turned, looked at the board and said; “I’m not worried about any of this.”

  Eric listened to Gordon and left. Not wanting to waste any more time, Gordon walked over his chair and sat down.

  “Thank you, Mr. Van Zandt,” Mindy said taking off her reading glasses and placing them on the binder in front of her. She folded her hands, leaned forward and asked, “Mr. Van Zandt, do you know why you’re here?”

  Gordon chuckled out loud sitting straight in his chair. “Yes, you want to grill me about the other night. Then you want to embarrass me and ridicule my actions.”

  “Mr. Van Zandt-”

  “Call me Gordon, I would prefer that.”

  “Gordon, no one is here to embarrass or ridicule anyone. We are here to investigate the incident that occurred the other night that resulted in the death of an innocent and unarmed man as well as the tragic loss of Mason Torrance. We have been briefed thoroughly by Mr. Bradford on the incident in question,” Mindy finished and picked her glasses back up. Opening her binder, she started to read the report that Dan had given the board. When she was finished she closed the binder and took off her glasses again.

  “Gordon, we have all discussed the report we received from Mr. Bradford and we are concerned.”

  “Concerned about what?” Gordon snapped with a tinge of anger in his voice.

  “We are concerned that you may not have the capacity to lead the security force, you have shown several times to have a short fuse and you react without due diligence.”

  “Short fuse? In relation to what?”

  “As you know, Mr. Bradford is a trained police officer and he would have handled the situation differently. He feels it was unnecessary to shoot the man.”

  “Well of course he thought that, he’s a cop,” Gordon said with sarcasm in his tone, he looked over at Dan, who was standing to the side of the room with his arms crossed.

  “Why do you say that?” Mindy asked.

  “This whole episode is bullshit!”

  “Excuse me.”

  “Listen, this is all bullshit. For one, Dan is a fat cop. Highly trained my ass; like most cops they feel they are only doing their job when they are harassing good people or attempting to find a way to ticket them. They were nothing but glorified tax collectors. Dan probably never pulled his gun out in his career and if he did it was when an 80-year-old got pissed about the speeding ticket she was being given,” Gordon was very upset, it could be heard in his voice.

  The expression on Dan’s face changed from a smugness to anger after Gordon’s diatribe.

  Mindy tapped her mallet and said, “Mr. Van Zandt, stop your attacks on Mr. Bradford.”

  “Okay, I will. But I’m n
ot done. I have a few choice words for you. You’re nothing but a power hungry, naïve bitch; you are wasting my time and wasting this community’s opportunity to have as many of us as possible out in the field. I don’t understand you. You need to go outside these gates to see what is going on. You’re protected behind these gates and are still living in a pre-attack mindset. You need to open your eyes and realize that we must all work together to do this. You’re still holding a grudge from the incident a few years back. Get over it and let me get back to work.”

  Not liking what Gordon had said, she fired back, “Mr. Van Zandt, your immature responses only prove that you lack the temperament to lead our community’s security forces. We had thought maybe we could have you see the errors in your ways, but obviously you are a stubborn man. We have all voted and it is unanimous that you will be removed from the head of the security force and be held under house arrest for the murder of the unarmed man at the hospital.”

  “Are you crazy?” Gordon yelled.

  “We know your history Mr. Van Zandt. We know that your killed an unarmed Iraqi back during the war and it appears this is a common trait of yours-”

  “Fuck you!” Gordon yelled. He stood up and pointed a finger at Mindy.

  Dan took a step toward Gordon. Gordon turned to him, pointed his finger and said, “You come toward me, I will ruin you!” He then turned his attention back toward Mindy. “You are making a huge mistake and I will not abide by this kangaroo court.”

  Mindy grabbed her mallet one more time but this time she slammed it down. “Order, order; Mr. Van Zandt, sit down!”

  Dan and Gordon were now cross talking over Mindy. Mindy kept slamming her mallet down but both men were not listening, they were yelling at one another.

  Unexpectedly, the door to the room opened up and light washed across the room. Everyone turned to see Jimmy. The sight of him brought silence to the room. Jimmy walked in and stood next to Gordon.

  Putting his arm around Gordon he said, “This man is my friend and he did what he needed to do the other night for me and Mason. We heard what was happening here so we all came to protest and stop this injustice.”

  “Mr. Torrance, I am sorry for your loss. Don’t you think you should be home with your wife now?” Mindy asked.

  Just then Simone walked in along with Samantha, Melissa, Eric and another two dozen neighbors. Before long, Gordon was flanked on either side by dozens of supportive neighbors.

  “Gordon is my friend and a trusted part of this community. Without his leadership we may not be in the shape we are today. I have been outside these gates, Mindy. The world has changed, we are not dealing with the world you think still exists. What Gordon did the other night, and his actions before, he did to protect us,” Eric said eloquently. He stood on the other side of Gordon.

  “I appreciate you all coming, but this is a closed-door meeting and you do not have all the information,” Mindy said in a weak attempt to respond.

  “This is our community not just yours! You do not decide for all of us anymore! There are more of us just outside, we have gathered many in the community and they support Gordon. So maybe the people that should be getting fired from their jobs are YOU!” Simone exclaimed, her eyes still swollen from tears.

  Mindy sat, shocked as did the rest of the four members of the board. Looking confused and in disbelief they all looked to one another for an appropriate reaction.

  From outside the room, someone yelled, “Gordon! Gordon!” Suddenly a chorus of people began chanting his name.

  Gordon turned around to look at everyone; he was unaware that his neighbors felt this way about him.

  Mindy looked defeated, and instead of attempting to quell the group she stood up, grabbed her binder and stormed out of the room via a back door. The rest of the board, including Dan, followed her out. Gordon glared at Dan as he left. He knew that he’d have to deal with him again and soon. This fight wasn’t over yet.

  DECEMBER 16, 2014

  “Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.”

  – Publilius Syrus

  Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

  Griswald exited his room and closed the door; he looked up and down the stark and dimly lit hallway. He had become more cautious about his movements and surroundings since he had been meeting secretly with those he thought supported his opposition to President Conner’s plans. With another meeting concluded, he was pleased to see his group grow daily. He felt soon he would have strong enough support to openly challenge Conner. With each new meeting he left feeling more confident. One topic that came up a lot in his meetings was what to do with Conner. Griswald’s initial intentions were not to depose Conner but to convince him he did not have support and will of his staff. However, that position was shifting toward usurping Conner.

  Griswald had been working non-stop since the attacks and had barely slept. The reports coming from the outside were frightening, the death toll across the country was growing each hour, local small gangs and groups were taking advantage of the situation and there wasn’t much anyone in government could do. They had been able to reach out to 34 different governors. They had pledged the support of the U.S. government, but all knew it was mainly talk. Each governor they spoke with asked the same questions. They wanted to know when that support would come and how much. All Griswald or anyone on his staff would say is “soon.”

  Even while the general was working behind the scenes against Conner, he did his appointed job. He didn’t mean the new president ill will, he actually liked Conner personally but now felt he was not fit to lead.

  Griswald entered the command post briefing room. Everyone looked up at him; he had never been late to a scheduled briefing. He offered his apologies to the president and all present and took his seat. The vice president continued his update on the calls he had just had with governors and how the situation looked in those state capitals. The reports from each governor sounded the same. They had set up various safe zones for civilians to go and the state capitol was in operation but obviously limited due to no power. Each governor had reported that their surplus supplies were running short and soon they would be out. They had reported that violence against civilians had increased dramatically. The only advice they could give their people was to stay indoors. The one word they all told the VP was that the situation was becoming “hopeless.” Cruz tried to reassure all of them but he did not make any promises. He told each one of them that the president and new government were working hard with the help of the U.S. military and foreign governments to get aid and supplies to them fast.

  “Andrew, thank you. I want to put this out to all here. Please feel free to comment openly,” Conner stated following Cruz’ briefing. “Who do we resupply first; we have ships just off of our shores now with food, fuel, medicines and equipment. Where should those go first?”

  The eight people present around the table just looked around at each other. No one wanted to answer, because the answer meant that someone else would suffer or go without.

  Finally Griswald broke the silence. “Mr. President, let’s first ask the question. Where will the new U.S. capital be? From there we can look at where we should send supplies.”

  Conner nodded in acknowledgement of the question, he was thinking about the question. “That is a good question general. I have given only a little thought concerning the new capital. That would make more sense to build up the governmental infrastructure so that we have a solid base to work from. Where do you propose general?”

  “I believe we should find a coastal city, one that has a large port. This will make it easy to get that city back online and rebuilt. From there we can look at expanding out from there.”

  “What about here?” someone asked.

  “Why not here?” Conner asked, too.

  Griswald replied. “It is far easier to get the resupplies and new transformers via ship than plane. A city that has a port that can handle large container ships is where we should go.”

  “That ma
kes a lot of sense general,” Conner said making some notes.

  “We have another problem that I didn’t think of till late last night,” Griswald said. He leaned forward and said, “I cannot believe none of us had thought about this.”

  “What is it?” Conner asked looking concerned.

  “When we select our new capital we should ensure it’s nowhere near a nuclear power plant.”

  Gasps came from in the room. No one needed him to explain further, they knew exactly what Griswald was talking about.

  Conner leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. He, too, knew what Griswald was talking about. “How could we not think about this before? As if we needed another problem.”

  “How many sites do we have across the U.S.?” Houston asked, he was sitting next to the president.

  “I don’t know, does anyone?” Griswald answered.

  Everyone in the room shook their heads no. Griswald turned to his aide and ordered, “Go find out, we must have that information here somewhere.” Griswald’s aide didn’t hesitate. He departed the room with urgency.

  “It appears we are premature in discussing the location of the new capital. Please alert the governors and our forces about this new threat. We will need to see what we can do to attempt to evacuate people away from those reactors.” Conner said, he was clearly upset by the new revelation.

  “Sir, forgive me for even mentioning this, but what can we really do? What aid can we deliver and how exactly can we evacuate people?” Houston asked.

  “General, we have to try something; we cannot sit around and do nothing. Let’s inform the governors and we’ll go from there,” Conner said.

  “I can’t believe we all overlooked this,” Griswald stated.

  “Mr. President, I don’t think it’s premature to have the question about how we will distribute resources, let’s be realistic here. This country is huge and with the limited resources we have we can’t get to everyone; we’ll need to focus on a small area and work from there. We have to put all of our focus, energy and resources into one city and work from there. In essence what I am saying is we need to abandon parts of this country and hope we will be able to get them back up later,” Houston said.