“You know, that’s exactly what you said to me on the phone that night you went to work, nine years ago. ‘I’ll be home before you know it.’ Three months, Erika. Three horrifying months of begging God to bring you home to me. Three months of hell, Erika.” Leaving his boy behind was not going to be easy for him.
“But I came home, didn’t I? I made it. God gave me some kind of a guardian angel,” she proclaimed, trying to make light of the situation. She knew his pain. She had lived it.
“Well…I hope you have that angel’s phone number; we may need it,” Vince was flustered by this choice he never wanted to make, but he was actually rather excited to see the world outside this cage.
They reached the steps of their shanty and Vince opened the door for her. It was dark and empty inside. They went to their bed and wrapped their bodies around one another. It was Erika’s favorite place to be, and she quickly fell into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER 24
USUALLY ERIKA WAS a complete grump in the morning, but not this morning. She was full of pepper. She teased playfully with Vince, Dexter and Star. Everyone was excited. They all walked eagerly to the warehouse, meeting up with the rest of the team on the way.
When they reached the warehouse they met the twenty-man military team that would accompany them, as well as drive the extra vehicles needed to bring back supplies and refugees. They had briefly met Team A yesterday. This was a group of people that had been refugees as well and were recruited to this program a year ago. Their skills were more limited than Erika’s team and they had lost some people along the way. Everyone chatted until Commander Burns came out of his office and gave the go command.
Erika organized her crew and loaded into the bus with the rest of her friends and family. Sergeant Walker entered last, along with a driver that Erika had not met before. Her name was Sergeant Julie Pontever. She stowed her gun in a slot by the door opener and slid her six-foot-six frame into the driver’s seat.
Sergeant Walker stepped to the forefront to address the team, “Thank you all for volunteering. Your individual skills will be a welcome addition to the rescue crew. Now, this part I hate,” he said, looking down.
Everyone was curious as to what he was talking about.
“So let me lay it out straight. Mathew and the Commander still consider you all to be flight risks. You have all trained well and will have this chance to prove yourselves, but everyone will ride chained to their chair. You may have noticed the chain hanging between your legs. All of you need to pull that up and hook the cuffs to your wrists. I’ll come around to check them,” Sergeant Walker ordered, kind of embarrassed that he had to say it at all.
“What? Come on, man!” Greg snapped in disapproval. Sergeant Walker shot him a scornful look, “I mean, sir,” Greg quickly corrected himself.
“You want a chance to be a permanent part of this crew? Then follow the orders and put the cuffs on your wrists. Otherwise get off the bus and go back to your shanties.” Sergeant Walker was a gigantic teddy bear but he was not going to tolerate any deviation from following orders.
“Yes sir.” Erika was on point, with Sergeant Bennett’s voice echoing through her head: Just follow the orders, no questions. As the leader she calmed her team and clipped the cuffs around her wrists to set an example. Her dream of Vince struggling in chains from three weeks ago was hot on her brain, but she was determined to go out, no matter what. Who cared if they were cuffed? They were getting the heck out of Las Vegas. The rest of the crew followed her lead and quietly clicked on the cuffs. They wanted out just as bad.
Erika had taken note that during the commotion Sergeant Pontever’s hand had gone straight to her weapon. It made her wonder what orders these soldiers had received and if the California Crew was part of the hit list. Nah, she quickly dismissed the idea.
Sergeant Walker came down the aisle to ensure that everyone had put on the cuffs snugly and was secured to their benches. He gave Erika a wink and mouthed the word thank-you to her. It would have been disastrous to lose these volunteers now.
Sergeant Pontever put the bus into drive and they were off. Erika and the others stayed glued to the windows, as they watched the final gate to freedom slowly slide open. The bus pulled out, and for the first time in nine years Erika was looking at the outside of the wall.
The caravan crept along sluggishly. There was a military jeep up in the front and a troop transport truck behind that. Then came three buses. Behind them were four empty trucks for supplies and two Hummers behind the trucks. All the vehicles wore a frame of iron bars and metal to provide armor. Erika had no idea that this would be such a production. She thought they were going to rescue people in trouble.
The city outside the gates was a mix of areas in complete shambles and others that were in some form of trying to be rebuilt. The wind-blown sand whipped across shells of the abandoned buildings, gently eroding their dilapidated exterior even further. Erika was surprised to see people on the streets carrying on with their business. They reminded her of pictures she had seen in the past on history shows. Programs that had shown blown-up cities in stages of reparation after World War II. The images had shown whole cities, huge buildings, all in some state of annihilation. It seemed to Erika that these landowners should be further along on the construction. It had been nine years since the quake, but she remembered hearing about the chaos that had ensued out here. Many had died in one form or another.
The Great Quake caused immediate death to many. There were power outages on a countrywide scale. Nuclear power plant and chemical refinery disasters made vast swaths of devastation, but also the chemicals that were in transit caused dead areas as well. The pharmaceutical industries’ dependable supply of life-saving medications was cut off, and millions died. Famine and disease preyed on the survivors next, as food supplies were severed and sanitation was overlooked.
Local people who lived through the chaos banded together in communities that were hell-bent on self-preservation. The government rallied its military forces and declared martial law. They already had a plan in place for this kind of disaster and they started following the steps one by one, deciding who would live and who would die. They said it was for our own good; order had to be maintained so people could eat, and that was our focus now. All available resources were dedicated to the food supply until the country stabilized. Once the food supply was ensured, the United States Government was in supreme control of its people, and they were not about to lose it. The government carefully doled out all gasoline rights, and power access was strictly monitored. Most of all, they controlled the food distribution network. The limited resources available in this new world were gobbled up by the government needs for their programs, and the leftovers were benevolently bestowed upon the people.
“It’s still a mess out here.” Vince’s soothing voice snapped her back to reality.
“That’s just what I was thinking…look, the Air Force base seems to be in good working order,” Erika noted, noticing how pristine the grounds looked. Almost like nothing had ever happened at all. There were lines of troops out marching along and planes lined up like dominoes.
“Looks like they had enough resources to fix that up,” Vince chuckled. He went to itch his beard and his hands jerked in the chains. “Really, Erika,” he said, holding his hands up. “Did you know they were going to chain us up?”
“No, I was just as surprised as you, but it really doesn’t matter anyway. We can’t leave Daniel there. We’re just trying to earn some trust and see what is going on out here,” Erika responded candidly.
The bus roared on. The group stayed pretty quiet, just staring out the windows. It was like being in another country from the one they had left behind. The world that they lived in before had contained roads packed with cars and electricity powering countless street lights, stoplights, signs in storefronts and everything a person could dream to make their life easier. The world they saw was a quiet one. There were cars everywhere, but these ones were abandoned and
in some state of being gutted for anything of value. They dripped huge puddles of one chemical or another underneath them as their tires deteriorated and turned to dust. Occasionally the bus would pass another military vehicle. They were out in the desert wasteland of Nevada. A place Erika knew little about. She did know it was dry and hot, and the dust that plagued them in Las Vegas seemed to follow them everywhere.
The bus they were in was an old school bus that had been repurposed. Only the rows of seats toward the front remained. The back had been converted into a roaming kitchen with storage and preparation areas. At mealtime the bus did not even stop. Star and Kim made lunch en route. They were unchained and allowed to cook the meal, hand it out and clean it up. Then they were rechained to their seats. They stopped every so often for a potty break. The girls went one way and the guys the other. There was no shame in the game. The desert provided little to hide behind, so you just went out in front of God and everyone.
It was humbling being chained to your chair. It dampened everyone’s spirits a little. It was hard to turn around or lean around the edge of the seat, so conversation was muddled. Erika kept reminding herself that she had been through worse at the refugee camp. This wasn’t so bad as long as she got a break from being in that place.
The convoy crossed the Nevada border into Arizona, and then quickly after that they were crossing into Utah. Erika had seen the tattered signs hanging in the wind. The landscape was still bleak. She had heard that the West was in a severe drought, but she had no idea of the implications. It seemed as if this area had not received rain since the Great Quake: nothing grew.
They stopped at a government fueling station not long after crossing into Utah. It was a remnant of the past, a little town that had fallen to the extreme weather. The paint peeled everywhere and chips of it blew past their faces. The windows of the homes and stores were cracked, and it looked as if birds had been their only inhabitants for a while. Their convoy drove in through a gate that was guarded by soldiers. It was apparent that they had tried to salvage some of the buildings in the town, but the constant swirl of sand ate everything. They were headed to an old gas station that had been maintained for use. One by one, the trucks filled up and drove off to line up and exit. They were back on the road.
Erika was a little disappointed. It looked like a wasteland out there. If this is what we are escaping to, then God help us all, Erika thought. She heard Sergeant Pontever mention to Terrance that they could not take Highway 70 because a fissure had opened up along the Green River. Erika felt totally naïve in this world. She had been on many road trips before the Great Quake. She had loved using the maps to navigate the maze of possible routes to take. Judging from what the sergeants had said, it was taking some areas of the earth longer to settle down to a new normal than others.
Night time was falling just as the landscape began to get interesting. Erika could see tiny farms in the distance, sustaining themselves on irrigation water from rivers that flowed out of the mountains they were headed into. Vegetation clung to the edges of the waterways, but everywhere else the dirt whipped around.
That night they slept in their chairs, upright, with the cold steel of the cuffs keeping their hands pinned between their legs. It was miserable. Erika spent half the night still staring into the darkness. There were lights here and there occasionally, indicating some type of electricity was in use. The dim glare in the distance was nothing compared to the brilliant world she had left behind so long ago.
CHAPTER 25
ERIKA WAS STILL gazing at the horizon when Vince awoke from his dozing. “Hi, baby,” he said as he rolled his head toward her. He went to reach for her and his hands jerked in the chains again. “Oh yeah,” he said sluggishly.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Erika smiled at him. The she leaned over and kissed his broad forehead.
“Where are we now?” he wondered.
“We are just about to get to Colorado, I think,” Erika replied. “I overheard Terrance, I mean Sergeant Walker, talking to Sergeant Pontever. It’s been pretty dark and I have never driven through here before. I think I had a layover in Denver back in the day.”
“I know I did, and I’ve driven through here on a trip with my parents, but I was so little then.” He paused. The mention of his parents had come out so naturally it took a minute for him to reflect on the memory. He quickly changed the subject, “What you been looking at out there?”
“Not much.” Erika humored him. “Like I said, it’s been really dark, like eerily dark. From what I’ve seen in the headlights, it’s still dry and dusty. I wonder what happened to the roads. It seems like the earth has swallowed them. Hard to believe it could happen so fast. But there are rivers out there. They are full and running. It has to be raining somewhere. Every now and then I can see the light of a small farm. See, like that one way out there.” Erika pointed out the window to a minuscule glow shining in the distance.
“Oh yeah, I see it,” Vince replied.
“I saw this one little town we went by. It looked like the streets of those Old West ghost towns we used to visit with Dexter, but there were people trying to make some kind of living there. It was pretty crazy actually,” Erika continued with a chuckle.
“Sounds like it. Didn’t you sleep at all?” he wondered.
“Yes, I did,” Erika protested. “I dozed a little here and there.”
“No, you didn’t. You sat there and stared out that window all night. Didn’t you?” Vince was playing with her now, lovingly scolding her.
“You’re right, I did,” she admitted. “I’m just so excited! Look at that, Vince!” She pointed out the window to an area where the evening glow showed through row upon row of trees. It was the woodlands. Her heart raced. She could smell the moisture in the air, and the pine scent from the forest began to permeate the space in the bus.
The forested sections of the landscape gave way to huge farms that seemed to be surrounded by the trees. Erika noticed the road begin to smooth out, and the particles floating in the headlights began to thin. As they crested the next hill, Erika saw a huge ball of radiance engulfing the span in the distance. It was like a jewel gleaming in a sea of green.
It was clear to Erika this town had its power restored. As the caravan approached the town she could see buildings at least ten stories high all stacked together. People were beginning to awaken and go about their business on the streets. The streets were evidently not built for cars. They were thin and weaved throughout the buildings. The road that surrounded the urban center was the only one big enough for cars to navigate. Erika saw a brilliantly painted sign showcasing the words “New Dove, Colorado” and realized they had crossed into Colorado during the night.
“Hey guys, we made it to Colorado!” Erika yelled to the rest of the crew, who were starting to rouse from their dreams.
All eyes were glued to the windows as they marveled at the majesty of this place. It was just like the world they had left, but better. Glorious murals covered the buildings, and storefronts dazzled the people with signs announcing a great deal. The caravan roared past the awesome town without stopping, but the thoughts of the bus riders lingered there for a while.
Before long Star and Kim were handing out food, and everyone was full of excited chatter. It was the life around outside them fueling their souls. No more dust flew in the air. They were passing beautifully maintained farms full of happy people out picking vegetables together, laughing in the morning sun. Mile after mile of farmland went by, until they began to climb into more mountainous terrain that was thickly covered by trees. The Rockies lay before them.
Sergeant Walker stood up to address the troops. “Okay, people, from here we head north into the mountains. The Rockies have become unstable in the past few months, so we are going to feel some shaking. Their height is increasing and it is causing unpredictable flooding, fissures and landslides.”
He walked down to Erika and unchained her hands. “Recruit Moore, you know the rest of the detai
ls.”
Erika stood up to address the team. “The town we are going to help is called Hope Town. It is located on the southern slope of an unstable lake and river system. We need to get the people and supplies out before the lake collapses down the mountainside, but Sergeant Walker, I have a question.”
“Yes, Recruit Moore,” Sergeant Walker answered.
“Why didn’t the people from that town we passed a couple of hours ago come to help?” she wondered.
Sergeant Walker and Pontever both chuckled a little. “Recruit Moore, those people are high-ranking landowners with very high-producing farms. They are way too important to go rescue some freedom-seeking, renegade town. That honor falls on us,” he replied sarcastically.
“Okay…” Erika answered slowly, dwelling on the implications of his statement. “Anyway,” she continued, “The army and rescue squad A will take care of the people. We are going to stay back and sweep the town building by building for supplies. You all know your roles, so stay focused on your task and we will get through this.”
Everyone started to feel the adrenaline surging through his or her veins. It was going to be go time soon, and the blood was pumping. Erika’s life had been so stagnant for so long, she felt alive again and ready to tackle anything.
Erika listened in on the sergeants again. Sergeant Pontever said to Sergeant Walker, “This place has been a thorn in our side for way too long.”
Sergeant Walker agreed with her but Erika detected hesitation in his voice. “I don’t think we brought enough men,” he said under his breath.
The Changing Earth Series (Book 2): Without Land Page 12
