The New World

by Toby Neighbors

  Scott handed Daniel an iPad.

  “It’s got names, occupations, and where they’re from. They seem okay, no weapons and most of them were half starved. They’ve been fed and are resting comfortably. I’d say you can see them at your leisure.”

  “I don’t suppose I have to meet everyone who comes. As long as you’ve got their information, Jason or someone from security can give them an orientation and then get them settled.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Jason said.

  They had taken the stairs up to the first floor so they could use the ornate north entrance door. The portico had large round pillars that provided a covering over the stairs and half of the White House driveway. There was plenty of cover, and Daniel was a little surprised that he could see security people already in position behind the base wall that divided the driveway. There were large ferns growing from the chest-high wall, and Daniel doubted if the men could be seen from the other side.

  Scott held his hand up to stop Daniel and Jason from going out the doors while he spoke into a handheld radio. One of the security men came in from his position behind the wall.

  “Not much to report, sir,” said the man, he looked from Scott to Jason to Daniel, unsure of who exactly to report to. “They’ve eaten and rested. No real defensive measures have been taken and they don’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything.”

  Daniel turned to Scott, “What did they say when they arrived?”

  “They wanted to know about the president and the government. When I informed them of what we were doing they seemed interested but wouldn’t give up their guns, and I refused to allow them inside. They said they would wait to talk to you before they decided to stay or go.”

  “Alright, let’s go,” Daniel said.

  They exited the White House and the security man retook his position. Daniel noticed that both security men held rifles from the armory. He wasn’t sure whether he was reassured that his people were ready for trouble, or sickened by the thought that in America, people couldn’t approach their capital without fearing for their lives.

  The people on the lawn gathered together as Daniel, Jason, and Scott approached. They were mostly middle aged men, all armed with hunting rifles and semi-automatic pistols. They looked healthy; their clothes a bit dirty, but none the worse for wear. They had erected colorful tents and seemed at ease outdoors. In the center of the group were two women, both tall and thin, both carrying weapons just like the men.

  Scott was the first one to speak as they got close to group. “This is Daniel Brickman, the man I told you about. He’s in charge and he’ll answer your questions, but he doesn’t have a lot of time.”

  Daniel smiled. “It looks like you’re pretty comfortable out here,” he said.

  “Just making the best of the situation,” said a man with a thick brown beard. He was wearing hiking boots, cargo pants, and a flannel shirt. “So you’re the new president?”

  “No, I was the first one to come here to the White House. Right now, we’re all just getting to know one another and I’m leading an interim council just to get everyone started working in the same direction. As you know, there’s a lot to be done if D.C.’s going to be our capital again.”

  “Sounds kind of like you set yourself up to be a dictator,” said one man. He was short, with blue jeans and a brown leather jacket that was zipped up despite the warm spring day. “You’re calling all the shots and telling everybody what they can and can’t do.”

  “I’m only leading things until our council is voted in next week.”

  “Oh, I see,” said the short man again. “You’ve already decided who’s going to be elected.”

  “No, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Well, please explain what you did mean,” said one of the women.

  “Our goal here is to reestablish a civil society. We have close to two hundred men and women living here and working to clean up as much of D.C. as possible. We need leadership, but because very few of us know each other, I took on a temporary role and began organizing things until we can take a vote to see who should be in charge. I don’t have any ambitions here, other than to make sure that everyone is welcome who can live peacefully with others and who is willing to work together to make this city a place of hope.”

  “Well,” said the short man, “it sounds like a load of crap.”

  “That’s enough, Dennis,” said the man in flannel. “We’ve come a long way, Mr. Brickman. We hoped to find some sort of organized government, but to be honest, with the people we’ve encountered and the things we’ve seen, it’s almost impossible to trust anyone.”

  Daniel nodded as the man continued, “We were attacked three times on our way here, and now it seems like you’ve got a solid set up, only you weren’t elected and we don’t know you. So, it’s awfully hard to lay down our weapons and join you, even if that is what we had come here to do.”

  “That’s right, bearing arms is my constitutional right,” said the short man.

  “Yes, I know it is,” said Daniel. “But we are living in very close proximity and since we don’t know each other, it’s only prudent that we don’t walk around armed. Jason McPherson was a lieutenant in the Navy before the plague. He’s heading up our security. I’m sure if you would like to send in one or two people to check on things, he would be glad to show you what we are doing and answer your questions. But if this isn’t something you want to be a part of, we understand and wish you well. If we can help you with anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

  “I appreciate that,” said the man in flannel. “My name’s Patrick. I’ll go with you and check things out.” He turned and handed the short man his weapons.

  “You be careful, Pat,” said the short man.

  Patrick nodded.

  “Do you mind if I join you?” said the woman who had spoken before. She had long, curly hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and might have been pretty, but her face was shrouded in a melancholy that Daniel had grown accustomed to seeing. It was a familiar sight, the look of loss and pain, the visage of sadness that many wore as a visible reminder of the loved ones they had lost. Daniel was sure he wore just such a look now that Lana was gone.

  “Alright, the rest of you stay here,” Patrick said.

  Daniel led the group back into the White House. The security men were nowhere to be seen, and Daniel made a mental note to say something to Jason about how well he had trained the security force. Inside the White House, Daniel and Scott said their goodbyes to the new comers and headed toward the West Wing. It had been a long day, and Daniel was tired. He hoped to be able to settle in for the night soon, but banished that thought as soon as he entered the executive offices. There was a long line of people waiting in the hall that led to the Oval Office and when they saw him, they surrounded him and began asking questions. Everyone was trying to speak louder than the person next to them, until they were shouting. In the middle of the noise and crush of people, Daniel wanted to disappear.

  Chapter 19

  There was so much noise that Daniel couldn’t hear what anyone was saying clearly. Scott was trying to push through the crowd, but wasn’t having much luck. Suddenly a loud voice cut through the cacophony of voices.

  “Quiet!”

  The voice was strong, but feminine, not a young voice, but one that had grown strong through experience and time. The one word that silenced the waiting throng of people was drawn out, but it ended the noise and brought a hush that felt physically good to Daniel. He looked down the hall and saw a woman with grey hair making her way through the crowd. She wore a long, blue skirt and matching blouse, very professional and understated. She didn’t wear a power suit like the woman on the research team, but with her hair pulled back into a bun, and reading glasses hanging from a silver chain around her neck, she looked very much in charge. She held a clipboard in one hand and with the other she was shooing people out of her way.

  When she got to Daniel, she took h
im by the arm and turned back toward the Oval Office. As she pulled him along, she spoke in a loud voice to all the people waiting.

  “I have everyone’s name here, and Mr. Brickman will see you all as soon as he can, but in an orderly fashion. Please reform your line and I will call you in to see him in just a moment.”

  They turned to their left and entered a smaller hallway that led to the president’s secretary’s office. Once they were inside, they shut the door and Scott made the introductions.

  “Daniel, this is Lorain Odel. She’s going to be your secretary. She’s been the personal assistant to Morgan Lamberts for 22 years.”

  “The preacher from Chicago?” Daniel asked.

  “Yes, she’s got tons of experience, and I think you’ll make a good team.”

  Daniel reached out his hand and Lorain took it.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Brickman.”

  Daniel wanted to joke that Mr. Brickman was his dad, but he knew the joke would come off lame, so he just said, “Please, call me Daniel.”

  “I’ve got a list here of everyone waiting to see you. I’ve tried my best to take care of what problems I could handle, but some of the people were insistent on seeing you. I’ll try to get them in and out as quickly as possible.”

  Daniel felt as if the White House roof had suddenly come to rest on his shoulders. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into. And he was overcome with an urge to run and hide, but the waiting eyes of Scott and Lorain made him hold steady.

  “Alright,” Daniel said.

  “We’ll see them in the Oval Office,” Scott added.

  They moved into the most famous room in the world. There was a large executive desk on one side of the room and two sofas facing each other on either side of a large, round rug that bore the seal of the President of the United States of America. There were also two antique, wingback chairs that faced the desk.

  They stood and waited; Scott looked over a copy of the handwritten schedule that Lorain had made as people had come to see Daniel.

  “Looks like we should be seeing the head of the sanitation team first,” Scott said.

  “No,” Daniel answered. “I was supposed to meet with the head of each team to form the council this afternoon. Go and pull all of them into the Roosevelt Room and tell them that I’ll meet with them all as soon as possible.”

  Scott nodded and hurried back into the secretary’s office. Daniel sat wearily in a wingback chair. He rubbed his forehead and eyes with his hands. He was tired, more tired than he could fathom, and it looked like he was in for a long night. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was approaching 6 o’clock in the evening. Outside, it was quickly growing dark. Suddenly, Daniel’s stomach growled loudly; he was hungry and thirsty and, more than anything, he was lonely. He couldn’t keep from thinking of Lana, of their time together, most of it alone and unhurried. There had been questions then, so many unanswered questions, but at the time answers didn’t seem to be important at all. Now, as he faced the prospect of so many people looking to him for answers, he felt like a teenager facing a test he had forgotten to study for.

  The door opened and Lorain entered, followed by a big man in grey coveralls. Lorain turned and introduced the man, who then spent the next several minutes explaining that just moving the cars off the roads wasn’t the best idea. They needed to be hauled to a designated area so that they could be cataloged and tested to see which could be reused and which should be salvaged.

  Daniel thanked the man for his interest and said that such an undertaking might be wise, but it would have to be done by the elected leader, that Daniel’s interim status and short term of office kept him from undertaking such a large endeavor. The man seemed satisfied with that answer and thanked Daniel for his time. After a dozen such visits from people with ideas and suggestions, Daniel finally asked Lorain to schedule the remaining visitors for tomorrow. He needed to meet with his council and, to be honest, he had no more patience left. He also asked that their dinner be brought up to the Roosevelt Room, where the council could eat while they met.

  The council was made up of nine members: sanitation, recreation, construction, communications, power, security, supplies, administration, and disposal, which was working to remove the bodies from all over the city. They sat around a long table and Daniel listened while they outlined the work to be done and how they were doing it. The number one need of every division seemed to be manpower, they all needed more people. It was a long, tiring evening and the food which finally arrived an hour into their discussions was tepid and not well made. Daniel found himself longing for Lana, for peace and the simplicity that he had taken for granted only a few days before. When the council finally dismissed, after hours of questions and arguments, after Daniel had made a valiant effort to answer everyone’s questions, he once again rubbed his eyes. He had never felt so tired, so totally drained than he did at that moment.

  Jason lingered, but waited until Daniel had stopped rubbing his face to speak.

  “I thought you might like to know that the group we met with earlier decided to move into one of the hotels not far from here. Their unofficial leader, Patrick, seemed pleased with the way we were running things, but he said he didn’t think he could convince the others. Personally, I think they liked the freedom of being on their own.”

  Daniel thought selfishly for a moment of how much he, too, would enjoy that freedom. The world was now divided not between the haves and have-nots, but between those who were resourceful enough to get what they needed, and those who weren’t. He felt he could have walked out of the White House right then and been totally fine, but his sense of obligation held him back.

  “I don’t blame them,” Daniel said. “I know I got myself into this mess, but I wish people could understand I’m making this up as I go along.”

  “I know what you mean,” Jason said, “but like it or not, everyone is looking to you.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m going to bed now.”

  “Why don’t you move into the president’s quarters? That’s where you should be staying.”

  “No, I don’t want to do that. Besides, in a week there’ll be an elected president to handle all of this crap and I’d just need to move again. I’m fine where I am.”

  “Alright, well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight,” Daniel said, fully intending to head off to bed. Before he could even rise from his chair, the door opened and Scott hurried in. He looked harried and tired and exhilarated all at the same time.

  “Alright, I’ve got the reports from the research team,” Scott said, handing Daniel a file folder. “You’ll need to review those and make assignments tomorrow. The team is planning on heading back to the Pentagon in the morning, so you better get that done tonight. Here is the latest census report; we’re looking at a population currently of 212 in the White House and 13 in the city. Do you have plans on incorporating the townies into the work force?”

  Daniel sighed. The truth was he hadn’t even thought about what people who didn’t live in the White House would do. He had thought that everyone would pull together and work to make D.C. a thriving place of hope and civility, but thinking about the group he had met with earlier, the chances of that were slim to none. He didn’t expect the short man in blue jeans to work for anyone but himself. And, of course, that was the mire that all great visionary leaders got stuck in sooner or later. The more people you rallied to your cause, the more conflicting ideas you had to contend with. It was like a magnetic force drawing a hundred bouncy balls together; no sooner did they make contact then they were bouncing off in a hundred different directions. He knew that a true leader could somehow harness that energy and motivate everyone to move in the same direction. Hopefully that leader would emerge when they voted, until then, he would have to do his best.

  “I don’t think we can require anything of them, but let’s invite them to join in what we’re doing. Send an admin person and someone from the supply team
over to see if they need anything and if they want to help. Let them know about the elections, too, everyone should have a vote.”

  Scott scribbled on his note pad and talked at the same time. “Your schedule is full tomorrow. We start at eight, I hope that’s okay.” Daniel nodded. “Alright, what do you need?”

  “How about a week off?”

  “Sorry, can’t do that yet. How did your council meeting go?”

  “Let’s just say that the plague didn’t affect the bureaucrats,” Daniel said in a lame attempt at humor.

  Scott smiled. “Can I walk you back upstairs?”

  “No, I’ll read those reports down here. I need some separation between work and personal space.”

  “I understand. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Hey, Scott,” Daniel said, rising wearily from his chair. “You are doing a fantastic job here. We’d be in a mess if it weren’t for you.”

  “Well I guess all those hours in corporate America weren’t totally in vain, huh?” he said, smiling. “Thanks, Daniel.”

  “By the way, how is your friend Dean?”

  Scott’s cheerful countenance fell and worry marked his features. “He’s in a coma. The doctor doesn’t know if he’ll wake up or not. He said the surgery went well, but his body’s been through so much trauma and shock that it could go either way.”

  “Well, for what it’s worth, I hope he makes it.”

  “Me, too. And Daniel?”

  “Yeah?”

  “At some point we’ll have to deal with the militant groups.”

  “I know,” he said, although the thought hadn’t really crossed his mind. Still, he knew that Scott was right. If there were groups using force to detain, hurt, and enslave people, they would have to be dealt with. And as he thought of it, a plan began to form in his mind.

  Chapter 20

  That night Daniel didn’t get to bed until after midnight. He made assignments for the research team and then stumbled off to bed. His watch beeped at seven the next day, and Daniel began what became a mind-numbing, physically exhausting routine that went on for ten days. He spent most of his time in the Oval Office, meeting with people and trying to answer their questions. Occasionally he toured through the bunker to meet people and see how life was transpiring. The work went on all around him at a furious pace, and although much was being accomplished, it seemed that they came no closer to completion. The course before them stretched on and on, as invincible as the Hydra, as vast as the sea.