Chapter 28
John Wallace was not a happy man. They had been in the shelter for about a month, when his sister rebelled. Tracy was a firm believer in the order of things, and her place in this 'order', was not scullery maid or cook. She also resented having to do anything, as she had been waited on hand and foot most of her life.
John called his sister into his office. He dreaded this conversation, but it had to be done.
"Tracy? Please sit. Coffee?" he asked.
She nodded, and he filled a cup from the coffee maker and passed it to her.
"You don't seem to be fitting in here at all. Tracy, this is a team effort. We all have to pitch in and do what we can. Even the children have jobs and are sort of in an excited state over this shelter," John said, and paused.
"I do thank you for taking myself and the kids in; but really, cleaning dishes? John, I am not some servant to be ordered about! I am a wealthy woman, and I expect things to be done for me," Tracy responded grimly.
"Tracy, are you even living in the same world as the rest of us? Radio and television stations are going off the air, and it is getting harder and harder to find a signal, particularly through this deluge of rain.
"We know the entire east coast had been hit with a huge tidal wave. There is nothing left of it that we would recognize, most likely. California has been hit with a strike, and with the earthquakes. That took place for the first several days, plus it has burned. I doubt anything is left there, let alone people.
"We are living in a shelter, underground, safe and sound due to my so-called 'paranoia'... as you so like to call it. Two exits from this shelter are totally blocked off by floodwaters. My house is still standing, but the pumps are fighting a battle to keep the water out of the first floor. The basement is almost a lost cause.
"We have air, food, lights, water, bathroom facilities, recreational equipment, computers to learn and entertain us, as well as the best entertainment and communication systems money can buy. You did not contribute one dime to this, yet you think I owe you a free ride. Well, the free ride is over.
"You can either cooperate with me - and stop teasing my men sexually - start contributing to the shelter and groups survival; or you can leave, and good luck to you," John finished grimly.
"How dare you!" Tracy exclaimed indignantly. "My sex life is none of your business," she continued. "Furthermore, I won't be subject to your vile threats. If you want to kick me and my kids out, say so! I will expect a ride into the nearest town, and will settle in there at a hotel until this mess is over," Tracy ended on a grim note.
"First, I won't kick your kids out, just you. Second, I have a small cabin not to far from here, further up this hill, which should have escaped the floods nicely. I had it built to go relax in, and get away from it all. You can go there if you like, but it was built for roughing it. No heating, air conditioning, or electric. No gas. It is a bedroom, a living room, and a kitchen with a wood-burning stove. A potbelly stove heats the living room, and that's it. There's an outhouse out back. I suspect it is mostly filled with rainwater by now.
"It is stocked with several weeks worth of canned goods, nothing perishable. A can opener's in the kitchen drawer, cooking utensils, and a four place setting for eating on. There are four cases of Evian water, and a ten-gallon container filled with water for cooking. There is a spring that provides water most of the year. This is all supposing no one has found it and moved in already," John finished tonelessly.
Tracy opened her mouth to reply when there was a buzz on the intercom. John excused himself and answered it.
"Yes? What is it? I asked not to be disturbed," John said in exasperation.
"Mr. Wallace? This is Scott in the control room. You better come and see what's on the exterior monitors."
"On my way," John stated briskly.
"I will be in my quarters, waiting for your decision on my fate John," Tracy said, and left the office at the same time as John.
John made his way to the main control room, and the first thing he noticed was every camera that could show an exterior picture was on. The big screen was filled with the visage of dark clouds, floodwaters, but... no rain!
John went to his chair and started shifting the cameras one and a time, displaying what it showed on the big screen for all to see. It had indeed stopped raining. While the flood waters still covered two of the three entrance/exits, the third was still high, if not dry.
Rumors had already started running through the shelter, and everyone who could, either fit into the room while trying to stay out of the way, or stayed in the doorway watching if they had a good position.
For the next several days, the weather was watched closely. It rained off and on, and then a break appeared in the clouds. It grew larger. Blue sky was seen during the days, and stars at night.
Everyone's computer terminal was now set for an outside view, and the talk was that perhaps the rains were done with. Hope rose and an atmosphere of celebration was in the air as each day brought a new sun filled sky.
John broke out a ration of frozen steaks, and they had an impromptu celebratory party, which lasted for two days. Finally, John started discussing exit strategies for when the waters receded. With the news of the sky clearing up, John put off evicting his sister. She actually did a little to help. It wasn't much, but John accepted it as an effort from someone who was spoiled, self-centered, and ideologically blind. He did after all, care for his sister and her two children, his niece and nephew.
One of the things that were a bit on the morbid side, was that they were keeping a running count of the dead animals and the human bodies that floated by the cameras. There had been hundreds of animals: cows, deer, horses, chickens, dogs, cats, and birds. And, as of that day, there had been sixty-two bloated human corpses. They had started counting, when the waters were at the height of the flooding.
They kept an eye on all the bodies and noticed that they were all floating in the same general southerly direction. After studying the waters currents and direction of flow for a couple days, they had marked a spot visually on a nearby tree. It was official. The waters were receding, and were taking all manner of debris with them.
Off in the distance, was his home. It was still standing on the knoll where it had been built. While he had known it had come through the storm and flood, being able to actually see it visually in the day, and not through cameras strategically placed within, was an uplifting feeling.
The house had been built strongly. While water got in and flooded the basement, there were heavy-duty pumps that worked 24/7. There were several pumps in place, for just such an emergency. The water never rose more than four feet deep in the basement, at the height of the flood. With the waters receding, the level in the basement of the house was dropping, but very slowly.
It was several days before they noticed the waterline on the basement wall. That was how they knew the pumps in the house were slowly clearing water from the basement. It would take weeks to drain, providing nothing interfered with the current rate at which the water was apparently receding.
John and Scott made plans to decontaminate the basement by cleaning it thoroughly, and sanitizing it repeatedly to make sure no fungus spores remained. Mud and/or debris would be removed. The house, if still sound, would make an excellent place to stay, in this coming winter. Whatever food was in the refrigerator would have to be thrown out, and that cleaned well, also; but prospects were looking good for John, his family, and his men.
Still, John's mood became more somber as time went by, and the waters slowed their already glacial receding. Something, for some reason, had slowed waters withdrawal. Either that, or more water was coming in to replace the water as it receded and he seriously doubted that. No whatever was wrong, had to be happening in the south, somewhere.
He considered his escape entrance/exit tunnels. Two were covered by the floodwaters. One was located in the basement of the house itself, and one not to far from the house. The third was further away, and at a slightly higher elevation. It let out in a huge underground warehouse, which was specially constructed into the side of a hill.
The warehouse was tightly sealed against the weather, protected by first, the ground of the hillside it was built into, then by the construction materials, and the way it had been made. Inside were a bulldozer, the two 'Guardians', and supplies of all sorts. A short access tunnel led from the main vehicle storage area to a massive door cleverly concealed in the hillside. When it was closed and sealed, the warehouse was totally protected from all external forces.
Cleverly concealed and hidden cameras were located in strategic locations around the exterior of the warehouse's main armored door, to provide total 360 degree coverage of the immediate area. He did not like to advertise to anyone that the warehouse was there, ergo all the cameras. It was also the reason he had not used the basement entrance into his shelter. That was his most secret entry/exit. While he trusted all that were currently with him, he was a firm believer in: "It's not a secret if you tell someone." So, he and his group had made the short trek through bad weather to the shelter, and had gotten wet. They had eventually dried off.
It was time to send a group south, to see what was going on. One of the items in storage was a boat. It was a flat-bottomed boat and could take enough fuel for 4 days out and four days back. Oars and oarlocks were provided as an alternate means of locomotion.
It was decided that a group of four would go. One person to operate the boat, and three others armed and on the lookout for trouble. Of course the fourth would be armed as well, but he was mostly in charge of running the boat.
The sides of the boat were armored against small arms fire, but a heavy caliber rifle would punch through. Weight had been a consideration when adding the armor. Everyone wore head communications gear, as well as a flak vest. They were as safe as they could be made. They could also be in communication with the shelter at a moments notice. Someone would be monitoring their channels of communications, in the event they called at times other than the scheduled intervals.
While the days got chilly, it was clear and crisp. It was as good a time as any to try to find out why the water had slowed. Each man on the team pre-packed a rucksack. It held a sleeping bag rolled tightly in a waterproof carrying case, a small one-man pup tent, and matches in a waterproof container. Two, two liter canteens of water were attached to the sides of the ruck, and ten 30 round banana clips of ammunition went with the 6 clips already in ammo pouches attached to pistol belts worn about their waists. Finally, extra clothing and food was packed. A three-day supply of MRE's (Meals Ready To Eat) topped off the rucksacks, as emergency rations. The main rations for the group were boxed and loaded on the bottom of the boat, with the other equipment that was to be used by the team as a whole. It would be expended as they traveled. Cans of fuel, and one 5-gallon can of water finished out the load. Their personal weapons included an M-16A1 each, and a favorite handgun. Clothing, boots, and helmets were the last items checked. The boat rode a bit low in the water, but that was not a problem with the extra freeboard that had been added all around.
The four took off. For two days, these men reported all clear, and no signs of people or habitations on or along the route that they followed. The third day they encountered a sort of island of land. It was inhabited by people who had reacted violently to the boat's approach. They had fired shots at the boat and crew.
They steered clear of it but kept an eye on it as they went by. Their caution paid off. Two boats, one a powerboat loaded with armed men started in pursuit. The other boat was something large, which traveled much more slowly towards the four explorers.
One of the men from the shelter had an M-203 grenade launcher with several different types of 40mm rounds. After the attack from the island's shore, he had loaded a 40mm HE (High Explosive) round. The man waited until the powerboat was well inside the weapon's effective range, and fired the round. It hit the bow of the powerboat with a satisfying explosion.
The powerboat changed direction sharply and started running away as fast as it could go, zigging and zagging. The rest of the four-man team opened fire on it as the 203 man loaded another round and targeted the large slower moving boat/barge. It too had changed direction but it was inside the range of the 203 by now.
The first round fired at it missed, but even as the round was traveling towards the target, the gunner reloaded and was ready. He watched the splash caused by the first round and adjusted his aim. The second round hit toward the end of the boat, and it slowed and stopped. Faint screams could be heard coming from it. The powerboat went to the rescue of its partners.
The four men from the shelter quickly motored out of range and sight of the two boats. They changed course several times to throw off any chance of the large island of people finding them.
That afternoon they found an old building that was sitting on top of a hill, which was surrounded by water. They approached cautiously. The place had been ransacked at one time, but had remained dry throughout the flood. They marked its location on a map, and set up for the evening. They reported the attack upon themselves and their response. Scott was pleased, as was John. John also expressed relief that no one in the group had been hurt, and asked if they wanted to abort the mission and return to the shelter. The four men answer unanimously in the negative. They wished to continue as they only had one more days of outbound travel. Then it would be time to head back.
Edited by TeNderLoin