by Shane Woods
Henry turned and waved to me and promptly turned back and started directing the next section of wall into place. They’d been at it for probably an hour tops and already had a twenty-foot section of earth moved, eight foot wide and just as deep. The wall that was going up on the inside perimeter of this was being backed by the dirt being dug out, and the front being braced by 2X4’s, I assumed just until supports could be dug and fastened and the dirt behind settled.
It was truly a beehive of activity. I think, out of all we’d been through, this level of teamwork made me most proud of our little community. Even Katie and Parker were fast at work and doing so with only a little grumbling.
Deciding not to bother the progress, I started walking back to the apartment buildings, confident that Henry could keep everything running smoothly.
About halfway there, I noticed the front of a boat trailer sticking out from next to a garage. An idea hit me all at once, and I walked over to investigate the find further.
I approached it and grabbed the fasteners to the cover and stripped it from the machine. What sat before me was a boat. Clearly. About 25 ft in length, maybe? Had two engines, seating, and what looked to be an interior cabin with a small bed, storage, and more seating.
The wheels in my head started turning faster. I grabbed the two-way radio from my hip and spoke into it.
“Hey, Tony?” I said into the microphone, “Y’all done up there? Over.”
“Yeah man,” he replied, “Dave’s just finishing up.”
“Over?” I questioned, half serious, half joking.
“Over,” he replied lightly.
“Good shit,” I said in turn. “Grab Dave and a truck with a trailer hitch. I’ve got a boat I need you to pick up, get it set up by the river and park it.”
I rattled off an address when he was ready and ended the conversation, thinking I was done, when another one started up.
“A boat? That’s frickin’ cool man, we going fishing?” It was James, “Oh, uhh, over.”
“Nah, man,” I spoke back. “I’m going on a trip up the river. What’s up? Over.”
“Hey if you got a second, come up to security. Over,” James replied.
“Yeah. On my way. Over,” I replied, replacing the radio on my hip and starting in the direction of the towers.
I walked into the security office on the ninth floor, still a bit out of breath from all those steps but not as much as usual. I’d cut back on smoking, next is to quit all together, right? Probably easier to do since tobacco wasn’t so easily accessible anymore as each trip to the gas station could kill you.
Looking around the space, it had been set up more cleanly and smoothly than before. The masses of wires and cables had been tucked and hidden. Everything appeared to be hooked up. James appeared in the doorway of a nearby walk-in closet.
“Hey boss!” he said cheerily, grinning.
“I can only assume this is good news?” I asked, caution breaking my tone.
He retrieved the radio from his belt and spoke into it.
“Hey Rob, stand by, over.”
Rob’s voice came back through the radio, affirming what he had been told.
“Okay boss man,” James continued, “Rob’s watching the equipment topside, I’ve got to keep an eye on the power closet for any issues. Whenever you’re ready, flip that switch over there.”
He motioned to a forearm-sized red lever on the back wall before returning to his closet hideaway.
“Uh, okay,” I replied to the empty room.
I moved to the switch and paused. What was going on here? Some kind of trick? Or…?
“Hey James!” I yelled over to him, “Just flip the switch?”
“Yeah!” he replied, “Go for it! Just don’t look right at it as you activate it, in case there’s an issue or surge!”
“Okay,” I said with a shrug, grabbed the switch, turned my head, and pulled it down.
A loud click followed by several smaller ones resounded throughout the room. The lights overhead flickered, and then died, then flickered back to life to stay. All of the screens and computers on the partition flickered on, flooding the area with a whitish-blue light, although they all had error prompts on screen.
Then, a sound I had all but forgotten flooded my ears. Its sweet low song permeated every bit of my being. It tugged at me. It pulled me and drove me. Within moments, I was standing in front of the source. A wall-mount air conditioner. My God.
“James?” I called loudly, “James, I think I love you, man!”
James appeared, grinning like a child.
“A/C in here only, to keep the equipment cool. I need to monitor the power draw,” he explained. “We should have basic power throughout both buildings though. A couple refrigerators, maybe, but nothing drastic.”
“How?” I asked, realizing the power draw needed just to light both buildings, and Henry’s garage. Plus, whatever else came up in the future.
“Well, I’m going to monitor all that,” James explained. “We should have enough. Of course, more will always be better, and we’ll look for ways to do that. The good news is that it took a hell of a lot of juice to run everything they had. Grow lights, hydroponic systems, climate control, ventilation…”
He trailed off, shrugging one shoulder. Just then, Rob made his entrance.
“Now to get all the programming talking to all the cameras and the DVR the right way,” he said, taking a seat in front of the bank of monitors.
“How many cameras do we have?” I asked. “I thought the complex only had about ten, didn’t it?”
“It did,” Rob answered, “but one of the last scouting runs brought in some real nice outdoor units and plenty of wiring from local stores and the bank. We have twenty-three now. One was damaged when Parker dropped it off its perch, or we’d have every box on each screen filled.”
“Of course,” I said, resigned that Parker would never be quite great. “Well, you guys got everything handled here? When you’re done see if Henry needs anything.”
Both replied in the affirmative and I departed, putting out a call on the open channels to everybody in our community.
“Listen up, everybody with a radio, relay this message,” I started. “We have power thanks to James and Rob. Don’t use it. We need to figure things out for now. Power only basic lighting, and, if your apartment doesn’t have window tint or blackout curtains, then lights off completely at dusk. Not so much as a reading light, or night light for that matter. Do not bust down the airwaves replying, we’ll talk more at dinner about this.”
As I broke the threshold downstairs and into sunlight, Dave and Tony passed blindly by in a pickup truck. I could hear the nearby construction project. Kids playing on the other side of the common area. My skin could still remember the recent blasting of cold air. Most of us were still here. Things were looking to be going quite well, all things considered.
Rich came by on foot with Willy. They barely noticed as they passed by.
“Hey!” I called to them, they both stopped and turned, “Where you two going?”
“Willy says we should be able to break the pool drain to open it without power!” Rich said cheerily.
“Should be able to drain it,” Willy offered, “and keep the basin mostly dry still when it rains.”
“Henry don’t need help?” I questioned.
“Nah,” Rich replied. “They’re running smooth, that’s why we’re going up here.”
“Okay.” I shrugged, and they shrugged, then we parted.
I crossed the common area to the opposite side, where the kids were playing. Carolyn had gotten her hands on a box of sidewalk chalk, and the result was a smear of color that would actually be considered art in some modern colleges.
Naturally, Gwen saw me and ran straight for me, yelling “Daddy!” over and over. She met me with her trademark knee-level hug, so I picked her up and squeezed her.
I felt a little guilty, mornings and evenings were spent with her, but the time was al
ways short as there was never a time without a series of fires to put out. I needed to get this place situated so I could give her the time she should have with her father. That was something I’d never get back with Melissa. Yet, here I was, planning at least a few days journey for the next day.
Gwen and I played for a while. By play, I mean she’d make a series of haphazard lines in the three colors of chalk she was afforded, occasionally finding a random piece of nothing on the ground to come over and shove in dear old dad’s face. I accepted every piece I was given, and without hassle. After all, the toddler always knows best.
Eventually, Tony and Dave pulled up in the truck, boat in tow.
“It’s the fuckin’ Catalina Wine Mixer bro!” Tony cheered.
“Boats and hoes!” Dave shouted in turn.
“Christ,” I replied. “You two need more than help. That movie sucked!”
“We got the boat, dude!” Tony replied, without breaking stride in conversation.
“What’s this?” I asked, eyeballing the mass of rubber bungee straps around the trailer coupling.
“Wrong size hitch,” Dave explained, then, “Dipshit here gave me the wrong info.”
“Hey, I didn’t know!” Tony retorted, to which Dave reached out, grabbed Tony’s nipple through the shirt, and twisted, eliciting a shout and arm punch from Tony.
“Okay, alright love birds,” I chided. “Go get this pig in the water and moored to the shore. It needs five days of supplies for a half dozen people. Should do it, I think.”
“You got it!” Tony replied cheerily, then the two drove off toward the riverfront side of the compound.
I entertained Gwen a bit longer, or maybe much longer, until the work crews started back our way in small vehicles, leaving the equipment where they finished, ready for the next day.
I questioned Henry as he approached about the wisdom of leaving them there, but he assured me they couldn’t be started easily. He did, however, express concerns over fuel, as they already siphoned most of what the dump trucks had to keep the equipment running. I agreed that we’d address that issue shortly over dinner.
THIRTY
Before long, the entire populace, save for some sentries left to keep watch, were on the rooftop of the north building. The fare was fancy as ever. Tonight, what Dave referred to as a jail break, noodles, spam, and a few types of cobbled together sauces to choose from.
Food came in with every supply run, and it came in armloads and boxes, but enough of one type to make a meal for everyone the same was running thin in a hurry. It didn’t seem like it would be much longer until we were on individual meals, or seemingly worse, everyone with their own can of food or sharing an MRE with a companion. We’d need to send a long-term team out soon, with the goal of bolstering our food stores as much as possible. The heat of the year was peaked, and soon it would only get cooler, then, finally, the Ohio winter would come to settle. That time of year, with our bitter cold and mountains of ice and snow, you had to eat double just to stay warm and healthy.
Everyone had seemed to form their own little groups for dinner time. Friends and family sharing tables. The table I claimed for myself was near the entrance end of the rooftop, the west end of the north building. It had become common for me to hold less formal meetings here, outside of our makeshift council meets with the heads of each department. It was time for another, Tony and I had the table to ourselves as Jennifer and Gwen had made their own friends to spend time with.
“James, Henry, Rich, Dave!” I called out. Several heads turned my way, and I motioned the four over to the table. “Leave your food, grab a seat, guys. This won’t take long.”
They all approached, sat, and pleasantries were made before beginning the night’s meeting.
“I’m going to be as quick, and to the point as I can be,” I explained. “Henry?”
“Yeah?” Henry inquired.
“Your work crew just got cut to a smaller size for the next several days,” I said, as I watched a cloud of confusion move over his face, and I explained, “Tony, you’re going to be in charge, as my second in command, for the next few days. You saw that coming?”
“Well, yeah, with the boat and all that,” Tony opined.
“Rich and Dave are going to come with me,” I explained, “we’ve got a boat, and we’re going up river and back. Probably gone two to three days.”
“Why up the river?” Rich questioned.
“I’ll explain in private in a minute,” I answered, then, “Henry, this means you’ll be short on that end, and James has a job to do for me for a few days or so as well, he’ll take as many as a half dozen with him. Your work capacity will be diminished, but I expect you to do the best you can. You’re project foreman.”
“Well, I guess, but we won’t make as much progress,” Henry explained.
“That’s fine, I expect that. All I ask is you do the best you can. Now go get to your meal before it gets cold, brother.” Henry and I shook hands, and he departed. As he passed Jennifer, I noticed her watching the meeting.
“James,” I stated.
“Yeah man what’s up?” James inquired.
“You’ve driven heavy vehicles, any good with a semi?” I asked, eying his expression.
“If it’s auto. I’m shit with manual. Those non-synchronized things...” he trailed off, shaking his head.
“That’s fine,” I said, then retrieved a notepad and pen from my pocket and began writing. “You’re going to take four people. I’m taking Rich and Dave. Tony needs to be in command here, so whoever is left that you have confidence in their discipline and marksmanship. Take a week of supplies, but I don’t want you gone longer than four days.”
“Uh, okay, yes sir,” James said, unsure and a bit concerned. “What are we doing?”
“We need you to scout something, and we need fuel, food, and whatever else you can find,” I instructed, then, sliding a page from my pad across to him, “Old Northern High School. Keep your distance, and, at all costs, do not engage. Run if you’re spotted. Do not fight. These guys aren’t good nor are they neighborly people.”
“Fuck,” James muttered softly. “How do you know about them?”
“A friend told me,” I offered. “What I need is detailed on that page. Numbers. Bad guys? Do they have good guys? Hostages? How well supplied are they? Are they comfortable? Disciplined? Draw a rough map of their grounds. Their defenses. Vehicles, locations of who and what. Take pics. Bust the flash bulbs in your cameras so there’s no ‘oh fuck, they saw a flash’. Scout them for 48 hours, then you move on, no matter what, to your next objectives. Understood?”
“Understood,” James stated as the others exchanged glances. “Yes, sir.”
“Very good,” I commended. “Now, part two. We need fuel, so you need to find a tanker. We need diesel as priority, but, if you can’t find it, gasoline will do, but we need diesel the most, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, how do I tell them apart though without opening the tank?” he questioned.
“Easy,” I replied, writing more on a new page. “Here. The front, back, and both sides of any tanker will be labeled with diamond shaped placards. They’ll be considered bulk, so they’ll have what’s known as a U.N. number in that diamond. Gasoline is 1203. Diesel is 1993. And if you’re not sure, you know what gasoline looks and smells like. Diesel will have a blueish-green tint and smell kind of oily.”
“Oh, okay,” James replied. “Makes sense.”
“Trucks can pull a lot of weight,” I continued. “Even if it’s full of fuel, load it with whatever you can fit or strap to the outside. Stock us up. You’ve got 48 additional hours to do this. Most newer semis in company fleets are automatics anyway, you should be okay there. Just watch out for off-tracking.”
“What the fuck is off-tracking?” Dave interjected.
“Trailer will always turn in sharper than the tractor, dude,” I told Dave. “That’s why semis always pull forward, then turn in, to clear turns, otherwise you could end u
p wrecking, or getting the trailer stuck.”
Dave simply nodded and leaned back, clearly satisfied with having learnt something new.
“There’s a second part to your scavenging,” I continued. “The military seemed to have the outskirts of downtown blocked and guarded. It’s a long shot, but continue south once you’ve left the school, see if they left anything at all useful on the bridges and venues over and through the gorge and valleys near downtown. And, finally, while you’re scouting, keep an eye on any parts stores, fuel stations, and private garages you see. We need every drop of any fuel stabilizers and additives you can find.”
“Okay, yes sir,” James responded, now miles deep in thought. “Yeah, sounds good to me.”
“If there’s no further questions,” I ordered, “go finish dinner, figure out who you’re taking with you, and get a week of shit for y’all gathered up. You leave here no sooner, no later, than 10:00 hours. Get it together tonight and your crew can sleep in tomorrow. Dismissed.”
James got up, shook my hand, and left promptly.
“Tony,” I said, turning to my close friend, “Don’t fuck up. Do what I do. Help where needed, drink a little, make sure everything gets done and the place doesn’t burn down. I should only be gone three days.”
“I got it dude,” Tony assured. “It will be fine.”
“Good,” I replied. “Stay out of my good liquor.”
“Wait,” Tony interjected, smiling. “Where’s the good liquor?”
“Not telling,” I replied, grinning as I watched his expression drop. “Rich and Dave now.”
Both leaned forward in anticipation.
“Dave and Tony have the boat loaded for our trip. All we need is to release the moorings and leave.” I informed Rich, “I have a hypothetical for you.”
“Alright!” Rich said, an eager expression shading his face, “Shoot!”
“Let’s say,” I postulated, “there’s bad guys, bad guys with info that could be pertinent to the safety of our entire compound, and all our friends and family within. Would you be above kidnap and torture to extract that information?”
“I mean,” Rich said, pondering the question, “there’s kids here. I’d kill for the info.”