by Deb Stratton
Schools were operating just to provide a small amount of activity for the children. The classes were becoming smaller as families chose to keep their children home to keep them safe. Safe from what we did not know. If I had been a parent and had to make that choice, I certainly would have chosen to keep my children home. We no longer had a way to keep the school buses running and that led to the cancellation of most activities and teachers leaving.
Every possible security measure was taken in our town to comply with what the government recommended. Martial law was never enforced and was predicted early in the year if there was a criminal issue it was handled at the local level the best we could.
It was so complicated that it became simple. I added a cell to my list. We would need a place to house anyone that became unstable. I gave Cory a list of items needed for it to work properly. Locks, benches that handcuffs could attach to, things that were a must-have.
I moved from house to house with information. I noted who was coming and when. I drove back to the units to update Frank and the storm had just blown off to the North. That was the one and only good thing about living near the Missouri River. Storms would easily separate or move in another direction even when they appeared to be a direct hit. The river did provide another favor to us. It was a source of fresh fish. I was not a fan of the water or the fish that came from it. I would be reconsidering that when my peanut butter runs out.
One additional concern we had in our location was the Nuclear power plant in Mid-Missouri. It was located about twenty-eight miles away. The United States had 104 nuclear reactors listed and the emergency plans were developed for a much shorter blackout period and with the assumption that power would be restored quickly.
In any given scenario, the plants could give off radiation after one day following an earthquake, flood or fire. Shutdowns were only effective with advance notice and there was no way to keep the reactors cool following a power failure. The backup battery power could run out.
An emergency shutdown takes between 1 and 5 seconds. A controlled shutdown takes 6 to 10 hours. The nuclear plants always made me nervous. Even way before our lives changed due to the watchers. I was never a big fan of them. I remembered a few years earlier when they scheduled maintenance and shut down for a couple of weeks. I worried when they shut it down and worried even more when they started it back up.
The way I thought about it changed after the Fukushima plant in Japan had an emergency. I missed the internet for things like that. I liked to research and study the after effects.
Security around the plant had changed after 9/11. Plant employees were essential and without the volunteers that stayed to help manage it we would have all been gone long before this day. The decision was made to keep it shutdown due to the fact that only 13% of the state’s electricity came from it. It was not worth the risk to citizens by keeping it running.
We hustled all day and by the time the sun began to set I was exhausted. I arrived back at home to inventory my things to take with me. It was game on. Time to get the plan into effect. I was terrified and excited at the same time. That sun though. It was casting a purple and lavender shadows throughout the Zoo. It was breathtaking.
Chapter Seven
The first farm families started moving into the units before the watchers were on the move again. It had been days and still nothing. Mary was still grieving over Bella. It was so very sad to watch. We felt helpless.
I helped Mary move the rest of her belongings to one of the back units. They were reserved for individuals without children or families. She got set up quickly and helped get the kitchen pantry organized. Truckloads of canned goods were coming in. We cleaned out every cabinet from every farm and household kitchen. It was the only food that we knew would last a very long time. We also packed it full of canning jars and cooking pots. I was excited to see the end of peanut butter crackers near. I was happy to get a fresh tomato and cucumber. There were enough fresh vegetables this time of year to start processing. It would carry us through the winter. I was mad at myself for denying the offers for so long. I had good intentions but will never turn down a fresh vegetable ever again.
I had everything I needed from my home and drove away to begin my new life at the units that morning. I had locked up and left the porch lights on. We needed the area lit up at night as much as we could.
My vehicle was needed the most and I parked it at the car wash next to the units. Too many cars there would alert the watchers if they were to show up or give a sign that they were watching us from a distance.
Days later, four families moved in. We had also moved one at a time, every senior citizen that lived within city limits. Our town had a small retirement home, and they were also moved to the units.
We had an abundance of blankets and quilts. All beds were ready and the volunteers began working on beds in the basement. The air conditioning was working well and all house fans were requested from anyone moving in. Air circulation would be very important. The noise from them would also block out the outside noises that upset people if the ships returned.
It all started to come together very well, after four weeks there were over seventy people living in sync with each other. They took turns cooking and cleaning. We decided to close the school and used the main dining room for a classroom, once they arrived at the units leaving was not an option.
Young children were becoming scarce. After the first round of visits, most people decided against having more children in our area for a while. We had one Doctor on staff in a unit and several nurses. The contribution was great on their part. Dr. Mitch was a local and would never leave. He was the third generation in Doctors in our town.
The ambulance building donated cots and equipment for the sick room. We did not have a supply of flu shots or immunizations but had what we needed when it came to antibiotics and insulin.
The funeral home was nearby and the owners decided to stay in their quarters until all residents of our town moved in. It would be a much-needed building if we were to lose anyone.
I was still overwhelmed and exhausted. The feeling was continuous and I was looking forward to a long rest now that our plan was executed and going well.
Everything was good during my patrol and I headed back to my unit. Everyone was doing well and my bed was calling me. Frank was already sleeping. He slept more in the early evening than I did, so he could check the area at night. We rotated shifts and that was hard after working together, so many years on the same shift.
Mary finished organizing her unit and came to help with some last minute cleaning before resting. Soon other children would be moving in, and she didn’t like the reminder that Bella was still missing. Everyone could see the pain in her eyes. It was hard to believe any of it had really happened. It did make me feel much better about our new plan and would give me more time to research the area for any sign of Bella after the units were full.
There were no bad feelings between us. Mary could have become angry and lashed out to everyone for her loss, but she didn’t. She stayed calm. It was a sign that one of two things would happen. Either she would lash out and take revenge on whoever and whatever she could find later, or she would remain calm and quiet while waiting for the day that Bella would come home.
I was sure that would happen. It had to. I could not accept that people were just going to start disappearing and never to come back again.
“Do you need anything else tonight Mary?” I said.
“Not really Fynn. I am kind of tired and look forward to sleeping in a safe place. I have lost a lot of sleep from the anxiety and worry.” She said.
My arms reached out to her and gave her a strong embrace. I knew she needed that. I hoped that it had helped in some way.
I went to bed early and woke up to the loud noises of Frank stumbling around. It was still dark outside and I felt rested with just a few hours of sleep.
“I think I will get up and patrol for a while. I can’t get Bella off my mind.”
I said.
Frank was happy to hear that.
I stretched and grabbed my pants. It was time to get out there and see what was going on or what was going to happen next.
The sky was changing again. The sunrise was earlier than usual. A conversation came up about the sun a few mornings ago in the kitchen. Cammie and Stephanie had mentioned seeing the sun in two different parts of the sky at the same time. There was no reasonable explanation for that.
I had a difficult time keeping focused on the list of things to do with that sky. The thoughts I had were racing and trying to make sense of it all. Originally, I had thought that we just had an invasion. I changed that opinion to some sort of government cover up. I changed it back to another intelligent species discovering us or even placing us here. Then I changed it again.
Frank believed that they started coming to earth about fifty years ago and that is when human intelligence and technology started changing. It made sense. Thinking about that possibility made me wonder if we were given a gift to enhance that or that they were actually blending in with us and some of us here were actually them. I was always reluctant to decide on one answer to my questions.
So I watched, curiously and with strong hopes to see just one thing that would lead me to the right answers. Others had the same ideas. Some of them came up with much greater scenarios than I did. I guessed that time would tell.
Frank would tell me stories about his Grandfather working for the Army. He would not talk about it much. He was sent to locations all over the world to investigate ships that were discovered. All crash sights and empty ships. It was a very secretive life that he had lived. So secretive that he was unable to tell anyone what he knew. That information led Frank to believe that the quick change in technology was due to this outbreak of ships found. Just a few years after the first Television sets were available in stores, other things were released soon after. Microwave ovens, cordless telephones, car phones, cable TV, and smarter cars.
Then again, just years later, the car phones turned to cell phones. The internet was born and computers were available for homes. Cell phones became smaller and smaller. Computers became smaller and portable.
Cell phones went from having a small camera to amazing high definition. Computers were being sold with touch screens. Phones then had touch screens. Wi-Fi was born. Technologic advances and miracles were being born every day in our simple lives and even in medicine.
I felt enlightened and bewildered at the same time. Things were just strange.
“I will take my own car today.” Frank said.
“Sounds good.” I wanted to drive myself anyway. I had ideas.
I hopped in and slammed the door shut. I was ready for the day. I stared at the sky and drove into the path of the sunrise.
Chapter Eight
Chasing the sun was my favorite thing to do. There were no ships visible and with no activity it gave me time to explore one more day. Hopefully it would last. It gave us time to get more people moved to the units and get everything in place.
I checked the neighborhood and my house. I went by Mary’s with wishful thinking that Bella would show up. Most were still locked in their houses and waiting for the sun to come up fully to get more household items to their new unit homes.
Slowly and methodically the families all moved one by one to the units. It was the best we could come up with and was under scrutiny by some. If the watchers had advanced technology it could not protect us in metal storage unit buildings. If the Government was involved then we were also wasting our time. In my opinion the moving was gathering us all to a common place where we could survive and provide safety to each other in numbers. It had to be that way. I felt it was the only option that made sense.
By the end of the day there would be five more families moving in. Each would get assistance and move about one hour apart. That would leave enough time to keep watch. I had no idea what we could watch for that was not visible, but we tried.
Three of the first five families were related and were able to share. The larger units slept ten or eight. With three couples they had eleven children so the first unit which was number one would be for the adults and the second unit which was number two would be for the children.
Cory had two children and his wife was busy packing while he worked on the last minute construction details. They would take unit twenty-two. Unit nine would go to another family with two children. That would be a great trial run with fifteen children there the first night.
Mary was towards the back in fifteen, and we decided to put Bev up front by the sick bay in a single unit because of her cooking skills. She would be in unit twenty-four.
Things were coming into place once again. It was a slower process than I had first thought. To go full speed would be too daring.
Imagine a world filled with people that were all coming together with one common goal. A goal to care about each other and survive. It was the greatest goal ever created.
I started feeling tired and needed food. Frank was out checking on some farms. I stopped by to see the folks that were moving in that day. It looked stressful for them. Kids were running everywhere and the women were trying to decide on what was important to take and what was not. Leaving behind a home is a terrible feeling. Deciding what memories to let go of was even worse. I reassured everyone that this move could be very temporary. It was a waste of my breath. They all packed like they were leaving for fifty years.
I was hopeful with the new plan though. Maybe we were just delaying the inevitable. They could come down at any time and take over. They could also destroy us with bad weather or additional power outages. Maybe they had no plan. Perhaps our plan was greater. Maybe our desire to live was stronger than their plan to end our lives as we knew it. I wish the answer was obvious.
There were more rumors about the watchers in the grapevine. Some were very extreme and way off. The big rumor was that China was behind the power grid shutdowns, and they were actually involved in the ships we seen overhead. That was hard for me to comprehend. Everyone blames China and Russia for everything. That slowed down after Trump became President. Everything became his fault then. The very best thing that could have come from all of this was people letting go of their political differences. It was gone. All of it.
I tried to look at the facts. It was part of my job. The world was changing fast right before their appearance. Towers went up a year or so before this happened for 5G. The skies were being sprayed daily around the globe. This was a part of the weather modification. If the planes were manufactured and taking off from Earth that led me to believe that somehow the Government was involved. It was too much to think about sometimes. I did know something was wrong. Something was off. I could not find the missing link.
I continued to patrol and check on the homes in the area. I looked up constantly while driving. There were still no signs of activity in the sky.
The Zoo looked peaceful and still felt like home. I stopped by my house and grabbed some notes and sketches I had left in my office. I wanted to have them at my new place.
Just then my heart stopped. I looked out into the old yard I used to mow and seen something. It looked like a person lying in the yard or something big that had never been there before. I tried convincing myself quickly that it was normal. That something must have blown into the yard. Suddenly, my day turned into sadness. It was Bella. She was lying in the grass. She must have not been there long because there were still tears on her cheeks. I checked her pulse. She was gone. I sat on the ground looking at her and I could not hold back with my own tears. Telling Mary would be difficult but would bring her closure. I was not sure I could do it.
There was so much about this that I did not understand. How did she get there? I picked up her little body and took it to the patrol car. I placed her gently in the backseat and headed over to the funeral home. I wanted to talk to them about an exam. I would leave Bella with them and pick up Mary. I had to let go of some worry. It would
keep me from functioning. Everything was out of my control when it came to the watchers.
It was hard for me to find a sense of peace in this new world. What exactly were we running from? Days after working so hard to help people feel safe, I was feeling helpless. I continued to eliminate any display of this concern to the others right away. I wanted them to feel strong and believe that good was going to continue to come.
I stopped dead in my tracks on my way back to the car. I realized that we were all running from something. I’d been trying to bypass the feelings in my heart by telling others that all was well. I was surrounded by human beings that still had hopes and dreams. Goals they had not achieved. Some were running from bad relationships and old ghosts. All of that was brushed off to the side to come together and survive.
I opened the door and sat down just enough to let my head fall to the steering wheel. I understood what was happening but it did not make it any easier. I was breathing in and out as I was feeling the hurt. As the pain started to lift from my heart I started the car. After dropping off Bella at the funeral home, I drove to the units and walked in to find Mary washing the tables in the common area.