Salazar

by Chariss K. Walker

  "My point is that it is now the fourth day and although Phillip always acted like a jerk, he was the worst he has ever been before his injury. In my mind, he became progressively worse. We need to document the stages."

  "I understand and that's a really good idea to keep records on the newcomers and their symptoms," Salazar acknowledged.

  He had learned over the years that he had to repeat his mother's instructions almost verbatim before she believed that he had heard her. He glanced at Sondra and wondered if it was the same for all women.

  "I will see to it that Joanna works with Sue Ellen to record how each person responds on a daily basis. We must observe symptoms in order to understand how contact with the fumes changes our community of survivors. There is too much at stake and too much that we don't yet know. For example, we do not know how long the effects of the toxin will last. We don't know if it is permanent or temporary. We do not understand its side-effects or if they grow in intensity. If Phillip is any indication, we may be in for some extreme surprises."

  "You're right, Mother."

  "I hate to admit this," Miki softly continued," we can't keep Phillip sedated forever. At some point, we have to deal with him. We have to know how dangerous he has become. As for the fumes, we certainly don't know what will occur from continual exposure. I really don't like it that you are the one who comes in contact with the poison more than anyone else. These people need you."

  "I understand how you feel. Just keep in mind that Phillip has been inside with us since the beginning. His exposure was from the first day. You can see for yourself that the newcomers are normal even though they were out there the entire time and had repeated exposure. Besides, I feel it is my job to rescue the ones that are still out there and alive."

  "I know," Miki sighed. She knew he would do whatever he felt necessary. Still, as her son, she worried for him. Her eyes softened with love as she urged, "Please, keep me informed if you notice your instincts grow even stronger or if anything else develops."

  "I'll watch out for myself and the others," Salazar promised as he gave her a warm hug. "Now, who worries too much?" he teased.

  "Well, in the meantime, someone needs to see if there is an area of confinement in our new living space."

  "Do you mean a jail or prison?" he guessed even though he was surprised that his mother would suggest such a thing. Henry had warned about the prison systems and their corruption. Henry had been adamantly opposed to such tactics, claiming that prisoners were merely slave labor for a corrupt system.

  "It was different in Henry's time," Miki could only suppose what her son thought by his shocked expression. "If people are dangerous, they must be confined. We can't toss them back outside to fend for themselves, can we?" Miki persisted.

  "I suppose not, however, that's a huge burden to place on the citizens of Eden," Salazar asserted. "Do we really want or need to make a determination about that right away?"

  "Do you think we should put it to a vote?"

  "Yes, if a decision is to be made there should be an agreement about this from the first twelve who followed us… well, eleven now. We can't continue to count Phillip in that initial group. It's my belief that the first people came to us for a reason. They will help protect, lead, and educate all the rest. I trust you to take care of it."

  "I feel the same way," Miki agreed, "even though I'm still very worried about Phillip. I truly believe he is a danger to all of us and especially you. His hatred of you is scaldingly obvious."

  "Phillip is turning into one of the half-human creatures we found above," Salazar admitted. "I don't know if his condition can be reversed. When I touched him, I didn't get a vision like I have with everyone else. I only saw red as if that is all that he can see."

  "Red?" Miki exclaimed, now more concerned than ever.

  "Yes, his mind was filled with bloody red colors."

  "That can't be good," Miki acknowledged. "I will see to it that Sue Ellen keeps him sedated until you can figure out what to do about him."

  33| Organization

  There was a park-like area that the previous residents had enjoyed to the right just beyond the entrance of the tunnel. It was a large circular spot, similar to a cul-de-sac and held several picnic tables with benches. There were also old-timey street lights along the perimeter. Miki was relieved to see the area and she knew what to do with it and how to best utilize it.

  Always equipped with something to write on, Miki dug in her huge tote to retrieve several notebooks and pens. Then, she set-up the tables as stations where the newcomers could be interviewed.

  Salazar's vision of his mother as Matriarch unfolded. Miki efficiently delegated responsibilities to the first survivors that had entered the tunnel along with them on the first night.

  While Sue Ellen and Joshua established an area nearby where they could treat the sick and injured, Freddy greeted the new arrivals. If they were injured, he sent them to Sue Ellen and Joshua to triage. If not, they were directed to Tereese who took a census of each person by asking their names, age, prior job experience, and the area of August City where they had lived. From there, they moved to Joanna who questioned them about their exposer to the fumes such as when, where, and how it had affected them. Finally, they moved to where Sondra took down the names of anyone with whom they hoped to be reunited – their lost loved ones.

  Most families in August City were small by governmental edict. It was an effort to limit the population's growth to conserve food and water. Although not always the case, such a small family allowed for more intimacy and connection. They cared deeply for each other.

  Sondra, who still felt poorly, was extremely susceptible to the emotions of others. It was that sensitivity that had partly caused her earlier bouts of nausea. Now, she wept at the enormity of the loss as the list in front of her grew longer and longer.

  Mothers were without their children, children were without their parents. Husbands couldn't find their wives and likewise there were wives with missing husbands. Almost all of them had lost someone or endured an injury; however, it was the absence of family that caused them the most suffering.

  Overcome, Sondra recalled Miki's directive to 'keep the faith.' Sondra knew she must stay strong for all in their new society, even though it was truly overwhelming. Miki glanced at Sondra and they locked eyes.

  During the first few hours of their time together, Miki had felt a strong attachment to the young seer and she gravitated to Sondra's table now to see what had the girl so upset. Sondra pointed to the long list of names and admitted, "So many are lost. We have only a few children and all except one of them has lost their parents. We also have parents who have lost their children. It's breaking my heart."

  After careful consideration, Miki finally said, "I might have a temporary solution for this problem." Then she turned to the others and said, "I'd like to suggest a temporary solution that might help everyone. If there are no objections and until parents can be reunited with their own children, perhaps it will be beneficial to pair up with children who are without their parents." The crowd was quiet as they pondered her suggestion. However, after several moments of contemplation, no one had contested her suggestion and it turned out to be better for all those involved.

  Among the very first survivors, Tom Baker and William Kamkwamba had previously mentioned that their engineer brains were working overtime. Tom, an engineer in the Fallhaven District Public Works, peered at the list of survivors and their previous job descriptions. He quickly called on Joseph Alcroft, a twenty-eight year old engineer from one of the industrial plants in Springhaven. He also enlisted William's assistance.

  The three men put their heads together for a while discussing what needed to be done to restore what they thought would be an antiquated power and water supply. With torches in hand, they set out to restore those systems.

  While Miki organized the arrival process, the others followed her newly established routine. Even with only a hundred people to sort, it was still a s
ubstantial undertaking. Salazar was glad that the task was left to the others and that he was free to resume the work he felt compelled to do.

  Salazar motioned for Jesse and Sam to follow him back to the surface. They had only gotten as far as the park when Dinah caught up with them, "Wait," she called.

  "Where do you think you are going?" Jesse asked.

  "You're not leaving me behind," Dinah insisted.

  "That's not up to me," Jesse replied as he looked to Salazar.

  "It's dangerous up there," Salazar said in order to give her an out.

  "That may be true, Commander," Dinah persisted, "Regardless I am better equipped to help topside than I am here. I know how to take care of myself. Please, don't leave me behind just because I'm a girl. Let me prove myself."

  "You can go this time," Salazar caved, "however, if you can't handle it, you will remain behind in the future."

  Dinah nodded her agreement.

  34| Medical Surprises

  In the meantime, Joshua and Sue Ellen prioritized treatment of the sick and injured. After such an aggressive and devastating air raid, Sue Ellen was amazed that other than Phillip's self-injury and those who had been bitten and clawed by the half-humans above, there were only scrapes and burns, cuts and bruises, nausea and fever. She quickly cleaned and stitched the bite marks and then cleaned and bandaged the claw marks. The rest of it was nothing that Joshua couldn't handle on his own and she felt an urgency to get back to Phillip.

  Joshua wasn't a nurse by any means; he had been a trainer for Bucky's Coffee Service who hired quite a few of the youths in Fallhaven as baristas and servers in their many coffeehouses. Bucky's had numerous locations in every section of August City except Winterhaven and the monopoly claimed their fair share of profits from August City's wage earners. Coffee was addictive on its own; however, Bucky's added a special ingredient to make it more so.

  Coffee had its own history and working for Bucky's, Joshua had memorized it. Coffee had become a substitute for tea over three-hundred years ago. It was the most popular drink in the United Sectors. For a time, it was a specialty drink and had been served with every imaginable flavor and a choice of rich or nonfat whipped creams. However, during the last one-hundred years, due to the many shortages, plain black coffee had become the fuel that kept the working class running. The rich, fat-cats in Summerhaven and Springhaven had a different take on their coffee. Now, as Joshua thought about that he realized it was in the past too.

  Like most people, Joshua had wanted more out of life than the job he had ended up with, however, he had used his considerable people-skills to help the new hires learn the ins-and-outs of brewing and serving the dark caffeinated beverages to their many customers. Still, he had on several occasions watched his wife tend to the afflicted. He was at ease as he cleaned cuts and scrapes and more than happy to help her.

  While Joshua treated other minor injuries, Sue Ellen focused her attention on Phillip. While Phillip was still out, she had sedated him in order to stitch-up the gash on his cheek and clean and bandage his bloody forehead. Normally, Sue Ellen worked on a patient's more serious injury first; however, in this case, she treated his broken wrist last.

  While she closely examined the break, she realized that it was the ulna and radius bones that were fractured. The scaphold and lunate bones at the base of the hand were intact. As she prepared to set his ulna and radius bones, Sue Ellen noticed something odd about the break. Phillip's bones had lengthened even though they protruded away from each other. When she tried to set them, the two ends overlapped about a half inch. It was a struggled to align them because they wouldn't lineup or fit together. As she worried about a remedy for that, something even stranger occurred. When she manipulated the bones towards each other and they touched, they began to fuse together on their own. It was as if the bones were alive and trying to self-heal. Sue Ellen, not easily surprised, had never seen anything like it and, alarmed, she jumped back away from him.

  "Joshua, come quickly!" she called.

  He was by her side as soon as he could get there. By the time he arrived, Phillip's broken bones had attached even though they overlaid each other. As soon as the bones began to mend, Phillip's nerves, ligaments and tendons also reconnected.

  Sue Ellen and Joshua were shocked. They both shook their heads in confusion.

  "What can that mean?" Joshua asked his wife.

  "I don't know, but look at this," she encouraged as she lifted Phillip's eyelid.

  "Is that blood?" Joshua gasped.

  "I don't know if it is blood or if his iris is now red."

  "What color were his eyes before?" Joshua asked.

  "I think they were brown or hazel judging from his hair and skin color, however, I can't be sure. I only met him after he was injured."

  "So, his bones are reconnecting on their own which can only be considered self-healing," Joshua mused. "What about the gash on his cheek? Has it healed also?"

  "I can check," his wife replied. She pulled back the bandage and the gash did not show any sign of healing on its own."

  "What about his forehead?"

  Sue Ellen lifted the edge of the bandage to find Phillip's forehead was still oozing blood and looked the same as it had earlier.

  "Apparently, head injuries are not included in whatever it is that has caused him to heal this quickly," Sue Ellen commented. "It is very odd that anything below his neck has regenerative powers, while nothing above it does."

  "It is very odd," Joshua stressed, "and we need to let Salazar know about this."

  "He went back topside but I'll let him know the moment I can," Sue Ellen promised.

  "I feel a little out of my element over there with the inured. After you finish up here, please come back and help me with the others," Joshua encouraged.

  Sue Ellen nodded and continued to work on Phillip. Without cast materials, she applied a wrist brace to give the injury more protection and to keep the bones straight even though she wasn't certain that Phillip needed the extra protection.

  After she had done all she could do for Phillip, she knew that Joshua was right. Salazar had to be informed about the bizarre discovery of Phillip's injuries; however, the Commander was still on the surface. She was distracted by so much other work to do once she returned to her husband that the time slipped away from her.

  With so many new residents, there was a lot of excitement in Eden as the newcomers thought about their new situation. Some were already planning the arrangement of their new homes. Some were looking at the others wondering who would be friend or foe. In spite of all that, Sue Ellen merely hoped for a bed and a blanket once the organizational efforts were accomplished. She was very tired and just wanted a good night's sleep. However, knowing she had to keep going, she shoved her exhaustion aside and returned her mind to the tasks at hand.

  Miki needed a sling for her shoulder and after the worst of the injuries were treated, Sue Ellen moved on to the less severe cases. Someone needed an ankle brace, a few had knee injuries to clean and bandage, and a simple pregnancy test determined that Sondra was indeed going to have a baby.

  35| Connections

  A sense of joy over Sondra's news trickled through the crowd because a new pregnancy indicated that there was a true future for them if children would be born in Eden. No one considered that Sondra was pregnant before she had arrived and no one wanted to think about the odds of the pregnancy enduring. Even though pregnancy was rare for the residents of August City, miscarriage was often the end results.

  At the moment, the good news was simply too favorable to discount or to be clouded by those thoughts. Many of the other women hoped that they too would get pregnant and as that hope grew, they began to look over the available men in the group as potential partners.

  Many of the teenage girls eyed Freddy and, although he was awkward, he also relished the attention. He certainly looked back at those who gave him sidelong glances and smiles, even though he wasn't sure what to do next.

 
; Being homeschooled and rarely in the company of others their age, it was safe to assume that most of the young men and women present were as self-conscious as Freddy was. He had never before had an intimate relationship with anyone and didn't know what his next step should be or what to do in response.

  "You just go after the one you want, Freddy," Jon encouraged when it was obvious that Freddy didn't know how to proceed. "It's not that difficult to let a potential partner know you are interested also." At Freddy's confused look, Jon added, "You have to realize, dear man, there are ten or more men to every woman in our new home. If one of those women shows an interest in you, you should jump on it while you have the chance. Trust me; the other, more experienced men won't be so hesitant."

  As Freddy observed the crowd with new understanding, he saw that what Jon said was accurate. It was as if cosmic forces drew the single people into pairs. They gravitated to each other as if a magnet guided them. Freddy silently scoffed. He didn't see anyone that he felt drawn to or with whom he desired to make a long-term connection.

  "Perhaps it is for the best," Jon soothed, as if talking to himself. "Perhaps your soulmate has not yet arrived, nevertheless, I have no doubt that Salazar will bring in many more survivors. Maybe we will each find our partner before it is finished."

  Meanwhile, even with all the excited confusion going on in Eden, Sue Ellen still fretted about Phillip. He continued to change drastically each time she checked on him and she became overly fearful. When she lifted his eyelids the next time, his entire eye was now red, both the iris and the sclera. She took some blood samples and determined to examine them later if she could find the proper equipment.

  Even though he was unconscious, he muttered strange sounds that she couldn't understand. His eyes had also taken on a strange glow. As she continued to examine Phillip, Sue Ellen noticed that his fingernails had grown far more than they should have and his hands and arms were now covered in thick hair. She lifted the edge of his shirt and his chest hair was also thick and matted from the blood that had dripped onto his chest from the face wound.