by Bobby Akart
Day Fifty-Three
Quandary Peak
Barb grabbed the handle and flung the heavy door open. She ran onto the wooden-decked front porch and shouted, “Tommy, what happened?”
Mac scrambled through the door behind her mother. “Hunter!” she exclaimed as the trio of boys made their way past the vehicles to the foot of the wide steps leading to the front door.
Hunter explained. “It’s okay,” he started, attempting to allay their fears. “I mean, I’m sure it will be. We were patrolling the road and decided to take Flatus for a swim. Instead, he took off up the trail toward the peak. When we caught up with him, we found his owner—dead.”
“My gosh!” exclaimed Janie. “What happened to him? Was he infected?”
Barb put her arm around Mac, who was visibly upset. She whispered in her ear, “Don’t jump to conclusions, dear.”
Mac nodded and wiped away a tear. “Tell us what happened. And why aren’t you guys separated?”
Hunter continued. “Apparently, Flatus and his owner were hiking. The man must’ve lost his footing at a rock ledge overlooking Blue Lakes. I was able to look over the edge and saw his badly broken body on the rocks below. He’s been dead for several days.”
“How close did you get?” asked Barb immediately.
“Don’t worry,” Tommy replied. “We stayed on top of the cliff, at least thirty feet away. Hunter said the body is decomposing and the critters have gotten after it. We’ll need to deal with that.”
“Tomorrow,” said Mac. “Hunter, you guys were supposed to stay fifteen to twenty feet apart.”
“I know, I know,” said Hunter. “When Flatus took off, we, um, I didn’t know what the situation was. He’s been pretty quiet and docile since he showed up here the other day. When he became excited and vocal, I had to consider that a threat was nearby. My training dictated to bring Tommy and me together as a team to work our way up the mountain. Honestly, Mac, I never even thought about the whole quarantine thing. In fact, it wasn’t until we sat down together overlooking the ledge that I realized I’d disregarded your instructions.”
Barb hugged Mac again and then took control of the situation. “Okay, listen, everyone, it is what it is. There’s no need to panic. I know it’s only been twenty-four hours or so, but Tommy and Flatus are doing fine. We’re praying for the best. Hunter, unfortunately, you’ll have to join Tommy and Flatus in quarantine for a couple of days.”
“I understand,” said a dejected Hunter. “Mac, I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. You did the right thing,” said Mac. “It’s gonna be all right anyway. I know it in my heart.”
Barb looked toward the sun as it began to drop over the western horizon. “Janie, Mac, let’s get Hunter a sleeping bag and extra blankets. I’ll get dinner started.”
“Hey, we’ll look at it as a boys’ night out,” said Tommy. “I don’t suppose you ladies could deliver a few cocktails out to our cabana too?”
“We are not your VIP hostesses,” Janie said with a laugh. “We should make the boys rough it, girls. Whadya think? Make them forage off the land like in the old days. Meanwhile, I’ll whip up a batch of cosmos. Better to enjoy the sunset with, don’t you agree?”
“I certainly do,” said Mac, who was noticeably more upbeat than earlier. Barb knew her daughter well. There was little doubt in her mind that Mac and Hunter had something between them, but in that momentary look of fear in Mac’s eyes when she saw her dad and Hunter side by side, both possibly infected with the plague, she was convinced her daughter had found the love of her life.
For the next hour, the guys got settled into their quarantine tent, as they called it. They opened up some folding chairs and rolled a few logs out of the woods to create footstools. Flatus, exhausted from the day’s activities, found a spot to sleep in the tall cool bluestem wheatgrass, which was a native grass in the high altitudes of the Colorado Rockies.
Janie’s cosmopolitan concoction was a little strong and the ladies got loud from time to time. Hunter and Tommy agreed to take the night patrol and sleep tomorrow while the women recuperated from their girls’ night out, as they were calling it.
Despite the scare and the discovery of a dead body, the group managed to have a lighthearted evening complete with Tommy and Janie trading playful barbs at one another. Janie commanded the high ground, namely the deck, which was nearly twenty feet above the guys’ quarantine tent. Tommy, at times, would stand on his soapbox, as he called the twenty-four-inch stump that doubled as a dining table for the guys.
As the darkness came and the still night settled in, the laughter and voices of the group carried into the sky and up the slope of Quandary Peak. The party reached the ears of two dark figures observing the group through binoculars. The watchers weren’t enjoying the playful banter, but rather, were growing to resent it.
Chapter 15
Day Fifty-Four
Quandary Peak
Mac wasn’t going to take any chances in dealing with the dead man found at the base of the cliff by Hunter. She suited up in her PPE and insisted Tommy and Hunter wear Tyvek suits with protective headgear. Regardless of whether she could determine the cause of death, dealing with corpses could prove difficult without the proper equipment.
“Until now, we’ve focused on survival and living,” started Mac as she followed Hunter through the trails. The three could walk and converse without fear of spreading the disease from the guys to Mac because she was suited up. “While I hope we never have to deal with death within our group, it will be impossible for us to avoid it altogether. The fact of the matter is the dead don’t bury themselves. Regardless of how the hiker died, we’ve got to dispose of him properly.”
They reached the spot where the body fell and climbed up the cliff approximately fifteen feet, careful not to tear their PPEs. After they located the body, Mac took the lead and encouraged the guys to remain behind. She knew what to look for. Mac had spent enough time alongside pathologists as they examined disease-ridden bodies in the morgue.
She got closer and winced as the decaying body came into full view. The man’s body was badly mangled from the fall. Body parts were misshapen from the broken bones. The gory scene, however, was more a result of animals that had feasted on the body during the decomposition process. Mac made a mental note to walk around the trails nearby to look for signs of animals that might have contracted the plague, assuming the man carried it.
The corpse was a silent witness, which provided her the evidence of a person’s death. Like the forensic team investigating a homicide, disease detectives looked for details that indicated the type of disease the person succumbed to. In this case, the man clearly died from the fall. Whether he’d contracted the plague prior to his death was unclear. The decomposition coupled with the animal mutilation of the corpse would not provide her any definitive conclusion.
Mac looked around the body for clues. She reached into the man’s pockets and his backpack to find evidence of medications for the flu or common cold. There was nothing. Not even a handkerchief containing mucus. This poor soul was simply unlucky enough to lose his footing at a dangerous part of the trail and he paid the ultimate price.
She slowly descended from the rocky perch and gave the guys the go-ahead to retrieve the body. Although the man was hidden from view, thus making the decision to let him lie where he fell an easy one, Mac believed the man had a right to be buried with dignity.
Moments later, Hunter and Tommy returned with the body wrapped in 8 mil plastic sheeting. They’d brought shovels to dig a grave but agreed a jackhammer would be necessary to go deep enough into the ground at this slope and altitude.
There were areas of soft ground around Blue Lakes, but Hunter immediately vetoed the idea for fear of contaminating their source of ground water for their well and food in the form of fish. As bodies decompose, they excrete body fluids that might harm the water supply and the fish that live in it.
Tommy suggested a pyre—using fal
len tree limbs and dried wood to burn the man’s body. This form of cremation had been used for centuries dating back to the ancient Vikings and as part of the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Open-air pyres weren’t permitted in the United States or most of the Western world because they were considered taboo.
However, in tiny Crestone, Colorado, a southern Rockies town of just over a hundred people, open-air cremations were approved by the town council. It became the only place in the nation that conducted funeral pyres.
Hunter disapproved of this method as well. Sending a plume of smoke into the sky was a clear signal to those around the valley between Quandary Peak and North Star Mountain to their south that there was activity in the area of Blue Lakes.
The idea was to remain hidden from others in the area. A lot of smoke would defeat the purpose this early in their self-imposed isolation. By the time winter started in several months, Hunter expected the population to thin, allowing them to burn fires in the fireplace for heat.
“I have an idea,” said Mac. “When I was investigating a malaria outbreak in Somalia years ago, I noticed ancient cairns spread about the rocky desert. Historically, the indigenous tribes buried their dead under piles of rocks and stones.”
Cairns were a preferred method of internment of many Indian tribes living in rural areas throughout the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. A cavity would be dug in the ground and lined with ceremonial deerskins. The corpse would be wrapped in the skins together with weapons and ornaments known to be precious to the deceased. Larger rocks were piled on top of the body, followed by smaller stones lovingly placed on top, creating a monument of stones.
“I’ve heard of those,” added Hunter. “They were often used as trail markers in the mountains of Afghanistan. When our guides led us to the high ground to get our snipers strategically placed for a mission, he’d point out the rock formations created to guide us out after we finished. I didn’t know there were people buried under there.”
“They’re not always for burial purposes, but I think it would be a viable solution for this gentleman,” stated Mac. “I agree with Hunter that we should avoid the water. If you guys can, let’s take him over the edge toward the valley and find a spot. With the rains and, later, melting snow, his remains will be washed down the slope to join the fertile soil at the bottom.”
“Creating the cairn will keep the critters away,” added Tommy. “This man deserves some dignity. I believe he adored Flatus, based upon how loving the dog is. I wish there was a way to notify his family.”
“Sadly, Dad, the way things are going, I’m not so sure they outlived him,” said Mac.
Chapter 16
Day Fifty-Five
Cheyenne Mountain
President Garcia; Andrew Morse; General Keef, the Secretary of Defense; and the newly appointed Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Major General Carl Gallagher, met in the conference room just outside the operations center.
“Mr. President, Denver is lost, in our opinion,” General Gallagher flatly stated. In just a matter of days, the general, a decorated veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, would officially become the Secretary of Homeland Security.
His predecessor was stricken with the plague while transitioning from Washington to the military facility located at Mount Weather in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. A private contractor was unaware he was carrying the disease. While assisting in the move of historical artifacts into the facility, the man decided to stow away for his own safety. He became a patient zero in his own right, infecting everyone inside.
The events caused panic throughout Cheyenne Mountain. The President limited his personal interaction to Morse and a few trusted advisors. Everyone else could send Morse a message through the facility’s intranet.
“That’s true, Mr. President,” added General Keef. “If we’re going to institute the safe zone protocol, now is the perfect opportunity. Directly under our control, it can become a model across the nation.”
Morse interrupted. “With all due respect, General, under normal circumstances, we can implement a model study to evaluate a program’s viability. With the die-off rate the nation is experiencing, we’ve got to move now.”
“I understand,” continued General Keef. “Under the President’s orders, we’ve recalled our troops and support personnel from around the world. Out of one and a half active military personnel, half have died as a result of the disease. The other half are filling our military facilities rapidly. We’re running out of room, quite frankly.”
The President leaned forward to review a report handed to him by Morse. He was looking tired again. The deaths at Mount Weather troubled him. It was not the people he knew as much as it was the possibility it could happen within Cheyenne Mountain. His drinking had tapered off as he settled into the facility, but after the reports around the world revealed a worsening situation, the brandy once again became his go-to stress reliever.
“Do you have a proposal for dealing with the overflow?” asked the President.
“We do,” General Gallagher responded. “My staff has identified several strategic facilities around the country that are critical to the protection of our nation now and the rebuilding effort in the future. If I may, I’ll use Colorado Springs and the Denver area as an example.”
The President leaned back and glanced in Morse’s direction. Morse nodded and smiled. He’d reviewed the Homeland Security proposal already and was on board with the concept.
General Gallagher continued. “Mr. President, pursuant to the National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order executed in March of 2012, the acting president became authorized to take such actions as deemed necessary to ensure the availability of resources for national defense requirements, especially in the event of a threat to the security of the country.
“This EO supplemented EO 12919 executed in June of ’94, which allowed the confiscation of real property assets of any citizen using your emergency powers. Using Colorado Springs as an example, we’ve identified two residential housing developments that meet the criteria my staff has established, all under the authority of these executive orders, of course.”
The President thumbed through the proposal. “Continue,” he gruffed.
“Just outside the Peterson Air Force Base Complex at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain, there is a gated community known as Star Ranch. The subdivision is secluded from other neighborhoods, has built-in natural boundaries, and significant perimeter security in the form of walls and gates. Under the existing executive orders in place, you have the authority to seize the homes for the government and make it an extension of Peterson, sir.”
“I see the images of the homes involved,” started President Garcia. “I’m sure your decision-making wasn’t clouded by the million-dollar average price tag.”
General Gallagher shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “No, Mr. President. Not at all. Proximity to an active military base is the first criteria. Secondly, it has to have existing perimeter security boundaries, whether in the form of gates, fencing, or natural boundaries like mountains, cliffs, or waterways. This aids in the speed of transition from residential to quasi-military housing.”
“Mr. President,” General Keef added, “you’ll see another community known as Cedar Heights that fits most of our criteria. The other, or I should say additional option, is the United States Air Force Academy here in Colorado Springs. Around the country, we’d include all military-based learning institutions that maintain dormitory-style housing. By law, they have an enhanced level of security already in place.”
“How do you propose to inform the residents that they have to leave?” asked Morse.
General Gallagher looked at General Keef. He wasn’t prepared to answer the question, or didn’t want to. Finally, General Keef spoke up.
“Sir, may I be blunt?” she asked. The President didn’t respond but simply waved his hands outward before clasping his fingers in front of him.
“The intended purpose behind th
ese safe zones is to save American lives, to be sure. However, we also need to rebuild America. Mr. President, I’m going to ask to speak freely, sir.”
“General, don’t beat around the bush. This is a crisis. We can’t worry about hurting people’s feelings.”
“To rebuild a nation, we’ll need leaders. Certainly, political leadership at the local and state level would be a start. The next level of essential personnel would come from the fields of medicine, law, engineering, computing, agriculture, and education.”
“I’d add defense, energy, and aerospace,” added General Gallagher.
“What are you saying? We kick people out of their homes to make way for those we deem better suited to help humanity survive this plague?” asked the President.
General Keef nodded. “Yes, Mr. President. We must quickly establish levels of safe zones from a top priority for military and law enforcement, followed by the future leaders of our nation based upon the major industries we’ve identified, and lastly those other personnel suggested by a government board established by Homeland Security with the approval of the Executive Branch.”
Morse added his thoughts. “Mr. President, we must make difficult decisions to have any hope of securing the future of our nation. This is as good as it gets.”
“And what do you do with the rest of the American citizens?” asked President Garcia.
General Gallagher responded, “Sir, those who are infected, or are believed to be infected, would fall under the Level 6 declaration. Those enforcement protocols would be accelerated. The rest of America will have to find a way to survive until the CDC finds a cure or the disease burns itself out.”
“In the meantime, we’ll have the comfort of knowing our society, and our nation, will have hope for the future,” added Morse.
The President sat calmly as he digested the advice of his top policy advisors. As President, he carried a heavy burden. When he’d campaigned hard and fought for this job, he was aware that the security and comfort of the American people rested squarely on his shoulders. He never envisioned having to separate Americans based upon their potential worth to society and, in the process, sentence the rest to a certain death.