by G. R. Carter
Any enthusiasm for the experience quickly drained from Sam as the floor shook and then plunged. Just as quickly, it came back up to meet them and then Alex felt himself forced by gravity to the floor. He closed his eyes and began his prayers to calm already frazzled nerves. As quickly as it began it was over and once again the subtle hum of the engines returned as the craft leveled out. A series of short inquiries to health and wellbeing amongst the group ended as Tony marched to the control room to get the scope of damage to his fleet. He was joined by a slightly limping Nicole with a murderous look on her face.
The other three returned to the windows in time to watch the flames march toward the thirty-story tall Pinnacle hotel that towered above the rest of the city’s downtown. The flames seemed to wash over and consume everything, leaving barely a stick to smolder in its wake.
Aldo Pavoni’s Personal Quarters
Continuity Chamber
Pinnacle Hotel
Aldo Pavoni sat in a circle made up of his closest advisors. Most made the original trip with him from St. Louis to begin his mission mentoring the GangStars on their Path to Continuity. He sat as the group hummed together and he meditated a picture of renewal in his mind. He had received no guided Progressions from his mentors in St. Louis since the Reset. Fortunately he was experienced enough to design some for himself and to lead others through ones he already completed. He needed their energy now as he searched for a way to rebuild what Malik Masen had so foolishly thrown away. Not only did they lose an army of crazed fanatics they spent years creating, but now the Red Hawks and their ARK allies knew precisely the threat the GangStars posed.
His intelligence fingered ARK for the ones who destroyed Pavoni’s mentors at the dawn of darkness, or what most called “the Great Reset.” He wanted to settle that score, and more importantly, reclaim the headquarters for Continuity’s Midwestern mecca. He pictured in his mind the great temple to his faith he would build just below the still-majestic Gateway Arch. MK Consultants once showed Pavoni a set of plans for building a multi-story temple they hoped to build on the grounds someday. The entire structure would provide a circle of power just like the one he sat in now.
The Continuity Circle was on every door and wall here on the sixth floor of the old downtown Pinnacle Hotel. Occasionally they would make the trip to the very top for some amazing views. But the lack of elevators to carry them three hundred feet in the air left that as an occasional treat. Instead Pavoni had the entire fifth and sixth floors converted to both his personal living quarters and the meditation retreat for everyone in the GangStar inner circle. The interior chamber was windowless to prevent distractions to their meditation.
Pavoni searched his mind for a path to lead him to his ultimate goal. Once he reclaimed St. Louis and got his hands on ARK’s super computer, he could spark Grapevine’s Awakening, ushering in the golden age promised by his faith.
First, though, he had to figure out how to fix Malik’s mistake. ARK would make their move sooner or later and he had to be ready to either preempt it or counter their efforts. He’d gather any survivors from their failed attack on the Red Hawk capital. Most of his hardcore followers died on the walls of that fortress. And the ones easily influenced by his last supply of Syn threw their so-called lives away trying to get in past the Shelbyville gates after the truck bomb went off. He still wasn’t sure what kept that from working. Something prevented the gates from opening all the way, leaving his attackers a narrow opening to try and get through. That along with ARK’s arrival snatched defeat from the jaws of their victory.
He told Malik not to trust Walsh and his vision of a rebuilt America. More importantly, he assured him that the whole thing was too complicated an operation to pull off in a world with essentially no communications. Besides, Walsh seemed to be utterly faithless, meaning the influence of Continuity would be lost on him. Why foster a relationship with a man who couldn’t see the path to enlightenment?
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the chamber doors being thrust open. His advisors gasped at the intrusion, and Pavoni jumped up in a rage. Everyone in the building knew never to disturb him when he was in here. Before his eyes could adjust to the light, he heard screaming from all around the adjoining hallway. Rushing out he found his followers pressed up against the glass windows, watching as the largest fire he ever seen made its way towards them.
“Up! Everyone up the stairs!” he shouted as he headed for the emergency staircase. Pushing his way through, he flung open the heavy steel doors and began leaping the concrete stairs two at a time. He could hear others trying to make it into the opening, trampling each other in the panic that his own words created. Fatigue set in quickly. He had admittedly let his physical training slide a bit recently. An oversight he would never let happen again if he made it out of this jam. Huffing and puffing, he watched the number cards climb…Floor 7, Floor 8. He wondered how much time he had and how high the flames might reach.
Suddenly the thought came to him that he was going the wrong way. If the building caught on fire he would be trapped above the flames. The realization that he could have made it to the basement below the fire struck him like a hammer. Pavoni froze on the tenth floor landing, trying to decide what to do. The herd of fleeing people he set into stampede quickly overwhelmed him. He sat wondering what went wrong as one set of feet after another stepped on his body.
*****
“Will that thing burn?” Sam asked as the firestorm reached the base of the tallest building between ARK’s headquarters and the ghostly shattered skyscrapers of Old Chicago.
“It seems like just concrete and glass…maybe inside?” Uncle Jack replied.
Just as the words came out, the flames reached the building's cylindrical base and wrapped around. The group collectively gasped as windows exploded outwardly and then fingers of flames seemed to reach into the building itself. In the concrete and steel of the inner core of the city the fire wall dissipated, replaced by each building exploding into its own separate pyre.
The candle-shaped tower in the center of town was consumed one floor at a time, gaining a bit of speed as it climbed. Nicole gasped and Alex glanced just in time to see someone jump from a damaged window. The figure tumbled down towards the smoldering street below, choosing sudden impact over the fire’s advance.
“I don’t want to watch this anymore,” Alex said somberly.
Tony simply nodded and walked once more to the pilot’s station. In just a moment, Alex could feel the skyship shift and point its nose toward the southeast and home.
What just a couple of hours before had been a nest of vipers now seemed much more human and tragic to him. He suspected the whole group felt the same way. There weren’t many people left in this part of the world. Good or bad, Alex now felt responsible for making that number smaller today.
“Sam, we have to have those elections. For the House of Neighbors. We have to get some sort of assembly to be able to keep the Founder’s Chair from being too powerful,” Alex said to his brother.
“Why did that pop into your head? Why now?” Sam replied.
“We’re getting better at killing people every day. Now we’re beginning to spread out again and grant people title and status based on how much land they have. That’s how our Republic’s built. But it can’t just be me with the final word,” Alex sighed. His head was pounding again. Sam noticed his pain and reached for the bottle of precious pre-Reset ibuprofen he kept for just such a situation. Alex sat down and closed his uncovered eye for a moment.
“You and I may think we make the best decisions for everyone. Maybe we do. But what happens if one of our kids is a screw-up? Give him or her the power of these skyships, or the Raptors, or our Razorbacks, and what could they do with them?” Alex asked with a shudder. He continued as Sam looked on: “We criticize Walsh for running a dictatorship. Same with Hopkins in Vincennes.”
“And us, too,” Tony said as he joined the conversation. “We’re feudal, I know that now. Nicole’s b
een giving me some reading material and suddenly I’m feeling very squeamish about what we’ve created.”
“We’ve all done what we needed to do to keep people alive, Tony,” Alex said, suddenly thrust back into being the voice of reason. “But maybe now that we don’t face starvation every day we can worry about some big-picture kind of things.”
“I will admit I’ve been thinking a lot more about what happens to ARK after I’m gone. Almost losing you made me think about who takes over. Nicole should, but I’m not sure she’d want to. Uncle Jack won’t. Who does that leave, Cousin Bobby? My sister? I love them both and they’re a huge part of ARK. But are they cut out to be Premier? I’m not sure I’m cut out to be Premier!” Tony laughed.
Alex simply nodded. “My dad’s dream was a true republic. We call our nation that, but is it really? How do we get there?”
Sam stood up. “Right now, big brother, you are the Republic. And if I don’t get you some rest, the only person more powerful than you is going to blame me. I’m not scared of you, but I am scared of her. Come on, let’s get you laid down for a while.”
Alex rose to his feet and glanced back at Tony. “The people, my friend. We have to protect our people from rulers who think they have all the answers just because they have all the titles.”
Tony watched with concern as Alex shuffled wearily to the doorway leading to the staterooms. As he did, Nicole walked up beside him and took his hand.
“It’s time,” she said.
“For what?”
“To start thinking about not just ARK but our personal future, too. All three of us,” she said as she moved his hand to her belly.
Appalachia
For the first time in a week Lamar allowed a small camp fire. Like they had every night, he split the 68 men and women of the Congregation’s newest exodus into smaller groups, scattered just far enough away that one well aimed blast couldn’t take them all out at once.
The ridge they selected for shelter jutted out just enough to provide an overhang for each group, and small fires were warming the stone wall as campfire coffee boiled over the coals. It had been two days since they last heard buzzing and three since anyone had a caught a glimpse of the drone trailing them. Lamar had decided it was worth the risk of camp fires to raise group morale.
Pina was huddled under a blanket, radiating misery and near despair. Lamar had kept her and General Ferguson separated since they left the safety of the Congregation hideout. He wasn’t sure how many miles they had trekked so far, but he was confident it was further than the government bureaucrat had ever walked in her life.
“They gave up on us,” Pina mumbled staring into the little fire.
“Why do you say that?” Lamar asked. He had been waiting for this moment to start pressing for more information. Once there was no hope of rescue from her own people, human nature would force her to start searching for new allies.
“You’re a smart guy. If you thought they were still following us, you wouldn’t have allowed the fire.”
“I’m impressed. We’ll make a woodsman out of you yet,” Lamar joked.
“So you’re not going to kill us?” Pina asked.
Lamar was taken back by the question, surprised by the tone and words. “Of course not. Why would you ask that?”
“We’re not worth anything as human shields anymore. I just figured that made me a liability instead of an asset.”
“Pina, what do we have to do to prove to you that we’re not like that?” Lamar pleaded. He found himself actually liking her, and did feel a little sorry for her being in this situation. It wounded his soul a bit that she assumed he was capable of killing a hostage.
“You could let me go,” she said hopefully, finally looking up at Lamar.
“Is that really what you want? For us to set you lose out here in the woods by yourself? I said we would make a woodsman out of you, I’d say that’s gonna take a while,” he chuckled.
“Just assume a pretty little lady can’t make it on her own, mister big tough super man?” she said sarcastically.
“I’m pretty sure you met my mother. Is that how you think I was raised?” Silence fell as Pina watched sadness crease Lamar’s face. He was still in pain from the thought of leaving his mother behind.
None of this seemed real yet. He felt as though this was just an extended hunting trip. But there was no way to go back now. The Cogs may not be looking for them anymore this far out, but he had no doubt they’d be sitting and watching the camp for a long time. Whoever was in charge would assume that eventually they’d have to come back.
“You think she’s okay,” Pina asked Lamar.
“Yes I do. The Elders had this planned ever since we moved into the caves. They put up enough supplies to last an entire year for all of us. They won’t get bored and restless like the rest of us, try to make a move outside before they should. They’ve got their Bibles and other books, games and they can tell stories for days at a time. We just have to keep your Cogs away from there as much as possible,” Lamar told her.
“Think that will work?”
Lamar shrugged. “After our exodus - that’s what we call it when we fled the District – we formed close ties to the people of the small towns along the foot of the mountains. The first year or two were peaceful as we adjusted to new lives in a natural world. No one knew why the electricity and all communications disappeared, but there hadn’t been much time to speculate. Hours of endless toil yielded us a hard won harvest. Hunting parties spent days or even weeks at a time in the forest to bring back game.
“Against the urging of the Congregation, many of the townsfolk decided to make the journey into the city after the harshness of the first winter lifted into spring. Living without government rations or a steady supply of heat was a hard life. Suicide claimed some during that first winter, lack of medicine claimed others.
“We realized the human brain had morphed into a fly trapped in a jar, never able to rest and in constant motion. An endless stream of entertainment and information and medication fed the fly like sugar keeping everyone restless and always looking for the next rush. In one night, that sugar was cut off and multiple generations of electron junkies went cold turkey. Many couldn’t make the transition from a constant buzz to the new deafening quiet.
“Even some of the Congregation fell prey to the idea that it might be better back in the District. Ma quoted Bible passages to them, relating our situation to the Israelites. Even after all the miracles God gave them, the Jewish people were weak and afraid. Just like our folk got after a while. She convinced most to stay, but a fair number joined townsfolk one spring day to begin the walk towards the assumed safety of civilization. But none were ever heard from again,” Lamar told her.
“I’m surprised we, I mean the Federals, didn’t send out some patrols to locate people. We did a lot of rescuing communities like that,” Pina told him.
“Oh yeah, if you want to call it rescuing,” Lamar spit out. “Motorized patrols flying American flags made their way into the surrounding towns not long after that. Many townspeople hailed the sight of American soldiers with delight, disregarding the warnings of the Congregation to be wary of the uniforms and the intentions of those who wore them. The lure of the flag and the promise of order proved irresistible. Soon one town after another ceded their governance to the troops, until all that was left were folk who joined the Congregation in the mountains.
“Stragglers from the towns reported that the young people, male and female, had been bussed under gunpoint to join the Cogs in the capital. Soon all that was left in the towns were the weakest of the survivors, forced to live on shorter and less frequent rations. The Congregation did what they could to help, sneaking in food under the cover of darkness. But hard decisions had to be made about risking lives and protecting resources.
“Anyway we lived in fear each day of another Cog invasion up into the mountains, but none ever came. In fact, the last couple of years we’ve seen fewer and fewer patro
ls out our way. Then all those trucks started heading south,” Lamar concluded.
“So we’re really not going back?” Pina asked, desperate now to change the subject.
“No. Can’t now. We’re committed.”
“Committed to where?” Pina asked with a sweet smile.
Lamar laughed at her and grabbed the coffee pot. He poured a cup for her, then filled his own. He laughed again as her face twisted at the taste of the hot liquid. “Not used to campfire coffee in the Federal Zone?”
“What is in this crap?” she asked.
“That, Miss Pina, is just as much a secret as where we’re headed,” Lamar answered.
A loud wale of an air horn pierced the chilly night air. “Fires out!” Lamar shouted. Dirt kicked on to the coals as everyone grabbed their weapons and scrambled to shallow fox holes set out around the camps. The air horn was a warning from one of the outlier scouts, and wouldn’t have been used without a very good reason.
Automatic gun fire ripped through the night, pulling Lamar’s attention nearly straight out from his position. That’s not one of ours Lamar thought, subconsciously taking inventory of the weapons his scouts carried.
Another rifle fired from the group to his right, nearly giving them all night blindness from the flash. “Hold your fire!” came an order before Lamar could get the words out himself. Each of the smaller groups were led by a veteran of the Congregation’s scout training. Firing blind in the dark simply gave away your own position, and concealment might be the only thing saving them right now. Besides, their own people were out there, too.
Roy slid to a stop beside Lamar; respect swirled with irritation that he hadn’t heard the man coming. “Scarecrows on the wire,” he said, half shouting half whispering.