Outland (World-Lines Book 1)

by Taylor, Dennis

  Suzie looked at him with one raised eyebrow. “Say, are you sure you’re not secretly enrolled in pol-sci?”

  Frankie laughed. “No, but my boyfriend Darren is. Even a picture of an argument will set him off! Sometimes despite myself I actually listen to him.”

  The discussion continued for some time. No one was sleepy nor was the environment conducive to relaxing. It was a long time before Suzie was able to get to sleep, and she woke up surprised that she had done so.

  Reactions

  The ash had been falling for hours now. Within about five hundred miles of the eruption, it was more than two feet deep and was showing no signs of abating. Buildings with flat or gently sloped roofs had almost all collapsed, usually killing any occupants. Anyone who by chance survived the collapse would have died within minutes of suffocation since the collapse would saturate the air with both coarse and fine ash. Cloth would not be at all adequate to filter it out.

  Buildings with more sloped roofs fared somewhat better. However the ash sliding off to the sides built up quickly. Unlike snow, it didn’t compress at all. Many people escaped a crushing death only to find themselves buried alive.

  For many people, the accumulation of significant ash-fall had been a major wake-up call. The number of vehicles heading out of town jumped by a factor of ten. An influx of cars several times higher than the worst rush-hour crush that city planners had ever conceived brought the roads to complete gridlock. Attempts by drivers to go around the mess by unconventional driving were stymied by other drivers trying to go around them. Soon the sidewalks, parks, roads, and even lanes heading the opposite way were as gridlocked as the rest. Those with vehicles modified for off-road driving fared somewhat better by going cross-country.

  At this point, many people abandoned their vehicles. Some intended to try to catch a ride with those who were still moving; others intended to trade places at the point of a gun. Yet others tried to take shelter in the closest standing structures. In all cases, the current occupants resisted strenuously.

  The Last Leg

  The next morning dawned with no casualties, but the campers had gotten very little sleep. Between the shots fired early in the night, and the sound of scavengers loudly arguing over the fallen, or just the general sound level, many people had been unable to close their eyes. Very few had gotten anything near to their desired eight hours. So it was a cold, tired, sore, and damp group of people who slowly stood up on the first morning in Outland to discover the first of many new realities: no coffee.

  At this revelation, there was a near-mutiny. Add a cold, scary, sleepless night and no breakfast, and many people expressed regret for having come across.

  On hearing the complaints, Erin ordered Richard and Kevin to turn on the gate.

  As the gate opened, a cloud of dust puffed through the opening and what looked like cigarette ash fell through. Looking through the gate, people could see a blanket of ash over two feet deep. Buildings were covered in it. At least one building within sight had collapsed. Everything had a uniform gray-brown color.

  Erin took a deep breath. “I’ve explained about ash-induced diseases. I won’t bore you with that again. I’ve explained about ash-induced building collapses, power-grid collapses, equipment failures, and shortened growing seasons. This isn’t theory. It’s happening now. Anyone can go back if they want, but they’d be a total fool.

  “And this rescue isn’t being run by some far-off government body. It’s us, all of us. Anyone who has any ideas to improve things in any way, we would love to hear it. We’re all working this out as we go along.

  “Now, you want to go back? Here’s your chance.” And she motioned at the gate. There was a lot of motion as people took the opportunity to get a look, but no one accepted the offer.

  After that, people seemed far less inclined to complain. Her statements about not having any special knowledge or experience in this situation had given people a lift.

  Someone yelled out, “So where are we going?”

  Erin replied, “We have a stockpile that we moved from a warehouse downtown to this side. It’s about a forty-five minute walk from the university. It’ll be the same distance here, but with no sidewalks it’ll take a little longer.”

  “Can we go back once the ash stops?”

  “Sure, as long as you don’t need to eat. Or drink water. The other side is toast, people. There will be no clean water. There will be no electricity. There will be no food deliveries. Of course I could be wrong, and anyone is welcome at any time to go across and check it out. In fact, we’ll probably develop a system of popping across and scavenging. But understand this please: this side is paradise, compared to what used to be home.”

  “I’m not a cat person anymore!” someone yelled from the back. That got general laughs.

  “Is there coffee at the other camp?” from someone else.

  Erin replied, “There’d better goddam be, or I’m going to lose it.”

  That drew more laughter from the crowd, and someone else yelled, “Which way?”

  Erin signaled Kevin and Richard to turn off the gate. Crisis averted. She consulted the map, her compass, and pointed. Fred and Anson chivvied everyone into groups and organized outriders to guard the procession.

  “So what about the cattle drive?” Richard asked Erin, while things were getting organized.

  “It’s about a mile from us, and they’ll be a while getting over here,” Erin replied. “When they do, they’ll just follow the mess we’re making as we travel.”

  Richard looked around and grinned. “Yeah, couple hundred people sure leave a trail.”

  Erin smiled. “They’ll likely be a half-day behind us by the time we get to the warehouse camp. For all that the aggie students know about horses and cattle, I doubt if any of them has ever done an actual cattle drive. Pretty sure if Bill were here, he could come up with a lot of material…”

  “Then let’s consider ourselves lucky he’s not here.” Richard rolled his eyes.

  Erin grinned back, and they joined the march.

  Getting Up

  Bill and Monica woke up at 6 a.m. to a new day, one filled with noisy neighbors who apparently had no concept of sleeping in.

  “I goddam hate nature,” Monica muttered. “Pave it all over, I say!”

  Bill smiled weakly. He’d hadn’t slept as well as expected. Having Monica right there all night with no one else around had strained his self-control to the limit.

  “I don’t suppose that ginormous coffee maker of yours will work without electricity?” Monica asked.

  “No, although we have generators somewhere in this disaster,” Bill answered, sweeping his arm to take in the whole shed. “However, I present for your approval two important items: a Coleman stove—” Bill pointed to a pallet. “—and a camping-style coffee maker.” He pointed a little to the left of the stove. “No need to use a backhoe for a spade-sized task.”

  Monica’s eyes grew rounder. “I knew there was a reason I decided not to kill you!” She hugged him, making Bill’s IQ drop by half, and went over to dig out the stove and coffee maker.

  It took only a few minutes to move the required equipment out of the shed to the fenced-off area. Bill brought out a couple of folding tables, and they proceeded to brew that all-important first cup.

  In The News

  Three known survivalist strongholds, one in Nevada and two in Utah, have declared independence from the USA. They have published an ultimatum to all military and law enforcement to leave their respective states within twenty-four hours or be declared outlaw. It is not clear if the two groups in Utah are working in cooperation or competition.

  ---

  OPEC has announced that all oil shipments from OPEC nations will be temporarily suspended pending clarification of the situation.

  ---

  In more local news, there have been eight more instances of individuals or small groups going on murderous rampages. In one case, forty-two people were killed before law enforce
ment cornered the suspects, who reacted by killing themselves with an explosive device. In all such cases, the suspects have committed or attempted to commit suicide.

  ---

  White House officials have released a statement in response to Dr. Kensington’s earlier comments about the eruption. In it, they deny the stated severity of the event, and refer to Dr. Kensington’s statements as premature and ill-advised.

  “This is not the end of the world. This is a volcano. We went through something similar with the Iceland volcanic eruption of 2010. There were disruptions. There were inconveniences. But we’re still here.”

  Dr. Kensington could not be reached for comment, and his office states that he is ‘currently on leave’.

  Cattle Drive

  Matt and Dick looked the situation over.

  “Looks like we lost two—a cow and calf,” Dick said. “They must have panicked and run off. I’m pretty sure we didn’t let anything get close enough to take them down.”

  They looked out over the scene. They still had sixteen head of cattle, including four calves. There were also a dozen sheep. The horses had been tied up in their own group. All of this menagerie had been gathered into as small an area as possible.

  They’d found whatever they could that would burn and brought it across, but they only had fuel enough to keep one fire going all night. To keep the predators at bay, they had erected construction spotlights on telescoping stands that ran off the biggest generator. Outland nightlife didn’t like blindingly bright halogen lights, so harassment had been minimal.

  Dick continued his report. “The pigs are long gone by now. We can only hope they’re still in one piece. They’ll stay in the general area, so if and when we’re ready to, we can just come and get them.”

  “Greased pig roundup! Woot!” one of the other students said, waving his fist in the air. A couple of others laughed.

  Matt shuddered. I don’t see how that’s fun.

  They looked over to the pickup, which was half-full of cages stacked as high as could be managed, filled with unhappy chickens. The rest of the pickup contained the portal hardware, which Matt had refused to even consider leaving behind.

  A couple of students were getting the horses ready for the cattle drive. Dick chuckled. “Sixteen head of cattle. Yeah, we’re real cowpokes all right. This should be pretty funny.”

  “Funnier than trying to get them through the gate last night?”

  “Oh, much. So many more opportunities on a cattle drive. Haven’t you ever seen City Slickers?”

  Matt gave Dick the hairy eyeball. “That isn’t a habit, is it?”

  Dick just grinned.

  Eventually they got everybody organized. All the riders mounted up, and four people crowded into the pickup with Matt.

  Dick turned around on his horse, waved his hand in the air, yelled “Head ’em up and move ’em out!” and pointed.

  “Another one. Great,” Matt muttered. “Richard will have a shit.”

  Aftermath

  As the ash falls and accumulates, it will kill all vegetation beneath it. Pasture grasses and crops begin to die, as do the microorganisms in the soil.

  Domestic livestock and wild fauna within 1500 kilometers will die from starvation or respiratory illness.

  Freshly fallen ash floats, and it absorbs water in the same way as sand, leaving little for animals, clogging up streams and rivers. Ash blocks sewers and pipes, further destroying infrastructure. Water supply and sewer systems are quickly overwhelmed and break down.

  The Mississippi River, the Columbia River, the Sacramento River, and all other major North American waterways will become semi-solid sludge as the ash washes downstream, making them useless for transportation. With water, air, rail and road transportation all unusable or destroyed, the infrastructure of society will begin to break down.

  Urban centers rarely contain more than three days food at any time. Hoarding, looting, and destruction of supplies from collapsing buildings will shrink that estimate considerably.

  Arrival

  The hike was going slowly. Not everyone was a born hiker, and many of the students were wearing unsuitable shoes. A couple of dozen people were injured and had to be helped—or even carried.

  Over the course of the march, people tended to spread out more as the faster walkers outpaced the slower. Fred and Anson had to stop the front group every once in a while to let the slower walkers catch up, explaining that they didn’t have enough guards to cover such a long parade. Fred also made a point of getting the fastest walkers to help with the wounded and injured, since they seemed to have the most energy to spare.

  By nature, university students tended to be optimistic and upbeat, which already showed. Many of them seemed to be treating this as a nature outing. Some were taking selfies and pictures of the animals with their phones. A couple of people had actually tried to send texts, forgetting the complete lack of service on this side. Those incidents got good laughs, at the expense of the forgetful.

  ***

  Erin talked with a couple of students as they walked.

  “Can’t believe the climate over here,” one said. “Wetter, cooler, actual trees, and what are those things sticking up everywhere? Hills? Nebraska doesn’t have hills. Or trees, come to that.”

  Erin smiled. While he might have been exaggerating, it wasn’t by much.

  “Different recent geological history,” she replied. “No humans, an extra volcano or two… I’m a little surprised too. I wish Professor Collins were here.”

  A girl that had been walking along with them said, “His assistant is.”

  Oh, shit. “Jenson?”

  “That’s right.”

  Erin rolled her eyes. Yep. Bill was right. God is a B-movie director.

  A flock of birds took off in the distance. People were still not used to the amount of wildlife on this side, and a flock of birds darkening half the sky made many stop and watch in awe. Almost as impressive was the sheer variety of wildlife. Half the species they encountered had never been seen by human beings, while more had been obliterated soon after encountering humans on Earthside.

  Closer to the procession, herds of deer jockeyed for grazing position with moose, elk, and less recognizable animals. They could see some mammoths and one large cat at a distance. A pair of giant sloths a bit closer fascinated the hikers, as they were unlike anything they had ever seen on Earthside— certainly nothing like their small lethargic South American cousin, as seen on National Geographic specials. People did, however, heed Erin’s warning to stay away and to try not to appear aggressive.

  At one point, Erin listened in on an argument that a couple of people were having about the portals.

  “They should be handing this technology over to the government. At least they would be able to use it nationally to save a lot of lives.”

  “How exactly?”

  “How, what? Handing it over, or using it nationally?”

  “Both! Do you have a phone number handy? 1-800-SAVE-USA? Maybe the Department of Useful Inventions for Saving the Day? Does the word bureaucracy ring a bell? If you wanted to hand over something like this, I bet it would take months of argument just to get to talk to someone who would understand you. And then, before they can use it to save lots of people, they’d have to build a bunch of portals. How? Area 51? Maybe using the alien duplicating machine?”

  “Well there’s no need to get sarcastic.”

  “Actually, there kind of is. Sometimes mockery is the only way to get people to think about what they’re saying. And by the way, what makes you think there’ll even be a government in a week? This isn’t Mt. St. Helens. This is the stuff that ends civilization.”

  “Oh, you’re exaggerating.”

  …and so on. Erin had to bite her tongue to keep from chiming in. She agreed with the pessimist, but she felt the argument was moot at this point.

  Kevin meanwhile kept the warehouse camp updated on the hikers’ progress via walkie-talkie. Matt gave updates
on the status of the cattle drive, which was ahead of schedule and might even catch up with the hikers by the time they reached the warehouse camp.

  Erin found Fred and Anson, who were on perimeter guard duty. “Hey guys. Holding up okay?”

  Fred grinned. He and Anson had stayed up almost all night, each taking only a single two-hour break.

  “Pffft,” Fred said. “We did any number of double and triple shifts when we were still working. This was a piece of cake, right?” He looked over to Anson, who nodded in reply.

  Erin put on her best casual tone. “I was wondering, while you were still on the force, did you ever run into an Andrew Petrelli?”

  “Petrelli? Andy Petrelli?” Fred and Anson both burst into laughter. “Andy Peters you mean. If that guy’s Italian, I’m Peter Panini. He’s from Portland, darlin’. Moved here after he lost an argument with some hippies or something. Had some luck and found himself a niche. He’s always fancied himself a mobster, but he’s just small stuff. Him and those other two, the big dumb one and the black guy.”

  Fred shook his head. “I kind of liked Charles Eaton. He didn’t really enjoy what he was doing, but was too good for a day job, if you know what I mean. That Bluto, though. Trevor Pavoni. The only real Italian in the bunch. Dumber than a bag of hammers. All he wanted to do was break things. Nasty bastard. So, why do you ask? You meet them at some point?”

  “You might say that.” Erin told Fred and Anson about the confrontation at the warehouse. She left out nothing, and didn’t try to excuse their actions, or their half-assed rescue attempt after the fact.

  Both men laughed at the end of the story. “Serves them right,” said Anson. “They should have stuck to pushing around the lowlifes they’re used to dealing with.”

  Fred added, “I wouldn’t worry too much. No one will miss them. Worst you’d ever get is some variation on failing to report criminal activity or something, and only if the cops were really bored.”