They drove into the first hangar in a long line of hangars. Each could easily have accommodated a football field with room to spare on all sides.
“This base was once the maintenance base for all of the Air Force’s big cargo and transport planes. They’d send all their C-5s and C-141s here for overhaul and routine maintenance, so they needed plenty of covered floor space. For that reason, it was ideal for our use.”
They got off the cart and walked around the hangar. It was much brighter on the inside than Karen had ever imagined. And she was impressed by what she saw.
“As you can see,” the colonel began,” We’ve turned the hangar into what is, in essence, the world’s largest greenhouse. By cutting away huge sections of the steel roof and wall structure and replacing them with pieces of clear Plexiglas, we’ve been able to let in enough sunshine to grow any crop you can imagine, in very large quantities.”
Sure enough, row after row of planting boxes stretched as far as the eye could see. Each box was lush with vegetation.
“This hangar is where we grow our tomatoes and beans. Amy,” the colonel asked of a woman who happened by. “How many varieties are we currently growing?”
The woman beamed. She was obviously proud of her work and loved the occasional opportunity to brag about it.
“Right now, sir, we’ve got seven varieties of tomatoes, ranging from cherries to Romas to beefsteaks. Last time I checked, we had twenty seven varieties of beans, from limas to greens to black eyed peas and sweet peas. I can get an exact count for you if you need it.”
“No, thank you. A ballpark number is fine. You’re doing an outstanding job.”
“Thank you, colonel.”
Amy walked off to continue her work and the colonel went on.
“As you see, we’re making use of the airspace above the floor as well. It just didn’t seem smart to let it go to waste.”
As Frank and Karen watched, workers used ladders to carefully groom walls of vines which stretched up specially built walls sixteen feet into the air. The vegetables they plucked from the plants were placed into baskets which hung at strategic places from the rafters overhead, and were lowered by ropes whenever they were full.
Karen thought her own greenhouse at the compound was impressive. But this operation amazed her.
“Wow!” she said. “How much are you yielding from day to day?”
“The report I read yesterday said we’re averaging four hundred pounds of tomatoes and nine hundred pounds of assorted beans per day. Of course, that number has been steadily rising over the past few months. We’re still learning as we go, you see, and we keep learning how to do things better and smarter. We’d like to think we’ve got the brightest and best agronomists in the world on board, and each of them is bringing in their own ideas and experiences. We’re also experimenting with various fertilizers and pest control methods to determine which can provide the best yields and nutrients for our needs.”
“And this is enough to feed all the survivors in San Antonio?”
“Not by itself, no. But coupled with the produce we get from the other hangars, it makes a hell of a dent.
“Each of the hangars is used to grow different crops. For example, the one next door to this one is where we grow our squashes and berries. On the other side of that one, we grow varieties of rice and peppers. Then we have two hangars each devoted to wheat and to corn. Three more are designated for growing potatoes and carrots, and two others for lettuce and cabbages. Every one of the old hangars on the two airfields is now being used to grow something.
“We have an average of thirty one produce trucks that roll out of our gates daily. Each one has designated distribution points scattered around the city and every one of the neighboring counties.”
Karen asked, “What about the seeds?”
“We’ve got agronomists that visit the civilian leaders in each neighborhood. We send armed guards with them, but so far they’ve been pretty much left alone. The gangs all know that they’re there to help the bad guys as well as everybody else, so they haven’t been aggressive toward them.”
“And what do the agronomists do in the neighborhoods?”
“They work with the residents. As much food as we have, it’s still limited. For example, when a produce truck shows up on a particular street, it may be surrounded by a hundred survivors or more. So it usually has to ration things out. Say, four potatoes and a melon for every man, woman and child who shows up and stands in line.
“We know that won’t feed everybody until the next truck shows up a couple of days later, so the agronomists’ job is to work with the residents. To show them how to save the seeds and plant them. So that they can grow most of their own food, and just use ours to supplement their diets.”
“This is really something,” Frank observed.
Montgomery smiled like a possum.
“Just wait. You haven’t seen my pride and joy yet.”
Chapter 32
The group’s next stop was one of the largest hangars in the line. It was the second to last hangar, and still had the words “Air Force Logistics Command” painted in huge letters on its side.
The colonel led Frank and Karen inside, and Karen’s jaw dropped.
As far as the eye could see were row upon row of small tree saplings, in evenly spaced planter boxes. There were easily several thousand of them, tended to by workers scurrying about them. Watering, pruning, inspecting them.
Karen was simply speechless.
But Colonel Montgomery wasn’t.
“Now, I’m a man who likes oaks and sycamores just as much as the next guy,” he started. “But you won’t find any of them in here, no sir. Every tree in this facility grows something the citizens can eat.”
He walked down the end of the facility, pointing out the placards on each row: peaches, pecans, red apples, golden delicious apples, pears…
“We grow them from seeds, and hang onto them until they’re mature enough to survive the elements on their own. Depending on the type, that may be two years, or as many as four.
“Our first batch will be ready for transplant in a few months. We’ve already got teams of volunteers to spread them around the area, and to train people what to do with them.”
“What to do with them?”
“Yes. Our plan is to put them on trucks and drive around the neighborhoods. We will plant one tree per residence, and will let the resident choose the tree he wants, under certain conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“We will plant their tree for them, and will provide them with instructions on how to care for it. In exchange, they have to agree to care for the tree, and to save all the seeds from it. We’ll tell them to use the seeds to plant similar trees if they want more of them. Or to trade the seeds from their tree with a neighbor who may have a different type of tree. Or to just give them away to another neighbor who has no tree.
“We will tell them that under no circumstances are they to throw any of the seeds away. If nothing else, they are to save them and give them to one of our teams who will drive through periodically to check on the trees’ progress and give pointers to the growers.”
“We’ll continue to grow the trees here, of course. But the real growth potential lies in the neighborhoods themselves, as the neighbors begin to trade seeds with each other. One man may get a walnut tree, and the lady next door gets an apple tree and the lady down the block gets a peach tree. As their trees start to bear fruit and they start swapping seeds, the population of each species should spread through the area rather quickly.”
“So we can assume that the fruit and nut trees that were here before the freeze all perished?”
“For the most part. I’ve seen evidence of some of the trees coming back from the roots to grow new saplings, but they’re still in the early stages of development. Actually our saplings are doing much better than those in the wild, because we’re caring for them daily and providing the best fertilizer for them.
<
br /> “Let’s walk over to the tropical hangar. Then we’ll go get stinky.”
Frank and Karen looked at each other and Frank smiled. But neither asked what Montgomery meant.
The next hangar was unlike any of the others they’d been in thus far. It was essentially a huge greenhouse built within the hangar itself. The hangar had been modified as the others, but the second greenhouse raised the temperatures tremendously.
“This is like my greenhouse within a greenhouse,” Karen explained to Frank. “Only on a much larger scale.”
“That’s right,” Montgomery said. The temperatures in the inner structure rise to tropical temperatures, even in the wintertime. It’s roughly the equivalent of putting a second blanket on your bed. One blanket may keep you warm. But a second one will triple the temperature and keep you downright toasty.”
They walked into the inner structure to see the same long rows of tiny trees. Only these trees were different than the others.
These were lemons, limes, oranges and tangerines.
Montgomery continued with his presentation.
“A lot of people don’t know that the climate is mild enough in San Antonio to grow citrus. Our plan is to let these saplings grow a little bit bigger and then to spread them all over the city, just as the others. We’ve also got farmers who are preparing their own orchards, and will soon be producing enough citrus to feed everyone within a thousand miles in any direction.”
Frank smiled.
“San Antonio, the new citrus capitol of the United States. Who’d have ever thought?”
Montgomery continued.
“You can’t see them from here, but we’ve also got pineapples growing over there in the corner. Our experts are trying to develop mango, kiwi and banana plants that are hearty enough to put out massive amounts of fruit in the area climate. They’re showing a lot of promise for the future.
“Any questions?”
“No. But I have to say I’m quite impressed.”
“I can’t take any credit. All of our scientists and technicians come from the civilian sector. All we’ve done is find them and give them a secure place to practice their trades. Then we just turned them loose and let them do their thing.”
He led them back to the golf cart and headed west, across what used to be one of the busiest active runways in south Texas.
“We put our other facility on the far side of the runway so it was a bit isolated from the base population. You’ll understand why in a minute.”
Karen sniffed the air.
“I can tell already.”
“The prevailing winds blow from the west, and usually carry most of the smells away from the base. But sometimes Mother Nature likes to turn the tables on us.”
Frank let out a slow whistle as the facility came into view.
“That’s got to be the biggest stockyard I’ve ever seen.”
“As far as I know, it’s the biggest one in north America. The livestock you good people contributed to the cause are mixed in there somewhere. Or at least their offspring are.”
Frank and Karen looked out at a sea of cattle and pigs. There were thousands of them, in vast pens in the open air.
“The poor things look awfully crowded in there, packed in the way they are.”
“Tomorrow’s cull day,” Montgomery said. Their ear tags will be checked and the oldest ten percent of them will be sent off to slaughter. That’ll give them a bit more space.”
Karen winced.
Montgomery noticed.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I shouldn’t have been so insensitive. Sometimes I’m more blunt than I should be. It’s just that I have a hard time seeing the animals as anything but food. And my job isn’t to feel sorry for them or make them comfortable. My job is to raise as many as I can as fast as I can, so we can stop the dying of people. They, not the livestock, are my concern.”
“How, exactly, are you ‘raising as many as you can as fast as you can?’”
It was hard not to notice the acid in her voice.
This time the colonel was truly contrite.
“And once again, I stuck my oversized foot into my mouth. Luckily my mouth is more than large enough to accommodate it.
“I apologize to you, ma’am. I guess I’m hardened from watching people starve to death. Especially the children. Those are the ones that hit you the hardest. Wasted away to skin and bones. It does something to you, and you wind up swearing to God almighty that you’ll do whatever it takes to stop the suffering.
“As God is my witness, I am not blind to the plight of the animals. We do all that we can to make sure their passing is quick and painless. And that they are well cared for while alive. If they don’t have the best accommodations while they await their fate, then I apologize for that. But let’s keep the end goal in mind, shall we? The whole purpose in their being here is to provide nourishment for the survivors.”
Karen softened. She knew the colonel was in a difficult position.
“I know, colonel. It’s just that… well, they give their all for us. The least we can do is let them lead comfortable lives until it’s time for… you know…”
“Yes, ma’am. I agree wholeheartedly. We have the highest quality veterinarians on staff to make sure they are healthy. The sick and injured are removed from the herd and are nursed back to health whenever feasible. Mothers are left with their babies until the babies are six months old. When their time comes it is quick and painless and they never see it coming. It’s not the best of circumstances. But it’s the very best we can do.”
Karen repeated her question. “What did you mean, ‘as many as you can, as fast as you can?’”
“I simply mean that we don’t wait for nature and romance to take their respective courses. We have the country’s best vets and animal husbandry experts on staff, under the direct supervision of Beverly Silva. Once the vet gives a cow or a sow a clean bill of health and a green light, she is artificially inseminated. This reduces the time the animal is not carrying an offspring, and greatly speeds the growth of the herds.”
Karen said, “Beverly Silva, the former head of PETA?”
“Yes, ma’am. The one and the same. She was so concerned about our treatment of the animals we asked her to join us. To make sure we did it right.
“Trust me. She makes sure we do whatever we can to treat the animals as humanely as possible.”
Karen finally gave in and accepted the colonel at his word.
On the way back to the compound, she thanked him for his patience.
“No thanks are needed, ma’am. I’m an animal lover myself.”
He could have stopped there but pushed his luck. Perhaps it was the daredevil in him.
“…I especially love animals when they’re part of a hamburger or laid out on a plate of scrambled eggs…”
Frank winced and expected the worst.
But Karen got the joke and laughed.
It could have ended much worse.
Chapter 33
“But Glenna, that’s not true. Don’t you dare say such a thing.”
“It is true. I’m damaged goods now, and I’m all used up. I’m beyond the point where any man would want me.”
Hannah wasn’t buying it.
“Why do you feel that way? You’re a beautiful woman. I know you’ve been through a lot. But you’re still young, and I know you can make a man very happy again. Don’t stop living just because of what Castillo and those other animals did to you. If you let them rob you of your dignity and self respect, then you’ve let them win. And they don’t deserve to take any more from you than they already have.”
“Hannah, you just don’t understand.”
“Then explain it to me. Because you’re right. I don’t understand.”
Glenna drew a deep breath, then chose her words carefully.
“Most of the time they had Steve handcuffed to a chair. In the early days he’d struggle to get free every time they would rape me. He had fire in his eyes and wanted t
o get loose so he could grab them and drag them off of me. They’d beat him bloody, until he’d lose consciousness. Then they’d have their way with me.
“After awhile they tried a different tactic. Instead of beating Steve when he resisted, they beat me instead. That only happened a time or two until Steve stopped resisting. He didn’t mind being beaten into unconsciousness, but he couldn’t stand to see me beaten. So instead of resisting, he sat there, forced to watch.
“Castillo, for some reason, seemed to take great delight in making Steve watch. Sometimes he’d invite a dozen or more of his friends over, and they’d take turns with me, forcing me to do all kinds of despicable things to them, and raping me one after the other for hours, until all of them dropped or quit from sheer exhaustion. Every time they caught Steve looking away, they’d threaten to bloody my nose, or break my jaw. I don’t know why they liked for him to watch, unless it gave them a sense of power over him. Maybe they wanted to show him at every turn that they controlled not only his destiny, but his whole family’s as well.
“For a long time, Steve and I both cried through the whole ordeal. But then one day there were just no more tears to be let. We just endured it, he in his chair and me on the bed, three or four nights a week. I think we just learned to escape to a different place.
“The worst part, of course, was when Castillo brought the children into the room. God only knows how those nights will affect them the rest of their lives. I’ve noticed that they are both afraid of the men in your compound, no matter how good and kind your men are. I hope they don’t have a lifelong fear of men.”
“I know that you’ve been through hell, Glenna. And I know it will take the wounds a long time to heal. But I guess I’m having trouble understanding why you say you’re damaged goods. There are good men out there who will treat you right, and can help you heal. Why do you think that they wouldn’t want you?”
“Oh, Hannah. There’s more to the story. There was one night that Castillo and his bunch decided to turn the tables on us. It was a couple of nights before Christmas the year before last, and Castillo said he was in a generous mood.
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