The Aftermath

by Gary Chesla

  “OK,” Fran smiled. “That sounds good.”

  As the helicopter landed in the yard beside the farmhouse, Abbey and Fran came out of the house.

  Snoop’s head was sticking out of the pouch as he strained to see what all the commotion was about.

  Fran reached out and took Abbey’s hand, the girls looked at each other and smiled, then the girls made their way over to the helicopter.

  Chapter 27

  July 4th, Granite Mountain

  Fran’s eyes grew large as she saw the entrance to Granite Mountain on the mountainside as the helicopter can in for a landing.

  It was a unique view, especially for Fran who had never been on a helicopter before, but it would have been an impressive view for anyone who had never seen the entrance to Granite Mountain before.

  “Wow! This place is big,” Fran said.

  “You have no idea,” Rogers replied. “Wait until you see how big it is inside.”

  “The tunnel goes back into the mountain for over a quarter of a mile,” Doc added. There are a hundred rooms cut out of the rocks inside, each stacked full of food, supplies and equipment to help us survive.”

  “Where is the satellite?” Fran asked.

  “The satellite is in space,” Doc replied. “We can control many of the satellite’s functions from our control room.”

  “Is that other helicopter down there yours too?” Fran asked.

  “Yes, we have two helicopters,” Doc replied. “The one below was the one we used to drop off the food you found.”

  “Do you fly that fighter jet too?” Abbey asked pointing to the F-18 that was sitting in front of the entrance.

  “No, none of us are capable of flying the jet,” Doc replied. “When we left Fallon, the fighter pilots came here first, but the road in front of the facility was too short for them to land. The one you see below was the only one that managed to land. If you look around the mountainside, you can see where the others crashed.”

  “What happened to the pilot?” Fran asked.

  “When we arrived, that wrecked helicopter at the end of the road was the helicopter we came on,” Doc replied then continued. “When we arrived, we found that the pilot had become infected and had become a zombie.”

  “So everything you told me today was true?” Abbey asked.

  Doc smiled, “Abbey, life, now more than ever, is way too short to be untruthful. It is important that we all be truthful with each other. Our lives depend on it.

  I understand why you would be hesitant to believe everything that I told you today, but I hope after being with us for a few days, you will realize that we are exactly what we say we are, just a group of survivors trying to find a way to stay alive.

  In the process, we hope to find other survivors, but it appears that will prove to be more difficult than I had anticipated.”

  The helicopter finally set down gently in front of the entrance to the facility.

  Chervy, Davis, Reynolds and Connors came out of the entrance and ran towards the helicopter, anxious to see the new arrivals.

  Doc got out of the helicopter first.

  “You gentlemen should go back inside,” Doc said. “Our guests, along with Rogers and myself, will be spending tonight in quarantine. There will be plenty of time for introductions later.”

  “Your going to be in quarantine too?” Abbey asked.

  “The virus concentration is extremely high near Stone,” Doc replied. “I was out at the food drop site for some time. For the safety of the facility, I must be certain that none of us are bringing the virus back to Granite Mountain.”

  “But I made lasagna to welcome our new arrivals,” Connors said.

  “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to deprive our guests of that,” Doc smiled. “I’ll get our guests set up in the administrative offices near the entrance, when everything is ready, bring down a few servings and I will see to it they have the opportunity to enjoy some of your lasagna.”

  “Lasagna!” Fran looked at Abbey and mouthed the word. “I love lasagna.”

  “Just freshly baked, too,” Doc smiled when he saw Fran’s reaction. “Seaman Connors has become quite a cook over the last month.”

  Fran smiled, “I haven’t had lasagna since I was little. Can Snoop have some too?”

  “Of course,” Doc replied.

  The men went back inside as Fran and Abbey got out of the helicopter.

  The girls followed Doc in through the entrance.

  “This place is huge,” Abbey said as she looked up the tunnel. “I never heard a word about this place being here.”

  “No one did,” Doc replied. “At least no one knew for sure. It was supposed to be a top-secret facility. I had heard rumors over the years, but nothing definite. When we decided to abandon the base, we took a chance that there was something more than a records facility here. Thankfully we were able to find it.”

  Doc led Abbey and Fran to the first administrative office on the left side of the tunnel, the office where he and the men had spent their first night here at Granite Mountain.

  “Seaman Rogers and I will be in the room directly across from you,” Doc said. “As soon as our dinner is brought down, I’ll bring it in to you.”

  Davis ran down the tunnel and handed Doc the medical bag Doc had asked him to bring down from his lab, Davis smiled at Abbey and Fran, then turned and went back up the tunnel.

  “While the men finish preparing dinner, I need to do a quick examination,” Doc said.

  “What kind of examination?” Fran asked warily.

  “A very simple examination,” Doc replied. “It will only take a few minutes.”

  “I don’t have to get a shot, do I?” Fran asked.

  “No, I just want to take your temperature, check your heart and listen to your breathing,” Doc said.

  “OK, because I hate getting shots,” Fran replied.

  Doc led the girls into the room and closed the door.

  “I’ll go first,” Abbey said. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I thought you might want to be first,” Doc smiled as he pulled out two chairs and set them facing each other. “Please have a seat.”

  Abbey sat down, and Doc sat on the other chair facing her.

  Fran watched curiously as she held Snoop.

  “You appear to be healthy, but you understand that I need to be sure,” Doc smiled as he put a thermometer in Abbey’s mouth, then used his fingers to spread her eyes open wide so that he could see the whites of her eyes.”

  After he examined her eyes, he took out his stethoscope and listened to her heart and measured her pulse.

  Then Doc walked behind Abbey, put the stethoscope on her back and asked her to take a deep breath.

  When he walked back in front of Abbey, he pulled the thermometer out of her mouth and noted her body temperature.

  “If you would please open your mouth for me,” he asked. Then Doc examined Abbeys throat, looked under her tongue and felt her throat.

  Doc then took her hands and examined her fingers and finger nails.

  “Well, Doc?” Abbey asked.

  “Is there anything you want to tell me?” Doc asked, staring intently into Abbey’s eyes.

  Abbey began to feel nervous as she looked back at Doc.

  “Have you been bitten or injured at any time in the last few days?” Doc asked. “Were you injured when the infected attacked you when you were trying to take the food the other night?”

  “Not that I know of,” Abbey replied. “In fact, I feel great. Is there something wrong with my vitals?”

  “Well, Abbey,” Doc said looking serious, “according to your body temperature, heart rate, breathing and my examination of your throat, I have never examined anyone in any better shape than you.”

  Abbey sighed, “Then why did you make me think that something might be wrong?”

  “Because I wanted to watch your eyes,” Doc smiled. “Because if you would have been bitten, your eyes would have told me what you may
not have wanted me to know.”

  Abbey smiled, “After our talk today and now this, Doc I don’t think I would want to play poker with you. You have a very unique bed side manner.

  Why would I want to keep something like being bitten from you? It’s not like I would be able to keep that a secret for long if you know what I mean.

  I am also not the kind of person that would want to put Fran or your people in any kind of danger.”

  “I have been a doctor for a long time,” Doc smiled. “I realize that you are not the kind of person to deliberately keep information from me, but these are unforgiving times. I have learned how to get patients to tell me what I need to know, even if they don’t know what that is.

  If there had been anything that had you worried, your eyes would have told me and I would have known to rephrase my question to find out what that would be.”

  “Sorry, Doc,” Abbey smiled. “I know you are just doing what you have to do. Today has been a little overwhelming and it has been a long time since I’ve had to answer to anyone but myself.”

  Doc gave Abbey his best bedside manner smile.

  “Now to the ulterior motive we discussed earlier today.

  You have probably been exposed to the virus, but you are not displaying any signs of being infected. I feel this could be significant, so there is one more test I need to perform.”

  Doc reached into his bag and took out a hypodermic needle.

  “I am going to take a sample of your blood to see if there are any answers to my question there,” Doc added.

  “To see if my immune system has an elevated white cell count?” Abbey asked.

  “I believe I will find your white cell count to be normal,” Doc replied. “You aren’t running a fever or have any signs that your body is fighting anything. I just want to see if your blood shows any anomalies that would indicate that you may be less susceptible to the virus. I feel that since you two are the only survivors that we have found, that there may be a reason you have not become infected other than you are obviously capable of taking care yourself out there.”

  Abbey nodded.

  Doc plunged the needle into Abbey’s arm and withdrew a sample of blood and wrote Abbey’s name on the syringe.

  “I guess I’m going to get a shot after all,” Fran sighed.

  “Sorry,” Doc laughed. “I didn’t mean to mislead you, but technically I will not be giving you a shot.”

  “That’s OK,” Fran frowned. “I guess I should have been more technical and asked if you were going to stick me with a needle instead of just giving me a shot.”

  Fran thought for a moment then asked, “Technically, do we still get to have some lasagna?”

  That made Doc smile.

  “Of course,” Doc chuckled.

  Doc finished his examinations as he heard trays being set on the floor outside the rooms.

  The girls were all smiles as Doc brought in the plates when they saw the meal that had been prepared and smelled the aroma.

  They both picked up their forks and began to devour the best meal either of them had had in months.

  Snoop whined and put his paws on Fran’s leg and stood up to get his nose closer to her plate.

  His tail started wagging when Doc sat a small plate on the floor next to Snoop.

  Then Doc began to leave the room to let the girls enjoy their meal in peace.

  “Doc,” Fran said. “Do you have a battery I can use? After we eat, I would like to see if I can contact my friend John on the CB.”

  “You won’t need a battery because we have electricity,” Doc replied, then he looked down at Fran’s CB lying on the floor next to her chair.

  He noticed the ends of the frayed wires leading away from the CB.

  “But until I can have one of the guys wire up a plug for your radio, I’ll find a battery you can use,” Doc replied.

  “Thank You,” Fran replied.

  “Your welcome,” Doc said. “Does anyone other than your four-legged friend want seconds?”

  Fran’s hand shot up in the air over her head.

  Abbey laughed.

  “Sorry,” Fran blushed. “The last time I had anything taste this good I was in the cafeteria at school. I had to raise my hand for everything at school.”

  Chapter 28

  July 4th Greenbriar Hotel, West Virginia

  Linda and Mike finished eating as they listened to Tony’s recap of his meeting with the Captain.

  “I’m all for joining a bigger community, hopefully one with a few more women in it,” Linda said. “But has anyone talked about having Kennedy’s group come here instead of us going there? From what I’ve seen so far, a small group would have everything here that they could want.”

  “That’s a good question,” Mike added. “This place looks secure, there are tons of food here and it’s a five-star hotel. It doesn’t get much better than this.”

  “Maybe you should run that by the Captain,” Linda said. “I would hate to give all this up so quickly without knowing where we would be going. Maybe he should consider a nine-month plan like we considered back at the house before he decides to leave this place?”

  “The Captain feels that if the opportunity comes up, we would have a means of traveling out west now,” Tony replied. “By Spring, he feels that we would lose the ability to travel that far. The fuel over time becomes unusable and the aircraft will need maintenance that we won’t be able to do. In other words, if we have an opportunity and we don’t leave now, we may not have another chance.”

  “How likely is it that we’ll have to make a decision about this move soon?” Mike asked.

  “Not likely,” Tony replied. “The men here have been trying to make contact for the last two months with any military units that still exists across the country and they haven’t heard a thing anywhere. They have the equipment and know how to make contact. If they haven’t made contact with Kennedy’s group by now, I don’t know what information we could give them that would change anything.”

  “All we could tell him was that we heard the broadcast at 102.5 on the radio dial,” Mike said.

  “Even if we did manage to contact Doctor Kennedy, I’m sure the Captain wouldn’t just pick up and go without getting more information. He seems to be a reasonable man that thinks things through.”

  “What information did you hear about the alleged survival vault that was being built out west?” Mike asked. “Any idea if it would be better than what is here?”

  “No idea, really,” Tony replied, “except it would be a lot newer than this seventy-year-old facility. I would think it would be bigger and better equipped but that’s just a guess.”

  “I guess it could be a good thing,” Linda finally said. “Especially if it somewhere with nice weather.”

  “That’s another thing,” Tony smiled. “The Captain said the heating system doesn’t work here and so far, none of them can figure out what’s wrong with it.”

  “I hear the winters in the West Virginia mountains can be worse than Johnstown winters,” Linda said then smiled. “Maybe you should go see if you can help their radio man get in contact with Doctor Kennedy?”

  Mike laughed, “If nothing else, it would be nice to know why he stopped broadcasting.”

  “Let’s go talk to Smitty,” Tony said. “I’m sure it won’t help, but it’s the least we can do to help.”

  “You want to come with us?” Tony asked Linda.

  “No thanks,” Linda replied. “Jamie and I are going to go look for George. After eating three cans of sardines, he wandered off. I figured he either is hiding under the bed or is looking for a litter box, but I promised her I would help find him before he got lost.”

  “You would probably be a distraction anyhow,” Mike grinned. “Just be careful you don’t get lost. I’m sure we won’t be very long.”

  Communications room below the Greenbriar Hotel

  Tony and Mike sat across the table from Smitty in the communications room talking about Do
ctor Kennedy’s broadcasts.

  “I don’t know what we can tell you,” Mike said. “We picked up the Navy doctor on a small AM radio. He didn’t say where he was or how we could contact him. All he said was when the time was right, he would contact us, meaning everyone that might be listening to him.”

  “Our guess is that he is out west somewhere because of some scuttlebutt I heard a few years back,” Tony added. “But for all we know, he could have been broadcasting from the other side of that hill over there.”

  Smitty thought then said, “What can you tell me that you know for sure, based upon what he said?”

  “OK, let’s see,” Tony replied. “He said he was in the Navy, he was using a satellite to follow the infected across the country, and he was located at a survival vault built by the government and stocked with supplies to help the country recover after a major disaster.”

  “I can’t think of anything else to add,” Mike said. “But the way he talked about seeing large groups of walkers in places like Chicago, New York, San Francisco and other places, he either had a good imagination or he could actually see what was going on around the country.”

  “I believe the man was really in the Navy by the way he talked,” Tony added. “I think he was trying to be helpful and his intentions were real, but I just don’t think he had the ability or resources to do everything he talked about. He never spoke about what the military was doing which I thought was strange.”

  “You would have thought that he would have told us what the military was doing to push back the walkers,” Mike added.

  “I wonder why he didn’t say where he was?” Smitty asked. “If he intended to help people, they would have to know where he was.”