Pedestals of Ash

by Joe Nobody

  After the pleasantries had been exchanged, the colonel got down to business. “General, the man you were just speaking with is the head of the president’s security detail. I can personally vouch for that. In addition sir, there was an attempt on the president’s life just a short time ago.”

  Within 10 minutes, Agent Powell had the GPS coordinates for the president’s jacket. He and General Westfield looked on a large wall map mounted on the wall. “Alpha, Texas,” said the general. “Never been there. I’m sure it’s lovely this time of year.”

  Powell was ready for action, “It looks like they are at the airport. Get those birds wound up, general. I want the best men you have with me.”

  After a quick call, the tarmac at Biggs field was bustling with activity. Four Blackhawk copters were winding up their massive blades while 20 of the base’s best infantry prepared their kit. In addition to the heavily armed infantry, the base’s best field medics were going along – just in case. The United States Army was going on a rescue mission.

  Terri wanted a mulligan. As she sat in the cab of the lead pickup heading toward Alpha, she stared out the window, wishing she could start the last few days over. The sparse, arid landscape didn’t offer much of a distraction for her racing mind as they approached the troubled town. She wasn’t frightened, no, more so the opposite – she was eager. When she admitted that she was actually a little excited by what was ahead, the realization caused her to grunt out loud. Nick was driving and looked across at his passenger, “You doing okay over there, Terri?”

  She smiled at him and replied, “Oh, I’m fine Nick. I was just sitting here thinking about Bishop, and how he always seems to end up in the middle of something dangerous. You don’t know how many times I’ve wondered why he allows himself to get drawn into these things. Now, I think I know.”

  Nick pondered her statement for a bit, “Okay. You’re going to have to explain that to me. I’ve had my share of risky endeavors, but mostly I was following orders. Lately, it’s been to protect my family more than anything else. How Bishop lets himself get involved in all this shit beats the hell out of me.”

  Terri’s voice became academic, “I don’t think there’s any one single reason. Just sitting here, what I’m feeling is a combination of purpose and good old-fashioned maternal nesting. I feel this strong urge to contribute, to right a wrong…make things better.” Terri’s gaze drifted off into the distance for a while, and then she looked at Nick. “Part of what I’m feeling is a strong urge to get all of this cleaned up before the baby comes. I know I’m not far enough along to actually be nesting, but my child’s future is always on my mind. Meraton is a miracle in a bottle. Wouldn’t it be better for my child if we had two such places close by? At what point does everyone start thinking of the greater good and not just simply individual survival? I feel a strong need to be one of the leaders of that effort. I want to pioneer the building of things, not be involved in destroying them.”

  The depth of Terri’s inner perspective took Nick aback. This wasn’t the type of conversation he was accustomed to having when facing a fight. The Special Forces types he worked with wouldn’t be caught dead having a conversation like this before heading into trouble. After he replayed Terri’s words a few times, he had to admit her feelings weren’t far from his own. He just didn’t want to talk about it.

  “When Kevin and I decided to pack up and go find you guys, we both envisioned a camper out in the middle of Bumfuck, Egypt. We pictured you two hiding out in a damp cave, eating lizard casserole – or worse. Our biggest concern with coming out here was boredom. We were hoping you guys had a deck of cards or a worn out Monopoly game or something to pass the time. I confess that Meraton surprised me, too. After what we’ve been living through, I would’ve bet Bishop’s ranch that no such community existed. But despite that wonderful surprise, why not hunker down and keep to yourselves until things get back to normal? I mean really, who needs all the excitement?”

  Terri saw right though his cover. She decided Nick was a lot like Bishop, in that he believed exposing any feelings about conflict might make him appear weak or hesitant. She pressed, “Oh, come on now, Nick. How many times have I heard you say you were worried about Kevin’s future? Just today, you were thrilled when he wanted to go talk to some girl in the marketplace. Isn’t that the same thing I’m talking about? Isn’t that worth some risk?”

  Nick stretched and shifted position behind the wheel. He was trying to buy time to think of a response. Terri interpreted his movement as a squirm and decided to playfully pounce on the man sitting next to her. “I mean you’ve got to admit, it’s not just Kevin’s future we’re talking about. It’s everyone’s. Let’s take you, for example. You think Diana is an attractive woman - right?

  Nick started to protest Terri’s observation, but she cut him off, “Don’t you think it would be easier to get her attention if she wasn’t fighting a war?”

  Nick wasted no time in formulating what he thought was a safe response. “Oh, come on now Terri, you can’t think that Ms. Brown would have any interest at all in a broken down old war dog like me.”

  The corners of Terri’s mouth rose only slightly as she tried to disguise her grin. She immediately knew that Nick was fishing to find out if Diana had said anything about him. Terri decided a little good-natured teasing wouldn’t hurt. She, probably a little too quickly, fired back her response, “Why Nick, you wouldn’t want me to break a confidence between girls, would you?”

  Nick was beginning to get the feeling that he was mentally outgunned, so he decided to go for broke. “Yes, I would expect you to break a confidence if it meant keeping a dear, old friend from being embarrassed.”

  Terri was pleased with herself. Nick had taken the bait. “Embarrassed? Did I just hear the big bad Green Beret say ‘embarrassed’? I thought all of you hard-core warrior types expected the girls to fall all over you. Don’t tell me that a big, strapping man like you is nervous over a little old preacher’s daughter?”

  Nick, using all of his warrior’s instincts, finally saw a way out of Terri’s verbal ambush. “Jesus, Terri, no wonder Bishop runs off on all these adventures. They must be a vacation after bantering with you!”

  Bishop guided the leader of the free world from the airport grounds and headed toward Alpha. He elected to avoid the road leading to town, as it would be logical for the ghoulish to keep an eye on all common approaches. His intention was to use the same basic route through the berg as David and he had followed a few days before. This meant circumventing around the eastern edge, a detour that would add a mile or so to their journey. As the first structures came into view on the horizon, Bishop went on alert, and their progress slowed. That was fine with the president, as the older man didn’t exactly consider himself an avid backpacker, especially when carrying his newfound companion – an M4 rifle.

  It was during their approach to Alpha that it dawned on Bishop just how many things he took for granted. The president was obviously an intelligent individual with an advanced education, yet struggled with basic military and security jargon that seemed second nature to Bishop. This became evident when Bishop turned and said, “Sir, I’m going to scout that outbuilding ahead. Please stay here and watch our six. When I have verified it’s clear, I want you to vector into my position from 4 o’clock.”

  The commander of the most powerful military in the world simply stared back at him with a blank look. After a moment, he shook his head and in an annoyed tone, said, “In English, please.”

  Bishop, realizing his error, tried again. “My apologies, sir. Let me try again. I’m going to move ahead of you and scout that building up there. I want you to stay here and watch behind us. When I have verified the building is clear, I will signal you. At that time, I want you to come up to where I am, but I want you to approach me from an angle like this.” When Bishop held up his arm to indicate the direction he wanted the president to take, his action was met with a grunt and another blank expression.

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p; “Why wouldn’t we go check it out together? Why do you want me to approach from a different direction? How can I stay here and watch behind us and still see your signal? What will the signal be?”

  Bishop held up his hand to stop the questions. It was his turn to be annoyed and with terse voice instructed, “Just stay put, sir. I’ll come back and get you.” Before the president could protest, Bishop was running toward the structure.

  By the time Bishop returned to retrieve his companion, the younger man had cooled off. He’s just trying not to make a mistake and is overthinking everything – don’t be mad at him. The president wasn’t accustomed to being treated like a novice and protested, “I know you don’t think highly of my experience in the field, but if you would take a moment to explain things, I assure you I’ll catch on quickly. Why, for example, do you not want me to use the exact same route as you lead with?”

  Bishop took a deep breath and explained, “Sir, if a sniper is watching this area, he would see me run up to that building. He would be trained to watch for the next guy to follow me. I might be out of sight before he could zero in and get off a shot, but he would be ready and waiting on the next guy - you.”

  By the time the duo had progressed to the outskirts of town, the president was actually beginning to catch on to how Bishop wanted to move from point to point. Since they would now be traveling through an urban area, Bishop hated to do it, but had to change their pattern. “Sir, now that we will be moving through all of these buildings, I want you to stay closer to me. I want you to go exactly where I go, and stay about 10 steps behind me at all times. If I stop at a corner or intersection, then come up directly behind me, but other than that, stay about 10 steps back. I’m the front of the accordion, you are the rear.”

  The prez looked puzzled, “Why do you want me to follow in your footsteps here, but not out in the open? Wouldn’t the same logic apply?”

  Bishop looked at the man and smiled, “In here sir, it won’t matter – the distances are too short to make any difference.” Bishop pushed off, and after a bit, the pair reached the football stadium where Bishop had found the medical equipment on his last visit. Bishop pointed out the ghostly marching band formation spread across the football field. The band had been practicing when the gas cloud had exterminated them all. Their bodies and instruments had fallen in straight rows and columns. Now, the grass had grown high, partially obscuring the remains. To the chief executive, it made the scene appear even more melancholy. Bishop then proceeded with a somewhat eerie tour of the Alpha State campus – sans students or other signs of life.

  While they were exploring the ruins of what had once been a picturesque small town university, Bishop had to stop several times and shepherd his traveling companion. The politician seemed entranced by his surroundings and couldn’t help but pause and stare.

  On one such occasion, Bishop crossed a street between the hulls of two abandoned cars. When he reached the other side, he expected his companion to soon join him. After an inordinate amount of time, Bishop looked back to see nothing but the empty street. What now, thought Bishop, as he hustled back, searching for the other man. Bishop found the President of the United States on one knee, staring spellbound into the front glass of a photography studio. The window display contained a joyful collage of wedding pictures, family portraits, student activity photos, and even some pets. The overwhelmed president looked up at Bishop with a dark expression, “They’re probably all dead; aren’t they, Bishop?”

  Bishop only nodded, not being able to think of anything to say. He gave the older man a few moments and finally said, “Sir, we need to get going.” The man looked up and signaled he was ready, and the two crossed the street together.

  Bishop worked his way to the ice cream shop where Sarah Beth had been living when he rescued her. When it was explained how the airtight freezer had saved her life from the poison gas, the president could only manage a grunted, “Amazing.”

  Bishop decided to hold up and rest in the ice cream shop. They had been moving very quickly, and he could tell the older man was beginning to tire. Before long, they would be traveling through the most dangerous section of Alpha, and he wanted both of them as fresh as possible.

  Bishop sat two chairs upright in the trashed dining area. The floor was still sticky, where gallons of ice cream had melted and drained out of the display freezers. A trail of ants appeared to be working on cleaning up the mess. The president sat, mesmerized by the back room where Sarah Beth had lived for several weeks. “I can’t believe that girl you told me about survived in here all that time. She is a hero by some measure, I’m sure.”

  “She climbed the trees in a nearby park and scavenged bird eggs to survive. When I met her, she was about to be gang raped by several men, but I helped her avoid that situation.”

  The president detected a flash of violence behind Bishop’s eyes. “I’ve no doubt those men won’t be a threat to any more young women.” Bishop looked off into the distance and then back at the man beside him. “No sir, they will not.”

  “Bishop, if you don’t want to talk about it, I’m okay with that. I am curious though, why do you think those men resorted to such evil behavior?”

  Bishop scratched his chin and thought for a bit before his pensive reply, “Well sir, there are no doubt several contributing factors. A lot of people were on prescription medications for mental issues like depression. The economy had stressed a lot of people, and I remember hearing newscasts reporting more and more Americans being dependent on those drugs. If I recall correctly, the newscaster said six percent of the country took these medications? When the shit hit the fan, they could no longer go to the community drug store for a refill. I’ve never taken drugs, sir, but I can’t imagine their sudden withdrawal was easy. The combination of that dependence and the added stress of the world falling apart all around them, probably pushed many folks over the edge.”

  The man beside Bishop looked at his hands and then around the room again. He cleared his throat and replied, “I know I could use a drink.”

  Bishop smiled, the remark bringing him back to the statesman’s original question. “Yes sir, I imagine all of this is quite a shock. Speaking of drinking, have you considered the people who had an addiction problem with alcohol? Suddenly, there’s no more neighborhood liquor store. Most people probably handled it reasonably well, but I’ll bet there were plenty of others who didn’t. I’ve seen people who got out of hand when they overindulged, but they normally pale in comparison to someone with a problem who can’t get a fix.”

  The president nodded his understanding. “The drug addicts would probably not handle things very well either. I’m sure their supplies dried up quickly. Anyone with any sort of daily habit would probably get mean real quick.”

  Bishop agreed, “Oh, no doubt about it. But you know, I think the worst of a man comes out when he watches his loved ones die. I don’t know how I’d react if something happened to my wife. I can see myself sinking so low I wouldn’t care who I hurt or what I did. I might become something worse than the ghoulish.”

  “I’m receiving such an education, Bishop. I had no idea it was like this out here. Do you think it’s the same all over?”

  Bishop adjusted the rifle lying across his lap and then looked down. “Before we left Houston, a neighbor approached me with a portfolio of his investments. He had two children at a university some 90 miles away. He offered me all of his money to go bring back his teenagers. Now, this was before it became clear how bad is was. At that time, we all thought things would recover quickly. And this was a considerable sum of money…but I couldn’t go. It was simply impossible.” Bishop paused for a moment, reliving that memory. “Can you imagine how a man might react if he had to watch his children starve before his very eyes? What if your daughter needed some medicine to stay alive, and you had to watch her die? There are lots of things that can turn men into animals, sir. You and I could probably speculate here all week and still not account for them all.”
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  The president grew quiet for a while, drawing a picture of what Bishop was saying in his mind. It must have been a bad depiction, because he suddenly shook his head as if to clear the image. “And yet, you tell me a young girl survived right here in this very room. She didn’t take the easy way out, and she maintained her stability.”

  Bishop nodded, “I’ve found mindset is a large portion of what it takes to survive. It’s amazing what people can endure if they have hope.” After a contemplating pause, he continued, “That’s what I was trying to say back at Bliss, sir. The way the government reacted, destroyed hope; and that only lowered everyone’s ability to deal with the problems.”

  The president seemed puzzled by Bishop’s statement. “I don’t see how establishing order does anything, but improve a bad situation.”

  Bishop sighed, trying to find the right words. “Loss of freedom destroys hope. A man with fewer options has less hope of solving his problems. Rule of law is one thing – removing initiative is another. When the army announced martial law in Houston, it broke my spirit. There was nothing said about a solution, or a plan to rebuild or optimism for the future. There was zero hope in the message.”

  The president raised his head, his tone becoming defensive. “In Iraq, we learned the hard way that security was job one. Without security, nothing moved forward. People wouldn’t open their shops, repairs were never implemented, and society ceased to function. They stayed at home, hiding and scared to come out and move the country forward. We had to establish security, Bishop – we believed nothing would improve without it.”

  Bishop didn’t hesitate, “I agree with you sir, but from my perspective, we didn’t learn the entire lesson. Our well-intended attempt to secure Iraq was implemented without local involvement. It was only after the tribal leaders were brought into the process did things start to change. From my perspective, the Independents have acted a lot like the insurgents did in Iraq. They are receiving support from a population that sees no hope – no alternative.”