Those Left Behind

by Alan Davenport

  Sheila nodded and said, “We should avoid that area until I can take some readings. Do you agree?”

  Max nodded and said, “Yes, that sounds prudent. I’ll have to set up an exploratory expedition so we can map out the safe and the unsafe areas.”

  Sheila looked at him and said, “You?”

  Max nodded and said, “Yes, me. Paul left me in charge while he was away in Australia. I think he would want to send out a team, so that is what I will do too.”

  They stood together in silence for a while until Sally took Max by the hand and said, “It sure is pretty.” In a soft voice she added, “I never imagined that the outside could be so beautiful.”

  Max said nothing. He squeezed her hand and stood close by her side.

  Tiny walked up to Mary. He reached his hand up towards the sky and said, “Ceiling is high. Tiny can’t touch it!”

  “Indeed!” Mary said and she kissed him upon his cheek.

  They stood together for many minutes swinging their eyes all around. Mary moved first. She ran back to the tunnel entrance and disappeared inside. Max was just about to call out to her when she re-appeared driving her travel cart. “Let’s go explore right now!” she said and patted the seats. “Get in.”

  Tiny, Sally and Sheila sat down in the cart right away. Max however, stood still and said, “I don’t know, Mary. We should plan this out.” His head swiveled all around and he uneasily said, “There may be dangerous animals or something out here. We don’t know what’s outside!”

  Sheila shook her head and said, “Don’t be ridiculous, Max. Almost all animal life and all of the big predators were extinct even before the nukes fell. I doubt that any animal life survived the radiation at all.” She spread her hands wide and said, “It is as the old scientists predicted. Only insects and plant life survived the irradiation. There is nothing left out here that can hurt us.”

  Max was unconvinced. “Well I read that there used to be swarms of insects that bit you and sucked out all of your blood. What if we are attacked by some of them? I’ll bet that was what killed the old expedition!” His eyes were open wide and he was casting his gaze about in fear.

  Sheila cast him a disgusted look. “Come on Max. You are just letting the fear of the unknown control you.” She shrugged and added, “Besides, I believe that all of the biting insects will be extinct by now too. After all of the animal life died off, what would they have had to feed upon?”

  Mary said, “Come on Max. We’ll just take the road to the lake. Sheila can take her readings there. We’ll go there, take readings and then head back. We can hardly get lost if we stay on the old road.”

  “Oh alright,” he finally conceded and sat down beside Sally. Mary immediately began driving towards the lake. Max continued to fearfully look all around as they rode along the ancient roadway.

  Mary stopped at just short of the water’s edge. The road was badly buckled this close to the crater and not only had grass sprouted up from the cracks in the asphalt, but trees as well. Mary turned around and said to Sheila, “What are you reading here? Is it safe or should we leave immediately?”

  Sheila carefully studied the display on her Geiger counter. “Hmmm” she said and then gingerly got out of the cart. Again, she took ground readings and then said “Hmmm” once more. She carefully and fearfully walked to the water’s edge and plunged the sensor into the water. Shaking her head, she said, “It’s not as bad as I expected here either. The air reading is 1.8 millisieverts, ground 2.0 and the water is only 1.9.” She stood up and snapped the wand back into its spot on the Geiger counter’s case. She walked over to the travel cart and put the Geiger counter back into the storage trunk. “I can hardly believe it but it is safe to stay even here. The radiation levels are very slightly elevated; however, it will only be an issue if you spend your entire life at the water’s edge. In that case, you would have a slightly higher chance of developing cancer over the course of your lifetime.” She kicked at the mud at the water’s edge and said, “The soil might be more contaminated down underneath however. As long as we do not dig here it is perfectly safe.”

  Mary enthusiastically jumped out of the cart and said, “Cool!” Max tried to call her back but she ignored him. Walking up water’s edge, she picked up a small stone and tossed it into the water. She laughed with glee at the splash and spreading ripples. Looking into the water, she shrieked and jumped back. “Something moved! Something moved out in the water!” she cried as she backed away.

  Sheila, her fear gone, did not run. Instead, she put her hand to her face to shield her eyes from the sunlight and peered down into the water. “Fish!” she said, completely excited. “There are FISH in the lake!” She shook her head side to side and softly muttered, “I can’t believe that they survived the radiation.”

  Tiny walked up and stood beside her. He towered over the small woman. “Can Tiny eat fish? Tiny is hungry.”

  Mary laughed and rejoined her friends. “What do you think Sheila. Can we safely eat the fish?”

  “Maybe,” she said. “I’ll have to scan them to be sure. Radiation and other contaminants can accumulate in the flesh of higher animals.” She continued to peer into the water and said, “Even if the ones in the lake are contaminated, we could always raise a new brood in clean water. Their babies will be safe to eat.”

  “Sweet,” Mary exclaimed. “Let’s do that!”

  Max laughed and said, “We will have to catch them first!”

  Mary deflated and said, “Oh. Yeah.” She stood with a perplexed expression on her face until she brightened up and said, “I’ll go read about how to catch fish on the computer!”

  Max chuckled. “Well, it’s time we got back inside anyway.” He looked towards the distant horizon and said, “It will be dark soon.”

  They all got back into the cart. When Mary backed it up to turn around, the wheels left the pavement. The cart immediately bogged down. Mary floored it but it did not move. All she accomplished was flinging mud all over the place and sinking it in deeper. Mary looked sheepishly at Max and with an embarrassed expression on her face she said, “Well, I guess these carts are not made for off-road travel.”

  Max nodded and said, “Everybody out.” When Mary started to get out he said, “Not you Mary. I need you to steer.” He waved to Tiny and said, “Help me push the cart, Tiny.”

  Tiny’s muscles bulged as he laid into the task with all of his might. Before Max even placed his hands upon the back of the cart to help him push, Tiny easily pushed it to safety all by himself. Max shook his head in amazement. “Everybody get in,” he said and then he sat down at his usual spot beside Sally.

  The trip back went quickly. Mary drove her cart more carefully now. As they pulled to a stop at the gaping doorway, Sally suddenly jumped up, pointed and said, “Look!” Not far from the door sat the rusting remains of a travel cart. She hurried over to it and laid her hand upon its badly deteriorated frame. She closed her eyes, thinking. In a moment, her head snapped around and she hurried over to the door. She found deep grooves scratched into the door frame. She silently ran her hands over the outdoor door controls. She sighed and said, “Well, now we know what happened to the lost expedition.”

  Max joined her and said, “Explain.”

  “Look at these controls. It looks like they were destroyed by the nuke. Once they were outside they could not get the door back open again.” She ran her fingers over the groves in the metal of the doorframe and said, “They tried to force their way back in.”

  Mary shuddered and said, “They had no chance to get through this door but they had no other option but to try.” She poked at the panel and said, “It’s a good thing we left the door open when we went outside or we would have been in the same predicament. We have to fix that panel.”

  Sally frowned and said, “They all died right here, trapped outside. I wonder why those idiots inside didn’t open the door to check up on them!”

  Sheila, who was standing silently behind the group said, “F
ear. They were afraid to open the door.” When they all looked at her she added, “At that time there must have still been a few people left that remembered the collapse. Everyone would have assumed that the expedition had perished when they did not return. Just as we assumed that the technical wing was destroyed and the techs over there assumed that the farming wing was destroyed too. Too many damned assumptions,” she angrily said, kicking a small stone.

  Max slapped his palm on the ruined panel and said, “Well, we can learn from their mistakes.” He turned to face Mary and said, “I agree that fixing this panel is a top priority. Do you think you can do it?”

  Mary stood up straight and said, “Absolutely. I will get right on it.”

  Max patted her on the arm and said, “Tomorrow will be fine. It’s getting dark. Let’s go get something to eat.”

  With that, everyone got into Mary’s cart and went back inside. Max lowered the lever and the door silently swung shut behind him and closed with a dull thud.

  Chapter 28

  Paul stood next to the train, watching Fred as he supervised the loading of large crates of food into a cargo car. The train consisted of three cargo cars and a passenger car, which also contained the manual operator controls. “Fred,” he asked, “Where did you get the cargo cars? All I’ve ever seen are the passenger cars.”

  Fred pointed to the station’s computer terminal. “You can order a train in any configuration that you need. Throughout the system are storage yards full of the various types of cars. Whatever you order is automatically configured and delivered to you.”

  “Interesting,” he said and then turned to 41 who was just closing up a panel on the rear of the computer terminal. “Fixing something?” he asked.

  41 bobbed his cameras and said, “Yes I am, Paul Hydro. I have repaired the faulty communication link. All functions are now nominal.”

  Paul patted the bot on his cameras and said, “Thank you, 41.” He pressed a button on the touch screen and said, “Please connect me to Martha Turner in colony number eleven.” The terminal emitted a beep and displayed, “Connecting”.

  Martha appeared on the screen and said, “Hello Paul.” She tilted her head and said, “I can actually see you clearly this time. You fixed the terminal at the station?” she asked rhetorically.

  Paul nodded and said, “We have indeed. We’ve gone from having no spare parts for anything at all to having parts for everything.” He laughed and added, “May as well put them to good use.”

  Martha nodded appreciatively and said, “Makes sense.” She stared into the camera for a second and said, “What news do you have for me Paul?”

  “We are almost ready to depart. The computer says the trip will take five hours and forty-seven minutes. Expect us in around six and a half hours.”

  Martha could not hide her excitement. “Excellent!” she exclaimed. “This is the most exciting thing that has happened to me in far too long for me to remember.” With a sideways grin she asked, “Are you sure you can’t tell me what goodies you are bringing us?”

  Paul gave her the same grin in return and said, “Nope! I don’t want to spoil the surprise, you know?”

  “Just a little hint?” she pleaded.

  Paul grinned and said, “Not a chance. I just wanted to give you a heads up on our ETA. See you soon.” He waited until she replied and then tapped the disconnect call button.

  Paul walked over to Fred. “Just about done?”

  Fred nodded and said, “Yes Paul.” He pointed to one of the cars and said, “We filled that entire car with grain and vegetables. The next one has fresh pork, chicken, eggs and pre-prepared food. In the last car, we have Cindy’s plant cuttings and her seeds.”

  Cindy, who was watching over the operation like a mother hen, asked Fred, “Are you sure that the environmental controls are okay in there? I don’t want the cuttings to die en route.”

  Fred gave her a thumb’s up and said, “Yes. Temperature controls are all okay and are set at seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit. The light bulbs have been replaced with grow lamps. 41 assures me that everything is fine.”

  Cindy visibly relaxed. “Okay then. Time to load our special cargo.” She motioned to 41 who carried over and carefully placed inside the garden car, one at a time, two fair sized containers, each containing a large coffee bush.

  Paul squeezed her arm and said, “I think Martha will like those, Cindy.”

  Paul chuckled and said, “Indeed.” He inclined his head towards the middle cargo car and asked, “The chickens are going in there?”

  Cindy put her hand protectively on a large wheeled cabinet and said, “Yes, I have four dozen fertilized chicken eggs in this incubator. We are taking two dozen laying hens as well.” She smiled and said, “It will not be long before they have chickens up the wahoo.” Paul nodded with a grin and then she asked, “What’s in that large duffel bag, Paul?”

  Paul clutched the bag’s handle and said, “I can’t tell you, however what I CAN say is it is the most precious cargo of all.” Cindy gave him a “Come on, tell me!” look. He relented and said with a grin, “It is twenty-five pounds of our finest, fresh ground coffee.”

  Fred clapped him upon his back and said, “Well, that surely will help Australia/Montana relations!”

  There was nothing to watch on the trip but the dark tunnel walls that were briefly illuminated by their train’s passage. With nothing to do, all conversation subjects were soon exhausted. They laid down and fell asleep on the passenger car’s comfortable bench seats. 41 sat in the front, monitoring the train’s passage. The robot did not have to be there. The train was completely automated, however he manned the operator’s console out of a sense of duty.

  The miles went by quickly. Soon 41 left his station and said, “Paul Hydro. Please wake up. We will be arriving in five minutes.”

  Paul stretched and shook himself awake. “Thank you 41,” he said and then shook Fred awake. “Fred. Get up. We’re almost there.”

  Fred instantly awakened. His eyes sparkled with excitement, which he did not try to hide.

  Next Paul gently shook Cindy. She nearly jumped out of her skin, which caused Paul to jump as well. “Oh,” she said, coming fully awake. “Sorry. I’m not used to people waking me up.”

  “Sorry,” Paul said in return. “I did not mean to startle you.” He pointed vaguely towards the front of the train and said, “We will be there in a couple minutes. Are you ready?”

  Cindy’s eyes lit up just as Fred’s had. “You bet!” she said. “I can’t wait!”

  The train began its gradual deceleration and soon rolled up to the platform. The door swung open, the ramp extended and the computer said, “Arrived at station number eleven, Alice Springs, Australia.”

  Paul was at the door first and he stopped short, taken aback by the large crowd of people waiting at the station. Martha stood out in the front. When she saw Paul, she smiled, hurried over to him, shook his hand and said, “A pleasure to meet you in person, Paul.”

  Paul embraced her and said, “The pleasure is all mine, Martha.” He released her and stepped back. They stood looking at each other in awkward silence for a moment until someone in the crowd yelled out, “What goodies have you brought us, Yank?”

  Martha turned to face the crowd and bellowed, “Patience!” A second later she grinned at them and said, “We shall soon find out, shall we not?”

  Paul smiled, said, “Be right back,” and then disappeared back into the car. He returned in an instant carrying his large duffel bag. He gently laid it upon the ground at Martha’s feet, grinned at her and said, “This is a special gift from colony seventy-six to you personally, Martha.”

  Martha quickly knelt down, like a small child at a party going down for the candy from a freshly cracked open piñata. Her old knees cracked like rifle shots. She paid them no mind as she quickly zipped open the large duffel. It was the aroma she noticed first. Hands shaking, she picked up one of the packages and held it in front of her nose. She deeply inhal
ed the aroma. Tears instantly began flowing from her eyes and she sat back on her behind with a thud.

  Some of the more ignorant amongst the crowd began muttering in anger, wondering why their leader was crying. However, the vast majority, driven by intense curiosity, leaned forward, eager to get a glimpse of what their leader held in her hands. “What is it?” a random voice from the crowd called out. “Yes Madam, what have they brought us?” asked another.

  Openly weeping, Martha said in a soft voice, “Coffee.” She stood up, held the package high in the air towards the crowd and cried, “They brought us honest to goodness, real flipping COFFEE!”

  The pandemonium lasted many minutes. Unlike her usual style, Martha did absolutely nothing to try to silence the boisterous crowd.

  Cindy spotted a familiar face in the crowd. “Hello Melvin,” she cried out. “Wait until you see what plants I have brought you!”

  Paul waved Melvin over. He patted Cindy on the arm and said, “Do you want to do the honors, Cindy?”

  Cindy, a little overwhelmed by it all, gulped and said, “Sure.” She walked towards the car with the grain and vegetables. Martha followed Cindy and she bellowed towards the crowd, “Liam, get over here!” Liam was a handsome, muscular man in his thirties with long curly blond hair. Martha patted him on the shoulder and said, “This is Liam Taylor. He’s our quartermaster.” Paul took his hand. “A pleasure,” he said giving it a firm shake. “Likewise, Yank,” Liam said, confidently shaking Paul’s hand in return.

  Martha waved her hand, getting Liam’s attention. “Make sure the cargo is stored safely and distributed fairly, Liam.”

  Liam, with a little frown said, “Have I ever let you down before, Madam?”

  She faked a hard face and said, “No, that is why you still have a job.” Liam’s confident face faltered. He bowed his head and muttered, “Sorry Madam.” Martha punched his arm, laughed and said, “I swear Liam, you are just too gullible. I have every confidence in your abilities.” She looked him directly in the eyes and added, “There is plenty for everyone.” With a glare towards the crowd she added, “So let’s make sure there is no pilfering.” Everyone looked at their feet and shook their heads. More softly, she said to Cindy, Paul, Liam and Melvin, “Well, with that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, let’s see what you have brought us.”