by Pamela Jekel
He picked up another paper. “Right now, our current infirmary is the Marriott Marquis. Infirm workers are housed four to a room, and some medical care is available onsite. More serious medical care is referred to one of three local hospitals still operating, and no such care is available at Emory. In other words, people, if you are too ill to work, you are too ill to stay on campus. When and if you become well enough to work once more, and if there is room available, you will be allowed to return to campus. All children will automatically be allowed to return, once a doctor says they are well enough to work. Pregnant women will automatically be allowed to return, once a doctor says they are well enough to work. All others will be re-admitted on a space-available basis only.” He looked up again, as the murmurs grew louder and waited, gazing out over the audience. “People, you can discuss this on your own time.” The audience grew quiet again.
“As I said, tomorrow you will receive work assignments, according to your team. Each team is comprised of members of the same dorm floor. When you receive your assignment, one member of your team will be chosen by the officer in charge of your team as team captain. This is not a democracy, and you will not choose your team captain. Children will also be given work assignments, according to their team. Everyone works, no exceptions. Anyone who cannot support our mission can exit at any time. No one who leaves voluntarily will be allowed to return. No exceptions.”
He paused and looked around the vast arena. His posture never varied, and his voice rarely modulated. “I know you have many questions, and of course, it would be impossible to answer all of them tonight. I will, however, attempt to answer some, and the remainder of your questions must be submitted to your team captain in writing. We will have an assembly each week. Those questions which seem of interest to the majority and which serve our mission will be answered. Tonight, if a question is asked which is a repeat of what I’ve already said or what has already been answered in your instruction brochure, we will move on to the next question.”
He looked up and waited. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am ready for your questions. You will stand and raise your hand until you are recognized.”
At first, no one stood and no hands went up. It took a lot of need to make someone stand up in that crowd, Jack thought, and then be televised close-up on the monitor to all the watching soldiers. But one by one, as though each took courage from the other, a sprinkling of hands went up around the auditorium, and men and women began to stand.
“You, in the middle, two seats over,” the officer pointed into the audience.
One man asked, “Why can’t we have newspapers?”
“Next,” the officer said, ignoring the question. “You, on the end.”
“What about the people who didn’t come in. The farmers, for instance,” another man asked.
“Their choice. We have neither the manpower nor the desire to round up civilians. You should know that the bulk of the prison populations have been released. Those convicted of violent crimes have been executed. The rest are free. The safest place now for civilians is under the protection of the military. You, ma’am, top row.”
“How soon can our children come home from the Children Transfer Program?”
He paused for a moment, and his voice softened. “Good question. But unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for you. The Marines are in charge of that program, and I would bet even they don’t have contingencies for homecomings yet. It will probably depend on the child and the location, certainly on our circumstances here at home. Your own children should be the first source of information, so write them and write them often. Next you, sir, near the aisle.”
The man was standing, rocking back and forth, and Jack could immediately see the rage in his body posture. “They’re not the enemy!” he shouted. “You’re the enemy!”
“Your question, sir?” the officer asked, his voice cold.
“Who gave you the right to take our kids! Who gave you the right to take our country!” He was pumping his fists in the air, and his wife was trying to calm him, but he was causing everyone in the rows around him to turn and twist to see his desperation.
“The Chief Executive of the United States and my commanding officers gave me those rights. Soldier, escort that man out of the building.”
In a flash, the nearest soldier had one hand on his weapon, the other hand on the man, and he was being hustled to the door, his wife scuttling behind, weeping and trying to hold onto her husband.
A wave of sound rolled through the auditorium, gasps and whispers, like a large hissing, moving body of water, and then it passed, and the officer at the podium waited. When it was quiet again, he said, “We cannot and will not tolerate disobedience or insurrection. Our mission is to save those who wish to be saved. More questions?”
Fewer hands rose into the air. “You, ma’am,” the officer said, indicating a young woman with long dark hair.
“Sir, what about food? How will you feed us all?”
“Good question,” he acknowledged. “This will be, of course, one of our gravest challenges. Food and power and medical supplies. But rest assured, people, the United States will be one of the nations that survives this world calamity. We will emerge from the ashes of other nations, and we will prevail. We do not, as you know, manufacture many items for export in the U.S. anymore, and this will be a difficulty as we heal ourselves. But one thing we have exported, one thing we do have sufficient of is food. Distributing that food to those under our protection will be our top priority. I know many of you will be restricted, both in terms of quantity and the quality you may be used to, but keep this in mind: for fourteen years during and after World War II, the entire British nation was rationed to one egg per person per week and four ounces of bacon or ham a week. Many people all over the world never consume the food in one week that Americans waste in three days. We are tougher than we think. Tougher than they think. There are many nations in this world that will starve. The United States will not starve. Last question, you sir, fifth row, in the white shirt.”
“We were in the first group to arrive. We heard what sounded like blasting overnight, and there were terrific lights coming from the east. Were those the aliens?”
“I’m afraid I can’t comment on that at this time. I can tell you that those explosions were not caused by U.S. troops. I would caution you all to keep your shades closed at night, as per your instructions. Those of you with older children should remind them of these precautions. Thank you. You may meet your children at the west gate; just follow the soldiers’ directions. You all have thirty minutes before curfew to enjoy the grounds or meet friends. Curfew will be announced by loudspeaker every night ten minutes before dorm doors close. Curfew is ten pm sharp. Anyone not in the dormitory by curfew will be locked out of the building. Dismissed.” He saluted the flag, turned briskly, and walked off the podium.
The audience sat for a moment like deer in headlights that had already passed. Slowly, people began to gather themselves and head for the exits.
Skylar was silent. Finally, she took his hand. “Well, they seem to have it under control, at least. And even though most of what he said was chilling, I have to say I’m glad we decided to come. So far. Of course, I haven’t seen our work assignments yet. If I have to clean the toilets in the whole dorm, I’m voting we run for it.”
“I can’t imagine some of these people are going to be able to work,” he said as they followed the crowd outside. “Most of them look like they haven’t done anything physical in a decade.”
“They’re going to get us lean and mean. Might not be a bad thing.”
He looked up at the sky, down at the ground, and turned in a complete circle quickly.
“What?” she asked.
“Wondering where this sudden optimism came from.”
She pinched his arm. “Don’t look a gift grin in the mouth.”
They went to collect Miranda, and she was jabbering happily about the movie, her new friends, and the things she was goi
ng to learn in class tomorrow. “We go to class after breakfast,” she said, “and we get to learn real stuff that matters about how to fix the world and save the animals, instead of dumb stuff like math. And then after lunch, we get to go on a scavenger hunt!”
“What’s a scavenger hunt?” Skylar glanced over Miranda’s head, making a mouth of amazement at Jack.
“That’s where you go and find treasure! We get to be in charge of finding stuff, and the R.A’s will tell us what tomorrow. But it’s gonna be so cool! Did you guys get to watch a movie?
“No, we got to sit and listen to a soldier talk about rules,” Skylar grimaced. “Wish I could go on a scavenger hunt with you tomorrow.”
“Aw me, too, Mama.” Miranda said, stroking her hand. “But you can’t. No grownups allowed. But I can tell you what I learn in class, so you can get smart about ecology, too.”
“What’s ecology?” Jack asked.
She parroted in a singsong, “’Eco’ means ‘house’ and ‘ology’ means to study it. So it means that the world is our house, and we have to learn how to take better care of it. But don’t worry, Daddy, I’ll tell you what you gotta know.”
“Thank you, kitten,” Jack said. “Did you learn that from the movie?”
“No, they told us that before the movie. Do all the Newcomers look like Keanu Reeves?”
“I don’t think so,” Skylar said.
“I don’t think so either.” Miranda confided, “He’s hot.”
“He is?” Her mother turned to her in amazement.
Miranda nodded. “All the girls say so.”
“Well. I guess it must be true, then.” Skylar shook her head. “Six going on twelve.”
The announcement came over the loudspeakers calling all kids to the dorms, so they walked in that direction. Skylar stroked her daughter’s head. “Missed you today, honey.”
“Missed you too, Mama. Hey, there’s Stacey!” She dropped Skylar’s hand and raced ahead to the door to Thomas Hall.
The parents greeted each other, and then Skylar pulled Miranda away a few feet to ask, “Are you going to be okay sleeping by yourself?”
“I’m not by myself, Mama,” Miranda said, “I got my whole team there, and Stacey’s there, and we gotta lot to talk about and plan before tomorrow. We got to choose our team captain!”
“Oh, you get to do that?”
“Yup!” She dropped her voice. “I’m too little to be team captain, but I’m gonna vote for Jonathan. He’s nine, and he’s pretty smart. Stacey’s gonna vote for him, too.”
“Is he hot?” Jack couldn’t help it.
“’Course not,” she said, chuckling. “You’re so silly, Daddy.”
They kissed her goodnight, and she and Stacey ran off to join the line of kids going inside their dorm. As she went through the door, she turned and waved again, fearless and radiant.
Skylar went into his arms. “God, she’s so brave. How did she get to be so brave?’
“Guess she was all along,” he said. “Let’s walk a bit.” The campus grounds were a pool of light, and outside that light, all of Atlanta seemed dark. They could see lights on a few tall buildings, but the city was black. It was hot and the humidity was high, but as they passed under trees, a welcome coolness came back from the grass. Couples and small clusters of people wandered along the pathways, and it almost felt to Jack as though he belonged here again, after so many years in college. They were on an island of semi-normalcy. Safe, at least for the moment.
“You know,” he said, “I was thinking about something I learned in biology about a lifetime ago, and it reminds me of where we are now.”
She looked up at him quizzically, and in that moment, a shaft of moonlight hit her face, and he was taken all over again with tenderness for her. She was so very lovely. He stopped and embraced her, the whole length of her, pulling her to him and holding her as close as he could. The pain and pleasure of it caught at his throat, and he couldn’t speak for a moment.
She pulled her head back and looked at him softly. “You learned this in biology?”
He smiled. “You’re just so beautiful.”
She shook her head. “Keep that thought, youngblood. We’re going to need that kind of thinking after a month in a three-by-five dorm room.”
“And twin beds.”
“And twin beds.”
He took her hand and began to walk again. “Anyway, before I was distracted by your dazzling face, I was thinking about this study we read about this tribe of howler monkeys that were stranded on a mountaintop when the government dammed a river in Venezuela. Anyway, once their mountaintop became an island and all the predators had flown off or swam off, they overpopulated the place, right? So this study was about the effects of high density on these monkeys and how it altered them socially. What they found was pretty interesting. As the island filled up with monkeys, they had a complete breakdown of their social system. No more mutual grooming, constant fights over food, the babies never played anymore but just clung to their mothers, and they went completely silent.”
“The babies?”
“No, the whole tribe. No more calling, hooting, howling, singing, nothing. I mean, these howler monkeys are called that because normally, that’s all they do all day and night is make noise. But it all stopped. And they began to do things the researchers had never seen before. The males raped the females. Just threw the babies off them, and raped them. Sometimes they killed the females, leaving the babies to starve. You just don’t see that in nature normally.”
“Wow. And you think this is what we’re coming to?”
He shrugged. “They say that when humans expand, nature contracts. But I think it’s even more than that. When humans expand, nature contracts…and then humans contract, too. We get meaner and nastier to each other, and we forget about ‘women and children first.’ The most basic instincts are derailed. I think it’s going to get ugly out there. None of the old rules will apply. Those children left alive should be even more precious, but I wonder if they will be. Maybe we’ll be like too many hamsters crowded in a cage.”
“So it’s a good thing they put the kids in a separate dorm, huh? Lest the moms eat them.”
“You laugh. About the second month with no steak, Miranda might start looking pretty good to you.”
“More likely, I’d eat you. Then I’d have more room in the nest.”
The curfew announcement blared over the speakers, and they turned back in the direction of their dorm. They registered, went to their room, took turns using the bathroom, and readied for bed. All of them were scrupulously courteous and considerate about the space and the time they took, and finally when ten pm came, all the lights went out simultaneously. “God, it’s like a tomb in here,” Skylar said.
“I could open the blinds,” he said.
“They said not to.”
“Just for a little while. I can’t fall asleep this early.” He got up and opened the blinds at the bottom a few inches. “Not like they can see a light from our room or anything.” He sat and looked out over the campus. There were few lights on around the perimeter, but he could see soldiers standing guard, their weapons now on their shoulders. In the distance, he could see some darker high-rises against the night sky, and the stars were brighter without the city lights. “I guess they patrol all night.”
“I wonder what Chase is doing.” She sighed and rolled in the bed.
“Probably in a dorm with kids his own age, just like Miranda. Going to classes, figuring out how to get an extra dessert or something. Bet they feed them better than they feed us.”
“Why, because they’re the ‘chosen few’?”
He could hear the leftover bitterness in her voice. “No, because they’re the future.”
“Assuming there is one.”
“There will be. I have faith in this country.”
“Yeah. Keep thinking that, it’s serving you so well.” She yawned and turned over again. “Night.”
“Night, my love.�
�� He sat at the window for a while longer, and when he felt himself getting tired enough to sleep, he put down the blinds and found his bed.
He had been asleep for perhaps an hour, when an ominous rumbling and a bright light flashed through his eyelids. A fierce explosion sounded somewhere in the distance. A summer storm? He heard no rain. And then he remembered the question at the assembly. Suddenly the pace of the explosions became rapid, one after another, with matching flashes of intense light, some sort of bombardment. Despite the blinds, the light threw the room into stark relief, and he saw that Skylar was awake as well, listening with her eyes wide and her fists to her mouth. He got up and went to her, and she moved against the wall, making room for him. He took her in his arms. “Sounds like a really bad thunderstorm, doesn’t it,” he murmured. “But I guess it’s not.”
“It’s them,” she whispered.
He held her tightly, and she burrowed her face into his neck. She was trembling. And then, just as suddenly as it began, the storm of explosions and flashes stopped. It had only lasted a few minutes. He wondered if it was roving gangs of desperate starving people, blowing things up. But in his heart, he knew Sky was right. It was them.
She still clung to him. He began to kiss her neck, murmuring to her. She turned and met his lips, pulling him closer, opening her mouth under his. One hand dropped between them, and she took hold of him, moaned at his rigidness, and urged him over her, spreading her legs, arching her back to allow him entry. Once inside her, he stopped, gathered her long dark hair in his fist, and held her tightly, so that his mouth could find her mouth, her nose, her eyelids, her cheeks, kissing her softly, then urgently, moving himself slowly, thrusting deeply and then holding still for an instant, then withdrawing and thrusting again, teasing them both, as he knew she liked. Her hands dropped to his hips, and she pulled him closer, whispering, “Don’t tease me, don’t tease me.” He pushed harder then, faster, until he sensed that she was ready, and then it didn’t matter anymore because he couldn’t have stopped himself even if she asked him to, and he groaned and shivered, holding perfectly still so that he could feel every pump of himself into her, so that he could feel her answering throbs against himself. He loosed her hair, stroked her breast softly, and she held him in place, still making tiny perfect convulsions inside, her head rolling slightly, her eyes closed, and her lips parted, panting. She was so beautiful, he thought again, even in this darkness, even in this place of fear and upheaval, she was still a shimmering life force, a strong surge of heat and life and love. Somehow, it was impossible to believe that anyone who held her would not survive.