Entering the president’s car, Jasper ran directly to the president and licked her hand. Jasper looked the president in the eye and Hilary scratched his head. Jasper lay down at her feet and the president kicked off her shoes and put them next to him for his warmth.
In the room around the table sat Bubba, Chuck and of course her Chief of Staff. All except the president were enjoying a bowl of cereal and toast with coffee. Greg sat down and after saying good morning to everyone, greedily dived into the breakfast. He gulped down two quick cups of coffee and soon felt the caffeine streaming through his body. He looked around the table taking stock of everyone. Chuck looked like his everyday self and Bubba through bites of cereal was in an animated conversation with the president. Chuck sat quietly sipping his coffee. Greg admired the man for his patience and intelligence. He had certainly proved his level headiness in times of stress.
As soon as the president noticed Greg had finished his breakfast and the aid had cleared the table, she told Greg they were coming into Philadelphia soon. She said, “I want to stop and see what is going on in the station, so I wanted you all to know my plan. Greg, would you send a team out to look around and I will stay here until you report back to me.”
Greg quickly ran the scenario through his mind and formulated a plan. He said, “Yes, Madam President, that is a good idea and I will make the arrangements for a scouting trip. Bubba will you take a team of four or five and see if you could locate some powdered milk and other stores of goods that you might find. And Chuck I’m sure you will want to do a check of the train and do or add what you need for the trip further west.”
Chuck nodded and stood up to leave with Bubba following him out the door leaving only Greg with the president and Chief of Staff. The president said to Greg, “I didn’t sleep much last night thinking about what you said about the possibility of attack by our citizens desperate for relief or help. When they find out we are not giving them any help, but only words of hope, I’m afraid they will turn a little violent. Now, Greg, I will leave the security up to you, but show some restraint if you can. I think it might be a good idea if we could set up a coffee stand and hand out some coffee and cookies from out stores.”
Greg nodded agreement and excused himself to leave Jasper to keep the president's feet warm. Leaving the car his wife was coming down the hallway. Greg had completely forgotten he’d asked her to join them. He turned around and went back into his president’s car and asked the president if she had the time to get to know his wife as he felt she would be a real asset to the community of train dwellers. Hilary said she was looking forward to talking with her and asked her to sit down and have some breakfast and coffee.
Greg left for the second time headed out to find the colonel and the captain of security. A few cars down from the president’s car were the dining car with tables. Greg had sent a message with a runner to have the two men meet him in the dining car. He stopped off in his room and check on the kids. They were reading some comic books and being good. They told him they had breakfast and that mother had said for them to be good while she was gone. Greg sat down and told them some of what they were doing. He said to them, “Kids we are in for a long, long trip to Colorado which is out west. We are going to a mountain and inside the mountain are a lot of people living there. Lots of things going on there like, schools, movie theaters and that will be our new home for some time to come.”
The kids looked at him and tried to understand what he told them. Of course they trusted him and would follow what he told them to do. He got up to leave and Greg Jr. said, “Dad, don’t worry so much, we will be ok. We have the president of the United States with us and nothing can go wrong when she is with us.”
Greg smiled and told him he was right about that and to be good kids the rest of the day.
Arriving at the dining car carrying his briefcase, Greg found the two military guys in deep conversation about the arrival of the train in Philadelphia. Greg slide into the booth and said good morning to them. The colonel smiled and said, “The captain tells me he was embarrassed waking you up this morning.”
Greg smiled and replied, “I couldn’t have told you who woke me up. I was dead to the world and we can only hope the trip is better than the last one I had.”
He told them about the meeting with the president and her wishes for a calm arrival and the coffee stand. “She is especially concerned we don’t show force with too many soldiers evident.”
The colonel said, “Not to worry Greg, we will do our best to keep a low profile and let the secret service to the protection of the president. I will instruct our troops to mingle with the people and to gather as much information as possible.”
Greg liked what he heard and thanked both of them for their help. The colonel left and Chuck came walking into the dining car. Greg asked him to sit down if he had time and they both had a cup of coffee. Greg asked Chuck to give him a run down on his activities since last night.
Chuck told him about riding in the front engine and about the inability to see very far in front of the train. “Even in the daylight complete whiteout conditions exist. We have some real pros up front so we are in good hands. They know about what might happen if some people try to stop us. They are cool and will follow orders, you can count on that. I will when the train stops check the running gear and so forth.”
Greg sipped his coffee and said how glad he was to have him on the trip. Chuck said with a tight smile, “Kind of like Noah Ark in the twenty first century.”
Greg replied, “You know maybe we are, but we have few animals, only people.”
They both looked out the window as the train slowed down to a crawl. The windows were fairly clear as the heat inside vented up the windows and the overhead heating system kept the cars moderately warm. Greg had on a sweater and sport coat as felt fairly warm. In addition to the four inch steel floor a two inch insulated layer was on top of it. There was not much of a chance of frostbite unless the engine quit. Greg excused himself to go look at the passengers in the other cars before arriving at the station.
Greg passed through the cars and everyone looked and spoke to him knowing who he was because Bubba had made sure they knew he was the train boss who ruled with an iron hand. Greg spoke to them saying they would be stopping at the station for a while and to please remain seated. They had already been told by Bubba and smiled at him as he passed through the other cars towards the front of the train. When he reached the middle of the train, the middle engine presented an obstacle so he turned around and returned to the back of the train.
The train pulled into the station and Greg and company looked out the window of the door. All was deathly quiet. Greg had changed into his snowmobile suit complete with full helmet. The rest of the security team were dressed the same. The military had winter suits on but ski masks with only eyes showing through were the difference. Greg said to open the door and a blast of Arctic cold air and blowing snow hit them like a sledgehammer. Even through their suits they felt the cold after the warm train. Greg nodded to the colonel and he started for the station doors. The snow had drifted almost to the ceiling and the men had to use shovels to make their way into the doors. The snow was light and easy to move out of the way as the wind helped blow it away. Once the doors were free of snow the colonel banged on the doors with his handgun. The windows were iced over and no response came from inside. The doors were iced shut and his men had to use a blow torch to thaw out the doors.
A few minutes later they were in the station. Not a sound could be heard. Greg instantly thought of a basement like in Albany might house some folks taking shelter. He relayed the message to the colonel and the captain. The captain shouted orders to his men to search the building top to bottom. Greg took off his helmet and put on a ski hat similar to the other men. What little light there was came through the ice covered windows casting an eerie white shadowed light against the old marble floor. You could see the shadows when you walked giving off the look of space men inside a pa
lace on a far away planet. Greg walked up to the ticket counter and looked around. Scattered papers lay around on the top of the counter and a note stuck on the wall in big letters: ‘OUT TO LUNCH AND AFTER LUNCH GONE FISHING’
Greg remarked, “At least someone has a sense of humor.”
One of the captain’s men came running up and in an out of breath statement: “Sir, we found them deep in a tunnel under the station. Hundreds of them and they appear to be in good health.”
“Show me soldier,” the captain replied.
Greg and company followed the soldier down under the station into a large basement area empty of people and then through a small door leading down a dark tunnel. The tunnel was just big enough for two people to walk side by side. About a hundred meters the tunnel opened into a large cavern where the water system of Philadelphia ran through the area with old storage rooms lined against the wall. Some kerosene lamps from a hundred years ago hung on the wall casting a yellowish light in the otherwise dark area. Flashlights in hand showed that the first room Greg looked into was full of people wrapped in blankets standing up looking at the strange people dressed in Arctic gear.
Greg said to them, “We are government people and is there someone who can speak for you all about your situation here?”
A young man with a black beard walked up to Greg and introduced himself as a city employee from the mayor's office who came here to see what the situation was almost two weeks ago and could never return back to report the stations status. Greg introduced himself and asked the man if there was a leader of sorts down here to report the situation to him. The man replied, “Yes, we have a committee of three who were elected by a vote of the people to run our little community of folks. At the present time they are off searching for more fuel to keep the cooking pots going. They should be back any minute now.”
“In the meantime, can you give an overall picture of your situation,” Greg asked in a concerned voice.
“Well, given the circumstances we are faring pretty well. Probably one of our biggest problems is warding off boredom.”
At that moment voices were heard coming from the outside of the room. A soldier came in and said they had found the leaders on their way back with a group of men caring cans of diesel fuel for heating and cooking. Into the room came the three men dressed in winter clothing looking rather rough around the edges from lack of shaving and water for washing. The men were introduced by the soldier to Greg and the colonel. Greg looked into their eyes and saw intelligence and determination. Greg told them who he was and would they care to give him a report of their situation in detail. The men looked at each other and the tallest of them, who looked the oldest, said, “We would be happy to report to you our situation, but we don’t have a place to sit down and discuss it.”
Greg, said, “If you would please follow me upstairs we have a place where we can talk and meet in private,”
The men nodded in agreement and Greg turned to lead the way with the three men following them.
Once upstairs in the station walking out the door the men showed their surprise at the long train standing on the platform. One of them said to the others, “I thought I heard something above us when we were walking in the tunnels.”
Greg led them to the car next to the president’s car and they took off their snow suits. The men exclaimed their shock at how warm it was in the train as they took off their coats. Greg led them through the car to the president’s car. Greg knocked on the door and it was opened by an aid. At the conference table the president sat with her Chief of Staff with a smile on her face. She said, “Welcome citizens of Philadelphia, won’t you please sit down and have some refreshments. We don’t have a lot to offer, but we do have hot coffee and some sandwiches.”
The men stood there with their mouths opened never expecting to be talking to the president of the United States.
Greg asked them to sit down and make themselves comfortable as he and the colonel sat down to show them the way. The men sat down and sat rather ridged still staring at the president.
Hilary said to them as coffee was served, “Please tell us your story in detail. I’m most anxious to hear about your situation here at the station and any information about the city would be warming received.”
The old man about sixty five cleared his throat and began his story.
“Most of us were train passengers and there is about fifty railroad staff with us. About twenty five or so are citizens who came here for shelter during the first days of the storm. Some have left to never return. We have no idea what happened to them. We sent out a party of men to see who else was around and they found some folks in the fallout shelters barely making it. Occasionally when we are out and about we hear a snowmobile or a four wheel drive vehicle go by. Other than that, it is eerily quiet like nothing is alive. We have surmised that there must be many people holed up and scavenging for food stuffs and trying to stay warm. God knows how long this weather will last, but we, in our little community, have resolved ourselves for the long haul. We have come together during this disaster and we will survive somehow.”
“As for details, Madam President, we have sent out parties of men to search for survival items such as flashlights, stoves with gas to cook with and all the warm clothing and bedding we can find. We stumbled upon an old storage room full of kerosene so we have plenty of that to last for a few years if necessary. In some of our rooms we have generators with ventilation and grow lights to grow our own vegetables. Seeds were easy enough to find and fertilizer too. Another party of the fellows went out and came back with many gas cans full of fuel for our generators. Apparently the storm hit so quick that a lot of foodstuff was discovered and we have storerooms full of canned goods and powdered milk for the women and kids. From the drug stores we took all the vitamins and medicines we could find for the old folks with a variety of ailments. We have two doctors and three nurses among our group. We also have a few teachers and we plan to start a school for the kids soon. Well that is an overview and we would be happy to answer any questions you might have,” as he sat back and took a drink of his now cold coffee.
Greg noticed the president thinking hard about what she had heard. He was impressed with finding this community very similar with the Albany New York group. He thought he was correct in thinking that many more of these little isolated communities existed throughout the States.
The president leaned forward and said, “Thank you so much for your fine report. I know it must look like we are living in a life of luxury here, but in fact we are not much better off than you are. If you in the future have contact with others who are searching out survivors, please tell them our government is still functioning.”
She went on to tell them about the new plan of the two capitals. “There is one in Washington and the other in Colorado where we are going now
Hilary stood up and said she wanted to visit the place where there people lived. After visiting the underground community, she asked Greg and his wife to have lunch with her. Greg went back to his small room and to see his wife and kids. He found them quietly reading together and he told them the president wanted them all to come to lunch. The kids were excited about the prospect of having lunch with the president. The kids asked where Jasper was and Greg said that he was still keeping the president's feet warm. They cleaned up and left to have lunch with the president.
After a simple lunch of soup and sandwiches the president asked the kids how and what they have been doing.
“The daughter answered, “We don’t have much to do, but mommy says we will start school soon. She said we will study math and history and things like that.”
Hilary smiled and said, “Maybe I can attend the class too, I’m a qualified teacher from a long time ago and if I brush up on my history, maybe I can teach a class or two. Becky maybe you could browse through my, or the trains library, for some books of interest. After we talk for awhile I will show you where the library is.”
“Greg give me your ta
ke on what you saw today and heard. For myself I saw resourcefulness beyond my dreams. After talking with some of the community, I felt humble and proud at the same time.”
Greg answered, “Yes, I felt it too. The similarities are remarkable to the Albany station. I think we can count on many more like this scattered across the States. I’m still a little worried about bandits as we heard about some snow mobiles out and about from the men. We must keep a vigil out and be prepared for anything. In the meantime, keeping our passengers from not being bored is a task we must address soon. I talked earlier with Bubba and before dinner tonight they will have an exercise period to keep the blood flowing. Becky has some ideas too and I'll let her tell you what is on her mind.”
Becky started with telling the president some ideas for keeping the passengers busy. “One thing I thought of right away was making clothes and knitting. If a scouting team could go out and find a fabric store and bring back some supplies, I think that is a good place to begin. We will need warm clothes and wool is the best for our needs in the coming months. Another thing we could do is have each passenger make a vita and let’s see what turns up. Then when we reach Colorado we can assign jobs for them in their respective areas.”
Hilary smiled and said, “Well Becky, Greg said you were a go getter and now I can see what he is talking about. Greg would you see the colonel and see if his men can find a place that can supply what Becky needs; and will you tell Bubba I would like to join his exercise class starting tonight. Thanks for coming and now I have some writing to do.”
Greg and the kids left and looked at Jasper who followed his new friend with Becky going to check out the library. Somehow the dog knew Hilary needed some companion to ward off the loneliness facing her. Greg dropped the kids off and went in search of the colonel and Chuck. Greg found them both in the dining car and he sat down and drank a cup of coffee with them. He told the colonel what he needed to do and got up to the put the plan in motion. They had snow mobiles aboard and it shouldn’t take too long to find a fabric store as they had a street map of Philadelphia and the yellow pages.
Unearthly Snowbound Page 10