Nomad Unleashed

by Craig Martelle

  The engineer perked up.

  “You know, this is the same technology that a nuclear reactor uses,” Ted offered. The group looked at him. “The steam turbine. Nukes are just more efficient at boiling water. Almost the entirety of the U.S. power system was based on steam, if you can believe that.”

  It seemed like everyone knew that already. Timmons acted like he wanted to slap the other man. Char shook Timmons and snarled in his face. “Don’t make me regret not killing you, a situation that I can remedy rather quickly.”

  Timmons glared for only a second, but then submitted, bowing his head. Char pushed the man away as she let go of his collar.

  “God damn it, Timmons. We need you to help us. Put your engineer hat on and let’s get to work!” Char told him.

  “I’m all for that. Damn, I missed the smell of fire and oil, the sound of gears turning, the whine of a turbine, the clank of pipes bouncing from the turbulence within. Hell yeah, I feel right at home,” Shonna said, wrapping her young and shapely arm in that of the engineer. She smiled at him, but he found her yellow eyes disconcerting and didn’t smile back. “I may never leave.”

  “Your show, engineer!” Terry said, realizing that the man had a name and Shonna knew it before he did. He’d only been in New Boulder for two years while Shonna had been there less than a day.

  Why am I so bad with some names? Terry asked himself. He wondered if he didn’t care enough to find out, or worse, he cared too much and didn’t want to get close to people. He knew many from the reception, but they’d introduced themselves over the years. He never asked for their names.

  He hated the pain of losing someone he cared for. He didn’t want to go out of his way to get close. He leaned close to Char and whispered into her ear. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

  “You know they can all hear you, right?” she pointed to the pack. They nodded without making eye contact. Char’s purple eyes sparkled magnificently in the plant’s twilight.

  “Me, too,” she simply said.

  “Yay me!” Terry whispered back. Char smiled, then turned serious.

  Char’s withering look at the rest of the pack members encouraged them to step up. Ted offered to look over the boilers and associated piping. Merrit offered to examine the water and any residue within the system to find those chemicals that needed to be filtered out before introduction. Sue suggested that she could manage the checklist, having a solid background in project management.

  And so it went until the engineer grabbed the handle to cut the power.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “They should have thrown the switch already,” Billy said to Felicity as he helped with the last of the kitchen clean-up. “Why haven’t they thrown the switch yet?”

  They already had the candles burning, but the electric bulbs provided all the light. Who would have thought that twenty-year LED lights would actually last beyond twenty years?

  Billy hurried, deciding that he would go to the plant and check up on them. There’d been too many twists already that day for another wrench to be thrown into it.

  “Werewolves,” Billy said putting the last of the cooking pots away under the kitchen’s central island. “That new group is all Werewolves. They aren’t with us, Felicity. They’re the enemy.”

  “Bah!” she replied. “I know they’re all Werewolves. Did you see how they deferred to Char?”

  Billy had told her about what he saw in the street.

  “Char is their leader. She and Terry. Those two won’t let those stinky old Werewolves be our enemy. You said Terry beat the snot out of the angry one?”

  “He beat him right fierce!” Billy exclaimed, remembering how the dust kicked up when the man was body-slammed into the pavement.

  “When has Terry Henry Walton ever allowed anything dangerous in New Boulder?”

  “His people now have a bear cub at that barracks of theirs,” Billy offered weakly.

  “Have you seen that little guy? He’s such a trip and looks to be so much fun. I can’t wait until Marcie can appreciate him. What else?” Felicity asked.

  The mayor held his hands up in surrender. “He wouldn’t, and if they were a threat, then he’d put it down personally. I think I’ll go to the plant anyway, just to see things.”

  “Don’t you be too long, Billy Spires. If I’m asleep when you get back, you don’t get to wake me up, but if I’m not, well then…” she taunted him.

  “I’ll be back before you know it,” Billy promised.

  ***

  “You have a running automobile?” Adams said in awe.

  The mechanic was proud of it and all the work he’d done with Billy to get it back into running condition. Adams touched the car, almost reverently.

  “We will need the car to run on occasion to provide power for our welder. Would you like to be in charge of that?”

  “Sure, just show me what you need welded. My hobby used to be old cars. I’ve been welding on them just about forever,” Adams said, never taking his eyes from the roadster.

  “I was actually talking about the car, but if you can weld, that puts you one up on the rest of us. I was never big on welding, only did it when I had to. Are you okay with being our go-to guy for striking an arc?” the mechanic asked.

  “I’d love that. Just show me the metals, the weld rods, and anything else you have.” The two men spent the rest of their time talking about the tear-down of the generator. The engineers were having a similar conversation on the other side of the big piece of equipment. The members of the Force dutifully followed their assigned people around, trying to learn what they could, but the discussions and terminology were way over their heads.

  Xandrie, Sue, and Merrit watched from the side. They would dig in when the time was right. In the interim, they considered digesting as their primary mission.

  “What a meal, huh?” Sue asked no one in particular.

  That’s not what the others wanted to talk about. “What happened to Char? She’s different, now. I mean way different,” Merrit said.

  Xandrie scowled. “She exudes confidence and strength. That’s why you see her differently. With Marcus around, you never saw that side of her, but it was always there. I think that hunky Terry guy is good for her.”

  Merrit snorted. Sue pursed her lips and nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Red eyes? Did you see that shit? Scared the fuck out of me. We ran all the way from Cancun because of a Vamp. It looks like we ran our happy asses right into the arms of another one, except this time, we’ve sworn loyalty to the bastard. Ain’t this a shit sandwich?” Merrit lamented.

  “He’s not a Vampire,” Sue said dismissively. “He’s something, but not a Vamp. Do you see how Char seems to glow? I swear, I need to find myself a man just like that.”

  “Hey!” Merrit said. “Better not let your real mate hear that. Or are you thinking about taking Char’s way out, too?”

  “No. I have no intention of killing Ted, although sometimes, he does ask for it.” Sue laughed. “No. I just want to glow like Char, even if only for a little while.”

  “Adams doesn’t make me glow.” Xandrie looked angry. Being with the same mate for eighty years wasn’t always a good thing. She could use a change of scenery and enjoyed looking at the hard bodies of those in the Force. She caught a couple of them looking at her, too. She wondered if she might sneak one away for an hour or two for a little stress relief.

  ***

  “Ready!” Roman called, sounding confident but looking afraid. A few people gave him a thumbs up. The rest waited. He threw the switch, cutting off the electricity leaving the plant. Then the cascade of the shutdown checklist began.

  Timmons and Shonna were fully immersed and quickly double-checked items on the list before executing them.

  James and Lacy did their parts, which weren’t anywhere near what the engineers were doing. The mechanic waited as the steam stopped driving the turbine. He kept his hand on the case, feeling the beast spin down gradually. His b
aby was balanced and working like a champ, but when it was open, one rock, one speck of dust could send it off the rails.

  The area around the generator had been cleaned, and he had his team from the Force cleaning it again as he waited for the RPMs to die down to zero. He didn’t want to leave anything to chance. Adams sat by his side, waiting patiently and looking forward to seeing the inside of the equipment, maybe even welding. It had been too long since he last welded.

  Clyde was bored out of his mind. A blanket had been tossed in a corner where he was out of the way but could still see what was going on. It took Terry a while to convince the dog that was his spot, but once he figured it out, he curled up and appeared to sleep, even though the noise in the plant was much louder than anything they were used to in their day to day lives. Clyde had eaten enough at the reception that he should have been in a food coma.

  “Let’s get to work,” Char said in the eerie silence of the shut-down plant. Terry had been watching Clyde sleep.

  “It’s our wedding night and we’re here,” Terry said, rolling up his sleeves.

  “It is, and Billy Spires must be thinking the same thing, that this is the place to be.” Terry had his back to the door as Char tipped her chin past him.

  Billy waved as he approached. “So, fellow newlywed, the siren’s call of the power plant was too much for you?” Terry called out.

  The mayor shrugged, unsure of what Terry meant. “All I know is that I don’t get to stay long. Felicity has something planned, I think.” Billy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  “Us too, my man! We have a full night right here and then a full day tomorrow and maybe another full night and then so on until the plant is ready to come back to life. We need those freezers running,” Terry said with a serious expression.

  “That we do, TH, that we do,” Billy replied. “Can you show me what’s going on?”

  “I would love to, Billy,” Char interjected, flicking her hand for Terry to go away. “Terry has to get to work. Our people are looking at him to lead by example.”

  When Billy was alone with Char, he faced her and asked his question. “They’re Werewolves, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, but the townspeople don’t need to know that, Billy,” Char answered.

  “You are the only Werewolf I know, and I don’t have any problem with you. Can I say the same thing for the new folks?” Billy wondered.

  “No, because they’re a little different. I’m their alpha. None of them will cross me or they will die,” she said coldly. “They will not be a problem for you.”

  Billy couldn’t argue with that. He trusted her and Terry to take care of their business.

  “Done. Let’s see what this is about…” Char and Billy headed into the plant. He wondered why she wore her pistols, but then again, she wore them everywhere. He’d also seen Terry without his rifle all day. He’d stored the whip in Billy’s house during the ceremony, but had recovered it before they left the reception. “Where’s Terry’s rifle?”

  “At Margie Rose’s house. He said that today was not a day to carry it. He regretted that decision when my old friends showed up, but everything turned out okay, so all’s well that ends well.” Char continued to head toward the generator. The noise level was starting to pick up as the small army of people were putting their tools to good use.

  The mechanic tapped the generator twice with a wrench and waved to Lacy. They stood on opposite sides and would loosen bolts in unison, to ensure that they didn’t warp the casing. Two chainfalls hung overhead from an I-beam installed in the before time specifically for the purpose of lifting the generator and its heavier components for maintenance. The electric winches had been replaced with the manual lifting system, although these were getting old and already well past their designed service life.

  The world was losing what made it great. They didn’t want to lose the generator and the ability to make power.

  Cracking nut after nut, the mechanic and Lacy worked their way around the generator’s shell. They seemed like there were more bolts than stars in the sky, but finally, they removed the last ones. Lacy made two passes around it, as did Adams and the mechanic. Three independent checks to make sure it could be lifted off.

  “Grab your pushers, people, and be ready. The case must lift straight up. We cannot risk it bumping any of the internal components. In place now. Ready!” The mechanic wiped his brow on the back of his coverall sleeve. With a nod, he and Lacy started pulling the chains. Twenty feet of chain later, they’d lifted the casing one inch. Together, they pulled again, rhythmically like Olympic rowers, and the casing started to sway.

  “Pay attention!” the mechanic yelled as the eyebolt his chainfall was attached to started to stretch. “Hold it!” he called as he started to rig a second hook and chain from the first, trying to spread the load. As he was making his final adjustments, the bolt started to squeal its own death.

  Adams stepped forward, bracing himself across the turbine shaft and grabbed the casing. If it fell, it would take off all the man’s fingers. But the squealing stopped, because he supported the casing’s weight.

  “Quick as you can!” Adams grunted. The mechanic removed the chainfall from the first bolt and hooked it to the alternate attachment point. He finished and cycled the chain hand over hand as fast as he could to pull up the slack, then he tightened it and worked until he’d lifted the casing. It started to sway, but the mechanic put James and two others on the side to keep pressure on it as he and Lacy furiously worked their chains.

  When the casing cleared the generator, the mechanic directed the people to move in I-beams to put under it. It took four strong, young people to move each, but in the end, they lowered the casing onto the supports, freeing them to work safely on the generator underneath.

  “Holy shit, Adams! That casing weighs thousands of pounds!” the mechanic exclaimed.

  “It didn’t feel like it was over eight thousand to me,” Adams quipped as he slapped the older man on the back. Adams wasn’t even breathing heavily.

  “How did you do that?” the mechanic asked. The Force members had suspected before, but now they knew for sure. Adams wasn’t like them and neither were the rest of the newcomers.

  “Just a thing. I’ve always been much stronger than I look. Let’s get to it! Steaks are thawing while we stand here jaw-jacking,” Adams suggested. Soon enough, the mechanic, James, Lacy, and Adams were elbow-deep in the generator while the others watched, afraid to move so they wouldn’t kick up dust or anything else that might find its way into the massive, but delicate, piece of machinery.

  Billy had watched the whole thing. He realized that he missed television. Watching them work was mesmerizing. He decided to go. He thanked Char and strolled out the door, then broke into a run. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, but it was dark. He hoped that it wasn’t too late.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Roman and Timmons were deep in a conversation when Terry showed up. He didn’t interrupt. They were letting the pipes cool after they vented the last of the steam. The first pipe that cracked showed extensive buildup of scale on the inside. The first valve they pulled showed the same thing.

  The engineer was amazed they were able to close any of the valves, seeing the condition of the one they opened. It made him not want to crack too many other ones.

  “We need Merrit,” Timmons said and then started yelling. Terry waved and ran off. Merrit had been digging through some muck they’d scraped from a pipe leading to the turbine. Terry grabbed him while members from third squad continued to swab out the pipe.

  Timmons waved at Merrit to hurry, so the Werewolf ran up two flights of stairs, meeting them on a catwalk where they continued to look at piping and valves. “What chemical do we use to break up this crap?”

  “Vinegar, of course,” Merrit said and made to leave.

  “Well?” Timmons asked. Terry just looked at him. “Do we have any vinegar?”

  “I think we do! I wonder how much of
it we ate on our salads tonight. No matter. I know who makes it. I’ll hunt them down,” Terry committed before running down the stairs and across the plant floor. As he was headed for the door, Char intercepted him.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “To find vinegar so we can break up some of the scale and clean out some of the pipe and the valves,” Terry answered.

  “What happened to delegating? There is an awful lot you can do here, but if you go out there, then you’re limited to doing just one thing. Send someone else, Colonel!” Char directed him.

  “Major!” Terry blurted out. “Son of a bitch. I should call you Jiminy Cricket.”

  Terry turned back to the main floor. It had gotten loud again because of the people working and the sound of metal on metal. “Mark!” he called.

  Mark popped out of a group of people and walked quickly to Terry. “Do you know which farmers make vinegar?” Mark nodded. “Get there and convince them to give you all they can spare. As much as possible and you’ll need their help bringing it back here if the quantities are as I hope.”

  Mark didn’t waste any time asking questions. He turned and dashed out the door.

  “Easy as pie,” Char told him. They went back to work, manually scraping and cleaning everything that the engineers and mechanics pointed to.

  ***

  No one even realized that the sun was well up in the eastern sky until someone mentioned that the oil lamps didn’t need to be burning.

  They opened the windows to let the morning breeze in, but it was already hot. The drought was taking its toll on everything. They needed rain to bring back the plants that would help keep moisture in the air.

  Terry didn’t feel tired at all. Char had also been a dynamo through the night, along with the rest of the platoon, but they didn’t have nanocytes to help them over the hump. They looked dog tired.