The Changing Earth Series (Book 1): Day After Disaster
Page 34
Erika couldn’t believe what she was hearing. National triage was performed, and California was left for dead.
“How could they do that?” Harold protested.
“Look, guys. I’m not supposed to talk about that. The country is in chaos. The refugees have spread everywhere. People are killing one another for scraps in the cupboard. Whole areas have been quarantined for disease control. I would try to make yourselves at home here for a while. We might not have much food, but we are maintaining control of the city and you’re safe,” Alex assured them.
Erika rolled her eyes. “Sure we are,” she said sarcastically.
“You are,” Alex assured her. “You have my word.”
Chapter 5
Weeks turned into months at the camp. The fighting outside swelled and receded many times. The fence line expanded, and more shelters were built. The inflow of refugees never seemed to end, and food became further rationed. Watching her family and friends get emaciated, Erika taught them how to capture rats. They burnt their fur off before gutting them and eating them. Erika knew this was the best way to minimize being exposed to diseases these disgusting animals often carried.
As the months went by the refugees demanded some sort of system to find lost loved ones. The situation almost came to a breaking point. The soldiers tried to explain that there was no power, and no computers in most of the cities outside of Vegas. There was no way to connect that much data together.
“Well, you still have pen and paper, right?” an older gentleman declared in response.
After that day, the refugees were lined up and questioned. Everything was recorded: past addresses, social security numbers, family information, the list went on. The papers were taken away in boxes to be cross-referenced to other family members looking for loved ones. Once the computers were back online it would be populated into a database.
It was a windy, rainy day when Erika lined up with Vince to be questioned. She was hopeful that maybe her brother or dad was out there looking for them. Then we could get the hell out of here, she mused. Vince imagined his parents—somehow surviving the devastation he heard took place in Washington—filling out a form somewhere with his name on it.
They were the last ones in line, and Erika watched the man close his box and head back toward the city. She left hand in hand with Vince, Star, and Dexter, hopeful the nightmare at this camp would end soon. Their fates rode in a cardboard box heading through the gate.
The man stomped through the mud, headed back to the Luxor. They were staging all refugee management activities there. Jumping at the sound, a gunshot ripped through the quiet of the night. The man’s footsteps quickened as more shots followed the first. As he walked across the street, a refugee appeared. Grabbing the man, the box flew into the air. The refugee held the man hostage, but the soldiers that appeared sprayed their bullets wildly through the air. Ripping holes through the papers and men, the wind scattered the pieces through the air. The dead men were carried off as the remaining shreds sank into the mud.
To be continued. . .