When It Rains

by Joel Shaw

  “He said you had issues with self-esteem, that you would compromise your needs to get people to like you. That’s why you can't let go of your crew."

  "I don't deny that. I'm human. I'm not a warrior."

  "I think you would be one hell of a warrior, Shi.”

  “Hmmm...I don’t know about that.”

  “I do. You’ll see, someday you will have to stand your ground and fight for what you believe.

  “You’ve made our point. Right now, I believe I will go see how the preparations are going...”

  “One more question...how will you follow the pipeline? More electronic gadgetry?”

  "With this." Shania pulled a map from the pile of papers.

  “A map? You must be kidding...”

  “Take a look. This one is particularly helpful. It shows all of the subterranean pipelines in this region. As you can see, the Kansas City to Denver pipeline, that’s the one we’ve been tapping, runs through a town called Osborne right there...” She stabbed the map with a green fingernail. “...on the banks of the Solomon River. That's our first waypoint; Osborne, Kansas.

  Sheila started to interrupt.

  “Wait. I know what you're going to say. The river may be dry now, but someday the rains will come. I know my history. Our planet has suffered many droughts, but the rain has always returned. This drought will end and we'll have water in the rivers and lakes once again. We'll be organic farmers.” She was smiling now, “Grow broccoli and carrots.”

  "You paint a pretty picture. If I were in a different frame of mind, I think I would go with you. I hope things work out for you. Are you taking all the seeds?”

  “Well, yes, I guess...I hadn’t thought about it. Why? You want some?"

  Sheila nodded, “Jordan persuaded Amber to take some with her to use for trading. I’ll take his advice, too. Who knows, maybe we can plant a garden in Minnesota...and be organic farmers...grow carrots and...broccoli.” she busted out laughing then stopped, “after I do what I have to do."

  Shania spoke without thinking, “I suggest you start with the commanding officer. Cut off the head of the beast, and the parasites will leave.”

  "That's exactly what I was thinking. What's his name?"

  "Let me see." Shania picked through the papers until she found the St. Cloud spreadsheet. "Major Roland Hanson...he’s your target." She new the instant she pronounced his name that she had inadvertently opened pandora’s box of wickedness.

  Sheila quit breathing; a feeling of foreboding momentarily consumed her. She opened her night-stand drawer, withdrawing the pictures of her rape. She flipped through them, stopping at one with a flamboyant signature: Lt. Roland "Handsome" Hanson.

  "You'll be the first to die, Major." She threw the picture toward Shania who caught it and looked at the graphic image of a rape in progress. Lt. Hanson had a bottle of gin in one hand, the handcuffs binding Sheila's arms behind her back in the other, pants around his ankles, penis in her ass, smile on his face.

  Shania spat and threw the picture in the pile of papers on the table. "That's evidence, too.”

  Sheila pulled her boot knife and pierced the smiling face. "I pronounce you guilty. The sentence is death."

  Shania nodded her head in agreement. "I suppose you must do what you have to do, Sheila. Please don't spend the rest of your life seeking revenge. At some point you'll have to let it go."

  "I'll let it go when all of them are dead."

  Shania sighed. Further debate would be pointless. "In any event, I'm going to miss you. I have enjoyed watching you grow and mature. You've been an immense help to me over the years. If you happen to find a phone, give me a call.” She smiled sincerely, jotting the Sat phone number on the top page of the stacked documents.

  They stood, hugged and kissed. Shania held Sheila at arms length.

  "I'm glad you're going with Amber, she needs help finding her brother." She chuckled. "Amber has a lot to learn about survival and you're a damn fine teacher.”

  "Good luck, Shania."

  "Good luck to you,honey."

  "Democracy Now”

  They exchanged high fives.

  "Power to the people, baby. Now, let’s go get you some seeds."

  #

  CHAPTER 18 - MAY 9

  Sheila and Amber watched the small convoy of Health Services vans disappear west on U.S. Highway 40.

  The doors of the Health Services warehouse remained open for the benefit of scavengers whom could help themselves to any of the hundreds of FEMA food storage units remaining inside. Amber was disturbed by the possible outcome.

  “People are going to fight for that food. Maybe even die for it. I watched them fight for grains of wheat. Just think what they’ll do for all of this."

  Sheila shrugged. "First come, first served as far as I’m concerned.” They were overloaded as it was, each of them having stuffed every square inch of their bags and pockets with food.

  Amber resigned herself to the inevitable. “At least they'll be eating better than we. I have about two dozen protein bars and some powdered orange drink. The protein bars are really good. I think you'll like them."

  "How much water are you carrying?"

  "Two and a half gallons. How much do you have?"

  Sheila shouldered her HydroPack, cinching the straps before adjusting the mouthpiece. She flexed her legs, getting used to the sixty pounds of provisions, taking solace in the fact that her burden would become lighter as the days progressed.

  "My HydroPack holds three gallons. I have a change of clothes, three pair of boxer shorts," she winked at Amber, "forty rounds of 9 millimeter, three cakes of bread, powdered milk, powdered eggs, pinto beans, some lentils, flour, salt, brown sugar and some organic seeds in this." She held up a camouflaged,waterproof bag.

  Amber hoisted her saddle bags. "One side of this is full of seeds, too. The other side has the maps and ration cards for Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota and a clean set of clothes, including some of Jamie’s boxers.”

  “Really.” The wild eyes performed a loop-d-loop.

  “Kind of weird, I know. I don’t think he would mind. I gave the other maps and cards to Shania. Do you think they'll be all right? I mean...do you think they'll survive?"

  "Shania is a resourceful person and she has a hardworking crew. They'll be good. Don't worry about them; worry about us. I have never jumped a train. Have you?"

  "Never, but that doesn't matter. Every day of these past two weeks I have done something I have never done before. I'm excited. I feel like I can handle anything."

  Sheila smiled. "I like your attitude. Let me ask you this. Do you have any weapons?"

  "I have the Tazer and my knife, that's all."

  "I assume you know how to use the Tazer."

  Amber nodded.

  “Good. Do you know how to use the knife?"

  Amber shared the story of the attack in Comanche. “Other than that, I've mostly used it for cutting bread and stuff."

  “I’d say you were lucky there. Let me see it."

  Amber withdrew the six inch fillet knife from its sheath and handed it to Sheila who examined it briefly running her finger over the worn edge of the flexible blade; it was dull.

  "I'll sharpen it for you and from now on it's a weapon. It's not a kitchen knife. Only pull it out if you intend to use it as a weapon. I'll show you what I know about knife fighting. If you have to use it again, you'll be better prepared."

  Amber wasn't concentrating on what Sheila was saying. She was watching the train. She was eager to begin a new adventure and wanted to make sure that it wouldn’t leave the station without them.

  "Shania said the train leaves this afternoon. I think we should get closer to it so we're ready when it leaves. I'm kind of excited, aren't you?"

  Sheila thought about the local Black Swans, wondering how many, if any, would be on the train. Where would they ride? Would they search the train? If so, would it happen before or during the journey? Were they confident and alert or careles
s and inattentive? She hoped for the latter. Maybe she would have the opportunity to pick a couple off during the trip to St. Cloud. Stoking the fire .

  "Yes, I'm excited." But for different reasons.

  "Let's cut across the tracks before sunrise and find a place to hide." Amber led the way.The two women, laden like mules, trotted across the expanse of open ground. Amber skipped over the first pair of tracks like a child going to the playground .

  "Slow down, Amber. If you twist your ankle crossing these rails...well, just slow down."

  Amber looked at Sheila and smiled widely. She was thrilled to have a big sister along for the ride. “This way." She led them to a thicket of trees on the east end of the silos. They found a small, protected clearing and hunkered down to wait.

  Sheila showed Amber how to hold a knife. They practiced thrusting from behind into the liver and slashing the right side of the throat to sever the jugular. They played good girl bad girl under the morning sun until they heard two hoots from the locomotive and the couplers of the hopper cars clanged as the KCF locomotive inched forward. They grabbed their gear and ran to the last car.

  "I don't think we should ride the last car, we'll be too exposed,” Sheila cautioned, ”lets move forward a few cars."

  They stumbled over the rail bed of fist-sized granite rocks until they reached the sixth car from the rear of the train. It was a hopper car, designed to carry grain.

  "Let's ride on the front. I want to see what's ahead of us.” Sheila whispered. Amber nodded and they tossed their gear onto the platform under the slanted side of the hopper before climbing the steel ladder. They discovered a two foot diameter hole in the hopper framework through which they were able to stuff the packs. In spite of their circumstances, they could not suppress their smiles. They held hands and joked quietly, waiting for the journey to begin.

  "Do you see that?" Sheila whispered, nudging Amber with her elbow.

  Amber was already focused on two men standing beside the tracks several hundred yards ahead. The train was accelerating, decreasing the distance between the women and the men at an alarming rate. They had no cover. Amber took her hat off and pulled the veil from its compartment. Sheila leaned across her, trying to see the men, noting that one of them suddenly took more interest in the train...maybe he spotted her movement...Probably her red hair. They were about a fifty yards away. Amber pulled Sheila’s head to her lap and held it there. “Stay close to me,” she said earnestly, “and pull a side of this over your head. Make sure you cover your feet, then hold it still."

  "What the hell?" Sheila had her hand on her pistol, preparing for a fight.

  "Just do it. They won't be able to see us. Trust me."

  The men were twenty yards away now, standing still, inspecting the cars as they rolled by. They had their weapons at ready.

  Sheila pulled the veil under her boots, then pinched it between her fingers to keep it from fluttering in the turbulence. She looked at the pistol resting in her lap. Her heart was pounding a hole in her rib cage.

  "I hope you know what the fuck you are doing."

  Their car rolled by the uniformed men. Sheila could see their distorted silhouettes through the veil. They stared directly at the pair without a clue. The train was rolling quickly now, leaving the men behind. Amber peeked under the edge of the veil. The men were distant images, like two crows hiding in the shadows of the silos.

  Sheila broke the tension with laughter. She looked at Amber with disbelief.

  "They didn't see us. How the hell did that happen?”

  Amber carefully packed the veil away, grinning all the while. “The veil made us invisible. Isn't it fantastic?"

  "Hell yes, it's fantastic." "How does it work?"

  "Ask your brother. He gave it to me."

  "What else do you have in your bag of tricks?"

  "That's all, really. I was watching your face. I wanted to laugh out loud. You were so scared."

  "No shit I was scared. I’m still scared...I was ready to shoot somebody...Anybody.” She slumped against the steel framework, trying to regain her composure. "We were invisible. I still can't believe it." She thought about the potential of the veil.

  "Promise me you will let me use it when we get to St. Cloud."

  "I promise. You can use it whenever you want."

  #

  The pair settled in to what they thought would be the routine for their journey north. They were exposed to the elements save for the shade provided by the inclined plane of the hopper which extended over their heads. The sounds of steel cars on steel rails was deafening: clickety-clack, clickety-clack . The cars rocked side to side as they were pulled over long stretches of misaligned rails. Amber noticed the change in temperature as her journey took her further north. It was cooler now and the welcome May sun warmed the Kansas plains, dispersing the morning chill. The duo munched on bread and protein bars, taking frequent small sips of water to remain hydrated. They made themselves as comfortable as they could and began to enjoy the view from their steel futon.

  As they approached crossings, the locomotive engineer would sound two long blasts, followed by one short blast and then another long HOOOOOT. Was it a warning?They didn’t know. It seemed to be unnecessary; they had yet to see any vehicles. The crossing gates were in a state of disrepair. The drought had turned the vast Kansas grasslands into a dust bowl once again. Coyotes, grasshoppers and rabbits were the only visible forms of life. And, the vultures...always the vultures, circling over head. Here and there stood faded farm equipment, sometimes lined up like soldiers, as if waiting for orders to advance. Their commanders were long gone on a quest for food and water.

  Eventually, they were lulled to sleep by the repetitive sounds of wheels on rails. The train rolled on through one empty town after another until slowing to a halt on the outskirts of one of The Colonies, Kansas City.

  Amber and Sheila woke from their slumber, surprised that they had slept through the midday heat. They jumped down between the cars and peed between the rails. They stretched their limbs, then stood motionless for several minutes, looking at a sight neither of them had seen. They had heard stories about The Colonies. According to the stories, the rich continued to live in the lap of luxury as though the twenty-nine year drought was not occurring. They climbed to the top of the grain car and lay on their stomachs. The locomotive was idling at a large gate in a fence that extended as far they could see over the rolling hills to the north and the south of the city. On far side of the fence, large tractors towing grain drills planted freshly tilled soil. In the distance they could see crowns of trees that were greener than Shania's afro. Farther to the north the could see water spraying from huge sprinklers.

  “That looks like a golf course. I don't believe what I'm seeing. Do you."

  "Jordan told me this was happening," Amber said. "I didn't believe him, or, I guess I didn't want to believe him. Now I believe him. It's wonderful and sickening at the same time."

  "What's wonderful about it?"

  "I mean it's nice to see that the earth isn't dead. Do you know what I mean? After spending so much time in areas where nothing appears to be living, its like the earth is saying, I'm OK, don't worry about me. Give me a little water and I'll spring back to life. You know what I mean. It just makes me feel good. It gives me hope.”

  "If you can overlook the reality of this...this injustice, I suppose you're right. It is beautiful. But, I can't. I shouldn't be surprised. I’ve heard rumors about The Colonies for years, but I wasn't prepared for this. This pisses me off."

  The train lurched forward pulling its cargo and the stowaways through the gates of Kansas City.

  "We need to hide," Sheila said, pulling Amber to her feet.

  They scrambled down the ladder, stowed their gear in the hole and covered themselves with the veil just as the train passed through the gates. Sheila studied the guards uniforms. The weren’t wearing bad-guy black but instead wore standard National Guard uniforms that looked clean and pressed. Th
ey looked legitimate and they were allowing a train carrying Black Swans into the city.

  Through their veil of invisibility, they watched the landscape change from farmland to light industrial parks surrounded by apartment buildings then into the city's center along the banks of the trickling stream that was once the might Missouri River.

  They were awestruck to see lush landscaped communities. They could see children playing in parks, luxury cars and SUVs moving on the streets at a relaxed, almost casual, pace. No hustle and bustle, no traffic congestion. So much undeveloped land was visible, it became obvious that entire suburban housing developments had been bulldozed if favor of enormous gardens and parks, sprinkled here and there with magnificent mansions.

  They passed a cemetery which had a freshly dug grave in the manicured lawn. Amber began to weep. She closed her eyes and saw the hollow shell of a building where her mother had died in her own vomit and urine. She heard the sucking sound of the vacuum hose that had been used to clean up her mother’s mess. Her eyes were seeing the truth and it angered her. Here, people were buried with dignity. Here, fresh flowers adorned headstones. Here, they did not fight for the basics of life. Here is where the battle should be fought.

  "This really pisses me off.” She yelled, startling Sheila who quickly clapped her hand over Amber’s mouth.“Shhhh. You want to get caught?”

  Amber lowered her tone but continued with her tirade. “These are the people we should be killing. These are the greedy assholes who have raped the earth and created a third world country out of the United States of America. These are the people who came into my community and stole our water and then sold it to us. These are the people who caused my father’s death.”

  “Fuck them,” Sheila said.

  “Fuck them.” Amber was embarrassed for saying the four letter word. It sounded appropriate, though. “FUCK..th...” Sheila’s hand quickly clamped over her mouth.

  They sat in silence. Huddled together under the veil as the train rolled into the switching yard then stopped.

  Sheila was offended by the opulence surrounding her and wondered what she could do to cause some suffering amongst the privileged residents of Kansas City. Just to let them know that it isn’t over. Fanning the flames.