by Tom Germann
Tracy headed for the rear. “I’ll grab the paperwork.” Richard followed to get the keys for the different locked storage containers.
As they walked outside, Steven called out to Wagner. “That was a good job with Janice. I thought for sure that she would want to walk out of here toward whatever town is in the area.”
The warrant officer slowly walked around the building with everyone in tow. “Everyone, keep your eyes open and let’s see what we see. Mr. Lagrange, that is what leadership does. We get the job done with the assets we have. She just needed to feel needed and important. Done! Now she will help by looking after those two injured boys and everyone else can get other work done.”
“So you gave her make work and dressed it up?”
Wagner stopped frowning and turned, looking at Steven. “Not at all. I think Sal is not wrapped too tight right now and could completely freak out and end up hurting himself or worse, someone else. There are several fit people there who can stop him if they catch it in time. Your wife will catch it.”
They started walking again, looking toward the tree line. The paving was cracked everywhere and weeds were popping through, making the lot look a bright green. The only clear spot was about forty feet away around a small shack with two gas pumps. gleaming in the morning sun. They didn’t look like modern pumps, as they only had one nozzle and none of the electronic parts that were on pumps everywhere.
Jimmy spoke up, “Those weren’t there last night. The pumps were out front and electronic. Those look old.” Everyone carried on without saying anything else.
They came around the corner, took a few steps, and came to a stop. Jimmy and Sam at the rear came around the group and then stopped as well.
The tree line was maybe a hundred metres away, then it ended and there was a dirt road.
What stopped everyone was the subdivision beyond that. Everyone just stared, until. Corporal Vajjer spoke. “Those houses are no more than five hundred metres away. Maybe someone should go back inside and keep an eye on Mrs. Lagrange? Susie, you’re from around here. I thought everyone came from the town down the road.”
She nodded. “Yes, it’s about a five-minute drive. There are no houses nearby. They were going to build a subdivision here originally, but that never happened. They talked about putting it in here maybe twenty-five years ago. I do walk around the building sometimes. There is NOTHING nearby.”
The houses were not that far away but the heat was already causing a ripple effect off the pavement. From what they could see, there were rows of bungalows with either car ports or single car garages. They could see cars parked on the street and a stop sign at the nearest intersection. It was hard to tell, but from where they were standing, it just looked wrong.
There were no people out and no movement of any kind.
Wagner carried on, “Come on, we need to do the walk-around and get back inside out of this sun.”
They came up to the propane tank at the back of the building. Jimmy and Sam looked it over and Jimmy made the call. “Brand new and just about full. We should be good for weeks if we are real careful.” They carried on and saw an alcove with a butt-can and two upside-down milk crates. There were cigarette butts on the ground.
“Weird, everything changes except for the butt-can and even the butts. Same with the propane, even though that makes sense,” Vajjer said.
Sam stopped eyeing the tree line. “You mean because it’s attached to the building? The butt-can is in an alcove between the two buildings.”
Vajjer nodded. “Exactly.”
Susie said, “Those are mine and Tracy’s butts from our breaks. We were supposed to clean out the area but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Why are they here?”
They were coming up to the last corner before heading across the front of the building.
Wagner stopped. “Okay. What I am getting here, and I am NOT the one who said it, is that we are not in Kansas anymore. Does everyone think that we have been picked up and put down somewhere else?” No one said anything.
“Great. So let’s keep this low-key for now. Maybe we are just in another part of the country. I don’t think we are outside of the US. Those houses just over there look like ‘small town America’ subdivisions to me. Does anyone else have any thoughts?”
Corporal Vajjer said, “Well, we’re somewhere. Does it really matter where?”
Jimmy laughed at that, but then quickly sobered up. “Son, of course it does. You try explaining to people that you are in a different state, or heck, country. If we are in North America, we are pretty much okay, but if we aren’t? Anyone carrying a passport here?”
Vajjer nodded. “Of course we are, we’re from the great north and had to bring them. So we would be okay if we were in Europe, but you guys would be screwed.”
Jimmy just sighed and continued. “Let’s keep going and figure out what we can. No matter where we are, hopefully everything is normal and we were just kidnapped by aliens that moved us a hundred miles. Okay?”
“Good enough.”
Inside The Service Centre
Inside, Janice was trying to get Sal to eat a bit more and had been able to get him to take a few more bites. Private Andries had no problem finishing his bagel and coffee and then went to help Tracy with the stock-taking, which was going fast.
Sergeant Caisson was just coming down from the roof and briefing Private Tocker on what to do. “Grab a bottle of something to drink, it’s hot as hell up there. Keep an eye on the tree line and you can see some houses in the distance, so keep an eye on them as well. Here are some binoculars. If you want to check the houses out, do it, but only for a few seconds at a time. Anyone could come out of the woods can cross that open space fast. We need advance warning if something is coming. Questions?”
Private Tocker thought about it. “If I see anyone coming this way, what do I do?”
“Stick your head down the hatch and give us a shout. DON’T scream at the top of your lungs.”
“Okay, Sergeant, how long do I stay up there and did you see anything when you were looking?”
“You’re up there for no more than an hour then we’ll replace you. I saw what looked like a car accident on one of those roads and maybe some blood. No one cleaned it up but I mean, if it happened yesterday and there was a big party or something…. Well, it’s Sunday morning and everyone could be recovering from the party. Okay, get going! Oh and keep scanning through the channels with the volume down low. I got static twice that could have been something, but I lost it.”
Private Tocker headed up the ladder while the sergeant grabbed a power drink and waved it at Tracy. “Hey! Tracy? Can I drink this or should I take it from somewhere else?”
Tracy looked up from the clipboard. “Um, can you take one from behind the counter? In the display case. Those don’t count against any of our paperwork as it tends to be previous and extras.”
“‘Kay. Where’s Richard? What’s he up to?”
Tracy was rapidly ticking off numbers on the sheets. “Oh, he’s checking the keys and systems to see if anything is working at all. It looks like our backup battery systems are barely working.”
Everyone in the room was listening except the privates, who were counting and stacking items. “What backup systems, Tracy?”
She stopped with the pen resting against the pad of paper. “Sergeant Caisson, right? I said it right?” He nodded. “Okay, there are batteries set up to recharge so when power goes out, we have the emergency lights, like last night. ‘Kay? Well, those should last for up to three days on battery backup if you keep ‘em off during the day. They use LED bulbs now. Richard doesn’t think the system has enough power for an hour. He thinks the system is sort of fried. But I don’t care, we have other lights. I’d rather have running water.”
Everyone stopped. Janice looked up and called, “Are we running out of drinking water already?” There wa
s just a hint of panic in her voice and Sal started looking around, wringing his hands. Outside, the other group moved across the front of the service centre and walked toward the attached shop.
Tracy laughed. “No, we have enough drinking water for a few weeks. I mean for the toilets. I would also LOVE a shower.”
Everyone laughed at that one. Sergeant Caisson headed to the back office. “Hey, Richard, are you okay in here?”
Richard was sitting in a chair and covered in grease. On a side table was a large box that he had taken the lid off and was looking at. He looked up at the sergeant. “Could be better. These batteries are not that old and they look right messed up. I wanted to make sure that they were good ‘cause there have been fire problems in the past with this style.”
“How do you know all this stuff?”
“Oh, I’ve been working here on the night shift for six years. I have to take care of all this stuff. The compressors on the fridges and freezers are touchy too, so I have to make sure they don’t trip breakers. If we had power. I’m just about done with this and then I’ll take a look at the inventory lists. There are some emergency preparedness supplies that no one really knows about. The manager is supposed to pull them out if anything happens.”
“Okay… OH! Who lives in those houses behind us?”
“What houses? It’s all bush back there. They were going to put a subdivision out here and build a town, but that was years ago and the area didn’t grow like they thought because of a downturn in the economy. Maybe one day. I’m gonna finish up with this, okay?” Richard turned back to the battery box and grabbed a screwdriver.
“No worries, man.” Sergeant Caisson headed back out front. He shook his head as he realized that Richard had two ham sandwiches on his desk. Who ate ham sandwiches from a rest centre?
At the front, he could see Wagner and the rest of the guys heading for the shop. They didn’t look freaked out so they must not have found anything worrisome. Well, at least not any worse than they already were.
He stopped by a stand that held several umbrellas and chose a grey one with stripes. He picked it up and started walking to the ladder in the back again. “Hey, Tracy! Sorry to bother you again, but I am taking an umbrella upstairs so the lookout can have some shade. It’s just brutal up there.”
Tracy waved over her shoulder.
Sergeant Caisson climbed the ladder and popped his head up over the top. He was still lower than the retaining wall and that was a good thing. He looked around and saw Private Tocker keeping an eye out while trying to stay in what little shade existed from some rooftop ductwork and junk.
“Tocker! Come here!” He kept his voice low but deep enough to carry.
Tocker popped up like a groundhog, silhouetting himself perfectly against the sky, and ran over to the hatch. “Yes, Sergeant! I haven’t seen anything yet!”
“Jesus, Tocker. You do know that you just silhouetted yourself perfectly, right? Fastest way to get shot at is to stand out. So stay down! Even on your recruit course you did that shit, man!” He handed over the rolled up umbrella, which Tocker took and stared at questioningly. “Okay, Tocker, there ain’t much shade up here, but you can go back there and keep the umbrella up over your head. You shouldn’t get sunstroke and it won’t show as your human head popping up over the top. If you come down, just reroll it and leave it up here for whoever else has to come up. Got it?”
“Yes, Sergeant! Thank you!” Tocker scrambled back to his spot and opened the umbrella. He was wedging it into the machinery to hold it up as Sergeant Caisson headed back into the building.
He headed to the front and saw that Private Andries and Weibe were helping Tracy with the stock-taking while Janice sat with Sal and kept talking to him.
Sal appeared to have calmed down a bit and wasn’t constantly doing that stupid handwashing gesture. He was still stressed out but he at least appeared to be noticing what was going on around him and responding.
The sergeant smiled and gave a thumbs up to Janice, which she ignored, and he went back to Tracy. “How is it going?”
Tracy turned from her check-marking and glared at him. “It’s going just fine!”
He held up his hands in a warding gesture, “Woah! Hold on there. I just asked how it’s going. Same way I would ask any of my troops to see how they were doing, if they were almost done or if they needed help. I’m NOT trying to hit on you. My girlfriend gets pissed about stuff like that. So what’s the problem?”
She kept glaring at him with a hand on her hip and a pouty face. “I don’t like the idea of you army guys just running around and telling us what to do! I mean, earlier, I could ignore it and think that you were just like some other guys. Now I keep thinking how this is probably your fault, and you are the establishment! Next thing, you are going to want us all on sentry and learning how to march back and forth! Telling us what to do, when to eat! What we can think!”
Her voice had gone from talking to almost a shriek.
Everyone stopped working to watch, and even Sal was showing interest. . Richard came to the office door and was eating a sandwich while leaning against the frame and shaking his head.
The privates were looking at Tracy like she was an alien.
Sergeant Caisson kept his hands up. He took a deep breath and let it out. Another deep breath in and then he relaxed. “Okay, Tracy. We’re all ‘establishment,’ right?” He turned to the two privates. “Take a break for a few minutes, guys. Then Tracy will be telling you what she wants to get done and how she wants to do it.” He turned back to her. “I’m going to sit down over there and finish my drink. Then I’m going to the washroom in the back. When I sit down again, you let me know when you have a plan and what you want to accomplish.”
He turned and went to sit with Sal and Janice, sipping his drink.
Tracy just stood and stared after at him, frozen with a lost expression. Her face started getting red again and she stalked over to his table. “What do you mean? What are you doing?”
Sergeant Caisson took another sip of his drink and then looked at Tracy. “I’m sitting here sipping my drink and taking a break. I’m just going to be a set of arms and hands to move and do someone else’s plan. I’m done being a leader. So you plan what needs to be accomplished to keep us all healthy and alive and I’ll help with that. Hopefully, other guys want to pitch in with your plan as well.”
“What do you mean ‘hopefully other guys want to help’? You’re in charge, like your warrant guy! You have to keep us alive! You’re with the army!”
Sergeant Caisson stood and looked down at her with real anger in his eyes.
When Tracy saw the glint in his eyes, she backed up and stood with her hands clenched.
He spoke quietly but firmly. “NO. I have been a soldier for almost a decade. I have gone overseas to help others and fought in wars that were not my country’s own. I have gone out on domestic operations and stood on parade to remember fallen comrades. I am SICK of liberal fucktards who think that we’re the bad guys. That somehow waving your arms and chanting or protesting while smoking up means that you are going to fix anything.”
He paused and took a deep breath. “First, you blame us as the cause and because we are part of the ‘establishment.’. Yet everything we are doing is to keep us all alive and safe. You don’t want to rely on the experience we bring to the table? Then YOU LEAD. Hopefully, when the first few people die, you can live with it. Can you live with the guilt if you live because you ran away, leaving them, or if they die from your bad decisions? All yours, babe. Have fun in the real world.”
Sergeant Caisson took another deep breath and started walking.
Tracy pulled back her arm as if to strike at him.
He just stopped walking and without looking at her, said, “If you want to claim your ways are better, good for you. But I am giving you true equality. If you hit me, I will deck you and I w
on’t regret it for a second.” He started walking again and disappeared into the washroom after grabbing one of the lanterns.
Tracy stood there staring after him and then burst into tears.
Janice sighed and patted the seat next to her. “Sit down, dear. Cry it out and then we can talk about it.”
Tracy sank into one of the chairs, then put her head on her arms and bawled.
Janice looked over at the two privates edging toward the front door. Her glare was glacial. “BACK TO WORK.” They froze and went back to work on the inventory.
Sal was acting up again and getting twitchy until Janice patted his arm. “Sal, do you want to go help those two nice young men with the counting? And maybe have a drink?” He nodded jerkily. “Okay, you go on and do that, just don’t work too hard, okay?”
He bolted over to the two privates slowly working away and scribbling notes.
After a minute, Tracy started to calm down and then sat up. Her makeup had run and she looked terrible.
Janice sighed and pulled some of the napkins out of the dispenser on the table. She unfolded them and gave Tracy several bundled together. “Here, blow your nose. You look terrible.”
Tracy held the bundle to her nose and blew hard. Janice took that soggy mess from her with a grimace and threw it in the garbage can. She passed over some more and sighed again. “Now wipe your face and try to get all the yuck off, okay?”
Tracy swiped at her face, spreading the make up everywhere.
Janice shook her head. “Dear, you look more like a racoon than before. Turn this way.” Janice grabbed some napkins and started scrubbing at Tracy’s face, then threw the handful away and took some more, dumping some water on them and continuing to scrub.
She stopped and surveyed her work, then nodded, pleased with herself. “You young women today are applying too much makeup. The saying is ‘less is more’ and will look better. Anyhow, you look much better and you’ve stopped crying. How do you feel?”