The Event Series (Book 3): The Archive and Beyond

by Thomas Larson

  Vespers tonight were good, actually great, the entire clan back together, with a few new people. We are blessed, and at the end of the evening Tanya had us all form a circle around the fire, holding hands, and just kind of feeling as one. It was perfect.

  August 24th

  (Matt) It was off to the veggie garden this morning; while we were gone it seems to have been a little neglected. Tanya and I spent much of the morning hoeing and weeding. The bunnies have been having a field day with no one visiting regularly. Maybe Mark needs to get Biter out there to just kind of stir things up.

  The usual crew headed up to Bare Mountain, actually, no, it was Lance and the woman sergeant, Delany, and the older Marine. Steven flew and it was kind of neat, he took Heather and the baby.

  Tanya and I bicycled out the horse farm and spent a little time riding, I was on Black Olive and Tanya rode Strawberry. We really didn’t cover much ground; it was more for just giving some exercise and visiting with Mom.

  She filled me in on the farm and the flashes that had been seen from the helicopter. She didn’t have a whole lot of information other than that. But she wanted to know what I thought. What should we do? I didn’t have an answer right then, I will have to think about that for a bit. My gut tells me that the farm set up is not a big problem and could actually be a resource for us. But the flashes, that is concerning.

  Tanya and I talked about it as we cycled back to the camp. Neither of us could come up with something on the flashes, but we decided that the best thing for the farm would be to have someone take a ride over there and do a little meet and greet.

  Mark is doing a great job in the kitchen; he made us stuffed peppers for dinner tonight. I am not sure what they were stuffed with, but it was really good.

  Vespers, we just sat and enjoyed each other’s company tonight. Maybe tomorrow I will try a little story telling.

  (Margo) Gillie, Sergeant Gilbert, has become a kind of third wheel with us. Or would it be fifth wheel with Del and Lance in the mix. Anyway, he is a good guy, funny with that accent and all.

  It was kind of odd, he cornered me today and began to ask me stuff about Tay, I think he is kind of digging that. He was asking if she was taken, or if she even liked men. I really did not have much to offer other than her history. I told him that he would have to find out some of that himself.

  After lunch Code and I talked about the camp, and scouting. Tom’s concern got us both thinking, and starting tomorrow, we are going to do some loops around to see if there is anything odd that we might not have seen before, if there was something new going on.

  Cool dinner, stuffed peppers, I was never really a fan, but these were great, and if nothing else, it beat deer stew.

  Snuggle night.

  (Lance) We flew up to the mountain today; it was the usual suspects, mostly, Mac, Del, Brown, and me. Heather and Augustus flew up with us too, that was neat.

  Only Sergeant Brown, Washa and I went in. She said she had some more looking around to do. Once we got in we headed toward the radar room.

  “Lance, can I ax you something?” she began.

  “Sure, shoot”

  “What do you think of Mills, the LT that came in with us?” she looked at me intently.

  “I don’t know, he is a little strange, I mean if it were me, I would be up here looking around with you. I thought he was with you.”

  “Yeah, well about dat, no, he wasn’t wit us, I mean the rest of us at Knox, he was kind of dumped on us about the same time the Major, your Major Barkley showed up.”

  “Really,” I said.

  “Yeah, and I’ve seen lotsa young officahs in my time, this one, he ain’t right. There’s somethin’ funny about it.” she continued. “He almost seems like a movie soldier, you know the kind, the shit officah who has his men turn on him, and then you find out he ain’t no officah.”

  I hadn’t really noticed, and was more than a little confused that Brown was telling me this.

  “Washa, I don’t know what to say, I mean, I just don’t know.” I said.

  “No, is okay, I jest needed to vent some, I’m jest not sure about him.” She smiled, kind of weakly. Then she perked up. “I’m telling you dis because I needed to let it out, and is jest you and me today, so you get the story.”

  I was really surprised by what had just happened, she trusted me that much?

  “Now, let me ask you a question.”

  “Shoot,” I smiled, I really like this woman, she is cool in a way cool way.

  “Exactly, where is the shooting stuff. This facility hasta have a weapons locker, and the plans showed that they should be on the main level, but we’ve checked that all, so where is it?”

  “Well, either we missed something on the main level, they hid it in the food area or they put it up in the radar room.” I offered.

  “Yeah, that is what I thought, but that makes no sense, why put the weapons so far into the back, why not up front?” she offered, and then sat for a minute. “Unless, unless, unless, work with me here Lance, what would ya think about hiding the locker in a book stack? Or behind a bookcase, easy and quick access if you know it is there, and if you didn’t, would you even look?”

  She stood up, and started back toward the front part of the archive, where the books were. I followed her. She walked to the main door and turned around. “Lance, I wants you to go outside, when I shout, run in here, you are under fire from hostile forces, do what would you do?”

  I walked outside, waited and when I heard the shout and I raced in, turned to the right, and hunkered down by the door, I looked around for more cover and then tucked behind a book case.

  “Bingo” she smiled and began to pull the volumes off the case. There was the latch. A hidden door slid open and we were in the armory, and it was a well-stocked one with M-16s, many boxes of ammunition, some grenades, C-4, Claymore mines and some bazooka-y looking things.

  We would be pretty much set for a while if we saw a small invasion. She was all smiles and I was pretty pleased also.

  “Now, this be our little secret for now,” she said. “And Imma to tell you why. Mills has been real interested in if I found dis place, not sure why, but for now, let’s not tell him.”

  “I am good with that, and, well while we are on secret shit, can I ask a question?” It was my turn.

  “You ever sneak into my cabin?” I asked.

  She looked at me for a few seconds, “And why would I do dat? To steal some tighty whitey boy’s underwear?”

  I laughed, I laughed a lot, I knew she hadn’t, she was with me most of the time when we were up here and when we were back at the camp, we were in the area.

  “Wait, is dat where you keep the Sat-Comm-Link?” she asked.

  “Yeah, why? …..oh, OH! Maybe someone is using the link on the down low?”

  “Why not? But who do dat and why?” she asked.

  It was a quiet trip back to the camp; I have a funny feeling, kind of a queasy funny feeling.

  I checked the video surveillance that we ran today; no one came into the cabin. After that, I turned on the CD player and quietly told Del what was going on, or might be going on. We both slept with guns under the pillows.

  (Tom) I think I am getting old; I just don’t have the energy I did.

  It was not much of a day, little rain in the afternoon, that was about it.

  As Major Barkley and I rounded a corner to the dining hall we heard a commotion. I turned the next corner and there was Lt Mills all up in the face of Sergeant Gilbert. He was screaming at the young marine. When Gilbert saw us, he snapped to attention. This confused Mills for a second and then he also snapped to.

  “What is going on gentlemen? And you may stand easy,” asked the Major.

  “Sir, I was just explaining to the Marine that I am his superior and that he is to follow my orders to the letter!” shouted Mills.

  “I see, and Sergeant, is that correct?” Barkley asked.

  “Sir, yes Sir!” shouted Gilbert.


  “Okay, well first off, Mr. Gilbert, since you are under my command, and I outrank the lieutenant here, my first order to you is to stop standing like you got a pole up your ass. And then I want you to tell me the fucking truth!”

  “Sir?” asked a nervous marine.

  “I heard some of what was going on and it sounded like there was a little more to this story,” was the Major’s response.

  “Sir, the LT had asked me to shovel out the outhouse for him, and I questioned if that was appropriate.”

  “I see.” Then Barkley turned to the LT, “Is that correct Lieutenant?”

  The beet red officer grimaced and then quietly said, “Yes, that is correct.”

  I do not like, nor am I a big fan of military bullshit, but this was just too good not to enjoy. I piped in, “I’m sorry Mr. Mills, I couldn’t hear you.”

  A glare that almost looked like a threat and then in a louder voice, “Yes Sir, that is correct.”

  “Very good, that is better, now, Sergeant Gilbert, I would like you to go to the mess hall and fix a coffee. How do you take it?” the major asked.

  “Ah black, with no sugar,” he said sounding very confused.

  “Perfect, and then I want you to sit and enjoy it, dismissed.” he told Gilbert, and waited until he cleared the corner, then Barkley turned to LT Mills, “Lt, we are all here together, some with ranks, some without, but in the end, we all live or die together and we all share in the workload. That means if it is my day to shovel out the outhouse, I shovel out the outhouse. Do you catch where I am going with this?”

  “Yes Sir” he replied, clearly not happy at what had just gone down.

  “Good, you are dismissed, go shovel!”

  He left,

  “What makes him think he was better than the rest of us, and that he could pull this crap?” fumed Barkley out loud.

  I shrugged, I had no idea.

  Asuna had a big chuckle when I told her the story. The Major was pissed, this was someone he has brought into the house and he took it as a personal embarrassment. Me think our little Lieutenant best walk the straight and narrow for a while.

  August 25th

  I decided that Asuna and I should make the trip up to Bare Mountain today. Lance had slipped me a note saying it would be a good idea. When we saw the facility, all more or less ship shape, it was clear he was right. But the biggest thing was that he and Sergeant Brown wanted to show us the armory. Wow, 20 M16s, thousands of rounds of ammunition, several, what are they called, LAWS rockets, and some explosives. Not stuff I want to play with, but good to have I guess.

  We also toured the food storage facility and the radar room, the place would be, could be, a very nice home for us. But that is not my decision, as Asuna pointed out to me. That is for The Three.

  When we flew back, I had Steven make a pass fairly close to the Oxbow, I wanted to see it for myself. It is being cultivated, and it is pretty tidy. It looked like mostly corn, but like our camp there was an area that seemed to be mostly veggies, squash, beans, pumpkins.

  The rest of the trip back was pretty bland, we saw no flashing lights or reflections.

  When we got back and had unloaded I took a little time to meet up with the Major, Charlene and Teckla. I just told them what we had seen and that I thought that we might think about moving to the mountain come winter time. It had a lot to offer. We could bring a lot of our stuff up there and would have a pretty safe, secure and stable place to live. Really when you think about it, it would be perfect.

  They told me that they were already thinking about that and were trying to figure out a time table, if everyone agreed that we should go.

  “What about the Oxbow, we move to Bare Mountain and we’re going to be right on top of each other.” I said.

  “Yes, we are considering that too. Tom, what do you think about a couple of us taking a ride out there and try a meet and greet?” asked Charlene.

  “Seems reasonable, when we flew over today we also did not get shot at, but then we didn’t see anyone out. That has to be a good sign,” I replied.

  The Major and Charlene looked at Teckla, “You’re on then.”

  “Wait, what?” I asked.

  “I had decided, we had decided that I was the least scary choice to go out and ride over there. It will just be me and Asuna, couple of mature women, lightly but reasonably armed, on horseback. What could go wrong?” Teckla replied.

  I looked at Asuna, “You knew?”

  Asuna shrugged.

  “Well, sort of,” she said, with a smile.

  I was not happy about this, after losing Anne, well, I just was, stop, stop living in the past. This is the best plan, you know it is. And I can’t protect everyone, as much as I want to, there are risks, there are always risks.

  “I guess it is the best way to go, but well, can we get someone in the area just in case?” I asked.

  “Already set, Gilbert and Margo will be across the river, and McManus and Gilbert will be not far from the entry side.” Said the Major, “and Steven will be a couple minutes away in the air.”

  I was going to protest, but Asuna’s comment about backing off came to mind, so I did.

  “Good, it is settled, you head over day after tomorrow,” Charlene said.

  Asuna and I had a few words over this, I know she is right, and that this is the best idea, but like I said, after Anne, I’m not sure I could lose her, deal with it I mean.

  (Margo) Code, Gillie and I took a sweep to the west of camp. We went out about 5 miles, and checked around. We found nothing, no signs of intruders, no old fires, nothing. I wasn’t really worried so much in this direction anyway, this was Momma country, if there was something going on, I felt I would know it.

  When we got back, Teckla and Charlene cornered me. They asked if I would be interested in doing a little something for them. When I heard the plan, guarding Teckla and Asuna, it was like ‘Duh’. They told me I would be teamed up with Gillie. I would rather take Code as my spotter but they said he was going to have a different role, working with Mac. It made no sense, we were two tried and true teams, why break us up? And after a little discussion, it was back to Code and me.

  I am stoked, finally a little action again, even if it was just watching.

  (Lance) Nothing again today on the videos, no visitors. I flew up to the mountain with Tom and Washa, we showed him around. After we got back Tom was called to a meeting and Del and I headed out to the horse farm. It has been too long since we did any time on Shinigami and Samurai. It was a good day, hot, but good.

  Mills caught up to me and over coffee (actual coffee, some supplies from the mountain) was playing 20 questions about the Archive, did we find lots of food, how about medicine, was there an armory, does it have power, were there weapons, can you sleep there, it was annoying, but most of all he kept asking about weapons, strange.

  Del and I talked about the cure, the pills tonight. So far no one has had any issues with them. They seem to do what was promised, the Hunters ignored everyone when they came into contact with them. But still I am not sure. Maybe I am a mouse about this, rather than a man, but something, there is something.

  (Matt)We started taking in some of the corn today, packing it into the storage barns, some we’ll dry and use as seed corn, most will feed the chickens, sheep and horses, and some we will keep for ourselves, canning it the best we can.

  Food production has become a full time task as we are heading into the end of the growing season. Mark has us sun-drying tomatoes, and we’re putting up beans and tomatoes in glass mason jars. The winter squashes, acorn, or butternut aren’t ready yet, and those we can keep in the barns when they are. The beans are there trickiest to can; they have to be right because the lack of acidity in them makes them the most vulnerable to spoilage or bacteria.

  Mark has said no more about Michelle, if she is pregnant or not, so I am not sure, and am not going to ask.

  Overall it was a pretty mundane day.

  August 26th

&nb
sp; (Lance) The weather is not good for flying today, the clouds rolled in last night and the air was a warm and wicked humid. I have to wonder if we might not be getting the remnants of a hurricane. It was a rainy day, and I mean downpour rainy with some pretty strong winds.

  Most of the day was spent with everyone in the dining room doing a game day. Gillie, as Margo calls him, organized a Texas Hold’em Tournament. We had two tables of eight to start the game. It was about noon time when the final table was determined. It was going to be a ‘shoot out’ between Matt, Mark, Charlene, Asuna, McManus, Del and Fred. I had gotten knocked out early when I went in with a small straight and got beat with a better straight.

  In the end, it was Mark who won the title of “Poker Face”, beating Asuna with a pair of Aces to her Kings. It was good.

  We held Vespers inside tonight. Matt told a story, Michelle did a little sing-a-long, and Teckla told us about the farm that had been seen and what The Three was going to do tomorrow.

  (Margo) So much for a little prance in the woods today doing some scouting, it’s raining like crazy, this is weird, we haven’t seen it rain like this since the spring. Lance said something about maybe a hurricane.

  We had an indoor game day, what else do you do.

  We held fire pit inside today, wow, I got nothing.

  (Tom) Crappy day, am tired and I slept in this morning, Asuna was up early, but I just wanted to stay under the covers a little longer.

  There was no trip up to the Mountain today, bad flying weather with the wind and rain. Most of us spent the day in the dining hall, games, talking, just being together. It was like a rainy day at Boy Scout camp.

  Took a nap this afternoon. What a sucky day.

  (Matt)It was a good day if you were a duck or if you were a plant in the middle of the August dry season, but not much else. It is good that the rain has come, we need the good soaking. Tanya and I didn’t head out to the veggie garden; it was pretty much a stay home kind of day.

  Mom and Taylor rode over this morning, they took the truck however, wet stinky horse would not be a good smell while hanging with the rest of us.