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

by Thomas Larson

  The other thing is that she seems to be connected to a different plane of existence or universe or dimension or something. Between the talking to herself/Lucy about some things and the Death Wall, knowing that there is something back there, it is weird. But considering what Matt and Tanya have experienced, and visits by the QUalz, I am open for a lot more than I was back in the day.

  Lance came to see me today, it was an interesting discussion. We talked first about whatever it is behind that wall. Based upon what General De Soto was trying to do, and his thinking, we believe that it is a chemical weapon, or nerve gas. It would make some degree of sense. The question that concerns him, and I had thought of this also, was the possibility that the containers could rust or corrode and there would be leakage. His thought was that maybe we should break a hole in the wall so that someone should go in there and look.

  I told him that it was an idea but there were some problems with it. First what if the leak is already there, would we expose us all to the toxin if we pop open the wall? And the other question was even if the containers were starting to corrode, what could we do about it. We have neither the skills nor equipment to further contain whatever might be back there.

  At this point, after a little thinking, we are going to leave things alone. It seems the wiser course. If it ain’t broke……

  The other thing that we talked about was the cure, the pills. He told me that he and Delaney had not taken them. Doc Barkley had told me that and they had ‘plans’ should one of them die.

  He explained to me the why, the baby thing and how somewhere in the back of his mind he had this red warning beacon going off about them, and that he was listening to the warning. I thought about telling him about Asuna but decided that it was better to wait, let’s allow that to run its course naturally.

  November 8th

  (Tom) The weather is flippin’ cold this morning, not a good day to play outside. But then there is no reason to.

  Teckla and Lincoln came to the Archive today for some supplies. They seem to be doing well, he is healing well both physically and mentally, and she seems to be doing the same. I catch an occasional crack in the façade, a touch of sadness when she thinks she is alone. It has to be hard.

  Heather and Augustus, they seem to be doing well. I guess I should say that Heather is doing well. Augustus is what, four months old. Perhaps he will have a playmate soon. I am hoping.

  Jan and Fred, they seem to be doing okay after Jan lost the baby. But I think that they are hopeful and will try again.

  Kind of a downer entry, sorry, but that is what this journal is about, for whomever finds it, it is to give you an idea of where we were, and where we get to.

  November 10th

  (Tom) Oh boy, Margo wants Elizabeth to come live inside the Archive with us. I guess I am good with it, some are a little nervous, Heather fears for the baby, and I can understand that. We shall see how that works out, topic for The Three.

  November 11th

  Veterans Day, and for us, I am thinking about all those who were once with us, and now are not. I think about Anne, she is still with me, Mark, Uncle Elgin, Nick and the rest. We all suffered so much back then and those of us who are still here owe a lot to them all. Those memories are dear.

  Molly came by and saw me while I was thinking about those folks.

  “Don’t be sad Tom, they are safe, and happy!” she said and she hugged me.

  “I know, I know they are, but I still miss them,” I replied, a tear welled up.

  “You will see them again, all of them, in time.”

  It amazes me this girl, so young and so seemingly naïve and yet so deep and profound.

  We did Rec Room tonight, I think we all had kind of the same thoughts about those gone, and it was a story night, a healing night, a good night.

  As we were turning in tonight Asuna told me that Teckla had asked her to take over here place on The Three. She wanted my thoughts on it. I told her that it would be good to have her with us. But I also asked her why Teckla wanted to leave it.

  “She told me that because she was down at the Farm she felt she was out of touch with the group and the Archive,” Said Asuna.

  “It kind of makes sense, but do you think that she should represent the Farm and what happens down there on the council.”

  “That is what I think too, but I wanted your opinion, I think we need to keep her in the loop,” was her response.

  “Maybe we can work something out on that, maybe some change, we need her input. Let’s see what we can come up with over the next few days.” I offered.

  It was a cuddly night.

  November 15th

  “Tom, I have a problem,” said Winston in that very British voice.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I am afraid that my power unit is failing. I am at 3% and likely will be out of power by the day after tomorrow,” he stated.

  “Why? How?”

  “A readpad has an expected power unit life of 1 of your years under normal use when connected to the internal power system from the Sky Crystal. It functions at a very precise cycle frequency and level. But we are here and there is not the refined source of energy available. It has resulted in damage to the power pack. I am no longer able to recharge.”

  “I, Winston, what can we do?”

  “Nothing Tom, unless I am reconnected to the Sky Crystal or a new power pack is inserted then I am afraid I will go into hibernation.”

  It was a shock. I would be losing him in less than a day. “Can I turn you off and on to extend the time?”

  “You may try but the problem there is that it takes about 20 minutes of power from the energy cell to re-start me. So you could extend the hours to days, but not much more and will have less active time in the overall amount you have me available.”

  “Winston, I am sorry, I didn’t know.”

  “Tom, it is expected. We are programed for this eventuality, it is, how do you say…..Okay.”

  I had never thought about it before, but in a way, Winston was a sort of confidant. I would share things with him and he would listen, and when I played me back I would have a new and different perspective on what had taken place. It gave me the chance to clear what I had originally thought and rethink some of the ideas and concepts that I originally had.

  I decided that I would try to hold on to him for as long as I could and make my entries short and well thought out. I may be able to get to the end of the month this way.

  “Winston, power down please.”

  “Yes, Tom”

  November 17th

  (Tom) Winston, I will be quick here. We saw a touch of snow today, just a dusting, but then high up on the mountain it is colder.

  I am going to start a hand written journal and that way I can hold on to the little bit of power that is left in the power cell. So this will be the final entry for now, unless there is some acute emergency or message that needs to be entered.

  Thank you Winston, you have served me well.

  First Son Note: Lance, our Lance was able to reactivate the readpad that Tom referred to as ‘Winston’ using the equipment from our travel pods. That is why we were able to download the entries that he had logged. From this point on Tom kept a handwritten journal that is shared here. We will use a different typeset to show the difference and help keep the chronology more effectively.

  We found the journal as we looked through the papers that we piled with the laptops (Laps) and Winston. There are some other notes and assorted entries and comments from other members of the group or as they referred to it, Clan, that lived here. We include them on the appropriate days. Unfortunately we found that many of these entries were damaged or not created with the regularity of earlier posts. In some cases there were lapses of weeks and on one occasion several months between dates due to these two reasons listed above.

  November 20th

  (Tom) Well, this is going to be a little different; I am actually going to have to do a hand written jour
nal, this is old school. It has been a long time since I put pen to paper like this. I guess I became spoiled by the computer age and dictating to Winston.

  I think back to my old journal files that ran from 1992 until the meteor, 2013. They included the highs and lows of my life, the mundane, the exciting and some of the perspectives I had at the time. Many of those perspectives have changed, or maybe evolved, is a better choice of words.

  I guess I should detail a little of where we are now. There are 17 of us left and we are mostly located at an old military underground command post on the top of Bear Mountain in Hadley, Massachusetts. The group itself has grown and shrunk over time. We had upwards of 35 people at one time, now that number is reduced.

  We have experienced attacks by humans, Zoms (Zombies) and disease. It has not been an easy time of it since that meteor fell and polluted the Earth with an unknown virus. But somehow I, we, have survived. I am not going to re-write everything that has happened. I may refer to one to two over time, but it is all recorded and maybe you will be able to figure out how to mine the data and journals from the computers and the readpad that we have left behind.

  I am in my 50s, my name is Tom. I am married to Asuna. I am here on the mountain with Margo, my daughter, Teckla, my sister, and some others. We are a rag-tag group that was somehow brought together in the course of the post-apocalypse. We have survived, and actually for the most part over the last 4 or 5 months pretty much thrived.

  Asuna and I have had past dealings with an alien race called the QUalz, little lizard guys who visited us and created a cure for the illness that overtook humanity. But there is little humanity left.

  We were once able to talk with the other pockets of humanity, but then the sun kind of messed that up with a solar storm, something they called a Carrington Effect. Now, we are alone, unable to contact the remains of the military, and in the case of the ships that were at sea, we don’t even know if they exist anymore.

  There are two of our group, my nephew Matt and Tanya, his wife, who have left us and moved west. They were guided by some spiritual quest and have taken some of the medication that was created by the QUalz using the DNA from Asuna and me.

  So that is sort of the Readers Digest version of where we are at in case you cannot read the entire tale that is on the computers and the readpad device that are stored now in the Archive.

  November 26th

  (Tom) It is Thanksgiving; we are having turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash and corn pudding, all things that we were able to grow this year. I even made an apple pie.

  It has been a good year really, we are still alive, there is a baby Augustus, we have a new home, and we will be warm and safe for the winter.

  It was Fred who led us in a little prayer before we stared to eat. We took a few minutes to remember those who are no longer with us. In the end, we each said something we were grateful for. Life, food, a warm place, mine was Asuna.

  It was just a nice day.

  December 14th

  (Tom) I should have seen it, dammit. Heather killed herself today. I should have seen it, the change, she was down about losing Steven, and then all of a sudden she was alright, even seemed happy. I think we all thought that ‘wow, she turned the corner, she is going to be okay’, but no.

  She left a note, explained it, and I guess I can understand, she asked us to take care of Augustus, he needs to live, she just couldn’t do it anymore, sad.

  We placed her in the morgue, with Steven; we can bury them all in the spring.

  Asuna and I were going to take care of Augustus, but Margo asked if she and Cody could do it, adopt him. Wow, instant family, and with Asuna being pregnant it kind of makes sense. But in the end this will be a kind of the Hillary Clinton ‘it takes a village’ deal and we will all do our part.

  December 25th (Christmas)

  (Tom) Although we are in a lot of ways no longer Christian, we are still very spiritual. We see Goodness as our guide, not what one would call God. Matt and Tanya had really been responsible for that, maybe combined with the events that have taken place.

  Yet we still did the Christmas tradition, the feast, kind of a winter solstice gathering. We took time to share some gifts, but the gifts were different, except of Augustus. We don’t think of material items per se, but rather meaningful things. We all know what we need and easily go out to the remaining cities and shops to find it. Coats, clothing, treats, we can find them easily. But treasures, memories, books or items of significance, those things are what are exchanged.

  Asuna found me a new copy of 1984 and Animal Farm because I wore out the old ones. Margo gave Cody a sketched portrait of him, her and Elizabeth, or like Fred and Jan, a plan and promise for just a little getaway from the Archive. They all create a special moment and feeling that one can hold in the heart.

  We shared the old memories of Christmases that we have had in the past, but often those tend to be a little bittersweet because they include some who have passed and are no longer here. But though bittersweet, they are important, they are part of who we are and as time goes on the oral tradition has been more and more important.

  January 1st 2016,

  (Tom) We found a box that was tucked away in a closet/storage area with a bunch of New Year’s decorations. They were from 1967. Funny little hats, noise makers, it was kind of cool. It coincided with when the base was being shut down and sealed off.

  Oh, to be back there, in the 60s.

  I made the toast; it was some champagne that we scavenged. I am not sure how it was that it did not freeze and burst.

  “To those who are here, move on and survive, to those who have gone before us, we remember and miss you.”

  February 3rd

  (Tom) We have been snowed in for three days so far. There is a drift in front of the main door and it is so bad that we can’t get the door open to get out. We at the Archive are safe and warm, we have food, and water. But I am worried about Teckla and those down at the Farm. I think they can survive okay, they have food and stuff, and with the animals, they will probably be okay.

  Asuna is starting to show, what did they call it, a ‘baby bump’?

  Once we get the doors open, and it may be a while I will try to make it down there to check on them.

  February 4th

  (Tom) I am writing this by candlelight, we have lost power, it is pitch black in here, we have been out for about 12 hours and the emergency light batteries have died.

  There is not much to say but it is weird in the dark, and I am worried that it is due to some damage.

  February 6th

  (Tom) Best guess is that either the turbine froze or the wind was just not there. The back-up system, the solar panels were buried, so hence, no electricity. But we have power again, so it has either gotten warmer or the wind kicked in. Lance is already thinking about ways to try to keep the solar panels snow free. Not sure how he plans to do that. But we will have lights, and that is a good thing.

  February 10th

  (Tom) There must have been a shift in the wind or it has gotten warmer, we can see light though the snow at the door. McManus and I are trying to get the door to open a little. If we can get about a foot or so, we can climb through and dig it out. Hard work but we were able to push on the door to make an opening. Lance and Cody were able to squeeze through. We are free.

  February 11th

  (Tom) Lincoln and Teckla rode up to the Archive, the roads are still pretty much impassible by car or truck, but the horse worked just fine. Taylor and Gilbert stayed behind to tend to the livestock. They stayed together in the ‘guest’ suite…….sweet.

  March 14th

  (Tom) The winter has toned down. The snow is almost gone and we have seen a couple of days with temps in the 50s. Spring is sprung?

  March 20th

  (Tom) It has been warm the last week or 10 days, and although it is nice, it is a problem. The Connecticut River is rising; we are getting the snow melt from up north. So far the Oxbow has remaine
d above water, but I am worried, Lincoln is worried, Teckla is worried. I am thinking that maybe we are going to lose the farm.

  March 21st

  (Tom) So far so good, it is close; we are looking at about 4 feet or so until we will have water onto the fields and maybe 10 feet for it to get to the barn and house.

  March 22nd

  (Tom) The water is starting to go down, I think we may have dodged the bullet on this one, still warm. It will all depend on how much snow is up north and we have no idea how to determine that, fingers are crossed.

  March 24th

  (Tom) Not good, we are getting rain, lots of it. Asuna and I took a ride down to the farm, so far so good but this rain, if it goes too far up river, is going to be bad. Teckla and the Crew have been working to try to build a levee around the barn and house. It will help but we have no way of securing the dirt.

  Then Lance remembered the quarry, we could try to truck rock from the quarry down at least to bolster the north and west side of the levee. It might be enough to prevent the wash out. The place may flood, but it would be just raising water rather than a raging torrent.

  Truckload after truckload was bought down. The trips themselves were a challenge because of the wet roads, and the questionable condition of the old beat to shit dump trucks we were using. We only had the old yard machines that were kept off the road.

  In the end we only had one close call when Gilbert had a brake fade about halfway down the mountain. We lost the old Diamond Reo to a couple of trees, but he dove out of the truck before it crashed and suffered only a couple of bruises and a shoulder separation. He will be fine, sore for a few days, but fine.

  We managed to get a nice set up around the house, barn and RV. Now it is just wait and see. For now they are staying there, Teckla and Lincoln. Gilbert and Taylor have moved back up to the Archive.

  During the daylight Margo and Cody are running out to the overlook where the airplane crashed years ago. It gives them a view of the river looking north. They can kind of get a feel for where the flooding is and then relay that information back to the Archive and then we can share it with the farm.