Run (End Times Alaska Book 2)

by Craig Martelle

  During the down time between summer and winter, I fabricated better sleighs to tow behind the sleds. These were bigger, without being wider. There was a better place for the dogs to sit, while still having enough room for cargo. These were the things I had wanted last winter when we made do with what we had. This winter, we were in a better place.

  The wood burner worked well to heat the house, although it took quite a bit to get used to cooking on it. We had many an undercooked or overcooked meal before we learned.

  We still had propane, thanks to the gas station, but that might not last the winter. We still kept it as a backup.

  We ran the generator for a few hours in the morning and then again in the evening. We didn’t run it overnight. We used rechargeable flashlights for light the rest of the time. We didn’t need to charge a battery to run the pellet stove. The wood burner didn’t use electricity. In other words, we didn’t need to run the generator at all, although it was nice having running water.

  The outhouse would never make for a comfortable reading room. When it was warm enough to relax, the bugs were out. When there were no bugs, it was cold. It took all the fun out of taking care of business.

  I never was able to figure out how to pump the septic, but we probably only had six or seven months of use on it, so we could probably get through this winter without any problem. I didn’t want to risk a backup or a break in the line. We’d do without indoor plumbing except as a last resort.

  STAY OR GO?

  That still did not help me understand why we were so determined to stay in our house. A year after the detonation, we knew what we needed to survive. It wasn’t much from the past. Arms and ammunition, seeds, food, water, fuel. Maslow comes to mind. Artwork, trinkets, souvenirs, Marine Corps memorabilia. None of it mattered in this new world.

  We may find ourselves spending more and more time at the resort, until one day, we simply don’t come back to the house. Our house wasn’t built for living long term without electricity.

  It was soon to be a relic of a more technological time. As were we. The twins could be the foundation of a new generation that needed no electricity.

  The most important thing was that they were happy. This is the lesson that I constantly relearned. When we beat back one threat to us, I looked for the next. I looked to build one good thing on another, never satisfied with reaching a goal. There would always be a new goal, and it would be just out of reach. That was my personal problem, and I wrestled with it daily. Madison knew it was there, tormenting me.

  We couldn’t make our house anything like what the Community had. We could live alone, but if we were able to shape our interactions with others, then we could be true to ourselves. True to our introverted selves, that is, while still contributing. It offered us the opportunity to balance our privacy with our commitment to the group. It offered us the chance to raise our twins in a way where they could choose friends, family, and strangers.

  Our dogs were pack animals though. They seemed to thrive in the chaos of the sled-dog pack.

  Last year, when we made the decision to stay, we didn’t have as much information as we did now.

  If we left today to winter over in the Community, the only thing I would feel bad about was all the work that we’d done to get ready to spend winter in our home. That wasn’t time ill spent. It gave us options and, in this world, options are good. If you had no options, then you would be forced onto a path you may not like. So our preparations were sound. We could transport a great deal of the food to the Community, so it wouldn’t go to waste.

  I had learned what it took to garden and grow, can and freeze. We had all learned, and that made the time spent even better. We’d given ourselves options and the ability to give ourselves more options in the future. I’d talk to Madison and see what she thought.

  THE BABY

  As October approached November, the Community buzzed with anticipation. According to Colleen, Amber was progressing nicely. And she now had company because Becca was now pregnant, too, and due in May.

  Everyone pitched in to set up one of the guest rooms as a birthing room. It had a cooktop to heat water, plenty of extra towels, an oversized Jacuzzi tub, and all the medical supplies that Colleen thought she needed. She had never delivered a baby before, but she had brought her books and studied up.

  The first false labor came at three in the morning. Everyone jumped to it, groggily at first, but after spending the next three hours in the birthing room, the contractions went away, and most people staggered back to their beds to get more sleep. It was still dark, of course. This was Alaska in the winter. Sunrise was probably closer to ten a.m. Did we remember to do the daylight-savings thing? Maybe we had no idea what time it really was.

  Amber’s water broke two days later, again at three a.m. The baby was coming.

  Amber was howling in pain. Lucas was a wreck. Colleen’s nerves were frayed, and she was tired because she hadn’t caught up on sleep from their trial run. Jo helped with filling the tub, but it wasn’t going fast enough, so she started yelling at Lucas, who was by this time completely incapacitated. Abigail had practiced as Amber’s Lamaze coach, but she was nowhere to be found.

  We were at home when this all happened, so we heard it secondhand.

  In the end, Colleen lost her patience and chased everyone out of the birthing room except for Lucas. She had to grab him by both arms and shake him like a rag doll.

  “Your job is to hold her hand. That’s it. Now do it!” Colleen screamed in his face.

  “I think I’m gonna puke,” Lucas mumbled weakly.

  “If you puke, aim it that way.” She pointed away from where she was working. “And then I will punch you in the face as hard as I can!”

  “I’m here for you,” Amber gasped between contractions. Then squeezed Lucas’s hand to the breaking point as another contraction wracked her body. The pain took away his nausea. He locked eyes with Amber and attempted to soothe her. Colleen was happy that he had pulled his head out of his butt and started to help. He had the easiest job. She would still probably kick him later.

  “That’s it, that’s it. I see the baby’s head!” Colleen exclaimed. “One big push. Now!” After the head, Colleen helped work the shoulder out, and then the rest of the baby’s body followed. The little girl started crying as Colleen wrapped her in a soft towel. She supported the baby’s head and carefully handed her to Amber. “Say good morning to your daughter.”

  And that’s when Lucas passed out cold. Colleen kicked his leg out of the way as she helped adjust Amber into a sitting position. Amber looked alarmed.

  “Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine.” Colleen waved dismissively. “Men.....”

  CHRISTMAS

  We decided that we would move to Chena Hot Springs, but after Christmas. We were very comfortable as the generator supplied the power that helped heat and pump the water that allowed us to use the inside toilets and the shower. We were warm and clean.

  I didn’t think we needed to top last year’s heart pendants that we gave the twins. Christmas wasn’t about giving bigger and better. We’d had that conversation last year. How well I remembered how Charles had turned me in for feeding him McDonald’s French fries.

  The twins were a mature three, going on four. They would now have to act as older cousins for Amber and Lucas’s daughter, Diane. They had responsibilities. We thought that was good for them.

  Maybe our one present was something we could do for the new parents. The resort had cribs for guests with babies, but didn’t have a changing table. I knew where nice changing tables were located. We could get one and refinish it, personalize it for Lucas and Amber. It would take work, but it was something that we could do as a family.

  When we talked, we wholeheartedly agreed that our present would be a changing table. Madison also suggested a rocking chair. We would give presents to others this year, not to ourselves. We had everything we needed, and even everything we wanted, although I would always want just a lit
tle more for my family, something just a little bit better, although they didn’t care about that.

  We missed Thanksgiving. We hadn’t thought about it. So we decided to make Christmas a celebration of thanks. We were thankful for everything we had. We were healthy. We had not needed to fight off any wild animals so far that year. The twins were growing and contributing. Sam and Martha had become like the parents we left behind in the other world. We had grown very close to them. The twins had even started calling them Grandma and Grandpa. When at the resort, we were surrounded by good people. We were thankful for that.

  We’d prepare one final feast at our home. We had some potatoes from the Community, along with carrots and onions. We had a moose roast that we could cook in the oven. In the time before, we had a magnificent kitchen. We had a number of different crock pots and roasters. We had a pan for every occasion and almost any kitchen utensil you could dream of. In the end, we went with a few cast iron pieces that worked well on the wood stove. It would be a treat to dig into our repertoire of goodies for one last hurrah.

  We’d clean up, put everything away, and leave the house to freeze. We wouldn’t lose what was important. We’d make trips back to pick up stuff and transport it to the Hot Springs, eventually moving everything we could use.

  And with that, we had a plan and a new direction. Was it really a new direction? Most likely it was more of what we liked, with less of what we didn’t. Maybe we were surrendering to my need for civilization. Manual labor was hard enough without the assistance of power tools. I couldn’t imagine having to cut firewood without a chainsaw or electric log splitter. I dreaded the thought.

  We wouldn’t have to worry about that at the Hot Springs. We knew the routine, and it was time consuming, but not anywhere near as physically demanding as what we needed to do to maintain our own home.

  Our Christmas would be about bringing joy to others. We would go through our stuff and see what would make good presents for them. And then we’d have to get on that changing table so it would be ready in time to bring some joy to the new parents, although I expect a good night’s sleep would bring more joy than a changing table. With our gift, we would empathize, and the twins could take their rightful place as the over-protective cousins.

  THE BIG MOVE

  We had enough food and fuel to last us through the winter, but we were leaving almost all of it behind. This was therapy for me regarding working for better. Work hard, and when better appears, seize it, even if that isn’t what you were working hard at initially. My stomach started churning again. I needed to get my priorities straight, reconcile what was most important, and not worry about work done that seemed wasted.

  Look at how excited the twins were. They didn’t care where they slept each night. They wanted to see the surprise on Amber’s and Lucas’s faces when we presented the changing table. They wanted to work in the stables every day, taking care of the horses and maybe even learn to ride on their own. They wanted to build their own dog-mushing teams. Madison was happy that they were happy. She was also happy that I wouldn’t be alone when working. There would always be someone nearby to check on me. My stomach issue scared her, but she didn’t admit it. I didn’t tell anyone that it was acting up again. At the Hot Springs, it would be easier to stick with a non-offensive diet.

  So we loaded everything into the sleighs, and we were traveling heavy. The dogs were squeezed into one crate because the other sleigh was loaded with a changing table and a rocking chair, both wrapped together in a blue tarp and tied down tightly. We had gifts of all shapes and sizes piled in the back. We had some clothes. We each had a child perched on the seat in front of us. We didn’t want to stress out our snow machines, so we traveled at about half speed. The snow wasn’t very deep. We didn’t want any accidents.

  It was our longest trip yet, and I was more than ready to get off the snow machine when we finally pulled in. Madison was too. Phyllis and Husky were beside themselves as we got mobbed by the sled dogs when we arrived. We turned Phyllis and Husky loose into the middle of kicked-up snow, yipping, and flying fur.

  We wanted to warm up before we unloaded anything, so we went into the dining room. It was just after lunch on Christmas Day. We had left home when it became light outside, but with the solstice recently behind us, we were limited to about four hours of quasi-daylight. We’d used up the majority of that time getting here.

  “We expected to see you here yesterday,” a tired Amber said as we arrived. She had her sleeping baby cradled in her arms.

  “We thought we’d wait until Christmas to arrive,” I answered as we continued taking off coats and other layers.

  “Christmas was yesterday.”

  Without missing a beat, Madison chimed in. “Orthodox Christmas isn’t for another two weeks, so we could be way early.” She smiled and held out her arms for the baby, whom Amber readily surrendered. The baby remained asleep. This was the danger zone. I was torn about taking a turn. I could only lose. If the baby woke up, I would be a buffoon. I couldn’t risk it. I paid closer attention to getting the twins ready to grab some lunch. They each wanted to get in close to the baby. Their mother accommodated them by leaning down.

  “Not sure how we could have gotten that wrong. Our smart phones are still pretty smart. They wouldn’t have led us astray.” I powered mine up. I’ll be damned – December 26. I showed it to Madison. “See! I told you Christmas was yesterday.” She looked at me, sighed, and then shook her head and went back to showing the baby to the twins.

  I went outside. I wanted to get the gifts for the others out of the weather. I took the blue tarp off and manhandled the changing table inside. It should have been lighter. Same thing for the rocking chair. I put them in the alcove of the gift shop and covered them back up with the tarp. I brought in a fairly large bag that contained our gifts for everyone else.

  I put the bag behind the desk at the lodge entrance.

  We talked to Amber about joining the Community permanently. She reassured us that we were more than welcome, with only one condition. She made me promise that I wouldn’t let Lucas go up in the airplane again. There was nothing to worry about on that point.

  We moved into our room, which the group had kept for us throughout everything. We still had the honeymoon suite, although we had tried to give it up on a number of occasions over the past year. The group gave us credit for getting rid of John and helping to bring harmony to the Community. We appreciated it and felt most at home in this one room. Plus, it had the oversized shower for couples. It was hard to turn that down. Really hard.

  When everyone rolled in for dinner, we greeted them with a hearty Merry Christmas, followed by my explanation of the time warp that cost us a day somewhere. Jo rolled out yet another wondrous meal, owing to the extra supplies from the great raid on Fred Meyer. We insisted that we would clean up, but first, we had some things to give out.

  I had raided my military memorabilia for unique and small souvenirs that we could tell a story about as part of the gift. I started with Darren, as the hunter. I gave him a Ka-Bar fighting knife from my time in the Marine Corps. Its leather sheath was worn shiny. I had tied paracord to the tip of the sheath so I could keep the knife secured against my leg while crawling through the brush. I had sharpened it to a razor’s edge. It was the knife of a warrior. That wasn’t whom I was anymore, but Darren would go to the ends of the earth to find game to feed us all. I also gave him extra boxes of rounds for his rifle. It was all the 300 Win mag shells I could find.

  For Becca, we brought one of Madison’s old camouflaged uniforms, including a field jacket with liner, along with UnderArmor to wear as a base layer. As a hunter, she needed the best to keep her warm while she stalked her prey. Becca appreciated the extra clothes. She’d been making do with clothes not tailored for hunting. We thought she deserved better than that.

  For Jo, we brought our Pampered Chef utensil collection. There was even a pickle grabber. It was an eclectic mix of niche kitchen items. She beamed as she t
hought of uses for each.

  We had something for each member of the group, even Sam and Martha, although they said that their joining the Community was the best Christmas gift they could have gotten. I suspected it was second best – word that their kids were okay was probably at the top of the list. I gave Sam a special Marine Corps Ball coin, commemorating the values of the Corps. It was small, but it meant a great deal to me. Sam hadn’t served, but he understood. We gave Martha two tea infusers, along with the rest of our loose leaf tea. She insisted that she would share with Madison every day until the tea was gone.

  We saved the changing table and rocking chair for last. Amber and Lucas had undergone a monumental change in their lives over the past year. From two people working at a resort, to new parents helping to lead the Community. I’m not sure if they could have been happier with the furniture. We even had the height right to minimize the stress on their backs when changing little Diane. Unfortunately, we couldn’t provide any disposable diapers. They were stuck with cloth, but at least they had access to a washer and dryer.

  With that, we toasted to our friendship and the great things that our combined futures held. We depended on one another, and that meant I could sleep soundly at night. These were good people who would look out for us all.

  IT WENT BY FAST

  Our first winter as full-time members of the Community went by in a blur. Amber tried to make a motion that I be made Mayor. I politely declined. I would become a tyrant, something I feared. I also had my gastritis under control, and I wanted to keep it under control.

  I dabbled in a little bit of everything, including writing our memoirs. I interviewed everyone to document their backgrounds as a part of the Community’s history. We even did a presentation on the big screen television where everyone cheered and added more anecdotes.