“That’s for dairy cows, right?” asked Bruce.
Someone nearby shouted an affirmative.
“Shouldn’t be anyone inside then,” he whispered to himself. Bruce could think of no way to make a confirmation and no way to help anyone should a cry for assistance come.
“Fire engine is on its way!”
Bruce turned and saw the lumbering, cherry red vehicle slowly rolling up the street. This is the second part of our disaster reaction plan. With hundreds of small log cabins in close proximity to one another, the danger of a fire starting and spreading was very real. Therefore, the people have to take matters into their own hands and try to contain the flames until the fire engine with its large water tank can arrive. If what the truck carried is insufficient, it can be refilled using one or even all of the towers. Equipped with powerful pumps, the problems of spraying water out over the fire is not a concern.
It had taken four days to get that fire engine into the valley. Massive pulleys had to be constructed, and cables were run through these with the far ends secured to the hitches of tractor trailers. In coordination, and moving incredibly slowly, the large trucks dragged the fire engine up, to the area where the slope leveled out. It could then drive through the gate and on to the town under its own power.
“Thank God,” muttered Bruce.
He watched as the spray began, shooting high over the heads of those still manning the buckets. Hissing, along with a great deal of smoke and steam, filled the air, and the fire began to diminish.
* * *
“No one’s dead,” said Laura. “That’s good.”
“Just some cows and lots of fucking chickens,” agreed Lizzy, with a shake of her head.
The two of them, along with Bruce and Randall, the newly minted Director of Construction, were at the site inspecting the wreckage. We lost seven residences, two storehouses, both of which were small and contained nothing that could not be replaced, and the aforementioned barn. Injuries were slight with three men suffering minor burns and thirteen people being affected by smoke inhalation.
“You two get to fix it all,” continued Lizzy. “Randall can rebuild stuff, and Bruce, you get to make sure the people who lost their cabins get clothes and whatever else they might need out of the valley stores. Let me know if there’s anything special we have to go looting for.” She glared at Randall. “Don’t even think of bitching about my language.”
The towering mountain of a man took a step forward.
“Lizzy will mind her manners,” said Laura, stepping between the two. “No getting into a screaming match either. There are too many watching.”
Randall hates obscene language and will not tolerate it in his presence. This is rarely an issue due to the image he portrays. He is among the tallest in the settlement and without a doubt the strongest. While there are no accounts of Randall becoming physically violent, he has been known to get disgusted and outright refuse to work with those who do not meet his standards of behavior.
“Yeah,” said Lizzy, “good point that. How long to get them rebuilt?”
“We won’t be building them again,” replied the man, after he gave the area another once over with his eyes.
“Why not?” asked Bruce. “I know we have plenty of empty cabins.” That was the result of an earlier building spree. “You thinking of turning it into a park instead?”
“We have more than enough of those,” grumbled Randall. “We will replace them with stone houses instead of log cabins. We have a few such structures already, and the earlier problems have been sorted out. I see no reason to keep using lumber.”
“Sounds good to me,” commented Laura. “How long will it take?”
“We can have seven stone houses with the same dimensions built before winter. The storehouses too. Do you want the barn rebuilt?”
“Nah,” said Lizzy, “put in extra houses instead. You can probably get nine of them with the barn scrapped. The people on this street can get their milk and eggs from one of the other zillion of the things we have.”
“What do you need from me to get started?” asked Bruce.
“Ceramic tiles, cement, certain tools. We may have to go outside the hills to find it all. I’ll give you a list later.” Randall looked back at Laura. “Labor will be needed too. Lots of rocks need to be gathered.”
She grimaced. There weren’t that many left in the valley. Most of what had been accumulated when clearing land for the farms went into the citadel, along with the structures it contained, or for fencing around the actual farms.
“We can get plenty from the next valley down,” suggested Bruce. “While we’re at it, maybe we can create a road with switchbacks or at least make the route easier. Having it so hard to reach us made sense when we first moved here, but I don’t think the defense aspects are all that important anymore.”
“Right on that one,” said Lizzy. “We have too much to do to get to it any time soon though. Work’s still going on with the outer defense. The houses will take dozens of people if we want them fast. Who knows what else Jacob and Briana will have when they get back.”
“I can give you the kids from school for the rock part,” offered Laura. “A week off to gather them together and load the stones into pickups so they can be brought in won’t hurt their education any.”
Randall nodded. “We will set up some areas near the wall, side opposite the lookout, where we can place them, sorted roughly by size. That way we have them for future projects.”
A quick comment about the school system in the Black Hills. It is far removed from the way education used to be dealt with. For starters, the years are based on the calendar year, not the old September to May system. There is a long break for planting and a second one during harvest time with plenty of little ones mixed in. The grades are different as well. We have kindergarten, which a child will enter if he or she turns five at some point that year. That means a teenager would normally graduate at seventeen instead of eighteen. However, we don’t have a grade twelve, or high school for that matter.
The span is kindergarten through eighth grade. Assuming a child does not get held back, he will finish his primary education at age thirteen. This appears troublesome at first glance, but we decided to eliminate the old rush to the bottom and self-esteem is everything system of school management. The early years focus heavily on reading and mathematics. History and science are added in grade three and learning to read is altered to grammar and literature. There is no music. There is no physical education. There is no art or orchestra or band. There are no sports either. School is for education and education only. Our system is designed to have an eighth grader knowing more than typical senior did pre-apocalypse. In short, we took modern schooling and reverted to the way it was in the 1800’s before feel good, babysitting nonsense got in the way.
As to higher education, there is none, but we do possess a detailed and elaborate system of apprenticeships. Medical and the traditional craft skills like carpentry were the primary ones. Hawaii has a small college up and running, however, and that might be a possibility for our children later.
“Kids are going to love getting out of class for that,” quipped Bruce.
“They will,” assured Laura, “really.”
“For the first day,” concluded Lizzy.
Chapter XI
“Flowers!”
Asher squealed with delight as the young woman greeting us placed a lei around his neck.
“Those are for decoration, not eating,” cautioned Briana.
You would think, being three years old, our son would be well past the stage where he put everything in his mouth. Well, toys and rocks and sticks no longer went there – thank goodness – but if Asher thought something might possibly be candy, no matter how unlikely that seemed, he would take a bite.
“Look at the waves,” exclaimed Mary, pointing. “They’re so big, How come we don’t live at the beach?”
“Because we started out in the middle of the country,�
�� I replied. “Besides, heading for the ocean would have been pointless and just gotten us killed.”
“Hawaii is one of the few places where the water is relatively safe,” confirmed Major Briggs. “Most shorelines need to be avoided.”
The major had accompanied us on this trip, along with a pair of representatives from the council running Yellowstone’s day to day affairs. Additionally, he was among the first originally relocated to Hawaii, having been stationed on the west coast when it all began. Briggs remained there before eventually being transferred back to the mainland.
“Most are covered with trash, industrial waste, and oil spills. The scientists believe all will recover on their own in time, but that might take centuries in some cases. Nowhere will it be fast.”
“But this beach is nice,” continued Mary, “and I want to go swimming.”
“If you will follow me,” began a lieutenant who had been among those waiting for the plane to land, “I’ll take you to your hotel.”
“Does it have a pool?” asked Mary. “Is it on the beach? What about surf boards? I want to try that too. Do you have some we can use?”
“One of the large resort hotels has been repaired and is fully operational,” explained the young officer – he was trying hard not to laugh. “This is where we place visiting dignitaries. It has all the amenities.”
“Woo Hoo! I’m a dignitary. Does that mean I get diplomatic immunity? Can I speed everywhere and not get a ticket, like the UN people did way back when in New York City?”
Oh yeah, Mary was enjoying herself big time.
“There are numerous meetings scheduled, beginning tomorrow at lunch time,” finished the man. “An itinerary will be provided. You have until then to relax and recover from any jet lag.”
“I’ll be feeling that,” muttered Briana. “I’m already tired, and the sun is way up there. What time is it?” She did not expect an answer, glancing at her watch which had already been set to the local time zone. “Damn.”
“Stop the whining,” demanded Mary. “You don’t see Tara and Dale complaining, do you?”
The twins had trailed out after us, separating so one was on each side of our party. The major, Mary, Briana, and myself all had pistols on our hips. Tara and Dale Zablocki, on the other hand, had a pair each, and that was on top of the M-16s with grenade launchers cradled in their arms. They hadn’t even bothered to sling the rifles over their shoulders. Add in the impressive collection of knives, along with their blank expressions, and the pair was truly disturbing.
“They’re happy to be here,” continued my daughter. “You two like the beach, right?”
Tara and Dale looked at each other.
“Have either of you been to a beach before?” I asked.
“No,” said Dale.
“Well,” stated Mary, firmly and with lots of confidence, “you’re going to like it. I promise.”
* * *
An hour later we were strolling past the pool on our way to the ocean. The suite of rooms provided for our use was impressive with three bedrooms, a spacious living room, and a kitchenette. There were also functioning showers, complete with hot water. We had a brief debate as to what we should do with our ample free time, the consensus being to enjoy the afternoon and turn in early. Asher might be on an adrenaline rush at the moment, but he would be ready to collapse by dinner time. Briana and I would likely follow in short order.
“Almost no people!” shouted Mary. She was prancing about in front of us. “We practically get it all to ourselves.”
There were a few other guests. At least, I assumed that was the case. One couple appeared to be Japanese, maybe real diplomats. There were also some Brits. Those I identified from their accent. Other than that, I saw no one, save some children playing in the water a quarter mile away. Those had to be locals.
“Briggs said that there are only thirty five thousand people on Oahu altogether and that most are in the small towns where they’re growing food,” commented Briana. “I wouldn’t think we’d see all that many.”
The few who were present turned to regard us as we approached. Most eyes went directly to Mary. When I first met her, she was thirteen, five foot five, and weighed maybe ninety five pounds. Now, at seventeen, she had added a couple of inches and adult curves but still remained as slender as ever. Even so, with the skimpy red bikini she was wearing, you could tell Mary was anything but soft or anorexic. Every muscle was well defined, and she had a six pack stomach. Constant marching, physical labor, and her seemingly infinite desire to go dancing, horseback riding, and rock climbing anytime there was an opportunity had resulted in a physique that was without compare.
She also had her gun belt on, with a 9mm in the holster. It clashed with her outfit something fierce, but Mary was a product of our world. We went nowhere without weapons. I was likewise armed, even if I was wearing swim trunks and a T-shirt. Briana had on a sun dress with her own weapon belt. Tara and Dale had not changed, clearly having no desire to go into the water, and they were carting about their entire arsenal. We had to be a sight.
My worries about going around armed proved unfounded, for the most part. The islands had been cleared of zombies long before, but the process was difficult and time consuming. The residents remembered the horror vividly, and all had guns of their own. However, while allowed to carry freely, with only a handful of exceptions, few did so. We were well within the law but outside of custom. Like I cared.
Taking a seat on one of the lounge chairs, Briana applied yet more sunscreen to Asher. We’d all lathered up in the hotel with Mary being the most conscientious. She had naturally fair skin free of blotches and sun damage, and the girl was determined to keep it that way. The women back in the Black Hills who had mottled hides – her words – from too many years of tanning were all the reason she needed. Mary was determined to never look like that.
“Come on, Asher,” she said, “I’ll take you swimming.”
I handed her the floaties, and she put them about both his arms.
“Watch out for sharks,” I cautioned.
She snorted and turned away.
“Are there sharks?” asked Briana, looking a little alarmed.
“No clue,” I replied.
Tara pulled a pair of binoculars from my wife’s beach bag and began to scan the water.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I said.
She ignored me.
“Here you go,” laughed Mary, unslinging her gun belt and handing it to Dale. “If you shoot anyone with my pistol, you have to clean it.”
One of the British guys had been heading our way, likely to flirt with Mary, but he hesitated upon hearing that. Then my daughter was running into the waves carrying Asher. His chance gone, he made his way back to his companions. The man might try again later, but the way Mary was with Michael, he would almost certainly get a quick brush off. If not, I’d be having words with my daughter.
* * *
We were up early, very early, the next day. I felt rested, and other than my internal clock being off I wasn’t feeling at all out of sorts. However, Briana started with the puking almost immediately. It was so bad that Mary joined her in the bathroom to see if she could do anything to help. My wife waved her off, saying it was just the pregnancy. Overall, the morning passed by quietly. We hung around the suite. Mary and Asher played with his toys. The twins wasted some time with cards, and Briana rested. Eventually though, it was time to link up with Major Briggs so we could meet the president and senators at a, supposedly, informal luncheon.
I’m going to give some background on how the American government is currently structured. I realize that I’ve neglected to do so previously, but don’t take it personal. There really was not an appropriate or relevant time prior to now. Anyway, you have the executive branch with the president who is elected by majority vote. If no single candidate takes over fifty percent, the top two have a runoff. The current president is James Lawson, a former businessman.
The
legislative branch consists of the Senate and only the Senate. This body has a mere fourteen members, two each from the current administrative districts. Those were created for ease of governance but won’t last more than a few years. The plan is to reinstitute states with a separate district to contain the capital. These will not be based on the old map, at least not specifically. New lines will be drawn to reflect realities on the ground, and sometime after this occurs, the traditional, constitutional form of government will be restored.
Finally, there is a judicial branch. Three individuals, all of whom were either judges pre-end of the world or attorneys who spent a great deal of time in the courtroom, make up the Supreme Court. Their appointments are temporary, unlike the real things who serve for life, but they have similar responsibilities. I’m not all that certain how they are balancing the need to stay alive with essential freedoms, but since it does not apply to me, I’m not going to expend much time worrying or trying to research their rulings.
Excluding the major, I didn’t know anyone present. I had spoken with the pair from Yellowstone previously, but never at length. Likewise, my prior interactions with Senator Doug Fletchle were limited to a brief meeting at the airstrip in Montana. Adding to my discomfort was the fact that Tara and Dale were not at all happy. Carrying guns on the beach or while on planes was something no one cared about, but this was prohibited in the presence of the president and all fourteen senators. Really, as if the twins couldn’t snap a neck or crush a larynx in a heartbeat. They might not get everyone, but they could kill any single man, probably four or five, before security stopped them. You don’t need a gun to be deadly.
Briana was having an easier time of it. She immediately clicked with Christine Lawson, the president’s wife. The woman was also pregnant, giving them something in common, and she had two children already, a four year old and a two year old. Those were playing with Asher under the watchful eyes of both mothers. Briana had a new friend, one who didn’t seem the least bit perturbed to have the twins hovering about – I told them to watch Briana in case she suffered one of her sudden bouts of morning sickness. Then again, there was a burly fellow staying close to Christine Lawson as well.
Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation Page 29