Protocol One

by Jacqueline Druga

  “You learned a lot didn’t you?”

  “I’m an armchair comet expert. But I really can’t wait to meet the real expert.”

  Tony forced a quick smile, and with a change of subject handed me the phone. “Apparently our good doctor had the sense to leave. They were detaining all medical professionals and putting them in underground shelters.”

  “He got out.” I looked at the message. “And made distance. Make sure you let Melissa know so she can find a good route.”

  He groaned at me and I handed the phone back to him. “We’ll get there, that’s all that matters. Can you I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Have you heard from Gil?”

  Tony shook his head. “No. I’m sorry.”

  “He’s fine right? You think he’s fine?’

  “He’s fine.”

  “I hope.” Breathing out, I lifted my head while rubbing my hands and when I did, I saw the sky. It was absolutely beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky and I swore I could see every single star. “Oh my.”

  “What?”

  “Look how harmless the sky looks.”

  Tony peered up. “And beautiful.”

  “Capture it, Tony. Capture it in your mind. Really look at it,” I said. “Because this is probably one of the last chances you will get to see it for a very long time.”

  A sad truth, Tony knew it and like me, he stared at the sky for a long time.

  14 – The Good Doctor

  July 31

  Rantoul, Illinois

  To Tony’s dismay, they didn’t sound the ‘all clear to leave’ until just about seven a.m. To further complicate it, absolutely no traffic was permitted to go north. All northbound roads were being used as southbound only.

  Making matters worse, Dr. Craig Milton was north.

  The predicted after effects of the comet’s impact warranted that the northern states be deemed uninhabitable in the months post impact. All residents who weren’t able to make it out of those states before impact were encouraged to head south as soon as possible.

  Evacuation cities were Atlanta, Nashville, Greenville and a few other southern cities.

  Truth was, it didn’t matter.

  It was going to take some deep underground shelters and long term supplies to survive in the wake of the comet.

  The latest news bulletin encouraged all that weren’t in shelters by five a.m., the next morning, to get off the roads and dig in.

  I knew from my research, we were pretty safe for a few hours after the comet struck. But that would be short lived and not long after, nowhere on earth would be safe.

  What a tangled mess we weaved in our route to get Craig Milton.

  We went east, the south, then back roads north. We didn’t hit much traffic, but I wondered what was worse. Moving or sitting still. We had one canister left of gas and hoped that Craig had his supply.

  The four hour trip turned into seven, and just before we hit our destination, the gas gauge moved to ‘E’. Tony thought it best to stop and fill up when he spotted a gas station. Before doing so, he pulled aside and grabbed the single gas can from the top of the van and placed it inside just in case the gas station had restrictions.

  There was a police car there and we could only guess that they were monitoring the lines.

  To my surprise, it wasn’t chaotic. I really expected it to be.

  Everyone in the van was doing well. Jackson played his acoustic guitar, pretty much only picking it.

  Joie took a liking to Nelly, immediately finding a grandmother-like comfort in her.

  Melissa read. She stated everything she read would be useful in the future and she did bring books, although not many.

  Books.

  That was something I forgot to bring.

  Peter Fleishmann was a celebrity in my mind, and a man of few words on the phone and via text messaging. He said he’d wait. His house was away from any metropolis so we’d be good when we got there. We just had to get there. Tony said, Lillyville was only a little over an hour from there.

  The last time he had spoken to the security team, all was fine.

  All was not fine however at the gas line. After waiting an hour for our turn, we soon found out that money had lost all value.

  I knew it was going to happen, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon.

  “What do you have to trade?” The man asked. “A van like this. Ford … twenty-two gallon.”

  “Thirty-eight... extra capacity,” Tony replied.

  “What do you got?”

  “What is barter worthy?” Tony asked.

  “Gold. Water. Food. Medical supplies.”

  Knowing we still had four gallons of water left, I asked Jackson to hand me two. Tony gave them to the guy.

  “You earned four gallons.”

  After a grunt, I held up my hand to the man and went to the back of the van. I grabbed my duffel bag and handed him two foil blankets, one bag of rations, which I explained was three days worth of food, and a bottle of Ibuprofen. “What does that get us?”

  “Twenty gallons.”

  “We’re good,” Tony said, “That will work.”

  “Wait.” I held up my hand.

  “Anna, we’re good,” Tony repeated.

  “We need the gas.”

  I pulled my old Bingo Sack from the duffel bag, reached in and grabbed two items. “Solid Gold St. Christopher medal, and two wedding bands.”

  The man smiled. “Fill her up.”

  Tony reached for the van door. “You still had your wedding rings. Sentimental value?”

  “Call it keen foresight,” I said. “I have more gold.”

  “Good thinking.”

  Tony filled up the tank and we were on our way. Fortunately, we were able to find a good road north and we moved onward without stopping.

  <><><><>

  Craig Milton heard the early rumors about possible detention of medical personal and high tailed it out of Missouri. Knowing we had to go east, but not knowing where he headed to a safe location.

  He found sanctuary in a closed down military base used only for clerical purposes. The base was just outside of Champaign, Illinois.

  It was easy to spot. As we pulled through the small town, people looked at us oddly. They were packing cars and driving the opposite way.

  We made contact with Craig by way of phone and he was waiting just inside the fence next to the guard booth.

  Once he saw us pull forward, he started removing gas cans from the booth.

  We stopped the van and Tony instructed everyone to walk it off for a few moments while we loaded the top of the van with the gas and the two bags Craig brought.

  He was a lot younger than I expected. A clean cut and exceptionally handsome guy, stood waiting on us.

  “Dr. Milton?” I shook his hand, and then Tony did.

  “Call me Craig.” He sounded nervous. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “None of us can. Thank you,” I said.

  “This was an odd location for a St. Louis man,” Tony said.

  “I can’t take all the credit. My partner works here and suggested it.”

  Tony’s hand shot to his head. I didn’t understand his reaction.

  “What? What am I missing?” I asked.

  “I’m gonna guess he’s here?” Tony asked.

  Craig nodded. “He’s in the booth.”

  “And …” Tony, in his typical sarcastic way lifted his hands. “And I’m guessing … he’s not planning on staying behind, is he?”

  “He will.” Craig said without hesitation. “He will. If it isn’t good for him to go, he will stay behind. I just …”

  “Nonsense,” I said.

  “What?” Tony blasted.

  “It’s his partner. We’ll need him. He goes.” I stated.

  “Thank you.”

  From the security booth, another younger man emerged. He was just as clean cut and handsome. He too had blonde hair like Craig. The young
man held a gas can and then from behind him walked an older man maybe sixty who also held a gas can.

  Tony did a quick pivot with a fake smile. “Let me guess. Your father?” he asked Craig.

  “Yes. We brought extra gas. And I brought extra supplies to make up …” Before he finished Tony got in the van.

  I placed my hands on his shoulder. “Tell your father to get in. We’ll be fine. Load up.”

  Everyone returned from their walk and bathroom break and greeted the newcomers in a welcoming way.

  Joie, before taking her seat, asked Tony, “What’s wrong, Daddy? Are you mad?”

  “No. Daddy isn’t mad.” He kissed her. “I just want to get moving.”

  “Look at all these people.”

  “Yes, look.” Tony gripped the wheel in frustration. “Take your seat.”

  Joie moved to the back bench with Jackson, Melissa and Nelly. Our newest members sat in the seat behind us.

  “Tony,” I tried to calm him.

  “You realize this van seats eight. We have nine and another person to pick up. That is, of course, if he doesn’t bring his aunt, uncle and favorite neighbor.”

  “Tony, you realize you are just as much a stowaway as they are. And does it really matter? Right now, with all that is happening, does it really matter?”

  “No. No it doesn’t. You’re the boss.” Tony started the van. It was a little after four when we left the base.

  Akron, Ohio was six hours away. We still had a chance, if we weren’t forced to stop for the night, of getting to the bunker before time was up.

  15 – The Bjourn

  Indianapolis, Indiana

  We didn’t have a choice. In order to get to our destination, we had to go through or at least inside the city limits of Indianapolis. Most of the traffic was heading toward the main highway going south, but anyway you went it was bumper to bumper.

  The van was hot and we had to turn off the air conditioning to conserve fuel. Everyone was staying calm, we were on our way.

  We opted for no more news because we didn’t need to hear about the violence and evacuation traffic, we were living it.

  Melissa was able to navigate us through the suburbs and her planned route would bring us back to the beltway east of the city. Once there, we hoped to move more freely.

  It was frightening what we saw and how fast law and order flew out the window.

  From calm at the gas station to three hours later. What a difference. Maybe it was because we were in a major city.

  A black cloud of smoke hovered over Indianapolis. We could only guess it was a fire or lots of them.

  In the outlying communities that we traveled, businesses were looted and grocery stores were chaotic. People raced down the streets with shopping carts. We watched two men fight a woman over a cart, throw her to the street, and run off with supplies.

  There was nothing we could do.

  Desperation wasn’t turning into man helping man, it was man turning on man.

  I could only imagine what would have happened to this world if the news had broken earlier. Humanity would have done it's damage long before the comet could.

  Things had taken a violent turn and we all watched in silence rolling slowly through it all, thankfully unscathed and unnoticed. People were too busy.

  It was breathtaking in a negative way. The worst part of the news was right there outside out windows.

  I felt the most tense as we waited on the ramp to get back onto the highway.

  But once we made it, I breathed out.

  “Not much longer,” Tony pointed. “It’s up ahead. You can see things moving more freely.”

  We inched our way down the highway which lay witness to something else.

  People were holding signs, pushing their belongings in carts and entire families were walking along the highways.

  ‘Help us – No car’ some signs read.

  ‘We have food. Need ride’

  “Don’t even think about it,” Tony told me.

  The van moved from its turtle's pace to a complete halt as we reached the bottle neck on the road where most of the traffic was trying to go south. I felt uncomfortable, even worried, with everyone walking up to cars, holding signs and asking for help.

  In my attempt to ignore them, I turned to engage in conversation with everyone.

  Craig’s father, Duke didn’t take his focus from the window.

  “So, Skyler, right?” I spoke to the young man with Craig. “You’re a doctor?”

  “No ma’am,” he said. “I’m supply and maintenance at the base. I’m in the Army. Or was.”

  “AWOL.” Craig clarified.

  “You’re not a doctor?” I asked, confused.

  Craig looked at me curiously. “Why would you think that?’

  “Well, you said he was your partner and I thought …”

  “Mom,” Jackson barked from the back. “Seriously? That didn’t really go over your head, did it? No, wait, it did.”

  It took a second and my eyes widened. “Oh. I’m sorry, I thought…”

  Skyler shook his head. “No worries. Are you sorry now that I came along?”

  “No, not at all.” I smiled and no sooner did I say that when I saw Duke sit up straight.

  “Uh, oh, Tony,” Duke said. “Trouble.”

  Trouble? What did he mean? I shifted my eyes and before I saw it, I screamed when it sounded like someone banged on the side of the van three times.

  It startled all of us. All I saw through the side window was a massive body. He wore a light green jacket and walked to the window.

  I sat back in my seat.

  Tony remained calm and didn’t even acknowledge him.

  The man banged his hand again.

  Tony reached to wind up the window and the man’s huge hand slammed against the edge as he peered in.

  He was a burly man and with a husky voice. “Let me in.”

  “No, can do.” Tony said. “We’re full. Look for yourself.”

  “And I am going to repeat. Let us in.”

  “And I am going repeat …”

  The shift-shift of the engaging shotgun chamber caused me to jump, Melissa to scream and Joie to cry out a frightened, “Daddy!” when the shotgun poked in the window.

  “Get out of the car,” The man ordered.

  “Tony.” I peeped his name.

  “Stay here,” Tony whispered and reached for the door handle.

  “All of you!” The man blasted. “Now, or I’ll blow your fucking heads off! Don’t think I won’t.”

  Tony turned his head to me. “Stay here.” He placed the van in gear then lifted his hands to the man. “I’m stepping out. But I need to lower my hands to open the door.”

  The door opened, “No you don’t. Get out.” The man kept that shot gun on Tony and close to his face the whole time, even as Tony stepped from the van.

  With his hands semi up, Tony slid through the slight opening and inched to the left. The door closed.

  He had moved to an area I couldn’t see, that single panel potion of the van where there wasn’t a window.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. “What?”

  Duke replied. “He is pointing the gun on Tony. Can you make out what they’re saying?”

  “No. No. Maybe he’s reasoning with the man and …”

  I jumped. No wait, I screamed.

  Joie cried out, “Daddy!”

  Two gun shots rang out.

  “Tony!” I yelled and scrambled to the driver’s seat,

  “Mom!” Jackson screamed.

  “It’s not Tony,” Duke declared.

  In the midst of Duke’s narration, I watched Tony slowly lower his weapon as the man stood straight, arms extended, eyes wide. His movements had to be automatic. They had to be. There was a wound to his chest and a single mark on his forehead.

  Tony lowered the gun as the man fell back into a car in the next lane, then to the ground. My hand shot to my mouth, and Tony approached the van door.


  He reached to open it and then he stopped.

  Something was wrong.

  He looked to his right and to the man and every ounce of blood drained from Tony’s face.

  What did he see?

  Tony disappeared from sight. I caught a glimpse in the side mirror of Tony racing to the man and bending down.

  “Duke, what’s going on?” I asked. “What’s he doing?”

  “He looks like he’s turning him over. He …” Duke went silent.

  “What? What?”

  “Oh my God. Oh my god.” Duke’s hands shot to his face.

  I barely got the word ‘what’ out of my mouth when the back doors to the van opened.

  Tony tossed in a duffel bag. His face was pale and white with a look of fright. His voice quivered and was barely audible as he squeaked out, “Doc, help him. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  I couldn’t see fully. Too many heads in the van. But when Craig jumped up, that was when I saw … Tony was holding a baby.

  16 – Precious CArgo

  I will never forget those first few moments after Tony called for Doc to help.

  It was complete panic in the van. Voices meshed together. I didn’t know who was speaking, who was saying what or what was going on. All I could figure out was that the man Tony shot had a baby strapped to his back.

  “Sky, grab my bag.”

  “What do you need me to do?” Melissa asked. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Oh God, is he dead?” asked Jackson.

  “Daddy.”

  “Come here, baby,” said Nelly. “Don’t look. Don’t look.”

  Craig had moved to the back of the van, tossing bags forward to make room. “Take this. I need room.”

  The back doors closed. I was hunched between the two front seats, trying to figure out what was going on.

  The passenger door opened. Tony stood there. He took a step to get in, stopped, turned and vomited. He stayed in hunched down position.

  Cars started to beep at us. “Traffic is moving.” I said.

  Tony got in and sat in the passenger’s seat. “Drive. Please drive.”