Tire tracks.
“Two sets,” Alice indicated. “One was a car and the other a small truck like this one.” She walked from the parking lot to the road. “Looks like our horses followed the vehicles.”
“The rescue teams.”
“Could be or it could be people from White Sulphur Springs trying to get across the bridge.”
“Why did they stop here?”
“Because Martin said the bridge was gone. One thing I’m almost positive of is the horses followed.”
“You don’t think people came and killed them, do you?”
“What? All twelve people?” Alice laughed. “Then took the time to hide all twelve. No. That didn’t happen.” She walked back to the truck. “We have a trail of breadcrumbs.” She opened the door. “Let’s follow them.”
It was forty-two miles to the designated bunker area, I remembered that. The mud trail didn’t last long, but it did lead us down the interstate again where the dried trail tapered off. Every mile east we went things looked more normal. We were in the safe haven area between the two mountain ranges, safe like Julius said. No sign of a major storm, no fallen trees.
No sign of our group.
The occasional sign of horse droppings was a great sign.
I wasn’t an expert on horses, but I did know Martin would have kept them at a trotting pace, stopping every couple hours. It would have taken the horses eight hours to get to the bunker. If that was where they were going.
Without a doubt in my mind, they had left not long after I spoke to them the day before.
Other than the markings of the horses, we saw cars. Not a lot, but some were driving on the highway.
It was strange because as cars passed us, they’d beep and wave.
Then we saw a police car. It cruised by us and we followed it off the exit ramp into a town called Lewisville. From the looks of the map, the actual town was another mile away.
If the police car was cruising the highway, maybe they saw our party.
The officer must have noticed us following, he extended his arm out the window in a wave to us, pulled over and put on his lights.
Keeping a short distance, Alice pulled over as well and we waited for the officer to get out of his car.
Both Alice and I waved to let him know we were friendly, and he walked up to our window.
“Afternoon officer,” Alice said. “I don’t have my license or registration.”
“I didn’t pull you over, so you’re good. But … you don’t look like a Herbie. What’s up? I saw you following me. Did you need help? I saw the Kansas plates, so you guys are for sure from the hit zone.”
I leaned toward the window. “I’m sorry the hit zone?”
“Everywhere but around here. We’re still trying to figure out what isn’t hit. It’s easier that way.”
“We’re looking for some people,” I said. “We got separated when the water tornado hit. They made it across the bridge, but we don’t know where they are. They were on horseback.”
“Ah,” he nodded. “Yes. Last night two men and two kids, one of them looked like a teenager, were trying to camp out in the parking lot of the Super 8.”
Alice asked. “Trying to? Did something happen?”
“Yeah, we gave them a room. No power anywhere, but it was better for the kids to have a bed. The rest of the party was headed east to White Sulphur Springs, they were resting the horses.”
“So, they left and they were fine?” I asked.
“Yep. Gina made them some breakfast and they left pretty early. They should be there by now.”
“Thank you,” I gushed. “Thank you so much.”
“Well, be careful,’ he said. “If you need to come back, we’re here.”
Alice had to tap my leg to get me to stop thanking the officer. I was just so grateful. Martin, the kids and the others were fine, and we were close to finding them.
Just as you exited the highway, on the very outskirts of White Sulphur Springs was a Wendy’s. I swore it was open. I could smell the burgers, see the smoke, but as we passed it, I saw they weren’t really open for business, they were just cooking off the meat.
I never got to see the actual small town, because the driveway to the resort was right down the road from the restaurant. I didn’t see anything, no cars as we drove up the long entrance way.
At the very top, I saw a horse cross the road.
I knew it was ours.
The horse stopped, turned and paced to the middle of the road and there I saw that the rider was Reese.
He didn’t know us or recognize the truck, he yanked on the reins, turned the horse and raced off away from us.
We drove cautiously, because if I knew Martin, Reese probably went to get him, and Martin would be there with a rifle.
Sure enough, he was.
Perched intimidatingly on that horse like an old west sheriff until he recognized us as we pulled close.
With a wave and a huge smile, he dismounted the horse and I got out of the truck.
Running to him, I watched his smile drop.
“Where’s Lane?” he asked concerned. “Please don’t tell me …”
“He’s ... he’s okay,” I stopped him. “He’s in a hospital in Beckley. He got a lung infection when he was swept up by that water.”
“Whew that is good to ...” his eyes shifted, and he smiled again. “Alice?” He chuckled heartedly and stepped to her and embraced her. “Well, I’ll be. You came back.”
“Yep. It was bad and I ran into Jana in Beckley,” Alice replied.
“How come she got a hug?” I asked, jokingly.
Martin then hugged me, he held me in his arms so fatherly for a little while. “Glad you’re okay, Jana, pirate look and all.”
“Eh.” I stepped back touching my eye patch. “I had something in my eye.”
“We saw the tire tracks,” Alice said. “We figured you followed some vehicles.”
Martin nodded. “We did.”
I asked, “Was it the rescue teams?”
“Sort of,” Martin replied. “They weren’t waiting like you said, but they showed up. They said they heard the radio. I believe it, this place has some fancy functions.”
“Then it’s true,” I said. “Everything Julius said. I mean, he was right about the weather. This place …” I stopped talking when Martin lifted his hand. “What?” I asked.
“Before you start letting your mind go. I don’t know what you envisioned this was or what would happen, but I’m willing to bet,” Martin said. “It’s nothing like you expected.
✽✽✽
The kids were so happy to see me, I can’t recall ever feeling so much joy from them. Both hung on to me, clutching tightly.
The front grounds of the place were beautiful.
Martin was mistaken, it was exactly as I expected.
I even recognized the woman sitting in a lawn chair watching two smaller children run around.
The moment she saw me, she waved and stood.
I had seen her profile picture in the group, and I knew it was Marianne from Cincinnati. She had left before us.
“Jana?” she quizzed, stepping to me with a tilted head.
“Marianne?”
A slight shriek of excitement came from both of us, sounding like teenage girls.
“I’m so glad to see you made it okay,” I said.
“Oh, we did. We beat the weather, never saw anything here but a short storm. Nothing major, except you know, the grid went down.”
“Martin, he said this is probably what I wasn’t expecting,” I said. “It looks even better.”
“He probably means the west side of the place,” she replied. “It’s not what I expected either.”
“What happened to it?” I asked.
“Nothing happened. It’s just … what’s there. Here, we’ll walk.” She turned her body, calling out, ‘mom’ and drawing the attention of an older woman. She asked her if she would keep an eye on the kids.
She began to walk, and I followed alongside.
“We were the first ones here,” Marianne said. “The first from our group.”
“Anyone else arrive?”
“A few. Not many,” she replied. “When we arrived, the town was normal. My husband thought I was nuts and even commented I had to remember the Motel Six because there was no way we could afford this resort.”
I laughed. “My husband didn’t buy into it either.”
“Until we pulled up. The entire resort had been evacuated and no one was here.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“There are cabins all around and my husband broke into one, so we had a place to stay. I mean, it was insane, I was angry I followed Julius here and he hadn’t arrived. But the storms were real, so there had to be some validity.”
“I started worrying as well.”
“Then night before last …” She held out her hand. “This.”
It was then I saw what Martin meant.
Julius was ‘supposedly’ in that deep secret lab of NASA, so why were there so many military vehicles parked outside what looked like a huge tunnel entrance?
“Julius?” I asked.
“They arrived with Julius, yes.”
“Have you met him?”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
“So, he’s real?”
Again, she nodded. “Maybe it’s time you met Julius.”
✽✽✽
We walked back around to the front entering the luxurious resort through the front entrance. Across the large sunlit lobby with white pillars, black and white floors and a double staircase with red and green carpet.
No one was in the lobby, but as we ventured farther, people moved about. More meandering than anything else. Post apocalypse tourists on vacation.
We approached another magnificent staircase and I really dreaded walking up them, I didn’t have the energy or depth perception, thankfully we walked down a hall next to them.
There were several people in the hall. A couple military, most were wearing casual clothes, holding iPads or tablets. They looked as we walked by and a couple acknowledged Marianne.
We arrived at set of double doors and Marianne knocked.
“Yes,” a man called out.
Marianne opened the door slightly poking her head in. “Jana arrived.”
I didn’t hear a verbal response, Marianne opened the door wider, holding it for me. “Meet you back outside.”
When I stepped in the room, there was a man and a woman there. The man was Martin’s age, dressed clean and crisp with a golf shirt on. The middle aged woman was military, wearing camouflage, or rather an Army Combat Uniform, and though I wasn’t knowledgeable about the military, I knew the two stars on her pocket, made her a big deal.
I sighed out in relief, Julius was real, a little older than I envisioned. Hand extended I walked to him, “Julius, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”
He shook my hand, then shook his head. “Not me.” He pointed to the general. “She’s the Julius.”
TWENTY-FIVE – WINNING COMBINATION
Julius was a woman all along. Right there that explained why ‘she’ rejected my call. Why hide her gender?
She told me I could call her Nel, and then she asked the gentleman to give us a few minutes alone, a man I found out was her uncle when she called him, “Uncle Roger.”
“The name is actually Julien Constanza. Julien being the male name. Julien worked at NASA and the Department of Defense in the experimental Weather Manipulation Project … or Jupiter.”
“Okay I’m confused.”
“Julien or Julius as you knew him when he started the group was my brother.”
“Your brother?”
“Now, before you say anything.” She sat down behind the desk and held out a hand for me to do as well. “I have been part of his plan since the onset. He couldn’t use his real name and when Jules died six months ago, I didn’t want the group to stop. I am very sorry I deceived you. I wanted people to survive this, not just those I had on my secret team.”
“You’re a general,” I said. “You couldn’t get people to believe you? The government? The president?”
“Jules tried, he did,” she replied. “They dismissed him. He predicted the weather. The only thing he predicted incorrectly was the correction launch. He said if they ever tried to correct it, it would be worse. Well, come on, how much worse would it have gotten. That’s what I thought, I watched hurricanes move inland all the way to Chicago. Insane.”
“Was that Ares?” I asked.
Nel shook her head. “He always said Ares would be the finishing storm. I watched the radar, the image, but they never joined.”
“The correction worked,” I stated.
“It worked.”
I sat back. “Now what?”
“I am shocked more people from the group didn’t show up. But it is what it is. We have a good ground team here. The technology is here. We have a country that is defeated. Blasted by nature. If we don’t get out there and help and show the government is up and running, then we’ll face a lot of lawlessness. If it gets ahead of us, there’s nothing we can do.”
“So, you’re talking Martial Law?”
Nel gave a look of debate. “Not really, we need to reach out to leaders of communities that are still standing. Work with them. Try to find them what is needed.”
“Beckley has it together, you know. So does Lewisville.”
“West Virginia was spared, at least a lot of it was. That is why we need the ground teams, to go out there, let us know what’s there. That’s why I have the soldiers.”
“What do you need us for?” I asked.
“As you know, we have been working on this plan for a long time. What we would do, what we would need. Worst case and best case scenarios.”
“Where does this fall?”
“On a scale of one to ten with ten meaning the worst … a seven, maybe eight. That’s why it’s crucial you and the others in the group help. Be part of the team, be part of the support, let people know it’s not the end. We assign you an area, you work with the locals and the leaders there to rebuild, like an ambassador.”
“Whoa, okay … I’m not a leader, I’m not an ambassador. I am some woman who joined a social media conspiracy group.”
Nel chuckled a little. “Do you think we just … randomly let people into the group? Every person who was there we vetted. We had nineteen uninvited we allowed in. You, Jana worked as a Chief Information Officer. You may not think much of it, but that job entailed problem solving, working with the public. Responding rapidly with a solution. You took on your sister’s children and raised them as your own. They’re beautiful, healthy. We didn’t vet that info you gave it.”
“If I did this, I assume me and my family would go to my assigned area.”
Nel nodded.
“What about the others that are with us?”
“To be honest, some of them have some seriously useful skills. The man with the broken arm?”
“Skip.”
“He fixed a bunker door this morning. He’s mechanical. I’d like to ask him and a couple others to work with us.”
“Where would my area be?”
“We could pick one or if you know of one. We’ll set you up with all communication means that you need. What do you say?”
I stared at her, eventually after a few seconds, I told her I needed to think about it and discuss it with my family. The truth was I had never gotten to the point of what I would do after the storms, after I arrived at the safe zone.
None of that had crossed my mind.
My goal was to lead my family to survival. I did that. The ‘what was next’ was never really a deep thought.
I not only had to think about what I wanted to do, I had to think about whether I was truly capable of the expectations and the tasks Nel presented me.
✽✽✽
I didn’t get it. The resort was considere
d one of the finest. I got that it was historic, but I didn’t get how people paid so much money to stay there.
Martin, the children and I were given a suite. Alice stayed with us. At first when I thought ‘suite’ we were going to get something magnificent. It was big, but the décor just reminded me of my Aunt Mary’s house. Strange, patterned wallpaper, bright red carpet.
The bed was comfy, the linens were fresh. Probably had been made by housekeeping not long before. Any thought I had sunk into that bed, encompassed by the softness, I didn’t sleep long.
It was so early, the sun hadn’t risen. But Alice did.
She was sipping coffee at the table and offered me a cup.
She had taken a few cups from the soldiers’ canteen.
I accepted the coffee and told her I wanted to walk, explore and clear my head.
My mind spun on what to do.
For an hour I walked around the hotel, finding my way down to the infamous bunker area.
People moved about down there, it was powered with its own generator and the slight hum carried steadily.
After I passed through the interior bunker doors, the ones that came from the ballroom, I entered into what looked like a casino. I wasn’t sure what it was prior, but it had been redone.
Slot machines lined up on the walls and in small groupings across the floor.
Most of them were dark, except a few here and there. They were probably entertainment for those who worked down there.
I thought it very symbolic for the country or world right now. A place once vibrant, had been black, nearly extinguished except for the few specks of light.
It was depressing and didn’t help.
It was now light and eventually I found myself outside sitting on a bench facing the massive garden that was untouched by the fury of nature that smashed everything else.
“Coffee isn’t bad,” Martin said, joining me on the bench.
“No, it’s not.”
“Alice said you’ve been awake awhile.”
“I have.” I nodded.
“Any word on Lane?”
I nodded. It was nice there was communications between us and Beckley, even if it was landlines. The wires for those were mostly underground and had survived.
Winds of Ares: An Apocalypse Thriller Page 18