End of Days

George had everyone in the pickup, except for Mary who he needed to ride shotgun, dismount both to disperse them and to provide covering fire. He was not surprised to see that couples stayed close. Deke and Deidre were obviously a team. The husband was armed with a heavy, Barrett, fifty caliber rifle. With steel core rounds, the rifle could penetrate masonry and concrete walls as well as moderate armor. Deke could also hit a man with the rifle from a mile away. His wife was armed with a twelve gauge shotgun for combat at closer quarters. Alice and Leon also stayed close together.

One of the Armadillos had been a contestant in the annual, Halloween pumpkin chunkin contests. Dave was renowned for his big ten incher. His pumpkin chunker was now mounted on his dump truck. With advice from their wizard, Dave had adapted the two-hundred millimeter caliber, pneumatic cannon to launch twenty kilogram projectiles loaded with explosives rather than gourds. The air compressors on the truck that normally actuated the brakes provided propulsion for the improvised siege cannon. The pneumatic cannon didn't have the range of a real mortar. However; the heavier, larger caliber projectiles were far more destructive.

Lofted trajectories enabled the heavy mortar bombs to penetrate the roof and a few floors of the fortified building. The gang bangers soon began to abandon the burning tenement. The rifle armed Armadillos gave the gang bangers no quarter. They were mercilessly cut down by rapid but accurate fire from semiautomatic rifles.

The sound of three shotgun blasts in quick succession drew George's attention to Mary. A half dozen gang bangers who'd emerged from cover to ambush them were writhing on the ground. Two more rounds of buckshot finished them off. George's late brother had wisely mounted a rifled slug barrel with iron sights on the shotgun. It truly was a scattergun when loaded with buckshot.

George turned his attention to where Alice and Leon were hunkered down behind a berm. He wouldn't have blamed them if they'd been reticent about shooting fellow African-Americans. However; they were even more relentless than the rest of the Armadillos. Alice fired her rifle once every second with almost metronome rhythm. A gang banger was dropped with every round until the thirty round magazine was expended. Leon was no less relentless. As Alice and Leon dropped behind the berm to reload, Mary fired a seven round fusillade of buckshot from her shotgun to cover them. More gang bangers were left writhing on the ground in obvious agony.

The fierce expressions on Mary and Alice's faces as they fired was frightening. George wondered what might have provoked such hatred. Then he noticed the extreme paucity of women much less children that had fled the building. Given a subculture in which almost all children are born out of wedlock and men routinely referred to even their own women as "bitches" and "whores," it was easy to understand. The gang bangers hadn't tried to protect their women and putative children much less stepchildren. As the supply of food looted from grocery stores and warehouses was exhausted, the gang bangers must have starved the women and any children so that they could eat. There were persistent rumors that cannibalism had become the norm in Chicago, just like Haiti and the Dominican Republic after the second conquest of Hispaniola. Neither Mary or Alice had expressed skepticism about even the most horrific rumors.

The convoy moved on to the next fortified apartment building then another and another. Burning buildings could be seen in the distance. The convoy hadn't journeyed to Chicago alone. They hadn't risked coming to the city again merely to salvage more machine tools and parts from the warehouses that the gang bangers ignored. This time, they were invaders rather than mere scavengers. They were here to reclaim the largest city in the State of Illinois from the savages.

Suddenly; as the convoy neared the waterfront, the gang bangers ceased retreating. Their numbers were suddenly multiplied. The reinforcements who were dressed in black but without the BLM logo, were armed with rifles rather than pistols. There shouting was in French rather than ebonics. While many European weapons were in evidence, AK-47s predominated. These weren't America's home grown gang bangers. These were the gangsters of Haiti who'd exploited the idiotic open borders policies to invade America. While the Haitian gang bangers weren't disciplined soldiers, they were obviously far more dangerous than America's home grown gang bangers. Some of the Haitians even knew how to put the stock of their rifles to their shoulders to use the front sight!

George was suddenly very grateful to have Grandpa Zurcher's LAVs at his back. The fully automatic thirty caliber machine guns and twenty-five millimeter rapid fire cannons decimated the gangsters. Carefully aimed fire from the mortar crews savaged those that were foolish enough to congregate. The Armadillos who were armed with bolt action or semiautomatic rifles picked off individual gangsters with more precise fire.

Unfortunately; it was premature to declare victory. The roar of jet engines drew their attention to the twin afterburners of an F-15 fighter that could be seen overhead. The aircraft was probably from Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri. Many of the Federal government's surviving aircraft had joined the B-2, stealth bombers that had been stationed at Whiteman before that day of detonations. Missouri had become the last redoubt of the Federal government. The Haitian invaders who had claimed sovereignty over Chicago had sworn fealty to the Federal government. Knowing that the Feds had few options to project force this far North, the Armadillos had invaded the city anyway.

The fighter was in a vertical climb. George had trained everyone to recognize the threat. The fighter bomber was climbing at supersonic speed in preparation to release a bomb. Such a tactic was needed only for a nuclear weapon. The nuke would follow a ballistic trajectory, ascending for about a minute before descending for about another minute, giving the Eagle time to escape. There was no way of predicting exactly when or where or at what altitude the nuke would detonate.

The former President had threatened the American people. The prospect of attacking them with F-15s and nuclear weapons had been invoked to justify gun prohibition and confiscation. Slow Joe's successor was making good on that threat.

Thanks to George's training, the Armadillos all understood that they needed to find shelter or at least duck and cover. Finding a bomb shelter was definitely the better option. Unfortunately; they were in the ghetto. The surrounding buildings were all brick with crumbling mortar.

George searched for the nearest manhole cover as he drove his pickup to park under a freeway overpass. It was better than nothing. The other vehicles in the convoy parked under nearby overpasses. However; he and Mary along with the other vehicle crews quickly dismounted. He searched for a manhole cover as he pulled a special tool from his pocket.

Everyone had been issued the special tool. It was merely a short piece of pipe for a handle with a small hook welded to it. George inserted the hook into a notch in the manhole cover. Unfortunately; it wasn't a chocolate covered manhole cover. George was expecting that his nostrils would be assaulted by the stench of a sewer. Fortunately; the manhole led to a storm water sewer rather than a sanitary sewer.

As George held Mary's shotgun to enable her to climb down through the manhole, he glanced at Leon on his right about a block away. He was holding Alice's AR-15 as she entered another manhole that offered a subterranean shelter. Half a block to his left, Deke was holding Deidre's shotgun as she climbed down to safety. He waved at his compatriot as the two men handed down their weapons to their women before following them. George glanced up at the stars shining above before he did the same. He clung to the rungs of the ladder as he used the manhole cover key to pull the manhole cover back into place to cover the opening. He then climbed down the rest of the way into the sewer.

Thanks to the runoff from the Spring thaw, the storm sewer had been flushed thoroughly. It was actually almost clean in the storm sewer. He shined his flashlight around to inspect the expedient blast and fallout shelter. He was pleased to find himself in a concrete pipe that was about six feet in diameter. He estimated that the pipe was about eight feet under the pavement. Perfect!

George followed as Mary led the way the way. They needed to get away from the manhole. She stopped when she found a elevated platform about fifty feet away. The platform was dry. They set their packs down then sat on their packs so that they'd be cushioned from ground shock.

They didn't have to wait long. Less than a minute later the flash from the detonation arrived. The flash arrived before the shockwave, of course. Thin beams of light shone through the holes in the manhole cover to be reflected from the sides of the manhole shaft then rereflected throughout the sewer. The flash from the expanding fireball grew brighter for a few seconds before it began to fade.

George was acutely aware that along with being illuminated by the flash from the fireball, the surface above them was being irradiated with thermal radiation, gamma rays and even neutrons. Depending on how close they were to the detonation, that radiation might be lethal to anyone on the surface. Fortunately; eight feet of pavement, gravel, dirt and concrete was attenuating the nuclear radiation by a factor of a million or more. Unfortunately; nuclear radiation wasn't the only threat.

George covered his ears as he watched the second hand on his anachronistic, mechanical pocket watch. He knew from his training that the velocity of the shockwave would vary with distance from the detonation. While the shockwave would initially propagate at supersonic velocity, it would slow to subsonic velocity as it expanded. However; the same presumption that thunder would expand at the speed of sound that was commonly utilized to estimate the distance from lightning strikes was a reasonable assumption for a rough approximation.

George watched the second hand of his pocket watch. Every second that ticked by enhanced their probability of survival. Propagating at a velocity of about six kilometers per second, the ground shock arrived before the air last. However; there was only a slight vibration against their butts. The minimal ground shock attested to an airburst detonation rather than a surface detonation.

George continued to watch the second hand on his pocket watch. Thirty seconds had passed before the shockwave arrived. While the noise was deafening, the shockwave was barely perceptible inside the storm sewer. George deduced that an airburst detonation had occurred only five miles away.

There was blessed silence as George and Mary sat. He contemplated his observations. He was reminded of a nuclear simulation that he'd attended back in the nineteen-eighties. The White Sands Missile Range had been the perfect venue for the detonation of seven-hundred-and-fifty tons of Ammonium Nitrate and fuel oil. The total energy had been equivalent to about a thousand tons of TNT. With no nuclear radiation and minimal thermal radiation, the blast effects had been comparable to that of a three kiloton nuclear bomb. Everyone who was anyone in the Department of Defense as well as the Department of Energy had wanted to attend. Not everyone was accommodated. Bleachers had been set up a few miles away from ground zero. The local beer distributor had brought in two tap trucks as well as some food vendors for the occasion. It had been one Hell of a party.

George pulled a circular slide rule out of his pack. The Nuclear Bomb Effects Computer had been included with his copy of THE EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS by Samuel Glastone. While it was possible that Chicago had just been nuked with a B-eighty-three gravity bomb, it was more likely that a somewhat lower yield, B-sixty-one had been employed. Both weapons were of the variable yield type. The common joke was that there was a dial on the noses of the nukes to set them for rare, medium or well done. Just to be on the safe side, George calculated the probable effects of the B-eighty-three set for the highest yield of one-point-two Megatons.

Based on a combination of his observations and a wild ass guess, George presumed that the nuke had been detonated at an altitude of about ten-thousand feet or two miles. The probable peak overpressure at ground zero would then have been about fifteen pounds per square inch. That much blast intensity would destroy almost all buildings and maybe even robustly built bridges. Underground bunkers or tunnels probably wouldn't be damaged. People sheltering in such structures could survive.

Given his estimate that their expedient bomb shelter was only five miles away from the hypocenter, the peak overpressure on the surface had been only four pounds per square inch. That much blast overpressure would be survivable for modern, well built structures. Parked as it was under the freeway overpass, George's pickup had probably survived but with damage. However; the rundown, crumbling masonry, tenement buildings above them would be flattened. There was a good chance that there would be a serious firestorm sweeping through as well.

Of more immediate concern was the prospect of residual nuclear radiation. Given the apparent air burst and the clear, star studded sky that George had observed, there would be minimal fallout. They wouldn't have to contend with fission products. However; there would be neutron induced radiation in the ground as well as structures above them. The half-life of such radioisotopes was highly dependent on the composition of the local soils as well as building materials. Silicone, Aluminum and Iron as well as Oxygen would most likely be the predominant elements. The effective half-lives of the likely radioisotopes would then be measured in minutes or hours. While they didn't need to remain sheltered for weeks, it would be advisable for them to remain underground for a few hours. Sheltering for maybe even a day or two might be even better.

George pulled some cheese and beef jerky out of his pack. He started slicing off chunks of meat and cheese. Mary eagerly accepted the slices that he offered her. To conserve battery power, George turned off his flashlight.

As George and Mary ate in the dark, they noticed light in their sewer about a block away. George called out as he reached for his Heckler and Koch ninety-one. The thirty caliber battle rifle was far superior to an assault rifle for fighting in open country. However; it was a bit unwieldy for close quarters combat. He left the telescoping stock retracted so it would be more compact. He set the rifle down when he heard Deke answering him. A few minutes later the couple joined them.

Deke had thoughtfully packed a can of homemade Sterno as well as a small amount of finely split firewood in his backpack. He built and lit a small campfire. Everyone huddled around the camp fire. Meats and cheeses were exchanged.

George produced a flask. Years ago, he'd stashed away many cases of bourbon as a contingency for a day of detonations. George's bourbon was probably the last bourbon that any of the Armadillos would ever drink unless they somehow started trading with Kentucky again.

Eventually; George's bourbon was gone. Everyone was feeling no pain. The booze had relaxed inhibitions. Deke started making out with Deidre. It was beginning to get warm in the storm sewer. Clothes were coming off.

Deidre had been a rather robust, almost matronly woman before that day of detonations. However; she'd lost weight during the aftermath. George noticed that although Deidre was a youngish grandmother, Deidre looked pretty damn good for a grandmother.

George was inspired to tentatively drape an arm around Mary's shoulders. She didn't protest. They were soon making out. George reminded himself that he'd discussed possibilities with his wife. She hadn't vetoed the idea.

Soon Mary as well as Deidre was naked. The sight of her natural breasts reminded George of the copies of National Geographic that had made visits to the doctor so enjoyable when he was a kid. As Deke positioned himself between his wife's eagerly opened thighs, George tentatively positioned himself between Mary's thighs. He aimed his penis at her tightly curled, nappy pubic hair. She didn't demure. The sensation of entering Mary was fantastic.

The copulations of the two couples became a contest. Deke and George were vying to be the first to bring their woman to orgasm. Mary and Deidre were in a race to be the first to climax. Deidre won, perhaps because Deke was accustomed to her and knew how to please her. However; George didn't fail to bring Mary to orgasm. He vowed to be the last to ejaculate. He succeeded. However; it was a close contest. The sight of Deke sinking himself balls deep in Deidre as he ejaculated inside her sent him over the edge.

George vacillated about withdrawing. He'd discussed the possibility with his wife. She hadn't vetoed the idea, but she hadn't agreed. Having sex with Mary might be acceptable, but impregnating her might remain taboo. George reluctantly drew away as he began to ejaculate. Mary's legs holding him tight restrained him. Maybe she didn't need to worry about getting pregnant? Perhaps she wasn't as young as she looked? Alternatively; the experience of surviving not just the aftermath of a nuclear war but the detonation of a nuke only a few miles away had evoked a primal urge to procreate? Whatever Mary's motivation might be, George certainly wasn't going to protest. He eagerly filled her with his maturing yet fertile sperm.

The two couples were obviously embarrassed in the aftermath of their group encounter. However; there seemed to be no sense in getting dressed yet. Eventually; they were making out again. However; this time Deke was making out with Mary while George was making out with Deidre. As he entered the somewhat mature woman, the knowledge that his penis was being lubricated by Deke's semen rather than his own made the sensation surreal.

Once again, their copulations became a contest. This time, George succeeded in bringing Deidre to climax before Deke was able to bring Mary to orgasm. However; George ejaculated in Deidre before Deke filled Mary with his seed.

The two embarrassed couples lingered for awhile. They finally started to get dressed in the dim light of the dying camp fire. George led the way to the manhole that they'd used to enter the storm sewer. His radiation meter revealed a dose rate of barely five millirems per hour. It was reasonably safe. Fortunately; there was no debris piled on top of the manhole cover. With Deke's help, he was able to push the steel disc up and to the side.

The sight was surreal. For miles around them, the dilapidated tenements of Chicago had been transformed into piles of shattered, smoldering masonry. Only the more robust structures such as bridges, elevated highways and freeway overpasses remained standing. With the exception of shattered windshields and scorched paint, George's pickup as well as the other vehicles of the Armadillo's convoy were intact.

During the next few hours, the other Armadillos emerged from their expedient bomb shelters. Some had been unlucky enough to seek refuge in a sanitary sewer rather than a storm sewer. Everyone else sought to keep far, far away and up wind of them.

Everyone was fascinated by the shadows of various objects that the thermal pulse had etched into pavements and various concrete walls. In most cases, objects that had cast the nuclear shadows remained where they had been. In a few cases, charred corpses lay on the ground at the feet of their own shadows. The combination of dark clothing and dark skin had made the gang bangers as well as the Haitians extremely vulnerable to the thermal pulse. While they hadn't been vaporized, they'd suffered third and fourth degree burns even before their clothing was ignited.