JAA Ch. 01: Aftermath

"Don't run, don't move, we will not hurt you," he said as quietly as possible.

The four jumped at his voice coming from behind them. Three others appeared to their right as four slowly walked from the armory. The woman fell to her knees silently sobbing into her arms. The two teens dropped to their knees to console their mother. The man stood strong and tall slowly turning to face Waylon.

"Sir, please do not hurt my wife and children, I beg you."

"Mister, hurting them in the furthest thing from my mind," Waylon answered him. "Michelle, get down here and have a look at them, we'll take them back to the hotel."

Michelle jumped down from the hummer and hurried to the mother. She knelt down beside her as the girls tried to shield her.

"I'm a doctor, girls. Let me have a look at your mother, maybe I can help."

The two girls stood and stepped over to their father and huddled up to him.

"You four back inside and get those truck loaded. You two, go with them. You, Jones up in the hummer, keep your eyes peeled."

People started to move quickly and soon it was just Michelle and Waylon with the four strangers. Michelle was trying to get a good look at the mother, while the father stood with his hands in plain sight. The girls just looked frightened out of their minds.

"Sir, what's your name?" Michelle asked the father.

"Stan."

"Stan, come here and calm your wife down. You two, what are your names?"

"Their names are Sally and Silvia and my wife's name is Carol," said Stan as he went to his wife.

"Sally, Silvia, follow me," Michelle said walking to the back of the humvee.

The two girls stood fast. Michelle looked up and waved them to her.

"Jones, point that thing some other way."

"Oh, right doc."

"Girls come over here, I'm not going to hurt you or allow you to be hurt," Michelle scolded them.

The two young girls slowly walked to where Michelle was waiting for them. She then pulled out her stethoscope and a flashlight.

"Sally, up on the tailgate, please. No, no darling, sit on the tailgate. Okay now open your mouth, wide. That's it," Michelle cooed.

She looked down her throat, in her ears, in her eyes, then listened to her heart and lungs. Michelle felt her head to see if she had a fever. When she was finished, she gave Silvia the same once over. By that time, Stan had Carol all calmed down and up on her feet. Michelle waved him over.

"Hi, Carol, I'm sorry we gave you such a fright, would you let me have a look at you? I'm a doctor and I promise you will not be harmed."

Carol, looking like a scared rabbit, let her husband help her to the tailgate standing by her side, as Michelle looked her over. She then just shined the flashlight in Stan's face. When she saw his clear blue eyes and strong jaw, she knew he was okay.

"Okay you two look good and your daughters are in good shape so I'm done, you pass." Michelle smiled at them all.

"Stan, how long have you and your family been out here, alone?" Waylon spoke softly.

"Four months. When we saw you pull up here, we thought you might be the military. When the doctor popped up and pointed that fifty at us, I knew you weren't. I thought you were scavengers and I thought we were dead."

"Or worse," Sally said trembling.

"You have nothing to fear from us. How would you like a hot meal, a hot shower, and a warm bed to sleep in tonight?"

"I don't know what's it going to cost?" Stan asked.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," Michelle told him. "You girls jump in the back of the hummer. Stan, take Carol around to the back passenger side and help her in. You can have a shotgun, while I take the turret."

"I don't know. We don't know you. We don't know where you'll be taking us."

"Right down the street to the Regency Hotel on River," Waylon said.

"I thought I saw lights there but never got back that way to check it out," Stan said.

"Listen, Stan, we have over one-hundred people staying there. Eventually, we'll all move down to Texas. We are waiting and helping all the people up here that we can. The survival of the country depends on you and us. Are you ex-military?"

"Yes."

"What branch?"

"Marines."

"Ever hear of a Major Waylon Franklin?" Michelle asked.

"Is he the Franklin that received the button in Iraq?"

"That's me," Waylon laughed.

"Button?" Michelle asked confused.

"Medal of Honor," Stan told her snapping to attention and saluting Waylon.

"Stop that Stan, I'm already embarrassed about how it happened."

"Pray tell, Waylon?" Michelle smiled at him.

"NO, now get back up in that turret Doctor and you four come with me."

Chapter 7

"The glaciers are growing. The projection is that within the next year this part of Illinois will be under a sheet of ice twenty feet thick. The projection is calling for an ice sheet that will extend down halfway across Kansas, dropping further south across the Rockies. The east coast will be free of ice south of North Carolina.

"So the ice sheet will extend down to just north of Sacramento, curving north of Las Vegas then dropping south to just north of Albuquerque then north of Wichita to just north of Saint Louis down through Kentucky and along the North Carolina border with South Carolina. More than two-thirds of the country will be ice covered.

"And Canada will be completely covered. And, of course, Alaska will be too."

"So what you're saying is we have to find somewhere else to live?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Any word from the government or are we still on our own?"

"The President received the same briefing not forty minutes ago."

"Well, what did he say?"

"Uh, let me see if I can get the quote right...'time to boogie' I believe were his words."

"I see. Then what happened?"

"He called for Marine One and yelled to his wife and kids to get packed they were leaving. I think he went to our embassy in Mexico, Juarez I believe."

"So we are on our own, all right, three o'clock, community meeting. Thanks, until three then gentlemen."

So, it was that the United States died with a whimper as the leadership or the non-leadership fled to Mexico and parts south, leaving the population to fend for themselves. Once the President had crossed the southern border the governor of Texas declared him 'persona non-gratis' and gave orders for him to be arrested on sight if he ever thought to set foot in Texas. The Texas general assembly then declared their independence from the United States of America.

Thus began the disintegration of the union. Other states followed Texas in both declarations. The military commanders, the ones left behind, joined in with the states. The breakdown of the central government was just the beginning. New alliances formed between neighboring states. New right-of-ways negotiated. All the states in the south signed a mutual support treaty.

"Cappy, you have a minute?"

"Sure Jake, what is it?"

"I just got a call from a friend who says the Chinese Army has landed in Los Angles. They also have reports of landings in San Francisco and San Diego."

"Any Military response? Any word on how many?"

"No military response. Word is four division of the People Liberation Army have come ashore already."

"Okay, thanks, Jake, see you at three."

"Right."

The room filled with everyone who had taken refuge from the ash fall from the great volcano. Everyone was jabbering with their neighbor as Cappy and Waylon waited at the head table. At three o'clock sharp Cappy rapped the gavel on the table. The noise in the room did not diminish one decibel. He rapped the gavel again. Nothing, he turned to Waylon and waved toward the crowd.

"Quiet," Waylon said in his normal voice.

The crowd in the room stopped talking and turned to the front of the room. Cappy gave Waylon a disgusted look and shook his head.

"They're not afraid of you," Waylon chuckled quietly

"Fine. I'm glad you could all come this afternoon. Today I received a report about the future of our country. It is projected the northern two-thirds of the States will be covered in ice within a year. It's cold here now and it's about to get colder. We will be moving in two stages within the next six months. The first stage will be to a location in southern Illinois starting about three weeks from now and should take us at least a week prep time and two days travel time. The second move will start in six months from now to northeastern Texas and should only take a month of prep time and a week's travel time.

"Those who can't take a long ride in a truck, hummer or bus, will be flown down in the few choppers we have. The doctors will determine who flies and who rides."

A groan went up from the crowd. Cappy searched for Michelle, Susan and the rest of the doctors. When he found them, he smiled at the discomfort he saw in their faces.

"The decision will be based solely on medical need, not friendship. If I hear or suspect you are trying to use your friendship to garner a seat on a chopper, you will be in the back of a truck for both trips regardless of your condition. Is that clear?" Cappy shouted. He waited for a response from the people before him. He slammed his arm down on the table and shouted again. "Is that clear?"

The crowd nodded their heads or shouted out a 'yes' or a 'yea'. Their attention was now on him and not the doctors.

"A duty list will be posted on the board, everyone will have an assignment. Those who do not wish to move are more than welcome to stay here but you should know that in a year this spot will be under twenty feet of ice. An ice age is coming and coming soon.

"Any questions?"

"How long will the trip be for those of us in the trucks?"

"Two days for the first leg, a week to ten days for the second. There will be frequent stops and plenty to eat. The meal stops will be at noon for lunch and five in the evening for supper. Other stops will be approximately every ninety minutes or so and last for ten minutes. The speed of the slowest vehicle determines just how fast the convoy goes. The top speed of a deuce-and-a-half is forty-five miles per hour.

"In about three weeks an advanced party will be flown down to the first sight to get it ready for the rest of us. No, I will not be part of the advanced party. I will be riding with you. The advanced party has been selected in advance and they'll be notified shortly. Any further questions?"

"Will we ever be able to come back home?"

"No," Cappy took a deep breath, "not in your lifetime. The ice age will last for one hundred or more years. If you want to stay, you can. But if you want to live, you'll come with us."

Several people started to sob. Cappy wondered how they thought things would get better. The sun blotted out for five months now in the northern hemisphere, food was scarce, water was becoming scarce. Fuel for the vehicles was abundant. If you did not have special air filters for your engine, the ash would seize it within five minutes. So there were not many people riding in vehicles anymore. Among Cappy's data was the location of every subterranean storage sight between where they were now to their final destination in Texas. These storage sites contained mostly liquefied natural gas but, the medium used to pump it out of the underground tanks was diesel fuel and that is what Cappy was after.

"Any more questions?"

"What about help from the government? What's the President doing about this?'

"Well," Cappy laughed to himself, "the President has evacuated himself and his family to Mexico. As for the rest of the government, I haven't heard. Those units of the military stationed overseas are returning home as quickly as they can. Canada has evacuated its population as far south as possible. You've all seen the Canadian military moving through the area headed south. You've seen the buses they escort. However, our government has left us out in the cold. I believe the phrase used by most of Congress was 'every man for himself'. And I believe the President's inspiring words were 'time to boogie'. Therefore, you see the government doesn't care about us. We are on our own."

"Who will be leading the advanced party if you're staying behind?"

"Good question. Doctor Susan Reynolds will be leading the advanced party."

Cappy was looking directly at Susan when he answered that question. He had not had time to tell her in advance. The look on her face was priceless.

"Her husband Mark will be accompanying her. The two of them together will be in charge, Waylon or I will notify the rest of the group after this meeting. Anything else?"

"What's the weather like in the part of Texas we will eventually wind up in?"

"Currently, according to reports we catch, it's a balmy forty-five degrees during the day, dropping to around zero at night. It will get colder before it gets warmer. Eventually, the ash will drop out of the atmosphere and the sunshine will break through and start to warm the planet again. Those swatches covered in snow and ice will remain so until the rest of the world warms enough to start to melt that ice.

"Say in about fifty or sixty years. In our lifetime, we may see the sun peeking out from behind a cloud again. The world as we know it is dying with little hope for recovery in the short term."

"Then why go on?" someone mumbled in the crowd.

"Because to give up is not in our nature, it's not in my nature at lease, and...I have a lot of life to live before I give up and surrender. Life is what you make of it, it is not handed to you on a platter. Life is a struggle, a hassle, a pain in the ass but it's what we do, it's what makes us unique. It's what makes us what we are.

"If you want to give up if you don't want to go on, see one of the doctors and talk. They are all knowledgeable about the adversity of life. Their life has turned upside down just as yours and they will listen to you and help you through your turmoil.

"Any more questions?"

"How will we feed ourselves when we get there?"

"Another good question, there are herds of cattle and sheep in Texas. There are also pigs, chickens and all those animals we'll need for the future. For the rest, we turn to hydroponics. There are underground habitats filled with vats and vats of hydroponics. Vegetables, fruits, all the green you could want.

"The place in southern Illinois is well stocked with frozen food, meats, vegetables, etc. So no worries there.

"Any more questions?"

The silence stretched out. Cappy looked around the room to all these people who had become his friends and compatriots in such a short time. Then he looked at his wife and the two doctors that had made a difference in his life. He nodded his head as he gazed at each one of the people in this room.

"All right then, go back to whatever you were doing and we'll get a fresh start first thing in the morning. Sue, Mark, please see me and Waylon after everyone has gone." Sue nodded her head at him as the crowd headed out of the door.

Waylon and Cappy waited at the table, stood when Susan and Mark approached.

"Have a seat," Cappy told them as they all sat down. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you two what was going on prior to the meeting. Waylon and I, along with several others decided which location we would be using for this first and the final move just before we came in here. I do hope you two are not too upset with being picked?"

"It's fine Cappy, really. I'm glad you put us out there together."

"Great," Cappy said as he turned over the map in front of him. "This is where you will be headed."

"That's a National Forest," Sue exclaimed.

"So? Our tax dollars paid for it to be maintained, it's time we got some use out of that chunk of land."

"Right. I'm sorry, old habits die hard."

"Here is a list of people to pick your team from," Cappy said, handing her a piece of paper containing the list. "Pick six more from that list. You will most likely leave in a couple of weeks."

"Anyone on this list, only?"

"Yes, that list. Only those on that list are eligible."

"So Michelle is out as is George? But I see Jenny is on here."

"No Michelle, no George and I would consider it a favor if you took Jenny. As a matter of fact, she could be a seventh in your selections."

"I see. All right, we'll give you a list later tonight."

"Great.

Chapter 8

"Cappy, we have a report of some people hold up in the stadium next to Darien High School. Should I send someone to check it out?" Waylon said as he stuck his head into Cappy's room.

"Who do we have?"

"Well there's you, then there's me and..."

"That's what I thought. How is Michelle coming along with her training?"

"She is doing surprisingly well."

"Then get her geared up and she and I will go take a look."

"Sure thing Cappy."

Cappy put what he had been working on in the safe and spun the dial. He then went to the closet pulling his gear out and started to dress.

"I just heard you're taking Michelle out?"

"Hi, George, yes I am. She's doing well and it's not that far, plus we'll be in a nice warm SUV, so she should be alright."

"I guess, it's just whenever she goes out there I worry."

"I know George, but she'll be with me," Cappy said closing his eyes for an instant. "No, no problems we can't handle. She'll be back here before you know."

"All right, I can see there are advantages going with you. Not only do I know she will be coming home safe, I know she'll learn things she will need to survive in the future. Good luck."

"Thanks, George."

"George, what are doing here?" Michelle's voice came from outside Cappy's room.

"He was just wishing me luck, is all," Cappy hollered back to her.

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart, that was very thoughtful of you."

Michelle stood on her tiptoes and kissed her husband good-bye. She stood in the doorway waiting for Cappy to finish donning his gear. He looked at her and smiled.

"You ready?"

"I've been ready for days. I can't wait to get out of here for awhile."

"Good. Why don't you go down and warm up the truck for us, it's cold out there."

"Sure, which one are we going to take?"

"The Explorer should be ready to go."

"Okay, see you downstairs."

Cappy continued to dress, pulling his weapon from the rack by the door and heading down the hall. He stopped at the kitchen, picked up some power bars and a couple of extra bottles of water, and shoved them in his pack.

He stepped out the front door, Michelle waited, sitting in the driver's seat of the truck. Cappy opened the back door and threw his pack in the truck. Then he climbed in the passenger door and buckled up.

"You're letting me drive?"

"Sure why not?"

"You never let anyone drive, well that's what Susan told me."

"Well, she has never gotten to the truck before me, is all."

Michelle laughed as she put the truck in gear and headed out onto the snow-covered streets. It was slippery going and a good thing the four-wheel drive was in good working order. The streets were relatively clear of other vehicles as most if not all of the population had cleared out weeks, if not months ago.

The drive to the stadium went without incident. When they arrived, Cappy and Michelle got out and slowly walked inside. The smell that hit them was repugnant.

"Damn!" Michelle exclaimed.

"What do you think?"

"I think something died in there."

"We had better check it out."

Cappy moved forward slowly the overpowering odor getting stronger and stronger. As they rounded a turn in the hallway, the stadium center came into view. Just inside the door, leading to the auditorium laid the body of a man. His insides trailed on the floor, looked eaten by some animal. The claw and tooth marks on his body did not bode well for Michelle and Cappy finding anyone within alive.