The Du Page Affair Ch. 11

This is an original work by Zeb_Carter and is protected under (c) copyright by U.S. copyright law. It is only being submitted at Literotica.Com and any submission to any other site has not been authorized by the Author.

It was time, time for us to leave the safe and warm confines of Campus Du Page. There were survivors out there in the bleak wasteland that had once been the Chicago metro area. The City by the Lake was no more and the survivors of the shockwaves that had destroyed a once fine city would be looking for help. With the frequency of our supply drops from outside the zone on the increase, John thought it might be a comfort for those outside Campus Du Page to see and know that help was available.

Help from someone inside the zone. For the time being they were ostracized from the rest of the world. So they were on their own except for supply drops. The few survivors that had made their way to Campus Du Page told them of camps being setup throughout the zone. Some were friendly and welcomed new comers with open arms. Others enslaved anyone that happened by or worse, killed them outright. John had visited some of those camps, freeing those oppressed and punishing the oppressors.

On the way back from one of these camps John stumbled across another which had been set up and welcomed any who wandered by. John entered the camp to fearful stares. The way he was clothed, in combat armor and camouflaged uniform, may have had something to do with the staring part. The fact that the only weapon showing was his side arm, belayed his ability to force himself upon them.

Although with the flick of his arm to a tri-dimensional portal John would be able summon the power of the sun to defend himself, John was also protected by the energy shield he carried with him. An energy shield all personnel at Campus Du Page were now equipped with. So John had no fear of what might happen to him it was just what might happen to others that he was afraid of.

A group of men, armed to the teeth, approached him, stopping twenty or so feet in front of him, weapons pointing at his head. John stopped and waited calmly. A single female made her way through the men with guns, stopping just outside the group.

"What do you want here?" She was dressed as the others, in whatever they could scrounge. Her hair was neatly brushed and her skin was clean. She spoke without accent but with conviction.

"Nothing from you, I'm just passing through."

"To where, from where?"

"I am from Campus Du Page. That is where I am heading now." Her eyes widened slightly at John's admission.

"I thought no one ventured forth from Du Page?"

"I do. I am Mike Sullivan, guardian of Campus Du Page." Her eyes widened even more and John heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What are you doing out here?" John decided to answer her question.

"I am returning from the camp to the south of you," he stopped and pointed. Her eyes narrowed.

"And..."

"And the people there now govern themselves."

"Oh." She came forward so fast that John didn't have time to contract his shield. She bounced off and down onto her behind. The look on her face was one of pure shock. "So it's true? You can't be touched?"

Contracting his field John reached down taking her hand and helping her to her feet. She waved a hand at the men and they lowered their weapons.

"I can be touched or touch as I see fit." John smiled at her. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight, dim as it may be, filtered through the dust in the high altitudes.

"Would you like something to eat, drink?" she asked pleasantly.

"No thank you. I really need to return to Du Page." John shook his head sadly. John wondered to himself how long she would be the leader here. Their camp was a scant two klicks from Du Page. "Why haven't you moved to Du Page?"

"Some of us did. The rest here wanted to be free of government entanglements."

"Campus Du Page is not the government."

"Well people out here think it is."

"How would we best prove we are not?"

"I don't know, maybe by showing yourselves out here once in awhile."

"I will think on that on my journey back. I know the need for doctors is great out here. Many more survived than were thought would. Campus Du Page has ten Doctors. You are close enough that if you need medical care you could bring them to Du Page. Maybe we could set up a schedule for doctor's visits to each camp."

"Ten doctors?"

"Yes. Are you in need of one?"

"Yes. We have three people here with severe wounds. They were attacked but fought off their attackers."

"Are they able to be moved?"

"Yes but not too far."

"No, just to Campus Du Page, I will wait while you get them ready. I will escort your people to the Campus for medical treatment."

"And when they are well you will bring them back."

"If that is their wish."

"Get the injured ready to move," she said turning to the men around them. They scattered in different directions. So far she hadn't told John her name and he hadn't asked. John personally did not want to know any of their names, which just might mean they were friends and he didn't want any more friends just now.

A group of men carrying stretchers, three of them, soon appeared in front of them. Turning John started off in the direction of Du Page. Sensing that he was not being followed he halted and turned looking at the woman.

"Are you coming?"

"How will my men and I get back here?"

"I will bring you back."

"Ok." She started off the men quick to follow. As they caught up with John, he fell in beside the woman. "My name..." John held his hand up.

"I do not need to know your name, miss."

"Oh." She was silent the rest of the trip. The two kilometers went by quickly. They were approaching the Campus shield.

"Shelly, one with some friends, and could you have Michelle and Susan meet us at the south portal?"

"Sure thing boss." Shelly was the Campus AI, smart as a whip and a smartass to boot. As they topped the rise and could see the Campus everyone let out a little 'ooouuu'. As the only buildings still standing John guessed the sight was awe inspiring. Two figures came running up to the portal.

"Are those nurses?" The woman asked.

"No those are doctors. All the doctors here are woman, except for three."

"Seven women doctors?"

"Yes."

As they stepped through the entry portal Michelle and Susan went to work, trying to assess the injuries. Several nurses showed up with gurneys to transport the patients to the medical building. John was left with the leader and the six men who had carried the injured. They were all looking around with wonder.

"Would you like a tour?"

"Yes, I would, if you don't mind?"

"No, not at all, follow me." John started off to one of the restaurants that they had kept operating. It was fully functional and he thought they might like a bite to eat. As they entered the men all started whispering to each other in hushed tones.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Nothing, we're just hungry. I have told them not to expect to be feed by you."

"But you are welcome to eat while you are here. Come, it's lunch time for me, but they will make anything on their menu for you." John led the six men to a table, while the leader and John sat in a booth close by. A pretty young lady brought menus over to the six men and John, then disappeared.

"This is their regular menu?"

"Yep, choose what you want. I can personally recommend the pancakes and eggs. Also the club sandwich is good."

"I know what I want." John signaled the young lady that had brought them their menus. A waiter was taking care of the men.

"What will you have ma'am?"

"I will have the 'Lumber Jack Slam', scrambled." She smiled and handed the girl the menu.

"My usual please Marianne," John said to her as he handed her the menu.

"Of course Mike." She turned and went to the ordering window.

"So, how do you keep this place running?"

"We have generators under the medical building that provides power to the whole Campus."

"And your water?" she said pointing to the sink.

"The water treatment plants were not affected by the shock waves. The pumping stations still work. Your camp is near one of the working pumping stations, when we return I will show you how to get running water in you camp."

"What about waste disposal?"

"The sewer system is still there, although the treatment plants are shutdown."

"I see. Your electricity is from your own generator, but the pumping stations power comes from where?"

"The feeds for the pumping station were placed underground a long time ago. The power comes directly from the nuclear power plant in Zion. Which was also sparred by the shock waves as it was only just outside the area, it was shielded like Campus Du Page."

She was silent as she looked into John's eyes. Just then a cheer went up from her men as their food was placed in front of them by the waiter. John's and the ladies food arrived also, it was delivered by Marianne. John smiled a thank you at her and bowed his head silently giving thanks that all those he held dear were safe in this time of chaos.

"You are a religious man?"

"No, not really."

"I see."

She too bowed her head, then began to eat very slowly. She savored each bite for as long as she could before swallowing. John ate at his usual pace as he watched her. She was enjoying herself immensely. So were her men. They too were savoring each bite they put in their mouths.

John was done long before her. Marianne brought them each a cup of coffee. John sat back sipping his as he watched this very beautiful young lady enjoy her meal. It wasn't long before she had stuffed every last morsel into herself. She sat back, took the cup of coffee and sipped. A moan of ecstasy escaped her throat as the coffee hit her palette.

"This is wonderful. Do you know how long it's been since I have had a good cup of coffee?"

"I can only imagine."

"Tell me why this spot was picked..."

"It was picked because this is where I would be when the bombs went off."

She shook her head as if she couldn't believe her ears.

"What?"

"It was picked because I knew I would be here. It was planned a long time ago and implemented just two months before it happened."

"No, no, the part about you being here when the bombs went off. You knew that how?"

"Pre-cognition." It was a lie but the closest thing to the truth to have people understand.

"You knew this was going to happen but couldn't stop it?"

"Yes. I couldn't stop it from happening no matter what I tried. So I did the next best thing. I saw that there was a place in the chaos where people could get help. A place where there were doctors and most of all a place where they could feel safe."

"But, there were so many people killed. How could you let that happen?"

"There were less people killed than you think. Eighty-eight-point-nine percent of the population of the Chicago metro area was moved within the forty-eight hour period prior to the bombs."

"What?"

"Haven't you wondered why there are no bodies lying around?"

"I assumed they were vaporized when the bombs went off."

"A few, who were very close to the bombs, were. The rest survived. That eleven-point-one percent left in the metro area survived. They have set up camps, like yours, around the area. The government has set up six decontamination sites around the perimeter where people can go to leave the area."

"Yes, have you been to one of these sites?"

"Yes. I know it's not the best of conditions there but it gives some people hope of getting out of here."

"Why do they need decontamination sites? There's no radiation here."

"True, but the fields around the bomb sites are not guaranteed to hold forever."

"I see. And how long will they hold?"

"Two-hundred and fifty years. That's when the nuclear reaction going on inside will stop. Without the reaction to power the shields they will fail. Hopefully by that time we will have learned what to do with the by-products of a nuclear reaction and its radioactivity."

"Two-hundred years! Then why is the government dragging its heels on getting us out of here?"

"They don't believe my calculations."

"Your calculations? You invented those shields?"

"Yes."

"To which question?"

"Both."

She was silent for a long time. She sat looking at John sipping her coffee. Her men were getting restless as they had finished their meal and coffee and were anxious to get back to their families.

"I guess we had better be getting back." She started to stand. John rose also moving to assist her. She took his offered hand holding it gently in hers. "I am glad you wandered into our camp. I will look forward to your next visit."

"I will be accompanying you back."

"Of course." She turned heading for the door her men following. John walked behind her men. He held back until they approached the barrier of the shield.

"How do we get out?" she asked.

"Just walk through. Getting out has never been a problem, it's getting in that a portal needs to be opened."

"Ah." She stepped through her men following. Once outside the barrier she turned to John. "You do not need to escort us, we, can take care of ourselves. I thank you for your hospitality. It was very gracious of you to share a meal with us. We thank you for caring for our injured and do expect you to escort them back when they are able and willing. Until then I will bid you good-bye." She turned quickly and strode off toward her camp the six men following.

John stood there sort of bewildered, wondering why she had even bothered to come with them. Although he was sure it was to see that her people received proper care and such. Turning John headed back to the med-building to check on her people. Entering the med-building he saw Michelle standing at the counter reading some hand written notes.

"Hey beautiful, what's up with those patients I brought you?"

"They're fine. Nothing too serious, they'll be ready to return in a couple of days."

"That soon, I got the impression that they were more seriously hurt than that."

"Nope, just some minor scrapes and scratches."

"Hmmm...interesting. Ok, I'll see you later. Tell Susan I said hi."

"Ok."

John left the medical building wondering why she didn't want him to return with her. He guessed only time would tell.

To be continued...