AFTER THE DUST SETTLED (Countdown to Armageddon Book 2) (3 page)

     “And once we have power, we’ll stop long enough to fix something to eat. I know the boys are starved, because they’ve each told me so at least twenty times. You probably are too.”

     “Just a little, but I can wait,” Sara said. “I’m ready to go.”

     Joyce got up from the dining room table and said, “Well, then. Let’s get to it.
”

     Scott and the boys beat them to the Faraday barn and dragged a three thousand watt generator out of it. The back side of it had wheels, and that was a good thing, since the beast weighed almost three hundred pounds.

     Scott had cleared a space in the basement for the generator more than a year before. He’d toyed with the idea of putting it in the basement beforehand and just building a Faraday cage around it. But its new home in the basement was surrounded by three walls, and had less than a foot of work space on two of the sides. Working in cramped quarters, Scott knew he was risking a costly mistake. If the cage wasn’t connected properly to provide a free flow of current around it, the generator would probably be ruined. Or, at the very least, the electronic ignition would be shot and the copper wiring would be melted.

     So his workaround was to take the new generator out of its crate and run it in the yard for two straight days to make sure it worked. Then to put it in the Faraday barn with everything else.

     The wheels helped a lot in getting it down the stairs, but the “thump, thump, thump” it made when dropping down each step alarmed the dogs outside.

     But even that was a good thing. When Duke and Duchess started barking, it made Joyce suddenly realize they’d left the lookout window unmanned. They were fortunate in that the dogs were only barking at the noise in the basement, rather than a bunch of armed bandits coming to do them harm.

     Joyce took watch at the front window.

     It was still quiet as far as she could see. But she could only imagine the turmoil and violence that was going on in
San Antonio. She still had friends there. She hoped they were safe.

     “Linda, when one of you starts to get tired
of carrying things, let me know. We’ll swap out.”

-4
-

     Sara asked if she could pull a shift on guard duty.

     “I feel like I’m just in the way. Everyone else is running around doing things, like they have a place here. All I’m doing is going from person to person, hoping they’ll have some little minor thing I can help them with. Even Zachary has important things he’s doing.”

     Then she realized that Zachary might be hurt by her words. Even fourteen year old boys have feelings, even though they’re just barely humans in a lot of respects.

     Sara looked at Zach and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

     He interrupted her.

     “Hey, that’s okay. No offense taken. In fact, now that we have electricity again, I’d be glad to give you my chores. I’ll go watch a movie.”

     Linda gave him a stern look, and he backtracked just a bit.

     “Or not.”

     Sara went on.

     “Anyway, I can stand by the window. At least that’ll make me feel worthwhile. And it’ll free up someone el
se, since you all know what needs to be done and I don’t.”

     Scott asked, “Can you shoot?”

     “No, I’ve never shot a gun in my life. But I can yell. And if I see anyone out there I’ll yell loud enough for all of you to hear me.”

     Scott looked to the others who, with the exception of Joyce, were all chowing down on spaghetti. Joyce was still upstairs at the lookout window.

     Linda shook her head yes and said, “I don’t see anything wrong with that idea. One of us can be up there within seconds if she spots someone approaching.”

    
Jordan smiled.

     “I can testify from personal experience that she’s real good at yelling.”

     Scott said, “Okay, honey. You’re on. From now on, until we get the security system up and running, you can pull a regular shift on guard duty. How’s your night vision? Can you see well in the dark?”

     “Yes, sir. Very well.”

     “Okay. Go ahead and finish your dinner, and then you can replace Joyce so she can come and eat. We’ll rotate duty at the lookout window until I can get all the cameras replaced tomorrow. Then we’ll rotate duty at the security console.”

     Sara smiled.

     “Thank you. Now I finally feel like part of the group. And I’ll do a good job, I promise.”

     “I know you will, honey.”

     By the end of their first day back at the compound, the group was still on direct generator power. All of the electrical items were put in the barn, where Scott would go through them one at a time at a later time. He’d look at the damage each one sustained and would make a determination on whether each item could be safely used without melting down and catching fire.

     Those which he deemed destroyed still might find a use. He might be able to cannibalize some switches or relays or wiring from some items to use to repair others.

     But that was a future project.

     Right now there were other, more pressing things to worry about.

     Scott and Jordan worked long into the night setting up the security console in one corner of the dining room. It consisted of five flat screen monitors, which they mounted on the wall over a desk. Each monitor was split screen and would be assigned to two specific high definition cameras, which would give them an unobstructed view of the area around the compound day or night.

     In the desk drawers were stored ammunition, spare walkie talkies, miner’s lights and night vision goggles. And a first aid kit. Zachary called it “the war room.”

     On top of the desk sat a battery charging station to recharge batteries for the flashlights, walkies and night vision goggles. And an MP-3 player with a small speaker.

    
Jordan asked, “How come not a TV and DVR, so I don’t go crazy while I’m sitting here?”

     His father rolled his eyes, and
Jordan understood that it wasn’t a well thought out question.

     “Because when you’re sitting here, you’ve got th
e most important job in the compound. You have the security and safety of all of us in your hands. We want you watching the monitors. Not
The Simpsons.
”

     “Okay, okay. I get the point. And for the record, I don’t even like
The Simpsons
. Marge gives me the creeps.”

     The night was quiet, and the next day started without incident. Things went smoothly until just before ten a.m., Sarah began screaming from her lookout post.

     “Man on a horse! Man on a horse!”

     And everyone else came running.

-5-

     Scott was the first one up the stairs. He grabbed the AR-15 from the corner next to the window and motioned Sara to step aside. Then he lifted one of the blinds and peered out into the front yard.

     He had an unobstructed view from the house to the end of the driveway, a hundred yards away.

     He saw a man, sitting on a chestnut bay, just inside the property. Watching the house, but knowing not to come any farther without permission.

     Scott smiled, and said, “Well, I’ll be damned.”

     He put the weapon back in the corner and said to Sara, “It’s okay, honey. He’s a friend.”

     Scott shoved aside the heavy dresser they’d used to barricade the front door and walked out into the yard. Only then did the horseman draw closer.

     “Hello, neighbor!” Scott cried out to Tom Haskins.

     Tom rode over to him and got off his horse. Then he offered Scott his big meaty hand.

     “Good morning, Scott. Looks like you were right about this whole power outage thing. Any idea how bad it is?”

     Tom Haskins was a widower
who lived by himself a few hundred yards up the road. He was the county road’s only other resident, and between the two homesteads, they were the only humans within a mile radius. He was also the man Linda had taken a liking to in recent months.

     “It’s pretty bad, Tom. We made it up here from
San Antonio the night before last. They’re starting to riot and burn buildings down there. And they’ve got no way of getting fresh water or more food. So it’ll get a whole lot worse. Is this your first time off your property?”

     “No. I took a ride up H
ighway 83, east and west, a couple of hours after the power went out. Wasn’t much else to do. I came across a few motorists who were stranded. Gave them water and a bit of food, and pointed them toward the nearest gas station in Junction. Not that they’d get a lot of help there, but at least it was civilization.”

     “Are you okay over there? You’re welcome to come in here and join us. In fact, I really wish you would.”

     “Thanks for the offer, little buddy, but I’ll pass. Shoot, I’ve lived by myself for so long, I’m pretty much set in my ways now. Get up when I want and go to bed when I want, and don’t have to answer to anybody. I do plan to call on Linda occasionally, as long as she amenable to it.”

     Scott laughed.

     “I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have any objection. But bear in mind that people will eventually start working their way up here from the city, to hunt and fish. And they’ll be desperate for food. Desperate enough to break into houses and try to take whatever they can get.”

     “Well, they’ll have to get past me and my Remington first. Got me a handgun too, although I haven’t used it in awhile. If things get too hairy I’ll take you up on your offer and join you. But I’d like to try it on my own first.”

     “Tie Bonnie up and come in the house. I’ve got something for you. And you can stay for lunch, while you’re here.”

     “Oh, hell, Bonnie’s fine just grazing. She’s a good horse. She
won’t wander away.”

     The two walked into the house and Tom said hello to everybody.
Jordan relieved Sara at the lookout window so she could come down to meet him.

     “Sara, this is Tom Haskins. He’s our only neighbor, and a good man.”

     Tom was the biggest man Sara had seen in awhile. But she also got the sense that he was kind and gentle, like a big teddy bear.

     Over lunch, Scott asked Tom what his plans were for the day.

     “I’m riding Bonnie up to the auto parts store up in Junction. I might be wrong, but I think I can get my old car running again. So I can at least get around a bit better.”

     “I’m sorry to say this, Tom, but all th
e vehicles are dead. Never to start again.”

     “Not all of ‘em, Scott. Shoot, it took me half a day yesterday, but I finally got my old tractor running.”

     Scott’s jaw literally dropped.

     “Really?”

     “Yeah. And my old car, it’s a 1963 Ford Galaxy 500. It’s seen better days, for sure. But I’ve gotten my use out of the old girl. Cars that old, and farm tractors too, don’t have all of the complicated electronic ignitions and computers and all that crap on them. They’ve got just a few basic parts that make the engine run. So I think it’s possible to get the car running like I did the tractor.”

     Joyce asked, “But how did you get the tractor to run, with everything shorted out?”

     “Well, I checked the starter and solenoid first. The starter was fine. The solenoid was shot. Damn near melted. But I had an extra solenoid in my workshop. It was fine, I guess because it wasn’t hooked up to anything when your electromagnetic- whatever you call it, hit.

     “Anyway, I took the starter off, replaced the solenoid on the top of it, and then reinstalled it. The starter switch was shot all to hell, but the one on the Galaxy was in pretty good shape, and they were similar. So I swapped them out.

     “The battery, of course, was fried. But I dug through my junk shed and found an old dry battery, still in the box, that had been there for several years.”