SURVIVING ABE: A Climate-Fiction Novel (38 page)

Inside the building stood a one-level, walled structure with a flat roof.  They followed Mr. Tomlin toward a door leading into what appeared to be a large home built completely within the steel building.
Surrounding the inner structure were pallets of stacked boxes and shelving holding all manner of supplies.

Once inside the inn
er sanctum, they found it to be a spacious and comfortable home, with an open concept living room and kitchen area in which they now stood.  "Please find a place and sit down.  Can I get something to drink for any of you?"

"Anything h
ot would be wonderful," said Ela.

Mr. Tomlin looked at Gus,  "Is my memory failing me or did we add a liberal amount of Baileys to the last cup of coffee we shared?"

"Your memory is correct and I will forever be in your debt if that flavor of coffee is still available,” Gus said with a smile.

"And you sir?" Mr. Tomlin asked Hank.

"I'll join Gus, so he doesn't have to drink alone," Hank said.

"For me too, please," Ela
said.

"Coming right up, make yourselves comfortable."

After bringing a carafe of coffee, four mugs, and a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream to the table, Mr. Tomlin said, "Tell me the story of how you were attacked."

Gus started his story by telling of his walk out of
the high country and finding Ela and Con in the car.  When Gus described the helicopter incident Mr. Tomlin asked some clarifying questions.

"Gus, as you've probably figured out by now, I'm a prepper.  Storing all the materials I've gathered is what this building is designed for, along with providing a protective perimeter around this house.  The condensed version is
: I prepared all of this to hunker down in during hard times of any type.  A small group of people can live here, indefinitely, if they are conservative and industrious.  There are accommodations in here for up to four families.  If hard times started, I planned to add people in here and network with other groups that had formed in the area.  I guess that time has come."

"Do you know what it's like in Grand Junction?" Gus asked.

"I think the biggest fires burned out a couple of days ago.  I have a lookout shelter on top of this building; it's high enough to see a long ways on a clear day.  But, for the last week, there has been a lot of smoke coming out of the valley.  Not as much yesterday, and today I think there are fewer fires now than when it first began."

"Maybe it's getting better?" Ela
asked.

"Sorry, but I don't think so.  More likely nothing left to burn."

"Don't you have a radio or TV for news, Mr. Tomlin?" Ela asked.

"Call me Kirk, please.  No news for days.  When the power went out, cell p
hones and the Internet went too.  Then, a couple of days later, it became impossible to get anything over the radio, except static being broadcast to jam radio signals.  I know little more than that, but the expanse and duration of all that's happened in the last week tells me this could be the beginning of a national, if not global, collapse."

"A few years ago I listened to a man with a goal to decrease total human population down to a sustainable two billion people worldwide.  He planned on using extreme weather events
, to start waves of human die-offs, by coupling them with cyber attacks and acts of terrorism, to make the storm damage much worse and the death rate much higher.  He said his group would continue trying to reduce human population until they no longer needed to," Ela said.  "If he is able to realize his vision, we'll need to change our vision of the future."

"It is i
nevitable that something was the catalyst, whether it's that fellow or not. For those that ignored warnings, and don't have enough food or supplies, this may be their last winter.  But that's the outside world, we need to work out what goes on inside this building," Kirk said.

"You have a captive audience it seems, so please lay it out for us," said Gus.

"Gus, you know part of it from when you did the foundation.  I hope no one knows about the completed project's full capabilities."

"Do you really think all this won't blow ove
r in a week or two?" Hank asked, not yet ready to drop the conversation about what was going on in GJ.  "I've lived through more than one crisis that's hard to even remember now."

"No one knows how long this is going to last, which is exactly the problem.  Our society is built on confidence and technology.  How these events will ultimately be judged is for future generations.  All we know
, for sure, is our technology is not available to us during this natural disaster at this time of dire need.  People across the country, just like the people in Grand Junction, are waiting on the Government to send relief supplies.  Confidence slips more each day that relief fails to arrive and the house of cards comes closer to tumbling down," Kirk said.

"My house has been empty for ten days, so I have my doubts that I have anything to go home to," said Gus.

"Chances are that Mom's house, and probably yours too, Hank, are not any better off."

"Maybe, probably, but . . .
damn it
," Hank said and then looked away.

"Back to inside this building
, since our options outside of it are limited," Gus said looking at Kirk.

"In all honesty being here alone, receiving mostly negative news when it comes, I find it hard to keep from sinking into depression; I long for conversation and something to smile about.  On the other hand my net worth consists of the supplies contained in this facility, its systems, and the hundred and sixty acres it sets on.  It's my 'all' that would be shared with you.  What's your 'all' that you would add to the total that we would all share?"

"We don't have much food to speak of.  On the sled is an arsenal of weapons, ammunition, and some silver and gold coins.  Ela is a great conversationalist, Hank is always good for a smile, and I can keep them in line most of the time," said Gus.

"Conversation and a reason to smile are the very t
wo items I miss the most.  Shall we get those snowmobiles inside and hope the new snow covers your tracks?  I'll open the doors."

Smoke filtered the rising sun, only a dim red orb rose out of the Atlantic for their first sunrise at sea.  Behind them, the view of the horizon to the west, of fires and their glow reflected from low clouds, had long disappeared below their wake, leaving only the smell of burning cities.  The blend of smells, from chemical to barbecue, riding the offshore wind could be little else than modern industrial cities burning throughout the night.  Standing in Robin's cockpit looking back at their country, they both somewhat resembled homeowners standing on the sidewalk watching their home burn.  However, the similarity didn't extend to the emotions generated by the sight; one felt regret for the loss, the other anticipation for what would come.

~~~

Since both of them were in the cockpit without anything more urgent to do, Tess decided to talk to Eric about life at sea on a small boat.  She wanted to go over safety issues first, to see how Eric accepted those rules.

"We need to discuss how we're going to get both of us safely to our destination.  R
ules-of-The-Road at sea require that someone be on watch at all times, so we need to set a schedule.  Anytime traffic is spotted and a crossing-situation is imminent, both of us need to be up here, at least for the first day or two.  From this moment forward we need to wear safety harnesses and be clipped to the boat when above deck.  And while at sea no pissing while standing, not in the head, nor over the rail," Tess held eye contact with Eric while she recited the rules, watching his mental digestive process.

"What happens if one of us falls overboard?"

"The other one stands at the stern and waves goodbye."

"You're telling me not to fall overboard in the first place."

"You got it, we're probably both dead if that happens.  The way this will, hopefully, work out means we only see each other in passing.  When one is on watch the other one's duty is to rest and sleep, if possible.  We have pre-cooked food, so eat that first, if you're hungry and can keep it down.  Later, when we get our sea legs, we can cook.  Each of us cleans up after ourselves.  If one of us cooks for both, the other does the dishes.  If one of us is alone on deck and falls overboard the other won't know for sometime, it's best to keep one hand holding onto the boat at all times, or you might be using it to tread water."

"What about the sails?"

"For now we will use the autopilot setting that follows the wind.  As long as the wind comes steadily from one direction, the sail trim and changes will be minimal.  It's pretty easy to feel if Robin is over, or under, canvassed; but I will take care of that until you get the hang of it.  Right now the most important thing is avoiding collisions with other vessels, ergo keeping a good watch is top priority and keeps us alive.

Second in priority is watching our heading and the trend of the wind.  Is it getting stronger or dying down?  Is the wind clocking around the compass or backing around it counterclockwise?  We will keep a log and make entries at least every hour about the wind, sky, heading, and traffic conditions.  Whoever spots and logs the most wildlife wins a dinner out in town on our next port of call."

"Birds count as wildlife?"

"Only if you can identify them, and if they are not common, no seagulls allowed.  All species of flying fish and fish flying do count, even if they're not identifiable."

Eric watched a smiling Tess go below.  As her head disappeared down the companionway a pulley, with some ropes going up to a long horizontal beam on the bottom of the mainsail, caught his eye.  He could see how the apparatus pulled the sail in toward the boat when the wind tried to blow it out.  He needed to learn everything about the boat, so he could continue on without Tess, if he had to.

He went to each sail's controlling rope to learn what would happen by
experimenting.  First he let out some rope, to notice any changes to the sail or the boat's performance, and then he winched it back in.  In the hours that followed Eric learned the rudiments of sailing; in the next few days he planned on honing those skills.  In his experience a student eager to learn inspired others to teach, and learning to sail had just become his passion.

At a workbench that evening Gus finished wiping moisture from the shotgun when a smell not associated with gun oil caught his attention.  Frozen in place for the moment it took him to mentally process and categorize the scent as freshly shower
ed female, he turned to find Ela only a step away.  Dressed in an oversized robe, her slightly wet hair and glowing complexion confirmed the accuracy of his sense of smell.

"I wanted to let you know the shower is available."

"Who are you and where's Ela?"

"Take a shower and you might find her."

Later that evening, after cleaning and organizing the old trailer, Andy and Jennifer sat in folding camp chairs under a tarp-rigged awning in front of the Airstream.  A small steel fire pit Andy had built, by scavenging parts from the ruins of the shop, provided warmth as they talked.

"Even though I chose to not carry any electronics, so I could be more connected to nature than the Internet on my bike-trek, the complete lack of information about anything beyond this farm is hard to get used to," Andy said.

"A few times in the past I've wished for the world outside this farm to go away and leave us alone,
be careful about what you wish for, right?"

"That's what they say.  I meant it was hard getting used to
, not that I don't want to.  In fact, my world right now, with just you and I sitting on the front porch of the bunkhouse, feels like just the right size."

Jennifer hugged h
im and replied, "I agree.  Since you're now sleeping in the bunkhouse and Sam and Melissa would like more privacy, Leo's moving to the living room to sleep with me.  I'm crazy about that little tyke, but sleeping on the couch or the recliner isn't as comfortable as the bunkhouse, so I think we need to discuss—"

"This in private," Andy fin
ished, as he picked Jennifer up, carried her into the Airstream, and closed the door on a rainy night in East Texas.

After almost a decade together Robin spoke to Tess in a language that combined sound and motion to intricately describe her mood.  Smooth, regular motion and light groans told Tess of Robin's happy mood, like a cat's purr.  Exaggerated movement with erratic creaks indicated Robin labored under too much canvas for the conditions.  Violent movement and crashing sounds portend of dire straits with impending damage if something isn't done quickly.

In the aft cabin, almost directly below Eric, Tess rested with her eyes closed.  She could hear every sound Eric made as he moved around in the cockpit, and knew he was doing small adjustments to the sails.  It comforted her that he remained awake and active, with no indication that he felt sick.  Having the courage to experiment with sail-control lines meant he had a willingness to learn.

She had 100 nautical miles, or about a day, to decide to bail out at Norfolk rather than continue to the Bahamas.  So far, sailing with Eric seemed a better choice than remaining in the chaos they'd seen ashore, and his demeanor toward her had changed so much for the better after his near death experience—though she still had a nagging reluctance to trust him.  Probably nothing more than leftover resentment of how he'd acted toward her at first; that should go away in the days ahead.

However, the first night of many overnights during the passage came next, and anything could happen on a small boat sailing the open ocean at night.

~~~—~~~

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