The Search (10 page)

     “Why did you all move onto the base, if you don’t mind me asking?”

     “It makes security easier. They were already set up to be secure, with high chain link fences topped with barbed wire. All the gates have guard shacks with heaters so our sentries didn’t have to freeze to death. It was actually the mayor’s idea. He moved into the house of the general who used to command the base. Nice house. I’ll tell you what, those generals lived large by military standards.

     “Anyway, the enlisted housing was only so-so, but most of the officers’ houses had fireplaces and were well insulated. So that’s where most of us are living.”

     “Does anyone ever leave the base?”

     “Oh, yes. Every day. Five of us are still police officers and still keep an eye on the city. Mostly to keep an eye on who’s coming and going and to protect the stragglers and workers. You see, there are nine people who rejected the idea of moving onto the base. Mostly old people who were comfortable where they were. So we helped them fortify their homes and make sure they have enough fuel oil or firewood, and take them food and water and whatever else they need.

     “And then we have people who tend to our crops. We’ve turned several of the city parks into farmland and grow food there in the warm weather months.

     “We have other crews who are gatherers. People go to them and say, ‘I need a new microwave, or my kid needs a size 12 coat.’ And the gatherers will get everybody’s requests and look through the abandoned stores and houses in the city to try to find them. That keeps six of our people busy on a full time basis.

     “Others, the ones with the strongest stomachs, collect what’s left of the bodies. Most of them are just bones now, but they gather them and bury them in mass graves and say a prayer over them.

     “And lastly, we have a crew who has started to clear the roadways. It’s a long process. They have to drag each vehicle as far as a mile until they can find a section of the shoulder that’s clear. Then they simply use a bulldozer to roll it off the road.

     “It’s a very long and very slow process, but they should have Highway 87 north of town open within a month or so. Unfortunately for you guys, they started on the north end of town. You guys came from the south. It’ll be at least a year, maybe two, before they get that end cleared.”

     “So this clinic… It’s set up mainly to support your people who are in town working, and who get sick or injured on the job?”

     “Exactly. And the stragglers. And occasionally people like you guys who may just wander into town in need of medical care. Or looking for lost loved ones.”

     As if on cue, Stacey returned from the back of the building.

     “I’m afraid the news is mixed. I was hoping and praying that I’d find a hospital who had your wife, and could report that she’s in good shape and was asking for you. But I’m afraid none of the places I called has seen her.

     “That’s the bad news.

     “The good news is, I’ve ruled out several places for you, so you don’t have to waste your time going there. You can focus on other areas instead.

     “You can scratch Big Spring, Lubbock, O’Donnell and Tahoka off your list. All of them have hospitals or clinics, and none of them have seen her. I’ve given them your radio frequency and they’ll notify you if she’s brought in.

     “That’s pretty much all the medical centers north of us. You said you’ve already been to Eden. I talked to Brady and Smithville. Those are both south of Eden. And I talked to Johnsonville. They haven’t seen her either.”

     She smiled the sweetest smile, but the look on her face was one of sadness.

     “I’m sorry I couldn’t locate her. I was hoping for better results.”

     Bryan took her hand.

     “Nonsense. You’ve saved me a lot of time and trouble. Now I won’t waste my time going to those places. And you’ve put the word out for me. You’ve been a great help, and I thank you.”

     Mike said, “If you boys want to drive out to the old Air Force base, I’ll make sure you get a good meal before you head back out.”

     Bryan looked at Bryan Too, who shook his head. “I’m not really hungry.”

     “Me neither. Thank you for the invitation, but we’ll have to take a raincheck.”

     “All right then. When you come back, take one of the Farm to Market roads and pass us by. Then come into town from the north. As I said, that way will be open soon. Follow the signs to Goodfellow Air Force and tell the sentries at the gate that you’re friends of mine.

     “Let’s go. I’ll escort you back to the outskirts of town where I met you.”

     They followed Mike back through the deserted streets of San Angelo, and Bryan was lost in his own thoughts. He was raised here. Had graduated from high school at San Angelo High. Now, in all likelihood, he was one of the last surviving members of his graduating class.

     Maybe even the only one.

     Just as they neared the point where they would wave goodbye to Mike Petty and part ways, Bryan noticed a small green and white sign on the side of the roadway.

     It was a sign he’d completely missed on his way into town.

     It was leaning after being sideswiped by somebody’s vehicle at some point in time. The letters on the old sign were faded but still legible.

     It said:

San Angelo City Limit

Population: 93,454

     Bryan had to reach up and wipe a tear from his eye.

Chapter 20

     On the eighth floor of Wilford Hall Regional Medical Center the conversation had turned to Joel’s injuries.

     “Actually, I consider myself lucky,” he told Mark and Hannah. They told me that since both amputations were below the kneecap, it’ll be much easier for me to walk with prosthetic legs.

     “I’m also lucky in that Wilford Hall has some of the best people in the world when it comes to designing and fitting prosthetics. That’s a side effect of the United States being at war for pretty much my entire lifetime with one country or another. Apparently the military has gotten darn good at replacing lost limbs.”

     Hannah asked, “Are your Army days over?”

     “Yes, I’m afraid so. But that’s by my choice. They told me that if I wanted to stay in, they’d find me a nice cushy desk job somewhere. But if I can’t fly anymore, I think it would drive me crazy. Every time I heard a Huey or Apache overhead I’d get a sense of longing. I think it would be easier to be in a place where I didn’t hear them very often.”

     “Well, that couldn’t be here. They fly in and out of here all day long. Where would you go?”

     “I don’t know. Maybe back to Atlanta. I hear they’re going to start playing big league baseball next year. I guess that means the world is finally getting back to normal. I worked for the Braves for a while before I joined the Army and had a blast. It might be fun to do it again.”

     Mark asked, “They’re gonna start playing baseball again? Really?”

     “Yeah. Well, that’s the rumor I heard anyway. I heard they have enough survivors, and pulled enough guys up from the minor leagues, to fill out a team. Some of them are kind of long in the tooth by old standards, but they say they can still play. What I heard is that six other cities have been able to put together their own squads. And that they’re going to build a new league based on those teams and invite other expansion teams to join as other cities follow suit.”

     “Wow. It would be great to go watch a ball game again. It’s been so long…”

     “Well, if I do go back to Atlanta, it won’t be until next season, I’m afraid.

     “Even if they start up this year, the season is half over now, unless they play deep into the fall. And my doctors tell me I’ll be stuck here for at least four or five months. First to be fitted for my new legs, then for physical therapy to learn how to use them.

     “The physical therapists here are brutal, from what I’ve heard. But they work magic.”

     Hannah said, “I’ve lost track of her, but I used to have a good friend named Lynn who was a physical therapist. She told me once that she’d been called every name in the book by her patients. That they considered her the spawn of the devil, because she caused them so much pain. And because she expected so much of them. They said she pushed them unmercifully, even when they were exhausted and in pain.

     “But she also told me that nearly every single one of her patients came back to her at some point and thanked her for pushing them so hard.

     “Because at some point they realized that the harder they worked… the harder Lynn pushed them, the better off they were in the long run. The ones who fought through the pain and put forth the extra effort were more limber. They had a wider range in their movements and could manipulate their joints to a much greater degree.

     “The smart ones realized that Lynn wasn’t the devil’s spawn after all. She was actually an angel without wings. Their best friend instead of their worst nightmare.”

     “Yeah, I know that. Deep down inside, that is. But knowing it is the easy part. Accepting it when they make me bend my knee so far it brings tears to my eyes is a little harder.”

     “Oh, Joel… you helped me get through the toughest two days of my life. I saw you drag a crushed leg and a missing leg across hard ground a hundred yards just to bring me a bottle of water. You’re the last person I’d think was afraid of a little bit of pain.”

     The words were just what he needed to assume the hero role again.

     “You’re right, sweet Hannah. I am oblivious to pain. For I am… Superman.”

     “I don’t believe I said that, exactly. But okay. If you say so.”

     The nurse standing behind Joel had heard enough.

     “Speaking of that, Superman… it’s time to go change your dressings. Unless you’re going to fly us back to your room, I’m going to wheel you back now. Say your goodbyes.”

     Joel shook Mark’s hand and blew Hannah a kiss.

     “So long, you two. I’ll see you later.”

Chapter 21

     As soon as Joel was out of sight, Hannah started her appeal.

     “Mark, we can’t let him go back to Atlanta.”

     “Why not? He said he had a job lined up back there. Working for a professional baseball team. What a cool job. Maybe I’ll go with him.”

     “That’s just it. He’s going back for a
job
. That’s all he’d have in Atlanta. A flippin’ job. No family. He lost everyone he loved in the freeze or in the plague. You heard him say that all his other crew members, including Colonel Montgomery, were all alone too. That’s what banded them together. He said the other aircrews called them the ‘orphan crew.’ Because each of them had no one. Then they had each other. They became a family together.

     “And now they’re gone too. He’s all alone, all over again. What good is a flippin’ job if you have to go home to an empty house every night?”

     “Hannah, I’m sorry for his predicament. But we can’t keep him here against his will. And we can’t adopt him. He’s too old.”

     “Who says we can’t adopt him? I don’t mean we as a couple. I mean we as a group of people. The people back at the compound. We adopted Frank Woodard and Eva. We adopted Glenna and her children. We adopted Roxanne and Rachel. Now all of them… the Woodards and Glenna’s family, and Roxanne and Rachel, are part of us now. They’re as much a part of the group as you and I are. Why can’t we adopt Joel like we did the others?”

     “Honey, I like Joel. I liked him the moment I met him. He’s a smartass, just like me. I get his sense of humor because it’s similar to my own. And I know he’s in a very tough spot. But you’re forgetting something.

     “Yes, when you found out Saris 7 was going to hit the earth, we, you and me, came up with the idea to hide everybody in the salt mine. But when we did, we went in front of everyone and told them that didn’t make us any more important than anyone else. It didn’t give us any more authority than anyone else. We agreed that all important decisions would be made as a group. That everyone would have an equal vote, and an equal chance to argue for or against whatever we were voting for.

     “And besides, you and I both know that if Joel joined us he’d work full time trying to get into your pants. And, by the way, the pants of every other woman in the compound.”

     Hannah laughed.