Chapter Seven “The Pony Express” They had spent several months not going very far from the farm. They managed to get old man Keller’s aged pickup running along with the old Farmall Tractor. Luckily there was a large storage tank of gasoline on the farm that was a little over half full. They cut down some of the dead trees in the area to use as firewood and Kevin’s brother had showed improving skill in handling the tractor as he worked to clear away the top several inches of soil around the property. The levels of residual radiation were not very high but they figured if they pushed away the top soil, they may be able to safely plant seeds and grow food for their selves. That hope depended on whether they could find any seeds that were not already contaminated. They would need to search the supply store in town, and if none were found there, they would then search neighboring farms. After they decided they had secured the farm with an ample supply of wood, the ground cleared away, and all their food stock had been transferred from the caverns to the house they decided they would set out in three man teams to search the surrounding area. Each team would take the Geiger counter and go out for three days. They mapped out their planned search areas and created an item search list. Among the items they were hoping to find were seeds, uncontaminated food items, medicines, walkie-talkies (if they were operational) and some much needed generators. They would also be searching for signs of any type of animal life. Most importantly, they were hoping to find other survivors. After several weeks of searching the area, the teams had returned with many items they had managed to salvage. Many were items from their list and others were things they came across that they thought may be useful. They did see a few small animals along the way, mostly squirrels, rabbits, and some groundhogs. They were unable to capture any of them but were happy to see the possibility of a meal of meat in the future. It helped them to regain a feeling of normalcy to know there were animals in the woods. They did not see any birds or larger animals. They reasoned it must be due to the smaller animals’ abilities to burrow deep under the surface; while the birds and larger animals could only find shallow cover in the trees and brush, exposing them to the radiation. Kevin’s brother Samuel suggested that there could be a few bears that may have found refuge in their hibernation dens, but it was doubtful since most dens were in shallow caves and forest growths. It wasn’t until they reached the small town of Crawford, about twenty miles away from their farm, that they discovered three families that had also survived the flare. The families were neighbors and they owed their survival to the fact the fathers bowled together. As they talked during their bowling nights they had discovered they all had become disenchanted with the way the Government had been operating. They formed their own little “Prepper” group and had planned for the worst in advance of the disaster. Although it wasn’t for the same reason they expected, when Doomsday came upon the Earth they were prepared. They had gone together and built their own underground bunker with a food and water supply to last their families not months, but years. Unlike Kevin’s group, they had not ventured out of their bunker and searched the area. They had generators in their bunker and had devised an elaborate exhaust system to the outside which allowed for its operation. They had cameras mounted outside their bunker to keep an eye on anything that may appear above. They were shocked when the camera spied the old Chevy pickup pull up by the building they had built their bunker under. They were fearful of the possibility the outsiders knew of their presence. They opened the storage locker, armed themselves and waited to see what would happen next. They didn’t want trouble, but they were ready to protect their sanctuary. “So, what do you think it’s from” Questioned Samuels Brother-In-Law Joseph. “Hell if I know, but something is putting off heat down there.” Samuel responded as they looked down upon the sewer grate on the side of the street. As they had driven down the street they noticed the look of the air above the grate. Just as on a hot summer day, the heat coming up had created the illusion of ripples in the air above the grate. “What do you think we should do?” Joseph looked to Samuel as if he expected him to have an answer. Samuel looked around and was startled as his sight came across the camera mounted on the front corner of the nearby building. He slowly approached the camera and could barely believe his eyes as the small red light on the camera blinked off and on. He looked at Joseph and could only smile. “I’m thinking maybe we should knock on the door.” “They’re coming in!” Was the terrified response of Jeffrey’s wife who had been closely watching the outsiders on the monitor. The others gathered around and watched closely as Samuel and Joseph walked towards the door to the building. They were somewhat shocked when Samuel actually knocked on the door. They could not hear the knocking but they had been expecting them to just come rushing in. “Calm down Marty, let’s just see what they’re up to before we get too worked up.” Jeffrey placed his hand on her shoulder and sat beside her. “Even if they come in up top, they can’t get in here.” He reassured the group. “You think there’s anybody in there?” Joseph again asked. “I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell going to find out.” Samuel said as he reached for the door latch. His hand was quickly thrust away by Joseph. “Hold on Sam! We can’t just go in. If there is someone in there they could be dangerous. They might have guns. It’s not right for us to just go in. I mean, what would we do if someone just came into our place?” Joseph questioned. “Okay….you’re right. Let’s see if we can get somebody’s attention.” They went back to the truck where Joseph’s twelve year old son Daryl was waiting. Samuel grabbed a pad of paper out of the duffel bag and he began writing on it. They returned to the building and he held up a small sign he made. The sign said they were friendly. They wrote more and held up before the camera. The notes claimed they were un-armed (which technically was true- their guns were in the truck), they were searching for other survivors, and they had medicines with them if it was needed by those watching. They had run out of ideas of what to say when Daryl came over with the Geiger counter. “Maybe it’s not us they’re scared of.” He said as he offered the device to his father. Joseph smiled at his son as he switched it on and moved the detector module around in the air in sight of the camera. Samuel quickly wrote a new sign that offered only two largely written words…ITS SAFE! It had been more than fourteen years since the events of that day. The members of the two groups became close friends and partnered together to help benefit each others’ chances of survival. Although the radiation levels in town were not at a high level, it was deemed sensible for the group from Crawford to move their group out to the area of the farm since those levels were significantly lower. After some planning, a few nearby farms were chosen and they once again used the old Farmall to clear topsoil and make a safer surrounding for the new families. They had found several sets of walkie-talkies that had a range of up to two miles. Each farm was within range so they would be able to communicate with each other. Several older vehicles were found that had not been affected by the flare. The fact they didn’t have computerized controls and fancy electronics was a Godsend. Luckily for them, before the world ended it was not uncommon to see numerous old trucks in this farm country. The entire county was now a used car lot; and the older the better. They did try to limit the use of vehicles since the old rust buckets seemed to have absorbed a higher level of radiation. Since they weren’t sure what a truly safe level was, they tried to limit their risk by limiting their time of exposure. They made a point of always driving with the windows down, even when it was raining. They were fortunate to have found seeds in the root cellar of a neighboring farm. They began raising crops and some of the group members became rather good hunters. They imposed a limit as to how many animals they would consume, they reasoned the animals would need time to repopulate, just the same as they needed time to do it. They continued sending out search parties and over the years they had discovered several other groups of survivors. Most of the survivors were Preppers like the Crawford group. A few others were folks who had just managed to be lucky. They gathered and discussed how each group was functioning and formed a cooperative of sorts. Each group had members of differing skill levels and in some cases individual members would travel to the other locations to offer their help. Their services became much like a barter system. Rather than money, they used their skills to benefit each group and each member was expected to do whatever was necessary for the group survival. Just as in the early days of Jamestown, if you didn’t work- you didn’t eat. They had discussed how it was the radiation levels had so quickly subsided to the low levels they found around them. It was a member from the town of Smelton that brought up what they decided as the most plausible explanation. The College student reasoned that the flare must have hit on the opposite side of the planet. The flare would have largely been deflected by the atmosphere but where it was a direct path it would have been totally devastating. It was expected that a large level of radiation would have been trapped in the atmosphere and encircled the Earth. The area they lived in was a series of mountains and valleys. It was also in an area of the Country that normally was below what was called the Jet Stream by meteorologists. This intense stream of turbulent air was a driving force in forming weather fronts and it was plausible it also helped push the radiation away from the area and had not allowed it to linger and be deeply absorbed. Kevin was working in a field when he heard something he had not heard in a very long time. At first he wondered what it was, but after a few seconds he raised his eyes to the sky and could not believe what he was seeing. The old Cessna circled the farm several times and then dipped down lower and flew directly over those working in the fields. It then once again climbed towards the sky and circled again. This time around it wiggled its wings up and down in response to the jubilant waves from the people below. It again came lower and they realized the plane was landing in the field across from them. They sprinted towards it as it slowed to a stop and the sound from the engine quieted and then stopped completely. They cheered as the pilot opened the door and stepped out to greet them. After introductions were made all around they made their way to the house where they could get a drink of water and enjoy lunch with their visitor from above. He explained how he also had been underground when the world ended. He had been flying his plane around the country in search of survivors. He brought good news that there were in fact many people who had survived. He also brought stories of horror of what had happened in the larger cities. How people had survived, only to turn savagely on each other as their food supplies ran out. For the most part, the cities were wastelands, heavily dosed with radiation and not a place where anyone would want to be. The Government had not been ready for the scope of the event. They had tried to continue governing, but the underground bunker that the President was taken to was not meant for a long term stay. At least, it wasn’t meant for a long term stay, with no possible outside support structure. It wasn’t known exactly what happened, but once the flare hit, there was no further communication coming from the bunker. The pilot said he was told by another pilot who had been in the service that the bunker was simply too dependent on modern technology. Most likely, there was some sort of failure in the technology and the life support systems failed. In great irony, the President, his family and everyone else in the bunker probably suffocated in what had been considered one of the safest places to be in the event of a nuclear strike. This failure of technology was also the reason he flew such an old plane. With the exception of a basic starter system, there was not a single function of the old Cessna that was worked by a computer or electronic system. He had rebuilt the starter system and placed several cans of fuel in the back seat. He went from one small airport to another, searching for survivors and filling with gas. He then told them he was part of a group of pilots who had been doing the same as he was. As they found each other they shared what information they each had and had formed a network of sort. They agreed to meet at a particular airport every two months to continue sharing information. They were working together to spread the word about the conditions they were discovering. They had found towns that had banded together in unity and they had found areas of complete chaos and turmoil. They were carrying messages from one area to another in the hope of some day reuniting the Country. It was Jeffrey who said it reminded him of the old west when they used the Pony Express. The pilot smiled at that thought. During the night he did some light maintenance on his plane, and then surprised the group by showing them a new marking he had painted on the side of the Cessna. In large bold letters he had christened his plane- The Pony Express.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 07:40:51 +0000
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