The Event,

The Archive and Beyond

By

Thomas W. Larson

Copyrighted © August 2015 by Thomas Larson

All rights reserved

Cover Illustration

By

Ariana Patterson

Acknowledgement

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have helped in the creation of this work.  It has been a rewarding and challenging effort.  First of all, a thank you to Marianne Stefanov and Ariana Patterson for being involved in the project.   Also, Beth Burke, a big thank you for the help in proof reading and keeping me from going too far astray in the story.  You all were so much help.

This is the disclaimer:

Aka the fine print

Although a number of locations in this story are real, the people involved in the story are all fictitious and do not really exist except in my mind, and now maybe yours.  Any similarity to a person living or dead is strictly coincidence.

Father had left us a kind of key so that we could find Camp Romanica, for when the time was finally right that we were

able to land and look for it.  By the time we got there those who had once lived there were gone, long gone and the camp was little more than a few crumbled cabins, a pole sticking in the air and a small cemetery over grown with weeds.  Some of the cabins actually had trees growing out of them.

There is a certain irony that some of the names on the grave markers matched members of our community.  They also had a Francis, Joseph, Ethan, Chelsea, Nicholas, and Grace in their camp.  But there were other names that did not match our party.  There was Arcelia, Cyril, Anne, Alyssa, and others. It is a mystery for now.

But let me back up a little.  Father was not really our father in the traditional sense.  He was more; I guess you would call him, our caretaker.  He was reptilian, a short creature about 4 feet tall.  His name was Krezz; he was the last one of the crew of the ship that had rescued us.  He came from a race called the QUalz.  But over time we just called him Father.  He went to sleep/rest on the last orbit around what he called the Grand Loop.  But before he did he set the ship to come close to what he called our home planet and gave us instructions on how we were to leave in the pod ships and seek out Romanica.

We, us, his children, there are 26 of us, with one set of twins.  We are all 23 years old and ironically we all have almost the same birthday.  We tried to have Father explain that to us but he dismissively said that is was just a coincidence.

I was told by Father that I was the First Son; he looked to me and the First Daughter to be the kind of de facto leaders of the group.  I never knew why he did that.

It was Lance who found the one cabin with the machines in it.  It was some form of primitive electronics that could store memories and records.  It took him a month to be able to figure out how to repair them and determine what they were capable of doing.  It was difficult at first because time, weather and solar radiation had done some things to the machines that made them a little broken.  But he was able to get them running.

“First, I have determined that the memory clusters in the machines were a sort of writings.  It is, or was, a kind of log, or the term ‘journal’ was used by several people that lived at that time,” Lance told me.

“Really? And you have determined that these are not just fabrications or what is the term, ‘stories’ written for entertainment,” I asked.

“No, based upon historical data that Father left us, and the evidence from the camp, it seems these were some form of accounting of the events of a group of people that survived some type of apocalypse,” continued Lance.

“Fascinating!” I said thoughtfully.

“Oh, it is more than that, I have not finished all of the clusters yet, but there are some things that make them very compelling and also open up some very big questions.  But I will let you see for yourself, I have transferred the files to readpads for you and First Daughter.”

“That is it, no, hints, tidbits, or hey, look out for this?” I asked.

“I could have, but I think that there are some parts of this that need to be considered without fore-knowledge and should be thought through before we just blurt it out to the rest of the brothers and sisters,” said Lance, he was his usual serious self.

It took me about a week to go through the clusters; there was a lot to absorb in reading them.  I had difficulty accepting that this place, this rock in space had once been the home to billions of living people, like us.  It was tragic that it ended for them as it did.  I struggled to comprehend what it must have been like for those who survived the first few cycles after the meteor to have managed to carry on despite the events.  And further, I am still wondering what did finally happen to those here at Romanica. It seemed obvious that they had survived the initial illness. The readpad that Lance had given me explained much, but it left some open questions.

The part that Lance had not wanted to tell me was there, in about the middle of the files.  Father, Krezz was here, on the planet and he knew of Asuna. He had visited her and others before. He also knew of Tom, and really many of the people of the camp.  He had interacted with them.  And in the end, I began to understand some of the why.  But I still wondered why he had named me and Asuna the same as those two humans.

First Daughter and I sat down and talked about what we had just read.  There were many questions and many things that we just could not follow.  The biggest thing was the simplest question; just who or what were we.

We had set up our living pods on the site of the old camp.  Some of us cleaned up the old camp and basically did an archeological study of the items that were there.  We found devices that were used to what we believed were food preparation or consumption.  Some of them were similar to what we had in our pods.

I found it intriguing that they had two separate eating utensils as opposed to our one.  They had a rounded device and also a device with 4 spikes or points to it.  We simply had combined the two, shorter spikes, but built on the same rounded configuration. It was a much simpler and less wasteful use of materials.

We also found a few containers that were brightly colored with images of “edibles” on the outside.  Carefully, one was opened, it was called SPAM, it contained a pink mush, it smelled odd, actually, and it smelled tasty. We think that it was some form of synthetic food, but none of us were willing to taste it.  We are used to our insect larva and the bland yeast based food we have eaten for so many years.

As we emerged from our pods this morning, Lance raced over.

“I have found something; I think we know where the camp people moved to.  I have had hits on the beacon chips.  I think that Fath…,” He looked around and then whispered, “I think it is or may be from Test Subject One and Two, but until we recover them, I cannot be sure.”

“What, how…where?” I asked.

“Okay, remember how Father always told us that Test Subject One and Two were returned to the planet years ago, and that they had originally come from the camp?” explained Lance. “Well what I did was send a bounce bing out just to see what would happen, and I got bongs back.”

“Yes, but how do you know it is them?”

“The ID chips were very specific, and it identifies them as those two subjects.”

“Possibly a random bong return?” I asked.

“Highly unlikely, the statistical chances of random return on both bongs at once are several billion to one.”

“So how close are they, are they in the cemetery?” I asked, not really expecting so obvious a location.

With a sour look Lance said, “No, but they are not that far away, maybe 50 of what were called miles.”

“Great, now in terms of ship lengths what does that mean?”  I asked,

“Okay, sorry, I am getting over immersed in the local culture.  A mile as they call it is about 2 ship lengths.”

“So we could be at the site in less than one sweep,” I said thoughtfully

“Yes, actually they called their sweeps, hours and they were further divided into what they called minutes.  60 minutes to an hour, and 24 hours to a day or disc rotation,” Lance added. “But yes, we could be there in 48 minutes if I figured correctly.”

“Guess we should go see what this is about, have Steven and Frank prepare a sub-transport unit.  You and I will go, and one of the protectors, Delta or Margot, should come along.”

“If I may suggest, although we have lighting ability there is no real rush to go.  The day cycle is nearly at an end and perhaps it would be wiser to wait to the beginning of the next day cycle.  For some reason it seemed that the humans here always left for such missions in the early ah, morning,” Lance suggested.

“That is a valid point, although we have not seen any reason for it, there must have been some benefit to that action.  Okay, we will go in the morning, as you call it.”

“And First Daughter, will she be going?” suggested Lance.

“No, she will remain here, to command while I am gone.”

We had our video conference at the usual time and I informed everyone of what had been found and what we were going to do in the ‘morning’.

I guess I should explain the idea of the video conference, each night we, the 26 of us log onto our readpads and communicate the day or any events that have occurred.  It is a planning session for upcoming actions and activities.  If you think about it, it is loosely similar to the thing that the campers called ‘fire pit’ or ‘Vespers’, although they did it in person, around a pile of burning material at the flagpole,  Face to face contact like that, intriguing.

Cycle 37 (since arrival)

In reading the ‘logs’ of the humans I noted that they kept a note or time marker on them.  We have that automatically built into the readpads, but I find it kind of interesting to do.  I shall add this to my entries.  They apparently had a much more detailed method with what appeared to be a 30 or 31 cycle (days?) to a month, and 12 months to a loop, a loop seems to be a rotation around the star mass, or as they called it, the Sun.  I think Father called it that also.

We took the Sub-Transport to the location that Lance had traced the chip bong.  It was in the top of a mountain near what used to be a town called Hadley, this is according to the maps we have discovered.  There was a thread of concrete pavement that ran north to south nearby and I think that may have been what they called Eisenhower I-91.

After searching the initial area we found that there was a large metal and glass entrance area that ran into the side of the mountain which lay at the end of an old paved road.  There was a sign in front that read “Five College Library Underground Storage Archive.  We were able to set our transport pods down near the front of the doors. The doors, although closed were not secured to prevent opening.

Lance determined that there was no life reading, human life reading, in the area.  We moved toward the beacon signal and found it was behind the doors.  The doors swung open pretty easily.  When we opened it there was a dank, sickly sweet smell that came from inside. Our checks showed that the air was breathable.

Delta was the first through the door, followed by Frank, and then Steven.  Lance and I waited outside as per protocol.  We were least expendable and until the Protector told us it was safe, we waited.

An all clear was given and Lance and I entered.  We moved along the path that had been lay down by the advance group.  They had marked the route with small glowing markers.

Initially, we found bundles of paper called books, written books, on shelves; it appeared that there was some order to them.  As we looked further at the books we received a beep.

“You need to come and catch up.  We have found something,” Said Delta over the comm-link.

“It is in the direction of the beacon” interjected Lance.

“On our way!” I transmitted to Delta.

As we walked deeper into the archive we could see an underground wall with a large circular door, the wall was concrete I believe, it was about 30 feet high. The door had the ominous sign on it that said “US Air Force, Strategic Air Command, Authorized Entry Only.”

The door was partially opened and as Lance and I moved through we saw that on the other side there was a tunnel, rounded or arched overhead.  As we moved a little deeper, maybe forty steps or so, the hole, I think tunnel is the proper term, it became rock that had been bored into the mountain.

We covered about 100 feet when we began to see rooms off the main tunnel, to the right and left.  There was electronic equipment, but it seemed different than that which we had discovered at the camp.  It seemed older, bulkier and as Lance pointed out, very energy hungry. But it was not the time to look at that, we needed to get to Delta and the others.

We found them in a room off to the right. There was a little sign over the entry that said “Infirmary”, near the back of the room was a second door that said “Morgue”. This was the point of origin of the return bong. We had found Test Subject One and Two.  There were others there too.  All but one had been placed in what appeared to be metal drawers.  It was from what we could tell the means by which the humans stored their deceased.

Odd, I am not sure why one would store the deceased in this manner.  When Father went to the sleep time he was placed into the recycle unit and his flesh, his water, his bones all used to create for the needs of others.  In some ways this storage seems wasteful.

There was one remaining human that was just sitting in a little chair.  It was still reasonably intact, mummified I guess would be the best way to describe it. It appeared that he had deceased much later than those in the drawers.  Perhaps he was the one who put the others into the drawers.

Next to him was a stack of papers that were bound together and they were sitting on top of three small machines like we had found back at Romanica.  But most interesting was that in that pile there was a readpad.  It was discharged, but there may be some very important information on it.  This must have belonged to the Test Subjects.

We put him in a drawer as seemed to be the custom.  Then we collected the papers and devices and left the tunnel.  We will return later to search more but it would seem we have a good source of research material to begin with.

The papers will be distributed among us, the 26, for reading and study.  Lance will try to recharge the readpad and their electronic devices; I think they called them ‘laps’ or ‘laptops’.

PAPERS and LAPS

Lance, our Lance, was able to get the laps up and running and also was able to recharge the readpad.  For the sake of sequencing we have arranged our readings as they did, based upon their date reference, blending each creator’s perspective on what was occurring for a given time stamp.  Each had transcribed or used specific letter shapes (I am told that these were ‘fonts’). We shall continue to use that form to show authorship.

July 26th

(Lance, Captain Emo?) I wasn’t there when it started; Del and I were at the horse stable so we didn’t see the initial events but were told later what had happened. We all were starting our daily routines when the trucks came, two of them, semi-trailers.  They crashed the gate.

The first of the trucks careened into the dining hall, very near the kitchen area.  The driver had jumped out just before the impact.  He was a black guy in army clothes.  He rolled on the ground and ran to the back of the truck and opened the doors.  After that he just ran into the woods to the west of the camp.

The second truck stopped near the flag pole, the driver of this one got out, walked to the back of the rig and opened the rear doors.  He also pulled out one of the loading ramp.  Then he ran to the west.

In the initial shock, everyone stopped, looked and was at a loss of what to do, then, then Hell came.  Out of the trailers poured Zoms, lots of them.  Almost as one everyone raced for their weapons and the battle was on, somehow, someone had managed to ring the bell, ding, ding, ding, then again, ding, ding, ding, three rings meant something was wrong, bad wrong.

Del and I had been on our way to breakfast from the horse farm and were close, we raced to camp. As Del and I rode up on Samurai and Shinigami, we could see Master Nick, his sword flashing and arching as he came out of the dining hall, Grace was not with him.  He was alone, with a grim look of determination on his face.

The Major was firing his 45, and yelling to get Heather to the medical building, “Lock her away, protect her at all costs”, he shouted to Steven.  Mark and Michelle joined up with Steven and they held their ground.

As we arrived it was not going well, the onslaught of the Zoms was driving everyone toward the water, it was 20 to 1, but they fought on.  Del and I charged the big group from behind, slashing and cutting, we were able to make an impact as we swept from side to side of the horde, taking down 5 or 10 Zoms on each sweep.  But that only worked for a few sweeps before they locked on to us.  It was too dangerous to stay on the horses so we dismounted and tried to send them away, but they stayed with us, rearing up and crushing the undead with their hooves.

Chels, damn her, she was fighting near us, then suddenly as I looked over, tears were running down her blood spattered face and she just lowered her rifle and walked into the arms and teeth of the Zom, I did not realize it at first but it was Pam, from Stanwix, it hit me, these were the Stanwix people.

I did not have time to think more about it, it was now just fight to survive, just swing the sword, though my arms felt like lead, I just kept swinging, Del beside me.

Explosions, fast and rapid, Zoms began to explode, not ones near us, but those to the back and sides of the horde.

I don’t recall much else from the battle, but the after, the sending those shattered undead to rest and seeing what had happened to our people.  Seeing who was safe, and who wasn’t.

The Major and Charlene were working on Mark, his arm had been bitten, it had to be removed.  They did that.  Chels was gone.

Nick, Master Nick, he had fought alone; we weren’t able to get to him.  There were many hewed Zoms where he had been.  He was propped up against the side of the dining hall; Matt and Teckla were there with him.  He was near his end.  He had been bitten on both legs, and an arm.  Amputation might have been an option, but the bite on his neck was his death sentence.

Tanya came and got me.  “Your Master wishes to see you.”

As I walked over and saw his condition I knew, he wasn’t going to make it.

“Master Nick!” I bowed.

“Master Lance, you fought well and have done me proud” he rasped.

“Thank You, Master.” I did not know what else to say.

“I have a final task for you, before you become the new Master Sword.”

“Name it”, in my heart I felt a dread, I knew what he wanted me to do.

“Send me, give me peace!” he winced; the pain was clear on his face.

I bowed, “As you wish Master, we shall meet again.”

It was the hardest thing that I have ever done.

(Margo) We raced back toward the camp; Code was getting stronger as we moved.  As we come into the open area we saw the onslaught, we knew it would be bad, but this was horrible.

We started toward our cabin then Code grabbed my shoulder and pointed to the Hummer, it was close by, the 50, yes.  We had to be careful, so we stitched the bullets on the outside edges of the horde.  We were able to cut them down, if not killing them, then at least turning them into immobilized mush.

When we couldn’t safely fire anymore we moved in with a couple of metal bars we found and smashed away, it seemed hours. Then finally, it was quiet, mostly quiet, a few broken Zoms still hissed, there were some sobs and screams from some of us as we realized the worst had happened and that some of us were in bad shape.

Lance and Del were safe, so were Code and I.  Chels was gone; Mark was hurt, bad hurt and Master Nick was dying.  Grace had been killed when the truck hit the dining hall.  I am not sure how but the rest of us had made it.  We were all blood soaked, and exhausted.

Matt and the people that had gone to Stanwix were back, they arrived after the ….. what do I even call it.  I am tired, and sore, so much to do.

(Matt, Father Sky?) We arrived at camp too late, the battle was over, or at least the Changed were quieted.  But there were still things that needed to be done.  Mark will probably survive; the Major believes he got the arm off before the infection spread.  Mom was doing okay with that, or as much as she could, he was still alive.

Nick, that is a little harder, he was her brother.  I can understand his choice in how to move on to the next world.  It had to be hard on Lance. It was hard on us all.

As we burned the bodies of the Changed it was sad, more so because so many of them were known to us, Ron, Karen, LJ, Langley, Pam and on.  Many we did not know, other than that they were from Stanwix and they were good people.

I talked to Del and Margo about trying to track the two renegade soldiers, who had done this, but Margo said it wasn’t needed; she and Momma had taken care of it.

I called everyone together tonight by the flagpole, we just circled it and held hands.

“Thank you for our chance to still be here, we are family.”

“Amen” was the response.

We did not sleep well; some did not sleep at all despite exhaustion.

July 28th

(Matt) It is very quiet in camp, we‘ve been working to clean up and repair the damage that was done in the invasion.  We can fix the buildings that were broken, but not the hearts, they will not be so easily repaired.

Mark is running a little fever, but the Major is on it and doing all he can to bring that down.  There is an infection, but he still believes that it is controllable.  Mom and Michelle have not left his side.

Tay has taken over the cooking for a little bit with Jan helping.  Lance has worked with Fred to get the trucks removed from the camp.  They stink of death.

Those we knew, Nick, Chelsea, we have added to the little cemetery.  We also opened the earth to our friends from Burlington and Stanwix that we knew.  The rest, we burned, it would be too much to try to bury them all.  Total we figured that there were 87 people who had been poisoned and sent to destroy us.

We met at Vespers tonight at sunset.  The day had been hot, and tiring.  I miss Grace’s laugh.

July 29th

(Lance) I spent the day making certain that we had power up and running, Then Del and I headed back out to the stables.  It was hard, it has been hard, we will need to get back to Stanwix to recover the horses that were left there, Black Olive, Ranger, Magellan, and Strawberry.  I’ll talk to Stephen tomorrow about trying to get him to fly us out there.

Every noise, every hoot of an owl or rustle of a branch puts me, us on alert.  We are stretched, some ready to snap.  Del seems okay, and I am too, sort of.  But we are ready.  I still hear Nick’s voice, his lessons, “the warrior is always prepared, always aware, always on edge.”

(Matt) The fever has broken on Mark. The Major thinks he is pleased with the progress.  Michelle and Mom are now taking turns staying with him.  I stopped in for a while today, he’s his usual self, but I can see that the loss of the arm, his left, bothers him.  It would bother anyone; yet, I sense that he’ll get through it.

We have pretty much gotten the camp back to where it was before this happened.  I see now that I was being warned through my dreams but I couldn’t see or understand it at the time.

Lance came to me and suggested that we fly out to Stanwix and recover the horses that we had left there.  It’s a good plan, tomorrow Tay, Tanya and I will fly out and get them, and we can make it back leading the extra horse.

July 30th

(Margo) We are finally rested.  I wish we were back where we were a week ago when my biggest complaint was that I had to play “Bo-Peep” but that is no longer something we need to do.  The sheep are dead, or gone, eaten or run off by the Zoms in their attack.

I have no great desire to write, or draw, of for that matter do anything.  Not a great time for Auntie Flo to show up either.

(Matt) Off to Stanwix this morning, Steven flew us out; it took about 30 minutes to get there.  We found the horses; they were still in the courtyard just casually eating.  The helicopter startled them a little so we landed in the back of the fort and walked around.

We took the time to burn the remainder of the bodies that had been left behind at the fort.  We buried Keith.  He was a good man.  He and Pam will find each other again.

We began the long trek back to Romanica.  I want to visit Helen.

(Lance) The repair needs to most of the camp have been finished, as well as the cleanup.  The kitchen / dining area is still being worked on, and that will take a little time.  But it’s coming along. Fred and Cody have run into Pittsfield to get some building materials

Del and I headed out to the stables to take care of the horses.  I could sense that Shinigami and Samurai wanted to be ridden.  We hopped on and were off for the afternoon, we went nowhere in particular, just out there.  I think we all need to both focus on our current situation, but also we need to let go of some of it.  The losses have been hard on us all.

July 31st

I was out for a walk in the forest today.  I was hoping that I would run into Momma, We are all at a point where we are on the edge of breaking.  I need her strength; I need her to snap me out of this.  I sat by the ledge where I had last seen her, where she had dragged the lifeless body of the soldier up the rock.

I sat, and just focused on her, and closed my eyes.  I felt my breath going in and out of my body, in, out, in, out…in…….out………in….

“Well, our score is evened little one.”

I opened my eyes and there before me was Momma, with the two cubs standing behind her.

“Yes, it is, and you are me, you are in me now.”  I said, this talk with her was different.

“We are as one, and I sense your pain, and need.” I could hear her in my mind, as her eyes were locked with mine.

“Can you help me?”

“I will give you this, help is on the way, and soon it will be okay. I am with you always, and you are with me.” The big cat looked at me, the words sounded in my head.

“What help?”  I asked.

“You will see, you have watched over another’s spirit and soon, they will be united. It will bring peace to you, to us.”

I was confused and wanted to ask more, but Momma and the cubs had gone and on the edge of my mind I heard frantic calls, “Margo, Margo, where are you?”  It was Code.

I opened my eyes and scrambled to my feet, I was slow at first as the cobwebs of sleep left me.

“Over here, Code, here by the ledge.”  I tried to shout, a hoarse whisper at first, then stronger.

He walked into view, “I was worried, I got back from my lumber run and they told me you wandered off alone.  I was worried.”

“It’s okay.  I was fine; I needed to see the Lion.  We talked” I told him.

“Yeah, well, after what happened, going it alone is not safe; there could be Zoms out here.”

“I don’t think so, we’re okay now.  But there is someone coming, someone on their way here, Momma told me.”

“Who?  Who could it be?”

“Don’t know, she only told me that I was taking care of their spirit and they would be reunited.”

“I hate dreams, they are so, they mess us up.  They lie to us, and mess with our heads,” grumbled Code.

I on the other hand, appreciated them, talking to Momma, and seeing things from a different perspective.

(Lance) Still at the stables, a few more days then Tay and Teckla will be back with the horses then we can return to the camp. We worked with our horses.

“Lance, what happened was bad, can we ever get back to where we were?” asked Del.

“You mean you and me?  I think we’re fine.”

“No, the clan, the tribe, all of us.” She sounded kind of odd.

“We have been through a lot, I think we can recover, I mean, we lost some, some of us, but we have a solid core, we’ll make it.”  I told her, as I held her close.  It was kind of strange; we usually don’t have much physical contact outside of the cabin.

(Matt)The three of us, Tay, Mom and I covered a lot of ground today.  We left early and clopped along.  We are going to stick to I-90 for most of the way back.  I know that Mom wants to get back to camp to check on Mark.  We probably could have tried to take the cattle truck that had brought the Changed into our camp.  It would have been a faster trip back but the smell, and after what had happened, we just couldn’t do it.

We were able to get to Fort Plain by about dinner time.  As we rode up West Street, we turned the corner onto Main.  I looked forward to finding Linda Harris out in front of her real estate office chatting away, but it wasn’t to be.  The street was now littered, that little space that had once been neat and tidy was not.  The building, her office and those on each side were burned out.  She was gone.

As we reined in up-front of what was left of her office, there was a chipped Linda Harris Real Estate mug lying on the sidewalk.  I guess we will never know for sure if she had chosen the same fate she gave to her son. I could see a couple of burnt bodies inside the office.  I can’t really explain the why but I was kind of sad about it.  I thought she would manage, I expected to see her on the phone.

We stayed at the farm on Oldick for the night; we used the renovated farmhouse that the Amish had rebuilt.  It was very quiet.  I was very quiet.

I thought earlier that I would take a detour and visit Helen.  I just have a feeling that I should, and I want to make certain that she is alright.  But the more I thought about it the more I felt going there was not a good idea.  I was afraid that she had met a similar fate to Linda, and like Schrodinger’s Cat, I did not want to open that box to see if she was dead or alive.  I need her, or the thought of her being alive.

August 1st

(Matt) We reached the west side of Albany at about 7:30 tonight.  We had an hour or so of daylight left and could probably have made it to the Arsenal, but decided to tuck into a little B&B instead.  The thought was that it wouldn’t be a good idea to try to navigate through the city as dusk approached.  There were probably no Changed there, but really, better to be safe.

I wished that Tanya was there with me, it would have been good to talk to her about the Helen thing.  I think, I feel Helen is still alive, but after all that has happened, I couldn’t deal with her being dead, or changed. I tried to talk with Mom about it, but it was not the same, she didn’t know this person or that silly cat of hers, the impact they had on us. I smiled thinking about Sylvester sitting on her lap, calmly licking his paws, as Helen talked to us about many things simple, yet, profound.

We turned in just after sundown.  We wanted to be on the road early.

(Lance) Out at the stables again today, Del and I did some riding and took care of the other horses.  Much to both our surprise the ram and four of the sheep wandered into the barnyard.  That‘s good news; we thought that they had all been lost.  We knew that some had been eaten by the Zoms during the attack, but that was only three of them.  It looks like we are back in the milk and cheese business.  Master Nick…..crap, I’m sorry.  We’ll have to figure that all out, how to do all that stuff, I think Matt knows.

We headed over to the camp for dinner and stayed for Vespers.  Tanya led the group.  It was kind of sedate with no Grace, or Michelle singing, and the turnout was kind of small, Fred and Jan, Margo and Code, Tanya, us, that was about it.  Heather was not feeling well so she passed, Steven stayed with her.  We headed back a little after dark, the moon was bright, not quite full, but we could see the road.  Actually, Samurai and Shinigami kind of just knew where to go and we just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

The stars are so beautiful and there are so many.

(Margo) Tanya and I did the gardening thing today, we’re lucky that no damage was done with the attack.  The salads are working without Nick and Grace making meals for us.  Jan has been doing most of the cooking, and she does great, but Nick, well, he had a touch.

Code and I stopped by to see how Mark was doing.  He seems to be in good spirits, and was actually up doing a little walking around.  Charlene and Michelle were helping him. He had lost a lot of blood and is still on the wobbly side, or as he put it, “I’m down a quart.”  I didn’t really get it, but laughed anyway.

Vespers tonight was a somber affair, Tanya does well, but there were too many empty seats, I…..

Sorry, had a little meltdown, they were friends, it could have been any or all of us but I, we’re still here.  It hurts, I thought about the others too, Mom, Meme, Gramp, all gone.  Tom, Asuna, they’re alive but not coming back soon.  Imagine if they came back in the winter and we, we……

August 2nd

(Margo) Lucy was kind of restless last night, it was kind of strange, she kept looking toward the door as if someone was there, or just outside.

Anyway, today Code and I played sheep herder, I mean real sheep herder, and we took the bikes over to the stables and then took Chuckles and Lemon Drop and actually brought the sheep back to Romanica.  It was kind of cool.  Note to self: riding in shorts, not a good idea.

We spent the rest of the day playing Bo-Peep.  I didn’t see Momma.  I should probably come up with a better name for her and the cubs.  But have nothing at the moment.

We brought the sheep back to the camp pen around dinner time.  Dinner was okay, Fred and Jan took a turn at cooking again and it wasn’t all that bad, salady, but okay. I should check with them to see if they want me to go hunting for some game other than rabbits.

Matt, Tay and Teckla came back; they were here when we brought the sheep back this afternoon.  Tay and Teckla ended up riding back over to the stables tonight and took Chuckles and Lemon Drop with them so Code and I didn’t have too, although that now creates an issue of getting the bikes back to camp.  Oh well, early man problems.

(Lance)  We took care of the horses again today, stayed out at the stables, although we slept in the house.  We did a little riding this morning and after lunch were just hanging out.  We took a ride over to the main camp and planned to stay for dinner.

Matt and crew are back with the other horses.  They told us about the real estate lady, which was kind of sad.

Tonight I, we, are back in my own bed, with my own girl, with AC! Life is grand.  Well, getting better and back to normal.

(Matt) We finished the trip back to the Camp today.  First thing we did when we got back was for Mom and me to check on Mark.  He’s doing well, and damn if the family sense of humor just is kicking in.  We talked for a little while, and he was actually up and walking around a little, he is still a little weak but Doc Barkley says he’ll be fine.

“Yeah, I was looking to lose a few pounds anyway” he said with kind of a smile.

What can you say back?

Then with a very straight face he said, “But seriously, Matt, Mom, I know us, the family and I am asking you to do me a favor, see, I know that it will happen sooner or later, so I want you to start calling me Stumpy.”

Michelle giggled, Charlene giggled, Doc choked back a laugh, they’d known what was coming.  Mom stared at him.

“Stumpy?  Really?” I said.

“Yep, it’s our way” He said with a grin. “I mean you could use Lefty if you want.  I am okay with this, I am alive, and there is tomorrow to deal with.”

“Stumpy,” and then Mom laughed.  “Yep, we’re noodle folk”, but I could see the tears too.

I guess I should explain the idea of noodle folk.  It was a reference to a kid’s movie from years ago in which the family group, although not biologically linked had a common set of qualities, they made and sold noodle soup.  So with certain of our family qualities (bizarre sense of humor, car lovers and tended to show our affection with insult and harassment) we saw ourselves as kind of ‘noodle folk’.

I do think that Mark was kind of doing the “man up” thing here, putting a brave face on what has to be a hard thing for him.  But I think Michelle has helped him there.

We did vespers tonight, Tanya has been doing a great job while we were gone, but she was glad we’re back.  The tribe is healing, slowly, but a lot happened. We’ve lost friends from camp, and friends from Stanwix, but we keep going.   It was good to see everyone, and we, well, we’re just glad to still be a tribe.

It felt good to be back with Tanya, I missed her.  We talked about Linda, the real estate lady.  I told Tanya that I thought that when she saw the end coming she did what she did to keep from turning. I want to believe that she also set the fire to try to free as many of the Changed as she could.

“I was going to visit Helen, but after seeing Fort Plain, I couldn’t” I told Tanya.

“Yeah, I think that believing that she is alive and okay is good, I think she is, but to lose her, I understand.” said Tanya. “Come to bed Matt, I missed you.”

August 3rd

(Margo) Lucy was at it again last night; she would pace, and then look at the door, then pace.  I checked outside a couple of times to see but there was nothing.

Camp was awake early this morning, Heather was in labor! It took hours and it did not sound like fun, we all kind of hovered around the med cabin, waiting.

About noon the word came, we have a new camper, it’s a boy.  IT IS NORMAL! Thank God! Heather is fine, and rumor has it Steven only fainted once.

(Lance) Uproar in camp today, we have a new member, Heather and Steven have had their baby, and it’s a boy.  It is not a monster, although we don’t know if it has the virus, but that isn’t that important, it is alive, and seems healthy.

(Matt) Pounding on the door this morning; Charlene was there and they needed Tanya to come to the Med Cabin.  Heather’s water broke, it was time and they needed, wanted Tan to help with the birthing.

Pretty much the rest of the day was spent focused on the new life that joined us, first in the actual birth process, then in the “is it normal” concerns and then finally, Yes, it is normal, and it is all good.  Wow, a new life.

Vespers tonight was special, as we, and it was all of us, Mark and Michelle were there and also Heather, Steven and the baby, they named him Augustus.  They picked out that name because it was Heather’s father. That was his name and she had always promised him that if she had a son that she would name him that.

It was amazing watching the interaction around the child, our first child.  The women were all over it like, I guess I shouldn’t use the metaphor of flies on manure, but it does fit.  The men, we just smiled, and felt good.  We would continue, humanity would continue.

In the course of the Vespers, Steven asked if Tanya and I could present and introduce Augustus to the Sky Father and Earth Mother and make a formal naming ceremony.  It kind of caught us off guard.

She and I looked at each other and arose.  Tanya took the baby from Heather and held it, she thought for a moment, and then said; “Earth Mother, you have given us bounty, and now you give us our future, this is little Augustus, he is one of us, your people, and we thank you for this blessing.” Tanya held the baby as she put her thumb to the ground and then placed a small mark of dirt on the child’s forehead.

Then she turned to me and handed me the child.  It was so light, so small yet I could feel the energy in it, the life energy, I raised it over my head.

“Sky Father, this is Augustus, he is one of us, of your people, help him, make him strong, and wise, he is our future, he and those who follow will be our legacy.”

As I lowered him, I spoke to the tribe; “We are blessed with this little one, and though tiny now, he will one day be our leader. I can feel that in him, his spirit is strong.  Let us all help him and guide him to wisdom and goodness.”

“Wisdom and Goodness” replied everyone.  On a branch nearby an owl hooted three times.

We sat for another hour and then two by two drifted off to our cabins.  Tanya and I were the last to leave; we were quiet as we walked, holding hands, both thinking about the future as we had not considered it in a long time.  We, our little tribe was moving forward, we will continue.

That night, with the birth, and the good feelings in the group, I know we embraced, intimately, and so did probably everyone else.

August 4th

(Margo) Lucy, again with the whining and door staring, and this morning when I let her out she rushed off this time, there was someone or something out there.  I put on some cloths grabbed my pistol and started out the door.

Shit, sorry, but…..I cried, and I ran, sitting at the flagpole, by the fire pit were Tom, and Asuna.

“Good morning Margo” Tom smiled, “We got here about an hour ago and didn’t want to wake anyone up, so we figured we would just wait.”

“How, what, when, year, early,” I stammered through my tears hugging him.

“Yeah, that is kind of a long story, has Nick got any coffee ready yet?”

“I, oh, ah, Nick,…. Nick is dead…….. so much to tell,” I said.  I could see the sadness and the questions filling him.

“Oh”, he said, and then stood for a moment.  I knew what he was thinking, and feeling; it was something we have all suffered with too often.

“But you’re okay, that’s good, and Teckla, Matt, Mark?” he asked.

“No, they’re good, just; there’s so much to tell.”  I sobbed, as I was trying to get my composure back, the bell, must ring the bell, two rings

Ding, Ding

People started falling out of their cabins, some with guns, some yawning, some half-dressed.  When they saw who was there it was crazy with, hugs, tears, questions.

Jan got the coffee pot going, and we all started toward the dining hall, there would be a lot of talking and telling.

I didn’t notice it at first but Lucy had just sat down next to Tom while we were first talking, and then would not leave his side.  Before we went inside he scrunched down to her and rubbed her head, “I know you, I am sorry, I am late.”

Asuna was not forgotten in the reunion, I’m sorry, I was so focused on seeing Tom, my dad, again, I just, you know.

As we walked toward the dining hall, he stopped me. “Margo, did you keep the journal going? Did you keep track?”

“I did, I wasn’t gonna at first, I, ah, I hated that you left, and it took a long time before I read what you had said, written, then I understood.”  I told him.

Teckla and Tay galloped up and Teckla was off the horse and hugging Tom, she was in tears.

‘”Hey, its okay, I’m back.” He said.

“Nick, Nick, is….”

“I know, Margo told me.  I …..give me a minute.” He turned and walked back away from us all for a minute.  I knew he was crying, it hit him at that point.  We all stared and when Asuna started toward him Teckla stopped her.

“Give him a minute,” she said.  “It is the family way.”

Only Lucy stayed with him, at his side.  He reached down and stroked her head.

Everything was so up in the air right at the moment, there was so much to tell, the attacks, Stanwix, the hunters, journals, horses, just so many things.  And so many questions, the biggest being why were you back early.

After a few minutes he walked back over, hugged Teckla, then me, his eyes were still red.  Then he took Asuna’s hand and said, “Hey what does someone have to do to get a cup of coffee here?” as he headed toward the dining hall.

First, Tom and Asuna listened to what had happened over the last year.  I sat next to him the whole time, me on one side, Asuna on the other and Lucy at his feet. I, it was so good to have them back.

They were amazed at the events that had occurred.  By lunch time we had shared the big stories with them.  Matt told him about his pilgrimage to Rome, and the finds along the way, Chris, Helen and Linda Evans.

Lance and Fred talked about the Hunters.

“The Burlington folks survived the hunters attack?  Langley, LJ they made it?” asked Tom.

The Major interrupted, “They did but in the end….”, and then he told about the Stanwix events and the raid that we made to dispose of Womack and his crew.

“What am I missing here?” Tom asked.

Teckla spoke up, “It was how Nick died, and Mark lost his arm.  The people from Stanwix were changed, they were killed and changed and then brought here.  Langley, Ron, all of them were poisoned.  They attacked the camp.”

That kind of put a crimp on the story telling for a little while; we all just sat and were kind of at a loss.

Finally, Asuna said softly, “We have a vaccine.”

“What? What did you say?” asked Doc Barkley.

“The QUalz were able to create a vaccine for the virus, it makes it so you don’t come back.” Asuna said.

That created a silence, then questions, “How? What do you mean? Where is it?”

“It is back at our truck, we left it there, and it’s safe.” Said Tom, and I could hear in his voice that he was starting to get back to the old Tom, the one who led us early on.

“The how, I am not exactly sure, they used the blood samples and DNA that they collected from us all and were able to make something.  Krezz said it would work, but we couldn’t really test it.  We can only assume it works for now.”

“Pills, shots, liquid?  What form is it in?” asked an excited Major Barkley, his doctor sense was tingling.

“It’s in pill form.  We have about 50,000 doses and also have the instructions to make more on my readpad,” said Tom.

“But are they safe?  I mean, to take?”

“Well Doc, that is a good question.  I think so, Asuna and I have each taken one, and we are fine so far.”

“No side effects, no….”

“No, nothing, they are small and go down easy, and we took them about a month ago on the ship, we didn’t get sick so they mad more when it became clear that we were coming home.” Tom added.

Teckla looked at him for a moment and finally said, “About that, it was supposed to be a year.  You were only gone 8 months.  What is that all about?”

“Yeah, well, Krezz is not the best at translations.  When he said a year, he meant a cycle, an orbit by the ship.  It was really only about an 8 month loop.”  And then he added something about speed and relativity and timey whimey stuff.”

Lance jumped in here and asked, “So how fast were you going?”

Asuna answered, “We don’t really know, but we did a loop around Mars and came back, so it would seem we were moving along pretty quickly.  We never really asked until the end, just before they sent us back to the Earth in the pods, but I never got an answer.”

Lance sat down with a thud, there was science stuff running through his head. His mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out.

“You saw Mars?” asked Mark.

“Yeah, it was ah, red?” said Tom, a little at a loss, “We circled it to come back, something about gravity well, using it as….

“A sling shot, it makes sense” shouted Lance, “That is how they kept their speed up; they would circle between the Earth and Mars and use it to keep the speed up.  I think I am close but you had to be doing about 45 to 50 thousand miles an hour to make the loop in the time you said.”

Everyone was looking at him, and he flushed, Del looked up at him and smiled.  For a minute he reminded me of Ethan.

“Actually, I did ask Winston once and he told me that it was 49,000 miles per hour,” said Tom.

“Okay, but the pills, maybe we should go get them, bring the truck into camp?” suggested the Major.

“Yeah, probably a good idea, I could use a break and some fresh air,” said Tom as he got up.  Asuna joined him and Lucy was right at his side.  “Margo, you and Cody gonna walk with us?”

“Duh” I had become so focused on Tom I forgot that Code had been at my side the entire time.  He had been quiet, and just there, holding my hand.

There was a lot of buzz as we walked out of camp.  It was only about a quarter mile up the road.  The truck, now that I did not expect, it was an old Ford pick-up, I mean old, and rusty, and a hunk of junk.

“What the heck?...” I started.

It was the only thing we could find that had gas and would run.  The Navy boys helped me get it going.”

“The Navy boys?” asked Code

“Yeah, it was the Pittsburgh that picked us up near the Azores, we landed there, kind of off course, but it all worked out.” Tom added.

“Ah, Lance said that they Pittsburgh was headed that way to check out a signal, but…hey wait, they said they picked someone up, why didn’t they tell us it was you?”

“Ah yeah, well see, in case we didn’t make it, I, ah, didn’t want you all to worry.” He kind of stammered.

“Asshole!”

Asuna laughed, “Told you that you should have phoned ahead.”

“I’m sorry I just….”

“No, I know, and I understand your thinking, but you’re still an asshole.” I said, I was kind of pissed, but not really, it was good he, they were back.

Lucy jumped into the back of the truck with Code. I got into the front with Asuna.  I almost sat on a kind of oval shaped piece of glass.

“Oops, let me have that, can’t be breaking that.”  Said Tom

“I’m not that heavy, what is it?” I asked.

“That is Winston, my readpad.”

Tom fired the old Ford up and we rolled off toward camp, it was loud, and sputtering, now I think I know why he parked where he did.

Once we got back to camp there were huddles, not the big group discussion but small groups.  Doc and Charlene cornered them first about the pills.  Tom explained that he had actually gotten two hundred fifty thousand doses but he had left most with the Pittsburgh for them to distribute to bases and locations along the coast that they had made contacts with.  They talked about the plans from there and what to do with our supply.  It looks like some of us could be going on our own ‘pilgrimages’ over time.

Then Tom met with Teckla, Matt and Mark.  It was family stuff; they talked about Nick’s death and kind of just bonded as a family would do.  Asuna and I were there with him.  We listened, and that is all I am going to write on that because well, Tom can put it into his journal, it is not my place to do that.

Lucy, Lucy is stuck to him like glue.  She was always around close to me when I was taking care of her, but now I see that she was always his animal, his spirit guide and somehow, I think she knew that her job until he got back was to watch over me.  Of course once Momma stepped in, and I was marked by the mountain lion cub it was no longer her main job.

Dinner tonight was a treat, there were BBQ deer ribs, and corn on the cob, and salads with real tomatoes and veggies from the garden, and it was awesome.  It was almost like Nick and Grace were still with us.  Turns out we have a new chef in town, and although he did not do a lot of the physical cooking, Jan and Michelle did that part, Mark has taken over the kitchen.

We did Vespers tonight and it was still a lot of exchanging of stories.  It is good that he, they’re back.

Code and I stayed up late afterword talking, just talking; the world has kind of changed again with Tom coming back, the vaccine and the baby.

(Lance) Wow, Tom and Asuna are back, that is wild.  I am kind of envious of them having seen outer space, was always a dream when I was a little kid, before I went to the “darkside”.  I have so many questions I need and want to ask them. I learned some while everyone was catching up.  That speed thing was incredible, 50,000 miles per hour, and the time compression that they experienced.

I have to make some notes to myself about things to ask, like what it felt like in the ship, what were the little lizard guys like, and what did they see.

I also want to see what is going on with the vaccine; I am not sure about it, my inner voice is whispering about it, but not loud enough to hear, yet.  I think I may hold off on taking it for a little bit, until I can sort out the whispers.

Del and I talked a little about the idea of babies.  We are good right now with waiting maybe a year or two, we are both still young and there is still a lot of stuff out there that could be bad.

(Matt) What a surprise this morning with Uncle Tom coming back, he and Asuna look fine, and the story of their landing in the ocean and being picked up by the Pittsburgh was pretty interesting.

I am hopeful about the vaccine, it would be good to know that if one of us passes we no longer have to worry about them coming back, changing.

We, Tan and I, broke away for a little while when they went to get the truck, grabbed some veggies for dinner, couple of bunnies were in the trap too.

Mark is doing really well in his recovery, he has been up and around and although still moving a little slow.  He has taken to helping out, actually kind of supervising the kitchen.  He sits a lot and gives orders to Michelle but he is taking charge, and that is a good thing.

We did Vespers tonight, and it was really rather up-beat, chatter about the vaccine, Tom’s return and most of all, the baby, little Augustus, it is a diversion, better a light at the end of a tunnel of the bad stuff that has happened.  There is still that sadness sitting just below the surface but it shall pass, we will, we already are recovering.

I know we have some things ahead that we need to talk about, and talk about very soon.  But for now, let’s just enjoy the calm.

First Son Note:  I have considered trying to integrate Tom’s (Test Subject #1) readpad chronicle into the daily journals but after some discussion with First Daughter, we have decided that rather than to wait to finish the electronic records of the camp we would enter his writings from the leaving of camp in the winter to his return.  Once that portion is entered we will integrate his words (journal?) in with the electronic versions of the other chronicles.

(Tom entries to the Readpad) I have lost all concept of what time it is, what day it is, and naturally where I am other than in a space ship that is moving away from Earth, my home planet.  I have prevailed upon our host, Krezz to give me this recording device, they call it a readpad.  That is a translation of course, I have no understanding of the clicks and burps of their (the QUalz) natural language.

The biggest thing that I wanted was the opportunity to keep a journal of the trek, the year away from home, how Asuna and I lived and survived on the ship.  Yes, the ship had a name; it was in translation called the Sky Crystal.  Winston explained that originally the ship had a designation number, but that was all.  When the early humans were brought about the referred to it as “Bright Crystal in the Sky” and somehow the name stuck.

The readpad is simple on the outside, what looks like a piece of tinted glass, kind of 10 inch piece of oval glass.  It is activated by touch and then you simply tell it what you want to do.  And it can do a lot.  It seems to be, among other things, a link to their information data base.  You ask it a question and it gets an answer for you.  For example I asked how fast we were traveling, and the voice clicked out something.  Mumbled about it not being in English and suddenly in what I think was the voice of Winston Churchill, was given the answer of 49,787 miles per hour.  - I am glad I did not get Margaret Thatcher’s voice.

I was able to have Winston determine what day it was back on Earth and being February 9th, I begin this journal of our adventures in space.

Feb 9th

I like this idea of dictating to the machine.  No typing, just “Winston, take dictation,” and then I lay it out there.  It has taken a couple of days to work out some issues with the device but it is pretty good now. Interestingly the idea of contractions is one that is just not sinking in.

So today, I am still learning the layout of the ship. It is very warm on the ship; Winston says it is 94.3 degrees which is the optimal temperature for the QUalz.

We are currently hurdling through space toward Mars (they call it the Red Stone Marker) which we will loop around and return to Earth.  The amount of time for the loop depends upon where Earth and Mars are currently located in their respective orbits.  The trip could take 6 months (Earth time) or up to two years.

Asuna and I are bored by now, we have looked out the windows of the ship a lot, watched the Earth and Moon moving away, seen breath-taking galaxies, it is not like being on Earth were you see a few stars here and a galaxy there. Think of the darkest night with the clearest air, and then imagine seeing forever, stars, galaxies, nebulas…at first it is awe-inspiring, and after a couple weeks, well it is still kind of cool, but it is the same, a little different angle, but the same.

Feb 10th

I guess I should talk a little about his ship, the Sky Crystal, its big, Winston told me that it is about a half mile long overall, but that it was not all “ship”,  much of it is an asteroid.

What the QUalz did was to find a rocky body that was circling their home planet. They bored into it and added the inner workings.  Cabins and tunnels honeycomb much of the top half of the ship/asteroid.  They put the power system to the lower rear part of the ship.  I have no idea what the power system is based on, but I have time to find out, too much time to find out. The placement of the engines and the rocky walls give them protection from the radiation that is generated by the engines.

They also took care to build an area in which they could seek shelter from cosmic storms and radiation.  There is a kind of cavern in the middle of the asteroid. Winston told me that it has saved them from storms while in the Earth solar system as well as some that they had encountered long ago in their own planetary system.

I asked him about the home system, where the QUalz came from, but he explained that part of his programming included strict rules against revealing that location to anyone.  I guess it makes sense.

I asked him about other things that he could not tell me, and he said, “Sorry Tom, I cannot reveal that information.”

Feb 12th

We have spent the last few days having some testing done on us, blood work, stool samples, hairs plucked and such.  We willingly allow it because of the potential of a cure to the illness on earth.

It is hot, and we, Asuna and I have cut out most of our clothes.  It is not like the QUalz are real interested in seeing us naked as they pretty much are naked too, although there is a certain fascination on their parts with the hair on our bodies.

It is kind of funny to watch them, one eye on us as we walk past, and that eye follows us as the other looks ahead to where they are going.

It is boring.

Feb 14th

Guess it would be Valentine’s Day back home.  Asuna and I kind of laughed about it.  I would have sent her flowers, but out here that is not an option.  Best I would do was a bunch of the little mushroomy things they make food out of.  It is the thought that counts.

I find it difficult to focus on a topic to write about each day, so there will be gaps in the journal.

The one thing that keeps coming to mind is the question of how the camp and Margo are doing.  I think, I hope they are fine; they were in a good spot with food and supplies when we left.

I wonder if it was a good idea for me to have come along with Asuna on the trip.  It was a hard call, part of me wishes that I was still on Earth, helping, my friends and family.  But at the same time I feel I need to be with Asuna and help in creating a vaccine or method to cure the virus that has killed and changed so many.

Feb 19th

I asked questions of Winston today, trying to get a better handle on our little scaled friends. I sometimes run into this programing wall that prevents certain information like the location of their home world or certain technology that they have.  But I was able to get some information.

The QUalz are a relatively old race, or species.  They began visiting us, Earth, back in the era of Cro-Magnon man. It was actually the Cro-Magnons who gave the ship the name, “Sky Crystal”.

They also had some contact with the Neanderthals.  But they never brought on aboard the ship. Now that is one that I will have to explore a little more down the road.  So much of man’s early history could be revealed and yet, at this point, other than curiosity, what difference does it make.  There is no one to tell about it really.

This heat thing is not so bad, we have kind of gotten used to it. But the food, now that is something that we should have considered.  I would kill for some of Nick’s Deer Stew, but here we, Asuna and I, eat some kind of worm, or larva that is mashed and mixed with a kind of mushroom.  The QUalz eat the larva raw and wiggly, Asuna and I have no choice but to eat the same thing, but we at least have our food sort of cooked.

Feb 21st

I guess I could tell you about the room in which we stay.  Unlike the QUalz who just sort of just stop where they are and stand frozen for periods lasting between an hour or two, Asuna and I still need to sleep.

Over the course of time this was something that the lizards learned and have created rooms in which their guests could find comfort and some degree of being at home.  What they have done was with each period or era that they took humans on board they attempted to emulate the living conditions of the time. We walked in the area that they called “The Hive”.

Winston told me that the first went back to the Cro-Magnons where they had basically a cave (it was actually a real cave in the rocks of the asteroid.) and then over time added to that a cliff dwelling from the southwest, a mud hut from the African continent, an Egyptian room with a view of the desert which I was told predated the pyramids, a castle room reminiscent of the early middle ages, the interior of a Mongolian Yurt, a captain’s cabin from a sailing ship, a hut from somewhere in southeast Asia, the home of a Samurai warrior, a western Conestoga wagon, and even an early cold-water flat from an American city, Chicago-based upon the newspapers we found in it. They had even re-created the interior of our little cabin back at Romanica. They tried.

Of course, these were only the interiors, but they did a nice job with them.  Their detail work was right on target.

It was still warm, that 94 degree thing, and the food was still that mush, but it was kind of neat to think of who they, the QUalz, tried to make their subjects as comfortable as possible.

Asuna and I move around the rooms and will stay for a few cycles in one room or another.   It does break up the ho-hum a little, but beyond that it is kind of interesting to think about the various people who have preceded us and what they may have been like, or what they really lived like.

Feb 24th

We are nearing the halfway point between Earth and Mars, two months, we’re moving along quite quickly.  We can see the difference in Mars; it is getting more color having gone from white to a kind of pale orange.

We were in for more blood work today, and while we were there I had the chance to talk with Krezz a little.

“How is it going?  Are you finding the key to curing the illness?” I asked.

“Progress has been accomplished.  Development has been completed in three different possible cures.  But we have been unable to complete testing on them yet.  That will be part of the use of the blood that we have extracted from you this day.”

I have to admit that Krezz has done a good job of assimilating our language. And he truly seems to like us humans as well as his work in studying us.

His two assistants, Brimk and RRqil have also done pretty well at it also, unlike some of the others who still give us annoyed clicks or grunts to try to Sat-Communicate with us.

Unlike Krezz, Brimk is a pretty bland character, straight to the point and all business, although he does seem to care about us.  But on the other hand, RRqil is a hoot, she, I found out she is a she, actually has a sense of humor and tries to smile.  It is funny to see because things such as smiles are pretty much non-existent due to the facial structure.  It is more a teeth baring grimace, and it is compounded with a kind of repeated hiccup sound that she calls laughing.

Feb 26th

Asuna and I have been sleeping in the Cro-Magnon Cave the last few nights.  It is just a small cave with a little stream running through it.  There are some bones strewn about over in one corner and a little fire pit in the middle of the room.  I doubt it could generate much warmth, and was there more for light and cooking.

On a couple of larger flat rocks there are animal skins that we could use to sleep on. I am told that they are actual skins from a bear and giant sloth.  For some reason the room is much cooler than the rest of the ship.  I am not sure if this was because of it being dug into the rock of the asteroid or by design of the QUalz.  It did cool down to the point where we had to cuddle under the skins.  At least to their credit they (the QUalz) made the furs so that they did not smell too badly.

“It isn’t so bad here.” Suggested Asuna, but I was not sure if it was a suggestion or a kind of Sat-Comment of justification.

“No, not really, and in all honesty, I do like the coolness.”

“Do you think he was afraid?” she asked as we lay side by side.

“The caveman, oh yeah, Think about it, actually think about it for all of the people they captured, it was, it had to be just, so far out of their world.” I said.

“I wasn’t afraid!” she said defiantly.

“True, but remember, you were from the modern era. We had many stories about spacemen, and UFO’s so at least you had some idea of what they might be.  And they spoke your language.  They had years of TV and radio to become familiar with us. The QUalz have had time to deal with and absorb our world and our cultures.” I offered.

“Yeah, that is true, but I was only 4 years old.  I don’t remember much of it.  Think about it, what four year old would be ready for a lizard guy stealing you from your own bed.”

“But you said you weren’t scared.”

“Okay, maybe a little and I wasn’t gone that long.  I never rememb……wait, maybe I do, I think the QUalz were around while I was in my own room in Japan, or maybe they were here and I had a room like the others.”

“Do you think there is an Asuna room?  Maybe we can find it.” I suggested.

“Maybe, and maybe there are a lot of rooms we haven’t seen yet.”  She said thoughtfully then laid back. Soon I hear the gentle breathing, she was asleep.

I lay back too, trying to imagine what it must have been like for the inhabitant of this room.  Wow, there I am struggling to get by, fearful of lightening, and thunder.  I think there is something out there, gods of some kind and then I am in front of little green things, like I have never seen before.  We have no way of Sat-Communicating.  What do I do?

Then you wake up in a strange cave, alone, it looks like the one you lived in, but your tribe, your woman, your wolf are all gone.  You’re alone and those things, they click and pop at you, the poke and prod you.

I think I want to talk to Winston in the morning to see what I can find out about some of the other pick-ups that were made.  Maybe I can find out if Asuna had a room made for her.

February 28th

Well, this was special; before I could get too carried away with talking to Winston we had an alarm go off.  I guess there was a solar storm and the QUalz were concerned that we (Asuna and I) might be at risk so it was off to the center of the ship, in the interior to be shielded from radiation.  That in itself was not so bad but in the shielded area the sort of ship wide Wi-Fi (I use that term because I have no idea what else to call it) is prevented from working in the shielded area.

March 1st

After we were released from the protected cavern we decided that sleeping in ‘The Cave’ was as good a place as any.  It is a little cooler and more comfortable.  RRqil made some Sat-Comment about our liking it cooler because then we would share body heat followed by that grimace and some hiccupping.   (I think she meant we could fool around.)

This morning Asuna was in for some tests and such. I dragged out Winston and started asking him some questions about the caveman.  At first, he was unable to understand who I was referring to.  When I said the Cro-Magnon I think he made the connection.

“If you are referring to Earth Sample #1, he is deceased.” said Winston.

I mumbled to myself, “Yeah, I figured that”….then louder asked, “How did he die?”

“Earth Sample #1 self-terminated.”

I sat for a minute, “Self-terminated?”

“Yes, he intentionally ruptured his blood circulatory system and allowed all the fluid you call blood to seep from the rupture,” said Winston in the kind of cold machine like way that we think of when we think of robots or AIs.

I sat quiet for a few more minutes.  “Winston, of all the Earth samples that you, the QUalz, have dealt with over time, how many have terminated?”

“64” he responded.

“Okay, well let me back up a little, How many Earth Samples have there been?”

“My directives do not allow me to answer that question.”

“Alright, can you tell me how many rooms, like the cave or the one Asuna and I share, are there total?”

“There are 512 rooms.”

“Okay, now, have there been Earth Samples that did not get rooms?”

“Yes, 3 had not gotten rooms, the rooms were started but the Earth Samples terminated before completion,” He said.

“Are they part of the 64 number you gave me earlier?”

“Yes”

“And of the 64 that terminated, how many self-terminated?”

“17 self-terminated.”

“And the rest terminated of ah, natural events?” I asked, and was surprised at the answer.

“33 were terminated by natural causes, or as you call it, old age or infirmity and 14 were terminated by the QUalz,” Winston said, again in that machine like calm.

“What caused the need for their termination?” I asked.

“10 of the 14 were found mentally unfit to be returned to Earth, to do so would have been seen as creating a situation in which they would have suffered.  The others were terminated by QUalz after they destabilized and created a hazard to the ship and crew.”

“How did you kill them?” I asked, kind of deflated.

“Killed?  Terminated, the 10 went to sleep and did not awaken; the 4 by violence.”

“I see, Thank you Winston,” but I was unsettled by what I had just heard.  It did make sense; it was just something that I had not considered.

I thought about what I had heard from Winston and when Asuna returned from the lab I filled her in on what I had learned.  Her reaction was similar to mine.  It made sense; it was just something we never thought about.

March 1st

I approached Krezz today to see if I could find out more about the ‘terminations’ but he was unable to help me.

“I was not yet hatched when those events occurred,” he said.  “We have had guidelines put into place many cycles ago because there were times; I think you use the word incidents, with some of our guests.  But those were from many rotations in the past, mostly with the early humans we brought to the ship.”

“I see, I am curious, is it possible to get information on those past guests?  If for no other reason than to fill some time, Asuna and I are bored.”

“I can speak with the First Hatched to see if he will allow it.  But I am not hopeful; he tends to be very protective of such information.”

(Note: First Hatched is the overall leader or Commander of the Sky Crystal, generally this is the oldest member of the crew, hence ‘first hatched’, the QUalz being reptilian are born or hatched from eggs, as is the case in Earth reptiles.)

“Thank you, Krezz, I’m not thinking that you did wrong, I’m just curious. “

I did not hear back from Krezz or anyone else for the rest of the day.

We decided to move back to our little room, the one like our cabin at Romanica.  I, we just felt a little funny about staying in a dead guy’s room.

March 3rd

We were summoned early this morning, and I call it early because it was just at the end of a sleep cycle.  RRqil came and got us.

“Asuna, you have a message from your home world.  Come, they need to speak with you.” She told us.

We hurried to the communications center where Asuna was placed before a console of sorts.

A technician played back the message that had been received overnight.  It had taken some time for them to translate and sort out because the tech didn’t speak human. It took some time for him to figure out it was for us. (I later found out that this was the second message that had been received, the first was just ignored, not pleased, but what can one do.)

“Asuna, Tom, we have a problem, and we need to know if there are any forms of air defense available at the Arsenal. Can you help?” Asked Captain Emo.

“Yes, yes there are some Stinger missiles there, maybe a dozen.” She replied.

“Why, what is going on?  Is everyone okay, is Margo alright, and the rest?”  I said in the background.

Asuna shushed me and continued.  “They should be in the armory, in a room marked 23 SB on the lower level. They are easy to use, just point and shoot.  What is going on?  Is everyone okay?”

The message was away, and would take a while, an hour to get there.  Shit, I shouldn’t have come on the ship.  They need me.

As we waited for an answer, it was pins and needles.  What was going on?  I pictured helicopters or fighters from the air force swooping in.

About 90 minutes later we got a message back, it was Teckla, she told us that everyone was okay and explained the contact with the Pittsburgh, an active submarine and about the discovery of the Hunters.  The missiles were a precaution and that was all.

“We will be out of contact with them for a while because we will be falling behind the meteor wall between Earth and the Red Marker.” The technician clicked to RRqil who translated for us.

I am not happy about this, I’m worried.

March 4th

No word, still stuck behind the orbit wall.  This is miserable.  I am snapping at Asuna, and everyone.

March 5th

Teckla’s birthday, I hope they are alright.  Still no way to call home.

March 6th

Still nothing, I am very worried.

March 7th

Garbled message today, could not make out much, “Camp… Okay……… have missiles….. lost……”

“It sounds promising” said Asuna.

“Yeah, Yeah” I said thoughtfully, something was wrong, I felt it.  The ‘lost’ word bothered me.  “Lost, Asuna, what did they lose? That scares me.”

“It could be anything, a truck, a missile, a…….” as she tried to put a positive spin on the situation.

We were both thinking the same thing, someone was killed, but who, and how.  It is haunting.

“Let’s try to send back a message, maybe we can find out some stuff.” I suggested.

We were able to talk the tech into letting us send a message.  Well actually, it was RRqil that did the talking.

“Romanica, Romanica, we have received message, but only parts.  We have that you found the Stingers, but what was lost.  Please respond,” was what we sent. Now we wait.

March 8th

Nothing from home.

We explored some of the area where all the rooms were located.  There is actually a kind of order to it.  The first room was the cave.  Then next was the inside of the African Mud Hut.  And a jungle room and it just continues, in a sort of chronological order I think.  It appears that as each guest was collected, a new room was made next to the last.  It was kind of marching through time.

March 9th

Still nothing, the poor tech must be sick of seeing us and having RRqil ask him the same question every day.

We did some more exploring today.  We covered about 25 of the rooms and many of them were similar, all early man, aboriginal I think is the term that would fit.  I asked Winston about the inhabitant of each room, some were males, some females.  Their ages varied as did their point of origin, all the continents were represented except Antarctica

I think that he is getting the idea about my curiosity and has pointed out a few of the rooms as ‘of interest’.  Obviously the Cro-Magnon and his suicide were interesting.  But there were a couple of others in that first group that also self-terminated as he called it.

It appears that it was in these early times that people had the most difficulty in accepting the idea of their being a “guest” and as a result, be it fear, or anguish or who knows what else, did themselves in.

Maybe it is, or was, the isolation of it all.  The first guest really had no one to talk to, or communicate with.  They were test subjects, lab animals and although the QUalz seemed to treat them well, or tried to, there was just no way for them to relate or interact.

I have Asuna here with me, and the QUalz have learned much including our language and many of our quirky human things, humor, sorrow, even loneliness over time.  So for me and Asuna it is not so bad.  I’m glad I came with her. But imagine that poor African hunter, or the cave man.  I can understand why they might go off the deep end.

March 10th

Damn it.  Still no word from home and I’m thinking that it is not likely that we’ll get one anytime soon.  Not that they are dead, but more just we are in a bad place to receive and send.

Asuna and I spent the night in the Cave last night. As it approached the ‘night cycle’ it was illuminated by a holographic fire in the pit.  There were sounds that were present like the chirp of crickets, the crackle of the fire and the occasional flapping of bat wings.

As the flames flickered and danced, I suddenly became aware of figures on the wall, cave paintings.  I had noticed them before but as I stared at them again I saw the same things that we always saw with the ones pictured in that cave in France, stick figures with bows.  There were animals (deer or elk?) and men hunting them.  But then I noticed that there was one man figure away from the group, he seemed to be higher than the others.  And he was halfway between the men and animals and the moon, and a star or like a planet or an asteroid…..I.

“Asuna, come look at this.”  I had already walked closer to the wall and was staring at it.

“What?  I saw the cave art before, what is so….” And she had the same ‘ah-ha’ moment I had.

“I think this is a drawing of our friend being taken, why else would he have been away from the rest of the humans.” I said.

“And the star or planet like thing is the ship, this ship!” said Asuna, becoming excited.

“Yeah, and I wonder…… I think we may find some other pictures or stories by some of the other guests.  Or, or, maybe, when they went back to earth they did the art work there.”

Asuna looked at me for a moment, “or told the story to their tribe, then over time it was integrated into their history or lore.”

“Either way, I think we need to look more closely at the other rooms, to see what we might find there.  Maybe that Greek guy on ‘Aliens of Old’ series was not as whacked as everyone thought.”

It was hard falling asleep; all I could think of was a goofy guy with a bad hair style going “it was aliens”.

March 11th

I cornered Krezz this morning and asked, “How are you doing on getting us permission to explore the data on the other guests who had been on the ship.”

“I have been granted an audience with the First Hatchling, I am not sure how it will go, and he does not like to share some things. But I will do my best.” Said Krezz.

I thanked him for his efforts. I could tell he was a little annoyed by my cornering him, but the QUalz tend to be slow moving and protocol oriented so one had to move with care.

When I got back to the cave, I found that Asuna was back, her ‘interview’ with the lab team was done.

“Hey, what say we go look at a couple other rooms and see if we missed anything in our first visits.” She suggested.

“Sounds good to me”

We moved to a little hut like room that appeared to belong in sub-Sahara Africa.  It was a round room, maybe 20 feet in diameter.  It was lined with wooden sticks about 4 inches in diameter.  They were held together by some vines and what looked like leather strips. There were no windows.

There were gourds that were used to hold water, somehow they filled themselves regularly.  We saw a sleeping mat and animal skins on the dirt floor.  The interesting thing about the dirt was its color. It was an orange hue; it reminded me of some of the soil I had seen in Georgia.

We could find no art, or writing, or pictures.  We talked about it and decided that this person relied on oral tradition.  If they returned home, it had to have been a wicked story that he told.

Krezz came by tonight, we were back in the cave.  I’m kind of liking the coolness of it.  We have put being creeped out by the suicide issue behind us.

“I spoke with the First Hatchling and told him of your request.  He asked why you were interested in those who were no longer here.  I explained the best I could that it was to find out more about your race, and your early ones.”

“And?” asked Asuna.

“And he said that he would consider it and get back to me with his mind.”

“Ah, and what exactly does that mean?” I asked

“It is possible; he did not turn me away instantly, as I thought he might.  The fact that he is considering is a good sign.”

“So it is a hurry up and wait,” I added.

“I do not understand, why would one rush and then stop to pass time.” Said Krezz, his chameleon like eyes took each of us in even though we were on opposite sides of him.

“It is a cliché, I will explain it to you later” said RRqil with that grimace and making that hiccupping noise.

After they left, we sat down and had our dinner.  I would really like some deer stew.

March 13th

Still no message from home.  On one hand I can accept that we’re in a bad messaging area but at the same time I worry that there is no one left to send a message.  I am trying to be Zen about this, that it will all work out but dammit, I want to know what is going on.

Today we were able to go to a couple more rooms in the hive; I guess that is the best way to describe it.  The places we visited today were all very primitive in nature.  There was one from what appeared to be Southeast Asia; like the cave, it was just the inside of a hut. It appeared to have been made from leaves, long tropical leaves.  It felt hot and very humid inside.  There was a sleeping mat on the floor and a little fire pit in the middle of the room.  It was a cooking fire because clearly one would not need it for warmth.  In the corner there were some wooden bowls, but that was about it.  We found no art, or writing or messages.  Although it was interesting, on one side of the floor was an indentation in the dirt.  It was as if someone had paced back and forth repeatedly.

I asked Winston about this guest.  He told me that it was some form of holy man, although he could not tell me what religion specifically.   This guest came long before any of the current crew was hatched, an estimated 2500 Earth years ago.  (* I have asked Winston to correct QUalian cycles into Earth years due to the difference in what the cycles may be because of orbital changes.)

The ‘walking thinker’ as he was called made some monotonous noise and spent his days walking back and forth.  But Winston said that it had not been possible to translate or understand this one.  He was on the ship for a long cycle (27 months) before he was returned to Earth. But it was noted in the records that when this one, the ‘walking thinker’, was returned to Earth he turned to the Qualz who delivered him home and bowed, with hands pressed together and was smiling, there seemed to have been an air of peace around him, or so reported the team leader.

There was no record of a name on this person; oral Sat-Communication was not yet established. The ‘walking thinker’ was only described as having excess body fat and no hair.  The hair thing was somehow fascinating to them as they believed that humans always had hair.

We moved to the next room; it was the interior of some type of igloo from the arctic area, it was dirty on the inside, and it smelled bad, I mean really bad, it may have been rotting food or wait, no, it was old people smell, unwashed body odor, I remember it from my cop days. It was a quick exam, nothing obvious was found.  We moved on.

After lunch, a heaping plate of friggin’ mush, we moved to another room.  I miss Nick’s deer stew.

Our next stop was the inside of a tent that looked like it was from the Middle East, it was large, airy and rather elaborate based upon what we had previously seen.  There were silk covered cushions filled with what I think must have been camel hair.  In the center of the tent was a large fire pit, that seemed more for light and ambiance than cooking/eating.

In one corner were a series of scrolls.  When we looked at them they were in a strange, very cursive language, Arabic like.

“Winston, have these scrolls even been translated?” I asked.

“I’m sorry Tom, but they have not.” was the response.

“Why?”

“The records show that these scrolls were copies of some that were present in the tent at the time we took this one. He never added to them. When this one was taken the head of the human study program was interested only in the biologics, not the culturals.”

“I see, and this one, what happened to him?” was my next question.

“He was one of the four that required our intervention. In the early part of his stay be became ……searching….. deranged?  Is that the proper term? He terminated his feeder/caretaker and then escaped his room; he ran rampant and terminated three of our protector class before we were able to subdue him.  Even then he continued to attempt injury on the QUalz.  He broke free and the protectors ended him,” explained Winston.

“I can understand the choices made.  Do you know more about this man, this guest?  What was his origin?” asked Asuna.

“Little else was known, he was taken from a place in what you now call the Levant.  We had no real opportunity to study him much.  He was found on a trade route, camping near a waterhole.  I think the term oasis is the Sat-Common term.  The records show he was a male, about 30 Earth cycles old.  He was ….. calculating…..you would say 5 foot 5 inches and 145 pounds.  He was in fair health although was suffering from a genital/reproductive disorder.  It was speculated that it may have been the cause of his derangement. “

“Anything else?” I asked.

“Searching…….yes, each day, several times he would kneel and face the door of his room (tent) and sit for several minutes making a kind of wailing noise.”

Over the evening mush we talked about this person. The actions seemed religious, the kneeling and Praying (?). early Muslim (?)  It was interesting; I found that his was a more likely reaction than that of the Cro-Magnon, fight to escape rather than just self-terminate.  But it also appears that he may have had some dementia as a result of his genital disorder, I was able to find out from Winston that it was what we call syphilis.

I would love to know what was on those scrolls.

March 15th

Still no word from home, still worried, still annoying the Sat-Comm-techs. They say that we are still in a dead zone for transmissions.

Asuna and I checked out a few more of the rooms in the hive.  There is one that is clearly from Aboriginal Australia.  The QUalz have managed to make a little camp set up with a mural on one of the walls that resembled the area around Uluru, a sacred place to that people.

It is actually kind of neat, the way they have done this reminds me of going to a museum where they have displays, dioramas (?) of the various people that they have taken on board to study.  And yet, these were really where the people lived in reality, re-creations within some cases actual items taken at the time of their capture.

In this Aboriginal camp area was a little fire pit, and some rocks, flat rocks with images etched into them.  These images seemed to have been made by the guest.  There was a small sharp rock, a flint I think, that was near where the drawing, etchings actually were.

The pictures themselves showed many dots (stars), a big dot (the ship) a spiral and a little stick figure standing on the ship.  I wonder if this work was re-created when the Aborigine returned to his home.

Krezz joined us at lunch time and was, what for him, seemed excited. “I have received a summons from the First Hatched and he has told me that he can find no reason why you should not be allowed to view the files of those who have come before you.”  He stammered.

“Wow, that is good news” said Asuna.

“Yes, but what is more amazing is that he has asked if you both would join him and his Bonded for the evening meal.”  He was shaking, “This has never been done before, and you will be the first humans to have contact with them, such an honor.”

I looked at Asuna and even before I could say anything she turned to Krezz, “We accept!”

The rest of the day was spent looking at some other rooms; we explored four, more like we went through them quickly, but saw nothing that jumped out at us. We may have missed something because we were pretty distracted by the invitation that we had received.

“The First Hatched, the top dog, I mean Lizard, I’m not sure what to say.”  I mumbled.

“Well, remember, he may not have the language down, so we don’t want to say anything stupid.”

“True, I guess I better be careful with the attempts at humor,” I mused.

“Ah yeah” replied Asuna, by now she knew me pretty well.

We actually dressed for the evening, it would be warm but after talking it over we decided it was a good idea.  RRqil came and got us at the appointed time and we were escorted to the First Hatched’s quarters.

It was not at all what I expected.  It was, well it was basically just the same as anyone else’s in the hive.  It was bland, plain, warm, and humid.  There was a desk, a sofa and chairs for sitting, although the QUalz seldom sat.  And there were book shelves, many book shelves filled with books and Knick-Knacks. In a way it reminded me of a library. It was almost as if this room was a diorama from some college somewhere.

There was a little door off to another room on one side, and there was a large window that showed outer space, but it was, well, not what I expected.  The topper was an old scruffy cat sitting on the window ledge grooming itself.

The First Hatched was pretty much the standard issue QUalz, he was nothing remarkable, and he wore nothing that would make him stand out, actually he and the rest of the QUalz wore nothing.  Although, maybe it was my imagination or the lighting, but he did sort of shimmer.

RRqil introduced us to him. It was done in clicks and percs that are the language of the QUalz, I had no idea what was being said.  The First Hatched looked at us, and then he grimaced and made a similar hiccupping noise to that of RRqil when she laughed.  Asuna and I looked at each other and then smiled.

“Now, now, let us not be so formal.  I am the First Hatched, and old, but I do not take myself so seriously.  You may find I am almost likeable.”

“I, ah, I am Tom, and this is Asuna.” I stuttered.

“Yes, I know, you are interesting specimens, no wait that is wrong; you are interesting and honored guests. RRqil, you may leave us.”

“Yes First Hatched, but I was going to help with translation if needed.” She protested, but not too hardily.

“No that is not needed, I have done my, what is the term, homework,” again with the grimace and hiccups.

After RRqil had left, “My Bonded will join us shortly, she is in the other room preparing the meal as is your custom, I hope that you will approve of the effort.  We do not often try to simulate the foods of your race.  I hope you will enjoy it.”

Asuna picked up the ball here, “I am sure it will be very good.  If you would allow it I will go assist her, if that is acceptable.”

“Yes, yes that would be wonderful!  You can involve yourself in ‘girl talk’.”

That resulted in a kind of funny twitch from Asuna.

“I am sorry, I meant no offense, I thought it was a term accepted regularly.” Said ….crap, I don’t even know his name.

“No offense was taken, I was just surprised by your use of the idea.” replied a smiling Asuna.  “If I may, I am guessing it is through the door over there?”

He nodded.

After Asuna had left the room we continued with the conversation.

“We have been with your people for many thousands of years and watched you grow.  We have had much learned from our contacts but you are the first to ever ask to see about the others that have been with us.  This is curiousness to me.”

“Well your Hatchedness, part of it is boredom, no denying, but part of it is that we, Asuna and I are curious about our own roots, those who came before us, and this is such a unique opportunity.”

“You may call me KHriz; I only put that First Hatched thing up on my crew.  My Bonded is called HYlon. One must keep up the appearances.”

We chatted on for a time about where they had been, and their ship.  It appears that the power unit is still not working correctly, it has been on the ‘fritz’ as he called it for about 6000 years and they have been stuck in the loop orbit around Earth (Blue Wet Stone) and Mars (Red Marker Stone) ever since.  The names work for them.

He explained that when his predecessors, other First Hatched, discovered life on the Earth they were intrigued and initially it was just a science experiment to occupy time while they were fixing the engines.  But over time it became clear that the engines were not going to be fixed.  So what happened was the study of the biologicals became a full time job.  They had sent a message back to their home world but it would be a considerable time before any rescue ship could arrive.

Suddenly the door to the other room opened and the aroma that came through it was, breath taking it was, could it be, Spaghetti and sauce?

Asuna poked her head in the room and with a big smile said “Dinner is served.”

We moved through the door to a comfortable and somewhat spacious room with a table and chairs. This layout was not standard issue to the rest of the crew quarters.  China and silver place settings were laid out with napkins, and candles. This was very much unexpected.

As I scanned the table, Wow, just wow, after months of mush, real, I think it was real, spaghetti and meat sauce.

“How?” I asked.

“It is good to be the First Hatched, it has some perks and whenever we make a visit to the Blue Wet Stone I would have a list of things that I wanted brought back, for research purposes, of course.”  There was a grimace and hiccupping by them both.

“You should try this wine, it is a rare vintage, I think.  It is called “Boone’s Farm” from your 1960 era,” offered HYlon.

I choked back a laugh, “Wow, that was a main stay back in that era.”  What was the old saying about it, ‘What’s the price, fifty twice, and 7 cents tax’, I remember it well! I thought to myself.

We had a nice dinner, it was amazing how much KHriz and HYlon had assimilated from our society, our mannerisms, and the various Earth cultures. I had the feeling that he truly had a feel and feeling for the human race; he seemed to be concerned about our future as well as our past.

It was truly a wonderful evening but as all good dinner parties do, it sadly came to an end.  I hope we have the chance to do this all again.

Back in the cave Asuna looked at me, “What did you think?”

“I like them; they are down to earth people it seems.”

“I agree, almost too down to earth, they seemed human, at times I pictured them as, just another couple sitting there.”

“Yeah, you know, you’re right.” I said thoughtfully, “almost human.”

We cuddled a little while, maybe it was the events, and maybe it was the glasses of Boones Farm.  Boones Farm, in space, who’da thunk.

March 16th

Kind of a bummer, we were awakened early this morning with RRqil rushing us off to the safe area in the innards of the ship.    It was another solar storm.  And as I thought about it, all safely tucked away I wondered about Earth, were they getting the storm?  No, well yes, but no, not in a dangerous way, there would be Aurora, Northern Lights, but not radiation thanks to the atmosphere and the magnetic belts around the planet, the Van Allen Belt if I remember my 6th grade Earth Science.

It was boring, just sitting around; Asuna and I did not even have a topic to discuss.

March 17th

Still in captivity until the noon meal, that spaghetti last night has ruined me, back to the warm mush.  Oh for just a taste.

“What do you think; want to check out a couple more rooms?” I asked.

“As opposed to doing……….Sorry, just a little edginess from the boredom of the sequester.” She said.

“Yeah, but you have a good point, ain’t much happening but the rent.”

“What?” she said giving me a look of ‘what are you talking about crazy man’.

“Sorry, it’s an old saying, ghetto saying I think, about nothing happening, it is like watching grass grow or paint dry, I was just trying for a funny.”

She grimaced and hiccupped, and then we both laughed, a lot.

Egyptian, definitely Egyptian, I think the giveaway was the sand, and the hieroglyphics and window opening that showed an image of the Sphinx, with the nose still attached.

It struck us both as definitely upper crust, lots of gold, linens, feathered peacock fans, and comfy cushions.  The stone walls all seemed to be made of sandstone, but not the red kind I was used to, this seemed the color of real sand.  And there was no fire pit, a couple of standing fire lamps, but cooking was not done here, nor was there the need for warmth.

There were papyrus scrolls, on the table. We took the time to examine them.  This era was kind of known to us from school, although it turns out to have been much earlier than we had studied or realized.  As we looked at the Hieroglyphics, it was, they seemed familiar; we recognized Set, Anubis and Thoth, and Isis, Horus and others. There were also some that seemed less familiar.  There were cats and scarabs, they were all there.  But what was odd was one of the goddesses, was scratched over, changed to make it look like; this is weird, like a lizard.

“Winston, where these writings taken from the same location that the guest was taken from?”

“Yes Tom, they were.”

“Are they the real deal or remakes?” asked Asuna, slowly and thoughtfully.

“They are originals, taken with the Princess.” Winston responded.

“Princess? Do you know her name?” She asked.

“Affirmative, she was Ahmose-Henuttamehu, she was a daughter of Pharaoh Tao by his sister-wife.    She was here for almost two of your years because of the loop cycle. But not much else is known about her after her return.”

“Okay, and did you ever break the code of the Hieroglyphics?” I asked.

“We did take some time trying, and were able to come to understand a few of the figures.  We could tell certain of the sacred beings.  It appeared that the small animals with pointed ears… Cats, were also considered god creatures”, explained Winston.

“Did you figure out which god it was that she scratched over?”

“Nut”

“Nut?” said Asuna.

“Yes, Nut.”

Sometimes getting information from Winston is difficult because it is predicated on asking him the right question. Sometimes he would just ramble on at great lengths missing the point of the question completely.

Patiently Asuna said, “Winston, have you, the QUalz ever determined the identity of Nut, this Nut?”

“Yes Asuna, Nut was the wife of Geb, She was the goddess of the sky and stars.”

Silence, then.

“Ah, so it may have been a case where she believed in the goddess but when she was taken into the sky and saw the QUalz she had a change of understanding.” Asuna suggested.

“Yes, but if that were the case why won’t we see lizard guys in the later Hieroglyphics?” I countered.

That was a question that we debated for several days.  And we never came up with a reasonable answer.  It could have been that the princess was not so powerful, or was not believed, or maybe with all the in-breeding, just considered nuts…..Sorry, …… anyway, it would be nice to do some further research back on Earth, but that isn’t an option.

March 18th

Still no word from the camp, but the RRqil told us that the tech said that there was a chance a message might reach Earth.  It may be garbled and take a couple of days, but we could try.

We headed back to our room, and hid away for a little bit.  We put together a message, telling the camp we were okay and asked how they were doing, was everything okay.

After we finished that I also put together a little packet file addressed to Margo.  I really miss her, and want her to know it.  But I didn’t want to make it too drippy.

I had a little chill for a moment as I thought back to her Mom, Anne and how she had written and taught me to write interesting postcards.  I know things are not permanent, and with the way the world went to shit, we were lucky to have the time we did together.  I miss her, but …… anyway, this is what I wrote her.

One of the things that is interesting about space travel is although there is so much to see, after a very short time, as your home world drifts away into the distance, it becomes very boring.  Don’t get me wrong, there are days or even just hours where it is extremely exciting.  But for the most part it is boring, a black velvet painting with lots of little twinkly lights.  So it is not all that and a bag of chips.

One of the things that I have found out about the QUalz, the little lizard folks who are our hosts, is that as reptilian they tend to like it on the warm side.  The temperature on the ship is 95 degrees.  It reaches a point where you are sweating all the time.  Asuna and I are pretty much down to underwear or just wrapped in a little piece of cloth.

I wonder and worry about how you and the camp crew are doing.  You are in the middle of winter and even though you are, or were, well stocked with food, I hope you are okay.  I miss you all.

One never realizes how attached you get to the herd.  Most of all, I miss you Margo, you are my daughter and maybe I was wrong in leaving but I think what we are doing here on the ship is important to the future, to you, and to the remains of humanity.  We need to have a way to fight the virus, and this is the best way I could see.

Asuna and I are getting along, we have to.  It is very different, 24/7 together, not much space in space….Oh, I made a funny….Space is something that we all need, it was one of the reasons that your Mom and I never lived together before the meteor.  I miss her, I miss you, I love you, see you in December.

Tom”

I will give Asuna credit, even as she read over my shoulder she never teased me about what I wrote.  She just put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Very nice, I know she is important to you.  There was a time when her mom was also.  And they helped make you who you are, and who I love.”

“Thanks Asuna, I love you too.”

We brought the message down to the communications center and the tech sent it out.  I asked him to do it a few days in a row, just in case it didn’t get through the first try.

We did a little more exploring this afternoon and although we found a number of rooms that were from early man, jungle rooms, and forest rooms we found nothing that seemed to be really traceable to a specific region nor were there any artifacts of great interest.  Winston told us the locations of the rooms in time and place on the planet, but they were not attached to any significant cultures or events.

I think the message going out, and having Asuna over my shoulder was kind of a sobering event for both of us.  We seemed a little quiet for the rest of the wake cycle.  But it was also a kind of reaffirmation of our feelings toward each other.  The simple statement of loving the other, we had kind of fallen away from saying it, and it was nice to hear.

March 22nd

I missed writing yesterday, but it was another day of not much discovery.  No exciting rooms, more humdrum than anything.

Today we also found a stone room, clearly a constructed one, man-made.  It was hot and humid in that room and there was a, what I can best guess as an altar in the middle.  It looked like it could have been used for a human sacrifice.  Oh, boy, I hope that, well, maybe the QUalz in their lack of knowledge of humanity at the time did not think this was a sleep device.

Imagine, you come home from a hard day of doing whatever and get ready for bed and find a rack, or place that you are used to seeing humans killed.  Might be a little unsettling; think I will sleep on the floor.

Winston said that the guest here, # 17, was some sort of leader or holy man, and this was a copy of the room in which they found him.  His attire was different in that he wore some form of head covering, with feathers and a kind of face, animal face worked into it.

The altar itself was of a dense grey stone, Limestone I think, and it had images carved into it.  Those images depicted men and creatures.  Ironically it appears that the guest, #17, had done some work of his own on it and had created large lizards, but they were a little different than the QUalz, they were more snake like.  I wonder, did he improvise on the QUalz, or is there something else going on here. I wish that we were able to look at this from a historical research perspective, but that information is now gone.

I muttered to Asuna that I wish I could have a picture of some of these places for when we get back.  It would be interesting to visit a bookstore or library and see if we could match some of this up.

“I have an imaging program built in.  I can make ….Photographs…. if you wish,” Offered Winston.

“Yes, that would be great…how do we do it?”

A small screen popped up and in that screen was an image of the altar that was in front of us.

“See the red button on the side of the screen?” asked Winston.

“Yes”

“Push that and the image is recorded” explained Winston.

“Wow, this is just like a smart phone” said Asuna.

“Yeah, it is, I wonder, maybe Steve Jobs was taken” I laughed.

“That name does not sound familiar” replied Winston.

I was still chuckling, “Hey Winston does this thing allow me to take a picture facing me?  A selfie?” I asked.

“Yes, press the down arrow and you should have that ability.”

“Ooh, Asuna, let’s do a selfie, you and me, in the room.”

“Ah no”. She replied.

“Why not?” I asked, a little confused.

I got the look, “Because we are not dressed and I don’t want pictures of me with my oppai hanging out.”

“Oppai? We have shorts on and oh,OH, your boobs, I get it.” I kind of laughed, she just glared.

We stayed in that room for the night, it was actually kind of creepy, a ritual room, which may have been designed for human sacrifice.  It was also a little different in that it was as usual warm, and humid, but for some reason, I guess because it was jungle, there was a lot of noise, animal and bird noise, the calls of some strange winged creature, the howl of monkeys, I even think I heard the roar of a jaguar.

March 24th

We explored a little more and worked our way through rooms that were pretty uninteresting.  There was a fishing village that Winston said was from the area of Sri Lanka.

We also found a mountain location in the Himalayas, which I think would have been very interesting if it was a monastery, but it was just a little mountain hut.  They were a similar type hut to those found in the Andes.  These were all from around the time that would have equated to the birth of Christ.  But all were also without much in the way of writings or pictographs so there was no ‘story to tell’.

“Winston, I have a question for you.” I said.

“I will attempt to secure an answer for you.”

“Why is it that we have not seen any rooms from the ancient Greeks, or some of the Phoenician region, Crete, and so on?”

“There was a change in the ideas of the First Hatched, it was before KHriz, and the Hatched at that time felt that we, the QUalz, might be interfering with the development of humans and called a stop to our visits and studies.  We spent a thousand years with no contacts what-so-ever.”

“I see, I guess it makes sense.”

I wonder where things might have gone had they not taken a break, I wonder how some of the religions might have developed if we knew we were not alone, that God or the Universe was inhabited by others.

“When did it change back, when did you start visiting again?” asked Asuna.

“At the end of the leadership of First Hatched LLarr, it was then that the visits and guests began again. Then the rules were changed and we rarely took guests for any long periods of time.  Typically it was for a few days and the rooms are not as customized as these early rooms.  They are more just replicas that were designed to keep the guest comfortable for the few earth rotations that we had them.” said Winston.

“It is late, and nearing the end of the day, but let me ask you, how many First Hatched have there been?”  I asked.

“There have been three, BAiju, LLarr and now KHriz.”

“I, ah, how long do they live?” I had never considered the ages of our little reptilian friends.

“A First Hatched will live between four and five thousand of your Earth cycles (years) under normal conditions.”

“So how long has KHriz been the First Hatched?” Asuna raised the question I was going to ask.

“KHriz has been First for 2178 of your Earth Cycles.”

“And the other two?”, it was my turn.

“BAiju was First when we left the Home Place, he went to sleep at 5407 of your years, and LLarr was First for 3741 of your years.”

“LLarr died young by your standards” I suggested.

“It was not unheard of, and his was an unfortunate sleep. He was summoned to an engine inspection in which a discharge occurred. Some felt it was an intentional release.  It sent a few of the technicians to their sleep, but LLarr escaped the initial illness, but cycles later he became weakened and blighted.”

“Wait, what, you’re saying there may have been sabotage or worse, an attempt on the leader?” I was shocked.  This ship, these creatures always seemed so hive or group oriented.

“There was a ….. an inquest, …is that the correct term?  But those who could best answer questions about the leak were sent to sleep when it occurred, so there was no issue that could be found.  The idea of an intentional act was unacceptable.”

Wow, just wow.

“So KHriz took over and things changed?” asked Asuna.

“Affirmative.”

It was now late in the day cycle and we decided enough exploring for the day, a bowl of mush (I could go for spaghetti or deer stew), and then to bed.  But with what we had learned, I think sleep will not be easy.

March 27th

We have been roaming through the Hive area looking at more rooms.  There have been a bunch, but most had nothing notable in them.  We found rooms from the Viking Era, a Yurt from Mongolian, I might not have even known what it was if I had not thought to study them for our own needs back on Earth.  There was an Iroquois long house, and a Navajo Hogan, this one was an octagonal shape, and although there are no compass bearings on the Sky Crystal, the door would have faced the East at home.

None of the rooms we visited had any markings or writings to show visitors or ascension to the ship.  But then these cultures really had no written language.

I asked Winston about the residents who occupied the rooms, he told me that they were all brought about for short periods, usually about a week as the Sky Crystal approached and then looped around the Earth to start its trip back toward Mars.  They did not do the full orbital cycle like we are.

As we were sitting down for our meal mush tonight RRqil came by.  She told us that KHriz (she, of course, referred to him as First Hatched) has invited us to dinner again tomorrow night if we would like to attend.  That is a no-brainer on so many levels.  We both have a ton of questions about events and his history and that of the ship.

March 28th

We did a little more searching today, and we moved to a different area of the Hive.  In this section it was much more modern, than it was in the early to mid-20th century.  We really only had two that we checked on today.

The first was a tent, in looking around it. There was not much to see, a few cots, some work tools (shovels, axes and such), an old style hardhat and some posters and flyers about working hard to create infrastructure for the future.  “Great oaks from little acorns” was the tag line.  It appears that this was a CCC Citizen Conservation Corp camp, FDR depression era.

The other was clearly English (Victorian era).  It appeared that the room was both a library and writing room. It had a stale smell of tobacco smoke kind of permanently attached to it.  There was a writing desk set up in one corner.

At first I was very excited because there were books, hundreds of books on the shelves.  The titles looked impressive, and the authors, the greats, Darwin, Marx, H.G. Wells, Kipling.  But I was disappointed when I opened the first volume and the pages were blank. I checked more and more and they were all blank.

“Winston, this is a re-creation isn’t it.” I muttered with frustration.

“Yes, but how did you determine this? He queried.

I explained about the books, and how if it had been the real deal they would have had print in them.

“Tom, come look at this,” said Asuna standing at the desk.

I walked over.

“Whoever this was seems to have been a sort of philosopher or writer.”

I looked at the papers on the desk, and I felt the hair stand on the back of my neck, I sat down heavily in the chair, it creaked and groaned.

“Asuna, I, this, it, …….Winston, who was this guest?”

“It was one called Orwell.’

My breath caught.  I was at a loss.  I had read him; I found his works so fitting, in the later 40’s with ‘Animal Farm’ and then with ‘1984’.  He was a brilliant seer of the future; his only error was he got the year wrong.

“Asuna, this was one of my favorite writers, he was brilliant, he saw so much. He predicted so much, the pigs, Big Brother, it was all as if he moved ahead in time.”

She smiled at me, “I’ve heard of him, but never read him.  Something about all the creatures are the same, just some are more same than others.”

“YES, YES, that is it, but it was all the Animals……..”

I sat at the desk for the next hour or two, I don’t even know just reading every scrap of paper or manuscript that was there.  It was not that much, but it was from him.  The most interesting was:

“I awakened from my rest, I was in my room, but my room was not my room.  I had moved, I had been taken, taken to another place.

I have met my captors; they are kindly, though not what I would expect.  I know that I will awaken from this dream and it will drift from my mind as Kublai Khan drifted from the mind of Samuel Coolidge.  But I will try to record as much of it as I can.  But I know that I am not in Xanadu.

I have tried to speak with my captors, and they speak back.  They are funny little creatures, large salamanders I believe.  If I were still in India I might believe it was possible, that they do exist.  But I am in England, and we are at war, such things are just not possible.

I have been here three days, I am hot, it reminds me of Delhi in the summer.  I am well taken care of, although I could go for a cigarette, a scotch and something to read.  What a curse, the books are blank and I lack the other two items of my wishes.”

That was it. That was all he wrote.  No great insights, no harbinger of the future, just a few snippets from his future works.

“Winston, when was Orwell returned?”

“He spent three of your days with us in 1943, June.  His home in Newcastle was bombed during that time so we were fortunate to have saved his life, but there was a big question raised about doing that.  We were not certain on how we may have altered history or time.”

I looked around the room and saw Asuna stretched out on a small and uncomfortably looking sofa, napping, I guess my explorations and readings took longer than I thought.

It was nearing evening meal so we wandered back to our room to prepare.

Asuna and I dressed and headed off to dinner with KHriz and HYlon.  We needed no escort this time and when we arrived, we tapped the call button.  HYlon opened the door and greeted us.

KHriz arose from the sofa to greet us also.  I had not thought or noticed it the first time we were there, but the sofa, and for that matter the chairs, had been built along Earth designs, but had been modified to allow for the short stumpy tails of the QUalz.

We settled it for a glass of wine and spent about an hour of chit chat before dinner.  Well, actually chit chat is a little too light a term for what we talked about.

“KHriz, we have been going through the Hive looking at the rooms that have been used to house your guests over time.  I have so many questions.”  I began.

“Yes, I know, readpad 37z, Winston as you call him, has kept me appraised of your progress, you are a most curious pair I must say.”

I was a little taken back with the idea that we were being watched, but then it made perfect sense and really, we had not been hindered in any way. It made me wonder if Orwell had gotten the idea of ‘Big Brother’ from this same action.

“Tom, I know for example that you are a big fan of the Orwell, he was very, what is the term, dystrophic?”

“Yes, I found his works very accurate in where our future was headed” I answered.

“You seem like you did not have a great deal of faith in humanity before the calamity” he suggested.

“No, I’ll be honest, I saw a lot of things wrong with where our species had gone and was going, we raped the planet and feel, felt that as Orwell said, ‘All the animals were equal, but some were more equal than others’……. “

“Okay, not to dwell on the negative, so let me ask you this then, if you were to start all over, for humanity, where would you begin?” asked KHriz.

I had to stop on that one, I looked at Asuna, then HYlon, and thought, and what would I do differently.

“That is a difficult question, and shooting from the hip is hard, I am not sure.  I think that in many ways the native races, the aboriginals, the Native Americans and so many peoples had it right, living with enough, but somewhere, it changed and I am not sure why, we drifted away from what we began as and became, started to think of ourselves as gods and that the Earth was ours to use as we wished rather than live in partnership with it.”  I answered.

“But could that be done in the old days, before the calamity?” HYlon asked.

Asuna jumped in here; “No, we were too far over the top, too much greed, too many opinions of what was right and wrong. There became no central unifying point for humanity”

“Like God?” asked HYlon.

“There were those who lived on the discord, be it by creating problems, or cultivating them to their own needs.” I added.

*I should note that this is the condensed version of the discussion; it was actually much lengthier with examples given of individuals and movements in recent society that held culpability.  I do not add them or the issues they created to this record because at this point it no longer matters.

“Well, I think that we have whipped that dead horse long enough” exclaimed KHriz, “I think it is time to move the mouths with food rather than solving the problems of a world that no longer exists.”

We moved to the dining area and found that once again there was spaghetti and sauce with wine.  They did have bread, Wonder Bread with the dinner, but there were spots of mold on it.  We passed on the bread.

“I have found another beverage that I hope is to your liking, although I am not sure who it is to be served” added HYlon.

She placed cups of hot coffee with some form of creamer in it before us. We looked at the coffee, it was hot and creamy but there were brown things floating in it.  We sampled it and the problem became immediately apparent.

“HYlon, this looks good, but I think we need to go to the food prep area and re-examine the beverage making process” suggested Asuna.

“I have errored in recipe?”

“Well, perhaps, I think you may have made a common error that occurs in making this beverage. Let’s go take a look.”

While the ‘girls’ were in the kitchen KHriz and I talked further.

“Tom, do you believe that humanity, your species will get it right this time? I mean you are starting over.”

“I think that there is a chance, at least for a couple thousand years, if they keep to the basics.”

“What about religion? Will that help?”

“I think that the idea of religion is a thorny one, spirituality is a good thing, the idea of a god, or being, or even just a solid ethical code, goodness is fine. Even a oneness with the Earth.  But it is with the development of interpretations of that spirituality that things go astray,” I suggested.

“So it is kind of a variation on the Tower of Babel, everyone was trying to get to God, but then there was a problem in that the tongues were developed and no one could communicate” KHriz said.

“I had never considered it that way, but you’re right, if you look at the tongues as the various sects and cults of religion, although as I recall, supposedly it was God who laid the tongues on them, not those building the tower.” I replied.

“But why would God not embrace his, what is the term, flock? I think that the idea may have been a modification in the writing of man.  I am certain that God, would have welcomed his creation.”

“I agree, but then over time it reached a point where science and philosophers became part of the later day issues that faced men, questioning the very existence of God himself.”

“Do you believe in God, Tom?”

“Yes, I believe in something, a goodness, a universal truth, that we’re capable of being something wonderful, with the help of that goodness.  Do I believe in the bearded white old guy we see in art, no, but I believe in something good.”

“Is it enough?”

“I don’t see why not.”

The girls returned with four steaming mugs.  This time it was proper coffee.  It appears that what had occurred was that in the watching of TV commercials HYlon had misapplied the idea of ‘instant’ coffee with ground roast coffee and used ground roast coffee like you would instant.

The meal was once again wonderful and we enjoyed each other’s company a great deal.  As the evening wound down, KHriz seemed to quiet a little.

“Tom, Asuna, I have something we need to talk about.  Krezz has found a cure for the Changing illness.”

“Wow, that is great.” I smiled.

“Well maybe.  There is a production issue that needs to be talked about.”

It is funny, I had never really noticed it before, but he, they, change colors a little, like chameleons.  It is a subtle change, that seems to show a little of their emotions.  When we arrived it was that standard kind of leaf green that we see so many of the QUalz.  And as we were having deep conversations the color gets a little darker; or when we are talking funny, they get lighter, and when making that weird laugh they are almost fluorescent green.  But right now they both were a hunter green.

Asuna and I exchanged glances.

KHriz continued; “there are two ways that we can make the large quantities that you will need for your return to Earth.  What needs to happen is that we must grow the cure in your bodies.”

“Okay, we are good with that” said Asuna.

“Yes, that is fine with us.”  I added.

“It is not quite so easy.  There are two ways that we can do it. We could just let the process go naturally and harvest the serum to produce the cure on a weekly basis.  But to create enough of the serum we would need a much longer time period.” HYlon added.

“How much longer?” Asuna asked.

KHriz and HYlon exchanged glances; it was as if they were trying to pass the bearer of bad news to the other. Finally KHriz said; “You would have to do another full rotation around great loop.”

“And the other option?” I asked.

The other is that we put you into a state of stasis, kind of a coma for the balance of the trip home.  That will allow us to accelerate the process of extraction and triple the output of the cure.” Explained KHriz

“Do we have to answer right now?” I asked.

“No, No, I would not do that to you.  And besides we will be making our pass around the Red Marker Stone in a couple of days, so I want you to see your sky neighbor.

The skin hue changed; the elephant was out there, in front of us, and we had not gone crazy, screaming or shouting, I think that was what they were concerned about.  The elephant shrank and they became light again, not leaf green, but lighter.

“KHriz, I think that we would like to take the night to talk it over and decide.  The question of whether we want to produce the medicine that will save people from coming back to life as Zoms is simple, but to do that we need to sleep for 6 months or spend another year and a half awake, and in space; that is a little more complex” I said.

“It is as we expected, and your assessment sums it up effectively” said HYlon.

“I think we know what the answer is, but I think Tom and I would like to have the night to talk it over” added Asuna.

“Understandable, shall we meet for dinner tomorrow night again to finish this discussion?” said KHriz; he was back to normal hue, maybe even a little lighter in color.

“Yes, but there is a condition.  We would like to cook the meal if you will grant us access to your cupboard” I said.

They looked at each other, and then there was that hiccupping and silly grimace.

“YES, Earther food made by real Earthers…that would be wonderful. We have not had that since Julia visited us.”

“Julia?” Asuna asked.

“Yes, Julia Children, she was so funny, but it, the meals, tasted extraordinary.” HYlon replied.

“Whoa, that is gonna be a tough act to follow, Julia Childs…..wow.” I said.

“Childs, Children?  I thought Children was the same as Childs.” KHriz said slowly, a little confused.

“It is, but this is one of those special cases.” I explained.

“Ah, well we accept, and cook you may.”

The dinner ended and we headed back to our room, we decided that maybe a cool night in the Cro-Magnon cave would be the best place to sleep and talk.

“What do you think Tom, sleep or extra time?”

“Well, before we decide I would like to talk to Krezz, I want to know that the cure is safe, that the status process is safe.  I mean I trust KHriz and HYlon, but I just would feel better with a little input from Krezz.”

“That makes sense, I’d like that little bit of insurance, knowledge, but I think we’re good with doing this.  And for the record, I am bored and the idea of the sleep on the way home seems good to me.” Asuna told me.

“I agree, so let’s talk to Krezz in the morning, and then we need to figure out what to make for dinner for them.”

“Okay, but I think it is going to be a kind of deal from one of those cooking shows with surprise ingredients.” She said.

“Yeah, with a really tough act to follow, Julia Friggin’ Childs.” I said with a grin.

“Yes, pretty much”

March 29th

I thought that we would have a great deal of difficulty sleeping with the decision to make.  But really it was not that hard, it was cool, a good sleeping environment and I trust the QUalz, and I think the decision was made.  Unless Krezz gives us some bad news we are going to nap the way home.

We caught up to Kress this morning and began the inquisition.

“Krezz, if you were that close to having a cure why didn’t you tell us?” I asked

“The answer was found and I advised the First Hatched.  He said he wanted to talk with you about it because of the options.  He felt it was his task.”

“Okay, and what about the options, I have some questions.”

“I understand and will do my best to answer those questions for you”, I noted a little darkening in his skin tone as he answered.

“I guess first, what is the cure?”

“The cure is a modified DNA extract that is transformed from a serum in your blood to a solid state.  The solid state is then powdered and place into inert material that is formed into a capsule that you take orally” he explained.

“But what does the extract do?” asked Asuna.

“Yes, that was the part that took the most work.  What the extract does is to attach to the illness and render it inert. We will introduce the extract into you before statis. It makes it harmless so that even when you humans, what is the term, pass away, the illness does not re-activate the body.”

“That sounds good, but side effects, problems, what might happen that is bad?” Asuna asked before I could.

“Our simulations show that there are no negative issues with the cure.  But unfortunately our tests have all been from simulations based on materials programed into our intelligent data system. (computer)” he replied.

Asuna and I looked at each other and although maybe some human trials would be a good idea we really didn’t have that option.

“Alright, I am good with that part, but KHriz said that there were two development options.”

Krezz turned almost black, “You have referred to the First Hatched in a way that is unacceptable to me and to us all.”

“I am sorry, I meant no offense, It is just, ……. I am sorry!”

Krezz lightened to almost normal.  “I understand, you are not of the nest.  You would not know.”

He stared at us for a moment, and then asked “So what is the question.”

“K….the First Hatched said that there were two options for making the cure.  He said that one was to do another loop rotation about Mars, the Red Stone Marker or there was an option in which we would be put to sleep.” I said.

Again Krezz darkened; I had forgotten that they use the term sleep to refer to death.  “No, No, we do not put you to sleep as we have had to with other humans, we would put you into stasis, a sort of ……term…..coma?”

Asuna jumped in, because clearly I was not doing so well in the conversation.  “Tom misstated, we know you would not put us to sleep, it is just a term we use a little differently.  The question is about the second option, the stasis, what goes on there?”

“That is rather simple, we have pods that you lay in and we attach life lines to you for feeding, breathing and other bodily functions.  You are given a chemical that brings your brain activity to a low level and you are maintained.”

“I see”, trying to make a recovery from the dunce corner, “And what happens while we are….maintained?”

“The cure requires that we remove the modified DNA extract from you.  In the state you are in now we can remove some on a weekly basis, but that amount is not so great to meet our needs.  Based on the information calculated by the Intelligent Data System we would need to remove the extract for 87 of your Earth weeks.”

“So another loop around Mars” I offered.

“Correct, but if you and Asuna were to be placed in stasis we can enhance the production and then the removal would be greatly accelerated to the point where we would be able to extract adequate supplies in 78 of your Earth days.”

“May we see the stasis devices?” I asked.

“Certainly, come with me.”

There is not really a lot to say about the chambers, they looked like every other environment housing that has been seen repeatedly in any sci-fi movie Earthmen ever made.

It was just a big glass cylinder with a door, and a bunch of tubes that hang inside of it and of course, blinking lights.  It had two indentations in which we would lay.

I turned toward him, “Krezz, can I ask you a question?”

“Certainly”

“Has this device been used before?”

“Yes, we have often used this type of device to transport Earth guests to and from the Sky Crystal.”

“I remember, I thought it was a dream, but I remember” said Asuna.

“Okay, Krezz, here is the $64,000 question.  Would you do the extra loop, or would you climb into the box.”

“I am not sure I understand the question.  But if you are asking if I feel it is safe, I do.  If given the choice between another loop around the Red Stone Marker or going home earlier, I would want to see my people again as soon as I could.”

I think he summed it up perfectly, I want to get home, Asuna wants to get home. Granted, we have each other, and the QUalz are nice enough, but it is time.

We returned to our room, the original, the one made for us.  We sat on the bed and just looked at each other for a bit.

“It is time to go home Tom”

“Yes, yes it is, I wonder if we will dream.”

We had dinner with KHriz and HYlon tonight.  We did the cooking for them.  We checked to see what they had for options and found that their supplies were actually kind of limited.  I saw now why they opted for spaghetti and meat sauce, they had tons of it but were much more limited in other foods.

As we looked thought the cupboard, we found a few things that looked workable and in the end created a casserole that would be a treat for all of us.  There were a couple of packages of Velveeta Mac and Cheese, a can of Spam and a bottle of Bali Hai wine.  It would be a cheap meal, something that the average poor starving college kid would have eaten, and eaten often.

We mixed up the Mac and Cheese.  As I was dicing up the Spam, I remembered that can of the stuff I had looked at what seemed so long ago and had wondered if I would live to the expiration date on that can.  It was 2017, and well, let me think, I am in 2015, so half way home.  With this new cure, we may actually make it.

As we sat around the table it was kind of quiet, there was the elephant in the room that no one wanted to talk about.  What were we going to do?  Sleep, sorry, stasis, or do an extra lap.

Finally, I spoke up; “KHriz, HYlon, I would like to propose a toast.  We raise our glass to you, and your crew, all of the QUalz, this will probably be our last supper together for a while.  Asuna and I have decided that the stasis is the way to go for us.  I, we appreciate all that you have done for us, and our race, but it is time for us to go home. Salud.”

They lightened in color, raised their glasses also and replied; “Salud” followed by that grimace and hiccupping.  The elephant was gone.

After the toast, conversation began, there were questions about the meal; they claimed that they loved it.  And I have to say that I actually enjoyed it.  It was a simple meal, and yet it was something that was missed, kind of a comfort food in a way. And anything was an improvement over the mush we had eaten most days.

We put the upcoming events out of mind for the moment and just enjoyed the company.  I told them of my college adventures with Bali Hai and how I had gotten so shitfaced and sick on the stuff that I was unable to drink it again until just now.  Asuna shared a similar story about her and a bottle of plum wine with side shots of Saki.

We broke up the party fairly late, not that time matters, or we could even tell what time it was. It’s another interesting aspect about space and the ship.  There are not clocks and the battery on my watch had long since died.

As we walked back to our room, we side-tracked and headed to the Cro-Magnon room, the coolness of it was pleasant.  After we crawled under the furs, she asked; “Can we try to find my room tomorrow, the one they made for me? I would like to go back, to, I don’t know, just see it again.”

“Of course, we have a few days left before…….are we doing the right thing?”

“Yes, it is time.”

We cuddled under the furs.

March 30

We met with Krezz and his staff this morning; we did a test ‘fitting’ of the stasis pods, and just chatted with them about what would happen.  One of the questions that I had was about our awakening process.  I remembered many sci-fi films in which coming out of la-la land was not much fun, puking, and weakness.  Krezz told me that would not be the case.  In all of the times they have used the devices they have never had an issue, it is a slow gentle awakening.

I asked if the length of time would have any impact and he said no.  One of the things that they do is to use muscle stimulators to give us a daily workout so that we don’t atrophy.

We climbed into the pod and lying side by side found that it was actually kind of spacious and comfortable, not that it mattered, we would be sleeping.

After the fitting we went looking for Asuna’s room, the one that resembled her home in Japan when she was taken.  It took a little while to get there, but Winston guided us well.

It was a small room, in pink with yellow trim around it.  It was definitely ‘girlie’ in its look and had a number of Hello Kitty items like stuffed Kitty, Kitty socks and posters.  Hanging on a chair was a Hello Kitty backpack.

As she stared at the room, I could see tears welling up and she began to sob.  I moved close and hugged her.

“I miss Gram, I miss her so much” she whispered between sobs as she hugged the little stuffed Kitty. I didn’t know what to say. I just held her.

After a time she told me about how her family had been killed and that her Gram had taken her in.  She was a tough old woman, and often stern with neighbors, but good to Asuna. In seeing the room there was a release, a chance for Asuna to go back.

“Tom, would it be okay if I slept here tonight? I want to go back, in my mind, in my life for a while.”

“Of course, as long as you like, we will be sleeping together for like 6 months, so I guess I can give you up for a night.”

She smiled, “Thank you.”

I wiped a few remaining droplets from around her eyes, those beautiful brown eyes.

Anyway, this is a journal, not a romance novel.  I decided that I would sleep in the room closest to hers.  As I walked into it, I was surprised, pleasantly.  Of all the places that I have visited my two favorites were Bryce Canyon in Utah and Iceland.  I was fortunate in finding I had chosen a little room that resembled an Icelandic farmhouse.  I could see the glaciers blackened by volcanic ash through the little window.  And it was cool in the room, with an Icelandic wool blanket.

I lay back on the little bed and started to drift off toward sleep, and then I noticed the glow, through the window.  It was the Aurora, a strong one, the greens and reds swirling though the sky.  I knew it was not the real deal, but still.

I had fallen asleep when I heard a tap on the door to the cottage.  At first I was not certain that it was the door but on the second round of knocking I got up and answered it.  I expected Asuna, but to my surprise it was RRqil.

“Ah, Hi, ah, can I help you?”  I was groggy and a little surprised by the visit.

“Tom, I was out for a walk and noted the room was occupied, I just want to check to see that you were alright.”

“Oh, no, thank you, I am fine, all set” and started to close the door.

“No wait, I want to talk with you.  I have curiosity that I have never been able to sooth, and you could help me.” She said.  I was always amazed at the skill with which she and Krezz had developed of our language.

“I, oh, okay, come in, I will try to help”, still very confused by the visit.

I sat at the little table with the chair by the pretend fireplace.  It cracked and glowed, but shared no heat.  I looked at RRqil. Finally she began.

“I have watched you and Asuna, and how you have bonded” she began.

“Yes, you could say bonded, or fell in love. We have done that.”

“We, the QUalz know only bonding, we bond for eggs, but it is the ‘fell in love’ part that eludes me.  I have tried to understand it through your video signals and your books, but it eludes me.”

I thought for a moment and then it hit me, I think she was in love, I am not sure with whom, but she just didn’t quite know what it was all about.

“RRqil, let me ask you something, actually a few things.  Are you bonded?”

“No, I have yet to attain my 34th cycle, so until then I am not allowed to make eggs.”

“Okay, and when you hit the 34th cycle and you can make eggs is there someone in particular you would like to bond, or make eggs with?”  I was kind of struggling here as I imagined the little lizards doing who knows what.

Her color changed; first she darkened.  “Yes, there is one, I was promised to him at my 25th cycle as is the custom.”

“I see, but I think that there is more than just the egg bonding here.  I think that you have found attraction to someone other than the promised male.”

She darkened and then she whispered; “It makes no sense, but I have, and yet I do not wish to shame him with my status.  Custom does not allow for one of my place to bond with one of his.”

“Why not?”

“It is not allowed; the order of the Hive must be maintained.” She said, her color was darker still.

“So what you are saying is that this is a Romeo and Juliet story.” I said, trying to lighten the moment.

“I do not know this story.”

So I explained it to her, Montague, Capulet, young forbidden lovers, dead, so on.

“I would not kill myself for him!”

“No, that is not the point of the story; let me back up a little.  First, who are you supposed to bond with?”

“Brimk, he is the one I am pledged to.”

“And you are not all crazy about him.” I said slowly.

“He is kind, and gentle, and …”

“Boring? He doesn’t light your fire.” I suggested.

“We do not light fires; it is dangerous on the ship.”

“No, I mean he doesn’t, crap, ah, make you tingle, no better, make your skin light up.”

“Yes, skin light up, that is a good way to say it, no he does not.” She said, and her skin lightened.

“Okay, so let me ask you this; is there someone who does that? I think there is.”

“Yes” she said.

“And?”

She whispered softly, so softly that I couldn’t hear her.

“A little louder please, my hearing is not so good anymore.”

“Krezz”

“Ah” I reserved comments about being in love with the boss, teacher, father figure. “And you can’t bond with him because why?”

“I am not promised to him, and he is above me in status.”

I was kind of at a loss here.  What do you say, I sat for a couple of minutes. Then suddenly she turned dark. “I am sorry I have come to you with this.  I must leave.”

“No Missy, you stand right there.”  I hadn’t even thought about it, that the QUalz normally do not sit or lay down, I had only seen KHriz and HYlon sit.  “Let’s think this through, first off, what is it about Krezz that lightens you?”

“He is intelligent, and wise.  He is, he treats me as an equal, and shares knowledge and insights with me.  He is a good QUalz. And he is funny.”

I thought to myself, a QUalz that is funny, now that is funny, but then KHriz, HYlon and even RRqil seem to have a sense of humor.  I have only seen Krezz in research mode, so I guess he could be funny.

In the back of my mind I thought about Margo and what she might be going through, she is also at an age where dating and connecting would be going on.  I felt a twinge of guilt because I wasn’t there to help her.

“RRqil, have you ever told Krezz about this, about your feelings?”

“No, oh no, that would be unacceptable. It would be outside custom,” She replied.

I thought to myself maybe it is time for a little match making, or at least a little recon work.

“Just out of curiosity, this custom, is there a way around it, without shame or problem?”

“No, it is the rule.”

“Okay, well, let’s back up again here a little again.  Do you think Krezz would want to bond with you?” I asked.

“I don’t know, I have been too ashamed to ask or to talk on the subject.”

“Okay, well let me pose this question, what does the little voice in your head say?” I asked.

“Little voice, I have no little voice,” she said slowly.

“We all have a little voice, a gut feeling, a ‘I think that’ thought which comes into our heads.  What does your little voice say about Krezz, does he like you?”

She stood for a moment, darkened, then lightened, and got lighter still; “Yes, yes, I think he might”

She sounded like a little school girl thinking about her crush.

“Well, that to me is the next step, you need to figure out if he is the one for you and if you are the one for him.”

“I must ask him?” she darkened.

“Yeah, and the exact approach of how to do that is beyond my skills, Asuna is who you need to talk to about that.  She has the woman’s ways of such things.  The guy’s way is too direct.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Asuna would use subtlety to approach the question, I would just say; Hey Krezz, want to hook up?”

“I see, yes, that does make sense.  Men from Red Marker Station, Women from Grey Haze Planet.”

Ah, she read Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.

“And once we see if there is even interest, well then we can go on from there.  But we have to hurry if you want our help; we go to sle…stasis very soon.”

She was lighter, actually lighter than when she arrived.

“Tom, thank you, I have much to do.” Then she walked over, brushed her face against mine, made a funny noise and left. I think it was a kind of kiss.

March 31

I woke up a little late I think, but headed down to ‘Asuna’s Room’.  It was # 487.  I never noticed the little numbers on the outside before.  She was still in bed, just lying there with a smile.

“Good morning, how did you sleep?” I asked.

“It was wonderful, once I was allowed to finally crawl into bed.  I remembered, Gram was there with me, and Pokie Puss.”  She held up a Hello Kitty stuffed animal.

“Nice, but what do you mean finally allowed?”

“I had a visitor last night after you left.  We talked for a while, about things, but he made me promise not to say anything.”

“Let me guess it was either Krezz or Brimk and I am thinking Krezz,” I offered.

“Yes, but how did you know?”

“Well, seems I also had a visitor, it was RRqil, and she also wanted to talk, and I will bet it was about the same thing.”

“Well, since you guessed, yes, Krezz had questions about our relationship, and how we bonded.  He is interested in RRqil but is at a loss for what to do.  I guess they, the QUalz have some pretty strict mating customs.” She said.

She lifted the bedcovers and invited me to join her and Kitty Puss. I accepted willingly.

“Yea, that is what RRqil said, she is in love with Krezz, but tradition and Brimk are in the way for their bonding. She was asking pretty much the same questions.”

“Well, romance boy, what did you tell her?”

“I suggested that she just tell him what is going on, what is on her mind and then see where it goes from there.”

“Ah, the subtle approach, your strong suit” she laughed.

“And you?  What did you suggest?”

“The subtle approach, get her alone and communicate his feeling to her.”

I thought about it for a moment then said; “Well that works on one side, but what about the tradition.  How are they going to get around the promise to Brimk thing?”

“That is a problem, but I wonder….”

“Uh oh, we aren’t gonna put Brimk to sleep are we, in the name of love.” I chuckled.

She gave me a sour look, “No, but we might try going to speak with KHriz and HYlon, shoot for the special dispensation.”

“That might work; we can give it a try, just to cover that side of it.  The rest they will have to work out together.”

We spent a little more time in her bed, I turned Kitty away from us; we wanted no audience.

Later in the day we tried to visit KHriz and HYlon.  But when we reached the door we were turned away by the posted doorman.  But it was all in clicks and strange sounds that neither Asuna nor I understood.

“The First Hatched is not available at this time.  He is currently in suspension and unable to see visitors.” Winston translated.

“Winston, ask the doorman if HYlon is available.”

After much clicking from Winston, the doorman made a call on his communications device.  Moments later the door opened and HYlon greeted us.  She invited us in.

“I am sorry for the wait at the door, I was not aware of your presence” she said. “How can I help you?”

We explained our visits from Krezz and RRqil and what they had told us.  She listened intently and as the conversation continued she became lighter and lighter.  Then she broke out in a grimace and hiccups.

“So let me understand, we have two who are not promised to each other, interested in bonding, but they are too traditional to make the request to break the vows.”

“That pretty much nails it,” I said.

HYlon looked from me to Asuna and back.

“Yes, that is correct,” said Asuna, giving me a kind of a ‘keep your language simple and to the point’ look.

“The First Hatched may be able to help, but he is on another special level at the moment, and I cannot speak with him on the matter right now.  But I will be joining him there soon and we will speak of this” stated HYlon.  “I have always disliked the idea of promised bonding, so this is finally an opportunity for change.  And I think that there will be a change.  You have done your part, I will resolve the rest. But let us not share with them that we have met. ”

“Thank you, Krezz and RRqil are good friends,” I replied.

We talked a little more about the upcoming stasis and I told her that we were disappointed that we would not have the chance to have dinner with KHriz and her again before we climbed into the capsule.

As we got ready to leave HYlon said, “It is interesting that they went to you, trust you and sought your help.  It is an honor that they have given you. I think that the bonding that you have together must has inspired them.”

I think the hardest part of the rest of the day was when we had to meet with Krezz and his crew to go over details of the stasis.  We knew what we had done, but we were kind of stuck in not revealing it.

The afternoon, for lack of a better term was spent staring at Mars, the Red Stone Marker.  We crossed by the orange landscape, it is clearly orange and not red.  Krezz, who was watching with us, said that it was because of the thin atmosphere content and the iron composition of the planetary crust.

We saw the Olympus Mon, the huge extinct volcano.  We also saw the Columbia Hills.  Krezz added some filtering process to the view window that resulted in our being able to see the sulfur spewed from one of the lesser volcanos.  It was breathtaking.

I turned to Krezz, “It is too bad that we couldn’t take a shuttle to the surface and actually walk on the planet.”

“That would be an unsafe adventure; we have no suits for you to wear that would protect you from the cold, radiation and low oxygen levels.  And only KHriz could authorize such a trip” he replied.

“Just a wish, I understand” I smiled.

The sunset over the planet, we circled to the back side of Mars, we were on our way home now, and tomorrow it would be nap time.

We spent the night in room #487, with Kitty Puss.  The bed was kind of tight, but it worked.

April 1st

We lazed about for a while this morning, granted there would be plenty of rest over the next months, but we had time to use before it was time.

Brimk came and got us just after the noon meal.  He escorted us to the stasis area.  Krezz and RRqil were already there.

Krezz stood before us and asked, “Are you prepared?”

“Let’s get to it” I replied, Asuna shook her head up and down.

We climbed into the pods and Krezz and RRqil began to hook us up.

****Forgive me Tom, I am making a voice entry into Readpad 37, and I have not asked if I may.  You both are in stasis now.  But I want to just add the last few minutes of pre-stasis.

“Krezz, one last favor before you seal us in, I have given some last dictations to Winston here.  Would you keep him safe until we wake up?”

I looked you and lighten (am happy).  “You wish me to protect your journal?  I am honored, it will be done.”

As you and Asuna lay there, it was remarkable.  You looked at each other, smiled; and mouth words that I think were ‘I love you’ and then joined hands as you slipped to stasis.  I wish it was RRqil and me, together.

July 18th

I wakened, and was kind of cold, a little thirsty and actually kind of refreshed, I looked over at Asuna, she was staring at me smiling.

“Welcome back there hmong.  It’s about time.  I have been sitting here waiting.” She said.

The capsule was open but there was no sense of urgency, no rushing around, we had just woken up like we were supposed to and everything was perfect.  And yet there was something going on, or maybe it was my imagination.  RRqil was standing a little closer to Krezz than she did before we went to sleep.

I later found out over toasted bagels with cream cheese and coffee, real coffee obtained from KHriz’s stash, that KHriz and HYlon intervened on their behalf and Brimk was given another bonding partner.  It all worked out and it was good.

We had to do some tests for the duration of the day and were none the worse for wear. Then at dinner time we were summoned to see the First Hatched and HYlon.  It began as a happy reunion and HYlon had created, or should I say re-created, the Velveeta and Spam casserole.

After the meal, and a couple of glasses of Spanada wine, another bottle of low budget delight, we began to relax and just chat.  I wonder if they ever found any MD 20/20 or Ripple.  I did ask about the wine thing and they said that they enjoyed drinking wine, and an occasional beer, but hard liquor was not an option.  It appears that the distilled spirits were just too strong and could have fatal results.

“Tom, Asuna, we are two days from your departure, your return home” KHriz told us.  “I have been in contact with Matt from home and he and the others are doing well.  They have had a few problems, but they are well, and changing, changing themselves and the ways of the world.”

“That is great, is Margo okay?”

“Yes, they were all fine.”

I never liked that word, fine, it just always hit me wrong, ‘fine’ to me was sort of saying “yea I’m not fine, but I don’t want to share it.”  But in this case, the QUalz would not know about all that.

“But there is a little problem, not with home, but with your trip.  I instructed Krezz not to tell you, but we have had a problem with the ship and while we originally were going to shuttle you down to your camp and then return to the ship we can’t do that.  We can get you to Earth, but it may not be as close to Romanica as we would like.”

I looked at them for a minute and could see a little color shift. “But it will be close, yes?”

“I am not going to lie on this, we are not sure, we have to send you down in an escape pod, and they are not steerable, they are meant for getting you down, best location, ASAP.  What we are working on is trying to play with the release point and to be able to use that point to aim you as close as we can.  But the rub is that we need to make a water landing. Setting down on land would not be good.  You would probably survive, but there would be problems.” KHriz told us.

“Well, we really have no choice here, we need to get down and I know that Krezz and your people will do the best they can.”  I was not pleased with what was happening, but what else could I say.  We have come this far.

It kind of put a damper on the visit and a little while later as Asuna and I walked toward our room, # 511, she asked me, “Will we make it home safe?”

“Yeah, I think we will get down alright, and we’ll hit water, my concern is where that water will be and once down how far will we be from home.”

Kind of sums it up.  Sleep was elusive.

July 19th

It’s maddening to have to sit and wait for it.  It is like being a kid at Christmas, no, actually more like waiting for your report card to come in the mail when you have not done as well as you should have.  We know we are heading to Earth, but there are questions.

Asuna and I spent the morning looking at the Earth as it comes closer and closer and soon we would be back home..

“Winston, how long before we are going to leave the ship?” I asked.

“The exact time has not yet been confirmed.  The planners are still projecting and calculating the numbers.”

“Give me a ballpark then?”

“Ballpark, I do not see the relevance of a sports arena to your question.”

“Agh, Winston, I am sorry, okay, is there a projected window, or timeframe for departure of our pod?”

There was a lapse of a minute or so and then Winston said, “The current projections show a timeframe of between 28 and 31 hours. The navigation staff is still working on the final trajectory and part of that is in figuring out how to use your companion rock to adjust the speed of the escape pod.”

I figured out he was talking about the moon.

After lunch Asuna and I did a little more exploring of the Hive and the rooms that were created for various guests taken from Earth.

“Let’s stick with rooms in the late 400s and early 500s today” Asuna suggested.

“I am good with that; now that we know they are numbered and sequenced it gives us a little better idea on the approximate years of the visitors.”

“Okay, pick a number say, 470 to 505.” She said.

“487” I quickly responded.

She laughed and gave me a shove, “Ah, no, not the room with Kitty Puss.”

I did my best to look disappointed, and then said, “How about 474.”

As we walked through the door, I stopped, stunned, almost as if I had been hit with a hammer.  The walls were a light blue, the twin beds on either side of the windows, the desk and drawers that my dad had made.  I remembered it all, I slide open the desk drawer to the right of where my chair went, it was empty, all the drawers were empty.  There were no familiar folded clothes in them.  The bookcases had knick-knacks, my gold Pinewood Derby race car #23, and some books.  What looked like my copy of Lord of the Rings that Harry Lee had given me back when we spent the summer at Cape Cod was there but when I opened the Fellowship, but I already knew, the words were not there.

“Tom?”

“Asuna, I, here, I was one of the taken!” I almost shouted. “But I don’t remember it.”  I pointed to my bed, “That was mine, and that was Nick’s.”

Then it hit me, maybe it wasn’t me, “Winston, who was the occupant of this room?”

“I am not allowed to reveal that information.  The file is blocked.”

“Winston, was it me?”

“I am not allowed to reveal that information.  The file is blocked.”

“Winston, WAS IT ME?” by now my heart was pounding, and I was …. I can’t even say.  Asuna had tried to calm me, then a voice came from behind me.

“Yes Tom, it was you, you visited us in 1970, January.” It was Krezz, RRqil stood behind him.

“But, but I don’t remember.  I never…I couldn’t have.”

“You did, for two days.”

“But I don’t…”

“No, you would not.  You were ill, very ill, it blocked your memory.” Krezz added.

“But why, why did you take me?  If I was sick, what good would it have been for your research, what would you have learned?”

“I cannot explain, it was on KHriz’s order, he only told me to make sure that you did not sleep.”

My mind raced, was I that sick, was I …… dying when they took me.  I vaguely recall being sick, I had a fever, I hurt…but that was all I could remember and I wasn’t even sure it that was the right time period. .

“Krezz, can you tell me anymore? Was I dying and you saved me?”

“Yes, yes and no, yes, you were dying, we did save you, and no, I can tell no more because I do not know anymore.  KHriz simply said that you had a place to be and that you were not to sleep.  I could get no more from him. I have often wondered, and even when we came down to get Asuna I was told not to speak of your earlier visit.”

Asuna and I headed, more like raced to KHriz’s room.  When we arrived, his protector told us that he and HYlon were on another plane. I still do not understand this ‘other plane’ thing.  Dejected we walked back toward our room #511.

“Tom, you gonna be okay?” asked Asuna.

“Yeah, it is just kind of a shock.  I mean, your visit was or seemed kind of cool, but mine, I don’t remember and seems so very mysterious.  Asuna, why take a kid who is sick and save him, why was it so important?”

“I don’t know,” she said

I didn’t sleep much.  I was trying to recall, trying to find pieces of a puzzle that just weren’t there.  When I get back, maybe I can talk to Teckla and Nick, they may have something, a piece of the puzzle.

July 20th

I am still distracted by the find yesterday.  I am trying to remember.  I have snippets of the past; I remember my Uncle Sven, and my Grandparents, and Christmases long ago.  I remember the Toompta Guber, the flaming presents, the football jersey gift in the underwear box, but no, nothing of the QUalz.

RRqil and Krezz stopped by to check on me.  I mean I am fine, just confused.  The ‘why was I taken’ still haunts me.

“Asuna, Tom, can you stop down to my lab a little later.  I want to update you on the trip home and show you the escape pod that you will use.”

“Yes, of course,” said Asuna, “Is about an hour good?”

“Perfect, we shall see you then.”

She and I sat for a little bit, and as we did, I gained more and more control of what was in my head.  It was kind of like yeah, you were taken, and don’t member it, so what, how is that gonna change anything?  Let it go.

“Asuna, can we go back to #474 for a little bit?  I doubt I will get any answers, but like you with your room and Kitty Puss, I would just like to sit and remember what it was like back then.”

She took my hand, smiled and led the way.

It is funny, and I had noticed this long ago, often when you have a memory float to the surface it triggers a whole series of other memories.  I doubted that I would remember the trip from 1970, but it would be good to remember other things, the days of old.

As I lay back on my old bed, things rushed back into my mind, and I can’t write about all of them.  Some were silly, some were shameful, and some were just there.  I remember each morning being awakened by my Dad as he came down the hall doing a kind of reveille thing, or hearing my parent’s clock radio playing the ‘Happy Wanderer’.

I told Asuna about the differences between Nick and me.  Things like how my half of the room and closet was always neat and tidy, and his was less so.

So many stories and each one was like an octopus with arms running off to other stories.  I remembered the Mickey Mouse that my dad had drawn under the hardwood floor in our bedroom closet, and that led to the floor in the house we lived in before that.  The bedroom there had blue and yellow linoleum squares for flooring.  It just went on, memory after memory.

“Asuna, let’s get out of here.” I finally said, standing up.

“You okay?”

“Oh yeah, it is just too much, I am overloading on the past, it’s a fun place to visit for a while, but it is gone, I can’t change it, no do-overs.  We have the present to deal with, let’s go see Krezz and RRqil.”

The escape pod was larger than I expected, I guess years of sci-fi movies had burned an image of an 8 foot round can into my mind.  This was bigger, and the inside was like, of what I could best describe as, a large SUV, bigger actually, more like a small RV.  It had a little cooking area, and beds, and a toilet.  It was not so elaborate that it had wood paneling but it did have brushed metal and plastic surfaces.

Up in the front there was a kind of cab, it was like in an RV but there was no steering wheel, or controls, it was designed for just sitting and watching the stars go by.

RRqil explained that the controls were all handled by Readpad 37 (Winston).  The device was plugged into the escape pod and was voice activated. But the only tasks that it could do were things like temperature control, lights, and Sat-Communications, it could not steer the pod.

Overall it was comfortable, and the seats and bed had modifications that were made for us.  I have forgotten that the QUalz stand, sitting to them is not something that they do comfortably, the tails got in the way.

I have a good feeling about the pod; I think we will get down to Earth in one piece.

We headed back in time for dinner.  It was the usual mush.  And then we just sat, quietly holding hands looking out the view port as the Earth and the Moon lay in front of us.

July 21st.

It was a long tedious day, and boring as hell. We stood by as Krezz and his crew battled with a group of navigation engineers on some issues with the pod.  I am not even sure what the battles were over, it was a flurry of clicks and flailing arms.  The shades of the little lizard men varied in the course of the exchanges.

Finally about evening meal time it was finished.  Krezz came and told us that the pod was loaded and ready to go.  We had 250,000 doses of the cure on the pod and they were finally safely secured and protected if there should be a water issue with the pod.

I wondered about that ‘water issue’ and remembered that there was something about one of our early space flights, Apollo or Gemini, in which the capsule filled with water and sank.

“What time we leave tomorrow?” I asked.

“We are still not quite certain yet, that was the basis of the chat with the navigation team.  They have not yet finalized their calculations.  They have it narrowed down, but there is about a 5 minute variation in their numbers, so the time is still being figured out.  But it would appear that if you are here ready to get in at 9:50 you will be fine.”

“How critical is the 5 minutes?” asked Asuna.

“The landing will take place in the ocean, but the problem is they are not able to determine exactly where in the ocean.  It will depend on the angle that you approach your satellite; it is a complex set of numbers and variables, if they hit it perfect you will be in what you call Lake Erie, if they have it all wrong, well you could end up in the middle of your Atlantic Ocean.

I chuckled, “Very precise calculations, Asuna,” I was not so confident on the Lake Erie although that would be the best spot, closest to our camp.

We were both disappointed that KHriz and HYlon had not invited us to dinner one last time before we left; I wanted to thank them for the stay.  We were told that they were still on another plane.  This time I really wanted to know what that meant, but no one would or could give me an answer to that other than that they were not on the Sky Crystal.

They didn’t forget us though, they had given word that we were allowed to use their room, and food supplies for a last night meal on the ship.  After looking through the options we decided on canned baked beans and Vienna sausage, I laughed as I blended them into a pot, and made a ‘Beanie Weinie Casserole’.

I was never able to figure out why there was such a tendency on the part of our little scaly friends to eat such low budget foods.  But they did relish it, Spam, Beef-a-Roni, and cheap, sweet wines.  I am thinking that it was all that they could find in the most recent visits, but I think that they had been eating like this for some time, maybe it had something to do with the guests that they brought on board.  But at this point it didn’t matter it was better than the standard mush and tomorrow, hopefully, we will be back on terra firma and eating, well I guess that will depend on where we land.

July 22rd

It was not the best sleeping night, Asuna and I talked about where we might land, what we might find and what the future might hold.

“They’re not expecting us, we’ll be months early” she said.

“I know, and that is fine, we could end up needing a month or longer to get from where we touch down up to the camp.”

And so it went, what ifs, hope that’s, and maybes filled the night.

We walked into the pod area exhausted and a little cranky.  There was a bustle of final preparations going on.

“You have made it on time.  The navigational team has determined the best time to leave that will use the gravitational well of your companion rock to place you down as close as possible to home.” Krezz said.  “You should be in the pod in 17 minutes. It will be launched in 25 minutes.’

“Krezz, Can you call everyone together?” I asked, I was grumpy, needed a coffee, but had something I wanted to say.

“Of course,” he sounded a little confused.

When everyone was assembled I stood between Asuna and Krezz, RRqil was close by also.

“Friends, my little QUalzian friends, you have done so much for us, and for my people back on the Blue Water Marker.  I want to thank you, and tell you how grateful we are for your help.  You are good people, folk, bless you all.” I actually teared up a little, but that was because I was tired.

There were clicks from Krezz and RRqil that translated what we said and suddenly the entire group bowed to us.

“They are honored to have known you, as are Krezz and I” said RRqil.  “You have done much for us also, especially Krezz and I.  We will name our first hatched after you or Asuna.”

“Now you honor us, and I hope the first hatched is a girl.” Said Asuna, smiling.

Hiccups and grimace from Krezz, RRqil and even Brimk, who had been standing close by.

It became a little awkward for a few moments then I broke the silence, “Hey, we are burning daylight here, let’s get this show on the road, Nick has some deer stew waiting for us.”

Asuna and I climbed into the ship, the little escape pod, and with the help of a few QUalz buckled in and got ready. Then they were gone, the door closed.

Moments later I felt movement, we were on some form of conveyor heading toward a hatchway. Then grinding, a whoosh and holy shit, it was an E ticket ride, surrounded by the black void of space as we were hurtling toward the moon. I began to feel light-headed and I am not sure if it was by plan or g forces but we did not awaken until we were in low Earth entry.  We could see ground below us, miles below us, and we could see that we were approaching what appeared to be Central America.  We were way further south than had been planned.

The Caribbean Islands flashed by as we dropped; there was no way of telling how quickly.  Then we were over Open Ocean, still dropping, there was a little shutter as the small slowing rockets fired to reduce our speed.  I guessed we were now about 4 or 5 miles above the ocean, looking good for a water landing, still slowing and dropping.

Still a mile up I think and on the horizon I see land, still a ways off, but land.  This could be bad I thought. Asuna saw it also and there was some muttering in Japanese that probably was akin to what was in my mind.

Then a whoosh, and a lift as an airfoil opened to further slow us down, it was so sudden and extreme that it took the wind out of us.

Then we were down, with a reasonably gentle splash.  We made it, and that was the good news.  The bad news was that by best guess we were somewhere in the South Atlantic near the African coast.

It was late in the afternoon that we landed. I asked Winston for a location check.  It took him a little while to give us an answer.  The problem was that he is no longer fully connected to the computer on the Sky Crystal.  He could contact the ship for some information but the link was slow, and growing slower as time goes on.

“Winston, is there a way that you can use the orbiting satellites to determine our location?”

“Yes, I can do that, I just need one reference satellite and then I can, yes, I have one, I am calculating. I have a location; we are at 22.3654 by -19.9137 degrees using your earthly reference system of Longitude and Latitude.  That locates us between the Azores and the Canary Island, 129 miles west of the continent called Africa.” His answer came over an intercom speaker rather than directly from him.

“Great, just great, and I am guessing that since the escape pod couldn’t really maneuver in space it is not movable here on Earth,” I mumbled.

“That is correct, we are unable to move from this spot, although we are moving, slowly, and seem to be moving southeast,” said Winston.

“Probably the tide or the wind, we’re moving, but have no control over where we are going,” said Asuna.

“Would you like me to try to contact one of the transmission streams that I am monitoring?”

“Wait, what? You are getting messages?” I asked, shocked at that statement.

“Yes, Tom, I have been monitoring a number of what appears to be submersible vehicles.”

I was excited, “submarines, we call them submarines?  Are there any close? Are they speaking English?”

“I detect several that are within 1500 of your earth miles.  Three speak English, one speaks Russian and one speaks French.  I can contact any of them on their transmitter device wavelengths.  The nearest one is a Pittsburgh.”

“YES!  YES! Call them, and if they answer let me speak with them.”  I shouted, this was wonderful, we may get home yet.

Moments later there was a voice on the intercom. “This is Captain Thomas W. Katzung of the USS Pittsburgh.  We have received your distress call, how may we be of assistance?”

Stereotype or not he had a Southern twang. Why is it that sub captains always sounded like they are from Alabama I thought to myself?

“I, we, wow, it is going to be a long story, but we are stuck in the ocean, can’t go anywhere, and need a ride.” I stammered.

“We don’t get rescue calls much anymore, not many survivors out here, there are some on land we communicate with though.” The voice drawled.

“That is good I guess that means there are people left.  We have a cure! We can save them, and you.”

“A cure, really, and I believe you why?”

“Captain, I can understand your skepticism, I probably would think I was full of shit too, but okay, let me try this.  If I was some floating refugee would I know that besides your sub there are 4 other similar vessels within 1500 miles of me, 2 more American, one Russian, and one French? I also know that of the ships in question, yours is the closest.”

A little hub-bub in the background and then the intercom voice said, “Okay, like you said, it’s a long story, so I think we’ll just mosey on over and see what you have to say. But just for the record, it is one more American and one British sub with the French and Russian boats.”

“Thank you, you will be pleased you made the trip, and so will we. Do you have our location?”

“Yes, your English friend has given us the information.  We will be there in about 42 hours. But do me a favor, don’t call anyone else, we are all friendly toward each other out here right now, and I would like to keep it that way.  If you have a cure, well, it could change the friend’s game and that would not be good. Captain Katzung out.”

“Well ain’t that a kick in the head! Help is on the way.” I smiled at Asuna.

“You trust them?” she asked.

“I think so, and really, what else can we do?”

“Good point,” but I could sense a little concern in her voice.

July 23rd

Boring day, we’re just floating up and down like a bobber on a fishing line.  I hate waiting and we have another day to go.

A little sun bathing, a little reading, and thank you KHriz, we have some real earth food on this pod.  Beef-a-Roni it is.

As we lay out tonight in the darkness, it was what I guess they call a new moon.  It was beautiful, the sky, the stars, millions and millions of them.  I wonder how many others have life on them, well, actually near them.  Although I guess there could be some kind of energy being able to live on a star.

It is so peaceful right now.

July 24th

No ship, no hanging outside, it rained all day, bored.

July 25th

“Winston, how close is the Pittsburgh,” I asked, we still had a while to wait.

“I show that the Ship is about 187 miles away.”

“About 187 miles?”  I laughed.

“Yes, I can make it more precise if you wish.”

“No Winston, 187 is fine, so we are still waiting for a while.” I said while in the back of my mind thinking, I like the peacefulness and really this would not be a bad way to spend the rest of our lives, but we have business.

We laid under the stars on the top of the pod tonight, it was so nice, we could see the storm off in the distance, the flickering lightening, it was beautiful.

We woke up about 2 AM, we were getting wet.  The storm had moved over us.  We climbed down into pod and for the next hour the sea was actually a little rough and the rain was heavy.  We were sealed in, so nothing could happen.

July 26th

We slept a little later than we usually did this morning and when we popped open the hatch we were not alone.  Sitting off about 200 yards to the north was the Pittsburgh. I’m no expert so I couldn’t tell what class of sub it was, other than big, and black.

“Ah Winston, how long has the sub been sitting there?” I asked, a little miffed that he had not let us know it had arrived.

“The vessel arrived 37 minutes ago.  Captain Katzung asked where you were and when I told him you were both not awake. He told me to give a call when you had awakened.  I just notified him that you are now awake.”

“And?”

“Captain Katzung is now standing by on the communications line.”

I glared at Winston, and Asuna laughed.  “Captain, good morning, it was kind of you to allow us to sleep in.”

“Not a problem, I would like to send a couple of zodiacs your way to secure your vessel and bring it alongside.”

“Sounds good to us.”

About 30 minutes later we climbed onto the deck, I guess it is a deck, of the Pittsburgh.  I never realized how big these ships really were. We were greeted by a thin balding man with a scruffy beard in his 40s.  He was not overly tall, and seemed in very good shape.  As we approached, he offered his hand. He was in standard navy khakis as was another beefy officer and behind them were six armed men in blue cammo.

“I am Captain Thomas Katzung of the USS Pittsburgh, you are welcome aboard. This is my Exec, Commander Gaines.” If I did not mention it before, he had the perfect southern accent.

Asuna jumped in here, snapping to attention, “Corporal Asuna Yagami, Japanese Defense Force, Sir!”

I looked at her, wow, that was unexpected, I had forgotten about that aspect of her.  I had come to think of her as another of our group of campers besides my wife.

“At ease corporal, we are not so formal here anymore,” smiled the captain.

I grinned and accepted the hand shake.  “Glad you came to get us, my Russian is a little weak, and French, well never learned it.”

He laughed, and then suggested we go back to the pod so we could show him the inside and where the cure was stored. Really, there was not much reason to not to trust this man.

We transferred the cure from the pod to the sub and then the Captain, Commander Gaines, Asuna and I talked about what to do with the pod.  They really had no way to take it onto the ship and there was nothing remaining aboard that would be of use to us, except for Winston, of course.  He was coming with me.

In the end we decided that the best thing to do was to tow it behind us and beach it on one of the islands in the Azores just in case there was something of value that we aren’t thinking about.  It was that or just sink it.  I think that would be a waste, and in the new world, we don’t waste.

In the process of doing all of the loading and moving about we did not have much of a chance to talk to the Captain.  Surprisingly, he didn’t grill us about the cure or how we had obtained it. I found that curious in itself. When I started to tell him about the little friends we called the QUalz, both he and Gaines looked around quickly and said we would talk about that a little later, in private.

It was dinner at the Captain’s table, now that was interesting, but actually been there, done that on the Sky Crystal.  We actually looked like we belonged there.  The quartermaster had given us some uniforms that fit, the basic navy BDU.  I had forgotten how good Asuna, excuse me, Corporal Yagami looked in uniform.

It was nice to have real food, fresh fried fish with spices and tartar sauce, and canned vegetables.  It was so good, better than anything I have had since the world ended, and at the end of it coffee, real coffee.

There were a number of officers, the XO, the Doctor and a couple others at the table with us.  The conversation seemed oddly restrained, I mean, if I had this strange couple who showed up in the middle of the ocean in a ship made from alien technology with a cure for the disease that killed most of the world, I would have a question or two. But no, it was all very plastic, benign, and avoided the elephant in the room.

After the plates were cleared away and the room emptied out of the assorted officers that had dined with us we sat for a bit.  Only the Captain and Gaines stayed.

Finally, the Captain looked at us both, very intently and simply said, “Tell me the story.”

Asuna and I looked at him, then each other, and then back to him.

“Okay, guess that is the best way to do it.” I answered and we started at the beginning, the clicks on the radio receiver, the arrival of Krezz and his ship, our going to the Sky Crystal.  We told all, well almost all we could.  I avoided the other abductions, they didn’t seem important.

We explained the idea of the cure and how it would prevent people from turning after they died, and that with the cure, over time, those already changed would fall to immobile bags of bones.  But the living, they would just die natural and stay dead.

They sat with their coffee and listened, occasionally the two would look at each other. It seemed they had a little something they knew also.

Finally he said, “So what is the plan?”

“I haven’t thought about it much, we want to get the cure spread around.  Originally, we were going to just make it back to our camp and then try to spread it around the best we could.” I said; thinking I sounded pretty much a dork.

“And where is your camp?” He asked.

“It is in Western Mass, about 45 miles from Albany,” Asuna told him.

Katzung shifted a little then said, “Does this camp have a name?”

“Yeah, it is Romanica,” Said Asuna.

A moment lapsed, Gaines and the Captain exchanged glances and then he said, “Do a Major Barkley or Lance ring a bell?”

“Yes, YES, you talked to them?  Are they okay?”

“We spoke with them about four days ago, just before we started off to find out what you were all about.  They were all fine the best I could tell; they had a shit storm back a few months ago but they were hanging in okay.”

*(just a side note: Winston was not able to spell in Southern so well so it is up to the reader of this journal to get the twang, shortened terms like y’all, and other such wording and spelling. I will work on it and have Winston develop the ability. I realized that as I was trying to write about our ideas and it was as the Captain put it….’my idea or your’in’.)

I was pleased to hear it, we expected an occasional problem, but if it seemed they were good that was excellent news.

“Captain, did they mention anyone in particular? Maybe Margo?” I asked.

“No, they did lose some people when the Hunter Drones were active, but we never got names.”

I wanted names, and information about the Hunter things but I couldn’t get any more info, so I dropped it.

It was quiet for a few minutes then the Captain said, “We’re going to head to New London to pick up supplies. I have a plan, if it works for you.”

“Okay, what are you thinking?” I replied.

“Well, we will head back to New London, we set you up for traveling the best we can and you head back up to your people,” he began.

“Okay, that works, but what about the cure?” I asked.

“You take a portion of it with you; say 50,000 doses and we take the rest.  We also copy the ‘recipe’ since we are more likely to find someone who can replicate it. You go home and take care of your people, and any others you find.  We take care of getting it to the shore line and other countries.”

“I don’t think we need 50,000 doses though, I mean 10,000 would be plenty.” I offered

“Here is the bargaining part of this, with the extra doses you will have to somehow get them to two locations that we can’t get to.  The first is Fort Knox, and the second is Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, 20,000 and a copy of the recipe to each.”

I looked at Asuna, and she nodded, I knew she was right.  “Okay, seems fair enough. When do we leave for home?”

“We’re already on the way, but first we need to get your park your spaceship and then it is flank speed to New London, should be there on the 21st.”

Compared to the Sky Crystal a submarine is pretty tight quarters, and unlike the Crystal it is not warm.  Captain Katzung evicted a couple of junior officers from their room for a few days to accommodate us.

He did ask us of we wanted to try to call Romanica to tell them we were back and coming home.  After talking with Asuna about it we decided that it would be better to not do that, just in case we didn’t make it.  Asuna was not crazy about the idea, but went along with it. I wanted to know that everyone was okay, but that held the risk of finding out that some weren’t, and I would rather give them the word we’re back in person.

July 27th

At lunch time today Lt. Commander Douglas, the ship’s doctor posed a question to us that was probably on everyone’s mind.  What was it like in space, and what were the aliens like.

The question took us off guard, and we both were quiet for a minute or so trying to frame the question and the answer. Up to that point we had not really talked much about our trip, except to the Captain and the XO.

“Doc, I am not sure that it is a fair question to ask these folks, they have been through stuff and maybe they don’t want to share,” said Gaines.

I appreciated the suggestion on our behalf but maybe sharing it would help them, and maybe a little bit of help for us.

“Wow, that is okay Commander, I think that we can talk about it.  It is not like the crew doesn’t know we showed up in a weird ship, and I am sure the scuttle butt, that is the term right?, I am sure there is a lot of it about all kinds of things.  So maybe it would be good to give some solid information,” I said, Asuna nodded in agreement.

I looked up and down the table and began.  “Space is like being in a sub in a lot of ways.  You have a lot of space…ah…inhospitable surroundings around you. The big difference for us was that we had windows.  It was not pitch black, it was actually kind of lit up, with the stars and galaxies.”

The officers in the ward room were hooked on the story; the stares at us were intense.

“You move along, and the scenery changes slowly, the glowing  objects, are so far away that they hardly seem to move, yet over a couple of days they do,” I added.

Asuna jumped in there, “The one thing that I remember more than anything else was that unlike your ship it was warm.  The QUalz liked it warm; it suited them, and their bodies I guess.”

One ensign asked what the QUalz were like and when we explained that they were reptilian there was a mix of shock and disbelief at first, but then one or two of the officers remembered the tale that Frenchie had told from his little sailboat.  When we described them further as 4 foot high reptilians with tails someone commented that they were like taller versions of the insurance spokes gecko, and that really kind of nailed it.  I had forgotten about him.

The lunch ran on, and even after it was over, the eating part, the audience, those who were off duty stayed, and listened as we told them about Krezz, and KHriz, and some of what it was like.  There were funny faces made at the description of what we normally ate, the mushed warmed bugs and fungus, and WTFs at the part about KHriz and HYlon’s affinity to cheap wine and college food.

We didn’t go into the Hive, somehow that seemed like a bad idea, and if anything, we have learned to very much trust our feelings, the little voice as I call it.  We would share the info with Katzung, or Gaines, but with the caveat that it remained in Vegas.  (Sorry, the old saying about what plays in Vegas stays in Vegas.)

Finally, we had covered about all we could comfortably share and Douglas thanked us for the talk.  The officers that remained were now different toward us.  We were not weirdos from space anymore, enigmas wrapped in a cloak of mystery.  We were people to them again.

July 28th

Pretty much stayed in our room out of the way, did try to talk with the Captain to see what else he could tell us about the state of the world. But he was tied up, as was Gaines.

The Ship Doctor, a Lt. Commander Douglas, gave us a medical going over to make sure we were alright.  We were.  I told him about the medical issues I had before the end of the world, high blood pressure, cholesterol issues, a touch of the ‘sugar’ (diabetes) but he found none of it.

“I am not sure if it was diet related, or if your little reptilian friends had done something,” I offered.

During the afternoon the Captain sat with us over coffee.  Captain Katzung filled us in on the battle that had been going on in the West and Midwest with the Hunters.  They sound evil.  Why are humans so effective at making killing devices? Of course, I am sitting in one of the top of the line devices right now.

He also told us about the one hunter that was captured and brought to camp when the Burlington Crew was attacked.  He said that before they could tell them not to touch it, the thing blew up.  He didn’t know who was hurt or killed when it did.  It was not good, I wanted to know.

I tried to get some more information out of him but there was an alert, a kind of klaxon-buzzer sound and Commander Gaines, the XO paged the Captain to the bridge.  I started to follow but a marine guard stopped me. “Sir, it would be better if you both returned to your cabin” was all he said, but I knew, I had better return to the cabin.

The Captain didn’t join us at the evening meal with the officers.  XO Gaines told us that the alert had to do with a ship that they had come into contact with.  It was a cruise ship, one of the really big ones.  It was just floating, no lights, no power, but when they got up close they found that it was loaded with Zoms, my term, he called them ‘undead’.

If I thought that the Captain had a southern accent, well, Gaines’ was even thicker.  He was from Baton Rouge and sounded it.

In the end they sank the cruise ship.  The thought was that it was safer to send the ‘undead’ to the bottom of the sea rather than to allow for the chance that the ship might run aground and contaminate some place on the coast of who knows where.

“That is what we do mostly, run errands for Naval Base One, or sink the infected ships that we find,” said Gaines.

The meal ended and we headed back to our cabin.  I hadn’t noticed it until we had been directed back to our cabin earlier in the day, but there was usually an armed marine somewhere close by, and he was usually keeping an eye on us.  I am not sure if it was because they didn’t trust us, or if they were not sure if we might not be infected.  Either way it was not a warm fuzzy feeling on our part.

Not sleeping well, worried.

July 29th

Exhausted, not sleeping well, thinking about Margo and the camp.  Bored.

Captain came and visited us today.  He apologized for missing dinner but explained it was his turn to run the boat.

I asked him about the cruise ship.  He bowed his head and said, “Yeah, it’s one of the things we do, sucks really, all those people trapped, it had to be terrible for them as one died, came back and it spread. Better to have gone the way of the President, white flash and lights out.”

“What do you mean?” asked Asuna.

“Ah, that is right, y’all probably didn’t know, how could you?  When President Obama deserted the Capital, he and all the top people took off in ships, a whole flotilla, carriers, ocean liners, and support vessels. Well, someone messed up, and left a small nuclear weapon on one of the ships.  It was one of the types they used to blow up a bunch of the infected cities.  When the automatic detonate signal went off, poof, no more Commander in Chief, just a bunch of burned ships.  Some are still afloat, but most are gone, they burned and sank. Some think that it was intentional, that someone high up figured it was a better way to go than to just one by one turn and, but no one will ever know for sure.”

I remembered hearing the rumors, I think Lieutenant Lewis, the Mass Trooper had told us, but never believed it.  We all sat quiet for a while, then the Captain excused himself and left.  Asuna and I talked about it a little, but there was not much to say.  We were all truly starting over, on all levels.

July 30th

According to the XO we would be arriving at New London Sub Base around 6:30 tomorrow morning.  I am excited about it because then we can start the final leg of the trip back to camp.  I am looking forward to seeing Margo, the family and the others again.

Much of the day was spent in the room. There is not much else to do.  A nice surprise tonight was when the cook put together a special dinner (pepperoni pizza from scratch) for us because it was our last night on board.

The way that we were treated still struck me as odd, I was kind of confused.  I would have expected different.  This was too easy, the whole helping out thing, the way they took care of us, and helped us with what we were trying to do.

After the meal the area cleared out except for XO Gaines and the Captain.  I couldn’t stand it anymore and I asked them, “Why?”

“Why what?” the Captain replied

“Why have you been so helpful, why are we not dead or something, why? I don’t get it, just why?”

There was a silence for a minute or so, then the Captain cleared his throat, “Well, I believe you, the aliens, the cure, and I want to believe that you are part of something, bigger.”

Asuna and I exchanged glances, “How, why?” I asked.

“Y’all aren’t the first people we’ve met that have, how shall I explain this, claimed to have been out there, taken away.”

“You mean taken, like we were?” Asuna said, “Although we weren’t quite taken.  But you know what I mean.”

Gaines jumped in here; “We were never sure. About 5 months ago we found a guy in a small sailboat; the boat and he were a mess.  The boat was just running in circles.  When we tried to help him out he refused us at first.  He was nuttier than my gramma’s Christmas fruitcake.”

The Captain stepped in and explained that they had tried to talk him down and after about 45 minutes and we were able to get people on the boat with him.  Doc Douglas made a connection with him somehow and Douglas was the only one he would talk to.  The man called himself Frenchie.  Douglas tried to find out where he, Frenchie had come from and where he was going but all the guy kept on about being taken by little green lizard men, and that there were other humans on board.  The other humans had a big job to do, but he was left out.  In his ravings he keep saying he had to get to 512, 512.  We still have no idea what 512 is.

Asuna and I looked at each other, and I, we knew, we knew what 512 was.

“Captain, I think, no, we know what 512 is.”

Asuna and I went on to explain about the Hive, and the rooms that were there.  We told them that we had stayed in room 511 and detailed some of other the rooms we explored and how they were decorated, the historical significance of some of the rooms, the Egyptian Princess, Orwell, the Cro-Magnon and more.  We didn’t talk about rooms 474 or 487, those were left hidden to the officers.

I thought about it, Asuna and I had explored room after room but we never considered the possibility that there might have been one taken after we were.  We knew there were 512 ‘guests’ taken and we just assumed that 511 was the highest room number because they counted  us as 2 people and we thought we were the last to visitors.

“So that was how we kind of knew about you two, Frenchie, kind of told us that there were other humans and then you two show up, with a cure, and on a mission,” explained the Captain.

It explained a lot, the ease with which we had been accepted and helped.  I guess to a degree it also explained the uneasiness of the crew, that whole alien thing.

“So what happened to Frenchie?” asked Asuna.

“We couldn’t get him to come with us, he refused, he had to find 512 so finally we had to let him go, left him circling. We have no idea what he did, or what happened to him after that.  We all thought he was just batshit, until y’all made contact,” explained Gaines.  There was a touch of sadness in his voice.

“So the exam was not so much to see if we were physically okay but to give us a kind of check up from the neck up,” I felt a little testy, but that was foolish on my part. If in the same situation, I would have done exactly the same thing.

“Yes, and to make sure that you were human,” was the Captain’s frank and somewhat startling answer.

“And we passed.”

“Yes”

The conversation kind of deflated from there.  I mean, yeah, they helped us out but there is not a warm fuzzy bonding session going on right now.

August 1st

The sun was already up and it was getting hot.  The breeze off the ocean helped a little.  We were allowed to stand on the top of the conning tower.  It has a little area that is sheltered and designed for it.  Anyone who ever saw a submarine movie would know what I mean.

We watched as we moved in through the east end of Long Island Sound, around Montauk working our way to the mouth of the Thames River, under the Gold Star Bridge and then slowly moved up the river to the base.  I was surprised to see that there were actually people, navy people at the base.  There were just a few, thirty or forty or more to guard and maintain the supplies that had been stored there over the years.  I guess that they had not experienced much of an issue with the Zoms.  But then with the nuclear bombings I guess the population had been culled.

Once we were moored, the activities of loading and unloading supplies began.  Apparently the Pittsburgh had some form of exchange program with other ships and bases so that although they were picking up food supplies they were also unloading some that had been bartered in exchange.  The entire operation was a well-orchestrated dance that had been played out many times before.  Each crewman, deck hand or yard worker knew the steps.

We stayed out of the way the best we could, waiting for our next move, the start of the journey home.  Finally about noon time a surly Marine came and got us.  He brought us to the XO and Captain. We had already talked about the plan with them and had decided that the best way to get moving was for us to take a Zodiac and run it from the sub base along the coast to the Connecticut River and then try to get as far north on the river as possible.  I remembered that there might be some spots that were tough to get around, but we should make it to Hartford and, hopefully, beyond.

What they had done was set us up with about 5 days of food, a little water, some blankets and the cure (in a watertight container) in a Zodiac to get us started. That should give us a good start.

The XO told us that they had scavenged most of the area so at least until we were north of Hartford we would find little in the food stores and warehouses.

Gaines told us that we should be able to find some fuel along the way, but to remember that we needed to mix the gas with a little oil.  We should have enough fuel to probably get to maybe Deep River, so we should keep our eyes open for marinas along the way.

We thanked them and told them that we appreciated what they had, have done for us.

One final thing he mentioned was that they had found that the trucks and cars, the new ones anyway had been fried by the nukes, they won’t run. The electronics, computer stuff had been ruined by the EM blast.  But he suggested that we keep an eye out for old trucks or cars, or even a tractor, they would or should, be okay if the batteries were still good and you could get them started.

At last it was time to go, to head for home. The Captain, the XO and a number of the crew and base workers walked us to the pier. Before we began the climb down, the Captain had that surely Marine Sergeant hand us a couple of M-16s, and side arms and a case of ammunition.

“Hopefully ya’ll won’t be needin’ it, but I would not bet on it.  Good luck and Godspeed, hope all’s well up in Romanica,” He said giving us a salute, all his men did.

We climbed down to the little boat, started the engine and we were off.

It was not so bad out on the water, between the ocean spray and the breeze we were fairly comfortable in the little boat as it bounced along the waves. We stayed close to shore, about 100 yards out once we got out into Long Island Sound. It took us about an hour to get from the base to the turn up the Connecticut River down by Saybrook.

As we moved along off shore, I could see parts of old Route 1. At this time of year it used to be packed with vacationers crowding into the little seafood restaurants.  I thought back to what I called ‘fried everything platters’, actually they were the Captain’s Plate or the Seafood Platter, a little bit of everything fishy, breaded and deep fat fried.  Oh, just one more time I thought.

“Asuna, did you ever get down this way for seafood?”  I asked.

“No, we never had that much time to travel while we were in the classes at the Arsenal.  Was it good?”

“Lenny and Joe’s Fish Tales…..only the best. No, wait, there was one place better, although the portions were smaller, that was Jasper White’s, it was in one of the casinos.  They did something special with their breading on the fried clams,” I told her.

“Well, maybe in another lifetime you and I can visit it.” she said, and it gave me a kind of twinge.  In another lifetime, where would I be, and who would be there with me?  Would it be Anne, Asuna or maybe someone else, who knows?

It was a little before 2 o’clock when we started up the Connecticut River, the tide was on the way out so it was kind of slow going but once we got a mile or so in the effects of the outgoing tide diminished and we were able to move a little faster. But we were still going against the river, lazy and slow due to the lack of rain that was typical around this time of year.

We stopped at the marina in Essex and refilled our fuel tanks.  We hadn’t used that much gas, but like the Sat-Commander said, better to fill up whenever we could.  We found a couple of empty 5 gallon cans that we were also able to fill for a little extra.

It was about 3:20 when we left the marina and headed on.  We hoped that we could maybe get to Middletown, or close, by the end of the day.  But it turned out to be not so good on the river.  We found that there were a lot of places where the river was very shallow and we had to work our way around these spots.  We also had to be careful for submerged things, boats, stumps, and cars that had been swept down river.

We took turns driving the little boat.  When not driving you were up front watching, looking for flotsam or underwater hazards.  Often the hazard was given away by some change in the way the water appeared; a ripple in the flow might be the warning.

We had reached the area of the Goodspeed Opera House at about 7:30.  It was still an hour or more until sunset but the shadows were making it difficult to see what was happening in the river.  We decided that this was as good a place to spend the night as any.  There was a little boat launch just north of the opera house and we beached the Zodiac.

It was quiet and kind of peaceful.  The Earth, Mother Nature, was reclaiming her own.  The pavement was broken and showing plants growing out of the cracks.  The unkempt lawns were choked with weeds, and even small trees beginning to sprout up. In a way it was sad, humanity, civilization had come to this.  But at the same time, it really kind of gives you a sense that life will continue, that we will comeback.

MRE’s for dinner tonight, not bad, actually pretty good compared to the bug and fungus mush from the Sky Crystal.  We ended up sharing them, kind of half and half.  Asuna had Chicken and Noodles and I picked Southwest Beef and Black Beans.  The Beef one even had a little packet of Siracha Sauce with it. The pudding for dessert worked.

We have run into no Zoms, nor have we seen any all day long.  I am pretty comfortable that we are not going to run into any.  I am still more concerned with running into the living.  But even there, we have seen no one.

After dark we settled in and looked at the stars, and listened to the night creatures.  I suddenly began to chuckle.

“What?” asked Asuna.

“The noise, the critters, all that noise, and they all have one thing on their mind.” I answered.  “Getting laid, they’re all trying to mate.”

I felt the punch in the arm, and the phrase in Japanese that basically told me I was an asshole, and then she laughed, and I laughed.

It felt good, good to laugh, good to be back on Earth, good to be with her.

August 2nd

The birds started early, I am thinking about 4AM, so much for sleep.  It was getting light and we were up, a little of the trail mix the navy guys had supplied us with and we were back on the river.  A coffee would have been nice, but not today.

As we moved along the river, it was a little easier, the water, or the channels ran a little deeper.  We moved past Durham, and then came through the area of Middletown.  There was another marina on the right hand side of the river, the Portland side.  Again, we fueled up. It was only about 11 o’clock so it looked like we were going to make at least Windsor by the end of this day.

We have still not seen anyone, dead or alive.  But then were we really expecting to?

We were on the river again by 11:30 and moved under the Arrigoni Bridge.  We continued north on the river, by the old Rocky Hill Ferry and on to the Glastonbury area.  We reached the South End of Hartford by 2 O’clock, and then continued on.

I began to think about the river ahead.  I knew that although it would be good if we could reach Springfield, there were a couple of man-made barriers that would block our way, especially in this low water situation.

Asuna and I talked about it, and the options that we could use.  We could just go as far on the Connecticut as we could and then wing it from there.  A fair plan but I was not crazy about the prospect that we got to the edge of Springfield and then were faced with trying to move through parts of the city.

The other option was that we turn off on either the Westfield or the Farmington Rivers and try to get as far west as we could that way.  I asked Winston to pull up maps of them both, but he couldn’t.  The GPS still worked but the photo map type programs did not.

I thought about it for a while and suggested to Asuna that we turn up the Farmington River.  I had remembered back to when we had made the rescue run of Anne’s parents, Cyril and Arcelia.  We had used that route and it had been clear.

It seemed like a lifetime ago.  It reminded me of the two of them arriving in the boat with Mark and Frank. They had brought their cats.  That led to me thinking, wondering if Little Moo and Basement were still alive.  I hate these thought cascades sometimes; but then, at times I also really like them.

We could take that route and beach at the golf course.  There were some quarries within a couple of miles of the river and I was willing to bet that they would have some kind of motorized vehicle we could use.  I smiled at the thought of arriving at Romanica in a big bucket loader, but figured more likely it would be some old dump truck.

We agreed that the Farmington seemed the best option and we turned onto it about 3:40.  We cruised up the river, it was not too bad. There were some spots where we had to walk the Zodiac through because the water was not deep enough if we rode.  But we got there.  We were at the golf course by about 5:15.

We unloaded what we needed, the cure, some food and water, the weapons.  We skipped the blanket, on land we could scavenge from the homes as we passed them by.

We walked east on Route 4 for the few miles to Quarry Road and started north.  We hit the first quarry and looked around.  We found a 1962 Ford F100 pick-up, rusty, looked like crap and it had a 6 cylinder engine, definitely not the big red Ford, the Coyote, that I once drove, but it would work if we could get it started.

The battery was dead but that turned out okay. It was parked on a hill, a good sized hill and maybe, just maybe roll it down, pop the clutch and …, it worked.  We have a running truck.

We loaded our things into the truck and started back to Route 4.  It was now 6:30ish, and I knew that we couldn’t make Romanica today so we decided that it would be best if we just held up in the area and took the fresh start in the morning.

“Asuna, I know a place we can stay.”

“Really?  You do?”

“Yep, my dad’s place is close by, a few miles, it will give us a place, should be a safe place to spend the night and collect our thoughts.  Tomorrow is going to be an interesting ride and hopefully we can make Romanica if there are not too many problems on the road.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said.

It was not long before we were there and in a number of ways I am now thinking that this was not a good idea.  There were too many ghosts.  I remembered the last visit, with Anne and Margo at the start of the end.

I remembered years ago, Sundays spent with my parents Teckla and Nick and the kids, memories that had long since gone away, or so I thought. Damn thought cascades!

We went through the house, it was clear, and there were no indications of Zoms or humans in the area.  We also cleared the barn…. sorry, cop term, checked the area for bad things.

While we were in the barn we looked for things that might be of value to us on the trip.  A chainsaw, a come-along, some chain, rope and a couple of axes were about all we found.  Hopefully we would not need them, but who knows.

The power was out and I did not want to try to start the generator, if it would start, that was in the shed.  Better to stay dark and unnoticed, if there was even anyone to notice that we were there.

We turned in after dark.  As we lay in the bedroom upstairs, I couldn’t fall asleep, between the demons and ghosts of the past, and the creaks and groans of the house, it just wasn’t happening.  Asuna, well, I listened to her gentle breathing as she slept, lucky girl.

August 3rd

It was early, like 6ish, Asuna was still sleeping; I looked at her and smiled.  Outside I could hear a coyote yipping by the stream out back.  At first, I didn’t think much of it, but the coyote kept it up, insistent, I looked out the window.  It was a horde. There were about 25 Zoms ambling across the hay field.  The grass was pretty tall and dry, so it slowed them a little. They were old, white hair, old people’s clothes, plaid on plaid, ugly dresses.  I guessed they were from one of the elderly housing complexes that were in the area.  But I was surprised that after this much time they were still moving.

“Asuna, wake up, we got to go.” I whispered while I gently shook her.

“What, Why?”

“Zoms, a shit load of them.”

She looked out the window, and shuttered, “Okay let’s roll,” as she put a determined look on her face.

We quietly crept out the front door and toward the truck.  The house hid our movements from those in the field.  I whispered for her to get ready with the truck, and that I would be right back.  I raced to the barn and grabbed a couple gallon cans of paint thinner.  Then I headed toward the fence line of the field.  The fence would slow them down and I was going to try to give them an out for roaming until they fell apart.

I splashed the paint thinner along the edge of the field and lit it.  Whoosh, the flames sprung to life and with the dried grass it spread like wildfire heading toward the Zoms, engulfing them.  But I didn’t watch.

I ran to the truck, but Asuna was unable to get it to start.  The battery was dead; I had turned the truck off but somehow flipped the ignition switch back on when I got out. Fortunately I had thought about battery problems and had left the truck on the street at the crest of the hill for easy access and just in case we had an issue, we could do a rolling start.

The smoke was thick in the mirrors as we rolled down the hill and away from the farm.  The engine started and we drove out to Route 44.  As we turned to the west, I realized the real impact of the fire I had started.  It was going to run unchecked, and with the dryness, it would be bad.  The farm, the fields, the forest nearby, and probably beyond were going to burn.

Asuna drove for about an hour, we had a number of places that we had to stop, clear large branches or broken cars from the road.  We had only reached New Hartford by about 9 AM.  At this rate Romanica was going to be a tomorrow reunion.

We moved along, and considered the options of the best route to travel the rest of the way home.  Our options were to continue on Route 44 and then hit Route 7 up, or run the shorter Route 8.  Both routes had the potential for blockages on the road, probably equal chances as I remembered each road. Route 8 would lead us by Otis, and I had seen the horde that had killed Uncle Elgin and the Camp Overrun crew about a year ago. But we reduced that horde, and it has been a year.

Asuna finally just said, “Pick one, and go for it.”

The Route 44 ride from New Harford to Winsted was actually pretty clear.  But then it was mostly a four lane road and we were able to negotiate the downed trees, poles and broken cars with ease.  As we reached Winsted and neared to the intersection of Route 8, I was still undecided on the route we would take.  But then a small gray furry thing ran across the road in front of us and took off up Route 8.  It was the sign I needed.  A coyote, one had saved us from the horde in Canton, I would trust this one now.

We drove on and I found that same little gas station that we had visited early on, when we were rescuing Anne’s folks.  We were able to suck, siphon and scrounge just enough gasoline, Hi-Test, to get our tank full.  That should get us to Romanica.

We did find that there were a couple of spots where we had to spend some time clearing the road.  In one case a very large fallen oak blocked the way.  It was a couple of hours of chainsaw and winch work to open the path.  And in the end we rolled in to Becket, actually just south of it at dusk.  It would be no more travel for us tonight; Romanica would have to wait until tomorrow.  It killed me because we were so close. But I was exhausted, and Asuna would not let me drive anymore.

We found a little house and crashed.  I was out like a light after MRE’s.

August 4th (My Birthday)

We had left the windows open in the little house we stayed at last night.  The birds started early and we were up at the ‘crack of ass’ as my police friend Langley used to say when we would work the midnight shift. So we were on the road early for the last leg of the trip.  We might still make it for breakfast.

I drove, the road was open and we rolled into Romanica by 5:30.  Actually, we stopped about a half mile from the camp and walked it.  Driving in might have been a little un-nerving at that hour.

The camp was quiet, but it hadn’t changed much.   We sat by the flagpole and just soaked up the morning, the air, the nature sounds and drifted in memories.

Finally at about 6:30, a little coyote came bounding out the door of Margo’s cabin and made a beeline for me.  Then a girl poked her head out the door, it had been a while, and she had sprouted up, taller than I remembered, but still the same, my little girl.

She looked in our directions, slipped quickly back into the cabin and emerged moments later with a pistol, and dressed in pajamas. She looked, and it hit her: she ran to us, to me, crying.

“Good morning Margo” I smiled, “We didn’t want to wake anyone up, and so we figured we would just wait.”

“How, what, when, year, early,” she stammered through her tears, hugging me.

“A long story, is there any coffee?”

She blurted out between sobs, “no, Nick, Nick, he, gone”, and it hit me, things had happened, it wasn’t like it was.  I stood for a moment as the sadness rushed over me.  My brother, he was gone.

After a couple of moments I regained myself, “But you’re okay, that’s good, and Teckla, Matt, Mark?” I said.

“No, they’re good, just; there’s so much to tell.”  She sobbed, trying to regain her composure. Then she ran to the dinner bell and rang it twice.

People started falling out of their cabins, some with guns, some yawning, and some half-dressed.  When they saw us, it was crazy, hugs, tears, questions.

The coyote, Margo told me that she had named it Lucy, had just sat down next to me while we were first talking, and then would not leave my side.  Before we started toward the dining room I scrunched down toward her and rubbed her head, “I know you, I am sorry I’m late.”

Asuna wasn’t forgotten, she was getting as much attention in the return as I was, she was getting hugged and talked to as much as me.

“Margo, did you keep the journal going? Did you keep track?”  I asked

“I did,” she replied.

Teckla and Tay galloped up and Teckla was off the horse and hugging me, she was in tears.

‘”Hey, its okay, I’m back.” I said as tears flowed freely from my eyes.  There was a rush of both relief and sadness.

“Nick, Nick, is….”

“I know, Margo told me.”  I had to walk away for a few minutes, it hit me, hard. They gave space; I think Teckla helped with that, it is our family way, ‘fight as a group, suffer alone’, only Lucy stayed with me.

After a few minutes I walked back over, hugged Teckla, then Margo, my eyes were still red.  I took Asuna’s hand and said, “Hey what does someone have to do to get a cup of coffee around here?”

We walked to the dining hall; there would be a lot of talking and telling. Once inside, Jan put on some coffee, not the good stuff like we had on the ship, but it was kind of coffee.

First, Asuna and I listened to what had happened over the last year.  Margo and Asuna sat next to me, Lucy lay at my feet. I, it was so good to have them there.

They, Matt, Teckla, Margo, began to share the events of what had happened since we had left.  Matt told us about his pilgrimage to Rome, and the finds along the way, Chris, Helen and Linda Evans.

Lance and Fred talked about the Hunters.

“Langley, LJ they made it? The Burlington folks survived the hunters attack?” I asked.

The Major interrupted, “They did for a while, but in the end….”, and then he told about the Battle of Stanwix, and about Keith and Pam, the raid to dispose of Womack and his crew.

“What am I missing here?” I asked.

Teckla spoke up, “Langley, Ron, all of them were poisoned.  They attacked our camp. It was how Nick died, and Mark lost his arm.  The people from Stanwix were changed, they were killed and changed and then brought here.”

That was a hard pill; we all just sat and were kind of at a loss.

Finally, Asuna said softly, “We have a cure for the sickness.”

The Major looked up, “What? What did you say?”

“The QUalz were able to create a cure for the virus, it makes it so you don’t come back.” Asuna said.

Momentarily there was silence, then a flood of questions, “How? What do you mean? Where is it?”

“It is back at our truck, we left it there, and its safe there,” then I added, “The how, I am not exactly sure, they used the blood samples and DNA that they collected from us all and were able to make something.  Krezz said it would work, but we couldn’t really test it.  We can only assume it works for now.”

“Pills, shots, liquid?  What form is it in?” asked an excited Major Barkley, his doctor sense was tingling.

“It’s a pill.  We have about 50,000 of them and also have the instructions to make more on my readpad.” I told them.

“But are they safe?  I mean, to take?”

I told them that we had taken it weeks ago and that it was not a problem. There were no side effects and the pills were small and went down easy.

Teckla looked at Tom for a moment and finally said, “Yeah, about that being gone thing, it was supposed to be a year.  You were only gone 8 months.  What is that all about?”

“Yeah, well, Krezz kind of messed up there, he said year but meant a cycle, an orbit by the ship.  For us it was really only about an 8 month loop depending on where Mars is.” I told them.

Lance asked how we could make the trip so quickly. Asuna told him that we don’t really know, but we did a loop around Mars and came back, so it would seem we were moving along pretty quickly but also that Mars and Earth were close together in their orbits.  Lance sat down with a thud, there was science stuff running through his head. His mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out.

“A sling shot, it makes sense” shouted Lance, “That is how they kept their speed up; they circle between the Earth and Mars and use it to keep the speed up.  I think I am close but you had to be doing about 45 to 50 thousand miles an hour to make the loop in the time you said.”

“Okay, but the pills, maybe we should go get them, bring the truck into camp?” suggested the Major.

“Yeah, probably a good idea, I could use a break and some fresh air,” I said, not really so much fresh air as a few minutes to just let things settle in. Asuna and Lucy were right at my side.

“Margo, you and Cody going to walk with us?”

“Duh” she said and for the first time I noticed that Cody was with her.  He had been quiet, and just there, holding her hand. A little father thing kicked in, ‘My Little Girl’, gonna have to have a talk with that boy but then, I knew that Asuna, or Anne would tell me that it was too late and just let it go.

The truck was only about a half mile up the road.

“What the heck?...” Margo started, looking at the old rusty Ford.

“It was the only thing we could find that had gas and would run.  The Navy boys told us that it was the only kind of vehicle that would run near where the nukes went off,” I offered.

“The Navy boys?” asked Code

“Yeah, it was the Pittsburgh that picked us up near the Azores, we landed there, kind of off course, but it all worked out.” I told them.

“Ah, Lance said that the Pittsburgh was headed that way to check out a signal, but…hey wait, they said they picked someone up, why didn’t they tell us it was you?”  Asked Margo

“Ah yeah, well see, in case we didn’t make it, I, ah, didn’t want you all to worry,” I stammered.

“Asshole!”

Asuna laughed, “Told you that you should have phoned ahead.”

“I’m sorry I just….”

“No, I know, and I understand, but you’re still an asshole.” Margo mumbled, I think she was kind of pissed.

Lucy jumped into the back of the truck with Code. Margo got into the front with Asuna and me.  She almost sat on Winston.

“Oops, let me have that, can’t be breaking that,” I said

“I’m not that heavy, what is it?” she asked.

“That is Winston, my readpad.”

I fired the old Ford up and we rolled off toward camp, it was loud, and sputtering,

Once we got back to camp there were huddles, not the big group discussion but small groups gathered together talking about who knows what, but I am guessing much of it had to do with our return.

First, we walked over and joined with Teckla, Matt and Mark.  It was family stuff; we talked about Nick’s death and kind of just bonded as a family would do.

Doc and Charlene cornered us next about the pills.  I explained that we had actually gotten about two fifty hundred thousand doses but we had left most with the Pittsburgh for them to distribute to bases and locations along the coast that they had made contacts with.

Dinner tonight was a treat, there were BBQ deer ribs, and corn on the cob, and salads with real tomatoes and veggies from the garden, and it was awesome.  It was almost like Nick and Grace were still with us.  But it was Mark that had taken over the cooking, sort of, although he did not do a lot of the physical cooking, Jan and Michelle did that part.

Asuna and I cleaned up and settled back into our cabin, it was a little dusty, and there were a few spider webs, which freaked Asuna out.  But we got through it.

We did Vespers tonight, I sense there is a sadness sitting just below the surface, but it shall pass I think, they, we, already are recovering.

First Son Note: This date August 4th 2015 converges the separate journal dates together.  We have, therefore, combined the writings of the three Romanicans (Matt, Margo and Lance) and the journals from Test Subject #1.  From this point on the entries will be by day.

(Matt) What a day, Tom and Asuna came back, early, and in some ways it is a good thing, actually I can’t think of bad ways.  They have brought back a pill to prevent us from coming back as undead, and they are back, it is all good.

It was kind of amazing the way they just showed up.  We have so many stories to tell, to get caught up.  It will take a little while for them to get up to speed on what has happened to us, the camp, and it will take us a little while to get to hear about their adventures.

We all were in the dining room talking, but that was just a little rundown.  The details on a lot of things will take time to fill in, and much of it is already written in our journals.

For us, the loss of Nick and Grace, Mark’s arm, the Stanwix People will need to be talked about, but even now the pain is still great. But we have hope. We have Augustus, and we have a way to not come back.

At Vespers tonight it was very much a joyous gathering.  It is the first time in a long time we all made it.  And yet there were empty seats that left their mark on us all.  Grace with her infectious laugh, Nick, Chelsea, they were all missed.

We listened to the tales that Tom and Asuna told.  What they had seen, the stars, the suns, Mars, it was all so amazing.  They, in a way, have visited the Sky Father and brought some of his help back to us.

I will talk with them soon and we can talk in more detail about the horrors we have suffered, and the steps forward we have made. We have made a good life here, it is not what we once had, and yet, I think it is better, sometimes harsh and cruel, but better than.

(Lance) Del and I rushed out of our cabin this morning, swords drawn and ready for war.  What a shock, Tom and Asuna just standing there with Margo.  I couldn’t believe it.  It was one of those moments that you see in some movie, the joyful return home.

We sat in the dining hall and listened.  Part of it was telling the two of them what had happened over the 8 months, wait, it was supposed to be a year, they came back early.

It was cool listening to them tell about space.  But it was not so cool listening to some of us telling about what had happened, the Hunters, Henry, Frank, Ethan all being killed.  And even though it was not told in full detail the whole Stanwix thing.  There is lots of catching up to do, and that will take time.

I should probably contact, or try to contact the Pittsburgh and tell them that Tom and Asuna got back here safely.

(Margo) They’re back and I did not realize until I saw them this morning how much I really missed him.  Part of me was pissed that he had gone away, and yet, had he, they, now I wonder how different things would be.

It is going to take some time to adjust, I have a dad again.  Although at this point, wow, I just don’t know, the world has changed so much, I just don’t know.

Code has been good about all of this, but I think he is a little nervous.  It has to be strange for him too.  But I think that tonight at Vespers it was okay.  We sat with them, and really, Tom seemed okay with our relationship.  He looked at us, smiled and just…. that was it.

The stories, the adventures, I had once thought about a pilgrimage or trip like Matt and Tanya.  But now hearing about the adventures that Tom and Asuna had, it is a must, Code and I have to go somewhere.

August 5th

(Lance) I tried to reach the Pittsburgh last night and then again this morning.  I was able to get through; they have already left on their next voyage.  They were happy to hear that Tom and Asuna had safely made it back.

Del and I spent the day out at the horse farm, a little riding on Shinigami and Samurai.  Not much else to report.

(Margo) Tom and Asuna have been pretty busy.  Code and I stopped over and gave them a hand in getting their cabin back to livable shape.  They had done some of the basics, but we all pitched in a little to get the place up to 100%.

I am confused, or better, unsettled.  I want to spend time visiting with Tom and Asuna, and yet I want to do my usual things also.  I want to get out and see Momma and the cubs.  I need to find a balance. I am sure it will all settle out soon enough, just too much going on I guess.

(Matt) I took a little time to give Asuna and Tom a tour of the fields and gardens that we had put together.  They were impressed, but I am sensing something from them, there is an antsiness, they have something on their minds, but I don’t know what.

It was pretty much a standard day as usual besides the tour.

Vespers tonight we more back to normal, just us all getting together and enjoying the company.  Michelle did some singing, but there was not a real sing-a-long like when Grace led us.  We did a couple of stories, but I feel like there is an elephant sitting with us and no one wants to talk about it.

(Tom) It was so nice to sleep in our own bed last night; it was warm, but not oppressively hot like it was on some of the areas of the Sky Crystal.  It was a little weird hearing all the animal noises.  They had piped them into our room on the ship, but somehow the real deal was more dramatic.

Cody and Margo came over this morning and spent some time with us doing a little cleaning and repair work on our cabin.  I admire their relationship; they have a lot of things going for them that I have seen missing in the other people’s relationships.  There is a respect, and a bond, but most of all they both seem to really like each other.  I mean there is loving someone, and liking someone.  Very often there is a one or the other but to have both, love and like, that is a rare flower.

Later in the day Matt gave us a look at the corn fields, and veggie gardens.  They have done a great job in getting them set up and going even without Henry.  I think that they, we should be good to go as far as food for the winter.

After lunch Asuna and I talked about the pills and that we need to start planning to get them to Kentucky and Colorado.  It would be important to not waste too much more of the good weather.  Kentucky would not be so bad, that is maybe a couple weeks’ worth of driving/traveling.  But Colorado, that was something else.  There is the prospect of winter coming in the course of that trip.

We sat at Vespers as they call it.  It is nice to get everyone together at the end of the day.

August 6th

Asuna and I were up early this morning.  We took a walk down by the lake.  It gave us a little time to talk, away from everyone.

“Asuna, we need to get moving on this cure thing. We gave our word, and the summer is slipping away,” I told her.

“I know, but the rest of the group is not sold on the idea, not so much that they think it is a bad idea but more that it is a task that is too big for just the two of us.”

“So what are you suggesting?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but we maybe should try to get them on board with us, let’s see if they will go along with it, maybe instead of just us we can get a few people to make the run.  Actually runs, one group to Knox, one to Cheyenne, and maybe Alaska,” she suggested.

I looked at her for a moment, she is right, what is wrong with me?   Have I been so out of touch, or maybe I am just caught up, obsessed with this need to save the world.

“You’re right,” I told her.  “I think that we need to start by talking to Matt.”

She smiled, “That is a good idea, he holds a lot of the sway for the camp, he and Tanya would be good people to pitch the idea to the others. But polish up your presentation before you try to sell it, it may be a one shot deal and if you fail, it will be just you and me making the run.”

We spent the morning thinking, talking to people to learn more about what had happened and what the world was like now.

Margo, Lucy and I took a walk this afternoon; she brought me up by the ledge where Momma lives.  She told me about saving the cub, and how Momma had saved her.  I was amazed at how much the last year had changed her, she was hardened, battle tested, not my little girl anymore.  I was kind of sad about that because none of us wanted to see kids suffer through something like what has happened.  But then I was pleased, and felt good that she and the other youngers had adapted and were really ready for this world, as much as one can be ready for it.

“Is Cody a good guy?” I asked her.

She smiled, “Yeah, he is, he’s good to me, … and good for me.”

“So I don’t have to give him the ‘I’m her Daddy, don’t mess with my little girl’ talk?”

“Don’t you dare!”

I laughed, she looked at me and then just shook her head, “Oye.”

“Tom, I know that you and Asuna are planning to make a trip to spread those pills around.  I don’t want you doing it alone, just you two,” She said.

I stopped, I looked at her, wow I thought, yeah, she has grown, I don’t want to accept it, but it is true.

“Margo, I, we are looking to make the trip, and Asuna has suggested that maybe we shouldn’t go it alone, but it will be dangerous, and I....”

“Look, save me the you’re my little girl talk, we’ve all been through a lot of shit, we have all seen people die, and had to kill, we’ve learned to survive, but more important, we have learned not to cower in our little hidey holes.  If we are going to move on, we have to move on,” She glared at me.

I dropped my head, “I’m sorry, I, you are right, both you and Asuna, this is too big for just me and her.”

She hugged me, “yep, but we’ll get it done.”

We returned to camp, I was kind of quiet and just sat by the water staring out over the lake.  I felt old, I felt proud of Margo, I felt that not only had the world changed, but the people I had been with had suffered and that had changed them, they were better, stronger, wiser.  But mostly I felt old.

(Margo)  Things have pretty much settled down a little since the baby, the attack by the Zoms and the return of Tom.  There is still a lot of buzzing, but for the most part it is back to normal.  We have recovered 5 of the sheep, and the ram so we are able to get milk products again.  But it also means that someone has to play Bo-peep again tomorrow.  Care to guess who gets that job?  Yep, Code and I, but it is not so bad.  Code has been real good about letting me wander off and look to see if I can find Momma Lion.  So far I have not had much luck.

Tom and I took a walk out to the ledge, I wanted to show him where the Mountain Lion hung out, and kind of hoped I would see her or the cubs, no luck.  But while we were walking we talked about his silly plan for Asuna and him to take off and try to deliver the pills all around the country.  He has been away for a while and doesn’t understand what the world is like now.  He doesn’t understand the Hunters or the groups of bad people out there.  He needs protection, needs someone to keep him safe for those things.  He needs Code and me to go with him.  I let him know that, he wasn’t happy, but he knows now.  I will not let him, them, go it alone.

Vespers tonight were pretty much standard, but there were a number of questions that were aimed at Tom and Asuna about what it was like in space.  But I think it was some hoped that some explanation of what happens now would float to the surface, it didn’t.

(Lance) Typical day, Del and I headed out to the horse farm and spent some time riding on Samurai and Shinigami.  We did a little sword play but mostly we just scouted to the north today, headed up toward Dalton. We found a couple of Zoms, but that was about it, there was little else found.

(Matt) Tanya and I were out early to visit the veggie garden.  Mark has asked us to give him some estimates on what the status on the various plants will be.  Things like how long we will have tomatoes for and if there would be an overabundance.  I think he is trying to work out some things with Taylor to see about canning or putting stuff away.  The corn is not an issue, but the beans, and some of the squash would be.

While we were out there we talked about the pills and getting them around.  We will help; it is insane for just those two to head out and try to deliver them all around the country.  I’m not sure about the others but Tanya and I will certainly help out, I’m actually thinking it would be a good break from the camp, but it could, no, would be risky.  I think we need to talk about it, all of us.

August 7th

(Lance) About 10 this morning I was called to join a meeting that was going on.  Teckla, Doc Barkley, Charlene, Matt and Tom were there already.  The topic was the cure that had been made by the Krezz.  We had about 10,000 doses and the question was what we were going to do with it.  The informal consensus is that we should spread it around.  I am good with that idea, but the question was how.

Tom had already turned over most of the pills to the Pittsburgh for them to distribute to bases and populated areas that they knew of or dealt with.  But there were some inland locations that the ship could not get to.  We know of Fort Knox and Cheyenne Mountain.  They want me to start trying to contact other bases, or at least try to do so.  The thought was that there may be other bases and we needed to try to help them out.  My task is to get on the Sat-Comm and find out where there were other sites.

It seems like a good idea but I am going to be careful about it.  I am not going to give away our location, or numbers.  It could be a case where a renegade group, like Womack’s, might try to do visit us.  The information would also help us decide on how many groups we needed to send out and how far they would need to travel.

Del and I skipped fire pit tonight, we stayed in and talked.  I have some concerns about the pills.  The funny part is that I can’t explain why.  I just have this nagging feeling that there is something wrong with it, something that is a bad about it, but I don’t know what it is.  Maybe I am being silly, Tom and Asuna took it and they’re fine.  So it has had some testing.  Del thinks we should take it, I am hesitant, I want to wait, see what is going on.  I know she is not happy with my choice, but for now she is going along with it.

(Matt) Tanya and I were out early to visit the veggie garden.  Mark has asked us to give him some estimates on what the status on the various plants will be.  Things like how long we will have tomatoes for and if there would be an overabundance.  I think he is trying to work out some things with Taylor to see about canning or putting stuff away.  The corn is not an issue, but the beans, and some of the squash would be.

When we got back Tom was talking to the Major and Mom. Tanya and I joined in, so did Margo and Cody.  Pretty soon Lance, and Mark and Fred were there too.  Tom told us that he had originally thought that we needed to get the cure brought out to some of the places where there were still human colonies.  His idea is to just jump in his truck, the Coyote, and go. But in talking to Margo and Asuna, they convinced him that it was not such a hot idea.

We began to talk about it and share ideas.

“When the Navy rescued us, we had 200,000 doses of the cure that we turned over to them to distribute to the coastal bases that they knew about.” Tom said.  “And they weren’t going to restrict it to just American bases, but share with the world. While we were traveling with them they had set up rendezvous’ with a British and a Russian ship.”

“That’s good,” said the Major.

“And we, Asuna and I promised that we would get the remaining pills to those who needed it here on the main land.  So that is what we need to do.”

“Tom, really, think about it.  How are you two going to do that, just ride off into the sunset and find people and places?” Teckla said. You could sense an edge to her voice.

“Yeah it’s a long haul doing it that way.  We know that Fort Knox and Cheyenne Mountain have bases, and Matt told me that there was a group up in Fairbanks.  We need to do this, we gave our word. What can we do to make it easier and safer?” I told them all, I felt better about this already, and I could see both Margo and Asuna smiling and shaking their heads in agreement with opening it up to the clan.

“Well, let’s start with Lance.  He has had some contact with some bases and if we do this right we can get to them, and then they can further spread the cure around saving us some travel time.” suggested Tanya.

Lance told us that that he knew of three locations that were occupied, that being Fort Knox, Fairbanks, and the other location is Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.  We know, or knew that they had population.

“Okay, and if I remember, Lance, you said that Fairbanks was looking to relocate more toward Anchorage,” Mark said.

“Yes, they did, come to think of it,” Lance replied.

“Do you think there are other places, populations out there?” asked Fred.

“Maybe, I have not tried making contact with anyone lately; I mostly spoke with the Pittsburgh.  But I can try to see who I can raise out there.” Lance replied.

“Good idea, but remember some of our recent events,” said Doc Barkley.

“Oh for sure, I have been and will continue to be very discreet with contact, with no home address given.  You never know.”

The conversation went on, I don’t think that any of us are against the idea of sharing, but we need to be as effective and careful as we can be.  Winter is rolling toward us and if we are going to hit some the more northern routes we want to be done with them and back home by the end of September or we will be putting the travelers at great risk.

(Tom) I know that I am pushing this issue of getting the cure out to the other areas of the country.  Asuna and I made a deal with the Pittsburgh and we are going to do our part of the bargain.  I will try to get some of the others to help out, even though I initially thought the smartest thing is for Asuna and I to just take off and head toward Fort Knox and then Cheyenne Mountain.  It would take maybe a month for us to do the loop and we would be back before the snow flies.

But I have had a change of heart on that one thanks to Asuna and Margo. Everyone is involved now, and in the end, that is the best way to go.  I was wrong.

(Margo) Code and I were on Bo-Peep duty and missed the big pow-wow.  I am kind of pissed about that, I wanted to be part of it, part of the planning, but no, we are watching sheep that we really have no reason to be worrying about.  Momma is the only predator out there and she, well I doubt she would take one, but even if she did, we, I owe her.

Lance and Del filled us in at supper, there is no definitive plan yet, other than it is going to an effort by the clan.  I told Code that if that is the case we, he and I were going.  He agreed.

August 8th

(Matt) Lance is still working on confirming locations.  He said that he was able to make contact with Fort Knox and Cheyenne, but so far no luck with Fairbanks. So at this point we have two confirmed locations.  I still think that there is a third and that we should plan on heading to Alaska also.  I want to see Alaska again, sounds funny, but I think Raven is calling me.

The how to do it is going to be the big issue.  But really, I think that it is pretty simple.  We set up three groups, each with a third of the medicine and then head out separate ways via truck.  We drop off the goods and then head for home, simple as a bridge.

But there are those who have other plans and options, it could be a while before it is all figured out. Fred, for example, has suggested that he takes one of the airplanes and jumps from airfield to airfield.  That might work, but the fuel issue is the flaw. He, they, whoever went with him would be at the mercy of finding aviation gas; it is different from jet fuel, which is basically kerosene.  It has been almost two years; the gas supplies are likely contaminated.

The idea of riding horses has been suggested.  That one could work, it cuts out the fuel issues but it would be a slow and long trip.  For the trip to Kentucky it would be kind of okay, but it would not work for Colorado or Alaska.  It would be November before we got there, and the snows would already be in the western mountains.

No, from my mind it is by truck, diesel, four by four.  We should be able to lay in a supply of fuel to have as an emergency back up, and then just hit the highway.

We shall see.

(Lance) I have been able to confirm two locations for delivery.  Kentucky and Colorado are a go.  I have still not been able to reach Alaska, but I did speak with the Pittsburgh and they have told me that they had made contact 2 days ago.  Fairbanks is on the move coming down the Fairbanks to Anchorage rail line, but they are doing it slowly, in trucks and there are a lot of tree issues.

There is still some working out the details of how to proceed.  But it is pretty much a given that there will be three groups, Tom will lead one, Barkley will lead the second and Matt will lead the third.  There is the question of mapping out how to get from point A to point B, and what the size of the teams will be.  Tom leans toward 2 each, Matt and the Major lean to 4.

As I listen to them going on, it has become sort of “blah, blah, blah” and I am not really listening.

The planning session ran late tonight so Vespers did not happen, some of the folks may have hung out there, but many of us were still trying to sort out the plan.

(Tom) Talking all day, and I am tired of talking, I just want to take my share of the medicine and jump in the truck and be gone.  But that is not right either.

We have some agreement; I am heading to Colorado with Asuna.  The Major and Charlene are going to head to Fort Knox, and Matt and Tanya are going to Alaska.  They will have the longest and hardest road.

Although Fred and Jan have pushed for using the planes, they finally realized that the problem of fresh usable fuel makes that a bad choice.  But they have decided that they will accompany Matt and Tanya.

Much to everyone’s surprise Mark insisted on going along also with one of the groups.  At first it was pooh-poohed, but as he set his heals in it was clear he was going.  Matt was the first to cave and said that Mark could come with him.  But that was met with an absolutely no vote by Teckla.  She was not going to put both her eggs in one basket.  I was going to suggest that he come with me, but the Major spoke up first and said that he would be happy to take him, them, Michelle would be traveling with them.

That left me, and I was still against taking anyone with us.

It was dinner break and Asuna and I headed toward our cabin to grab a couple of things before dinner.  On the way she came at me.

“Hey, I just talked to Lance, you know Code and I are coming with you, right?” hissed Margo.

I stopped and looked at her, “It is too dangerous, no, you aren’t!”

Asuna and Cody exchanged glances; they knew where this was going.

“Wrong, we are going with you, or we are following you, get it!”

“But Margo….”

“But nothing, we are going!”

I saw a lot of her mother, Anne, in her at that moment; she was not going to be denied.  I knew I was not going to win this one.  But I still had to ask, “Why, why is it so important that you go?”

“Because…..just because.”

Well, I guess that set the teams, and now we have to decide some when’s and what to carry and we’re off.

That was decided after dinner, we leave in 2 days, and two trucks each team.  We would fill some fuel drums just in case. Steven said that the JP-8, the helicopter fuel, would be fine in the trucks that we had, and we have an ample supply at the camp.

(Margo) Bo-Peeped it again today, still a waste of time, well mostly.  I did get a chance to see Momma today.  I was sitting on a rock, away from the sheep and she wandered into the clearing.  She still had the cubs with her.

We sat and just stared at each other for a while, seemed like hours but was really just a few minutes.  But in that few minutes I sensed, realized that protecting what, who was important to me was a big deal.

After we got back for the day, it was near dinner time. I saw Lance and asked him how the planning stuff was going.  He laid out the basics to me, the destination, and the routes, who was going.

“Lance, you aren’t going?” I asked

“No, it looks like a few of us will be staying here, to hold down the camp for a month or so,” he replied.

“Well, we are going to miss you,” I said

“Why? You aren’t going.”

I looked at him for a moment, and then asked, “What do you mean? Code and I are going with Tom and Asuna!”

“Not according to his plan.”

I saw Tom and Asuna walking toward their cabin, I was off, like fired from a gun.

“Tom, I just heard something that bothers me a little, I heard you are still thinking that you aren’t going to take Code and I with you.”

“Yeah, it is too risky, I…”

“No, that is not happening, Code and I are going, get that through your thick skull, we are going, following you, or riding with you, we are going!”

He looked at me for a moment, then at Code, and Asuna, then back at me.  “But I want…”

“I know what you want, and I, we are going anyway!”

“Why, why do you need to go?” he asked.

“Because, Because…” I couldn’t really explain it.  It was where I am supposed to be, protecting, being Momma Lion.

He knew he wasn’t gonna win this so it is agreed. But I am going to have to watch him.  I wouldn’t put it past him to try to sneak out early without us.

Later that night, just before bed I turned to Code, “Guess I should have asked you, are you okay with this trip?”

He smiled at me and just said, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

August 9th

(Lance) I spent a good part of the day trying to figure out the best ways to get to all the locations.  It is all based on the Interstates.  Del and I ran into Pittsfield to do a little shopping.  Specifically we picked up some travel maps at the AAA and also stopped at a big box electronic store and picked up some good old CB radios and some battery charging units.

In the afternoon I first met with Matt and Tanya.  I supplied them with the information I had come up with on the maps.  Their route was pretty easy, they were going to take I-90 cross country to either Spokane or Seattle and then head north, or they could head to Toronto and go around the north side of the Great Lakes and across southern Canada.  It is the longest of the treks, but it has the least chance of blockage once west of like Chicago.  The other two teams could face some bridge and river issues in their paths.

The Major was good with what I mapped out for him, it was also pretty direct. For them the biggest problem would be might be if they ran into bridges over some small rivers that were taken out.

The route to Cheyenne Mountain was pretty easy too.  It would all depend on what road damage and bridge damage that was out there.  The biggest problem for Tom’s team might be getting across the Mississippi.

Ironically, all of the routes start out the same.  They all could follow I-90 to Cleveland Ohio area, and then they, the Major breaks off to the south on I-71, the other two teams continue on to the Chicago area and then Tom picks up I 80 and Matt heads north on I-94.  Traveling together at the start is probably a good idea; it will give a little more security and safety through what are still possibly some heavy population of Zoms and maybe some living.

(Matt) Checked the veggies this morning, force of habit I guess, last chance to do so for a while. I left instructions with Teckla and Taylor on what to do with them.

Lance gave me some map options today.  I like the idea of the northern route through Canada, but there is a lot of sense for us all to take the southern route, I-90 to start with heading out to Ohio before we start separating.  It will give us options should we have a breakdown, or find other more dangerous ‘road blocks’ along the way.

Spent the rest of the day outfitting the Raven, put in the CB radio and mounted the fuel drums.  We also loaded the camping gear, weapons, food, spare tires, chains, winches, and most importantly the cure.

We decided that the Major and Tom would each take 40 % of the pills and leave 20% for us to take to Anchorage.  The logic behind it was that Fort Knox and Cheyenne were larger facilities and could also distribute to smaller facilities, if any were close by.

Our trip would be the longest; we are ideally looking at about 10 to 12 days each way.  But who knows what we might find on the way to slow that down.  Yet, I am sure that the Earth Mother will work with us.

I know that Mom is not happy, and yet, she realizes the need and the urgency of this trip.  We, Mark, she and I, sat down and had a private dinner tonight, it was somber, and in the end, very emotionally draining for us all.  We talked about the old days, the farm in Canton, the Men Cook Picnic, Thanksgivings past, and the annual Pumpkin Carve.  All those memories were bittersweet.

(Margo) I am excited; we are finally going on a trip, a sort of pilgrimage.  I know that it could end badly, but we live with that every day.  Colorado, I can’t wait to see you.

Code and I packed up the truck.  For this I have taken over Frank’s Ram, and I’m going to drive, following Tom.  He knows the route, I saw him talking with Lance.

We did Vespers tonight; it will be our last one for a while.  Tanya ran the show; Matt, Mark and Teckla were not there.  I think they were doing family stuff.

(Tom) I am still tempted to run off early so I don’t have to take Margo and Cody.  I like the idea of them coming, but I am worried about them.  I am not sure I could live with it if something happened to them, but then, on any given day.

Anyway, Lance stopped by to give me directions and the route plan he put together, but I had already talked with Winston and he had the path down for us.  It matched the one that Lance had created for us, at least until Chicago, and then we had some small changes that he suggested.

Doubled checked the Coyote for gear, and made room for the two 55 gallon drums of spare fuel. Then I fussed over the truck that Margo and Cody will take.  It was Frank’s, so even though it hasn’t been run in a while, I am sure it is, or was, well cared for.

As a last minute thought, I put a couple of automobile batteries into the back bed, just a though, just the little voice in my head telling me that it would be a good idea.

Asuna and I hit fire pit tonight, it was kind of quiet, Matt, Mark and Teckla were missing, and I can understand that.  Margo would be coming with me, so there wouldn’t be that separation.  We ended a little later than usual, there was just a kind of feel that we all just wanted to hold on to each other for a little longer tonight.

Asuna and I sat out by the lake until about 2 in the morning looking at the sky.  We talked about where we have been, how things have changed in the world, and what the future might hold.  We were kind of upbeat about it.  I really believe that given a few weeks we’ll all be back home and getting ready to freeze our asses off come winter time.

August 10th

(Matt)  The plan was to leave at 10 this morning, but there were a few little last minute details that needed attention.  Seems one of the fuel drums in the Major’s truck had a little leak in it and it was not discovered until we were almost ready to leave.  We had to change that out and then we were off.  We picked up I-90 and took it into Albany.  We deviated a little bit to use the Menard Bridge and then were able to get through the city and back on the Interstate pretty easily.

As we drove, I thought about the camp and the good-byes this morning.  I hope that we will all see each other again soon.  I will leave it at that.

Our goal was to make about 300 miles today.  That is if the roads are clear.  We look for fuel along the way and try to keep topped off as best we could.  Fred was able to gather some flight maps that show where there were small regional airports that would accommodate jets.  Those seem to be the best chance at JP-8 and in most cases they wouldn’t be that far from the highway.

We used the CB radios to chat back and forth as we moved out of Albany and entered Schenectady.  This was the place where we made a big deviation from the route that Lance had suggested.  We decided that taking I-88 and then I-86 toward Erie, PA might be a little better than I-90.  We would not have to deal with Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo by going that way.

It was actually my idea, and although I used those cities as an excuse, I think it had more to do with not having to retrace our steps to go near Rome and Stanwix. There is still a lot of pain held from that place and what happened.

We planned to drive until about 8 pm or so.  That would give us a chance to find a place, safe place, for us to camp or park for the night.

The route itself was fairly peaceful and clear of blockages.  We had to move a couple of cars and a tree.  But that was about it.

We ended up in Bath, New York for the night.  There was a little campground just to the north of the town by a lake.  In a way it kind of reminded me of Romanica; it had the same sort of layout with the cabins, and the way the grounds looked.

After dark we wandered out to their little fire pit that seemed to be a camp meeting place.  They had little log benches set up in a circle.  We heated up some of the food, deer stew that had been packed for us.  We would eat that for a couple of days, and then we would be doing canned goods, or hunting/foraging.

There was not a lot of chatter at the fire; it wasn’t like our usual vespers, although at the end of the night, about 10, I led us in a prayer.  We set up a watch schedule, and turned in.  I did not draw watch duty tonight.

(Margo) Well, we were off and as I expected, late, but it wasn’t a big deal.  Once on the road I was just following the rest of the trucks.  Code and I were the last truck in the group.  After about an hour of driving I came to the conclusion that driving is really, kind of boring.  I found my mind wandering, thinking about Momma, and where we have been, and the trucks in front of us.  I started to laugh.

“What?” asked Code.

“Oh, I was just remembering something.  As we are driving, all I see is the back of the truck in front of me.  It reminded me of a joke my Gramp used to tell us, over, and over, and over.”

“And?”

“Oh, well it was about a family of moles walking along in a line and the Daddy Mole, the first in line, says ‘I smell Pancakes and syrup,’ and the Mommy Mole, next in line, says, ‘Yep, I smell pancakes and syrup too,’ and the little Baby Mole, last in line, grumbles, ‘Yep, well maybe, but all I smell is molasses’.”

He looked at me, and just shook his head.

I grinned, “It is comfort food, a good memory, of a better time.”  Suddenly, I wanted to cry.

We drove on, had to make a couple stops, Code helped move the roadblock while I sat with the Barrett, my sniper rifle, and just kept watch. I saw some movement a couple of times, and when I zeroed in with the scope, it was just a deer or a rabbit.  Nothing to worry about for us, or for them either, today we have food, tomorrow, they may not be so lucky.

The rest of the day was boring, I tried turning on the AM/FM radio, to see if there was a station that was up and running, doubted it but figured I would try.  That did not last long though; we kept hitting the automatic loop recordings from some of the local stations telling us that we could find sanctuary in Rome, at Fort Stanwix.  That killed the idea of playing with the radio, and sucked the life out of some of us for the day.

We rolled through Binghamton, and then on through Elmira, and Corning until we finally ended up at a little campground at a town called Bath.  It worked, and we ate around the little campfire that was in the middle of the cabins.

I drew the first watch for tonight.  I am tired; the driving was more draining that I ever expected.  But I only have to hang on until 2 AM, and then Fred is going to relieve me.  It is quiet, and I am able to get some writing done.  Not much into thinking though, just trying to stay awake.

(Tom) Damn, late start, I wanted to get moving, want to get there and back again.  But we moved along pretty well, we averaged in the 40 Mph range, which seemed reasonable, we could have gone faster, but the faster, the more diesel fuel we would use.  So that is good.

Matt suggested a route different than what Lance had given us.  It kind of made sense, I guess, and when I asked Winston about it, he seemed to agree that the route would be a little shorter overall.

Matt and I took turns leading the way.  We kept the Major and Margo near the back.  Those two trucks were important to keep safe because of the medical aspect and I used the excuse of Margo being the sniper/protector, but really, it was because it was Margo.

We saw nothing living, or dead as far as humans went.  We had no contact with the Hunters.  But then, even if we did run into hunters they should just ignore us, we were in theory, virus free.  It will be an interesting test when it finally happens.

We covered a nice chunk of road today despite the late start.  We reached a little place near a town called Bath.   I’m tired.  Asuna snoozed during much of the afternoon part of the drive.  I listened to a couple of mind-numbing New Age CDs while I drove.  I remembered some of my long drive vacations out west, Arizona, Route 66 and Montana, some with Anne, some alone.  It was long ago.

(Lance) They are away, we were able to talk to them for a while, couple of hours, but now they are on their own.  The camp is emptier; there are only six of us here.  I am wondering now if we might have been better to have just split into three groups and the six of us went with the travelers.  But then we need to still get the camp and food supply ready for winter and there is the baby and the horses.

It is going to be a long month.  It might be a good time for Del and me to do some exploring also.

August 11th

(Tom) We were awake pretty early this morning and ready to roll by 7 o’clock.  A check of the fuel situation showed we were good for another hundred or so mile which meant we should be keeping an eye out for airports or truck stops.  When I asked Fred to look into that, he told me that there was a Hornell Municipal Airport up the road about 50 miles.  Perfect, that was our goal.

The road was pretty clear of broken down cars, which was good.  We got to Hornell at about 8:30.  There was a good supply of kerosene and we were able to top off.  This should get us to the end of the day’s stopping point.

Once we were on the road again we passed through another Hinsdale, this one in New York.  I wonder how many there are, Hinsdales that is.

As we rode along, I thought about what we might face if we tried to rejoin I-90 at Erie Pa and then followed it down to the Cleveland area.  I was thinking that it might be better to take a different, less populated route into the city.  We talked about it on the CB for a bit and decided that we could take a cross-route through the Allegheny Mountains and that would bring us to I-80.  The thought was that it would lead us through less developed areas.  We figured that I-90 would go through some areas that, it was very likely, could still have population, or had been badly damaged by the government when they bombed the area.

We had to stop a couple of times on Route 519 between I-90 and I-80 to clear a few trees, and at one point had to carefully navigate over a washed out part of the road where a creek had taken out the low bridge that crossed it. It took us about 45 minutes to get the 6 trucks across, it was very treacherous.

At about 2 PM we connected with the Pennsylvania Turnpike and followed it into Ohio. The area was not too bad; it was pretty unpopulated at first, until we got closer and closer to Youngstown.  As we hit the suburbs, we began to see where civilization had taken a downturn. There was an increase in cars abandoned and burned out on the other side of the highway. Every few miles we would run into places where the traffic had tried to break out of the traffic jams and had moved to our side of the highway.  It took some effort to move or get around them.

It got a little better once we cleared Youngstown, for a while anyway; the east bound lanes were still bad. That had been all the people who had tried to escape Cleveland and the area around it.  To think about the people, hundreds of thousands of people who had tried to get away, it kind of left a sick feeling in my stomach.

“I wonder how they died.” I said out loud.

Asuna looked at me, and kind of shrugged, “I don’t know, I hope it was quick, and painless, but..”

“Yeah, best case was they left the cars and got away, but I don’t think so.  I am thinking that maybe they were stuck in traffic when the bomb went off.  It would probably have been the most humane, if burning to death is humane.”

“Hey, let’s not think about it, we can’t change it, we, I mean, I don’t mean to be cold, but…well, you know,” Asuna added.

“Yeah, I know,” and reached over taking her hand.

We had been fortunate in so many ways, we have never really seen how bad it was until now, and we were always isolated, insulated.  We saw some of it, but it was on a much smaller scale that what we had just started to see.

We rolled on through the wreckage, I would have said carnage, but there were no bodies left, just burned out cars and buildings.  I began to wonder what we would find when we reached the Cleveland area, I was thinking that we should maybe try tracking south and avoiding the city altogether.

(Margo) Another tough day of last in line, I had Code drive this morning, he did okay, but when we got to the washed out bridge I took over.  I have a little more driving time and experience than he does.  While the others were crossing, I stood and watched, made sure we were not attacked.

When we hit the Ohio border things began to change, the damage, the fires, the destruction.  I had expected that it would be like driving through Albany.  A few things blown over, a little damage here and there, but this was different, this was what the world would look like after a nuclear war.  And really, that is what had happened.  The government had declared war on the undead, the Zoms, and this was the result. Who had won, nobody.

Code and I just looked as we drove along, quiet, sad.

(Matt) The fuel stop this morning went okay, we are topped off and looking to get to Cleveland by this evening.  Should be workable, we’re only looking at traveling 300 miles or so today.  We can do that.  In fact, if anything, we should be looking to travel 450 miles or more per day, this is too slow for me.

I am glad that we decided that we would skip theI-90 leg to Erie and head toward I-80 instead. Once we got across into Ohio it was depressing to see what the world looked like.  What it was like.  We had been lucky, we had suffered a little, had some bad times, but this was nothing like I could imagine.

Tanya and I sat quietly as we drove along, wrecks, destroyed buildings, barren wasteland, that was what was there.

We reached the airport at about 6pm.  Parts of the concourse had been spared, and a few of the jets had not exploded or burned.  We were able to fill our fuel tanks by draining the precious liquid from those aircraft.

The meal tonight was quiet.  I think we all were shocked at how bad it had been, how terrible the loss of life had been. We all just huddled close by each other in the remains of the ‘C’ concourse waiting for tomorrow when we could get out of here.  But we knew, we all knew, there would be more places like this.  We were in the heartland, and the heart had been torn out.

(Lance) The day was quiet, Del and I headed out to the horse farm and did some time on Shinigami and Samurai.  We have moved the sheep out there.  Taylor and Teckla are going to continue to live out there.  That leaves me, Del, Steven, Heather and the baby back at the camp.

There is not much to do, check the veggies, and think.  Del and I do a little hunting, and gathering.  That is about it.

We did a fire pit tonight; it was weird, empty, lonely.

Del and I still have our pills, the cure, but I am still not convinced that I should take it.  I just think there is something wrong with them.

August 12th

(Lance) Nothing interesting, quiet, boring, what can I say.

(Tom) As we sat huddled in the semi-dark last night, it was difficult to see, we had a full moon, and it did give a little light to the interior of the concourse.  The Major had drawn guard duty for the first half of the evening.  I have the second half.

It was almost time for me to take over the watch when Lucy woke me up.  She put her cold nose to my face, and when my eyes opened she let out one soft quick whimper.

I whispered, “What is it girl?”

She just looked down the concourse to the left.  At first, I could see nothing, then in the muted moonlight I saw something, something moving, slowly, quietly, it was man-height, but not human.  It was quiet, just making a little hum.

I shook Asuna, who was lying next to me, she woke and started to ask what was going on but I put my hand over her mouth.  I pointed toward the Hunter.

“Sshhhhh” I whispered, “Wake the others.”

She quietly woke Margo, and Code and pointed down the concourse to where the thing was.

“It is a Hunter,” Margo said and then gave a quiet curse.

I thought to myself, well, we will find out if the medicine that the QUalz made worked very shortly.

Quickly and quietly, the rest of the team was awakened.  Most had been concealed behind chairs and benches so it was pretty simple to get to them.  The Major was mortified when we woke him up, but that is a topic for later.  No time to talk about it right then.

Margo sighted in on the Hunter, she could, would easily have a kill shot.  But we wanted, needed to know if it sensed us.  It was mostly quiet in the concourse except for our whispers and breathing that sounded loud in the empty enclosed area.  But it appeared that the sounds, even though soft, did not catch its attention.

It might be movement that was the trigger, bad choice of words, sorry, the way in which they first tracked their prey.  I tested it by tossing a pillow out from around the corner, but still it seemed to not even notice us.

It rolled closer and closer, it was hunting, but it didn’t notice us, why?

It finally rolled past and just kept going.  It should not have done that, it should have been aware we were there I would have thought.  I had to know, I looked at Margo, and nodded, and then I jumped up, and shouted, “Hey!”

I heard a couple of gasps, and Margo mutter something, I guess it was a swear.  But the Hunter ignored the shout, and it just rolled on.

Moments passed and the thing turned a corner and was gone from sight.

“Are you fucking crazy?”  Margo was in my face.

I kind of shrugged, “We needed to know, and you had my back.” I answered.

She was pissed, most of the others were shocked and I did get a stern talking to from Asuna about what she also considered a very foolish thing that I had done.  But thanks to Lucy and the QUalz, we were all safe.

Actually, it seems more a case that the Hunters track the virus, not living things, and as a result it was not even able to ‘see’ us.  Without the virus, we don’t exist to the machine.

The Major was very upset with himself, he had fallen asleep on guard duty and that it could have had a bad result.  He apologized, again, and again.  I think the idea that his actions could have had such a bad ending ate at him more than anything else.

By then the sky was starting to lighten up; soon it was time to get ready to hit the road.  We had a little food, cold cereal and water.

Later as we walked down toward the trucks we saw the Hunter, it had rolled out onto the tarmac.  It still seemed unaware that we were there.  But suddenly the head went up, and it began to swivel.  Margo had it sighted in, but it wasn’t looking at us.  Then we saw it, them, there was a scarecrow of a woman stumbling down the runway, with a half dozen Zoms following behind.

We tried to save her, Margo sighted and took down two of the Zoms, Matt got another, but before we could do anything else the Hunter took down the woman.  It then targeted the other Zoms.

Margo killed the Hunter.

We gave the woman, she was bedraggled, and her clothing dirty and torn, a decent burial.  We couldn’t even guess at her age, she was dirty, and drawn.  Her skin was leathery, and there was not much to her.  I could only think of a concentration camp prisoner.

Matt said a few words over the grave.  We never even knew her name, to us, she would be Jane Doe.

It was a messed up day, the mood in the group was not good.  We all just kind of worked it through the best we could.  I wondered if we should have killed the Hunter when we first saw it, or for that matter after we confirmed it didn’t ‘see’ us, but then at the same time, except where it found a living person, it was still killing Zoms, choices, hard choices.

(Matt) We met a Hunter last night, and it didn’t seem to see us, or at least it didn’t attack us.  I think that the cure has worked.  I think that it is something off the plate of our worries.  Now it is just Changed and humans.

This morning was horrible, that hunter found prey, and sadly, one of the killed was a woman, a poor, starving, woman who was hunted and chased by the Changed.  We have no idea for how long or where she came from.  But it was clear that her life was not as blessed as ours has been.

Funny, at times we think our issues were great, Stanwix, the raid on the camp, but after seeing her, and what we have driven through yesterday, we have had it very good.  Thank you Sky Father and Earth Mother, we are blessed.

Tanya and I did a little prayer for the woman, whoever she was.  I doubt we could have saved her, and in the end, her end was probably a relief, quick, unseen, rather than being ripped to shreds and turned.

The drive to Toledo was a depressing one.  Much of the same burned out, barren, desolation that we had seen running into Cleveland.  We are all just overwhelmed by what we have been seeing.

We found a little truck stop just east of Toledo.  It allowed us to fill up the tanks. My group will break away and start toward Alaska. We move north on I-90, the rest, they will go southwest.

We stood around for a while, it was strange, I think that we all knew what we had to do, but this saying goodbye thing is not easy. None of us want to be the first to say it.  But finally, I did, it was hard.

We drove off; I promised Tom that we would get through and see them back at camp in a few weeks.  I want to do that, I really do.  It may take some luck, but I felt, feel that it will happen; we’ll make it.

We reached South Bend, and on to Gary, Indiana.  The scenery didn’t change much and the day clouded over in the afternoon, it began to rain and storm about 2 PM.  It slowed us down, but we had left a cushion, we should still be able to easily make Rockford before dark.

We broke away from I-90 for a little bit, the Chicago area was just a little too risky and depressing in my mind.  Tanya and the others agreed so we headed out on I-80 to I-39 then it was a straight shot north to Rockford.  We rolled in just south of the city about 7PM. We made our way to the Chicago-Rockford Airport and were able to get some fuel, but after last night, staying at an airport just seemed a bad idea.  We headed out of town a little further and found a little farm on the other side of the Rock River.

I have the first watch tonight, and although I would like to take some more time to write about what I am feeling, about what I have seen, it just is not happening.

(Margo) Dammit, I should have shot the Hunter first, I should have taken it out, but now that woman is dead, because of me.  This is getting old; this game is no fun anymore.  I hate it.

Code has been good; he is trying to make me see that it was not my fault.  Tom is trying too, they all are, but right now, it isn’t helping.

I drove today, we headed west on I-90 until we hit the outskirts of Toledo a little before noon.  It was time to start to break up and for Matt, Tanya, Fred and Jan to leave us and move toward Anchorage.  We stopped at a little gas station and just kind of hung around together for a while.  No one wanted to be the one to say it was time, goodbyes are never easy, and especially after all we have been through.

Matt finally just came out with it, “Time to go!”

There were a few last hugs, promises were made to be safe and comments like we would all laugh about it when we got back to Romanica.

We waved as they drove off and we just stood for a few minutes.  It was hard. “Good luck Raven, Turtle, be safe, and may the Earth and Sky protect you,” I said to myself.  I think we were all thinking it.

The rest of the day was quiet as we drove on, down through the Fort Wayne area, and then ended the day near Indianapolis.  We found a small airport, and fueled up, but we didn’t stay there.  I think it had to do with last night and this morning.

I took the early guard duty and when I’ve finished writing for the day, now I’m going to draw, I haven’t done it in a while, I have no inspiration, but need the pencil in my hand.

(Lance) It was warm today, we did the veggie run, and we are eating lots of salads.  We all take a little turn at the cooking.  Nick had left a kind of cookbook, but so far no one is into trying to experiment with his recipes.

Storm this afternoon, we could use the rain.

August 13th

(Tom) I drew the second watch again last night so I didn’t get much of a chance to write anymore last night.  But I figured that it would probably be boring while it was my turn at the watch, and it is keeping me awake.

The group had its first division and it was hard on us all.  I am not sure how it will all end up.  I think that we can do this, it won’t be easy, and seeing the world as it is now convinced me further of that.  We have been mostly lucky, the fuel, the Hunter, finding food along the way.

Today we will see the Major and his crew heading south while we head southwest.  I think in retrospect the one big loop idea would have been better, if we had taken 4 or 5 trucks headed to Fort Knox, then Cheyenne Mountain and if time allowed on to Alaska, but it is academic, it is too late now.

It was goodbyes all over again, with promises, and fake smiles.

We hit the road about 8:30, I am exhausted from staying up much of the night, Tanya drove, and I napped.

We reached Columbia, Missouri about 4 PM, the road gods had smiled on us. Or maybe Missouri really does love company. (Sorry) The weather was okay most of the day, but we did get some Midwest thunderstorms rolling in after we reached the city.

My sleep cycle is messed up so I volunteered for the first watch.  Nothing happened except the lightening.

(Margo) I had Code drive today, I was just in a mood, I think it is a combination of things, the Hunter, the woman, the desolation, and maybe a touch of Auntie Flo, she seems to have showed up at just the wrong time.  Funny, I am usually pretty good with that now, but with everything else, like I said, a mood.

The drive was actually pretty calm and boring, I snoozed a little as the truck moved along the interstate.  The original plan was to take I-70 west and end up heading through St. Louis, but as we were finished packing up Tom suggested that we look at some alternative routes.  He felt that we would find that the bridges into the city might be gone.  St. Louis was likely a target for a big nuke.  The suggestion was an easy sell. He used that pad thing of his, Wilson, or whatever, to figure out the best route.

We ended up heading a little further north taking a local, I guess state highway (#36) out of Indy and on to where Interstate 72 met up with it.  We took that through Springfield, Missouri.  Springfield was messed up, lot of burning but it had probably only damaged by one of the little nukes, like they used on Albany, it was not blown to bits.

Once we cleared Springfield, we stayed on 72 for about a half hour or so and then took another state road southwest.  It was Route 54.  We made Columbia by 7 PM.  Thunderstorms rolled in again.  Tonight we had several, and some of them were wicked.

Code and Tanya are going to split the guard duties tonight, I need some sleep.

(Matt) According to the maps that Lance gave us and the route plan, we are supposed to get to Austin, Minnesota today.  The route he gave us ran along I-90 and we would have to drive through Madison, Wisconsin. We are thinking that the less we deal with the big cities the better.

It is the first time that we have tried looking at the GPS. I mean, they have still been working, but we haven’t used them for directions because it had been pretty much a straight shot.

The GPS suggested a route that didn’t go near any big cities so we started up toward Madison, but turned off on to a state route and followed them for hours until will did hook back up with the Interstate just south of a city called Rochester.

We had a few tense moments like when we were trying to cross the Mississippi at Prairie du Chien, the bridge was partially blocked and while we were trying to clear a path, we had a group of about ten Changed start toward us.  It is the first contact we have had since Cleveland.  They are still out here.

As we prepared to take care of them, a Hunter, an air Hunter swooped in, it cleared them from the Bridge. I am kind of torn on this Hunter thing.  I need to think about it.

The only other thing we ran into, almost literally was when we came through a little town, or what was left of it.  It had been hit by a tornado, looked like a big one and there were bits and pieces of houses and barns scattered across the road.  We had to be careful to not put a nail or two into our tires.

We reached Austin area about 7 PM and settled in.  It was warm.  We stayed at a little house just south of town.  Jan took the first guard tonight, I will get the second.

We found some food in the house, canned stuff; some was actually still within the expiration date.

We are careful about fires, and lights.  It may be safe but it makes no sense to light ourselves up or send smoke signals to anyone, or anything in the area.

(Lance) Again with the bored.  We did the veggie thing, and a little riding.  I tried to hit up Fort Knox to see if the Major had gotten there yet.  He should be rolling in soon.  But they have not seen him yet.

Just on a fluke I asked the Sat-Comm guy if he knew of any military locations other than Waterviet or Westover Air Base that were close to us.  He told me that he didn’t, but he would check around to see what he could find out.

We spend time with Steven, Heather and Augustus, or heading out to the horse farm each day.  Del spends more and more time playing with the baby.  It is a woman thing I guess.

Del and I spent some time in the water tonight; it has become wicked hot up here.

August 14th

The birds were out early this morning, and as I was heading out to the backyard to, well, heading out to the backyard. There was a raven sitting on the fence, it eyed me, and then flew off.

Breakfast this morning, we had real eggs, I found some chickens that had taken up residence near where the raven had been.  It was a pleasant change from cold, dry cereal, thank you Raven.

The drive today was uneventful, it was open highway most of the way, the weather was hot, but dry, and really, we made pretty good time.  We did a fuel stop at Sioux City airport and then headed on.

We reached a place called Wall, South Dakota late in the afternoon.  There were people there, a dozen, living in what was once Wall Drug.  It is a sort of cross between a drugstore and a tourist trap mini-mall.  I think that we were all a little nervous about the contact, the meeting strangers.  Yet as we talked with the people we had found, it seemed that they were good God fearing folks and were just trying to stay alive.

The leader, Zac, was an older guy, like in his early 60s I am guessing.  He had an accent that I think was from the area, kind of a western Canadian, I think.  It reminded me of the movie ‘Fargo’. He was there with his wife Annie, and their two sons, Jake and Abe.  The sons had their wives, Meg and Jane and their kids, Billy, Ben, Aaron, Bess, Liz and the baby Sarah.  They all seemed well fed and clean.

We talked for a while, about what we saw on the route, the devastation, and the sorrow.  They had known it was bad, but like our original group, they did not know how bad it had been in the cities.  Zac told me that over time they had seen some folks wander through, and that some of them had been bad. But as he said, the badness was more desperation, just trying to survive.  Most of them kept moving along their route, and just left them alone.  But he said that there were a few that had not. But he did not go into much more detail.

I got the feeling that this group, this family, although peaceful on the surface was capable of the harsh realities that have taken over the world.  This little island of theirs was to be defended at all costs, and most of that cost was at the expense of the invaders.

Tanya hit it off quickly with Annie; Annie was a full blooded Lakota. She was of the Turtle clan, and as a result, there seemed to be an almost link between the two. They talked about their gardens, healing, and just for lack of a better way to describe it, women stuff, not ‘women stuff’ in that sense, but the female role in the tribe stuff.

Fred and Jan hung out with the youngers.  It was a nice visit and they had invited us to stay and eat with them.  After dinner, there was a little time to thank God, it was a lot like our vespers except they smoked something that at first I thought was tobacco.  But after a whiff of the pipe, I knew it was a mix of tobacco and something else.

In many ways the spirits to which they referred were the same as our Sky Father and Earth Mother.  The names were different, but that was more because they used the Lakota names, Wi and the White Buffalo Woman.

While we sat we told them a little about the cure to the virus that we were carrying.  We didn’t go into the QUalz, or the whole alien thing.  But we offered them pills if they wanted them.  We talked about it a little, and in the end they declined. I am not sure I agreed with their thinking, but I respected it.  They were fearful of what the pills might do to them.

We were given a room to stay in for the night, and although I trusted these people, I will keep the 44 magnum and my ax close by.

(Lance) I had an interesting day.  Del and I did the veggie / ride / splash in the lake routine; that was pretty much all you have to do each day.  The tending the sheep thing is now really turned over to the horse farm and with the fences and small pasture over there the Bo-Peep thing is done.

I spoke with the Pittsburgh today, the XO, Commander Gaines in particular.  He asked how we were all doing and I filled him in on the current status as I knew it of the three groups that were traveling.  I told him that we expected to hear from Fort Knox very soon that the Major and his group had reached that location, and might even be on their way back already.  I added that I still figure that it would be another day or so before Margo and Tom’s group would get to Cheyenne, and 4 or 5 days for Matt and Tanya to get to Anchorage.   He seemed to be pleased about that.  It was funny though, he kept referring to Tom as the ‘Commander’, idk.

We changed gears.  He told me that he had sent out some requests for information about military facilities that existed within about 100 miles of our camp.  He came back with three in addition to the Sub Base at Groton.

The first was Waterviet; we knew about and had visited that one.  That was where Tom had met Asuna, and we had obtained the Sat-Comm device we were using.

The second was Westover Air Base.  We had never really headed over to explore or exploit that one.  It was close to Springfield and we were nervous about the Zom population that might have been in the area.  The Commander said that it would probably not be worth the visit because it had been cleaned out and abandoned a couple days before the bombs went off.

But the third was interesting, very interesting.  It was a Cold War facility built back from the 50’s and 60’s.  It was been a hardened underground command and control center that the Air Force had built.  It did connect with Westover by means of a long underground tunnel.  The entire facility was established as the East Coast Center in the event of a nuclear attack.  It was only about 30 miles from us in Hadley, Massachusetts.

The Commander couldn’t give us much more as far as information on the place, other than it had been used up until the 90s, and that it had been sealed off and hidden from map sources such as Google and the likes.  He was not sure if we could get into it, but it might be worth our checking out.

Del and I will head out tomorrow to take a peek and see what we can find out.

(Margo) Even though I did not have a watch tonight sleep was difficult.  The storms kept up much of the night and when I did sleep, it was a fitful.

We fueled up at the Salina Airport planning to be on the road by 9, but before we could get back on to I-70, a storm we could see there was rolling in across the plains.  It looked like a bad one and just by the feel of it the word ‘tornado’ came to everyone’s mind.  We decided that it would be best to find a place to hide, as much as you can hide from a tornado.  We ended up under the bridge where I-135 meets up with I-70.

We watched to the Southwest from the top of the bridge, The sky was weird, it was funny, almost yellowish-orange color and the clouds had a strange shape to them, like a gray wall that curved and bent.  It kind of reminded me of places where there had been deep erosion caused by water on sandstone.

Off in the distance we could see lightening, lots of it.  But there was no wind.  It was silence, even the sprinkling rain made no noise.  We headed back under the bridge as the storm got closer, the hail started, small at first, then bigger and bigger.

Soon it was the size of golf balls and the wind picked up.  We really couldn’t see much from where we were under the bridge.  The wind got really strong and we tucked up under where the support beams of the bridge were connected to the concrete.   It was a few minutes and then it came, the tornado, it was loud, not sure how close it came.  My ears popped, like on a jet after take-off. The trucks shook, we could see them.  The noise was intense, and then it started to move away.  The hail had stopped and it was just raining.  The wind was still there, but not like before and then finally died out.

We poked our heads out and then climbed back down and back to the top of the overpass to see what was going on.  The rain was now just drizzle, and we could see the tornado off in the distance to the Northeast.  I think it was a big one, but how would I know, the only one I had ever been through came at night and we never saw the size of it.

We stood by for a few minutes, the sun broke through, and then rainbow, we saw a triple rainbow. It seemed to be safe and we were back on the road.  It was a kind of a late start, but it was better than having been caught on the road.  By the end of the day we would be out of tornado country.

I drove today, still tired, still cranky, but as we moved away from the cities, and out into the rolling plains…is that right?, it was just miles and miles of flat with fields on either side of the highway. We could see an occasional farm complex with their silos or a big group of grain silos but that was about it.   Occasionally, we would see tornado tracks, where the fields were torn up like a giant mower a hundred feet wide had cut through the area.

We had to stop a couple of times to get around broken homes or smashed cars in the highway.  We made Hays, Kansas at about noon and it was a mess.  It looked like it had been hit by a tornado, and had burned, or maybe it had burned first, and then gotten blown apart.

We drove on for about 45 minutes or so and we reached a place where a Route 40 headed west and I-70 went sort of northwest.  We looked at the maps and it seemed that although it was a smaller road, not an interstate, it seemed to be shorter, and more direct to our final destination.

We rolled on via Route 40; the route itself ran parallel to the rail lines.  We drove through towns like Arapaho, and Cheyenne Wells.  Just before Cheyenne Wells we found a little airstrip, but it had no fuel we could use.  We thought we might have to break into our emergency reserve but we got lucky, again.  We saw a big freight train, with like a hundred cars each just parked on the tracks. We checked a couple of the train engines and found that there was enough diesel fuel for us to fill up.

When we reached a little town called Kit Carson, we decided that it would be there that we held up for the night.  It was late, well 6ish, but the thought of trying to make that last dash to Cheyenne Mountain and arriving right at about sunset seemed to be not a good one, better to arrive in the morning.

We found a little kind of ranch bed and breakfast to stay at.  As we were unloading, I smelled something, it was smoke, it was cooking smoke, like bacon, or ribs.  Tom smelled it too.  We decided that it might be something to check out.

It did not take us long to find the place, the town was a small one.  There was a woman and two kids, they had a grill going cooking burgers, pork burgers we were told.  She freaked when Tom and Asuna approached her.  But they had no guns drawn; Code and I had them covered, if needed.

The woman called to the house and a man walked out. It was scruffy, and gaunt, but then so was the woman, and the children were just dirty little ghosts. The man had a shotgun, and he pointed it at Tom, I was tempted, I could have……

But in the end, they were able to convince him that they were just travelers and not there to hurt or rob them.  The man, Bob, lowered the gun.  He was still distrustful, but seemed good at the moment.  The distrust melted away when Tom called us out of hiding, and then sent Code back to the truck to get a few cans of food to give them.

I was still on edge, this seemed wrong, maybe I have been out here too long, and maybe I am just paranoid about anyone outside the family.

(Tom) Weather was not good this morning; we had a tornado come by, real close.  It makes you think and realize how puny we humans are.

Asuna drove today, I just relaxed and played navigator.  Okay, I asked questions of Winston about where we were and what the best way for us to continue was.  He did actually come up with a good idea for us in getting off of the interstate and take a state road.

It was about 3 pm when we first saw the Rockies.  I thought back to some of my trips cross country from the days before the meteor.  One in particular, when I come through Kansas and saw them, looming in front of me.  It was emotional then, and more so now.

I always loved this part of the country, the mountains, the Southwest.  I once wanted to move here, but stayed in Connecticut because of Anne and Margo.  Maybe it is time to stay now.

We drove through towns with great little names, Cheyenne Wells, Arapaho, and First View, which was where the mountains first popped their peaks into view.

We found a train, a big one stopped along the tracks and we were able to fill our tanks, it would be the last stop for fuel we would need to make before Cheyenne Mountain.

We pulled into a little old west like village, Kit Carson, another great name, and found a little place to stay, the Kit Carson Inn.  As we were unloading, I caught the whiff of meat cooking; someone is here, in town.  Margo caught it too, she had the Barrett ready.

We all started to move toward the smell, I had Margo and Code stay behind us and under cover. Asuna, Lucy and I just walked down the middle of the street.

We found the house over on 4th avenue, the smoke was coming from around back.  There was a woman and her kids in the backyard cooking what looked like burgers on a cement block grill.  We must have scared the shit out of her when she saw us.  She shouted “Bob” and he came running out of the house with a shot gun.

He pointed it at us, and his first word was, “Talk!”

“Okay, what would you like me to say?” I replied.

“Good, you’re not fucking dead!  That is good”

“I think so,” I said with a smile, “We are just travelers, on our way to the base.”

“You with the Army?”

“Ah no, we just have a package for them,” I told him.  “Bob, its Bob right?”

“Yeah”

“Okay, see I am a little concerned with the shotgun, could you maybe point it somewhere else?” I asked.

“Oh, oh, yeah, I, well you know.”

“Yes, more than you realize.  We are cool, and we mean you no harm.  Now I am gonna call my daughter and her ….ah friend, I don’t want to have you get freaked out by it.”  I explained, and while doing that thought about what I had just described Cody as.  I think he is a little more than a friend, but that, we’ll, leave it be.

Margo and Code stepped out of the shadows of a house nearby, the sight of the big gun and the glare in Margo’s eye made Bob realize how close he might have been to being a blob of pink mist on the wall. But it also showed him, the family, that they were safe with us, we truly meant no harm.

I sent Cody to get some canned goods.  We were near the end of our trip and these people looked half-starved. We could, should share.

We talked with them while we ate, they shared burgers, we returned the favor with baked beans and tomatoes that we had canned.

I explained that we were on our way to the base, but left out details about the cure or our reason for going.  It might be that although I did not think that they were dangerous, or might try something, it seemed a good idea not to tempt them.  But we would leave them a package with some of the pills and a note explaining before we left in the morning.

They had moved into the city about a month ago.  The family was originally from Limon and that place became too hot, there were bad people there and some had even reverted to cannibalism.  Out of fear they left.

We hung out with then until after dark and then headed back to the inn.  The trucks were fine and we settled down for the night.  We set a watch, and Lucy seemed to be all ears.  Little voice, little voice, something wrong.

Lucy nudged me.

Moving shadows outside the window, human, looked like 5 or 6, no grunts, no Zom noises, these were people.  I tapped Asuna, she was already awake, then BOOM, the 50 Cal fired off a round, gunshots from Margo and Cody’s room and the door to our room burst open, bad move.  Lucy took the first one by the arm, then throat, Asuna dropped the second, and I got Bob right in the forehead.  We killed them all, except one.  Asuna had gut shot that one, and although he was going to die, he talked for a little bit first.

Lenny, the survivor, said “We, Bob, his family and a few friends had been driven out of Limon, and had moved here.  We would wait, like spiders, for travelers or an occasion military patrol to wander close by and then re-stock the meat locker.  We waited until dark because you all seemed a little too hard for us to take in daylight.”

The ones who we just killed we left as they were, fuck them, and let them all suffer until they fall to pieces.  Let them eat their own, they were Zoms while they were living, so it seemed fair.

I was pissed, guess you could tell.  We loaded up and were out of there very quickly after that.  I almost felt bad for the kids, almost.

Before we left we set fire to much of the town, this place was evil, and it needed to die.

We drove about a half hour and then pulled over, hidden from the road.  Back to the east we could see the glow of the Kit Carson. We snoozed, taking turns on the watch.  Tomorrow we would be at Cheyenne, thank God!

August 15th

(Lance) I spoke to the Major today; they have safely reached Fort Knox and completed their mission.  But there was something in his voice that seemed wrong.

“Major, is everything, everyone okay down there?” I asked.

“Yes, everyone is fine, but there is a little issue that we’re trying to iron out before we return.  I can’t go into detail right now, but I am working on it.” He replied.

I could tell he was not happy, I wondered.

“Major, while I have you, I spoke with Commander Gaines and he told me that there is an old underground military base here near Hadley.  Maybe you can check with the folks down there and see what they can give you for information on it.  You could take Sat-Command of it if it is functional,” I suggested.

There was a moment of quiet on the Sat-Comm, then he replied, “Yes, yes that is an excellent idea, yes, the Mass Militia, we could claim it as our base of operations.”

There was a different sound to his voice, almost a hopeful sound.

Del and I rode out to look for the base around noon time.  We were able to find it in the side of a mountain in Hadley. It was just off of I-91.

We followed the directions that the Pittsburgh had sent us and eventually came to a large metal and concrete doorway which lay at the end of an old paved road. The door was built into the side of the mountain.  The door had a sign that said “Five College Underground Library Archive.”

We were unable to open the door; there were clearly some special keys or codes needed to get in. The idea of even trying to blow the doors open was crazy if this place was designed to withstand a nuclear attack so anything we had would probably do little more than make a smudge.

Disappointed, we rode back to camp.  Tay had put together a nice little dinner with some fish that she had caught, along with corn and salad.  While we all ate, I told them about what Del and I had found.

That was about it.  Skinny Dipping for Del and me after Tay and Teckla headed back to the horse barn, and Steven and Michelle had turned in early.  We just floated in the water holding hands like a couple of otters and watched the stars.

(Tom) We made Cheyenne Mountain today; it was about an hour drive.  We all talked a little on the way, I think we were trying to shake off the cannibals and killing them.  It had been a while since we were in a fire fight.  Killing has never been something I was crazy about, it is, was needed in these times, but still, I never got used to it.  Yet this was different, this was like Brother Gabriel, or the Bikers, they were evil, truly evil.

None of us talked about the burgers, it is something that is best left buried and hopefully forgotten.

When we arrived at the mountain, all I could think of was an old episode of some sci-fi series; I think they even used the entrance in the filming.  As we approached the gate, I could see two Abrams tanks following us with their main guns, we were toast if they wanted us to be.  As we got to the little guard house at the main gate, a corporal and another soldier came up to the trucks.  I had the window down.

“Sir,” the corporal said respectfully, but sternly, “You are on restricted military land and as such, trespassers, can you state your name and business.”

“Sure, I am Tom Williams, and I’ve just driven cross-country to deliver a package to your medical staff.”

The corporal snapped to attention as did the other soldier, “Commander, sir, I am sorry, we were not expecting you for another two days,” and he ran to the guard house and was on the phone.

The gates opened and one of the Abrams that was blocking the path started up and opened a gap for us to pass through. I looked at Asuna, she shrugged.

We were directed to park just off to the side of the main, what would I call it, the blast door or main entrance?  As we were getting out of the trucks, a group of 10 well-armed soldiers ran up and formed a protective shield around us. Then two officers, a three star (Air Force) and a two star (Army) with a similar entourage came out of the entrance.

As they walked up, the circles of soldiers opened and the generals came face to face with us.

“Commander Williams, Lieutenant Yagami, Welcome to Cheyenne Mountain.  I am General Osgood, this is General Welles.  I am glad you made it safely.”

Asuna and I looked at each other, questions, Commander? Lieutenant?  It was the same thought on both our minds.

“I, well, we had some adventures on the way, but we made it.  This is my daughter Margo, my sniper and her, ah, wingman Cody.  We’re glad to be here, but how did you know we were coming?” I asked, sounding very puzzled.

“We received two messages that you were on the way, the first was from Captain Katzung of the USS Pittsburgh, and then the second was from the Massachusetts Militia HQ, someone who identified himself as Operative Lance.” Wells said.

“Ah” I smiled and nodded, not knowing what else to say.

A captain in the entourage suggested, “Sirs, perhaps we should get inside, we have reports of Hunter A’s in the area and we are exposed.”

“Thank you Captain James, we shall follow your suggestion, Commander, have you and your people had breakfast?” asked Osgood.

“Ah, no, that would be great.”  I was still very confused.

“Good, but first, why don’t you bring your vehicles into the underground, we want to keep them safe, I hear you have a very valuable package for us,” suggested the three star.

We drove into the facility and parked.  I am guessing the timing was very good because just as we got out of the Coyote, one of the Abrams opened up with its machinegun and moments later we heard an explosion.

“One less Hunter” said the two star proudly, “My guys, you owe me a dollar General.”

The main tunnel was huge, a big round concrete cave the width of an interstate highway that had been dug into a mountain.  There were tunnels running off to the left and the right.  I am guessing that there were levels up and down because as we moved deeper into the main tunnel we could see what looked like elevators.

As we walked, General Osgood told us that “We have received word that a Major Barkley of your group has successfully reached Fort Knox with his package and now with your arrival things may finally be turning around.  If what I am told is true about your deflector, the Hunters may no longer be an issue to us and we can start to break out of our little cloisters.”

Deflectors? I am not sure what this guy knows, or has been told, so we shall have to see.

We were led into a small dining cafeteria, officer country, no doubt.  Time to start getting some answers, and for that matter, sharing some information. But first, scrambled eggs, bacon, yes, they have BACON, and real coffee.  It is good to be a Commander.

“General Osgood, I need to ask you a few questions to clear up some stuff in my mind.  The first is who are the Mass Militia, and why do you think I am in command of them?

He looked at me for a moment and between forkfuls of eggs, told us that months ago when the camp had made contact with the Pittsburgh using the satellite communications device that we had recovered. We were designated by the remaining military, the Fort Knox HQ, as the Mass Militia.  Your original leader was a guy, code named Henry, with a second in Sat-Command of Major Barkley, regular army.  When Henry was killed in action against the Hunters, Barkley took over.

So far I was following.

He went on to say that in the course of the last 8 or so months a lot of things have happened and although the Mass Militia is not regular army or military, they are an adjunct type unit.  They were mainly used for intelligence information and surveillance, although not much was happening in your neck of the woods.

“Then, you and Lt. Yagami returned,” added Welles.

“Sir, meaning no disrespect, but I was a corporal with the Japanese Defense Force, not an officer,” mumbled Asuna.

“Yes, that was true, but you are also the third senior JDL member in the states and Fort Knox felt it was not good to have you not be an officer.  So congratulations LT.”

“Okay, well what about me then?  I was out in…”  I caught myself before I added ‘space’.

“Space” added Wells, “The Pittsburgh filled us in.  And it was Major Barkley and Captain Katzung who forwarded the recommendations for your Commission.”

“Barkley said that you and your people saved his butt a number of times early on, and that under your leadership the folks at your camp have done well,” Added Osgood.

I sat back, overwhelmed.  I never thought about it, what I had done in that perspective.  I just did what I needed to do, or what I believed was right.

After a few minutes, I leaned forward, looked at the Generals and said, “We do not have a deflector per se.”  They looked at each other, and were confused.

“We have a pill, a pill that disposes or cures the virus that turns people.  It was developed by some friends of ours, the QUalz, and it seems to work.  We have met a hunter and it did not even see us, it left us alone.  But the Hunter went on later and attacked a pack of Zoms that were nearby and a woman that had not been cured.”

“So you’re saying that if we take these pills, we are not going to comeback as Munchers and we are free to not worry about the Hunters?” Asked a Colonel who was sitting at the table with us.

“Pretty much, we have not tested the re-animating yet, but that is really good luck, it means none of us have died since we took the pills.”

Asuna and I explained a little about what we had experienced in our trip cross country, the devastation in the cities, and in particular what we had seen in Kit Carson.  It turned out there had been a scout party that had not come back about a week ago and the search efforts were unsuccessful; they had not thought that there might be living humans doing ambushes out there, and it could explain why the Hummer that had been driven by the patrol was never found.

We told the command staff that we would spend the night with them, but then we were planning to start back toward Romanica.

Asuna and I had lots to talk about, this crazy militia thing, the ranks, but more interesting the impact the meds might have on allowing the military to start breaking out of their hidey holes.  And that is kind of wrong, it is not like they are hiding, it is more they are, have been restricted in their movements.

It was nice to get a hot shower and sleep on clean sheets.  And in a way, it may seem odd, but in a way I felt we are back on the Sky Crystal.

(Matt) We covered about 400 miles today, and it was pretty uneventful.  The folks at Wall Drug were good enough to make us a breakfast of cornmeal pancakes.

As we were leaving, I noticed that they had put a ‘Where the Heck is Wall Drug’ bumper sticker on the back of our trucks. They are good people, we have met some on the way, and I hope that if we come back this way again we can stop and visit.

It was an easy ride as I said.  Fred and Jan led the way and we waltzed into Billings, Montana.  In the course of the trip, we did see a couple of Hunter A’s buzzing around but they did not seem to care about us, so we left them alone.

Fueled up okay and ended up staying at a little hunting lodge near the airport in Billings.

It was a warm day so we did not need to build a fire, but we sat by the hearth anyway.  It had not been used in a long time.  We talked about the trip and that maybe we should be looking to extend our days travels from the 300 to 400 mile range to 500 or 600 miles, just to cut a day or two off the end of the trip. We are going to find that as we move along we will be more and more out into the wild with greater distances between civilization, or what was once civilization.

We were all good with it and decided that we would now drive sun up to sun down, which meant from like 5 in the morning to about 9 at night.

Nothing else to report.

August 16th

(Tom)  We were going to start back toward Romanica today, but, Osgood and his people talked us into staying for a day or so, just to rest up, and to come to understand where the world, as they knew it, was at.

The Navy still has a number of ships still operational, mostly submarines that had been submerged when the original meteor had hit.  Although the crews had subsequently been infected, in the sense that if they died, they would comeback, but they were protected from the initial die off.  The US had 5 subs, the Pittsburgh, was one of them.  There was also the Alexandria, the Jimmy Carter, the Mississippi and the North Dakota. Ironically, the most deadly of them was the Carter, go figure that one.

There were also a half dozen subs from other nations that were in the same situation, one English, one French, 2 Russian, a Chinese and one Iranian.  All the subs and ships seemed to get along and worked together. It seems that since the end of the world, much of the hate and discontent has been set aside, it is now a matter of just trying to survive and rebuild, which is the priority.

Osgood explained that sometimes there was a little butt hurt on the part of someone, but the naval commanders all realized that there were more important things than nationalism or religious fanaticism. At one point, the Iranian boat got a little crazy, but it seems the crew took care of that issue and shortly after requested some assistance from the US boats.  An American officer of Arab heritage has taken Sat-Command of that ship.

Any surface vessels that the High Command was aware of where non-military, small and really few and far between.  Most of the commercial and military ships that were encountered in the early days had been infected and had to be sunk.  But Osgood added there was still one US, well actually, Allied, surface force out there.  It was made up of a US Carrier, the Carl Vinson, an English Battle Cruiser; they called HMS Defiant, and a Russian Frigate that was renamed to Zevtra (Tomorrow).  I kind of like it.  That group was currently in the area of Midway Island in the Pacific.

He also told us about some of the known locations that there were collectives of civilians and military bases.  They were spread around the world.  Island nations like Japan, or England, or Sri Lanka were basically empty.

There were reports of small groups, like Romanica in places throughout the world, but most were isolated without Satellite links.  So really, the actual numbers and locations were unknown.

“General, do you have an idea of how many humans are left?” Asuna asked.

“Worldwide the best we can tell, about 8,000 military, 1,200 or so known civilians, like you and we think maybe another 10 to 15 thousand scattered around out there that are just trying to survive,” said Osgood.

That hit hard, from 7 billion to maybe 25,000, we truly were near the end of the world and had not much to start over with.

“General, How many bases do you have in North America?” I asked.

“We have 6 right now.  There is us, Knox, Groton, Key West, Groom Lake and Whidbey Island.  But except for us and Knox, those other bases are just small service stops of the ships.  Well, except for Groom, that is the research base, it is small, maybe 100 people,” replied Osgood.

“Wait, you said Whidbey, but what about the Fairbanks base?” I asked.

“We lost it; they went Broken Arrow 4 days ago.  They had tried to pack up and move, but something happened.  It is gone.”

I looked at Asuna, then back at the general, “We have a team heading their way!”

“Can you contact them?  Warn them off?”

“No, we have no radios or anything that strong to reach them,” I said.

“Crap, okay, well, do you know their route; maybe we can get a warning to them somehow.” Osgood suggested.

“Yes, we know that they were planning to take I-90 most of the way to the Seattle and then head up the coast.”

“Then we can have Whidbey keep an eye out for them and advise them,” suggested the general.

“That should work, I think, my guess is that they should be around the middle of Montana right now, so as long as they hold course that should work.” I replied.

“General, we could also try to use the remote warning system.  Maybe they have their AM/FM radios on, and we could use the old Emergency Broadcast System,” offered a Communications Captain.

“We can try that too.  Get it fired up and put the following message on it. ‘Attention, Attention, Fairbanks has fallen, abort, abort, return home’, that should work.” Osgood said.

“Yes, but it might be better if I did the voice, Matt or his crew would recognize my voice and realize that it wasn’t an old message.  They believe that Fairbanks is active.” I told them.

“Good idea, let’s do this,” replied the general.

And so the message was sent, Whidbey was notified, and based upon the estimated time table; they would get some surveillance aircraft up in two days to try to also make contact.

After lunch we met up with Margo and Cody, she had a shit eating grin on her face.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing,” she replied.

I know something happened, and I would find out soon enough.

Rest of the day was pretty quiet.  I want to wait ‘til tomorrow to see if  they make contact with Matt, but then, even if he hears the message, we have no way of knowing that.

(Lance) It was a standard, boring typical day, garden, riding, and thinking about Hadley.  I have no data base access, the Internet is long dead, but I thought maybe there was something in one of the libraries or bookstores up in Northampton, at Smith College or close by at U-Mass, Amherst.  We drive, actually took a truck rather than the horses up there, but we came up empty, no information on the base.

It will be good to start seeing people back from the deliveries.  I expect the Major will be back tomorrow or the next day.  Tom and his crew should be back within a week.

(Margo) Code and I really have not much to do. We have been given a little room to sleep and stay, and for the most part we are left alone to wander around, kind of forgotten.

We took a walk out to our truck today and just made sure that we were ready to go, loaded up for the trip back.  I think we are leaving in the morning.

While we were there, I figured I would clean up the Barrett after the incident at Kit Carson. A couple of the army guys noticed the rifle and came over to talk with us.  One started mouthing off about how he was the best shot on the base and that he had killed hundreds of what he called Munchers. I told them about some of my shots, the Bikers, the Brother Gabriel tale. I got a couple of calls of “Bullshit little girl” on that one.

Well, it kind of went downhill from there and before you knew it, we had a little bet going.  I guess he figured he was hot shit and all.

They had a little target range going outside the camp, so what we did was to set up a shot similar to the Brother Gabriel situation. Two sets of mannequins were set up.  Each set had one mannequin a few feet behind the other with just the head exposed.  The range was about a half mile away.  The object was to ‘kill’ the back manikin without hitting the front mannequin.

By now there was a crowd, word had gotten out.  And there were wagers being made. We flipped a coin to see who would go first; it was him, Gunnery Sergeant Gilbert. I was told later that he talked a lot, but in reality, had never killed another human, nor had he really been in a serious shit storm.

He lined up on his target, boom, he did hit the second mannequin, sort of, he blew the arm off the first mannequin and it hit the second, but the head was still there.  He failed.

My turn, I lined up the shot, breath in, breath out, boom, slight recoil, and even as I was settling back down and as the targeted head was still spinning in the air, I lined up the second head, his second head, breath in, breath out, boom, the second head blew to pieces.

It was quiet, a couple of “Holy Shits!” and then applause.  I had won, I shut his mouth.

He walked up to me, looking a little deflated, “Ma’am, that was some powerful good shootin’, I don’t welch on my bets, here’s mah rifle.”

I looked at him, smiled, took the gun, briefly, then handed it back to him, “Sergeant, I can’t carry two rifles, so why don’t you hold it for me, keep it clean and maybe take it out for exercise every once and again.”

We shook hands, and then he, the other soldier that had been with him, Code and me went to the cafeteria and had coffee with them.  We told them more about what it was like where we were, the camp, the shit we had seen and lived through, and the trip to give them the pills.

Later that day we ran into Tom and Asuna.  We didn’t tell him what had happened, with the little shoot off, but I was grinning, I looked like the Cheshire Lion.

(Matt) On the road early this morning, we were out of Billings about a half hour after sunrise.  It was a long drive today, we usually did about 6 hours or three hundred miles, but we need to move faster, farther.  We did almost 600 miles today and reached our final destination, Banff, at just before sunset, about 9:30.  The further north we move the longer the daylight, at least for now.

We had originally planned to take I-90 to Seattle and then head up the coast, but in looking at the maps it seemed that it might be quicker to turn north early and run through the Canadian Rockies, it was still early enough in the season that we would not have to sweat snow.

The drive itself was not too bad; the roads were clear for the most part with the exception of when we got to Calgary, outbound traffic congestion heading toward the States or Edmonton.

We had gassed up in Lethbridge and were easily able to make it to Banff on fuel.

Really, not much to talk about, and at this point, even Tanya and I are talked out.

Banff is beautiful, up in the mountains, I could live here, but then it is still summer time, I am not so sure that a winter in the Rockies would be so good.

August 17th

(Tom) We are going to stay for one more day, just to see if we get any word from, or about, Matt and Company, something to let us know that they had gotten the message.

Life on the base has to be pretty boring, I mean, there is keep busy day to day stuff, but what else do you do.  At least in our case, back home we’re able to visit the cities close by, and explore a little.  Here at the base, because the Hunters seem to know there were targets, people, the soldiers were pretty much stuck.

They did send out patrols, like the one that the people at Kit Carson bush-whacked, but for the most part the patrols stayed in the Hummers, safe from the high velocity pellets.

It made me wonder how they would have gotten the troops out of the Hummers and then took them down.  My guess is that they used the kids, played them as decoys, miserable bastards.

At the evening meal we still had no word about Matt or his people.  Even if they heard the message on the old EBS, what did they use to call it, Conelrad, we wouldn’t know if they got it.

“Tom, I know you want to leave soon, and I understand.  I have an offer for you.  A couple of my men, actually Marines, have volunteered, actually requested transfer to the Mass Militia.” General Welles said.

“Really?  Why would they want to do that?” I answered.

“I am not sure, something about living in the action, seeing the world as it really is,” he replied. “And I don’t think they ever felt they really fit in with us.”

“Sounds kind of silly to me,” I smiled, and looked at Margo, she flushed and looked down.

“Well, you could probably use a couple of men for the trip back after the Kit Carson incident, and I, we can give up two if you are willing to take them.” he added.

“Let me think about that one,” was my response. I was not sure, a couple of bodies, not necessarily fighters would be good, we have lost people, so we have room to feed and house them.

Asuna and I talked about it after dinner and we decided that it was not a bad idea.  I contacted Welles later in the evening and said we were good with the idea and to have the pair meet us by our trucks in the morning.  But I told him that before we said okay for sure, we wanted to meet them.

(Lance)  Another quiet day, spoke with Major Barkley, he is on his way home and will be at camp tomorrow as long as everything goes according to plan.  He has a second Sat-Comm Unit so we can be in contact along the way.  He said that he has access information to the Bare Mountain facility, and a surprise for us all.

Rest of the day was quiet.  Del and I babysat Augustus today.  He is cute, I guess, and noisy, and fussy, and damn, does baby poop stink.

(Matt) The plan for today was to again be out on the road early and make our way along the Trans-Canadian Highway and reach Endako by nightfall.  We almost made it, but we were getting some clouds moving in toward the late afternoon and we decided that we would cut out the one hour leg from Prince George to Endako.

I have to admit that the driving through the valleys and parallel to the river beds was awe inspiring, this is truly beautiful country.   We stopped for a little while at Lake Louise, the turquoise waters and the mountain scenery was majestic.  I know we should probably have skipped the sight-seeing, but it was worth it.

As we drove into Prince George, it seemed pretty empty.  It had not burned, or actually looked like it hadn’t suffered much damage at all but it was mostly abandoned.  I think it was because food supplies were mostly brought in from outside sources.  There were a few small farms outside the city but no major agriculture or crop fields.  It was mostly a railhead for the mining and lumber industries that had been so Sat-Common in that area.

We did run into a few people, there were still maybe 50 people living in various parts of the city.  They were all kind of cool with each other, there was no, turf wars, or such.  There was even a little Sat-Commerce going on.  One guy had taken over a little micro-brewery and he would work with a guy at the train yard that had the warehouses to get materials, grain and such to make his beer.  They would barter, open bar tab for grain.

There was also a restaurant, well, actually more a little diner called the Canada Goose.  The owner, Dylan, had worked a deal with the brewery, and also some local hunters and fishermen for fresh meat, and a farmer for some fresh vegetables.

We stopped and talked to the owner, a short old Canadian who had that standard Western Canadian accent…eh….sounded like those comedians Bob and Doug. The diner was empty as we chatted and when we explained what we were doing he looked at us kind of funny.  “Fairbanks, Anchorage, eh, ain’t nobody der no more.  Deh’re gone, eh.”

“What do you mean?  How do you know?” Tanya asked him.

“Oh eh, see we listen to the radio, eh.  Deh just put up a message, said it was gone.  It is a repeat, want to hear it, eh?” offered  Dylan.

“Sure,” I said.

It was kind of weird hearing Tom’s voice on the radio. But the message was clear, “Attention, Attention, Fairbanks has fallen, abort, abort, return home”.

I looked at Tanya, then Fred and Jan, “What do we do now?”

Dylan looked at us, “You could stay here, in Prince George, it’s not so bad, eh.”

I smiled and shook my head, “No, we have to return home.  But thank you.”

I was actually both relieved, and depressed at the same time.  I had focused so much on the trip, and the destination, I had never thought about what happens after we got there.  Part of me had toyed with the idea of trying to stay in Alaska, and part of me knew I had to go home.  But now, we were done, no mission, no destination, time to go home.

“Dylan, is there somewhere for us to stay tonight here in town, does someone have an inn, or hotel?” I asked.

“Sure eh, Miss Landry has a little place close by. I think she’d take you in.” He grinned.  “But I am not sure what she charges, you know cash don’t fly no more.”

“Yeah, well, we have some canned foods, and some other things and…..Dylan, could you call a town meeting?”

“Why, why would you want me to do dat, eh,” he looked puzzled.

“Because we have something we want to share with you, no trade, no barter, we just want to give you something, for free.”

“I can do dat eh, free is for me, ….. Jimmy, get your sorry ass out here!” shouted Dylan.

Out of the back kitchen area came a zit-faced kid about 15, he did not seem to be the brightest kid in the world, but his lanky figure seemed anxious to please.

“Yes, Mr. Dylan,” the voice almost cracked me up; it was that kind of awkward, voice chance speak.

“I want you to run over to Doc Smedley’s and tell him to get da word out to everyone to meet us at da Home Depot, eh.  Tell him some visitors have rolled into town, eh, and that they got somethin’ for us.”

“Okay, Mr. Dylan, I am on it!” replied Jimmy.

About 10 minutes later we heard a series of blasts on an air horn.  That must have been their equivalent to the bell we used to keep at the flagpole at Romanica.  And about 20 minutes later there was a group of about 40 locals gathered at the Big Box.

Dylan looked at me and then said, “You’re on, eh.”

I looked around nervously, always hated public speaking, finally I kind of shouted. “Hi, I am Matt, we are from America, and we were on our way to Fairbanks to deliver some medicine.  We just found out that Fairbanks …… well, Fairbanks doesn’t need the medicine anymore.  So we have this stuff and we want to share some of it with you.”

“Why, why would you do dat?” a man who looked like a lumberjack shouted from the back.

“Because, it is the right thing to do!” I answered, and I really believe that.  Even if Fairbanks was still active, we had plenty and it was kind of always part of the plan, or at least my plan, to share.  It is what we should do.

“And exactly what does this medicine do?” asked a well-dressed older gentlemen with a white mustache, leaning on a cane.  This was Doctor Smedley.

“It stops you from re-animating, from coming back as changed, it kills the virus that is in us all.” I yelled.

Best I can describe it there was a whole lot of ruffle, ruffle, ruffle, talk among themselves and then finally Doctor Smedley shouted up to me.  “Can you and I talk about this medicine a little, I think we need to know a little more, and well, I guess I am the best person to ask the questions.”

“Of course,” I replied, it made sense.

Smedley, Tanya, Dylan and I all huddled near the front of the store and talked.  I explained to them about what we had known about the illness, which was more than they did.  And I explained that we had gotten a cure, but I was a little vague in details, space aliens might not help the cause here.

After a few more questions and filling in, finally, I just told them that we all had taken it weeks ago and were fine. I think that was the tipping point.  Smedley said that he would talk to the crowd.

We walked back to the edge of the throng, and Smedley, with some help, climbed onto the back of a pick-up truck.

“Folks, I have talked with our American friends here, and they have convinced me that we should take their offer.  We all have seen some of our friends, and loved ones turn to the eaters, and we have lost some to them.  They say that this pill that they are offering will make it so we don’t turn, so when you die, you die.  I am good with that.  I lost my Irma that way, she changed, and it hurt like Hell when I had to put her down. I leave it up to each of you to decide, pill or no pill, but I am taking one.”

More ruffle, ruffle, ruffle, then the lumberjack jumped in.  “And how much are these snake oil folks charging?” which brought a couple of laughs.  I laughed.

Tanya, who took a little offense at first, shouted back, “Nothing, we give them freely.”

It got quiet, then someone, a female; I don’t know who, simply asked, “Why?”

Tanya looked at the woman, a pretty woman in her, I am guessing 40s, and replied, because it is what we should do.  “It is what we need to do if people, the world is going to recover.

“Look,” I said, “there may be some of you who don’t want to try this, or take this medicine, and I can understand that.  I think you are foolish, but I believe in it, and I have taken it.  What we are going to do is give the Doc here a couple hundred pills before we leave in the morning, and you and he can figure out what you want to do.”

We sat on the tailgate of the pick-up and talked with the Doctor and Dylan for a little bit.  The crowd, some wandered off, some gathered in little groups and talked, some just stood by themselves.

The woman who had asked ‘Why’ came up to us, she spoke with Tanya.  “I am Anne Landry, I run a little inn, I know that you are giving the pills for free and I would be happy if you stayed there tonight, as a thank you, for what you are doing.”

“That would be nice, yes, thank you,” Tanya told her.

“And I would be happy to serve you the best meal that you have had since, ah, well, the best meal in a while eh,” added Dylan.

Dylan closed the diner for the night and went to work on a meal that was unlike anything I have seen in a couple of years. We all ate, in one of those big round corner booths that you see in most little diners.  Salmon, potatoes (mashed), salad with goat cheese, and some squash.  It was fantastic.

After dinner Dylan joined us, as did Anne.  Over a few beers we discovered that Anne Landry and Dylan were sort of an item and that Jimmy was Anne’s nephew. His mom had been killed when his dad had turned and Anne was taking care of him and the village was sort of taking care of him.  These were good people, I could live here.

When we got back to the Inn, which was only two houses down from the diner we settled into nice little rooms, comfortable, kind of Victorian in design, very, for lack of a better term, poofy.

“I could stay here,” I told Tanya.

“Yes, it is nice, but we have a home, and people waiting, and worrying about us. We still have a task and although we can’t save Fairbanks, maybe we can find other places like this, and we should take the cure, and spread it as we go,” she said with a fierce intensity.

I knew she was right, “Kind of a Johnny Appleseed?”

She smiled, “yeah, kind of that.”

There was a kind of relief that one long trek had ended, but there was excitement that the trip home would be interesting.

That bed was nice, and soft, and poofy, and kind of creeky noisy.

(Margo) We are here for at least another day, Tom is waiting to see if they can reach Matt and tell him not to go to Alaska.  I guess their goal has been infected.  I wonder how many more people have died, or changed.

We did the breakfast thing at the enlisted dining hall; I guess its called a mess.  I wonder why that is.  Anyway, Sgt. Gilbert and his spotter, Sergeant McManus asked if they could join us.  Sure, why not I thought, he is okay, and really, we didn’t know anyone else on the base.

They asked us a lot of questions about what the rest of America was like.  Did we meet people on the way, what do the cities look like, all kinds of stuff.  We answered the best we could.

They also complained, quietly, that they were Marines, and that this was an Army/Airforce facility and that they were not really comfortable there.  It struck me as odd.  Gilbert was young, I mean in his late 20s I think, and most of the rest of the soldiers were the same age, seemed to me that he would fit in fine.

McManus, now he was different, he was old, lots older, he looked like he had done his time and was on his way out, retirement, when the shit hit the fan.  He just had nowhere to go.  He told us that his unit had just returned from Iraq when it happened, the meteor and although he was scheduled for discharge, that did not happen and he and Gilbert were teamed up and assigned to Cheyenne.  He hated it here; he was a ‘Mainiac’, from Bangor and missed the East Coast.

It was actually kind of funny to listen to the two of them, the contrast of the good ol’boy Georgia accent and the Bangah, kind of variation on the Boston accent.  But they were tight, I guess that Marine thing, what is it, Semper Fi….it is important.

As we finished eating and were getting up to go McManus, asked a question that kind of surprised me.  “Can we go with you when you leave?”

I didn’t know what to say.  It was not my, I couldn’t, had no say, “I don’t know” I told him.

Code and I talked after that, we both really had no problem with them coming with us, but that was not our decision to make.

I spent most of the rest of the day sketching; I hadn’t had a chance at that for a while.  I drew Momma and the cubs.

August 18th

(Tom) I was getting spoiled with the breakfasts, but that ended today, the plan was to be on the road by 9 AM.  But first, after breakfast, it was time to meet the two Marines who wanted to transfer.

We met them down near the exit to the big tunnel, the main entrance.  They were an odd couple.  The first, an older guy, about 45, he was a sergeant, and you could see that he had been through some stuff, he had that look, I’m not even sure how to describe it, but you just knew. The other guy was in his late 20s, and he was just a good ole’ boy who figured he was a Marine and that was cool shit.

We talked to them a little, about why they wanted to leave, and why they figured coming with us was a good idea.  I actually liked the older guy, McManus, he seemed to have his shit together, and I could understand the desire to return to the East Coast.  The other guy, Gilbert, he was a goober, and I was not all that impressed with him, but it was a package deal.

After the interview I talked to Tanya, Margo and Cody asking them what they thought.  Tanya felt it was a good idea, we could use a few more folks and the Marines had skills and were, or at least seemed, interested in joining us.

Margo surprised me; she gave an immediate thumbs up.  It reminded me of when we used to rate the movie previews at the theater with Anne.  I asked her why and she told me about the little shooting match that she and Gilbert had, and also about the chats that she and Cody had shared with the Marines over coffee and meals.

I told Welles we would take them and he ‘granted the transfer’.  We loaded their equipment into our trucks.  I would take McManus in the Coyote and Margo would have ‘Goober’ with her and Cody.

We were on the road by 9, as I had planned, and our first stop would be Limon.  We were not going to stop for long, but we were going to leave a small package of pills if we saw signs of life, and if we didn’t, we were going to see if we could get a third truck for our Marines.

We found that there were no signs of life in Limon.  It had been a small prairie town, a little bigger than Kit Carson.  We stopped and looked around, carefully, not making the same mistakes as in Carson.

As we checked the town, we found the place where Bob and his crew had done a lot of their butchering; there were still bones and skulls strewn about.  The kids, the dead kids, were the most haunting.

Goober found a truck, a big truck; it was a Kenworth semi, a big ugly red thing.  But it had fuel, and it started, so I guess it is a win.  And he knew how to drive it.  It turned out he had been just a truck driver for the Corp. I guess his sniper story was bullshit.

We covered a good amount of ground the rest of the day.  We stuck to I-70, and with the big rig it was a lot easier to move a car when we needed to.  We neared Salina, Kansas about 6 PM and settled down just west of the city.

It was kind of nice to have some new folks with us.  I think it gave us a chance to hear some new stories for a change.  It was MRE’s for dinner tonight, thanks to the Cheyenne Mountain folks.

We set up a watch of the night. I did not draw a shift for tonight, but I did wake up a couple times just to check, make sure we had no snoozing guard.

(Matt)  We were up a little late this morning, it was just really nice to sleep in a real bed and have a hot shower.  Dylan “bought’ us breakfast, real pancakes with berries and some kind of sausage.  He and Anne joined us and we talked for a little while about whether there were any other groups, communities close by.  He told us that there were a few folks here and there, but for the most part places like Prince George were rare from what they had seen and heard.

Doctor Smedley stopped by as we were loading up the trucks and getting ready to head on out.  He thanked us for what we had done and wished us well.

While we were talking with him, Jimmy came running up with a paper bag, “Here, Dylan told me to run these out to you, a few little snacks for the drive, it isn’t much, but it will help.”

We thanked him and he sort of tottered there, wringing his hand, he did not know what to do.  Finally, Smedley told him to go back and tell Dylan that we thanked him.  After he left Smedley told us that he knew Jimmy, and that he had made the sandwiches, he probably didn’t tell Dylan.

Tanya handed Smedley a couple of cans of fruit that we had, and also her last chocolate bar.  “Give these to him, Jimmy, and thank him.”

“I will.” Smiled Smedley, “You have a safe trip, and if, well, you all are welcome here, if you want to come back and stay.”

We left and started back down the highway toward the border.  But before we got too far I got a CB call from Jan.  She and Fred were thinking that maybe we should take a different route back, something where we would avoid the burned out cities for as long as we could.  She told us that she had punched the ‘go home’ button on the GPS and it showed a couple of routes that went north of the Great Lakes.

Tanya and I talked about that, and we had some more chatter with Fred and Jan.  The idea sounded appealing, but we decided that we would make Jasper for the night, and when we settled in, we would think it through.  Both Tanya and I liked the idea of avoiding what remained of the US cities we had already seen.  Canada had taken a more civil approach to the plague.  We really did not see the same damage and destruction to their cities.

It would also be good to take the lesser traveled route because it would give us a chance to maybe spread some more of the pills, we had seen what the US had to offer, and we ran into very few people.

(Lance)  The Major and the group rolled in today at about 2 PM.  It was good to have them back.  And it was kind of a surprise when they arrived with two extra people. They were a young couple, probably in their late 20s.  Maybe a couple is the wrong term, a couple of people would fit better.  He was definitely military, a second Lieutenant.  Mills, Jerry Mills was his name.

He started on the wrong foot with Del right off when he told her that she could call him LT, or Lieutenant Mills.  She looked at him and laughed.  “Yeah Fun Boy that ain’t gonna happen, it is Jerry, Mills or Hey You, your choice.”

The Major choked back a laugh.

The other newbie was a girl, Wanisha Brown, she was real military, an Air Force sergeant by the uniform, short hair, stocky, or would you call it solid, I am not sure.  But she gave off an air of confidence and also wariness, she was always looking around, attentive to what was going on.  Her head was in the game.

We all sat down for a little while and the Major filled us in about the trip.  Their run to Knox was pretty uneventful on the road but when they got to the Fort the commander, some general decided that the Major should stay there.  That was the concern that I had heard in his voice when we were talking the other day.

The Hadley thing had made the difference, the Major was able to talk the General into the idea that the Bare Mountain facility was under the control of the Mass Militia, and that he was or should be the liaison with Fort Knox.

But the general also added Mills and Brown to the Major’s party.  Mills, I think he was added as a sort of ‘keep an eye on them and report kind of guy’, while Sgt. Brown had some knowledge of what was in the underground facility and how to use some of it.  Most of all, she knew how to get through the doors.

We settled them into what was once the ‘Boys Dorm’.  I am thinking that there would be no fraternizing going on. Mills grumbled a bit about having to quarter with an enlisted person.

Dinner tonight was kind of fun, it was nice having some people back.  Brown surprised me with the way she took to the baby, for all that tough exterior, there was a momma under there.

(Margo)  We are on our way home, and I am glad.  I have had my pilgrimage, seen some of the world, and it sucks.

Before we left this morning we had the surprise of maybe a couple of soldiers joining us.  I was concerned at first until I saw who it was.  McManus and Gillie, they are okay, Gillie is kind of a goofball, but I kind of like him.  Mac, now that is someone I trust my life with.

We rolled into Limon but found it was empty.  I had to wonder where all the people were who had driven out the cannibals.  Sadly, we found them, or at least some of them, parts of them.

While we were looking around, Gillie found a tractor trailer truck that he could start.  The Marines have a vehicle to ride in now.  As we ride back, maybe we can play musical trucks for a while and we can get to know these two a little better, but that is more for Tom and Asuna.

We rolled up to Salina about 6:30 or so.  It was quiet, and we found a little inn to stay at for the night.  We took turns doing a little guard duty. It was nice because we only had to do a couple of hours each.  MRE’s for dinner, they are good but believe, it or not, I could kind of go for a little of Nick’s deer stew….Crap, I forgot.

August 19th

(Margo) We rolled off early this morning, it was sunny and warm.  As the day progressed, we could see storms building behind us and really kept a good pace up as we went.  Code rode with Gillie and Mac rode with me.

Mac told me about some of his time in Iraq, the heat, in the 100 degree range and having to wear all the armor.  It didn’t sound like it was good.  And yet, he said that while he was there he felt more alive than he ever had.  He talked about how when you are facing death, or know it is right around the corner, you tend to savor life, to enjoy every moment and push that fear  to the back of your mind.

It was odd listening to him because as he was talking it was more he was just talking to himself, simply stating facts.

We made a quick stop at Indy airport and fueled up, and then continued on.  We beat the storms for a while but finally they were closing in on us and it was getting late. We had driven for over 12 hours and it was time to call it a day so we stopped, it was just outside of Brookfield, Ohio.  One more long drive like that and we should be home.

I am getting anxious to get there, I have seen things, cannibals, the burned cities, barren waste, and I want to be home.

I am writing this on my watch, I drew second watch, 10 to midnight.  Nothing happened, it was quiet.

(Matt) We left Jasper early this morning; nice day and we wanted to try to get 12 hours of drive time in.  It was an uneventful drive and we really did cover a lot of ground.

A couple of times along the way we could see smoke off in the distance, up the side of a mountain. It hinted that there were people out there, but we were unable to really reach them, we did not know exactly where they were, or their intentions.  The best idea seemed to be to leave them alone.

Tanya and I talked about that, and it seemed on one hand wrong not to try to distribute the pills, but like I said, the risks, if we could even find them, seemed too great.

We made a fuel stop at the Saskatoon airport, filled up and then continued on for a couple more hours until we reached Wynyard.  The town was a small one, maybe 1000 people at its peak.  But now, there was nothing.  The buildings were still there, but no one.  We found a little cabin at the side of a lake, Quill Lake.

Tanya and I sat out by the lake under the stars tonight, there is something about the sky, here to the north, it is so clear, so beautiful.  An occasional meteor streaks by, and tonight, we saw the Northern Lights.

(Lance) We went thought the usual routine this morning, gathering the veggies, check the corn and large crop fields.  The weather has been good, we have gotten some rain of late so that is good.

After lunch we took a ride out to Bare Mountain so that we could show the Major and the soldiers the big door.  It was Sergeant Brown who seemed most interested.  She climbed all over it and looked at the locking mechanism, and the hinges. She also checked the area to the left and right of the doorway, going back in the woods and underbrush.

Finally, after a little while she came out smiling, “I found it” she said, “I found the latch.”

We all looked at her.

“See, each of these doors has a secondary locking system.  They be usually set up close by the door, yet hidden.  If there’s a problem with the main lock, the secondary can be used to open the gate. But also, in the event of a coded signal from SAC Command the doors are automatically locked down. I gottsa to do some checkin’ on a couple of things, but we should be able to open it up tomorrow.”

We rode back. Brown and I made contact with the people at Knox and she talked to them for a while, and made notes.  She had some codes and pulled out a couple of special keys on a chain out of a box that she had with her. She put them around her neck.

We did Vesper’s tonight; the main chatter was about the underground base, and what might be in there.  There is a lot of excitement.

(Tom) Not much of a day, just drive, we left Kansas, everything is flat in Kansas and moved into through Missouri, think the state was glad to see us because….oh, I used the ‘Missouri loves company’ before.

As we passed through more little towns we found no one.  They could be hiding, but we smelled no smoke, or saw any signs of life, or for that matter death.

We made a lot of distance and called it quits tonight in a little place called Brookville, in Ohio.  It is a little down east of Indianapolis.   If things run the way I am hoping, we could, should be home late tomorrow.  Of course, I am setting up failure on that based upon the Murphy’s Law thing.

Asuna and I spent time together tonight, just cuddle time, we have been so busy with the trip, and with some much going on, it has kept us tense and focused on other things.  Actually, as I think of it, we have been that way since we were picked up by the Pittsburgh.  It was nice to have a little quality time together.

August 20th

(Margo) Back on the road again this morning and I am hoping that we make it back today.  It will be good to be back. It was kind of different, Asuna rode with me today.  It was girl talk, haven’t done that in a while, and made me miss Del, we will have lots to share when we get back.

As we drove, Asuna and I talked about things, a little about what was going on with me and Code, a little about what was going on with her and Tom, and a little about the future, babies, who would be the next to have a baby.  I am kind of betting on Jan, Asuna thinks it might be Michelle.

“I know it won’t be me,” I told her, “I am not ready for that yet, a year maybe, but I am only 16, I mean I could, but no, not yet.”

She laughed, “Well, I am 34, and really, I am not ready either.”

“What about Delaney?” she asked.

“Maybe, I think that she might, but not right away, but I think she is a lot closer to getting preggers than I am.” I told her.

“What about the others, Charlene, Teckla, Taylor?”

I thought for a minute, “Well, I think Tay, maybe, she is still young enough, but there are some issues, like the lack of available guys.  Ooh and you forgot Tanya, Matt and Tanya, now that would not surprise me.”

“Yeah, I kind of forgot about them.”

And so it went, for a couple of hours, talking about whether you wanted a boy or girl, potential names, what about twins, Augustus and so on.

It was easy for us to drive along; Asuna and I took turns driving. We were on Interstate 80 and avoided most of the cities along the way. It was a little messy in Youngstown, but we were able to get through thanks to Gillie and the big rig. It slowed us down a little maybe an hour or so.

My laptop battery is getting a little low, so I am going to plug it in, let it charge up, I think we are about an hour from home.

(Matt) We left Wynyard early, it was light at about 5:30 and we were on the road by 6:30.  We had checked the maps and are going to go north of the Great Lakes, using the Trans-Canadian Highway. Today we drove through Winnipeg and then on toward Thunder Bay, but we came up short of that by an hour or two. We spent the night in a little town called Upsala.  It was a little mining town.

We met a few people in town; there were six, three old crusty miners, Ben, Jacque and Armand, all in their 60s. They were just like you would see in an old western movie.  There was a couple, Bess and Martin, a married couple who had run the general store, they were 40ish, and then there was the Reverend.  He was odd. They had all been living in the town for years and when the end came saw no reason to move or hide.

They were friendly enough and we shared a meal with them, MREs and some of our canned goods.  They each were living in a little shack, and by the looks of them, winters were hard and cold.

We talked about what we had seen and what they had gone through here in the village.   They had not had it so bad with the Changed, they called them ‘eaters’.

The Reverend went into a bit about God, and that he was punishing man for his faithlessness and evil.  The others rolled their eyes because they had heard this all before, again, and again, and again. In a way, he reminded me of Brother Gabriel, only not dangerous, or controlling.  He was more just set in his ways and blustered on.

Martin told us about the early days in the village, the first few people who had changed, and how difficult it was for them to kill their own.  At first they didn’t know what to do.  They would kill them, again, and then, the dead would come back, again.  Stakes through the heart, gunshots to what most considered kill-zones, and such, and they kept coming back.  Finally, someone took a shovel to the head of an eater, and that showed the way.

They burned the bodies, and went from a town of 119 to just the six of them.  It had been hard on them all, watching friends and relatives turn.

The Reverend had lost his wife, and child, and we were later told, while he was out of the room, that he had been unfaithful to her, his wife, and after she turned, killed their child. That was when he went over the edge and got on to the God is punishing us thing.  He took the entire thing as a sort of anti-rapture and he was personally being tormented for his sin.

Ben went on to say that although the little shacks were fine in the summer, they were not good for the winters but that they had put together a little area in one of the mine tunnels that was closed off, they were able to keep it warm and livable for the winter.  Clever, that might be something we should consider; I think Howe Cavern is not that far from our camp.

In the course of the evening we told them about the cure that we were carrying.  Tanya explained that we had taken it and that it would prevent us from coming back after we died.

Bess, Martin and the miners seemed interested, but the Reverend, he was not, he was paying for his sin, and if he were to take the pill, he claimed he would be showing contempt to God.

We left them pills and let them make up their own minds.  We gave them a few extra in case other travelers arrived, or came through.

(Tom) We rolled in to camp about 8:30 tonight, it was good to be home, it was right at the start of Vespers, and there was already a spirited conversation going about the facility at Bare Mountain.

It is now about 11:30, I am tired, and will make this brief, the final leg of our trek was uneventful, mostly.  We followed the Interstates, (80 & 84) but when we got to the bridge in Newburgh, NY it was blocked.  We had to back track and took 87 North to Albany, and crossed the Menard.

I had McManus with me for the day and we talked a little about things, he is an interesting character, and I will fill in the blanks on him later.

Good to be home and it will be good to be in our own little bed.

(Lance) We headed out to the base this morning after breakfast, it was actually kind of easy, Steven fired up the chopper and we flew up, the Major, Sergeant Brown, Del and I.  It made no sense for all of us to go, although Teckla wanted to see what was going on.

I was surprised at the ease that Brown was able to just walk up to the outer doors and just use her keys to get in.  She explained that the underground complex was a library for the local colleges, but that it had a facility inside, and that one would be the more difficult to get into.  The library itself was just a cover that had been put up in the early 2000’s to hide the base.

We moved through the library stacks and came to a wall at the back of it.  It just looked like a wall, with an emergency door and a fire alarm beside it.  Now that I think of it, where would the emergency door lead? We were into the side of the mountain.

Sgt. Brown took the two keys from her neck and put one in the battery lock for the fire alarm and the other into a small lock on the emergency door.  She looked at us, smiled and said simply, “Here goes!”  She turned the keys, both at once.

Nothing at first, and then a noise, a whir, and then the wall started to slide to the left.  It moved seamlessly until we were standing in front of a concrete wall with a huge steel door.  On the door was a sign, bright yellow and big bold black letters,  “US Air Force, Strategic Air Sat-Command, Authorized Entry Only.”

“Boom, der goes the dynamite…..step one, now we needs to go the second step,” exclaimed Brown, she was actually sounding kind of excited about this.

There was an electronic touch pad to the right hand side of the big door, with twin key holes beside it.  She put the same two keys in the holes, but did not turn them. which made no sense, and then she punched in 2254 into the keypad.  Click, the door unlocked and opened about an inch.

I started to move to pull the door open but she said, “Nope, not yet, dis area has been closed off fo 40 years, we, I, needs to check some shit first.”

I had not noticed until she started to pull it out, but she had a gas mask, one of those special ones that you saw in all the bio-monster movies, a hood that sort of covered the entire head.

“I needs you all to move back outside while I do dis, I need to open some vents, check a few things and make sure it is safe for you.  If I am not out in 30 minutes, something is wrong and Imma probably dead. Do not come try to find me, if that happens the facility is deadly, and we can’t use it.”

We moved back outside, a little confused, but this woman was not to be argued with and that was that.

About 20 minutes later she came out the front door, smiling and eating a Triple Decker Bar, “Now dis is a blast from the past, they stopped making these in the late 60’s, but Gramma told me dat they were the best thing ever, dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate all in one, she be right!”

“I am guessing it is safe down there?” said Major Barkley.

“Yes Sir, but I think we should let it air out a little, there are some smells down there that are nasty. Let’s leave it for tonight, and we can come back in the morning and esplore.”

“Sounds good to me, think we need to guard it?”

“Nah, I fired up the vent system, and it should be fine, I can locks the front doors.” Brown said.

“They have power?” I asked.

“Well, sorta, it is actually a passive system, some temperature based means by which air is circulated through scrubbers doo-dads.”

Wow, I thought, that is wild; I wonder what secrets this place holds.

As we walked back to the helicopter, the Major asked Brown, “Do you have any more of those candy bars?  I actually remember them.”

She tossed him one as we climbed in and flew back to Romanica.

We were back for dinner. Mark had put together some beans and franks from the canned goods that the Major and the crew had brought back.  He had been fitted with an artificial hand while they were down at Knox, it was metal, and kind of robotic looking, it was more cosmetic than anything.  But he was happy with it.  He ran around doing Arnold voices, and quotes from the Terminator movies.

We talked a little about what had happened at the base, but didn’t have too much to say because we hadn’t actually gotten in there.

Del and I settled into the cabin tonight.  It was odd, it felt wrong, not Del and I but something just didn’t seem right.  It was nothing obvious, everything seemed normal, but something…..

August 21st

(Tom) I am feeling a little perkier today, I was dead ass tired when we rolled in last night, and although excited to hear about the Archive as they are calling it, and meeting the other new people, I was just too dead tired to do any justice to writing.

Mark had really taken over the kitchen and it was a lot like having Nick and Grace back.  I think that he has been dabbling in Nick’s cookbook.  We had eggs this morning.  That was a tradition that had been started a while ago.

Months ago on one of the foraging trips Lance and Teckla found half a dozen chickens.  They have been raising them and the flock has grown a little. They set up a hen house and collected the eggs so that once a week it was omelets all around, usually veggie and sheep cheese, sometimes with a little smoked meat of some kind.

Over breakfast the main discussion was the Archive, the place at Bare Mountain.  Sergeant Brown explained to us a little about the facility and how it was originally designed to serve as an underground Command center for SAC and NORAD in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack.  As the cold war wound down, it was converted to a library archive for the five area colleges.  That was because it was set to stay dry and also maintained a constant temperature of between 50 and 55.

But when, actually before it was turned over to the colleges, the back part of the facility was sealed off and hidden.  A wall was added to conceal the blast doors, but it was set up in a way that if things when to shit in the future, the facility was still there and usable.  There were still supplies, food, water, medicine and weapons tucked away down there.  The only down side was that any technology would be from that 1960 to 1980 era, so no computers, no Internet, and so on.  But then, what difference would it make, there is no Internet anymore, and we have our laptops, or in my case, Winston.

The plan for the day was for some of us to take a run out to the facility and start to look around inside.  We decided that not all of us should go.  We decided that the people heading out would be me, Barkley, Sgt. Brown, Mac, Taylor and Steven.

Brown was a no-brainer, she had the keys and was the knowledgeable one of what might be in there. It also seemed that there may be a few little things in the way of procedures that need to be followed for access.  Mac, well, I just wanted someone who might be good at just keeping watch, not that there was anything to watch. Taylor was added because we would want to get an inventory of what supplies might be in there, and Steven was going to fly us up.   Barkley would be good for checking out the medical facility,

When I told Margo and Cody about the trip, at first they were a little bummed that they weren’t going, but not too bad.  Besides, I think Margo wanted to go out and check on Momma and the cubs.

Lance was also disappointed that he wasn’t going.  I actually felt bad about it.  He had been the one who did a lot in finding the place.  I checked with Steven and he said that he could take one more in the chopper, so I added him.

We left at about 10 for the brief flight up to the facility, we set down in the parking lot and headed toward the door, Steven and Mac stayed with the chopper.

Brown and the Major led us to the blast door but before we were allowed in, Brown made one last check of the air and environmental conditions inside. Everything was fine.

It smelled musty in there, like somewhere that had been closed up for about 40 years.  It was dusty, and there were a few spider webs.  And it was dark; we had to use flashlights to navigate the corridors.  It took a little while but Sergeant Brown was able to find the main circuit panel and then there was light.

“Ah, dat’s better!” she said.

“How? There is no power,” I asked.

“The wind turbines, it’s the wind turbines!” exclaimed Lance.  “There are the ones up on the top of the mountain.”

“Give da man a chocolate bar, yes, it powers not only the Archive, but it feeds into here,” replied Brown, smiling and tossing Lance a Triple Decker.

With the lights on, we wandered throughout the facility; I am estimating that it went a couple hundred feet into the side of the mountain.  The entire inside of the facility was either rock, gray rock or where it was man-made, painted a light pea green.

There was the main corridor, about 30 feet wide, with rooms off to each side.  There was a medical area, a galley / kitchen, a mess hall, a recreation room with old fashion 17 inch TVs with dials to change the channels, 10 rooms set up as sleeping quarters which were designed for four people to a room.

There were also some elevators that for now were not working; Brown said that she would work on that, she believed that they would need to be rewired unless she could find the keys to activate them.  She said that they should lead to the main storage areas below and a radar room one level up.

Taylor was not able to do any food inventories other than the small room that Brown had found earlier, the one with the candy in it.  It had some canned and dried goods, all of which went back to the 1960’s, old type army rations.  I guess if we were starving, we shall see.

What seemed a short time was actually hours and when my stomach began to rumble I looked at my watch, it was 4 PM.  We decided that it was best if we headed back.  We could check this out more over the next few days.

Brown sealed the facility up, and also locked up the Archive.  And as we walked back toward the helicopter, we could see to the west a storm was building, and hurried home before it hit us.

Brown and Lance spent a lot of time kibitzing after that.  I think he is trying to find out more about the place and she is happy to find an assistant. One would have thought that would have been Mills’ job.

Dinner tonight was some more goodies that the Major had brought back from Fort Knox, some canned hash and some mixed vegetables.

We did Vespers tonight, a lot of talk about the Archive, and what is in there.  Asuna, Lucy and I headed back to the cabin after that.

“Tom, what do you think of Lt. Mills?” she asked.

“Why?  I haven’t really dealt with him all that much.”

“I don’t know, just seems funny, I can’t put my finger on it,” she told me.

“Okay, well, I will keep an eye on him, any other feelings about our newbies?” I asked.

“I like Brown, she is sharp, McManus is a good soldier, and I like him.  And then there is Gilbert, that man is a wingnut,” she smiled.

“What do you mean?”

“He is very funny, I think for the most part he is a good guy, but he is a nut,” she added.

“You mean like a psycho nut? Dangerous?”

“No, oh no,” she laughed, “He just has a weird sense of humor and looks at things, almost childlike. And that accent, You All, it kills me.”

“Ah, okay that is fine, I’m just not crazy about finding another one like the teacher, the psycho killer.”

(Margo) Tom and a bunch of the military types are heading up to the underground thing they found.  I wanted to go, but there are too many in the helicopter, so Code and I stayed here at the camp.   Just as well, we took a walk out to the ledge, I wanted to check on Momma, or at least let her know I was back.  Even if we did not see her, I would leave a scent for her.

We also took a ride out to the horse farm just to check on Lemon Drop and Chuckles.  We saddled them up and did a quick ride.  We talked with Teckla for a bit.  She said that the horses are all doing well, and she thinks that Strawberry might be pregnant.

After dinner tonight it was Fire Pit and most of the talk was about the underground thing.  It sounds kind of cool, I hope I can check it out soon.

(Lance) Tom was going to leave me behind when they went up to The Mountain.  Bullshit on that, I pitched a bitch and he realized that really I had found it, I had reminded the Major about it and that helped get him back up here when the Fort Knox people wanted him to stay there.  So I got to go.

The place is amazing, it has power, and rooms, and food, and really, it might be something we should think about as a new home.  It could be very good for us.

I spent time working with Sergeant Brown, she is awesome, and knows about this place.  And what is better, she is willing to share her knowledge about it.  It is obvious that she studied and researched these places.  She knows.

I got back tonight, Del and I hung out, and we went to Vespers.  I listened a lot as Sergeant Brown filled the crew in on some of the things about The Mountain, she calls it the Archive.

Got back to the cabin tonight, odd, the Sat-Comm was moved, I think, I thought, I’m not sure.

(Matt) We were on the road a little later this morning than I wanted us to be.  We kind of dogged it a little. The goal for the day was Sudbury, we figured a 13 hour drive, but that didn’t happen, we had a little issue (I got us lost) coming around Thunder Bay and then a storm coming off of Lake Superior slowed us down a little.

In the course of the day we made no contact with anyone although we saw some smoke off in the distance a couple of times.  We could try to trace the source, but it is time to get home.

Sudbury has an airport and we fueled up there.  Then we found a little B&B, the Sunflower Inn, which we stayed at.  It was calm, and peaceful.

I had hoped that we could have made it home late tomorrow, but that is not going to happen, one more night on the road.

August 22nd

(Matt) Based upon the GPS and the maps we are about 11 hours from home, I think we can make it today, just finished breakfast, cold cereal and hot tea.  We are off; it is about 6:45.

We drove all day and decided that the most effective route would be to continue on the Trans Canadian until we almost got to Ottawa, then head straight south and cross the St. Lawrence River follow it down until we hit I-90. We would be able to avoid Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo.  I am sure Buffalo was nuked, and I am thinking that Toronto probably suffered a similar fate, although we have seen other big cities in Canada untouched in that way.

We made good time and moved down into the US in there early afternoon, where we picked up Route 37.  The roads were mostly clear, but as we drove along you could not help but see now much nature had reclaimed already after only a year and a half.  I cannot imagine what 5 and 10 years will hold for us.

Wow, it has only been about 18 months since this all started.  It seems a lifetime ago.  So much has changed, I have change, we, the clan have changed, we have lost so many, and yet we have grown so much.

“You’re awfully quiet” piped up Tanya.

“Yeah, sorry, was just thinking.”

“Guy thinking?  I don’t want to talk about it thinking?” She smiled.

“No, I was thinking that it seemed forever ago that this all started but it has really only been about a year and a half.” I told her.

“Mmmm, I was kind of thinking the same thing.  We have grown, we are different now.” She said.

“Yes, we have, and ….. I wonder….”

“What?”

I looked at her, “When we came back from Stanwix that last time, after the battle, I couldn’t stop to see if Helen was okay, should we stop this time?”

Tanya sat silently for a few minutes, then finally, “Yes, I think we should, I think we need to.”

We did a little check of the maps and GPS and found that it would add an hour to our trip, and even if it added one extra night to the trip to visit her, it would be worth it.

Fred and Jan were initially confused by the detour, but when we explained it a little more they were excited to meet the “Library Lady”.

We rolled into Fulton-Montgomery at about 5:30.  As we come into the library building it was dark, no lights, but then it was still day time.  We called out to her, but no answer.

We checked the kitchen area and it seemed that it had been used recently, within a week, give or take.  The dishes were all cleaned and stacked neatly.  But they were not dusty.  In fact, the entire place was as it always had been, neat, tidy, well kept.  It was just as if she had taken a walk or a trip off site for some reason.

We started back toward the trucks, but before we got to the door Tanya saw a hand written note on the table where we had eaten spaghetti with her in the past.

“Matt, Tanya, sorry I will not be here when you arrive, Sylvester and I are out at a meeting, but you know where everything is.  Stay the night, have some dinner, dream.”

We looked at each other; it was a surprise, but then, not really.  It was good that she is alive, and okay.

“Should we stay?” Tanya asked me.

“I think we should, she always had something for us, something mysterious that we got out of our visits,” I answered.

She nodded.

Fred and Jan seemed hesitant at first, but when we filled them in on the past meetings with Helen they understood.  We told them about how she had helped us to determine a set of ethics, to find the old ways, Sky Father, Earth Mother.  We talked about the peyote ceremony that we had gone through.  They listened and seemed to understand the importance of this woman.

After we cleaned up, Tanya and I walked up to Stack Three, I touched the books we had studied, inhaled the past, and remembered.  I kept hoping she and that scruffy cat would show up.  They didn’t.

(Margo) It was a nothing day, just wandered around, sketched.

(Lance) We flew up to the mountain again today.  We did more exploring, It was the Major, Sgt. Brown (Washa, she told me to call her Washa), the soldier, McManus, and Del. She came along instead of Tom.

We explored, The Major spent most of his time in the Infirmary, checking, finding out what he had for equipment and supplies.  It turns out that he has a pretty good set up.  It is not state of the art, but he has an X-ray machine, and a pretty good pharmacy set up.  It is much better than what we have.  On the flight back to the camp he said that he would set up a schedule and we could all have physicals.

Washa and I worked on the elevators and we able to find the keys that allowed access to them.  We checked out the radar room first, it was up one level, the top level. But we were unable to get anything to work.  She said she would check with Fort Knox when we get back to see if they had suggestions.  Although really, why? It is not like we are tracking anything.

Then we went down a level.  Wow, we have food, lots of it.  55 gallon drums of flour, and sugar, and rice and dried beans.  There were canned hams, and all kinds of canned fruits and veggies, and olives, friggin’ olives! Taylor will have her work cut out for her.

We flew back around 7pm, dinner was waiting for us and Mark was a little pissy about our being late.  But when he heard about the food stores that would be available to him, he lightened up pretty quick.

Cabin seemed normal tonight, I guess I was just imagining the ‘something seemed not right’.

(Tom) I wonder how Matt and Crew are doing, I hope, and pray that the folks at Whidbey got the message to them and they are on their way back home.

Another trip to the Archive today, but I stayed behind today; I really don’t need to go up there, to the mountain.  I would just get in the way.

Mac came to see me when they got back tonight.  He told me that he thinks that there may be someone in the area, a camp or group. I asked why and he explained that he had seen some smoke, and also, he caught a couple of flashes, like from a mirror or piece of shiny metal, maybe binoculars.

We looked at the map and he pointed at the area around Middlefield.  But that was not the only place, he had also noticed that there was an oxbow in the river, the Connecticut River that had seemed to be ‘cultivated’ like there was still farming going on.

When we looked at that oxbow on the map, it would be a good and logical place to set up a camp, it was almost an island.  It is easily defensible from the Zoms, and for that matter, human intervention.  It is close, but not too close to urban areas so they could easily scavenge.  Assuming there are people there, I guess the question is whether they are hostile.

Either way, it is probably obvious to them that we are around, chopper and all, and that is a problem.  I spoke with Steven about it and he will take different approaches to both the base on the mountain and also to coming to our camp.  If we mix it up, we should be able to buy some time.  One of the things that the trip out west showed us is that there are good and bad people out there and we need to be cautious.

I guess it is pretty clear that since we, Asuna and I, have returned that The Three is really kind of no more.  I’m not sure why that is, but with everything that has been going on, we are back to the early days.

August 23rd

At Vespers last night I told everyone about the things that Mac had seen; the flashes and the oxbow fields.  I took it easy, not wanting to put anyone in a panic, I think that the camp might still be a little edgy after the Stanwix stuff.

Although The Three has stepped back, and for the record, I was not even sure who the three were, but it is the Major, Teckla and Charlene.  And this morning before the Major left for the mountain I spoke with them about my thoughts on the two sightings. I was not so concerned about the oxbow, that seemed to be a reasonable course of action, like us, we built gardens, and were fruitful.  They may be like us, defensive, but not unreasonable.

Those flashes, the reflections, they could be something else, a potential threat.  That is more like something that an aggressive or scavenger group might do.  They might be peaceful, and for that matter, connected with the farming island, although a little far away.  We need to be careful here.

We will have to think about this a little, and the question of whether we should try to make contact with these strangers is one that will need to be thought through.  I think we should get some scouting done; maybe a little trip to look around those areas would be good.

The rest of the day was mostly quiet.  Asuna and I just hung out for most of it.  We had nothing that we needed to do.  Kind of a visit and talk with fellow campers kind of day.  Fire pit tonight was good, Matt, Tanya and crew rolled in about 10:30 this morning and it is great to have them back.  I talked to them about the trip and what they had seen.  It sounded like some of the people they met were interesting in a good way; unlike some of the people we met.  It gave me a feeling, a good feeling, that things could move forward. We will never be where were once were, not in my lifetime, but there is a future.

Asuna and I talked this evening after fire pit, she suggested that maybe I should back off a little on the taking charge of things, she’s right, The Three have it down.  I guess I just kind of got carried away with the mission to get the pills to Cheyenne Mountain and then all the ‘Commander of the Mass. Militia’ crap.

She is good about these things; she pulls my head out of the sky, or my ass when she needs to.

(Lance) Flew up to the Archive today, we took a kind of odd route heading north out of camp, and did a big loop to come in a little differently.  We also flew pretty low.  I didn’t get it at first, but then Steven explained it to me and I understood.  I had not really considered that there might be other people, camps, groups in the area.  I mean, really, since the Biker thing we haven’t had anyone close to us.  Yeah, we knew about and dealt with Stanwix, but it was far away.

After we landed Washa and I opened the place up and we got to work inside, cleaning.  Taylor had come up with us also; she and Del were in the lower level doing inventory on the food that was there.  The Major and Charlene spent the day working on getting the infirmary straightened up and making an inventory of the meds and equipment in there.

By the end of the day we had a pretty good idea of what we had and where it all was.  But there was one thing that seemed weird to me.  We haven’t found the weapons lockers; that is odd.  Why would a facility like this not have one?  And why wouldn’t Washa know where it is, if it was here?

I talked to the Major when we got back tonight; he kind of blew me off on that.  I never really got a good answer.

When Del and I got back to the cabin tonight I noticed something, someone had been in our cabin.  It was subtle, but there was a smell, a kind of after shave smell. I remembered it because it was the same one my father had used, it was Old Spice. I still hate that smell.  I looked around, everything seemed where it should be, there was nothing missing, but that smell, it isn’t right.

“What you doing?” asked Del as I began to take out some tools and camera equipment.

I smiled, “Be quiet, be vewy, vewy quiet, I am hunting weasels?” and turned on the CD player, kind of loud.  I began to tickle her, and then I put my hand over her mouth and whispered, “We may be bugged”.  She looked at me funny, and then her eyes opened wide.

I grabbed a pad and wrote, “I think someone has been in here, and is doing something, not sure who, I mean it is one of the military guys, something is going on, it isn’t right.”

Del just looked at me.

I wrote more, “I want to set up a camera in here, want to see if someone is spooking us.”

She nodded.

“Something is fucked up,” I wrote.

She nodded.

I got the camera set up and hidden.  It would show the door, so if someone came in, we could see who it was, and I also set up a microphone so I could hear if there was any conversation.  I may be off the wall on this, but I have to know.

It was kind of funny, at dinner I walked near all the soldiers, trying to get a whiff of them to see if I could match up the smell.  That didn’t work so well, no luck.

We didn’t sleep well.

(Margo) Tom caught up with me today, we talked a little and although he wouldn’t come out and say what, he seemed concerned about something.  He kept asking about scouting trips, and if we had seen or heard anything different around camp.  I told him no, but now, I will be keeping an extra eye out.

After lunch Code and I headed up to the area of the ridge.  While we were walking I told him about Tom being weird.  He just nodded, and told me he hadn’t noticed it.

When we reached the ledge area where Momma and the cubs hung out, we sat for a few minutes, quiet.  Then a ball of tawny fur came tumbling down the hill.  The cubs were fighting.  I laughed and they froze for a second, one, the bigger one, the male backed up a little and crouched.  The female, she just looked, I guess she figured out who we were and ran to me.

They have grown, but are still just puma kitties, but bigger than I remember.  I scratched the ears on the female.  I guess I should name them.  But what, what should I call them.   I asked Code, and he looked at me, with a look of, ‘like I have no clue’.

As I tried to think, Momma came to the top of the ledge and gave a snarl, not at us, but more at the cubs, it was like she was saying “Get your butts back up here, now!”

The male took off like a shot; the female took one last ear rub and followed him.  They cleared the ridge, and were gone.  It was a great day.

I have to work on the names, Luke and Leia, Ciel and Elizabeth, I don’t know, I’ll come up with something.  Oh, how about Waldo and Dora……

(Matt)It was a quiet night, and Helen didn’t return.  In the course of the night I had dreams, but only one I remember. I saw Chris, and talked with him a little.  He told us that things were good, and that mankind would survive the virus.  He seemed to know about the cure.  It was funny because where I first met him in the dream tonight he had a raven perched on his shoulder.

I was awake early this morning and we wasted little time in getting back on the road, the plan was to be home by 10 or so, and we made it.

I talked with Tom and Mom, they were glad to see us back.  Mark was happy too.  He took me aside and said that he thinks that Michelle might be pregnant.  But they aren’t sure, so keep it quiet.  I mentioned it to Tanya, but that was it.

Vespers tonight were good, actually great, the entire clan back together, with a few new people.  We are blessed, and at the end of the evening Tanya had us all form a circle around the fire, holding hands, and just kind of feeling as one.  It was perfect.

August 24th

(Matt) It was off to the veggie garden this morning; while we were gone it seems to have been a little neglected.  Tanya and I spent much of the morning hoeing and weeding.  The bunnies have been having a field day with no one visiting regularly.  Maybe Mark needs to get Biter out there to just kind of stir things up.

The usual crew headed up to Bare Mountain, actually, no, it was Lance and the woman sergeant, Delany, and the older Marine. Steven flew and it was kind of neat, he took Heather and the baby.

Tanya and I bicycled out the horse farm and spent a little time riding, I was on Black Olive and Tanya rode Strawberry.  We really didn’t cover much ground; it was more for just giving some exercise and visiting with Mom.

She filled me in on the farm and the flashes that had been seen from the helicopter.  She didn’t have a whole lot of information other than that.  But she wanted to know what I thought.  What should we do?  I didn’t have an answer right then, I will have to think about that for a bit.  My gut tells me that the farm set up is not a big problem and could actually be a resource for us.  But the flashes, that is concerning.

Tanya and I talked about it as we cycled back to the camp.  Neither of us could come up with something on the flashes, but we decided that the best thing for the farm would be to have someone take a ride over there and do a little meet and greet.

Mark is doing a great job in the kitchen; he made us stuffed peppers for dinner tonight.  I am not sure what they were stuffed with, but it was really good.

Vespers, we just sat and enjoyed each other’s company tonight. Maybe tomorrow I will try a little story telling.

(Margo) Gillie, Sergeant Gilbert, has become a kind of third wheel with us.  Or would it be fifth wheel with Del and Lance in the mix.  Anyway, he is a good guy, funny with that accent and all.

It was kind of odd, he cornered me today and began to ask me stuff about Tay, I think he is kind of digging that.  He was asking if she was taken, or if she even liked men.  I really did not have much to offer other than her history.  I told him that he would have to find out some of that himself.

After lunch Code and I talked about the camp, and scouting.  Tom’s concern got us both thinking, and starting tomorrow, we are going to do some loops around to see if there is anything odd that we might not have seen before, if there was something new going on.

Cool dinner, stuffed peppers, I was never really a fan, but these were great, and if nothing else, it beat deer stew.

Snuggle night.

(Lance) We flew up to the mountain today; it was the usual suspects, mostly, Mac, Del, Brown, and me.  Heather and Augustus flew up with us too, that was neat.

Only Sergeant Brown, Washa and I went in.  She said she had some more looking around to do.  Once we got in we headed toward the radar room.

“Lance, can I ax you something?” she began.

“Sure, shoot”

“What do you think of Mills, the LT that came in with us?” she looked at me intently.

“I don’t know, he is a little strange, I mean if it were me, I would be up here looking around with you.  I thought he was with you.”

“Yeah, well about dat, no, he wasn’t wit us, I mean the rest of us at Knox, he was kind of dumped on us about the same time the Major, your Major Barkley showed up.”

“Really,” I said.

“Yeah, and I’ve seen lotsa young officahs in my time, this one, he ain’t right.  There’s somethin’ funny about it.” she continued. “He almost seems like a movie soldier, you know the kind, the shit officah who has his men turn on him, and then you find out he ain’t no officah.”

I hadn’t really noticed, and was more than a little confused that Brown was telling me this.

“Washa, I don’t know what to say, I mean, I just don’t know.” I said.

“No, is okay, I jest needed to vent some, I’m jest not sure about him.” She smiled, kind of weakly.  Then she perked up.  “I’m telling you dis because I needed to let it out, and is jest you and me today, so you get the story.”

I was really surprised by what had just happened, she trusted me that much?

“Now, let me ask you a question.”

“Shoot,” I smiled, I really like this woman, she is cool in a way cool way.

“Exactly, where is the shooting stuff.  This facility hasta have a weapons locker, and the plans showed that they should be on the main level, but we’ve checked that all, so where is it?”

“Well, either we missed something on the main level, they hid it in the food area or they put it up in the radar room.” I offered.

“Yeah, that is what I thought, but that makes no sense, why put the weapons so far into the back, why not up front?” she offered, and then sat for a minute. “Unless, unless, unless, work with me here Lance, what would ya think about hiding the locker in a book stack? Or behind a bookcase, easy and quick access if you know it is there, and if you didn’t, would you even look?”

She stood up, and started back toward the front part of the archive, where the books were. I followed her. She walked to the main door and turned around.  “Lance, I wants you to go outside, when I shout, run in here, you are under fire from hostile forces, do what would you do?”

I walked outside, waited and when I heard the shout and I raced in, turned to the right, and hunkered down by the door, I looked around for more cover and then tucked behind a book case.

“Bingo” she smiled and began to pull the volumes off the case.  There was the latch. A hidden door slid open and we were in the armory, and it was a well-stocked one with M-16s, many boxes of ammunition, some grenades, C-4, Claymore mines and some bazooka-y looking things.

We would be pretty much set for a while if we saw a small invasion.  She was all smiles and I was pretty pleased also.

“Now, this be our little secret for now,” she said. “And Imma to tell you why.  Mills has been real interested in if I found dis place, not sure why, but for now, let’s not tell him.”

“I am good with that, and, well while we are on secret shit, can I ask a question?” It was my turn.

“You ever sneak into my cabin?” I asked.

She looked at me for a few seconds, “And why would I do dat? To steal some tighty whitey boy’s underwear?”

I laughed, I laughed a lot, I knew she hadn’t, she was with me most of the time when we were up here and when we were back at the camp, we were in the area.

“Wait, is dat where you keep the Sat-Comm-Link?” she asked.

“Yeah, why? …..oh, OH! Maybe someone is using the link on the down low?”

“Why not?  But who do dat and why?” she asked.

It was a quiet trip back to the camp; I have a funny feeling, kind of a queasy funny feeling.

I checked the video surveillance that we ran today; no one came into the cabin. After that, I turned on the CD player and quietly told Del what was going on, or might be going on.  We both slept with guns under the pillows.

(Tom) I think I am getting old; I just don’t have the energy I did.

It was not much of a day, little rain in the afternoon, that was about it.

As Major Barkley and I rounded a corner to the dining hall we heard a commotion.  I turned the next corner and there was Lt Mills all up in the face of Sergeant Gilbert.  He was screaming at the young marine.  When Gilbert saw us, he snapped to attention.  This confused Mills for a second and then he also snapped to.

“What is going on gentlemen? And you may stand easy,” asked the Major.

“Sir, I was just explaining to the Marine that I am his superior and that he is to follow my orders to the letter!” shouted Mills.

“I see, and Sergeant, is that correct?” Barkley asked.

“Sir, yes Sir!” shouted Gilbert.

“Okay, well first off, Mr. Gilbert, since you are under my command, and I outrank the lieutenant here, my first order to you is to stop standing like you got a pole up your ass.  And then I want you to tell me the fucking truth!”

“Sir?” asked a nervous marine.

“I heard some of what was going on and it sounded like there was a little more to this story,” was the Major’s response.

“Sir, the LT had asked me to shovel out the outhouse for him, and I questioned if that was appropriate.”

“I see.” Then Barkley turned to the LT, “Is that correct Lieutenant?”

The beet red officer grimaced and then quietly said, “Yes, that is correct.”

I do not like, nor am I a big fan of military bullshit, but this was just too good not to enjoy.  I piped in, “I’m sorry Mr. Mills, I couldn’t hear you.”

A glare that almost looked like a threat and then in a louder voice, “Yes Sir, that is correct.”

“Very good, that is better, now, Sergeant Gilbert, I would like you to go to the mess hall and fix a coffee.  How do you take it?” the major asked.

“Ah black, with no sugar,” he said sounding very confused.

“Perfect, and then I want you to sit and enjoy it, dismissed.” he told Gilbert, and waited until he cleared the corner, then Barkley turned to LT Mills, “Lt, we are all here together, some with ranks, some without, but in the end, we all live or die together and we all share in the workload.  That means if it is my day to shovel out the outhouse, I shovel out the outhouse.  Do you catch where I am going with this?”

“Yes Sir” he replied, clearly not happy at what had just gone down.

“Good, you are dismissed, go shovel!”

He left,

“What makes him think he was better than the rest of us, and that he could pull this crap?” fumed Barkley out loud.

I shrugged, I had no idea.

Asuna had a big chuckle when I told her the story.  The Major was pissed, this was someone he has brought into the house and he took it as a personal embarrassment.  Me think our little Lieutenant best walk the straight and narrow for a while.

August 25th

I decided that Asuna and I should make the trip up to Bare Mountain today.  Lance had slipped me a note saying it would be a good idea.  When we saw the facility, all more or less ship shape, it was clear he was right.  But the biggest thing was that he and Sergeant Brown wanted to show us the armory.  Wow, 20 M16s, thousands of rounds of ammunition, several, what are they called, LAWS rockets, and some explosives.  Not stuff I want to play with, but good to have I guess.

We also toured the food storage facility and the radar room, the place would be, could be, a very nice home for us.  But that is not my decision, as Asuna pointed out to me.  That is for The Three.

When we flew back, I had Steven make a pass fairly close to the Oxbow, I wanted to see it for myself.  It is being cultivated, and it is pretty tidy.  It looked like mostly corn, but like our camp there was an area that seemed to be mostly veggies, squash, beans, pumpkins.

The rest of the trip back was pretty bland, we saw no flashing lights or reflections.

When we got back and had unloaded I took a little time to meet up with the Major, Charlene and Teckla.  I just told them what we had seen and that I thought that we might think about moving to the mountain come winter time.  It had a lot to offer.  We could bring a lot of our stuff up there and would have a pretty safe, secure and stable place to live.  Really when you think about it, it would be perfect.

They told me that they were already thinking about that and were trying to figure out a time table, if everyone agreed that we should go.

“What about the Oxbow, we move to Bare Mountain and we’re going to be right on top of each other.” I said.

“Yes, we are considering that too.  Tom, what do you think about a couple of us taking a ride out there and try a meet and greet?” asked Charlene.

“Seems reasonable, when we flew over today we also did not get shot at, but then we didn’t see anyone out.  That has to be a good sign,” I replied.

The Major and Charlene looked at Teckla, “You’re on then.”

“Wait, what?” I asked.

“I had decided, we had decided that I was the least scary choice to go out and ride over there.  It will just be me and Asuna, couple of mature women, lightly but reasonably armed, on horseback.  What could go wrong?” Teckla replied.

I looked at Asuna, “You knew?”

Asuna shrugged.

“Well, sort of,” she said, with a smile.

I was not happy about this, after losing Anne, well, I just was, stop, stop living in the past.  This is the best plan, you know it is.  And I can’t protect everyone, as much as I want to, there are risks, there are always risks.

“I guess it is the best way to go, but well, can we get someone in the area just in case?” I asked.

“Already set, Gilbert and Margo will be across the river, and McManus and Gilbert will be not far from the entry side.” Said the Major, “and Steven will be a couple minutes away in the air.”

I was going to protest, but Asuna’s comment about backing off came to mind, so I did.

“Good, it is settled, you head over day after tomorrow,” Charlene said.

Asuna and I had a few words over this, I know she is right, and that this is the best idea, but like I said, after Anne, I’m not sure I could lose her, deal with it I mean.

(Margo)  Code, Gillie and I took a sweep to the west of camp.  We went out about 5 miles, and checked around.  We found nothing, no signs of intruders, no old fires, nothing. I wasn’t really worried so much in this direction anyway, this was Momma country, if there was something going on, I felt I would know it.

When we got back, Teckla and Charlene cornered me.  They asked if I would be interested in doing a little something for them.  When I heard the plan, guarding Teckla and Asuna, it was like ‘Duh’.  They told me I would be teamed up with Gillie. I would rather take Code as my spotter but they said he was going to have a different role, working with Mac. It made no sense, we were two tried and true teams, why break us up?  And after a little discussion, it was back to Code and me.

I am stoked, finally a little action again, even if it was just watching.

(Lance) Nothing again today on the videos, no visitors.  I flew up to the mountain with Tom and Washa, we showed him around.  After we got back Tom was called to a meeting and Del and I headed out to the horse farm.  It has been too long since we did any time on Shinigami and Samurai.  It was a good day, hot, but good.

Mills caught up to me and over coffee (actual coffee, some supplies from the mountain) was playing 20 questions about the Archive, did we find lots of food, how about medicine, was there an armory, does it have power, were there weapons, can you sleep there, it was annoying, but most of all he kept asking about weapons, strange.

Del and I talked about the cure, the pills tonight.  So far no one has had any issues with them.  They seem to do what was promised, the Hunters ignored everyone when they came into contact with them.  But still I am not sure.  Maybe I am a mouse about this, rather than a man, but something, there is something.

(Matt)We started taking in some of the corn today, packing it into the storage barns, some we’ll dry and use as seed corn, most will feed the chickens, sheep and horses, and some we will keep for ourselves, canning it the best we can.

Food production has become a full time task as we are heading into the end of the growing season.  Mark has us sun-drying tomatoes, and we’re putting up beans and tomatoes in glass mason jars.  The winter squashes, acorn, or butternut aren’t ready yet, and those we can keep in the barns when they are. The beans are there trickiest to can; they have to be right because the lack of acidity in them makes them the most vulnerable to spoilage or bacteria.

Mark has said no more about Michelle, if she is pregnant or not, so I am not sure, and am not going to ask.

Overall it was a pretty mundane day.

August 26th

(Lance) The weather is not good for flying today, the clouds rolled in last night and the air was a warm and wicked humid.  I have to wonder if we might not be getting the remnants of a hurricane.  It was a rainy day, and I mean downpour rainy with some pretty strong winds.

Most of the day was spent with everyone in the dining room doing a game day.  Gillie, as Margo calls him, organized a Texas Hold’em Tournament.  We had two tables of eight to start the game.  It was about noon time when the final table was determined.  It was going to be a ‘shoot out’ between Matt, Mark, Charlene, Asuna, McManus, Del and Fred.  I had gotten knocked out early when I went in with a small straight and got beat with a better straight.

In the end, it was Mark who won the title of “Poker Face”, beating Asuna with a pair of Aces to her Kings.   It was good.

We held Vespers inside tonight.  Matt told a story, Michelle did a little sing-a-long, and Teckla told us about the farm that had been seen and what The Three was going to do tomorrow.

(Margo) So much for a little prance in the woods today doing some scouting, it’s raining like crazy, this is weird, we haven’t seen it rain like this since the spring.  Lance said something about maybe a hurricane.

We had an indoor game day, what else do you do.

We held fire pit inside today, wow, I got nothing.

(Tom) Crappy day, am tired and I slept in this morning, Asuna was up early, but I just wanted to stay under the covers a little longer.

There was no trip up to the Mountain today, bad flying weather with the wind and rain.  Most of us spent the day in the dining hall, games, talking, just being together.  It was like a rainy day at Boy Scout camp.

Took a nap this afternoon.  What a sucky day.

(Matt)It was a good day if you were a duck or if you were a plant in the middle of the August dry season, but not much else.  It is good that the rain has come, we need the good soaking.  Tanya and I didn’t head out to the veggie garden; it was pretty much a stay home kind of day.

Mom and Taylor rode over this morning, they took the truck however, wet stinky horse would not be a good smell while hanging with the rest of us.

Sergeant Gilbert got a poker tournament going, and it was fun, got kind of intense for a while there.  I really got lucky early and it got me to the final table, but really, Mark and Asuna were on their game it would seem with Mark pulling off the win.

Fire Pit tonight, and it was just kind of a sedate, relaxing kind of night.

August 27th

It was a beautiful morning, the air seems so clean.  The Earth has been washed, and cleansed.

The plan is in place and Teckla and Asuna are going to ride out to the oxbow to find out who or what is out there.  I have a little apprehension, but it seems like it will be okay, although in this day and the state of the world, we just don’t know.

They will be able to truck the horses out most of the way, and then do a short ride from there.  The Marines will head out a little earlier and walk into place and set up, Margo and Cody will do the same on the other side of the river.

Now, I think while we wait, Tanya and I will deal with some gardening.  Prayers and positive energy for the meeting.

They, Teckla and Asuna did not come back until late in the afternoon, but it was okay, things went better than we expected.  Vespers was filled with the story of the meeting.

(Margo) Code and I set up on the other side of the river.  We drove out and were there for about 9:30, and then just waited and watched.  We were able to see the small white farmhouse and an old red barn.  There were people moving around, I think there were 5, 2 men, a woman and a couple of kids.  They seemed unaware that we were here.  And I did not see that any carried guns, although I am sure that there were some close by. Mostly they were doing farm stuff; there were a couple of pigs, a cow, and a bunch of chickens.

We waited and at about 10:30 Teckla and Asuna rode up.  It created a stir, but nothing from our angle that seemed hostile.  Teckla and Asuna just sat on the horses while the two men and the woman talked to them.  Finally, after a few minutes, Teckla and Asuna dismounted.  Hands were shaken, and it seemed that there was laughter.  At one point the woman hugged them both.  They went into the house, and that was it, we were out of contact.  All we could do was wait and listen the best we could, and all we would be able to hear was maybe gunshots.

We were supposed to get a call on the radio when they were about to enter the farm driveway, but didn’t.  Teckla had turned off the radio that she had and put it into her saddle bag.  Actually a good idea, it would not give the idea that there were others with them, or nearby.

We sat. Then finally, at like 5 o’clock they came back out of the house.  It looked like things went well.  It was after all, Teckla who had negotiated with the Hinsdale people back in the beginning, so it must have worked out.

We stayed for a little bit just to watch what happened after Teckla and Asuna left.  The woman seemed very excited, kind of bouncing around.  But we couldn’t hear so who knows.

We walked back to our truck and were back to camp around dark.

The group at the flagpole / fire pit was buzzing.  We have new friends it would seem.

(Tom) It was another slow start this morning, I am wondering if I am coming down with something, a cold, or flu.

Big news for the day is the contact with the farm in the oxbow.  There are 5 people living there, a pair of brothers, Lincoln and Larry, Larry’s wife, Belinda, and their two kids, Sally and Dennis.  Teckla said that Larry was the kind of in-charge guy.  They had been a couple of city farmers from just north of Springfield.

I had to laugh at the idea of “City Farmers” but I guess they were actually AG teachers at one of the trade schools and were into the whole greenhouse and farming studies programs for the kids.  So it did really make sense.

They have turned the little oxbow into an effective working farm and were able to supply themselves with food for the winter last year, and were actually going to have extra this year.

They had known we, our camp was in the area because of the recent helicopter runs to the mountain.  And they had figured out that we were somewhere to the west because we would come from west to east in the morning, and east to west toward the end of the day.

They are trusting, and maybe a little naive according to Teckla, but nice people.  It would be good to have them as neighbors if we moved to the mountain, and for that matter, we could work together to unite in some form.

This is a good feeling.

(Lance) Okay, Teckla and Asuna are going to make contact with the people who have the crop fields in the Oxbow.  I am not sure how that will turn out, but it is something that we all agreed needed to be done.  They know we’re out here, and we need to know if they are cool with us, especially if we are going to move up to the Archive.

I was able to hook up a transmitter, kind of a bug device on Asuna’s holster belt so that we could hear what was going on.  Steven flew a few of us up to the Archive so that we could be in range to hear what was going on, and if necessary play cavalry.  It was Washa, Del, and I with Steven.

“I hope this goes well,” I recognized Asuna’s voice and I was guessing that they were close to camp.

“We’ll find out very shortly,” answered Teckla.

A couple of minutes lapsed.

“Hi, we mean no harm, Hi,” said Teckla.

I could not hear the other side of the conversation.  The others were too far away.

“Thank you, yes, we have been lucky to find some horses.  It looks like you have had some luck with animals too.”  It was Teckla.

Mumbles, still can’t hear.

“Sure, a cup of tea would be great.” This time it was Asuna.

“I am Belinda, this is Larry, my husband, and his brother, twin brother Linc, Lincoln, and our children, Sally and Dennis.”  They were close enough now.

“Nice to meet you, I am Teckla and this is Asuna.”

From there the group moved into the kitchen and I am not going to detail the dialogue, but will recap it.

Larry and Lincoln Pelletier were school teachers in Chicopee, Larry taught Biology, Lincoln taught Vocational Agriculture.  When the shit hit the fan they saw the potential and moved away from the Springfield hub before it was blown up.  They had hidden out for a while out past Westfield.  They had kept a low profile and hung on.  There had originally been a few more with them.  A couple of other teachers with families had also been with them, but they broke away and headed further west, toward Middlefield.

In the end, it was only the six who stayed together and made their way back toward Springfield. Lincoln had remembered the oxbow and thought it would be a great place to hole up; they would be fairly well protected with water all around.   Overall it was a good set up, but they had a couple of visits by small hordes of Zoms, which was when Sarah, Lincoln’s wife was bitten. Lincoln said it was a slow painful end for her.

They had held on since then, since a year ago in July.  They were able to get through the winter by scavenging food and had time to get some crops in. This year they were on to the program and were on their way to having more than enough.

Teckla told them about some of our adventures, good and bad, starting out in Peru, rescuing us from Danahee, Hinsdale, the bikers and finally the whole Stanwix mess.

“What is up on the mountain that you keep flying up to, and where did you get a helicopter?” asked Lincoln.

“Yeah, that is a kind of long story on the helicopter, but short version, we have an army chopper pilot who found and fixed it up.  And we were able to find fuel sources that let us keep it flying.” Teckla told them.

“The mountain, well, we have just started exploring it, so only a few of us have been up to it.  And we are not part of the “us”, so we don’t really know.  But best we can tell you it is was an old air force base that was turned over to the local colleges as a library archive storage facility.  It could be a good wintering ground,” explained Asuna.

“Right! I remember hearing about it; it was an old SAC base, a backup command post if the Russians bombed us.  When I was in school, in the late 70s it was closed, and kids used to sneak up there to …. Ah…” started Lincoln.

“Park?” said Teckla with a laugh.

Long pause and laughter, I can only guess that Lincoln might have been beet red.  I will have to ask.

The conversations continued on and they talked about maybe some food exchanges and even maybe some animal transfers, a pig for a lamb, maybe stabling a couple of the horses.

The kids loved the idea of the horse.

As the day neared an end and most things were talked out, Teckla got serious.

“We have a cure for the virus, if you want it.”

Belinda spoke up, “Really? How, science, medicine are gone, we are just farmers and hunters now.”

“It is another long story, and we are more than just hunters and gatherers, we are rebuilding, trying to get humanity going again.  You, we are not alone.  We have seen other people, colonies like yours, only bigger, there is military, there are ships, there are people. And well, we had some help from some friends,” replied Asuna.

Silence, this would have been a great visual moment, I think, all of them sitting around a table, just looking at each other.

“What is the cure?” asked Larry, he had a skeptical tone.

“It is a pill, a one-time pill, we have all taken it, it seems to have no side effect, but it does kill the virus, it makes you invisible to the Hunters, and it prevents you from coming back after you die,” Teckla told them.

More silence, then “Hunters? What are Hunters?” asked Dennis, the 10 year old.

“Ah, another story” began Asuna, “Hunters are, were robots that the government made to track down and kill those people who had the illness.  The only problem with it was they did not figure that the virus was in all of us, so even those who were not ‘sick’, the robots, the Hunters saw us as infected and attacked.”

“So these pills, makes us safe from these things, that we have never seen?” questioned skeptical Larry.

“I know, it sounds weird, almost unbelievable, but we have seen 9 of our people killed by them.  Oh, they are real.” hissed Teckla.  “It was how I lost Frank.”

“We are not going to tell you one way or the other what you should do, we only offer them to you because it is what we do.  I just got back from driving cross country to deliver pills to one of the military installations in Colorado,” Asuna told them, and filled them in on the airport incident with the Hunter they had encountered.

“Can we think about it, talk it over?” asked Belinda.

“Of course, we are not trying to force this on anyone, we’re just telling you we have it and will share it with you,” replied Teckla.

It was getting late and Teckla told them they needed to start back toward our camp. They never did tell them where it was, that was good.

As they rode back to the horse trailer, I was about to shut down the transmitter, but I heard, “Teckla, the twins are kind of hunks, what do you think?”

“They do have that kind of country boy, cowboy look to them for sure,” answered Teckla, and they both chuckled.

August 28th

(Margo) I caught up with Asuna this morning.  I was curious about the farmers.  Were they nice people and were we going to be able to get along with them, that was my question.

She told me that she felt that they were good folks; the brothers kind of reminded her of Henry in their demeanor, nice down to earth people, only younger, they were in their 40s.  The two of them looked like they were from a country western band, complete with the cowboy hats.

Larry was clearly in love with this wife, Belinda, and the kids.  Belinda was a little on the mousy side.  She was very up-beat and excitable, kind of a cheerleader type. During the visit she was kind of bouncing the entire time.  She was a little younger than Larry, but not that much.  The kids, well, they were kids, young, yet there was a kind of maturity about them.  They seemed to understand the world, and how it was now.

Lincoln, well, he looked like Larry, duh, they were twins, but there was a sadness that kind of hung over him.  Losing Sarah had messed him up, and he still hasn’t gotten over it.

I thought about that, and wondered if Asuna hadn’t showed up when she did, where would Tom be now.

That was really about it, Code, Gillie and I did another recon patrol.  This time we looked to the southwest, again we found nothing new or out of the ordinary.  Mac came along with us.  He is quiet, I mean he doesn’t say much, just always looking, watching, and seeing things.

I want to check with Steven, maybe Code and I can take the ride up to Bare Mountain tomorrow.  I am curious.

(Tom) I am glad that things went well with the people at the oxbow.  It is called River View Farm, or it was before the meteor.  That was what Teckla told us. She said the people were fine and that we shouldn’t have any issues with them.  I was a little curious about the others that had separated from them, the other teachers.  They could be the people who McManus saw the flashes from.

Beyond that, it was quiet day here in the camp.  It is just a nice summer day.  Asuna and I tried our hand at fly fishing, today, the fish won.

(Lance) It was up to the Mountain again today, we have decided that the direct route would be okay again, no need to try to hide after Teckla and Asuna had met with the farmers.

I spent most of the day in the radar room; I am trying to get the Archives communications system working.  They do have a Sat-Comm, although it is older than the one that we have.  And the computers that they have were from the 1990’s, 386 chips, minimal memory, like 2 ram, this stuff is ancient.  I think I may have to get a modern computer and some other equipment up here.  A project for Del and me, Radio Shack, here we come.

Washa spent much of the time working on just cleaning the guns in the armory, checking them out, making sure they were ready.  We really haven’t needed them, but better to have them ready to go.

Tonight after fire pit, Del and I talked, we are still not ready to take the cure, and have our promise, if one of us gets bit….  But we also talked about children, it was kind of a surprise how it started, talking about the farm kids.  It was good that there were children, and that they seemed to be adapting to the situation, the world the way it now is.  We talked about the hopes we all have with little Augustus.  Maybe, in the spring we will start trying, but for now, no.

(Matt) I talked to Mom when she and Asuna got back from the meet over on the oxbow.  It is a farm, and seems from what she said to be a successful one.  I had at first thought of an exchange program with them, for crops, although we pretty much have the same things growing.  But still I would like to visit the place and see what they have.

I did a little talk at Vespers tonight about hope, and it seemed to fit. We had been early on ‘alone’ just the Peru Crew, and then Hinsdale joined us, and some of the biker gang, and Stanwix, we have met people on the way to deliver the medicine, and there is the Pittsburgh, we have friends, and other people out there, there is still a world, and humanity, and as long as that is going on, there is hope.

It was a warm night tonight, Tanya and I sat out until about 2am.  The Northern Lights were at it again tonight.

August 29th

(Tom) I kind of missed the day; it was last year, on the 26th that I lost Anne.  I went out and visited her today, the grave, I left some flowers.

(Matt)It has really gotten back to the normal stuff around the camp, farming, canning, and smoking some meat for the winter.  It is busy work, but it is good work.

I had a dream last night.  The raven was back, he was sitting on a tree limb looking toward the west.

Tanya wants me to talk to Teckla and see if she and I can visit the River View Farm.  Tan seems drawn to them, like they are fellow members of the earth clan.  I also feel a connection.

A bunch of us settled down to watch the Northern Lights; they put on a good show for us tonight.

(Lance) It was another day of playing up at the Archive.  I have just about figured out what I need to get for electronics.  A computer and some laptops, a couple of big hard drives, some cables, a printer, a router, maybe even a server if I can find one.  I can do some things with this place. I mean a system is basically in place, unfortunately it is old and most of the hardware will need to be updated.  If I knew when we were actually going to move up here, I could strip the stuff out of my cabin and just move it.  Maybe I should talk with The Three and they set a time table.

When we walked out to go for home, I realized how great the temperature stability of the Archive is.  It is a nice comfortable and constant range in the mountain, the deeper you go, the cooler it gets. The radar room is about 65.  But outside, it is in the 90s, and the humidity is killer.

Nothing seemed disturbed in the cabin when we got back, the tapes showed nothing.

Matt had told us that the Aurora has been really beautiful to watch the last few nights.  After fire pit a bunch of us stayed out after dark and he was right.  Mostly greens, but just beautiful.

August 30th

(Margo) I skipped writing yesterday, and could have skipped today.  Gillie, Code and I headed out and checked around in the east side of camp.  The horse farm is over there so while we were in the area we tested our ‘good ole boy’ on horseback.  Turned out the country boy was from Birmingham, downtown and his knowledge of horses was basically that they were big, furry and not very easy to drive.

I think that tomorrow Code and I will take Lemon Drop and Chuckles and try going further east.  Maybe Del can come with us, if she doesn’t head up to the Mountain with Lance.

There was a good thing that came out of Gillie’s horse fail; he got to talk to Tay a little.  It went better than I would have thought.  He was not a complete goober about it.

(Lance) The Three has asked me to put together a way for the people out at the River View Farm can communicate with us.  It is way too far for the radios that we have, police or CB, so I am kind of at a loss unless I can find something up at the Archive. I have not looked for that type of equipment. Right now I could work something from the Archive, but from Romanica, that is a challenge.

While they were asking me about the radio I asked them about whether or when we were going to move.  They said “yes”, but were kind of vague on the when.  Part of it has to do with finishing up the crops; part of it is getting the Archive set up.  There are rooms that we can all live in, but we need to settle on a kind of floor plan of who goes where.

I suggested that Del and I move into the radar room, that would open up a space in the other rooms in the hallways and it would also have someone manning the Sat-Comm systems most of the time.

We have been so busy with the Archive I have not had a chance to check out things with any of the other bases, the Pittsburgh, Cheyenne, or Fort Knox.  But then, they have not ‘called’ us either.  I may try that tonight where we get back.

Margo talked to Del and they are planning to do a little scouting on the horses tomorrow, which should be good for her, she has been kind of bored playing cleaning girl at the mountain.

(Matt) Lot of food prep and canning today, we have been able to put together a lot of tomatoes and beans.  There is also a fair amount of summer squash set up.  Mark and Tanya are really doing a great job at it.  I am just the extra set of hands slicing and dicing.

I had another dream last night.  In the dream the Raven was sitting on my shoulder looking west.  It was dark, night time, and there was no moon, but the stars were just awesome.  The Northern Lights were glowing, stronger than I have ever seen them. What is my little friend trying to tell me?

Tanya and I talked today about something I had not really thought much about, children. With Augustus and maybe with Mark and Michelle, maybe we should think about it.  It caught me a little off guard, but I kind of like the idea.  I think that we still could, we are only in the early 30s.

(Tom) Another sluggish morning, what is wrong with me.  I am really struggling to drag my butt out of bed.  Just tired, I should probably talk to Doc Barkley, maybe I have a vitamin thing going or something.  I thought as we got older we needed less sleep.

Asuna and I got out and did some fly fishing today, we brought back half a dozen trout.  Not enough for everyone, but then there are some who are not into the fish.  I remember Anne loved trout.  We talked about her a little, actually, Asuna pointed out that I seemed a little melancholy and asked why.  I explained to her the year thing, and told her that the memories were still there.  She took it well, I think.

“Tom, I understand the memories, I have them too, about someone from my past. Sometimes I think about Kyoto.” She said.

“Asuna, I’m sorry, I have been selfish, I forget that we all suffered through this, lost people close to us,” I said, I felt bad.

We were flicked out lines for a few minutes in silence and finally I asked, “What was he like?”

“Kyoto? I, how do I describe him, he started out like a big brother too me when I was a little girl, it was after my parents were killed and I was living with my Grandmother.  He was the boy next door.”

I just listened in silence, looking at her.

“He was about 8, I was 4 or 5.  We just grew up together, he was always there.  If I was being bullied or teased, he stood up for me.” She smiled, it was a pleasant memory.

“We went through school together, he took me to our senior dance, and he was so handsome in his tuxedo, and my gown, oh, it was the most wonderful shade of blue,” her eyes were sparkling as she remembered it.

“When we were old enough, we left home and went to university.  He was going to be a submarine officer; we did what was the Defense Force’s version of your ROTC.  I studied business logistics; he was a nuclear power unit engineer.  We were close and shared an apartment. Hell, I was in love with the guy since I was 5 years old.”

“You two sounded like peas and carrots.”  I said, smiling.

“Yes, I guess that would be a good description, when we were good, we were really good. And it worked so well, we rarely fought, kind of like you and me.  But in the second year of university he changed, he was edgy, and stand-offish.  At first I thought it was another girl.”  I could see sadness creeping into her eyes.  “I wish it was, in a way.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“He was sick, he was dying.  He had radiation sickness, he didn’t want to tell me, he hid it from me,” tears welled up in her eyes.  “His unit was exposed to radiation during a training accident.  He and a classmate saved 4 first years from a radiation containment failure. He, they were proud of what they did, but it cost him, and me.”

I stood in silence, I, all this time, and I never knew.

“In the end, he was in the hospital, and there was nothing anyone could do.  I hated it, but I visited every day.  I was there at the end.  When he died, some of me left too.  So I can understand you and Anne.”

She looked up at me and with tears in her eyes said, “Tom, please, please promise me that you won’t die.”  She was sobbing now.

I knew that sooner or later, we all die, but now was not the time to point that out.  I looked at her, tears in my eyes also, and just muttered, “We go out, together, deal?”

She looked at me and brushed away her tears, and then gave a weak smile, “I can live with that, I promise, together!”

It kind of killed the fishing trip.

I got called in to talk with The Three; they wanted my thoughts on moving to the military base.  I told them I was all for it.  I think that it will be a good, safe place, easily defended, great against the weather, and if we could work a deal with the farm we could be good with food for years.

Asuna and I hit the fire pit tonight; I think we both needed to be with people tonight. It was nice, most of us were there, and even Taylor and Teckla had come over from the horse stable. Sgt. Gilbert was kind of hanging with Taylor and Teckla, I guess the country boy was connecting with the horse folks; it makes sense, country toward country.

I was talking to Teckla after the get together and she said that she was planning to ride over to the oxbow to visit with the people there, the Pelletier’s.  She wanted to talk to them about some mutual aid things like food and protection over the long term.  The idea of moving is pretty much decided on, and now it was about the details.

August 30th

(Lance) Washa and I talked this morning and we decided that it would be a good day to just kick back and skip going up top side.  The place is secure, so it is not something we need to worry about.  Instead, she is going to hang out for the day, and I am going out with Del, Margo and Code to do a little scouting around.

It has been too long since I rode.  Samurai has missed me.  Even before I had the chance to think about it he was up against me and rubbing.  It was all I could do not to be pushed over.

“It’s good to see you again too big guy, I’m sorry I’ve been so busy with the new digs, but today, it is just you and me!”  I told him.

I heard a snort behind me; then a chuckle, it was Del.  “We’ll talk about that a little later.”

I didn’t even saddle him up, just jumped up on his back.  He was like Shadowfax from Lord of the Rings, he carried you willingly, and made sure you stayed on his back.  It should be no big deal today; it was a scout ride, not a war ride.

Once everyone else was saddled up and ready we were off to the east, we figured we could make Middlefield and back by the end of the day.  It was supposedly where Sgt. McManus had seen the flashing reflections.  We shall see.

We took Skyline Trail, the main road that was right near the horse farm and followed it toward Middlefield.  It was a warm day, sunny, and other than a few birds and the buzz of the horse flies, we heard nothing.  We didn’t make Middlefield until about noon time.  It was pretty much what we expected, just a small town with no signs of life that I saw.  If there were people there they were gone now, and had not left any signs of recently being there.

“Hey Del, so this was a bust, right?” I said as she rode beside me.

“Shut up and get your head out of your ass, look around, and keep looking,” she hissed.

Margo was also in tense mode, sitting a little higher in the saddle than earlier.  Cody was looking around warily, what did I miss?

When we got to the center of town, Margo dismounted.  Her AR was ready, Cody was also locked and loaded, something was going on.

A door slammed behind me and as I spun around, I saw someone running into the woods, it was a blur, and they were gone.  I started to turn to chase them but Del whispered, “Wait!”

We did, we expected an attack, and yet Shinigami and Samurai were both calm, they sensed nothing.  We waited.  Finally, Margo and Cody signaled us to give them cover as they moved toward the door that the runner had come from.

After a minute or so of listening they entered, it was only a small convenience store so it took very little time to clear the building, and they came back out.  Margo had a confused and disgusted look on her face.

“It’s clear, looks like there was only one person living in there.” She said shaking her head, “If you want to call it living.”

Del and I checked out the place, it stunk, smelled like shit, urine and unbathed people.  There was a little Indian blanket fort in the corner.  Empty food cans were strewn about. Whoever was in here was not having a good time of it.  This was survival mode and not much more.

As we walked back out of the building, I looked at Del.  She shrugged.

“Margo, what do you think?” asked Del.

Margo was quiet; this scene seemed to bother her.  Finally, “I think that if this was the source of the reflections, we don’t have much to worry about.”

“Yeah,” said Cody.

“I think that this poor guy has lost it.  He is barely coping and alive.” She added.

“Maybe, but he was pretty quick,” I said.

“Yeah,” said Cody.

“What should we do?” I asked.

Everyone kind of looked at me, it was a legitimate question and these were the huntresses and hunter.

“Nothing, we do nothing, leave him in peace’” said Del.

“Yeah, I agree,” said Margo, “he has nothing to offer us, except maybe lice or fleas.  Let’s just let him be.”

We walked back toward the horses and began to mount up.  But Margo took a minute, went into her saddle bag and took out a couple cans of food, emergency rations.  She walked over and set them by the door.

The trip back was quiet; I was wrapped up in the plight of this stranger, what it must be like for him.  I think the others were of a like mind.

(Tom) Still feeling sluggish getting going in the morning. The real coffee is helping getting the blood moving though.

The kids are all off scouting today, heading out toward where the reflections had been seen.  They are taking the horses.

Lance is going with them, he and Sgt. Brown are going to skip going up to the mountain today.  A day off will probably do them good.

Our LT Mills has been keeping a low profile since the incident the other day.  I don’t think I have seen him once, in the past week except today over by a couple of the cabins.

The Three are still considering the timing to move to the mountain.  I am thinking that we should be settled in by the beginning of October, which gives us time to get all the food in, and make the move without rushing.  We could be all settled before the snow flies.

At Fire Pit tonight Del and Margo told us about the lost soul that was out there in Middlefield.  I feel bad for him, but what can we do.

Asuna and I offered to try to go out and ‘capture” him, actually just make contact, see if he wants to come in from the cold, sort of.  That idea is on hold.

(Matt) Food work again today, Tanya, Mark, Michelle all worked at it. I was surprised when Sgt. Brown, Washa, came over and began to help us.  She had the day off sort of, but was bored. She is a funny woman, I really like her, and she and Tanya had hit it off on day one.

It is a slow process.  I am thinking that next week we will be ahead on the veggie side and will start with the smoking of meats, and making sausages.  I will talk to Delany and Margo about getting some deer and turkey to work with.

At Vespers tonight Margo and Del told us the story of the man in Middlefield.  It is sad, and I am not sure that we can help him.  It could very well be that this is what he wants, how he wants to live.  But Tanya and I both agreed we need to try to find out, to get him to a better place if we can.  I cannot imagine living like that.  Maybe tomorrow she and I will head out that way and see what we can do.

Hearing about this guy also made me think about those people up in Canada and how they have survived, and really, kind of thrived.  It shows that a group, working together, like we have is an important key to surviving; we need to offer him that option.

(Margo) We took a scout mission out toward Middlefield today; it was to see if we could find the lights / flashes that Sgt. McManus has seen.  We decided that horseback was the best way to go, it gave us more range and also would be less noisy than if we tried to do it with trucks. And it would be good to be back in the saddle.

We reached the place, the town at noon, but even as we neared the city I felt we were being watched, I think that Del and Code had the vibe too.  We were all alert, Lance, well, not so much.  As we got to the middle of town, somebody took off out a back door and headed into the woods.  I could have shot at him, but why?  He was running away.

Code and I checked out the building that he had run out of.  It was a shithole.  I can’t tell you how bad it smelled.  It was filled with empty cans, small animal bones, and waste, human waste.

Whoever it was lived in a little closed off area in the far corner.  I looked over at Code, he had just puked, the smell was that bad.  I felt like it too but was able to hold on.

We talked it over and decided that we had little chance of catching whoever it was, and that really, he did not seem to offer much threat to us.  We figure that he must have been the one that was causing the flashes.  It was about the right place for them, and he has been the only living person we have seen out here.

Before we left to head back I pulled a couple of cans of beans from my saddlebags.  With the mountain, we had a little extra food now, and …well if the situation was reversed I would be happy with the gift.

We told everyone what we found when we got back tonight.  It was the topic of Vespers. After the fire died down and everyone headed back to their cabins Code and I sat out and talked a little.

“I think we should try to catch him,” I said.

“I’m not sure catch him is the right term, but yeah, we should at least make contact with him, tell him what we have, and maybe get him to come back with us.” Code replied.

“Yeah, that is what I meant.  Code, can you imagine living like that?”

“No, but, if things had gone different for us, one of us could have been him.” he said.

I thought about it for a minute, “yeah, you’re right.”

We headed back to our cabin and as we crawled into bed I kissed him, “Code, can you hold me for a little while.”

August 31

(Tom) I was awake early, but I didn’t rush to get up.  I just lay there looking at Asuna as she slept, listening to her soft breathing.  I just smiled, and felt good.

At breakfast this morning the announcement was made, most of us were in the dining hall.  The Major told us that The Three had come to the decision that moving to the underground complex would begin in a couple of weeks, and the plan was to be completely moved by October 1st.  I don’t think anyone was shocked by it.  But it did open some questions about a few things like what would happen with our livestock and horses.

Half of us will take a ride up there tomorrow, by truck to scope the place out.  Many of the people have not seen it yet and should get an idea of what the place looks like and what they will have for rooms and such.  I am sure that Mark, for example, will be interested in not only his quarters, but also the galley.

Asuna and I headed out to do some more fly fishing today, there is not much else going on at the moment.  But before we did we looked around our cabin.  We had stuff, clothes, books, and knick-knacks, but it should not be too bad a move for us on the personal side.  The food, and other equipment, that will be a little more complex.

Today, the fish were running, Flies 14, Trout 1, we lost one fly in the battle.

At Vespers tonight it was buzzing about the move.  All seem excited about it.

(Lance) well, the word came down, October 1st we are all moved in.  We can start soon, in a week or so.  That means I need to figure out the Sat-Comm set up.  Being underground will require a dish to be set up outside, and how to update the internal computer system.  I will hold off on that until like the last week of September.  Del and I can get our room set up, and Washa and I will need to work with the others to get their quarters, and the specialty rooms, like the kitchen, and dining room and heck, we will even have a separate game room to work with.  Gonna be busy.

I tried to contact Cheyenne, no luck.  I talked to the Pittsburgh a little bit, they are all well, and currently in the Indian Ocean on their way to deliver the cure to a base in southern India.  I tried Fort Knox, but again no answer.  That is odd with the land bases; one would think that they were covered 24 for Sat-Comm.

We sat out and watched the Aurora tonight, actually, watched from the water, in the lake.  Just floating like a couple of otters, holding hands.

(Margo) The news came down; we are bugging out, going to head up to the mountain, live in the underground base.  Part of me is good with it, it will be warm, and in a way like a mountain lion den, I am definitely good with that.  But I will be away from Momma and the cubs. Silly, I know, but, even though I don’t see her often, I still have that connection, weird isn’t it?

I went out and hung in the area of the ledge, where Momma lives, soaking up the energy, the lion energy.  I just sat.  I closed my eyes and just inhaled, and exhaled, kind of meditating.  I fell asleep I think, and then I was startled away by a swat to the face.  It was one of the cubs, Elizabeth, the female.  I named them after a couple of characters in my favorite anime, Black Butler.  Elizabeth was an annoying pushy character in the story and with that smack, she was filling the role.

Momma was sitting, staring at me as the little one played.  Ceil, the male was standing next to her.

“Momma, we are moving” I told her.  I am not sure if she understood, and yet, I think she did.  Maybe I am just being nuts, thinking, what is the term, anthropomorphizing, giving human traits to animals.

We sat and stared at each other for a little bit, and then she exhaled loudly and turned, walking back toward the ledge, Ceil followed, and Elizabeth lingered for a minute or so and then took off after them.

I sketched tonight, yeah, it was big kitty pictures.

(Matt)The word is out, and moving the food is going to be a lot of work.  It is not like it is that difficult, or complex, it is just the volume.  We have a lot of stuff to move.

I wonder about living in a cave, even a man-made one.  It is like we are going back, starting over as the Neanderthal, or Cro-Magnon. There is a certain irony to it I guess.

Anyway, not much else to add, just working on the food supplies, I gave word today about finding meat sources to the girls, Margo and Del, they said they will get started.

Vespers tonight focused on gratitude, being thankful for what we have.  It made me think about the guy in Middlefield.  We need to try to reach him.

September 1st

(Tom) It was rather funny this morning, Lucy, Asuna and I were walking out to the Coyote to take a ride down to Middlefield to see if we could make contact with the straggler.  That was the name I came up with for him.  As we got to the area where the trucks are normally parked, there was Matt and Tanya, they were just loading up to do the same thing.

“So you had the same idea?” I asked them.

“Yeah, I think we need to try to contact, at least give him the option,” Matt replied.

“Should we take two trucks then?  It might work better if we just do one and walk in,” I suggested.

As we were talking, Margo, Del, and Code walked up.  Margo looked at us, “Hey, I let him get away last time, my job to bring him in.”

“I am not sure that it’s going to be that easy, maybe we should all go, we can set up so if you three roust him out, us old folks can stop him,” I grinned.

I could see that she really wanted to get this guy herself, but I am thinking that really, if he has been out there this long, it isn’t going to be that easy.

She looked at me for a minute, then scanned Code and Del, and finally, “You’re probably right. And it makes sense that we ‘youngsters’ go to the door because we have already been there, and either he is going recognize us, as having left the food, or at least not get the idea that there are others out there.”

So we took two trucks and drove out Skyline Trail.  But this time, we stopped about a quarter mile from the town and Matt, Asuna, Lucy, Tanya and I moved into the woods and spaced ourselves out in the direction that Margo said he ran last time.  We should be able to hear him coming this time and could react from there to close the noose.  Just an afterthought, the way I am describing this it sounds like we are trying to trap an animal.  We aren’t, it is just I see no other way to describe it.

Margo gave us about 15 minutes to get into position and then she called us on the radio that they were heading in.  As the truck drove up to the house, the mouse ran out the back door.  We could hear him coming and as he must have been looking over his shoulder, the poor bastard ran right into a tree, knocked himself cold.  I heard the thud off to my left just a little but as I walked that way, I didn’t see anyone.  I was Lucy who found him.  He had fallen into some deep underbrush.

We fished the person out.  As we did so, he started to wake up.  The person at first looked like a young small Hispanic male, probably late teens, filthy, dirt covered, with matted hair and tattered clothes.  And did they stink, oh God, did they stink.

“Please, I’m sorry, don’t punishment, don’t rape me again,” she sobbed, yes, turns out it was a she, a woman in her late 20s, emaciated.

Tanya stepped in here, “It’s okay, we aren’t about that.”

The woman fussed, and sobbed, and shook in fear.  It took a little while to calm her, we tried to talk to her.  By then Margo and team were with us.  The woman looked at Margo and Del, it seemed to calm her a little.

“You, you are the ones here yesterday, you left me food,” she said.

“Yes, that was us, we were on the horses.” replied Margo. “We are the helicopter people, the ones who you have been looking at through the binoculars.”

“No, no, I saw the helicopter, heard it, but it wasn’t me, it is the others.  They are watching.”

I looked at Matt and mouthed, “The others?”  Suddenly I had a bad feeling, one that said, time to go.  I think we all had that same thought.

“Look, we may be in danger here, do you want to come with us, we do not live near here, and well, I get the feeling that this is not a good place.” Margo told her.

“Yes, not a good place, I will come with you,” she replied anxiously.

We headed back to the trucks, and got out of there quickly.  Tanya, Margo and the girl rode back in Margo’s Kia, the rest of us were in the Coyote. They talked to her on the way back.  And when we got back, it was instant buzzing at camp.  We may have stumbled on to a shit storm in the making.

(Lance) Washa and I drove up to the Archive leading a train that included Fred, Jan, Taylor, Mark, Michelle, Steven and Heather.  It was to give them the chance to see the inside of the place. Some had never been there before, Steven and Taylor had, but that was limited in what they had seen.

Everyone seemed happy with their room assignments and was very impressed with the potential lap of luxury that we could, would soon inhabit.

We got back around 4 and there was stuff going on.  They saw the raggedy man, and it isn’t a man, and there are some things that do not sound good in all of this.

(Margo) At first I was a little pissed that Tom and Matt decided that we needed help catching the person from Middlefield.  But in the end I am glad they did.  As Tom always says, everything for a reason.

The person is woman, and now that she is cleaned up, we can see what she was.  The Major and Charlene checked her out health wise.  They had to shave her hair; she was covered in lice and stuff.  We burned her clothes.  She was able to fit into some of my stuff, although she is so skinny, even that is a little loose.

I was not happy with the smell in the truck on the way back, but it was also okay.  I found out a lot of stuff from her.  There is another group out here, close by, and they aren’t farmers.  They scavenge, and will take what they want from anyone that they come across.  And in a lot of ways, they are like the old biker gang that we ran into early on.

Maria, her name is Maria, and she was captured by them.  She was used by them, not in a nice way.  She had somehow gotten away from them and was able to hide. But she knew they were close, and on a few occasions eluded them when they showed up in Middlefield.

She has taken to trusting me, all for a couple cans of beans.  But then it was probably the first time in a long time that anyone has been nice to her, if you consider what I did nice.

It looks like we are going to be doing some more scouting close to home.

(Matt) Received bad news today, we are not alone.  There is another group not too far away and they know we are out here, but not exactly where we are.  But my guess, based on talking to our new camper, Maria, they will be or are looking for us.

Tanya and I tended the garden this morning, but in doing so we have weapons with us.  Usually it was just the Indian Axe, and maybe a handgun.  Now, it is back to ARs.  The Three and Tom are talking.  I am not sure where this will go.  My gut tells me we should hurry the move along.  We should be out of Romanica ASAP.

Vespers tonight was not fun; we introduced Maria and talked about what was going on.  It is unsettling.  Tom, Code, Asuna, Margo, Tanya, we all took a little shift at guard duty tonight, we have not had anything to point to an imminent problem, but, we need to be getting ready.

September 2nd

(Lance) I was still unable to contact Fort Knox.  But I did reach Cheyenne this morning, they are doing well, but they had a situation in which one of their people was killed in an accident, a truck accident.  They sat with the body for 3 days afterwards and she didn’t turn.  This was the first time we actually got word that the cure worked.  Good news!

Del and I started to think about what we were going to take with us.  I am going to hold off until the middle of the month to move the computer equipment and camera set-ups.

I am going to move that camera that I set up in our cabin back to its old location scanning the lake.  I guess I need to start spending some time monitoring it, just in case.  That is also going to cut into time that I can help with the move.

Del and I spent some time out at the horse farm this afternoon, sword work with Samurai and Shinigami. I am out of practice, but the muscle memories are still there, it came back quick.

(Margo) Maria is my new BFF in a way; actually, she is a pain in the ass, clingy, needy, and afraid.  I guess I can understand it, but dammit woman, I have things I have to do.

I was able to pass her off to Jan for the morning so that Code and I could start getting some meat together.  We came back from our hunting trip with 5 turkeys and a couple of pheasants.

In the afternoon, Code and I headed out for a while to see if we picked up on anything as far as human activity, the other group.  Gillie came with us. We saw nothing.

Maria re-attached herself to me tonight, and she seemed quiet.  I asked her about it and all she would say was that she had talked with Tom, and that some bad memories had come up.  But she refused to go any further.

(Matt) Dream again last night, Raven, and it is on my shoulder this time. It is squawking and looking west. I am thinking that maybe I am supposed to move to go to Alaska like I always wanted to before this all started.

Tanya and I did a little veggie stuff in the morning, canning and such.  In the afternoon Margo and Code brought back some birds that we gutted and loaded them into the smokehouse.

That presents another interesting thought; I will have to build a new smokehouse when we move top-side, or would it be underground.

At Vespers tonight I did a kind of almost cautionary talk about being ready, ready for evil, for what this other group may hold for us, if they find us.  I didn’t want to stir the pot much, but I have to believe that they are figuring out where we are in a general area and it is just a matter of time before we get a visit.

(Tom) Maria, what does she know, and what is she willing to share.  That is a question that really needs to be answered for the safety of us all.  I suddenly am finding myself feeling the old Tom coming back.  There is the part where I am the ‘Commander’ of the Mass Militia, the old war chief of the group from the early days, but also, the old detective side.

I talked to The Three; no, more I talked at The Three. I am concerned and this was not a time or place for pussy-footing or dancing around.  To my surprise, they agreed and gave me their blessing to run with this.

Before anything, I needed to talk to Maria.  I would have liked it better if Margo was with me during this, she has a connection with the girl, woman. But she had left this morning to go hunting, and although I probably could have waited until she got back, this is too important. I took her off of Jan’s hands under the guise of having a coffee with her.

We sat in the Rec Room part of the dining hall.  I had Sgt. McManus make certain that we were not interrupted.

“Maria, how are you doing?  Feeling a little better, safer, you certainly look a lot better than when we brought you in the other day.”  I started, easy, go easy.

“Yes, thank you, I am good,” She responded.

“I’m Margo’s dad.”

“I know, and you need to ask me some questions,” she was looking down at her coffee.

“Yes, if you can help, I will be honest with you, the ‘others’ that you talked about, they, I need to know about them.”  I told her.

She looked at me, and smiled weakly, “I will try to help.”

“Good, and maybe the best way to do it is for you to just tell me the story, as close to the beginning as you can.”

She fidgeted for a minute or so, and then started.  She had been a teacher from the Springfield area, Chicopee.  She and a group of other teachers and family had left the area before the bomb went off.  The group, about 20 of them, had moved west of Westfield.

After a little while, when things calmed down the plan was to move from there back toward the city, they figured that the city would be clear of the sick and that they could find a way to live or survive off of the foods left in the area.  There were a couple of the teachers who wanted to move to a little place on the river that they knew of, but the others all wanted to move down south of where we were, to stay away from the city.

So far this was going pretty well, and I was thinking that this may have been part of the group that Teckla had talked about, out at the River View Farm.  But I let that sit for a bit, because if there were bad feelings toward them I might shut down the flow of information.

She went on to say that in May of last year they split up, the AG teachers and their families went one way, and a dozen of the others the other.  It worked out well at first.  They had a good summer and were able to grow a little food, scavenge a little and really, the sick didn’t bother us much, they could get a sick one every once in a while, but it was good, mostly.  The group lost a couple of people, Gemma, and Antonio, they got bit, and Sam, he killed himself, hung himself after Gemma died.

But still, until late October, it was working.  The group was doing well, and she said that they thought they were going to make it.  They had some people join us, a couple of guys, with about a half dozen others.  They changed it all.  At first they were cool, helpful, and really seemed nice.  But then, as winter rolled in, Nat took charge, Barry was the other guy.

I had to jump in here, Nate? Barry?  I knew those names. …..”Maria, did they say where they came from?” I asked her.

“Yes, they said that they were from a camp, Runover?” she replied.

“Maybe Camp Over-Run, in Otis?”

“Yes, that was it. Do you know it?” she asked.

“Yeah, it was….they must have escaped.” I half mumbled to myself, those bastards, they ran away, they left Elgin, and everyone else to die and they ran away.  I was starting to see who we might be up against.  I wondered who else had gotten away with them.

We sat quiet for a few minutes as this all sank in.

“Maria, you said they took control, how, what happened?” I asked.

“Benji, he was our head guy, he had been the shop teacher, a good guy.  They killed him, claimed that he was bitten on a scavenging run. I never believed it; Benji was too good, a veteran, too sharp for that to happen.”

I offered nothing, but I knew she was probably right.  Nate and Barry were some shitty people, and I am sure they had gotten worse over time.

“So how many of them are there, in their group?”  I asked.

“Last I know there were 19, mostly men, mean men,” she replied, tears welling up. I could see her getting upset here.

I touched her hand, she pulled away at first, and then smiled weakly, “I’m sorry, it is…..they, Daphne and I, we, we were the only women left, and they touched us, and…..” She sobbed uncontrollably.

I had done enough sexual assault investigations to know to back off for a bit, let her cry it out for a while.  When she calmed down, I kind of gave her a smile, and simply said, “Want to pay them back?”

She looked at me, confused, hesitant; there was still goodness in her.  If I had been this girl,it would have been a resounding yes.

“Can you save Daphne?” she asked.

“We can try,” I replied, “We will try.”

We talked further and she told me how she had run away, where their camp was, and as much as she could about how they operated, and what they did.

After a couple of hours I brought her back to Jan.

“I overheard some of it.  I am guessing that those fuckers are on your list, and I’m thinking that there is more to this than just the abuse of Maria and Daphne’” said McManus.

“Oh yeah, number one with a bullet!” I said, I was thinking about Uncle Elgin and all the people they abandoned at Otis, and that easily we could have been part of that mass of bodies we burned.

I filled in Asuna about what I had learned, and what these people were.  I need to think how to do this, I need a plan to give to The Three tomorrow, and reject it or not, this is not only a rescue, this is revenge.

As we talked, I rummaged through my stuff, I had packed it away when she and I went with Krezz, but there it was, Uncle Elgin’s Katana.  I smiled, thinking, I hope you are thirsty my friend.

September 3rd.

(Lance) Washa and I flew up toward the Archive again today.  This time we took McManus, Gillie and Tanya with us.  It was just a ‘go and show’ flight, we really didn’t have a whole lot to do, although we did bring some of Del’s and my stuff up and set it in the radar room. We will build a little sleeping area off of the main area.

We flew in at about 10 and started back around noon.  As we cleared the top of the mountain we saw smoke to the southwest.  It looked a good size fire and we checked it out.  It was part of River View Farm, the house was on fire.

We flew in and landed, it was bad, the fire, yes, but it worse.  Larry and Link were tied to the fence, both had been shot, Larry in the chest and Lincoln had both arms shot.  Belinda and the kids were dead on the ground, shot in the back, they may have been running for the woods. Belinda was naked.

McManus and Washa took over, weapon ready.

“Stay sharp people, we got no time for anything right now ‘sept to Evac the living. Grab them two.” shouted Washa over the helicopter engine.

McManus was watching, ready, Teckla and Gillie cut down Lincoln while Tanya and I headed to Larry, but it was too late, he was dead.

As they loaded the survivor into the chopper, it was “Go! Go! Go!” and we were off. As we began to climb, the helicopter started taking small arms fire from the area of the woods.  McManus and Washa lit it up the best they could.  They must have hit someone, because as they tore up where the shooting had come from, it stopped.

Teckla and Tanya worked feverishly to stop the bleeding.  Lincoln was unconscious but breathing.

Steven radioed in and Del answered the radio.  He told her what was going on and she had the Major and Charlene ready and waiting when we landed.

From what we could tell, in talking with Tom after, it had been a deliberate attack, but why?  I could see he was disturbed by what happened.  As the Major and Charlene took care of Lincoln, he called Matt, Margo, Del, and a few others into the dining all.

He told us about what he had discovered from Maria, and that he believed that this was the group that attacked the farm and was probably looking for her, or trying to take the farm over.

We all listened in silence.

(Margo) Code and I were out by the ledge when the three bell alarm clanked. We raced back in camp and ducked into our cabin to grab weapons, rifles.  Then we headed to the dining room.

Tom was at the front of the group, lecture time; I knew shit was going to get real when I saw the blood on Mac and Lance.

“Folks, we have a problem, a big dangerous problem.” Said Tom and then went into the incident at the farm, and how it may and likely was connected to Maria.  And finally the part about who it was.

(Tom)  As the chopper was returning I was thinking, yesterday and last night when I thought about what we should or could do about the other group, I let my anger cool a little for what they may have done to Elgin and the rest of the people from Otis.  I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and maybe justify it by thinking they had just made a lucky escape.  I was angry about the way they had abused Maria and Daphne, but was that a killing offense? Probably not.

We, our group, had always tried to go with the idea that we would react to how we were treated before we responded.  And I think that maybe yesterday, I would haven’t taken some action.  But now, crap, this was wrong.

“Ladies and Gentlemen” I tried to sound composed but there was a deep well of emotions simmering below the surface. “I will put this as straight forward as I can, we are in a shit storm and we need to do something about it.”

I told them about what I had heard from Maria, how she had been part of the group at the farm and how they had broken apart.  I described how there had been the two separate camps, and both were peaceful.

Then I told them about the arrival of Nate and Barry with their entourage, and how they had bit by bit taken over the camp, killing or making slaves of everyone.  In a lot of ways it was reminiscent of what I had heard about the Stanwix takeover.

For those who lived through Stanwix, who were in on the events and subsequent attack on our camp I could see anger and concern.  All but Matt and Tanya, they were passive, stone faced.

“You have made me the War Chief.  It’s a job I was never crazy about, yet one that’s needed.  We have for the most part been defensive and reactive, but this time,” I paused, what I was going to say next was hard.  “This time, I believe that we need to set things straight, these are bad people and we need to,” again a pause, “Kill them.”

Silence.

Finally Mark cleared his throat, “I have two questions, and the first is simple. Do you think they can find us?  And the second one, do we kill everyone?”

All eyes turned from him to me.  “Yes, I think it is just a matter of time, and I am not sure if we can be moved into the Archive, underground before that happens.  And even if they don’t find the camp, we could be under attack and lose people every time we go out, be it to the horse farm or scouting.  This is a very real threat.”

I thought for a moment and looked at Asuna, and Margo and Mark, with his missing arm. I thought about Grace and Nick and Chelsea, the stories about Keith and Pam.

“I think that the last time you did this you showed compassion, and in the end we lost people.  So yes, definitely the Otis group needs to be neutralized. If there are people from the original group of teachers, it will be case by case.”

I still have no read on Matt, he just nodded, once.

“Okay, let’s start thinking, Sergeants McManus, Gilbert, I want you to set up a watch, 24/7.  Lt. Yagami, Sergeant Brown, I want weapons analysis.  Steven, check over the chopper good, make sure it took no damage.”

“What about me? I’m an officer!” proclaimed Lt Mills.

“Yes, you are, and why don’t you work with Sgt. McManus. Gilbert, I have something else for you to do.”  I replied.  I knew that McManus wouldn’t take any crap from Mills.

“Sir” was the response from Gilbert.

“It is going to take a day or two to figure out where these people are and what they have to face.”

The meeting, for lack of a better term, the call to arms, ended and there were clusters milling about.  I headed over to the med cabin. Charlene told me that Lincoln was going to make it; he had two broken arms where he had been shot and was heavily sedated, that was good news.

I talked with Maria a little more, and was able to find out that the group, where she had escaped from was holed up in the town of Huntington.  It is a little place about 20 minutes south of Middlefield on Skyline Trail.  They had taken over an Army Corp of Engineers facility; they had a couple Humvees and a bulldozer.

She told me that when she escaped a month ago there were 19 people there, she was the 20th.  She, Daphne was the only one from her original group that was left.  But she said that a girl, a kind of autistic girl named Molly had been taken recently.  She wanted to take the other two with her, but they were afraid and refused.

So we have 17 targets, element of surprise, and I am thinking we’re better armed, and battle hardened.  I think we can do this.

(Matt) This situation troubles me.  Are we breaking the code that we set for ourselves? Part of me says that this action is just, and part says that we may be wrong.  I think that Tanya knows what I am fighting in my mind.

September 4th.

(Matt) I had difficulty sleeping last night, fitful dreams that I can’t remember and lying awake wondering if we should or really needed to murder these people.  It is a hard choice.  I feel the fear that Tom outlined, that they will come, and we will see people die.  But I am also stuck with the idea of compassion, and that just showing them that we had the ability to kill them but chose not to might be enough.

I told Tanya about my night, but she already knew, she had been next to me as I tossed and turned.  She listened to what I said, and that was it.  I asked her what she thought I should do.

She replied, “We are the moral compass, the guides for the sacred way and I am sure those ways will send us the answer.”

In that statement she both calmed me, and also kept the horns of the dilemma sharp and alive.

I wanted to talk to Tom today, about what he was planning, about going to war.  I have no other way to describe it.  But he was busy, and we never got the chance.

I talked to Mark; he had been through the entire Stanwix thing.

“Mark, do we have to do this?” I asked as we sat in the sun.

“Matt, what do you think.  You were gone when those guys from Stanwix tried to kill us.  They did it by killing everyone at Stanwix.  We tried to show them compassion, the Stanwix people showed them compassion, and they turned them.”

“But what if these guys are different?” I asked.

“Matt, based upon what Maria said, and what they did to the farm, do they seem different to you?” was his reply.  He held up his arm, “See this, this was from an act of compassion, Uncle Nick, Grace and others are dead because of that act of compassion.  You tell me.”

I thought about this a little more as Mark and I sat there.  I realized I need to talk to the guy that had been brought in from the farm, and to Maria.  I needed to know, to be sure.

“Lincoln, how are you doing?” I asked as I visited the farmer in the medical cabin.

“I have been better,” was all I got from him.

I was at kind of a loss, or even where to begin in conversation, what do I say, the standard stuff, this too shall pass seems pretty hollow.

He looked at me, and I could tell he was still under pain meds.  “Matt, you are the religious guy here, if I overheard correctly.  I think that your mom said so when she was here earlier.  If that is the case, can you do something for me?”

“Sure, if I can.”

“Please see to it that a service is done for my family, that they are given words of peace and a decent burial,” He said.

“Tanya and I will see to it.”

“Good, these drugs are good and I am falling asleep again, I don’t want to.  I don’t want to see it again.”

“See what?” I asked, a little confused.

“Them, my family, my brother, shot, the kids chased around and finally taken down like farm animals being slaughtered, or Belinda, raped and then having her throat cut. I was left alive, so that when they turned, I would be torn to shreds. I am telling you because maybe it will help me let it go,” tears were streaming down his face.

I sat in silence and soon, he was sleeping, the drugs gave him sleep, I can only imagine the horror of what dreams he might have.

As I walked across the compound, Mom caught up with me.  She looked at me intently, glaring.

“Matt, those people were from Otis, they ran away, they left family and friends, your uncle to die.  Mark tells me that you think they deserve compassion.  Are you nuts?”

“No, not nuts, and I know all that, and in talking to everyone, I know what needs to be done. I am just not sure I can play a part in it,” was my answer.

I could see the disappointment in her eyes; she stared for a minute, and then turned and stormed off.  I walked down by the lake and sat in one of the chairs.  I closed my eyes, and just thought, prayed, and thought some more.

(Lance) Tom caught me this morning and I was pulled into the planning meeting, mostly for maps.  We were able to find some that showed the Town of Huntington.  It is just a small place.  There are a couple of main roads running into town.  I am not sure what the plan will be but Washa and I will be heading to the Archive to pick up some goodies.  Steven is going to fly us up.  He has remounted one of the 50 caliber machine guns in the ‘passenger side’ door, just in case.

The trip was quick; we circled far north and came in behind the mountain.  It was 15 minutes on the ground, that was all it took.  We took some M-16s and ammunition, and Washa grabbed a couple of the LAWS rockets.

(Margo) I cleaned the Barrett, checked my stuff, I am ready to go.  I don’t like it, who likes war, killing, but then, who likes being killed.  I trust Dad, Tom on this.

(Tom) I looked at the maps, and I thought about what we were going to start here.  I think that if the attack had not taken place on the farm we might have just moved to the Archive and it would not have been a big deal.  They wouldn’t have found us, and even if they did, most likely they couldn’t hurt us.  But that is not the way it went, and even though we would be safe, who would be their next victims.  That is where I have a problem with all of this.  And there is the avenging the betrayal of family.  Uncle Elgin was not all that close, but he was family.

I had Asuna, McManus, and the Major with me, we looked over the map and decided that they best way to do this all was to come in from three sides.  Route 20 runs through the town.  If we come in from both sides, north and south, that leaves only the escape route being the bridge.

I am not sure we would need to cross it, maybe just a sniper team at the far end to prevent escape.  It would be a safe place for Margo and Cody.

We would get our people into place during the day and hit them around supper time.  I thought we might even try to get to Daphne and Molly before the attack and try to get them out of harm’s way. I suggested it to McManus but he was concerned that they, the two women, might freak out and cause a ruckus that would put the rescue teams at risk.

The other question that was tossed out was exactly how the attack would go down.  I mean we could just storm in ,guns a blazing, or we could set up and just wear them down, siege style. The first puts a lot of risk out there, the second, could take a long time, unless we start burning them out one house at a time.  I must think minimal damage.

After the meeting, Asuna and I were walking back toward our cabin.

“Do we have to do this?” she asked.

I looked at her, “I think so, it’s a matter of time.  If they catch us off guard, we lose people, maybe even the camp.”

“But if we get to the Archive and move in, we’re safe,” she added.

“I have thought about that, and yea we would be mostly safe, but that threat is still out there,” I told her.  “Look, I know there are risks, and it is going to be bad, but I see no alternatives.”

“You may be right, I hope you’re right.”

Watched the Aurora tonight after fire pit.  Beautiful, again.

September 5th

Fred came to see me this morning; he had a favor to ask.  He wanted to make sure that Jan was not included into the plans.  I asked why and his answer kind of surprised me, not the reason, but that is was happening.  She is pregnant and he did not want to see her at risk.  I told him I was good with that.

McManus, Asuna and I have laid out the plan, and placement of people. Mac is going to lead a group to the south of the city taking up positions on the south side of town.  They will snipe and prevent escape.  Sergeant Brown will lead a group in the woods to the west of town, to again cut off passage or escape.  Margo and Cody will be watching the bridge to the east and that leaves the main force.  We will roll down almost to town, put a few people into the woods and then a small group of us will come into town.

I am leaving Mark, Teckla, Taylor, Mills and Jan back at camp to protect the camp if it is needed.  The South Team will be McManus, Matt and Tanya.  The West Team is Brown, Delany and Lance.  As I said, Margo and Cody will be to the east and from the north will be Asuna, Charlene, Mills and me.  Steven and Major would be close by in the chopper for Med-Evac or fire support.

We will leave camp around noontime and work our way down to the camp so that everyone is in place by about 3 pm.  And we roll in to town at about 4.

(Lance)  I spent the day getting things ready, charging batteries for the radios, getting my gear together.  I am thinking that it is not going to be a day for the katana, but I will bring it anyway.

Del and I talked a little about the plan, we are good with it.  This is not fun stuff, but it needs to be done.

(Margo) Cody and I are all packed up and ready to go.  We have our gear ready to load into the truck.

Vespers tonight was very quiet.  Even Matt and Tanya were quiet, no inspirational pep talk about right and justice.

Code and I snuggled.  I think it will be hard to sleep.

(Matt) I am preparing, both Tanya and I are preparing.  As I am cleaning my rifle, centering and ranging the scope I am still unsure, is this best thing, is this the right thing?  It seems good and just, but is it?  I am still torn.

September 6th

(Lance) On the road as planned, it was a quiet ride down; in fact, it was a somber morning.  We all knew what this could be, and we all hated it, but…..

And in the end, it turned out to be better, and worse than we expected.

(Matt) Dreams, Ravens picking at the dead, they are all dead, no battle, just dead.

(Margo) We will be on the road early enough, Code and I are ready.

Momma and the cubs visited me in my dreams last night.  She stared; they stared at me, as they sat side by side.  As they stared, I heard her say, “No fear, the battle is over.”

I wondered what she meant, and in the end, she was right.

(Tom) I remembered an old quote from back when there was a Facebook.  It was about the Karma Restaurant, ‘there was no menu, and you are served what you deserved’.

As we arrived at the Town of Huntington, they were dead, or dying.  In the time that it took for us to mount up and get our plan together the bodies of their 4 attackers who had been shot up from the helicopter and the dead members of Lincoln’s band had changed, they became Zoms. I am guessing that one of the Otis crew must have survived, but was hurt.  He tried to get back to the camp, but in doing so he led the Changed to the town.

They, the Zoms, had taken their toll, only a couple of the members were left, bitten, still alive, but it would not be long before their end.

We gave the ones who had changed rest, and started to pile them up for burning.  Matt kept Lincoln’s family separate after he gave them peace.  They were given a normal burial, and he said words over them.

The two men that were left were in bad shape, I recognized one, it was Nate, Barry was dead next to him.

“Nate, what happened?” I asked.

He looked at me, at first he did not recognize me, then, “You should have come back, you should have stayed at the Otis.”

It caught me off guard, and angered me.

“You could have been a prince,” he went into a coughing spell. The lungs were filling with blood from the chest wound, a nasty gash with teeth marks.

“Really? It seems more like I should have killed you that first day, what happened to Otis, what happened?”  I was pissed.

He was silent, his head slumped forward.  I would never get an answer.

I drew little satisfaction in running the samurai sword that had been Uncle Elgin’s through his skull.

We were all in Huntington now; we had the 17 bodies, plus the four members of Lincoln’s family.

“Where the girls at?” asked Brown.

It had not hit me, yes, they were missing.  We searched, shouting for them and telling them that we were friends of Maria and that she was safe.

As Margo and Del were checking the garage area, the door to a truck opened.  We found Daphne and Molly; they had hidden themselves when the trouble started.  When they saw the Changed coming into the camp they ran and hid.  But they never warned the rest of the group.

Like I said, you don’t get a menu.

Overall, it was a win, win day, but the victory was kind of anti-climactic.

September 7th

(Tom)  The war not fought, I am glad, back to being just a happy camper.

Headed up to the Archive with Asuna today, we brought up a bunch of winter clothes and personal stuff.  In our room, we opted for the Base Commanders quarters; we began to put our stuff away.  The bland military grey room was about 12 x 18. It had bookshelves, and a desk, bed, TV, and of all things, an 8 track player.

There were some okay books; this guy was a sci-fi / mystery fan for sure.  There were lots of Heinlein and Asimov.  I could go for a re-read of the Foundation Series and Robot Series.

The 8 tracks, now there is a blast from the past.  Some of it was outside my scope, Elvis, Buddy Holly, and Beach Boys.  But others were at the earliest stages of my musical taste and listening, Doors, Deep Purple, Three Dog Night, all from the era that I remember.

As we started to straighten things out, I pushed in a tape from the Woodstock collection, Canned Heat, Jefferson Airplane, as we swept and dusted, we listened.  Asuna did not get the significance of much of it, she was from a different age, but for me, it was almost like going back in time, cruising the McDonalds with Olly and Nick.  I smiled.

We headed back for the evening, and dinner was pretty good, we have gotten a little spoiled with the fresh veggies and now some fresh meat, we have used up most of the preserved stuff, the deer and turkey that Matt had smoked in the spring.

While we were at Vespers tonight Molly came over, she is a cute kid. At 18 or so, she had the body of a young woman, but the mind of a 12 year old.  I cannot imagine the impact Nate and his bunch had on her.

“Mister Tom, can I pet your doggie?” She asked shyly.

Lucy looked at me, and then at her.

“I think she would like that, she is a good girl.” I said

As Molly stroked the coyote’s head, Lucy leaned in.  “Soft, she is so soft.”

I smiled.  As we sat and just hung out as a family, we didn’t talk about what almost happened, the war.  We talked about the future, the Archive, the new home.

Maria and Daphne sat together; they kind of stayed close to each other.  They were safe and after all that had happened, seemed not to want to let each other go.  They felt safe.

(Lance) Del and I started loading up the truck for the trip up tomorrow, we wanted to have all our stuff in place and set up before we made the move with the computer equipment, it would make the dismantle and reassembly much simpler.

Rumor has it that Jan is pregnant.  Del and I talked about that and we still want to wait until we see some results, especially since we have not taken the pills.

(Matt) I am glad that we did not have to go to battle.  It was the best ending for a bad situation.  I fear where that path might have led us.

Tanya and I did the veggie patrol today.  While we were there I sensed something in her, a feeling, a nagging feeling that was telling me that she had something on her mind.

“Tan, what is going on, you seem not yourself today,” I said.

“Matt, I am not quite sure, Mother is talking to me, but I haven’t heard her clearly yet,” she replied.

I stood silent, and then she said, “It is about the Archive, I am not sure we belong there. But I don’t know why.”

Odd I thought, Raven has been looking west in my dreams.  I told her about those dreams and how it might fit with what Mother was telling her.  But for now, we don’t know.

(Margo) Ewwww, dead rabbit on my doorstep, WTF, somebody’s screwing with me?  Got to be Del making fun of me.  It looked okay, so I brought it over to Mark for meal meat.  I talked to Del later, it wasn’t her.

I am glad that things turned out okay and none of us got hurt with the Otis people, kind of a sad way for them to end up.  But I am glad that Molly and Daphne were okay.  I have to wonder how, with her mental issues, Molly had been able to survive, but then I think that with Maria and Daphne helping to take care of her, she was probably okay.

Gillie and Tay seem to be spending more and more time together, for a goober, he seems to be doing okay.  We have to find a snuggle bunny for McManus, he is alone too much.

Vespers were kind of nice tonight, glad we were just chillin’ and not saying good bye or missing someone.  Code and I stayed out late watching the stars.

September 8th

(Margo) Kind of a rainy day, I think there may have been a hurricane that has come up to visit us.  It’s not super windy, but it is raining hard.  It will be an indoor kind of day.  Code and I are packing up our stuff.  We are scheduled to be in the third group to actually make the move to the Archive.

I spent much of the afternoon sketching; I have been doing drawings of the camp.  I want to remember what it was like.  I want to be able to have memories of where we were.

I was sketching the inside of our cabin and Code stretched out on the bed.

“Draw me Margo, draw me like one of your mountain lion cubs,” he said with a grin.

“Really!....well,  mountain lions don’t wear clothes….”

“Okay, I can fix that,” he said, standing up with a wicked grin.

I was finished with the sketches, it was snuggle time.

(Matt) Raven was back last night, just sitting in the tree, I am not even sure which kind of tree, but he was looking west.  Wait, it was an apple tree, and he had an apple in his beak.  He lifted off and flew to the west.  I could see him drop the apple on the way, and then he continued.

Tanya and I talked about the dream as we were packing some of our things to go to the Archive.

“Matt, I think we should try to visit Helen.” She said.

I looked at her, “You think she will be there this time?”

“I’m not sure, but something is calling us, we need to start west. For me it is Mother, telling me I should, for you, Raven pointing that way,” she replied.

I thought more about it as we packed.  I think it is a good idea.  Once we move to the Archive we should make the trip.

(Tom) The Three have decided that it is time to actually start moving to the Archive, a third of us will be heading up for the 10th, which will give us time to settle in and get used to the place.  Then on the 20th the second group will head up and finally the last group, which will be us ‘stragglers’ head up at the end of the month.  It gives Asuna and me time to pick out paint and make our quarters a little more interesting.  It is too bad that the QUalz weren’t here; they could do one of those dioramas like on the Sky Crystal for us.

The Major, Charlene, Margo, Cody, Maria, Molly, Daphne, McManus, and Sgt. Brown will be in that first group.  That way they can get the infirmary set up.  Lincoln will be taken up with them.  It may actually be a better spot for him to work on recovery.

Matt, Tanya, Michelle, Tay, Gillie, Mills and Teckla will be in the second group.  And Mark, Michelle, Steven, Heather, Augustus, Lance, Del, Asuna, and I will be the third group.

Mark and Lance are in the last group because between moving the kitchen stuff and the computers that will take the longest to move over and have set up.

The plan is also to check out the remains of the River View Farm, it is likely that as long as the barns were not badly damaged we can move the horses there.  It is close enough for easy access for us and we could actually get a big old RV and have someone periodically live there.  I am thinking that Teckla or Taylor might take turns.  And when he is well enough, maybe Lincoln would want to stay there also.

Asuna and I took a trip into Hinsdale this afternoon, we wanted to hit the Lowe’s for some paint and equipment to do our walls, that grey is not good.  We ended up with a nice beige Venetian plaster.  And while on the way back we also hit a Bed, Bath & Beyond for some like curtains, and bed covers, and things like that.  We are lucky; our tastes are pretty close, earth tones, contemporary, simple.  Maybe next trip a couple of chairs, maybe even a recliner.  We probably need to do something with the mattress, it is old, and well, been just sitting there for a long time.

(Lance)  Rainy day, stayed inside most of the day, but in the afternoon it was for some stupid reason suggested by some idiot girl that we go out for a run in the rain. We did, it was actually kind of nice, the rain felt good, the run felt good.

Fire pit was in the dining room tonight, there is a little excitement over the upcoming move.  And there is a sense that we are in the clear for people around us, it is safe.

September 9th

It was clear this morning, the weather is nice; the air feels ‘washed’.  Asuna and I helped bring canned foods and supplies up to the Archive.  It was a long day, but we made good progress.

On the way back from the first trip we took a swing over to the farm at the oxbow.  The house was burned to the ground but the barn and out-buildings were fine. We let the goats and cows out of the barn, they were hungry, no one had fed them, we had forgotten about it.  They headed straight to the grassy fields and began to eat.  The cows wandered into the cornfield. They will be fine roaming free for a few days, we can find them, and it is unlikely that they can wander too far.

We also checked on the room situation in the barn.  There are stalls and it would seem to me that we can fit the horses into the barn, and there is a pen outside for the sheep.  We could be in good shape here.

In the next day or so Asuna and I will go out and try to find an RV that we can park at the farm so there are some living quarters.  I mean someone could bed down in the barn, but it won’t be me, if I can help it. But if we have to house the horses (say that three times fast!) someone should probably stay with them.  We may as well make it as comfortable as possible.

Fire pit tonight, then after dark, nature put on a show for us with a meteor shower.  Things are good.

(Margo) Another rabbit at the door, Really? If I catch whoever it is I am gonna kick their ass!

We are all working on moving food and stuff up toward the Archive.  It was a busy day, it was three trips for us, load, drive, unload, drive back, repeat.

Code and I looked at our room; it is a good size, about 15 x 15.  We got one that had been empty so we need to go out and do some ‘shopping’ for a bed and some other furniture.  What we will do for designs, well, guess it depends on what we can find, but for sure the grey will go away.  It is a depressing color.  I want to do a mural.

Sat out and watched the sky tonight, nice to see meteors rather than the lights of the Hunters.  We haven’t seen any Hunter lights in the west for a while.  I think maybe they have been neutralized now that the Cheyenne folks could get out and go after them.  And now, for us, with the pills Tom and Asuna brought back it is not even a concern.

(Matt) Restful night, no dreams, or at least none I recall, maybe because the message has settled in.  Tanya and I are going to make a run out to see Helen once we get all moved in.  Perhaps she has some insights for us, or perhaps another vision quest will give us the answer that is just beyond our view.

Veggie stuff in the morning, we came back with two rabbits from the cages.  It was funny; Margo gave me a very odd look as we walked into camp with them.

The balance of the day was spent moving food and supplies to the Archive.   We are in the second group moving up so we have about 10 days to get our cabin stuff packed and get set up in our room.  Like everyone else we will be doing a ‘home goods’ shopping run.

We led Vespers tonight, thankful to the Sky and Earth for their help and kindness.  Also we were thankful that things went the way they did in Huntington.  I am glad that we did not have to fight them.  I knew it was maybe a necessary thing to do, but still, could it have been done differently?

Sky Father put on a show for us tonight.

(Lance) Moving food and supplies, long day, tired.  Nothing exciting.

September 10th

(Matt) There is little to talk about today, we worked on moving the final goods for Group One up to the Archive, that was about it.  They will spend the night up there and the family will be apart for a little bit.

I stopped in to see Lincoln before he was moved up to the topside; he is doing well physically, but still very down about the loss of his family.  It has to be difficult for him and try as I might I am unable to ease that pain.  I wish I could.

The Vespers tonight was a little quieter and emptier.  But still, it was good.

(Margo) Now I am really pissed, another friggin’ rabbit, who is the asshole!

Moving day, and we all pitched in, it kind of reminded me of an ant colony, some leaving loaded with the possessions we had collected over time, and others with food, and supplies.  We were supposed to be in the first group to move up there, to the Archive, but Code and I decided that we wanted to stay here for a few more days, we’re not ready to be a cave dweller yet.

Quiet night, small Fire Pit, clouded over and began to sprinkle at about 9, so we headed to home.

(Lance) We are all helping with the move, everyone is busy.  When we got back tonight and were heading toward bed, I smelled that after shave smell again, it was faint, but it was there.

I checked the video but found I had forgotten to turn it on.  That will not happen again.

(Tom) I think I have been replaced.  Lucy, who was so often right at my side, has seemed to have made a connection with Molly.

“Mister Tom, I, can, may, could Lucy come with me to the new home?” she asked me as I was finishing breakfast.

I looked at Lucy sitting beside her.  They have really become almost inseparable in the last couple of days.  In my mind I could hear Lucy telling me that Molly needed her more than I did.  But I also knew it in my heart.

“Well Molly, do you promise to take good care of her, and keep her safe?” I asked.

“Yes, yes Mister Tom,” she was shaking in excitement at the thought that Lucy would be with her.

“Then okay, you can.”  I smiled, I was glad for the two of them; she does kind of need someone to look after her. Funny, as I read that I wonder if I am talking about Molly looking after Lucy or the other way around.

After breakfast, as Asuna and I were heading to load up one of the trucks, she grabbed my arm, leaned in with kind of a hug.  “You are such a softy.”

“What do you mean?” I said, trying to keep a straight stern face.

She just held on.

“Yeah, actually, I am, just don’t let my secret out.” I said.

“Right, everyone knows it, so just stop.” She laughed.

I felt good.  I loved Lucy dearly and will miss here being right there all the time, but she had a job to do and that was take care of Molly.

The rest of the day was moving stuff.  Steven flew Lincoln up to the Archive; it was probably less painful than driving.  The roads even in only a couple of years are not as smooth as they once were.  Nature is making a comeback and reclaiming her own.

September 11th

(Tom) Wow, it just hit me; it has been 16 years since the World Trade Center was taken down in a terror attack.  It seems like just a few years ago.  It was one of those moments that we all remember, like the Kennedy Assassination, or the Challenger Disaster.  How much the world had changed because of those events and yet, how little they mean today.

The first group moved up to the mountain yesterday, and the camp seems a little emptier, I wonder what it will be like when the second group leaves.

Asuna and I headed into Hinsdale and did some “furniture shopping”.  We found a couple of decent chairs, and little tables.  The big find was a king sized waterbed.  I thought back to when I had one many years ago and it actually made sense to grab it.  They tended to hold heat, or cool depending on the season, and they were pretty much mold proof.  I worried about that, being underground and all, it might be a little humid in the Archive.

We headed up to the Archive and spent the afternoon unloading.  We will be back in the morning to set it up.

Taylor and Teckla headed over to the Lincoln’s farm, they have started moving the horses over.  Lance and Del helped.

(Lance)  I have decided that I will break down the computer stuff after the second group makes its move to the mountain.  That will be the best time to do it because it will minimize the amount of time the system is down.  I will contact the Pittsburgh and the other locations the day before I take it down to let them know we will be off line.

We, Del and I helped Tay and Teckla move some of the horses over to the River View Farm.  We moved eight of them.  It was slow going because we rode them over there.  Four at a time, then hooked a ride back from Steven when he was heading back from topside.

We brought Shinigami and Samurai over in the afternoon.  It felt good to be back in the saddle, actually bareback, Samurai never liked being saddled.  I think over time maybe we can find or build some place to house them a little closer to stable them, or maybe keep a few of them up grazing by the Archive.

At the end of the day, dusty and tired, we floated in the lake for a while holding hands like a couple of otters. Then later, after dark, we watched the sky.  The Aurora was awesome, the colors, it wasn’t just green, we had some reds and yellows in there.

(Margo) This morning it was a turkey at the door, but now I know, well sort of know who it is.  Well, actually, I have two candidates.  The paw prints in the dirt gave it away; it was one of the cubs, either Ceil or Elizabeth.  I am not sure which one, but it appears that they are either showing me that they love me by dropping off food, or they think I am a big dumb ass cat that isn’t capable of hunting for herself.  Either way, it is an “awwww” moment.

I brought the turkey to Mark, and then took a stroll out to the ledge area to see if I could find them.  As I arrived, Momma was waiting with the cubs, Ceil and Elizabeth sitting behind her.  As I walked into the clearing, Elizabeth jumped up and ran to me.  She is getting so big, she almost knocked me over.  I sat down in front of Momma, about 10 feet away; I knew she wouldn’t hurt me.

“Momma, we are moving, we are going away.” I said out loud.

She stared at me with those big cat eyes, blinked and in my mind I heard, “Yes, I know my daughter.”

“Are you mad at me for doing that?” I asked.

“No, I will miss you, and I will visit, but like my two other cubs, they will move on too, it is the way,” echoed in my mind.

I sat for a moment, I was blown away that we were having this ‘conversation’.  I thought about it, I wanted to give Momma a hug.

“No little one, no hugs for me, not today.  In time perhaps, but not now.”

Elizabeth was laying against me, purring loudly.

“Margo, daughter, I think that little sister will join you soon at the new home, watch for her,” filled my mind.  Was this a dream, or my imagination?  I don’t think so.  This was happening.

We sat for a while, and then Momma snarled at the cubs, stood up and walked toward the ledge.  She easily climbed the rocky crags and plunged into the woods on the top.  Ceil followed right along, Elizabeth rubbed her face in mine one time and then bounded up the hill to catch up.

I was quiet the rest of the day.  I told Code about the encounter.

(Matt) Tanya and I talked more last night and we are going to do another pilgrimage, the plan this time is simply to visit Helen at the college.  I am going to check with Mom and see if she will let us take Black Olive and Strawberry. Horseback seems to be the way that we should go.  I know that she will not be happy about us going gallivanting again, but it is needed.

Today we spent some time preparing our room at the Archive, I am not sure our hearts are into it because I think we are both looking at the trip more than the move, and somehow I think we both know that this is a trip we may not return from.  Not because of bad things happening, but because there is a call, a reason for us to keep going west from the college.  But we shall see.

September 12th

As Del and I were packing things up, I took a couple of tries at reaching the Pittsburgh, or Cheyenne or Fort Knox, it was odd, there seemed to be interference with the signal.  There was a crackling and static.

In the course of moving things I came upon that video camera I had set up.  I had not seen any activity or noticed any before but I did see where the auto sensor had kicked in. I have set up the auto sensor after I kept forgetting to turn it on when we left in the morning.  I rewound the tape and began playing it back.  Del and I were….. I am not even sure how to describe it.

Going back to a couple of days after the almost war with the Otis folks there was the first video.  At first it was hard to say who it was, we heard the door open and someone walked in, they were in army clothes.  It took a couple of rewinds to figure out that it was Lt. Mills.  He headed to the Sat-Comm and fired it up.

“Agent 3 to Kentucky Home, Agent 3 to Kentucky Home,” He said into the transponder.

A female voice answered, “Kentucky here, I will fetch the General.”

Moments later a southern accented voice came on the speaker.

“Mills, this is General De Soto, what is your report.”

Mills cleared his throat, “It has been quiet here.  The Mass Militia is the real deal, and they have found the underground.  That black bitch you sent knows her shit, but she isn’t sharing it.  I can’t tell if they found the weapons cache or not so I am not sure if they found any of the chemical weapons that you think are stashed up there.”

“I see,” replied the voice. “You have not been discovered?”

“No, and I really do not like it here, they treat me, like, well, like a regular soldier!”

There was a laugh from the speaker box, “Well, what did you expect Colonel, you have been brass for too long to remember what it was like.”

“Yeah, right, I would like to give a little shit to that doctor, Major Barkley, he, never mind.”  Said Mills

“In time you may get the chance, but for now, I need to know if there are the chemicals and if so, how much, we need them to un- friend some folks,” said the voice.

“Yes sir, and if I find them?” asked Mills.

“You take control of the situation however you need to you. You take them and get them back here.  You should have control of Sgt. Brown, ‘the black bitch’ I think you called her. She is a good soldier, and will follow orders.”

“I assume deadly force is authorized.” Mills replied.

“You do what is necessary, if those chemicals are there, then I want them, Mass Militia be damned.  I must have them!” came the reply, just a little too enthusiastically.

There was a little sign-off thing that happened and then Mills left the room.  Now that I think of it the day matched a day that I smelled the Old Spice.

I had Del go get Tom and we played the tape for him.  I watched as he became redder and redder.

“Has anyone else seen this?” he asked.

“No, just you,” I answered.

“Good, keep it that way, and one question, did you and Sgt. Brown find these chemicals that he is talking about?”

“No, but it was funny, Washa asked me what I thought of Mills, said something about he seemed wrong, seemed not who he claimed to be. I guess she was right.” I told him.

“Do you trust her?” he asked me.

“Yes, I do.”

“Okay,” Tom said, he was thinking, what is the old saying; you could see the wheels turning.

After he left I turned to Del, “Some shit is gonna hit the fan, we best keep armed, I don’t trust him anymore.”

“Mills, or Tom,” she said.

I gave her the look.

(Tom) It started as a quiet day, just another same old, same old, working on the move.  Then Lance showed me a video tape of our LT Mills talking to Fort Knox about some secret weapon or chemicals that were or may have been stored at the Archive.

I sent Steven up to the Archive and had him bring Sgt. Brown and the Major back to the main camp.  We talked a little while.  I believe that Brown did not find whatever it was that was thought to be there.

The Major was furious, and had I not stopped him would probably have hunted Mills down and at least, the very least beat the shit out of him.  But I prevented it.

Instead, we decided that we would do a little kind of sting operation.  I had Asuna go find Mills and tell him that we were meeting in the dining room to discuss a find, something that was unexpected and dangerous.

When he arrived, it was the Major, Brown, and I at the table, McManus was kind of guarding the door, which I explained as important to keep prying eyes out of this.  In the middle of the table was a silver cylinder about 2 feet long and 10 inches in diameter.

I had Brown tell us all about how in the course of her most recent search she had found the weapons locker that was hidden behind the bookcase, she told it exactly as it had happened with her and Lance.  But, I had her kind of embellish on it a little and she continued by telling how when they had gone to replace the LAWS rockets after the almost war she discovered a secret panel with something strange inside, canisters of some kind.

She said she was not sure what they were, but the marking clearly showed they were bio-weapons and dangerous ones.  She even suggested that until we could dispose of them that it would best to move out the Archive.  It was an academy award worthy effort on her part and a nice bit of improv about the move.  I see know why Lance likes her.

Most eyes were on her, mine were on Mills.  He was clearly interested, almost smiling.

“Commander, if I may, I did a little time with a unit that handled IEDs and WMDs.  I think I might be able to help,” offered Mills.

The fish took the bait and was off running.

“Lt, I did not know that was your field, I thought you were more an Admin guy,” said Major Barkley.  “Or at least that was what General De Soto told me.”

Mills stutter stepped for a moment then came back with “Well, I was transferred to Admin after my tour in Iraq.”

“Ah!” said the Major.

It was then that Lance came in, with laptop in hand.  “Major, Tom, I got some stuff on the canisters, it looks bad.  Let me set this up in the projection TV and show you,” He said.

Initially Lance did show a clip about some Vietnam era chemical weapons that were ‘similar’ to the ones we found.  Mills was almost wetting himself in the excitement thinking that we had found what he was looking for.  Then, the video changed, to the one that was from inside Lance’s cabin.

Mills’ mood changed, he looked like a cornered animal.

“Well, Colonel, is it Mills or something else?”

“Mills” he said softly, then stronger, “what are you going to do with me?  I am the only one who knows how to handle those canisters.” He pointed at the one in the middle of the table.

“I see, well, I have thought about that.  Personally, I think Major Barkley would like to stick that canister up your ass.  But I am not going to let him. So for now, tell me what the canisters we found contain,” I said.

He looked at me; he already had his ‘escape’ figured out.  “They’re a nerve gas, Sarin, and what we plan to use them for is to neutralize the foreign subs.  We planned to plant canisters in supply shipments where they would ‘leak’ and get to the point where only our subs, US subs would be left.”

“So this is about world domination of the seas? Are you fucking kidding me?”  I said, incredulously.

“Yep, America being America,” he said, with a misguided sense of pride.

“Well, Agent 3, we are not going to let you do that.” I told him.

He pulled out his sidearm and seized the canister. “You can’t stop me, keep your hands were I can see them.”

“Well, let me see, the way I see it, you maybe get one of us, but that is about it.” I replied.

“No, I get all of you, I don’t shoot one of you, I blow the canister, you all die.” He hissed venomously.

“Really?  And what about you?  Suicide mission?”   I asked.

“No, I’ll have enough time to mask up, but I will enjoy seeing you die. Do you know how horrible is it to die from chemical weapons?” he said, starting to feel in control and maybe a little cocky.

“Okay, let’s all just slow down a little here, there is plenty of time for dying.  Let’s talk a little, since we are all going to die, want to tell us the details, it is kind of like the old spy movies, the bad guy always has to tell the good guys his plan.”

“I am fucking serious here, stop with the stupid bullshit,” He screamed.

I put my hands down on the table, “Look Colonel, I want to know who is behind this, it is you, and whatever dumbass general in Fort Knox, or is that also Cheyenne.”  I suddenly had a bad feeling about McManus.

“Fucking Air Force pussies, no, they have no clue, hiding in their little rabbit hole! Fuck them; this is the real military doing this.” Mills spat out.

“I see” was my answer. “So one more question, if you were in my place, what would you do?”

Mills looked at me for a couple of seconds; the question caught him completely off guard.  “I, what?  Are you crazy? I am gonna kill you, all of you.”

“Nope, not crazy, figure that if you break open that canister there and we all get some of it, well, we may die from diabetes in a couple years, insulin is hard to find.  Read the side of the thing.” I said in a calm tone, but beneath the surface I was a storm of anger.

The embossed Coca Cola logo was still readable.  Mills looked, no glared, at it, then me. He began to raise his 45, but McManus who had silently crossed the room while Mills reading the side of the canister, crushed his skull with a single mighty swing of his M-16.  It was over.  This one we would leave for the vultures.

“Mac, I had a moment of doubt there, I wasn’t sure if, well, you know.” I said shifting my gaze from McManus to the crumpled body on the floor.

“No problem Boss, I was nervous that Osgood or Welles might have been players myself,” he replied.

There were never any canisters, it was a ruse.  After it was over I had Lance contact Cheyenne.  I spoke with General Osgood personally and filled them in on the events.  He was grateful and said he would take care of it, Fort Knox, on his end.  I also had Lance contact Captain Katzung and fill them in with the same information.

(Matt)  Wow, just heard about the incident with Lt Mills, it is sad that there are still people out there with stupid ideas, misguided control issues and fools who follow them.

(Margo)  At Vespers tonight we heard about the canisters and the actions of Lt Mills. Why, that is all I can ask, why.

I can’t beat that for the day.

September 13th

(Matt) I did not realize at the time, yesterday, that Mills was not going to be burned or buried. Tom had his body just dumped in the woods to let him rot, or be picked over by the bugs and animals.  We talked about it, it is unacceptable to me.

Tom and I had a discussion that was brief and not a pleasant one.  I tried to point out to him that as bad as Mills was that no one deserved that treatment.  He was human, a bad human, misguided, but still human, and even in death there should be dignity shown.

He tried to explain to me what he was thinking and it was a weak argument, but he can be stubborn.  It is on one hand what has made him a good war chief, and helped keep us alive.  But he also sometimes gets a bee in his bonnet and can’t let it go.

I did my best to show him the light, but in the end, I had to walk away.  It was going nowhere, according to Tom, Mills would rot and that was that. Tanya and I will take a walk out to the dump site later and cremate him; I will say a few words.

(Lance) The place is kind of weird today, that whole thing with Mills has kind of freaked some of us out.  The government or military doing what they were trying to do, especially in this state of the world.  We need all those left, the survivors, to work on a rebuild, to be in unity, not playing power games.  The wars are all over, there are no more borders, nations, and really for that matter even races.  We are humans trying to scrap by.

McManus cleaned up the mess from where he had hit Mills, it was a shock the way it ended.  But I think that had the soldier not stepped in that Mills would have shot Tom.  He, Mills was insane, I think that is the only way I can describe it.

Tom had the body dumped into the woods for the vultures.  I can kind of see not putting him into the cemetery, but I am not sure I agree with the idea of just dumping him.  Maybe Del and I will sneak out early tomorrow and throw some dirt on him.

Skipped fire pit tonight, just was not feeling it.

(Margo) Code and I headed up to Hinsdale early this morning.  We needed to do some ‘shopping’ to set up our room.

“What would be cool is if we could find like a Japanese place.  Can you image what we could do?” Code said.

“Huh?”

“Anime, we could do our room in a like Anime design, something out of like Bleach or Kill la Kill,” he explained.

I thought about it for a minute, simple designs, matts on the floor, the low table, I kind of like it.  As we get old, it may not work but for now, I kind of liked the idea. “You think we can find a store like that?” I asked.

“Well, I bet if we find a futon shop we could have a good start,” he said.

“And can we get like Kimonos and Happy Jackets and those funny little socks with the separate big toe so we can wear the clog things?” I asked.

“Well, I guess, I hadn’t taken it that far,” he replied.

We found a Futon store and were able to get a sleep matt / mattress, the kotatsu table, some comforters and blankets and a couple of room screens with Japanese designs painted on them.  The clothes thing didn’t work out, but it was a start.

We dropped the stuff off at the Archive and then came back to camp for dinner.  We will leave the furniture from the cabin there at camp, with the new stuff we won’t need to move it.

Vespers were weird tonight, seemed strained at first, then it got really weird.  I can’t even explain it except to say there was something going on between Matt and Tom.

(Tom) I am still absorbing what took place yesterday and now I am concerned about what will happen with Fort Knox.  I wonder if Cheyenne is actually in league with them.  I wonder if when Knox gets they figure out about Mills if they might not strike out at us. Or for that matter, if the Pittsburgh is involved whether they might not send a Tomahawk our way.

As I was walking across the camp, Matt caught me.

“Hey Matt, what’s up,” I asked.

“It is about Lt. Mills, I heard a rumor and was wondering if it was true.”

“Well, yes he is dead, he tried to, or threatened, to kill us, a few of us and he was a kind of spy with a plan to do harm to a lot of people.”  I said.

“I heard that part, what I am curious about is where he is now.”

“Ah, well, we dumped the body in the woods,” was my response.

“I don’t think that is right, I think he needs a decent burial,” Matt replied. “Why would you just dump him?”

I looked at Matt, I knew where he was coming from the Sky Father, Earth Mother, spiritual thing. “Matt, I know that you will not agree with me but there are some things that make a person underserving of even the basic human kindnesses.  What he did, what he was working on, what he tried to do, fit that category in my mind.”

“Tom, he was a human being, evil, or not, he was a human.  He deserves at least that much dignity.”

“Think back, when we have had deaths in the past there were two ways we disposed of the bodies, the empty shells.  Our own we buried, family, friends, part of the clan, we buried them in our little cemetery.  Then those we didn’t know we burned, and why did we do that?” I began.

Matt looked at me for a moment, “I understand, because family is family, and they deserve it, and in the case of the burning we were a little less gentle.”

“Part right, we buried family because it helped those of us left behind to deal and cope with the loss a little better, we put them in the ground because it was what we, humans have always done.  It gave us a place to go, to visit, to remember.”

“Okay, shouldn’t we bury them all?” Matt asked.

“How could we, no, some we had to burn.  Either way we had to, the virus in them and then for hygiene sake we burned the rest.  I think you can understand that.”

“But why is Mills being left in the woods?” he asked.

“Because he was what he was, and doesn’t deserve better!”

“Are you sure?  He was a fellow human, evil or not, he was still human, he is dead now, how are you punishing him, by letting animals ravage his body?” was Matts retort.

I came back with, “I don’t care, I don’t want him in our cemetery, I don’t want him to find peace, and I don’t care.  You have made your point, and I will consider it, but don’t get your hopes up.”

I sat down by the lake for a while, looking over the water.  As I sat eyes closed, Asuna sat down in the Adirondack chair next to me.  I could tell it was her by the smell of her soap.  Funny, how we still catch such things.

“You okay?” she asked.  She seems to know, sense when I am in turmoil.

“Yeah, just thinking.” I replied.

“About what?”

“Mills, Fort Knox, Cheyenne, what we may have opened as a can of worms.” I answered.

“Yeah, lot of things could happen.  I wonder, you think that the bases may take a shot at us?” she asked.

“Don’t know, Cheyenne and Pittsburgh seemed cool with what happened.  We have no idea what is up with Fort Knox.”

I opened my eyes and looked at her.

“Maybe we should talk with The Three and push along the move. Get settled in, just in case someone does something stupid,” she offered.

“Yeah, probably.”

“There’s more isn’t there.” She said.

“Yeah.”

“And.”

“Okay, Matt caught me this morning, he is not happy with our dumping Mills in the woods.  He thinks he deserves a cremation or burial.” I told her.

“And you think he doesn’t.”

“Yeah, and I guess, I see Matt’s side of it.  Am I wrong?  Am I being a stubborn dick about it?”

“Tom, I love you, and you are my stubborn dick, and yeah, you’re wrong.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes.

Fire Pit tonight was fairly well attended.  As it began, I cleared my throat.

“Folks, as you know we had the incident with Lt Mills, it was ugly, and dangerous, and bad.  In the end, things happened and tempers flared.  I had his body dumped into the woods.  I was wrong, as much a shit as he was, no one deserves that, thank you Matt and Asuna for pointing that out to me.”

Ruffle, Ruffle, Whisper, Whisper.

“With all the bad shit that the Otis Crew did, we gave them a peaceful end, and I am wrong to deny that to Mills.  I am going to walk out there now, and cremate him.  I ask you, Matt and Tanya, will you join me and say a few words, please.”

Tanya and Matt looked at each other, then at me, “Of course.”

I got up and started toward the woods where the body was, Asuna walked beside me and held my hand.  Matt and Tanya followed, in fact all those at Fire Pit joined.  Mills was put to peace.  And in doing it, it put my anger to rest and peace also.

September 14th

(Margo) Code and I wanted to go to the shops in Northampton which is a little to the northeast of the Archive.  It was a college area and one that had the reputation of being very culturally diverse based upon the colleges in that area, There was Mount Holyoke, Smith, UMASS Amherst and a couple of others.  But that is on hold, The Three decided that we have to move Group Two into the Archive immediately. No explanation was given, just “Yep, you’re moving in today.”

So we packed the remains of our goodies and it was off to the underground facility.  I can’t help but wonder if there is maybe a connection between the move and the Mills thing.

Anyway, Code and I spent the day setting up our new room.  Once we get the all clear we need to get some paint, and I still want to check out Northampton.  But for now, we will do with what we have.

(Matt) There is a big push on to get the second group moved into the Archive.  I think that there is concern that whoever was associated with Mills might take revenge on us, or may send a force to try to take this place away from us.  So Tanya and I will move to our room and get settled in early.

We are still planning to make the trip to see Helen.  The move will actually push our start date up by a week.  I have talked to Mom and she is good with our going on horseback out to the college.

I am glad that Tom reconsidered his course of action on Mills.  I could understand his thinking to a point, but it would have been a slippery slope to start down.  I know that we have The Three and that they are generally in control, but at times, some good and some bad, Tom can be a strong influence on what happens with us all.  I’m glad he saw the light and relented on this.

Tanya and I talked about what we would do for a design of our new digs, at this point we will just get our stuff moved in and leave it the ghastly grey of the military.  We will have plenty of time to spice it up when we get back.

In all the movement today we really had no time for a proper Vesper.  But that was fine; we had kind of a coffee klatch in the dining hall of the Archive.  It was good.

(Lance)  And then there were seven, the Group 3 people are all that is left in the camp and we have two days to pack our shit and get out of Dodge.  Tom talked to me about the Mills thing or should I say it was really more like 20 questions.  What did you think when you talked to Pittsburgh, are they pissed at us? Did you sense any hostility? Were they part of the Fort Knox plan?  Were they just an outside element that was not in the inner circle?

I thought about it, those questions.  I believe that Katzung and his crew are good people and doing the best they can for the world.  I feel the same about the contacts I had with Cheyenne.  I listened in when Tom talked to Generals Osgood and Welles.  I had no feeling of them being part of the Fort Knox, De Soto scheme.

Still, we have lived by trusting our guts for a long time and better to be ready and be wrong than to find ourselves in something bad like we did with Stanwix.

We, Del and I, got all our personal stuff all moved up to the Archive today. There were a couple of bunks in the room where we were assigned, Room E-12.  It is about halfway down the hallway on the left hand side.  We are between Code / Margo and Taylor with Mark and Michelle across the hall. We will have to decorate, paint, make it home, but for now, the priorities are power array, computers / server and then home decorating.

I have not gotten to the electronics and computers.  We were going to swing back down tomorrow and start breaking that system down but I want to strip some of the solar panels first.  We can never have enough power. I want to get a solar array set up ASAP to enhance what the wind turbines can supply.

I figure that will take a few days and we can change over the computers once we get the power up and running.  I am sure that the turbines could handle the power load, but still, a little more juice would be good.

It was quiet here at camp tonight, not many of us left.

(Tom) I leaned on The Three to try to get everyone under cover earlier than we had planned.  I talked to Lance and he feels that it is most likely that if we were to be attacked it would be from Fort Knox.  I have to agree.  I had no sense of an issue toward us from Cheyenne.  Osgood, General Osgood, seemed truly pissed at what De Soto was trying to do.  He said he would take care of it.  I am not sure how that would happen, but he seemed sincere, ditto with Katzung and the Pittsburgh.

The Three agreed that it would be better to be safe than sorry.  My biggest concern is that De Soto; if he has access, might send a missile our way and just try to wipe us out.  If it is a bunker blaster, we are basically done for.  But if it is a tactical nuke, and I would not put it past him, we could or should be able to withstand the blast.  Wow, Cold War threats all over again.  That is just messed up.

We will seal the door each night and during the day keep the inner door, beyond the library portion, mostly closed.  It would minimalize damage to us all.  It is sad that after all we have gone through we are back to this.

Asuna and I are basically moved in already we had moved most of our essential stuff up to the mountain.  We have the room pretty much set and cleaned up.  One more wall to paint, and the waterbed to fill, and we are set.  But we will stay in camp a couple more days.  I want to make sure that the remaining equipment is safe.

We brought the fuel truck up there today, we still have half a tanker truck of JP-8 available which should last us another month or so but we should consider a fuel run soon.  We have been landing the helicopter in the parking lot.

Lance and I periodically check the Sat-Comm to see if there were any contacts.  There was one from yesterday morning and another in the afternoon.  The coding said that they were from Fort Knox, but there was no message, but then there wouldn’t be, the system does not work like an answering machine.  It does have a caller ID sort of function, but no recording capability.

Besides, I think that even if it was capable of recording, it would seem doubtful that they would leave a message like “Agent 3, this is General De Soto, we haven’t heard from you.  Have you secured the package?  Your call is important to us; please call us back and leave a message after the beep.“  Yeah, I don’t see that happening.

No get together by the flagpole tonight but some of us circled the Adirondack chairs by the lake and we sat there.  It was mostly quiet, just absorbing the scene, and the fresh air.  We sat until after dark.  I am going to miss this, the lake.  It was a place to go to just sit and enjoy the calm.  Bitchin’ Northern Lights tonight, brighter than I have ever seen.

September 15th

(Matt) Tanya and I have spent much of the day getting settled and moved in.  But we have also spent a little time getting ready to ride out to Montgomery Fulton CC to see Helen.  I am kind of looking forward to a spaghetti dinner with her.

We are going to travel light, a little tent, some MREs from the stores at the base, and that is about it.  We don’t need winter clothes although we may find a chilly night along the way, it is September.

I am not really worried about running into Changed along the way, we have seen few since the spring, other than the ones in the Stanwix attack.

We will leave in the morning.  Tanya and I did a special little get-together tonight with Vespers with those at the Archive.  We told everyone that we were going, and why.  A couple of people actually wanted to come along until they heard it was a horseback trip, no trucks to be taken.

(Margo) Code and I headed up to Northampton today and were able to find a little kind of Anime Comic Shop.  They had a lot of stuff including some DVDs of TV series I had never seen, some Full Metal Alchemy manga and some cosplay stuff.  Code is not so much into the Manga but loves the anime.

We also found some Cosplay outfits, but most of it was a little over the top. We did find some Kimonos and Yukatas that we can wear.  We passed on the school uniform things.  But they did have a bunch of Attack on Titan stuff so I grabbed a bunch of the dark green hoodies with the Scout Squad insignia for Del, Lance, Tom, and Asuna.

We got back late in the day and just chilled out doing the final touches on our room before dinner.

Matt did a thing, kind of a Vespers in the Community / TV room tonight.  He and Tanya are going out on another pilgrimage.  Code and I talked about it later and although it would be kind of cool to go; I think we will pass this time.

Oh, interesting, Gillie must be doing better than I thought, seems that after Vespers, and when the hallway was empty, someone was sneaking into Tay’s room.  Not sure why they have to sneak around, but good for them.

(Tom) I spent much of the day helping Lance dismantle some of the solar panels so that we can transfer them up topside.  Asuna helped out also.  We will bring them up to the Archive tomorrow.  I am thinking we have two days left here in camp and then it is off to our new digs.

Matt and Tanya are going out for a ride tomorrow, going to see that Librarian Lady, Helen.  I have no idea what they are thinking or why they are going, but that was the story I was given.  I am thinking a week or two on horseback to have a dinner with an old friend seems a little extreme for me, but …..

As we sat out tonight by the lake at dusk, it was just Asuna and I.  It was so peaceful.

“Asuna, what do you think, how about you and me stay here, live out our life by the lake.” I said. I am not sure if I was serious or just caught up in the moment.

Silence for a few moments, I looked over and she was staring at me.  “Might work for a little longer, but I am thinking that come December you might be changing your tune,” She replied.

“I know, and you’re right, but right now, this is how I wish we could live.”

I could make out the smile in the dimming light, “yeah, it would be nice, but really, it isn’t that easy.”

“Well, if it can’t be, let us at least enjoy it now,” I answered.

“Enjoy what?” said Mark as he walked up with Michelle, “you guys weren’t gonna be naughty were you? We can come back later.”

“No, but if we were, you certainly played the buzzkill.” I laughed.

We all sat out there, Lance and Delaney also wandered over.  It was just a nice time, we talked about the future, but also relished the peace that we had at that moment.

September 16th

(Lance) Never got around to doing my journal yesterday, in fact was so busy today I almost skipped it again today.  Tom, Asuna and Del helped me break down some of the solar panels yesterday and we loaded them up this morning and took them topside.  We got them pretty much laid out were we were going to put them but then a storm rolled in this afternoon and we had to head inside.

Last night was kind of cool; we all ended up out by the lake and just sat, talking.  It led to some interesting discussion of where we will be a year from now, how can humanity recover, can it recover, and what the future will hold.

When Del and I got back to our cabin, we talked a little more and have decided that come spring time we will start working on trying to build a family.  I wanted to try earlier but Del pointed out that she did not want to be all pregnant during the summer, a little pregnant was okay, but a lot pregnant during the hot time of the year did not appeal to her.

(Tom) Asuna and I helped Lance in the morning, but when the rain and thunder kicked in; we decided that it was time to hide inside.  We spent the afternoon finishing up our room.

It is kind of funny, funny peculiar, not funny haha, that the Archive sort of reminds us of the Sky Crystal.  We have this corridor with rooms off it and as time has gone by, some of the rooms have developed a sort of personality of their own based upon the occupants.  It was like the Crystal with the rooms, dioramas that were set up specifically for those ‘guests’ that the QUalz had taken aboard. But I guess the biggest difference is that the rooms are what the people inside of them projected as their image, or place rather than what they actually were.  Am I making sense here?

On the Crystal, Asuna’s room was the 4 year old’s Hello Kitty room as it was when she was taken.  Now, her room, our room, is comfortable, contemporary, and southwestern in décor.  Maybe it comes with age, I guess, maybe it matches who we are now.

We headed back down to the camp for our last night there.  I figure we should enjoy it.  Even now I think that we may sneak away for future visits, kind of a getaway for a night.  But we also have to think about Fort Knox and whether they will pull something on us.  So for a little while we will be rabbits in our hole.

(Matt) Tanya and I are leaving shortly, we want to be on the trail by about 10, so I am just doing a short entry here on the laptop because it will not be something I can keep charged on the road.  I will have a little notebook to maintain my journal.  Not sure how much I will write.

We are off.  Be safe everyone.

(Margo)  Matt and Tanya left this morning; Teckla gave them a ride down to the Oxbow Farm to get the horses.  Even though his arms are still in casts, Lincoln tagged along with them.  I guess he wanted to see what shape the farm was in after the attack.  I bet it was hard on him considering his last time at the place.  They did not get back until about 2 PM.  He looked drained.

Code and I took some time today to start scoping out the hunting areas that we might be able to use.  We have to start all over finding where the deer trails and watering holes are.  Being on the mountain we found a number of streams and a couple of places where there were little pools that would be likely for the animals to visit.

The word is that the entire clan will be back together tomorrow, well except for Matt and Tanya.  I think that will be a good thing.

September 17th

(Margo) I am thinking now that maybe it would have been a good idea if Code and I had gone along with Matt and Tanya.  I actually enjoyed the trip out west to Cheyenne Mountain.  Well, most of it, the Kit Carson thing was kind of nasty.

We have our room set, and decorated; it is a simple design, Japanese like we have seen in Animes.  We have found some good hunting grounds and it would seem the new place is going to ultimately be comfortable and pretty much weather proof.

The new Rec Room has a few things that we did not have in the old campground.  There is a pool table and a ping pong table so we have some new activities we can work with. We will have to bring the overhead projection TV thing up so we can do movies on the wall.

It is like a new camp in a lot of ways, except it is underground.

(Tom) Well, we are in our new home.  I think I said before that it was kind of like the rooms on the Sky Crystal, each a little different, most have a personality of their own, or at least the ones I have seen. And yet for the most part they are not as elaborate at the ones on the Crystal.  There are some exotic themes, like Margo’s Asian anime or Asuna and my sort of southwestern desert.  But Teckla, Mark, and some others are really kind of just meh.

I guess it was a false alarm on Jan, she is not pregnant.  And now that I think of it, it seems odd to me that we have not seen the start of a ‘baby boom’ with the end to the fear of being ‘Changed’.

Fred and Jan built a little fire pit area on the grassy area on top of the underground.  They had also brought up a load of the Adirondack chairs for us to sit in.  Tonight we had our first fire out there.

Tomorrow Lance is going to go get started on the solar array.  He is hoping to have it up and running by the evening, or following day by noon at the latest.

(Lance) Del and I are all moved in.  It is kind of creepy with all the lights turned off if we leave the computer stuff on.  It is still the original stuff that they had in the way of vacuum tubes and green monitors, kind of like stone knives and bear skins of the computer age.

I got the array planned and the wiring set up so we will be good to begin hooking it up tomorrow, we should be done by the evening if all goes well.  But in looking at the sky I am thinking we may see rain.  What is the old saying, red sky at night, sailor’s delight?  It isn’t a red sky.

I was the last one inside tonight, closed the blast door.

September 18th

(Lance) Yep, it rained today; guess the red sky doesn’t lie.  It is going to be an indoor day.  But that is okay too because I am going to need to do some wiring on the inside to be ready for the solar panels.  Washa, Sgt. Brown gave me a hand and so did Del.  Actually Del was perfect for a lot of the work in the conduits and in the ceiling; she is thin enough to fit in some spots Washa and I are too large for.

As we were working on it, I was kind of amazed at the number of cables and wires that are up there in the ceiling.  It almost seems that there are more there than should or needed to be.  When I pointed it out to Washa she looked at me, then the wires, and muttered something under her breath.

“Lance, I think you be right.  Be way too many wires here,” she said with a scowl on her face.

“Could there be another panel or wall, or hidden area?” I offered

“Maybe, and now we haz nobody to check wit, Knox ain’t gonna help us fo sure.”

“Well, if you two think I am crawling into some deep dark vents you can think again, I am sick of the spider webs,” said Del, sounding a little grumpy.

“No, I think we will work on what we have now to get finished first, then we can explore, so for now, you are good,” I told her.

She glared at me.

It would kind of make sense that there might be more. This place did seem a little small for what it was supposed to be, just the three levels. Maybe there was some hard wired connection to Westover, it is miles away, but if there was an EM Burst from a nuke, hard wire would be the best solution to continued communications.

Anyway, I digress; hopefully tomorrow we will be able to do the outside work.

(Tom) It was a rainy day so Asuna and I took a run down to the camp today just to check for contact and try to hit up the Pittsburgh, nobody home.  The transmission seemed to have a lot of static in the background.

Not much else to tell, we are all getting settled in and we are working on the finishing steps of clearing out Romanica of odds and ends.  All that is left is Lance’s electronics.

September 19th

(Lance) Del woke up screaming, she had a nightmare about spiders.  I guess she will not be so keen on climbing into the conduits anymore.  I can’t say I blame her.

The good news was that it was a clear and sunny day, really warm for this time of year. I think we call it Indian Summer, or at least we used to.  Fred, McManus, Gillie, Taylor, Washa, we all sweated our butts off getting the new array up and running.  We have extra power now.

Tom and Asuna were not around; they drove off this morning on some mission and did not get back until late.  When they did, I saw them giving a couple sets of keys to Taylor and Teckla.

(Margo)  H, H, and H (Hazy, Hot and Humid) was the weather today.  Code and I took a ride down to the Oxbow Farm to help Teckla with the animals in the morning.  Lincoln came along although about all he could do was to sit and watch.  I think it was good to get him out though.  We were done by about noon and headed back topside.

The trip down to the farm takes about 15 minutes by truck, it is not all that far, and the roads are clear.  I think it would take an hour on horseback.

I caught Gillie sneaking into Taylor’s room again tonight, just after dinner. Actually, it was not really sneaking, they were holding hands and I think that he is staying there more nights than not, good for them.

Life has become rather boring, we are comfortable here, almost too comfortable, no worries on hot showers and being warm come winter time. Even though it is miserably hot outside today being underground is pretty cool, comfortable cool, not cool cool.

(Tom) Asuna and I headed out to Holyoke and found a nice big RV to bring back to the Oxbow Farm. It has all the bells and whistles on it, generator, potty, stove, fridge, AC, all the goodies.  It should be great.  I drove it over and Asuna followed in the Coyote.  We set it up on blocks so it would protect the tires.

When we got back, I gave the keys to Taylor and Teckla, they are the people who would mostly likely be staying there.

Molly was chasing Lucy around when we got back.  Or maybe it was the other way around; they were playing together whatever the case.  Biter was out there running around with them.

Mark and Michelle are getting comfortable with the galley, they have some better resources to work with and the food that we have stashed or grown, added to what the base had set up in reserve rations, has lifted the meals to a new high.  Tonight it is a noodle dish, with canned pineapple and of all things Spam. It sounds pretty bad on the surface, but actually it was really good.  It made me think about KHriz and HYlon and their love of bad foods.

I wonder how they are doing as well as Krezz and RRqil.  I kind of miss them.  Anyway, we are here, they are there and maybe we will see them on the next time they do the loop around.

September 20th

(Tom) It was another wicked hot day outside and no reason to go out there.  I guess we could have taken a ride down to the Romanica but I am claiming a ‘sloth’ day and just doing nothing.  Asuna was busy trying to help out Lance in a little exploring in the ceiling, climbing in the suspended ceiling tiles to see if they could figure out where those ‘extra’ wires go.

I spent the afternoon reading.  I wanted to revisit an old friend, George Orwell; yesterday’s thinking about the Sky Crystal triggered that.  I started with 1984.

(Margo) I cornered Gillie this morning and gave him a little teasing about Tay, but in the end told him that I was happy for them.  I think he appreciated it, he was grinning from ear to ear.  I just wish we could do something like that for McManus.  He seems so down most of the time, lonely.

Code and I did a little more scouting around the area.  In the woods it is pretty comfortable with the shade and all. We found kind of an interesting thing on our trip. It was a monument at the top of the mountain ridge about 10 miles or so to the west of the Archive.

It was for a plane that had crashed at the site many years ago.  It was a war plane from what we read, a B-24.  It was trying to make it to Westover and was just a little too low going over the mountain.  I told Tom about it and he said that years ago he and some of his cop buddies had done a motorcycle ride to the site.

The peak or spot on the mountain gave an awesome view to the west, we would be able to see smoke if there were campfires.  But we have been in the area for a while and so far, no fires, and other than the Huntington people we have seen no one else.

(Lance) Washa, Asuna, Del and I worked on trying to trace the additional wires in the ceilings.  Asuna volunteered to do the climbing but we didn’t need to have to have her do that.  We were able to lift the ceiling tiles and trace the wires and conduits.  We found four places where the wires disappeared into conduits that were in the concrete walls.  We also found 3 spots were the wires rejoined the main trunk of line that was overhead.

We checked those three areas were the wires disappeared and returned but could find nothing that seemed to show there was a room or door, something behind the concrete.  The last set of wires did go straight into the wall at the end of the tunnel.  It was about 300 feet from the entrance of the underground facility.

The wall, and it was a wall, not solid rock, was concrete.  Where does it go?  Washa has no idea, and she is the one who has, or had, the best information on this place.

Maybe once we get the Sat-Comm set up here we can contact Cheyenne and they can give us some information.

Priority tomorrow is to get the Sat-Comm here and running.

September 21st

(Lance) Big thud last night on the top of the Archive, sounded like someone crashed a bus on top of us.  It was about four in the morning.  Because we were in the upper room it seemed like we, Del and I, were the only ones who heard it.  If Del hadn’t woken up with me from the noise, I would have thought it was a dream.

I headed down to wake up Tom and he decided that we should turn on all the lights.  We had the door secure so there was not much chance of whatever it was getting it.  The fact that it didn’t penetrate the Archive seemed to say it was not a ‘bunker buster bomb’.   We kept the place buttoned up until 5 so we would have some light to work with outside.

McManus, Gillie, Washa and Tom were the first ones out the door; it was full dress military on this one.  We were not sure what we had so the rest of us waited inside.

About 15 minutes later they came back in. They were laughing.

“Well?” I asked, a little peevishly.

“Care package!” said McManus, “The Pittsburgh sent us a friggin’ care package.”  He tossed me a small square foil wrapped brick shaped object.

I looked at it, and then Tom, who smiled and shrugged.

The Pittsburgh had sent us a Tomahawk missile, but instead of a warhead it was filled with some foods, and books and some schematics and specs of the undergrown facility that we were living in.  We will have to look at them because they may answer our questions on those disappearing wires.

(Tom) Lance woke us all up early when he heard a crash on the top of the Archive.  I didn’t hear it, or feel it, but since both he and Delany heard it I had to believe something was going on.  Maybe Fort Knox has taken action against us.

Four of us suited up and headed out to see what it was.  At first it looked bad, a cruise missile sitting on the ground right there in the middle of the field on top us.  I think even if it was ‘only’ a nuke we would have all been dead.  But it was painted funny, with writing on the side, and a face on the front of it, a cartoon face of Popeye the Sailor.  WTF.

The writing on the side said that it was from the USS Pittsburgh and was inert, no boom was going to happen but it was a delivery of things that might help us out.  There were arrows pointing to 4 screws and the wording ‘open me’.

I looked at Sgt. Brown and McManus, “Well, what do you think?”

“If they wanted us dead, they could have done it easy enough, let’s take a peek,” said McManus.

“Yep, may as well,” added Sgt. Brown as she pulled out a screwdriver and walked to the device.

I never realized how big those things really were.  It was about 20 feet long and about 2 feet in diameter.  Really it looked like a torpedo.  It was one of those things that we all knew about back in the day, but never figured we would see one except on a video or in a movie.

Sgt. Brown and McManus popped the lid and inside was a number of things.  There was a bundle of diagrams, and some fruit cake. Fruitcake?  Really?  I had to laugh because in the old days fruitcake was the indestructible re-gift that went from household to household.

And as I watched, Sgt. Brown came over with a large manila envelope. “Commander, this be for you.”

It was addressed to me and was from Captain Katzung.  It had a note written on the back of it that said “Your eyes only, TWK”. I kept the envelope to myself and opened it a little later in the day.

It was an interesting read.

Commander Williams,

Sorry about the delivery system we had to use in getting this to you but it fit the need.  General De Soto has become an issue for us.  He and his core group have taken over Fort Knox and are pretty much dug in.  They have ground forces, and some drones, but unless he is going to march his forces up to get you, he cannot harm you.  He has a few tanks, and some ground transport but no air support that can reach you.

General Osgood has assumed command of the military, with a General Welles as his second in command.  Based on our dealings with them I believe they are upright.  And they have some toys that will make De Soto very uncomfortable.

So at this point you are safe as I said.

I have included some schematics for your facility that we were able to obtain from De Soto before he realized the shit was hitting the fan.  I hope they help you.

A couple of other things, first have you been having any issues with the Sat-Comm links.  There has been a great deal of interference that has been taking place. In talking with Cheyenne and a couple of other facilities including one in Chile, it seems that there may be some solar activity that is causing the problem.  So if for some reason you are unable to reach us, that could be it.

The other thing that seems concerning is that we have had a number of reports that women who have become pregnant and have taken the ‘cure’ have lost the babies.  I am not sure that it is related but Doctor Douglas is concerned.

I hope that you and the Mass Militia are all doing well, give my best to Lt. Yagami.  Be well and be safe.

TWK

p.s. it was Gaines’ idea for the fruitcakes; they are from the British sub.

After reading the note I passed it to Asuna.  When she finished reading it, she looked at me.  “Well most of it seems to be good news.  But that pregnancy thing is worrying.”

“Yeah, I think we need to share that with Major Barkley. I am hoping it is not the case, if it is the cause, we just killed humanity,” as I articulated it out loud the shock of what may have happened hit me.

It was kind of quiet for the rest of the day for me.  I was deep in thought.

(Margo) Well, there was the scare this morning with the bomb showing up on the doorstep.  But after we had a chance to see what it was things calmed down.

Headed down to the farm with Teckla and Tay today, Gillie and Lincoln came along.  Tay and Gillie are definitely an item, but the Lincoln - Teckla thing, is that he just needs something to do, I mean, he wants to visit the farm and they just seem to go together, or are they ‘going together’.

OMG, I just read that again, I am turning into Grace, the busybody.

Anyway, did a little time on Lemon Drop and Code spent some time on Chuckles.  It was good to ride again.  I forgot how relaxing it was.

Are we getting too relaxed with the new home, with no threats around, are we getting complacent?  Come on Margo, get your head screwed back on right, this world is not a safe one and as we have seen when we least expect it, a bomb could show up, or a herd of Zoms.

September 22st

(Tom) Today it was off to the camp, Romanica, to break down the computer systems.   I had showed Lance the information that we had gotten from Katzung and the Pittsburgh regarding the possible solar activity.  He did not seem too concerned about it but said we should work to get the move of that equipment completed ASAP.

I started to help him out with it but he told me that perhaps I should go do a little fishing, or look at the lake.  He is way too anal for me and was marking and tagging every wire and connection.  Probably a good idea but I was of the mindset to figure it all out when we get the pieces back to the Archive.

I wonder how Matt and Tanya are doing.  They should have reached the college by now.  They planned to be back around the 26th or 27th depending on how the trip goes.

Molly and Lucy were at it again.  They have become inseparable, and that is a good thing.  But I must say I never figured Lucy for wearing a red bow around her neck.

I spoke with Doc Barkley about the pregnancy thing.  He told me that we had two false alarms with Michelle and Jan.  Both of them had tested positive for being pregnant but in the end it was not the case.  He could never be sure if they actually were.  He told me that most of the population; the clan had taken the cure, all except Lance and Delaney.  He said that he would discourage them from it if they tried to take it.  It would be a good way to test if there was an issue with the pills.

Asuna and I actually had a disagreement tonight; it was silly and seemed over nothing, she just kind of flipped out on me.  She went out for a walk and came back a little later, she had been crying.  She won’t tell me why.

(Lance) Shift in priorities, after Tom gave me the information about the static and the suspected solar storms I think we need to try to get the computer server removed from the camp and relocated in the Archive.  I am not sure how much protection was built into the walls of the radio room that Del and I are living in, but I am thinking it may be better than what every protection the wooden cabins offer.  I am hoping that in their wisdom the designers of the archive put some kind of shielding in place.

Tom and Fred came along with me this morning to get started on disassembling the room.  I had not realized how much stuff there was in there between the wiring, and gadgets.  I need to take the time to mark everything first to keep the reassembly simple.  Fred is good with that, Tom not so much so I sent him away.  I can use him for carrying and loading, but the labeling is not his strong suit.

It was four o’clock before we finished the labeling.  It would have taken a couple of hours to break it all down and then load it up so rather than to rush we will finish up tomorrow.

(Margo) Code and I did a run this morning, he was not happy when I dragged him out of bed for it.  But it is time to get back to being a mountain lion instead of a house kitten.

We took a drive out to the B-24 memorial this afternoon.  It was more for a scouting mission, to see if there was smoke or anything that would hint at other camps, groups or human activity.  We found none.

We sat out by the fire pit that Fred and Jan made tonight.  It was just a nice social night, awesome Aurora light show.

September  23rd

It was weird, none of the trucks would start this morning, and there was nothing, no lights, no battery power, no nothing.  It was like the batteries were all dead.  Steven tried the chopper and that was the same thing.

Winston is still working, but Margo and Lance’s laptops are also ‘dead’.  We still have power so it seems that the turbines are okay, but wires to the solar array are melted and shorted out.

This is bad.

September 24th

The best that we can tell is that all of the computer chips have been fried.  Lance thinks that we had what was called a Carrington Effect and it has damaged certain electronic components and wiring.

It made sense when he explained it; the Aurora that we have been seeing is, or was, a solar storm, and we have been experiencing it for a little while.  But it gets out of control if on top of the solar storm there is a massive solar flare.  When that happens, the protection (he called it the magnetosphere) is compromised and solar radiation gets to the Earth’s surface.  Our electronics, all those little silicon chips got cooked.  I can only imagine what that would have been like if it had happened before the meteor hit, America without power, electronics, computers, cars, wow.

We still have power, the turbines are okay, and the solar arrays might work again if we re-wire them.  But the trucks, the vehicles are all done.

September 25th

(First Son Note: as a result of this Carrington Effect all of the laptops and computers had been compromised.  Lance, our Lance, was able to access and extract the information as transcribed on the storage devices over time. However there are no new computer entries from this date forward with the exception of what was on Tom Williams’ readpad.  The readpad was designed for space travel by the QUalz and, as such, able to withstand higher radiation levels.

There are some handwritten notes that do periodically supply information about the ‘Archive’ and the members who lived there.  These notes were sometimes illegible or damaged by water, or partially eaten by some lifeform, we believe small furry creatures or some form of Insecta.

(Tom) Bicycles seem to be the new trucks; we have scavenged a couple of them which allow us to get down to the farm.  The trip down was not so bad but I am thinking that the ride back up the mountain will not be so good.

It was Asuna who saved the day on that one.  She reminded me of what the crew from the sub had said about the trucks and cars that were in the direct area of the nuclear blasts back at the beginning of this mess.  It was only the ‘new’ cars that were impacted, the older cars, ones with distributors and no computer chips were fine.  A car from the 50s, 60s or early 70s likely withstood the EM meltdown.

We tested it on an old Farmall tractor that was at the farm and, sure as shit, it fired up and we rode it back up the mountain.  We’re back in the game.  We need to find a new set of vehicles, diesel and old, how hard can that be. I know we have my 62 Ford pick-up back at Romanica.

September 26th

(Tom) Good news at the other end of the road that leads to the Archive there is a quarry, it produced trap rock, or would it be mines trap rock.  I don’t know, but there is some old equipment there, a couple of old dump trucks that might not be road worthy in the eyes of the DOT, but still operational and old enough to not have been impacted by the solar storm.  It is a start.

Lance is upset that he didn’t move the computer stuff inside the archive earlier, but who knew this was going to happen and as it turns out, even the laptop that he had in his room, on the top ‘shielded’ level of the underground facility was damaged by the storm.  So it was really not his fault and this is not a big issue.  We still have power, the internal electric system in the Archive still works, so we miss out on some things, but it is not life threatening.

I talked to Doc Barkley about life threatening potentials.  He seems to think that we‘re probably okay as far as radiation exposure goes.  And if we were contaminated in a serious way it would not be something that was quick to kill us, rather he seems to think that it would, or might be more like increased incidents of cancer or possible birth defects, assuming we have babies coming.  Either would be bad, because we would have no way to really deal with it, or be able to even tell if it was happening until it was too late.

We both agreed that we would keep our discussion on the quiet side, although I am sure he will tell Charlene, and she will tell Teckla, and I will tell Asuna.

We all met out at the fire pit tonight. Lance told everyone his theory as to what had happened with the computers and trucks.  There was some hand wringing and concerns expressed but by the time he laid it all out to everyone they were not so bad with it.

It really won’t impact us that much, except for some entertainment resources and record keeping, which we can get around.  The biggest loss was the travel aspects, no more trucks, but we are going to be able to be resolved except for the loss of the helicopter, that is a little different.

(Matt *handwritten) Tanya and I arrived back at the Archive today, late in the day.  There was much concern over what Lance described as a solar storm that has put an end to all our computer chips, in the laptops as well as our vehicles.  But by the time he finished explaining what had happened (his theory) and what we still had left that worked we are not so bad off.

This is a second notebook. In the course of our trip the first one became soaked during rainy day and is unreadable.  Much of the writing was about the trip and what we saw.

It had not varied much from our pilgrimage in the spring so I will not try to re-write it.  The interesting part of the trip was when we met with Helen.  She is doing well and we have a cause, a reason to go on.  But I will lay that out in my next entry.  It has been a long day and we are very tired.

It is good to be home, for the moment.

September 27th

“Good Evening Winston”

“Good Evening Tom, I trust you are well.”

“Yes, as well as expected, you are aware that you are our last computer.”

“I am an AI device, although without the functions and support from the Sky Crystal’s Data Storage Interlock I am limited in my abilities. But yes, I have detected high levels of solar energy that could impact certain unshielded devices.”

“Yeah Winston, it did impact them,” I said.

Just a reminder that I dictate my journal entries to Winston, my readpad.

Anyway, let me get to this.  Captain’s log, Event date September 27th, ah 2015.  We have burned out much of the wiring for the solar panels outside. Lance thinks that we will be able to get the solar grid up and running.

Asuna and I took a ride out to Romanica today and retrieved that old 1962 Ford Truck.  On the way we kept an eye out for other replacement vehicles that we could use. It looks good for some ‘antiques’ but they are more often than not big, like dump trucks, tractor trailer trucks or a fire engine.  The diesel power is the bigger requirement.

In the end it may be a case where we will be staying closer to home now, although it is kind of a silly concern because with the new digs where would we need to go?

The biggest loss for us was the Sat-Comm.  We no longer have the option of ‘ringing up’ the Pittsburgh or Cheyenne Mountain.  And now that I think about it, I wonder how the Pittsburgh and the other modern surface ships and subs are doing.  They are all pretty much computer controlled. I don’t know about how much manual override there is but if the subs were underwater, could they get back to the surface?  I wonder about the controls of their nuclear power units.  We may never know.  I hope they are okay.

We sat out by the fire pit tonight, the aurora raged on, not as bright as the other night.  Someone suggested that it might be a bad idea to stay there, but really, why, we have all been repeatedly exposed to the radiation, so we may as well enjoy the show, the show that had made it certain that we have nothing else to watch.

Asuna and I talked a little tonight and I found out what she was upset about the other day.  It is the baby thing.  She is concerned that we are not going to be able to repopulate, more specifically that we, she and I, are not going to be able to have a child.

I had never really thought about it.  I had just kind of assumed that kids were going be the job of ‘the kids’.  She may be right. I hope not, but we may be it, the end of humanity.

(Matt) Well, I had not expected that I would be back to doing a good old fashion diary.  I guess we all have gotten spoiled in the computer age.  It is actually kind of neat having no auto-correct or spell check available.  It makes you a little more careful in your words.

As I said yesterday, it was actually a pretty uneventful trip out to Fulton-Montgomery College.  There were no encounters with anyone, living or dead.  As we did in our previous pilgrimage, we found places to stay along the way.  Although none of them were places we stayed on the previous trips out that way. We did not stop in Fort Plain, We talked about the crazy real estate lady, but there is noone there anymore.

The ride itself was pleasant and leisurely on horseback. Although it got kind of warm when we were out in the open so we tried to stay under the tree covered local roads as much as possible.  We had a couple of days where we found ourselves in thunderstorms.  It was in one of these storms on the way back to the Archive that I must have left the pocket to my saddlebag open and the original notebook was soaked.

The real focus of the trip was the chance to sit down and visit with Helen again.  She and Sylvester were waiting for us. That in itself might seem odd to most, but she knew, she had a second sight.  She never could explain it to us properly other than to say she saw things in her dreams and then they happened.  She saw us on the road and knew we would be there.

Tanya and I were not surprised with the bowl of spaghetti and the garden salads laid out for us when we arrived.  As we walked into the lobby area where we had met her in the past, it was there on the table, three place settings.  Sylvester sat on the back of the sofa in that section of the library that she had converted to her home.

“Ah, you’re here,” we heard the familiar voice coming from the little kitchen area off to the right.

“Yes, Helen, we are, and you knew.” Tanya answered.

Helen came out of the kitchen and hugged us. She was wearing that same old white sweater and print dress.  She seemed older, thinner than I remembered.  Yet there were still those piercing eyes that seemed to see to the bottom of your soul.

“Come, let’s eat, it will get cold, and we can talk while we do.” She said pointing at the table.

As we ate, we told her about the adventures that we had been through with the Stanwix situation, and with our mission out to the west.  We told her about the return of Tom and Asuna from outer space with the cure.  She seemed particularly interested in that.

“So these pills that the little lizard men made put an end to the changing, the coming back from the dead?” she asked.

“Yes, from what we have found that is true.  But we haven’t had a lot of actual testing, so really, we are just assuming it is so. Although now that I think of it the Hunters didn’t come after us, which kind of says they didn’t detect the virus.” Tanya told her.

“And there have been no other effects, side effects to the pills?” Helen asked.

“No, not that we have seen, why?  Why do you ask?” I said. Helen rarely asked a question without knowing the answer.  This made me curious.

“No reason, I just guess it was just something that comes from the old days where we had too many drugs and medicines that in the end did more harm than good,” She replied.

Her comment sounded legitimate, but in a way, sinister.  It made me start thinking, doubting.  But then what side effect could be worse than dying and coming back to eat the living.

We moved on to the dreams.  Tanya told her of the dreams and the calling that she had from the Earth Mother, and how Mother seemed to be telling her that she, we had a task.  We were not meant to stay at the underground archive.

Helen listened intently; she nodded at times, but said nothing.

I then told her of my dreams and actual sightings with the Raven.  The bird flying west, the dropping the apple as it flew.

“Well, what do you think it means, the dreams, the visions,” she asked.

We were silent for a few moments and then finally I said, “I think we are supposed to move west, to bring the cure to those out in other parts of the country, to share and try to help others.”

Tanya was looking at me as I spoke.  Then added, “I think we are also supposed to bring a message of hope to them, the ones out there, the ones just getting by.”

“Well Sylvester, what do you think?” she said looking at the mangy old black and white cat.

He stared back at her for a moment, “Roew!” then he went back to licking his hind quarters, preening and grooming himself.

“He thinks you have most of it, you’re right about heading west, but there are still some parts you have not seen yet, something is missing.  You know you have to go west, but I don’t think you know why.” Helen said in a grave, almost mysterious voice.

There was silence for a couple of minutes, then, “Come, let’s clean up and then we can talk further.  I think I can help you find your answer.”

We cleaned up and once we were finished Helen led us into her little sacred area.  It was going to be a vision quest. We sat outside in the moonlight, in the area of the little fire pit.  It was already lit and as the evening wore on and the darkness settled, she once again led us in the peyote ceremony.

The Raven was once again before me, and it was like the dream I had had several times in which he flew off to the west, with the apple in his beak.  As he flew, the apple fell to earth.  I had seen this part before.  But the next part was the missing link. As I watched the apple decay, and then a sprout, a twig poking out of the ground, a sapling, then a tree, and fruit and finally there were people, a group of people around the tree, eating, laughing, living.

As I looked at them, they were all young, and vibrant.  They were all dressed in white.  I could not see them all but there was one that looked like a younger version of me, and a young beautiful black girl who reminded me of Tanya.  It was weird, our children?

Finally as sleep overtook me I knew why we had to make this journey, to head west to spread the seeds, the cure so that humanity, the next generation could be born, wiping away the old, and seeing that the new succeeded.

When we woke the next morning, the fire was just cold ashes.  Helen was gone, and just Tanya and I lay there.  As Tanya awoke, she smiled at me.  She knew.  We had a task.

Knowing the path that we were to take is a load off of our minds.  As we walked back inside to the little eating area Helen was waiting with a cup of tea.  She smiled.

“Welcome back travelers, I trust you slept well, and maybe found some answers.”

“Yes, I believe we have,” I replied.  Tanya’s head bobbed up and down in agreement.

“Good, so now what is your plan?” Helen looked at us quizzically.

“I think we head back to the Archive, put together a few things and start west.”

“Are you sure that is the correct thing to do, are you positive that is the path that was given you?” She asked.

Tanya and I looked at each other and then at her.  “Yes, it is what we believe.”

Helen smiled, “Good, I am glad to hear it.”

We talked a little longer about nothing in particular and then it was time to go.  We headed back and arrived on the 26th, late in the day.

September 28th

(Tom) Much of today was spent in either damage control, fixing burnt wiring, or in trying to find replacement vehicles.  So far in addition to my pick-up we have been able to find 2 old dump trucks, an old fire department pumper truck and the Farmall tractor that are usable.  We have also found a few other potential vehicles like a couple of old VW Rabbits, which we might be able to use.  It would have been nice if Frank was still around, he probably could have done some jury rigging to get some newer engines retrofitted to run without the electronics.

Teckla has headed down to stay at the farm.  Taylor joined her but she seems to be, how shall I phrase it, involved with Sgt. Gilbert and that third wheel in the RV is, or could be, an issue.  She does not like to stay down there every night and the RV is a little tight on sleeping room.

I am not sure who, if anyone, is going to keep journals now that the computers are all down.  But really, paper copies are good I guess but I don’t see anyone reading them.  Although it is a good exercise for the mind and really, handwritten, writing in general is an art that we don’t want to lose for the next generation, assuming there is a next generation.

I watch the youngsters, Margo, Cody, Lance, and the rest; they are our future, the future of humanity. I like what I see.  I think that we may find that even with this EM issue we have rounded a corner toward the future. In fact, I almost think that the end of the computer is a blessing.  But no, I am not going to get rid of Winston.

(Matt) Tanya and I had to talk to Mom today; we had to tell her about the trip, and about what we have to do.  She is both happy that we are tasked with this mission and that the future sounds bright and hopeful with the idea of the new crop of humans growing from our seeds.  But she is also not happy that we are going to leave, we are going to go west.

“Can I go with you?” she asked.

“We have thought about what we would say on that, and it would be, will be a hard trip.” I answered.

“Are you saying that I couldn’t do it?  I am not tough enough?” she asked defensively.

“No, not at all, we all could make this trip; we all have proven we have the stuff to survive.  No, it is just that, you still have a job here with Mark, and Tom and the rest of the clan.” I replied.

“And besides, in the dreams that we have seen it was just the two of us.  It wasn’t the clan, or you or Tom or anyone else with us,” added Tanya.

We sat quiet for a few minutes as it sank in.

“When do you leave?” she asked.

“We are thinking October 1st.  It will give us time to get in some distance and be in a place where it is winter-able.”

She tried to talk us into waiting until spring, but that was not what we wanted, needed to do. We would need to find a pick-up truck or diesel camper of some kind to travel. Horseback or motorcycle was not going to cut it.

I talked with Tom and Asuna about where they had gotten the big RV that is at the farm.  I am thinking that we might be able to find something that would work for our trip.

As Tom drove us to the RV dealer where they had found the farm RV. I explained to him about our plan. As we drove, he dropped a bomb on me.  He told us that there was some suspicion that the pills, the ones we have and were planning to spread, maybe causing sterility.

“Are you sure?” I asked, momentarily shaken by this.

“No, we don’t know, we think it may, but we don’t know.  But we have not seen any baby boom here, and according to the Pittsburgh, there hasn’t been one anywhere. But those places that they had contact with were all we know about,” was his reply.

“No, I do not believe that, it is not that way, I have seen the future, we come back, there are young folks, people like us.  It won’t, can’t end like that!”  My faith in what I saw was strong.  I knew it was true; the dreams the visions of the future were true.

He did not try to talk us out of it, really I think that he knew that if I was right, it was good, and if I was wrong, staying here with the clan at the Archive didn’t really matter.

We found a nice little 25 foot antique van camper that would work for us. It was a Mercedes frame with diesel.  It had pop-out sides to expand the room inside.  It would need a good washing and smelled a little musty inside, but it was just what we needed.  Irony, it is called a “Raven”. We managed to get it started and I drove it back.

Tonight Tanya and I put together a list of what we were going to take, and what we would want to try to find along the way.  The RV itself had most of the basics, bedding, cooking equipment, an interior stove and john.  We would need to bring clothes, weapons and food but that was about it.

On the back of the van was a place that we could add spare fuel cans but with a 100 gallon fuel tank we should be good to go. Along the way we would look for a couple of bicycles and any other things that might come in handy.

September 29th

(Matt)  Had a nice talk with Mark today, we explained to him and Michelle what was going on and why.  He was good with it.  I think we all have known that over time we would splinter and some of us would strike out on our own.  Ron tried and it didn’t work so well for him, but that was in a time when things were different, wilder.

He told me about the brief period where Michelle thought she was pregnant.  It was a short time and well, it just didn’t work.  They were trying again now that they were in the Archive, but so far, no go.

He is going to work with Taylor to get together some MREs and other foods that are durable.  I guess durable in terms of expiration date for us to take with us.  Once again, we look at expiration dates a little less critically than we did back in the time before the meteor.  It was always known that those dates were just a guideline and generally foods lasted much beyond those dates.

Mom was down at the farm, Lincoln was there with her.  It was actually kind of fun to watch them.  He still has his arms in casts and is pretty much not able to do much to help her, but he is there, close to her, and they laugh, they seem to get along well.  Perhaps they are what each of them needs to fill some gaps that have been left in their lives.

We spent the rest of the day loading up the Raven and getting ready to go.

This evening it rained so we did the Vespers in the Rec Hall.  It was fun, but there is a kind of subdued feeling in the place.  I think it is a combination of the solar storm and our leaving.  We, Tanya and I were upbeat about it.  I actually think that in the long run we may be back to the Archive, but that will be years down the road.  It makes me wonder who will be here, and what the babies will be like.  Maybe even we will have a baby or two of our own.

(Tom) Matt, Tanya and I took a ride yesterday and picked up an RV for them for this idea of theirs about rolling west.  I am not sure if I agree with the idea, but it is nothing I can put my finger on.  I told him about the thoughts that the Pittsburgh had about no children, pregnancies, but that we don’t know.

I guess we need to look beyond where we are at now, and the two of them are very strong in their faith and what needs to be done for the future.

Beyond that, the best I can describe today as was mundane.  Lance is working on the re-wire of the solar panels.  He has Fred and Steven giving him a hand.  Augustus has a little sniffle and Heather has brought him to see Doc Barkley.  Sgt. Brown and Asuna are going over the schematics that the Pittsburgh sent us to try to figure out what we have not found under the mountain.

Molly and Lucy are playing outside with McManus and Maria keeping an eye on her.  Delaney, Margo and Cody are off doing some hunting. If we were still at Romanica, I would be off doing some fishing.

Rain rolled in just after dinner time, we will be indoors tonight.

September 30th

It was another rainy day so Lance was unable to work outside.  Actually it was kind of a raw, cold, shitty day.  I did something I have not done in a while, I took a nap. Asuna joined me.  Maybe a child of our own is not such a bad idea.

(Matt) We are leaving in the morning, I hope the weather is better, I’m not crazy about driving in the rain but it is what it is.  We spent most of the day hanging out with Mom and Mark.  It is our last day together as a family.  We talked about a lot of things, the old days, our dad, Phillip, and how he left us, died, so early.  Mom did a great job of raising us.  I hope when our time comes we can do as good a job as she did.

We shared a lot of memories of Gram and Gramp, the farm in Canton, the good days, the bad days, just days.  Some of those memories were very sad, some very funny, Uncle Nick and the burning shoelaces at the campfire up at Fort Plain.  And of course, there was the burning Christmas presents.

I felt bad for Tanya, she had lost that, she had lost her family so early on, and we rarely talk about it.  She had a bad deal, with the gang that killed her kids and husband.  They stole so much from her.  Even the way we were brought up, city girl, country boy, and yet we have this great love, this bond.  I am so lucky.

When we turned in tonight, it was a bittersweet feeling.  I told Tanya that before it was all over, we had to make it back here.  We had to see them all one more time.

October 1st

(Matt)  We are leaving soon and this will be the last entry in this notebook.  I will leave it here, in our room, for when we get back.  I will, may start another one on the road, but I rather doubt it will be very interesting.  Stopped here, saw that, visited here, found people, gave them the cure.  That will be about it.

We will see you all soon enough, if not in this place, in another.

(Tom) It is a nice day today; I hope it is a harbinger of Matt and Tanya’s adventure.  We were all out there for a final gathering before they left.  I think that there was some hesitancy in actually climbing into the RV and driving off but finally they were on their way.

Life has gone on in the Archive, it will go on.  I am getting a little philosophic today, but why not.  We have come a long way since the start of all this, the meteor, the die-off, the attacks by the living and the dead.  But we have survived.  We have lost a lot of friends and people that were close to us.  And yet, those voids were filled; Asuna came to me after Anne died.  It looks like maybe Lincoln will do the same for Teckla; Grace filled the void for Nick.  It all just keeps going on…..Shit, I keep this up and I will be singing “Circle of Life”.

Anyway, Lance was able to get the solar panels finished today and that is a good thing.  We were not hurting for power, but this gives us a little more of a resource.

I took a walk out onto the field on top of the Archive.  Lucy and Molly were sitting there.  Molly seemed to be in some sort of a trance, looking off into the distance.  She was talking to Lucy.

“The Raven has flown, the Turtle is gone.  They have their role, it will bring the change, the beginning,” she said.

Lucy just looked at her, then licked away her tears.

October 2nd

(Tom) Another day, another dollar….not much happening.  The place is kind of quiet.  We have little to do.  Margo and Del have been bringing back deer, and turkeys to smoke and cure.

We have a real freezer now so we are able to put some of the foods that we have collected away in it.  There is an apple orchard not far from here so we have been able to harvest fresh fruit.  Daphne, Michelle and Teckla spent the day making applesauce to bottle.

We still have not figured out what is behind the wall at the end of the tunnel.  The wires go in, but where do they go, that is the question.

Augustus seems to be better with his sniffle although now it has moved on to Heather.  I think we will all end up with some form of it before the week is out.

I am bored.

October 3rd

There was a brief panic this morning when Lucy and Molly went out to play.  At the edge of the woods was a small mountain lion.  Turns out it was Elizabeth, she has found Margo.  She did not come into the grassy field, just sat there until Margo came outside.  When Margo saw her, she ran to her.  It was amazing to see the two of them, it was like a girl and her cat…duh, that sounds stupid, but you know what I mean.

The sniffles are getting worse and seem to be spreading.  There are a number of people down with it.  Fred, Jan, Sgt. Brown, Daphne, Gillie, they all have it.  Perhaps the sniffles are not the best way to describe it.  It starts out with dryness in the nose, and then it moves to the chest.  The lucky ones don’t get the poop and puke part of it.  Doc Barkley is doing the best he can to keep them hydrated.

I put a sign up at the door to the Archive in case Teckla or Taylor came up from the farm warning them about the bug, but it was too late.  Taylor already had it.

I would have thought that with them being away from people, disease would not be an issue.  I can see like cancer, or heart attacks or something like that, but flus, colds, measles….I figured they were not an issue, we are isolated.  It makes no sense.

October 4th

Sadness, it appears that Jan was pregnant, we didn’t know, but because of the bug, the illness, she lost the baby.

I am feeling a little feverish, I guess I have it.

October 9th

I am finally feeling better, it has been bad.  I am down to 158 pounds from my 165, and still feeling weak.  Asuna moved out when I first got it to try to avoid getting it herself.  When she would come in to check on me, she wore one of those doctor masks.

I do not remember much of the last 5 days; I remember hallucinating with the fever, weird dreams.  There was one where I was visited by the QUalz.  But I don’t remember what the dream, hallucination, was about.

Others have it, but I am kind of in quarantine, only Asuna and Doc Barkley would come in, so I am not sure who else is ill.

October 10th

I almost feel human again; Doc says I should be able to get out of my room tomorrow.  Asuna did not come today.  I asked him about it.  She has it.

I asked him who else had it, and it was just about everyone.  He has it, only Molly and some of those down at the farm, and Teckla, Lincoln, and Gilbert have been spared.  And he was not even sure about them because they are out of contact.

“Is everyone getting better?” I asked.

“Some haven’t had it as bad as others, most are recovered, or recovering,” he replied.

I got a bad feeling about it, “Doc, that sounds like something happened.”

“You know Jan lost her baby, right”

“Yeah, but there is more isn’t there.” I said.

“We lost some people.”

“Asuna?  Margo, they’re alright?”

“Yeah, Asuna is going to be fine, I’m sorry, I should have told you that first.  She only got a light hit of the disease. Margo never got it.  She and Cody moved into the woods when it started to show up.  No, we lost Steven, Maria and Mark.  Each of them developed pneumonia and there was nothing I, or anyone, could do.”  He sounded devastated.  “I tried.”

“Oh”

“I tried, I tried everything I could, gave them oxygen, anti-biotics, tried everything,” then he broke down.

It hit me, “Doc, Major, is Charlene..”

“Gone” he whispered.

We sat in silence for a long time.  I could feel his pain, I remembered, it was like it was yesterday that I faced it with Anne.  FUCK!

October 11th

I am up and around.  I checked on Asuna, she is doing pretty well, still has the diarrhea but staying hydrated.

I had Major Barkley explain to me what to do for people and then I put him, ordered him to bed.  McManus and I did what we could for everyone.  We cooked, we cleaned.

I know that McManus was kind of close with Maria but he won’t talk about it, just says he had to stay busy, but you can see the pain.

I took a drive down to the Farm; I had to tell Teckla about Mark, that was my job.  One I hated.

There is a universal rule that children are not supposed to die before their parents.  But every so often that rule gets broken.  It is devastating.  I cannot imagine the depth of despair that results.  I tried.  I tried to think what it would be like to lose Margo.

It killed me to watch the life drain out of her face as I said the word.  I wish there was something, anything, I could do to ease the pain.  She has suffered so much.

Lincoln was there, and he helped, he talked to her, held her.  He knew, he knows what it was like.

I headed back up the mountain.  I had the living to attend to, I could do nothing for her, and it was, is time that will heal the pain, or at least make the pain lessen.

If there is, or was an upside to all of this, they did not change, they stayed at peace.  We placed them in the morgue area of the infirmary; we will keep them there until we can say a proper goodbye.

October 12th

(Tom) We are still limping along; most of those who were sick are better, or close to it.  Asuna is back to being herself and she is helping McManus and me with the mundane chores of cooking and cleaning.

A few of us were able to make it the Rec Hall tonight; we kind of just sat, and thought and talked a little.  It helped some, but…. It is a sad time, we all knew this could happen, that over time we would have people leave us, die.  But we have had such a good run of late that this was a shocker, it hit hard.

October 14th

(Tom) There is no real reason to write every day, especially with so little happening.  We are recovering physically.  The grieving goes on.

I am feeling old today, and as I walked around the field at the top of the Archive, I looked at the maple trees, the colors this year are intense, golds, oranges and reds.  But it reminds me that I am in autumn also, that sucks.

October 17th

(Tom) Lincoln had his casts removed today.  Teckla drove him up to see Doc Barkley.  He insisted on driving back to the farm, but it was not until later.  They held out and stayed for dinner and Rec Room time.

We have all been taking our turns at cooking.  Tonight is was Sgt. Brown; she did a kind of southern meal for us.  It was a chicken fried rabbit, with some corn and cabbage.  We have not had much of the old salady stuff that we had back in Romanica.  Teckla said she would get some of the remaining greens that they had down at the farm up to us tomorrow.

There is a kind of resiliency, a toughness within the group.  It is coming back, although it is slower for some than others.  Heather is doing badly at the loss of Steven, but Augustus keeps her going and focused.  Daphne and Jan are helping her.

Baby steps, baby steps for us all.

October 20th

(Tom) Asuna thinks she might be pregnant.  I am so hoping.

October 23rd

(Tom) Asuna and I did the meals today.  I made a potato soup with leeks, well actually scallions for lunch.  Breakfast was pancakes with fake syrup, Mrs. Butterworth, and dinner tonight was a kind of deer stew with a tandoori touch to it.  Even Margo did not complain about the stew.

Lance and Sgt. Brown are starting to look into the mystery of where the ceiling cables went.  The schematics do show some kind of storage room behind that wall, but in the drawing the concrete wall was not there.  That had to be an add-on.

Overall, food wise, power wise, vehicle wise, we are all good.  Mood wise we are all over the place.  Some are good, some are bad, and some you just can’t tell.  Heather worries me.

October 26th

Molly came to me this morning, she asked me to show her and Lucy the cement wall.  I did not understand at first, but she explained that there was a cement wall at the end back of the facility, she wanted to see it.  Okay, so I took her.

When we got there, she just stared at it.  Lucy sat next to her.  She stared for a while and then finally just said, “Okay, we can leave now.”

I was confused, “Molly, why did you want to see the wall?”

“I saw it in my dreams and wanted to visit the Death Wall,” she replied, very matter of fact.

“Death Wall?” I asked.

“Yes, the wall that hides death.” She answered.

She would go into no more detail other than to say that the wall was there to protect us, keep us safe.

I shared this information with Lance and Sgt. Brown.

“Makes sense I think, they must have had something that they wanted to keep, but that was really dangerous,” offered Lance.

“Maybe dat was what dat Mills bitch be looking for, some bad ass chem shit.”  Brown tossed in.

“Yeah, probably, but whatever it is, it should stay behind the wall, we don’t need it, we don’t want it,” I told them.

Lance looked confused for a second, “but how did Molly know? I mean she even knew what was back there, sort of.”

“I know, that is odd, there is something with her but I have no idea.” I was at a loss too.

I told Major Barkley about the entire affair, Molly and her seeming ability, the idea that there were chemical or bio weapons behind the wall, and that we needed to keep it quiet.

October 29th

(Tom) Lance and Del headed down to the farm to do some riding today.  It appears exploring further on the room behind the wall is over.  I think that is good.

Major Barkley came to see me today, with Teckla kind of permanent at the farm, and Charlene gone, he is the only one of The Three who is still at the Archive.  He has ‘by the power vested in him’ appointed (railroaded) me into The Three.  At this point, I am not so bad with it.

Asuna still thinks she is pregnant, fingers crossed there.

November 2nd

Asuna finally went to see Doc Barkley today, the tests seem to show she is pregnant, 6 weeks we think.  Wow, I am gonna be a dad. But still, with what happened with Jan, and the way things are going, I am cautiously optimistic.  But it may show that the cure was not the problem, which would be huge.

It was kind of tense today; Elizabeth and Lucy were introduced to each other.  Margo and Molly have pretty much become attached to their specific animal, their spirit animals and decided that it was time the creatures became friends.  Okay, tense was not a good choice of words, I became tense and should not have.  The two had met before and after about 15 minutes they were rolling around like house pets.  Wow, awesome.

Molly is really an interesting character.  She is autistic, as I said before, She has the body of an 18 year old girl, a pretty 18 year old girl, but her mind, it is like that of a shy 12 year old.  It is kind of a shame that there is noone her age, mental age to hang out with.  But she seems to do okay with us adults, but it is Lucy that she really connects with.

The other thing is that she seems to be connected to a different plane of existence or universe or dimension or something.  Between the talking to herself/Lucy about some things and the Death Wall, knowing that there is something back there, it is weird.  But considering what Matt and Tanya have experienced, and visits by the QUalz, I am open for a lot more than I was back in the day.

Lance came to see me today, it was an interesting discussion.  We talked first about whatever it is behind that wall.  Based upon what General De Soto was trying to do, and his thinking, we believe that it is a chemical weapon, or nerve gas.  It would make some degree of sense.  The question that concerns him, and I had thought of this also, was the possibility that the containers could rust or corrode and there would be leakage.  His thought was that maybe we should break a hole in the wall so that someone should go in there and look.

I told him that it was an idea but there were some problems with it.  First what if the leak is already there, would we expose us all to the toxin if we pop open the wall?  And the other question was even if the containers were starting to corrode, what could we do about it.  We have neither the skills nor equipment to further contain whatever might be back there.

At this point, after a little thinking, we are going to leave things alone.  It seems the wiser course.  If it ain’t broke……

The other thing that we talked about was the cure, the pills.  He told me that he and Delaney had not taken them.  Doc Barkley had told me that and they had ‘plans’ should one of them die.

He explained to me the why, the baby thing and how somewhere in the back of his mind he had this red warning beacon going off about them, and that he was listening to the warning.  I thought about telling him about Asuna but decided that it was better to wait, let’s allow that to run its course naturally.

November 8th

(Tom) The weather is flippin’ cold this morning, not a good day to play outside.  But then there is no reason to.

Teckla and Lincoln came to the Archive today for some supplies.  They seem to be doing well, he is healing well both physically and mentally, and she seems to be doing the same.  I catch an occasional crack in the façade, a touch of sadness when she thinks she is alone.  It has to be hard.

Heather and Augustus, they seem to be doing well.  I guess I should say that Heather is doing well.  Augustus is what, four months old.  Perhaps he will have a playmate soon.  I am hoping.

Jan and Fred, they seem to be doing okay after Jan lost the baby.  But I think that they are hopeful and will try again.

Kind of a downer entry, sorry, but that is what this journal is about, for whomever finds it, it is to give you an idea of where we were, and where we get to.

November 10th

(Tom) Oh boy, Margo wants Elizabeth to come live inside the Archive with us.  I guess I am good with it, some are a little nervous, Heather fears for the baby, and I can understand that.  We shall see how that works out, topic for The Three.

November 11th

Veterans Day, and for us, I am thinking about all those who were once with us, and now are not.  I think about Anne, she is still with me, Mark, Uncle Elgin, Nick and the rest.  We all suffered so much back then and those of us who are still here owe a lot to them all.  Those memories are dear.

Molly came by and saw me while I was thinking about those folks.

“Don’t be sad Tom, they are safe, and happy!” she said and she hugged me.

“I know, I know they are, but I still miss them,” I replied, a tear welled up.

“You will see them again, all of them, in time.”

It amazes me this girl, so young and so seemingly naïve and yet so deep and profound.

We did Rec Room tonight, I think we all had kind of the same thoughts about those gone, and it was a story night, a healing night, a good night.

As we were turning in tonight Asuna told me that Teckla had asked her to take over here place on The Three.  She wanted my thoughts on it.  I told her that it would be good to have her with us.  But I also asked her why Teckla wanted to leave it.

“She told me that because she was down at the Farm she felt she was out of touch with the group and the Archive,” Said Asuna.

“It kind of makes sense, but do you think that she should represent the Farm and what happens down there on the council.”

“That is what I think too, but I wanted your opinion, I think we need to keep her in the loop,” was her response.

“Maybe we can work something out on that, maybe some change, we need her input.  Let’s see what we can come up with over the next few days.” I offered.

It was a cuddly night.

November 15th

“Tom, I have a problem,” said Winston in that very British voice.

“What do you mean?”

“I am afraid that my power unit is failing.  I am at 3% and likely will be out of power by the day after tomorrow,” he stated.

“Why? How?”

“A readpad has an expected power unit life of 1 of your years under normal use when connected to the internal power system from the Sky Crystal.  It functions at a very precise cycle frequency and level.  But we are here and there is not the refined source of energy available.  It has resulted in damage to the power pack. I am no longer able to recharge.”

“I, Winston, what can we do?”

“Nothing Tom, unless I am reconnected to the Sky Crystal or a new power pack is inserted then I am afraid I will go into hibernation.”

It was a shock.  I would be losing him in less than a day.  “Can I turn you off and on to extend the time?”

“You may try but the problem there is that it takes about 20 minutes of power from the energy cell to re-start me.  So you could extend the hours to days, but not much more and will have less active time in the overall amount you have me available.”

“Winston, I am sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Tom, it is expected.  We are programed for this eventuality, it is, how do you say…..Okay.”

I had never thought about it before, but in a way, Winston was a sort of confidant.  I would share things with him and he would listen, and when I played me back I would have a new and different perspective on what had taken place.  It gave me the chance to clear what I had originally thought and rethink some of the ideas and concepts that I originally had.

I decided that I would try to hold on to him for as long as I could and make my entries short and well thought out.  I may be able to get to the end of the month this way.

“Winston, power down please.”

“Yes, Tom”

November 17th

(Tom) Winston, I will be quick here.  We saw a touch of snow today, just a dusting, but then high up on the mountain it is colder.

I am going to start a hand written journal and that way I can hold on to the little bit of power that is left in the power cell.  So this will be the final entry for now, unless there is some acute emergency or message that needs to be entered.

Thank you Winston, you have served me well.

First Son Note: Lance, our Lance was able to reactivate the readpad that Tom referred to as ‘Winston’ using the equipment from our travel pods. That is why we were able to download the entries that he had logged.  From this point on Tom kept a handwritten journal that is shared here.  We will use a different typeset to show the difference and help keep the chronology more effectively.

We found the journal as we looked through the papers that we piled with the laptops (Laps) and Winston.  There are some other notes and assorted entries and comments from other members of the group or as they referred to it, Clan, that lived here.  We include them on the appropriate days.  Unfortunately we found that many of these entries were damaged or not created with the regularity of earlier posts.  In some cases there were lapses of weeks and on one occasion several months between dates due to these two reasons listed above.

November 20th

(Tom) Well, this is going to be a little different; I am actually going to have to do a hand written journal, this is old school.  It has been a long time since I put pen to paper like this.  I guess I became spoiled by the computer age and dictating to Winston.

I think back to my old journal files that ran from 1992 until the meteor, 2013.  They included the highs and lows of my life, the mundane, the exciting and some of the perspectives I had at the time.  Many of those perspectives have changed, or maybe evolved, is a better choice of words.

I guess I should detail a little of where we are now.  There are 17 of us left and we are mostly located at an old military underground command post on the top of Bear Mountain in Hadley, Massachusetts.  The group itself has grown and shrunk over time.  We had upwards of 35 people at one time, now that number is reduced.

We have experienced attacks by humans, Zoms (Zombies) and disease.  It has not been an easy time of it since that meteor fell and polluted the Earth with an unknown virus.  But somehow I, we, have survived.  I am not going to re-write everything that has happened.  I may refer to one to two over time, but it is all recorded and maybe you will be able to figure out how to mine the data and journals from the computers and the readpad that we have left behind.

I am in my 50s, my name is Tom.  I am married to Asuna.  I am here on the mountain with Margo, my daughter, Teckla, my sister, and some others.  We are a rag-tag group that was somehow brought together in the course of the post-apocalypse.  We have survived, and actually for the most part over the last 4 or 5 months pretty much thrived.

Asuna and I have had past dealings with an alien race called the QUalz, little lizard guys who visited us and created a cure for the illness that overtook humanity.  But there is little humanity left.

We were once able to talk with the other pockets of humanity, but then the sun kind of messed that up with a solar storm, something they called a Carrington Effect.  Now, we are alone, unable to contact the remains of the military, and in the case of the ships that were at sea, we don’t even know if they exist anymore.

There are two of our group, my nephew Matt and Tanya, his wife, who have left us and moved west.  They were guided by some spiritual quest and have taken some of the medication that was created by the QUalz using the DNA from Asuna and me.

So that is sort of the Readers Digest version of where we are at in case you cannot read the entire tale that is on the computers and the readpad device that are stored now in the Archive.

November 26th

(Tom) It is Thanksgiving; we are having turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash and corn pudding, all things that we were able to grow this year. I even made an apple pie.

It has been a good year really, we are still alive, there is a baby Augustus, we have a new home, and we will be warm and safe for the winter.

It was Fred who led us in a little prayer before we stared to eat.  We took a few minutes to remember those who are no longer with us.  In the end, we each said something we were grateful for.  Life, food, a warm place, mine was Asuna.

It was just a nice day.

December 14th

(Tom) I should have seen it, dammit.  Heather killed herself today.  I should have seen it, the change, she was down about losing Steven, and then all of a sudden she was alright, even seemed happy.  I think we all thought that ‘wow, she turned the corner, she is going to be okay’, but no.

She left a note, explained it, and I guess I can understand, she asked us to take care of Augustus, he needs to live, she just couldn’t do it anymore, sad.

We placed her in the morgue, with Steven; we can bury them all in the spring.

Asuna and I were going to take care of Augustus, but Margo asked if she and Cody could do it, adopt him. Wow, instant family, and with Asuna being pregnant it kind of makes sense.   But in the end this will be a kind of the Hillary Clinton ‘it takes a village’ deal and we will all do our part.

December 25th (Christmas)

(Tom) Although we are in a lot of ways no longer Christian, we are still very spiritual.  We see Goodness as our guide, not what one would call God.  Matt and Tanya had really been responsible for that, maybe combined with the events that have taken place.

Yet we still did the Christmas tradition, the feast, kind of a winter solstice gathering.  We took time to share some gifts, but the gifts were different, except of Augustus.  We don’t think of material items per se, but rather meaningful things.  We all know what we need and easily go out to the remaining cities and shops to find it.  Coats, clothing, treats, we can find them easily.  But treasures, memories, books or items of significance, those things are what are exchanged.

Asuna found me a new copy of 1984 and Animal Farm because I wore out the old ones. Margo gave Cody a sketched portrait of him, her and Elizabeth, or like Fred and Jan, a plan and promise for just a little getaway from the Archive. They all create a special moment and feeling that one can hold in the heart.

We shared the old memories of Christmases that we have had in the past, but often those tend to be a little bittersweet because they include some who have passed and are no longer here.  But though bittersweet, they are important, they are part of who we are and as time goes on the oral tradition has been more and more important.

January 1st 2016,

(Tom) We found a box that was tucked away in a closet/storage area with a bunch of New Year’s decorations.  They were from 1967.  Funny little hats, noise makers, it was kind of cool.  It coincided with when the base was being shut down and sealed off.

Oh, to be back there, in the 60s.

I made the toast; it was some champagne that we scavenged.  I am not sure how it was that it did not freeze and burst.

“To those who are here, move on and survive, to those who have gone before us, we remember and miss you.”

February 3rd

(Tom) We have been snowed in for three days so far.  There is a drift in front of the main door and it is so bad that we can’t get the door open to get out.  We at the Archive are safe and warm, we have food, and water.  But I am worried about Teckla and those down at the Farm.  I think they can survive okay, they have food and stuff, and with the animals, they will probably be okay.

Asuna is starting to show, what did they call it, a ‘baby bump’?

Once we get the doors open, and it may be a while I will try to make it down there to check on them.

February 4th

(Tom) I am writing this by candlelight, we have lost power, it is pitch black in here, we have been out for about 12 hours and the emergency light batteries have died.

There is not much to say but it is weird in the dark, and I am worried that it is due to some damage.

February 6th

(Tom) Best guess is that either the turbine froze or the wind was just not there.  The back-up system, the solar panels were buried, so hence, no electricity.  But we have power again, so it has either gotten warmer or the wind kicked in.  Lance is already thinking about ways to try to keep the solar panels snow free.  Not sure how he plans to do that.  But we will have lights, and that is a good thing.

February 10th

(Tom) There must have been a shift in the wind or it has gotten warmer, we can see light though the snow at the door.  McManus and I are trying to get the door to open a little.  If we can get about a foot or so, we can climb through and dig it out.  Hard work but we were able to push on the door to make an opening.  Lance and Cody were able to squeeze through.  We are free.

February 11th

(Tom) Lincoln and Teckla rode up to the Archive, the roads are still pretty much impassible by car or truck, but the horse worked just fine.  Taylor and Gilbert stayed behind to tend to the livestock.  They stayed together in the ‘guest’ suite…….sweet.

March 14th

(Tom) The winter has toned down. The snow is almost gone and we have seen a couple of days with temps in the 50s.  Spring is sprung?

March 20th

(Tom) It has been warm the last week or 10 days, and although it is nice, it is a problem.  The Connecticut River is rising; we are getting the snow melt from up north.  So far the Oxbow has remained above water, but I am worried, Lincoln is worried, Teckla is worried.  I am thinking that maybe we are going to lose the farm.

March 21st

(Tom)  So far so good, it is close; we are looking at about 4 feet or so until we will have water onto the fields and maybe 10 feet for it to get to the barn and house.

March 22nd

(Tom) The water is starting to go down, I think we may have dodged the bullet on this one, still warm. It will all depend on how much snow is up north and we have no idea how to determine that, fingers are crossed.

March 24th

(Tom) Not good, we are getting rain, lots of it. Asuna and I took a ride down to the farm, so far so good but this rain, if it goes too far up river, is going to be bad.  Teckla and the Crew have been working to try to build a levee around the barn and house.  It will help but we have no way of securing the dirt.

Then Lance remembered the quarry, we could try to truck rock from the quarry down at least to bolster the north and west side of the levee.  It might be enough to prevent the wash out.  The place may flood, but it would be just raising water rather than a raging torrent.

Truckload after truckload was bought down.  The trips themselves were a challenge because of the wet roads, and the questionable condition of the old beat to shit dump trucks we were using.  We only had the old yard machines that were kept off the road.

In the end we only had one close call when Gilbert had a brake fade about halfway down the mountain.  We lost the old Diamond Reo to a couple of trees, but he dove out of the truck before it crashed and suffered only a couple of bruises and a shoulder separation.  He will be fine, sore for a few days, but fine.

We managed to get a nice set up around the house, barn and RV.  Now it is just wait and see.  For now they are staying there, Teckla and Lincoln.  Gilbert and Taylor have moved back up to the Archive.

During the daylight Margo and Cody are running out to the overlook where the airplane crashed years ago.  It gives them a view of the river looking north.  They can kind of get a feel for where the flooding is and then relay that information back to the Archive and then we can share it with the farm.

March 27th

(Tom) We are still good with the farm, a little water intrusion onto the crop fields, and actually that is a good thing because it will renew the soil, or so says Lincoln.  The levee has not been tested yet, so that is good.

Wait and watch, that is all we can do.

I felt the baby move.

March 30th

(Tom) There must have been something up north that was holding back the water, just when we figure it was over and the water levels had dropped almost back to normal there was the wave, it was a wall of water about 15 feet high that hit the Oxbow.  It was clogged with logs and parts of houses and even some small cars.  We think it came through in the early morning.  Margo and Cody saw the devastation and changes to the river and surrounding area when they went out for their morning check at the lookout.  They raced back to the Archive and we started toward the farm.

Lincoln and Teckla were trapped we couldn’t get to them in time to get them out of the farm area.  We could not even get close enough to see the farm; the Oxbow was hopefully an island now.  But I did not have a good feeling.

One of the interesting things about floods is that they can dissipate rather quickly.  Within about 12 hours of the initial onslaught, in this case, the water level was dropping.  By 4 in the afternoon it was down enough so we could make our way onto the Oxbow by crossing a small shallow part of the river and get to the farm.

They made it, the levee held, for the most part. They took a little water, about a foot deep in the enclosure, but the wall of water broke on the levee and if anything, with some of the material that it dropped, added to the strength of our barrier dam.

I think that was it, that was nature shooting its flood load at them and they survived.

On a side note, there were 3 bodies that washed up on the levee.  There are still people out there.  We have no idea where they were from, or what kind of a community or group they were with.  Because the bodies were pinned in the rubble, they turned, so that showed that they were fresh kills.  McManus pointed out their clothing, they were military.

April 2nd

We are all on a little bit of an alert, the floaters, the military floaters, were they from Fort Knox, on a mission to get us?  Or maybe just some random people in military garb, we have a few of us that wear it.  And if they were here to get us, are there more to the group?

The Major and I talked about it.  The thought is that it is just a random thing. Maybe a few stragglers from somewhere near the river and they could have been from way up north.  His feeling is that if there was going to be an attack on us by General De Soto and his people it would come from the south. Also, the De Soto people would have had the cure and not changed.

I talked to Margo and Delany about it.  They are going to do some scouting.

Lance, Sgt. Brown and Fred are all down helping Lincoln and Teckla get things back in order at the farm.  Sgt. Gilbert is back to operational after the wreck, and he and Taylor will be heading back down there today to help out and move back in.

I found Molly sitting with Lucy today, looking west.  She was just staring and did not notice me as I walked up.  I sat down next to Lucy, she looked at me.

”I know Lucy, she is a seer, I don’t know how, or why, but she sees things, senses things,” I said, scratching Lucy’s ear.

Lucy just looked at me.

“Hi Tom!” Molly said in that kind of high pitched voice of hers.

“Hi Molly, what are you doing?”

“Just sitting, watching, listening?” she replied.

“To what? Or for what?” I asked.

“Nothing, nothing right now, but sometimes there is a woman, out there, that way, that talks to me,” she said, pointing west.

“Oh, and what does she say to you?”

“Mostly that it will be okay, that things are good, and be happy.” She replied.

“A woman?”

“Yes, an old woman, with a cat, and a white sweater.”

“Oh.”

“Come on, let’s play ball with Lucy,” she popped up; the trance and the moment were gone.

April 10th

Not much to write, we are going to start getting a little garden set-up on the top of the Archive, it will be for small crops like tomatoes and peppers.  Lincoln and Teckla are planning out the fields for the area of the Farm at the Oxbow. That will be more corn, beans, cabbages and squash.

Asuna had some tummy stuff this morning, from the baby.

Although we brush and floss regularly, I had a filling fall out. For now it isn’t too bad because of an old root canal, but I will have to see Doc Barkley, maybe he can fill it again, or it will have to come out.

April 17th

It has taken a couple of days to wrap my head around this.  I am dying.  I have a cancer, from what the Doc says it is a very aggressive one and there is nothing he can do about it.  Even in the old days with all of the medical stuff of the day I would have at most a few months to live.  How could just a little tiny white tumor in the mouth be so bad.  He called it melanoma, which I always thought was skin cancer from sun exposure but this is on the roof of my mouth.

I have sworn him to secrecy, and I have yet to tell Asuna.  I also have to tell Margo.  This is not going to be easy.  I am going to hold off for a little bit.

Part of me wants to just keep quiet about it and do the best I can until the pain is really bad, then just wander off into the sunset.

May 1st

I need to hold on for another couple of months to see my child, Asuna and the Doc are thinking early to mid-July.  I must hang on.  The pain is not bad, an occasional twinge, but not too bad.

“Have you told her yet?” asked Doc Barkley, but he knew the answer.

“No, I want to, but so far everything is still pretty normal, and until I start showing signs I think it would be better to keep it quiet.” I replied.

He was giving me an exam, we did it every couple of weeks on the down low, just to try to keep track.

“What do you think caused it?” I asked.

“It could be anything, too much sun, you were a smoker years ago, radiation or even when you and Asuna were in space.” He answered.

Until that moment I had not thought about the idea that Asuna might also be faced with a similar exposure if it was from when we were on the Sky Crystal.

“Doc, I, you check Asuna a lot, because of the baby, right?”

“Yes, and I have seen no symptoms in her.”

I felt better.

May 5th

After talking to the Doctor the other day I spent some time thinking and realized that I had to tell her, I had to lay it out there.  If our roles were reversed I would want to know.

After dinner tonight was a hard time.

“Asuna, sit down, I have to tell you something.” I began. I saw tears well up in her eyes.

“ You’re leaving me because I am fat and disgusting.” She sobbed.

“What?  No, that is not it. You are beautiful, and I love you more than anything.” I replied, this went off track quickly.

She stared at me, I loved that face, and I am going to so miss it.

“Asuna, I, we, shit……..I’m dying.”

Silence as it sank in.

“Tom?  What do you mean?”

“I, I have cancer, it is killing me!”

So much for the sugar coating and soft approach.

Then, it was tears, for us both, the sobs filed with ‘its not fair’, ‘how long’ and all of the rest.  One never really thinks about your own death very much until it is staring you in the face.

We talked about how much time I had, and what to expect.  I told her the best I could from what Doc had told me.  I may have stretched some of it, the amount of time and what it would be like in the end, but I was mostly truthful, optimistically truthful.

May 6th

Asuna and I relived it all again today when I sat down with Margo.  The hurt in her face, the sadness, it was tough. I know that Cody will help Margo, and be with her, and get her through this.  But it was still brutally painful.

I am not sure what will happen with Asuna, I can only hope the baby will help.  I wish I could be there to help, to watch him grow up, for me to be there for Asuna and the baby as I was for Anne and Margo so many years ago.

It goes back to something that I had thought about before, many times before, is it better to die quickly, suddenly or have time to think about it and gently embrace it.  I don’t know, it is a topic I will consider for a while, hopefully a long while, but I don’t think it is meant to be that long.

May 15th

Well, everyone knows, and they are actually being pretty good about it now.  I am not being asked constantly “How are you doing?”  “I am dying, how the heck do you think I am doing?” would be the answer that I would likely want to give, perhaps a little more colorfully.  But actually, I have come to a sense of peace on the whole thing.  We all die; I just hope it is not too painful for me.  I know it is going to be painful in a different way for Asuna and Margo.  But at least their pain will ease with time, and then when you think about it, really, so will mine.

June 1st

So far, so good, it is getting closer to time for Asuna to have the baby, I am feeling good and I am thinking I will make it.  I have not ‘progressed’ as quickly as the Doc thought I would.  That is great news.  Too bad the QUalz are not close by, I bet they would be able to help me.

I spent the afternoon working in the veggie garden, hoeing and weeding.  I am not going to just sit around feeling sorry for myself.  I have time, and time is precious.  I just thought back to an old country song, not that I was ever a big country western fan, but the one by Tim McGraw hit home, ‘Live like you were dying’.  It is what I must do.

Asuna and I sat by the fire tonight with the rest of the clan, it was a beautiful night, warm, and we all just enjoyed the moment together.  Lucy sat next to me on the other side.  I sense that even she knows what is going on.

June 10th

Gratitude, it is something that you learn, but never more than when you wake up in the morning knowing that you have only a small number of them left.  I have no idea how many, could be 10, could be 100, but you appreciate them more, you make them sweeter.

I was laying out near the garden.  I looked at the sky, soaking it in.  How long has it been since I just looked at the clouds, the shapes, a dragon, a frog, and a just puffy cloud.  As I lay there, Lucy came over and lay down next to me putting her head on my stomach.  Molly is important to her, and she protects her, but today I think she decided that I needed my spirit animal more.

I dozed off and sadly scared the heck out of Asuna who came to find me for lunch.  I think when she saw me sleeping she thought the worse.

I talked her into joining me looking at the clouds for a bit.  It was hard for her to get down but she did.  We cried.

June 28th

It is hard to write every day, about the same stuff, to rub my nose in what is happening.  I am grateful for where I am and have come to the realization that my life has been good.  I have only one last task that is on my to-do list, bucket list, and that is to see the birth of our child.

We have picked out names for him, well, if it is a boy it will be Thomas Akira after me and Asuna’s father.  If it is a girl, Asuna Akiri.  The Akira/Akiri translate to brightness because it will have brightened both our lives, and hopefully stand as a beacon of light for the future.

July 1st

I am at a loss; I have seen the most wonderful thing, ever, the birth of my daughter.  She is a mushy, funny looking thing, all babies are, but there is a beauty to her, Asuna Akiri.  It was a long labor, and now, it looks like we have a least a little chance of moving on and keeping humanity alive.

The fact that she was conceived and born normal has lifted the spirits of the clan.

I so badly want to see her grow up.

July 9th

I fell asleep in the chair out by the fire pit this afternoon, I find that my energy levels are not what they once were.  I tire easily, and am getting a little forgetful.

Molly woke me up; she and Lucy were standing there next to me.

“Tom, don’t be sad,” she said

“Molly, I am not really sad, I am tired, and see where my future goes.”

“But not all of it, there is some you don’t know.”

“The woman in the white sweater?”

“Yes, she tells me, Akiri is important, and in the end, you will be back, with the others.”

Then she popped back to that high pitched voice, “Tom, can you play with me, and Lucy, please?”

It was hard but I got up and threw the ball and ran a little.

We did fire pit tonight, Asuna, Akiri and I.  Jan thinks she might be pregnant.  Life goes on.

August 4th

It has been a year since we returned to the clan, so much has happened.  So much has changed.  Margo and Cody are doing a great job with Augustus; he is just over a year old.  Akiri is doing well, looking less mushy all the time.  She looks like her mother.

My energy levels are going down, I am tired, my joints hurt, not really bad, but it is not getting better.  I talked to Doc Barkley today, he was not surprised by the changes, he expected them sooner.

“How long Doc?” I asked.

“Do you really want to know?”

“No, not really, but well, when it gets really bad, can you…..”

“Yeah, I will my friend.”

August 12th

My energy levels have been down, but today I feel pretty good. Akiri is not feeling well and Asuna is doing for her.  I think that it is a great day for a little walk. I am going to head out to the Lookout, I want to see the valley.  I will be back by the afternoon.

First Son Note: this was the final entry of Tom’s hand written journal.  It appears that he did not return from the walk.  In a few scraps of papers that were partially consumed by insects it appears that he fell to his end at the Lookout.  It was speculated that he may have fallen in exhaustion, or he may have intentionally jumped.  It is not known.  In looking at Test Subject #1’s remains it was clear that he was badly broken from the fall.

To back up in time just a little, we, and I am going to call us a ‘Clan’ as it seems to be the term that TS #1 used to refer to his collective / hive, have been on this planet for 107 days, in that time we have found what was referred to by Father as Test Subject #1 and Test Subject #2.  We have also found the remains of 15 other individuals of assorted sex, age and color.  Besides the Test Subjects, the most interesting was one that appeared to be called Augustus.  He was a male, with an estimated age of 50 years.  He was the only one of the group who was not placed in one of the refrigerated drawers in a room marked ‘Morgue’.

It is our guess, our belief that he was the one who put the individuals, or at least some of the individuals into those drawers.  He was sitting in a chair in an area adjacent to the ‘Morgue’ which was called an Infirmary.  This appeared to be a medical treatment room of some type, although it was by our standards very primitive and could explain the deaths of many of those in the ‘Morgue’.

In his lap, Augustus had had a metal box, 30 x 38 centimeters.  It was encased in plastic, a thin film like material with some type of sealing strip on one side.  It has resulted in the papers that were inside the metal box to be undamaged by moisture or by consumption by some unknown life form.  Lance, our Lance believes that the eaten papers were part of the diet of creatures called ‘cockroaches’.

The pages were hand written and detailed the existence and going to sleep of many of the members of the group.  In some cases the exit to sleep was peaceful, in others painful, and a few violent.  The notes themselves seem to have been started about 10 years prior to the death of this Augustus person.  There are long gaps in the writings, lunar cycle (months?) and in two cases a gap of a full solar cycle. There is record of the progression, or better, decline of the community over the final years.

In the end, the final few pages, he speaks of his being alone, lonely and eventually despondent. He appeared to decline at the greatest pace after one called Akiri went to sleep.

The Medical Officer of our group has determined that Augustus ended his own existence by means of a single projectile wound to his cranial area.  But I will go into no more detail and allow the record he created speak for itself.

We sorted through the papers and scraps that were left in a pile by Augustus. Much of it had been damaged by time, moisture and gnawing.  There were a number of sketches that appear to have been created by Margo.  They were varied from images of individuals named as Cody, Delaney, Lance and others. It is remarkable how much many of these sketches appear to be very similar to some of us.  First Daughter and I are very much intrigued by the images of Tom and Asuna, Test Subject #1 and #2.  They were older, yet there is something in their eyes, and it is haunting.

But in addition to the images of individuals there are diagrams of creatures, insects, small animals and I am guessing that two of them are of Lucy and Elizabeth, large, beautiful, graceful creatures.

(Augustus)  March 17th, 2056

It has been a long haul for us.  As our numbers dwindle, I find that I am compelled to record the events of what has happened to our group.  I have been able to review some of the earlier records, Tom’s Journal and some of the written documents and notes left by others.

I was born before the Aurora, or so I was told.  My early years were told to me by my mother, Margo.  She was actually not my mother, but she adopted me when my mother died.  I was never really told how she died, but then, I was only in my first year when it happened, so I never knew her.  Margo was all I had back then and for many years.  Cody, her mate was my father; again, my real father had died from a sickness that hit the Archive. That is what we call this place, the Archive.  I visit my real parents sometimes; they are in the other room.  I did not know it until I was told in my 20s that my mother, my real mother, Heather, had committed suicide.  She had become despondent at the loss of my Dad, Steven, and left this world behind.

We will be starting the planting cycle again soon, it is not as bad as it once was, and there are fewer of us now.  We are at 10 left.  We have no new ones, we don’t know why.  Akiri and I are, were bonded, and we tried, but it just did not happen. We think we know, but are no sure.

May 19th 2056

I am sorry; I am not the journaler like some of the old ones. I write when I am bored or sad, mostly sad.  I am sad today because Jan, she was Fred’s mate, went to sleep today, she is at rest.  It was a painful time for her.  We think she had a form of cancer.  She became sick about a year ago.  It was a stomach thing, lower actually.  If the one they used to call Doc was still here he could maybe have helped, or at least knew what it was.  But over time Jan wasted away.  When she left, she only was about 80 pounds.  It was terrible to watch.  She was strong, she held on to stay with Fred, but in the end, she couldn’t.

It made me remember the others that had left in a similar way.  The Doc was one.  Teckla was another.  It leads me to an interesting question.  Is it better to die quickly and not know it, or to die slowly and have time to put your things, your mind, into order?

September 11th 2056

The harvest is pretty much in.  We have a few apple trees that still need to be cleaned, but it will be enough to get us through the winter.  Mom (Margo) and Delaney have been doing the hunting; they have a good supply of meat laid in.

I think back as a kid, Mom had this cat, a big cat.  She was such a nice animal.  It would play with me, and at night, sleep next to me to keep me warm.  I miss Elizabeth, I called her Lizzy.  She became old, and went to sleep when I was 17.

That was the year the Michelle became ill and went to sleep.  She was quick, the Doc was still around.  He cut into her, into her lower stomach.  It was an appendix; appendicitis was what he called it.  But his surgery was too late, the appendix had burst, it poisoned her.

November 11th 2056

It is what we call ‘Remembrance Day’, each year on this day we think back to those who were once with us and have moved on, have passed on what Margo, Mom, used to call the rainbow bridge. Part of you passed on to the Sky Father while part of you, the physical part remained here with the Earth Mother.  It was a legend that the ones called Matt and Tanya had left for us.

This year we added Jan, to the list.  I read the names,

Jan

Al and Margie

Anne

Tom and Asuna

Laura and Nick

Cyril and Arcelia

Elgin

Teckla and Lincoln

Frank

Ethan and Chelsea

Ron and Karen

Alexander

Charlene and Doctor Barkley

Maria

Daphne and McManus

Mark and Michelle

Washa Brown

Joseph

Armand and Grace

Keith and Pam

Henry

Billie

The people of Stanwix

There are two that we talk of, but they are no longer here, in the Archive, and we have never known if they are still alive, or if they too have perhaps gone to sleep.  That is Matt and Tanya.  They left to search of other places on a mission from outside themselves.  We still add them to the list, but as more a not sure but we remember you.

I do not know the end of many of these people because they were gone before I was born or old enough to remember.  But some, of those gone are remembered regularly around the nightly campfire.

The campfire, it was once called Vespers and then became Fire Pit, and now, campfire.  It is a time each day that we sit, bond, remember, and just share time.  It is one of the things that keeps us going as a Clan.

April 9th 2057

Akiri and I have pretty much given up hope on a child of our own.  It is just not happening.  It is actually a tragic mystery that years ago many of the youngers, Margo and Cody, Delany and Lance, Fred and Jan, Gilbert and Taylor were unable to have children.  Jan came the closest with a miscarriage but none of the others could even conceive.  It would have been nice if Akiri and I had playmates, then, and even now.  We are in our 40s, the rest in their late 50s or older.  To hear children, to see a future.

July 14th 2057

Molly left today, we are down to 9 left here.  It was weird, she just stood up at breakfast this morning and told us that it was time for her to go.  Her voice was funny, it sounded different than usual.  It was her trance voice.

She left the Archive and just walked west.

November 11th 2057

Remembrance day, we read the names; I will not list them here because today we added no one to the list of sleepers.  But like Matt and Tanya who may or may not still be alive we added Molly’s name.

I will list the living however.  It is Me, Akiri, Taylor, Gilbert, Fred, Lance, Delaney, Mom and Dad

February 3rd 2058

We had a storm start yesterday, it is a bad one.  The doors are sealed, and we keep losing power to the Archive.  It is still warm enough here, underground, it stays at about 60 even on the coldest days.

February 7th 2058

We are still trapped, but the power is back for the most part.

February 12th 2058

We were able to get outside again, sunlight, it is a beautiful thing.

November 11th 2058

Remembrance Day, we lost one this year, Not sure how, or what was wrong, but Lance did not wake up one morning in Early October, it was the 10th I think.  We sealed him into one of the drawers in the Morgue.  It has become the custom.

So now there are eight.

November 11th 2059

We all made it through the year but I am thinking that we have a couple of bad times coming up.  Taylor is not doing well, she had been having trouble breathing, and has lost a lot of weight, there is little left to her.

Fred is also not doing well; he has taken up consuming alcohol, a lot of it.  We often find him unconscious laying in a hallway or in the Rec Room.  He has lost touch; Jan going to sleep has left him adrift with nothing, no one to focus on.

January 5th 2060

Fred has become un-manageable, the drinking is bad, and he is acting out, violent toward us.  Gilbert has had to restrain him on a couple of occasions over the last few weeks.  We need to talk as a group.  He actually tried to set his room on fire.  We caught it in time, but it could have been bad.

January 6th 2060

It was necessary, Fred had to sleep, and he was too dangerous to allow him to stay with us.  He crossed the line when he shot up the kitchen.  We had kept guns away from him, but he must have had one stashed.

May 1st 2060

Taylor slipped away last night, peaceful, in her sleep, her pain is over.

November 11th 2060

Remembrance day, I read the list, it is too long, there are only six of us left.  I hate this.

November 11th 2063

I have not written on Remembrance Day for a while, it is too hard, but this year, I guess I have to there will not be many more of them left.  We are at three of us left.  It is Akiri, Mom and me.  Delany fell and broke her leg while hunting, there was an infection, and there was nothing we could do.  Cody just went to sleep in the summer and did not awaken.  Losing Cody has been hard on Mom, she is the last, the only one left of the old ones, and you can see, feel the strain on her, the sadness eating at her.

March 23rd 2064

Mom did not wake up this morning, the sorrow overwhelmed her, it has hit me hard.  Only Akiri and I are left. We talked about taking our own lives, but it is not time yet.

November 11th 2066

It is just me. Akiri, the brightness in my life has gone out.  She slipped away and I am left alone.  It has been three weeks, we knew it was coming since the late spring, but we had the chance to spend that last, wonderful summer together.  We watched summer turn to fall, and now as winter creeps in, the coldness, the emptiness it is closing in on me.  I will not last the winter, I am tempted to end it today, but I have some things that need to be finished first.

November 15th 2066

I have begun working through the rooms of those who once lived here.  It is my intention to clean the place up, just in case someone, anyone ever finds it.  I want them to see that we were proud, and lived well, while we lived.

December 20th 2066

In the course of cleaning and straightening I spent a day or so in each room, some days it took more than that.  The kitchen and some of the work rooms took a couple of days.  Most of the canned foods are gone now.  Most of them had long since been eaten.  But I found a couple of cans of a meat product called SPAM.  I remembered it from when I was young.  I remembered that Tom had talked, joked about it being around after he was long gone.  I set one aside.

The regular rooms, quarters were easy in some cases, hard in others.  Asuna and Tom’s room was pretty easy, Akiri had seen to that one years ago.  It was a little dusty, but neat and organized.

The room that belonged to Lance and Delany was the most cluttered.  Over time he became kind of a hoarder, but that was after Delany went to sleep.  He just gathered and gathered.  He hid in that room most of the days as he came to his time. At that time, I thought he was foolish to hide away, to wallow in the loss that he had suffered.  Now I see it a little different, I understand.

I saved Mom and Dad’s room for last. I knew it would be the hardest. In it I looked at the sketches that Mom had done over the years.  There were detailed drawings of insects and of a coyote, one that lived with us, she was called Lucy.  There was also a beautiful picture of Lizzy (Elizabeth), the mountain lion.  That was Mom’s spirit animal.

I think the most ‘frightening’ of the images was one of Dad; Mom had drawn him on the bed, I am guessing back in the days when they all lived at the Camp.  Wow, somehow, naked drawing of your Dad, done by your Mom….just wow.

I found some notes that Mom had written after Dad died.  She was broken, they had been together for 40 years, and I never realized how close they had actually been and how much in love they were.  I can understand it because in the end, Akiri and I were the same.  I miss her, I miss them both.

I found something else.  It was a pistol, a 9mm Smith and Wesson.  I remembered it.  Mom carried it all the time after Tom went to sleep.  It had been his.  She told me some about it, and how important it was to her.  He had used it once to save her and one called Anne, I remember that she was Margo’s mother.

It has become a game of Clue for me.  I know that I am going to sleep, and sleep soon, I am Colonel Mustard and I have been handed the means by which to do it, Mom’s pistol.  Now all I need to do is figure out the where.

December 24th 2066

It is what was once known as Christmas Eve.  It was a time we, the Clan, would get together and share, give gifts, give memories.  Those memories are swirling around in my head, it hurts, and yet at the same time it is wonderful.  I remember Mom’s smiling face; I remember the singing, and meals.

I had a meal, alone in the Dining Hall. It was not much, the last can of beans, some jarred tomatoes from the last spring’s crop and that can of SPAM.  I also found a bottle of wine.  I have never been much of a drinker.  We always have had it available to us, and in Fred’s case, too available.  But it seemed to be the right thing to have with this dinner, this final dinner. I made a toast, to us all.

December 25th 2066

Christmas Day, what better day than this to rejoin the Clan.  It is time for me to go home.  I will seal up a few things, and have answered the final question about dying.

I will be near them; I will sit in the Infirmary as I join them.

First Son Note: This was the final entry or note that we found in the Archive that was created by those who lived here, the Predecessors.  In reading all the documents, it has been a moving story, the hope and determination to survive and then in the end the devastating inability to grow as a population.

When Lance had been able to reboot the readpad that was identified as Winston, the device was able to actually determine that it was May 17th 2075 in their time line. We have decided that we will call it Cycle One.

May 1st Cycle 1

In some ways we have taken over for the Clan by living in the Archive.  We had settled into the various rooms that were already established.

We have moved the nightly gathering from our video ports in the transport pods to actually sitting outside in the evening at sunset and having a group meeting.  We have spoken about the history that has been laid out and yet we are still sorting parts of it out.

Nicholas has re-established the food preparation area; they referred to it as the galley, and he has made it functional again. He and Grace have begun to move the larva and grubs that we eat into the new environment that they have created for them.  They have been assisted by Tyler. They have also taken time to build new beds for the fungus to grow in a dark area of the Archive.  This is a major relief because I think that so far none of us are in favor of consuming the flora and fauna that live outside in this world.

As I have said before there are 26 of us and we have moved from our pods to the inside.  First Daughter and I have taken the room that once belonged to the ones called Tom and Asuna. It seemed correct because First Daughter and I were the chosen by our Father to lead the group.  The room is pleasing, the surroundings, a sort of mix of light blues and oranges.

The others in our group and their assigned tasks are:

Lance (Head of Science) and Delta (Protector)

Margot (Protector) and Cody (Protector)

Markus (Food Science) and Michelle (Maintenance)

Nicholas (Food Science) and Grace (Food Science)

Ethan (General Science) and Chelsea (Recon/Research)

Teckla (Law/Rules) and Francis (Mechanics)

Matthew (Spirit Guide) and Tina (Spirit Law)

Stewen (Astro Physics) and Hesther (Pod Maintenance)

Barkel (Medical) and Carleen (Medical)

Alexander (Engineering) and Elissa (Terrain Science)

Joseph (Navigation) and Tyler (Data Retention)

Chris and Helen, (the twins) they have no real assignment but seem to have a connection with things outside our physical surrounding and often through visions share insights that are lost or unseen by the rest of us.

I have found it ironic that many of the names that were given us by Father were so similar or the same as those from the former inhabitants of this place or the camp to the west.  I cannot help but feel that there is a reason for it.  Even in the case were the names are not exactly the same, it is a small difference.

The other curious factor is that we are all the same age.  We are all 23 years old and share birthdays within 5 days of each other.  That is very odd.

May 8th, Cycle 1

Weekly Cycle Status report by First Son. Since we have moved in to the Archive, things have progressed smoothly.  The food processing is up and running and we are good now for the long haul.  Nicholas has reported that he has discovered additives that we might consider adding to the protein composite made from the blended larvae and mushroom.  The additives are in the form of dried powders referred to as ‘spices’ that apparently were used by the Predecessors to enhance food flavors and taste.  I have authorized him to experiment and determine if it is something of value for us nutritionally.

We have been sending teams out to explore the surrounding territory to better understand where we are and what this new world is like.  Some of the teams have reported finding buildings and locations of interest.  The team of Teckla and Matthew sought out and discovered what was once called “the Farm”.  The buildings have been damaged beyond repair or swept away by ravaging waters leaving only stone lined holes.

Lance has reported that there are a series of wires or lines that run through the ceiling area of the Archive and at points disappear into the walls.  He is particularly puzzled by one that leads to a back wall at the end of the tunnel of the Archive.  He knows from the journals that there is something dangerous behind it and is very interested in trying to discover exactly what it is.

All of the transport pods have been maintained and are charged and ready to be used. The food production units have all been removed.

First Daughter and I are still puzzled by some things.  The most puzzling is this idea of ‘having babies’.  We have found no indication of a nursery in which the embryos would, or could, be developed.

May 15th, Cycle 1

Weekly Cycle Status report by First Son.  All is well.  We have had no issues of significance.  We are continuing to explore the surrounding area.  It is kind of surprising that the structures of the old ones have been overrun by the plant life.  I would not have expected that.  In many cases the transport ways (roads?) of old have large trees grown up in the middle of them.

After reviewing the written materials for the former residents, in particular Tom’s Journal (hand written), it seems prudent that we do not go into the area behind the cement wall.  It is thought to contain things that might be harmful.  The Twins had stood before the wall and confirm that it would be not wise to open the wall.

Nicholas has created a couple of masterpieces in adding ‘spice’ to the usually bland flavor of our sustenance. He has added something called ‘chilly powder’ to it.  But I am not sure I understand why something called “chilly’ would make the mouth burn.

We have continued with the nightly fire gathering.  It was noted that the last couple of nights there were eyes watching us.  We believe that they are from some of the fauna that is in the area.  We have detected traces of waste material (poop?) as well as foot impressions.

Medical Officer Barkel has shared some information with us about the nursey, or lack of it.  It appears that the Predecessors used the female body to produce the new humans.  It is a rather revolting thought, and it sounds very messy and primitive.

We have come to begin watching what the old ones called ‘movies’.  It shows the civilization before the end.  Father would not allow us to watch the monitor screens when we were on the Sky Crystal.  He only said that KHriz, the First Hatched would not approve.  I can understand it now because the people depicted in the images were truly unkind and often brutal to each other.  It is not a place or way we should live.

May 25th, Cycle 1

Weekly Status Report of First Son: We are doing well, the climatic conditions are perfect.  The area is green and lush with vegetation.  The members of the Clan are becoming almost reckless in their activities while enjoying the warmth of the daily solar shine.  We, of course, are careful to apply anti-radiation gel to prevent harm or damage by the solar rays.

During the week we have seen more and more of the eyes at night.  We have also seen fauna during the day, both on the ground and also in the air.  I have recognized some of them from the images that the one called Margo had created; there was a coyote, a mountain lion and a raven.  I wonder if I could befriend one or all of them.  I am particularly drawn to the one called ‘coyote’.

The Twins came to me yesterday.  They have determined that it would be wise for us to visit a place spoke of in the journals.  They said that they believe that we should make the trip to a place called Stack Three.  I remembered it.  It was at a religious place, at Montgomery-Fulton, there was a woman there, Hilda, I think.  She was a wise woman that had shared and guided the holy ones of the Predecessors.

I asked them why we should do that and all they could say was that we needed to; it was part of the plan.

“What plan?” I asked but they couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me more.

I spoke with First Daughter about it tonight, and also Lance.  Both were intrigued by the idea.

June 1st Cycle 1

Weekly Status Report of First Son: The Clan has discussed going to this Fulton place as the Twins have suggested.  The discussion was mostly whether we should all go, or should it be just some.  Margot and Delta, being protectors, think it unwise for us all to go.  Sending a small group first to check it out and determine that it is safe was their idea.

Lance and First Daughter think it is an all or nothing; we all jump into the pods and fly up there.  The others were split down the middle.

Then their eyes came upon me.

“Well, it is a mystery as to what we will find.  And yet I am intrigued.  I am going, even if it is alone.  But I am going to do it like they, the Predecessors did.  I am going by land vehicle; truck is what they called them. I want to follow their footsteps.”

That caused a stir to be sure.  The Twins smiled at me, and First Daughter was staring intently at the side of my face, eyes glaring.

“And how are you going to go by land vehicle, they are all over fifty of the Earth rotations old, and you have no fuel for them,” said Lance, a little peevishly.

“I have talked to Francis about this, and he feels that the engineers can make power units operational from materials that we have scavenged from the transport pods from the food production units. If combined with one of the old solar panels it would power an electric system that would make them mobile,” was my reply.

“You want to strip the power units out of the transport pods and put them into earth vehicles?  And how do we survive if we have to get off this planet with no consumables?”  Lance was not happy.

“First off, we only need to use 6 of the 13 pod power units we have removed.  We can fit four or five of us into each truck, which leave 7 units we can re-install if we need to try to get off this world.  And what we would be taking out of the pods does not really impact space flight, so we could still escape, but not for long. Father had no intentions of us getting off this planet.  It is where we are supposed to be.  He never told me why, only that it was supposed to be.”

Silence.  We all had a lot to think about.  I had not previously shared that information about not leaving with anyone other than First Daughter.

Over the next few days there was a lot of talk about being trapped on Earth and the potential trip.  But it was when Francis actually came rolling around the corner in the first improvised truck, an old silver KIA Sorrento that had belonged to Tom, and then Margo from ages ago that following in the footsteps looked like it would occur.  It changed a lot of minds.

The actual task of setting up the vehicle had only taken two day.  If we all focus on the task, we can be ready to go for this Fulton-Montgomery in two weeks.

In the end, the adventure is on.  We will be like the old ones, we can do this.

June 8th, Cycle 1

Weekly Status Report of First Son:  With everyone pitching in we have completed putting together 4 of the 6 vehicles that we will need to this trip to Fulton-Montgomery. As the work progresses, there has been discussion and a level of excitement as to what we can, or will, find at this Holy Place.

One of the issues that we will face on this trek is food.  Unlike our predecessors we do not consume the flora and fauna; we have our diet of protein and yeasts/fungi.  Nicholas and the Food Service Staff have determined that we can put together a form of the meals in glass containers.  The containers are from the past and are called Mason Jars.  He feels that if we pack the jars and then radiate them the contents will be safely edible for a period of 3 to 6 lunar cycles.  That should allow us plenty of time to make our visit and return to the Archive.

As the Readpad called ‘Winston’ is now operational again and has past data on this planet, it was able to supply us with route information and time needed to make this trek, I think it was referred to as a ‘Pilgrimage’.

I had a frightening moment two days ago.  I had gone to sit by the place where we hold our nightly fire gathering.  In the course of it, while sitting, I fell into repose.  I awakened with a start as I felt someone was watching me.  Before me was a fauna, a coyote.  It was just sitting there, staring at me.  It looked at me curiously, tipping its head from side to side.  It almost seemed like it wanted to talk with me. Odd, I was not afraid.  It stared at me for several minutes and then got up and turned and started to walk toward the wooded region around the camp.

“Wait,” I said to it, and in my mind I had the thought, “not yet new one, you are not ready.”  Did it speak to me?  I do not know.

I told the story at Fire Gathering tonight and much to my surprise others shared similar experiences.  Lance told me that in his dreams an equine had come to him, Margot, the protector told me that she had been out scouting and had been watched by a large tan cat.  Matthew and Tina told of encounters they had experienced in either real time or in dreams.

We looked to the Twins, Chris and Helen, but they gave no insights, merely said perhaps we should just be thankful and wait, the messages will come.

June 17th 2075

Weekly Status Report of First Son:  I am two days late with my report.  I and the others have been so busy with preparing for the trek, or as the Predecessors called it, a Pilgrimage, that I have put it off. This is the first time in my tenure that I have done so.  It is a habit I will not develop.

We have all the transport trucks set and loaded.  We have food for two weeks and had added several water cleansers to our inventory.  First Daughter suggested taking some of the bedding supplies with us but we will not be on the trek that long and will find such things at the Holy Place. In the end we did add a few cloth bed covers called ‘blankets’

We will leave in the morning, at sunrise.  It was the way in which the Predecessors would go on these treks.

First Daughter has assigned the individuals to the land vehicles we have converted.

In truck #1, A large red Ford Truck: First Daughter, Margot, Cody, Chris and me.

In truck #2, a large Green GMC vehicle: Joseph, Elissa, Teckla and Francis.

In truck #3, a small, what was called a camper: (Medical) Barkel, Carleen, Markus and Michelle.

In truck #4, another camper type vehicle (Food): Nicholas, Grace, Ethan and Chelsea.

In truck #5, A large black Dodge pick-up truck: Matthew, Tina, Stewen and Hester.

In Truck #6, the silver KIA: Lance, Delta, Tyler, Alexander and Helen.

When First Daughter set up the assignments she did so to put strength in the front and back of the column, I think that is the term that would be used here, to add to safety.  Although we have seen or met no harmful creatures one can never be too careful, that seemed to be a watch word for the Predecessors. I wonder if there are still those things, the Infected, the Changed or Zoms, as they were called, that are still roaming about.

It also gave the most secure location for the medical and the food supplies for the trip.  And finally, she put one of the twins at the front and one at the back to maximize their skills at ‘sensing’ things.

There was a sense of excitement at the Fire Gathering tonight.

June 18th 2075

Based upon the conditions of the paved travel ways we found that what we thought to be a simple 4 hour trip ran much longer.  The flora has disturbed and broken up the travel way and in places made it almost unpassable.

Our initial belief of obtaining speed of the limit recommended (65 MPH) on what was referred to as I-90 was less than half of that mostly due to frequent stops to clean debris. This simple trek was not going to be as simple as we had considered.  But I am actually finding it exhilarating.  I am a Predecessor.

We found our first major hurdle to the trek was actually at the edge of what was referred to as the Hudson River Valley.  There were two bridge structures that crossed the divide. One appeared to have twin rusted steel beams that were laid on large rectangular blocks that were spaced ever three or so measures (feet?).  The distance to the river below was several hundred measure units and as I looked down through the gaps in the bridge, I felt funny, almost light-headed.  I did not like this passageway.

The second bridge structure that ran parallel was missing a large section of the span.  That one was not passable at all.  We could find no way down into the valley by the bridges that would allow our vehicles to move to the valley floor.

After some discussion, it was Joseph who suggested that we seek a crossing further north.  He recalled that in one of the journals there had been mention of using that to cross into an old urban area called Albany.

We tried it and found that we were able to cross over what was called the Menard Bridge and preceded into the city.  It appears that in the denser civilized urban areas the flora has not had as much success in taking over.  But it also appears that the lack of upkeep of buildings had taken a toll. Many of the buildings have experienced decay, broken windows and damage due to water and atmospheric conditions.  In some cases, we have seen what were referred to as ‘sky scrapers’ have crumbled and fallen to ruin.

I had wanted to seek out a place that was spoken of in the journals.  It was called the Waterviet Arsenal.  But we will have to forgo it on this occasion.  We had planned to be at the Holy Place by 14:00 hours, and we are now just clearing the city at 16:00.  We will not make it to the Holy Place until at least 20:00 at this pace and we may be forced to actually stop for the overnight.  We had not planned for this.

We still might have made it, the distance was not that great, but when we reached a bridge that was designed to cross the river (Erie?) at an urban center called Amsterdam, we found the bridge was not viable, it was still standing but crumbled and we feared that it would collapse should we try to use it.

Dejected, we decided that the wisest course of action was to settle in for the night and try to start up again in the morning.  We circled the trucks.

We had made a miscalculation in believing that we would find a place to stay when we reached the Holy Place.  We had not brought repose materials, headrests, and pads.  We had to either repose in the trucks or on the ground.  Most chose inside the trucks.  I tried the ground.  It was not wonderful and I gave up after about midnight admitting defeat and softness.

June 19th 2075

I was awakened this morning by the avian fauna, they began to make chirping and peeping sounds as the sun began to lighten the sky.  For me it was not possible to shut out the noise.  I was not the only one who suffered this.

Joseph had taken time last evening to study alternative routes to get to the Holy Place.  The options were to move on to Syracuse and try to cross there or to return to Schenectady and cross there and follow a travel way numbered 5.  We knew that the bridge in Schenectady was intact, but Syracuse may or may not have an intact crossing.

Lance had some passive aggressive commentary on the lack of ability to just fly over the river and that had we taken the transport pods we would be at the Holy Place.

Having not been afforded my typical 7 hours of repose I was a bit on the edgy side and was not happy at the sniping by Lance.  But he did have a point.  Yet, this plan, this following the Predecessors seemed to be the right thing to do, we were on a pilgrimage as they called it, so we were fine.

I remember a snippet of a dream from last night, that coyote was staring at me, and in my mind I could hear or sense him laughing at me.

June 20th 2075

We reached the Holy Place today at 11:00 hours.  It is a surprising place.  Unlike many of the areas that we have seen, this one seemed unaffected by the passing of time.  The grass areas around the main building which was called the Fulton Montgomery Community College Library were short; it almost appeared that they had been intentionally kept that way.   The paved area after we left the main travel way was not infected by flora.  I think it was like it might have been in the time when the Predecessors still controlled the surface.

“We are here, and it is in time,” said Chris as we climbed out of the red Ford.  As I did, I noticed that the keys, an archaic security system for such vehicles were still in the little slot on the steering device. It held a little tag with a name on it, ‘Coyote’, odd.

The Library, Stack Three, the Holy Place, it was not what I expected, it was plain, a simple cement cube with windows.  In some ways it reminded me of the Archive but it rose above the ground, not buried into it.  It had what seemed four levels based on the stairs that were visible through the windows in front.

As we arrived at the doorway, I started to reach for the handles to open the door.

“No, we must wait!” said Chris and Helen in unison.

I stopped short.

“Why?”

“Because it is not time, she will open the door for us when it is time.” They replied in unison.

It was not long and I was shocked at what came to the door, it was not the old woman that was described as frail, old white sweater.  No, this was a young woman, about our age, maybe a year or two younger.  She was pretty, and slender.

“Hello! I am glad you are finally all here, it has been a long time since there have had visitors!” She said with a smile.  “I am the Keeper of the Stacks.” In her arms was a scruffy black and white cat.

“I ah, but Helen, I thought it was Helen who….” I stammered

“No, I have that job now.  But let us move inside, I have lunch prepared as per orders.  I hope that you will enjoy it,” she said as she turned, set down the cat and held the door ushering us in.

Hesitantly we followed, all but the Twins; they were through the door in a flash.  They knew something.

We followed the Twins into a dining hall; it was similar to the one that was back at the Archive.  But in this case, the tables were set into a triangle with 9 place settings per side.  Each setting had a covered plate of food and utensils.  There was also a glass of a dark red, almost purple liquid.  At each place setting was a name tag.  We sought our names.

At my table there was in the middle a tag for “Molly”, I am guessing that was the woman we just met.  First Daughter and I were on her left and the Twins were on her right.  Lance and Delta were next to the Twins, Margot and Cody were seated next to us.  The others all filled in around the triangle.

The one called Molly stood up and so did Chris and Helen.  We all followed suit.  I was so confused.

“My friends, Young Ones, welcome.  I am Molly; I am here to act as a preparer, one who will help you start your new path.” She said.  “Raise your glasses and let us toast the New Way.”

Let me say as a side note this was not what I was expecting, and before the meal was over, and after we were left in shock and surprise as to what we heard, saw and learned.

“To the New Way,” we said in unison, although there was a confused tone in many voices.

The wine, she called it, was a sickly sweet drink, it smelled funny.  Molly turned to the Twins, “Does this meet your taste?”

“Yes, Perfectly!” replied Chris.

“Well then, let us eat, you may sit,” Molly said. And after she did she uncovered her plate.  We followed suit, it was what we expected, spaghetti with a red thick liquid on top. The Twins dug in with relish, it was almost as if they have had this before, and were actually fond of it.

I picked at mine at first, curious, a little nervous, I had never consumed anything but the larva/mushroom blend.  Once I had the first taste I, well, I liked it.  We all did, and by the end of the meal there were no plates with uneaten portions.  A thing called bread was on the table and Molly and the Twins used pieces of it to sop up the remaining liquid, we followed their lead.

At the end of the eating Molly got up and began to collect the plate, Nicholas and Grace began to help and within minutes the table had been cleared of all but the glasses of dark red liquid.

Molly spoke, “As I said, welcome.  I have been tasked as greeter and preparer.  I know that I was not what you expected, you had figured on an old woman and a cat.  That woman, Helen, would have been here, but she has another task. But that is all over now. And the cat, Sylvester, he, well, he is a cat, he is not concerned.  They are wonderful creatures that teach us what is important.”

With that the Twins stood up. Chris spoke, and we were shocked.  “First, let me assume my proper form, Helen, Molly, you may also do so.”

Before our eyes there was a shimmer and then suddenly, three QUalzians, the short small lizard-like creatures that had raised us stood before us.  I recognized the neck ringlet of KHriz, the First Hatched and the ringlet of his mate, HYlon.   I was uncertain of the third at first, because to human eyes all QUalz seemed the same yet there was something familiar about this one.

The third QUalz sensed my recognition and said, “Yes First Son, I am RRqil mate to Krezz, who you called Father, may his sleep be peaceful.”

What does one say, what does one think.  I was at a loss.

“I expect that there are a lot of questions and concerns with you all.  And we will answer and soothe those questions.  But not right now.  You need time to rest, and to let the storm that we just broke on your shores to be calmed.  We have rooms prepared for you and will have you rest for a while.  Tonight is a special night in the sky, and we all need to observe it. We will send for you to rejoin us at what you call 21:00 hours.  At that time we will answer many of your questions.”

As we rose to leave, KHriz asked First Daughter and I to stay behind while HYlon and RRqil took the rest of the Clan toward their rooms.

We sat and talked, he told me that he was reminded of the days many cycles ago when they, He and HYlon, would dine with Asuna and Tom on the Sky Crystal.  He spoke of how they would discuss issues of the future and history of humanity and the planet called Earth, the Wet Blue Ball.  But I sensed there was something else here.

“KHriz, what is going on, why are you here, why are you with us.  This all seems very nice, but there is something else, something hidden.” I said.

His skin darkened, “Ah, just like your predecessor, the one called Tom; you have a keen sense, and ask hard questions.”

He then started at the beginning; he spoke of his regrets that he and the Sky Crystal were unable to stop the meteor that exploded into the atmosphere all those years ago.  They had tried, but were just unable to prevent it or the disease that went with it.

He explained further that in the following loop they were able to find two people who had been visitors on their ship before the meteor.

As we were growing up, we knew that QUalz had taken people from the Earth, and in fact had been allowed to visit many of the rooms that had been created for them. But we did not know about the repeat visitors.

“First Son, your real name is what?” he asked me.

“Tom, I was officially anointed, Thomas Williams.”

“That is correct,” he replied, and then turned to First Daughter, “And you, what is your designation?”

“I, I am Asuna Yagu……”

The connection was made.  We were named for Test Subject #1 and #2.  I think KHriz saw the recognition of what was there.

“Yes, you are what are called clones; you are all made from what you call the Predecessors.” He said, he was lighter in color now, that which had bothered him was out in the open.

I thought for a minute, we had all been born about the same time, all of us together on the Sky Crystal, playing, growing, learning together. Wait, now that I think of it I did not remember the Twins all that well, we would see them once in a while but they were never part of the group of us, the ones we now call the Clan.

Shock, silence, confusion and finally, ….. “Why?”

Now it was his turn, he had to expect the question, he had to, yet I don’t think he was really ready for it.

Finally, “When we took them, your predecessors, on to the Sky Crystal it was to create a cure for the illness.  We needed the two of them because we had taken what you call DNA samples when they had visited us years before the meteor.  Then with new samples after the meteor, we, Krezz, Father, as you called him, was able to create a cure.” He said.

“Yes, we read that in the journals, it was a wonderful thing,” answered First daughter.

“No, Asuna, in the end it was not. In the end we failed you, we stopped humanity!” he almost shouted, turning dark.

We sat silent for a moment and then he continued.

“When we made the cure, it worked well against the virus, but we did not think about what else it would do, could do.  In the end it rendered your kind unable to procreate, you could not grow, just dim and go out like an old campfire.”  He explained.

“But Akiri?  They had Akiri, and Augustus,” exclaimed First Daughter.

“True, but that was because Augustus was conceived before the cure.  And Akiri was the child of Thomas and Asuna, the medication they took was pre-production and it turned out to be slightly different.”

There is was, all out in the open.

KHriz said that they had made the mistake and then had to decide what to do about it.  From their view there were two options, the first was to just let things run its course, the Earth without human kind and perhaps in future millenia there would be another species that rose to humans level, octopi, or cats seem to be the most likely.  Or the other option was to try to restock the planet using the DNA material that was collected.  The original samples were taken pre-cure so they were viable to reproduce after cloning. They had collected 24 samples from when they had visited the landing site at the place called Camp Romanica where they had taken the two predecessors, Tom and Asuna.

The medical science team had to do a little work to remove the virus from the new samples but it worked.  Krezz, Father as he was called headed the effort, and in the end he demanded blame only on himself for the initial failure.

A long silence, and while we sat HYlon and RRqil joined us.

“It would appear that you have told them it all,” Said HYlon.

“Pretty much,” replied KHriz.

“I have a question,” I said, “If we are clones, how will we add to our numbers, we have no skills or knowledge of cloning, are you going to do that for us or teach us how?”

Three dark colored QUalz looked at us, then each other, and finally KHriz spoke up, “RRqil, you are closest to these two, closest to a mother that they have had.  I believe it is the task of the mother to give ‘the talk’, or at least that was what I learned from the cultural data.”

Over the next 45 minutes we were asked to unclothe and then we were enlightened.  We had seen each other unclothed many times, and had never thought much about it.  We knew that we had different parts, but suddenly found out why and what those parts were used for.

No, we did not have contact during this time that is still too much, the concept is so far beyond anything that I, we had ever considered, sex; it was called sex, fornication, intercourse, and a host of other names.  And from it came children, babies, the future, and the successors.

After we clothed, we sat with RRqil, she was a light color, and the stress was gone from her.  Asuna, I will call her that from now on, and I were perhaps still a little red.  Our view on things, each other, was changed.

It reached the appointed hour of 21:00 and we walked out to the front area of the Holy Place.  There were benches in a circle around a fire pit.  It was dark and only the flickering flames lit us.  The QUalz had resumed human form.

Chris / KHriz told us the story of the Sky Crystal, and how it came to be and circle our new home.  He told us of how we had intrigued them, the QUalz, and while their ship was broken they had looped around the Blue Wet Ball and the Red Dry Marker for millennia, visiting, taking guests, studying the humans.  But he never told the rest of the group what he, they had told us about the illness, the cloning or sex.  I think he is leaving that for Asuna and I do to.

“This is the shortest night of the year.  It is the last one that we of the Sky Crystal will see.  We are going away, going home.”  He said.

It was Lance who raised the question, “What will we do?”

Helen / HYlon looked at him and simply said “Move on and survive.”

“But how? I mean we have the transport pods and the larva but is that enough?” asked Teckla.

“No, it is not, we will have to do things different, we will have to be more like the Predecessors,” I could not believe that had just come out of my mouth.

“I think I can offer a little help there” said Molly, “There is a place you need to go to, a place where you can meet the past and build the future.”

“Where?” said Margot.

“West, you will need to go west, follow the route marked 90 and when the time comes you will find it,” she said, and then made that funny little QUalzian hiccupping noise that was their laugh.  It has been so long since I heard it and it seemed so strange coming from this young woman.

We silently sat under the stars, smelling the smoke, seeing the reflections of eyes outside the circle of light.

Molly stood up, and turned to Helen, “Hatchling Mother, Is it time?”

“Yes, it is, they have gathered,” replied Helen / Hylon as she reached behind her and brought out a bowl, it was filled with a thick whitish paste. It reminded me of the consumable that we have lived on all our lives.   She rose and moved in front of me.

“First Son, Thomas,” she smiled.  “You have some knowledge, and now you will have more, this will help prepare you.  I offer this wisdom to you, as I will offer it to Asuna, and Lance, and Margot and all the rest of you.  You are not required to take the wisdom, but it help your growth and understanding.  Will you take it?”

“Yes, yes I will, I sense that this is what was given to the Predecessors in their pilgrimage, and I accept it willingly,” was my answer.

In the end, the entire clan took a taste from the bowl.

I cannot say what everyone else saw, or felt, but I saw the universe, the sky, the earth all in balance, all part of a greater thing, a single living creation.  As I sat, I saw Asuna as I never saw her before, and as I stared at her, she changed, she stopped being the human Asuna.  Her white jumpsuit disappeared and she was at first unclothed and then she morphed, she became a catlike creature with black tufted ears, she was small, spotted but there was a fierceness to her.  I could sense it.

I looked around the fire pit and I saw others had also changed, there were horses, bears, skunks, and where Margot and Cody sat two large, tawny cats, mountain lions, I recognized them from the other Margo’s sketches.

Then, out of the forest came two others, they were not part of our group, there was a turtle, and on its back was a raven.  As they walked toward us, they sort of melted, the turtle into the ground and the raven lifted off and flew into the sky.  They were not of us and yet they were part of us.  Sky Father?  Earth Mother?

I felt at peace, I knew, we were all there, we were all in part different and yet we were all part of the same oneness, there was a goodness, and we were part of it.

I looked down toward the edge of the fire; I had not thought about my animal, I had not felt different.  I looked down and smiled at my paws.

One by one we dropped off to repose, to dream, to learn about what we were.

June 21st 2075

In the morning we were all still by the now cold fire pit.  The Twins and Molly were gone, or should I say the QUalz.

We sat around the cold fire pit, eating that mush that Nicholas had jarred for us.  And yet, after the meal of last night, it tasted, well actually it was tasteless.  We were changing.

As we sat, Delta asked, “So we go west?”

One by one the thumbs were raised, it was unanimous.

In the cab of my red truck were a map and a note.

Follow this to Bear Lodge, they are waiting.

We left that morning, after eating; the route was easy, we just followed the travel way called Interstate 90.

The route was filled with empty piles of rusted vehicles left on the road.  The flora had blocked some areas and we had to redirect ourselves but for the most part we were able to move smoothly along.

We are anxious to arrive, and yet, there is a peacefulness about the trip.  We are growing.  We often change who was riding with whom to share our dreams of visions from the night before.

I do not think we are morphing into the creatures that we visualized ourselves as, but rather, we were made aware that we have those fauna’s traits, they are in our character and each character plays a part to the greater whole.  We fill a need.

One might look at Tyler, who was a mouse and feel that it was a lesser spirit, but then it is her detail orientation, her scrutiny skills that make her a part of the whole.  There are hunters, and protectors, and thinkers, and messengers, they are all among us.

I remembered something in one of the journals about coyote, the trickster, the changeling.  He was not the greatest hunter, or most powerful, yet he was the seer, the one who senses the problems and points them out, usually at his own expense.  I have been the leader and logical for so long, this could be a challenge.

I know of one of the changes that we will have to address, but not yet, not until we reach Bear Lodge.

We spent the night in a place called Chicago, it was once a large urban area.  We stayed on the outskirts of it, sleeping on a raised section of the travel route.  Actually, we began by trying to sleep on the raised section but late in the evening there was an event, a water storm, with electrical discharges.  Lance determined quickly that it would be wise for us to seek cover under the raised area.

It was cool after the rain and Asuna come close to me seeking to share warmth.  It felt strange to have that contact; growing up we had learned from the QUalz that contact was just not something that you did.  It was how they were, and we just took it up. But this contact, this closeness, I liked it.

June 22nd 2075

Once again we were on the road, following the travel way.  It was an uneventful day.  The travel way was more open, and we reached higher velocities in our vehicles.

We reached a place called Sioux Falls, according to some old signs.  It was still reasonably early and we might have been able to travel another hour but chose not to.

Margot, Delta and Cody wandered off.  They returned about a half sweep later with some flora, it was sort of a leafy pod shaped seed about 10 inches long and 4 inches in circumference. Inside the green leaves there are row upon row of little yellow nuggets.  I tried it, it was crunchy.  I liked the way the individual yellow nuggets kind of popped in my mouth.

It was kind of cool again last night. Again, contact, I liked that too.

If what Joseph figures is correct, we should reach Bear Lodge tomorrow, late in the day.  I wonder what is there.

June 24th 2075

We arrived last night at about 20:00 hours, it took much longer than we thought. The roads were mostly clear until we turned off on to travelway 34.  It was different than what are called interstates.  It slowed us and at times we had to stop and find a way to continue without the use of the travelway.  I had never considered that these vehicles that we had chosen were capable of travel off of the hardened surface.

Of course Lance, again mentioned on several of these occasions that if we had taken our transport pods we would not have had an issue.

As we rolled up to the place called Bear Lodge, we knew it was the place, in part because the sign gave it away, but also there was behind the edifice, a huge monolith, a grey spike that reached toward the sky.  Was this the home of the Sky Father?

The edifice was made of what is called wood, a building material that is taken from the forested areas.  Compared to what we had seen in some of the urban areas the edifice seemed very humble, but there was power here, it radiated from the monolith, and focus on the lodge.

As we pulled, in there was a paved area for us to rest our trucks.  In front of the lodge was a group of chairs that circled a fire pit.  A fire pit that was burning, the smell of a tree called a cedar was emanating from it.  Over to the left there was a tree, it had red spherical objects on it, some lying on the ground around it.

We walked to the tree, it caught our attention. It was Grace who picked up one of the spheres and after sniffing it, and licking it, she took a bite.  The look on her face was one of pleasure.

“It is sweet, and and and, wonderful!” She exclaimed excitedly.

Soon we were all trying these things, these spheres, and they were, as Grace said, wonderful.

I think it was Teckla who first noticed the figures standing by the fire pit; we turned toward them and walked toward them.  Their skin was brown and wrinkled.  He was tall, and aged, bent, she was darker than he was,. They both had sticks for support.

He looked at the old woman and said loudly, “Well, we got the apple thing out of the way.”

She laughed.

We were confused.

“I am Raven, this is Turtle, welcome, welcome home, we have been expecting you for longer than you can know.  Let us begin, again.”

Epilogue

It was 48 years ago that we arrived at Bear Lodge; we learned from Raven and Turtle before they joined the other plain in sleep. We have also learned from ourselves and from our animal spirits.  Asuna and I learned about children and added 12 to our clan, others also were fruitful.

Although we still have the skill, I stopped writing the log each week and over time it was only through telling at the fireside that the stories, our stories, our traditions and the experiences were kept.

It is a new world, a new time, and there is peace, goodness prevails and the Sky Father and Earth Mother give us bounty and happiness.

WOWAHWA

Thomas Coyote