Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students are in detention when Nuclear War explodes.Game on, they are on their own. (12 page)

“Well, at least you guys did one thing right,” Karen thought, but did not say. She was so relieved David was recovering, she swallowed her snappy reply.

23.

“Bone dry by tomorrow,” David said.

Karen watched him count the remaining water bottles again. He seemed desperate. She noticed whenever David was under stress, he got up and moved around. David’s Dad had packed one duffle bag entirely full of one quart canteens of water, and Doron had found about 2 gallons in the kitchen at the school. But they used a lot, especially Zeke.

“Yes, tomorrow. After the lunch ration,” Liu confirmed, double counting the supplies.

“We are going to have to go out tomorrow on a search op,” David said.

“Well, it is Day 5,” Doron said. Every morning they watched him mark the days on the wall with scratches from his knife. That was appropriate, Karen said, after all, they were now cavemen. Or cave people, to be correct.

They still called it day, but it was dark all the time in the tunnel. The darkness had a gloomy, depressing effect on everyone. It was also monotonous. Karen had never thought about the fact that outside the weather was always changing. Here it was the same every day. If you added the lack of food, and the fact you had seven human beings stuck underground in a small space, you had the recipe for cabin fever on steroids. Tempers were short and they got on each other’s nerves.

“How is the skylight coming?” Karen asked.

Doron was working on a periscope device to mirror in light to the north tunnel from the air shaft. Jorge helped, saying it passed time.

“Making good progress, I think it will work,” Doron replied. Jorge nodded.

Karen noticed Zeke slowly seemed to recover, or at least not get worse. He was still weak and had not returned to guard duty. He continually squeezed the self-charging hand
held flashlight, and read the
Air Crew Survival
book over and over. He was up to twenty pushups, seven sit-ups and two pull-ups using a bar placed across the metal steps up the shaft. Zeke updated everyone, out loud, about his progress. This was less than ten percent of what he used to do, but he could feel he was recovering.

Karen told Zeke not to worry about the hair loss, and he was relieved when he read for himself that prognosis on page 116.

David and Jorge had recovered and were taking guard duty. Ashley had withdrawn from the group. She wasn’t disagreeable, she just was not there mentally. She had not eaten her rations, and was unconcerned about her appearance, which was a flashing red warning sign for the normally narcissistic Ashley. David seemed
very
concerned. David asked her to go with him to talk to Ashley, who was staring down the dark tunnel.

“Ashley,” David said.

“Yes,” Ashley said, but not turning her head.

“Ashley, we need your help,” David said. Ashley didn’t say anything but turned her head towards David and Karen.

“We need you to study Chapter Three, the medical and hygiene section. Then we need you to give everyone a briefing each night before we eat on a small section,” David said, handing Ashley the book.

“The book doesn’t have any treatment for gunshot wounds, so I want you to keep an eye open for any medical books on gunshot wounds when we are outside later,” David said.

“I can do that,” Ashley said. “I will go up to the north end, so I can read by the air shaft light,” Ashley said positively, as she walked north with a new purpose. After Ashley left, David turned to Karen on the way back to the tent area.

“Karen, did you notice the very last section of the book?” David asked.

“No, I focused on decontamination,” Karen answered.

“There is a Spiritual Survival Checklist on page 120 of the Official Air Force survival guide,” David said.

“Think about that for a moment,” David continued.

“Space in the book is limited, the pilots actually carry this book while they are flying. The Air Force knew that the Spiritual Survival was key to physical survival,” David said. Karen remained quiet.

“The checklist says, “If you can remember scripture verses or hymns, repeat them to yourself or God,” David recited.

“The checklist also says, “Thank God that He is bigger than your circumstances. And it says, “Encourage each other while waiting for rescue, God loves you, Praise the Lord.”

David paused a moment, looking at the Aircrew Survival book.

“Dad gave me this book. He said a senior officer kept it when the Christian Chaplains were purged from the Air Force, and these books were ordered to be retrieved, and destroyed, by the White House. That officer hid his, and gave it to my Dad when he retired,” David said.

Karen smiled, and took the book from his hand. She couldn’t help it. Despite her normal wariness, she was losing her skepticism about him.

24.

“Karen, we have to take a recon trip for water today. We also need to find food, but water is primary. I need your help planning, it’s a time critical mission due to the radiation. Maybe send out separate scouts,” David said, as they walked up to the tent.

“I think we need to go as a team, no telling what we run across. And you need to let us take this trip, sit this one out,” Karen said.

“The dose effect is cumulative. It’s all on page 116,” Karen explained.

“Doron and Liu, we are up, it’s our turn to ride the lightning,” Karen said, pointing.

“Our glow boys need to sit this one out,” Karen finished. David hesitated, then nodded, and pointed to Doron for the mission brief.

“The best sources are springs, wells or underground sources. Next is water in pipes or containers in abandoned buildings. Hot water heaters have about forty gallons. That’s a possible source. If we strike out there, we go to lakes or streams,” Doron summarized.

“David, Jorge and Zeke will build the radiation water filter on page 115, and then we will filter through David’s commercial ceramic water filter,” Doron said.

“I read somewhere that there is always a two day supply of food en route on trucks, so if you see any semitrailers that are not destroyed, lets open them up,” Doron added.

Everyone helped them suit up in dirt filled backpacks, stuffed socks, dirt filled overshoes, and improvised ponchos.

“If you see any binoculars or medical texts on gunshot wounds bring them back,” reminded David.

“Try to conceal your tracks back,” David said.

“The hatch will be open. Three whistles means you need help. Whistle three times and we
will
come,” David assured them.

“Thirty minutes there and back,” David said.

“No more,” David said as they climbed out. Karen fell behind less than thirty yards after they left the tunnel. Her legs ached from the added weight of the fallout vests. She was soaked with sweat, and it was hard to breathe.

To Karen’s annoyance, Liu and Doron seemed under no distress. Liu was a marathon runner, but Karen suspected the sedentary Doron had immediately dumped out most of his dirt.

“There, to the left,” pointed Doron. A Wal-Mart semi-truck was twisted around both sides of a crushed highway overpass. Doron pulled out his metal pry bar and tried to open the back door of the semi-trailer. It wouldn’t budge, the top was wedged sideways. He walked to the side, and punched a hole in the roof of the trailer, and Liu punched another cut nearby. He then used the military folding shovel like a can opener to pry open a hole large enough to reach Liu’s cut. He then crawled in the trailer.

“I am having to adjust to the dim light in the trailer,” Doron yelled.

Karen and Liu looked through the door cut in the trailer. Doron had trouble moving, the trailer was tipped sideways. He quickly threw aside boxes of all the junk Wal-Mart sold, including towels, dog food, motor oil, clocks, toys, children’s clothes, and office paper supplies.

“Water!” Doron shouted.

There were two entire pallets of distilled water in one gallon jugs, shrunk wrapped in plastic in plastic milk carton type crates tilted sideways. About half were smashed open, but the other half, about fifty gallons, were unopened.

“Karen and Liu, empty your backpacks, and stay outside the trailer. I will fill the packs and hand them to you, take off, and I will follow.”

Doron was only able to get about four gallons in each backpack, but Karen calculated the trailer was so close they could make three trips in their thirty minutes. She quickly checked David’s watch, they had eighteen minutes left when she reached David.

“We found a Wal-Mart truck with about fifty gallons of water,” Karen said.

“We are going back for another load,” she explained hurriedly. David threw them three empty backpacks, and they took off without waiting for their backpacks to be unloaded.

When they returned, Liu crawled into the trailer first and loaded their backpacks while Doron and Karen remained outside.

“Eleven minutes left,” Doron yelled. Liu took one of the large garbage bags they had brought for water and began filling it with Lipton instant noodles, Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix packets, Hershey chocolate bars, small school lunch size bags of Lays potato chips and Doritos, beef jerky, pickled sausage, Twinkies, and Oreos.

Liu handed the black heavy duty bag to Doron, and said “I will carry these extras back myself,” as she struggled under the load. Doron shrugged, left her with the heavy load, and hurried back.

“Karen incoming,” she yelled, lagging way behind. She was soaking wet from trying to cover their tracks, and struggled to shut the manhole cover over her head.

“Thanks,” David said, as she slung her backpack to him.

Karen and Liu then started off south to change clothes, while Doron went north in the tunnel. Karen was pleased, they were seven minutes late but they had over thirty five gallons of water, more available at a known location close by, and everyone had returned safely with no signs of radiation burns.

“Hold it, isn’t it our turn to play decontamination with Karen and Liu?” Zeke shouted. Karen just looked disgusted, and continued down the tunnel to change clothes.

When Liu came back, she reached in the backpack pile near the tunnel entrance. And dumped out the black plastic bag onto the floor. There was a stunned silence.

“Yes!” shouted Jorge, who had dreamed of Oreos.

“There is more when we go back,” Liu said.

“How do we split this up?” asked Zeke. Karen noticed he did not ask whether we split this up.

“It’s Liu’s choice, but I would pass it out like dealing cards. Each person makes a choice until it’s all gone,” suggested David.

Every item was separated into its individual packages, except the Oreos, which were divided into stacks of three, like poker chips. They sat in a circle. Karen had not realized how much they missed junk food since they had been only eating nuts, raisins, and MREs.

“Liu, you start,” David announced. Liu took one of the instant noodles, chicken flavor.

“I think Liu gets an extra, first round draft pick, don’t you agree?” asked Karen.

“Yes!” said Zeke, and they all nodded. Liu then added one stack of Oreos to her pile.

Zeke and Jorge also both took a cookie stack. Ashley and Doron both took a Hershey bar, Karen took a beef jerky packet. David took a pickled sausage wrapped in plastic, reeking of vinegar.

“Was there coffee in the trailer?” David asked.

“Don’t know,” Karen answered.

“And David,” Karen said seriously.

“I saw tracks on the other side of the trailer, five sets in the fallout dust heading north,” Karen said.

25.

Doron and Jorge completed the sunlight periscope on Day Six. They had rigged up two small make up mirrors from the bug out bags onto two long metal pipes ripped out of the sewer, projected up the ventilation shaft. The angle of the mirror was adjustable by separately moving the poles, so the sun could be tracked. The shaft mirror reflected light down where it was banked off of a tilted mirror down the tunnel.

“If we could find a convex mirror, like they have to catch shoplifters in stores, we would not have to track the sun,” Doron explained.

David was thrilled with the profound morale difference the sunshine made in the attitude of the sewer rats, especially Ashley. The light only reached about twenty feet, but everyone wanted to be on both sides of the light beam all day long. Having a day and night helped restore a sense of normalcy they had not realized they missed.

“Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone……..” Zeke sang the Bill Wither’s classic, or at least those words he knew, as everyone laughed and clapped for Doron.

“First, I would like to thank the Academy,” Doron said.

David was pleased that everyone was slowly getting used to each other. Or perhaps more precisely, they had learned to avoid those who seriously annoyed them. Karen and Ashley avoided each other, Jorge and Liu seemed to get on each other’s nerves, and Doron found everyone’s mere existence annoying. The tunnel had enough room for all, just head north or south. But now there was beach front property, since during the day everyone wanted to be near Doron’s sunbeam on the north manhole cover. At night everyone still slept in the larger south hole with the tent.

Doron was eager to try the periscope out at night when it was a full moon, as they would be here about eight more days.

Or would they, David wondered.

No one really talked about what would happen after the fourteen days were up. Would they stick together or split up? Would they search for their families? They were not family, and they were not related.

The truth was, they didn’t really like or trust each other. They were together only because they had been in detention together when the Nuclear War started. David knew he would have to keep them together, and function as a team.

Doron repeatedly mentioned it would be critical to find a deep water spring. Physical books, not e-books, would be critical to survival. They needed a shortwave radio, they still had no idea who had launched the nuke attack. David was astounded at the fertility of Doron’s logical analysis of this new paradigm.

Doron had a long list of what he needed. He wanted to take one of the solar panels from the traffic lights and rig it to a 12 volt car battery with an inverter. They could have remote tunnel lights all night, he explained. Their laptops and electronic devices would work.