Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students are in detention when Nuclear War explodes.Game on, they are on their own. (28 page)

“I almost shot a deer below the south guard point,” he said pointing.

“Anything else?” she asked.

“No, that’s about it. Be aware of an approach through the woods,” Zeke said.

"Got it,” Liu said matter-of-factly, all business. Liu’s manner shouted, your shift is over, your relief is here, now leave, Zeke thought

Zeke turned and trudged back to the cabin, wishing he could have found some excuse to stay with her. Doron was up, and using pliers to retrieve a bubbling hot opened can of chunky chicken soup next to the fireplace.

72.

Liu drank the last of her coffee from the green Stanley thermos, and shifted the wool army blanket over her shoulder. She replaced her wet socks with another pair of dry wool socks from a Ziploc plastic bag. She was still chilled to the bone, so she got up and moved to the south guard point to warm up. She checked the house, David was approaching.

Her heart raced. She felt guilty, and tried to control her excitement. Her hands shook as she opened her makeup mirror to check her face.

She had never made any move towards David, but she had always been attracted to him, she dreamed of him. Worst of all, her dreams of him had only intensified
after
David had married Karen.

Liu had fantasies during the hours of solitary guard duty of David. She imagined what could develop when he relieved her, alone in the night. She always tried to manipulate the guard duty schedule so David relieved her in the middle of the night.

Somehow, in her fantasies, Karen was not a factor, and remained her friend.

Once she did have a nightmare where Karen had calmly told Liu that she had to shoot her, that’s the way cowgirls were when someone messed with their husband. It was the Code of the West, Karen explained, had to be done. Then Karen blasted Liu, as she woke up from her nightmare.

This is not good, she told herself. Living just a few feet away from David in the cabin was dangerous. It was like a dark cloud of anger, bitterness, rage, and envy at Karen would suddenly come and surround Liu. Liu understood now what Zeke meant when he said the dark came. Ironically, she liked to be with Karen precisely because the dark cloud never came around her when she was
with
Karen. And paradoxically she knew that she could never love a man who would betray his
wife. That’s what her head knew, but that’s not what her heart felt.

“It’s David,” he said.

“Liu here,” she replied.

“What’s up?” David replied.

“I thought I saw something move beyond the perimeter towards the road. I checked, but no activity, no tracks. So I took a headlamp, tied it to the end of a tree branch, turned it on, and left it for backlight,” Liu said, pointing, and hoping her voice was steady.

David smiled. Liu was brilliant. The headlamp slowly swayed in the wind about 50 meters away backlighting two trails near the road.

“Liu, that was a smart move with the headlamp. You need to brief the others, we can use that when fleeing at night. It looks like someone moving when the limb sways in the wind. Combined with a sighted Doron’s Deathmaster it could hold up a pursuit for a few minutes,” David said.

Liu just stared at David, giddy and savoring every moment of being alone with him.

“Yes,” she quickly recovered. “This is a good place,” Liu said. “It’s easy to defend, and concealed.”

“Yes, we should be ok,” David replied.

Liu took off her binoculars from around her neck and handed them to David. As she handed him the binoculars, he started to slip in the mud on the sharp incline. He grabbed her shoulder to keep his M-16 from falling in the mud.

David quickly steadied himself and stepped away.

The effect of his touch on Liu was electric, the strength of his touch lingered, and inflamed her desire. She could barely resist the dark cloud.

“Sorry,” David said as he took the binoculars, completely oblivious to the passions his touch had unleashed in Liu.

Liu turned quickly, and simply waved goodbye. She did not trust herself to speak. She was weak and trembling, and
even the slight climb back to the cabin was challenging.

The soft rain camouflaged her tears. She dried off her face, and even managed to smile at Doron as she opened the door.

73.

“So Doron, you are back among the living?” Liu asked.

“Yeah, the happy pills Doc gave me have run out,” Doron said.

“Any trouble breathing?” Liu asked, distractedly as she thought of David.

Maybe David had wanted her stay, she thought. David
must
have felt the passion also, she reasoned.
Maybe I should make an excuse to go back to him
.

“Slight wheeze,” Doron said. “Seems I have no infection.”

“Liu,” Doron said.

“Yes,” Liu replied.

“Thanks for taking care of Ashley and me. I remember you changing my bandages and watching the ivs,” Doron said.

“No problem,” said Liu grabbing a set of dry clothes and heading to the bathroom.

Liu returned a couple of minutes later wearing an oversize t-shirt, and sweat pants. She hung her wet clothes on a chair near the fireplace to dry. She set her sleeping bag against the wall, rolled over, and tried to sleep.

Doron sipped his soup in the dying glow of the fire embers. Liu felt his eyes staring at her.

She rolled over, and challenged his gaze until he looked away.

74.

David watched Karen check Ashley’s forehead as she held the thermometer under her tongue.

“She has a fever, Doc said that could be a warning sign of infection,” Karen spoke softly to David.

Doron watched Samuel and David eat cereal with dried milk mixed with the spring water at the dining table. Samuel was opening several of the small boxes, especially Lucky Charms with the leprechaun, and mixing the cereals together. Liu and Zeke were still asleep in the living room.

“Samuel, you cannot open any more cereal boxes to find the leprechaun until you eat these,” David said.

David watched Doron stand up slowly, grab the wall, and hobble to the kitchen table. Karen rushed over as David helped him sit in a chair at the table.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Karen asked.

“Any cans of boiled peanuts left?” Doron asked. “A whole case,” said Karen, opening a can and sliding it Doron with a styrofoam coffee cup for the empty shells.

“David, how did you find this place?” Doron asked. “I mean well water in the kitchen, this is great!”

“Liu did. We are going to stay here until you and Ashley recover,” David said.

“Do we still have the medical books Doc gave us? I might as well start studying them,” Doron said.

David went to his bedroom to retrieve the book box for Doron.

“So I understand its
Mrs
. Karen Phelps now?” Doron said to Karen.

“Yes, you were at the wedding, you were just unconscious,” Karen said.

“The story of my life,” Doron replied.

“Did I do anything heroic when I was shot?” Doron continued.

“No, you just managed to get in the way of a bullet,” Karen said.

“Doc didn’t give either of you any happy pills for me?” asked Doron.

“No,” said David. “He said if you didn’t get an infection, put you back to work.”

“I am going to sleep,” said David, heading for the small bedroom. Karen had blacked out the windows so they could sleep off shift.

“Doron,” said David, retraining with notebooks in his hands, “Ashley is getting a temperature. Focus on treatment. Zeke, Liu, and Karen are working extra night shifts because you and Ashley are out and Jorge is dead. We need you back as soon as possible,” David said.

“Got it,” said Doron.

“And check these out. I found these notebooks of articles printed off the Internet, written by preppers, people who prepared for nuclear war and other catastrophes,” David said.

“Here is a promising antiseptic treatment developed by an English Chemist in WW1 named Dr. Henry Drysdale Dakin. Dakin’s solution consists of boiling 32 ounces of water, then adding ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Then add 3 ounces of bleach. Its unstable and you have to make it immediately before use. We can make and use it, we have lots of bleach and baking soda. I found it on a printed copy of the website “Prepper’s Will” in an article “
Dakin’s Solution, A Homemade Antiseptic
” written by Bob Rodgers,” David explained, pointing.

“We sure could have used this earlier. I am on it,” Doron promised

“And, David,” Doron said.

“I am grateful you took care of me and Ashley,” Doron said.

“Nuclear War Club membership has its privileges,” David said.

75.

On the third day, Doron was strong enough to take a guard shift. Ashley’s temperature was gone, and she could walk around the cabin.

Just before the first night shift, David announced, “Ashley and Doron are recovering. We need to discuss the next step.”

“We have water here and seem hidden. Why not just stay here?” Liu asked. Everyone was sitting around the table, shelling pecans. Liu had found a pecan tree, and Karen put everyone to work shelling them, handing them each two, one quart Ziploc bags with their name on the bag, to fill up. Doron had drawn a chart on the back of a cereal box of the most efficient way to process the pecans in an assembly line, which everyone ignored.

“How does everyone feel about Liu’s suggestion?” David asked. He was determined not to overshadow the team decision process. In combat, there could only be one commander. That was the iron war for all armies in all history. They all accepted that, and agreed that was David. But otherwise they needed a consensus. Not unanimity, this bunch could never unanimously agree the sun rose in the east, but some type consensus.

“We need a town or larger group,” said Zeke. “It’s only a matter of time until we cross the greens again.”

“Doron?” asked David.

“We haven’t received anything on the shortwave. I understand Sarge said parts of the South are reorganizing civil governments. The Northeast was repeatedly hit, it’s like a radioactive soup. Here, we are off the grid and have water. I can go either way,” Doron said.

“I think we need to go south to Alabama or Texas, as Sarge said. It’s only a matter of time until we are found here and have a firefight. And people, bad people, are going to find
military weapons and form larger gangs. This place is not good for growing crops,” David said.

David did
not
tell them he had a bad feeling that they needed to leave
now
. There was no logical basis for his gut feeling, but Sarge had always said listen to it.

“Sweet home Alabama,” said Zeke.

“Liu?” asked David.

“I am on the team, if we go, I am on the bus,” Liu said.

“Ashley?” David asked.

“I am in, let’s go,” Ashley said.

“The tribe has spoken. We head out tomorrow at dark thirty,” said David.

“Doron, we need a military or gun resupply. We are getting low on ammo. Give it some thought, maybe we have to change our route. Maybe a wiped out military base,” said David.

“Sure. I will check,” said Doron.

“And David, have you ever thought about
flying
to Alabama?” asked Doron.

“I thought the EMP destroyed the avionics and engine chips on planes,” said David, intrigued by the idea.

Combat was not like TV or video games. When it’s real you
know
the odds are good you are not going to survive many more firefights and ambushes, David thought. Get in enough firefights, and sooner or later a bullet has your name on it.

“Maybe, but think about an old DC-3. It was a WW2 plane designed and built before computer chips, it’s tough and rugged. It was made to land on dirt roads. Skydivers use the DC-3 to this day. It could transport all of us, and a motorcycle. There were a lot of them made,” said Doron.

David was glad Doron was back. Flying east? Seemed impossible, but with Doron, you never knew.

76.

The first red streaks of dawn pierced through the mountain gap as they stood around the hood of the truck. It was cold and damp, with patches of fog as the clouds passed low. Samuel was asleep in the wool blanket in the truck cab.

David glanced outside the kitchen window and could see Doron pouring some steaming coffee into his mug, then putting the sooty coffee pot on the truck tailgate. He knew everyone was waiting for him as he feverishly moved the photos back on the mantle, stacked the firewood, swept the kitchen floor, then filled the Clorox jug with water, and replaced it near the pump. He left a note on a post it note in their Family Bible thanking them, carefully printing each of their names. He walked out, then locked the door with the spare key they had found on the mantle. He slid the key underneath the door.

He saw Doron and Karen intently watching him, looking puzzled. David knew his behavior could seem bizarre, but he hoped the elderly couple, or their grandkids, made it home.

He realized the Grandmother had been homeschooling a child here when he found all the prepper materials they had printed off the Internet, and her large print Bible. He found the notebooks with the labored handwriting of a child, and the grandmother’s teaching plan for math, reading, spelling, science, and history.

David remembered when he had been homeschooled for two years, and how regular school seemed easy by comparison to his Mom’s requirements. She had demanded that he learn how to teach himself, and always question any stampede of the herd. “Always remember cattle get spooked and run off the cliff, one after another. So do humans. Never, ever, outsource your thinking to the herd,” she said.

Home scholars were exactly the kind of self-
sufficient people he hoped to have as neighbors in Alabama. David realized that without planning it, they had been home schooling Samuel by reading him the stories every night. Samuel was proud that he could read many words himself from the red kid’s Bible. The first word he had proudly read all by himself was “God” since it was in almost every story. Samuel like to copy the words onto the back of cereal boxes, he had asked David why they didn’t wear name strips like the soldiers so you could write them down. David smiled at the thought as he walked up to the truck.