Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students are in detention when Nuclear War explodes.Game on, they are on their own. (41 page)

“We are close now,” Doron explained to the passengers. “We are going to land in the William Bankhead National Forest. There is no airport, we are going to land on the highway.”

“We will go in low and slow scouting for a landing strip. Look for power or phone poles, or any wires crossing the highway,” Doron explained. “We need binoculars looking for anything in the road.”

David made S turns across Highway 278 and found a straight stretch of about two miles suitable for landing. No power poles or telephone poles were in sight, and no abandoned cars were on the road. David looked at Doron, who signaled thumbs up. He entered the normal left hand traffic pattern, lowered the flaps, and Doron lowered the landing gear on the downwind leg.

The approach seemed much, much, faster than usual because the road was not as wide as the airport , but the airspeed was, in fact, the same.

The landing was David’s best yet. Doron smiled at him and said, “Great landing.”

David silently thanked God he did for foul it all up
with passengers on board.

123.

“I am sure this is the creek,” David said.

“This is great!” said Doron excitedly. “These are deep rock springs, far more water than we need. The creek is muddy three hundred yards away. Unless someone knows there is a spring, the creek will not lead them here.”

Everyone took off their backpacks, and set up the tents. Mike started the campfire as the sun set.

“The best plan would be to set the center of the settlement at these springs, with our houses nearby, surrounded by a fence. Each person gets a slice of land projecting out from the center point, like a piece of pie, to grow crops,” Doron explained, drawing a diagram the clay.

“All governments formed initially for the self-defense of the tribe,” he said, lost in thought.

“I wonder if this same thing is happening all over America?” Doron asked.

“Do we really need separate land?” asked Mike. “We have done alright sharing everything as a group until we arrived here.”

“Absolutely, we need separate land,” said Doron. “People will specialize in needed skills, but everyone must grow their own food supply.”

“And the family has tested as the superior social structure for economic, physical, and emotional growth throughout all recorded history,” Doron added.

“Socialism
never
works, it almost wiped out the Pilgrims until they set aside separate food plots,” Doron said.

“It’s like Moses leading the Israelites,” Liu said. Everyone paused. Liu didn’t talk much, and when she did, everyone listened carefully.

“Last night I read in the hotel Gideon’s Bible, Karen’s marriage Bible” Liu explained.

“God provided manna, a food, to the Israelites until they reached Israel. Then, when they reached Israel, the manna
stopped, and they ate what the land produced,” Liu said.

“Good point,” said Doron. “We are in a race to grow and sustain food before current supplies decay. It will be an interesting challenge.”

“What challenges?” David asked.

“No matter how much canned food, rice, and beans we have, it will eventually run out, degrade, or get spoiled. There is no substitute for fresh crops,” Doron said.

“Something else?” David pressed.

“Just conjecture,” said Doron, pausing.

“British sailors got scurvy from a lack of vitamin C, until they stated storing limes, hence the term “limey”. Shackleford and other artic explorers also were at scurvy risk until they noticed fresh seal meat seemed to reduce the problem. It’s easy in retrospect to say lack of vitamin C is the cause, but we have no idea what are the long term effects of not having fresh fruits and vegetables,” Doron said.

“What new vitamin C are we going to be missing, and what will be the effects?” Doron asked.

“A Rumsfeldian unknown, unknown,” Liu said.

Doron wondered if he had told them too much. He always had to remember they just weren’t as bright as he was. In fact, he realized he was very likely he was now the smartest person on earth. And these simple people, functioning at a more primitive intellectual level, tended to panic more easily, he thought. He needed to clarify and reassure.

“Precisely. But realize this is just conjecture, I have read nothing to confirm it,” Doron said, “We should be fine.”

It was quiet as the fire crackled.

Zeke and David grabbed their rifles and set off to set up the guard duty perimeter.

Mike had set up a tarp shower enclosure, about ten yards downstream. Doron had rigged up a pvc pipe that furnished water.

Karen said “Samuel has first shower,” as she reached for the soap. K-Bar perked his ears up, wondering if they were
going somewhere. Doron watched Karen pat K-Bar’s head.

“Not going anywhere, K-Bar,” Karen said.

“We are home.”

124.

Within two weeks, David had set up separate farm plots for each person, choosing areas with minimal surface fallout. The fallout dust was still very lethal, and concentrated in certain areas depending upon wind patterns. Doron calculated they were absorbing radiation every day, and would die early.

“ 40 would be the new 80, “ Doron cracked, at dinner.

“40 is pretty old, who wanted to live past 40 anyway?” Zeke replied.

The foothills of the Appalachians were ideal for crops, as fallout dust naturally dissipated in the gently rolling, windswept fields.

Everyone planted their crops. Doron had found a farming book from an agricultural extension office, and they studied it every night.

David searched frantically for bees to pollinate his crops. After the attack, bees were hard to find. Karen started a butterfly garden. David noticed that some of the butterflies would pollinate his crops, if the butterfly plants were located near in the crops so the butterflies didn’t have to flitter too far.

Butterflies and moths were more laid back, slow, and graceful than the busy bees, but the crops did get partially pollinated. Or maybe some bees did come by, who knows? The butterflies or bees were critical to prevent them from losing the crop seed. Apparently humans were not the only ones to adapt, improvise and overcome.

David did finally find one bee hive, and Phelps Honey and Bee Hive Crop Rental became wildly profitable.

Within a month, Doron had adapted a small hydroelectric generator that supplied nonstop power for his invention shop, the entire settlement, and lights to illuminate the defensive barricade. But Doron and Ashley really
prospered when they began to manufacture shot gun shells, and Doron's Jailbreaks for cars.

Doron and David modified a Walmart into a hangar by knocking out two walls. They stored the DC-3, test flying it and taking survey flights north and west, carefully following Interstate highways. Mike and Chloe began to distill corn into gasohol, which trucks could run on, and amassed an endless supply of fresh food, and corn bartered by people who needed gas. Doron said it was the same principle as the miller being paid in kind to grind the farmer’s wheat.

But Mike became famous for designing and building ingenious, primitive, city water purification systems and aqueducts which could be built and maintained by untrained people with simple components.

These systems became known as O’Haras. Travelers would ask if a community had good water.

“Oh yes, we even have an O’Hara aqueduct,” people would brag.

125.

Zeke came by just after dawn to say goodbye to David and Karen. He was restless, he missed the travel, adventure, and the adrenaline fix. When he heard three soldiers who had completed their service and were heading to California and Washington State, he knew it was time to leave.

“Why?” asked David.

“It’s like I have to know what is beyond the next mountain, the next river. I need to ride fast, run free,” Zeke struggled to explain.

“I want to see it all.”

David smiled.

“Take this,” David said, handing Zeke his K-Bar, and a concealed carry revolver that could use the same ammo as his 9, and the famous Bob Seger CD.

“And this,” said Karen, handing Zeke one of her live grenades from her every day carry bag, as the soldiers gasped.

“I told you I hang with a tough posse,” Zeke laughed to the soldiers.

Karen wiped her eyes, and said “Zeke...”

Zeke waited.

“Marriage is important. For you and your kids. Your kids will be our nieces and nephews, we want to know who they are. You need to know who they are.
No whoring around, you are better than that
,” Karen emphasized.

“Maybe so,” Zeke said, pausing.

“But I am not
much
better than that,” he finished, smiling.

Karen punched his arm, as everyone laughed.

“Be careful,” David said.

Zeke nodded, turned, cranked up the motorcycle, and left.

These were quality people Zeke thought. A chapter closing, but what a book.

__________

That night, as they watched the logs burn in the fireplace, Karen asked David, “Do you wish you could just leave, see what’s out there, like Zeke?”

“No,” he answered. “It’s good for Zeke to go, and it’s good for me to stay.”

“He doesn’t know it, but he is just looking for what I have already found,” he finished.

That was
exactly
the right answer, Karen thought.

___________

Zeke and the soldiers reached the Rocky Mountain Great Divide. They stopped and looked silently, awed by the view in every direction.

They raced down the mountain at over 100 mph, as Bob Seger’s
Roll Me Away
blared.

126.

Samuel’s biological Aunt and Uncle risked their lives searching for him all across a very dangerous America. They were finally directed to David and Karen’s farm. The California to Alabama trek of the Nuclear War Club had become widely known, and embellished, over many campfires all over America.

They showed Karen the legal Will Samuel’s mother had signed, giving them custody of Samuel.

“None of that matters now,” Karen said bitterly. “There are no Courts,” she finished, a threat glistening in her eye. Elijah and Abigail were strong and healthy, but really old, far too old, to be Samuel’s parents she thought. They must be at least 40.

Elijah erupted, when Abigail caressed his hand.

“I know this is difficult. You have been a superb Mother,” Abigail said, looking at Karen with compassion.

“We will come back tomorrow and talk some more,” Abigail said, standing up and dragging Elijah forcibly.

127.

“Samuel’s Mother gave him to me, I have raised him almost a year,” Karen said to David, later in their bedroom.

David didn’t say anything. He just listened while Karen unloaded. Dad told him good husbands hold two things, their wife’s hand, and their own tongue.

“Don’t you agree?” Karen asked in frustration as David did not say anything.

“I am not the Mother, you are,” he said, evasively.

“Tell me what you think,” Karen demanded.

David paused. He had learned one thing in their brief marriage, the truth of the proverb that without wood a fire dies out, without words a quarrel stops.

“I need to know,” she pleaded.

He held both her hands and began.

“Samuel’s Mother and Father sat down and decided who she wanted to raise Samuel if they died,” David said.

“They took their hard earned money, went to an attorney, and had it written up in her Will so there would be no confusion,” David continued, watching her expression.

“And this family was the one they chose out of everyone on earth,” he said gently.

“They have a good marriage, he is a Preacher. Samuel will grow up with his cousins,” he said, as Karen wept.

“Samuel needs to go with them,” he felt relieved he had actually said it,

“They are his blood,” David continued.

“You were a
great
mother. Instead of weeping over what you will not have, be grateful for the time you did have with Samuel,” he said.

“Karen
, they are the next of kin
,” he emphasized.

Karen jerked her hands away from David like they were
a glowing red hot stove. She fled, betrayed, to the kitchen.

David didn’t chase her. He couldn’t make this better. He had said what needed to be said, the truth. He knew she wasn’t angry with him, she was bitter at life.

128.

Karen and David read Samuel a story after breakfast.

“Samuel, do you remember your Uncle Elijah and Aunt Abigail?” Karen asked.

“Yes,” Samuel said.

“Well they are here, now.”

Samuel didn’t say anything, he just listened.

“Your Mom wrote down that she wanted you to live with your Uncle and Aunt if we ever found them, and now we have found them,” Karen said, just barely maintaining her composure.

“It’s in the Bible?” Samuel asked.

“Well, your Mother didn’t write it in the Bible, but she wrote it down,” Karen explained.

“Like Samuel in the Bible who had to leave his Mom?” Samuel asked.

David and Karen thought about that, then Samuel started crying loudly.

“Does this mean you are going to die?” he asked.

Karen was perplexed. Of all the questions she was prepared for, this was not on the list. She didn’t know what to say, she turned and looked at David.

“You mean like your Mother died when Karen came?” David asked.

Samuel nodded his head, biting his finger.

Karen burst into tears and told Samuel, “No, I am not going to die. I mean I am not going to die right now. One day we all will die,” Karen clarified.

“OK,” Samuel said, cheering up, wiping his eyes.

Karen was amazed, and, truthfully , hurt, that Samuel accepted leaving her so calmly. A
little
hysterics by Samuel would have helped her ego. Of course a Mom could never say that.

“Last time he lost a Mother, she had been tortured and bled to death before his eyes. He had also lost his Dad, and his brothers. His main concern is that you survive,” David explained later.

She had asked for some sign. She finally realized the name Samuel was always the sign.

129.

David watched Karen wash all Samuel’s clothes and hang them on the clothesline. When they dried she carefully folded Samuel’s pants, his shirts, his socks, stacking them on the bed. She held some close to her chest, smelling the shirts, and weeping.