Percy's Mission (23 page)

“What about gold rings and diamonds and such?” yet another person asked.
“That’ll be strictly a negotiated deal. If I take any jewelry, I’ll probably remove the stones and melt down the metal. That goes for platinum and other precious metals and stones. Each case would be negotiated.”
The additional questions had caught Percy a bit by surprise. In order not to take undue advantage, or get peoples hopes up, he quickly added, “I’ll be back day after tomorrow. Anyone that wants to discuss this can see me then, here.”
Jock Bluhm came up to where Percy was standing on the steps of city hall. “Mr. Jackson, I need to talk to you.” They stepped away from the others.
“What do we do about the injured, sick, and dying? Some of the people I can help, others… Don’t have much hope. We don’t have that large of a stock of drugs. I guess the pharmacy was picked pretty clean sometime after this started. I talked to the pharmacist. He said there’s nothing left.”
Percy rubbed his face with his hands. “Okay. Let’s go talk to Tom and the council. I have a couple of ideas. But let me talk to Steven first.”
Jock nodded and moved over to let Tom know he and Percy needed to talk to him again. Percy went over to join Steven Gregory. “You heard what I told the others. You willing to be my agent? Handle the food distribution? Maybe with Claude’s help?”

“Sure. I bought meat from Claude. Some of yours at times, I suppose. I think he’ll go for it. Of course, we don’t have refrigeration.”
“I know. I can do the butchering at the estate, but I prefer to bring them in for Claude to do it. We’ll bring in the animals as needed. Keep the meat on the hoof until butchering day. Say Saturdays. The other stuff, two, maybe three days a week. I thought perhaps providing you and your family with the minimums. Anything over a basic amount, you’d have to buy with labor or whatever.”
“It’s tempting to ask for a percentage, but I know what would happen. Just like with Wilkins. If it is thought I get more than a fair share for doing this, people are going to be really upset.”
“Right,” Percy said. “If they see you and your family working to get extra, that should mitigate any problems like that.”
“Yeah. Okay. You’ve got a deal. I’ll talk to Claude. Same deal?”

“Yes,” Percy replied. “I’ll have a price list when I bring in the first load.”
Steven nodded, and Percy headed back to the steps of city hall.
“Jock said you had something else?” Tom asked.
“Yeah. I just had an idea, after people started asking the questions about jewelry and stuff. Look. I’m set up okay at the estate. We can make it just fine. But I was sincere about needing help, in order to help the community.
“What I have in mind is to buy up some things, to get some circulating currency to make it easier for trading to take place. If people start accepting the coins, it’ll make it a lot easier. That’s why money was invented in the first place.
“What I’m thinking, is that I’d buy the clinic shuttle bus from the town. I’ll use it to run workers to and from the estate, with stops at the clinic. Kind of like it was planned anyway. There are probably a few more items I can use that I’ll use gold and silver to buy. That way the city will have a treasury.”
Percy smiled. “I’ll even pay my taxes in advance in gold and silver. That should be enough of a base, with what I’ll buy from individuals, to get the coins flowing. How does that sound?”
“You know good and well the town can’t tax you for anything.” Tom frowned when Percy just shrugged. “We’re going to have to talk this over,” Tom said. “We’ll let you know when you come in day after tomorrow. Is that okay?”
“Of course it is,” Percy responded. “I want to get everyone back to the estate. And Dr. Bluhm needs to take care of some of the people that need help. I’ll also trade some fuel for a few things. I know you need to get some bodies buried. I transferred some from the truck to Reynolds, but I imagine you need some more.”
“We sure do. We’ll make a list of what we need and want. One thing we do need, that I don’t think you’d charge us for anyway, is water. Without electricity, we can’t pump. The boys are dipping some, but it’s a struggle.”
“I’ll bring some in when I come. Have everyone keep their empty water bottles and bring other containers. We’ll figure out how to get the supply back here in town.”
“Okay. Then we’ll see you day after tomorrow.” Tom and the rest of the city council headed into the building to discuss things. Percy joined his small group. They were just handing out the last of the food.
“What now?” Susie asked.
“We check with the doctor. See what he needs.”
“Until it’s safe to stay at home,” Jock said, “I’d like to take a few of these people out to the estate so Melissa and I can take better care of them. I think they’ll all be okay, if we keep them from catching something. A couple can be treated and brought to town in a couple of days. The rest… It’s only a matter of time. There are eleven more that I don’t think will make it, even with the best care I could give them.
“I feel cold and heartless not offering them more than some over the counter stuff that the pharmacist managed to save. If I use more effective measures, it’ll only treat the symptoms. It won’t save them. Won’t even make them that much more comfortable. Except maybe at the end. All of the eleven are okay at the moment, but their first symptoms indicate that they received lethal doses and are in that period where things appear pretty normal. They’ll start losing hair and teeth, bleeding at the gums and under the fingernails in a few days. They’ll only have a few days after that.”
“It’s up to you, Dr. Bluhm. I don’t mind bringing some out to the estate, even the dying ones, if you think that best. We’re making sure those that die will be buried quickly. I’d just as soon not start a cemetery at the estate, though we can, if necessary.”
“No. The ones that are sure to die should probably be with their families, even if it is hard on them. I’ll talk to the families. We might need to take one or two that don’t have anyone to care for them.”
“Okay.” Percy had noticed Andy sitting off by himself, and then saw Susie go over and sit down beside him, taking Andy’s hand in hers. He went over to them.
“Andrew, are you all right?” Percy asked, looking at the tears shimmering in Susie’s eyes.
“It’s Pop. He died three days after the power went off. I was sure it would happen. He knew it too, when I talked to him the other day. If the facility lost power, he wouldn’t last too long without his machine. I thought I was prepared, but…”
“We’ll see to it that he gets a proper burial,” Percy said.
Susie stood and took Percy a few steps away. “They’ve already done that. For all those that died at the care facility. He’s beating himself up about not trying to do more, even though his father didn’t want him to, and there wasn’t anything he could have done, anyway.”
Percy nodded. He went and sat down beside the young man. Andy was trying to hide his tears, without success. “Whatever you want to do, we will,” Percy said gently. “Your father loved you very much. He knew you would not be able to help him and I’m sure as can be he wants you to go on and help as many others that you can.”
Andy, tears still streaming down his face looked around at Percy. “I know. He even said, ‘You can’t help me. Help someone else.’ That’s part of why I did some of the things I did. We can help people, can’t we? Me, at least? I’ll work for my share at the estate, but I want to help those here, too. This is my town.”
“I know,” Percy said, fighting back his own tears at the anguish Andy was in. “We’ll all be helping, in whatever ways we can. The city council has a few plans we can help with. I imagine you’ll be part of that. At the very least, you’ll be driving workers back and forth, and delivering food to the town.”

“Really?” Andy said, the tears slowing. “More food like this?” He motioned to the food that was already gone.
“Delivering to the store. It will be distributed from there. Might as well make that the pickup point for the laborers, too. What it amounts to is you’re going to be my transportation captain.”
The tears stopped now, Andy nodded. “Okay. That sounds like a good plan to me. I can drive pretty much anything with wheels. And drive a team, too. Pop taught me when I was little and we had a pair of old horses for fun. I guess I should check the rigs. Make sure everything is ready for the trip back.”
When Andy had turned and begun walking toward the truck and the van, Percy found himself encased in a bear hug from Susie. “Oh, thank you, Mr. Jackson! You made him feel a lot better. A useful human being again. You know just what to say, every time. Thank you.” She released him and ran after Andy.
Sara was smiling at him, standing a couple of feet away. “Not you, too?” Percy said, frowning.
“No, of course not,” Sara said softly. “I won’t add to your embarrassment.”
“Good,” Percy said. He turned to go help Jock and Sara followed. “Oh,” he said, absently, “I need you to figure the value of my property. I need to pay taxes to the town. Figure it in gold.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Calvin couldn’t find anything else wrong with any of the electronics. It looked like only the one scanner and the weather radio in the living room had been damaged. And the big screen TV. The radio in the kitchen seemed to be working, and it had been connected to a small wire antenna. None of their receivers worked very well without external antennas due to the shielding effect of the earth-sheltered construction. At least they’d had EMP protection on everything, even though not all of it had worked adequately.
Nan met him in the kitchen a few minutes later and said, “It’s like we planned. The kitchen, this bathroom, and the pantry are showing no radiation at all for the moment. There aren’t any places where there isn’t some reduction, based on the CD V-717 remote meter. But, like the area from the front door toward the hallway, there are a few places where the protection factor is only a hundred or so, rather than much higher.”
“We’re in good shape then. What was the outside reading?” Calvin asked.
“Only fifty Röentgens/hr, but I swear I could see the needle creeping up as I watched it.”
“Probably is. Let’s get a few things and set up for an extended stay in here.” He hugged her and said into her hair, “We’re going to be okay. We just have to hunker down and deal with it.”
“I know,” she replied, slipping from his embrace. She gave him a quick kiss, and then hurried off to the bedroom, Calvin following quickly behind. It took only a few minutes to bring down enough clothing and toiletries to last for several days.
It was several days and more before they ventured outside. It was two days after things started before the radiation peaked. Calvin assumed it was the massive fallout from the Dakota missile sites. That was about the same time that he and Nan began to cough. Calvin suddenly looked at Nan and said, “I forgot to put the filters in line with the HVAC system!”
He ran for the garage and quickly diverted the air intake through the filter pack and hurried back to the kitchen.
An anxious look on her face, Nan asked, “Do you think it’s poison gas?” She coughed to clear the burning sensation in her nose, mouth, and throat. The smell was fading.
“No. No. It’s obviously gas, but it had a sulfurous smell. I’m thinking its fumes from Yellowstone or some other volcano. But it could have been poison gas, or lethal fumes from the volcano. I should have switched in the filters immediately. Actually, several of the really bad volcanic fumes are odorless. I could have killed us both!”
“It’s all right, Cal,” Nan reassured him. “It worked out okay.” She added, lightly, “Just don’t do it again,” to try to make him feel a little better.
“You can count on that. I guess we should eat.”
They pretty much ate, read, and slept, with some time spent listening to the shortwave radio from time to time. They heard enough to know that the situation was essentially worldwide. There had been a nuclear war. And Yellowstone had blown. But there were plenty of survivors in some locations. Survivors like themselves.
After a week of being closed in, they began to lose power from the solar cells. It was often cloudy with volcanic ash, which continued to fall steadily. Calvin surmised that the panels were probably covered with the ash. They had several LED flashlights and lamps, with plenty of batteries for them, so they had plenty of light. The stove was propane and they also had plenty of that.
They were getting anxious to get out after the first fourteen days, but the radiation level was still too high. But it did rain and Calvin checked the battery charger the next day. They were getting current again to the batteries. Nan suggested they wait for a couple of days to let the batteries recharge before they began to draw power from them. Calvin agreed.
“I think I should come with you,” Nan insisted on the twentieth day after the attack. “It will be safer if we both go out.”
“But I don’t want you to get any more exposure than you absolutely have to.”
“Well, is this trip absolutely necessary?”
“I can’t say its life and death, no. But we… I need to check on some things for my own peace of mind.”
“I have that same need, Calvin.”
Calvin knew better than to press it any longer. Nan had a mind of her own, and when she was right, he had to admit it. They both put on Tyvek footed and hooded coveralls, put on respirators, gloves and boots. They taped the joints for each other, and then ventured outside. Everything had come through with flying colors. They took a little time to wash off the U500, after looking around the place. After that they opened the garage and brought out the A300 and the Toolcat. Both had buckets on them and were used to good effect to clear the parking area of its accumulation of ash.
“That’s enough for today,” Calvin said. “Let’s go in the garage and decontaminate and wash the residue back under the garage door.”
Nan had had enough. The sight of the new accumulation of ash, even after the rain had knocked much of it off the trees and down the ravines rather got to her. It was a drab, gray-brown day, even with the sun shining.
But it rained again that night. When they checked the next morning the sky was still hazy, but without falling ash and the trees had been washed clean. They checked the survey meter. Down just a little from the day before. They could risk a quick trip to town. “We turn back at any sign of trouble,” Calvin said. “We can’t afford to be out of the shelter for more than four hours.
After checking the U500 with the survey meter, they decided to wash it down again. There wasn’t much accumulation of fallout, but there were still fine particles of fallout coming down. It was low levels of radiation, but it was better to reduce the risk as much as possible.
They didn’t get very far. And it wasn’t just the effort to clear the two foot accumulation of ash from the road with the loader bucked mounted on the Unimog. Only halfway down their drive and they came upon a truck they recognized. It was Herbert Anderson’s old truck. The truck was off the road. “Oh, no!” Nan said softly, seeing the two forms inside. The bed of the truck was piled high with cardboard boxes.
It was obvious the two were dead, their bodies already decomposing. “What do we do, Calvin?” asked Nan. “We can’t just leave them here.”
“No, we can’t. Let’s go back to the house and get something to wrap them in. Or wait. Let’s see what they might have in the truck. Every single manufactured item that exists is going to be precious from now until industry is back on its feet. We can’t afford to use anything we don’t have to, unless it’s for a very good reason.”
“This is a pretty good reason,” Nan replied.
“I know, honey. It is. But let’s just see what they have.” They went through the boxes in the truck. The rain had washed the fallout off the boxes. It had also ruined many of them. They contained mostly canned and packaged food, some of which was ruined from the exposure to the elements. It also looked like squirrels or birds had been into some of the packages. Most was salvageable.
One large box contained sheets, blankets, and a folded up air bed. Nan stared at the contents. “They were coming out to stay with us,” she said.
“From the looks of the ground under the truck they waited quite a while. Got caught in the worst of the fallout. I’m thinking Mr. Anderson had a heart attack on the way out and she just stayed with him until she died from the radiation.”
“You’re probably right,” replied Nan. “I guess we can use the bedding to wrap them in, can’t we?”
“Yes.” Calvin looked over at Nan. “I could use some help doing that, but I can bury them by myself.”
Even through the faceplate of the respirator, Calvin could see Nan’s face go even paler than it already was. But she nodded and turned to get out the bedding.
It was an ordeal, but they got the bodies out and wrapped up in the sheets and blankets. Nan stayed with Calvin as he took the truck back to the house and fired up the Toolcat. A few more minutes and they had the backhoe attached, and were on their way back to the Anderson’s truck. It was the work of only a few minutes to dig a large grave for the couple.
Nan helped Calvin lower the bodies inside, but couldn’t watch when he refilled the hole. Silently they loaded the goods from the back of the pickup to the bed of the Toolcat. Nan climbed back into the passenger seat of the Toolcat and they went back home. The trip to town would have to wait a couple of days.