afterglow
January 20, 2015
Suzanne Deveraux & Cyrus Mooney sat collecting their thoughts and emotions just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Guy and Molly Tarrant shared a few silent moments as their dreams of a peaceful future in Idaho evaporated in front of them.
Molly sighed. "They always told us retirement was not an option."
Guy pursed his lips and nodded. "That they did."
Molly smiled a little, encouraging him. "Gotta call folks."
He nodded again. "I know." He raised his elbows back up onto the desk, rubbed his face in his hands. He rose, went to the kitchen and microwaved them each a cup of coffee.
Without a word, she followed him in, and doctored her steaming cup with enough milk & sugar to make it tolerable. Molly sat and listened as Guy spoke to Jack.
As Cyrus & Suzanne headed off to bed in the east, Guy & Molly traded hopeless ideas about how the lives they'd planned could be accommodated in their now uncertain future. They shifted to the western porch and sat with the door open, listening for Jack to come back on the radio.
The sun set behind the foothills, and Arco, Idaho fell into darkness. Guy & Molly looked west to the Rockies anyway.
They could almost smell the stale air from the tunnels already.
Near Page, Arizona, Jack's had been the only voice in the conversation he'd had. Jack was waiting for an answer, too. He idly wondered if he'd be checking the SCUBA tanks & suits.
He puzzled over whether his wife's death two years previously had been a blessing or a curse. He knew it was selfish. Jack Szymanski felt very much alone at the moment.
He was pretty sure Glen Canyon lay in his immediate future.
His train of thought ended abruptly as the radio crackled to life.
"Pick up, Zee-Man, Sanctuary."
Jack correctly gauged that the members of The Family in the North Mountain Country of New Mexico were not their usual happy selves.
Jack sighed, picked up the mic. "Go ahead, Sanctuary, this is Zeman."
"Listen carefully, because I think before I speak and I only say things once."
Jack didn't smirk as he usually did because Chuck always said that. "Copy."
"You're getting wet in the Canyon, put Guy & his people in the tunnel, get a read on The Package because we're hearing it's still moving. Get somebody over between Hazard and Point Pleasant to grab it. The Package is the only prybar we have."
"Copy that."
"When that's done, you are in full gear, the hardware & comms are the assets, this is a Killdown, every bi-ped in the complex is a hostile."
"Understood."
"We cannot walk in the front door, so we're coming via L.A. & The Palace."
"Copy." Jack knew "L.A." didn't stand for "Los Angeles".
"Your private Idaho ready?"
"They will be after we're done."
"Make sure they understand this is hard rock."
"I will. I have a question."
"Fire away."
"The DS will be going out those front blast doors."
"We're not fleet of foot enough to take him out anyway. We have to settle for the underground assets. Two from here are on their way to Colorado Springs, they'll be eyes on as best they can."
"Do we know where the Capitol will be?"
"Smartest would be where we're headed or Blue Mountain. If those are fails, best public place would be Atlanta, and we've heard chatter in & around Dallas."
"Makes sense."
"We're done." Jack was thankful for that.
"Safe journey."
"Safe harbour."
Both radios went silent.
Suzanne Deveraux & Cyrus Mooney sat collecting their thoughts and emotions just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Guy and Molly Tarrant shared a few silent moments as their dreams of a peaceful future in Idaho evaporated in front of them.
Molly sighed. "They always told us retirement was not an option."
Guy pursed his lips and nodded. "That they did."
Molly smiled a little, encouraging him. "Gotta call folks."
He nodded again. "I know." He raised his elbows back up onto the desk, rubbed his face in his hands. He rose, went to the kitchen and microwaved them each a cup of coffee.
Without a word, she followed him in, and doctored her steaming cup with enough milk & sugar to make it tolerable. Molly sat and listened as Guy spoke to Jack.
As Cyrus & Suzanne headed off to bed in the east, Guy & Molly traded hopeless ideas about how the lives they'd planned could be accommodated in their now uncertain future. They shifted to the western porch and sat with the door open, listening for Jack to come back on the radio.
The sun set behind the foothills, and Arco, Idaho fell into darkness. Guy & Molly looked west to the Rockies anyway.
They could almost smell the stale air from the tunnels already.
Near Page, Arizona, Jack's had been the only voice in the conversation he'd had. Jack was waiting for an answer, too. He idly wondered if he'd be checking the SCUBA tanks & suits.
He puzzled over whether his wife's death two years previously had been a blessing or a curse. He knew it was selfish. Jack Szymanski felt very much alone at the moment.
He was pretty sure Glen Canyon lay in his immediate future.
His train of thought ended abruptly as the radio crackled to life.
"Pick up, Zee-Man, Sanctuary."
Jack correctly gauged that the members of The Family in the North Mountain Country of New Mexico were not their usual happy selves.
Jack sighed, picked up the mic. "Go ahead, Sanctuary, this is Zeman."
"Listen carefully, because I think before I speak and I only say things once."
Jack didn't smirk as he usually did because Chuck always said that. "Copy."
"You're getting wet in the Canyon, put Guy & his people in the tunnel, get a read on The Package because we're hearing it's still moving. Get somebody over between Hazard and Point Pleasant to grab it. The Package is the only prybar we have."
"Copy that."
"When that's done, you are in full gear, the hardware & comms are the assets, this is a Killdown, every bi-ped in the complex is a hostile."
"Understood."
"We cannot walk in the front door, so we're coming via L.A. & The Palace."
"Copy." Jack knew "L.A." didn't stand for "Los Angeles".
"Your private Idaho ready?"
"They will be after we're done."
"Make sure they understand this is hard rock."
"I will. I have a question."
"Fire away."
"The DS will be going out those front blast doors."
"We're not fleet of foot enough to take him out anyway. We have to settle for the underground assets. Two from here are on their way to Colorado Springs, they'll be eyes on as best they can."
"Do we know where the Capitol will be?"
"Smartest would be where we're headed or Blue Mountain. If those are fails, best public place would be Atlanta, and we've heard chatter in & around Dallas."
"Makes sense."
"We're done." Jack was thankful for that.
"Safe journey."
"Safe harbour."
Both radios went silent.