Sherry stood up. “Ma’am, you know what my parents are like. My friends here are my family. Are we really safe?”
Grace nodded. “This building is probably one of the most secure places in the country right now.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Sherry sat down again.
John raised his hand.
“Just a minute, John.” Grace motioned to Luke to follow her. In the hallway, she turned to him. “I know I’m the adult in the room and it’s better to maintain discipline and training at a time like this but I can’t do the military commands and level of conduct.”
“I understand, but Megan is only fifteen. Sherry is sixteen, John is seventeen and Mark, Neal and I are eighteen. I’m having a hard time dealing with what’s happened and I have the highest rank here. I’d like to be able to say I’m prepared for this but the truth is I’m not.”
Grace leaned against the wall. “How about this—I’m in charge but everyone calls me by my first name and I have the final say on every decision? You continue to conduct our meetings and that way you maintain a position of authority and the cadets continue to feel secure. We just need to get everyone through this until rescue arrives.”
Luke thought about it for a moment then nodded. “I can do that.”
They returned to the room and Grace said, “Okay, we have some new rules. First, all of you have permission to call me Grace. You don’t have to hold up your hand or stand before you speak to me. I do expect everyone to treat each other with respect and kindness, and no talking over each other. Luke is in charge of maintaining discipline and continuing your training but I have final say on all decisions. So, first question, does anyone have a problem with these new rules?”
She received a chorus of negatives. Smiling she pointed to John. “Okay, John, you were asking a question.”
“I was going to say that the shelter may be secure but how long can we stay here? Your car is here so I think we should get it and drive to the airport.”
“No,” Luke said. “Trying to fight our way to the car would expose us to the infection. Besides, there’s more to this shelter than you’ve seen. You know about the dorm rooms, showers, food, water, galley kitchen and dining area. We also have this security system and we can monitor the outside of the building and every area inside it with the exception of the sleeping dorms and showers. We also a television for now and several radio systems. The number one rule concerning the radios is we only monitor them—we don’t transmit. Understood?”
“If we lose electricity we’ll be in the dark. What will we do then?” John asked.
Luke had been leaning against a wall. Now he stood with confidence like the soldier he’d someday be. He opened the concealed door. “We have our water and energy supply secured and we have an escape route. You’ll each be shown the escape tunnel tomorrow but only Grace, Mark and I will have the codes to open the hatches.” He closed the door.
“Yes,” the five cadets said.
“We’re going to pair up and have two people in here at all times. That will give us three teams,” Luke said. “I’m a night owl so who wants to join me?”
“Me,” John said.
Good,” Luke said. “We’ll work in four hour shifts.”
“I can take a shift,” Grace said.
“No,” Luke said. “We need you to manage the bunker, the meals and the schedule.”
“I can do that and still take a shift in here. I’ll take noon to fifteen hundred,” Grace said, her voice determined.
“Then, Luke and I will take midnight to zero four hundred and fifteen hundred to eighteen hundred,” John said.
“I’ll pair up with Megan and teach her how to operate the radio,” Mark said. “We’ll take zero four hundred to zero eight hundred and eighteen hundred to twenty one hundred.”
“I’ll pair up with Sherry and we’ll take zero eight hundred to twelve hundred and twenty one hundred to midnight,” Neal said. “That covers all the hours.
“And, gives the six of you time together after lunch,” Grace said.
“Thank you, Grace,” Luke said. “We also need a schedule for exercising, cooking, and cleaning.”
“Megan and I will be on security duty at zero four hundred so one of us will wake everyone at zero five hundred with the exception of Luke and John,” Neal said.
Sherry spoke up. “I don’t think the girls should have to do all the cooking and dish washing.”
“I agree,” Megan said.
“I’ll make a menu to follow and a list of tasks that need to be done each day. Each team will take a turn helping me cook and clean the galley. Breakfast and supper will be hot meals. Lunch will be salads and sandwiches. Anyone who doesn’t know how to cook is going to learn,” Grace said. “If you’re not on galley duty or security then your team will take turns helping me keep the rest of the shelter clean.”
“This is going to get old fast,” Sherry said.
Grace secretly agreed but tried to encourage her as well as the others. “According to the television reports these creatures are already all over the country and they’re spreading fast. They’re extremely contagious and dangerous. There are games and books in the cabinets in the dining area for free time. I also have a stack of disaster preparedness books. You all need to read them and we’ll discuss them in case we ever need to abandon the shelter.”
“We have our phones so we can play games on them, too,” Megan said.
“No,” Luke said. “First, we need to download as much information as we can while we still have public utilities and the internet. Information and books on everything you can think of like gardening, preserving meat, medical treatments, building—.”
“Maps,” Neal said. “All roads, cities, everything including satellite views.
“Can we use the computers in here,” Sherry asked. “What are we going to save the information on?”
“I have two laptops in my office along with a printer and two cases of paper and extra ink cartridges,” Grace said. “We’ll move them down here tomorrow.”
“We need someone to be in charge of the project,” Luke said.
“I’ll do it,” Neal said. “We’ll start with maps of our area, and I have another suggestion. Get onto an agricultural university’s farming and animal husbandry website. They’ll have information sheets we can print off.”
Sherry leaned forward. “I’ll make a list of subjects we need but everyone needs to add your ideas to it. We’ll post it in the dining area.”
The meeting continued until they’d worked out a schedule. At the end, Grace held it up. “I’ll post this in the dining hall and we’ll work out the rest as we go along. For now, let’s make up the bunks, shower and get some sleep.”
Megan held up her hand.
Grace nodded to her. “Yes, Megan.”
“Are you absolutely sure we’re safe here?”
“As safe as we can be, and we can monitor the creatures and learn more about them,” Grace said.
“They kill people. What else do we need to know?” Megan asked.
“How they hunt, for one thing,” Luke said. “Do they zero in on movement or sounds? What about scent? I saw one sniff the air as if it was trying to locate prey. What about lights?”
“What about cooking smells?” Neal asked.
Grace shook her head. “The man who designed this shelter took all that into account. There are filters on the vent above the cooking range. The HVAC system cleans the air and recycles it.”
“That’s it for tonight unless someone has something to add,” Luke said.
Sherry held her hand up then spoke when Luke pointed to her. “What are we going to do about the cadets in the library? I saw four run into the building. Stephan Greco and Damien Moretti went after them.”
“If we’re going to rescue them it has to be soon but we need to make weapons of some kind,” Mark said.