The feeling of being a touch overwhelmed, with all that needs to happen today, almost brings me to a standstill and I’m not sure where to even start. One step at a time, I think heading out into the chill of the morning air. The sun rising above the hills is refreshing and fills my low energy to an extent. It feels a little colder than it should due to our spending the last few days in warmer climates but it is rejuvenating. There is not much talk among our group as most of us are lost in our own thoughts and feel spent from our efforts to get here. It feels like this should have been a destination rather than a beginning. There is a prevalent feeling of wondering if any of us have the energy to embark on this endeavor. However, we also know we don’t have the luxury of doing nothing.
Standing in the light morning breeze, I try calling my mom once again and still get no answer. Drescoll, the rest of Green Team, and Robert stand beside me waiting to head out. I then dial Kelly getting several rings before she picks up.
“Jack, are you coming down to get us?” Kelly asks answering.
“Yeah, we’ll be down but I can’t get there until later this afternoon. I’m not exactly sure when but we’ll be there,” I answer.
“Who is we?” She asks.
“Lynn, Robert, Bri and I.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“You mentioned Brian and Jessica were with you. Where’s Carrie?” I ask with the sun fully rising and casting our shadows long across the dark gray tarmac.
There is a pause before she answers, “She was with her dad and I haven’t heard from her. Can you go see if she’s okay on your way down?”
I feel my stress level increase as I don’t think I will be able to get the things accomplished that need to be done here, check on Mom, see about Carrie, and get down to Kelly. Even though the daylight hours are longer, there is so much that needs to be done and I’m not sure what condition our possible future sanctuary is in. It may take some time to ensure it will provide the safe haven we need. There is someone who needs help and I want to be able to do both. The time constraint makes this impossible.
“We’re under a bit of a time crunch here and I may not be able to do both. If there’s time, I’ll head over there, otherwise I’ll head down and we’ll see about her on the way back,” I respond.
“What do you possibly have to do that you can’t go see if she’s okay?” Kelly asks a little irritated.
“I have a group of people here to see to and we just landed yesterday. We have a lot to do to make sure we’re safe for the evening. I’m sorry but I have to see to them as well. I’ll call you when we’re on our way and I’ll go look for Carrie if there’s time,” I answer.
“Okay, hurry.”
“I’ll go as fast as I can. Talk to you in a little while,” I say.
“Okay, bye,” she says and there is the click of the line disconnecting. I continue to be amazingly surprised the phones still work at all. This would have been a great advertisement for them in times past - ‘Coverage, smoverage, our lines last through an apocalypse.’
“Well, shall we get this party started,” I say to those gathered around me. Drescoll merely nods his reply.
My few interactions with Drescoll leads me to believe he has a strong, silent type of personality; confident yet quiet. Or maybe he just doesn’t know how to interact with me. Although taller, he is a bit younger than I am and, with his being in the military for a number of years, that may equate to me being an authority figure in his mind. With what I have witnessed and how he has conducted himself from the stories Lynn told, he is stable, reliable, and knows what he is doing. I let Lynn know we are off. We gear up and head over to the Humvees parked by the remnants of our earlier outdoor luncheon.
“I really haven’t heard much from you regarding our circumstance and plan. What do you think?” I ask Drescoll as we stroll over to the vehicles.
“I think it’s a good plan. As good as any we could have come up with and makes sense,” he answers.
“What do you think our chances are?” I ask further.
He pauses for a moment before answering as we walk with our shadows stretched out before us, “We have a good group here so we should be able to pull it off. I think any problems we might have will come if we find others out there and how well they fit in. A tight group like ours can weather through this but if there’s any dissension that comes about, then stupid things happen. That’s also providing we don’t discover any further surprises regarding the night runners. The only other things I foresee are the problems with having to go into the buildings on a regular basis for supplies, caring for anyone who gets injured, and, like you mentioned earlier, any diseases that crop up from all of the dead.” Those are the most words I have hear him say in the time since Kuwait.
“I agree. It’s going to be up to the team leaders to keep things tight and set examples. My feeling is that if we can last through the summer, we should be okay. The future problem I see is when we have to adapt to the fact that there isn’t any more manufacturing to take care of things that break,” I say enjoying this openness and conversation with him.
“Can I be perfectly honest, Jack?” Drescoll asks coming to halt by one of the Humvees.
“You certainly can. I welcome it and expect no less,” I answer wondering where this is going.
“In my opinion, that was a foolish thing you did going back into the CDC like that. I just don’t see that the information we came across was worth the risk. We would have figured it out eventually without it,” he says meeting my eyes.
“Well, I think the information we came across was worth it, especially knowing that we don’t have to worry about the immunity aspect and turning into one of them if we are bit. I honestly didn’t know what to do if that were true. That piece of mind alone was worth it to me,” I say looking back at him.
“This heading down with just a couple of you fits in the same category as far as I’m concerned,” he adds.
“I would take others but there is so much we have to do before the sun sets again. I think everyone will be needed up here and the safety of a secure environment is more important,” I say.
“Well, you seem to know what you’re doing and that’s good enough for me. I’m not saying saving others and getting the information isn’t and wasn’t important, it’s just that folks are beginning to look to you for leadership and if something were to happen to you, I’m worried there might be a breakdown,” Drescoll says in a lowered voice.
“You and Lynn can easily handle things if something were to happen to me,” I say addressing his concern.
“Probably, but not as well I think. Well, I hope you find your mom well,” he says sticking his hand out.
“Thanks. I appreciate that and you take care of yourself. There may be others around that may not take kindly to you borrowing their vehicles,” I say returning his shake. “Follow me to the gate. Honk or flash your lights if you see something or you need to stop.”
“Will do,” he says and climbs into the driver seat with Green Team already seated within.
Robert and I climb in the other Humvee. I check the battery and wait for the light signaling the glow plugs are warm before starting up. With a “thumbs up” from Drescoll beside us, we start off in the early morning light toward the front gate.
Nothing much has changed since our journey into the base just a week ago. It still has the ghost town feel; the structures intact but with no one home. This is where our journey began so there is a bit of a homecoming feel. The eeriness is not as prevalent as before but there is no way it can completely disappear as we travel through the empty streets. Only the lonely feeling of a world abandoned follows us as we make our way past the desolate buildings. I used to get this feeling in times past when we would travel through deserted villages where the people had long ago fled from various roving armed bands; the once busy dirt streets, filled with the noises of villagers going about their daily lives, just echoes of the past.