Kit watched as he pulled a large rod from the ground and it extended it a good three feet. Next to that was a garden gnome, Harland lifted it to expose another rod.
“Antenna and monitoring,” he said, then with a grunt opened the left storm cellar door. “Go on. Go down.
Kit stepped down first, then Abe. A small battery operated light was in the stairwell and gave enough light to see their way down.
After stepping through, Harland paused before closing the door and looked out.
Noticing he did this, Kit stood next to him. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“See that. We just made it.” Harland pointed then aimed his flashlight outward. It looked like snow making its way through the beam of light. “Fall out.”
He closed the door and slid the safety bar across.
They descended eight steps, which led to another door, Harland unlocked it and pulled it open. “Welcome home.”
They stepped into a small lit office, not very big. Another door was straight ahead in the eight by eight room. There was a single desk flush against the wall and to the right of it a radio set up. Harland locked the interior door. “My calculations were off, damn it.” He walked to the desk, lifted the bottle of water and tossed it to Kit. He then lifted a pill bottle, opened it and shook tablets in his hand. He handed one to Kit and one to Abe. “Take them. Potassium iodide, it will help thwart off effects of radiation.”
Kit did as instructed then handed the water to Abe. “What do you mean your calculations were off?”
Harland reached up to what looked like a blind or projection screen, when in fact it was a map of the United States. He lowered it and secured it. “Just my estimate of where fall out would hit and when.”
Kit noticed next to Colorado Springs he had drawn a lasso that extended east. Within that loop were different shades. “What is that?”
“My fall out estimate.” He pointed. “We’re here on the cusp of dangerous and deadly winds which could take it either way.”
“Any way to know?” Kit asked.
“I’ll do a reading in an hour. You two can go into the shelter through that door and get comfortable. I wanna do this while it’s fresh.” On the desk was a small cardboard box and a tablet. Harland lifted the tablet and pulled red topped push pins from the box.
“I think I’d rather watch,” Abe said.
Kit observed as Harland began to mark the map. Putting pins in around Denver and Colorado Springs, then various other areas.
“Jesus,” Abe exclaimed. “How do you know about the other places?”
“Why Montana?” Kit added.
“Yeah, Montana…. That’s a silo alley up there. We have lots of warheads ready to launch.” Harland explained. “These…” Harland pointed to Denver and Colorado Springs. “I pretty much saw. The others… I heard about on the news…” he pointed. “California, Kansas… Alaska… go figure. Those were announced about an hour before you crashed. Maybe more. News was still on. In case you’re wondering Canton, Ohio is still standing.”
“Why Canton?” Kit asked.
“World News Network moved their broadcast from there. As of last report there were no major cities hit.”
Kit placed her hand on her chest and exhaled.
“Yet.” Harland said. “Don’t know if you saw the rockets’ red glare streaming upwards… we unleashed a hell of a bay of weapons from this end, now either we are being proactive, or we are giving all we have because of what was incoming. We don’t know.”
Abe asked. “Is there any way to know?”
Harland pointed to the radio. “I’ll call out here soon. The grid has been off to protect it, or else I’d check the television. Power went down in this town as a precaution about fifteen minutes before the bombs fell. You know, theory, anything running will stop running forever.”
“So last you heard it was strategic hits only,” Abe said. “It’s possible then that might be all there is?”
“Possible,” Harland said. “Unlikely considering what we sent out. I’m gonna guess it went all out.”
“All out, meaning all out nuclear war?” Kit questioned.
Harland nodded. “That’s my guess. Like I said, just from here I saw hundreds of missiles leave. If they weren’t defensive then when the enemy sees what’s coming their way, they’ll match tit for tat.”
“Who is the enemy?” Kit asked.
“Shouldn’t it be who isn’t the enemy?” Harland raised an eyebrow. “Now, this is gonna sound odd, but you two really have been through a traumatic experience. That adrenaline will slow down and you will start feeling that plane crash. You look like shit, both of you. Why don’t you go in the other room, sit down and I promise I’ll be right in. I have about eight more to mark.”
Kit nodded her agreement and reached for the wooden door, pausing before she opened it. “Harland, thank you. You have things pretty decked out here.”
Harland smiled. “If you’re impressed with the war room office, wait until you step into the Riviera.”
“Was this a hobby of yours?” Abe asked. “You know being one of those prepper people?”
“Hobby?” Harland chuckled. “If it is, then the whole town are hobbyists. No, we’re just realist. Everyone around here is. Be prepared. The couple that owned this house before me built all this. I just made adjustments.”
“Was it because you knew something like this would happen?” Kit asked.
“I hoped it never would, nah, I think everyone took precaution because they know. Unless you didn’t notice, we’re pretty close to a big target in the US. When you’re that near a bull’s eye, you want to be ready in case that poison dart ever comes. Sadly…” Harland took a push pin and placed it on Jacksonville, Florida. “That dart arrived with a vengeance.”
On the other side of the office door was the main room of the shelter. It was clean, plain and didn’t have any basement musky odors. There were no pictures on the walls, or decorations.
The large room was an open floor design. To the right looked like a living room with a couch, two chairs and coffee table, an old television and stacks of books. Across the room a kitchen area was nestled in the corner.
“No worries,” Harland said. “This place was designed for four. So there’s plenty of room. This is the main room. We’re not that far below ground but we’re insulated.” He pulled out his orange card. “Oh, yeah, we got a zero on this. That’s a good sign.” He waved out his hand. “Cabinets are stocked and behind that door there is another room,” he pointed to the door near the kitchen, then walked over and opened it. “It’s all storage, water and food.” He closed the door. “I got my well water permit three years ago and it made this set up a whole lot nicer. Still I would watch water consumption. Use what we have in storage for drinking, wash with the rest until we can test the well after this mess. It should be fine, but you never know.”
Harland crossed the room, pausing at a small hallway. “Bathroom down there with another small storage space. We keep games, books, blankets and some clothing. We never knew who would be down here with us if something happened.”
“I’d love to change my clothes,” Kit said. “They have blood on them.”
“You’re welcome to take a look,” Harland replied. “Abe, I’m not sure anything will fit you, but you can check. I don’t know what Betty picked up at the thrift store.”
“Betty?” Kit asked. “Is that your wife?”
“Bettina. She passed away six years ago. So suffice to say nothing in that room is fashionable.”
“I’m sorry your wife passed,” Kit said.