MuTerra-kindle (8 page)

In time, their ranks grew to more than twenty-five hundred men, women, and children. Everyone carried, or assisted in pulling, much needed supplies on their makeshift wagons. It was in the last town they came upon when they found several students, and teachers, from a once popular university. It was from them that Weston, and his crew, learned about what had taken place. They knew now that their decision to leave their vessel and turn inland was the right one. It also explained the physical effects people were experiencing.

Seventy-two days after leaving the Texas, and not nearly as far along as they thought they should be, they came upon a scenic valley. The opening appeared before them only when they were at its edge. The first sign of its presence was in fact the sky above it. It was clear. Sunlight was breaking through the cloud cover. The first clear rays of sunshine any of them had seen in over two months. It was a majestic sight that stood out in a world of destruction. Though their spirit was taxed, their hearts were energized by the promise ahead.

The long train of people, and the supplies they were able to bring with them, continued in their ranks until they all came to a stop to take in the now overwhelming view. It was a valley unnatural in appearance, especially considering the surroundings. The valley walls rose to a thousand feet on both sides. It was lush and wide. There were both deciduous and evergreen trees standing tall on its floor. A waterfall came out of one side of the valley, with a narrow river running through its middle. Birds were in the air, and animals were seen moving in the grassy fields below. The only way in was where they were standing now. Nobody could say a word as they were consumed by the grandeur of the scenery surrounded by a world of death and destruction. Some people even began to cry.

After some time had passed, they moved on to the floor of the valley. They set up camp that evening and enjoyed clean water and star filled skies.

One of the university staff, a Mr. Bayek, who had joined them, was a natural science professor. He spent the evening discussing with Commander Weston, and his officers, the likely causes of this unnatural valley. “Actually,” he said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other areas such as this.”

“What makes this possible,” Sasha asked.

“I think a number of conditions have to be met. This is probably an area affected by a magnetic shifting of the poles. If the ground conditions are just right, this valley is most likely operating as a natural electromagnetic field of sorts. That would explain the sky as well,” Mr. Bayek explained.   

From what little his audience understood about such things, it sounded reasonable to them. The fact was, there was life in this valley and it was much more appealing than what they had just traveled through.

“I’d like to take some readings with the equipment I have and see what more I can learn. But, I’d bet this is as good a place as we can hope to find,” Bayek offered.

“Sure,” Weston said, “I don’t see any reason why we can’t spend a day or so right here and recuperate while we see what we have here. In fact, I’d like to send along some of my men with you, just in case, and when you are finished, we’ll go over your findings and decide on our next course of action.”

Mr. Bayek nodded his head in agreement and said, “We will go first thing in the morning. You can send whomever you like, and I’ll bring some of my students as well.”

As their meeting came to an end, Weston invited Sasha, whom he had become rather fond of in the past few weeks and his former executive officer, Lt. Emil Gonzalez, to remain behind. When they were alone, Weston explained what he wanted. “I think it’s safe to say that we have an opportunity here. I don’t believe we will find what we had hoped to find. I intend to make a go of it here. How do you two feel about that?”

“Sounds fine with me skipper,” Emil said. It was an easy decision for him. The Navy was his family. His mother had died when he was young, and he never really got along well with his father. He doubted that he was still alive and he had no real intention of trying to find out. He did not feel bad about that, and when he took the time to think it over, he never did come up with an answer as to what that said about him.

“Yes. I think it is good idea,” Sasha said in his heavily accented English. It was a little different circumstance for the Russians. They were far from their homeland, and knew the realities of trying to return.

“Okay then. I want the two of you to select ten men from our crews and explore the valley. Go as far as you can, and map out as much as you can. I think it would be best if we were to divide this crowd into manageable groups. If it is as good as it looks, we may just be able to make a fresh start here.”

His two junior officers nodded their heads in agreement. At first light, they would gather their necessary supplies, and head out into the valley.

―

People were becoming more restless as time passed. Many were showing signs of sickness, and all were made weak from even the slightest physical effort. It was agreed to establish a semi-permanent camp. The water was safe to drink and the conditions in the valley were virtually free of radiation. Weston was finding himself more and more the authority figure as people deferred to his judgments. It was a natural affect stemming from their behavior since they had first met him. They needed a leader, and by default, he was theirs.

Ten days after they set out, Sasha and Emil returned with their men. They looked exhausted, but better than the ones who had stayed behind. While the rest of the men found themselves a place to rest, the junior officers came to see Weston. “Sir,” Emil started saying before he was interrupted.

“Call me Weston, Emil; you too Sasha. Our Naval service is behind us now.”

They nodded in unison. “Here is a rough outline of the valley,” Emil said handing a sheet of paper to Weston, “The valley floor maintains the same distance from the rim throughout its entirety. There are only two other openings into the valley, one at the opposite end, which is roughly nine miles distant, and one on the north side approximately four miles from here. That is the larger of the two. The one on the end is almost a choke point only manageable by foot.”

“What about natural resources?”

“Trees, grass, water, all through the valley. We saw herds of elk, deer, cattle, and a variety of other stock and wild animals, and fish were jumping in the
lakes. We saw a few hot springs as well, although we didn’t test the waters, only saw the steam rising off them. We figured we should get back as soon as we could.”

“What do you think of it Sasha?” Weston asked to ensure he knew he was also included in the decision making process.

“Very good … Better than that,” he said pointing toward the direction from which they had come.

“Okay. We’ll have another meeting tonight. You two go knock off for a few hours, and I’ll spread the word to a few of the others who will be involved with making these decisions.”

―

They sat around the fire as the sky above them finally gave way to the night. The stars were visible as they spoke quietly to one another under their blinking light. The valley itself was filled with noise in comparison to the world around it. The waterfall, and its small river, coursed through the valley floor in an endless cycle. It was a comforting sound, which lent itself to relaxation. Not in an ideal way, but in a manner which none of those present had experienced since the day of the event. Many of the people were suffering from exposure, others were traumatized, but hope remained alive.

Weston, Emil, Sasha, Mr. Bayek, Lt. Lukin, Dr. Ramirez (who was among the first group of survivors found), and Chief Stewart
were present.

“We have a number of things to decide,” Weston started by saying, “The most important thing we have to focus on is survival. You all have expressed your desire to make a go of it here. Since there are only three access points into this valley, I think it is prudent that we divide our numbers to settle at those three points. It will serve as a protection for us to manage whatever else may find its way here, and will act as a point of reception for those who may wonder in as we did. I’d like to have your thoughts on how we go about that.”

Therein followed several hours of discussion leading to what they hoped was a strategy for success. Every possible scenario and consideration was deliberated. When they finished, they were in agreement. They decided for the sake of returning to familiar customs, they would name the three villages. The place they were now would be called Gateway. The village on the opposite end of the valley would be known as Bardin, named after the captain of the Nevsky. And the village in between them would be called Mezzo, according to its location. Weston and Sasha would remain in Gateway, Emil and Lukin would go to Bardin, and the Chief “Stew,” Dr. Ramirez, and Mr. Bayek would settle at Mezzo. Their thinking on this was that while medically trained people would be at each village, anything requiring significant attention would be able to be handled in a centralized location.

It was agreed that the main considerations would be the division of assets. Half of the people would remain in Gateway, while the other half was split between the two other villages. Women were to be divided evenly because their numbers were much less than those of the men. Anyone of special abilities and talents, whether they involved medicine, science, agriculture, construction, and so on were separated into three groups. Those who were to move on to Mezzo, and Bardin, could take as much of the materials and supplies as they could transport. The reason for this was that four days journey from Gateway was a city that offered additional supplies. They did not know what other resources might be available for the other two villages outside of their locations.

They agreed to conserve as much of the natural resources available to them in the valley itself. Even the animals were to be managed to ensure sustainable and healthy numbers. Now it was time to get some rest before carrying out their stratagem.

When morning came, anticipation was high; as rumors had circulated that something was about to happen after two weeks of idleness. Everyone gathered around a raised mound of rock where Weston eventually made his appearance.

“As you know we sent scouts into the valley. We are going to set up two villages in addition to this one. We will need a collective cooperation among those who wish to remain here to conserve what we have available, and to build on that. If any of you wish to move on from here, for whatever reasons, you are free to do so. If you do not find what you are looking for, you are welcome to return. For those who wish to leave, we will give you provisions to help get you started on your way. We ask that you decide now, because there is much work to be done.”

After these last words, Weston stepped down from the rock formation, and walked to the supply area. Three dozen individuals waited there to receive what they could carry. They had their own reasons for wanting to move on. Some were motivated by a search for remaining family members, while others were just too traumatized to willingly accept that this is what life had become. Weston shook their hands and wished them well as they walked out of the camp. They were last seen cresting the ridge of the northern escarpment heading east. They would never be heard from or seen again. After another twelve months, their own numbers indicated the harsh reality of their new world. Little more than six-hundred remained in the valley.

****

While introducing himself to his new Security Force, Keith recognized two faces in the crowd. He had no idea how they could possibly be here, but he was happy to see someone familiar. When he was finished, he stood by the door shaking each man’s hand and welcoming him onboard. The two individuals, now smiling as they reached him, were told to stand off to the side. When everyone else had gone, Keith closed the door and turned to the men.

“Not that I’m not glad to see you two, but how in the hell did you end up here Wallace,” he asked of former Special Forces Sergeant First Class Ronald “Tiny” Wallace.

Wallace was not only a few inches taller than his former Captain, but also about twenty-five pounds heavier. There were no small features on the man. “Me and Cam took a detail to bring some of our equipment to the mountain. The old man himself assigned me to it and ordered me to stay with it until it was returned. If I dared come back without it, he‘d have my ass.”

Former Sergeant Ritchie “Cam” Camarillo was the antithesis of the other two men. He stood five feet seven inches tall, and weighed one-hundred fifty-five pounds soaking wet.

“They allowed you to stay after you brought…..what did you bring anyway?”

“We brought all of our Nett Warrior systems. The Colonel was pissed too, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He was afraid he wasn’t going to get them back. I guess he was right,” Wallace said solemnly. “Anyway, after we waited in line for hours, we finally made it inside. The officer in charge seemed interested in what we had, and gave us an escort to where it was to be taken. Since I wasn’t planning to leave until I got our stuff back, we hung out with some of the quartermaster guys. A few hours later we found out we were here to stay.”

“Yeah,” Keith said in understanding.

“How’d you get here sir, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“My father, invited me and my wife for a tour,” he said looking both men directly in the eyes. They nodded in understanding.

“Well, since you are the only guys I know in this outfit, guess who’s gonna be my new assistant and chief clerk,” Keith said with a grin.

“A clerk,” Camarillo said with resignation.

“Yeah, afraid so Cam; at least until we get outside again.”

“When is that gonna be sir,” Wallace asked.

“I don’t know Wallace, probably not for some time. But we will have to be ready for when it happens, and we’ll have to do our part while we are in here.” They nodded their heads in understanding. “Both of you come with me to the office. I’m going to have to pick a few supervisors for the shifts, and I want your input because you will have to work closely with them too.”