Infinity's Reach (10 page)

I knew that I wasn’t brave, or tough, or any of those things. In the end, I knew that I would give him the information that he wanted. And when I thought back to what happened that day at the train station, I knew what he wanted it for.

Because I did remember. It was the last brick in the wall that my subconscious had built to protect us from the horror that we’d experienced that day. And now it was gone, and my memory was crystal clear. And I wish that it wasn’t.

OUTSIDE BALTIMORE, MD: DAY 1

The State Troopers had the five of us in the back of their wagon behind a padlock. And what would normally take a 20-minute drive in moderate traffic on the interstate took five hours. It was getting late afternoon by the time we drove—
drove
, what an ironic word to use here—east into the middle of Baltimore. I was amazed at what I saw there. There were the predictable lines of cars on every street, still where they were left the day before, some crashed into buildings or abutments or trees because they had lost power and control at a crucial moment. Signs were no longer lit up. People—tons of people—were walking.

But I was surprised how quickly the city government had made the transition to a non-powered society. Posters had been printed—somehow—and posted everywhere stating that the energy crisis was temporary and that people should remain calm. The city’s electric trolley had been disconnected from the power lines above and was now being pulled by horses. And there were bicycles—thousands and thousands of bicycles—everywhere.

What made a lot of this possible was the simple fact that people grouped together and cleared off the main streets for continuing traffic. That meant pushing vehicles—cars and trucks, even 18-wheelers—off the road so that trolleys, pedestrians, horses and bicycles—could get by. And I could tell that new rules were being written as I watched to help society get by without power. It would be hard, really hard, to make things work, but Americans were resourceful, and I was seeing evidence of that right in front of my eyes.

That gave me hope. I looked out through the chicken wire that we were enclosed in at the world passing by, and felt like things would indeed get better. And even if it took a while, I could wait, because I knew that people who were smart were taking matters into their capable hands.

I sat back on the wooden plank inside the wagon and smiled to myself, even as Marcie and Kimmy fretted and stressed about what was going to happen to them. I suspected that we’d end up at the county jail, where they would process us, yell at us a little bit about being irresponsible, then send us back either to our parents or to the school.

Instead, we ended up at Union Station in downtown Baltimore. It hadn’t occurred to me that even with an electromagnetic pulse, something that would fry the electronics on every modern electronic gismo, including cars, planes, buses, motorcycles, phones, radios and TVs, a train could still operate. I discovered that I was only partly correct. There were still a few older diesel and even steam- and coal-powered locomotives in operation that had been built before the electronic age, many of which were still being used for freight transportation and for short-range needs, such as pushing boxcars and flatcars and cattle cars where they were needed. Now I was sure that the railroad was glad they held onto these dinosaurs. They wouldn’t solve all the transportation needs of a country at war, but it was a start.

It was dark when we pulled up in front of the station and the state trooper unlocked the back of the wagon. They didn’t seem as friendly as they had appeared before. One of the first things I noticed was that Damien began to stand with our captors, rather than with us. We walked into the crowded railroad station, state troopers ahead and behind us.

“Where are we going?” Infinity asked finally, but no one responded. I started to repeat it, then saw a familiar face in the crowd ahead of us.

“Dr. Wiseman!” I said. “We’re sorry for what we did.”

Dr. Wiseman didn’t seem to hear my apology. Instead, I saw worry lines on his face. He gestured for the Troopers to hurry us along.

“Here are the last four,” he said. “Quickly, the train is about to leave.”

“Train?” Infinity echoed. “Where are we going?”

“Someplace safe,” Dr. Wiseman said.

“But what about my father?” Infinity asked. “He’ll need to know where I am.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Right now, we need to get you out of Baltimore.” The troopers hurried us through the crowd to an old locomotive and boxcars that stood chuffing on the far corner of one of the gates. Steam rose from it, and I thought of all of the romantic old movies that had lovers leaving each other at the train station. But I had no boy that I considered a romantic interest (their loss), and so I watched Infinity and Damien to see what would happen.

Infinity looked longingly at Damien, but Damien seemed to have forgotten about his girlfriend. He didn’t even walk with us, but paraded along with his father. I caught Finn’s eye and mouthed the words,
what’s up?
to which in response, Infinity merely shrugged.

I kept surveying the train as we went along, the smoke from its old locomotive curling my nose hairs and choking me. Finally, the troopers and Dr. Wiseman stopped at a cattle car and one of them slid open the door. Inside were another two dozen girls, none of them much older than we were. They stared out at us as if they were just as disbelieving as we were.

“You have got to be kidding,” Kimmy said. “Hell, no!”

The four of us turned, ready to run, only to find that two more troopers had fallen into position behind us. We found ourselves grabbed by heavy hands and physically thrown into the cattle car, all the while girls screaming at them at the top of their lungs.

I felt myself picked up and forced to climb into the smelly car, the last of the four to go. I was numb and unbelieving, even when I heard the door slide and slam behind us. Then I heard the lock click into place.

I stood quickly and looked out through the metal bars, and heard the whistle of the train blow once. Then as it began chugging out of the depot, my last sight of Damien and Dr. Wiseman was one of him paying each of the troopers for their assistance.

“Tell me I’m dreaming,” Kimmy said. “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen.”

“Well, all I know is that the family lawyer is going to have a field day,” said Marcie. “Dr. Wiseman just made us all rich.”

“Don’t you girls get it?” Infinity said. “The old rules don’t apply anymore. There are no lawyers, no judges, no justice. We have to fend for ourselves, just as we were trying to tell you yesterday. People have always taken advantage of other people. It’s just that now they’re a lot less subtle about it.”

“So where are we going?” Marcie asked. Nobody answered for a long time. Finally one of the girls who’d already been in the car spoke up.

“I heard someone talk about a camp,” she said quietly.

“Oh, cool,” Kimmy said. “I always liked camp.”

“Not that kind of camp, Kimmy,” said Infinity. “At least I don’t think so.”

We rode the train without stop, without water and without food for the next 22 hours. For a restroom, the girls found an old bucket in the far corner of the car and took turns holding an old blanket while whoever used it squatted in whatever semblance of modesty we could find. It wasn’t much, and the encouragement we felt as we saw how the people of Baltimore were pulling together left us as we wondered what would become of us.

Finally, late the next day we pulled into a depot and the brakes squealed to a stop. We waited another five minutes before a parade of men in gray uniforms took position outside our car. Someone rattled the lock outside, and then the door slid open with a clank.

“Out,” we heard simply, and one by one, we girls jumped down from the old cattle car. The men led and prodded us into a large room off the depot that had walls, ceiling and floors painted white. We stood on one side of the room, with the soldiers standing between us and the only door to the room. We stood there waiting for a long time before a heavyset but powerfully built woman entered the room. She was immediately set upon by a dozen questions from a dozen different girls. In response, she held up one hand for silence.

“I know you have many questions,” she said. “And there will be a time to answer those questions. But first, I have important but sad news to share with you.

“This morning at 4 a.m. a series of nuclear weapons were exploded along the Eastern Seaboard, stretching from Boston in the north to Richmond, Virginia in the south. The city you have just come from—Baltimore—has been obliterated.”

A gasp went out over the crowd.

“This was the concern we had when we put you on that train,” she continued. “The authorities were confident that a military attack would follow the EMP explosion two days ago, and it was imperative that we get some people out of the area of destruction. You young women—because you are future mothers and are nearing child-bearing age—were chosen to leave.”

“What?” Infinity turned to me. “What is she talking about?”

“This camp is a holding facility for people like you and is meant to protect you until we can get you to a safer permanent environment. In the meantime, please enjoy the refreshments we have provided for you.”

She gestured to the back wall. An empty table there had been laid out with sandwiches and drinks of what looked like Gatorade. The girls stampeded toward the back. I was amazed to see Kimmy and Marcie wolfing down sandwich after sandwich, and washing them down with drink. But I really didn’t waste too much time watching them because Finn and I were doing the same.

“This is the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I have ever eaten,” I told Finn, wiping crumbs from my blouse.

“I think mine was tuna fish,” said Finn. “But I honestly ate it so fast that I don’t think I tasted it.” We both paused to wash our dry sandwiches down with the paper cups full of Gatorade.

“When do you think she will answer our questions?” Finn asked.

I started to answer her when I noticed a girl on the far side of the room put her hand out to steady herself, then collapse to the floor.  I looked around and saw others that were starting to act the same way.

“Something’s going on,” I said, and Finn looked up. Suddenly, lots of girls were starting to drop to the floor.

I opened my mouth to shout out something, but felt the room spinning around me. I saw walls, floor and ceiling. And then my mind went blank as I blacked out.
  
Back to ToC

13. rescue

INFINITY: EASTERN TENNESSEE: DAY 717

All the time that Ellie and I were together, struggling to survive, I knew that I had to be the strong one. Ellie had always looked up to me kind of like a big sister, even though we were the same age. She had grown up in a house where she was the youngest and only girl of four children; I was an only child. So it was only natural that she looked up to me, and that I protect her.

We’d known each other for two years at St. Eloise’s, ever since that first day of registration. We had locked eyes across the room, and instantly, somehow, we knew that we’d be best friends. Nothing would come between us. The only thing that threatened our friendship at all was Damien. At first, Ellie and Damien didn’t like each other. Ellie wasn’t much for getting into trouble. She had learned from strict parents not to draw attention to herself, especially in a bad way. Damien was just the opposite. His dad was a peacock, and so was Damien. Besides that, Damien was spoiled. Daddy referred to him as “Obstinate,” and I could understand why. With a father that was continually doing everything he could to get ahead and a mother that was locked up somewhere in a loony bin, Damien was used to getting his own way—with grades, teachers, extracurricular activities…and girls.

Ellie had that figured out about him from the very start. She wasn’t the smartest girl in the school, but she really knows people. I helped her with her classes, especially math, and in return she did whatever I asked her to do. But we never did agree on Damien. I guess I had issues with adults that Damien helped me express, and Ellie never saw that.

Yeah, Ellie and I were like two peas in a pod for two years. And yet, somehow I knew that we’d be going our separate ways.

Nevertheless, it was a shock to wake up the next morning alone. It was still foggy—and I realized that just that fact had doomed us. I sat up and looked around the small island.

“Ellie?” I said, then repeated louder. “Ellie! ELLIE!” I shouted.

I paused to hear a response, but only heard laughing somewhere in the distance. I felt a chill go over my body. I stood and looked down at my feet. On the ground where we had played tic-tac-tie I saw a message scratched in the clay:
Please forgive me. E.

I decided to sit back down. I was alone, and yet not alone. Where there had only been nature sounds the day before, now there were human sounds, and it brought back a familiar fear.

Perhaps this is the end
, I thought, then quickly put that thought away. Of course it wasn’t the end. Evangelist said he would come for us. Daddy sent him to protect us. I just had to hold on and believe.

“Daddy,” I said quietly to the air around me. “I know that you want me to join you in the West, in Camp Zion. But I don’t see how that’s going to happen. Was this what you had planned for me? To die in a swamp?”