Rise From The Ashes: The Rebirth of San Antonio (Countdown to Armageddon Book 3) (12 page)

     “Since the three of us will be roommates for the foreseeable future, we’ve made arrangements to work the same shift schedule. That way we can use the same car to come and go, and free up two other units for other officers.”

     “Makes sense. How come you only have eighty two cars?”

     “Actually, we’ve got a lot more than that, but most of them
still sit where they were when the lights went out. Smack dab in the middle of the highways, or on residential streets where they were on patrol when they went dead. We only scrounged enough replacement parts and batteries to get eighty two running, but we could use a lot more.”

     “How many officers are on the job?”

     “Last I heard we had 133. That’s down from over eleven hundred before the blackout. Some might say that should be enough, since there are a lot fewer people in San Antonio now. And I suppose that would be true, if it weren’t for all the additional things we have to do now. Like search abandoned buildings and homes, and gathering and burning the bodies.”

     They went first to Scott’s house on
Royal Valley Drive, so he could gather up some of the clothes he’d left behind during the evacuation.

     Then they went to John and Hannah’s house a couple of miles away.

     “John’s got the master bedroom, of course. There are three others. Take your pick, Scott, and I’ll sleep wherever’s left over. I’m not picky. Shoot, I spent a lot of years in the military, being deployed from here to there to everywhere. I’ve slept on more airport floors than I can count. Bus station bathroom stalls, park benches. I slept underneath the wing of a C-130 once during a heavy rainstorm. Three long nights in a crashed helicopter another time. I can sleep pretty much anywhere.”

     “Is that where you met John, in the military?”

     “No. He was a Marine. I was in the Army. We never crossed paths, but we damn sure chewed some of the same sand. He’s a good man. I wish we had a lot more like him.”

     “So I’ve heard.”

     “You ready to call your family?”

     “Damn right I am.”

     Robbie took Scott to the two car garage, and showed him the three thousand watt generator. John had protected it from the EMP by building a Faraday cage around it.

     “John was into prepping. Not a lot of people saw the blackout coming, but he did. He was able to
save this, a microwave oven, a hotplate, a Mr. Coffee and the ham radio. The generator’s big enough to run all four of them at the same time.”

     He showed Scott where the spark plug wire for the g
enerator was hidden, underneath the driver’s seat of a Chevy Cobalt which was also parked in the garage.

     “This was Hannah’s car. He keeps the plug wire hidden in case anybody breaks in when nobody’s around. He hopes they won’t take the generator if they can’t start it up and use it. So far the house has been broken into twice, and it’s been left behind both times. So I guess his plan’s working.”

     He pulled aside a large, nondescript bookcase that covered a good portion of one wall in the garage. Behind it, several pieces of sheetrock had been carefully cut away. In the compartments were stacked canned goods and dry goods. Scott saw several boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese, and his mouth watered.

     “Like I said, John and Hannah were preppers. There are stashes like this all over the house, hidden behind furniture, in the mattresses, in the attic. We’ve been using it sparingly, but combined with the MREs we get from the National Guard, it’s enough to keep us going.”

     Scott was impressed.

     “I’ll tell you what. Let’s get the generator started and you can go call the family while I’m heating us up a couple of cans of Ravioli. It’s not gourmet, but it’s much tastier than those damn MREs. I’m sure you’d
like some privacy while you talk to your girlfriend and kids. So I’ll stay in the kitchen and cook while you’re enjoying your reunion.”

     Scott was relieved. He thought there was a good chance he’d shed a tear when he heard Zachary’s voice again. And he didn’t want Robbie to see his weakness.

     “This thing’s kind of old and temperamental, so be sure you prime it three pumps before you crank it. Four is too much, it’ll flood the carburetor. If it doesn’t crank right away after three pumps of the primer, wait a couple of minutes and then repeat the process. It almost always starts on the second attempt.

     He took an old coffee cup and filled it from one of several gas cans in the corner of the garage.

     “We only run one cup of fuel at a time. It’s not so much to conserve fuel, because fuel is plentiful. All of the abandoned cars have tanks full of it. It’s so that we don’t have to come back out to the garage to turn the generator off. If we did that, we might be overcome by the carbon dioxide fumes, pass out and die.

     One cup of gas runs the generator for about an hour or so, which is plenty of time to do what we need to do. Once it runs out of gas, it dies on its own and the carbon dioxide in the garage slowly dissipates through the cracks around the garage door”

     He depressed the primer three times and it started right up.

     “Okay. Now we’re good to go.”

     They walked from the garage into the house.

     “Be sure you close this door tightly so that the fumes don’t seep into the house. And now you have about an hour or so to talk to your loved
ones, eat a hot meal, and drink some hot coffee. A whole hour to pretend the world is normal again before the generator dies and brings us back to reality.”

     Robbie headed for the kitchen with the two cans of Ravioli.

     “Enjoy your chat with the family.”

-21
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     “Joyce, Linda… whoever’s at the security desk, come in. This is Scott.”

     Sara was pulling her normal shift when the familiar voice came over the radio.

     “Oh, my God! Joyce! Linda! Come quick!”

     Joyce and Linda, and pretty much everyone else,
came running at Sara’s sudden cry. They all thought something was wrong.

     Then Joyce heard Scott’s words again.

     “Joyce, Linda… this is Scott. Come in.”

     Joyce grabbed the microphone, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Linda said, “Oh, my…” and then placed her hand over her mouth.

     “Scott, this is Joyce. How are you, honey?”

     “I’m fine, babe. Much
better now that I can hear your sweet voice. How is everyone there?”

     “We’re all okay. We miss you, but we’re getting along. Everyone, Jordan especially, has stepped up
to fill in for you while you’re gone. It’s so good to finally hear you again.”

     “Please give everyone my love, okay? And a hug for the boys too. I miss all of you. Did Robbie tell you what was going on here?”

     “Yes. He’s been calling every other day, like clockwork. He said you went and got yourself shot. Now why in the world would you go and do something like that? Is my cooking so bad that you wanted hospital food instead? Should I feel insulted?”

     “You know better than that. I sure would like to have some of your good cooking right now.”

     “And what’s this about you becoming a cop?”

     “Just to pass the time and help out until I can come back. They need all the help they can get down here. The policemen are trying to keep the city together and they’re being run ragged. It’s the least I can do for them saving my life.”

     “Do you know how long you’ll be there?”

     “No idea. FEMA is giving the mayor and police chief a briefing every third day. They say it’ll be the CDC’s call to decide when the plague has finally run its course.
Once they give the all clear, I’ll be able to come back home. They’re estimating anywhere from several months to a year.”

     “That’s a long time to stay away.”

     “I know, honey. But if I came back before then I would risk infecting all of you. And it’s not worth taking the chance.”

     “I agree. But that won’t make it any easier.”

     “How’s Sara? Is she getting as big as a house yet?”

     Sara, standing next to Linda, made a pouty look. Joyce took notice.

     “Scott Harter, you should know better than to make such comments about a pregnant woman. You’re lucky you’re not here, or Sara would kick your ass. And I’d help her.”

     “Oh, Sara knows I’m teasing. She knows I love her and that she is absolutely beautiful.”

     Sara’s pouty face turned to a smile.

     “Hannah’s standing here chomping at the bits about news from John. Anything to tell her?”

     “Yes. I finally got a chance to meet him. He’s a great guy. We’re already good friends. Tell Hannah that Robbie and I are going to crash at her house for awhile. It was John’s idea. That’ll make it easier to get to and from work every day. And we can talk to you guys daily instead of every other day.”

     “Oh, baby! That’ll be great!”

     “Also, tell Hannah that John should be home in a few days, so he can talk to her himself.”

     “Hannah took the mike and said, “That’s wonderful news! Thank you so much, Scott!”

     “You’re welcome, dear. I’m going to see him again the day after tomorrow. Is there anything you want me to tell him?”

     “Not unless you want to give him a big sloppy kiss from me.”

     She smiled and winked at Joyce.

     “Uh, no. I’ll pass on that. How about if I shake his hand for you?”

     Hannah laughed.

     “Oh, never mind. I’ll wait until I come back home and kiss him myself.”

     “Great idea.”

     “How’s Robbie doing?”

     “He’s fine. He’s in the kitchen cooking supper.”

     Joyce got back on.

     “Scott, please tell Robbie thanks again for saving you and getting you to the hospital. Tell him I’ll be forever grateful and that I’m looking forward to cooking him a real meal as soon as we can arrange it.”

     “Okay. I’ll tell him. I’m pretty sure he’s getting tired of canned goods and MREs.”

     “Now, back to you being a police officer… is it still dangerous down there?”

     “Well, they tell me that most of the bad guys are
gone. Either dead or moved elsewhere. Most of the police work these days is just helping people.”

     “Good. So I shouldn’t worry about you then?”

     “Nope. I’m a tough old guy. I survived getting shot, remember? I’ll even show you my scars when I get back home to prove it. They’re pretty impressive, if I say so myself.”

     “I don’t want to see any stupid old scars. All I want is for this plague to go away, and for you to come back home again.”

     “I won’t stay a day longer than I have to, I promise. Hey, are the boys around?”

     “Would you settle for a boy and a man?”

     “Sure.”

    
Jordan beamed with pride at Joyce’s correction.

     “They’re right here.”

     “Jordan? Zachary? How are you guys?”

     Joyce handed Zach the mike.

     “We’re fine, Dad. Jordan is still a butthead, though.”

     “Well, of course, he is, son. That’s never gonna change, no matter how old he gets.”

     “Hey Dad?”

     “Yes?”

     “I love you.”

     “I love you too, son. I love both of you. And I’m very proud of you both too. You guys keep up the good work until I get home again, okay?”

     Jordan said, “We will, Dad. You be safe, okay?”

     “I will. I promise.”

-22
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      As fall turned to winter, Scott settled into a routine, as did the people in the compound.

     The cattle were penned up full time now in the back of the compound. No longer allowed out to graze outside the wall because the grass was more sparse, they were fed a full-time diet of hay and cattle feed. They were getting fatter and were blissfully happy, totally unaware of their eventual fate.