The Nuclear Catastrophe (a fiction novel of survival) (24 page)

The armory was a cavernous building, flooded with lights. Cecil estimated that most of the able-bodied men of the town had signed their names, committing themselves to aid in the rescue effort.

“
Bubba,
”
Jake said, nudging Cecil forward,
“
we got us another volunteer who wants to join us. Sign him up.
”

“
Sure thing, Jake,
”
said the boy with the clipboard.
“
Howdy, mister. I guess L.A. is going to need everyone it can get once we start rolling, it sure is nice of you to come along, since you
’
re a stranger in these parts. Uh, you don
’
t live around here, do you? Don
’
t remember seeing you before.
”

“
Yeager, here, is from just south of Los Angeles, Bubba. He was there when that reactor exploded,
”
offered the big swaggering man.

“
Is that right? Jeezus! Why in the world do you want to go back there? If it was me, I
’
d have kept right on going—as far as I could get,
”
said the youth.

“
Bubba, you still got that running-off-at-the-mouth disease. You simmer down some and try to get the vitals from Mister Yeager—we want to be sure he
’
s present and accounted for when we get up there. Yes sir, we sure don
’
t want our friend here getting lost in his own home town. Do we boys?
”
A chorus of assents agreed with him.

Smiling faces acknowledged Jake
’
s play with the boy and Cecil, and the men edged in closer to hear what was being said.

“
You got any special kind of work that might be useful in rescue, Mr. Yeager?
”
asked the youth.

Cecil was cool in his reply.
“
I
’
m a chemist, but I doubt you people would have any demands for my skills.
”

“
A chemist?
”
said Bubba,
“
Gosh, I don
’
t know much...hey, the high school has a group from their science department that
’
s going in. Wait a second,
”
said the boy, as he dashed off toward a knot of men.

In a couple minutes the youth returned with a member from that group in tow. Assured that Cecil would be confronted by someone else, the others began drifting away, losing interest.

“
You say you
’
re a chemist, huh?
”

“
That
’
s correct,
”
Cecil replied to the newcomer.

The man seemed eager to have Cecil a part of his group.
“
We could rig the apparatus for water-chemistry tests, if you think you could run them, Mr. Yeager. Clean water has got to be found.
”

“
I could do that, I guess,
”
Cecil answered indifferently.

“
Good. I
’
ll get the equipment together for you,
”
said the teacher.

“
I said I could,
”
replied Cecil,
“
but what will you do with the results—once we start recording? We would need to coordinate our findings with other testers. Do you have any plans for doing that?
”
High school teachers—what do they know, thought Cecil.

The other paused, briefly considering Cecil
’
s remark.
“
Oh, well, sure. We
’
d have to be able to feed our findings to someone, I guess.
”

Cecil envisioned this shoe-string operation rushing headlong into L.A., with no greater scheme in mind than to simply get there. Once inside, they
’
d be largely ineffective, perhaps even hampering other efforts.
“
It
’
d be a good idea,
”
suggested Cecil,
“
if you contacted the national guard in San Diego. They
’
d line us up with communication points, I
’
d expect. Then our test results would be of some use.
”
The teacher was obviously not a thinker.

“
That
’
s not a bad idea—as a matter of fact, I
’
d already considered doing that very thing. Only I was waiting to see if anyone showed up who could do the chemistry part. Of course I
’
m a teacher myself and could do it, but I
’
ll have my hands full with other jobs,
”
he said with importance.

Cecil replied without a trace of interest.
“
Then we ought to be able to work together.
”

“
Right. Say, do you know anything about Geiger counters? I think we can take the school
’
s along. We
’
ve one that we use in one of the labs, but we
’
ve never actually tried it out in the field.
”

Cecil doubted that the teacher knew anything about the counter.
“
If it registers radiation in the classroom, it
’
ll do it on the outside, too.
”

“
I
’
m going to be in charge of this, but I
’
d appreciate it if you would sort of serve as second in command. Most of the fellows don
’
t know too much about this kind of maneuver, Cecil.
”

Annoyed by the other
’
s attitude of superiority, Cecil asked,
“
How is it that you know so much about it—were you in the war?
”
He vividly recalled his own days of action in the war and the long dark months of therapy for shell-shock that had followed.

“
No, I never made it to the military, but I
’
ve belonged to the guard for several years, and I
’
m chairman of my department at school. My principal calls me the best organizer he
’
s had on the staff,
”
said the teacher with pride.

“
Well then,
”
answered Cecil testily,
“
you
’
re certainly equipped to handle this—with all your experience.
”

The teacher beamed at the double entendre.
“
Call me Jim. Jim Thompson. There
’
s no need for mister with me, Cecil. I like to keep it on a casual basis, so long as everybody knows who
’
s in control.
”

Cecil took a long leisurely look at Jim. He impulsively noted that this was one character he
’
d not easily forget, then he began making mental guesses at the age at which the teacher had surpassed his level of competence.
“
Your group will be moving in with the rest of these fellows, I suppose.
”

“
Yes, but we
’
re not actually in their unit. We
’
re more specialized,
”
Jim answered.
“
Sort of elite, I guess you
’
d say.
”

“
It seems to me that there should be a command headquarters in charge of the entire operation, Jim. Otherwise, how are we going to know which part to enter and what to do?
”
asked Cecil, showing some interest.
“
Our rescue squad could easily end up in the same part of the city as another unit, leaving some area unattended.
”

“
That
’
s true,
”
said Jim.
“
I think I
’
ll get right on the horn and check that out. It sure would be a mess if we moved in and another unit piled right in on top of us.
”

Cecil was left standing alone as Jim hurried off to his errand. He wiped his brow, thinking of the monumental mess this could be.

“
What do you think it
’
ll be like up there?
”

“
Huh?
”
asked Cecil as he found a scarecrow of a man at his side. He hadn
’
t noticed the man before.
“
Where?
”

“
Up there in the big city,
”
said the other.

“
Probably chaos and confusion. It
’
ll be terrible, I
’
d say.
”

The beady black eyes stared out from above pock-marked cheeks.
“
Reckon there
’
s been much looting?
”
he asked.

“
Well, I....sure,
”
said Cecil.
“
There
’
s always somebody who wants something for nothing.
”

“
Yeah,
”
the man agreed.
“
Reckon there
’
s been a lot of rape going on, too. What with all those women scared, and not knowing what
’
s happening.
”
His voice carried a wistful sound as he stared into an empty transport truck, not meeting Cecil
’
s gaze.
“
How do you feel about stuff like that?
”
asked the scarecrow, giving a leering grin that bared broken, yellowed teeth.

“
What?
”
Cecil asked, not at all sure he hadn
’
t caught the other
’
s drift.

“
You know—taking things that other folks have run off and left behind. I mean, they
’
re not going to use it anymore, so there
’
s really nothing wrong with hooking onto it, Right?
”

“
Personal possessions, things like that?
”
asked Cecil.

“
Yeah, that
’
s it. That kind of junk is bound to be carted off by somebody. The way I figured it, it
’
s there for the taking. Two good men could make a bundle. All they
’
d need to do is pack it away in a couple choice hiding places. Before long, they
’
d get hold of a truck,
”
he grinned.
“
Maybe old uncle Sammy
’
s even, and haul everything out.
”

Cecil was now fully aware of what was in the other
’
s mind.
“
What would you do with it?
”

“
Heck, I wouldn't have any problem. I
’
ve got a shed that
’
s four walls and a roof, nothing inside. It
’
d hold a whole truck load of things—a fortune in goodies,
”
he said, still grinning.

“
If you got caught, you
’
d be arrested,
”
Cecil warned.
“
You could even be shot for something like that....besides, everything is radioactive.
”

“
Oh, I
’
d have to have a partner—someone who
’
d keep a lookout for me just as I
’
d do for him.
”
The scarecrow looked directly at Cecil.

His intimation was becoming crystal clear. Suspiciously, Cecil said,
“
You
’
ve already got somebody in mind.
”

“
Yeah. From what I
’
ve heard, you ain
’
t too popular around here. Me and you, we could work it as a team....and have a little fun on the side, too. Hell, all those chicks ain
’
t going to be dead when we get in there.
”