Chapter 2: The Pied Piper

Spring had passed and, with summer right around the corner, the news from the cities along the I-95 corridor was getting worse. Riots in the cities had wrecked many radio and TV stations and vandals had managed to disable most of the relay stations as they hunted for anything that could be salvaged and sold. Although many of the major network stations had ceased to operate, amateur radio stations had sprung up to pass gossip and weather around the local area. Simon liked listening to one character that went by the pseudonym "Captain Pete" and kept the alarm clock tuned for his early morning show.

It was six o'clock in the morning and Arabella lay awake in Simon's bed listening to the radio. This morning, the Captain had been talking about the large, organized groups of bandits that had moved out of DC and now controlled I-66 from Front Royal to Manassas, effectively cutting the city off from the Valley and its food supply. Several towns had been raided. Some had been destroyed and the status of their inhabitants was unknown. Refugees clogged the roadways on both sides of the Blue Ridge Mountains, coming in droves from the ruined cities to the north and east of the valley.

Taking in all of the bad news, Arabella took a deep breath. She had been staring at the ceiling, thinking about her friend and mentor "Granny Safi." Granny's hometown was back in the mountains and, if Captain Pete was right, was sure to be cut of by the bandit gangs. Arabella knew that she had to try to talk Granny into leaving the small rural village she lived in and come back to Staunton, which was better protected and supplied. Arabella flipped her auburn hair to one side of her head and rolled onto her side. She looked at Simon across the pillow. She had thought about things for several days now and had finally decided to leave that morning.

Arabella had packed her vehicle the night before, listening patiently to the arguments and protests of her boyfriend, Simon Woodsman, as he tried to talk her out of going into the now lawless mountains alone. They had argued back and forth until bedtime.

She had become comfortable living with Simon. In fact her only complaint was his reluctance to talk about his past. This had been at the center of their argument. She had ties, obligations to her past while he was charging in the future.

The moon had shown brightly when she had crawled into the bed she shared, surprisingly monogamously, with Simon. But now dawn had come and cast a soft light onto his sleeping form. Arabella gently removed the bed sheet and crawled nearer to him. Taking his turgid cock in her warm mouth, she gave Simon a leisurely blowjob wake up call. She watched him squirm as she tickled the sensitive spot under his balls. His face contorted with pleasure as she jerked off his slick cock, spraying hot, thick cum on to his stomach. They made love and then she took a shower.

Simon thought that Arabella had seen reason and was starting another routine day until she came out of the kitchen with a haversack of food and her traveling clothes on. Instead of being a pleasant "good morning" this only restarted the argument.

He reminded her of the dangers of the forest - highwaymen, animals, and bad roads - but Arabella was adamant. After wishing him a good morning, Arabella told Simon that she would be leaving for Granny's hometown of Monterey right after breakfast. She explained that Granny, who wasn't all that much older than she was, had taken care of her after marauders had killed her parents. Arabella felt like she owed Granny enough to attempt to rescue her from the violent strife that was rampant on the other side of the forest.

Over the course of breakfast, Simon managed to talk her out of leaving right away. He told her that he needed her help on a trip into the mountains - someone to watch his back as he climbed up into the forest to a small town named Swoope, where the State had established a DPRE center. He made a deal with her that, if they hadn't received any news from Granny by the time that they returned he would go with her to Monterey to find Granny and bring her back. Since Arabella was already packed, they left almost immediately.

They got into the mountains and Simon left Arabella at an old motel that he had selected as a command post, while he went up to the forest to talk with the town mayor. He drove quickly down the old, narrow roads through the farmland to the old Boy Scout camp where the refugees would be housed.

Simon was startled to learn that the State had made the decision to turn the old Boy Scout camp into a refugee camp, apparently over the objections of the local government. The National Guard had cleaned up and stocked the camp but were not happy with the conflicting orders that were coming from the council. He arrived at the camp's central pavilion and gave his briefing to the mayor, the city council, and the assembled camp staff. He had just finished telling them his plans for guiding the DPRE's to the camp when the pavilion erupted in a huge discussion.

The city council was worried that the refugees would bring disease and lawlessness if they were not properly assembled, controlled, and most importantly, moved out of the area. The mayor and most of the camp staff shared this opinion as well.

Within five minutes, a slim Armani-clad bureaucrat and a tall black man in camouflage were in a heated shouting match. A city policeman actually stood between the two men, physically separating them as if they were likely to start a fight. The black man, obviously a member of the State's National Guard, his bald head colored with anger, was shouting at the bureaucrat that he couldn't finish the camp without resources.