Chapter 11: Mind’s Eye Part 1

“I received a message...,” Calum replied.

Sitting not far from one another, Theron was stirred from his thoughts when he looked at Calum. The hint of morning light tried to slip through the closed door of the water treatment room. Calum’s body language showed a hint of relief as he practically tossed the tablet to the floor for Theron to read it.

Most of the remaining survivors resided on a floor below, below the circulating staircase. Trash and waste had been tossed into a corner. The smell would no doubt build the longer the eight remained, assuming they would ever get their masks taken off.

It had been a long night, but everyone survived into the morning. However, the outside environment remained mostly unchanged. Despite the ease of the deadly pollutants outside, the muck, pollution, and ash had formed into a completely coherent mixture. Toxic air remained everywhere. Despite having replacement filters, Theron knew that once they ran out, everyone would suffocate or die from aerial toxins. However, there was a hint of hope the moment Calum said what he had just received.

“You managed to get through?” Theron asked.

“Yes...,” Calum replied, still trying to shift with his prior injury. “Forty damn messages and finally something got through that thick atmosphere over us, but ... engh...” he grunted. “Received a message reply from Military Emergency Channel ... They know about us...”

“And?”

“Help is on the way...”

That was more relief to hear from Calum, but Theron knew there was more to it.

“It’s not time for us to celebrate, yet, isn’t it?” he asked Calum.

“Hmmm...,” Calum seemed to think. “It isn’t the news itself, it’s the one who’s delivering it. MEC should have been the last thing to contact us. All the other government dispatches, radio stations, local authorities, nothing replied.”

“Was it because the domes are being abandoned? Poor reception?”

“I don’t know. One of the satellites finally sent my message and sent it to the Chicago EB Outpost-7 ... Military Evac will pick us up in seven hours.”

“Seven hours? They know where we’re at?”

Calum nodded. “Yeah ... they do. The message says that there’s a subtle clearing in the atmosphere in this region that’ll make it easier to send their transport to pick us up then...”

“Well ... at least it’ll be over.”

“Maybe...”

Theron could strongly sense the disappointment in Calum.

“You doing alright?” he asked Calum.

“We weren’t going to make it,” Calum replied. “We couldn’t even make it to Rapid City before we broke down or ran out of power. We can’t even travel the countryside by car anymore ... our way of life taken away piece by piece.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily look at it that way. We put enough distance between Yellowstone and us that it’s going to make it easier for the transport to pick us up and...

“No,” Calum shook his head. “That isn’t it ... that isn’t it all. It’s all much worse than we ever imagined. Them picking us up ... it’s an inconvenience for them...”

Theron seemed confused. “Why would rescuing people annoy them?”

“I wish I knew, but Waterville DC is going to be your home for a very long time. If we lose that ... then we lose North America, Earth, and the human race. It’s where everyone here is going ... one last ditch effort for the United States ... what’s going to be left of it.”

“Why be the pragmatist on this? We’re going to be rescued.”

“Realist,” Calum corrected him. “If they truly needed the agricultural domes here, then why abandon them? Even with this disaster, they could have rebuilt them, but they can’t even afford that. They’re diverting their resources to something else ... something big...”

“Like Waterville?”

“Maybe, but it’s more than that...”

Theron nodded. “I guess we’ll find out ... I should go and tell the others the good news.”

“ ... Do it.”

Theron got up and proceeded to head down the stairs.

“And, Theron?” Calum asked him.

“What?” he replied, stopping to look back at him.

“We’re not out of this yet. Don’t celebrate until you’re in those mountains. If anything, we’re only trading one set of madness for another.”

Theron thought about it for a moment. He knew that Calum was right. There were too many variables at the moment. However, he also knew that there was still good news in all of this. Now, he could only hope that the rescuers could make it.

It had been seven hours. Theron remembered everything as the eight survivors of the dome walked out of the remains of the water treatment plant. A smaller aircraft similar to the V-45, most likely a more current V-50 Hopdiver, flew low, ensuring that it didn’t drive itself through the thicket of floating ash. Its multi-engine propeller and jet-drive system helped ensure it could fly through the worst conditions.

It was enough. Theron remembered Gemma practically hopping for joy at the thought of finally being rescued and getting away from it all.

The interior storage bay cabin of the transport was almost similar in looks to the prior flying transports that Theron had been in before. For the first time ever, Theron and the other survivors were able to finally take off their breathing masks. The aircraft was perfectly suited for chemical warfare attacks. The interior compartment had formed a perfect seal, keeping fresh air inside.

Everyone felt a sense of relief as they sat strapped in to their chairs. Even Theron could reminisce about the interior luxury, even if it was a simple military aircraft. Anything was better than the environment he experienced recently.

There were two soldiers in the cabin, not including the additional pilots who operated the aircraft. A female medic, a corpsman, was tending to the survivors, most notably, Calum. Turbulence was steady but not aggressive for the aircraft as it flew back to its original launch point. The medic was able to stand and walk around a little bit, sitting beside the occupants while examining them. Theron noted that her nametag was that of Soledad. Her slightly mixed complexion had small pits in her face, a possible sign of muck poisoning.

“How are you?” the medic asked Theron, as the woman sat beside him.

“Tired...,” Theron said.

“Any hot flashes? Nauseous, diarrhea, illness, dizziness, anything?”

“I’m ... well enough ... just looking forward to reaching Waterville, DC.”

“Well, you’re not out of the disaster area yet. We’re heading to Chicago first.”

“Chicago?” Gemma asked.

“You know it?” Theron asked her.

“A little ... never really seen it before.”

“You’re really not missing much...” Theron looked at the medic. “But why Chicago?”

“Limited range. We’ll be landing at EB-7. From there, Waterville will send an aircraft to take the rest of you there. Do you need anything? Water, something to drink?”

“ ... Sure. Waters fine ... Make sure that Gemma is alright. She was sick the day before.”

“Absolutely,” the medic moved to sit beside Gemma and ask her a series of questions, lightening her voice as she spoke to the young teen.

Theron looked over at Calum. He seemed better. The medic gave him medication that was better than the emergency supplies he had been given. It was the first time seeing him with a sense of relief despite his prior pragmatism. Perhaps it was simply because he wasn’t in any pain anymore, along with emergency foam that was injected directly into his wound. He was almost asleep on his chair.

It was really the first time Theron could see everyone and what they looked like without their masks. Nature had not been too kind to the eight survivors. Cassidy, herself, was the most abused of the eight, having small skin lesions throughout most of her face, with portions of her very short curly hair partially missing. It was unknown if she had managed to get her suit on in time to fully save her face from the intense shockwave that struck the dome or if it was muck poisoning. The teenagers seemed more at ease, possibly in just as good health as Gemma was. Joseph had an augmented nose as the skin color didn’t perfectly match the rest of the facial skin tone.

Of course, Theron knew what he had was potentially worse than what anyone else had.

“Well, I have good news, Gemma,” the medic explained to her, looking at her tablet. “You’re in good health. I don’t detect any pathogens in your system. Despite everything, you’re the least of my worries.”

“A clean bill of health?” Theron asked her.

“It appears that way.”

“What about Calum?”

“‘What about me?... ‘“ Calum grunted with his question. He opened his eyes and glanced over to Theron.

“I would say that he’s ok at the moment,” the corpsman explained. “But, he’ll need to be checked with our medical triage unit at EB-7 for further eval.”

“Talking about me in the 3rd person?” Calum was seemingly annoyed.

Theron seemed satisfied with that answer, but he moved on to another topic.

“What’s EB-7 anyway?” he asked her.

“Emergency Base Seven,” the woman explained. “It’s the last surviving outpost we’ve established in the ruins of Chicago, located at the outer boundary.”

“You had it there to help out in the evacuation of the city,” Calum surmised.

“Yes, we had several bases, but the other ones have been discontinued when it was deemed that most of the remaining Chicagoans had safely evacuated the city.”

“You mean the ones that didn’t drop dead from the muck.” He scolded her.

“Please ... you haven’t seen what we had to go through during the first couple of months. It’s been like this for the rest of the major cities as well.”

“Why still have a base if the city has been abandoned?” Theron asked.

“Because there are still people inside the cities.”

“It’s an outpost of the damned,” Calum answered.

“Huh?” Theron questioned him.

“It’s a compromise by the politicians. They declare the cities as a total loss ... any dome settlements they didn’t establish, they abandon or pillage. The 99% know that living in that city is all but certain death. They packed up their bags and fled. The government, Waterville, really wanted to leave it behind altogether, but the other side doesn’t want to give the cities up. Instead, they compromise that all but one of the bases remain. In the end, all they do is become watchtowers to ruins.”

“Or save us...”

“ ... Yep.”

“Sorry, corpsman,” Theron addressed her. “We really assumed that nobody would be able to rescue us.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” she replied. “You’re lucky to be alive. I’m amazed anybody survived that eruption.”

“How is it in Chicago?”

“We didn’t feel the shockwave, but the ash is reaching the city. It’s as Calum commented, but the humanitarian aid remains. Today, occasionally we still find a few survivors ... those that did everything they could to survive in the cities and ultimately just ... gave up or wandered in on us. We offer them rides to the domes.”

Theron sensed that there was more to the purpose of these military outposts. It seemed like a convenient excuse to leave one in operation, even if the actions they served were purely genuine. EB-7 was just a remaining string of the military checkpoints that he encountered in the past, just in a more deteriorated state. Theron also noted that he had never seen what life was like in the big cities when the muck fell.

“How much longer till we reach the base?” Theron asked.

“Less than 10 minutes,” she answered.

The sound of exterior blasts, most likely thunder, could be heard. There was a small display on the side of the room where Theron could see a live feed of the outside environment. Even if the volcanic eruption didn’t reach most large central northern US cities, the ash layer was spreading farther east. Gray and white ash were dotting the countryside like fallen snow. The dark haze of yellow and brown resided everywhere in the dimly lit environment. A river, most likely the remains of the Mississippi River, was covered in orange, red, and brown. It was so thick that it barely moved. Much as before, the trees had been long dead, where even the life that would naturally break them down would die off as well. Hard rot was evident in the stems, where the leaves were long gone, forming wooden poles that would last for several years until they would be toppled by the next major windstorm. More buildings could be seen as the aircraft flew over them. Reduced to ghost towns, there were no signs of life. If the muck didn’t get them, then the ash would. The structures were getting dusted by the falling ash.

“You’ll get help,” Gemma told Theron with a smile.

The man looked at her. “Yep,” he said. “VIP travel to the nearest center of civilization. I suppose you’ll be able to find a lot of kids your age there.” The man looked at the corpsman. “What do you know about Waterville, DC?”

“Are you asking if I have any personal experience being there?” she asked him.

“Whatever you know.”

“It’s huge ... beyond anything you’ve ever seen before. Entire city built in the Appalachian Mountains ... most of it built in West Virginia and Kentucky, and expanding outward.”

“Where did you normally live?”

“ ... Eh ... it’s a long story. South Carolina, before I joined the army. Been moving around a lot. Been stationed in Chicago the moment the outbreak began ... haven’t left it since.”

“It would have been easier if me and Gemma moved to Waterville the moment the muck broke out.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Waterville was built as a luxury spa at first, but it kept getting bigger. I think there were shortage issues when everyone fled there, but it’s very busy there.”

“You have to earn your keep there,” Calum said. “It’s all that matters.”

“How big is the population?” Theron asked.

“Millions...,” she replied. “I don’t know the exact amount, but it’s a lot ... they’ve started launching spaceships from there too.”

Theron thought about it. From word alone, it sounded like Waterville, DC, had formed the perfect crutch for the US. He already knew that the Appalachian Mountain chain was perfect for a location. There was plenty of material to carve out new homes. Natural high elevation made it easier to centralize moving materials in and out. They also served as a natural defense against whatever untold dangers loomed in the dangerous environment and beyond. But it was more than that. With a powerful centralized system in place, all resources were being poured into a single vast location. No wonder he knew that treatment awaited him there.

But, at what cost? He still didn’t fully know the vast amount of effort that went into making it. Countless great cities were gone. The death toll was beyond imagination. What about the rest of the world? How were they faring against all this?