Chapter 28

John Wallace was not a happy man. They had been in the shelter for about a month, when his sister rebelled. Tracy was a firm believer in the order of things, and her place in this 'order', was not scullery maid or cook. She also resented having to do anything, as she had been waited on hand and foot most of her life.

John called his sister into his office. He dreaded this conversation, but it had to be done.

"Tracy? Please sit. Coffee?" he asked.

She nodded, and he filled a cup from the coffee maker and passed it to her.

"You don't seem to be fitting in here at all. Tracy, this is a team effort. We all have to pitch in and do what we can. Even the children have jobs and are sort of in an excited state over this shelter," John said, and paused.

"I do thank you for taking myself and the kids in; but really, cleaning dishes? John, I am not some servant to be ordered about! I am a wealthy woman, and I expect things to be done for me," Tracy responded grimly.

"Tracy, are you even living in the same world as the rest of us? Radio and television stations are going off the air, and it is getting harder and harder to find a signal, particularly through this deluge of rain.

"We know the entire east coast had been hit with a huge tidal wave. There is nothing left of it that we would recognize, most likely. California has been hit with a strike, and with the earthquakes. That took place for the first several days, plus it has burned. I doubt anything is left there, let alone people.

"We are living in a shelter, underground, safe and sound due to my so-called 'paranoia'... as you so like to call it. Two exits from this shelter are totally blocked off by floodwaters. My house is still standing, but the pumps are fighting a battle to keep the water out of the first floor. The basement is almost a lost cause.

"We have air, food, lights, water, bathroom facilities, recreational equipment, computers to learn and entertain us, as well as the best entertainment and communication systems money can buy. You did not contribute one dime to this, yet you think I owe you a free ride. Well, the free ride is over.

"You can either cooperate with me - and stop teasing my men sexually - start contributing to the shelter and groups survival; or you can leave, and good luck to you," John finished grimly.

"How dare you!" Tracy exclaimed indignantly. "My sex life is none of your business," she continued. "Furthermore, I won't be subject to your vile threats. If you want to kick me and my kids out, say so! I will expect a ride into the nearest town, and will settle in there at a hotel until this mess is over," Tracy ended on a grim note.

"First, I won't kick your kids out, just you. Second, I have a small cabin not to far from here, further up this hill, which should have escaped the floods nicely. I had it built to go relax in, and get away from it all. You can go there if you like, but it was built for roughing it. No heating, air conditioning, or electric. No gas. It is a bedroom, a living room, and a kitchen with a wood-burning stove. A potbelly stove heats the living room, and that's it. There's an outhouse out back. I suspect it is mostly filled with rainwater by now.

"It is stocked with several weeks worth of canned goods, nothing perishable. A can opener's in the kitchen drawer, cooking utensils, and a four place setting for eating on. There are four cases of Evian water, and a ten-gallon container filled with water for cooking. There is a spring that provides water most of the year. This is all supposing no one has found it and moved in already," John finished tonelessly.

Tracy opened her mouth to reply when there was a buzz on the intercom. John excused himself and answered it.

"Yes? What is it? I asked not to be disturbed," John said in exasperation.

"Mr. Wallace? This is Scott in the control room. You better come and see what's on the exterior monitors."

"On my way," John stated briskly.

"I will be in my quarters, waiting for your decision on my fate John," Tracy said, and left the office at the same time as John.

John made his way to the main control room, and the first thing he noticed was every camera that could show an exterior picture was on. The big screen was filled with the visage of dark clouds, floodwaters, but... no rain!

John went to his chair and started shifting the cameras one and a time, displaying what it showed on the big screen for all to see. It had indeed stopped raining. While the flood waters still covered two of the three entrance/exits, the third was still high, if not dry.

Rumors had already started running through the shelter, and everyone who could, either fit into the room while trying to stay out of the way, or stayed in the doorway watching if they had a good position.

For the next several days, the weather was watched closely. It rained off and on, and then a break appeared in the clouds. It grew larger. Blue sky was seen during the days, and stars at night.

Everyone's computer terminal was now set for an outside view, and the talk was that perhaps the rains were done with. Hope rose and an atmosphere of celebration was in the air as each day brought a new sun filled sky.

John broke out a ration of frozen steaks, and they had an impromptu celebratory party, which lasted for two days. Finally, John started discussing exit strategies for when the waters receded. With the news of the sky clearing up, John put off evicting his sister. She actually did a little to help. It wasn't much, but John accepted it as an effort from someone who was spoiled, self-centered, and ideologically blind. He did after all, care for his sister and her two children, his niece and nephew.

One of the things that were a bit on the morbid side, was that they were keeping a running count of the dead animals and the human bodies that floated by the cameras. There had been hundreds of animals: cows, deer, horses, chickens, dogs, cats, and birds. And, as of that day, there had been sixty-two bloated human corpses. They had started counting, when the waters were at the height of the flooding.

They kept an eye on all the bodies and noticed that they were all floating in the same general southerly direction. After studying the waters currents and direction of flow for a couple days, they had marked a spot visually on a nearby tree. It was official. The waters were receding, and were taking all manner of debris with them.

Off in the distance, was his home. It was still standing on the knoll where it had been built. While he had known it had come through the storm and flood, being able to actually see it visually in the day, and not through cameras strategically placed within, was an uplifting feeling.

The house had been built strongly. While water got in and flooded the basement, there were heavy-duty pumps that worked 24/7. There were several pumps in place, for just such an emergency. The water never rose more than four feet deep in the basement, at the height of the flood. With the waters receding, the level in the basement of the house was dropping, but very slowly.

It was several days before they noticed the waterline on the basement wall. That was how they knew the pumps in the house were slowly clearing water from the basement. It would take weeks to drain, providing nothing interfered with the current rate at which the water was apparently receding.