Chapter 23
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Jane rang a bell they had hung just outside the RV. Mace helped Jasper down from his usual perch on the gift shop porch. Food portions were handed down from the RV steps. Derwood and Molly circled their feet waiting for dropped morsels.
Jane said, “I don't know who forgot it or if there was none to be had, but this pot of coffee is our last. Those of you who depend on it to get you going in the morning best start thinking of alternatives.”
Mace passed on his usual cup.
Johnny asked, “You feeling OK?”
“Fine. I just have an uneasy feeling about those marauders. I'd like to know they were moving south still.”
Don said, “We can take the bird up as soon as you think we're ready.”
Jane passed down a plate of food as she listened. “I might give it another hour or so. If that group is like what you'd expect, they partied late and are sleeping in. Besides, if they're coming this way, we'll have time to prepare. Besides Union, there are a half dozen other small towns they would be rolling through.”
Mace said, “How about this—Jasper, I know you'll protest, but I want to borrow a case of your whiskey until we get the still up and running. We're heading back to Blacksburg to get as much avgas as they will sell us, while we have the ability to do so.”
Jasper shook his head. “Nope. Make your still, go into town and get some. That's my whiskey and it's not for sharing or trading. I told you that yesterday.”
Johnny laughed. “After we eat, we'll run over to Ronceverte and see if we can scrounge some up.”
Don said, “I could fly you over if it would be faster.”
Mace replied, “No, we need to preserve that fuel. We'll take the SUV and the Jeep. If we can also get some gas cans we can fill those with spare fuel. I wish we had another three hundred gallon tank to fill.”
Jane said, “That tank we got for the diesel was the last one they had. We were lucky to get it. And lucky they would deliver.”
When breakfast was finished, Johnny and Mace made a run to town, returning an hour later with two cases of vodka and eight plastic gas containers. The helicopter was warmed up and a run to check on the marauders, and to get fuel from Blacksburg, was begun. The flight over the I-77 interchange showed the horde still in place. A new set of unlucky travelers had fallen into their blockade and were paying the price.
Mace looked down through the binoculars. “I almost wish I could do a halo drop right into the middle of those savages.”
Don shook his head. “You might take out eight or ten, but I would have to believe that would be the limit. That's the sort of gang where you want to see the National Guard doing an assault on them.”
Mace replied, “Yeah, well, I think we've already seen what their strategy is. Sit and wait. Meanwhile, people are dying.”
“I'm with you. Only we don't know what orders the Guard has or doesn't have. Could be they're deployed elsewhere by now, or have orders to sit tight. Either way, we have no way of knowing.”
With the marauders still in place, a run was made to Blacksburg. A case of vodka, and cash, was exchanged for a topped-off tank, plus an additional thirty gallons. On the flight back to the cave, Mace took notice of a small plane flipped nose over in a field.
Mace pointed. “Down there. See the plane?”
Don nodded, and slowed to a hover.
Mace looked through the binoculars. “Looks intact. Wasn't a hard landing.”
“And it has an intact fuel tank. Might even be full. That plane won't fly again, but we might be able to salvage that fuel.”
Mace looked over the area surrounding the plane. “I don't see anyone around her. But I can't see into that clump of trees.”
“Let's drop this fuel and bring back a dozen empty cans. We have the empties at the cave. I'd hate to see someone scavenge that high octane fuel to waste on their truck.”
A half hour later, Don and Mace circled the field above the downed single-engine plane, landing the helicopter fifty feet from the wreck. Mace jumped out to investigate while Don kept the engine running and blades turning. After a quick look, Mace waved back the all-clear.
Don shut down and climbed out of the helicopter, pulling four cans from the back seat. A gun was put to his head.
“You move or scream and you're a dead man.”
Don slowly raised his hands. “We're just salvaging. Thought it was abandoned.”
Don turned around slowly. The man backed up several paces.
“What do you want from us?”
The man stood in silence, not having thought out his demands. Don began to smile.
The man asked, “What are you grinning about?”
“You. You're that science guy from TV. My kid loves watching you. What is it... Dr. Jeff?”
Mace poked half his body around the cab of the ‘copter with his AR-15 raised. “You move and you're dead.”
The man slowly lowered his pistol.
“Drop it. Don, pick it up.”
The man complied.
Don said, “You recognize who it is?”
“Can't say I do.”
“It's the network news science guy, Dr. Jeff Mousekowitz.
The doctor sighed. “Moskowitz. Jeff Moskowitz.”
Mace said, “Well, Doc, you picked the wrong people to rob.”
“Rob? Who's robbing who here? That's my plane!”
“This is rich. He's got us on that one. Anyone else here with you?”
Jeff shook his head. “No. Was trying to get back to my home in Florida. Was up in Pittsburgh when the power went out.”
Mace glanced back at the plane. “I'm guessing that wasn't your plane back there, and you aren't a pilot.”
Jeff took a deep breath. “I bought it. Sort of. Didn't ask who the sellers were.”
Don asked, “You have flown before, right?”
“I read the manual. The guy who sold it told me how to fly.”
“Yeah, well, looks like he left out a few important details.”
Jeff crossed his arms. “I had it right up until the end. It was getting dark, I had to land. Was hoping to make Roanoke for the night.”
Don half smiled. “Well, this field did you a favor then. Roanoke is overrun. The airport is under the control of who knows who. Buildings are burning all over that city.”
Jeff winced. “Same in Pittsburgh. I was lucky to get out of there. Wanted to drive but the roads were jammed.”
They walked back over to the plane.
Mace asked, “How much fuel you have in there?”
Jeff frowned. “You're really taking my fuel?”
“I hate to tell you, but this rig isn't flying again. Prop's bent, and the cowl is pushed back against the engine.”
Jeff looked over the damage with a scowl. “Half a tank.”
Mace said, “Tell you what, we'll work out a fair trade. We'll take the gas, and you're welcome to come back to our compound until you can find alternate transportation. If you stay more than a day though, you'll have to work and contribute.”
Jeff tilted his head to the side. “What kind of compound do you have?”
Don replied, “A secure one. At least for now. We're working to gather supplies for the long haul.”
Jeff glanced back at the helicopter. You have that, you must be doing well for yourselves.”
Don cut a hose leading from the wing tanks to the engine. Gas poured out into the first of the cans he had carried over. When the last drops of the tank had been emptied, the three men climbed aboard the helicopter.
As they lifted off, Jeff said, “You do know why this blackout is happening, don't you?”
Mace replied, “We've got nothing but the end result. You have information on what's happening?”
“I do. This isn't some solar event.”
Don said, “We gathered that. Tell us what you know.”
Jeff cleared his throat. “First... none of this is definite. The last time we h
ad communications running, I managed to talk to several of my scientist friends. It seems this interference was first detected from a single point source, probably only an hour after the Large Hadron Collider experiment detected dark matter.”
Mace said, “Wait. You're saying this is a result of that experiment?”
“I'm saying I don't know, just that the first signal was detected right after that experiment. Now, I have a good grasp of physics, and I'm completely baffled as to why that experiment would have any effect at all. But here's where it gets interesting. At last check, the interference was coming from four point sources out in space. Those signals are being broadcast.”
Don frowned. “You saying someone is purposefully doing this?”
Jeff took a deep breath. “I'm saying I don't know—but I do know this is not a natural phenomenon. The collider experiment timing might have just been a coincidence... but I find that hard to believe.”
Mace asked, “Who would have reason to do this? From what we know, it's worldwide. It's not the Chinese or the Russians, they're without power and comm too.”
Jeff shrugged. “We just don't have enough information to say. Although, I will say this, the amount of power it's taking to broadcast signals at that level has to be tremendous. It's not something we could do.”
The helicopter landed and the three men carried fuel to their small but growing depot behind the gift shop.
Johnny met them back at the ‘copter for the remaining cans. “Pick up a stray?”
Don said, “Recognize him?”
Johnny rubbed his chin in thought before his eyes lit up. “Dr. Jeff?”
“That would be me.”
Don added, “His plane was tipped over in a field. He'll be staying with us until he finds transportation to go south. Heading for Florida.”
Tres joined the men as the remaining tanks were placed behind the gift shop. “Hold it! What's he doing here? That's the TV guy!”
Jeff half smiled.
Don said, “We picked him up in a field not far from here. His plane had gone down. And he has news about the blackout.”
Johnny held up his hands. “Please, tell us what you know.”
“The interference signals are being broadcast from at least four points in space. They started immediately after the experiment with the Large Hadron Collider. Don't know who is sending them, but they definitely aren't natural.”
Johnny smacked Tres on the back. “There you go, your little green men theory is panning out.”
“We don't know enough yet, but I wouldn't rule that out.”
Johnny played Johnny, continuing to press to get the most out of the conversation. “So you’re saying that it is aliens?”
“Can't say. There are billions and billions of stars in this galaxy alone. There are likely millions of Earth-like planets out there that could contain life. The existence of intelligent alien life has been neither proved nor disproved. All I'm saying is that I don't know—we don't know.”
The conversations about the interference, as well as the demise of Pittsburgh, continued for almost an hour.
Jane stood listening with her arms crossed. “Have you eaten?”
“Not since yesterday.”
“Well, come on. We can at least put some food in you. Don't the rest of you have work to do?”
Johnny laughed. “That's it, boys. Recess is over.”
“Where you from in Florida?”
“Orlando area. I usually broadcast from a studio there.”
Jane pointed over at a table after climbing the steps into the RV. “What were you doing in Pittsburgh?”
Jeff sat. “Was doing a piece on steel and its contributions to modern civilization. The history of it is a lot more interesting than the science.”
Jeff looked around at the cab of the RV. “Nice rig.”
Jane smiled as she set a plate of eggs and leftover hash-browns down in front of him, “I'm into... was into... competitive shooting. Johnny and I would travel to meets in her.”
“I thought about getting something like this. I just didn't want to deal with all that driving. For what I do, flying is convenient. Otherwise I would be on the road all the time.”
Jane gestured back toward the others. “Johnny hates flying, and the meets we go to are only about every other month or so. RV was a good choice for us.”
Johnny climbed the steps, sitting across for Jeff. “Tell me more about these interference signals.”
Jeff shrugged. “Don't know what else I can say.”
“OK, how about how they’re taking out power? I had a generator at home that worked fine, and the generator on this RV has been going strong for weeks now.”
“The big issue is with transmission. The interference is strong enough to overload the transmission lines, leading to transformers that are burning out. I talked to a lineman for power up in Pittsburgh. He said every transformer they swapped out blew almost immediately.”
Johnny rubbed his forehead in thought. “We've had a tough time running our equipment in the cave from this generator. Finally put a smaller one by the cave. What do you know about communications? We have fiber optics laid all across this country. How is the interference messing with that? And our landline phones?”
Jeff shrugged. “I can only speculate that the interference is happening at the junctions where that fiber is turned back into electrical signals. I don't know if you've seen it or not, but a lot of our electronics are unable to function as well.”
“All this interference,” said Johnny, “it has to be bad for our health?”
“In the long term, maybe. Short term, electromagnetics at these levels just don't seem to have an effect on us. But again, we don't have any long term studies to point to as to what effects these fields could have on us. I would advise you to stay indoors when possible. The metal shielding on this RV would be an excellent place to stay if not for those big windows.”
Jane said, “We have a cave we stay in most nights.”
Jeff turned. “A cave would be an excellent choice. EM signals, even as strong as these, shouldn't penetrate the ground more than a few inches or so.”
Tres popped his head up into the RV. “Dr. Jeff, I'm putting together a still. Would you be interested in looking it over?”
“I suppose I could. Not sure what I could add, but I'll have a look. Fermentation is a basic process.”
As Jeff stood, Johnny grabbed his arm. “The kid is a brewer, he knows what he's doing. Just give him a little praise. He'll appreciate that coming from you.”
“You people have supplies, you're building stills, penning animals. You have shelter. I'd say it looks like you have a good start on survival.”
“Yeah, well, winter is coming. And there are armed marauders who would love nothing more than to take this place apart.”
“Pittsburgh has more than its share of those people, Johnny. Hearing about Roanoke doesn't give one a good feeling about being in any city.”
“We left Norfolk for exactly that reason. Norfolk and Roanoke were not high-crime cities. I can't imagine what it must be like in Baltimore, Chicago, or LA.”
The doctor stood, thanking Jane for the food.
As Jeff Moskowitz walked off with Tres, Jane sat by her husband. “I think we should keep him. We need smart people, and he seems friendly enough.”
“If he contributes, he can stay as long as he likes.”