John Krygelski - The Aegis Solution

Down to the last few days of food. The word got out. I don’t know who talked, but everyone in Aegis knows that it’s almost gone. Sweezea had the security team ready for something to happen. He put extra guards on the food around the clock. People freaked out at first. There were quite a few angry confrontations between the residents and the board. But all of the anger was because we didn’t let them know before. To our surprise, after the initial blowup, everyone settled down and, I think, is handling it fairly well. No screaming mobs made a move on the food. Nothing like that. Guess we were wrong about not telling them sooner.

The board is having daily meetings now. I’m not really sure why. We don’t have anything new to say, but we all feel that we should be doing it. At today’s, Elias and Leah dropped a bombshell on all of us. They want to pull a Trent and leave Aegis. I’m afraid I lost it when they told us. But I managed to calm down and listen to what they had to say. Elias said that maybe he and Leah could make a run to the closest place, maybe Yuma or even Tacna, and find some food to bring back.

I said that the wind hadn’t stopped. We didn’t have any reason to believe that the bug was gone from out there. He just looked at me and smiled that smile of his and said that if we didn’t try something, we’d all be dead soon, anyway.

That’s when I said I’d go. Sweezea said the same thing, at the same time. Wilson insisted that he should go since he was the oldest and didn’t have as much life to live as Elias and Leah. By the time everyone was done shouting, every single person on the board had offered to go instead of Elias and Leah.

After we were all quiet, all of us staring at the two of them, Leah thanked us. I could swear that I saw a tear coming out of her eye. She said that they had made up their minds. They were going whether any of the rest of us went or not, so there was no reason for anyone else to go, since it wouldn’t keep them here.

Nobody knew what to say for the longest time. I wanted to think of something… anything which would change their minds, but I couldn’t. And even if I did, what difference would it make? Elias was right. If we didn’t try something, we would all be dead soon, anyway.

If there are any future folks… and if you are reading this… I want all of you to know that each and every one of you is alive because of Elias and Leah Charon. Please don’t ever forget that… ever. And, if no one ever reads this, then I guess what I’m saying doesn’t matter.

Tillie and Wilson were standing at the corridor intersection near the exit door. There was no longer any sign of the damage from the exploded grenade. Clements, and the crew he had assembled from Aegis, had repaired the walls and repainted.

Tillie, her eyes fixed on the hallway in the direction Elias and Leah would soon appear, said quietly to Wilson, “This isn’t right.”

Wilson, much thinner than he had been a mere four months ago, gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “Elias is correct. We need to do something before we all starve.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every step of the way things happened… things all designed to get us here, keep us here, save us from the bug. You’ve talked about all of the incredible coincidences which had to happen in precisely the right sequence, just to ensure that Aegis survived while the rest of the world died. After all of those, and I don’t care if you want to call them coincidences or miracles, where is our rainbow… where is our dove with the olive branch? Why is it…after everything else has been so carefully orchestrated, that we are now out of food…that the damn wind hasn’t stopped? Why haven’t we gotten a signal, a message, that it is safe to leave? Why do Elias and Leah have to go out there, the way Trent and the others did, when we don’t know if they’ll come back?”

In a soft voice, Wilson answered, “I don’t know.”

She whirled around to face him, her face flush. “You can’t say ‘I don’t know’! You never say ‘I don’t know’! Why don’t you know?”

The moment the words left her lips, she wished she could take them back. She knew that Wilson had taken this question more seriously than any other he had ever tackled in his life. For weeks he had forsaken needed sleep and countless meals, as well as any casual interactions with his friends, to devote himself obsessively to finding the answer. She knew him better than anyone in Aegis… anyone alive, in fact… and she knew how hard it must have been for him to admit that he did not know the answer. His face, already worn and haggard, his eyes sunken, seemed to slump even further.

“Wilson, I’m sorry. I am. It’s just that I can’t stand to see the two of them walk out that door.”

He stepped forward and held her. “I know, Tillie. I know.” She allowed him to hold her for a moment, then backed away, too anxious to be confined.

More people began to arrive. She saw Sweezea, Matt, Lisa, Sam, Hutson, and even Kreitzmann come in with the others. The intersection was filling rapidly, backing up into the hallways in all directions. The mood was somber and subdued.

To her left, the crowd parted and, in a moment, Elias and Leah worked their way through to the front. As soon as she saw Leah, she ran forward, throwing her arms around her friend. Despite her earlier promise to herself, Tillie began to cry, her shoulders heaving with each sob. Leah responded in kind as Elias stood quietly to the side.

After a minute or two had passed, Tillie took a step back from Leah and looked at Elias, tears streaming freely down her face. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm the spasms in her diaphragm, she finally spoke. “I wanted to tell you… you’re off the hook.”

Elias, momentarily confused, answered, “Off the hook? What…?”

Dragging the sleeve of her shirt across her face, she explained, “Your promise. It’s over and done. I’m releasing you from it.”

“Tillie, I still don’t understand.”

Valiantly trying to put a smile on her face, she replied softly, “You don’t have to try to be Bruce Willis anymore.”

In his eyes, she could see that he was flashing back to that day, so long ago, in her den. He tried to speak but the effort was derailed by the quivering in his lower lip. Without waiting another moment, she rushed against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. He held her in a bear hug.

They stood together for a long time, neither wanting to break the moment. When, at last, they parted, Elias reached up and held her face in his hands, finally finding his voice. “I will be back. I… I promise.”

Tillie only nodded, afraid to say another word. Elias turned to Wilson and shook his hand. “I will see you soon, my friend.”

“Be safe, Elias. Both of you.”

Leah gave Wilson an emotional hug. As she did, she whispered in his ear, “Please keep an eye on our friend here, will you?”

Wilson nodded.

Elias and Leah moved toward the exit, which was now wide open, the frigid wind whipping into the enclosed space with a howl. As they proceeded, all of the friends they had made during their days in Aegis were lined up to shake their hands, hug them, and wish them luck. It seemed as if the entire population of Aegis was crowded into the hallway behind Wilson, having come to see them off.

When they reached the door, Crabill was standing in the wind, a forced grin on his face. “I went out to the parking lot and found the truck with the most gas and jumped the battery. She’s running and all warmed up for you.”