A. Kimbrough - Coastal Event Memories

“Welcome to the Western Command Center Captain Brent. You’re assigned here for the emergency duration.”

He handed Walter a single page, with a single paragraph, under the Presidential

Seal. It was signed by the President and gave ultimate control over all governmental assets, both material and personal to the regional FEMA Directors.

Walter read the paragraph, and then asked, “Just what is this emergency, and how long do you expect it to last?”

“There is a slight chance that the asteroid approach could be deflected by a developing unusually large solar flare, into an Earth impact. If it occurs, it could be civilization ending. We are one of several shelters that should make a recovery possible.

This shelter houses nearly 2000 people with the skills and tools to maintain our government and administrate the recovery.”

“What about the people outside? Walter demanded.

“If the worst happens, we expect there will be some survivors, and we will take care of them after conditions stabilize. Remember, it looks like less than a 10% possibility, but we had to make some hard choices.”

Walter stood up, “I have a family down South, I need to be with them.”

“I'm sorry, but your aircraft would be essential if things go bad. You are the senior military officer here, and we need you to do your duty. You and your people will be confined to quarters until the event window has passed.”

Walter stiffened, “I want to communicate with my commanding officer. I don't believe this is a valid order.”

Director Kemp pressed a button, and two Security Guards appeared. “Again, I'm sorry, but the communication channels are being disrupted by the EMP conditions.”

Walter was escorted to level Five, where he gave the bad news to his team of 26 Marines. In addition to himself, 11 others had family in Southern California.

The reactions included rage, fear, and sorrow. The afternoon and evening of Day -1 were spent in quiet conversations and prayer.

The earthquakes started just after breakfast on Day 0, and increased in frequency, duration, and intensity throughout the morning. The power went out several times, and when the big one hit in early afternoon, it stayed out. There was emergency lighting, and the electrically locked doors, unlocked. Crack appeared in the perimeter rock walls.

The quakes diminished, and the lights finally came on just after 5:00 PM. One week later, Walter was escorted back to Director Kemp; office. In route, he noticed that the damage was limited to cracks in the walls and dust on many horizontal surfaces.

Kemp's face was grave. “I'm afraid that .the worst has happened. All communications, including fiber optics has been lost. Before we lost the sensor package, the surface winds were over 120 knots and the remote seismographs indicated several quakes over 9. We may be the only survivors. Our orders are to stay buttoned up until we are sure the danger is past. I need your team's cooperation and support. We won’t keep you separated from the rest of the staff any longer. We have adequate supplies and recreation facilities for a long-term stay. I’ll keep you informed on any developments. You can move to the senior staff quarters and mess on Level Nine any time.

Walter replied “I will stay with my folks for now if that's OK. We will make good use of the facilities. My people have been going a little stir crazy.

Cindy Henderson was 18 years old, and a freshman at Montana State. She was on vacation with her parents in their RV on Day-2, when they decided to wait out the storm in a Reno hotel. They were all full except for the Atlantis Casino Resort. It was big, overpriced, and substantial, but they had a room left. There was a convention there and the bars, restaurants, and casino was crowded.

That night at 11:00 PM they were awakened by the fire alarm. Cindy slipped on a pair of jeans and a sweater, and helped her folks get down the stairs.

When they reached the lobby, armed men in full combat gear were separating the people as they came down the stairway. Cindy was pulled away from her parents and hustled through a door. She shouted at her father and saw him clubbed to the floor when he tried to intervene.

She was forced down a gauntlet of troopers wearing flack jackets with DHS on their chests into a large bus. It was almost full, of young women. They were pushed further back and 6 troopers occupied the first three rows of seats. The door slammed, and the bus started moving. She could see several other buses as they assembled into a convoy lead by Humvees with machine guns on top. They left Reno going south, and turned off the freeway 45 minutes later. After another 30 minutes, they went through some gates, through a hanger full of aircraft, and down a long ramp.

They were hustled off the bus into a huge room full of military type vehicles to a bank of elevators. In groups of a dozen, they were escorted into the elevators, and down to the eighth level. The doors opened to a long corridor, with several branches. Each branch held a locked steel door, and Cindy’s group was pushed through the door on the third branch.

The door opened into a long room, with a total of 50 bunks along both walls. At the far end of the room was an open restroom with sinks, toilets, and a big shower area. Women were milling around, questioning each other, and crying.

The door slammed shut after the next group entered. Cindy found an empty bunk and sat down. She could not believe what had happened to her. After a few minutes a loudspeaker made an announcement:

“This is Regional DHS Director Malcolm Kemp. The President has declared a National Emergency. There is a high possibility that tomorrow an asteroid strike may end the world as we know it. This facility and 11 others like it are charged with directing recovery operations and restoring order and governmental control of the surviving population if the worst happens. You were taken to save your lives if the worst happens.

Unfortunately, we do not have room for the rest of the area population. If the worst case happens, the inhabitants may represent the only hope of mankind to survive. Since most of the DHS people here are male, it was necessary to insure that a suitable number of females are present to insure a broad gene pool.

If the asteroid misses, you will be returned to your lives and families. If it does not, we all will have to get on with our new lives.

The doors are locked during this event for your protection. A cart with food for the next 24 hours will be delivered shortly. I suggest that you stay in your bunks since we may experience severe aftershocks. Good night,”

The pandemonium started again, and Cindy just sat there in silence, trying to comprehend what was happening. The woman on the next bunk lit a cigarette, in defiance of the No Smoking signs, and said, “Hang in there honey, we’ll get through this if we don’t go into meltdown.” She stood, and then sat down beside Cindy and placed her arm around her shoulders.

Together, they hung on during the terrors of Day 0, and the days after.

Cindy’s new friend, Rose McAllen, was 23 and had run away from a molesting foster home when she was 15. She had started hooking immediately, and was making $1000 a night on Day –1. She was a survivor, and had resolved to help Cindy cope with their new life, no matter which direction it took.

On Day 11 all of the women were taken to the general mess hall, where a stage had been erected. Director Kemp was standing at a lectern, and armed troopers lined the walls. He had a stern expression, and then started speaking.

“I am sorry to inform you that the worst has happened. There have been massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions everywhere. Before we lost contact with the Presidential Bunker below the Denver Airport, they reported that most of the East Coast was under water, and that Yellowstone, Mammoth Mountain, and Mount Rainer had massive eruptions. They were reporting their site was being covered by ash when we lost contact. Before we lost it our surface weather station had reported continuous wind velocities of over 120 MPH for several hours.