Jacqueline Druga: Salvation

“Dad, we’re here,” Trey reached over to wake his father and he retracted his hand. His father’s skin was hot to the touch, too hot. “Your fever is up again.”

Opting to let him rest, Trey stopped the vehicle, stepped out and opened the first gate. It was a non secure gate to a link fence. After closing it he got back in his vehicle and drove to the entrance. It was a routine Trey did regularly. He entered his access code on the keypad then placed his hand over the scanner. The metal door beeped then slid open. It would beep for thirty seconds then the door would slide closed. Trey hurried inside the entrance tunnel lit by fluorescent lights. The short journey took him into the receiving area. A large closed in space that was similar to a warehouse. Going through there was a way into Salvation. Rarely did Trey go beyond that point. Only if he needed something inside Salvation did he go in. Usually he was there to just drop off products.

Typically the only guard on duty was there talking with a few other workers. It was a calm place that operated in an orderly fashion. Trey stopped at the gate to be let into the warehouse section. He noticed more movement with more men grouping off and talking. Something seemed odd. It seemed like there was some sort of event.

A younger guard, Tony, approached the vehicle. “Hey Trey, what’s up? You’re back pretty fast.”

“Emergency I discovered when I got home. I have an injured man,” Trey recalled. “Got tetanus I believe. Not sure. Snagged his arm on some metal. He just needs to see a doctor.”

“He alive?”

“Yeah, fever has him out.” Trey nodded his head forward. “What is going on? I’ve never saw so many people in here.”

“Yeah, you probably don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“Check this out. About two hours ago the former president arrived.”

“I’m sorry. The former president?” Trey was confused.

“I don’t have the whole story. It was the guy who was president decades ago. Supposedly killed in an explosion. Seems President Duncan’s wife was right. Swore up and down he wasn’t killed, but was hidden in stasis. Like frozen or something.”

Trey chuckled. “That’s silly. That’s the stuff in books.”

“Well, apparently this shit is real. He’s in quarantine now. Man there is gonna be a lynch mob after him and they’re trying to keep it calm in there. But people are upset.”

“Understandably. It doesn’t make sense. He just showed up?”

“Yep,” Tony said. “The news said there are others. They weren’t with him. They’re out there. All those responsible for causing the virus that ended the world. Bet balls to the wall SalCom will find them. Finally, those who remember it all will see justice.”

Trey whispered. “Yeah.”

“Sorry we are rambling and your guy needs medical attention. What’s his name?”

Trey looked at his father then reached down and handed Tony the entrance badge. “Don. Don Stanton. He’s my neighbor and works for me.”

Tony slid the card through the hand held device. “Good luck. Hope he feels better.”

The gate opened and Trey thanked him as he drove through. He hoped his father regained consciousness before they reached the hospital. Trey needed him to. He needed his father to know his name wasn’t going to be Malcolm Lowe. With all that was going on… it couldn’t be.

After gathering all that we could, all that remained intact from my home, we made our way back out of my neighborhood. Jason and I were going to take the route around, as we did to find my home, but instead we walked through the city.

We did so out of curiosity and because we knew we wouldn’t arrive back to his Kentucky home before we had to stop for the evening. The buggy would eventually run out of juice and we’d have to make camp and have to delay morning departure while the buggy regained enough energy to start. Rather than doing that, we opted to just conserve what juice the buggy had and take off in the morning.

Like Nashville, Cleveland was one of the first cities to be closed down. At least it looked that way. But, unlike Nashville, Cleveland wasn’t quarantined; it was evacuated. Metal signs, rusted and worn, hung around the city. Some we could make out. Most of them reiterated for people to know their routes and exodus days. It was orderly.

No one remained.

Where did they go?

Why?

My husband and Lilly stayed behind long enough to get the letter of admittance into Salvation, then again, our neighborhood was slightly on the outskirts.

What we found was nothing less than a new forest and the houses were all that remained as the trees just took over.

There was still the downtown portion of Cleveland. Even though it was close to the lake, it had substantially more concrete, and a likelihood that it wasn’t as overgrown as the suburbs.

So we made a plan to loop around.

What else did we have to do?

A part of me hoped that perhaps we’d find life in the city. Jason wasn’t so optimistic or hopeful. He didn’t want to find people; he feared what they had become.

The city was overgrown, if anyone lived there, in his mind, there was no way they hadn’t become a savage part of the new jungle world.

As we walked the streets the newly emerged trees and foliage kept a comfortable shade over us. There was a large amount of humidity in the air. Anything metal had rusted, and moss and mold grew everywhere. Despite the fact that the sidewalks were overgrown, the base was slick with slimy algae. It squished beneath our feet as we walked.

It was evident that things went down long before the city was evacuated. This was clear when we walked through the Gordon Arts District. People had made a home out of the Public Theater. There were barrels inside that had been used for heat and lanterns remained, even though they too were covered in algae.

A pictorial documentation of what happened.

Things shut down, no lights, no heat, no internet.

I wondered how they got information?

How long did people huddle together to survive before they were permitted to leave the city?

So many questions. Very little direct answers were to be found but there was always the morning when we headed back to the car to try to find out more.

We set up camp for the night finding a safe and dry spot on the third floor Starbucks of the Cleveland Westin. Neither of us were tired, nor did we want to stop. But it just grew too dark to continue on.

Day Six AR

The reality was, if they didn’t find Salvation, Nora knew they’d have to come up with a plan for food. From what she estimated, they had enough for two weeks. That was it. She counted while Jason slept, wanting to get an idea of what items they had.

The meeting date with the others was still eleven days away. Just like planning to meet in Champaign, Illinois; they had to plan where they would get food.

One thing was for certain, deer were plenty. They had seen so many and they were brazen as well. So used to living in a world void of people they no longer feared man.

Assuming the water in the lakes was good there was always fish too.

Jason slept hard, barely moving, but Nora had been up for a while. She gathered the items they’d carry and put them in the Rite Aid cart. If booze was one of the basic food groups, they’d be fine.

Kentucky was on their schedule. They would head back to Jason’s home for a few days then on to their meeting place. If they arrived first, that would give Nora and Jason time to think about survival and the things they would need. Realistically, Nora and Jason would get there first. After all, Malcolm and Amy went West. John and Grant, along with Meredith, headed North-East. Geographically, they were closest.