Jacqueline Druga - What Tomorrow Brings

“Kit, I believed, we all believed this would be a ship for ship, base for base, limited civilian exchange. We watched them move thousands of warheads. Our Intel was wrong and we learned it too late.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we received the actual information that they had launched, we tried to confirm. We could not get a confirmation. So we took out several military installations and four cities. They hadn’t launched. When they did, they hit our bases, our silos and two dozen of our cities. More were coming. We barely got our missiles in the air, and most of them were just intercepting the incoming. Then more came again.”

“Jesus.” Kit covered her mouth. “We fired first. We started it.”

“We did. Now, our coasts are reduced to rubble and a lot of our mid west was hit with a biological weapon that we still can’t get a grip on. You were supposed to arrive in New Mexico, when that didn’t happen, the first safe day I could, I headed north. My plan was to get you, your brothers and Zeke and bring you back to New Mexico to the facility.”

“You said, ‘was’. What changed?”

“Because we need to think of the American People, in three days the President will be signing a conditional surrender.”

Kit had to catch her breath. “So those rumors were true.”

“It was a loss for us and theirs was a pyrrhic victory at best. The U.S. is at Mexico and Canada’s mercy for help, thank God they are reaching out. All of us hit, all countries, are relying on the help of those who were smart enough not to push a button. After that surrender a lot of that aid will be arriving, some has already arrived. Following the conditional surrender the country will be occupied for a period of five years.”

“How will that work?” Kit asked confused.

“I don’t know. We assume and hope that it will go the same way, it did in World War II when we occupied Japan and Germany. They rebuild, they move us to a sovereign state, I suppose. I don’t know, I really don’t. I should, but I’m dead to them all. The president doesn’t want me to reveal myself because many of the heads of state will be charged as war criminals. Me being one of them.”

“It’s ridiculous.”

“What is?”

“This was a nuclear war. Jesus, this isn’t a game. You talk surrender, asylum, I think you’re talking because you don’t know. You aren’t seeing what’s out there. There’s no bouncing back.”

“We can’t think that way. We’re picking up the pieces now.”

“No, it’s a bandaid. It will only stick for so long.” Kit asked. “I have seen the people that are pouring in from Colorado Springs and that’s only one city. I can’t imagine what else is out there.”

“We need to be positive.”

“It’s hard to be positive when there aren’t enough healthy people left in the world to help.” She closed her eyes and took a breath when the word ‘healthy’ slipped from her lips. She immediately thought of her brothers. “Do Mark and Regis know this?” she asked.

“I told them all this today. They have a lot on their minds. I’m going to get them as close to Spokane as possible. There is transport bringing some political heads to Canada for asylum. I’m sending them on the first one.”

“I’m going with them. I need to find Jillie.”

“I understand that,” Dennis held up his hand. “I really do. I can’t, or let me be clear, I won’t authorize you to go on that run. In order for you to do that, you’d have to be outside and exposed for days. It’s to dangerous. Your children need you to not get sick. Maybe the next one, if the levels drops.”

“Then have Regis and Mark wait. I can help them. It could be worse on them if they go.”

“It could be, but on the chance they don’t have that much time, do you want to take that away from them? I’m told both of them have a forty percent chance of survival. They need to do this. Mark needs to find his son and Regis needs to be with his brother.”

“So you’re going to Canada now?”

“I won’t be staying. You can go there, too, anyone can go there and request asylum. I want to go and get Zeke situated there with Colonel Daniels and another senator.”

“You want to take Zeke to Canada? No.” Kit shook her head. “No. I will take him with me to look for Jillie.”

“Kit, listen to me.” Dennis placed his hands on her arms. “We don’t know what this occupation will bring. It could be peaceful, it could be bad. Zeke is a young man. We don’t know what their plans are. Nothing could happen and Zeke could be fine, but there is a chance he will be recruited or put in a work camp to rebuild. Let him go to Canada. Let him be young. For the most part, Canada is unscathed and a good bit of their nation has communications. You’ll find him. You will. He needs to go.”

“He won’t want to,” Kit said.

“If you tell him he needs to, he will go.”

“What about you? Will you eventually go back to Canada?”

Dennis nodded. “Eventually. Not yet.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“A parent, no matter how old, wants what is best for their children. They need to know their children are alright. Like you and Mark, I have a child out there, and like you and Mark,” Dennis said. “I’m going to go find her.”

Kit was given the details, who did what, how much damage, but it didn’t matter. It was all politics and she wanted to focus on the human side of it. The politicians weren’t. They weren’t seeing what happened to our world.

A large portion of the world had been buried by their own hands and now were at the mercy of those who would come and help.

The richest country in the world, would now be impoverished, starving and more than likely under some sort of military rule until things were put back in order. No doubt, the news of surrender wouldn’t be taken so easily by some. There would be those who would rise up and fight, a resistance.

Of course, there was no news media so it was word of mouth, or they’d see for themselves.

Kit would see for herself, because she had every intention of going to look for her mother and daughter. Her father believed he could get her on a transport to Canada and that would get her closer to Washington state, but that would be after the surrender and during the occupation. There were risks.

By the time she had finished speaking with her father, Mark and Regis were packing, the first run was leaving in an hour, and she was waiting on Zeke’s return.

Kit had totally forgot that Abe had drove to the base with her. Until she walked by him. He was in a small cafeteria style room, sitting at a table, sipping on a cup of coffee.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” She walked up to him.

He stood. “That’s fine. How are you? That was uh… quite the shocker.”

“The fact that my father is alive, or we lost the war?”

“Both, but looking around, knowing all the damage, did anyone really win?”

“What are you going to do now?” she asked. “Isn’t your brother in New Mexico?”

“My brother is here. He’s leaving for Canada in an hour.”

Kit folded her arms tight to her body. “Are you going?”

Abe shook his head. “No. I know why my brother is going. I can’t help rebuild my country if I’m not in my country.”

Kit heard Abe’s words, and believed he was sincere about rebuilding his country. ‘Rebuild’ was a word that Kit heard, but it wasn’t one she believed would really happen. How could it? It wasn’t like the previous wars where it was only cities in a few countries. This war brought nations to their knees. The entire effort would eventually prove too much. Thousands of cities in the US were destroyed. Millions of people were dead and millions more would die. It was already beyond anyone’s help, they just didn’t know it yet. Canada, while mostly unscathed wasn’t truly the Promised Land. For as much aid as other countries would give, they would need it for their self eventually. How long would it take for the effects of the war to be global? Temperatures would drop, crops would fail. Too much land that grew the majority of the food was destroyed and there wouldn’t be any more extra crops, or food.