The Event Series (Book 3): The Archive and Beyond Read online

  He did not try to talk us out of it, really I think that he knew that if I was right, it was good, and if I was wrong, staying here with the clan at the Archive didn’t really matter.

  We found a nice little 25 foot antique van camper that would work for us. It was a Mercedes frame with diesel. It had pop-out sides to expand the room inside. It would need a good washing and smelled a little musty inside, but it was just what we needed. Irony, it is called a “Raven”. We managed to get it started and I drove it back.

  Tonight Tanya and I put together a list of what we were going to take, and what we would want to try to find along the way. The RV itself had most of the basics, bedding, cooking equipment, an interior stove and john. We would need to bring clothes, weapons and food but that was about it.

  On the back of the van was a place that we could add spare fuel cans but with a 100 gallon fuel tank we should be good to go. Along the way we would look for a couple of bicycles and any other things that might come in handy.

  September 29th

  (Matt) Had a nice talk with Mark today, we explained to him and Michelle what was going on and why. He was good with it. I think we all have known that over time we would splinter and some of us would strike out on our own. Ron tried and it didn’t work so well for him, but that was in a time when things were different, wilder.

  He told me about the brief period where Michelle thought she was pregnant. It was a short time and well, it just didn’t work. They were trying again now that they were in the Archive, but so far, no go.

  He is going to work with Taylor to get together some MREs and other foods that are durable. I guess durable in terms of expiration date for us to take with us. Once again, we look at expiration dates a little less critically than we did back in the time before the meteor. It was always known that those dates were just a guideline and generally foods lasted much beyond those dates.

  Mom was down at the farm, Lincoln was there with her. It was actually kind of fun to watch them. He still has his arms in casts and is pretty much not able to do much to help her, but he is there, close to her, and they laugh, they seem to get along well. Perhaps they are what each of them needs to fill some gaps that have been left in their lives.

  We spent the rest of the day loading up the Raven and getting ready to go.

  This evening it rained so we did the Vespers in the Rec Hall. It was fun, but there is a kind of subdued feeling in the place. I think it is a combination of the solar storm and our leaving. We, Tanya and I were upbeat about it. I actually think that in the long run we may be back to the Archive, but that will be years down the road. It makes me wonder who will be here, and what the babies will be like. Maybe even we will have a baby or two of our own.

  (Tom) Matt, Tanya and I took a ride yesterday and picked up an RV for them for this idea of theirs about rolling west. I am not sure if I agree with the idea, but it is nothing I can put my finger on. I told him about the thoughts that the Pittsburgh had about no children, pregnancies, but that we don’t know.

  I guess we need to look beyond where we are at now, and the two of them are very strong in their faith and what needs to be done for the future.

  Beyond that, the best I can describe today as was mundane. Lance is working on the re-wire of the solar panels. He has Fred and Steven giving him a hand. Augustus has a little sniffle and Heather has brought him to see Doc Barkley. Sgt. Brown and Asuna are going over the schematics that the Pittsburgh sent us to try to figure out what we have not found under the mountain.

  Molly and Lucy are playing outside with McManus and Maria keeping an eye on her. Delaney, Margo and Cody are off doing some hunting. If we were still at Romanica, I would be off doing some fishing.

  Rain rolled in just after dinner time, we will be indoors tonight.

  September 30th

  It was another rainy day so Lance was unable to work outside. Actually it was kind of a raw, cold, shitty day. I did something I have not done in a while, I took a nap. Asuna joined me. Maybe a child of our own is not such a bad idea.

  (Matt) We are leaving in the morning, I hope the weather is better, I’m not crazy about driving in the rain but it is what it is. We spent most of the day hanging out with Mom and Mark. It is our last day together as a family. We talked about a lot of things, the old days, our dad, Phillip, and how he left us, died, so early. Mom did a great job of raising us. I hope when our time comes we can do as good a job as she did.

  We shared a lot of memories of Gram and Gramp, the farm in Canton, the good days, the bad days, just days. Some of those memories were very sad, some very funny, Uncle Nick and the burning shoelaces at the campfire up at Fort Plain. And of course, there was the burning Christmas presents.

  I felt bad for Tanya, she had lost that, she had lost her family so early on, and we rarely talk about it. She had a bad deal, with the gang that killed her kids and husband. They stole so much from her. Even the way we were brought up, city girl, country boy, and yet we have this great love, this bond. I am so lucky.

  When we turned in tonight, it was a bittersweet feeling. I told Tanya that before it was all over, we had to make it back here. We had to see them all one more time.

  October 1st

  (Matt) We are leaving soon and this will be the last entry in this notebook. I will leave it here, in our room, for when we get back. I will, may start another one on the road, but I rather doubt it will be very interesting. Stopped here, saw that, visited here, found people, gave them the cure. That will be about it.

  We will see you all soon enough, if not in this place, in another.

  (Tom) It is a nice day today; I hope it is a harbinger of Matt and Tanya’s adventure. We were all out there for a final gathering before they left. I think that there was some hesitancy in actually climbing into the RV and driving off but finally they were on their way.

  Life has gone on in the Archive, it will go on. I am getting a little philosophic today, but why not. We have come a long way since the start of all this, the meteor, the die-off, the attacks by the living and the dead. But we have survived. We have lost a lot of friends and people that were close to us. And yet, those voids were filled; Asuna came to me after Anne died. It looks like maybe Lincoln will do the same for Teckla; Grace filled the void for Nick. It all just keeps going on…..Shit, I keep this up and I will be singing “Circle of Life”.

  Anyway, Lance was able to get the solar panels finished today and that is a good thing. We were not hurting for power, but this gives us a little more of a resource.

  I took a walk out onto the field on top of the Archive. Lucy and Molly were sitting there. Molly seemed to be in some sort of a trance, looking off into the distance. She was talking to Lucy.

  “The Raven has flown, the Turtle is gone. They have their role, it will bring the change, the beginning,” she said.

  Lucy just looked at her, then licked away her tears.

  October 2nd

  (Tom) Another day, another dollar….not much happening. The place is kind of quiet. We have little to do. Margo and Del have been bringing back deer, and turkeys to smoke and cure.

  We have a real freezer now so we are able to put some of the foods that we have collected away in it. There is an apple orchard not far from here so we have been able to harvest fresh fruit. Daphne, Michelle and Teckla spent the day making applesauce to bottle.

  We still have not figured out what is behind the wall at the end of the tunnel. The wires go in, but where do they go, that is the question.

  Augustus seems to be better with his sniffle although now it has moved on to Heather. I think we will all end up with some form of it before the week is out.

  I am bored.

  October 3rd

  There was a brief panic this morning when Lucy and Molly went out to play. At the edge of the woods was a small mountain lion. Turns out it was Elizabeth, she has found Margo. She did not come into the grassy field, just sat there until Margo came outside. When Margo saw her, she ran to her. It was amazin
g to see the two of them, it was like a girl and her cat…duh, that sounds stupid, but you know what I mean.

  The sniffles are getting worse and seem to be spreading. There are a number of people down with it. Fred, Jan, Sgt. Brown, Daphne, Gillie, they all have it. Perhaps the sniffles are not the best way to describe it. It starts out with dryness in the nose, and then it moves to the chest. The lucky ones don’t get the poop and puke part of it. Doc Barkley is doing the best he can to keep them hydrated.

  I put a sign up at the door to the Archive in case Teckla or Taylor came up from the farm warning them about the bug, but it was too late. Taylor already had it.

  I would have thought that with them being away from people, disease would not be an issue. I can see like cancer, or heart attacks or something like that, but flus, colds, measles….I figured they were not an issue, we are isolated. It makes no sense.

  October 4th

  Sadness, it appears that Jan was pregnant, we didn’t know, but because of the bug, the illness, she lost the baby.

  I am feeling a little feverish, I guess I have it.

  October 9th

  I am finally feeling better, it has been bad. I am down to 158 pounds from my 165, and still feeling weak. Asuna moved out when I first got it to try to avoid getting it herself. When she would come in to check on me, she wore one of those doctor masks.

  I do not remember much of the last 5 days; I remember hallucinating with the fever, weird dreams. There was one where I was visited by the QUalz. But I don’t remember what the dream, hallucination, was about.

  Others have it, but I am kind of in quarantine, only Asuna and Doc Barkley would come in, so I am not sure who else is ill.

  October 10th

  I almost feel human again; Doc says I should be able to get out of my room tomorrow. Asuna did not come today. I asked him about it. She has it.

  I asked him who else had it, and it was just about everyone. He has it, only Molly and some of those down at the farm, and Teckla, Lincoln, and Gilbert have been spared. And he was not even sure about them because they are out of contact.

  “Is everyone getting better?” I asked.

  “Some haven’t had it as bad as others, most are recovered, or recovering,” he replied.

  I got a bad feeling about it, “Doc, that sounds like something happened.”

  “You know Jan lost her baby, right”

  “Yeah, but there is more isn’t there.” I said.

  “We lost some people.”

  “Asuna? Margo, they’re alright?”

  “Yeah, Asuna is going to be fine, I’m sorry, I should have told you that first. She only got a light hit of the disease. Margo never got it. She and Cody moved into the woods when it started to show up. No, we lost Steven, Maria and Mark. Each of them developed pneumonia and there was nothing I, or anyone, could do.” He sounded devastated. “I tried.”

  “Oh”

  “I tried, I tried everything I could, gave them oxygen, anti-biotics, tried everything,” then he broke down.

  It hit me, “Doc, Major, is Charlene..”

  “Gone” he whispered.

  We sat in silence for a long time. I could feel his pain, I remembered, it was like it was yesterday that I faced it with Anne. FUCK!

  October 11th

  I am up and around. I checked on Asuna, she is doing pretty well, still has the diarrhea but staying hydrated.

  I had Major Barkley explain to me what to do for people and then I put him, ordered him to bed. McManus and I did what we could for everyone. We cooked, we cleaned.

  I know that McManus was kind of close with Maria but he won’t talk about it, just says he had to stay busy, but you can see the pain.

  I took a drive down to the Farm; I had to tell Teckla about Mark, that was my job. One I hated.

  There is a universal rule that children are not supposed to die before their parents. But every so often that rule gets broken. It is devastating. I cannot imagine the depth of despair that results. I tried. I tried to think what it would be like to lose Margo.

  It killed me to watch the life drain out of her face as I said the word. I wish there was something, anything, I could do to ease the pain. She has suffered so much.

  Lincoln was there, and he helped, he talked to her, held her. He knew, he knows what it was like.

  I headed back up the mountain. I had the living to attend to, I could do nothing for her, and it was, is time that will heal the pain, or at least make the pain lessen.

  If there is, or was an upside to all of this, they did not change, they stayed at peace. We placed them in the morgue area of the infirmary; we will keep them there until we can say a proper goodbye.

  October 12th

  (Tom) We are still limping along; most of those who were sick are better, or close to it. Asuna is back to being herself and she is helping McManus and me with the mundane chores of cooking and cleaning.

  A few of us were able to make it the Rec Hall tonight; we kind of just sat, and thought and talked a little. It helped some, but…. It is a sad time, we all knew this could happen, that over time we would have people leave us, die. But we have had such a good run of late that this was a shocker, it hit hard.

  October 14th

  (Tom) There is no real reason to write every day, especially with so little happening. We are recovering physically. The grieving goes on.

  I am feeling old today, and as I walked around the field at the top of the Archive, I looked at the maple trees, the colors this year are intense, golds, oranges and reds. But it reminds me that I am in autumn also, that sucks.

  October 17th

  (Tom) Lincoln had his casts removed today. Teckla drove him up to see Doc Barkley. He insisted on driving back to the farm, but it was not until later. They held out and stayed for dinner and Rec Room time.

  We have all been taking our turns at cooking. Tonight is was Sgt. Brown; she did a kind of southern meal for us. It was a chicken fried rabbit, with some corn and cabbage. We have not had much of the old salady stuff that we had back in Romanica. Teckla said she would get some of the remaining greens that they had down at the farm up to us tomorrow.

  There is a kind of resiliency, a toughness within the group. It is coming back, although it is slower for some than others. Heather is doing badly at the loss of Steven, but Augustus keeps her going and focused. Daphne and Jan are helping her.

  Baby steps, baby steps for us all.

  October 20th

  (Tom) Asuna thinks she might be pregnant. I am so hoping.

  October 23rd

  (Tom) Asuna and I did the meals today. I made a potato soup with leeks, well actually scallions for lunch. Breakfast was pancakes with fake syrup, Mrs. Butterworth, and dinner tonight was a kind of deer stew with a tandoori touch to it. Even Margo did not complain about the stew.

  Lance and Sgt. Brown are starting to look into the mystery of where the ceiling cables went. The schematics do show some kind of storage room behind that wall, but in the drawing the concrete wall was not there. That had to be an add-on.

  Overall, food wise, power wise, vehicle wise, we are all good. Mood wise we are all over the place. Some are good, some are bad, and some you just can’t tell. Heather worries me.

  October 26th

  Molly came to me this morning, she asked me to show her and Lucy the cement wall. I did not understand at first, but she explained that there was a cement wall at the end back of the facility, she wanted to see it. Okay, so I took her.

  When we got there, she just stared at it. Lucy sat next to her. She stared for a while and then finally just said, “Okay, we can leave now.”

  I was confused, “Molly, why did you want to see the wall?”

  “I saw it in my dreams and wanted to visit the Death Wall,” she replied, very matter of fact.

  “Death Wall?” I asked.

  “Yes, the wall that hides death.” She answered.

  She would go into no more detail other than to say that the wall was there to pro
tect us, keep us safe.

  I shared this information with Lance and Sgt. Brown.

  “Makes sense I think, they must have had something that they wanted to keep, but that was really dangerous,” offered Lance.

  “Maybe dat was what dat Mills bitch be looking for, some bad ass chem shit.” Brown tossed in.

  “Yeah, probably, but whatever it is, it should stay behind the wall, we don’t need it, we don’t want it,” I told them.

  Lance looked confused for a second, “but how did Molly know? I mean she even knew what was back there, sort of.”

  “I know, that is odd, there is something with her but I have no idea.” I was at a loss too.

  I told Major Barkley about the entire affair, Molly and her seeming ability, the idea that there were chemical or bio weapons behind the wall, and that we needed to keep it quiet.

  October 29th

  (Tom) Lance and Del headed down to the farm to do some riding today. It appears exploring further on the room behind the wall is over. I think that is good.

  Major Barkley came to see me today, with Teckla kind of permanent at the farm, and Charlene gone, he is the only one of The Three who is still at the Archive. He has ‘by the power vested in him’ appointed (railroaded) me into The Three. At this point, I am not so bad with it.

  Asuna still thinks she is pregnant, fingers crossed there.

  November 2nd

  Asuna finally went to see Doc Barkley today, the tests seem to show she is pregnant, 6 weeks we think. Wow, I am gonna be a dad. But still, with what happened with Jan, and the way things are going, I am cautiously optimistic. But it may show that the cure was not the problem, which would be huge.

  It was kind of tense today; Elizabeth and Lucy were introduced to each other. Margo and Molly have pretty much become attached to their specific animal, their spirit animals and decided that it was time the creatures became friends. Okay, tense was not a good choice of words, I became tense and should not have. The two had met before and after about 15 minutes they were rolling around like house pets. Wow, awesome.

  Molly is really an interesting character. She is autistic, as I said before, She has the body of an 18 year old girl, a pretty 18 year old girl, but her mind, it is like that of a shy 12 year old. It is kind of a shame that there is noone her age, mental age to hang out with. But she seems to do okay with us adults, but it is Lucy that she really connects with.