One Second After

Smiley’s had become something of the old “general store.” There was precious little to sell, other than his legendary horde of cigarettes, which were now doled out one at a time in exchange for a dead squirrel, old silver coins, or whatever might capture Hamid’s fancy.

John almost regretted his sense of fair play that first day. He should have purchased a dozen cartons. He was down to five packs and rationing himself to no more than five cigarettes a day now.

“OK, everybody, time for the meeting, so let’s clear the room,” Charlie announced.

Those who had gathered to gaze at the phone reluctantly left the room. Charlie closed the windows and dropped the Venetian blinds.

It was the usual group. Charlie, Bob, Kate, Doc Kellor, and John. Carl and Mike from Swannanoa came down from their end if there was something directly related to them at the moment but today were caught up with a forest fire up along Haw Creek that was threatening to turn into a real inferno.

A ritual John had insisted on was now enacted, the group turning to face an American flag in the corner of the room and recite the Pledge of

Allegiance, and then Kate led them in a brief prayer before Charlie announced the meeting was now in order.

“I hate to jump the gun on the agenda, but I’ve got something important,” John said.

“What?”

“Outside news.”

“Well, for God’s sake, man, why didn’t you say something when you came in?” Charlie asked.

“Everyone was excited about the phone, and well, frankly, some of it isn’t all that good.”

“Go on; tell us,” Kate said.

“There’s a station on the radio now. Voice of America.”

“Wow. When?” Kate cried.

“I was driving last night, fiddling with the dial on the car, and it came in clear as day.”

“The radio?” Charlie shouted. “Tell us about it. My God, we got radio again!

“The old radio in the Edsel. I don’t know, I was just fooling with the dial and suddenly it came in loud and clear, frequency at the old Civil Defense band. We sat there listening to it for a half hour or so, then atmospheric skip and it faded.”

“We?” Kate asked.

He didn’t reply. Makala had come down to join them for a meal and check on Jennifer and he was just driving her back to the conference center, which was now the nursing home and isolation ward for incoming refugees who were allowed to stay.

“So what the hell is going on?” Tom asked.

“They’re broadcasting off the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, part of our fleet stationed in the Persian Gulf when things started. They beelined it back here. They said the carrier was somewhere off the coast of the United States and was now the command post for relief and recovery operations.

“They said that help is on the way. Kept repeating that every five minutes. Said the nation is still under martial law.”

“No news there,” Kate said.

“What kind of help?” Tom asked.

“Didn’t say, other than relief supplies are coming from Britain, Australia, and India and China.”

“India and China?” Charlie asked.

“Yes, struck me as strange. That earlier report about a weapon detonated over the western Pacific.”

“Who we fighting?” Tom asked.

“Didn’t say. Just that allied forces are fighting, in Iran, Iraq, Korea. Good news is that Charleston, Wilmington, and Norfolk have been declared emergency restructuring centers.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Kellor asked.

“I guess it means if we have some kind of functional assets overseas that didn’t get hit, ships that can provide electrical power, aircraft, trained personnel, they’d be coming back here and those are three local places.”

“Charleston is the nearest, two hundred and fifty miles away,” Charlie sighed. “That won’t help us a damn bit.”

“I know,” John said.

“What about the war?” Tom asked.

“Anything beyond the three cities?” Kate interjected.

“Nothing else. Oh yeah, the president is the former secretary of state. She’s in charge.”

No one spoke at that news.

“Apparently the president died aboard Air Force One; they got him up in the air and the plane wasn’t hardened sufficiently to absorb the pulse. They didn’t say what happened to the vice president or Speaker of the House.”

“Nothing really that affects us directly,” Charlie said, and no one replied. Strange, the death of a president and now we say it doesn’t affect us, John thought.

“That was it. Then they played music.”

“What?” Charlie cried. “Music?”

“Patriotic stuff. ‘God Bless America,’ it faded out with the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’.”

John looked around the room.

“At least we know they’re out there.”

“The legendary ‘they,’” Kellor replied coldly. “Doesn’t help us here and now with what I’ve got to talk about.”

“Go on,” Charlie said. “In fact, what you just told us, John, depresses the hell out of me. The thought that they’re so close. Hell, a month and a half ago a C-130 loaded with medical supplies could have flown here in an hour from Charleston. Now it’s like they’re on the far side of the moon.

“Doc, why don’t you go ahead.”