“This isn’t where you live?” she asked.
“No, we live underground.”
“Wait, this is an old missile installation, isn’t it?” She exchanged glances with Marty.
“As a matter of fact, it is. Why?”
“Survival Estates?”
Forrest looked at Kane and laughed. “No, honey. We’re not twenty-twelvers. We didn’t buy this place until after we knew about the asteroid. How did you hear about Survival Estates?”
Emory and Marty told them the story about the crater and the wiped-out missile installation, then Forrest and Kane went below, promising to send up hot chow.
The first thing Ulrich said when he stepped into the cargo bay to greet them was: “Who the fuck’s upstairs, Jack?”
“How’s Melissa?”
“Unconscious but hanging in. Who are they?”
“They saved our goddamn lives,” Forrest said, handing over the rucksack full of antibiotics. “Get these to West right away. Marcus and I have to clean up before we come in. And have somebody cook up a pot of something hot to eat.”
Over the next few hours, Emory and Marty were fed and showered in the house above and given clean clothes to wear before being taken below, where they were asked to shower again and undergo a physical examination.
Sullivan was initially kept in the cargo bay wrapped in a thick arctic sleeping bag until Emory and West were able to give him a sponge bath. West suggested that after a few days of warmth and bed rest he would probably be much improved. For the time being he was given the cot in Launch Control, where he would be safe from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the silo.
Forrest finally stepped into Medical, and Veronica got up from the chair beside Melissa’s bed, hugging him. She could have cried with joy at the sight of him, but with Michael present she maintained her composure.
Michael shook Forrest’s hand and thanked him. By then Kane had related the details of their adventure, and the story had spread throughout the tiny population.
“How is she?” Forrest asked, seeing the bags of fluid now hooked up to Melissa’s arms.
“Sean says we should know within twelve hours whether or not the drugs are helping,” Michael said.
“They will,” Forrest said, willing the antibiotics to be effective.
“I’ll give you two some time,” Michael said, turning to go.
“Stay put,” Forrest said. “I have to go debrief our guests before Wayne gives them the Gestapo treatment.” He found Marty and Emory in Launch Control with Ulrich and Kane. Emory was sitting beside Sullivan’s cot, running her fingers through his hair as he slept. “How are you doing? Better?”
“It’s unbelievable down here,” she said quietly, ready to crawl out of her own skin. She was so used to being on the edge twenty-four hours a day that she was having trouble decompressing.
“You knew about the asteroid months in advance?” Marty said from a chair near the wall. “How?”
“A friend of mine at the Pentagon.”
“And who are all these people?”
“Some are family and friends, the rest were chosen at random. See you in the hall for a minute, Wayne?”
Ulrich got up from his chair and stepped out with him.
“Recognize the look in their eyes?” Forrest asked.
“They don’t know what to do now that there’s nothing to fight. Better have Mike talk to them before we try any sort of debrief.”
“We’ll let ’em sleep in there with their man. They’re not gonna want to split up for a while.”
“You two fucking near bought it, didn’t you?” Ulrich said.
“Twice. But it’s over now.”
“This makes three more mouths to feed, you know.”
“I do. After you crunch the numbers, let me know how many days I’ve knocked off our lives, and I’ll see what I can do to make up for it.”
“Oscar and Linus bagged a rat while you were gone. It’s in the cargo bay under a tarp. It’s a female. Now they need to figure out what to build the cages out of.”
“How long can we keep it a secret do you think?”
“I don’t know,” Ulrich said, “but if you hear Erin screaming like her hair’s on fire, you’ll know one of the little bastards got in here.”
It was late in the afternoon of the following day that Veronica found Forrest sleeping on the floor in the electrical room. “Jack,” she said softly, kneeling to touch his arm.
He opened his eyes and for a moment didn’t know where he was. “Yeah?”
“Melissa’s awake,” she said with a smile. “She asked for you first thing.”
Forrest sat up in a flash, throwing back the sleeping bag and pulling on his boots. “What’s Sean say?”
“He thinks maybe she’s out of the woods.”
“See?” he said, suddenly pissed. “Fucking Wayne would have had us watch her die!”
“Hey,” she said gently. “I think that’s entirely the wrong way to look at this.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he said, still frazzled from the mission. He got to his feet and kissed her, slipping quickly out of the room and up to Medical.
Melissa was obviously still very weak, but her face lit up the moment he came into the room.
“Hey!” he said softly, taking her hand and kissing her forehead.
“Where have you been?” she asked.
“I’ve been right here,” he said with a smile. “What are you talking about?”
She shook her head. “You went somewhere.”
“I’ll tell you all about it later. How are you feeling?”
“Better. My head doesn’t hurt so bad.”
“Excellent,” he said with a glance at West. “I’m going to talk with Sean a minute, okay?”
“Are you coming back?” she asked, trying to hold his hand tighter.
“Yeah.”
“Promise?”
“Right after I talk with Sean, honey. I swear to God.”
Forrest took West down the hall. “No bullshit, Sean. How is she?”
“I think the worst is behind her. The antibiotics seem to be doing their job.”
“Could she relapse?”
“Of course,” West said. “But she shouldn’t, Jack. That’s all I can tell you.”
To West’s surprise, Forrest gave him a hug then slipped back into the room.
Forty-Five
It had taken a couple of days, but after Sullivan improved to the point where he could sit up and coax Marty and Emory out of Launch Control, the two slowly began to adjust to life in the silo. Sullivan had served overseas, and he understood the impact of post-traumatic stress, realizing that his friends needed to socialize themselves. Michael spoke with them briefly, but they hadn’t been in the mood to open up.
Emory took a liking to Veronica and so tagged around with her for a day before venturing about on her own.
Marty borrowed a laptop from Ulrich and downloaded the photos and videos of the crater for everyone in the complex to view. No one could believe the size of the crater, which looked far larger than a city in the panoramic shots, stretching well beyond the horizon. He had done the geometry and estimated the crater at fifty miles across, as wide as Lake Erie, and his tale of their fight with the cannibals living in a missile complex similar to their own had chilled all of the women to the bone.
This morning Emory was having breakfast in the cafeteria at a table with Erin and Tonya.
“When are you due?” Erin asked, hoping to engage the dour-looking soldier in a conversation about something feminine.
“Probably April sometime,” Emory replied. “I’m not sure.”
“It’s kind of exciting knowing there’s a baby on the way.”
“I guess it’s nice somebody’s excited about it. I’d like to abort the little bastard.”