Walter flew low over the battle zone and was able to direct the ground forces to tighten the noose. He finally landed behind the Marine position, refueled, and took the wounded, including Tiny back to the temporary field hospital at Strawberry.
The sniping went on throughout the afternoon, and anyone who ventured outside the armored vehicles was hit within seconds. By the time darkness fell, only a third of the DHS force troopers were unhurt. Without night vision, those troopers were able to escape into the wilderness south of Highway 50. They left almost all of their supplies and weapons, as well as their wounded.
The next morning, the forces converged and there was no fight left at the convoy. The remaining DHS wounded were dispatched with a bullet in the head, just like the men in Reno. Kemp was not among those left behind on Highway 50.
The bulldozers were used to clear the roadway and bury the DHS dead, and the remains of the convoy were stripped of anything salvageable. The women and children were taken down the hill and distributed among the communities. Tiny was taken back to the Best Buy Trading Post, where Rose McAllen started nursing him back to health.
A mixed force of Marines and militia started a concerted effort to track down the scattered remains of the DHS force. It took another six months, but eventually the last of the renegades were killed in a shootout at the little community of Griminger.
The Chicago had arrived and was permanently berthed at a dock near the Community College buildings in El Dorado. Her nuclear power plant was used to provide electrical power for the area. Captain Moore agreed to stay on board with a volunteer crew and maintain the boat and power plant. Those crewmen who were not required for those tasks were transferred to reserve status, and left the boat to start a new career.
By the time that Tiny had fully recovered, Rose had him wrapped around her finger. The difference, for the first time in her life, was that she felt the same way about him. They were married shortly thereafter, and made a great home for Lilly and two other orphans, Mark and Jerry.
Walter and Rebecca had worked closely during the war, and a bond developed in those months. He had been asked to head up the Inland Sea Militia, and had accepted the responsibility. Although he traveled around the region, he stayed with Rebecca on the Goose, and they were married two months after Tiny and Rose.
The mostly male crew of the Chicago and the women from the bunker quickly came together and most started making new lives.
Chapter 17
The years that followed the war were filled with many events that shaped the character of the people of the Inland Sea. The Goose made several voyages to the islands of Southern California. Each time they picked up a load of refugees, who were barely surviving.
The people of the Inland Sea, prospered, and the population increased steadily.
Zeke responded to a call to help with the AM radio equipment and broadcasts. He left Casa Jacoby to be run by Hector Mendoza, his son Roberto, and retired to run the Engineering Department at El Dorado University.
Zeke and a group of engineering students put together a rudimentary wireless digital communication system, which provided the community with access to bulletin boards, and a crude, slow form of the Internet. The system was only up for three hours daily, since power was limited everywhere.
The next generation of the original survivors flourished amid a strong commitment of their parents to see their kids have a sound education foundation.
By the time the nuclear power plant on the Chicago was wearing out, there were three area hydroelectric plants in full time operation. The Chicago was towed out to sea and with the reactor in cold shutdown and everything usable salvaged, she made a final plunge into deep-water 100 miles north and west of the San Francisco Bay.
The GPS satellites were no longer usable and ocean-going vessels had to rely on a magnetic celestial navigation, which was seriously limited by the ever-present cloud cover. Therefore most ships seldom traveled more than a couple of days sailing off the coast. Trading along the coast was limited to a few outposts with safe harbors.
The fishing fleet, based on the shores of San Francisco Bay, was flourishing, as the sea life had become plentiful. Even the sea otters and the abalone had recovered from the Coastal Event.
El Dorado Hills, with its electric power, salvageable housing, and the University experienced a population surge. Many small manufacturing businesses, stores, and traders grew up around the Best Buy Trading Post, now operated by the second generation of the founders.
Daily steam powered train service moved cargo and people around the Inland Sea. Salvage operations had shifted to primarily materials recovery. A steel mill was constructed on a hill overlooking the former site of Oakland.
The economy was slowly developing. Farming was still mostly hand labor, and a hard days work was the expected norm for everyone.
The Bakersfield oil field was slowly being salvaged and redeveloped. A crude refinery was operating and producing gas, diesel, and bunker oil, which was now the fuel of choice for steam boilers. They were used for everything from threshing machines to cargo vessels. Many of the steam-powered engines were salvaged and modified internal combustion vehicle engines.
Zeke docked the Flush just below the college, and Maria liked living closer to town. When not on a trip the Goose was docked beside the Flush and the families grew close.
Year seven was not a good year. Maria developed a fast growing cancer and passed in the spring. That fall, Walter was on a mercy flight with the Osprey. A steam-powered vessel had broken down and drifted into the rocks on the Oregon coast. A failure in the primary hydraulic system caused a spin that was unrecoverable. They crashed into a mountainside, and all the crew was lost.
Just as Rebecca had comforted Zeke when Maria died, he was there for Rebecca when Walter was lost.
Eventually, they both were ready to move on, and recognized that they were better when they were together. They were married on the first day of Year 9.
Zeke passed the Flush on to his kids and moved aboard the Goose. The couple was inseparable for another 10 years. One evening after dinner Zeke suffered a stroke that killed him the next day. Rebecca took the loss fairly well, telling those who loved her that dying was just part of the grand circle of life. She was grateful that Zeke passed without suffering.
After a suitable period, several men had indicated a romantic interest, but Rebecca turned them all down.
She passed three years after moving off the Goose, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
Epilog
I had spent a lot of time these last three years working with my mom, to get this record down. Mom felt it was important to tell the future generations how their ancestors survived the calamity that came close to extinguishing mankind.
Because we still have a serious shortage of printing materials this book will not be printed for many years, if ever. However, it is stored in both the primary and backup servers at the University. It may be downloaded to any computer or eBook reader on the net.
My brother, Erick Russell, and his best friends, Ruben Jacoby and Mark Landon are planning on making a round the world voyage. Erick has promised to keep a journal, and post it with this one on his return.
I hope this collection becomes a living history of these times. It has been an honor to help prepare this first volume.
About the Author
A.G. Kimbrough is a man with a wide range of life experiences. He grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in a small New Mexico town, and joined the Navy as soon as he turned 17. As a young man, he worked in the electronics side of the defense industry. Later, he spent over 30 years as an engineer, exec, and CEO in the welding automation industry. After a medical wakeup call, he retired to an island on the Carolina coast and ran a fishing charter business for a few years. An insatiable reader since boyhood, he started writing for his own pleasure, when bits of time were available. His published works include: