Isolation (Book 3): Starting Anew, page 8
part #3 of Isolation Series
“Yeah.” Ellie sighed again. “For now I'll be happy if we can just get food and other necessities for the people in camp.”
Her boyfriend nodded. “Same here. At least now they're making progress there in the stuff they can do something about.”
That was true. Yesterday their efforts had mostly revolved around getting the names of everyone in the camp, when they'd arrived and from where, and if they were going through their 21 days when they'd started. That seemed simple enough, but after that the next step had been to reorganize the camp so the sections were grouped by how long people had been there, and everyone's tents were separated by ten feet.
That had been a headache to plan, with residents balking at every step because they either liked where they were or didn't want to move away from friends. Ellie had a feeling lot of her time was just going to be spent documenting basic facts about so many people, and planning based on those facts.
No wonder Cathy always looked like her brain was fried, if she'd had to do much of that.
On the plus side, as they were reordering the camp they'd been able to rope volunteers into digging proper latrines, and implementing basic decontamination procedures for using them. Ellie had also managed to get Stanberry's leaders to go around to their neighbors again gathering up donations of spare tents, tarps, sleeping bags, blankets, sheets, and pillows to help improve conditions for residents.
Today, if things went as planned until she and Hal got back, the town would be scrounging up fencing, ideally chain-link, and the residents would be putting it up around the perimeter, around the smaller Zolos survivors' camp, and between the various sections in both camps.
Then both town and camp would focus on sorting out the water problem. The town would find a way to get more water to the camp, while the residents focused on more efficiently distributing and using what they got. Ideally she wanted everyone to have enough to spare to use for bathing, even if it was just with a rag and soapy water, and washing laundry.
All while observing proper precautions against Zolos.
Talking about the work they needed to do at the camp was a good distraction from thinking about her spat with Nick, so Ellie discussed that with her boyfriend for a while. Although eventually the conversation trailed off; trying to shout through the faceplates over the noise of driving was a pain, and as they turned onto the smaller roads Hal became more focused on driving.
A big part of that was that they actually began encountering traffic, relief convoys and supply convoys mostly. Ellie didn't see many non-government vehicles, even other semis, and felt a bit conspicuous about driving right in like this.
“I hope Darby's guy with the radio in Stanberry managed to get in contact with somebody down here!” she called, imagining one of those convoys of soldiers stopping the vehicle. Maybe herding them to the St. Joseph quarantine camp for another involuntary 21 days stay.
Hal just grunted in reply. With the effort of manhandling this beast past other vehicles on narrow roads, he seemed to have lost a lot of his enthusiasm for driving it. Even though he seemed to be doing a great job so far.
Thankfully, nobody stopped them as they continued on. Before long they topped a hill, and down below on a broad stretch of flat ground got their first sight of the federal relief stockpile.
In its own way, it was as impressive as a quarantine camp.
Built in and around a distribution center for a major store chain, a vast area around it had been enclosed behind three sets of chain-link fences topped by razor wire, dotted with elevated sentry emplacements and closely patrolled by soldiers with dogs.
If the distribution center itself was full of supplies then the place had enough to feed thousands of people for months, but on top of that there were mountains of food and other necessities, in their own sealed plastic enclosures with temperature and humidity regulating equipment, built up along the walls and filling the majority of the parking lots.
And then there was the military and relief worker camps beyond that, which had to house thousands of people in large barrack tents. All as neatly organized and laid out as a quarantine camp, although with far less apparent emphasis on keeping people separated at least ten feet.
Which made one fact immediately apparent: nothing and nobody went into this place unless they were guaranteed safe from Zolos. She wasn't sure if that meant testing was available here, or the place just had incredibly rigorous quarantine procedures, but it was obvious the stockpile prioritized keeping itself free of Zolos above everything else, so they'd be able to send clean supplies out to quarantine camps and other locations.
Ellie found herself seriously envying the people inside those fences; if she and Hal and their families were in there, they'd be set until this crisis was over.
The reason for not being stopped earlier became clear when they spotted a roadblock at least a mile from the stockpile. Unlike Stanberry's modest little barricade manned by several volunteers, this was a serious barrier. Complete with multiple guard posts coming and going, movable tack strips, and staging areas on both sides for vehicles to pull over and wait until they were passed through.
She finally spotted some civilian vehicles, trucks of various sizes and even a few cars, all parked a cautious distance away from each other within clearly marked spaces, waiting to get through. A handful of soldiers in hazmat suits moved among them, apparently processing the requests of the occupants and deciding whether they could be passed through. Even at a glance it was obvious the wait was a long one, which wasn't a hopeful sign.
Although the fact that they were waiting to be passed through instead of immediately getting turned back was promising. Ellie hung onto the hope that since they were here on behalf of a town and decent sized quarantine camp, their chances of getting the help they needed were fairly good.
As Hal pulled the semi up to the staging area, a pair of soldiers hurried over to direct them to a parking space. Then, instructing them to stay in the cab, the soldiers began shooting out a barrage of questions about who they were, what they were doing here, and who if anyone they were there on behalf of. Then they talked over the radio for a while while Ellie and Hal twiddled their thumbs, before finally instructing them to remain in the cab and wait.
What followed was almost an hour of waiting, fielding more questions from the soldiers, and waiting some more. Apparently the facility's administrators wanted to get in touch with Stanberry if they could to verify everything, and it took a while to do so and sort out any confusion.
From what Ellie had heard the town had a radio operating full time, a few people trading shifts to try to gather any news they could, as well as provide news about Stanberry to the outside world. In fact, even the quarantine camp had a HAM operator, although most of the communication there was with the town, getting news passed on to them.
Ellie wasn't sure what sort of exchange passed between Stanberry and the relief stockpile, whether Darby had to really go to bat for them or not, but finally the soldiers directed them to the roadblock's entry gate. There a noncom, a sergeant Ellie thought, although more from his demeanor than anything else since she didn't know military ranks, approached to talk to them.
“Please listen carefully sir, ma'am,” the man barked in a tone that demanded complete attention and brooked no argument. “Here is the procedure you will follow. First, we will oversee you in decontaminating your vehicle and yourselves to our satisfaction. Then, you will pass through this checkpoint to the designated loading area. There we will place sufficient supplies to fill your vehicle. Once we have vacated the premises, you will proceed to load those supplies into your vehicle. Once you have completed that task you will immediately return to this checkpoint to be processed through.
“Then you will drive directly back to Stanberry, where you will personally unload these supplies in a confirmed Zolos-free stockpile. At that point you will designate a confirmed Zolos-free person to oversee the distribution of those supplies to needed parties. That person will maintain constant caution in preventing Zolos exposure. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” Hal said seriously.
The noncom gave him a brief look of disgust for some reason, but continued in the same tone. “If the size of your camp is confirmed accurate as reported, at the earliest possible opportunity we will send a relief convoy to take over operation of the camp and ensure the welfare of its occupants. Expect at least an assessment team in no longer than one week.”
The man stepped back, waving, and a team of soldiers in hazmat suits approached with a hose and cleaning equipment, motioning for Ellie and Hal to leave the vehicle.
With a sigh, she climbed down and endured another thorough decontamination. While that was happening the soldiers sprayed down the entire semi, including the underside and the cargo space in the trailer, and wiped down the cab with exhausting detail. It probably took another half hour before they were allowed to continue on through the checkpoint, led by a soldier on a motorcycle.
In spite of all their precautions, they weren't allowed closer than a hundred yards to the fences of the stockpile itself. Instead, they were led past a series of flat trampled areas, some of which held vehicles and piles of supplies being loaded up by people in hazmat suits, towards an area with a pile of supplies all on its own.
“Holy smokes,” Hal breathed as the soldier guided them to park near what the federal relief workers had provided for them.
Ellie could only nod in dumbfounded amazement at the sight.
Even looking at how big the trailer attached to their semi was, the enormous pile of supplies waiting in the loading area seemed like too much to fit. The people who'd allocated them this amount probably knew exactly how much fit in a trailer this size, so she didn't think they'd been given too much, but even so it staggered her to see how much could be loaded in there.
Assuming they were able to make full use of the space. And didn't keel over dead from exhaustion halfway through the job. “This is going to take all day!” she blurted in dismay. Especially considering how long they'd already been delayed by quarantine precautions and red tape.
“And unloading's going to take all night,” her boyfriend agreed grimly.
The soldier helped guide Hal to the closest possible parking space, told them he'd be nearby if they needed anything, then left them to their task and sped away to wait on the road. Where, she was sure, he'd watch closely to make sure they didn't breach quarantine protocol.
Ellie climbed down from the truck and went to inspect the supplies, while Hal went around to open the truck's trailer.
She would've expected that the supplies they'd been provided would be some sort of military or government issue items. Similar to the boxes of rations they'd been given when leaving the Colorado Springs quarantine camp. Or failing that bags or buckets of staples, like grains and legumes and things of that sort. But she saw very few boxes of rations among the piled supplies.
Now that she thought about it, Darby had mentioned that the relief stockpiles were gathering up supplies from wherever they could find them, like this very distribution center. Which meant they'd be redistributing the sort of things you'd find in grocery stores, as long as they were nonperishable.
And this stuff certainly looked like most of it had come from a grocery store; there were pallets of cereal that looked too heavy for her to lift in spite of their light contents, boxes of various canned goods, pastas, sauces, even things like chips, candy, and other junk food.
At least it looked as if whoever had sorted out this stuff had tried to provide a good balance of grains, proteins, and fruits and vegetables. All of it processed in ways that would let them last for months or even years. They might not be the healthiest options, but they'd keep over a thousand hungry people alive for a decent amount of time.
The other necessities, things like tents and other portable shelters, blankets and sleeping bags, warm clothes, medical supplies, and candles and flashlights and other sources of light, were a mixture of government issue and what you'd find in sporting goods stores.
Hal joined her in front of the pile, clapped her supportively on the shoulder, and they got to work.
Even taking into account exhausting days spent trekking along roads struggling to get home, with inadequate or even no food and water, that was hands down the most exhausting, strenuous, torturous day Ellie could ever remember enduring. The hazmat suit broiled her in what would've normally been pleasant weather, and she couldn't even enjoy the mild breeze she felt tugging the protective fabric. She couldn't do anything about the sweat streaming down her face, constantly dripping down into her eyes, so she spent most of the time half-blinded and blinking against the burning salt sensation.
Every hour they called a break for water, and more infrequently for food and to relieve themselves in the toilets the soldier pointed them to, using the familiar quarantine camp decontamination protocols. Even the simplest water break added more than fifteen minutes of decontamination, and for the other things sometimes as much as a half hour. Which made what already would've been a lengthy process even more protracted and aggravating.
Ellie had a new and deep appreciation for how hard Nick must be working every day, doing this sort of thing from dawn to dusk. She felt a bit bad for how hard she'd come down on him in their argument last night, considering how exhausted he must've been at the time.
In any case, her prediction about the job taking all day proved all too accurate.
They closed the trailer's doors about the time the floodlights in the nearby facility came on to light the growing gloom of dusk. Using that dubious light they stuffed the remaining small pile of items, what they couldn't fit into the trailer no matter how much rearranging they did, into the sleeper space of the cab.
Then, finally, they bid goodnight to the soldier keeping an eye on them, a different guy from the one who'd been assigned to them that morning, who'd finished his shift around dinnertime. Then they laboriously climbed into the cab and headed out.
Thankfully, the checkpoint let them out with only a brief wait of fifteen or so minutes, the noncom on duty once again reminding them about what precautions to take when they unloaded their new supplies. Then they were on the road home.
“We're not going to be able to unload this tonight,” Hal said almost as soon as they were moving again. “As official leader of the quarantine camp, you should delegate that task to Johnny and let him handle it. We can even lend them these suits.” He paused, weary tone gaining a bit of humor. “After we thoroughly decontaminate them inside and out, and not just for Zolos.”
Ellie grimaced. Her own suit stank so much it was impossible to get used to it, so every time she shifted the miasma of stale sweat and BO slammed into her nostrils. Exhausted as she was, she was firmly resolved to bathe thoroughly before she came within smelling distance of Hal, so she didn't send him running screaming for the hills.
And, much as she loved the man, she sincerely hoped he did the same.
“You know I'd love to,” she said regretfully, “but I have a feeling Darby would flip his lid if we let anyone from the quarantine camp near this truck.”
Her boyfriend snorted derisively. “He's going to be too paranoid to use this thing again now that we've taken it out of Stanberry anyway.”
“True, but we might need to take another trip to the stockpile ourselves,” Ellie said. “Would you want to use this thing after someone we can't be sure is safe has used it?”
He sighed. “Well then, I guess we know what we're going to be doing tomorrow.”
She leaned across the cab and patted his arm. “Just think about how much this will help everyone in the camp.”
Hal grunted wearily, and they settled into an exhausted silence for the rest of the drive home.
Chapter Four
Trouble
The new scavengers had done well these last three days.
They'd all worked hard and had seamlessly become part of the team with the others, even Chase surprisingly. The man was still an unapologetic opportunist who wanted to get rich scavenging, but at least he'd employed a bit more tact since offending everyone at their first meeting.
In fact, even if the other scavengers still had yet to warm up to the man, they'd mostly gotten over their reluctance about working with him. Which was good because Chase and the McCleese brothers were at the gas station now, figuring out how to follow the instructions they'd been given for accessing its fuel tanks and emptying them.
Darby had finally come through with a tanker truck, which he'd sent another Zolos survivor from the camp to go out looking for. He'd also had some people from town track down the information needed to extract the fuel from gas stations.
Chet had promised that the three of them would be able to fill up the tanker truck on their own, so Nick had left them to it. Although part of him wondered if he shouldn't go check on them, make sure they hadn't hit any hurdles he could help them with. Besides, it would probably be good for him to know the process himself, since as the leader he might have to assign the task to other people for some reason.
If he was really being honest, though, mostly he just wanted to see how it was done. Satisfy his curiosity.
So after securing the modest haul they'd taken from the latest house in the back of his truck, he sought out Charlie resting in the shade near the cab. “Want to go check on how they're doing at the gas station?”
The older man grinned. “Miss a chance to work while pretending we're still doing something useful? Anytime.”
Nick winced; guess he'd been more obvious than he'd hoped.
They hopped in the cab, where Nick made sure Tallie was still napping peacefully. But although he thought they were ready to go, Charlie in the driver's seat paused in starting the vehicle, turning towards him and clearing his throat uncomfortably.
“What's up?” Nick asked.
“Just wanted to give you a heads up,” the man said quietly, staring towards the gas station. “It's no coincidence the brothers wanted to go with our new friend Chase on this job, just the three of them. They've been questioning him, pulling him aside to grill him every chance they can get.” He grimaced. “Kind of like how they were in the quarantine camp before we joined your team, but I've never seen them this aggressive about it.”
