The Travis Theory Original Posted Sept 5 2010 By Remmy Meggs

This is a fictional story of boys and teens growing up and as such, is a work of total fiction. Any resemblance to real people, dead or alive, is purely coincidental. By reading this story, you agree that you are at or above legal age in your location, and you are not breaking the laws of your country. I own all copyrights to this/ these files or stories and they may not be posted on USENET or any other site without my express permission.

If the laws in your country make it illegal to or read fantasy stories about minors, or if you are under of age of eighteen or have someone in your presence under the age of eighteen, you must leave this site immediately. This site may cover gay issues, extreme violence and sexual situations.

Copyright © 2012 Remmy Meggs I reserve all rights. You may not upload this file to any site or reprint it in any media format.

For those that are interested, I write Action/Adventure stories with a strong boy hero growing up in different situations. Since I base my writing on the future or history as I know it, then as far as the story goes, it is indisputable. Remember my stories are in the future, or they fall into the historical fantasy genres.

The Travis Theory By Remmy Meggs

CH23

You never know what happens around you, the things you cannot see, and the people you love. Like a forest far away, you cannot hear the tree falling, nether can you hear the screams and feel the horror that others do. You can only empathize and in reality, that only works with those you are closest to.

Things started to become clearer, the stories being told, the legacy, the triumph of man over devastation. In our case the cleansing of the earth, quick, painful and yet accomplished, with what could be a new life for all of us. Those stories that were told to me came down a little at a time, and this is what I learned.

On Thursday, four weeks after Black Sunday, Travis woke up. Next to him, there was a bedpan. He looked around the room and realized he was in the basement. He sat and rubbed his wrist, and then he looked at it. Someone had put handcuffs on his wrist and the other end on the metal frame bed he was sleeping on. "Mom? Dad? Mac? Where are you?"

As his head focused, he looked around the basement. There was a television, a phone, and a radio as well as the gym equipment. Travis called out again, "Mom? Dad? Mac?"

He knew he was in the family basement, but everything looked like it had before, but before when... he could not remember. He fell back on the bed and

Mac opened the entry door to the house and ran to the bed and lifted Travis upright, getting the boy to drink water. Travis drank and looked up at Mac,

"Thank you." He said.

"Sure squirt; now take this pill so you can get well." Mac smiled putting the pill in Travis' mouth. Travis swallowed the pill and drank more water.

"Where are mom and dad?" Travis asked.

"They are sick too." Mac smiled brushing Travis' hair, "Very sick, just like you." Mac did not tell Travis that his parents had passed on.

Travis grinned and cuddled into Mac, and then he fell asleep. Mac put the tranquilizer bottle on the makeshift table and held the boy until he was sure that Travis would not wake up soon. Carefully putting Travis on the pillow, he left the basement and locked the door behind him.

Mac had already been outside the house several times looking for the materials, tools, and food they would need for the long haul. He saw the horrible deaths, and at each house he buried the dead that he took from, and there were many, men, women and children. At one point, he was close to Stevie's house, but how would he explain anything he did there to Travis. It was best to stay away completely, and then he could deny he knew anything. He had to make sure Travis' home was secure from Travis getting out, or anyone getting in.

Mac picked up the shovel and went back outside to finish burying his Aunt and Uncle in the back yard. Tearfully, he began covering the holes. Several times he would fall to his knees and ask the same question billions of others were at that same exact time, "Why?" He looked over at the third hole and the fourth smaller hole and bent over crying. He knew he had gone crazy, there would be no one left to bury him even if he shot out his brains while in the hole, but he would take care of his family and make sure they were remembered.

When he finished, he wiped his face with his hands and went into the house and picked up his uncle's rifle. For days, Mac had watched the news. He had seen footage from almost all the major cities in the United States. With the loss of most security forces at the border of Mexico and Canada, people on all sides were fleeing their countries to hopefully find a safer place. Realistically there was no safe place, and the security people on both sides of all borders were shooting to kill. The news estimated that twenty-five thousand men women and children were dying each day trying to cross into each other's countries.

There were looters on the streets the first few days, but that changed, suddenly aware that tomorrow was not going to come they went back to their families... and it did change. The looters then became armed gangs taking anything, and anyone; that they could as a food source. The news had stated all lower life forms on land had perished in the first few days of the epidemic, but they were not sure what was happening at all on the oceans and seas of the world.

Larger families came together into the patriarch's home, and there they buried their dead together. Children were starving, and they were lucky to die that way, instead of at the hands of a cannibalistic gang.

Fires roared through structures across America, sometimes taking out hundreds of blocks of land before burning itself out. A fire in Seattle, in the fall, still burned its way to the forests, and was continuing northwest. Water had come to a standstill in the north. People were eating people now, where there was nothing else to eat. Then the CDC said they were afraid of infection from various forms of plague would take its hold if bodies were not buried or burned immediately upon death.

Mac swallowed hard. There was nothing more he could do. He did not want Travis to wake up to such a world, and he was almost out of tranquillizers and sleeping pills. He wiped his eyes again and took aim. The blond angel of Granite Park lay sleeping.

What kind of world would his little cousin grow up in? What kind of men would be left to take care of him? The cannibals had already started eating anything that was not sick. How long before they would eat Travis, probably alive? Mac raised the rifle and leaned his cheek on the stock.

Then Mac's vision blurred, and there I stood at the end of the rifle. Mac looked and focused, and the image of me was on a cloud, "Do not think you can take from God what is his. Do not think you can take what is mine from me. You will protect him, and be sure no harm comes to him for the rest of your days. You will be as a parent and be fair and impartial, but obey the laws of God."

Mac fell back into the doorway. He could not catch his breath. The image of me was gone, but the feeling he had inside of him telling him it was indeed real, left him full of guilt and doubt. He sat and cried, shaking like a little boy.

Now he would wait for God to take his cousin, but there was no way Travis would ever leave that house until some law and order could be maintained. That could take years.

Mac knew that if Travis were to wake up and come to his senses, no force on earth could keep him away from me. For now, Mac knew that I had passed too; he had seen me as an angel bringing his force down from heaven and give the ultimate warning. Mac would have to work harder to make if where Travis could not get out under any circumstances.

But Mac knew an Angel would not come to visit him. He knew that it was his own subconscious that concocted me showing up at the right time, yet it was scary enough to stop him from killing Travis, for the good of the boy,

Mac would wait.

****

President Simon Andrews was thirty-seven years old, he was not an elected

President however, and he was seventh in line for the position. Before being sworn in as President, he was the Attorney General. When the CIA and the Secret Service came to him, his wife and eldest daughter had already died. That left him with a fourteen-year old son, an eleven-year old son, and a seven-year old daughter.

Both the secret Service and the CIA, were worried, this was a prime time for anyone with power to try a coup on the presidency. Andrews was not the youngest president that would ever be in the White House, but he was the most vulnerable president in the history of the nation.

While his wife and other children were being cared for by doctors at their home, the surrounding area had been cleared of the flu survivors. The White

House was still being cleaned after all the deaths. The senate and congress buildings were being cleaned, and an entire division of Marines and another of the Army had surrounded the White House.

Andrews was sworn in immediately. Those above him had died within days of being sworn in themselves, but they had died of the flu. It was the Secretaries of the cabinet and worried the CIA. They had met several times behind closed doors, and the CIA had word that at least several of them wanted the Presidency, and not give it to some upstart that had no real political background. They felt that could cause another entirely new disaster for the nation.

They had placed an entire division on the grounds of the White House and a battalion of men at the home of President Andrews until the family got over the flu or died from it. For now, he was more worried about his daughter than the State of the Union, and hopefully she would not die like so many others girls, and ultimately she did not.

It was two more weeks before they moved Andrews and his family to the White House. That trip was a nightmare in itself. The attempted coup took place before anyone realized what had happened. The attack helicopters came from nowhere, all of them targeted the president's car. Yet even with that, most of the tank-reinforced company had died, along with the occupants of the presidential limousine.

President Andrews in shock, hardly believing that an assassination attempt would be so quick and sudden then realized how much he and his family were vulnerable. Someone or many were going to kill him at the first opportunity.

The CIA had enough evidence to arrest half of the cabinet, which they went after immediately, including 12 drug lords and sixteen high-ranking senators. There were no arrests, and there was no trial for any of them, hundreds were killed immediately that supported the attempt of Andrews's life. That is not what the president wanted and he was furious that such knowledgeable men and those with no trial were executed in such a way. However, he was told about it after the fact and it was a little late to stop it.

His first order of duty was to reestablish communications with the satellites and phone services which was only somewhat successful. At the same time, he needed to re-establish contact with the surviving military, and get those men that were left overseas back home. Andrews moved quickly and deliberately following the advice of the CIA as much as he could. They were in disagreements about some things, but overall he saw their point and followed through.

Communications were restored within two weeks on the east coast but would take months to each the west coast; he did not have the knowledgeable manpower to do what needed to be done quickly enough.

While that was going on the new cabinet, the president and the CIA worked on food sources. It was true that the ocean was unaffected, but if it was used as a food source, the population would be dead in a few months. Andrews reasoned that if man had survived, then some animals had to have survived. It was up to his army to find those animals, capture them, and have the scientists breed them as quickly as possible. If not the survivors he had, would not last long. In the meantime, domestic stores of food were opened up and the distribution of those foods and water commenced, that too would take months to go nationwide. At that point, they had no idea of the billions of lives that had passed on.

The work began.

****

David and his mom sat eating a small-portioned meal. With David's father passing, it took three days before they began eating at all. Weak and in shock, they sat quietly when they heard the gunfire so close to their home. "David, go lock all the doors and windows. I'll get your father's pistol."

They moved quickly. Once she was satisfied, they did all she could, she had David get inside a box in her bedroom closet. She handed David the pistol, "They will check the closet, but they won't check such a big box in the back of it. If they do David, shoot, because they will kill you and not think a thing of it."

"What are you going to do mom?" David asked.

She smiled, and kissed his cheek, "The only thing a mother can do baby, and that is to protect you."

They heard the front door give way, broken and crumbled. She closed the box smiling and stood. She adjusted her clothes and standing up right went back down the stairs. One of the hoods hit her. David could hear her fall to the floor in a yelp. He started to get up and she yelled, "I told you I am the only one that survived!"

He heard them come up the stairs. He heard someone yell to others to empty the house of food. It took over an hour before they finished searching all the rooms. David raised the gun up to the box top, trying to keep from wetting himself. His heart pounded. "There is nothing in here, except a fucking old air conditioner box and women's clothes." A man said.

"Then let's get out of here, there are dead bodies in the back yard, I don't want to catch anything." Another man said. David heard them leave the room and go down the stairs.

He sighed and waited for them to leave the house. He could hear some yelling, and then he heard the pistol fire. He waited another two hours at least before he climbed out of the box. He already feared the worst because his mom did not come for him. Gun in hand; he went down to see what they did. The gun dropped out of his hand when he saw her lying in a pool of blood, they shot her in the head at point blank range.

David did the only thing he knew to do. That was to take her body outside with his fathers, and clean up the blood. But that would have to wait until he had held her and cried for days. David finally got over the initial shock, but he would never be the same. The only foods that were left are the kind boys did not like to eat in the first place, but under the circumstances, it would be the only food he had until he died.

Several months had passed before he heard men and noises outside. He peeked out the upstairs front window and saw the men in uniforms. His mom had told him to expect that. He went and hid in the closet as he had done before. When they entered the house, someone was giving orders and the people with him moved quickly. David knew if they found him he may be eaten alive, or saved for later to be killed like a cow and eaten by many, it would depend on how long the men had gone without food. When two men came into the bedroom he reached for the gun, and then he realized way too late, he had left it on the coffee table in the living room.

When they opened the box, David pissed himself. The men looked down and took off their masks, they both smiled, "It's okay son, we are not here to hurt you, we have come to rescue you." They put down their rifles and opened a sealed ration box and brought out a liter of water, "Drink it slow, and eat just a little." One of the men said.

While he was eating they stuck him in the arm with a needle and he yelped,

"Just a little blood test son, we are not going to hurt you." He looked at the handled device after he put the blood on it and frowned, "It's positive, go see what the Lieutenant wants to do since that boy is out there waiting."

David continued drinking the water and eating a small bite at a time. He could not eat anymore and stood up, "I wet myself, and may I go change my shorts?"

The soldier smiled, "Sure you do that, I'll stay next to you though, is anyone else alive?"

"No, my dad died of the flu, and others ransacked the house and killed my mother. I put them in the back yard." David cried as he changed.

The soldier waited until the boy had his clean shorts on and hugged him,

"Everything will be alright now."

The second soldier came into the room, "I need you to lie on the bed so I can give you a shot. It will make you sleep until we get you to the hospital; we do this so you can't see what has happened outside. You will be safe at the hospital, we have really good cooks, and sometimes we even have beef or chicken broth, although I am not sure if they use the tablets or the foil wrapped kind."

David trusted the men and he laid on the bed for the shot. He really had no choice; he knew they would give it to him one way or the other. The solder with the funny machine smiled, "Now think of something you like to do, something fun or a place you would like to be."

The other soldier went to the window facing the back yard and watched them put the bodies in body bags. He turned back to see David asleep, "Let's find his birth certificate and any ID from the family and bag him up, there are still more houses to search and the Lieutenant wants to get back to the base before dusk.

They found what they were looking for when two other soldiers came upstairs and started bagging the boy. The soldier with David's ID stuck the paperwork in the boy's shorts. He looked at the other three. "You know if that boy out there looks in this bag, he is going to know this kid isn't dead."

"I am sure the Lieutenant will have some kind of story, he usually does."

The sergeant said.

"And what of that Colonel, he is new and has no idea what is going on." The medic said flatly.

The sergeant shrugged, "But then again neither do we. Take him on out."

****

Numbness.

The entire world was numb. The shock of what happened in a two-week period, the billions of lives lost, and taking care of the dead and loved ones was too much for anyone to handle on their own. Men women and children that made a country work were gone. Nothing was left except a handful of people that were numb, afraid, and starving.

From the White house to a small Army-Air Force airfield in Minot North Dakota with three surviving airmen, who actually left their posts thinking the world had ended, were indeed in a daze that would last months if not years. Military and civilians did their jobs as they should, but in a heavy cloud. When out of the cloud, they wondered what would come next.

The highest-ranking official at the Centers of Disease Control was a thirty-two year old doctor Thomas Payne. It was one of his colleagues that found the blood difference, although it was slight, he wanted to take more samples from every victim that was alive.

He also requested more space for biophysics. Something was happening outside, and although it was not the flu, they needed to find out what it was and how to deal with it before it was too late. President Andrews was convinced enough by Payne, so that any city taken over was to have all gene sequencing and biophysics equipment sent to the CDC.

The second part was a blood test needed to be made to make this new marker stand out. They came up with a diabetes tester and reprogrammed it with their findings. It seemed to work, although it would not work without a pinprick, it had to be used as an old style tester, with needles. The results would be instantaneous, and the military or doctor could isolate the individual immediately.

It took all of three months for them to be secure in the information they had received from field units. The only people that had the marker were boys that had not gone into stage three of puberty. Stage three was the actual production of enough testosterone to produce sperm and body changes to finish puberty. Girls on the other hand had a different DNA marker. The marker was easier to see because it was bolder, they wanted to find out if it was actually a stronger gene, or just more pronounced.

The CDC then wanted a full test of everyone that had reached puberty, and the information disseminated quickly without giving a reason for these intrusive tests. Even the Surgeon General Colonel Spicer was left out of the loop until the President was sure of the findings. There was no need to alarm the public that another catastrophe could be on the horizon.

Payne read the incoming information each afternoon. Blood, urine, and sperm counts went directly to the lab. Payne checked all the new information, he then looked at yesterday's lab reports, and there was no information that was new. He went down to biophysics and spoke with Doctor Turner, "Anything on the boys that got over the stomach problem?"

Turner shrugged, "There is nothing we can find anywhere, but we won't give up trying. We are working on DNA, but nothing stands out so far, you know Tom, with the equipment we have now, no matter how far we advanced before the flu, it could takes years to figure out what we are missing."

"Yes it could, but we are going to work every day on just that." Tom answered.

Turner looked in his eyes, "We have several problems at the same time going on out there Tom. Ninety-Eight percent or more of the women are dead. The girls that are alive are ten years away from being legal to marry. That leaves a bunch of horny men. I know the gay marriage law was passed, but most of these men are not gay."

"What is it?" Payne asked.

"If the men do not go after each other, I am afraid the next closest thing to a girl they will find is those boys, and don't tell me it won't happen because there has been a history of it from the beginning of time." Turner explained.

Payne stood there thinking about that. It was obvious at least the older men may do something like that, and maybe a few of the younger men. Turner was right and there was no doubt in Payne's mind about it, "When you have time, can you get me any facts and figures so I can fax the information to the President? We need to act on this before something happens that we will all regret."

****

Dundee County Nebraska had seven boys and two girls that survived the flu, but the CDC had plans for Dundee. The military took months to put up sixteen-foot hurricane fences topped with barbed wire. As veterinarians were found, they were commissioned into the military and sent to that county just in case animals were to be found. Cages, kennels, aviaries, all humane, were created by the combined military and headed by The Army Corps of Engineers.

Within days of Black Sunday troops were checking phone books and visiting pet stores, dog and cat breeders, and others were even looking for big game, deer, antelope, cows, pigs and any other animal they came across. They realized there would need to be food sources, and they had a mission that no matter how many people survived, that without a food source they would not last long. As larger cities were taken over, zoos were covered. They grouped into two or three men, and the big game hunters not only had their automatic rifles but they used tranquilizer guns on any big game they would come across, and ship the animal back to Dundee County.

The animals were there. They were all over, even though there were few in numbers, with many starved to death in cages, those that were saved were sent to Dundee Zoology clinic. There the veterinarians would bring them back to heath, and start a breeding program. The program may take years before it would be able to feed the population, but it would work in the end, from pets to food, it was a twenty-four hour operation.

The rest of the living population had no idea the government had started their save the animals campaign, because if known, the clinic would be attacked relentlessly. Breeding animals would be the first sign something was different, but it would still take over eighteen-months before they saw the full effect of what was going on.

Doctor Carlson looked at the animals and turned to his colleague, "We have a start at least John."

John looked at the cows, "No one thought of dairy cows doctor, we are going to have to milk them by hand and test everything while we get the equipment in here to take care of them, and we have to find the closest production facility, but it will be years before we can send milk out to everyone."

Carlson frowned, "We have four, maybe others will be found. After all we have several deer and beef cows, we are going to have to develop the herds John, but we can do it over time. The military won't give up until they find anything alive that is out there. At least the cows they found were on the ranges instead of cages. That means there will be many more free animals found. We will have to release a mating pair for each ten we find. We have to develop for the wild as well."

John sighed, "I guess you are more of a positive person than I am, because I don't see this happening in our lifetime."

Carlson grinned, "No it won't all happen in our lifetime, just remember that someplace out there, there are boys and girls which want to work in this field, and someday in the next ten years or even less, they will be here. There is hope for the future, and each day another cargo plane lands, it means it is getting better all of the time."

****

Dad had Mac in his office. Mac stood at attention wondering what he had done wrong, or what Travis had done wrong. Finally, dad looked up at him, "We have a problem Mac, and I need your help to take care of it. We have been ordered to an abandoned military air base in New Mexico. There I am to set up a proper hospital to take in over 300,000 transients and patients. Now, I have chosen a staff from around the country to help me, but I need soldiers as well, and security that can be trusted, the first thing I need from you, is to make sure the boys do not know of any of this until I tell them."

"No problem sir, I will tell them nothing Colonel Spicer." Mac answered.

"Using all the logic in the world I doubt the boys can be separated for long before one or both run away to find the other, on top of that if they know in advance, the entire command here will know we are about to do something that we shouldn't do, from there it will spread far and wide." Dad said.

Mac looked at the Colonel wondering. Dad shifted in his chair, "I know you like your training duties here, but I have something you may like more. But if you take it, I want you to do it for yourself, not because of the boys."

"Understood sir!" Mac said.

"The rules at the new post will be different than any other post the armed forces has ever had in my lifetime. The rules will be deadly, fast and without trial. The CDC and the president want all boys that are starting puberty or pre-puberty in the country to be moved to this base, which goes the same for the girls. That will include Travis and Steve, and the President's own children." Dad swallowed hard and continued, "I would like you to be in charge of the security of those children, and nothing else." He then handed Mac a folder with the words `Top Secret' on it. Have a seat Mac, and read it carefully so you understand what your duties will be."

Dad left the room, "I have rounds to make, once you finish, think it over, and you can give me your answer when I return in about an hour or so."

Mac started reading the orders, with each page signed by the Commanding general and the President on each page. The first quarter of the brief gave the orders on how to set up the new base and its location. With each page it became apparent that this folder contained information no one should know about. The middle section gave the reasoning behind what they felt needed to be done. The next section of the folder gave the rules, and the last section gave the deadly punishment for breaking the rules.

It took Mac over an hour to read the documents, and another hour to digest the consequences of it. When Colonel Spicer came back in the room, Mac stood at attention. Dad went behind his desk and stood, "Have you had enough time to think about this?"

"I have a question sir." Mac stated.

"Go ahead." Spicer smiled, knowing what the question would be.

"Whether I take this assignment or not, I take it Travis will be among the boys going to New Mexico?"

"Well, sooner or later he would yes." Dad answered honestly, but to base your decision on that is not the way to think. This is a huge responsibility. It could be devastating to all of us, but especially you."

"Why did you ask me sir?" Mac frowned.

"For one, I know you are bisexual, two I know that you would never harm a child that is not classified as an adult, and three who else can I trust to not only have a basis for those orders, but would carry them out explicitly should things go wrong, not to mention the fact that your troops are trained like no other we have available" Dad stated.

Mac answered, "In that case sir, I will protect the boys and girls with my life."

Dad grinned, "With that many people involved you will not be able to do it alone. So I want you to hand pick your officers and men to start with, and you can add more as time goes on, and set up your own testing according to the orders."

Mac became confused, "Excuse me sir, you want me to choose officers?"

Dad leaned over the desk and opened his desk drawer, "The president has given you a field commission at the rank of Colonel." He handed Mac the paper, "You were the only one I could trust Mac, congratulations. Now go to the commissary and get a few new uniforms. He stood up and pinned a Colonels rank on each of Mac's collar, and then he saluted him.

Mac returned the salute.

"Now go get a proper uniform and get busy." Dad smiled, "Oh and keep these orders with you so no one questions your authority." Dad handed Mac a set of papers stapled together.

Mac saluted and left the building. He was not smiling however. What he was about to do was something that hadn't happened since 2001 at least.

Several attempts by the authorities to start schools failed. The parents or foster parents were afraid to let the children outside the yard even though the bases were as protected as they could be. The problem was, as one mother put it, "Even though the flu maybe over, many of the boys have come down with stomach aches, we don't want the little one to get the same thing. They need to find out what is causing it!" These children with stomach aches were taken to the hospital and quarantined. Several weeks would go by before the stomachs ceased hurting, and the Doctors had no idea what has caused those stomach aches. All the tests in the world showed nothing that was not known before.

This would lead to problems, and major ones, one of trusting the new government, who still knew nothing about what was going on. However, their secrecy in the matter could cost a lack of trust in the survivors. Dad sat at his desk when Travis and I walked in smiling. I grinned and ran over and hugged my dad. He hugged me back, "Now what brings you two troublemakers in?"

We giggled and then I looked questioningly, "We went to see Benito and Declan and they are gone, so I came to ask you where you put them, so we can go see them!"

Dad was expecting that, so he was ready, "They started getting stomach aches so we had to put them in quarantine."

"Well, tell us where it is so we can go see them." I smiled.

Travis frowned, "He means away from everyone else so you don't get sick, you know that word."

I turned and looked at Travis, "What are you talking about?"

Travis' eyes widened, and he sighed, "Quarantined means to keep someone away from others until they are well, you know that word"

Stevie turned back to his father, "Okay, so how soon do we get to see them?"

"Sit down boys; I have something to tell you. I am not sure how you are going to take the news, considering what we have been told." Dad answered dramatically avoiding my request.

Travis and I looked at each other. We knew dad was dead serious. We both sat on one chair and looked at him.

The Colonel sat up straight, "I am not sure where to begin... just let me finish before you start acting up... but here goes everything... Everything that I know, and can actually tell you at least..."

Travis grabbed my hand in a show of unity, in case my dad got some notion to separate us. The bond created while we were separated had grew so tight, another episode was not an option.

"You can start now" Dad called over his radio.

We grew impatient wondering what dad was up to.

Then one by one some of our friends, who we were told had died, started flowing into the room. I got cold chills. David spoke first looking at Dad, "You mean every boy in our school is alive?"

"Almost everyone, there may be others, but we have not located them yet. They could have been transferred out of town as far as we know." Dad answered.

Mattie shrugged, "I lost everyone I know. I am happy for the rest of you."

Dad patted the boy's knee, "We all lost many family and friends Matt, it was not you alone."

"So the only two that have not been put in the hospital are Stevie and Travis? And they just now found out we were alive?" Justin asked.

"They know you and Mattie are alive, because they saw you come in, but they didn't know about Tristan, David and some of the others. It was time to tell them, now that you guys are at least back to some normalcy. Since your stomach aches are gone, we can put you back into what is left of civilization."

Tristan leaned back against the wall, "They thought we were dead?"

"Understand boys, we did not know if you would live through it, it was best no one knew anything at the time. We couldn't let them see you in case it was contagious. It would have been no good for any of you. But Tristan, you, and everyone else are prayed for every day, don't think the ones on the outside don't miss you, they do, and they love you all."

Travis and I sat with nothing to say. The shock on our faces said it all. Happy, sad, frightened, betrayal and half lies filled our heads.

****

The months following Black Sunday weighed heavy on the President and his staff. What was left on his cabinet took on many responsibilities with limited resources. The task seemed insurmountable at first, and as the months passed, more good were produced. Sugar cane, Wheat, Corn, and Vegetable farms were taken first, then the production factories and canneries. The number one cola product in the US was taken in Atlanta then a large brewery in Milwaukee, following that, the takeover of Los Angeles began the activation of the wineries. No one expected the exact foods that were available before, but at least people could be fed.

The process was slow. Soldiers had to be on hand, not so much to protect the goods, but to protect the few people that could actually turn those goods into usable consumption. Then a system for transporting the goods had to be made. That took oil, gas, jet fuel, and refineries. They were able to develop one refinery to supply the entire nation.

It also took pilots, engineers, and mechanics to keep the vehicles working. These would have to come from the private sector, after all not everyone could be in the military. The system was laid out and six months after Black Sunday, transportation was given a go ahead to drop supplies, as meager as they were, to all official operating government airbases around the country.

It did not end with just food. Before shipments began, all Army, Air Force and Navy installations that could not be used were stripped and sent to the field units almost immediately. After shipments began, the supplies became automatic. It was a pity that so many of the larger cities went to war, because there was enough food and water being brought in to care for the few that were left. In the end, maybe it was for the best, but is it ever for the best when someone dies when they do not believe the truth? Of course not, the problem is that the government of all countries had lied so much the survivors would not believe anything that was said, hence, all out warfare.

Once the Army Corps of Engineers, the whole sixty-member team, which was all that was left nationwide, looked at the airbase they fell apart. They were yelling and cursing. The Colonel in charge just sighed. The place was a mess and they had a week to get it together.

He knew there was no way to get the base in order that soon. "I want thirty of you working on repairing the main airstrip they will have to live with that for a while. Ten of you work on the houses making sure everything is working and they are painted inside at least. The rest of you get paint and work on the hospital. I want the officers to make sure the electric and all machinery is operable. The planes will be coming in with furniture in a few days and I hope they bring enough people to install everything."

The sergeants started breaking off the crews, and the heavy equipment was taken to the end of the runway. The three Lieutenants were barking out orders, "The sooner you get a few houses done the sooner we can get out of the tents!"

The Major walked over to the Colonel, "Sir there is no way to have this base ready for 300,000 people in a week."

"Well, we have more than a week. We have to get at least the airstrip safe, about 200 rooms in the hospital ready and housing for the officers and barracks for enlisted men. Then we can work on building more houses. We have the help of the air force. They are bringing in prefabricated homes and new air conditioners as soon as I give the go ahead for the runway. General Merrick is sending us troops to help but most will have to be watched and trained. I think our boys will be pouring the foundations, we can have the grunts put up the walls and roofs, and then we will go back and put the shingles on." He smiled, "Then the grunts can do the finish work and cleanup."

"Sir, three-hundred-thousand homes to build?" The Major asked.

"They won't all be here at one time, don't be ridiculous Major, you know better than that. But then again we will have our hands full for a long time. Just remember, any soldier you find that knows what they are doing I want you to get orders cut to transfer him to us. I'll work on Merrick to sign them." The Colonel smiled, "We may be the only unit of our kind, but we will be the best."

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