Dan and the Bottle Ch. 09

When most of them turned back to face him, he picked up where he'd left off.

"The solution I came up with, if you folks are willing, is to move all of you into our city. We have food that the Chinese can't steal, clean clothing, warm beds, hot showers and absolute safety. The Chinese have never found us, and they never will, in the short time they have left to live. You see, we plan on invading their little base, killing all of them, and freeing the young women they're holding captive."

Nobody said a word for several moments; they merely stared at him, looking at him as if he'd just told them he was going to fly over their heads... and then had actually done it.

"We know we can't accomplish this without putting you folks in danger; there must be other bases near here, and when they come to find out what happened to their buddies, they might take the deaths out on you. We want to make sure that you folks are safe before we move against them."

"Mister Archer, what about the crops we have in the fields? What about our animals?"

Jim nodded. Tom Dorn had pointed this man out to him.... what was the name?

'Gunderson... Bob Gunderson. He's the old man who got hit by that Chinese soldier.' he thought.

"Mr. Gunderson, is it?"

At the old man's nod, he addressed the matter.

"Don't worry about your crops. Trust me, if you want to work in farm fields, we have a bunch of them, and some of our harvests are just about to start. We'd be glad for the extra help. As for your animals, just leave them loose.... they'll survive. They know where home is, and they won't stray far. Once we free enough territory, you can come back, and take up your homes once again, if that is your wish. I just don't want you folks in harm's way while we're chasing the Chinese out of this part of our country. Oh, and, of course, if any of you want to join up, fight alongside of us, we're always willing to train up volunteers." he concluded with a mild grin.

"Well, Sir, I'm a bit too old, too skinny, and too damned weak to do any fightin'... but I know farmin'. Count me in."

With his words, the floodgates opened, and everyone in the little hall was nodding at once.

'Food the Chinese couldn't steal? Warm beds? Hot showers? Clean clothing?' Some of the villagers thought he was talking about Paradise.

In the end, it took a bit of debate, and a lot of discussion, but they all decided that relocating to a place where the Chinese soldiers didn't exist and could no longer harm them was the best way to go. Jim and his two lieutenants impressed upon them the need for secrecy, which explained why they would travel to their new homes in covered trucks, and could not be allowed to see the route they would travel to their new home.

Some of them were a bit alarmed at this, but when he explained his reasoning, concluding with 'It's not that we don't trust you, but we don't know you folks well enough yet to trust you completely.', they gave their grudging assent, knowing that, were the situation reversed, they would do everything to cover their own backs.

In the end, the villagers climbed into the backs of the old surplus military deuce and a half trucks, filling all five of them to capacity, looking curiously at the drag chains attached to the rear bumpers that obscured their tire tracks, and they were off.

Once inside, they took in their new surroundings in utter shock. The motor pool was filled with cars, trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, humvees, tanks, and towed artillery pieces, most of which the people had never seen before.

Cars, to them, were rusted hulks of metal that sat alongside of old concrete pathways, which were slowly being taken over by underbrush; tanks, armored personnel carriers, and howitzers were something only the Chinese had, and the planes and helicopters over in the corner of the massive chamber, well.... they had no idea what to make of most of those.

Jim and the rest of the Cavedwellers who had gone along with him guided the newcomers to the great hall, and once everybody was settled in, Jim began to speak once more.

"Ok, folks... before we begin, there are beverages over on the tables to my left, here. The pitchers of purple liquid are grape juice, the orange is, oddly enough, orange juice, the yellow stuff is lemonade, and we also have apple juice, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. there are plastic cups and coffee mugs for them, at either end and in the middle. There is also milk and sugar. On the next table are sandwiches, muffins, biscuits, and sweet rolls. There are also bowls of fresh fruit. Please, help yourselves."

The villagers looked long at the tables and then at each other in utter shock... few of them had ever seen such bounty. They got up from their seats en masse to rush over to the tables, then stopped, taking it all in. Most weren't sure what to try first, much to the amusement of the Cavedweller servers, who had volunteered to help out here tonight.

Most of the fruit was unfamiliar to the people from the village; there hadn't been a banana or an orange in Wyoming in well over a hundred years. Apples, grapes, and most of the berries they had found growing wild in the nearby forests, from time to time, but they'd never heard of most of the others on the table.

Leeanne smiled as a little boy asked her what 'that stuff' was, indicating a big pitcher of fruit punch. She selected a small plastic cup, suited to his small hands, and poured a few inches of the fruity concoction into the bottom and said "Here, sweety... try a little bit; if you like it, I'll pour you a full cup."

It warmed her heart when he took a small sip, seeing his face light up with a wide grin as he passed the cup back to her and asked for more.

She smiled sadly, thinking of her own desire for a child of her own. He thanked her and moved down to the table with the food.

She was kept busy for a while, as well as the others who were explaining to the villagers what the strange food and drink were. Few of them had ever even heard of much of it; only the oldest among them, like Bob Gunderson, had ever known the taste of coffee, or iced tea. The hot chocolate was popular, particularly amongst the younger children. They actually ran out of several of the fruit juices, and had to call down to the kitchens for more. This alone amazed the newcomers... to think, these people had so very much, and they lived a mere twenty minutes away from their own village!

Jim smiled when he heard one of the village women saying this to another.... what the poor woman didn't know was that they had circled around a few times on the drive here, to confuse anyone who might get any funny ideas; the actual drive to the village from here was less than seven minutes.

He walked over to the tables, getting a large cup of his personal favorite- a mix of orange juice, strawberries, and banana, and settled into a chair at one of the tables.

Bob Gunderson walked up. "May I join you?"

Jim nodded. "Of course. How do you like our little home so far?"

Gunderson grinned. "I love it.... how long have you folks lived underground?"

Jim raised an eyebrow at this. "My great grandfather built the place, back before the war. How did you guess we were underground?"

"No windows, plus the sound of the trucks when we came in.... it changed when we came in. I'm guessing it was some kind of tunnel?"

Jim nodded. "This is what was known as a 'Fallout shelter', back in the day... Great grandpa Dan built it, back in the early part of the twenty first century, although I have no idea how. Back then, he owned every bit of land within twenty miles of this place in every direction."

"Oh, geez.... our little place was on your land!"

Jim grinned. "Don't worry about it... I'm not. It's not like we were actually using it, now is it?"

Bob smiled at this. "I guess not... just hope you ain't expectin' any rent!"

Jim rolled his eyes upwards, looking towards the ceiling as if considering it, then grinned and said "Of course not. Don't worry about it... We have all we need down here, and then some. Hell, if I shut down our farms tomorrow, we'd be able to get by on the food we have stored away for the next five, six years. Matter of fact, we've got half a dozen fields sitting unused right now, absorbing a bunch of compost. Don't want to wear out the soil, y'know?"

Bob's eyes grew wide at this. 'To have so much food stored away that they could just sit back and do nothing for five years? Five fields sitting, not producing anything? This man is wealthy beyond belief!' he thought.

Jim nodded, almost reading the older man's thoughts. "We have about a dozen good sized apartments that are empty, scattered around the complex... most are in building twenty seven - C. I think it'd be best if some of us take your group around, show you the place, how to get around in the complex, where the food storage is, where the farms are, the schoolrooms for the kids, the forest and lake chambers, that sort of thing. I know you'll probably need guides for the first few months; anyone in here will be happy to help out, just ask. How many family groups do you have, total?"

Bob rubbed his chin in thought for a minute, finally answering "Seven.... and we've got some teenagers, probably wouldn't mind havin' a place o' their own. You know how kids are, I'd guess."

Jim grinned..... he did, indeed. He remembered when he'd been young, hot to get out from under his parent's watchful eyes. The first time he'd brought a girlfriend home, his mother had insisted he leave his bedroom door open. NOT conducive to what he--and she-- had their minds on.

"There are written directories and maps on the walls, too, scattered about the complex, so if you get into trouble, just consult one of them."

"That'll be a problem for us... none of us can read. One o' the ways the Chinese tried to keep us down... stupid peasants have a hard time with learnin' how to fight, an' all that, ya know?"

"Literacy.... knowing how to read, that is... doesn't have much to do with how smart you are. Anyone of average intelligence can learn. I'd be willing to bet that there are some of your folks who could teach us a thing or two about surviving outside this shelter. Don't worry, once we get everyone settled, we'll set up a schedule to get you folks taught up on reading... and anything else you want to learn. We have some excellent teachers here."

"Well, that'll be fine, in the long run... but what about the short term? I'll bet it'll be real easy to get lost in this place."

Jim remembered, then, one of the family stories, about Great Grandma Barb getting lost in the complex, the first time she had come to Wyoming from someplace called Detroit. He thought it over quickly, and snagged one of the servers.

"Jenn, honey, could you go and find me one of the better computer techs?"

Five minutes later his wife turned up at his elbow. "You asked for a computer tech, Sir?" she asked, with a bemused grin. She had what she jokingly called her 'bag of tricks' slung over her shoulder.

"I might have known. Ok, we need to teach these folks to use a telephone... and keep in mind, most of them are illiterate.... they have no idea what numbers look like, let alone letters. We want to assign guides to them for their first few weeks here, and we need to give them a simple way to contact them. Any ideas?"

She looked around the room... it already had most of what she needed; multiple video monitors studded the walls, and there was a computer hook up at the podium that had camera and audio- video capabilities built in. She smiled and nodded.

"No sweat... just watch me work." She pulled a laptop computer from her bag, tapped it into the monitor network, then attached a small webcam and a headset microphone and pulled a telephone from her bag. She handed the headset to her husband, tapped in a string of commands on the keyboard, and set the webcam to pick up his image, which appeared on all of the video screens.

The cave dwellers looked up at the large video screens with some amusement. The villagers, who had never seen such a thing, were a bit startled.

"May I have your attention, please?" Boomed out from every speaker in the place, which did little to allay the fear some of the villagers were feeling at this display.

Jim frowned a bit at his wife, and she reached for the keyboard to lower the volume. She nodded to him, and he turned back to the camera.

"Ok, that's better." he said, his voice now low enough to not sound like an angry god.

"Alright... don't worry, folks.... it isn't magic, just an old bit of technology that we've kept going in this city. Now.... first thing, I want to welcome you all here, and I hope you'll all enjoy your stay with us. In fact, I hope you'll eventually feel comfortable enough to join us as permanent residents."

There was a smattering of nods and even a light sprinkling of applause.

"That being said, we need to see you folks assigned quarters.... for that, I need each of your heads of household to raise your hands right now."

Seven hands went up.

"Ok.... we need seven guides, one for each of these families. Are there any volunteers?"

Seven of the cave dwellers stepped forward, and, knowing what was coming next, each stepped over to one of the villagers whose hands were up, "Excellent. Guides, I want each of you to take your head of household with you, go to the housing office, and find an apartment for each of these families. Then the two of you decide on a time to get together and show that family around in the morning. When you take them to the apartment, please show them how everything works, keeping in mind that these folks are unfamiliar with all of the technology you take for granted. They know nothing about electricity, coffee makers, stoves, refridgerators, indoor plumbing, or even something as simple as a light switch. Teach them the basics tonight, and be ready for a lot of questions to come. Show them where the clean clothes are, the soap, the shampoo, the mouthwash, the whole bit. I've already seen to it that these apartments are fully stocked with the essentials, you fill in the details. Thank you for your support."

He changed his mind about the phone that quick, figuring it would be better to take things slowly for the first week or so. He'd pass the word to his 'guides' to teach the families they were working with, if he had to. His people were sharp; he figured they'd know what they needed to do.

Dan Bradley stepped over to Herb Dixon's family, smiling warmly. "Sir, if you'll come with me?"

Dixon recognized him immediately. "I remember you....You're that Doctor fella."

"Yes, Sir.... I'll see to it that you folks get settled in."

"Alright.... I can work with you.... by the way, if I didn't say it the other night, I want to tell you again... thank you for takin' care of Billie Jean. She's feelin' a whole lot better, since you give her that there 'medicine'. She says she ain't had the cough, or the sniffles, since you saw to her."

Dan grinned. "Glad to help. I'm just glad she's ok. You know, we have... people here she can talk to, help her get over what those little bastards did to her."

"That ain't gonna happen here, is it?"

"Oh, hell no! In this city, what was done to her would be considered a serious crime... anyone who tried it would likely be horse whipped!"

Herb smiled widely.... these people thought like he did.

At their new apartment, Herb, Martha, and Billie Jean looked around in amazement. There were so many things they'd never seen before. Dan led them through each room, showing them the features of each, explaing the faucets and showing them the symbols for 'hot' and 'cold' water, explaining how the drain in the bath tub worked, how to use the toilet, showing them where the soap and shampoo were, the stacks of clean towels and washcloths and the drawers and closets full of clean clothing.

In the kitchen, he explained the refridgerator, the stove, the oven, and showed them the upper cabinets full of home canned food and the lower cabinets full of pots, pans, dishes, and drinking glasses. He opened a drawer, showing them where the silverware and cooking utensils were kept, and explained to Martha that a tutor would be around in the morning to teach her to use these things.

She thanked him with a glowing smile; this was a type of kitchen that was so far over her head, it might as well have been a flock of migrating birds. Her idea of cooking generally meant the communal woodstove, a few vegetables, and meat on a good day from whatever the boys had managed to snare.

Herb Dixon looked around, bewildered. This place was so far beyond their little log home it was unreal. Opening the fridge, he saw a stack of wrapped sandwiches, took one out, and tried to bite into it.

Dan smiled and said "Hang on a minute, Herb... you need to unwrap it first. Here, let me show you."

He took a small knife from a drawer, cut through the plastic wrapping, tore it off the sandwich, and handed it to the older man, then reached into the cupboard, pulled out a plastic cup, and filled it with orange juice from a pitcher in the fridge before handing it to him.

Within a few days, the villagers were settled in, and were continuing to learn the ins and outs of the massive bunker. The adults as well as the kids were quickly enrolled in a school and were learning to read, albeit reluctantly.

Jim watched the monitors, smiling to himself as the same humvee showed up at the edge of the cultivated fields, then heading towards the small village of empty log houses. He could almost see the frustration on their faces as they realized their former victims were nowhere to be found.

"Yeah, fuckhead, just keep lookin'.... you're not going to find them." he muttered under his breath with a grin.

Three nights later, seventy five of the Cavedwellers suited up, armed themselves, and loaded into six big trucks to drive to within a mile and a half of the Chinese base, figuring that was far enough out that the Chinese sentries wouldn't hear them approaching.

Walking in the rest of the way, they split into teams and surrounded the base and got within shooting distance, and when the last of them had confirmed that they had eyes on target, they settled in to wait.

After giving the Chinese twenty minutes to ensure none were visiting the latrine or the 'women's building', the order was given to fire.

Seventy five silenced .270 caliber sniper rifles 'chuffed' at once; seventy five one hundred and fifty grain hollow point bullets found their marks, and eight guards died and thirty two floodlights were extinguished in a matter of seconds. The camp went completely dark and silent in the blink of an eye. The Cavedwellers flipped down their night vision goggles and sat back to wait, to see if their actions had awakened anyone in the camp.

Two people moved silently up to each side of the fence, armed with wirecutters, and cut large holes in the fence, then the entire force streamed through, laying their rifles down alongside the holes and drawing silenced pistols.

They surrounded the barracks, the officer's quarters, and the small houses of the base commander and his lieutenant, looking cautiously through the windows, then entered each building; once everyone was in position, once again, the order was given to fire.

The entire operation had taken thirty minutes.

All of the buildings were searched thoroughly; nobody was found alive, aside from seventeen naked women in the building who were, indeed, chained to severely stained beds, who were cut loose by women who wore the dark uniforms of what would soon become known as the 'Wyoming State Constitutional Militia'. They were given clean sweatsuits and a dozen of the women from the Cave stayed with them until the truck backed up to the door to take them away.