The Collapse Ch. 02

Disclaimers: The grammar in this story is exactly as I intended it to be. This is not a stroke story so if you're looking for one, look elsewhere. Any character involved in sexual activity in this story is of legal age for whatever jurisdiction you live in. Never wear white shoes on a ranch. Gold and silver are hedges and not investments, try to know the difference. And I like feedback, even if it's not complimentary.

January 16, 2074

The next few weeks after my new life started saw Mr. Evans going to visit the Deseret Republic to do some trading. He was going to go see Salt Lake City and maybe even go as far east as Cheyenne. Maggie told me that Mr. Evans made a lot of money by trading things between the Deseret Republic and Aztlan because the two countries hated each other and refused to trade directly. Living with my family like I did I never knew much about the DR (the nickname for the Deseret Republic) or Aztlan past the fact that both countries had occupied Nevada at one time or another.

A long time before I was born the two countries went to war with each other because Aztlan said that the land the DR was on belonged to Aztlan. The DR didn't agree. The result was that a lot of people died and Nevada got left alone between the two countries. When I was living with my family we used to go gathering and we'd sometimes find the remains of old military camps and we'd scavenge them for things we could use. Once in a while we found guns and other weapons that worked but we had so many of them at home that we usually left them where we found them. What we really wanted were medicines and radiated foods that were still good even forty years after the war.

Maggie told me more about the two countries over coffee and I was pretty happy to listen to her talk about them.

"The DR started up almost immediately after the Collapse when the state of Utah and the LDS Church merged to better deal with the crisis. The state had things the church needed and the church had people and relief supplies the state needed so it just made sense to everyone to have the two of them combine. I remember two boys on bicycles in Reno telling me that Utah had become the DR and I cried knowing that it meant the old USA was over. One of the boys told me that the President of the LDS was now the President of the DR and that things were getting better in Salt Lake City."

Maggie stopped for a moment here and just stared like she was trying to remember something.

"Things did get better in the DR and I think it was the next year when we saw our first DR soldiers come into Elko to trade and visit. They were pretty peaceful and polite and no one thought too much about them. Some of them were kind of cute, as I recall. They were the first soldiers I ever saw who wore white shirts and ties under their camouflage jackets. Well, anyhow, the DR boys didn't go unnoticed because we had some spies in Elko from Aztlan."

"I guess it was maybe a month later when Aztlan attacked Reno and tore it up pretty bad. Those Aztlan soldiers were just plain mean. They'd shoot people just for fun and God only help you if you were black. They really had a hate on for the black folks. See, we didn't know about the Limpia back then and didn't understand what was going on. "

"What was the Limpia?" I asked.

"Well, to understand that you got to know about Aztlan. See, about sixty years ago in Los Angeles some of the Central American people wanted the black people out of their neighborhoods. They did some things to the black folks and the government prosecuted a bunch of the Central Americans for ethnic cleansing crimes. It was one of those things about the old government that they would punish people for doing things without understanding why they did those things so the real problems never got taken care of. So comes the Collapse and Los Angeles just went to pieces from what everyone said. They had bandits and militia fighting all over the place. Someone told me that one of the bloodiest battles took place in Disneyland and that was just wrong to have all that killing in that place."

Maggie took a moment to tell me about Disneyland but I didn't understand it all that much. A city where people dressed up in costumes and rode things that didn't go anywhere just didn't seem right to me. I think she just made that up.

"The battles were so bad that lots and lots of people got on the road to go north or east and then bunches of them died in the desert when bandits raided them or they got killed by border guards at Nevada and Arizona. The ones that went north over the Grapevine mostly got killed by the warlord in Santa Clarita. She killed a million people I hear."

"I heard that it was a year after the Collapse when some of the Mexican Army came north and took up with the gangs that were calling themselves Aztlan by then. There wasn't anyone to stop them because they were the biggest force left by then so everything south of the Grapevine became Aztlan. Oh, yeah, and that warlord woman got herself roasted alive when the Aztlan took over Santa Clarita. I ain't going to cry for her any because she had it coming. We used to call that karma."

Maggie smiled as she said that.

"About that same time the Limpia started up. That word means 'cleanup' in Spanish and that's what Aztlan did was clean up all of their territory. Anyone who was left in Aztlan who wasn't a Central American had it really hard. White people and Asian people got rounded up and put to work on farms. No one noticed that all the black people and all the Jewish people just up and disappeared. Regular people in Aztlan thought that those folks had left and us folks outside of Aztlan all thought they had thrown in with the Aztlan. About the same time the Mexicans cut off being friends with Aztlan and word got out that it had something to do with the Mexicans being upset about something called the Limpia."

"Next thing we know the DR and Aztlan went to war with each other. God bless the DR people because they went and did a bunch of raids into Aztlan to rescue the people who were forced to work on their farms. Mr. Evans family was rescued, too. Now when those people got out they told us stories about how the Aztlan soldiers would talk about the Limpia and how some of those soldiers didn't seem to like the idea and how those same soldiers would sometimes get shot. That Limpia thing was a big secret to Aztlan and they didn't trust anyone who didn't like it."

"About that time a lot of people in the DR noticed that there were no black folks or Jewish folks in with all those rescued people. The President got some really brave volunteers whose families were Mexican and those folks walked into Aztlan during the war to find out about the Limpia. Most of them never came back but the ones who did all told the same thing that the black folks and the Jewish folks all went missing when the Limpia started. I don't rightfully remember how it all worked out but a bunch of countries got together to help the DR fight Aztlan after that. Aztlan took a big beating and agreed to stay in their territory after that."

"One of those countries was Israel. I heard it said that they had taken it hard after the Collapse but they still sent an army all the way around the world to help the DR against Aztlan. When the war ended one of the things the Israel army did was they rounded up all the surviving Jewish people and took them all back to Israel. I hear tell they only found a few hundred people to take back with them. You don't hear much about Israel anymore but I imagine they do fine or else you'd hear about that for sure."

"With the war over the DR pulled back to their land and Aztlan pulled back to theirs. Nevada and north California mostly got left alone after that and that's because all we got is dust and we don't even want it."

Maggie laughed herself silly with that comment. It didn't seem so funny to me but she later told me that it was part of really funny joke people used to say a long time ago.(After that I could always get her to laugh by just saying, "All we got is dust!"

"The DR was picking up the pieces after the war when the first plague hit. They were smart and they isolated all of their towns and didn't let anyone travel. They still lost a lot of people but not near as bad as some other countries did. The east coast of the old USA had a bunch of new countries that fell apart in that plague and Aztlan got itself a taste of their own Limpia and I think that's why they been quiet for so long. We did okay in Nevada mostly because the DR kept all of us isolated and they were also really generous with medicines. They said that keeping us healthy kept them healthy. I think they were just being neighborly."

I interrupted her to ask, "Maggie, if the DR is all so nice then why didn't you go there instead of staying here?"

"Sweetie, I was a free spirit back then. Still am, I think. Anyhow that religious life they live in the DR isn't for me. See, I guess about thirty years ago the DR did up a new doctrine and they took up a lot of their old ways when they did. Part of that included telling people who were not LDS to move on and leave Deseret. All the refugees they took in during and after the war had an effect on things in the DR and not all of it was good so the DR encouraged the refugees to move back to California or go east and settle in the old states. They weren't mean about it, they were just clear that they wanted to make a new start and that new start didn't include people who weren't LDS."

"You know how the DR women all wear dresses?"

I nodded.

"Well, that was just one of the changes they made. Things got a lot more traditional and that just wasn't for me. Now don't get me wrong, I like them people it's just I don't want to live like them. Besides, I don't think they'd want an old slutty cocktail waitress anyway."

Maggie just cackled like crazy when she said that and got herself so tired that she just put her head down on the table and went to sleep. I got up and put a blanket over her and let her be.

The time went by and Mr. Evans was getting to be overdue for coming home when we heard that he was in Wendover and would be home in a couple days.

Maggie and I kept busy with doing extra cleaning to make things look really nice for when Mr. Evans got home. The desert is a really dusty place and it never fails to amaze me how you can clean something one day and then it's dirty again the very next day. What I mean is that a lot of the work Maggie and I were doing had to get done like two or three times. While we were doing all of that work she didn't really talk much about the past anymore. We made small talk about things that needed to be done like picking vegetables or ironing shirts and she always sounded really comfortable and folksy. She also sounded older. When she was talking about the past it was like it made her young again and she spoke like a young person. You could tell that she missed the old days and the way things used to be.

The day finally came when Mr. Evans got home that was a little bit like a party or celebration around the place. Some of the men went out and slaughtered a hog for barbecue and another man brought out two whole kegs of beer for everyone to drink. As the party got started there was a lot of conversation going on and I never really got a chance to talk to Mr. Evans but every now and then I would catch him look over at me and he'd smile. That made me feel kind of special knowing that where I was a slave he didn't have to be nice to me at all and that meant that his smile was real and true and genuine.

One of the men who went on the trading expedition with Mr. Evans sat near me and I could hear them talk about how they went all the way to St. Louis. I have to admit that I'm glad I didn't know they were going to St. Louis when they left. St. Louis has a pretty bad reputation mostly because it's right on the Mississippi River may get all sorts of boat traffic from all over the world. Being a slave in St. Louis is really scary because they also run that slave market across the river in the Chicago territory. My family was pretty isolated living where we did but we'd still hear stories of people being sold into slavery at St. Louis and never being seen again. I never want to see that place.

The men went on to talk about some of the tech that they had bought in St. Louis and a lot of people chuckled when somebody said that Mr. Evans had bought a supply of 'Kicks'. I couldn't help but notice how a lot of eyes drifted my way when the supply of Kicks was mentioned.

After everyone was done with dinner Mr. Evans had some boxes brought up and he opened them up and started handing out gifts to everyone. Lots of people got boots and a lot of people got good winter clothes. I noticed I didn't get anything. I guess that made sense since I was supposed to stay in the house all the time and I wasn't allowed to wear shoes so I didn't really need boots anyway. Mr. Evans gave Maggie a blanket that made its own heat and she gave him a big kiss right smack on the lips! You could tell she really wanted that blanket.

I got to say that I did drink way too much beer and not long after midnight I snuck off to my room and went to sleep.

It turned out that Mr. Evans got himself drunk, too, and didn't even make it to bed the night before. When I got up he was sleeping in his favorite chair and he still had his travel clothes on. It took me a little bit of work but I got his boots off and covered him up with a blanket to keep him warm. After that I went off and got some biscuits going in the kitchen figuring that the biscuits would be okay for all the people who were going to have hangovers. I didn't see Maggie for breakfast and didn't see her at all until after noon time.

"Oh, my goodness, Amy! Why did you let me drink all that beer last night?"

I just laughed and put some coffee in front of her. She nodded at me and took it up to sip on it.

"Good morning to you too ma'am. Right nice of you to blame me for what you were drinking."

She put up her middle finger at me, took her coffee and a biscuit, and shuffled back to her room. I figured I'd leave her alone for a while before I go check on her and make sure she was okay. Maggie had no sooner turned the corner into her room that I heard Mr. Evans come up behind me.

"Amy, can you pour me a cuppa' that coffee please? Oh boy, I over did it last night. Getting too old for this shit."

He took the coffee from me and took out a pill from his shirt pocket and popped it in his mouth. Taking a swig off the coffee he swallowed the pill down and said, "Ahhh. Give me a few minutes and I'll be fine."

I think he was saying it more to himself than to me.

"I miss the old days when you could just fly to St. Louis instead of having to hump it all the way down the old 50." He sipped some more of the coffee.

"I've seen airplanes parked out in the desert, how come no one uses them anymore?" I really didn't know this. Really. There are some things you just never learn when you grow up in a cave.

"Amy, there used to be airplanes all over the place. You could fly from Elko to anywhere in the world if you wanted to. But when the Collapse happened the government started using their drones and robots to kill people they didn't like. That was when pulse technology showed up. Everybody has a different story about who invented it but what really mattered was that once people started building pulse weapons it was impossible to use drones and robots anymore. The sad thing was that also stopped all the airplanes from flying. Those planes you see out in the desert are the ones that landed safely. You get up in the mountains like I do when I go hunting and you come across lots of planes that didn't make it safely. And nowadays so many people run pulse generators to keep themselves safe that I don't think there's anywhere in the world where you could fly an airplane anymore."

Mr. Evans picked up a biscuit, topped off his coffee cup and walked away without saying anything more. He was still pretty tired from the trip and he seemed a little sad talking about the old times. I guess that was pretty common for all the older people to miss the good days. It was kind of a blessing for me not to know good times like that because then I didn't miss them.

The day went on and there was still lots to do with unpacking and sorting all of the things the men brought back with them from St. Louis. Most of it was trade goods that Mr. Evans would turn around and sell for gold but some of that stuff was supplies for the house and me and Maggie had to get it those things put away. Dinnertime is usually a lot of work for me and Maggie but this day it was actually a relief to get started on the dinner and not have to be unpacking things from the trucks.

Dinner was polite but Maggie and me didn't get to talk much with Mr. Evans because he was still busy talking with the men about the trip and their plans to trade the things they brought home. Still, I caught him looking at me a few times and so did Maggie.

After dinner I was going to help Maggie in the kitchen and she says to me, "Girl, you never mind this kitchen stuff. I'll take care of it. Now you go on and make yourself pretty for Mr. Evans because I can tell that man wants some company tonight."

I knew what that meant when she said Mr. Evans wanted some company and after having time away from him I didn't really want to start back up again. Still, I had to what I was told so I went off to my room, took a shower, and then got on my satin robe for the night. I was just finishing brushing out my hair when Maggie leaned into my room, "Amy, Mr. Evans wants to see you in his room. Get going!"

When I opened the door to Mr. Evans room I saw him dressed in just his robe and sitting in his chair with a bottle of wine and two glasses already poured.

"Amy, come on and have a glass of wine with me." He held up a glass for me and I took it from him and sipped a little. It was sweet and golden in color and it had a really rich taste.

"That's some fine French wine there, I hope you like it because it cost me $5 in gold." My eyes went wide thinking about how expensive the wine in my glass was. That was enough money to feed my entire family for a week.

"Uh, thank you Mr. Evans! It tastes really good but I hope you're not wasting it on me."

He laughed, "No, Amy, it's not a waste. As much as that wine is worth you're worth an awful lot more to me. Matter of fact, worth more than you think. Now finish that glass and let me pour you another."

The wine really was good and it was something called a Sauterne. I did notice that the first glass of wine I drank made my mouth feel kind of tingly. The second glass of wine he poured for me didn't have the tingly feeling but it still tasted really good. While I was drinking the wine he sat there and told me stories about the places he had seen and some of the people he had met along the way. I liked the story he told me about meeting the Cherokee people in Kansas City. They sounded like really nice people and I hope to get to meet them someday.

While I was sitting there listening to him talk I felt my body get a little warmer. It wasn't uncomfortable and it was actually a little pleasant. The tingling sensation I felt in my mouth from that first glass of wine came to mind when I became aware of a similar tingling between my legs. I couldn't help myself but fidget in my seat especially when the motion felt so good.

Mr. Evans noticed. "You doing okay, Amy?"

"Yeah, I guess the wine is making me feel a little funny is all."

He smiled and went back to talking about his trip. I really did try to pay attention but as the tingling sensation intensified between my legs and then spread around my body it was really hard to focus.