Generations Beyond

CHAPTER TWENTY

Colorado

It was July 25th, the day before the delivery date for the base, when the call came in. Christina was packed and ready to go two days prior. The longer they went without word, the more restless she became. Her bags sat by the garage door, waiting. The money transferred to offshore accounts was completed several days earlier, just in case.

Jonathan turned to look into the kitchen to say something to Christina when the phone on the coffee table rang. He glanced at the clock and flipped the phone open. “Cross, go.”

He nodded, pacing in front of the couch. “Good.” He stopped, scratching his head and looking at the clock again. “Six affirm. Six hours before transit.” Jonathan looked at Christina, who walked toward him and gave her a thumbs up. “We’ll ghost as so-” he stopped and frowned, “what do yo-.” His arm dropped and his hand went to his waist. “Sleeper.” He shook his head and listened

“Fuck,” Alex whispered and moved to Christina’s side and held her. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“What?” Christina tried to get out of Alex’s grasp. “No.”

“No, baby,” Alex said and held on.

“Understood,” Jonathan lost the color in his face and turned away from the women. “Yes. Understood.” He sighed. “Transport the remains.” He closed the flip phone.

“No,” she screamed at Jonathan’s back as she tried to wrench herself from Alex’s arms. “No, take it back!” she yelled at him again.

He turned to face them, still pale. He put the phone in his pocket and shook his head with an open mouth, but the words didn’t come. He swallowed and tried again. “Alex,” and that word was all it took for Alex to let go of Christina.

She stood there shaking when Alex let her go. Her hands balled at her side.

He walked forward. “Christina,” he started, “we missed a sleeper.” He said, stopping more than a foot away from her. Alex’s hands came from behind and rested on her shoulders.

“Who?” she focused on a spot in the middle of his chest.

“Your brother, Cole,” he answered. He glanced to Alex before continuing, “There was a firefight. We got the guy, but Cole took two shots to the abdomen in the crossfire. He pushed your mother out of the way. He was alive long enough to make it to Toronto.” He swallowed, “I am so sorry.”

He looked at Alex again. “We need to head to Seattle,” Alex dropped her hand to Christina’s waist and tried to guide her toward the car while Jonathan grabbed their bags.

Christina nodded. She picked up her satchel on her way to the car. It contained her laptop and the paper files. The bags held clothes, nothing of real importance.

Jonathan loaded everything into the trunk while Alex got Christina and herself into the car. One last look around and Jonathan was in the driver’s seat and started the rumbling engine. He looked in the mirror as the garage door opened. “Ladies, time to disappear.” He threw the car into reverse. The car rolled forward quicker than the garage door could close again. The group was silent as they started down the street and headed out of town.

Alex’s main point of concern had nothing to do with Penn, but with Christina’s health. Christina sat pale faced. She healed well and the lack of movement afforded by their long drive would provide rest, but her chaotic internal conversations ruled her. Jonathan remained silent and drove.

The drive took twenty hours. They stopped once to let Christina rest and for Alex to check her bandages. All other sporadic pauses for gas and food were as brief as possible.

Once they reached Seattle they dumped the car. A quick sell meant they got nothing close to what the Dodge Charger was worth. Christina spent years moving money. Jonathan had cash in hand for their immediate journey from what was stowed in the basement safe.

The cash in hand helped them get across the border into Vancouver, BC. They lay low and rested one day, and then left again. The evac team had Christina’s family and waited for them one hundred and fifty kilometers away, in Hope, BC. The irony wasn’t lost on Christina. She managed to keep all her grief inside until she saw her parents and remaining brother. They took a moment to mourn the brother they lost.

It took them two weeks from the time they left Colorado to make it to Hope, BC and then into Glacier National Park in Montana. Alex’s people waited to take them to Porcupine Ridge. The facility sprawled across the valley north of Porcupine Ridge along Olson Creek and the shores of Lake Frances. Some of the more sensitive parts of the operation were housed in underground bunkers carved from the mountains that sheltered them.

The people in the valley were not soldiers or spies. Men, women, and children lived their lives there under the protection of the soldiers and spies; some by trade, but others through necessity. Some hunted game, some fished the creek and lake, while others cooked and mended clothing. They had doctors, but no scientists; there were medical facilities built into one bunker, but no labs. When the five strangers and Alex hiked into the valley, they were welcomed with open arms and treated to a simple, but wonderful meal. The inhabitants of the valley were family to each other and embraced their new company. The complexity of the compound was a marvel. They ran their own electric grid using combined solar and wind energy that fed into battery banks stored underground. Internal communications system ran through a centralized switch and distributed between several surrounding peaks that afforded them communication with the outside. The communications and internet access, however, were heavily monitored for security reasons.

Christina’s parents were assigned a cabin, while her brother, Jonathan, and she received a larger log home to share. Alex didn’t wait for long. She left the day after they arrived and introductions were made. They were left to mourn, settle down, and recover, but inquiring minds asked that they come into the command bunker when they were ready to discuss what information they brought and what aid they could contribute to their new society.