People were becoming more restless as time passed. Many were showing signs of sickness, and all were made weak from even the slightest physical effort. It was agreed to establish a semi-permanent camp. The water was safe to drink and the conditions in the valley were virtually free of radiation. Weston was finding himself more and more the authority figure as people deferred to his judgments. It was a natural affect stemming from their behavior since they had first met him. They needed a leader, and by default, he was theirs.
Ten days after they set out, Sasha and Emil returned with their men. They looked exhausted, but better than the ones who had stayed behind. While the rest of the men found themselves a place to rest, the junior officers came to see Weston. “Sir,” Emil started saying before he was interrupted.
“Call me Weston, Emil; you too Sasha. Our Naval service is behind us now.”
They nodded in unison. “Here is a rough outline of the valley,” Emil said handing a sheet of paper to Weston, “The valley floor maintains the same distance from the rim throughout its entirety. There are only two other openings into the valley, one at the opposite end, which is roughly nine miles distant, and one on the north side approximately four miles from here. That is the larger of the two. The one on the end is almost a choke point only manageable by foot.”
“What about natural resources?”
“Trees, grass, water, all through the valley. We saw herds of elk, deer, cattle, and a variety of other stock and wild animals, and fish were jumping in the lakes. We saw a few hot springs as well, although we didn’t test the waters, only saw the steam rising off them. We figured we should get back as soon as we could.”
“What do you think of it Sasha?” Weston asked to ensure he knew he was also included in the decision making process.
“Very good…. Better than that,” he said pointing toward the direction from which they had come.
“Okay. We’ll have another meeting tonight. You two go knock off for a few hours, and I’ll spread the word to a few of the others who will be involved with making these decisions.”
They sat around the fire as the sky above them finally gave way to the night. The stars were visible as they spoke quietly to one another under their blinking light. The valley itself was filled with noise in comparison to the world around it. The waterfall, and its small river, coursed through the valley floor in an endless cycle. It was a comforting sound, which lent itself to relaxation. Not in an ideal way, but in a manner which none of those present had experienced since the day of the event. Many of the people were suffering from exposure, others were traumatized, but hope remained alive.
Weston, Emil, Sasha, Mr. Bayek, Lt. Lukin, Dr. Ramirez (who was among the first group of survivors found), and Chief Stewart were present.
“We have a number of things to decide,” Weston started by saying, “The most important thing we have to focus on is survival. You all have expressed your desire to make a go of it here. Since there are only three access points into this valley, I think it is prudent that we divide our numbers to settle at those three points. It will serve as a protection for us to manage whatever else may find its way here, and will act as a point of reception for those who may wonder in as we did. I’d like to have your thoughts on how we go about that.”
Therein followed several hours of discussion leading to what they hoped was a strategy for success. Every possible scenario and consideration was deliberated. When they finished, they were in agreement. They decided for the sake of returning to familiar customs, they would name the three villages. The place they were now would be called Gateway. The village on the opposite end of the valley would be known as Bardin, named after the captain of the Nevsky. And the village in between them would be called Mezzo, according to its location. Weston and Sasha would remain in Gateway, Emil and Lukin would go to Bardin, and the Chief “Stew,” Dr. Ramirez, and Mr. Bayek would settle at Mezzo. Their thinking on this was that while medically trained people would be at each village, anything requiring significant attention would be able to be handled in a centralized location.
It was agreed that the main considerations would be the division of assets. Half of the people would remain in Gateway, while the other half was split between the two other villages. Women were to be divided evenly because their numbers were much less than those of the men. Anyone of special abilities and talents, whether they involved medicine, science, agriculture, construction, and so on were separated into three groups. Those who were to move on to Mezzo, and Bardin, could take as much of the materials and supplies as they could transport. The reason for this was that four days journey from Gateway was a city that offered additional supplies. They did not know what other resources might be available for the other two villages outside of their locations.
They agreed to conserve as much of the natural resources available to them in the valley itself. Even the animals were to be managed to ensure sustainable and healthy numbers. Now it was time to get some rest before carrying out their stratagem.
When morning came, anticipation was high; as rumors had circulated that something was about to happen after two weeks of idleness. Everyone gathered around a raised mound of rock where Weston eventually made his appearance.
“As you know we sent scouts into the valley. We are going to set up two villages in addition to this one. We will need a collective cooperation among those who wish to remain here to conserve what we have available, and to build on that. If any of you wish to move on from here, for whatever reasons, you are free to do so. If you do not find what you are looking for, you are welcome to return. For those who wish to leave, we will give you provisions to help get you started on your way. We ask that you decide now, because there is much work to be done.”
After these last words, Weston stepped down from the rock formation, and walked to the supply area. Three dozen individuals waited there to receive what they could carry. They had their own reasons for wanting to move on. Some were motivated by a search for remaining family members, while others were just too traumatized to willingly accept that this is what life had become. Weston shook their hands and wished them well as they walked out of the camp. They were last seen cresting the ridge of the northern escarpment heading east. They would never be heard from or seen again. After another twelve months, their own numbers indicated the harsh reality of their new world. Little more than six-hundred remained in the valley.
While introducing himself to his new Security Force, Keith recognized two faces in the crowd. He had no idea how they could possibly be here, but he was happy to see someone familiar. When he was finished, he stood by the door shaking each man’s hand and welcoming him onboard. The two individuals, now smiling as they reached him, were told to stand off to the side. When everyone else had gone, Keith closed the door and turned to the men.
“Not that I’m not glad to see you two, but how in the hell did you end up here Wallace,” he asked of former Special Forces Sergeant First Class Ronald “Tiny” Wallace.
Wallace was not only a few inches taller than his former Captain, but also about twenty-five pounds heavier. There were no small features on the man. “Me and Cam took a detail to bring some of our equipment to the mountain. The old man himself assigned me to it and ordered me to stay with it until it was returned. If I dared come back without it, he‘d have my ass.”
Former Sergeant Ritchie “Cam” Camarillo was the antithesis of the other two men. He stood five feet seven inches tall, and weighed one-hundred fifty-five pounds soaking wet.
“They allowed you to stay after you brought…. what did you bring anyway?”
“We brought all of our Nett Warrior systems. The Colonel was pissed too, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He was afraid he wasn’t going to get them back. I guess he was right,” Wallace said solemnly. “Anyway, after we waited in line for hours, we finally made it inside. The officer in charge seemed interested in what we had, and gave us an escort to where it was to be taken. Since I wasn’t planning to leave until I got our stuff back, we hung out with some of the quartermaster guys. A few hours later we found out we were here to stay.”
“Yeah,” Keith said in understanding.
“How’d you get here sir, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“My father, invited me and my wife for a tour,” he said looking both men directly in the eyes. They nodded in understanding.
“Well, since you are the only guys I know in this outfit, guess who’s gonna be my new assistant and chief clerk,” Keith said with a grin.
“A clerk,” Camarillo said with resignation.
“Yeah, afraid so Cam; at least until we get outside again.”
“When is that gonna be sir,” Wallace asked.
“I don’t know Wallace, probably not for some time. But we will have to be ready for when it happens, and
