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CHAPTER
15
“YOU DO NOT know how glad I am to see living people!” A bulldog of a man jogged up the broken parking lot to where Mercury, Stella, and Hilary waited to greet him. His hand was out before he even reached the women. “Ladies, it is so damn good to see you. Name’s Jebediah Simpson, but most folks just call me Sim.”
Dr. Hilary stepped forward and took his hand firmly in hers. “I’m Dr. Hilary. The ladies behind me are Mercury and Stella. I believe I recognize you. Aren’t you a regular at the Sunday brunch buffet?”
Sim’s cheeks became two cherry dots as he grinned. “Yes, indeedy! Whenever I’m not on the road, that is. I do like a good Sunday brunch.” He nodded to Mercury and Stella. “Nice to meet you.” Then he looked behind them and whistled. “The mountain sure made a mess of Timberline.”
“Part of it’s still habitable,” said Hilary.
“Yeah, and you’re welcome to come in,” said Mercury. “We can feed you, and we’d like to hear anything you can tell us about what it’s like out there.” She made a vague gesture meant to take in the rest of the country.
“I do ’preciate that. Can’t stop long, though. I need to get to my family’s cabin. It’s about twenty miles north of here off Route 35. My husband and our five kids went there for spring break. I was supposed to join them yesterday, but…” He shrugged.
“The apocalypse got in the way?” Mercury said.
“Seems like it. Here’s hoping the fam is fine. Can’t reach ’em on the radio in my rig, but that could just be because there’s no electricity. Hope that’s all it is.” He wiped a hand across his face. “Hey, is Bob around?”
The women turned and began walking back to the lodge with Sim falling in beside them. Hilary shook her head sadly. “Bob died yesterday. We’ll miss him.”
“Well, shit. What about Ken? He’s been here ’bout as long as Bob.”
“Ken left to try to find his family, with a couple other people from here,” said Mercury.
“Isn’t he from Government Camp?” Sim asked.
“Yep,” said Mercury.
“The mountain covered it in an avalanche. There’s nothing left of it,” said Sim.
“Yeah, we know.” Mercury nodded. “We were on the highway on the way to Portland when the bombs hit. We managed to get back here, which means we passed Government Camp on the way. We told Ken it was gone, but he left anyway.”
“That’s a damn shame.” Sim gave her a considering look. “Don’t sound like you’re from around here. Do I hear Texas in your voice?”
“Oh, hell no!” said Stella. “You hear a much more refined accent. We’re Okies.”
“Okies! Tulsa is one of my favorite spots to stop when I’m on the job. I usually just sleep in my rig, but I make an exception there and stay at a little VRBO called the Hotel California in Reservoir Hill. The place is owned by one hell of a cook. I always look forward to a big, delicious breakfast there.” He sighed and shook his head. “Hard to believe it’s not there anymore.”
Stella and Mercury froze. Hilary and Sim took a step or two past them, and then they stopped too.
Mercury fisted her hands at her side because they were suddenly trembling. “Wait. What do you know about Tulsa?”
Sim ran his sausage-like fingers through his short, graying hair and sighed again. “They bombed it. A buddy of mine was on the Turner Turnpike halfway between OK City and Tulsa when the bombs started falling. He managed to broadcast that both cities took direct hits, and then there was nothin’ more from him.”
Stella reached out and pried one of Mercury’s hands open so she could hold it. “You’re one hundred percent sure?”
Sim nodded. “I am. From what I can make out from those of us who can still communicate.” He jerked his chin back toward his rig. “We have a com line going with our radios. The capitals of every damn state were hit, as well as anywhere that had a military base or decent-sized airport.”
“The 138th Fighter Wing,” Stella said softly. “I used to date a fighter pilot who flew F-16s from the Air National Guard Base by the airport. Shit, just shit.” She shook her head.
Mercury didn’t realize she was crying until her nose got snotty. She wiped at it angrily. “Who the fuck did this to us?”
“No one I’ve talked to knows for sure,” said Sim. “Though we did get off our ICBMs. Truckers saw ’em launch. So, whoever did it is fucked and won’t be follow-up attacking us. Pardon my language, ladies.”
“Your language doesn’t need a pardon,” said Stella.
“So every state was attacked?” Hilary asked.
