The Stars at Night [1]:
Part III: The Sounds of Silence
Armageddon + 72hr
The Stars at Night [1]:
From The Foundation of The Republic of the Brazos: Life in early Aggieland by James Owen, published 2011 King Press, New Washington.
Within hours of lockdown ending at Texas A&M University, the riots happened. With few grievances, the most common and most legitimate being newly introduced rationing of food and fuel, the riots were mostly brought about by lots of scared and sad 20 something year olds with nothing to do, and no homes to go to. To call these protests riots was a great exaggeration, the total damage amounted to a few broken windows and bones. However, the “riots” did outline a growing problem, what to do with the large population of young and bored college students.
The Cadet sat down on his bunk of his dorm. He hadn’t slept for nearly three days, and was looking forward to a few hours of sleep after breaking up some unruly students at one of the dining halls. The students had broken a few windows, and spray painted on the outside walls some vulgar slogans to the effect of “down with the police state” and “come on man I paid for unlimited lunch.” However these acts of vandalism were growing more frequent and there were rumors about not only initiating a night-time curfew, but entering a new lockdown period as well. The Cadet dismissed those rumors as rumors but their lack of sleep was causing some Cadets to act funky. The Cadet’s roommate had spent all day yesterday trying to convince the Cadet that he had seen fairies and unicorns. Coffee was in high demand and low supply, so some cadets had begun to chew tobacco to stay awake. After all that the Cadet was happy to get some “mandatory resting period” in his schedule. Midnight was fast approaching and the sheets on his bed had never felt more comfortable…
“Get up! The President wants to see you.” The Squad leader barked, standing at the foot of the Cadet’s bed. Two thoughts rushed through his head. The first was, Ronald Reagan? Here? Followed by: why me? The Squad leader chuckled “you’re not dreaming kid. No, Ronald Reagan is not here, and I don’t know why the President of the University would want to see you.” The Cadet sheepishly looked up, he had thought aloud. Puzzled and intrigued, and with only 5 minutes of sleep he was out the door following briskly behind the Squad Leader through the Campus, into the Admin building, and up flights of stairs and into a waiting room. “I was told to leave you here,” the Squad Leader said walking away, “good luck kid.”
The Cadet flopped into one of the couches against the wall in the room. An empty secretary’s desk sat next to a large wooden door, which must lead into the President’s room. After waiting a few minutes with no one telling him whether to stay of go, the Cadet pulled open the door and walked into what could only be called a war room.
Maps, charts, and various papers were splayed across any flat surface available. Affixed to a wall on the left side of the room was a map of Texas with red pins stuck in various spots across the states. Red pins were fastened on Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Brownsville, Fort Hood, and too many other areas to name quickly. However the farthest west regions of the state were marked with white pins. Possible hits not confirmed yet. Sitting at a table was the President, the Commandant of the Corps, and two other people he didn’t recognize. One was wearing a BDU and the other was wearing a business suit. All three of them looked haggard, and tired. Apparently the Cadet wasn’t the only one who hadn’t slept the past three days.
The one in the BDU was speaking. “Well our flights have proven to be useful in some regard.” He was pointing on something laying flat on the table. “San Antonio, Houston and Austin are confirmed hits, as are Waco and Fort Hood. Dallas and Fort Worth are confirmed, but Midland and Odessa are still up in the air. The flights should return sometime tomorrow. We’ll survey other parts of the state later, but fuel is running low and we’re putting a halt on these survey flights for now. I don’t have much else to say.” The room was quiet for a second. The President spoke “Thank you Colonel, your boys and the CAP have done so much in so little time.” The CAP Colonel mumbled a thank you.
The Businessman spoke up. “I have gotten some good news today though I don’t know how much of an impact it can make. I’ve talked with the food pantry in Bryan, and they said that they would be willing to set up a food distribution system, with their help, the staff in the cafeterias, and volunteers we might be able last until harvest time, though that is just a guess for now.” He looked at the Commandant. “Frankly the food situation will be grim at best. If we can find enough food to plant, If we can mobilize the manpower to farm it, If we can keep people under control, If we can find a place to plant, If we can keep the medicine and doctors together, If…” his voice trailed off. “There are an awful lot of ifs.” After his speech everyone was silent. That they knew less about their next meal, then the cities destroyed by nuclear fire was unsettling.
Someone walked in behind the Cadet and knocked on the open door. The President and the men in the room finally seemed to notice him. “Come in” the President said wearily “it has been a long three days for all of us hasn’t it?”
The Cadet looked up and nodded. The person behind him spoke up. “You wanted to see me, sir?” The Cadet turned around. There was another cadet standing behind him, and from the special insignia on his shoulder the cadet was one of “Rudder’s Rangers” one of the students training to one day join one of the Special Forces units. The President nodded, deep down he was a teacher, and like all teachers he did like to give lectures from time to time. “Boys can you sit down?” The Cadet pulled a chair off the wall and gingerly sat down. The Ranger remained standing. The President looked at him puzzled. “I’m sorry sir, but I’m going to fall asleep if I sit.” The President smiled “yes it would be polite to stay awake for one more lesson wouldn’t it?” He chuckled, took a breath, and continued. “Son, you’re from Waco?” The Cadet nodded as did the Ranger.
“Well as you heard earlier, we sent out flights to survey the damage the Russians dealt and damage has been wrought. Most major cities in the state are destroyed as are most military facilities. There appears to be no government above the county level and Bryan seems to be the largest city in the state still standing. But, there are still people out there, in the small towns, the suburbs and on their farms. They are alone and afraid. We will try to reach some of them. However, we have some problems of our own. The students are growing restless and we just don’t have the force to contain them. If they get out of hand we will lose the college, the city and thus any hope of rebuilding from the ashes. He paused. So the men in this room and I have come up with a plan. Scout teams of military will spread out across the Brazos Valley. The students will be offered a chance to start a new life in another town, where they will help plant and harvest, and join their new communities with some skill or another. We will give the students somewhere to go and something productive to do, as well as help these communities survive the coming months. It is a win-win situation if all goes well.
You boys will fit in by leading a scout team to the outskirts of Waco. You’ve both been handpicked for this assignment. Being from the area you should be able to help get the people acclimated to the idea of accepting our students. As fuel is in high demand and is extremely precious, you will have to travel by horse. Which compared to the settlers who will travel by foot, you will be the lucky few.”
The President looked up beaming. The Cadet was thinking, the plan did have its flaws, but it seemed the best idea, get the kids out and the food in. It would all work well in the end. He smiled. He never expected to be a post-apocalyptic cowboy had he. But here he was metaphorically about to ride into the new wild west. God the world had gone strange.
*The Convert looked around the room which was abuzz with excitement. The Preacher was going to make a speech. He’d be fasting and praying for three days and this was the first time anyone had seen him. The Preacher came on to the pulpit smiling. “Children,” he beamed “I have spoken to God and he has left me with a message…”
