The Collapse A New Beginning Book 1Chapter 14
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In the aftermath of what the New Times called the Battle of Tallahassee we debriefed fifteen people who had been prisoners of the renegade group. Eight of the prisoners were women who had been captured. Some of the women had been beaten and broken by their captors. They reacted automatically to directions and seemed to have no spirit left. Dr. Walling explained that although he was not a psychiatrist he had read of this happening to prisoners. He said given time they should recover.
Surprisingly, seven of the prisoners were also members of the original biker group who had opposed the violent methods of the leaders of the renegades. We found that the club that made up the backbone of the renegade group had been peaceable before the collapse. Some of those former members speculated that the shock of the collapse, along with the way society had looked down on the bikers, was the catalyst that changed the leaders' perspective. Of course they didn't put it in those words.
All agreed that the group's leaders, along with a majority of the group, had quickly become sadistic and violent in the aftermath of the collapse. The thinking of the biker group's leaders was that they would take what they wanted and when everything in the area was gone, they would move on to other areas. They had no use for planting or building as they planned to live off of the leavings of the society that had so despised them. They were scavengers who would rob from the previous generation and not worry about the future.
Many in the group were good mechanics who kept their bikes in good repair. They seemed to have also discovered the additives that could be mixed with the existing gasoline to keep bikes running smoothly. Where Jan and her small group had been lucky in using gasoline that homeowners had stored away for emergencies and already contained the additives, the bikers actively stockpiled quite a collection of different items to boost octane. Some of these were quite innovative.
We offered those former bikers who had been prisoners of the renegades the option of either striking off on their own, using one of the captured bikes, or throwing their lot in with us. Although all were grateful for their freedom, in the end only three of the seven were flown back to Hurlburt Town with the eight women. The four that left headed south to try to make it to central Florida.
There were only ten renegades left alive after the battle. Four of those had tried to sneak off and were captured. The other six had suffered slight wounds or had been rendered unconscious during the attack. More severely wounded were mercifully put out of their misery by our forces. Although this would have been unthinkable before the collapse, our shortage of medical personnel made it a necessity. We simply could not afford to waste valuable resources on the extensive medical needs of prisoners.
The prisoners' first duty was to bury their comrades. We did not want to attract scavenging animals into the middle of a city where we would be operating. Our dozer operators dug a mass grave and we used the prisoners to strip the bodies and haul them to that gravesite.
Judy and Karen had gladly gone to Hurlburt Town on one of the first flights back. Jan, Judy and Karen had already done extensive work cataloging the FSU research library. Jan had decided to stay in Tallahassee and help our technicians. She more than agreed with our decision to preserve all of this for the future. She had kept the cooling and dehumidification going and would help us as we moved larger standby generators into place along with larger fuel storage tanks. As FSU had also been involved in alternate energy generation there were many locations on campus where electricity was generated by solar panels. Jan and our technical team wanted to use these to ultimately provide a long-term source of electricity that could be used for our original purpose. It was a long term task but an important one.
A smaller security team was left in place to guard the facility and the technicians as they completed their work. Larry Preston had volunteered to lead that small force. There was something about the self assured nature of the young woman he had captured that captivated him. Toby joked that it had more to do with her obvious physical charms but Larry knew that was not the case.
Before the collapse the idea of these two people, who were so different in so many ways, getting together would have been absurd. Now the common experience of the collapse had made all of their differences meaningless. They were both survivors, by both luck and disposition. Beyond that Larry could sense from the start that Jan was a comrade in arms. Jan looked at the handsome young man as the antitheses of the rough renegades she had fought against. Both wanted a chance to explore a possible relationship and so Larry stayed on with Jan.
Year Two: Day Thirty-Five: Sunday
Early in the morning five of us gathered around a small round conference table in the aviation training building in Hurlburt Town. As soon as I took my seat I began to reread my copy of the report that Kari passed out to each of us. Out of my peripheral vison I could see Kari study my face as I read. She looked as beautiful as ever.
I glanced across the table at Jim Baxley, my best and most trusted advisor. He was looking younger than when I first met him. How was that possible? I asked, "So that's it Jim, you're ready to move on with Project Runway?"
Jim rubbed his chin and answered, "I think so, Steve. The small security unit we are leaving behind in Tallahassee should be able to control the situation there. The augmented security force that Bill won't let me operate without should keep us from being surprised again. There's no reason not to finish the job we started."
Bill Jenkins, the head of militia training, spoke up and said, "Like I said at the after action conference, we were lax and made a tactical mistake bunching up the security detail prior to Tallahassee. From here on out we'll keep scouts out well ahead of the working crew. We grew complacent and relied too heavily on those overflights by the air brigade."
Kari pursed her lips and started to say something. I smiled at her and said. "I don't think Bill was being critical of the air brigade. He's just saying that the commander on the ground needs eyes on the ground as well as in the air to keep him apprised of the situation."
Directing my words to Bill I asked, "What about the prisoners?"
Bill gave me a half-grin as he replied, "We're going to take them with us. Dr. Freeman has come up with something that is going to help us deal with them."
I looked over at the fifth person seated at the conference table. Dr. Alice Freeman had been an Electromagnetic Resonance specialist before the collapse. She had been one of the lead scientists from the electronics warfare laboratory at Eglin AFB that had joined with the original group soon after the collapse. She was always enthusiastic about any project she was assigned. I noticed her eager, almost smug countenance as I asked, "So what have you cooked up for us now, Doctor?"
Alice almost seemed to wince as she said, "Ryan is the doctor, I'm Alice."
Looking at each of us in turn she continued, "Earlier this year Bill asked me if I could think of a way to make a collar to control prisoners. What he had in mind was something akin to the dog collars they use to keep dogs from excessive barking. You probably have seen them advertised in hunting magazines. The device is basically a leather collar with two metal studs that touch the skin on the throat of the dog. There is a simple voltage accumulator housed in a plastic case on the collar. This is charged by a small battery and discharged by an infrared signal from a small remote unit. When the dog barks the owner presses the button on the remote which sends a small current into the dog's vocal cords. There is also a similar item that is activated by the dog's barking.
"The problem with these units is that they are for dogs. A dog doesn't have hands. A man could easily take them off. In addition, most people would be able to bear the pain associated with the small current so they wouldn't be much of a deterrent. Bill's idea was to combine that technology with the stun gun commonly carried by police. In addition a lock and heavier leather would keep the prisoner from opening the collar. I call the completed device PRIS for Prisoner Restraint and Immobilization System."
She pulled the device from its container and handed it to me to examine. She then joked, "Not a very good acronym but all the people responsible for developing catchy acronyms never made it through the collapse."
Everyone laughed as I passed the device to Kari. Alice continued, "There are a few refinements to this device that I think make it even better than what Bill originally had in mind. Because of advances in battery technology it can physically incapacitate the prisoner or even kill him if need be."
Kari who was examining the device almost dropped it when Alice said that. Alice held up what looked to be some type of remote control and said, "The selector on this remote has three settings. Pushing the level one button will administer enough of a tingle that the prisoner will react letting the guard know the device is working. Level two will cause the prisoner's incapacitation."
Although I felt I knew the answer I asked, "I thought you said there were three levels."
Alice gave me a wicked grin and said, "I almost stopped with those first two levels but realized that there might be a situation where more was needed. Pressing a code into the remote and pressing the level 3 button will discharge the voltage stored in the second accumulator along with that of the primary accumulator into the collar. This should be enough to stop the heart of the prisoner. If this happens life can be restored with a defibrillator if one can be found in time."
Kari was looking at the controller that she now had in her hand. She asked, "What will happen if the prisoner gets out of range of the remote? It seems like he then could then take the collar off at his leisure and be home free."
Alice answered, "Good question. We knew that was a possibility. The collar also transmits a signal of its own back to the remote. That signal in turn triggers a response signal from the remote controller. If the collar doesn't get that signal back in a set time or less a level two discharge is sent to the prisoner. That will hopefully incapacitate him long enough for someone to find him."
I asked, "How far away does the prisoner have to get before this happens?"
Alice answered, "We initially set the collars for 50 yards but if the operators determine a greater or shorter range is needed there is an adjustment that can increase or decrease the range. There is also a homing device built into the collars that causes a hum on channel 13 of the security radios as soon as the collar moves out of range of the remote. The hum is low enough that it shouldn't interfere with conversations but loud enough that is should catch the attention of anyone tuned into that channel. The hum is also directional and should hopefully allow guards find prisoners while they are incapacitated."
Jim looked at the collar he was holding in his hands. He looked up at Alice and said, "So does this means that you have to have a single guard for each prisoner?"
Jan Branham brushed her honey-blonde hair out of her eyes. She had been dodging those others for so long that it was hard to remember that somewhere in her past she had been a student. She had worked so hard during seven of her 26 years towards her goal; a PhD in Industrial Engineering. The end had been in her sights when she finished her preliminary examination, the final step before her dissertation. That had felt so good that she had allowed her friends, Judy and Karen, to talk her into...
My day started early with a loud banging on our bedroom door. Someone must have pulled it closed again without taking the lock off. As I looked at the clock and saw that it was 2 AM I vowed that I was going to put a piece of duct tape across the latch on that damned door. Then through my mind's fog I heard Julie cry out, "Open up, and hurry!" There was a great deal of confusion as we all woke and made for the door at the same time. Julie was out of breath and almost frantic as she said,...
The bad thing about a weekday holiday is returning to work the day after. None of us had imbibed that much the day before; in fact as far as I knew none of the women had drunk at all, still it was hard getting up at 5:30. The flight over to NAS Pensacola in the Sabreliner VIP aircraft was less than 15 minutes. We were met by Chuck Swanson, commander of Det Two on the ramp. He was driving one of the Ford Explorers that we had modified to run off of the vegetable bio-diesel we were producing...
It was after midnight when Jan ventured out to find out what had happened. It had taken some time for her to convince Karen and Judy that it would be better if she went out alone. Over the past several weeks she had become proficient in moving about without being detected. She realized that part of the reason she had remained undetected was luck, but there was also a certain amount of skill involved in driving down darkened streets with no headlights and knowing when and where to quietly sit...
I woke up in our newly expanded quarters in what I called my cmsix bed because of its size. All of my wives except Kari had given me a puzzled look when I named the bed during the tour of our new quarters. Kari's wink let me know that I wasn't the only family member who had once read the tales of that lost Texas bard. Hell, I wouldn't even bet he was lost. If there were little green men responsible for the collapse he was probably aboard one of their ships arguing with them about the...
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I awoke before the alarm and lay in my bed pinned in by my bevy of beauties. As I listened to the repetitive resonance of their breathing and felt the soft curves pressed against me, I almost drifted back into a pleasant slumber. The only thing distracting me from my return to blissful slumber was the irritating pressure on my near-bursting bladder from someone's knee. I groaned as I fought unsuccessfully to find a position without this contact. As I would move from one knee it seemed almost...
Monday birthed in the midst of an old-fashioned fall thunderstorm. The scarcity of jet contrails and the lack of industrial soot and ozone from the steel plants in Birmingham made the skies appear a deeper blue at times, but the weather followed the same patterns that had existed for millennia in northwest Florida. A panhandle gully washer in early spring or late fall could be such that it caused the rivers and streams to rise and overflow their banks. Whiting was normally immune to the...
I woke up the next day with my morning wood spooned against the soft curves of one of the most beautiful women I had ever met. I knew that I had to get moving as we had much we needed to accomplish and yet I had to fight the somnolence produced by the siren's call of Irene's beautiful body. With some effort I extricated myself from this most languorous position. I went through my morning ritual in the attached bathroom. As I stared at myself in the mirror the person looking back seemed to...
Day Eleven: Wednesday A large crowd greeted us the next morning. Sheila drafted Lana, Laura and Julie to help prepare breakfast. I met early with Tom and Jim who both let me know right off the bat that several of the other men seemed curious about our future plans. Tom looked at Jim and back at me as if he was speaking for both men and said, "Both of us let them know in no uncertain terms that you're our leader. We explained what we've done so far and as best we could what we plan to do....
I awoke to the sound of a light rain on the window next to the bed on this early Sunday morning. The first thing I noticed was that Kari and Julie were already up. I grabbed a clean set of clothes and headed for the bathroom. I figured the rain would taper off in a bit and allow us to get in our flying. One of the things we did without, after the collapse, was meteorological information. I used to joke about how often the TV weatherman missed the forecast, but that forecast, poor as it...
I had collapsed into a chair in Irene's office - my thoughts in a jumble. In a clearer time my mind would have easily sorted this out but here I was now thinking the worst. Sam's reassurance that nothing was amiss was my life ring at the moment. Her parting words that — 'you have nothing to worry about, believe me, not about her anyway' — only added to my sense of confusion, especially considering the fact that Kari was here in the dispensary at this moment being examined. I tried to...
After an uninterrupted night's sleep I awoke to the sound of rain drops hitting the pavement outside our window. It was reassuring for me to hear such an ordinary sound in a world so obviously different than it had been just a short week ago. I normally wake up and hit the deck running in the morning, but this day, for some reason, I pulled Julie close to me and just lay there thinking about the strangeness of it all. A week ago I was a nondescript player who had little to live for except...
Day Four: Wednesday I was wrestling with an octopus that was holding me under water where I couldn't breathe when I felt something pulling on my shoulder trying to help me return to the surface. I couldn't get my hands up to touch my benefactor, so I struggled even harder against the forces trying to pull me to the bottom. That's when I awoke in a sweat. Kari was shaking me, trying to wake me from my nightmare. In the dim light from the bedside digital alarm clock I could see the concern...
It seemed as if I had just closed my eyes when I awoke to the blaring buzz of the alarm at 4:30 AM. The sudden transition from sleep to wide awake was like a bucket of icy water on my psyche. For a moment I reached for the alarm clock with malice aforethought. I sure missed being woken up by the gentle music of the radio. Alas, radio stations were no more. Suddenly the reason for the early wake-up call came to me and broke through the lingering narcosis that half-shrouded my mind. As I...
Okay, I know you're waiting for me to tell you about how I woke up with three women in bed with me and in fact I think I had some dreams about that judging from the state of the bed covers. I was mighty disappointed when I woke up needing to pee at four in the morning and found I was alone in the bed. I went to the toilet in the adjoining bathroom and stood there thinking of how much more enjoyable it had been the morning before and how neglected I felt. Where had I gone wrong? Still, I...
The next morning for some reason I awoke unusually early, before sunrise, and decided to sit outside and wait for everyone else to arise. As I walked out the dogs barked an excited greeting. To keep them quiet I went over, knelt and petted them. They repaid my effort by giving my face a tongue bath. It had been quite a while since I had time to give the dogs more than a passing glance and as I filled their water dishes I tried to focus my mind on the day's events. The first thing I saw was...
No doubt about it, we needed a larger bed. I again awoke with the pressure of Kari's knee on my bladder. I recognized that we had the room for a king size bed, if we removed the nightstand and some other items. Yet this small need seemed so insignificant compared to everything else that I loathed bringing it up. I laughed when I thought that Jim would put it on his 'A' list if I did. He worked so well as the leader of our foraging team and had amazed me with the items he found on his first...
Although the military defeat of the renegades in Jacksonville was a three day operation it took us three weeks of careful scouting to make contact with all of the singles and small groups in that city. Many of them were hiding from that same group and were a bit skittish about meeting strangers. It took patience and some courage on the part of the militia to even initiate contact. No shots were fired but during several stand-offs the situation became quite touchy. Most of these loners were...
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For the second morning in a row I woke up early wedged between Irene and Kari. This time there was no knee on pressed against my bladder and no urgent reason to leave my comfortable confines. I guess most married men know that one of the joys of marriage is the wonderful feeling of being snuggled close to your mate. For me this pleasure was multiplied threefold and on our second night sleeping together we seemed to have each discovered our place in the nest. My hand, seemingly of its own...
The image of the naked translucent creature rapidly cleared from Shem 553's mind as the third harmonic tone sounded announcing the impending arrival of an individual of importance. Shem 553's olfactory appendage hardened as the last molecules of the psychotropic stimulant were cleared from his system. About the same time his six eyes regained their ability to individually focus, he could hear the muted shuffle of the appendages of his dedicated clone-body, Shem 554, approaching. Shem 553,...
One thing about sleeping packed tightly with five women is that I've found that at least one of them will need to get up for some reason during the night. That doesn't normally bother me as I am a fairly heavy sleeper. I did notice it when both Lana and Laura got up at the same time, since I had been sleeping between the two of them. I couldn't seem to get back to sleep and lay there wondering if this was an extension of women always going to the bathroom in pairs when you take them out to...
The next morning I awoke hot and sticky. I had slept in my shorts and the two women slept in their only items of clothing, the bikinis they were wearing the day before. Because of the lack of air conditioning and the humid climate the top sheets and other bed clothing had been tossed off the bed during the night. The sheet we slept on was soaked with sweat and each of us was covered by a fine sheen of perspiration. I woke first and immediately headed for the toilet and afterwards decided that...
I awoke early with an intense pressure on my bladder. I was wedged between Irene and Kari and at least part of the problem was Kari's knee which had worked its way up under me. As much as I loved these women and wanted every night to be with each of them, at that moment I realized that we had to find a larger bed. Kari awoke as I moved out from under her and mumbled something that sounded like, "Mom just a few more minutes, please." I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom where I...
Day Ten: Tuesday I woke up feeling like I had slept late but was surprised when I saw seven o'clock on the bedside clock. Groggy as I was I knew I needed to get started on all the work that I had planned for the day. I awoke my still slumbering brides so we could walk out to breakfast together. Hopefully Jim would be awake and I could find out if he knew the other 'Agents of the Antichrist'. Knowing Kari was a sound sleeper I awakened her first by teasing her nipples and kissing her neck....
I felt a movement in the bed and shifted to look at the clock. As my eyes focused I realized that it was 2:15 in the morning. I turned over to see Kari just squeezing into bed. I looked at her silhouette and spoke as she snuggled up to me, "I guess either I've lost my charm, or you've found something better." Even her laugh was beautiful. Then she ran her fingers gently across my face and asked, "What makes you say that, dear?" My breathing quickened at her touch. I kissed her fingers...
Monday, Monday, Can't Trust that Day. The old song seemed to sum up my feelings as I again woke earlier than my mates. Sunday was a long day and Monday seemed fated to be even longer. I had mixed feelings about having declared myself the leader. I knew that I could easily be swamped with the day-to-day details of running the base to the point that nothing would get accomplished. My hope was that nothing would change. As it was, Sheila was in charge of the physical side of things, Tom...
Starting back to School after the holidays was ok with no issues. Classes started off with reviews from before the holiday break and the introduction of some new material. Ellie meanwhile had made my table her own, which was causing some drama and a lot of snide comments from Jenny. I just didn’t know what that girl’s problem was. Kickboxing on Tuesday was nice. I knew I was going to be sore but getting back to it felt good. Master Boripat wasn’t going to let go the notion of me fighting...
.a{fill:none;stroke:gray;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-width:3px;} Bottom Béla Book 5: New BeginningsChapter 1Copyright 2004 Revised 2013
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Well, I know a lot you guys don?t find Janeway hot and sexy but I happen to do ?Well, I know a lot you guys don?t find Janeway hot and sexy but I happen to do. Well when I was a younger man and she was younger. But I still find her kind of sexy for a mature woman. So sue me for using my talent to have a little fun with what I consider a hot older babe. I enjoyed writing it. How you enjoy reading it.???????????????????????????????? ??? ??????????????? CAPTAIN JANEWAY CAPTAIN?S...
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I woke up in bed with a groggy recollection of how I got there. Turning over the clock read 10am. Getting out of bed and dressing, I was still a bit drowsy even with getting up so late. Walking in the kitchen, mom and Erin were sitting at the table. “Barnim, I thought you were going to get me a present?” “Well, seeing as you have no patience whatsoever, let me go get it for you.” Mom took a long hard look at me, then said “I’m going to make you some pancakes, then we’re going to have a...
So, it was pointed out to me in the editing process that if I was going to put untranslated Polish into the story, then I needed to do something. What was suggested was to add it at the end of the chapter. So going forward, anything with an asterisk will have the word or phrase with the translation at the end of the chapter. The week started pretty good. At school, I was talking to my teachers trying to figure out what my grades were looking like. It seemed that I was going to have about a...
I don't wanna change the world I don't want the world to change me Ozzy Osbourne, from the album No More Tears The day after the get together with the Millers, Alex gathered a light breakfast of toast, a glass of orange juice, and a banana, and walked outside to eat on the deck. His parents had left earlier for a meeting with the lawyer, something about the house, he thought. Left on his own he decided to eat breakfast outside; they didn't have a deck at the last house, so he decided...
"I called you all here to announce the opening of our new venture," Macario called out over the little group of Earthers. "Paleo-Hunt, Incorporated!" A smattering of applause greeted his announcement. Amongst the group attending his grand opening, though, there was more confusion than approval in their faces. Frank decided to help his friend out by asking what was on everyone's mind; "What's a Pay Leo hunt, Mac?" "Anything it wants!" Macario laughed. "No. Actually, folks, the...
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”Anthea looked up at her mum as she sat down at the dining table. “Nothing is wrong,” Anthea responded watching as her mum hurriedly dried her hands with a tea towel.“Is the baby okay? Are you okay? Is Jack okay?” she asked as her husband came into the room and pulled up a seat at the table.“We’re all fine Mum,” she responded exasperated with her mum’s anxiety. “I have something to tell you.”“Sit down Helen,” her dad snapped. “Give the lass a chance to speak.”Anthea...
My morning workouts were getting better as it seemed to be getting easier as time went on. My stamina was increasing as it was getting less taxing as things went along. The drive to school was a long blow by blow of Ellie’s dress shopping. I was just glad that I was saved from that hell. The day went by as usual. Some days just kind of flow by with no rhyme or reason. I used the bathroom excuse to get to JROTC early. I knocked on 1stSgt Gibbs door and got the usual “In”. He looked up from...
Waking up Sunday, I went on a morning run, to spend time contemplating everything that was going on. The ordeal with Dick and the bogus assault charges was going to be troublesome for a while. What had me just as worried was Ellie suddenly not accosting me or calling the house; at least from what I knew. The issue with mom was what it was. Mom hadn’t been bugging me in a while, and that was somewhat disconcerting. I had made my stance known and it was her move now. The rest of my life was...
The weekend was rather quiet, other than a slight discussion with Randy. We’d moved the old desk out of my room and into the rec room upstairs before the delivery guys showed up and dropped off my new desk and chair. The new desk was awesome. It was made out of real maple and oak, none of that particle board crap. It had four pieces, the top which was like 60lbs, and a kind of lattice design of oak and maple. Then there were two kind of drawer towers that were the supports. There was also a...
From 'The Autobiography of Miss Louisa Harper' ~ "The summer of 1890 was to be the start of my new life. At fifteen years of age, I was to be presented to society and I had expected that I would then be considered an adult. That, at long last, I would have a say in my own life, my own destiny. That was not to be, though. I was still just a doll to be dressed and used as decoration in the home of my powerful parents. I was made up and dressed and used to impress the visitors who came...
Uther By Ellie Dauber (c) 2006 Introduction According to the legends of King Arthur, Merlin changed Uther Pendragon into a double for Duke Gorlois, so he could spend the night with Ygraine, the Duke's wife. Ygraine and Gorlois had three daughters: Elaine, Morgause, and Morgan le Faye. During their time together, Ygraine became pregnant with the child who was to become King Arthur. Uther's men killed Gorlois that same night. This is my TG (of course) version of what...