The Survivalist (Frontier Justice)

Chapter 11

Mason spent the entire next day at his cabin. Not only did it give Bowie time to rehydrate and regain his strength, it also gave Mason time to connect with others on the ham radio. He talked at length with several people around the country. It seemed that things were essentially the same everywhere—people were dead, and structured society had all but disintegrated. The hardest hit areas were urban centers, where people lived in close proximity. By all reports, big cities were places of pure horror, the likes of which even the most gruesome zombie movies couldn't portray.

By mid-afternoon, he began picking up an official government radio broadcast. The message was transmitted on numerous shortwave frequencies and repeated every few hours. It started with the familiar Emergency Alert System tone, followed by a robotic voice issuing a simple announcement:

Due the outbreak, of the Superpox-99 virus, the nation's utilities have been disrupted. Citizens are encouraged to shelter in place for thirty days, or until, the virus has subsided in their area. The nation's government remains committed to safeguarding the public. Distribution of critical supplies, including food, water, and medicine will, begin soon. Until that time, survivors are urged to band together to ensure their survival.

In one sense, it was good news. It meant that some portion of the government was still functioning. On the other hand, it was as grave an announcement as the federal government would ever issue. It also seemed highly unlikely that they would be distributing supplies anytime soon, given the unprecedented loss of life. It was much more likely that the government currently had little, if any, control of the country.

He assumed that the recommendation to shelter in place for thirty days was meant to give the virus time to kill off those who had already been infected. The problem was that most people had less than a week's worth of food on hand and no stockpile of clean water. Broadcast or not, necessity would drive people to seek out essential supplies.

Later in the day, Kate and Jack also signed on as had been previously agreed.

"It's good to hear your voices," said Jack.

"For me, too," agreed Kate.

"Does anyone have a pressing announcement?"

"I'm assuming that you've both heard the government's broadcast advising people to shelter in place," said Jack.

"Good advice but a bit late," said Mason.

"Do either of you believe what they said about food and water being distributed soon?" Kate sounded much better than when they had previously spoken.

"Not a chance," said Jack.

"It seems like a stretch to me as well," said Mason.

"That's what I figured."

"I have been picking up rumors that the government is re-establishing at the outskirts of several large cities," said Jack. "I heard Denver mentioned in particular."

"That's good, right?" asked Kate. "If the government gets up and going, they'll eventually provide some relief to those of us who survived. They have to; it's their responsibility."

Mason wasn't so sure. The nation was passing through uncharted waters. What would happen next was anyone's guess.

"Kate, my advice is not to depend on the government or anyone else coming to your aid. Given the size of the devastation, help is going to be very slow in coming, if it comes at all. Do either of you have an idea of the number of dead?"

Jack was quick to answer.

"I've been asking around, but no one knows for sure. Based on my small survey, and it's definitely not scientific, I'd say that maybe one person out of every twenty or thirty is still alive. Some contracted and survived the virus. As you can imagine, they're pretty messed up. Others of us just stayed away from it. And finally, it seems that a few, including Kate and her son, were just flat out immune."