Nuclear Summer Read online

  Special operations weathermen, such as he, ranked among the most highly trained personnel in the US military. Secrecy had prevented his expanding upon his occupation when chosen for the mountain. During the entire four years, Meteorologist Charles “Charlie” Mitchell had officially met Bradley only once when Bradley sought input about predicting the nuclear winter, which, of course, Mitchell, cooped up inside a mountain, lacked a clue.

  This changed a few months ago when Bradley sought the ability to determine outside weather effects on those waiting to emerge from the mountain once the radiation level allowed. That is when Mitchell introduced Bradley to the meteorological equipment at Groom Lake, which they retrieved between storms and during a safe radiation level period. Knowing the global weather conditions ever since had proved a godsend for the mountain residents, allowing them to plan their outdoor activities in between the nuclear winter storms.

  “You know what they say about the weather,” Mitchell quipped with a grin. “I think we should take note of what just happened. Obviously, predicting weather now plays under new rules.”

  “All I ask is for you to do your best to keep our people safe. Anything on the Charleston camera?”

  They both stepped over to the wireless monitor fed by a remote high definition camera placed on Mount Charleston to monitor the Las Vegas Valley. They had installed the camera the same day the storm struck, the installation team barely making it back to the mountain before exposure to lethal radiation levels returning with the rain.

  “I’ll be damned,” Bradley muttered. ”I see a light. What could that be?”

  They both looked at each other in surprise. Mitchell increased the camera lens zoom onto the light, but they could not distinguish anything in the darkness. “It is in the Springs Preserve area

  “Keep an eye on this, Charlie. I will be at the Command Center.”

  He paused. “On second thought, Colonel Barlow and Major Kellahan can come here.” He stepped outside the alcove door and called to the nearby guard detail officer manning the north portal entrance. “Find Colonel Barlow and Major Kellahan and tell them that I request their presence in the War Room at their convenience. Locate Mayor Robinson as well.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Thirty-seven-year-old Jane Barlow, born in San Diego, had grown up in Henderson, Nevada, where she attended ROTC at Basic High School and during her four years at UNLV majoring in political science. She had joined the Nevada Army National Guard a second lieutenant where she deployed on three tours of Southeast Asia with an assignment to the 422nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion. Barlow rated high in her Army OERs, Officer Efficiency Reports, and maintained an excellent physical condition, short styled hair, and appearance complementing a combination of knowledge, authority, and sophistication.

  Barlow had entered the mountain as Bradley’s executive officer where she had served until a few months ago when he promoted her to colonel and made her the commanding officer to allow him to concentrate on the military’s intelligence and technology needs.

  When the EMP struck, Captain Richard Kellahan commanded the 92nd Civil Support Team for weapons of mass destruction, a joint force unit of soldiers and airmen headquartered in Las Vegas in case of a domestic chemical, biological, or nuclear event occurrence.

  Kellahan, 5 feet, 11 inches, 190 pounds, and 32 years old led by never raising his voice, a military leader with the composed mannerism of a student counselor. Being essential to his position, Kellahan remained frozen a captain until the survivors first left the mountain at which time Bradley and Barlow promoted him to major.

  Former Beatty mayor, Jeannette Robinson, near Bradley’s age was a short, heavyset woman highly respected by the mountain’s civilian population. Her duties focused on solving domestic situations among the civilians and acting as their liaison with the military.

  The three arrived on the handcar manned by a teenage boy volunteering for the handcar service extending through the mountain to the south portal.

  “We’re impressed, sir. What did you say to Mother Nature to get the old gal to behave?” Barlow said, pitching her Kevlar to Kellahan to place with his on an empty chair.

  “I threatened her with Major Kellahan.”

  “Hey, boss. Leave me out of your battles with that Mother Nature bitch,” Kellahan said, making a motion as though backing away while shielding his face with his hands. He walked over to the Mount Charleston camera monitor. “Damn,” he exclaimed. “We can see the town again. Any movement?”

  Mitchell said, “Not yet. We did see an electric light before the sun came up.”

  “You are kidding me!” Kellahan and Barlow looked at Bradley for an explanation.

  “Beats me,” he said. He looked at Kellahan. “We are about to find out.” He looked at Mitchell. “Charlie, sit in on this and speak up if you disagree.”

  “We saw how this latest storm slammed us with little warning despite our weather monitoring and we saw it leave just as unexpectedly,” said Bradley.

  “Meaning?” Robinson asked.

  “This tells me that the jet stream now controls the weather regardless the season,” Kellahan said.

  Bradley looked at Kellahan and continued. “I agree. If it decides to dump snow on us midsummer that is what it is going to do. To me, that means that we can no longer rely on there being seasons where we can predict the weather.” He looked at Mitchell who nodded in concurrence.

  He continued. “We know now that in most cases the radiation brought by these storms will most likely be a coating type rather than penetrating like after a nuclear event. The point is that shelter from the storms does not have to be a mountain or even a bunker. We need a good cover for what we will classify as ordinary storms and a bunker-type retreat should we be hit with penetrating radiation.” He looked up at the rock ceiling for emphasis. “Point is, it need not be a mountain.”

  The others quickly recognized this being much more than a staff meeting concerning the mountain.

  “I suppose you heard about the rocks falling from the roof again last night. That is happening more frequently, and we have lost some of our lightings. Just look around — everything is aging here. I think it is reminding us that man is not supposed to live beneath a rock.”

  “You’re telling us it is time to leave the mountain, aren’t you, sir?”

  “Yes, Jane. This storm occurred in a way that tells us that we must adapt to shorten and uncertain growing seasons. We will never grow crops or raise livestock as we once did. Think of us now living on another planet.”

  “So much for scheduling everything in my day planner,” Robinson whispered to Kellahan. Mitchell overheard her comment and chuckled. “Tell me about it.”

  Bradley overheard her as well but chose to stay on point. The word planet identified a notional concept swirling in his mind on how to best describe their situation. “We must think as Dr. Sanders, and her group did when they brought us equipment and technology designed for a lunar colony.”

  “Test tube reproduction and organic gardens,” Barlow said more as an observation than an opinion.

  Bradley chose to accept the comment as informational. “Yes. With our small number, we do not need wide herds of livestock or mega farms. We have survived only to find ourselves in a new world. We must adapt and live with what we have to rebuild.”

  Barlow thoughtfully nodded her head in concurrence. This was what she and the original military element in this mountain trained for.

  Bradley turned to Kellahan.

  “We need to recon the Las Vegas Valley for survivors, and more importantly, find a location that will provide what we need to survive.”

  “The survivors we find?” Kellahan dangled the question for Bradley to finish.

  “Bring in those willing to adapt — isolate those who do not and deal with them as needed. That is your call. Again, your people are trained to deal with situations such as this.”

  “Do you have a schedule, sir?”

  Bradley looked a
t Mitchell for confirmation of his opinion and the others. “I don’t imagine the weather will allow us to make a complete transition without interruption. I suggest you immediately commence preparation for a total move but plan to implement the actual move in stages, but on short notice, taking advantage of windows of opportunity.”

  He directed his comment at Kellahan. “Kellahan, you have to ensure our security before we move a thing. Fortunately, we have the weaponry to protect both the mountain and our new location.”

  “Any thoughts on where we relocate?” Kellahan asked.

  “You and Barlow know the area and what will be required to rebuild our society. Obviously, with what we know about the ever-changing weather, we can forget about living an agrarian lifestyle. Forget we going back to the horse and buggy society; it is time we evolve into the modern world. I cannot see us settling for reviving old cars and trucks when we have the intelligence in this mountain to evolve into personal flying platforms. This is why we sheltered the brains of our nation — to not lose the momentum of our advancing man into the space age.”

  While he spoke, Barlow’s mind raced to comprehend what relocating and starting over entailed. She frowned. “My God, Tom. We trained for nation rebuilding — not this. This is not nation rebuilding. We are talking about starting from scratch — setting up a new currency exchange, constitution, governance — forming a working government, developing businesses, workforces.” Her voice tapered off to a whisper. “Where do we start?”

  Bradley recognized the magnitude of the burden this placed on her and said consolingly, “It does not have to happen overnight. Think it through and do it right. We must maintain martial law for now, but that we can peel away one layer at a time during the transition to civilian authority. Lest we don't overlook our still facing unnamed enemies out there.”

  Everyone grew quiet, contemplating the Herculean tasks facing them.

  “What can I do?” Robinson asked to break the silence.

  Neither Barlow nor Kellahan responded.

  Bradley thought for a moment before speaking. “I envision the mountain remaining a permanent repository for much of what we have archived here. This will require some of our people remaining behind to maintain and protect the mountain. I anticipate some Beatty residents preferring to stay and resume their rural lifestyle, which would include custodial duties here at the mountain.”

  ****

  CHAPTER TWO - Looking for a new home

  Overnight, word circulating about the impending move had triggered rumors and speculation that now raced among concerned residents rushing to gather belongings in storage or on loan. To get to the mess, Bradley had to work his way from his quarters through a level of human traffic never before seen inside the mountain.

  Colonel Barlow arrived early at the Command Center where the tempo became nonstop meetings to organize the military element for their trained role of nation rebuilding. In her alcove, the same applied to Mayor Robinson dealing with issues concerning the livestock and the mountain’s support staff remaining behind.

  Major Kellahan instantly dispatched his motor pool personnel to prepare the stored vehicles for travel, and in some cases, actually loaded vehicles with items related or assigned to it. Meanwhile, the ordnance personnel was cleaning and preparing their weapons for use if needed.

  In the War Room, Bradley convened his unique weapons and intelligence personnel to study the Las Vegas Valley for any activity and to plan a defense strategy in the Las Vegas Valley using the Mount Charleston remote camera. With the radiation count remaining high, they saw no evidence of life outside the mountain other than the nightly electric light at the Springs Preserve — suggesting someone having somehow escaped the EMP’s aftermath. In either case, everyone considered the light’s presence a significant event with a high investigation priority.

  As on previous military excursions outside the mountain, Bradley found it difficult for him not to micromanage organizing the mission. His meeting with Colonel Barlow, Major Kellahan, Mitchell, and Mayor Robinson had thrown the entire military structure into four separate units with separate leaders and missions, making the meeting a definite change of direction for the people. Those trained for nation rebuilding now reported directly to Colonel Barlow, communications and intelligence gathering personnel to Colonel Bradley, the transportation and combat troops to Major Kellahan, leaving it undetermined those staying at the mountain and who would lead them. Mayor Robinson would obviously continue managing the infrastructure, both inside and outside the mountain, but this left the need to name someone to lead and defend the repository and those remaining.

  Complicating matters, rather than merely going out on a mission, Kellahan’s force, once deployed, would not return to the mountain. Once Kellahan secured the new venue, Colonel Barlow’s people planned to join him, leaving Bradley seriously considering his staying to keep the War Room operational. From there, he could provide visual contact over a vast area via the camera on Mount Charleston.

  Colonel Barlow arrived at the War Room, contemplating the pros and cons regarding the direction that others and she planned to take their people. Sarge announced her presence by rushing to greet her. She stooped to pet him before addressing Bradley.

  “Have a moment to chat, sir?” She asked while entering the War Room.

  “I certainly do, Jane,” Bradley replied from his desk. He looked relieved. “I need rescuing from me wondering what in the hell to do.”

  “Welcome to the club.” She sat down in a chair beside his desk. “Tom, I have wrestled with what we have to do, and it has finally soaked in that we have no nation to rebuild. We are starting a nation.”

  Bradley saw his former XO acting about as stressed out as he.

  “You may well have a point there. We have seen no sign of life since seeing the campfires in Las Vegas during the battle at Hoover Dam a few months ago.” He glanced at the Mount Charleston camera monitor. ”We could damn sure use some infrared detection capability on the mountain.”

  She followed his gaze, seeing the Las Vegas Valley that once housed over two million residents and millions of tourists. “I wonder what we are going to find down there.” She mused.

  “It will be hell. Jane. Even though it is desert, over four years of no humans to maintain the city will have changed the city you once knew. On the ranch, I recall watching a perfectly good hay barn melt away in a short time because of human neglect. You have seen this as well. Look at Gary, Indiana or Detroit how fast the cities turned into slums and entire neighborhoods crumbled back to nature after the people moved out.”

  Barlow signed. “I have seen it all over the world.” She turned to stare at the weather data streaming across the big screen. Bradley respected her hesitance to broach what she wanted to see him about and remained silent, joining her in watching the screen.

  “Tom,” she finally said to get to the subject of her visit. “My soldiers are not in some shit hole country trying to save its people from Sharia law. As you said, we are not rebuilding a nation in some foreign country — we are building one — an American nation in the United States. This is our country, and I do not feel it is the place of our or anyone else’s military to do what is required. Running a nation should not be a military function.”

  Bradley said nothing and his face concealed any emotion on the subject. He waited for her to continue. Barlow nervously toyed with the eagle wings on her uniform.

  “I propose that we place my people on a reserve status the same as the other civilians and we continue to do what we must as your appointees. When it is time, our people can select their leadership by election. I propose we establish our first civilian branch of government.”

  Bradley stood and walked around his desk where he placed his hand on Barlow’s shoulder. “Jane, you may have just solved a problem that has long nagged the crap out of me.”

  He thought for a moment before removing his hand and returning to his seat where he continued in a much more decisive manner.
“My dilemma was what to do with our top-heavy military — the cabinet officers inherited with the mountain. Like you, they trained for civil affairs. They add only limited value to our defense. All of you came into the mountain as civilian soldiers. I might add that I have never commanded a better group of soldiers.”

  He took a sip of coffee before continuing. “We have a hi-tech military capability, which minimizes the need for trench soldiers.”

  He stared at Barlow thoughtfully as he narrowed his thinking. “By damn, I believe you are on to something,” he said excitedly. “You can also have our military police personnel for law enforcement. You and I will share in the sense that everyone will remain highly trained in our ready reserve for the event we need them. This includes the civilians.”

  Barlow’s face radiated her relief. She stood up and faced Bradley to offer him some advice. “Remember, Colonel, you inherited us from the Nevada National Guard. You can remove those you do not need from active duty and retain those you need.”

  “Understood. For your civilian role, how does the title of governor sound to you?”

  “Perfect.”

  Both of them displayed relief and satisfaction with the results of their meeting.

  “Prepare me a list of all of those you want released from active duty. Give some thought on civil uses for our senior officers as well and let me know.”

  “Yes, sir. I know George will want to reopen our electrical business. We can employ some of the people.”

  Bradley motioned for her to sit back down. “That is exactly what I envisioned for our reserve members. The issue you may find a challenge is finding something for the sheltered brains, the prima donnas to do. Barlow, we need to talk farming and livestock. I spoke to Terre, the teenager who worked with Dr. Sanders in the garden. I believe she may have learned enough to carry on with that project. For our protein needs, be thinking along the lines of rabbit, chicken, squirrel, pigs, and various other poultry species. We can raise all of these species in a building as well as here and reproduce them quickly in litters or hatchings. I think that we keep the larger livestock here and not move them.”