The Last Boys in Clinton - 7. Beginning the Recovery

Saturday

Patrick Mitchell, station manager at KDNL ABC 30 St. Louis, Missouri, had tasked one of his investigative reporters to get the story behind how the entire east coast of the US was nearly wiped out.

"What have you got, Vincent?"

"Apparently, there's a group of folks outside of Philadelphia that got together and did some investigating. Based on social media, there are a few good stories there. I haven't been able to reach a," Vincent Valencia checked his notes, "Doctor Kenneth Allen, aside from an initial 'no comment.' He seems to have something to do with the cause of the disaster. Three other topics seem to be good possibilities as well."

"Good, good. What are they?"

"OK. One, a hotel manager's son, Ryan Becker, took over the hotel his late father managed and has gathered a total of twenty-four survivors. The second is, there is a med student there, Benjamin Fitzgerald, who supposedly spoke to Doctor Allen. And finally, two young boys who lived in the same town as, um, Mission Critical Labs, potentially ground zero, and biked eighty-five miles to join that group."

"I love that. Kid survivors. Care to take a road trip?"

"To Philadelphia?"

"Yes."

"No offense, sir, but if whatever killed everyone else is still lingering, I probably wouldn't get within a hundred miles of the place alive."

"Hmmm. Good point. OK, remote video will have to do. Set something up through this Brecker fellow."

"Becker, sir."

"Yes, Becker. Also leave a voice mail for the good doctor. Tell him if he wants a chance to refute anything this Fitzgerald is going to say, he'd better call you back."

"OK. And talk to Becker and the other three interesting parties?"

"Yes. Yes, of course. Then we'll see what we have. If we can do a half-hour exclusive, we'll be able to fill in one of the World News Tonight slots that have died along with the rest of New York."

"I'm on it."

Vincent's first two calls to the hotel, asking for an interview, were denied.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the world...

"What's the status, General Chen?"

"Washington has literally been wiped out, Mr. President. A handful of Senators and Congressmen and women survived the plague, or whatever it was. But their President, Vice-President, and many other leaders are dead."

"And they did this to themselves? We don't need to continue enhancing COVID?"

"Definitely self-inflicted, Mr. President. But most of their country seems unaffected. My sources say the Appalachian Mountains apparently prevented the spread beyond their peaks."

"I suggest as a back-up plan, we continue increasing the mortality rates. Do we have enough prisoners to prove its effectiveness?"

"Yes. Still over a million and a half, Mr. President."

"They have been very useful in preparing us for this war. Their sacrifices will not go unnoticed."

"Yes, sir."

General Chen wouldn't think of voicing his immediate thought, 'It's not like they had a choice.' That was the one part of President Zhou's plan of taking over the United States that he was uncomfortable with. But he knew if he spoke up, he'd be part of the next set of test subjects. He had other plans, however.

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"I don't give a damn about protocol. I don't care who thinks they're more qualified than I am. I want the presidency."

California Senator, Finley Reed, was arguing with his chief of staff Joseph Casey, over who would take over leading the country.

"The rest of the remaining Senate and Congress is adamantly clamoring for holding another election. I'm sure, now with New York empty for all intents and purposes, you'll get the most votes."

"But someone has to step up immediately. It could be months before an election can be held."

"They're talking about selecting four candidates from the remaining legislative branch this week and holding an election in two weeks."

"They'll never pull that off. Too much coordination has to happen. Call a press conference. I'm now the senior member; I'll take over until an election can occur. Fuck them if they don't like it."

"You're the boss."

"Right. Remember that if you want to keep working."

"Yes, sir."

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Sunday

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, things were getting a little more hectic. Another eighteen people showed up over the course of the next two days. Ryan was having difficulty keeping control. With no staff to speak of, Nia and Tamika were doing the best they could helping out with food and the like, but the refrigerator was nearly bare. He'd need to start moving guests around as the rooms got more and more messy. He wasn't trained for this, and he was becoming overwhelmed.

Best Western refused to send additional supplies, not knowing if the delivery people would be safe. He caught a glimmer of hope when he got another phone call from the TV station in Missouri. If they wanted a story, they'd get them help. It was time to stop denying the reporter's request.

"Yeah?"

"Mr. Becker?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Vincent Valencia from KDNL news."

"Oh. Sorry I was so snippy. Things have gotten a little hectic here. I've got forty-one guests now, am running out of food, and nobody to clean the rooms."

"I'll check with the station manager; we may be able to help with the food situation."

"I doubt it. Best Western won't send anyone for fear the death cloud is still around."

"Death cloud?"

"Yeah, that's what we've been calling it."

"I'm going to use that. Anyway. Do you have anyone who can drive a refrigerator van?"

"I'm sure anyone could handle that."

"I can coordinate a food shipment to, let's say Eastern Ohio. Would you be able to get someone there to take it back?"

"I'm sure I can find a couple volunteers. I don't know what everyone did before yet, but what is that, maybe seven hours away?"

"I'm thinking the Ohio Valley Mall; it's about five and a half hours from you. I'm not sure we can get anyone to volunteer to get much closer."

"Yeah, I'm sure I can find a couple people who might be willing."

"Okay, we'll get that out of the way first. Not much point in scheduling an interview with a few of you there if you've starved to death."

"Interview?"

"Yes. We think it's a great story how you pulled people together. Plus, you have someone who knows better than anyone else, anyone who is talking anyway, what happened. And my station manager loves the idea that a couple kids made their way there from the supposed ground zero."

"OK. Get started on the food, and I'll get a driver or two."

"Awesome. I'll call you later. If we're lucky enough, we can have the food ready tomorrow morning."

"Thanks a lot. Bye."

Vincent worked with his station manager, Patrick Mitchell, to get a food truck loaded in Ohio the next morning. There was a reefer truck company that was willing to donate the van for free advertising during the broadcast.

Monday morning, May thirteenth, a refrigerator van was being loaded to be left at the Ohio Valley Mall, in St. Clairsville, OH. David Roberts, a 28-year-old driver for UPS, and Nia Barclay, one of the original ten, volunteered to drive to Ohio to pick up the food. Nia would drive her own car back while David drove the food truck.

David and Nia left at seven AM and got to the mall a little after 12:30 PM, with a single stop for gas and a health break. After a quick lunch at Panera Bread, they headed back to the hotel. Nia followed David back, sticking close in case something went wrong with either vehicle. They needn't have worried. Once again, a single stop and they were back before seven PM. Ryan had arranged for a small crew of volunteers to get the food transferred into the hotel. The van held three-thousand pounds of food. They'd be set for a while. Hopefully the world would be straightened out soon.

Tuesday afternoon, Ryan, Benjamin, George, and Lionel had a preparatory call with Vincent to discuss what he'd be asking that evening. The report would run live. The refrigerator van company threw together a couple quick advertisements that would each be shown twice during the broadcast.

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Senator Reed had his own live show, a press conference held at noon on Monday, where he announced he, as the most senior remaining Senator, would step in as acting President until the remaining members of Congress could arrange for a special election. Sacramento, California became the temporary capitol of the United States. While many members of congress disagreed with the move, none could suggest a better short-term solution.

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General Chen continued to oversee the manufacture of a new strain of COVID that would be significantly more lethal than our first battle with Coronavirus. He still wasn’t pleased with using prisoners as guinea pigs.

Next Up - "The Interviews"