Operator (A Hat Films Fanfic)

- Four -

"Here's the census you wanted America," Katie said, handing a couple of sheets of paper to the girl sitting at the radio. She's been searching frequencies all morning and was able to get a hold of a man in Manchester who was a self proclaimed 'doomsday prepper'. As crazy as he was, he gave America some good advice, including the instructions on how to build a green house out of plastic water bottle. Ross had offered to take charge of that and was going around to all the neighbors who had written down construction as one of their skills, and America was going to call a meeting to discuss other ideas and plans she and anyone else had. 

 Andy from 2J helped me bring out chairs onto the small grassy circle of the roundabout where people were starting to gather for a meeting. It reminded me of the few times we had done this during the summer to watch fireworks over the tops of buildings; those were probably the only times I've really socialized with the people that lived around me, and I was ashamed that I still didn't know most of their names.

The sky was painted a faint pink as the sun started to set, and soon the stars would shine brilliantly in the dark city. It would be beautiful if it was just a summer gathering, but with the absence of noise from cars, teles, air cons, and all other regular city noises, everything seemed more eerie and sinister. I was glad when more people wandered out of their houses and the air filled with quiet discourse. 

America came out with a note pad and pen in her hand, although she looked anything but prepared. I noticed the way she chewed her bottom  lip as she walked over and stood next to one of the chairs, waiting for any stragglers. I weaved my way through the growing crowd and held onto her free hand, trying to show her that I was there to support her. Beside the little speech she gave the other day, this would be her first decision as our leader and solidify her into the position. 

Trott and Katie had brought out a blanket to sit on, and I noticed Mark had pulled one of the chairs up behind America's and was a little reserved from the circle. Others were either standing or sitting in the grass and formed a crude oval with Mer at the top. Our friends and neighbors quieted down and took their seats without her even asking them too, and this forced her to get started. 

"Uh, good evening everyone," she said quietly, clearing her throat. She took a deep breath and sat up a little straighter. "There are a few things that I would like to talk about tonight," she said more confidently, "including our plans moving forward. I understand that this is all very confusing to a lot of you and I've tried to give you a few days to sort out your thoughts, but the longer we wait the worse our position becomes." 

"What do you think will happen?" a blonde girl sitting on a knitted blanket asks. 

"Well best case scenario is that nothing happens and the only thing we have to worry about is how to survive winter," America admitted. 

"And worst case?" Micheal, one of the scouts, pipes up. 

America paused, seeming surprised she was actually asked that. "I guess... the worst case would be an attack by some kind of organized group," she said slowly, and a wave of discomfort swept through everyone present. "We shouldn't have to worry about that right now, but..." she paused to hold up her note pad, "Defense is one of the categories that I've listed here, along with food and water. I have a few ideas which I will get into later, but I also want to know if any of you have any ideas." 

"Um, America," Ramirez spoke up, raising his hand to show where he was seated, "My brother and I used to build go carts when we were kids. With your permission, I think we could fix up the lawn mowers in the shed and give you something a little faster than a bike." 

"It would let us carry heavier things," the other Ramirez added, "Like pails of water or even gallons of petrol." 

"Speaking of petrol," a voice behind us said, and Mark sat up, crossing his arms across his chest, "Where are we supposed to get the fuel for something like that." 

"It wouldn't need that much fuel," Ross interrupted, "I'm sure there's plenty of petrol in all the stalled cars out on the streets. Besides, what else can we use the mowers for?" 

"That brings up another point I wanted to touch on," America pipped, turning to the Ramirez brothers, "Sam, if we found you one, would you be able to turn a snow blower into a rototiller?" 

"I mean, I guess," Sam mumbled, "but good luck finding one in Bristol, and in the summer besides..."

"We need to think about our food supply," America said loudly, addressing the group again, "If we remove the fences between all our yards, we would have enough space to grow a substantial amount of food for ourselves." 

"Does anyone even know how to farm?" one woman who was much older than most of us asked. 

"I know basic concepts," America said, looking a lot less confident than she had minutes ago.

"I used to garden," Mary said from her seat by Katie and Trott, "It was mostly floral, but I could probably still help." 

"I took a plant and animal life science course," another one of our neighbors piped up, "it was mostly for the credit, but I might still have the text book from it." 

"What if we went to the university and asked for some more text books?" a small girl asked, and I recognized her as one of the training nurses, "They have an agricultural school right?" 

"What about the library?" I asked suddenly, "I'm sure they have plenty of books on farming and hunting and probably even a few on doomsday survival..." 

"Alex, that's a really great idea," America said, grabbing my arm as she looked at me with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, "I'll need a few of our scouts to go with me to the library first thing tomorrow morning." 

"How are we supposed to get water?" our neighbor Micheal asked. 

America flipped through her notepad a few times. "We're close enough that we could make runs to the River Avon for now and there's always rain water, but I was hoping we could dig a well once were established," she said, holding up a page with drawings on it, "And I have a few ideas for water purification so we don't have to use our chlorine tablets during the summer." America pointed to one graph of water looked like a bubble or umbrella. "A lot of modern life boats are equipped with these kind of sun powered evaporators that we could make ourselves out of basic household materials, or we could pull off some of the metal roofing to boil it that way." 

"And what about defense?" Andy asked after she was done explaining her water collection and distribution ideas, "How likely is it for us to be attacked?" 

America's face flushed red, but only the people near her could have been able to see it. "Okay, listen," she said, raising her voice to make sure she had everyone's attention, "I know you're scared about being looted and taken over like you've seen in all the movies, but I can assure you it won't be like that. The initial waves of panic are done, and it will be another few months before we start seeing any organization; that gives us plenty of time to prepare, like reinforcing the walls and finding weapons and setting up patrols. Our scouts will keep an eye out for any kind of group, and if they are a threat to us we will take them out." 

She finished her small speech and a look of determination was set on everyone's faces as they stared back at her. I knew she was more than capable of following through with her plans, and I once again questioned her vague history and secret background. I wondered about who my partner really was, and if it mattered now that the entire world's gone dark.