Deep Freeze: Protocol One, Book 2 (Protocol One Saga) Read online

  Deep Freeze

  Protocol One

  Book 2

  By

  Jacqueline Druga

  DEEP FREEZE

  Protocol One, Book 2

  By Jacqueline Druga

  Copyright 2015 by Jacqueline Druga

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Thank you, Jen S and Kira R for your help in preparing this book.

  Cover art and design by Eloise Knapp

  www.eloisejknapp.com

  One – Error

  Anna

  March 1

  It was given a name, but for months, every time I thought of the comet I struggled to remember what it was called. One would think the name of such a devastating and life changing event would be easy to remember. Perhaps I just wanted to remove it from memory. If I didn’t know the name, it would never be real.

  It was real.

  The comet was named Dempsey. Typically an astral being is named after the person that discovered it. No one really knows who first lay claim to the rock. Decades earlier it was discovered and the truth was hidden.

  Funny how it was named Dempsey. Like Jack Dempsey the boxer, the comet took its toll. It gave us its best left hook, punching into earth and rendering us unconscious.

  A champ at what it did. Its own icon forever embedded, like Dempsey, in history.

  Everything changed.

  For the most part, I’d say we were exceptionally prepared. For months prior, I had no idea why I was buying the things on the ‘to get’ list given to me by my overprotective and often zealous prepping ex husband, Gil.

  I was used to the mad dash of getting things just in case. This time was different. Because Gil was married to the Vice President’s daughter, he knew the doomsday comet was coming years before it did. He waited until the last minute to tell me what the event was and where I was to go.

  It was planned that I would venture to the bunker before the news went public. Gil even sort of assigned a security person to me and my son, Jackson. Tony would keep us in the loop and ensure we got to the bunker. A little more complicated than that, and though Tony went above and beyond what Gil ordered, it boiled down to the same result.

  We made it to the bunker.

  Albeit the impact of the comet occurred first, we still made it to safety before the bulk of the aftermath arrived.

  There were a few things that occurred along the way we didn’t plan on. Our original passenger list consisted of me, Jackson and three others. However we picked up a few along the way, so to speak. Even Tony and his daughter weren’t originally on our agenda.

  Another thing and the worst of all that we didn’t count on was for Jackson to get seriously injured and die.

  My son, my only child suffered a head injury when the ground shook and he lost balance. He tried with diligence and succeeded in making it to the bunker, only to pass away moments after arriving there.

  Forever my heart will ache for him. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him and miss him with heartbreaking intensity.

  The bunker lost its luster for me. Why live when my sole reason for being on the earth was gone. I pushed on. Our underground home provided us with everything we needed, comforts and all, everything but the ability to remember the world had changed.

  I wished instead of chickens it came with a psychic button so I could have avoided the choices I made.

  With everything I was, I believed I was doing what was best for all. Deep in my soul people were good, that’s what I thought. I was proved wrong when we let a group of survivors into the bunker and they turned on us.

  We prevailed in the standoff and still that didn’t shake my confidence in regards to the human race. Until that moment.

  Never would I have seen it coming. Gil had his plan to rebuild civilization, one step at a time, using everything he put into motion years before. A solid continuation. His vision along with my desire to help was the catalyst to our dilemma.

  A simple search and find mission gone awry. Tony and I were to go into the city, scope it out, look for survivors, see what remained.

  The weather was against us. We should have turned back. Our confidence in our state of the art vehicle led us to believe we were invincible.

  The city, at least the first sector we hit was a frozen tundra. Everything appeared crystallized and grey and the newly falling snow didn’t help the dawn of the new ice age feel.

  All of it was expected after the comet. Plummeting temperatures up north, unpredictable weather.

  If anyone was alive, they certainly weren’t coming out in the weather.

  “There is supposed to be an underground shelter around here, Anna,” Tony said.

  Where, was the question? We were near a river. Frozen over, debris wedged tightly in the chunks of ice.

  So quiet that the simplicity of sounds would be heard and the woman’s cry for help caught our attention.

  She begged us from a distance. Help. Someone was hurt.

  Why wouldn’t we think she was being honest? After all, no tire tracks, we were probably the only answer to a prayer for help.

  Something inside of Tony must have sensed it was a trap. Why else would he have us take every single thing from the Humvee? In that brief moment we loaded our arms, I thought maybe he feared someone smashing a window and taking our stuff.

  But the second the woman slipped inside the building, my gut churned that something was wrong. She went inside.

  The very moment we opted against giving her assistance was the very moment we realized they lured us and helped themselves … to our Humvee.

  Again, sound traveled. They probably heard us coming, thought of the plan. What would have occurred had we not gotten out? Whatever the case, we erred in judgment for even stopping. We stopped, we got out, and we left it running. We trusted. I blame myself because I was always one foot forward to extend a hand.

  No more.

  My bleeding heart clotted instantaneously when the final straw snapped in my attempt to help others.

  We were stranded in a frozen city. The only help we were now obligated to give was to ourselves.

  That was my focus.

  TWO – Left Behind

  Tony said some single syllable choice words in his frustration. I almost did. Really, through, what could we do?

  Tony gazed upward, allowing the large clumpy snow to smack against his face. “Right now, we find shelter.”

  The woman that cried for our help had stood in the open double door of the Waterfront Casino. The lack of any lights or smoke, caused our retreat. However our retreat wasn’t fast enough.

  The casino was our only shelter option at that moment.

  We had pulled around from the river road, and left the vehicle on the street near to the large parking garage.

  An isolated spot.

  Internally that reiterated to me even more that it was a ploy.

  We headed back, bogged down with our bags. Tony reached for the casino door located under small awning. He opened it and stopped.

  “What?” I asked him. “What’s wrong? You think there are people in there?

  “There’s not a soul in here.” He stepped back.

  “What is it, Tony?”

  “This is a side entrance.” He pretty much dropped all his bags. “It’s only been a minute. Stay put.” Hurriedly, he moved backwards. “He had to pick her up.” He spun and took off.

  I yelled his n
ame but he was determined.

  He managed to move quickly in the snow and ice, although it was a challenge. He slipped as he rounded the bend but never completely fell.

  What was he doing?

  He just left me there? Alone? I was furious and scared, but only for a split second, when I realized why he took off running.

  Tony had to believe he could catch them. In thinking about it, he was probably right.

  We were getting ready to turn around when we heard the woman cry out. The side street was blacked by abandoned cars and a fallen ramp from the freeway. The driver had gone back around on River Road to get to another side of the casino. Another entrance, unless he abandoned the woman, she ran through the casino to meet him.

  On foot, Tony had more of a direct route.

  Along with being hopeful, I was cold. My gloves were still in my pockets and my coat wasn’t even zippered all the way. Even though I was protected by the small awning, the wind picked up and the snow smacked against me.

  Out in the cold or go inside in the dark? I contemplated. Was it safe inside the casino? My guess was anyone in there was opting for the Humvee they carjacked.

  Chasing Tony was out of the question, I didn’t want to chance leaving our stuff and I certainly couldn’t carry it all. Swinging around my personal backpack, I pulled out the revolver that Gil had issued me. Hating to do so, I removed the safety. I always had this fear of the gun accidently going off. I adjusted what bags I could over my shoulder and revolver in hand I opened the door.

  Immediately I was hit with a crisp cold that smelled of dust and burning rubber. The rubber was more electric, a remaining smell when the power surge hit and burned out electronics.

  I set down the bags just inside and holding the door open with my body, one at a time, I brought the other bags in. Enough gloomy daylight came through that door to light the small entranceway just a tad and I didn’t need to pull my flashlight.

  It was a ceramic tile entrance way with metal chairs and a security guard podium. The walls had frost as well as the floors. At least the parts that weren’t exposed to daylight. I piled the bags in the corner against the wall by the door. Then moved two chairs in front of them. All of which was difficult because I did not want to let go of my gun. I expected at any time someone to jump out. I also expected Tony to return.

  Being in a silent world had advantages. I didn’t hear the Humvee, I didn’t hear voices or gunshots.

  I heard nothing.

  That worried me.

  THREE – The message

  It seemed like forever as I waited on Tony. My back to the bags, I kept looking out the door, then across the dark casino. There were specks of light. They more than likely came from another doorway. How long had it been? Two, three minutes? In that time my emotions ranged from anger that he had left, to worry because he hadn’t returned.

  The snow fell so fast outside, it was nearly a whiteout, the wind picked up and my tracks were covered with fresh snow.

  Standing there my mind imagined the worst. I envisioned Tony hurt, ambushed by the people who took the Humvee. Even though it wasn’t all that long, I decided to cross the Casino and look out another door. My flashlight was on my belt and I pulled it out. The casino was huge, it could have been a mile. It seemed that big.

  I focused on the daylight that made its way across the blackness of the gaming floor.

  My insides shook as well as my hand. I hoped I didn’t have to fire the gun; my hand trembled so badly, there was no way I could aim steadily. A few steps into my journey, I heard the three tones, like a melody. What was it? I was confused for a moment and then it dawned on me. Gwen’s BlackBerry. She had been communicating with someone before arriving at our bunker and left that phone with a bag of her personal stuff in the Humvee. I charged it while snooping, and it was still charged. The soft leather bag was on top of our belongings, and I hurriedly grabbed it.

  It was a message.

  ‘Haven’t heard from you. Are you okay?’ the message from D read.

  I responded, ‘No. Rescue mission into Pittsburgh gone wrong. Stranded. Phone is dying. Need help. Please contact Protocol One. Found shelter in the casino.’ I reread what I wrote, and without letting them know I wasn’t Gwen, I hit ‘send’.

  I breathed out and the phone beeped again.

  ‘Hang tight. Be safe. Stay warm. I will get you help.’

  Politely I replied a thank you and placed the phone in my pocket in case whoever it was sent another message. The unit really was on its last bit of battery life. I didn’t get a chance to charge it for very long.

  There was a sense of relief that I was able to get a message out for help, but I couldn’t focus on that. I was too worried. Tony had not returned.

  Where was he?

  FOUR – tracks

  My plight did not end with that message. By my honest calculations it had been close to ten minutes. That was far too long, and once again, after tucking the phone in my pocket, began my venture across the casino floor. I kept my focus forward, needing only to get to the door and I avoided looking around. There was so much to see in that one building. How things had deteriorated. A part of me needed to see what happened to the world in every aspect. The casino was my base, my belongings were there; I’d have time to see and explore when I returned. I had to. How was I to understand completely what drove survivors to do what they did, when I was sheltered and safe? It is easy to judge and say “I never will”, when you aren’t there or haven’t experienced it.

  My boot caught something, sending it sailing across the floor. The sound jolted me and I reminded myself I was the cause of it.

  Although gloomy, the fast falling snow helped make it brighter. I reached the main entrance. It was open and large, a fountain sat center stage, but the water inside was gone. Before going any further, I tucked my pant legs tightly in my boots, secured my hat, hood and face scarf, along with gloves and walked to the door.

  Hating to do so, I replaced the safety on my gun. I stood more of a chance of it going off with the clumsy gloves. Who was I kidding? I was about to venture out into the snow, I would be clumsy all the way around.

  There were two sets of doors, the outer one led to a huge entranceway with a valet area sign all of which was protected by a cement canopy. There was some snow there from where it blew in.

  As I approached the main doors I saw it. A trail of water glazed across the floor from the far right door. After crossing the first set of doors, I noticed the wet area continued to the outer doors on the right. Had someone gone out and come back in? That was the door they used and so did I.

  As soon as I pushed the door, the blast of wind took my breath away. I raised the scarf to cover my nose and mouth, and wished I had pulled the goggles from the gear because it wouldn’t be long before my eyes watered.

  To my right was the river, ahead of me I could see the football stadium and to my left was the parking garage. Virgin snow covered the ground around the garage. No tire tracks. Foot prints would have been covered, at least some, four inches if not more had fallen since we arrived.

  The river, even frozen seemed to toss a frigid gust of air at me. A small road ran perpendicular to it but was blocked off at a point. River Road. We had taken it as far as we could when we had to turn around. That was when we heard the cry for help. Looking around, I saw the course of Tony’s thinking. Clearly the person that stole our Humvee either turned around and followed our route to the blocked point or went around the casino completely.

  Where to begin?

  The canopy offered some protection from the elements and it was fortunate that I was able to see multiple footprints in the snow in the valet circle. They went toward the river and then disappeared. At least from where I stood. It was my intent to follow them and that was when I noticed more footprints. Those were near to the building, as if the person came up close, rounded the bend and ran inside.

  The footprints in led one direction, toward the valet area.

&n
bsp; It all started making sense.

  Or in my mind it did. There was a reason the casino didn’t feel used and held the odor of the burnt electronics. It was a forgotten haven. People or rather survivors didn’t consider it. Maybe they did but found it useless, who knows.

  A single set of footprints not yet covered in snow went directly to the far door.

  I pieced it together. If the people who took our Humvee spotted us circling the city their shelter had to be near there. They sent the woman as the decoy, she ran into the casino, saw she drew us from the car and ran back in knowing we’d follow.

  All while her partner in crime took our ride.

  He or she, the driver, probably had plans to meet the woman elsewhere.

  Tony thought of this. He had to.

  The woman ran through the casino out the main doors and toward the river.

  That explained those footprints. She could not have had that far of a lead on Tony.

  I crossed through the canopied valet section into the snow, watching the tracks.

  There definitely were more than one set. One of them bigger, it had to be Tony’s. But the footprints faded and grew harder to make out. They ran through the snow, kicking it up covering things.

  Prior to the storm, the ground was glazed with ice and hardened snow. The fresh layer added traction and I was able to walk, but that wouldn’t be for long if it continued to clobber the area. I’d need a walking stick or pole to keep my balance.

  I walked directly to the river, standing on the road. It was gray and desolate. The wind blew fiercely and the snow felt like acid as it hit on parts of my exposed face.

  I felt alone, as if there wasn’t another soul alive.

  If ever there was a true vision of barren and desolation, it was there in that moment. I was a speck. A mere dark dot in the white of it all. To look at the buildings they screamed vacant and empty, the taller ones burned in spots, cars were left abandoned all around.