Coastal Event Memories Read Online Free Page A

friends and loved ones.
     
    The hard fact remains, we may be the only humans left to repopulate the earth. There was no opportunity for the staff here to bring our family and friends, including my own wife and children. We are all in the same boat. In time the grief will pass, and we must move on.
     
    The staff population includes about 100 women, and over 1500 men. Within the next few weeks we will be screening all of you, medically, professionally, and emotionally. We will have an assignment for each of you that best fulfills the needs of this community. Our objective is to develop a stable, productive, and prolific community that has a minimum of four children from each fertile woman.”
     
    There was a great outcry and rage among the assembled women, and Kemp just stood there, while the troopers brought their weapons to port arms.
     
    “You may not like it, but I have both a carrot and a stick. Those who cooperate will have an improved standard of living and a good life. Anyone that does not respect our authority will not be treated gently. You will be called in small groups for interviews, starting tomorrow.” With that he turned and left the room, and the women were herded back to their barracks.
     
    Cindy was beside herself. “What are they expecting?”
     
    Rose lit her last cigarette and said, “They want us to be brood mares and whores. We can’t fight it, they have all the guns, and rape is no fun. I know. All we can do is go along until we have an opportunity. Just stick with me, and I’ll help you through it. It’s not too bad if you don’t fight it, and sometimes it’s pretty good.”
     
    That evening, there were two suicides by mothers who realized that their children were gone.
     
    Over the next weeks many things changed. They now ate their meals in the General Mess. They were also welcome in the gym and pool, as well as the four clubs that had nightly music, limited booze, and many dark corners. The staff all had private rooms and women were welcome to enter and stay. Birth control of any form was not available, and when a women was confirmed pregnant then she had the option of staying with the presumed father, or moving into a room with another mother to be.
     
    Cindy worked days in Director Kemp’s office, and Rose worked in the laundry. They went to the gym most days and to a club three or four times a week. Cindy met a cute young officer, Raymond Jennings, who was the pilot for the big helicopter. Rose was busy captivating a senior officer. He was in his 40’s, and commanded the Motor Pool Company. They both occasionally stayed overnight, but refused offers of a different arraignment.
     
    Their lives seemed to stabilize, until the week when Cindy’s period was late, and she was sick every morning. When the test strip indicated that she was indeed pregnant, she went to Rose in tears.
     
    Again, Rose was pragmatic. “So you’re going to have a kid. It’s not the end of the world. Move in with your guy the next time he offers. You must have set the hook by now. I know I have the Colonel wrapped around my finger.”
     
    Reluctantly, Cindy agreed that moving in was the best option, for now. Two months later, when she admitted that she was pregnant, he kicked her out. She moved in with another mom who had suffered a similar fate. 
     
    When Lilly was born Cindy thought she was a miracle, and resolved that she would never have to live like her mother.
     
     

Chapter 7
     
    There was a lot of debris in the water, shipping containers, parts of buildings, even the bow of a ship that was bigger than the Goose. The days had heavily overcast skies, with less than a mile of visibility. At night, there was none, and when the darkness returned, we struck the jib and drifted until the next morning.
    Finally, on September third (Day 96), we approached what the GPS said was San Francisco Bay. I was looking through binoculars, trying to spot the Golden Gate Bridge. Dad pointed to a square, orange