Dalton nodded. “Your endorsement would go a long way in helping people accept our presence again.”

  “We want you to be the face of the new United States of America,” the Colonel said. “We’ll do all the heavy lifting.”

  “Like the Penance raids?” he asked.

  “All staged,” Dalton assured him.

  “Your country needs you, Mr. Mike.” Janet said with a wink. “We need the Librarian to help restore law and order. So we can get back to normal. Just like you wanted.”

  He realized he’d stopped denying his identity. The truth was, ever since they showed him the Bill of Rights, he’d been daydreaming about that normal life. Law and order would take some adjusting to, but he knew it was for the best.

  “What do you think of that, Librarian?” the man he knew as Dalton asked.

  Jerry smiled. “Better late than never.”

  The Colonel was the first to shake his hand. “You’re a great American, Librarian.”

  “Jerry,” he said.

  Janet gave him a gentle hug. “Thank you.”

  “I’m just glad you’re not dead, Mrs. Ketchum.”

  “Janet Carlisle,” she admitted.

  Captain Willis shook his hand vigorously. “Sorry for all the cloak-and-dagger nonsense.”

  “You couldn’t think of an easier way to find me?” Jerry asked.

  “We had to be sure,” the Colonel answered. “A lot of people out there are claiming to be you.”

  The idea that anyone would want to be him was baffling.

  “That’s why we had this test,” Andy said. “We knew that you’d come if you thought people were in danger. It’s who you are.”

  “If I had approached you in Hannibal or Cairo, what would you have told me?” the Captain asked.

  “I see your point.” Jerry said. “It was hell getting here, but I’m glad I came. It’ll be nice to have something familiar again. And that Bill of Rights, I can’t believe you kept it safe.”

  “Of course,” Andy said.

  “So, who’s the President? Anyone I’d know?”

  Janet smiled and Willis stammered. Andy filled in the gaps. “It doesn’t really work that way anymore.”

  “Oh, sure,” Jerry said. “Well, we’ll get you all back up top and get right to an election.”

  The Colonel’s expression stiffened, and Jerry felt the mood in the room change.

  “Jerry,” Andy said softly. “We’ve had to make some changes due to the circumstances.”

  “Obviously,” Jerry said. “But we can just change them right back.”

  “Of course,” Willis said. “Eventually. But amendments take some time to undo.”

  “Amendments? Those used to be pretty tough to get through.”

  “Yes, it was much easier to make changes when fewer people were involved,” Janet added.

  “What kind of changes?” the Librarian asked. He could feel the Colonel’s eyes focus on him.

  “Just common-sense stuff really,” Andy said with a wave of his hand. “Changes that people wanted before the end of the world and some things to streamline the process.”

  “Free speech is still in there?” Jerry asked.

  Andy chuckled. “Of course. We didn’t take anything out. We just made a few refinements.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” the Colonel said. “People are going to be more than happy to see us.”

  The Librarian sat quietly for a long moment. Then he asked, “How much do you know about what went on up there? Really how much? And not what Animal told you?”

  “We’ll admit we didn’t have the intelligence we expected and⁠—”

  “I don’t think it would surprise you to hear it was chaos. It was madness. For the first time I can remember, normal people were using the term bedlam, not just metal bands. For two weeks, we didn’t see the sun. For a year, we didn’t have a spring or summer. Every day was a fight for survival. A fight a lot of people lost. And if they didn’t lose it personally, they had a loved one who did. For a time, people chose not to love anyone at all. It was less painful that way. Trust had been obliterated. Everyone was a victim or a survivor. There was nothing else.”

  “We know it was rough,” Andy said.

  “You don’t know shit, Andy. And if you walk out those doors pretending you do, you’re going to be a victim. Because the only thing left out there now are the survivors. They’ve suffered. They’ve become callous and they’ve killed, but they’re the ones that have straight-up refused to let the world kill them.

  “I think they’d welcome you. I really do. I think they’re ready to see things get back to normal. And I think they’d want your help. But I’m going to be honest, they’re going to get there with or without you. And if you stick your head up thinking you’re still in charge…you’re going to have a hell of a fight on your hands.”

  The Colonel had stiffened at so many of the words in his speech that Jerry thought he was going to topple over backwards. His words were terse and unyielding. “We are in charge.”

  “Yeah,” Jerry sighed. “I figured you’d say that.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  Jerry pointed up to the surface. “I don’t think they’re going to believe you.”

  “That’s why you’re here,” Janet said.

  “To sell the people a lie?” Jerry asked.

  “To reduce casualties,” the Colonel said with a smile that was much too eager.

  “You think my word will get everyone to just fall in line?”

  “We hear you’re quite good at giving rousing speeches.”

  Jerry watched the eyes of everyone in the room. The Colonel’s eyes were cold. But he expected that. Janet’s were almost as cold and that surprised him. There was no sign of Laura’s confused stare anymore. She was a completely different person, and he noted that the sweet Ms. Carlisle was dangerous. Captain Willis was giving him a reassuring nod while the Senator’s smile goaded him on.

  They couldn’t be trusted. That was obvious. But could they bring back civilization? Did the world stand a better chance with them or without them? He wasn’t sure. And it wasn’t fair to ask anyone to make a call like this.

  Andy was right. He’d named the Boomer after the captain that decided it was a better life not to pursue the whale. Not to rise against nature. And now they had all but put the harpoon in his hand and demanded that he decide. And he truly didn’t know what the right call was.

  “How soon will we be having an election?” he asked again. He wanted an answer. “After your grand reemergence, how long until we have an election?”

  “We don’t do that anymore, son,” the Colonel said.

  “The same people kept winning,” Janet explained.

  “So why bother?” Jerry concluded.

  Andy laughed the phoniest laugh and turned up the charm. “We found that things are a lot more efficient when we don’t have to worry about campaigning all the time.”

  “I kind of liked it when things weren’t so efficient,” Jerry said. “Not a lot happened. But, then again, not a lot happened.”

  They didn’t say anything. They just stared at him. Half of them were trying to persuade him. The other half were trying to intimidate.

  The Librarian stood up from the chair and took a deep breath. “Freedom of speech?” He asked.

  “Sure,” the Senator said. “Say whatever you want.”

  “Right to bear arms?”

  Janet winced, “That one gets a little dicey. We know people are going to need to hunt.”

  “Yeah,” Jerry said. “Most people up there have named their guns. They’re family at this point.”

  “We can talk about⁠—”

  “Housing of soldiers?” he asked.

  ‘We’re going to have to—” the Colonel began. Janet stopped him.

  “Okay,” Janet snapped. “I can see where you’re going with this, so I’ll hurry things up. We didn’t so much change the document as we just don’t really think it’s applicable today. The world hasn’t just moved on, it blew up. That document isn’t relevant anymore.”

  Jerry shook his head. “This doesn’t sound like the country I knew.”

  “We realize that,” Andy said. “But it’s only temporary. Obviously, the end of the world is going to change some things, but we’re going to give a lot of this power back when everything is back to normal.”

  “Yeah, that’s what history teaches us.”

  “This is different,” the Colonel said.

  “It always is,” Jerry muttered to himself. “There’d have to be guarantees.”

  Andy nodded as if negotiations had concluded. “We’re pretty sure people will be excited to see us. They’ll understand.”

  “You think they’ll understand why you hid for several years while they fought back the horrors of the apocalypse?”

  “We think they’ll want a return to normalcy,” Janet insisted.

  “At the expense of their freedoms?”

  “That’s really not their decision, now is it?” the Colonel said.

  It was Jerry’s turn to offer a fake smile. “I wish you the best of luck with your coming out party, but I’m afraid I can’t be your poster boy.”

  Andy shrugged. “Well, we had to ask.”

  “I understand.”

  The Colonel signaled a soldier near the door. The man drew his sidearm and rushed to the officer’s side.

  “Now you’re telling me?” Jerry asked.

  Janet nodded. “We’re hoping you’ll come around.”

  Andy gestured for the solider to lower the barrel of the gun. “It’s going to be so much better for everyone out there if they do as we say. And, like you said, they might not have much respect for a nation that abandoned them. Your help could save a lot of lives.”

  “Habeas Corpus?”

  The Colonel shrugged. “Just following Lincoln’s lead on that one.”

  “Yeah, you’re just like Lincoln.”

  Another solider entered the room and the two men flanked Jerry. One shoved him forward, but he stopped next to the man he knew as Dalton.

  “Mind telling me if I was Plan A or Plan B?”

  Willis smiled. “Of course, you’re Plan A.”

  “So, Plan B is unleashing the Penance across the country, and then swooping in like the cavalry?”

  “Son,” the Colonel said, “we are the cavalry.”

  Willis confirmed the plan. “We have all kinds of heroic acts planned to help win the people over. And you should be flattered. You gave us the idea.”

  27

  “So, to recap. Laura is alive, Dalton is here, and they all think Mike is the Librarian.” Caine said. They were no longer prisoners in a proper sense. They had been cut free, their hoods had been removed and they had been moved to a more comfortable room. But they weren’t quite free to move about the town.

  Eve had insisted on having the dogs returned to them. The guards had compromised, and now Fidget sat next to her on the sofa as the group talked.

  The beagle was worked up and growled as he spoke. “They let me out because I’m really the most dangerous of all the dogs in the world.”

  “Oh, is that so?” Eve stroked the dog’s ear and the beagle collapsed next to her.

  “That feels just the best pleasedontstopever.”

  Caine stood up for the fiftieth time and crossed the room to the locked door. He stared out the window, saw nothing as usual and stomped back to the couch. “This is taking too long.”

  “How long is something like this supposed to take?” Eve asked.

  Caine gave an insincere smile and sat back down. “Not this long.”

  He sighed, looked at Lana then stood back up and resumed pacing.

  “Would you please stop that pacing?” Eve asked. “We’ll be out of here soon enough.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  “Because we’re not dead now. They aren’t real raiders, that much is clear. And no one likes feeding prisoners if they don’t have to.”

  Caine wasn’t buying it and laid in heavy with the sarcasm. “Well that’s great news. We’ll be out of here in no time then, when the people that captured us just decide to let us go.” He paced away and found himself at a wooden display near the door. The display was filled with colorful pamphlets that highlighted area attractions. Caine ran his hand violently through the rack, knocking most of the pamphlets to the floor. Several remained in his grip.

  “Since we’re about to have so much time on our hands, why don’t we see what there is to do in the great Clifton area.”

  “Barney’s Kayak Rental.” He held up a pamphlet and read. “Float the beautiful Tennessee River, it says. Well, that sounds like fun, doesn’t it? A whole day on the river! When will we ever get that chance again?”

  He threw the pamphlet away and let it flutter away as he moved on to the next one in the stack.

  “Oooh, you girls will love this. It’s a spa. We can go put our hair up in towels and get our nails done while we talk about all the cute male masseuses and their bulging muscles and bulging…things.”

  “What exactly do you think happens at a spa?” Lana asked.

  “Yeah, it sounds like you’re getting most of your information from porn.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. We weren’t all rich pampered brats who got to go to spas.” Caine snapped and tossed the pamphlet aside.

  “Oh, it’s the Shiloh National Cemetery.” He showed them the brochure. “That’ll lift our spirits.”

  The image on the brochure was a normal-looking home. “Uh oh. I hope you can contain your excitement because next we have the Buford Pusser home and museum where you can go see where Buford lived.” Caine studied the back of the brochure. The sarcasm left his voice. “Oh, shit. This is the stick guy. The big stick guy from that movie.” Caine sat back down on the couch and continued reading the pamphlet. “I’d kind of like to go see this. Do you think it’s still there? Oh, cool! They sell the sticks.”

  “Sometimes when I’m bored, I like to pretend that I’m a vulture.” Fidget stood up, lowered his snout and hunched his shoulders.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Caine asked.

  “Yeah, a fierce vulture, waiting patiently for a victim. Vultures can stalk for hours without moving. And they sit high up in a tree or on those really, really big rocks and they watch everything and then when the little jerks least expect it…Bam! The stupid squirrel gets what’s been coming to him for years. Yeah, I wish I was a vulture. I’d just lurk and lurk and…” Fidget dropped back to his belly on the couch. “Man, am I bored. Wanna try it?”

  “I’m not going to pretend to be a stupid bird,” Caine said. “I just want out of here.

  “It could be worse,” Lana said. “We could still be tied up.”

  Caine stormed back to the door and looked through the glass window into the empty hallway. “Who do they think they are?”

  “The Penance,” Eve said with a note of phony horror.

  Caine turned and looked at her. “Who do you think they really are?”

  “I don’t know. But they’re sure not the bloodthirsty raiders they want us to think they are. They’re too organized. My guess is former military of some kind.”

  “If they’re not raiders, then why the getup?”

  “It can’t be good,” Eve said. “Nothing good happens when people dress up and act like other people.”

  “Hey,” Caine said, and put his arms on his hips.

  “Oh, shut up. You know I didn’t mean you and we don’t have time to deal with your fragile ego right now. I don’t think all this make believe was for our benefit.”

  “It has to be for someone’s,” Lana said.

  “This is ridiculous. If there isn’t any trouble here, I have to go. We’ve got to get back to our promotional tour.” Caine stomped back to the door and started pounding. “Hey! Whoever the hell you are!”

  Caine jumped back from the door when he heard a key enter the lock from the other side. It swung open and a guard stepped inside.

  “Can I help you, sir?” He was awfully polite for a man wearing nothing but shoulder pads and leather pants.

  Caine backed away from the doorway and found his way back to the sofa. “No… I’m... nothing.”

  “Okay,” the guard smiled. “Let me know if you need anything. There should be some water in that fridge in the corner, but if you’d like anything else just knock.”

  “How about letting us out of here?” Lana asked.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. That I can’t do just yet.”

  “He called you, ma’am, Lana,” Caine whispered. “That means he likes you.”

  “I don’t think that⁠—”

  “Believe me. I’m a dude. I know how we think.”

  “So what. What if he does. I’m not really looking to date a guy that can’t dress himself.”

  “I’m not saying you have to date him, but…you know.”

  “I really don’t know,” Lana said.

  “Flirt with him a little. Win him over. And maybe he’ll let us out of here.”

  Lana looked at the young man in the leather pants and hid a snicker. “I don’t think… You may be more his type. I mean, look at the pants.”

  “That is a stereotype, Lana, and stereotypes are hurtful.”

  “You’re right,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Plenty of straight people wear leather pants. The clothing says nothing about the person inside, you remember that.”

  “I think she’s right,” Eve said. “You are more his type.”

  “I just went through this with Lana. I’m surrounded by bigots. Sometimes we just like the way leather pants make our butt look, okay? And, I’ll admit, the squeaking can be kind of a pain but⁠—”

  “He just winked at you, genius,” Eve whispered.

  “What?”

  “They tell me you’re a movie star,” the guard said.

  “No, I mean…not like a star,” Caine said.

  “You’re talking to the star of the biggest movie in the world,” Eve explained.

  “Since the world ended,” Caine stammered. “And, and started back up again.”