When The Fault Breaks: Life Will Never Be The Same Page 21

  My people were in Aurora, Colorado when mayhem broke out, they headed south as soon as the quake hit and they were able to stay ahead of the hoards. Knowing they would be safe and welcome here, the men headed in this direction. Since the quake, we had blocked all the roads in and out expecting our people to arrive here looking for safety.'

  So tell me. How was it we were able to make it this far onto your land unseen?

  'You didn't make it unseen. The second you stepped foot on our land our scouts sent word of your trespassing. The scouts were instructed to observe only. To watch and to listen, and to report back to me. I wanted to see who was smart enough to use the rivers rather than roads. Since you were watched from your first step onto our land, I believed you had no intention of stealing from us. Had it been different, you would not be here.'

  What about others, I'm sure there will be more trying to come in the same way we did.

  'I do not doubt that for a minute, which is why we now have warriors down by the river to stop anyone from entering our land.'

  We planned to head on in the morning. We will not be able to travel much further up the river in our vehicle, as we expect the terrain will be impassable even in the Land Rover. Given that I would a like to make a trade with you. How about six horses for the Land Rover, trailer, and fuel.

  There is still quite a bit of fuel in the trailer. The Rover has been modified to run on many different fuels including vegetable oil and clean used motor oil. So you could make your own and never run out. And how about I sweeten the deal, literally, I will throw in a couple of cases of that freeze-dried ice cream you seem to like so much.

  He laughed and said, 'Sounds like a fair trade to me, we will ride with you as far as you can go in your truck then we will make the trade.'

  We spent the rest of the night talking about many things including philosophy, religion and even a little politics before we called it a night. The next day we headed up stream as a large caravan.

  When we had gone as far as the Land Rover would take us, we transferred as much gear as we could to the horses. When we finished loading what the horses could safely carry, one of Black Clouds men started to get into the Rover. I quickly yelled, 'STOP!'

  'WHAT are you doing!? Why did you stop him from taking the Rover? We had a deal.'

  Black Cloud's man immediately stopped in his tracks reacting to the commotion.

  I wasn't stopping him from taking the Rover, I was saving his life. I booby trapped the Rover with explosives. I jogged over to the Rover and disarmed it removing the explosives. I planned to take them with us just in case we'd need it.

  Black Cloud nodded his head, letting out a long-held breath. He then thanked me for everything and we all reciprocated with thanks to him and his warriors. Black Cloud then said that when we could no longer travel with the horses, to just let them go and they would return home.

  We had all come to know each other in such a short time, but given the circumstances it was not surprising that good comrades were made in times of adversity. We then began to say our good-byes, but before we left I had one final request of Black Cloud.

  Black Cloud anticipated my request and said that he had every intention of watching our backs and would not allow anyone on his land, or to follow us for that matter as we had all become more than friends. We were brothers. We then rode off, hopefully towards some safety.

  Black Cloud told us the river would take us past a small town called Mexican Hat. We hoped to avoid people so we made sure to pass it in the dark of night. After a couple of days of travel, we reached Mexican Hat. As Black Cloud mentioned, we found a bridge through the middle of town.

  While we were resting under that bridge we heard a car coming and it came to stop on top of the bridge. We heard a couple guys talking about filling up all their water jugs and spending the night there. We all grabbed our weapons and got ready for what we expected to be a fire fight.

  Pointing over to Bill and Ed, it was then that these two came into view. You should have seen them, I thought they both were going to crap themselves when they saw us."

  Bill spoke up, "You would have too Mark if it was you climbing down that embankment, expecting it to be deserted, and seen four guns pointed at you."

  "Anyway that night the six of us talked and decided to allow the two of them to continue up stream with us."

  This time Ed responded, "And we are soo glad you did, there is no telling what would have happened to us if we had not found you guys."

  Ann asked, "So where are you guys from?"

  Bill replied, "We're from San Francisco, we both lived there our whole lives and met each other in grade school."

  Tammy asked, "Did you guys know you were gay that early in life?"

  Surprised she knew, Ed replied, "We never said we were gay, what makes you think we are?"

  Tammy quipped, "Oh please, takes one to know one, and in this case it is easy to see."

  Bill continued, "Anyway we left The Bay Area about a week after the quake."

  I jumped in, "So far you are the only ones from that area that made it through the quake. Are you guys up to telling us your experiences?"

  Bill responded, "I can't speak for Ed but I am."

  Ed replied, "I am okay but I am going to let you do most of it."

  "That's fine."

  Chapter 26: The Bay Area

  "We were not in San Francisco, when the quake hit, we were in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area across the bay enjoying a nice picnic when the ground began to shake. We could not believe what we were seeing as the city we both loved was being leveled before our eyes."

  "This was our favorite spot to go because of the magnificent views. At night the lights of the city and bridge made an incredible sight. From our vantage point we could see the entire length of the bridge and out over the expanse of San Francisco. That day we sat in disbelief, and we watched in horror as the magnitude of it all unfolded in front of us."

  Bill and Ed's eyes began to fill with tears as Bill told us what they saw next.

  "It started out like any other quake, but we knew in seconds that this one was different. When you live in an active quake zone you get used to them, but this quake was the biggest and strongest we ever felt. When it had not ended after a minute we knew it was different from any other quake we had lived through. I kept asking why wasn't it ending.

  We watched as the bridge began to sway before the full force of the quake had reached it. Cars were being thrown from side to side and drivers approaching the bridge stopped as fast as possible to avoid going on the bridge. People all around us were screaming 'Oh My God look at the bridge.'

  We could not believe what we were seeing. It was difficult for us to even stay on our feet and after a bit it was impossible. Ed and I sat on the ground, hanging on to what was left of a light pole, and were stunned as we saw the bridge was being shaken apart.

  As the full force of the quake hit the bridge we could see cars being thrown off and large chunks of the structure breaking apart and crashing in to the water below. Watching was horrible, as we knew people were falling to their deaths.

  The quake had been going on for over five minutes when I commented to Ed that this had to be 'The Big One' we have always been warned about. Ed said he was happy to see that the bridge had not completely collapsed even though parts were broken away and cars had been shaken off.

  Moments later we heard what sounded like an explosion. Then we saw the main center tower begin to crumble. Even before the top of the tower hit the deck we could see the cables, that hold it all up, begin to break free as the bridge started to fall apart.

  Any cars that had remained fell in to the water below as the entire surface of the road collapsed and crashed in to the bay. It was a terrible sight and we both had to close our eyes because we could not watch anymore. We could not believe what was happening to our city."

  Bill eyes began welling up as he described what he saw, but he was not alone almost everyone there was
already crying or holding their mouths.

  "Because we had been watching the bridge so closely we had not been watching the city. When we looked out at our beloved city we could see the landscape had already changed. I kept looking for the Trans-America Tower but I couldn't find it. That was where I worked, many of my friends and co-worker were in the tower when the quake hit.

  We both had tears running from our eyes as we watched in disbelief as our home was being destroyed. We could see building-by-building falling, with dust and smoke enveloping the city. It was not long before we could not even see the city anymore.

  The ground continued to shake for over nine minutes so we knew this was not 'The Big One' we had been told to expect. We had both lived through the Loma Prieta quake back in 1989 and knew that when the Loma Prieta or the San Andreas Fault gave way it only lasted for a few seconds to a minute, this was clearly not one of them. We also knew from having lived through countless other quakes that the ground did not move like this.

  When it finally stopped we fell into each other's arms and cried, but to our horror after only a few seconds the ground started shaking again. This time it felt more like the quakes we both had grown up with living in the Bay area. Except this one was another strong one but it wasn't bouncing us around on the ground like the last one did. Additionally, it only lasted for a couple of minutes and it was over.

  We knew we could not get back to the city across the Golden Gate Bridge but we were frantic to find out about our family and friends. Everyone around us was crying and screaming in disbelief and not knowing what to do. We started to head for our car when we came across a police officer that was surrounded by people who were trying to find out what happened.

  He told everyone he had lost all contact with the station and that it was best for everyone to remain calm and stay where we were. Ed would have nothing to do with that and started screaming at me to get in our car and go. So we ignored the advice of the police officer and got in our car.

  Unfortunately, everyone else had ignored him as well so we didn't even get out of the park before we were halted by traffic. Ed and I spent a day in the park sleeping in our car before the road cleared up enough for us to get out.

  We were elated as we made our way to Oakland because we could see that the new Oakland Bay Bridge was still intact. But our joy was short lived as we started to approach the exit to the bridge where we were stopped by a roadblock. No one was being allowed to enter the city and the bridge was only one way, out of the city.

  We were crushed again, it had been three days now and we hadn't heard from any of our family or our friends and we feared the worst for them. We remembered a friend that lived nearby in Oakland so we decided to head there.

  They had a nice bay view house set back a bit from the water. The house was at least thirty feet above the sea level and not near any tall buildings. It had been built after the last quake so it was built to last through the big one.

  As we pulled into their neighborhood we could not believe our eyes, all the houses were gone, washed away by a huge wave. All we could do was cry. A police officer driving the area came to investigate who we were and what we wanted. We told him about our friend's house, all he would say was he was sorry for our lose and that we had to leave the area.

  He told us there were refugee camps being formed east of the city and that San Francisco and Oakland were being evacuated so maybe we could find our friends at the camp east of Oakland it turned out to be a FEMA camp.

  We spent a few more days looking for anyone we knew in the camps but there was no hope. By now things had started to deteriorate, mobs were forming to get what little food that was left. There were no additional relief groups, no red cross except the local group, and no one was coming in from anywhere. That was when we knew we needed to leave because it wasn't safe there anymore. We traded my grandpa's gold watch for a tank of gas and headed to Reno where we heard we could find help.

  When we made it to Tahoe, we learned that Reno was a dangerous place. There was no law and no hope of finding any food or shelter. After that disappointment we headed south because we heard about settlements forming along the shores of the Colorado River.

  We headed toward Las Vegas by night following state roads and staying away from large populations to avoid people. We topped off the tank a couple times from some gas cans we found in abandoned homes and made it around Las Vegas into the Grand Canyon National Monument area.

  We could not believe what we saw the first time the Colorado River Valley came into view, it looked like a wasteland, there was no life, no trees just a barren land with the river passing through.

  We figured that since we were heading downhill we should take advantage of it and turn off the engine. Ed let the car just roll down the mountain. We were able to go almost all the way to the bottom of the valley before we hit an uphill big enough to stop us.

  Driving a dead car like that is a challenge, when you have no power steering or brakes you have to really work at controlling the car. At one point we almost crashed. As we came around an almost hairpin bend in the road, we did not see a car in the road ahead of us, and on our side, until it was nearly too late.

  Fortunately, Ed reacted fast and was able to make it around the car but just barely. It was crazy. We had an adrenalin rush from the close call, so all we could do was laugh about it for the next several miles.

  Once we reached the lower elevation we could make out the valley floor, it was stripped clean, there were no trees, nothing for as far as we could see in either direction. We followed the road the rest of the way down until we reached what used to be a bridge. We decided to stay there for a while that was where we met up with Floyd, Alice Mark and Kate. The six of us spent several nights at the bridge when a couple of guys showed up, that would be these guys (pointing to) Hank and Ted."

  Hank has a medium build about five foot six two hundred pounds and balding on top. He is a pretty easy going type guy but the type you wouldn't want to piss off. Ted is a bit shorter and a good fifty pounds lighter, with long blond hair and clean-shaven. He is the quiet type unless you get him going, then hang on to your shorts.

  "Hi my name is Shelly; I hate to interrupt but it is time to eat. We have everything set up along the counter so by all means please help yourselves."

  "Thank you Shelly, could our new guests come on up and go first please, oh and don't expect this kind of service every time. We can pick this up again in an hour or so."

  Everyone devoured the food and mingled in and outside the cave. Someone had lit the fire in the pit and people were gathering around it.

  I spoke up, "It's a nice night out tonight and it's a bit crowded and stuffy in there so why don't we stay outside. If you are up to it, you're up Ted."

  "Thanks I think I am."

  Chapter 27: The Mormon Wars

  "Though we lived for many years in Provo, Utah before the quake, we were never really a part of their community because we're not Mormons. We loved it there because it was so close to the mountains that we could be on them in just minutes, skiing in the winter and hiking from spring to fall. One of our favorite activities was exploring Timpanagos Caves.

  We were kicked back having a couple of burgers and brews, at our favorite pub in Provo, when the quake struck. It didn't feel like a major quake but everyone was commenting on how long it was lasting. Bottles fell from the shelves and smashed on the floor and Hank joked that it was alcohol abuse. I was wondering why it was lasting so long, as it was several minutes before the shaking stopped

  We had been watching a game when the quake started and we stayed glued to the set after it had stopped, hoping to hear news of what happened. When it finally came, the news was limited, all that was said was that an earthquake had occurred somewhere on the west coast. It was funny everyone in the pub was laughing at the news guys for stating the obvious. In all fairness it took a long time before anyone had any idea what the hell had happened.

  It sounds like many of you
here are like us, we knew this could not be a good thing. We were not like some of you and prepared and ready to go, but it didn't take someone knocking me up-a-side the head to figure it out, fast. I was surprised at how quickly the militia groups attempted to take control of the city but the Mormons were not willing to give up their homes or their lives.

  Mormons are the most prepared people in the country. They have taught their children to be prepared from their churches very beginning. The Mormons have their own factories for canning dried foods. Their church strongly recommends at least one year's supply of canned, not frozen supplies in order to be prepared for hard times.