Alas, Babylon Chapter Summaries:

**Ch. 1- Florence wakes up early in the morning, feeds her pets, and sits down to watch TV while watching the news. In the news, she heard that that Russia had been building new Sputniks to spy on countries from outer space, and the U.S. threatened that it would shoot down any Sputniks violating its airspace. The news channel had also said that Syrian tanks of the most modern Russian design had crossed the Jordanian Frontier, posing a potential threat to Israel. At this, Florence switched the channel. As she was changing, she notices that Randy Bragg is staring at her breasts with his binoculars. She immediately covers up her breasts with her hands. Florence remembers that many years ago, a man had told her that she looked like Clara Bow. Florence, as she left, decided that Randy needed some advice from a mature woman, and Randy thought that Florence needed the one thing she was unlikely to get, a man. Randy had been in the military (the Korean War), and then to law school. Florence ad supported him and voted for him during his campaign. Randy had been beaten five to one in the elections by Porky Logan.  What made him loose was that he said, "I believe in the Constitution of the United States, all of it".   Later in the chapter, it states that there was a lieutenant Randolph Rowzee Peyton who fought in the Seminole wars of 1838. Randy abruptly receives a call from Western Union, it’s a telegram from Mark who is currently in Puerto Rico. The last words of the telegram are "Alas, Babylon".  "Alas, Babylon" was Randy and Mark's code in case of a bad situation, they had heard the Preacher of Fort Repose (Randy lives in Fort Repose) use those words. Mark had told Randy that if he thought that they were going to be bombed with a nuke, that he would send his wife and children down to where Randy lives. Mark knows that if the Russians decide to attack, their first target will be SAC Headquarters, and Mark would be among the first to die. So, Mark had told Randy that if he ever telegram Randy with the words "Alas, Babylon", this meant trouble.  Randy then tells Missouri to clean up the rooms and to set up the beds, because Randy is expecting Mark's wife and children. Randy then remembers that Peyton and Ben Franklin drank a lot of milk each day, so he ordered milk from the dairy farm. What is strange is that the chapter ends by referring to Randy's intention to satisfy the children by stating "this was Randy's first act to meet the emergency, and it was to prove the least useful".

*Ch. 2 - The beginning states international news. Turkey accuses Syria of penetrating its borders. Russia accuses Turkey and the U.S. of plotting to crush Syria and warned France, Italy, Greece, and
Spain that any nation having American Bases in the country would be involved in a general war. Syria charged Israel with planning a war, and Israel accused Egypt of sending snooper planes over its defenses. Egypt claimed Turkey was delaying its ships. To sum it all up, Egypt, Syria, and Russia are allied, while France, Israel, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, and the U.S. were on the other side. Florence then met with her friend Alice the librarian, to have a coffee. She told Florence that Kitty Offenhaus wanted Alice to remove many of the anti-south, and the anti-confederacy books that were on the library. Alice refused, and they had an argument. Florence then told Alice about Randy Bragg staring at her tits with binoculars. Alice tells Florence that she used to go out with Mr. Bragg, the father of the Bragg boys. Florence tells Alice about the words "Alas, Babylon" in the telegram. Later Alice looks at the bible, to find the passage in which the words were in. Alice realized how grave the words were, and she knew exactly what they meant. She decided to spend the weekend at Florence's. The chapter then switches its focus to when Randy arrives at McCoy air force base to meet his brother. Mark tells Randy that the Russians are planning to take over the Mediterranean Sea. Once they have that, they can control the world. Slowly, one by one, allied forces would fall. Mark also informed Randy that the Russians are planning to launch an attack, the first wave would consist of several missiles, and in the second wave, they would use the power of their air force to mop up whatever is left. They would cripple the U.S.'s nuclear power, and paralyze it. Mark says that then it would be possible for the Russians to unleash the nuke on the U.S. from a submarine, since the ocean is a perfectly good launching pad. Mark told Randy that he had spoken to a Russian general, who had traveled to the U.S. The general said that he no longer wanted to be allied with those power-crazed bastards trying to blow up the world, and he also told Mark that Russia's plan would probably fail due to human or mechanical error. Mark and Randy then spoke of what could happen. Mark gave Randy a check for five thousand dollars, so that he could take care of Peyton, Helen, and Ben Franklin. Mark was then called abruptly, he had to leave. The two brothers said goodbye. When Randy drove away, he tried hard not to cry.  

Ch. 3 - The chapter starts out as Edgar boasts about his bank. The book then states that Edgar had lost a bet with Judge Bragg in poker, and he never paid off. Judge Bragg was very angry, and this caused Edgar to hate the entire Bragg family. For this reason, Randy had to argue with Edgar until finally Edgar allowed Randy to cash in his check. Randy bought a lot of things at the grocery store for the kids and Helen. Randy decides that he should tell Malachai about the issue, but Randy is surprised when Malachai tells him that he already knows all about it. Malachai apparently kept up with the news, and read many military magazines, so he was completely informed. Randy generously gave him 200 dollars to spend on anything he needs. Later, Elizabeth "Lib" McGovern, Comes into Randy's house, and tells him that they should move to a big city where there is more action. Randy tells her that he's got family coming in, so she tells him that he should leave the house to them and move with her to a big city like New York. At this, Dan Gunn comes in to talk to Lib about her mother and father, Lib’s mother has diabetes. Her father has slight hypertension, yet he is dying rapidly. The book then states that Dan and his wife were divorced, because she was a nymphomaniac, an alcoholic, and a compulsive gambler. When her luck ran out, she filed for alimony, and now Dan is in a bad situation since he constantly has to pay her. At this, Randy tells both Dan and Elizabeth about the threat with the Russians. Dan then gave both of them some prescriptions that they could use at a time of need. Randy embraces Elizabeth to show that he will protect her. After she leaves, he thinks he sees a Carolina Parakeet on Florence's lawn, which are extinct, so he runs to Florence's lawn to see if it really is the last of that species, when Florence screams at him from the window of the house to stop stalking her. He tells her that he was never stalking her, merely staring with binoculars at the parakeet that always flew around her house, which was Anthony, the more hyper one. The chapter then shifts its focus to task group 6.7. Among the ships in task group 6.7, there was the USS Saratoga, which was being shadowed by a bogey. An officer had decided to shoot missiles at the bogey, instead of sending out planes, since it would most likely be able to outrun a plane.  

Ch. 4 - Helen doesn't want to fly, since she feels like a deserter, she doesn't want to leave Mark all alone. Mark tells her that he will be fine, since he will be in the hole protected by 50 feet of steel, concrete, and earth. Mark's children are also very sad that they have to leave him. Helen and the children then board the planes. The chapter's focus then shifts Randy, as he realizes that he needs more gasoline, kerosene, and other things in case of an emergency. Once again, the chapter's focus switches to task group 6.7, whose primary mission was to take station in the Iskenderun Gulf, and give heart to the Turks, who were being pressured politically. The bogey was still shadowing the task force, so they sent out Ensign Cobb on his fighter plane to take it down. It was an intense chase, and Ensign fired a sidewinder. (a sidewinder is a smart, heat seeking missile) The dogfight was occurring above Syrian territory, and when he fired the missile, instead of going for the enemy plane, it dove down and started chasing a train. Soon enough, it blew up the train. Next thing he knew, Ensign was sitting in the office, trying to explain what had happened. The chapter's focus switches once again, to Randy as he pulls into the McGovern's driveway. He was wondering whether to ring the doorbell or not, since for several reasons he had a rather poor relationship with Lib McGovern's parents. In the end, he enters the house, and argues with Mr. McGovern. Mr. McGovern said that this was a small one, and atomic bombs wouldn't be used, while Randy said the opposite. After Randy left and got to his house, it was around twelve at night.  He turned on the TV, to check the news. It said that U.S. bomber planes had fiercely bombed Latakia, which is the most important Syrian harbor. It was heavily fortified, yet the bombers struck a high Syrian casualty rate, and set many buildings to flames. The chapter's focus switches to Mark. He then drove to Offutt, to his job. He was driving to the Hole, which was like a bomb shelter as well as a headquarter for intelligence. He would find out everything that was going on in the world in the Hole. In the Hole, Mark learned that what happened was that Ensign Cobb's heat seeker had also blown up some missile factories. Mark fells worried because Moscow hasn't said anything about this, and Mark thinks that the reason that Moscow isn't talking is because it is planning a massive nuclear attack. Mark hopes that nothing will happen for the next two hours- until his wife and children get into the safety of Randy's home. The chapter’s focus then switches to Randy, as he waited in the airport for his Helen and the children. The children know everything about the war, since all their lives they have lived in the shadow of nuclear war. . They all went to Randy's house and fell asleep. Once again, the chapter switches its focus to what's going on in the Hole. They have received reports that there have been unidentified submarines (unidentified subs were called skunks) headed for the Atlantic. Also, attempts at communication with Moscow have been useless, Moscow operators will not complete calls from the U.S. Lastly, there has been no reaction from Moscow to what happened in Latakia. The General called up the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and asked for the release of weapons. The general could give the order to fire a nuclear missile at Russia, but he would need the permission of the president first.  According to the radar, there have been four missiles fired from a Soviet base.  Mark then goes back to his desk.  

Ch. 5 - Randy, Helen, Peyton, and Ben Franklin were awakened abruptly since the house was tumbling. They go outside and witness a mushroom cloud, an atomic explosion. Peyton loses her sight, so Randy says that he will drive out to pick up Dan Gunn and bring him over. In the car, Randy turns on the radio, and it says that a red alert was declared thirty minutes ago, that it is believed that the country is under attack, and lastly, that there has been a disruption of communications from Jacksonville and the north. Randy then thinks of his brother, since Randy is sure that Offutt and the Hole will be primary targets. He wonders if his brother is still alive. Randy, even through heavy traffic, finally arrives at Riverside Inn, where Dan Gunn is staying. Dr. Gunn gives Randy instructions and pills to care for Peyton, but unfortunately it will be a long time before he can go to Randy's house, since there are so many people he has to cure, and he has to deliver Garcia's baby. As Randy returned home, he saw some prisoners who had most likely murdered the guards and escaped, they were armed. The chapter's focus switches to Florence, as she pulls out of her driveway, to open her Western Union office. Florence Wechek, unfortunately, cannot help the people at her office, since she can't send anything north of Jacksonville, and she can only allow civil defense emergency messages. Once again, the chapter's focus switches to Edgar Quisenberry, as he enters the Western Union office. Florence can't send Edgar's message, and they then see a large mushroom cloud. Edgar returns to his bank, only to find out that people are withdrawing all their cash, even their savings, however Edgar isn't worried. Edgar then refused to cash ay out-of-town checks, government bonds, or traveler's checks, since he wasn't sure whether or not there was anything left "out of town". There is a disaster going on, so many people had withdrawn cash that the bank was quickly being stripped of cash, and would eventually empty at this rate. Edgar decided to close the bank. All of the services, such as the delivery of food and drugs, had been halted. People are frantically moving to other cities, away from the strike zone. Edgar Quisenberry was unaware that the value of the dollar may fall. When Edgar finally gets home, Henrietta was out shopping at the grocery store. Edgar worries that the dollar may soon be worth nothing, since every store is out of stock, and full of cash. Edgar is incredibly depressed, he thinks that this is the end of civilization. He went up to his room, put a revolver up to his temples, and pulled the trigger.  

Ch. 6 - That Saturday, when the Russians fired the nukes, became known as The Day.  Peyton's eyes were starting to heal with the sedatives and lubricants. Randy and Helen were listening to their radio at home, and they heard that the enemy's primary target was Washington. Therefore, the president, the vice president, and many other important government officials were killed. Helen decides that one of them has to go to buy some more emergency supplies, such as more toilet paper. Helen left to buy the supplies, and Randy fell asleep. When he awoke, Helen and Dan Gunn had just come in the house. Dan treated Peyton and said that she would be all right in about a week. Many people have died because of heavy doses of radiation. Through the radio, they had been warned not to drink milk that was not canned, for it may have been exposed to fallout or radiation. Helen is desperate to know how is Mark doing. Dan leaves Randy's house for the clinic. Randy leaves Ben Franklin with a twenty-two rifle, to protect and baby sit Peyton while Randy and Helen leave to visit Admiral Hazzard. They figured he would know whether or not Mark was dead. Unfortunately, Admiral Hazzard said that he believed that SAC Headquarters and the Hole would be secondary targets, after Washington. Admiral Hazzard said that his son was also in the military, in the Mediterranean, and may also be most likely dead. Admiral Hazzard thinks that the Russians truly clobbered England and other allied countries, since their radio stations no longer existed. As they were talking, the lights went out in the room, everything started rumbling, and the sky brightened. They figured the enemy must have destroyed Orlando or McCoy Base, or both plus the Timucuan power supply. It states in the book that this ended The Day.  

Ch. 7 - Since the power plants have been blown up, everything has ceased functioning. They are practically out of water. Ben Franklin is almost positive that his father was killed. Randy and Ben Franklin go to the Henry's house, to see if Malachai, Two-tone, and Caleb can help pump the underground unlimited Artesian water into Randy's house. After a lot of hard work, they complete the job. Randy had bought so much steak that he had more than enough. So he decided to invite his neighbors and friends, and have a steak party. Randy then goes to the market to buy some salt to preserve the meat. After running some errands, Randy went to the Medical Arts building to find Dan Gunn. The place was ransacked, since some addicts came in looking for drugs, and they were armed. They shot Cappy Foracre, the chief of police and killed him, along with two others. Dan packed his bags, and moved into Randy's house. That night, during the steak dinner, they heard on the radio the many "contaminated zones" of which no one was allowed to enter or take things out of there. Among the many zones were Florida and Omaha. They were all very sad to hear this, because this meant that there was no hope for Mark. The Riverside Inn burned, and since there was no water and no power, many people died. Lavinia McGovern, Lib's mother died, since there was no refrigeration, and the only way to store insulin was by refrigerating it. She died in coma. Apparently, Bill and Lib McGovern didn't know what to do with the body, since Bubba Offenhaus suddenly hates his profession as an undertaker. Dan Gunn said he would try to convince him to bury the body. Ever since the incident with the drug addicts and with the armed escaped convicts, Randy promised himself that he would never leave home without his gun. Randy decided to invite the McGoverns to come in and live with him, since they had extremely limited supplies due to no refrigeration. Bill was extremely depressed, because of the death of his wife, and because his company was useless. Randy then convinced him to move in with him, so that he could help Malachai with hooking up car batteries to Admiral Hazzard's short wave radio. Bill agreed. Due to the limited amount of gasoline, they decided to bury Lavinia in the backyard. Randy says that he needs to make her a tombstone or a monument, but Lib says that the house is her mother's monument. All of a sudden, Ben comes running out screaming, since he say Florence crying through the window. Randy pulls out his pistol and goes to find out what happened. Florence was screaming because Sir Percy ate Anthony, and all her angelfish died. Randy said that this was how it would be for humans, a survival of the fittest. After everyone's food ran out, humans would have to start hunting and killing other animals, and only the strong would survive.  

**Checkpoint Questions**  
1. What did Randy and his family do to prepare for The Day?
2. What made the Bragg family think that Mark was dead?
3. Describe how Randy and his family were before the day and after the day? How have they changed from the experience?
4. What caused Lavinia McGovern's death?

Ch. 8 - The radio station which they all listened to was no longer in operation, since there had been some sort of a problem with the diesel fuel that it used. Randy thinks about how much he misses coffee. More than anything, he misses coffee. Dan comments on how they will not have to pay their income taxes on April fifteenth. Dan had evolved a barter system for his services, one gallon of gas in exchange for house calls. Apparently, something had been either stealing or eating the Henrys' hens and pigs. So Bill volunteered to watch with a gun for the night. Randy was running out of lighter fluid, needles and threads, and matches. Dan drove the car, and Randy sat beside him, carrying the bottle of scotch he hoped to trade for coffee. Dan told him that he had three cases for radiation poisoning, possibly x-ray burns. One of the cases was Porky Logan, the other was Pete Hernandez, and the third was bigmouth Bill Cullen. The chapter's focus switches to Alice, as she is riding Florence's bicycle as she was thinking how all of the children all of a sudden started coming to the library for entertainment. Since there was no more TV, and no other means of entertainment, they all started coming to her. She thought on how it was strange that it would take a nuclear holocaust for children to come to her library and make her feel important. Once again, the chapter switches focus to Dan and Randy, as they arrive at Bigmouth Bill Cullen's place. Bill is dying quickly, and his wife is worried that he won't leave her any money when he dies. Dan and Randy then leave for Marines Park, with was like a trading spot. Randy went to see if he could find someone willing to trade two pounds of coffee for his bottle of scotch, while Dan went in the car to see how Pete Hernandez and Porky Logan were doing. At the park, Randy learns that the U.S. wants the Russians to surrender, and the Russians want the U.S. to surrender. Randy and the rest of the people at the park are debating over who won the war, or if the countries are still fighting, then who is winning? Jim Hickey then offers Randy two free honeycombs from his beehive. Randy mentions how much they have regressed in the past four months, since The Day. Randy then talks to Dan about how Lib is worrying that Helen may take Randy away from her. They then go to visit Pete Henandez. Rita shows them all of the jewelry she has traded for, she had tons of gold watches and rings. Dan told her and Pete to take everything off immediately, since it was radioactive. Any kind of metal would have absorbed the radiation. Pete is very probably going to die, according to Dan. Rita will probably survive, since she hasn't had as much exposure to radiation as her brother has, she only had a burn on her finger form the gold ring that she was wearing. They drive over to Porky Logan's house, and find him leaning over  a box of diamonds and gold which he had looted. The gold in the box was up to his elbows. Dan screamed at him to pull his arms out of the box, but it was too late, Porky had died with the gold in his hands. Him and Randy immediately run out and paint a sign saying to keep away from this house. They then visit Bill Cullen again, only to find out that his wife had ran off with all the gold and money that he had, and he was dying very rapidly of radiation.  

Ch9 -  Randy, Dan, and Bubba Offenhaus grabbed five other volunteers to bury Porky Logan. Randy thinks about how there is complete disorder. There is no more police, no more fire department, the mayor of the town had barricaded himself inside his home, and because of all this, Randy had basically assumed responsibility and leadership. Two-tone then asks Randy for permission to make corn whiskey when his corn crop grows, to which Randy replies yes. They ask Randy to contribute the pipes of his car, so that the whiskey can be made. Dan scares Helen at breakfast by showing her the possibility of some genetic damage to later generations caused by radiation. The batteries from Randy's small portable radio are quickly dying. He turned it on, and heard that because of the lack of order and robbing in the Contaminated Zones, forces will enter those zones and exercise order in those areas. Helen then comes and cuts Randy's hair. All of a sudden, she tells him that he is Mark, and starts kissing him madly. He ran up to the apartment following Lib, and she told him that Helen will be all right, but that she was just hallucinating due to the enormous strain and pressure that is being placed upon her shoulders. That night, Alice, Helen, and Lib had prepared a banquet. Strangely, Dan was nowhere to be found, and Randy started worrying. After this, Ben Franklin grabbed his shotgun, and Ben took him over to the Henrys' place to join Caleb. Caleb and Ben would be on the night watch tonight, to see if they can kill whatever is stealing the Henrys' hens and pigs. Caleb was carrying a spear made by Malachai. Randy and Lib then go to Admiral Hazzard's place, to listen to the radio. Randy had developed a code using the bell at his house, which could be heard a mile away, three rings meant that Dan Gunn finally came home, and five rings meant an emergency and to come back immediately. Through Hazzard's radio, they heard that there are people at Cote D' Azure, thousands of them, who are starving, and that there are ships with wheat sailing towards there. Also, there is a plan by the Big Three (the book doesn't state who or what they are) to fly desperately needed vaccines to needy areas. China wants vaccines to be sent to Russia, while India and Japan felt that the same priority should be held for the United Stated, Canada, and Mexico. Admiral Hazzard explains that the Chinese never liked Russia's preoccupation in the Mediterranean. Dmitri Torgatz is now running Russia. Before they leave the admiral's home, the admiral tells them that he invented a new sailboat. As Randy and Lib walk on the riverbank, their love for each other grows stronger. Even now, Randy still can't stop worrying about Dan Gunn. As Randy and Lib are walking, they hear the bell ring five times rapidly. Randy finally reached the house, only to find out that Dan was all bloodied up and beat up. Randy concluded that he had wrecked the car. Randy was wrong. It was the highwaymen, who stole everything including the car. Randy decided that he is going to kill whoever is responsible for this. Randy fed Dan some soup, and then fell asleep. All of a sudden, in the middle of the night, he heard two gunshots coming from the Henrys' place. Randy raced to the Henrys' only to find out that Ben had shot an immense German shepherd. It was as large and fierce as a wolf.  

Ch. 10 - Randy is woken up by Lib, who says she has found coffee in the iron rations he had hidden before The Day and forgotten about them. Randy decided that he has to see Sam Hazzard, to pull off a military operation- he wants to kill the highwaymen that hurt Dan. Dan told Randy how it happened. While Dan was summoned to cure two kids with typhoid, he saw a woman on the highway pretending to be hurt. He got out, and then realized it was a trap, it was too late now. He was beaten severely and knocked unconscious, and then woke up near dark. He then had to walk and crawl all the way home. After a conference with Sam and Lib, Randy then decides to post up a note at Marines Park saying that anyone who has been in the military and has some combat experience who is willing to volunteer in this operation, to meet Randy at the bandstand at twelve. He starts walking to Marines Park to post up a note, and then to Rita Hernandez's house to get her grocery truck, to use as bait for the highwaymen. Randy picks up the truck, and Rita says that if anyone asks about the truck, that she will say that a thief stole it. As Randy drove away, Rita fired her shotgun into the air, to pretend that she was shooting after the "thief" that stole her truck. Late at night, when Randy parks the truck in the garage, Lib was waiting. They walked out to the dock, and decided to get married on Easter Sunday (tomorrow).  

Ch. 11 - Reverend Clarence Henry (Preacher Henry) joined Lib and Randy in marriage in a ceremony held at Randy's house. There was also terrible news, thieves killed Jim Hickey the beekeeper and his wife, so their children had to walk all the way to an aunt's house. It was night, and Randy had gathered Malachai, Bill McGovern, and Sam Hazzard to come with him to kill the highwaymen in Rita's grocery truck. They drive around and are soon stopped by some highwaymen. After a fierce firefight, all of the highwaymen were killed except for one, who was taken prisoner. Unfortunately, Malachai was shot right in the chest. They looked around and they saw the Henrys' car that had been stolen, however Dan Gunn's doctor tools and supplies had been stolen and were nowhere in sight. They immediately brought Malachai home, and Dan had to use steak knives and hair clips and sewing needles. Even with this, Dan could not work well, and Malachai died. Bill McGovern wasn't sure what to give to Lib and Randy as a wedding present, since money and property was worth nothing nowadays, so he moved out of the large room with the king size bed and let them two have it. Bill decided he would then sleep on the couch. The last highwayman who was taken prisoner was hung at Marines Park. Randy posted up a note on the Marines Park Bulletin Board, as a tribute to Malachai Henry, saying that he died defending Fort Repose.  

Ch. 12 - The admiral's radio doesn't work, since a cable was cut. In June, the Henrys' corn crop, sugar cane, and sweet yam crop ripened, and they made corn whiskey. Alice Cooksey brought home several books on hypnotism, for Dan. Helen read to him, since Dan's eyeglasses had been stolen. Dan learned to hypnotize people, and to use hypnosis as anesthesia. Soon enough, Ben Franklin had a horrible stomach ache, and luckily, Dan was able to operate properly on Ben. Dan then taught his hypnotism skills to Helen, to that in case he wasn't there, she could do hypnosis. In about five days, Ben was up and running. August was a disaster month for them, all their crops were exhausted, including their citrus crop, due to armadillos. They then ran out of salt, which was useful for various purposes. Randy had to trade with Rita Hernandez for salt, but he got salt cheap from her, since he helped arrange a decent burial for Pete. They are very low on fish and salt. Randy then took a look at the log and diary of soldier Randolph Rowzee Peyton. It said that his troops had been craving salt, and were dying without it. It showed the exact location of the place where to find salt- Blue Crap Run. Randy, the admiral, and everyone else set sail in five different boats. It states in the book that Randy's company of men (now that many other men had joined) against highwaymen was the most effective deterrent force in central Florida. The chapter then switches its focus to Ben, Caleb, and Graf, as they went armadillo hunting. Ben refused to take Peyton along because she was a girl, this angered Peyton severely. Peyton then took out Randy's boat, and went fishing. This was prohibited. She caught four large bass. When she came back, Helen spanked her for having done that. Randy returned with fifty pounds of salt, and lots of crabs. This, together with Peyton's four big bass, plus the armadillos that Ben caught ended their hunger. School started in September, but the Bragg children and Caleb were home schooled by Lib and Helen. In October, the crops were good again, and there was plenty of game for hunting. Dan delivered a full-term, healthy baby. Randy and Bill chopped up a pine that was struck by lightning, and got firewood for the winter. Late at night, Randy is awakened by music. He goes to Peyton's room and finds out that she had searched for some music CDs in the attic. Randy then realized how long it's been since the last time he herd music, and how much he missed music. Peyton found a lot of other stuff in the attic, including more kerosene lamps and a straightedge razor. Randy was happy and proud of Peyton, and she felt good.  

Ch. 13 - Randy tells Dan that John Garcia just made a trip to Blue Crab Run, and is returning with a washtub full of crabs. Dan admits to Randy that he wants to marry Helen, but she won't marry him because she thinks that there is still a chance that Mark may be alive. Later on, a helicopter landed right in Randy's neighbor hood, and men came out to take samples of the air, to see if it was contaminated. It wasn't, the air was fine. He signaled to the colonel that the air was cleared. Down came Paul Hart, the air force pilot that Randy had met at McCoy Base. Paul tells Randy that the new capital of the U.S. is in Denver, and that the letters "D.C." which they were wearing on their outfit stood for Decontamination Command. Randy invited Paul Hart and the other men in for lunch, and let them have a taste of their corn whiskey. Paul tells Randy that he is sure that his wife Martha is dead. Paul told Helen that Mark is dead. Paul tells Randy that it will be a hell of a long time before things are restored to normal, such as electricity. Paul said that they would be back at Fort Repose in about a week, but right now, they would have to take off in their helicopter. He asks if anyone would want to move to another area, to which they respond no. Randy says he couldn't leave the town he so desperately tried to protect, and Dan wouldn't leave the town since he worked so hard to cure it. Paul tells them that what saved them were the U.S.’s nuclear submarines, since all their naval fleets had been wiped out. Right before Paul leaves, Randy asks him who won the war, to which Paul responds, "We won it, we really clobbered 'em, not that it matters". Paul then boarded the helicopter, and took off.  


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