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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