Survivors, Dave Mckay [reading comprehension books .txt] 📗

afternoon, after a few hours of fitful sleep, Rayford awoke, showered, then left word at the hotel desk that he was taking a cab to the airport. He figured airline officials could tell him more about what was happening than he would be able to learn from any other news source.

A visit to the airline offices above the departure lounge revealed that Rayford had been assigned to fly out at six the next morning, on a flight to Toronto. There would be only a few passengers (mostly doctors and nurses), but the plane would also carry tents, medical supplies, food, and radiation-proof clothing. They were already being loaded in a special hangar at the south end of the airport.

Rayford further learned that, when word had begun to spread, only hours after the bombing had stopped, that Canada had not been hit, this had started a mass northern exodus from the United States. The northern highways were already packed with people fleeing the scene. Canadian authorities were frantically trying to set up refugee camps to contain them.

Fortunately it was nearly summer, so thousands of people were quickly accommodated outside, near Canada's border with the U.S. This left churches and school auditoriums free to be turned into hospitals for the wounded. Helicopters and land rescue vehicles started almost immediately to ferry the wounded out of the northern states; but even then they were only able to service a few of the worst-hit cities. Vancouver was caring for the wounded from Seattle, Portland, and Spokane; Toronto was taking survivors from Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo; and Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec were doing what they could to help refugees from the area that included Boston, Rochester, Philadelphia, and New York City.

At the same time, Canadians themselves were panicking about the fallout that was headed their way. Airports in all of the major cities were packed with passengers waiting for stand-by seats out of the country. Hundreds of flights which would have normally been destined for the U.S. were quickly rerouted to Canada, where airlines could be guaranteed to fill every seat, regardless of what they charged or where their destination was to be. Officials from Emergency Preparedness Canada were frantically trying to set up priority criteria for determining who should be allowed to take the first flights out of the country.

A TV in the Heathrow VIP lounge updated viewers on how many U.S. cities and airports had been demolished. Aircraft were still able to come and go from some smaller airstrips. But that would not be enough to meet the far more urgent needs of the larger cities -- cities like Chicago -- which were the ones that had suffered the greatest losses. Milwaukee and St. Paul/Minneapolis, both closer to Canada than Chicago, were on their own in providing transport to the refugee camps being set up by their northern neighbours.

President Gerald Fitzhugh and his family were believed to be trapped beneath the capital building in Washington, D.C., where they had been rushed to shelter as soon as the alert went up. If a bomb had landed close enough to bring down the White House (which appeared to be the case), then escape for those beneath it would not be easy.

People who had survived the bombing were being told via radio broadcasts to seek shelter and to await further instructions. There would be attempts to relocate them to places away from the fallout; but first the authorities needed to establish exactly where that might be. Weather reports before the attack showed a cold front moving southeast across the Midwest. The fallout cloud would, therefore, be likely to move in that direction. However this was only good news for people on the American West Coast, because for every cloud moving away from other localities, there was another coming toward them from the west.

With nuclear strikes in San Diego, Anaheim, L.A., Fresno, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Portland, Eugene, Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane, states on the West Coast were amongst the most heavily hit anyway. Only the area between Boston and Washington had been more heavily hit.

Rayford could see from the first film footage of refugees heading for Canada, that he and his family would not have much chance of reunion through that route. Both sides of the freeways were being used for northbound traffic, which was at a standstill in places and only creeping along in others. Traffic had to detour around major cities and other badly damaged roads. Against such a flow of traffic, only emergency vehicles had any hope of travelling south.

The freeways themselves were becoming increasingly blocked by vehicles without fuel, which had to be pushed to the side of the road and deserted. That left the drivers and passengers of those vehicles to venture forward on foot. Days out on the road would mean days more exposed to the deadly fallout. Civil Defence warned against trying to escape before it could be established that there was someplace safe to go. But millions took no heed.

Chicago was too far away from Toronto to attract Toronto's limited rescue resources. But some local authorities in the Chicago area were commandeering aircraft, vehicles, and even ships to ferry survivors north. Everyone working on rescue operations was putting themselves at risk, and protective clothing was urgently required.

Rayford took some consolation in knowing that, even if he could not get to his own family, he would be helping the overall rescue effort. In time, his involvement might give him the opening that he needed to help Irene and the kids as well.

At about 7pm, Rayford left the VIP lounge and headed for the cab rank. He had learned as much as he could, and now it was time to get a few more hours of sleep before his departure. On the way out of the airport lobby, he was approached by a slim, blond man, in his thirties. The shabbily dressed man stuck a booklet in Rayford's face and asked in a broad German accent if he wanted to read it. "The Fall of America" was the title. It appeared above a picture of an upside-down American flag. Rayford pushed the man aside in disgust.

"Always someone ready to cash in on the sufferings of others"! he thought to himself. But just as he walked out the door of the airport, it hit him: The attack had only taken place a few hours ago! How could someone in England already have produced a booklet telling about it? He raced back into the airport, his eyes searching in every direction for the man. The little German was near the Pan-Con ticket counter, talking to two or three other people, who also appeared to be sending him away.

"Where did you get that? Who wrote it?" Rayford whispered almost at the level of a shout, when he had caught the man's attention by grabbing his arm. He was trying hard not to create a scene, and yet he was desperate to know what was going on.

"Some friends... together, vee wrote it," the man replied, half in fear. "You are interested?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm interested!" said Rayford emphatically. "Very interested. But first tell me how you knew it was going to happen."

"Vee study Bible prophecy," said the softly-spoken little man. "And vee pray. Vee have been saying zat zis vould happen. Vee have been saying it for few years now. It is most imperative zat you read zis book." His brow was wrinkled in an almost exaggerated show of seriousness. But then, how could anyone possibly exaggerate the seriousness of what had just happened in America?

The young German went on dramatically: "Udder sings are coming too… Ferry serious sings."

Rayford wanted to read the book; but he also wanted some instant answers. He offered the man -- Reinhard was his name -- a meal, if he would sit down and talk to him.

"It is most important zat I get zese books to zuh people," replied Reinhard. "Vee can talk later."

"Please!" Rayford begged, almost in tears now. "I'll be flying to Canada tonight. My family is over there. I must know what is going on before I leave."

Reinhard sensed an urgency in Rayford's voice that he must not have found in his other clients, because he quickly backed down. "Vere do you vant to talk?" he asked.

Rayford took him to a table in the nearest restaurant, ordered a meal for them both and then opened the floor for Reinhard to explain what was going on.

"Vat is happening now… it is yudgement from God on America. But it is also opening for Russia to control zee United Nations. Dangchao is Russia's man, you understand?" Rayford knew of the growing unrest throughout the world at what many countries considered was America's abuse of power within the U.N. That much of Reinhard's explanation made sense, but it was not what he was looking for.

"Are you telling me that you knew this was going to happen just from reading the Bible?" he asked incredulously.

"I cannot show all vat you vish to know in such short time. You vill read it in zuh book."

In his clipped German manner, Reinhard's promise sounded more like a command. "You vill see for yourself. For now, vee have little time. I must move quickly. Zuh Bible tells of five vorld powers. Zay are a bear, an eagle, a lion, a leopard, and a rooster. Zese are signs for Russia, America, England, Africa, and France." He counted them off on his fingers. "You must know, zee leopard is being now used as sign of solidarity for zuh Sird Vorld."

Rayford was finding it difficult to follow, but he decided to let Reinhard carry on.

"England, France, and America can veto plans by Russia and China in zee United Nations. Zee udder ten Security Council members… zay are called rotating members... Zay come from zee udder countries."

"So?" said Rayford, who was showing only mild interest at this stage. He had other questions that he wanted to ask, but he would wait a bit longer.

Reinhard went on. "Zee eagle's vings are plucked. You vill see it in the book. It is in the Bible. Zis bombing, it is zee plucking of zee eagle's vings. After falls zee eagle, zuh lion… zat is, England… loses its power. Zuh rooster vings, zay join vit zuh leopard. Zat is France and all of Europe joining vit zuh Sird Vorld. You see, it is because zuh bear… Russia… subdues… Zat is to say she stops Sree vorld powers from fighting against her. She does it by plucking zuh vings of zee eagle. Vit help from zee udder ten nations zuh new leader vill control zuh vorld."

Rayford was losing patience. "I'm not interested in all the political stuff," he said. "Do you have any answers? My family is over there. If you really know what is going on, what can I do for them? What should I do?"

"It is God's punishment," Reinhard said soberly. "If your people are alive, zay vill be forced to leave. No one vill live zair ever again. God ist angry vit zuh shurch people in America."

"The church people?" Rayford said with genuine surprise. "Why the church people?" He was thinking of Irene.

"Zay fight zuh teachings of sheesus. Zay do not prepare for vat is coming, and day do not tell the truth to udders."

"My wife is a church person," Rayford responded indignantly. "She was always talking about this… this… something called 'The Great Tribulation'."

"No, no! Zis is not Great Tribulation… not yet," said Reinhard. Zis is only zuh start of vat is coming. But your vife, she needs faith vat is strong enough to go through zuh Great Tribulation. I do not sink she vill find it in zuh shurches."

"She doesn't need to go through it… least not the way she tells it," Rayford replied. He was surprised to hear himself defending something he had always scoffed at. "She says that she will be taken to heaven before it happens."

"And did she tell you zat America vas going to be