Free The Nuclear Catastrophe (a fiction novel of survival) by Barbara C. Griffin Billig, Bett Pohnka Page A

children.
    “ Frank! Did you hear anything about...? ”
    “ Paula, we ’ ve got to get away from here! ” He was agitated and in great haste. “ Come on! ”
    “ Wait....Frank. What in the world is going on, anyway? Did they let you off from work or...? ”
    “ Calmar has shut down, Paula. According to one of the execs we ’ re free to leave the plant. Right now we ’ ve got to worry about saving our hides and getting the hell out of here! ”
    Frank Waring had known Cecil Yeager only remotely since the first day of his employment at the chemical plant, but since Yeager had said this was dangerous business, then it was. No matter how others might spurn the chemist ’ s admonitions, Frank respected his intelligence.
    He was about to speak again when Flo burst in the door behind him. She was obviously upset and her husband Harry was trailing concernedly behind. Immediately she started to speak. “ Oh, Paula, Frank....we can ’ t find Rickey! ”
    Harry tried putting his arm around his wife but she brushed him off. He frowned, his brow wrinkling as she turned to the Warings.
    “ I knew it was a mistake to have given Rickey the motorbike. I argued and argued with Harry. He ’ s too young to handle a machine at his age, and now he hasn ’ t come home from school! ”
    Harry stepped up softly behind her. “ I tell you, Sugar, there ’ s nothing to worry about. He ’ ll be home soon. ”
    Flo shrugged helplessly, looking at Paula. “ Your children were home long ago. Weren ’ t they all let out together? The school couldn ’ t tell me anything. ”
    Jerry pulled himself up from the sofa where he was sitting with his sister. “ I saw Rickey and Lesley White on his bike, Mrs. Winton. ”
    Flo turned to the boy. “ Do you know where they were going, Jerry? ”
    “ Yes ma ’ am. Rickey said they were going all the way up to White Water to see what had happened. ”
    Frank gasped. “ White Water. Jerry, why didn ’ t you say something about this sooner? ”
    “ Well, gee...I don ’ t know. ”
    “ Oh Jesus, ” moaned Flo. “ Harry, we ’ ve got to go up there and get him. ”
    Frank reached out toward his friends. “ Now wait....you can ’ t go up there! That whole area is hot with radiation! ”
    Harry peered around Flo to speak to Frank. “ I don ’ t think it ’ s that bad. Sure, maybe there ’ s some radiation but not all that much. ”
    Frank stepped up closer to Harry and spoke softly. “ Listen. It ’ s suicide for you to go north. Hell, man, it ’ s suicide for us to be right here. ”
    Harry shook his head. “ Aw now, Frank, it could be worse. ” Grabbing Flo and shoving her toward the door, he said over his shoulder, “ Don ’ t worry so much about all this bullshit. We ’ ll get in the car and go find Rickey. Everybody ’ s in an uproar over this thing but I tell you it ’ s just not that serious. ”
    Paula watched her neighbors leave and then turned, confused, to Frank.
    “ Get some stuff together and let ’ s go! ” he said to his wife.
    “ Where, Frank? We can ’ t just get in the car and start driving. Where are we going? ” asked Paula.
    “ East—to Arizona, ” he answered.
    Paula didn ’ t oppose Frank ’ s decisions, at least not often. But this seemed senseless to her. “ What about the house? It ’ ll be stripped of every solitary thing we own, ” she protested.
    “ Look, woman, we may not ever come back to this house. We may never see it again. And if we don ’ t, it won ’ t make a damned bit of difference to us if everything is stolen. ”
    “ Frank, we ’ ve spent years making just the home we always wanted. Now you ’ re ready to throw it all aside and run screaming because of some rumor. ”
    “ It ’ s not a rumor, Paula! Less than one hour ago a nuclear reactor went up in dust—and it ’ s not but a few miles from us. If we hang around here, we ’ re going to be dead ducks! ”
    Paula hesitated over the statement then looked at the