“He was a fine man, sir. Anyway, he had concluded that the nations had lost their senses. He resigned his commission and gathered a small group of others around him. They started preparing for what was coming. They purchased a large ranch in the upper part of what was then Star Valley, Wyoming. They took classes in wilderness survival, collected books on basic skills, even began looking for equipment that did not depend on petroleum, and so on. Unfortunately, it hit sooner than they expected.”

“Sooner than any of us expected,” the Major added sadly. “But then who could have predicted the total insanity we saw?”

“Well, he called it pretty close, except for the timing. He predicted that once it began, everyone would unleash everything they had in the ensuing chaos. He also guessed correctly that nuclear strikes would not be the only danger, that chemical and biological warheads would be as common as nuclear ones. And so he chose his spot well. Star Valley had no industrial or military sites close by. It was relatively isolated, hidden between two substantial mountain ranges, and the prevailing air currents would carry much of the fallout away from them. Even then the group roughed it out through the winter in the mountains. Lloyd’s wife died of pneumonia, and they lost several others. I guess it was pretty bad. Eric was six at the time. When spring finally came, they decided the valley was finally safe, so they moved down.”

“Then the valley didn’t escape being hit?” Nicole broke in.

“Yes and no. There were no direct strikes, but some biological agents and radioactive fallout drifted in from the west. Not a great amount, but sufficient to decimate the valley’s population. When the Lloyd group finally moved in, they picked up about thirty or forty survivors who were still there.”

“And so they set up their own community?” the Major asked.

“Yes. The men Karl Lloyd had persuaded to join him were all top-notch in every way. Dr. Cameron was a leading neurosurgeon. Monroe Wilson was an electrical engineer. Ralph Maddox owned a major machine and tool business, and so on. But it was more than the skills. Lloyd wouldn’t take anyone who wasn’t outstanding in his personal character as well. Most were deeply religious and active in church. They had to be strong family men, men of integrity—the best kinds of people. Karl Lloyd often said, as he told me about their survival, that if God hadn’t taken a direct hand in their lives, they would never have made it. That commitment to God influenced the whole village. Every Sunday, all work stopped. Everyone went to church, then spent the rest of the day with their families.”

Nicole studied Travis’s face, touched by the obvious feelings he felt for the people he had helped to capture. “You said Eric has two younger sisters?” she asked.