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It takes you more than an hour to explain the events and circumstances that have led to your uninvited arrival at this secret mountain retreat. The family of survivalists, which comprises Jack and Steve Lendorff, their wives, Marian and Carly, and their children, Sissy and Bruce, listen with interest to your story, but they never once lower their guard or their guns.
At length, you learn that they bought this land and built the shelter ten years ago, at the time when HAVOC was bringing the civilized world to its knees. After ‘The Day’ this region, owing to its geographical location, was spared the worst of the post-holocaust blizzards. Its most important resource was fresh water and, as a result of this, the family was able to achieve and maintain its self-sufficiency.
They have a radio receiver and they are aware of the existence of other colonies, notably the one at Tucson, and of the situation that exists in California, but they have made no effort to contact other survivors or to join with other groups. Long ago they made a conscious decision to remain separate from the rest of the world, and they see no reason to change their minds.
‘Do you know what the Californians call this part of the country?’ asks Jack Lendorff, offhandedly. ‘They call it the Omega Zone. They think of it as a wilderness, useless and uninhabitable. A forbidden area. They’ve written it off. As far as they’re concerned we simply don’t exist!’
