His glare settles back onto me but eases after a few seconds so he must believe me.
“Well, I hope you enjoyed it because there won’t be time for games after today. I expect you to train hard and learn to carry your own weight!”
I nod my head but am spared a reply when Donnelly bangs through the door with the extra food tray.
“Sir! You’re needed in the command room. The computer has detected a perimeter breach!”
I can’t help the gasp of hope that rushes down my throat at Donnelly’s words. They made it! I won’t be alone after all. It feels like a thousand-pound weight has lifted off my shoulders but the General spears me with a look. He must have assumed my gasp was one of fright because his next words sent the weight crashing back down on to me.
“You have nothing to fear. Now that there’s been a strike so close to us the doors are sealed. They will not open for anyone. No one is getting in. No one!”
I feel all the blood drain from my face as he shoves away from the table and strides out of the room with Donnelly at his heals, the food tray having been dumped on the counter. I stare at the door and shake my head slowly. He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t leave Jackson’s mom and my family out there to die. Would he? I flash back to all my classmates sitting in the theatre where he sent them to wait while we evacuated. He didn’t care about all those kids that are now probably dead so why would he care about my family? I push away from the table and stagger over to the armchair to retrieve my tablet and see the perimeter breach message from AIRIA. My fingers start flying over the keyboard with all the questions I need answers to but it’s taking too long to type it all in so I rush into the bedroom and close the door.
“AIRIA, how many people are outside right now? Is it possible to let them in? Are the doors really sealed to everyone? Is there radiation outside the doors right now?”
“Joslin Frost, eighteen people detected inside the perimeter. Your clearance level does not permit you to open any exterior doors. A higher level is required. All exits are sealed to all occupants with the exception of General Mallor. Current radiation levels are within normal parameters for human exposure. Estimated time of radiation increasing due to multiple nuclear strikes in the vicinity coupled with wind patterns is seven hours and eighteen minutes.”
I lean back and blow out a breath. Ok, the General can open the doors and let them in. I was afraid that the doors would be sealed for some amount of time because of radiation, but according to AIRIA, he can open them anytime he wants. I chew on my bottom lip while going over all the different scenarios of how Jackson and I will live here with our families until my standard pessimist mood overwhelms me. I know better than to get my hopes up that things will go my way. I have no way of knowing if my parents or Jackson’s mom are even in the group outside.
“AIRIA, is there any way to identify the people outside the doors right now?”
“Joslin Frost, facial recognition scans did not find any matches to current military data banks.”
I rub my forehead in frustration. Her answer doesn’t help me at all until I realize that to do facial recognition, the computer would need to be able to scan the faces of the people out there and that means…
“AIRIA, are there external cameras and if there is, can I see the feed on my tablet?”
“Joslin Frost, yes there are external cameras. Patching feed to your device now. Stand-by.”
I hold my breath in anticipation for the few seconds it takes for a video icon to appear on my screen and try not to stab it with my finger. I bounce in place as the app loads and a four-split video appears. The top two views just show trees but the bottom two have people milling around on them so I tap the first one to turn it to full screen and hold the tablet close to my face as I try and recognize any of the people in view. There are both men and women as well as a few children on the feed with a few vehicles including an antique looking school bus parked in the background but I don’t recognize any of them. I’m slightly relieved to see other kids out there so Jackson and I won’t be the only young people stuck in here for the next however many years we will be forced to stay inside, but my main concern is finding my parents. I minimize the feed and open the second one. The instant it pops up, my breath catches in my throat as relief surges through me. There they are! My parents, Jackson’s mom, and two other people are front and center on the screen. My relief quickly turns to confusion at the expressions on their faces. They all look angry and their mouths are moving sharply like they are yelling at someone.
A hot ball of nausea rolls in my stomach. The only reason they could be that angry is if they are not being allowed inside. Why wouldn’t the General let them in? There’s no danger to anyone inside at the current radiation levels so he could easily just open the door and allow our parents in. This doesn’t make any sense! There’s more than enough room in this place for a few more people. What the heck is going on?
I quickly tap the record icon on the video and surge to my feet. I have to show this to Jackson and get him to talk to his dad. There’s no way he’d let him leave his mom out there to die. I rush to the bedroom door and jerk it open, intent on waking Jackson up but he’s no longer on the couch where I left him. He standing at the entrance to the unit with a woman wearing a uniform. Her hair is pulled back into a severe bun that goes along with the scowl on her face. Jackson’s expression when he turns my way is one of panicked uncertainty. He opens his mouth to speak but she beats him to it.
“Frost? Joslin Frost?”
When I just stand there frozen, her scowl deepens until I give a brief nod of my head. She lifts a hand and twirls her finger in the air.
“Grab your kit and let’s go. You’ve been assigned to a bunk in the general barracks.”
My eyes flash to Jackson’s for a brief moment but I know he won’t be able to stop this right now so I just turn away and start gathering up the few things I had removed from my backpack. It’ll just be easier to go along with this for now. My parents will hopefully be inside soon and we will be together. With my back to the entrance, I use my body to conceal the tablet and quickly thumb it to life. The video feed shows the same thing as a few minutes ago so I mute the notifications and stuff it down into my pack with the charger just as Jackson grabs my arm.
“Joss, I’ll talk to my dad when he gets back and sort this out. I won’t let him separate us!”
I give him a small smile. “It’s ok, Jacks. They’re here. My parents and your mom are outside right now. They’ll sort something out once they get inside.”
His eyes flare wide with excitement and relief before turning to uncertainty.
“How do you know that?”
I glance over my shoulder at the woman and see that she’s stepped closer to us so I just give a half shrug and pat his arm. I don’t know if I’ll be allowed to keep the yellow clearance I have with AIRIA so it’s better if I keep quiet and hope they forget that I have it. Until my family gets inside, it’s the only control I will have over my circumstances.
Joslin
“Let’s go!” Is barked at me so I heave out a breath and turn away from my only friend. I follow the woman out the door and through the hallways until we’re back in the barracks. She doesn’t speak to me again but I steal quick glances at her face as we walk. Her red swollen eyes counteract her stern expression and tell me that she’s just as upset to be here as I am. I turn away from her and look into every face we pass and see the same emotions on the soldiers lounging or standing around the bunks we pass. All these people are feeling the same things. Uncertainty, fear, and sadness for their friends and family members that are still out in the war-torn world.
A few of them stare at me as we walk past but most of them gaze blankly at the floor or in front of themselves with lost expressions. We reach a section of bunks that is filled with female soldiers and they take a greater interest in me than the male soldiers we had passed. Questions are tossed out to the woman I’m following but she just ignores the
m and keeps walking until we come to a set of empty bunks. She stabs a finger at the bottom bunk and without even looking at me, speaks.
“This is you. Go to supply and get a bedroll, make up your bunk then stay here until I tell you.” That’s all she says before turning on her heel and walking away.
My shoulders slump as I look around at the closest bunks but they’re just as empty as the one she’s assigned to me so I head over to the area where Jackson and I had gotten our bathroom kits and find the door for bedding and towels. There isn’t a line this time so I’m given what I need quickly from the clerk with a check ticked on a clipboard and head back to my new bunk. I’ve barely managed to open the clear plastic bag protecting the sheet set when there’s an incredibly loud noise from the front of the barracks that echoes through the huge room.
My head swings in every direction but all I see is women with bewildered and fearful expressions staring in the direction that the sound came from. Before the noise, there had been a quiet murmur of many people talking or moving around but now there was complete silence. I expect AIRIA or the General to make some kind of announcement to let the soldiers know what was happening but the speakers stay silent. I turn to grab my backpack and the tablet inside it to ask AIRIA what is happening when there’s another huge crash from the same area followed seconds later by an even bigger roar that is clearly an explosion. There’s no silence after that as people yell and scream as the lighting in the bunker changes from the harsh white of the many large halogen lights to a flashing blood red of alarms. Over all of this, AIRIA’s voice finally booms out.
“Main barracks external door compromised. An analysis shows thirty-six percent integrity reduction. Recommend evacuation to lower levels within the next six hours to avoid radiation contamination.”
Her voice repeats the message over and over again until it abruptly cuts off in mid-sentence leaving an echoing silence in the cavern that rapidly fills with many voices filled with fear and confusion. I stand by my bunk, frozen. Those explosions had to have been the people outside trying to get in. I can’t understand any of it. Why didn’t the General just let them in? Why would my family and Jackson’s mom try and damage the bunker that would save all of our lives when the radiation got here? None of this makes any sense to me but mainly I’m just terrified of what will happen next to the people outside and us inside.
The sounds that come seconds later answer my fears for my parents and the ones outside. The harsh rat-tat-tat of rapid gunfire is muted through the walls of the bunker but every person inside crouches lower at the sound. Except for the muted gunfire, silence blankets the room. It seems to go on forever as I lower myself to the stone floor and let the tears flow down my cheeks. I know without ever checking the video feed that the General is killing every person outside the doors. I don’t know how long I sit there on the floor before I realize the shooting has stopped and then the speakers come alive with the General’s voice.
“Attention! Attention! This facility has been attacked by enemy combatants. We have neutralized the threat but they have succeeded in damaging the integrity of the main doors. We will be forced to relocate all personnel to the lower levels. This will be done in an orderly manner. There are just over six hours until the radiation from the nuclear strikes reaches this area. That is more than enough time for us to remove the majority of the supplies we will require from this level. I expect every single one of you to continue to honor your uniform and country by following command and keeping calm. Together we will survive and thrive once the threat to our country and lives are over. Orders to follow from your individual troop leaders, General Mallor out.”
As the murmur of conversation picks back up all around me, I know I’m in shock because all I can think about is how steady the General’s voice had been when he announced that the enemy had been neutralized. I know that’s another way of saying they were all dead. He didn’t even have the smallest tremor in his voice after murdering the mother of his only child and a group of innocent men, women, and children. My family is dead and we’re all going to be ruled over by a monster.
End Interlude…
Chapter Two … Skylar
I clutch Ben tighter to me and stare defiantly at Uncle Bill, waiting for him to answer me. The anger is plain to see in his eyes but I don’t know if it’s directed at me and my accusation or at the idiot who fired his rifle at me.
He makes it pretty clear that it’s me he’s mad at when he roughly barks back, “Everything here is a threat until we have determined otherwise. That includes all of these people. Until we have assessed the situation and the personnel here, you will all follow every command issued. Skylar, leave the boy and come with me. There are things I need to discuss with you.”
He turns on his heel and marches away expecting me to follow along like a lap dog but he doesn’t know me. This dog has teeth! I turn back to my people and gently peel Ben off of me so I can kneel down in front of him.
“Hey kiddo, I know this is very scary and being outside is overwhelming but I need you to know that everything is going to be ok. I’m going to go talk to that guy and sort all of this out but for right now I need you to stay with Belle and Matty and do whatever these soldiers say. Can you do that for me?”
His lower lip quivers but he gives me a brave little nod. I’m about to stand and leave him when his small hand clutches me tighter.
“Sky, can you find AIRIA? I’m scared without her.”
I have to bite hard on my tongue to keep the tears from welling up in my eyes because I want so bad to cry, “me too!” AIRIA might just be a computer program made up of ones and zeros but to me and especially to Ben, she’s our parent. Instead, I suck it deep down and let anger fill me. I give him a nod and a kiss and then hand him off to Belle. As I turn to leave, I make eye contact with Rex, Marsh, Ethan, Lance and all the others one by one. They’re all looking to me to fix this. It’s ironic that not too long ago I was willing to leave them all out here to the mercy of the snow and ash but now I will fight for their lives like they were my own. I try and give a reassuring nod to them but I’m afraid it will just come off as scared so I quickly turn away.
I’ve only got a few steps in the direction that Uncle Bill went when I see another, older soldier striding towards me with a thunderous expression on his face.
“The General gave you an order, young lady!” He snarls as he reaches out a hand to grab me.
I jerk back out of reach and snarl right back, “Touch me and I’ll put you in the dirt!”
He rears back in surprise but then smirks with condescension for a second before freezing at what I say next.
“Try me. Go ahead and see your men laugh when little girl me drops you in under twenty seconds…try…me.” It’s said with a flat, cold tone, low so only he hears. He must have seen something in my eyes to convince him because he lets his hand drop and jerks his head in the direction I was going anyways. I step around him and don’t bother even looking at him again. The door leading into the airlock of mine and Ben’s quarters is standing open so I head that way, assuming that is where Uncle Bill has gone.
As the door slides closed, I try and tamp down the rage that’s filled me. This guy has the upper hand right now and blasting him the way I want to won’t get me very far. I need to try and stay calm and reasonable to make this work. That turns into an even bigger challenge for me when the door slides open in front of me and I see him helping himself to food from my fridge. I bite down on the nasty words that fill my mouth and want to spew out and instead, take a seat at the kitchen island with a blank expression.
He nods at me as he continues to assemble the sandwich he’s making on the counter. He holds up a ripe red tomato in one hand and stares at it before pinning me with his ice blue eyes.
“You have no idea how lucky you’ve been for the last seven years.”
I don’t bother answering him even though he’s wrong on that count. I know the food part has been lucky for Ben and me but there�
�s so much more than just fresh food to being lucky. We’ve faced our own devastating losses that no amount of fresh produce can make up for. I keep quiet and wait for what he has to say next.
He starts speaking as he slices up the tomato.
“I understand that this will be a huge adjustment for you but your father and I had a plan for all of this to happen. My people will take their rightful place in the main barracks as it was built for them. We will set up the tents outside for all the others you allowed in and continue to feed them and provide security. Within the next few days, we will begin locating suitable farmland to plow under and start planting with the equipment and supplies that we stocked this place with. Your people and other survivors that we have gathered on the journey here from the east will help with the labor. Rebuilding this world will take each and every person working towards it.”
I think about his words and how they align with our own plans as he begins eating. They sound exactly like what we had wanted to do but his tone puts me off so I ask, “Will we be working with you or for you? What of the people who want to go their own way and do their own thing?”
He takes his time chewing and swallowing before answering me.
“Skylar, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. This isn’t a democracy anymore. Every person here will answer to me and follow my orders, including you.”
There’s no emotion in his words, just a statement of fact. “So, what you’re saying is, we’re your prisoners? Your slave laborers and we have no say over anything in our lives?”
He lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “If that’s how you want to spin it, then yes. I plan on rebuilding and I’m fine with however that is accomplished. As I said, we will feed, house and secure the people out there but they will earn it by doing the work that needs to be done.”
I grit my teeth as I ask my final question. “And Ben and me? Where do we fit in? Will we be relocated out to one of the tents as well? Are we to lose our home now that you’re here?”
Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 38
