After the Fall- The Complete series Box Set

by Charlie Dalton

  “Are you ready for this?” Jamie said to Lucy.

  “I think so,” Lucy said.

  “This will be very different to the system back in the City,” Jamie warned.

  “I know,” Lucy said. “I’ll be careful.”

  She was touched he cared so much. And he did. Jamie made no bones about it.

  Lucy looked at the giant door and moved to one side. To the keypad. The buttons were worn with use. How many fingers had tried random combinations to get into this place? Continue forever, and they would eventually be successful. But no one had forever to play with. People wanted things and they wanted them now.

  “Can I use your knife?” Lucy said.

  Jamie gave it to her. Lucy slipped the point into the seam and pressed down on the hilt. The cover popped up. Lucy handed the knife back and reached into the metal box, coming out with a bunch of wires. She sorted through them.

  “Huh,” Isabelle said. “That’s new. No one ever tried messing with the wires before. I guess because no one understood how they work.”

  She nodded to Lucy.

  “Where did you pick her up, anyway?” she said.

  “That’s a long story,” Donny said.

  “We’ve got time, don’t we?” Isabelle said.

  She turned back to Lucy. And then her mouth fell open.

  Lucy had tugged the top of her index finger off and pulled at a wire inside.

  “Oh my God,” Isabelle said.

  “You’re a believer now?” Donny said. “Maybe we should cart you off to the underground commune.”

  “I. . . I. . .” Isabelle said.

  “Never seen anything like it, right?” Donny said. “That’s because there’s no one else like her out there.”

  Lucy held both wires for a moment, considering, took a moment to calm her mind, emptying it. Then she made the connection.

  “Argh!” Lucy said, stumbling back.

  Jamie caught her before she could fall. He laid her down on the ground.

  “Fatty, cut the wire!” Jamie said. “Cut it now!”

  Fatty took out his knife. All fingers and thumbs, he almost dropped it. He held the wire and put the knife to it. Applied pressure, about to sever it—

  “No, don’t,” Lucy said.

  Her voice was not her own. The fringes of it were her, but it now consisted of a deep, crackling sound, like she was speaking through lightning. Her voice was deep, powerful.

  She got to her feet without Jamie’s help.

  “Are you all right?” Jamie said.

  “Yes,” Lucy said. “I’m fine. I’m inside the mainframe.”

  Her eyes were distant as if she were seeing something none of the others could. She stepped forward and moved her hands as if wading through long grass.

  “There’s so much here,” Lucy said. “So much information. So much knowledge. There’s too much to process.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Jamie said. “Just open the door. Can you do that?”

  “Give me a minute,” she said.

  Isabelle’s mouth, if possible, had fallen wider.

  “Why aren’t you shocked by this?” Isabelle said.

  “Because I’ve been inside a City before,” Donny said. “I’ve seen the kinds of things our ancestors could do. And someone told me what Lucy is and what she can do. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure I believed him. Until now.”

  “How is this possible?” Isabelle said.

  Donny shrugged.

  “Before the Fall, things were very different,” he said. “It was a world of possibility.”

  “And yet somehow we became like this,” Isabelle said.

  “That’s nothing,” Donny said. “Wait till you hear how the Fall really happened. That’s really going to knock you on your ass. And what’s out there, waiting for us.”

  “I’m not sure I want to know,” Isabelle said, still unable to take her eyes off the little girl with the wire in her finger. “My life just got a whole lot more complicated.”

  “I did warn you,” Donny said. “It’s not too late. You can turn back.”

  Isabelle blinked, slowly turned to Donny.

  “How can I?” she said. “What would my life be like now after witnessing something like this?”

  “Never the same again,” Donny said with a nod.

  He knew the feeling.

  “I think I’ve found it,” Lucy said.

  Her eyes were squinting as she turned her head to one side and pushed at something with her left hand. Something clanked on the other side of the giant door. Something big and heavy. Then the mysterious shapes and dials began to shift and move, rusty and slow. The puzzle of shapes moved as one. The wheels spun and the bars slid aside. Dust fell from where it had accumulated. A bird took wing, nest disrupted. Then a great groaning sound as if a monster resided inside. The door swung slowly open on massive hinges.

  Jamie pulled Lucy and Fatty to one side.

  “Move!” Donny said.

  He and Isabelle turned and ran. The door was swinging open in their direction. To head to the side would result in getting splattered. They turned and ran away.

  Humperdinck snorted and danced left to right, unsure what to do.

  “Hump, run!” Isabelle said.

  The command had an immediate effect. Humperdinck took off, half the cart’s contents spilling to the ground in the process. For once, Isabelle didn’t care.

  Donny and Isabelle, out of time and space, leapt, entrusting their lives to luck as the door swept up behind them, carving an arch through the dirt, rock, and stone. It groaned its last cry as it came to an abrupt stop.

  90.

  “ARE YOU all right?” Jamie said.

  He helped Lucy onto her feet. At some point, the wire had disconnected from Lucy’s finger. It was strange to see that but it didn’t turn Jamie’s stomach. It was a part of who Lucy was. It didn’t hurt, so it didn’t matter.

  “I’m okay,” Lucy said.

  “I’m fine too,” Fatty said, dusting himself off. “Thanks for asking.”

  The dust was still settling after the door’s opening swing. Two figures lay on the ground, unmoving. Jamie’s insides turned to water.

  “Donny. . .” he said.

  On unsteady legs, he took off.

  91.

  JAMIE WASN’T the first to reach them. Humperdinck’s powerful nose sniffed and snorted Isabelle’s face, blowing her hair back. She groaned under her breath. Seemingly confident of her condition, Humperdinck turned to the other figure. He flopped his exceptionally long tongue over Donny’s face, covering him in lathering sloppy saliva.

  Donny groaned too, then shrieked when he opened his eyes to see giant horse teeth in his face. He bolted upright and skirted back on his hands and feet. It took a moment before he recognized the animal.

  “Donny!” Jamie said, rushing over. “What happened?”

  “What happened?” Donny said, wiping the horse saliva off his face. “Your girlfriend swung the biggest door in the world open—right where we were standing! That’s what happened!”

  “So you should have been standing somewhere else,” Jamie said, concern flipping to anger in an instant. “She didn’t know how it would open.”

  Actually, that was probably a lie. She wouldn’t have known how it would open before she hacked into the system. But he wasn’t in the mood for splitting hairs.

  “Forget the damn door!” Isabelle said, using Humperdinck’s harness to right herself. “You guys have got some serious explaining to do.”

  She turned to Lucy, who was approaching with Fatty.

  “How did you do that?” Isabelle said, tempering her tone.

  “How?” Lucy said. “I’m not sure. I empty my mind and it comes to me.”

  “Your finger. . .” Isabelle said. “You. . . What are you?”

  “She’s Lucy,” Jamie said before Lucy could respond. “She was created in a lab by some of the world’s greatest scientists. She’s the same as you and me but with a
few. . . alterations.”

  “I’ll say,” Isabelle said.

  A smile came to her lips. The kind an older sister had for a younger one.

  “Do you have any other skills?” she said. “Super strength or speed maybe?”

  “No,” Lucy said.

  “Bummer,” Isabelle said. “Still, I’d take wires in fingers any day of the week. You’re full of surprises, my girl.”

  “Sure, Lucy opens a door and everyone’s impressed,” Fatty said with folded arms. “I make the world’s most delicious stew with hardly any of the ingredients I need and no one cares.”

  And no one cared this time either, ignoring him. They all turned.

  Denver City’s door was open.

  92.

  THE DOORWAY was a single dark square and showed nothing of its confines. It reminded Fatty of the entrance to the underground commune and the darkness within. He couldn’t say he was a fan of the place, so why should this place be any different? In truth, he wasn’t really a fan of anywhere that wasn’t his bedroom. He was most happy when living with all the comfort and conveniences of home.

  He didn’t like going to new places and actively dreaded going somewhere new where he’d have to figure out where everything was. He actually wasn’t lazy. He merely liked doing things he liked. The problems only began when he had to do things not out of choice but necessity.

  And this whole adventure had been one of necessity. He never wanted to fight the Reavers or escape from them. And he most certainly didn’t want to head into Denver City’s dark square entrance.

  And yet here he was, once again forced to do something he didn’t want. People used to say to him that one day he would be an old man lying on his deathbed and, looking back, wouldn’t he think he’d wasted his time sitting at home? Fatty’s unspoken argument was always that he’d only get to live to a ripe old age if he continued to live the way he wanted. Live a dangerous life on the edge and he’d die a lot sooner. What would he say on that deathbed? That he wished he’d taken more risks? Unlikely.

  The Denver City walls were metal, similar in design and construction to the City near their commune. Lucy led the way. She’d had access to a map during her—he could hardly believe he was even using these words—connection to the computer system and could recall the relevant details.

  “This way,” Lucy said.

  She came to a stop. A lump in a white coat lay on the ground up ahead. Unmoving. It was the perfect setup for something really horrific to happen.

  “Uh, guys,” Fatty said.

  “Cut it out already, Fatty,” Donny said, not taking his eyes off the huddled form.

  He gripped the length of wood he was using as a weapon in both hands and prepared to bring it down on the prostrate figure if there was any movement. He leaned over it, checking the body. There were no bite marks or even much blood—only a thin layer under his nose.

  “He hasn’t been dead long,” Donny said, checking the man’s pulse.

  “Rages?” Lucy said.

  “They’d be walking around now if it had been,” Donny said. “No. Something else did this.”

  “Let’s keep moving,” Jamie said. “And keep your eyes peeled. Whatever got this guy could still be in here somewhere.”

  Great. Then let’s continue to head deeper into the unknown.

  Ten minutes later, they turned another corner and found two more bodies. Same symptoms, same killer. Fatty was about ready to jump out of his skin at any moment. But worse awaited them ahead.

  Most of the corridors they walked down sported at least one body. Others contained four or five. The more there were, the stronger the smell of rotting flesh. As the reek began to dissipate, they came across a whole new body and a whole new cloud of choking decay. The entire City was crammed with dead bodies.

  Fatty was sure it wasn’t only him suffering from a bad case of deja vu.

  They’d been walking for an hour and hadn’t run into a single living occupant. Dr. Beck had said they should speak with a Dr. Vassal when they got here. Did every City only have one occupant? It was an awful lot of space for one person.

  “What happened to everyone?” Donny said.

  Here we go, Fatty thought, rolling his eyes. Here come the theories.

  “I thought this City was supposed to be inhabited?” Donny said.

  “It was,” Lucy said. “It was full, like the other City. But then something bad happened here.”

  Jees, really? You think?

  “Did you see what did this?” Jamie said. “What killed all these people?”

  “No,” Lucy said. “I can find out if we reach another connection point.”

  “It doesn’t matter what happened here,” Fatty said. “Let’s find the controls of this cannon, target the Bugs, fire, and get the hell out of here.”

  For once, no one argued. Huh. Things were beginning to look up.

  93.

  WHAT’S WRONG with me? Isabelle thought.

  Since when was she afraid to explore new places? Especially a place rich with treasure beyond her wildest dreams. She took a step toward the open doorway before taking two back.

  It was the history of this place, she knew. It was its history and myths that prevented her from taking the step across the threshold. It was the countless stories she’d been told as a naughty girl by her parents, teachers and everyone else she’d ever met.

  She stamped her foot, balled her fists and let out a little scream. She was so frustrated with herself. And yet still she couldn’t bring herself to take that step. Neither could Humperdinck. He usually stood right at her side but he wouldn’t even come near the doorway. He stood a few dozen yards back, nodding his head and digging with his front hoof.

  It wasn’t the nod of, Go ahead. You’ll be glad you did. It was his signal that something wasn’t right, that she ought to be careful. Danger was afoot. Isabelle always heeded his warnings. She never saw what lay behind the barn door he was wary of or what might hide along the shortcut he suggested they avoid. She trusted in the fact nothing bad happened to her when she followed his advice.

  What was worse was that she had the same feeling in the pit of her stomach and was second-guessing herself. And yet, she was still arguing about whether or not to enter that dark landscape.

  “Hey! Hey you!”

  A pair of men emerged from the forest. One was tall and strong, the other short and old. The strong one was walking toward her.

  “Hey!” he said.

  More treasure hunters. Damn! They would strip the place for sure.

  “Come on, Hump,” Isabelle said. “Come on, boy.”

  Humperdinck was having none of it, and snorted, stepping side to side nervously.

  “Sorry, bud,” Isabelle said, checking on the men’s progress. “I’m going to have to play dirty.”

  She took her emergency carrots out of her pocket. Humperdinck whinnied and took a step forward.

  “That’s it, good boy,” Isabelle said.

  The big man was running now, closing the gap fast.

  “See? No monsters in here,” Isabelle said.

  They were both inside now, Humperdinck happily munching on his carrots. Isabelle looked at the wall on the side and hit the big red button with the word, CLOSE on it.

  The giant door swung shut. For a moment, Isabelle thought the man was going to make it inside, but he was a fraction of a second too slow.

  “Sorry, chum,” Isabelle said. “Maybe next time.”

  “Wait!” the strong man said as he sprinted the final dozen yards. Too late. Isabelle waved at him as the door slammed shut. Isabelle sighed with relief.

  “That was close, huh?” she said to Humperdinck. “And you wanted to stay out there! Don’t worry, we all make mistakes.”

  94.

  LUCY HADN’T hesitated or taken a single wrong turn so far as Jamie could tell. She always seemed to know where she was going as if she had been there before and knew it well. They passed similar rooms with familiar layouts from
Dr. Beck’s City. Clean, futuristic and built for purpose.

  Jamie’s legs began to ache long before they reached the room Lucy stopped in. It had to be somewhere near the top of the facility. Multiple monitors ran along the outer edge with a round table in the centre. Hung above it was a large transparent plastic screen with mysterious white lines drawn over it.

  “Is this the cannon control room?” Donny said, struggling to get his breath back.

  “Yes,” Lucy said.

  “Complete with big red button,” Donny said, eying the button in the centre table.

  “That’s the button to fire,” Lucy said. “There’s a whole list of protocols to go through before we hit it.”

  She pulled the tip of her index finger off and hooked herself up to the console. Jamie stood behind her, ready to catch her if she fell. Lucy took a step back but did not collapse this time.

  “I’m okay,” she said, that same haunting voice returning.

  Her eyes darted side to side, scrolling through invisible information the others couldn’t see.

  “Accessing emergency power now,” Lucy said.

  The bulbs fired up, flicking on and bathing them in horrible bright fluorescent light. The terminals powered up and flickered with complicated charts and data displays. None of it made any sense to Jamie.

  “Hey, this screen looks like the deck of the flight simulator!” Fatty said, excited.

  He sat at it and enjoyed watching the various lights and dials.

  “Charging the cannon now,” Lucy said.

  “Wait,” Jamie said. “We need to aim.”

  “I have already input the coordinates,” Lucy said.

  A low humming noise grew in volume, building and rising. Soon, the entire control room was vibrating.

  “Uh, is this normal?” Fatty said.

  No one answered him. No one knew. No one had ever fired a weapon like this in the history of mankind.

  “It must be, right?” Fatty said.