“What do you make of the airships?” Mason asked the two remaining elders as they studied the schematics over warm cups of tea.
“I think they’re brilliant,” Lehman said. “Modern masterpieces. Can you imagine living on one of those things?” She had a dreamy look in her eyes while she talked about it, like the mysticism of the mainland did affect her after all.
“I bet they have electricity,” she added.
“Have?” Mattli asked as he sat with one leg over the other, sipping his tea.
“Well, had. I don’t suppose they’re still up there.”
Mason sat up a little straighter, leaning forward on his knees. “Could they still be up there?”
“I…” Lehman shook her head, doubt on her face.
“Surely Ashley and I would’ve seen them when we were there. Right, Mattli?”
“Not necessarily. The schematics say right here that they’re to be stationed above cloud level to have direct access to the solar energy they need to stay afloat.” She leaned forward and pointed to the plans they had laid out on the coffee table.
“And if they’d fallen to the ground…” Mason stared, trying to put pieces together he didn’t even think existed a few moments ago.
“Well, from what you’ve told us, and what Ashby’s journal says of the bots and the apocalypse they spurred, there wouldn’t be anything left of the wreckage, would there? Nothing but gray ash not dissimilar from all the other miles and miles of gray ash.”
Mason sat back on the couch, feeling defeated. “There’s no way to know for sure.”
The room was silent for a few moments until Mason sat forward again.
“It’s just as possible that they’re still up there right now as it is that they’re dead. Ashley never thought we were the only survivors of the apocalypse. She never thought we were that special…” He let the possibilities run wild in his mind. “There could be others out there. Alive.”
Alive
By: Stephanie Erickson
For Ashley, Mason,
Mattli, Alkoff, Lehman, Mendi,
and of course Ashby.
Now, their story is told.
One
June, 2025
Nothing good came from the phone ringing at two AM.
“It’s past time. Get your family and get out of there.” It was all that was said before the line disconnected. He hadn’t even had time to thank the man for the warning. Or ask why it was ‘past time’.
“Who was that?” his wife asked, her voice thick with sleep she wouldn’t get that evening.
“It’s time. We have to go,” he told her.
She sat up, her face suddenly ashen. He reached for her hand. “We’ll be okay. That’s what this plan is for—to make sure we survive. But we need to hurry. Please, go get the children. I’ll get our bags and have a car brought around.”
The tickets on the airship weren’t cheap. At the time, it had seemed like a good contingency, an insurance policy really. Something he bought, but hoped he’d never have to use. His wife had balked a little when he’d told her the cost—a million dollars per ticket. Four million total.
“We didn’t pay that much for our third house, Walter,” his wife had said, completely incredulous.
“Well, we paid more than that for this one. If you’re going to split hairs, we didn’t pay that much for our first two houses combined.”
“We didn’t have money then,” she snapped.
That wasn’t entirely true. They’d had money, just not as much as they had now.
“How much money we had then is beside the point. I’ve booked us safe passage on the airship Orion. Hopefully, we’ll never have to use it. And you’ll just have to go without the updates to the kitchen.”
“But I’ve been working on the plans for months,” she whined.
“Gertrude, be realistic here. Think of the kids.”
“Oh, please. What makes you think there’s any real danger at all? The scammers who sold you that quote unquote ticket are probably just after your money,” she spat.
Walter Quelch took a deep breath. His wife was beautiful—perfect curves, dark black hair, blazing blue eyes that froze even the most mischievous of their children, and porcelain skin he liked to trail his fingers over. But she was also very trying, even unreasonable at times. She had terrible tunnel vision when it came to things she wanted, and it was one thing Walter did not like about her. He was being made out to be the enemy for caring for her and their children.
“Listen, Sam knows what he’s talking about. He doesn’t make this stuff up,” Walter insisted. His brother Sam had pushed him to get the tickets and given him the connections to make it happen. No matter what Gertrude thought, Sam wasn’t the scamming type.
“Sam is in cahoots with the president. They’re probably taking the money for some bleeding-heart campaign they have going,” she said. The disgust in her voice was so thick Walter thought he might choke on it.
“Gertrude, stop it. Sam is a general in the U.S. Army, and the top advisor to the president. He’s been working on these top-secret airships for years. If he says it’s time to get a seat on one, I’m going to believe him.”
“Did he tell you why?” She folded her arms over her chest and her mouth formed a thin line, challenging him.
“Yes, he did. He said the bots are a bit out of control. And if they can’t rein them in, there could be a real problem.”
“What? The C-bots? The ones that saved Daddy’s life?”
Her dad had had advanced lung cancer. He’d smoked for decades. In fact, Walter wouldn’t have been surprised if Gertrude had some secondary damage from growing up with it.
“Apparently. He’s asked us to keep this to ourselves though.”
“Not that I would ever tell anyone that my crackpot of a brother-in-law is part of a scam to take people’s money. And a lot of it at that.”
That was the last straw for Walter. “Fine. Want me to sell your ticket back? You can do what you want with your million to the kitchen, but I’m taking the kids and going if the call comes.”
Her mouth hung open, and Walter stormed out. Why was he even trying so hard to save a woman like that?
Later that day, she’d apologized and said they didn’t need the new kitchen. She never even used it anyway; it was just that her friend Judy had nice new stuff and she wanted that too.
“Well, Judy can’t take her new kitchen to hell, can she?” Walter asked.
Gertrude only looked at him in openmouthed shock before she walked away.
Now that the call had actually come, Gertrude seemed frozen. Walter knew they didn’t have a lot of time. He needed her present. He couldn’t get everything ready by himself in time.
“Gertrude,” he prompted, voice quiet but stern. But she just sat on the bed, her face getting more pale as she sat there, which for her was quite an accomplishment.
He walked around to her side of the bed and sat down in front of her, but he could tell her frosty blue eyes weren’t seeing him. When he put his hands on her shoulders and stooped down to see eye to eye with her, it startled her. He put himself close enough to breathe in the scent of her peppermint oil and said, “Gertrude, please get yourself and the kids ready to leave in ten minutes. I need you to do this for me.”
“Right. Of course.” She reached up and patted his hand, giving him a small and completely fake smile.
He returned her smile with a genuinely relieved one. “Thank you,” he said as she got out of bed and went to the closet, changing out of her satin nightgown in less than thirty-eight seconds. He’d only ever seen her get undressed that quickly on nights when the kids were at a sleepover.
He smiled at the thought as he picked up his phone again. It only rang once.
“Henry, we need a car. Right now.” He hung up just as quickly and went to the closet. His wife was already gone, hopefully down the hall to get their oldest out of bed.
He dressed and grabbed the two bags he’d packed for
them over the last six months. Since Sam had first called him. Walter hadn’t given Gertrude all the details, but what Sam had told him frightened him enough to part with four million dollars. If it had cost more, he would’ve gladly given it to them.
Sam said Ashby, the scientist who was being lauded as some kind of savior, was an idiot. Ashby had leapt before he thought and had no contingency in place for a catastrophic failure. Sam said the bots were global. Worldwide. Even in third-world countries. Nowhere would be safe if they truly got out of control.
And as the world had watched the hospitals fall one by one, Gertrude started to show more gratitude toward Sam’s so-called scam, although her concern never truly left.
“What if something terrible does happen, and they don’t honor our tickets?”
“Gertrude, Sam won’t leave us in the lurch,” he’d said, knowing his brother better than she did.
Gertrude hadn’t had a good relationship with her family. It was very dog-eat-dog rivalry, which was why her siblings hated her. She’d married well, and as the years went by, Walter had built his software company up more than they’d ever anticipated. They’d achieved a level of wealth no one in their families ever had. But rather than celebrate, like Walter’s family did, Gertrude’s family fought, distanced themselves from her, and decided she thought she was better than them, until, finally, she’d started to believe it.
None of that mattered now though. They didn’t have time to worry about how or why they’d gotten the tickets, about what their so-called family and friends were doing, or when the definition of friend had changed to competitor. He’d heard Sam’s voice on the other end of that call. He knew things were dire, more so than they’d expected it to be. He only hoped he could speak to Sam once on board. Walter wanted to find out more about what had happened and what exactly their future held.
For now, Walter only had an address, which he texted to their driver on the way downstairs.
The kids were quiet as they rode in the back of the Cadillac. They leaned against each other in the back row of the black SUV while Gertrude held tightly to Walter’s hand. He stroked it absently with his thumb as he watched the city go by his window, wondering what would become of it. Could it really be destroyed by Ashby’s tiny bots? Particularly after they’d done so much good?
He thought about the family he was leaving behind. Gertrude’s entire family. Sam was already on board with the president. They’d been in the air for at least a month already. The airship was floating around 45,000 feet, well above the cloud layer and out of sight of the public.
When Sam had been assigned the project, he’d been excited about it. The airships had been intended for evacuation purposes. But twenty years ago, the threat was from terrorists, whom the world only hoped didn’t have access to nukes. Today’s threat was against all of humanity—not one side versus the other. It was an odd shift for Sam. But Sam had openly admitted to Walter that he was grateful it was completed.
Sam had also said the technology was astounding—that he couldn’t wait for Walter to see it in person.
Of course, Walter had dryly responded, “I’m sure it’s amazing, Sam. But forgive me if I hope I never get to see it.”
Sam had laughed over the phone. “Me too, brother. Me too. If anyone wants to see their life’s work go to waste, it’s me.”
As they drove the city streets, Walter hoped to make it to see his brother again soon.
There were only two airships in the U.S., and Sam was on the one that had already gone airborne. The other was in Alaska, hidden deep under the tundra. The flight up was long, and Walter hoped they hadn’t missed their chance. Sam would’ve given him enough notice. The ship would wait for them, right? As they transferred to a Hummer that would take them the rest of the way, Walter could only hope they weren’t too late.
Unbeknownst to most of the population, the bots were quite thick in Alaska. They’d helped build and maintain the most state-of-the-art oil pipeline the nation had ever seen. It had minimal environmental impact, with maximum output, which kept everyone involved happy.
It was yet another thing that made it difficult for Walter to reconcile the fact that the bots were demons, as Sam insisted they were, as they approached their destination. The bots had done so much good in the world.
As the Hummer approached the unassuming white building with a steel door, Walter started to wonder if they had the right place.
He leaned up to the driver. “Are you sure this is correct?”
“Yes sir,” the man said without emotion.
Walter had never met the driver, and he wasn’t used to being driven by strangers. He already didn’t like much about the situation he’d found himself in. Gertrude looked at him from the backseat, where she sat with their two kids. Concern etched deep lines into her face. To be honest, Walter was worried too. What if she’d been right? If it was a scam, they’d be screwed. Walter didn’t see how the type of machine Sam talked about could possibly fit into such a small building. It couldn’t have been bigger than the New York Public Library, which he walked by almost every day on his way to the office.
He gave Gertrude an encouraging smile, and then turned back to the driver, who guided the Hummer to a guarded gate.
“Mr. and Mrs. Walter Quelch and family,” the driver said flatly. Walter wondered if the driver knew what the government was doing behind those doors. If the man had been in on it and it was a scam, then he’d played his part well. And if it wasn’t, Walter hoped the poor man had a ride on the ship. The driver had worked to get people there, and it didn’t seem right that he’d be left behind. But Walter knew there wasn’t much he could do about it. It was just the way of the world. And their world was about to change, dramatically, whether there was an airship in that building or not.
Once inside, they were directed to an elevator that went down at least twenty levels. The children remained silent as they went, clearly scared and uncertain about their strange, middle-of-the-night adventure. Gertrude gripped the older one’s hand as she held their toddler close in her arms.
Finally, after what felt like an hour, they stopped.
“This way,” the man who was guiding them said. He wore a military uniform and was very curt with them. Well, maybe curt wasn’t the word. Short. As if he were all business and no nonsense. Walter supposed there wasn’t time for nonsense.
As they walked down a long, metal gangway, Walter thought of the people who worked for him. The unsuspecting folks back home had no idea how bad it might get.
Walter wondered if they would lose their lives. If his company would go under. How he would continue to pay his way on the ship. Sam had been woefully unclear about that. He’d just told Walter to worry about getting his family on board. The airship controllers wouldn’t kick them out once they were airborne, so he just needed to worry about getting on the damned thing.
The corridor rounded several corners before it ended in a huge expanse of people.
“What is this?” Walter asked.
“This is the boarding area, sir. Please take your place and wait for the doors to open.”
“Why aren’t they letting people board?”
“Procedure, sir. Boarding will begin soon.”
“How long have these people been waiting?” Walter hadn’t seen any other cars when they’d arrived, so it seemed like those people had to have been waiting for a great deal of time. Walter and his family had been very late to the party.
“Some have been here about twelve hours. Others only arrived a short time ago, like yourselves.”
“Why were we called if the airship wasn’t ready to board?” Walter demanded, struggling to keep his irritation, and fear, under control.
The military man finally turned to look Walter in the eye. He seemed annoyed, but also tired and sympathetic. “I’m sorry, sir. The engineers are having trouble with a few of the systems. Particularly the doors. They’re not made to open and close more than a few times. They’re big, heavy, and it t
akes a lot of precision to operate them. I promise you, sir, that we’re working hard to get the glitches ironed out. In the meantime, please wait with the others. Food and blankets can be obtained from over there.” He pointed to a back wall that was made from dark rock.
The soldier left them. Walter stood there with his family, looking at the sea of faces. He took in the space. It was huge. At least ten thousand people must have been gathered, waiting for their own escape.
“All these people bought tickets too?” Gertrude asked. “Where did they get the money?”
“Honey, we aren’t the only people in this country with money,” Walter answered as he took his oldest boy Brad’s hand and started down the steps leading into the crowd.
Lights dotted the rock ceiling, but they weren’t very warm and welcoming. They were industrial and bright, most likely LEDs, and there were rows and rows of them. Walter led his family through the crowd with a fair amount of pushing and curt words as they went. People were irritated, and Walter couldn’t blame them. Getting people keyed up, and then to leave them standing around, was no way to execute an emergency plan.
Every soldier they passed was being questioned by an angry ticket holder. “How much longer are you going to keep us here?” one woman demanded.
“Ma’am, we aren’t keeping you here. You’re free to go at any point.”
“I’m not leaving. I paid a lot of money to be on that ship. And you aren’t letting us on.”
Walter couldn’t ignore the jab from the snide-looking woman. “Ma’am, I hardly think this single soldier is responsible for keeping everyone off the ship. Why don’t you come with us? We’re looking for a bite to eat,” he offered, working to diffuse the situation.
“Why don’t you mind your business?” She looked him up and down. Admittedly, Walter wasn’t looking his best after traveling all night. His clothes were wrinkled and his black hair was a bit tousled, but he didn’t think it warranted the judgment he’d gotten from her. He’d paid his way same as her.
The Dead Room Trilogy Page 33
