Human Extinction Level Loss (Book 1): Nicole's Odyssey

by McClimon, Philip A.

  “Let's get Ruby. She probably needs it more than any of us, having to ride on that stinky bus,” Jordan said.

  Walt popped his head up and looked at Jordan with mock hurt in his eyes. Jordan looked back at Walt.

  “Sorry, Walt,” she said.

  Walt smiled and winked at her. Jordan giggled as she turned back and disappeared inside the motel with Nicole.

  ☣

  An hour and a half later, Nicole, Jordan and Ruby pushed their way out of the motel. Paul stood leaning against one of the posts that supported the overhang covering a sitting area in front of the motel. Billy sat in one of the rockers that lined the porch. Paul turned when he heard the women emerge. Nicole looked around.

  “Where’s Walt and Sam?” she asked.

  Paul was about to answer when a huge motor-home came pulling up. Everyone looked at it, unsure of who had just arrived. The engine shut off and a second later, Sam and Walt came bouncing out the side door.

  “Hey everybody! Look what we found!” Sam hollered.

  Paul smiled and Billy jumped up from his rocker as they all approached to take a closer look at the new vehicle. New it was, as the price was still written across the windshield in two foot numbers. Nicole held back and tried to conceal a frown. Inside she seethed. Walt had gone off with Sam. Sure they had searched the area and it seemed clear, but that didn’t mean shit in the new world. Sam came up beside her.

  “You would not believe what I had to do to get Walt to take this one. He wanted to grab one of the public busses. What is it with him and busses?” Sam asked.

  Nicole forced a smile as she watched the others climb in and look around.

  “It’s no bus, man, but still, it’s a pretty sweet ride,” Walt said.

  Sam stood next to Nicole and shook his head.

  Nicole ignored Sam as her frustration bubbled over.

  “You went out alone, Walt?! After what we’ve been through, you thought it was a good day for a stroll?!” She yelled.

  All eyes turned to her. Walt looked sheepish.

  “We had already searched the area. It was when we were looking around that I spied a sweet bus to replace my old one. Besides, I took Sam with me. He’s the one that convinced me to grab this motor-home instead,” Walt said, trying to defend his decision but sensing that he may be in some trouble.

  Nicole was having none of it. “Yeah, you took one of our best shooters and put yourself in harm’s way. If something happened, we would be down two and that puts us all in danger, Walt!” she said, sneering.

  Walt’s mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Finally, he sighed. Everyone else’s eyes darted back and forth between Nicole and Walt. Walt’s shoulders slumped.

  “I’m sorry, man. I should have waited and let the group know what I was doing,” Walt offered.

  Nicole looked around at the others nervously than at Walt.

  “Yeah, well… I just want us to be safe, you know?” she said before turning back to the motel.

  Sam followed her. “You really think I’m one of the best shooters?” He asked. Nicole did not look at him.

  “Shut up, Sam,” was all she said.

  ☣

  As the sun went down, everyone was gathered in Walt’s new motor-home. Midway down the length of one side was a small kitchen area. On the other side was a booth big enough for four. Walt and Sam sat on one side, Paul and Jordan sat on the other. Next to the eating area moving toward the front was a couch. Billy sat at one end and Nicole at the other. At the stove, Ruby stood and cooked up a stew cobbled together from the supplies they had moved over from Walt’s old bus. A sumptuous aroma filled the motor-home. Everyone held an empty plastic bowl and a spoon, as empty stomachs rumbled in anticipation.

  “Alright, my darlings. I believe it’s ready. Whose first?” she asked as five empty bowls were thrust at her.

  Ruby laughed then looked up at Nicole who sat at the far end of the couch.

  “I think Miss Nicole should get the first bowl.” All eyes looked to Nicole and bowls were withdrawn. Nicole looked at Ruby then the others. When no one else said anything, Nicole stood and approached the stove.

  “Listen, everyone… I’m sorry for my outburst earlier. It’s just that… I expect we should reach my father’s base tomorrow night. There’s a reason me and my father haven’t spoken for years. He’s a hard man and you probably won’t like him. I expect he will take us all in, but he will treat you like recruits. There will be rules and… more rules. You won’t be able to come and go as you please and you will probably start to wonder if out here in the world isn’t a better alternative,” Nicole said.

  Ruby smoothed her skirt and looked at the others than Nicole.

  “You say you and your father didn’t really talk, honey, but when this old world went to Hades, he called you straight away. He’s a hard man in hard times, but when things got the hardest, he thought of you. You don’t worry about us. We are all just ever so thankful that you let us come along, maybe giving us all something to hope for,” Ruby said.

  Nicole looked at her then at the others. Smiling faces and nodding heads met her gaze.

  “Now, let me have that bowl so’s I can fill it with God’s bounty,” Ruby said.

  Nicole laughed and held out her bowl. Sam scooted out of the booth as Nicole turned.

  “Here, take my seat Nicole,” he said.

  Nicole smiled and put her hand on his shoulder and Sam smiled back. As the others all offered their bowls and had them filled, Nicole sat and let the hot stew work its magic.

  Forty-Four

  They all thumbed through the CDs in Mosby’s Music Emporium. Walt had been insistent that they run inside before making the final push to the mountain base. As Nicole stared at the plastic jewel cases, she realized they were all hers for the taking, no questions asked. The thought of a cozy media room, fire blazing in the fireplace, over-sized earphones on her head, and swaying to some cool jazz or soulful blues filled her with a deep sense of joy. The feeling quickly washed away, as the more she flipped through the collected works of the jazz and blues legends both past and present, the more she realized that these represented the last word on the matter. How long would it be, if ever, until a generation arose that could produce artists like this again. Music was the “B” side of the human condition, a touch of the divine, a telling reminder that the ugliness of humanity was not the whole story. Nicole pushed away from the racks, the gathering thought that there would be no new music for a long long time almost bringing her to tears.

  Across the store, Billy looked for one particular single. He kept an eye out for Jordan who seemed pre-occupied, flipping through the posters two aisles over. His parents had always approved of music, unfortunately, music to them meant the classics, and not Zeppelin or The Doors. If they caught him listening to anything but the likes of Mozart or Beethoven it meant a lecture on the baseless value of such meaningless tripe. It didn’t mean Billy didn’t get to listen to the music he liked. He just had to sneak around to do it. Even at boarding school his parents had left strict instructions with the headmaster and teachers to be on the lookout for young William allowing himself to stray into the musical wasteland of popular music. On the lookout they stayed, but Billy found a way. When Jordan’s single came out and caused a short lived but very viral sensation on the internet, Billy had to have it. He would watch her video online every chance he got, seldom able to catch the whole thing all at once. His teachers seldom allowed unrestricted access to such a temptation as the internet. Billy scoured the POP section. His spirit taking a nose dive as he came up empty. Turning, he scanned the store for where else it could be. Spying a large bin in the center of the store, he ran over to it. Stuck high on a cardboard tube that was anchored in the bin by countless discarded CDs from has beens and one hit wonders, was a sign that read 5 for 10.00. Billy started rummaging through the sea of jewel cases. His eyes scanned quickly as wave after wave of the unwanted was shoved aside. Suddenly, his hands seized on the cov
eted prize. From under the scratched up Jewel case, she smiled back at him. Over her head was written, Best Day of the Week by Jordan Baxter. His classmates had used this as just one more reason to tease and bully him, but he didn’t care. It didn’t do him any good to try and defend the song, or explain why he liked it so much. That only brought more abuse on himself. He pointed out to them that as much as they made fun of the song, they still had nothing like it going on in their own lives. For all their family money and clothes and houses and boats and countless other accoutrements that went along with being rich, none of them had a hit song with their name on it. Telling them this only made them angry so it was a tact that he abandoned fairly early. It was huge on the internet, having had two million hits, yet critics hailed it as nothing more than a novelty song, that it would be nothing more than a footnote in countdown shows on the video music channels. None of this mattered to Billy. To him the song was an anthem, a celebration of good times with good friends, things that had always seemed to elude him somehow. Billy went to the counter and dug out a couple of crumpled dollar bills from his pocket. He placed them on the counter and quietly made his way out of the store.

  “Alright, Man!” Walt shouted. Everyone else looked over at Walt, who held a CD in his hands.

  “Does this mean we can go now?” Nicole asked.

  Walt looked up from his CD. “Yeah, sure, man. Just needed some road music,” Walt said as he turned and cruised down the aisle towards the front of the store.

  The others began to do the same. As Walt was about to pass Nicole, she reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him.

  “Uh-uh. Not so fast, music man. Let’s see it,” Nicole demanded.

  Walt smiled and handed her the CD. Nicole flipped it over and read the cover.

  “John Denver’s Greatest Hits? Really? John Denver, Walt?” Nicole asked incredulously.

  Walt nodded. “Rocky Mountain High, man.” He said. Nicole rolled her eyes and pushed the CD back at him.

  “I prefer Joe Walsh’s Rocky Mountain Way,” she said as she turned and exited the store.

  Walt stared after her. “Yeah, that’s good too,” he said.

  The others just shook their heads and chuckled as they moved past him and out of the store. Walt stopped and thought for a second, then turned and ran back to the rows of CDs, stopping at W. Grabbing Joe Walsh’s Greatest hits, he smiled. “Nice, man,” he said before running to catch up with the others.

  As everyone moved to the vehicles, Billy stood motionless on the sidewalk. Jordan approached and locked arms with him, trying to playfully drag him after her, towards Walt’s motor-home. She came up short when Billy didn’t move. Jordan looked back at him as he stood there holding the CD and looking at it. Jordan came up to him.

  “What’s the matter, Billy,” she asked.

  Billy fumbled with the CD and didn’t say anything.

  “What CD did you get?” Jordan asked as she reached over and snatched it from Billy, not waiting for an answer. Billy looked away as Jordan held it in front of her, recognizing her own face on the cover. She smiled and teared up a little.

  “This is my song,” she said, looking up at Billy. Billy looked back at her.

  “My parents wouldn’t let me listen to that kind of music, but I watched the video on the internet every chance I got. I think half the hits you got might have been mine,” Billy said.

  Jordan looked at him and scowled. “Are you just saying that, Billy? It’s not nice to tease, you know?” She said.

  Billy shook his head. “No, no. I really did like it,” he said. He looked away and nervously started to sing a line from the song. “Whenever I’m with you, it’s the best day of the week.” He looked down then at her. From his back pocket he produced a black felt tip marker. “Will… will you sign it for me?” He asked in almost a whisper.

  Jordan beamed and snatched the pen. Her smile stayed on her face long after she finished signing her name in neat swooping letters. Billy watched her. When she handed the CD back to him, he took it and stared at the signature. Before he could say anything, Jordan threw her arms around him and kissed him on the lips. In surprise, Billy whimpered and looked to Paul who was listening to Walt go on about John Denver.

  “Yeah, his earlier stuff was very nature oriented, man, You know what I’m—hey, I think your daughter’s kissing Billy, man,” Walt said.

  Paul turned around quickly and was about to go into a full tilt panic. He stopped when he saw how big Jordan’s smile got when Billy took her hand and the two stepped off the curb. He turned around quickly before they noticed him watching. Paul looked up at Walt.

  “So his music was very natural. That’s interesting. You know, my daughter had a song out. Very big on the internet.”

  Walt and Paul made their way around the motor-home. “Really, man? That’s cool.” Walt said.

  Forty-Five

  As Nicole sat in her car, with Walt and the others in the motor-home behind her, a thought occurred to her. She picked up the radio and keyed the mic.

  “Walt, everybody, listen. We’ll hit the compound today, probably late afternoon. When we get to the gate, they’ll stop us. They will probably be on some kind of lockdown and super paranoid, so just keep your hands in sight and… no sudden movements. Once my father knows it’s me, we shouldn’t have any problems, just let me do the talking until then, okay?” she said.

  “We read you, man. Loud and clear. We’re headed for the belly of the beast, so I plan on keeping my head low, man,” Walt said.

  Nicole smiled as she set down the radio. “Good ol’ Walt,” she said as she started the GTO and pointed it out of town.

  ☣

  The pristine wilderness of the Rocky Mountains whizzed by their windows as they drove into the higher elevations. They came to a “T” in the road. Just ahead was a sign pointing to the left that read,

  Government Installation 45 miles-Authorized Personnel only. Deadly force authorized.

  Nicole stared at the sign for a moment then turned the wheel. Walt followed behind. They wound ever higher and away from what had once been civilization. An hour later and with the sun starting its descent in the Western sky, a sign became visible around a bend in the road.

  Welcome to Government Secrets. The Undisclosed Location

  Walt’s voice came over the radio.

  “Is that the name of the town, Man? Government Secrets?”

  Nicole picked up the radio.

  “It’s the town just outside the compound. Government housing for the contractors and military who work in the mountain,” Nicole replied.

  “First they have a sign that says they can kill you, then they make a joke by naming the town Government Secrets. That’s just wrong, man,” Walt said.

  Nicole smiled and called back.

  “Yeah, well it’s something you might want to keep to yourself, you know, until you and my dad become buds,” Nicole said.

  Walt chuckled over the radio. “Yeah, right, man,” he said.

  As they drove through the town, they noticed that it looked entirely abandoned.

  “I thought you said they housed all the employees in town. This looks like nobody has been here for months, maybe not since the beginning,” Sam said.

  Nicole gazed out her window at the empty looking houses and storefronts. The town wasn’t destroyed, it just looked like everybody had disappeared.

  “Hey, what’s with the town, man? It looks abandoned,” Walt said over the radio.

  Nicole picked it up. “Yeah, Sam and me were just talking about that. I don’t know. They probably moved everybody into the mountain when it all hit the fan. We’ll know more when we get to the gate,” Nicole said.

  Ten minutes later they were through the town and headed down another two lane. They emerged from the trees and saw a single checkpoint mounted on a concrete island in the middle of the road. A cross bar extended from the shack across the road. Beyond the guard station, a massive tunnel cut into the mountain. Overhead lights co
uld be seen stretching off into the mountain, disappearing around a curve in the road.

  “I don’t see anybody up there,” Sam said.

  Nicole scanned ahead and saw no movement. She sat in the road, the GTO’s engine idling the only sound. Behind her, the motor-home waited. Nicole eased down on the gas and approached the station. As she pulled up she wound down her window. Where she expected an immediate challenge from a hard faced guard, she saw only the empty booth.

  “Hello. Excuse me, is anybody in there?” she called.

  Hoping that the guard was merely seated, she expected him or her to pop up. When no one did, Nicole gripped the wheel and looked around. There was no sign of anybody. The place looked as abandoned as the town below.

  “Wait here, Sam,” she said as she opened her door.

  She got out and looked back at Walt and the others who had all crowded up in front of the motor-home to see what was happening. Nicole held up her hand letting them know they should stay put for the time being. She went over to the shack and looked inside. All was in order except for the guard. Nicole turned and looked around. She stepped away from the guard shack and headed for the tunnel.

  Sam and the others all kept their eyes locked on her as she became lost to view just inside the shadowy recess of the tunnel entrance up ahead. Several minutes later she came walking back out towards the GTO. Reaching the car, she leaned in and looked at Sam.

  “I don’t know, Sam. There’s nobody around. I checked the tunnel to see if there was anybody in there. There weren’t any vehicles in the tunnel either,” she said.

  Sam turned from her and looked back at the tunnel.

  “Maybe they are all locked up tight inside. I mean what’s to do out here, right?” he said.