The Ark Series (Book 2): The Ark of Attrition

by Scott Kotrous

  “Then why did we need to build this giant bomb shelter if God always keeps us safe from harm? Seems kinda redundant, don’t ya think?” Ashley crosses her arms and looks up at her dad.

  John smiles and just shakes his head. “Sometimes you’re just too smart for your own good, and sometimes I think by sheltering you from the truth only hinders you from surviving out in the real world.” He bends down next to Kate, grabs her hand, and lets out a nasally sigh. “Sweetheart, because God gave mankind free-will, it forces us to take a physical approach to protecting ourselves. So praying is not enough; we have to take action to protect each other. Doing so ensures us that we’ve taken every precaution and step to protect ourselves, both physically and spiritually. Does that make sense?”

  Ashley thinks for a second and then looks around. “I guess so. It just seems like a lot of work and hassle to go through just because people have free-will. Why don’t they just choose not to hurt each other? Seems a lot easier and a lot less expensive.”

  John chuckles and then looks at Kate and then back to Ashley. “That would be nice, sweetheart.” John stands up and then helps Kate up. She kisses him on the lips and smiles. John smiles back but then looks around her and sees Amanda walking up just as she’s ending a conversation on the radio.

  “Copy that, I just found him,” Amanda says, then clips her radio to her belt. “Sorry to bother you guys, but Adam’s been trying to get ahold of you John, says they’ve finally received the footage from one of the drones.”

  John kisses Kate on the cheek and his children on the tops of their heads, then darts off with Amanda. She branches off once they get to security, and John enters alone. He walks up to Adam starring at the screens, startled when John announces his presence. He sharply turns to look at John and then quickly shakes his hand. He tells him that the footage they’ve received shows a lot of promise and so far appears the majority of the Rocky Mountain range is untouched by the nuclear attack.

  John’s struggles between the thought of feeling something good and positive about this catastrophe, but he can’t help but to feel just a little bit of comfort in knowing that there is still a potential chance for a large amount of survivors.

  John looks around the room at the conflicted faces still staring at the footage. “Well everyone, as bad as this all is for most of the country, let’s just feel blessed that there’s a chance for survivors.” He turns toward Chris. “Chris, I know we haven’t made contact with anyone, but have we at least figured out why we’ve been experiencing issues with our communications?”

  Chris spins his chair around. “John, I wish I had some answers for you, but there’s no other way to describe it other than just we’ve had strange communication problems recently that’s pretty much left us in the blind from the outside world.”

  John crosses is arms and then reaches up and rubs his chin. “Alright, well at least we know that Colorado hasn’t been nuked.” He looks at the footage one last time as they continue to discuss the situation before he leaves the room and heads back to his family.

  Chapter 5

  Maggie stares at the screen, praying for some kind of message from the Ark, praying that at least one of her several messages sent gets through. But with every second that passes, she loses hope of either happening.

  She looks around the room at a group of people who look defeated—hopeless. Any sense of hope is gone with every passing day, and she knows they’re feeling the same. She ultimately comes to the conclusion that she has to come up with a way to get everyone thinking positively again, and with just a little bit of hope.

  Just before she can get up, Nate jumps up rubbing his eyes. “Holy crap, dude, I can’t stare at that screen anymore. I gotta get outta here!”

  Eric abruptly spins around in his chair. “No shit, dude . . . we definitely gotta get outta this bunker, I’m going crazy! Besides, if we move upstairs we can get a fire going in the living room and that will make everyone happy.”

  Maggie stands up and crosses her arms in displeasure. “Even though a fire would be nice, it’s still not a good idea. It’s just not safe out there.”

  Nate turns to face Maggie with his palms up. “Come on, Maggie, you’ve seen those things out there, there’s not as many of them and the ones that are still there are hardly moving. They’ve slowed down ever since that snow storm moved in. And we haven’t heard any noise upstairs so it’s probably safe to say none of them got into the house.”

  Maggie walks over to the camera monitors while continuing to cross her arms. “I know they haven’t.”

  Nate does a double take and shakes his head. “Wait, what? You know they haven’t, what does that mean?” He looks around at all the monitors and with his hands up says, “it’s not like there’s indoor cameras anywhere, so how do you know?”

  Maggie takes one last look at the monitors and walks away. “I just know, that’s all.”

  Eric looks at Nate and then gets up and walks toward Maggie. “Okay, Maggie, what are you talking about? Is there something you’re not telling us? There’s no way you can know for sure unless there’s something you’re not telling us, so fess up.”

  Nate leaps up and puts his arm in front of Eric. “Calm down, dude. Maggie, what are you talking about? I gotta agree with Eric on this one that there’s no way you would know that unless you had a reason.”

  Maggie drops her arms, exhales loudly, and looks up at the ceiling. “Ugh, fine, I’ll tell you, geez!” She plops on the couch and tilts her head while everyone stares in anticipation. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but this place is completely locked down. Every window and door has a steel plate that slides over and protects it whenever the bunker is engaged.”

  Everyone was slack-jawed when she finished speaking, as if they couldn’t comprehend what she had just said. Eric breaks the silence when he finally drops his arms and holds them to his side.

  “What—are you telling me this whole house is like a steel bunker and we’ve been locked down here this whole time?! Well then, how do we make it so we can leave the bunker but still keep the house locked down?”

  After examining each of their faces, Maggie knows they are all thinking the same thing, even though they aren’t saying anything. She knows she isn’t supposed to do that unless it’s completely safe outside; she had promised her uncle that. She tries making up excuses but she knows they can see right through her.

  Eric and Nate both turn to study the control panel desperately trying to find something that resembles a way to keep the house locked while unlocking the bunker. They scan up and down the controls and eventually come upon the switch labeled House and Bunker—Combine or separate, which was in the combine position.

  Erin spins around and points to the switch. “This is it, isn’t it? This is how we separate the two?”

  Maggie sinks farther into the couch, covers her eyes with her hand, and then begins to rub her temples while thinking to herself. Maybe we can just check it out, maybe it’s safe, not to mention a fire would be really nice. She contemplates whether to tell them, worried she’d be putting everyone in danger by risking moving upstairs, but deep down inside she knows it’s safe.

  Finally, after the berating of questions from everyone that make her decide, she nods her head and her eyes fall to the ground. Eric immediately flips the switch, and everyone waits to see if anything happens.

  Maggie gets up and explains that they aren’t going to hear anything, even when they unlock the bunker door. She walks over to the gun rack and starts checking a rifle. Both Eric and Nate jump up and down and slap hands. They enthusiastically join her at the gun rack followed by everyone else and they gather a handful of weapons.

  After loading their guns, they follow Maggie over to the door and wait for her to do something. She gives them an indecisive look before they discuss a basic plan once they exit the bunker.

  She takes a deep breath and presses the button and the locks disengage and the door opens. Everyone freezes while pointing
their guns at the door, waiting for any kind of sound or movement, but nothing breaks the silence.

  Eric gives Maggie a nod before he moves out the door followed closely by Nate and everyone else. They slowly move up the stairs and wait at the basement door. Eric puts his ear to the door and listens.

  He turns to look at everyone and gives everyone a reassuring nod. He turns the doorknob and slowly opens the door, revealing a dimly-lit kitchen in the same condition as they left it.

  Maggie and a few others let out a sigh of relief at the sight, and everyone noticeably relaxes a bit. Eric and Nate move out of the kitchen in opposite directions, followed by Maggie and Kristie. Jennifer and Samantha wait in the doorway, not moving or saying a word.

  Maggie gets back to the kitchen with her gun lowered and gives a thumbs up to the two girls. Kristie walks into the kitchen and gives a quick nod before joining Maggie’s side while they wait for the guys to get back from clearing upstairs.

  They both get back to the kitchen, grinning ever so slightly. Eric nods his head and goes over to the window and looks it up and down. Maggie sets her gun against the cabinet and joins Eric at the window. She unlocks the window and slides it open, revealing a steel plate, which she knocks on with her knuckle, sounding an overwhelming sense of reassurance.

  Everyone else puts their weapon on the center island while Maggie closes the window and relocks it. “Alright, it looks like we’re safe and sound for now. I think we can relax.”

  Nate grabs his gun and gives a sarcastic salute. “Well—I’ll be in the den if you need me.”

  “Wait! Maybe we shouldn’t split up just yet. . .until we know for sure it’s safe,” Maggie said.

  Nate drops his shoulders and flops his head to one side. “Oh, come on, we’re fine. This place is a fortress and nothings getting in here.”

  “He’s right, babe, we’re fine. We checked the whole house. If somethin’ hasn’t gotten in here yet, they ain’t gettin’ in here anytime soon. Besides, we gotta get the fire goin’.” Eric smiles and then walks over and stands next to Nate.

  Maggie uncrosses her arms and walks over to the stove. “Fine, whatever. I’m making some tea, does anyone want some?” She grabs the tea kettle off the stove and goes over to the sink and fills it.

  Kristie, Jen, and Sam all say yes, but Eric and Nate walk in the other room not saying a word.

  Once they get to the living room, Eric peeks around the corner and down the hall into the kitchen, then gives a thumbs up. Nate sneaks around the couch and crouches down at the entertainment center, opens the door, and pulls out an empty jar.

  “Fuck!”

  Eric immediately puts his finger to his mouth. “Shhh!” He peers around the corner and then looks back at Nate. “What’s wrong, are we out?”

  Nate closes the door and stands up. “Yes, we must have smoked the last of it when we were up here last time.”

  “Dammit!” Eric’s posture collapses and he walks around the couch and flops down. Nate does the same, looking even more defeated than Eric.

  “What’re we gonna do, dude? I gotta get baked,” Nate said.

  “I dunno, man, but this shit blows, we gotta thinka’ somethin’.”

  They both sit there in silence both trying hard to think. After a few minutes, Eric perks up and comes to life. “I’ve got an idea, dude! We can’t tell the girls, but we gotta get next door. Remember how much bud the trustifar’ had when we went over there a few weeks ago and heard the radio broadcast?”

  Nate scratches his chin and thinks for a second. “Oh, shit, that’s right! That dude had tons! But how the hell are we gonna get over there? There’s no way Maggie’s lettin’ us outta this place; it’s just not gonna happen.”

  Eric drops his head and lets out a sigh of frustration. “There’s gotta be something we can think of . . . hey, what about the radio, what if we tell them we need to get the radio?”

  Nate springs forward from the couch and sits on the edge and looks right at Eric. “That’s a damn good idea, dude, we can say we need that radio to try and contact the outside world and use the excuse that it’s some kind of special modified radio capable of reaching a greater distance!”

  “Holy fuck, that’s brilliant! Alright—alright, what’s the plan, and its gotta be good, the girls can never know what we’re really up to. Let’s get this fire goin’ and we’ll discuss a plan.”

  They mess with getting a fire going while discussing a plan in great detail, very quietly, very secretly. The girls eventually walk in the room and they are immediately taken back by the whispering, sparking Maggie and Kristie’s curiosity. Their questions are quickly extinguished when Eric tries to explain how they need to get next door and retrieve the modified radio.

  Jen nor Sam say a word, but Maggie and Kristie have plenty to say, bringing up numerous reasons why they shouldn’t go out there and stating the obvious of the presence of the living dead that surround the house.

  But Nate is quick to point out the fact that ever since this massive snowstorm that they’ve been in for the last week, the zombies have barely moved, along with thinning in numbers. They appear frozen in the camera images, reminding everyone that’s why they moved upstairs . . . they look dead.

  But neither Maggie or Kristie are convinced, and they’re not yet about to budge on their decision to risk lives by venturing outside and attempting to retrieve a non-essential object. Especially when they have plenty of communication equipment in the bunker, which they believe is only temporarily unsuccessful. Nate adds that there’s not only a chance of contacting the outside world, but possibly even contacting the Ark, since the modified radio has a much farther range. But Maggie’s adamant on not leaving the house, and she makes that known when she ends the conversation. But deep down inside she can’t help but wonder if it could be possible to reach the Ark using this so-called specially modified radio, and it begins to eat away at her.

  Chapter 6

  Peter studies the multiple camera views surrounding the house, thinking to himself how the tiny bit of joy evident on his face must look suspicious, unless of course Kelly’s thinking the same thing. They aren’t moving, they aren’t moving!

  Kelly looks up from her notebook and notices the smile growing on Peter’s face—unseen for a few weeks now. She sets down her notebook and crosses her arms. “I know you’re thinking the same thing and, yes, this is a good sign.”

  Peter immediately straightens his face and slightly glances over. “Ah—yeah. This is a really good sign, we need to tell everyone.”

  “I was thinking the exact same thing! This is great news and we need to let everyone know.”

  They get everyone together and show them what’s been happening outside because of the massive snowstorm. The camera feeds show numerous snow-covered zombies, reminiscent of human snowmen, or tiny ‘snow ghosts,’ and they all just stand there for a while staring.

  Simon uncrosses his arms and turns to look at everyone still staring at the screen, eyes fixated on this most fortunate development. He can feel his heart rate rise with his next few thoughts, along with his adrenaline slowly rising.

  “Alright, people, this is a game changer. These things look completely frozen, and it’s time we take this house back.”

  Everyone’s face lights up at the idea of getting out of the bunker because cabin fever set in days ago. Dave and Jason immediately go over to the gun rack and start gearing up, quickly followed by Peter and Kelly. Stephanie and Mia continue to sit on the couch, not looking like they want to go anywhere.

  Simon takes one last look at the screens and then joins them at the gun rack. They load up in silence with only Dave passing on a few standard tactics for their possible incursion since they don’t know what’s up there.

  After Simon instructs the two girls to grab the same handguns they learned how to use, he tells them to lock themselves in the backroom and only open the door after they tell them it’s safe.

  They line up at the door in formation, everyon
e in their preplanned positions that they’ve practiced many times. They’ve gone through this drill multiple times in the last few weeks, and they’ve all gone over it many times in their head.

  Once everyone gives a thumbs up that they are set, Simon unlocks the door and it swings open. With his rifle up, Dave gets off one knee and exits the bunker closely followed by Jason and Peter, and with Kelly, Simon, and, of course, Dusty right on their heels. After Simon closes the bunker door, they quietly move across the basement floor, up the stairs, and wait at the door.

  Dave lowers his weapon and puts his hand to the door, and then lowers his head and puts his ear to the lip of the kitchen hardwood floor and listens. His body deflates because of what he hears—something moves across the floor.

  Dusty lets out a low growl.

  He lifts his head and makes a sucking noise through his teeth and then whispers, “We’ve got contact. . . stay in formation and move swiftly and quietly. Everyone set?”

  They quietly confirm and prepare to move out, just waiting for the go ahead which Dave gives just moments later. He opens the door and waits for his eyes to adjust, and for the tap on the shoulder that’s soon to make its way up the line.

  He receives the shoulder tap from Jason and so he moves out followed by Jason, Peter, Kelly, and then Simon. They quickly clear the kitchen and move their way into the dinning room, noting the window break and raising his alertness from the arctic cold wind gust blowing into the house.

  They cross the foyer and enter the den and freeze at the sight of something curled up on the ground, but not moving. As soon as Dusty enters the room, he stops and stares at whatever’s on the ground and growls. Dave raises his hand and signals to the right. Jason and Peter fan out and move around the perimeter of the room, rifles glued to the intruders. They move across the room and get to the door opening to the kitchen and get into position.