by Cameo Renae
“Happy pulverizing!” I returned.
He laughed.
The ER was the Electronic Room where we had a choice of either riding a stationary bike, a spin bike, or running on the treadmill. Each member had to put in an hour each day. The exercise equipment was linked to an electric generator which created electricity for the hive. We also gave it the nickname ER because some of the adults looked like they needed to be admitted to the emergency room after their sessions.
Finn’s mom was one of them. She’d always be drenched in sweat and panting, her pale cheeks turning the brightest red. Some days she’d shout out words in Russian, but we all knew it was filled with profanity. Finn and I would often split her hour, just so she could rest. We actually took lots of extra hours for those who didn’t feel well, because we were young and able; and it was actually fun.
I set up my targets and shot each weapon. As always, I hit my marks. After I used all of my rationed practice ammunition, I headed back to the locker and put everything away. Having about ten minutes to kill, I decided to head over and watch Finn beat on the bag.
His hits were so solid and strong, each strike sent a shiver up my spine. My insides twisted and fluttered. What is wrong with me? So – big deal his shirt was off and his body was glistening with sweat. This was Finn. The same guy who pulled my hair and gave me noogies growing up. What did it matter if his biceps were huge, defined, and flexed before each hit? Or that his perfect six-pack abs twisted and contracted before each strike, throwing ridiculous amounts of power into each punch? It’s pretty clear. If that bag were a real person, it would be dead, or totally broken.
To my dismay, somewhere during my close observation, I hadn’t realized he stopped what he was doing and turned to me. Finn made a noise, like he was clearing his throat. I quickly looked up to find a broad smile cross his face.
Dammit. He caught me gawking. My eyes were wide and my jaw was hanging halfway to the floor. My face instantly burned with heat.
“I-I was done early, so I-I figured that I’d come and see how you were doing,” I stuttered, trying to cover my humiliation. I knew he saw right through me, and I felt like an idiot. This was the first time I’d dropped my guard, and he caught me - red faced.
He chuckled and wiped the sweat from his brow. I found myself staring as he flexed his abs, and had to literally tear my eyes away. What the hell am I doing?
“Were you just checking me out?” he asked, with a raised eyebrow and a crooked smile.
“What? No…No! Of course not. I - I was just…admiring how - how strong you are, and was feeling a bit sorry for that poor punching bag.” Seriously. Just stop talking, Abi!
His eyes rolled and a smirk crossed his face. “Whatever. You were totally checking me out. Don’t worry.” He winked, “I don’t mind.” He quickly turned back to the bag, giving it a few more slams.
I inhaled deeply, pivoted, and headed back to the lockers as quick as my legs would carry me. Even though it was just Finn, his physical appearance had massively changed in a short amount of time. It was a lot for me to deal with. A year ago, I was a few inches taller than him, and the only muscle he had to flex was his mouth. His baby face had completely faded, only to be replaced with manly stubble.
Weird how life changed right under our noses, and recently, I really began to notice it. Finn transformed, from a cute boy, into a handsome young man. He still had the same snarky wit and charisma, but I didn’t think that part of him would ever change.
I grabbed a water bottle from my locker and filled it up at the water pump. Finn unwrapped his hands and attempted to dry the sweat which completely drenched his body. Finally, he threw on a tank top. Thank God.
“Ready to hit the ER?” he said, with a wink. “I’m just getting warmed up.”
“Me? I’m always ready,” I returned, accepting his challenge.
The ER was back up on the first floor. Our only way to get there was the stairs, but Finn and I could fly up and down those flights of stairs all day long. In the hive, it was as normal as breathing.
At the ER, I hit the spin bike and Finn hit the treadmill. He always chose the treadmill because he said bikes were for sissies. Whatever. So I was a sissy. I was proud of it. Besides, running was hard on the knees, and one day he will wish he’d chosen the bike to save his joints.
After our hour was up, we were both covered in sweat.
“I think we need a shower,” I said, wiping my face.
“Is that an invitation?” he asked.
I spun around to look at him. “Wha-? Um…” I didn’t know how to respond, and was standing there looking like a deer in headlights, when the alarm sounded.
The blaring noise made both of us jump. Sounding the alarm meant there was either an emergency, or my father had some critical information.
We quickly ran down the stairs to the conference room on level three. We were the first to arrive, and my father walked in shortly after. My stomach started to twist as I looked at his expression. He didn’t look like a bearer of good news.
“Dad?” I asked, watching him make his way to the front. He paused and turned back to me.
“I’ll let you know in a bit, sweetheart,” he said, squeezing out a tight smile. I didn’t argue.
Everyone else filed in and I took a seat in the front next to my mother. Finn sat next to me.
“I have some vital news from Dr. Harvey,” my father started. The room suddenly fell into an eerie silence. “It seems there has been a widespread pandemic on the topside. All other hives, which sent teams to collect samples in their areas, have come in contact with the same creatures described by Dr. Harvey’s group. And many of them have not returned.”
“Do they know the reason for the attacks?” Uncle Frank asked.
“They do. Though the government won’t admit it, my contact said it was the mass vaccinations given to the population before the radiation fallout. Thousands were injected with a serum called ARV-3 or anti-radiation vaccine. The results of the first two ARV serums failed, but the third showed promise, and was approved and distributed to the masses.
“Some scientists were against its release because the negative effects of the serum wouldn’t manifest for at least thirty days, but they didn’t have thirty days. They had ten. It seems as if those injected with the ARV-3 serum survived the apocalypse, but there were major side effects. There was something in the serum which caused them to mutate. They have become violent cannibals.
“Those that returned from the topside said the creatures looked human, but acted animalistic and were very fast. They also accounted that the creatures couldn’t talk, they had no hair, and their eyes were completely white.
“The man bitten immediately showed signs of dementia, followed by the same violent behavior. They also said that his eyes have now turned white. This is what they feared most, because we know whatever they have is transferrable by saliva.”
“So what does that mean? Are they saying we can’t return to the topside?” My grandfather asked.
“No. That’s not what they’re saying, but we will need to take every precaution, knowing these threats do exist. The name given to these mutants is Arvies – a literal pronunciation of the serum ARV. While we do know the Arvy virus can be transmitted through saliva, they are still testing to confirm if it can be transmitted through blood or air. Those results will be made available along with the air and soil samples.”
“They said thousands were injected, which means thousands are infected. And that is only if they don’t reproduce. We are but fifteen. How are we supposed to survive when we return to the topside?” Mr. Hatch asked.
“The government hives are our safe zones. The largest hive is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, somewhere near Mt. Rushmore. That is where Dr. Harvey is stationed. It is a place where all survivors can gather.”
“South Dakota? Do you realize how far South Dakota is with absolutely no form of transportation?” My grandmother pointed out the obvious. I k
new she would have something to say about that. Even though she was in great shape, she was still in her seventies, and walking thousands of miles was a great concern.
“There is a smaller safe zone set up in Montana. It’s closer, given that we will have to walk, unless we can find an old beater that isn’t rusted to hell,” my father said.
“Montana is still a long ways away,” My grandmother sighed.
“Well, we will all need to be completely prepared,” Uncle Frank stated. “If those things are violent and widespread, we will need to have a survival plan before we leave this place.”
“Frank, since you are the king of survival, I’m putting you in charge,” my father said.
He nodded. “Alright then, I will need everyone to meet at weapons and training, 8am sharp, every day before we go topside. I’ll make sure each of you is ready.”
There were a few sighs, one from Charlie and a few others from the older women in the hive. I didn’t blame them. Uncle Frank was really strict when it came to training. I, on the other hand, loved it. It made me feel like I could stand on my own, and survive if I needed to. With this new threat, we needed to be extra careful, or we would become one of those Arvies.
“We need to remember, everything on the topside is contaminated. Do not eat or drink anything unless it comes from your packs, or has been approved by me,” Dr. Banks said.
“We need to figure out a way to transport supplies with us, enough to last us until we reach the safe zone. That will not be an easy task,” Mr. Hatch added.
“Well, I want all the adults to meet me back here in two hours,” my father said.
Each adult had their own area of expertise, and each was very critical to our survival.
“My wife and I will start putting together survival packs for each person to carry. How long do you think it will take for us to reach the safe zone?” Mr. Hatch asked.
“I would estimate anywhere from 35-40 days on foot,” my father answered.
“I can’t imagine what it will look like,” my grandmother said.
“It should be a complete wasteland. No trees, no grass, no animals and it will be a very long time until those things return. I know the large government bunker has taken animals underground with them. One healthy male and female of those creatures they thought necessary.”
“Until I get the final results, which should be in three days, we will have to regroup and repack. We will only be taking things necessary to our survival. Everything else will stay. The hive will be locked down and secure once we exit, and hopefully in the near future, we can return to collect it all.”
Chapter 4
On the third day, my stomach began to turn as soon as I woke up, wondering what the results would be. Would we be able to leave this place and return to the topside?
Everyone met in the dining hall for breakfast, and by the looks on their faces, they all felt the same as me. Everyone was anticipating the results. My father didn’t show at breakfast, which made everyone even more anxious.
Breakfast came and went, and still no word.
Two hours later the alarm went off. My stomach began to twist in knots as I followed everyone up the stairs to the third floor.
Whatever news was going to come from my father was critical. This news would let us know if we would be staying in the hive, or escaping this deep hole in the earth we called home. I was hoping for the latter.
Yes, there was a threat on the topside, but I was becoming claustrophobic. Besides, how bad could it really be? We all had weapons to defend ourselves, and I doubted the Arvies were hanging around outside of our hive waiting for us to come out. How would they even know we were here? We were in the middle of nowhere.
Everyone hurried and took their seats. My father walked in with a large notepad, and took the podium at the front. The room was so quiet I could hear my own heart thumping in my chest.
“Hello everyone. I know you’ve all been waiting anxiously, and I do have the results of the air and soil samples. They are not completely clear of contamination, but the levels are low enough to where we can survive without worry. It will take a lot of hard work to rebuild our planet, but it’s what we’ve been waiting for.”
The room erupted in cheers.
“Wait! Wait!” My father yelled holding his hands up. “While that is very good news, I was also given a major word of caution. The government estimated at least a million people worldwide, were injected with the ARV-3 serum before we were evacuated. They are not exactly sure how many of them survived, but there are most likely hundreds of thousands.”
“The man who was bitten has completely gone mad. He cannot speak, and it appears as if he wants only one thing. To feed. His relatives were let in to see him, but one of them came too close and was bitten. She has been detained, and is already showing signs of dementia.”
“We must remember the Arvies are no longer human and cannot be reasoned with. They are wild and would kill any one of us without hesitation. Thus, we cannot hesitate to kill them if we are put in danger.”
I raised my hand and my father nodded.
“Will they be working on a vaccine that will counter their bites or cure them?” I asked.
It was a decent question, and I know others were probably thinking the same thing. I remember watching a movie where they put the cure in an airplane and sprayed it over the infected, which in turn cured them. I doubted it would be that easy, or that we had airplanes that flew anymore.
“Right now, they have no cure because this is a new and recent threat, but they do have scientists working on it, especially since they have two of the infected right in their own hive.”
“So what does all of this information mean to us?” Mrs. Hatch asked.
“It means they have given everyone the okay to return to the topside; however, the government bunkers will remain intact and have now become safe zones for all survivors. We can try to make it on our own, but I think if we have any chance of survival, we will need to make it to one of the safe zones,” my father answered.
“I think we should vote,” my grandfather said. Everyone agreed.
“Okay then,” my father said. “With a show of hands, how many of you want to do this on our own?”
Everyone looked around but no one raised a hand.
“Alright, who wants to travel to the nearest safe zone?”
Every hand shot up. It was unanimous. We all wanted the same thing.
“Before we leave this place, we need to plan the safest route and be prepared. Everyone will need to be in complete sync. We’ve survived this long, and I don’t want anyone to die as soon as we set foot on the topside.”
Great. Returning to the topside wasn’t going to be as we thought. We knew it was going to be rough, but this was way beyond that. Now, we not only had to rebuild our planet, we would have to fight an entire race of mutants for it.
This was a huge threat. Something that could wipe out humanities existence.
ARV-3. What were they thinking, giving the population a drug that wasn’t properly tested? Now we all had to pay.
I was ready. I was trained to fight. We all were. Surviving had become an elemental part of our life; as essential as breathing.
The next few days were spent training and attending meetings to go over maps and alternate routes to our final destination. We were so far away.
My father decided on a release date. Ten days. In ten days we would be returning to the topside. In ten days our world would change for good or bad. Ready or not, we were finally going to leave the hive. We were praying for the best, but preparing for the worse. It was all we could do.
Chapter 5
DAY BEFORE RELEASE
10:38 PM GST
I couldn’t sleep. My mind, along with my insides, twisted in knots. In a few hours we would be free of this place I’d called home. I knew I’d miss the hive, but at least everyone would still be together. Half of us grew up here, and we had all become a close knit family.
&
nbsp; I worried about my grandparents. They were in their seventies and not as agile as the rest of us. We would have to take extra careful measures to assure their safety.
Time ticked on and on, not caring if I had a second of sleep. The next time I glanced at the clock it was 1:23 AM. I wasn’t going to sleep, so I threw on a robe and decided to head down to level nine. The park. The one place that brought me peace all these years.
I quietly made my way down the stairs and noticed a light illuminating from the bottom of the doorway. Someone else was here. I opened the door and at the far corner, sitting on the top of the jungle gym, was Finn. His eyes lifted, and as soon as he saw me he smiled.
“I had a feeling you’d be down. Can’t sleep?” he chuckled. His voice carried across the room
“No. Looks like you can’t either.”
“Nope. I thought I’d spend my last night here. This was our fun place, and there are lots of happy memories. I just thought I’d sit here and reminisce before we go up and create more,” he said. His wide smile warmed my heart. “Are you ready for the topside?”
“Yes and no,” I answered, and he raised his eyebrow. “Yes, because ever since we came down here, I’ve wanted to return to see the sun again. To breathe fresh air, and to feel the wind across my skin.”
“No, because I’m afraid of what might be waiting for us when we get there, and if we survive, how much hard work it will take to rebuild and start over.” I sighed.
Finn jumped off of the jungle gym and walked toward me. “You know, I just want you to know that I’ll always have your back.”
“I know.” My face felt hot and probably turned a shade of red. “And I will always have yours.”
“Good. Because I think your gun will do much more damage than my fists. I can kick ass, but don’t want any infected teeth sinking into me. That would freaking suck.”
“Yes, it would, because if you were bitten… I’d have to shoot you. But, don’t worry. I’d make sure it was a kill shot. You wouldn’t suffer.”
