by Lee, W. Tavi
The old man stared at Sebastian, trying to look into his soul to see if what he said was true. It was. He’d unknowingly created this hideout for monsters. Designed to keep them safe while the world burned.
The old man must have believed Sebastian and let them through the roadblock to their makeshift compound. The camp had a couple dozen men, women and children. Many had escaped the city, some had lived in the area. Now they formed a protective shell trying to hold onto some form of normalcy. It was its own bustling ant colony with tattered tarps, tents and crude lean-tos. A few buildings too. Those with good eyes and better aim kept watch on the perimeter or went hunting and trapping. Others took care of the day to day things around the camp. An older kid, around nine or ten was turning a spit with three rabbits cooking for a stew. Some women were preparing some wild greens that were foraged by the children and an old woman in a wheelchair was stirring a giant pot.
The ragtag group of three had not had something hot since they'd left almost 12 days ago for fear of attracting attention with a fire. The food smelled amazing. Sebastien, Bennett and Holly were treated as guests. Fresh, clean water to drink and wash up with, a carved log bench to sit on and the best hot meal they'd had in far too long.
Some of the other adults sat around and talked with them. The old man, formally introduced himself as George at their roadblock. He and his wife Marge had lived just down the road, but a gang had burned down their home. He wanted to know about the troubles they'd encountered.
Sebastian told the onlookers their story. Holly and Bennett filled in some of the gaps. "And today, we found you guys. There's still hope in humanity," Sebastian concluded.
"Thank you. We do the best we can in these circumstances," George said. "Marge and the rest of you that helped prepare it, thank you. It was delicious and really our first hot meal since we'd left town. Your hospitality is very much appreciated," Bennett said.
"Yes, thank you so much, it was amazing. We’ve been rationing our random assortment of food, like you guys I’m sure. It’s nice to have a real meal. Makes it feel like home," Holly chimed in.
"I commend you guys for what you're trying to do. Especially since Sebastian has such great intel. I don't know of anyone who wouldn't want a little payback, but we have our own to take care of.”
"Thank you. I never imagined what I did for work would come back around and play an important role,” he said. “Do you have any information you could give us for what lies between here and the city?”
"I can get Winston to tell you what he knows. He has a couple guys with him who go out and scout for any danger heading our way. Looking for food and water sources too. Is there anything supply wise you might need? We have a little stockpile from scavenging that we can spare from."
"Maybe," Sebastian looked to the others.
"A little more ammo and food, but that's asking way too much," answered Bennett and turned to Holly.
“Whatever you guys can safely spare and maybe feminine hygiene?” she asked gingerly, focusing on Marge who just nodded.
"We'll see what we can do,“ George said before pointing behind them. “You guys are probably wanting some shuteye. You can roll out your stuff on that flat spot over there, under the tarp."
"Thank you," Holly said.
"You're most welcome miss. I'll have Winston give you guys a report at first light. Sebastian, Bennett and Holly, It was great to meet you. I will see about your supplies and meet you in the morning. Goodnight.”
"Goodnight," they said.
10
Sebastian woke with a start. Not from a nightmare this time. He'd slept through the night within the comfort of camp. He thought maybe sharing his knowledge eased the burden a little and calmed his mind.
It was just before dawn. Hints of the sun were starting to crawl across the horizon casting a pale orange shadow. Leaving camp would be hard. Knowing that there is a good community of people, almost thriving in this unforgiving time. Sebastian longed for normalcy, but knew he would never get that again. Even if they stayed.
Everything he loved was taken from him and deep down inside, the part of his soul that was still left, needed one last push for closure. Not using his knowledge would be a waste. No amount of revenge would bring back the millions of people that were wiped from this earth. It won't bring back Emily. Nor his children, Ethan and Samantha, but he had to try. If that sent him to hell, so be it. He was in a way already there. He'd be able to torment those repressible for all of this carnage.
Though heaven and hell were for those who still believed.
Packed, ready to go, the other two had solemn faces. They too knew how good it was here and how tough it's going to be to leave.
George came up with a wooden crate filled with supplies Sebastian knew they needed as much as them. They sacrificed anyway. Placing the box down with a huff in front of them, “For the rest of your journey."
Peering in, Sebastian saw water, cans of beans and vegetables, jerky from larger animals they hunted and ammunition.
Marge came through for Holly too, tears started rolling down her cheek. Joy, fear and thankfulness rolled into the same emotion. She leapt out and hugged George who was surprised by the embrace. Marge gave each a hug. No other words were said.
None were needed.
The unlikely group left camp, waving as the walked past the barricades, heading towards the rising sun. Loaded down with the new, much needed provisions, Sebastian lead with Bennett in step behind and Holly wiping away the last of her emotional outpouring.
They passed the other road block, two men gave quiet nods. They were back on the open, lonely road. Sixty miles left, four days at most.
Back at camp they watched as three courageous souls with nothing left to lose disappear. A middle aged family man with no family. An old man who'd lived wars that paled in comparison to this and a fresh out of college girl that hadn't given a second thought about joining these men to go one last round.
Fighting all the way down.
11
Mike counted the food stores again. There were nineteen people down here. Food was being depleted quickly. Faster than he anticipated. Mike was going to have to start rationing. They're not going to like that. Telling them where to go and what to do after things started taking a turn for the worst. He was their babysitter with limited power. The CEO still had final say.
Mike Schmidt was the handler for Humanetics. Taking care of the CEO, certain scientists, executives and family members. Setup for two dozen people. All they said to him his first day on the job was to use the bunker that his predecessor contracted to be built. Prepare it, modernize it, stock it with more provisions. All the big companies had something like this. Plan B. Who knew it was going to be because of themselves that they’d have to evacuate to the bunker.
He remembered when he got hired like it was just yesterday. He sat at the end of a large burl boardroom table in a thin leather chair. Every executive was there. The CEO looked intently at him. "All you have to do is be able to get all the people on the list into a bunker at a moment's notice,” he’d said. “A few hours at most. With no practice drills. No steps that they need to take or know about. It's your job to handle all the details, logistics and execution to make it happen. From your past experience, this should be a walk in the park for you.”
Mike slowly moved his eyes to every face in the room, making eye contact.
Expressionless, every last one of them. "Two hours is more than enough. Leave everything to me. All I need is that list of who will be allowed into this bunker."
"Done," the CEO didn't hesitate to say. "My secretary has already set up a charge account for you. Spare no expense. The head of security is outside the doors waiting to show you the bunker."
Mike used to be known as "the fixer". He was in the real world now, not the underworld. That didn’t mean he had to play by the rules though. Realizing the meeting was over he buttoned his suit, gave a nod and went into the hallway.
The hea
d of "security" turned out to be a fat man that could only secure a donut in each hand Mike surmised. He wasn't the ex-military 6 foot beast of a man he'd imagine. Late fifties, enthusiastic smile with an unidentifiable food stain on his wrinkled white shirt. A gun in his shoulder holster that was poorly concealed by a suit jacket that was bought a couple sizes too small or he'd grown since the purchase. Probably the latter, Mike thought.
"Hi, you must be Mike! I'm Jerry." the man said while grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously, like trying to shake off a dog that bit his arm. The contrasts between the people in the boardroom and this guy were vast. Different planets. Didn’t fit the executive images and Mike definitely wanted to know why. It didn't take long to figure it out. Jerry was a non-stop schmoozer.
Knew everything about every buddy. If there was anybody that even breathed the idea of selling company secrets, Jerry knew. Same with whistleblowers, sexual harassment accusers. He was all jolly and annoying on the outside but inside, a cunning man that wanted to get the jump on people, dealing with potentially bad situations the company would rather like to avoid.
12
Sebastian dipped the plastic into the stream, filling the emptied bottle they gave them back in town. They’d stopped for a break to eat and get water.
They had found another train bridge to hide under while resting. Enough coverage from the wind that was cutting deeper as the days went on and hidden from anybody looking to cause trouble.
As promised, George had his scout guy give them any information about what they’re going to run into. It wasn't good. There were two or three groups that were scavenging. They shouldn't cause too much trouble the scout had said, just looking for scores.
Wilson had given them the rundown of the conditions close to the city. It was just two large gangs that controlled most of what was left of it. One was well organized, almost military like. They wanted mainly supplies. If you complied, they’d let you go. The other was the ‘Wild Bunch’ as they called them. Warned to avoid at all cost. They would probably take your stuff, kill you and if your female, do unspeakable things. When Holly had heard that, an icy shiver cut through her at the thought of it. Her hand went to the small razor blade tucked into her pants pocket when he told them that. If it came down to it, a quicker way to go before they got to her alive.
"Holly."
"Holly," Sebastian said again.
Snapping out of bad thoughts, Holly looked at him and then at the water that gravity had sent through her filter and into the overflowing bottle.
"Sorry, off in la la land," she said as she reached out to cap it.
Bennett was feeling his leg. He hadn't slowed them down, but Sebastian knew he was keeping a lot of the pain quiet. A man such as he, could hide pain well.
Weakness was for babies he'd heard from Bennett on more than one occasion.
13
Mike called the men and women into the small underground room to share the update on food. "I called this meeting to inform you that the portioning of food will begin tomorrow. The food preparer will give all the adults 3/4 serving and the children will still get a full serving."
A few made faces, the CEO didn’t blink. An older executive piped up stating they thought there was enough food for a year or more.
"There is food to last a year for all of you. If the portions are controlled. These first few weeks of restriction free eating has caused a noticeable dent in the stores. I am starting now and portion control is in effect. If we have to be underground for a year, no matter how improbable you think it is, It's my job to make sure you have food to eat a month from now, six months, more than a year if need be. "Shouldn't we put it to a vote or something?" Another suggested.
"No," Mike stated sternly.
"It is my job to handle things. That is what I'm paid to do. If you'd like to leave and forage for food out in the city, you can. We have a quarantine section that you can
stay in."
It was true, Mike wasn’t lying. If it was needed, a sectioned off part of the bunker with an exit to an alley in the city was designed to be a quarantine zone. With that, they became silent.
The CEO who hadn't said a word, “Anything else?” before standing up and leaving.
The scientists were back in their lab, working on new projects, trying to fix old ones and
two who had been partly responsible for this terrible situation were desperately trying to find a cure/antidote/vaccine to ward of the madness they themselves created.
As the first infected were reported outside Humanetics, Mike didn't know it came from the company he worked for, but knew it was bad news. He waited a few hours before one text message went out to his people. Each one of them had a specific task. They were payed well to execute, practicing their timing until it was perfect.
And it was perfect. Even from a couple states over, the people were taken to private jets, helicopters, armored cars and whisked to the bunker. None of them had any idea what was going on or where they were going. People that know more
than they should, talk. And Mike didn't want people to talk. Even his guys didn't know the whole plan.
In one hour and fifty-six minutes, Mike had all the high level employees and a few family members in the lobby standing next to the bunker entrance. Nineteen people. 8 men, 7 women and 4 kids. Some were hundreds of miles away in school less than two hours ago. That was a big part of Mike's job. A lot of little things executed perfectly, synchronized with speed and skill. The lobby was deserted when they opened the first secret door. "Welcome to your new home," Mike said as they started to slowly walk in.
14
Sebastian, Holly and Bennett had no run-ins since leaving the little makeshift village two days ago. They were all relieved, but knew this wasn't going to last forever. Walking in a staggered line they stayed silent. There was nothing left to say. Sebastian already made sure of the general plan as they got closer to the city. He told them that they'd go straight to the alley entrance and check it out. Keeping detailed notes was one of Sebastian's strong suits when working on projects. But that had been several years ago and he hoped that any upgrades someone else did were minor. If they didn't change the secondary lock box they'd be able to get in and not set off the alarm. If they had...
Lost in these thoughts, they passed burned out cars and demolished buildings without giving but a sideways glance. It had all been seen before. They didn't even try and search for supplies knowing that it had been picked through many times.
The city was in full view now. On the horizon, little more than a spec. At least the buildings that still stood. Some of the buildings had been burned and pillaged, others seemed like they’d been bombed. Though Sebastian didn't know who or why. The chaos in the city must have been enormous. Once people figured out what was happening, everyone just started killing each other, infected or not, trying to survive. Looting stores and rampaging. When an end of the world scenario happens, people reset to their animalistic wildness and nothing makes sense.
It was getting darker more quickly now. Holly suggested they set up camp just before a building a half mile ahead. Bennett agreed, shaking pain away in this foot. Though it wasn’t getting any better. Sebastian took the first watch. With the absence of city lights, the stars were as bright as when they were surrounded by fields of wheat and rye. Such a big place.
If there were aliens, he wondered what they think of us? They look through their advanced telescopes and just see us fighting each other. Year after year for some reason or another. Maybe they see that and just shake their heads and decide there was no intelligent life.
His watch alarm snapped him out of his thoughts on aliens and the universe. Moving over to nudge Holly awake, Sebastian gave a big stretch. Holly was quickly up and alert, sending him to get some rest while she took over the watch.
As soon as Sebastian put his head down, he was out. Sleep came much better over the last week as it was going to be over soon.
Morning came with no fanfare. H
olly had passed the torch to Bennett and their time uneventful. The three packed up, ate some beans and started walking again.
Two days until they were in the heart of the city. Or whatever was left.
It was mid morning when they heard vehicles. It sounded like they were coming up fast. Sebastian yelled to take cover and pointed to the closest building. It was too late though, he could see the lead car, which meant they could too. Holly was already to the building by then, but Bennett wasn't quick enough hobbling on his bad leg. He stopped, yelling for Holly to hide.
Three cars pulled up forming a half circle around Sebastian and Bennett. A station wagon, pickup truck and sedan. All were in various states. Dents, bullet holes, rust, missing lights and windows. They all could have come straight from a salvage yard by their looks.
Two men in the bed of the truck, armed with machine guns, jumped out putting a bead on both of them. Sebastian prayed that they hadn't seen Holly.
"What are you boys doing this close to the city?" the bigger of the two called out.
"We're making our way to Humanetics to get some payback," Sebastian replied.
The man who spoke, looked them up and down. He must be the leader. Six feet tall and less savage looking than the other man and the four that were getting out of their cars.
"Is that so? Well that's our city. If you want to go and get your little "payback", it's going to cost you. Both of you. Oh, and just to let you in on a little secret, there's nobody left in the city. Except us of course. Infected, not infected alike are all dead, gone or beheaded."
They two men didn’t say anything, keeping their eyes on them.
"But if you really want to go explore a ghost town, you have my permission," he said as his men nodded.
