Final Dawn: Season 2 (The Thrilling Post-Apocalyptic Series)

by Mike Kraus

  A burst of gunfire sent Rachel hurrying back to Marcus, who pointed at a blue glow ascending the slope toward them. “Two of them, down there; I think I winged one, though.” From behind Rachel and Marcus, the strange woman stepped forward and stood between them. The blue illumination down in the tunnel was stationary, though Rachel and Marcus could hear the creatures so clearly that it seemed like they were just feet away.

  “I’m ready back here!” With the black box hanging precariously in the center of the steel door’s two massive hinges, one wire was already connected to it and the other was in David’s hand. He looked expectantly at Rachel and Marcus who turned and moved toward him.

  “Come on! We need to take cover!” Marcus called for the woman to follow them back to the storage room, but she stood her ground, ignoring his pleas.

  The snarl of the nearby creatures became suddenly louder as two of them appeared from out of the darkness, dodging back and forth as they ran up through the tunnel, trying to avoid any further shots. One of the creatures had large impact wounds in its shoulder from Marcus’s earlier shots, though it didn’t act like it was injured in any way. Still facing in the direction of the tunnel, Marcus fired from the hip, sending several bullets streaking wide past the creatures but still managing to hit one. The shots did absolutely nothing to slow the creatures, though, which continued forward at a breakneck pace.

  Though the creatures seemed not to notice the woman standing before them, it was clear that she noticed them, especially when she crouched down and spread her arms. As the creatures tried to run past her she snagged both of them on a leg, causing them to fall toward each other with a sickening sound as their heads collided. The impact stunned the creatures for only a few seconds, and they were quickly back on their feet. This time, though, their attention was directed solely at the strange woman who faced them calmly. Next to the creatures’ snarls and rage, her expression was peaceful and serene. Lunging at the woman, the creatures threw her to the ground, tearing at her viciously as Marcus and Rachel fired upon them, trying to stop them before they ripped the woman apart.

  Leonard McComb | Nancy Sims

  10:08 PM, April 13, 2038

  Standing inside a small gas station on the edge of the highway, Nancy held a light over Leonard’s shoulder as he ransacked a drink refrigerator, removing every bottle of water he could find. Rushing along, he dumped the bottles into the now empty shopping cart he’d taken from the back of the APC. After escaping over the bridge, Nancy and Leonard had driven hard and fast until they’d come across the gas station. Wanting to get more fuel and water, Leonard had started siphoning diesel from a nearby truck while Nancy had emptied out the shopping cart and arranged the supplies in the back of the APC.

  Taking the cart inside the gas station while the APC’s fuel tank filled, Leonard and Nancy scoured the place for all the supplies they could find. In addition to a few canned goods, some snacks, and plenty of water, Leonard found both a shotgun and a revolver hidden under the checkout counter. Their lack of weapons made the discovery one for celebration, and Leonard quickly hurried both guns back to the APC for safekeeping before continuing to gather supplies.

  After the cart was full, Nancy and Leonard both pushed it back to the APC and loaded in the supplies, using plastic crates from the gas station to organize their supplies and keep them from shifting around while the vehicle was in motion. Out of breath from exertion, the pair sat on the back bumper of the armored car, watching the dark clouds drift past overhead. Pinpoints of light broke through the last wisps of cloud cover as the stars came out, shining bright in all their glory. Enough of the upper atmosphere’s dust cover from the nuclear explosions had been cleansed by the nanobots to offer a spectacular view.

  “I wonder what’s causing those storms.” Nancy spoke quietly as a gentle breeze followed after the clouds, making her shiver in the sudden cold air. Leonard reached into the APC and pulled out a heavy jacket, tearing the store tags off before helping Nancy put it on.

  “Nothing good, that’s for sure. That’s the second one that’s followed an army of muties, though. It’s pretty clear that they’re more than coincidentally linked.”

  “So… where do we go from here?” As much as Nancy liked stopping and taking a break, doing so made her nervous with Samuel in the general vicinity. Keeping their light usage to a minimum, Leonard and Nancy hadn’t seen any sign of him, but they knew he was still somewhere in the area.

  Leonard pulled a map from his jacket pocket and motioned for Nancy to follow him back inside the gas station where they could use a flashlight without being spotted as easily as if they were sitting in the APC. Inside, spread out on the checkout clerk’s counter, Leonard held the flashlight in one hand and pointed at the map with the other.

  “We’re about here, from what I can tell.” Leonard pointed to a spot on the highway halfway between the river and a large swath of green. “Next up is the national forest and if we keep going, we’ll dip south for a ways in the middle of Montana.”

  Nancy furrowed her brow. “South doesn’t sound good.”

  Leonard squinted at the map and traced two paths that ran roughly parallel to each other, one to the north and one to the south. “Here’s what I’m thinking: we take this route up before we hit the forest, then take this path to the west. That’ll lead us straight to this next major highway, number sixteen, and from there we can head straight up through the border.

  “From there we’ll hit Lethbridge, then Calgary, and then we’ll cut west through the mountains and head northwest until we hit Alaska.”

  Looking at the scale of the map, Nancy whistled softly. “That’s going to be one hell of a drive.”

  Leonard nodded and sighed deeply. “Yes it is. But that’s the only way we’ve got to get up there.”

  “I don’t suppose you’ve traveled up there before, have you?”

  Leonard shook his head. “Nope. Have you?”

  “No.”

  “Well then,” Leonard straightened his back, smiling as he folded the map back up and handed it to Nancy, “it looks like we’ll have quite the adventure ahead of us.”

  Nancy took the map and slowly followed Leonard back to the APC. “And what happens when we run into Samuel again?”

  Leonard stopped and turned to look at Nancy before he spoke. “If he’s lucky, we’ll lose him before we hit the border and we’ll never see him again. If he’s not lucky, though, he’ll run into us again. And if that happens, we’ll put him in the ground.”

  Bering Strait

  April 15, 2038

  Seaman Dmitry Dudchyk stands on the deck of the Arkhangelsk, rifle in hand as he tries to slow his heart rate. A fierce wind blows across the strait, nearly knocking several of his comrades off the deck until they find better footing. Standing straight with the barrel of his rifle waving slightly in the wind, Dmitry tries to center the sight on a target several hundred meters away. Floating in the water, bobbing up and down with the waves, an orange buoy was towed out and is used for target practice.

  The sharp crack of the rifle makes Dmitry wince and he feels a pain in his shoulder the instant he pulls the trigger. Missing the target by several meters, the bullet splashes harmlessly into the ocean, causing a small spray of water that disappears as quickly as it appeared. Acting commander of the Arkhangelsk, Pavel Krylov walks up next to Dmitry and takes hold of the rifle, pushing it hard against Dmitry’s injured shoulder.

  “You must keep the butt firmly against your shoulder, or else you’ll break something! And remember, squeeze the trigger; don’t pull it. Treat it gently; don’t be rough. Now, try again.”

  Slightly intimidated by the superior officer, Dmitry nods quickly, takes a deep breath and presses his cheek against the stock of his rifle. Though Dmitry had gone through the standard firearms training during his time at the naval academy, his knowledge—like most of the other seamen—was rusty. Taking Pavel’s advice he squeezes the trigger gently, keeping his breathing steady and pulling the
rifle tightly against his shoulder. This time, his shot is nearly spot-on, landing on the outer edge of the buoy and causing it to shake in the water.

  “Good shot!” Pavel slaps Dmitry on the back, smiling broadly at the young man. “You’ll be a fine sniper in no time!”

  Leaving Dmitry to continue his practice, Pavel walks further down the deck, giving advice and words of encouragement to the other men who are suffering from the same lack of training and practice as Dmitry. After an hour of standing in the cold, Pavel spies a cloud on the horizon, moving in from the east. It is silver in color, moving against the wind, and generates a loud buzzing sound that was described to him by the survivors who went ashore.

  Three men had survived the mysterious attack that claimed the life of Commander Alexeyev. Once back on the Arkhangelsk, Pavel had interrogated each one separately, grilling them on the details of the incident. Having caught only glimpses of the commander’s death, they all told the same story, mostly centered around the sounds of the commander being torn to shreds by a buzzing silver cloud. Although they were too young and inexperienced to know how to coordinate such an elaborate lie, Pavel wouldn’t have believed them if he hadn’t heard what both the commander and the second shore party described to him before perishing.

  “Everyone back down, now!” Pavel bellows out the order and the men on the ship rapidly descend through staircases on the deck of the Arkhangelsk. Once all the men are back inside, Pavel orders the hatches to be sealed. He waits until the last possible second to duck into the stairwell, keeping his eye on the cloud that is still moving rapidly toward them.

  Issuing an order to dive to the maximum depth of the strait, Pavel holds on to a nearby handrail as the sub lurches forward, the ballast tanks flooding with water. As the Arkhangelsk steadies, he runs along the corridor to the command deck, approaching the sensor station where two crewmembers have donned headphones and are listening intently.

  “Anything yet?”

  The crewmember on the left lifts his headphones off and nods. “Yes sir. Audio is picking up some type of mechanical vibrations over the water and we’re reading a strong electromagnetic signature directly above us.”

  Pavel wipes his brow and shrugs off his heavy overcoat, passing it off to a nearby crewmember. The air inside the submarine is warm, courtesy of the nuclear reactors that run continuously, generating enough electricity to power a large city. Watching the screens in front of the crewmembers, Pavel taps on the monitor.

  “So it’s a machine, then? You’re certain?”

  The two crewmembers look at each other, pausing briefly before the man on the left speaks again.

  “Well, sir, we’re not entirely sure. It’s definitely a machine, but these readings are… odd. It could be a single unit, or….” The man trails off.

  “Or what? Come on, we don’t have time for games!”

  “Sir, it almost seems like this is some type of swarm. A huge collection of robotic mechanisms all working together; individually small in size but banded together on a massive scale.”

  Pavel’s first reaction is to laugh, but he stops himself. Despite the absurdity of the claim, what he has just been told isn’t the most unusual thing he’s heard since walking onto the sub. Straightening up, he pats both crewmembers on their backs.

  “Good work. Continue scanning and alert me to the position of the thing every five minutes.” Turning around, Pavel walks back to his chair, issuing an order as he sits down.

  “Dive officer, keep us at maximum depth. We’ll stay here until that thing up top decides to go away.”

  With no solid information on the cloud lurking just above the water’s surface, Pavel contemplates his next move. The information given to him by the survivors of the shore parties is so limited that he begins to wonder how they will gather more intel.

  Time passes slowly for the Arkhangelsk, submerged beneath the frigid waters, far enough down that the circling nanobot swarm above does not have the power nor the numbers to try and reach it. Still, they circle lazily overhead, drawing energy from the sunlight above and the few stray radiation particles left in the atmosphere, waiting for a time to strike.

  Rachel Walsh | Marcus Warden | David Landry

  10:01 PM, April 13, 2038

  The two creatures attacking the mutated woman stood no chance against the combined onslaught of Rachel and Marcus along with the woman herself who fought back fiercely against her attackers. In the back of his mind, as he unleashed round after round into the bodies of the attacking creatures, Marcus marveled at the woman and how strong she was despite the apparent frailty of her body.

  One after the other, the two creatures dropped to the ground, but the brief respite given to the mutated woman did not last. Four more creatures bounded up from the tunnel, two of them snatching the woman by her arms and dragging her away and out of sight. With their targets no longer in view, both Rachel and Marcus ran forward to try to reacquire them, but the creatures’ hasty retreat meant they were far out of range down the long slope of the tunnel.

  “Shit!” Rachel screamed in frustration. Marcus hesitated to continue down the tunnel, unsure if they would be able to help the woman even if they managed to reach her. The glow from the creatures and the woman had all but vanished, which was unsurprising given the creatures’ unnatural speed.

  “We need to go after her!” As the words left his mouth, a howl came from the tunnel. Marcus watched as a blue light rapidly filled the tunnel, signaling the imminent reappearance of the creatures.

  “No time. We need to go! Now!” Rachel grabbed Marcus’s arm in a vice-like grip and pulled him back, even as he struggled against her. Leaving the woman, despite her condition, wasn’t something Marcus was prepared to do. Kicking and fighting against Rachel, Marcus nearly freed himself until David ran up and took Marcus’s other arm, helping Rachel pull him to safety.

  “There’s nothing we can do for her, Marcus!” David shouted in Marcus’s ear, trying to make himself heard over the din of the creatures’ howling. “We need to get out of here now!”

  Something inside Marcus’s mind clicked into place and he went limp, allowing himself to be dragged back into the storage room where Rachel helped him sit down on the floor. His expression was blank as he stared at the wall, still holding the rifle in a death grip, wondering what he could have done differently to save the woman. She had appeared nearly as quickly as she vanished, a lost soul, changed irrevocably by Mr. Doe’s influence and doomed by the same influence to a death too horrible to imagine. Whether she was killed or fully turned into one of the creatures, Marcus didn’t know, but in the end it didn’t matter.

  “Stay here!” David’s scream echoed through the storage room, cutting across Marcus’s thoughts and bringing him back to the present. “This’ll have a five second delay, so get ready to pull the door shut after me!”

  Rachel watched David carefully as he ran back to the cart and grabbed the dangling wire, holding it close to the black box. The glow of blue light in the tunnel was overwhelmingly bright and the creatures were nearly at the top of the slope when David jammed the wire into the black box, completing the circuit and initiating the detonation sequence of the explosives inside. Leaving the box hanging on the steel door, David used his hand to push himself forward, sprinting toward the storage room as quickly as possible and closing the doors behind him.

  There was no warning before the box detonated. No beeping, no countdown, no flashing lights and no hint that anything had changed. In one instant the box was hanging near the steel door, swinging gently back and forth, and the next moment the tunnel was engulfed in flames. The doors to the storage room bent and buckled under the force of the explosion, though they were sturdy enough that they didn’t completely fall apart. Outside, shielded from view of David, Rachel, Marcus and Sam, the tunnel was awash in flames.

  The concussive blast from the explosion sent the electric cart careening down the tunnel, obliterating everything in its path. Two of the four remaining
creatures in the tunnel were instantly cut down by the cart and shrapnel from the steel door, while the other two were blown back down the slope by the force of the blast. Though they were spared from the brunt of the explosion’s deadly results, they were not left unharmed, as their bodies were littered with injuries both minor and serious.

  The steel door was strong, but it was no match for the high-density explosives. Placed at the weakest point, the explosives tore through the hinges like tissue paper, rendering the entire door and frame around it unstable. Large pieces of steel were blown forward into the space beyond the tunnel, while other pieces were thrown backwards down the tunnel or into the surrounding walls.

  The group huddled together in a corner of the storage room, covering their heads and hoping that the explosion and debris would not penetrate far enough to harm them. The noise and light shining through cracks in the storage room doors lasted for just a few seconds, but the sound of creaking metal and falling concrete continued for several more minutes. Accompanying the ominous sounds was a rapid rise in temperature. Though it didn’t reach lethal levels, it was enough to start making them uncomfortable.