Countdown: The Wasteland Chronicles Book One

by Rashad Freeman

  Lenny stared back at the screen and caught a glimpse of the man as he vanished out of view.

  April 9, 2013

  Two weeks had passed and they hadn’t seen any sign of the mysterious man. Lenny had gone into high alert mode, prowling the halls with his assault rifle and his utility bag strapped onto his back. Since the strange encounter he’d also started teaching Rebecca how to shoot, three times a day every day. They’d cleared a room out and stacked crates and empty boxes in the corner to use as targets. He even taught her defense tactics and close quarter drills.

  “Sooner or later we’re gonna have to go out there,” Rebecca said as she rolled her thumbs.

  “Yeah, I know, but not today,” Lenny replied as he stood up and headed to his cot.

  He sat his rifle down and kicked his boots into the corner. Rebecca was still sitting in front of the monitors staring at them like the World Series was showing.

  “Get some sleep. We’ve got a lot to get done tomorrow,” Lenny said, more to himself.

  He lay down onto his cot and looked up to the ceiling. It felt like he’d been living underground for an eternity. All the things he took for granted on the surface he now missed more than ever.

  Who knew one could long for the annoying buzz of flies or the hot, Florida sun baking your skin to a crisp. Lenny even missed the hillbilly cashier overcharging him for gas. It all seemed so trivial at that time, but now he’d give anything to have it back.

  Lenny closed his eyes and drifted off. The suffocating feeling of the shelter faded away. He dreamed of being back in his trailer, back to the way things were supposed to be. He dreamed of his stern faced father and the childhood he’d never known.

  Suddenly, an alarm blared loudly and someone was shaking him hard.

  “Lenny! Lenny wake up!”

  He slowly opened his eyes and found Rebecca staring down on him, screaming hysterically. Her voice was drowned out by the screeching siren that echoed through the shelter.

  Lenny shook his head trying to gather himself. His vision was blurry and he had a hard time standing upright.

  As he swayed from side to side it hit him. It was the carbon monoxide alarm. Lenny reached under his cot and grabbed a gas mask. As soon as he put it on and took a breath he immediately felt better. He grabbed Rebecca by the shoulders.

  “Grab a gas mask!” he said urgently.

  “Lenny, but…”

  “I don’t care, just grab one!” Lenny screamed.

  He rushed off to the armory and snatched the canine mask off of the table. He’d had it custom made for Rango.

  Running back to his cot, he slid to the floor and pulled the mask over Rango’s face. The shepherd wiggled and pulled away and Lenny had to wrestle with him to get it on.

  Once he secured the mask and helped Rebecca with hers, he ran to the control station and silenced the alarm. He mashed his hand on the purge button to release any built up carbon monoxide and check the monitors.

  A warning flashed, “CO2 levels have reached critical, evacuation is necessary.” Lenny gawked at the screen and pressed the purge button again. Another message flashed on the screen. The purge system wasn’t working.

  “We’ve gotta get the hell out of here!” Lenny screamed to Rebecca through his gas mask.

  He took off around the corner and grabbed the other bags that he’d already made. He picked up a duffel bag full of guns and the tent bag. Scratching his head, he tried to think of anything he might be missing, but too much was going on.

  Sliding the harness over Rango, he stuffed the attached vest with antibiotics and medical supplies then slung his pack over his shoulder. Rebecca did the same and they frantically ran to the elevator.

  Red lights flashed and bounced off the walls. The warning siren started up again and Rebecca shrieked. Rango paced nervously at Lenny’s side, somehow acutely aware of the danger they all faced.

  Sighing, Lenny pressed the single up arrow that was illuminated on the wall. He was reluctant to leave the safety of his shelter, but staying meant death in less than an hour.

  As the doors opened they stepped onto the elevator and the cart quickly began to ascend. The flashing lights and blaring siren disappeared as they rose higher and higher.

  Lenny pulled a small box out of his bag and tested the air. Pulling his mask off he turned to Rebecca. “The air is fine in here,” he grumbled

  “What about outside?” she asked as she yanked the bulky gas mask from her face.

  “Our readings were obviously wrong. We should be okay. Won’t matter anyway, these won’t do much good out there, they weren’t built for that.”

  Lenny pulled the mask off of Rango then leaned back against wall. The elevator gently swung as it pulled them towards the surface.

  With a ding the doors opened and they stepped out onto the stone floor. Lenny checked his rifle and handed one to Rebecca.

  “Remember how you practiced. Point and shoot, it’s that simple,” he looked Rebecca in her eyes.

  She took the rifle from him with shaky hands. Rebecca had been itching to leave the shelter and return to the surface, but not under these circumstances. For all they knew a band of marauders were waiting to kill them or worse, the world was waiting to kill them.

  Rebecca skeptically looked the gun over, a black AR15 with all the bells and whistles. She stared at the ground through the holographic scope. Lenny’s words echoed in her head. “One day you won’t be shooting boxes, but things that bleed. Remember every shot, remember every life you take was to save your own.”

  Taking a deep breath, she pulled back the charging handle and tightened her grip. She banged her palm on the magazine then swallowed hard.

  Lenny knelt down next to Rango. “Okay boy, if it aint one of us you attack. You got that.” He grabbed the dog by the ears and shook his head gently.

  Rango barked with agitation which Lenny took to mean he understood. Nodding his head, he kissed Rango on the snout and stood back up.

  “When I open this door be ready to shoot. I don’t think anyone could’ve made it inside, but there’s no telling,” Lenny said as he turned to Rebecca.

  She shook her head slowly and pointed the gun towards the door. Lenny smiled at her trying to instill some confidence as he pressed the red button that held determined their future.

  With a hiss and a clunk the gears began to wind and the door slid open. Lenny shouldered his rifle and stared through the crack. As the door opened wider he slowly stepped into the next room quickly taking in his surroundings.

  Rango darted past him and stopped near the staircase. He spun around barking loudly, looking up at the roof.

  Rebecca slowly made her way into the room and sighed. She sheepishly leaned against the wall and watched the dog with nervous eyes.

  “Rango!” Lenny tried to whisper. “Get over here!”

  Lenny walked towards Rebecca and put his hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know what the hell is waiting for us out there, but I’m gonna need you. No matter what happens, we have to get to the road. Then we head north. No looking back.”

  Rebecca straightened herself and took a deep breath. She squeezed the handle on the cold, black gun and clenched her jaw. “I’m ready. I’m ready,” she huffed.

  Lenny turned around and she followed him to the staircase. Rango ran up the steps in front of Lenny and the hydraulic lift sprung to life. The hissing of venting air and the clanging of machinery echoed in the room. Slowly, they rose out of the shelter and into the cool night air.

  The full moon was high in the starless sky. The glow illuminated the barren landscape. It looked like they’d just landed on Mars.

  Lenny whipped his head back and forth then stepped off of the stairs onto the concrete slab. His boots shuffled lowly across the thin layer of sand.

  “It’s quiet,” Rebecca whispered as she followed him.

  Lenny turned and smiled at her, then a deafening explosion went off and he fell to the ground gripping his ears. A cloud of white smok
e swept over them as the sounds of bullets whizzed by.

  “Get down!” Lenny yelled.

  Rebecca dove to the ground and scampered towards the staircase. Suddenly, the lift chirped and the staircase started to lower back into the ground. Lenny rolled over and fired three shots indiscriminately.

  “Lenny, Lenny it closed. The stairs closed!” Rebecca screamed in panic.

  Bullets ricocheted off of the concrete and men’s voices echoed into the night. Lenny tried to see where they were coming from, but the smoke was too thick. He got to his knees and crawled to Rebecca. He dragged her off of the slab and they fell into the gravel.

  Rango barked and darted off into the darkness. Lenny reached for his harness, but fell to the dirt as a shower of bullets riddled the pavement in front of him.

  “Rango!” Lenny screamed as his dog disappeared into the fog.

  Rebecca lay face down in the gravel crying hysterically. Another loud bang shook the ground and debris showered their heads.

  “Get that fucking dog!” a man’s voice yelled out.

  Lenny could hear the sounds of someone struggling. He could hear growling and the noises men made when teeth penetrated their flesh. Then there was a loud bang and a whimper. A sickening feeling stabbed into Lenny’s heart.

  “We gotta get out of this smoke!” he screamed.

  Lenny stood up and grabbed Rebecca by her sleeve. He looked to his left and tore off in that direction, dragging Rebecca behind him.

  As soon as he cleared the smoke he could see a dozen or so men in masks standing behind two trucks. They were all carrying automatic weapons and pointing directly at him.

  Lenny dropped into the dirt just as they unloaded a volley of shots that hit the ground inches in front of them.

  “Don’t fucking move!” one of the masked men called out.

  Lenny dropped his rifle and slowly raised his hands. Rebecca was still cowering in the dirt with her hands over her head. She’d left her gun back in the swirling cloud of smoke.

  “We don’t want to hurt you! We just need to get into that shelter,” one of the men spoke as he walked towards them. From the way everyone was watching him it was obvious he was the leader.

  He wore a heavy fatigued jacket with a hood. A dark, green gas mask covered his face and khaki pants and military style boots completed the outfit.

  Lenny couldn’t understand why they were wearing masks, the air was breathable. But as he wiped his face and felt the tears and mucus pouring down like a waterfall he quickly got his answer. Rebecca hadn’t been scared after all, or maybe she was, but the tear gas was obviously wreaking havoc. Lenny looked back at her, still face down on the ground with her hands covering her head.

  “Just open up the shelter and you can go free,” the man said. He was standing over Lenny looking down on him.

  Lenny glanced past him. First to the other men and the two heavily armored trucks they were standing near, then to Rango. He was lying on his side in the dirt, his chest barely moving. A small hole near his back leg slowly pumped blood out onto the gravel.

  “Open the damn shelter, now!” the man screamed as his patience thinned.

  Lenny squinted his eyes and looked up at him. That voice was familiar, he’d heard it before. And suddenly it all started to make sense.

  “I…I know you don’t I?” Lenny mumbled. “Ted, Ted Vangriff. You helped me build this.”

  The man stepped back and looked towards the other men at the truck. He waited to see if they’d heard what Lenny said. When none of them moved he charged forward and brought the butt of his gun crashing down on Lenny’s face.

  “Open the fucking shelter alright! I don’t want to hurt you, but I swear I will if you don’t open it!”

  Lenny brought his hands to his face as blood gushed from his nose like a fountain. He toppled over into the dirt and groaned. The man raised the gun again and Lenny held his hands up pleading.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll open it. Please, just don’t hit me again,” Lenny whimpered.

  The man stepped back. Lenny slowly got to his feet and looked towards the slab. The smoke had dissipated and he could now see clearly across his yard.

  “The access panel is over there,” Lenny pointed.

  The man motioned towards the slab and Lenny hobbled off in that direction. He knelt next to the concrete and brushed away a pile of dirt. It revealed a small panel with a numeric key pad.

  Lenny quickly punched in a six digit combination and the staircase began to rise.

  “There’s a panel next to the iron door. The code is star, star, pound, seven,” Lenny said, pointing into the bunker.

  The man eyed him for a minute then turned to the other men at the truck. “Guys over here, Rob bring the dolly,” he grinned.

  He turned to Lenny and raised his gun. Lenny stared back at him, his head still fuzzy. The man clicked his teeth and shook his head. He pulled the slide back on the rifle and rested his finger on the trigger.

  Lenny took a deep breath. It was all about to be over. The man’s hands shook and Lenny was sure even if he didn’t mean, to he’d accidentally pull the trigger and kill him.

  He stared at Lenny for a while. His face contorted in thought as he weighed his options. Sighing, he lowered the gun.

  “Grab the girl and get the hell out of here,” he demanded. He then turned around and joined the others as they stepped down the staircase.

  Lenny rushed and grabbed Rebecca, helping her to her feet. His eyes were burning and blood was still dripping from his nose. But he felt high off of adrenaline and the thrill of a gun pointed in his direction.

  “Lean on me. We have to move, quickly!” he whispered to her.

  She didn’t argue. Leaning on Lenny’s shoulder she shuffled her feet, following wherever he led. They walked about forty feet away and then Lenny grabbed Rebecca’s head.

  “Duck!” he said as he pushed her down towards the dirt.

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the little, black transponder and hit the center button three times and then held it. The staircase slammed shut trapping the men inside. Their screaming voices traveled across the yard as confusion and anger overwhelmed them.

  Suddenly, there was a loud pop and the ground shook. Smoke seeped from the concrete slab. A series of cracks ran across the top as pieces of it broke off. Rebecca tightened her grip on Lenny’s arm and clenched her teeth then everything fell quiet.

  “Asshole,” Lenny mumbled as he helped Rebecca back to her feet. “Grab the bags.” He pointed across the yard.

  Rebecca ran off still looking disheveled. Lenny walked next to Rango and knelt down. He put his hand on his chest which had stopped moving some time ago. He grabbed him by the ears and tilted his head towards him. Bending over he kissed him on the forehead then stood up and walked off.

  Sighing, Lenny jogged to one of the armored trucks and looked inside. There were several military style packs stacked on the seat. He grabbed them all then looked in the other truck. There were no packs, but the keys dangled from the ignition. He tossed the bags into the back and flagged down Rebecca.

  She jumped inside as Lenny cranked up the truck. The heavy, diesel engine stuttered then rumbled loudly. Rebecca looked back at Rango’s body and started to cry. Lenny glanced at her then pulled off towards the road.

  “What was that back there?” Rebecca asked him.

  “Self-destruct feature. I had it installed after Ted finished.”

  July 4, 2013

  Lenny slowly approached the aging building. His gun was tucked tightly into his shoulder, the muzzle pointing at the door. Rebecca was still outside crouched behind a bush, covering Lenny’s back.

  The Nashville Civic Center was supposed to be their savior. The shelter promised in the broadcast they’d heard so many months ago. To Lenny it didn’t look like much, a run down brick box littered with graffiti.

  Lenny slowly reached for the metal door handle. As he pulled it open someone pushed it from the other side. It flung for
ward and Lenny stumbled backwards.

  He collected himself and looked up at the door. Staring back at him was a tall black man, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, wielding a sawed off shotgun.

  Lenny froze as he stared into the man’s eyes. They were only feet away from each other, both pointing deadly weapons at one another. In the field the decision was easy, but now Lenny had other things to consider.

  “We saw you coming half a mile back,” the man finally said after minutes of silence. “My names Tim, if you’ll lower that weapon you can come on in.”

  Lenny hesitated. He looked around and then back at Tim. Taking a breath, he lowered his gun and stuck out his hand.

  “My name’s Lenny.”

  “Come on in Lenny. You can tell your girlfriend she can come out of the bushes too,” Tim said then turned around and headed inside.

  Lenny waved his arms at Rebecca and she rushed over to his side. She didn’t say anything, but gave Lenny a look of confusion.

  Guarded, they followed behind Tim as he headed down a hallway that was littered with trash. He turned a corner to what used to be a cafeteria. It was now lined with cots and about two dozen or so people. Some were holding weapons some weren’t. Others were holding babies or reading to small children.

  Lenny looked around and scratched his chin. He was puzzled. This didn’t look anything like a military shelter. From what he could tell it was just a hold up that some stragglers had decided to call home.

  “Where’s the shelter, the military?” Lenny asked Tim.

  “Shit you’re looking at it. What’s left of it anyway,” Tim laughed.

  “What…what do you mean? The government, FEMA…where’s the real help?” Lenny said in exhaustion.

  “Where the hell you been in a hole?”

  “Actually yeah, a hole in Florida.” Lenny couldn’t help but laugh.

  “You were in Florida?” Tim stopped walking and turned around. “When it happened?”

  “When what happened? All I know is shit went bad and we went underground.” Lenny looked at Tim and shrugged.

  “When the bombs happened man. When we decided a little collateral damage was okay.” Tim had a level of excitement on his face that Lenny hadn’t seen in almost a year.