Mega Cataclysm: The Last Survivors Chronicles

by Scott Todd

  "That will give you four points of light, which you should set up so that you illuminate your perimeter 360 degrees. Get lots of sleep before that day, because you will not sleep that night. Sit back to back, and each of you watch 180 degrees out. Let's hope if you have to kill any animals, that the rest will fight over the carcass like what we saw earlier. But don't count on that. Keep pistols ready for any close in combat.

  "Keep the computer in the sun whenever possible to help with recharging. Take all ammo and carry what you can on you. Take the rest and some food/water and put it in the boat. Use ropes where needed to ease the boat down carefully. I am also going to send you some stakes and a hammer for when we are in Stage Two and Three- and there are few trees to attach ropes. You'll get those in the second drop. Remember, the less you carry, the easier this is going to be. So, any questions? Quick, because we've got to go."

  "Yeah, what about the sulfur cloud and when is that coming? Don't we have to worry about that?" I asked- a concern that had been weighing steadily and heavily on my mind.

  "Ben has been working on that, and seems to think you have at least another three days before it reaches us. But he's not sure- just as sure as he can be, given the circumstances," Gary replied. "Anything else?"

  I looked at Jan, who raised her hands and shook her head, like there weren't any other options. "No, I think we've got the idea- and that's pretty much what we were expecting- so... We'll look for the UAV in the parking lot- not tomorrow, but the next day," I replied. "Over and out."

  I shut the lid and looked at Jan- who was holding her head between her hands and staring at the floorboard. I knew she was dreading it. I was dreading it. But if we were going to survive, the trip was a must. Saving the boat was a must, too- seeing as we'd definitely need it later to access any land we found- and any other survivors.

  "We're going to make it," I said softly to Jan as I put an arm around her. She burst into tears, and went into meltdown.

  "How?" she retorted back through the sobs. "We can't drag that boat all that way and watch out for those things too! They'll surely eat us. And they're in the trees, too. Shit, shit, SHIT! They're all comfy onboard their sub and here we are back in hell! We should have just stayed with them and died if we were going to!" she lamented.

  "Well that's easy to say now," I replied. "But at the time we did what was best for us as a whole. They could have easily died in that mess, just like we nearly did from the bears. We just have to accept it and move on. So we got the short end of the stick. Isn't the first time and won't be the last."

  She just looked at me with a lot of doubt in her eyes about our chances. Like me, she knew the animals were getting hungrier, food was getting scarcer, and that trip was going to be hell.

  The next several hours passed, but not a thing was said. We each receded into our own dismal thoughts- but we still kept a close watch on our surroundings. Jan finally fell asleep after about an hour, and I took the opportunity to update and expand the notes.

  I kept wondering how Gary managed to hit those lions with the UAV, but not hit the car- or us. The UAV must have pinpoint accuracy- when he can see and has a clear shot. We might not be so lucky if we got attacked in the woods. I knew we'd be on our own to defend ourselves in the forest, and so did Jan.

  While writing the notes, I noticed a strange circle of light on the paper that didn't seem to move. I wondered where it came from- because it seemed different from the otherwise even lighting the sun provided. And then I noticed a small chunk of the steering wheel was missing directly center at the bottom.

  Distracted from my notes, I looked up. There was a bullet hole in the roof. And it didn't take long to find the corresponding hole in the floor. Right between my legs. Gary had almost killed me, missing me by mere inches.

  Maybe that UAV wasn't so accurate. Or... Jesus... Could that have been intentional? My mind concocted all sorts of scenarios. He kills me to steal Jan- he kills me for revenge- one less mouth to feed- etc, etc.

  Or maybe, it was just a bold move he was forced to undertake because we were about to get eaten alive and the UAV only has limited accuracy. I didn't know. But I sure made the mental note. I hid the notebook under the seat and drifted off for an afternoon nap.

  Chapter 47: Car Trap

  "Brian, Brian! You better wake up. I hear noises outside the car," were the words that startled me out of my uncomfortable slumber. I opened my eyes but saw almost nothing, other than a hand about to slap my face again. I grabbed it.

  "You like slapping, don't you..." I mumbled to Jan as I quickly realized that it was already dark.

  "Well it worked before," she quietly retorted. But there was also fear in her voice. "I've been hearing noises outside the car. Sounds like something's going through our stuff out there, but I can't see. The flashlights are in the backpacks... Out... There," she said, pointing.

  We made the mistake of putting most of the stuff to the sides of the car instead of in front of it, so even if I turned on the car lights, we probably wouldn't see anything. But I turned them on anyway.

  And I probably shouldn't have. We caught the tail end of a large, menacing bear heading out of the lights and towards our stuff. But then we saw another, and then another. Before we could realize why anything, one jolted the car as it stood up, with the front paws climbing up the glass on Jan's side. She nearly shit, and so did I. The now familiar death embrace ensnarled me once again, and she would not let go. No matter what.

  The car kept rocking with the tremendous weight of that beast, scaring us half to death. It was trying to find a way in, clawing and gnawing at things, and making horrible grunting noises as it did so. It sensed something was inside the car. Something alive. Us. Food. Then another jolted the car from my side, followed by more scratching and weird groans.

  I wondered why so many were together, as it seemed unusual. I didn't know that bears hunted in packs. At least they didn't from what I had read. They were mostly solitary creatures, except for when raising families.

  But that was then and this was now. Things had changed. Maybe ancient instincts had been resurrected, and they had been forced to accept each other. Maybe they were hunting together again, out of survival instincts. I didn't know, and it didn't matter. All I knew was that I better do something quick or they would eventually break some car glass.

  I fiddled for the keys in my pocket and started the car. One of them got off of it on Jan's side, startled by the noise, but the other one on my side seemed to take offense at that and started gnawing and clawing harder.

  "Quick, switch places with me... You drive," I said urgently to Jan. "Give me a second to get ready first. Turn on the interior light a minute."

  I readied my rifle, and made sure it was in full auto. Ben's high powered one was still in the stuff outside, so I would have to make do.

  "Ok, when it's clear, drive forward and then turn to the right hard, go about 50 feet and then swing it back around to where we can see them in the headlights. I'm going to try and take a shot," I blurted out.

  Jan obliged. 20 seconds later we were facing them, and it was then we realized just how many there were. They were all over the place- in our stuff, roaming around... Everywhere.

  I took what sorry aim I could out the window, as I could barely even see the gun barrel, and fired a quick burst right into three of them near the boat. I aimed high, trying to avoid hitting our only means of getting to the sub. All of a sudden there was a mad dash, and most of them scattered from the scare of the loud gunfire.

  But one wasn't moving, and it was near the boat. Suddenly I saw it fall and land right on the boat. Shit! I quickly got back in and closed the window.

  "How... Are we... Going to get that thing off the boat now?" Jan mumbled, still too scared to really talk, and fixated on the scene in the headlights.

  "Shit. Just what we needed," I said, just as shaken. "I don't know. We'll have to figure out some..."

  We didn't have to figure long. Before I could even fi
nish speaking, we saw a pack of lions suddenly move in, and 10 seconds later, that bear carcass was gone. It was dragged in typical fashion right back into the woods amid loud snarls and growls.

  Jan shut the car off and turned off the lights. And there we sat, mortified in the dark. Very little moonlight was present and it was getting cold. The smell of ocean had died down considerably, but was still lingering faintly.

  "Damn it, I wish we had gotten some blankets or jackets while we had the chance earlier," Jan said, after finally calming down.

  "Well, you could shine the lights and I could go get..." I started to say. I was thinking I could make a quick run for it, and grab whatever I could.

  "No fricken way!" Jan quickly interjected, cutting me off. "They'd be on you so fast I couldn't even shoot. No, no and NO. We'll just have to deal with it for tonight. We can't get out of this car, period."

  And she was right. It was way too risky. We were just going to have to be cold... Unless...

  "Well, how about we turn the car heat on for a while," I said. "It's probably halfway warm already from our little getaway there- might as well get her all the way warm."

  "And waste that valuable gas?" she countered. I couldn't help but notice how much like Ben and me she was starting to sound. "We don't really know yet if they... If we... I mean... You know... Their trip- our trip and all... We still might need that gas..." she said pensively, driving the point home. "But..." She moved closer and hugged me, and then said "We could go back there and get more comfortable... It might be warmer..."

  "Yeah, you're probably right," I conceded- and wasted no time in diving into the back seat. She was back there with me in an instant, and we laid side by side, snuggling for warmth. I was less cold, and the feel of her body against mine was arousing. I couldn't help it. She noticed. Crap.

  "Don't even think about it," she smirked- and wiggled her ass. "Not in this cold we don't."

  Several hours passed before we heard much of anything, but no sooner than we started to fall asleep, we heard noises again coming from around the car- jolting us back awake and alarmed. Between the cold and the fear, we were both trembling.

  Just as we started to hear paws and gnawing on the car- invoking the terror of getting eaten alive again- out of nowhere came a large tremor, shaking the car with a particular ferocity we hadn't felt since the big event.

  When it finally subsided, there was an eerie quiet- the beasts had all scattered. And this time I was ready to take advantage of the opportunity. Before Jan could say a word, I turned on the lights and was out the door in flash towards the supplies. I found the backpacks and blankets, and hauled it all over to the car in a mad dash before our dinner hosts- the bears and lions- got any bright ideas. I quickly got in the back, and suppressed Jan's urges to neuter me with a warm blanket.

  "That felt... More local," I said with my teeth chattering. "Maybe the ground in the surrounding valleys is rebounding back after the weight of all that water was lifted," I suggested. "Kind of similar to glacial rebound- that supposedly happens after an ice age and the glaciers retreat. The ground can rise suddenly from decompression, causing quakes."

  Jan just nodded rapidly, but she was really just cold- listening but not processing. I wished Ben was there so we could talk about it. Hell I wished Ben was just there, period.

  Then suddenly we heard beeps. Grabbing the keys and the computer, I quickly popped the top. I hoped they were ok after the tremor, but the second that audio came on I knew all hell was breaking loose on that sub. We heard alarms going off, and a panting Gary came over the line:

  "Brain... Jan, you there?" he asked desperately.

  "Yes, Yes!" I responded. "What the hell is all that...?"

  "Look, we got hit pretty hard with another wave," he said. "Ben thinks it might have been a landslide underwater caused by that large tremor. But it threw us around pretty bad, and we hit something- maybe a large tree. Terry got knocked out, and Ben and I are trying to keep this together in here. But it's not looking good. We've got to abort our plans for now. I've got to try and fix it tomorrow. Will call you later. Get the computer in the sun tomorrow and recharge. Over and out." And he was gone.

  Shutting back the lid, I could sense Jan just staring at me blankly in shock- even though I could barely see her in the dark. I reached over, pulled her back down on the seat with me, and tried to warm her under the blankets. It was helping.

  "Let's just hope for the best," I said weakly, but my unsure tone ruined the sentiment. She had no words at all. We weren't sure who to worry about more- them or us. But at least we wouldn't freeze to death. Trusting that the car would hold up to predators, we finally fell asleep using a backpack as our joint pillow.

  Chapter 48: Beasts of Burden

  A direct ray of sunlight found my eyes early the next morning through the car glass, and I had a few minutes to think before light found Jan's eyes. We were snuggled neatly together, in jackets and under blankets- warm as toast. She was still asleep, and I just lay there wondering what the day would bring. Hopefully it wasn't death by beast.

  A brooding sense of hopelessness came over me though when I remembered the last transmission from Gary. They had aborted our mission to get to the sub, until Gary could get it fixed. IF he could get it fixed.

  But then a more menacing thought occurred to me: What were we going to do if we couldn't make it to the sub before the sulfur cloud got to us? If we put the trip off another day, according to Ben's calculations, the fallout might reach us before we could even leave.

  Jan awoke with a yawn, and snuggled into me more. "MMM, it's warm in here... I don't wanna get up," she said sleepily- and covered her face more with a blanket. I could see her breath condensate in the air. It was still pretty cold in there. And I didn't want to move either.

  Then in a steadfast, somber tone she said: "We're going to have to go anyways, aren't we... Because of that... That poisonous cloud coming our way." She was way ahead of me.

  "Well if we don't, and we get caught in it..." I replied. I didn't have to finish the thought. "Our only chance may be to go ASAP, and hope he can get the sub fixed and find us in the boat on the water. Because what if Ben's calculations are off even slightly, and that thing is moving faster than he anticipated? I mean it's possible with all the water relocated, it could have changed the global weather patterns. He might even be WAY off. I don't know that we can afford to sit here even another minute, really."

  She turned around and looked at me, with that wide-eyed stare of doom. "Then we're out of here. Let's go," she said urgently.

  But it wasn't until we got up and exited the car carefully, looking around, that we noticed it... That smell. The smell of rotten eggs. It was getting stronger. Looking out to the east, the direction in which we suspected it would come after having gone around the globe to the west of the event in the prevailing winds, we saw a dark, yellowish hue in the sky off in the distance near the horizon. It was coming.

  She looked at me scared to death, and we wasted not one second more. Damn the bears and damn the lions. We had to go. We hurriedly packed what we could, dawned our backpacks, and were barely able to get the boat across the parking lot onto the forest floor. We put some stuff in the boat and secured rope lines to it.

  Then we began the arduous process of lowering the boat through the forest, right in lion territory. I had the computer on my backpack, hoping it would get some sun, but the prospects of that were pretty slim while we were under the tree cover. That would have to wait until we reached much further down the mountain.

  Once we were a few hundred yards down the side, going ever so slowly with the boat, we noticed the smell of sulfur had lessened a bit. But it was still there. And no doubt it was going to increase any time. The trees seemed to be helping to shield us from it a bit, as well as providing fresh oxygen. I dreaded exiting the forest on one hand because of that, but on the other hand I couldn't stand the cover the trees also provided for the lions. We could be ambushed any second.
/>
  Jan pulled and I pushed. Tree by tree, we slowly made our way, tying off the boat each time so it couldn't get away from us and go tumbling down the hill. Jan tried clearing whatever debris she could in front of us to make way for the boat, but that soon became near impossible when the slope increased, becoming really steep.

  Things were getting pretty treacherous. One slip and we could be badly injured or worse. Broken off trees presented quite suitable suicide stakes with sharp edges just waiting to claim a kill by impalement.

  And then there was always the ever present danger of attack from above- after all, the lions were expert tree climbers. Our awareness of that proved to be a lifesaver.

  When Jan suddenly stopped ahead of me looking up, I immediately secured the boat and grabbed my military rifle. She was frozen stiff, didn't say a word, and just kept looking up. Just about the time she tried to point with a trembling hand, I saw it.