by J. G. Martin
“The one of you murdering the Express Station manager. The video was grainy and facial recognition came back at 80% so I told them it wasn’t you. Good thing you cleaned up before going to the Station.”
“He was a raider in disguise. They had taken the station and were waiting to ambush me.”
“We can debate that later. We need to go before the Captain changes his mind. Change quickly and let’s get the hell out of here. Rora is waiting in my truck with your weapons. I already got all your supplies and I collected on your bounties. I am keeping a finder’s fee…”
That drew a laugh from Derek. “Good old Tex, always looking out for me.”
“You know it buddy.” Tex smiled. ”C’mon killer, let’s go!”
Derek quickly changed into his clothes and grabbed his belongings. They rushed past armed guards standing nervously nearby. None of them raised their weapons at Derek but they all looked ready to shoot him if he looked at them funny. Tex lead them back out the way Derek had come in using the blue line until they merged and then out the door where the red line exited. It did open into the garage as Derek had suspected.
It was a large open area broken only by concrete support pillars. The ceiling was two stories high to give clearance for larger vehicles and allow fumes and exhaust to rise up. Large exhaust fans churned sucking the bad air out as best they could. A large steel gate at the end of a steep ramp blocked the exit straight ahead. Retractable steel and concrete pylons also blocked the way inside and out.
Several heavily armored Regulator technicals were parked against the wall on the right. Built on what looked like Ford F-350 chassis’ they had heavy machine guns mounted on the top and thick steel plating covering everything but the windshield. The side doors had gun ports and the windshield had heavy steel grating covering what must be bulletproof glass. The metal monstrosity was supported on oversize solid rubber tires and a heavy duty suspension system. They also had a large steel grate welded to the front of the truck designed to crash through barriers or total cars. The whole thing was painted dark blue and had a silver Regulator star painted on the doors and hood.
Derek almost drooled as he thought about the damage he could do with that ugly bastard in the wasteland. Unfortunately Tex led him to the other side where much smaller Regulator patrol vehicles were parked. It was a mishmash of lightly armored SUVs and small pickup trucks. All painted in the same color scheme as the technicals. They had the same grating on the windshield and windows but no armament and the steel plating was much lighter. He could see Rora in the beat up looking two door SUV on the end.
“Get in.” Tex urged him.
“Wait. What about my ride?”
“It’s still impounded. The fact that it looked like a raider vehicle didn’t help your case. Plus all the explosives you had inside.”
“It was a raider vehicle and I need those explosives for the job.”
“Don’t worry; I have dynamite we use to clear roadblocks. We can use that. Get in! We need to go.”
Tex rushed around to the driver side and hopped in. Derek tossed his gear in the back and got in. Rora slid over into the middle so he could fit. She gave him a small relieved hug and looked happy to see him. Unsure how to react to that he just grunted. Tex started the vehicle and it roared to life and settled into a steady thrum.
He smiled at Derek’s reaction. “Don’t let the exterior fool you, this baby is the real deal under the hood. I can hit 100 miles an hour no problem! Did most of the work myself.” Tex bragged. “Keep your head down, we don’t want to attract attention.”
They rolled up to the gate and the pylons lowered automatically and the gate rose slowly. Tex accelerated up the ramp and they popped out into the fading daylight with a squeal of tires. Bouncing as they landed Tex quickly threw the truck in gear and headed towards a gate on the opposite end of town from which Derek and Rora had entered. They drove through what was clearly the back gate without any trouble. Tex waved at the six guards manning the sandbagged machine gun nests resting on either side of the gate. As they exited the town, Tex breathed a slight sigh of relief.
“What has got you so worked up?” Derek asked him.
“The Yeti worked for the Mayor as his enforcer. I was worried that his guys would be looking for revenge and try to kill you before we could leave. But I think we got out before they found out he was dead. I had him sent to the infirmary and we told the other inmates he was unconscious, but that won’t last long.”
“I thought the Regulators must have had some serious pull with the major presence and how you ran off the bouncers at the saloon?”
“We do, but the Mayor runs the town pretty strictly and we only operate here with his blessing. We pay a premium for supplies, electricity, and water; plus he gets a monthly stipend for having the prison here. In addition we provide extra security and patrol the surrounding area. So he makes out pretty well.” Tex explained. “Also, every citizen pays taxes and the businesses pay a “security fee” to maintain the town. The Yeti was his personal enforcer and tax collector. They have a strict dress code and set of laws, and he keeps most of the citizens sealed off behind that wall. All the guards work for him directly and they almost outnumber the Regulators here, some of whom are originally townies and probably work for him also. So we cannot just do whatever we want. Once he finds out we let you go, there will probably be some trouble. But without you there to remind them, we can probably make them forget about it with a payoff.”
“If he is the Mayor’s enforcer what was he doing in prison?”
“The Mayor applies the law to everyone. He says it only works if every follows the law, no exceptions. The Yeti was drunk in public so we arrested him. It took eight guys and multiple Tasers to subdue him. He is one huge strong guy.”
“I noticed.” Derek replied sarcastically. “He almost kicked my ass.”
“Yeah, he used to be a pro wrestler and a pitfighter. He wasn’t just a big dumb beast.”
“I have the headache to prove it.”
“I’m just glad you are ok. I was worried when you didn’t come back.” Rora said.
“Me too kid. Last time I was arrested they sentenced me to death…Didn’t stick then either though.”
“After he said you were arrested for murdering a store clerk I tried to explain to Tex what happened, but he said it didn’t matter because of the video.”
“I wonder where they got that from?” Derek asked Tex.
“Don’t know buddy. It just showed up on the server along with the arrest warrant. Came from another Station I guess.” Tex replied dismissively. “So tell me about this job. Where are we heading?”
Derek gave him a look, but decided to let it go. He needed Tex’s help to get there so he told him, “We need to pick up a device her Dad made and deliver her to NASA. It’s in a bank in a small town in the mountains.”
Tex didn’t need to know the details so Derek left out who the employer was and how much money he was getting paid. Let Tex think it was for Rora’s father or NASA. He showed Tex the GPS coordinates on his phone.
“Nice phone, where did you get that?” Tex quizzed him.
Derek gave Rora a warning look before he answered. “Rora’s dad had some cool gadgets.”
Fortunately Rora kept quiet and looked out the window. Tex punched the coordinates into a tablet computer mounted on the dashboard. The computer calculated the route and displayed the route and destination. Unlike the other satellites, the GPS system had continued to function during and after the Collapse. The prevailing theory was that whoever had knocked out the communications and spy satellites needed it to function for themselves and had left it alone.
Tex whistled. “No wonder you needed me. That’s inside the no man’s land. You needed my transponder to get you through the sensors. This place is out there, the roads might not even exist anymore. How much are you getting paid?”
“$50,000 New Republic dollars to take it to NASA.” Derek lied. “I’ll give you $20,000 i
f you help me get the device and another ride.”
“Come on man, we’re friends. How much are you really getting?”
Derek sighed. “OK, fine. I’m getting $100,000. I’ll give you forty. Deal?”
“That’s more like it. Once we get the device I’ll take you to a friend of mine with an Express Station nearby. He can sell you a ride.”
“Great.” Derek replied simply.
Rora looked at him questioningly but he ignored her and looked out the window and watched the dusty plains roll by. It was all just shades of brown. After a while they started into the foothills of the Ozarks. Scrub pines and large weeds started to dot the landscape. The mutated crop virus had wiped out about ninety five percent of the world’s plant species, but some had survived. A few had a natural immunity or their resistance to pesticides may have contributed. Higher elevations also had higher survival rates than the lowlands. Most of the surviving plants were weeds or very invasive species like kudzu. A few evergreens had survived but almost every single deciduous tree had been wiped out. Even the surviving plants were altered. Instead of green they all had a reddish brown tinge. It made for a very bleak landscape.
During the long trip Derek and Tex swapped stories, with Rora listening and not saying much. Derek filled Tex in on most of their journey, but left out certain details about how he got the mission. They pulled over briefly for Tex to add more gas from the extra gas cans he carried in the back. Derek and Tex switched places several times to avoid falling asleep at the wheel as they traveled through the night. The trip went by quietly, Rora eventually fell asleep and they rode in silence. The Regulator colors on the truck assuring that no one would bother them.
They paused one more time as they reached the border of No Man’s Land. They couldn’t see the sensors but the computer in the truck started flashing red and beeping. Even with the transponder in the truck, Tex still had to enter a passcode verifying his identity. He looked at Derek and Rora to make sure they weren’t watching and then tapped in the sequence. The screen stopped flashing and displayed the message “Access Granted”. Tex stepped on the accelerator and they headed into the empty border lands.
Once they entered Arkansas, the trip got a little rougher. The roads were smaller highways and state roads and had not held up as well in the years following the Collapse. Despite the heavy duty shocks on the SUV, they could all feel the constant battering the truck’s suspension was taking. It felt like riding in a vibrating chair. After what seemed like forever, they reached a surprisingly well maintained double lane road that led up into the mountains. On the map it was labeled Zinc Highway and it was blocked by a sturdy steel gate covered in No Trespassing signs. It was the final leg of their route.
Tex slowly stopped the truck as they reached the new road. He and Derek both looked at each other and surveyed the surrounding landscape. After a minute, Derek got out and went to inspect the gate. He approached slowly and kept his hand on his pistol. The gate was well set in thick concrete pylons and made of heavy duty steel bars and steel chain link fencing. It was topped with barbed wire and locked with an extremely thick chain and large padlock. All of it was slightly rusty and overgrown with vines, but it looked in very good shape.
“So?” Tex asked him as Derek climbed back into the truck.
“It’s in very good shape and very sturdy. Which is odd.” He replied.
“Why is that odd?” Rora asked.
“We are out in the middle of nowhere, heading to a nothing town; but the road to town is in great shape, unlike every other road out here, and the gate makes no sense. Why block the road to town? If I didn’t know better I would say it was done Pre-Collapse. But there would be no reason to block access prior to the Collapse.”
“It is odd.” Tex agreed. “But can we get by?”
“I don’t think we can ram it, it is pretty solidly built. Maybe we can blow the lock with your dynamite?”
“It’s in the back. Wire up a stick and let’s see what happens.”
“Be alert for anything the blast may draw.” Derek instructed Tex.
He agreed and grabbed a scoped M-14 rifle with a black composite stock from the rack behind them. He also got out a pair of binoculars and handed them to Rora.
“Get up on the hood and keep a look out.” He instructed as he climbed out to cover the road behind them.
“What for?” She asked.
“Raiders or wild animals.” Tex replied over his shoulder.
Derek grabbed a stick of dynamite and a length of fuse from the back of the SUV. He quickly wired the dynamite to the lock and lit the fuse. He rushed back to the truck and took cover behind the driver side door. Rora covered her ears and ducked down as the explosive went off. The lock blew apart and tiny fragments of metal pelted the truck like rain drops. They all waited for a few minutes to see if there would be any response or reaction. When nothing happened they all released a collective sigh of relief.
They all got back in the truck and drove through the now wide open gate. It was an easy drive up the road towards the top of the mountain. The road was fairly straight and led up around the mountain into a small valley. They arrived at a small paved area that looked like a parking lot. In front of them was the town and on their left a small concrete building with tiny slit windows. It was surrounded by a high chain link fence topped with barbed wire which had a door sized gate in it.
But that wasn’t the weirdest part. The town itself, which was very small, was surrounded by three high chain link fences topped with barbed wire. Derek noticed that the barbed wire on the town’s fences faced inwards. Guard towers were located at the corners of the outer fence and large gates, similar to the one at the beginning of the road, blocked entrance to the town. The town was maybe fifteen two or three story brick buildings along a single main street with smaller houses behind them. All of the brick buildings looked run down but were still intact. The houses had collapsed completely and were overgrown with weeds. The road led around the town and headed further into the mountains. A sign at the beginning of town announced, “Welcome to Zinc Population 53”.
“I wonder who they were keeping in?” Derek mused.
“How do you know they were keeping anyone in?” Rora asked. “Maybe they just needed a lot of security?”
Tex responded before Derek could. “Look at the barbed wire on the blockhouse. Notice how the barbed wire faces out. Now look at the fences around the town.”
Rora examined the fences and made a small grunt of surprise as she recognized the fact that the barbed wire faced inward. “Is it a prison? That would explain the gate earlier.”
“I doubt it.” Derek replied. “I have never heard of a remote town being used as a prison Pre-Collapse. They were always self-contained compounds in more populated areas.”
As he looked closer himself he noticed a couple of other things. There were polarized plastic domes on the blockhouse, the towers, and as far as he could see all throughout town. Each building had one and some had several. They were also mounted on poles amongst the dwellings. It looked like every square inch of the town was covered by the cameras. There were also faded signs bolted to the fence by the gates with a bio-hazard symbol on them. He moved closer to examine them.
“It looks more like they were monitoring people in the town, more like a quarantine than a prison.” Derek said and gestured to the signs.
The signs were very faded but he could make out the faint words stenciled in red on the white painted steel. “Quarantine Zone Bio-Hazard Suits Required” above the biohazard symbol, with “U.S. Department of Defense” and “Genetik Solutions Corp” in very small print at the bottom. Interesting. He had never heard of Genetik Solutions, but it was very odd that a private corporation would be working on a project like this.
Tex and Rora had come over to stand by him and read the signs as well. Tex had involuntarily taken a step back and looked visibly nervous.
“Storm what have you gotten us into? I don’t want to get any nas
ty disease!” He stated angrily.
“Relax.” Rora told him. “It wasn’t airborne or they wouldn’t have a sign here at the gate, and no virus or germ could survive in this environment for fifteen years. It should be perfectly safe.”
“How do you know?” Tex asked, still concerned.
“My dad was a scientist and worked on stuff like this for the government.”
“Actually, he probably worked on this specifically since he hid the device here. How else would he have known about it or had access?” Derek pointed out.
Rora frowned at that but didn’t reply. Her father’s work and whereabouts prior to the Collapse would have been largely unknown to her and Derek doubted he shared many details with her. Especially if this was what Derek thought it was. A testing ground for biological weapons on human test subjects. Possibly unwilling subjects based on the security around the town.
“Let’s go check out the blockhouse. “ Derek suggested. “It is probably the command center for the project. Let’s see what we can find in there before we enter the town.”
Tex and Rora agreed and all three of them headed over to the gate in the fence around the concrete bunker. To their surprise it was unlocked. The plate with the lock in it seemed untouched so it was likely the men stationed there had left it unlocked when they left. The entrance to the concrete building was a solid steel security door. There was no visible lock but there was a sealed panel beside the door. Derek opened it to reveal a hand print scanner and digital display. Unbelievably it looked to still have power since there was a message blinking on the digital screen.
The screen displayed the message “Emergency Lockdown” in red and below it the message “Top Secret Access Only”. Other than the screen and the hand print scanner there were no other features to the panel. No keypad or U.S.B port to link up a computer. Derek carefully examined the panel, feeling around the edges and examining it closely. There were no hidden switches or anything else. No seams that would allow him to pop the panel open. It would require someone with access to get in.
