Never Tomorrow

by Rashad Freeman

  NEVER TOMORROW

  DECONSTRUCTION

  BOOK SIX THE FINALE

  By Rashad Freeman

  Copyright © 2018 by Rashad Freeman

  www.rashadfreeman.com

  Rashad.Freeman@rashadfreeman.com

  www.facebook.com/rashadthewriter

  Twitter: @RashadFreeman

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without the expressed written consent of the author.

  THE FINALE

  We have come to the end of a long journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I wish I had something poetic or life-changing to say, but I don’t. So I won’t waste anymore time, happy reading!!!

  “If death is not the end, I’d like to know what is. For all eternity we don’t exist, except for now.” – Robyn Hitchcock

  CHAPTER 1

  A NEW HORIZON

  “He’s dead…doesn’t mean you are,” Melinda said as she stared into Alistair’s eyes and offered him a hand.

  He shrugged and hoisted the bag of grain over his shoulder. It was nothing for his broad frame to bear the weight of the fifty-pound sack. Years of manual labor had changed him. It’d been a long time since he needed help of any kind.

  “I got a cake. Cindy made it,” Melinda said, trying to lighten the mood.

  His father’s birthday was always a tense time, but this year was different. Alistair had grown distant and pulled away from everyone, including his family and friends. He was sick of being reminded, sick of being stuck in a place that made him remember every piece of his life that he’d lost. It was easier to run from it.

  “That was nice,” Alistair finally replied.

  Melinda gave him an endearing look. His angled face was covered with stubble, his eyes were tired and far too worn for the twenty-two years he’d been alive. Life had taken its toll and molded him into something Melinda hardly recognized. But the shadow of his father was never far away.

  “I gotta get back to work,” he said dismissively.

  “Alistair, I just…I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine, Mom.”

  “Okay. Well, will you be home tonight?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “David and Charlie miss you. They haven’t seen you in a week.”

  “I’ll stop by when I can. I gotta finish the work on the scrubbers after this.”

  “I hope I’ll see you tonight.”

  Alistair nodded and walked off, leaving his mother to sulk. She hadn’t seen him in four or five days and had no clue where he’d been sleeping. But he wasn’t a child anymore, he was a man. That was a fact that Alistair never failed to mention, especially when she got too nosy or appeared to care too much.

  Five years had passed since they first went underground. Five long years that had beaten down everyone. Lives had changed, some had ended, but time still went on and so did the survivors.

  No one was what they used to be. Kids had grown up under the umbrella of the apocalypse. Their lives were shaped by constant fear and worry. For the adults the years flew by as they dealt with crisis after crisis, but for the youth the years of struggle moved much slower. It molded them into something else, and they barely remembered what life was like before the event.

  Alistair dropped the bag of grain in the store room and rolled his shoulders. It was the last of the grain from the locker and with a total of four bags sitting on the floor things were going to get skim in a few weeks.

  Yawning, he headed down the empty hall and made his way to the main utility room. The chug from the carbon scrubbers had become his favorite song, yet when he opened the door the machine was barely turning over.

  “Wondered when you’d finally make it,” Daniel said as he turned toward the door. “Can you bring me that wrench?”

  Alistair smiled and pulled a wrench from the toolbox. “Where’s Trevor?” he asked.

  Daniel took the wrench and tightened a bolt then stood up and looked at the clunky machine. Sighing he put his hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side. “It’s one of those days for Trevor.”

  Alistair nodded. “Want me to crank it up?”

  “Sure.”

  Alistair flipped the breaker on the wall then pressed the ignition button. An electric hum buzzed through the floor as the scrubber came to life. It droned like a small airplane and they smiled at each other.

  “Think we just used her last life. There won’t be any resurrecting this thing next time.”

  Daniel frowned. “I told Max she was on her last leg.”

  “Yeah, he thinks knows everything.”

  Daniel laughed. “Well, we’re breathing for now. That’s an improvement. You doing that thing for your dad?”

  Alistair shook his head from side to side. “I just, I just want to forget about it sometimes, you know?”

  “I thought that for a while too. But no. You need to remember, it’s important.”

  “Why?”

  Lowering his head, Daniel paced the room then turned back to Alistair. “Because one day you won’t remember. One day you’ll forget everything about him. You’ll be here, walking through the halls and you’ll think about your dad, but you won’t see his face, you won’t hear his voice. Everything that made him, him…it’ll be gone. And you’ll wish to God that you could have that back.”

  Alistair looked away as Daniel’s words sank in. He could hardly remember his dad’s face now and most times he was happy for it. The image of his father taking his last breath would always come to mind, but as the years passed that picture blurred, and it was a memory Alistair didn’t want back.

  “I’m just saying,” Daniel continued. “I know what it’s like to think you want to forget about something. And I know what it’s like when you finally do. A memory, even a ghost is better than nothing.”

  Daniel wiped tears from his eyes then turned his back. Alistair winced and tried to ignore the sting of guilt he felt, he was wrong for even complaining, knowing that Daniel had lost both of his parents. Everyone had been wronged by fate, but they had no choice but to keep moving forward. He was no different.

  “I’m sorry,” Alistair whispered.

  “Don’t be. I know sometimes anger seems like the easier solution. You can control it, you just sweep it away.”

  Alistair smiled. “When did you become the one with all the answers?”

  “While you’ve been moping, I’ve been in Max’s library. Those self-help books are actually worth a read.”

  “Those are all yours. Should we go check on your brother?”

  “Eh, I guess. But you gotta go see your family after. Don’t blow this off.”

  Alistair ground his teeth then nodded. “Fine…I will.”

  Smiling, Daniel walked to the door. Together they left the utility room and headed down the hall. The long, drab corridor was empty, like most other places down there. People didn’t tend to linger, there wasn’t much joy to be found in a bunker.

  Five years underground seeing the same people every day had taken its toll. That type of seclusion did things to the mind and could turn the most outgoing person into a recluse. But the somberness they were feeling now was for entirely different reasons.

  “You awake in here?” Daniel asked as he pushed the door open and leaned inside.

&nbs
p; “Go away,” Trevor replied.

  “I brought Alistair with me.”

  “I don’t care. Go away.”

  Daniel glanced back at Alistair and motioned him to follow. They moved further into the dark room, flipping the light switch on the wall.

  “I told you to go away!” Trevor roared.

  He was sitting on the couch, staring at a blank wall. Raising his hand, he drew back from the light and grumbled.

  “We’re not leaving you to sit around in the dark. You gotta get out of here.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. Just leave me alone.”

  “This isn’t healthy, Trevor and it’s not gonna bring anyone back,” Daniel replied.

  “I don’t care. I wanna be alone.”

  He stood up and headed into the backroom. Daniel followed, still badgering him along the way. Trevor walked into his bedroom and tried to close the door, but Daniel stuck his foot into the crack.

  “Where’s Chloe?” Daniel asked.

  “With Ashley. Go bug her.”

  “We’ve all got shit to deal with Trevor,” Daniel said then pulled his foot back and let the door slam.

  Shaking his head, he made his way back to the living room where Alistair was waiting by the door.

  “I’m gonna go,” Alistair mumbled.

  “You coming back?”

  “I think I’ll stay with my mom tonight.”

  “I’m sure she’ll like that.”

  Alistair smiled then left the room. He stopped outside of the apartment he’d call home for years and stared at the door. He wondered how different things would be if his dad was still around. He thought about how many more smiles his mom would have and how many less lines of worry across her face and strands of gray falling from her head. His dad had been gone for five years and Alistair still felt a twist in his stomach as he opened the door, hoping to find him sitting on the couch in the living room.

  “You came!” Melinda gasped as her tired face stretched into a brimming smile.

  Alistair smiled back then stepped inside and gave his mom a hug. She squeezed him tightly, like she thought he might try and run.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you too.”

  “Alistair!” David and Charlie screamed in unison as they rushed into the room.

  “You didn’t eat all the cake yet, did you?” Alistair asked as hugged them.

  “Not yet,” Charlie laughed. “You’re just in time.”

  “Told you he wasn’t dead,” David said and nudged Charlie on the arm.

  “What?”

  “He thought you were dead like dad. He said that’s the only reason you wouldn’t come and see us.”

  Alistair frowned and swallowed back tears. He glanced at his mother then quickly looked away as her eyes welled with the pain she’d been trying to hide. He’d been so concerned with running from the pain of his father’s death that he hadn’t realized he’d left his family alone when they needed him the most.

  You’re the man of the house when I’m gone. His father’s words echoed in his head. You keep your brother’s safe and always look out for your mom.

  “I’m sorry,” Alistair suddenly cried out. “I’m sorry.”

  He fell to the ground as his mom wrapped her arms around him.

  “It’s okay baby,” she whispered.

  “I’ll do better. I’ll keep us safe.”

  CHAPTER 2

  THE CATALYST

  Max cleared his throat and looked up at Craig. “I think it’s time,” he said firmly.

  “It’s not safe. You said it yourself, we’ll be sending them on a suicide mission.”

  “Staying in here is a suicide mission. The scrubbers are done. We can’t vent without letting toxins back in and the oxygen farm is dying. We take our chances out there or we’re all gonna die in here.”

  “How long do we have?” MJ asked.

  Max lowered his head and looked away. “Two weeks.”

  “What!” Alistair blared from the door. He barged inside and stopped beside the table. “I knew the food rations were running low…but you’re saying we have two weeks until we all suffocate?”

  “Come in, have a seat,” MJ replied.

  Alistair frowned as he felt her eyes casting disappointment. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he sat down at the aging, wooden table.

  Nearly every day, MJ stressed to him how important it was that he learned to control his temper. He needed to act more like an adult if he ever wanted anyone to take him seriously. Never mind that he’d become the most familiar with all of the systems besides Max. Never mind that when something needed to be fixed, he was the person they called on. None of that mattered, everyone still saw him as the same clunky sixteen-year-old whose father died and needed to be coddled.

  “I…I couldn’t sleep,” he said lowly. “Sorry for interrupting.”

  MJ frowned then turned back to Max. “So, our options are die, or send a team topside where they’ll probably die?” she asked matter-of-factly.

  “Those aren’t choices at all,” Craig added.

  “Are we gonna just pretend like we didn’t plan for this?” Max replied defensively. “We knew at some point we’d have to go out, we’d have to see what’s left of the world. This, this just makes our decision easy.”

  Craig laughed. “Easy? Nothing about this is easy. This place is falling apart, and we’re stuck down here like rats.”

  “We just fixed the scrubber,” Alistair said. “And we told you that thing was busted months ago. Why’d you let it get this bad?”

  Max cast a dirty look at Alistair then turned back to the table. He leaned his head forward and grumbled loudly. “We’ve been down here longer than I thought we ever could,” he barked. “I gave you five years back…five years. This isn’t the way it was supposed to go. I made the best out of a horrible situation and now what…you want me to fix the impossible? Well I can’t! I can’t do everything!”

  “Geez. Sorry, okay?”

  “It’s not okay. Everything is always my fault. Something’s broke…go ask Max. Somebody dies, Max should’ve done something. I never asked for any of this!”

  “Max!” Craig snapped and slammed his fist onto the table.

  Max shot straight up. He wiped a tear from his cheek and looked at Craig with wild eyes. His face was red and his hands shook as he clapped them together and wedged them between his legs.

  “We don’t have time for this shit!” Craig continued. “What’s your plan?”

  With a deep breath, Max straightened up and turned to face Craig. “Sorry, I…I’ve just been really stressed lately.”

  “It’s fine. Tell us what you had in mind.”

  There’s only one thing we can do. We have to send a team out.”

  “I’m going!” Alistair snapped.

  MJ gave him a sideways glance and huffed. “Go out and do what? We’re not gonna find supplies out there, we’re not gonna find help.”

  “Go and check it out for the rest of us,” Max replied.

  “And?”

  “And hope that the air is breathable, hope that there’s something up there for us. You may not want to hear this, but we’ve outstayed our welcome down here,” Max replied then turned to Alistair. “And yeah, I know you told me all about the broken equipment. Everything down here is on year five of a three-year lifespan. It’s time to go.”

  Craig didn’t reply. He knew this day was coming for a while. They’d been testing air samples and sending unmanned drones above ground, but none had returned. Now it seemed time itself was against them and no matter what reservations he had, he knew outside had to be better than the fate that lay ahead if they did nothing.

  The scrubbers weren’t the only thing failing. Food was running out, the water tanks were nearly dry, particle and substrate filters were working at 20% effectiveness and people were ready to kill each other.

  Nothing had gone the way they thought it would. They should’ve been back to the top once the dus
t settled, but the world had other plans. From what Max could tell there’d been a nuclear meltdown somewhere in East Asia. The fallout swept across North America, polluting the air. That was three years ago and they’d seen no sign suggesting things had improved.

  “Will the suits hold?” MJ asked after a long silence.

  “There’s no reason they shouldn’t. They were designed for use on Mars. But I have to be honest, if we still need those damn things it won’t matter how good they work.”

  “Should we take this to the council?” MJ turned to Craig and asked.

  “Why?” Max growled. “This isn’t up for debate. We have to head out, at least right now we can control the terms.”

  Craig shook his head and grunted. “No, no. The council should meet on this. You’re right, it won’t inform our decision, but they have a right to know before we start sending people topside.”

  “And when they complain and tell us to find another way, what then? You know this whole council thing was your idea in the first place. I’ve always hated the idea of needing permission to keep everyone alive.”

  “We inform the council,” Craig said with a deadening certainty in his voice. “Plan this out Max, make sure you don’t miss anything.” With a stern face, he stood up and walked out of the room.

  “I’m going,” Alistair said again.

  “Give it a break kid,” Max replied.

  “I’m going.”

  Max ignored him and turned to face MJ. “What’s your boyfriend’s problem?”

  “Don’t put me in the middle of your shit. Figure out what the hell we’re doing. Put your little nerdy brain to some use because a lot of people’s lives, including my son’s, are riding on this. And I’m taking the kid Max.”

  “It’s not a field trip MJ.”

  “Are you kidding me? You stay behind your desk with your computer and your charts. Did you forget this kid was already in the field?”

  “I’m not a kid damn it!” Alistair groaned.