by Lea Tassie
The men did as they were told, then climbed aboard as Joshua fired up the monster and, with some difficulty, drove the tank out of the bunker, over the deep ridge of hard iron, and up to the surface of their area. What greeted their eyes through the small windows was more than horror. It was more than they could even comprehend.
Mike spat, "What the fuck has science done now! Where the hell is everyone? Where's the goddamn church? Damn it, what have those fools in Denver done now?"
The armored personnel carrier tank they were in had the ability to lower the back door to any desired angle so that it doubled as a ramp. They set the rear door to 'level' and all climbed out of the tank to have a good look around. The four men stood on the top of the tank for same time silently staring off in all directions. But all they could see was a great black wasteland of metal shards that looked too sharp to even walk on. "Let's drive to higher ground, maybe this is an isolated disaster," Joshua said as he moved back inside the tank to the driver's seat.
"Damn rights!" snapped Mike. Underneath the anger, he sounded nearly hysterical.
They drove for some time, trying every direction, but everywhere the landscape looked the same. When they saw the fuel was running low, and knowing no one had the ability to walk home on sharp black shards, they returned to the bunker.
"So it's like this everywhere?" Betty whined.
"Yes, everywhere we drove, the lands looked the same," replied Nate calmly.
"Surely it can't be everywhere?" said Debbie. "Surely our house is still standing. I don't know what I'll do if my house is gone." She looked near to tears.
"It was the same everywhere we could see," Joshua said gently to his wife. He did not want to frighten her further by saying that the world they had known now all looked like a bleak moonscape.
"Dad, I'm scared," pleaded DeLouise as she clutched at his arm.
"I am too, dear. I have no idea what's happened," responded Nate tenderly.
"Well, it's simple, isn't it!" Mike snapped, still unnerved. "We got a little food and water left here, and a good tank with diesel. I say we drive out tomorrow and go west before we starve!"
"Why west?" queried Joshua.
"The nearest town is west of here. They're good people, and they'll take us in. Beats going east to that damn hell hole Denver!" Mike said. His voice was still shaking, but he spoke as if his idea was not open for debate. "Anyway, if it's real bad out there, it's best we go to the ocean where we can get fish and water. And the ocean is west."
The group was a little uneasy about being bossed by Mike, but his idea did make sense. For now, anyway. They all retired for the night, and come morning, rose and packed as much as they could in and onto the tank. The kids were told to stay inside the carrier with their moms as the three men, Mike, Nate and Byron, rode atop the tank, barking directions to Joshua in the driver's seat.
The day was very hot and, inside the crowded tank, even hotter. The sky looked burned and waves of heat rose up from the surface of the black shards. The tank crawled along at a walking speed, for Joshua didn't know that the tank had gears which would increase the rate of travel. The terrain stretched on and on in endless desolation, like the world after Noah's flood. There were no trees, no grass, no flowers, no animals, no people. Just an eerie and unbelievably barren black desert.
One full day of listening to the crunching and scraping of tank tracks crawling over black metal in the blazing heat frayed the nerves of the travelers. Nightfall was worse, when they were faced with the challenge of where to sleep. They fit easily into the tank as long as they are sitting, but it was quite another thing to find places to stretch out and lie down on the hot metal surface. Mike made a few flippant remarks that kept most of them awake even longer. Betty tried to smooth things over but the damage was done.
The second day had the old steel tank crawling west in the heat again, this time with the two boys allowed to sit up on the roof of the tank with Mike and Nate. Byron quietly sat next to Joshua at the controls for some time before he finally said, "Look, Joshua, we both have kids and I'm sure you're like me, you would do anything to keep them safe."
Joshua nodded in agreement.
"Good, good," Byron said, "because I was thinking, and I don't want to alarm the others, but at our rate of travel, the nearest town is at least five more days from here, and our water is not going to last forever in this heat."
"I see what you're saying," replied Joshua as he pulled at the controls to keep the tank running straight ahead. "You know of a place somewhere ahead where we can replenish our water supplies?"
"That's just it, see, there is no place ahead. Look around, it's all the same. Black and desolate. I'm thinking the ocean will be the only water we find, and we got kids." Byron's voice was still quiet.
"I'm not following you," Joshua said, as he turned his head to meet Byron's gaze.
"What I'm saying is, Mike and Betty don't have kids, and we do, and we also have only so much water," Byron stated flatly. There was little emotion in his tone.
Joshua looked shocked. "Do you realize what you're saying? We are still worshipers of God. Are you asking us to leave them to die?"
"What I'm saying is, ask yourself what Noah would have done in the same situation. Do you think that after they left the Ark and the waters receded, they could start harvesting crops right away? Do you think the hippos would instantly produce calves to provide meat for Noah and the rest of the meat eaters?" Byron responded coolly.
"What?" Joshua said. "We survived. God picked us, just like God picked Noah."
"I have no idea how God convinced you to make a bunker," Byron said, "but we're now in the same situation as Noah, if you think about it. It appears that the hand of God has wiped all life from the planet, and we are the only survivors. We owe it to our kids to ensure they survive. I won't let anything happen to my Bell." Byron went on searching for words, trying to force some sense into the situation. "Besides, Mike's half chink."
There it was, laid bare for the world to see. Billions had died, but racism survived.
At first, Joshua did not even realize what Byron had just suggested, that because Mike was of Chinese descent, it was somehow acceptable for him to be sacrificed. He focused on his two boys and the love of his wife, and thought maybe Byron was somewhat right. They had survived, just like Noah. They did face a world destroyed by some higher power, a world laid waste where no crops could be grown. Anyway, even if they found bare ground, no seeds could grow in time to feed the empty bellies they already had.
"We can't just ask them to leave," Joshua finally said, after a long silence.
"I got that figured out," replied Bryan. "Those Army stretchers they been sleeping on, those come off the wall real easy. We just pack them out at night and go; let God decide their fate. They both take sleeping pills. They'll never wake up."
Some time passed before Joshua said quietly, "Let me think about this for a bit. What you said earlier, that sounds like science talk, you know?"
"The part about the hippo?" Byron asked.
Joshua nodded. "Well maybe not really, but a Sunday school question one kid asked me some time back got me to thinking. How did they survive? I mean, the Ark could only hold a given amount of food to feed the plant eaters and the meat eaters. That might be fine for the forty-day trip, but when they landed and the water receded, they were on Mount Ararat, in Turkey. I've seen the place and it's barren. I don't see how it would grow much, and they had to feed the animals because the flood would have killed all plant life worldwide. I mean, nothing like trees or grass can live under water for forty days without oxygen, right?"
Byron said, "Who's to know how God did it? All I know is He did. You don't usually question His wisdom."
The second day and night of travel passed. The third and fourth days were just as bad, and water was dwindling. The fifth day had Mike at the controls of the tank, crunching along at a crawl, as the other three men sat on the roof and agreed that ridding themselves of Mike
and Betty had to be done. It was decided that they would carry the couple far from the tank that night, out into the black fields. But how?
Nate had found metal plates along the surface of the tank that could be removed. With a little work, the men fashioned metal snowshoes to navigate the shards. That night, while everyone slept, the three men packed the couple far from the tank, and then returned to sleep. The morning brought panic as the women tried to find out where Mike and Betty were.
"It had to be done, it had to be done! Think of the kids," Joshua kept saying to his frantic wife.
"You bastard! She was my friend!" Debbie screamed, as the kids cried without understanding.
"Oh God, I think I can hear them calling." Nancy cried. She covered her ears.
Byron was at the controls, driving the tank in a panic, as Nate and Joshua tried to soothe the families. The women pleaded for their friends, but the tank rolled on until the din resolved into only the drone of the motor and the thrashing of metal shards on the tank tracks. The eighth day rolled around, with no ocean in sight, no conversation, little water and no rest, nothing but the staggering heat.
Once again, Byron quietly sat next to Joshua at the controls. Finally, he said in almost a whisper, "Jan use to be a Hindu."
"No! No, damn it!" Joshua shoved Byron, knocking him off the small seat.
"I'm just saying is all." Byron moved outside again, to the roof of the tank.
The last thing anyone expected was for the four kids to run away. But sometime during the night, they had gathered up some food and a little water, fitted the metal plates from the tank's hull to their shoes and stolen away into the darkness.
The morning brought frantic hysteria when the adults realized the children were missing. Debbie shook so hard that she could not keep her legs under her and fell to the floor of the tank, sobbing. Jan tried to comfort her as the yelling went on and blame was passed around. The plates were gone, so the men couldn't search on foot. The tank raced off at a crawl, first in one direction, then in another. After about four hours they stopped.
"We have to keep going west now. That's more important than ever. When we get there, we can find help. Maybe someone has a transport we can use, or maybe the military can send some soldiers," Joshua yelled. "We don't have the fuel to go on driving around lost, looking for the kids, and still hope to reach the west coast. They took food and water; they'll be fine for now. And I think I found a way to get the tank to go faster."
"You bastard!" was all that Debbie could gasp out between uncontrollable sobs.
The tank turned west and lumbered off, now in second gear, which was just a bit faster than a walking pace. The days passed and no one spoke. Soon a new noise was heard, a clanking noise from under the tank's floor. No matter how many times they looked from the suspended back door, they could see nothing. Then the tank veered sharply to one side. Everyone was flung against the walls as it started going in circles.
The track had sheared apart because of the higher speed and the days of travel on sharp metal shards. Nothing they tried could make the tank go straight. The six remaining adults broke into a flurry of blaming; the yelling in the confining metal tank went on until most were hoarse. The heat was intense enough that often one of them would pass out, causing the remaining members to panic, for the fear of death was uppermost in everyone's mind. They sat there for a few days, until the food was gone, knowing the water might last only another day. Joshua finally agreed that something needed to be done.
Rummaging around the tank, he gathered up a shovelhead, a few pots, bits of wood from seats, anything that could be fastened to the soles of their shoes. By about midday, the six members finally had enough materials to protect their feet from the shards, so they struck out west.
They were stunned to find themselves surprisingly close to the ocean. They walked for less than an hour before they faced a reddish-gray body of water that stretched on to the horizon. The water made a sick slopping sound against the shore and felt warm to the touch. There were no signs of life anywhere. No birds, not even insects.
After more blaming and arguing, they split into three groups. Joshua and Debbie would stay where they were to insure the group had a return point. Byron and Nancy went south, leaving north for Nate and Jan. The two couples started out immediately, favoring the daylight to search for help.
"You bastard," Debbie mumbled repeatedly under her breath. She could not comprehend the actions of this man to whom she had dedicated her life, this man who had fathered her two children and yet left them in the black metal desert to die.
"I didn't ask for this! All I wanted was to protect you and the kids," Joshua stammered in response. He knelt and prayed, which did not impede Debbie's mumbling in the slightest.
The two sweated through the heat of the day. In the evening, Joshua set up a small light, run from the tank's radio battery they had brought with them, to help guide the other two couples back through the dark. No one returned. After three days, Joshua was sure that no one ever would. He sat on the small metal shield from his left foot and used the right shield to rest both his feet on. Debbie had stumbled down the beach to see if she could find signs of the other couples. Both were starving, weak, and exhausted. They'd been unable to sleep on the razor-sharp shards, and had to remain standing until Joshua figured out a way to sit down.
As he sat, he thought about the futility of surviving any disaster of this magnitude. Nothing would ever be the same again; no more school, stores, TV, refrigerators stocked with food and beer. A bleak future of endless solitude loomed over him, with no people, no church, nothing. His stomach hurt. Joshua had never been really hungry in his life until now. He took out the gun he'd hidden inside his shirt, raised it to his mouth, said a prayer, and pulled the trigger.
Debbie heard the gunshot and rushed back, stumbling and tripping through the shards. When she arrived, Joshua was dead. She cried out and screamed, then cursed herself for being so hard on her husband. Slowly she reached for the gun, pointed it at her heart and pulled the trigger.
The trigger went 'click.' That was all, just 'click,' no matter how many times she tried. Just a simple, quiet 'click.'
"Bastard!"
Chapter 9 Charger on patrol
Charger spoke into the data recorder. "Day two hundred and thirty-seven, ten AM Earth central time. I have been awakened from cryogenic sleep by a message from Neo Terra. Seems they have lost contact with Earth and decided to get me out of bed to have a look around. Stupid humans."
He stopped, took a breath, and continued. "I have to say, sometimes it does feel good not to have Mac or Jill's thoughts rolling about in my head. Checked the stasis containers and all the bio mass from Vesta is intact, but I've got to ask someone someday, why the hell are we keeping all of Earth's life forms in test tubes? Especially the humans?"
Charger turned the data recorder off and set about starting the systems needed to land the ship on Earth.
The memory that his two companions were long since dead suddenly became vivid. Also the fact that Mac and Jill had met their deaths at his hands. Sometimes long periods of sleep left him confused. Possibly, like an old soldier who has lost a limb, the ghost of that limb still seemed to remain. It rekindled his hatred of humanity all over again, for it was they who had decided that they would never feel safe with such monsters as Lycans around. He felt betrayed, abandoned to a life of piloting a mobile fridge. But as quick as the hate rose, it faded, replaced with something that might have been sorrow.
The message had taken some time to get to Charger's craft and included commands to take the craft to Earth, interrupting his scheduled course to Neo Terra. By the time he had reset all the controls and checked the systems, Charger was passing Mars and only a few hours from Earth. Reaching into the small leather pouch at his side, he retrieved some dried meat and a vial of blood. He leaned back in the command seat and ate and drank while he enjoyed the view. When the descent lights blinked and the alarm sounded, Charger realized he wa
s not belted into his chair. Scrambling and dropping food, he hurried to buckle in, just in time for the descent engine to fire up and thrust him forward in the harness as the craft underwent a rapid reduction in velocity.
"Stupid humans and their stupid ships, what's so hard about giving an alarm sooner?" he choked out as his throat was shoved hard into the harness.
It was a rough descent but, moments later, he was cruising across the sky looking at the most amazing sight his old eyes had ever witnessed. The Earth was black, as far as he could see, just black. It sometimes glinted in the sunlight, occasionally so brightly that he had to squint. Sunlight was a threat to his existence, so he cruised slowly over the planet until he reached a shadowed area where he could stop and get out to inspect the black ground.
The ship descended and, as it made contact with the surface of the Earth, the landing pads shifted wildly, as if the craft were landing on a sheet of ice. This resulted in Charger being tossed around in the cabin before the engine stopped. Finally, the craft sat firm, but at a slight angle to the ground.
The cabin door opened, revealing a never-ending vista of black iron shards. As he walked around outside, the shards seemed sharp enough to cut through his old armor, but failed to do so. Charger spent a few minutes stretching in the damp and silence of the night as he paced. "Ah, how I've missed your coolness on my face."
He returned to the craft, picked the shards from his boots and started the engines to lift the ship back into the air. He circled the globe several times, calling on all frequencies but getting no response. For a couple of days, he diligently scanned the surface in all the light spectrums, searching for survivors, but found none.
Returning to orbit, Charger sent a message to Neo Terra. "All life on Earth is gone. The world is black, covered with metal shards. No idea what happened. Nothing remains in orbit to give me any answers and there are no responses from Mars or the moon." That done, Charger returned to cryogenic sleep as his craft resumed its course to Neo Terra.
