Darkness

by Kyle West

  “Good,” Makara said. “Get plenty of rest tonight, and use the morning to pack all of your gear. Tomorrow, Ashton will brief us on what needs to be done. He’ll be your pilot there and back, but Alex is in charge once boots are on the ground. I want everyone on the same page so that there is no confusion. What we are meaning to do is dangerous – not just because it’s a Bunker and we have no idea what’s in there. You’re going far to the north and at this time of year it will be colder than it is even here. Added to the fact the elevation is much higher, the biggest threat to this mission is probably the weather.”

  “We’ll be fine,” I said.

  Makara smiled. “That’s what I like to hear. And now it’s about time we headed back to Pyrite. Maybe 108 was a bust, but at least we’ll get the privilege of delivering good news about the extra food.”

  ***

  Gilgamesh landed in Pyrite around midnight, settling amidst hundreds of crude tents and shanties that were hardly sufficient protection against the cold. Odin was parked nearby, meaning Ashton had returned from his latest trip to Skyhome.

  I felt nervous as I left Gilgamesh and started for Odin, where my bunk was. I was a little nervous about leading, but with Samuel gone I had to step up and take on a more important role. Samuel himself had told me that back in Skyhome.

  I entered Odin through the blast door, the warm air tingling on my skin. Anna followed me in from behind – Char and Makara had stayed aboard Gilgamesh. It was dark, but even without the lights, I could discern blankets, pallets, and sleeping bodies spread before us. Those who needed the most shelter from the cold – the weak, the old, the injured – took up all available floor space on Odin. Every bunk would be filled to capacity. Getting anywhere on the ship at night was a near-impossible proposition.

  “Stay here,” I said. “I’m going to wake Michael and Julian to let them know.”

  Anna looked at me. “You alright?”

  I nodded. “I’m fine. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  I turned down the corridor, heading for the cabins. The corridor was clear of sleeping people so I didn’t have to worry about stepping on anyone. I entered the cabin immediately to my left.

  I saw Michael sleeping on the bottom bunk, and Julian on the one above him. Normally their quarters were aboard Gilgamesh, but they had appropriated my cabin for their own use. I was about to speak but I decided not to. There was no point in waking them now. It would be better to just let them sleep and tell them in the morning. I could at least give them that much.

  When I returned to the wardroom, Anna’s eyebrows raised. She was sitting at the table, facing me.

  “You didn’t tell them, did you?” she asked.

  I shook my head and sat down next to her. “It’s not...hesitation. I just feel there is no point in saying anything. Telling them now rather than in the morning changes nothing.” I sighed. “Let them sleep.”

  Anna nodded. “Just make sure you’re up before them; that way you can catch them before they get started on their days.”

  I nodded, sitting at the table. That wouldn’t be a problem, because I usually woke up earlier than everyone else. But it was already past midnight, and if things kept going as they were I would be falling asleep any minute.

  “Maybe we should both get to bed,” Anna said.

  “Yeah. We have a big day tomorrow.”

  Despite both of us acknowledging the fact that we needed to go to bed, neither of us made a move to get up.

  “Maybe Makara wouldn’t mind if we all slept in a bit tomorrow,” I said.

  I wrapped my arms around Anna and she leaned into me, laying her head on my shoulder. I lay my head on top of hers. We hadn’t had time to ourselves in a while.

  We just sat like that for a few minutes. Anna closed her eyes. Part of me didn’t want to move, wanted to fall asleep, but I knew it would be best if we got to our beds.

  I stirred, which caused her eyes to open.

  “Time for sleep,” I said.

  We left the table to go to our cabins. Tomorrow was the start of yet another mission. But, I thought, we had survived and learned so much along the way that a simple Bunker recon wasn’t going to be a big deal.

  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Chapter 8

  I awoke at my usual early hour but didn’t want to get out of bed, for an understandable reason: the air was cold and my bunk was so warm.

  So I slept in as the rest of the ship began to stir. I stretched out, wishing for just a few hours more of sleep. But the night was over and I had a mission to do – an important one. I felt determined to face it.

  I stood, planting my feet on the cold deck. I began to dress. As I dressed, I began to feel more resolve to meet the day. Both Michael and Julian slumbered on. I headed for the shower.

  Odin had two lavatories – one with just a toilet, and the other had both a toilet and a shower stall. It was located behind the cabins aft.

  I walked in, finding the air steamy. It felt wrong, that we could have hot showers while everyone outside was cold. Ashton had mentioned making a signup list available to anyone to reserve their spot in that shower for five minutes, but so far, no one had taken the initiative to do it. Just too many other things to worry about, I guess.

  I undressed, setting my clothes on a nearby rack. I stepped forward to the shower stall, closing the door. I pulled the retractable shower head from its slot and turned on the water.

  At first, warm water ran down my body. Then on impulse I turned the water to full cold, directing it upon my head.

  The shock of cold water blasting down my head, running down my neck, back, and chest, was unreal – far more uncomfortable than I had envisioned. It was like getting punched. Instead of jumping up and down, which is what I wanted to do, I forced myself to stay still. I relaxed my shoulders against the cold even though all I wanted to do was tense up. My breathing became deep, almost panicked, as a flood of oxygen filled my brain. Every fiber of my being felt alive, invigorated – and still, the water was cold. The skin on my chest reddened.

  Quickly, I used a nearby bar of soap to lather up, such as I could, also washing my hair. I stood in the shower stall for the next five minutes. The water in Odin’s storage tanks must have been no more than fifty degrees – if not colder.

  Why I did this, I had no idea. I turned the knob to off, letting the water slow to a trickle. I toweled off more quickly than I could ever remember. Strangely, once dry, I felt completely warm, but my breathing was still deep. The air that had once felt cold was now warm by comparison. I looked at myself in the mirror. My brown eyes stared back at me with intensity.

  I didn’t know why, but I felt stronger and more prepared to meet the day than ever.

  I dressed and found a short line outside the bathroom of people who wanted to shower. I checked my watch...05:45. It was a little earlier than I’d thought.

  I checked my cabin once more, finding that both Michael and Julian were gone. They’d probably headed over to Gilgamesh already. A lot of the crew liked to eat breakfast together there. Michael would want to see his wife and kid after doing supply runs between Skyhome and Pyrite all day yesterday, while Julian generally followed wherever Michael went. Those two had become fast friends.

  When I entered the wardroom, I found that everyone who had been sleeping there just a few minutes ago was now rousing. Some were already up, speaking in subdued voices. From the galley came the sound of pots and pans clanging – the cooks were preparing breakfast, at least for as many people as they could feed. They would be busy for a while.

  I left Odin, and made my way over to Gilgamesh. The cold was extreme, and I had forgotten to take my coat. My damp hair just made the temperature feel colder. I was only going to be outside for a few seconds, so it wasn’t a big deal. Roaring fires burned at intervals within the camp, around which people huddled for warmth. It made my mission that much more important – these people needed a home – a warm, safe place to stay, however temporary.
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  I walked up the boarding ramp into Gilgamesh.

  ***

  We all sat at the table in Gilgamesh’s wardroom – it was Michael, Julian, Anna, and I. I’d already explained the basics of the mission, so all that was left was to wait on the final details from Makara and Ashton – who had yet to arrive.

  Michael drummed his fingers on the table. By this time of day, the wardroom had been cleared of sleeping bodies, so we were alone. Julian looked like he was going to fall asleep in his seat.

  “Is Ashton even on board?” I asked.

  “He’s with Makara,” Julian said.

  Gilgamesh’s blast door hissed open. All of us turned to see Makara and Ashton framed in the doorway. They stepped inside, the cold air rushing in. The door shut behind.

  They walked toward the table, standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the end.

  “Morning, all,” Makara said, brusquely. “I’m sure Alex has told you everything so far?”

  Heads nodded around the table. Everyone waited for the leader of the New Angels to proceed.

  “Good. As soon as you are suited up and Odin prepped, you will be leaving for Bunker 84. Ashton has the exact coordinates, so finding its location should be no issue. However, we don’t know where the entrance itself is.”

  No one said anything. So far, everything was self-explanatory.

  “Your mission is to fly there and recon the Bunker on foot. It shouldn’t take long. Unlike Bunker 108, which we knew to be dangerous beforehand, Bunker 84 should not be infected with the xenovirus. It fell before Bunker One, likely even before the xenovirus had the capacity to infect animals. Besides, it is located so far west that the odds of the xenovirus making it there are very slim. What Ashton and I expect is an empty Bunker that is big and hopefully has a lot of resources we can use.”

  Despite Ashton’s and Makara’s opinion that the Bunker would not be dangerous, my gut feeling was that it would be highly dangerous. I couldn’t tell where this feeling came from, but it was present, all the same. It was always best to expect the unexpected.

  Ashton cleared his throat. “I will be your flight leader. The cold shouldn’t affect us too much. As long as we find the Bunker entrance from the air, there actually won’t be much time spent above ground.”

  I hoped so. The entrance had to be accessible, or it wouldn’t just be us who had a problem finding it – it would be the entire Exodus when the time came to move everybody in.

  “Is there anything else we need to know?” Michael asked.

  “We’ve gone over everything that we can,” Makara said. “As soon as Odin is cleared, Ashton will fly you guys north. It shouldn’t take long to reach Bunker 84. He’ll set you down and you can go in.” She paused. “You might even be back by tonight.”

  Getting back tonight, hopefully with good news, seemed like an excellent proposition. It also seemed impossible. After what had happened at Bunker 108, I had no illusions that this was going to be easy. Even though we had a strong team, I still had a bad feeling that I couldn’t shake, no matter how hard I tried.

  “Alright,” I said. “Let’s get started.”

  ***

  After the meeting, I hung around a few minutes before heading for the clinic. I wanted to visit Samuel one last time. Part of me hoped he would wake in the most opportune manner possible and take over my role. Even if he woke up, though, I was still stuck leading. Makara wouldn’t let Samuel do anything in his current state.

  I found him in the same position as before – lying on his back with various tubes sticking in his body.

  Sitting by his bed was someone I hadn’t expected: Ruth.

  She gave an apologetic smile as I entered.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I was just covering for Lauren while she got some rest.”

  “No need to apologize,” I said. I pulled up a nearby stool, sitting at the end of the bed. “How are things going?”

  Ruth shrugged, looking at Samuel. “I don’t know. It’s all very overwhelming. Lauren being here makes things easier.”

  I nodded. It was amazing to think that as many as five people had survived Bunker 108 – Michael, Lauren, their daughter Callie, and now both Ruth and I. Just a couple of weeks ago I thought I had been the only survivor.

  “We’ve got a small piece of our community here,” I said. “It used to be just me.”

  Ruth forced a smile. “Then that makes us the same, then.”

  At that moment, Michael and Lauren walked into the clinic. They both watched Ruth and me for a moment, seeming surprised to see us here.

  “Well, this is a reunion if I ever saw one,” Lauren said.

  From the corridor came the sound of a little girl’s exuberant scream. Like a rocket, Callie ran into Michael’s legs as if trying to knock him down. Michael smiled, taking the brunt of the impact with ease. He grabbed Callie, who squealed as Michael lifted her high into the air, a smile stretched across his face. Both Lauren and Ruth laughed. Even I managed a smile.

  At last, Michael set the little girl down. His brown eyes looked warm and happy. Ever since finding him in Vegas, I hadn’t seen him much with his family. I realized he had a lot to balance; being both a soldier and a father. Lauren probably wasn’t happy that Michael would be in harm’s way again, but I knew Michael wanted to do his part, especially since he was such a capable fighter.

  “Thanks for saving our lives,” I said to him.

  Michael arched an eyebrow. “Which time?”

  “The Bunker,” I said. “You left your keycard by the motor pool.”

  Michael looked at Lauren. “It was her idea, actually.”

  Lauren smiled. “I knew we wouldn’t need it past that point. I guess I just had a feeling about it.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  It felt good having everyone together. We had all come a long way since the fall of Bunker 108, and there was always hope for a new beginning now that all of our paths had crossed once again. I wondered if anyone else was out there from 108 that we just didn’t know about. It was certainly possible, especially if some had gone west toward Los Angeles rather than east toward Vegas.

  Even still, five people surviving that night seemed a miracle in and of itself. It was something to be grateful for. It was too bad we would all have to be in harm’s way again, especially Michael, who had his family. It wasn’t going to be the last time we risked ourselves, either.

  I looked out the open doorway.

  “Is it time?” Michael asked.

  I nodded. “Probably so.”

  Michael lifted his daughter into the air, giving her a fierce hug and planting a kiss on her forehead. Callie, realizing that her dad was leaving yet again, started to cry. Lauren grabbed her, setting her on the ground and holding her back from chasing after her father.”

  “Be back soon, Callie-boo-boo.”

  Callie sniffled. “You promise?”

  Michael nodded. “Promise.”

  Next, Michael hugged his wife, kissing her on the lips.

  “I’ll be back,” he said.

  Lauren looked into his eyes, saying nothing. Maybe she knew there might be a time where he didn’t come back.

  “Please don’t do this again,” she said.

  Michael nodded. “This should be nothing. After this, I’ll take a break for a while.”

  “You said that last time.”

  “I mean it, Lauren.”

  Lauren sighed, and nodded. “Okay. I’ll let you go. One last time.”

  Michael kissed her again. A moment later, he and I left the clinic and headed for Odin.

  ***

  An hour later, Odin was prepped and ready to fly. We found the warmest clothing we could. We all had thick parkas with more layers beneath. I slipped my Beretta into an inside pocket of my parka and carried my AR in my hands. Besides weapons, we also had plenty of food. We had offloaded most of it for the Exodus to use in case it did take longer than a couple of days to do this. We left enough for the five of us to last for three days
, which was far longer than we planned on staying at Bunker 84.

  The last of our preparations made, we found our seats on the bridge as Ashton began liftoff. A crowd had gathered below the ship – Makara, Char, Marcus, and even several of the gang lords, including Cain and Rey. Makara held up a single hand in farewell as the gang lords stared on with hollow eyes in the dull light of the Wasteland. It was late morning.

  The ship turned north, leaving behind the walls of Pyrite. I was pushed back in my seat as Odin accelerated.

  We said very little that first hour. I merely watched the landscape below pass – a ceaseless red and brown of valleys, mountains, and dead trees. The lines of old highways cut through the landscape like cracks, empty now for thirty years. Lifeless cities spread across the flatter areas, buildings crumbling and disintegrating into the surrounding Wasteland.

  The land transitioned from the brownish red of the Wasteland to a dull, monochrome gray. Clouds darkened, despite its being midmorning, casting the land below in shadow. The air grew thick with dust.

  “It should be getting brighter, not darker...” Julian said.

  “The dust is thicker here for some reason,” Ashton said.

  “Something to do with Ragnarok?” I asked.

  “Perhaps,” Ashton said.

  If dust kicked up by the meteor was less prevalent in equatorial regions, then maybe it was more prevalent farther north. We had only gone a couple of hundred miles, so it seemed strange that such a short distance could have such a large effect.

  The landscape changed from low valleys, hills, and dead forests into mountains. The dust was so thick that we could barely see the mountains below. Ashton slowed the ship out of concern for safety. It was dark and miserable.

  Ashton turned the ship to port, angling us downward.

  “We’re almost there,” he said. “Coordinates are showing that we’re almost on top of it.”

  There was no way to see anything below, but that didn’t stop me from trying. A hulking mountain rose ahead of us, cold and gray. I wondered: if it was this dim during the day, how dark would it be at night? I imagined that the darkness would be absolute. We had to hurry and get inside the Bunker and then return to the ship before that happened.