Managing the Apocalypse

by C. J. Boyle

  After the Links were released Martha turned on the video feed so she could watch. Cockran walked in behind her, "Mind if I join you?" He put a hand on her shoulder as he bent down to see the video. She wanted to shrink away in disgust but fought against that desire. Ever since she watched the footage of Cockran trying to choke the life out of his Link wife, she was slowly concocting a plan that required him to be comfortable around her.

  She turned around and gave him the best smile she could manage. "Sure," she scooted over to the chair next to her and then patted the one she had been sitting in, "Here. Sit down." He sat down next to her, close enough that their shoulders touched.

  The video showed what Martha believed was a nest in a large basement below a parking structure. The Links seemed to be more docile than they typically had been. Some of them rubbed up against each other like two kittens might just before falling asleep. Others pushed each other back and forth growling in an attempt to determine who was more of an alpha. More or less, it was much like watching a pack of wolves go about their daily routine. You know, if that pack of wolves looked like hairless white amphibious apes. Martha was interested in seeing how they interacted with the human offspring. After about twenty minutes of watching, they finally saw a little blonde girl. She was crying and grabbing her stomach. Soon a Link came to tend to the child but it wasn't loving at all. The Link knocked the child down and shrieked at it. For a minute, it looked like it was going to rip the child to shreds but instead it grabbed the nearest Link and fought with it. Martha and the Colonel looked on in horror as it tore into the weaker Link with its fangs and then spit acid all over it. Several Links then jumped all over it and started to feed. Eventually, a Link came back to the child and then leaned over it until the fleshy straw slowly came out of its mouth.

  Martha was suddenly afraid that the Link was going to make an easy meal out of the child. "Oh my God!" She grabbed the Colonel's forearm and braced herself for seeing the worst thing she could imagine. When she felt his hand on hers, the fear she felt became even worse. Strangely enough, even though she hated the man, she was grateful that there was still enough humanity left in him that he tried to comfort her.

  Just as the fleshy straw reached the child, she leaned back and opened her little mouth as wide as she could. Both Cockran and Martha's face twisted up in disgust as they watched the Link regurgitate food into the girl's mouth through the straw. Martha covered her face and then hid it in the Colonel's neck. "Oh my God, that's way worse than what I was expecting!" She laughed relieved, yet horrified, "Disgusting!"

  The Colonel, however, didn't find it amusing at all. He looked on with empty hollow eyes. Without saying a word, he got up and left her office. Martha quickly got up and followed him out. She called after him, "Colonel Cockran, we need to bring a few of those children here so I can study them."

  Cockran kept walking. "Absolutely not."

  "Sir, with all due respect, I need to be able to..."

  He turned around and stopped her, "I said no. The False Link program appears to be working."

  "George, we don't know enough about the children or the Flink program. We need to continue to study both."

  "Fine, but I expect them to be caged just like the Links were."

  Martha was silent for a moment. She was thinking about being a jailer to small children who should be shown what human love is and not imprisonment. She stepped closer to him. "I've noticed that you haven't even asked about Lillian."

  He stepped to her and got within inches of her face. He practically growled at her, "That's because Lillian is dead."

  With that, he turned and walked away. How do you reason with a man who so clearly needs mental help? He didn't appear to be acting in the best interest of mankind at all. He didn't care about science. He didn't care about theory. Heck, he didn't seem to care about whether or not mankind lived on. He only seemed to care about how he felt personally. Martha decided it was time to go over his head.

  ~ The Awkward Question ~

  Mitchell watched as a tractor trailer entered the prison grounds. Everyone was excited because they had brokered a deal with a safe zone in Mexico to trade fresh fruit and vegetables in exchange for vehicles and guns. New Hope also gave them piles of gold and diamond jewelry that the raiders and shoppers obtained while on their outings. It literally looked like a pirate's treasure to Mitchell. He couldn't see why anyone would need it in that day and age, but if that was what they wanted, everyone was more than happy to part with it for some fresh produce. The exchange apparently went smoothly, but as far as the future was concerned, no one knew what they could possibly exchange on a continuous basis. Would Mexico let us continue to harvest their food for free? It was doubtful. He watched as Brody opened up the back of the truck and helped them unload it. He needed to have a talk with the man but he didn't exactly know how to approach him. He had given Brody many reasons not to like him and all them had to do with Kera. At first, he was just having a bit of fun. He liked to shake things up, and he figured in his own way, he was helping the two of them get together. Now, after months of playing this game of his, two things were very clear to him. One; that Brody hated his guts, and two; that he really did like Kera.

  Mitchell took a deep breath and walked up to him. "Hey, Brody, can I talk to you for a minute?"

  Brody had a box of bananas in his arms. He looked at Mitchell, a bit surprised that he was talking to him. He put the box down, "What do you want, Mitchell?"

  "I know this is a little weird, but I need to ask you a favor."

  Brody pointed at him, "I swear to God, if you say anything inappropriate about Kera, I will lay you out, right here, right now."

  Mitchell put up both his hands, "No, nothing like that, I promise."

  Brody grabbed another crate, "What then?"

  "I wanted to ask," he scratched the back of his head and winced, "I wanted to ask you if you'd take care of Jessie if anything happens to me."

  Brody set the crate down and crossed his arms. He looked at Mitchell as if he was waiting for the punchline or the other shoe to drop.

  "I see that you're a little confused."

  Brody nodded, "A little, yeah."

  Mitchell shrugged, "If anything happened to me, you know that Kera would insist on taking care of Jessie. It's a done deal. You know it as a fact, right?"

  He looked at the sky above Mitchell as if he was reading the answer in the clouds. "Yeah, probably."

  Mitchell nodded in agreement, "I guess, I just want to make sure you won't hold it against him that I'm his father." He considered for a moment, "Or whatever I am to him. Grandfather, I guess?" As he looked at Brody, he noticed Kera walking toward them.

  Brody sized him up again. "I wouldn't do that."

  "Good," Mitchell held out his hand to Brody. A small part of him hoped that he would refuse to shake his hand and that Kera would see it. "Thanks, man."

  Brody looked as if he was still trying to decide if Mitchell was being serious or not. Finally, he took his hand and shook it.

  Kera appeared between the two. She eyed both of them, "What's up?"

  "Hey, Kera. I gotta go. I'll see you later?" Mitchell quickly took off.

  Brody watched Mitchell as he walked away, "I think we just became Godparents."

  ~ The Tattle Tale ~

  Martha stood outside General McNally's quarters thinking about what she was going to say. She raised her hand and forced herself to knock. A moment later the General came to the door. He was dressed in civilian clothes and she could hear music playing in the background. She tried to look confident and smiled, "Hello, General McNally, I was hoping I could talk to you for a few minutes?"

  He stepped aside and showed her to his living room. Martha placed her laptop computer on his coffee table and showed him the video. She watched his expression closely as the footage of Colonel Cockran trying to kill his Link wife played. He seemed a little surprised and disturbed by it, which she hoped would work in her favor. When the video was over
, the General looked at her. "Why'd you show me this?"

  "Because, Cockran is unstable and he is making choices based on his emotions and not for the greater good." Martha was hoping beyond hope that he would listen to her. "If he keeps sending his troops into the populated areas to exterminate the Links, he'll be killing the children who, frankly, could be the future of mankind."

  The General thought for a moment, "There is no evidence that the troops have been killing Link children."

  "Well, no, but... California is warm and..."

  He waved at her, "So far, the decisions Cockran has made have saved thousands upon thousands of people. Who are you to tell me otherwise?"

  "Sir," Martha had to get her point across, "Whichever plan we follow, we need Links to save the human race. We need them for the False Link Program and we need to study these children. We won't know what happens with these kids for at least two years or more. We can't keep systematically exterminating every Link city by city."

  The General leaned forward, "Exactly how long do you think it would take to rid the United States of every last Link? One year? Two Years? Ten? No matter what Cockran does, I think we have time."

  Martha knew she was getting nowhere. She politely thanked the General for listening and left. As she walked down the hallway, she was hit with the thought that the General was probably going to fill Cockran in on their conversation and the existence of a damning recording. She came to the realization that her days were probably numbered. She was being watched before, but from that point on, she doubted she'd be able to take a shower and truly be alone. Whatever was happening in the world and to mankind, this was just the beginning. She wished she could jump a hundred years into the future to see how everything turned out. She suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall and sighed. She took her satellite phone out of her pocket and texted her husband.

  TEXT: Video chat at 1900?

  ~ The Joint Venture ~

  Dr. Wallace walked quietly out of his bedroom. He had just put Rose to bed and hoped that she'd be asleep for at least a few hours. Almost every time the baby girl slept, she grew a few inches. It was hard to believe that she would be physically one year old in just a few weeks. Raising children is a hard job. You have to be able to show them how to be human. Which means they have to know right from wrong. They aren't going to be able to get that information from the monsters that gave birth to them. If these youngsters reach 'adulthood' in as little as eighteen months are the wild ones having sex with each other and trying to procreate? He shook his head. No, the future doesn't look so bright to good ol’ Doc Wallace. He walked up to the large screen on the wall. JoJo had taken one out of the visitation room and installed it in the doctor's apartment so that he could see Martha on a more lifelike scale. Her beautiful face appeared on the screen and she immediately smiled at him.

  "Hey, Dr. Decker," she joked.

  "I never agreed to that," Dr. Wallace smirked, "you look beautiful."

  Her eyes searched the room. "Where's Rose?"

  "I put her down for a nap. She's a growing girl." He laughed and then got quiet, "She called me daddy. I didn't teach her that."

  Martha frowned, "I'm... honestly very jealous."

  He was excited, "Maybe me and Rose could come live with you in the Mountain."

  Martha shook her head, "No, that isn't an option anymore."

  Martha filled the doctor in on everything that had been going on and how she hoped that she could bring some of the Link offspring into the Mountain. There was no way that Colonel Cockran was going to let her leave again, so each of them had to stay put for now. "Also, we have to assume that everything we say..."

  He waved at her, "Okay. I understand." He was afraid for her. 'Why didn't I go join her when she asked me the first time? Because I'm stupid, that's why,' he thought to himself. He may not have been able to protect her, but at least he would have been with her. An idea hit him. "What about a joint off-campus effort for the children?"

  "What'd you have in mind?"

  "Remember where we met?" Dr. Wallace smiled, knowing that she did.

  Martha's head cocked to the side for a moment, "That might work." Martha nodded at him, "I love you, Shawn."

  "I love you too, Marty."

  ~ The Morgan-Hopkins Rehabilitation Center ~

  The Rehab Center had been shut down for years, but it seemed like the perfect place to take the children where they might be safe. The building was used primarily for drug detox and recovery for teenagers. Since most of the patients were there involuntarily, the building had security fencing, bars on the windows, and sliding lockable gates on most of the hallways. The center was located just outside of Denver, so it was close enough for everyone to get to in a relatively short amount of time. Dr. Decker thought it would be harder to convince Colonel Cockran to let her set up a place outside of the Mountain in which the children could be taught and monitored without being kept in cages. No need to be afraid that they would suddenly Turn and kill everyone that had been caring for them. Technically, that could still happen, but at least it would be contained outside of both New Hope and the Mountain. When she proposed the idea to him, he remained expressionless and stared off into space. "I'll agree to it, but only if you stay here," he said.

  "What? How can I study them if I'm here? Dr. Rod can head up the Flink Program. He doesn't need me." Martha wanted to get out of the Mountain permanently.

  He finally looked at her, "I don't have to explain myself, Dr. Decker. I want you here. I'll send Dr. Haley and some soldiers, you can send your husband and some...," he shrugged, "guys with guns. We'll set up live camera feeds so we'll be able to monitor everything from here." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, do you mind? I have a kink in my neck." He pointed at it.

  Martha crinkled her nose like she smelled something rancid. She weighed her options and decided to play along for the moment. "Sure," she said as she walked behind him and put her hands on his shoulders and started to massage his neck. "Jeez, you have a lot of tension here. What'd you do, sleep wrong?"

  "Who sleeps?" He closed his eyes while she rubbed his neck and kneaded between his shoulders. "Martha, tell me something? What did you hope to gain by showing General McNally that video?"

  She froze with her hands still on him. She didn't know what to do or how to respond. He got some kind of perverse pleasure from having her touching him while simultaneously pointing out that he knew what she had done. She started to squeeze and rub his neck again. "Honestly?" She lowered her voice and tried to sound as caring as she could, "I've been worried about you, George. I mean, look at you." She stepped in front of him and looked him in the eyes, "You have bags under your eyes, you don't sleep... have you been eating? Can I get you something?"

  The Colonel held her gaze for a few moments and then rubbed his face. "You already know how I deal with stress."

  She sat on the desk in front of him, "You can't keep going like this. You need some sleep. Look, I can get you a sedative or something."

  He nodded slightly making Martha believe for a moment that he was going to agree but he suddenly changed his tune. "You think I'd let you, give me...a sedative?"

  She didn't let it phase her. "Well, then how about Dr. Rod?" She put her hand on his shoulder, "George, you can't go on like this."

  She was officially making herself sick. She was not the hands-on sweet person she was pretending to be. You catch more flies with honey...well how many assholes can you catch with it?

  Cockran stuck to his word. He had the facility cleared out and cleaned up. He even had a team repair the two diesel generators so they could occasionally have power. Martha let herself drift back to the time when she met Shawn. They were both interns at the Rehab Center. He, of course, was instantly smitten with her. She just wanted to focus on completing her internship so she could move onto something she really wanted to do. The more she tried to ignore him, the more he tried to make himself known. He wasn't always a short, chubby, bald man. Well, he was always s
hort, but he was handsome and quite buff in his youth. He would give her a confident half-smile and wink at her, and her legs would wobble. It wasn't long before she was the one following him around and they became inseparable. But then a need for a liver and an unhappy little girl with no daddy got in their way.