Extinction Level Event (Book 1): The Turn

by J. Walker

  Safely tucked behind a makeshift border, were at least twenty cottages and various outbuildings, along with a substantial plot for farming. A secure walkway to the hidden doors in the abatement wall was also created. If a friendly group of survivors should pass through, we could offer a place of refuge.

  We had staked our claim. This was our territory.

  At the same time the refurbishments were completed, the four groups that had set out to prepare the safe houses began to return. Sam’s group was the first to return because they had been the closest. Our first safe house was complete. We celebrated with a feeling of accomplishment and victory. With a few hours, another group returned and the third group returned the following day. Group four, Jenna’s group, was still out there.

  Within a few days of the last group’s arrival Jenna’s group finally radioed to inform us that they had accomplished the task of securing a safe house. They were going to move out to another town only twenty kilometers away from their current location but it was outside the range of the radio’s communication. It was a risky venture but it was a town we hadn’t yet scavenged. They were going to establish a safe house, look for more supplies and possible survivors.

  Derek wasn’t impressed with their hasty decision. They had already been gone a week longer than hoped. Derek wanted his group to be on their way in a few weeks and there were still a lot of preparations that needed to be done. We wanted to make sure that they had enough food, water and medical supplies with them.

  Even though they could scavenge for what they needed on the road, which was already a risky venture, I wanted to know we had done our part. They were heading into unknown territory and there could be unfriendly encounters on the way. If they could avoid unnecessary trips into towns and cities, they would have a much safer journey.

  Late one night, while I was on duty watching the security system monitors, Derek and I sat in the small control room discussing their estimated time of departure.

  “We’ll be leaving in another two weeks, maybe three and we still haven’t heard anything from Jenna’s group.” His concern was evident and mine was growing as well.

  “Maybe we should send a search party out?” I suggested. “We know where they went. It shouldn’t take us longer than a day or two to find them.”

  “Okay.” He replied. “Why don’t we head out tomorrow? Are you comfortable leaving for a few days’ time? We’ll stay within radio contact and if just you and I go, that’ll be less of our number unaccounted for. It’ll be better for everyone here if just two people go. You up for that?”

  “Hmmmm.” I said thoughtfully.

  “Road trip? You bet.” I replied with a tired smile.

  He grinned widely in response. “We shouldn’t be gone any more than two or three days.”

  We left responsibility of the compound in Sam’s capable hands. Derek’s people were under orders to continue preparing their supplies for the long voyage west. We would stay within range of the radio and would be contacted if Jenna’s group returned. I said my farewells to the twins and Ashley. I was sad to be leaving them but I was also excited to leave the compound.

  Derek and I climbed into one of the snow plow trucks and headed towards the safe house furthest from the compound. This was Jenna’s groups last known location. We easily located the safe house on a map and with any luck at all, we would arrive within the next two or three hours. We settled into a comfortable silence on the road while music played from an mp3 player we brought with us.

  The music was a good distraction as I watched the forsaken countryside pass by. Nothing stirred in the snow covered fields except great flocks of scavenging birds feasting on the frozen remains of the dead.

  The farmhouses we had previously foraged through remained boarded up and empty, no evidence of anyone having passed through. The occasional deer wandered onto the road and watched us suspiciously. As if wondering where we had come from and why were we disturbing their stillness, when all our brethren had fallen.

  Finally, breaking the silence, I reached over to turn the music down. “Once we get to the safe house, we might be able to reach them on the radio.”

  “You’re right, we should be able to. We’ll give it shot when we get there. Shouldn’t be any more than twenty minutes now.”

  “So, did you and John keep in touch over the years?” I asked him.

  “Kind of. After the gaming thing was over and done with, we emailed occasionally and once you find friends on Facebook, you never really keep in touch with them anyways.”

  We both laughed because it was true. In the old world, whenever we ran into old friends from the past, we quickly added them to the swelling ranks of Facebook friends. Soon enough the promised ‘let’s keep in touch’ was lost to quick ‘likes’ and brief comments. It never really enhanced any friendships. It merely served as a narcissistic portal to see how many ‘likes’ one could acquire from a quirky status, quality photo or humorous meme.

  “First world problems.” I said and we laughed again.

  “And now look at us. Hunter gatherers again.” He said and our laughter quickly died away as we turned to our own nostalgic thoughts and memories.

  “What I wouldn’t give to be bitching about my wireless connection dropping.” I sighed and closed my eyes.

  “No shit.” He replied morosely.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Within another fifteen minutes we arrived on the outskirts of a small town. The term ‘safe house’ was a loose interpretation. It was actually an outdoor storage facility. There were rows upon rows of neat little storage units and an administrative building. The entire complex was completely surrounded by high chain link fences. The facility also had solar panels installed on the roofs of the units and on the administrative building’s roof as well. Jenna’s group was able to get the entire system back into a decent working condition.

  It appeared as though at one time, the main gate had been accessed by swipe cards but the group had removed the useless apparatus. They had used a heavy chain and padlock to keep the main gate locked and had concealed an extra key for the padlock under a large rock. They had kept the other keys with them to bring back to the compound.

  Derek found the key and opened the gate while I surveyed the surrounding area. Situated off one of the lesser travelled county highways on the outskirts of a small town, the snow was piled in high drifts across the roads. There were downed tree limbs among other signs of obvious neglect. The wind blew cold and harsh across the empty landscape, wailing with discontent. It carried with it the detritus of a lost civilization. Thousands of years from now, vast empires across the globe would be remembered for their ability to accumulate a vast array of garbage.

  “Ready?” Derek asked, interrupting my train of thought.

  “Sure thing, Sarge.” I replied with a smile.

  “Funny. Get in the truck.”

  We settled into the administrative building, pleased to see that the group left behind a considerable amount of supplies. My confidence grew, knowing we’d made the right decision regarding the safe houses. We set up camp for the next few days and turned on some small space heaters. Derek tried the radio and within minutes Jenna responded.

  “I can’t believe you guys came to look for us!” She exclaimed. “How sweet.”

  Derek passed the radio to me.

  “Here you go.” He said with a wink.

  “Jenna, what the hell is going on? You guys were late getting back and these guys are heading out in a few weeks.”

  “I know, I know. Jason fell and broke his leg.”

  Derek’s eyes met mine and he raised an eyebrow in query. He sat down on the cool leather sofa beside me, offering a granola bar and bottle of water. I gratefully accepted the food and eagerly opened both.

  “Where are you?” I asked between mouthfuls.

  “Next town over. About twenty kilometers away.”

  “Do you need us to come get you guys?”

  “No he’s doing better n
ow. We were going to head back the day after tomorrow. Maybe you guys stay there for the time being and we’ll meet up in two days.”

  I looked at Derek. “Well? What do you think?”

  “Sure, we can wait here and head back together. But let Sam and everyone back at the compound know.”

  I replied to Jenna. “Sounds good. We’ll see you in two days. Radio if you need anything.”

  I set the radio down and turned to Derek.

  “Well let’s eat something with a little more substance and maybe we could check things out before it gets dark.” I suggested to him.

  “I’m game.” He said. “I say we check out these storage units. There’s got to be keys somewhere.”

  “Oh.” I said, excitedly. “That could be fun! I love nosing through people’s shit. You wouldn’t believe some of the kinky shit we found in some of those houses.”

  Derek laughed. “I can believe it. Find out if the other group checked the storage units already.”

  I quickly radioed Jenna back. “Did you guys check out the storage units?” I asked.

  It took a few minutes but she finally replied. “No. We didn’t have time. We secured the area, set up shop and decided to come here. That place is perfect. We should think about maintaining it as a backup facility if anything happens at the compound.”

  I was thoughtful for a moment and looked at Derek. “What do you think? I like it.” I asked him.

  He quickly replied. “Actually Emily, that’s a really good idea. You never know what could happen and it’s best to be prepared. This is the perfect spot for a third refuge, kind of like an outpost. You’ve got all of these self-contained units, it’s secure, already solar powered. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”

  “I think you’re right, Jenna. We’re going to check out some of the units later on.”

  “Over and out.” She replied.

  I found the propane stove and prepared a quick meal of my homemade chicken noodle soup. I found a small loaf of Amy’s bread and goat’s milk cheese. She had also packed two small jugs of the sweet tasting milk in the supply bag, along with a handful of eggs.

  I opened the first jug eagerly and took a large gulp before I passed it to Derek. He took a big swig as well and turned to smile at me with a big milk mustache.

  “Very nice!” I laughed but what I really wanted to do was lick the milk right off his lips.

  I had to give my head a brief shake to change my train of thought.

  We ate quickly and washed everything down with the remains of the first jug of milk. We were anxious to find the keys to the units and find out if there was anything worth taking back to the compound. We found the keys, locked the doors to the office building and walked over to the row of units closest to the main building.

  “You know.” I said. “I’m willing to bet Jenna had something to do with Jason breaking his leg. There’s something going on between the two of them.”

  Derek chuckled. “You’re probably right. If it’s bad, he might have to stay behind. Would you have a problem with that? I’ve been thinking of leaving one or two of my people with you.”

  I was pleasantly surprised by his statement. Leaving one or two of his group with us would sustain the feeling of security in the compound. We were all quite anxious about their impending departure.

  “Really, Derek? You’d do that for us?”

  “Yes, I would. I’d stay myself but I have to find my family.” He stopped at the door to the first storage unit and unlocked it.

  “Thanks.” I said. “We already owe you so much. You’ve all done so much to help us. I don’t know how we can ever thank you or repay you.”

  The door to the storage unit rolled up noisily. The interior was dark and had a dank, musty aroma. The unit contained boxes upon boxes from floor to ceiling, from the back of the room to the front.

  “Don’t worry, Emily, you’ve done quite a bit for us. We needed the break. We needed to stop and rest for a bit. We’d been travelling for so long, it was starting to wear us down. You’ve sheltered us, fed us, given us clothes, medicine, supplies. You don’t owe us anything.”

  “No worries. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here at all.” I wrinkled my nose at the odor in the storage unit. “Judging from the smell, I’d say this unit is full of books or something.”

  I started to open one of the boxes and to my surprise it was full of porn magazines. “Oh nice.” I said sarcastically but I couldn’t resist taking a peek inside the pages.

  “What did you find?” Derek came up behind me and peered over my shoulder.

  “Oh!” He exclaimed and laughed. “If I don’t bring some of these back, my boys will be disappointed.”

  I shoved the magazine I’d been rifling through and quickly closed the box.

  “Oh really?” I said, looking at him with my eyebrow raised. “What about the women? What do they get? You better start looking for some Playgirl if that’s how you’re going to play.”

  He reached over my shoulder and opened the box again.

  “Look.” He pointed at an image of a well-endowed man. “Something for everyone.”

  I pondered the image longer than I should have.

  “I wonder if all these boxes are porn mags.” I said. “Might be good for kindling.”

  “Now why would you go and do that?” He said with a grin.

  “Maybe we should move on to the next one.”

  He sighed. “Fine. You’re starting to sound like my wife.”

  “Well I’m just serving to protect her interests.”

  “I’m sure she’ll appreciate your valiant efforts.” He replied amusedly and then cleared his throat purposely. “Are you done with the magazine yet?”

  I blushed furiously and slammed the box shut. “Hey, you’re the one who pointed it out.”

  We locked the unit and checked the remaining row. We found nothing useful in any of the units in the current row. They all contained nothing more beneficial than household goods, which was actually great find if we ever had to fall back on this location. However, we found no food, medicine or other necessary items. Even some canning supplies would have been a great find.

  “It’s getting dark. We should go back to the office, settle down for the night. We’ll check out the rest tomorrow. There’s got to be something useful in one of these units.” Derek said as we closed the door on the last unit of the row.

  “What about your magazines?”

  He smiled. “So now you’re letting me bring them back?”

  “I never said you couldn’t!” I retorted. “Grab some before we leave. You’re right, your ‘boys’ will probably like them. Why not eh? We all need something to make this bullshit existence tolerable. If dirty magazines will do the trick, who am I to deny that?”

  I elbowed him in the ribs. “I can’t believe you actually thought that I wasn’t going to let you! Seriously! Whatever you want to do for you and your group, go for it.”

  Derek unlocked the door to the administrative building and held it open for me.

  “I’m teasing you Emily.” He said as I passed by, a hint of laughter in his voice.

  Yes, yes, you are. I said to myself.

  The preparations for the safe house undertaken by Jenna’s group were quite thorough. They had even blacked out the windows to hide any light from within from possible unfriendly survivors passing by. The main door had been covered with yellowed newspaper as well.

  We lit some candles to preserve the battery life of the solar power grid. The small heaters worked tirelessly to bring some warmth to the small office space again. We moved the two cold leather sofa’s closer together and placed a small heater between them. I used an overturned plastic crate as a small coffee table while Derek found us a snack.

  Placing some warm blankets and a few pillows on the two sofas, I sat down on the edge of one to remove my heavy boots. My feet and legs were cramped and achy. I peeled off my socks, washed my feet with a wet cloth warmed up on the heater
and started massaging the kinks out.

  “Here.” Derek passed me a can of Dole fruit salad and a chocolate bar before he sat down on the sofa across from me.

  “Do you really think chocolate bars are any good anymore?” I asked, taking a big bite out of an Oh Henry.

  “Who cares?”

  I laughed. “Right, its chocolate, who cares if it’s got weevil larvae in it.”

  “Seriously, that’s a good source of protein right there.” He said, chuckling.

  I knew right away that I was going to have a very difficult time sleeping that night. I remembered that I’d brought along a couple of joints.

  “Mind if I smoke one, Derek?”

  “Not at all, as long as you’re sharing.”

  I reached for my backpack and dug around inside for my little bag of goodies. Finding the small plastic sandwich bag, I opened it and inhaled deeply.

  “Ahhhh….” I said, closing my eyes. “John knew how to grow some good shit.”

  “Is that where you got it?”

  “Yeah, he had plants growing behind the barn. Hopefully they’ll come back in the spring. I’ll make sure your group brings some of our harvest along.”

  “That’d be great. It helps morale. We all need an escape and alcohol makes people depressed and violent. The worse thing that can happen after smoking a joint is maybe someone will go on a munchies binge, eat all our supplies and fall asleep on watch.”

  I laughed as I lit the clumsily rolled joint and inhaled deeply before passing it to Derek.

  “I don’t even remember the last time I had a drink.” I said to him, leaning back on the pile of pillows.

  He was thoughtful for a moment and replied. “I’ll be right back.”

  He disappeared into the back offices. I heard him rummaging around and he returned with a bottle of Canadian Club whiskey and two plastic cups.

  “You never know what you’ll find in an office building.” He said with a mischievous grin.