by Ken Barrett
She touched his arm. “Yes, and I’m nervous about learning something I can’t forget.”
“What if we find out that they’re in danger? Would you want to go back and help?”
His sister stared up at the ceiling through the flickering shadows. “I don’t know.”
*****
After a long day spent searching for parts and finishing their radio, night had finally come, and at last, they sat before the blazing fire in the bank lobby. “The only time I feel lonely is when I think of them,” Rose stated.
“Yeah, and it’s the same for me.” Liam connected the wires from the roof antenna to the radio, then paused to look at his sister. “You know, they may have changed their frequency or might not be using the radio tonight.”
“Or the shelter could have been destroyed by the Scarred Faithful, and everyone’s dead,” she added.
“Yeah, well, let’s try not to think about that right now.”
Rose nodded as he connected a hand crank generator to the power input port. “Are you sure this thing will work?” she asked.
“No,” he responded. “It’s a jury-rigged nightmare. The components are old and have been exposed to the elements, including the fire of the solar storm and the rain afterward. Then there’s this old survivalist style electric generator we found in that big store you discovered.”
“Maximart.” She shook her head in wonder. “Everything the ancients might want was always available.”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen such a display of privilege and gluttony.” He fastened the last wire in place, then sat back and looked at his sister. “Are you ready? And are you still sure you want to do this? We can’t unlearn what we find out.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She sighed. “I want to know about the baby; it should have been born by now. I hope Denise’s little boy is ok; regardless of how he came to be, he’s innocent.”
Liam slowly turned the generator’s crank and the lights on the radio control panel glowed somberly. “I’ve set the frequency to what we used when we talked with Glenwood and the other shelters. If they’re transmitting, we’ll hear it.”
A high-pitched hiss came from the device’s speaker along with a jumble of sounds within the static that might have been fragmented words, but they couldn’t make out what was being said. He continued to turn the generator crank at a steady pace, and asked, “How long should we wait?”
“It’s late, so maybe no one is in the Command Center,” she answered. “Should we call out, and hope that someone hears us?”
“What if the wrong people find out that we’re still alive?”
“Yes, there’s that. We’ve found the perfect place to live, and have a lot to lose if the army comes after us.” She glanced at him. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Me either,” he replied while still turning the crank. “If we don’t tell them where we are, I don’t think they can find us, so we could try a short transmission.”
Rose picked up the microphone, then glanced at him before speaking. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?”
The speaker hissed and a tangle of other sounds whirled in the background, but he couldn’t make sense of any of it.
“Is it working?” Rose asked.
He shook his head because there was no way to know. Visually, the radio seemed to be fine, but without a way to check that their signal was actually going out, it was impossible to tell. What they were hearing could be a garbled transmission, or it might just be static. For the time being, all they could do was keep trying. He took the microphone from his sister. “Hello? We are calling from Aspen,” he lied. “We’re in trouble and need help. Can anyone hear us? Steamboat, are you there?”
Again, the response was a hiss and other noises that his mind tried to shape into words. He turned to his sister and shook his head uncertainly. “I’ll adjust our frequency and keep trying, but communication may be impossible.”
Rose’s expression was grim but understanding. “Well, at least we tried, and saying we were calling from Aspen was a good idea.”
“Aspen, are you there?” A clear woman’s voice abruptly sliced through the static.
Liam and Rose stared at each other for a long moment, uncertain of how, or even if they should answer. “What should I say?” he asked.
“I didn’t think that far ahead,” she answered.
“Aspen, are you there?” the woman asked again.
He had to say something. “Yeah, we’re here. Hi, how are you?”
“Oh, you’re so smooth,” Rose chided. “Give me the mic.”
“Are you in Aspen?” the woman asked. “We weren’t aware there was a shelter there.”
“We’re just a small group that took cover in a bank basement when the firestorm hit,” Rose answered. “We have friends in Steamboat, and would like to know if they’re ok.”
“Aspen, yes, I know of that place,” the woman answered. “We’ll send missionaries to you. The Stickman has purified the world by fire, and all must come into the fold or be cast out to die.”
“Well, that sounds wonderful,” Rose stammered.
“Very convincing,” Liam muttered.
“We’d love to have your people stop by for a visit,” his sister said. “But what have you heard about our friends at the Steamboat Shelter?”
He chuckled. “Visit? Are you going to make them tea and serve biscuits?”
“Shut up,” Rose whispered.
“Rest easy. Your friends have all converted to the true faith, and are on their way to Glenwood where they will be cleansed and taught the doctrine of fire,” the woman stated.
“All of them?” Rose asked.
“Sadly no,” the woman replied. “Many were tested and found unworthy, and others escaped into the wilderness where they will suffer and die.”
*****
They stared at the silent radio between them. Flames crackled and popped in the fireplace as the faint sound of snoring bears rumbled from the bank vault. They were both bewildered; what should they do?
“We have to go and help,” Rose said urgently.
“Why?” he asked. “All of our friends deserted us and we were thrown out, so I don’t see any reason to help them now.”
“Not everyone betrayed us.”
“Almost. Our partners and closest friends sure did.”
“Not Tiger and Alice, or Jackie, or anyone in their families.”
He grudgingly nodded. “Ok, yeah, sure; a few people stuck by us.”
“The baby is innocent.”
He sighed, knowing where the conversation was going. “That’s just a few people out of the entire shelter. Why should we risk ourselves just for them?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do, and you know it.” Rose smiled slightly, obviously aware that she was winning the argument, as usual. “And in case you missed the memo, our lives have never been fair.”
“They could be if we just stayed here and kept out of human affairs.”
“We’re going, and you know it. In fact, by now you’re making lists of things to take with us.”
“Huh. It’s not much of a list, just our laser rifles and maybe the radio,” he grumbled. “And you know that this will get violent, are you ready to kill to save our friends?”
She nodded soberly. “Yes, I think we have to be prepared for that.”
“There’s danger in that decision,” he said. “Once the door to savagery is opened, we may not be able to close it again.”
“I know,” Rose answered. “But that’s a risk we’ll have to take.”
*****
Their return had again taken two days, but at last, they stood atop the hill overlooking the old town of Steamboat Springs. The deep red sun starkly painted the landscape in shades of crimson, but would soon hide behind the western mountains. A light breeze stirred the new growth of brush and small trees around them. The view was serene, but Liam was vaguely upset and anxious.
“There’s no sign of the army,” Rose said.
“A few might still be around that we can’t see,” he replied. “We should wait until dark before getting too close.”
She nodded. “Should we try the radio?”
“I don’t think the person we talked to the other night was here. She was probably in Glenwood or traveling with the Scarred Faithful.”
“You’re probably right, and if we call again, she could figure out that we’re here, and send the army back.” Rose walked further down the hill, then turned to look at him. “I think we can safely go a little farther. Come on.”
He pulled the backpack containing their radio onto his shoulders, then clutched his L80 rifle nervously. The woman on the radio might have known that they weren’t in Aspen, and guess they would come to Steamboat and rescue their friends; it was possible they were walking into a trap.
They descended slowly, stopping at fifty-meter increments to look and listen before moving on. The landscape still appeared deserted, so they left the highway and followed the fast-running river to the shelter.
The ground below the vestibule entrance had been torn up by wheels and human tracks. “A lot of people came this way,” Rose said.
Liam hurried ahead, but then suddenly stopped. “The outer hatch is open; it’s dented and sitting off its hinges.” He carefully surveyed their surroundings. “No one is here.”
Rose sprinted past him, heading toward the vestibule door.
Chapter 22: Aftermath
It was a rare clear night. The air held a bitter chill as stars slowly brightened and twinkled high above. To the east, a yellow moon rose, painting the landscape in stark shades of obsidian and gray.
Liam caught up to his sister as she neared the ruin of the burial mound, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder. “Hold on Sis, we need to take it slow.”
“Look what they’ve done.” Her whisper was sharp with anger. “How could they desecrate a grave?”
He stared at the tomb’s collapsed stone walls and scattered earthworks and shook his head; no words could describe his feelings. Those interred had died during the solar storm, long before the missionaries had arrived; the only possible crime the priests might believe they had committed was that of ignorance of their faith.
“In crusades, the first things destroyed are the holy places of the conquered,” Rose whispered.
“Let it go, Sis,” he said. “We can’t do anything for the dead, but inside the shelter, some might still be alive and need our help.”
“You’re right of course,” she grumbled. “Is there any point to even trying to rescue these creatures?”
“You tell me; you’re the one that wanted to come.” He stared at the broken vestibule door. “But we’re here, and we have to do something.”
Rose nodded. “Well, let’s go inside then.”
“Keep your rifle close, and be ready to fire,” he cautioned.
*****
The way up to the battered outer hatch was pockmarked with thousands of muddy footprints. “How large is their army?” Liam pondered.
Rose struggled up the wet incline behind him. “There’s no way to tell from this mess, but it must be huge.”
He pulled her up the last few meters, and at last, they stood together outside the partially open hatch, breathing deeply as trepidation clutched at their hearts. What would they find inside? Were any of their friends still alive?
“Leave the radio here,” she suggested. “We may have to fight our way back out, and the extra bulk of that thing might slow you down.”
He nodded, then slipped his backpack off and stashed it behind a jumble of stones. “Ok, are you ready for this?”
“No,” she answered. “But let’s go inside anyway.”
He crept along the dented steel door, then peeked around the edge into the lightless room. The vestibule seemed empty at first, but as his eyesight adjusted, he saw more. The interior was littered with dark indefinable shapes; he needed to get closer to understand what he was seeing. Liam slipped around the edge of the hatch and into the room.
Bodies of men, women, and children had been burned into twisted charcoal lumps that lay crumpled and distorted by the agony of their deaths. The horror took his breath away, and left him motionless, struggling to cope with the remnants of mindless savagery that surrounded him.
“Oh,” Rose gasped as she joined him, and it seemed as if some part of her spirit escaped with that utterance. “How, oh, how could anyone do such a terrible thing?”
Her question was unanswerable. “Well, at least there’s this.” He kicked a tall piece of electrical equipment. “Someone wrecked Roxi’s EMP generator.”
“Well, that’s good at least, unless we’re being tricked.”
“Yeah, I’ve thought of that too,” he replied. “The woman on the radio may have known who we are, and since we asked about Steamboat, we might be walking into an ambush, or someone could have rigged the whole place with explosives and they’re waiting for us to go deeper before setting them off.”
“I hadn’t thought of the boobytrap possibility,” she answered. “Thank you for that, I wasn’t scared enough.”
“Well, however it works out, I love you, Sis.”
“Yes, me too Big Brother.” She stepped beside him. “Now let’s go.”
He nodded toward the inner hatch that had been left only slightly ajar. “We’ll have to push it open, and the noise will alert everyone inside.”
“This place feels deserted. I doubt anyone is still alive,” she stated.
“I guess we’ll have to go inside to find out.”
After a quick glance passed between them, they placed their backs against the hatch and pushed with their legs. The steel shrieked as it scraped across the rocky floor, then finally Liam squeezed through the opening. The lighting flickered irregularly, creating diaphanous specters that danced around him. “No one’s here,” he said.
Rose slipped through and joined him a moment later. “Maybe it’s not a trap then?”
“That would be nice, but let’s not count on it.” He scanned the room but saw nothing. The atrocities seemed to have been confined to the vestibule, which might, or might not be a good thing. He moved toward the downward ramp, and Rose followed.
“Look.” Rose pointed to the bottom of the ramp, where laser and railgun fire had scarred the walls and floor. “There was quite a fight.”
“I don’t see any bodies though,” he replied.
“Someone must have cleaned them up,” Rose added. “That could be a sign that some survived and they’re still here.”
They saw more signs of war as they passed through the next two levels, as the lighting stabilized and brightened. The fighting must have been brutal, and yet, they saw no human carnage. The storage areas on both floors had been looted, and without the crates littering level three, the entrance to the side shaft the Resistance had dug was exposed.
“Should we take the tunnel down to level fifteen?” Rose asked.
“No, I don’t think so. Leaving the entrance open like this could be a trick. We could end up cornered down below, and we’d have to fight all the way back up to escape.”
Rose stared at the shaft entrance and frowned. “But if someone climbs up and gets above us while we go lower, we’d also be trapped.”
Liam nodded, then fired his L80 laser at the passage opening. The granite wall shattered and collapsed under the explosive heat of the weapon; in less than a second, only smoking rubble remained of the shaft entrance. He turned toward his sister and shrugged. “No one can get behind us now.”
Rose shook her head. “That was a ham-handed solution, and if anyone in here hasn’t heard us, they have now.”
“At least we won’t have to search for survivors. They’ll find us.”
“For better or worse,” she grumbled, then led the way down the ramp to level four.
*****
“He hasn’t been dead very long,” Rose said as she crouched over a withered figure laying near the base of the level five r
amp. “He went through absolute hell; his body’s covered with burn scars and brands, and someone amputated his left arm and must have cauterized it with a blow torch.”
“The Burning Path is a cult of insanity,” he replied. “He looks familiar; do you recognize him?”
“I’m surprised you don’t,” she answered. “It’s Commander Davis.”
“A man who was trying to play both sides,” Liam said.
“He would do anything to keep himself in power, but the missionaries took that away,” Rose replied. “I always thought he played along with them just to keep his position, then when that didn’t work, he joined the Resistance.”
“What killed him, and how long has he been dead?” he asked.
“Judging by his body temperature and the environment, I’d guess he died less than a half-hour ago.” She frowned. “As to the cause of death, I don’t see anything obvious. He was probably in extremely poor health, and if he heard us open the inner door or you blowing up level three, he might have come out to investigate, and the strain may have been too much for his body to handle.”
“Well, I can’t say I ever cared much for the man. He hated us and made our lives miserable, but he didn’t deserve such a horrible death.”
Rose stood up, then nodded in agreement. “We need to keep going. There must be others here, and they might need help.”
“What if he was the only one left behind?”
“I don’t think so,” she replied. “Someone’s been taking care of him.”
Considering Commander Davis’s history with the missionaries and his hatred of androids, his caregivers probably wouldn’t turn out to be friendly. “Are you really sure you want to continue searching?”
“Yes, of course. I know the commander wasn’t good to us, but look what the priests did to him. Maybe, in the end, he changed his mind, and whoever’s been treating his wounds might have similar views.”
“I hope you’re right Sis,” Liam mumbled as he led the way down to level six. “But where is everyone?”
“They’re probably down in the lower levels,” she answered. “And I’m a little concerned because the commander was being kept pretty far away from everyone else.”
