It wasn’t too much longer until the front of the line of refugees reached the foot of the trial, and where fresh water flowed freely. The abandoned Nation Parks Services building, though dilapidated in appearance, still provided some form of shelter. In this type of winter, any type of shelter could be the difference between life and death. It was a very welcome sight to those who have been pushing their feet forward, mile after mile, on very little sleep, if any at all.
It was nearly thirty minutes from when the first of the line of survivors arrived at the old outpost, till the final ones arrived. Some had left so quickly from their homes, that they had done so without proper clothing or adequate shoes on their feet. Some of the last to arrive at the old Parks office had strips of cloth wrapped around their tattered shoes. Those who left without socks, now had blood seeping through their cloth shoes. As the rough fabric rubbing up against their exposed skin for miles and miles. Finally, their skin had succumb to the torment, as their exposed and raw flesh had split and blood flowed freely. Their feet were not the only issues that these poor souls had to deal with, for many left without even grabbing a coat, or at least not one suitable enough for the jouncy they had just been on. Now, limping, and nearly frostbit, the last of the train of survivors hobbled towards the tattered shelter.
At the very end, was Dave and AJ, who had remained in the back, for security as well as to ensure that no one fell behind and was accidentally left. They arrived a few minutes after the last of the survivors arrived. The continued push, the constant stress and the overwhelming burden of having so many lives depend upon them, was starting to show upon the faces of both AJ and Dave as well. Neither would admit it, both have been trained to rigorously, and had been through far worse to acknowledge the wear, but it was there.
Between the glazed thousand yard stare, and the darkened bags under their eyes showed the truth. They had been ran out of Camp Zion, nearly starved and frozen, only to have the hope of reprieve viciously ripped out of their grasp as they had to once again flee from an opposing force. It is one thing to be miserable, and uncomfortable. For Dave, AJ and anyone else who spent any bit of time in the service, this was a daily event, no big deal. But it was the constant running, the hiding, and the inability to stand and fight back, which made the miserable uncomfortableness that much worse. Sure they could stand and fight, but their deaths would serve no purpose at this time, there would be no glory in their loss. There would only be a loss.
Once everyone arrived at the old National Parks office, help started to arrive from the inner workings of the Hive. Brother Ben had sent down over forty people and an additional dozen security, to help get people up and into the warmth and protection of the mountain. From start to finish, it took over five hours, of grueling, freezing and labor-intensive work to get the newly arrived survivors up the mile and a half trail. Some of the elderly and more severely wounded, were literally carried up. They would be carried by one or two people at a time, depending on size and such. Those doing the carrying, would transport their person a few hundred yards, then switch off to another group. Then the next group doing the carrying would switch off again and so on and so forth, till the one needing assistance reached the precipice of the trail. This way, those who did the carrying, would only have to bear the weight a few hundred yards at a time, and then would have a moment to rest as the returned to their starting point. As with everything else at the Hive, it was all about sharing responsibility and helping out where you can.
Towards the end, the wind had started to pick up again, and the clouds had returned, turning the air icy. By time Dave, AJ and Ms. White reached the sturdy outer doors of the Hive, their hands ached from the cold, and their hair was damp from the chilled wet air. It wasn’t snowing, but it wasn't raining either. The nearly frozen, liquid just hung in the air, only to be pushed around by an ever-present breeze.
Thin layers of ice had already started to form along edges of rock faces, and the railing that sporadically lined the trail upwards. But the most dangerous was the black ice which spread across the paved trail. A simple slip upon the nearly invisible frozen layer was not only uncomfortable but could very well prove to be deadly. The trail that leads up to the entrance of the Hive, was at such a steep angle, and had such sharp switchbacks, that if one started to slide down it, they would have a difficult time to stop themselves before falling off. Even if they were able to survive the fall, they would still no doubt be injured in a way that would be most painful.
“What a view,” AJ said as he stood under the rock canopy which covered the entrance to the Hive. He stood there, back to the door, as he looked out towards the way they had just come. The dark gray clouds hung low, whips of the darkened clouds seemingly reached down towards the mountain range, some seemingly only feet away from them. He half wondered if he jumped high enough if he would be able to grasp a handful of the stormy clouds above.
Off in the distance, the snow-covered mountain range stood majestically, as patches of thick fog were snagged by the tree tops. Being the ever-present shooter, AJ scouted the road which ran between the two mountain ranges, as he guesstimated the distance from where he stood. In his mind, he ran scenarios of posable attacks. He would calculate the windage and range, and where the best spots would be to take such significantly reaching shots. He half closed his left eye, and tilted his head slightly to his right, as he imagined lining up such a shot. Slowing his breathing and feeling the change of wind, he counted off the shot in his head. Starting at three, he counted down till he reached one, then let out a quiet little, “Boom.”
“Did you make the shot?” Ms. White asked as she peeked over AJ’s shoulder. She waited till he turned, showing his ever-present smile. “Come on,” She continued, “I guess the big boss of the Hive wants to talk to us.” She finished up, before turning and heading into the belly of the mountain.
The already tight quarters of the caverns passages within the mountain seemed to be pushed to near capacity with the influx of new residents. It took some time for Ms. White, Dave, AJ, Lance, Butch and a few others to finally reach the communications cave where Brother Ben was waiting for them.
“Welcome, sorry we couldn’t have met under better circumstances or better weather for that matter, but such is life.” Brother Ben said warmly as he approached the group who had just entered the communications chamber. “Lance, good to see you again.” He then turned back towards where the radios lined up. Finally, he motioned over to his left, as he spoke up again, “Here, let's move over here, where we can talk without bothering those on the radio too much.”
Once the group was moved over into a section of the cave more fitting for a group their size, Ms. White was the first to speak up, “Let me just say thank you for your help. We all, myself included, would be dead by now if it wasn’t for your intervention.”
Brother Ben smiled before he pulled a chair up and slowly sat down. “It was the lest we could do for such brave souls, the famed survivors of Camp Zion.” He clasped his hands and leaned forward a little bit, resting his forearms on his knees. “I think we’ve all been through enough that there is no need to beat around the bush.” He took a deep breath before speaking. “Since Lance left to help you all out, things have gone from bad to critical. As it is, we cannot sustain the number of people you have brought with you. The Hive was never meant to be a large camp, such as Camp Zion. It was more of an operational base, and storage distribution, housing only a minimal amount of personnel. However, I think we have bigger issues than just finding room to sleep.”
Ms. White nodded her head in understanding, then asked, “Is there another outpost, another set of houses that we could head to? We don’t need rooms for long, just enough to catch our breath and figure out our next move. You all have already done so much for us, we will never be able to repay you.”
Brother Ben seemed to contemplate the question, weighing it up against what he knew already, and what he was hoping to gain out of this little meeting. “Let me be as
honest as I can, we,” He started as he gestured around, “All of us, not only inside the mountain but the Hive as a whole, have a lot vested in the security of one another. We created this facility, these caves and such, with one intent, and that was to stay ready till it was our time, to spring forth and regain our nation once again. We have been tempted in the past, with the Fox Wars, and other uprises, but we have stayed our ground. But now, with how things are playing out, I can’t help but wonder if now is the time for us to truly reveal just how large of an organization we are, and just how mighty our fist can be.” He sat back some in his chair, the LED lights reflected off of the smooth flooring and were refracted in the chiseled rock walls. He pondered how many have worked, how much life had been lost, to ensure the safety and security of this location. He quested if it was his place to make such a grand decision, to put so many at risk. Finally, he sat back upright, looked at Ms. White directly as he spoke, “There are two things that had spurred me to think that now is truly the time. One of them is you and your team, the other is the USS Michigan.”
The moment that Brother Ben uttered the words Michigan, a knot formed in Ms. White’s gut. This was a declaration so unexpected that she had no opportunity to hide her surprise at its revel. All she could get out was, “Um, well, I guess there’s that. How, how did you know?”
Brother Ben couldn’t help bet let a smile out, not so much out of smugness at his apparent overwhelming amount of knowledge, but more of the fact of finally feeling a bit of relief. The whole time that there had been talking in the Hive about the Michigan, that has also been the same amount of doubt. How could something so grand, so easily fall into their lap? “Do you know what our greatest weapon that we have here at the Hive? What allows us to be one of the greatest threats to a dictatorship that now rules over our beloved United States of America?” He paused only a moment, but not really to allow Ms. White to answer, but more for dramatic emphases, “Information. We do not have the weapons, we do not have the resources that our enemy possesses, but what we do have is information. Our reach is further than you can imagine. We are not just this mountain, we are not just the Salt Lake Valley, we are not even just Utah. We are everywhere. We have Hive outpost as far South as the Carolinas, we reach the Eastern seaboard and are deep within the Southwest and the prairies. We have thousands of eyes, and ears that are always watching, always reporting. So I ask you, do you know what they are doing, besides just watching and listening?”
Ms. White sat up straight and answered, “No sir I do not.”
“They are waiting, waiting for the order to fight. They are waiting for my command, to release them from their tether, to slacken their restraints and to set them free to pounce upon our enemy. They have been training and waiting to rise up, take the fight to those who have too long oppressed and raped this nation. Once they are loosed, they will not start a war, they will bring a holly rectifying upon the land. In their hands, the sickle will be set free to bring down the weeds that have strangled and grown fat upon the sweat of others.” Brother Ben, stopped talking for a moment and stood. He slowly walked around to the back of his chair, where he placed his hands upon the chair and asked, “If you honestly feel, that you will be able to acquire the needed assistance from the USS Michigan, and you feel that your people are up to it, the Hive will back any plan you might submit, in regard to toppling the King and restoring our nation, we are in, the Hive and its Members are ready to fight.”
“Yes, sir!” Ms. White quickly answered back, as she too stood and extended her right hand towards Brother Ben.
Holding her hand in his, Brother Ben finished, “We will allow your people to recover, and rest. You will need it. Because you will be leading them to Free Montana. The Geisha will shelter you there, while we work out the details of our next move. But for now, get some rest. I figure in two, maybe three day’s you can start on the trip. By then too, hopefully, we’ll be able to set up some outpost to be ready to take you guys in on the trip.”
14 Down in a Hole
Holton, Kansas Site 9 Silo
Tucker hated the cold, he hated the smell while working down in the hole, he hated how his boss never trusted him and second-guessed everything he did. He missed his car, his girlfriend, and her long brown hair. He missed his cat Jackal, just as much as he hated everything related to this job. That being said, it did have two major upsides. One was the fact that he got to work in a field that he loved, and two was the vast supplies of Marlboro Reds. The fact that he can still smoke as many of these bad boys, that he wanted, put him a level above just about every other person in the reformed America. The loss of power resulted in the loss of many superficial needs, such as bottled water, cars and especially that of cigarettes.
You could still ‘purchase’ tobacco products, but they were a far cry from the real things. Most of the ones offered today were manufactured in some haphazard backyard factory, and would just as easy blind you as they would quench any internal craving for tobacco. If, and that's an if the size of the Grand Canyon, you could find some original cigarettes, Marlboro or any other brand, you most likely couldn’t afford them. Not unless you had something major to offer. Only those who ran major labor camps, or proprietors of a Field House, would have any form of real access to fresh cigarettes. For a single cigarette, undamaged, could get you any girl you like in a Field House. If you had an unopened pack, you could get yourself a very entertaining week in a Field House. Tucker knew this for a fact, but he soon realized he enjoyed these quite moments topside more than he enjoyed the feel of the body of a female pressed up against him.
Tucker took another long drag on his cigarette as he looked up towards one of the guard towers. Even during his minimal moments of solitude, he was subjected to scrutiny and observation. Still, despite everything he hated, and no matter how bad he missed his old life, he knew he had it better off than most. Especially better off than those whom they worked on down below. Those poor souls will never see daylight again, they will never feel the innocents of an evening breeze upon their faces and they especially will never again know the warmth of tobacco as it rushed into their body. He held his cigarette, in his right hand, pinched between his thumb and index finger. With it burnt down to the filter, he tossed it down on the cold frozen ground, next to the hundreds of other discarded carcasses of tobacco-stained filters. Then with his right boot heel, he crushed out the remaining embers of life, as he smashed it into the ground.
“Hey!” Tucker yelled out towards the tower guard, as another gust of wind passed through his worn pair of light blue scrubs. His lab coat did little to guard against the chilled air that resided upon the plains. Though, not a fan of the cold, he didn’t mind feeling it every now and then. Despite having some of the top of the line air scrubbers down below, the air still felt stale and dead down there. It was nice to be reminded that there was still life on this planet because life was definitely one thing that did not reside down in the Hole.
There was a muted buzzing sound, followed by a click which indicated that the electronic latch on the door was disengaged. Tucker pulled on it hard, the icy air sometimes causes the metal door to stick to the metal frame. Once yanked open, he entered a room ten feet wide and twelve feet deep. An exposed cinderblock wall lined all four sides. There was a CCTV camera up in the top of the far right-hand corner of the room and an elevator straight ahead. If any unauthorized personal somehow found their way into this room there would be no escape for them.
Upon the event of an unauthorized entry, the door would lock automatically, the elevator shut off and then a lethal dosage of argon will be pumped into the room. This is done to ensure that the unwanted guest dies a slow and painful death by suffocation. This form of death was chosen mainly due to the physiological terror. There are many resistances fighters, former Fox fighters as well as the random Highwaymen who might be willing to fight their way into the Hole. But there is just something about dying slowly, as the body is deprived of life-giving oxygen, that deters ma
ny would be assaulters. Much like the idea of burning to death might. It is the fear of being attacked by something that cannot be fought off, and something with no emotions.
The Hole, as it is affectionally referred to by its residents, both those forced to live here as well as those who chose to be here, was once the launch site of SM-65 Atlas missiles. This was one of nine silos that were placed in a circular pattern, forming a ring around Topeka Kansas, and was under the command of the 548th Strategic Missile Squadron. The 548th was an operation base from 1961 to 1965 and was a viable option during the stressful days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, as time progressed, these missiles were no longer practical options as ICBM’s.
Eventually, one of the Kings shell companies bought it, then sold it to another one of his companies. The buying and selling of the silo through multiple shell companies repeated itself again and again, till it was so lost in red tape and paperwork, that even those who worked on it, had no clue who owned it. From the outside, all that a passerby would see was an old cinderblock building, with a dual chainlink fence around it, and two guards in small raised towers. Ninety-nine percent of the redesign work done on at the Hole was underground. For the most part, they left most as it was. They did expand outward, still staying hidden underground and added other such necessities as labs, space for housing massive computer hardware as well as new air vents. In the end they turned an abandoned missile silo, into one of the top research laboratories in the world. However despite all that they added, some things were lost, including some of the structural integrity.
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