The Cure

by Jeremy P Horgan

  When Goldsmith got to the infirmary, he looked through the window and to his astonishment he saw Logan and Wanikiy sat around the bed and Tallulah sat upright smiling at them. ‘What the Hell. How was she alive?’ he thought to himself. More of Wanikiy’s trickery and deceit no doubt.

  The infirmary was the furthest point from the loading bay, with no comms unit, and they looked unaware of what was going on.

  He puffed up his chest, hid the gun in his pocket and walked into the room smiling ‘Tallulah my dear, so good to see you up and about. I just wanted to come and check you were alright and apologize for the way I acted in the Communications Room. I’m sure your father has filled both yourself and Logan in on the excitement. I, of course, had no idea, or I wouldn’t have acted the way I did,’ he turned his head towards Logan. ‘Dear boy, so good to see you back safe and sound. You must have had a right time of it out there,’ he waved his hand around for effect.

  Of course, no-one was pleased to see Goldsmith, and he took offence at this ‘Come now, I knew nothing about this plan of the General’s. I was acting in the best interest of the country, as I’m sure you thought you were too,’ he said. ‘I’ve come here to apologize, and I would like us to move forward together and let bygones be bygones.’

  Tallulah looked at her father and Logan with a bitter taste in her mouth from Goldsmith’s words. The plan that he had put into action had resulted in the death of two of her closest friends, and although the General had orchestrated it, she held Goldsmith equally responsible.

  ‘I suppose you know nothing about planting a mole in our team or the whereabouts of my brother?’ Logan said to Goldsmith.

  ‘As far as I am aware the troops sent to distribute the poison have been updated and recalled from the reservoir. As for a mole, it sounds like the boy was acting on his own,’ replied Goldsmith.

  ‘Yes, of course. We shall see what Danny has to say when he returns,’ said Logan ‘Is there anything else you wanted? We need to get off this base,’ said Logan.

  ‘No, no. I just wanted to pass on my apologies for the things out of my control,’ he said.

  Goldsmith turned his back on them and started walking towards the door, then stopped. He could have easily left them to die in the carnage of the oncoming annihilation of the base but instead he felt for the gun in his hand and swung back around lifting it towards Wanikiy.

  ‘What are you doing Goldsmith?’ said Logan

  ‘Isn’t it obvious,’ said Goldsmith ‘I’m doing what I should have done myself years ago. I mean you do know that your father is responsible for everything. The Cure was his fault. His ego is the reason that we are all living down here under the ground and why everyone else is dead.’

  ‘Goldsmith, you know as well as I do both Brittle and myself weren’t responsible that day. We were given no choice,’ said Wanikiy.

  ‘We all have a choice. You chose to go down that path and get into bed with the government. You knew as well as everyone involved that there were risks and here we are.’

  ‘Yes, Goldsmith, here we are. I would do anything to go back and make a different choice, but that ship has sailed. All I can do now is try and do the right thing and try to be a better father,’ said Wanikiy.

  ‘I’m afraid old friend that ship has also sailed. You embarrassed me and you know I can’t let that go. It seems that your decisions have yet again led you down a rabbit hole, but this time one you will not be returning from,’ he turned to Logan and Tallulah ‘unfortunately you two have become loose ends and we all know what happens to those,’ he chuckled.

  As he took aim at Logan, Wanikiy launched himself towards Goldsmith who in turn swung round and faced Wanikiy. The sound of a single gunshot rung out and both men fell into a heap on the floor. Logan stood still and waited to see any movement from either man, but both lay dormant. Then Goldsmith’s long thin hand appeared and pushed Wanikiy’s body off him and onto the hard floor of the infirmary. Goldsmith clambered to his feet with the gun still in his hand and smiling ‘No happy ever after ending here Logan,’ he said. He raised the gun again towards Logan then stopped. Goldsmith coughed and then his face started to contort and stiffen. He looked down towards Wanikiy, who had rolled over onto his back, and then looked at a syringe sticking out of his leg with the plunger compressed. He started convulsing and foaming from the mouth, the gun plummeting to the floor and then he fell to his knees before finally plunging headfirst into the ground before him. He was dead.

  Logan rushed to Wanikiy who was bleeding from his chest. Logan looked for something to stem the bleeding and pushed bandage after bandage against the wound, but the bleeding continued. He shouted for help, but no-one was around. Tallulah moved from her bed to his side and they both looked at Wanikiy imploring that he knew what to do. He did. He knew that this was his time and that he would soon be with the love of his life again. ‘Take care of her,’ he smiled and closed his eyes. Tallulah held him and Logan placed a hand on her shoulder as she cried.

  Wanikiy had died a hero, saving them and killing Goldsmith in the process.

  Tallulah did not have time to grieve as an explosion sounded just outside the room ‘We got to evacuate now Tals. The whole place is going up.’ Logan jumped to his feet and pulled Tallulah away from her father ‘Tals?’ he said.

  ‘I know,’ she said pulling on a coat over her hospital gown ‘Let’s go.’

  Halfway down the corridor the President turned the corner and almost ran straight into them. Logan beamed, ‘You’re alive.’

  The President covered his mouth, exultant to see his son, but the reunion celebrations were short-lived as the ceiling started to collapse.

  ‘The General has escaped.’ he said.

  ‘We know, we’re leaving now. Is everyone safe?’ Logan replied.

  ‘Yes, follow me. You’re the last ones. Everyone has packed what they can, and we’ve salvaged as much supplies as we can, but the base has been compromised. We’re moving above ground.’

  They started down the corridor either side of Tallulah helping her along. At the exit the Captain was still waiting for them. ‘Sir, we’ve evacuated everyone. We have managed to get a lot of the food supplies out, along with minimal transport and weapons. We have moved the rest of the community to half a mile outside of the town.’

  ‘Good good,’ he said, ‘You have any transport left?’

  ‘Yes Sir,’ he pointed to a Jeep

  ‘Help us get her to it before the whole place blows,’ said Logan.

  Once in the jeep the soldier started it up and sped up the ramp, spiraling out into the town, which was also starting to crumble. They started heading to where the rest of the community had now gathered. Explosions were going off underneath them and the top surface of the base was starting to cave in leaving holes in the ground in front and behind them.

  ‘Drive!’ said Logan as the soldier dodged the openings in front of him.

  Logan looked behind the car as the chasms joined each other becoming craters. In seconds they watched the remains of the base and the town falling into the charred ruins of where they had spent most of their lives.

  The jeep sped towards the convergence of families from the base, who they could see were now shouting for them to drive faster, as the ravine chased them. Getting closer and closer those same people started to move as the jeep was coming straight towards them. The soldier put the brakes on seconds before reaching them and skidded to a stop, the huge gaping crater stopping only yards behind them.

  They looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

  Chapter Nineteen

  By now the Commander General and his team had put enough ground between him and the newly destroyed base that he had no concerns of the others following him, either through fear, or the strength in depth he still had with his men. His supplies were primarily weapons and he knew that at some point he would need to find further food supplies to fuel the troops.

  Although his plan had not worked, his ego still saw this as a
win. He had overthrown the President and unaware whether he was still alive or not took comfort in the destruction of the base. He was a leader, not a follower and one more day spent underground was another day closer to death as far as he was concerned.

  He looked around at his men, then at the plume of white smoke rising in the distance where the town once stood and the base underneath and smiled to himself. He felt more alive than any time in the last decade and knew that as a survivor he was safer out here than back there. He planned to recruit. He knew what was above ground and he knew the dangers it would possess to anyone still alive from the almost unarmed community. But he wasn’t scared. His men were mercenaries, and woe behold anyone who came up against them.

  He walked over to his Lieutenant who was hunched over a table reading a map.

  ‘Nearest city is Texas Sir.’ said his Lieutenant.

  ‘Do we have an estimated population?’ said the General.

  ‘Sir, no Sir. Miller’s data wasn’t clear on actual figures. Only projected,’ he replied.

  ‘Seems a lot of his data was inconclusive,’ said the General, once again trying to justify his actions. ‘We head through Texas, picking up anyone who could be an asset. We’re building an army Lieutenant.’

  ***************

  ‘Yes, yes, I understand,’ said Hod as he put down the satellite phone to Logan.

  He tried to pull himself up onto the wing of the plane and after several attempts succeeded. On the side of the plane near the cockpit was a few rungs which led to the roof of the plane. He climbed up and on top of the small plane was small seat in front of a very large machine gun. Hod picked up his binoculars and looked out into the distance where he saw a convoy of military vehicles heading his way. The Commander General sat back in the first jeep in full military outfit with the sun shining off his medals smiling, looking directly back at Hod through his own binoculars.

  Hod aimed the machine gun towards the jeeps and locked it into place ‘Here we go,’ he said.

  ***************

  One Hour Later

  ‘No sign of the Dwarf Sir,’ said the Lieutenant to the Commander General.

  ‘Miles and miles of desert with no-where to hide and you can’t find one man, albeit it a very small one,’ said the General.

  ‘Sir, no Sir. Shall we continue to look?’ replied the Lieutenant.

  ‘No, prepare the men for battle.’

  ‘Sir, yes Sir. Are we going back to the base camp?’ said the Lieutenant.

  ‘No. We’re heading to Parchman, Mississippi.’

  Chapter Twenty

  Later that night when the events of the past week had been discussed and discussed and discussed again, the President walked away from the other leaders and over to the group of kids who were waiting patiently to find out their punishment. Chuck, Seth and Scott who had returned from the prison were being filled in on what happened with the Commander General.

  ‘So, what’s the verdict pops?’ Logan said to his father.

  ‘I’m afraid we have no option other than to banish you from the community. You’re on your own.’ The group gasped.

  Then, breaking into a smile laughing they realized he was joking.

  ‘Dad,’ said Logan punching him on the arm.

  ‘Things have changed massively. We’ve lost our home, we’ve lost our supplies, we’ve lost most of our security force and I must take most of the blame for that. Although the decision I made was the right one, the decision not to tell everyone was the wrong one. We weeded out the bad eggs but at a cost to our way of life. It’s going to take time to rebuild and it won’t be easy. The board will remain in place, but I’ll no longer be President. I’ll be an equal on the board with an equal vote on what happens. Also, we want you to be on the board too Logan. You guys have a voice and you’ve shown that it is as important as anyone’s. What do you say Logan?’

  ‘No,’ replied Logan curtly. ‘You need someone who will motivate, who will empathize and more than anything give their life for their friends and family.’ He pointed to Tallulah. ‘Only one person fits that bill.’

  Nathaniel nodded. ‘Good choice,’ he said smiling at Tallulah, and the group starting clapping. Tallulah blushed and held her hands together in thanks.

  ‘Now what Mr. Pres… Mr. Mathers?’ Chuck stammered.

  ‘Now we get some sleep and tomorrow decide our next move. I don’t think the Commander General will come back for us, but we can’t be sure. We need to find a new home as well. Out here we’re sitting ducks and that’s where you guys come in. You know more about up here than any of us. Our lives are in your hands.’

  ‘Safe hands,’ said Xander lighting up a cigarette.

  The President walked away back to the base camp, which had now been set up resembling a small shanti town. Life would never be the same and he knew that they would face new challenges, especially now they had lost the security they once took for granted. The decisions over the past week had weighed heavily on him. He missed his confidante Wanikiy who he always knew he could rely on for sound advice. So many lives lost and was it even worth it? Could he have done it someway different. Now he would never know.

  The rest of the group sat back down in front of a campfire they had built.

  ‘So,’ said Jay. ‘You’re telling me that the toxin wasn’t actually a toxin?’

  ‘No, it was a toxin. It just wasn’t strong enough to do what the Commander General thought it would do? Logan’s dad and Wanikiy had set up the whole thing to extract the Commander General as a traitor,’ said Scott.

  ‘So,’ said Jay, again. ‘You’re telling me that our whole plan was actually for nothing? And McGregor attacked me for no reason? And you travelled miles and miles to find a professor who may or may not have been alive, on the chance he may or may not be able to create an antidote to the toxin, that wasn’t really a toxin? Danny went to the reservoir to destroy it when it didn’t need to be destroyed and is now missing, presumed dead.’

  ‘Well when you put it like that. Erm, yes. I suppose we did,’ said Seth.

  ‘We lost Brad Junior and Faye simply because of a lack of communication and trust. Tallulah could’ve died too. I could have died. People need to see the bigger picture. The world is in turmoil and it’s moments like this more than ever that we need to support each other,’ said Jay, the rest of them nodding.

  ‘Oh, and one last thing,’ he said. ‘Who in the holy hell of this whole mess is Rose? And where did she go.’ Everybody shrugged.

  ***************

  As he did before everything had transpired, Logan sat alone with his head in his hands looking out to the darkness of the vast desert.

  ‘Penny for your thoughts,’ said Tallulah as she put a hand on his shoulder and sat down beside him.

  ‘Jay’s right you know. Brad, Faye and Danny are dead because of me.’

  ‘You know that’s not true. You had a choice and you made the right one. They made a choice too. To follow you because you spoke the truth. Your passion for other people makes you a natural born leader. They didn’t die for nothing. They died for a cause,’ she said.

  ‘I miss him,’ he replied. ‘He was my brother and I sent him out there to die, knowing it was always going to be a possibility.’

  ‘I know. I do too,’ said Tallulah ‘He was my friend too. But we still have each other and together we have a future. We know we can make this work. It won’t be easy, but we can do this. I love you.’

  As they reflected, they heard shouting coming from over by the fire.

  ‘What’s that noise?’ said Chuck. Everyone shushed each other listening.

  ‘Maybe it’s the General, coming back to attack,’ Seth said jumping up to attention.

  ‘No, listen. It sounds like’.

  ‘A motorbike,’ said Logan.

  Epilogue

  ‘I remember my father telling me bedtime stories when I was a young girl, of a time where people lived their lives carefree and happy’.

  ‘Thos
e days are long gone now and just weeks after the collapse of the community the days have become harder and harder. Lack of food and water has meant rationing, and now fuel reserves have depleted we travel by foot across barren land scavenging whatever we can. Families have left the community to go it alone. Some returning to the destroyed sight of the base to see if they can live within in the rubble and find any supplies.

  With less than 800 of us left we don’t know if we can even make it to the closest city.

  Fighting among the remaining base community is commonplace and the board members have disbanded with no hope of survival in the coming days.

  Our own group, who once took on the government, continue to fight the good fight but knowing what waits for us in the cities scares us more than knowing the Commander General could return at any time to kill us all. Some even pray for death.

  Logan and his father try to lead us but even they are losing hope. We are slowly turning into animals.

  We have now lost all contact with the Prison, Professor Brittle and Mendez. No-one is coming to save us. We are alone.’

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my long-suffering wife Toyah for pushing me to write this book and realize my dream of publishing something someone, somewhere, may wish to one day pick up and read. Thank you to my beating heart, Joshua, Jacob and Bethany. My purpose in life and the people who save my soul daily. Thank you to my mum, Sandra Horgan, who I don’t thank enough for what she does for me. Now it’s in print so if I ever forget please turn to this page and repeat. I really am grateful. Thank you to Juju, my Grandma, Julia Horgan B.E.M. who bankrolls me on a weekly basis and feeds the cats. Thank you to Stuart Craig for all your support and help with the kids. It never goes unnoticed and is appreciated. Thank you to all my friends over the years who have always been there for me. Your loyalty and respect are worth more than all the dollars in the world.