by Paul Bellow
I sighed, pulling back.
“What?” Harrison asked.
“Hippy,” I said. “Something’s wrong.”
“Answer him. I’m not going anywhere.”
He smiled and stroked my arm with his thick hand.
Scout: What’s going on? I’m sorta busy.
Hippy: It’s Missy. She’s not getting along with the nomads.
Scout: They’re not nomads any longer.
Hippy: I’m sorry, I know. You should still get down here. Barracks 1-B
Scout: On my way…
I rolled out of bed then took a final glance at Harrison. He looked so hot, half-naked and pretending to concentrate on his reading.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” I said. “This shouldn’t take long.”
“Okay,” he grunted, not looking up.
I walked to our private elevator. On the ride down one floor, I thought about Missy. She didn’t get along well with new people because of whatever had happened to her before we met. It surprised me she treated Harrison so well, but he’d helped us.
When the elevator door slid open, I walked out and swiftly continued toward barracks 1-B. Even before I arrived and opened the door, I could hear the commotion. I sped up, throwing the door open. Missy stood in the middle of the room, clutching several pillows. The rest of them stood in piles on the surrounding floor. John, a newcomer, was trying to reason with her.
“We need one pillow for each of us,” he said.
“No! My pillows!” Missy screamed, trying to pick up more.
She dropped two for each one she managed to get. I walked into the room.
“There are enough pillows for everyone,” I said.
Missy dropped all the pillows in her hands and stormed toward me. She tried sneaking past, but I grabbed her arm.
“You forgot to apologize,” I said sternly.
“Do I have to?” she asked.
I nodded. “These people are our people now. We’re a team.”
“But I never see you,” she protested. “You’re killing mutants or screwing Harrison!”
A few newcomers turned away to avoid my gaze, but two them chuckled. I sighed, unable to blame them. She wasn’t wrong.
“That might be true, but I still love you. We’re all going to be working hard to make this place our home. Together, we can build something special.”
Missy frowned and lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”
“Apology?” I asked.
She looked up briefly and muttered, “Sorry…”
“About what?”
“Sorry about taking all the damn pillows,” she snapped.
John, their old leader, stepped up.
“We understand,” he said. “Some of our members have been through rough times too.”
“Thank you, I meant what I said. Together, we can make this shelter a special place.”
“We’re happy to be here,” John said.
I turned to Missy. “They’re our friends now. You understand?”
She nodded. “Friends now…”
“And I’ll try to spend more time with you. Clearing this shelter is dangerous work.” I turned to John. “Have you made a list of people coming with me tomorrow?”
“Not yet, but I’m working on it,” he said.
I nodded. “Good. Get with me in the morning. We usually leave right after breakfast and work through lunch to supper. At this rate, it would’ve taken us months or years to clear this place. Having you guys here will help us all.”
John smiled. “We’re happy to help.”
“Everything okay here, then?” I turned to Missy. “Can you behave?”
“Sorry!” she screamed then ran past me.
I didn’t bother going after her. She’d been sleeping by herself in one of the other barracks and would be okay. I turned to John.
“Let me know if she causes any other problems,” I said.
He nodded. “Will do.”
I turned to Hippy. He smiled.
“Thanks for calling me,” I said. “You should always feel free to talk to me.”
“I will,” he said then smiled.
As I walked out of the barracks, the weight of leadership weighed on me. I needed to protect my people and make their life better, but I also wanted answers to the bigger questions. Why had someone changed the simulation and wiped everyone’s memories? More importantly, could I find a way to escape. While unsure of the answers, I wasn’t about to give up trying.
Chapter 12
Life continued getting better. The floors became easier to clear as even more people arrived as word spread through the land. After a month, we’d cleared the first eleven floors of the shelter. Only one remained. I had sent out scouts to find other nomads who might want to join us. They found over two dozen more than happy to pledge their allegiance. With their help, clearing the rest of the shelter would be easy.
“Are we ready?” I asked, turning to look at my squad.
Harrison had led another onto the twelfth floor already.
“Ready, ma’am!” they chanted in unison.
I glanced at the half-dozen heavily armed and armored men and women, proud of what they’d been able to accomplish in such a short time.
“Great. Let’s get this done. We have a party tonight.”
I’d promised the entire shelter a massive celebration once we cleared all the mutants. Once we finished the twelfth, I could set my sights on bigger objectives. Get in the game, Scout, I told myself as I lifted my plasma rifle and opened the hatch. We walked through and into a hallway. I heard gunfire and screaming the distance.
Harrison: We need back-up. Now!
Scout: On our way.
“Let’s go!” I shouted.
The others followed me down the hallway in formation. Everyone had a plasma rifle. The extra firepower had made clearing the other eleven levels easier. We’d been working on the J-Class mutant on the twelfth floor for a few days. The bitch wouldn’t die.
After glancing at the communicator on my wrist a few times for hints on where to go, we made it to the vast warehouse areas. I stopped at the edge of the central and largest room, glancing around for any signs of Harrison or his men. An explosion behind a few parked forklifts gave me an idea. I ran toward the explosions, rifle at the reason.
“Let’s go!” I shouted.
When I went around the first forklift, I saw the bitch we’d been hunting. She looked tough with humongous breasts covered in blisters and sores.
“Give her all we’ve got!” Harrison yelled.
He must have thrown one of his grenades, I figured as I raised my rifle. My squad all fired, sending dozens of plasma bolts at her. She waved her hands, forming a blue energy field in front of her. As we kept firing, not hurting her at all, she walked forward, clawed hands outstretched. We all backed up, still firing as she approached.
“Stop firing!” Harrison yelled.
The beast rushed forward and slashed the throat of one of our men.
Population Decrease.
Total population: 41.
Ouch. Losing anybody hurt with our low numbers. The mutant continued slicing up the poor man’s body. As soon as her shield faded the rest of the way, I raised my rifle and fired again. The others did the same, tearing into her body. She backed up, chunks of flesh flying off her body. I stepped forward, hoping we could finally kill her.
She leaped up and over the forklifts, out of sight.
“After her!” Harrison yelled, running around them.
I followed along with the rest of my squad, not seeing the mutant.
“Spread out, and keep your eyes open,” I said.
We all walked forward while spaced apart. The mutant ran out from behind a stack of crates, arms raised and ready to attack. Everyone opened fire at the same time, lighting her up. She kept coming forward, desperately trying to do some damage before she died. I stopped firing as she fell to the floor, twitching a few times before laying still.
; “Hell yeah!” someone on Harrison’s squad yelled, pumping a fist in the air.
I smiled. We’d killed the last mutant hiding in the shelter. I couldn’t believe it.
“Time to celebrate!” I shouted then fired a few more rounds into the dead mutant’s corpse.
As the others cheered and walked toward the elevators, I pulled Harrison aside.
“Was that the last of them?” I asked.
He nodded. “Unless they’re getting in somewhere else. There’s one more room I want to check. I haven’t been able to get it open yet. Want to help?”
“You just love me for my lock picking skills, don’t you?” I teased.
He smiled. “Maybe.”
While the others left to prepare for the feast later that night, I followed Harrison to the last room he hadn’t cleared.
“My sensors aren’t picking anything up,” he said.
“Let me see,” I said, walking to the control panel.
I removed the outer casing and peered at the wires inside.
“This should do it,” I said, snapping a yellow one.
I heard the door click.
“Damn, you’re good,” he said. “At picking locks too.”
I smiled, falling more in love with him.
He opened the door and raised his rifle, pointing it in the room. I peered over his shoulder and saw another door, open, leading to another large, open room.
“What is it?” I asked. “You’ve been reading that damn manual.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “This room isn’t in the manual.”
We walked in the smaller room. I saw a computer terminal set into one of the walls with a couple chairs in front of it. Harrison continued through the other door, whistling.
“What is it?” I asked, rushing over.
As I walked in, my jaw dropped open.
“What is that thing?” I asked.
A magnificent metal machine with tracks sat on the other side of the room. What caught my attention was the impressive laser and enormous drill on the front of the machine. Harrison and I walked over, weapons still raised.
“What is it?” he asked, running a hand over the smooth metal exterior.
“Some sort of boring machine.” I noticed the outlines of a door on the side and walked closer. “There’s a way in, I think.”
“We should leave it alone.”
“Aren’t you the least bit curious?”
“Curiosity killed the cat,” he retorted. “Besides. The door’s locked. We’ve got other stuff to do.”
“Hold on…” I stepped forward.
My mechanical repair skill might come in useful. As I walked around the machine, I took stock of its apparent source of power and some other features.
“I think it’s just out of power,” I said.
Harrison, arms crossed over his chest, nodded.
“All I need to do is…”
I opened a control box and flipped a few switches. The machine came to life, the door on its side sliding open. Harrison uncrossed his arms and walked over.
“What’s it for?” I wondered aloud.
Harrison climbed inside.
“It’s roomy,” he said, glancing around the interior.
“Wow,” I said as I walked in. “This is roomy.”
He walked over to a control panel and tapped a few buttons.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “We should study it first.”
“Hello,” a friendly voice said. “I’m Merlin, the Boring Machine for Shelter 101x. What will you need from me today?”
I raised my rifle at the console. “What the hell?”
“Must be a sentient machine,” he said. “I’ve heard rumors about some shelters having them.”
“Wrong,” Merlin said. “I’m one-of-a-kind and unique to Shelter 101x.”
“Great, a boring machine that talks back,” he muttered.
I smiled. “We should keep this to ourselves. Agree?”
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Agreed.”
“Good. Let’s get up to the party before they miss us.”
“Hold on,” he said. “I want to download the manual for this thing to my tablet.”
“Of course, you do,” I said, turning and walking away.
“I’ll be up in a bit,” he mumbled.
Uh huh. I smiled as I left, heading for the elevators.
* * * * *
A little while later, I stood next to a table full of food, bobbing my head in time with the loud, bass filled music. The songs reminded me of the real world. Were they tunes from the real world that had somehow seeped into the simulation? I’d kept quiet about my theories about existence while we cleared the shelter, but it was time to start gradually talking to others about it.
“You’re not dancing?” Harrison asked as he walked up.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
He snorted. “I don’t dance.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” I leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips. “Did you get your book?”
He nodded. “I was glancing through it on the way.”
“You can tell me later,” I said. “When we’re alone.”
“This horrible music is worse when it’s loud,” he said. “The words make little sense.”
Should I bring up the fact it’s music from another world, the real world? I decided to wait a bit longer. Convincing him I wasn’t crazy was the first step to getting others to believe. Or maybe I was crazy after all? The fact I wasn’t the only one who remembered made it a little easier. John walked up, a tall metal glass in both his hands.
“Double-fisting it tonight, are you?” I asked, nodding at his drinks.
He grinned sheepishly then took a long drink.
“You want one?” he asked, offering the other.
“No thanks,” I said. “We’re thinking of retiring.”
“Already? The night is young!” he cried.
“You have fun,” I said.
He wandered away, leaving me alone with Harrison again. Before I could ask if he was ready to duck out and go to our sleeping quarters, Missy walked up, dragging a man behind her. He twisted a ring on his finger as they both stopped.
“This is Henry, my boyfriend,” Missy exclaimed, emphasizing the last word.
“Hello, Henry,” I said, sticking out my hand and acting like it didn’t faze me.
“Nice to meet you,” he said, reaching out to shake my hand.
Missy smacked it away.
“You have a boyfriend for all your time, and I do now too!” she proclaimed before dragging him away.
I felt sorry for the young man in some ways, but I hoped Missy would find someone.
“She’s jealous,” Harrison noted.
I nodded, frowning.
“She’ll be okay,” he said, putting an arm around my waist.
“You promise?”
“I can’t promise anything in this world, but I think she’ll be okay here.”
“Yeah…” I nodded, not sure if I believed him.
He stepped closer and slipped an arm around my waist.
“I want you so bad right now,” he whispered in my ear then kissed my neck.
“Are you my boyfriend now?” I teased.
Harrison pulled away. “Don’t be too hard on her.”
“You’re sticking up for her a lot. Are you trying to get me jealous?”
He pursed his lips together and shook his head. We stared at each other as the song playing stopped and another started.
“Let’s go,” I said, taking his hand.
I led him out of the party and toward our residence. He stopped in front of a supply room and opened the door with one hand while wrapping the other around me and pulling me close.
“I need you now,” he grunted then led me into the room.
He shut the door behind us then resumed kissing me as his hands roamed all over my body. I moaned as the stress of leadership melted away.
Chapter 13<
br />
The next day, Harrison and I got back to work investigating the secret room and the boring machine on the twelfth floor of the shelter. I checked the assignments for everyone while riding the elevator to the bottom floor. With only so many people, I needed to be careful and ensure all our basic needs were met. I wanted engineers to research a new technology, but that would have to wait.
Engineers
0
Soldiers
14
Cooks
1
Cleaners
1
Teachers
0
Fixers
1
Trashers
1
Children
13
Farmers
6
Makers
4
Total Population...
41
When we reached the bottom floor, Harrison walked with me to the impressive machine.
“I’ll be honest,” I said. “That thing talking spooks me.”
“According to the manual, it’s the most sentient artificial intelligence ever created. They made it to run all the shelters, but the Great Freeze happened, and the newer shelters stayed dormant.”
“Yeah, before my virtual reality vacation turned into a nightmare game…”
He turned and frowned.
“Are you going to talk about that craziness again?” he asked.
“It’s not crazy,” I said.
“Can you prove it?”
I shook my head. “No…”
“Then it’s kinda crazy.”
I rolled my eyes and turned back to Merlin, our magical talking drill machine.
“Why create a digging machine with advanced AI?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Who knows? The people who built the shelters are long gone, and they left no records. If they hadn’t been built, though, nobody would have survived the Great Freeze.”
I nodded, wishing he’d be more open-minded.