"Keep this just in case. We shouldn't be gone long, but if anything happens," I pulled the flare gun from my waistband and handed that to her as well. "Shoot off one of these and we'll come running."
"This is probably a better idea," she said and held up the two yellow and black radios we'd found earlier. "How about I just call you?"
I turned the knob on mine and it crackled to life. "Testing, testing," I said.
"They work!"
"Well, keep the flare gun just in case we get out of range."
Melinda nodded. "Be safe out there."
"Of course. Where's Alistair?"
"He's sleeping."
I laughed and headed into the saloon. "He's gonna love this."
After waking Alistair up and situating the boat, we climbed onto the dock in silence. I pulled my bag over my shoulders then looked back to Melinda.
"We'll be quick," I said. "I promise."
She'll smiled then turned around as Ashley walked up behind her. She didn't say anything, she just stared at Alistair with puppy dog eyes. He stared back at her then turned to me.
"Is it okay if I hang back? It's probably good if they have a man here," he asked.
I laughed. "You're hardly a man Alistair."
"No... we need you with us," Koran jumped in. "We are really gonna need the extra hands."
Ashley frowned and Alistair sulked his shoulders. I gave Koran a confused look then grabbed Alistair's bag.
"I'll just carry both bags. Go ahead and stay, make sure you hold down the fort while we're gone."
Koran groaned and started walking down the pier.
"You sure Dad?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine. Besides, I'd rather have you safe on the boat."
Alistair grinned then joined Ashley. They climbed to the front of the boat and sat down on the trampoline. Melinda smiled and I shrugged my shoulders and grinned.
"Well...I'm off."
With that I followed after Koran, down the pier and into the great unknown. He'd just made it to the sidewalk and was waiting while he pouted like he'd lost a game of scrabble. I didn't know what was up his ass, but I'd already concluded that I didn't care.
"Where to?" I asked Koran as I got closer.
He slowly turned to look at me then cocked his head to the side. "Your boy could really help us out there."
"He's just a boy. It's better he stays back."
"He's not a boy anymore. Look around Randall, things have changed."
"Well, I'll let him be a boy for a little longer. Now, which way do we go?"
"The main road is this way," he pointed and let out a frustrated sigh. "We should be able to see a good part of the base on the way to the commissary."
"Lead the way."
Koran turned and headed down the road. It was four o'clock in the morning and fog had blown in, covering the ground like a graveyard. It was spooky how deserted everything was. Every now and then a bird or some other creature would make a noise and I'd feel my heart stop, but we never saw another living person.
"What the hell happened to everyone?" I grumbled. "It's like, it's like they all vanished."
"Evacuated," Koran corrected me. "After they got the word out, it looks like they headed for the hills as well. I would've thought they'd staffed the command center here, but...doesn't look that way."
"This is bigger than flood warnings. Something else is going on."
"Maybe, maybe not. What the hell else could it be?
"That's the question isn't it."
I shrugged and continued down the two-lane street. Our pace was quick, but careful, every shadow or side street posed a threat that we had to be ready for. Things tended to go from calm to holy shit in no time.
A few of the street lights were still working and gave the fog an orange haze. It floated over the ground like some kind of toxic gas, reaching out to snag an unsuspecting life. I knew it was harmless, but I couldn't help but think it explained all the crazy shit I'd seen the last few months.
Knocked over trashcans rolled across the road as raccoons tumbled out of them, scavenging for anything they could find. The little family of three looked just as confused as we were, like they were suddenly cast into a world that no longer made sense.
"The commissary is that way," Koran pointed. But there's an administration building we can check out first."
"Sure, let's just be quick. I don't like being out here."
"Me neither, but we should check out the hangars too. We might be able to find something in there."
I nodded and continued walking. The sooner we got back to the boat, the better I would feel. Everything about the base seemed wrong. It was a bad idea to head to come here and deep down I hoped my decision wouldn't cost any lives.
We passed a long, green building and I paused. One of the lights inside was on and the glowing window stood out in the dark like a lighthouse. I called out to Koran when a sudden loud, crackle nearly made me piss myself and I jumped.
"Randall," Melinda's voice called.
I fumbled in my pocket and pulled out the radio. My heart was thumping against my chest with anxiety.
"Hello? What's wrong?" I gasped.
"Nothing," she quickly replied. "I just wanted to make sure everything was going okay."
"We're good. I said the radio was for emergencies only. You scared the hell out of me."
"Sorry, I was just checking on you. I'll go back to playing solitaire," Melinda replied then giggled.
"Don't worry about it. We'll be back soon."
I shoved the radio into my coat pocket and laughed to myself. Koran glanced at me and I shrugged and threw my hands into the air.
"Women," I said. "You want to check that out? The lights on."
Koran nodded and we made our way toward the rectangular structure. To my surprise the door wasn't locked and we walked right in.
There was a desk to my left with blank sheets of paper spread across it. The chair behind it was knocked over and a little golden lamp burned on the corner next to a cup of pens.
The front part of the building was a small office with sparse furnishings. Beyond that, there was a narrow hall that led toward the back and disappeared in the shadows.
"This way," I whispered.
We quietly tip-toed through the office and made our way down the hall. There were four rooms in the back, but each one was completely empty.
"What the hell is this place?"
"Some kind of administration office," Koran replied. "Let's just get to the commissary. There's nothing here."
He was right. There was no one here, I doubted anyone had been on the entire base for weeks. The whole trip was a mistake.
We headed back outside and walked down the street to the commissary. The electronic doors at the front were shattered and a few overturned carts were blocking the entrance.
"You watch much news Randall?" Koran asked as we slid the carts out of the way.
"A little."
"Yeah? There's always these stories of global warming...climate change. What do you make of any of that?"
"I don't know. Never given it much thought."
I stepped into the commissary and started looking around. I took a flashlight from my bag and swept it in wide beams in front of me. The shelves were nearly empty, but I grabbed the few items that were there and started tucking it into my bag.
"Looks like somebody's been here," Koran said as he picked up a dusty can. "They damn near cleaned the place out."
"Yeah...I really thought we'd find more."
"We can head out of the gate. There's some smaller stores tucked behind the apartments that might not have been hit."
I shrugged. "Let's just hurry up. We've been away long enough."
We left the commissary and headed out of the main gate. As soon as we walked off of the base it was like we entered a nightmare.
The whole city was on fire. Every building was ablaze, cars and debris smoldered like hot coals, sending dark, black smoke into the air. T
he asphalt was riddled with cracks and ugly fissures. Steam bellowed from the ground in long, dark spirals. I thought I'd seen destruction, but now...we were looking at the end of the world.
CHAPTER 22
CITY OF ASHES
"It's too dangerous. Let's just go back, it's not worth the risk," I said.
We were standing right outside of the gate, looking at the crumbling city. Koran wanted to go look around, but the multiple trenches and sea of fire was screaming something totally different.
"Look, I don't want to go out there either, but we have to."
I laughed. "We have to? We have to? Why the hell would we have to go out there?"
"This is the world now Randall," he replied and waved his hand toward the city. "Take a good look. There's nowhere left to run and no one to turn to. How long do you think we'll survive on that boat with the food and water we have? We need supplies, we need medicine, we need to be self sufficient. From now on, this is what we risk our lives for."
Koran had a point, although I didn't like it. We were already running low on supplies and I was sure things were gonna get worse. I needed to start thinking long term, even though the idea of that scared the hell out of me.
"Fine," I replied. "I'm not going far though."
Koran patted me on the shoulder and grinned. Still smiling, he headed down the warped sidewalk and into the burning city.
The thick, black smoke ruined our visibility. We walked side by side, struggling to avoid cracks and holes in the pavement. Fires raged all around us and I could feel the heat, threatening to singe the hairs on my arms.
"There's a convenience store a block down. We should check that out first," Koran suggested.
"If it's not on fire."
"You gotta be more optimistic man. "
"Fine, it's probably not on fire."
Koran laughed then sped up. I followed him slowly, the smoke was making my lungs burn and every few yards I stopped and fought off a coughing fit.
I felt like I was in a nightmare. Everything was crumbling to dust, falling apart and being swallowed by the tormenting flames. It was like a warzone in some third world country, but it wasn't. It was my home, it was America and I knew that it would never be the same.
We weaved in between a few apartment buildings that had managed to avoid being burned. After hopping over a fence, we squeezed through a row of hedges and ended up on the sidewalk right in front of the store.
It was mostly untouched by the fire. The smoke had stained the outside walls with soot, but beyond that, the store was fine. So, with a tiny bit of optimism, we headed inside and started looking around.
"See, no fire," Koran said happily. "Let's split up and grab what we can."
I cut my eyes and started scanning the aisles for anything we could take. The shelves were mostly empty or stocked with things like cat food and bleach.
I pulled a flashlight from my bag and headed further toward the back. A row of freezers with glass doors lined the far wall, but they were just as empty as everything else. After searching for ten minutes all I was able to find were a few bottles of water and some crackers that had expired a week earlier.
"How'd you make out?" I asked as I met Koran back near the front.
"Found some sodas and a few boxes of cereal. How about you?"
"The same more or less."
Koran sighed. "We're gonna need to head further. Maybe to one of the grocery stores or something. There's a target about a mile down."
I grunted, but it was swallowed by a loud explosion right outside. Koran snapped his head around and jumped into me. A blazing orange light flared and illuminated the store front. The fire had made it to us.
"We gotta go!" I yelled.
Without another word, we rushed outside. The fire was only a few yards from the store and sweeping quickly in our direction. Another fissure opened up in the ground and was spewing flames into the air like a dragon. Everything it touched erupted in a brilliant orange and melted into nothing. The city was imploding.
"This way!" Koran screamed and rushed around the back of the store.
I followed behind him as we weaved between burning cars and patches of scorched lawn. It seemed like every time we made some headway, we were forced backwards by a wall of fire.
The apartments behind us started to crumble as the fire worked its way through the support beams. With a thundering crash, the roof caved in and splinters of wood and debris shot out like bomb fragments.
"Watch out!" I yelled and tackled Koran to the ground.
The shower of building fodder sailed over our heads and pinged off of the burning cars. In shock, we clamored to our feet, checked ourselves for any wounds then kept running.
More fires erupted as ashes drifted into the air, igniting everything they touched. The thick smoke continued to make it hard to breath and even harder to see. Every street we turned down was a raging inferno with black plumes reaching out like the fingers of death.
"How the hell are we gonna get out of here?" I screamed as panic started to set in.
"This way!" Koran suddenly shouted.
He sprinted ahead and for a minute I thought his plan was to run directly into the fire. But as we got closer I saw the line of cars that snaked through the inferno like a tunnel. They were lined up side by side in an abandoned car lot and the cars in the center hadn't been touched by the fire yet.
"Hurry up!" Koran shouted.
He slid to a stop beside the first car and smashed the window with his elbow. Reaching in, he unlocked the door and dove inside then slid out of the opposite door. Without looking back, he headed to the next car and did the same.
I followed behind him and earned a few shards of glass in my leg for my carelessness. But I'd rather pay that price than burn to death.
We went from car to car across the lot as the fire burned closer and closer on both ends. Some cars we just climbed on top, but many were conversion vans or tall SUV's that would've been more trouble than it was worth. As luck would have it about half of them were opened and we managed to avoid any broken glass at all.
I could see the end getting close, but I could also feel the heat from the fire like I'd shoved my face into an oven. It was gonna be close and I could only pray that we would reach the end before the fire reached us.
"Move your ass!" I yelled to Koran as I sped up.
The increasing heat had me frantic. I dove through the backseat of the next car and nearly ran Koran over. This may have been his idea, but if Koran didn't get the hell out of my way I was going to go through him.
The metal popped and pinged on the cars on either side of us as the fire neared them. The frames started to warp and the paint melted like slices of cheese. I could hardly see through the thickening smog even though the sun was slowly starting to rise.
We rushed through the lot and as we reached the last car, I felt like we might survive. Koran bashed in the window and we quickly slipped through and came out of the other side.
Sighing, I stopped and took a quick glance behind us. Everything was either ashes or burning to the ground. Flames were still shooting out from the pavement like the earth had become a giant barbecue grill.
"Come on," Koran said and ran back toward the gate.
We slowed down once we made it to the commissary. The fires were far behind us and the base seemed safe, at least for now.
"We're gonna need gas," Koran said as we walked through the vacant streets. "I don't wanna risk being on the boat without it and the trip here cost us a lot."
"I guess," I replied sharply.
It sounded to me like he was blaming me for the base being deserted, but he didn't have a better idea. Koran was really starting to push my buttons and every time something didn't go right, he had a comment. I guess he forgot this was my show and he didn't have to be here.
"Can't believe we didn't find anything. I was really hoping the base would be worth it," Koran continued.
"You got any better ideas?" I asked
defensively.
"Any place would be better than here right now," Koran chuckled.
I clenched my jaw, holding back the words I really wanted to tell him. I'd figured in my head that as soon as I was comfortable sailing the boat, Koran and his weird ass family had to go.
"If I could find a helicopter, I'd get the hell out of here," Koran continued. "Could really get a look at what's going on from up there."
"Yeah...maybe."
"We're gonna need something more than that sailboat eventually. We need to cover more ground."
"Water," I replied.
"Yeah whatever it is...we need to cover more of it."
"Well it is what it is, we make the best with what we have right now."
"The boat!" Koran shouted.
"Yeah, we have the boat. That's what I'm saying."
"No," Koran said then grabbed my shoulder and nudged toward the peer. "Where the hell is the boat?"
CHAPTER 23
COMING INTO THE LIGHT
The morning sun glowed with a fierce glare. The reflection was like an explosion of diamonds, burning in the sky, casting a brilliant light across the glittering water. It was beautiful, but it was empty.
We'd left the sailboat tied up to the dock and now there was nothing. The boat was gone, the lines were gone and any trace of our family was gone.
"What the fuck!" Koran shouted as he spun in place.
I stared out over the water in silence. I knew the boat had to be somewhere out there and I just needed to find them. I wished I'd brought the binoculars with me, but wishing wasn't gonna help now.
"Where the fuck are they? What the fuck!" Koran continued to yell.
"Calm down," I replied.
"Calm down? Calm down! Your family is missing, my family is missing. How the hell can you say calm down."
"Because you idiot. Did it ever occur to you that maybe they had to leave? Maybe someone was on this base and you're screaming like a fucking moron."
Koran gasped and then looked back toward the base with wide eyes. He seemed to get the picture and had decided to keep his mouth shut. Sighing, I stuffed my hands into my jacket pocket and racked my brain for an idea.
Deconstruction Series Omnibus [Books 1-6] Page 13