by Alex Gunwick
He smiled as he watched them, already envisioning a night-time assault. “These bastards will never know what hit them.”
Sandy sat in the dimly lit communications room with Luke and Edwin by her side. The radio broadcasted an updated emergency message. Predictably, the news was not good. She shifted in her chair to lean closer to the radio.
“… the entire central valley of California should be avoided at all costs. The areas surrounding Los Angeles and San Francisco have descended into what can only be described as complete chaos. The government has declared martial law throughout the state of California. So far, the military presence has proven to be inadequate in stemming the rise of gang violence. Looting continues statewide.
The streets have been overrun with opportunists. Citizens are encouraged to locate the nearest safe zone. If one cannot be reached, barricade yourself in a secure location. We are no longer encouraging people to proceed to the fallout shelters serving the Greater Los Angeles or San Francisco Bay area. These facilities have been pushed far past capacity. Despite a significant police presence, numerous reports are characterizing them as epicenters of crime and violence …”
“Well, things have to get worse before they get better, right?” Edwin half-smiled. His tone was optimistic despite the dire news on the radio. His ability to look on the bright side was one of the reasons she’d married him all those years ago.
“I guess so.” Luke nodded, not sharing Edwin’s apparent optimism.
Sandy gestured for them to be quiet so she could continue listening to the radio report.
“The Pentagon has released a statement officially identifying Russia as the primary aggressors in the coordinated attacks that crippled San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. Two additional rockets were disabled before they could detonate additional bombs. Their trajectories indicated that Chicago and Washington DC were the intended targets.”
“Jesus, can you imagine what would have happened if that bomb had made it to DC? The country has already descended into chaos. Imagine what it’d be like if they’d taken out most of the federal government.” Edwin’s eyes were wide.
Sandy shushed him. There was so much static on the radio that she had to strain to hear the reporter’s words.
“Initial reports out of New York indicate total devastation. The total death toll from the attack is in the millions.”
Sandy gasped, placing her hand over her mouth in shock as she stared at the radio. She’d suspected a lot of people died but getting confirmation of it tore at her soul. So much death. Such a waste.
Luke and Edwin exchanged appalled looks.
“Unconfirmed estimates out of Los Angeles place the count there at three million dead, with another million or so missing. San Francisco has reported an estimated six hundred fifty thousand dead, with an additional two hundred thousand injured or missing. New York City reported over eight million dead, bringing the total dead to an astonishing twelve million, with an additional three point two million people injured, missing, or dead in surrounding areas.”
“Oh my God.” Tears streamed down Sandy’s face.
Edwin embraced her. She buried her face in his chest as sobs racked her body. Her husband stroked her back with one hand and reached over to turn off the radio with the other.
“That’s about enough of that for right now,” Edwin said.
“Why would they do this?” She managed to squeeze out the words between ragged breaths, sniffling as she spoke. “How can people be this evil?”
“I don’t know, love. Some men want to own everything. I’d wager it had something to do with oil.”
She raised her head, fixing her husband with an angry stare. “Twelve million people are dead because of some damn oil?”
“Oil fields tend to run red from all the blood spilled over them,” Luke said. “But we’re speculating here. We don’t know why they dropped the bombs.”
“Not if you look at it from their perspective. If Russia was intent on crippling our oil interests in the Middle East, they might be willing to risk a full-scale military conflict. They’d try to take us out with one swift, decisive strike. But they would fail,” Edwin said.
“That’s a risky as hell plan. What was the likelihood that all their bombs would make it through our defenses to cripple us?” Luke asked.
“NORAD failed,” Sandy said. “Could they have been hacked or something? Why didn’t our countermeasures work?”
“Who knows,” Edwin said. “We’ve never had to use them before. Maybe we thought they would function the way we expected, but they didn’t.”
“The Russians had to know there would be retribution,” Luke said. “The whole situation doesn’t make any sense.”
“You know, there is another possibility,” Edwin said.
“I’m listening,” Luke said, turning his full attention to him.
“What if it wasn’t Russia? What if it was someone intent on making it look like Russia was behind the attack?” Luke shot him a doubtful look, but Edwin continued. “Hear me out. Think about how difficult it was for them to find anything against Hussein and Iraq. It usually takes the government forever to release anything. But this?” He gestured to the radio. “They’re already saying officially that Russia was behind it. But why are they releasing this information so soon this time? How can they be so sure?”
“Because they know people are scared, and they need answers,” Sandy responded to her husband’s rhetorical question with some frustration. “What are you saying, anyway?”
“He’s saying it could be a smokescreen,” Luke said.
“For what?” Sandy asked.
“Maybe it was us,” Edwin said softly.
“Are you implying that the American government nuked three of its largest cities, all economic powerhouses, including what is arguably the financial nucleus of not only the United States but in effect the entire world and the center of the global stock market? Why in hell would they do that?” Luke asked.
Edwin raised his hands innocently. “Hey, I’m just saying it seems like they pinned it on Russia too quickly.”
“How could you say such a horrible thing? I thought you were a patriot.” Sandy shot her husband a horrified look.
“I’m not saying that it definitely went down that way. I’m just saying, sometimes it’s worth looking at alternative explanations. It could have been a terrorist organization. It could have been China. Or North Korea. Or Iran. But the government decided they could use it as a good excuse to strike at Russia. And no offense to the veterans among us, it wouldn’t be the first time our government committed a horrifying atrocity for less-than-noble reasons.” Edwin gave Luke an apologetic look.
“No offense taken.” Luke turned to Sandy. “He’s not completely wrong. The government has done some terrible shit in the past, but that doesn’t mean Edwin’s right about this.” He turned back to Edwin. “To be perfectly frank, it sounds like typical conspiracy theory stuff. But it’s your right to think what you will.” Luke lowered his voice. “I’d just ask that you keep these particular theories to yourself when Kyle’s around. He’s having a hard enough time dealing with his sister’s death. I don’t want any more confusing thoughts clouding his judgment.”
“Of course,” Edwin said. “I was just theorizing. We might never know the truth, but I’ll keep my speculations to myself from here on out.”
Sandy let out a breath. Things were tense enough without fighting about who started the war. She wasn’t even sure if they were at war. The news provided bits and pieces of information, but when she tried to put it all together, nothing made sense.
“I think I’ll go and find Liz,” Luke said. “She’ll want to hear the latest update, as horrible as it is.”
After he left the room, Sandy reached for Edwin. He pulled her into a loving embrace.
“Don’t worry too much, honey. We don’t have control over anything going on out there. We can only take care of ourselves based on what we know right now.�
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“Are you worried about the cult finding us here?” Sandy asked.
“Not really. Between Derek and Luke, we’ll be well protected. But I did wish we’d found another way out of this place. Maybe we should look around again later,” Edwin said.
“I wish I knew how this would end.”
“Me, too, sweetie. Me, too.”
21
For the past few days, Kyle had been too busy helping his mom inventory the bunker’s supplies and performing other maintenance tasks to spend much time on the locked door. It seemed like every time he headed for the hallway, somebody called out for him with another chore that needed doing.
When the bombs first dropped, Kyle foolishly thought it would mean fewer rules and responsibilities. He didn’t have to go to school anymore, and after leaving their house to go to the cabin, he’d expected fewer chores. He’d been dead wrong about that.
There was always something that needed to get done. Chopping wood was fun at first, but having to do it day after day got old fast. Washing dishes sucked. Sierra used to be the one in charge of doing that dreaded task, but now it fell on him. Just one more reason to get rid of the cult. They were causing him more work.
The activity inside the bunker seemed to be calm for the moment. He’d finished his chore list, so now would be the perfect time to try to get into the locked door again.
Derek was out patrolling. His dad and the Wrights were in the communication room listening to the radio. His mom sat at a table in the central room, chewing on the end of a pencil as she looked over the inventory.
Kyle held his breath as he crept past the room. He half-expected her to stop him, so she could assign him another dull task. When she didn’t look up, he headed into the passage leading to the locked door.
They still hadn’t found the water purification system. If he could get into the room and find that, then he’d become a hero. Clean water was the key to their survival. They needed it for everything. Washing, drinking, cooking, cleaning stuff. If they couldn’t find the system, they’d have to make dangerous trips down to the river to get some. Then they’d have to boil it before they could use it. It was a huge pain in the ass.
He retrieved his lockpicking kit from where he’d stashed it and consulted the guide to refresh his memory.
After studying the text and images, he picked up his tools. He slid the tension wrench into the bottom of the lock, maintaining a light, counterclockwise pressure. He worked the pick into the top of the keyhole, feeling his way through the mechanism for the pin. He made contact and pried at it with the tip of the pick, pushing it up out of the cylinder and moving onto the next pin.
It took him a few tries to reacquaint himself with the technique, and he struggled to get his touch right. If he lost his grip for a split second, the pins would slip back into place, and he would have to start all over again.
The fourth pin gave him the most trouble. He’d slid the first three up and out of the cylinder successfully five times, only to falter on the fourth. As they all reset and clicked back into place, he growled in frustration. It was aggravating work, but he enjoyed it. He’d always liked a challenge.
Eventually, he found the right technique. He successfully moved the annoying pin out of the cylinder by applying just the right amount of pressure with the tension wrench to spin the cylinder and hold the pins in place. His heart leaped. He moved the pick to the final pin. He worked his tongue over his lips in concentration. The last pin clicked into place, allowing him to rotate the knob.
His pulse quickened. His mind raced through all the possibilities of what could be hidden behind a locked door in a secret underground military bunker. He took a deep breath and leaned his shoulder into the door, nudging it open and stepping into the dark room.
He felt along the wall to his right. His fingers fumbled over a switch. When he flipped it, an overhead light flickered and buzzed to life.
The first thing to catch his attention was a massive gray metal box against one wall. There were a bunch of dials and buttons on the front and sides. Wires snaked out from the back, though they didn’t appear to be connected to anything.
It looked like a very old refrigerator, except that it didn’t have a door. He briefly wondered if it could be part of the water purification system, but it didn’t seem likely, given the rest of the room’s contents.
Massive black panels covered the other walls. Dozens of wires jutted out of holes on the front. Some of the wires were connected to bulky monitors, sitting on tables throughout the room. Some of the monitors were connected to rectangular boxes that sat underneath the tables.
A giant console dominated the center of the room. It showcased hundreds of switches, sliders, and dials.
As Kyle tried to process the scene, he realized it looked a bit like the NASA command centers he’d seen in movies. He knew that wasn’t right. No one would be launching a spaceship from this room, but the thought thrilled him anyway. He ran out of the room, calling excitedly as he moved down the hallway.
“Hey! I did it! I broke into the locked room. You guys have to come check this out. It’s so cool.” He burst into the main room, where his mom and dad were looking at him wide-eyed. His mom’s eyes were red, like she’d been crying, but she wiped them and smiled at him.
“That’s great, honey. Show us.”
Edwin and Sandy came bolting out of the radio room. They looked like they expected another bomb to drop.
“What’s going on?” Luke asked.
“I got the door down the hall open.” Kyle could barely get the words out through his excitement. “You guys have got to come see. It’s crazy. There’s, like, all these wires and monitors and stuff, and this huge refrigerator-looking thing. I thought maybe it was the water purification thingy, but I don’t know. Come on! Come see!” He was bouncing on his toes toward the passage and waving for them to follow him.
Luke perked up at the mention of the water purifier. He was the first to stand and move to follow him.
Kyle led them into the room. He stood back and watched their faces to see their reactions. His dad looked impressed and surprised. The others had the same expression as they came in and saw the mess of monitors and wires.
“Cool, huh?” Kyle looked expectantly to his dad.
“Very cool. How’d you get in here?” Luke asked.
“I found this lockpicking set while we were going through one of the storage rooms. I just started fiddling around with it. It’s actually not that hard. It just takes a while. It was pretty frustrating a couple of times, but I stuck with it.”
“Of course you did, son.” His dad mussed up his hair, smiling down at him proudly. “You don’t give up easily, do you?”
“Sure don’t. You taught me not to.”
“Well, I can’t take all the credit. You definitely get some of that from your mother. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her give up on anything. Not once.”
Kyle smiled up at his dad, grateful for his approval. Then he ran over to the massive gray box and gestured at it. “This is the thing I was talking about. It’s not part of the water purifier is it? I thought maybe it was a refrigerator, but then I was like, ‘why would it be in a room full of computers,’ you know? To keep them cold?”
His dad laughed and shook his head.
Edwin came walked toward the huge metal rectangle. He clapped Kyle on his shoulder. “That, my boy, is a computer. A really old one. Older than your parents, even.”
“Whoa.” Kyle looked up at the machine, newly amazed.
“I don’t imagine it’s of much use anymore, though.” Edwin inspected it, fiddling with knobs and dials before looking around at the back.
“It’s not as useful as a water purifier would be.” His dad frowned for a moment before shrugging. “Maybe it’s behind one of the other locked doors. What do you say, son? Feel like putting your new skills to the test again?”
Kyle nodded and grinned. He was actually having fun for the first time since the
death of his sister. He still missed her, and he wanted the COB to pay for what they did, but things were finally starting to look up. He couldn’t wait to see what they would find behind the next locked door.
Luke’s heart swelled with pride as he watched his son moving around the computer room. He wasn’t sure how useful the contents of the room would actually be, but it was good to see his son happy again. Kyle had been so full of anger since Sierra died. He’d fixated on punishing the Children of the Bomb almost to the point of obsession.
It pained him to see his young son so consumed with thoughts of violence and revenge. At that age, Luke’s only concern had been catching more frogs at the creek than Billy Cunham. Then again, those were simpler times.
Luke tried to hide his disappointment when Kyle led him into the room filled with dusty old computers. He’d been hoping to find the water purification system. Their water supply was adequate for now, but it would become their biggest problem before long.
Once they went through the bunker’s stores, the filters they had would only last so long. They couldn’t use iodine tablets for any significant amount of time without incurring negative health effects. If they had to boil all of their water, they would accelerate the rate at which they burned through their fuel stores.
Luke put his arm around Liz’s shoulders and pulled her close to him. They watched their son across the room.
Kyle nodded as Edwin showed him around the room. The older man pointed out different components. He explained antiquated methods of computer operation to Kyle, who seemed fascinated. At least his son’s mood seemed much better now.
“It’s good to see him focused on something non-cult related for a change,” Luke whispered in his wife’s ear.
“At least something nice happened today. I still can’t believe those numbers. Are you absolutely sure you heard the radio report correctly?”