by Kip Nelson
“What can I say? We all have our talents. But I figured that given the state of the world now there's no point telling people what I used to do. I'd rather not have them make instant judgments about me, like Kathryn did.”
“That really bothered you, didn't it?”
“It just reminded me of when I was younger. I'd rather forget about all that. That's one of the reasons why I got into hacking. When all you are is words on a screen you're judged only by what you say, not by what you look like. But yeah, if you don't mind I'd like to keep the fact that, technically, I'm still your prisoner between the two of us.”
“Consider it done,” Mack said. “Well, it doesn't look like they've followed us, so I think we'll be safe for the night. Why don't you go and get some sleep? I'll take first watch.”
Grace nodded and the two of them made their way back to camp. Luis greeted them. The conversation dwindled as they settled down to get some sleep, while Mack stayed up to keep watch for a few hours. He sat upon a rock and gazed into the distance, thinking about home and Anna. While during the day he tried to remain focused on the task at hand, in these quiet moments he indulged himself in some melancholy musings of what could have been. He thought about her beautiful face, and her smile that was brighter than a star, and how it would have sparkled when they reunited. He also thought about the future, and if they would meet again, and how sweet it would be to hold her in his arms. However, he knew, too, that the world was a dangerous place and the odds were stacked against them. He was sure they weren't the only two lovers separated, and so, while he was alone, he spared a thought for all those in the same situation as him and hoped the fates guided them back to each other.
Then there was a bang and his attention was shaken. In the distance a bright red light shot into the sky, with a plume of crimson smoke following it. The noise was loud enough to wake Luis and Grace, who stared up at the sky with astonishment at the flare. Mack knew that it was coming from the direction of the bunker.
“They're alive...and they're in danger,” he said. Grace and Luis stared at each other, worried at the portent in Mack's voice.
CHAPTER NINE
“COME ON, get packed up, we have to leave and get there to help them,” Mack said, gathering up all their supplies. Grace groaned and protested.
“How do you know they're in trouble?” she asked.
“Yeah, couldn't they just be signaling to see if anybody is out there?” Luis asked.
“That's not procedure. That's a flare to ask for help. You two can stay here if you want but I need to go see if there's anything I can do. It's my duty. They could be under attack. It could be anything, and it's in our best interests to help them. If that bunker is gone, then we're going to have to find sanctuary somewhere else. Come on, let's go,” he said, and roused the other two.
It wasn't long before they were ready. Mack always had one eye on the sky in case there were any other signals but there was nothing following the flare. He was worried as he had pinned his hopes on that bunker. He walked quickly, and only glanced back infrequently to see if Luis and Grace were keeping up with him, which they strained to do.
Although they were younger than him, Mack was in better condition and didn't seem to tire at all as he strode through the forest. He held the flashlight by his side and the shaft of light illuminated the path before him. The gun nestled at his back, and knowing he had a weapon gave him a sense of comfort for he knew he would need it if he was about to join a fight. There were times when he had to adjust his path to avoid a dense collection of trees, or a gorse bush, but he always kept his eyes on his destination. In the distance he could hear gunfire and his heart sank. He only could hope that the bunker was prepared enough to defend itself.
He was afraid Grace was right and that the world was going to fall apart. If that happened then he wasn't sure he would have the strength to believe that Anna was going to be kept safe. It surely would be only a matter of time before he met more people like Kathryn, people who used the apocalypse to further their own agendas. It was a time when, without the safe framework that society provided, people could indulge their darkest desires without the threat of punishment or incarceration. It was the first time the grim reality of the situation finally dawned on Mack, and he knew it was going to be a struggle to maintain his values. But it was easy to be a saint in paradise. It was times like these that tested the real measure of a man. He vowed to himself he would not be left wanting, that when he saw Anna again she still would recognize him for the man she fell in love with.
While Mack was storming ahead Grace and Luis were straggling behind, keeping up a steady pace but still fairly far behind the older man. They each had a flashlight as well, and were following the trail left by Mack's light up ahead. Occasionally they stumbled, still struggling with the weight of the packs on their backs.
“He's a machine,” Luis remarked.
“Tell me about it. Wait until you've been traveling with him for a few days. You'll start to feel muscles you never knew you had. Shouldn't you be used to it, though? You were going across the country, after all.”
“I hitchhiked where I could. Walking isn't exactly my favorite thing but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it from now on. So you worked with computers before all this?”
“Yeah,” Grace said, wishing that she could have kept up with Mack. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her past, especially with this new stranger who was not yet a friend. Luis, however, had other ideas. It was clear he had taken a shine to Grace and wasn't content to walk by her side in silence.
“In what way? Were you a programmer or a technician?”
“I worked with software...I was kind of in the security field,” she said, keeping as close to the truth as possible.
“Oh, right...so did you and Mack know each other before the crash?”
“No, we just happened to be sitting next to each other,” Grace said.
“That's quite a stroke of luck.”
“Yeah, it is,” she said, and thought back to her old life. She realized if she hadn't been on her way to the military base she would have been lost right about now. With no Mack to guide her she wouldn't have had a clue how to survive.
“I guess you're feeling pretty lost right now without any laptops or anything.”
“You could say that.”
“I get how you feel. I don't think it's really sunk in yet just how different the world is going to be now. I mean, think of everything we were used to, and even things like songs and movies and books. There's not going to be anyone making them anymore. I'm really annoyed at that. I can't believe I'm never going to find out what happens at the end of Game of Thrones.”
“Is that really the biggest thing you're worried about?”
Luis shrugged. “Everyone's gotta be worried about something. I spent a lot of time watching movies and things like that. It was hard enough tearing myself away from them to go on my little adventure, and it was a big part of my life, you know.”
“I guess you're going to have to develop some new hobbies then,” Grace said dismissively, and walked off, increasing her pace. Luis paused for a moment and shook his head, frustrated at her lack of willingness to engage him in conversation.
“Kinda figures,” he muttered to himself, “it's the end of the world and still a girl won't give me the time of day.” Then he followed Grace to ensure he did not fall too far behind.
There were many things on Luis' mind, but at the forefront was Grace. Part of the reason he left his home was to escape the usual crowd of faces he had been used to seeing around, and to meet new people. Sadly, it had not worked out the way he had planned, but Grace seemed different from everyone else. All he wanted to do was get to know her a little better but she seemed to have built up walls. Only when she was around Mack did she relax. Luis wondered if there had been something going on between the two of them and, if so, then his envy for the older man would burn deep in his chest.
For Grace's
part it wasn't that she found Luis' attempts unwanted, but they were more of a distraction than anything. Now was not the time to be engaging in any kind of romantic discourse, and she didn't know Luis well enough yet anyway. She also was feeling somewhat threatened by his presence because it changed the dynamic of the group and she never had been the best at dealing with change. She only just had become used to spending all her time with Mack and trusting him. Now that Luis had joined them it led to her being more careful, and she already was worried about going to the bunker. She and Mack had grown fairly close, at least closer than she was used to, and there were times when it was easy to forget she was actually his prisoner. For them to have been through everything they had been through, only for him to turn her over to whatever authority existed at the bunker, was an alarming thought.
The nature of the world had changed and laws didn't exist anymore. Part of her wished they could have stayed on the road a while longer. Part of her almost was tempted to slip away into the dead of night and leave Mack and Luis behind, but that was the part of her that always had been on the run, ever since she was a teenager. She couldn't do that any longer. The world had changed and she had to change with it. If that meant trusting people, then that's what she had to do.
They walked for a long time, at least a few hours, and, soon enough, the sounds of the gunfire subsided, and there were no more flares or any other signs of life. The fledgling group of survivors didn't know if this was a bad thing or not. Grace and Luis eventually caught up with Mack's pace but the three of them didn't exchange any words, so focused were they on reaching their destination. Through the forest they went, until they finally reached the place where the bunker should have been, and indeed it was there; the thing they had been working toward ever since they had crawled out of the plane’s wreckage and left the dead bodies without burying them. And now a similar scene was waiting for them. A plume of smoke emanated from the bunker, and in the dim light they could see bodies strewn about the floor, and bullet holes peppering the door. Mack steeled his jaw and Grace hugged him, for she knew he had hoped to use this to find his wife somehow. Luis misinterpreted this and his envy grew, even with the sight of devastation before him.
CHAPTER TEN
THE BUNKER WAS a large building built into a mountain, so from the outside only the door was visible. Surrounding this mountain were trees, as usual, but on this face there was a small clearing outside and a path that had been made to allow vehicles to come and go, when vehicles still worked. Mack held up his hand, signaling that the other two should stop while he surveyed the scene. Whatever had happened here seemed to be over, and as he crept slowly forward he peered into the inky darkness. He was relieved when he couldn't see anyone lying in wait for them.
What he did see, however, filled his heart with sorrow, and all at once he felt guilty that he wasn't there to have helped his brothers and sisters in arms defend themselves. All around him were military personnel lying on the ground, arms sprawled out, blood staining their jackets, necks bent at unnatural angles and bullet holes riddling their corpses. He checked each and every body, just as he had at the plane, hoping that just one of them showed some sign of life, but it was a forlorn hope. They were all dead. What's more, all their guns had been taken.
Mack walked up to the door of the bunker and reached out, running his hand along the rock, then the metal, his fingers dipping into the bullet holes. The rock was coarse while the metal was smooth, but each of them had been indented with these weapons of destruction. The door was ajar, and this is where the smoke was coming from. It soon settled and faded into the night air, and all around them was still.
“What happened here?” Grace asked as she walked through the collection of corpses.
“Maybe this is the war that you talked about. Maybe the North Koreans have invaded,” Luis said, casting his eyes warily around him. A chill crept down his spine and he gulped, trying to swallow his fear, but he was not successful.
“Do you think that could be it?” Grace asked Mack, her voice trembling with worry.
“No, no, I don't think that's it. The way these shots are distributed doesn't make me think this was a planned military assault. It seems as though the attackers were firing wildly. My guess is they fired on the bunker to draw out the people inside, then picked them off, one by one. Or they may have feigned injury and tried to get the people inside to come out and help. Then once the door was open they stormed in and took everyone by surprise. Either way, we're too late to make a difference.”
“Do you think it's safe to go inside? What if those people are still there?” Luis said.
“I think if they were still here we'd be dead already,” Grace said dryly, but she waited for Mack to move forward before she did anything.
The big man stepped to the side of the door and hauled it open, straining his muscles as he did so. The heavy metal door groaned as it was pulled open, and the last tendrils of smoke floated out. The air was thick with the stench of burning metal, and it took Grace and Mack back to that first moment when they stepped out of the broken hull of the plane. Were their lives now destined to move from one wreck to another? It was a morbid thought, and one which neither of them wanted to entertain for too long.
One at a time, they entered the bunker. There was a narrow hallway that curved to the right, leading to an open area, and in this was another scene of carnage. As they walked along the hallway Mack held out his hand, and on the wall he could feel more ripples of bullet holes. Whoever had attacked this bunker had been well-armed, and were evidently a dangerous foe. It was clear that in this world might made right, and those who had the power were not going to share it willingly.
The three of them walked into the open room. There were lanterns standing on desks, although more were toppled over and laying on the floor. The desks and tables had been upturned and used as barriers, but they had not done much good. Mack stood in the middle of the room and closed his eyes. He thought about what this place must have been like with the cacophony of bullets flying around, with yells and screams echoing around the chamber and the final cries of death. The expressions on the faces of the people dead here were different than those of the plane crash. There people had panicked and couldn't understand what was happening, but it seemed that here people accepted their fate with grim resignation.
The other side had not escaped without casualties themselves, but they were nondescript men and women wearing regular clothes. It was clear that a group of people had banded together and decided they would use force to assert their dominance. They were in the area, which meant that it was likely the three of them were going to run into them sooner or later. In a way, Mack was glad he had missed the fight because it was unlikely he would have made a decisive difference. It was probable he would have been left on the floor with all these other people. At least now he had a chance to carry the memories of these people and right the wrong they had suffered. If he ever found the people responsible for this slaughter he would make them pay for what they had done. In a world without law it fell to men of honor to seek out justice and dispense punishment. Mack knew it was his solemn duty to bear that burden.
The bunker was a wreck but the three of them searched diligently for anything that could prove to be helpful. However, it seemed as though the attacking force had taken everything valuable; the food, water, weapons. When Grace asked what these types of bunkers typically had in their stores, Mack’s face turned grim. They often had a lot of rifles, plenty of ammo, and explosives such as grenades and mines. Whoever attacked this bunker now had the armaments of a small army.
However, hey continued searching because they were looking for information as well. Mack hoped the attackers had not been as concerned about information as they had been about the weapons and supplies. With everything having been turned upside down and strewn about the place it was an arduous task to search through the random bits of paper for anything that could shed light on what happened. Mack hoped that at the time of
origin of the EMP this bunker had been in communication with the outside world and actually had written down something of the events that had led up to the EMP.
However, after a long time of searching they found nothing, only reports of chaos coming in. There were a few small notes concerning the city. It seemed that a group of soldiers had been given orders to get there and make contact with the local law enforcement or anyone in charge, but then there was a later note that said they never had returned. Mack held the piece of paper in his hands and clenched them into fists, his entire body trembling with anger. Grace and Luis saw this and looked at him with worry, for he was the one they looked to for leadership and guidance, but he was only human, just like them.
“This world has gone to hell!” he yelled, and threw the paper down on the floor, where it bounced and rolled until it came to a stop, resting against the fallen body of a soldier.
The bunker was large but it was quiet, and when Mack shouted his words echoed off the walls. There was so much equipment the attackers had just left on the shelves because it all was useless now. Mack went up to the shelves and picked the items, one by one, then dropped them on the floor. Glass smashed, making Grace and Luis jump.
“Everything we've built, all the progress we've made, it's all been for nothing,” he said, letting another useless device fall harmlessly to the floor.
Grace winced, naturally protective of all these things. She had tried the laptops and computers, to no avail, although it did feel good to have her hands resting on a keyboard again. The sheer act of pushing the keys down with her fingers brought her the same relief as a dose of a drug did to an addict, but now she was worried for Mack. Ever since this all had happened he had been the calm one, the composed one, the strong one who met circumstances head-on with no time for doubt or fear. So it genuinely frightened her to see him like this. He was a hero, and a hero should not lose hope. She glanced at Luis, who merely shrugged, offering no help, while Mack continued on his destructive trail, ranting about the state of the world and how everything had fallen apart.