AWOL: A Character Lost

by Anthony Renfro

“Danny Tall, this is my family, Barbara, Michael, and Johnny.”

  The man eye-balled them and then checked his computer. They were all listed there. He looked up from the computer with a smile. “Welcome. Do you have the card with the number on it?”

  “Yes,” Danny replied, as he fished out the card and handed it to the attendant.

  The guy surveyed it and then placed the card in a box filled with other cards just like it. He punched a few keys on the keyboard, and then the computer spit out four ID’s, laminated, with their pictures on them. This card held their room number, their height, their weight, any allergies they might have, medical conditions, and other important things like that.

  The attendant checked to make sure the Talls were indeed the Talls, and then handed the cards to Danny. “You all will need to carry these as long as you are down here. If we find you out and about without them, you will be escorted to a holding cell until one of your family members comes to claim you. Do you understand?”

  Danny nodded and looked over at his family who were not paying attention; their eyes were trained on the big room in front of them. “I’ll clue them in.”

  The attendant punched a few more keys and then printed out a piece of paper. He handed it to Danny. “This is your room assignment. You will need this to check in,” he paused. “So, that’s it. Do you have any questions for me?”

  Danny shook his head.

  “Okay then, again, welcome. We will have a meeting shortly, once everyone arrives. You guys can now move forward.”

  “Thanks.” Danny looked over at his family. “Grab the gear, let’s go.”

  They followed his command and poured through the turn stile one by one. On the other side, just beyond the archway Barbara was staring at moments ago, Danny stopped them and handed them their IDs. He told them the importance of having them at all times. They filed them away accordingly as he folded up their room reservation and put it in his pocket. Once all of that was done, Danny, as well as his family, took a moment to survey the room they were now standing in.

  This room really wasn’t all that impressive beyond just its sheer size. It was round like the bottom of a silo, a gigantic silo, which could hold a small concert of people. Why did that silo image seem like a distant dream to Danny, like he had been in some place like this before, only smaller? He wasn’t sure why that hazy thought had popped into his head. He pushed it away and went back to his mental survey.

  The floors were concrete and the walls a shiny-looking brown and white fake marble. Vents high up on these walls blew in fresh cool air, the same air Danny had felt when he woke up in the tunnel earlier that morning, which now seemed like ages ago. The ceiling above was made of stained glass, which depicted a sunny, cloudless sky. Danny noticed there were lights behind this glass which shown through in strategic spots making it look like an actual sky. This opened up the room and allowed it to seem more alive and bright, like you were actually standing outside. Fluorescent lights lined the walls in tasteful looking lamps. These lamps had shades on them, and each shade was a different color of the rainbow.

  In the center of this room was a large thick post rising up out of the floor, made of concrete, ten feet in height. On top of this post sat four large 80 inch TV’s that were put together in a way that made them look like a box with images on each side, so no matter what side you were on you could see what was playing. The images on the TV were silent; currently showing what was taking place in the world outside. Needless to say, the images were horrific.

  “Oh my God,” Danny replied, as he stood there and looked at the world in ruin on the TV screens, whole cities, countries, wiped out, the human population scattered and destroyed. It really did look like hell’s inferno, as the fires raged, and the smoke blotted out the sun. Danny could almost see the devil sitting on his throne, surveying his kingdom, and loving all that he had accomplished. This was now the devil’s world; the human race had to find some way to live in it.

  Danny moved his eyes from the TV screen he was watching, to the tunnels that opened up around him, their entrance ways like giant toothless mouths. Each tunnel was currently closed with a steel gate across it, and cold neon signs above their entranceway.

  Danny left his family for a moment and walked over to one of them. He looked up at the sign, and it read: The Food Tunnel. Danny put his hands on the gate and peered down into the darkness. He could hear mooing and chickens clucking, and he could see the front of an unlit grocery store, which stood at least three stories tall and went on for however long back into the Earth. Danny assumed that the animals he heard were for fresh food, steaks, hamburger, chicken, eggs, milk, and things like that. He wondered how long they would have the products those animals produced? He also wondered why it didn’t smell down there, but he assumed that they had a way of getting rid of it.

  He walked over to the next tunnel entrance and looked up to see that the dark neon letters read: The Hospital Tunnel. He put his hands on the gate and peered down into the dark. He could see an unlit hospital entrance at least seven maybe eight stories tall, standing and waiting to service those in need. He could also see gurneys, 5 deep, lined up from the gate to the double door entrance.

  He turned from this tunnel to the one beside it, The Exercise Tunnel, and then looked from there to the others, The Entertainment Tunnel, The Communication tunnel, and one just called The Sixth Tunnel. Along the wall they went side by side, silent dark and empty, waiting on the new future to begin.

  He turned around, and looked at the hotel. The square façade of this hotel rose up out of the ground and ended when it connected to the blue sky ceiling. It was six stories tall and very wide. Who knew how far back into the Earth it went? How vast the number of rooms?

  It was very basic in design and structure, solid white, a window for each and every room that faced the common area. He could see people moving about in front of it and entering through the double glass doors. Lights were on in some of the windows as people settled in to their new life underground.

  Curiosity cured, and survey complete. Danny walked back to his family and joined them. He was about to go check in when a familiar voice stopped him.

  “Welcome, Danny.” He turned and so did the rest of his family. It was the red haired guy standing there offering up a hand to shake. “I’m glad you made it.”

  Danny reached for his hand and just before he took it, Barbara smacked the red haired guy. She then grabbed him by the throat and started to squeeze. Danny had never seen such rage in her. The kids were stunned as well.

  “Where are they?” She screamed, as the red haired guy tried to push her away, fighting for each breath. Danny grabbed her around the waist and tried to pull her back. Several cops (dressed in black jump suits with yellow security badges sown onto their chests, just above their name tags) rushed over to help out as Danny got Barbara under control, managing somehow to loosen her grip, and pull her away.

  The red haired guy motioned the cops back as he rubbed his throat and adjusted his clothes. It seemed to Danny that this wasn’t the first time the red haired guy had been assaulted that day.

  “Strong grip,” he replied, gaining his composure, rubbing his now red neck. He turned to face Barbara. “You’re wondering about your family, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” she replied, gaining her composure, and pushing Danny away.

  “I’m sorry. They didn’t make it.” The words cut her open like jagged shards of glass. “You see, we have only a certain amount of room down here, so we had to be selective.”

  “Who made you God?” Barbara was pissed, and now that anger was turning from the red haired guy to Danny. He hadn’t allowed her to have any closure. The more she thought of all he could have done before hand, it just made her madder.

  “As I’ve explained to Danny, what we’re doing down here is a continuation of the human race. We had to be selective or else we wouldn’t be able to survive. We would run out of supplies.”

  “Go fuck yourself!
I don’t want to hear about the things that help you sleep at night.”

  “Barbara,” Danny replied, surprised at her tone in front of the kids, actually surprised by everything she had just done in front of the kids.

  “Fuck you too, Danny.” She pulled her hand back and slapped him across the face. “Don’t talk to me.” She walked off, trying to do what she could to calm down.

  “I’m sorry, Danny. This isn’t the first time this has happened today. We have a grief center set up over there if she needs it.” He pointed across the room to a small area, where there were several tables and chairs set up like an office. Currently there were only workers in orange jump suits behind the desks, no one in the chairs in front of them. “It hasn’t been that busy, if you can believe that.” He paused, and continued. “I’m sorry about your wife. I was hoping it would go smoother for her, and for you.”

  “I guess it’s to be expected; she’s been through a lot today, we all have,” Danny paused. “One quick question before I go.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why are you showing all the negative stuff on the televisions? Shouldn’t it be more pleasant? It probably would help with the grief we all are feeling.”

  “We want people to know reality, to know what is going on above. We think it is better to do it now, than try and do it later. Today is the day to grieve, and the days to come will be days of healing, but we first must deal with the negative. That’s the only way we can move forward.”

  “Tough love, guess that makes sense. I better get to my family and get us checked in.”

  “Take care, Danny, glad you made it. Hope it all works out for you.”

  “You too, and thanks” Danny replied, as he walked off to be with his family. When Danny reached Barbara, he put his hand on her shoulder; and she pushed it away. He didn’t force the issue, just let it drop. “We should get our gear and go find our room,” Danny replied, trying to get them moving.

  Barbara was still not talking, but she did want to get a shower and get away from those awful images. When she finally turned away from the TV, they were showing a woman running down the street on fire, screaming silently as she melted into human ash right in front of her eyes.

  *

  The double doors slid open, and Danny led his family into the place that would be their new home. He took a moment to look around.

  There was a large round check-in area in the center of this room. There were at least 10 people inside of it, sitting around the edges of the circle, clicking away on computers, checking people in. The people behind this round desk were all wearing light blue jump suits.

  The lights above were small and non-fluorescent, the floors white marble with flecks of gold, and there were living plants, lots and lots of living plants, everywhere. Their green leaves and bright flowers providing comfort in such a trying time. There were no windows in the lobby, just blank white walls with images of the tropics in portraits tacked up on them. To the right and the left, the lobby opened up into large hallways, where people were moving into and out of.

  Danny made his way to the counter when one of the clerks became available, an older lady, about 60, with round black glasses, and a happy smile. While Danny checked in, Barbara took the kids (with their bags in tow) over to a large board sitting on a stand. This board had a diagram of the place on it and all the amenities it offered. The ground floor (where they were right now) had a pool, a spa (complete with massages, saunas, and anything else you would need to de-stress), a laundry room, and a children’s play area. There was also a small lounge/bar area for drinks only; and, what they couldn’t know, by looking at this sign, was that on occasion, small events were planned to be held here, provided by local Raleigh area musicians and comedians. Above this ground floor area were the rooms, laid out just like a typical hotel.

  Danny walked over to his family with four keys in hand, finished with the check in process. These keys looked like small plastic credit cards. “We are in room 306,” he replied, handing the keys out to each one of them. “Hold onto these; you’ll need them.”

  “I’m not sure Johnny and Michael need one,” Barbara replied, thinking like a mother.

  “We all do,” Danny replied, as he looked across the lobby to the row of elevators. There were six of them, busy with people and activity.

  Barbara let the argument drop, as Danny led them over to the elevators; and, as luck would have it, one of them was free. They climbed on board, and Danny punched the number three button. The button lit up, the doors closed, and they began to climb.

  When they reached their floor, Danny and his family filed out one by one. They were now standing in a small area, which held a mirror on the wall, a couch and several chairs. The carpet beneath them was short and white. Again, there were no windows, just white walls with more tropical images.

  Danny led them out of this space and into a long corridor, with that same short white carpet. The motif on these walls wasn’t tropical. It was pictures of serene mountains. Some showed winter’s harsh embrace, some showed spring’s pleasant thaw with many flowers in colorful bloom, and some showed images of the fall with the leaves of the trees alive with color.

  Danny counted up the rooms as they walked, and found the one they were looking for. It was a white door with a brown circle in the middle of it. Inside this circle, the room number was laid out in big gold numbers. He took out his key, slid it into the slot, and pulled it out (I know that sounded dirty, keep your mind clean folks, I know it’s tough). The lock popped, and Danny turned the handle. The door opened, and swung inward without a squeak.

  The inside of the place was small, about 1000 square feet. To the left was a small kitchen with a tiny fridge, stove, coffee pot, and microwave. To the right was a small closet complete with hangers, an iron, and a small ironing board. Further in, there were three doors, one on the left, and two on the right. The one on the left held the master bedroom while the two on the right held two small rooms for the boys.

  The master bedroom had enough room for a double bed (white pillowcases on the pillows, white sheets, and bed spread) two beside tables (with an alarm clock on one of them), and a dresser for clothes. There was also a small closet, a TV/DVD/Blu-Ray player combo in a bracket on the wall, and a small bathroom with just a toilet, sink, and mirror.

  The boy’s rooms held a single bed (white sheets, bed spread, and pillowcase), a TV in a bracket, and a video game system that would play not only games, but DVDs, Blu-Rays, and CDs. There was also a small closet in each room along with a night stand beside the bed.

  At the rear of the apartment, just beyond the hallway with the three doors, was a large common area, which was split down the middle. The dining room area, held a small table with four chairs. The living room area had a couch and chairs to sit in, and they were all gathered around a coffee table. All of this furniture was pointing towards a TV/DVD/Blu-Ray combo, sitting on a TV stand. On the living room side, there were also two computer terminals, complete with keyboard, mouse, and a tower. There was also a closed door, which held a bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower. There was no tub. One other feature of this room was a window, the only one in the whole apartment. It was made up of multi-colored stained glass with a light behind it. This light would be adjusted to simulate, morning, day, and night.

  The motif of this apartment was very simple. Short white gold flecked carpet throughout, no hard wood floors, somber brown walls, and pictures of tropical locations.

  There were small non-fluorescent lights in the ceiling above that lit the kitchen, hallway, rooms, bathrooms, and common area.

  Danny took one suitcase and the bag of pictures into the master bedroom. The other suitcase he put into Michael’s room. The cooler parked itself right inside the kitchen, next to the fridge. The sleeping bags went into the hallway closet.

  “Michael and Johnny, the suitcase is half and half. You need to split it up and get unpacked.”

  The boys did as they were told, Johnny with exubera
nce, and Michael as somber as ever, going along with everything, but not sure he wanted to.

  Danny went into the master bedroom and opened up the suitcase he had brought for him and Barbara. He started to unpack.

  Barbara stood at the door and stared at him. “How can you be so casual about this?”

  Danny looked up from the open bag. “Are you going to be mad at me the whole time we’re down here? I’m doing the best I can, and I did the best I could.”

  “I’m going to go get a drink. Don’t follow me.” She left the apartment with a slamming of the door, deciding to skip the shower for now. She just couldn’t stand being around Danny at the moment. She needed time to think, time to wrap her head around things, time to just be mad.

  Danny sat down on the bed, tears building up behind his eyes, but before they could fall he heard Michael and Johnny talking loudly in the other room. He went out to see what all the fuss was about as he chucked the tears back to where they belonged.

  “That’s mine.”

  “No, that’s mine,” Michael replied, as he held up a small square device that played music.

  “That’s Michael’s.” The boys looked at their dad. “I put Johnny’s underneath his favorite shirt. That way they wouldn’t get mixed up.”

  Johnny dug in the suitcase until he found what he was looking for.

  “I loaded up each of them with music both of you would like. I also grabbed some video games, DVDs, and CDs for both of you. I hope I got the right ones.”

  The boys turned back to the suitcase, and Danny helped them sort it out. When they were unpacked, he decided to go find Barbara.

  “Okay, guys, I need to go find your mom. Johnny, take your stuff to your room and settle in.”

  “Okay dad,” Johnny replied, taking his stuff into the other bedroom.

  Michael was fumbling through his musical choices when Danny sat down on the bed beside him. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. You’re in charge; no one is allowed to leave the apartment.”

  Michael didn’t acknowledge him.