“Hills, how’s it going?” I asked her. She looked at me blankly. “Hills, you good?”
She shook her head as if to clear it. “Yeah, sorry. Guess I was just super focused.”
“I think you’ve got enough products picked out,” I said with a small wave at the mountain behind her. She turned and looked.
“Yeah, yeah I guess I do.”
“Let’s get that all over the railing to the staging area, then we can focus on the warehouse.”
She nodded, “Why the warehouse?”
“Winter stuff. Geno said it’s all probably in back stock in there,” I said with a glance to confirm.
Geno nodded in affirmation. Hillary blankly accepted and walked over to the pile. I shrugged before Geno and I joined her.
We started tossing everything over the railing to the floor below. It was a ten or fifteen foot fall, but nothing sounded like it broke when it landed.
“Right. Let’s grab everybody and check the warehouse out,” I said. Hillary nodded, her eyes slowly finding focus.
“Yo, Larry! Let’s go!”
I heard him drop what he was doing. I headed down the stairs to our staging area. Once we were all gathered, I broke down the plan.
“The warehouse is probably huge. I think it takes up a third of the floor space of all three floors. So we need all four of us to search it. The rest of the stuff can wait, the cold is killing me.” They nodded and we set off to the back of the store.
The back wall had several entrance points to the warehouse-like area beyond. I walked through the nearest. The entire area was open, with hundreds of shelves in rows. They all held boxes. Each box was stenciled with words in black ink.
I walked to the nearest rack and shined my flashlight on the box. ‘Swimwear’. Didn’t even specify a gender or size. I wasn’t hopeful.
“This is going to take a while, guys. Let’s split up and tackle sections. One of us is likely to find something in here.”
“Yeah, alright. I’ll head up to the next floor. You with me, Geno?” Hillary asked as she started to walk away.
“Yeah, Hills.” He jogged lightly behind her. I turned my attention to Larry.
“I’ll take the left half and you the right?” I asked him. He nodded, and walked to the far end. I started searching through the boxes at the center lane and started moving on toward the opposite end from Larry.
The beam of light swept over box after box. I was having no luck. I ended up in the electronic goods back stock, which was worthless to us. Half an hour passed, when I finally heard a shout. I felt relief, since I was staring at more hygiene products.
“Hey, get over here!” Geno’s voice echoed through the still air. I hustled to the stairs nearby and walked up. My face ached from the severe cold.
Geno stood proudly in front of a several stacks of boxes. Larry was nearby, pulling more from the shelves. Geno kicked the nearest box to face it toward me.
I shined my light to check what the stenciling said. ‘Coats, Winter, Men’s’.
“Jackpot. Nice find, Geno.”
He nodded, beaming. His face was ruddier than normal from the cold. His nose was running, though the air was so cold the snot froze at the tip of his nose. My nose was doing the same. Hillary was helping Larry organize the boxes.
We found a dozen boxes altogether. They were evenly split, with four boxes of Men’s coats, four Women’s, and four Children’s. They were heavy, weighing seventy pounds each. Larry tore open one of the boxes with the larger sizes printed on the side.
The coats were sealed in plastic to help fit them in the box. He tore one open and it immediately puffed up. He put it on top of the lighter jacket he was wearing. I could hear the fabric crinkling as ice cracked from the sudden movement.
Geno and I grabbed coats for ourselves. I was still shivering lightly, despite the many layers I wore. The new jacket went on nicely over the lighter jacket. Soon, I was more comfortable than I had been since darkness had fallen.
Hillary also opened a jacket and put it on. Then Larry and I started carrying the boxes out to the staging area.
It was likely we wouldn’t be needing all of the coats immediately, but having them on hand would make subsequent trips much easier. They were substantially heavier than anything that had been stocked in the office.
Once all of the coats were relocated, we checked the same area once more. Thankfully, we were lucky again. A final set of two boxes were labeled ‘Winter, Accessories’. I opened it up and pulled out ski masks.
My face was aching and starting to numb in the cold. I ripped one open, took my beanie off and pulled the mask over my head. Once it was properly situated, I put my beanie back on, then put the hood up from the heavy jacket.
The reaction was slow, but eventually I could feel my nose and ears start to grow warm, with pins and needles shooting painfully through my skin. My nose began to run again.
The other three had done the same, and were making small noises of appreciation and pain as sensation returned.
“Alright, let’s get these back to the staging area. Then let’s eat,” I said. Geno, Hillary, and Larry all nodded. Larry and I each picked up a box, and walked back to the staging area.
“I’m starving. I think I saw trail rations in the camping area.” I began to walk over as the others wearily nodded and sat. We still had a long hike ahead of us, and would need good food for energy.
I wandered back to the camp supplies area. There was an entire aisle dedicated to camp foods. They were usually fairly flavorful and packed with calories and nutrients. Like an MRE, but lighter.
I grabbed an armful of freeze-dried packs. Then I found a camping stove and propane, and a gallon of water. I juggled everything and brought it back to the staging area. I set up the stove and got it started.
I put the flame to high and set the water jug near the flame to thaw it. Once it was going, I headed back to the camping supplies and found a good sized pot. I brought that back and put it on the stove.
Once the water was thawed enough, I poured what was melted into the pot to bring it to a boil. I grabbed the first bag of food and ripped it open. Inside I saw a mass of eggs with peppers. Looked good, and my stomach rumbled in anticipation.
Once the water was at a rolling boil, I dumped water into each bag in turn. They were resealed, and I tucked mine inside my jacket. Warmth radiated from the bag.
We waited impatiently for the food to finish rehydrating. Larry wandered off for a moment, coming back with a pack of frozen water bottles. Some had split, but a few were only swollen with ice. We dug the unbroken bottles out and set them near the stove to thaw. We chatted a little bit to pass the time. Geno told us he brewed beer, and had an amazing setup for it.
Larry, though normally terse and quiet, used to do standup. He even told us a handful of jokes and had us rolling with laughter.
Suddenly, a pain shot through my head. I clutched at my temples, seeing the others act similarly. I chalked it up to the cold.
“Damn dude, don’t be so funny. It hurts.” Larry grunted at my comment. We calmed down a bit. I took one of the thawed bottles of water and cracked it open. I tried the water, finding it cold but not freezing. I greedily drank half the bottle, stopping only when the cold became too much.
Hillary had been a rancher in Texas, years before, but left it to her family so she could go to college.
About fifteen minutes passed, and I checked on my food. I gave it a good stir, and started chowing down with a plastic spoon.
It was by no means a five star meal, but I was so hungry it didn’t matter.
I involuntarily made a groan of appreciation. The others mocked me and groaned as well. We all busted out laughing, breath fogging in the frozen air.
Then hunger made us all refocus. For the next few minutes, the only thing we did was devour the food.
Once I was done, I sat back for a few minutes. The others did as well.
“Ya know, it’s strange,” said Hillary. “
We’ve been all over this store, and a good chunk of the building. But we haven’t really seen a bunch of people. I mean, the store was locked up. I checked the front doors. There were a few people frozen out there against the doors. But there are none in here.”
Geno answered after a moment. “Well, we did find that fire escape door that was open. And we haven’t checked the parking garage. It could be full, for all we know.”
That dark thought settled over us and killed the conversation. It was strange. I had expected to find bodies everywhere, but instead we found emptiness and silence.
Soon enough I decided contemplation could only get us so far. I stood and started to organize. The others followed suit.
14
June 14, 2033
Seattle, Washington, USA
1st floor, Illeni Building
-47°F
1730 Hours
We spent the next hour organizing our goods. The tables were soon filled and neatly ordered. Then we packed our hiking bags. After we all argued, the order was settled.
All four of us would each take a tent. They added a fair bit of weight on their own, even considering their lightweight materials. It essentially assured we would each have our own tent. However, they were bulkier than most everything else.
Larry took both of the makeshift showers. That added more weight than any of the rest of us would carry, but he was bigger and stronger than any of the rest of us.
He also took most of the heavier hygiene stuff, including body washes and soap. Since they were inherently liquid or solid, they weighed a fair amount. He even attached a propane stove to his backpack before he was done.
In the end, his pack weighed over seventy pounds. I remembered my pack in basic and advanced training afterward. I did not envy him.
My bag was not much better. I had a tent on the bottom of my bag, and knew it would be constantly slapping my ass. In addition, I had a few pots strapped to the side, as well as the bulk of the heaviest clothing.
The clothing was shoved in until the zipper was straining at its seam. On the outside, I had a propane stove attached.
I rattled with every step. Knowing that would not work, I stuffed each pot with towels of various sizes, and wrapped them as well. My bag looked like a poorly wrapped mummy by the time I was done.
I also took a dozen rolls of TP. My bag ended up over sixty pounds, according to the scale we weighed the bags on.
Geno took the next pack, filled with all the rest of the necessities. He stocked his bag with frozen fruits and veggies, all the meat we could stuff in, and some canned stuff besides. His bag was about fifty pounds. I looked at him with sympathy.
Still, he was seven inches shorter than me. He would struggle far less to go up a single step, especially since he outweighed me with a ton of muscle.
The last to be outfitted was Hillary. She took the luxury goods. Books, board games, even some Lego that Geno guiltily slid in at the top. I thought he was right to grab something like that. Anything that could stave off boredom would be welcome.
We each took two propane tanks as well. Every little bit would help with the community. Then every last pocket and gap was stuffed with medication of all kinds. Aspirin, heart medication, proper painkillers, sleep aids, vitamins. Everything was jammed in with the greatest economy we could manage.
This climb was going to suck.
Worse still, even though we had been at the base of the tower for close to six hours, nobody else had shown up. We were still feeling the loss of Tracy, since she had evidently gone back to base.
I took another look over the organized stacks. It would be easy for subsequent trips to grab what was needed without spending a lot of time in the store. My eyes stopped on the stacks of frozen water bottles.
“Larry, think we could bring a pack of water?”
“No. Awkward and heavy, and there's plenty up there for now. 24 extra bottles won't do much right now.”
“I wish we could find a dolly or something that could climb stairs.”
Larry grunted in reply. I took an unbroken bottle of water and tucked it in to an outside pocket of my jacket. I hoped the bottle would warm over time. I signaled the rest of the team and we got started.
We grunted and lifted the packs. My breath steamed through the mask and drifted upward before dispersing. I wasn’t the only one already breathing hard.
The packs were designed to spread weight. It was wonderful, because they didn’t dig into the shoulders or lower back. However, each of us was carrying dozens of pounds of extra weight.
And we had seventy floors to ascend.
Still, we felt great. We had food, entertainment, cooking supplies, and tents. Privacy and comfort were going to be afforded to our group, even if in short measure.
Sleeping as a community all crammed into one room, even a big one, was not enjoyable. The next trip would help immensely with additional supplies and tents.
Everybody got situated. I checked Hillary’s bag first.
“Fuck off, Dante. I got this.”
“Yeah, you do. Probably should help Geno though, guy can’t tie his own shoes.”
Hillary busted out laughing, replying with ‘yeah’ through wheezed laughter. Geno gave us the stink eye.
I still checked his bag. And of course, he had two straps done wrong. I helped him out, and he thanked me afterward. Quietly, because he couldn’t have Hillary hearing.
She winked at me as I adjusted Geno. I understood as well as she did. We left it alone.
“Oh shit,” said Geno. I gave him a confused look.
“We need towels for the showers.” He unbuckled and dropped his bag without a second look. Then he jogged off.
“I’ve already got a bunch of towels,” I shouted after him.
“Not enough! We have forty people!”
I shrugged and let him go. A few extra pounds at this point wouldn’t matter much and I knew he was right.
Next up was Larry. He had the largest bag we could find, since he was the one of the tallest men I had ever met. He had it situated right, and was ready to go.
Geno returned a moment later with a massive stack of towels. He helped tie a few to each of our respective bags.
I nodded at each of them in turn, and led on.
The door to the southeast stood about a hundred fifty feet away, and I started walking. In the silence of the store, I could hear them tromping after me.
The door lay open, though the air beyond was significantly colder. Air pressure somehow kept the outside air from mixing too much with the air of the store. The difference was only about ten degrees, but negative ten versus zero was a big difference to exposed skin.
The first four flights weren’t bad. We were in the security cordon only a few minutes later. However, we were all huffing a bit by the time we ended up at the all too familiar metal detectors.
I could hear the echo of Travis’ voice now. I missed that crotchety old security guard, for some reason.
“Sir, what is this?”
“Nothing Travis.” Just the stuff we need to survive.
I continued through the metal detector toward the stair doors. I looked back and saw each of the others have their own pause at the familiar arch.
Then I threw the fire door open. The faint screech of metal in the cold air put my nerves on edge. I even heard a faint leather-on-paper sort of rasp. I brushed it off as ice crackling.
Far above, I heard the faint slam of what could have been a door.
“Hey, guys, I think I just heard a door.”
“Really?” said Hillary.
“Yeah, pretty sure.”
Larry shook his head. “I heard nothing, man.”
I knew I had a confused look on my face. Then the headache set in again. I rubbed my temples.
“Whatever guys, let’s just get back. I need a damn nap.”
They agreed.
I started the first flight. It wasn’t so bad.
The fifth flight had my legs burnin
g.
By the twelfth flight, I had to pause for a rest. It wasn’t until I stopped that I realized the others had fallen behind. I called down to them.
“HEY! You guys okay?”
A moment later, ‘Yeah’ drifted up. It was echoed and distorted to the point that I couldn’t tell if it was Geno’s tenor or Larry’s bass that had shouted it up.
I waited, catching my breath. About five minutes later, the three of them caught up.
“We can’t be getting separated like that, guys.”
They nodded. I continued, “If we need a break, call one.” Once more, they nodded.
I started up the next flight. My mouth felt dry. I pushed on.
A short break was called at ‘20’.
I recalled seeing ‘30’ pass by. I was in a trance by that point. I think the others were as well. It was like we transformed into machines.
I forced us to stop though. The breaks were getting longer and time spent climbing shorter. Our fourth break was at ‘40’.
We pushed on. At ‘50’, I called a halt. My legs felt horrid. Cramps all the way through. My mouth and throat felt like a desert from the cold air. I checked the water bottle in my outside pocket while we rested. It was still frozen solid.
My nose had started running again from having to breathe so hard. Snot crusted the front of my face. It had crystallized in my face mask. The others appeared the same.
“Water would be nice,” I gasped. I held up my frozen bottle for emphasis. The other three didn’t bother to respond.
After ten minutes, we started again. All I could think about was water. We needed it, but we didn’t have a way to drink what we'd brought.
I pushed on. My legs burned. My shoulders burned. My hips, my knees, calves, back... it all burned. Everything hurt. We hit ‘60’.
“Almost... there,” I grunted out. My head rang, and everything hurt. I’m not even sure anybody responded. We didn’t stop. If we did, I’m sure we would have never started again.
I had a mantra going. “I FUCKING HATE STAIRS.” Over, and over, and over again.
Pain became all, anything I could feel was pain. It screamed from the peaks of mountains and the depths of the sea. It was all and everything.
Darkness Trilogy (Book 1): Winds of Darkness Page 8