Apocalyptic Visions Super Boxset

by James Hunt

  Nelson touched his finger to touch the outline of the lump on the left side of his head and winced when he made contact.

  “It was a rough night,” Mike said.

  Nelson, still disoriented, turned to his son.

  “You all right, buddy?” Nelson asked.

  Sean wrapped his arms around his father, burying his face into his shirt. Nelson cradled the back of his son’s head as he rested against him. His eyes looked up into Mike’s.

  “Did they take everything?” Nelson asked.

  “All of our packs are gone,” Mike answered.

  “Well, I’m glad you two are okay. What are we going to do now?”

  Mike had thought about that all night. He thought about how they were going to finish the trip to the cabin that was at least another three full days of walking without any food or water. He knew the further they traveled into Ohio where the cabin was located the fewer towns there’d be to try and gather supplies. Right now the only place that was close enough to do them any good was the one place Mike wanted to avoid.

  Nelson noticed Mike glancing back toward Pittsburgh International and picked up on what he was thinking.

  “I hope you printed our boarding passes before we left,” Nelson said.

  ***

  The muggers from last night confirmed what Mike already knew would happen: that people were getting desperate and traveling around, looking for easy scores. It wouldn’t be long before people started organizing into gangs to survive.

  That’s what Mike feared awaited them in the airport. It had been a week since everything stopped working. No power, no water, no food, no modern conveniences, nothing. He’d already watched his neighbors turn on each other, and that was in the first week. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen a month from now.

  Mike tried to convince Nelson to stay in the plane with Sean, but he insisted on coming to help. Mike finally caved. If he did find a stash of supplies he’d need all the help he could get carrying it.

  Clothes, trash, and abandoned airport equipment littered the tarmac. The massive jetliners stood motionless. Some were lined up at the terminals, while others stood frozen on the runways, never leaving the ground.

  Mike thought about how everyone on board started to complain the moment everything shut off. He could hear the mumbles and groans on the plane, people cursing under their breath that they’d been inconvenienced by what happened, but if they’d taken off thirty minutes earlier they all would have crashed, and most likely would have died.

  Mike kept his eyes alert. He scanned the tarmac for anything unusual, or out of place. He couldn’t afford anyone getting the drop on them now. As much as Nelson said he was okay Mike knew that he wasn’t going to be of much use if things went south.

  “How do we get in there?” Nelson asked.

  “We’ll have to go up to the main entrance. I’m not sure how to get in from the tarmac,” Mike said.

  The three of them walked around the outside of the terminal and followed the monorail to the airport drop off and pick up area. A few of the monorails were stuck on the rack in between destinations.

  “Dad, what’s that on the windows?” Sean asked.

  When Mike looked up at one of the monorail windows, he could see dried bloodstains smeared across the glass.

  “Dirt,” Mike said.

  Nothing moved. Mike still hadn’t become used to that. All the times he’d complained about people moving too fast, and now he’d give anything to see a car speed around the corner of the building up ahead.

  Then Mike saw him. It was only for a second, but he saw the flash of brown hair duck back into the airport. He pulled Nelson and Sean down behind a luggage carrier.

  “What’s wrong?” Nelson asked.

  “There’re people inside,” Mike said.

  “Do you think they’re dangerous?”

  “I don’t know, but if they’re keeping watch, then they must be protecting something.”

  Mike pulled the pistol from his waist and clicked the safety off. He peeked above the luggage carrier to the door the man had gone inside.

  “We should move to the corner by the front of the building. Sean, you stay close to your dad, okay? If anything happens you two run, got it?”

  Both of them nodded their heads.

  “Stay behind me,” Mike said.

  Mike led the three of them in a single file line. He kept the gun clutched in both hands, his eyes scanning the area. He slammed his back up against the corner of the building. Nelson and Sean followed suit, catching their breath. Mike placed his index finger over his lips.

  “C’mon,” Mike said.

  Most of the automatic glass doors were shut. A few had been smashed and the rest had been opened manually.

  The crunch of the glass behind Mike made him freeze in his tracks. Nelson mouthed “Sorry” and stepped around the remaining shards.

  Mike found one of the opened doors and stepped through. The airport was musty. A week of no air conditioning and continually being baked in the sun caused everything to stink. Mike motioned for Nelson and Sean to move in close. His voice was barely above a whisper.

  “Look for food. You’ll want to take non-perishable items. Anything in a can or a wrapper should be okay. Bottled water is another good thing to grab. Also, be on the lookout for backpacks we can use to store what we find, okay?”

  “What about weapons?” Nelson asked.

  “I don’t think we’ll find anything like that here, but if you do grab it.”

  Mike squinted his eyes, trying to see deeper into the depths of the airport, but he could only see as far as the light from outside would reach through the windows. No windows, no light. The only things visible were security lines and metal detectors.

  Tables and chairs from the food court were flipped on their sides and backs. Broken glass from display cases and vending machines scattered the floor. Sean reached down and picked up a candy bar and showed it to his father. Nelson gave him a thumbs up. Just as Sean pocketed it they heard a crash coming from the back of the Burger King kitchen.

  “Stay here,” Mike said.

  Mike climbed over the Burger King counter, landing quietly on the other side. He could feel his pulse beat faster. A dim light glowed under the crack of the door leading to the kitchen. He raised his weapon, his knuckles turning white against the black composite of his 9mm and burst through the swinging door.

  A group of people was huddled on the floor, all of them with their hands up in surrender. A family with two small children, a young woman, a middle aged man, and an overweight man dressed in a TSA uniform looked at him.

  “Hey, man. We don’t want any trouble. Just take what you want and be on your way, okay?” the TSA agent said.

  Mike kept his weapon aimed, but moved his finger from the trigger. He glanced around at the group. Each time he swept the pistol over them they crouched lower to the ground. Finally, Mike lowered his gun, clicked the safety back on, and tucked the pistol in the belt of his pants.

  “I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Mike said.

  “Mike?” Nelson called from the counter.

  “We’re good, Nelson. C’mon back,” Mike answered.

  The TSA man extended his hand.

  “Clarence Furns,” he said.

  The two men shook hands.

  “That’s Tom Wrink, Fay Cam, Jung To, Jenna To, and their two little ones, Jung Jr. and Claire,” Clarence said.

  Tom wore the remnants of what was left of his business suit. His beard crept down along his neck. When Mike went to shake his hand it was grimy with dirt, skin, and whatever he’d ate at his last meal.

  Fay’s hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her nails were long, the nail polish flaking off. Mike noticed the tattoos along her arm, exposed from her tank top.

  Jung and Jenna stayed close to one another. They were both dressed in what looked like comfortable clothing for a long trip. Jung Jr. and Claire hid behind their parents’ legs, glancing up at Mike.


  Mike introduced Nelson and Sean.

  “So, what’s for breakfast?” Nelson asked.

  Clarence picked up the lantern and walked them back into the kitchen. The group had stacked the kitchen with boxes of food rations, vending machine boxes, and canned goods.

  “You can take as much as you need and stay for as long as you’d like, but I don’t know how much longer we’re going to be able to last here,” Clarence said.

  “What are you talking about? There’s enough food here to last you for the rest of the year,” Nelson said.

  “When everything stopped working most of the airport was evacuated. They marched people to local hotels, into the city, wherever. There were quite a few that were just left here, and everything was fine for the first few days,” Clarence said.

  “Then people from the city started showing up. I guess they thought they could escape on a plane or something. They came in droves and when they got here and found out that the airport was just as broken as the rest of the city, people started losing it,” Tom said.

  “It started off with small stuff: where they slept, about personal space, where they could keep their stuff, stupid things. But then people started arguing over food and water. A few of the TSA and law enforcement officers that stuck around tried to keep things in order, but it didn’t take long for most of them to start causing trouble too,” Clarence explained.

  “How’d you manage to get all of this stuff in here with all of the looting going on?” Mike asked.

  “I grabbed as many things as I could when I started seeing everything fall apart, but then after the first person was killed it was a free-for-all. People just tore into each other. I grabbed these guys and locked us in the TSA security office. We were there for two days before I unlocked the door. When we came out most of the airport was abandoned. A few other people who had survived by hiding in other spots stayed, but most had left. We decided to gather everything we could find and put it in a central location. This was the spot we chose. It has a good vantage point from the front and if we need to get out quickly there are multiple exits,” Clarence said.

  They did manage to find a large amount of supplies even after the looting. Nelson was right. They had enough food to last them for the rest of the year, and if Clarence were a TSA agent he’d have access to the security weapons at the airport.

  “You said that you didn’t think you could stay here for long, but it sounds like most of the large groups have gone. If it’s just you guys why would you leave?” Mike asked.

  “Gangs,” Fay said.

  “Gangs?” Nelson asked.

  “A guy came through a few days ago raving about motorcycle gangs coming down from Michigan and Ohio. Groups from small towns roving around like Vikings, pillaging what they want. He was a little off his rocker if you ask me though, so I don’t think he really knew what he was talking about,” Tom said.

  “And I haven’t seen a single mechanical engine work in the past two weeks. Everything’s down,” Clarence said.

  Mike thought about his 1975 Jeep. He could see his family piled in, supplies in the back, heading for the cabin. These people had no idea about the EMP blast and what it meant.

  Day 6 (The Cabin)

  Anne grabbed the side of the wall blindly trying to get her bearings. Her foot jammed into the corner of the chair sending it crashing to the basement floor.

  “Shit,” she murmured to herself.

  “Anne, you okay down there?” Ulysses yelled from upstairs.

  “I’m fine.”

  She finally found one of the gas lanterns she was looking for. She lit the wick and the lamp illuminated the rest of the basement.

  Shelves of canned food lined one of the sidewalls. A gun safe stood anchored in one of the corners of the room filled with assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and ammo for each of them. Crates filled with medicine, bandages, spare clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, camping gear, fishing rods and lures were stacked along the back wall. Anne grabbed one of the first aid kits out of one of the medical boxes and rushed back upstairs.

  Kalen was still on the couch lying on her side. Her eyes stared blankly at the floor. Dried blood flaked on the edge of her lip.

  Anne dropped to her knees in front of her daughter. She opened up the first aid box and pulled out some cotton balls and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

  “This might sting a little, sweetheart,” Anne said.

  She placed the cotton ball on the corner of her daughter’s mouth, but Kalen didn’t even flinch. Her eyes glazed over. Anne wiped Kalen’s mouth, the white cotton ball turning a light pink.

  Anne ran another fresh cotton ball along the cuts and scratches on Kalen’s arms and neck. She kept watching her daughter’s face, but Kalen didn’t move, she didn’t flinch, she didn’t show any emotion.

  Ray walked in and dropped a duffle bag to the floor. It hit the ground with a thud. Ulysses came in after him.

  “Should be the last of it,” Ray said.

  “Let’s take a walk around the perimeter and make sure everything’s intact,” Ulysses said.

  Ray headed out the door first and Ulysses glanced back at his granddaughter sitting on the couch. He walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. He looked at Anne.

  “I’ll be back in a second,” he said.

  The sun was sinking in the sky. The light broke through the leaves of the surrounding forest in fragments.

  The two men walked around checking the walls, windows, and then climbed up to examine the roof. A small well was out back and Ulysses pulled a bucket of spring water up and handed it to Ray.

  “Take it to the basement. There’s a water testing kit down there. We’ll see what we’re dealing with,” Ulysses said.

  Ray carried the bucket back to the cabin, the water sloshing back and forth, splashing over the sides.

  Ulysses examined the rope and pulley for the well. He checked for any cracks or wear, and once satisfied, set the rope back down.

  A small piece of land had been plowed behind the cabin to be used as a garden. Ulysses dug his hands into the dirt and rubbed it between his palms. The soil was warm from the sun.

  You really did think of everything didn’t you?

  When he walked back inside the cabin Kalen was gone from the couch. Anne was packing up the medical supplies, grabbing the pink stained cotton balls lying on the floor and placed the unused materials back in the first aid box.

  “How’s she doing?” Ulysses asked.

  “She’s still not saying anything,” Anne said.

  Ulysses watched her lock the latches on the medical kit and then look up at him. The sweat from her forehead caused strands of her hair to stick to her face.

  “Thank you,” Anne said.

  “I shouldn’t have let them go off by themselves,” Ulysses said.

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  Ray popped his head up from the basement door.

  “Hey, guys, can I get a little help down here?” he asked.

  Downstairs the glow from the lanterns lit up the bucket of water and workstation that Ray set up to test the water.

  “I’m not sure I’m doing this right,” Ray said.

  “Here,” Anne said taking the kit from him.

  She grabbed the finger-length tubes and dipped them in the bucket. She filled five of them and dropped test strips into each one. She shook the tubes and let them sit.

  “Each tube checks for something different?” Ray asked.

  “Lead, pesticides, chlorine, nitrates, and pH levels,” Anne said pointing at each of the tubes. “Blue means they’re at a safe level, if they turn yellow, then they’re not.”

  “How do you know how to do this?” Ray asked.

  “Every time we came up to the cabin Mike would assign us different tasks. This was one of mine,” she said.

  “If one of them does turn yellow can we fix it?” Ray asked.

  “No,” Anne replied.

  Anne looked at the pallet
s of bottled water by the food shelves. She counted them, doing the math in her head. If the well were tainted, then the four of them would only last a month before their water supply ran out.

  When the test strips turned a light shade of blue they all let out a sigh of relief.

  “Well, that’s one less thing we’ll have to worry about,” Ray said.

  ***

  The sun was turning neon orange as it dipped into the horizon. Anne fired up the gas stove placing a few pots with water on them to a boil. Cans of green beans, corn, and chicken lined the counter.