Bunkers

by Nicholas Antinozzi

  “How do you know that?” asked Glick. “Is the power back on?”

  “No,” said Mark. “I have a ham radio. Gadget talked to someone in Hawaii.”

  “California,” corrected Gadget. “The Chinese were headed to Hawaii.”

  “Oh shit,” said Glick. “I should have just stayed down in the shelter. Do me a favor, will ya? Don’t say anything to the others. Jumbo and Larry are hammered and the girls will just freak out. I don’t want them scaring the kids.”

  “I thought Larry was going to quit drinking?” asked Mark.

  Glick rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t get me started,” he groaned. “I spent half the night listening to Tina, she cried herself to sleep.”

  “What about Tiffany?” asked Gadget, raising his chin.

  “I think she’s still drunk. The three of them spent the night out in the hot tub.”

  Gadget’s face turned red and he spun on his heels. He quickly disappeared inside the house. At the same time, Jumbo staggered out onto his lawn and reassessed the damage. He put his hands on his head and began walking over to join them. “This should be fun,” said Mark. “Where is Larry?”

  “He’s passed out. I don’t think a nuclear explosion would wake him up.”

  “What a guy.”

  Jumbo stumbled across the lawn and pointed back at his house. “Do you see that?” he asked, as if he were talking to two blind men. “Ruined, my house is ruined. God hates me. What did I ever do to him?”

  “We’ll get your house fixed,” said Glick. “You’ve got insurance.”

  “I think it was that bald guy,” Jumbo said, thickly. “Gidget; he cut that tree down, I know he did.”

  “That tree came down in the storm,” growled Mark. “Just look at the trunk. Don’t go saying shit like that. That’s just stupid.”

  “Who you callin’ stupid?”

  Glick stepped forward. “Can it, Jumbo. Mark is right. That tree came down in the storm; it was an act of God.”

  Jumbo turned, staggering on his feet. He stared at the tree and then he ran his hand through his mottled hair. “You’re right, this is God’s fault. Tiff is gonna be pissed.”

  Glick gave a dry laugh and began walking towards his house. “I’ve got to go round up some things,” he said. “I’ll see you back at the shelter, Jumbo. Good luck, Mark.”

  Mark gave Glick a wave and he turned to his own home. He left Jumbo mumbling to himself. He found Gadget sitting at the kitchen table. Poncho sat with his head between his knees. “What did he want?” Gadget asked.

  “He just came over to revel in his misery. Jumbo does stuff like that.”

  “He’s a jerk. I don’t know why Tiffany stays with him.”

  “I can’t add anything to that. I’ve got a small generator and a sump pump. I’m going to borrow it to Glick. I suppose it’s the least I can do.”

  “I wouldn’t help them. What have they ever done for us?”

  “Don’t let anyone change who you are,” Mark said, holding up his index finger. “My dad taught me that.”

  “Did your dad ever meet Jumbo?”

  “No comment.”

  Mark put his coffee cup into the sink and he sat down to pull on his boots. Gadget stood up and walked up to the kitchen window. “I might hang out up here,” he said, “see if Tiffany comes up to inspect the damage. She might need a sober shoulder to cry on.”

  Mark nodded, knowing it would be useless to try and talk him out of doing so. He stood and slung the .308 over his shoulder. “You do what you gotta do. I’ll see you down there.” Gadget stayed where he was, stroking the top of Poncho’s head. The stray gave Mark a funny look, and then bowed his head. “I guess that means that you’re staying with him,” he said to the dog.

  “Where else would he go?”

  “I thought you were allergic to dogs?”

  “So did I.”

  Mark walked out of the house and closed the door. He then walked over and found Glick out in his garage. He told him about the little Honda generator and the sump pump. Glick dropped what he was doing and shook Mark’s hand. “Thank you,” he said. “The kids love going out there. I really appreciate this.”

  Mark found his garden hose in the shed and he handed it to Glick. They then walked back to Mark’s shelter. Gadget had left it wide open and Mark cursed under his breath. He drew his Ruger and aimed it down the stairs. “Wait here,” he said to Glick. Mark crept down the stairs. He grew angrier still, seeing that Gadget had left the lights on. Mark was somehow certain that Mitch and Clyde were down there. Mark reached the bottom of the stairs, and then he ducked and charged inside the open door.

  Tina held up her hands, her mouth hanging wide open in a silent scream.

  “What are you doing down here?” asked Mark, holstering the Ruger. “You almost got shot.”

  “I’m sorry. I had to get out of there. I had to see you.”

  Mark brushed past her and made his way to the storage room. “I’ve got a pump and a generator,” he said. “You can help Glick get it going.”

  “Thank you, but I’m not going back.”

  “The hell you aren’t.”

  “The hell I am. You’re stuck with me. If I stay over there, I’ll be going to jail for murder. I’m serious, Mark. I can’t take it, anymore.”

  Mark lifted the small generator from off the bottom shelf. He then scanned the shelves for the sump pump. “And tomorrow or the next day, you’ll go running back to Larry. Tina, I’m not playing that game. We’ve already talked about this.”

  “You’ll have to drag me out of here. I’m not leaving.”

  Mark spotted the pump and he grabbed it by the neck. Carrying the Honda in one hand and the sump pump in the other, he walked past Tina. “Why won’t you listen to me?” he asked. “You already made your decision.”

  “Huh? I didn’t hear you.”

  Mark continued walking, through the little bedroom, past two duffel bags that he recognized as Tina’s. Despite himself, he felt a small thrill at the sight of them. “I’m bringing this stuff up to Glick,” he grunted.

  “I kind of figured that out, already.”

  “What am I going to do with you?”

  “You’re going to save me. You have to.”

  Mark sighed and continued walking out the door. He climbed the stairs and Glick gave him a knowing grin. “I knew she was coming over here. You can’t blame her for wanting to get away from Larry.”

  Mark handed Glick the sump pump. “What about her kids?”

  “Anita and I will look after them. They’re always over at our house, anyhow.”

  Mark shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said, “I already gave her a chance. She’ll just go running off, again.”

  Glick was leading the way and he turned back to face Mark. “No, she won’t. Tina has had enough of his bullshit. She hates his drunken guts. Look, if you have any feelings for her, at all, won’t you give her one more chance?”

  Mark took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t physically drag Tina from out of his shelter. The thought of it was absurd. If what Gadget had said was true and there was a nuclear exchange, the door to the outside world would be closed for a long, long time. The thought of having Tina there alongside him was comforting. He would have to trust her. There was no getting around it. She would have to understand that there was no going back.

  Anita met them at the entrance to the new shelter. Her eyes grew large at the sight of the generator and pump. “The water is getting deeper,” she said. “I was just about ready to take the kids outside.”

  “This should do the trick,” said Mark.

  “Did you see Jumbo?” asked Glick. “Larry’s oak tree came down in the storm, it landed on top of Jumbo’s place.”

  Anita laughed at that. “I wish I could have seen the look on his face,” she said. “Tiffany is going to throw a fit. She was after Larry to cut that tree down, last year. Remember that, honey?”
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  Glick nodded. “Yep, and if you ask me, it couldn’t happen to two nicer guys.”

  Mark connected the hose to the pump and ran the end up and over a small hill. They then carried the pump and generator down the stairs. The water looked black and Anita was right, it was now nearly a foot deep. Mark fired up the Honda and a moment later, the sump pump was busy doing its job. Four children appeared at the trailer door, Tiffany stood behind them. “Shut that damn thing off,” she cried, “we’ve still got people trying to sleep, here!”

  Mark shut off the Honda. “Fine,” he said. “I guess I’ll take my generator and go home.”

  Tiffany was dressed in her silk robe and her hair was wild from sleep. She stared down at the water. “What the hell happened?” she asked. “Where did all that water come from?”

  “We had a storm,” hissed Anita. “You slept right through it.”

  “Lightning hit our generator,” said Glick, “but Mark was nice enough to borrow us his. I guess we’ll have to bucket the water out.”

  Tiffany put her hand over her mouth. “No, I’m awake now. You might as well turn the generator back on. I’m going to go get dressed. Have you guys seen Jumbo?”

  “I think he’s up looking at Larry’s tree,” said Anita. “I guess it came down in the storm.”

  “What are you talking about, that oak tree?”

  “That’s the one. I’m sorry about your house.”

  “Son of a bitch,” growled Tiffany. “I’ve been telling Larry for years to cut that damn thing down. Oh, this is just great. I knew this would happen. Son of a bitch!”

  Mark turned and started the generator, which drowned out Tiffany’s cursing. There were few things he detested more than people who swore in front of kids. He turned and climbed the stairs. Glick and Anita followed him up. “I can’t stand that woman,” whispered Anita. “I don’t know how we’re going to get through this.”

  “We’ll manage,” said Glick, putting his arm around her shoulder. “Tina is over at Mark’s.”

  “Yeah, but is he going to let her stay?”

  Mark rolled his eyes. “I’m right here,” he said. “Why don’t you just ask me?”

  “Because Mark, I’m afraid that you’ll say no.”

  Mark covered his face with both hands. “I’m probably going to regret this, but I’m going to give her another chance. So help me, if she goes back to Larry, I’ll be done with her. That’s a promise.”

  Anita smiled and shook her head. “Oh my God, that will never happen. Thank you, thank you so much.”

  Glick reached out and took Mark’s hand. “We mean that, buddy, from the bottom of our hearts. I’ll run your stuff back over when it’s done pumping.”

  “Just keep it. My place doesn’t leak, plus I have a floor drain. You’re probably going to want to figure out a more permanent solution for the hose. You won’t always be able to pump that crap out the door.”

  Glick stared down into the stairwell and nodded his head. “Point taken,” he said.

  As if on cue, Tiffany emerged from the stairwell. She wore a white t-shirt over a tiny pair of pajama bottoms. “I’ve got to see this,” she grumbled. “How many times did I ask him to cut that tree down? But does anyone ever listen to me?”

  They stood quietly as Tiffany and her rhetorical questions faded into the woods. Anita and Glick began to laugh, and Mark soon joined them. He then walked back to his own house. He wanted to make sure there was no trouble between Jumbo and Gadget.

  Chapter 22

  He found Gadget standing in the kitchen window. “Boy,” he gasped, “she’s really ripping him a new one.”

  “Take a good look,” said Mark. “Someday, that could be you.”

  Gadget laughed. “Nah, she’d never get mad at me like that. We have a history.”

  Mark smiled and shook his head. Poncho looked up at him, expectantly. Mark went to the refrigerator and he pulled out what was left of the brats and a bowl of leftover macaroni and cheese. He sliced up the brats and stirred them into the leftovers. He then set them down for Poncho.

  As Gadget stood at the window, Mark cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer compartment. There hadn’t been a lot of food in the fridge, but he could only imagine what it would smell like after six months. Even then, there were no guarantees the power would return. Mark thought it better to be safe than sorry.

  He walked upstairs to his bedroom and he began packing clothes into a duffel bag. He made his way into the bathroom and gathered up his toiletries. Satisfied that he had everything he needed, Mark walked downstairs. Poncho was there, but Gadget was gone. Mark looked out the window and saw him standing outside, talking to Tiffany. “Come on, Poncho,” he said, “it’s time to settle into our new home.”

  Outside, Gadget and Tiffany were holding hands, slinking off in the direction of the Quonset hut. Mark groaned. He could see Jumbo standing out on his lawn, watching them. Mark slung his rifle over his shoulder and he hefted his bag. High overhead, flew a swirling kaleidoscope of starlings. Mark paused to enjoy the sight; he loved watching large flocks of the birds, their seemingly choreographed flight, never failed to mystify him. As he watched, a few of the birds fell to the ground. Mark gasped as the entire flock, thousands of little birds, folded up and fell heavily to the ground. “Gadget!” he screamed, pointing to the falling birds. “Run for it!”

  Mark began to run, catching Gadget and Tiffany as they began sprinting for the woods. He stole a look over his shoulder and saw Poncho at his heels. He didn’t see Jumbo. “Glick,” he screamed. “Get in your bunker!” All Mark could do was pray that his friend had heard him.

  They hit the stairs at a dead run. Poncho followed Gadget and Tiffany, while Mark closed and locked the outside door. He then skittered down the concrete stairs and slammed the inside door behind them. Mark turned the lock that sealed the door. Tina stood at the doorway between the bedroom and the living room. She stared at Mark in disbelief. “What is this, some kind of joke?” she asked.

  “This is no joke,” said Gadget. “There’s something out there. I’m not sure if it’s a gas or radiation, but it just wiped out a huge flock of birds.”

  “Oh my God,” cried Tina. “What about the kids?”

  “My babies,” shrieked Tiffany.

  “I’m sure Glick has them locked inside,” said Mark, praying that was the case.

  “What about Jumbo?” asked Tiffany. “He was up at the house.”

  “He was behind us,” said Mark, which, technically, was true.

  Gadget moved past Tina. “I’m going to see if I can find out what’s going on,” he said. “Somebody has to know something.”

  Poncho leapt up onto the sofa. Tiffany’s eyes grew large. Angrily, she shook her head and made her way over to brush him off. Mark grabbed her by the arm. “Uh-uh,” he said. “He lives here. You’re just a guest.”

  Tiffany wrenched her arm free and she followed Gadget into the back room. Poncho opened his mouth, panting. Tina looked at Mark and then she made a dash for the door. Mark stopped her before she could turn the lock. “I have to go and check on my family,” she groaned.

  “And kill all of us in the process?” asked Mark. “That’s not going to happen. You have to have faith that Glick has their place all buttoned up.”

  Tina rubbed her eyes. “I’m so afraid,” she said. “What do we do?”

  Mark shook his head. “We wait,” he said. “We don’t know what’s up there. All we know is that it was toxic enough to drop a flock of birds. I hate to say it, but that’s the good news. I doubt its radiation. This must have been something in the air, like poison gas.”

  Tina looked as if she were about to get sick. She staggered over and sat down next to Poncho. “What about our air?” she asked.

  “We should be okay,” said Mark. “I had a company install something called an NBC filtration system. They claimed it was the best one money could buy,” he pointed to the door. “That door came with it; it’s double sealed.”


  “Did Jumbo get one of those? His door doesn’t look anything like that one.”

  All Mark could do was shrug. For all he knew, Jumbo was dead. Tina began to cry and Mark sat down in one of the folding chairs. From the back room, he heard Tiffany’s voice rising into hysterics. “What kind of chemicals?” she squealed. “We’re going to die! Oh my God, we’re all going to die!”

  Gadget appeared at the doorway, his face was pale. “This is some nasty shit,” he said. “Millions could be dead.”

  “What are they saying?” asked Mark. “Do they think its Ricin?”

  Gadget shook his head. “No, Ricin doesn’t kill this fast. They’re just calling it a chemical weapon attack. We don’t even know where this shit came from.”

  “Oh my God,” groaned Tina.

  Tiffany burst out from behind Gadget. “Stop saying that,” she bellowed. “Stop saying that!”

  Tina’s eyes darted around the tiny room, but she dropped her head and sobbed, clutching Poncho. Mark pointed a finger at Tiffany. “One more outburst like that and you’ll be out the door. Do you understand me?”

  Tiffany scowled. “Oh, let me guess: she lives here and I’m just a guest, is that it?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Calm down,” said Gadget, “everyone, just calm down. We don’t know what’s out there. The worst thing we can do is fight amongst each other; just chill the hell out. Tiffany, why don’t you come back here with me? I want to hear what’s going on.”

  “Gladly,” muttered Tiffany.

  Over the next hour, Mark tried to think of where he had gone wrong. It was obvious that Tina regretted her decision to join him. Tiffany seemed dead-set upon making them all miserable. Gadget was blinded by lust, and the lunch Poncho had eaten had given him a bad case of gas. Mark had no idea if he could survive down here for the rest of the day, much less for months on end.

  Finally, Gadget reappeared in the doorway. “Good news,” he said. “From what I’m hearing, the gas dissipates in twenty-four hours. Tiff and I are really wiped out, man. We’re going to lie down for a nap.”