Tomorrow We Rise

by Daniel P. Wilde

  “This is where the fun begins guys!” Steve said after we had gathered around him. “You are now in an underground cave several miles from the bunker. You’re also under water.”

  “Uhhh, that’s not good,” Street said. His face looked pale.

  “Are you afraid of caves Street?” Angel asked. “Or is it the ocean?” The look on Angel’s face made it obvious that she thought this was funny.

  “It’s not funny Angel,” Street said. “But it’s the water, okay. I can’t swim.”

  Nobody said anything, but I was sure they all thought what I was thinking. This big, tough dude is afraid of water. He can pound football players into the ground all day, but he can’t swim.

  “Well, you shouldn’t have to swim,” Steve said gently. “And, you’ve been under water for half an hour now, with no harm. As far as I can tell, the whole tunnel we just rode through is under the sea. But, we’ll be leaving the cave now anyway. You can see that there isn’t much here to entertain us. It’s just a holding block for the ATVs really.

  “I imagine the people who lived here also stored goods and supplies on those racks over there,” he added, pointing to a corner of the cave roughly 15 meters away.

  “Then let’s get out of here,” Street said, his voice cracking. He was already headed toward a staircase.

  The rest of us caught up and Steve and Jon led us up a wide circular staircase that wound through a manmade hole in the rocky ceiling of the cavern. At the top of the stairs, just above the hole, was a large metal landing with a digital display board affixed prominently on the edge of the railing. Jon hit a button on the wall. A massive metal wall adjacent to the landing parted in the middle and slid into the cave walls, revealing another, much larger cave beyond. We stepped through. The doors sealed shut behind us with a soft hissing sound.

  This second cave looked partially man-made. Some portions of the wall were rock, while other portions had been filled in with concrete. The ceiling above was primarily concrete. There were bright lights and other electronic equipment attached to suspended walkways that crisscrossed along the entire length and width of the ceiling.

  Near the doors we had just passed through sat a large computer terminal, with three monitors hanging from the walls. In one corner near us, there were various shelves, sheds, boxes and water containers that looked more like a refuse pile than anything useful.

  A long wooden pier stretched out across a small, enclosed bay toward a rock wall at the far end of the cavern, perhaps 300 or 400 meters away. It was breathtaking, not just for its beauty, but also for its mere existence.

  “This cave and the bunker are secret, I think,” Steve explained. “No part of this facility is on any map, web posting or data sheet that Mike or I could find. Our only information concerning it comes from internal documents on the servers here in the bunker.”

  Along the pier were anchored four boats of varying sizes, six wave runners, a good-sized iron-hulled cargo ship, and a submarine! The boats looked like good, fairly-modern speed boats. Three of them were quite large.

  “There it is Street,” Jon said excitedly. He was pointing to the submarine. Street, with Jon at his heels, jogged over and touched it. I couldn’t believe it was real.

  “We’ve been in it, but it might be broken. We’ll take it for a spin if we can figure out how to turn it on, right dad?” Jon asked.

  “Right,” Steve replied. “In fact, maybe you and Street should figure that out.”

  “Yes!” Street pumped his fist into the air, excitedly, like a child. It was funny to watch. He was only 24 or 25 after all. Still a kid really.

  “How do they get out?” Angel asked, voicing my thoughts exactly. There was no visible exit to the cave.

  “That was the great mystery when we first found this place. At first, this obviously man-made cave looked completely hemmed in on all sides. So we took out a couple wave runners and searched all around the outer walls of the cavern. Down there at the end, about 350 meters from here, the cavern wall is a holograph. It isn’t real.”

  “Awesome!” Street said, looking impressed.

  “Yeah, that’s cool, but a little strange,” Shift said. “There’s no way this bunker was built with those capabilities. The whole place looks like it was built in the late 1900s.”

  “That’s partially right,” Steve said. “According to my research, the main bunker was finished in 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Then, over the years, various updates included the furnaces down on the bottom level, the fish hatchery, the telecom system, the surveillance system, and finally, the holographic cave wall was installed in 2072.”

  “Have you gone through it?” Street asked excitedly.

  “Yeah,” Jon said, equally excited, “it was awesome! A little freaky really, even though we were going super slow. I put my hand out to touch the wall, and my hand disappeared. It was braw! So I stuck my head through and then took the wave runner all the way through. Dad followed me. And we were outside! And my body was tingling all over for a few seconds after.”

  “What does it look like from the outside?” Shift asked.

  “It looks like a natural stone wall,” Steve answered. “In fact, the whole structure looks like a small, rocky mountain.”

  “Can it be seen, do you think?” Shift asked.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Steve replied. “It looks just like a vertical cliff, about as high as this cave. I think anyone boating past would think it’s just an inaccessible cliff. It’s very natural looking.”

  “What’s outside the holograph?” I asked. I was concerned that they may have been seen. If so, perhaps we weren’t as safe here as we thought.

  “Miles and miles of ocean. You’ve probably guessed already; we’re on an island right now. Based on the information we found on the computers over at the lab, the Mexican government built the mainland portion of the compound in the 1960s as tension between the U.S. and Cuba escalated. I guess Mexico was worried being so close.

  “Anyway, over the next few years, they built the tunnel we just traveled through. At first, it led to this island, ‘Isla de Lobos’. A large cabin and pier were built up top initially. I don’t know why the cabin and pier were built, but I presume they were the initial stages of some larger plan. Then the Cuban Missile Crisis ended. Then the Cold War ended. Over the next few decades, the bunker fell into disuse because it wasn’t needed anymore. There’s very little information about what happened here, or whether this place was used at all between 1990 and 2050.

  “In 2053, though, a doctor from the United States convinced the Mexicans to sell him the two islands north of here—‘Arrecife Bianquilla’ and ‘Arrecife Medio’. I imagine the doctor had plans to build on them, but those plans, if any, must have fizzled. We can see both islands from here, outside. With the binocs, they just look like small, flat pieces of land.

  “Anyway, he probably didn’t build on them because, while he didn’t own the island we’re on, nobody else seemed to be occupying it either. So he apparently restored the cabin here and discovered the tunnel over to the mainland.”

  “Is there still a cabin outside on this island?” Shift asked.

  “Yes. It’s still there, and it’s a rather nice building. We haven’t cleaned it up. Our time outside has been limited to night time hours. Obviously, we’re trying to keep this place a secret for now, especially from the Skins we’ve been hearing so much about.”

  “Yeah, we’ll tell you all about them later,” Angel said. “We’re probably the foremost experts on running away from them.”

  Shift and Street laughed a little. I was concerned because it was truer than I wanted to admit.

  “Good. Anyway, in 2069, the doctor and a conglomerate of wealthy business men and women, whose names I haven’t uncovered yet, convinced the Mexicans to sell them this island and the mainland bunker. They restored it, updated it, built this cave and the storm doors, and installed the holograph system. Basically, they made it what it is today. The idea, appar
ently, was to create a long-stay resort of some kind. But I don’t think they finished their plans. Otherwise, we’d probably have wall units and better computer equipment.

  “From what I can tell, the resort idea never materialized. There was some kind of scandal and in-fighting between the members of the group as to how to operate the facility. A couple members of the group were actually found dead, by ‘suspicious means’. So, by 2073, just 20 years ago, the bunker and this cave were empty again. From my research, nobody occupied this place again until a few months ago when Gortari II was destroyed. Somebody had access to the bunker, probably one of the former members of the conglomerate. Ultimately, it seems that as many as twelve hundred people were in here, living, healthy and safe. We don’t know who they were, or how they all got here.”

  “Then Jon arrived,” Shift said.

  “Yes, Jon arrived,” Steve repeated. “When he got here, only one young girl was still alive, and she was very sick. She soon died. Jon tried to extract as much information as he could about this place before she passed on, but didn’t get much. When I got here, a few days later, we spoke with Mike Petrovsky and gained access to the databanks. Everything I just told you was revealed there.”

  “She didn’t speak English very well,” Jon added, a little defensively. “Or I would have got more out of her.”

  “Of course you would have, son,” Steve said. “You did a great job. We’re here, safe, because of you.”

  “Agreed,” Shift said. “I think you’ve done wonderfully!”

  “What a story,” I said. “But really, what an accomplishment. I wonder how this place was kept a secret.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t really a secret,” Shift said. “Maybe it was just never publicized because it never amounted to anything. Actually, I imagine many people knew about the place, but they’re all dead. Obviously hundreds of people knew about it—maybe thousands even.”

  “Then why isn’t it on the maps, or on the Net?” I asked.

  “That’s the real question,” Shift agreed. “Steve, any theories?”

  “Nope. I only know that Jon heard rumors about this place by some bad men who kidnapped him.”

  “Yeah, we heard about that,” Angel said, solemnly. “That must have been awful.”

  “Ah, it wasn’t so bad,” Jon said, pulling his shoulders back and lifting his chin.

  “So, there was some information out there,” Steve continued. “Jon says he came here believing it existed, but not actually knowing what he’d find if he made it.”

  “Well,” Street said, “You’re pretty awesome Jon, and brave. I’m certainly impressed.”

  Jon beamed at receiving a compliment from the big, muscular superstar.

  “So, I guess we need to get information out about this place to survivors,” Steve said. “People can come here. I think we can start a new life here.”

  “Yeah, but we gotta keep it a secret from the Skins,” Street said.

  “Of course,” Shift agreed, “but I have a hard time believing the Skins are using the net to get their information.”

  “Well, let’s see if we can get a hold of the bunker then,” I said.

  “That will be the hard part,” Steve replied.

  July 10—The Moon

  “Are we in position?” Jerad asked from the deck above the ship.

  “Yes, ready to go,” Hasani said. “I hope this goes better than last time.”

  “Thanks for bringing it up, again,” Jonas joked. “And it will.”

  “Okay, do it,” Jerad said.

  The three men had spent several days, after finally securing entrance to the International Station’s air base, getting a ship ready for inspection. After inspecting every major shell on the moon, only the International Station, in the United States shell had working transport facilities. And parts of the International facilities were destroyed in the blast seven days earlier. Thankfully, most of the mechanical, electronic and digital equipment was still operational.

  Not for the first time, Hasani wondered if someone gave an order to destroy all the ships and transport facilities on the moon; and if so, who and why. If that’s what happened, it was a miracle that this one ship was still intact. People wanted to get home to Earth, but destroying the ships prevented that. Clearly, the Mexicans hadn’t destroyed their ship, believing they were all healthy still, and see where that got them. Maybe, by the time the order went out to destroy ships, nobody was healthy enough in the International Station or the United States shell. After all, they were the first to be hit by the plague.

  Jonas pushed the thruster ignition switch. Nothing happened.

  “Did you hit it?” Hasani asked.

  “Yes, of course,” Jonas replied.

  “Jerad, anything up there?” Hasani asked.

  “No, the readouts are all fine,” Jerad replied. “The computer says the ship should be running. Actually, the computer says the ship is running.”

  “Well, the computer’s eyes must be seeing things,” Jonas joked.

  The men’s spirits were still high. The fact that they’d found an intact ship had given them such a rush of relief, that this setback, whatever it was, could not dampen their spirits.

  “Get down here and look at it again Jerad.”

  July 10, 2093—Hidden Bunker near Boston

  “That’s it,” John yelled. “The doors won’t hold them much longer. Everybody’s got to get out now!”

  “C’mon people,” Mike said, trying to maintain a little more order than John was proposing.

  “Are they upstairs, mama?” Suvan Safar asked. Suvan was only 13 years old, by far the youngest person in the bunker. She had witnessed terrible things in her short life. First, she had seen her friends and family die, one by one, and shrivel and rot away, leaving a terrible stink behind. Then, she saw her home—El-Alamein—the only place she had ever lived, buried beneath foam, hiding thousands of dead bodies, including her friends and family. Then, she had been kept in an isolation chamber for months while mechanical arms and other machines pricked and prodded at her. Finally released from her cage a few weeks ago, she and her mother were just beginning to feel normal again. Now, mutant humans—monsters really—were outside the bunker and trying desperately to get inside.

  “No honey,” her mother Neirioui Safar said. “Charles and Manford are both up there right now, making sure everything is safe. Come, we need to hurry.”

  “Let’s move!” Mike said, now more urgently.

  The Skins had arrived at the cabin four days ago. The electrical system at the bunker, which had several redundant back-up systems, had been going in and out since the Skins’ arrival. Mike had searched for clues as to what was causing the problem and had found several weeks’ worth of surveillance videos from around the USCAN system showing Skins destroying power plants and other electronic equipment in areas where humans lived, or at least, had lived. Apparently, they were smart enough to know that humans needed electricity to live, and without it, they would go outside and become vulnerable prey.

  For the past three days, the “Chosen” as they referred to themselves, had been seeking entrance to the underground bunker. They knew the perversions were hiding in there. They could smell their stench. An hour and a half ago, the Chosen had gained entrance through the ventilation system. The smell of the perversions had come from those shafts. That’s what led them to the cabin in the first place. Now, the perversions were trapped underground. They had shut the steel doors between the laboratories and the living quarters. But the Chosen would get through; it would just take some time.

  The small group of humans, outnumbered at least two to one according to the cameras up top, were making their way up the hidden staircase and gathering in the living room of the small cabin. Charles “Lucky” Rabine and Dr. Manford Stevens had been upstairs for several minutes. It appeared that the Skins had left only 2 scouts outside. They thought they just might be able to fight off two scouts and get to the hovers waiting down the path before the
rest of the Skins broke through downstairs or got back up through the ventilation shafts. That was their hope.

  “Ready?” John whispered, “Now. Go, go, go.” He practically pushed his friends out the door, one by one. Lucky and Manford were out first, guns pointed toward the rear of the cabin where they believed the scouts were located. As soon as they were out the door, Latisha Bodily pushed her way through the crowd and ran out. One after another, the humans left the cabin and began to sprint toward the small parking lot down the dirt path in front of the building.

  Moments later, with several people still trying to exit the cabin, Lucky began to fire at the Skins coming at them from the back. Manford joined him. Sidetracked by the two Skins in front of them, they failed to see the horde coming over the roof and around the other side. The Skins had escaped the basement bunker by climbing back up the ventilator shafts. No human could have performed such a feat.

  “Run!” Manford shouted to Dr. Yurgi Shevchuk and the others who were bringing up the rear. They ran.

  The Skins, flying through the air in great leaps, and outpacing even the fastest human by a wider margin than was conceivable, began to attack. The humans began to go down, beginning with Dr. Latisha Bodily, who had stopped running at the sound of gunfire. She had turned back to face the cabin and just stood there, in awe, watching the horde swarm toward her. Moments after the attack, she arose, violent rage in her cold, dark eyes. She was on the move.

  “Yurgi!” Manford shouted, as he raced toward Dr. Shevchuk. Latisha Bodily, or what was left of her, had Yurgi on the ground, her teeth clenched tight on his shoulder. Blood began to pool on the ground under Yurgi’s head. Manford began to back away as Latisha looked up at him with dark, murderous eyes. Manford turned and ran, but had only made it a few steps before he too was cut down.