by K. D. Jones
“We want to try to stay here as long as possible. Those in the dome shelters are living well. But they should be given the choice to leave or stay. To have to wait many, many years before we can live aboveground and feel the sun on our faces may be too much to ask of them,” the president admitted.
“We estimate that a quarter of your aboveground areas may be inhabitable in another fifteen years. The rest may take hundreds of years before they can be fully inhabitable,” Liam said, giving them the results of their testing.
“Yes, those are the numbers my scientists have come up with as well. Still, only a quarter livable in fifteen years is a small area. We are going to have to see who will voluntarily leave.”
The younger man that had winked at Liam earlier spoke up. “Excuse me, Mr. President. What about those survivors who didn’t make it to a dome?”
Both Liam and his father looked at the young man as the President frowned at him. “Wesley, we have no real proof there are survivors outside of the domes. It is just speculation at this point.”
Liam spoke up. “How would your people survive without shelters?”
Wesley gave him a smile. “I’m Wesley Tate, by the way.”
“Captain Liam Estro. Explain how people would survive such a disaster for five years without you detecting their presence.”
“We have many subway systems in cities around the world.” When Liam frowned in confusion, Wesley further explained, “A subway is a rapid transit train system that is located underground. Many tunnels have walls thick enough to provide protection from the radiation.”
“But what would these people who found shelter there eat and drink for five years?” Commander Estro asked.
Wesley looked at the president for permission to reveal information. “Go ahead, Wesley, you’ve opened the can of worms already.”
Wesley turned back to them. “I can’t speak for every country, but the United States was preparing for a long time to handle a situation like this. We converted many of our city subways to use solar and wind power, with water fountains supplied from deep-water wells, and we stockpiled enough supplies and food in shut-off sections of the subway to be able to keep people there alive indefinitely. But we don’t know what condition they’re in. Their exposure to radiation and the lack of vitamin D could be a dangerous health issue.”
“Why have you not provided more assistance to your own people?” Liam demanded.
“The level of radiation and the strong winds have limited our mobility. Only recently have we actually been able to travel to other domes to make sure our people there have enough supplies. We have truck shipments that leave our bigger domes and go out to bring more supplies to the smaller domes. But these subway dwellers are like ghosts, we see signs that they may exist but we haven’t been able to find them,” Wesley told them.
“What kind of signs?” Liam was curious now. It took strong people to survive for five without assistance and without being detected.
“A recent example would be that when some of our trucks are delivering supplies, the drivers leave the trucks unwatched to go in to report to the dome leader. When they come out, they have reported that it looks as if some of the supplies were missing.”
“Were the locks broken?”
“The drivers have never had to lock the trucks before because they never expected there to be anyone to steal supplies. We have now made it a requirement to lock the trucks when unattended,” the president answered.
Liam glared at the man. “If these people are hungry enough to steal, you just blocked them from what they need to survive.”
“If they want to survive, then why don’t they make themselves known to the dome leaders?” the President responded defensively.
“Do we have permission to seek out these possible survivors and offer them the same assistance we will offer your dome survivors?” Liam’s father stepped in to prevent Liam from losing his temper.
The President nodded his head. “Yes. But I doubt you will find anyone.”
“Thank you, Mr. President. If you could let your dome leaders know to expect our arrival, we would appreciate it.”
“Of course. And thank you for your assistance.” The Earth leader dismissed them.
Liam insisted that his father return to the battle ship while he visited the Domes. His father resisted at first but finally agreed.
***
The first dome Liam visited was very similar to the Norad bunker but on a smaller and less grand scale, but the people living there were in good shape. He met first with the dome leader, who then introduced him to the people in the dome in a big meeting. Liam explained their offer to relocate people to a planet that was more habitable.
At first, no one wanted to appear to be the first to abandon Earth. But slowly, little by little, people began to sign up for the relocation program. It would take a few months to locate a planet suitable for the Earth people. The Drastans would also need to request more ships from the fleet to help move the people.
This first dome was not near a city that had a subway system, but Liam went out with his team and his brother and searched for possible individual bunkers, basements, anything that might be a shelter. They found nothing.
They moved on to the second dome, which was near a major city. The dome leader showed them around and introduced them to his people. There seemed to be a crowd following them, mostly comprised of women of all ages. The way they looked at him made Liam feel a little uncomfortable, eyeing him and his brother like they were dinner or something. The dome leader noticed as well.
He sighed. “I apologize, Captain Estro. We have more women at this dome than the other domes for some reason. It has made things a little difficult between the single women and the married ones. Disagreements have broken out over men. I am grateful to be married, myself.”
They passed a group of younger women in their late teens and early twenties who were very attractive. Liam stopped to greet them. “Hello, ladies,” he said, using an English term he had learned.
A pretty blond looked him up and down, then smiled wide. She had cute dimples. “Hi.”
His brother pushed him a little to the side in order to get to the group of girls. “Hello, beautiful.” Kyle winked at them, causing the group to giggle. All except for the little blond-haired one. She frowned at Kyle and turned her eyes back to Liam.
“I hope you’ll stay a while,” she said with a voice that Liam found pleasing.
“I have to complete my assignment first,” Liam told her. He noticed the dome leader motioning for him to follow him. “Excuse me.” He bowed, causing the girls to have redness appear on their faces, followed by more giggling. He didn’t understand all of that. They were a little strange. He turned when he noticed Kyle wasn’t following him. “Are you coming?”
Kyle shook his head. “No. You go to the meeting. I am going to get to know some Earth people a little better.”
Liam snorted. He knew exactly how much better his brother wanted to get to know the Earth women. “You are not off duty, keep that in mind.” He warned him.
Kyle saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
Liam shook his head and went to the meeting room. He spent two hours discussing with the dome leader his plans to seek out life in the subways systems. He asked for maps or whatever they might have. The dome leader didn’t look happy about the focus being taken off his people, but he complied. There was a lot of area to be covered. He planned to split his team up into pairs to get more area covered. It was time to go back to the battleship for a debrief with his team.
He wasn’t ready for the surprise his father had waiting upon his return.
***
Liam and Kyle watched their father warily as he paced the command deck. “Commander, what’s wrong?”
“I received a call from the leader of dome fifty-seven. He had a very unusual request.”
“Whatever they need, we can get it for them,” Liam reassured him.
His father raised an eyebr
ow. “Are you sure about that?”
“Of course. What did he request?” Liam asked.
“You.”
Liam looked at Kyle who shrugged then back at his father. “Me?”
“Evidently you made quite the impression with the dome leader’s daughter,” his father said, sounding suspiciously like he was repressing a laugh.
“I didn’t meet the dome leader’s daughter.” Liam was sure he had never been introduced to any of the women formally.
“Well, she clearly met you and has taking a liking to you. Since dome fifty-seven is short on men, her father has requested that you consider dating his daughter.”
“What is ‘dating’?” Kyle asked.
“It is a form of courting,” their father replied.
“This has to be a mistake or something. I didn’t even meet this daughter,” Liam insisted.
His father handed over a digital photo on his computer tablet. It showed the pretty blond with the dimples. “You did not interact with this girl?”
“I said hello. That was about it,” Liam told him. It was a little flattering that the girl had taken a liking to him, but surely this was a mistake.
“Not her!” Kyle grabbed the computer tablet to look at the picture more closely.
“Do you know her?” Liam asked.
“Yes, she’s the one that I was talking to the most. At least I tried to. But all she wanted to talk about was you.” Kyle stood up angrily and stormed out.
Liam sighed. “I’ll go talk to him.”
“Wait, Liam. This request is not unreasonable. I said that you would spend time with her. It could make our relations with the Earth people easier.”
“You can’t seriously be arranging courtships for me! I have a mission to complete.”
“I did not promise them a union, only that you would spend some time with her. I will tell them that this will have to wait until you complete your mission. I gave my word and I won’t back out of it. Now go see what Kyle is fussing about.” His father dismissed him.
Liam left quickly to catch up to Kyle. “Stop and talk to me!” But Kyle ignored him.
Kyle walked into their family suite, slamming the door before Liam could follow him in. Liam was getting annoyed now. “What is wrong with you?!”
“You were flirting with her! All she could talk about was you. I didn’t stand a chance,” Kyle complained.
“I barely said two words to the woman. It’s not my fault she has an interest in me!”
“What is going on here?” Jared asked, walking into the main living room.
“Great, my humiliation will be complete now.”
“You have not been humiliated,” Liam insisted. His younger brother could be a bit dramatic at times.
“Who’s humiliating who?” Jared asked.
“Liam is trying to steal the woman I am interested in!” Kyle claimed, glaring at Liam.
“I am not. I said hello and that was pretty much it. It’s not my fault the woman mistook that to mean I was interested in her. I’m not!”
“You stole some woman from Kyle by simply saying hello? Must have been some hello, then.” Jared, who was usually very serious, actually cracked a smile.
“Don’t make fun, Jared,” Liam warned him. “Kyle, I would tell this woman that I am not interested, but father has made a commitment that I at least spend time with her. I can’t get out of that.”
“You’re too old for her!” Kyle yelled at him.
“I am not too old.” Liam was insulted.
“What’s this woman’s name?” Jared asked. Neither brother answered him and they both appeared confused. “You don’t even know the woman’s name and she is causing a rift between you?”
“I barely spoke to her,” Liam insisted.
“I tried to get her know but she kept asking me questions about Liam,” Kyle muttered.
Jared broke into laughter. The other two glared at him, but it did nothing to stop his mirth. “Why don’t you find out her name before you two actually get into a physical fight over her?” he suggested, then walked away still laughing.
Chapter 5
It had been a week since she and Corey had discovered the dome and the truck of supplies. They didn’t tell Jerry or the rest of their tribe about the dome or the truck. She tried to get others to go topside with them on a day other than Tuesday, but it didn’t turn out that way. Maggie was worried that they would run into Ben and his crew. At least she was able to convince her tribe to wait until it was dark. She also tried to send the tribe in the opposite direction of the dome, the same area that she and Corey had already checked out. She hoped they would miss Ben altogether.
Corey walked next to her and nodded for her to move ahead of him while he covered their backs. They headed in a different direction than they had traveled before. She hoped they would find the subway entrance soon. They both wore makeshift filtering masks. Maggie wore a hoodie jacket so her whole head was almost covered.
“Look!” Corey pointed ahead of them. A dented sign had fallen down. It leaned against what looked like a rock wall. But as they got closer parts of the words were visible. It read Subway Station.
Excitement filled Maggie. “This is it! Corey, go get the others. We need to concentrate on this area and find an opening.”
Corey shook his head. “I don’t want to leave you. Let’s go get them together.”
She frowned. “We’re running out of time. It’s getting cold and our filtering masks will need to be changed out soon. We need to locate the entrance and then come back for it tomorrow.”
“Fine. I’ll be right back.” He waited to until she nodded before he left her.
Maggie started to walk around the debris, trying to locate an opening. There were some larger bricks and rocks in the way. It was possible the entrance had been partially buried. It had to be around here somewhere.
***
“Team two, report,” Liam called over his earpiece. He had split his team of ten into pairs so they could cover more area. They were looking for a way to enter the subway system. Their readings for life forms had been inconclusive. There were a lot of layers of thick concrete and metal throwing off their readings. Also, there were occasional gusts of wind with radiation particles that created interference with their readings.
His team wore their black protection uniforms with full helmets to filter out harmful radiation and provide clean oxygen. With this personal protective equipment, they should be able to explore any environment that they encountered. He made sure his team members were carrying handheld radiation detection devices so that they could check each area out prior to entering it. It would also detect motion and heat signatures. Liam also carried his only weapon, a blaster, in a pocket at his side.
Liam’s communicator went off. “Team two reporting in, sir. We have found no life forms thus far.”
“Mark that section off on the digital map and move on to the next section, Lieutenant,” Liam ordered.
“Yes, sir.” The link terminated. Liam looked over at Kyle, who was kicking at a fallen piece of building.
“This is a waste of time. No one survived the nuclear bombs from out here,” Kyle grouched.
“We don’t know that. There are signs that the supply trucks have been tampered with.”
“The humans don’t log the supplies, so they don’t know for sure anything is missing,” Kyle reminded him. It was true, the humans never bothered to log in any of the supplies. They simply loaded up with whatever each dome requested and shipped it between the main storage facility and the domes in need.
“If there is any suspicion, then it has to be checked out. I do not want to neglect an area and end up responsible for survivors being left untreated.” Liam looked around the building they were approaching. “You go around the left side and I’ll go around the right. We’ll meet back up at the front.”
Kyle nodded and headed off to check out his side. Liam took out his reader and scanned the area. He saw something moving qu
ickly. He waved the reader back towards the second building to the right. There, he saw another blip of movement. The radiation levels were currently low so there wasn’t any interference. He wondered if perhaps it could be Kyle, but his brother had only just managed to disappear around the larger building. It would take time to get all the way over to the next building. Liam went to check it out.
***
Maggie shivered. The temperatures were dropping quickly. They needed to get back before it became too cold for them. Corey should have been back before now. What was taking so long? The sound of feet on gravel made her turn around quickly. She wasn’t prepared for what she saw.
Standing about twenty feet away stood a tall person dressed in all black. It looked like some kind of special ops outfit, but it wasn’t like anything she remembered from when her father was in the military. This looked weird and had some kind of strange logo on the top left, near the shoulder.
The person, she assumed it was a man, spotted her. He yelled out and it was nothing like any language she had ever heard before. He started moving towards her and she felt panic rise up inside her. Her heart raced and her breathing sped up. She had a gun but there was no telling whether this person was alone, she could be outnumbered. Every impulse screamed for her to run, so she did.
She didn’t know where she was going, only that she had to get away. She jumped over rocks and debris. She slid a few times, but rushed to regain her footing and keep going. She looked back, but it was hard for her to tell in the dark whether she had lost the person chasing her. She dodged inside a partially fallen building and stopped. Her chest was heaving. She had to catch her breath. She squatted down and peered around the corner. She didn’t see or hear anything. Her breathing was still labored and she could tell her mask wasn’t as effective as it had been. She needed to get back below ground.
She slowly stood up and started to move away from her hiding space. Suddenly, two hands grabbed her from behind and swung her around. She acted without thinking, lifting her knee and hitting the man directly in the groin.