Final Days

by Jasper T. Scott

  “Bert, I asked what was going on,” she repeated, locking eyes with Diane in the dimly-lit room. She gave the girl a tight nod, as if to relay that everything was going to be okay. It only made Diane sob harder.

  Kendra noticed Jack and Shelley weren’t present, and Hank was missing as well. That left Laurie and Calista there, watching from the far edge of the room. “You’re all in on it. A coup d’état.”

  “We can’t fly that into the ocean. We’ll all die!” Laurie’s leg was elevated, the whites of her eyes bright even from this far away.

  Kendra could taste the fear in the room, not an uncommon sense in a hospital. Her shoulder throbbed at the memory of spending a month recovering from her punctured lung, and she blinked away the thoughts. Where was Andrew? Had they killed him?

  “Bert, hand me the gun,” she said calmly, stepping toward the uncertain man.

  “Reverend Shelley told me God was on my side: that if you attacked, he’d forgive me for shooting you,” Bert said, walking away from Kendra as she approached. Kendra’s hands were lifted, trying to make herself a helpless ally.

  Diane didn’t follow with Bert; she stayed put, and found herself in the middle of the two opposing adults. Kendra briefly considered her options, and dismissed using the girl as a hostage to access the roof. Unlike these cowards, she wouldn’t use an innocent to gain ground. It was over. They’d lose their window, and they’d crumble into the ocean, never having found the missing people, never having known what Hound had constructed.

  Andrew wouldn’t be able to hug his daughter again, and Kendra… she’d never solve that final case, the one she’d been chasing since her sister had disappeared so long ago. The weight of it all crashed into her tired mind, and she staggered back.

  The gunshot was loud in the otherwise quiet space, and Kendra realized she’d forgotten someone. Tony was on top of Bert, pummelling the man with angry fists. Her gun flew to the side of the room, and Laurie was screaming. Kendra hurried to the Glock, picking up the familiar weapon, and she shouted at the kid.

  “Tony, stop it!”

  He glanced up, his knuckles bloody, and brushed his hair from his face. He looked at the injured man he’d been assaulting and grimaced.

  Diane was at Kendra’s side, crying, not wanting to associate with the man who’d been caring for her any longer. She’d seen his true colors, and even a young girl could sense who was good and bad.

  “She’s dead!” Laurie shouted, and for a second, she didn’t understand what the lady was talking about. She crossed the room, seeing the blank stare from Calista’s eyes. The errant shot had hit her in the left side of her forehead.

  “Tony, Diane, come with me,” Kendra said, running for the stairwell.

  The teenager scooped up the girl in his arms, and followed as she pressed through the metal doors, heading up the stairs. She lifted a hand, telling him to stop, and carefully unlatched the upstairs door, pushing it open an inch.

  “If you don’t, I’m gonna shoot you in the leg and see if that makes you more agreeable. Now hurry up and get the chopper ready!” Jack’s voice was strained, alien to her ears.

  The helicopter whined to life, and already the rotors were beginning to spin, faster and faster, creating a chaotic setting on the ash-covered rooftop.

  She saw the reverend there, proudly standing near Jack, a smug smile on her face. Jack seemed petrified, but there was a sense of resolve about the cocky man. It was obvious this wasn’t going to be a negotiation.

  “Stay here until I tell you it’s clear,” she told Tony, who nodded his understanding. She stopped and regarded him. “You did well. Thanks for helping.”

  “No problem,” he said, sloughing it off as if attacking a man with a gun was no big thing. Teenagers.

  She crept through the doorway and started toward them, the rooftop gravel crunching beneath her boots. The helicopter was making enough noise to hide her arrival. She was about to shout for Jack to lower his gun when the quake hit.

  The entire building shook with incredible ferocity, and she stumbled to her knees. Shelley landed on her side, and Jack managed to keep his footing, but the gun fell out of his hand.

  Andrew saw her in the midst of the event, his eyes locking with hers. Hank was beside him, next to the open door of the pilot’s side of the chopper, keeping Andrew covered with his own gun. Andrew took advantage of the distraction from the quake and shoved the older man away from him, snatching his P320 back.

  Part of the hospital crumbled away from the rest of the structure as the earthquake tore through Eureka. This was the big one, and the coming tsunami would mean certain death. They didn’t have long.

  Kendra ran toward Jack as the building shook again violently. The bucking rooftop sent her reeling away from the mayor. He had the gun in his hand again, and he aimed it at her this time.

  “Don’t even think about it!” Andrew shouted, coming in from the other direction.

  “We could have all worked together!” Jack yelled. “Why did you have to make this so difficult?”

  Kendra saw Andrew had it under control, and she motioned to Tony to bring Diane. “We have to leave!” she yelled at Andrew, moving around Jack and Shelley. Jack continued to aim the gun toward Andrew as they passed the duo, but Kendra could see the fire was gone from his belly. His town was being destroyed. His entire identity was obviously intertwined with the city, and she almost felt sorry for the man.

  “Give me that!” the reverend shouted, wrestling the revolver from the mayor. He didn’t put up much of a fight. Kendra, Tony, Diane, and Andrew were positioned between the reverend and the helicopter now.

  “What about the others?” Andrew shouted over the noise of the helicopter.

  “There’s no time,” Kendra said, not sure it was the right decision. They were on the wrong side of the fence, but she had to fight her instincts and leave them behind. There was no other choice.

  “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord!” Reverend Shelley took aim, but the hospital shook again, sending her sprawling to the rooftop. Acid rain began to pour down even as a dense cloud of toxic fog descended on the rooftop.

  Andrew stayed put, directing the others toward the waiting helicopter. Kendra’s lungs were burning. They needed to put their respirators on as soon as they could.

  The sound of the revolver rang out as they all climbed into their seats. Andrew fired a single shot, but it was pointless. From this distance, with the ash kicking up from the rotors and the fog rolling in, Shelley was nothing but a silhouette, a ghost left behind from another time.

  Hank stared at them from outside. “I didn’t mean to do it. I’m sorry. Let me come with you!”

  Andrew locked eyes with the man, and Kendra watched the Marine assessing him before nodding. “Get in.”

  Hank averted his gaze from the three of them in the back of the helicopter, and Kendra passed around respirators. She held her gun firmly in her hand, not willing to take a chance with Hank, not until they were well away from the others.

  “Strap in,” Andrew shouted, though they already had. The helicopter began to lift from the roof as the building beneath them crumbled from the water pressure around it. Kendra thought about Laurie and Bert, still alive inside. Not anymore.

  Diane was whimpering in Tony’s lap, and Kendra silently thanked the teenager again for his help. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, and saw the blinking destination almost five hundred miles from Eureka.

  The helicopter hovered there, and as Andrew began to maneuver it away, Kendra saw the hand grasping one of the chopper’s landing skids.

  Thirty-Two

  Roland

  2 Days Left…

  Everything was dark. It had been this way for a full day now, ever since the guards rode into the massive wave heading for the Lost Coast. Roland sat in the hard seat, resting his head on the table in front of him. He had no idea what the room looked like, but he could still taste salt water on his lips, and feel the movement of the
ocean under his feet, making him wonder if it was a memory or if they were really on the water.

  Every few seconds he remembered the crashing waves around the boat as they’d sailed straight into danger, and he had to keep telling himself he was alive. That’s what mattered. He’d survived, and he was now far away from land, and hopefully from deadly tsunamis.

  A door opened, and Roland heard a soft click as the latch fell into place. “You can take the blindfold off, Roland,” a voice said. It was a soothing sound, deep and proud.

  He hesitated, reaching for the soft gel eye cover. He tugged it over his head. His ball cap was lost in the sea somewhere.

  He blinked, trying to acclimate his eyes to the bright space. It was nondescript. A black composite table, a second matching folding chair across from him. He scanned to the wall across, finding a mirror. Two-way, no doubt. Was he at a police station? Maybe a psych ward? Had he imagined all of this? Maybe he’d overdosed on his pills, and there had never been a world-ending catastrophe?

  It wasn’t the first time Roland had questioned the reality of his life, and he doubted it would be the last.

  “Is that better? How about some water?” A glass of sparkling clear liquid pressed across the table, and Roland’s gaze carried over the hand, to the arm, to the face staring at him. His heart raced as he recognized the man. Usually the pictures he’d seen were grainy, taken from a distance.

  “Lewis Hound,” Roland mustered, his voice scratchy. He took a sip of water, then a guzzle, setting the glass down empty.

  “That’s right. And you’re Roland Martin, aren’t you?” Lewis asked.

  He nodded, taking a good look at the reclusive billionaire. The man appeared far younger in person than he would have expected. He had to be at least forty, but his skin was smooth, his short hair perfectly styled, as if he’d had a personal groomer care for him only moments earlier. Roland noticed his own reflection in the two-way mirror, and cringed at the contrast.

  “Where are we?” Roland asked, his voice slightly clearer now, exuding a confidence he didn’t feel.

  “You’re in the promised land, my friend.” Lewis poured Roland another glass of water, and took a seat opposite him. His gaze pierced into Roland’s.

  “You did it, didn’t you?” Roland asked him.

  Hound leaned forward, his fingers steepled. “Did what, exactly?”

  “You built it?” Roland asked.

  To his surprise, Hound nodded. “I did. And you were the only person in the world who knew about it.”

  Roland felt a spike of pride at the words. “It wasn’t that hard.”

  “Sure, if you have nothing but time to scour the internet for half-assed logistics pathways leading to Capetown. I must admit, I was shocked when you kept at it.”

  Roland’s eyes widened. “You knew?”

  “Of course I did. I wanted you as part of my team, but I needed to trust you wouldn’t share the information with anyone. I had to see how far you could actually come, and you made it to the warehouse. That… now that was impressive,” Hound said.

  Roland couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Those thugs at my house. They were yours?”

  Hound nodded. “My number one got a little ahead of himself. He wanted to pull you in before you blew the cover. We still hadn’t transported the last batch from the warehouse yet.”

  “The last batch?” Roland thought back to the armed guards on those boats, ferrying people to the container ship. “Who are they?”

  “They’re the same as you, Roland. People that excel in their fields. People humanity will need for the long haul,” Hound said with a glimmer in his eye.

  “You sent them for me,” Roland said.

  He nodded again. “I did. You had a little help from friends, too.”

  Roland wondered if they’d arrived yet. “Kendra and Andrew. Are they here?”

  Hound’s face betrayed him for a split second before returning to his poker face. “I’m afraid they haven’t arrived. Did you send them our location?”

  Roland noticed the man’s hands clench, his jaw muscles tensing as he asked. Roland shook his head. No sense upsetting his benefactor—or captor. He wasn’t sure what to call him quite yet.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Roland. You’ll be a great asset to our people,” Hound said. “Play the flute and they shall follow.”

  Roland’s blood ran cold. “PiedPiper19. That was you?”

  “The very same,” Hound said with a satisfied grin.

  Roland’s thoughts drifted to the messages, the curious leads his contact had sent him for a price. “Why?”

  “I needed you here, and wanted to see how talented you were. It worked out for us both,” Hound said.

  Roland recalled the nursery rhyme about the piper who was hired to lure the rats away from Hamelin Town. When the mayor went back on his word about the agreed-upon payment, the piper instead led the entire town’s population of children away, never to return again.

  He had the feeling something similar was about to happen, but he had no choice but to go ahead with it all. “Can I… see it?” Roland asked.

  “You’re committed, right?” Hound asked, whispering more. “Eric had reservations, but we’re going to prove him wrong, aren’t we?”

  Roland had no idea who Eric was, but he nodded along regardless.

  “Good. Come with me,” Hound said, moving toward the door. He opened it, and Roland wasn’t surprised to find an armed woman on the other side. She wore the same dark uniform as the ones from the warehouse, her gun strapped to her hip. She didn’t even look him in the eyes as he walked by. “I’ll take you to your room, and then you can meet the others.”

  The corridor was like something from a science fiction movie. The walls were curved and molded plastic; computer screens sat every fifty or so yards along the way, and Roland couldn’t wait to explore the software. He still didn’t know where he was, or what kind of structure they were inside. He expected he’d learn soon enough.

  The few people in this corridor were all armed, and they each nodded deferentially toward Hound as they walked toward the end of the hallway. Hound leaned forward, a scanner buzzing over his eyes. The thick double door hissed and separated in the middle, revealing a new corridor.

  “The quarters are this way. You’ll have your own room. I hope that’s satisfactory.” Hound’s boots echoed on the hard floor, and Roland followed quickly behind.

  A few minutes later, they’d passed other regular people, each wearing white jumpsuits, or matching pants and a white t-shirt. They stared after Roland, and he studied their faces, trying to figure out who they were.

  A new corridor on the dormitory level appeared on their right, and Hound smiled at a young woman playing on a tablet near her door.

  “This is it,” Hound said, tapping the control button, revealing a suite.

  “This is mine?” Roland asked.

  “It is. I expect big things from you, Roland. Be a leader, and you’ll be doing our people a great service. I’ll send someone to give you a tour in an hour. Shower, get changed, and relax. Welcome to Eden.”

  “Eden.” Roland repeated the word, goosebumps rising on his arms.

  The door shut, leaving Roland alone in his room. His jaw dropped as he saw through the pane of glass beside the bed.

  Fish swam by the window in brightly-colored schools. He rushed across the space, banging his shin against the bed as he did so, barely even registering the pain.

  “What have you gotten yourself into, Rollie?” he asked himself. From here he couldn’t see much; only the gentle curve of the structure they were inside. He had no way of calculating how deep they were, but he suspected it was far enough below the surface to withstand the coming calamities. He was safe here, as safe as anyone on Earth could be, and that would have to be adequate.

  An outfit was laid out on the bed, and he scanned to find a desk against the adjacent wall. A tablet and computer were also there, shiny and new. To his left was a priv
ate bathroom, the finishes stark white and futuristic. He didn’t know where he was, but he could become used to this.

  Paradise was sounding better and better. He silently wondered what had happened to the FBI agent and the Marine, but he didn’t think he’d ever find out. With one last gaze into the depths of the Pacific, Roland stripped from his grubby clothing and started the shower.

  Thirty-Three

  Andrew

  2 Days Left…

  The helicopter listed sharply to one side, and Andrew struggled to compensate in the swirling blizzard of ash that the rotors were kicking up around them.

  “What are you doing?!” Kendra screamed, her voice barely audible above the sound of the helicopter.

  Andrew risked a glance over his shoulder to see her pulling the reverend inside. “What the hell?” he roared, struggling to gain altitude amidst the storm of ash coming off the roof. “What is she doing in here?”

  “I couldn’t just kick her off!” Kendra said as she slid the door shut.

  “Everyone sit down and put on your headsets!” Andrew spared a hand from the controls to put on his own headset.

  As soon as they gained some altitude, the blizzard of ash parted, and sunlight came pricking through. The first light of dawn was already blushing on the horizon.

  As he banked around, heading for the coast, he saw the hospital crumbling into the flood waters below. The water swallowed the entire building without a trace, taking the people they’d been forced to leave behind down with it.

  Tilting the helicopter forward for maximum thrust, Andrew raced over the dark, debris-covered water, moving for the choppy ocean beyond. There was no sign of the former coastline, or the town of Eureka, but Andrew did spot a bridge. It crossed over what used to be the bay to the peninsula where the Marines and Coast Guard had their bases. The bridge was elevated just enough to rise above the flood, but now it was bucking hard with the earthquake. Andrew watched as half of the cables snapped and it tipped into the water, collapsing with a giant splash. Only the pillars remained standing.