Apocalypse 2

by Matt J. Pike

  The game changes again. For every advance we make, they seem to close in on us a little more. It was like an arm wrestle at the moment, but I’ve got the feeling something’s going to snap very soon. Like a metaphoric forearm. And each move from us, each counter move from them, it’s heading closer to the inevitable.

  Today we had to make a counter move of our own. After meeting with Shane plus Brian and co, it was decided we needed to push the game back on to their turf a bit. Me, Ye-jun and Kelly were going to follow the tracks to their point of origin… or as close as we could get to it. Just to see what we could see. With so much recent activity in the city, we were getting the vibe that they were not moving in all the way from Norwood each day, but they had set up a city safe house. If that was the case, we definitely wanted to make it an unsafe house.

  Meanwhile, Jonesy would be going hard at the remaining wall construction and Shane was going to see if he could rig up some night lighting on the wall, so we don’t get any more unfriendly visits. This also meant starting a night watch – there was just no other option now. It would also blowout our fuel budget for the generators, so we’ll need to start thinking about syphoning fuel again soon too, there should be plenty about.

  So, day’s plans totally changed.

  *

  This is as serious as we thought. Ye-jun, Kelly and I headed out after breakfast, following the fresh tracks from our visitor. They took us over the uni sports grounds up to the Frome St bridge over the River Torrens, then up Frome St to the Royal Adelaide Hospital (that’s the old one, not the new one being built, where we found the loader). We walked in single file as best we could to hide our numbers. The tracks moved off the road and into the hospital car park.

  My heart was racing at that point. Once we’d established the coast was clear, Ye-jun took point and covered the ground to the next corner, which lead to the hospital entrance. We knew we were close to something as the spy’s track had now merged with several others, getting heavier towards the hospital entrance. We decided at that point to hide out behind some rubble for a while and monitor any movements. After a good half an hour, we hadn’t seen anyone, so we decided to back away towards Frome St again and find a position we could monitor the front entrance off North Tce.

  We’d barely made it to the corner when we could hear voices, not too far in the distance. We stayed low and used the mountains of ash as cover to peep out as far as we could. There were about a dozen people, many wearing backpacks or pulling sleds with supplies. We couldn’t make out most of what they were saying, but the general vibe was a pretty happy one. After a few minutes, those carrying supplies had dumped all their gear and headed back east up North Tce, while in the distance, another smaller group was heading in.

  We decided that was enough intel for one day and slipped back to trace our trail back to the oval.

  *

  There was another big meeting this afternoon, with all this new information to digest. There’s no question the Norwood hubbers are relocating to the city. It was an inevitable move from them, I guess, but it is absolutely not what we needed, certainly not right now when we’re still getting ourselves up and running.

  The amount of potential problems this causes is just about endless. For a start, we don’t even have a clue as to their numbers. This morning we saw about as many people as we had in total and the chances of that being their entire population is just about zero. So we are outnumbered. They also have guns, we know that. So that little combo (numbers + guns) really doesn’t sit well, especially given our relationship is already quite, well, frosty.

  And they’ve been watching us longer than we’ve been watching them, so we can only guess that they have enough of an idea on our numbers being less than theirs to commit to a relocation.

  Then there’s the remaining food assets in the city. Assets that could stretch out to well over a year for us, but split amongst them, however many there are, well, who knows. And we’re competing for these assets – every future food mission is now far more critical and far more dangerous than ever before.

  The only strengths we had going for us were Bone, Phoenix and a far better knowledge of the remaining food stocks, and the latter won’t last long once these guys settle in.

  Yep, it was a pretty dark mood in that meeting. After working out what we knew about them (larger numbers, more powerful, more intel on us than we had on them etc), we looked at every way to handle the situation from here, and what outcome might come of that. The first ideas that were raised included attacking them before they attacked us, and building that wall as quickly as possible to mark our territory – extending it into the city.

  As we went through each possibility, the outcome lead back to fighting an enemy we had no idea about – how they were armed, their numbers – not ideal. But, if we were going to act along those lines, it had to be tonight… or very soon, before they established their new base. And we had no idea of what they were armed with, where they’d set up within the hospital and we only had a few guns and not much else.

  The discussions were intense too; I could tell these people were as invested in this place as me.

  Brian’s level head was a pretty handy asset at moments such as this. We had been going around in circles for a long time before he hushed everyone down to suggest a different approach. His idea was to meet with the leaders of the Norwood Hub, to find out a bit more about them and what they wanted and, if he felt the conversation was heading in the right direction, propose some sort of truce. He thought the idea of dividing the city into east and west, using King William St as the border, would be a fair offering. He thought it would be a tempting offer too, giving them the Coles in the mall, which they’d already started raiding, yet giving us the Coles in the markets, which we don’t think they’d discovered yet.

  There would be no need for further killing on either side, and perhaps pave the way for more cooperation in the future.

  There were so many unknowns in it, but the plan was a good one. Brian was convinced he could sell it to the Norwood crew or, at the very least, sniff out their true intentions, learn as much as he could, or abort if it didn’t feel right.

  Even if a truce didn’t last, if it were in place for a while, we’d be able to strip the remaining food from our Coles quicker than they would be able to sure up our defences and, finish getting prepared for whatever would follow.

  Jonesy was the voice for the opposing view – he was set on attacking them tonight. He’d finally settled on a plan of finding as much petrol as we could get our hands on and torching every way in and out of the hospital.

  In truth, both options were pretty scary to contemplate. Burning people alive, I’m not sure that’s part of the future I want to create, but was coexisting with the Norwood hubbers any better? Worse still, the Norwood hubbers who know we’ve killed four of their men and shot another? I don’t think that’s something they’d easily forget.

  In the end it came down to a vote – the first time we’ve ever officially voted on something. Whatever happened when the hands were raised would go a long way to shaping our lives and the future of the remnants of this city. That was a big burden to carry into the vote.

  Jonesy and Brian had their final say and the call for votes was made. In the end, Brian won it in a 16-4 landslide. I was relieved I was with the majority. I was also a little shocked to see Shane vote the other way too. And, once the decision was made, and we started planning how we’d approach the truce, the reality dawned. Tomorrow would be a big, big day in my future.

  *

  November 5, 2014

  I can’t sleep. I haven’t been like this since Fi died. No idea on the time and I don’t think that’s a bad thing – it would probably make me more annoyed.

  *

  So, I’d been laying in my room for over an hour and nothing was working to unwind me, so I went for a wander. After last night’s visitor we had both lookouts manned, so I brewed some instant coffee and went for a visit. Nate was in t
he Riverbank tower and he was pleased for the visit and the offering. It gave me a good chance to look over Shane’s new lighting rig to light up any spies who dared make the dash from the wall to the gates. It was a pretty good effort for half a day’s work. He’d managed to salvage some of the crazy bright ones from the fallen light tower in the middle of the oval.

  I remember Shane being pretty pleased with his efforts yesterday… “It was all about the lumens,” he kept saying, like some crazy inventor.

  And those lumens did the job well enough. I’m not sure anyone could make it from the wall without being spotted by one of the lookouts. Probably not bright enough to play a game of footy, nor bright enough for Shane’s liking but, at least for now, good enough for tonight.

  Steph was in the other tower and she was equally appreciative of the pre-dawn caffeination (though it wasn’t as hot as Nate’s). I chatted with her for a few minutes. I hadn’t really had much to do with her before then, but after a bit of small talk, we established our mutual love of the Adelaide Crows and ended up spending nearly half an hour talking about our favourite players (Andrew McLeod for me, Mark Ricciuto for her) and our favourite memories. She was about 10 years older than me so she remembered the back-to-back premierships of ‘97 and ’98.

  It was just what I needed really, sharing a mutual love with someone in the midst of all this other crazy. I mean, we were right there, right on the spot where they played before all this. And I closed my eyes, just for a second and imagined it all undone. The whole last few months, the comet, the death and destruction, everything. I was just sitting at the oval, chatting about my team to another knowledgeable fan. I knew I was fooling myself the entire time, but that didn’t matter. Just having a little connection to something pre-rock was enough. It was like sinking your feet into the soft sand at the beach, or snuggling under a warm quilt on a cold night. I needed that – we both did – given what the new day could bring.

  *

  Finally, up for real this time. Tired, grumpy and more than a little stressed at what lays ahead. I’ve stupidly slept through Shane and Brian’s departure to the hospital. They are heading there to offer a truce meeting in the afternoon.

  They left unarmed too. It’s a risky move, given what we’ve done to their people approaching our territory, but as Brian said, “Essential for the outcome we want.” I just really wanted to say goodbye to Shane, you know, just in case.

  So now I just wait, I guess. Hope they’re successful and, well, alive.

  Maybe it’s just the nerves, or the extra blood flowing through my system, but it seems warm today – noticeably warmer, especially for this early. If it were any other day I’d be super excited. The weather is exactly what we need. Not now of course, but soon, when we’re settled, once we’ve got past this… whatever it is. I kinda get a bit superstitious these days, looking for signs – I think that’s what happens when you have way too much time to just think. Anyway, I haven’t decided if this beautiful day is a sign for a brighter future or the calm before the storm.

  *

  Phase one complete. Brian and Shane just got back. All had pretty much gone to plan. The approached the Norwood hubbers’ new digs waving a white flag and were approached by two men with pistols. They asked to speak to someone in charge and, after being patted down for weapons, were left waiting while one of the men went into the hospital. He returned with two others, I’m not sure who, but the fat man wasn’t one of them. Brian opened by saying we wanted a truce, which he seemed to think was received genuinely by the Norwood crew. Then the whole conversation turned into a negotiation on the conditions of the truce negotiation – where, when, how many can attend from each side, exclusion distance for everyone else, no weapons, etc, etc.

  The bottom line is this afternoon at 4pm, at the national war memorial on North Tce (which is about halfway between both groups), two negotiators on each side will meet, no one else allowed within 100m of the discussion.

  This is tense… seriously tense.

  Both Brian and Shane feel more confident after chatting to them that a truce is something that genuinely interests them, and I do admit there are massive benefits to both sides, like living and stuff, but they haven’t seen the Norwood hubbers do what I’ve seen them do.

  We’re gathering everyone together in just under an hour to go through our options and plans. I need to mull it all over on my own a bit first anyway. There’s just so much happening so quickly and, well, Norwood hubbers, so I think I need to put myself in a different headspace for a while. I need a coffee.

  *

  So, everything is out on the table now. It took a while, though. It’s funny how group think works. It’s frustrating that some people, most people, seem to see the outcome they want, then throw the blinkers on to everything else. When you’ve got controlling voices and other loud, passionate voices, sometimes it’s difficult to be heard – especially when you’re the youngest. There’s no question I want a truce as much as anybody else there, but I just knew we couldn’t let it blind us to the massive risk we are taking in getting it. Well, both sides were risking everything really. We are both at our weakest right now – them not being established yet, us being massively outnumbered. And while this truce could be a good outcome for both sides, in that moment we’re negotiating it, we are massively exposing ourselves. That’s all I could think about in the lead up to the meeting. What would Norwood do? What is the trick they could pull to expose us at our weakest moment?

  Assuming they know our numbers, or have a reasonably good estimate, which given what we’ve seen they probably do. Now they know a definite time when our leaders, and let’s say a support party are not going to be at the oval. I mean, they could easily assume all of our efforts will be going into the negotiations. What’s to stop them raiding us then? It would be the perfect time to attack the oval really. I’m not being paranoid either – this is the Norwood hubbers we’re talking about. They could finish us off in one swift move – no negotiations required, no sharing of resources. For a group of people who have known killing for advantage for a long time. The whole thing started raising red flags in my mind. I survived this far on that thinking, so I’m going to back it again.

  Anyway, I listened to all the group think on planning for the negotiations, providing support and back-up for Shane and Brian, but I didn’t hear anyone thinking beyond that. It was like I was back at the Trinity Gardens Hub all over again… and that did not end well. I just sat, watching everyone group think themselves into a vulnerable position.

  Had nobody ever seen Game of Thrones?

  I was biding my time for impact really. I listened to it all for a while, and they had some really good ideas around finding a sniper position in one of the nearby buildings well before 4pm, as well as sending someone down there as soon as our planning meeting finished, just to monitor the spot for anything dodgy pre negotiations – all good stuff. I just let it all unfold while everyone was on a roll. Once the ideas started slowing and the plan started forming, I mentioned my concerns.

  “What if they are planning an attack while we are at our weakest? What’s to stop them sending dozens of armed people to the oval while everything is unfolding on North Tce?”

  I’m glad I waited until group think had exhausted its momentum. I think what I said had some significant impact. I had thought in a new direction.

  Brian was onto it straight away; he was good at keeping his head out of the details as well as seeing the bigger picture. Shane and Jonesy latched onto it as well. Something clearly resonated in what I was saying… there was a truth there that couldn’t be ignored. And so the conversation shifted. Our first weak point was already covered, we had a protection plan in place for Shane and Brian while they were negotiating. Now a second plan emerged. If they did try to cross us, they’d be in for a surprise.

  *

  I don’t know where to start with what has just happened. Maybe I’ll begin with I’m alive, because many others are not. I’ve taken my or
iginal diary entries from what happened over the next few hours and I’ve added in as much information as I can from others – stuff that I’ve found out in the days since. I want to tell as much of the story as possible, to have it on the record.

  It’s funny, no, not funny, misguided really… that we, as a species, use a word like humanity to describe all the good in our nature and us as a collective. As if, somehow, the natural state of being human is being warm and caring, tolerant and compassionate. Humanity, from what I’ve seen, is every little bit the opposite in equal measure… maybe more these days. How did we just block all of that out and say, humanity – the good stuff – that’s our nature, that’s how we behave, that’s who we are? Have we really just been lying to ourselves the entire time… and believing it? Are we that gullible? Are we that blind to our own collective selves? It’s delusional bullshit really.

  I’m jabbering again. I guess it’s my attempt to make sense of everything that’s happened. You know, trying to find an answer – a reason – for why so many had to die. Like, if I could justify actions, on all sides, it would give reason to lives lost – purpose for sacrifice, and somehow lessen the guilt on me for still being here. Really, I know that’s only going to lessen with time. If I’m lucky enough to get that much time.

  I do know a big part of me being here is me, and that gives me a foundation to cope at least. Not the me that survived from day zero, but the me that looked inside and outside of what was happening in front of him, who looked around at everything to draw his conclusions.

  As for the part I played in it all, well, that’s just something I’ll have to wear for a long time. Another layer of clothes to slow me down. I can and will justify everything I did was, in the circumstance, my only choice. And I can’t afford to question that.

  I was right about the Norwood hubbers. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to be fair… but it did take someone to know them as well as me. Something about a leopard and its spots.

  So, I’ll try to keep this is in some sort of chronological order, to best record events. I wasn’t everywhere and many of the details come from second hand accounts in different locations… but here we go.