Arkadium Rising

by Glen Krisch

  "Jason, very good. Come," Marcus said, "come sit with me. Chase away the chill."

  Jason couldn't run, at least not now. And he didn't know if he would ever be able to again. Not while Marcus was still alive. His fatigue was mounting after his short walk from the truck, and his feet dragged at the dirt beneath him.

  "Here." Marcus got up from his log. "Take my seat."

  Jason stopped two feet from his brother and tilted his head back slightly to look into his eyes. Marcus looked relaxed. No, not relaxed. Mellow. Like he was on something. He had seen that look on Marcus's face so often since his little brother became a teenager. His brother was such a crack head that he didn't think a little thing like the apocalypse would stop him from eventually falling off the wagon.

  In that instant Jason wanted to reach out and strangle him. He didn't think it would surprise Marcus if he struck with such violence. He wondered if he would even fight back, at least at first. Jason said nothing. Fearing he might fall over at any moment, he shuffled over to the log and sat down. His every muscle voiced its protest; his whole body ached with fatigue or injury.

  Marcus grabbed another log and sat down next to Jason about three feet away. "I'm so glad you're awake. And also that we didn't find you too late."

  "Why, Marcus?" Jason asked. "Why did you even bother? If I ever get the chance, I'm going to kill you."

  "I know. It's in your eyes. Even when you were crying out and delirious with fever, it was there."

  "I don't get it, I really don't."

  "I can rule this world. Do you believe me when I say this?" Marcus said.

  Jason wondered if he was being tested. It wasn't unusual for Marcus to get lost in riddles, especially if he was using. "Yes. I believe it. Your people have turned the world over to the animals. And you're a predator. An apex predator."

  "You know me so well." Marcus stared off into the flames. "I could murder, rape, and destroy by the thousands. I could burn populated cities to ash. I could do so willfully, without doubt or question. But there is only madness in unfettered chaos. I really would be nothing more than an animal. So much so. But you…"

  "I prevent that? Please, spare me your moral compass bullshit. You can control yourself just fucking fine without me. All you're doing by tracking me down is hurting everyone in your path."

  "No, not everyone, brother." Marcus's doped eyes slowly panned from the fire to Jason.

  "So, Mike, Cora?"

  "Yes, they are fine, unharmed. Haven't laid a hand on either one."

  "Promise?"

  "If you want to wake them up to find out, feel free. They're sharing the yellow tent nearest the truck. They might be happy to see you, but it's probably not a good idea to wake the old lady's cat. That thing is something fierce."

  "Kat's alive?"

  "Must you question everything I say?"

  "You have to admit that you have a track record," Jason said, and Marcus could only nod in agreement. "So, you found me. Patched me up. Now what? Is this some kind of camping trip, just one big happy family?"

  "Just for tonight."

  "And tomorrow?"

  "Tomorrow, we'll cross the Mississippi on that rusty old bridge to Sanctuary Island."

  "Is that supposed to mean anything to me?"

  "Not now, but you'll learn. Just know that Sanctuary Island is a holy place, one of the Arkadium's first settlements west of the Appalachians. We'll be safe there. You need to rest. We need to resupply. You need to hear more stories from other survivors of the Election."

  "What do you mean?"

  "There will be other groups of the Arkadium gathered on the island, seeking temporary shelter, just like us. Even though they are among my people, they are still human. They still have witnessed the grand unmaking of modern man. I'm sure you're eager to listen to their stories, to record them for posterity."

  "Are you talking about the New History?"

  "Yes, very much so. I had no idea you would continue your great work after leaving my company. But since you did, you must admit, this undertaking is something that you're meant to do."

  Sure, he'd been writing since he escaped Marcus back at Jerry's cabin, but none of it, not a single word, had been intended to be part of some great work.

  "I started out convinced that I needed to keep you safe because you're my brother, and, yes, my moral compass, but after reading your work since you left me… I have to say, I need to keep you safe for the sake of humanity."

  "You read my journal?"

  "Of course I did." Marcus stood from his low log seat and paced a five foot path back a forth, his stoned lethargy gone.

  "That's not what I was writing. It's not the new history of anything, let alone meant for anyone else to read."

  "You were meant for this changed world, brother. You are on your own spiritual path and you don't even realize it."

  "Marcus—"

  Marcus turned abruptly toward him and cut him off with a raised hand. He looked ready to either slap Jason or spout a sermon. "And I quote! 'The apocalypse, at least as it pertains to me, is not a thousand-page epic…' Remember that line, brother?"

  "So…?"

  Marcus continued, recalling his journal entry from memory. "'If I've learned anything, it's that the end of civilization realigns your worldview. For me, the world has become small, brutish, and violent beyond comprehension. For some people I'm sure it's quite different. For isolated people who were already living a worldview that extended no farther than the next hillside, they may very well feel little change. And for them I reserve my most bitter envy. For city dwellers I imagine the world is everything it has become for me, but magnified manifold. Perhaps that raises their individual apocalypse to epic levels, or perhaps it makes life even shorter, more violent, more unforgiving. That's the thing. I'll probably never know, not seen through my myopic view of the world. Not when I can see the world through the lens of my eyes and no further.'"

  Marcus's hand lowered, his energy sapped.

  Jason didn't know what to say.

  "Don't you see, Jason? Don't you understand why I must protect you above all others, including myself?"

  Jason stood from his spot near the fire, speechless. Even if he could speak, he would never be able to get through to his brother, nor escape his reach. Marcus had just consigned him to an inescapable damnation. He turned away from the fire, pausing while his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He started walking toward the truck, slowly, at the limits of his strength.

  "Jason, you better rest up. Tomorrow will be a long day, and one of the most difficult of our lives."

  Jason hesitated, but then he continued on, not wanting to think about tomorrow. Tomorrow was a day he couldn't consider. Not when he needed to fight to survive this one.

  Part IV

  Chapter 27

  Sanctuary Island

  1.

  For a few blessed moments before his mind was fully awake, Jason was able to convince himself that the world was still whole. The gentle wind carried the scent of pine needles and a campfire breakfast—potatoes, pancakes, and coffee. He wanted to slip back into the tenuous netherworld just shy of waking, chasing after memories of being eleven years old and leaving home for the first time, of sleeping under the stars with his Boy Scout troop. He wanted to believe, to retreat, to forget… but he couldn't.

  Sleep slipped his grasp. He sighed and opened his eyes. The stars were gone, too. A thick fog had descended over the pinewood forest during the night.

  The truck bed was empty except for the filthy blankets beneath him. When he finally worked himself into a sitting position, he saw Leah huddled alongside Linda Dwyer and Eldon Pointer as they cooked breakfast over a campfire. With his AR-15 drawn and ready, Hector walked the perimeter of the camp, shifting through the fog like a ghost lost on an ethereal battlefield.

  Jason shimmied out of the truck bed and stretched his limbs as he walked over to the fire. He couldn't see the river through the dense fog, but he could hear it. It was a lonel
y sound but still somehow soothing.

  "Hi, Jason, nice to see you up and about," Eldon said. "I prayed for you. We all did."

  "Thanks, Eldon."

  "Coffee?" Linda offered him an aluminum cup.

  Leah looked up at him from her seated position. She seemed comfortable with Marcus's people. It was hard not to like Eldon, and Linda had taken to following his lead, so her crazed hysterics following the EMP had become muted. Leah seemed comfortable, sure, but she also didn't know these people or what they had done. He wanted to take her hand and take her away from this place, explain every sordid detail of Marcus and his people.

  All in due time, he promised himself. In due time.

  Leah patted the ground next to her. Smiled.

  He relented and sat down. "Sure, I'll have some coffee."

  Linda exhaled as if she'd been holding her breath and handed him the cup. Jason held the cup while she filled it from the blue tin coffeepot hanging over the fire. "Sorry there's no sugar."

  "Don't worry about it. This is spoiling me as it is."

  Linda smiled and returned her attention to the campfire and the large skillet full of potato wedges.

  "You're getting around better," Leah said.

  "Better than a corpse you mean? Sure, but not by much." He sipped his coffee and he could instantly feel his nerve endings come alive. He wanted this to be the worst moment in his life, that he could stoop no lower. Sleeping in the back of a truck, held captive by his crazy brother. Recovering from a near-fatal infection and emergency surgery performed by an unsanctioned doctor in the backwoods in the middle of nowhere. He wanted to believe this was his low point, but all he could think was this may very well be the best moment of his remaining life. Silent morning contemplation. Leah nearby. Leah, with her effusive charm and warm heart. The heat of the morning campfire chasing away the chill.

  "I know just what you're thinking," Leah said.

  He looked up from his coffee mug. "Really? I sure hope not."

  "You're thinking you want a big plate of breakfast but you don't want to be pushy."

  "You…" He paused. He could so easily crush her right now if he voiced his true feelings. "You are so totally right."

  "I thought so."

  Linda handed Leah a plate, and then ladled it high with potato wedges and pancakes.

  "We don't have much as far as condiments," Leah said.

  "Don't worry about it." Jason accepted the plate she held out for him. "This is just what I need."

  As Jason devoured his breakfast, the zipper for the yellow tent pulled wide and Mike crawled out. As he worked his stiff back into a somewhat straight line, Kat scampered out from inside the tent. It only took her a second or two to notice Jason, and then she made a beeline for him. As if reading her feline mind, Jason set his coffee and food aside before the goofy cat jumped up, fully expecting him to catch her. She landed lightly on his lap and meowed.

  Jason laughed, and he didn't care that it hurt. He didn't think he'd missed her, but his emotions suddenly came to the surface. When there had been no one else, when he nearly succumbed to madness, Kat had been there for him.

  "There you are," he said, getting choked up. "And where have you been, Miss Kattywampus?" He hugged her and stroked the full length of her back, and she immediately responded by leaning into him.

  "I guess we took a detour on our way to St. Louis," Mike said.

  "Yeah, I suppose almost dying counts as a detour."

  "It's been nice meeting you. If I find anything resembling something hopeful out St. Louis way, I'll make sure to come back and let you know."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Me and Aunt Cora, we're leaving after breakfast."

  "Why would you do that?" Jason said, but had a feeling he already knew the answer.

  "Marcus doesn't think we'd be welcome on the island. Said the others wouldn't understand taking in the feeble. Said it's for the best."

  "So, just like that, he's chasing you off?"

  Mike looked away, and when Jason tried to seek clarity from anyone else, no one would meet his gaze, even Leah.

  "Can I get you and your aunt some breakfast?" Linda asked.

  "Please," Mike said. "We have a long drive ahead of us."

  "This isn't over. I'll talk to him. This isn't right." The more Jason thought about it the more it angered him.

  "It's okay, Jason, really. Don't trouble yourself," Mike said. Linda handed him a mess plate laden with potatoes and then started loading up another serving for when Cora woke up.

  "No, it's not okay."

  "Good thinking, Linda," a voice called out from the distance. "Send them off on a full stomach. We're not animals, after all."

  Everyone watched Marcus approaching from the river. Delaney walked at his side, as always, slightly off his left shoulder.

  "You can't send them away," Jason said.

  Only Jason looked Marcus in the eye. "But I have to. It's for their own good. After two minutes on the island, they would know something isn't quite right with Cora. And do you know what they do to people exhibiting those kinds of frailties, brother?"

  "Educate me."

  "They send them down the river. Take that however you may, but it's never a happy ending."

  "And you think with those kinds of people that this is a good place for you to take us?"

  "I don't see how we have a choice. You're too weak to travel. We need to resupply, and as it stands, our overall group is weak. There's no way we could survive as constituted."

  "And what if I say no?"

  "Jason, Jason, Jason. It's like you don't even know me." Marcus kneeled down next to Leah. He curled a lock of her hair around his index finger and twirled it. "What leverage do you think I'd be willing to exert to convince you?"

  2.

  The morning fog had burned away by the time Mike and Cora sat inside Uncle Vince's Ford '40. The rest of the group was conveniently avoiding the departing truck by breaking down the campsite. Jason carried Kat in his arms as he approached the truck, alone.

  When Mike saw him he turned the ignition key and the truck started with a rumble.

  "I'm sorry about this," Jason said.

  "If you didn't come across Aunt Cora's farm, we'd probably still be back there, our food running low, with no truck to get us the heck out of there."

  "But you wouldn't be sent off alone. Not like this."

  "Are you sure you can't come along to the zoo?" Cora said from the passenger seat.

  "No, I'm afraid not, Cora," Jason said. "Turns out my little brother needs looking after."

  "Well, that's awful nice of you keeping an eye on family. After the zoo Vinny and I are getting ice cream sundaes at Glitterman's. Have you heard of it?"

  "No, ma'am, I haven't."

  "I tell you, if you ever get out to St. Louis, make sure you stop. They have forty-three flavors of ice cream. Can you believe it? Forty-three! And they have a whole counter with toppings. Sprinkles, hot fudge, pistachios, you name it."

  "That sounds great. Like heaven." Seeing how oblivious she was and how morose Mike had become, he felt like he was consigning them to a horrible fate. "Can you do me a favor, though?"

  "Sure, anything." Her green eyes gleamed.

  "Can you take Kat with you?"

  "Oh, Jason, we couldn't do that to you," Mike said.

  "I think she might be better off staying away from the island, too. I don't know what to expect there, and I know that Cora would be happy to look after her. Am I right, Cora?"

  "Oh, please, let me hold that sweet kitty!" Cora held out her arms, and when Jason lifted Kat to the window, she hesitated before leaping onto the seat and then the old lady's lap. Cora let out a whoop of joy that brought a sad smile to Jason's face.

  "You sure about that?" Mike asked.

  "It's probably for the best, all things considered. Plus, it'll give her something to focus on."

  "Yeah, you're probably right," Mike said, seeing how happy his aunt was.
He cleared his throat and then extended his hand.

  Jason shook it firmly. "I wish it wasn't like this."

  "I know. But it is what it is. And we pretty much have to accept the world as is, right?"

  "You two be careful."

  "We will. You too. Keep an eye on Leah. She's a keeper."

  Jason released his grip, patted the truck's flank, and took a step back. Mike waved good-bye as he drove the truck in a small circle until the truck's tires found a rough clearing that approximated a road. The tires kicked up dust, and the smell of gasoline filled the air; both mundane details had become rare occurrences in so short a time.

  He walked back to the group, trying not to admit to himself that he was an emotional wreck about letting Kat go with Mike and Cora.

  "Are you okay?" Leah touched the back of his hand, barely brushing her fingertips against his skin.

  He took her hand in his and squeezed. "I'll have to be."

  Since he was still so weak, the gear from his pack had been divided among everyone else. He felt like protesting, but there was no way he could carry much more than his own weight.

  Everyone was carrying their different burdens as they pushed through the pine boughs to a narrow strip of rocky shoreline. A rusted single-column trellis bridge, which looked like a remnant from the 1800s, spanned the river to the island at its center. No road, trail, or path led to the bridge. The woods grew to the edge of the water, and it appeared that the bridge had been set there at random, centuries ago, and left to nature. The river was much wider on the far side of the island, suitable for large ships to pass by.

  "It looks like soldiers wearing tri-corner hats and carrying muskets should be guarding the front gate," Eldon said.

  Marcus chuckled. "You're in the ballpark."

  "It looks like a castle," Linda said.

  "It's a frontier fort built by our French counterparts in the early 1700s."

  "The Arkadium had French members?" Jason asked, dumbfounded. "In the 1700s?"