Primal Shift: Volume 2 (A Post Apocalyptic Thriller)

by Griffin Hayes

  “Tell me you’re still going to destroy that pulse wave,” Finn said, with a pleading quality to his voice. He could already see Joanne waving him over. “I just hope Nikki or Aiden weren’t hurt in all of this.”

  “Me, too,” Dana said. “We’ll escape as soon as we can. By the time you guys are done scuttling that sub, the first of those old memories should start trickling back.”

  A thought that for Finn wasn’t entirely pleasant. “I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t worried destroying that place might bring back my old memories while erasing all the new ones I’ve made since The Shift.”

  Dana seemed to consider this, but there was something else on her mind, he could tell.

  “I know what you’re gonna say,” he told her. “It’s about coming back.”

  She nodded. “If Larry’s still around, you won’t be able to. Destroying that lab won’t have an effect on the cult members since they were shielded from the effects of The Shift.”

  He hugged her goodbye and shook Tanner’s hand, before he turned to get into the driver’s seat.

  “Be careful,” Dana called out after him.

  Finn laughed. “I’m still waiting for my shit luck to run out. Maybe today’s that day.”

  He watched Dana and Tanner move away as he considered the best way to do this.

  “Any suggestions?” he asked, the others crouched in the back.

  “Ain’t no one gonna open that gate but us,” Kulik rightly observed.

  “So, we ram it?” And as Finn said the words, Joanne began doing up her seat belt.

  Zhou shrugged. “No other choice. Just remember, Finn, once you turn that engine on, you’ll need to whip around and punch that gas pedal.”

  Finn paused with his hand on the ignition. It wasn’t only that he was worried they were about to get shot from those towers or somehow go careening off the bridge. His real concern was how little they’d been able to prep for the long journey they were embarking on. Even in the old days, Salt Lake City to San Diego wasn’t a short trip. They’d need to scrounge along the way and hope for the best.

  “Everyone ready?” he called out. “Buckle up, kids, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”

  Finn turned the ignition, and the engine roared to life. He slid the Escalade into reverse and hit the pedal. Tuffs of grass were tossed into the air as the car shot back. Finn then cut the wheel, and the Escalade whipped around. Like a well-practiced ballet, he threw the SUV into drive and sank his foot to the floorboard, pushing them back in their seats. Most of Larry’s militia had already disappeared into Tent City. Finn could see the remaining guards in the towers, starting to react as they sped closer. The speedometer climbed past 60 as a militiaman on the ground sprang out of the way.

  “Hold on!” Finn shouted.

  The Escalade collided with the gate, doing 70, shots kicking up puffs of dirt all around them. The truck bounced and bucked before he realized they’d sliced right through it. So much for security. From there, they continued to pick up speed as bullets rang off the bridge’s steel girder. It was acting as a kind of shield as they rocketed away. A few seconds later, the gunfire was behind them, and Finn was checking that Joanne and the others hadn’t been hit.

  “Now, let’s hope we make it there before Larry figures out where we’re headed and tries to cut us off,” Zhou said.

  The words were barely out of his mouth when Finn spotted something up ahead. He eased off the gas. Cars, dozens of them, three or four deep, blocking the road.

  “Who are they?” Joanne asked.

  “Wipers,” Finn managed to say before bullets struck the hood. One went through the windshield and up through the roof. Finn tried to regain control and realized they’d shot the front left tire out. The Escalade swerved off the road and turned over twice in the ditch landing right side up. Blood was running down the side of Joanne’s face where her head had struck the passenger window. The three in the back were in no better shape. White smoke rose up from the hood.

  That’s when the tap at the window came. Metal on glass.

  Tink, tink, tink ...

  Jeffereys was knocking with the barrel of his Desert Eagle. Behind him was a bristling wall of guns, all aimed at them.

  Larry

  To say that Aiden and Nikki were the only things on Larry’s mind right now wasn’t too far from the truth. After his men had managed to quell the attempted revolt, he knew it was simply a question of time before they showed up. The only ones to breach the wall and escape had been driving an Escalade and he didn’t think either of the children was on board.

  Donavan and a handful of armed men were at Larry’s side as they crossed the gravel road that cut the colony in two. They were heading for Tent City, the place he was sure they’d find the kids.

  Dead bodies littered New Jamestown. Some of them were his men, but most were colonists caught out in the open when the bullets started to fly. They would need to be disposed of quickly, before the stink set in, although at this point it probably didn’t matter, not with what Larry had in store.

  He was quite certain getting his hands on that sub would help to solidify his power in the same way he was certain those two kids didn’t realize the potential locked within them. One was useless without the other, but together, Larry could use the knowledge hidden in Aiden’s mind to rebuild the world in whatever way he saw fit. Then, when he grew weary of making people suffer, he would end it all in a cataclysm of fire.

  They were approaching Tent City when the satellite phone on Larry’s belt buzzed.

  “Alvarez, come in.” The voice said. It was Jeffereys.

  Larry snatched the phone with annoyance. “Alvarez is gone, you buffoon,” he said, touching the scar on his cheek with the pads of his fingers. “If you received my letter then you should know that.”

  “My apologies, won’t happen again, Boss. Listen, those birds of yours who flew the coop ... ”

  “Yes, what about them?” Larry said impatiently. “Are they dead?”

  “No, better than that. They’re alive and kicking, and here’s the best part. We got the captain of that sub and his XO.”

  “Excellent. Hold them till we get there.”

  Larry’s first stop after speaking with Jeffereys was the medical tent. There were still a handful of patients lying there, many of whom were wounded during the attack on the Grand America and some of whom had been hit again in the present skirmish. He stopped before the bed of a man named Russell. The same one who’d helped Carole escape. After being wounded in the chest, nurse Kim had been forced to periodically remove fluid from his lungs. That made it hard for Russell to breathe and speak, but Larry was sure the man would be willing to share what he knew.

  “I know this was where my men were attacked,” Larry told him. “So, you must have seen it happen and heard what they said afterward.”

  Russell glared at him defiantly without saying a word.

  Larry took in a deep breath. “I understand you worked the boiler room at the Grand America.”

  “I did,” he wheezed, softening slightly. “Sixteen years I kept her running.”

  “Spent a lot of time by yourself down there, I take it.”

  Russell puffed up his chest. “Any company is bad company, as far as I’m concerned.”

  “And with all that time to think,” Larry said, checking his fingernails. “At some point you must have asked yourself the big questions.”

  Russell stared up at him, blank faced.

  “What happens when we die? You ever get to that one? It’s pretty high up on the list, I would think. Far beyond, why am I stuck working this soul-numbing job, right?”

  Russell almost smiled, but didn’t. “I s’ppose.”

  “Here’s my problem, Russell. Those people who killed my men, I need to know who they were and what they’re up to, but more than that, I need your help to find two kids who are hiding from me. Aiden and Nikki. Guy like you laying around all day with nothing to do but listen to other people talk, yo
u must have heard something?”

  Russell started to shake his head.

  “Think carefully, Russell. Think very carefully before you speak.” Larry brought out a pistol from his jacket pocket. “Because if you can’t give me what I need, then I’m gonna give you the answer to those big questions you always asked yourself.”

  “Even if I knew I wouldn’t tell a grimy fuck like you,” Russell said, grinning contentedly.

  “That’s too bad,” Larry said before putting the pistol to his head and pulling the trigger. He turned to one of the militia. “Turn this place upside down if you need to, but I want those kids.”

  “Will do,” the man said.

  Larry motioned to Donavan. “Come, we’ve got a sub to catch.”

  A few minutes later, they’d left New Jamestown and were pulling up to the road block. Larry had ordered Jeffereys to assemble all the remaining Wipers and use them to block every major road in and out of New Jamestown. He couldn’t take the risk that either of those kids managed to escape the colony.

  Finn, Joanne, and the three submariners were tied in the back of a suburban.

  Jeffereys approached him, squinting, cautious. “Alvar – I mean, Larry?”

  “Yes, it’s me,” Larry replied, climbing behind the wheel of the suburban. “Hold your men here and await further instructions. No one is to come or go. Understood?”

  Jeffereys nodded.

  Larry pulled out, and three cars filled with Wipers followed him. They were heading for San Diego and the USS Alabama. But more than that, they were heading toward a new world order. One that would begin with New Jamestown and the intercontinental ballistic missile that he would send to destroy it.

  Dana

  “Quiet down,” Dana said. “Someone’s coming.”

  Fear swept over Nikki’s soft features. Aiden was huddled next to her, looking equally terrified. Only Bud was stoic, a Glock resting in his lap.

  They were in the gymnasium, holed up inside a manmade cave carved from the pallets of canned goods. A feeling very much like hiding between the isles of a Costco store.

  After Finn and company had blasted through the front gate, Dana had gone looking for the kids. She’d found them hiding under a bunk in one of tents, clinging to one another and trying to avoid the militia they knew was after them. If they wanted any hope of finding and destroying the lab with the low-frequency pulse generator suppressing people’s memories, she would need Nikki and Aiden’s help to do it. That Larry would want the kids for his own twisted purposes was an idea that had certainly occurred to her on more than one occasion, especially after reading through Abigail’s notebook. The scriptures spoke of how they would usher in a New Age, presumably of peace and enlightenment, but Dana knew just as well that the children’s powers could also resurrect all the doomsday weapons that had brought them down this path in the first place.

  Since Dana and Bud had snuck them into the gymnasium, no fewer than a half dozen militia had come by to grab food. She’d expected that, no doubt, but she’d also figured this would be the last place they’d expect to find them.

  Bursts of gunfire still echoed here and there. Enough to know they weren’t gun battles at all, but executions. New Jamestown was quickly being transformed from a well-protected sanctuary into a concentration camp.

  Eying the culties gathering food, Bud pulled the hammer back on his Glock. Dana laid a hand on the pistol.

  “Only if they see us,” she whispered.

  The two cult members continued rummaging through cans, filling bags until they looked nearly ready to burst.

  “And how long do you intend we stay here?” he asked.

  It was a good point. “Until the sun goes down and we can make a break for it.”

  Nikki put her arm around Aiden and pulled him close to her.

  “So, you’ve already got the C4 from your trailer?”

  She didn’t, and it must have showed on her face. Getting to the trailer without being seen would be tough. But without the explosives there might not be a way of destroying the signal. She looked up and saw the two cult members were gone. Now they would have to keep out of sight and wait for early dawn. After that, all of them would need as much courage as they could summon and a heavy dose of luck.

  Larry

  The sun hadn’t come up yet when the convoy rolled through San Diego and reached Point Loma Naval Base. They’d driven through the night, stopping only occasionally to refuel. As per the instructions he’d given Jeffereys, a Plymouth van in the rear had been filled with gas cans, acting as a mobile Exxon station.

  They were heading south on Catalina Road now, past check points devoid of any signs of life. Finn, Commander Zhou, and the other three were still tied, blindfolded, and gagged. They’d been thrown into the back like old luggage, and Donavan had stayed awake in the back seat all night, watching them for any signs of mischief.

  “Wake Zhou up,” Larry told Donavan.

  Donavan reached over the back seat and shook the commander, removing his blindfold and gag.

  “Where’s the Alabama?” Larry asked without taking his eyes off the road.

  Donavan’s pistol was aimed at Zhou’s forehead.

  “Take a left on Rosecrants.”

  Larry did. On their right was a rolling hill covered with yellowing sagebrush. On their left, a concrete pier with the conning tower of a giant submarine peaking up above the waterline. Larry felt the edges of his mouth curl into a grin. Opening the window, he drew in a lungful of salty air.

  “You recognize that smell, Donavan?”

  Donavan tweaked his nose. “Salt water?”

  Larry cackled laughter. “No, it’s the smell of victory.”

  He turned the suburban onto the pier and drove up as far as it would go. “Hand me that satellite phone would you?”

  Donavan did as he was told, and Larry held it to his mouth and depressed the button. “Jeffereys, come in,” he said and felt a surge of impatience bubbling in his guts when there was no immediate reply. “Jeffereys, are you there?”

  A crackle, then: “I’m here, Boss.” He sounded like he’d been sleeping.

  “We’ve reached the sub. It’s time you took the men into New Jamestown and brought me Nikki and Aiden.”

  “Roger that. What about the others?”

  “Ignore them, they’ll all be dead soon enough.”

  Dana

  Dana came awake with a start. She’d been having an awful dream about Jeffereys. He had her tied in that basement again, huddled with other women he’d kidnapped. The sound of his boots clanking down the old wooden stairs was the first sign of trouble, and she knew he was about to do horrible things to her. Jeffereys’ rat face and slicked-back hair were barely coming into focus when Dana’s eyes snapped open. Bud was beside her, sleeping soundly. She sat next to him, trying to catch her breath, unable to keep from admiring his rugged good looks. His strong, wiry body and manly jaw, along with that dollop of fire-red hair on his head. Reluctantly, she nudged him awake. His eyes opened, and he smiled when he saw her.

  The sun wasn’t up just yet, which meant this was the perfect opportunity to get what they needed before making a break for the lab they hoped would hold the answer to undoing the devastation caused by The Shift.

  The gymnasium was deathly quiet as the four of them crept out from behind crates loaded with canned good and boxes of dried pasta. Slung over Bud’s shoulder next to his rifle was a backpack he’d filled with the supplies they would need for the voyage ahead. Definitely one of the benefits of hiding inside the colony’s food reserves.

  Once outside, they made their way to Lou’s battle wagon in the parking area. Dana handed him the spark plugs he would need.

  “You’ll need to make sure the gas tank is full.” She began moving away.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “You don’t expect that pulse to go boom all by itself, do you?” she asked, with a wry smile.

  “Just be careful,” Bud told her.


  As she crept into Tent City, Dana could see the guards in the towers, pacing back and forth. She clutched the AR-15 till her knuckles turned white, praying she wouldn’t need to use it. The second danger she faced, heading to grab the C4 in the police trailer, was bumping into guards making the rounds. She would need to be quick and above all, quiet. Two things that didn’t normally go hand in hand.

  Weaving between the tents, Dana caught the frightened stare from more than one colonist, peering out at her from their bunks. Eventually, Larry’s men had regained control and conducted a vicious bout of reprisal executions to solidify their hold on New Jamestown. Those who’d survived were doing the best could to avoid bringing attention to themselves.

  Soon, Dana came to the edge of Tent City and the row of trailers that lined the dirt road. She needed to run out in the open and make it inside what used to be her police headquarters without being seen. Her heart was hammering in her chest, forcing her to draw deeper and deeper breaths of air.

  Get it together, Girl, you got one shot at this.

  She took a final furtive glance before moving out. Her eyes focused solely on the trailer door. If she could just make it there, she’d be OK. A group of three men milling near the gate made her freeze with fear. Had they seen her? She stared for an agonizing moment, unable to confirm or deny the terror mounting within her. But their relaxed manner gave Dana the answer she was hoping for. She reached the trailer and was inside a second later, searching around in the dark to find her desk. Most of her stuff hadn’t been touched after Larry stripped her and her deputies of their authority.

  She fumbled the keys out of her pocket and used them to open the drawer. Inside was the silver case. All she needed to do now was get it back to Bud.

  But what of the people you’re leaving behind?

  That little voice inside her head was at it again. Still, she knew exactly who it was referring to. Lou, Ethan, and Tanner, among many others. With the way things were going, New Jamestown was quickly becoming the New Auschwitz. There would be room to take them, that wasn’t the problem, but it would mean finding them first.