The doctor shook her head.
“The ones that survived will tell the tale to others. I don’t think we’ll be bothered again. I hate to think about what would’ve happened if you hadn’t intervened. I remember the last time raiders ruled the town—the abuse, the destruction.”
The doctor shuddered.
“You saved us, Mayor Frausto.”
Lucia barely heard the doctor. The Specialist looked over at her IV drip. She was amazed the doctor still had saline.
“You should conserve these,” Lucia said, pulling the needle out of her arm. “I’ll be fine.”
Lucia smiled at the doctor—70% reassurance, 30% gratitude.
The doctor looked surprised, but didn’t try to stop her, watching as Lucia’s healing factor sealed the last of her wounds, then covered it with fresh skin.
“You can’t possibly be—” Doctor Olmstead began.
“I’m fine,” said Lucia. “The big guy didn’t have anything that could stop me. Now, I’m sure you have other patients to attend to. If you don’t, cut the generators. Yesterday, Greg said we were running low on fuel.”
Lucia got up and walked out the door, through the clinic, and onto the streets of Mankato. As she looked at her town, taking it all in under the midday sun, Lucia felt whole. She was happy to bury the Frost Dancer forever; she was content.
Sometimes, she thought, violence can be cathartic.
For the first time in years, she smiled for herself.
* * * * *
Philip S. Bolger Bio
Philip S. Bolger is an army veteran who left active duty service to work as a cog in the Military-Industrial Complex while pursuing his passion for writing. A Smile for Napalm is his inaugural entry into the Fallen World. In his free time, he enjoys history, wargames, and pen and paper RPGs, as well as a fascination with the collapse of civilization. He lives in the heart of Northern Virginia with his partner, Victoria, and their two dogs: Robert the Bruce and Francois Guizot. Write to him at: [email protected].
He also has a Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/philbolgerwrites/.
* * * * *
What Passes for Human by Joseph Capdepon, II
The creak of the wagon woke David from his sleep. He jerked up, the nightmare still fresh in his mind, his right hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of the machete he carried, his left reaching for the old rifle slung on the wagon. The nightmare was always the same. The bombs had dropped. He had gotten Alyssa out of the city, but instead of being able to keep her alive, he watched her die slowly as her implants failed her, and he could do nothing to save her. Every night for the last ten years, always the same. He watched as she wasted away, her body betraying her, killing her, and he was helpless, unable to save her.
He listened to the wagon creak and knew that Alyssa was awake as well. He shook off the nightmare and said a silent prayer that the day would go smoothly. The horses snorted and whinnied at him from where he’d picketed them the night before. He climbed to the top of the wagon and checked on the solar panels he’d installed there. Each one was functioning as it should, though the connections on one were looking as though he would have to replace them soon. He checked the readout, and it was putting out less voltage and amps than the others. Another thing he would add to the list of things they needed to watch for.
He lowered himself to the ground, and the door on the wagon opened. Alyssa smiled at him, her arms wrapped him into a tight hug, and she kissed him lightly on his cheek.
“Did you sleep well?” Alyssa asked.
“Did you?” David replied.
Alyssa said, a slight smile on her face, “I asked first.”
“As well as any other night my love,” David said. He pulled the feed for the horses from its compartment on the wagon.
“The nightmare?” Alyssa asked.
“Same as always.” David walked over to the horses, set the feed bags on the ground, and began to inspect each horse. The two larger horses snorted at him as he checked their hooves, legs, and every other part of them. Alyssa laughed as the smaller dappled mare she sometimes rode nuzzled her, almost knocking her off her feet.
“Alright, alright.” Alyssa giggled. “I’ll get the brush.”
David smiled at his wife and finished with the two larger horses. He strapped the feed bags on them. They noisily gobbled the oats and other goodies David had mixed for them. He joined his wife and began to inspect the mare’s hooves.
“We might push them today,” David said. “We are only about eighty miles from that facility at Lake Brownwood. If it is still there, I can probably fix that issue you’ve been having with your leg.”
“If you think that is best,” Alyssa said. “Though my leg has been fine the last few days.”
“It wasn’t fine two days ago when we went through the outskirts of Waco,” David said. “We can’t afford for that to happen again.”
They finished their morning chores, hooked the horses up to the wagon, and rolled out. After almost twenty years, David could not get used to the absence of the sounds of civilization—the hum of motors, the drone of aircraft overhead, the background buzz of electricity. The ruined homes and businesses that dotted the landscape of Texas were a depressing sight.
Around noon, they pulled their wagon into a shaded area next to a small creek. David climbed down off the wagon and stretched, his body sore from the hours of riding. Alyssa ducked into the back of the wagon and returned with a basket. She reached into it and removed a packet that she tossed down to her husband.
“Lunch time,” Alyssa said cheerily.
David opened the packet and grimaced.
“You’re the only woman I know that can be happy about eating who knows how old survival rations,” David said.
“It’s better than going hungry, dear,” Alyssa quipped.
They’d found a cache of survival gear and food beneath the lake house of some corporate lawyer David had known. The house above looked as though a major battle had been fought inside. Collapsed and bullet-riddled walls, scorch marks, and on the second floor, the decomposed bodies of the lawyer and the men who had attacked him. Alyssa had wanted to bury the corpses, at least the corpse of the lawyer, but David had said to leave them be. They traded some of the rations, over the years, for things they needed, or fresh produce, or on a few occasions, a piece of technology David could use to keep Alyssa alive.
“It’s hard to argue with your logic,” David said between bites. The mare whinnied and David turned around and saw two men step out of the woods. Both were dressed in ragged clothes that had probably been washed the last time it rained.
“What can I do for you gentlemen?” David asked.
The two men created distance between themselves as they advanced towards the wagon.
“Gentlemen,” one said mockingly. “That’s some fancy talk there. You gonna give us that wagon, them horses, and that woman, and we won’t kill you.” The other laughed and produced a large knife from his dingy clothing.
“Living in a post-apocalyptic landscape does not give you a valid reason to prey upon your fellow human beings,” David said. “The world is a hard place, and scum like you make it harder.”
The two men stopped, surprised by David’s outburst. They both started to laugh.
“You’re a funny guy,” the one with the knife said. “Might take you back to camp and have some fun with you.”
They began to walk forward again, and from above David, the rifle roared. While they were distracted by David, Alyssa and drawn the hidden rifle. The one with the knife collapsed to the ground, the .30-.06 round punching a large hole through the bandit’s lower jaw. The other bandit began to turn, but a knife thrown by David slammed into his neck. His hands reached up to clutch the blade as blood spurted from the wound.
David walked over to the dying man and yanked the knife from his neck.
“We would have shared some of our food with you,” David said sadly. David stood over the dying man
and stared into his eyes. “All you had to do was ask nicely, but your kind can never ask nicely. You must always take from others.”
David checked the now-dead man for anything they could use, but all he had on him was a rusty knife and a faded picture of a naked woman. He moved over to the one Alyssa had shot and searched him as well, but again found nothing but a rusty knife.
“Do you think they were alone?” Alyssa asked.
“I don’t want to find out,” David said. He climbed back into the seat. “Take the reins and get us out of here. Hand me that rifle.” Alyssa handed him the weapon and grabbed the reins. She clucked her tongue, and the wagon began to move. David crouched on the top, trying to watch every direction at once. He did not relax until they were a few miles down the road.
“Do you think things will ever get better?” Alyssa asked David after they had settled down for the night.
“I don’t know,” David said. “Civilization has always been paper thin for humans. We’ve always been on the edge of barbarism. I like to think we will find our way out of this, but I really don’t know.”
“I think I miss air conditioning the most,” Alyssa mused. “I’d really like to have air conditioning again, and toilet paper. I think I miss those two things the most.”
“A roll of toilet paper would be great,” David agreed. “Remember when we found that box of it?”
“My butt felt great for three months,” Alyssa said wistfully. “Should have saved a few rolls for special occasions.”
“There are a lot of things we should have done,” David said.
Alyssa grabbed his hand and squeezed.
“No use living in the past,” Alyssa said. “It is dead. We are both alive, and that is what matters most.”
David sighed, brought his wife’s hand to his lips, and gently kissed it.
“You are, and always have been, my rock,” he said. “Go to sleep. We should arrive at the Brownwood facility tomorrow, before nightfall, hopefully.”
The next day dawned with a line of dark, angry clouds on the horizon. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning flashed in the clouds.
“I’m not a big fan of those clouds,” David said. “Not sure if we should batten down and ride it out or ride through it.”
“How far are we from the facility?” Alyssa asked.
“Maybe two hours,” David said.
“Let’s go,” Alyssa replied.
They pushed on, and the storm reached them. The wind picked up, gusts that shook the wagon. The horses whinnied, but a firm hand from David kept them from bolting. The rain started, light at first, then in great sheets, falling from the sky, obscuring everything. David scrambled to protect the solar panels on the roof of the wagon as hail began to fall. Golf ball-sized pieces of ice pelted him as he secured the protective covers he had made for his precious solar panels.
“Don’t stop!” David shouted from the top of the wagon. He whooped and screamed at the sky, mad cackles of laughter erupting from him. Alyssa screamed with him, both momentarily caught in a moment of pure insanity as the storm raged around them. Soon, the rain started to slacken, and the wind began to die down. David climbed down and sat next to his wife, both soaked through.
“I haven’t felt that alive in a long time,” Alyssa remarked. “Also, I’m pretty sure we drove through a tornado.”
“Tornado huh?” David mused. “That would have been a hell of a way to go. Probably cleaner than how we will die.”
“You don’t have to be so negative all the time,” Alyssa said.
“I’m not negative, my love,” David replied. “I’m realistic. I don’t know how I’ve managed to keep us alive this long. Every day we are on this side of the dirt, I consider a win.”
David stood up and looked around. The heavily overgrown roadway they were following stretched off into the rising mist as the sun beat down on them from the clearing sky. He motioned for Alyssa to stop the horses and hopped to the ground.
“There should be a turn off somewhere around here,” David said. “It turns off, there is a gate, then a long driveway before you reach the facility. I don’t think we passed it. Shit!”
Alyssa watched David as he took a machete and started trudging along.
“Want me to follow?” Alyssa called to him.
“No, give me a minute,” David grumbled.
He walked a few hundred yards down the road and Alyssa saw him start to attack the underbrush and foliage. She picked up the reins, clicked her tongue, and the horses pulled the wagon forward. She pulled them to a stop as they came up next to a sweating, cursing David.
“I assume you found it?” Alyssa asked sweetly.
David paused from murdering the greenery around him and glared at his wife.
“Want to help, or are you going to watch me clear this path for the horses and wagon?” David asked.
Alyssa leaned back, a small smile on her face. “I’m enjoying the show,” she said, her voice a soft purr.
“Don’t you start,” David said. He wiped sweat from his face and smiled at his wife. “We’ve got a lot to clear if we want to get there before nightfall.”
“The facility is not going anywhere, David,” Alyssa said. She let the skirt she was wearing slip to the ground. “Plus, we really need to let these clothes dry.”
David smiled at his now-naked wife, looked back at the wall of greenery, back at his naked wife, and dropped the machete.
“Can’t argue with that,” David said and took his wife in his arms.
Later, David extricated himself from the tangle of sheets and his wife’s limbs, and quietly exited the wagon. He stretched and looked up at the night sky. An immense field of stars blazed overhead, a sight that still took his breath away now that there was not any light pollution from the metropolises. The night was alive with the sounds of insects, the calls of mating frogs, and in the distance, the sad, haunting cry of a coyote. He walked over to the horses and gently stroked each one’s neck, while checking that their leads were secure for the night.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting tired of being on the road,” David mumbled to the horses. “Don’t really know how much longer I can keep going.”
The mare nuzzled him and whinnied softly. He wrapped his arms around her neck, scratching her behind the ears.
“I know, girl,” David said soothingly. “You should get some rest tomorrow.”
He made his way back to the wagon and climbed onto the roof. He lay back and watched the stars.
* * *
Alyssa poured the bucket of water over David, eliciting a yelp of surprise.
“Are you trying to kill me, woman?” David exclaimed.
Alyssa dropped the bucket and laughed.
“I must have worn you out old man,” Alyssa teased. “You were snoring so loudly, I’m pretty sure bandits heard you in their camps, miles away.”
David grumbled and pushed himself to his feet.
“Now I have to change clothes,” David said.
“Should have slept naked,” Alyssa replied.
“And have the mosquitoes carry me off?”
“Maybe if you actually slept in the wagon instead of on the ground or on top of it,” Alyssa said, “you wouldn’t have to worry about the mosquitoes.”
They had the path cleared by mid-morning, and David maneuvered the wagon through the hole in the foliage. It took some doing, but they managed to get the gate open with the liberal use of foul language and a lever. Down the overgrown driveway, the horses pulled the wagon and its occupants. The long driveway ended in a clearing. The rusted, decaying corpse of some vehicle, a small tree growing from it, sat to one side of the entrance to the facility. The entrance was overgrown with vines, weeds, grass, and all other manner of vegetation. David handed the reins to Alyssa and hopped to the ground. He removed the rifle from its place and pocketed two of the compact magazines for it.
“Stay here,” David said.
“Where else would I go?”
Alyssa quipped.
David approached the entrance slowly, his rifle at the low ready. A rabbit darted out of the grass and rocketed past him. David stumbled backward and almost dropped the rifle.
“Damn it!” David shouted.
“What is it?” Alyssa called, alarmed.
“Nothing dangerous,” David said. “Unless you’re one of Arthur’s knights.”
“You know I don’t get that old pop culture stuff,” Alyssa said.
“It was a rabbit,” David said. “A damn rabbit startled me.”
“So, is it safe for me to come down, or is it going to explode or something?” Alyssa asked.
“I’m pretty sure rabbits don’t explode, but I can’t really be sure what the Corporation was cooking up, out here, before the bombs dropped,” David said.
“I wasn’t talking about the rabbit, but now I’m not really sure I want to join you,” Alyssa said.
“I’m kidding,” David joked. “Mostly. Let me see if I can get it open.”
David let the rifle hang and took his machete to the overgrown entrance. In a short time, he had the grass and weeds hacked away. A dull grey metal door was recessed into poured concrete, a keypad and palm reader next to it. David walked up to the keypad and entered a code. Minutes passed, then a light came on over the door. The keypad beeped twice.
“Please place your right hand on the reader and input your authorization code,” a synthesized female voice said.
David followed the directions, and the door opened with a hiss and a puff of cool, antiseptic air.
“Welcome to the Lake Brownwood Research and Development Facility, Dr. David Navarez,” the female voice said.
David stepped out of the shadow of the entrance and waved to his wife. Alyssa jumped down from the wagon and joined her husband.
“It still has power?” Alyssa asked, amazed.
“I’m kind of surprised as well,” David said. “Though they had some of these places running on buried power sources that could keep them going for decades, all of it automated. For the kinds of research they were doing, they needed lots of juice, and that was the best way to achieve it.”
From the Ashes Page 18