It’s Not Easy Making Money In The Apocalypse

Looking up at the dark figure overhead, I realized that we had no choice but to help her. It wasn’t like I was heartless. I probably would have helped her willingly if Raven hadn’t spoken up first. I had seen the food that the mutants ate when we took over the hospital. There were parts of humans in there. This girl was likely just some living food that was kept for later. Knowing she was cut up and eaten by monsters was the kind of thing that would weigh on my conscience.

“You’re threatening us?” Raven raised her weapon angrily. “Do you want to die?”

“Put your gun down.” I sighed. “She’s going to die even if we don’t help her. Being shot by us would be a mercy compared to the fate awaiting her, don’t you think?”

The girl above looked over at me, and although I couldn’t see her face, I felt like she was smirking slightly. Raven shot me a surprised look, and then lowered her gun and her head. Raven was impulsive, but she wouldn’t have survived all of these years in the wasteland and even acted as the leader of a raider gang without being intelligent enough to understand the situation when it was pointed out to her. She was just a bit embarrassed she had overreacted.

“Even so, how are we supposed to help her?”

“I’m fine helping you, but I don’t have any tools to cut through those bars,” I explained.

I once had a dagger that included a laser blade, but that had been taken from me when I was captured by the Ascension raiders during the raider meet. I should have left my weapons in my digitizer. Then, I could have brought them out and used them to cut my way out of my restraints, but I had been foolish back then. I was lying a little bit though. I did have a hacksaw and a bolt cutter. The bolt cutter couldn’t get through those bars though, and the hacksaw would create far too much noise. Thus, rather than putting us in a situation where we were in danger, I decided to ignore those options for the moment.

The girl in the shadows stared at me a moment before speaking. “This cage is against a sealed building. The beasts have never managed to get inside it as it’s locked up tight. However, there is a small window just above my cage that you might be able to fit through. If you go through that door, you should be able to get up to my level and go through the window.”

“You want us to come out there?” Raven snorted. “That’s death.”

“I’ll go.” I declared. “You can stay behind and cover me.”

Raven gave me a shocked look, but she didn’t argue with me. Rather, her face turned red and she looked even shyer. It wasn’t like I was trying to be brave. I had several doses of Stealthco left, and I didn’t want to waste more doses. It should be possible to slip outside under the cover of darkness with a Stealthco active without being seen. If I created a distraction, I could cut her lock with the bolt cutters and we could escape before they even realized what happened. Well, it would probably work.

“Alright, but I’m only giving you ten minutes.” She responded. “If I don’t see you in ten minutes, then I’ll cry out and tell them where you are.”

I nodded. “Alright, but none of that matters if you don’t help us now. This door is mechanical, and it’s probably going to make noise when I open it. You need to be my distraction.”

Once again, she stared silently for a bit before finally giving a nod. “Fine. On three.”

I nodded as well, putting my hands on the door, and preparing to open it with all of my strength.

“One.” I started. “Two. Three!”

“Hey! Help! Let me go! Please! Don’t eat me. Don’t eat me!” I could hear the girl suddenly kicking up a fuss, yelling and hitting the bars, trying her best to cover up the sound of us below.

I immediately started trying to turn the large metal latch. Raven quickly grabbed it too, but it didn’t budge at all.

“Hey! Shut up! Freak!” One of the beasts shouted in a coarse voice.

The girl looked down at us, and seeing we were still there, kept screaming. I could hear the beasts coming. I had a feeling if we weren’t through that door by the time they reached her cage, she’d sell us out to try to protect herself from repercussions. That was when there was a creak, and the handle gave way and turned with a thudding sound. The pair of us didn’t wait to see what would happen. We dived into the room and shut the door, relatching it.

I turned and listened at the door, but it was too thick and I couldn’t hear anything but faint murmurs. Letting out a sigh, I turned on my Perco and lifted it, only to jump back as a skeleton appeared in my face. I stumbled back into the door, barely keeping myself from letting out a shout. Raven had seen the skeleton too, but she only raised an eyebrow at me.

“It’s just a dead person.” She responded as she looked down at me, before shaking her head. “Freaking colonists.”

Those who grew up in the wasteland saw bodies all the time. I had seen a few since coming there, but it had always been at a distance. I had never seen one up close. This guy appeared to be sitting in a chair. He was also wearing military garb of some sort. I’d need to ask Cecelia to be certain what rank he was. Raven immediately started patting the skeleton down.

“Hey! What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Seeing if he has anything of value on him.” She responded flippantly. “Why?”

I opened my mouth, but then decided not to say anything and let her be. These were instincts bred from a lifetime of being in this world. I didn’t have the right to call her out on it. I walked past her, looking around with my flashlight. We appeared to be in a small, underground bunker. There was a row of bunk beds, all filthy and degraded with time. The place had an old, leathery smell to it that wasn’t pleasant to my nose. Each bed seemed to contain a nightstand and a footlocker. I started to check them one at a time, but all I could find were pieces of cloth that used to be uniforms.

“There was a military presence at this hospital,” I observed. “This must be some kind of guard building.”

“What were they guarding?” Raven asked absently.

“It wasn’t just patients,” I predicted.

I had always found it odd that the hospital was so heavily guarded. When I noticed the mall was just as heavily guarded, I had thought that it was just the way of things in this alternative world, but I still had my doubts. The main thing that caught me off guard was that the hospital was so large. I had a rough idea of the size of this city, and the hospital felt about twice the size as what was needed. Well, that was merely my thoughts, but it still left me curious.

At that moment, I opened a draw with a notepad in it. I pulled it out of the drawer and shone my light down on it, I found that someone had scribbled a letter.

Dear Kim,

The contagion is spreading faster than anyone could predict. Already, people are falling dead in the streets, and rising back up. I’m stuck at the hospital under General Strat. He’s already shown he will execute any deserters, so I dare not try to leave to come find you. It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t even know why we’re here. We aren’t even helping with slowing the spread. We have some other purpose in being here, but the soldiers are being left in the dark.

There is something strange going on under the hospital. They have us capturing infected. They are brought through a hidden set of doors, and once they go down, they are brought back up. Even our presence in the hospital is a secret. We rely on an underground network and remain in our barracks or the tunnels every day. It’s only a matter of time before the cities are lost. My unit should be evacuated by helicopter before the hospital falls, but I’m more worried about you and our new baby.

I’ve managed to get my hands on a colony token. I swiped it off one of the infected we captured. It will provide you with an entry into the Nove colony just outside of town. Any woman with a child under ten is allowed to bring the child in. That means the token has more value for you than me. Please, if you get this package, get there as quickly as possible before they shut their doors permanently. I’ll be fine. The military takes care of their own, but this is all I can do for you and the baby. I’m so sorry.

Take care of our baby.

Love,

John

The letter was written frantically, but it was clear by the letter’s location that this John had never managed to send that package. His girlfriend and the baby were long dead now. That was when I noticed something sitting in the drawer which had been sitting under the notepad. It was a small electronic disk. It must be the entry token to the Nove Colony. Part of me wondered if it still worked.