Countdown: The Wasteland Chronicles Book One Page 5

  Rebecca rolled her eyes and stood up. She grabbed her jeans from the floor and started to pull them on.

  “Yeah, well I gotta get to work. Neil should be back today and I’m opening.”

  “I’ll drop you off,” Lenny replied sheepishly.

  He stood up and darted off to the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he leaned over the sink and doused his face with water. He stared into the mirror and watched the water drip down the stubble on his chin. He ran his fingers through his slowly graying hair and wondered why so many sorority girls were eager to fill his bed.

  “I’m gonna be late!” Rebecca yelled as she banged at the door.

  “Calm down. I’m coming!” Lenny yelled back.

  Grabbing a towel, he dried his face then walked out of the bathroom. Rebecca was standing at the front door tapping her shoe.

  “What’s with you?” Lenny asked as he brushed past her.

  “Honestly, I was half hoping something would happen. You know, with all the talk on the news about end of days and shit. And then the whole Iran thing.”

  Lenny sighed and shook his head at her. “Well don’t get too optimistic, the days not over yet.”

  Rebecca smiled at him, obviously missing the sarcasm in his statement. Grinning, she followed him outside and jumped into the passenger seat.

  “So what’s with the trailer back here in the boonies with the electric fence?” She looked at Lenny with a funny eye and pulled the seatbelt over her shoulders.

  “I really like my trailer,” Lenny responded then cranked up the Suburban and headed down the driveway. “No one fucks with a guy in a trailer.”

  “You could at least get a nicer--”

  “Shh!” Lenny cut her off as he turned up the radio.

  There were two loud beeps and then a loud static noise. The radio hissed and popped, but nothing audible came through the speakers.

  “Same shit as earlier!” Lenny griped and shut it off.

  “Well, maybe the world is ending.”

  Lenny cut his eyes at her then turned onto the main road. Rebecca didn’t say another word the entire ride. She stared out of the window and hummed until they pulled up to the feed store.

  “Give me a call later, if you wanna do this again,” she said and smiled. “That is, if you don’t die. End of the world and all.”

  December 22, 2012

  Lenny awoke in a sweat. He sat up in bed and glanced around the room. A hazy light shined through the dust covered window. The television was off, the ceiling fan sat idly, with dust hanging from the blades.

  Lenny looked to his alarm clock. The power was out on that too. He scratched his head and stood up. Squinting, he stumbled towards the front door and yanked it open. Light flooded in and a gust of wind blew him backwards and he fell to the floor.

  “What the fuck?” Lenny stammered as he stood back up.

  Cautiously, he walked outside. He was barefoot, wearing nothing but a pair of Christmas boxers. There was an amber glow to everything and thick clouds blanketed the sky. He shuddered and looked up at the sound of a helicopter flying overhead.

  His mouth hung open as he tried to soak in what he was seeing. Dark gray smoke plumed in the distance. The air shook with explosions and the cracking of gun fire drifted to his ears like the cries of a long lost love.

  Lenny lived in a pretty isolated area, but as he looked out past his fence people were everywhere. Hordes of confused and injured people stumbled outside of his gate. Some kept walking down the street others stopped and stared in, begging him to help them.

  Suddenly the phone rang and Lenny whipped around and darted back inside. He picked up his cell phone and a frantic voice exploded from the other end.

  “Oh God, Lenny!” the voice crackled through the static on the line.

  “Who is this? I can hardly hear you,” Lenny yelled back.

  “It’s Rebecca. I’m stuck in the feed store. There are men outside.”

  “What? What the hell are you talking about? Call the police.” Lenny scratched his head and then ducked as the sound of another explosion shook his trailer. “What the hell is going on?”

  “The police!” Rebecca screamed. “There are no police. Please, please just come get me, I’ll explain everything. Please just hurry.”

  “Look, I’m kinda busy right now,” Lenny replied then pushed the end button.

  Staring back outside, Lenny tried to wrap his head around what his eyes were telling him. It no longer looked like Florida, but some war-torn region in a third world country.

  “What the hell…” Lenny grumbled.

  His cell phone rang again and he answered it and brought it to his ear.

  “Lenny!” Rebecca’s voice boomed.

  “Jesus woman! Have you looked outside?”

  “They’re coming in! Lenny get here now!”

  Lenny could hear the sound of breaking glass and banging from the other end of the phone. He sighed and started to reply, but the call dropped. He looked down at his phone and the battery flashed then turned off.

  “Shit!” Lenny tossed the phone onto his bed.

  A high-pitched screeching noise erupted and Lenny covered his ears. The ground shook and a bright flash filled the sky in an orange hue.

  Lenny collected himself and walked outside as a pair of F-18’s streaked by. He looked over to his Suburban and then to the fence where people were once standing. Now there were only body parts and scorched corpses scattered across the ground. Flames still flickered brightly on the smoldering bodies.

  Lenny had prepared for this, expected this, but this wasn’t probable. He’d been prepping for the last ten years religiously, with no real intention of ever needing it. It was a way to keep his mind sharp and burn through the millions he’d been left when his bastard of a father died.

  He stood in front of his house still trying to grip what was going on. His gut told him to head into his bunker and say fuck the world. He barely knew Rebecca, but he wasn’t sure if he could live with leaving someone that had begged for his help.

  Sighing, he ran back inside and threw on some clothes. He opened up his closet and grabbed his nine millimeter Beretta and Sig 556 SBR. He reached across to the nightstand and grabbed the little black transponder and his key ring.

  “Rango! Time to go boy,” he yelled as he ran outside.

  Rango followed close behind him and dove into the backseat as he opened the door. Lenny revved the engine in the black suburban and smiled, thinking his ballistic upgrades may actually be put to the test.

  He pressed the overhead home link button and the heavy iron gate began to slide open. With tires screeching he tore off down the road trying to ignore the sounds of dead bodies being run over and avoiding the burning debris.

  Lenny reached down and turned on the radio. He flipped through stations, but heard nothing but static after more static. He paused when he thought he heard a voice in between all the fuzz.

  “Iran...shhh…American soil…shhh.” And then the broadcast went dead.

  Lenny banged his fist on the steering wheel and stepped on the gas pedal. The hefty SUV roared as it ate up the pavement.

  The barren landscape whooshed by with the occasional dead body here and there. Lenny tried not to think about it. He felt like he was trapped in a dream. He had no clue what was going on, but it was obviously bad.

  As Lenny neared town things started to deteriorate rapidly. Burning cars lined the streets. Piles of dead bodies were stacked on the side of the road. Homes and businesses were either demolished or engulfed in flames. He kept his eyes forward fighting the urge to turn back around.

  As he pulled up to the feed store the parking lot looked empty. Although mostly everything else had been destroyed the feed store was almost untouched. Lenny slowly stepped out of his truck and grabbed his pistol.

  “Stay!” He pointed a finger at Rango and then closed the door.

  He scanned the building, but didn’t see a single person. A few cars were parked alon
g the side with the doors open, but no people. It looked like everyone had just vanished.

  Reluctantly he headed around the back, the pebbled parking lot crunched beneath his shoes. He walked slowly, glancing over his shoulder occasionally.

  As he rounded the corner he stopped and slid back around the side of the building. At the back door there were three men with iron rods trying to pry the door open. Lenny quickly looked around; making sure no one else was there.

  Gripping his pistol tightly, he brought it to his chest and took a deep breath. He peeked back around the corner to get a better look.

  One of the men was very tall with a scar running the length of his face. He was shirtless and wore a pair of ripped jean shorts and sandals. The other two men were much shorter, but heftier. They were obviously the muscle in this trio. Both of them sported full grown beards and completely bald heads.

  “Let us in! We only want some food and water,” the tall one yelled. “We won’t hurt you.”

  “Yeah we won’t hurt you,” another one snickered.

  “Go away!” Rebecca yelled back.

  Lenny’s heart raced. He was suddenly thrown back into a world he’d left behind. But old habits die hard and he found himself unconsciously stepping around the corner, as he tucked the pistol into his waistband.

  The door creaked as it started to buckle and the men let out a collective cheer. Lenny moved forward stealthily, years of training guiding his movements, the remnants of a former life falling together like a puzzle.

  “Hey!” Lenny yelled.

  All three of the men whipped around and stared at him with wide eyes. They didn’t move they just looked at him, startled by his sudden presence.

  Lenny pressed his advantage. “What are you guys doing? You work here?” Lenny asked, like he was a concerned citizen.

  This bolstered the men and they stepped towards him, still carrying the rods they’d been using on the door.

  “Just turn around and move on man,” one of the shorter men jolted as he pointed the metal beam at Lenny.

  “Can’t do that,” Lenny said calmly.

  “Just get the fuck out of here. Don’t make us hurt you,” the tall one screamed.

  They slowly moved closer and closer. Lenny took a step back and stumbled, but quickly got back to his feet. The men pressed him further, now almost within arms reach.

  “Back the fuck up!” Lenny yelled and pulled his gun out.

  “Hey, calm down man. No need for anyone to get hurt,” the man with the scar said. He put the bar down and raised his hands as he took another step forward.

  Lenny tried to keep his calm, but they were starting to cross the imaginary line he’d drawn in his head.

  “Lenny!” Rebecca screamed.

  Lenny looked up and at that moment the tallest man lunged at him. His hand gripped the barrel of the gun and Lenny squeezed the trigger. A thunderous clap exploded from the Beretta and the man fell to the ground with a thud.

  “Back up! Back up now!” Lenny yelled at the other two as he advanced.

  They looked at each other then dropped the metal beams and took off running.

  “Shit,” the man lying on the ground gasped, spitting blood as he spoke. “Help…help me,” he pleaded and reached into the air.

  Lenny slapped his hand away and glared at him. This man was probably going to kill him. He was going to take his gun, take his car and rape Rebecca.

  Lenny had met people like that before. He knew there was only one way to deal with them, one way that he could help him.

  He pointed his gun at the man and let off another two shots. The sound echoed loudly into the air. Not wasting another moment, Lenny turned around and ran back to the store.

  “Rebecca it’s me,” he yelled as he banged on the door.

  He could hear a series of locks being twisted and then the door swung open. Rebecca dove out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Thank you. Thank you, thank you! I didn’t think you were gonna come.”

  Lenny turned his head. He knew the other two guys might still be lurking around and to be honest, he didn’t think he was going to come either.

  “We’ve gotta get to the truck.” He pulled her arms away and looked in her eyes.

  She understood him and took off for the front of the building. As she passed the man lying on the ground she covered her mouth and shrieked, but did not stop.

  Lenny opened the door and jumped into the SUV. As soon as Rebecca got in he locked the doors and sped off.

  “What the hell is going on?” Lenny asked.

  “You didn’t see?” Rebecca stared back at him liked he’d gone crazy.

  “See what?”

  “Where the fuck have you been? Shit’s been going nuts since early this morning.”

  “I’ve been home. I took some sleeping pills last night and passed out. What the fuck is going on?”

  Rebecca shook her head in annoyance. “Before they stopped broadcasting they said something about an invasion. I don’t know who or what. The National Guard came through earlier today, they said everything was fine and we should go about our daily routine.” She paused and looked at Lenny.

  His mouth was wide open still trying to take in what she was telling him. He shook his head from side to side trying to clear the effects of the sleeping pills and over abundance of liquor.

  Rebecca sighed. “I was at the shop when the shooting started so I don’t know much. I locked myself in and hid in the back.”

  Rebecca looked out of the window and then turned to Lenny. “Where the hell are we going?”

  “To my house. Where should we be going?”

  “We’ve gotta get out of town! We’ve gotta leave now! The news, the news said the nuclear reactors were unstable!” Rebecca griped hysterically.

  Lenny looked confused. He blinked and rubbed his face. He couldn’t believe all of this was going on. Denial was not a reaction he knew well, but everything within him told him this could not be happening.

  “We’ve gotta get to my place. I have a shelter,” Lenny mumbled.

  Rebecca made a face like she couldn’t believe what he was saying. She’d seen his trailer and the word shelter didn’t come to mind.

  “We’ll never make it out in time if they’re really unstable,” Lenny continued.

  He sped up, weaving in between the burning cars that lined the road. It looked like something from a movie, something from a bad dream where no one survived. Rebecca stared out of the window in disbelief.

  “Oh my God!” she huffed.

  “I thought you knew what was going on,” Lenny said, looking at her reaction.

  “No, no it was nothing like this. I…” Rebecca buried her face into her hands.

  Lenny bit his lip and turned back to the road. The gate to his compound came into view and he breathed a sigh of relief. Rebecca was still sobbing into her hands as he rolled over the dead bodies in his driveway.

  “We gotta move.” Lenny opened the door and jumped out just as an enormous explosion shook the earth.

  He looked up and the sky seemed to illuminate like a giant flashlight. He’d never seen that before, but a life of internet and television told him exactly what it was. And judging from the distance they would cease to exist in less than fifteen seconds.

  “Now!” Lenny screamed and took off towards the fenced slab of pavement with Rango on his heels.

  Rebecca jumped out of the Suburban and followed. She quickly darted across the graveled landscape in a panic. Looking back, she caught a glimpse at a giant cloud of ash that was speeding their way.

  Lenny swung open the gate and started to count his steps. He’d been over this drill a million times, but this time it mattered.

  “Get over here!” he screamed to Rebecca.

  As soon as she joined him he pressed the button and the slab slowly rose into the air.

  “What the fuck!” Rebecca exclaimed as she watched in amazement.

  Lenny looked out over his compound
. The sky was on fire, the air turning into black ash. This was it, this was the end of days.

  “Get down the stairs now!” Lenny screamed.

  Rango darted onto the platform as Rebecca followed. Lenny stepped under the slab then looked back out one last time. An ominous cloud swooped towards them, blocking out the sun. Lenny turned and stepped down the last step and the staircase began to lower into the ground.

  “What is this?” Rebecca asked with a confused face.

  “Not now,” Lenny responded.

  He ran across the room pressing the space on the wall and the control panel flipped out. He quickly put in the code and the door swung open.

  “In here quick!” he yelled back.

  They disappeared inside and he slammed the door behind them. The sound of explosions and things being tossed around above echoed across the stone floor. Lenny nervously jabbed at the elevator button, anxiously waiting for the doors to open. Rango barked and growled as the room they were in began to shake.

  The doors opened and Lenny ushered Rebecca inside. Her face had gone pale and she was no longer asking questions or looking around.

  “Rango!” Lenny screamed as the doors started to close.

  The rambunctious German shepherd was still barking and spinning in circles. He turned and dove into the elevator just before the doors slammed shut.

  The cart quickly began to descend. Lenny had made it to his shelter just in time. They’d barely escaped death, but he was unsure of what kind of life would be left for them.

  The cart swung with each explosion that occurred on the surface. When the elevator stopped Lenny walked Rebecca into the room and the UV lights popped on. Rebecca slowly looked around, taking in the cavernous shelter with stockpiles of food and supplies.

  “What…what is this?” she asked and looked at Lenny.

  “It’s the reason I have a trailer with an electronic fence around it,” Lenny smiled at her. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here.”

  Lenny showed her to a chair as he walked around and started booting up systems and turning on monitoring screens. Rango plopped into a corner and lay down. Lenny tossed him a bone then took a seat next to Rebecca.