This story is the third story in the series, directly following the events of One Year Later. You can read it on this blog page by reviewing the archive.

#3





Isaiah, Sophie and I walked down the beach past Sam’s pod and toward the remaining family. Sam and his family were already there talking with them and had motioned us to join them. As we approached, Sam introduced us. “Max, this is Alex Carter. He was the head of the Tech Division. This is his wife, Rachel and his kids, Alex Jr. and Stormie.”

Alex was a tall, gingery and rather wiry looking guy. He must have been reaching his upper 40s or early 50s, because his red hair was beginning to have spots of white come in through the sides. His wife looked to be the same age, and about a foot shorter than he and a slightly heavier build. Alex Jr. was the spitting image of his father, minus about six inches and Stormie had her father’s build with her mother’s beauty.

“It’s really great to meet you guys,” I replied. “After a year with just your family, you start wondering about everyone else out there. It’s really a relief to have other people to work through this with. I’m sure you know what I mean. “

“Oh, I know exactly what you mean! These guys were about to drive me nuts!” Alex replied jokingly.

“So, the head of the Tech Division, huh?” I asked.

Alex’s face drooped slightly and he said, “yeah, well I was until about a year before we went into the pods. When I got sick, they enrolled us in the cure program and moved me to a dead end department. They said it was because of my illness and being a part of the cure… But I know the real truth.”

Curiosity now sparked, I asked, “and that real reason was?”

“About a month before I was given the cure, they came to me and the rest of the Technology Division. They laid out a plan to change our department into a weapons research facility. I flat refused to take any part in the endeavor and managed to convince most of my department to agree with me. Because we were all under contract as technology researchers and not weapons developers, they couldn’t force us to do it. So, instead they saw opportunity with my illness to force me out.”

Nex-Bio Corp was looking into weapons development? This made no sense. They’d told us the end was coming. I just thought they were gearing up for the cure recipients to survive. Why would they even think of weapons development? It’s not like they gave us any weapons for our survival. Quite the contrary, the pods didn’t have anything sharper than plastic polymer butter knives.



Just then we heard a voice from further down the beach, “My ship has landed safely! How goes your journey?”



We turned to see the oncoming survivors. “Safely as well!” I yelled. “Come join us!”



A few moments later the stranger and a small girl joined us by Alex’s pod. The man couldn’t have been more than 40 and stood about average height. He had a full beard that had been kept neatly trimmed and his hair was long and shaggy. But his eyes are what got me. They seemed so familiar.



“What’s your name, stranger?” Sam asked.



“Gary,” the man replied. “Gary Wilson. This is my daughter, Danielle.”



The little girl smiled and then turned to Sophie and said “Hi, I’m 7 years old.”



“So am I!” Sophie squealed excitedly.



“Is there anyone else in your group?” Sam said.



“No,” Gary replied. “Just me and Danielle. I was sick and got the cure. Danielle’s mom passed away in child birth. I was only a part of the custodial staff with the company. Shocked me to death when they opened the program to all employees, including my department.”



He looked to his daughter who was off to the side with Sophie. They’d begun their own little conversation when Gary said “Well, good to see they’re getting along.”



“Yeah,” I said, “Why don’t all you kids go and get to know each other. The adults need to talk about a game plan from here.”



Alex, Sam and Gary nodded in agreement and sent their kids off to Sam’s pod.



“I saw a grassy field about a quarter mile south, inland.” I started. “I think that’ll be our best bet for a place to stay. It’s off the shoreline and is bound to be more protected than here exposed to the ocean.”



“Sounds good to me,” Gary replied. “But what about an organization system? Should we put someone in charge? How are we going to decide on group decisions and such?”



“It’s a bit early to be thinking about that don’t ya think?!” Exclaimed Sam.



“Absolutely not,” I said. “He’s right. We need to decide how we will make group decisions before it becomes an argument. Above all else, we need to stick together and I don’t want a dispute separating us.”



The three men nodded in agreement. “I propose a democracy,” Alex spoke up. “We’ll all vote on major decisions. If it affects the group as a whole, we put it to a vote between us and our wives. That’s an even 6 people. If there’s a tie, we can let Jr or Stormie be the breaker since they’re the oldest of the kids.”



“I like that,” Sam said.



“Works for me,” agreed Gary.



“Okay,” I said, “back to the grassy area. All in favor of exploring the area to see about relocating there?”



Everyone raised their hand, a unanimous vote.



We left the wives, Rachel and Melissa with the kids, and Sam, Alex, Gary and I ventured inland towards the grassy area. At first, the beach turned from sand to a burnt orange soil that seemed to stretch on forever. The landscape just seemed so barren and hollow. I’d heard stories that the scientists who did stints on Antarctica would tell. Stories about how desolate and empty it was. I wondered how it would have compared then to now. Could this barren wasteland we see now be worse? Or could this be some kind of a sadistic improvement upon what was already here?



Suddenly the red dirt gave way to budding weeds here and there. As we continued, the grass became thicker and thicker until finally we were standing in a rolling field of tall grass waving with the wind. We looked out to survey the surroundings around us. To our backs, the fiery sky, tainted ocean and barren stretch of land leading to beach. To our front and sides, a seemingly endless field of greenery. Every so often, you could see something thin and leafy sticking up about a foot above the grass; trees sprouting. I wondered silently how it was possible for so much change to happen to this continent in just one year. It’d gone from a frozen land of absolutely nothing to quite possibly one of the only places on the planet capable of life. Not only that, but life was beginning to thrive. Where had all the seeds for this greenery come from?



We continued to look around us when Sam spoke up, “What’s that to the right? Down in the distance.”



There it was, about a half mile to the south west; a building.



“Must be one of those abandoned science facilities,” Gary said softly.



We decided to approach the building and investigate. If it was in good enough condition, we could use it to relocate. After hiking the distance to the building, it seemed Gary’s statement was correct. From what we could tell, the building was an abandoned research facility, complete with left over MRE rations, solar panels, beds, and a radio tower. I called over to Alex to get his attention.



“You think you can make any of this stuff work? Solar panels, and radio broadcast particularly?”



“Depends on what we have here and what can be salvaged from the pods. Given enough materials, I can do it. I was thinking also, I should be able to remove the radiation monitors from our pods and make them mobile so we will be able to monitor levels. Just because it was clear on the beach doesn’t mean we’re completely safe out here.”



“Good idea,” I replied. “Once we get everyone moved back here, you and Sam can go back to the pods and remove all the monitors.”



“Hold up a minute there!” Gary exclaimed. “I don’t want you ripping my pod apart! That’s the one true safe place I know I have for my daughter and myself! I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you start ripping it apart!”



“Hey buddy, calm down,” Sam said. “We’re just trying to look out for everyone. No need to wig out on us here.”



“It’s okay,” I told Sam. “We won’t touch his pod until he’s comfortable with it. This is all new to us and I don’t really blame him. Gary, we won’t bother your pod. It’ll still be there for you and your daughter.”



“Thank you,” Gary replied quietly, though I could still hear the contempt in his voice.



We made the hike back to the beach and told the rest of the group what we’d found. We took a vote on whether to stay on the beach or relocate to the research facility. Again, it was unanimous. We decided to go to the building. At this point, the sun was still high in the day and we decided to move to the building and get set up before it started getting dark.



The kids took to the hike as expected. Lots of mumble and grumble and I think I heard a couple questions like “how much farther?” and even a “are we there yet?”



We reached the facility a few hours before sun down and immediately began resolving the sleeping situation. There were only four full sized beds and four cots. Sophie and Isaiah took one bed, while I took a cot. Next, Sam took a cot and let his wife and son sleep in the bed. Alex and his wife took a bed while his children each got a cot. And the final bed went to Gary and his daughter. There wasn’t much for privacy, but it was enough. The building was equipped with a full kitchen, and a bathroom with a standing shower. Alex used what was left of the day light to replace the wiring to the solar panels and had the batteries charging before sundown. Once they built a little charge, he flipped the breaker and lights in the building came to life. I turned the water on in the kitchen faucet and a stream ran out and down the drain.



We had power. We had water. We had our families. And we all had each other. We all went to bed that night with a renewed since of safety. The first bit we’d felt in over a year. Too bad it wouldn’t last.



***



The next few weeks began going by smoothly. Our little democracy was working perfectly with no more than a 4-2 vote ever being the most diverse. Jobs were chosen by each member and we slowly began to feel like a community, however small it may have been. Sam and I were elected co-leaders; chiefs of the tribe so to speak. I’d offered for Alex and Gary to be in on it too; Alex wanted to no part and Gary thanked us but declined. Instead, Alex wanted to be the community engineer. Only natural I suppose, especially considering how good he was at it. As I said before, he had the power and water going before the start of the first night. By the end of the first week, he’d managed to fashion three mobile radiation monitors. We kept them with us for the first few weeks and found that there were no areas of radiation anywhere in our vicinity.



Gary seemed pretty humbled with the whole situation and resolved himself to being the scout and gatherer. He volunteered to explore the island, and search for and bring in any supplies we’d need from the pods.



The mothers volunteered to stay at the compound and be with the children. Having been a school teacher before the end, Rachel volunteer to teach the children and Melissa decided she missed cooking way too much to not be the cook. Personally, I think they were afraid to leave the compound. I honestly don’t blame them. Sam even admitted to me that he was relieved when Melissa decided to stay close at all times. He was still weary of what could be lurking, though we’d seen no signs of any predators. Just penguin tracks on the beaches.



Further investigation of the facility revealed more and more supplies. Amongst the supplies, we found a good bit of fishing gear. Knowing that the MRE’s wouldn’t last forever, I decided that fishing was going to be our next best option for food. Alex’s radiation monitors would tell us if there was any in the fish. So, one day I set out early in the morning towards the beach to try my luck at fishing. I’d decided to set up near the first 3 pods and had been out for nearly 3 hours with a fair amount of luck when I saw Gary walking towards the beach. But he wasn’t coming my way; he was heading further down the beach towards where his pod was sitting.



At first I thought that Alex must’ve sent him after supplies. But that didn’t add up. Why would he be going to his own pod? He’d been adamant the entire time about not removing anything from his pod. By this point the fishing had slowed down and I figured I’d go down and see what Gary was into. As I walked down the beach toward his pod, I saw no sign of Gary. However, once I drew nearer, I began to hear voices. Shocked, I quietly crept closer and listened.



“How goes the operation?” Came a voice.



“Very well,” Gary replied. “The group still has no idea who I am. They’ve set up a home compound and established a democracy. Maxwell and Samuel have assumed leadership, as presumed, and seem to be doing a good job. You chose well with these two; possibly too well.”



“Very good,” answered the voice. “Keep an eye on those two and keep me informed, Alastair. We have far too much time, resources and sacrifices into this endeavor for it to fail.”



With that there was silence, then the door opened as Gary exited and headed back for the compound. I remained hidden behind the pod, out of sight and in complete shock. I knew Gary had looked familiar when we first met him, and that voice saying it confirmed it for me. This was no Gary Wilson. That was Alastair King, the CEO of Nex-Bio Corp. And no wonder he didn’t want us ripping his pod apart; he had communication with the outside survivors!



I sat there for a few minutes to gather my thoughts and give “Gary” time to get back to the facility. Then I headed that way myself.



Meanwhile, back at the compound, Sophie and Danielle had taken to each other like sisters and were practicing their reading together. Alex Jr. and Stormie were being teenagers and moping about, while Davey and Isaiah played Hide and Seek. Isaiah had found the perfect hiding spot in the back storeroom and was laughing to himself as he saw Davey walk right by him. Suddenly, a box came tumbling down towards Isaiah. He jumped out of the way knocking over a chair and some boxes. In came Davey and Sam.



“I found you!” Bellowed Davey.



“Are you ok?!” asked Sam frantically.



“Yes. I’m ok. Thanks Mr. Fisk,” replied Isaiah.



“You boys go on outside and play.” Sam told them. “I’ll clean this mess up.”



The kids went on about their way and restarted their game of Hide and Seek. Sam began restacking boxes and making sure they weren’t going to fall again. As he picked up the chair to place it back in the corner, he noticed something on the bottom. Something that scared him. Something that filled his mind with fear and wild ideas. Something that flat shouldn’t have been there.



It was a logo that read “Property of Nex-Bio Corp.”