The Dawn of Night
“The sun’s starting to rise,” called Paul. “I think we can make it to those barns, but we’ve got to hurry!”
Paul, Mila and Watson waded hurriedly through the thickly grown grass fields. Paul was right, colour was returning to the dull morning sky. Mila glanced up at the birds, already in the sky, some perched in the trees surrounding the barns. They were cutting it close, but the last shed was kilometres away.
Watson took a last look at the surroundings before catching up with the others. Bland stretches of hills and fields populated the encompassing landscape. He slid through the worn-down door of the barn and shut it tight. The group took out their flashlights, unstrung their guns and set down their belongings.
Mila began her usual perimeter search of the inside. “How long till Chicago now do you reckon?”
“Two weeks if I had to guess,” replied Watson. He removed the clasp from his satchel and unpacked the map, compass and GPS. “We made good distance tonight. We’ll rest up a couple of days and keep moving.”
Over the weeks of cross-country trekking, Watson had slowly become the unspoken leader of the group. He double-checked their route with the compass. “It’s hard to know for sure without any decent landmarks, but it’s a pretty straight shot from Indianapolis. I doubt we’ll have much more trouble.”
“Watson, you good to scout tomorrow night? Mila and I can scavenge this time round,” offered Paul.
“Sure, we can figure out the rest in the evening.”
The group darkened the lights and slept.
Day 11
It’s been over a week since the evacuations started and there are still more people coming. There’s been worry that the bunker is going to overflow soon, but the officials – whoever is in charge that is – said not to panic. Supposedly there’s enough food to last a decade.
That’s not what worries me though. The thing I’m most fearful of, the uncertainty that plagues me day and night is my family. Oh, Sofia my love, I miss you so, so much. And poor Amelia, she doesn’t know what’s going on. She must be so scared.
One minute we were drifting along with the crowds, huddled together tight. The next we were separated, Sofia and Ame were to be transferred. No one would tell me anything. All they said was it was for our own good and that we shouldn’t worry. I tried to force my way past but there were too many guards.
I was quickly ushered to an attendance station before being escorted into the bunker.
No one knows what’s going on above, not for sure. Some people claim a bio-weapon went rogue, others say a chemical was released into the atmosphere. But they’re just rumours. It’ll be a long time before any order will come of this chaos.
I just miss Sofia and Ame. I wish I could hold them tight and tell them everything would be okay. That it’ll all work out so long as we stick together… but I can’t even do that.
Hemmings, Watson
Watson rolled awake, as the sun was setting. The evening was prime time for scavenging. The candle-light lamp set in the center of the barn provided a dim glow to the interior. Mila and Paul were already suiting up.
“I’ll go east to the house on the hill, you check the one north-west,” whispered Paul.
“First I’m going to look over the farmhouse and the stables outside, then I will,” answered Mila.
“We can figure out where to go from there.” Paul talked louder seeing Watson awake. “Take this,” he said, handing Mila a walkie-talkie. He walked over to Watson and handed him one too. “The sun should be completely gone in a few minutes, Mila and I are going out.”
“Okay, stay safe, I’ll head up to the roof soon.”
The vivid orange-red sky shifted to pink and then began to fade as the sun dropped below the horizon.
Paul and Mila gave a wave before setting out. Watson waved back, grabbed a piece of stale bread and binoculars and then headed to the roof to keep watch.
He stared at the clouds and picked out the first stars of the night. A tear rolled down his cheek. He used to lay on the roof on summer nights and look up at the stars. He would have late talks and beers with his college buddies. And when he moved on from college, late nights with Sofia. Just them and the open sky. It all seemed worlds away now.
Watson took a deep breath and sat up. He zoomed in using his binoculars at the house Paul was headed for. Something moved in the window.
He switched on his radio. “Paul, come in!”
“… I’m here, what’s wrong?”
“I see movement ahead. Not sure what it is, but be careful, there could be Dwellers.”
“Alright, I’ll be quiet. The first sign of danger and I’ll be gone.”
The sky blackened making way for the moon and its surrounding stars. Watson passed the time gazing into the dark abyss. He looked up at the millions of stars shining down on him and felt small. He felt lonely, he longed to see his family again.
Day 79
It’s troubling to think of how long we might be stuck here. A year? Five years? A decade? How will life ever return to the way it was?
The announcements have been useful. Yesterday they told us how it happened. The military was testing a chemical weapon. A type of poisonous gas. Then something went wrong and it started expanding. Released into the atmosphere, it spread like wildfire all around the world.
Supposedly the world’s top scientists from across the continents are working together for a solution or cure of some sort.
The report also mentioned portions of the population were transferred to Chicago. They couldn’t specify who or how many but I’m sure Sofia and Ame are there. They’ve got to be!
It’ll be a while but once we’re free, I’ll head for Chicago.
And I won’t be alone. I’ve gotten to know two others, Mila and Paul. Mila was engaged to her boyfriend when the evacuations hit and they were separated just like I was.
As for Paul… he doesn’t have family anymore. His parents kicked him out and he slowly lost contact with his old friends. Many of his colleagues moved away and his circle of friends dwindled down to nothing.
The three of us have become rather close and he confided that we’re pretty much all he has now. So, he decided to come along for the ride. Neither of them talks much, but the connection is there, I can feel it.
I still worry though. I worry that when— if —we make it to Chicago, that things won’t be the same. That everything will have changed… what if I get there and I’ve missed 10 years of Amelia’s life?
Hemmings, Watson
“Three days guys,” Mila sounded hopeful for once. They knew the chances were slim but it would be pointless not to try. “Everything still feels surreal, it’s hard to believe how close we are.”
“They might still be underground,” Watson cautioned. “Though Chicago wouldn’t be the worst place to wait out. We certainly wouldn’t have trouble scavenging.”
“What do you guys think you’ll do? If your families are there I mean?” Paul looked nervous. “We can all stay in Chicago, right? And make something work.”
Watson looked at Mila then back to Paul. “I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out Paul. We’ll sort that out when we get there.”
Paul took a seat and looked out the window of the house. The suburbs were as close to a city as they’d seen since leaving Indianapolis. He looked down and held himself, he felt empty. The prospect of being alone once more scared him, and though he knew Mila and Watson wouldn’t leave him behind, he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of abandonment.
The sun set and they set out in the night once more. Watson tried to start conversations occasionally, but he could tell when it was unwanted so the three walked in silence for the most part.
They arrived in Chicago on the third dawn. Watson was lagging behind, but he insisted on going all the way. He tried to run when he could, but he was mostly restricted to walking. Despite Mila and Paul taking his bags to speed up the trek, the sun’s rays caught Watson. It wasn’t long, less than five minutes, but it was enough.
Day 294
Over 9 months and still no cure. I was beginning to think I’d spend the rest of my life down here. But it looks like that’s going to change very soon.
Something went wrong with the air filtration and it’s no longer safe to be down here. Panic broke out. With over a hundred thousand people it’ll take months to get everyone out, same as it took everyone getting in.
No cure has been developed yet, but they discovered the chemical is only active when in direct sunlight. Being in contact with sunshine causes the deadly reactions we’ve been hearing reports about.
First comes the hallucinations. They’re very powerful and the test subjects were reported to have seen, heard, and even felt the hallucinations. The hallucinations ranged from old relatives to dream-like unicorns to massive spiders – or whatever your greatest fear was, spiders just happened to be the most common.
Next comes the loss of memory. Everything you thought you knew disappears. Just bits at first, then memories, your family… and lastly, yourself. Until you’ve lost everything that makes you who you are.
Until you’re a brainless Dweller. That’s what they call the people who didn’t make it, the people who’ve turned. They dwell on the surface, calm for the most part, but they fly into an aggressive frenzy if they’re disturbed.
As long as you can avoid the sun, you’re safe. It doesn’t sound too hard.
Everyone has been given rations of food from the stores over the past week. Enough to last a month and then they’ll hand out more. The doors open tomorrow night and Mila, Paul and I are heading for Chicago.
I expect we’ll be able to make it. We just need to stay indoors during the day and travel by night. There should be plenty of food to scavenge in abandoned houses and stores.
Well… this is it. Sofia, Amelia, just a little bit longer.
Hemmings, Watson
Watson didn’t know how long he had. A few more days, a week maybe. He had started seeing a few hallucinations, but nothing extreme.
They camped in a building near the Chicago bunker entrance. It was still shut, and there was no way to communicate down to them.
Dawn had come, and Paul and Mila retired to bed. Watson stayed up and watched though. He heard a grinding noise from outside. The bunker was opening! Watson raced to the door to get a closer look. Officials marched out, and just behind came flows of people. It was just as he’d imagined.
In the middle of all the people, Watson spotted them, Sofia and Amelia. He didn’t care about dying or the danger, he ran out calling their name. The world faded around the three of them.
“Daddy!” Amelia cried with a smile on her face.
Watson’s face lit up. “Are you alright?” Watson asked them. He held them tight, protecting them. He smiled; it was the first time he felt happy in a long time.
A part of him knew it was all in his imagination, but another part didn’t care. He was happy after all. He felt everything melt away around him. The last thing he remembered was a feeling of bliss until he too faded from his own memory.
2003 words
May 06, 2020
all-stories