all god's orphans
Chapter 78

“I don’t get it.” Sarah admitted. “Why does everyone want to go there?” They all stood near the small table transfixed by the map and all of its red arrows.

“Ever hear of NORAD?” Wes asked her. She shook her head. “It handles a ton of communications for the entire north American continent. Probably around the world, too.”

“It’s a comms hub.” Said Wallace. “They have the ability to transmit and receive almost any type of radio or satellite signal anywhere on earth.”

“So why would this letter tell me to go there?” Grey asked.

“It’s a secure facility.” Replied Wallace. “There’s only one road in and the door is solid steel and three feet thick. In the event that the world ends, it’s one of the easiest places to defend and it’s already stocked with enough food and water to last a few months at the very least. It makes sense that the government would use it as a fallout shelter.” They all fell silent, realizing one by one that yet another hope for safety was slipping away.

“So why would the general be headed there?” Asked Millie.

“They’re probably trying to consolidate their forces.” Wes offered.

“No.” Wallace shook his head. “That’s not it. Something else is going on.”

“Do you think…” Brian hesitated. “There’s some kind of enemy force there?”

“Like who?” Millie asked, but Brian didn’t want to consider it.

“I don’t know.” He said dismissively. “Just thinking out loud.”

“If there is,” Said Wallace. “Then it’s something new. I’ve heard reports of smaller groups of insurgents, but nothing like this.”

“If they’re consolidating forces then that means there will be a lot of soldiers there?” Asked Millie.

“Yes.” Said Wes. ”If that’s what they’re doing.”

“When do we leave?” Millie asked.

“Is that a joke?” Brian stood up straight. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?” Sarah asked.

“You, too?” Brian was incredulous. “We just got clear of this shit and now you want to jump right back in?”

“What choice do we have?” Wes asked, moving to Millie’s side.

“You gotta be fucking kidding.” Brian sighed. “Wes, come on. They haven’t seen this shit close up. You have. You know what these fuckers are capable of. We need to stay the Hell away from them.”

“Since when are you such a pussy about this?” Wes shot back.

“Since we fucking escaped!” Brian’s heart felt near to breaking. “Or have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Wes informed him. “But you still haven’t answered my question; what choice do we have?”

“We run.” Brian said flatly.

“To where?” Millie asked. “If you get picked up and they thumb print you, you’ll either show up as a civilian, a conscript, or a deserter. Which would you prefer?”

“Then we’ll go north.” Brian said. “Go to Canada.”

“Assuming they’ll let you in.” Wallace remarked.

“I doubt they’re checking paperwork during the apocalypse.” Brian sneered. “We can’t just walk back into the shit. Be reasonable.” He stared at all three of them, but they had clearly already decided.

“I’m going.” Millie said. “You don’t have to come.” There was a sadness in her voice that went beyond all this.

“I can’t come with you.” Brian said recognizing the pain in her eyes. “I have someone to protect.”

“I understand.” Millie nodded. “I have someone to replace.”

“I’m coming with you.” Sarah declared, absentmindedly hoisting her rifle to her shoulder. “I’ve got nowhere else to go.”

“Sarah, are you sure?” Kite stepped closer to her and put a hand on her arm. “Come with us. It will be safer.”

“Nowhere is safe.” Sarah told her. In that moment, Kite could see how much she had grown, just in this short while. She was capable of making her own decisions. Kite pulled her close and hugged her.

“Take care of yourself.” She told her. Sarah nodded.

“So that’s it?” Brian’s question was more of a statement. “You’re all going to tempt fate, huh?” He scoffed. Wes stepped forward and offered his hand.

“Via con dios, partner.” He said and managed a sorrowful smile.

“Fuck off.” Said Brian, swatting his hand away and embracing him. “Take care of those two.” He said.

“They’ll probably end up taking care of me.” Admitted Wes.

“Here.” Grey held out the lily for Millie to take. “You might need this.” Millie put it in her pocket.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” She asked. Grey took Kite’s hand.

“We just want to be together and replace somewhere quiet.” He said. She nodded and he could see that she understood. It was the same reason she was willing to risk going back into the mouth of the beast. Finding her brother would give her the same peace that he and Kite knew.

Before splitting up, they took what supplies they could from the vehicles scattered around the entrance to the silo. There were plenty of MREs and survival gear to go around, but most of the cars were beyond hope. Bullets had torn through almost all of them, flattening tires, bursting windshields, and draining fluids. Brian took the least damaged one, an older Jeep Cherokee, and switched out one of the tires for a comparably sized one from another car. It wasn’t ideal, but they would be able to drive at low speeds until they found something better. He also had to patch up a hole in the radiator before setting off, but he managed that with a bit of chewing gum.

The RV was relatively unscathed. Such a big target meant that there were tiny round holes all along the side where bullets had torn through the siding like tin foil, but the important stuff, like the engine, had been protected. Wallace piled into the Cherokee with Brian, Carla, Kite, and Grey. Brian had agreed to take him to the nearest functioning car so that he could replace his way back to a military base.

The two vehicles drove back down the grass road to the gravel road that lead to actual pavement. There, they waved as the RV headed west and the Cherokee turned right, going back east to replace the quickest route north. Brian watched in the rearview mirror as the RV got smaller and smaller, driving towards the setting sun. He hoped they knew what they were doing. For that matter, he hoped the same for himself. He turned the Cherokee eastward and slowly drove into the impending night.