Author's Note: Daria and all of its characters are property of MTV/Viacom. This is fanfiction and no money was exchanged for this story. It is non-profit and written for fun.

Apocalyptic Daria:

Brave New World

by

Doggieboy80

Prologue

"Some people consider this place here a landmark," the commanding voice said.

A camera turned and showed the man. Tall, mostly dark hair with deep blue eyes. He resembled actor Charlton Heston, except for the dark hair. He wore green Army fatigues with two stars on the collars. The name "Simpson" was emblazoned over his right breast pocket.

A female voice said from offscreen, "I don't know where we're at."

"We're crossing Monroeville right now," Simpson said. "The place we're flying over is the Monroeville Mall, where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed in the late 1970s."

"The shockwave came all the way out here?" she asked. "The mall's just a mass of rubble."

After a brief silence, Simpson said, "The shockwave from this particular city could be felt more than fifty miles away, Miss Davis. Where were you on Black Saturday?"

"I...I was on vacation in Puerto Vallarta," the woman said. The camera then turned to her. She had short cut blonde hair and wore a dark blue pantsuit. She seemed ill at ease, but it wasn't certain what made her that way: either the general was intimidating or their present location made her nervous.

The general smiled at her. "I guess that explains your lack of experience on shockwaves."

"Well, where were you on that day?"

"I was enroute from Fort Sam Houston to Fort Knox to visit my daughter and her family," he said. "She's a major, stationed there." After a brief pause, he added, "The shockwave from Cleveland never reached there, and the one from St. Louis was...minor...for us."

The camera showed a scene of burned out rubble that played in silence for the next couple of minutes.

Finally, Simpson pointed out a window and said, "That, directly below us is Mt. Washington. Over to our right is Central Pittsburgh and where Point State Park used to be. Then up that way is Allegheny Observatory."

"All I see is burned out rubble," the woman said as the camera showed the devastation. "The rivers don't even look the same. I can't even see where Brunot and Davis islands were."

General Simpson looked at the reporter sadly. "That's what a nuclear bomb can do to a city, Miss Davis. That's what a nuclear bomb can do."

oooooooooo

Part 1.

Daria Morgendorffer looked out of the pickup truck's passenger window as it drove down the highway. They had left the church and rescue center at Carthage, West Virginia not ten minutes earlier.

"Dime for your thoughts," a male voice beside her said and she looked at the driver.

Martin Peters drove confidently down the winding road, as he had many, many times in the past. He smiled at Daria and she returned his smile.

"Isn't that 'a penny for your thoughts'?" she asked.

"Well," he replied, "I'm accounting for inflation. What's on your mind?"

"I'm nervous," she said.

Helen Morgendorffer stirred from the backseat. "Nervous?" she asked. "Why are you nervous, Daria?"

The teen blushed slightly, then looked back at her mother. "This may sound silly, but I'm kind of afraid to leave Carthage. But, at the same time, I'm happy to get away from there."

"I kinda feel the same way," Martin said, "except that it no longer feels like home to me. I feel...adrift."

Daria thought of her padded bedroom, the Kafka poster, her cheese model and all her books - plus the realization that she'd probably never see any of it ever again. She reached over and laid her left hand on his right thigh. "We're adrift together, Martin. We're adrift together."

"This Uncle Jim of yours," Helen said. "What kind of man is he?"

Martin sighed. "He's an older version of Dad. He looks more like Dad than Grandpa did. He's quiet, thoughtful, a no-nonsense kind of man." He snorted. "I don't know how I'm going to explain Dad's death to him."

Daria squeezed his thigh and said, "We tell him the truth, dear. What did he think of your mother?"

"Hoo-boy. I'm not worried about Uncle Jim on that score. He didn't care for her, but treated her decently. It's Aunt Diana who I'm thinking of here. She and Mom were the worst of friends and the best of enemies. We get her wound up and she'll let us know her opinion of Mom - repeatedly."

"I take it they got into it in the past?" Daria asked.

He nodded. "You could say that. When I was twelve, their daughter Jenny was nineteen. My older cousin. Well, one time at a reunion then, she kissed my forehead and told me that I was so handsome that I'd make a girl real happy one day. Mom called her a slut and ordered her away from me. Aunt Diana...slapped Mom and called her a loudmouthed, ignorant asshole. Then they started a fist fight. I remember that we left right after the fight got broken up."

Helen blinked and shook her head. Then she asked, "How will your aunt and uncle respond to all of us showing up like this? There are nine of us, you know?"

Martin was silent for several seconds. "I've been thinking about that. I'm hoping that he might be able to find us a place to stay - until we decide on where we end up at." He was silent for several more seconds, then added, "When times were normal, they'd have no problem with a crowd our size. Now - I don't know."

Daria looked at him and lightly squeezed his thigh again. He smiled at her in return.

oooooooooo

As the caravan rounded a curve in the road, Martin applied the brakes, turned on the turn signal and said, "Well, here we are."

The property he drove onto had a two-story house, a large barn and several outbuildings scattered here and there between them. Chickens could be seen as they ran to and fro through the yard and Daria blinked.

"Please tell me they don't use outhouses here," she said.

Martin laughed. "Relax," he said. "According to Uncle Jim, they had plumbing here in the fifties. Of course, Grandpa didn't have it until 1992."

Daria shuddered. "I never want to use one again," she said. "I can't imagine what it'd be like to use on in January."

He sighed and glanced at her. "Cold. Take my word for it." Then he chuckled. "Of course, in the hottest part of August, you not only had to deal with heat and possible snakes, but there were also yellowjackets and wasps, too."

"Oh, joy," Daria muttered.

The front door of the house opened up and a tall, older man stepped out onto the porch. He held a shotgun in his hands. His hair was much like Martin's, slightly wavy and well groomed, but instead of it being dark, it was a mixture of brown and gray. His face had a lined, tanned look from plenty of outdoor work. He wore a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and worn blue jeans.

A smaller woman followed behind him, a revolver in her right hand. She was around five-foot one or two, much shorter than her husband. Her face was full and her hair was brown and short-cut in a boyish style. Her arms looked strong, She wore a blue button-up shirt and darker blue slacks.

Martin turned off the truck and said, "I'll get out first." He stepped outside, his right hand still on the truck, and said, "Uncle Jim." He held up his left hand in greeting and smiled. "Aunt Diana."

The older man relaxed and raised his right hand. "Martin?" he asked and looked at the other vehicles. "Who's all these people with you, boy?"

The young man swallowed and said, "My girlfriend, her mom and some of our friends."

The older man looked at him, his eyebrows raised and asked, "Where are your folks?"

Before Martin could answer, the older woman asked, her voice disbelieving, "Your girlfriend? And her mom?"

Martin blushed and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. My girlfriend and her mom." He looked down at the ground. "Dad...and Mom...are dead."

Jim Peters paled and stepped back slightly, only to be steadied by his wife. "What...what happened?" he asked. "Raiders? We've heard that the rural areas had that problem real bad after Black Saturday."

Martin looked up and shook his head. His blush was even thicker. "No, sir," he said. "Mom, she...she shot Dad and left him to die in our house, which she then set on fire. Then she killed one man at the church, shot a woman and tried to kill Daria."

"Daria?" Jim and Diana asked in unison.

Martin turned and motioned for Daria to join him.

Daria and Helen got out of the truck, followed by the others in the car and the SUV. The auburn-haired teen walked up to Martin and stood by his right side.

"This is Daria Morgendorffer, my girlfriend, " he said. "Daria, this is Jim and Diana Peters, my uncle and aunt."

Jim and Diana came up to them. They took turns hugging Martin and the woman looked Daria over briefly before she offered her hand to shake. "I know some people aren't comfortable with hugging," she said. "I can see it in your eyes. Welcome."

"Thank you," Daria said.

Diana then turned to Martin and asked, "What happened to Martha?"

He looked down, sighed and said, "She was shot when she tried to kill Daria. After that, she escaped to the woods and...died out there."

Diana nodded and hugged Martin again. "I'm sorry, Martin," she said.

Introductions were made all around and finally, James looked at the group and put his right hand on the back of his head briefly. "I'd say that all of you need a place to stay and that's why you're here. Am I right?"

"Yes, sir," Martin said, "for a few days at least. I need to go to the high school and sort out what's happening with the last six weeks and my graduation. Then there's Daria and her friend, Jane. They're originally from a red zone, but they still have a year to go until graduation." He took a deep breath. "After that, I don't know yet."

Jim and Diana Peters looked at each other briefly, nodded, and he said, "All of you are welcome to stay as long as you need to. After all, you know that Jenny and Paul moved out years ago, and Penny moved out last August when she started at Olivet Nazarene. It'd be nice to hear the sounds of people in the house again."

oooooooooo

"I'm sorry if we're causing you folks too much trouble," Helen said as she helped Diana Peters with fixing dinner.

"Nonsense," the older woman said. "Martin's family and, from what we've seen since you got here, he and Daria are pretty close." She smiled and laughed. "I always thought that he needed a girl to complete him. It looks like all of you have adopted each other."

"Pretty much," Helen said.

Diana looked at the other woman briefly and asked, "How did Martha react to you? I know how she felt about any female when it came to her son."

"I never met her. She died before I found Daria and her friend Jane."

The smaller woman moved to a large skillet and turned over several pieces of chicken. "You're lucky," she said. "John should have married Mary when he had the chance."

"Who?"

"Martha's sister." She paused and shook her head. "I'm not sure what exactly happened then. Jim ain't too sure, either, cause Timothy, Martin's grandfather, wouldn't tell anyone, and neither would John. What I do know is that John and Mary were a neat couple and Martha...hovered around them like an unwanted puppy. Suddenly Martha ends up pregnant and the word of it was that she...tricked John into bedding her."

Helen looked at her, her expression skeptical. "I find that hard to believe," she said.

Diana gave her a crooked smile. Then she said, "Truth be told, I don't believe it, either. Young men of that age always seemed ready to...tango, so to speak." Then she shrugged. "Oh, well, that's water under the bridge. It's good to have company, even if I don't know you, yet. We had expected to have twelve here at the beginning of June, but it's not going to happen now."

"Oh?"

"Penny might be able to make it from Kankakee, but Paul and his family have to wait it out in Georgia awhile. He's an Army reservist and was activated after Black Saturday. There was some real unrest coming out of the Jacksonville area and he's in the thick of it. Fortunately, the prevailing winds for them that first week were out of the west. Cut down on the contamination in Florida and south Georgia a lot."

"I was in Frederick when the riots started," Helen said. "The Army soldiers at Fort Detrick, the police and civilian volunteers had their hands full awhile. What about your other daughter?"

"Jenny? She's stationed at Andersen Air Force Base...in Guam. The only leaves being granted for military personnel are emergency ones and she told me a few days ago that it could be six or more months before she and her family could make it home for a visit." A look of sadness crossed her face and she sighed. "We're rather fortunate. My family's separated, but I know where they're at and that they're all safe. We didn't lose anyone in our immediate family."

Helen looked down suddenly and Diana realized that she hit a nerve. "I'm sorry, Helen. Did you..."

"My husband, Jake. My...other daughter, Quinn. They died on Black Saturday."

"Oh, my." She touched Helen's right shoulder gently. "Then I go off and say something insensitive. I'm very sorry, Helen."

The lawyer gave her a reassuring, yet weak, smile. "I'll be fine. It just still...hurts, is all."

"I understand."

oooooooooo

Martin pulled his uncle aside and said, "I need to ask you something alone."

They stepped outside and just off the front porch and the older man whispered, "What is it?"

"I know you and Aunt Diana have plenty of rooms, but would either of you have a problem with me and Daria...sharing a room?"

The older man sighed and looked at his nephew silently. "I'll be honest with you, son. I know how your Aunt Diana views that kind of thing, and I'd rather you two not sleep together here. However, I was once young myself, and your cousin Paul wasn't exactly bashful about his own actions."

"I remember."

Jim laughed shortly. "The whole family knows about that. I can put you and Daria in adjoining rooms. You remember Penny's old room?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well, there's a door connecting her room with the next bedroom. I'll put you two in those rooms and you can...well, you know, during the night. Just be discreet and be quiet about it. But if your aunt gives me grief, you'll have to switch rooms. Is that O.K. with you?"

Martin nodded. "We had trouble at the church rescue center over this issue. I just wanted to up front about it with you."

"Well, I appreciate your honesty, son. So far, I like your girlfriend and the others with you. Of course, I already knew J.D. Smith's grandson Danny."

"Thanks for having us here. I just...feel like I'm in limbo right now."

"You're family, Martin. As far as I'm concerned, you all have a place to stay. Don't worry about it."

The teen looked at him and nodded. "Well, if any of us do something that bothers you, tell me, O.K.?"

"Fair enough. When do you want to go to the school? I'll go with you to help you out."

"Is tomorrow morning O.K.?" The older man nodded and Martin continued, "We'll go then and, hopefully, get all this straightened out."

**********

At sometime after eleven, Daria laid on a bed and read a book by the light of a small bedside table. She heard the side door in her room open and looked up to see Martin stand there, clad in sweat pants and a T-shirt. "I wondered when you were going to come in here," she said.

"I wanted to give everyone time to fall asleep," he said. "Give us a little more privacy."

She laid the book aside. "This is a real bed, Martin. Nice and comfortable and not a sleeping bag. I could have fallen asleep, then you would have been out of luck."

"I would have woken you up," he said.

She smiled. "You would have gotten hurt, too." She sat up and held the blanket up to her neck. "You may be upset with me, but I...I don't want to go all the way tonight." Her smile became weak as she saw the confused look on his face. "I know, we talked about it and all that, but I'm still nervous, Martin."

He pulled a condom package out of a hip pocket, looked at it briefly and returned her weak smile. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous, myself," he said as he put it back in his pocket.

Daria nodded and pulled the quilt off of herself. She laid there, clad only in panties. Her smile was still nervous and her left arm shook, as if she were prepared to cover herself back up quickly.

He blinked, smiled and looked her over as he said, "Whoa."

She patted the mattress beside her. "However, why don't you come over here beside me and...we'll talk...and stuff."

"I like...stuff."

"Well, hurry up. I'm getting cold here."

Martin moved up to the bed and Daria turned off the bedside lamp.

oooooooooo

Her name was Stephanie McPherson, but normally, people called her "Belle" after the character in the Disney cartoon. She didn't feel much like Belle, however, right now. She laid naked in the back of a Dodge minivan on top of a mattress off of a full-sized bed. She sat up and tried once again to move her hands, which the man had tied together behind her back. After several seconds, she gave up and laid back down.

Her left eye was still swollen shut, but the man had taken the time to clean the blood away from her nose. But then, he had combed out her hair and washed her all over -which had been humiliating. But as he bathed her, he kept calling her "Daria". It terrified her, but he didn't really seem crazy, except when he told her of his plans to "rent" her out to men. Or of getting other girls to rent out as well.

She looked at him as he slept beside her, also naked. He stirred and she quickly closed her right eye until he stopped moving.

Stephanie was curious about the bandage on his privates, but wasn't about to ask him about it. She was just thankful that outside of fondling her, he hadn't done anything else - yet.

She then looked out the window at the night sky. I miss you, Johnny. I wish you were here right now. I hope you...you are still alive...somehow. Tears ran from her right eye and she closed it to hold in her cries.