A/N: Here it is...the final standard chapter of this story. It's been a lot of fun to write. Hope you all enjoy it - especially Romeokijai who prompted the original idea, and Iceonfire7 for helping me by previewing some of the chapters. Thanks guys.
Chapter 10: When the World Ends
A new day dawns and Chicago is immersed in sound and light and activity. Sirens blare. Horns honk. Airplanes zoom overhead. Trains rattle by on the el. Fire trucks roar down the city streets.
It is just another day in paradise.
Charlie, Bass and Aaron welcome the latest arrivals to the bunker. Two teenage boys appear from within the warehouse and help unpack the trucks as they back into the loading dock.
Jeremy is the first to arrive with his U-Haul. It is packed full. He's brought his full wardrobe (which is impressive and includes three racks of suits). He's also brought three cases of cigars, his favorite golf clubs, his marine locker, six rifles, a complex bow, six handguns, various books and several paintings.
Miles, Nora and Connor arrive next with their trucks. They've brought clothing, tents, back packs, hiking boots, clothes, several guns, cases of ammo, Miles's marine locker and every unopened bottle of liquor from the Blackout. They've also brought the neon sign that had always hung over the stage. It says "Welcome to the Blackout."
Miles holds up a hand to Aaron, "Yeah, I know it won't work, Staypuft. I don't care."
Aaron just shrugs. "So, it's got sentimental value. I get it."
Miles scowls, "I am not sentimental. I just like the sign. Okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Okay." Aaron says, hiding a little smile.
Will pulls in next but Aaron is confused. "That's not the truck I rented."
The driver's door opens and Will disembarks. He walks up to the loading dock with a cocky swagger, wearing an ammo belt of .308 caliber bullets. Over his shoulder he has slung an M-60 that hangs on a sturdy strap. On his face is the biggest grin any of his friends have ever seen.
"Shit." Miles mutters. "You're like a kid on Christmas morning, aren't you?"
"Will, you crazy fuck." Jeremy says, laughing. "What's with the semi?"
"My ammo wasn't going to fit in that tiny truck, much less all my other stuff. I had a lot of shit to bring. You'll all thank me later."
"Might as well show us, Rambo." Bass says with a laugh.
Will pops open the lock and throws up the metal door, where it folds neatly into the roof of the trailer. Everyone stares. The semi-trailer is packed to the brim. It takes three hours and all hands on deck to unload.
"What is all this stuff?" Miles asks.
Will pulls a notebook from a back pocket and reads, "Sixty-four AK-47s, five Uzis, seventeen fully automatic machine guns, nineteen handguns of various makes and models, one hundred twelve grenades, twenty-seven pounds of C-4, a case of pepper spray, four cases of fuses, just under two hundred cases of various ammo, sixty-six prison guard uniforms, eighty-four sets of handcuffs, my lucky fishing tackle, and my personal collection."
"Personal collection of what?" Charlie asks, incredulous, "Nuclear missiles?"
"Nah." Will's grin grows impossibly wider, "Porn. If the world is going to end, so will the porn industry. It's like bringing boxes of cash…you know, cash that can also entertain me after the lights go out."
Aaron chuckles, "Porn. That's good. I'll admit that is one thing I didn't think of. The prison guard uniforms though… why did you have so many extras?"
"Well, I didn't have extras. Not really…but I did have a key to the storage room at the prison where I work. I borrowed some things. The handcuffs, the pepper spray, some of the rest. They won't notice anything is missing till tomorrow, and if you guys are right – missing uniforms is the last thing they'll be thinking about tomorrow."
"What are we going to use them for, though?" Nora asks.
"Well, if we're building a new government, we're gonna need an army or a militia…something. Right? We've reached out to every branch of the US Military and when they start rolling in, they're gonna look like a melting pot of crazy. That's assuming they even bring uniforms, which they might not do. This will give us a quick way to make things look official right off. We'll have to tear off the prison patch, maybe replace it with a new one. That's it."
They finish unpacking and Aaron announces that it's time to show everyone around. So far, the group has only been in and out of the warehouse connected to the loading dock. He locks the heavy steel door that closes out the daylight. Picking up a flashlight, he motions everyone to follow through the rows of boxes and crates that have been unpacked from the U-hauls and Will's semi. They reach another steel door and Aaron pauses. "I want to say thanks for all that you guys thought to bring. Every little bit will help, but I also want you to know that we've been working hard to stock up too. We won't have time to look at all of it today, but I'll give you a basic tour now."
Charlie helps him open the next set of heavy steel doors. The group stares into a pitch black cavern. Aaron reaches out to flip a switch and lights begin to flicker, slowly filling the space with a dim glow. Along the walls are hanging lanterns. They are dark at the moment, but will offer a light when the fluorescents in the ceiling stop working.
"Holy fucking hell." Will mutters.
Nobody else speaks at first. They can only stare.
Aaron smiles at their collective reaction, "Welcome to the Ark."
Rows and rows of boxes and crates and pallets lie in neatly stacked rows and they are piled high. The rows appear to go on forever.
"What was this place?" Miles asks.
"It was once a storage facility for O'Hare. There is enough room in this space alone to store five fully assembled 747s. There are three other storage rooms this size and two that are larger. They are all full."
"Of?"
"Every damn thing you can possibly think of." Bass says, shaking his head. He'd been given the tour a couple weeks ago, but is still in awe.
"The Ark is a huge facility as you can see. It is part of an even larger compound. Aaron has purchased all of the buildings and roughly twelve acres that surrounds it. He's filled the Ark with everything we could possibly need. Food, water, weapons, ammo, maps, candles, lanterns, firewood, medical supplies, books, gold."
"Gold?" Connor asks.
Aaron chuckles, "Yeah, diamonds too. Nobody is going to be accepting checks or debit cards, you know."
"How long will all this last?"
"Assuming we keep our current number of inhabitants, we could live within the Ark for maybe eight years without leaving."
"Where are we going to live exactly? I only see cement floors and steel shelving units. I hope you brought beds." Jeremy is frowning.
"Be patient. That part of the tour is next."
Bass pushes on, "We have four wagons that can be pulled by horses and thirty bicycles. Those will help us get around at first."
The group is on the move again, wandering down corridors of boxes and crates.
Will points, "This looks like a Sam's Club."
Aaron nods, "Seven of them actually, I bought the contents of seven Sam's Clubs - well except for anything that would require batteries or electricity. This flashlight is the only battery operated item in the Ark and it will be garbage as soon as the lights go out."
"It looks to me like there's even more here than seven Sam's Clubs." Miles says.
"You're right. I also bought out the inventory of a couple army surplus stores, a Home Depot, seventeen Illinois gun dealers and all the 78 and 45 records from Vinalgasm." He blushes a little at this admission.
"How are we going to play records?" Miles asks.
"I bought the spare inventory from the Chicago Museum of Technology. They get a lot of old stuff donated that they can't use. Treadle sewing machines, butter churns, meat grinders, corn huskers, spinning wheels, manual type writers and hand crank phonographs. Not every record will work, but a lot of them will."
"Shit." Jeremy says, clearly impressed. "But wait – why do we need butter churns and treadle sewing machines?"
"Oh, because we'll be using them. Those old machines are obsolete now because of electricity. This time next week, they'll be cutting edge all over again. In time we'll need new clothes, so the treadle sewing machines will be used then. I also bought several thousand yards of fabric - mostly denim and wool. Heavy duty stuff."
"Okay, but butter churns?"
"Well, I don't know about you." Aaron said, "But I like butter. There won't be a corner store anymore. If we want it, we make it."
"Shit."
"Yeah, and all of the old stuff has a second use that may trump the first in many cases." Aaron adds.
"What's that?"
Bass answers, "In a few years, people are going to be willing to trade whatever they have for some of that stuff. Hell, probably way sooner than a few years." He shrugs. "We may want what they have to trade."
"What about your money?" Jeremy asks Aaron.
"Well," he points to the area they are standing in, "I spent a lot of it, obviously. What's left will be worthless. I did bring enough gold and precious stones along to get us by for some time in the currency department - for probably a decade at least. By then we should be generating enough new wealth that we'll be on solid ground financially."
They've been walking as they talked, and now they've reached yet another heavy steel door. Aaron turns to them, "So most of our time won't be spent in the storage rooms, obviously. Here's where we'll live."
Aaron pushes the door open. The group files in and stares.
The space is as big as a high school gymnasium. It is long and open. The ceiling is broken up by skylights which let in natural light. Along the walls are large metal brackets that hold lanterns. Other lanterns hang from chains down the center of the room.
The back wall is floor to ceiling book shelves, fully stocked with every book any of them might want or need to read. There are two pool tables and several dart boards for entertainment. In addition, a tall shelving unit holds every popular board game in existence.
There is an old fashioned kitchen complete with two huge wood burning stoves, a hand pump and a large ice box. There are long wooden tables and benches for dining and a lot of overstuffed couches and chairs arranged in cozy groupings throughout the space.
Along one wall toward the back in a fully stocked bar. Miles laughs, "Now that's good planning, right there."
Nora sees where he's heading and points, "I am not tending bar in the apocalypse. You can all serve your damn selves."
"Look, there's even a stage." Jeremy says with an incredulous laugh. Sure enough a stage sits next to the bar. A piano, drum kit and several acoustic guitars sit there ready to be used. Small tables surround the stage so that a true bar experience can be had.
Aaron points to a staircase along the wall opposite the bar. The stairs lead to a catwalk that surrounds the entire room at the second floor level. Grey doors open from the catwalk in all directions.
"Bedrooms are upstairs." He points to similar doors that are in the walls around the large space. Behind these doors, you'll find the offices, the lab, the infirmary, the nursery and the class room. There is also a gym and a target range."
Connor cocks an eyebrow in surprise, "Nursery? Class room?"
Aaron nods, "Chances are we'll start repopulating the Earth sooner rather than later. Education as we know it is just a memory."
"What about food?" Nora wants to know. "Are we stuck with canned soup and dried beans?"
Aaron laughs. "Do I look like a guy who is willing to live off Campbell's soup? This warehouse is just the beginning. In addition to barracks for a decent sized army, we have a fully functioning farm on the back half of the compound. We have cows, chickens, some pigs, a smoke house and an Ice house. We also have twenty horses. On the roof we have a garden that will supply fresh vegetables."
"You did this all in the last month?" Will asks.
Aaron shrugs, "I don't think I can fully explain to you how much money I have..well, had."
The group is so wrapped up in their new surroundings that they don't notice anyone else has arrived until Charlie clears her throat to get their attention. "Hey guys, I want you to meet my team." Heads turn and a lot of sizing up begins.
Charlie introduces her team one at a time. "This is Dr. Bradley Jaffe and his daughter Eve." A middle aged man steps forward, wrapping an arm around his daughter's shoulders. He smiles kindly. "And this is Grace Beaumont. She and Bradley worked on the development of the Nano and know more than most how it works. Their goal is to find ways to get around it."
A curly haired blond steps forward with the two teenage boys who had helped unload the trucks. "I'm Dr. Maggie Foster. These are my sons Elliot and Caleb."
Charlie smiles, "Maggie and I have been working together to develop some drugs that we can produce and regulate in our new world. So far we've mastered a multi vitamin, basic aspirin, and insulin. We're really close to having a morphine equivalent ready, and we have ten other meds in the works. Unlike the rest of the doctors you'll meet today, Maggie is an actual MD and she's teaching her brilliant boys everything she knows."
Charlie points off to one side, "This is Peter Garner and that's Priscilla Pittman. They are both computer programmers and math geniuses. Priscilla is also Aaron's wife." Priscilla nods with a shy smile. Peter gives them a friendly wave.
"Over here is Dr. Jane Warren and Dan Jenkins. They are attempting to develop a new type of telegraphy that won't require electricity of any kind. It's very much a work in progress but we have high hopes. In his spare time, Dan tends to his carrier pigeons.
Will looks around, "Hey Staypuft, I don't want to be a spoilsport or whatever…I do appreciate all this, but you don't happen to have some spare single women around here somewhere?"
Aaron rolls his eyes, "No but we can go foraging for women later. Let's wait till the looting is over at least, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. We can wait."
"Sorry I'm late," A brassy brunette walks in then, scanning the newcomers.
"Speaking of women…" Will says appreciatively.
She smiles curiously, eying his ammo belt. "Hi, my name is Duncan."
"Duncan is – " Charlie starts, but Will interrupts, his eyes going wide with recognition.
"Wait, you're Duncan Page… Duncan 'The Last Page' Page. I check your blog every day and I've read your book like five times."
"What is 'The Last Page'?" Jeremy asks.
"It's a survivalist blog – probably the best one there is. If she's on our team, we'll be able to survive anything." Will is giddy. "It's so nice to meet you, Ms. Page."
Duncan smirks, "Like I said, call me Duncan. Nice belt, by the way."
Will walks closer to Duncan and soon the two are deep in conversation.
"Hey, I have a question." Connor asks the room at large.
"What is it?"
"What about planes?"
"What about them?" Charlie asks.
"Well, we're really close to O'Hare. When the planes start falling out of the sky, what's to stop them from crashing into your Ark and ruining everything you've built here?"
"Oh, well we took care of that this afternoon." Bass says with a grin.
"How so?"
Maggie Foster's son Caleb raises his hand, "My brother and I may have made some phone calls."
Elliot nods, grinning, "Like, a LOT of them."
"To whom?"
"To every urban airport in the United States. We implied that we'd planted bombs on some planes, but we were light on details. Last we heard, airports had grounded flights all across the country."
Charlie's cell phone rings and she steps aside to answer it. Bass senses Charlie's fear and moves up behind her, his hands resting gently on her shoulders.
"Dad?" Charlie asks, her voice breaking slightly.
Bass can't hear the other side of the conversation, but he can tell from Charlie's tone that this is the call they've been waiting for.
"How long?" Charlie grasps Bass's hand and grips it hard. "Yeah, we're ready. You?" The others have moved closer, also sensing that this conversation is important. "I love you Dad. Tell Danny I love him. Is Mom there?" After a long pause, Charlie speaks again, "Hey Mom. I know…. Yes, I love you too." She talks for a few more minutes and hangs up, clearly shaken. She looks up at all the staring faces.
"Charlie?" Aaron probes.
She sighs with a little shudder, "It's happening. We have maybe an hour."
Charlie's team has been planning for this for months and they go into action immediately. Lanterns are lit all around the perimeter of the room because dusk is settling quickly. Jaffee, Peter and Dan go to verify that all exits are secure. Jeremy, Connor and Nora sit down at the bar. Miles takes his place behind it because it's the only place he feels like he's going to be of use to anyone at the moment. He makes Jeremy a martini and pours a whiskey for the other two.
Suddenly the lights begin to flicker.
Will has been talking to Duncan. Now he looks up at his friends with a wide grin, "Shit's about to get real folks."
"You know what we should do?" Bass asks.
"What?"
"We should play a song." Bass answers. "The Four Horsemen should play the first song of the apocalypse. It's only fitting."
Miles nods, liking the idea. "So for years we've been playing live at the Blackout. Now we're gonna be playing live…. In an actual blackout." He digs something out of his back pocket. It's the picture of the four of them at Miles and Emma's wedding. He sticks in under the frame around the mirror behind the bar. "Let's do this." He says with a grin.
"Good thing we never did go electric." Jeremy laughs.
The four old friends take the stage. They talk quietly for a moment and then Miles and Bass both pick up guitars. Jeremy takes a seat at the piano and Will sits behind the drums.
The music begins to fill the space and Charlie's team moves close, intermingling with Connor and Nora and Charlie. Everyone listens, taking this for what it really is – a pivotal moment in all of their lives. Bass is the first to sing. He finds Charlie in the small crowd and his gaze locks on hers.
When the world ends
Collect your things
You're coming with me
When the world ends
You tuckle up yourself with me
Watch it as the stars disappear to nothing
The day the world is over
We'll be lying in bed
Miles and Bass take turns singing the verses. The four old friends have played together forever and it shows. Their instrumentation is perfectly in sync. Miles sings the next verse.
I'm gonna rock you like a baby when the cities fall
We will rise as the building's crumble
Float there and watch it all
Amidst the burning, we'll be churning
You know, love will be our wings
The passion rises up from the ashes
When the world ends
When the world ends
You're gonna come with me
We're going to be crazy
Like a river bends
We're going to float
Through the criss cross of the mountains
Watch them fade to nothing
When the world ends
You know that's what's happening now
I'm going to be there with you somehow, oh...
Bass and Miles begin to sing together flawlessly. The people in the room are entranced as the words hit home. Tonight is when their world is ending, making way for a new and unknown existence that lies ahead.
I'm going to tie you up like a baby in a carriage car
Your legs won't work cause you want me so
You just lie spread to the wall
The love you got is surely
All the love that I would ever need
I'm going to take you by my side
And love you til the world ends
Oh, but don't you worry about a thing
No, 'cause I got you here with me
Don't you worry about a
Just you and me
Floating through the empty, empty
Just you and me
Bass is singing solo again, his eyes hot on Charlie. They are both ready for whatever lies ahead, as long as they can face it together.
Oh, when the world ends
We'll be burning one
When the world ends
We'll be sweet makin love
Oh, you know when the world ends
I'm going to take you aside and say
Let's watch it fade away, fade away
And the world's done
Ours just begun
It's done
Ours just begun
We're gonna dive into the emptiness
We'll be swimming
I'm going to walk you through the pathless roads
I'm going to take you to the top of the mountain that's no longer there
I'm going to take you to bed and love you, I swear
Like the end is here
Bass leaves the stage and pulls Charlie into his arms. It's been a rough day. She is exhausted mentally and physically and Bass wants to take care of her. There will be time for leading and decision making tomorrow.
"Some of us are going to the roof." Connor says to the guys, but his eyes are on Eve Jaffee. "Want to come up?"
Everyone trudges up the metal stairs past the second floor and on up to the roof. From their vantage point, they look out on a Chicago cityscape like nobody has ever seen before. Other than the sliver of moonlight and a few fires in the distance, everything is black. The silence is only broken by the occasional scream.
Nobody speaks. The mix of people on the roof represents the future of civilization, but in this moment they are each at a loss as the reality of what has happened truly sinks in. After a while the group retreats into the Ark where the booze flows freely – at least for tonight - and the music is live.
Charlie is nervous about the future, but she's got Bass. She's got Miles, Connor, Aaron and the rest of their friends and her team. Although the group may seem like an odd mix from the outside, Charlie is confident that things will work out. She will always miss her family, and it hurts to think that she'll never see them again. But these survivors make up her new family, and with them , she feels that they will more than survive.
After sharing a drink with their friends, Charlie and Bass excuse themselves and head to the room they will share. "I hope you don't mind." Charlie says, "I had them move all your stuff into my room. I probably should have asked first, but Bass - would you like to live with me?"
He looks around the simple room. The floor is concrete and the simple queen size bed has been made up with white sheets. The walls are lined with bookshelves. Bass notices that his things are interspersed with hers. He pulls her close, pressing a soft kiss to her temple, "Charlie, there's nobody else I'd want to spend the apocalypse with."
"You do not know how happy I am to hear that." Charlie says, kissing him. "What do you say we break in this blackout in style?"
"What do you have in mind?" he asks teasingly.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you know."
We lived in an electric world. We relied on it for everything. And then the power went out. Everything stopped working. Many weren't prepared. Millions died. A small group of survivors had enough time and forethought to plan ahead. Thankfully this handful of brave men and women were ready to take over when the government collapsed – sharing a common goal – establishing normalcy and ensuring safety for all.
Most still don't know why the power went out. But we're all hopeful that together we will find our way through the darkness of this brand new world we call our own...
END
A/N: "When the World Ends" was performed by The Dave Matthews Band and lyrics were written by Dave Matthews and Glen Balard.
So I've wanted to do this for a while…start the blackout in an AU story, but I didn't just want to start the blackout. I wanted to do it in a way that gave Bass a chance to lead without going crazy (here he is surrounded by the woman he loves and his nearest friends). I wanted to give Charlie a chance to be strong from the start. I wanted to give Aaron a chance to use that damn 80 million dollars on something more than Charmin, and I really REALLY wanted to leave Rachel on another continent while allowing Maggie's kids to be with their Mom when the world went dark. I wanted Miles to be with his friends and family, but not be saddled with so much of the leadership duties. Here, they will be shared. I wanted Duncan to be a strong ally but not someone who would get between Charlie and Bass. I wanted Priscilla and Jeremy and Jaffee and Duncan and Nora and yes, even Will Strausser to live long enough to make a difference in this brave new world. Bottom line is that I wanted to create an all-star team who could stick together to create and even lead a new nation.
Not just lead a nation – but lead it against an invading force. And win. I think I've set the stage for that here. I will not write a continuation. This is the story I wanted to tell, and now I have told it. There will be a brief epilogue coming in the next couple of weeks. That little tidbit will give us all some warm fuzzy Charloe happily ever after goodness. The rest, dear reader, I leave to you and your capable imaginations.
I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to Romeokijai for the idea that got me started (Bass as a moody musician). I loved the idea and she's a peach of a person (and a wonderful writer as well – go check out her stuff right now if you haven't already). Most of all I am thankful that she let me run with her idea so that I could make it work for this blackout idea as well.
Secondly, thanks to each of you for reading, and especially for those who review or send private messages or favorite a story. I can't speak for all fic writers, but for me it is the feedback that keeps me writing. So, thanks. You guys rock.
On that note, please leave a comment if you have a minute. I'd really love to hear what you think.