The doctors stood around me for half an hour, checking me for any exposure to radiation after they moved me further in. I was on the table staring at the ceiling, still trying to process it all.
The neighbors...
Charles and those at the studio...
Cedric...
All were gone.
In the blink of an eye many people were gone. Not a tear was shed, no not yet. My mind was still trying to process what just happened. All went from just talking with Cedric that morning to the world ending in such spectacular and horrifying fashion.
While I was laying there they performed other diagnostic checking my heart, lungs, and motor function. I did what they asked and soon enough they left me alone. Nothing that happened outside these walls, that door across from my bed seemed to phase them, or maybe I couldn't see their expressions through the masks.
This place was far different than any other doctors office, nowhere as friendly. It was mostly military posters on cleanliness, hygiene, and the human body. Other than that, whitewashed walls surrounded me on all sides, like an empty, endless cage.
It was then it hit me. While I was sitting up I wailed like never before. All those other times I saw that military car pull down the street I always thought it would be him. Time and time again I was spared from the shock, still clinging to the bottle or glass I had in hand.
I was loud enough for a nurse to come in and check on me, only to find me in a mess on the floor. She tried telling me "It's going to be all right" or "you're safe here, the radiation can't get inside". Not to her knowledge I could care less if the radiation baked me alive, I wanted to see Cedric, my Cedric!
Eventually they picked me up off the floor, and back onto the bed they had set up. Then the doctor came in. He was a tall and lanky white man with a military cut and squared glasses close to his face. As he stood there his eyes were going back and forth over the pages, nodding every now and again.
"Mrs. Best you are all clear as far as I can tell. We..."
"Thank you doctor." I interjected, standing up. "Now please let me see my husband."
He signed and pushed up his glasses further, moving in front of the door.
"Mrs. Best, Colonel Best is not able to be retrieved right now. The radiation levels are too high."
I searched for something to pound on, a table, a machine...my fist found a pan on the table next to the bed. It made a satisfying clang as it flipped off the surface and down onto the floor.
"Doesn't the military have specialized radiation suits for stuff like this? I thought y'all had MOPP gear or what about that power armor?"
The doctor's eyebrow raised briefly and went back down. Guess he didn't think of another person knowing about military protocol or what the gear was even called. Then again I was a military wife, we talked about everything Washington didn't classify.
Setting down the clipboard he continued, "Our gear can't handle the radiation from the bomb dropped. The Chinese fired a high yield bomb on Washington D.C. and our gear would just turn into an oven, both the MOPP and power armor. We'll have to wait until radiation levels go down."
I sat back against the bed, frustrated beyond belief and the doctor could tell.
"Besides, that door you came in will only unseal when the outside radiation gets low enough, standard protocol and safety measures. Until then you will be in here with us. Now when you feel you are able, General Constance would like to speak with you."
Taking his clipboard he tried to put a hand on my shoulder and I moved off to the side. Typically I wouldn't be like this, I was never like this before Alaska. The war, everything threw me off.
Even with my attitude the doctor still kept a smile on his face, and nothing fake as he left. The world had ended, my world had ended and people could still keep their heads up, it irked me. Truth be told it almost made me sick feeling, as if I just wanted to be mad and who could blame me?
The mood in the room changed when a knock came at the door and a nurse came in and just as quickly walked out setting a plastic wrapped package on the counter. She brought the same blouse and skirt I had on when I came in, all wrapped in a plastic bag with "DETOXED" stamped on the packaging. The word alone made me have a second thought about putting it all back on, but what I had was better than the drafty curtain they gave me to wear.
It took a moment and I didn't even have anything to work on my hair so I just put it in a ponytail and walked on out.
"Hello." Came a robotic voice, which caused me to nearly jump out of my skin.
Off to my left was a protectron painted white and red like an ambulance. It hobbled over to me and stopped all in rhythmic fashion.
"Please follow me to General Constance Mrs. Best." It droned on in its monotone voice.
I didn't question the robot and simply followed orders. Waited for it to hobble itself into a turn and clank down the hallway. I began to notice a vast difference between the room I was in and out here.
Unlike the rooms, the walls on the outside were made of steel and lights. No white-washed walls, but metal, directional signs sprayed on, and in some cases rock was seen. We were for sure in a military facility because everything was dreary and dark. Servicemen walked down the halls with laser rifles slung on their backs. Some had body armor and others did not.
The wobbling robot led me to an elevator guarded by a single soldier in combat armor. Suddenly it stopped and I stopped with it. The robot did an about face in its own way, hobbling back where it came from as the soldier motioned me to follow him.
"Follow me Mrs. Best. General Constance is expecting you." The soldier said in a gruff voice.
Once the doors closed he extended a hand to me and smiled. "It's finally nice to meet the Colonel's one and only gal. My name is Sergeant First Class Schumacher."
Hearing the name shot me out of the daze I was in, finally a name I recognized. Cedric had nothing but praise for the man back when they were in the tundra of Alaska. When he took command, Schumacher was the man to go to for getting things done the right way.
"Cedric had nothing but love and respect for you, I hope you know that. Out of all the men under his command and he wouldn't stop yammering on about "Supreme leader" Schumaker. Those boys didn't like you."
He just laughed. "Yeah, Colonel Best played a little bit of bad cop good cop with me being the hardass. Uh, pardon the expression."
"It's ok, I appreciate the honesty from someone in here." I replied with a grin. Schumaker could feel the seething anger coming from those words as he looked over at me.
"I'm truly sorry about the Colonel...I asked if I could go out there myself, but they told me it would put everyone at risk in here. The Geiger counter after the bombs dropped around here was the highest I had ever seen."
"Bombs?" I asked. "But the doctor said only one had been dropped on D.C."
The first sergeant straightened up pinching the bridge of his nose. I guessed he told more than he was supposed to, maybe what General Constance had in mind for me. Out of everyone here I knew he could be trusted for now to be honest with me.
"I will let the general speak more on that, really should have waited. Looks like we're here."
The elevator came to a sudden stop. Two sets of doors opened ahead of them revealing a more office like environment with people in somewhat business casual wear on hand, but with military paraphernalia on their persons. It felt almost surreal seeing a scene so regular. The scene was just like the time she visited Cedric at work.
(One month ago...)
Going through the first checkpoint was fairly easy, even with the war going on. Cedric made sure I had all the right passes they needed to see through all the stops. What frightened me was the massive sentry bot on standby, watching each vehicle coming in.
The last checkpoint came at the front door where they had some armed soldiers and a protectron near the reception desks. All I had to do was flash a pass at the protectron and it beeped a delightful noise, hobbling out of the way after one of the soldiers made a single pass with a metal detector.
"She's clear. You can go mam."
After I cleared the front desk I rushed through the hallways as fast as I could, forgetting I had heels on. Rounding the turn towards's Cedric's wing I nearly tripped on nothing and had to steady myself on the railing down the wall. Readjusting I went through the door to his office and found the big man himself sitting at a desk littered with maps and papers.
"Lissie!" He stated, sounding alarmed, almost shocked I came. Quickly his hands raced across the table, collecting everything into a nice stack and then stuffing it into a folder labeled "Classified".
"Something else we can't talk about when you get home?" I asked, smile on my face.
"No." He said shaking his head. "Unfortunately not, but we can talk about something else."
I knew exactly what he meant, reaching back I took a nice chunk of behind and gave it a squeeze. Cedric's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he reached back and had to pry it off.
"Lissie! I understand I've been more at the office lately but now is not the time. I've got an important meeting today over everything I've analyzed."
I just snickered at him, adjusting his collar as he straightened himself up, standing at attention.
"A meeting with who?"
"Ah Mrs. Best, we meet again." General Constance said as he smiled. A hand reached out to me and I shook it, though I was hesitant. "I'm sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances, but the Chinese were the ones who made the decision for us and so here we are."
"I guess so..." I said dismissively.
"Schumaker you're dismissed." The general hollered at the man behind me, who saluted him and he saluted back.
General Constance was a stalwart man, the typical soldier you'd see in ads for the military. Maybe that was the reason they picked him since they were looking for the best men, even best looking for propaganda posters. The Chinese were doing the same thing so why not beat them at their own game.
"Mrs. Best, I'm sure you know about the situation with your husband correct?" He said as he looked right into my eyes.
Shaking my head I mustered the strength to not lose it in this room. "Beyond a shadow of a doubt."
"Good, then let's get down to brass tacks here as I'm sure Schumaker let it slip. We have determined the Chinese have dropped multiple nukes around the area, including Washington D.C. The radiologists we have on staff have determined we may be stuck together in here for a while, especially while that door remains shut. Is that all you know this far?" Constance asked, leaning back in his seat.
"Um, yes." I replied back, a little confused as to what he was getting at. Obviously the general had something hidden.
Now sitting back up in his seat he opened up a file before him and nodded. He then motioned for the chair across from him and flipped through the papers, occasionally looking up at me. His eyes darting back and forth were some of the most uncomfortable, like a predator sizing up its prey.
"I see you're a fairly healthy woman Mrs. Best, and it is unfortunate what happened to your husband but I do have a proposal for you, if you don't mind."
I laughed, even if the comment wasn't funny. "I mean I am your captive audience."
He stood up and walked over to a film projector, similar to the ones at the drive in, and picked up a large holotape. Opening the center compartment he slid the cartridge in and closed the hatch back, pressing the power button on the rear. Walking behind his desk he rolled the chair from back there and sat it next to me.
"We're going to watch a little program together. Whether you agree to the last question or not will determine where you are stationed here."
Of course there was some hidden agenda with Constance, there always was. The General never went to officer school, he was instead plucked from the ranks of the CIA from what Cedric told me. Others in his position type frowned on it because of such and because of his line of work with experimental technology.
Then the video began to play, a happy vault boy walking onto the screen.
"The bombs have dropped,
all hope seems lost for America!
But not today nukes!
We have partnered hand in hand with our friends at Vault-Tec to secure the future of America as well as West Tek!"
The scenery changed to footage from a scientist working alongside what looked like a Mr. Handy. He was mixing vials which may or may have not been full of water with food coloring since they did not react.
"Today you can do your part and save your country by using West-Tek's FEV or forward evolutionary virus!
Now I know the word virus sounds really scary but it is nothing to worry about. You too can live out even in the hottest of terrain and conditions with some FEV in your veins!"
The camera then panned over to a young woman taking a shot with a smile. After both gave a thumbs up to the camera the movie was done. I was a little nervous after the holotape stopped playing, because I had a sinking feeling in my gut, one that made itself prevalent whenever the worst was about to go down.
"So what did you think?" The general said, placing the tape on the desk and turning to me.
"Are you asking me to inject myself with a virus General? I mean we're in the aftermath of thermonuclear war of all things!"
"Mrs. Best..." he began as he leaned against the desk, hand on his hip as if we were friends addressing each other. We were not even close. "The FEV isn't something like a stomach virus or anything else. It was developed at Mariposa originally as a weapon to use on the reds and their populace, but after further testing there were other strains made, some with great results."
Slowly he walked over to cabinet sitting across the room. It stuck out among the shining metal walls and military furnishings spread across the room. I kept my eyes on him as he opened a small safe on the wall, reaching in and pulling out a small medical bag. Placing it on the desk he went around the side and sat in his chair.
"The results for the FEV variant, as they found it at Mariposa, patients showed extreme resilience towards radiation and it's effects. Right now the radiation outside would be strong enough to kill someone walking around bare, but with a suit and the FEV, you could easily retrieve your husband."
Immediately I bolted up from my seat and looked at the bag. "Really? What's in those shots would allow me to go outside?"
He paused for a moment turning to look at the wall. There was a look about him, of pondering, thinking out a dangerous thought. Cedric made similar faces but only when he planned something for a "fun night", not deception.
"What's the catch?" I asked.
He sat straight up in his seat and rolled it up to the desk, pulling the bag of shots to him and pulling one out to examine.
"If you take this and one of our spare rad suits...there's no coming back."
Suddenly my knees became weak. Weight was not much of issue for me but I felt a lot of it right now. What the General was asking me to do was insane, far beyond what I ever thought today would be. He was asking me to walk back out there with some experimental virus in to hell itself?
Cedric smiling face was on my mind, but I knew in my heart my husband was dead. What good would it do me to walk into what's left of America, polluted with radiation just to bury the dead? All sorts of what ifs raced through my mind until he spoke up again.
"The other option is to stand before me and raise your right hand. You will be an official member of the United States armed forces, well, what's left of us. Schumaker will be in charge of assigning your duties and you must fulfill them or face punishment. This is war miss best, not one of your record deals. You're either here and serving your country, or out there."
My mind was burdened and I had no idea what to do. On one hand I could stay in the bunker for the rest of my life doing whatever tasks needed to be done in military fashion. On the other hand, I would get clarity right then and there my husband received an honorable burial, even if it was by my hands.
The only problem was survival outside these walls...
Either way, another huge decision had to be made and one had less of a guarantee of me living. Throwing all the what ifs around in my mind garnered the attention of Constance who was looking right at me, fingertips pressed together and with a look of losing patience. Cedric did mention the man had somewhat of a short fuse and a way of getting things done he always stuck to.
"Hmm. I see I might have thrown too much all at once. How about this, what if I give you a night to think about this? We can talk over it in the mess hall over breakfast." He said so nonchalantly. The very fact he could be so casual about a life or death decision waved a red flag in my head, but then Cedric came to mind again.
Even so I took his suggestion. He put me in with the rest of the females in there, mostly scientists and medical staff. The bunk was fairly comfortable, unexpectedly so and once my head hit the pillow my body realized the adrenaline wore off.
Everything faded to black.
Warmth covered my face and my whole body...
Out in front of me was a long road with cracks all through it.
Signs on either side, as I passed, were rusted over, had bullet holes, or were gone.
Dead trees and car husks covered each side of the road, some with the drivers and riders still sitting in them.
As I continued on I came across a split, a three way fork of sorts so maybe a trident?
The signs above were unlike the others I had passed. They were mostly intact and still had their paint on them.
Down one way there was a storm rising in the distance, booming and thundering for all to hear.
Down the way off to the right there was a city in the distance, dilapidated and somewhat obscured by the light coming off the middle road.
Down the middle road I saw a great light peering though the clouds, and standing on the road was a tall and broad figure.
Immediately my mind jumped to Cedric and my feet followed.
I sprinted towards them and as I did they held their arms wide open, waiting for me...
"Go"
BUM BUM BUDDUH BUM, BUM BUM BUDDUH BUM, BUM BUDDUH BUM BUM BUM BUM!
The sounds of Reveille were playing through the speakers above us and the lights came flickering on. How did I know what Reveille was? Cedric was solely responsible for me to personally get to know what the song was by playing it on the trumpet we had in the studio. He would play it as well as other tunes he heard when he was in basic training...before the war.
I looked over to my left where my small dresser was and saw olive drab wear wrapped in plastic. The labels on the outside showed me it was my size. Walking off to the bathroom I tried to put it on in there, but one of the women stopped me before I could get there. She was decked out in military attire and had the boots to match the attitude.
"Hold on. I understand you're a civilian for now, but as far as I see it, if you're in here sleeping with us then you need to act like one of us. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" The lady yelled with every fiber of her being.
"YES..." my mind paused very briefly before I remembered what Cedric said about addressing those in the service, my eyes immediately went to a patch on her chest. "SERGEANT!" I replied.
"Good to see you at least understand simple rank and file." She said. "Now what you're going to do is what all these ladies here are doing. Strip out of your civvies and put on the fashion of the day, uncle Sam's pride and joy."
"Yes sergeant!" I replied, running back to my bunk.
Without hesitating I unwrapped everything there including the underwear. Looking down the whole time I changed out, still thinking about the dream. In my sleep it felt as if it had only been five minutes, but in all reality it was about 8 hours, as I turned to pick up the the hair ties and looked at the clock.
Everything about it was so vivid, it almost felt real. The sun shining down on me, the warmth and radiation. Thunder from the storm sounded like it was truly off in the distance, as if I was standing outside. The city looked reminiscent of Atlanta. I knew the skyline better, or at least I thought I did. Last time I was there I was very young so anything could have changed, or maybe I was confusing it with Washington?
All the thoughts swirling around almost distracted me from the fact I was still pulling my pants up and the Sergeant, ever impatient, was standing in front of me, tapping her boot on the ground.
"So are you going to take your precious time sweetheart or are you GOING TO PULL UP YOUR PANTIES AND GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!"
"Yes sergeant!"
"I don't want to hear a yes I want to see you move it out of here! You're the last one civilian!"
"Yelling isn't going to speed up the process" I thought to myself as she stomped down to the door and stood there. I could only guess who she was waiting for.
Reaching down I strapped my boots together and ran out the door as fast as I could. I followed the signs exactly to where I needed to be. Thankfully the bunker was not built by the navy, because those ships were not as easy to navigate.
The mess hall was already filled with all sorts of soldiers occupying the vast amount of tables. They paid me no mind as a I walked over towards where the officers sat, and where Constance was with an older looking man in a lab coat with a vault-tec logo of all things on him. It struck me as odd being a private company and all having such direct association with the military.
As they carried on their conversation, the doctor type of the two looked up to me and gave me his hand with a grin.
"Dr. Brassel, are you Mrs. Best?"
"Well, yes I am. Guess I've been the main topic of discussion?" I asked, not for sure knowing is the worst that could happen.
I sat down with the two, not able to do much in the matters of processing anything. My ears listened to them but my mind wandered for a bit, about the FEV, Schumaker's comments, and even the first doctor I saw. The possibility of a vial allowing me to see Cedric again seemed crazy, insane!
How could a small vial help me walk in the immediate fallout of a nuclear attack?
Also why was Constance so gung-ho on trying to get me out?
Questions I kept to myself because I still had no clue as to what I should do. All I knew was that Cedric was outside and I was in here, and gettin him back was top priority so maybe the General had good intentions, maybe not. I really didn't know.
"Did you hear what I asked Mrs. Best?" The doctor asked.
"Oh, uh no...I'm sorry, please can you repeat it again?" I politely replied.
Brassel cleared his throat, obviously not all too thrilled with my lack of attention. He reached into his lab coat and pulled out the same pouch of vials and set it out in front of him, pulling one out. Lifting it up to our eye level he looked at the tube and marveled at it.
"This is one of the last few doses sent from Mariposa of this FEV strain. Of course I have modified it from their standards. I even used one vial on myself this morning and look at me." The doctor said, as he rolled up his sleeve and showed the site where he had the injection.
Doubt still crept into my mind about this whole thing, this whole situation. They were trying to sell a product like a couple of businessmen, and the risk was burning in nuclear radiation. Another voice whispered in my head about seeing Cedric again.
Cedric mattered...
Everything else would follow.
That voice in the dream telling me to go...
"When do we get started?" I asked, awkwardly smiling.
Both men looked between each other with somewhat surprised expressions. Brassel put the vial back in the pouch and slung it over his shoulder. General Constance then picked up his tray and walked over to the kitchen to drop it off.
"I'm proud of you Mrs. Best, for taking such a risk."
"Thank you..." I looked down at my stomach for a moment. "I just want to ask why am I being sent out like this? I know the risks and don't really care about them, but why?"
I could see a worried look in the doctor's eyes as he looked over towards the general who had started a conversation with the private on breakfast duty.
"First get some breakfast then we will continue talking about this."
