Title: Fall in Apgar: August and Everything After
Author: Autumn
E-mail: autumnleaves@autumnpenguins.com
Feedback: Anytime, any kind. anywhere. ; )
Rating: R
Category: Drama
Summary: The apocalypse has come, Legacy has been unleashed and the world is in tatters. How do a small band of mutants survive the fallout?
A/N: I was so inspired by Terri's own 'Seasons in Yellowstone' series that I asked her if I could borrow her world and create my own AU. She graciously agreed and even beta'ed it for me.
Check out Terri's series at:
FIA is set in Apgar Village in Glacier National Park. The seasons change swiftly and fall is short. I saw it as the perfect background to throw our favorite characters against. Keep in mind that this is a post-apocalyptic, hell-on-earth world they exist in. Some of the choices made seem like the only viable option.
Disclaimer: The X-Men belong to Marvel and Fox. All song lyrics in this story are from Counting Crows': August and Everything After.
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Step out the front door like a ghost
into the fog where no one notices
the contrast of white on white
And in between the moon and you
angels get a better view of the crumbling
difference between wrong and right
The world had changed in the last five years. Legacy had been unleashed and diminished the mutant population to less than 10% in the first two years of its existence. Civil war had brought the rest of the world to its knees as weapons of mass destruction and biological warfare had been implemented. Less than three million people were left in the world. Those who had survived the aftermath had been among the few who had heeded the warnings and taken cover in an underground shelter.
Among the few who survived were Kitty Pryde, Scott Summers, Marie Lensher, Erik Lensher, Jubilee Summers, Andrew Summers, and Victor Creed. The Summers family and Kitty had fled the X-Mansion the minute Xavier had given the order. The few children who hadn't been taken by Legacy had gone into hiding with various members of the united X-Men and Brotherhood. The death toll had been astounding, only Xavier and Ororo Munroe remained at the mansion while the Summers and Kitty chose to go underground with Erik, Marie and Victor.
Andrew had been born shortly after the group entered the bunker. He was the first product of Jubilee and Scott's marriage and the only child in the complex. Marie, at fifteen was the closest to his age and the only other member of survivors who had been under 18 when they'd gone into hiding. Andrew was lavished attention by all the adults and hid education had benefited by having some of the sharpest minds around teaching him. He'd learned to read well by age four, and was insatiably curious about everything. He took after his father in looks, but his personality was all from his mother.
Marie was his favorite to hang out with because the other people were 'too old and boring' sometimes as Andrew put it. He found it very funny that Uncle Erik took longer naps than he did, and frequently asked why he was so lazy. Victor's cat-like appearance had enticed Andrew to create his own brand of 'stalking' in which he would follow Victor around and 'pounce' on him. The generally surly man had taken a liking to the small boy and allowed things that nobody else in the world would have ever gotten away with.
Victor had been getting restless though lately. He'd been cooped up for nearly four years and was anxious to get out to the real world, or what was left of it. A single news report was given from New York each night at 6 PM. It was all that was needed, there was never much reported except for more death and the dire predictions that the end of the human race would soon be upon them. Some countries were completely devoid of human life, and some were damn near close.
The United States and Canada had the highest population with a combined 1.2 million people living in various provinces and states. In the latter, nearly all of the population was in the south, and it was nearly all human. The race of mutants had been decimated ever further with the outbreak of World War III. It was open season on any 'filthy mutie' as the general public believed them responsible for the crumbling of the world. Legacy had claimed millions of human lives though it had been intended to wipe out mutants only. A mutation of the virus had appeared very quickly after the release of the initial strain. With two strains out there it was a matter of time before the world was bathed in corpses.
Cemeteries had been abandoned in the middle of the third year. There were simply too many people dying and not enough space. The cities had tried desperately to cope with the problem, but when it was clear that even mass graves wouldn't solve the problem, it was abandoned. New York had become 'the city of corpses' as it had contained the most people. The stench of death was everywhere, the evidence undeniable, and quality of life didn't exist. It was a time when survival was all that mattered, by any means necessary.
Erik had implemented weekly checks for Legacy for all the inhabitants of the compound. It was always a tense 12 hours before results could be checked to see if all the members were in good health or had contracted Legacy. They had earlier agreed that if one of them should come down with the virus, Victor would head out to scout the area, as he alone was immune. If he came back with positive news, the infectee would stay in the compound and the rest would leave. An infected compound was no good to any of them.
Victor's restlessness resulted in a trip to the surface, and for the first time since they'd left the world behind he'd come back with good news. The town had apparently all died out, and hadn't been affected by radiation. It was time to leave the bunker and breath freely; it was time to move to Apgar. The group had formed the plan to trek cross-country to the now abandoned Glacier Park. It was one of the coldest places in the northern United States and not likely to have any humans. It was also far enough away to have been exempt from the massive destruction that all of the eastern cities had endured.
Victor's news had resulted in the mutants springing into action, they would need to raid the town for supplies and locate vehicles. A car dealership ΒΌ mile outside of town had been loaded with trucks and cars when they'd last seen it. The newest survey of it showed that they still had a sufficient amount of vehicles for the group. Erik, Scott, Jubilee and Victor would each drive a vehicle while Kitty, Marie and Andrew would be passengers. The other three would be responsible for rounding up supplies at the abandoned stores. A Wal-Mart was located near the dealership, so the three hit that first.
"Can you manage a cart by yourself Andrew?" Marie asked her young companion.
"You bet!" He cried enthusiastically. "What's a cart?"
Kitty laughed, she'd forgotten that Andrew had never been inside of a store. "It's one of those silver things inside that window there. Do you remember what a store is?"
Andrew thought for a minute, when he was sure he had the answer he piped up. "A store is a place where people like mommy used to go to buy meaningless consumer things." Andrew answered quoting his father.
Marie grinned, the boy had some definite smarts about him, and he'd very gravely told her that one day when he grew up he wanted to be a shoplifter. "Hey Andrew, its your lucky day to be a shoplifter."
Andrew's face lit up when he heard that and he merrily skipped ahead of the women, stopping at the glass doors. Kitty had retrieved a rock from the parking lot and after warning Andrew to stand back, threw it through the door. The satisfying sound of it shattering pierced the air and the three shoplifters entered the store to gather their loot. There was no electricity, which was to be expected, but Marie found a couple of flashlights at the check out stands. She'd also found a dead body. "What's that smell?" Andrew asked, nose wrinkled.
"Somebody died in here." Marie told him gently.
"Why didn't they take her outside?"
"There was probably nobody left alive to do the job." She answered seriously.
"That's not right Marie. Can we give her a memory service?" Andrew asked solemnly.
"Sure." Marie answered, touched by the boy's thoughtfulness for a woman he'd never met before.
"Why don't you pray for, 'Kerry'" Marie said leaning over the skeleton to find the nametag on the smock.
"Now we lay Kerry down to sleep, pray the Heavens her soul to keep
since she died before we got here, pray the Lord her soul to take." Andrew finished his impromptu alteration of his bedtime prayer.
Kitty and Rogue bowed respectively and waited for the little priest to indicate they could move on now. The rest of the shopping trip was filled with excitement from Andrew and a few more 'memory services' performed by Brother Andrew. The women and child filled the three carts with groceries, car parts, and bedding and countless other items that were a necessity to one starting a new life. When the carts were full they went back to fill three more. After being starved for entertainment for five years, they filled a cart with cd's and players, one with small tv/vcr combinations and movies, and another with combinations of both. Andrew was fascinated with almost every aspect of the store and how all the displays were untouched but the people were dead.
An hour later the three took the carts across the parking lot and found three trucks, two RV's and a Suburban ready to load. Jubilee and Scott had pointed out that one day Marie and Kitty would both learn to drive, and more vehicles might be hard to find, therefore two trucks had been hitched to the back of the two RV's. A final night in the compound, and the band of mutants would be ready to strike out into the great wide open. Erik rounded everybody up for the weekly virus test, while a heavily pregnant Jubilee divided up shifts for Erik, Marie, Kitty, Victor and Scott to watch the trucks at night. The world might be deserted, but thieves had a tendency to strike the unlikeliest of places. It was always better to be safe than sorry.
Jubilee's second pregnancy had come as a shock to the rest of the mutants. "Why would you want to bring a child into this world?" was the first thought voiced by Erik.
Jubilee had privately thought the same thing momentarily, but the baby was part of her and Scott and in this uncertain world either of them could go at any moment. Jubilee didn't want to be left in a world where Scott was only a memory without symbols of their love for one another. Andrew was their pride and joy and both wanted him to have a brother or sister.
Jubilee was due to deliver in late August or early September according to Kitty, who acted as the older woman's gynecologist and midwife.
Rubbing her back, Jubilee stood up and stretched. She was only twenty-eight, but at times she felt infinitely older. They had all been forced to grow up fast, especially Rogue who had spent almost all of her teenage years in the compound. Jubilee sighed and decided to call it a night. Scott came in to put Andrew to bed before joining his wife for a few hours sleep before it was time for his shift.
Tonight Andrew wanted to be read to, instead of reading a story to his father. Marie had filled him in on the happenings with the dead bodies earlier and Scott suspected that Andrew wanted comfort.
"Ready for bed Kind 'Drew?" Scott smiled at his son.
"Yes, Slave Daddy." Andrew answered with all the regalnes a five year old could muster.
"What will it be your royal highness?" Scott beseeched him.
"The Cat in the Hat." Andrew answered promptly.
Scott had guessed right, Andrew did want comfort. The Dr. Seus tale was his son's fallback book. He asked for it any time there was something on his mind. Scott cracked the book, sat Andrew in his lap and began the tale.
Several hours later, the little family gathered up their few possessions and piled into their various vehicles. Marie and Erik hopped into the big red 4X4, which would lead the other trucks. When everyone was settled, the group took off. They'd filled various canisters and barrels full of gasoline yesterday afternoon and had plenty for the trip and then some. They were heading into an area where the closest area of civilization was at least twenty-five miles away.
"You ready Marie?" Erik asked his daughter.
"Sure am, it'll be nice to go somewhere different." Marie smiled a smile that wouldn't quite reach her eyes.
"I just wish mom was hear with us." Marie said.
"So do I dear. Your mother would have loved where we're going." Erik confessed.
"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if she was here?"
"All the time. I'm infinitely glad that you are here with me. I wouldn't have made it without you Marie, you're my world." Erik said gently.
"Lets just hope that there's something better up there. This, what we've been living is no life. Especially for Andrew and that baby."
"Indeed. We can't be heading off to something much worse." Erik agreed.
The two fell silent. Erik had meant every word, Marie was his only child with his beloved wife and without her, he would have easily taken his own life. He'd build himself around mutant rights, but when Marie had been born that had changed. He suddenly had a child who depended on him for everything to think about. He couldn't take the risks that he hadn't thought twice about in the past. Mystique had demanded that he quit his 'suicidal tendencies' and grow up.
She had been right of course, but Erik wasn't inclined to change. His baby girl had had a strong effect on him though. Seeing her pink hand curl around his pinky, or smile when he made a silly face had triggered a change deep inside. Erik wasn't about to offer the olive branch to Charles and his X-Men, but he agreed to stop attacking at such frequent intervals.
Mystique had fell victim to Legacy early on, and Erik finally broke down and united with Charles when a grief stricken Marie had begged him to stop fighting a needless war when the world was already in ruins. It wasn't long after that first act of friendship that Legacy had spawned two more viruses. One could lay dormant for years without detection, finally killing the victim within three days of symptoms, and one was very much like the Ebola virus of the Middle Ages.
Mystique had suffered relatively little as the original strain took its' victims within a day. Erik had secretly hoped that he himself would contract the same virus as his wife; the other two were simply horrible. It had been hard to take in three X-Men and not launch into rhetorical discussions about humanity's understanding. Erik had proven triumphant. Humanity turned on mutant kind as soon as human casualties were reported due to Legacy; ironically it had been a disease of their own making.
Erik had seen a massacre before, but the wasteland before him was somehow even more horrifying and wrong. Humans had brought it upon their selves, but it didn't erase the tragedy of the innocence lost in the remainder of the world. It was a bleak place void of hope, and in retrospect, Erik was glad his daughter had been sheltered from what the world had become in five years. Erik also hoped that Apgar Village would still be there. He also hoped the cabins would be standing. Most of all, he hoped he had enough time. He glanced over at his daughter who had fallen asleep. Marie's test had come back positive. She had Legacy and the only cure was for her to become immune.