Chapter 5: Aftermath
Ashes fell for nearly five months after the United States was completely obliterated by the nuclear warheads. When the wind blew, the ashes reached as far north as Greenland, and as far south as Brazil. The only people that could have survived the blasts would have had to have been in fallout shelters when the bombs hit. Even if someone did survive, it would take nearly three to six months before any of them would have been able to go back out into the open air. Some parts of Canada and Mexico were also deemed to be radiation zones. The blast also knocked out the entire power grid, and there was no way to communicate with any of the possible survivors.
After the ashes stopped falling from the sky, people from all over the world traveled back to the United States to help look for survivors and also help with the rebuilding efforts. At first the United Nations came dressed in hazmat suits due to left over radiation pockets in certain locations. Few survivors were found on the surface, but many of them seemed sick from radiation poisoning. It wasn't until the United Nations were able to restore some of the power grid that other survivors would finally come out of hiding after hearing messages over the radio. All survivors were ordered by the United Nations to surrender all their weapons, and be transferred to Denver to be quarantined. The high altitude in Denver allowed for cleaner air and healthier water.
They built a wall, a big beautiful wall, the best wall, around Denver, and soon renamed it, The Conservative District. No survivor was allowed to leave the district unless they were fully quarantined, and they were also willing to sign the New Constitution. Since most of the liberals had managed to escape the tyranny of Bill and Trump by escaping to other countries, they were given the opportunity to rewrite the Constitution so that it would reflect more of the same laws that most modern countries had already adopted. The new Constitution was put into law on July 4, 2027. It was signed in Canada due to the harsh conditions that still remained in the United States.
Anthony Holmes took a group of soldiers to Washington D.C. to see if there was anything left. There wasn't. Everything was ashes. One of the bigger nuclear warheads must have hit directly on the Capitol Building. There were still some low levels of radiation being detected. They looked for the war room that Trump and Bill were last reported to be in, but there was too much rubble and debris to sort through. Anthony assumed that they must not have survived the blast, and even if they did, the overwhelming heat would have killed them instantly.
Soon airports were reestablished even while working crews were still cleaning up the rubble. This allowed travelers to land directly in the United States. Most of the travelers were only there to be tourists, but there were some that genuinely wanted to help rebuild a better America. Many people wanted to see what type of destruction that the nuclear bombs were able to cause. The travelers were amazed by the pure amount of ashes that they saw laying on the ground. Everything was either destroyed or made to look like burnt charcoal. It wasn't really worth living in America yet because the soil was still tainted by the radiation and you couldn't grow any types of plants. Even the trees were all completely dead, and the water somewhat radioactive. The only animal life that survived would have been animals that lived in the outer regions of the United States like Maine, Washington, or Southern California. The southern tip of Florida, from Orlando down to the Florida Keys no longer existed because they were completely wiped off of the map. Still, despite the constant doom and gloom of the terrible dark skies ahead, several people from South America traveled to the wastelands to stake their claim in the new America. Many refugees from other countries would soon do the same.
Food shortages were becoming a major problem that was affecting everyone on earth because America's agriculture had been decimated. Plus, the atmosphere was still covered with dark clouds causing other countries' crops to be affected. The lack of sunshine made the temperatures colder all around the world. Food would have to be rationed if they planned to keep everyone from starving. The total casualties from starvation alone could be in the millions. That doesn't include the sixty million people that have already parished in the United States after the nuclear bombs hit.
It was now Saturday morning, October 30, 2027. The working crew that was hired to get all the rubble picked up in Washington D.C. were working overtime. They were still working in hazmat suits because of the low amounts of radiation that still lingered. Because it was Saturday there were only four men working the machinery that day. Mostly to remove the last bit of rubble.
One of the men using a bulldozer had removed the last of the debris from the war room that Trump and Bill had last been in before the bombs hit. He got down from his bulldozer, and checked the radiation levels. They were slightly higher than the levels of the surface, so he decided to go down into the bunker to check it out. He wasn't expecting to find much since so much debris had to be removed from where the room had collapsed. Everything was still dusty. After removing a couple bricks and some destroyed ceiling tiles, he discovered two bodies laying on the ground. They were both dead. The bodies looked strange to him because it didn't look like they had died from radiation poisoning or being burned to death. It looked more like they had been mauled up and eaten by a wild animal.
He took out his CB Radio to call one of the other workers to come to the site. "Hey could one of you guys head over to the war room area. I got something strange here."
Another worker answered. "Hey! What the HELL are you doing! We were instructed by Anthony Holmes to not go in there until he could check it out first!" He exclaimed. "Are you trying to get us all fired!"
"Yeah yeah! We are the ones working in a radioactive site on a Saturday morning, I think I have more say-so than that guy! Just get over here!"
Suddenly the CB Radio noise turned to static on him. "Hey! Does anyone out there copy? Hello?"
He took out a flashlight and shined it closer to the wounds on the two dead men. He could definitely tell they were claw marks and bite marks. He shined the flashlight down at the ground to see if he could find any paw prints in the dust. He didn't find paw prints, but he did find footprints. They were slightly larger than an average footprint, unless the person was nearly eight feet tall. The footprints ended in the corner of the room. He thought that was weird, but then he thought to look up at the ceiling. Suddenly, the most gruesomest thing that the worker had ever saw jumped down and landed on him causing both of them to fall to the ground. The gruesome creature, who looked like a badly deformed man, trapped the worker against the ground. The man couldn't believe what he was seeing as the creature stared down at him with his deformed head that had long pointed ears like Spock from Star Trek, plus he also had very sharp teeth. Most of his hair was completely gone other than the weird long whisker-like hairs that were coming from out of his mouth and chin area. Plus he looked like he was older due to the wrinkles on his face and chin. His shirt had been stretched and torn as if he had grown while he was wearing it. The worker could feel the long claws that were wrapped around his wrists, and the overwhelming strength that the creature had in his grip. The creature ripped off the worker's hazmat helmet, and then threw it to the side. The worker let out a scream just before the creature sank his teeth down into the worker's chin. The worker tried to resist. He managed to get one hand free, grabbed the creature's shirt, and then tried pushing the creature off of him. The creature pulled away for a second causing his lapel pin to fall off and his shirt to be ripped even more. The creature then proceeded to maul the man several times with his sharp claws, until finally going in for the kill by biting down on the man's jugular and ripping it out completely causing the worker to bleed to death.
A couple minutes later one of the other workers made it over to the war room. He could see the worker walking several feet away in the hazmat outfit. He looked as if he wasn't standing up right.
He yelled out to him. "Hey! Did you find anything down there!"
He waited a couple seconds for him to respond but the worker never did. "Ah! Forget it! I've already called Agent Holmes! I'll let him deal with it!
The person in the hazmat suit said something under his breath as he walked further away from the site. "Aaaagent Hoooolmes."
*Facebook News Headline*
Several nations look to reinvest in the United States by offering to buy up land that may still contain crude oil.
*Comments*
Chad Shevel: I wouldn't want to go back to the United States yet. I'm glad they revamped the Constitution to include Universal Healthcare because obviously you are going to need it if you want to live on or near a nuclear bomb site.
Jason Glenrude: Yeah, I have to admit, living in Canada isn't so bad. It's a little bit colder, but where isn't it a little bit colder now-a-days lol.
Chad Shevel: Right, I would probably go back once I knew the animals and the crops were starting to return, but other than that, I'm doing okay.
Frank B. Kindle: You guys make me sick! You bitched and moaned that you wanted change to come to the United States! You talked about your woke speeches of making this place more of a socialist country! Not that you have it that way, you don't want to come back! Where is your true patriotism at now!
Jason Glenrude: Yo! Frankie! Chad just said he would come back once he knew things were getting better. Not everyone is ready to live in those conditions.
Frank B. Kindle: You created these conditions. You couldn't let us have the country we wanted, so you blew it up! Just like the cowards you are! A bunch of commies that sit there being computer keyboard warriors while the rest of us work for what we want. Now you have let all these foreigners come in from the south and take over the land. Plus, you have allowed China and Saudi Arabia to buy off pieces of our precious land. We are not happy about that. The National Republic of America will rise again.
Jason Glenrude: Oh wow! This dude has slipped on a banana peel! You are talking about The National Republic of America as if they still exist. Nobody is trying to live like that anymore. We all want fairness and kindness rather than inequality and despair.
Frank B. Kindle: Inequality and despair come from a lack of imagination and hard work! You should both be here rebuilding the land you chose to demolish. Instead, you just sit there waiting for someone else to do it, and then come back and reap all the social benefits. You're pathetic!
Chad Shevel: Dude! You sound like you have been drinking Drano! We are free to choose whether or not we want to return yet. Most of the jobs available are in construction right now. There isn't even a school system set up other than in some of the mountains and higher altitude areas.
Frank B. Kindle: What is the matter Chad Shevel? You can't work construction because you don't want to? Or, is it because you lost a few fingers?
Jason Glenrude: What the FUCK is wrong with you dude? Damn! Too bad you didn't die when the nuclear bombs hit!
Frank B. Kindle: Jason, I asked Chad a question… What's the matter Chad? Does a cat got your tongue? Oh, I forgot. I CUT IT OUT!
Meanwhile, Anthony Holmes had already landed in Washington D.C. and he was checking out the war room bunker. He found the two bodies laying on the floor close to one another. When he bent down he noticed the strange claw marks and bite marks all over their bodies. He turned one of them over and then found the dead man's lapel pin on his torn jacket. It was the lapel pin of Donald Trump. It was hard to make out the description because his entire face has been ripped off. The only thing that gave it away was the bright blonde hair that still remained on the corpse. He figured the other body was probably that of Bill Newcomb. But, when he turned the body over, the lapel pin read "General Smith." He began looking around a little more. He spotted the other body laying several feet away in the corner of the room, when suddenly a call came through to his phone. The person on the other line told Anthony about the strange conversation that was just reported by Chad Shevel and Jason Glenrude on Facebook. They told Anthony that it looked like it could be, or at least a copycat of the Facebook Killer.
"That's impossible! It couldn't be Bill Newcomb! He would have died from the blast or died from the exposure of the intense radiation." He said as he slightly took the phone away from his ear, and then he walked up to the other body in the corner.
The body didn't look as old as the other two bodies of Trump and General Smith. Plus, the blood looked fresh. He turned the dead man's body over. His face was completely torn off just like the other two. He could tell that the dead man had something in his hand. When Anthony opened the dead man's hand and looked, he discovered a lapel pin that had the name President Newcomb inscribed on it, along with parts of a torn jacket attached to it. The same type of jacket that Donald Trump was wearing.
He put the phone back up to his ear, and then said, "I think we might have a problem here. I'm going to have to immediately get in touch with a man named Bruce Wayne."