Passage of Hope
It's the year 2040, ruins are all that remain. Earth has been reduced to rubble. Humanity latching onto a few safe locations. Bases scattered across America, UK, Germany and Russia. The prominent ones at least. Most of humanity is driven underground due to what lurks above. Under there is total war. America stands as the last Bastion of Democracy and peace, pledging to no weaponry at all. UK turned to old forgotten Communism to maintain peace, more like tearing themselves from the inside. There troops disorganised and running about with L58A2 rifles and L105A pistols. Germany turning to old roots with the 4th Reich marching into control. There troops so unformed and order, choosing to use the H&K G95 rifle and USP sidearm. Russia returns to a monarchy, the Tsar establishing an Autocratic rule, troops loyal to the Tsar wielding the trusty AK-47 and Makarov sidearms. We use old weaponry due to being underground, it's what we salvaged. The safest places to be is America but with them across the Atlantic, it's a pipe dream to the remnants of Europe. Most just stay low in neutral stations, staying out the way of the three-way war between the European powers. Now the reason why we are all shoved underground like rats is due to these horrific creatures. The most common is these pale white gangly things. Stand taller than any man. Horrific razor-sharp claws ending in deadly points. There killable, hard, but killable. They have been nicknamed Wailers due to the crying sound they make. Now the real danger is The Bird. A massive horrific creature. Looks like a bird but its ash grey bone frame stands out with little fur and meat. Claws like an eagle. Impossible to kill, nobody knows how many exist if it's one or a hundred.
Where you lie in this bloody mess. In former Flanders. Trying desperately to find a way out but the underground metro of how you all transverse in ruled my many different factions. Some helping travellers, others gutting and robbing for their own gain.
Your traveling down an old route. Heading somewhere into France. Not sure where but a dodgy lead is all you're going on. The long never-ending tunnels in darkness. Occasionally lamps light the way and your own dim flashlight. Sometimes Wailers are spotted down here, but they are far away from any station. You walk whistling an old folk tune long forgotten. You see a larger cluster of lights and either guess a lookout or an incoming trolley. You stop whistling and stand closer to the tunnel wall. You just see a couple of men standing there in uniform but you don't recognise it. There talking and then see you, the raise their guns and start shouting. "Halt! Identify yourself immediately or we will shoot" the voice shouted. You didn't recognise the accent but his English wasn't half bad.
You raised your hands and spoke in a friendly tone. "It's alright, my names Denver. I'm just a freelancer. Going from Station to Station." You smiled trying to seem friendly. Your trusty battered M4 American rifle in it's sling. A heavily modified S&W .50 cal Revolver in your holster. A customable scope on it going from either 2x zoom to a 6x zoom. Removable Silencer and a speed loader. Gotten you through thick and thin. Also, on you is your large backpack, Bits and bops hanging off, the essentials for survival.
The two men look at you and talking in hushed tones. You then recognise a badge on one of the men's uniform. An old French Air force emblem. You assume they are French from that. They finally let you pass and usher you on quickly. You walk on and hear wailing from behind with short burst of gunfire. You thought about going back but decided against it. Their problem not yours. You walk away whistling again. Acting like you've not got a care in the world. You arrive at Station 'France de Liberte' the most prominent station in France. Any French people left are here but there's a mix from around the world. You come up to the Station gate and look up to the guard. You give a friendly wave and smile. The guard started at you with discontent. He turned around and signalled to someone else and the gate opened. You said your thanks and walked in. For the supposed destruction of all of humanity Liberte was busy. People walked about doing their daily business. You were looking for a man named Piere. You were told he would stand out from the crowd at the local bar. You walked around till you found it. All of Liberte was made out of old corrugated steel and wood. Looked like slums but this was life. As you approached the bar it looked pretty much the same as any other building expect the neon sign hanging by and edge flickering on and off. You didn't even need to go in before you recognised Piere. He stood there tall but slim. What made him stand out was his obnoxiously large rainbow scarf. He saw you staring at him and gave a flamboyant wave. You walked over with a hefty sigh. Did you just get told to meet a gay man? You were about to find out.
As you approached him he spoke normally. "Bonjour my friend. I assume you are Denver?" He looked you up and down, judging you.
You responded trying to sound nice. "Yes, I am... and you are Piere I assume" You just stared, tired.
He smiled and clasped his hands together. "Well then, let's go somewhere more private shall we" He chuckled and led the way. You rolled your eyes now really wondering if you were about to get a special service. He led you into a secluded room and closed the door behind you. The room was small a lamp on a shelf with a couple of books and a old dingy bed. You were now seriously concerned and placed a hand on your revolver.
He turned to you and sat down and began to talk. "Now were alone, I can give you the information you are looking for. Sorry if it seemed like I was about to do something else" He reached into a pocket and brought out a bundle of paper. He handed it to you. "That's everything you need to know. No need to pay it's fine, but that information is not reliable, I would be careful".
You were shocked but quickly put on a smile. "Thank you. Let's hope it gets me somewhere good." You said your thanks and left. As you left a few burly men whistled at you and made weird comments about Piere. Seems your rep here will be cemented in you having interactions with a gay man. You didn't want to be annoyed any more so you quickly looked at the first few notes. Seems you were heading for Germany. What? You looked through all of them and saw there was a weird route that ended in Britain, near an old city called Glasgow. You then saw that the route you would take would be the least populated. Guess it's best. You got to the local train station and hopped into a trolley that would take you somewhere near the borders of the 4th Reich. It was a peaceful quiet journey. No wailers at all.
As you approached the German border the trolley came to a screeching halt. You were all told to get out quickly. You hopped out and leaned on the wall. A hole big enough for a human to shuffle into at the bottom. That's when a deafening Screech of Wailers came. The other 5 people on the trolley had no idea what to do. Some raised their guns ready to fight, others ran. You were smart enough to get in that hole and aim your M4 at it ready to shoot. You heard bursts of gunfire but they were quickly snuffed out as Wailers ran past lighting fast. Going for the runners. You sat till there was no more noise and popped a head out. Looking about, seeing that there were no more wailers you got out and walked slowly and quietly, M4 at the ready. You walked till you saw a Maintenace tunnel entrance. Hearing again a screech of wailers you dived in and shut the door, locking it. You took a breather and pushed on. No time to lose. It looks like according to the notes you were heading close to Stuttgart. From recent information that's where the Tsarist Russian forces have pushed to. Your just went "Fuck" and continued to walk.
As you walked the long dim tunnels you heard hushed talking. You quietly approached and saw a nest of Bandits. Fairly well armed. Seemed to have a few prisoners and a lot of supplies. Supplies you now wanted. You took out your revolver and put on the silencer. You crouched about and snuck up on an unaware guard. You grabbed him from behind and put your gun close to his back putting a few quick shots in. You silently put him drop. You check what he had on him. Some bottlecaps good currency and some ammo. You move on and see a pair together talking. Something about a massive Russian attack coming this way. Doesn't sound good so you decided to move faster. You rush the pair pushing one over and shooting the other in the head. The guy down on the ground reaches for his pistol but your quicker and put one in him. From what you see there is three bandits left. The leader and two lackies. You grab a nearby rock and throw it, distracting them and silently sneak up putting 1 in the closet guy, then the furthest away guy and last the leader. You go to shoot but your gun jams, so you run up and smack him with the gun, knocking him unconscious. You see he has a nice elegant six-inch blade on him. You take it and kill the leader of the group and loot the lot. The prisoners you decided to be nice and open the cages up and let them loose. You walk on and come to the large open section of the metro and walk on.
As you approach Stuttgart it seems quiet. 4th Reich forces are in control of the station, maybe that's why the Tsar is deciding to attack this station. You keep your distance from the gate as you're not too sure if you would be allowed in. A couple of travellers pass you and up to the gates requesting entrance. A 4th Reich solider looks at them and just shoots them on the spot. Best not to use the front door then. You look about and see an old grate. You sigh and go up to it, it's loose so you kick it in and are just able to crawl in. It's nasty in there. Cobwebs and spiders run about. You crawl your way about and find an exit. You kick it in and crawl out. Seems you're now inside the Station. You decide to throw on a large cloak to conceal your weapons as you're sure the Reich will either confiscate them or take you away. As you walk about you notice a lack of civilians but there is a few. Mostly soldier's running about. Seems the Russian attack may be sooner rather than later. That's when a large speaker starts blaring a voice. Soldiers all around gather and in unison chant "Hail Fuhrer". A clear sign that the speaker is the leader of the Reich. Fuhrer Luigi.
As you listen in the Fuhrer starts to give orders. "The Autocratic scum are attack brave warriors of the Reich! You will hold this city till the last man! And drive back the scum that plagues our land! For the Reich! For the Fuhrer!" and with that all the soldier's cheer. Alarms start to blare and the men scatter in all directions. Seems the attack has begun. You check your notes and it seemed to you were now heading north up to Frankfurt then from there to Dusseldorf. It was a long road ahead to you got moving.
Gun fire erupts from the East gate. The Russian forces were hitting hard, and you didn't want to be in the middle of it. You ran for the North gate when a large explosion blew down the gate. Russian forces were rushing in. Shooting anyone not in Tsar colours. So that meant you, they took shots at you but you ran to your left and into a cluster of shabby apartments. As you were running you notice through windows, civilians cowering. No doubt going to be shot or taken prisoner. As you were running your coat got snagged and ripped off but you paid no attention. You just grabbed your M4 and held it close as you dashed up a pair of stairs. You got to a high point and saw they were coming through the East gate now. You walked up through some rafters, staying low from any Russian forces now fully in the Station gunning down anyone apart of the Reich. The North gate was now held by a handful of Russian forces, enough for you to gun down. You took aim and shot one, then two, then three, then four, and finally a fifth solider dead. You jumped down and ran fast. All you know was you were heading North, but the state of Stuttgart made you think Frankfurt will be the same. You ran till you were out of breath. You took a short break. Panting heavily. Wondering how you got out of that mess. You found an old tram cart and found a secluded spot inside. You set up camp and took rest. Tomorow you make for Frankfurt.
You wake after what could be called a decent sleep in these times. Camp still intact meaning raiders never got to it. You check your map and see it's a short distance to Frankfurt. Do you want in Reich hands or Tsarist Russia hands? Hell, it might even be neutral that would be a treat. The notes tell you to take routes around cities but with Wailers around those areas you would take a human any day. You eat some food, hard bread mostly and then made off. As you walked the long old tunnels you think back to the days before it all went to shit. It's a blur but war of a sort ravaged the globe. Bombs went off and the Wailers are the product of that. Creatures transformed into horrors of the night. There're spots on the surface that have to be avoided due to high radiation. Masks have to be worn up there, but the Wailers are enough of a deterrent. As you approach Frankfurt you smell smoke you hurry your pace up and as you turn the corner you see the ruins of a station. Frankfurt burnt to a crisp, charred bodies all around. Who done this? Russians or the Reich. You walk in slowly M4 at the ready, you scan the surroundings and just everything is burnt. This is equivalent to a war crime. You see a couple of people up ahead dressed in Reich uniforms. You hide behind rubble and listen into their conversation. "Shame we had to burn it all down. But we got supplies out and then done it. Like to see the Russians use this station now." One of them chuckled at the end of that. You grabbed a nearby stone and launched it at one of the soldier's heads. It smacks him straight on and while he is dealing with that you shoot the other soldier several times, then knife the other one. You see there is nothing here for you and move onto Dusseldorf. From last knowledge it's a neutral city the Reich have been wanting to get control of. It's on the other side of Reich territory so no Russians hopefully.
After the long walk to Dusseldorf you see its still in neutral hands. You let out a sigh of relief and the guards open the gates for you. Everything seems peaceful, nobody seems on edge. A dishevelled man with a stick shuffles at an alarming pace up to you and grabs your arm. "Are you Denver" the man whispered in a hush tone as he darted eyes around.
You were taken aback but decided to be honest with this old man. "Yes, why do you care old man" you were blunt at him, staring down at him.
The old man smiled and dragged you along quickly. As you were being dragged you look behind you and see a group of armed men over where you were looking about. Were they looking for you? You went through a series of buildings and apartment blocks before the old man sat you in a shack, assuming it's his. "Sorry for suddenly grabbing ye and running away there. The big man of the town is after ye. Rumour has it you passed Liberte, got some info? Then ran into the siege of Stuttgart and missed the Burning of Frankfurt. Your one lucky guy il give you that. Now you need to get out of Dusseldorf fast but with the Boss after you he be locking down every exit and every passage known. So im gonna get you out in style! I aint got much time left on this Earth so I wanna cause a bit of mayhem get me, imma gonna blow down all the gates. People hate it here ya know, so with a bit of explosives that I have we blow down every god dam fucking door in this place and with everyone scattering and me being the centre of distraction, we get ya sorry ass out of here to wherever you're going. Where is that?" The old man was eccentric in this telling. Seemed like the plan.
You were still thinking this information through before you caught up and took out the notes. "Well according to these notes, I should head for Arnhem, then get a train from there? To the coast. A train? How would a train be working?" You looked up to the man and he shrugged his shoulders. He then gave you a large number of explosives.
"Plant these at the West gate. I got men planting North and South. I'm getting East Gate. As soon as East gate blows, blow the fucking West gate sky fucking high!" He said that last part loudly then he laughed. You simply chuckled along with him and he ushered you out. Gave you a large cloak, a nice replacement for the one you lost.
As you shuffled your way to the West gate, gun shots went off at it and the guards ran off to the sound. Was that a planned distraction. Well whatever it was you hurried up to the gates and got the explosives done and ran far away. You waited for an explosion from the East gate, it took some time and you got worried but then a large explosion went off. You followed suit and blew your load. At the same time North and South went off. Chaos reigned. People ran all around, some making for the Gates other to their homes. The old man now in the centre of the Station laughing loudly and cheering. You nodded to him and ran out the West gate without hesitation. No trouble at all, a clear exit. You never got that man's name but you had respect for that crazy man.
Once again found a secluded spot and set up camp and rested. Needed it after all you been through tonight. As you woke everything was still where it was. You eat some food and made off for Arnhem. It was said a great battle took place at Arnhem during the 2nd World War. Old books are that all bring information. As you approach Arnhem you see no station at all. Just more tunnel. You knew something was going to be up soon enough. There was an escalator that went up to the surface. Maybe that's where you had to go? You put on your mask and went up. The sun breaking through the old shabby building. Catching you off guard. How many people see the sun these days, can't be much. You make your way out of the building and the old town of Arnhem practically just full rubble. That's when something very out of place catches your eye. A single carriage train. Rails and everything leading coast words. You chuckled in disbelief and walked quickly to it, being on guard for any wailers and the Bird. You make it with no trouble and see the train is in working order. You throw a switch and it chugs to life. You let out a laugh of surprise and excitement. The great mechanical beast makes it way forward, gaining speed as it goes on words. You take a seat and just soak all this in. To think this was a common method of travel. As you sit you hear a loud cry like noise but it's distant and far up. You look out the train window and see the Bird overhead, watching the train. You duck down and take cover, M4 ready though it won't do much. You hear the beating of its wings getting closer and closer. Then a large crash to the side of the train, the whole thing rocking from side to side. It's trying to topple the train over. You look outside and see the coast isn't far so you throw the switch down in a hope to slow the train, the switch snaps right off and the train is barrelling forward. That gives you an idea. If you can get the Bird in front of the train so when the train crashes into the incoming building it might crush it. You break the windows in front and start shouting. The Bird flying overhead peers down at you. You smile as you take shots at it, hoping to get its' attention. The coast ever approaching, the time is now. The bird dives down right at you. You rush back as it dives into the front of the train. You get launched back with the Bird much more grotesque up and close gets smashed into a building. A large squish sound and the splatter of different body parts gives a clear sign that it's dead. You catch your breath and step outside. You see an old boat on the coast. No doubt used by civilians and the Communist State of Britain. The large wail makes you sprint for the boat. Its engine starts to your surprise and it makes off. You look back and see a large collection of Wailers at the coast all wailing. You sit down and just try to apprehend all that happened. You most likely the first person to kill the Bird but there is probably more. The boat seems stuck on a route, where you have no idea. You lie down and rest for a bit.
As you wake you see that the boat is just approaching the shore. You slow the boat down as it comes to a stop at the shore. You don't see anyone around and the land seems less rundown than mainland Europe. You see an old sign that says Edinburgh. You look at your map and see Glasgow isn't far off. Well you made it this far. Can only hope there is something at the end. You go to change your filter on your mask and when you do you taste the air and it seems better than Europe. Maybe it's fine without a mask? You take your mask and off and you're not coughing or gasping for air. You walk for a bit when the noise of an engine approaches. You stand by a few abandon cars ready to duck down if need be. As the armoured truck approaches a man comes out and greets you. "Hello comrade. You seem lost. I'm heading towards Glasgow if you want a lift, I am more than willing to give you one." You think about it and he doesn't seem hostile, you decide to accept the man's offer. You get in and he talks about where he's from and asks about you. You chat back and forth the whole way to Glasgow. The roads littered with Abandon Cars and the odd person, and little Wailers.
He Brings up the question why you're heading for Glasgow. "So why head for Glasgow if you spent so much time in Europe. Must have been a pain to get across the channel."
You sit and wonder if you should tell him and you do. "Mainly Rumours that from Glasgow I can get to America. So far the information I have been given has been good. America seems like a good place from what we hear." The man nods and focuses on driving.
You pull up to Glasgow, the city in ruins seems like the rest of Britain. "Well if you want to get to America you are best seeing Johnson. He talks about that stuff. He is just by the old ports." The man says as you get out. You thank him and he drives off. You see a few signs that lead towards the old ports. Old buildings still tower, older than when all went to hell. You see a man sitting by the old ports, fishing. He spots you and greets you. "Hello comrade, come sit with me" You do and sit with him looking into the pink green water. "Names Johnson. What about you."
Johnson seemed to found you. "Names Denver. Funnily enough looking for you. Apparently know how to get to America" You look to him. A smile on his face.
He sighs a bit. "Yes, I can get you there. No price at all! Come follow me." He stands up and walks down the port. You follow behind.
You approach a boat he gives a kind gesture letting you on first. You step on and thinking this is to easy. As you turn to ask what the catch is your hit with a bat that he must have had hidden. You black out. As you wake your stripped of all your goods. Just bare clothing. Johnson driving the boat out to sea. "All the time I get dam fools asking. There is no way. America is cut off. It's a wasteland. Britain is the best you can get. Well more food for the fishes" He laughs as you wiggle about trying to get unbound but to no avail. He brings the boat to a halt, your far out. Using a mini crane on the boat he picks you up by the rope and dangles you off the edge of the boat. He starts making weird noises and chuckling. A large object approaches from the water. A semi large fish seems to break the water and lunge up swallowing you whole. The end has come. Deceived and betrayed perhaps was your end. Or were you too hopeful and just accept the life you had back in Europe. Well it's too late now.