III - Scorched Earth

-Day 14-

The sun was high and the air was brisk. A red Honda Civic Coupe moved along the roads with surrounding golf courses and wooded patches as the popular Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver played in the radio. The song was not being played by any radio stations– the driver simply had his CDs stacked in the red car on standby to beat boredom.

Tim Crowley softly hummed along as he shifted his eyes from the nostalgic landscape to the rear-view mirror.

Maria lay against her seat, staring out the window with a desolate expression in her face.

"Something wrong?" asked Tim.

"I'm fine," replied Maria.

"We're close to Ann Arbor. But that's not what you're thinking of, right?"

Tim was met with silence.

"I'm sorry you couldn't find your children. Look, but there's still hope, you know? I doubt I will find my own daughter home, but I'll keep looking for her. I know I'll find her."

"You make it sound like you know where to look for her."

"I do. And most likely, she won't be home. You know, most people left their homes. It's not safe staying in the cities anymore."

"Think that's why my kids left with Lori's family?"

"Yeah, definitely," smiled Tim.

"I don't know if my children ever made it to Royal Woods. There is nothing to prove that they were with the Louds. I can't imagine how poor Lori is feeling right now."

Tim looked around at the surrounding homes and drove along the clear streets of Ann Arbor.

"You know, Lori was also in Detroit," said Tim.

"How do you know that?"

"I shared a room with two other families, and one of them consisted of a young woman named Carol Pingrey."

"I think that was Bobby's old classmate when he went to school back in Royal Woods. I don't know if it's the right Carol, though."

"Seems like it is. Carol would talk about Lori and Bobby to her parents. Now, we didn't find their bodies in Detroit, and we didn't find them in Royal Woods. Ketcham Park was completely burned, and no sign of rogues. I could assume that a large battle broke out between a couple fighters and the rogues, causing these three young people and their families to evacuate the town. Plus, that's what the others said, right? They could be in Albany– that's where Bobby and Ronalda would want to be at, right?"

"Where'd you get all this information?"

"I'm taking educated guesses," said Tim.

"No, the rogue part. You knew the rogues were at Ketcham Park. You know too much, don't you?"

"I… did a lot of research. I knew people that were connected to the K.H.A.N. in some ways. I had friends that helped me with my research and investigations. We've been doing this for years now. Decades. The necrosis influenza of the rabid type. I saw it coming before anyone else."

"Can we please start with… the K.H.A.N.?"

"Sure thing, after we make a quick stop."

After about a dozen minutes, Tim parked the red car in front of his house. A roamer corpse with arrows on its head lied outside the house. He grabbed the arrows and pulled them off the roamer. He then unlocked the door to his house and entered as Maria followed behind, holding a curious Carlitos.

He looked around the house, finding no signs of Vonda, though he wasn't surprised. He walked down the basement and found some of his weapons gone.

"Good. Meredith and Vonda were really prepared for the trip."

Tim grabbed two slingshots and handed one to Maria. He placed two bags of steel balls in his backpack then grabbed two throwing knives, one for each side of his belt. He then grabbed two FN Five-Sevens, one for Maria.

"Oh no, I don't know how to use those," said Maria.

"You'll need it. You've seen what those roamers could do. Don't worry, I'll teach you. The slingshot too."

Then, Tim grabbed two small ninjato swords, one that can be held at each hand, and placed them in two scabbards tied to his backpack.

He moved the weapons upstairs and began to gather the food and supplies together.

"We'll be staying here for the night," said Tim. "So, about the K.H.A.N. Now, now, where do I start?"

PRESENT DAY

-Day 781-

The breeze in the shade under a train track eased the discomfort of the bus survivors, especially as the temperature climbed higher. The soft, cool air, along with the medicine that David and his group distributed among the survivors, gave them a sense of relaxation as they took a break from the occasional dry coughs and burning fluids.

The thin fair hair on top of the baby's head moved around softly as Carol placed her hand on her daughter's head. Zoey sniveled as her mother removed her hand from her warm forehead, and softly sneezed twice. Carol sighed as she walked inside Bus 1, grabbing a bulb syringe from her backpack while holding Zoey.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked Clyde, his wet tank top being nothing compared to his sweaty face.

"No. I think Zoey's under the weather. Like the others."

"Oh no… that's terrible! What can I do to help?"

Carol slowly stuck the bulb syringe into Zoey's nostrils, sucking some of her infectious mucus out.

"Nothing much, just go out in the city when the others need you," she said.

"I can't. I feel like I'm going to mess things up. It's better for me here."

"Then you can hold Zoey. You know how to hold a baby, right?"

Clyde nodded.

"It's the babysitting that's the hard part," he said before holding Zoey. "Wow, she's lighter than I expected."

Carol stretched her arms around.

"Not when you're carrying her for hours. Oh, I'm so exhausted."

"Being a leader's harder than it looks, right?"

Carol continued to stretch out her arms before glancing at Clyde, nodding softly.

"Being a mother is harder," said Carol. "And to find out that she's got malaria… I just want to settle down somewhere other than a train station or a bus."

"We'll be in in the capital before you realize it," said Clyde. "You never know. That could be our permanent home. Think Zoey would like it if she grew up around doctors and non-rogue soldiers?"

"I hope so. Any place other than the outside would be better for Zoey."

Zoey opened up her eyes and looked at Clyde. He smiled at her, but her expression remained unmoved. Clyde then began to tickle her nose, causing her to laugh. And her smile remained as her laughter trailed off.

"Aww, she's so cute," said Clyde. "Look at those eyes! Definitely your eyes, Carol. Her nose? Yup, that's yours, Carol. And look how soft her hair is! That's gotta be your hair!"

"Or it could be her father's," whispered Carol, causing Clyde to lower his smile. "C'mon, Clyde. We can't pretend he never existed. Zoey's gonna be asking questions years from now. I don't wanna hide anything from her. Not from anyone close to me."

Carol grabbed Zoey before poking her nose. Laughter came from the baby's mouth again.

"Come outside, Clyde. The wind feels nice. And it'll clear up Zoey's sinuses more."

Clyde nodded and walked out the bus with Carol and her daughter. The buses continued to sit next to a train station further inside the Bronx.

Meanwhile, the RV parked in front of the 145th Street Bridge, which was in swing mode over the river that appeared to be still– the debris and rubble flooded the river, and clogged parts of it that allowed it to travel to the ocean. Sometimes, the river would flood over the debris. Not in this case. A giant pile of rubble, next to the 145th Street Bridge, that used to belong to certain apartment buildings made another bridge between the Bronx and Manhattan. Water would flow through large holes that were submerged in the river.

David and George stepped out of the RV and walked towards this pile of rubble.

"Goddamn, this can't be the only intact bridge left over," said George. "How did it survive a nuclear blast anyways?"

"It's pointing towards and away from what appears to be ground zero. The new ground zero. Maybe the angle of it helped."

David and George stood before the pile of rubble. David then looked at the middle island that held the split part of the bridge.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "We have to connect it back to the roads. And I'm betting that generator in the middle there got some juice."

"Watch our steps, right?" said George.

David nodded. He stepped on a wide, rigid steel beam among the base of the rubble pile. The steel beam did not budge. He took another step, then another, speeding up his pace as he walked along the beam.

After watching David step onto another steel beam, George placed his foot on the base of the rubble pile. He walked along the steel beam and then kept up to David's pace. They hesitated as they stepped onto a pile of shattered bricks, but it remained still. The rubble really was clogged in the river. They continued to walk among the rubble bridge.

"Hey, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about in private," said George. "Just us two here– no better timing than now."

"What is it?" muttered David.

"Now, I don't mean to bring up the past so much, especially conflicted events, but I couldn't but wonder, but back in Houlton, you wanted to make a decision concerning the rogue prisoner. Why? Why that decision?"

"He was a rogue. Plain and simple."

"But it wasn't that simple. He has a family. It wasn't gonna be the right thing."

"It wasn't," agreed David. "It was the safe choice."

"I just don't want us to lose the very idea of justice. Even in this world."

David stopped as he looked up the mountain of rubble that they would have to climb to reach the island below the middle of the bridge. Sharp rebars, metal pipes, traffic signs, and other pieces of debris stuck out in the mountain of rubble.

"This gotta be at least three stories high," said David. "Ever did rock climbing?"

"Yeah," said George. "It was a part of my training to be an agent."

David nodded. He placed his hand on a steel beam that stuck out before placing his feet on a flattened barrel above the rubble floor. He lifted himself up and placed his feet on a piece of brick wall. George grabbed onto a piece of brick from the rubble and began climbing up the mountain of rubble.

"Ever think about Richard?" asked George.

David remained silent, not pausing for a second climbing up the mountain.

"It crossed your mind before, right?" added George. "The way he did things to survive?"

"If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting… then let me just stop you there. His own rage consumed him… his choices were to ensure his own survival, not ours."

David placed his hands on top of a car trunk before climbing on top of it.

"I make the choices I make so that others don't have to… especially Lori. She may not see it sometimes… but she tries to compromise too often. Sometimes in this world, you can't compromise."

David climbed to the peak before George placed his hand on the wheel of a car stuck in the rubble pile.

"But you can," said George as he placed his foot on the trunk of the car. "Not saying it would be easy, but– shit!"

The wreckage of the car tilted downwards, causing George to fall to his knees. The car then shook, and the bricks surrounding it began to fall down the mountain. The peak of the rubble mountain began to shift as David tried to keep his balance. The car continued to tilt downwards, as George quickly leaped to the hood of the car, cracking the windshield as his shoes smashed against it.

Then, the car was pushed out of the rubble pile and rolled down along with bricks and debris. David fell to his knees and hung onto the steel beam at the peak. After regaining his balance, he coughed out the dust from his lungs and looked around. He looked down at the base of the rubble pile and found the wreckage of the car, but no George.

Meanwhile, in Bus 4, the passengers' illnesses began to vary in terms of strength, as some felt like they were weaker. But it was all the same symptoms. Dr. White and Lisa ruled out the possibility of different strains, and continued to work on treating the very ill.

Water splashed down into a beaker. Dr. White poured some of it into a paper cup. Then, a spoon scooped up some of the water and was placed into a patient's mouth. Dr. White removed the spoon and scooped up more water from the cup.

"That's what my mom said," said Vonda. "But what's an H-bomb?"

"It's a hydrogen bomb, more powerful than an atomic bomb," said Lisa. "But how? I'll measure the radiation in the area with a Geiger counter later, but based on my observations alone, it appears that the spread of fallout is minimal, if none. There was definitely some weapon of mass destruction applied to this former city… but if it was a nuclear weapon, why was the spread so low? Unless… it was airburst…"

Carol and Clyde walked inside the bus with surgical masks on, and a baby in need of medical attention. Lisa turned towards Dr. White.

"What do you surmise?" she asked.

After a few seconds of silence, Dr. White moved his lips.

"Airburst."

"C'mon, I thought you would know more about this," said Vonda. "None of the rogues ever mentioned anything of it?"

"Hey, think you can spare some medication for Zoey?" asked Carol. "Her illness seems to be getting worse."

"Now that I think about it, you should know something," said Jace. "Ain't no way in hell you hung around with those rogues and they haven't blabbered a single thing about NYC."

"Are you people trying to find out more about the Dust Zone?" questioned Clyde.

"Yeah, but we're not…" said Preston as his voice trailed off.

"Dr. White?" said Carol. "Are you okay? I asked you for medication for Zoey."

"Dude, are you okay?" asked Vonda.

Dr. White reached into his shirt pocket and took out a bottle of antibiotics. He took out a scalpel and cut a pill in half before handing it to Carol, along with a cup of water. Carol grabbed it, touching the damp sweat mark on the cup.

"You know something, don't you?" stated Lisa. "Well… we're all ready to listen."

Dr. White took off his glasses and wiped the sweat from his face. He then rubbed the lens on his button plaid shirt. Finally, he placed his glasses back on.

"The KHAN destroyed the city of New York with an airburst explosion of a hydrogen bomb," he revealed. "Not the U.S. military. Not any foreign governments. The KHAN."

Everyone in the bus stared at the doctor. Even Zoey noticed the sudden drop in noise in the bus. The doctor's voice was shaking.

"General Black provided nuclear warheads to the KHAN so that they could complete Operation Dust Zone. They have many more warheads in their disposal, but this event… it is the single most catastrophic attack in their history. The reason? Different than the others. They needed a fast and efficient way to bring down the military power of the nation. Considering that tens of thousands of soldiers were deployed at New York, this plan… it worked. And everyone else who died… they should've evacuated the city when they had the chance."

Coughs and heavy breathing were the only noises heard in the buses. Some of the passengers were looking at each other, not saying a word. Carol then stepped closer to the doctor.

"When did you find out?" she asked.

"When did I– I found out on the… a month before the Global Infection Event."

The passengers began to murmur among each other. Carol's mouth was left open as she looked back at Lisa, whose expression changed the least. Almost as if she knew as well.

"New York City wasn't nuked that early," said Carol.

"I know. The KHAN destroyed the city on Day 5."

"And you didn't think to warn the goddamn world?" yelled Frank Weber. "You just let millions die?"

"It's not that simple," said Dr. White.

"Ever heard of the internet?" remarked Jace. "Coulda' made a website, coulda' contacted the government, hell, you coulda' just sent out a damn tweet."

"You don't understand…"

Frank stood up and bumped Dr. White with his chest.

"What don't we understand? You were working with this… this evil organization! You are so close to them that they had to tell you a month before it happened, aren't ya? Why the hell are you still here? You're a danger to all of us! You're not saving lives! You're destroying lives!"

"YOU HAVE NO GODDAMN IDEA ABOUT ALL THE WORK I DID TO SAVE LIVES! NO IDEA!" he bursted out loud. "I tried to save humanity for God's sake! I'm trying to save your goddamn lives with medicine that you can't even pronounce! I'm the only person in the world who can find a cure to save my family!"

Dr. White was panting heavily. Everyone was shocked, even Lisa.

"Did you know… that the KHAN does not possess… a cure?" he said. "That's right. They have used something that they themselves don't have a solution for. Ever since the beginning, long before the KHAN came into the picture, I worked for a team in Halifax that tried to find a treatment for an earlier strain of necrosis influenza. Other nations possessed the strain, so we needed to find a way to prevent mass casualties in case they decided to use it for biological warfare. I spent years trying to look for something… but I came up short. Then, the KHAN decided to break into the lab that we were working on and stole all the strains. Later, they invited me to their headquarters where they showed me a new laboratory… with all state-of-the-art technology. And my team was there… working on a cure. At first, I didn't want to join, but as soon as I saw what they were doing– weaponizing the necrosis flu– I knew I had to pursue the cure more than ever before. And with this membership to the KHAN, I was able to learn more about their future plans and their philosophy of the new world they were making… and I was also able to secure the safety of my family. But as long as the dead keep on living… they will NEVER be safe."

Dr. White grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water. He sipped it and placed it down, before looking at the passengers again.

"I knew it wasn't an empty threat," he added. "Krissen, the leader herself, told me what time the nuclear bomb was supposed to detonate. She entrusted me… because she knew I cared too much about my family than to warn others and be dismissed as a lunatic. But I want to make one thing clear. Krissen killed all those people. Not me. I wasn't being a coward. I was just doing what any of you would have done."

As the silence continued, the passengers looked towards Carol. But all she did was walk away, leaving everyone in Bus 4 to reflect on the doctor's words.

The dust cleared up. David continued to look around the base of the rubble pile.

"George!" he yelled. "George, are you alright!"

A dry cough came from below David to the left. He turned around and knelt down, looking below a steel beam cliff. He found George lying on top of a tire on the edge of the rubble mountain.

"I'm fine…" groaned George. "Still alive. Heh."

David placed his hand on a metal rod, while reaching out to George with the other hand. George grabbed his arms and placed his feet on the wheel before jumping up. He quickly grabbed the steel beam and groaned as he lifted himself with David's assistance. After getting on top of the beam, he crawled his way to the peak.

"Hey, you alright?" asked David.

"Yeah, just a few cuts and scrapes, man. We got antibiotics back at the RV, right? Just in case I get an infection or something?"

David nodded. He then pointed at the middle island, which stood a few dozen meters away.

"It's just a slope down there," he said. "Just watch your step."

Both men stepped over piles of bricks and broken glass. They climbed over metal and cement blocks. Then, they finally descended to the middle island that controlled the swing bridge.

"There's the generator," said David. "Once we got it on, we'll turn on the motor for the bridge using that lever."

"How'd you know that?" asked George.

"I had some experience overseas. After you do that, we only have to climb that ladder. We won't climb that mountain again."

"Alright, sounds cool. We still have some daylight to kill. Let's get on with it."

The clouds washed over the sun as Lori and her group explored the remains of the city. As the group walked through Harlem, three survivors, Lynn, Becky, and Benny, decided to tell the group more about their experience of seeing the destroyed city for the first time.

"Think the rogues might've done this?" asked Benny.

"Maybe," said Lori. "They've done the same thing with other cities, except they used napalm. New York is a lot bigger. It could also be the normal military. We're just gonna have to keep exploring."

The sun was setting down. The group walked next to Columbia University, which found itself in ruins.

"Carol wanted to go here, right?" asked Becky.

"She considered all the Ivy League schools," replied Lori. "She deserved it too, you know?"

"I feel bad for everyone here," said Benny. "All the hard work that they went through… just gone like that."

"Yeah, I thought it sucked that I went to school for nothing," said Lincoln, "but these students had it worse. They actually wanted achieve something great. This world sucks."

"Agreed," said Luan. "Imagine going to school for more than twelve years only to find out that your education is put to a stop because of a darn nuke. I'd have a meltdown… no pun intended."

"Look over there," said Lynn, climbing on top of a rubble pile. "It's a big rectangle of nothing."

"We can't see what you're looking at! " exclaimed Ronnie Anne.

"I know exactly what she's talking about," said Lincoln.

After a few minutes, the group arrived at the large rectangular area with debris scattered all over. However, all the piles of rubbles were no taller than anyone in the group. It truly was an empty spot, compared to everywhere else.

"This was Central Park?" asked Bobby.

Lincoln nodded.

"There isn't anything left of the park in here," said Becky. "It's all… gone."

"Not how I imagine first time in New York," said Hana. "I miss out on a lot."

"There's still some stuff lying around," said Lori. "Let's look around. Could give us more information about what happened here."

Lori stepped on a small pile of bricks in the ground. She looked down and kicked away the bricks before lowering herself.

"Hey, I found something already," said Lori. "What's this?"

A loud shot cracked and fired a ball of light that nearly struck Lori in the face. She stumbled backwards and looked as the fireball lit up under the cloudy sky. Bobby quickly picked up Lori as the rest of the group stared at the glowing and sparkling light.

"I hope that doesn't become a problem," muttered Lori. "There aren't any roamers around to see that, right?"

Bobby shook his head. Lori grabbed the object from the ground, which came equipped with extra ammunition strapped to it.

"Flare gun? This might be useful," whispered Lori before turning back to the group. "I'm alright. Everything's okay. Just keep looking around. Try not to hurt yourself."

The group walked around the burnt and wrecked park. There were fences, ropes, and nets lying around in the ground. There were also a few dark-green crates hidden under piles of bricks. All it took was a couple swipes for the bricks to fall out of the crates.

Lynn found a crate on top of the wreckage of a bench. She looked around it, looking at the American flag marked on it, along with the U.S. Army logo, something she hasn't seen in a while. She opened it, finding small boxes of ammunition. With her backpack open, she shoved all the boxes of ammunition for sidearms in it.

Hana found a bone fragment in the ground, along with a dented dog tag. She picked it up and frowned, looking back at Kimi who sat in a shaded spot outside of Central Park, waiting for her companion's return. Hana shook her head and dropped the dog tag. She returned with the rest of the group.

Lori looked at a sheet of canvas fabric from a tent tied to two steel beams, slowly moving along the breeze. She squinted and felt uneasy as she observed the dark-red cross sign. She moved away the sheet and found another military crate. She cut off the tape with her hatchet and opened the lid.

"Oh my god."

She walked away from the crate, leaving behind two bones that were placed on top of each other to make an X.

"So, you found ammo, some guns, more ropes, water– we're not drinking that– and… clothing," listed Becky.

Lori joined the rest of the group.

"The military definitely didn't cause this," she said. "They're crates are all over the place. U.S. Army, Marines, National Guard, they wouldn't nuke their own people, would they?"

"I guess not," said Benny. "So it was rogues."

"Well, whoever it was, they failed to kill everyone in here. There were still people who survived the nuclear explosion. And they don't seem like good people. This place makes me feel uncomfortable now. I thought we were literally the only ones in the city. But it looks like there might still be people lurking around… maybe even watching us."

Becky reached into her holster and took out her sidearm. She aimed it at the wreckage of a tall building, walking closer and closer to the front. Lori took out her revolver, walking along with Becky as she heard the faint noise behind the building growing louder. The rest of the group took out their weapons, staying close together.

"It's close," said the deep voice. "I saw it around here."

"I don't even know where the hell I'm going," said the other male voice. "Think it was around– oh, hello."

Becky and Lori each gasped slowly. They lowered their guns as Lori slowly walked ahead. She smiled and ran up to David, wrapping her arms around him and placing her head on his chest. George smiled as he walked up to Becky, who gave him a fist-bump. The group walked closer to both survivors, chattering positive greetings.

"You made it," chuckled David.

"You made it too," smiled Lori. "How's everyone else?"

"Not too well… but we're still alive. That's good news in a post-apocalypse, right? They're all waiting back in the Bronx."

"Lead me to them," said Lori.

George looked at Lynn and smiled.

"Haley works some damn miracles sometimes," he said. "Staying alive is your best trait, right?"

Lynn nodded and punched George lightly.

"You know it. Though… she's not around anymore."

"But we found this," said Ronnie Anne, taking out an M9 from her bag. "For you, David."

David grabbed the gun and nodded.

"It's still in good condition," he said. "We have a lot to catch up on."