John Irvin

POCHATOK

The mushroom cloud descended from the heavens as its fiery-red plumes filled the TV screen.

No one saw this coming.

Gideon Cole, topaz brown eyes wide in shock, stood his full six feet height. He gaped just like everybody else in the store.

Just minutes ago, he’d decided to take a casual stroll across the street from his suburban home to the tiny grocery store so he could buy a snack. He’d finished a take-home project early that morning and planned to spend the rest of the day binging on Netflix.

Every one was meandering through the short aisles, snatching bags of chips or boxes of ramen noodles—the casual American way.

No one had the slightest idea what was about to flash across the Breaking News screen on the TVs overhead.

Now, no one moved, it was as if the Universe had hit the pause button on the world.

The anchorman muttered into his mike, his words coming out strained—he too was obviously shocked and reading the words from his teleprompter was a struggle.

“The Russian nuclear missile made contact in New York City. From the destruction we are witnessing live right now, estimates say a fifty-seven mile radius will be affected. The death toll will most likely be 14 million but those numbers are rising. The missile was launched from a Submarine somewhere in the Atlantic off the Eastern coast, officials still have not made any comments or given any information as of yet.”

Gideon managed to find a spark of energy in his ankles. He dropped the chocolate bar he’d picked up off a shelf, his hands sweaty. It felt like all the blood in his head had flushed out, leaving his forehead and cheeks, even his neck, feeling cold and clammy.

Every movement felt awkward—like being transformed into a mechanical robot.

Approaching the cash register at the front of the store, he opened his mouth to ask the employee a question.

No sound escaped his mouth.

The young man, looking barely out of high school, stared back, his blue-green eyes wide with terror.

Finally a sentence managed to choke out of Gideon’s throat.

“Do you know why they fired on us?”

The boy nodded.

“They wanted to stop the virus before it spread.”

“Virus?”

“Yes, Sir, the Arctic-N13 Virus. It was hiding in that creature that group of scientists uncovered from the glacier they found several weeks ago. Did you hear about that?”

Gideon nodded, he had heard a group of international archeologists and marine biologists found some prehistoric creature of unidentified origin frozen in the ice. They claimed it could have the answer to mankind’s origin. Teams from the USA, Russia, China, France, Germany, Norway, and even Korea had come together and released the artifact from its frozen prison. They’d immediately taken it to New York City for the examination.

Shortly after that, he did remember seeing some headline on the Internet about a virus accidentally being spilled during a test.

The United Nations had convened an emergency conference just two days ago, warning the world about the plague—a few of the delegates there were already showing deadly signs: rotting facial features, burn-like markings all over their bodies, and plenty of hacking coughs. The US delegate, in fact, died just the night before.

“So murdering 15 million people was their solution?”

“Better them then us, I guess. Glad, we’re on the opposite side of the country.”

Gideon stared at the boy for a long moment, unbelieving of what he had just heard.

How could anyone be so heartless? So selfish?

Glancing at the TV screen again, he watched in horror as the camera focused in on at least four smoke-trails from four more ICBMs.

“The US government immediately retaliated by launching four of our own missiles.” The anchorman ranted.

At that moment, Gideon’s cell phone chirped in his pocket.

Pulling it out, he read “Dad” across the screen and pressed the on-button.

“Gideon,” a gruff voice scratched through the speaker. “Are you at home?”

“I’m just across the street,” Gideon replied, his breathing was a bit erratic. “Is this about the nukes?”

“Yes,” his father replied, his voice deep with emotion.

Gideon’s father was a Lieutenant General in the US Army and chief of some branch in the Arms Division of their home city of San Francisco—Gideon wasn’t sure what exactly his father dealt in though, but never asked. What should be secret, should stay secret.

General Cole muttered something else.

“What was that?” Gideon asked.

“I said, I’m headed your way. Hurry back to the house and grab what food and medical supplies you can, stash it in bags or backpacks, whatever, just have it ready. We’ve got to get out of the city before it happens. I know a place—”

“Wait,” Gideon interrupted. “Before what happens? Dad what’s going on?”

There was a heavy sigh in the phone’s static, Gideon was certain he could feel his Dad’s emotions emanating through the cell.

“I saw this coming a long time ago. As soon as those crazy scientists decided to unfreeze that corpse, I knew it would all unravel. It’s unraveling faster than I expected though. But, thank God, we still have time.”

“Time for what?”

“I’m almost there, I’ll explain when I pick you up.” The receiver beeped and the call closed out.

Gideon stared at the screen, his thoughts were now plunging down a hole he was certain had no way out.

Then, something kicked in. Survival mode is what his father had always called it ever since Gideon was old enough to understand. That flight or fight response all human beings possess.

Feeling like he was watching his own body from above, he rushed across the street outside and dashed inside the two-story suburban home he’d lived in with his father for the past two decades of his life.

They’d moved into this house after his mother had passed away when he was six years old.

Snatching the large camping backpack out from under his bed, he threw it on the bed and scurried out of the room.

Water first—every survival class drums this into the brain.

There were two packets of twenty bottles stacked in the kitchen.

Ripping the top packet up, he yanked out as many bottles he could grab with two hands and hurried back to the bedroom. Shoving them deep into the pack, he mulled over the questions in his mind for a moment before running back to the kitchen and grabbing six more bottles. After stashing them, he raced to the bathroom with the medical cabinet hung on the wall.

First Aid kits second—human beings could go without food for weeks, they couldn’t go more than a week without water, and any injuries no matter how small could become deadly if not cared for with proper medical supplies.

When Gideon had finished stuffing his backpack the rest of the way with canned foods and other long-shelf-life stuffs, he heard the roar of a Jeep engine chug up to the front door outside.

General Cole had arrived.

No more time to grab another backpack apparently, Gideon thought as he heard the Jeep’s horn being laid on by his Dad.

Hoisting the backpack onto his right shoulder, he did a quick survey of the living room—memories from twenty years threatened to overwhelm his senses. He shoved them back into the dark recesses of his mind for now. Yanking the front door open, he charged out to the parking lot.

His dad glanced from the backpack to his son’s gaze—he shrugged like it didn’t matter whether there were two packs or one.

“We’ll have plenty if we get where we’re going in time,” he muttered while Gideon tossed the pack in the backseat of the Jeep and jumped into the co-driver’s seat.

“Where are we going?” Gideon asked as the Jeep’s engine growled and they lurched forward back onto the street.

“A bunker,” the General responded, then he said no more.

Gideon decided not to push it for now and turned his focus to the city streets around them.

It seemed like everyone and their mother had decided to take to the streets.

Crowds of pedestrians flooded out, blocking traffic, yelling at each other. Others danced around waving beer or other alcoholic beverages in their hands.

Some people started throwing rocks, sending store windows crashing in shatters to the sidewalks.

Gideon couldn’t believe his eyes—it was like everyone’s sanity button had been flipped off.

The whole city had gone loony.

“Anarchy is the precursor to the end.” General Cole muttered to no one in particular. “People know it’s coming and there’s nothing they can do about it, so they resort to the baser urges.”

Gideon could barely hear what his father was saying over the din of the ruckus around them while they drove out of the suburban area. His eyes caught sight of someone.

“Stop the car!” He yelled.

The General slammed on the breaks and yanked his face toward his son.

“Why?”

Gideon pointed to a couple of people who were rushing down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the intersection the Jeep had stopped in the middle of.

One was a middle-aged man with silvered hair, he was clasping tight to a red-haired woman who appeared the same age as Gideon.

“I know them!” Gideon answered. “That’s Lynda Brodunvich and her Dad. She went to my high school! We need to pick them up!”

General Cole studied the two people who were obviously frightened and trying to avoid the maniac crowds. He then glanced at his son and met those brown eyes which stared back at him in a determined gaze.

“All right,” he nodded and turned the steering wheel before tapping the gas peddle.

Gideon waved to the couple and motioned for them to hurry over.

The older man hesitated at first, but when his dark eyes noticed the high-ranking military uniform worn by the General, he nodded and ushered his daughter forward. They both jumped into the back seat, shoving the heavy-laden backpack to the other side.

“Lynda,” Gideon turned to look them both over. “Remember me?”

The young lady studied him inquisitively for a brief moment as the Jeep raced down the street, zipping around stalled cars or ranting lunatics.

“I think I do,” she nodded, her baby-blue eyes finally sparkled. “Wait… Gideon Cole?” She turned to her father and exclaimed, “He’s Gideon Cole from Walnut Creek High.”

“I think I remember you,” her Dad greeted Gideon with a handshake. His eyes said the opposite but he was thankful for these strangers’ rescue. Turning to Gideon’s Dad, he asked.

“Do you have some place safe to go or just trying to get out of this insane city before the bombs drop?”

General Cole met the man’s gaze through the rearview mirror.

“I know of a safe place. What’s your name, Sir?”

“Maxim,” the man replied. “And yours, Sir?”

“Lieutenant General Liman Cole, but you can call me Liman. Good to meet you. I remember your daughter coming over a couple of times when Gideon was just a teenager. Maybe it was one of his other friends’ birthday parties or his, I don’t know. It’s been awhile.”

“Yes, it has,” Gideon agreed. He smiled at Lynda, wondering if the same memories flooding his brain at the moment were doing the same to hers.

The smile was slapped from his face when the loud clap of a gunshot ricocheted from a nearby mob group.

Blood splattered on Gideon’s face.

Jerking his head back, he nearly vomited. Before his eyes slammed shut to keep the blood from entering them, he watched Maxim’s head explode in half.

Lynda screamed.

General Cole yanked the steering wheel, his knuckles white with the strain of keeping himself under control. It had been years since he’d been in a hostile environment—he’d served in the Middle East before and been shot at hundreds of times.

Gideon tasted acid in the back of his throat as he tried to calm Lynda down.

She was in hysterics, clinging to her father whose brains were now spilling out on the back seat’s headrest.

“Lynda!” Gideon hollered, reaching for her only to have his hand slapped away.

“They killed him,” she screamed again, pulling his head down to rest against her shoulder as she hugged Maxim’s corpse.

“Lynda, Dear,” Liman looked at the young lady in his rearview mirror. “I’m sorry he’s gone. We can’t stop now or we will be killed.”

“I don’t care! I’d rather die with him!” She blurted out.

“Do you think that’s what he would want? Do you think your father would want you to give up?” The General’s tone was enough to get anyone to snap to attention.

Lynda merely remained silent as she hung onto the body.

“Now, in a few minutes, these animals are going to get what’s coming to them.”

“Dad?” Gideon exclaimed. He’d never heard his father say such vengeful words.

The General made eye contact with his son, letting him know, he didn’t truly agree with his own words. He had to keep the girl from going into hysterics again. But, then again, if people were going to murder each other, maybe a fiery death was what they deserved.

“We’re almost out of the city.” General Cole informed. “As soon as we cross that bridge two miles north of us, we’ll be out of the blast zone, I think.”

Gideon caught himself searching the skies behind them. He wondered just how long it would be before he saw that dreaded trail of smoke announcing the end of the world.

“After the bridge, how much farther to the bunker?” He asked his father.

“About ten miles, it’s a small-looking mountain. We actually planted a forest of Blue spruce on it. Although, the aftershock from the bomb just might blow those down, depending on how far it goes. Come to think of it, we might lose power and have to walk the rest of the way.”

Gideon nodded.

The seconds ticked by while the Jeep roared down the highway.

Lynda was now reduced to sniffling, her arms still wrapped around the body in the backseat.

Gideon gritted his teeth. He could see the bridge.

It was only a block away.

Something hissed in the sky behind them.

The tell-tale whistle grabbed everyone’s attention.

General Cole clenched his jaw, he knew what it was without looking. He had to keep his total focus on the path ahead if they were going to make it. Pressing his foot harder against the gas pedal, he felt his entire body go tense.

“Dad?” Gideon was turned around, staring at the sky behind them.

“I know,” Liman snapped, jerking the wheel to the left in order to avoid a collision with a stranded car in front of them.

Gideon watched the tiny shadow of the nuclear missile as it dropped from the sky.

Then it disappeared behind the city’s sky scrapers.

His right hand covered his eyes on instinct when a bright light drenched the buildings in blinding rays.

Next came the ominous thunder, chasing after the escaping Jeep like a cheetah hunting its prey.

“Dad!” Gideon could see the wall of debris racing toward their rear.

“I know!” The General shouted just as the front tires hit the crack where the bridge met the highway.

The Jeep’s tires whined as they spun across the bridge.

They were a fourth of the way across when the blast wave hit.

The Jeep screamed along with Lynda as it was launched into the air, its rear tires ripped off their axle. When the vehicle returned to the pavement, it hit sideways and rammed into the bridge’s guardrail. The momentum wasn’t phased, the Jeep flipped over the side of the bridge and slammed into the river below.

In seconds, the occupants were being pulled to the bottom.

Gideon managed to gulp a deep breath of air before they went under. Holding that precious oxygen, he went into a frenzy as he unbuckled himself then turned to his father.

The sight that met his eyes sent icy tendrils down his spine.

General Cole was limp, his hands floating above his head—his head at an unnatural angle. Blood was dissipating into the river’s current from the older man’s mouth.

Something clutched Gideon’s heart and threatened to make him gag as he pressed the unlock button on his father’s seat buckle.

He kept telling himself that his father was unconscious but something in the way the limp form moved told him the worst had happened.

Glancing over his shoulder, Gideon saw that Lynda had already unbuckled herself and was now trying to free her Dad’s corpse. Reaching out, Gideon grabbed the young lady’s shoulder.

Her copper red hair wrapped around his wrist in the water.

She turned, baby-blues wide in panic.

Gideon shook his head slowly, lines of sadness etched in the corners of his eyes. He then turned back to his father’s body and grabbed him by the arms. Kicking his feet, he propelled them both up toward the surface.

The action was harder than it seemed and he struggled.

But suddenly, the body felt lighter and Gideon looked down to see Lynda grabbing onto the front of his father’s uniform and pushing herself up in the water. He nodded his thanks and in seconds all three heads broke the surface.

Gasping for air, Gideon held the General’s head above.

“Dad?” He choked on the dirty water as he swatted the man’s cheeks.

No response.

The General wasn’t breathing and his head was still in a bad turn.

The two young people dragged the body out of the water onto the rocky shore. Struggling to push themselves up onto all fours, they sat on both sides of the General.

“Dad?” Gideon felt like he was choking again, only this time not on river water. He leaned down and pressed his right ear to the man’s chest.

There was no heartbeat.

“No.” The word came out in a whisper as Gideon started administering chest compressions.

Lynda reached up and laid her hand on his shoulder.

“Gideon,” she mumbled. “His neck is broken.”

Gideon hesitated for a split second before continuing with pumping his fists against his Dad’s chest.

“Gideon,” Lynda moved her hand to his cheek as she raised herself on her knees to lean her face closer to his. “He’s dead. You have to let him go.”

Gideon stopped pumping. He felt like crumpling into a ball, his entire body wanted to collapse in on itself. Tears stung his eyes and he stared down at the closed eyes of his father.

No, he thought. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Lynda reached out and slipped her hands around Gideon’s neck, pulling him to her.

Burying his face against the crook of her neck, he breathed in the wet scent of her hair as his body racked with his sobbing.

“He wanted us to make it. We need to get to the bunker. You have to let him go. We have to let them both go.”

Her words put something in his heart.

A resolve, he was certain he didn’t have, sprung up from the recesses of his broken heart and steeled his nerves.

Pulling away from her, he nodded.

“You’re right,” he remarked, meeting her gaze.

With that the two of them gently scooted the body of the General back into the river, letting it be carried away by the current.

Turning around, Gideon looked to the sky over the city.

A massive mushroom cloud climbed heavenward, blanketing the buildings and hiding them away in its deadly cover.

“We need to get there before the radiation kills us.” He muttered. Grabbing her hand in his, he charged up the riverbank and they both broke into a run.

“Is that the mountain your Dad said the bunker is under?” Lynda yelled over heavy breaths.

“I think so,” Gideon felt the adrenaline still pumping through his muscles as his feet pounded the ground. He knew they only had minutes before the after-effects of the nuke would pulverise their bodies.

Something was standing on the mountain, halfway up the incline—it looked to be some sort of satellite or electrical apparatus amid the trees.

This sign gave the two escapees an influx of hope, bringing a new wave of adrenaline with it. They charged up the blacktop which shifted into a dirt road closer to the foot of the mountain.

Gideon even chuckled.

“There’s the door,” he pointed toward a metal storm-hatch imbedded in the rocky dirt. Sprinting the rest of the way, he ascended the mountain and dropped to his knees when he reached the egress. Grabbing the iron wheel, he started turning it just as Lynda joined his side.

She grabbed the wheel too and helped with the strain.

The levers squeaked but even with the rust, the lock lifted and the couple watched the hatch lift.

Yanking the wheel toward himself, Gideon hollered.

“Get inside!”

Just as Lynda put one foot down the hole and set it on the first step of a metal staircase leading down into the bowels of the mountain, a ring of distant explosions caused her to freeze.

Something flashed above them.

Gideon raised his face to the sky and caught his breath.

Lynda gaped in horror at the scene.

Hundreds of tiny balls of fire were twinkling across the heavens. Some started falling toward the earth, dragging tails of fire behind them.

“It looks like the stars are falling,” she muttered.

Gideon shook his head and clenched his jaw. Glancing over his shoulder at the mushroom cloud in the middle of the city, he remarked.

“Not stars, satellites. Our precious countries are shooting each other’s satellites down.”

Something flashed on the horizon and the two peered in that direction.

Another nuke cloud raised its head—this one at least fifty miles away, Gideon surmised.

He grimaced.

“What on earth is going on?” Lynda gasped, her blue eyes reflecting the red and orange hues of this last day.

Gideon didn’t speak for a moment. Then, with a cough, he stood to his feet and stepped up behind her. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he ushered her down the staircase.

“Come on,” he growled. “We need to get as deep as possible before the radiation gets too high.”

“But,” Lynda broke off her sentence and started down the flight of metal steps. She would rather ask the questions later than be tripped down.

Closing the hatch above them, Gideon turned and waved Lynda forward while he scurried after her.

The clang of their feet against the metal grates echoed in the chamber as they descended.

After reaching the fourth level—which was approximately 40 feet underground, according to the measurement paintings on the concrete walls—Lynda paused and turned to face Gideon.

“Why were they shooting satellites down and bombing cities?” She demanded.

“We need to get down there, Lynda!” Gideon ordered.

“Answer me!” She almost screamed.

Breathing in deep, he shook his head at her stubbornness.

“Because they’re afraid.” He chuckled—sounding more like he’d gone insane rather than finding this funny. “That’s always been humanity’s biggest character flaw. Fear. The virus started killing them so they turned on each other. So, if the virus doesn’t wipe them out, they’ll obliterate themselves.”

“So,” Lynda’s face had gone pale—the green lights from the emergency lamps in the bunker tunnel made her skin the same colour as a pale green onion.

Gideon liked onions.

He mentally kicked himself.

What the blazes are you doing? His brain screamed at him. Of all the times to think about physical attraction, you pick the end of the world!

“What you’re telling me,” she was saying, breaths coming ragged. She didn’t seem to want to say what both she and Gideon were thinking.

Her eyes raised to look into his.

Gideon saw the absolute horror brimming there. Reaching out, he cupped her right cheek with his hand as he stepped close. With his free hand, he grabbed her waist and pulled her body to his.

“It’s going to be okay. We’re going to make it. Don’t think about what’s going on up there right now. Focus on what we need to be doing. Okay, Lynda?”

She pressed her face into the crook of his neck, her hands clinging to him as if he were a life preserver.

“Lynda?” He whispered into her ear. “We need to go deeper.”

She finally nodded, slowly turning around and letting him guide her down the next flight.

After walking for about an hour, the couple stopped at the bottom of what felt like the millionth flight of stairs.

There, plastered over a large steel door, read a sign in bold red letters.

“Bunker 8.”

“We made it.” Gideon gave an exhausted smile. Stepping up to the door, he grabbed the lock wheel and turned it with ease.

The door swung opened on its hinges, inviting them in.

Gideon motioned for Lynda to go in ahead of him, making sure to give a soft smile to her—even though his heart was still aching from his recent loss.

Lynda barely returned the smile and brushed her long copper hair over her shoulders and walked forward, her arms hugging her sides.

Closing the door behind them, Gideon adjusted the lock then turned around and froze a step behind his female survival companion. Eyes gaping, he opened his mouth to say something but found himself at a loss for words thanks to the sight that met his eyes.

“How could something so far down be so big?” Lynda sputtered. She started walking forward, her eyes staring down the massive hall that seemed to go on for a mile.

Stacks of crates at least thirty feet high lined the walls on both sides.

“It’s gotta be over three hundred feet wide.” She surmised.

Finally finding his voice, Gideon nodded.

“And at least four thousand feet in length,” he added. “For only two people, I would say, we have at least twenty years worth of stock.”

“Someone obviously knew Doomsday was about to happen,” Lynda’s gaze fell.

Gideon slipped his left hand around her waist and pulled her close. With his right hand, he reached up and lifted her chin with his index finger so she’d have to meet his eyes.

“Our parents live on in our hearts. They made sure we would be able to survive. We owe it to them to make sure the human race lives on.”

Lynda stared up at him, her eyes glistening.

Gideon felt like he would drown in those baby blues—and he wouldn’t mind that at all. He’d forgotten how beautiful she was.

No wonder you had a crush on her in high school, he thought. It seems so long ago, yet it feels like yesterday.

She suddenly turned her face away, acting a bit nervous.

Clearing his throat, Gideon released his hold on her and focused his attention on the bunker room.

“Well, anyways,” he stammered. “First things first, with Nuclear Judgment Day above, we will most likely be here for quite awhile. I read somewhere that nuclear fallout just might take several months or up to over a year. We shall see, I guess. Hopefully, whoever built this left us some means of detecting radiation above ground.”

“So we should first look for that?” Lynda questioned.

“Actually,” Gideon glanced at her then up at the stacks of crates. “Probably, first thing we should take care of is food and daily living accessories—water most importantly. We can live over a month without food, but not much longer than a week without water.”

“Right,” Lynda nodded, strolling over to a shelf, she checked the tags hanging from each crate.

Gideon watched her a moment, his thoughts racing over so many questions, before finally beginning his side of the hunt.

“I wonder what’s down there,” Lynda pointed toward the other end of the cavernous storage room.

“I don’t know, let’s check it out,” her companion responded.

Lynda grabbed his arm before he could get ahead of her.

“You don’t think there’s any… umm…” She searched for the right words, her forehead wrinkled while she bit her bottom lip.

Gideon chuckled as what she was trying to ask dawned on him.

“Don’t worry, if there are any underworld beasts or zombies, I’ll protect you,” he winked while he rested his left hand on her back.

She playfully socked his chest with a half-hearted fist but kept close when he started forward.

They made their way down to the opposite side and noticed the stacks of crates dropped off in the back right corner of the room. The space behind the shelves was barely noticeable—there was something hidden back there.

The two explorers rounded the corner in caution and froze at the sight of a red oak door.

“I wonder what’s in there,” Gideon thought out loud. His hand had made it around his friend’s waist again—he wouldn’t admit it, but having her at his side gave him the confidence he needed.

He found the door to be unlocked when grabbing the knob. Turning it, he swung it open and peered inside.

Motion sensor lights flickered on as the two of them stepped through the doorway.

In front of them lay a room complete with fully-stocked bookshelves, sofas and chairs.

“Looks like one big den, I guess whoever built this was hoping to add a little comfort and luxury.” Gideon remarked.

Lynda merely nodded, she was so overcome. The sight of all those books sent tears to her eyes.

“I bet you that’s the bathroom,” Gideon nearly skipped across the giant den to a corner door on the opposite side. Opening it up, he broke into a big grin.

“Looks like they were definitely expecting to have more than two people.”

Lynda raised an eyebrow at him. Joining his side, she peeked into the bathroom.

The floor and walls were covered in a deep blue tile pattern.

Along one side stood seven showers that someone had forgotten to hang curtains on while on the opposite side there was a row of seven toilet stalls. Beyond those a line of sinks ran along the other end.

“Remind me to look for shower curtains,” was all Lynda could think to say. She turned back around and surveyed the den. Her eyes taking notice of an open doorway leading into a spacious kitchen, she suddenly felt hungry.

“I wonder if that’s the bedrooms,” Gideon thought out loud as he interrupted her famished thoughts and headed over to another door near the kitchen. Slipping in, he called over his shoulder.

“Check this out, Lynda.”

The thought of quality time with a good bed suddenly overtook her mind as Lynda hurried to her companion.

There were at least six sets of bunk beds lining both sides of the room.

“We get first pick,” Gideon remarked, his tone was suddenly dry.

Lynda glanced at him and saw the grin was completely gone from his face, vanished with no trace of its existence. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his arm. Meeting his gaze, she gave a soft smile. Then, as if out of nowhere, exhaustion flooded her systems. Her full attention was now on the closest bed. Taking a few staggering steps to it, she collapsed onto the covered cot and tumbled onto her back.

“Oh my,” she breathed. Her arms resting at her sides, she traced the soft cotton sheets with her fingers.

Gideon smiled down at her.

“I think it is time to call it a night,” he nodded as he turned to look for a bed to his liking.

But then he felt a hand clasp his.

Turning back to his friend, he looked down into her eyes.

There was a desperation there that pleaded to him.

“Please stay with me,” she whimpered. “If that’s okay.”

His thoughts raced. There was only a little protesting from his mind. He realised, he was just too worn out to do anything so what harm could there be?

Nodding in affirmation, he sat down on the side of the twin-sized bed.

It was going to be a tight squeeze, but both occupants didn’t seem to care. The end of the world had just happened above. As far as they were concerned, they were the last survivors of the human race. They needed each other. So they clung to each other as they plunged into a deep slumber, their bodies taxed and ready for a good recharge.

After what seemed like ages, Gideon finally woke up, his eyes opening to the vision of the most beautiful face just inches from his own.

Those baby blues, he’d never forgotten over the past several years, were wide open studying him.

“Good morning,” she smiled, revealing cream-white teeth.

Breathing in deeply, Gideon stretched as he smiled back.

“Morning.”

She smirked at the thickness of his voice. She held her head propped on her left fist while she stroked his jaw with her free hand.

“How long did we sleep?”

“According to that clock on the wall,” she motioned with her chin to an old grandfather clock someone had stashed just a couple feet to the side of the still-open doorway leading into the den. “I slept for about twelve hours. You’ve gone past thirteen hours.”

Gideon raised his eyebrows.

“You’ve been watching me sleep for over an hour?”

Lynda laughed, the sound was angelic music to his ears.

“No, crazy boy,” she responded. “I had to go to the bathroom when I woke up…” Her voice trailed off as she stared deeply into his brown eyes.

He finished for her by saying, “Then you stared at me the rest of the hour.”

She giggled and shook her head.

He loved the flutter that stirred in his chest at that sound. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek with his hand and pushed a strand of that copper-coloured hair behind her ear.

A gasp escaped his lips when she suddenly bent down and covered them with her mouth.

Gideon’s wrists felt like someone had sent a jolt of electricity up his forearm. His toes tingled.

The warm puffs of her breath warmed his upper lip sending a steady flush of blood to his face.

He felt dizzy, but in a good way.

Her lips were moist and bore the smoothness of coconut oil, gliding over his.

A gulp froze in his throat when he felt her tongue knock on his front teeth.

Running her tongue over his teeth in a gentle caress, Lynda was already breathing heavily, her own pulse racing and sending waves of heat across her body.

Gideon smiled and opened his mouth wider, inviting her tongue in.

Once given permission, Lynda’s tongue plunged into his mouth and found his tongue.

Certain he would die from pleasure, Gideon wondered when was the last time he’d been kissed—not to mention, with such passion. Then a depressing thought decided to jump onto this train of musing.

Did she want him? Or did she just want comfort?

He wouldn’t blame her if it was just for comfort, he would totally understand and admit he too would like some comfort. But, for some reason, deep down, he really hoped this was an act of her wanting him for him.

Lynda must have read his mind or noticed a sudden lack of focus on his side of the kiss because she pulled away and opened her eyes. Studying him, she questioned.

“What? Something wrong?”

“No,” he stammered, his head still feeling light and his heart nearly failing to keep up with his pulse. “I just had a thought.”

“What about?”

“Well,” he hesitated. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t do that, Gideon,” she playfully swatted his arm. “Tell me.”

He smiled back at her, brushed another lock of hair out of her face, then sat up with a huff.

“I have a better idea,” he threw the blanket off and swung his feet over the side of the bed before continuing. “How about I make you breakfast? You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Lynda wore a pouting face as she sat up and crossed her arms. Then, with an exasperated sigh, she shook her head.

“Good,” he grinned. “I’ll make you some.”

“No,” she suddenly yanked on his arm and pulled herself out of bed. Standing up, she pointed at him with her right index finger.

“I’m going to make you breakfast.”

“But I want to make you breakfast,” he frowned, standing up next to her.

She giggled and shook her head.

Before she could leave the room, he grabbed her and drew her back to him, into his arms.

“Let me go,” she struggled to break free.

“I have an idea,” he chuckled as he held on. “How about we both make each other breakfast?”

She paused. Then turning her head to look up at him, she gave one of those heart-melting smiles and nodded.

“Sounds splendid!”

“All right,” he nodded back. Then, letting her free but taking her hand in his, he led her out of the room and down to the kitchen.

Finding several boxes of pancake batter in one of the cupboards, Gideon took one down and started the mixing process. He glanced over to the other side of the kitchen and smiled, watching her was simply breathtaking.

She was making French toast.

“How did you know?” He asked as he poured several spoonfuls of the batter down on a skillet.

“Know what?” She looked up from her work.

“That French toast is my favourite.”

She raised her eyebrows and remarked, “I actually didn’t know, they’re my second favourite. You were making my first favourite already, so I figured I’d make the second.”

“Oh my word,” he blurted out. “Pancakes are your favourite? I didn’t know that either! Did we step into the Twilight zone or something?”

Giggling, Lynda shrugged as she grabbed a spatula and flipped one of the toast slices onto a waiting platter.

Gideon did the same with the first pancake. While he poured the next load of batter on, he piped up.

“So, we have favourite foods down. What’s your favourite colour?”

“Blue, not the common, more like a…”

“Baby blue?” He finished for her, a grin spreading across his face as he met her gaze.

“Yeah, how’d you know?” She raised her eyebrows again.

“Because, weirdly enough, that’s my favourite too,” he chuckled.

“You’re just saying that,” she shook her head, staring back at the French toast sizzling in her skillet.

“No,” he shook his head. “It’s all thanks to my having a crush on you in high school.”

She glanced at him.

He cleared his throat, but kept his eyes focused on the pancake turning brown.

“You had a crush on me in high school?”

“Yup,” he smirked. “It started when I sat behind you Freshman year in English class. The way your red hair tumbled down your back. Anyways…” he cleared his throat again, he could feel his blood racing at breakneck speed through his veins.

Lynda tossed the last few toasts onto the platter and picked it up. Setting it on an island counter in the middle of the large kitchen, she stared at nothing in particular.

Gideon joined her, setting his own plate of pancakes down next to her platter. Grabbing two more plates and two sets of knives and forks, he handed her one set then took his seat. Studying her face for a moment, he waited.

She was processing something.

Finally, she cleared her throat and reached for a couple pancakes. Slapping them down on her plate, she asked.

“So,” she paused, her breathing was rapid. “Would you say you still… had this crush?”

He blanched as their eyes finally met again.

The words felt caught in his throat.

“Maybe,” he managed to spit out in a stutter. “I really hope that doesn’t make you uncomfortable!”

“No, no,” she shook her head, reaching over to grasp his hand in hers. “You should never be ashamed about being attracted to someone. In fact, I’m flattered… and…” a dark red hue flooded her cheeks and she dropped her gaze to her plate, grinning.

“And?” He prodded, his heart racing.

“And I think I’m pretty much crushing on you right now.”

He froze. He knew the grin now plastered on his face probably made him look boyish or stupid, but this was just too good to hear.

“So,” Lynda finally spoke up as she picked up her knife and fork and started cutting her pancakes. Keeping her gaze down and her voice cool—even though the blush in her cheeks wouldn’t go away—she asked, “Are we going to go official?”

“What?” Gideon sputtered, dropping his fork.

“What?” She looked up, a little startled at the way he responded to the question. “I figured, since we’re probably… the last human beings on Earth…”

“We might as well get a head start?” He jumped in.

She shrugged.

That sounded a whole lot less romantic than she had meant it.

For the umpteenth time since waking up, Gideon cleared his throat. He thought over her question. Then, he shrugged as he remarked.

“Honestly, I kind of want to…” he searched for the proper wording.

“Want to what?” She asked—she had to admit, the suspense was killing her.

“Date you first,” he shrugged. “I’m a hopeless romantic. Even though this is the end of the world and we may be the last couple on earth, I don’t want to steal the romance away from you.”

Raising her eyebrows, Lynda nodded. She’d never thought of that part. What a sensitive man she’d been thrust into a bomb shelter with, she mused. But still, this was Nuclear Armageddon. Why waste time?

“Well,” she muttered. “We’re already living together. We even slept together.”

“Purely forced on us,” he chuckled. “We didn’t really have a choice.” He stammered for more reasons, but then it dawned on him what she was getting at.

“Are you saying, you think we already count as being engaged?”

That old familiar twinkle sparked in her eyes as she held his gaze.

There was the loud squawk of a chair being shoved backward then Gideon was on one knee at her side.

Clasping her hands in his, he looked up into her face and asked.

“Lynda Brodunvich, seeing as we are the last human beings on Earth and we are stuck in this bunker for who knows how long and we share the same favourite breakfast foods and favourite colours, will you marry me?”

She giggled as she cupped his face in her hands.

“What happened to taking our time?” She playfully chided. But then, she blushed and asked, “Now just how are we going to get married when we don’t have a minister or a justice of the peace? Don’t we have to get a license?”

“I don’t think so,” he shook his head, the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes showing he thought the question humorous.

“How so?” She tilted her head, leaning her face downward to his.

“I believe a man and a woman can get married together, before God, just by giving their vows to each other. That’s the way it was for thousands of years before some Pope came along and declared he owned the power to marry people. The power is in the vows, not a minister or a piece of paper. People don’t need permission to marry each other—that’s all a license is. Governments only require such a thing because it gives them business assets.”

“Strange,” she shrugged. “I’ve never heard such a view. But, even though I don’t understand the ‘business assets’ part, it makes sense.”

“So,” he grinned up into her face, only inches away. “Will you marry me?”

“Why not,” she responded with a giggle before planting a kiss on his mouth. Her lips slid over his as she pulled his face to hers with her hands.

Gideon felt like a sizzling bolt had suddenly struck his entire being. His hands made their way to her waist while he scooted closer on his knees.

She shifted, keeping her lips locked onto his, so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

He pulled her onto his hips and stood.

Gasping in surprise, Lynda pulled her mouth off of his and looked at him.

“You are strong,” she remarked as she tried to catch her breath.

He chuckled, but merely shoved his face to hers again.

Bumping into the kitchen island, they worked their way around it, managing to stumble out into the den and onto one of the sofas.

The days passed, turning into weeks then months.

Gideon was reading a book, enjoying the plot twists, while Lynda cooked supper in the kitchen. He glanced up at the Grandfather clock ticking away the time in the corner. With a slight shake of his head, he moved his gaze up to the wall calendar nearby.

“Sweetheart,” he called over his shoulder. “Can you believe it’s been five months already since we got here?”

“It’s just flying by,” her voice answered back from the other room.

A ruckus of pots and pans clanging followed before she spoke again.

“How much longer do you think we’ll have to stay down here? I’m so ready to see the Sun again.”

“I’m not sure,” he shrugged, even though he knew she couldn’t see him. “But me too. I was thinking the other day, maybe someone put some kind of scanner in the stockroom? Or maybe a communications device?”

“You really think there may be other survivors?” Lynda walked into the den, carrying a large bowl of some kind of batter mix.

“I want to believe so. We couldn’t be the only ones with a ready-made bunker. There were so many people predicting a nuclear war, there had to be someone else who was prepared.”

“That would be nice,” she surmised. Her gaze grew distant as she thought out loud, “I’d love to have some neighbours when we move back to the surface.”

“Me too, Darling,” he smiled.

The next day, Gideon rummaged through some of the crates in the stock room and found a satellite computer. Turning it on, he and Lynda were overjoyed to find it still worked.

“I wonder if there are any satellites still up there,” Lynda remarked. “After seeing all those fireballs in the sky…”

Gideon nodded, his jaw clenched. Studying the screen, he waited. He realised his hands were balled into fists with the anxiety.

Then the screen beeped.

A grin cut across his face as he looked up at Lynda from his chair at the desk.

“There are!”

“How many?” Lynda leaned over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, studying the screen.

“One,” he chuckled. “One single lonely one made it through humanity’s end.”

“Poor satellite,” Lynda frowned. “We get each other, but he’s had to endure the past half a year all by himself.”

Nodding his head, Gideon typed in a few keys.

“I wonder if our new friend can scan the surface and see if it’s habitable, or if there are other bunkers with survivors.”

“We can hope,” Lynda ran her fingers through his hair.

Gideon hit a few buttons with his fingers and read the list of actions on the screen. Finding something that looked related to what he wanted, he tapped it and listened as the computer buzzed.

In seconds, a map of the entire globe lit across the screen. Waves of radar rippled across it as the satellite relayed its scans.

Three shining dots appeared. One was stuck not to far from the Pacific coast of California.

Gideon took that as being their bunker.

A second one sat smack dab in the middle of the continent, at least five hundred miles east of their home.

The third was located somewhere in Asia—from the position, Gideon surmised it may be in the Himalayas.

There’s no reason to locate things by their countries anymore, he thought to himself. If everything is how it seems.

Typing some more commands into the computer, he wanted the satellite to shift into screening the atmosphere above ground.

The computer whined then clicked before beeping a couple times.

“Why is it making all that racket?” Lynda asked.

“I told the satellite to check the atmosphere.” He leaned his head back against her. “Probably takes all its resources to do such a task.”

A final elongated beep answered his statement.

Several boxes with information blipped onto the screen.

Gideon leaned forward. He could feel his heart racing as he read the data. A smile spread across his jaws.

“Darling,” he could barely speak. “It’s livable.”

Lynda couldn’t say a word. She laughed as she felt tears of joy stinging her eyes. Her arms encircled Gideon’s shoulders and squeezed.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally breathed out a question.

“Are those dots bunkers?”

“I think so—” Gideon was interrupted by a flashing bar across the top of the computer screen.

The words seemed to scream at him in bold font.

“Incoming call,” Gideon read the words out loud. He felt the blood drain from his face. The breath caught in his throat.

“There’s our answer,” Lynda whispered the words, all strength in her force gone from the elation.

Gideon felt like he was watching his own body from behind. He knew he was moving his hand to the “Answer” button, but he didn’t feel it.

“Hello, this is Captain Terry Dayson,” the face appeared on the screen. “I must say, it’s good to know we’re not alone. Who are y’all?”

“I’m Gideon Cole and this is my wife, Lynda. My father was General Liman Cole, San Francisco division. He knew about this bunker and got us here before being killed in action during the bomb drop.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, I think I heard about him back during the third tour of Saudi Arabia. Good man. Is it just you two?”

Lynda rested her hands on her husband’s shoulders as she stared at the screen.

“Yes, Sir,” Gideon nodded. “And we haven’t been to the top yet since the bombs. Is this the only satellite out there?”

“Yes,” the Captain looked grim. “I’m afraid so. The world governments went berserk thanks to that plague. My team managed to get almost three hundred refugees. This bunker though is nearly depleted.”

“You could come here,” Gideon offered after glancing up at Lynda. “We have, I’d say, almost twenty years worth of stock—at least, for just two people. For three hundred, it may be a quarter of that, but that’s enough, I think.”

“Should be, glory to God,” the Captain grinned. “The atmosphere is reading habitable. I’m certain the conditions are probably a little extreme, but after a year or two nature should be going back to a stable cycle.”

The man paused before snapping his fingers and pointing at the screen.

“Hey, what do y’all say about beginning the first settlement just outside y’all’s place? From the satellite readings, I like the terrain around your area and it looks like there’s a good-sized fresh water lake just half a mile from your mountain.”

“Yes,” Gideon nodded, he couldn’t help but return the smile. “That sounds like a huge idea to me and I’m all in. Lynda, how about you?”

“I’m totally and one hundred percent all in,” Lynda finally found her voice. Leaning in, she asked the face on the screen, “How many women are in your group, Captain?”

The man chuckled as he glanced over his shoulder then back again.

“We have one hundred and fifty seven women according to the tally. About thirty are pregnant.”

Lynda’s face could not smile any wider unless it broke in half.

Gideon noticed a twinkle in her eyes and raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak up, the Captain started shooting off the plans.

“Okay, so you two, since it’s your site, can come up with the official name of the first human settlement. We’ve all decided here, we literally want to start over. Now we don’t know anything about that one group over in Asia, but they’re just going to have to struggle by themselves until we can figure out a new means of communication or find some sea transportation.”

Gideon nodded in agreement.

“We’ll check out the area above ground after we get off of this call,” he informed the man.

“Excellent,” Terry bobbed his head. “Y’all can pick the site, name it, and maybe have some stuff ready for a temporary settlement for when we get there? Then we can begin the construction of the permanent town—should take us maybe a week to get there.”

“Sounds like a plan to me, Captain.”

“Terry, my friends call me Terry,” the man smiled.

“Terry, you can call us Gideon and Lynda. We cannot express how happy we are that we’re not alone.”

“Us too,” Terry affirmed. “Humanity has hope after all. A new beginning. Let’s see if we can do better than the last ages.”

“Hopefully,” Gideon shrugged.

After that, they ended the transmission and the two hurriedly packed a couple large backpacks for their return to the surface. Their minds raced and their hearts tried to keep up as they readied themselves for whatever awaited them.

Climbing the stairs turned out to be no small measure.

Lynda seemed to be the worse for the struggle, Gideon noticed.

“Sorry,” she muttered as she reached up to grab his extended hand and pull herself up onto the fourth level flat—they had seven more flights to go.

“Why are you apologizing, my love,” he questioned as he looked her up and down, worry creasing his forehead.

“It’s just hard, ya know,” she responded. Patting her belly, she added, “When you’re having to carry around a second person’s weight.”

Realisation froze Gideon in his tracks, his heart fluttered.

“Gideon,” Lynda grinned, reaching up to cup his face with her free hand. “Baby, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he finally sputtered. “I just, I just… I can’t…”

Lynda giggled at her husband’s loss of verbal communication. She reached up with her other hand and caressed his other cheek. Cradling his face in her hands, she stood on her tip-toes and pecked him on the lips.

“I love you,” she whispered. “Congratulations, Daddy.”

Gideon was in a daze. But he managed to kiss her back and slip his arms under hers.

They held each other in that position for who knows how long, just basking in the warmth of each other’s love and the hopeful expectations for the near future.

“Well,” she finally broke the silence. “Do you think we should finish the trip? Just so our new friends won’t get here and wonder where we could be?”

“I think that is a marvelous idea, Sweetheart,” he grinned down at her before turning away. Taking her hand, he guided her up the rest of the flights.

Once they reached the door, they had to strain to spin the large iron wheel.

It squawked but gave in to their grips.

The door reverberated as it unbolted itself from the wall. Slowly swinging open, it presented a bleak yet magnificent view to the onlookers.

Outside, the distant skyscrapers of the old city looked like the skeletons of ancient giants. The bridge where the four escapees had plunged into the river was a mere ghost of a frame. The terrain all around looked empty and arid.

But it was above ground.

And there was a sky. It was a little gray on the horizon from the last bit of nuclear fallout ash. But there were streaks of deep blue painted all over.

And the sun… the sun, it was shining with a deep red hue as it lowered in the sky forming an azure sunset.

“Hello there, our old friend,” Gideon breathed as he held his free hand over his eyes so he could stare at the sunset.

“It’s like he’s waited to see us all this time,” Lynda remarked, her face looking more radiant than ever.

Squeezing his wife’s hand, Gideon nodded.

Both their gazes faced the horizon.

“Do you think they can get here sooner than Terry said?” Lynda asked.

Gideon shrugged as he said, “Hopefully, it would be amazing. It’s probably pretty rough terrain and who knows what all the radiation did to the animals. No telling what they’re going to come across. But, anyways, in the meantime, what are we going to call this new settlement?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well,” he thought out loud. “How about a name meaning ‘new beginnings’ or ‘first settlement’?”

“I like beginnings,” Lynda leaned into him. “Sounds hopeful.”

“I do too,” he wrapped her in his arms. “Hey, you’re Ukrainian.”

“Well, my parents were,” she corrected, looking up into his face. “I was born in Savannah, Georgia before we moved here, remember?”

“Still,” Gideon shrugged. “You have to know some of your native country’s language.”

“A little,” it was her turn to shrug.

“What’s the word for ‘beginning’?”

Her eyes turned off toward the skyline as she thought back to her younger days.

“Pochatok,” she finally answered. “It’s pochatok—beginning.”

“That sounds perfect for a town’s name!” Gideon was elated. “Po-chuh-toke.”

“No,” she grimaced. “Po-cha-tok. Emphasis on the middle syllable, Sweetheart.”

“Oh, gotcha,” he repeated the word, this time much closer to her pronunciation. Then a grin spread across his face for the hundredth time that day.

“Terry and the bunch will like it, I’m sure.”

She snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes. Content to stay there and listen to his heart beat, she smiled.

“A new beginning, a new hope for mankind. Pochatok.” Gideon whispered as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Other works by John Irvin:

As The Sun Will Rise

StarQuest: Forgetfulness

About the Author

John Irvin lives in Florida. He graduated college with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities in 2013. John took up writing during his high school days, writing several short science-fiction and fantasy books. He enjoys reading all genres and studying nature or history in his spare time. Besides being a full-time speculative fiction novelist, as he likes to call himself, John also offers his services as a freelance writer.

If you would like to contact him:

Irvinnovelist76@gmail.com

Coming soon is his Author website: johnirvinauthor.com

Copyright

© Copyright 2018 John Irvin. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Printed in United States of America.

Cover Art: www.shutterstock.com/g/betibup33

Content

John Irvin
POCHATOK

Other works by John Irvin:

About the Author

Copyright