The Hive: A Post-Apocalyptic Life Read online

  “It does. Don’t be sorry. I can’t imagine how hard this all is for you. I think it will be getting worse for all of us in the days and weeks to come. Let’s go to the chicken coop, it’s behind the barn.”

  They walked behind the barn and Hogan was immediately enchanted. Looking like a gypsy cart was the coop, which was on large colorful wheels. The chicken yard was a long low enclosure on smaller wheels that hugged the ground. The whole thing could be moved around, allowing the chickens to scratch and poop on new ground. The coop itself was brightly painted and had brightly colored nesting boxes, varying shades of blues, from deep cobalt to sky blue, with a hinged lid to access them. There were windows along the walls of the coop that had small colorful shutters, with tiny butterflies painted on them. There was gingerbread trim work, which was also colorfully painted.

  He knew his girls would have loved this. He felt his heart shatter and felt the tears prickle. He swallowed hard. He was sure they were safe with Laura and her parents. It was hard to wrap his mind around the fact that he might never see them again. At that moment, he wanted to run to them, run and never stop until he reached them. The fact that he could not tore at his soul.

  “Are you all right Hogan?” Trish asked softly, her hand on his shoulder. His throat was thick with emotion and he couldn’t answer her, but nodded his head.

  “Let’s go back in. You need to rest. You’re just out of the hospital. You have a lot of healing to do, inside and out.” She led the way and he walked slowly behind her, trying to get himself under control. It was difficult. He thought that perhaps deep down, he knew he’d never see his family again. No matter how hard he hoped, he knew it was an impossibility. He was stuck here, for the rest of his life, away from the people he loved.

  His mind was still in chaos, trying to understand the attack on his country. He had failed to wrap his mind around the vast destruction and the coming catastrophes that would hit them all. Weeks away from winter, the cold would kill many of the survivors. He shivered, empathy swamping his body. He had to move past that fear and sorrow. He had to focus on the here and now. He had to get his head right and start thinking of his new future. He also needed to try and figure a way to go home. His intelligence said there was no way to get home to his family, but his heart said otherwise, the confluence ripping him apart. The pull home was irresistible, he was torn, and his heart was broken.

  THREE

  Franktown, CO

  Quinn was out in the back of his home when he heard the rumbling sound of an old tractor. It was an odd and incongruent sound, since the power had gone out. It had been abnormally quiet in his world. He’d been used to having the TV going, as background noise. Zoe had been a chatterbox and when she’d passed away, their home had been horribly quiet. So quiet that it was nearly unbearable. He’d kept the TV going from the time he woke, until he’d gone to bed, when he wasn’t working. Now, since the power was gone, he was no longer working and there was no distraction from the deafening silence of the house.

  He was still not used to the quiet and had tried to keep himself busy. Thankfully, the old farmstead had an old stone well. He’d been able to bring up water from the well for the toilet and drinking water, keeping busy with survival. Unfortunately, the stove was electric, and he had to build fires in his grill. He kept busy chopping wood, scrounging for food. He’d kept a fire going in the fireplace, that was a pain in the ass, but he was managing.

  He’d gone fishing after the first day. There was a small pond about a quarter mile away. He enjoyed fishing and it whittled away several hours. He’d gone through the little food that was left in the freezer. He was now heating up cans of food from the pantry. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do once that was gone and once the pond froze over. He figured he had about another two weeks’ worth of food left in the house. He’d have to go hunting or ice fishing. It was too late in the season to grow anything. Zoe had done that, he knew very little about farming, it was Zoe who’d wanted to live on a farm.

  He’d not known what had happened, but he was guessing it wasn’t good. No power, no vehicle, no phone, no computer. He knew that the United States had been attacked, but by what extent, he didn’t know. He’d heard shooting last night and had brought out his guns and cleaned them by candlelight. Shit was getting real, now. He didn’t have much, but he’d defend it. He had a Remington pump action shotgun; Zoe had given it to him for Christmas one year. He treasured it. He also had a Kimber micro, 9mm. It had been Zoe’s gun and he’d kept it in her nightstand. It was small and easy to conceal carry. His own weapon of choice was his Glock 17. He carried that on him now, after hearing the gunshots last night.

  He’d been slow to admit that his world had changed and not for the better. Walking around the house, he looked up the road. He grunted in amusement. It was Bart, on an old green tractor. It was belching out black smoke but was moving at a good speed. He walked out to the road and waited for the man to pull up. He lifted a hand in greeting, grinning. Though Bart was some twenty years older, the man hadn’t let the years slow him down. He was a jarhead from another mother and Quinn felt a kinship with the man. Bart and Milly had been there for him when Zoe had died. They’d brought their granddaughters, Alexa and Allain, whose constant chatter had helped ease the pain and silence of the house.

  Bart slowed the tractor down and then shut it off. Quinn grinned up at the man.

  “What brings you out this way young man?” He asked.

  “Well, figured I’d bring a little news and a proposal.” Bart grinned, waggling gray caterpillar brows.

  “Oorah!” Quinn grinned and stepped back to let the older man climb off the tractor.

  He shook the older man’s hand firmly and his dove gray eyes crinkled in humor and appreciation for the company. He’d been lonely without the noise of the TV, acutely bringing back to him, just how alone he was. His job, working on telephone lines and repairing phone lines, was now a thing of the past. He enjoyed working by himself or with a small crew, but at home, it seemed so empty and lonesome. The TV had helped with that. He was glad the power had gone out when he’d been home. He’d have hated to have walked home; he could have been days from home.

  “So, how goes it, Devil Dog?” Bart asked.

  “Slow and quiet. I take it you know what’s going on?” Quinn asked as the men walked back to the front porch, indicating a wooden rocking chair. Each man took a seat and Quinn waited patiently for his friend to speak. It must be important for him to come all this way out.

  “Got some intel, not sure how much of it is reliable, but I figure enough of it is more than likely true. We’ve been hit with nuclear weapons, North Korea. From what I understand, word has it that the North Koreans dumped a shit ton of them all over the western portion of the United States. Roughly splitting the country in half. Apparently, a nuke was detonated into the upper atmosphere, causing an EMP.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Quinn cursed, running fingers through his short brown hair.

  “Yeah, and the crap news is that there are vast dead zones. Even if we wanted to leave here, we’d not know where to go or what route to take to get to the other side. You could walk for weeks and then run into an area that has nuclear fallout and get a nice juicy dose of radiation poisoning.” Bart grunted.

  “Those rotten bastards. Where did all the nukes hit?” Quinn asked, leaning forward and looking sideways at Bart, his hands hung between his knees.

  “That’s just it, the government isn’t saying. It’s like they don’t want anyone to know, some big goddamn secret. Why? I don’t know.”

  “Because it keeps us trapped here. I’m sure it is a shit show, about now. People who can move are moving and they’re moving east, or wherever they think there’s help or food. Especially, if they don’t know about the nuclear detonations. I’m pretty sure they don’t have the radio capability you have. If they don’t know about the dead zones and where they are, then they’re walking right into them and they’ll be dead soon enough. I ha
ve a feeling the government doesn’t want to deal with the millions that are trapped or dying. We’re being cut loose to live as best we can, or die.” Quinn speculated darkly. He sat back and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the tightness of the muscles in his neck, a dull ache beginning in his head.

  “I was thinking the same thing. Cut and run. We’re fucked and left to our own survival.” Bart grunted.

  “You and Milly going to be okay?” Quinn asked.

  “Now that you ask, I’ve come to invite you to come live at the house. Laura and the girls are there as well.”

  “What about your son-in-law? Hobart, was it?”

  “Hogan, and no, my son-in-law was leaving Kansas City when the shit hit the fan. Laura and the girls walked to the house the other day. The thing is, I’m pretty sure that things in the city are getting desperate about now, if they weren’t destroyed. Which means they’ll be heading our way, looking for food and resources. Winter is around the corner and the temperature is dropping.”

  “You’re right about that and I’m sorry Hogan isn’t home with his family. I take it that Laura and her girls are all right?” Quinn asked, concerned about the children. He’d never met Laura, but he knew the girls, giggle boxes, the both of them.

  Bart waved his hand and nodded. “She’s a capable woman, my girl. She learned from her mother. But we’ll need more eyes than just me and Milly. When those people come, we both know, it’s gonna get real unpleasant. You come stay with us, we’ll feed you and house you, you in turn help us with guarding the place. Milly is setting up the study for you. You’ll bunk there. Oh, and you’re house trained, right? What do you say?” Bart grinned.

  Quinn looked at his friend and knew the man was right. There would be hundreds, if not thousands moving out from the city. Hopefully they’d fight each other, kill each other before making it out this far. It was only about a three or four-days’ walk, not nearly far enough. Luckily, Bart’s farm was off the beaten path, there were easier targets on the main roads. For himself, he didn’t care, but for Bart’s granddaughters, Milly and for Laura, he’d go.

  “Yeah, I’ll come. There’s nothing here that holds me. Let me go pack some clothes and you get whatever you can find in the kitchen. Then we can go to the barn, I’m sure I have some equipment and such that we can use at the farm. We can head to your place after we load up the trailer.” Quinn said, standing up.

  “You got it.” Bart grinned and both walked into the house.

  Ӝ

  Topeka, KS

  Megan Arya and Tilly Planter had just arrived in Topeka, Kansas. Both women were exhausted. It was so cold, and they’d not seen the sun for so very long. The thought of a warm place to sleep was all that kept Megan going. They’d been walking for over two weeks, from west of Salina, Kansas. It had been a long and tedious journey. There were others on the road as well, all hoping that Topeka woul have help there, some kind of set up and answers as to what happened.

  Their meager food supply had been stolen, along with their water. They’d not had much water; it was too heavy to carry. Fearing more assaults, they found a large group of twenty or so people, heading toward Topeka. An old man from the group showed them how to use one of their socks as a filter. This helped stave off the desperate thirst.

  “You’ll want to drink from moving streams. Not something stagnant. Rain puddles are pretty good, but not as good as a moving stream. Use the sock to filter out most of the yucky stuff. It isn’t foolproof, but it beats drinking directly from the source.”

  “Thank you. How long have you been walking?” Tilly had asked the old man.

  “Oh, just a few days, I’ve not walked like this for years, so I’m sure it will take me a bit longer to reach Topeka, but I’ll get there.” He’d chuckled in a dry raspy way. Megan wondered if the man had made it. The group had little food and water to spare but had given them a few morsels. It wasn’t much, but it beat complete starvation. She and Tilly had also found old dandelions, the leaves still green, but they were drying up and dying. The leaves were bitter but filled their stomachs.

  “I’ve never liked salads, but I’d eat just about anything now.” Tilly said, a leaf hanging from her mouth.

  “Same here. See those women up there, I overheard that a couple in their group had been assaulted. You know, raped.” Megan said, her voice filled with sorrow and shock.

  “I’m so glad we joined up with this bigger group. It’s just crazy. I’m also glad you brought your bat.” Tilly said.

  “Me too. I wish I had a gun. My old boyfriend tried to get me one, but I didn’t want anything to do with it. Now, I wish I had.” Megan bemoaned.

  “That can be a double edge sword, especially if a bad guy takes the gun away from you.”

  “Yeah. A no win situation.” Megan nodded. Fear was widespread. Megan could see it etched in every face they passed, every mile they walked. Her bones hurt and all she wanted was a bed and a hot meal. The ground was usually damp and cold when they stopped and slept for the night. She was second guessing her decision to head to Topeka. But it kept going back to the fact that there was nothing for her at home.

  Megan and Tilly had decided to head to Topeka, as word had spread that there was a refugee camp located there and there was power and food. Tilly’s boyfriend, Mike, had wanted to stay put, but there wasn’t much in the way of food. There had been a lot of looting and ransacking in the first days. Megan had witnessed a murder at the grocery store, while she waited in line. She’d been shocked and horrified at the amount of violence right after the power went out.

  There were gangs forming and Megan thought it was best to get out of that situation. She didn’t think it would be safe for a woman. She and Tilly had hoped that getting to the refugee camp would keep them safe.

  “Once we figure out what’s going on, maybe we can head farther east. Maybe we can go to Florida, where it’s warm.” Megan had suggested, shivering from the constant cold.

  “God, that sounds wonderful. Maybe the refugee camps will have transportation to places farther east?” Tilly said.

  It was their hope, that from Topeka, they might find a new home to settle in and rebuild their lives. Tilly’s parents were in California, but that was too far to walk. Topeka was their only hope. There were a lot of rumors flying around the group and others they’d run into along the way to Topeka. Most of the rumors and conjecture Megan didn’t believe. It was just too farfetched.

  Word was spreading that the United States had been targeted and destroyed. West of them was a wasteland, nuked. Neither of the women were sure what was speculation, rumor or truth. Tilly had wept bitterly, her parents, so far west.

  “Do you think they are alive?” She’d asked tearfully. Megan didn’t know what to tell her but gave her a small bit of hope.

  “I think so, California is a big place. They might not have power, like us, but I’d say chances are, that they are safe.” She wasn’t lying. It could be true. Besides, it could all be bullshit, she just didn’t know. It did keep at her though, niggling. What had really happened? She hoped once they got to Topeka, they’d get some answers, real answers and not speculation.

  When they came to the outskirts of Topeka, Megan was ready to drop. Her feet were blistered, and her body ached from lack of water and food. She’d only had sips here and there. She’d seen a few people become desperately ill from drinking unfiltered water. She hated getting wet but prayed for rain and used an extra pair of socks to filter the water she drank from puddles. They’d not come across many fast-moving streams.

  When Megan and Tilly arrived, they found a large area, thousands of tents dotted the landscape. She wanted to kiss the ground; they’d made it. The women followed others, who seemed to know where they were going. Around them, thousands of people milled about, they all looked as bad as she felt. Ahead, she saw a large construction trailer, like a mobile home, that had a large sign above, that read, Headquarters. There was a long line of people standing outside.

  With
all the talk of fallout, Megan had been terrified that they’d be killed by radiation. It made her skin crawl. She looked around at the people, they looked tired and thin. She hoped they would get settled quickly, she was so tired, she was about to drop. Her mind wandered and she thought back at the beginning of their journey.

  On their way out of town, leaving for Topeka, there had been twenty men with guns, overrunning the Walmart. There were screams, shouting and fighting. She and Tilly had run until they could barely breathe, she wanted no part of the violence and it had frightened her badly.

  “Do you think we should have stayed at home?” Tilly had asked Megan, three days into their trek. Both women were frightened, when men watched them as they walked alone, Megan carried a baseball bat. They’d found a group and joined up with them, three men and two women. It was then that they’d been robbed of their food by the small group. At that point, Tilly had wanted to go back.

  “We can’t go back. There’s nothing there for us. There is just too much violence and danger. If we run into a large group, we’ll join them.” She’d assured Tilly. Luckily, they’d found the larger group and had joined in. It was a hell of a lot safer, and they’d had no more incidents of theft, though there was little left to steal.

  In the days leading up to Megan’s decision to leave, someone had tried to break into Megan’s home, she had scared them off with a baseball bat. She knew, staying there wasn’t an option. As much as she hated leaving her home, their only chance at survival was heading to Topeka. The women had set out, and left Mike and their homes behind. She and Tilly had left early in the morning and had walked from dawn until well after dark the first day. Their feet had been so sore that the next day, they could only travel a few hours before they had to stop and rest for a few hours. It had been a long horrible trip.

  Both women were hungry, starving now. Tilly swayed beside Megan and she put her hand on Tilly’s arm to steady her. Megan knew they needed water soon. Her back was screaming with pain, and she was sure her kidneys were about to shut down. Before them, were many tents and porta potties. The air was redolent of sewage and she breathed shallowly. Her body trembled with fatigue.