The Ark of Asylum (The Ark Series Book 1) (20 page)

Eric puts his hands on top of his head and looks around. “Holy fuck! Holy fuck! Holy fuck! Is everyone alright? Maggie, are you alright?”

Nate crouches down over the guy covered in blood and feels for a pulse. “Well, this guy’s still alive, but I don’t know for how long.”

Jennifer crawls over to them and cries out, “Mike! Mike, answer me. Are you all right? Mike, wake up!”

Eric drops his head and then looks over at the other girl. “Are you alright? Hey, can you hear me? Are you alright?” The girl just continues to rock back and forth clutching her knees and not saying a word.

The site of the wounded man forces Maggie to snap out of it, “We have to get downstairs and get this guy some help. I know there’s a medical kit down there, so let’s move, now!”

The pounding on the steel door continues, which is soon accompanied by people pounding on the windows and shouting. The group manages to get everyone downstairs and into the bunker. They get Mike on a table and start to wipe away the blood that covers his body. As the blood starts to come off and the multiple bite wounds are revealed, it forces everyone to step back from the unconscious man. They look at one another, not sure what to think. Jennifer holds his hand and wipes the blood from his face and kisses his forehead while tears run down her face and onto his.

John finishes reading the kids their bedtime story and kisses them goodnight. Adjusting to their new home hasn’t been easy, and a little extra attention has been needed from both John and Kate. After tucking them in and making sure they all fall asleep, he walks into their living room and sits down next to Kate, who is still reading her book. He gives his wife a kiss on the cheek and tells her that he loves her, and she responds with the same.

John’s radio begins to beep as his screen comes up and displays Adam’s distraught face. “Adam, what is it? Is everything alright?”

“Sir, you need to get down here right away.”

“I’m on my way.”

He looks at his wife, kisses her on the cheek once more, and gets off the couch. “I better go see what’s going on.”

Kate looks up at John, concerned, and responds, “Okay, just let me know what’s going on as soon as you do, okay?”

He nods his head and hurries out of the room, leaving his radio behind. He runs out the door and gets to the elevator as quickly as possible, passing numerous people on his way, which sparks their curiosity. The elevator ride seems like an eternity, as he can’t stop thinking about all the possibilities on what could be wrong. Trying his best not to fear the worse, the elevator finally gets to the command center floor, and John dashes out of the barely opening doors, quickly goes through security check, and jogs into the control room.

              “What is it? What’s going on?”

Adam turns around from the multiple screens displaying images of something that John can’t seem to make out. Adam uncrosses his arms and walks over to John, who is still trying to catch his breath. “Sir, you’re going to have to sit down to hear this.”

He pulls up a chair, and John looks at it confused and feeling even more concerned than before. “Okay, what is going on? What am I looking at?”

Adam turns toward the screens and clicks the remote, bringing up an image of some sort of explosion.

“Sir, we’ve received confirmation of another terrorist attack, but this time it appears to be nuclear. Less than thirty minutes ago, we intercepted a military transmission ordering troops back to base. And that sometime last night there was not just one but two confirmed nuclear bomb detonations in New York City and Los Angeles.”

John’s jaw drops to the ground in shock, and he slowly sits down in the chair provided by Adam. “What, what did you say?”

“Sir, I said this country has been attacked by terrorists in the form of two nuclear bombs. And they have destroyed a massive area of both the East and West Coasts. We still don’t know if they were missile strikes or some kind of bomb from the ground; all we know is that it was nuclear and devastating. And like I said, the military is pulling out all their troops that are helping the affected cities, and they are mobilizing and preparing for another possible attack. Here are the images that we have so far from various sources.”

Adam clicks through multiple images on the screens, showing mainly satellite images of the bomb blasts. John sits back in his chair, still slack jawed and unable to speak. A tear rolls down his face that he quickly wipes.

Chris abruptly turns around in his chair. “Sir, we’ve just got drone footage back, and it appears that the military has indeed evacuated Boulder and that there was a way in for the infected. They have breached the fence and are pouring into the town. It seems as though the city bombing just made them scatter, and they have moved out and away from the city.”

              John jumps up from his chair and goes over to the screens and grabs the remote from Adam’s hand and flips through the images. “Oh my God! Maggie! The last time I spoke with her, she was under the impression that the military was there to stay for a while and that things should be getting better. Oh Jesus! Oh my God! I sent her a message but never got confirmation that it was delivered! Has anyone figured out why I can’t call her yet?”

No one answers yes so he continues to frantically flip though drone images and videos, trying to get some kind of idea of her situation. All he sees is dozens of infected flowing into the gates and at an alarming rate.

Adam finishes speaking with his communications operator and walks over to John, who is still flipping through the images. “Sir, you need to hear this. Terrence just intercepted communication of a U.S. retaliatory nuclear strike on North Korea and on Iran and Iraq. Apparently, the U.S. received intel suggesting they were the ones responsible for the attacks, and so the president has ordered an immediate response. Sir, I believe we just entered a nuclear war.”

John thrashes his head around in Adam’s direction and stares at him, trying desperately to comprehend what he just heard. He drops the remote on the floor and drops his head. “This is the beginning of the end. And I pray for the souls that don’t have the asylum of the Ark.”

In the days to come, the United States declares war on all allies to North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. Soon after, the U.S. destroys North Korea. The nuclear blast triggers China to enter the war and attack the U.S. in retaliation. Soon England, Canada, Australia, Israel, and India all enter the war as allies to the U.S. In response, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and many other countries all enter into what’s now World War Three.

In just a matter of days, and after multiple nuclear bomb blasts, the world becomes over sixty percent destroyed. Only a handful of countries are in existence. Asia is almost completely obliterated with only the northern section of the continent untouched. A large portion of Europe is completely destroyed, leaving nothing behind but devastation. Most of Australia, India, and Canada suffer the same fate. South America and most of Africa are the only continents that didn’t enter the war, therefore leaving them virtually unharmed.

The United States is hit very hard. All of the Eastern, Western, and Central parts of the country were leveled, leaving only the small strip of the Rocky Mountains not destroyed. In a last ditch effort to try to save NORAD and numerous other military facilities in Colorado, the military uses everything it has to defend those areas.

When all is done and the fighting stops, the existence of super powers and nuclear weapons are no more. Only ten percent of the countries that were bombed have any areas that are unaffected, mostly in remote, secluded sections in very mountainous regions. Even countries that didn’t willingly participate in the war are affected, unfortunately receiving the ripple effect from the neighboring counties that did.

And for those who survive, their lives have just begun.

The world dawns A New Era