End of Days

"I am. I can take an LR (long-range handheld radio) and a Sat Phone with me. Maybe there are others out there. We have been out of touch so long we don't know what the world situation is."

Steven immediately jumped in, "No way. This place is still highly classified. There will be no radio, no sat phone..."

All four of the others raised their voices. Carol said, "Who gives a fuck about classified. You have got to be fucking kidding..."

Anthony, "Shit, Steven. The world has gone to shit and you are worried about ancient history. Fuck if classified matters."

Steven then said, "What if the Russians hear you trying to communicate? Or the Chinese. Or, for fucks sake, some other enemy. They can hone in and drop a bomb on our heads."

It was Greg who then said, "Okay, enough! Steven, I was in the military too. I understand your worries. But, number one this facility is twenty floors underground in bedrock. For shit's sake, they had to dig a deep hole and work sideways to build this place. Even if they do drop a bomb, it can't get deep enough to hurt us. Pin us in for a while, but hurt us no. Second, I don't give a fuck about classified. If you don't let him carry some communication devices then you will have a mutiny on your hands. I will let everyone know what is going on and I guarantee ninety percent of the people want to know what the outside world is like. No more burying our heads in the sand."

Twenty-eight minutes

By the time he reached the surface, he knew he already had received a lethal dose of radiation. He had tried for the first few minutes to contact the outside world on the Sat Phone, but he received no replies. It was frustrating. For a couple of minutes, he tried the LR, but again nothing. Starting to feel weak, he decided to head down the ladder to the opposite side of the compound. A couple of floors down was a coms and power station that was connected to an antenna on a mountaintop a few miles away. By the time he made it to the com station, he was on his last legs.

The lower floors, the stairway, had completely caved in. The only power he could see was the power was the coms station. He could see that if there was power to the rest of this side of the compound, none of the lights indicating it were working. He guessed that there was no life below, but his priority at this moment was communications.

He looked at his watch, he had been above ground, exposed to radiation, for about twenty-five minutes. Even with the radiation suit, he knew he only had minutes to live. "This is a secret base hidden somewhere in the East of the US. Perhaps the Appalachians. Is there anyone out there?" He switched from channel to channel, hoping for a response. He began to cry, having received no responses. He felt a veil begin to cover his eyes. He felt his chest lurch and then he vomited up blood. His last thoughts in this life were of the sixty-four people left in the compound and the fact he had no information for them.

There will be more coming folks. Sorry there is so little action in this beginning segment, but hang in there. I promise more fun.