Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 06

Chelsea then pressed the button, which revealed a hidden passageway behind the wall. The passage was way too clean for it to have been constructed after the building of the facility. They didn't know what lay beyond it, but if the note was left by someone friendly, then it was a significant find. If not, then they would soon be in deep shit, a concern which Samara gave voice to.

"How do you know it wasn't Jeremy that left the note in the first place?" Samara argued, reluctantly following her friend.

"The handwriting was way too elegant for it to be Jeremy's. It almost looked like a woman had written it," Chelsea replied.

"Smart girl," a woman's voice called out from just ahead of them. Chelsea's and Samara's heads snapped up, their eyes drawn to the voice's owner.

They stared at a diminutive woman, who stood at maybe five-foot-two and appeared to be just over one hundred pounds, soaking wet. She had red hair and blue eyes and could almost have passed for Erica's little sister. The woman wasn't very chesty, but had hips for days, a fact that Chelsea appreciated. She was dressed like them, heavy traveling clothes that were necessary for surviving cold climates.

"Who are you?" Samara asked, breaking the silence.

"My name is Markie and I've been watching you two for a bit now. Especially you, Chelsea. Come with me, the normal way up isn't safe," she told them, gesturing them to follow.

"How do you know that?" Chelsea asked, suspicious of their new acquaintance.

"Because Jeremy is up there. I'm guessing that you don't know where he is right now?" Markie asked.

"Yeah."

"That's because he and Ron rigged the cameras in the stairwells, so the feed would go up to the house that is the exit topside," the small woman told them.

"How do you know that?" Samara wondered.

"Because... I helped them do it. That was before I knew about what Jeremy and Ron truly were," she told them.

Samara and Chelsea were about to stop and demand answers about this until they saw a scar on her face. Her hair hid it well enough to where no one would notice it initially. It looked like either a knife or gunshot graze on the right side of her face. The women looked at each other for a moment, before nodding agreement to go with Markie for the moment.

They continued to follow their host for a few minutes until they came to a large room. The place was many things, a food and weapons cache, a monitoring station and the redhead's home. The woman stopped leading them along and halted briefly, picking up a few items before turning to her guests.

"If you two see anything you like, grab what you want. No way I can carry it all," Markie told them.

Hearing that, both Samara and Chelsea dropped their packs and rummaged around, picking up several items that caught their interest. Chelsea picked up a hunting rifle, a three-oh-three British, that had a longer barrel than usual. It was equipped with a nice scope that Chelsea knew would come in handy for hunting.

Samara, on the other hand, picked up a crossbow and a large quiver of arrows to go with it. She, like Ben, was interested in archery, but found a crossbow more to her liking than a standard or compound bow. Easier to aim and fire, in her opinion, and though it wasn't as fast, it was still powerful. Both women also found some wicked-looking combat knives and added those to hang at their belts.

"Good choices," Markie commented as she hefted an assault rifle. On her hip hung a hand cannon and a combat knife, much like what Samara and Chelsea had chosen. She too sported a rucksack, ready to get going.

"I'm guessing that you want to leave too?" Chelsea asked.

"Yeah, and I have for some time now. The only problem was finding anyone who wanted to leave or could leave. Most of the good people were prisoners of that fuckwad, or too focused on bringing him down to want to even think about leaving," Markie stated.

"Hmm. That makes sense. But if you had the ability to leave, then why didn't you? With all this stuff, I'm sure you could have made a go of it out there," Samara told her, sweeping her arm at the considerable amount of supplies that sat there.

"I stayed because it was just me here. If I had even just one other person join me, that would have been a different story. Now, I have two," she smiled.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Chelsea wondered.

"Nope. Only me, but I'm guessing that it won't stay that way for long. Jeremy no doubt saw you on the cameras, if he's not down in the facility. His goons will be along shortly, so we need to leave," Markie advised.

"Unlikely, seeing as most of them are dead or dying," Chelsea scoffed.

"What? You mean that the facility is no longer under his control? Who's in charge now?" she wondered.

"Erica and her lot. They were kind enough to let us leave with what we had before we met you," Samara informed her.

"Well, that's good to know! Still, we should get going," Markie stated as she turned and headed for a set of stairs leading up.

"Not one for staying either, are you?" Chelsea asked.

"Anything that was worth staying for... died a long time ago," the small woman told them. Hearing this, both women decided not to push their host, as she was still wrestling with some demons. They followed along, heading further up to the surface, eager to see the sun and the sky again.

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Jeremy took the steps two at a time, being careful to not trip on his own feet. He arrived at the landing where Samara and Chelsea had disappeared, wondering where the fuck they had gone. He glanced around and couldn't figure out for the life of him how they had vanished. There must have been a secret passage here, but if there was a passage here, he should have known about it.

Ron might have kept this from him, but he was sure that he had the man's loyalty. Jeremy tried everything to figure out where they had gone when he discovered the loose sign. Discovering the button beneath the sign, Jeremy pressed it and the wall slid back, opening to him. Cackling in triumph, he darted in, moving quickly, hoping to catch the women who'd evaded him.

He followed the passage until he found the room they had been in. He took in the stockpile of equipment and food and smiled happily, glad that he'd found this place. This would make him leaving so much easier! Jeremy scanned the room for a moment, hoping to find some clues about who had been there. Looking at the bed that was tucked into the corner, he searched it and found hair on the sheets of a red shade he'd thought was long gone.

"Markie," he grunted quietly, seeing as the woman he'd thought was long dead had survived. He did not understand how, but when he caught her, he'd pry the answers out of her, one piece at a time. He then stood and turned around, surprised to see Erica there, with no less than half a dozen of her compatriots surrounding her.

"Looks like you just found this place. Glad I thought to duck in here and send everyone else up to the house," Erica told him, keeping her sidearm trained on the man.

"Ha! Like you have the stones to even hurt me to begin with! We both know that you, my darling wife, won't hurt me!" Jeremy laughed at her.

His laughter was short-lived as she squeezed the trigger, putting three rounds into his gut. The man then fell back onto his ass, coughing up blood as he clutched his stomach in disbelief. He then craned his head to stare up at the woman he had once called his wife and paled. He tried to speak but wound up gurgling blood, with copious amounts of it pouring out of him.

"That might have been the case once, Jeremy, but that was long ago. Before you started taking control of this place. Before you rounded up every woman you wanted for yourself and taking prisoners to ensure their compliance. Before... you became this... monster," Erica told him through clenched teeth.

He looked up at her, knowing he was done, but tried to look at her, convince her to give him one last chance. Erica stared down at him, pure hatred in her eyes. But there was something else there, too. Pity. Not pity for the man he'd become, but for the good man he'd once been, before he'd changed.

"Good night, sweetheart. It's time to go," she whispered, before leveling her weapon to his head and firing, ending Jeremy's existence.

"Erica? You going to be OK?" Jake asked behind her.

"I will be. I just... need a minute," she told him as she breathed heavily.

Everyone else there knew well enough to give her space. They did so, while looking over the hoard they had found while following Jeremy. Erica thought back to the two women who'd just left, figuring that whoever had been living here had likely gone with them.

It was highly unlikely that whoever it was had been helping Jeremy. If that had been the case, he would have seized much of the gear that had been stowed here. Especially the food and weapons. Some of it was in pristine condition despite its age, which was a welcome sight. Erica only hoped that whoever Chelsea and Samara had left with would keep them safe and watch their backs.

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The trio were crossing through the final flights of stairs to the surface. They were all a little winded, but elated, as they could see daylight at the top of the last flight. Hurrying as quickly as their legs could carry them, they reached the door, eager to open it and walk outside. By the time they reached the door, the three of them were panting with exertion.

"Didn't... remember... stairs being... such a... bother!" Samara wheezed.

"I think... time spent... in those... tubes... drained our... stamina," Chelsea agreed.

"It'll come back... in time," Markie breathed, her constitution slightly better than the other two women.

"Well, we have nothing... but time now," Samara agreed.

"Yup. Let's get this door open!" Chelsea enthused.

Nodding, both women opened the door, twisting the crank that held it shut. The gears and springs that held in place groaned from disuse, but still moved. It was maybe a minute before the locks on the door snapped back, unlocking it. Pulling on the door, they heard a hiss, with the air in the next chamber finally being let out after centuries. They crossed into the next room and closed the door behind them.

"Like a fallout shelter, eh, Sambo?" Chelsea laughed.

"I think that was the point, Chels," Samara replied.

"One more door. You ladies ready for this?" Markie asked, eager to see how the world had changed since going underground.

"Let's do it!"

With that, the trio unlocked the door, opening it to the outside world. The three of them gazed out of the cavernous portal, down a craggy tunnel, to see blue sky out there. They took a few experimental breaths, finding the air was not only breathable, but delicious! It was much cleaner that what they were used to from their old lives and a pleasant change from the recycled air down below the surface.

"This... this is..." Chelsea stated, stepping out through the cave, emerging out into a snow-covered glade.

"Tell me about it! Have you ever seen the air so clear?" Samara asked, seeing the first notes of spring poking through the snow.

"Only in places where I used to camp! Even then, it was never like this!" Markie agreed, breathing a deep lungful of fresh oxygen.

"Now then, where are we going?"

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At the camp, Ben woke up with the morning as the sun forced his eyes open and he stretched. Ylva was maybe a few seconds behind him, cricking and cracking her back as she sat up. She smiled at her lover and kissed him good morning, letting him see how happy he made her. Ben kissed her back, wanting nothing more than to have more fun with Ylva.

He would have done so, but a soreness in his groin told him that fun times would have to wait a bit. Ben then stood up, groaning slightly, and witnessed Lawrie and Tasya having some morning fun by the fire. They both sighed together, with her shivering in release, while Lawrie groaned as he filled his wife. They kissed each other as Ben chuckled, turning to help Ylva to her feet.

Ylva stared at the couple, a smile finding its way onto her face. She was happy that Tasya had finally got past her hang ups and have some alone time with her husband. She giggled to herself as she dragged Ben along with her to get cleaned up. Tasya and Lawrie got dressed fairly quickly and finished just as Mellany walked out of the house cart.

"Morning, you two! Have a restful night?" she asked with a smirk on her face.

Both Lawrie and Tasya blushed fiercely as they excused themselves to get cleaned up. Mellany laughed as she walked up and stoked the fire back to a proper blaze, getting ready to cook breakfast. The mutant couple arrived at the small stream, getting themselves washed up just as Ben and Ylva started washing. They were taking their time, in no real hurry to get cleaned, as Tasya and Lawrie joined them.

"It's different, isn't it?" Lawrie asked, posing the question to Ben.

"The world? Yeah! So much has changed that I'm unsure how much has been lost and how much is still around," Ben replied. He glanced over to Ylva, seeing if she wanted to be included in the conversation, but saw that she was busy yammering with Tasya. Ben smirked and left the ladies to their chatter, figuring it was girl talk.

"Women, they love to chatter, don't they?" Lawrie laughed.

"They do! That's one thing that hasn't changed, even if the world has!" Ben chuckled.

Lawrie grinned, and the men finished washing up, leaving the women to their girl talk. Using towels that Lawrie and Tasya had brought for them, they dried off and got dressed. They made their way back to camp, where something teased Ben's nostrils with the smell of something familiar.

"Mmmm! Mmmmmm! Do I smell something like bacon, eggs, and toast?" the shorter man asked as they approached the fire.

"Yes, you do! One thing that I make well in the mornings," Mellany replied proudly. Holding a cast-iron skillet, she was busy minding the eggs and bacon before sliding them onto a pair of plates. She the retrieved some toast from a grill she'd set up over the fire, handing it to the men.

"Thank you, Mellany! I'm curious about where you got the eggs?" Ben wondered.

"We have a couple of chickens that we keep in the other cart. Not sure if you saw them?" Mellany informed them.

"I didn't. Sure as hell didn't hear them! They're quiet for chickens!" Ben commented.

"They have to be. Out here, too much noise means predators will come for you. These chickens have been bred to be quiet. They only squawk when they sense imminent danger," Mellany informed him.

"Hmm. Learn something new every day!" Ben replied as he dug into his breakfast.

The men took a seat by the fire as they ate, enjoying the moment of peace while they had it. Though the flavor of the bacon and eggs was different from what he knew, it was more of a subtle difference. He enjoyed the food anyway, happy to have something substantial fill his belly. Ben demolished his plate, which both Lawrie and Mellany found almost comical.

"What? I've been asleep for a few hundred years and I'm hungry," Ben mumbled, his mouth full of food.

"You almost look like a chipmunk, with your cheeks full of food!" Lawrie laughed.

"He does, doesn't he?" Ylva giggled as she walked up to Mellany with Tasya. Both women were cleaned and Tasya took her turn to mind the fire and breakfast as Mellany left to get washed up. She doled out some food for Ylva, while also setting aside a plate for herself. She then set up more eggs and bacon for Mellany when she got back.

"So, tell me, was it easy to get weapons as fine as those? Back in the Before?" Lawrie asked.

"If you had the money, you could get weapons much finer than this. Sometimes, enough money could buy nuclear bombs," Ben told him. Seeing Lawrie's confusion, Ben explained further. "Weapons that go boom."

"Powerful enough to destroy a town?" Tasya wondered.

"Such weapons had enough destructive power to destroy thousands of towns. Reduce them to nothing but ashes and dust in an instant," Ben told them.

"You said that such weapons were used on the day that destroyed what was in the Before," Ylva stated, staring at him. "By someone who wanted to destroy the world?"

"He wanted it to be reset. Humans had become too numerous and were destroying this world faster than we could fix it. The man who did this felt that humans couldn't change," Ben replied with a heavy sigh.

"An evil man, no question," Tasya grumbled as she minded Mellany's breakfast while eating her own.

"Anyway, how well does it shoot? Your bow?" Lawrie questioned, changing the topic.

"Pretty well, I would say. You see that bird up there?" Ben asked, setting aside his empty plate and pointing up at a nearby tree.

"Good eye! That's a nice, fat bird! Good eating, if you can bring one down," Ylva stated, picking out the massive creature perched up in the tree.

It was at least fifty feet up, staring at the group without a care in the world. It was the size of a large turkey, but was more like a vulture in shape. Birds were seldom this large back in Ben's time, so he chalked it up to another effect of the nuclear fallout. In one swift motion, Ben drew an arrow, nocked it, aimed, and fired. The flight of the arrow was almost too swift to follow, but with a strangled cry, the bird fell out of the tree.

"You hit it!" Lawrie cried out in delight.

"Of course, I did. Let's go have a look at it," Ben told him.

In seconds, Lawrie was on his feet and right behind him, eager to see if they'd be eating well that night. They came upon the bird at the bottom of the tree and Lawrie whistled, impressed at Ben's marksmanship. He kneeled next to the bird's carcass and pulled the arrow out of the bird's head. The shaft had hit it right next to its eye, killing it instantly.

"Damn! That was a fine shot!" Lawrie grinned, hefting the bird and returning Ben's arrow.

"Like I said, this thing shoots well. It shoots even better, if you have a true marksman wielding it," Ben told him as they trotted back to the carts.

"Told you so," Ylva told Tasya, who's eyes were wide with shock.

"Hit it right by its eye. Cleanest kill I've ever seen!" Lawrie grinned, hoisting the bird up for the women to see.

"It is a clean kill! That will fill our bellies for a few days, easily! Or could be traded for some coin, provided the weather keeps on," Mellany stated.

"What does she mean?" Ben asked.

"There's a frontier town not far from here. It's a little more than half a day's journey. After we pack up, we can be there before sundown," Lawrie stated.

"Think you can bring down any more birds like that?" Mellany asked.

"It shouldn't be a problem, provided they don't spook too easily," Ben replied. "Why?"

"Think you could go out and get a few more?" Mellany wondered.

"It shouldn't be an issue. Lawrie, you feel like doing some hunting?" Ben queried.

"Sure! If we can bring down a few of these birds, we might recoup our losses from this trip," the big man told him. "I'll bring one of the Thunderers to carry what we kill."

"Ylva, you feel like coming along?" Ben asked.

"Not today. I think I'll stay here in camp and help get things ready to go for when you guys get back," she told him.

"All right, then. We shouldn't be too long. Just bring down a few more of these and we'll be right back," Ben replied, kissing her on the cheek.

With that, the men gathered their weapons, some hunting gear, a Thunderer, and were off, bidding the ladies goodbye. The women then sat around the fire, with Mellany sitting to enjoy her breakfast as Ylva and Tasya finished theirs. Once they were finished with their food, the women doused the fire and started packing everything up. It didn't take them very long, maybe all of half an hour, before the camp and utensils were packed away.