AGE OF INSANITY

Chapter 34: Nothing ends

I knew why Marcus volunteered us. No one else wanted out more than the two of us. It was a never ending itch that kept growing and growing with no real way of satisfying it. So it made sense for us to go. Aside from that, including those who had volunteered there was none more qualified than us. So for the first time in two years we suited up in protective gear. With nothing but time on our hands, new anti radiation suits had been invented. The scientists had put their heads together and come up with a light weight suit that could handle ten times what the original hazard suits could.

The suit was both aesthetic and practical if your were a punk goth type of person. The black suit with intricate silver detailing that must have taken ages to tailor was nothing short of stunning. The fitting head gear that had been customized for us was the highlight of the suit with built in monitors that displayed radiation levels, viral pathogens and temperature among other things.

We loaded our weapons of choice careful not to cause a commotion. We needed to get out and back before the rest of the community woke up. It would do no one any good to have people who had been confined for two year begin to panic. So under the cover of  darkness we opened the door the back door to our bunker. After studying the blue prints of the bunker we had discovered another exit that had been constructed with vehicles in mind. The retractable ramp had been essential in storing all of the vehicles we had acquired. Although nobody used them the vehicles were routinely serviced and cleaned to ensure that they were still functional.

With their car eaten by the giant, the strangers were walking on foot making it easy for our drone to track them. We picked an off road truck from the underground parking area and drove out into the night. Marcus drove around carefully in the dark with nothing but Irene's instructions to go on. Irene had been left in charge of surveillance and as such was operating the drone that was pursuing the strangers and the drone that acted as eyes for the group.

It took ten minutes to finally catch up with the strangers. They did not notice us until we were almost upon them. As soon as they spotted us they scattered in four different directions forcing us to go on foot. I picked a target and set off after him. After years of doing cardio on treadmill underground, the chase was a welcome change of pace. The unlimited space, the wind whipping across my face as my hair flew behind me were cathartic. My feet felt light and the wind spurred me on, giving me a high I had forgotten about. I was onto my target pretty soon. He tried dodging me a couple of times, like a child playing before he tripped on his own feet and fell.

It was then he reached for his pocket but not before I shot at him with my stun gun and watched him fall to the ground spasming. The man was at least six feet tall and had an incredibly buff frame. Carrying him was out of question so I resorted to dragging him back. It took ten minutes of pulling and heaving before our truck appeared. Erick who had volunteered last minute had taken it upon himself to go after everyone after being left alone with the truck. Marcus had already obtained his target and was comfortably seated while Kevin and Charles were no where to be seen.

After loading the man into the boot of the truck with his equally unconscious partner, Erick drove off in the direction Kevin took. We did not go far before encountering both Kevin and Charles with bodies slung over their shoulders. They had not only captured their targets they had managed to bring them back to the area where they had dispersed. The bodies were added to the cargo hold and we set off back to the shelter. I hated every inch we covered as we went back to our prison home again. I wanted nothing more than to go back and run in the sun as it rose high in the sky but time was ticking and we had already risked a lot by going out in the open.

We had originally assumed that the bungalow and it's surroundings had remained intact by some divine intervention but more puzzling still was the lack of contaminants in the air.  After the earthquakes, we had assumed that all had gone to plan and for the next decade there was nothing to be found in the surface. Despite the fact that the plants outside still thrived we simply dismissed it as a fluke. No human or animal had been spotted since then, solidifying our belief that life on the surface had been out on hold. As we closed the rock camouflaged door after the truck I couldn't help but wonder what else had we been wrong about.

We were decontaminated despite no hazardous substances detected. The strangers were then taken to the governing quarters, which was an area that was exclusive to the governing committee. It was also the safest place away from prying us. The strangers were dumped in a room fitted with cameras. We were then instructed to go back to our quarters to avoid raising suspicion. I walked back to my pod feeling lighter than I had in a long time.

Everything we thought we knew was wrong. While we had all felt the effects of the large scale explosion, something had clearly gone right given the lack of radiation in the air, or wrong given the titan roaming about. Either way the uncertainty would have to be addressed sooner or later and with that came the promise of a different tomorrow.  I fell onto my bed exhausted, I had an amazing dream that night. My friends and I traveling the apocalyptic world slaying monsters and living our best lives.

Not more than an hour later my alarm clock went off signalling the beginning of a new day. I lay back in bed and watched my pod come to life. I even hummed along to the shower tune. Today carried with it a whiff of danger and nothing lifted my spirits more.