AGE OF INSANITY

Chapter 38: Cockroaches

Despite what the newcomers said the landscape was exactly how I imagined it would be. Most buildings lay in ruins while the streets were deserted. There wasn't even a bird in the sky. Richard and Rebecca had already made their way out of the trunk and we're seated at the front. No one was surprised by their presence. We were headed west but we managed to get a glimpse of the sunrise in our rearview mirror, unwilling to make unnecessary stops.

Everyone, including our respective drivers, held their weapons in hand. We were yet to assess the severity of our situation and as such we opted to remain prepared. We had initially thought of dropping the men on the way but the group unanimously disagreed. They knew where our home was an there was nothing to prevent them from going back. Despite offering no futher resistance, they remained tied up. We could not afford to give any more chances especially when nothing was know. Therefore Marcus, Charles and Kevin accompanied the bound men.

We drove along a deserted road for two hours before arriving at Phillip's show room. Unlike the last time we were here, every thing was in ruins. The steel gates lay in pieces while the building itself had crumbled to it's foundation. Weeds crawled up the surprisingly, mostly intact, wall. We had driven out armed but uninformed. Our plan had been to get to the show room and get our bearings from there.

We had anticipated the damage sustained by the building itself but we pinned our hopes on the basement. The sun was high up illuminating the blue clear sky. Phillip was the first one out, I did not need to be there to know he must have wrestled the sensor from Nigel's hands. We all patiently waited until we received an okay signal from him before daring to venture out. Despite the negative reading we had gotten on our kidnapping drive, we still decided to suit up. It cost nothing to be careful.

I got out of the truck removed my headgear breathing deeply. While a few of us had already ventured out the larger part of the group were stepping outside for the first time in two years. The drive here had been dead silent. Even the talkative Ruth who was driving said nothing. I figured they were cathartic, seeing a landscape they had resigned themselves to never seeing it again.

I walked to where the stairwell leading down to the basement used to be and almost collapsed with relief when I located it mostly intact. The entrance was obstructed by debris but there was enough space for someone to squeeze through. I turned, to ask Rebecca to squeeze through since she was the smallest one, only to be met by space. It was only then I realized that no one had moved an inch away from the trucks. They all stood staring at me. I glanced around searching for whatever it was that held their attention and came up empty.Rebecca cautious walked up to me, stopping a few meters away.

"Are you feeling okay?

That's when it hit me. They were all still suited up. They must have been waiting to see if I become rabid or dropped dead. I shook my head amused by their self preservation tactics.

"I am okay fireball. Why don't you try passing through here see if it's safe to get to the otherside."

she held my gaze for several seconds her brows dipping in concentration as she tried to discern whether or not I was tricking her. I shrugged my shoulders not bothering to ease her worry and watched her. I was curious more than anything about her trust in me. Would she go through hell for me? While my sister weighed her options my brother who had not been far behind slipped past her and into the basement his headgear flapping behind him. His twin not one to be outdone was right behind him.

They disappeared for a few minutes only to sprint back. At first I thought they were being competitive until I saw the stark terror on my brothers face. I squeezed through before they got to the entrance. The interior of the upper level of the basement was pretty much intact. Except for the dust from the debris and a few stray pieces that managed to find their way in the basement was in good shape. So was the, German Shepherd sized, cockroach that was unsuccessful hiding under a rug. The creature must have mutated growing a hundred times it's usual size. It had however not changed its diet since it did not try to eat us, or it's natural predisposition to scamper away from anything moving.

First of all I would like to clarify that neither me nor my siblings are suicidal. Therefore making our way to the comically hidden cockroach spoke more on our bravery than our recklessness. My siblings had opted too hide behind me following straight back to the danger they had only a few seconds ago been running from. The obstructed entrance had only been a few inches away but they still choose to stay. I inched slowly towards the cowering creature only for it to scamper away when I was about to reach it. I thought it was cute the way it ran from us while it could easily take us down with it's long sturdy limbs. We were going to be friends, it just didn't know it yet.

With the overgrown cockroach out of sight, I finished removing my suit. We needed to set up out things quickly before dusk. There was a lot to be done and I was not going to wait for the cowards outside. I found an fairly clean cubicle on the lower level. It was Apocalypse free so I instructed my siblings to dust it, it would serve us for our stay here. I went back up to retrieve our bags meeting the cowards as they peered in, probably to determine whether or not we were still alive.