AGE OF INSANITY

Chapter 39: Hell

After ensuring they were not going to die or get infected, the rest got down to business. The giant cockroach stayed out of site, so I intentionally forgot to warn them of it's presence. While the rest finished offloading the things we would require, Phillip and I went to locate the underground, leading ramps. The first two were not even visible, the explosion must have pulverized them. The last ramp had a huge chunk missing but at the very least there was room to improvise.

For the next hour everyone scavanged for any strong material that could support the weight of the vehicles. Eventually we settled for piling rocks until it leveled with the rump. Marcus, Kevin, Phillip and Ruth, who were arguably our best drivers maneuvered the trucks into the underground parking lot. As soon as the vehicles and our prisoners were secure we all gathered in the upper level. Susan and Leon were finishing with setting up the monitors while Charles and Nigel fitted the drones with their invisibility cloak.

Dan one of the officers we had rescued turned out to be a robotics master. An unfortunate life had forced him to dim his dreams. Yet by a twisted fate he found time and opportunity as humanity all but thrashed as it slowly died. He had made the invisibility covers for the drone as a dare. Inside the bunker they served no real purpose but now they felt like an answered prayer. Once all the drones were covered we all sat down to have our only meal for the day our pria . We had packed enough food to feed us for a week but in the end we decided to ration it. Until we found another good source it was better to conserve whatever we had.

The atmosphere was tense and ripe with fear you could almost taste it. Yet no one cracked, poker faces firmly down in place. My siblings sat by my side, both of them leaning on me having finished their meal. They too wore brave masks unwilling to admit defeat less than a day after they stowed away from home. I wrapped my hands around them earning disbelieving looks from across the room. While it was uncharacteristic of me to show any displays of affection, their dropped jaws was an overreaction. The embrace was to offer them comfort, although they his it well the earlier encounter with the cockroach had shaken. Worse still, was the fact that the worst had yet to. come.

After dinner we set the drones outside. We then secured the entrances, sealing any of point of entry into the basement. Charles took the drones for a test run to ensure that all was good. We spent the few remaining hours until dusk canvasing the area using the drones. The post-apocalyptic land scape that boasted of ruins left by a once thriving civilization, was quiet. No human or animal was spotted on the streets. While we waited, the weather took a turn unleashing torrents of rain on the desolate ground. I had not even noticed the rain clouds
Truth be told despite the fact that it had only been two years a natural occurrence that would have never registered to me became a wonderful of nature. Everyone in the room shared the same thought each posing to listen to the heavy downpour

We were all so engrossed in the rain we almost missed it. The awakening of the post apocalyptic earth. It first began as colored flashes, one of which disappeared with a drone forcing Charles to land them on vantage points to avoid attention. One by one as the moon grew brighter and the sun vanished from sight the agents of the apocalypse began to emerge from their slumber.

The second thing we saw was a humongous bird that vaguely resembled a chicken. This chicken however looked like it hunted humans for sport. It pecked a tarmacked strip that was once part of a road, pulverizing it, leaving nothing but dust in it's wake. It shook what was supposed to be feathers but turned out to be sharp serrated feather shaped swords. The birds shook it's tail only for it to take out the remaining post that held the building beside it upright. The husk of a building toppled on the giant bird. We waited with baited breath hoping it had died. The big bird However stood up shook his feathers before disappearing out of view.

While we were still processing what we saw movement drew our attention to another monitor. Glowing red eyes came into view followed by what looked like the cast of a goth themed conjuring. With bodies that twisted in impossible ways, greening skin and half of their facial features torn off, the mutated beings we saw struck a cord in the cold abyss of my heart. Maybe it was the knowledge that they were once human that caused me to pity the mutated beings that moved in a pack. The pack came across a creature that looked suspiciously like the cockroach hiding somewhere in the basement. We all watched with horrror as they fell upon it subduing it, ripping it apart, before feasting on its raw flesh. No wonder our roach had run away, maybe it was smarter than I gave it great credit for.

More and more apocalypses came out of the wood work. Giants, flashes, creatures that vaguely resembled the ones we knew only more terrifying in impossible ways. With each new apocalypse spotted the scope of how truly fucked up life had become became painfully clear.

After what seemed like an eternity of watching the hell that we were meant to look live in we decided to take a break. Everyone silently shuffled to their respective cubicle. The twins had wisely retired hours ago but they were wide awake when I got to the cubicle. They were on me as soon as I lay down. I let them cuddle with me needing comfort just as much as they did.