Survivors

Chapter Thirteen: Base Camp

That morning after we had left the outlets, I drove off with everyone else as well as all the luggage. If not for that outlet, we would have had a very little chance of survival. We had an early enough start so a bunch of my companions were still very sleepy. I didn't care if they slept in the car or not, though I was an endless mix of emotions when I saw Tyler and Gigi sleeping on each other's shoulders. I felt relief when I saw Ali and Liora; my best friends, still alive after all we've been through. That wasn't the last time I felt like that.

Around ten o'clock that morning, we arrived in Las Vegas. It seemed to me that the metal bombs weren't used, just the earthquake-producer. It looked straight out of one of those creepy apocalypse films. Oh wait, it kind of was the apocalypse. It was terrible to see all the resources in Vegas wasted. We could definitely use as many supplies as possible, I mean, we have to live off the supplies we had for years. All we had might last us a few weeks, a year tops. Time after time, we saw bomber planes flying overhead. We had to duck for cover every time, just to be safe.

"Is this where we're staying?" Gigi asked, unsure if she really wanted to be here.

"No," I responded. "It's not safe enough here. I just wanted to stop here to plan our course. I don't know exactly where Area 51 is so I'm stopping here to estimate a course."

After I determined that I would just have to drive aimlessly until we found Area 51, I started the van and drove off with no route. I drove down the Strip and I could picture was this massacre with everyone running around in panic. Cars that were in the way proved difficult for my driving so I just ended up moving them with the van itself, ending with many scratches and dents. I drove north of Las Vegas maybe twenty miles away from the entire city.

"Sierra, I see something coming up," Liora said with her keen eagle eyes.

"Yeah, I see it too," Ali told us as we were approaching the site. "It looks like a huge cloud of smoke."

So it did exist. I always knew it. The smoke meant only one thing: the main base was destroyed but there was a chance that the underground saferoom would still be protected. The "chems", as I had taken to calling the bombs that destroyed metals, had obviously been used on the base.

As we pulled up to the smoking remains of Area 51, I saw a steep crater going down maybe twelve to fourteen feet. I ran out of the van and looked over the edge to see if I was right about the underground saferoom. I leaned over the edge and slid down to what was left of the illustrious Area 51. Helayna tried to reach after me.

"Sierra!" she screamed.

"Hey, shut up! We don't want to attract the attention of the Communists," Liora hushed.

"Hey guys, don't come down here until I check something out," I said cautiously. Everything in the crater had been destroyed but still, a small patch of dirt could be seen maybe fifty feet into the neat, smoking crater. The dirt had a scorch mark on it, like a burn. I brushed away the dirt only to reveal a tiny trapdoor underneath. "I knew it."

I climbed back out of the crater, covered the car with the protective cover, and led everyone carefully into the crater to the trapdoor. The small door was white with a thick plastic window for looking while staying protected. I opened the surprisingly heavy door and I had Tyler hold my arms (big blush) as he lowered me into the room. My feet quickly found a ladder and I let go (fading smile). I motioned for the others to follow me into the underground saferoom. Once inside, we were stumbling on each other. That was when Ali started to suffocate. There must've been some gaseous poison in the air for it was foul and rotten. That was when everyone else (including me) lost consciousness.

~~~~~

When I came to, I woke with a massive headache. I was able to see the hole in the ceiling which was (as far as I knew) our only escape route.