The Aftermath

S1E9: The Supply Drop

       Chris awakes from his deep sleep as he feels the breeze hit his face from the fan. He's in his old bedroom before the blast had occurred. Before he was even put into hyper sleep. He hears his parents snoring in the room across from him as he squints his eyes from the sunlight glare seeping in through the window.
He looks around and sees school supplies and clothes scattered on the floor. He looks around as he gets ready to go to school. "Let's go buddy", Chris's father says to him. Chris doesn't share a conversation since he's still half asleep. "Let's just get in the car", Chris mumbles while his eyes are half closed.
He arrives at school still half awake as he makes his way to see Ryan as usual in the early morning. "Yo fam you look terrible", Ryan says to Chris looking for his reaction. "At least I'm self aware", Chris mumbles while snickering a little. They walk to their first period class and prepare for their usual schedule.
Around 7th period, Ryan and Chris separate as they head to their different classes. "See ya fam. I'm going to AP Government", Ryan says. Chris sighs and says, "Alright you freak of nature. I hope you fail". Ryan laughs as he walks away.
Chris is always a good student. He does all his homework, gets high grades on tests, pays attention in class. However, he always gets stressed and has low confidence in his academic abilities. Chris sighs to himself as he struggles to stay awake. His eyes begin to flutter as he slowly puts his head down on his desk.
Suddenly, a high pitched alarm can be heard on the loudspeaker. Chris winces and jumps in shock of the sudden noise. The class share looks at each other in bewilderment of what's going on. A voice comes on the loudspeaker in a formal tone and says, "Attention all students, please evacuate to the closest shelter approximately 3 miles away. This is not a drill. Radiation has been located and is traveling fairly quickly. Classes are dismissed".
The class continues to exchange glances after hearing the sudden alarm. They remain their for a moment in shock as they processe the information. The first student runs out of the classroom. Than the next student. Than the next student. Than the next student. The evacuation turns into complete chaos as the students rush to get to the shelter before everyone else. Little did they know that their lives will change forever.
Chris wakes up in the same car that he crawled into previously to escape the mutated creatures. He pants and sweats as he looks around to see what happened. He sees Ryan, Sarah and Jeannie look at him worryingly. He glances down at his leg to see that it has been perfectly healed. Jeannie pulls Chris in for a hug as all the tension leaves her body.
       "Glad you're back", Jeannie says while smiling at Chris. Chris remains silent as he thinks about his dream and what his life used to be like. Will life ever be like that again? Does anyone else have these dreams? Will it get better? Chris thinks to himself. "Me too", Chris says finally returning a glance at his sister. She walks away from the car clearly shaken.
       "The rest of the group is looking into that supply drop. They left not too long ago", Sarah informs Chris. A pause. Chris is clearly shaken after everything he's been through with leaving the bunker. "You feeling alright Chris? You did lose a decent amount of blood", Ryan says to Chris worryingly. "Yeah I'm alright...just thinking", Chris says.
Meanwhile, Jeannie is seen pacing back and forth in between the two damaged cars up ahead. She pulls out the walkie talkie that Zach gave her and ponders on whether or not she should contact her sister. Should I contact them? Are they in trouble? Would me contacting them put them in even more danger? Jeannie thinks to herself. She sighs as she turns on the radio.
"Rosie?", Jeannie says into the radio. There's a long silence, and Rosie still doesn't respond to the transmission. "Rosie do you copy?", Jeannie asks worryingly. Another painful silence falls upon Jeannie as she waits in anticipation for a response. An answer. The sound of people screaming can be heard. Constant gunshots and alarms in the distance. Than the radio cut off.
Jeannie is in shock as she assumes the worst. Her facial expression is wide eyed as she tries and contemplates what she just heard. What happened in the bunker? Are they both dead? Who answered the radio call? Jeannie thinks to herself while trying to come up with a plan. "I have to go after her", Jeannie says to herself.
Meanwhile on the highway, the group is inching closer to the supply drop. "It should be up ahead", Paige says confidently. "Let's watch out ahead for any mutants", Ricky says while cautiously looking around. Jill notices that Ricky seems more tense than usual as he frantically scans the area. She reaches out for Ricky's hand in an attempt to comfort him. "We'll be ok Ricky. I promise!", Jill reassures Ricky. "Thanks Jill", Ricky says while pulling her in for a hug.
Paige notices how Jess hasn't been herself ever since the day that Sasha died. She's been very distant and hard on herself lately. Paige thinks to himself. "Yo Jess you good?", Paige asks Jess in his usual tone. "Yeah...it's nothing", Jess says clearly upset. "Come on talk to me", Paige says in a sudden change of tone. There's a long awkward pause before Jess answers. "It's my fault that Sasha's dead. If I hadn't went to check on the mutant, none of this would've happened", Jess says while avoiding eye contact.
"Don't be too hard on yourself. You were only trying to help. It's unfortunate what happened", Paige reassures Jess. Jess smiles at the thought of being cared for by her friend. "Thanks Paige that means a lot", Jess says while going in for a hug. "No touching. I hate social contact", Paige says jokingly. "Alright I'll keep that in mind from now on", Jess laughs. It was one of the first times they could relax in this new world dedicated on survival.
"The supply drop is right there! I can see the smoke!", Jess says excitingly while pointing in the direction of the red smoke. "I hope there's some more guns and supplies in there!", Jill says to Jess excitingly. Ricky laughs as he hears their reactions. Ricky and Paige walk over to the supply drop, and they open it. It reveals several rations of food and water, a sub machine gun with ammo and medical supplies. Ricky and Paige are in shock as they finally see a hint of good luck in this new world.
As Jess cheers out of excitement, she notices how Hayden has been very quiet and isolated towards everyone. "Hayden are you ok?", Jess questions Hayden. "Yeah...just thinking", Hayden says to Jess while avoiding eye contact. He visually looks exhausted as he rubs his eyes. "Come on you can tell me. I'm here to listen", Jess says reassuringly. Hayden sighs and looks into the woods to admire the scenery.
"I'm sorry I couldn't enact any change in the military. I never wanted them to be corrupt. If I were to just have tried a bit harder, than maybe I could've stopped this entire thing from happening. Ever since my mom divorced my father, I've been trying to stay close with both of them. But, sometimes it could be impossible with my mother's deep hatred for him. My father taught me how to shoot a gun which sparked my strive to joining the military to enact change. So when the blast happened, I thought that it would be a perfect opportunity to try and protect everyone. I want everyone to live in peace unlike how my mom and dad could", Hayden says feeling somewhat relieved.
"You've done more than enough to help the group. Your family would be so proud of you", Jess says to Hayden. Hayden smiles as a tear streaks down his face. He goes in to hug Jess. "Thank you for talking with me. I needed to let that out", Hayden said. All Jess did, was smile and look at how the rest of the group was admiring the supply drop. "Let's go see what stuff their screaming about", Jess says jokingly to Hayden. "Sure thing", Hayden chuckles.
As the group goes through their new acquired supplies, the sound of a blood screeching scream can be heard in the woods. Three crawlers walk onto the highway, and they start making their way closer to the group. "Hide behind the cars!", Paige whispers loudly to the group. Before they go off to hide, Hayden grabs the sub machine gun and a box of ammo.
The sound of the crawlers can be heard louder and louder as they approach the group. Hayden tries to hold his breath to prevent the crawler from hearing him. Just as Hayden is about to shoot the crawler, a gunshot can be heard next to him as a ringing begins to form in his ear. He sees Paige holding a gun over a dead crawler's body. The two crawlers than jump to Paige as he tries to shoot. Empty.
Hayden rushes out and shoots three bullets into the crawler closest to him. He sees the last crawler on top of Paige as he struggles to get free. Hayden desperately looks for a shot as both the crawler and Paige continue to fight. I don't have a clear shot. Is he going to die if I don't shoot soon? Should I shoot? Hayden thinks to himself bewildered on what to do.
Suddenly, Jess grabs an iron reinforced club that was deep in the supply drop, and she strikes the crawler several times to the head.
Jess pants as she realized that she killed her first crawler. I did it! I saved Paige's life! Jess thinks to herself joyfully. Hayden and the rest rush over to Paige and Jess. "You guys ok?", Hayden asks the two worryingly. Paige takes a few more deep breaths before saying, "have anymore ammo?" They all laugh as they realized how they barely got out of that situation.
The group stayed silent as they packed up the supplies and headed out onto the highway. Paige breaks the silence and says "thanks for saving me out there" to Jess. Jess smiles as she thinks about how much she's grown through this experience. She went from a shy innocent teen, to a tough caring doctor like figure. "Let's get back to the rest and check up on Chris", Ricky says. The group agrees as they begin their walk back.
Meanwhile, Chris is still in the car thinking about the dream he had and what was the meaning of it. Of course it seems like a normal day of school at the time, but he's never had dreams of his previous life before. So why now?
"Ryan...I had this strange dream", Chris begins to say. "What was it about?" Ryan asks curiously. "It was the day of the blast before we were put into hyper sleep. It felt too real. But why am I having this dream now? I never used to have dreams about my past or my family", Chris says.
Chris starts to remember all of the good times his family had together. He wishes he could go back and change his parents' fate. "Maybe it's because you miss your old life. I've had several dreams of my old life, and I miss my family too. But, we've got each other to talk to when we feel down. I'll always have your back", Ryan says reassuringly. Chris smiles as he realizes how both him and Ryan, have always had each other's backs. "Thanks Ryan. For everything. You've always been there when my parents couldn't have been. I'm happy to be your friend", Chris says as a sudden wave of exhaustion hits him.
Chris drifts off to sleep in the rusted old car as Ryan heads out to patrol the perimeter with Jeannie. He notices how Jeannie hasn't been very social or interactive with her brother at all. Is she ok? Did something happen? Should I talk to her? Ryan thinks to himself as he sighs and walks over to a car. He jumps on the roof of the car, and he admires the stars above. He begins to think about his family due to the conversation with Chris before. Is there a possibility that they could still be out there? Will we ever get a chance to rebuild what we once had? Ryan thinks to himself while his entire body relaxes. His eyes begins to flutter as he closes his eyes, and falls asleep.
The sound of people catching their breath as they try to be the first ones to enter the bunker. The sound of everyone's heartbeats can be heard within themselves as their survival instincts kick in. Am I going to make it in time? Is my family safe? Can we all fit in the bunker? Ryan would think to himself while pushing people out of the way.
The entrance is in sight. He squeezes pass everyone as he struggles to fight against the horde of people. He makes it through just in time before the military guards close the door. Ryan catches his breath and rushes over to the guards to see if his family is still alive. "Did my parents make it in time?", Ryan asks the guard. No response. "Please answer me I need to know!", Ryan yells in desperation. "Follow me", the guard says without changing his facial expression.
Ryan follows the guard eagerly into the room in hopes to find his family. All he sees is sleeping chambers. "What is this? Where are my parents", Ryan yells at the guard. "Get in", the guard says completely ignoring Ryan's question. "Tell me", Ryan repetitively screams over and over again while the guard is forcing him in hyper sleep. The door locks as Ryan desperately tries to get out. He begins to sob in confusion of why this is happening to him. The actually hyper sleep chamber itself, is very cramped and claustrophobic.
Suddenly, Ryan recognizes a face that he wouldn't have many of years ago at that exact moment. It's the Admiral. He begins to slowly lose conscious as the voices begin to fade away. He hears the Admiral speak to the guard just before he falls into hyper sleep. The words constantly ring in his head. "The experiment is now underway".
Ryan wakes up soaked in sweat and panting over what he has just seen in his dream. Why was the Admiral in my dream? What does he mean by the experiment? Is this the same experience Chris had with his dream? Ryan thinks to himself while still trying to catch his breath. He ponders over what possible corruption is inside the bunker. He starts to wonder if the true monsters are the mutants or the military.