Okay, and we're back. Where was I? Oh yeah, back at the fort with my guest. I cuffed her in front and held onto her right arm with my left hand. The place was devastated. Fires had broken out and clearly much of the place was still smoldering after the fires had gone out. The gate was gone. So was the wall. The other walls were in bad shape. Missing timbers all over the place. Bodies all over the place too. I recognized numerous fort residents. Saw quite a bit of bodies belonging to people I didn't recognize. Most of those wearing light grey uniforms of some kind I didn't recognize. A great battle took place here.
No weapons found. It was clear which side had won. The winners had time to gather up all the weapons off the bodies. The warehouse was picked clean. The vehicles we had were gone. I called out for survivors but heard nothing in return. "Meat" seemed horrified by the carnage. I headed for Joshua's house. There wasn't much left of it. Just the first floor. And I was very surprised to find Joshua inside. He was a broken man.
When he saw me, he started laughing hysterically. It took awhile, but he calmed down. He told me how his wife said that if they handed me over, it would mean death to this place. Turns out, she was the one who insisted I be invited to stay after I returned Amy to them. It was Jordan who saw death in the faces of everyone. It was slowly on its way. Only one thing would keep it back. Yup, me. For some incredibly bizarre reason. Jordan convinced her mother. And then the woman convinced her husband that I needed to stay. As long as this was my official home, they'd all be safe. But Joshua admitted he never believed that. Still, Happy Wife, Happy Life. I could leave from time to time. But as long as I was an official resident, I wouldn't die. The community would be safe. Even if individuals died from time to time.
When the nurse finally told him it was time to hand me over, Joshua could either listen to his family, or his own piss poor judgement about handing me over so they could all live safely in the other Bunker. Turns out, both he and the nurse kept quiet about what I did to Ratty. There was more though....
I went around back and saw it. A mound of dirt. Two planks made into a cross. Held together with duct tape. Do I really have to mention whose name was carved into the wood? I went back inside. My sadness turned into an emotion more familiar to me. One I was more used to. Much easier to deal with. I dragged that bastard outside, and demanded he tell me where the rest of his family was. He said his wife left with Sara, the baby, and Amy soon after I was handed over. A horrific family fight ended in an equally horrific way. He found Sara's little .32 magnum revolver. He pointed it at them. Jordan, for some reason, rushed him. He shot her. He swore it was an accident. When she got shot, his wife picked up the fireplace poker and tried to hit him over the head. He took it away from her and chucked it away without looking where he threw it. Sara instinctively turned her body to protect the baby. It worked. But the side spike of the poker hit her in the left eye.
They stuck around just long enough to bury Jordan and get Sara's eye fixed up. Unfortunately in this case, "fixed up" means the doctor removed the pieces of her eye that were still stuck in her skull. It was needed so that infection didn't set in. The doctor had a black eye-patch he put over the gauze on her eye socket.
I felt like vomitting. The only comfort was that Jordan didn't miss me for long. Nor would she get devoured by a Rab. Nor be experimented on by the new Ratty at the other Bunker. His wife afterwards went upstairs. She came down with a shotgun. Raked the fore-end, and told him they were leaving. She took the .22LR pistol I was using to train Jordan. Joshua dropped Sara's .32 after shooting Jordan. His daughter now reclaimed it. They left, with a good supply of food and water. They took one of the Jeeps. (Just having a hard time picturing Sara with an eye-patch on. As horrific as losing an eye is, it must be even worse for a young woman.) Would have taken the bulletproof Hummer. But Sergay saw the writing on the wall. He took a good supply of needed food and water, and weapons. He beat it out of there with three men he considered the most loyal to him. One of them was Ray. Not sure who the other two were. But I have a pretty good idea.
The second Jeep was also missing. Not 100 percent sure who took off in that one. But I suspect it was Jaime and Synnia. Maybe with a third person? Then again, maybe they were part of the small group of survivors after the raid who got transported back to the new Bunker as test subjects. However, something I found later makes me think they survived. It was in the house they occupied in the fort. I found her slumped back in the wheelchair. Just for a second, I thought it was Synnia. It wasn't. It was the nurse. Throat cut. I don't know how. But I know who. Synnia must have blamed her for what was inevitably going to come. She's no fool. She must have known that the men from the other Bunker would soon return. There must have been a new Tent City close by. I never did find her body. Nor Jaime's.
Back to Joshua though. I asked him why he did it. Knowing full well what they intended to do. Knowing full well all the horror stories I told him of the first Bunker. He said he did it to protect his family. So, ironic and unfortunate at play here. The men came. They took them off guard. Many died. Some were taken back. The dead ones were the lucky ones. John was among the dead. Cortman too. Looked as though he took out quite a few before they finally got him. I found Yheveata's twisted and naked corpse stuffed into the dumpster of what was left of that place. Her's wasn't the only one. Guess the mercenaries from Spain decided to have some fun before leaving. The sight of the dumpster made "Meat" vomit.
I was sick of looking at her. I took off the cuffs and told her to go. She didn't understand at first. I found a pair of shoes near the dumpster on a corpse that looked as though had the same sized feet. I tossed the shoes at her, told her to put them on, and to get the Hell out of there before my mercy got fed up with blocking the triggers on all the guns I was carrying. She put them on, and ran off. I had blind-folded her before leading her outside my home. Took it off when we were near the fort. I don't care where she went. She could go towards the damn carnival for all I cared.
Oh yeah, next to the nurse; I found the completed leather holster for my Beretta pistol. Synnia left it behind for some reason. As though she believed I might just come back for it. Yeah, I took it. Excellent fit. I then asked Joshua how many children were taken back to the other Bunker. To my surprise, he said zero. I asked if he was sure. But you see, when it was all over, they left him behind because it would be more misery than to put a bullet in his skull or experiment on him until he was dead. So, he saw every single one of the survivors placed into a transport truck. One of ours' by the way. Yup, he saw every single one. All adults. I'm a bit thankful that the small group included no one I knew even remotely personally.
An odd thing to say, but they sold me out and they're all adults. They knew what they were doing. I had indeed kept them safe. Kept this place safe. Looking back, I either did it myself or came up with plans to survive whatever came our way, as a community. And yet.... They sold me out. I'm not sure what I could have done to stop them from raiding the fort. But I could have come up with a winning solution. According to Jordan, I always would. The one with the most confidence in my presence at the fort, was the only member of Joshua's family to die after I was basically cast out by her father. And no, that irony isn't lost on him.
I took Kate's little .38 revolver and thumbed the hammer back. Sorry, but I did lie to you guys about her death. Truth is, she had been acting very strange and aggressive after we came to a group of murdered women in the woods. They were naked too. Just no dumpster around. It was clear what had happened to them. One of them was alive though. Kate pulled out her gun when she saw the brutal sight. Had it in her hands. She went over to the one still alive. Kate wanted to know what happened. She put down her revolver. After she did, she looked away, towards me. Told me to pull out the medical kit. The woman picked up Kate's revolver and ended her own life by placing the barrel under her chin.
I don't know what to say. She spent the entire day telling me how hideous men are. How awful they are. I decided not to argue the point. Stayed mostly quiet. That night, I pretended to sleep. I had slipped her revolver out of her pack earlier. Turned over and pointed it at her head. She gave me the most crazed look in her eyes as she was holding up her hunting knife. She started to raise it up a bit more when I fired point-blank at her head. I tried to save her. I really did. Maybe I could have, if it wasn't for that incident. Maybe I could have.....
Sorry for lying to you guys. Wasn't sure how to tell you. As for Joshua, I left him there. A broken man. Surrounded by the dead remains of the community that counted on him as their leader. Now the leader of a dead community on a mostly dead planet. Oh, it's going to be a long time before humanity comes back to this planet in any meaningful way. All of us, and all the Rabs will be dead and nothing but dust long before that happens. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe "Meat" will find a nice young man out there. Maybe she'll be smart enough to keep her mouth shut about her past. Even with one eye, I can see Sara meeting someone Man enough to handle a young attractive woman with a baby boy. I can almost picture Amy as an older woman. Meeting someone special. One day, the Rabs and the other monsters will die off. Then slowly, perhaps a bit wiser, humanity will return. Perhaps this time not simply as a sad joke without a punchline. As one mild friend once described it.
As for your old buddy Mono, Truth is, I went out to one of the storage areas we kept full of food and supplies. Transporting it was rather easy. Yeah, sorry for never mentioning the Toyota Tacoma truck I had hidden away a few miles from my home. Just saw no need to. I filled up the back. Then set fire to the large storage shed. And oh yes, I went to the others and did the same thing. Who knows, one of the survivors might know about them. Might talk. Bit of a long drive from upstate New York to Pennsylvania. Let their captors lose a bit of WANTED weight. The spot? I found another home underground awhile back. Not quite as roomy as this one. But it'll do. One main area. Flat and square. Storage room off to the left. Railing in front that goes down just three steps to a working toilet and sink. Both functional. Yeah, I was surprised by that too. Kept an eye on the place. Whoever built it must be dead. No one ever came near it. No radio inside.
I don't need this thing anymore. A couple of days back, in the woods; stumbled across a young lady. Well, she's only five years younger than I am. Maybe not so young. But kind-hearted. In need of food and shelter. And she didn't stab me to death with her hunting knife the first night we shared my new shelter. She was very happy to see my small travel-sized Bible. She had lost hers' and asked if she could read mine. I agreed. That in and of itself lifted her spirits. I miss Jordan. Not a day goes by I don't think about her or the other girls and that little baby boy with the adorable smile. But I think I'll be okay.
There goes that battery indicator again. This time, no squinting for me. I'm going to shut it off completely. First, punch the off button. Then smash it with this here fire-ax resting next to me. And before I sign off. In case "Meat" was right about you guys coming closer each time to using my broadcasts to find my home....
Just remember, I know where you are, I can get to you at any time. You might not want me dead. But the feeling is certainly not mutual. Do you honestly think that storage locations for the fort ONLY covered food supplies? Did your old buddy Mono forget to mention our Brew-master was an expert chemist who could brew up other things? While black powder is relatively easy, something like semtex requires a good chemist. Good thing we had one. Oh! You guys in the other Bunker better hope and pray Ratty's serum isn't simply very slow-acting. If that's the case, I might just decide to drive down to P.A. and introduce myself in person. You see..... I know something you don't know. And I'm not telling.
For the rest of you guys out there who aren't evil scumbags that deserve to get shot in the back. Stay safe. Don't ever lose hope! This is Mono. Signing off for the very last time. Keep your powder dry.
No weapons found. It was clear which side had won. The winners had time to gather up all the weapons off the bodies. The warehouse was picked clean. The vehicles we had were gone. I called out for survivors but heard nothing in return. "Meat" seemed horrified by the carnage. I headed for Joshua's house. There wasn't much left of it. Just the first floor. And I was very surprised to find Joshua inside. He was a broken man.
When he saw me, he started laughing hysterically. It took awhile, but he calmed down. He told me how his wife said that if they handed me over, it would mean death to this place. Turns out, she was the one who insisted I be invited to stay after I returned Amy to them. It was Jordan who saw death in the faces of everyone. It was slowly on its way. Only one thing would keep it back. Yup, me. For some incredibly bizarre reason. Jordan convinced her mother. And then the woman convinced her husband that I needed to stay. As long as this was my official home, they'd all be safe. But Joshua admitted he never believed that. Still, Happy Wife, Happy Life. I could leave from time to time. But as long as I was an official resident, I wouldn't die. The community would be safe. Even if individuals died from time to time.
When the nurse finally told him it was time to hand me over, Joshua could either listen to his family, or his own piss poor judgement about handing me over so they could all live safely in the other Bunker. Turns out, both he and the nurse kept quiet about what I did to Ratty. There was more though....
I went around back and saw it. A mound of dirt. Two planks made into a cross. Held together with duct tape. Do I really have to mention whose name was carved into the wood? I went back inside. My sadness turned into an emotion more familiar to me. One I was more used to. Much easier to deal with. I dragged that bastard outside, and demanded he tell me where the rest of his family was. He said his wife left with Sara, the baby, and Amy soon after I was handed over. A horrific family fight ended in an equally horrific way. He found Sara's little .32 magnum revolver. He pointed it at them. Jordan, for some reason, rushed him. He shot her. He swore it was an accident. When she got shot, his wife picked up the fireplace poker and tried to hit him over the head. He took it away from her and chucked it away without looking where he threw it. Sara instinctively turned her body to protect the baby. It worked. But the side spike of the poker hit her in the left eye.
They stuck around just long enough to bury Jordan and get Sara's eye fixed up. Unfortunately in this case, "fixed up" means the doctor removed the pieces of her eye that were still stuck in her skull. It was needed so that infection didn't set in. The doctor had a black eye-patch he put over the gauze on her eye socket.
I felt like vomitting. The only comfort was that Jordan didn't miss me for long. Nor would she get devoured by a Rab. Nor be experimented on by the new Ratty at the other Bunker. His wife afterwards went upstairs. She came down with a shotgun. Raked the fore-end, and told him they were leaving. She took the .22LR pistol I was using to train Jordan. Joshua dropped Sara's .32 after shooting Jordan. His daughter now reclaimed it. They left, with a good supply of food and water. They took one of the Jeeps. (Just having a hard time picturing Sara with an eye-patch on. As horrific as losing an eye is, it must be even worse for a young woman.) Would have taken the bulletproof Hummer. But Sergay saw the writing on the wall. He took a good supply of needed food and water, and weapons. He beat it out of there with three men he considered the most loyal to him. One of them was Ray. Not sure who the other two were. But I have a pretty good idea.
The second Jeep was also missing. Not 100 percent sure who took off in that one. But I suspect it was Jaime and Synnia. Maybe with a third person? Then again, maybe they were part of the small group of survivors after the raid who got transported back to the new Bunker as test subjects. However, something I found later makes me think they survived. It was in the house they occupied in the fort. I found her slumped back in the wheelchair. Just for a second, I thought it was Synnia. It wasn't. It was the nurse. Throat cut. I don't know how. But I know who. Synnia must have blamed her for what was inevitably going to come. She's no fool. She must have known that the men from the other Bunker would soon return. There must have been a new Tent City close by. I never did find her body. Nor Jaime's.
Back to Joshua though. I asked him why he did it. Knowing full well what they intended to do. Knowing full well all the horror stories I told him of the first Bunker. He said he did it to protect his family. So, ironic and unfortunate at play here. The men came. They took them off guard. Many died. Some were taken back. The dead ones were the lucky ones. John was among the dead. Cortman too. Looked as though he took out quite a few before they finally got him. I found Yheveata's twisted and naked corpse stuffed into the dumpster of what was left of that place. Her's wasn't the only one. Guess the mercenaries from Spain decided to have some fun before leaving. The sight of the dumpster made "Meat" vomit.
I was sick of looking at her. I took off the cuffs and told her to go. She didn't understand at first. I found a pair of shoes near the dumpster on a corpse that looked as though had the same sized feet. I tossed the shoes at her, told her to put them on, and to get the Hell out of there before my mercy got fed up with blocking the triggers on all the guns I was carrying. She put them on, and ran off. I had blind-folded her before leading her outside my home. Took it off when we were near the fort. I don't care where she went. She could go towards the damn carnival for all I cared.
Oh yeah, next to the nurse; I found the completed leather holster for my Beretta pistol. Synnia left it behind for some reason. As though she believed I might just come back for it. Yeah, I took it. Excellent fit. I then asked Joshua how many children were taken back to the other Bunker. To my surprise, he said zero. I asked if he was sure. But you see, when it was all over, they left him behind because it would be more misery than to put a bullet in his skull or experiment on him until he was dead. So, he saw every single one of the survivors placed into a transport truck. One of ours' by the way. Yup, he saw every single one. All adults. I'm a bit thankful that the small group included no one I knew even remotely personally.
An odd thing to say, but they sold me out and they're all adults. They knew what they were doing. I had indeed kept them safe. Kept this place safe. Looking back, I either did it myself or came up with plans to survive whatever came our way, as a community. And yet.... They sold me out. I'm not sure what I could have done to stop them from raiding the fort. But I could have come up with a winning solution. According to Jordan, I always would. The one with the most confidence in my presence at the fort, was the only member of Joshua's family to die after I was basically cast out by her father. And no, that irony isn't lost on him.
I took Kate's little .38 revolver and thumbed the hammer back. Sorry, but I did lie to you guys about her death. Truth is, she had been acting very strange and aggressive after we came to a group of murdered women in the woods. They were naked too. Just no dumpster around. It was clear what had happened to them. One of them was alive though. Kate pulled out her gun when she saw the brutal sight. Had it in her hands. She went over to the one still alive. Kate wanted to know what happened. She put down her revolver. After she did, she looked away, towards me. Told me to pull out the medical kit. The woman picked up Kate's revolver and ended her own life by placing the barrel under her chin.
I don't know what to say. She spent the entire day telling me how hideous men are. How awful they are. I decided not to argue the point. Stayed mostly quiet. That night, I pretended to sleep. I had slipped her revolver out of her pack earlier. Turned over and pointed it at her head. She gave me the most crazed look in her eyes as she was holding up her hunting knife. She started to raise it up a bit more when I fired point-blank at her head. I tried to save her. I really did. Maybe I could have, if it wasn't for that incident. Maybe I could have.....
Sorry for lying to you guys. Wasn't sure how to tell you. As for Joshua, I left him there. A broken man. Surrounded by the dead remains of the community that counted on him as their leader. Now the leader of a dead community on a mostly dead planet. Oh, it's going to be a long time before humanity comes back to this planet in any meaningful way. All of us, and all the Rabs will be dead and nothing but dust long before that happens. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe "Meat" will find a nice young man out there. Maybe she'll be smart enough to keep her mouth shut about her past. Even with one eye, I can see Sara meeting someone Man enough to handle a young attractive woman with a baby boy. I can almost picture Amy as an older woman. Meeting someone special. One day, the Rabs and the other monsters will die off. Then slowly, perhaps a bit wiser, humanity will return. Perhaps this time not simply as a sad joke without a punchline. As one mild friend once described it.
As for your old buddy Mono, Truth is, I went out to one of the storage areas we kept full of food and supplies. Transporting it was rather easy. Yeah, sorry for never mentioning the Toyota Tacoma truck I had hidden away a few miles from my home. Just saw no need to. I filled up the back. Then set fire to the large storage shed. And oh yes, I went to the others and did the same thing. Who knows, one of the survivors might know about them. Might talk. Bit of a long drive from upstate New York to Pennsylvania. Let their captors lose a bit of WANTED weight. The spot? I found another home underground awhile back. Not quite as roomy as this one. But it'll do. One main area. Flat and square. Storage room off to the left. Railing in front that goes down just three steps to a working toilet and sink. Both functional. Yeah, I was surprised by that too. Kept an eye on the place. Whoever built it must be dead. No one ever came near it. No radio inside.
I don't need this thing anymore. A couple of days back, in the woods; stumbled across a young lady. Well, she's only five years younger than I am. Maybe not so young. But kind-hearted. In need of food and shelter. And she didn't stab me to death with her hunting knife the first night we shared my new shelter. She was very happy to see my small travel-sized Bible. She had lost hers' and asked if she could read mine. I agreed. That in and of itself lifted her spirits. I miss Jordan. Not a day goes by I don't think about her or the other girls and that little baby boy with the adorable smile. But I think I'll be okay.
There goes that battery indicator again. This time, no squinting for me. I'm going to shut it off completely. First, punch the off button. Then smash it with this here fire-ax resting next to me. And before I sign off. In case "Meat" was right about you guys coming closer each time to using my broadcasts to find my home....
Just remember, I know where you are, I can get to you at any time. You might not want me dead. But the feeling is certainly not mutual. Do you honestly think that storage locations for the fort ONLY covered food supplies? Did your old buddy Mono forget to mention our Brew-master was an expert chemist who could brew up other things? While black powder is relatively easy, something like semtex requires a good chemist. Good thing we had one. Oh! You guys in the other Bunker better hope and pray Ratty's serum isn't simply very slow-acting. If that's the case, I might just decide to drive down to P.A. and introduce myself in person. You see..... I know something you don't know. And I'm not telling.
For the rest of you guys out there who aren't evil scumbags that deserve to get shot in the back. Stay safe. Don't ever lose hope! This is Mono. Signing off for the very last time. Keep your powder dry.
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