Philip Simpson - Tribulation

Two chairs were set in front of the desk. Colonel Wheat bade them sit and only then did he resume his seat.

“Welcome back, Sam,” he said, his solid, clean-shaven face breaking into a glimmer of a smile. “Those people with you were in pretty bad shape but we’ll have them sorted out in no time. Some of them look like they could make decent soldiers, too. I need some good bods on the towers.”

He paused and looked between Sam and Adam. “I see you’ve renewed your acquaintance with Adam here. Funny story that.” He opened his desk drawer and rummaged around inside for a moment, finally pulling out a thick cigar and a gas lighter. Sam often thought that Colonel Wheat smoking a cigar was almost a caricature — he just looked so much of what he’d come to expect of a Colonel, more even than Colonel Sumner back in L.A. Colonel Wheat lit up and exhaled, sighing with obvious pleasure.

“These are in short supply these days. Next time you’re out, Sam, I’ll have to get you to find some more for me.”

“Sure,” said Sam, noncommittally.

“What was I saying?” he asked.

“Funny story,” said Adam. Sam could hear the impatience in his voice. The Colonel had a tendency to get distracted sometimes.

Colonel Wheat snapped his fingers. “Right! The Major turns up about a week ago. We get to talking. He mentions something about a half-demon boy he ran into a few years back at Black Ridge. I tell him we’ve got our own demon boy right here. Anyway, turns out you’re the same person. Small world, eh?” The Colonel took another long puff of his cigar and looked at Sam to see if he’d managed to get a reaction. The Colonel knew full well that Sam didn’t like to be called demon boy, so Sam suspected he was being tested.

When Sam said nothing, the Colonel continued. “So, have you two had a chance to swap stories? No? Well, I guess before we get started on today’s business, you had better fill Sam in. Especially considering the two things are connected. Major?”

Adam took the hint. “Well, I gather from the Colonel that you know about Black Ridge?” he said, addressing Sam.

“I passed by that way,” said Sam. “Colonel Sumner said he’d lost contact with you. I assumed the worst but wanted to check it out for myself. When I got there, it looked like demons had worked the place over.”

Adam nodded. His eyes took on a faraway look as he relived the events that took place three years earlier. “You’re not far wrong there. After you left, the demons came in force for a week. Horned demons, Astaroth — you name it. We resisted for the first few days but they wore us down. They’d knock down the walls as soon as we could repair them. Eventually, we just ran out of ammo. Even then, we held them off with spiked clubs and slingshots loaded with raw iron nuggets we found in the caves. But, on the last night, they came at us with more force than ever. Over a dozen Horned demons. You couldn’t see the sky through the wings of the Astaroth and the Lemure covered the killing ground in their thousands. Some of us got taken. A few tried to hold them off while the others made their escape. We unblocked one of the tunnels around the back of the mountain. The demons weren’t smart enough to think of that. Most got out that way.”

“What about you?” asked Sam.

“I stayed behind with the handful of volunteers. We had to buy the others some time.”

Sam guessed as much. Adam wasn’t one to abandon a sinking ship at the first sign of water. He would’ve stayed until the bitter end. “So what happened?”

Adam sighed and rubbed his huge hand through his cropped grey hair. It was a gesture Sam remembered. Reliving the past was clearly painful for Adam. “We were almost completely overrun. There were only three of us left by that stage, the others having managed to get out. Well, I hope they got out at any rate. The walls had fallen and demons were everywhere. I think I was fighting with my hands at that point.” He smiled to himself with the thought. “I’d made some gloves studded with iron spikes. Very effective. I told the other two to run, get away through the tunnels and they did. But it was too late. As they were running, Astaroth swooped out of the sky and snatched them up. Just like that, they were gone and I was alone. I retreated to the mouth of the caves and that’s when another Horned demon charged me. Luckily, its aim was off. Instead of hitting me, it hit the side of the cave entrance. The impact caused the entrance to collapse. The last thing I remember is rocks raining down on me.”

Adam paused again, lost in the moment. Sam shook his head in amazement. Adam was incredible.

“When I regained consciousness,” he continued, “I was alone. The rock fall had completely blocked the entrance so at least I was safe for the moment. Of course, I was pinned under a massive boulder. It took me two days to free myself and open up a hole wide enough for me to squeeze through. I didn’t rest that entire time, scared that the demons would find their way through the back entrance. Obviously, they didn’t bother or I wouldn’t be here now. When I emerged outside, thankfully it was daylight and I was able to get my bearings. I went back inside the cave complex through the back, collected a few supplies and left. The cave was compromised. There was nothing left for me there.”

“What happened to the others?” asked Sam. “Did they get away?”

Adam shook his head. “I don’t know for sure. Some I found later on, but others — many others — must have been taken.”

“And what did you do then?”

“I walked. Sometimes I got lucky and found a vehicle. Once, I even flew but the engine choked after a few miles and almost killed me. Went through Arizona and then into California. Found Colonel Sumner and spent a few months working with him. That’s when I got promoted. It was good there for a while, but then I just had to leave.”

“Why?” asked Sam.

Adam shrugged his massive shoulders. “I felt restless. I knew that Colonel Sumner was doing a heap to help the people of California and especially Los Angeles, but it wasn’t enough for me. I had to do more. The Colonel had got in touch with some other survivors — especially military — in the southern states and so that’s where I headed. Took me the best part of a year but I found myself in Florida.”

Sam was astounded. “But that’s several thousand miles!” he exclaimed.

Adam smiled ruefully. “Don’t my feet know it. Anyway, I heard that one Eglin Air Force Base was still operational and I headed for it. When I got there, I was impressed. They had a full scale operation going on there and were well supplied. They put me to work and I was busy for well over a year, searching for survivors, hunting demons and the like. Then the submarine arrived.”

Sam sat more upright. Had he heard correctly? “What submarine?”

Adam laughed. “I thought that would get your attention. Yeah, it was a submarine alright. Part of the British navy. Unlike most of our navy, it had survived the tsunamis largely because it was in deep water when the Rapture came. Anyway, after the Rapture was over and things seemed to be settling down, the sub returned to England. It seemed things were a little better there than they were here but communications were still a problem. The sub and crew helped out where they could and things even improved for a while, thanks to some inspired leadership from someone in Europe.”

Warning bells were going off in Sam’s head now. Inspired leadership? To him that meant only one thing: The Antichrist had returned. His brother.

Both Colonel Wheat and Adam had been watching Sam carefully for his reaction. He didn’t disappoint them. The shock must have been evident on his face.

“So the Brits filled us in on this inspiring leader,” interrupted Colonel Wheat. “Seems he came out of nowhere about two years ago. Very charismatic and charming. That kind of thing. Wrapped whatever leadership was left in Europe around his little finger. Formed a new Pan-European government and got himself elected as its president. Things were going well. Even the demons didn’t appear as often, almost like this leader somehow had the power to keep them away.”