Kyle West: Apocalypse

Khloe nodded, casting me a worried glance.

“Mr. Keener. Follow me.”

I followed Officer Chan, my thoughts racing. What did he know? How could he know anything at all? My dad wouldn’t have said anything…would he?

We entered a hallway I rarely frequented – the Officers’ Wing. Chan’s office was at the end. A guard who I recognized, but whose name I did not know, was posted by the door. He cast me a suspicious glance and said nothing as Chan and I entered.

Chan’s office had a desk with a computer and papers on it. On either side was the same, nondescript wooden chair. On the far wall hung a large map, detailing southern California in the Old World. Red pins were stuck in key places, though only Chan and perhaps a few others knew their significance. The office was bare, utilitarian.

“You may sit,” Chan said.

I sat in the chair, though Chan remained standing, facing away from me. Though short, he appeared tall and domineering.

“Close the door, Officer Burton.”

The officer nodded, and shut the door. The silence that followed was thick.

“How was your first recon, Alex?”

It seemed a strange question, given he knew what happened.

“I wish it could have gone more simply.”

Chan wheeled around to face me, hands behind his back. I heard him crack his knuckles. His lips remained horizontal, but I saw him smirk with his eyes.

“I have called you in for two reasons. The first was to inform you that a new strain of the xenovirus has been discovered.”

I stared at Chan for a moment in mute shock. It was just thirty minutes ago that I had left the medical bay, believing that it was only the microbes that were infected, and not the man himself.

“What?” I asked.

“I watched as your father ran another test after you left. I personally saw him place the man’s DNA under a microscope, and clearly, whatever it showed was not entirely human. Your father never thought the xenovirus would be advanced enough to affect a human directly, hence why he would only think to test for the microbes to begin with.” Chan smiled grimly. “I’m glad that I insisted your father do this. I had a very bad feeling about this from the beginning.”

I was still so overwhelmed with the ramifications of a new strain of the xenovirus, one that affected humans no less, I could not answer. If the man were infected, then it could be communicable.

“I wanted to confirm this result to you in person first,” Chan said. “Since you help your father with his research, he will naturally share this breakthrough with you. You are not permitted, however, to share it with anyone else, under any circumstance. This is the main reason why I brought you here. You must promise me that this will remain hidden until I say otherwise. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I said. “Of course. So, the xenovirus is actually transforming the man we found? As it would plants?”

Chan nodded. “Your father is still in the medical bay, working hard to understand this new threat. The man – whoever he is – is beyond saving. We can only watch as his body deteriorates, and take note of the effects the xenovirus has on him. Hopefully, we can learn all we can before he expires.”

I remained silent in the pause that followed.

“Now, Alex…did you tell anyone about the man? Perhaps you told Miss Kline?”

I felt a bit frazzled, so it was all I could do to look Chan in the eye. “No. We were talking about school, for the most part. I mentioned that the guy was sick, but nothing more.”

Chan nodded. “I hope that was all it was, Alex. Because if this gets out, then there could be one less Bunker in operation by tomorrow.”

He said nothing more on that subject, and neither did I.

“Now, I also wanted to know what happened on the recon. Recount everything, beginning to end, and spare no detail. Any piece of information could be important, even if you believe it is trivial. Please, be specific as possible.”

“Alright.”

I told him. He seemed uninterested in what I said, but I saw his eyes, calculating, when I could bring myself to look at them. When I got to the part of coming upon the man, he became more alert.

“I saw the man, and he had several wounds in his back. I watched Michael as he radioed back for help. We moved him…”

Chan stopped me there. “You saw nothing else? No one else? Obviously this man could not stab himself in the back. There had to have been someone else there, no?”

Here, my face twitched. I hoped it escaped Chan’s notice. I’m sure it probably didn’t.

“No. Just the man.”

“It seems strange that a man with stab wounds would be alive like that. It suggests the wounds were rather recent. The person who inflicted the wounds would still be nearby by necessity. You saw nothing – no form, no footprints, no clues, as to whether there had been someone else present?”

“No. If I saw footprints or anything I would have told Michael. I guess he didn’t see anything, either.”

Chan just stared at me, willing more information out. Finally, he nodded slowly, as if I had just confirmed something he suspected.

“When the Bunkers were first established, there were one hundred and forty four – as you are well aware from your schooling. Now, how many are there?”

“Four.”

“Four.” He paused, to let it sink in. “You are too young to know this, Alex, being only sixteen. But since that day in 2030, when the Bunkers were filled, there was hope. The Bunkers would arise and rebuild the nation Ragnarok had destroyed. But the Bunkers failed, one by one. Most were wiped out by Wastelanders. The commanders of the Bunkers were lax in security, too generous in charity. They allowed survivors in, gave away food. They didn’t keep their locations secret. They could not bring themselves to shoot those who wandered by.

“And some…some Bunkers disappeared into the night – here one day, gone the next, with no rhyme or reason why. The situation has worsened as communication satellites have fallen into disrepair, making contact with any Bunker near impossible.”

Chan paused, his eyes narrowing.

“Do you know why we are still alive, Alex? Do you know why we have not fallen, just four of one hundred and forty four Bunkers that still function?”

“Because no one knows we’re here.”

“That is correct. No one knows we are here. So why go on recons at all? Well, we only send recons out in pairs, except in extreme circumstances, once every week. The senior is taught to look for things the junior is not privy to. Needless to say, it is a very important task, well worth the risk of being discovered. Very few wander near here because they have learned to avoid this area. But the Wasteland is a fluid place – things change, and if we can’t keep tabs on our environment, we cannot adapt to ever shifting situations, and may find ourselves eliminated in that way.

“I am the Chief Security Officer. It is my job to maintain the security and well-being of all Bunker residents. I am endowed by the government of the United States of America to run this facility, and have been given license to do whatever is necessary to ensure that. Whatever the cost.”

He stared at me, a while longer. Almost, he broke me with that will. But at last, he relented.

“If you remember anything about your recon, you can find me personally. Remember what I said about the xenovirus. Not a word.” He paused. “That is all.”

Just like that, the interrogation was over. Chan turned his attention to some papers, and seemed to have forgotten me in quick order.

But I had to ask one question.

“Officer Chan…why was that man coming to our Bunker, anyway?”