Jacqueline Druga - Fallout

When the truck stopped, the curtain in the back opened and her armed guards stood there. They offered her assistance in getting down and that was when she saw she was at an airport.

It was a short walk from the truck to the aircraft, a private jet with no name on it.

“Where am I going?” she asked. “Where are you taking me?”

She wasn’t sure what she expected, maybe it was shock that had kept her from speaking up earlier. Instantly, she panicked. Her pace slowed and her footing became more resistant. They led her more than before and inched her up the outer staircase through the open door of the plane. The engines were already running and warming up.

The interior of the plane was beautiful, clean, and comfortable. Eight rows of wide white leather seats lined one side of the plane, and on the other was a sofa and table. Her escorts left as soon as they got her inside.

Madeline’s heart raced.

A few moments later a female flight attendant came out, dressed in a crisp uniform, and pointed to a seat.

“Where are we going?” Madeline asked. “Where are you taking me?”

The flight attendant smiled and pointed to the seats.

After a brief pause, Madeline took a seat and the attendant handed her a soft blanket. As soon as she sat, she closed her eyes. The seat was comfortable and warm. The blanket felt wonderful. The flight attendant left and returned with a cup of coffee and a warm wet towel that smelled of lemon. She placed them both on the small table area next to Madeline’s seat.

Madeline grabbed the towel and placed it on her face, then after it cooled, she set it down and lifted the coffee.

The guilt returned when she took a sip. It felt like ages since she’d had a cup of coffee.

She had to remember what was happening. She was taken during a siege, yet, Madeline didn’t contest. It wasn’t that she was weak, she was just at a loss.

There was no point in arguing or putting up a fight because she didn’t know anything. She was in the dark. She had no clue who had taken her and where they were headed. It had to be all part of the process.

A foreign country had invaded.

She was the leader.

In fact, there was nothing she could do except drink her coffee and wait and see where she landed. Hopefully then, someone would talk to her and tell her what was going on.

It was a great place to stop for the night, in fact, Toby found it and called it irony. It was one of the few remaining intact buildings on the outskirts of Cleveland. A wholistic healer of Western Medicine. The windows weren’t busted and just inside the small building was the reception area. It was a cross between a store and waiting room.

The back had examining tables which made a great place to sleep.

Toby walked a good twenty feet ahead of Marissa and Harris. He was the scout, keeping an eye out. They wanted to find a car, but any that were viable didn’t have keys or gas and none of them were savvy enough to get one working.

When Toby realized the day was winding down he started looking for a stopping place.

They had made it out of the city on a south-bound path. Harris would stay with them until they reached his home, then he was stopping while Toby and Marissa went west.

Harris was convinced that everything was fine once they cleared the perimeter of Cleveland and destruction. That somehow there were rescue crews abound, walking and searching.

Toby knew that wasn’t the case, or at least they weren’t nearby. He didn’t hear any dogs and that was the telltale sign to Toby no one was out there. Rescue workers, that was.

They did see a few people who, like themselves, were walking south. They met a woman and her two young boys. They looked dirty and tired, the youngest boy looked ill.

Convinced help was not far away, Harris gave them water and food from his ration. He claimed that he didn’t need them, rations were probably plenty outside of Cleveland.

They had however cleared the worst part of destruction, and the farther they walked the more buildings they saw.

Even he knew it was a limited strike and wasn’t like the entire country was blasted away. They just needed to get out of the area and see what was happening with the world.

For that night, they were staying put.

Toby closed the window blinds, had some of his food, rummaged through what the store had that was useful, then went to the back to turn in for the night.

None of them said much at all that night.

He was the first to wake up. The health store had protein bars and he had one of those. It was when he was gathering his stuff that he heard the sound of a truck. It sounded like a big one, too.

When he heard it, his immediate thought was that maybe Harris was right.

“Dudes, get up,” he told them. “I am hearing trucks outside. I’m gonna go check it out.”

Harris immediately jumped up and Toby raced out before he saw if Marissa woke.

Once outside he caught a glimpse of the large truck. It was military and Toby smiled, running back in.

“It’s the military,” he said. “Harris, looks like you might be right. They’re probably looking for people.”

Instantly they grabbed their gear and raced out. The sound of the truck had faded, but they were hopeful.

“We need to get out into the open,” Harris suggested. “We veered off the main road. Which way did the truck go?”

Toby pointed and Harris took off in that direction.

They followed as Harris walked at a strong, quick pace. They walked for a good half an hour until they found a road. It was a four-lane main road, not a highway.

Cars had stopped and been abandoned on the side of the road. They looked as if they had been moved aside.

They stayed center of the road, completely visible. Within a half an hour, the sound of a truck carried to them.

It came from behind and was getting close.

Toby looked over his shoulder and saw it coming. It didn’t look like it was slowing down at all.

The three of them stepped to the side and waved their arms, calling out, “Stop. Help.”

Just as the truck past them about fifty feet, it came to a stop.

Marissa smile, Harris showed excitement, and Toby did a little skip and jump

It was one of those long, green military trucks with a tarp canopy covering the entire back. They quickly made their way to the truck and as soon as they got there, relieved and slightly out of breath, the back gate dropped, the tarp opened, and two Chinese soldiers jumped out, aiming their weapons at them.

“What the hell?” Harris asked.

“Bags. Bags. Down,” the one soldier said. “Hands up.”

Toby did as instructed, dropping his bags and raising his hands. Once Harris and Marissa did the same, the soldier swung his weapon and pointed to the truck.

“In,” he ordered. “In now.”

Toby didn’t have a clue what was going on, or why Asian soldiers had guns on them. He did as he was told, he would have believed that maybe China came to help if he didn’t have a gun in his face.

As soon as Toby was close to the back gate of the truck, he knew they weren’t rescuers and they were in trouble. The inside of the back end of the truck was filled with people, all looking scared and all of them Americans.

He was tired. His journey from his homeland to America had been nonstop and long, but General Liu wasn’t ready to stop, he couldn’t. He relaxed on the plane, taking the time to look over his area and the plans laid out for him.

He hated it.

If his country were to put on the appearance of being humanitarian and helping America, the detention camps were not the way to do so.

His folder stated his area had already initiated nine detention camps. Four of which were filled to capacity. They were wasting valuable resources and manpower detaining people. People they had to feed, house, and guard. That wasn’t including the camps erected for those who were displaced. Americans who had lost their homes to the bombs and were seeking refuge and answers. In his opinion, it was an undertaking that was too large.