Shaun Harbinger - Wildfire - Destruction of the Dead

If we saw a large military presence, we would find another place to go ashore.

When we arrived at the marina, our luck seemed to be holding out; the place was deserted. Tanya’s voice came over the radio. “Alex, where are the soldiers we saw last time?”

“I guess they don’t need them here now that the drones are patrolling,” I suggested. It made sense to me that if they had drones flying along the coastline, any soldiers on the ground would be redundant and better utilized elsewhere.

“We’ll land there tomorrow, then,” Tanya said. “Got anything good for dinner?”

I smiled. It felt good to deal with something as mundane as what was on tonight’s dinner menu. “We’ve got some burgers.”

“Sounds good. We’ll be over soon.”

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly and quickly. We all felt a sense of accomplishment. Despite numerous setbacks, we had delivered the first batch of vaccine. Marilyn MacDonald was going to have to find someone else to deliver the subsequent batches because, even if we wanted to help with that, we weren’t welcome at Camp Prometheus anymore. As far as Operation Wildfire was concerned, we were done.

That night, I dreamed of my family living on board the Easy with us, safe from the horrors on the mainland. With Joe on board, I could relax a little and spend time with Lucy while my brother piloted the boat. Joe always made me feel safe, no matter what.

I woke up in the night but this time it wasn’t because I’d had a nightmare; I just needed the bathroom. When that was done, I sat up in bed listening to the sea and Lucy’s deep, relaxed breathing.

Through the porthole, I could see the calm night. The moon cast a silver shimmer over the water.

If everything went well, my family would be on the boat tomorrow. I could hardly wait to show them around the Easy .

Everything was going to be perfect.

The next morning, Sam and I took the Zodiac to Swansea Marina and found a Ford Focus parked near the marine goods store. Sam broke into the car and hot-wired it. We put the magpie on the back seat and drove inland.

Lucy and Tanya stayed on the boats because we had to make sure we had enough room in whatever vehicle we took to drive my parents and Joe back to the marina.

Despite the calm and clear night, the morning had brought storm clouds and rain. As we drove along the main road that led to the mountains, Sam turned on the wipers and headlights. “Today’s the day, dude,” he said, seeming genuinely pleased for me. “You get to introduce us to your parents.”

I grinned. I felt full of nervous energy. How much would Joe and my parents have changed? How much would they think I’d changed?

Camp Achilles wasn’t far from the coast. We couldn’t miss it because there were red signs everywhere pointing to its location. It was nestled between two mountains, surrounded by the same wire fence and guard towers we had seen at the other camps.

At the gate, we presented our ID badges and told them who we were here to see. The guards waved us through and told us to wait in our car at the parking area.

We did, and the rain streamed over the windows, obscuring our view of the camp.

“It’s a good thing we have these badges,” Sam said. “They wouldn’t let just anybody come into a camp and take people out of it.”

“I know,” I said. The army’s objective was to get as many people into the camps as possible, not let them leave. My badge meant I could take my family out of Achilles and no one would bat an eyelid. My luck was still holding out.

A soldier dressed in a green rain slicker knocked on the window and beckoned us to follow him. Sam stayed in the car while the soldier led me to a hut that was simply called Hut 4. Very imaginative.

He opened the door and held it open while I entered. The room was bare. I guessed that Hut 4 had many different uses and was furnished for whatever need it was being used for at the time. A man visiting his family didn’t require any furnishing at all.

A second door opened and my heart leaped as my dad stepped through it and into the room. He saw me and rushed forward to hug me. That hug felt so good. I couldn’t remember the last time I had hugged my dad.

“Alex,” he said, holding me tight. “My boy is alive. We thought you were dead.”

“I’m fine, Dad.”

He held me at arm’s length. “You’re more than fine. Look at you. You’ve lost weight. And you look stronger. Much stronger.”

His face fell a little and he said, “I wish your mother could see you now.”

I felt a slight panic rush through me. “You mean she can’t? Where is she?” I looked at the door he had entered through. “Isn’t she here?”

“Joe is here,” he said. “He’ll be along shortly. Your mother…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

“What? Dad, how? What happened?” I felt numb. My mother couldn’t be dead, she just couldn’t.

“It was when we moved here from the other camp. We were attacked on the road. A lot of people didn’t make it.”

I couldn’t believe it. “When?”

“Two weeks ago.” He looked at me with tears spilling down his cheeks. “I miss her, Alex.” We hugged again, only this time it was because he needed physical support and I was giving it to him.

The door opened and Joe walked in. When he saw me, his face lit up. “Alex!” He came over and put his arms around me and Dad.

“We didn’t know you were alive,” he said. “You look great.”

I smiled. Unfortunately, I couldn’t return the compliment. Both Joe and my dad looked pale and drawn. There was something about their slumped postures and dull eyes that made me feel like they had both given up on life. If I had to describe them in one word, that word would be “defeated”.

But that would change. A few days at sea would lift their spirits. A new life away from this place would bring back the father and brother I knew.

“I’ve got a boat,” I said. “You can come with me and leave this place behind. I’ve got friends. You’ll really like them. And we…”

“No,” my dad said. “We can’t leave here, Alex.”

“Yes, you can. It’s okay. I’ve got a badge that gives me some authority. I can…”

“No, Alex,” Joe said. “Dad didn’t mean it that way. He meant that we can’t leave here because this is the only place we’re safe.”

“What?” I felt confused. Didn’t they realize that I had survived all this time without being in a camp?

“It’s dangerous out there,” Joe said. “We’ve been on the road. People got killed. We’re not doing it again. They look after us here.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Joe had always been the brave one, the brother I looked up to. I’d always wanted to be like him. Now he was acting as if he were afraid of his own shadow.

“I’m not saying it isn’t dangerous,” I said. “Of course it’s dangerous. But we live on a boat. We’re not confined in a camp. We’re free. Surely you can see that life is better than living like caged animals.”

Dad shook his head. “We’ve seen what’s out there. Those monsters. We don’t want to see anything like that again.”

They reminded me of the people hiding at the motorway services. But these two men weren’t strangers, they were my family. I never expected them to be like this.

“You reached out to me on the radio,” I said. “You wanted to be with me.”

“Of course we did,” Joe said. “We wanted you to come to the camp. We wanted to know that you were safe.”

“I am safe, and I don’t need a camp,” I said, suddenly angry. Why the hell did they want to live under the army’s rule instead of being free? It didn’t make any sense to me. I could never give up my liberty like that.