Flux Read online

  Conn absentmindedly slapped at the strap across his chest, before remembering he had broken protocol by bringing his carbine into the Infirmary. The assault rifle was slung casually over his back and the safety was on. Even so, it didn’t matter. All weapons, big and small, had to be returned to the Armoury (an old gun store) once security personnel were off-duty. No ifs, ands, or buts.

  Shit! He scolded himself.

  “I got the impression it was urgent,” Conn replied. “I forgot. I’m sorry.”

  “I tried to tell you,” Lex chimed in.

  Conn shot her a cold scowl, but didn’t say anything. He faintly remembered Lex mentioning the carbine. At the time however, Conn was more concerned about getting to the Infirmary. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something wrong with Anthony, and as such he wasn’t really listening to anyone’s advice, let alone Lex’s.

  Why else would Williams call a meeting at the Infirmary?

  “You’re damned right it’s urgent!” Williams spoke over Lex, yelling in Conn’s direction. A male nurse made to chastise him for his boisterous behaviour, and then thought better of it. Williams’ face was beetroot-red and slick with sweat, the veins in his neck and temples bulging like worms breaking through freshly-soaked soil.

  “Come with me!”

  He grabbed Conn firmly by the arm, and walked him over to Anthony’s bedside. As Williams let go of Conn’s bicep, the younger man knelt down beside his withered-looking sibling.

  “How ya doing buddy?” he asked his ashen-faced little brother.

  It had been a few days since his last visit. In other words, it had been too long.

  Anthony didn’t open his eyes for Conn. In fact, he didn’t respond to Conn’s voice at all. He could see the young boy’s forehead was lined with beads of sweat. Conn was concerned for a moment, until he realised Anthony’s chest was rising and falling rhythmically. Anthony wasn’t dead, but he was very, very sick. The little guy looked just like Conn had as a kid, with his long, wavy, dark brown hair, round nose and full cheeks. Conn couldn’t help but feel sorry for the little guy; he had been through a lot in the last year or so. They both had, actually. The loss of their parents hit Anthony hardest, though. Conn supposed it was to be expected, considering his age. He was only ten, after all.

  Williams gave the two brothers a few minutes, stepping away to the end of the bed. Lex didn’t approach, instead she hung back looking on uncomfortably, unsure what to say or do.

  After a while, Williams said to Conn; “Come with me, son.”

  The young man noted Williams’ tone had softened considerably. Conn got the impression Williams had wanted him to see Anthony first, as if he was trying to emphasise something. The young man stood up, squeezing Anthony’s hand affectionately before following after Williams.

  Lex and Conn once more braved the sea of masked volunteers and patients, this time following Williams’ lead, through the maze of shambling people. Williams moved determinedly towards the rear of the Infirmary. Those who recognised him got out of his way, as quickly as possible. Nestled in the left-hand corner of the building was a fire exit. Conn knew from experience it led outside to the Pharmacy. Williams stopped at the door, propping it open for Lex and Conn.

  “C’mon,” Williams said brusquely to them both.

  With a curt nod, he signalled for the pair to follow him outside through the heavy-looking door. Stepping out into the evening air, Conn noted the temperature still hadn’t dropped much. It rarely dropped below 30 ̊ C around Havenfort these days. Williams removed his surgical mask as the door closed with an audible click! behind them. Lex and Conn took their cue and followed suit with their bandanas, loosening them and letting them hang about their necks.

  Directly in front of the group was the Pharmacy. Unlike most buildings in Havenfort, the Pharmacy had in fact been a pharmacy, owned and operated by a Haven local before the Flux. Whereas a lot of buildings were refitted to serve a new purpose, the Pharmacy remained virtually unchanged. The small building was a soft crème colour, its weathered paint peeling in places. At the entrance, a pair of guards was on duty standing to attention.

  The two burly men, both armed with pump-action shotguns stepped aside the moment they recognised Williams. Then, the trio entered with the Elder in the lead, through a pair of double doors, pulled open by the guards via a pair of dragropes.

  State-of-the-art. Conn thought sarcastically.

  His newfound sense of humour didn’t last long, however. Crossing the threshold, Conn was shocked, by what he discovered inside. The place was virtually empty. Shelves on either wall, running the length of the building, that only months before were lined with packets of pills, bottles of cough syrup, needles and syringes, were now dusty and vacant, or very close to it. In a few spots, he even caught glimpses of cobwebs. In one corner, a mouse- at least Conn thought it was a mouse- scuttled out of sight, cheeping loudly as it went. He half-expected a tumbleweed ball to roll by. In that moment of shocked silence, Conn thought of his little brother, and his stomach sank like a lead balloon. Anthony needed treatment; the kind of treatment that Havenfort couldn’t provide for him anymore, it seemed.

  “What happened to all the meds?” Conn asked, his voice hushed.

  Conn didn’t get his answer right away. Instead, the trio were interrupted by three new arrivals: Brett, Audrey and Reilly. The three newcomers weren’t strangers. They were the remainder of Lex’s and Conn’s security team. Originally, their team consisted of six, but Hicks had unexpectedly succumbed to the Flux last month. Everyone inside the Pharmacy exchanged glances, nodding and/or smiling at one another.

  “This sickness has taken us by surprise.” Williams admitted, his voice low. “In the last week, we have been hit with a dozen new cases of infection. This fever is running rampant through the settlement. Whereas, some people have been able to shake it off, others haven’t been so lucky. It seems like it’s fifty-fifty with this fucking thing.” The Elder looked solemn as he spoke these last words.

  “We have a plan, though,” Brett, dressed in desert-coloured combat gear, stepped forward. As always, there was a smug look printed on his pale face. Brett had no doubt overheard Conn’s question as he and the other two belatedly entered the Pharmacy.

  Brett moved past Lex, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. His green eyes flashed with affection as he smiled in her direction. Lex didn’t return the gaze with the same warmth Conn was used to seeing from her when her loverboy was around. The young woman’s smile seemed somewhat forced. Brett didn’t seem to notice, however.

  Trouble in paradise? Conn mused momentarily.

  Brett came to stand by Williams. He was a full foot taller than the Elder. Unlike Williams he was in shape, although his blonde hair was cropped short, in a similar fashion to Williams’ own. Everyone in Havenfort expected Brett to succeed Williams as a Council Elder, and Chief of Security, now that Hicks was gone.

  “You mean you knew about this?” Conn asked accusingly, motioning towards the empty shelves.

  “Yes, I did.” Brett answered in a monotone. Conn noted there was no sense of shame or remorse in his voice. “Need-to-know basis.”

  “Why isn’t something being done about it?” Conn felt his blood begin to boil. “My brother is in there! He could be dying for all we know!” Apparently pointing at the wall, he was in fact signalling in the direction of the Infirmary beyond.

  “Like I said,” Williams interceded, “this sickness… this fever… or whatever it is, has taken us by surprise. The truth is we aren’t equipped to deal with something of this magnitude. There was no way of knowing it would get this bad either.”

  “Then what are we going to do?” Conn demanded, trying to control himself.

  “The Council voted last night. Their decision was unanimous. We are going to scout west,” Brett answered for Williams. “Head for Brookeborough; raid the hospital there for supplies. Assuming it still exists, that is.”

  “Brookeborough… that’s gotta be
three days from here… at least.” Conn spluttered.

  “Three days there,” Brett said calmly, “and three days back.”

  “There’s gotta be somewhere closer we can raid for supplies,” Lex interjected. “Like you said; there’s no guarantee Brookeborough even survived the Flux. It could be a desert, or a mountain range now, for all we know.”

  “What about Martinsville? Templestone?” Conn started rattling off placenames of locations he knew they had already visited. “Tor Point even?”

  “Wishful thinking,” Brett’s response was both blunt and dismissive. “All other options have been exhausted.” The team’s blonde-haired commander continued, “You know that, as well as I do. You’re acting like the Flux only happened three weeks ago, instead of three years.”

  Conn narrowed his eyes at Brett, but didn’t say anything. Unfortunately, Brett- as pompous as he was- was right about the state of affairs. They were out of options- period. It was time for drastic measures.

  “We have to strike out further this time,” Brett informed him, “into new territory.”

  “Your brother’s life may depend on it,” Williams stepped forward, putting a hand on Conn’s shoulder. “The docs tell me he needs more antibiotics, if he’s going to beat this thing.”

  Conn knew, then and there, that Williams had intended to use Anthony’s condition all along. It was a smart move, he had to admit it. The older man knew fine well, that after seeing his little brother in such a state, Conn wouldn’t think twice about taking any, and all, risks involved with venturing beyond Havenfort… no matter how far, and how dangerous.

  “When do we leave?” Conn asked, resigning himself to fate.

  “Tomorrow, at first light,” Brett replied.

  “Think about your brother,” Williams told him gently, “he’s counting on you.”

  2.

  Armed sentries, attired in pale khakis and navy-blue Kevlar vests, cranked away at the pair of giant, bulbous, iron winches, situated on either side of Havenfort’s towering western gates. Slowly, as the heavy chain-links spooled in, the thickset, wooden doorway, fixed inside a three-storey-high, rough-and-ready frame, swept open. Its two timber portions swung apart, providing a glimpse of the strange hybrid world beyond.

  A wide, charcoal-coloured, quadruple-lane highway extended away from Havenfort’s western approach, a leftover from pre-Flux days. The massive road was flanked to the right by the primordial sanctuary that was the Wraith’s Den, and to the left by a sweeping, flat, green plain, dotted by the occasional watering hole and lone palm tree. Beyond this, could be seen the dull-coloured, undulating humps of a mountain range, which until the Flux, hadn’t been there. Havenfort’s locals were yet to give the sierra a name.

  Conn was in the front passenger seat of the lead vehicle, a big-bodied and battered Ford F-350. Incidentally, it was the same model as the rear truck, carrying Lex and Brett. In addition to their impressive size, both vehicles had been modified for offensive and defensive purposes. Located in the centre of each pick-up’s rear tray, bolted to the floor, was a support strut, atop of which sat a .50 calibre, belt-fed, heavy machine gun. Furthermore, each machine gun was capable of rotating a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees. The only drawback to using these was that the ammunition for them was sparse- very sparse indeed. They were for use strictly in a clusterfuck-type situation.

  Conn was trying his best to be patient. He just wanted to get on with it. The large, gun-metal grey vehicle idled noisily, its powerful engine grumbling as Conn waited for the gates to swing all the way open. Equally impatient was his companion. Red-haired, freckled, fat, and flatulent, Reilly was thumping out a beat with his fingers on the steering wheel. Conn was more than happy to let the big guy drive, despite the man’s horrifically bad gas stinking up the cabin. Conn’s eyelids felt heavy: just one sign that he wasn’t up to the task; not after the restless night he’d had at the Infirmary with his little brother. He set a sleeping bag up next to Anthony’s sickbed, much to the annoyance of several nurses. Still, despite the comfort of the padded sleeping bag, Conn didn’t get much sleep. Having to wear a bandana over his mouth and nostrils whilst sleeping was awkward too, and couldn’t have helped his situation much either.

  What’s more, now after a virtually sleepless night, he was still too distracted to operate properly, constantly thinking about Anthony. His thoughts were stuck on a kind of loop, replaying over and over. His brother’s fever had gotten worse and he was still unconscious. Now, Conn was beginning to question the rationale behind spending the night with him in the Infirmary. It had done much to unnerve Conn. Still, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if something happened to either of them and he hadn’t at least said goodbye. Williams had promised that should anything happen to Conn, then he and his wife would take on little Anthony, as their own. This brought him some comfort. Not much, but some. The idea of Anthony being left all alone in the world, especially a world at the mercy of the horrors unleashed by the Flux, made Conn sick just thinking about it.

  Rising early, Conn said his farewells to his little brother. He felt silly doing this, since as far as he could tell, Anthony still wasn’t aware of his presence. He met the others inside Operations at about 5am, the yellow-orange sun stealing its way over the horizon. Upon arrival, Brett and Williams briefed them on the mission objectives. To Conn’s surprise, Benny was joining them. Williams said the kid needed the experience. Conn didn’t agree: Ben was too green for this kind of mission. Then again, Conn, Audrey, and Lex, were only two or three years older than Ben, and none of them had been beyond the walls any more than a handful of times each. Still, Conn’s objections didn’t matter, Williams was the boss. It was his call in the end. He and Brett decided that Ben along with Audrey, should act as the team’s scouts this time out. Using their flighty dirt-bikes, the pair would venture ahead of the two lumbering pick-ups, making sure the coast was clear for the larger vehicles to proceed unmolested. On top of dinosaurs and megafauna, they had to watch out for reivers as well. The last thing they needed was a bunch of scavenging pirate fucks on motorcycles to ambush them. Williams and Brett had one other surprise for them: the team would not be issued sidearms for the mission. According to Williams, the Council had ruled against it: there simply wasn’t enough ammunition to go around. Furthermore, in the event that Havenfort came under attack whilst Conn and the others were out on the road, Havenfort’s residents needed every available weapon at their disposal. Conn didn’t like their decision, but he understood it.

  For the most part, these were the thoughts that swirled around Conn’s mind as he waited for Havenfort’s gates to open. Although, there was one other thought nagging at him. Brett and Lex were in the rear vehicle and Conn wondered how things were between them. He remembered the flat look Lex gave Brett in the Pharmacy yesterday. Her expression didn’t give away much but it said something; a suggestion that things weren’t right between them. It was going to be interesting to see how things were on the road with the two of them. Conn didn’t understand what Lex saw in that self-important douchebag.

  The young man’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Williams appeared at the passenger-side window. The Elder had a serious look fixed on his face.

  “Good to go?” the older man’s jowls wobbled a little as he asked the question.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Conn replied solemnly. “I suppose,” he added after a moment.

  “Remember,” Williams slapped the youngster on the shoulder through the open window, “the docs say we need antibiotics… morphine… painkillers… basically, whatever you can get your hands on.” Then he added, “inhalers and bandages would be good, too.”

  “Got it,” Conn nodded, his expression rather grim.

  “Good luck,” Williams slapped Conn’s shoulder again before stepping away from the bulky vehicle and waving them off towards the open gates.

  “Okay,” Reilly turned to Conn with an insane smile that made his blue eyes twinkle. “Let’s fuck th
is puppy!” Strangely, that was Reilly’s way of saying it was time to go.

  “You’re not right,” Conn told him point-blank. “Seriously, I hope you never have kids.”

  Reilly didn’t reply, he just chortled heartily, slipping the Ford into gear.

  The pair of dirt-bikes shot through the gates first, overtaking the trucks as their riders gunned the motors. Audrey enthusiastically popped a wheelie on her red-and-white-patterned vehicle as she passed the others. The two growling F-350s followed behind, trays packed with supplies, composed mainly of extra fuel, and their food rations, alongside the .50 cals, and some spare ammunition. After Lex’s and Brett’s dark blue pick-up crossed the threshold, Williams ordered the gate sealed. The Elder said nothing to anyone, as he watched the small convoy disappear behind the sweeping threshold.

  Conn lay flat on his back, using his sleeping bag as a mattress, arms folded against his chest, looking up at the onyx-coloured night sky. After a long day of driving, the squad made camp in a small clearing a short walk from the highway. Brett opted for a spot on the edges of the Wraith’s Den. His reasoning; the tree line offered some cover in the event of reivers rolling by.

  Conn volunteered for the first watch, knowing he was definitely too wired to consider sleeping. He hoped watch-duty might tire him out. Unfortunately, his plan didn’t work. Lex, Ben and Brett had all completed their shifts. Now it was Audrey’s turn to watch over their asses and he was still wide awake. It seemed Conn was fast becoming an insomniac.

  The young man watched the stars flicker up above like distant lightbulbs being turned on and off by some unseen entity. To Conn’s right, lay his carbine and Kevlar vest, kept close in case of an emergency. As for his teammates, he wasn’t sure where Ben was now. Conn had barely heard a peep from him all night. Big Reilly on the other hand was off somewhere behind him, snoring like a horny walrus. Still, Conn would take Reilly’s racket over having to listen to Lex turning down Brett’s sexual advances anytime.