Sixth Cycle by Darren Wearmouth & Carl Sinclair

Author:Darren Wearmouth & Carl Sinclair [Wearmouth, Darren]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Phalanx Press
Published: 2014-11-17T05:00:00+00:00

The team only encountered one wastelander on their way to the bunker. The convoy stopped, and somebody put an end to the danger with a sniper rifle. The track didn’t take the most direct route; instead it snaked through the open countryside, avoiding any forested areas.

As Trader approached the bunker, Jake could see the shattered remains of a town in the distance. An Axis ballistic missile must have reduced it to a few jagged walls rising from piles of rubble. Most wooden structures were either flattened or burnt out. Foliage tangled and choked the mess.

“Is most of the country like that?” Jake said.

Trader sighed. “Pretty much. Total damned mess. The cities took the brunt of it, but they hit most areas.”

“Just seems pointless. It guaranteed their own destruction.”

“It was their last roll of the dice. They were losing. Desperate people do desperate things.”

Jake still couldn’t wrap his head around it. They must have known the consequences. The crew in the Orbital Bomber always dared each other to open the instructions safe, but they never did. It didn’t take a genius to work out what they would be required to do. He wondered who was on watch in January 2077 and if they let rip with their missiles.

All of the fencing around this facility had fallen. The only signs of its former existence were a few of the steel supports spaced at irregular intervals around the perimeter.

Their SUV rattled over the previously flattened gate and stopped a few yards short of the topside building. The rest of the convoy arrived two minutes later, at quarter to nine in the morning.

The group surrounded Trader by the hood of his SUV. “Same as before. Jake is gonna get us in there and lead the clearance work. Stay on guard until we open up the loading doors. Tess and John, you two come with us.”

The red-haired man organized the team again in a defensive formation around the building. Trader passed Jake a spotlight.

“Getting a sense of déjà vu?” Jake said.

“Let’s hope we don’t find another frazzled soul in here. We can’t take them back.”

Jake clicked on the light. Excitement built inside him again. These stasis pods might still be intact. System failures were bound to happen, but lightning striking twice in such close proximity seemed unlikely. If people were to be brought out of stasis, the time was now, when they were needed to rebuild and properly organize.

“Can’t take our time either,” Trader said. “Kappa’s three hours’ drive from here. We’ll load the weapons and lock the place up for later.”

Jake nodded, headed into the entrance, and made straight for the corridor. The gloomy interior had the same design as the previous building. Mold covered the formerly white plastered walls, and the fetid odor of damp rotting floorboards hung in the air. He reached the end room on the left and shone in his spotlight. The tiles were removed around the open hatch.

He turned back to Trader and his two team members. “Did you leave it open?”

Trader nudged past him and drew his gun.

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