Story [Issue 33] Remnant - Part 6

[Thekillerpenguin 1,731]

Part 6

Remnant

 

 

Worry. Fear. The sound of gunfire. Screams. Running. Hiding, hoping not to be found. Too late. Closing in. No way out...

 

And then he woke up. "Gah....how long was I out?", Alex muttered while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He had been napping in a quiet forest glen after the previous night's events. A small, black snake slithered past him, flicking its tongue out while seemingly ignoring his presence. After getting up, he inspected his surroundings. Tall oak trees surrounded him, full of squirrels and birds. The ground was covered with grass, and bushes dotted the environment. "I'm actually kind of hungry now. I wonder if there's something to eat." He walked over to a large berry bush and ate the fruits. "I wonder how long it'll take for me to reach that base she was talking about. Wait, what direction did I have to go in? I think I'm supposed to enter the valley, but I'm not sure. Well, there's only one way to find out."

 

The hike started easily enough, as the terrain was flat and full of plants. Alex traveled through both open meadows and thick hedges that seemed to last forever. "Who would bother building a base this far away from the nearest civilization? What was the lead designer thinking?" At last, he cut his way through one final bush, and a dramatic change in the landscape became visible. He was standing on the edge of a steep, rocky slope, the edge of the valley. A small waterfall was nearby, fed by a small river and pearly white with bubbles. On the other side of the valley, a huge structure became visible, separated by a flat grassland. It resembled a dome, but most of it was sunken into the ground. He could see windows, guard towers, and even an entrance to a garage. "I think that's where I'm supposed to be headed. I'm not sure if these people will buy my story, but she said there was someone waiting for me. Sigh, there's no other place to go, so let's make this quick."

 

He crossed the plains and reached the entrance of the base after a fair bit of hiking. The large main door was closed, and there seemed to be no alternative way in. "Time to knock and hope for the best." Alex approached the door cautiously, but before he could reach it, he heard someone cocking their weapon.

 

"Don't move", an unfamiliar voice said.

"OK, OK, I won't."

"What is your business here? How did you find us?"

"A friend sent me. If you want the long version, I was escorted here by one of you guys, we were attacked and she stayed behind so I could run away."

"I'll check with the boss. In the meantime, don't try anything funny. I've got a helper here too, and he doesn't like people who try funny things."

 

The guard returned after a few minutes. "All right, your story checks out. Come in. I'll walk you over to the guy who wants to meet you."

 

The door opened, and inside was a long hallway. The two walked in, made several confusing turns, and eventually ended up in a conference room. It was mostly empty, save for a table, a water cooler, and a man sitting at the end of the table. The man was in his early 20s, muscular, and had a grin on his face. Alex took a quick glance and knew who he was.

 

"Well, hello. It's been a while since I last saw you, huh? I hope it wasn't too hard for you to get here. What do you think of this place?", Dimitri said.

".....you're alive? I thought you were dead!"

"That's what I thought too. Had a bullet go right through my brain. Funny thing though, I managed to survive. Apparently it went through a non-vital part. The doctors here think that I might have some superhuman regenerative properties too, maybe a chance mutation from all the radiation around here. So, how is everyone doing back at home?"

"Really? You step out of my life, our lives, for 4 years on purpose, and then you act like it's not a big deal?

"Well, yeah, there's that, but...aren't you glad that I'm still around after all?"

"You left me! Everybody around me had to go through so much suffering because you decided that it would be funny to run off and join some group of jerks?"

"These guys aren't some 'group of jerks'! They're working for a cause. An important one."

"Oh yeah? What kind of stupid cause is that?"

"Alex, a nuclear winter is coming. All the fallout from the west is starting to come over to central Russia, right where we are. It's going to start in a few months. Once it's in full swing, it's going to be cold. Really cold. Most of the plant life here will die, and the people living in towns like we used to are probably going to die too! The scientists back here predicted this 4 years ago, and since then our group has been trying to build a bunker. We've gathered lots of people, and that bunker will protect everybody until the nuclear winter passes in a few years. After that, we can send everybody out to recolonize the area."

"Are you insane?! Your little group has been killing people to get the materials for your bunker! They tried to kill you! I'm going to take a wild guess and say your hands aren't clean of blood anymore."

"Hey! I've never harmed a living soul in my time here. I don't like them doing wrong to get that they need, but it's all for a greater cause!"

"Is that cause so great that you can't notify us of your survival?"

"They had a total silence policy about this project. If I told you that I was alive, people would start investigating what's going on, and they might have found our base. We're already at maximum capacity- the last thing we need is more people rushing here and trying to squeeze themselves in."

"I still can't believe that you decided to do this. OK, you don't want to tell any outsiders about this! If I didn't meet that friend of yours yesterday, you'd have left us out to die! I don't know who I'm talking to. You're not my brother, you're a traitor."

"Look RIGHT here! I tried to send for you because I wanted you to feel better, knowing that your brother was still out there. From that perspective, you should be happy! Congrats, you have a sibling again! That's better than thinking that I've been lost forever. You know what? You don't sound like the little brother I remember either."

 

Alex turned around and started walking out of the room. Before he left, he turned around. "I wish you stayed dead."

 

He slammed the door shut.

---

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[deadtoyou 2,502]

Now that it's out, I can't wait for part 7..... :P

[liverpoolaum 811]

nice

[jazz20 1,181]

Nice work  ^_^

[Firenze_PRO 80]

Can't wait for the next part! ^-^ :D

[pokemonjoe70 4]

deep

[camea42123 0]

Pretty angry, wasn't Alex? I also have a spelling change to make:

 

 

 

"Don't move", and unfamiliar voice said.

 

It should be an, not and!

[Thekillerpenguin 1,731]

It should be an, not and!

Thanks for the heads up. I've corrected it.

[Jboymark53 508]

Lol