Dead Exodus

Chapter Two: The West Coast Riots

you immigrate to Mars? You definitely could've afforded it!", I exclaim. She looks at me and makes a face. "It's stupid, but I kind of have a fear of space. I mean, up there, all that's protecting me is basically a small metal capsule with air in it or a space suit. Without either of those, death", says Red, somewhat sheepishly. "Well, if you're afraid of space how are you gonna get on a T3 cruiser when we get to The Hub?", I question her. She shrugs. "I'll just have to deal with it. At this point I'd take space or Mars over this shithole any day", she says, nonchalantly. "Ha! I hear that", I respond. "Okay, new question. What kind of tech you got going on? I see that bionic arm, but I figure anyone with a bionic arm has implants or some other stuff going on", says Red, poking at my arm. "Alright, yeah you got me. I've got implants in my brain for controlling the arm, and I've got a NeuralNet connection implant, although that one is pretty much useless now", I explain, listing the various augmentations I've added to my body. "So, you're pretty much full-on cyborg then, huh?", says Red. "Yeah, I guess so. I've never really thought about it like that before", I say, looking down at my bionic arm. I turn towards Red. "Well, what about you? Got any tech in your head?", I ask. "Yeah, I've got a NeuralNet connection implant too, but like you said that's useless now what with all the NeuralNet servers crashing. Besides that, I've got vision correction implants, a subdermal RFID chip, and a bionic spine", she lists. "Oh damn, a bionic spine? What happened to you?", I questioned her. "Car accident. I was paralyzed, part of my spine shattered. When I got to the hospital, I got lucky and they didn't notice my credit chit was modified, so I was able to pay for an advanced bionic replacement no problem", she explains, tracing her spine with her finger. "I guess we're both cyborgs then", I comment. "Guess so", she replies. We sit in silence for a moment. I look out the windshield. Through the small exit of the nook, I can see a part of the night sky. There's lots of stars out tonight. I look back over at Red. "Where were you when shit went down?", I asked her. She looked at me, seemingly startled by the question. "I'm sorry if that was over the line. I just wanted to-". "California", she interrupted, simply. "So, you were there for- ". "The West Coast Riots", she interrupts me again. The West Coast Riots were a series of large and violent riots across the west coast of the United States. The west coast was hit a lot worse than the east, and the zombies were able to overrun several crucial military perimeters. There was chaos in the city streets. People looted buildings, shot at each other, and a few other horrible things. I'd been in Carson City, Nevada when shit hit the fan. The riots in Nevada weren't as bad as everywhere else, so the military was able to quell them. After the riots were dealt with the military established a refugee quarantine center in Carson City to protect everyone. The military kept the zombies out for a little while, but then some billionaire douchebag launched from his mansion in a T2 cruiser, and I guess the launch brought all the swarms nearby to us. I barely got out with my life, and I've been surviving ever since. "The riots were bad in California. Initially, the military quarantined California and several boats were sunk attempting to leave. It didn't last long though, before all the government and military officials launched themselves off to Mars and left us to die. I managed to catch a ride out of California with a squad of soldiers who were deserting their post", says Red, looking chilled. "Same thing happened in Carson City pretty much, except some rich asshole launched from his mansion in a personal ship and brought the swarms. I only just managed to get me and my car out of there", I replied. Red nodded and yawned. "Y'know, I'm starting to feel tingly", she says. "Mm. Me too. I think the brownie is kicking in", I affirm. I started laughing, mildly at first. Then Red looked over at me and started giggling, too. Before long both of us were hysterically cackling. "I feel awesome", I slurred, wiping tears of laughter from my eyes. "You and me both. That bartender is my new favorite person", replies Red, still unable to stop giggling. We spent the better part of three hours just laughing and talking about the most random things that came to mind. I let out a yawn, with Red following suit. "I think... I'm gonna go to sleep for the night", says Red. "Me too", I say. I yawn and lay my seat back. I fold my arms over my chest and close my eyes. It doesn't take long before I drift off to sleep.">The sun was starting to get lower on the horizon. We'd driven along that small highway for a while before coming across an exit to Interstate 70. Red had instructed me that The Hub was supposed to be somewhere in Kansas, so we took Interstate 70 east towards Colorado. We'd been driving for almost five hours since then. The interstate has been remarkably clear so far, save for a few derelict vehicles here and there. I was watching the road ahead. We were right in the middle of the interstate, between all the different towns around as far as we could tell. "Hey, dude", says Red. "Yeah, what is it?", I reply. "It's gonna be dark soon. We might need to start looking for a safe place to park for the night", suggests Red. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm starting to get tired anyway", I say. We scan the sides of the road, looking for anywhere with good concealment that we could park. Eventually we settled on a horribly overgrown billboard, which had an enormous amount of brambles and different bushes growing up the side and all around it. There was a spot just behind it in the brush that made a small nook that the car could just fit in. I put the car in park and turned off the engine but left the battery on for the moment. I had three spares in the trunk anyway if it did die. "So... wanna see what that bartender guy put in the ration bag?", I ask Red. Her face lights up as she turns to look at me. "Boy, do I! I'm starving", she replies. "Alright cool, I'll go get it", I say. I open the door and step out. It's dark in this small nook so I grab my flashlight from its clip on my belt. I toggle it on and shine it around. The area is devoid of anything but brambles and brush, with just enough space to get back to the trunk. I step over some brush and back to the trunk, when I feel something grab my ankle. I yelp and fall to the ground, attempting to pull away from whatever has seized me. I look down at my ankle to see a zombie laying under my car attempting to pull my ankle to his open mouth. I kick him in the head with my free leg a couple of times before remembering my arm. I flex my fingers and the blade pops out of the mount. I sit up and forcibly thrust the blade into the zombie's skull. It's grip significantly weakens as it falls limp on the ground. I scoot backwards on the ground, breathing heavily, and stand up. I notice Red standing with her gun drawn, watching me. "You good?", she questions. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why didn't you do anything?", I ask. "I was going to, but then you popped that blade out and finished it before I could", she replied, inclining her head towards my arm blade. "Oh, yeah", I answered, relaxing my fingers and retracting the blade. "You sure seem to know how to handle yourself", commented Red. I shook off my momentary panic and went and opened the trunk. I retrieved the bag and we both got back into the car. I locked the doors and sank back into the seat, relaxing after that stressful encounter. "Alright, let's see what we got", I said, unzipping the duffel bag. I immediately noticed a note on top. I grabbed it and looked it over. It read, "You seem a nice person, and that's rare today. I sense that your journey, wherever it will take you, will be hard. Because of that, I've added a few extra special provisions to this bag that are almost impossible to get nowadays. Try to make it last. Have a safe journey". "Huh", I murmured. "What is it?", asks Red. "This note the guy left me said he thinks my journey will be hard, so he added some 'extra special provisions' to my bag. What do you think that means?", I question. "I don't know, but I'm definitely intrigued as to what's in that bag now", says Red. I start looking through the bag. On the top is the basics, like bottled water, canned food, even a few of those 24-hour patrol MREs. The first thing I notice on the bottom is two bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey. I pull one of them out and stare at it. Red stares as well. I pop the cap off as quickly as I can and take a long pull. I stop for a breath. I pass the bottle to Red, and she takes a long pull as well. She stops and wipes her mouth. She hands me the bottle and I replace the cap and rest it in one of the cupholders in the center console of my car. "Thank God for nice people", I say. "No kidding. Is that it?", questions Red. I look back to the bag. "Looks like it. Wait, no, there's a wooden box too", I reply. I grab the box and pull it out. It's medium-sized, no bigger than a shoe box. "What do you thinks in it?", I ask Red. "I don't know. Open it", she replies. I open the lid and my jaw drops. The first thing I notice is a large bag of marijuana. Next to that are five brownies wrapped in plastic wrap, each with a small sticker that has a pot leaf on it. There's also a small assortment of medical supplies like morphine, antibiotics, and even a few shots of adrenaline. I notice a pill bottle with tape wrapped all around it. I pick it up and notice writing on the tape. It says "WARNING: ACID! ONLY TAKE IF YOU ARE READY FOR THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME". "Holy fucking shit", says Red, staring at the contents of the box incredulously. "I've never seen this many drugs or medicine before", I say, my mouth agape. "Have you ever even done drugs?", asks Red. "Yeah, I used to smoke weed before everything went to shit", I say, picking up the bag of weed and smelling it. It smelled nice. "What about the brownies or that acid?", Red questions. "Nah, I'd never done edibles or acid before", I reply. "What about you?", I ask, looking over at her. "I've smoked a few times and I did acid once in high school", she answered, still staring at the box. "Sooo... what do we do?", I ask. "Your box. Your call", answers Red. I think for a moment and take one of the brownies out. I remove the plastic and sniff the brownie. It smells like heavenly chocolate with a hint of good weed. I break it in half. I offer one half to Red. She looks at it dubiously but accepts it. We both look at each other for a moment, and then eat the halves. I close the box and manage to fit it in the glove compartment. "So how long does it take to kick in?", asks Red. "I don't know. I've never done edibles. But most people say an hour or two", I explain. "Okay... well what do you want to do for an hour or two?", asks Red. "How about we get to know each other more?", I suggest. "Okay then, I'll start. You told me you worked for the Nova corporation before the world took a dive, but is that all you did?", asks Red. "No, it isn't. I started working on electronics and personal devices for people after I got my bionic arm. The arm allowed for absolute precision, so I made a lot of money. I had actually almost saved up enough for my own T1 cruiser so that I could immigrate to Mars, but then the world went to shit", I explained, remembering how excited I was about going into space. "Wow that's really cool", says Red. "Well, what about you? What did you do before the apocalypse?", I asked her. "I used to be a hacker. I made my money by rigging credit chits and ATMs and shit. Very profitable if you know what you're doing like I did", explains Red. She pulls a small device from her pocket. "Check this out. It's a rigged credit chit, the one I used to receive all the money that came from the ATMs and shit I rigged", she says, holding the device out to me. I take it with my bionic arm and turn it around in my hand. There's extra soldering on the outer case, so it's for sure modified. "How much money do you think is on it right now?", I ask, examining the small device. "Right now? Probably about 250 grand, or thereabouts", says Red. I look over at her. "Damn! With that much money why didn't you immigrate to Mars? You definitely could've afforded it!", I exclaim. She looks at me and makes a face. "It's stupid, but I kind of have a fear of space. I mean, up there, all that's protecting me is basically a small metal capsule with air in it or a space suit. Without either of those, death", says Red, somewhat sheepishly. "Well, if you're afraid of space how are you gonna get on a T3 cruiser when we get to The Hub?", I question her. She shrugs. "I'll just have to deal with it. At this point I'd take space or Mars over this shithole any day", she says, nonchalantly. "Ha! I hear that", I respond. "Okay, new question. What kind of tech you got going on? I see that bionic arm, but I figure anyone with a bionic arm has implants or some other stuff going on", says Red, poking at my arm. "Alright, yeah you got me. I've got implants in my brain for controlling the arm, and I've got a NeuralNet connection implant, although that one is pretty much useless now", I explain, listing the various augmentations I've added to my body. "So, you're pretty much full-on cyborg then, huh?", says Red. "Yeah, I guess so. I've never really thought about it like that before", I say, looking down at my bionic arm. I turn towards Red. "Well, what about you? Got any tech in your head?", I ask. "Yeah, I've got a NeuralNet connection implant too, but like you said that's useless now what with all the NeuralNet servers crashing. Besides that, I've got vision correction implants, a subdermal RFID chip, and a bionic spine", she lists. "Oh damn, a bionic spine? What happened to you?", I questioned her. "Car accident. I was paralyzed, part of my spine shattered. When I got to the hospital, I got lucky and they didn't notice my credit chit was modified, so I was able to pay for an advanced bionic replacement no problem", she explains, tracing her spine with her finger. "I guess we're both cyborgs then", I comment. "Guess so", she replies. We sit in silence for a moment. I look out the windshield. Through the small exit of the nook, I can see a part of the night sky. There's lots of stars out tonight. I look back over at Red. "Where were you when shit went down?", I asked her. She looked at me, seemingly startled by the question. "I'm sorry if that was over the line. I just wanted to-". "California", she interrupted, simply. "So, you were there for- ". "The West Coast Riots", she interrupts me again. The West Coast Riots were a series of large and violent riots across the west coast of the United States. The west coast was hit a lot worse than the east, and the zombies were able to overrun several crucial military perimeters. There was chaos in the city streets. People looted buildings, shot at each other, and a few other horrible things. I'd been in Carson City, Nevada when shit hit the fan. The riots in Nevada weren't as bad as everywhere else, so the military was able to quell them. After the riots were dealt with the military established a refugee quarantine center in Carson City to protect everyone. The military kept the zombies out for a little while, but then some billionaire douchebag launched from his mansion in a T2 cruiser, and I guess the launch brought all the swarms nearby to us. I barely got out with my life, and I've been surviving ever since. "The riots were bad in California. Initially, the military quarantined California and several boats were sunk attempting to leave. It didn't last long though, before all the government and military officials launched themselves off to Mars and left us to die. I managed to catch a ride out of California with a squad of soldiers who were deserting their post", says Red, looking chilled. "Same thing happened in Carson City pretty much, except some rich asshole launched from his mansion in a personal ship and brought the swarms. I only just managed to get me and my car out of there", I replied. Red nodded and yawned. "Y'know, I'm starting to feel tingly", she says. "Mm. Me too. I think the brownie is kicking in", I affirm. I started laughing, mildly at first. Then Red looked over at me and started giggling, too. Before long both of us were hysterically cackling. "I feel awesome", I slurred, wiping tears of laughter from my eyes. "You and me both. That bartender is my new favorite person", replies Red, still unable to stop giggling. We spent the better part of three hours just laughing and talking about the most random things that came to mind. I let out a yawn, with Red following suit. "I think... I'm gonna go to sleep for the night", says Red. "Me too", I say. I yawn and lay my seat back. I fold my arms over my chest and close my eyes. It doesn't take long before I drift off to sleep.