Radioactive

Chapter 1

Deep breaths. You can do this – it’s a piece of cake. They wouldn’t have chosen you if they had any doubts, so suck it up. You’ll be fine.

Except I wouldn’t. No matter how much I tried to coax my mind into believing it, deep down, I knew the truth. I knew that I wouldn’t make it out there, that I would screw up in some major way and never make it back. I would be stuck in the aftermath of hell on Earth.

They didn’t know just how much time had passed, but the Elders assumed it had been decades since The Acid Rain. We were on the brink of World War III; tension was thick between enemies and allies alike, and fear had gotten the better of us all. China had dropped the first atomic bomb somewhere near Puerto Rico, for what reason we were still unsure. It had been days before anyone was told, and by then, the southern tip of Florida had been saturated in nuclear energy. Another bomb hit California, and then another in New York, until we were surrounded, with no means of escape.

Bunkers had been built beneath the entirety of the country, and evacuation began almost immediately after Chicago had been hit. We were to cover our noses and mouths as best as we could, and pack only the most necessary items. Counties were assigned designated areas where the approved could enter the underground tunnels. Government officials in heavy protective gear – the kind you would see in alien movies and on Sci-Fi – lined us up, single file. We were put through a series of testing that determined whether we were cleared to go down, or were too contaminated and had to stay on the Surface.

The Elders told us that the scariest – and most depressing part – was the large, fenced in areas that kept the denied from getting in. Mothers and fathers, children and infants, had been shoved into those cages without a second thought, their cries and pleas for mercy ignored. Some tried to climb out, some tried to dig under. They grabbed at your clothing as you passed by, on their hands and knees, begging you to save them or their young ones. The night grew on, and they got rowdier and more violent, ripping each other apart with their hands and teeth as terror slowly consumed what little sanity they had left.

The Elders knew, because they experienced it first-hand. Which was probably why most of them were whack-jobs.

Ms. Barrington stayed in her room most of the time, but people could hear her talking, sometimes shouting, at the walls or other inanimate objects. Mr. Daniels ran up and down the hallways, stark naked and screaming about how the Redcoats were coming. And Mrs. Welkins… well, she seemed pretty normal, until she started cradling the air as if her baby were still with her.

They had all gone crazy because of what they had witnessed on the Surface. Where I was going.

No, no, no. You can’t afford to think like that. You’ll be fine, just keep breathing.

I jumped when the buzzer went off, and a female’s voice sounded through the intercom. “All specified Gatherers will depart in T-minus ten minutes. I repeat, all Gatherers will depart in ten minutes.”

I bit my lip and stared at the door harder, willing my father to come bursting through the door, all tousled blonde hair and onyx eyes. I needed to hear his whispered words of encouragement, needed to draw from his unwavering strength. But if he didn’t get here soon, I wouldn’t get the chance to say goodbye.

My footsteps bounced off of the stark white walls as I paced the perimeter of the room. I had gnawed my fingernails to the quick, and resorted to solving equations when he finally showed up, as disheveled as he always was. He quickly made his way towards me and wrapped me in a bear hug, tucking my head under his chin.

“How are you doing, sweetie?”

I sighed. “I’m a nervous wreck.” It was the first words I had spoken since I had been chosen as one of the fifteen to go on this operation, and now that the barrier had disappeared, I began babbling. “What if I mess up? What if I somehow breathe in the air or screw up in some major way, and they leave me out there? What if-“