Post-Pandemic: A New World

Chapter Nine: A Group Of Ten

August 21st 2025

It had been a long and challenging day, which was why everyone had gotten a good night sleep to recover from the events that took place the previous day. Michelle had slept in the queen sized bed with her little sister and Bridge and Anna had slept in the bunk beds. Phinehas and his Uncle John had both slept in the sleeping bags so that there would be more beds for everyone else and were lucky to have gotten any sleep at all the previous night. Meanwhile, the remaining four members of their small family had slept on the dining chairs, they weren't as comfortable as they'd hoped, but they had slept well the previous night. It had rained all night and the outside of the R.V was soaked in water, but everyone was completely dry thanks to sleeping inside. They had stopped by an abandoned gas station and were eating up the last of the cereal for breakfast. Anna and Bridge had set up the chairs in a circle around where they would make a campfire for the next night and all ten of them were sitting in their chairs, eating up the cereal. They were holding their bowls in their hands and were gobbling up their cereal because many of them had been fed really badly by the Rikers. John and a couple others could barely eat however, mainly because of all the horrors he had gone through for so long. After he found Louise so many months prior, he took her in and raised her. Louise had become something of a daughter to him and was very happy to be reunited with her older sister Michelle. As the last of the Coco Pops disappeared down the survivors throats, Bridge stood up and said "Alright everyone, it's time". They all put down their now empty bowls as Bridge said "Last night I promised all of you that I would explain everything, well here goes. If you have any questions, ask now". They were all silent for a moment, but then one of the former slaves, a woman in her late twenties named Sarah asked "What is the reason we're headed to San Francisco?" Bridge looked her in the eyes and said in a serious tone of voice "Listen very carefully, we've all been deceived and we're all in danger here".

Over the next fifteen minutes, Bridge and Anna laid it all out: the Antivirus, the true plan of the governments and how Ivan was the reason the Antidote had been created and unleashed. They also explained about how the Antidote caused thirty percent of women to be able to bear children without the need for intercourse and about how the Virus was still inside of those formerly infected, but in a dormant sleep like state. To prove it, they had shown their fellow survivors the file and Ivan's notebook to prove it. All six of them were shocked beyond belief. As they all finished processing what they had learned, John got up and angrily said "I knew it!" Sarah, who was a Caucasian woman with short blonde hair, looked at John and asked "Knew what?" John looked at Sarah with angry eyes and said "That the government were up to no good, no good at all!" Sarah was silent, but then said timidly "I can't believe it. I just can't believe that the government chose to let billions of people die". Sarah looked at Michelle and asked "So there are millions of girls out there who can now get pregnant without any form of sex? Like you?" Michelle nodded and said "Yes, millions more". Solomon, a former slave with short black hair and bruises from his time as a slave, looked down at the ground and said "What if the Governments come back? What if they come out of some underground bunker or something? What do we do then? Do we just hide?" Bridge stood up straight and said "Everyone, look at me". They all did so and Bridge said sternly "The Governments, the idiots who we trusted to lead us, actively sanctioned the deaths of billions of innocent people across the world and lied to the public. If they are still out there, then they deserve nothing but a bullet to the head for causing the deaths of so many of our loved ones".

They were all silent for a moment, but then Sarah stood up and said "He's right". They all looked at Sarah as she said "They caused my Great Grandma to die two months short of her one hundredth birthday, my Grandmother and my Mother as well. All dead thanks to them! With no one at their side when they perished!" John got up and said "Yeah, my brother and sister in law died thanks to them and my nephew almost died as well. The Governments have to pay for causing all of those deaths". Within moments, with the exception of Louise as she was being held by Michelle, had stood up and unanimously agreed as Solomon said "I don't know about all of you, but I'm going with them to release the Antivirus!" Sarah stepped forward and said "Me too, those murders can hide forever in their underground bunker or God damn space station for all I care!" John then said charismatically "So let's get to San Francisco, unleash the Antivirus and save the human race!" They all cheered as Bridge said "Now everyone, let's get to work on how we can get that Antivirus".

They all sat down as Bridge said "Listen up people, the W.H.O facility is the old San Francisco hospital in the East End of the city and the spare vial of the Antivirus is kept in an underground vault". Solomon's face froze as he said "Wait, did you say a vault?" Bridge looked a bit confused as he said "Yes, a vault. Why do you ask?" Instead of answering, Solomon asked "Like a bank vault?" Bridge nodded and said "Yeah, the file said that they purchased the vault from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation". Solomon's face lit up as he said "Well your in luck, I worked at a factory that designed and built bank vaults". Bridge smiled with hope as he said "Of course, you can be our safe cracker". Sarah looked excited as she said "This is just like a heist movie. I've always wanted to do a heist in real life and trust me, my husband is the best safe cracker I know". Solomon raised his left eye brow and said "I'm the ONLY safe cracker you know". Anna picked up the file from her handbag and said "Now let's go over the plan". Anna opened the file and went to the part about the W.H.O facility and said "Now the vault is kept in the basement of the hospital and it says here that there are minimal security measures. I'm not sure what that means, but we should bring some weapons in case there is security". John agreed and said "Yeah, we should check a police station or military base". Michelle raised her hand in the air all of a sudden and Bridge said "What do you have to say Michelle?" Michelle lowered her hand and said "In case you all haven't noticed, we are living in an R.V with barely enough room for all of us AND barely enough beds for all of us". Bridge realised the gravity of this problem and said "Michelle has a point, we should get a second R.V". They all looked at Phinehas as he said "Why don't we go to the place where my Grandparents bought the R.V?" John scratched his head and said "They bought it at a car dealer in Pittsburgh, "Pittsburgh Motor Company" I think it was called". They all looked at John as Sarah said "Pittsburgh? That's in Pennsylvania, it'll take us hours to get there!" Bridge immediately stood up upon realising how long the trip was and said "Everyone in the R.V".