Post-Pandemic: A New World

Chapter Ten: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh was in just as bad shape as New York. There was smoke going into the skies above it from the fires in the buildings below and there was a huge field of graves next to the road leading up to the city. As John drove the R.V across the old freeway, all ten of the survivors looked through the windows to see the huge fields of graves stretching on for miles. There were at least three hundred thousand graves as far as the eye could see, all marked by wooden crosses with the names of those lost etched onto them. As they drove closer to the city, they could see the buildings were mostly abandoned and there wasn't much sign of any survivors. Bridge was sitting next to John as he drove the R.V and noticed that Pittsburgh was in very bad shape. As they entered the city, he saw abandoned cars and the all too familiar sign posts that said things like "Lockdown in effect" and "Physical contact is ILLEGAL and punishable by QUARANTINE" across the streets. Many houses had boarded up windows and Michelle noticed that there were numbers painted on some of the houses doors. Michelle looked across the dining table at Anna and asked "What do you think the numbers are for?" Anna felt empathy towards those in Pittsburgh who had gone through the Fall and said "The number of people in each house that needed saving, they were told to wait and then help would come". That was when they heard Bridge yell out loud "Hey, that tower's inhabited!" John pulled the R.V to a stop in the abandoned street and eight of the ten survivors came to the front of the R.V and saw the tower Bridge had mentioned. It was the U.S Steel tower and although it was far away, the survivors could tell that people were living there. There was a massive garden and rainwater collectors on the roof of the triangle shaped building and the lights were on in some parts of the building. Two of the men, Michael and Maxwell Seed, who were identical twin brothers of African descent, both said in unison "Looks like there are hundreds of them". Bridge took out his binoculars from his bag and looked through them at the U.S Steel tower to see people rummaging through the rooms and armed guards patrolling those same rooms. He put his binoculars down and said "Let's get over there then".

Half an hour later, they had arrived at the U.S Steel Tower and it was obvious that it was the largest settlement in the city. Mainly because there was a wooden sign that said "Population: 5479" on it and there were five armed guards at the entrance. As John pulled the R.V up in front of the entrance, the guards aimed their rifles at the R.V. One of them had a megaphone and said "Listen up, if your here to trade, then leave all weapons in your vehicle and come out with your hands up". Maxwell Solomon looked through the kitchen window and asked "What do we do?" Bridge thought for a moment and said "Me and Anna will try to trade some fuel for food". Bridge then got up from the passenger seat as Anna picked up two cans of fuel. Michelle was putting Louise's hair in a nice braid and asked "Don't we need that fuel?" Bridge stopped just before he opened the door, looked at Michelle and said "We need food even more Michelle. Don't worry, we'll stockpile some more fuel at the next gas station we come across". Bridge then opened the door and slowly walked out of the R.V with Anna in tow. With his hands raised, Bridge said "Don't worry, we're just hoping to trade this fuel for some food". The guards lowered their weapons as their commander, a very strong man who was likely a soldier before the Fall, said "Alright then, ya know your allowed settle down here if they like. So long as you follow the rules and respect our people". Anna looked at the commander and said "Thanks, but no thanks. We're headed to San Francisco". One of the guards noticed Anna's Russian accent and said "Sorry, no Russians allowed". The guard next to him pointed at him and angrily replied "That's enough! It's not the Russian's fault!" The racist guard simply stepped forward to Anna and yelled "My kid brother caught your damn Virus and now he's dead thanks to you SCUM!"

The guard then aimed his rifle at Anna to kill her, only to be restrained by two other guards who tackled him to the ground and took his rifle from him. Bridge stomped over to the racist guard and said "The St Peters Virus was NOT the Russian's fault. They DIDN'T create the Virus and wrongfully murdering Anna in cold blood won't bring your brother back". The guard swore at Bridge as he was lifted to the ground and his commander said "Your under arrest for the attempted murder of Anna". The guard spat at his commander and said "Damn you Archie!" Commander Archie frowned as he said "I had such high hopes for you, your a God damn disgrace!" The guards then dragged Charlie away as Archie said "Sorry about that, I should never have made him a guard". Bridge sighed and said "Well, it happens. Hopefully it won't happen again".