Tent City

Chapter 27 - Kelsie

We followed Andy, Commander Lee, and Dr Su down the cement corridors of the bunker. The only noise was the sound of footsteps and the occasional squeak of the wheelchair. Ben would sometimes break the silence by whispering,
"Where are we going?" Or "I'm tired" and finally "When can we go back home?"

The corridors swifly changed direction like a maze. It definitely felt like I was in a maze. I thought to myself.

I've never been down this end of the bunker before tonight and was glad that Andy, Commander Lee, and Dr Su knew where they were going.

We halted at the end of a very wide corridor. There before us bearing down like an angry god was a huge steel layered double door that was obviously a lot stronger than the doors to our rooms.

Commander Lee pointed to the access panel, and Dr Su pushed him there. He pressed his finger onto its surface, and with a loud groan and shudder, the door opened slowly.

I was in shock at the size and thickness of the door. I noticed that Ben was also shocked and had stopped asking questions. It was a slight relief to have complete silence for a few seconds.

We were lead past numerous vehicles, some smaller than others, until we came to a stop in front of what I could only describe is a big armoured tank/truck hybrid that kind of reminded me of a Turtle or tortise. It looked intimidating.The wheels were big and chunky. The truck was quite high, and the wheels were a bit taller than I was.

" Wow! How cool!" Ben said his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"I guess we have found Ben's new favourite thing," I whispered to myself as I stared at the truck in awe.

Commander Lee was typing on his tablet, and as I couldn't see what was being said, Andy told me what was being typed.

" The truck is called a Tortise MRK III transporter. It is stocked with food and water supplies that should last us 3 months. There is a basic amount of medical supplies as well.

It is also equipped with solar power and an atomic battery for back-up. There are japanese style futons on board as well. While it is big and slow, it is well shielded and can take quite a beating.

Its shell is bulletproof and the glass as well. It is also lead lined and can change into an amphibious tank if need be. It has radiation sensors, noxious and fatal gas sensors, alarmed and is equipped with some weapons.

However, its strength is defence, so the weapons are quite basic, slow, but quite powerful.

The Tortise MRK III is the best defensive vehicle ever built, so we will be well protected out there, as long as we have this vehicle. Now, we should probably head off before Marcie notices us and the transporter missing."

I nodded, still in awe of the sheer size of the vehicle that is supposed to take us to Farantown, a lie that I haven't confessed to telling.

Andy hugged Commander Lee and Dr Su in farewell. As she turned to face me, I swear there were remnants of shining tears upon her cheeks. She motioned for me to follow her. I waved goodbye to the others before we slowly followed Andy to the back of the vehicle.

Realising how high the vehicle was, I wondered how we were to get inside it. My curiousity was answered when Andy waved a key to what looked to be a sensor of some kind near the back. There was some beeping and mechanical whirring, and a ramp slowly folded out, revealing the entry door to the vehicle. Andy led us up the ramp.

Once inside, the ramp folded itself up and seamlessly joined the outer armour of the vehicle, and the entrance disappeared from sight.

We were inside the shell of the transporter. It was wide and dimly lit. To the right there looked to be an access point that I assumed was for the electronics and battery storage.

Above the access points were shelves, filled with non-perishable food and water, the shelves led to a small doorless wardrobe, with three suits hanging neatly and on the shelves above were helmets, and standing behind the suits were some oxygen tanks next to them was a small sink and a shelf that held a portable hotplate.

To the right was a nook that was big enough for a human body to lay comfortably and some more shelves that took up about a section of the space with more food and water plus 3 months supply of disposable sanitary items for Andy and myself.

"You can leave your bags there in the nook, and follow me."

We walked past the nook, and there was a small closed off room with a door.

Andy casually motioned to the door,

"That's our toilet and shower. There's storage tanks underneath that are filled with water to allow us to shower.

There's only one tap, as the pipes are warmed, and as the water passes through, it's warm enough for a shower. We have to keep our showers to only a couple of minutes each, just enough to clean ourselves.

The toilet is a chemical toilet, so it breaks down our waste. Once it's full, we pull over dig a hole and bury it. We should only have to empty it once a month. Follow me, and I'll take you to the cockpit."

We passed through a door that separated the rest of the transporter to the cockpit and entered it. The top and front of the cockpit were made entirely from glass, and the sides were lead lined like the armoured part of the transporter.

The dashboard was impressive it took up the whole front and sides of the cockpit. There were 4 seats, in the centre there was a steering wheel. The dash had numerous flashing lights, levers, and random buttons. Andy took her place at the steering wheel. She inserted her key, and the transporter started she pressed a couple of buttons, and we started to move. Ahead of us, we drove up a winding ramp until we came to another heavy, thick, air-tight door. This door was thicker and heavier than the one below. The door rattled and opened with a groan and a hiss, the transporter shuddered as we exited the bunker.

My heart was in my chest. We were entering the unknown, with a bit more of an advantage than when Ben and I left Tent City.

We had Andy, plenty of food, and a tank to protect us from whatever nature throws at us. I was excited but scared of what awaited us in the future, especially when I came clean to Andy about our non-existent aunt in Farantown.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and studied the heavily pitted road ahead of us.