Bridge to Nowhere

Crypto Wars

Friday-Frederick Maryland

The messages broadcast by the governors directed hundreds of thousands of people to New Arcadia. VUE maps show the underground city near Fort Detrick in Fredrick, Maryland. A large business complex of eight, four-story buildings at the center of a large parkland campus sits on what was once one hundred seventy-five acres of farmland. The city of New Arcadia is far below the business complex. The property runs along Yellow Springs Road and Christopher's Crossing with residential subdivisions on three sides.

A grassy berm protects the perimeter. The height of the berm hides the existence of a ten-foot-high cyclone fence ringed with concertina wire. Behind the fence is a deep grassy moat that circles the entire property. Behind the moat is a second fence and a perimeter road.

Entry to the complex is a two-lane road straddled by sentry buildings and vehicle barriers to control access. The entry road crosses the perimeter road and continues across the parklands until it descends below the east building to what looks like an underground parking structure.

When cars began arriving by the hundreds, the vehicle barriers and sentry buildings staffed with army soldiers stopped the cars from entering the main gate. As the line of cars and trucks grew on Yellow Springs Road, people got out of their vehicles and began exploring the perimeter, discovering the ten-foot high fence.

A man used his side cutters to snip through the fencing. Once he and his family were through both fences, he gave the side cutters to a pair of eager teenagers who ran along the fence cutting openings for other people.

Hundreds of people ran across the perimeter road and into the parklands of the building complex. They found the doors of the buildings locked. The glass doors were smashed, and people ran through the halls of deserted buildings. Their VUE lenses led them directly to elevators and stairwells that would take them far below the surface to safety in the underground city.

They struggled to open the secured stairwell doors and operate elevators, pressing buttons, and praying for entry. People continued to stream into the buildings filling the halls as they pushed for position. Long lines of humans stretched out from the buildings winding across the parklands.

Crowds gathered at the tall metal roll-up doors at the base of the two-lane ramp leading to the underground parking structure. They banged on the doors, begging for entry.

Disappointment and anger swept through the crowd. The governor had instructed them to come for their safety and protection. They gave up everything bringing their families to seek sanctuary from the terrifying asteroid storms to find the city locked. Hope is fragile.

People sat in the hallways, in their makeshift lines hoping someone would let them enter. Elevator's ding as their doors slide open and stairwell doors unlock with a click. People frantically push their way into the lifts and down the stairwells. There was a mad human stampede to enter the city.

Then everything stopped. Nobody knows how many people entered the city before the elevators stopped and Army troops began pushing people out of the buildings. Soldiers cleared people out of the halls and stairwells of the building and now stand guard blocking entrance. 

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Colonel Cruikshank swaggers into City Command, swinging his cane in a cheerful mood accompanied by Zsoldos. "I trust you have regained control of the city systems, Commander. We can't have New Arcadia overrun by topsiders the way they invaded New Zion."

"No, sir. A small number of people gained access. They were relaxed and moved to quarantine. We immediately followed protocol and reset the system security with new encryption codes. We are again on full lockdown."