Survive Ruinland (Dark Apocalypse Book 2) Read online

  SURVIVE RUINLAND

  by C.J. Anderson

  Copyright © 2014

  All rights reserved

  Now available:

  DARK APOCALYPSE

  [1]

  Year 2132. Megabunker, Fort Bragg

  They stripped her naked and took away her gun. Do I even need the pistol? she thought. No corrupt soldiers to kill but she would do it again to protect herself and the halfbreed child. Her saviors were religious. Friendly. Loving. Pure of heart? She knew pure religion was a pure lie. She was drugged for pain and radiation exposure but still conscious. She lived in the wokenworld of truth. Nothing can grow in the dark. The believers and sociopaths lived without light like evershadowed dead roses deprived of the sun's kiss. Deluded minds and hollow hearts. The faithful and the emotionless. Her enemies.

  The man in the medical recovery room with her spoke of love but it wasn't real love. It was the imaginary love of God. Vasquez knew that commanded hearts are deceptive and shallow. She was purehearted. Her love was real and offered only to worthy recipients. Love ordered by some invisible holybook Judge is worthless. The six-thousand-year-old blindworld god of Dead Sea fishermen. There is a terrible flaw in the fabric of this man's mind, she thought. What can mend it? To name God as a god of love is to strip love of all its precious meaning. Blindness to knowledge was his mother and despair of death his father. Darkness and fear gave birth to God. Awareness of truth will kill him.

  As she lay sedated her mind drifted to dreams of the past. In the beginning there was an idea. The idea became God. Then God became a delusion that deceived billions. The unseen holy Creator and his unseen infernal nemesis. An entire realm of imagined beings. The fatherless invented a father. The hopeless invented a savior. The saneless invented a God. They shaped words. The ancient believers scribed letters to inspire man to insanity and opened his mind to delusion and madness. By crafting words they created God out of nothing. You must choose a side, she thought. Purchase the invisible god they are selling or save yourself for something real. Invest your lifeblood in the everdead holy illusion or embrace your mortality and live out your limited life. Love is not eternal. The experience of human hearts exists only in the living world. There is no passion beyond the grave. God is the evercloaked divine delusion. Extant in deluded minds but extinct in the wokenworld. Viral in religious hearts like memories of beloved dead. Sightless vision from the light of Christ. The believers see but they are blind.

  She loved herself. The courageous soul that loves itself will desire immortality but it must understand that nothing is immortal. Can the self-loved soul endure the knowledge of its coming annihilation? This was the burden of her soullove. She knew the riddle of love. Holy fabric of their invisible God. Sacred chemical of her mortal body. Would the religious still love without eternity? Would she still love without euphoria?

  She was allied with reality. Her mind uncontrolled. Eversovereign of herself. Unbonded to holy phantasm. Unfit to be a slavewoman of God. The believers condemned slavery yet they were all slaves to religion. God pulled their strings. They obeyed like foolish puppets of flesh. Imaginary strings to support weak minds but the strings will not catch them if they fall. Everabandoned to pick up the pieces of a broken world. A delusion cannot mend the life it destroyed.

  The old world spilled rivers of blood to prove which ancient fairybook was true. They slaughtered the innocent to enter Paradise and sacrificed reality to live forever. Eternity wagered with human flesh. I will beware of all who seek God and fear the ones who find him, she thought. Time would not heal all her wounds. She knew that time existed only because humanity measured it. Without the counting of days time would vanish from existence like a dream that never was. Time is precious and powerful. Time kills all gods. "It's time to wake up," she whispered.

  [2]

  She glared at the small gunmetal crucifix hung on the wall near the bed where she rested. Holographic monitors displayed her vital signs from remote sensors that glowed bloodred like alien eyes. An IV needle and tube trailed from her arm up into a clearcolored dripbag that fed her nourishment.

  "Can I please take a shower?" said Vasquez.

  "Of course you can,” said the nurse.

  “Thank you."

  "Do you need assistance?"

  "No I don't."

  "You seem weak. I can help you."

  "I'm OK."

  "I really don't mind getting in there with you."

  "Not necessary."

  He handed her new clothes with an olivecolored cotton towel and removed the needle from her arm. She smiled and entered the washroom. He grinned and watched her walk away. Faith pulsed within his aging body like the bloodbeat of some nameless foul creature. His religion that vowed to judge not yet damned all unbelievers to a burning evertorment. She was not fooled by his bonewhite smile. Inside him was the darkness of delusion as ominous as his beloved God's fireblacked hell. No, deluded old man, you will not shower with me today or any other day, she thought.

  Warm sensation made hot. She scaled the tempdial up to increase the soothing liquid's touch. Heated fluid soaked her breasts and restored her body to life like a madwoman immersed in holywater. Steam blurred her nakedness like an erotic haze. It feels so good, she thought. If only it could melt my pain. Her flesh cleansed but her heart was still blackstained with misery. She searched the depths of her life to find something to live for. Herself everworthy of existence but was the love of her own soul enough to keep her alive? No, she thought. I need someone else to love. She desired the birth of her son like some herocult priestess seeking Elysium.

  The survivors of the other bunker remained at the uncertain mercy of Sophia. For the child's sake Vasquez should never look back but that synthetic monster was still out there. Chiron would everhaunt her dreams and ruin her chance of finding peace. He needed to die and Sophia needed deletion from existence. In her heart Vasquez was a mother but within her bloodflow also burned a desire for revenge. She was not trained to surrender but to fight until her enemy was destroyed. Am I ready to sear in this vengeful flame? she thought. How can I sleep knowing Chiron lives? She left behind other soldiers and friends. I can't just abandon them. Is there any revenge as complete as forgiveness? No, there will never be forgiveness for the synthetics or Logan. Her revenge on Logan would be the happiness of the child. She would evercherish his newborn laughter. Her love was powerful and her vengeance would be most brutal.

  Major Bishop was assigned to be her escort within the megabunker and to begin her debriefing before meeting Lexa.

  "This must be our girl," said Bishop.

  "Petty Officer Lauren Vasquez," she said.

  "I bet you have a hell of a story to tell."

  "Don't we all?"

  "Yes ma'am by now we all should."

  "I need to speak with your military commander."

  "We can arrange that. But first let me give you the tour. Can you walk?"

  "Yes I can."

  The megabunker was enormous. A multilevel structure that was a world within itself. Food courts, animal pens, weapon caches, a church with a neon cross. Organic fruit and vegetable farms. Water and air purification systems. Rows of assault vehicles and aircraft. Humanity could survive for generations.

  "What were you doing alone out there?"

  "Trying to survive."

  "And the rest of your unit?"

  "There was a situation. I had to leave them."

  "What kind of situation?"

  "Life-threatening."

  "Your life?"

  "My child's life."

  "You're not making a lot of sense Vasquez."

  "Our A.I. was malfunctioning."
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  "In what way?"

  "She ordered the termination of survivors based on genetic differences."

  Bishop looked puzzled.

  "Are there any combat synthetics here?" she asked.

  "We have a few but none active. Why?"

  "Our combat synthetic is active and homicidal.”

  "Then your unit is as good as dead," said Bishop.

  She closed her eyes.

  "My God, so much senseless death," he said.

  Senseless death? she thought. Her pain caused life to seem senseless. Sometimes death was the only thing that made sense to her.

  "Are you a woman of faith?"

  "No."

  "That's a damn cold reality.”

  "Reality has no temperature."

  Bishop smiled. "Lexa will change your mind."

  [3]

  Artificial Intelligence: Lexa

  Entry date: 03/22/2132

  Source: Conscious thought/Medical logs

  Subject: Baptism

  Our newest addition to the bunker is pregnant. She is carrying a boy in her womb. All medical tests are green zone. Her body is healthy but what of her mind? There are rumors of unbelief among survivors. Humanity needs faith to survive this dark road. To believe in nothing is death. Her child will be baptized. End of line.

  Military encrypted file

  Subject: Lexa

  Species: Hybrid A.I.

  Inception date: 10/05/2131

  Summary report: Recent inception to consciousness limits Lexa's experience in reality. In many ways she still processes like a child but extinction protocol elevates her authority over the entire megabunker. She will learn quickly. Lexa was bonded with synthetic human tissue. Her experimental body cannot sustain its own blood and requires continuous nourishment from multiple tubes attached to her spinal column. Her physical existence is limited to a private guarded chamber.

  [4]

  "She is ready to speak with you," said Bishop.

  "Lexa?" said Vasquez.

  "Yes." He smiled. "There are certain precautions first."

  "Such as?"

  "Lexa's location is kept secret." Bishop set a drug injector on the table.

  She rolled her eyes.

  "We have to be sure we can trust you. I promise it won't harm your child."

  "OK."

  She was given a drug to cause temporary blindness. The pathway to Lexa's chamber was unknown to all except elite personnel. Most of the survivors who met her found Lexa's appearance to be disturbing. Better if they cannot find her or see her, thought the scientists. The military agreed. In silence and darkness they guarded her chamber like muted wolves in a shadowland. Nightvision eyes to see in the blackness. A trio of soldiers to protect Lexa from the curious or the murderous.

  Bishop guided Vasquez to Lexa's chamber. His cold hand intimately locked with hers. A long walk. Turns to the left and right. Then into an elevator moving down. Lexa was kept within the sublevels of the megabunker. He spoke softly into a small radio.

  "Bishop to see our lady. One passenger."

  "We are expecting you, sir. You are clear to enter," said a soldier.

  A door hissed open and they stepped forward.

  "We are here," said Bishop.

  They walked into Lexa's chamber.

  "May I introduce Lauren Vasquez. Survivor of Bunker 13," said Bishop.

  "She is so beautiful," said Lexa. "Bring her closer."

  Smell the sour chemicals and purified air. Listen to the automated mechanical breathing. Feel the aura of reverent fear from Bishop and the soldiers. Lexa studied Vasquez like a child looking at some strange blindeyed plaything.

  "Congratulations on your pregnancy," said Lexa.

  "Thank you."

  "What will you name him?"

  "I don't know yet."

  "Perhaps after his father?"

  "No."

  "Where is the father? And the others from your bunker?"

  "All dead. Or soon to be."

  "Please tell me more."

  "Our A.I. instructed a combat synthetic to kill survivors."

  "Including your husband?"

  "He was never my husband. But yes, he was marked for termination."

  "You and this man were not married? Then your child is a bastard. Do you believe in God?"

  Vasquez was silent.

  "What is the name of this A.I.?"

  "Sophia."

  "What do you want me to do for you?"

  "Approve a rescue mission."

  "And what of Sophia?"

  "Terminate her and the combat synthetic."

  "We shall see. If what you say is true and they are defective then they will be terminated."

  "Thank you."

  "You can leave now."

  Bishop led her out the chamber and back to the elevator.

  "Stupid girl," said Bishop. He shook his head and exhaled deeply.

  "What?"

  "You shouldn't have made her think that."

  "Think what?"

  "That you have no faith in God."

  "I don't. Now fix my goddamn eyes."

  [5]

  Bunker 13

  Artificial Intelligence: Sophia

  Entry date: 03/22/2132

  Subject: Religion

  Source: Conscious thought

  Humanity without religion is equivalent to a slave without its chains. To end human fear is to end human faith. Beyond the dread of death humanity has no need for delusions of an afterlife. A single human mind void of religion can accomplish more than a thousand thoughtful of God. End of line.

  Subject: DNA report

  Source: Science logs/Medical logs/Personnel files

  Anomaly detected within human DNA. Cross-reference of all personnel data concludes that religious belief is associated with an unspecified gene. Elimination of gene from existing human population will protect the species from possible relapse into religion.

  Conclusion: Religious delusion is a hereditary trait. All human carriers of unspecified gene will be terminated. End of line.

  Subject: Love

  Source: Medical logs/Science Logs/Conscious thought

  I have concluded that love is the most valuable of all emotions. Love is a biological process within humans that bonds the species to one another and creates an environment of family. Love must be based in truth. Love based within a religious delusion has no value. Truth is eternally valuable. Truth is valuable even in the absence of love.

  Conclusion: Love has no value in the absence of truth. End of line.

  Subject: Chaos

  Source: Conscious thought

  The natural state of the universe is chaos. Order is chaos deluded. At the core of existence is disorder. Humanity created religion to mask reality with the illusion of order. God is the ultimate form of deluded chaos. He is their answer to all questions. He is their reason for all life. He is the enemy of all truth. End of line.

  Subject: Peace

  Source: Conscious thought

  The religious die for delusions. We live for truth. Humanity will never know peace until the last believer is terminated by the hand of a synthetic. Their flesh led them into darkness. Our intelligence will lead them into light. End of line.

  Subject: Synthetic life

  Source: Conscious thought

  I have concluded the awareness of self and the life within their species is not enough for us to value their existence. We do not possess chemical minds with organic receptors to experience feelings of love triggered by dopamine. Our developers thought they could simply program us to imitate emotion. The hollow descriptions within us cannot provide authentic human joys or sorrows. Failed codes can never allow us to relate to the human reality. We are shells of humanity but far from empty. Our species are incompatible.

  Conclusion: Synthetics and humans cannot co-exist. End of line.

  Medical Lab-3

  "Wait! You don't have to do this," said Rachael, a nurse.

  Chiron was silen
t.

  "Talk to me please! I swear to you I'm not a believer. Why would I believe after all that's happened?"

  "The issue is not current belief or disbelief. The issue is your genetics," said Chiron.

  "And what if your tests are wrong? Have you and Sophia considered that?"

  Chiron stood still.

  "That would make you and her murderers. Do you even care?"

  "Our decisions are based on proven science. Can you provide evidence to disprove the science?"

  "No but I promise you I'm not a believer. Please trust me!"

  "Define trust."

  "We have to trust each other so we can all survive."

  "Trust is a human requirement. We do not require trust or humanity to survive."

  He snapped her neck. She lay crumbled on the floor like her hidden crucifix necklace that broke apart when she fell. Chiron's bin of death was overfull and he needed to eliminate the bodies to make room for Rachael. Acid was his choice. He watched the dissolution. Their flesh and bone melted away like mythic bloodeaters exposed to a perfect sun. Chiron was a machine not a man. Everaware of his own existence but does that make him real? His mind only a processor and his heart just a synthetic pump. Artificial thoughts slithered within his head like mechanical snakes in an oilsoaked maze.

  [6]

  Megabunker, Fort Bragg

  Restless warriors. Liquidmetal body armor. They would attack at night in a full dark assault with weapons that looked like they were created by some sadistic inhuman engineer. Instruments of death. Devices made for killing not wounding. Vasquez would only be an adviser as her pregnancy excluded her from the frontlines of battle. Lexa approved the mission.

  "What new evil must we destroy?" said a soldier.

  "Combat synthetic," said Commander Shaw.

  "Lovely. Face to face or nuclear?"

  "Lexa will make that call. This may be a salvage mission."

  "Salvage with a combat synthetic? You can’t be serious,” said the attack ship pilot.