Surviving the Apocalypse Box Set

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Lyncoln, I know there’s a generator somewhere in there.” Adam must have torn off his overcoat, because it came sailing down, missing him by a hair and landing on the concrete floor with a surprisingly solid thud. “You get it working, and I’ll start bringing the supplies down.”

“But…okay.” They didn’t have time to argue about it. Lync went through the second room to the closet that contained the generator. This was something else he’d kept in good condition once he knew it was there, and even though it only took him a couple of minutes to power it up, those were minutes they couldn’t really spare.

The lights, air filtration system, and the fan to circulate the air in the shelter came on, and Lync turned off his flashlight and hooked it to his belt again as he raced back to the ladder. Adam’s legs came into view just as he reached it, the arms of his tuxedo jacket looped around his neck, the bulging jacket hanging down his front.

“What did you do?”

Adam was panting and sweating harder than before, and Lync could see by the cases of water piled up at the base of the ladder that he’d made a few trips already.

“I buttoned up my jacket, tied the arms together, and made a sack.”

“It’s too valuable,” he protested.

“It’s just cloth.” Adam lowered one of the bunk beds and upended the jacket, spilling out cans of soup.

“No, wait.”

“We’ve got to hurry.”

“I know, but take the next batch straight through to the storage room. There are shelves set up for supplies.”

Adam groaned. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Leave this for now. We can deal with it after everything else is done. Just hold on a second.” Lync yanked his shirttails out of his jeans and began pulling it over his head.

“Really, Lyncoln? I hardly think this is the time.” Adam’s tone sounded flirtatious.

“What?” He blushed when he realized what Adam must think. “No, but if I tie up the arms of my shirt the way you did, I can make a sack, too.”

“Don’t waste any time.” He hauled himself back up the steps.

Lync stared after Adam’s very attractive ass for a second, then yanked his shirt off over his head and clambered up behind him. By the time he reached the top, Adam was filling his own sack with more cans of food. Lync filled his shirt with as much of the peanut butter and jelly as he could. On the next trip up, he’d start on the batteries and first aid items, and finally he’d get whatever canned goods Adam hadn’t been able to bring down.

It took more time than Lync liked to get everything down into the shelter, but finally they had the last can down and the last case of water stacked in a corner. The carts had been moved away from the hatch and tipped onto their sides so they wouldn’t roll around if things got hinky.

Adam blew out a relieved breath. “All we have to do now is close the hatch.”

“I’ll get it.” Lync took the steps of the ladder as fast as he could, then angled his body up through the opening and reached for the heavy, hinged cover. Just as he had it lowered, a rumbling like a freight train passing inches from him sounded. The building shook, dust drifted down from the ceiling, and he lost his grip on the ladder and tumbled down.

“Lyncoln!”

“Oof.”

“Oof is right.” Adam had caught him, managing to break his fall. “You’re more solid than you look.”

And Adam was stronger than Lync expected. Even though Adam was a good half foot shorter, he held Lync as if he didn’t weigh anything.

His throat felt clogged, and he had to swallow a few times before he could get out the words. “Was that it, do you think? The missile hitting…” He didn’t want to think of New York, with its teeming masses of humanity, as nothing more than a huge hole in the ground.

“I don’t think we’d hear it this far away, but that might have been an aftershock.”

This time it was Lync who couldn’t help shivering. Was this the end of the world? Adam gave him a brief squeeze. Did he know where Lync’s thoughts had gone?

“I have to apologize,” Adam said, distracting him.

“What? Why?”

“I fell apart earlier.”

“I don’t blame you. Being outside…knowing what was coming…” He cleared his throat. “I think you should put me down.” He liked the feel of Adam’s arms around him, but they were in a serious situation, and he had no intention of taking advantage of the man.

“Must I?” Adam gave a droll smile. “Yes, I suppose I must.” Adam set Lync on his feet, and for a second Lync thought Adam might kiss him. But he didn’t, and Lync sighed surreptitiously and shook himself out of his ridiculous thoughts.

He climbed back up the ladder to secure the hatch, then forced himself to smile at Adam. “We’d better get the groceries put away before we try to get some sleep. The water first?”

“All right.” Adam stooped to heft one of the cases of water, and Lync allowed himself another moment to watch the bunch and play of muscles under the snug tuxedo trousers.

He gave an almost inaudible hum of appreciation when Adam balanced the case on one hip and caught up another by the plastic that enclosed an end. Lync snapped out of it and got to work himself.

That began the first of the multiple trips they’d need to make to transfer the water into the storage room.

“Last trip,” Adam finally said, slightly out of breath. It had taken them seven trips each. “I’ll bring in the cans I dropped onto the bunk while you start stacking the rest of the supplies on the shelves. All neat and tidy.”

Lync tilted his head, biting his lips to prevent a smile. “Neat and tidy, hmm?”

Adam grinned at him and bumped his shoulder against Lync’s, and Lync grinned back at him. Adam went into the living area, and Lync began stacking the cans on the shelves. The shelving units went to the ceiling, which ran about fifteen feet high, so there should be plenty of space. He’d put the soup and canned pasta at eye level. And son of a gun, Adam had found some packets of tuna and salmon, as well as chicken.

Within a minute or so, Adam returned with his “sack”—Lync felt so bad about the expensive tuxedo jacket being ruined.

“You’re a genius, you know,” Adam murmured.

“Me? How do you figure that?” Lync felt his cheeks warm. No one had ever praised his intelligence.

“You knew what we’d need.” Adam dropped his tuxedo jacket/sack on the floor and stepped around Lync to tear open the plastic that enclosed one of the cases of water.

“That’s just common sense.”

“You might think so, but—” He held up a bottle of water. “Do you want one?”

“Yes, please.”

Adam handed one to him, then unscrewed a cap and took a long gulp. He dug his other fist into his back and arched into the pressure. “Oh my God, those cases were heavy.”

“Who’d have thought, right?” Once again Lync took the opportunity to admire the sleek lines of Adam’s swimmer’s body. “Why don’t you start with the neat and tidy?”

“Got it.” He recapped the water and set it aside, then began shelving the cans. “And as for common sense,” he said, returning to Lync’s previous remark, “I was so stressed I would have wound up with a cart full of cookies and candy.”

“Nothing wrong with candy.” He wouldn’t tell Adam just yet that he’d tossed a couple of bags into his cart, so instead he asked, “Have you ever had Wally’s chili?”

“Wally?” Adam gave him a blank stare. “Is he your boyfriend?”

Lync chuckled and shook his head, although he did wonder how Adam knew he was gay. He lined up the peanut butter in their various types. “Wally owns Walter’s Burgers and Dogs.”

“Ah.” Adam shook his head.

“No, of course you haven’t. Well, Wally is also the cook. Along with hamburgers and hotdogs, he makes the best chili in the state—he’s won quite a few chili cook-offs. You have to try it with me sometime, my treat.” Which was silly, considering how wealthy Adam was, but Lync wasn’t going to take back the invitation. Of course, with the world coming to an end, they might not have much opportunity to sample anything of Wally’s anymore. “He…uh…he says his secret is the ceramic bowls he’d brought back from a trip to Mexico.”

“Okay.” Adam agreed with his suggestion easily, and Lync could have wriggled like a happy puppy. “Is there a radio down here?”

“Yeah, and the batteries should work.” Lync took it down off the shelf, turned it on, and fiddled with the dial. Usually the emergency alert system would emit a screeching sound, to warn listeners of an impending disaster, but it seemed they were way past that point. Each station that was audible simply repeated, “This is an emergency. Tune to the civil defense band.”

The first station he tried, 640 on the AM dial, had nothing but white noise, but 1240AM had something.

“This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. This is an actual attack. The president has activated the nuclear codes in response to an unprovoked attack by a foreign power, and the National Guard has been mobilized. Missiles have been intercepted, although we’ve sustained massive casualties. The Air Force will continue to intercept for as long as possible, but some have gotten through, and at least one missile has decimated Los Angeles. Another is aimed for New York. Evacuate if you can, but for many it may be too late. In that case, take shelter and stay tuned to this station. We will continue broadcasting for as long as possible. God bless America, and may He bless and keep us all.”

Adam made a soft sound of distress. “They did it. They actually f*****g did it.”

Lync wasn’t surprised to hear him swear—the situation certainly merited it—although in a manner of speaking, he was. The few times he’d seen or interacted with Adam, the man had always struck him as very classy, very cool and contained, not at all the sort to say words that would have gotten Lync’s mouth washed out with soap if his dad had ever heard him.

“Do…do you think we’ll make it?”

“We should be okay. We have plenty of supplies.”

“No, I mean America.”

“We can only hope, I guess.”

Adam was silent for a long minute. Then he swiped an arm over his face. “I don’t remember this being so spacious,” He looked around before he resumed stocking the shelves.

“Had you ever been down here?” Lync gazed up at the ceiling, which was the same height as the main living area.

“No, I have a copy of the original plans, though, and I’d intended to see what a relic of the ‘50s actually looked like, but something always seemed to come up…”

Lync hadn’t seen the plans, but he’d been down here a few times. “Someone must have enlarged the shelter at some point. As you saw, most of the bunks are folded up against the walls to give additional space. Let me give you the dollar tour. This door leads to the generator room, although room is a generous word.” Lync opened the door to reveal the compact space. “I’ll show you how to run it, if you like.”

“Yes, I would like.” Adam had found a stepladder and began climbing up and down it, storing supplies on the upper shelves.

Lync stared at the items Adam was placing on those shelves—packages and packages of toilet paper. “God bless you!”

Adam winked at him. “Is it too much to hope for a toilet?”

“Is that why you brought along the bucket?” Lync had been too distracted to pay it much attention when he’d first seen it, although he had noticed it had been filled with loaves of bread.

Adam nodded. Smart man. Lync wondered if he could use that as an excuse to hug him, then decided maybe not.

“Not only do we have a toilet, but a shower as well, although I think we’d better be sparing with the water and stick to sponge baths instead.”

“That makes sense. I’m sorry.” It hurt Lync to hear how tired Adam sounded. “I never expected to be in such a situation.”

Lync made a noncommittal sound. He didn’t want to tell Adam he had, but only because it would have made his dad and Uncle Connor sound like they were not only gullible, but also paranoid doomsday preppers. They’d taught him how to put together a bugout bag, which he kept in the closet in his apartment, not that it would do him much good now.

“I know I told the management to use this space for storage, but I expected that to be building materials and such. What’s behind door number two?”

“Huh?” Lync blinked. “Do you know, I never noticed that before.” It was in the shadow of the shelves, not more than three feet high. He crouched down and opened it, then unhooked his flashlight and flashed it over the contents of the space. He let out a low whistle.

“What’s in there?” Adam asked.

“MREs.”

“Meals Ready to Eat? Seriously?”

“Someone wanted to be prepared. It’s too bad they never made it here.” Though it was odd, since as far as he knew, Lync was the only member of the mall staff who came down here. The day crew thought it was creepy and stayed away from it.

“How much is in there?”

Lync did some quick counting and whistled again. “There’s at least forty-two boxes, with twelve meals in each box.” He pulled out the pen he always carried and scrawled some figures on the thigh of his tan work pants.

“Hmm.” Adam’s lips moved, and then his eyebrow quirked, and he matched Lync’s whistle. “That’s five hundred four meals.”

“You tallied that up in your head?” Lync knew he sounded admiring. He’d never been good doing math in his head. “And going by the number of bunks…” He scribbled more numbers on his thigh. “That’s a three week supply of MREs.”

“So you’re saying whoever brought in supplies intended this shelter for eight people?”

“Yeah.” Lync rose to his feet and put away his pen.

“The math adds up, but I’m not following. Why that length of time?”

“According to my dad, that’s about how long it takes for radiation to drop to a level where you can evacuate.”

“How did he know that?”

“My dad was a child of the Cold War era. He grew up with those drills, with having to sit against the walls outside his classroom whenever the sirens went off. I guess that caution never left him, and he passed it on to me. I wish I’d known about this stockpile. We wouldn’t have had to run around like chickens with our heads cut off.”

“But we don’t know how long we’ll have to stay down here.” Adam rested a hand on Lync’s shoulder, and Lync allowed himself to enjoy the warmth that soaked through the material to his skin.

“That’s true. And even when we can go topside, where could we evacuate to?”

“Precisely. The MREs are good for years, so we can use them as a backup. And since it’s just the two of us, whatever we have remaining can be used for barter.”

“I suppose,” Lync said. If others survived, but he didn’t want to voice that morbid possibility.

“Will your father be all right?”

“He died fourteen years ago. A drunken hunter thought he was Bambi. Helluva a way for a man like him to go out.” His dad had a bunker out in the woods. That was where he’d been coming from when the hunter blew a hole in him large enough to drive a semi through. Lync hadn’t been there in ages, but he’d kept it in repair out of respect for the man who’d instilled the will to survive in him.

“I’m…I’m sorry.”

Lync shrugged. “Thanks.”

“And your mother?”

“She died the day I was born.”

“Who took care of you after your father died?”

“My Uncle Connor.” Lync didn’t want to talk about that time. Connor had been Dad’s best bud, a really great guy who didn’t even care that Lync was gay. He stayed until Lync graduated high school, then took off for the woods and was never seen again. He was a decent guy, though, and had left behind a note. It all made sense when Lync read it: Connor was gay himself and had been in love with Dad. It almost killed him when Dad died, but he’d stayed because he’d promised Dad he would. But as soon as Lync turned eighteen, Connor left to go be with Dad. “What about your folks, Adam? Will they be okay, do you think?”

Adam was silent for a long minute. When he finally spoke, it was little above a whisper. “I don’t know. They’re on a cruise, heading toward Hawaii.”

Lync recalled the false alarm that had the people of that state terrified missiles were about to fall on their island. It had been all over the news, and heads had pretty much rolled. “Did you try calling them?”

“I did. It went directly to voicemail.”

“They could have their phones turned off.”

“Yes. I’m certain that’s what it is.” Although from Adam’s tone, Lync wasn’t sure he believed him.

“Would they have been at the gala if they’d been here?”

“Yes. And they would be here now.” Adam squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure.” He scrambled for something to say, then settled on, “Walter’s had a delivery this afternoon.”

“Excuse me?”

“Walter’s Burgers and Dogs. I wish I’d thought to bring some of that down here.” They could have stocked up on premade patties and franks as well as buns and condiments. Having that along with all the canned goods they’d filled the carts with would have been a nice addition. “Although now I think about it, I didn’t see anything we could use to cook with. No hotplate or grill or microwave down here.”

Adam stared at him thoughtfully.

“What?”

“We could have made hamburger tartar.”

Lync’s jaw dropped, and then he burst into laughter and shook his head.

“Sure,” Adam assured him. “A little salt, a little garlic powder. An egg?”

“Nope, sorry. No eggs.”

“Ah well. It was just a thought. Although now I have a craving for it.” He grinned, seeming pleased he’d made Lync laugh. But then he became serious. “Will any of it stay good? Laurel Hill Mall does have an emergency generator that’s programmed to work as soon as regular power is lost,” he reminded Lync.

“If it has enough fuel for the three weeks. Otherwise, all that’ll be left will be the chips, flat soda, and warm beer.”

“And that will only be if they aren’t contaminated by radiation.”

“It’s a good thing we have a Geiger counter.”

Adam stared at him, surprise evident on his face.

Lync shrugged again. “Whoever set up this place knew what they were doing.”

“Except for not including something to cook on. And a coffee pot.”

“Yeah, there is that.” Lync should have thought of that, but even if he had, it wouldn’t have come in handy: neither he nor Adam had thought to stock up on coffee. However…“The breakfast MREs have hot beverage packs. We can check them out in the morning.”

“Sounds good.” But then Adam sighed, shook his head, and glanced around.

“What is it?”

“Is there anything here to pass the time?” he asked.

Aside from each other? Fortunately, Lync kept those words behind his lips. Adam didn’t need that sort of harassment, not when Lync wasn’t the sort of man he’d be attracted to. “Cards. A couple of board games. Some books. Although whoever chose them had a sick sense of humor. On the Beach, The Stand, Damnation Alley, Farnham’s Freehold.” Lync gave him a wry smile. “The Walking Dead.”

“Jesus, that’s all we need—zombies!” Adam ran a hand through his hair, then looked at his watch. “It’s almost three.”

“I’ll show you the toilet and the shower, and then I guess we’d better settle in for what’s left of the night.”

Adam nodded, took the radio, and walked out of the storage room. “I’ll keep the radio on, in case something comes up.”

“Sounds good.” Lync flipped the light switch, showed Adam the facilities and left him to use them, then used them himself before he turned off the light in the living area. It didn’t take long for his eyes to become accustomed to the dim illumination of the emergency lights near the ladder and above the entrance to the storage room. He lowered a bunk on the far wall, stripped down to his underwear, and crawled under the covers.

“Are you worried?” Adam’s voice came out of the dimness.

Scared shitless was more like it. What if it was just the two of them left? “A little.” A glance toward Adam showed he had removed his formal clothes. Lync’s mouth went dry, and he turned away to avoid temptation. Adam wasn’t wearing an undershirt, and a dusting of hair feathered across his chest and down in a narrow trail along his torso past his navel. The bulk of his d**k in his white boxer briefs indicated he was a “shower” rather than a “grower,” although Lync was actually both, a fact that could get him laid as soon as his partner got a look at his d**k. It had been fun when he’d been younger, but in recent years he’d wanted more.

“Lyncoln?”

“Huh?” He realized Adam had been talking to him while he’d been lost in his lustful thoughts. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“I said the biggest positive for us right now is that this part of Laurel Hill is in the lowland depression between Laurel Hill and Hatter’s Knob. Hopefully radiation will pass over us. But what happens if we can’t leave here?”

It was strange Adam would ask that of him, but then, maybe not. Adam was super smart, but his degrees were in business. And okay, maybe Lync had looked him up online.

Lync rolled over to face his companion. Adam was leaning up on an elbow, staring intently into the dimness of the shelter toward him.

“We’ll hope it will be safe to go up into the mall.”

“But if we can’t leave the mall? The supplies we have won’t last forever.”

“No.”

“Maybe…maybe taking shelter here wasn’t such a good idea. Not if we’re going to die anyway, of radiation poisoning or starvation.”

He couldn’t let Adam think that way. “As long as we’re alive, we’ve got a chance.”

“But—”

It looked like having a dad who was a prepper was going to come in handy after all. “If we can’t leave the mall, we’ll drain the fountain and set it up to grow a garden.”

“That’s a great idea, but how can you do that?”

“We, Adam. We’ll do this together. The hardware store was getting ready for the growing season, and their latest shipment was potting soil and seeds.”

“How do you know this?”

“I come in early and check out the stores, chat with the managers, see if there’s anything they need me to do.”

“Laurel Hill Mall is lucky to have you.”

“Thanks.” Lync could feel a blush heat his cheeks. “I’m just doing my job.”

“Mmm.” Adam lowered his head to his pillow. “Good night, Lyncoln.”

“Good night, Adam.” He turned on his side and curled up, and wondered how good a night it was going to be and what kind of a morning they were going to wake up to.

Well, if they were destined to survive, they would. And if they weren’t…Adam was here with him, and Lync couldn’t think of anyone else he’d want to spend the end of the world with.

He drew in a deep breath and blew it out, then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep,