Chapter Fifty - Milk Run

    Chapter Fifty - Milk Run

    The idea of shelters for cover and protection harkens back to World-War Two Britain, where buildings were built where people could find cover during bombing runs. During the Cold War, fallout shelters appeared across the world as countries feared the approach of a nuclear assault. Re?Ad lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only

    Surprisingly, it wasnt until the third major incursion that governments began to invest in the production of incursion shelters. Before that, even with the warning from Samurai across the world, most nations chose to believe that the initial incursions were one-off events.

    Now, nearly every city has at least one vault per block. These range from private, pay-to-enter facilities comparable to hotels, to large cement structures where thousands can huddle together and pray for salvation.

    --Extract from A History of the Vault, 2034

    ***

    Our little caravan of two rolled across barren streets, sometimes twisting around abandoned hover cars and wheeled, automated semi trailers whose programming had glitched out as soon as the incursion began and the traffic came to a stand-still.

    I leaned my head against the window and wished that we were moving faster. Hey, Myalis? I asked.

    Yes?

    Are we doing the right thing?

    The AI took a while to respond. I was sure it was an artificial pause.

    It would depend on where your priorities lie. If you are looking to help the locals while also remaining relatively safe, then what youre doing is, without a doubt, the right thing. The probability of meeting any heavy resistance is very low.

    And if my priority is to help the most people? I asked.

    In that case you would need to head towards the centre of the incursion and do your best to stem the tide, as it were. The risks inherent in that are quite high, and I do not think you are equipped for such yet. Though you do have some points to spare.

    I scrunched my nose in thought. Were the others in the car listening to me speak to someone what wasnt there? Judging by their silence that was a resounding yes. I figured being a Samurai meant that I was allowed a bit of eccentricity. Whats the middle ground?

    As it stands, thanks to your upgraded cyberwarfare suite, I was able to glean some surface information from the organization you agreed to assist. There are seven vaults between the hospital you are heading to and the nearest orange zone that were marked as low priority. There is a good chance that the people within those will not be rescued. Depending on how the other Vanguard respond to the antithesis threat, their lives might be forfeit.

    Shit, I said. What about deeper in? I sat up straighter. I could imagine being stuck in a vault, wondering if someone was coming to rescue me. Hell, I didnt need to imagine it, that had been me some hours ago.

    The vaults within the orange zones, other than those with VIPs, have been marked as losses. Most of those within the red zones have been breached already.

    I chewed on my lip. Right. Turning, I looked to the driver, then over my shoulder to Monroe. Okay. Bit of a change of plans, I said. Could I do that? They were treating me well enough, but so far Id been playing along with their script. Were heading past the hospital and into the edge of the orange zone. There are a few vaults there that are still occupied.

    Very well!

    Oh, yeah, I got it, the driver said.

    I turned around to face the sergeant. Are any of your guys coming with me? Or are you all going to stay and defend the cars?

    Monroe rubbed at the underside of his helmet where his neck was hidden by some rubbery material. Ill send fireteam Bravo with you. Thats myself and three others. Fireteam Alpha can guard the vehicles.

    I nodded. Four of us, plus one of me... Myalis, any idea how many people are in those shelters?

    The first one I marked is a small private shelter linked to four apartment blocks. Its maximum capacity is four hundred, but from what I can tell there are only sixty residents within. I suspect most were out of their home when the incursion started. The second shelter is a municipal one. Capacity one thousand. Its at double that.

    Double... so two thousand civilians in one shelter? Id seen mega shelters before. They were cramped places with beds and some food and seats. Like a really weird cross between a subway station and a motel. Fuck, thats a lot of people.

    Maam?

    I frowned at the empty air. First shelter had about sixty people in it.

    Thatll be difficult to corral with just four of us, but Im certain we can manage if theyre cooperative. It wont be too much of a strain on the busses from the hospital either.

    The second shelter has two thousand.

    There was a long bit of silence.

    Well fuck, the driver finally said. The fuck are we meant to move that many meatheads?

    Stow it private, Monroe said. Ill... see about getting more transports to come to the hospital.

    How in the fuck did so many people stay behind? I wondered. It was a dumb question though. We had almost stayed in the tower we were in, with its fucked up shelter and all, and that was in the middle of an orange zone.

    How many groups of strangers were left in the city? Those crowds near the barricades, were there enough people there to account for the millions that lived in the area of the incursion? What about those that couldnt move so easily?

    I felt a bit sick to my stomach as the full scope of the incursion started to press down on me. And I was one of those meant to save them all?

    Myalis, those other shelters? I left the question hanging.

    The map returned, this time with numbers over each shelter. The big one on the edge of an orange zone was the largest, but a couple of others had over five hundred people stuck in them.

    That wasnt going to be easy, or pretty. Were going to need a lot of busses, I said.