Wipeout | Book 3 | Empty Vault Read online

  Austin and Dante had always joked about the people that lived in the city, calling them crazy hicks and whacked-out preppers, lying in wait for the end of the world so they could put their doomsday scenarios into practice. Neither of them had ever imagined that day would come, but Austin knew that now that it had, the residents of Poughkeepsie would be wasting no time in enacting their master plan.

  They wanted to keep their home cut off from the rest of the country. With the Catskills just behind the city, they were well equipped to defend their home from any newcomers that tried to enter that way and blessed with a place to retreat to if things got even worse. After that, there was only three other routes that led into Poughkeepsie: across the bridge and via two major roads to the south and the east. If the bridge had been destroyed, Austin had no doubt that they would have blocked the roads as well.

  “I don’t think the bikes have much gas left in them,” Samuel spoke up again once he had finished his breakfast, trying to get some response out of his friend that was more than just the occasional grunt. “I figure we should follow the road back and see if we can find a place to fill up. What do you think?”

  Austin looked over at Samuel and opened his mouth to reply, but just couldn’t find the words. He couldn’t explain how devastated he was feeling. All his effort since the moment they had left Trident had been focused on reaching his family again and seeing his little boy’s face when he opened the door. To get so close and then have the possibility of seeing them ripped away from him was just heartbreaking. Austin felt like he was empty, broken, ripped in two. He had pushed all other emotions, worries and fears to the back of his mind while he focused on reaching his family again. Now that he had been stopped in his tracks, everything else was catching up to him. He could feel his grip on himself getting looser and looser. His fragile mental state threatened to break down and crumble just like the bridge over the Hudson. Austin was falling apart and would need more than just a bowl of oatmeal to put him back together.

  Samuel watched his friend, trying to work out what to do and how to help him. He tried but failed to put himself in Austin’s shoes, unable to imagine what it was like for him. Samuel didn’t have anyone that he loved as much as Austin clearly loved his son. Samuel barely even had any proper friendships. His job always came first and hindered the other things in his life. Now that Trident wasn’t an option any more, he was opening himself up to what the rest of life had to offer. It wasn’t the best time to be discovering it, but he was learning and he was doing everything he could to improve himself as a person because of it. Right now, Samuel could see that he needed to help Austin, he just wished he could figure out how.

  “Come on pal,” he encouraged, standing up from the log and banging his bowl against it to clear the last lumps of oatmeal that clung to the side. The noise shocked Austin and sent a flock of birds flapping up into the trees in panic. “We’ve got to do something. Dante and Bowie need you. We can’t give up now.”

  Austin exhaled slowly. With his eyes closed, the picture in his head shifted from that of the ruined bridge to his husband and son. He saw Dante’s hands resting on their boy’s shoulders. Bowie grinned and laughed and stared at him, almost like he was looking into Austin’s soul.

  Growing up, Austin had always known he was different from the other boys he was friends with. He had struggled with how that affected his masculinity for several years. He had taught himself a number of stereotypically manly trades and skills, trying to fill a hole in himself. When he met Dante the hole became shallower, but there was still something missing. Until Bowie.

  Being a father was everything to Austin. He had never found anything in life – not a job, a hobby or any relationship – that made him feel so complete and so happy within himself. Being a family man was what he was born for, it was what had been missing from his life in the early days and what he was missing from his life right then and there. Some people were made to be brilliant actors or musicians, he was made to be a father. Without Bowie and Dante in his life, Austin knew that hole would start to form again and he couldn’t let that happen. As much as they needed him; Austin knew that he needed his family even more. He could sit and wallow in the setback of not reaching them, or he could do as Samuel suggested and keep going, find another option and make something work. His pity party had gone on long enough and now it was time to take action again. He’d faced worse problems than this before, there was no way a broken bridge was going to stop him from seeing his loved ones.

  “How much gas have they got?”

  “Huh?” Samuel remarked, startled by the question as Austin remained so still and seemingly emotionless where he sat. “What?”

  “The quads,” Austin continued, “how far can we get on them?”

  “I’m not sure,” Samuel replied, a smile creeping onto his face as his friend became more animated, talking and moving his arms as he spoke. “Mine was running pretty low last night. But if we can get them to the intersection here,” he paused and grabbed a map he had been studying earlier, identifying a rest stop area which looked like it had a gas station and a few fast food joints. “Then we should be able to fill up and keep going. What are you thinking?”

  “How far is it to the nearest bridge?”

  “About fifteen miles,” Samuel replied. “I don’t think we have the gas to go straight there.”

  “Okay,” Austin nodded and paused to think for a moment. “Well, rest stop it is then I guess. We’ll fill up and head south, cross the bridge and then try to get into Poughkeepsie another way. Sound good?”

  “Yeah,” Samuel smiled, overjoyed by his friend’s change of attitude. “Sounds great. Are you,” Samuel paused, choosing his words carefully as he looked at his friend. He wanted to ask Austin how he was feeling, make sure that he was feeling okay and didn’t need to get anything more off of his chest before they started moving, but he wasn’t really sure how to phrase it. Emotions were Samuel’s downfall, but thankfully Austin seemed to see what his friend was trying to say and nodded.

  “I’ll be fine,” Austin smiled. “I just – that was a bit of a blow with the bridge and all, but it’ll be okay. We’ll find another way into Poughkeepsie, we’ve got to. Bowie needs me and I can’t let him down.”

  “Right on. We’ve come this far, whatever happens next we’ll figure it out and get through it.”

  “Yeah, thanks Samuel,” Austin replied, grateful for his friends’ companionship and support. “Appreciate it.”

  Samuel smiled back and shook his head. “You’ve certainly done more than the same for me.”

  The atmosphere between the two men changed, giving them purpose and empowerment for the day ahead. They packed up their gear quickly and efficiently from the small State Park, leaving barely any evidence that they had ever been there in the first place. It felt invigorating to Austin to be heading away from Poughkeepsie, knowing now it was for the right reasons and that they had made the correct decision. Every choice had to be for his family now and he couldn’t lose sight of that, even a few more hours wallowing in his self-pity could be detrimental to his husband and little boy. There was no time to waste, he had to pull himself together and keep on fighting; the disaster was far from over.

  Watching his friend, Samuel couldn’t help but long for what Austin had. It was enlightening to have seen him go through such a series of emotions from discovering the ruined bridge to now. He knew Austin had to love his family an insane amount to keep going and not give up on them when everything seemed to be going against him. Samuel loved his parents and his sister, but it wasn’t the same, even he could see that.

  As they said their final goodbye to their little campsite, Samuel found himself thinking that there was perhaps more for him to gain from what had happened than he had to lose. His money was gone and that was something he would never forget. Trident was a part of him and it was impossible just to overlook what was happening to the rest of the world outside of their tiny bubble. But beyond that, Samuel wa
s learning that there was so much more to life.

  His money may be lost, but if he ignored that fact, then he wasn’t without very much. People like Austin had a lot more to lose, which made Samuel realize that he had a lot more to gain. What was happening to society was horrible, there were no two ways about it. But perhaps there was still the opportunity for Samuel to come out of the disaster having achieved something. Maybe money wasn’t the answer to everything, but instead life was about having someone to share your days with. After all, he could have all the money in the world and it still wasn’t much use if it couldn’t bring him any happiness.

  With all the terror going on in the world, it was quite poignant that it was the man who had broken the news to everyone who was realizing Trident’s collapse didn’t have to be the end.

  Chapter 3

  No more than ten minutes later, Samuel and Austin were switching off the engines of their quads – though Samuel’s more spluttered to a halt rather than him having anything to do with it – outside a rather sad looking motel. The thought occurred to both of them that they could’ve spent the night there in comfortable beds rather than in sleeping bags on the cold, hard ground, but neither brought it up. Instead they looked at the building and those further down the road and swallowed, the sight of it all a stark reminder of what had happened.

  Everywhere was deserted. Somewhere, the faint sound of a windchime carried through the air. Shutters were pulled down where possible, all the businesses closed off and abandoned, no money left to keep them up and running.

  It was strange. The intersection Samuel and Austin had pulled up to would’ve once been filled with cars, commuters making their way into larger cities or travelers stopping to refuel and grab a bite to eat. The gas station they were aiming for was several hundred meters further down the road, just past a liquor store and a Dunkin’ Donuts. The former of the two looked to have already been ransacked, the front windows smashed in and a few bottles smashed on the curb outside.

  “Shall we wheel the bikes over?” Samuel asked, looking around again just to check that they were entirely alone. “Or just leave them here?”

  “We can probably just leave them,” Austin shrugged. “Maybe wheel them into the parking lot at least.”

  “Yeah,” Samuel agreed, pushing his bike around the back of the motel and leaving it hidden. Their placement made very little difference other than they were no longer visible from the road. If someone were to drive past, they wouldn’t notice them, but if someone were around on foot it would be a different matter. It didn’t bother either of the men though, the state of their surroundings telling them plain and simple that they were completely alone.

  “Definitely not like this in New York,” Samuel remarked as they started walking toward the gas station, both hoping that they would find a jerry can to fill up and bring back with them. “It’s weird.”

  “So quiet,” Austin replied, looking around as they walked and almost expecting someone to appear. “I wonder how long it’s been like this.”

  “I guess without any money, these places just can’t survive,” Samuel replied in thought. “I hadn’t really considered the day to day trade angle of all of this. Like I thought about the big things that will stop running because of Trident’s collapse, but literally every business is going to have shut down.”

  “Yeah,” Austin nodded, “I doubt certain businesses will ever be able to bounce back from this. Independent places I mean, those shopkeepers living month to month, judging whether they can buy food for themselves or if they manage to meet their weekly sales targets.”

  “They’ll all be ruined. I’d never thought about it from that perspective.”

  “Why would you?” Austin replied, sensing that Samuel was starting to feel guilty about Trident’s collapse again. Even though it had been nothing to do with him, being the scapegoat for it all had forced Samuel to feel responsible for the crash in a way. He felt like he should’ve delivered the news differently or said something else, shouldering the blame because in reality, there was no one else to give that burden to.

  “We rarely see what doesn’t directly affect us.”

  Nodding, Samuel felt Austin’s words hit him in the stomach and he was reminded of how selfish he used to be during his time at Trident. He had always thought of himself as the well-mannered, properly-educated business man who dressed correctly, did everything by the book and was a wholly upstanding member of the community. But in reality, the way he had acted directly after Trident’s collapse had taught Samuel a lot about himself and he had quickly realized the business man persona he had adapted had been little more than a façade to hide who he truly was.

  He had committed some horrible acts: he had been unable to help R Hauser, the poor man who had jumped from the Trident Building and killed himself in an instant. He had stolen the place of a stranger on a shuttle bus from JFK airport, abandoned a co-worker in the street who would later end up in hospital and later he had walked past a man who was being kicked and beaten in the street. Samuel had shied away from doing the right thing on numerous occasions all because he was putting his own safety first and believing that it was okay in the moment.

  Since then he had changed but, being back in some semblance of civilization reminded Samuel of everything that had happened and how humanity was being forced to change as a result. It gave him a steadfast reminder to keep acting the way he was, to continue to be good and to help others. With everything else gone, he would need to rely on his humanity to see him through.

  “You think they’ve got any donuts left?” Austin joked as they walked past Dunkin’ Donuts, the sign out front tempting them to go inside. “I could eat a whole box of them just now.”

  Samuel laughed. “We could go and check. It’s not like anyone is going to stop us. Chances are everyone else already got there first.”

  Austin paused for a second, looking around once more though he knew the two of them were alone. “Ah to hell with it, why not. I could really go for something chocolatey right now.”

  Walking up the ramp to the store front, Austin reached the door and pushed at it, the glass opening with ease for him. Someone else had clearly had the same idea as them already, the lock was broken. Austin held the door open for Samuel and glanced around, his eyes catching sight of a few boxes piled up at the back of the building, behind the counter. He couldn’t tell if they were empty or not, but he remained hopeful as he walked toward them.

  “Cross your fingers, pal,” Austin smiled at Samuel, an element of playfulness coming out in him as he hopped over the counter and into the kitchen, making a beeline for the potential boxes of donuts. He couldn’t believe someone would’ve missed them if they’d ransacked the place already, but wouldn’t pass up the chance to check either.

  “Come to… oh my days. What on earth?”

  “What?” Samuel looked over at Austin who had frozen in place in the kitchen, no more than half a foot away from the boxes he had been so hungrily eying up. Instead of looking at the boxes anymore, his eyes were focused beneath one of the counters, his mouth open in surprise. Samuel didn’t like the expression on his face one bit, walking slowly toward the counter but not yet daring to jump over like Austin had. Looking at his friend, he waited for an explanation.

  “Hey, hey,” Austin continued to talk, lowering his voice as he shook his head in disbelief. “It’s okay. You don’t need to be afraid. Are you both all right? How long have you been in here?”

  Samuel furrowed his brow and wondered who Austin was talking to, finally plucking up the courage to move behind the counter and walk toward his friend. Austin was down on one knee now and leaning underneath the stack of boxes, murmuring to something on the floor. Getting down onto his level, Samuel saw in equal shock and horror what his friend had discovered just moments before. Underneath the counter in the back of the store were two children, hugging each other tightly in fear and shaking as they gazed upon the two men that had found them.

  “Holy
cow,” Samuel remarked, taken aback by what he was seeing. He remembered the young girl he had found hidden underneath a road sign just inside New Jersey and how terrified she had been. Back then he and Austin had been able to find her family and get her to safety, out here there was no sign of anyone else and by the looks of the two children, they had been on their own for some time. Glancing at his friend, Samuel shook his head slightly from side to side in awe of what they were seeing and completely stumped over what to do next.

  “What are you kids doing here?” Austin asked, trying to encourage the children to talk. Both of them were boys with dirty skin and matted brown hair. The eldest looked about thirteen, the youngest probably around nine. They were skinny and looked desperate, their clothes covered in stains and torn in a number of places. It didn’t look like they had been looked after in weeks, despite the Trident collapse not happening all that long ago.

  “Do you want something to eat? Or some water?” Samuel offered, shrugging off his rucksack and pulling his water canteen out of the side pocket. “Here,” he offered it to the closest boy. “It’s okay, it’s just water.”

  The boy faltered for a moment before taking the canteen and drinking thirstily, glugging the contents for a couple of seconds before stopping himself and passing it to his brother or friend. Seeing the fervor with which they both drank, Austin handed over his own canteen as well while Samuel dug through his pack for a couple of protein bars, handing them over to be devoured with equal enthusiasm. Once the water was drank and the food in their stomachs, the men tried once more to get some answers from the young boys.

  “What are your names?” Austin asked, trying a different tact. “I’m Austin and this is Samuel, we’ve come from New York City, but we’re trying to get into Poughkeepsie.”