Bleak Horizon

The night it all started was a literal hell on earth as whole cities and even countries were swept away in a nuclear fire. It's not all that clear exactly who fired first, and in truth, it doesn't matter because both sides were working with the same forces that almost destroyed us all. But that is something a lot of people still struggle with.

The night it all happened I sat up in the living room of my small two-bedroom apartment in a medium-sized town in rural Australia wondering just how far all of this was going to go. I lived alone and had few responsibilities outside of going to work and paying my bills, so it wasn't all that scary, at least from my couch with a bottle of whiskey and a blunt in hand. It was more of a morbid fascination as each missile strike took out millions, or more likely, billions of people in a single night.

My contact with family had been minimal for years. I had a brother and sister I hadn't spoken to in ten years, my parents were dead long before all this, and it's not like I had a wife or kids to come home to. So, when the missiles did fall, my only thought left a smirk on my face, ‘So this is how it ends!’

It probably was a selfish thought, but I'd lived long enough and I thought I had it all figured out at that point. I'm not going to lie, I carried a lot of bitterness and resentment. God knows how they saw through all the bullshit going on in my head. I hadn’t had a girlfriend in years and honestly had very little to live for other than my morbid curiosity to see what else could go wrong. My life truly was about putting one foot in front of the next and seeing where that path led. The cocktail of depression and anxiety that had set in over the years was not all that surprising. I wasn’t suicidal so much as I was apathetic about life in general. So, when most other people saw their lives flash before their eyes that night, for me there was an underlying sense of relief that at thirty-five, this ride was finally finished. It was a selfish thought, I know that, but it was the honest truth.

The morning after, I was surprised that the town I lived in was still intact, but then again most of rural Australia could hardly call itself a worthwhile military target. No explosions had hit us, at least not directly. I'd felt the ground shake more than once that night and wondered if time was up on each occasion. But when the sun rose the next morning and I was still in the same spot, still sipping the bottle of whiskey, I had no idea what to expect. There were warnings that fallout was spreading all over the planet by that point, and yet, I looked out the window and beside a faint irradiated glow, the horizon was crystal clear. The town I lived in was about halfway Sydney and Brisbane, with several hundred kilometres between each one, and both had very definitely gone up in a mushroom cloud that night. I managed to find some radio station in the early hours of the morning after the television went out that said we had about twelve hours left. Honestly, I’d kind of hoped one of the missiles would just hit there and end it all, but it wasn’t to be, and the thought of an agonizing death beneath a pile of irradiated nuclear material certainly did not appeal to me either.

I certainly hadn’t slept that night. Hell, I'd barely moved from the couch in hours. I wondered if I should get on my motorbike and just ride as far and as fast as I could, but that seemed pointless. I’d be dead anyway no matter where I went. So I pulled out the nicest bottle of whiskey and made several more blunts. I started working through them it slowly. I figured that I would be so stoned and drunk by the time the fallout hit that I wouldn't feel a damn thing.

I was basically in a stupor when I heard a loud knock at my front door, breaking me out of what I thought would be my final thoughts. That was followed moments later by an urgent-sounding male voice, speaking in an American accent. “Mr John Klassen, we know you’re in there, and we need you to come to the door immediately.”

It took me a moment to compose myself. I was pretty drunk and stoned by that stage, but I was still able to walk once I managed to climb to my feet. “What the hell,” I sighed as I stumbled over to the door, wondering why in the hell someone was banging on my door at a time like this. As I approached the door, I said in a slightly slurred voice, “I’m coming!” I certainly did not feel the same sense of urgency that this guy was, figuring that we were all dead in a few hours anyway.

I unlocked and opened the door, and standing in front of me were three men dressed in black uniforms. But oddly there were no flags or insignias to indicate who the hell they were. Each of them was armed with assault rifles and they definitely had military discipline about them. But what caught my attention was strange that none of them were aimed at me. I wiped my eyes, trying to get a sense of who the hell these guys were, but it didn't help much at all. My mind was still in a fog so clarity of thought and observation was just not happening that morning. I could see several more men taking up defensive positions around my front door, with distant gunshots echoing through the surrounding streets. If I was confused before by all this before, the presence of a trained military unit seeking me out directly certainly didn’t help. “Mr Klassen?” The man who was clearly in charge asked, standing up straighter.

“That’s me. What can I do for you gentleman?” I sighed, rubbing my head, “Shouldn’t you all be in shelters holding your loved ones or some shit? I don’t think we’ve got long left.”

The man who had done all the talking up to that point just took in a deep breath, and I got the sense that he probably agreed with me. He swept his hand through his short dark hair before replacing a black beret on his head. But he ignored my question when he spoke again, “I'm Lieutenant Hartley, and this is my unit. We have orders to get you onto a flight that will be leaving your local airport in about thirty minutes. If you want to live, we need to leave, right now.”

“Who’s orders?” I asked, even more confused, “I’m sorry are you guys fucking with me, if you need a place to crash and wait for the fallout your welcome to my place but I don’t think it’ll do much good. I've got plenty of booze though.”

The man that called himself Hartley just smirked slightly, before shaking his head, “It's a tempting offer, Sir, but I have something better on the table. I understand your reservations, but I am afraid I am going to have to insist you come with us. We have orders to bring you with us alive by any means necessary, though it was stressed that we are to take you peacefully if possible.”

I looked around at my house, thinking if there was any reason to refuse them. Hell, worst case they shot me and dumped the body somewhere. Either way, it'd be a much faster death that way than the one that was on its way. So I was resigned, I just sighed and said, “Alight! Can you tell me why?”

"No, Sir!" Hartley said formally, "We're under strict orders to maintain silence for operational reasons. The truth is, most of us doing have all that much information to offer. We just have orders."

I nodded to the man once, eyeing the guns in their hands. But still, none were aimed in my direction, so it seemed unlikely that they planned to kill me, at least not right away. “Can I grab a couple of things?”

“No, Sir!” The man said flatly, “Just grab something to keep warm, then we need to go, right now.”

Since my options were to go with them willingly or be dragged forcefully, I just shrugged and reached back inside the house for a moment to grab a jacket before stepping out to join the man on my front porch, “Alright, lead the way!”

I had not doubt I smelt like booze and weed and the look that earned me from the men was actually a little surprising. Some of them just seemed really disappointed, as if they had been expecting something better. Hartley did the same, but said nothing. He just turned, and the group of soldiers moved with us, taking up defensive positions as we made our way out into the street where a black van with dark-tinted windows was waiting. Hartley then gestured towards the van and said, "Get in and lay low. The windows aren't bulletproof, so be smart and stay out of sight. Keep your mouth shut, we don't have time for more questions right now."

I just shrugged and reluctantly climbed inside, hurry as the sound of machine gun fire ripped in the distance. Holy shit, society truly was starting to come apart at the edges. I took in a deep breath, realising that whatever time was left in this town was going to be very dark for a lot of people. The driver and a woman seated beside him were separated by what looked to be some kind of bulletproof glass. I was alone in the back as the door slammed shut and I took a seat, waiting for some kind of guidance or information on what to do. But it never came, so I did exactly what Hartley said to do, bucked in and kept my head low.

The engine roared to life as the van sped off in the direction of the local airport, flanked by two other black vans containing the team of soldiers. The streets of the town seemed largely abandoned, with only a few people seemingly trying to flee in cars loaded with luggage, pets, and small children. I’m not sure if any of them truly understood the situation they were in though. The very atmosphere we needed to survive was on the verge of collapse. Hundreds of nuclear blasts in a very short amount of time did not just mean that there was fallout on its way, but that we would soon be heading into a nuclear winter that could last for years.

They drove to the chaotic streets like the van was stolen, so I did as I was told, trying not to be seen. There were several close gunshots, and more than a few violent assaults in progress. But the soldiers didn't stop, except for one particularly disturbing sight. Several shots were fired as the van behind us came to a stop, taking out three men attempting to assault a little girl. In that instant, I pushed to get the door open to help her. But then I saw Hartley rush out of one of the vans, well ahead of me as he helped the girl that couldn't be more than ten years old into the vehicle with him.

We were moving again after just a few seconds, racing towards the small airport on the edge of town. Soon after, the van pulled into a small off road, passing the near empty car park, and kept driving beyond the terminal and through a guarded open gate leading onto the tarmac. Several planes appeared to be fueling up and getting ready for take-off. Wealthy families were being ushered into these 'last fights out', a last-ditch attempt to evacuate somewhere. It was almost laughable if it wasn’t so sad to watch because a lot of them were running with small children with them. God knows if this would even be worth surviving.

At the far end of the tarmac was a plane surrounded by soldiers dressed in similar uniforms to the men who had escorted me there up to that point. The van raced over to them and came to a stop almost right in front of a set of stairs that led into the main cabin of the plane. The side door slid up, as the soldiers moved quickly and efficiently, and the familiar face of Hartley, as he gestured to the plane without a word. I looked around, spotting the girl clinging to another female soldier just a few meters away.

I climbed out of the van and gave Hartley a grateful nod for what he'd done, and that seemed to change something between us as that look of disappointment slightly shifted to one of curiosity. "Good work!" Was all I said.

They had warned me about questions, so I kept my mouth shut. I was sure they’d made some mistake in coming to find me, I was nothing special so why save me of all people? I hesitated at the bottom of the stairs and looked at the soldier who was standing guard. He stepped aside as I approached and said, “Proceed to the rear of the plane, Sir! There are private quarters there for you to rest up. Please buckle up in one of the available seats and prepare for an emergency take-off.” I just stared at him with a confused expression, which only seemed to annoy the guard who spoke again in a low growl, “Please hurry, Sir, we don’t have much time.”

I nodded once more and hurried up the stairs, stumbling just once in my still somewhat drunken state. My mind was blank, and just going through the motions by that point, and when I entered the plane, I moved quickly through a large cabin near the front of the plane with twenty vacant seats. As I neared a door at the rear that led to a private section, I hesitated for just a moment, catching sight of the soldiers as they started piling into the front cabin with the little girl still sticking to the female soldier. I just shook my head in confusion and proceeded through the private area and into a small luxurious space with four seats just inside the door with seat belts. There was a small bar and a private bathroom with a bed, and it seemed pretty self-contained.

“Welcome!” Came the voice of a young woman as she stepped out from what appeared to be a bathroom, her accent very difficult to place, “Please grab a seat Mr Klassen while we take off!” She was small and looked very petite with short blonde hair, but she was also clearly very fit. She walked with a grace that hinted at a great deal of inconspicuous strength. She wore a tight-fitting black uniform that covered most of her body and was armed with a pistol that was strapped to her thigh. There was very little skin on display, and despite that, I couldn't help but notice how attractive she was. She tied her shoulder-length blonde curls into a ponytail as she approached, gesturing again to the seat beside me when I didn't immediately respond. She stepped forward without any concern for my presence and climbed into one of the seats as well, buckling up as if she’d done it many times. I followed her lead and sat down opposite the young woman, my dark golden brown eyes meeting her deep ocean blues for the first time. I was even more confused now than when the soldiers had turned up on my doorstep. Her nose wrinkled slightly at my presence, and that look of unspoken disappointment in her eyes was unmistakable.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” I asked, hoping she knew more than the soldiers seemed to.

She just looked up at me for a moment as if making an assessment, then after a moment she spoke formally, “I’m not entirely sure just how much they want you to know just yet. So for now, keep silent.” She said, offering a reassuring smile for just a moment as if her mask had slipped for just a second to reveal the real her, before firmly fixing me once again with a hard stare. I was able to place a slightly eastern european flavour to her accent now.

I hesitated for a moment before deciding to try and phish for more information. “They?” I asked my voice a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

She just leaned back in her chair, and said in the same formal tone, “That is a part of 'not being sure just how much I can tell you yet'.”

“Okay!” I said, leaning back in my chair as well and trying unsuccessfully to read the woman. The plane’s engines roared to life, and before long we were moving in the direction of the runway. Since direct questions seemed to be off the table, I decided to try a less direct approach, not that it helped much, “What’s your name?”

“Alina!” She said as she closed her eyes, breathing deeply as the plane suddenly shot forward and began lifting off the ground. The plane rapidly gained altitude, rising quickly off the ground. Before I could ask anything else, she just shook her head, a silent warning to stop trying. So I glanced out of the window and was surprised to see in the distance an enormous dust cloud stretching nearly across the horizon. It was several more minutes before we evened out in the air, and the plane started to feel steady once again.

“Okay!” Amber said as she unbuckled her seat belt and stood up to stretch. I followed her lead by removing the seat belt but remained seated, watching the young woman as her eyes scanned the horizon just as mine had just moments earlier. She let out a sigh of relief and said, “We should be high enough to go over it, but we’ll need to pass through one of those when we land.”

“Can you tell me where are we going?” I asked.

“North America!” She said as she made her way over to the bar, “I can’t be more specific than that.”

I didn’t bother saying anything else, it seemed that her hands were tied on what she could and couldn’t say. But it was strange that she had private quarters on this flight, and for some reason, I’d been allowed to ride up the back with her. She appeared to show very little interest in me as she got herself a drink of vodka from the bar and swallowed its contents, her eyes remaining fixed on the dust cloud beneath us.

"I will not be offering you any since it is clear that you have had enough already!" She said, unable to mask the disappointment in her tone.

I stayed seated and shrugged, "As far as I was concerned, death was a near certainty for me not too long ago. Forgive me for trying to dull my mind and body from the pain and suffering that was almost certainly coming."

She glanced at me for a moment, then sighed and nodded, before turning her focus back to the rising irradiated dust clouds that were rapidly smothering the entire planet. She then opened a small cabinet and retrieved two box of pills, before pouring a glass of water and walking over to me. "Codeine and Iodine tablets. Take one of each now, they will help with both the radiation and the hangover that will soon hit. For now just rest, we will be in the air for a while."

Instead of annoying her further with more questions, I just nodded and accepted what felt like a peace offering. I sat and let my mind drift, trying to figure out the most likely scenario in my head. What in the hell would anybody want with me? I wondered. I was thirty-five years old, slightly overweight, I worked part-time, and had no immediate family. So clearly none of that was useful. So, I dug a little deeper considering my previous accomplishments. I’d completed a doctorate in philosophy of all things when I was younger before my mental health and personal life eroded any motivation to continue in that direction, but that was an incredibly abstract thesis about consciousness, so that was probably useless in any practical sense. I had several failed relationships in my twenties, and I wasn’t a particularly interesting or attractive person. I was an introvert, and most of my social interactions in recent years had been with chat-bots powered by artificial intelligence. So, none of this made any sense to me. I truly was nothing at that point in my life.

Alina didn’t say anything else as the plane continued over the Pacific Ocean, passing over thousands of miles of ocean, dotted by small islands here and there. Many of which seemed mostly unaffected by what had happened, but it was only a matter of time before the dust clouds reached them.

I fell asleep somewhere in there, the codeine and alcohol knocking me right out once the effects of the table settled in. My dreams were scattered, and a bg part of me wondered if all of this truly was just that. But then I was again jolted awake by turbulence, and my reality was once again a private cabin on a plane heading half way across the planet just hours after a nuclear holocaust had broken out all over the world. Alina was seated opposite to me when my eyes opened again, and she seemed to be watching me closely, observing my every move with a critical eye.

“Sorry, I fell asleep!” I said as I sat up, realizing that she was right about the hangover almost immediately, “I didn’t get much rest at all last night.”

“I don’t think many people did!” She said, her tone still firm. “Take another painkiller, then you might want to put on your seat belt again, we’re getting close to the North American coast and the dust cloud is even bigger than it was where we picked you up from.” Without hesitation, I did just that, before glancing out the window. There wasn’t much to see in the darkness except for the occasional distant flash of lightning. When she saw me pause, staring out of the window she explained, “It’s the charged particles in the dust cloud.”

“Don’t we have to fly through it?” I asked, suddenly concerned.

“Yes, but we will be okay. We have parachutes under these seats if we need them.” She said, sounding a little too casual about flying into a nuclear cloud for my liking.

Moments later, the turbulence started to hit again as the plane moved closer and closer to the dust cloud. There wasn’t a hard fast point of entry; the dust just gradually grew thicker and the plane started jolting around more and more the deeper into the cloud the plane went. Before long, I could feel the plane slowly begin to reduce its altitude, and before long we were on approach to a small landing strip. But it was too dark outside to make out any landmarks of details pertaining to our location. It was one hell of a rough landing, to say the least. I’d only ever flown on a plane a few times in my life, and it was safe to say that this was by far the worst.

“Where are we?” I asked, glancing out of the window once more, trying to make out some kind of detail in the darkness through regular lighting strikes in the distance.

Alina stood up slowly and said, “Right now, the fewer questions you ask the better. No one is allowed to say anything, and most know very little. You will be briefed when we get there on the details. For now, just shut up and do exactly what I say. Is that understood, Mr Klassen?” I nodded to her once, taking in a deep breath, “In this case, curiosity might just kill the cat, especially if you piss me off. We have other candidates that are frankly far more promising than you are based solely on the smell of booze and cannabis coming off your clothes.”

I laughed to myself at those words, which seemed to catch her off guard a little, “Fair enough, I’m sure this really is some kind of mistake!”

Her eyes went wide in surprise for a moment, "What makes you think that?" I just shrugged and unbuckled the seat belt. Alina hesitated for a moment, her eyes meeting mine once more before she regaining her composure once again, and said, “Fine! It's probably a good thing that you aren't your hopes up. Honestly, I don’t even know why they selected you. But here we are. Now let’s get going. We still need to travel by land for several hundred miles.”

"Again, with the whole 'they' thing?" I sighed.

"Shut up!" She said dismissively as she started getting ready. "Just get moving."