which was still gnashing its teeth in the corner.
“I don’t have all the details Charlie; I just know what I have been told.”
Jim took a long drag from the cigarette; the red tip glowed brightly in the dark room.
“So why have you been following me, what does this have to do with me?” Charlie said.
“Well, you see, I was hired to hunt those who have not gone over, like you Charlie, so I hunted you,” Jim said bluntly.
Charlie stood up, still holding the shotgun on Jim.
“Hired to hunt, what do you mean Jim?”
“Hell Charlie, has this all gone over your head? The virus has stopped somehow and the wasters have to be wiped out to restore civilization. People like you could go over at any moment, and the government sees you and others like you as a threat, just as much a threat as these pathetic creatures here.
Charlie took in Jim’s words and slowly lowered the shotgun.
“So Jim, what are you waiting for, you have a job to do, so do it,” Charlie stood looking at Jim.
Jim took another drag off his cigarette and then flipped it at the wall; a shower of red sparks flew in every direction.
“Charlie, I’m still your brother, yeah I came to kill you and we have strict orders to kill, no exterminate, that’s the word they used, anyone who does not have this mark,” Jim put his arm out and revealed a tattoo on his inner wrist.
“I came out here to exterminate you, but I can’t do it. I want you to hide, find a secluded place and stay there. They are afraid of you, they hate you and they will not stop until you and all of the others like you are history. This is a new world, mankind has another chance and you represent disease and death to them.”
Jim moved out of the doorway and allowed Charlie to pass. Charlie looked down at the girl and shook his head.
“What a waste,” he said.
He walked past Jim and into the front room and then turned and held out his fist. Jim put his hand out and Charlie dropped the gold necklace that he had taken from the dead woman into his palm. Dawn was breaking as he stepped out onto the front porch, pastel gold and orange hues colored the sky.
“Stay out of trouble Charlie,” Jim said as he watched his brother walk away down the street. He lit another cigarette and leaned against the doorway. He knew this would be the last time the two of them would see each other.
“Tell Mama not to hold supper for me Jim,” Charlie said over his shoulder as he walked away. He thought for a moment where he should go next and then decided that west would be as good a direction as any and besides, he had never seen the Pacific Ocean.
Resurrection: Atonement
Chapter 14
The rains stopped altogether after the bombs burned the atmosphere and scorched the ground. The earth erupted in flames hotter than the sun and radioactive ash rained out of the sky. The bombing campaign dubbed Operation Scorched Earth and its aftermath killed more people than the pandemic had but did not wipe out the Wasters as intended.
Later scientists believed that the radiation may have even strengthened the virus and made that plague worse if in fact it could have gotten any worse. The Wasters who were not killed outright by the blasts continued on unaffected by any radioactive fallout, the humans however were not so lucky.
Now, inside the incineration zones and extending for miles in each direction the land became a dry and desolate waste. What was left of the human race were weak, wandering nomads prey to raiders and murderous bands of cutthroats who roamed the wasteland.
No one escaped the suffering brought on by these dual catastrophes, one which was man made the other was which was said to be an act of God. The earth continued to spin in space looking to any extraterrestrial observers who may have been watching as the same
“I don’t have all the details Charlie; I just know what I have been told.”
Jim took a long drag from the cigarette; the red tip glowed brightly in the dark room.
“So why have you been following me, what does this have to do with me?” Charlie said.
“Well, you see, I was hired to hunt those who have not gone over, like you Charlie, so I hunted you,” Jim said bluntly.
Charlie stood up, still holding the shotgun on Jim.
“Hired to hunt, what do you mean Jim?”
“Hell Charlie, has this all gone over your head? The virus has stopped somehow and the wasters have to be wiped out to restore civilization. People like you could go over at any moment, and the government sees you and others like you as a threat, just as much a threat as these pathetic creatures here.
Charlie took in Jim’s words and slowly lowered the shotgun.
“So Jim, what are you waiting for, you have a job to do, so do it,” Charlie stood looking at Jim.
Jim took another drag off his cigarette and then flipped it at the wall; a shower of red sparks flew in every direction.
“Charlie, I’m still your brother, yeah I came to kill you and we have strict orders to kill, no exterminate, that’s the word they used, anyone who does not have this mark,” Jim put his arm out and revealed a tattoo on his inner wrist.
“I came out here to exterminate you, but I can’t do it. I want you to hide, find a secluded place and stay there. They are afraid of you, they hate you and they will not stop until you and all of the others like you are history. This is a new world, mankind has another chance and you represent disease and death to them.”
Jim moved out of the doorway and allowed Charlie to pass. Charlie looked down at the girl and shook his head.
“What a waste,” he said.
He walked past Jim and into the front room and then turned and held out his fist. Jim put his hand out and Charlie dropped the gold necklace that he had taken from the dead woman into his palm. Dawn was breaking as he stepped out onto the front porch, pastel gold and orange hues colored the sky.
“Stay out of trouble Charlie,” Jim said as he watched his brother walk away down the street. He lit another cigarette and leaned against the doorway. He knew this would be the last time the two of them would see each other.
“Tell Mama not to hold supper for me Jim,” Charlie said over his shoulder as he walked away. He thought for a moment where he should go next and then decided that west would be as good a direction as any and besides, he had never seen the Pacific Ocean.
Resurrection: Atonement
Chapter 14
The rains stopped altogether after the bombs burned the atmosphere and scorched the ground. The earth erupted in flames hotter than the sun and radioactive ash rained out of the sky. The bombing campaign dubbed Operation Scorched Earth and its aftermath killed more people than the pandemic had but did not wipe out the Wasters as intended.
Later scientists believed that the radiation may have even strengthened the virus and made that plague worse if in fact it could have gotten any worse. The Wasters who were not killed outright by the blasts continued on unaffected by any radioactive fallout, the humans however were not so lucky.
Now, inside the incineration zones and extending for miles in each direction the land became a dry and desolate waste. What was left of the human race were weak, wandering nomads prey to raiders and murderous bands of cutthroats who roamed the wasteland.
No one escaped the suffering brought on by these dual catastrophes, one which was man made the other was which was said to be an act of God. The earth continued to spin in space looking to any extraterrestrial observers who may have been watching as the same
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