C.J. Anderson's Blog: Beyond Ruinland

I escaped Bunker 13 but exposed myself and my womb to radiation and chemical poisoning. I fight the fears that he may be born like some deformed child of Chernobyl. Hopefully they rescued us from the outside world in time and we owe our lives to these saviors. But there is so much I don't know about them and this new underground sanctuary. Did I just trade one nightmare for another?

Lauren studied the cabin's porch from a safe distance. No movement or obvious traps in sight. She remembered a former mission before the world war. Her unit had approached a small home in the desert and discovered the entire area was laced with landmines. Three of them lost their legs or their lives trying to get inside that house. She didn't want to repeat that dreadful day.

The old woman's cabin was hidden within a cluster of trees but a hint of smoke revealed its existence. Lauren could smell the firewood burning and she followed it carefully. Every step toward the cabin was a fatal risk and there was no doubt in her mind that the path and the home itself were rigged with traps. A miscalculation or a slip on the ice could mean the end of Lauren's life. The woman was primitive in many ways but only a fool would underestimate her ability to defend her home. Lauren spotted the cabin. Now to figure how to enter without getting killed.

Lauren needed to make a choice. Would she continue exploring the frozen Yukon or go searching for answers about the origin of Anise? Part of her wanted to know the truth at any cost but she was pregnant and that needed to stay priority one. The loss of the girl was heartbreaking and disturbing. Anise was like a daughter to her. Now she was all alone again to handle the birth and raising of her son. Maybe it was better that way?

The savage old woman must have had a place of shelter nearby and if the hag wasn't dead then Lauren could make her confess its location. With or without the woman's help she would find her home and make it her own. Lauren blamed her for Anise's death and if she hadn't taken the girl then she would still be alive. And if she was? The wolf may have still come for revenge but she could have defended Anise. The least the woman could do now is help Lauren and her baby survive.

Her ashes faded away like blackened snow. What took decades to design and countless billions to build was now just dust in the wind. The thing called 'Anise' was destroyed and Lauren wasn't sure if that was even the girl's real name. What was the point of creating synthetic people, especially children? Why did they fabricate a young girl and pretend she was human? 'Because we can' would be their answer. The same hollow response that any creator of life can offer the creation when asked 'why did you make me?'.

The survivors endured four brutal months since the nuclear war wiped out almost everyone and everything on the surface. They were fortunate enough to be underground when the war began and smart enough to stay there. Lauren believed it wasn't fate or divine predestination that kept her alive. She simply got lucky and those who were trapped outside and evaporated in the searing heat were just unlucky. The question on her mind was what to do with her life. Living just for the sake of surviving isn't much life at all.

Dark hair longer than military regulations allowed flowed down her shoulders. Being an elite team member meant certain freedoms and rules that could be bent. She was about to completely break one of the more serious rules and personal codes among soldiers: Don't sleep with your superiors. Normally she would never consider it but the end of the world pretty much changed everything. Six months with no sex and her boyfriend off-base was surely dead. There was no promise that tomorrow would ever come and she didn't want to die feeling so horrible. Maybe to feel a man's touch again would help her forget some of the pain. Only one way to find out.

Since my childhood I always dreamed of coming to America. We struggled to survive and our family was the poorest of the poor. My parents were good people and they did the best they could for their children. I still love them and will always keep the better memories in my heart. There just weren't enough opportunities to prosper. Not much work to go around and any jobs we could get paid little to nothing. The government promised the robotics factories would be our salvation but it was just more slave work for the young and the old. They profited and we continued to live in poverty.

My dreams came true and we finally crossed the border into Texas. Our journey to the United States came with a price. Only my sister and I survived. My mother and father both lost their lives. All of their prayers failed them. God wasn't there to protect them from sickness and the virus killed them both. My sister kept her faith. Mine was lost forever.

I joined the military and she joined the church. We both did what we had to do to survive but in the end she's dead and I still live. What if she had joined me? We could both still be alive but at this point it doesn't really matter. The Earth was destroyed and I found less reason each day for any of us to keep living in a world without hope. Then everything changed, at least for me. Pregnancy can do that.

Lauren could see Anise was tied to a tree. She appeared to be unconscious. Her head was tilted over to one side and her eyes were closed. Had she been tortured? If she hurt they would all suffer a thousand painful deaths.

She rushed to the tree and triggered the trap. A rope tightened around her foot and snatched her high above the ground. She dropped the gun. Lauren was hanging upside down and could only watch as the wolf approached Anise.

The female from the riverbank. Lauren remembered the look of anger in the animal's eyes. She'd killed her entire family. The other wolves were not just pack members. She was the leader's mate and that day she lost her lover and her children. The wolf come for revenge.

"No! Please don't!" said Lauren. She reached out her hand toward Anise.

The wolf turned and looked at Lauren. They stared at each other for a long time. Lauren understood she wanted to avenge the deaths of her family.

"I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

There would be no forgiveness for what Lauren had done. The wolf jumped and bit Anise on the throat. She tried to end the girl's life quickly. At least the wolf did show mercy.

Lauren swung and arched her body hard enough to reach her boot knife. She cut the rope and fell to the ground. The impact dazed her and she crawled toward Anise. The wolf was gone.

Lauren rose from her knees and embraced Anise on the tree. She cut the ropes and carefully rested the girl's body on the ground. Then she saw it. Anise's blood was not red. The fluid that drained out from the wound in her neck was amber.

"No. It can't be," said Lauren.

She wiped the lubricant from the gash and looked at her hands. The blood was artificial. Anise was a synthetic.

Lauren struggled to understand how it could be possible. Everything she believed about the girl was a lie. Synthetic humans were still in development. They were supposedly nowhere close to being realistic. Who created Anise, and why? Only a genius could have made her. Why would this brilliant designer allow his creation to live such a terrible life? Maybe whoever crafted Anise did not know of her horrible fate in life. Maybe they died in the war like everyone else. Lauren did not know the answers but she did know her love for Anise was real. She chose not to bury her. Someone may discover her fabricated body or animals may dig her up. Lauren burned Anise and spread her ashes into the winter wind.

Lauren heard the familiar sound of a gun being loaded. The shooter was close. The woman stepped out from a behind a tree and fired the rifle. The shot grazed Lauren's shoulder and she fell to the ground. The woman tried to reload but in her haste she dropped the bullet. Lauren ran and knocked the woman down and took away her gun. She struck her in the face with the stock end of the rifle and the woman stopped moving. Lauren didn't know if she was still breathing and at the moment she didn't care.

The old woman who took Anise was a native of the Yukon. After the war she'd fled to the mountains and lived alone in a small cabin. Her family had traveled into Canada for supplies but they never returned. The woman was alone and desperate. She wanted to keep Anise for herself. The girl would become her slave.

Lauren easily followed their tracks into the mountains. The woman had tied Anise's hands and led her along with a rope. They walked for a long time until the woman heard Lauren following them. She took Anise and gagged her and tied her to a tree. The woman hid and waited for Lauren to approach. She loaded the rifle that she used to kill the bear. Now she would use it to kill Lauren.