“Boy In The Bunker”

A mutant strain had been created in an unknown laboratory for the purpose of biological warfare, a silent drone attack then dispersed the substance into the air, creating a fatal mist that seized the village. Considered a test material for bio-warfare, then later classified as a virus, it proved to be fatal, as mutations and fatalities spread throughout the village. Although there had been other airborne agents before, none were as toxic as the classified virus, and would later be disclosed to have manifested during an experiment, mutating on its own, that rapidly grew out of control. It had been used for the testing of immune efficiency against viral and bacterial infection. However the fear and chaos created by its lethal potential was like nothing that had ever been experienced before. The small unknown village was among the first for the trial run, since it was considered to be far enough away from any metro area, should anything go wrong, which could then lead to catastrophic revelations. The experiment worsened when it was discovered that the deadly strain had been made too strong, causing fatalities from exposure in just eight minutes.

The teen boy had witnessed the devastation from the safety of a sealed concrete bunker under the house, where he had been tending to his model rocket collection, and heard the shrieks coming from the villagers outside. His name was Reg, he had made a model of the solar system, and was fascinated with rockets and space travel, having several completed model rockets and spaceships of his own. He liked to spend time in the bunker because it was where he had created his own imaginative world, where he could venture into the beyond.

The bunker was already there when his parents moved into the house, it had been left over from the war, and the family was considered fortunate to have obtained such a place. It was small in size, just eight feet square, having one small viewing portal just at the top of a corner where the concrete walls joined to meet the concrete roof eight feet above, it was just big enough to peer out at ground level, being just four inches high by eight inches wide. The small opening was filled with a thick piece of glass that had been taken from discarded stained glass used in a nearby church, then sealed with epoxy resin, some of which had oozed downward over the glass, leaving only a partial view through what had been left clear enough to see through. Beyond that was another eight inches of concrete to the outside of the structure, if the outside grass and dirt were kept up, one would have a partial view of the area directly ahead, however from the outside, the small opening was undetectable. Placing a wooden shoeshine box to stand on, was where Reg had witnessed what he could see and hear during the devastation, though muffled and with limited view, he was quite aware of the consequences, and knew that he must not stray from his safety inside the bunker. The bizarre occurrence would forever impact his life, and shape the course of his future . . .

Remaining inside the bunker for days afterword until authorities came to rescue him, Reg already understood all too well the reality of his parents fate, and that only he had survived . . . Saving what he could from his imaginative world of space to bring with him, he was then transported out of the village, and later relocated.

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The Mars Mission Site sprawled across the land that once was home to the small unknown village that had been forgotten after the viral fallout left the area devastated, and void of any life form, be it plant, animal, or human. Wiping out the residents quickly, before anyone realized what was happening to them, it was later dozed over as if it never existed, with the memories of that day buried along with it, also having been classified, but as an incident. The space program then began discovery of the beyond at a more accelerated pace, to know more about the options of interplanetary life, and would later would expand to the point of transporting humans to Mars for the purpose of regenerating new world colonies. The Moon had already been explored, with its own sub-colonies that had taken the discovery even farther, providing the foundation for the Mars expeditions, and the colonizers.

As he looked out over the enormity of the X-11 launch site from his tower office, Reg turned and reached up to a shelf where he had some rocket and spaceship models, as he adjusted the framed newspaper article about his rescue, in the photo he was holding one of the rockets displayed on his office shelf . . . he then looked out again across the site. Another mission to Mars was scheduled, and onboard would be more selected passengers for the new world colonies. Still after all the years, memories of his small unknown village being annihilated never left his mind, and was what had fueled his desire to learn more about space travel, to discover a better world, and to travel to the beyond . . .

Still devastation would follow, grinding more areas down to their charred blackened remains, while the need to explore the beyond became one with the need for survival, as time and life on Earth were held captive in uncertainty.

Only he knew that the bunker had survived, and where it remained entombed.

He was standing eighty floors up from it . . .

End ~
kentxsandersxwriter

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