The Passage

Judah moved stealthily through the darkened street towards a blue light, that was flashing in the eighth story window of a remote office building. Stella, who cautiously sniffed the air and occasionally growled at passing vermin, followed suit. It had only been a few days since the two had abandoned their scorched home, a small shack located in The Mechanized District of The Shore. Things had been running efficiently for almost a year, but it was only a matter of time before someone stumbled upon Judah. While out scavenging, raiders had ransacked and burned what little shelter they had to the ground, leaving the two high and dry. A trader named Del Osborn was the only person that Judah had ever seen venture into the factory region of town, probably because most folks though it was haunted. Del was a nice fellow and had often stopped to talk with the young man and his dog. He had warned of raiding parties in the area, but Judah ignored this saying the myths about The Mech District was better protection than any weapon imaginable. This confidence turned out to be his folly, but that was in the past. Judah would learn from his mistakes and continue searching for adequate housing.

Del had spoken of a sizeable colony to the north called The Compound, and beyond that the enormous city of Avalon, which was were Del had lived for most of his life. With little to no resources left in The Shore, Judah decided heading up Florida’s East Coast was the only possible option. He and Stella would walk first to The Compound, then on to Avalon which was closer to Georgia and would take a lot longer to reach. Since The Compound was more of a trading district, he doubted housing would be available, but it would definitely make the trip easier if he could find a caravan to ride along with. This wouldn’t be a problem though because raiders often attacked convoys and were always looking for extra guards.

As the duo neared the signaling construct, Jude removed his rifle from his shoulder and took cover behind a nearby planter. Raising a finger to his lips, he motioned for his Basenji to lay down. Stella stalked closer to him, her belly passing just above the grimy cement below. Through his scope, he could see that the surrounding area was vacant, which worried him. If there had been scavengers waiting to ambush travelers foolish enough to follow their beacon, he wouldn’t have thought anything about it. It had the makings of a trap, and at some point could have been one, but now the raiders had moved on, leaving their camp and belongings behind. A pistol surrounded by ammo, an recently extinguished campfire, cans of food halfway opened – Frozen in time, like the group had suddenly ceased to exist. Jude and Stella searched the camp quickly, making sure the owners were really gone. When he was sure they were safe, Jude whistled to Stella and the two made their way inside the building, hoping there’d be something waiting for them on the eighth level.

The security monitors behind the front desk had probably been out of service since before Jude was born, but the lobby elevators were still in working condition. The goons that had been holding up in the office building clearly knew a thing or two about mechanics, which most people Judah came in contact with would have called witchcraft. As the lift crawled upward towards the beacon room, Jude looked down at Stella, who was sniffing at his hand. It had been two days since they had eaten, so he knew how she felt. He massaged the top of her head, scratching behind her ear and smiled.

“As soon as we check this light out, we’ll go back down to that camp and get us some eats. Sound good, girl?” He asked, squatting next to her.

The dog licked his cheek and pressed her snout into his chest. The sudden ding of the elevator reaching their floor jarred them both, and Jude sprang to his feet. As the rusty old doors creaked open, Stella’s warning growl turned to a worried whimper. Judah stepped out into the dimly lit room, shocked at what they had discovered. The entire hallway was covered in gore. Bloody streaks running along the wall to the end of the corridor rounded the corner and disappeared into the darkness. The only illumination in the area was produced by the elevator and slowly disappeared as the doors slid closed behind them.

After a few moments of blind fumbling, Jude finally produced his torch and turned it on, causing the void around them to vanish. Following the trail of organs, the two soon found themselves in The Beacon Room. The bright blue police light rested upon a rolling desk chair, spinning around and beaming into Jude’s eyes. He moved quickly to the device and unplugged it from a small generator. Nearby lanterns provided enough luminosity to brighten the office, allowing Judah to solve the case of the missing campers. The floor was littered with bodies, most of which were in several large pieces. Disemboweled and torn apart, Jude couldn’t tell if they had been men or women, but honestly didn’t want to know. The idea of unidentifiable mounds of flesh seemed easier to swallow than knowing these piles once had feelings and a voice. He did what he could to cover the remains up, feeling that no one deserved this, even if they had done wrong.

After collecting ammo and some food, Judah and Stella resumed their trek towards The Compound. Even though the camp was clear and they both desperately needed sleep, it could wait until they were further down the road. Jude thought about whoever or whatever caused that massacre coming back in the night, only to find the two snoozing near a fire. It sent shivers down his spine, cementing their mission to reach safety. Stella barked suddenly and bolted off ahead, leaving a confused Jude in her dust.

“Stella! Where are you going!?” He cried as he chased after her.

When he reached her side, he was out of breath. The sprinting dog stared straight ahead, her tail wagging excitedly. Before them was a green military jeep, still sputtering black smoke out of its tailpipe. The driver, who Judah assumed was part of what he had started calling The Office Massacre, was slumped over the steering wheel. The cause of death looked to be blunt trauma to the back of the head, and bloody handprints on the back on the seats led Jude to believe one of the attackers stowed away as this camper had tried to flee. He gently removed the corpse from the vehicle and placed him on the side of the road. It was too late to bury the man, so again Judah covered him with a blue tarp he found in the bed of the jeep. This was how things were and always had been. People continue to live by scavenging the dead for resources. He found peace of mind by only taking from people that were already dead. Most killed innocents for supplies, which is why Judah hated being called a Scavenger. It was just a fancy word for Savage they used to justify cutting a man down over a can of beans.

The jeep still had a quarter of a tank and Jude had siphoned a little extra to bring along from the small generator back in The Beacon Room. Stella loved going for drives and hadn’t been in a moving vehicle for almost two years. She would often sit in the passenger seat of an old station wagon that had been abandoned near their shack in The Shore. Happy as a lark, she’d sit everyday for about an hour and pretend she was riding along a breezy highway. Now that it was really happening, she could barely contain her excited whines. Jude changed gears and pulled away from the mailbox the jeep had hit. With minimal damage to the front-end and enough gas, they headed north on the highway towards The Compound.

“We should get there around dawn tomorrow, Stell” Jude cried over the purr of the engine.

Stella let out a happy yelp and shuffled her bottom down into the seat. It was Post-Haust now, which meant Yule was right around the corner. Hopefully, they’d find a suitable home before the cold fronts moved in. Even in Florida, the weather could be deadly this time of year. It was hard enough fortifying the shack, so Judah did not want to be homeless when the snow fell.