2.0

Astra picked the radio transmitter and placed it on the table, pulling out its wire and plugging it into the socket on the floor close to the wall of the bunker. With a single click to the switch button, it started blinking a blue light and a small display screen came on.

All the people in the bunker gathered round her as she pulls out the antenna and begin to punch some buttons on the transmitter.

“This thing is like hundreds of years old. At this age, it could be said to even be a relic of the past. Can it even connect to the channels run by modern transmitters? But more importantly, can you even operate it?” Rhoda asked.

“If there is anyone here who can operate this thing, it is her. She has a huge old tech collection in her room when I visited it once before.” Jamie answered.

All of a sudden Rhoda’s attention left the table where Astra is trying to get the transmitter online and focused on Jamie, who, at the moment, is busy trying to take off his shoe.

“Did you just said you visited her room?” Rhoda asked.

“Of course I did,! Why would I lie about that?” he responded.

“I just can’t see how that is possible. I mean, I don’t intend to break the ice here but don’t you like ,….hate each other? At least I am sure you hate her. This is a fact everyone in our class can testify to.” Rhoda said.

Khan walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder. He looked at her and shook his head with a naughty smile on his face.

“That is because you joined us three months after the actual school semester started. You were not there to witness the early days of our class and the dynamics it had. When we first joined the academy, Jamie’s best friend was Astra, well, maybe calling them best friends is overstretching it, but she was the first person he befriended. She was smart and has plenty of interest in building gadgets, so they became friends, that is until she became more popular than him and he got jealous and started fighting her for it.” Khan narrated.

“So it must be within that time that she one day invited him to see her collection of gadgets?” Rhoda asked.

“Bingo, but it wasn’t him alone that was invited. She didn’t exactly invite the class herself, but her adopted mother, Professor Jada that asked us to come for a party she organized for Astra’s birthday.” Answered Khan.

Jamie has gotten embarrassed by the topic that they are suddenly describing out of the blue and left the table to the side where he removed his shoes and used them as pillows to lie down and close his eyes.

“If we can somehow make this transmitter work, we will send the first massage to my Grandfather, he is a decorated general in the federation Army with lots of influence, he’d be sure to help us get out of here,” he said .

Astra has not paid any attention to them. She has started calibrating the transmitter and setting it up to connect with the satellite frequency that help distribute the data and connect to any receiver from any part of the world.

After about thirty minutes of trial and error, the transmitter finally connected to the orbiting satellite frequency. It was finally online.

“Now the only thing that is remaining is to start sending out messages one channel after another, hoping to get through to anyone who can help is on the other side of the line to hear the massage.” Astra said.

She searched and found sixty-two available channels that she can connect to. She started connecting with it and talking.

“This is Chrome shelter. Do anyone copy? If you can hear this massage, we are stuck in the inner presidential bunker at the very bottom of the shelter. The shelter gates have been breached and the entire place has been compromised. Please send us support as much as you can, but if you are bringing civilians to the chrome shelter, please change your destination to other shelters.” Astra said, putting the transmitter to send the audio massage she has just recorded to be sent to all the other channels.

She left the table where Khan, Rhoda and Kate were standing, listening to the transmitter sending the message over and over again.

“I am hungry. We need to eat something.” She said and opened the store where the loads of protein bars were.

She picked two and brought them back to the table, however upon opening them, she immediately know that she cannot put any of them in her mouth, this is when they begin to realize that their situation is much more perilous than they were thinking.

The two protein bars that she has taken from the store have expired ten years ago and have completely decomposed. Although there is no foul smell emanating from it, it is obvious that it cannot be consumed.

“These bars cannot be eaten. They will make anyone that eat them to purge and dehydrate to death without any actual medications here. We have a serious problem, guys.” Mila said, putting the decomposed protein bars right next to the transmitter that is still sending the message.

They each suddenly gathered, including Jamie, who was trying to sleep earlier. They gathered up and picked a piece of the protein bars, each of them agreeing that it cannot be consumed because it can compromise the health of the person who eats it.

“Shouldn’t we check the rest of the food in the store to be sure this isn’t something that is only affecting a small section of the food?” Rhoda asked, and the group agreed to open the store and inspect the food.

Two hours later, the team has arrived at a conclusion that each of them wished was not true. There is no food in the bunker. There are two truths that they learned. The first one is that although the store is filled with boxes of the protein bars, only about one-fifth of the total boxes have the bars inside and the second truth being all the bars have already spoiled beyond the point where they could be consumed.

“We need to get out of here as soon as possible. I will start to sleep to conserve energy. If the transmitter finishes sending our message to all the channels, please wake me up to check it.” Astra said, walking to where Jamie was lying down earlier, took off her shoes and used them as a pillow, closing her eyes.

TWO DAYS LATER

It took two days for the transmitter to finish its connection with all the available channels and send the message to all of them. Each of them is trying to conserve energy and as little as possible, although there is sufficient water for them to drink, they have also realized that the oxygen tank has been leaking and they have at most a week’s worth of air to breathe.

“This is the Global Human Federation Floating fortress. Who is on the line?” the transmitter said.

Khan sprang to his feet and shouted, get up everyone, we have managed to reach the floating fortress.

Astra stood and ran to the table, picking up the transmitter and pressing a button. Then she said.

“This is the Chrome shelter. We have been breached and are about to starve to death. The shelter gate was breached and all survivors in the shelter were wiped out. We are the only five survivors left.”

“State your names and city that you fled from. We may be able to give you a location that we can pick you off of if you can make it there.” The voice of a man said.

“Astra, Rhoda, Kate, Jamie and Khan. Four of us are survivors from Chrome city and one person is a metallurgical engineer that got stuck here when it happens.” Astra responded.

“Did you just say Jamie? Is this Jamie Cage? from the family that owns the Chrome well company?” The man on the transmitter asked.

Before Astra could say anything, Jamie has snatched the transmitter away from her and answered.

“Grandpa? Is this really you?”

“This is me kiddo, I am so happy to learn that you are safe where you are right now, after learning that there are no survivors from Chrome city since a pillar landed there, killing all that is in the city. Stay right where you are inside the bunker. In the next two days, the fortress will be docking near the shores to the western ocean line, where the largest Naval fleet currently is. There are lots of civilians that have taken refuge on the ships as well. Our data shows us that they cannot swim as of yet, but our evolutionary biologist says that it may take less than a month for them to be able to swim. Once we make it there, I will send a special squad to Extract the four of you”. The man said and ended the connection.