Chapter 4
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Ella fared no better. Her radiation suit's pant leg was torn open by wire, exposing a mud-covered calf with several dried Decay Vine tendrils clinging to it.
"Camp's just ahead." Ella stopped suddenly, pointing to a low slope in the distance. Dozens of canvas tents dotted the hillside, supported by tent poles made from salvaged rebar. At the highest point flew a tattered cloth bearing a crude radiation symbol painted in red—the tribal emblem of the "48-Hour Brotherhood."
Jack's heart tightened as he touched the USB drive and helium-3 power cell in his backpack. He'd been gone nearly two weeks, with no idea how Lily was doing or whether Raymond Frost would believe his story.
As they reached the slope's bottom, two scavengers with steel pipes blocked their path. "Jack Steele? You've got some nerve coming back! Raymond said he'd break your legs if you brought outsiders to camp!"
"She's not an outsider," Jack pulled Ella behind him. "She's from Shelter 79 and knows how to activate the Purification Station. She can cure Phosphorescence Syndrome—including Lily's!"
The scavengers froze momentarily. One turned and ran toward camp while the other kept his pipe raised: "Wait here. I'll get Chief Raymond."
Soon a burly man emerged from a tent, a scar running from forehead to chin, clutching a polished machete—Raymond Frost.
Behind him followed over a dozen scavengers, all armed with either steel pipes or modified nail guns, eyes burning with hostility.
"You claim you can cure Phosphorescence Syndrome?" Raymond approached Jack, his voice rough as sandpaper. "Those Tech Hunters have made you stupid! Last month Walter Davis believed their bullshit, took our parts to find this Station—we couldn't even recover his body!"
"This time is different," Jack pulled out the Exl Terra note and USB drive. "I found Los Alamos' chief engineer. He gave me the Purification Station program. We need parts from camp and the Energy Core from the shelter to activate it.
If we provide the parts, he guarantees our camp gets purified first!"
"Parts?" Raymond laughed coldly, kicking a nearby scrap bucket that clattered away. "Those parts we risked our lives for in the Chicago ruins! Our generators need them to run! Our heating stoves need them! Give them to Tech Hunters and we'll all freeze to death this winter!"
"But if we don't activate the Purification Station," Ella cut in, "the Polar Vortex Storm will reach us in three months. By then, everyone will have Phosphorescence Syndrome. You'll have your precious parts, but no one alive to use them!"
"Shelter bitch, who asked you?" a scavenger behind Raymond snarled, raising his nail gun and aiming at Ella.
Jack lunged forward instantly, yanking Ella aside while his steel pipe cracked against the scavenger's arm. The nail gun discharged with a bang, firing into the dirt.
"ENOUGH!" Jack roared. "This is no time for fighting among ourselves! Lily's waiting for treatment in that tent—so are your families! Want to watch them end up like Walter's wife, glowing and rotting away in their beds?"
His words made many scavengers lower their heads. Raymond's expression darkened, but before he could speak, a scream came from the distance: "RAT SWARM! RAT SWARM COMING!"
Everyone turned toward the back of camp to see a dark mass of radiation rats charging their way. The smallest were cat-sized, the largest more muscular than dogs. Their fur was caked with mud, eyes glowing blood-red, rotting flesh hanging from their jaws.
"Weapons up!" Raymond shouted, charging forward. The scavengers raised their arms, striking at the rat swarm with pipes, machetes, and nail guns.
Jack pushed Ella into a nearby tent before turning to join the fight. His pipe smashed a radiation rat's skull, splattering green blood across his face.
Amid the chaos, a child's cry pierced the air—Raymond's son, Ethan Frost, had been hiding behind a tent. A stray radiation rat had latched onto his leg, teeth already tearing through his pants and drawing blood.
"Ethan!" Raymond tried to rush over, but two radiation rats had caught his legs, making it impossible to break free.
Jack spotted the wound on Ethan's leg and yanked out his half-empty bottle of iodine tablets. He rushed over, kicked the rat away, poured out two tablets, and stuffed them into Ethan's mouth. He tore a strip from his own shirt, dipped it in nearby boiling black rainwater, and bandaged the wound.
"Hold him down—don't let him move," Jack ordered a scavenger who ran over, before charging back into the rat swarm, pipe swinging.
After half an hour of fighting, they finally drove the rat swarm back. The ground was littered with radiation rat corpses, green blood pooling everywhere with a stench that could gag a man to death.
Raymond rushed over carrying Ethan. He noticed the bandage on his son's leg, then looked at the now nearly empty bottle of iodine tablets in Jack's hand, his expression complex.
"Thank you," Raymond said quietly. "But about those parts… I still can't agree."
Jack was stunned momentarily. Before he could speak, Raymond turned toward the tents: "You can stay for now. Lily's in the innermost tent—go see her. About the parts… I'll think on it more."
Jack stared at Raymond's retreating back, feeling anxious yet helpless. He knew Raymond wasn't a bad man—just afraid. Afraid that if he gave up those parts and the Station couldn't be activated, his people would have no chance of survival.
"Don't worry," Ella tugged his arm. "At least he didn't kick us out. We still have a chance."
Jack nodded and walked toward the innermost tent. The flap was sewn from torn canvas. He gently lifted it to find Lily lying on dry hay, her face pale, the phosphorescence on the back of her hand glowing brighter than before.
Hearing movement, Lily slowly opened her eyes. Seeing him, she managed a weak smile: "Brother… you're back."
"I'm back," Jack crouched and took Lily's cold hand in his. "I've found a way to cure you. Just hold on a little longer—you'll get better soon."
Lily nodded, leaned against his chest, and slowly closed her eyes. Jack studied his sister's face, his resolve hardening.
Whether Raymond agreed or not, he would get those parts and reach Colorado to activate the Purification Station. Even if he had to steal them, even if it cost him his life—he couldn't let Lily die.
He touched the helium-3 power cell in his backpack, then glanced at the sky outside. Gray clouds had begun to drizzle again—the harbinger of Black Rain.
He knew they were running out of time.
