• Chapter 1: Wasteland

    It was over. And Alan knew it. The siren… The screams… The brilliant flash… And finally…
    Nothing.
    After what felt like hours, Alan had awoken. Am I… dead? He thought to himself. He opened his eyes slowly. All he could see was dust. He got up. Only minor injuries. He looked out into the distance past the rock and debris. There it was, an incredibly large cloud shaped perfectly like a mushroom. The nuke. Radiation. Explosion. Why did I live? Questions not one person on this earth could answer.
    He looked down, eyed his lucky SCAR-H and strapped it onto his back. The front page of the New York Times blew over onto his foot. He picked it up and looked at it. The date read March 27, 2011. The headline read No sign of war ending soon.
    “You sure got that right.” Alan agreed aloud.
    Once again, he looked around to clearly believe what he was seeing. He wasn’t sure he really could believe it. What was once the busy, bustling, New York City, is now a dusty, barren, debris ridden…Wasteland.
    “What did America do to deserve this?” He questioned himself.
    “Oh right. Heh. We started a war.” He answered himself.
    He felt as though he were going mad already. Five minutes in a barren wasteland was really all it took to drive a US Army Ranger Sergeant insane? I mean he was talking to himself.
    “This is waayy different from Call of Duty.” He groaned.
    Alan then fell back onto his butt. He was very lonely now. He lay back and thought about his family. He never even dreamed war would be brought to the United States and now here he is, sitting in the middle of the remains of what appears to look like a post-apocalyptic New York City. He stood up.
    “Those goddamned Russians!” He yelled in extreme anger. “We are at war with them and we don’t kill their civilians! Now what makes them think they can go around and blow up our most populous city?! That is millions of innocent lives!” Alan was absolutely pissed off.
    He rubbed his head. Mood swings, talking to myself… I am going mad.
    Then, the most miraculous thing happened. The sound. The frequency. It sounded like a rescue helicopter. But Alan had just confirmed himself mad, he assumed it was only his imagination.
    The sound then seemed to get clearer, much more real, he turned around. There it was, a friendly Apache. But that’s a gunship. But it sure does seem to be looking for survivors. Alan quickly got out his flares and lit them. He ran around and franticly waved them back and forth trying to get the helicopter’s attention. It kept going. He couldn’t get its attention.
    Minutes passed by.
    Hours passed by.
    Alan was tired. He then lay down on the ground and fell asleep on the spot.
    Only a few minutes had passed. Alan was awoken by the sound of the gunship. This time, it was coming his way. He was ready to try again to get its attention. He reached for his flares. But first he realized, not only is it coming his way but it is also descending at a rapid rate. Alan walked forward towards it.
    The chopper then touched ground blowing so much dust into Alan’s eyes, it was almost impossible to see. Alan was incredibly relieved to know that he was being rescued. He thought he would be back with his pals at the barracks, but he had almost forgotten. A nuke went off, they were with him at the time. They are probably dead.
    “Come on! Hurry up! Get in! Do you want this radiation to kill you?” yelled what appeared to be General Marcus standing out the side door of the Apache.
    As Alan was walking towards the helicopter he thought Ah Marcus… One of very few generals who actually go out into battle.
    Alan then got in the Apache and sat down. This wasn’t a transport helicopter so the inside was very confined. General Marcus then sat down next to him. General Marcus was a nice guy despite the way he looked with his strong build, tattered face and very thick, graying mustache.
    “How ya doin, son?” Marcus asked with his deep, booming voice.
    He always calls soldiers under 30, son. I’ve always wondered why. He thought.
    “I’m doing fine.” He replied
    “Wait just a second.” Marcus said. “You’re Sergeant Foley!” He exclaimed.“Well I’ll be… You were out there fightin’ when that nuke went off and I’m sitting here talking to you, an’ yer responding to me like yehv only had a bad night! How in the hell did you live through that thing son?!”He asked in complete astonishment.
    “That’s a question I can’t even ask myself sir.” He replied in a slight monotone.
    Alan looked back out the window. All he could see was the perfect mushroom cloud and the now desert of Manhattan Island.
    “I feel horrible” said Alan. “How could we let all those innocent people die? It’s not like they did anything to deserve to die.”
    “Don’ worry about it Sergeant, we evacuated the city before the Russian forces had moved in. But I’m not so sure that all people within a…who cares radius will survive. That radiation is deadly. By the way you are very lucky. After that nuke went off and we flew over where you were, our Geiger Counters stopped ticking, period. You were in a patch of radiation-free air which almost closed up once we got to you. That’s another reason you lived.”
    Alan stared with his eyes wide open and jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
    “Ah I have seen many nukes go off, in other countries of course, in this time of nuclear war, and you, son, are the only one I have ever known to survive one of those destructive hunks of metal that close to the explosion. You know you were only three miles away?” said Marcus
    “You can’t be serious.” Alan replied in amazement. “When I woke up I didn’t even know what part of New York I was in anymore. I guess we didn’t build very sturdy buildings for that city. I mean it looked completely flattened.”
    “Well…” Marcus sighed. “You know. Things happen. It’s hard to change the way people think. What happens, happens.”
    “So where are we heading to anyway, sir?” Alan asked.
    “We are heading back to base in Arizona” Replied Marcus. “But yehv only got 3 weeks to rest and then yer right back to it. I received info from our agent that we have Russian foot mobiles and air support heading into Washington D.C in 1 month and if we don’t win that little tango, we may risk losing everything, so I’m not going to give some special treatment to you just because you survived a nuke.”
    “Yes sir” Replied Alan.
    “Aight’ let’s get you back to base and get your radiation levels tested just in case, and maybe I’ll let you go home for a little while and see your family or finish up anything you needed to do because America won’t be disturbed until one month from now.” Said Marcus.
    Marcus then went back up to the cockpit to sit with the pilot. Alan leaned back and thought of what he was going to do when he got home… And what would happen to him when he got back into war.
    Hours passed by.
    He thought about all the ups and downs of him going back into war. He thought about things such as being able to use his favorite gun, a SCAR-H, model #11 with a red dot laser sight and a mounted shotgun on the grip. What a beautiful gun it was with a red tiger camouflage finish and sleek design. It shot slow, but very crisp and powerful with recoil that felt like a massage on his shoulder. Nothing can compare to this gun. He thought. Except maybe being able to have one of those Thermal sight ACR’s with a Heartbeat sensor and silencer that those winter task force teams get to use.
    Alan fantasized about all the great weapons he could possibly get to use in war. Alan likes being a US Army Ranger because he gets to endure all the excitements of war. The adrenaline rush, the feeling that some moments may be your last. It excited him. He thought about all these things. Then he realized one thing. What if he really did get killed? The thought flooded into his mind and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He wondered what dying was really like or what happens. Alan wasn’t religious or anything like that so he had no clue about heaven or hell or any of that. It was that thought that scared him.
    Alan was terrified until he realized yet another thing. He had luck. He remembered the nuke as it went off. He knew for sure he would die and had no doubt about it but yet, he lived. It was pure luck that the nukes radiation didn’t kill him. With his thought of luck in mind, he pushed away the thought of death.
    “Ya doin alright back there, son?” asked General Marcus from the cockpit.
    “I’m fine.” Replied Alan.
    Alan looked out the window once more. He examined the landscape as the gunship flew peacefully overhead. All those towns, all those people. They just seem blissfully unaware that a horrible war has been brought to our country. Alan thought. He was right too. Not one person in the US could ever dream of a World War coming into play within their own country. The towns were all at rest peacefully. If this war ended badly, no towns would be left, anywhere. It was their job to keep this nation protected.
    “General Marcus, sir” said Alan. “Why are we taking a helicopter all the way to base in Arizona?”
    “Well from where I was this was the only transport I could get and that nukes explosion was so powerful, it damaged our communications. Besides, who knows where the radiation spread out to so it wouldn’t help calling in for transport in that area. We’ve been flying for about 3 hours so we will need to stop for fuel soon. You can stretch out there. It should be another 9 hours after that.” Replied Marcus.
    “Yes sir” Alan replied.
    It seemed pretty ridiculous in his mind but he had to go with it.


    It was another hour before they decided to actually land for fuel. They stopped at a small barracks located somewhere in Kansas. They refueled for them even though it was a Marine Corps base.
    Alan hopped out. It was late in the afternoon. Alan stretched out and sat down on a bench in the courtyard to bask in the warm sunlight. He thought it was nice to be able to be back on the ground. He looked around. It was a pretty nice area. It was very lush with much green grass, many fields and meadows of beautiful flowers, the rolling hills. The area seemed to be filled with spring feeling and delight. Alan spotted a road in the distance. It was very straight and went by a farm. Doesn’t seem like the place you would put a military barracks. Alan thought. Either way he thought it was a nice place to be before he had to go back into that cramped helicopter.
    Alan sat in the sunlight a little while longer. He took out a cloth to wipe his gun off with. As he was wiping his gun off, the recruits of this barracks came out side to see what the commotion was. It was a fairly small group but they were obviously recruits due to their shiny new clean look. They walked over, thinking they were superior, and plopped down into the seats next to him just to start trouble.
    “So where are you from?” Asked the one who looked like a fitness instructor.
    “The Arizona base.”Alan Replied.
    “I didn’t know we had a base in Arizona.” A little scrawny one said.
    “That’s because you don’t” said Alan. “I’m a Ranger, not a Marine.”
    “Oh well that makes much more sense.” The same boy replied.
    “So a Ranger, eh?” said another one who quite resembled a stereotypical middle school bully. “How did a tool like you make it into the Rangers? What rank are you? Meatsheild?” He taunted. He laughed along with his squad mates.
    Alan was getting a bit annoyed now “I don’t know RECRUIT, why don’t you ask my sergeant badge?”
    “Oh, excuse me sergeant” He replied sarcastically. “I bet we’ve seen more action than you.” They all agreed.
    Purposely changing the subject, Alan said “So, fellas. You hear about that guy who survived that nuke in New York?”
    “Ya we heard about it. Another replied. “Why?”
    “Because it was amazing from what I hear.” Alan said. “And I was the first to know. Umm.. I forget his name… what was it uhhh…” Alan fake-pondered.
    “Alan Foley!” The scrawny one yelled out. “Anyways did you know him?”
    “Know him?” Alan exclaimed. “Well guess what recruits… you’re looking at him.”
    They all burst into a huddle of whispers. “No way! Nope that’s bullshit. It can’t be. Maybe the radiation mutated him. Go touch him. DAMN. I doubt it. I wonder what that felt like.”
    They broke apart. The bully said “Prove it!”
    Alan flashed out his dog tags coolly. They all leaned in to get a closer look.
    “Yep, can’t get any clearer than that.”
    “Agreed.”
    Alan heard the yell of General Marcus to get back to the helicopter. Alan said bye to all the recruits and walked back, where he greeted General Marcus and got back into the helicopter.
    Alan knew General Marcus tended to brag about his soldiers to his friends and fellow high ranking officers. Without even being told, Alan also knew that Marcus had somehow told them about the nuke already. He hoped he they didn’t pass it on, because he didn’t feel like getting bombarded with questions and people when he got back.
    Alan was a person who did a lot of thinking. He always argued about things as well even though he probably couldn’t win the arguments. Alan also questioned many things, such as why General Marcus had weird ways of commanding his army. Another weird thing is that he decided to use a helicopter to go from New York to Arizona, which takes forever.
    It doesn’t matter. Alan figured he needed rest, so he went to sleep.











    Chapter 2:

    Alan was jerked awake by General Marcus after what seemed like five minutes later. He couldn’t really collect the sight of his surroundings in his mind so he tried to open his eyes.
    “Ugh. What time is it? Are we there yet?” Alan asked as he attempted to get up from his deep slumber.
    “We are here. Things aren’t good, according to the latest reports. Even though we saw the nuking of New York coming, and set a warning, the country is in extreme terror. No civilians have been killed from the initial explosion but many people have already gotten radiation sickness. This war isn’t turning out too good. We’ve actually been here a while but we decided to let you rest.” General Marcus explained.
    Alan got up and looked around. He had just realized where he was. He was in his bunk. Apparently they must have carried him out. Alan hoped for dear life that he wouldn’t draw attention. The people in this base were always easily amused and way too involved in what they do. Seventy percent of their conversations are about how many enemies they’ve killed or the battle plans or the new load of guns. They treated war like a game. Although, it was quite humorous to listen to the sniper squads brag about headshots and argue about bolt-action snipers versus single fire snipers. Alan always laughed at this because it sounded so stupid. The nuke in New York had made them more hushed recently. It wasn’t a happy time.
    “So I’m assuming everyone in the base knows about my nuke survival, correct? I personally think it’s not a very brag-worthy achievement.” said Alan in a sarcastic tone.
    “Yep, I told the officers before we got here.” Replied General Marcus.
    “How? I thought the communications were damaged?” Alan was confused. If the communications weren’t damaged, then they could’ve contacted for transportation.
    “We’re not all that old school here in the military, Foley. We still have personal communications, which I had used to call up the other officers and tell them. I knew they would tell the troops because, like the troops in this base, they are easily amused and like a good story. I did you a favor and told them to tell the troops that you are radioactive and they should keep their distance. So, no one will bother you for a while.” Marcus told Foley.
    “Ok good. I hate a lot of attention” replied Marcus.


    Alan got out of his bunk and walked around the room. This was a rather large base. He walked outside and examined the area, as he hadn’t been at base for a while. The base was in a pretty secluded, dry flat area. There was some plant life that included grass and dry land shrubs, almost giving the impression of a savannah. They were near the Arizona desert after all. The base itself was very large and consisted of many buildings. Most of the buildings looked the same as they were the bunking areas for the troops. After those you have the lounging building, where the troops can relax, hang out, and do most things they can do at home. There was the cafeteria building, and a few more.
    Even though you had a lounging building, most of the troops spent there time outside. There was a lot to do. You could play sports because they had a basketball court and a soccer field, which most of the time was used for football. There was a decent sized shooting range where the guys could tune up on their aim and skills. They let you practice using any of the weapons you were trained to use (even though it’s not that hard to figure out how to use any of the guns).
    Alan’s stomach growled in the middle of his thought about the place. He hadn’t eaten in a while. It was lunch time anyway, so he went to the cafeteria building where he had gotten <insert food item and drink here later> and sat down at the table nearest him. to his surprise, some guys came over to sit with him. He remembered how his squad mates had been killed in the nuclear explosion and realized he had no one to talk to or really converse with at all, as they were the only ones he had ever really made any contact with, aside from the officers and General Marcus, at this military base.
    Alan looked up at the people sitting with him. They were sitting there on the other side of the table looking at him as if they were carefully examining some fine piece of artwork.
    “How can I help you?” Alan asked, as the silence at the table was making him feel quite awkward.
    “We heard about you and what happened, obviously we knew you being radioactive wasn’t true or else…” Alan interrupted them before they could finish what they were saying.
    “Jesus God almighty! What is it with everyone being so impressed and awestruck at something so small?! I mean, it was a ******** nuke! No different from a regular bomb except the fact it’s much more explosive and had radiation spread! People who survived Hiroshima didn’t get this much attention, did they? All of you guys are easily distracted, easily amazed and find everything worth talking and spreading rumors about! What does it take to make you stop?” Alan was on a rage. He couldn’t seem to stop. It was infuriating him that so many people had to be amazed at his story. It was horrible for him. All of his squad mates were dead, who were the only friends he had here. It seemed like he was the only one who realized that one of the major cities in our great nation has been nuked.
    “Okay. Jeez. No need to be so assertive!”

    [END PART 1]