The Vault

By Jason Halstead

Post Apocalyptic fiction in a world nearly destroyed by nature.

After the asteroid hit and the world was plunged into terrible winter not seen since the death of the dinosaurs, only a few select safeholds remained. Buried deep underground, the privileged chosen survivors waited until the fires were doused by the rains, and then the acid in the sky was washed out. A year later, when the rains ended, the best that America had left was sent out to find out what was left.

The world, they discovered, had changed. Rubble and ruin remained, but nothing lived. The trees were burnt and drowned. Landscape changed by mudslides and unimaginable weather. The planet was barren. Trees and grass burned up and washed away.

Yet life is stubborn, even in the face of extinction. If the survivors can only find one sign of life, one survivor, one reason to hope then perhaps humanity can rise again. Rebuild what it lost. Prove that they can overcome the failures of the past and become better than ever they were. But only if they can do it before something else kills them first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Novel Concept Publishing LLC
• Release date: May 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533775436

Jason Halstead

Jason Halstead has always had colorful stories to tell. At an early age that creativity usually resulted in some kind of punishment. At long last he's come into his own and has turned his imagination into an asset that is keeping thousands of people entertained. When he's not writing Jason spends his time with his wife and two children, trying to relive his glory days as a powerlifter, or developing new IT systems for his dayjob. He enjoys reading and responding to fan mail as well, so if you liked any of his books, don't be shy! Sign up for his newsletter, find him on the web at http://www.booksbyjason.com, email him at: [e-mail], or follow him on Twitter: @booksbyjason.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Marsh—I’m open!

Scott turned toward his teammate and saw the hulking figure of his opponent lunging into the open space between them. Scott bounced the basketball off the floor behind him, passing it to his other teammate who no one was paying attention to.

The ruse worked perfectly, giving Adam room to take three steps to the edge of the key before leaping into the air and landing his jump shot into the basket with nothing but net to slow it down. The crowd cheered and howled, rooting the Air Force team on.

Scott turned away, breathing hard but smiling, and jogged straight into a wall. He grunted and bounced back, and then looked up at the sneering face of the man he’d walked into—the same man who had tried to steal the pass that Scott never made. Watch it, Forrester, Scott snapped at him.

I’m just standing here, Jeff Forrester said. His voice was calm, unbothered by the exercise, and tainted with just a hint of an Atlanta accent. Y’all should watch where you’re going.

The ref blew the whistle, saving Scott from having to come up with something witty to respond with. He brushed past the Army Ranger and jogged back to be ready to play defense against the Army team. His gaze swept across the bleachers and paused when he saw Gwen sitting with one of her friends. She came to every game to root him on. He flashed her a quick smile before refocusing on the game at hand.

They were losing and it was already the second half. The biweekly games were one of the few things that kept everyone stuck in the vault sane. After a year of being stuck deep in the ground beneath the Catskill Mountains, everyone was more than a little stir-crazy. Reinventing a professional basketball league—made up of mostly amateurs—gave everyone a chance to focus on something other than being trapped underground while the Earth recovered.

The game went on and the Army team’s lead lengthened. Forrester was never far away from Scott, picking him for man-to-man defense instead of zone every chance he had. The sergeant was taller, bigger, stronger, and probably more talented, but Scott never gave up trying to outplay and outsmart him. At least not until the buzzer sounded and Army won the game, seventy-three to fifty-two.

Both teams gathered and walked off the court to make room for the next game when a woman in a suit stepped onto the court and waved for them. Senior Airman Marsh and Sergeant Forrester, you’re needed in the ready room right away.

Scott glanced at his former opponent and then looked down at himself. Shower first?

She gave them both a once-over. Yes. Report in uniform.

Yes, ma’am, Forrester said. He started moving again, cutting off Scott and leaving him with a scowl on his face.

Scott turned, looking at the audience again. Gwen was headed out and walking beside another aide. He frowned. Something was going on, but what? And why would he be called into the same meeting Jeff was called to? Forrester was a certified badass. One of the best of the best the Army had to offer; otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten the invite to the vault.

He pushed the worries away and hurried to shower and get dressed. Forrester was already gone by the time he buttoned the last button on his shirt and left the locker room behind. He ignored the irritation the man caused him and hurried through the underground refuge to the briefing room near the vault’s main door.

He presented his identification card to the guard at the entrance and pressed his thumb against the biometric scanner. It flashed green, clearing him after a second. Go ahead, Senior Airman, the guard said.

Scott nodded and stepped through the door that the other guard opened. Inside there were four rows of folding chairs set up in the rear of the room. In front of them was a long table with several people gathered around it. TV screens and maps decorated the wall behind the table.

Sergeant Forrester was there, of course, and so was Gwen. He recognized Gwen’s boss, Dr. Dolzek, and a few others who he’d seen Sergeant Forrester hanging out with in the past. Scott moved up to the table and stared down at the maps of the local area and several pictures that had been printed in black and white. Each picture showed devastated landscape, from mudslides to areas where forests had once been vibrant but were now left with little beyond fallen logs and sticks, many of them burnt and charred before being soaked with a year’s worth of rain.

An Army officer with a maple leaf on his collar looked at Scott before he cleared his throat. All right, everyone’s here. Sorry for the short notice, but our surface readings have finally changed enough that we think the worst is behind us. The rain stopped earlier today for a while and the sun broke through. It wasn’t much of a sunrise, with all the dust still in the air, but it’s the first sign we’ve seen since the asteroid hit.

It’s progress, but it’s not over yet, Dr. Dolzek said. There isn’t much that can survive through this, although the acid rains have been finished for months now. The asteroid was only the beginning of the chain of events that wiped out our planet. Tectonic shifting from the impact caused a release from the Yellowstone Caldera, but we lost contact with our satellites before we could identify how severe that was.

The scientist paused to gather his breath and his thoughts, giving Major Kelly a chance to speak again. All right, Dr. Dolzek, tell us what they’re likely to see up there?

It’s too soon, the scientist argued.

They told me planting grass in the fall was a bad idea too, the major said. But it came up in the spring before anyone else could even get sod in. We have to know what’s going on out there, Doctor, and we need to reestablish our presence.

Dr. Dolzek sighed. Well, the ground is beyond saturated with water. Extreme flooding everywhere, and I mean globally. The planet has been blanketed with ash and debris, increasing temperatures to the point where anything that could burn most likely did. The polar ice cap would have been severely impacted by this, and likewise Antarctica has presumably lost most, if not all, of its ice shelves. What tsunamis from the impacts and residual earthquakes didn’t flood, the rising water has. Coastal cities are gone, and that includes most of Florida.

Nobody’s headed to Florida, Kelly said.

Dr. Dolzek nodded. It would take months to get there if you did. I can personally guarantee the roads are in no condition to get you there.

The major looked at a couple of the pictures. What about temperature? You said anything that could be burned probably did.

That was post impact. The rains have settled things down but it is still unseasonably warm. The still-functional equipment on the surface has an average temperature of sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit, which is more than twenty percent higher than average for this area at this time of the year.

Excuse me, Forrester said. What about people? Wildlife too, but what about all the people?

Dr. Dolzek stared at the Ranger and said in a flat voice, Dead. Some might have survived, but it’s unlikely. Survivalists mostly, and they’d only manage to endure for a few months until their food supplies ran out. America built three vaults, but the one in the Rockies lost communication due to seismic disturbances. We have to presume they’re gone. There are other vaults created in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa, but that’s beyond our reach for the foreseeable future.

Everybody can’t be dead, one of the other Rangers whispered. His face was pale, paler even than a year without sunlight could make him.

Nearly all of the phytoplankton in the oceans was destroyed by the impact in the Atlantic Ocean and the following global winter and acid rains. Without that, the other fish will have struggled to survive, killing off all but the most efficient predators. Then, as their prey disappears, those predators will die as well.

He kept going, pausing only long enough to take a breath. On land, the forests, fields, grass, and crops have been destroyed, either burned up or withered by a lack of sunlight. The acid rains would kill what remains, even possibly soaking into the ground and destroying seeds and roots. Without vegetation, the insects and animals that depend on it will have run out of food. The food chain will break down, just like in the oceans, and larger animals will starve for lack of prey. Eventually that leaves what few humans managed to survive to that point, and with nothing to eat, they will have died too.

I bet you’re a blast at parties, Doc, Major Kelly said.

Get a few cocktails in me and I’ll really paint a picture.

Gwen smirked at her boss’s quip and then relaxed her expression.

Well, lady and gentlemen, there you have it. The president wants some eyeballs on the ground to tell us what things are like out there. Miss Pulotski will advise and take samples. Airman Marsh, you’ll be Miss Pulotski’s security. Don’t let her out of your sight. Lieutenant Dublin will be in charge of the Ranger team escorting you.

You’re all here because you are the best this country has. That’s why we were chosen for this vault, and why you’re being chosen for this assignment. You are the best, and I expect the best.

Scott met Gwen’s eyes and saw the worry in them. He flashed her a quick smile before turning back to find the major looking at him.

Airman, the Rangers are there to secure whatever needs securing and to reconnoiter the area. Your job is to protect Miss Pulotski, no matter what.

That’s always been my job, sir, Scott confirmed. Well, Dr. Dolzek and the rest of the science team too.

That’s why I chose you, Scott, Dr. Dolzek said. You’ve impressed me since day one. I believe Gwen is equally impressed, so don’t let us down.

Scott bowed his head to hide the heat in his cheeks. Either we both come back successful or neither of us do.

That’s not an option, Airman, the major said. You both come back and that’s final, even if it means you have to fight fire and brimstone.

Scott stiffened and met the major’s intense brown eyes. Yes, sir!

Chapter 2

Is this really necessary? Gwen whispered as she adjusted her armored vest. There’s nothing out there to be scared of.

Scott smiled. Probably not, he agreed. But better safe than sorry.

Life finds a way, Forrester said as he walked up to her and reached out without asking to tug on her jacket and test that it was secure under her raincoat. Marsh is right, for once. Better safe than sorry.

Scott’s jaw clenched at the Ranger’s treatment while Gwen sighed. Even if we did find a survivor, I don’t think they want to shoot me.

You’ve seen more than I have, ma’am, the sergeant conceded, but I’ve seen enough pictures to know it’s going to be wet and slippery out there. I can’t speak for you, but I know I sure don’t want a sharp stick or a rock poking that pretty skin of yours in an important place. This vest will keep you safe. Don’t take it off unless I tell you to.

Scott stiffened. You keep your eyes on the mission. I’ll keep my eyes on Gwen.

Forrester chuckled. I don’t blame you, but if you’re only watching her, you’re only seeing what happens to her, not protecting her from having it happen.

Scott scowled. You know damn well what I meant! Don’t twist my words.

Gwen lifted her milk chocolate-colored hands between them and said, Boys, please, can we keep this machismo on the basketball court?

Jeff smiled. Just doing my job, ma’am.

Scott opened his mouth to retort but the sergeant turned away and moved to double-check the gear of the other Rangers who were heading out with them. He hadn’t bothered himself with glancing at Scott’s outfit, rifle, or ammunition.

We’re heading out. You have your assignments and you know what to do. Rangers, lead the way!

Scott jerked his head up to look at the lieutenant as the other Rangers let loose with a combined, Hooah!

What assignments? Gwen hissed.

Stay close to me, Scott told her. You’ll be fine.

Did you get an assignment? Did I?

He shook his head. Other than keeping you safe, no. That’s how these guys work. They’re full of themselves but they’ll get the mission done.

The mission, she muttered. All right, I’m not leaving your side. Hope you don’t mind if I’m a little clingy.

Baby, I’ve been waiting to hear that for over a year now, Scott said and winked at her.

Gwen rolled her eyes. Then why don’t you ever try harder to stay over at night?

He gawked at her a moment and missed the squeal of metal against metal and hiss of neutralizing air a moment later. I didn’t think that was an option.

She shrugged and winked back at him. Maybe you should have tried.

Scott’s head swiveled as she moved ahead to join the Rangers waiting for the ten thousand-ton press to pull the massive inner vault door out of the way. Once the inner door retreated far enough for them to slip through, it stopped and the outer door began to grind. Metal creaked and popped until, with a clang loud enough to make Gwen cry out and duck, the metal door swung in. Rocks tumbled free from the cliffside the entrance had been built into, crashing to the stone floor of the chamber.

Warm, wet air swept through the growing breach and slapped them all like a wet blanket. Gwen gasped and stared at Scott. He smiled back at her while he felt the moist air blanket him. The influx of air brought in the smell of stale smoke and a hint of decay. Feels like I didn’t take a shower after the game, he observed. But I’ve never smelled that bad.

Secure that opening, Sergeant Forrester barked.

Two Rangers in the front jumped forward. One took the left side of the doorway and took a kneeling position with his M4 at his shoulder. The other moved to the right side of the eighteen-foot-high doorway and used some fallen rubble as cover to kneel behind. The Ranger on the left motioned with one hand, signaling a third Ranger to take his place while he sprang ahead and plunged out the entrance into the gloomy wilderness. A fourth soldier replaced the second and, a few moments later, the man at the door signaled a response to the men outside and called over his shoulder, Entry secure.

The lieutenant and sergeant moved up to the open doorway and stared at the ruined landscape. Holy shit, Lieutenant Dublin muttered. He turned his head enough to call back, Miss Pulotski, have a look.

Come on, Scott said as he led her up to the entrance beside the CO and NCO of the expeditionary force. He stopped and stared, awed by the scene. Lightning crackled nearby, sending thunder echoing across the barren hills.

Is everything going to look like this? Dublin asked.

Gwen pulled her hood of her rain slicker up over her head and stared at the devastation. Dark logs were scattered in the ditches along what used to be the road into the vault. Others lay across a great cleft where the road had been washed away. The southern edge of the small parking lot had plunged downhill into the valley in a landslide. On the far side of the washout, the remains of another landslide left mud mounded over the skeletons of a few Army vehicles. The sides of the hills and cliffs around them were stripped clean