all god's orphans

Downtown Kearney, Nebraska was like that airplane bone yard in the middle of the desert, except with discarded strip malls, and the landscape was just as flat and empty. North of I-80, US-44 shot directly up in a straight line directly into the city’s bustling heart. Raymond knew if he just stayed on this road, he would find a Wal-Mart and just past the Walgreen’s and the Hobby Lobby, there it was, on the right hand side, his reassuring sign of home. He pulled the RV into the parking lot and stopped. This town had been seemingly abandoned pretty quickly after the end. There were hardly any vehicles on the roads and they hadn’t seen a single person since leaving the highway. Come to think of it, that had been the case for about the last three hundred miles.

No stray cars littered the interstate. Every gas station and truck stop they had found was still stocked, but not a soul in sight. The Wal-Mart and the Payless Shoe Source here were no exception. Peering through the still intact glass doors of the supercenter, they could see row after row of food, supplies, everything they could possibly need. Raymond smashed the front door and let the feast begin. They grabbed canned peaches by the boxful, and more candy than an army of teenagers could eat. New clothes. Better shoes. Retail therapy, Millie thought to herself, just before lacing up her new hiking boots. Damn they were comfortable!

While everyone else was re-enacting a Toys R Us commercial inside Wal-Mart, Wes sat in the RV, delicately tuning the radio around the frequency that Raymond had given him for Valhalla. So far, he had heard nothing. Not even the faint hint of a response hissing through the noise. They were supposedly well within range of the special team that would come and greet them. After trying and failing to find anything, Wes consulted the general’s list of Bible verses and dialed up the one listed for that day. Nothing but static. Wes needed answers.

He waited until everyone was back from their shopping trip and made sure everyone heard him say.

“Raymond, we have a problem.” The party atmosphere didn’t quite sour immediately, but it did dim a bit. Everyone looked at Wes, waiting for him to elaborate. “I’ve been trying for seven hours to get a hold of anyone on the frequency you gave me. There’s no one there.”

“What?” Raymond looked genuinely confused. “What do you mean?”

“There’s no answer, Ray.” Wes said sharply. “Nobody is there.”

“But that can’t be.” He faltered. “We’re where they told me….”

“I know where we are.” Wes assured him. “And I know the range this thing has. If anyone was out there, I would have found them.”

“So we’ll try again in the morning.”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth, Ray?” Wes tried to make it sting slightly less. “I get it, you want your daughter to feel safe in this new world so you tell her a bedtime story, but maybe, you start to believe it?” Raymond took a step backwards. “Is that what happened?” Raymond shook his head.

“No!” He was insulted. “I have paperwork. Photographs. I have a receipt.”

“Can I see them?” Raymond straightened his spine.

“No.” He said. “I told you they’re…”

“Confidential.” Wes countered. “I know. That’s what you keep telling me, but we’re here now and nobody’s picking up the phone. So I have to insist now, that you show me the papers.” Raymond considered his options.

“They’ll be there.” He said.

“Where?” Raymond didn’t know how to respond.

“I don’t know.” He admitted. “But the papers are confidential.” Wes and Brian took a step towards Raymond.

“Raymond?” Brian said gently. “We need to see those papers.” Raymond could see there was no point trying to dissuade them further.

“All right.” He relented with a sigh. “Okay. Just wait here.” Raymond made his way to the driver’s seat and closed the curtain that separated the driver’s area from the living room. They heard him opening compartments and rifling paper. It was like he was trying awfully hard to sound like he was retrieving papers, but it was taking a long time. Wes was on the verge of opening the curtain when Raymond tore it aside himself.

“Here” He said, handing over a shiny black file folder. “This is everything they gave me.” Wes took the folder from his hand and examined the cover. It bore the name “Valhalla” in embossed, gold letters above a logo of a Norse helmet and sword. Inside were photographs of different levels of comfort. Two and three bedroom models. King size. A diagram showed the missile silo from the side, boring a cylindrical hole about fifty feet in diameter ten stories into the ground, with various rooms arrayed around its outer edge. There was a separate water tank and ventilation. Backup generators and solar panels would mean its inhabitants could ride out the end of the world in style. In the back pocket of the folder was a standard contract listing Valhalla’s parent company, something called Lester Allman Holdings LLC, but it was nothing interesting. Wes did find the contact page that listed radio frequencies, phone numbers, and even email addresses to use in the event of the apocalypse. He had tried them all already. Wes passed the folder to Brian, who flipped through it briefly before handing it to Millie. It was clear that Raymond was telling the truth.

“So now what can we do?” Asked Brian. “How can we find them?”

“We’ll just have to keep trying the radio.” Offered Raymond.

“I’ve been trying.” Said Wes. “It says right there in the file that they monitor that channel twenty four hours a day, seven days a week and guarantee your pickup within two hours. There’s no one there.” Raymond puzzled over this. He hadn’t considered that this plan would fall through. It was supposed to be apocalypse insurance and now it was the apocalypse. Had they not planned for it? That seemed like bad business practice to him. Millie tossed the file onto the table.

“I can find them.” Her machine announced. “I just need to get to a library.” They all turned to stare at her. “You know. That place with all the books.”