Chapter 8: It All Starts Here
“This is bullshit!” Eli exclaimed in frustration. “We’ve been running missions non-stop for two fucking months! There’s five other Sweeper teams to choose from, send one of them instead. My team need some time off, for fuck’s sake!” Eli glared at the Lancaster Militia Captain who sat behind a wide, gray, steel desk in the captain’s office at militia headquarters.
After he turned twelve years old, the minimum age of enlistment, Eli joined the militia as planned. Child labor protection being non-existent post-apocalypse, all citizens of Lancaster were required to join the workforce by the age of twelve. Anyone who hadn’t chosen a profession by then would be assigned to the Mine Expansion crews by default. Hard, back-breaking labor using pickaxes and shovels to dig out new caverns for subterranean farms or underground housing, there weren’t many people volunteering to join Expansion crews. The government didn’t make any exceptions for the small population of men either, ‘equal rights’ meant everyone suffered equally.
Thanks to a recommendation from his mother, a well-respected militia officer, he was allowed to skip the probationary training period for new recruits, going straight into active duty. After a year of guard duty manning the entry gate, and two years on a Retrieval crew collecting scrap metal from the Wastes, Eli was eventually assigned to a Sweeper team. The Sweepers worked in four-person teams to clear Ferals from strategic areas, making safe zones for Retrieval crews to search for useful scrap. Eli quickly proved himself as one of the best performing Sweepers in the militia, and was put in charge his own team. At sixteen years old, Eli was the youngest of all team leaders, and the only male Sweeper. His rapid rise in status earned high praise from women, but drew the wrath of a few jealous and spiteful men.
“You misheard me, boy. I didn’t say your ‘team’ had a new assignment, I said ‘you’ have a new assignment.” Captain Henry Carell smirked as he stood from behind his desk. An arrogant middle-aged man with greasy, thinning hair, an expansive waistline, and not enough teeth, Henry didn’t exactly look like the typical military man.
“Just me? What the fuck are you talking about? That’s against Sweeper protocols. There’s no way the General would approve a solo mission.” Eli narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he watched the smug-faced Captain walk toward him.
“General Harper is on administrative leave for the next six weeks. I’m the acting General until she returns to duty, and I approve this mission. Now, boy, do you accept your assignment? Or do I need to have you arrested for insubordination? Honestly, either way is fine with me.”
This slimy bastard, he won’t be so arrogant when I outrank his stupid ass in two years. Should I humiliate him by making him scrub toilets with a toothbrush? No, I’m not that petty. I’ll settle for making him patrol the perimeter, walking in the desert heat all day.
“Fine. I accept. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I apparently have a mission to prepare for, and I’m wasting daylight here.” Eli turned around to leave the office. He crossed the room and was opening the door when Captain Carell spoke again.
“That mother of yours is still single, right? A fine woman like that, all alone at night? It’s sad, really. Maybe I’ll remind her what it feels like to be with a man while you’re gone. Who knows, if you make it back alive, you might have to start calling me ‘dad‘.”
“Pfft. Ahahahah! Are you serious?” Eli, head thrown back in laughter, turned to face the captain. “There’s no chance in hell mom would ever get with someone like you, not even in her worst nightmares. Here’s a small warning though; if you lay your filthy hands on her, she’ll cut off your shriveled little cock, shove it down your throat, and hang you to death using your own intestines as a rope. Trust me, that’s not an exaggeration.” Not bothering to wait for a response, Eli left the office and walked down a hallway leading to the supply room.
The quartermaster, a plump, friendly, older black woman with an enormous chest and a charming smile, was busy counting items and checking inventory. Because of her good nature, she was one of the few militia members Eli considered a friend, rather than just a workplace acquaintance. He walked up to the counter separating the storage area from the entrance, waved to the woman, and called out to get her attention.
“Hey Brenda!”
She looked up from her clipboard and flashed him a wide, friendly smile.
“Well, hi there, young man. What’re you doing here? I heard your team finally has a few days off. Did you miss me already and come to visit?” Brenda teased him playfully as she met him at the reception counter. Her cheerful attitude was infectious, making Eli chuckle along with her.
“As much as I enjoy your company, I’m here for business. And yeah, my team has time off, but Captain Dickhead just put me on a solo mission. Can you get me the usual team loadout, please? Even if it’s just me going out this time, I want the full amount of supplies. It’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
Brenda looked genuinely concerned, frowning with worry as she spoke. “A solo Sweeping mission? I knew Henry hated you, the jealous old fool, but I never thought he’d try to get you killed. I’ll get everything packed and have one of the recruits put it in your Roller. You just make sure you come back alive, okay?”
“Yes ma’am, I certainly plan to. Thanks Brenda, you’re the best. I’ll come visit when I get back, maybe bring you some of my famous jalapeño muffins.”
Brenda reached across the counter to pet his cheek. “Eli, sweetie, you’re welcome here anytime, but you better not bring those disgusting muffins into my supply room.” She giggled and shuffled off into the storage area.
Disgusting? My muffins aren’t disgusting…..are they?
Eli left her to her work, crossing the hallway and entering a locker room. Still doubting his cooking skills, he worked the dial of a combination lock until it clicked open, granting access to his personal equipment locker. He pulled off his civilian clothes and exchanged them for his Sweeper gear; steel-toed brown leather work boots, black denim pants, a tactical belt, a short-sleeve gray t-shirt, fingerless tan-colored combat gloves with reinforced knuckles, and steel-plate forearm guards painted to match the gloves.
*Sigh* I wish we had full riot gear I could use. If I have to do this alone, I’d rather be completely covered in body armor, and one of those huge riot shields would be nice too.
He closed his locker and headed to the weapons lock-up at the opposite end of the building. He punched his access number into the keypad of the electronic lock, waited for it to beep, then walked inside. The far wall was lined with weapon racks, to the left was a service counter in front of shelves stocked with ammunition, and a muscular woman with short brown hair stood at a gun cleaning station to the right. She laid down the rifle she was cleaning when the door opened.
“Eli.” She nodded at him.
“Kate.” Eli nodded back.
Kate returned to her work as Eli went about choosing which weapons he’d take, intent on grabbing as much as he was allowed. He chose an assault rifle with three thirty-round magazines, two 9mm pistols with four fifteen-round mags each, a machete, a hunting knife, and a sharpening stone, just in case. He laid everything out on the service counter, and the buff woman moved around behind it.
“I need more smoke balls too.” He said, watching Kate write up a list of everything he was taking.
“You and everyone else, kid. Production’s down until we get more disposable plastic. The trader who normally brings it hasn’t shown up in weeks.” She said without looking up from her notebook. After she finished listing everything, she began pulling ammo boxes from the shelves to load all his magazines.
While Kate was doing that, Eli went to a rack of accessories beside the repair table. He grabbed a shoulder strap for the rifle, a thigh holster for each pistol, and mag pouches he could attach to his belt. It took some time to strap the holsters securely to his legs and attach all the pouches to his belt, but it gave Kate enough time to finish what she was doing. As he collected his pile of guns and ammo, she added the holsters and pouches to her list.
“Thanks Kate.” He said, scooping up his blades.
“Mhm.” She simply nodded her head once more then went back to the cleaning station to resume her maintenance duties.
Eli slung the rifle across his back and headed for the building’s main entrance. Hinges creaked as he pushed the heavy metal door open. Hot, dry desert air rushed in, stinging his eyes as he stepped outside. The morning sunlight was blinding after being indoors for so long. Knife in one hand, machete in the other, he walked across the street to the militia’s motor pool, the huge metal barn-like hangar next to the mine’s entrance tunnel.
A young redheaded girl, who was loading supply cases into his team’s roller, waved to Eli. He waved back and went to the service desk to pick up the keys for his team’s car. The head mechanic, a middle-aged blonde woman wearing grease-stained coveralls, tossed the keys at him when he got within range.
“It’s fully charged, fully serviced, and ready to go!” The woman had to yell so she could be heard over the loud motor of an air-compressor behind her. Eli waved to show his gratitude and headed back toward the car.
The redhead shut the back door after loading the last of his supplies and ran to him, skidding to a stop and almost losing her balance.
“You’re all set Mr. Hawkins.” The girl said, her freckled face turning red from the heat. “I gotta go! Good luck out there!” She ran off without giving Eli the chance to say anything.
Damn, ‘Mr. Hawkins’, huh? I’m only sixteen, nowhere near old enough to be called ‘Mr.’ by anyone. Well, to be fair, I guess I do look older because of my height. Shit, and I guess I’m actually thirty-eight, if my time as Lucas is included.
Eli circled behind the car to the passenger side. He removed the rifle from his back and opened the front door so he could put his weapons in the front seat, ensuring they’re within arm’s reach if he needs them while driving. He was going to, anyway, except the seat was already occupied.
“Mom?”
She wore a skimpy white tank top that hugged her large breasts, exposing her deep cleavage and firm stomach. Her black shorts emphasized the curve of her hips and shape of her thighs. She used one hand to absentmindedly curl the ends of her golden-blonde hair, which hung over one shoulder. Julie was still the most beautiful woman Eli had ever seen. Her natural sex appeal mesmerized him. She was his personal temptress.
“Hi sweetheart. You ready to go?” She smiled innocently as she looked at him through upturned eyes.
“Heh. I should’ve known you’d do something like this. Let me guess, you found out what happened to me, tried to get the orders revoked, Captain Dumbass refused, and you decided to tag along with me, leaving all your office work to your assistant. Is that about right?”
“Yup. That’s pretty much it.” She took the rifle from his hands and closed the car door.
Eli shook his head and smiled at his mother’s overprotectiveness. He went around to the driver’s side and stashed his blades in the door’s compartment as he sat behind the steering wheel.
“It’s about eighty miles to the target area, we might not make it back until tomorrow afternoon.” He informed Julie as he started the car and pulled out of the parking bay.
“No problem. I brought spare clothes.” Her radiant smile made Eli forget his earlier frustrations.
They drove through Lancaster and passed through the gate. Julie hummed softly as they set off into the vast, empty wasteland. Eli enjoyed the comfort his mother’s presence gave him, but something was still bothering him.
“Hey mom. Are my jalapeño muffins disgusting?”
