Ok, so after much brainstorming, I have a somewhat solid plan to get the information I need. The main idea being to take a devoted, talky-stony equipped person to the outskirts of london, where my knowledgeable acquaintance resided and probably still does.

At least if my sister cared a little bit about what was said in my testament …

Now the actual difficulty involves finding a person which possess good enough equipment to travel in a radiation infected area without dying instantly and get to the shelter where that acquaintance is supposedly situated. The heat vision not proving as helpful as expected in the still fuming rumbles of a nuclear blast … Who would have known ...

Anyway, back on topic, it’s in the goody-willy selection part that things got a bit hairy …

Especially since there is now quite the time limit ...

To resume the situation, although quite a few people had bomb shelters due to the various menaces brought by the second cold war, quite a few of them were not quite prepared for the improvised apocalypse that followed the nuclear attack. A bit more than a week has already passed and well, let’s say that most people are now permanently unable to do the trip, even if they wanted to.

Especially in london’s area …

Also, since I want my future devoted goody-willy to keep being useful, mostly since I’m dirt poor, I can’t choose any random person. I thus spent a good amount of time scouting around before finding our hero of the day.

Let us thus make the grand introduction of the chosen saviour !

I, Cyndric, the powerful god, the mighty destroyer of worlds, the ...

No wait, that was definitely Dan’s fault … I can’t legitimately call myself a destroyer of world if Dan was the responsible right ? Ok, let’s not sweat the small stuff, mistakes happen. Let’s restart the introduction ...

*hum hum* I, Cyndric, the godly defender of Earth, the divine coffee machine, the mighty dung-beetle, the fabulously bright eco-friendly bedside lamp, proudly announce that a human hero has been chosen to do my bidding onto Earth ! Let us all acclaim the vaillant existence of Patrick, the starfish !

Oh wait no, my bad, it’s actually just Patrick the army major. Now commanding the Robertson barracks base in the Norfolk county. A good 160 kilometer northeast of London.

Do I need to go again ? I mean, I like the speech vibe and all but you guys got the gist of it right ? Yes ? Good, Let’s proceed then !

So, the base is not quite close but it’s the closest I actually found …

At least the closest remaining base … That apocalypse was a bit on the violent side ...

The Robertson base even ate two remains of tsunamis during the apocalypse. Fortunately, more than two third of the personnel remained alive thanks to the a reactive major, much local hill climbing and crucial sandbag placing.

Their equipment suffered quite a lot but they still kept a few jeep in working order so everything should be mostly alright. Even more since they have quite the stock of gas mask and other useful equipment in this situation, like iodine pills … They have been doing so well that they even started a local rescue mission in the county of Norfolk, a good number of survivor have already been collected in the local sport hall.

Food has also been collected along with various medical necessities. In short, they got a nice things going on in the region. They have however encountered a small problem which should soon prove to be more or less very lethal …

In short, it’s dusty as fuck and getting dustier …

Fortunately for europe, it was not in the most volcanically active region on earth. Although there are now quite a few new volcanoes around, we are still far from the situation in asia, that’s a whole other level of dusty.

And a whole other level in death count too … That’s what happen when you push more than two third of the population of the globe is such a small area …

Whoever launched those nuclear bomb definitely holds an uncontestable high score ...

To get back on topic, unfortunately for our coughing little base, that also mean that most of the dust they have been encountering are fallouts …

Useless to say that all non nuclear apocalypse equipped citizen will very soon die from inhaling that dust. And when I mean very soon I mean that quite a few of them are already in a critical situation ...

I would very much like to say that the citizens that could join nuclear shelter, now have a much better chance to survive but, as it turns out, bomb shelter are not quite tsunami proof … being underground and all that …

It also turns out that, very surprisingly, human cannot breath under water !

Thus a lot of the inhabitants of the coast’s shelter now sleep with the fishes …

They even have their own little underground aquarium…

And if that’s the situation in the UK, you guys can probably imagine how the Netherlands suffered … Sucks to live in a country where most of the land are below sea level when tsunamis comes waving around …

Anyway, we are digressing again, let’s go back to our army major. Fortunately for them the guy quickly realised the danger the fallout brought and immediately equipped his men and the earlier mentioned citizens with huge amounts of gas masks and iodine pellets. Unfortunately they will still all die from various level of skin based radiation poisoning since they only had so much protection suit, but at least not so fast that I can’t use them ...

Let’s say that most of them have around 6-7 months to live before their organs start to have various level of lethal failure … Our favorite starfish comprised … That guy gave all the suits to the civilians, especially to pregnant womens and children.

Strangely the local feminist did not complain with that particular inequality ...

Anyway, those months will fortunately be plenty enough time to get my information, even more since my acquaintance is definitely not going anywhere … Well, if it is there to begin with, of course ...

So, the plan is first to experiment a bit with the brainwashing menu. I want to know how responsive to vivid dreams bob sponge’s best friend proves to be. Then we will get him to be loyal to our cause and, if that proves insufficient to get him to go to the outskirt of london with a small regiment, we will change him into a brainwashed goody-willy.

Dropping the talky stony will be done at the very last second since I can’t get them back once dropped on Earth. Thus why I want to be careful when handing out those items to mortals, I can’t really afford a last second fuck up with the amount of resource I have in my disposition ...

Oh yeah, and for those who don’t get why I don’t just drop the orb directly to my acquaintance. Three remarks. First that wouldn’t be the smartest move since I can’t be completly sure of it’s position. As I explained earlier, the heat vision doesn’t work and the other visions didn’t really prove more useful ... It’s dark in there so the normal vision is comletly useless and even if the line vector view gave me the outline of what I could be looking for, it’s still just that, an outline … not a confirmation ...

If my acquaintance somehow went for a walk through the apocalypse, which would be surprising in more way than one, this would end as a waste of our limited edition talky-stony ...

Secondly, by dropping the stone to our favorite sea friend, I will get to make lots of tests to confirm the extent of my power. Which is not only nice, but also necessary if I want to save the world long term.

Finally, even without all that, it still wouldn’t work. Why ? Well, that person is probably sleeping soundly right now … must have been the case since the beginning of the apocalypse actually …

So let’s get on with our big plan !

First objective, waking our sleeping beauty !

Let’s roll !

***

“So what do we do, we need to work some kind of plan or else we are gonna starve ...” Asked Frank while looking at the others. They were all seated in a circle, a lamp between the four of them to get some light, speaking in low voices as not to wake the children.

“We know Frank” dropped an exasperated George. “I just went near the first hatch to get the radio working, they still ramble the exact same things they have been saying this whole week. We are not to get out under any circumstances and await rescue ...”

“Yeah, that was kind of expected … but still” Said Frank

“I know ... we have two protective suit stashed somewhere in here. The plan would be for two of us to get out and collect everything useful from the neighboring houses. Not forgetting toilet paper this time. I doubt the neighbors would complain, it don’t think anyone else had another nuclear bunker in the village ...”

“Yeah, we should not forget thanking that grandmother of yours if we meet in heaven, the crazy old women saved us all ...” Mentioned Alice from the side. She had the time to see everyone doing a faint nod before she continued. “We just need to decide who stays … and who goes for supplies ...”

The assembly grew strangely silent for a moment. George was the first to speak “It’s ok, I will ~”

“No, you won’t” Interject Marie, not giving him the time to finish. “You won’t and that’s final.” She turned toward the others while emphasizing the final. “Without you two we wouldn’t be alive, we should be the one taking risk in this situation ...”

“You don’t have to reason like that Marie, we nev ~” continued George

“I said no, George ! Even without taking our gratitude into consideration, that’s still the best option. I’m a teacher, Frank is a Gardener and Alice is an hairdresser. You however, you are a fucking army engineer. You have been fixing things like tanks and jeeps for years and you have probably ten times more chance to survive than the rest of us combined ...”

Everyone nodded, not all quite happy with the remark but at least agreeing with the logic behind it. However George frowned, that was partly why he wanted to be the one to go outside. He did not really trust the survival skills of his friends …

“Frank and me will go out, that’s the least we could do. If push comes to shove we will reduce our ration so that you two can survive. In return, we want you to keep our Jenny safe … That’s all we want” she finished, her eyes downcast and hands clenched.

“Marie, we … you …” tried to say Alice. She then shook her head. “I have known you for years, I know that when you have an idea in your head, it’s impossible to get you to do anything else ...” Marie nodded, smiling. Alice smiled back “Then I will just say this … Thank you, a lot.” She finished, bowing her head.

“Do you still have an axe in your garage George ?” Interrupted Frank

“Yeah, should be above my tool cabinet …” responded the army engineer

“Good, I will borrow it for a while, might be useful to get across a few doors … Also, I will be going out. Alone !” Frank added.

“No Frank, you won’t !” Said Marie, suddenly standing up to look down on her husband.

In response he calmly stood up too and took her in a bear hug. “I’m never letting my sweet wife getting out there in so much danger. You can protest all you want but you’re not coming, no matter what !”

“Frank !” she said, trying to force her way out of the hug.

“Marie ! I can be stubborn too ! Jenny needs you … I need you … no matter how much you argue, I won’t let any arm befall on you two … I don’t care if it costs me my life !” he said, hugging her harder.

“She needs you too dumbass ...” cried Marie softly, releasing the tension she had been accumulating in the last few days. Finally hugging back her husband. Turning toward the other couple who sat awkwardly on the ground, now holding hand, Frank spoke again.

“Show me where I can find a protective suit, I will make sure to come back with food and water for months. If need be I will even walk to the next town !”

George rose up, heading for the some cardboard box near the exit. Frank released his wife, kissing her before finally letting go. He then followed his friend, quickly catching up.

While looking inside a box, George spoke again “Don’t forget to get some toilet paper. If you also find us more plastic bags, our poor asses would be eternally grateful.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t forget. In my interest too” responded the tall man with a fake smile on his face.

“Also ... make sure you come back !”

“I will ! But, in case I don’t … I’m counting on you.”

George nodded, handing a silver protective suit wrapped in a plastic bag to his friend. Frank took it with both hands which, due to the stress, were quite sweaty. Yet, despite all that, his grip was firmer than it had ever been.

***

Screaming, a man woke up from his slumber.

“Major, are you alright ?” came a voice from a nearby bed

“I … What … no … Where am I ? Where is she ?” Asked the major, realising he was crying.

“Oi Patrick, calm down, some people are trying to sleep here” Interjected the voice of a grumpy captain from three beds away.

Slowly coming to his bearing in the dimly lit room. Patrick took a few instant to think, rubbing his temples.

“Yeah, sorry. I had an horrible nightmare.”

“That night again ? We all have nightmares about it ...” shrugged the same captain

“No, not that. I’m sorry, I need a moment to think … I don’t feel too well right now ...” Continued Patrick, quickly rising up. He immediately headed for the next room.

***

“Are you okay, it’s been half an hour already” Said the familiar voice of the grumpy captain. Speaking toward the major who gazed outside a window of the sport hall’s cafeteria.

“I know ...” said the major, not speaking further.

“Look, if it’s about the colonel and his group, you couldn’t have done anything. Nobody could have, they took that wave full force ...”

“It’s not that ...”

“Then what Patrick ? We can’t afford to lose you because of a few nightmares. You saved us that night, without you we would have all died ! Not only that, but all this would have been impossible without you, look how many people we saved, we don’t even have space in this sport hall anymore, it’s amazing !”

The major smiled unknowingly while listening to his friend’s rambling. He quickly caught himself, regaining his serious face. “They are not yet saved, who know for how long we can keep this going ...”

“Yeah, I don’t know either … Heck, if this base had to rely on me we would have died a few times already. My point is, whatever is on your mind, I don’t want you keeping it to yourself ...”

“I just had a strange dream, that's all. There was … an old man and a little girl. They ran from the tsunamis, taking refuge in an hotel. Later the hotel collapsed in those last terrible hours, the old man died, squashed by the rubbles but the little girl was still alive, trapped under some debris. She was crying and crying and crying … She needed help but there was no one. At the end of the dream, she called my name ... she … she asked me to save her … She said I was her only hope … Then I woke up ...”

“Wow, that’s kinda fucked up ...”

“Yeah … It seemed all … I don't know ... so real ...”

“So, who was that litlle girl ?” asked the captain, taking the major by surprise ...

“I ... even if I knew, what then? It was just a dream … and even if it wasn’t, it’s been a week already ...”

“Look, we could talk in ‘if’ all night. I can see that it bothers you way more than it should … What I want to know, is why !”

“... The hotel was the spitting image of that luxurious hotel … three blocks away. That’s why I can’t get it out of my head ...”

“The Norwich Palace ?”

“Yeah, I think that was the name ...”

“Good, let’s go then, you won’t be able to sleep until you check anyway. I will get my stuff !”

Incredulous, the major watched his captain walk away as he stayed frozen a moment. Forcefully shaking his head, he finally walked toward the improvised barracks while uttering : “He is right, might as well !”