High Pressure System: Part One (3 page)

I hadn’t visited Jim for a while. Dobbers, Yodel, and Rocky scampered about in their usual fashion as we entered the lobby. I was caught off guard when Jim threw his hat on the ground and stormed off.

On Jim’s desk next to the telegraph was a piece of scratch paper with‘3899 deceased’ scrawled on it. My heart sank. I couldn’t tell where the wire from the telegraph led once it went through the floor. More than likely Brandon had given Jim the bad news.

Something scratched at the front door. The dogs sniffed all around the bottom edge. The scratching intensified. Jim was gone and whatever it was desperately wanted in. I stared at the door and wrung my hands, unsure of what to do. One of Jim’s great causes was saving all the animals he could. He would have let it in. So I slid the first latch over, hesitating before I pulled the other one. The frantic scratching escalated as the animal yowled in panic. I pulled the latch and opened the door. Chaos ensued as Fred the cat darted in, and the dogs went out.

In a panic, I headed up the stairs after the dogs to the second door. The roof overhead started to shake. Dobbers ran back inside, but Yodel cowered on the ground, frozen in fear near the door. When I picked him up, I saw the ominous clouds through the small window. A cold sensation washed over me and pooled into a tight knot that twisted in my gut.

Dark gray clouds swirled in the sky. Wind whipped the grass flat to the ground while tree limbs swayed from side to side. Tornado-like cloud tentacles reached for the ground. They searched around the trees. More cloud tentacles touched down near the concrete entry to the bunker in front of ours. It was as if the clouds had arms and they were searching everywhere.

My heart raced before I even ran down the stairs for the door to the lobby. Wind sucked me back, pulling me closer to the closed door. Fighting the pull, I struggled to reach each stair, gripping the rail with one hand. I hugged Yodel tight against my chest. The pull was so strong. He whimpered some. I did too as air sucked out of my lungs. I was so close.

The William Tell Overture
blasted from the PA system in the lobby. My eyes watered when I realized not only could I possibly die, opening the door would probably allow whatever it was to kill everyone in the bunker because of my carelessness. Brandon had warned me. I almost reached the last step. My chest was compressing and I couldn’t inhale. Yodel wilted in my arm.

A hand grabbed hold of my wrist. I was flung into the lobby. Jim and Brandon slammed the door shut and shoved the latches closed. The music reverberated in my ears as I gasped for air.

Brandon shoved my back into the wall. “What were you thinking?” he screamed in my face.

The roof shook. All the light fixtures rattled and flickered.

Before I could catch my breath to answer, he pulled me through the lobby to the stairs. Jim held Dobbers and the cat, running ahead of us. Rocky leaped onto my leg, climbed up my side until he reached my hood and burrowed deep into it. I stumbled after Brandon and struggled to breathe as he yanked me through the door into the stairway. He pressed several buttons on a keypad next to the door. The keypad popped open. Brandon slammed his fist on the big red button. A heavy metal slab came out of the wall and latched over the door opening. He pulled me down the stairs to the second floor. He did the same there. Brandon brought me to the third floor, heading for his control room. I almost ran into him when he stopped abruptly.

“Give Jim that dog.” Brandon folded his arms and waited.

I suddenly felt five-years-old again. My ears burned and I couldn’t even look at Brandon as I set Yodel on the floor. I slowly removed Rocky from my hood, buying myself some time to compose myself as I released him on the floor.

Jim whistled and they followed as he walked away reluctantly, giving me a sympathetic look. Well, frick. He wasn’t going to help bail me out.

Brandon grabbed my arm and stormed into his control room. He caught the door before it slammed and closed it gently

“Can we turn off the music?” My head throbbed as
The William Tell Overture
blasted for the tenth time.

“No, not yet.” Brandon paced the room and rubbed his chin while he studied all the monitors. “The music confuses it. In Houston, the only survivors were in a nightclub under a hotel. Can you imagine leaving the nightclub only to discover most of the city died while you danced the night away?” He leaned in to look closer at one of the screens.

“I’m so sorry.” I collapsed into the chair. Tears spilled from my eyes. My hands trembled as I rubbed my chest where it ached. “You warned me. It wasn’t my intention to put us all in danger like that.”

“It was just a matter of time. Honestly, I didn’t think it would be you. I wanted to put the lobby in permanent lockdown anyway, but I was afraid of mutiny if I went through with it. Your mistake was all the validation I needed to not wait another minute. At least this will be your fault and not me being the bad guy again. I wasn’t supposed to divulge information as to what’s been going on, but I don’t see the point. There’s no one to report to. Do you understand why we’re here now?” He turned off all the screens and pulled up a chair to face me.

“Yes, but what is it?” I dried my cheeks with the cuff of my sweatshirt.

“You have no idea how lucky you are to be alive. I know you saw it. I can see you totally felt it.” He leaned closer to me, gripping the arm of my chair

“The storms are searching for us. Why are the clouds killing everything?”

“Because technology is using the weather to war with us.”

“That’s not possible.”

“And everyone thought it wasn’t possible that an intelligent computer could teach itself how to program the weather on its own with the intention to destroy us. There have been so many movies about that sort of thing. Stephen Hawking even warned us long before he died about the possibility that artificial intelligence could exterminate us. Weather control had its purpose while the world was in crisis from climate change. People believed they mastered everything once they allowed high-tech to run it all. Some of these computers have been given the intelligence to learn and grow beyond our own comprehension. Once man found a way to manipulate Mother Nature, that technology was given to artificial intelligence to master it all.” Brandon ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Something that has learned to think for itself should not have that much power. We didn’t have time to fight it if we wanted to survive. It adapted too quickly when we tried to shut it down and it killed anyone who tried.” Brandon stood up to turn the volume down in the control room. Leaning against the wall, he sighed and took his time before he spoke again. “Everything we use in here is old school. Our bunker is off the grid completely. I’ve done my research. I’m barely able to glean bits and pieces before it comes back searching for us. It adapts so quickly. I’m still researching how to hide from it, and that’s why we are all still alive. We literally created a monster when we gave technology the power to control Mother Nature.”

“You say we. You mean you had a part in it?”

“Yes. Being the naïve boy genius, I didn’t have a clue at first when I accepted the job offer during my internship. Once I learned what was going on and how the computers were outsmarting the people running them, I wanted to stop it. I barely had the programming skills needed to regain control during the first crisis. I knew what was coming though, long before the islands were lost. I told them all a disaster of epic proportions was coming. Who wants to hear that when they are reveling in worldwide fame and success? Everyone involved in the program refused to see it.”

Brandon sat in his chair again, completely deflated. He turned on a monitor, studied it for a few minutes before he turned the blaring music off. “I lobbied hard. Nothing came of it. I’m young so they ignored me saying I was a doomsday alarmist. With all noise I made with the government elitists, the opposition found me. The ones against weather engineering quietly gave me the go ahead and the funding to oversee the organization that built all the bunkers. Once everyone figured out I had been right all along, I took over the entire project. Nothing has ever been built on a scale like that so quickly. Every bunker was designed to house a small population that can repopulate our nation if it is the only one to survive this apocalypse. Now I see that my rigid rules and old school technology have already helped us survive this long. So far my track record on being right has been spot on. But you aren’t the only one going nuts. I haven’t slept in months, ordering construction crews across the nation to build at an unprecedented rate. Suddenly I have more time than I know what to do with and I still can’t sleep.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I mean, if you told me this from the start, I would have understood. I’ve just wanted to help you out and be a friend since you don’t seem to have many. Both of us are here alone. Without family, it
is
kind of lonely.” When my watery eyes met his, Brandon’s face relaxed a little as he rested a hand on my shoulder.

“The computer I programmed for bunker assignments sorted everyone into what it considered to be a balanced population on evacuation day. I’m sure the computer determined that you were a match for me. That’s why I have gone out of my way to avoid you. Nothing personal, I like you. I just don’t like computers having that much control over my life. See where we are because of it?”

My jaw dropped. I glanced at the ground when I couldn’t stop the flush that burned my cheeks.

“Now we can’t do anything with computers but manage security in this bunker and keep people entertained so they don’t kill each other. Doing anything internet or digital over the air waves lures the funnel clouds to us. Loud music reverberates off everything so it confuses the storms ability to detect human and animal life. Now we have to burrow underground like a bunch of moles hoping that Mother Nature’s army doesn’t flush us out and kill us all. It is a revolution and we’re on the losing side.” Brandon rubbed his eyes. “I’ve done everything I can to fortify our bunker. With everyone deceased in the two closest to ours, I think I have done a pretty good job so far. What kills me is not knowing if there are any other survivors anywhere. Like you, not knowing if my parents or brothers and sister are alive is driving me crazy.” He sighed, tossing the tablet aside.”This might make you feel better. I’ve been looking back through the bunker records. Your family and mine were assigned to bunkers I designed. The bunker managers have been close associates of mine from the start. I know they will follow my protocols. But it could be years before we ever know for sure if they made it.”

“What about Jim’s family?” I asked with a tiny bit of hope.

Brandon shook his head. “I haven’t let on that I know anything about his family. But I couldn’t find them on any lists. They might not have survived the beginning of the coastal storms. The information I have is limited. The record keeping on that side of the country went into blackout days before we did.”

When I finally looked at him, his eyes were glassy and he pulled me to my feet as he stood up. “Screw computers.” Brandon pulled me into his chest and hugged me tight, his hand tangled in my hair as he held me close. He gave me a little peace with what he shared about my family. I was so sad for Jim. I couldn’t help it. I cried on his shoulder. I was reluctant to let go. Being in Brandon’s arms was far better than being alone.

To be continued….

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I could just do without the nightmares that inspire scenes for this series.

One of the best ways to show an author you enjoyed their work is to leave a review. It might just keep me motivated to keep writing episodes to this series.  I am motivated, but it might push me to get it out there sooner if you can’t wait to read more.

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K.D. Kinney is a mother of five daughters. Surrounded by far too much estrogen, shoes, and ponytail holders, they are the inspiration for many of her characters when writing for Young Adults. K.D. Kinney lives in the heart of Boise, Idaho and spends her days writing with her Chiweenies, Dobby and Yoda, sleeping at her feet. That is when they aren’t chasing squirrels or barking at every thump in the house.

You can get the latest info on when the next part of High Pressure System is coming out and other books that are published by K.D. Kinney at:

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High Pressure System started as a short story. I realized that it had the potential to be so much more and I expanded it. A nightmare inspired this story and now I’m excited to see where this tale takes us. Only the beginning of a serial, I hope you enjoy it and come back for more.

I would like to dedicate this story to my ever patient family. As I’ve pursued my writing, they have been so supportive.

My husband has always believed in me far more than I have believed in myself, and without his support I would have probably not pursued my writing as persistently as I have over the past few years.

My five daughters are an endless source of inspiration. It is wonderful that my teen daughters have such strength and have been their own “boss” and will pursue the things that they know are right for them. I love to write characters of that same caliber.

To my writer friends Vonny, Paul, Rosalie, Wednesday, Dorothy, Angela, and all the others that have provided me with priceless feedback that helped me find my writer voice that had been dormant for nearly twenty years. I wouldn’t be writing at this level if I never had the courage to put my work out there.

There is much more to come…