Linda and Rob walked down Rochester Highway alongside the nuclear power station. The ruins of this once great civilization were everpresent. Linda looked around at the dead trees lining the area. The polluted water gave off a sense of radiation in the air and the ground. These conditions couldn't be good for her or Rob, as they were the only living things remaining.
Occasionally, they would pass a zombie, standing or walking around aimlessly. This post-apocalyptic world was nothing like what she had imagined. Completely bereft of humans, no resistance. This world, in an odd way, was safer than her own, except when the zombies had a purpose. So far, they served no purpose.
Linda and Rob reached the outskirts of the power plant and headed towards the main facility. The containment buildings appeared intact, but substantial age was apparent on the outside of the buildings. Scarring from damage was visible. Dead trees and foliage were on the roof and hanging down. From its looks, at least to Linda, the building had been abandoned, perhaps before the events.
"It was abandoned and shut down right before the bombs started dropping," Rob said as they entered the tourist area of the plant.
"What for?"
"So the plant wouldn't meltdown. It could still run if we could figure out how to make it work."
"What do you mean this plant doesn't work?"
Rob turned to face Linda, "Of course now, why would it?"
"I thought you said we could find a way to get help here? To find a way back to my world?"
"I said we need a powerful energy source. I never said anything about it working."
Linda threw her arms up and looked around the interior of the building that once hummed with life. She had no idea what they would do now.
"So, you literally just brought us here on a maybe?"
Rob smiled, "Maybe."
Linda stared at him.
"Come on, let's go this way."
"For what purpose, Rob. This place doesn't even work."
"We'll see if we can find something that does."
Linda and Rob passed through the plant corridors and came upon the open door to the facility's main control room. Linda shined the flashlight she had into the dark room. There were no bodies, just an empty room where everything had been left terminated. Only cobwebs and some dust remained. The plant looked like it had been shut down for eons.
"So, what are we looking for, Rob?"
Rob panned around the room, looking at the walls, floor, ceiling, everywhere. He just shrugged.
Linda was exasperated by this action. She rubbed her forehead as a headache was beginning. Rob could be maddening at times.
"Did you ever see your dad use this facility for anything? Ever?"
"The only time my dad ever brought me here was to visit the tour area. I've never been in this part of this building before."
"But something had to make you want to come here besides a power source, Rob. Some reason other than sheer curiosity? We walked a long way just to get here. Now you're telling me it was all for nothing?"
Linda knocked some equipment off the counter nearby with her flashlight. She held her head in her hands as she leaned against the console.
"Lady, I'm still a kid, remember."
Linda looked up and supported her head with her hands resting under her chin.
"Yeah, you're just a kid. I followed a kid up here for no reason."
As Linda said that, she looked around the room, and one console caught her eye. She stood up straight and shined the flashlight on the console.
"What is that?" she asked.
"What is what?" asked Rob.
Linda slowly moved toward the console. Rob now took notice of what she was looking at in the distance.
As Linda got closer, Rob could see the console more clearly.
"Huh? Atomic clock. A real one, especially since we're at a nuclear power plant."
"It's displaying the time and date."
"That must have been the date and time the plant was shut down."
On the console, the display showed:
TIME: 17:58:57 DATE: MONTH 12 DAY 21 YEAR 2012
"Well, that confirms your story, I suppose," Linda said, somewhat defeated.
"Yeah, yeah, lady."
Next to the console were a few buttons. One button, when pressed, illuminated the console. The numbers and letters were the only active lights in the room. This button also made the button Linda pressed, and the other buttons beneath it light up.
"Oh look, something does still work," Rob said sarcastically. "Press another button. Maybe the whole plant will start working."
Rob was smiling a bit. Linda ignored him.
However, Linda did notice the button underneath reset the clock and date to the current time. Linda pressed it and watched the numbers shift dramatically until a new date and time emerged.
Linda stood there, shining her flashlight on the console. She couldn't believe what she was reading.
"How long ago did you say all of this happened?" She asked Rob, still staring at the console.
Rob looked at her, "I don't know, exactly. A while ago."
Linda stood there looking at the console, her eyes wide. The atomic clock keeps an accurate record of the true elapsed time and remains under power despite a lack of energy generated by the plant. All the clock did was reset to the current date and time that was now visible. The console now read:
TIME: 14:15:29 DATE: MONTH 10 DAY 23 YEAR 2323
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A light on a console at The Fleece lit up and flashed repeatedly. It made no sound but was blinking over and over. Momentarily, the light was unnoticed because of how busy everyone was at that time. The light kept flashing while one of the control workers sat back down in front of it. He was turned away, however, dealing with another issue another control worker was working on.
"Have you tried rerouting it?" the control worker in front of the light asked.
"We did. We've tried that several times now. The coupling isn't the issue. We're not..."
The control worker stopped talking and looked past the man sitting as she saw the light blinking.
"Hey, that light is flashing."
The control worker spun around to see the light flashing on the console. He knew instantly this was an important light.
"Oh man!" He picked up a phone and pressed a button.
A person on the other end of the phone answered.
"Sir, the red light for Toxaway is flashing. Someone is in there."
There was a pause for a moment. The reply then came, "You know what to do."
"Yes, sir."
The control worker hung up the phone and pressed the button underneath the flashing light.
"Wait, what are you doing, " the female control worker asked.
The male control worker looked up at her, "Time to release the hounds."
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Back outside of Keo-wee Toxaway, the zombies wandering aimlessly suddenly became aroused. They hand an intent in their dead eyes. One facing away from the power plant turned and looked directly at the plant. The creature began making its way to the power plant, followed by another and another. Zombies from all around the area began moving toward the power plant. They were funneling in from Clemson, Pickens, Greenville, Anderson, and the entire upstate of South Carolina. Some would take longer than others, but a massive horde of undead were journeying to the abandoned power plant. There could only be one reason.
***********************************************************************************
Linda grabbed Rob by his shirt and pulled him toward her.
"Easy!" he yelled.
"YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH RIGHT NOW!!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"This clock says all that has happened here was over three hundred years ago. I knew you've been lying to me this whole time. Now you're lying to me about you. Who are you? What are you?"
"That clock has to be wrong, lady!"
"STOP LYING TO ME!!"
Linda pushed Rob backward toward the console behind him and reared her arm back to hit him with the flashlight.
"STOP IT!!! ALL RIGHT, LADY!"
Linda stopped her arm in place and stood there looking at Rob.
"All right! Yes, I do know a lot more about this place. And yes, that clock is right."
"How? How can you be over 300 hundred years old? You still look like a child, for crying out loud."
"I've stayed in this state because I chose to. But I'm a lot older than 300, ok."
"How old are you," Linda asked as she relaxed her posture.
Rob sighed momentarily, then responded, "I'm about 600,000 years old."
Linda's eyes widened, "There's no way."
Rob laughed, "Oh yes, there is when you're Pat's son. He's been here a lot longer than me."
After that statement, Linda and Rob hear a moan echoing from outside. Linda moved toward the doorway and passed Rob. They heard another, then another, and another. They both knew what was approaching.
"And we're out of time. He knows we're here," Rob said.
"Oh, he does now?"
"Yes, and he's going to make sure we die here."
Linda turned to face Rob, "If he knows, so will Jay. And Jay is going to get us out of here."
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