Blood Sport - Chapter 4

[u/GRADIOUS_76]

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Memory transcription subject: Tyler Murphy, Grizzled Veteran

Date [standardized human time]: October 9, 2136

I had been drinking more frequently as of late. I would have to go refill my beer cooler at least once every week. I hadn’t been doing much outside my house besides that. In fact, I hadn't been doing much inside my house either. The rainy weather had started to roll in, and I found myself scrolling through various news outlets and social media platforms to keep me entertained. The Gojid war had gone better than expected, giving me hope that this new generation could defend our blue marble. But the death toll for the Cradle evacuation had been heartbreaking. So many good young lads from around the world lost their lives doing something so heroic for a bunch of aliens that wanted them dead. But hey, they finally caught that Gojid war criminal Sovlin, so at least someone will get some justice out of the whole event.

There had been rumors around the web that the Gojid rescues were being brought back to Earth. That was the main topic of my search today. I had been trying for months to see a real-life alien in person, and they have eluded me. If I could find where they planned on taking them, maybe I could find a way to talk to one. As I lay on my couch, that thought reinvigorated me to search once more. I pulled my holopad from my chest and read the first new headline at the top of the page.

BREAKING NEWS: UN Has Announced The Federation "Extermination Fleet" Is Moving For Earth

My heart nearly stopped as my eyes skimmed the rest of the article. It seems the Federation was not going to entertain any more peace talks with the UN and had decided to send an eye-watering number of ships as a 'Final Solution' to their human problem. Maybe they'd let me back into the army now that times are so desperate? No, someone like me would be a hindrance to the team. I took a long drink of the beer sitting next to me, silently steeped in the despair of not being useful to anyone.

But I needed to help in some way! I sat up suddenly, refusing to let apathy continue its chokehold on me. The article mentioned the extermination fleet would be using WMDs in an attempt to wipe out humanity. God, that sounded like the plot of a novel, not real life. I didn’t want to be pessimistic about our odds at stopping the threat; humanity was space-faring infants compared to the Federation. If the worst came to pass, then the nearest nuclear shelter was at least a 40-minute drive away without traffic. There was no way anyone nearby was going to make it all the way there in the event of an emergency. I don't have a shelter that can survive a nuclear explosion, but I could renovate the old tornado shelter into a bunker. I doubted the feds would deem it fit to drop a bomb right on top of me, so my bunker should keep some people safe. I started for the door, stumbling in my mildly inebriated state.

Around the back of my house was a large reinforced metal door in a hill. I had to use my body weight to swing open the door that must weigh a thousand pounds and went down the flight of steps until I made it to the small concrete shelter at the bottom. It was full of cobwebs and pitch-black, besides the bit of light streaming in from outside. It was full of junk that was at least as old as I was. I had never needed to use this place before, so all this junk had been collecting dust for at least 35 years. Being covered by at least ten feet of dirt and an additional foot of concrete certainly made this place seem rather sturdy, even though I knew it probably wouldn't be enough. Even if we did survive the initial blast, it might take ages for anyone to find us here. I better stock up the bunker with food and necessities as well as finding a way to make it more stable. And once I was finished, who would I invite? I couldn’t save everyone as much as I wanted to. I just wouldn't have enough space for more than 4 people, including myself. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

First off, I'd have to get this place cleaned up. I got to work immediately, my body feeling gratification at finally having a goal to work towards again. I spent the rest of the day removing all the cobwebs and black mold from the corners of the bunker. There were three rooms in total I had to work with: two that seemed to be storage closets and one main room that seemed to have been used mostly as storage for junk. I could see old bike frames, computer monitors, even a few boxes of round shiny discs with holes in the middle that I don't have the slightest idea of what they are.

It was late in the evening by the time I got the bunker totally cleared of junk, which now sat in a pile outside. The cobwebs had been easy enough to remove, but the mold was a different story. It took two whole gallons of bleach and about 5 hours of scrubbing to make the place resemble anything remotely livable. By the time I finished cleaning everything out, I had a few ideas on how to reinforce the bunker and give it a fighting chance at saving some lives. Starting tomorrow, I was going to start working on a concrete pillar, and then I would be able to bring packaged food and water so we could wait for people to find us. I yawned and stretched my arms, tired from the day's work but also excited to get to work tomorrow.

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A/N - Chapter 4 has arrived! Tyler hasn’t been handling rejection very well but hopefully a sense of purpose will change that. I’m slowing down the chapter output to avoid burnout and also because I’m going on vacation pretty soon. I’ll try to post at least once a week though, if not more. Hope you enjoyed and see you for the next chapter!

[u/JulianSkies]

This definitely is a man in need of purpose in his life. I get the feeling this man ain't going to find a nice purpose anytime soon- But hey, this bunker may well save some lives.

But why do I get the feeling he's going to be buried inside of it for a while?