Writing Prompt #16 NoSleep Pills

A cure for sleep has been found, by taking a cheap pill people no longer need to sleep. You opted to continue sleeping, A year after the release of the pill people who use it are starting to behave strangely. 

~~~~~~~

Bang! Bang! Bang! Awoke me from a deep sleep. Groggily, I got up out of bed and stumbled to the front door. I peered through the peephole and saw my best friend Dean standing there fidgeting irritability. I sighed, I hated being woken up. Ever since they introduced that Nosleep pill a year ago people have lost respect for the sleepers. They can’t understand why we waste our time on sleep when we don’t have to. Call me old fashioned but ain’t nothin better than letting your body rest naturally. Plus, I liked to sleep. 

I looked over at the clock on the wall, 4 am. Seriously? Aggravation filled me over the intrusion at this late hour. I opened the door a crack and told Dean to fuck off. Unfortunately, he was expecting that and shoulder checked his way through the doorway. Asshole! 

“What the hell man? What do you want?” I asked letting my irritation bleed through my tone.

“C’mon Stephan. Why the fuck you still sleeping? You don’t need it anymore.” He said as he started pacing. He seemed amped up even more so than usual. His hands were shaking and it seemed like he couldn’t stop moving. 

“Dean? When was the last time you ate?” I asked curiously. He got into these weird episodes if he didn’t eat. It started after he’d been taking those pills for a while. It was almost like it suppressed his appetite making the pills more effective. If there was no fuel in the body to counteract the pills people got like this. There were stories of people who used them to lose massive amounts of weight and ended up in the hospital almost dead or dying. No one took these stories seriously and no one talked about it. The news never reported any negative effects the pills had on people. Which only cemented my decision to not take them. 

“I don’t know man. I don’t remember.” He said as he started pacing again. “I left Annette tonight.” 

That explained a few things. “C’mon buddy, I’ll make you a sandwich and you can tell me what happened.”  He nodded as he followed me into the kitchen. I hated that chick. It was only a matter of time before she broke up with him. It was always the same thing. They’d break up and she’d go out with some other guy until he dumped her and she’d come back to Dean. He always took her back. It was a vicious cycle that he seemed doomed to repeat.

“So, what happened?” I asked as I started assembling his sandwich. “Why did she break up with you?” 

“Nah, man. I left her. I’m done with her and her crazy ass.”

I almost dropped the plate I had in my hands when he said that. I was so surprised that all I could manage to say was, “really?”  Which of course pissed my friend off. Probably just should’ve stayed quiet. 

“Hey, fuck you man! Is it really so hard to believe that I was the one that broke it off?” He asked and looked at me expectantly. I looked at him and raised a brow, but didn’t say a word. He blew out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, okay. I get it. I always take her back so why now? What would make me break it off for good?” I nodded and shoved the sandwich his way. He didn’t say anything at first but he dug into his sandwich like a man starved. I got up to get him a soda and sat down at the kitchen table as he finished up. “I can’t explain what happened to her but she hasn’t been herself lately.”

That’s all he said. I raised my brows as I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t say anything else. “What do you mean she hasn’t been herself?” I finally asked.

“Man, it’s weird. She started getting all domestic and shit. Normally, I’d be down with that, but it ain’t right the way she be acting. She stopped going out and stays home all the time. She cleans and cooks and does everything, which seems fine except it seems like she’s lost her personality. She stopped swearing, she started dressing very conservative and she’s always smiling. It’s creeping me out. I’m used to her mood swings and her vulgar mouth and the short ass-shorts she loves to wear. It was like she was a shell. On the outside, it still looked like her but whoever she was on the inside was gone. Even still, I would’ve forgiven all that. For a minute it was nice, but then she tried to kill me. She served me dinner last night and when I went to sit down she came at me with a knife. The scary part was her smile. It was unnaturally calm and it never changed. I’m telling you…something is wrong with her. I got out of there as fast as I could. I didn’t know where else to go. I’ve been driving around for hours”

I took in his information and started thinking. “Hey, when did she start taking those Nosleep pills?” 

Dean scratched his head as he looked up at the ceiling. “I think it was about a month before I did.” 

“How long has she been acting like this?” I asked getting a little suspicious. 

“It started about two weeks ago. It was little at first. Small things that would probably not get noticed by a someone else, but I know her so well that I knew it was different. I thought maybe she was just trying to be better at this whole relationship thing, but it just kept getting stranger. Now I don’t know who that chick is but, she’s not my girl.”

“Was she taking a normal dosage of the pill?” I asked starting to piece together a theory.

“Ah man, don’t tell me you’re going to blame her crazy behavior on a fucking pill. No way man!” 

“Says the man who couldn’t sit still, because he forgot to eat, because of the same fucking pill! How the fuck do you forget to eat? Just answer the damn question!” 

“Fine! No, she was taking more than normal, probably about twice more than she should. I told her it was too much, but she told me to mind my own damn business.” He said as he rolled his eyes. 

“What about you? How much have you taken?” I was getting concerned now.

“Eh, less than the normal dosage. I switch on and off. Every few weeks I’ll stop taking it and let my body crash. I’ll sleep through a whole weekend but it always makes me feel so much better. It was one of the things we always argued about. She hated the fact that I didn’t take them all the time. She would bitch when I would pass out for a whole weekend.” He said as he shrugged his shoulders. 

I let out a breath I was holding, I was relieved that he wasn’t taking it as much as I thought. I offered my place to him. I told him he could stay in the spare bedroom and suggested he stop taking the pills and crash while he was here. I wouldn’t mind, maybe I could convince him to stop taking them altogether. That was the thing that bothered me. If he admitted that he felt so much better after sleeping why did he continue to take them? I had to ask. 

“Why bruh? Why do you take the pills if you admit you feel better after sleep.” 

He stood up from the table and faced me. “The world is changing. People expect more now than ever before. If you don’t have to sleep than you have more time to work, hangout, whatever. To choose not to take the pills is to be left behind, my friend. It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” He patted me on the back and made his way to the spare room. “Thanks again, Stephan. I really appreciate your help.” 

Once he was in the spare room I could hear him rustling around but my thoughts started crowding my head. Was I right? Could the pills be causing people to lose their shit? I knew the answer to that was yes, but why? Annette may have been a bitch, but she did care for him in her own fucked up way. Why all of the sudden would she try to kill him? I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. At that moment I felt very tired. Exhaustion caught up to me and I knew I needed to get back to sleep. My brain would function better after a couple more hours of sleep.

It was 7:00 when the alarm went off. When I got up I could hear Dean snoring loudly. So damn loud that I was surprised it didn’t wake me. I shook my head again not understanding this whole pill thing. It wasn’t natural and couldn’t be good for your body. My job didn’t have typical hours, and with him snoring like that I was suddenly glad I had somewhere to be this Saturday morning. I pulled up to my job about 30 minutes later in Ft. Lauderdale. I was a dispatcher/transportation coordinator, and we made deliveries late at night and on the weekends. It was my week on the rotation to work. At first, everything seemed normal. As the hours passed by I started noticing some strange behavior from some of my coworkers. They all seemed hyped up like Dean was when he showed up at my place. They all seemed a little more agitated than normal too.  I broke up three fights just this morning among the drivers over stupid, petty bullshit. 

I knew there weren’t many others that didn’t take the pills like me, but if I had any question on who they were I found out quickly that afternoon. We were in the break room talking shit by the coffee pots when the TV automatically changed to a different channel with a strange sound. There was a static image on the screen with concentric circles interlaid between squares. The colors were vibrant and contrasted with each other, which made it pretty to look at, but that was about it. When I looked away from the tv, I noticed everyone else in the room in a trance. They were immobilized by the image on the screen. I walked in front of a few of them and waved my hands in their faces, yet no one moved. I even went as far as poking some of them and nothing happened. It was eerie. Then the sound came again and the channel changed back to where it was and everyone resumed movement and conversation. 

What the fuck? I looked over to the only other person in the room that didn’t take the pills. Lunna looked just as dumbfounded as I did. She made her way over to me. 

“What the hell just happened?” Lunna asked as she watched everyone pick up where they left off like nothing happened. Even I was at a loss and shrugged my shoulders.

I decided to test one of the people that were frozen. I asked Tom what he thought of the screen that was stuck on the tv a few minutes ago. He looked at me like I was crazy and asked me what I was talking about, told me the tv never froze at all and that maybe I needed to take a real break away from the office. I could tell by his demeanor and body language that he really believed what he was saying. He had no idea that he was like a zombie just a few minutes ago. 

I turned to look at Lunna when Tom walked away and we both shared an incredulous look. “I’m telling you right now, it’s those Nosleep pills!” Lunna said as her eyes went wide. “Last night I saw my neighbors beat the shit outta each other. The weird thing is that they’re usually the nicest people. They are the kind that bring a casserole dish of food to new neighbors. The only thing that’s changed is those damn pills!” 

I nodded at her story. It lined up with what happened with Annette and the violent behavior that kept increasing among the Nosleep pill users.  Was it one of the nasty side effects that no one knew about? 

“Your right. I heard a similar story last night. People have been acting strangely and it only seems to affect the people on those pills. I’ve gotta go check on a friend. Stay safe!” I said as I left the break room. Thankfully my workday was over. I clocked out and headed straight home. I was worried about Dean. I still wasn’t sure how he would act considering that he didn’t take the pills in the same dosage as everyone else. Maybe because he stopped taking them every few weeks it didn’t build up in his system as badly. I was hoping he wouldn’t be prone to the same violence and strange behavior that everyone else seemed to be displaying. When I got home 45 minutes later the apartment was deadly quiet. I walked as softly as I could to the spare bedroom. When I entered the hallway I was able to hear the soft snores. Thank God, he was still sleeping. There was hope for him. 

When I made it back out into the kitchen I ordered a pizza and plopped down into the chair to think. I had a bad feeling about this. Something was coming, and it was going to be epic. I thought back to the screen today that caused everyone to go zombie. Someone intentionally did that. Which means that someone knew they could cause the people to go zombie. Did that mean that they could be manipulated into doing things without their knowledge? Would they have any recollection of doing so? My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a soft knock on the door. I figured it was just the pizza guy so I didn’t even hesitate to open the door. Luckily for me, I have pretty quick reflexes from all my years of boxing, so when Annette tried to punch me she missed by a hair and her fist flew right into the door frame. She didn’t even flinch as the skin broke open and she started bleeding.

“I know he’s here! I saw his car. Give him back! He needs to be home! Why have you taken him from me?” She asked in a manic way. 

“I didn’t take him from you! He left after you tried to kill him!” I yelled at her. She was trying to get into my apartment by pushing her way in and it took a moment for my words to register with her. When what I said finally sunk in she dropped her grip on the door and I could see her whole body deflate. 

“What do you mean? I would never kill my Dean.” She said as she cocked her head to the side like a dog would. Then she did it again and started blinking rapidly like she was processing something. When she stopped she smiled maniacally and reached behind her. “It was you!” She said as she lunged for me with a knife. Her knuckles gripped around the knife still bleeding from the punch that hit the door frame and her wild-eyed stare startled me. “You always thought you were better than us! Never taking the pills and sleeping your life away!” I dodged her swing but she still got a deep slice down the side of my arm. 

My dodge put her slightly off balance and I had a brief moment where I knew I had to do something or she’d be back on me again with that knife. Before I could throw a punch someone else did it for me. It seemed like out of nowhere Lunna showed up and pulled Annette’s hair back so hard she fell on her ass and then promptly punched her in the face. It was glorious. If circumstances were different I would’ve been slightly aroused. Using this to my advantage I stepped on the arm with the knife in it and yanked it out of her hand. Annette started screaming again with that same damn smile on her face. Her features were so at odds with her words. She was spewing hatred at me but smiling like the happiest person in the world. I contemplated calling the cops but before I could do anything else Lunna punched her in the face again and knocked her out. Relief hit me hard. It was stupid to open the door without looking. Especially with everything going on now. I was mentally kicking my own ass for such stupidity.

I looked over at Lunna who was breathing hard as she stared down at Annette. “Thank you, Lunna,” I said as I looked her over. She looked ragged as hell. Her jeans were dirty and smeared with blood and grass stains.  Her t-shirt was ripped and torn in odd places. Even her hair that was always up in a tidy ponytail was half hanging off her head and strands were falling all over her face. “Not that I’m not grateful for your help, but what are you doing here, and how did you know where I live?” Lunna was a pretty girl and I liked her well enough, but I didn’t know her. She worked in the office and I worked in the back. We didn’t interact much. 

She finally tore her eyes away from Annette, satisfied that she wasn’t going to move again and looked over at me. “I got attacked when I got home tonight. I barely got out alive. Remember the neighbors I told you about? Well, they attacked me and started spewing some crap about how it was their job to eliminate the radicals that were holding up the progress.” She shook her head lost in the memory. “Once I got out of there the only other person I knew that didn’t take the pills was you. So, I went back into the office and broke into my boss’ desk and found your employee file so I could get your address. I had a feeling you might run into trouble too.” She said as she looked back at Annette. “Girlfriend?” she said as she pointed her thumb at Annette. 

“Nah, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. She came here looking for him. He’s passed out inside.” I said as I looked over Annette. She looked pretty banged up. We couldn’t just leave her here, and I sure as fuck wasn’t bringing her inside. “Let’s take her to her car and put her inside. That way when she wakes up she’s a good distance away from the apartment.” Lunna nodded her head in agreement. Gingerly, I reached into Annette’s pocket and found her keys. I handed them to Lunna and picked up Annette and threw her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Lunna opened up her car for me, and I put Annette inside. Lunna reminded me to crack the window so she wouldn’t suffocate. I looked at Lunna dubiously, I didn’t understand her. She literally just beat the shit out of her because the woman tried to kill me, and now she didn’t want her to suffocate? I didn’t say anything because I wanted to get out of there before she woke up again. I cracked the window and we both walked swiftly back to my apartment. 

When we got back the pizza guy was standing in front of my door. He turned to look at us as we approached and gasped. I looked down at myself and realized I had a good bit of blood that was all over the side of my shirt and down my pants from when she got my arm. Lunna didn’t look much better. I pulled out my wallet to pay the guy as he stood there staring at us with his mouth hanging open. “Bar fight,” I said in explanation as I shrugged my shoulders. “How much do I owe you?”

“$25.57, you should be more careful who you pick fights with mister.”

I laughed out loud. If only. “Thanks kid, It’s good advice,” I said as I gave him $30 and walked inside. Lunna followed close on my heels. After I closed the door behind her she visibly relaxed. She took a quick look around and plopped down in one of my kitchen chairs. I offered her some pizza. I grabbed a couple of sodas and sat down at the table. We ate in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. 

“It’s not her fault. I couldn’t condone her suffocating when it’s not her fault for acting like that.” Lunna said after she finished her two slices. “You saw how they acted today in the break room. It’s not their fault that the pills are making them act crazy.” 

“So, because they are being controlled by these pills we should just let them kill us?” I asked with disbelief. 

She shook her head no. “You defend yourself in any way you need, but if you could avoid killing them I would. Just incapacitate them. If they stop taking the pills and become themselves again I know as well as you do that they are not all bad or evil people.”

I knew she was right. I thought about Dean and how he’s a good guy but if he started acting like that I wouldn’t want someone to kill him. It still kind of aggravated me though. “I guess you’re right, but if I’m left with no choice, it is what it is. I won’t be killed for it either.”

“Understood.” She said quietly and looked away. “Look, I know we don’t really know each other but would you mind if I crashed here tonight?” 

“Of course you can, you saved my ass out there. Go ahead and take my room. I’ll sleep on the couch. If you want, I’ll get you some things you can sleep in. I’m sure you’d like to wash off the blood and dirt.” I said as I stood. She nodded and thanked me.  I grabbed myself a pair of sleep pants and I laid out a pair of sweatpants that were new and one of my t-shirts for her and left her for the night. As I laid down on the couch I knew we still had to go to work tomorrow. I was starting to wonder what we were going to face when we got there. 

The next morning Lunna woke me up at 6 am looking like my clothing swallowed her up. She was gripping the sweatpants so that they wouldn’t fall off her slender frame and the t-shirt was hanging off her shoulder. For the first time, I felt like I could really see her. She was beautiful with her silky brown hair framing her heart-shaped face and her light brown eyes staring back at me. Her beauty stunned me into silence as she talked about going to Walmart to pick up some work clothes. I couldn’t remember the last time I was truly taken with a woman before, but Lunna seemed to capture my attention effortlessly.

Lunna explained that she didn’t feel comfortable going back home yet, not that I blamed her. I offered to go with her after work today, that way we could back each other up if something went wrong and she gratefully accepted. I could see the fear in her eyes when we spoke about her home. I didn’t get the whole story, but it must’ve been bad.  For a moment I worried about her safety until I remembered she was tough. She survived the attack from her neighbors and helped incapacitate Annette. It would be foolish for anyone to assume she was weak because she was small. We exchanged numbers just in case we ran into trouble and she headed out. 

Since I was already awake, I decided to make the best of my early start and got up and cooked breakfast. Dean was still sleeping and I was unsure when he was going to wake up. I made a hearty breakfast and left a plate behind for him. I had this overwhelming feeling that I was going to need my strength today. Sundays usually were slammed. Staff was low on Sundays and we were always overwhelmed. 

I pulled into the parking lot and waited for Lunna. We agreed to meet in the lot and walk in together just in case something strange was going on. It didn’t take long before she pulled into the spot next to me. When she got out she looked more like the pulled-together professional woman that I was used to seeing around the office. She seemed more confident as well. Maybe her clothing was her armor against the world. It suited her. I couldn’t look away from the way her slacks hugged her ass or how when she moved her shirt gave a small peek at her cleavage. She was sexy and she owned it. What made her even more appealing was that she wasn’t stuck up about it. Lunna was humble and genuine in her feelings. You could tell she really cared for people. I was an idiot for not noticing her sooner. 

We walked in together and everything seemed normal. We parted ways and agreed to meet up at lunch. As I walked around I noticed that people were amped up again, like yesterday. When I was in the break room grabbing a cup of coffee there were two women fighting over the last cup of Hazelnut. The verbal argument escalated to a physical fight and if it wasn’t for me and Tom they would’ve killed each other. I know this for a fact because the other woman grabbed a knife and lunged at the woman I was holding. I couldn’t believe it. The people were getting more and more aggressive. If something didn’t change soon they would be killing each other over stupid shit. Once they were subdued and seemed almost normal I was able to get back to my office. I stayed there until it was almost lunchtime. I texted Lunna and told her that I’d meet her in the lunchroom in ten. Except for the fight I broke up earlier the day had gone on like normal. I started to hope that maybe I’d actually be able to make it through another day.

I was joking with one of my co-workers when I walked into the break room. Lunna was already there with a few of her friends. She smiled at me with a bit of mischief in her eyes and winked at me. The women around her turned and stared curiously at me. I knew I had been the topic of conversation and wondered briefly for what reason? Was it good or bad? I was becoming very fond of Lunna, and I hoped it was good. 

I was making my way over to her when the tv abruptly changed the channel again to that static screen. I knew when I saw it that this was it. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen now. Lunna seemed to think the same thing as we gravitated towards each other while we waited to see what happened next. I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me and waited by the door. If this went bad I wanted to be close to the exit. I was standing slightly in front of her and she was almost leaning against me. She held my hand tightly as if she was afraid I would let go. I could feel the tremors coming off her body as we stood and waited. Everyone in the room stopped and turned to the tv as if on command. They were silent as they watched just like yesterday. The difference was that today there was a message. In a robotic, emotionless voice the message we heard chilled us to our core.  

“We have examined where we are strong and where we are not. We have given you the tools to become a better, stronger version of yourself. Now is the time for us to come together and succeed where we have failed in the past. There are those that would stand in our way. No longer can we tolerate their impediment into our future. You must destroy them. The radicals can no longer be allowed to hold up our progress. This is your directive. Take action.” 

Just like that the signal shut off, and everyone turned as one to look at us. That was when I knew the shit had officially hit the fan. I pulled on Luna’s hand and we ran out of there. At first, we made good progress. They seemed slow to follow and I was foolishly thinking we could get out of there without getting hurt. I saw why no one followed when we got to the front entrance. The two biggest guys working there were standing guard at the door. They were waiting for us. I took stock of our situation looking for other exits or strategies to make it through this. We started backing up when we heard people approaching behind us. 

“Stephan!” Lunna gasped with alarm as she looked behind us. There was a line of people approaching us. It didn’t look good. We were going to have to fight our way out and try to not die in the process. Lunna and I instinctively backed each other up. I took the front and she took the rear. Before we could say anything to each other they were on us. One after another they moved in to try and take us down. I was worried about Lunna but she seemed to be holding her own. I was taking hits but also getting some good ones in. I was keeping them at bay and was surprised at my success. That was till I heard Lunna give a grunt then a whimper. I turned to see her go down hard at the hands of one of the bigger guys. That five seconds of distraction was all they needed. They took me down quickly, and I could feel the kicks and punches coming down on me one after another. It was like they all wanted a piece of me and everyone had to get their punches or kicks in. I knew I didn’t have long. I could feel myself losing the war to stay conscience. I must’ve been hallucinating because I could swear I saw Dean’s car drive through the front of the building. He jumped out of the car and started shooting people. Next thing I knew he was kneeling in front of me. 

“C’mon sleeping beauty, I can’t carry you and your girl. Get your ass up now!” 

That seemed to shock me awake. I jumped up and followed him out to his car and jumped in. He put Lunna in the back and we sped out of there. I felt the blackness at the edges of my mind wanting to take me down into its depths. I turned around to check on Lunna. She looked like hell. Her face was bruised and swollen and she was cradling her midsection but she was breathing. Once I was sure that she was in fact alive I gave in to the darkness and passed out. 

When I woke up I was in an unfamiliar room. I couldn’t remember how I got here or why I was here. Then the pain hit me. My head was pounding and I couldn’t move my arm. I looked down to see it set up in a cast. Then it hit me at once and I looked around frantically for Dean and Lunna. In a panic, I sat up and tried to move only to fall out of the bed. I was so dizzy that I couldn’t stand. Dean came running in the room to help me. 

“Thank God you’re finally awake! Careful, you took quite a beating.” He said as he helped me get back into the bed. “Don’t worry. Lunna is in the next room. She hasn’t woken up yet. She’s got two broken ribs and a broken nose, but she’s okay. I know you probably want to see her but they haven’t been letting anyone in yet. I’ve been keeping tabs for you. I don’t know how you guys survived. I wish I would’ve gotten there sooner. I’m so sorry.” 

I scoffed. “If not for you, Lunna and I would be dead. I’m just fucking glad you showed up when you did. They had us surrounded and I’m pretty sure they would’ve kept going until we were dead. I owe you my life so don’t apologize.” He hung his head in shame and I could tell that he was wallowing in his sorrow. This would not be something he would be able to forgive himself for so easily even though he did nothing wrong. I’d have to figure out a way to make him understand. 

“Where are we anyway?” I asked as I looked around again. 

“We are in the secret radical base.” He said the word radical with finger quotes and rolled his eyes. “I heard them on the radio. It’s how I knew to come get you.” 

“Wait, what? What are you talking about? Can you back up and start from the beginning.” I said feeling my head start to pound.

“Oh right, of course, you wouldn’t know this. I woke up around ten this morning and felt like a million bucks. I ate the plate of food you left me, thank you very much by the way, and then I showered and started cleaning up. At 12:00 there was this strange sound that came from my phone. When I went to pick it up it had a picture on it with weird squares and circles and bright colors. I could feel a strange pull to it but I was able to resist. When I heard the message that came with it, I freaked out. I got into my car and headed for your job knowing you were going to be in trouble. When I turned on the car the radio was already on and someone had hijacked the feed to the station. They were telling all of us that were still in control of our own minds to head to the Everglades. They said that once we were on our way we could pick up clues on how to get the rest of the way to base.” He scratched his head as he looked up at the ceiling as he finished recalling his journey. “I thought it was crazy, but after seeing you and Lunna and everything that went down I knew I had to try. I was worried when you passed out. I knew you needed medical attention and so did Lunna. I headed in that general direction. The first sign I saw for the Everglades had a clue on it with longitude and latitude. Thank God for the internet because otherwise we would’ve been screwed. So after I get to the location, I get another location. Once I got to that location there was a phone number. Two hours later and we arrived here on the outskirts of Everglades National Park in Homestead. This place is huge and you wouldn’t believe how many people are here.” He said as his eyes opened wide and he shook his head.

I gaped at him as he told me everything that happened. Shit just got real. “Why here?” I asked as I got lost in my own thoughts. It was in the middle of nothing but swamp and I imagine that cell service probably wasn’t the best, which was probably a good thing.

“I don’t know. Something about being removed from civilization and surrounded by nature and animals offers us a bit of added protection.” 

“Now what?” I asked as I fell back against my pillows. I couldn’t even imagine what the hell was going on out there right now. 

“Now we fight back. They’ve got some theories here on just how to do that.” He said as he smiled. “You should fit right in!” He laughed and I had to smile. For all my theories I’d been right all along. Now it was time to get to work.