South Korea: Ulsan
Kyung Gwak loved the mornings. He had just gotten out of the shower but remained in his towel whistling his favorite American oldies hit, Surfin’ Safari. The Beach Boys always got him ready for his day. For the last three years, Kyung had been working at the same car manufacturer as his dad and brother. His dad had worked there going on thirty years; his brother had been there almost ten years. If you did not have family there, you were not getting a job. Kyung had been hesitant about taking the job but he had not regretted it for a minute since. He also loved living in Ulsan because it was right on the coast of South Korea. It had become an important industrial hub but not overpopulated as other important cities are. It was perfect for Kyung as he was never one for large, boisterous cities.
Finally dressed, he finished his last cup of coffee. From the fifth floor of his apartment building, he watched the bustling traffic flow through the Korea Strait. There were so many ships and boats it always looked like Seoul’s rush hour traffic jam, only on water. Knowing the products he helped manufacture would be on one of those ships after his shift was somewhat exciting. As he watched the bustling port, water exploded into the air shooting several streams fifty feet into the air. Leading the geysers were missiles. The roar was deafening; windows shattered up and down the port city of Ulsan. He had no idea what was happening but within seconds, emergency sirens were blaring across the city.
The sirens screamed at full volume as the streets filled with panic-stricken people. Up and down the port people poured out of their homes and workplaces. Kyung fled his apartment and made his way downstairs. As he shoved through the main doors, he heard several more explosions in the distance. The powerful explosions shook the ground under his feet.
With that, he scanned the horizon to the north and west. He could not believe what he was seeing. He froze at the sight of the fiery sky. The thousands of other people had their gaze transfixed in the same direction. What was that? Several people shoved by for a better view.
“Hey what happened? What was that?” Kyung shouted at someone running by.
“I don’t know but I’m not waiting to find out!” The stranger exclaimed.
Kyung sprinted to the edge of the harbor and glanced up and down the dock searching for an empty boat he could take. While everyone scurried around, obviously distracted by the sudden fear, speedboats were barreling toward the shore. Kyung seen them coming, he turned to run, lost his footing, and fell head first into the water. He narrowly escaped becoming a smear stain between a large boat trying to dock and the wall of the harbor. Kyung knew he was about to be crushed, thinking quickly he dove under the water. He was making his way to the other side of the boat when muffled sounds of heavy machine gun fire erupted.
He reached the other side of the boat, and cautiously poked his head up out of the water to get some air. With his head above water, the machine gun fire was much louder. He wanted to see what was happening so he swam alongside the boat until he came up to the hull. He peeked around to see the docks; quickly regretting it. There were hundreds of uniformed troops, not coming to the rescue, but slaughtering thousands of innocent people. Bodies were lying all over the ground covered in blood. Blood ran over the docks into the sea giving it a pinkish tint up and down the harbor. The troops gunned down anyone and everyone that were standing on the docks. Their murderous rampage continued as they scoured buildings, shooting dead anyone found still alive.
Kyung swam as far and as fast as he could, trying to put distance between himself and the massacre. He felt like a coward leaving his brother, Bo-Hee, and his father, Da-Ye, behind. He glanced back once more as he headed up the coast.
........
Kyung swam for a long time. He did not know how long he had been swimming but day turned into dusk fast. Eoil was the first city that did not have smoke snaking into its skyline. The lack of blood in the water also left him hopeful. He crawled out of the water and collapsed. After lying there for several minutes, Kyung rose cautiously optimistic. Still exhausted and staggering he made his way to the main gate where two stone-faced guards stood watch.
They raised their weapons “Stand back! Stand back!”
“I just need help! What has happened? Please!” Screamed Kyung, louder then he meant to.
“Where did you come from?”
Kyung responded quickly “I came from Ulsan. Rockets flew out of the water, there were explosions, and soldiers stormed the harbor, killing thousands of innocent people. I fell into the water and swam up the coast until I seen somewhere that looked safe. Don’t shoot me. I just need some help.”
“We’ll get General Hansol. Wait here please.”
General Hansol was short but solid. He was a very intimidating man. Kyung could tell he was battle hardened. General Hansol’s face was pocked full of scars, but one scar dominated his face. The scar ran from just above his eyebrow along the left side of his nose as if someone had tried to cut it off. The general allowed Kyung onto the base explaining there were hundreds of other civilians cordoned off inside the city. Eoil remained largely spared besides a few short gun battles with some unknown factions.
…..
Kyung was devastated when he found out about America. He was horrified when he found out about Seoul. His ex-wife Da-Hui and his seven-year-old daughter Ga-Hui lived in Seoul. Kyung’s ex-wife left with Ga-Hui two years ago but they had remained friendly and in constant contact. He was still able to see his daughter just not as often as he liked. The thought of not seeing either of them again was nagging on him. His brother and father, his daughter and his ex-wife, could all be dead.
General Hansol was unsure if the strike in Seoul had been nuclear. Nevertheless, Seoul was now a barren city. Regardless, Kyung would not believe his only child was dead.
“General, can I talk to you for a moment?” asked Kyung standing in the doorway of General Hansol’s office tent.
“Sure, what can I do for you?” asked the general.
“I’d like to get to Seoul or outside of Seoul. I need to see it for myself. If there is any chance my daughter and ex-wife are still alive I need to get to them.”
“I understand but I have seen the destruction myself. With our remaining air force fleet, we’ve been able to gather some intelligence. It is deserted. If anyone did live and it was nuclear, they are dead by now. If they made it out of the city…” General Hansol hesitated then continued “…well let’s just say enemy troops poured in from North Korea and the western coast so it is surrounded in almost every direction. I won’t risk sending my men with you but if you want to go I can’t stop you. You’ll have no protection. Some locations are now radioactive. Roads are also pretty mangled especially as you near Seoul.”
“My daughter’s worth the risk sir.”
“Well then, all I can do is wish you luck. I guess I could send you with a weapon too. Other than that you’re on your own and probably outnumbered if you do encounter the enemy.”
……
General Hansol tried once more to talk some sense into Kyung but he was hell-bent on getting to Seoul. The troops were able to get another civilian inside the cordon to give Kyung their vehicle. Kyung had mapped out his trip giving special care to plan it around large cities and major highways.
“Thank you General. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me over the last day.” With that, Kyung was on his way to Seoul.
America: West of the Rockies
Josh and Whitney drove almost nonstop for twelve hours. Many roads were craters. Several times, they had to detour as they snaked their way through rural California into Utah. It was an ominous sight along the horizon. In every direction, smoke trailed into the sky trying to blot out the sunrise. The sun managed to burn through tinting the sky a dark-reddish hue. They avoided towns at all costs. When their tank ran empty, they were
fortunate enough to find a gas station still stocked up. Josh was able to fill the tank, at triple the cost of course.
“Call me Red.” Spoke the clerk.
“Alright Red, what’ve you heard?” Josh replied. “What’s the news?”
“Well I’ll tell ya’ I ain’t heard nothin’ since about three o’clock this morning. It sounds like it was the Chinese and Russians; probably others too. I know we blew them to hell as much as they did us. Well that’s what they said on the radio anyways. It wasn’t all nukes though. Regions might face nuclear fallout but a lot of the strikes were just megaton bombs. They vaporized cities but no nuclear radiation there.” Red explained.
“Well which ones aren’t radioactive? What about east of the Rockies? Or in the Rockies?” Josh asked.
“Well I know Denver was hit. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t nuclear. Omaha was hit, again not nuclear. Other than that I couldn’t tell ya’.” Red answered.
“What about communications? Do you have a phone I could call family on to check on them?” Josh asked hopeful.
“Communications were cut. Satellites were shut down by what they called an EMP strike. Land lines get through on occasion.” Red explained.
“Thanks for the information. We got to get going. What about you? Are you staying?” Asked Josh genuinely concerned.
“Well I’m going to stay here and wait for America to win this thing. We’ll do it. We always win. No one’s better than us. Rebuilding will be a bitch but as long as we win the war. Yeah this is my life, I ain’t leavin’.” Red replied.
“Well best of luck and thank you again.” Josh responded on his way out.
Josh and his family were back on the road. With a final wave to Red, they fled further east.
……
Nearing Colorado Josh noticed the condition of the roads was improving. With the roads smoothing out, Whitney and the kids managed to get some sleep. Josh was on a straightaway imagining the dismal future his children now had.
Jaqueline was 12. She had so many friends in Riverside; she was excited about junior high hoping to attend Chemawa Middle School with her friends. She aspired to be on the cheerleading squad. Sweet little Lydia was 7 going on 30. She was so mature for her age; she could not wait to be old enough to run for president. She brought it up at least twenty times a day. Their youngest, Jesse, he was 4 years old. Jesse was your typical 4-year-old boy. He was rambunctious, full of love, and made everyone laugh. It hurt Josh very much knowing that his children would not be able to live life the way it should be.
With the highway deserted, Josh was lost in thought. During his nightmarish daydream Josh did not see the roadblock approaching. When he did, he slammed his brakes to the floor. Whitney sat up with a jolt. The kids woke with a start.
Stopped in the middle of the deserted highway, a half-block from the barricade, Josh first noticed the troops standing guard were not friendly. He was not a military expert but he knew enough to know that the uniformed soldiers must have been Russian. Josh also noticed what resembled a military base. Strangely, it seemed to have been there for some time because this was not a makeshift, hastily put together base. The structures were meant to withstand major damage. He didn't know what to make of this.
He did know there wasn't much time to think. The kids were petrified and Whitney seemed to be back in a state of shock.
One of the soldiers motioned waving several other soldiers in his direction. They gathered together in a line then, in unison, they lifted their weapons. Another one of the soldiers yelled something in Russian but Josh didn't know any other languages besides English and a little Klingon. He was thinking now; he shouldn't have spent so much time learning a made up language, but rather, another real language. Naturally, at that moment, he was wishing he had learned Russian. Whatever they were saying they meant business.
The soldier’s body language didn't imply that surrender would be an option for Josh and his family so he did the only thing he could think of. With his children screaming and his wife still in a subdued shock he jerked the wheel left and put his foot down on the gas as hard as he could. He heard the gunshots then the consequent bullets bouncing off his car. He kept his foot welded to the gas pedal quickly reaching sixty miles per hour on the bumpy off-road route he had chosen. He could still hear the rapid-fire machine guns behind him, but just barely, over his family's terrified screaming.
After setting enough distance between the soldier’s and his family, he pulled over hidden behind some brush to calm his nerves. They could be getting into vehicles right now for all he knew. It didn't matter. At that moment he had to focus on finding a new route assuming they weren't all blocked off. His kids were still screeching in the back seat so he pulled over behind a thicket of brush to try to calm them so he could focus. He looked back at his children, as he began speaking, only to see them all soaked in blood.
"Whitney you need to snap out of it! One of the kids has been shot! Whitney! God Dammit!" Josh finally got Whitney's attention. This time she didn't go back into shock. Whitney was an RN at a hospital in Riverside. She immediately jumped into action.
There was a lot of blood so it was hard to tell which one was shot especially since they were already screaming. She glanced quickly at the two older children but knew immediately it was Jesse. The way the blood had splattered on the two other kids she could tell it came from him. Her heart broke as she told Josh to run out to the trunk to grab the first aid kit.
"Jesse is the one who was shot. There is a lot of blood. Get the emergency kit..." Whitney let out a sob but continued "...grab anything we can pack wounds with."
Josh said, "It can't be. Why...why?"
Whitney had to snap him out of it this time. "Josh now! If he bleeds out we can't do anything, we need to stop the bleeding fast!"
Josh jumped out running for the trunk. He grabbed the emergency kit plus many towels and anything else he could use to pack wounds. He didn't know how bad it was so he grabbed anything he could use to plug any sized wound.
He came around to the backseat door. Whitney was struggling to keep it together now. "It's really bad Josh. I...I don't know if we can save him."
"We need to, we're going to!" said Josh.
He finally got a look at the gaping gunshot hole that tore through Jesse's lowest rib and exited out the back of his rib cage. The blood was pouring out. Whitney thought of everything she could do. She remembered seeing an old classic movie called Rambo where the main character used fire to cauterize a similar wound. She also knew Rambo wasn't a four year old boy. She had to try something and Jesse had passed out already so she told Josh what she was going to do. He argued at first relenting a bit when she said it may be the only way to stop the bleeding. She eased his mind further when she explained that doctor's do it too; just not so primitively.
They had a lighter in the emergency kit and a gas can in the back. She knew her boy was passed out but she begged him to forgive her for this. She poured a little bit of gasoline on the hole than lit the lighter against it. There was a quick burst of fire, the bleeding slowed to an ooze. She hoped there was no internal bleeding but there was no way of knowing for sure unless they found a hospital. Jesse could be dead by then.
Jacqueline and Lydia were sitting just outside of the car. They were crying, waiting for one of their parents to tell them everything was going to be okay. Josh came over to their side of the car; he explained everything as best he could to the girls. They, of course, were still crying from their earlier encounter but were now hysterical. Josh told them they had to go so they could try to find a hospital. They were scared but knew what was important so they got back in next to Jesse and did their best to comfort him while he lay still passed out in the backseat.
Josh jumped into the driver's sea
t. He accelerated quickly but as gently as possible. He wasn't sure where to go but remembered seeing a sign a ways back for a town called Nephi, Utah. He turned his car so he was headed back west, hit a smooth patch of road, and was on his way. Hopefully, he thought to himself, Nephi isn't occupied.