"We Interrupt This Program"

By Lauren Rivers

March 23, 2035

Soft sheets and the sound of a gentle breeze were interrupted by the screech of her rather insistent alarm. She silenced it with a well-placed movement of her paw as she rolled back over in her bed. Less than a moment later the door swung open to reveal Colonel Jonas Walker. Dad tended not to let his daughter sleep in especially not on a school day. Though she had expected he would come to wake her she had hoped it was one of those days he gave her a five-minute reprieve. This was not one of those days.

"On your feet paws, young lady," he said with a firm command.

"When's the war, dad?" she asked, half as a joke.

He frowned at her statement and shook his head. "That's not funny, Sierra. You know that I work every day to keep you and all of your friends safe from anything that might be out there. I promised your mother I'd never let anything happen to you and I intend to keep that promise as long as I draw breath. Now get on your feet and get dressed."

Sierra sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. She looked rather disheveled as she swung her feet over the edge of the bed and touched down on the carpet. Dad was only like this on days he had to be at the base for a meeting. She decided it wasn't worth trying his patience on a day like today so she rose quickly and laid out a cute outfit. She selected a dark pair of pants and a halter top before slipping on some functional sneakers. She looked down at her emergency kit that dad always had her prepare before bed in case they ever needed to get out in a hurry. More or less a basic backpack, it was filled with most of the essentials if the worst ever came to pass.

While she had never thought of her father as paranoid, he did insist on being prepared. Both of them had such a bag in their bedrooms. Hers consisted of an efficient pair of pants with a good number of pockets, matching sleeve pieces, a white top, a belt, a pair of shoes, a knife, and a pistol her father had bought her for her birthday. In the smaller compartments she carried a container to store water, non-perishable food, some bandages, and a few other odds and ends. She also stuffed a photo of each of her parents as well as a family photo in the backpack protected by a guidebook for edible plants.

Dad had always said that if life on the road came to be how things were you didn't want to be burdened with unnecessary things. All you'd want is the essential things you could carry so it was easy to decide what to pack. Sierra was old enough to know what she needed to survive. Although she had many things she would prefer not to be without, she knew that all that went into that pack were things she would need to live. That meant no cell phone, no laptop, nothing that wouldn't do you good if the power grid ceased to be.

More than once dad had taken her on an impromptu camping trip and told her to take only her emergency pack. She'd managed before to figure out how to live off whatever was around. Of course, dad was always there to make sure there was plenty of fish and such, but he was always proud of his daughter for finding resources they could use. She sometimes wondered if her father hadn't wanted a boy, but he never treated her as anything other than his child. He'd insisted that he and her mother had wanted other children, but it never happened for them. As such, he swore that even if she had a brother they would be raised the same.

Once dressed, she hurried into the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth to her father's exacting standards. After a quick gargle and rinse she spat the water into the sink and wiped her muzzle with a soft fluffy towel. She pressed it against her cheek thinking that if the world did ever end, soft fresh laundry would definitely be something she'd miss.

She came into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow at her father. He stood at the kitchen counter reading the paper on his tablet. He set it down on the countertop when she entered. "Morning, dad," she said.

"I've fixed you eggs and toast over there on the kitchen table. Eat it all, and be sure you drink your orange juice." He usually didn't seem this insistent about her morning activities, especially since she had a good while before she would need to be at school. Their house was close to the building, two blocks away from the school. As such, most excuses available to other kids that lived further away never quite worked for Sierra. She could never get fibs past her father either, so her attendance record was near flawless. Only when she was genuinely sick did she ever get a day off from school.

She sat at her place at the table in the corner. She liked that spot as it afforded her a view of the rather nice flowering shrubs between their house and the neighbors. On a pleasant weekend day she could enjoy her breakfast as long as she wanted before going off to do whatever she pleased. Today being a school day, she ate somewhat quickly. "What's the hurry? Is everything all right?" she asked.

"I need to be at the base for an early meeting so I want to make sure you're off at school before I need to head out," he said.

"You're sure that there's nothing wrong?" she asked, a bit more insistent this time.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Sierra." Colonel Jonas Walker rarely lied to his daughter, but she could tell he was lying now. She did not know why but she chose not to challenge the deception as it clearly mattered to him that she at least appear to accept his reassurances. However, that only made her even uneasier. Her tail waved behind her slower and in more direct movements rather than the usual subconscious motions directed by her hips. Somehow, trying to pretend everything was all right was even harder than lying.

Sierra finished her eggs and toast, drinking her orange juice to wash it all down. "Thanks for breakfast dad. You always make it the best."

"That's because you always forget the toast is in there." Colonel Walker had more than once needed to remove burnt toast from the toaster oven. He afforded himself a momentary smile, the first she had seen on his muzzle all morning. "Now I want you to remember that you're to come straight home after school, do you understand me? No going off with your friends or anything of that nature. I need to know where you are, especially today."

Sierra shrugged. "Okay, I promise," she said, certain now that there was something he was not telling her.

"Do you remember what to do if anything happens?" he asked.

"I come home first thing and get into the shelter and wait for you," she said. "We've done enough drills for me to know the routine," she said.

Jonas smiled at his daughter. "Yes, you do. You're a real pro at it too. I've no doubt that if anything happened you'd be more than capable of handling yourself." He walked over to the kitchen table and took a seat. "You know that these are all just precautions, right?"

Sierra held the mostly empty glass of orange juice in her paws to give herself something to focus on while he talked. She was not sure if she should ask him for answers or not, but she knew she was doing a poor job of hiding how tense she felt from his behavior. "Against what?" she asked, knowing she probably shouldn't have spoken.

Her father shook his head. "I know you're not a child, so I'll level with you if you promise to keep it to yourself. You can't tell anyone, even your school friends."

"I promise," she said.

"Things are getting worse between us and the League. The peace talks haven't gone well and we've been ordered to increase security at every military facility in the country. Sierra, there's a real chance that we might suffer an attack. I don't know how bad, but if it does happen you're my priority." He took her paw in his and locked eyes with her. "We're a team, you hear me?"

"I do," she said.

"All right," he said. He walked into the master bedroom and returned with a sleeveless vest. "I want you to have this, just in case."

"Your old jacket?" she asked.

"Yeah. I wore it when I met your mother, and it's always brought me luck. I cut off the sleeves and had it taken in a bit so it would fit you. I want you to wear it. It'll keep you safe, even if I'm not there to protect you." He left that last sentence hanging in the air like he was afraid he might not see her again. The feeling wasn't a pleasant one. She took the jacket with both paws and slipped it on over her clothes. It felt good on her body. When she zipped it up it felt snug but not tight. She smiled, her anxiety temporarily abated.

"Thanks, dad," she said.

"You're welcome, sweetie. Now I'm going to give you a ride to school since it's on my way and then I've got to go to work. You go straight home after class and wait for me. Do you have your backpack and all of your stuff?" he asked.

Sierra nodded, as her bag was all set next to her bed. "I've just got to grab it and I'll be ready."

"Let's get moving, young lady, we've got places to be and you've got some learning to do." He stood up and grabbed the car keys while she hurried to grab her backpack. She locked the front door with her house key and joined her father who waited beside the car. He gave her the tightest hug she could ever remember him giving her before releasing her with a smile and a tear in his eye.

"Jeez, dad, it's not like we're never going to see each other again," she said.

"I know, sweetie, but it's just something your mom always used to say to me. Treasure each moment you have with your loved ones, because you never know when you might not have any more." He made a halfhearted smile before he walked around the car to get in.

Sierra wondered if her father was just thinking a lot of her mother that day. Maybe all of the things she had heard in the news had gotten him rattled. In either case, she made certain to remember everything about that moment, just in case he was right. She watched him the entire way to school, committing every detail of his face to her memory.

* * *

Since she lived so close to the school Sierra never rode the bus. She arrived about the same time as most of her classmates did. When she approached the yellow vehicles she spotted her best friend as her hoof touched the pavement. "Rose!" Sierra waved and approached with a smile.

"Hey, you. Ready for another day of classes?" she asked.

"I guess," she said, looking around at the other rows of students that did not have a military father. They knew nothing of what was going on, not even a hint. She wondered if she would prefer to be in their shoes or if it was better to know what was going on, even if it was unpleasant to think about.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked. Her dark haired giraffe friend was rarely the type to mince words. Faced with the direct question, Sierra had to admit what little she knew.

The kinkajou hefted her backpack over one shoulder. "It's my dad. He was acting really weird this morning, insisting I come home right after school and making sure I knew what to do in case something happened." She shrugged. "It's not the first time he's been weird like that but this morning seemed different."

Rose glanced to her right as the rest of the students left the bus and went inside. "Maybe he's just stressed."

"I don't think that's it. He didn't say much, other than that things weren't going well between us and the League, but you don't think they'd attack us, do you?" she asked.

Before Rose could provide an answer, the conversation was interrupted by a red luxury sports car that pulled up into one of the student spaces. Its driver braked hard as she slid into a stop and turned the engine off. A female skunk got out with her high heels making clicks on the pavement as she waltzed away from her car. "Bet you wish you had a ride like mine, don't you?" she said.

Sierra flipped her off. "My father didn't buy me a useless sports car. He actually taught me useful things, like how to change a tire."

"Everywhere has Triple A. I don't need to waste my time doing stupid things like that when I have a cell phone." The skunk flipped her sunglasses over her eyes and walked towards the school building where she met up with a couple of girls that dressed exactly like her. They turned towards Sierra and Rose and laughed before walking inside as a group.

"What a bitch," Rose said.

"Yeah, well, when she's stuck with a flat tire I'll be the one laughing. Come on, let's get inside before we're late." She pulled her friend along into the main building. They turned down a few hallways until they reached their first class. Sierra slipped into her seat next to Rose right as the bell rang. The two girls let out a mutual sigh of relief as the class began.

The teacher was a handsome hyena with dark auburn hair. After everyone was seated and quieted down he began the lesson. "All right, boys and girls, let's get started. I assume you all did the reading last night on the hostility between the League and us. No doubt it's particularly relevant to what's going on now. Have any of you been watching the news?" he asked. A few hands went up, including Sierra's. She noticed that the three girls that had insulted her outside were not among them.

"Those of you that raised your hands, good for you. At least you'll have a little warning before the shit hits the fan. Can any of you tell me the background behind our conflict with the League?" he asked.

Rose raised her hand. A moment later their teacher pointed in her direction. "The League and the United States have been engaged in an unofficial cold war for over a decade. Both sides continue to vie for resources and control of several disputed areas. While to this point direct conflict has been limited to isolated skirmishes, it is rumored that the League is pursuing mass destructive capabilities."

The hyena gave her a nod. "Very good. What's the other reason for the conflict between our two countries?"

Sierra held up her own hand. When he nodded, she spoke. "Ideology."

"Explain."

"Their government considers us the enemy. In their view we're an imperialistic expansionist empire with values they consider to be contrary to their best interests." Sierra had read about the League in large part due to her desire to want to know what her father was up against as a younger girl. He had been telling her about the numerous close calls he had experienced during the long tense conflict. She wondered if the adults ever got to relax anymore.

The teacher started to write on the board. "That's right. The government of the League is controlled by the military. Their leader is a Prime Minister that directly oversees the country through the military. The branches of their armed forces run everything over there from the commercial airlines to the food services. More or less the opposite of capitalism, the government determines what is made and how much. You kids get to select your college over here. If you lived in the League, your future would largely be determined by your family's station.

"No one can tell me what to do," the skunk girl said.

The hyena gestured to her. "Over there, that kind of comment would get you into some trouble if anyone heard you." He paused. "Now let's get back to the lesson..." Before he could resume the emergency sirens started going off.

Sierra covered her ears as the loud noise sounded for one full minute before the announcement came. She could not believe what she heard.

"Attention all faculty and students. A nuclear attack is underway. Please report immediately to the emergency shelter beneath the school. Repeat, report immediately to the underground shelter beneath the school. This is not a drill. A nuclear attack is underway." The school principal had prerecorded the message. All of the students started to look around searching for answers from their teacher.

"All right everyone, form into two lines, we're going down to the basement." The hyena gestured for them to get up. "Now! Leave all of your stuff, get over here!"

Sierra waited until her line had gotten out of the classroom and she bolted towards the door closest to her home. The teacher and Rose both called out after her, but she was gone before either of them could do anything about it. She hurried out to the parking lot where it was a scene of chaos. People were running in all directions having no idea where the attack was coming from or if it would even hit in their area. She looked both ways before she dashed across the football field to her house.

The direct route would save her some time. She heard the sound of two cars smashing into each other and the drivers shouting. Ignoring everything other than the thought to hurry home she leapt over the fence at the perimeter of the school and made her way towards her backyard. Once she'd gotten there she flipped the latch and pulled open the back fence door.

Sierra sprinted to the backdoor of the house and fumbled around for her house key. There wasn't much time. "Dad, please be home." She felt the key slide into the lock and turned it. Bursting inside at full speed she rushed to the kitchen. "Dad!" She searched all of the rooms on the ground floor for him but he was nowhere to be found. It was likely he was still at the base but a part of her hoped she'd find him upstairs.

Taking the steps two at a time the young kinkajou rushed towards her father's bedroom and flung the door open. She flicked the lights on and found no one. She saw an envelope on the bed with her name on it. Not having the time to know what it was, she grabbed it and dashed back downstairs. Dad wasn't home but she didn't have the time to go find him. She knew that every second that passed a nuclear weapon was getting that much closer to her home.

Not taking any chances, she clutched the envelope to her chest and grabbed her emergency bag as she passed her room. She slid down the banister and jumped to the first floor with a graceful landing. Kinkajous were known for being agile, and it served her well as she dashed again through the house towards the door to the fallout shelter. She dropped the backpack beside the hatch and struggled to get it open. After a moment the wheel on top started to turn and allowed her to lift it open.

Sierra threw the backpack in first and the envelope in second. She pulled out her cell phone and tried to call her father. "Come on, dad, pick up..." The busy signal beeped followed by a message telling her all circuits were busy. She cursed and tried again. Even though she was aware that she was wasting valuable time she had to at least hear his voice and know that he was okay. He would have chastised her for not getting into the shelter immediately but she couldn't resist.

After the third attempt she gave up and slipped the phone back into her pocket. She climbed down the entrance ladder a few rungs and waited in the hopes that her father would pull up at the last second. If she closed the door too soon he might not be able to join her in time. Her heart raced with a rapid thud in her chest as each second ticked by with the weapons coming ever closer.

Dad had to make it. She didn't have anyone else. Sierra cursed again as the sound of a gigantic boom filled the air. She was out of time. Both paws grasped the door as she pulled it shut and spun it around to seal out the radiation. Less than a second later she felt the ground shake as she clung to the rungs of the ladder. Her eyes slammed shut and she gripped the metal for dear life hoping that she would make it through the next few seconds. She did not open them again until three minutes later, when the immediate vibrations seemed to have stopped. Sierra climbed down the rest of the way and entered the fallout shelter that she and her father had built in the case of a nuclear disaster.

It was hardy and well built, strong enough to protect a family and large enough for four people. The food was stocked with enough resources to last for several weeks and that was assuming you had a full load. Sierra would be able to last for months in this place if she had to. She hoped that dad had made it to a similar shelter on the base or better yet that he had survived the worst of it.

For now, she had to run through the checklist. As worried as she was for her father's well being she knew that the moment she began to think about him she would fall apart at not knowing. She turned away from the door and looked around. Pulling a flashlight from her back she activated it and shone the beam around the dark area. The first step was the find the generator. She walked towards the far end where it sat in it's own separate compartment and checked the fuel levels and other relevant details. Once she was satisfied it was ready she turned it on and listened to it roar to life. The lights came on and filled the area with enough to see by. She turned off her flashlight to conserve the battery and returned to the main room. It was really just four compartments, a sleeping area, a living area, a kitchen and restroom, and the generator.

She returned to the couch and searched her emergency bag for the radio. She set it up on the counter but at least for the moment could not bring herself to turn it on. Taking a moment to inventory her food supplies it appeared that she had more than enough to keep her alive for a full two months in here by herself. There were a large variety of items including a good amount of MRE's. She went into the restroom to determine what she had in the way of medical supplies. Once she was satisfied that she had all of the basics, including bandages and antiseptics and other such things, she returned to the main room. She walked over to the envelope she had dropped when she had entered the shelter and tore it open. A metal object clattered to the floor.

Sierra bent down to pick it up. It was a key. Inside was a note from her father. "Sierra, my dearest daughter, with any luck even if I have not made it home in time to join you I will be with you soon. In the event that you came home I know you would come to my room before going to the shelter in case I was there. I hope to be home before sundown but if I am not I wanted to leave you something to protect you in case the worst comes to pass. This is a key to some powerful weapons at Moore Air Force Base. Use them only if you must and in the worst-case scenario. If I am correct, similar weapons may have been responsible for what befell us if this comes to be necessary. That said, I want you to have all of the protection I can offer. It may be a violation of how many military orders and protocols, but my daughter's safety comes before any and all considerations, even my duty. I love you, dad."

The young kinkajou clutched the note and key to her chest for a long moment as a tear streaked down her cheeks. Soaking into her fur, she attempted to stop crying but she could not control it as her voice broke into a wail of pain. She fell to her knees and gripped the key tight in her paws and simply shook from despair.

She had no idea how long she had laid on the floor. All she knew was that no one was coming to get her. Sierra knew that she would be safe for now but when the food ran out she would have no choice but to climb up to the surface and see what remained. Not wanting to face the possibility that she was alone in the world, she turned on the radio.

No matter what channel she tuned it to all she could receive was emergency messages and static. She clicked from one frequency to the next hoping that there was someone out there. The population of the world was over seven billion. She could not be the only one still alive. Despite her best efforts, the only answer the radio would give her was the crackling of signals lost. Defeated, she turned it off and placed it face down. At least now she could try and get some sleep. Maybe her dreams would be normal and for a few hours she could forget her situation. Anything would be better than this.

* * *

April 4, 2035

A week and a half had passed since the nuclear attack that had devastated parts of the United States and who knew where else. Sierra had spent that time in her family's fallout shelter wondering if her father or anyone she knew had survived. Sierra had followed the plan, gotten home and gotten in here in the hopes that her father would already be at the house or be here already, but he had likely been on duty and hopefully survived thanks to the military facilities at the Moore Air Force Base where he served.

She knew that her friend Rose had likely been taken to the school's fallout shelter, built underneath the gymnasium to protect the students and faculty in the event of a detonation. It was hoped that they would be able to survive long enough for help to arrive. In part she wondered if she would not have been better off staying. At least then she would have had Rose to talk to. Then she remembered the skunk girl that probably would've been complaining about how the mall got destroyed and stupid things like that and decided she was better off.

In any event, she had enough supplies to remain here for another month at least, perhaps another week and a half after that before she would be forced to venture out and try to find her father. She had enough supplies for two people to last a month, but she did not want to wait until her supplies had run out before she started to explore. For the time being, she still had enough variety and quantity to remain strong and well fed. She had already begun to empty out her disaster pack and start from scratch to determine what she would need in the world after the attack. Having no idea what she would face, she had started with the basics. A first aid kid, water, and the easiest food stores to transport. She stocked the ones that would be hard to prepare out there or difficult to carry, using them while she was relatively safe in the shelter.

She kept a knife and a handgun her father had taught her how to shoot along with two full boxes of bullets. She hoped they would last a while. There were several more in the shelter but she feared carrying too many might slow her down if she needed to run. She had a knife she could strap to her leg for hunting game and for defense, as well as any number of other functions. She kept her compass and emergency radio, smaller than the unit designated for the shelter she could carry it easily and generate power via the crank on the side.

Every day since the disaster she had started the morning with an exercise routine. Upon waking she would perform several pushups and pull-ups on a bar that crossed the width of the shelter. She would do stretches to keep herself limber, and suspend herself from her tail to keep it strong and agile. She lacked the space to do more involved exercises but the basics would do for now. Sierra would alternate between several different types of exercises she could perform in her sleeping area until she got bored.

She would continue her routine with a shower. The water was from a buried protected source, and it was constantly recycled for the purposes of bathing and other hygienic functions. The drinking water was from a separate tank. Her father had prepared well for the possibility of a nuclear war, but it would only protect her for so long. At least it would ensure she could explore the area safely and avoid the initial radiation damage.

Warm water flowed from the showerhead. The young kinkajou knew that she would miss this more than most things from the old world. After she left the shelter her cleanliness would be the hardest thing to maintain. There would be no running water in most places and likely little hot water. For at least a little while she could pretend like it was just any other morning. The warm water soaked into her fur and cleaned the sweat and grime from her body. She felt the pleasant sensation of scented soap lather into the fur providing a wonderful floral smell.

Sierra closed her eyes and envisioned her bathroom in her mind. Since she had lost her mother her father had turned her into a bit of a tomboy, but she still had some areas where she insisted on being a girl. Scented soap was one of those things. She loved the smell and it reminded her of her mother. As a baby she could always recall the scent of her mother's fur smelling of vanilla or some flower, whatever she had indulged in that day. Sierra picked up her mother's penchant for scented products and placed several bars in the shelter as an indulgence. She kept one for the emergency pack when she finally would leave the protection of the shelter. Regardless of what the world may hold outside, she would have at least one piece of the old world with her.

Bathing was slow and luxurious. She knew that there was no hurry to finish in the shower and when she opened her eyes she would be once more reminded of the world that she no longer had. Her paws rubbed the soap into her body and the water washed it down the drain to be filtered out and cleaned. After enough time had passed, she opened her eyes and shut off the water, standing nude in the shower for a while to allow the water to drain back into her reserves.

Wringing out her hair caused a good amount of the water to splash around her feet paws. She swallowed and waited until she felt most of the water she could retain had gone back into the stores for the next day and dried the rest with a towel and jets of air that blew across her fur as she exited the shower stall.

For a while she walked around unclothed since there was no one to dress for. She picked out a pair of pants and a top that worked, though she did not bother with socks or shoes. In here, it wouldn't matter. When she was dry, she slipped the clothes on over her under things and stared at the radio.

No signals had been picked up by it whenever she had turned it on. She had gone through any number of frequencies in an attempt to find someone that had survived. Every day at noon she turned it on to see if anyone was out there. So far she had been disappointed. She had a few minutes before her daily check so she walked over to the device by the hatch that monitored the radiation levels on the surface. At the moment they seemed like they had continued to drop but it would be a bit more time before she felt willing to test it. She had planned to get the most time out of her shelter and had circled the date on the calendar that she would have to leave in order to maximize her chances.

Sierra took a deep breath before she turned towards the radio and activated it. At first it greeted her with static, which did not surprise her. She sighed and started to tune the frequency to other stations and paused when she heard what sounded like music. Turning it back, she listened as an American theme started to play. When it was finished, a male voice came over the speakers. "Attention, citizens. We have suffered a significant attack to our nation. Satellites have detected nuclear strikes in Boston _,_ Raleigh_ ,_ Orlando _, and_ Chicago. Our military is responding as quickly as possible and emergency services are on their way to each area to address your needs. Please remain calm and refrain from traveling any more than is absolutely necessary until we issue the all clear. For further information, please tune to radio frequency 182.6. Message repeats."

Ecstatic that she had gotten a signal she knew that it did not mean much, but if nothing else it meant that at least one emergency broadcast center had survived. It was not the same as living breathing survivors but if the equipment made it that meant it was at minimum a reason for hope. She crossed her fingers and tuned it to the emergency channel.

She was greeted by another recording. "Emergency channel 182.6 reporting. Evacuation centers have been set up in your area. Those that have spaces in the Sanctuary program have been removed prior to the nuclear detonations. If you are in the area and require evacuation or wish to locate loved ones, please go to the community center on

Main Street. We will be present for as long as is feasible providing emergency food, water, and hygiene facilities until our supplies run out. Please be aware that we are dealing with a large number of refugees, and our emergency medical treatment center is currently at capacity. Please follow the related instructions on what to do in the event of nuclear contamination." The message continued with a bunch of instructions, but there was still little of use. She noted the community center might have some information she might be able to use when she went topside so she filed that away in her mind for a place to go.

Even though Sierra had planned for what she would need when she could no longer remain here she had not really thought about where she would go. She hesitated to leave her home but she knew that there would be little reason to stay here when there may not even be a home left. First, she had to find Rose. The school was nearby and her house was not far from there. If she survived, she would ask her for help. Beyond that, she would go to the community center and see if there was news on Moore Air Force Base and whether her father was anywhere. She would go there to see if he had survived, but it would take some time to walk if she could not find a useable vehicle.

After that, she had no idea where she would go. She would try to find people first of all. Perhaps her first goal after finding dad and Rose would be to see what had survived the nuclear attacks. Maybe there would be some cities that had escaped the devastation. Perhaps there were even places that still had power running to them. She had a place to start, so maybe a destination would present itself when she got to the air force base.

A scan of the radio frequencies found a few other broadcasts but most of them were emergency messages that repeated endlessly. Perhaps if she wandered long enough she would find more. For now she was at least grateful for the knowledge that there more than likely were people that had survived the disaster and that some technology was still out there. She crossed her fingers hoping her father had similar luck.

"I love you, dad," she said to the air, hoping he could hear her somehow. The rest of her day was filled with small tasks, like reading a book to pass the time until the next check of the shelter's systems. It was busywork, but anything was better than dwelling on things that she could not change. She sat down on the couch and leaned backwards, staring at the ceiling.

* * *

May 20, 2035

After several days of anticipation the time had finally come. Her supplies were almost gone save for the food she had added to her pack for when she left the shelter behind her home. Today was the threshold day where she would maximize her chances for making it out there. She had checked the radiation readings outside of the shelter and they had returned to normal for the immediate area. It was safe to open the hatch at least. She conducted a final check of the shelter and confirmed that she had everything she needed before she slipped the pack on and stood in front of the ladder.

"Here goes nothing. Wish me luck, dad." She climbed the rungs slower than was necessary in part due to her trepidation of what she might find out there. She twisted the wheel to open the hatch and pushed it open with one paw. She emerged into what used to be her backyard and scanned all around the area before she climbed out completely. Making certain that there was no one nearby Sierra turned first to her home. It was mostly intact, as were many of the homes in the immediate area. The bombs must not have fallen terribly close to her neighborhood.

She took some comfort in that thought for a moment before recalling that there were more tempting targets in the area. It was possible some of those targets had struck the above ground facilities at Moore Air Force Base. Her father may have been fortunate enough to be underground, but there was no guarantee of that. In any event she knew she had to check, even if it turned out to be a fruitless search. She and her dad had made a number of plans in the event that something like this happened, but what they would do if they were separated had never been one of them. She did not know where she would go if she did not find him, or what would become of her.

Taking one last look at her home, she turned away and started in the direction of the high school. She walked for a couple of blocks stopping in front of the school long enough to see the building had partially collapsed. Several large holes had formed in the brick that made up the outer walls and more than a few disabled cars rested in the parking lot.

Sierra was about to keep moving when she saw movement inside one of the classrooms. She reached for her gun and chambered a round. Once that was done she walked slowly towards the building. Maybe there was a survivor inside. Rose and many of the other students had been there when the bombs had hit. Perhaps they were inside and still surviving on the supplies in the school.

The kinkajou walked towards the main doors and opened them, finding the building eerily quiet. Empty of people with signs of chaos all around it was obvious that it had been left in this state following the alert being broadcast. She almost thought to call out but hesitated. She knew nothing about who might be rattling around in the school. Sierra thought better of it and resumed her search of the building. She stopped when she saw someone in one of the classrooms.

The figure crouched in the corner on a sleeping bag with a bunch of empty cans around him. It appeared that for a time he had made his home here. She was about to address him when his eyes locked on her. In his disheveled state she almost had not recognized her former teacher.

"Sir?" she asked.

"Sierra Walker? My god, you survived." He stood up. His face bore an expression of amazement. The clear lack of grooming indicated he had not bathed in some time. He still wore the same clothes he had on the day of the bombs. "I thought you were dead for certain when you ran off."

"Where are the others? What happened to Rose?" she asked.

"Rose? She was picked up for one of those Sanctuary things. I begged them to take the rest of the students, but we hadn't reserved a space so they left us to fend for ourselves. We did fine for the first couple of weeks, some of the parents came to get their children, but before long we were running low on supplies. Some of the teachers left, others took some of our stores and vanished in the middle of the night. More than a few kids just disappeared. I don't know if they left or what, but I didn't have the people to go looking for them. We tried to find help but everywhere was the same thing. No one would help us. Finally the others all left saying that trying to find help was better than staying here. I said they were fools. 'Someone will come to save us', I said. I waited for another two weeks hoping I was right. No one came. Maybe they thought there was no one left to rescue." He lit a cigarette. "It's my last one." He gestured with it in the air. With one paw he crumpled the cigarette box and tossed it on the ground.

"You know what's funny? I was trying to quit before the bombs fell. I had this pack on me for weeks without touching it. I kept it as a reminder to what I was trying to overcome. I smoked one the day of the disaster. It seemed to calm me, at least a little. Anyway, I painted a message on the roof hoping someone would come, and each night I would light up a few emergency flares and try to see if anyone was flying overhead. After a few more days I started to think the others were right." He lowered his head and leaned against his desk.

Sierra sniffed the air. He stank of alcohol. It was then she noticed several open vodka bottles on the floor. "Have you been here the whole time by yourself?"

"Where else was I going to go? Back to my sad little apartment where no one was waiting for me? I don't have anyone within a thousand miles that I would go to find and the planes aren't flying anymore. I thought about ending it a few times, you know. I had the knife poised under my throat. I couldn't do it. I tried, but the more I willed myself to do it the less my paws would obey. I guess that makes me a coward." The auburn haired hyena smoked his cigarette, taking a nice long drag from it.

"You just wanted to live. I want to find my dad." She backed up a step when he looked up at her and scowled.

"You even really think he's alive?" he asked.

Sierra looked away from him. She didn't want to think of the possibility that she would never see him again. "I have to."

The hyena scoffed. "You're wasting your time." He sighed. "You know it's falling apart out there. It has been since the day everything went to hell. There aren't hardly any signs of civilization. Everyone's out for themselves, if you can even find anyone in the first place, and the government's nowhere to be seen. You know, I bet there's no one left in the capital to give a shit about us?"

"There are people out there. You and I are proof of that." She hoped to raise his spirits, but it seemed to do the opposite. He took one last drag off of the cigarette before tossing it to the floor.

The auburn haired hyena picked up a knife and held it towards her. "How did you survive all this time without a mark on you?" he asked.

"What?" Sierra backed away a few steps.

"Your hair, it's perfect. You have clean clothes. You haven't missed a meal as far as I can tell. What's in that pack? Do you have food?" he asked, demanding with his eyes.

"I'd be willing to share a little," she said, backing up against the wall. "I don't have much."

The hyena that had taught her about the world now seemed to be reverting to his primal instincts, his only concern about his own well-being. If he had to go through her to ensure his continued survival it seemed like he was willing to do that. "I bet that pack is full of food. Where did you get it? Is there more? Answer me!"

Sierra recalled as he shouted at her that she still had her gun. She raised it towards him. "Stay back!"

"You little bitch. You don't deserve those supplies. In a second you won't need them anymore." He growled and attacked her, pushing her against the wall. She dropped the gun and it clattered along the tile floor. She screamed and kicked at him, trying to get free. He tore her shirt, forcing her to the ground. Sierra panicked and crawled behind the desk in an effort to get away.

His paw closed around her ankle, and she kicked him with her other foot. Blood streamed from his nose as he growled louder at her. She jammed her heel into his jaw with all of her strength and scrambled to her feet, spotting the gun out of the corner of her eyes. She leapt for it, grabbing it with both hands.

The next few seconds passed as if they were an eternity. She remembered getting her paws on the gun and aiming it at her former teacher. Sierra squeezed the trigger in a panic and watched him fall to his knees as the blood pooled around his waist and chest. She had fired three shots when all was said and done. The kinkajou covered her mouth with her paw as the life drained out of his eyes. He collapsed to the tile floor, dead in a pool of his own blood.

Her breath was rapid and deep. She gulped air by the mouthful trying to calm down. She looked at his body and realized how different the world was from the one she had just left a few months earlier. Her teacher, someone she had trusted and looked up to, had tried to kill her and take her supplies. She had spent the last few weeks in relative comfort but out here the collapse of the world that was had already begun. Sierra backed away from the body and returned to the hall, realizing something else. There was no institutionalized form of law anymore. If anyone came after her there would be no one coming to her rescue. She would be on her own. She counted the remaining bullets in her gun and the boxes she was certain she had.

Next time she would need to conserve ammunition and be certain her shots hit their mark. She had plenty of bullets for now but ammo went quick if you weren't paying attention. She knew that there was no point in chastising herself for taking three shots but the next time she could not allow herself to panic. The next time she might face someone that was ready for her.

She left the school behind, wiser for the journey, but on her way to Moore Air Force Base she made neither further stops nor any effort whatsoever to investigate movement inside the buildings she passed.

When she arrived at the gate she found the base abandoned. Trucks and dead soldiers littered the area but there was not a single living soul that appeared to be moving about. The smell of death filled the air as she stepped among the dead bodies. Whatever had happened occurred quickly, there were a few soldiers that looked as if they had not even had time to react. She approached the main buildings of the base and stopped as she spotted an armored structure that appeared to contain an elevator that went down. She touched the surface of the doors with her paws but after a few attempts to open the door mechanism she simply lacked the strength to do it on her own. She looked up to the camera and noted the light was off. Even if there was someone down there the camera had no power to transmit her image.

She turned away from the structure and entered the base proper. Once she had found her way into the structure she saw more bodies at their desks. The radiation or the initial blasts had probably killed them. Her badge did not indicate any remaining in the area so she continued on and picked up a few extra magazines of ammunition from the dead soldiers. She felt guilty about taking it but she had to be practical. These men could no longer use them and scavengers would take them eventually. At least this way she could keep them in the hands of a military daughter and be certain no one would use them to harm innocents.

Sierra found a few more supplies she was able to take from the Infirmary and Commissary in her search of the base. She was grateful that she had not come across her father anywhere in her travels. Despite the unlikelihood that he survived the attack she held out hope that it was possible as long as she did not find his body somewhere on the base.

The young kinkajou walked down the hall to what indicated itself to be the command center. The door was locked by an electronic locking system that currently had no power. Of course it could be opened from inside manually but there were two doors between her and whoever might be inside.

"Hello?" she asked. "Is anybody in there?" She banged the handle of her knife against the metal and shouted, but no response came. She knew that the intercom was offline if the door mechanism showed no power, but it had been a month and a half since the attack. Odds are that if her dad were alive he wouldn't be here. If any of the men had survived he would have tried to get in contact with his superior officers. She knew that there would have to be a reason why he wouldn't have come home to find her, maybe he'd been wounded and his officers had taken him away before he came to his senses. In either case, she would never know if her father's body rested in there, or in that area beneath the base.

Thought it was a hard thought to accept, Sierra knew that she could not spend forever trying to confirm her father's status. He was nowhere in the open so that was something. If he were alive, he would never stop searching for her, as she would never give up her search for him. Whether they would find each other was up to fortune and fate. She sighed and resumed her search for anything useful.

There were plenty of weapons but she was only one person and could not carry an entire arsenal. She grabbed a couple of grenades and a flashbang or two but otherwise left most of the weapons where they were. She wished at the moment that she had another to help carry the stuff and travel with, there were a few items she'd have loved to take with her on her journey. She sighed and moved into the office areas of the main building.

She doubted that she would find her dad in his office but she felt that if she was going to start wandering the world looking for what was left she was not going to have another chance to visit the base. Sierra scanned the nameplates in the hall until her eyes settled on the one that read Colonel Jonas Walker. She touched it with her fingertips and felt the cool metal as she read his name aloud. "Where are you, dad?" she asked.

Dust and debris littered the office with papers spread all over the place. Her father's safe was open with the gun inside missing, which raised her hopes that he might be alive somewhere. It didn't look as if it had been forced. She examined the safe and found nothing else of interest other than a few papers that no longer seemed of concern to anyone after the attack. She sat in her father's desk chair and looked around at his office, wondering what the key he had given her was for. It was to protect her, he had said, with some rather powerful weapons. She wondered if perhaps he had been intentionally vague just in case someone else had gotten the note from her but she wished he had included a little more detail or outright told her what it meant.

Perhaps he was too afraid to tell her or didn't want to voice his fears for concern that somehow it might make it real. She knew such things were silly but during times like this people tended to lean on intangible things a lot more than usual. It was like the reason she never told her father 'good bye' when he left for duty. It wasn't superstition. She just never wanted those to be the last words she said to her father.

She held the key in her paw for a long moment and looked around at all the pictures of herself with her father or their whole family. She looked at the picture of him and her mother on their wedding day. Her mother looked so pretty, she almost resembled Sierra in many of her features. She had not seen this picture in quite some time, maybe dad kept it here to talk to her in private and remind him of his beloved wife and her mother.

She flipped the picture over and removed the photo from the frame, tucking it into her backpack along with the few other mementos of the old world. She could not bring herself to part with them despite the obvious need for practicality at the moment. Regardless, a few photos and trinkets would not weigh her down too much, and she would rather have them with her than leave them behind.

After a few more moments in the empty space of the office, she walked to the doorway and turned around. "I love you, dad." She left and closed the door, locking it from the inside before she did, just in case anyone else came they'd have to work a little harder to break into her father's office. She walked away and back to the gate of the base in quick steps.

Sierra walked forward towards the road and stopped as she considered for the first time that she did not know where she would go from here. She turned to review her options. The left road would take her back to her hometown where she had just come from. The city was to the right about twenty miles or so down the highway. About six miles down the road was another small town. Maybe she would stop there first to see if anyone had survived, before moving on to the large city and attempting to trace the probable direction of any army retreat. Wherever her dad went, if he went anywhere, she hoped he would hold out hope for her as she did for him.

* * *

When she arrived at the small town of Sandy Brook, the scene that greeted her was like one out of the movies. Cars were abandoned on the road where more than one accident had occurred. Bodies lay here and there where the initial radiation had killed them. Some folks had been killed after, judging by the way that more than a few front doors were forced open by looters.

Sierra walked through the town in the direction she thought her dad might have gone if the base had managed a retreat. She was guessing, but she had nowhere else to be at the moment if she couldn't find her dad. The kinkajou looked around for any signs of a military presence having been here but all she found was signs of chaos. The center of town seemed largely abandoned with most of the folks she did see avoiding her at all costs. A lot of them seemed scared and afraid to approach anyone they did not know.

She kept to herself as she made her way through the town. It would be a while before she needed to concern herself with salvaging more supplies, but for now she was content to keep moving.

The kinkajou walked forward a few more blocks until her attention was drawn to some movement above her on one of the buildings. She saw the glint of a sight being reflected upon by the sun and dove for the ground. The shot missed by inches and ricocheted off the pavement. She rushed into a nearby diner and took cover inside as her attackers fired several additional shots into the establishment.

She could not tell how many attackers there were but she knew that she was outnumbered. They clearly were firing from at least three positions based on the sounds of the bullets as they flew from their weapons. Sierra pulled out her pistol and moved position behind the counter. It was not ideal but it was more defensible than being out there in the dining area. They would not be able to get as easy a shot at her. More than likely they would need to come inside if they wanted her weapons and supplies. She cautiously raised her head to assess her situation.

Three men approached her from the front. She fired a shot and took the first in the chest. The second and third returned fire and pushed their way into the diner. Sierra would tell one of them was a rhino and the other a fox. Despite her best attempt to control her breathing she felt the tension fill her body with a nervous shiver. She had only killed her first sentient today and that was in a moment of panic. Now she was forced to fight for her own survival.

She looked up in terror as the rhino came around the counter intending to shoot her in the face. Just as she closed her eyes in panic a gunshot rang out followed by another. When she realized she wasn't dead and hadn't felt the pain of a gunshot wound she opened her eyes.

A male hyena with dirty blonde hair stood before her with a rifle in his paws. "Are you all right?"

"I think so," she said, taking his paw and rising to her feet. "Thank you," she said. Sierra noticed he seemed rather well kept despite his somewhat rugged appearance. Wearing a rust colored shirt and brown pants, he wore a light beige handkerchief around his neck. His hair was tied back in a neat ponytail and other than the wrapped bandages around his ankles that held his pants to his body it seemed to have elements of both a cobbled together outfit and yet some logical choices for the new world. "My name is Sierra Walker."

"Kieran Reynolds." He shook her paw before moving to examine his weapon and reload the bullets inside. The practiced way he treated his weapon showed that he had some clear firearms experience. She could not tell if he was military though she saw no signs of dog tags or other identifiers.

"Where did you come from?" she asked.

"Chicago," he said.

"I mean, recently." She looked around and surmised he must have come in from the back of the diner.

Kieran nodded as he realized what she meant and laughed. "I was coming through town and saw you just as you were coming under attack. They drove you into the diner and I thought I should intervene."

Sierra raised her head at his response. "You helped me," she said.

"Yeah, is that so strange?" he asked.

"Two months ago, maybe not. After the bombs fell, kind of. I met my high school teacher and he tried to kill me for my food and supplies. I walked into this town and no one came within a hundred feet of me. I fell under attack here probably to get murdered and who knows what else and you showed up when you didn't have to do anything." Sierra sat on one of the stools at the counter. She was still getting used to the rules of this new world, a lot of which seemed to involve every sentient for themselves. Sierra had exited the shelter thinking that she was prepared but given the way she froze up she started to wonder if she shouldn't have stayed there and at least died in a safe place.

Kieran put a paw on her shoulder. "I don't like bullies." He set his rifle down on the counter and rummaged through the diner's counters for anything useful. He picked up a book of matches and a few sealed packages of utensils and added them to his pack. "You headed somewhere particular?"

Sierra hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should trust the hyena. As if he could tell what she was thinking, he smiled and held up his paws.

"I can understand you being a little skittish given what just happened here a few moments ago but I promise, I'm just asking to be friendly. I'm not here to hurt you." He found a couple of cans of food and placed them in his pack along with his other salvaged supplies. "Not to put too fine a point on it but if I was going to hurt you I could've let these guys take care of you first. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, but I'm telling you the truth when I say I don't mean you any harm. Besides, you seem like you could use a friend."

"I'm looking for my dad," she said.

"Your dad, huh? Where'd he go?" Kieran joined her on one of the stools. The hyena was in his mid twenties judging by his general appearance. She could tell based on the way he'd conducted himself so far that he'd had some experience living out here in the post war world. Maybe he'd know something that she could use.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure if he survived the war. He was a military officer on Moore Air Force Base. I didn't find his body there and he didn't come home for me so I'm hoping he had to go somewhere and couldn't come back. I don't know where he is so I'm just following the most likely route to the next nearest base and hoping I come across him somewhere." Sierra lowered her head.

"Seems like a logical plan to me. I was headed east but I don't have any particular destination. To tell you the truth I'm getting a little weary about having no one to talk to on the open road. Since you seem to know where you're headed and you could probably use a traveling companion, what do you say we travel together for a while?" he asked. "I've got a little experience in a lot of things and I'd say I'm a pretty decent shot. I've been wandering these roads long enough to know that things are getting dangerous out there and more so every day. Come a few more months we just might need each other to stay in one piece." Kieran extended a paw towards her.

Sierra considered the proposal. There were obvious benefits to traveling with a companion. They could sleep in shifts in particularly dangerous areas and she would have a whole second pair of eyes to watch out for danger. Together they could carry more food and pool their supplies if necessary. Given how much things had changed it seemed that much more likely that it was only a matter of time before she encountered an obstacle that would require more than one person to address. If she were injured, a traveling companion could make the difference between survival and death.

After a long pause she nodded. "Okay."

"You good to go or do you need some time before we get started?" he asked.

Sierra stood up. "I'm ready to go right away. If my dad is anywhere in the area, he's got a two month head start. If he's not, I just need to keep moving until I find out what happened to him. Either way, staying here a little longer won't get me any closer to the answers I'm seeking."

"All right, then, let's get going." He gestured towards the back door of the diner, and the two stepped out into the alley behind it. "Lead the way."

Sierra started walking towards the highway that would take them to the next likely place she might find her father, but the journey would take quite a few days on foot. She turned to her new companion and while she did not yet know yet whether or not their arrangement would last very long she felt like he was trustworthy. He had already earned the benefit of the doubt by saving her life when he didn't have to and maybe she could one day return the favor.

It felt like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders now that she was simply no longer alone in the new world. She was not sure how to say it at this point but she was glad of the company.

They traveled for a few more hours before they set up camp some distance away from the road in case travelers should wander by over the course of the night. Sierra pulled out some of her supplies and offered some of her rations to Kieran.

He accepted them gratefully and offered her in return the last of the fresh fruit he had brought from his home. Though he did not offer any details on where that was, he pointed out that they would not last as their other supplies would and they may as well celebrate their new relationship. Sierra sliced the apple he gave her with the knife she kept handy and leaned back against a fallen tree trunk. If this was the new world, it wasn't all bad.