SPN/j2 Big Bang 2019 For The Heirs To Come, Be Brave Chapter 6
For the Heirs to Come, Be Brave
Chapter Six
For Years to Come, Be Brave
Jensen reached over and picked up the small metal bowl and stuck his spoon into and pushed around the beans that consisted of his dinner.
It tasted like crap but they were beginning to run low on provisions so they were having to be careful.
When he glanced over at Jared, he saw that he was already finished eating and had settled in next to the fire.
Early the next morning, after an anxious night of sleep, the group headed off across the field, the excitement at stepping onto the asphalt highway gave them all a sense of renewed hope.
They traveled the highway for most of the day until it began to branch off into different directions.
Two of the new pathways that lay before them were impassable but the third, the road was clear, for the most part.
The terrain had changed enough that they weren't 100% sure of where they were but they had a rough idea.
Just before dusk, after traveling the only road they could take, they found themselves standing in front of a large set of gates.
When they had set out that morning, never in their wildest dreams did they ever think that it would lead to this?
And they weren't even sure what 'this' was.
Whatever was on the other side was being heavily guarded and that both scared and excited them.
They could noise from beyond the walls, there were people talking, laughing, living.
They couldn't know of course, just how many people were on the other side but the mere fact that they had found some sort of settlement, it was unbelievable.
Several minutes passed and the gates suddenly creaked open and a moment later, two men and one woman, escorted by security guards, greeted them.
"Welcome to Cayden," the woman said. "My name is Cassandra O'Keefe," she turned to the two men. "This is Jonathon Evans and Derek Anderson. We understand that you've been through a lot, so if you would follow us, we can escort you to intake and get you settled in."
Jensen glanced over at Jared and they both exhaled sharply.
This was possibly the place that they had been looking for. There was a chance, however small, that their families were beyond those walls.
Jeff lead the group through the gates and they followed Cassandra.
There were groups of people scattered about, they were talking and laughing amongst themselves, they looked happy and they looked safe.
Cassandra led them to a smallish building that was clearly being used as a sheriff's station.
Once they were inside, they took seats around a large table and a few minutes later, two young men came in carrying clipboards and pens and they placed one of each in front of them and when Jensen glanced down, he saw that it was a document, similar to a form you would fill out a Doctor's office.
"We need some information from you," Cassandra explained. "Names, date of birth, were you came from. If you have any medical issues that need to be addressed, please list those and also any family members that you are searching for, give as much detail as you can."
Jared glanced up at her, eyes wide. "How many people are here?"
Cassandra smiled back at him. "When we first established this settlement, we weren't exactly hopeful that the population would be extensive but in the months since its founding, we now have a population of almost 18,000 residents, with more like yourselves arriving daily."
"So, there's a chance then," Jared replied. "That our families could have made it here?"
She smiled again. “There is a chance, yes. That is why we require as much detail about you and them as we can. If your family members made it to Cayden, we want to make sure that you find them.”
Jared looked over at Jensen who looked as hopeful as he felt. “Do you think it’s even possible that they could be here?”
After a moment, Jensen shrugged his shoulders. “I mean sure, it’s possible. I would like to think that they made it but I also don’t want to get my hopes up.”
Jared nodded back at him as he looked over at Jeff and Chris, they were furiously filling in the information on the forms.
Rachel leaned forward and picked up her pen and began writing, Misha and Jensen followed suit.
****
Almost an hour later, they were being escorted back out of the ‘admin’ building. They had been assigned housing, they would be put up in a four-bedroom house on the east side of Cayden. They were given I.D tags with their names, their new address and the date in which they had arrived.
They were all surprised when an old Toyota Landcruiser pulled up beside them.
It was nice to once again see working vehickles, this one looked to be in better shape than the old truck they had used for a few days.
Cassandra turned to face him. “We actually have six vehicles. It took a few months but a team was able to restore them. This one here will take you to your new home. When you arrive, there will be a proxy waiting for you, they will give you information on city rules, when and where to collect your provisions and will begin working with you to find employment or training.”
“So, Cayden is a functioning city?” Chris asked. “People have jobs and the like?”
Cassandra nodded back at him. “It’s been a slow process and without a power grid, even more so but we’re working to rebuild some form of normalcy. We want able-bodied people to be able to work or retrain, we want children to be able to go to school. It’s going to take a lot of work but I have hope that we will succeed.”
“That’s great and all,” Chris said. “What about security, the safety of these people. It’s been months and there are still earthquakes, flooding, fires.”
Cassandra nodded back at him. “I understand your concerns and that forms part of the reason this specific location was chosen to rebuild. There are no high-rise buildings, we are far enough inland that any threat of tsunamis is limited, we’re not located near any mountain ranges and as far as we’re aware there are no major Fault Lines. Damage will occur but we can withstand it. All things considered; Cayden is as safe a place as there is.”
Cassandra motioned for them to get into the jeep and a few minutes later, they were being driven to their new home.
It was a modest house but would be large enough to accommodate them comfortably.
It was only a four bedroom so they would have to double up but given the places they had slept over the past several months; this was going to be a dream.
The house had already been prepared, there were food rations, plenty of water and there were even clothes and toiletries.
For most of the afternoon, they just took some time to sit and rest and a little after five o’clock they sat down for their first full meal in weeks.
That night, each one of them slept properly for the first time in months, they didn’t have to worry about feeling safe or warm and the following morning when they gathered in the kitchen for breakfast, they all looked and felt better.
Around midday, their proxy, Amanda, came by to inform them that they were needed at a meeting at the town hall, it was required of all new residents so they could receive updates and with any luck, be reunited with any missing loved ones.
There were about 40 new residents there, they were given a couple of pages of documents to read, updates and reports that had come in from across the country. They were sporadic at best but it was nice to be kept in the loop.
Even if that loop meant knowing that the damage in most parts of the country was extensive and the death toll was in the millions, double figures.
After the rather depressing meeting, they decided to wander around a little, check out the city.
Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, despite the still ever-present earthquakes, they were just happy to be somewhere safe where they didn't have to worry about finding enough food to eat.
Not long after, they came across a school, there were a couple of dozen children running around playing, it was a sight for sore eyes to see something so completely normal and for a couple of minutes, they stood there watching.
It was then that they knew that this could be a place for them to fight for, a new home.
Two days later, they were summoned to the town hall for what they believed to be another meeting but this time, it was only Jensen and Jared who were required.
As they made their way to town, they each had a million thoughts racing through their minds, they desperately wanted it to be good news but they also had to prepare themselves for the worst.
They walked into the town hall and found Cassandra was in one of the offices, she was talking to a couple of people but she waved at them and then pointed to the door across the hall.
"I'll meet you there in a few minutes."
Jensen nodded back at her and they made their way across the hall.
When they stepped through the door, he almost screamed at what he saw and then he felt Jared grabbed his arm.
Sitting at the table, were their mothers, Sherri and Donna, their younger sister's Megan and Mackenzie and Jared's older brother Jeff.
The very thing they had been searching for months now, was right in front of them.
From that first moment when they had felt the first tremors under their feet until now, it had been moment after moment of wanting this day to come, to find their families.
"How did you end up here?" Jensen asked.
"Albuquerque was evacuated the first day, we were transported to a FEMA Camp in Denver where were spent several weeks before being brought here."
"Josh, Dad and Allan left more than a month ago to try and find you." Megan added.
"And of course you haven't heard from them since." Jared said.
Megan shook her head. "No, it's not like they can call or anything but I believe that we'll see them again, I knew we would see you, so..."
Jared leaned forward and pulled his little sister into a hug.
"I'm sure they'll be okay," Jensen added. "Did they have any sort of time frame for their search."
"They did," Donna said. "They agreed that if they hadn't found you after 90 days, they would come back."
Jensen exhaled sharply. "They're still out there and I guess they will be for another several weeks yet."
He glanced over at Jared and the two shared a concerned look.
"I'm hopeful that they're safe, that they know what to do," Sherri said. "They'll be okay."
****
They had been in Cayden for two weeks now and while they were settling in okay, it still felt off, it didn't feel like home yet.
Jensen knew why it felt that way, they were still waiting for their father's return, it wouldn't feel normal until they were safe.
Rachel's parents had shown up at a few days prior but she had received bad news about her brother so she was spending a few days with her parents.
More people were arriving daily, so the others hadn't given up hope that they would find the people they cared about.
As more time passed, they began to ingratiate themselves into the community.
Jeff and Chris were already working and Misha had happily agreed to retrain as a teacher.
Jensen for some reason thought it was hilarious but at the same time, knew that he would be perfect at it.
But Jensen and Jared still weren't entirely sure they wanted to do, Jensen was a college grad but his chosen field wasn't exactly a needed requirement in this new world and Jared was only just out of high school and was deciding what he wanted to do with his life.
One day, while Jared was checking out the options for training at the new Cayden college, he met another survivor, a young woman named Adrienne, who had miraculously made her way from New York.
They connected immediately and began spending a lot of time together. It made Jensen happy to see Jared happy and doing well.
****
It was now nine days past the 'deadline' and Gerald, Allan and Josh hadn't come back yet.
There was a part of Jensen that wanted to go out there and search for them but he knew that it would be a pointless endeavor, to go out and look for someone who was looking for you.
The most logical plan was to stay put but he couldn't shake the need to go out there.
Jeff had made a suggestion that they could make a day trip out of it, leave some sort of message along the way to let them know that they had made it to Cayden and were safe.
It took a few days to make the arrangements, they had made a deal with Cassandra, they would be granted permission to use one of the vehicles and they would place signs and messages to let other survivors know that Cayden existed and was safe.
Jensen, Jeff, and Chris decided to go while Jared stayed behind, he of course wanted to go with them but he had re-injured his ankle a few days prior and had to stay behind.
He had Misha and Adrienne to keep him company but there were no amount of distractions that would stop him from worrying about Jensen and the others.
The sun had barely broken the horizon when they left the following morning.
For the longest time Jared, Misha, and Adrienne stood there, even after the jeep had disappeared through the gates.
"Okay, this is crazy," Misha said. “We need to find something to do, besides, they're only going to be gone a day."
Jared gave his head a shake. "I can't help it; I have this feeling that something is going to happen and the plan is to be gone for a day but I think it's going to be longer than that."
Misha sighed heavily as he guided Jared toward the front porch of the house.
Jared and Adrienne sat down on the swing seat while Misha rested against the rail.
"I know how you're feeling," Misha told him. "I'm terrified that he won't come back but after everything that we've been through, I have to make myself believe that he'll be back."
"So," Adrienne said. "How long have you and Jensen been together?"
Misha glanced over at her and then shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh come on, you can't stand there and tell me that you don't know."
"Of course he knows," Jared said. "Junior year of high school. Misha transferred from his school in Boston and three days later, they were skipping classes to hook up in the..."
"Yeah okay," Misha said, cutting him off. "I think we all get the idea."
"You know, I heard that there are almost 20,000 people here now," Adrienna said, changing the subject. "I heard that they're also talking about electing a city council as well. Things are slowly returning to normal."
"Whatever the hell that's going to be now."
"And the factory too," Adrienne added. "That's a big deal."
"It could be," Misha said. "But without a power grid, not sure how useful it's going to be."
"But there's a chance that we could get power back though."
"I have no idea," Misha replied. "We created a power grid once before, so maybe it could be done again but who knows."
For a while, they just sat there but as the time ticked away, they knew that they couldn't just sit around worrying all day, they needed to find something to occupy their time.
****
Just as Jared had feared, when the sunset, there was no sign of their return and he knew that it would be a sleepless night.
He was still sharing a house with Jensen, Misha, and Chris so he wouldn't be on his own at least. Adrienne had agreed to stay as well.
It was a restless sleep and when the sun rose the next morning and there was still no sign of their return Jared began to worry.
No one could reassure him that even though the plan had been for a day trip, the likelihood of that happening was slim, they could be gone for a week or longer.
They tried to remain calm and stick to their daily routine but it was easier said than done.
****
By day 14, Jared was beginning to lose it a little. Sherri was doing her best to keep him calm and had spent the past few days trying to talk him out of going out there to find them.
After having dinner with his mother and sister, he went home to wait out another night with Misha and Adrienne.
They were in the middle of their hundredth board game when they were interrupted by the sound of an incredibly loud siren.
Adrienne and Misha were at the window in an instant but they couldn't see anything.
"What the hell is that?" Jared asked.
"No idea," Misha replied. "But we need to find out."
They made their way out to the street and saw a crowd gathering and Misha made his way over to one of their neighbors, Mark.
"What's going on?"
"That's the medical siren." Mark told him.
"Medical Siren?"
"Yeah, in the event of a serious medical event, they sound of an alarm to let the health care workers know that they are needed immediately at the gate."
Misha glanced over at Jared and they both shared the same concerned look.
The three of them followed a couple of others to the gate, it took almost 10 minutes but when they got there, they saw a large crowd gathered near the check-in office at the gate.
There was a vehicle parked there and a group of people had gathered around it.
He could hear people shouting out instructions but they still had no idea what was going on.
As they got closer, Jared's eyes widened in surprise when he saw Jeff and Gerald standing near the jeep. They looked a little worse for wear and Jared raced toward them.
He gave each of them a hug before taking a step back to ask a million questions.
"What's going on?"
"We were on our way back, a town about three hours south of here when we were uh... Josh was badly injured, he was shot." Gerald explained.
They both stared at him in shock.
"What about the others?" Misha asked. "Are they okay?"
After what felt like an eternity, Jeff pointed to the other crowd of people, he could see someone lying on the ground.
He ran over and could see Allan and his heart sank when he realized that it was Jensen who was lying on the ground.
He pushed his way in and dropped to his knees at Jensen's side.
He was covered in blood but he was awake and staring up at the sky.
"Oh god." Misha whispered under his breath.
There was a Doctor who was frantically trying to stop the bleeding.
"What happened?"
"We were ambushed by a group of people who tried to take the jeep," Allan explained. "They started firing and Jensen and Josh were hit."
Misha swallowed around the lump that had formed in his throat. "Hit, where?"
Allan pointed at Jensen's shoulder, blood oozed through his shirt and pooled on the ground underneath him.
"Will he be okay?"
The Doctor glanced up at Misha and Allan. "It looks like it was a through and through, it didn't hit any major organs so he should make a full recovery."
Misha let out the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding and he quickly hugged Allan before taking a step back to let the Doctor work on Jensen.
"I'm so glad that you're okay," Misha told him. "We were all starting to freak out a little."
“So were we,” he replied. “We weren’t sure if we were going to make it back or not. It took us longer to make our way back to Cayden than it did leaving. Every day it got so much worse. For the people who are left out there, it’s gone beyond desperation. There is no food, the water is becoming too dangerous to drink and there aren’t many places left to feel safe.”
“How far did you get?” Misha asked him.
“We made it all the way back to Dallas but there was so much destruction that we had to give up searching, we couldn’t even get into the city.”
****
Later that night, Misha, Jared, and Chris were sitting in Jensen's room, he was going to be kept at the medical center for a few days to rest properly.
Josh was in surgery to try and repair the damage. They had been concerned about him going into surgery, without power they were having to rely on rather old generators to provide light and power to the equipment.
The rest of their families and friends were scattered about the med center as they awaited news.
"We're never leaving this place." Misha said.
Jared glanced over at him and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean? This building specifically?"
Misha gave his head a shake. "No, I mean Cayden. It's too dangerous out there. I can't risk anything like this happening again, I just can't."
Jared closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He understood what Misha meant, he was also referring to the day that Bobby and Felicia had been killed.
It felt like years had passed since that day but he remembered every moment of it so clearly. He figured that he would remember it for the rest of their lives.
But he didn't want to forget it, they deserved that much, to be remembered for their bravery, for everything that they had been through.
Jared was brought back to reality when the door to Jensen's room opened and his parents walked in.
He could tell that his mother had been crying but he had no idea if the news was good or bad.
Misha had dozed off at some point and Jared sat up and reached over, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Mom, what's going on, is everything alright?"
She stepped up to him and took his hands in hers. "We just got word from one of the nurses. Josh's surgery went well, they removed the bullet."
Jared studied her for a moment. "Okay, that's great. What aren't you telling me?"
"They have no idea if he'll walk again, it could be weeks before they have any answers."
Jared inhaled sharply as he glanced at both of his parents. "Okay well uh... that part is not great but he's alive and that's all that matters."
Sherri pulled him into a hug. "It is and we'll be okay, we'll deal with whatever comes."
****
Two days later, Jared was back at the medical center, this time Jensen was being released.
He was still in a bit of pain and he was looking at a recovery time of a few months.
Jensen's parents wanted him to stay with them while he recovered but he was determined to stay at the house with Misha and Jared.
Once they had him settled in and he was comfortable, thanks to a dose of painkillers, Jared and Misha took up residence in the armchairs they had dragged into the bedroom.
"You guys don't have to sit here all day, I'm sure you have things that you need to do."
Misha gave his head a shake. "Not a chance in hell. We're not leaving."
Jensen turned to look at Jared. "What about Josh?"
"He's okay," Jared explained. "Alive and awake but he's going to be at the med center for awhile."
"I appreciate the love," Jensen replied. "But I'm going to be fine, so maybe you should go and see your brother."
"I will but he's asleep right now and probably will be for awhile," Jared told him. "I'll go and visit him this afternoon, right now, I just want to hang out with you."
"Fine," Jensen replied. "I guess that's cool."
****
Two weeks after being released from the hospital, Jensen was finally back on his feet and had been given the all clear to begin using his arm.
His shoulder still ached and he was warned that it could be a few months before he was completely healed.
Overall he didn't feel too bad considering, but Misha was rather adamant to keep an eye on him, he didn't want him overdoing it and causing further injury to himself.
As he recovered, life slowly began to return to normal.
It wasn't like before though, it would never be like it was before but things were improving.
There was still the threat of earthquakes and storms but Cayden was dealing with them rather well, all things considering.
And more people were arriving daily.
The more survivors that showed up, the greater the hope Jensen felt that there was a future for humanity.
A future that just a few months ago, seemed impossible.
****
Epilogue Dust into Dust, Father to Son