Warm and dry, that was the first thing Kelvin noticed as he stepped out of the bunker. He took a look around, trying to gauge how much damage the storm had done, and the sight wasn’t a pretty one to look at. The rusting cars had been flipped all over, and the few decayed buildings had fallen apart. They were really lucky that this bunker had held out, or they could have died.
“Is it safe?” Michelle called out.
“Yes, it’s safe,” Kelvin replied.
Michelle brought out both their kids, who looked battered and tired. From the look on their face, Kelvin knew they were hungry, but they knew better than to ask. This was the world they lived in. A world that was right on the edge of destruction, and humanity was really holding onto that glimmer of hope.
“We need to get moving,” Kelvin said as he picked up his backpack.
“You know the kids are tired,” Michelle reminded him.
Kelvin sighed as he glanced at his children, his brows furrowed in concern. They were indeed tired, but Graceland was only around fifty miles from here. If they could get there, then things would change, and they would be able to survive.
It was in the year 2086 when war broke out between the United States and the European Confederate. Everyone had thought that things would die out, but the exact opposite had happened, and soon the entire planet was a waste as countries had taken sides and no one won the war. Instead, they had created huge devastation the entire human race, as well as the planet, would have to deal with.
Ten years have passed when word about a sanctuary, a haven for anyone who manages to reach it, started to spread. A lot of people had gone out in search, none of them returning. Kelvin’s grandfather had heard about it, and he went never returned. Kelvin’s father, Carl, knew that his father had figured out the location of Graceland, but he was unable to take a walk himself. He had kept the map, and it was on his death bed that he handed it over to his son.
“Get out of here, boy,” Carl told his son. “Take Michelle and the kids and find Graceland.”
“Not that place, dad,” Kelvin replied. “It’s nothing but a myth.”
“It isn’t,” Carl insisted as he coughed. “You can make it, but I don’t want you to stay here any longer. Promise me, boy, promise you would go there.”
Carl was the best thing any boy could ask for as a father, and Kelvin had known his father to be a sensible man, who made him highly conflicted about the location of Graceland.
“Alright, let’s camp here tonight, but we will be heading out tomorrow.”
“That’s fine by me,” Michelle replied.
They headed back into the bunker, and Kelvin remained looking out into the horizon. His grandfather had often told him stories as a boy about the blue skies and the blue seas. Now, the sky was always red and dusty from the weapons used in the war. It was quite rare to see someone pass their sixties, and with Kelvin a few years shy of 30, he knew that his days were numbered.
“You believe your father?” Michelle asked when he told her about what Carl had said.
“I don’t know,” Kelvin said. “I really don’t know what to believe.”
They had been in their one shack, which Kelvin had managed to buy from the farming job he did. Being his father’s only relative, Carl had helped Kelvin in any way possible, but that didn’t mean things were exactly easy.
“He believes this Graceland truly exists?” Michelle asked after minutes of silence.
“He does; he told it to me somewhere around where old Florida used to be.”
With the war, most of the famous cities of America had vanished, and in their place, small settlements containing a handful of people had sprung up.
“You aren’t thinking about going, right?”
“No, going out there with the twins would mean death,” Kelvin said as he pulled his wife into a hug. “We aren’t leaving here.”
That was three months ago, right before the Red Skull, and his men decided that Safe Haven would be their new base. In the end, Kelvin had returned one night to meet Michelle, packed and ready to leave for the Graceland.
“We can’t stay here,” She told him as she handed over the backpack she had packed for him.
“What do you mean?” Kelvin was confused as to what she meant.
“Those Red Skulls would be the death of us. Your father wanted us out of here, and we would be leaving.”
He was barely able to give an argument, and they both packed their stuff, fleeing that night. South was where the map his father gave him suggested Graceland should be. Kelvin and his family headed towards old Florida, hoping to find the fictional sanctuary.
“Come in, Kelvin,” Michelle called out to him.
Sighing deeply, Kelvin entered the bunker and closed the door. Judging from the wind, they would have to spend the next few days in this place before they take off. They were really lucky that the map had this bunker mapped out and that it was unoccupied. Kelvin informed Michelle that they would have to wait another day to ensure that it was safe.
“I don’t think we have enough food to take us there,” she told him.
Things weren’t looking good, and Kelvin was worried. They had enough food to last them for the next month, but it would take at least six weeks for them to get into Florida, and they might not find Graceland. That was something both of them had made no mention about.
“Mummy, will you sing us a song?” Carl junior asked.
“Sure, baby,” Michelle replied as she placed his head on her lap.
His sister, Mary, who had been named after Michelle’s mother, drew closer to Kelvin and placed her head on his lap. Kelvin began to stroke her hair gently as Michelle started to sing softly. Her voice was comfort, one of the several things that had drawn Kelvin to her in the first place.
She was one of the prettiest girls in Safe Haven, and Kelvin had taken to her, though he wasn’t the only one. They were five who were interested in her though Kelvin had managed to win her heart.
“Are you alright?” Michelle asked, breaking Kelvin from his thought
“What?” He asked, realizing she had stopped singing.
Their kids were fast asleep, and Kelvin placed Mary’s head on the backpack as he rose to stretch his back.
“Are you alright?” Mary asked again.
“Me? Yes, I’m alright. Why are you asking?”
Michelle told him that she could see that he was worried, and Kelvin laughed nervously, telling her that he wasn’t.
“Kelvin! Don’t try to lie to me,” Michelle warned.
Kelvin put his hand through his hair as he smiled nervously, knowing that he won’t be able to fool Michelle. She had always seen through him, and even now, she could see through him.
“I’m afraid that I put the three of you in danger,” Kelvin told her.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“What?” She asked, confused. “What did you do?”
“This. If we haven’t left Safe Haven, we won’t be here.”
A smack on the head was the reply Michelle gave him, something that surprised Kelvin as he turned to her in surprise, his expression asking why she did that.
“I told us we had to get out of Safe Haven, not you,” Michelle replied. “If anyone is to be blamed, I’m the one.”
That declaration wasn’t what Kelvin was expecting, and he pulled Michelle into a hug, surprising her. She pushed him away softly, though not enough to make them separate.
“I love you,” Kelvin told her, kissing her neck.
“Stop it, you big oaf,” Michelle replied. “You should be angry with me.”
“Angry?” Kelvin asked, breaking the hug. “There is no reason for me to be angry. We’re in this as a family.”
From the look on her face, Michelle wasn’t exactly convinced, but Kelvin told her that he didn’t blame her. All that mattered was that they were together to survive this.
“Have you ever thought about what would happen if we don’t find Graceland?” Michelle asked Kelvin suddenly.
Silence ensued between them as Kelvin was very reluctant to reply. What answer can he give to that question as it was the only hope they had at this moment. Saying anything negative could jinx it, and then what would they be left with?
“Hope,” Kelvin managed to say in the end. “The only thing I can say is that I hope that Graceland is waiting out there.”
Michelle nodded, and she sat down, her back to the wall looking at their children. Kelvin joined her, and they both looked at their children till they drifted off to sleep.
*****
The next day was pretty much the same as a storm was looming on the horizon, and Kelvin decided that it was unsafe. With a lot of free time on their hand, Kelvin decided to explore their bunker for the first time. It was quite small, though bigger than their shack back at Safe Haven. Getting inside had been their priority, and they had barely bothered to investigate the place. Now that they would be in here for at least a day more, Kelvin’s curiosity wheel started to spin, and he wanted to explore the bunker.
Apart from the iron shelf and bed, the whole place seemed empty, as if it hadn’t been touched by anyone in years. The dust had been heavy when he opened the door, and it took a while for the dust to settle.
“What are you doing, daddy?” Carl asked him.
“Looking at the drawing on the wall,” Kelvin replied.
The drawing was something like a symbol, one he had seen a very long time ago, but he can’t remember exactly when he saw it. He paused in front of it, trying his hardest to remember, but nothing came to him.
“Is something wrong?” Michelle asked, looking at him.
Pointing at the symbol, Kelvin asked if she had seen it before.
“Which symbol?” She asked.
“This one,” Kelvin said, touching the wall.
There was a frown on her face as if Kelvin was spouting rubbish. He turned to look at the wall feeling a bit uneasy.
“Come and eat,” Michelle called out to Carl, who left Kelvin’s side.
Kelvin reached for the symbol tracing his finger across it as he realized that it was a carving, one that he could slide against each other.
“I get it now,” Kelvin said.
“You get what?” Michelle asked, annoyed.
“The symbol isn’t right,” Kelvin said as he reached for it. “This should go here and this, here.”
As he set the symbol straight, there was a loud click as if something had fallen in place, and suddenly, the entire bunker was filled with groaning.
“What have you done?” Michelle asked, afraid.
“No idea. I don’t know,” Kelvin yelled, stepping away from the symbol.
The grinding stopped, and the wall fell back to reveal a doorway. The symbol had been a kind of door, and by placing the symbol right, he had opened the door.
“A door? Grandpa used to tell me things like this,” Kelvin said as he started to move towards the door.
“Wait!” Michelle called.
“What?” Kelvin asked, looking back at her.
She asked him if it was safe, and Kelvin looked at the door pausing for a minute. The air coming from the doorway was stale, which meant no one had entered it in a very long time. Kelvin pointed that out to Michelle, who still doesn’t believe that it was safe.
“Come on, nothing is going to happen,” Kelvin assured her as he stepped through the door.
The doorway was quite narrow and dark, but the minute Kelvin stepped into the doorway, several bulbs came on, taking him by surprise.
“Electricity?”
During the war, the European Confederate had released a sort of EMP that fried the entire power grid of the United States. Every attempt to restore it had failed, and in the end, what was left of the United States had returned into something of a steam age.
Kelvin continued down the hall slowly until he exited the hallway and found himself in a rather different room. It was like stepping into an entirely different world. The room was huge, more like the big library his grandpa had often told him about. Hanging right in the center of the room was a huge chandelier that lit up the entire room.
“Michelle, you have to see this,” Kelvin called out.
He looked behind him, realizing that she hadn’t stepped into the hallway, choosing to stay with the kid. Kelvin knew he couldn’t see this alone, and he walked back through the hallway to meet her.
“I thought something happened to you,” She said, relief flooding her voice.
“I found something dear,” Kelvin said with excitement. “You and the kids need to see it.”
Michelle doesn’t share his enthusiasm though Kelvin simply dragged her through the hallway right into the room. Just like he was surprised when he arrived, Michelle was also taken by surprise.
“Where is this place?” She asked him.
“I have no idea, but I think it is some sort of library or so,” Kelvin replied.
He moved towards the stair, crossing the large symbol engraved on the ground. The minute he stepped on the stairs, the chandelier turned dim, and a huge projection appeared in the middle of the room.
“Greetings, whoever you may be,” the voice echoed out, taking Kelvin and Michelle by surprise. “You have managed to find my research room, and I believe you are with the Graceland Project.”
“Graceland?” Kelvin said, moving around the projection to join Michelle, who had somehow fallen.
“You have no idea what the Graceland is?” the projection asked. “Who are you then?”
“We sought shelter in this bunker, and I stumbled on this room,” Kelvin replied.
The projection paused for a minute as if in deep thought before it shrugged, turning to face Kelvin.
“Wait, are you alive?” Kelvin asked.
“No, I once was, but now I’m dead,” the project replied.
“Then how are you speaking with us?”
The projection told Kelvin that he would understand in time, but first, he had a mission of great importance to him.
“In all this while, you are the first humans to step through this wall which means I need to send you to the Graceland Project HQ.”
“Wait a minute,” Michelle voiced out. “Did you say Graceland? Like a sort of sanctuary?”
“Yes, you know about it? That’s strange; you shouldn’t know about it.”
It took a few minutes for Kelvin and Michelle to inform the projection about how they were on the search for Graceland, which many don’t actually believe in. It was just a bedtime story that was told to little children.
“Graceland Project truly does exist,” it replied.
“Wait!” Michelle said suddenly. “Who or what are you?”
“My apologies. I should have introduced myself.”
The projection told them that his name was Dr Kalligan, leader of a government project that started in 2085 before the war broke out. The objective of the project was to build a utopia to observe a future in which division doesn’t exist between the human race. The project had been named Graceland, and he had worked here with his team.
“So, are they around?” Kelvin asked.
“They left long ago, leaving me and my robots here,” Dr Kalligan replied. “The war prevented me from finishing my work, and now, with both of you heading towards Graceland, you would be able to help me.”
“What’s in it for us?” Michelle asked.
“Why are you asking?” Kelvin whispered into her ears, but she ignored him.
“A deal? I like it,” Dr Kalligan said as he seemed to vanish.
He appeared on the staircase, indicating for the both of them to follow him, they walked up the staircase, and Dr Kalligan brought them to a shelf where he pointed at a briefcase.
“You need to deliver this to whoever is in charge of the Graceland Project. This is the final key to put the Graceland online.”
The frown on Kelvin’s face deepened as he wondered what Dr Kalligan was going at. His expression was mirrored on Michelle’s face, who was also as confused as her husband.
“Why do I have a feeling you both don’t like this?” Dr Kalligan asked.
“I don’t fully understand what you mean,” Kelvin replied.
Dr Kalligan sighed, and he told both Kelvin and Michelle that it was important they deliver the suitcase to the Graceland Project Headquarters as it was the final key to launching the project fully.
“I don’t understand,” Kelvin started.
“You will in time when you get there,” Dr Kalligan said. “Now, you need to go.”
“Wait, our children,” Michelle said, running through the hallway back to the bunker to fetch the twins.
Dr Kalligan watched as Michelle arrived with the twins in tow, who were surprised to see a projection in the room.
“Children? Great, I guess you would need something to speed up your journey then,” Dr Kalligan said, pausing for a minute.
Ever since the EMP, the means of transport involved specially made cars which used engines made of steam and not electricity. Kelvin wasn’t sure if the doctor was aware of that, but he remained silent as Dr Kalligan brought up several images.
“This should get you over the terrain towards where the HQ is located.”
Kelvin moved closer to Dr Kalligan, and he saw that it was something close to a Humvee, a military artifact from when electricity worked, and he doubted it would work.
“You know that electricity doesn’t work anymore, right?” Kelvin asked.
“It doesn’t? That explains why I’ve been unable to reach Graceland. I guess it is a good thing you came here then..”
Kelvin nodded as Dr Kalligan began to lead them towards a door, telling them they had to take off immediately.
“Our things are back there,” Michelle told Dr Kalligan.
“I know, and my robots are bringing it already.”
Looking behind, Kelvin and Michelle could see that there were two robots holding all their backpack, and they handed them over to them before walking away. Everything was happening fast, and Kelvin wasn’t sure of what to make of it. Michelle had already gotten the kids into the Humvee as Dr Kalligan was watching them.
“What if Graceland isn’t there?” Kelvin asked suddenly.
“It would be there. It was built ahead because something like this was expected.”
There are a lot of things Kelvin doesn’t know, and Dr Kalligan wasn’t exactly eager to provide him with answers, but that was enough for him. The fact that it exists right out there was more than enough for them.