4th of July, 20XX
Washington, D.C.
United States of America
Inside the world-renowned oval office of the White House, an old man remained seated over a pleasant chair that once belong to the president of the ruined country. Dressed in jet-black military attire, a carmine scar ran across his face, forewarning a long-forgotten tragedy.
His name was Everest, a lone commander of humanity's final bastion, Cradle. It was a fortress city, inhabiting above the capital of a once-powerful nation. And it was the last stand of humanity against the horrors of the apocalyptic era.
Taking a steady puff from his cigar, Everest blew out whiff of smoke as the building violently shook followed by the rumble of deafening explosions. Ever since the collapse of human civilization, the remnants of mankind had fought in a never-ending war against the apocalypse.
It was a bloody conflict that lasted decades, carving continents and sinking islands to ensure the continuation of humanity.
But the abominations of the apocalypse were ceaseless, and their constant advanced cornered what remained of humanity into bastions. Fortress cities scattered throughout the world, strategically located within the capitals of formidable nations before the collapse.
"Another day, another battle to the death."
The commander muttered to himself, extinguishing the cigar. The walls trembled once again as though an earthquake had collided them nearby. Everest stood up from the chair of the executive and walked out of the oval office.
Outside of the office were soldiers operating the defenses of the last bastion. Most of them were people who never experienced the age of peace and modernity. They were humans born within the apocalyptic era.
To them, it was merely a fight for survival. They hadn't seen the collapse of human civilization, and the fall of humanity from the throne of the world. None of them cared about defeating the monsters of the apocalypse.
What matters the most to these new people of the fallen age were their survival. And they must fight to ensure the survival of the fallen humanity.
On the other hand, there were people like Everest. Senior veterans who have fought since the beginning the apocalyptic age. His soldiers treated him like the shepherd who would guide them. After all, he was what remained of a time when humanity reigned supreme.
There was nothing to misunderstand. He wasn't the smartest, nor was he the strongest. He wasn't the most skilled, neither was he greatly talented. Many might not believe it, but he didn't even have a military background.
Before the apocalypse fell upon mankind, he was merely an ordinary civilian, lounging as a college drop-out of some kind.
The reason why he stood as the commander of the last bastion was the simple fact that he was the only one left. Others have already met their end in the hands of the apocalypse, some quick, but some were broken apart into several pieces before passing away.
It wasn't that he was a coward who waited for them to die. He fought with these heroes, but for some reason, he always survive amongst their greatest skirmishes and tragedies against the apocalypse.
Whether it was luck fighting for his survival, or destiny making a mockery of him. It didn't matter as he swore to fight until the very end. That was the reason why he survived. To ensure that humanity must keep fighting.
The moment they surrender spelled the doom of mankind. They would be consumed by the abominations of the apocalypse and become a forgotten civilization trapped within the annals of time.
"First Lieutenant, Status Report."
Heading towards the truman balcony, Everest questioned a nearby officer who stood beside him. The officer straightened his back and saluted to the commander before giving his status report.
"Sir, the aberrant horde have breached to the secondary wall. We are currently supporting the primary wall from the horde and the mutants that tagged along with them."
"Three of our attack helicopters have fallen along with several transport helicopters. We are cornered, Sir. And we are getting pushed back by the moment."
Everest regretted taking his last cigar and puffing it so early into the morning. He would have welcomed it between his lips as the stress of commanding a collapsing fortress was taking a toll to his psyche.
"Damn... How about our supplies?"
He asked the officer, who was hesitant to answer. His eyes narrowed as he placed his hand over the officer's shoulders and asked once again.
"Tell me the status of our supplies, soldier."
"We- We... We have lost a third of our supplies when the secondary wall was breached, Sir. Our current estimates would give us three days at most."
When he heard the words of the officer, Everest barely resisted the urge to punch a nearby wall. He was already too old for such ludicrous endeavors. His body couldn't take a beating anymore.
Ever since the fortification wall of the fortress city succumbed under the clutches of the horde a few days ago, much-needed supplies have become a scarcity to the military personnel residing within the building.
Now that the defense line of the secondary wall had collapsed, what divided the remnants of humanity from the apocalypse was the broad concrete walls that surrounded the White House.
"Reinforced the logistical chain and maintain the current consumption of resources."
Stopping for a moment, Everest glanced at the officer and gave an order. The reinforcement of the logistical chain that supported their defense against the horde was of utmost importance. The moment their logistics was plunged into the abyss of no return.
It would spell the doom of what remained of humanity.
"But-"
The officer was confused when the commander ordered to maintain their current consumption. They wouldn't last no longer than three days if they continued expending sparse supply.
"Follow my orders, officer. I don't want you or anyone else adjusting anything within my army."
"Do you understand me?"
Everest coldly glared at the First Lieutenant beside him, his temperament gradually losing its patience. The officer quickly straightened their back and saluted at the commander once again, responding with resolve.
"Affirmative, Sir!"
"Good,"
He nodded at the officer who hastily scurried away into the long-winding halls of the building. It was difficult to stop himself from sighing, after all, the situation had gotten out of hand. They were engaging in a losing conflict, backed to the last corner.
As Everest got closer to the truman balcony, echoes of gunfire resounded while missiles whistled through the air bringing about thunderous explosions upon their impact.
The reason why he insisted in maintaining their current consumption of sparse resources situated beyond his destination. Arriving on the truman balcony where sandbags and heavy machine gun placements rested, the entire scope of their predicament lay before his eyes.
What persisted since the destruction of the old powers were fighting for their survival in the final bastion of humanity. The resources granted upon them barely gave them the strength to wield their arsenal.
If they stopped allocating the vital supplies to the defenders below, what remained of the Cradle wouldn't fall against the endless tide of the apocalypse, but would instead crumble under the weight of oppression.
"Nothing's changed..."
Heavy machine gun placements along with flame throwers shredded and burnt the horde of aberrants into damnation. These abominations were unrelenting and undaunted of the hellscape that the remnants of the world had molded to resist them.
The present circumstance of humanity stayed the same since the first months of the apocalypse. Even when the former governments built fortress cities such as Bastions, the state of humanity hadn't differed that much.
It was disappointing, to say the least. Everest's generation should have solved the troubles of the apocalypse and made way for the new generation of humanity who hadn't tasted the peace of the modern era. Nevertheless, they failed to create the path to the future.
And he was the only one left from the last generation, making him the sole veteran that had survived the apocalypse from the beginning until the end.
An ear-piercing alarm shortly blared out throughout the command center as numerous soldiers exited the marbled buildings, deployed to defend the primarily walls that enclosed the White House. His eyes gravely narrowed before returning back inside.
Their time was running out since they wouldn't be able to last long against the siege of the monstrous horde. Their soldiers were exhausted, with supplies becoming scarce by the moment.
Even their injuries couldn't be treated properly as the medical reserve was severely lacking, forcing them to make tough, and saddening choices.
Everest walked through the long-winding hallway and entered a previously-restricted elevator. Though, since their occupation of the White House, it has become a general-accessed utility for the staff under his command.
As the metallic doors slid closed, silence and solace consumed him while the elevator descended further underground. It routed him to an underground bunker formerly known as the PEOC, or the presidential emergency operations center.
Needless to say, the bunker had long become the strategic command of the Cradle, commencing its responsibility as the central operations of the fortress city before its fall. From international communications, military leadership, to governance.
The strategic command was the cornered king of a doomed chessboard.
The metallic doors of the elevator opened, unveiling the strategic command, riddled with staffs and guards along with the lingering modern computers that had survived the test of time.
Stepping out of the elevator, his arrival attracted the attention of everyone inside. With their gazes at him, the staffs and soldiers straightened themselves before saluting to the commander of the Cradle. He saluted back, gesturing them to continue working.
Advancing through the mended facets of bygone technology, Everest gazed upon critical monitors that displayed a thorough surveillance over the surroundings of the White House.
"Has the international bastions responded to our signal?"
His inquiry resounded, attracting the frown of a few communication officers. No matter how much signals they sent through low or high-powered transmissions. No one would acknowledge as though reminding them that outside of the Cradle was the apocalypse.
"None, Sir. We even sent a direct signal to the coordinates of the international bastions... But no one answered our calls. Our last contact with an international bastion was Avalon, the fortress city of London."
"Even then, it has been a few days since we last heard of them."
Silence flooded the strategic command while Everest furrowed his eyebrows, somewhat strained after hearing the unpleasant news of their reality. Although he expected that it might be the case, the confirmation didn't give him a tinge of satisfaction.
The central operation bunker intensely shook as several thunderous explosions rumbled from above. He was barely able to hold upon a nearby chair, which preserved his balance.
Narrowing his gaze, another report entered the strategic command. Cold sweat dripped from the communication officer's forehead as he read through the report.
"Sir! T- The primary wall has been breached! A mutant managed to bulldoze through our barricaded gates! Our personnel is retreating to the White House, intending to mount a close-defensive."
"These monstrous mutants..."
With raised eyebrows, Everest understood that time was running out for humanity. Death was creeping into their doorsteps, and they wouldn't be able to do anything against it. But there was something they could do.
An act that they should have done a long time ago.
He took a deep breath and glanced at his men, whose eyes were focused at him. They wanted to know their next orders, whether it'd be fighting to the death or saving themselves from the apocalypse through self-execution.
"Get me the Nuclear Football..."
Their eyes widened when they heard the words that escaped his mouth. Yet, they didn't have any hesitation or delay as the personnel within the strategic command brought out the Nuclear Football.
Everest gazed upon the thick, pitch-black briefcase that held the fate of the world. It was amongst the many weapons that brought upon a disaster capable of cleansing the land through nuclear fire.
It wasn't mere the nuclear arsenal of the country that would be bombarding every inch of the planet. Even when the foreign governments had fallen, their nuclear ordnance were armed and ready. The entire process was also automated, including their own.
The moment a country would launch the entirety of its nuclear stockpile. Others, despite having not a scrap of human, would begin their counter-strike protocol. It was a mutual assured destruction.
Explosions bellowed from above as the entirety of the strategic and command wobbled fiercely. Displayed alongside the monitors were soldiers overwhelmed by the flood of the aberrant horde. The ending of humanity's tragedy had begun.
"I apologize for disappointing your generation, and our failure to make a future for all of you. My generation has a debt to the final men and women of humanity. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to pay it."
"Since the beginning of the first outbreak, which brought about the advent of the apocalyptic era... We, humans, have been fighting for survival against a world that wanted us dead."
"It has given us tragedies after tragedies, untold stories with insufferable conclusions, yet we remained determined against the tombstone that has been planted to us upon this world."
"The monstrous abominations of the apocalypse might consume us all, but they will never conquer the indomitable spirit of mankind."
The edges of his lips curled up as he opened the dark briefcase which held the fate of the world. The Nuclear Football had direct control over the nuclear arsenal of the collapsed nation. Instead of merely relaying the command, it was the entire command.
"If humanity does not stand upon the throne of the world, then no one shall. Not even those monsters of the apocalypse!"
<100.00% Calibration Complete!>
Shooting stars escaped the world, soaring across the heavens, before plunging back to whence they came from. Thousands upon thousands of radiant bursts flickered throughout the world, ushering a beautiful and picturesque scenery, yet wreaked destruction of untold capacity.
The fiery flames of the nuclear blast would destroy them all. But for some reason, most felt an unnatural solace restrained their pounding hearts. It was as though a heavy weight has been lifted from their shoulders.
And... It was liberating-
Nothing remained but the unparalleled brilliance from the dawn of creation. The light that brought warmth and the blazing heat of the sun. What lingered after the last spectacle of humanity were craters that would etched itself upon the world.