A New Era

We were piled into the truck on our way to who knows where on this small island. While the others were sitting in the back of the truck, Kyle and I sat up front with our so called grandfather, William Perry. We had been riding for at least twenty minutes in silence, no one saying a word to one another.

I kept my eyes staring out the window for a few minutes, watching the trees and a few cars pass by. The only sound was some music coming from the radio and our grandfather humming along. I turned my head slightly, focusing my attention on Kyle who was just fidgeting with his fingers out of nervousness.

I reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder which made him look over in my direction. I gave him a reassuring smile and he just gave a nod. The silence soon broke when our grandfather spoke up.

"You know, I never thought I'd get to know my grandchildren in a million years." He admitted. "Well, granddaughter." He added as he glanced over at us.

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked a look of hurt written all over his face.

"When your parents left...Samantha was only a few months old." He replied. "We barely even knew her."

I furrowed my eyebrows slightly and looked over at him.

"We?" I questioned as he gave a slight nod before making a left turn.

"Your other grandparents."

"Are they...are they still alive?" Kyle asked which made him glance at us for a second before focusing his attention on the road once again.

"Yes, everyone is alive and well." He finally said. A small sigh of relief escaped my lips. Knowing that they're all still alive and healthy gave me a sense of hope, we still had family.

"So...you guys have been here?" Kyle asked him and he gave a slow nod. "Yes. We have. We'll explain everything at the bunker." He added.

Another bunker? I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over at Kyle who just shrugged his shoulders. I turned my gaze back out the window. We finally arrived in the heart of the island. It was a fairly small town, with a variety of stores. The good thing is that there were people who lived here. Surprisingly though, everyone was dressed the same, white shirts and khakis, but there were no guards or cops that were part of the government. Which made it even weirder. I shook my head slightly as the truck pulled up in front of the supermarket. I raised my eyebrow and turned my attention to Kyle. A puzzled look on his face as well.

Once the three of us got out of the truck, our grandfather opened the back of the truck to let the rest of our group out. I looked around for a bit, and noticed some people watching us.

"Finally!!" Ben exclaimed as he jumped out from the back of the truck, followed by Krista, Noah, Joe, Alec, Dave and Linda.

Noah walked over to my side placing a hand on my shoulder.

"You alright?" He asked, a concerned look on his face.

"I just learned all my grandparents are alive, so I don't know exactly how I feel right now." I answered truthfully. Noah just gave a nod in response. He opened his mouth like he was about to speak but was interrupted by my grandfather.

"Alright, everyone, follow me." He motioned with his hand as he hobbled his way slowly into the supermarket. We all followed after him and once we entered the building, there were some confused looks from people in the store. Eyeing us and whispering to one another. I did my best to avoid any eye contact with anyone, when suddenly I felt a hand on mine. I glanced over to see Noah, a reassuring smile on his face as he gently squeezed my hand. I smiled back in response as we all followed my grandfather down the produce aisle and towards the double doors that lead into the back rooms.

There were stacks and stacks of boxes lined up against the walls. William made his way over to another door, a keypad attached as he pressed a few numbers. He turned to look at us and motioned with his hand.

"Come on. This way." He said as everyone filed into a single line. There were a set of stairs and we all made our way down. Once we got down there, I opened the door at the bottom of the staircase.

The first thing we passed through was the security room. My eyes widened at all the screens, which showed different parts of the island. There were two men sitting at the desk observing the monitors. One of them turned to look at us and gave William a nod, William nodding in response. We then followed him through a doorway that lead to a bedroom area, most likely for the two guards in the security room.

He then opened another door which revealed a long corridor. My eyes widened at the sight in front of me.

The entire floor was a light beige colored carpet and right in front of us a large dark brown coffee table and a wrap around couch that could fit about twenty or more people. On our left side was a large flat screen tv.

Right behind the couch were two large dining tables, 14 chairs each and across from the tables on the back side of the room, was the kitchen.

"Welcome to our home." William gestured to the entire bunker. He then began showing us the rest of the bunker. On the right side, the first two doors, consisted of bedrooms. The next door down was the utility room, power room, and a tool room, plus storage. Finally, the last door, was the laundry room and at the end of the room, the showers.

Right across from the laundry room, where the kitchen was, there was a gym/fitness room. The next two doors down consisted of bunk beds. And finally, the door that was by the lounge area, was a library on the other side of it.

"So where is everyone?" Ben questioned as he crossed his arms over his chest. William motioned for all of us to take a seat on the couches.

"They're all out right now. They'll be back soon." He explained as he took a seat on the other side of the couch.

"I still can't believe my grandchildren are sitting here." He said with a shake of his head.

"I can't believe our grandparents are alive." Kyle replied which made William chuckle.

"So what is this place? Are you guys part of the resistance?" Alec spoke up. William turned to look at him for a moment before looking over at the rest of us.

"This is a long story, but our group here it's been created before the rebellion." William explained.

"That's...that's impossible." Linda spoke up this time.

"Oh it's possible.." William said with a slight nod. The room got quiet for a few minutes as we all sat there.

Suddenly the door opened, and in walked in another older gentleman wearing a fedora hat and two older women. One had short curly gray hair and a pair of reading glasses, and the other woman had long gray hair that was braided.

"William, sweetheart? What's going on?" The braided haired woman asked as she approached the lounge area.

"Abigail, my love, you'll never believe it. Our grandchildren." He smiled proudly as he gesture to me and Kyle. Her eyes widened as she gazed over at us. The other two walked over filled with curiosity.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as tears welled up in her eyes. "Oliver! Charlotte! It's Samantha!"

"And our grandson Kyle." William added as he looked over at Kyle and gave him a wink.

Abigail and Charlotte returned with teapots and a bunch of mugs. As they handed them out to us, William finally spoke up.

"I'm guessing that you didn't just find this place just because. You were sent here." He said as everyone gave a nod.

"Yeah, by mom and dad..." Kyle answered. I glanced over at him and could see him swallow a heavy lump in his throat. I reached over taking his hand in mine.

Abigail handed me a mug filled with tea and I smiled, thanking her.

"Are they?..." William began but couldn't finish his sentence. Kyle and I exchanged looks before giving a nod.

"Right before dad died, he handed Dave and Joe something, a piece of paper, coordinates. We went back to the house to find more clues and it was in their room, hidden behind the wall." I explained. I glanced over at our four grandparents. Both Abigail and Charlotte wiping tears from their face. It was crazy to believe that they were still alive, but even crazier that our parents never mentioned them to us at all.

"Why don't you guys finish up your tea and we'll explain everything, sound good?" Grandpa Oliver asked. My attention shifted over to him, he had the same eyes as our dad. A small smile formed on my face.

"Yeah, sounds good." I replied and I turned my gaze over to the rest of the group. Everyone was pretty mindfucked over it, since they barely said a word the entire time. I glanced over at Kyle who took a sip of his tea and for the first time in a while, I could see a spark of hope in his eyes.

Hopefully whatever they tell us, it would be something useful.