Peter looking happy to set down the gun was barely able to move himself off the bed. He leaned against one side of the door with most of his weight on the good leg. Sandra put her shoulder into the other side of the door flexing her muscles to hold pressure as tightly against it as she could. I quickly moved around and between them hammering away at the nails. After the third nail there was a hard thud against the door that clearly knocked the others back an inch or so before they reapplied pressure immediately. I moved much faster after that tapping in ten more nails I found in the bag. I searched for more finding that was all there was.
Sandra glanced over the placement of the nails nodding her head. She looked around the room for a minute. “It looks solid, but to be on the safe side let’s move the bed in front of it as well.”
Peter was not much help in his condition, but we managed to drag the entire bed over with the large wooden headboard tightly pressed against the closet door. Peter laid back down on it stating that his extra weight would keep out a polar bear. Safe and secure we just had to play the waiting game until Jessie returned. There was no way she would not notice the broken bay window.
A little over thirty minutes passed before we heard a horn blaring. Gunshots shortly followed the sound of the horn. Not much longer, we heard loud footsteps coming down the hall. There was a loud crash followed by sounds of breaking glass and more gunshots. The doorknob turned making me slightly jump. Then there was a knock at the door.
“Everyone alright in there?” The sound of Jessie’s voice was a relief that allowed all of us to breathe again.
“We’re all good. Gonna take a few minutes to move the blockade in front of the door.”
“Ok, Sandra. Take your time, no hurry. It’s all clear out here for now. If more Fallen come the welcoming committee is here to greet them.”
Fifteen minutes later, we opened the door finding Jessie and four heavily armed men fanned out watching the entrances and windows into the house. I recognized all of them from the days Jess used to work as security and defense chief. Among them was Emmett, George and Liam who worked security at the wall, and Tommy Lauder who was a runner that I occasionally saw with Aurora. I recalled that Tom was ex-military coming from a long line of military family. He was six-foot tall with the build of an ox. Glancing at his long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, brown eyes, and goofy smile; I realized that he was one of the men that had helped open the storm cellar doors back at the shelter.
“Long time no see Ember. Quite the adventurous day today isn’t it?”
“Too much so, Tom.”
“Enough chit chat. Liam, George. Help move Peter to the transport. Emmett you are on lead. Tom cover our six. Ember and Sandra stick close to me. Let’s move.”
Stepping outside the house I saw what remained of the Fallen that had chased me down the hallway earlier. Apparently a second one had barely escaping through a window when Jessie’s group entered the house. Riding back in the truck, Liam who is in his mid-twenties kept staring in Sandra and my direction. He is undeniably cute, but known to be a player. He sought out the most attractive women for sex before dumping them to move on to the next one. After averting his eyes several times when one of us would look over at him, he lost his phony shyness choosing to finally speak.
“Sandra, right? Know I have seen you around a few times over the years, but don’t recall ever talking to you. You’ve changed a lot since the last time I saw you.”
“Umm, yeah.”
“Hey Liam, just curious, are you about to trying to flirt with my girlfriend? I seriously wouldn’t advise it unless you prefer having a few less teeth before this ride is over.”
A look of shock, dismay, and embarrassment appeared on Liam’s face. Everyone else in the truck started laughing loudly.
“Like mother, like daughter,” Emmett replied.
Tom still laughing, “Best take her words to heart Liam. Plenty of other girls out there. She’s going to end up even more of a firecracker than you Jess.”
Sitting in the backseat, I glanced into the rearview mirror while Jess was driving. I saw her looking back at me with a half grin on her face. Shortly after Liam apologized while changing subjects. He spoke directly to me without even glancing again at Sandra. He made small talk doing his best to act friendly (like he often did after hitting on a female while their boyfriend or husband just happened to overhear the conversation from afar).
We arrived at the temporary medical facility set up at an old historical bank. The two-foot thick concrete building housed only a few windows on the ground floor that were now boarded up tight. Across the street several women, a few men, kids, and the elderly were filing into an old hotel that used to be known for its late night hauntings before the Fallen became the trump card of the frightfest we call the world of today. The hotel has black cast iron bars covering the windows of the first two floors. It is also adorned with one of a kind large thick black ironwood doors, which are nearly nonexistent around the world according to Aurora whom told me about them several years ago. It is also the oldest building still standing here in Alpine. It was built in eighteen ninety-six having many additions and renovations added on over the years.
“See to it that Peter is seen immediately. His wounds have been somewhat addressed, but he needs a complete check over by a professional. If they need anything over at the medical facility tell them to make a list. Girls, lets head over to the hotel. I need to be updated on everything that is going on. Ops is set up in a suite on the top floor.”
“Wait, you mean the suite on the thirteenth floor where all those mobsters were killed in the thirties?”
“You’re not afraid of hundred year old ghosts are you Ember? And it’s the fourteenth floor.”
“Only because they changed it like most everywhere else due to superstition, it’s still technically the thirteenth floor. As long as we are not sleeping there then I’m good. People said the undead were a ridiculous notion being nothing more than science fiction until they were real, right? I’d rather not find out if ghosts are real too, thank you very much!”
We all started laughing as we headed up the working elevator to the operations suite. It was nice to have electricity working at least in a couple buildings obviously due to one of the crews working their butts off. Arriving at the suite, we were greeted by Councilwoman Brackenridge, Communications Officer Brad Tatum, and Aurora (whom gave me a huge hug).
“Things are looking good at the shelter. I presume that the medical facilities are mostly functional? How are we on the other fronts?”
Brackenridge made a depressing frown. “We have enough food and essentials to last a week for the entire community from the supplies we have collected so far. The crops were devastated! Only a quarter of them will survive. The electric facility is obviously functional, but there are powerlines down everywhere. The water is temporarily safe. Purification systems are running on generators, which will have to be refueled each day until power is restored. However, there is a complication at the oil refinery station. We are going to be short on fuel until a few hard to find replacement electrical parts are acquired to make the repairs. Construction on the walls are going extremely slow. It will likely take months to repair them all. Overall damages to structures are at about sixty five percent for complete losses, twenty five percent need repairs to be properly functional or safe, and only ten percent were untouched by the tornado or tornadoes that tore everything to hell. If none of that is not bad enough for you, we have seen a large increase in intelligent Fallen today. We have lost seven civilian lives today due to attacks, three confirmed dead from the tornado, and another five are reported missing.”
“Have the construction crew put up an inner perimeter around this block. Make it top priority. They can expand a little at a time from there. Man snipers around the clock once the perimeter is set up. Security and safety comes first. Next, we work on getting power to the water facility. Whatever needs to be done to get the facility running, get it done
. I do not want to be worrying about constantly refueling the generators with fuel that is necessary for other needs. Then, have a small crew gather the ruined crops to salvage the seeds. Another to harvest what is left of the good crops. Make sure they are heavily guarded while they work by an experienced crew. Aurora, have two decent runners search for the missing over the next twenty-four hours. If they are unable to find them in that time, then they will be presumed dead. Choose the three best runners you have to find replacement parts for the oil facility if you can pinpoint possible locations for the parts. Without the fuel refinery, we are going to be in a really bad way pretty quick. You are assigned to personally lead the mission. Leave out soon as you possibly can.”
“You might want to have a team search for spare fuel in case it’s needed,” Brackenridge commented.
“Should be a couple spare tankers at the main warehouse if they were not thrown into another state. The underground storage tank usually has around five-hundred gallons at all times. All recreational and nongovernment travel should be suspended until repairs are made at the refinery. Those inside or not on missions of importance should work on cleaning, repairs, and anything else that can be done within the perimeter of the walls once they are up. Brad, I need you to send word out to the other communities we have strong relations with. Let them know our predicament. Ask for any aid they can provide. I’m sure that someone will respond since a few of the communities rely heavily on the fuel we provide among other things.” Jessie stopped to catch her breathe. She took a drink of water from a canteen Aurora handed her. She then glanced over to Brackenridge before continuing. “If you would be so kind to update the other committee members, it would be highly appreciated. It would also be nice if the council could appoint a representative to speak to the citizens to keep them informed. We need to make sure to keep confrontation and stress at a minimum. I would have Sandra do it since she is technically my assistant, but she is not ready for that much responsibility yet. I also need her to get things running on the projects.”
Brackenridge nodded her head agreeing with what Jess told her. “I’ll see to it. If all else fails, I’m sure Councilman Nicolson will take on the responsibility of dealing with the citizens himself.”
“Thank you very much, Kristen. I will get to work on getting everything else in motion.”
Chapter 3
Bullets, Blades, and Hand Grenades
-1-
The rest of the day was like a blur. Running back and forth, searching for specific individuals, and relaying orders. When night fell I was too tired to even think about dinner, but Sandra sweet-talked me into eating a small bowl of homemade soup before I crawled into a comfy hotel bed with fluffy down feather pillows. I was out the moment my eyes closed.
When I awoke, I found myself in a small cabin that I had camped out at with my Uncle Kurt years ago. I recall it being somewhere in the forest that I recently received my first kiss, but I’m not positive of the exact location. Glancing around, I saw the familiar fireplace from just beyond the bedroom doorway I had previously slept in. It crackled and popped as the wood burned low inside it. There was a full moon outlining Mt. Ord barely visible through the trees from the bedroom window. I had no recollection of how or when I had arrived here from the hotel. Half-dazed I shook myself awake the best I could. I got out of bed searching frantically through the cabin finding that for some reason I was completely alone. On a table near the front door was the pistol I had carried earlier today in a holster strapped at my waist. I quickly buckled it on before proceeding to fling open the front door. Stepping outside a cold breeze blew over my skin making me shiver all over. Standing there on the porch, I gazed at the huge bright moon with the reddish hue about it. I suddenly felt an immense overwhelming presence of danger that filled me with fear. Looking around without making any sudden movements, I saw glowing blue pale eyes staring at me from the woods to the right. I moved my hand slowly to draw my gun when two more sets of similar eerie eyes appeared. I hurriedly withdrew the pistol swinging it around unsure which enemy to focus on as more and more Fallen appeared out of the darkness coming slowly closer. I started taking steps back towards the cabin door as the realization kicked in that I had zero chance of surviving a horde of these things out here by myself. Once inside I slammed the door shut. I didn’t have time to process a plan of action. The numbers surrounding the cabin had grown into the hundreds. They were pressing against the walls from every side. In mere seconds they broke through the windows crawling over each other to gain entry. The doors buckled caving inward unable to hold against so many. They came towards me with an insatiable hunger. I shot the nearest one between the eyes extinguishing the glow that marked its afterlife. Now standing with my back against the fireplace I could feel the heat from the dying embers. I fired off round after round dropping them in large numbers until the empty chamber simply clicked. For every Fallen that I put down, another ten took their place pouring into the cabin. They came upon me like a raging death. I fought to live even as my flesh was being ripped apart and devoured. I cursed them as the pain overwhelmed me. I fell to the ground where they piled on my soon to be corpse.
During my last gasp of breathe I heard a whisper on the wind, a premonition of impending doom. The voice spoke almost silently, but pounded into my brain like a nail. It said, “Death himself walks among this great host. He comes bearing gifts for the weary, the weak, the timid, and the meek. Those who bring fire, stones, and blades of war to greet us will find there are things worse than death to greet them among our numbers.”
My mind drifted upward outside of the body. At the same time the massive pain simply vanished. Looking down upon the gruesome bloody corpse below, I suddenly realized that it was not my face on the woman whom was still being fed upon. Her eyes opened for the first time glowing a pale blue. She seemed to stare upwards directly at me with what seemed a final instance of humanity. In those mere seconds it felt like she was trying to communicate something. I reached out with my now ethereal hand touching the side of her cheek attempting my best to comfort her. That was followed by a feeling like I was falling from a really tall building. Everything around me began to vanish.
I awoke with a scream that probably woke many of the residents in the neighboring rooms. Amy came rushing in from the adjoining room clearly distressed appearing almost as frightened as I had felt in my dream. On entering the room she found Sandra with an arm wrapped around me while she caressed my hair with her free hand to calm me down.
“She had another nightmare. She’s been having them recently, but I’ve never heard her scream out like that.”
Taking a deep sigh of relief, Amy walked over sitting at the end of the bed. Sandra hopped out of bed to grab a cold bottle of water from the small refrigerator. I swallowed down half of it before handing it back to her. Scooting back against the headboard in a sitting position I relaxed for a moment back into reality. I began speaking slowly telling them what I had dreamt about. I made sure to emphasis how real it had been from the intense colors, the sensation of feeling, and even the smells such as burning wood or the stench of the rotting flesh from the Fallen. By the time I was finished I found myself crying because telling them was like being there again.
While Sandra consoled me, Amy was pacing back and forth.
“I wish Jessie was here. She would know the right thing to say. I’m sorry that you had such a horrible dream sweetheart. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“I think I’ll be alright. Might listen to some music with my headphones for a little while.”
I stood up walking over to Amy giving her a big hug so she would relax. I then walked over to a window opening it since I was covered in sweat. A cool breeze blew in making me shiver much like in the dream. Overhead there was a full moon with a reddish hue looking down on me.
“Déjà vu.”
“What?” Amy and Sandra both looked over at me.
“I just got a cold shiver from the wind and saw the moon is f
ull with a reddish color exactly like in my dream.”
“It’s just coincidence hun,” Amy said. I could see a frightened look had reappeared on her face. She was trying to convince herself more than me that it was simply a coincidence.
“I know, just gave me that Déjà vu feeling. Nothing to worry about. Sorry I woke you mom. You should try to get some more rest.”
She kissed my forehead. “Think I’ll do a little light reading to help fall back asleep. Love you kiddo. Try not to stay up all night.”
“I’ll probably fall asleep listening to music. Love you too.”
Amy left the room. Sandra came to stand next to me at the window.
“Pretty sure none of us are going to sleep for a couple hours. Just hearing your dream scared the crap out of me. Sounded worse than anything I ever read in Aurora’s novels.”
I laughed, “Not sure about that. Thanks for making me feel better.”
“Your welcome beautiful.” She leaned forward kissing me gently on the lips. “Think I am going to find a snack. You scared at least five pounds off me, so I should be good. Want anything?” I shook my head that I didn’t. “K, you’re sharing one of those ear buds when I get back right?”
“Of course beautiful. It might cost you a kiss or two though.”
She gave me a big smile, “Sounds like a fair price.”
The following morning I woke up with the sound of music in my ear. I carefully got out of bed trying not to wake Sandra which was not an easy task. I dressed quickly leaving the room. I made my way up to the thirteenth floor hoping to find Jessie. She was there barking out orders into the radio. I waited patiently for her to finish the conversation she was having. When she was finished I walked over telling her good morning with a hug.
“How are things going mom?”
Through the Eyes of the Phoenix Page 4