I need light but there’s no way, not with the NSA so close—
Mercy stopped and reached back, searching for Rose. Mercy felt Rose’s breath on her hand.
“What are you thinking?” Rose whispered.
A shadow leaned in from the left. Mercy detected Barnes’s stale sweat. She reached out and pulled him closer.
“You’ve seen what I’ve seen. I reckon we hide in here, maybe go a bit further and wait it out. Once they’ve finished processing this batch they’ll go back into their facility. We might be able to get in through that hatch somehow. We need to get a closer look to figure something out—” uncertainty laced Mercy’s voice.
“Yeah, agreed, but there’s those two cameras watching the platform—” Barnes replied. “I could knock them out with my rifle. Easy. But they’re bound to come and investigate—”
Mercy closed her eyes and tried to ignore the tension building in her shoulders. “Yeah, I know. So let’s not do anything now, let’s wait a bit—”
“I’m all for a rest. I could use a drink,” Rose squeezed Mercy’s arm and sank to the ground, she pressed her back up against the tunnel wall.
“Don’t forget the third rail,” Mercy whispered, as she joined Rose.
Barnes remained standing, his weapon ready. A new noise filled the confined space. Mercy looked back. The first cart had been emptied and was advancing into the tunnel. The second cart took its place. Two men in Hazmat suits climbed out of the first cart and into the second cart and started lifting body bags onto the conveyor belt. Mercy’s blood ran cold.
Christ, I didn’t even see them. Shit, we were damn lucky we weren’t discovered—
It took just over an hour for the six carts to be emptied of their loads. The row of carts edged deeper and deeper into the tunnel. Finally, the noise from the machinery stopped. The main platform lights dimmed, leaving a faint yellow glow from the station’s strip lighting.
“Looks like they’ve gone,” Rose whispered to Mercy.
“Yeah, let’s give it a few minutes though. I’ll creep down there and check it out. You guys stay here. I’ll be back. I won’t do anything without letting you know—” Mercy replied.
Yeah, like I know what I’m doing—
Mercy crept back to the station and stared out at the platform. A red LED light flashed on the nearest CCTV camera. A similar LED flashed on the camera at the far end of the platform.
Dammit. The cameras are still live—
She stared at the platform doors and the now closed conveyor belt hatch.
Steel double doors and yeah, the hatch is secure. Shit there’s no way in, not even ventilation grilles. It’s sealed tight. Christ… what are we going to do? We’ll have to wait until the next batch of body bags arrive and shoot our way in when the doors open. That’ll be suicide—
Mercy glanced back into the tunnel. She swore.
What the hell, guys—?
Torchlight flickered in the tunnel.
Chapter 6
Hidden
Mercy made her way back to Barnes. Rose was twenty yards away, moving down the tunnel, her torch on.
“What the hell does she think she’s doing?” Mercy hissed.
Barnes grunted, “She’s convinced she felt a breeze. She went to explore, said she’d be back before you—”
“Christ, OK let’s go get her,” Mercy replied.
Rose, I hope you’re right—
Rose was standing in front of a pile of rubble, searching the ground with her torch. She turned around at Mercy’s approach.
“What are you doing Rose? We discuss stuff first, that way shit doesn’t happen—” Mercy said, trying to keep her voice under control.
Rose nodded, “I’m sorry but I had to check it out. They’ve blocked this tunnel off. The next station would’ve been Federal Triangle, and that’s outside the wall. I felt a breeze, it’s coming from somewhere around here—”
Rose continued to shine her torch along the ground. Mercy took a deep breath and gave Barnes a look. “Even if there’s a breeze we’re not going to be able to break through this rubble. Looks as if they’ve used an excavator to block the tunnel off—” Mercy took her torch out and switched it on. She swept the beam across the tunnel roof confirming the extent of the blockage.
Yeah, rubble… floor to ceiling. Totally sealed—
Some yellow paint on the tunnel wall caught Mercy’s eye. She directed her beam at the spot.
What’s that? Part of a word—?
Mercy squinted at the grimy letters, trying to make them out.
N-L-Y? What the hell is N-L-Y supposed to mean?
She went over to the wall and lifted her torch to illuminate the area.
O. There’s an O in there… so… ONLY. What’s that about?
She felt a breeze on her cheek.
OK. Rose was right. There’s something behind here—
Mercy waved Rose and Barnes over. “Here, help me with this, there’s something behind all this crap—” Mercy clambered onto the rubble and began moving some of the loose rocks.
More yellow letters became visible: A-C-C-E-S-S. The breeze grew stronger. Barnes took over from Mercy and after twenty minutes of hard lifting he had exposed part of a steel door. The letters E-N-C-Y had been revealed by his efforts. Barnes sat down exhausted.
Rose shone her torch on the steel door. “Emergency access only,” she said, her voice full of hope. “Emergency access only. That’s it, that’s gotta be it, you know it—”
Mercy nodded, “It looks promising Rose.” She looked back along the tunnel towards the station platform. “We need to keep going while luck’s with us. You have a go, then I’ll take a turn—”
They spent the next thirty minutes removing more rubble from around the door. The work was dirty and soon their faces and hands were covered in dust and grime. Finally, Rose stepped back on shaky legs and made a flourish at the door. A yellow triangular warning sign proclaimed: DANGER ELECTRICAL HAZARD.
“It’s got ventilation holes in it, that’s where the breeze is coming from. It must lead outside. There’s a padlock, I could try and pick it… if I had some lock picks,” Rose said, patting her pockets.
“No need,” Barnes replied. “Hold on, I’ve got this.” He turned and walked to the other side of the tunnel. He bent down and picked something up. He returned with a long iron bar in his hand, “We’ll try this on the door. It’s probably something to do with the track. It’s better than a crowbar. Here, let me have a go.”
Rose stepped aside allowing Barnes access to the door. He placed the iron bar through the padlock and against the steel door. He levered it back, using his full weight. Nothing happened. He turned to Mercy, “Come on, give me a hand.”
Barnes took up position again and Mercy stood behind him, gripping the bar.
“On three. One, two… three—” Barnes said.
They pulled together, wrenching the pole against the padlock. The padlock held out but the door bolt snapped and fell to the floor.
“Result—” Barnes whispered.
Rose stepped up to the door and placed her hands on the handle. She looked at the others and twisted the handle. The door opened. The breeze grew stronger. Mercy smiled.
One step closer—
“It’s definitely leads to the surface, that’s fresh air,” Rose said.
Rose stepped through the door and Mercy followed. They entered a low corridor filled with electrical cabling and fuse boxes.
Barnes ran his fingers along a fuse box covered in duct tape. “Looks recent… looks like a hook up between the old DC Metro electrics and some new secondary power system. Some components have been cannibalised from other systems. This stuff wouldn’t pass any safety standards back in the day. This is new work, probably to do with keeping this stretch of the line open—”
“Yeah, whatever. I just want to see where it goes. So long as it’s up and out of here, that suits me fine,” Mercy replied.
They squeezed their way
through the narrow corridor for thirty feet then came to a spiral staircase in a concrete shaft. Rose stood aside to allow Mercy through.
“Your call,” Rose said.
Mercy breathed in, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know I want this shit to be over, period—”
Thanks Rose. I’m just so glad not to be alone. You didn’t have to come with me but you did, we’re in this together—
Mercy climbed the steps two at a time, shining her torch up the shaft. Their boots gave rise to a weird metallic sound as they ascended the steel staircase.
We sound like an army of robots—
Mercy frowned.
Not an army of alphas—
A few minutes later the staircase ended, delivering them into a long concrete tunnel. A shaft of daylight was visible in the distance.
That’s what I’m talking about—
Mercy’s pace quickened. She neared the end of the tunnel and looked out into a green space. Weeds and long grass rustled in the mid-morning light. Birdsong filled the air, somewhere the sound of an engine hummed. A dog barked in the distance. Mercy took a step backwards and swore.
Fuck, another camera—
“What is it?” Rose whispered.
Mercy pointed at the pole-mounted camera twenty feet away. “It’s got a direct line of sight on this tunnel entrance. If we go out there it’ll see us. We’re OK in here but outside… we’re toast—”
Goddammit—
Barnes edged close to the tunnel entrance and peered out, “That’s the National Mall out there, for sure. We’re in, we’re inside. What do you wanna do? Wait until dark? Go in now? I can knock that camera out with my rifle—”
Mercy lifted a hand, “No wait, let’s think it through. If you shoot the camera there’ll be a noise, even though your gun is silenced. Someone could hear the shot. I heard a dog a second ago. Let’s just take a moment, consider our options—”
Mercy sat down and stared out at a patch of blue sky. Rose paced up and down, a frown on her face.
“Yeah, we can’t just waltz out there in broad daylight. We need to wait until dark, then we can knock out that camera, then we can infiltrate—” Barnes said, he set his rifle against the wall and sat down opposite Mercy.
“I’m with you on waiting until dark,” Mercy said. She held a hand up, “I don’t think we should shoot the camera though.” She looked around, “There’s lots of mud in here, could we throw some mud at it? Blind it? Much quieter, less risk—”
Barnes pulled a face and looked out at the camera, “It’s about twenty feet away. That’s a long throw, it’d be better with a slingshot or a hunting catapult—”
“Which we don’t have,” Mercy sighed.
A scraping sound came from further back in the tunnel. Mercy turned to see Rose on tiptoes, her hands in amongst the electrical conduits running the length of the tunnel. Rose gave another tug. She held up a fistful of cordage.
“Bungee cords, they’ve used bungee cords to support these power cables. Bungee cords will work as a slingshot. Say thank you Rose—” Rose beamed, revealing her yellowed teeth.
Right now Rose you look like a clown, but you’re beautiful—
Mercy tilted her head and smiled, “Thank you Rose, thank you fabulous Rose—”
Chapter 7
Knockout
The day was long, they rested and finished the last of their food and water. Rose made a catapult from the bungee cord and a T bracket she found in the tunnel. She fashioned the catapult cup from a section of plastic hosing.
We’re ready—
A fly buzzed beside Mercy’s ear. She stirred and checked her watch; 10:37 pm.
Nice and late—
Outside, the lights in the National Mall had gone out.
Good… even the mighty NSA need to ration their power. Good news for us—
“So, you wanna do the honors?” Mercy asked Rose.
“Yeah, I’ll give it a shot, literally,” Rose grinned. “I’ve been practising all afternoon with this bloody thing, so we should be sweet… sweet as—”
“Yeah, and the camera is only about twenty feet away so… no pressure,” Mercy walked towards the tunnel entrance.
“Yeah, no pressure,” Barnes echoed.
“Yeah, no sweat,” Mercy added.
“Enough already,” Rose said. She picked up a mud ball from the pile she had made earlier in the day.
Mercy whispered, “You’ve got this Rose… nothing can possibly go wrong.”
Rose squared her shoulders and adjusted her stance. She stretched her neck and brought the catapult up, aiming at the camera. “The trouble with you Dawes, is you always gotta have the last word—”
“Truth—” Mercy said, her voice barely a whisper.
Rose closed one eye and pulled back the bungee cord with the mud missile in its plastic cup. She breathed out and steadied the catapult hand. She released the bungee cord. The mud ball flew true and struck the top of the camera, covering half the lens.
“Awesome shot Rose, now repeat that for the rest of it,” Mercy urged.
A dull rumble filled the air. A flash of lightning lit up the sky. A few drops of rain struck the ground outside.
“Quick Rose, do it again before the rain washes it away—” Barnes edged forwards, his voice tense.
Rose swore and grabbed another mud ball. She aimed and let her missile fly. It struck the camera housing, splattering the rest of the lens.
“That’s the money shot. Go, go, go—” Mercy said. She hefted her M16, ran out of the tunnel and past the camera, into the open space beyond. Her eyes darted left and right.
It’s wasteland. No electric light. Good—
Rose and Barnes ran up behind her. Lightning flashed overhead, briefly illuminating the surroundings with intense light. Mercy blinked in shock, the National Mall stretched out in front of her. The Washington Monument stood bleached and stark against the bruised sky. A gust of wind whipped Mercy’s hair, she turned and looked east to the Capitol Building. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky. Mercy gasped. The great dome was in ruins and much of the west front was fire-damaged.
Oh my god—
“So much for the New American Dominion,” Rose said. “Look at what they’ve done, the bastards.”
“Keep people in the dark, feed them shit and they’ll believe you—” Barnes said. “All empires crash eventually, this virus called time on the old world—”
“Come on, we need to call time on President Mitchell,” Mercy said, pointing towards the buildings on the southern side of the National Mall. “The Smithsonian is up there somewhere—”
“There’s a whole bunch of museums along here. How do we know which one he’s in?” Rose asked.
“Easy, it’ll be the one with the most activity. There’ll be lights, vehicles, guards and shit. Come on let’s go—” Mercy took off through the long grass.
They emerged from a stand of trees into a cultivated area. Rows of raised beds stretched into the distance. Makeshift greenhouses and long poly-tunnels took up much of the Mall to the north. Basic tools lay on the tilled soil where workers had left them. A horse drawn plough stood in the next field, upright in the mud. A small fenced area on the right housed cattle and sheep. Mercy stopped and stared at the ploughed land and the livestock.
It’s almost medieval, I wasn’t expecting this… here, in the National Mall—
Rose shook her head, “The only thing separating us from the Stone Age is what little fossil fuel there is left.”
“Pretty basic, ain’t it? Think they’ve got peasants and serfs?” Barnes spat on the ground. “So this is the New America—”
Mercy pursed her lips, “Eyes and ears guys, we’re drawing level with some of the main buildings. We need to get close to get a measure of what’s going on. Remember… a big slice of the NSA operations will be underground—”
They worked their way over the cultivated areas, passing more open air livestock enclosures.
Goats and pigs. Wel
l, the NSA ain’t gone vegan, that’s for sure—
They crossed over an irrigation channel and picked their way through a stand of trees to an imposing brick building. The rain beat on Mercy’s bare head. Her hair hung in wet strands around her face. She looked at Rose and Barnes.
Drowned rats, that’s what we look like. Three drowned rats, stowed away on this sinking ship. Hah… just go with it, until you no longer can—
Rose jabbed Mercy’s shoulder and pointed to a grimy sign on the nearby sidewalk: SMITHSONIAN CASTLE. “It kinda looks more like a church than a castle. No lights, no vehicles… just some carts—”
“Look over by that wall there,” Barnes pointed to the right. “Looks like stables—”
“Yeah, this feels… agricultural. Come on, let’s continue up the Mall. We’ll know our target when we see it,” Mercy walked through the trees and onto the sidewalk. A street sign declared: JEFFERSON DRIVE SOUTHWEST.
New signs pointed to more buildings: THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART. THE HIRSHHORN MUSEUM.
No sign of life, goddammit. Just that huge perimeter wall lurking behind every building. It’s the world inside the wall and the infected world outside. Talk about siege mentality. It’s like Noah’s Ark in here—
They crept across 7th Street Southwest and stopped on the corner. In the distance two vehicles turned off Jefferson Drive Southwest and disappeared to the right. Mercy blinked and rushed forwards, keeping to the trees. She came to a gap and peered through. Lights blazed from a grand, glass fronted entrance in the distance. A group of uniformed men left the building and climbed into the two vehicles. A few seconds later the vehicles pulled away and headed back up Jefferson Drive, towards the Capitol Building.
This is it. This is it. I know it—
Rose leant forwards, “It’s the Smithsonian all right… the National Air and Space Museum. It’s where they keep all the rockets.”
The Survival Chronicles (Book 7): Hard Mercy Page 3