Swarm

by Devon C Ford

  ~

  Deafened by the continual sound of gunfire and choking on the cordite fumes that began filling the room I kept typing. I wanted to look at the battle raging just meters behind me but knew our only chance of survival lay in reconnecting with Annie and getting access to the system. Typing faster than I ever had before, my fingers a blur on the keyboard, I finished inputting the last few lines of code. Rapidly scrolling through the sub files, I selected the one I needed and hit the return key. The screen went blank, leaving only the taunting icon of a spinning hourglass to indicate that deep in its files and electronically stored memory, things may be happening. I could do nothing but wait, holding my hand unnecessarily to my ear as if willing Annie’s voice to come back to me through my earpiece.

  Nothing, the hourglass icon continued to mock me. I began to really panic, knowing just one mistyped line of code would prevent the new program from meshing with my thousand-year-old original work.

  The icon flashed, indicating something new was happening, and my earpiece crackled.

  “David?” was all I got. Tears of relief filled my eyes. We had connection. It may not be strong, but I knew as long as Annie could get into the system, we stood a chance.

  Screams behind me made me crouch lower on the floor, but even though my bowels were loosening as any moment I expected to be struck by an axe-wielding maniac wearing animal skins, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen.

  The screen changed and pages of code began flashing across it. Annie was in, I’d located the key Kendall had programmed and I just had to trust her to override all the restrictions input by the other programmer.

  “Annie?” I called but I just got a bleep of reply. I opened my mouth to speak again but stopped myself as it dawned on me that she needed every single byte of her memory, fighting with what was probably a weak connection as she undid what been done hundreds of years ago. She didn’t need me to interrupt; she would tell me when she was in full control.

  I chanced a look over my shoulder. The situation through the smog of gun smoke looked terrifying. I could see two of our small party lying on the ground, blood spreading from them, but couldn’t tell who they were as both Harrison and Tori were standing over them swinging at the mass of figures trying to scale the barricade. Blood flew from their twirling, hissing, razor-sharp blades. The others had taken a pace back, trying to keep away from the wild swings of the attackers and firing their weapons wildly at the mass of warriors who filled the small space of the doorway in front of the barricade. I could see they were inflicting terrible casualties as their shots in the enclosed space couldn’t fail to hit, but still the warriors kept pressing forwards. Their dead comrades still held up in the crush absorbing bullets, protecting the ones behind as they tried to climb over them and kill us all.

  “I’m back,” Annie said, her voice clear and strong. “I have full access, and I’m using the inbuilt transmitters. I recommend retreating further into the facility. I have sent schematics to your laptop and Mister Weatherby’s tablet. Closing the outer door now. I have also deactivated Tanaka’s wristband.” She must have been openly broadcasting to us all as Hendricks voice burst into my ear.

  “Annie close the damn door now; they’re about to breach!” I was looking at him as he was speaking a saw him stop talking and fire his pistol at a warrior who had reached the top of the wall and was about to leap on him. He fell back, blood spraying from his chest, fortunately knocking two more warriors over who had clambered over their dead comrades.

  “One moment, please.” Annie’s voice sounded surreally calm in complete contrast to the scene of carnage laid out before me. “Door closing now.”

  The main door began to roll shut, and at the same time behind me the smaller door that led further into the facility began to slide open. In seconds I’d unplugged my laptop and stuffed it roughly into my pack, slinging it onto my back. As I stood staring for a moment, realization dawned on me I was armed, and my rifle, forgotten on its sling, was banging against my leg. My friends needed my help, and not just from my computer skills. Putting it clumsily to my shoulder I looked through the sights and aimed at the mass still trying to reach us and squeezed the trigger just like I’d been taught, only for nothing to happen.

  “Shit! The safety!” I remembered and my thumb sought the small lever that would turn it from a useless piece of metal to a deadly, death-spitting weapon of war. Some of the warriors near the back had seen the door closing and turned to run back into the gloom beyond. Ignoring them, I shifted my position to give me a clear line of sight and tightened my finger on the trigger. The new angle I was firing at tore into the front ranks of our enemy, making them falter as they were thrown down.

  The pressure, momentarily relieved, gave Hendricks the chance to look around and assess. He saw the door behind him was almost open and, grabbing the drag handle on Stevens’ vest, began pulling his limp, dead body toward the door shouting for the rest to disengage. Amir turned and ran, but the others stood their ground. Still facing the threat, they started to walk backwards in controlled order. As Geiger stepped over Collins, he grabbed his outstretched arm and dragged him, firing his pistol one-handed as his empty rifle hung on the sling at his side.

  Chapter 16

  Change the Locks

  Tanaka was in the tunnel, shouting at his people to continue attacking when the door began closing. He needed to destroy the newcomers; if they hid behind the doors then it would all have been for nothing. Normally he would have flown into a blind rage striking out at anyone near him, knowing they wouldn’t have the courage to fight back. He experienced a rare moment of clarity as his foot caught on a large rock that had fallen from the walls of the tunnel.

  He could use the rock to stop the door closing.

  Grabbing the nearest warrior to him, he shouted for him to help as he bent and struggled with the heavy, awkwardly shaped lump of rock. Between them they struggled down the tunnel shouldering aside those trying to push through the closing gap.

  “Faster,” he screamed, fearing that the door would close before they got there. The rolling motion slowed as the bodies being crushed caused the ageing motor to strain, giving them time to take the last few paces and drop the rock in place just as the door touched it. Clunking against the obstacle, it stopped and reversed its motion to try again with the motor whining in protest. As Tanaka stood exposed in the gap looking in triumph at the rock, the warrior who had helped was hit by a single bullet to the throat causing Tanaka to dive ungracefully behind the solid protection of the thick steel door. Wiping sprayed blood from his face, Tanaka saw with elation that his plan had worked.

  In the chamber, the lead warriors were so intent on reaching their enemy they had not noticed the door closing behind them. All they could see was their enemy retreating, heading toward a doorway that had opened in the wall on the other side of the room.

  Geiger and Hendricks were a few yards from the door when three of Tanaka’s men leaped over the barricade. Both shot one each, but the last one with his axe held above his head kept coming. Geiger ducked and twisted desperately to avoid his wild swing as the pitted blade whistled inches from his face to sever the limb of Collins he was dragging the man by. Released from the weight he stumbled backwards, falling through the doorway still with the amputated arm in his grasp. Before the warrior could recover from the swing, Harrison slashed both his blades across his throat, almost removing his head from his neck killing him instantly.

  Harrison stood blocking the doorway as Hendricks shouted for Annie to close the door. He took two fast paces forward, grabbed Jones’ shoulder where he knelt to drill disciplined rounds into the gap in the door, and pulled him through as it hissed shut.

  Lights flickered as Annie powered up the ancient illumination in the passageway. Harrison and Tori stood facing the door, blood dripping from the multiple wounds they had suffered. Everyone else sat in slumped silence, exhausted from the brief but bloody battle, shocked and numb looks on their grime-covered,
sweat-streaked faces.

  “Annie, can you still hear us?” Anderson asked, afraid that silence would be the answer and that they’d be alone again.

  “Yes, I am here,” she replied. Relief washed over him as she explained what just happened.

  “The outer door has been intentionally obstructed using a rock which has prevented it from correctly closing. I have activated the cameras and I’m monitoring the room. I have disabled Tanaka’s wristband so he cannot open the inner door.”

  “Where are they?” asked Hendricks.

  “Some have withdrawn to the tunnel and others are searching the antechamber. Do you want me to replay the audio and video feed to your tablet?”

  “Not yet, Annie,” he replied. “Let’s take a minute to regroup and get sorted. They have us trapped and they know it.” He looked around at them. “Everyone check your weapons and count ammo. Harrison, Tori, let’s look at those wounds, we don’t want you bleeding to death on us now.” He checked his own weapons and mumbled an apology to Stevens as he retrieved some of the man’s spare ammunition.

  Harrison looked at the deep gashes on his arms and ripped a piece of cloth from his top to wind it tightly around the worst one. “I am fine,” he said simply.

  Hendricks smiled at him grimly. “And I’m not filled with confidence. Geiger, please see to them before he gives himself sepsis.” He looked at Geiger pointedly. “Now, if you don’t mind,” Hendricks added, tossing him a blowout pack from his own vest.

  Geiger heaved himself to his feet with an acknowledgement of, “Boss,” opened the med kit and approached the two who nervously eyed the contents.

  “Annie?” Amir called softly.

  “Yes, Mister Weatherby. How can I help?”

  He looked almost guiltily at the others as he continued, knowing he was going to reveal information he had been withholding. “Has the room been accessed?” All eyes snapped to him.

  “No. The door has not opened since it was sealed on November twenty-fifth, twenty-thirty-two.”

  The look of triumph that spread across his face matched the looks of confusion on everyone else’s.

  “Is everything intact?”

  “I cannot remotely inspect the non-organic contents, but nothing had been disturbed and the environment has been maintained for optimum storage conditions so they all should be in perfect order. Out of the forty cryopods, only fifteen remain fully functional. I can only assume that as Charlie Annie was not aware of their existence, they were not monitored so any faults were not detected and remotely repaired.”

  Hendricks took a step toward Amir who just held a hand up to hear the rest of the report without interruption.

  “The site’s CNR was operating on shutdown mode, which I surmise was a power-saving mode to extend its life, causing monitoring interruption of alternate Charlie Annie. The fifteen subjects should come out of cryostasis with no more difficulty that we experienced. Do you want me to start the process, Mister Weatherby?”

  “No, not yet, Annie. We can bring them out of cryo when we are able to offer them better assistance than we can now.” He could see the looks of bemused incredibility and questioning being directed at him and held his arms up and smiled. “Annie, I think I’d better explain to the others what we are talking about before they lynch me.”

  “Of course, Mister Weatherby,” she replied and her down-tone bleeped in their ears.

  “Mister Weath—” Hendricks began but Weatherby held his hand up again to stop him.

  “You must all understand that I have not withheld this information from you lightly. I did not know for certain that they’d be here, and so didn’t want to mislead you with false promises and assumptions—”

  Hendricks interrupted, “Is this why you were so desperate to reach this site?”

  “Yes, Hendricks. Among other reasons and I apologize profusely for the subterfuge. I could tell you didn’t trust me, and I am sorry for lying to you, but please listen as to why.”

  Hendricks nodded in reply and remained silent, but the anger was clear to see on his face.

  “I constructed, as an addition before the event, a further independent sub shelter within the complex. It was meant to house my mother and some staff to keep her comfortable whilst the rest of us rebuilt civilization on the surface. She is—was—elderly and wouldn’t at all have been suited to the rugged life we knew we were going to have to endure as we started again.” He smiled softly, sadly, as he thought about her. “The shelter is accessed from a discreet, disguised doorway off a small office on level twelve. If you didn’t know it was there, you’d never find it.” His look changed to one of deeper sadness. “I arranged for a small staff to accompany her, all who knew what was going to happen and were in full agreement of what was expected of them. They were not going to be allowed to mix with the rest of us as keeping it secret was key to my plan.”

  He paused as if searching for the right words to say then simply shrugged.

  “If people knew there was a luxury VIP bunker hidden right under their noses then jealousy could become a factor and I did not want anything to disturb whatever time she had with us. She was my mother.” His voice sounding almost apologetic.

  They all sat or stood listening intently to him.

  “But I didn’t factor one thing into my planning: she didn’t want to go. When I told her what I was planning, she refused point blank to consider it, saying she would see out the rest of her days on Earth above ground and not hidden away while billions of people died.”

  He looked pained as he continued.

  “I tried, but nothing I could do or say could persuade her to change her mind, so I reluctantly agreed and continued with my work. But then I had an idea. I know what most of you thought of the original Tanaka, and I’m not stupid; I could see it too, but at that time I needed the blunt, unquestioning instrument he was. Nevertheless, certain things he did and said made me question his ultimate loyalty and the thought of him being on Earth out of my reach and influence until we landed filled me with no small amount of concern.” He laughed mirthlessly.

  “And I think my suspicions have been proven correct.” He paused and looked at Hendricks, as if to gauge his reaction. “So, I had an idea. No one knew about the bunker, the engineer who built it, unfortunately, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and so couldn’t go in to cryo. I therefore supplemented the supplies I had already stocked it with, with large quantities of extra supplies that would act as an additional reserve for us when we returned from space.” He paused again and looked at Hendricks as if to judge his response. “I also arranged with Secretary of Defense Matthews for him to provide additional military personnel, all of whom fitted the profile we wanted, and who of course volunteered with full knowledge of the event and their expected future role to go into cryo.”

  He turned to look at Anderson.

  “I also got a completely independent and unaffiliated computer expert to build, design, and program a brand new ‘sub Annie’ that could operate independently whilst also connected to the main unit.”

  “You built…” Anderson swallowed. “You built another Annie?” he asked incredulously.

  Amir smiled again, relaxing and enjoying the attention he was getting. “Only a small one with nowhere near as much storage and processing power, but enough to operate the bunker independently if need be. Anyway, and I hope you understand why, I couldn’t inform any of you about it until I could confirm it still existed. But now we know it’s there and what it contains. I know it’ll have everything we need, and more, for us to defeat Tanaka.”

  Hendricks still looked annoyed to say the least. Anderson could see him trying to control his emotions, but the news that there were more trained men available, just waiting to be woken up and join the fight, was good news he couldn’t ignore.

  “Weatherby, you sneaky, cunning little bastard. I’ll forgive you for not letting on about your little secret, I can understand your motives and reasons for doing so but can we make it
clear, these soldiers are not your personal bodyguard.” He looked at him severely. “As head of security, they will come under my direct control for the benefit of everyone and not form a private little army for you to keep yourself at the top of the management tree.”

  Weatherby looked genuinely shocked at the not too subtle criticism aimed at him but responded quickly and smoothly. “I can assure you that was not my intention at all.” He shrugged as if in apology. “But, again, I’m not stupid; I know my role and influence seem less import now in the current world we find ourselves in. I can see how some of you look at me. I can only hope I can still contribute my skills and organizational abilities as we grow and prosper.”

  Geiger snorted. “Prosper! We’re stuck in a bunker with a ton of screaming bad guys on the other side of a door. I don’t think we can count any chickens just yet, even if we wake up some new soldiers.”

  Amir smiled smugly again.

  “If you can let me finish. I was just about to explain that in addition to the bunker I also got the engineers to construct a separate exit for it so I could visit her without attracting attention, and if for some reason she wanted to go outside she could without interference. There is a tunnel that leads to a natural cave in a nearby rock formation, again I had the very best construct it so if you didn’t know it was there, you’d never find it. Whether it’s still a viable exit is the question I can’t answer yet.”

  Annie who had obviously been listening in spoke up.

  “The camera system in the tunnel is inoperative, but I have studied the location and monitored satellite imagery from the event to the current time I have in my database. The rock formation the tunnel emerges in has not changed or suffered from any environmental issue. There is a high probability it’s still useable…standby…Tanaka has entered the room…please hold.”

  ~

  Tanaka, after he had sent a scouting party to check the room was clear, strode into the steel wall-clad control room he knew only as The Source. He had stepped inside only once before. Not long after he had assumed control and been given the talisman handed down through the generations, he had persuaded The Keepers to grant him access as his right. The keepers had not initially wanted to allow him entry to the inner sanctity and had only conceded when he had strung the leader by his ankles from a tree and gutted him with a knife.