by Dave Brown
He paused and sighed, looking at the evening sky. Many of the locals took interest in their feet or the grass, as though they knew what part of the story was coming next and wanted to think about something else.
“We were getting nowhere,” he continued. “This stuff takes time but we all knew things were urgent. Early morning on the sixteenth the secret service guys showed up again and told us we had ten minutes to pack up whatever we could. Don't worry about the digital materials, they said, they had already been transmitted to the new facility. What new facility, we asked. They told us to just pack up as fast as we could.
“Eight minutes later,” he said and uttered a short grunting laugh, “they herded us out through corridors, stairwells and then we were outside. That's when a few of us recognized the area around the Pentagon. There was a charter bus sitting there waiting for us and then secret service starts shouting for us to run. There were Z's all over the place. Our guards started shooting, slow and methodical. They were good, but there were just too many Z's. We all made it to the bus but about half the secret service guys were overrun.”
One man got up and left the group, walking into the trees. None of the locals watched him go but Anne could see they were all acutely aware of his departure. Nobody said anything until he was gone, then a woman spoke up.
“John was one of the guards that made it,” she said.
Gary nodded. “Anyway, after that we drove to Andrews and got on the plane.” He stopped and pointed a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the airfield. “We just sat there for a while. It was weird, sitting in seats on a plane like we were just waiting for any old flight, except every once in a while there as a pop outside the door. Secret service dropping a Z. Then they shut the doors up and a minute later the plane started moving. One of the secret service agents, a younger kid, told us the president had been bitten. One of the twins got him and he apparently went full on apocalyptic crazy. Ran off into the city. The VP had called in and told secret service to get us out of there. That's when I knew this was really bad. We were more important than continuity of government.”
He shook his head, as though it was still too much to believe.
“Where was the vice president?” Jones asked.
Gary shrugged, “Undisclosed location. Less than a minute after we started rolling the plane stopped again, the door opened and the entire secret service team went out as fast as they could. We heard a huge firefight going on. Seemed like it went on forever but it couldn't have been more than two minutes. It was still going on when suddenly the Speaker of the House gets shoved through the door. John was right behind him, pulled the door shut and yelled for the pilots to get underway.”
“Why the Speaker of the House?” Anne asked.
Seung Jin spoke up beside her, “Next in line after the vice president.”
“Yep,” Greg said, “That's what we figured. Somewhere over the Midwest a call came in. The Speaker took it and then promptly had a heart attack.” He shrugged. “There were about six MD's on board but it was just too severe. We landed in Los Angeles to refuel, then straight on to here. There was a state-of-the-art infectious disease research facility here, secreted away under the other buildings.”
Maria spoke up. “The Navy cleared out of here in '97 after a big cleanup project. We figure the government installed all this stuff at the same time and then used the ongoing Fish & Wildlife mission as a cover to keep the facilities up to date.”
Errol coughed beside Anne and she looked over at him. There was a look on his face like he had just made some sort of mental connection. “What sort of facilities?” he asked.
Harry raised his arm and pointed roughly west. “There are viral and bacterial labs as good as what we were working with at the Pentagon.” He shifted his hand to the north, where a building could be seen against the trees in the failing light. “There's also a fully equipped hospital underneath the original clinic, plus an emergency clinic in the same complex as the labs.”
Errol nodded but didn't ask anything else.
“Anyway,” Greg said, “That's about it. We've been working on a solution ever since.”
The sun was gone now. The sky held onto a residual glow but the crank lamps were putting out the most light in the clearing. Anne saw most of the locals looking a little fidgety, as though maybe they had somewhere else to be. “Well,” she said, “it's been wonderful to meet all of you and hear your story.”
Maria stood up and brushed herself off. “Would you all like to spend the night? There's plenty of room. The Navy used to house three thousand people here.”
The Folly crew looked at Errol, including Seung and Renee. “I don't think that will be a problem,” he said. “Jones and I will borrow one of these lamps, if that's okay, walk back to the dock and radio our ship. Let them know we're staying.”
“Sure. Just follow the signs for Charlie Barracks on your way back.”
Errol stood and picked up one of the lanterns, then motioned for Jones to follow him. Anne watched them go and then hauled herself to her feet, brushing off grass and loose dirt. She stuck next to Hayes as they followed the crowd along a path that led mostly north. It seemed a little odd to her, that whole thing with Errol and Jones, especially after that little cough and expression on Errol's face. She wondered what they were talking about.
She looked around as they followed the light of the crank lamps along the path, marveling once again at the trees and grass. She glanced at Hayes and saw that he too was paying more attention to the surroundings than the path. Their eyes met and they both smiled a little. She looked back over her shoulder, wanting to share the experience with Seung and Renee. The planning committee member was walking alone. He caught her eye and shook his head slightly, twice. She looked forward again, now keeping her eyes locked on the path. They'd been on solid ground less than a day and they were already keeping secrets again.
Chapter 24
The crank lamp shed plenty of light on the path, and it was easy to find their way back to the dock. When they got there Errol turned, looked past Jones to make sure they were alone, and then held up the lamp and looked his friend dead in the eye.
“I want to know how you knew about this place, and I want to know now.”
Jones kept perfectly cool, which did not help Errol's growing sense of annoyance with the man. “What do you mean, boss?”
“Your wife gets pregnant and you bring me satellite photos of the only place for a thousand miles with a full hospital and half a dozen doctors? I call bullshit.”
The Texan stared back at him, the light from the crank lamp illuminating his features from below like they were telling ghost stories. Then he let out a laugh that took Errol by surprise.
“You know, the file they gave me on you said you had a one-eighty-three IQ? I believe it.” His smile faded. “Aw hell. Sit down.”
Jones dropped down onto the dock, dangling his legs over the side. Errol stood completely still for a second. Something about those words, the file they gave me on you, had chilled him to the bone. “Come on,” Jones said and Errol finally obliged, setting the lamp down between them.
“I'll say right out of the gate, I didn't know these people would be here. I thought the place would be abandoned. When Reg and them came back with those pictures I knew things had gotten complicated but I couldn't just say, ah let's go somewhere else.”
“Who are you?” Errol asked.
“Cloydon Jones, just like you thought. And slow down, I'm gettin' to it. I was in the Navy like I said, but I weren't no deck swabbin' sailor.” His accent had thickened like it did when he told stories about his childhood or high school adventures. “SEALs, two years. After that I got recruited by another agency.”
“Which agency?”
“You remember all the ones that just went by their initials? We didn't even have initials.” He flashed his signature grin, rendered ghoulish by the lamplight. “So one of the things I did was oversaw a refit mission here, like Maria sai
d. I knew about the hospital and the labs, but I figured things went to hell so fast there wasn't time for Uncle Sam to get back here. Looks like I was wrong.”
“What about me?” Errol asked. “You said you got a file on me.”
“Yep, and if my old boss is still alive I'm about to get in a whole mess o' trouble.” He sighed and looked out at the water. “I wasn't given all the information but I put some things together on my own between then and now. Lemme paint you a picture. Super smart, super rich guy gets a consultin' job for the government. He hands in a report, then heads out west and starts buildin' himself an ark. That seem a little suspicious to you?”
Errol didn't know what to say. He had never even considered what the Folly project would look like to the government. He hadn't even thought they'd be paying attention. “Well, not that smart, I guess.”
“Ah, don't beat yourself up. Like I said, I put some things together and I know you had a lot on your mind.” He looked back at Errol, who expected to see accusation and blame on his friend's face. Instead there was only that calm knowing smile. “You knew,” Jones said. “You knew it was all comin' apart. You knew you couldn't stop it, so you saved what you could.” He reached out and clapped Errol on the back. “Thank you! You saved my life and everybody else on that ship.”
“I...” Errol said, then stopped and shook his head. It was a lot to take in. “I don't know what to say,” he finally managed.
“Don't worry about it. Listen, if it means anythin', I'm sorry I lied. I want you to know it's the only thing I've ever lied to you about. The minute we shoved off, that life was done and I was your first mate. Hell, even before that.” He slapped Errol on the back again. “You're a pretty likable guy.”
Errol wanted to laugh but there was still more on his mind. “What now?” he said. “You know my secret, I know yours, what do we do?”
“We find Charlie Barracks and get some sleep,” Jones said, rising to his feet. Errol looked up at him and decided he had the right idea. He stood up, and then bent over to snatch the lamp. Just as he straightened up again there was a tiny snapping sound from the direction of the trees. Both men turned to look but saw nothing.
“That's twice in one day I got the feelin' somebody was eavesdroppin'.” Jones said. “I don't like coincidences like that.”
#
Charlie Barracks was not difficult to find. They walked back to the Mall and then turned slightly north. Before long they came upon two long white buildings, a crowd of people gathered in front of one of them. When Errol and Jones joined them, Harry O'Neil showed the two of them inside. The barracks had been converted to a comfortable hotel sometime between the Navy withdrawal in the late 90's and the collapse in 2004, and Harry explained that many of the scientists living on the island spent a portion of their spare time keeping the different buildings in good repair.
“Just in case,” he said, and Errol understood what he meant without further explanation. In case of a day like this one. He certainly appreciated their efforts. The room he was given was quite nice. It had a real bed instead of a bunk, curtains and wallpaper instead of portholes and white paint. He decided that night that if things didn't work out here, he would be making some changes on the Folly.
He woke with a start the next morning, then smiled as he realized all the things he'd pondered favorably the night before were completely foreign to him after four years on the ship. The sounds around him, the light coming through the window, the air in the room, all of it was different from what he was used to upon waking. “Baby steps,” he said out loud, and even the way his voice bounced off the walls was different.
He called the ship to check in and then met the rest of his crew downstairs. The six visitors were treated to breakfast in a place called Clipper House, then escorted to the island's medical clinic. It looked exactly like Errol would expect a sixty year old military clinic would look, until they entered an elevator concealed behind a large notice board. Greg Weizt, their tour guide for the moment, pressed one of only two buttons and they began to descend. After twenty seconds the doors opened again and he led them into a wide white tiled corridor. There were signs on the wall directing them to different areas. Greg elaborated on each one as they passed.
“Three operating suites, down there. ICU and recovery next door. Patient rooms back that way. Full radiology facilities over there.” He pointed down hallways and through doors as they walked. Hayes seemed the most interested. Errol felt it looked like any other modern hospital.
After fifteen minutes of this, they passed through a pair of double doors and into a long straight tunnel. The walls and ceiling sported the same white tile as the hospital but the floor was paved. There was a wheeled vehicle parked on the right hand side. It appeared to consist of a driver's seat and a large flat cargo space. On closer examination Errol saw evenly spaced U-shaped grooves in the bed, three on each side. Greg reached into one and pulled upward, unfolding an integrated seat complete with restraining belt. “They fold down for patient transport,” he said. With all six seats locked in place, the visitors mounted up and watched the tunnel walls whip by as Greg steered them toward their next destination.
It turned out to be the research labs. Greg handed them off to Maria Thompson and took the cart back the way they had come. If the hospital was impressive, the labs were nothing short of a modern marvel. Errol knew very little about biological research, but he knew computers pretty well and there were some highly advanced ones on display here. Both Hayes and Anne made similar remarks about some of the other equipment. Maria led them through a variety of rooms where they saw people they had met the night before bent over microscopes, computers, test tubes, and everything else Errol might expect to see in this setting. Many of them looked up and smiled at the visitors passing by. There were two rooms viewable through thick plastic windows, the people inside unrecognizable inside sealed bio-hazard suits. The sight of them made Errol distinctly uncomfortable, even more so when one suited figure turned and waved at him. This was the kind of place where the end of civilization had been engineered.
After showing them all the work areas, Maria brought them to a door marked “Authorized Personnel Only.” She tapped a sequence of numbers out on a keypad next to the door. A resounding thud came from the frame and she shoved the door open. The group went inside and found themselves in a large white room. That was when they saw the zombies.
Chapter 25
Reg woke early that morning, smiling as he remembered the dream he'd been having. Warm sand, cold drinks, and Anne lying naked beside him on a towel. The sunlight through his circular window was hot on his arm, dragging his thoughts back to the waking world. He swung himself off the bunk and got dressed, ready for duty.
The first thing he did on the bridge was take a call from Errol, assuring him the ship was doing fine. Then he simply looked out the window at the atoll, hoping everything was all right there. Barbara brought him a breakfast plate and then walked out onto the catwalk, lost in her own thoughts. Reg had nearly finished his meal when she called out to him from astern.
“Hey, Reg. Better come take a look at this.”
That wasn't something he liked to hear. He snatched a pair of binoculars off a wall hook and hurried out onto the catwalk. Barbara was behind the tower, and she pointed out to sea when he joined her. There was a ship on the horizon. He raised the binoculars to his eyes and saw that it wasn't just one vessel. There were a half dozen smaller craft around it. The big ship looked very familiar to him. He looked through the lenses but its markings were obscured by a sail from one of the boats. When it finally cleared out of the way he knew immediately why it looked familiar.
“Koninklijke,” he said.
“What?” Barbara exclaimed. “I thought the fleet was staying away while we checked this out.”
“It's not the whole fleet, just Konink and six of the pleasure craft.” He dropped the binoculars. “I'd better raise the captain.”
Reg jogged back to the bridge and t
ried the radio. When the away team didn't respond to his calls, fear started to grow so quickly in his mind that he nearly forgot about the vessels approaching from the south. It took Barbara's touch on his shoulder to snap his attention back to the situation at hand. He adjusted the frequency on the transceiver and pressed the send button.
“This is Errol's Folly calling Koninklijke, do you read?”
This time he got a response right away. “Good morning, Folly. This is Koninklijke, committee member Pelozar speaking. How can I help you?”
Reg wasn't really sure what to say. He didn't want to ask flat out what the hell Pelozar was doing there. His respect for authority was too ingrained. He remembered a run-in with an overbearing admiral when he was first assigned to Lusty and decided to try the same trick again. “I was wondering if I can help you, sir. I know the plan was to keep the fleet at a distance until we could assess the situation, so when we spotted you I was concerned you were in distress.”
There was a pause before the voice on the radio returned. “Thank you for your concern, Folly, but we are just fine. The committee has voted to change the plan. I will be bringing a team to the atoll to assess water resources.”
“My ass,” Barbara said behind him. Reg was trying to think fast. His instinct was telling him the same thing as Barbara. This was some sort of power play, either by Pelozar or the whole committee. There was little he could do directly to stop it. All he had was the radio.
“Be advised, sir, we are unable to raise our away team by wireless at this time. It may be best to hold back until the situation is resolved.”
Pelozar wasted no time now. “We'll take it under advisement, Folly, thank you. Koninklijke out.”
After that the radio gave him nothing but a steady background hiss. “Bollocks,” he said, annoyed.
“How long till they get here?” Barbara asked.
“Ten, maybe twenty minutes depending on their speed.” Reg stared at the atoll, tapping his fingers on top of the radio.