by Mike Kraus
Despite the clean, almost medical look of the place, death was not far and the bodies near the entrance weren’t the only ones present. One of the walls in a conference room was covered in rust-colored splatter and two bodies were on the floor next to each other in what looked like a double suicide. In another office a man was curled up on the floor, having died of starvation, dehydration or a combination of the two. The people who had been trapped were mostly young, except for those dressed in military uniforms, of which there were more than a few. Age, rank, position of authority and status before Damocles was unleashed had no sway against death’s scythe.
“We should check some of these systems.” Rick murmured almost too quietly to hear through his mask. “See if we can find out where to start hunting for the data we need.”
Rick’s voice broke the seal covering the silence in the room, and Jane immediately spoke next. “How did this happen? So many people just… dead.”
“Assuming this is the place where we’ll find the information we need,” Dr. Evans said, “then it was likely Damocles that sealed it off.”
“To prevent anyone here with knowledge on how to stop it from getting out.” Oles let out a whistle, an impressive feat given that he was wearing a mask.
“Yes, well. We’re here now.” Ostap turned and clapped his hands together. “And we’re going to stop it. Oles, Jacob. I want you two to start checking through each room. Look for any notes or paperwork that might describe what we need. If you find a system that you want to check, carry it up to the car and run a diagnostic.” The two technicians nodded and turned to start work on their task.
“I’ll go with them,” Dr. Evans turned and headed after Jacob and Oles, “I know more about what they’re looking for than they do.”
“Excellent.” Ostap’s eyes crinkled under the weight of his overexaggerated smile. With Dr. Evans and the technicians gone, the only people left standing in the hall were Rick, Jane, Ostap and Carl. The two Russians stood next to each other, staring in silence at Rick and Jane until Jane cleared her throat.
“We should help search as well, shouldn’t we? Lots of rooms here to go through.”
“Of course.” Ostap smiled again. “Carl and I will start looking for another stairwell down, in case there are more floors to search, while you two help on this floor. Sound good?”
Rick was glad for the mask and that it hid the twitch at the corner of his mouth. Ostap’s voice was too cheery and he was smiling far too much. The Russian was planning something, but he didn’t know what.
“Of course.” Jane smiled back, perfectly mimicking Ostap’s previous statement. “Come on, Rick. Let’s get to work.”
Chapter 7
Outside Ellisville, VA
“Shut up!”
Dianne arched her back, moving in front of her daughter. A man with a large beard, wielding one of the shotguns they had stolen from inside the house, stood at the back of the truck bed. His face was coated with dirt and grime, and his teeth looked like they hadn’t been brushed in years. Spittle flew from his mouth as he shouted at Josie, who simply started to cry even louder.
“Josie, come on now.” Dianne wrapped her bound hands around her daughter and pulled her in close, muffling her cries. The motion seemed to pacify the man, who turned and stalked away to help his comrades continue to ransack the house. Jacob and Sarah sat close to each other just behind Dianne, with Sarah’s arms around Jacob, as they tried not to watch what was going on.
It didn’t take long for the ransacking to conclude, at which point the men who had been standing around the three vehicles were joined by those in the house, including the leader who Dianne still referred to as the man in the red shirt.
“Load up!” He leered at Dianne as he walked by, rapping his gloved hand against the back of the truck and grinning wider as Josie and Jacob both shook with fear at the sound. “We’re heading out to put these four to work!”
Dianne’s leg ached as she shifted to block Josie’s view of the man, the arrow still lodged deep and causing her tremendous pain. “Screw you.” She spat at the man and he laughed, then moved up to jump in the back of the next vehicle up.
“Move out!” He gave the order and the vehicles started up and began heading down the driveway. Behind, at the house, the beginnings of a fire were visible on the front porch, and Dianne felt her heart leap into her throat.
“They’re going to burn down the house.” She spoke softly, wishing she could do something. Both women’s ankles and wrists were bound, but their arms were in front and not behind, so they each clung to one of the children as the truck bounced, the driver going too fast for the poor condition of the driveway. The flames and the house itself both vanished behind the trees as the truck continued forward, and she tried to push the thought from her mind.
“Dianne, what do we do?” Sarah looked over the edge of the truck as though she was contemplating jumping out, but a rap on the window from inside the cab drew her attention. The window slid open and a pistol emerged, pointed at her face.
“You sit your ass down and shut up. Got it?” The voice was rough like gravel and Sarah immediately abandoned the idea, turning around and hugging Jacob even tighter.
“I don’t know, Sarah.” Dianne whispered, hoping that she wouldn’t be heard over the sound of the engines.
There were cardboard boxes at the back of the truck filled with food and water that the men had taken from the house, and through the open window of the back of the cab she could hear the driver and two passengers laughing and joking about how they were finally going to get a break thanks to the “new workers” they picked up.
“You think Jason and Mark and Tina survived? That they made it to… you know.” Sarah scooted closer to Dianne, lowering her voice even more.
“They must have. There were no gunshots when they were trashing the house. I think they must have gotten down there and gone out.”
“They’ll come after us, you know.”
“I… I don’t know.” Dianne struggled with the desire to have the trio try and mount a rescue. Weighing the life of her eldest son against her two younger children and mixing in three loyal friends was an impossible calculation. It was also a calculation that was entirely out of her hands, a fact that she was reminded of when the truck pulled sharply to the right, throwing them together on the left side.
All four grunted as Sarah and Jacob slid up against Dianne and Josie, and the sound of metal rattling against metal came like a torrent of water rushing over a riverbed. Dianne glanced down and saw a small mountain of discarded brass sliding and tumbling across the width of the truck bed. She leaned forward and plucked one of the discarded 5.56 shells from the floor of the truck, then glanced over at Sarah with a questioning look.
Sarah nodded at her and Dianne stared at the casing, trying to decide what to do when her daughter whimpered and spoke quietly. “Mom? Where are we going?”
Dianne’s decision was made before the question was answered. With a flick of her bound wrists she flipped the casing over the side of the truck, keeping her movement at a minimum to avoid drawing the attention of the vehicle driving behind them. She leaned forward and grabbed another casing while Sarah did the same, then they took turns flipping the casings off opposite sides, hoping that they weren’t being ground into the dirt and gravel by the tires of the truck.
Mark, Tina and Jason wouldn’t rest before attempting a rescue. A trail of breadcrumbs would mean putting her son in danger, but Jacob, Josie and Sarah needed help as well, and Tina’s tenacity and Jason’s all-around skills meant there was a fighting chance they could pull off a rescue. And, if not… she pushed the thought from her mind. There was no sense in worrying about it when nothing could be done.
Not yet, she thought. Not yet.
***
“It’s a casing.” Jason rolled the piece of dirty brass in between his thumb and forefinger. “Five five six.” He looked from the round to the road, then around at the trees as he slowly turned
. “Now why on earth would this be out here in the road?”
Tina stood next to Jason, looking at the shell in his hand while Mark continued down the road, scanning the ground with his flashlight. It didn’t take long for him to bend over and pluck another casing from the ground, though it was smaller than the first. “I found another one!”
“Nine mil. What the…” Jason shook his head in confusion and looked at Mark. “Were you all doing any shooting out here before Sarah and I showed up?”
“On the road? No, never.” Mark shook his head vigorously. “We never even left the property except to gather supplies.”
“Huh.” Jason cupped both casings in his hand, rattling them around as he thought through what they could mean.
“Do you think they…” Tina started, then stopped as she glanced at Mark. “We didn’t hear any gunshots as they were driving off, so these can’t be from them.”
“But maybe they are.” Jason slipped the casings into his pocket and motioned at Mark. “Spread out; see if you can find any more.”
“How do you figure they’re from that group?” Tina asked as she stepped away from Jason and Mark and began staring at the ground as she walked slowly along.
“They’re not buried in the dirt so they’re fresh. If anyone had been shooting recently then we would have heard. And Mark says they never shot on the road. So it has to be from the attackers. Look, see? Another one.”
“And one over here.” Tina scooped up another casing.
“It’s a trail.” Mark’s face lit up and he turned to look at Tina and Jason. “It’s a trail! Mom must have left us a trail!”
“Her and Sarah both from the looks of it.” Jason pointed at another casing on the ground, not bothering to pick it up. “They’re coming in pairs now.” He looked down the road ahead of them, watching as the dirt and gravel faded off into nothingness as it approached town. “So they did go this way.”
“And we can follow them now. No matter where they go.” Elation was wrapped around every syllable that Mark spoke, and Tina and Jason couldn’t help but grin as well. They all sped up, stopping only to kick dirt around to confirm the finding of each new casing, hurrying to follow the trail that would, they hoped, lead them to their family and friends.
Chapter 8
Washington, D.C.
“You’re crazy.” Dr. Evans shook his head vigorously, his arms crossed over his chest and his face a mask of defiance and disbelief. “They’ve been nothing but helpful.”
“The techs, yes. The Spetsnaz? No.”
Jane nodded in agreement with Rick and put her hand on Dr. Evans’ arm. “I know this is hard, but I’m telling you those two are up to something. Both of us have noticed.”
“I didn’t believe her at first either,” Rick continued. “But after spending a while with Ostap, I can guarantee you that they’re just waiting for the perfect opportunity to screw us over.”
“He’s right.” The voice came from behind Rick and Jane. It was barely a whisper and they both whirled around to find Oles standing there, staring at them. “They are planning something.”
“Oles?” Dr. Evans’ eyes crinkled in concern. “What are you talking about?”
“Ostap and Carl are special forces. Before we flew out here, they were speaking with top government officials. Anytime we’ve tried to speak with them about the specifics of stopping Damocles they’ve told us to not worry about it. Jacob and I have been concerned that… that they will consider him and I expendable.”
“See?” Jane turned to look at Dr. Evans. “I told you something was up.”
“Are you sure about this, Oles? Why didn’t you say something before?”
“Because we weren’t sure about it.” Oles sighed nervously, his breath hissing through his mask. “After hearing what you all said, though, I think our suspicions are confirmed.”
“Do you trust us, Oles? You and Jacob?” Rick watched the technician’s eyes for any hint of a lie, though he found none as Oles replied.
“Yes. You are trying to stop this. To save everyone. They… I do not think they have the same goal in mind.”
“Now what would make you say that?” The new voice was different from the others, echoing loudly in everyone’s ears and carrying the telltale hiss and static that indicated it was coming through a radio. Rick, Jane, Dr. Evans and Oles all looked around the room, searching for the source of the voice.
“Who’s there?” Jane shouted, pulling out her pistol at the same time as Rick readied his rifle.
“It’s funny, you know,” the voice continued. “I was certain you knew. Carl was not. Listening in on you was impossible until fortune smiled upon us.”
“The masks.” Oles hissed, pointing to the bulky piece of equipment covering his whole face and wrapping around to cover his ears and part of his head.
“Transmitters in them.” Rick felt his stomach churn again, though it wasn’t from the smell.
“Very good.” The voice was different, not coming through the small speakers in the masks but from somewhere nearby. “Drop your weapons. All of you.”
The group turned to see Carl and Ostap standing at the end of the hall. Ostap’s rifle was leveled at the group while Carl had Jacob in a headlock with a pistol pointed at the technician’s head. Jacob clawed at Carl’s arm but the officer’s hold was tight and unbreakable.
“Oles, did you know about the transmitters?” Rick gave the technician a sideways glance, but the surprise in Oles’ eyes gave him a confirmation of the answer from Ostap.
“No, neither of these bumbling idiots knew. Which also gave us insight into something curious about Jacob, t—” He looked at Jane, who had started moving to try and get into a position where she could fire on him. “Make another move and Jacob joins the former inhabitants from this bunker.” Carl tightened his grip on Jacob’s neck and Jane clenched her fists, resisting the urge to try and help the man.
“Now,” Ostap continued, “I want your weapons on the ground. Slowly.”
Rick’s face twisted in anger as he unslung his rifle. “Why’re you doing this, Ostap?”
“To save my people.”
“We’re trying to save everyone! I thought you wanted to do that, too!”
“He was undoubtedly told to get the codes to disable Damocles, but they will probably only use them to save our country.” Oles shook his head as he spoke, then addressed Ostap. “Don’t you realize what’s going to happen if this continues to spread through the world? It won’t matter if our country is saved. It’s on the verge of moving from infrastructure collapse to complete destruction!”
“I’ll be happy to give the keys to the program to everyone in the world,” Ostap smiled. “For a price.”
If the questions and confusion and wondering had all been puzzle pieces flying around Rick’s head, Ostap’s statement was what put them all together, forming a complete picture that Rick felt foolish for not seeing sooner. “You’re not going to use the access codes to order Damocles to stand down on Russian soil, are you?”
“Of course he is.” Oles scoffed. “And he’s going to kill all of us in the process.”
“You’re only half correct,” Ostap sneered. “Now come on. Kick the weapons across the floor, then send the old man and Oles over. Damocles awaits a bearer and I intend to be the one who wields it.”
Chapter 9
Ellisville, VA
The trip out to the gas station was long at the slow pace the group of vehicles was traveling. Dianne was expecting to be spending a long period of time in the back of the truck bouncing around but was distracting herself by tossing over shell casings several times per minute. She had wondered, at first, whether or not they would run out but every bump and turn brought forth more. They rolled and tumbled end over end out from behind boxes, from underneath a hole-filled tarp and from within holes in the sides of the truck bed.
“How have they not seen what we’re doing?” Dianne murmured to Sarah as she watched the driver of the vehicle—
her vehicle—behind them.
“Just be thankful it’s still dark, okay? And pray that we get wherever we’re going before the sun goes up or even that blind sack of crap’ll notice the brass flipping in the air.”
“You think we’re going to the gas station?”
“Where else would we be going? The way you all described it makes it sound like the perfect base of operations for them.” Sarah snorted and gave a slight chuckle. “Guess I’ll get to see it for myself.”
An abrupt bump came next, then the noise of the road vanished, replaced with the smooth hissing and gentle popping of asphalt. The brass tinged softly as it hit the ground, bouncing and rolling around in the dark, but the sound was impossible to hear over the roar of the engines. The speed of the vehicles picked up momentarily, but Dianne was surprised when she slid over toward Sarah as the truck took a sharp left-hand turn.
“Where—wait.” Dianne craned her head around, trying to catch a glimpse of something recognizable in the lights of the truck. “We’re heading into town.”
“Yeah, so?” Sarah pulled Jacob closer as the truck swerved to avoid an obstacle in the road.
“This isn’t the way to the gas station.” Another casing went over the side, followed by two more in quick succession. “They’re taking us somewhere else.”
“Where?!” Sarah’s voice rose in volume and the man inside the truck rapped on the glass and shouted something unintelligible.
“I don’t know.” Dianne whispered, still trying to look around to see where they were going even as she blindly felt for empty casings. She felt Josie’s small hands in hers, pressing brass into Dianne’s fingers. She kissed her daughter as tears welled at the corners of her eyes and then tossed the casings over the side. “I don’t know. Just keep tossing, okay?”