‘Nice segue into the sermon. You’re a natural,’ Ethan said. ‘So, you think this is some kind of divine retribution for the faithless? If that were true, I should be all teeth and rotting flesh by now.’
‘There’s still plenty of time for you,’ Edwards said.
‘You see, Reverend, unlike my spooky little friend here, I am a believer. I just don’t think God would do such a thing to his creations. Man, on the other hand, would fuck itself in the ass for a dollar and a bag of chips,’ Salty said.
‘Oh, man is responsible for its current predicament, make no mistake. And this time it can’t science its way out of it. Only submittance can save those that remain.’
‘What happens next, Edwards? We all proclaim our servitude to the almighty and all those creatures fall down in the dirt and don’t get up again?’ Salty said.
‘The only recourse now is redemption of the soul. Your flesh has already been forsaken.’
Ethan stood up and reached over to the table where Edwards was sitting. He put his hand on the bible and gave it an agitated shove in the priest’s direction.
Edwards gratefully received it and clutched it to his bosom.
‘There will come a time when you’ll ask for it again,’ he said.
‘Hold your breath and keep countin’,’ Salty said.
Raine opened the door to the rec room, an almost full backpack over her shoulder, assault rifle swinging at her side from its strap.
‘Goin’ somewhere?’ Salty said, eyeing her equipment.
‘Get some shit together. We’re leaving in fifteen minutes,’ she said.
‘Me?’ Ethan said, pointing at himself when he realised where her stare was directed. ‘Leaving for where?’
‘Our new friends picked up an automated distress signal from some government official not far from here. I said we’d go with them to check it out.’
‘I don’t want to go back out there,’ Ethan said, the words sticking in his throat.
‘No one “wants” to,’ Raine said.
‘Jake does.’
‘I don’t want Salty. I want you. The fresh air will do you good. We’ll be in the chopper for most of it. You’ll be perfectly safe.’
‘Please, Miller. I—’
‘Now I’m asking. I won’t ask again,’ Raine said. She fixed one of her cold stares on him.
Although Ethan had become familiar with her throwing shade with just a look, it had not lost its potency.
‘It’s like that?’ he said.
She moved up next to him so she could lower her voice to a whisper.
‘Listen, I’m still not sure if I can trust these people, and you have the best nose for danger. I need you with me out there.’
Ethan gazed up to the ceiling, fearing he would soon regret the words about to come out of his mouth.
‘OK. I’ll come.’
‘I’ll meet you out on the roadway.’
As Raine made her way back to the door, Salty got up and followed her.
‘Any reason you’re takin’ a boy to do a man’s job? Y’know if things get tricky out there, Twilight’s gonna shit his pants, right?’
‘Nothing personal. There’s just something I need to know,’ Raine said.
‘Like what?’
‘I’ll bring you up to speed as soon as I find out.’
Salty shrugged.
‘As clear as molasses, but that ain’t unusual for you,’ he said.
‘Hold things down here for me until we get back.’
‘You don’t have to worry about that. I got my eyes and ears on everyone,’ Salty said.
He gave Edwards a sideways glance. The Father had his bible clasped between both hands, his forehead touching the book’s spine, deep in prayer.
7
Doctor Grant exited the lab room with a robust-looking carrying case in one hand. He hadn’t bothered to take off his lab coat and the flasks of material that had not been protected by his apron were splattered with blood.
He fumbled for the keys in his pocket, locked the door, and turned to leave. Osgood confronted him, only a couple of feet away.
Startled, Grant jumped backwards, accidently striking his right elbow against the door.
‘Good grief, doctor. This place is eerie enough as it is, without my staff loitering in the shadows like Bela Lugosi,’ he said.
‘I’m sorry. I thought you’d heard me,’ Osgood said.
Grant composed himself, running his hand over the bald patch in the middle of his head, his left eye twitching.
‘Evidently not. Are you finished for the day?’
‘I’m out of L3 samples,’ Osgood said.
‘I see. That won’t be a problem for long. I was just on my way down there.’
Osgood reluctantly glanced down to the medical case Grant was holding.
‘Was there some purpose to this frightful ambush?’ Grant said.
‘McCaffrey and Crawford have left the facility.’
‘A little late in the day, isn’t it? Anything serious?’
‘Hard to say. They picked up a government distress signal a hundred miles southeast of here at the Rysler Observatory,’ Osgood said.
‘Did they find out what tier of government?’
‘The Attorney General and several less senior officials.’
‘And how certain is McCaffrey that they are still alive?’
‘Can’t be sure, but he seemed pretty excited about it.’
‘Excited. Hmm.’ Grant tilted his head at an awkward angle while he thought. ‘Well, if you’ll excuse me.’
‘Of course, doctor.’ Osgood began to clear a path for his boss, but instead of walking on, Grant approached him and placed a hand on his arm. The tactile gesture was unusual for Grant and it made Osgood immediately uncomfortable.
‘If we can reconnect with a substantial section of government, it could push the breakthrough we’ve been looking for, Kenneth. All of our sacrifices and the sacrifices of those who are no longer with us will finally be rewarded,’ Grant said.
Osgood managed to force a tight-lipped smile and nodded.
‘I’ll see you in the morning—bright and early,’ he said.
‘Make it as early as you can. You’ll need to make a start on the fresh L3s,’ Grant replied.
Osgood was able to step aside.
‘Good night then.’
‘And to you,’ Grant said.
He walked along the corridor and took a left, stopping to hit play on the MP3 player in his pocket. Even through the earphones, the sounds of the opera crept through the enclosed spaces before he pushed them into his ears.
As he got to the end of the corridor, the presence of the circular ceiling lights became less frequent and the shadows closed in around him. He stopped bobbing his head to the music once he reached the security panel of a blast door. The LED screen above the keypad flashed blue in preparation of data entry.
Grant keyed in four digits, and then something made him pause and glance back down the corridor. For a second, he thought a shadow had moved across the ground about halfway along. He was so disturbed by it, he removed his earphones and shut off the music so he could listen out for signs of movement. There was nothing—nothing but the continuous soft grind of the generators.
He stroked his fingers over the last four numbers and the hydraulic locks hissed and snapped out of place to let him in.
If only he’d acted upon his suspicions and retraced his steps back to the enclave in the middle section of the corridor, he would have seen a wiry-looking figure pressed against the wall.
Salty waited for the door to clang shut behind the doctor before he decided to come out into the open and quietly make his way back to the lab area.
Episode Four
Conscientious Objector
1
The Sky had started to bruise as the chopper hovered above the Rysler complex. Inside the confines of the perimeter fence were at le
ast two hundred lost souls wandering back and forth. Aside from the odd straggler, the majority had separated into four main groups.
One group was situated around the front entrance of the observatory itself, and a smaller group hugged its east side. The largest of the groups gathered at the front of the administration building adjacent to the observatory, and the final group was heading towards the complex’s northeast corner.
‘I don’t see any damage to the fences,’ McCaffrey said, as he leaned forward in his seat to get a better look from the cockpit.
‘Me either, which tells its own story,’ Crawford said. ‘I’ve tried every local frequency and there’s no radio contact. It’s a dead area.’
‘We haven’t wasted all this fuel to not go check things out on the ground. Take us down in that field over there, Major.’
Crawford scowled and banked left to the open field McCaffrey had referred to.
Raine nudged Ethan, who was looking down on the complex with a distinct sense of dread. Her hand felt cold against his wrist, but he soon realised that it was steel, not skin, that had made contact.
She offered him a black-coloured handgun with a suppressor secured to its barrel.
‘Ahh, no thank you. I don’t believe in guns,’ he said.
‘The weapon doesn’t care whether you believe in it. Point and shoot and it will protect you just the same,’ Raine said.
‘How many times do we have to have this conversation, Miller? I don’t want to be one of your soldiers of fortune,’ Ethan said.
Raine shoved the gun into his chest more forcefully and held it there.
‘Do you know what I don’t want to be anymore? Your fucking babysitter. I know you think you can get by without getting your hands dirty because you’re “gifted”, but I’m sick of you putting the group in danger with your inaction. Now take the fucking gun, even if it’s just to use on yourself when they take a bite out of you.’
‘Fine,’ Ethan said, snatching the gun from her.
McCaffrey hadn’t caught the conversation, but he had heard the anger in Raine’s voice.
‘Everything OK back there?’ he said.
‘Just dreamy. Thank you for asking,’ Ethan replied. He smiled sarcastically at Raine and they both stared at each other as the helicopter began to descend.
When Crawford set it down for a smooth landing, there were no dead in immediate view.
McCaffrey unbuckled himself, clipped the airband transceiver to his pants, and turned to address the pilot.
‘Like I said, I ain’t leaving my seat,’ Crawford said.
‘Are you at least gonna cut the engine? We might be here for a while.’
Crawford scoffed at him and flipped a few switches on the dash. The whir of the rota blades began to wind down.
McCaffrey waited until he’d climbed out before reaching back into the cockpit for a stainless-steel case secured in the footwell.
‘I’m gonna need this,’ he said.
‘Be my guest,’ Crawford said.
McCaffrey opened it up and took the flare gun from inside, along with a couple of cartridges.
‘I’ll radio once before we head in and then again when we’re on our way back, so you can fire up the bird.’
‘I’ll let you know if I get company. If I do, you better get your asses back here double-time. I ain’t getting out to fight them off while I wait for you. If I abort this operation and I don’t get word from you within five minutes, I’m gone.’
‘And you’d be right to do so. After Grant, you’re the most important remaining member of the project team,’ McCaffrey said.
‘Just don’t fuck around in there,’ Crawford said.
‘Yes, Major.’
Raine climbed down from the aircraft holding a silenced pistol and her assault rifle.
‘Let’s go,’ she said.
Ethan remained in his seat, casting a nervous glance through the window to their destination.
‘Get down here.’
On her second request, he reluctantly did as she asked.
McCaffrey met them on the other side of the chopper armed with a hefty set of bolt cutters.
‘Keep your flashlights off for now. Most of the dead are gathered at the east end, so we’ll enter through the west fence. Follow me.’
The three of them jogged to within a hundred yards of the complex. It remained in complete darkness. Not even the emergency lights were on.
‘I still can’t see any breach in the perimeter,’ McCaffrey said as he caught his breath.
‘That suggests the dead didn’t get in. They came from there,’ Ethan said.
‘Could well be.’
‘So, what are we doing? We should abandon this,’ Ethan said.
‘Feel free to go sit and wait with Crawford. I’ll go on my own if I have to,’ McCaffrey said.
‘We’re coming with you,’ Raine said. ‘Both of us.’
‘If they left, there might be some evidence inside that will tell us where they were heading,’ McCaffrey said.
‘Let’s just concentrate on how we’re going to get past the dead first,’ Raine replied.
‘Agreed.’
The ground leading to the fence formed into a steep incline. The complex had been built on a hill to serve the practical purposes of astronomical observation. The observatory building itself was a circular structure. The dome at its peak masked the glare of the moon as they crawled on their hands and knees. The other main administration building sat adjacent to the observatory.
McCaffrey used the bolt cutters at the northeast end and snipped away at the wire mesh until he’d created a hole large enough for them to fit through.
‘OK. West wall of the admin building. On me,’ McCaffrey said. He ducked through the hole, remaining low, and ran towards the wall he’d targeted.
As Raine and Ethan followed, they caught the attention of a straggler.
The creature seemed to take an age to change direction and head for them.
‘Wait here.’ McCaffrey ran to the north edge of the wall, burying his combat blade into the base of the straggler’s skull on the way.
He peered around the corner. Aside from a few creatures wandering about on their own, the only group he could see were situated at the northwest section of the complex just behind the observatory, as they had been when they’d assessed the area from the chopper.
He set off back the way he came, running past Raine and Ethan, stopping short of the wall’s other corner. The largest herd still congregated at the front of the admin building. Beyond them, at the front of the observatory, more stood swaying in the evening breeze.
McCaffrey snorted, rubbed the sweat from his eyes, and shuffled back to the others.
‘Here’s how it’s gonna go down. If I can land a flare on the north side, just between this place and the observatory, it should attract the group there and the one blocking the admin entrance. Once I get around to the front and fire the second flare, that’s your cue to come to me. The second shot should send the other two groups to the south fence, giving me enough space to slip through to the observatory undetected.
‘You two search the admin building and we’ll meet back here in fifteen minutes. Don’t stay in there a second longer than you have to.’
He released the catch on the flare gun and opened it up so he could slide a cartridge into its barrel. He then pointed to the south end.
‘Miller, you keep watch and tell me if they are taking the bait from the first flare.’
‘Got it,’ Raine said.
McCaffrey glanced at Ethan before he put his plan into action. The young man had his back pressed hard against the wall, his eyes darting wildly.
‘Good luck,’ McCaffrey said, slapping him on the arm. He jogged to the south corner again, this time exposing himself so he could take a considered aim. He adjusted the angle of his arm above his head until he thought he’d got it right and pulled the trigger.
&
nbsp; The shot fizzed and crackled and the bright pink sprite launched itself through the dark sky, landing in the dirt pretty much where he’d intended. The flare sparked angrily on the ground and McCaffrey took cover behind the building again. He edged out so he could peek with one eye.
The decoy he deployed caught the attention of one stray wanderer and it shuffled towards the light.
‘Come on, come on,’ McCaffrey whispered under his breath. He looked across at Raine, who peered around the opposite corner. She turned back towards him and gave him a thumbs-up to indicate that the group outside the admin building were finally taking the bait.
It took a while, but eventually McCaffrey saw them ambling to his side of the complex. They started to crowd around the burning signal like it was the revelation of a God. The group from the northeast side also joined the strange ritual of worship.
Once the remaining dead had filed away from the admin entrance, Raine waved McCaffrey over.
He loaded another cartridge into the flare gun and crept along the front wall of the building.
On reaching the centre, he took aim at the south fence and let fly. The herd gathered at the observatory entrance turned instantly to watch the flare shoot over their heads and land just short of the perimeter.
They began their slow plod, mesmerised by the sparkling pink flames. The last group on the east fence followed on behind them until all four groups were suitably distracted.
McCaffrey didn’t have to call Raine and Ethan. They had already seen that the coast was clear and ran to meet him.
‘I’m going to make a break for the observatory. Search this place from top to bottom and we’ll meet back at this spot in fifteen,’ McCaffrey said.
‘Fifteen minutes,’ Raine repeated, grabbing a hold of Ethan’s hoodie to make sure he came with her.
‘If I don’t show, don’t wait. Get your asses out of here,’ McCaffrey said.
‘Just make sure you don’t put us in that position,’ Raine said.
He nodded and sprinted across the ground between the two buildings.
Everything Dies [Season Two] Page 10