Maggie looks around the room and then back at John and whispers, “That’s probably a good idea, to let everyone sleep. Do you want me to go with you guys?”
John looks at Peter and then back to Maggie. “Ya know . . . I think we can handle it. And honestly, I think you’ll be more useful here when everyone starts to wake up. ’Cause I’ve noticed the four girls have been waking more often, and we’re running out of medicine to keep them asleep. So I think it’s best you stay here and take care of them. Don’t you think?”
She uncrosses her arms, puts them on her hips, and looks at the girls. “Yeah, you’re probably right . . . I’ll be of more help here. Well, then, get going and try to get back soon. Once everyone wakes up, I’ll let them know we’ll hopefully be moving out soon, so everyone should get ready.”
John notices some people around the room start to squirm and fidget and he can tell some of them are starting to wake. “Alright. I love you, but we gotta go.”
He blows her a kiss and then proceeds to step around a few sleeping bodies, followed closely by Peter and Dusty as they make their way into the kitchen. John grabs a rifle that’s propped up against the wall and slings it over his shoulder.
John walks across the kitchen and opens a door before turning on the rifle’s mounted tactical light and shines it into the darkness and then looks at Peter. “Follow me. The escape pods are down here.”
Peter jerks his head back. “Escape pods? What kinda Buck Rodgers type shit you guys got goin’ on around here?”
John chuckles. “Oh, you have no idea . . . but unfortunately the pods won’t be there, so we’ll have to hoof it. Follow me.”
He slowly walks down the stairs into the basement with Peter right behind. They get to the evacuation portal and he shines the light in the hole.
“We walk from here.” He looks up at Peter and smiles while he waits for a response. Peter just looks at him without saying a word. “Oh, come on . . . you know ‘Buck Rodgers’ but you don’t know Indy?”
Peter raises his eyebrows and just shakes his head. “Indy? Not ringing a bell. And to be honest, I have no idea who Buck Rodgers is. I’ve just heard the saying.”
John drops his head and shakes it, but then looks back up at Peter. “Does Indiana Jones ring a bell?”
Peter thinks for a second and then sucks in a small amount of air through his teeth. “Oh, right . . . those old eighties movies . . . Raiders of . . . something? I’ve never seen them, but my dad told me about them.”
John just continues to shake his head. “Raiders of the Lost Ark is what you were trying to remember. And can I just say that’s it’s an absolute travesty that you’ve never seen any of those movies . . . that’s like saying you’ve never seen any of the Star Wars movies!”
Peter purses his lips and doesn’t say a word, just smiles and nods.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, how the hell does that happen!? They’re like some of the greatest movies ever made! Anyway, let’s just get moving. Follow me.” John slings into his rifle, then uses the ladder to get into the corridor and then shines his light down the tunnel. Dusty squirms when Peter lowers him down to John, who is waiting at the bottom. John gets scratched on his neck by a flailing paw when the dog is handed to him, but he doesn’t say anything to Peter after he gets down the ladder and joins him.
“Let’s roll, kid . . . and I’ll try to keep the movie quotes to a minimum.” He starts lightly jogging down the tunnel with Peter right behind him.
After a few minutes of jogging, Peter says. “I mean, I’ve seen like the newer ones made by Disney, but I assume you were referring to the old seventies ones.”
John slows down a bit and quickly looks over his shoulder at Peter. “Well, then, you’ve never actually seen Star Wars. None of those new ones were written by the great George Lucas, so they are meaningless . . . entertaining . . . but meaningless. I’m gonna have to have a talk with your dad someday about not culturing you with those movies . . . which are still the all-time greatest films ever made, hands down!”
“I’ll have to check them out one day. If they’re nearly as good as the Disney ones, I’m sure I’ll like them.”
“Kid, you have no idea . . . the Disney ones aren’t even in the same ballpark when it comes to greatness. The newer ones are good, but nothing in comparison to the originals. So do yourself a favor and watch them someday.” John sounds out of breath and slows to a walk.
Peter slows down with him. “I will, I will. Hey, do you need to take a break?”
John takes a few deep breaths, but continues on. “No, I just need to stop talking if we’re gonna continue at this pace . . . I just don’t have the lungs like I used to. But you seem to not even be fazed, so why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”
John begins to jog again and Peter stays right with him.
Peter starts out by telling him about his dad, Simon, and how he raised him. He explains how what his dad witnessed over in Afghanistan prompted him to build the bunker under their house, and why his dad trained him the way he did, which, in his dad’s eyes, was to prepare him in case something like what they are now dealing with ever happened. He goes on to tell him about Jason, Dave, Kelly, Mia, and Stephanie . . . and, of course, about Dusty, who hasn’t left his side the entire time. When he tells him about how Dusty saved his life from an Incipient, John immediately stops when Peter tells him how he was bitten.
“Wait, what? You were bit!?”
“Ah, well, kinda.”
“What the fuck does that mean, kid? You were either bit or you weren’t. And if you were, in fact, bit, how are you not infected like the rest?”
“Ah, well . . . to be honest, I’m not quite sure. My dad would possibly be able to explain it to you better, but I don’t think any of us really know what’s going on. I guess I just got lucky, that’s all.”
John just stands there looking stunned and speechless from the shock of what he just heard. “Ah . . . I ah . . . don’t know what to say. What . . . ah . . . how, um . . .”
“Don’t worry. None of us really understood how it happened . . . or didn’t happen, I guess. Theories are that when it happened my dad gave me a bunch of herbs and stuff called Manuka honey, which, combined with a healthy immune system, were able to suppress the bacterium, or whatever it is, and my body was just able to fight it off . . . But who knows?”
“That’s remarkable. I mean, that’s absolutely amazing . . . I mean, I don’t know much about what it is either, but I didn’t think anyone was able to survive it once they were bit. By the way, what’s an Incipient? Isn’t that what you called it?”
They start walking again before Peter responds. “An Incipient, we believe, is someone who was initially effected by the terrorist attack on Denver. They are a much more aggressive and faster version of what’s mainly out there. And the other slower, more typical-looking zombie types, are ones who were bit by the Incipients. They appear to be decomposing at a much faster rate than the Incipients, but we’re not even sure if the Incipients are, in fact, decomposing at all. Because last time we encountered some of them, they were hibernating upstairs in our house, and possibly even breeding . . . that is, unless the pregnancy somehow carried over prior to her being infected. But my dad couldn’t do any research because we blew it away.”
John stops walking again and then crouches over and puts his hands on his legs. “Holy fuckin’ shit, kid. What you just told me just pretty much blew my mind. I can’t even begin to process what you just told me, but something tells me you’re going to need to talk to some of the doctors and scientists I have working at the Ark. They’re going to want to learn as much as they can from you.”
“Yeah, I have a feeling you’re not the only ones who wants to speak to me . . . seems like a lot of that’s been going around lately.”
“How so?” John starts to walk again.
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but right when we visited my dad’s ex-military friend, who I can only assume was still in c
ontact with the military, or something, my dad got really weird and insisted we leave the next day. So I guess I’m just speculating or putting two and two together, but things just seemed odd, and my dad was acting like he was protecting me from something . . . but who knows.”
John wishes he had something to say or could come up with a good response, but he just can’t think of anything. Before he knows it, they’ve arrived at the holding area where all the pods are lined up.
“Alright, Pete. We’ll discuss this later, and whenever we get in this place I’d like you to explain what you just told me to some of my people working here. Would that be alright?”
“Sure thing, John. Any way I can help.”
“Sounds good. Now, let’s try to get inside this place.”
They make their way out of the holding area and down a short hallway, where they arrive at a blast door that’s sealed shut. John attempts to activate the unlock sequence, but can’t get the palm reader or biometrics to even respond to his hand. Not even a single light illuminates to let him know that it’s active.
He tries a few more times, but then slams his fist on the panel. “Fuck!” He turns back to look at Peter. “This shit’s either fried or they diverted all power to inside the Ark.” He turns back toward the panel and starts looking around. “There’s only one chance for hope, and that’s if we can find the emergency telephone that should still be working because it’s analog. If I can just find it …” He continues to look up and down the panel.
Peter shines his light on a red box with a picture of a telephone on it. “Is that it?”
John looks at the box and then drops his head and exhales while moving toward it. “Yes, that’s it . . . don’t know how I could miss that, but whatever . . . guess I’m just getting old.” He opens the box and picks up the phone, that instantly dials out. John crosses his fingers and puts them up in the air for Peter to see.
Someone answers. “Control room.”
“Hello, who am I speaking with? Is Adam around?”
“Ah, not at the moment . . . who is this? I’m showing that you’re calling from an external emergency line.”
“This is John. Who’s this?”
“John? John Angelite . . . is that really you!? Holy shit, John, it’s Chris. Are you alright!?”
“I’m fine. But I’ll be much better once you open the doors and let us in.” He can hear Chris speaking to someone in the background and then fumbling with the phone.
“Ah, John . . . stand by, we’re trying to track down Adam.”
“Are you able to open the blast doors? I don’t necessarily need to speak with Adam . . . I just want in my house.”
“I understand, John, but we’re in full lockdown, not to mention that most of our electronics have been out ever since the military hit us with the EMP. But Adam will be able to explain it better. He should be here soon; we just located him.”
“EMP? Is that what you think happened?”
“We’re not sure, John . . . hold on. Here’s Adam.”
He waits for them to stop fumbling with the phone again, but he eventually hears Adam’s voice. “John? It’s Adam . . . are you alright?”
“Yes, Adam, we’re fine. Now can you please let me in?” He hears the phone fumbling around again and so he puts his head back and looks up while exhaling loudly.
“Ah . . . well, unfortunately, we can’t at the moment. It seems as though the EMP took out—”
“—Yeah, I gathered that already. So when do you think you can get things up and running so you can let us in?”
“Ah . . . well, I’m not a hundred percent sure. Could be days . . . could be weeks; it’s just hard to say.”
“Weeks! Fuckin’ weeks, Adam! Are you fucking kidding me? We don’t have weeks!”
“John, that’s just an estimate on when we’ll have shit operational again. That’s not even referring to the amount of time you’ll all need to spend in quarantine.”
John drops his head and exhales loudly. “Quarantine, Adam . . . I really don’t think that’s necessary, do you?”
“Absolutely, John. We still have no idea how this thing spreads, so we need to take every precaution so no one inside the Ark gets infected. I’m sure you understand that, John.”
“Just let me speak with my wife. Can you at least do that?”
“I will do my best to track her down, but to be honest, it may take a while. Radio communication is down and we’ve been running around here like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get this place fully operational again. Is there a safe place you can hole up for a few days? Hopefully by then we’ll have a better idea of a timeframe when we think we can get you guys in here. Do you copy?”
“Well, if I don’t have a choice, then I guess I copy. I’ll check back in a couple days. But Adam, is my family alright? Are they holding up okay?”
“Yes, John, they’re fine. I’ll try to track Kate down so you can speak with her next time. Does that sound good?”
“Copy that. We’ll speak in a few days. Over.” He hangs up the phone and looks at Peter. “Maybe we won’t tell them just quite yet that you were bit. How does that sound?”
Peter nods his head and smiles. “Sounds good, John. But let’s get back to tell the others.”
“Let’s roll.” They take off down the tunnel to tell the others.
Chapter 7
Jason contemplates diving for the rifle, but he decides otherwise because the voice sounds very close. He can’t make out how many there are, even with a generous amount of dawning sun casting a pinkish orange glow through the copse of trees.
“Hands. Let’s see some hands.” A figure steps out from the trees, aiming his rifle at them. Three more bodies circle around them with their rifles all trained on the two of them.
Jason puts his hands up and then looks over at his brother doing the same. He then feels someone grab his hands from behind and pull them back behind him. He feels a rope being tied around his wrists and then he’s pulled to his butt. Once his brother is in the same position, the four men lower their rifles.
One walks up to Jason, crouches down right in front of him, and looks him over. “Fuckin’ aye. Who the hell did that to your face? They fucked you up good.”
Jason doesn’t say a word and so the man just keeps looking him over. He looks over at Dave and then back to Jason.
“Why doesn’t he look as bad as you? Did he do this to you?”
Jason spits out some blood and looks right at the man. “Not your concern, man. Just—” Jason stops himself when he realizes none of the men are in military fatigues. “Why aren’t you guys dressed in fatigues? What’re you, Special Forces . . . jay-sock or something? What, the Major didn’t trust his infantry, so he had to send out the real badass mother fuckers to do his dirty work?”
The man looks at him with a confused expression on his face before looking at his men and then back to Jason. “The Major? Is that one of the cocksuckers parked outside the Ark tryin’ to get in?” He lowers his rifle and then cracks his neck. “Is that who you boys work for, the Major? What are you two deserters or something?” He looks them over once again and then stands up. “No, you’re not dressed in fatigues either . . . so you’re definitely not one of the Major’s men. So then who the fuck are you boys?”
“You say his name like you know him or something.”
“Who, the Major? Well, I’ve only known one man who likes to be referred to as the Major, so I assume you’re talking about Major Alec Stevens. Am I right?”
Jason jerks his head back and then looks over at his brother, who shrugs his shoulders but doesn’t say anything. “Yeah, that would be the same person. Well then, how the fuck do you know that cocksucker?”
The man smiles. “It doesn’t matter . . . What’s your name?”
“I’ve got nothing to say to anyone working for that piece of shit, even Special Forces or whatever you are.”
He laughs while shaking his head. “Boys, cut ’em loose. I ha
ve a feeling we’re on the same team.”
Jason feels the rope get cut and so he pulls his arms back around and grabs his wrist. “What makes you think we’re on the same team?”
The man pulls his canteen from his pack and hands it to Jason. “Instinct, I guess. Or maybe just a hunch.” He extends his hand to Jason and waits for him to shake it. “Name’s Martin. And these are my men. Von’s to my left. Over there that’s Clyde, and behind you boys is Remy. And you two are?”
Jason looks at the other three men, then back at Martin, and then shakes his hand. “Jason, and this is my brother Dave.” He takes a swig from the canteen and then hands it to his brother. Everyone shakes hands and the tension seems to dissipate within a few minutes. “So how do you know the Major?”
“First things first. Who the fuck are you two, and why are you hangin’ around outside the Ark? You don’t look like part of a recon team, nor have I seen either of your faces on the Ark’s personnel list . . . so by all means, please explain.”
Jason takes the canteen back from his brother and takes another gulp. “Let’s just say we’ve got family and friends in there that we’re trying to get to, and let’s just leave it at that.”
Martin raises one eyebrow and shakes his head. “Oh, you gotta do a lot better than that. See, you’re outside my home, and I take it very seriously when someone’s trying to get in. So let’s try again. Who the fuck are you, and why are you snooping around the Ark?”
Dave finally speaks up. “We weren’t snooping around anything. We were escaping from the Major and ran into some personal trouble. Not that it’s any of your concern.”
Martin pulls the slide back on his rifle to chamber a round and then walks over to Dave and gets in his face. “Oh, but it is my concern when a couple deserters decide to try another way to get in this place. So I’m going to ask one last time, and I hope this one’s good, or else I’m going to put a round in your kneecap. How does that sound?”
“You can go ahead and try, but I assure you, you’ll be on the ground before you can even get that rifle up.” Dave stands toe to toe with Martin, not blinking an eye.
The Ark Series (Book 3): The Ark of Alliance Page 4