The Pilgrim Strain

by Edgar, C. P.

  Seni and Simeon stepped outside and stretched out their bodies. Seni turned his attention to the rear of the truck and began unstrapping the tie-downs. Once complete he and Simeon took up their positions and lifted the container off the truck and onto the ground between them.

  “That is one heavy box,” Simeon commented. He had a cigarette between his lips and puffs of smoke blew forward with each word.

  “Let’s get it inside and this over with,” Seni said while looking at the administration building.

  They lifted the container once again and moved it into the building, placing it on the floor as briefed. The windows allowed them just enough light to see within the building. It was completely empty other than the plastic container now on the floor.

  Simeon took one last drag of his smoke and flicked it onto the floor stomping it out with his boot. “What now?” he said, smoke still billowing from his mouth.

  “We need to go into the hangar and turn on the power.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yeah, that’s it,” Seni said brushing past him on his way out of the building and continuing toward the rear of the hangar. Simeon followed close behind.

  At the rear of the hangar, Seni found the set of doors he was briefed would be unlocked. They were set into the hangar but looked oddly out of place. The hangar was a massive half cylinder made of curved steel beams and steel plating welded into place decades prior. Much of the outside of the hangar was covered with dirt, vegetation or rust. The doors he was looking at however were steel, painted grey, and obviously new.

  Seni placed his hand on the door and turned the handle. The door opened with a click and Seni swung it open noting the darkness within. He took a small flashlight out of his cargo pocket and turned it on. Sweeping the immediate interior of the hangar, he noted nothing out of the ordinary.

  “Let’s go,” he said holding the door for Simeon who shrugged and entered.

  The door slammed shut, the deep metallic sound echoing the innards of the hangar. It was very dark.

  “Where is the power switch?” Simeon asked with a touch of unease. He had his lighter in one hand and was periodically flicking it on as they descended further inside.

  “There are two control panels, one on the left wall and one on the right wall. According to my instructions, they require two people to operate. One person to hand crank the starter, and another to actuate the unit.”

  “How old are the panels? Ouch.” Simeon asks as his lighter went out yet again.

  “I don’t know, let’s just get this done and get out of here. This place feels wrong,” Seni said as he began moving cautiously toward the left side of the hangar sweeping the beam of his inadequate flashlight left to right.

  The light was not penetrating the darkness as much as Seni wished it would, but on his third sweep he fixed it upon what looked to be a large control panel set into the wall. Walking up to the panel Semi confirmed that it looked like the one he saw in a photo during his briefing. There were three large buttons on the top at eye level and a hand crank to the right of his knees protruding from the wall.

  Seni turned to Simeon, accidentally flashing his light into his eyes. “Sorry,” he said, watching Simeon try to blink the luminary onslaught from his sight.

  “I need you to grab hold of that hand crank and when I give you the go ahead start turning it clockwise as fast as you can.”

  “Okay,” Simeon said grasping the industrial handle.

  Seni looked at the panel in front of him and identified the button he needed to hold down which acted as the primer to the unit allowing it to pull power from the hand generator. He placed his palm on the button and pushed it down noting that it didn’t want to stay down and required constant pressure. “Go ahead.”

  Simeon began cranking and immediately it dawned on him that this was going to take a lot more effort than he thought it was going to take. He struggled against the crank and fought to acquire some momentum. After a few moments and some swearing he found a rhythm and gained some speed. The unit increased in sound the faster he cranked, sounding almost like an old car accelerating in reverse.

  Seni saw a small green light blink and then remain on above the start button which meant the primer was getting enough power to initiate the generator. Seni, while still holding down the primer button, slammed down the start button with his other hand. Both men could hear the generator turn over.

  Overhead a series of lights running the length of the hangar on their side began to blink and glow. Seni could see soft light beginning to emanate from the lights above. This illuminated the hangar and he began to see that it contained on the left side a row of doors, each set about ten feet apart. In the center of the hangar was row after row of stainless steel tables with what appeared to be medical equipment surrounding each. The light still could not penetrate all the way to the other side of the hangar.

  “What is this place?” asked Seni is a soft whisper.

  Simeon turned to face him and immediately began searching his shirt yet again for his elusive pack of cigarettes. “You ok?” he asked motioning with his eyes toward Seni’s hand which had found the grip of his holstered pistol. Seni followed his eyes to his own hand while Simeon lit up another smoke.

  With a soft chuckle Seni said, “Yeah, let’s move to the other panel and finish up.”

  The two walked across the large expanse of the center of the hangar looking about and found an identical panel directly across from the first. They completed the same process as before resulting in the second generator turning over. The lights on this side began warming up and below them Seni could see another row of doors identical to those he had observed on the other side. Each door was windowless and had no handle to allow entry from the interior of the hangar.

  Additionally, Seni estimated that from the position of the doors within the hangar, what lay on other side of the doors only had about ten to fifteen feet of room from the door to the exterior of the hangar. Like a prison cell.

  In total, Seni counted twenty-four doors inside the hangar. Other than the noise of the generators there had been nothing but total quiet. He wondered, after this quick mental assessment, why he was taking such a detailed mental inventory of the layout. Am I writing a crime scene report?

  “That’s it. We’re done, let’s get out of here,” Seni exclaimed heading for the door in which they had entered.

  Suddenly, a loud thump was heard coming from one of the doors set on the left side of the hangar. Both men froze. Seni pulled his FN 35 and faced the area where the noise came from but he didn't see any movement.

  “What was that?” Simeon whispered, dropping his cigarette on the floor and absentmindedly stubbing it out with his boot while he looked over his shoulder.

  “I don’t know, let’s move out to the truck and head home.”

  They began walking toward the door. Seni could tell that Simeon was scared by the speed in which he walked toward the exit. When they reached it both Seni and Simeon tried for the handle. Their hands fighting each other. Finally, Simeon swatted at Seni, “I've got it.”

  Simeon tried to open the door but it was locked.

  “What is it?” Seni asked with touch of sarcasm masked heavily with fear.

  “It's locked.”

  “What do you mean it's locked? Stop being a prankster Simeon.”

  “Try it then,” Simeon said looking over his shoulder again.

  Seni tried the handle and it was obviously locked. Looking at the door, he could see no locking mechanism which should be preventing him from opening the door. He tried it again with the same results.

  “It’s locked or jammed,” he said turning to Simeon and immediately feeling like he had been set up.

  Something slammed against one of the doors on the right side of the hangar making both men jump.

  “It sounds like something is trying to get out.” Simeon was flush and pale.

  Another loud slam against one of the doors on the right and then all o
f a sudden, the lights went out. Both men were plunged into total and complete darkness. Seni heard a sharp inhale from Simeon who was now holding his breath.

  “Breathe. We will be ok. We just need to repower the units. We must have made a mistake.”

  Seni grabbed at his flashlight which he had stowed in his pants and fumbled to turn it on. He could tell that the generators had stopped because it was silent again like when they had first entered the hangar.

  He was able to get the light on and took a step forward toward the closest control panel. From somewhere deep in the hangar, came a scratching sound. The disturbing sound of claws against metal.

  “Simeon, do you think someone is keeping illegal animals in here?”

  A mechanical whir broke through the silence like a speeding train through a forest, followed closely by the sound of twenty-four doors being sequentially unlocked. The metallic thud of the bolts opening one after the other thundered within the hangar.

  Immediately one of the doors burst open and Seni watched within the cone of his aimed flashlight as a man who was mostly naked sprinted into the center of the hangar and then came to an abrupt stop. Seni and Simeon froze like statues in the dark. They watched as the man sniffed the air and slowly looked about, finally coming to gaze upon Seni and Simeon standing at the rear of the hangar next to the exit door. Likely the man wasn’t looking at them, but was looking at the source of light, now shaking rhythmically in Seni’s hand.

  Seni already had his gun out with his free hand and it was trained on the man, knowing that nothing ordinary was occurring at this moment. Everything looked and felt awfully unnatural.

  “Please, don’t come any closer,” is all that Seni could get out before the man let out an unholy scream and began charging at full sprint toward them.

  Simeon quickly turned, knocking the flashlight out of Seni’s hand, and began pawing at the exit door trying to will it to open. Seni tried to take aim at the man who was quickly gaining ground on them. The flashlight was laying at his feet partially illuminating the hangar and he just didn’t feel like he had the time to bend down and pick it up.

  Just as he was about to fire, two more doors burst open causing him to flinch slightly, throwing off his aimed shot. The man continued to close in fast bouncing off a stainless steel table mid-stride but righting himself, now only a dozen feet or so from them.

  Seni took aim again and began firing rapidly getting off four or more shots at the charging man. The first round hit the man in his shoulder and sprayed blood and bits of shattered bone out the exit wound to the rear. The second round hit him in the pelvis destroying his ability to continue at a run and the man fell forward with a crash and slid to a stop on his face, his arms and legs twitching slightly. The other two rounds ricocheted off the metal tables farther down the center of the hangar sending sparks flying into the air.

  Seni watched the man on the ground for a second, breathing hard from the adrenaline that was pumping through his veins. He had never actually killed anyone before. All those years of service and he had barely ever pulled his pistol out of its holster other than to practice or clean it.

  He saw movement in the shadows on both sides of the hangar and began firing again. Two more men and a female crashed forward from the shadows on the right side of the hangar and Seni began firing at the male leading the charge. He managed to hit him twice in the stomach but the man continued to charge forward. It registered with him that these people seemed crazed. That their clothes were soiled and disheveled.

  “Get the door open!” he yelled, hoping that Simeon had found some way to get them out of this place. He aimed down the sights of his pistol at the man again who was now only steps away and fired. The round entered just under the man's nose and exploded out the back of his head taking some brain and spinal column with it. The man’s legs kicked out straight and he went down rigid, like he had been hit with a bolt of electricity, ending up on his back.

  More screams came from the center of the hangar as doors after door violently swung open.

  Seni suddenly realized he did not have enough ammunition to stop them all. He tried to think about how many shots he had fired. The thought sickened him, and he felt a crushing tightness in his chest. He felt impending doom breathe upon him, and he had credence that he was witness to the gates of hell.

  A man and woman streaking toward him jumped at Seni just as he began bringing his gun back up. Seni sidestepped as he fired, missing the female as she slammed her full weight into Simeon who was still desperately trying to open the locked exit.

  Simeon screamed as she took him down. The other man jumped onto Simeon across his legs. Seni aimed at this man and pulled the trigger getting off one more round while the slide of the FN locked back to the rear signaling that it was finally empty. The man slumped forward. Blood splashed out of the wound on the top of his head onto Simeon's legs and the floor surrounding him.

  Simeon was in a struggle against the female who had mounted his chest. The dead man laying across his legs was preventing Simeon from having any real leverage. Seni kicked out trying to hit the woman but slipped on something and his leg sailed clear of her.

  “Help me Seni!”

  Simeon looked at the female above him and she locked her eyes on his. Her eyes. They were filled with blood which made them look almost black. For a brief moment, or an eternity, the two just stared at each other.

  Without warning she screamed wildly and slammed her head down onto his, cracking her skull against the bridge of his nose. Simeon saw a bright flash of light and felt his nose crush under the blow. He could feel the warm stream of blood gushing from his face and pouring into his throat. He could barely see through his watering eyes but could just make out the female swinging her head down once again. He tried to throw his arm up to deflect her but her momentum allowed her head to reach his neck. She bit down hard and Simeon felt her teeth penetrate his skin and the sensitive areas near his arteries. He began to scream and worm his body violently, trying to get out from under this beast of a woman and the dead man laying across his lower body.

  “Help!” he screamed again, desperately.

  The female finished the bite taking out a huge chunk of flesh and then she began pounding her fists relentlessly upon his face. He put both arms up trying to defend himself but his strength instantly began to fade. He could feel his blood spurting wildly out from his neck and he knew he was not going to make it. He suddenly felt like going to sleep. He was conscious for only a few more seconds until she hit him squarely on his lower jaw with a massive blow. He went limp and laid there silently, his blood continuing to billow out below him.

  Seni had watched all of this in horror and frozen in place. The entire struggle and death of Simeon having only taken mere seconds. But the horror of it seemed to last years.

  His pistol was still in the locked back position, but he pointed at the female on top of Simeon nonetheless. He was rhythmically pressing against the trigger even though it was obviously out of ammunition. He knew he needed to run but his legs were locked and seemingly detached from his brain. His chest was so tight he felt as if it might explode and he had stopped breathing entirely, the panic having overtaken him.

  The female turned and looked at Seni. Her dark brown hair was stuck to her face. Blood and drool was dripping from her mouth. She screamed at him wildly. Like she was protecting her fresh kill and turned back to Simeon. She leaned down and sunk her teeth once again into his neck.

  “No!” Seni screamed at her. Anger bubbling up to the surface within him, freeing the grip that panic had on him.

  Seni could take no more of this scene. His own screams filled the hangar as he turned running away from Simeon. He kicked the flashlight once again which spun across the floor changing its angle back toward the rear of the hangar. He ran wildly into the darkness in search of another exit. He believed that if he could get to the front of the hangar maybe he could slip through the large hangar doors. He just needed to get away fro
m these monsters.

  He stumbled and righted himself and then he was taken down. His body and the side of his head slammed down hard against the floor, and his pistol which was still in his hand scraped along the concrete.

  He opened his eyes and was oriented toward the rear of the hangar. His flashlight was just a few feet away and was shining upon Simeon’s face, his eyes remained open although he was clearly dead. There were three of these people on top of his body tearing him to pieces.

  Seni was saddened from the sight. He was sad because his sister will be without help at home. He was sad because his nieces and nephews no longer had a father. He felt the tug on his neck from his attacker and knew that he was next.

  “No,” he whispered.

  ***

  Rainer grabbed the HK69A1 40mm grenade launcher stowed in the thigh holster on his right leg. He pulled the metal sliding stock out with a click and opened the breech. Loading a HE fragmentation grenade into the weapon and closing the breech, he thumbed the firing hammer into the rear position. Rainer planned on dropping the grenade close to the front of the hangar creating a very loud distraction for his entry team.

  At the rear of the hangar, Miller led the three-man team in a tight column up to the grey steel door. Miller held his sights on the door while Kef bounded across in order to take up a position on the opposite side.

  Einberg, having replaced Kef in the stack, sidled up next to Miller keeping his eyes on the edge of the door. He slowly slid out from behind Miller and reached forward trying the door handle to see if the door was unlocked. It turned slowly and the door clicked open a centimeter. He silently closed the door replacing the door handle to its original place and nodded across the threshold to Kef.

  “Entry team in position,” Kef radioed.

  Rainer rotated his Silynx control unit attached to his plate carrier to the VOX setting which allowed him to talk freely without having to hold down a button and took up the grenade launcher into a proper firing position. Using the weapons sighting aperture, he designated his preferred target area and began slowly counting down, “Five…four…three…” he squeezed the trigger letting the round loose with a soft “bloop” discharging from the weapon as the projectile launched on its looping course downrange. He continued his countdown without interruption, “two…one.” Just as he finished his count a bright flash erupted just in front of the outer doors of the hangar followed closely by a ferocious boom as the high explosives contained within the grenade ignited and exploded sending deadly shrapnel in all directions within its kill zone.