by P. T. Hylton
“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”
The general took a step forward. “That wasn’t a request.”
Fleming shook his head sadly. “So that’s how it is?” He looked behind the general, and his eyes lit up. “Ah, friends, come in! The more the merrier.”
The general glanced over his shoulder, then cursed at what he saw: another dozen Resettlement supports arriving.
Keller leaned close. “General, let’s get this over with. They’re still coming.”
Craig nodded his agreement. “Fleming, let’s go.”
Fleming chuckled—actually chuckled! Craig couldn’t believe this man. He could feel the fury building inside, and he knew it would be a struggle to keep it contained.
“You’ll forgive me if I’m a little skeptical of the Council's intentions,” Fleming said. “I’m not going to sit in one of their jails. There’s too great a chance I’ll never get out.”
Keller leaned in again. “Maybe this isn’t the time.”
General Craig ignored him. “Badges, place this man under arrest.”
The woman next to Fleming stood up. “You heard Councilman Fleming, General. Get the hell out of here!”
The Resettlement supporters around the room vocally let their agreement be known.
It took Craig a moment to recognize the woman in this setting, but her voice made the connection for him. “And arrest her for theft of government equipment. Lovely to see you, Sarah.”
“General,” Keller said, “are you sure—”
The general brushed the man’s hand off his shoulder. “Badges, let’s go.”
The police moved forward. As they did, one of the supporters on their left threw something. The general couldn’t see what it was from his angle—a piece of metal or concrete maybe. Whatever it was, it connected with Keller’s head and sent the police captain reeling. He managed to keep his feet, but when he rose back up, there was a nasty two-inch gash above his left eye.
“You son of a bitch!” The words came from a short, stocky badge—Craig didn’t know his name. The badge charged at the man who’d thrown the object, pulled back his fist, and punched him in the jaw.
Then all hell broke loose.
The supporters leaped from their seats and came at the police. The badges turned and met their attackers with equal fury.
The general observed the scene with mounting panic. This was turning into a street fight. He glanced toward the exit and saw it was clogged with Resettlement supporters who were surging forward.
Craig cursed. They wouldn’t be able to retreat even if they wanted to.
Many of the supporters were pushing their way toward Fleming, forming a human shield between him and the police. One of them reached out and shoved General Craig. Before he even realized what he was doing, he threw a punch in return, sending the man staggering backward before he fell on his ass.
Craig stepped back and took a deep breath. As much as he wanted to knock out more of these idiots, he had a job to do. His priority was to protect his badges. Badges didn’t carry guns, but the general did. He looked around and saw that, while they all carried batons, only two were using them. Whether that was because they hadn’t thought to use them or because they didn’t want to seriously hurt these people, he didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. They were outnumbered and the exit was blocked; they were in serious trouble—there was no time for caution.
“Badges!” he yelled. “Batons!”
The police officers heard him, but so did the Resettlement supporters; they attacked with renewed fury.
Franklin, the officer who’d found out about this place, was standing on General Craig’s right, and he drew his baton at the general’s command. He raised the weapon and moved to his left, going to help an officer who was trying to fight off two men. The general saw the man coming from Franklin’s right, knife in hand, but he was too slow to stop it.
The man lunged forward and sank the blade into Franklin’s back.
Franklin shouted in pain and reached a hand toward the wound.
Enough. It was time to end this.
General Craig drew his gun, aimed at the man with the knife, and fired.
The contents of the man’s head exited the back of his skull and splattered onto the people behind him, badge and supporter alike. He fell backward, his body suddenly limp.
Craig saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun and saw a man rushing toward him.
The general fired again, hitting the charging man in the chest. He fell to the ground with a gasp.
Craig suddenly realized everyone else had stopped fighting. They were all watching him. It was silent but for the ringing the gunfire had left in his ears.
After a moment, Fleming’s voice cut through the silence. “General, how dare you come into my—”
That was as far as he got before General Craig spun toward him and trained his gun on his chest. It wasn’t Craig’s fault this had happened. It was Fleming’s. All of it was Fleming’s fault. If only he’d come quietly as the general had ordered. If only he’d worked with the Council instead of against them.
Councilman Stearn’s words echoed in Craig’s mind. “For the survival of our species…”
Craig fired.
But the woman next to Fleming was already moving. Sarah. She was stepping in front of Fleming.
The bullet struck her in the chest.
“No!” Fleming yelled. He dropped to his knees next to the fallen woman.
Nobody moved. Again, the hall was silent.
Sarah was alive. She stared up at the ceiling, wide-eyed, but the sucking sound coming from her chest meant the bullet had hit her lung.
Fleming clutched Sarah in his arms while she wheezed and struggled for air.
General Craig looked at the damage around him, knowing everything in New Haven had just changed.
Chapter 22
It took the team two hours to reach their landing point. To get there, they had to not only head north across the equator but also race west, chasing the edge of the morning. The days were short in North America this time of year, and they needed every moment of sunlight they could get.
Alex stared out the window as they approached, and Owl gave her traditional rundown in their headsets.
“The South Texas Nuclear Project Electric Generating Station. The station went live in 1989 and provided energy to the Houston and San Antonio areas from then until the fall of humanity. The station is located on the Colorado River in Bay City, Texas. Based on my research, there was a popular musical act in the late twentieth century called the Bay City Rollers. This appears to be unrelated to Bay City, Texas, and the South Texas Nuclear Project. Just thought it was interesting.”
“Truly fascinating stuff,” Drew said, his voice thick with sarcasm.
Owl continued. “As we approach, you’ll notice there are two reactors; these were known as South Texas 1 and South Texas 2. You’ll also notice the seven-thousand-acre reservoir next to the reactor. In the early days of nuclear power, when Pressurized Water Reactors were in use, this reservoir was used to cool the reactors.”
Alex glanced around at her teammates. Owl’s informational speech aside, there was less joking in this flight than was usual before a mission. The faces of her teammates were serious. Whether this was because of the importance of their mission or the danger they were about to face, she did not know.
“We’re now approaching the facility, lady and gentlemen. Please stay buckled in until we have finished landing. And remember the words of our beloved captain: ours is not to question why…”
“Just to be prepared to die,” the team said in unison.
“That’s the spirit. See you on the surface.”
They dropped down from the clouds, and Alex got her first look at the facility. It was massive. Two monstrous domed buildings dominated the landscape. These were the reactors, Alex knew. They looked like two enormous bullets sitting on end, their tips jutting into the sky. The reactors were
each surrounded by a collection of smaller square buildings. The reservoir Owl had mentioned sat behind the reactors, a still lake surrounded by dense forest on one side and a nuclear power station on the other.
The reservoir reminded Alex of her Resettlement fantasy of a few days earlier. Walking on the surface, carefree, feeling the sun on her skin and grass on her bare feet. Swimming in a lake, though preferably not one next to a nuclear station. Even though it had only been a few days ago she’d dreamed of all that, it seemed naive to her now. If Resettlement did somehow happen, whether because of the will of the people or because the ship was forced to land, life on the surface would be a constant battle for survival.
The ship landed, and the crew gathered outside. It was a chilly morning, and the wind bit Alex’s face. Another mark in favor of life aboard New Haven, where the temperature was always pleasant.
CB huddled them together and gave them the rundown. “Two reactors here. That means two control panels. We don’t know if either is still in working condition, so we need them both. First order of business is to find them. The good news is the reactors should both be set up the same way. That means we find one, we’ll know where to look in the other building.
“As I said topside, days are short, and time is against us. As much as I hate to do it, we’re gonna need to split up to search most effectively. Firefly and I will take reactor 1. Drew and Alex, you’re on reactor 2.”
Drew smiled at Alex. “You and me, girl.”
“Yeah,” Alex said,” because that went so well last time.”
“You start at the east end of your building and work your way west,” CB said. “We’ll start west and work east. We’ll stay in constant radio contact.”
He glanced toward Owl and Simmons. “You two are on rover duty. Get the vehicle out here and be ready to bring it inside the moment either team finds their reactor’s control panel.” He turned back to Drew and Alex. “We have to work fast, but we also have to work smart. No doubt there are vampires living in here, but they should be sleeping. Don’t do anything to wake them.” He looked pointedly at Drew. “And, for the love of Christ, if you cut yourself, sprint toward the exit. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Drew said.
“Always be aware of your closest exits in case you get into trouble. I want lots of radio chatter. Check in every five minutes tops. Questions?”
There were none.
“Good. Let’s save humanity.”
***
Alex and Drew found the entrance on the east side of reactor two. They quickly exchanged a glance as they stood in the entryway. Alex touched her radio and spoke into her whisper mic.
“CB, remember how we were discussing whether we’d have to blow the doors open to get inside? That’s not going to be a problem.”
The doors to the reactor were gone. One metal door lay fifteen feet from the entrance. It was battered with huge dents as if someone with incredible strength had punched it repeatedly. She thought about CB’s story and how the vampires had been able to break through concrete after sundown.
Her earpiece squeaked CB’s response. “Same at reactor one. Vamps ripped the doors right off.”
“Okay, Captain. We’re going in.” She looked at Drew. “Whatever happens, let’s make sure they don’t catch us off guard, okay?”
Drew was already reaching for his shotgun. “No argument there.”
They entered the station, Alex with her pistol drawn and Drew holding his shotgun at the ready.
They walked past what must have once been a security checkpoint. Alex wondered what it would have been like to work here back in the good old pre-vamp days. She was sure those people had plenty of fears. Maybe they’d laid awake at night worrying what would happen if they lost their jobs and weren’t able to feed their families. Maybe they worried about an accident at one of the reactors.
Whatever it was they worried about, Alex was willing to bet it wasn’t vampires. It was a lesson she often tried to remember: it’s no use worrying because you’re not going to see the thing that gets you. It’s always a blindside.
Drew elbowed her and pointed to his left with the shotgun. “Check out this shit.”
Alex paused at what she saw. “Lovely. I guess we found their cafeteria.”
It was a pile of animal bones, six feet wide and three feet high. Alex was no expert on animals. There were none aboard New Haven, and what little knowledge she had came from picture books she’d read as a kid and a couple of Earth nature documentaries she’d seen years ago. She had no idea what types of animals these bones had belonged to, but it appeared to be a pretty wide assortment. She spotted tiny skulls the size of her thumb and large skulls adorned with huge racks of pointed antlers.
Looking at the pile, Alex took comfort in the fact that the bones looked old. There weren’t any fresh carcasses among them. Maybe the vampires had moved on from this particular spot. CB said the hordes roved from location to location in an unpredictable manner, after all.
On the other hand, she knew almost nothing about how vampires fed. She knew they drank the blood, but what happened after that? Did they eat the flesh too? Suck the marrow from the bones? She had no idea. For all she knew, these animals could have been killed yesterday.
“Well,” she said to Drew, “at least there aren’t dirt piles everywhere like in Buenos Aires. Wherever they’re sleeping, it’s not in this room.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel entirely better.”
As they moved deeper into the lobby, they saw bullet holes scattered along the walls. Some walls had holes torn in them. Others were marred by long claw marks.
Alex remembered what CB had said. Constant radio contact. She was done going rogue; today she was going to play it straight. She grabbed the radio off her shoulder.
“Hey CB, we’ve got signs of a battle here. Lots of bullet holes and vampire damage to the walls.”
“Yeah, us too. I’m hoping that’ll make our job easier. Maybe the vampires ripped off all the locked doors.”
“We’ve got lots of animal bones in here, too,” Alex said. “All piled up like this is some kind of feeding area.”
“We haven’t seen anything like that yet,” CB said. “We didn’t go in the main entrance, though, so maybe we’ll come across something similar. Thanks for the report. Stay in touch. Out.”
As they progressed, the placement of the bullet holes in the wall told the story of what had happened here. People had been inside, and the vampires had invaded. The humans had tried to fight them off.
“Can you imagine what it must have been like?” Alex asked. “Holed up in here, trying to fight off the vampires as they poured in?”
“Honestly?” Drew said. “I’d rather be trying to fight them off than to be in our shoes. At least they knew where the vamps were coming in. We’re headed into a dark facility, no real clue where we’re going and no idea where the vampires might be hiding.”
“Way to bolster my confidence, buddy,” Alex said.
They reached the end of the lobby, turned on their headlamps, and headed west into the reactor.
***
CB and Firefly walked through a long hallway, pitch-black but for the pale beams of their headlamps. There were signs of battle everywhere. Massive holes ripped straight through the walls, destruction that must have come from high-caliber assault weapons.
Firefly hadn’t talked much since they entered the reactor. He was clearly disappointed the exterior doors had already been removed and he hadn’t had the chance to blow them off the hinges himself. CB was grateful for the silence. He needed to remain completely aware not only for his own sake, but he also had to keep his ears open for communications from his team.
Up ahead, something caught his eye, and he raised his head so his lamp illuminated it. The light revealed there were three sets of elevators at the end of the hall. Without electricity, they wouldn’t be functional, but they were still worth checking out. He motioned Firefly forward.
Something was jammed between the twin doors of the elevator on the left, propping them open. CB crouched down and took a closer look at the object. It was a dark green, military-style helmet. That fit with the bullet holes. This place had been heavily defended. The bodies would have been devoured by the vampires long ago, but it was nice to see there was still some sign of the battle where so many men and women died.
The elevator car was on this floor. CB turned to Firefly. “Hang tight for a minute. I’m going to peek inside.”
He twisted his way through the door, carefully stepping over the helmet. He didn’t think the doors would slam shut and cut him in half if the helmet was moved, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Who knew with this ancient technology.
The elevator was empty save for a smattering of bullet holes. He pointed his headlamp at the elevator control panel. The buttons showed three floors, but what was really interesting was that below that. The numbers continued below 1 in reverse order, each with a G in front of them. G1, G2, and so on. All the way to G10.
CB grabbed his radio and spoke into it. “Folks, we found an elevator. It seems the facility has ten underground levels. This place is much bigger than we thought.”
He heard both Alex and Simmons curse into their radios.
“It’s gonna be one hell of a task to get a control panel from ten stories underground, Captain,” Owl said.
“That’s why we brought the rover. Besides, we don’t know it’s that far down.” He thought for a moment. “Here’s what we’ll do. Firefly and I will start working our way down. Alex and Drew, you check out the upper levels, then report back.”
“Roger that, Captain,” Alex said.
CB wormed his way out of the elevator and found Firefly standing next to a red door. He gestured toward the sign next to it. “Check it out.”
The sign said Stairs.
“Excellent. Let’s head down.”
Firefly turned the knob and pushed on the door, then frowned. It didn’t budge. He pushed again and got the same result.