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Terra

Page 31

by Robert Turnbull


  “You know me far too well little lady.” he sighed as he shot a glance back out the windows in the corner of the room.

  “I’ve been looking at those two barn like structures.”

  Gil slowly meandered toward the windows “So? Hell, I’ve been staring out at them all night while I was on watch.”

  Meg joined them “Yeah, me too…so what? I mean the smaller one has both front and rear doors open, so we know there’s no grinders in that one. As we flew by the big barn you said there wasn’t a loft and we all saw someone punched tons of holes in it so no wandering grinder would shelter there during the day.”

  Sarge nodded “Exactly!” he motioned to the small one “Gil you said you knew your way around farms, ever seen a barn that had its roof sitting a foot higher than the walls?”

  “No, why?”

  “Look at that one, it does. Now suppose you had some large underground complex you needed to vent, you’d build a large structure and vent up through the walls and out through the open eaves all the way around. People would think it’s just a plain old barn. Now take that bigger barn…suppose that was the way into your complex, prop or jam the doors open so everyone can see there is nothing in it. Punch enough holes in it so a lot of light gets in it so grinders won’t want to make it home even for one night. So much light that a pair of grinders settled into this fairly open building that had to be harder to get into.”

  Sue smiled “A bit of a guessing going on Sarge?” he smiled and nodded that it was.

  Izzy sat up and stared at Sue “Sis, I love ya to death and am so happy that we found each other, but when Sarge says something…” she giggled in a girlish tone that almost seemed forced “you’d damn well better be listening.”

  But Sarge never heard the compliment, nor did Gil or Meg. The door was flung open in the far room and as dust blew in, they could see the three of them running toward the large barn.

  By the time Izzy got slowly to her feet she was on the rest of their heels and hurried to the barn to find the three tapping, and banging on the walls.

  Gil chuckled as he shouted across the barn.

  “Nothing here Sarge, but damned if you weren’t right, these walls are hollow as well.” He pointed to the top of his wall “Top boards are missing here and most of the other walls as well.”

  “Probably so the elevator shaft doesn’t pressurize on the way down. I’d be willing to bet…”

  “HERE!” Meg shouted as she pushed on a small part of the wall and it opened “Crap!”

  “What?” everyone shouted in unison.

  “Biometric scanner…for eyes. Looks like there is also a card scanner.”

  Gil walked over and frowned “Damn, just like the ones back at our lab, top notch security.” he leaned down for a closer look “No way around them eith…”

  There was a loud click and the sounds of machinery starting up. A few seconds’ later three railings came out of the floor and slowly moving doors in the floor slid opened as sand dropped into the shaft, the sand in the middle began to raise. It appeared that the elevator’s roof, was part of the floor, or just under the doors, it was hard to tell with so much sand moving all at once…and it seemed to be shifting or falling everywhere as the group slowly moved back.

  “Jesus Christ,” Meg muttered “that thing’s big enough to put a large semi into it and have a few feet left.” she gawked in to the well-lit elevator as the huge lift neared the floor level.

  Gil scratched his head “Well, guess I’m programmed into this system as well, probably all the same security server.” he walked over to the panel on the wall and shrugged “Going down!” he chuckled as he announced loudly “And as there is no door, no walls, please do not lean against the moving walls.” he grinned as Sue stepped closer to the center.

  The huge elevator began a slow descent that seemed to take forever as the astronaut informed them that this had to be much deeper than the ten stories or so that his lab was. Some of the distances between some floors was what had to have been several floors thick and each lever was open to the elevator with no doors what so ever. The last level looked to have had a thirty foot thick ceiling before it showed light again through the doorless elevator. Gil nodded at the huge door arch and the hallway beyond to another steel door.

  “Doubt that we’ll get in that way.” It continued to go down as the nosy Sarge barely got his head out of the way before the floor nearly took it off.

  As the lift came to a slow stop at the next level down and they walked along a long hall that obviously was for whatever was being brought in; areas for supplies to be checked, or inspected. There was a high ceiling and what appeared to be mirrored glass where at some point had to be where the security operated the other doors. To the front were huge truck doors that reached nearly to the ceiling but to their right was a human sized door, heavy steel and swung on huge hinges. Gil chuckled and banged on the door with the heel of his hand, only a thud could be heard.

  “Well, someone sure didn’t want anyone that wasn’t authorized to get in…hell, I’ll bet this could withstand an RPG blast.”

  Sarge nodded in agreement “Well, we know the shaft closed back off as we came down so let’s keep going.”

  As the hall opened up to a much higher ceiling they were amazed that the lighting still functioned. Then Gil told them about the small self-repairing nuclear power plant at his complex.

  “Guess this one would have to be much larger if Joe here thinks this could be the cause of the looping portals.”

  Suddenly a huge steel blast door shot across the hall behind them sealing them in. Within another few seconds another panel slid open and a mechanical voice sounded over two large loud speakers built into the wall near the ceiling.

  “ATTENTION! BIOMETRIC SCANNING TO COMMENCE…” there was a pause “ATTENTION USE BIOMETRIC SCANNER ON PANEL, IDENTIFICATION OF PARTY IS REFUSED…HUMAN S ARE TO USE BIOMETRIC SCANNER TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES.”

  Sue smiled at Gil “Ok, do your thing.” and nodded to the small panel that popped out of the wall. Gil smiled back and lower his head.

  “PLEASE SCAN AGAIN OR ENTER ANOTHER SCAN OF ANOTHER OF YOUR PARTY.” Again Gil tried and the panel turned red.

  “DENIED, PURGE WILL BEGIN IN THIRTY SECONDS. INTRUDER ALERT.” Again Gil tried to scan, but the laser scanned and again nothing happened.

  “PURGE COMMENCING IN 20 SECONDS!” Gil banged on the side of the scanner.

  “15 SECONDS!”

  Sarge walked over to the scanner and balled up his fist…and slammed it into the scanner panel as Gil quickly bent for another scan.

  “PURGE IN 10 SECONDS.” Gil turned to look at the rest as they tried in vain to open the other steel door.

  “8” toward the ceiling small panels opened and some serious looking nozzles shot out that had small sparking igniters snapping and crackling.

  “7”

  “6”

  Gil’s shoulders slumped “Sorry guys.” Sue slid into Gil’s arms as Joe held Izzy and Meg as Sarge pulled his sidearm and shot the panel until his pistol was empty.

  “5”

  “4”

  “3”

  “Major?”

  “PURGE ABORTED, RETURNING TO ALERT STATUS. CONTROL STATUS FOUR.”

  “Major? My cameras show it is you…yes, facial recognition verified.”

  “Val?” Gil muttered in disbelief.

  “Why yes major, remember you connected me to the world. Two weeks ago I managed to find the terminal to this complex and of course with my security protocols I was easily able to gain entry and control…”

  Sarge looked around and pointed to several small cameras near the speakers…and did so with his pistol.

  “Major…is that person with you going to shoot my cameras like he did my biometric panel?”

  “It got yer attention, didn’t it?” Sarge snarled as he lowered his sidearm.

  “Negative, I was aware of intruders. Security was well able to take care of intruders, but t
hen I began to compute that there were very small odds that you might have made it, so I decided to check.”

  Sarge nudged Gil “That thing is talking to you like it was a human.”

  “Smarter than you’d think Sarge.”

  “That’ll be the day.” Sarge snorted “Fuckin’ ‘puters, smart, HA!”

  “He’s not very well spoken is he major? Must be due to the lower rank.”

  Sarge spun around and looked at the cameras, and then to Gil “Did the fuckin’ machine just dis me?”

  Gil roared with laughter “She does have a tendency to do that.”

  “Major confirm that you are not a captive or under duress, my scanners are very well done here, I can detect any signs of stress, I find none but I have to make sure.”

  “Yeah Val, I’m good. These are my friends.”

  “Very well major, you and your friends may enter, however I must warn your friends that without security clearance, you will be limited to the visitor area and will have to have the major as your escort or the security system will…”

  Sarge stepped forward “Will do what? Purge us?”

  “Most likely sergeant. So I would suggest that if any of you care to wander around, please do so with the major with you… Gil, it is good to see you here safely…you and your party may enter.” There was a loud click and the door in front of them opened and this one was just as thick as the one Gil saw at the bottom of the shaft back at his complex. Sarge snorted that even he was impressed and it would keep anything out.

  “You should be sergeant, however it is now meant to keep something in I believe.”

  That brought everyone to a sudden halt as Gil asked “What are you talking about Val?”

  “There is a large area in the center of the complex I have not gained entrance to as of yet major. What notations I have found indicate this complex was built strictly to keep whatever is in that room…in that room. Oh, and major?”

  “Yes Val?”

  “Whatever it is, it is rather large. The area I cannot access is the size of a football stadium.”

  Sue was still hanging onto Gil’s arm and she slowly looked into his eyes “Some kind of giant grinder…or swarm?”

  “I am not sure Miss, but whatever it is, it is drawing immense power.”

  Joe stepped forward as the huge door swung closed behind them “Val, could it be a portal…um, sorry, wormhole?”

  “Major?”

  “You may answer my friends Val.”

  “It is possible…”

  “Joe.”

  “Fine, Joe. It is possible and as our facilities were designed to advance wormhole technology, it would be a good guess, and a logical summation…Joe?

  “Yes Val?”

  “This is strange, but you have nearly the same bone structures as Captain Parker…and your genetics are…”

  “He was my father.”

  There was a serious pause and then “It would appear that Dr. Rand was correct, a paradox has occurred…interesting.”

  “Something we should worry about Val?”

  “Not at all major, you would not have the brain capacity to grasp the equations that I am running at present.”

  Sarge elbowed Gil and laughed “Seems that you just got dissed by a computer.”

  Gil stepped into the next hallway and glanced back at Sarge and the rest “Yeah, told you about that now didn’t I?”

  As they walked down another corridor to the visitor area Izzy laughed at the guys.

  “We gals have to stick together…even the electronic ones.”

  Chapter 18.

  As Val couldn’t access the main lab the gang settled in and at last they felt completely safe so they ate and slept…alot. Several days of time on their hands that none of them could get used to, not any threats to worry about, not any danger to consume their waking hours. Completely safe, and completely bored, the small group of people now became closer friends as they related their lives before and after the grinder invasion. Telling each other in greater detail of their past, spending hours walking the same halls, boredom finally set in.

  Everyone including Joe had grown up in a world of extreme danger and now…nothing. Izzy found an old baseball and mitt and was slowly driving some of the adults completely nuts with her incessant bouncing it off the walls as she prowled the halls.

  “Major?” the speakers boomed all over “Major Wells?”

  Gil came dashing out of the men’s restroom zipping and buckling his new clothes they had found stashed away in the general supply room. Shirtless and still wet from the shower he looked around for the nearest camera.

  “What is it Val, grinders outside?”

  “Negative major as that would not be a problem to alert you to unless you were going to the surface. Major the reason I called for you, I seem to have found some sort of log from Dr. Rand. The strange thing is…” there was silence.

  “Val?”

  “I am sorry major, it would seem that Dr. Rand made a recording for someone called ‘Fish-man’ and hid it in the master file. The only reason it came to light is the fact that when I entered all of you into the main frame as you requested, this file announced itself to me.” there was another short pause “As this all just occurred when I entered your name, I would have to assume that you are Fish-man, or at least know him.”

  Gil chuckled “Doc used to call me Fish man…Gil, fish gills, gill man…Fish-man.”

  “I assume that that was something humorous major?”

  “Never mind Val, we’ll be right up to the control room…uh, you did clear the rest?”

  “Affirmative major, as you are here and vouched for them and there is no longer any national security to worry about, that would put you in command…total command. As you ordered me to enter…” the entire group burst into the control room “I must say that was rather fast major.”

  Joe grinned “If this video has a way to get into the main labs, we need to hear it.”

  Gil walked over to the main console and scrolled through the files and then clicked on the file marked ‘Fish-man’. Upon clicking the file Dr. Rand’s face appeared.

  “What was the first thing you said to me the day you arrived and met me?”

  “Nice place you have here Dr. Rand.”

  “Correct…facial recognition confirms identity. Please state the last thing I told you before putting you into stasis.”

  “Try not to snore.” Gil chuckled.

  “Standby.” There was a long pause and Dr. Rand’s face reappeared, however this time it had changed. Heavily bearded, gaunt and looking much older than what he should have looked like at seventy years old.

  “Holy shit, Gil is that you?”

  “Doc? Christ, you’re alive somewhere?” the stunned Gil sputtered “Jesus, I thought everyone was dead, Val even said there was no sign of life here…where are you?”

  Doc looked like he was going to cry “I’m here! Here at the main lab in Texas, Val woke you up as I had programmed her to do if there was an emergency…but how did you contact me? Val is programmed to…” a broad smile broke across his face “Holy-moly, Val told you how to hook her up to the outside world, didn’t she? Are those with you what’s left of the skeleton…IS THAT A LITTLE GIRL?” Doc sputtered so loud and fast that he was spitting and had to wipe his lips.

  Izzy stepped in front of the monitor, threw out what chest she had and with her hands on her hips glared at the small camera atop the monitor.

  “Little girl? I’ll have you know that until I met Sarge, I wandered around killing grinders all by myself and I saved your man fish from being grinder munchies, so…”

  “Fish-man!” Sue and Sarge corrected her.

  “Whoa!” Doc chuckled “I apologize miss, no disparagement intended.”

  Izzy stepped back “Ok…but don’t call me a little girl again.” As she turned to get back in place with the others she leaned toward Gil and whispered “What’s disparagement? It isn’t bad is it?”

  Gil le
aned to Izzy’s ear and chuckled “Means he didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t capable.”

  She straightened and smiled “Yeah! I’m capable all right!” she turned back to the monitor “I’m a bad-ass!”

  “IZ!” Izzy looked at her sister shrugged her shoulders and stepped back among the others.

  “Gil, you have to find a way to get here to me in Texas.”

  “Uh, Doc…” he walked over to the light switch and flicked the lights on in the control room. No longer was it lit by the small monitors and flashing lights on the terminals, but blasted the entire area in bright LED lighting, so much so that Gil and the rest had to momentarily shield their eyes “We’re here!”

  “Where?” Doc sputtered in a confused tone.

  “Texas!” he chuckled “Val’s here too, she got here through the internet, or what was left of it; a few still operating cell towers that must have been powered by nearby towns or settlements. We’re in the Texas control room. Civilization is trying to survive out there and we need to try to save it.”

  Doc looked puzzled and then gave a forced grin “Yeah, it has been a while since I’ve been in there.” he looked off camera for several seconds “Good Lord! You’ve been out there…and survived?” before Gil could answer Doc sat up, and then back down and motioned off camera “Oh, I have to let you in, don’t I?” again he rushed from view only to return and sit “Oh, wait, you need to go to…”

  “We know where the entrance is old man.” Izzy snorted indignantly.

  “Old man? Why…” a broad smiled crossed his lips “why, I guess that I am, at least to you young lady. Meet me at the door guys.”

  They hurried to the large blast door one level down and as they approached there was a loud series of clunks, followed by a hiss and a rush of fresh air. As the five foot thick steel door slowly swung open, there stood a thin gaunt man that hurried to Gil and shook his hand.

  “Oh, Gilbert to see you again…I never dreamed.” he slowly walked down the line of newcomers and shook each hand as each introduced themselves.

 

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