by Scott Shoyer
In the sub-level facility, Wilder learned that in addition to more research labs, there was an entire bunker full of living quarters, survival supplies, and a fully stocked armory and motorcade.
The most important thing Wilder found in the sub-level, though, was information. Josef Schoepke, whose grandfather Heinrich was the man who built the original facility under the springs, told Wilder and the others that the real source of the infection wasn’t an overzealous military that was trying to save soldier’s lives, but was alien in origin. Josef also told them that the odd object they found in the lab above them was part of an alien craft that was discovered in the ocean back in 1979.
The yellow-eyed creatures broke through the hatch and down to the sub-level before Wilder could ask more questions. Once they went through the hatch, they found themselves in a room with another large, bank vault-like door that led to a corridor. This corridor was the only way in or out of the bunker.
As Wilder, Cheryl, and Steele ran down the corridor, Josef, some scientists, and the mysterious man, Rickard, close behind them, they passed through two other thick, steel security doors. The lead scientist, Howard, told them at the end of the corridor was the main blast door that sealed off the bunker from the rest of the facility. The door, Howard told him, was a foot thick and there was no way the creatures could breach it once it was closed and properly locked.
Wilder was the first one who passed through the thick doorframe. Wilder thought it looked like a bank vault door. Wilder helped the others through the door and with Howard’s help, closed the heavy steel door.
They all stayed in the room and listened to the faint pounding and scratching as the zombies tried to claw their way through the door. There were three thick iron bolts that slid from the door into the doorframe once it was closed. Even Wilder felt secure that those bastards couldn’t get through.
As they all leaned against the walls and caught their breaths, Wilder looked at the scientists and at Josef and Rickard.
“I sure hope you have a plan,” Wilder said.
“We do indeed,” Josef said. “We survive.”
Howard walked to the far side of the room and punched in a code on the keypad. The iron bolts that secured yet another security door retracted back into their casing, and Howard smiled as the door swung open.
“Lady and gentlemen,” Josef said to Cheryl, Wilder, and Steele, “welcome to what is perhaps the most secure place left on earth.”
As the door swung open, Wilder expected to see another small room on the other side. Instead, the door opened into a spacious, five thousand square foot room. In one area was a bunch of computer screens that monitored other parts of the facility, both inside and out. There was also a pool table, various maps of the U.S. on another wall, and even a few large screen TV’s hanging on the walls.
Cheryl walked into the room wide-eyed. She spun around as she took in all the various areas of the room.
“This is the common room,” Howard said. “We have closed circuit cameras that monitor the grounds above, and there’s also a communication hub over there,” he said as he pointed to the computer monitors.
“The living quarters are back that way,” Josef said as he pointed to the right.
“Please tell me there’s a place where I can take a hot bath,” Cheryl said.
“There is, indeed, my dear,” Josef responded.
For the first time in over a year, Cheryl felt safe. She never doubted herself and her own abilities. She had trained hard for years as an MMA fighter and knew she could go toe to toe with pretty much anyone. But she hated when she felt vulnerable because of her location. The Will to Heal Center had been her home since the outbreak, and as much as she loved that place, it was no fortress.
“Feels like a nuke could land on this place and we’d be okay,” Steele said as he ran his hand along the pool table.
“It could,” said Josef proudly. “Let me give you a tour so you can choose your room and settle in. Then we can get you that bath,” Josef said as he turned to Cheryl.
“Just so long as I won’t end up on those,” Cheryl said as she nodded towards the monitors.
Josef laughed. “I promise you there are no cameras in any part of the living quarters. Come, let me show you three your new home.”
“New home?” Wilder asked. “This isn’t Las Vegas, for fuck’s sake. We need to sit down and figure out our next move.”
“I understand your hesitancy, Wilder,” Josef said. “But I assure you we are completely safe down here. The six of us have been down here for two years and never had an incident.”
“Yeah, but those things know exactly where we are now,” Wilder said. “You may have been safely tucked away down here, but we’ve been up there the last two years and know what those fuckers are capable of. They know we’re down here and they won’t rest until they find a way in.”
“I assure you there is no way they can get in,” Josef said. “There’s only two ways in or out of this place. One is the way we just came through.”
“And the other?” Steele asked.
“Let me show you,” Josef said as he smiled.
Wilder didn’t trust Josef. When he smiled, he looked like a snake about to eat a mouse. Wilder also didn’t trust Rickard. The man always stood apart from the group and never said a word, yet it seemed as though he monitored what everyone else said. Wilder knew if Butsko was still with them that he wouldn’t trust Rickard either.
Wilder’s gut screamed to get out of there and he always listened to his instincts. But he was also a pragmatic man. There was no place to go. He knew that, in the meantime, he was safe. No matter how many of those yellow-eyed bastards pounded on that steel door, they weren’t going to knock it down. Over the last few days, he had about three or four hours of sleep and knew he couldn’t keep up that pace. He decided to look around the facility and then get some much-needed sleep. He’d try and get some supplies and then he was out of there. He’d ask Steele and Cheryl to go with him, but he was prepared to leave the bunker alone.
“Okay, Josef,” Wilder finally said, “show us around, starting with the other way into this place.”
“Please,” Josef said as he extended his arm outwards, “follow me.”
2
Underneath Schoepke Springs
Spicewood, Texas
Six Months Ago
Butsko approached The Discovery. Over the last few days, the object seemed to come alive and radiated heat. Butsko now understood The Discovery was the reason why all the yellow-eyed creatures came to Schoepke Springs. The creatures from every corner of the earth were drawn to the object that stood in front of him.
Butsko knew there were millions of yellow-eyed creatures who still made their way to Schoepke Springs. He knew this because there were no more secrets in his life.
He was now a yellow-eyed creature.
After being bitten, Butsko became part of something bigger; he became part of a Consciousness whereby all the yellow-eyed creatures shared everything with each other. All those secrets Butsko kept all those years were now part of The Consciousness.
Butsko’s secrets were one of the reasons they wanted him. They knew he held secrets about how to slow them down and even kill them. The bio-nanotechnology was good at adapting, but every time it needed to mutate, it slowed down The Convergence. Butsko wasn’t exactly sure what The Convergence was. There were still some things The Consciousness kept hidden from the Hive, but Butsko knew it was going to be big and he knew it was the reason The Consciousness was here.
From the other side of The Discovery, Butsko watched as Fi touched the object and absorbed its heat. Fi was the one who turned Butsko and knew she was ordered to do so. The Consciousness wanted his knowledge, and during his transformation, it entered his mind and uploaded his thoughts, memories, and secrets into The Consciousness.
Butsko watched Fi and understood what she’d been through. Fi was the first of the yellow-eyed creatures. She was the first to be stronger and fas
ter and smarter. Her transformation into a yellow-eyed creature wasn’t easy. Something inside her resisted the change. At first, Fi was filled with anger and killed as many of the first generation of infected humans she could. Butsko felt the pleasure Fi experienced when she ripped and tore apart the others. She wallowed in the blood and gore. She reveled in the carnage.
As her mind adapted to the nanite’s mutations, Fi then felt the pull of The Discovery. Only after she accepted the changes did she understand her purpose. Finding The Discovery was only the start. After she spent the last few days around the object, she now knew what The Discovery and The Consciousness wanted from her.
She was to be the leader of the coming war, and Butsko would stand beside her. They were to wage war upon the humans who resisted the virus—who resisted the future. Fi and Butsko would be on the front line of the coming war. The endgame was set in motion the second Butsko and the other humans detonated that EMP blast. The blast woke up the Others and set in motion the final stages.
The Convergence was coming.
3
Twenty Miles Outside Huntsville, Texas
Sam Houston Trailer Park
Present Day
Riker and Teagan walked the perimeter of the Sam Houston Trailer Park. Riker knew every square inch of the property, and he hated this place. Over the last two-and-a-half years, he, the few guards, and the inmates who’d managed to escape the outbreak at the Huntsville prison, had eventually made their way through the city as the infection spread.
Riker never saw anything like it. Men, women, and children of all ages were attacked and killed by other infected humans, only to rise from the dead and attack and kill others.
Romero wasn’t just a filmmaker, Riker thought, he was a fucking prophet.
Riker and Teagan often paired up for the nightly patrols.
As the two walked, they checked various sections of the fence they’d built around the trailer park. It was a tense situation at first as the ex-prison guards and inmates now lived together in a new dynamic. As far as Riker was concerned, they were all equal. Someone’s past actions no longer had any importance on the present situation. Only one thing mattered: Would you work together with the group to ensure the survival of everyone? That’s all that mattered. The ex-inmates slowly came to realize this. Riker made it clear from the outset that anyone in the group was free to leave the trailer park at any time. He also let the group know that by staying, everyone agreed to get along and work together to survive.
Even two and a half years after the initial outbreak, Riker still couldn’t believe how quickly things got out of control. One moment, he thought he was negotiating a hostage situation in the infirmary, and the next, people were eating each other. The infection quickly spread to outside the prison and that’s when things went downhill.
The small band of survivors from the prison stuck together. Five inmates and five guards managed to work together over the last two and a half years to secure a home for themselves.
Hector was the only inmate that Riker completely trusted. He even considered giving Hector a gun but knew the other inmates would demand one as well. Riker made sure to not treat Hector any differently than the other prisoners, mainly for Hector’s safety. Riker walked many nightly patrols with Hector and came to trust the man. Sure he was in prison, but simply being in prison doesn’t mean you’re a monster. Often times being in prison turns you into a monster.
The other three prisoners that came along, Jackson, Reece, and Noonan, didn’t sit well with Riker. He wasn’t sure exactly what they were in prison for, but he had a sixth sense for people and Noonan worried him. Riker knew Noonan’s type. He always sized up every situation and every person he met. Noonan looked for a person’s weakness and filed it away. As he looked in his eyes, Riker knew that Noonan was a career criminal who spent most of his life behind bars. He had the eyes of a predator.
Reece was Noonan’s cellmate and wasn’t too sharp of a guy. Riker bet Reece was in jail for doing something dumb. Most likely he had a violent friend or two who talked him into doing something stupid. Riker wasn’t too worried about Reece on his own, but he was concerned that Reece followed around Noonan and listened to his every word.
Riker got to know the other guards over the last two years. Teagan was always Riker’s go-to guard before the world ended. If there was ever a riot or some unrest in the prison, Riker liked having Teagan by his side. Each of them knew they could count on the other.
Frye and Greg were more experienced guards Riker was glad to have around. They were just as deadly with a baton as they were with a gun. Greg proved himself a valuable ally in battle, but the more time that passed, Riker worried that his temper would get the better of him. Greg was the kind of guy you’d describe as a “ticking time bomb.” Riker knew he was written up and suspended more than once for beating prisoners. Riker kept an eye on the man.
The other guard, Reilly, wasn’t as experienced as Frye and Greg, but she was as tough as they come. She pulled double shifts when they built the fence and never hesitated to volunteer to walk a safety check around the perimeter.
The group that gathered together in the trailer park wasn’t Riker’s dream team, but they have all proved themselves in both battle and in securing the property. It was at best an uneasy situation that Riker knew could go pear-shaped at any time.
“You okay, Riker?” Teagan asked as they walked along the perimeter. She saw the distant look in his eyes and could only imagine what he was thinking about. Teagan didn’t want to meet a man who could shoot his infected wife and newborn child and not be affected by it.
“Yeah,” Riker responded as he shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. “I’m good. I just got lost in some thoughts is all.”
Teagan couldn’t imagine the pain Riker still felt. She’d lost her parents and younger sister during the initial outbreak, but she’d been single and had no children, something for which she was now very grateful.
“How do you think the inmates are holding up?” Teagan asked as she tried to get Riker’s mind off his dead family.
“I think they’re getting cabin fever just like the rest of us,” Riker answered. “We’ve been in this trailer park for longer than I care to remember, and even though it has given us a measure of security, it’s also been our prison.” Riker stopped walking and turned to Teagan. “Imagine that you were a prisoner serving a life sentence. Then outbreak occurs, and you get busted out of prison by some armed guards only to find yourself back in a different type of prison.”
“That’s pretty fucked up,” Teagan said. “I never looked at it that way.”
“Besides,” Riker continued, “we know who we can trust.”
Teagan knew he was referring to Hector. Hector was level-headed and understood why Riker and the other guards didn’t always trust the other inmates. At capacity, the Huntsville Unit had housed over fifteen-hundred inmates and had only employed a little over three-hundred guards, a fraction of whom had been on duty on any given shift
Hector didn’t even know that.
Riker was surprised that the inmates stuck around. He expected them to run off into the dark the first night at the trailer park. The fact they stayed told Riker that they understood that survival only came in numbers.
With the exception of guns, the guards allowed the inmates to wield any weapons they could find or make. This, ironically, proved to be the olive branch both groups needed. With their weapons, the inmates felt like they were trusted and belonged to the group. Truth was, the guards didn’t want to police the inmates. Survival took all their energy as it was, and they didn’t need the extra stress of having to keep a suspicious eye on any of the prisoners.
“It’s been quiet around here lately,” Teagan continued to break the silence. “We haven’t seen any signs of the infected in a few days.”
“I don’t know what’s worse,” Riker replied. “Knowing they’re out there or not hearing or seeing them.”
Teagan walked
to a section of the fence, placed her fingers through the chain links, and shook it gently. She remembered how long it had taken them to reinforce it when they’d first arrived at the trailer park. Luckily, there’d already been a ten-foot tall fence around the property, so the group was able to raid the local hardware store to fortify their surroundings. There were now terminal posts every five feet, which gave the fence some much-needed strength. Some of the inmates had talked about electrifying the fence, but this area of Texas had lost electricity long ago.
“I gotta say: we did a helluva job on this fence,” Teagan said as she dragged her hand down the chain links. “It almost looked like we knew what we were doing.”
“I was just glad we could all work together to get it done,” Riker said. “Without this fence, we’d have been dead long ago.”
“I can’t help feeling that if those things wanted to get in here, they would,” Teagan said. “As strong and fast as they are, I just can’t believe this fence has held them back this long.”
“Yeah,” Riker said, “I hear ya. I think it is time we sat down as a group and planned our exit strategy.”
At first, the trailer park had been a Godsend. There’d been more than enough trailers for everyone to have their own space to live. Food and water had been an issue at first, but the outbreak had occurred so fast that many of the area’s stores hadn’t been looted. The group had scraped by, but that was another reason they needed an exit. Food and water had nearly run out.
“Where would we go?” Teagan asked. “Better yet, how would we get there?”
“I’m sure we can find some operational vehicles around here,” Riker said. “Besides--this would be a good opportunity to give the others a chance to separate from us.”
“But still,” Teagan insisted, “where the fuck would we go? We haven’t seen or heard from another human being in almost a year.”