by Jack Hunt
Everyone’s gun was on him, except mine. I put my hands out trying to calm him.
“Look, just let her go, we can talk this through.”
He laughed. “Talk about it, where the fuck did they get you from?”
“Listen, Bennett, I could have killed you back at that camp, but I didn’t. Now I’m asking you… put the gun down.”
Right then I saw Dax and the others come through the main gate. They immediately saw what was going on and raised their weapons.
“Don’t do this.”
“You know I used to think this country was a great place.” He smiled. “I used to think there was no better place than America. Now look at it. What a fuck-up.”
“Bennett, let’s just—” I said.
“Enough! Stop trying to reach me. You see, that’s your problem. There are consequences for everything we do. You should have put a bullet in me back at that camp. But you couldn’t. Why? Because you’re not strong enough.”
I was hearing him but it was just going right over my head. It was like having tunnel vision. All I could see was Danielle. Her face a picture of horror, fear, and worry.
“But don’t worry.” He began to smile. “Maybe I can’t make this country strong, but I’ll make you strong.”
With that he pulled the trigger. Before anyone could react he’d turned the gun on himself. I watched as Danielle’s body fell to the ground beside his. The air disappeared from my lungs. I dropped to my knees. It felt like someone had ripped my heart out.
SPLIT DECISIONS
After the world stopped spinning, everyone around me came back into focus, and I could hear Dax’s voice.
“Johnny, Johnny?”
I blinked hard. Still on my knees. My fingers clawed the wood as the sound of people muttering around me became clear. My heart was thumping in my chest. I gasped, still struggling to get air into my lungs. I looked up to see Dax leaning over me. He was gripping my shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
I never replied. “Look, I’m going to check that no one else is hurt. Tomorrow morning we leave here.”
I think I nodded; it was hard to say what I recall about that time. Time seemed to slip by fast after that point. I stumbled into the hut we were in and collapsed on the bed. I rarely ever fell asleep fast but I couldn’t have had my head on that pillow longer than a few minutes before I fell into a deep slumber. My dreams were filled with horrors. A replaying of Bennett’s words. The sound of the gun going off. The look on Danielle’s face. That night I sweated through my clothes, soaking them to the skin. I must have removed them without even thinking in the night.
* * *
When I awoke the next morning a warm band of light lit up my face. It came from the skylight above me. There are a brief few seconds between sleep and being fully awake that you feel at peace. No memory of who you are or what your life is about. Only peace. I sometimes wonder if death is like that. That at the point of taking our last breath we let go of everything that weighs us down in life. That whoever, or whatever created everything takes over and draws us back to our true state.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and began to get dressed. My body ached.
“Here,” Elijah came in with a cup of coffee. “Thought you could use this.”
“Thanks, man,” I took it. It was black, no sugar.
He leaned back against the bunk bed.
“Quite a night, huh?” He took a sip of his coffee. Steam swirled above it. I nodded, trying to block the memory from my mind.
“You got close to her, Danielle, I mean?”
“Look, um, do you think we could not talk about it?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Sure. Sorry.”
“How’s it looking out there?”
“It’s strange, all the gray clouds have disappeared. First bit of sunshine in a while.”
“No, I mean, the people?”
He eyed me over his coffee before taking a seat across from me.
“This morning we piled up the bodies and burned them, except Danielle, Spike, and Damian. We weren’t sure what to do.”
“We’ll bury them.”
Elijah obviously could tell he wasn’t going to get much out of me that morning. It felt like I was walking around in a haze when I stepped outside. They had already begun repairing the fence. The people who were originally here had every intention of staying.
That morning before helping dig three graves side by side, I returned to the small bunker that I had been in with Danielle. A flood of memories hit me. The way she smelled, tasted, and felt. Her laugh and the way her eyes burned into me. I went to the box that had the photo of Theo, her, and her mother. I removed it and returned to the fortress. As we lowered her body that was wrapped in a white sheet down into the grave, I placed the photo on top. I knelt there for a moment. My eyes closed.
“Until we meet again.”
I stared at the worn photo. It spoke of a time when the world was free. When families didn’t live in fear. Could the world ever return to that point again? I didn’t think so. At least not in the same way.
I climbed out of the grave and began filling the hole with the help of Elijah and Baja. It was the hardest day that I had gone through since leaving Castle Rock and yet I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
* * *
“You sure you don’t want to come with us?” I asked Specs. Specs stood beside Eva, his one good arm around her. A large group of people stood behind them waiting to see us off. It was strange but in many ways they were thankful. I figured there would be a healthy dose of animosity towards us, being as so many had died because we had come into the camp. But maybe our arrival taught them something. What that was, I was unsure about.
“As much as I would love to be there when you guys find the others…” he turned to Eva. “I’m going to make my home here. See if we can’t rebuild this place into something great. That way when you guys are ready, you’ll have something to come back to.”
It was a bittersweet moment. I smiled. If anyone could turn this place around, come up with ideas to improve the protection against attacks, Specs could. In some ways I was looking forward to returning here. To seeing what he had made of the place.
There were still thirty of them remaining, a mixture of men, women, and children. Alec also chose to stay behind. I never questioned his decision. So there we were, Dax, myself, Baja, Elijah, and Benjamin about to begin the long journey towards NORAD. To finish what we had set out to do.
I never kept track of how long it took us to reach Cheyenne Mountain, just that it felt like forever to get there. We fought and dodged our way through Z’s, slept inside of abandoned cars, and raided any home that we came close to for food.
Something had changed between us. Gone was the carefree attitude that we once had back at Castle Rock. We had been forced to consider every decision that we made. No one was hasty. And when we met others along the way, we were careful. As strange as it may sound, Bennett had taught us something. To trust no one. It was sad that we had to live that way but opening up to anyone new was like placing your foot on an old land mine and expecting it not to go off. We were a lot more cautious now, as we hiked our way through Roosevelt, Arapaho, and eventually Pike National Forest.
We came across camps along the way. Some looked as if people were living there. Firewood smoldered as though someone had recently put out a fire. Instead of lingering we continued on our way. We gave a wide berth to Denver and Colorado Springs. We had only one mission in mind. To reach Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station.
Conversation between us was kept to a minimum. Not because there wasn’t anything to discuss. I just think that no one wanted to say anything. The hike became almost meditative. Each of us was processing what we had just been through in our own way. We had to come to terms with a world overrun with Z’s.
I couldn’t have felt more relieved when I saw the large military complex in the distance.
The complex was a warning center for
all air, space, and missile threats to North America. The road wound around up to the north security checkpoint that was at seventy-one hundred feet. I didn’t know what we expected to see, maybe handfuls of military personnel outside guarding the entrance. We saw none of that. There wasn’t even one.
We readied our assault rifles, as we got closer to a security access point. The tension between us was tangible. It wasn’t the threat of Z’s but a trickle of fear about what would happen if our own government shot us. Metal gates were torn down. They had been knocked to the ground by a bus which had swerved into the side of the mountain.
As we passed by it we saw blood streaking the windows. The doors were open. Elijah ducked inside to check it out before coming out and shrugging.
“Well, that doesn’t look good,” Baja muttered as we pushed forward towards the arched opening. The words CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX were engraved in metal. We moved in a tight formation towards the tunnel. The ground had two yellow lines that disappeared into the huge granite mountain. Above us, small white lights were separated every ten feet against a rough-hewn wall. We moved into the tunnel looking back over our shoulders. It would have been fair to say that all of us were nervous.
Eventually the tunnel inside the mountain, which went on for at least a mile, split into two. One continued on, the other went around to reveal a twenty-five-ton automatic blast door. There was a logo above it of an eagle and the words, CHEYENE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION. The door was wide open. The closer we got we could see how thick it was. The door had to have been at least three foot in width. Trucks and vehicles had been driven through the opening. We could see them on the other side, abandoned, windows cracked and doors wide open.
I had seen a piece on the news about the place. Like most of their security doors, they could close automatically within twenty seconds or forty seconds if pushed manually.
No sooner had we made it into the heart of the complex than the noise of snarling and moaning could be heard. We rounded a truck. Crouched on the floor over a military officer were three Z’s. They glanced up instinctively. Their milky eyes fixing on us. Pink and red flesh hanging from their fucked-up jaws. One of them let out a bloodcurdling scream that went right through us. It immediately jumped up and pounced at us with a speed we had not seen before. It was fast. It must have turned within the hour. Baja stepped and tomahawked that bitch with an axe toss. The axe sliced through its head with the ease of a samurai sword. We knew better than to fire off rounds inside the mountain. It wasn’t that the noise could create a cave-in. Hell, this place was built to withstand a nuclear blast. No, it was that even our footsteps echoed. The snap of a bullet would have sent Z’s rushing towards us and if they were as fast as that last one was, we would have been fucked.
“I don’t get it. Out of all the places that might have become overrun, I wouldn’t have figured this place to be one of them. What caused them to open the blast doors?” Elijah asked.
“Maybe one of them was infected inside. That bus outside was coming out, not going in. Perhaps panic spread fast. Chaos may have caused them to flee,” Benjamin said.
“We’ve got to find Jess,” I said.
We continued moving past more vehicles that were covered in blood. The grey floor was smeared with human intestines. Either side of us were pipes that looked as if they were made from bendable material in the event a blast caused the walls of the mountain to shift.
Finally we arrived at what looked like an entrance into a freestanding underground mall. The structure wasn’t even touching the mountain itself. It looked as though it was made from navy-grade steel. The same kind used to build ships. Emblems for the military were printed all over a white wall. Five concrete steps led up to double doors that slid open
Inside there was a warren of corridors. On the wall was a map showing the layout. It had fifteen three-story buildings that were cushioned on a bed of thousands of gigantic steel springs to protect it from movement. Essentially it was a complex enwrapped in two thousand feet of granite. They had a fire department, hospital, chapel, gymnasium, barber shop, cafeteria, and pretty much anything you would need to be self-sustaining. Hell, they even had five lakes inside the mountain.
Based on the map we could see it had two entrances, one on the south and north side. The tunnels were joined together and then the complex itself was an offshoot.
“That’s where the other tunnel must lead,” Benjamin said.
Inside we encountered more Z’s. All of them were wearing military fatigues.
“Holy crap, there must have been an outbreak inside,” Dax said before pushing open a door to find four more Z’s chewing each other apart. Their limbs were scattered all over the floor with teeth marks, and shreds of muscle hanging off. Most of what we found was contained behind doors. We had no choice but to open them to see if any were Jess, Izzy, or Ralphie.
We must have spent over two hours going through that complex until we reached the gymnasium. As we got closer, the doors moved back and forth as though some invisible force behind it was pushing against it. We could hear the snarling and moaning. Someone had tied thick chains around the metal handles. Each of them locked with padlocks.
“That’s it, there’s no other rooms except this.”
It was beyond disheartening to find the place overrun.
“We can’t open that.”
“I have to know,” I said.
“Johnny.”
“We’ve come this far. I just need to see for myself.”
“Those doors were locked for a reason.”
All five of us stood there looking at the doors as bodies banged into them, letting out moans.
“Maybe there is another way to see inside the gym?”
“There isn’t. We’ve checked every goddamn room in the place.”
Whoever had been here before had left in a hurry. They hadn’t collected supplies. The canteen still had food inside it. Boxes of food and water and other essentials were still locked inside cabinets lining the building. We had passed through multiple security doors that should have been locked. They were wide open, which meant no one had stuck around. Those who didn’t make it out in time obviously turned.
“Listen, we could open the doors, and then make a dash for the first security door behind, or even the one over there.” I pointed to one we had been through on the right. “At least those doors have thick windows. We could see from the other side.”
Dax shook his head. “This is insane.” Then he nodded. I honestly think he wanted to know if Izzy was in there as much as I did. He didn’t put up a fight or argue about it. Now that I look back I wish he had.
All of them got behind the door and left it open just enough for us to slip through. In our rush to find out we didn’t think about closing the other security door.
Dax stood beside me as we both fired rounds at the locks until they gave way to the bullets. I tugged at the end of a chain, pulling it through the handles until it dropped to the ground. We turned on the balls of our feet and raced away from the door as it burst open and Z’s fanned out in every direction. Their groans filled the air. Those who heard or saw us gave chase. It was a good two yards to the nearest security door. Baja, Benjamin, and Elijah were shouting for us to hurry. As we made it through and hit a button the door closed automatically behind us. Z’s slammed into it. Their faces pressed up against it. Drool, blood, and fuck knows what dribbled and smeared on the other side of the window. Gasping, and slowing my breath, I peered across the mass of bobbing heads looking, hoping that Jess and the others weren’t among them.
“Do you see them?”
I squinted. So many faces were torn up and ripped apart.
“No,” I mumbled.
“Well that’s good, right?” Baja said. “I mean, maybe they got out with the others.”
“Yeah. Perhaps.”
Right then my eyes fell upon a familiar face in the crowd. It was messed up but I recognized it. It was Ralphie. Parts of his lips were chewed a
way. His larynx ripped out.
“Ah no.”
Dax instinctively looked at my face then moved closer to the window to get a better look at what I was staring at. I had to wonder if he feared it was Izzy. He grimaced and turned away.
“That doesn’t mean they’re dead, Johnny. For all we know they might have put Ralphie to work. Separated them.”
Baja looked. “At least they made it here.”
I kept looking, scanning faces as they pushed, clawed, and snapped their jaws open and shut. It was a disgusting mess. What these people must have endured was horrendous.
“We need to leave,” Ben said.
I nodded reluctantly. As we turned our eyes widened in horror. More Z’s came spilling out the west corridor.
“We didn’t shut the other security door.”
“Shit! In here,” Dax said.
Dax kicked a door but it wouldn’t open. We moved towards the Z’s who had now caught sight of us. We unleashed a flurry of bullets to snag the fast ones. We were shit out of luck. They had us pinned in. Ahead of us, Z’s filled up the tunnel blocking off the closest security door, the other one was the door we had just come through. To the left and right of us were three rooms. At least it looked that way. As we rushed up and tried the next door it opened and took us into a lab. We slammed it closed behind us just in the nick of time. That’s when we realized the third door was part of the same room. There was a door on either end of the room.
“Great, now we’re stuck inside here.” Dax kicked a table in front of him in anger. It screeched, causing the Z’s outside to bang even harder on the door. Their bloodthirsty hands smeared up the thick glass. All that stood between us and them were two doors that didn’t look as if they were built to withstand a large amount of weight pressing against them.
“What now?”
THE LONG GOODBYE
As we paced the floor contemplating our next move, Baja walked over to a large whiteboard that was at the far end and starting scribbling on it with a black marker. The room had the feel of a high school science room. Chemicals, vials, and centrifuges for spinning test tubes. Whatever were they up to down here? It was a known fact that there were parts of NORAD that were only for those with high security clearance. Besides playing big brother to North America, what else did they do? There was talk from conspiracy theorists that Stargates, aliens, and all manner of fucked-up covert experiments occurred beneath the mountain. But I think that was just Hollywood.