by Megan Duncan
Chapter 14
We spent the next hour or two packing up anything we had left that was still usable. Max and Carter stacked the demons bodies in a large pile and used what was left of the tiny bit of gasoline we had to set them on fire. Strangely enough they lit easily and burned like dry wood. The fire grew large and we all felt uncomfortable being near such a large beacon of light, not to mention the stench.
We had wanted to bury Savannah and Norah but we didn’t have any tools, nor did we have the time to do it by hand. We pulled them as far away from the demons as we could and had a small funeral, each of us saying our own prayers silently. I could feel Taya’s eyes on me the whole time.
It was difficult to just leave them lying there, and the thought of animals or other demons getting to them was difficult to bear. Carter suggested that we set them ablaze as well, and after Taya’s protests he convinced her that in many cultures it was a very respectful way to honor the dead.
As the orange glow of the flames danced across our tear stained faces we turned our back on our lost friends and made our way back toward the highway.
It felt like an eternity of walking before the slightest rays of sunlight blossomed on the horizon. None of us said much on the long walk, except when one of us needed a break. We didn’t stray from the road and wouldn’t even allow ourselves much privacy to go to the bathroom. The farther down the road we got, the slower we became. Our bodies were weakening from the lack of sleep and food.
I’ll never forget the moment we saw the military base in the distance. A sudden wash of relief spilled over me and I felt like I could breathe again. We cheered and hugged each other and our steps felt lighter as we quickened our advance to the base.
“I’m going to take the longest shower ever,” Taya said sounding much more like herself, than she had earlier that night.
“Me too, but not before I stuff my face with whatever they have to eat,” Max added.
I smiled over at Carter and I could visibly tell how relieved he looked, even with his face battered up. We had made it.
“How are we going to get in when we get there?” I asked as I wondered if they had some kind of perimeter set up.
“Duh! Right through the front gate,” Taya said, sounding like walking into a military base during a demon apocalypse was completely normal.
“Taya’s right. We probably should head for the front gate, I’m sure they have some kind of surveillance set up. When they see us approaching they will probably send someone to meet us.”
“I can’t wait.” Not holding back my relief I sped up my walking as much as my feet would allow. Max slowed down to keep pace with me and I mouthed the words I love you to him and he smiled.
The closer and closer we got the more relieved I felt. As we neared the front of the base we walked quickly down the freeway ramp and onto First Street. The visitor parking area was loaded with cars of every kind and we looked at each other with tearful grins from ear to ear.
“So many people have come,” I said. “Do you think we should wait here for them to send someone to get us?”
“Heck, no!” Carter said, a laugh almost escaping him.
“What if they have, like, shooters guarding the entrance?” Taya said, starting to sound paranoid as she looked up at a tall watch tower.
“I’m sure they do, but they aren’t going to shoot humans,” Max said reassuring her. “We’ve made it this far, don’t get hesitant now.”
I wanted to say something to comfort her as well, but she was still angry at me. I could tell she was trying to work past it and wasn’t glaring at me as much, but it was obvious she was still hurt. Whether she was right or wrong didn’t matter, so I didn’t want to press my luck.
As we made our way farther into the base down the main road, I kept waiting for a military jeep to come rolling up to us, but nothing ever happened. I knew it was crazy to expect the entire base would be jam packed full of people, and operating busily like it normally would have, but I guess I secretly did hope that.
We slowed our pace and it was obvious that we all were starting to worry. We walked deeper and deeper into the base and no one stopped us.
“Where is everyone?” Taya asked.
“I’m sure they have everyone concentrated in one area. This base is pretty spread out; they would want to be able to keep an eye on everyone,” Carter said.
“Well, where is the concentrated area then?” Taya snapped.
“The radio tower?” I questioned. “I mean, they use it for transmissions, so they would be nearby there, right?”
“Good point, Abs!” Max smiled at me.
We each looked around trying to find some kind of radio tower or satellite dish on any of the buildings.
“Over there!” Taya shouted as she jumped excitedly, and pointed off to our left. We all squinted into the distance and could barely make out the sight of a large object turning around and around.
“That’s it! Come on!” Carter took off at a steady trot and we all followed at his heels. As we ran, I wondered what it would be like to finally see the military. Throughout history the military had always stood as a beacon of hope, protection, freedom and defense. I imagined formidable looking men dressed in military uniforms carrying massive guns. The thought brought a smile to my face as I ran.
We all skidded to a halt when we made it to the radio tower. We glanced around us waiting for someone to show up. The satellite spun steadily as it towered above us and as the silence of the base came crashing down on me, I could feel fear threatening to break me.
“There’s no one here. What are we going to do?” Taya was panicked.
“They’re here. Don’t say that,” Carter demanded.
“Let’s find the door to this place,” Max said rushing around the side of the building. I followed him in silence, not wanting to admit to myself what I was slowly starting to realize, there was no one here.
Carter tried every knob in a panicked state. It would crush him if he was wrong. We had finally made it to the base, we had risked our lives to make it here and it could have been all for nothing.
Max found an open door and we all rushed eagerly inside to an empty hallway. There were papers and boxes lining the walls, but the disorder and clutter was a normal sight. Papers crunched under our feet as we walked slowly down the halls. I squeezed Max’s hand for comfort as we all walked single file behind Carter.
Some of the walls were smeared with blood that had dried a long time ago, leaving dark streaks. That was not what really scared me. The claw marks that tore through the plaster confirmed my worst fears. The demons had made it here. I didn’t want to admit it aloud and I desperately tried to focus my thoughts elsewhere as we continued through the halls.
We glanced into rooms, randomly making our way to whatever room was the control room for the satellite. There had to be someone there controlling it, I thought to myself. We needed someone to be there. I tried to convince myself that we would find someone. Maybe he fell asleep on duty, or maybe they set it on autopilot. Those things run on autopilot, right?
“Maybe everyone is still sleeping?” I said. It was a ridiculous comment, but I just couldn’t let myself believe that we had come this far only to find the base empty. “It’s still pretty early isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Carter said not sounding convinced. I knew it was a silly thought. They wouldn’t all be sleeping, someone would be standing guard.
As we turned a corner, at the end of the hallway I could see a door that was clearly labeled as control. At the sight of it, Carter ran down the hallway vaulting for the door opening as he nearly burst into the room. It seemed as if the rest of us took a deep breath before we followed after him.
The room was lined with numerous workstations lit up with tiny blinking lights and odd looking keypads. The foreign electronic equipment wasn’t what confused me most; it was the fact that the room was completely empty and looked like it had been for quite some time.
We each w
alked through the room silently surveying it. As if we had to look at every inch of it before we would believe that we were truly wrong about coming here.
I took a seat at one of the computers and wiped the dust off the screen. I couldn’t make sense of any of the information I was seeing and looked up to see what Carter was doing.
He was standing at what looked like the main workstation; both his hands were twisted through his hair. Max was nearby noisily rummaging through papers. He must have sensed something and he caught me staring at him. I quickly tried to mask the fear on my face, but he knew me too well for that to work.
“Maybe they had to move? There has to be something here. They wouldn’t keep the transmission running if no one is here.”
“It’s not still running!” Carter snapped. “Just look. It’s been shut off. What we heard must have just been the signal bouncing off of something, or maybe someone else was broadcasting it. That’s probably why it’s been so weak. Someone shut it off, which means they didn’t want people to keep coming here.” Carter started thrashing around in anger, kicking a chair over and sweeping all the papers off the workstation as he kicked the desk and sat down heavily in defeat.
“You don’t know that,” Taya said rushing to his side. She tried putting her arms around him but he pushed her away. Her face took on a hurt expression, but she quickly removed it and placed a hand on his arm, which he allowed.
I frantically tried to understand what was going on. I didn’t know anything about computers or transmitters, but I wanted to do something, to say something but I didn’t know what.
“Yeah man, we don’t know that for sure yet. Maybe they shut it off cause they needed to conserve power. We can’t just give up when we’ve come this far.”
Carter just sat there, his head in his hands, shaking. “There is no one here.”
Seeing my brother so defeated brought tears to my eyes. We had come all this way and been through so much and it was all for nothing. I walked over to Carter and sat on the floor across from him.
Taya looked up at me her eyes clearly pleading me to say something, but I couldn’t. Hot tears ran down my face as all the terrors of our journey fell onto me in giant waves.
“We came all this way for nothing. I’m sorry you guys, I’m so sorry. It is all my fault.” Carter sounded so full of anger at himself it almost scared me.
“It wasn’t all for nothing. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” Taya pleaded. She smiled when he looked at her, but he didn’t return it.
“She’s right, Carter. We saved her and that definitely counts and you didn’t make us come. We decided as a group we were going to do this, so don’t take it all onto yourself,” I said.
We weren’t getting through to him and I could see his grief building as he continually shook his head and cursed himself under his breath.
I couldn’t let us fall apart; we needed each other now more than ever or maybe I just needed them. I looked over to Max and he was busily flipping switches and turning knobs, trying to find anything that would be of help to us. I knew he was desperate to find something, not wanting to accept that Carter was right.
“What are we going to do?” Taya asked me.
“What’s wrong with you guys? Don’t you get it? There… is… no… one… here!” Carter shouted at us. He stood up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door in his wake sending mounted plaques crashing to the floor. Taya sat frozen for a moment, and then ran after him.
I couldn’t help myself and buried my face in my hands. I cried like a baby, not caring how I looked and holding none of it back. I didn’t want to bury my fears any longer and finally let myself be weak and vulnerable.
Max was quickly at my side trying to pull my hands away from my face.
“There’s no one here,” I wailed through my sobs.
“You’re wrong, Abs, you’re wrong. Look at me.” I reluctantly let him pull my hands away and looked into his chocolaty brown eyes. “There are people here, Abs.” He said as a small but reassuring smile spread across his lips.
“What? Where? How do you know? We need to tell Carter.” My heart pounded in my chest, and I couldn’t believe he didn’t say anything sooner. I looked at him expectantly, wiping the tears from my face.
Max brushed wet strands of hair away from my face and smiled at me again. “We’re here, Abby. We’re here.”
My body shuddered as I realized the truth in his words. I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand as I brought it to my lips. “I love you, Max.”
“I love you, too,” he said as he kissed my forehead. Then he stood up and without a hint of hesitation he turned the transmission back on.
I stood up and walked to his side, letting him take me under his arm. I stared at the orange blinking light that showed the transmission was on and watched the monitor that displayed the familiar text of the message we had all prayed would lead us to salvation.
“Do you think people will come?” I asked him.
“I hope so.”
~
Other Titles by Megan Duncan:
Agents of Evil Series
Released
Chaos
Vengeance (Coming Soon)
Warm Delicacy Series
Savor
Indulge
Devour
Royal Blood (Warm Delicacy Series Collection)
Falling From Eternity (A Paranormal Love Story)
Find out about giveaways, new releases and more on Megan’s blog:
www.meganduncan.blogspot.com/
Keep reading and check out a sneak peek of Chaos (Agents of Evil Book 2!)