Emma jumped onto the metal deck and started running – it was a good forty feet to the tall sub’s conning tower where she presumed the hatch was. In her fear and haste, she ran right over other hatches. She gripped the metal ladder and started to climb the black conning tower, which she guessed was at least a good fifteen foot tall. Once she was on top, she navigated around the thinner towers and antennae’s and started to turn the circular handle. Panic sped her along. Within a heartbeat, she vanished down inside.
Bachman was close behind; he almost slipped as he raced down the metal ladder. He quickly gripped and pulled the round hatch closed. With a few spins on the circular handle the hatch was secure.
As he rested his head against the metal ladder, he closed his eyes tight and took a deep breath to calm himself down. It was when he reopened them that he realized it was pitch dark.
159
Alex, and the others
On the island in the camp
Somewhere in New York State
The wind and rain swept over a sign swinging above Alex’s head.
“Tuscarora Camp,” he said, simply reading the sign.
“Some tribe or other that the camp was named after, or so Donna said. Not that it matters anymore,” Kat stated as she skipped through the puddles – way too happy with the world’s horrendous situation.
The group were soaking wet, traumatized, and hungry, and now they were being herded to get a bed and a job.
“A fucking job!” Naomi said. “Are they fucking kidding me?”
“My baby needs a warm shower and a hot meal,” Tierra stated while gripping her son to her chest. She repeated it over and over like a mantra.
Alex hasn’t seen Dante move in hours.
Maybe he’s asleep. Even in the most hostile environments, sometimes sleep is all you can do. Maybe he’s still traumatized from the events earlier that day. I’m traumatized, and no one tried to throw me out of a window!
Regardless of the rain, there were people everywhere. Some carrying containers full of supplies, others with large bottles of water. They all seemed to be heading in the same direction, to the opposite side of the island to where they stepped ashore.
“What’s with all the supplies being moved around?” Alex asked Kat.
“That’s for BB,” she announced.
“What’s a BB?” Terrance questioned.
“That would be something you would have to talk to Smokie about. It’s a secret.” She gave a giggle. “A huge, kind of obvious secret.”
They walked past rows of A frame wooden huts – dozens lined up like squat sentinels. Each one a carbon copy of the one to either side. Some had items outside, a piece of clothing under cover, drying, or a plant pot – trying to bring normality to the situation.
The huts fanned out from a large central platform that had a huge fire pit in the earth, and a circular cover around it, where people could sit out of the sun or rain.
To one side was larger buildings.
Alex guessed the largest stone building was the food hall and kitchen area.
Kat shoved the double doors open.
The smell of food hit Alex in the face. His mouth started to water.
Inside a cavernous hall, with rows of wooden benches, where dozens of people huddled over in the far corner around a pile of boxes and crates. To one side was a large kitchen. Three people were preparing food for the whole camp. Steam rose to the high kitchen ceiling.
A woman turned and started heading around the thick, heavy bench toward Kat. She was drying her hair and face on a towel.
“Oh, hello newbie’s!” the woman called. “I’m Donna Thorn. We have already met.” She was a mid-fifties woman with a radiant smile with blonde hair cut into a bob. She bounced toward them like a long-lost friend.
Alex realized he saw her in the fighting before they all got aboard the boat. She had been carrying a handgun and a machete.
“Why are they all so bloody happy here?” Naomi muttered.
The group unconsciously gathered closer together.
“Okay, let me just get my head together. So, I’m to assign you lot some beds and a job, huh?”
“My son needs some food and a warm bed,” Tierra stated, almost screaming.
“Dinner is within the hour, and I think we can fit you all into Block B.”
“No offence, but Smokie is in charge, is that right?” Lindell asked.
“That’s right. Smokie is our ragtag group’s leader.” Her brows knitted together. “She will be here for dinner, just like everyone else.”
“Those that are left,” Naomi stated.
“Oh dear, so true, there were some casualties today. So very sad.” She wrung her hands together.
Alex noticed watered-down blood splattered all over her wet clothing.
“Too many dead, I’m sorry to say,” Terrance said. “We are very grateful for the rescue,” he added before Naomi said anything rude or abusive.
“It’s the world we now find ourselves in; I’m afraid,” she said. “And all the more reasons to get you all jobs.”
“We don’t want any fucking jobs! We want a hot meal, somewhere warm to sleep, and to be left alone,” Naomi stated. “Is everyone on this island fucking deaf?”
“You’re not allowed on BB unless you contribute to her upkeep.”
“What the fuck is a BB?” Naomi asked before anyone else had chance to.
“Why, BB is our boat that we are all going to sail off on and find somewhere safe.”
“Say what now?” Naomi gave a grunt and turned away, bored with the woman.
The group looked at each other.
Alex said, “But Kat stated there are sixty people here? There is no way all of you would fit on that fishing boat we sailed in on.”
“Oh that’s not BB,” she gave a chuckle. “Big Bertha, as we have aptly named her, is a massive six hundred foot long cargo ship.”
160
Bachman and Emma
On the artificial lake inside a submarine
Zone 9
The underground bunker
Quirauk Mountain, Pennsylvania
It took a few minutes for Bachman’s eyes to adjust before he realized there was a dull red light glowing around him. It was bright enough, with effort, to navigate around the confined surroundings.
He wasn’t claustrophobic, but his mind was letting him know it was seriously considering the possibility.
Everything was so close together, with areas just wide enough to navigate through. There are pipes and valves everywhere. With small hatches to different, even smaller sections.
So far, nothing was trying to get to them. They couldn’t hear the creatures battering at the metal hull.
The sound of the water lapping against the hull from the disturbed water was the only sound, besides their heavy breathing. The silent, inoperative sub magnified the sounds around it.
“My god, what did I do?” Emma said as she leaned up against a pipe and buried her face in her hands.
“You did what you had to, for us to survive.”
“One minute he was talking, then the next he slipped, and that was it – one bang on the head and it was over… Jesus!” She stood straight and wiped the tears away.
Their masks lay in a pile by the ladder.
“After everything he survived, a simple slip ended it all.
“I was so mean to him. He annoyed me.”
“We can’t help what–”
“And the bad part is, him dying also annoys me. He took the easy way out!” She shook her head. “I know that’s not true. But still… god, what’s wrong with me?”
“We are under a lot of stress.” He peered around the cramp section they stood in. “We are safe in here. There is no way those things can get to us.”
“What about air? We need to breathe!” Emma spun her head around, as if trying to locate an air canister.
“This is a huge three hundred foot long submarine. Even if there is no spare air – which I
’m confident there is, as well as air-scrubbers – the vessel can spend months underwater at a time; it has a lot of reserved air somewhere. Even if it doesn’t, there will be enough air inside to last us days, even weeks without having to open the hatch.”
“I’m so tired. So angry. So confused.” She raked her fingers through her tangled hair. The dull red light made her look like she was covered in blood.
Bachman was aware of just how close they were standing. He took a few steps back.
“Let’s see if we can find some food, a shower, and some beds. We can both do with sorting our heads out and trying to work out what our next step is going to be.” Bachman leaned his back against the pipes and closed his eyes.
“What do you mean, our next step? I thought we were going to use the Furnace to burn the motherfuckers?” Her eyes were wide with anger.
“It was. However, Peter was the nerd; I have no idea how to reprogram a supercomputer, do you?”
“Ah fuck!” She gripped her head. She slumped down the metal wall to sit heavily on the deck.
“We’re two adults, surely we will be able to work it out.”
“Maybe. At the moment though, it’s still the only plan we have,” Bachman agreed.
That’s when the knocking sound echoed throughout the submarine. The sound of a pod hammering a sharp, armored leg against the metal hull – trying to find a way inside.
161
Lindell, and the others
On the island in the camp
Somewhere in New York State
“You mean to tell me you have access to a huge, operational cargo ship?” Lindell asked.
“Yes.” Donna tried to usher them to sit down. “Please have a seat. Relax, and I will get my book.”
“Book?” Lindell wanted to know more about the large vessel. Where was it anchored? Is it damaged?
“The book has everything I need in it. I have a terrible memory, and unless I write everything down, I forget.” She wandered back to where she was sitting.
“I need to get my son a hot meal. He needs to be cleaned up and placed in a warm bed,” Tierra shouted as loud as she could. Her hair was matted, and her eyes were wild and crazy. She looked like a woman who had lost the plot.
There were people ambling around the large eating hall. Everyone stopped to look over.
Tierra stood away from the others, and tightly hugged Dante to her chest. One hand was on the back of his head, pulling him in tight.
“Is your son okay?” Kat asked. She took a step closer to Tierra. The sound of Kat’s wet coat crackling echoed around the large hall.
Everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at Tierra.
“Keep away!” Tierra shouted. She was getting hysterical.
“Is he ill?” Kat took a step closer.
“Stay back. Stay away from my baby.” Tierra was gripping the child very hard, pulling him into her chest.
“He’s not moving!” Kat stated. She leaned closer, trying to touch the unmoving child.
“Is he okay, Tierra?” Lindell asked, taking a step closer, concerned that the child was unresponsive.
Tierra was losing it. She started spinning around, trying to keep them all in view, trying to stop anyone getting behind her. Dante’s limp arms and legs swung with her every movement.
“Leave us alone. Just get my son some food. I want some food.”
“Calm down Tierra. Just relax and calm down.” Lindell took a step closer. “Let me check Dante is okay. Let me get him a hot meal.”
Tierra wavered. She looked around at them one at a time, as if seeing them for the first time.
“If you hand Dante to me, we can get him fed, washed, and into a warm bed.” He stepped closer. “Does that sound good?” Lindell said in a relaxed, modulated voice.
“He’s so hungry. He’s so thirsty. He’s not well. He’s s-so quiet.”
“I will help you help him. We all want to help you both. We are your friends. We have been through a lot together. We are here to help.”
Donna returned. She kept her distance. A few others had wandered over to see what the commotion was all about.
Naomi was the only one not paying any attention. She sat down and lit a cigarette. She was picking her nails, bored with the situation.
Terrance was on the other side. “Let my brother take Dante. We will get him a hot meal.”
Tierra spun around. “He just needs a meal and a good sleep. He is so, so tired.” She pulled her child away from her chest and looked down into his face.
“H-he likes h-h-hot-hotdogs; they are his favorite. He l-loves hotdogs.” She started crying.
“I love hotdogs too,” Lindell stated. He reached out his arms.
“N-no mayonnaise, o-only ketchup. He doesn’t like mayonnaise, h-he wipes it off.”
“I don’t blame him. Mayo is gross,” Lindell stated. His arms were touching Dante’s back. He stepped closer, letting Tierra lower him into his arms.
Lindell stepped back and turned.
“He just needs a hot meal, and sleep. He n-n-needs sleep!” She started crying loudly – sobbing. Her body shook as she dropped to the floor.
Terrance stepped to his brother’s side, looking down at the limp form of Dante.
Lindell looked up. He shook his head no. Dante was dead.
162
Alex, and the others
On the island in the camp
Somewhere in New York State
Jesus, Dante died and she just hung onto his body. How long. An hour? Five? He felt depressed, because like everyone else, he didn’t notice. He was more concerned about his own welfare and ignored a child in his presence, because he presumed the mother would do what’s best for her son. And if anything, he was just glad the child had stopped crying.
What are we becoming? he reasoned.
He watched as Lindell lay the limp child on the floor. Tierra was knelt down, facing the floor, while rocking back and forth, muttering, “He’s going to be fine. He just needs a hot meal and a warm bed. A hot m-meal and a w-warm bed.” She wrung her hands together. Now she had nothing to do with them – no child to grip – to suffocate.
“Have you got a medical section?” Terrance asked.
“Um, y-yes,” Donna stated. She was upset, and crying at the turn of events.
Terrance stepped closer to her. “We need to get Tierra sedated before she realizes what’s happened. Before it sinks in that she most probably suffocated her son by gripping him too hard to her chest.
Kat was in shock. “How could she not notice? I mean, she was gripping him so–”
“Because she’s a fucking fruitcake, that’s why,” Naomi stated. She flicked the head off the cigarette. “Just be glad she hasn’t plunged a knife in your back yet. That’s step two of the psycho handbook. Step one: kill a helpless child. Step two: kill anyone near you. Wait to you hear step three; you will like this one. Step Three–”
“That’s enough,” Lindell shouted.
Naomi simply shrugged her large shoulders.
Smokie came bounding over through the double doors.
“Jesus!” She had four women following her. Someone had obviously gone and reported what was happening.
“Place the body in the first aid room. And inject her with whatever we have to put her to sleep,” she said looking at Tierra.
“What a clusterfuck!” She had a towel in one hand that she was using to dry her hair and face.
“We didn’t realize. Everything was happening so fast,” Alex said.
“It’s not your fault – any of your faults. It’s the creatures, and what they have turned us into. We are just not equipped to cope with shit like this.” She stared at Tierra, who was pulling on her hair while glaring at the body of her son.
Two women gently lay a tablecloth over the child and then slowly lifted Dante in their arms and headed toward the exit.
“People will start arriving soon for their main meal of the day. A child’s body would probably put peo
ple off their dinner. We can cope when someone dies fighting, but when a child dies needlessly, it affects morale.”
The other two women helped Tierra to her feet, and started leading her away.
“He likes h-h-hotdogs,” they could hear her muttering as she was led to the first aid hut.
Lindell turned to Smokie.
“I hear you have a cargo ship?” He was tired of everything. He needed to get those that were left to safety.
She turned to give him her full attention.
“Indeed we do. Do I detect an interest in a place on the crew?”
163
Bachman and Emma
On the artificial lake inside a submarine
Zone 9
The underground bunker
Quirauk Mountain, Pennsylvania
After twenty minutes of hammering the pod didn’t give up. They could hear it slowly make its way along the hull above the waterline, looking for a weak spot. Luckily, with a submarine, there is no such place.
Bachman just hoped it was a fully operational submarine and not a mock up for training. Not because he planned on attempting to pilot the thing, but because a real submarine would be better at withstanding the creatures outside. He could imagine a sub that was never meant to submerge being made from weaker material.
“It’s driving me crazy,” Emma stated while holding her hands over her ears.
“Just pretend it’s part of the sounds the sub is making,” Bachman said while they moved through each section as they checked for supplies.
The sub is huge; it’s a three hundred and sixty-three foot long metal tube. They found some flashlights attached to the metal wall. They could now move around without worrying about hurting themselves by slamming their head into something.
They find that the submarine has two watertight compartments. The forward section contained the living quarters and weapon-handling space. The aft compartment contains the bulk of the submarine’s engineering systems – power, generation turbines, and drinking water-making equipment.
The Sixth Extinction: America (Omnibus Edition | Books 1 – 8) Page 37