The Decline

by Jessulat, Christopher

  The enormity of this undertaking was now plain before them.

  Daniel recoiled, having never witnessed death on this scale. Neither had the others – but their trials in the wastes had largely desensitized them to this level of violence.

  The Nigerian recovered from the initial shock and shook it off.

  The corridor opened to a gymnasium lined on either side with doors to old offices, hastily repurposed for the needs of the compound. Coloured banners representing the various units previously stationed here hung limply overhead. A balcony ran the circumference above, apparently also lined with rooms. The main chamber was cordoned off and partitioned, many of which were strewn across the floor, no doubt trampled during the commotion of the fighting. Those that yet stood were punctuated by bullet holes and the streaks of bloody handprints.

  The group waited in revered silence as they surveyed the scene for signs of movement. Cox considered the layout. Though she was unfamiliar with the Armouries, instinctively she knew that the truly high value merchandise would be fortified; unlikely it would be within easy reach of the exits. In the event a threat managed to get inside, a defending force would want narrow corridors, bottlenecks, and a clear line to fall back to.

  Satisfied there were no immediate threats aware of their intrusion, Cox motioned for Sully and Isaac to canvas the nearby offices and work their way up to the balcony while she and Daniel pressed on.

  Sully was uncomfortable taking orders from the corporal; his skin crawled in her presence. Nevertheless, she was undeniably skilled in this environment, and she had successfully led mission after mission for Quinn. Out here, Isaac was right – her cold logic and sheer determination were significant assets.

  Isaac and Sully kept their backs along the wall and slid up the left side, eyes carefully scanning the death that covered floor as Cox led Daniel right.

  As they came to the first entry, Isaac leaned out and peered in. It was long and skinny; the mouth of the office had an overturned desk pressed up against it as a simple barrier. The skeletal remains of a plainly clothed man, torn open and consumed, lay on the floor just beyond. What bones were visible had clear bursts of trauma from bullet wounds. The far end of the office bent suddenly and was obscured around a corner. The wall was adorned with several portraits of ranking military officials, interrupted by a single large textured glass window.

  Isaac climbed over the desk and lowered himself gingerly to the floor. Knowing he was without a weapon, his pulse quickened – the blood flow warmed his ears and his body tingled with anticipation. Hatchet in hand, Sully was just behind. They held their breath and crept slowly toward the end of the line. Soundlessly, they rounded the corner to reveal a corpse, prostrate and with the back of its head sprayed onto the wall, crouched over the body of a uniformed man.

  As they broke the dim light cast through the textured glass, the uniformed thing stirred. Its dead eyes opened lazily as its chin rose awkwardly before Sully buried the hatchet into its head. He struck the thing with such fury that he needed to wrench the blade from the ghoul’s skull, rocking the handle back and forth until the wound widened sufficiently for the axe to wriggle free.

  Considering he could see clear into the skull of the prostrate ghoul, Isaac had no fear of its sudden animation and shoved it aside with his boot. As he crouched down to search the corpses, Isaac couldn’t hide his disappointment that he didn’t turn up with the sidearm that had clearly put this one down.

  Nothing in here was of any use.

  As Isaac prepared to rise he locked gazes with the lifeless eyes. Jaw agape, skin gray and tightening around the stubble on its face, deep divide from the hatchet wound in the crown of its forehead.

  Isaac frowned and rejoined Sully in the main expanse, moving further along the wall towards the next office.

  Cox and Daniel were now at the corner opposite where they had entered the room, peering between heavy set double doors and down a dark and windowless corridor. The doors were held open by a hinging mechanism that engaged when they were opened beyond a certain point in their arc.

  Their wide angle was deceivingly inviting.

  Cox shined her flashlight down the corridor, and found it to be largely empty. The flooring changed from the polished gymnasium to an embossed and rubberized white honeycomb. While the floors were boot scuffed and bloodstained, the fighting had obviously been heavier elsewhere in the complex. Exposed wires were tacked along the ceilings, likely linked to gas generators that had long since run dry.

  As she and Daniel delved into the belly of the structure, the darkness deepened. Empty lockers ran along the wall beside them. Sidearm readied, Cox carefully worked each corner as they wound through the network of corridors until they arrived at the precipice of a black metallic stairwell.

  Daniel choked back the feeling of sincere dread as he leaned over the railing, following the lone beam of the flashlight into the depths below. The stairwell was steel grating, similar to industrial catwalk. As the light pierced its gloom, the grating threw cage-like patterns over the landing to reveal the resting place of several gory husks. A dozen mice, disturbed by the lighting, hastily scurried from sight.

  Cox considered their options. The way up at this juncture was free of corpses, but was barricaded with stacks of chairs and shelving. The bodies at the base of the stairwell indicated to her the soldiers who once occupied this place had fallen back to some point below.

  Corridors continued in two directions.

  Cox turned to Daniel, but he didn’t need her instructions.

  She led him down the staircase into the incredible black. She was significantly smaller and lighter on her feet than Daniel; even as he made every attempt to tread lightly, his footfalls resounded with a dull metallic echo as they crept down the stairs.

  Cox kept her flashlight in continuous motion, sidearm poised as they descended. The walls here were stacked concrete block, nondescript and painted a clinical grayish white. Several exposed water pipes ran overhead, encased in aged sheathing. The line was compromised somewhere; the faint sound of dripping water felt as if distant thunder in the silence of the basement dark.

  Daniel kept close to the corporal, daring not to disrupt her focus as she inched forward.

  They passed an opening in the wall without a door. Cox paused outside and flashed the light about the offset entry, determined it to be a washroom. The absence of a door troubled her, and they opted to clear the space before continuing. Several flies reacted to the flashlight and buzzed about the low ceiling as the flashlight reflected off the line of grimy mirrors. The sinks clearly showed their age, basins stained with rings of brown water. Bits of gore and ripped clothing dotted the floors. A row of lockers, several with doors ajar, lined the walls opposite the stalls.

  Daniel stepped to the lockers and peered through their slats for anything useful as Cox kept the center of the floor. As he opened one of the lockers its hinge creaked loudly. Daniel cringed and turned to be greeted by the corporal, the beam of her flashlight focused disdainfully at his face. Wincing, he turned from the abrasive light and raised a hand to shield his eyes. To emphasize her contempt, she let the flashlight linger over him much longer than was necessary before squaring back to the entry.

  Daniel rifled through the remaining lockers, delicately turning over their contents. Though it was nothing more than some toothpaste and assorted toiletries, he knew the value of personal hygiene both in terms of health and morale. As he packed the supplies, he became thoroughly aware of the staleness of the whiskey on his breath. Daniel stuffed the supplies into a canvas messenger bag and signaled his completion to Cox.

  The two slipped back out from the washroom and continued along the hallway. At the far end, the floor became congested with bits of corpses and the signs of carnage increased in both frequency and severity. In the closeness of the basement, the stench of death hung heavy in the air and on the walls. Cox and
Daniel progressed slowly, choosing their footfalls carefully. They passed several closed doors, pausing outside each to listen for the shuffling of feet or sounds of ragged movement from within. Though it would have been safer if they paused to clear every room, she was convinced they’d encounter opposition and jeopardize their stealth.

  She wanted the big prize – the Alamo. They could canvas the smaller rooms on the way back, after they accomplished the mission. As they pressed on, the corpses noticeably became more and more official staff than civilian refugees.

  Cox’s intuition told her they were getting close.

  At last, they arrived outside a set of bloodstained double doors, riddled with small arms fire. The floor immediately outside in the hallway was densely packed with corpses. Each of the doors held a pane of frosted glass; a corner of one was shot out and would allow Cox to peer within. She pressed her back flat against the wall outside and strained her ears.

  Nothing.

  Now or never, she raised the flashlight and allowed it to wash over the room.

  ***

  Anders tapped Keeley on the shoulder.

  She had been fixated on a crow as it feasted on the remnants of a partially buried corpse in the yard.

  He needed her present.

  Theirs was a slow and patient game, punctuated by sudden periods of intense speed. They darted from cover to cover, moving between vehicles in the yard, systematically picking through their consoles and glove boxes. They had found some success, a few MREs and a multi-tool, though it did little to alleviate her feeling of unease.

  Keeley snapped back to the moment and he passed her some maps and a compass he had procured from a glove box in one of the military trucks.

  Anders smiled at her as he clambered out of the cab.

  ‘They’re fine,’ he reassured her with a wink.

  She meekly returned his smile. She couldn’t help but feel guilty about his jaw.

  Nevertheless, his upbeat attitude was infectious, and she did find herself partially warmed by it.

  Keeley gripped Isaac’s blade tightly as she and Anders crouched down, watching and waiting for their next opportunity to advance.

  ***

  Sully turned the weapon over in his hands as he stepped over the shattered bodies of two ghouls they had just dispatched.

  This office had been particularly productive.

  He dropped the box mag out of the Savage .308 and found it contained a single round. It was surprisingly light with a sleek black polymer stock and a silver weather coated barrel. Hardly military grade, but a fine rifle nonetheless – some civilian must have brought this in with them.

  Probably one of the two he just sacked with the hatchet.

  Isaac patted down the pockets of the now silenced corpses. He was working fast, more than a little apprehensive about the noise their scuffle may have dusted up, but he couldn’t stifle a grin when the search turned up a few unspent cartridges.

  Sully replenished the mag and chambered a round as quietly as he could. The bolt’s action was smooth, but the throw was wider than most rifles he’d handled – the scope was mounted high and forward on spacers to compensate. It felt a little awkward to look through the aperture given its height, but he was confident he’d get comfortable with it.

  He passed the hatchet to Isaac who took a moment to acclimate to the weapon, practicing some slow arcs in the air. Sully’s eyebrows raised and he quietly snickered at the clumsy movements; Isaac looked ridiculous.

  City boys.

  They had kept to the offices, only venturing a few steps into the main expanse to silence a ghoul if it stirred. The majority of the bodies were completely consumed, but the occasional creature – impossibly clinging to unlife – would react to their movement. Though it was no threat to their passing, typically only being a portion of a man or woman attached to ragged stumps of limbs, they couldn’t risk the noise attracting a more virile sibling.

  Content they had found everything of use in the room, Sully shouldered the rifle and moved back toward the exit with Isaac close behind.

  He allowed himself a wide, satisfied smile.

  Things were going well.

  Chapter 26

  The flashlight gorged itself on shadows as it probed the chamber beyond.

  Triage.

  It was unmistakable. Cots and stainless steel tables filled the room, some upturned, their trappings spilled about the crimson stained floors. IV units maintained their silent vigil from perches about the corners of the room. Rows of shelves and cupboards lined the walls above a work table where a lone microscope waited.

  The hairs on the back of the corporal’s neck stood up as they responded to the synapses firing in her brain. She stood on her toes and peered at the floor immediately inside the room. Seeing only stained tile and bits of flesh, she reached for the handle.

  As delicately as possible, she pushed the door open. As it swung, the rubber fins of the door sweep buffed the gore and produced a disturbing suction sound. With her sidearm raised high and the flashlight cross-gripped at the wrists, she squeezed her way into the room with Daniel close behind.

  Two of the stainless operating tables had been overturned and were a few feet back from the doorway, angled outwards. They were likely stacked against the doors as a barricade before the doors were forced.

  This was the most violent display Daniel had ever witnessed. The knot of consumed corpses was indistinguishable from one another but for any bits of uniform or skeletal structure that remained intact. He paused and leaned against a table, struggling to prevent himself from retching.

  The corporal continued her sweep, patiently angling off the chamber and identifying how many rooms led from it. Though perspiration beaded on her forehead and her mouth felt impossibly dry, she remained unshaken.

  She waited patiently at the entrance to the next room, listening attentively for any sounds within. She afforded Daniel a few moments to regain his composure.

  Forcing the bile back down, he averted his eyes from the mess and stepped over to the cupboards. Though most shelves were bare, he was able to grab several spools of gauze, a box of bandages and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol.

  Satisfied they had captured everything of value in the first room, they slipped into the second. Daniel kept pace just behind Cox as she methodically bathed the room in the flashlight, illuminating the corners and probing the dimensions of the space. This room was small and square, having no additional exits except for something that appeared to be a storage closet. The closet door had a vertical slat of a window that revealed only further blackness. A large slab table sat plumb in the center of the room and the wall opposite them was a single length of deep countertop with a sink, stretched over several sections of wide drawers. The slab had several strips of leather bands wreathing it, no doubt used as restraints. Daniel could tell immediately this was the operating room, used to treat the most serious of the casualties. He could still detect the faint traces of antiseptic under the more pronounced perfumes of death, nicotine and cordite.

  As they stepped into the room and towards the closet, something stirred on the floor beyond the slab table. A solitary ghoul, half of a man in what was once a white lab coat, clawed at the air as they passed. Scarcely able to lift his head from the floor, it issued a low hiss from desiccated lungs. It had but one arm and both its legs were missing, shorn off near the pelvic bowl which writhed into the tile. The searching hand was missing a couple fingers and what flesh yet clung to the creature was ragged and torn. Lacking the strength to move its body, it pitifully scratched the air, hoping its meal would wander into its perverted jaws.

  Cox moved towards the thing to silence it, but Daniel stopped her.

  He would deal with this one.

  The creature’s movements intensified as he approached and bent down beside it. A tray of medical implements was spilled
on the floor next to a trampled set of prescription glasses. The ghoul’s eyes widened with hunger as it gnashed the air with broken teeth.

  Daniel collected a scalpel and buried it deep in the thing’s ear canal.

  The writhing stopped.

  Daniel removed the implement and wiped the more viscous bits off on his jeans.

  Cox snapped her fingers softly, and he bounded over to her.

  ‘Jackpot,’ she whispered, motioning into the closet.

  Daniel peered through the glass slat as the flashlight bathed row upon row of bottles, compresses and serums.

  A wave of relief rolled over Daniel. He couldn’t contain his excitement as sincere tears of joy welled in his eyes.

  Even Cox had to admit; it felt good.

  She tried the door. Locked tight, it rattled in response, but it didn’t matter – so uplifted were they by the contents of the closet, this was only a minor inconvenience.

  Cox started working through the drawers as Daniel returned to the ghoul at the center of the room. With only one flashlight between them, Cox alternated illuminating both their fields of view periodically. As she slid the drawers out, their tracks groaned from dust and disuse. Within, steel surgical implements happily chimed off each other while plastic tubes and bottles rattled about.

  The lab coat was stained to the colour of deep rust. Daniel turned out the pockets, patting down the outside to get a gauge as to what they might contain. Though it felt like grave robbing, he had little choice but to ignore his apprehension.

  The Good Doctor was a smoker, it would seem. Daniel pulled out a pack of cigarettes with less than half a deck and a paper matchbook with eight or nine matches remaining. After exhausting the lab coat, Daniel flipped the corpse onto its side and checked the tattered pants pockets.

  Cox was about to open her fourth drawer when the telltale clinking of a key ring caused her spirits to soar. She wheeled about and flashed the beam onto Daniel’s face without thinking, causing him to shield his eyes again.