Zombie Dawn Exodus

by Michael G. Thomas

  “Well, the two of them were both alive. They could think, reason and form an intelligent escape. When we trapped them they attempted an ambush that very nearly succeeded.

  “Interesting,” said Dr Murphy, “go on.”

  “They were stronger than they should have been, and they certainly took more damage than either you or I could in a gun fight. If I had to guess I’d say you’ve got a living man with some of the traits of the undead.”

  Dr Murphy smiled.

  “Who says all security guards are simple?” he said with a chortle.

  “Simple? Nice.”

  * * *

  Jackson was already through the wire fence and was busy watching the compound, whilst the rest of his men worked their way through the narrow gap. Six months ago this would have been impossible but now, after all that had happened, the security was lax and nobody was going to bother entering areas like this one.

  He double checked on the guards near the entrance. Though they weren’t paying attention they would be a problem once Jackson and his men started removing the supplies. He turned around, checking that the other two were now through the fence. Jonathan was but Greg seemed to have got himself stuck. Jackson gave him a stern look and waved his hand in the direction they needed to go. With a final, almost desperate push, the man fell through the hole and into the dusty compound.

  “To the generator room, let’s go,” said Jackson quietly. He moved off, keeping low and an ever watchful eye on the rest of the guards.

  The distance was short and in seconds they were moving along the outer wall of the nearest building. They followed it around until reaching a single room building that buzzed with the running of a series of diesel powered electrical generators.

  Jackson pulled his rucksack from his back and placed it on the ground.

  “Greg, watch the entrance, Jonathan, help me with these,” he said.

  Greg cocked his M16 rifle and moved back a few feet so he could keep the guard post in view. He lifted the rifle up to his shoulder, watching them through the magnified telescopic sight. Behind him he could hear the other two men unloading equipment. He turned quickly to see how they were doing. On the ground next to the bag were the charges, each the size of a man’s fist. A sound ahead of him caught his attention and he turned back, watching the guards.

  With the shaped charges out of the bag, Jackson double checked the detonators with his red beam torch before handing them to Jonathan. With a nod he crept forward, Jackson close behind. The entire building was locked down with a substantial steel door securing the entrance to the fuel, generators and transformers. Jonathan placed the first charge on the frame of the door and then placed the second on the series of reinforced pipes that fed the fuel to the generators. Jackson then passed him the detonators, a series of simple electrically triggered devices. Though basic they were reliable, but did require them having to stay relatively close.

  Both men crept back whilst Jackson unrolled the thin wire that led from him direct to the charges. Greg was still waiting as he covered the group with his rifle.

  “All done?” he asked.

  “Yeah, the charges are in place. Any change on the guards?” asked Jackson.

  “No change, they’re too busy with their game,” replied Greg.

  “Ok, once we take out the generators the security on most installations here will be done. We need to be the other side of the guards when everybody else turns up. Once the shooting starts we start emptying the stores,” he said whilst looking at the two of them.

  “What about the barracks?” asked Jonathan.

  “Simple, the charges are set for thirty seconds. Once I hit the button we need to get there and be ready at the doors. When the power goes down we get inside and control the room, fast! Got it?” he asked.

  The two men nodded in agreement.

  “You’re sure you know how to cut the power to the site?”

  “Of course, all I need is the door off and I can finish the job,” he said.

  Jackson turned back, double checking the area. It all looked clear, just the guards on the gatehouse and the rest must still have been in the barracks. He clicked the lid open on the detonator, noting the timer set to thirty seconds, and turned the ignition key. The LED flashed three times and then switched off, indicating the unit was now active and counting down.

  “Go!” he whispered to Greg whilst Jonathan took cover a short distance away.

  Without looking to check on the area, he rushed out from his hiding place and moved around the building. The barracks building was adjacent to the generator room and the entrance could be fifty yards at the most. In seconds the three men were out of the danger zone and waiting on both sides of the closed door that led inside.

  Jackson double-checked his watch. They had exactly twelve seconds to go before the charges went off. They were not massive charges and in fact they were specifically designed to cause the minimum of damage to the wider area. For many jobs this made them useless, but for this operation they were perfect.

  Greg and Jackson both drew pistols and cocked them, making sure they were ready for the havoc that was sure to ensue. Jackson looked at him and waved his finger, indicating the charges were about to blow, Greg nodded at almost the same time as the blast. It sounded like a car backfiring and certainly much quieter than either of them expected.

  Back at the generator room Jonathan was out of his cover and running for the door. Exactly as planned the door was blasted open. He noted with satisfaction that the control and communication lines that left the building had all been destroyed by the secondary charge. Once he cut the power the only way to restore it would be for somebody else to physically come to the generator room, rather than restart it remotely. He moved inside and headed straight to the control panel. It was based around several computer terminals as well as a series of valves. He turned the valves shut, instantly causing the fuel system to stave on the generators. There would still be enough fuel to drive the system for another minute or so though.

  Turning his attention to the computer terminals he pulled out the keyboard and entered the sixteen letter access password they’d been given. It was accepted and took him directly to the management screen. In the top right it indicated a communication failure with the control centre and at the bottom indicated falling fuel pressure.

  “Yeah, now we’re talking,” said Jonathan as he started the shutdown sequence.

  He double checked his work and then left the room to join the other two. Within a few seconds the sound of motors winding down started and with it the entire electrical system at the compound failed.

  At the storage area Greg and Jackson waited patiently for the lights to switch off. It had been over twenty seconds now since the blast.

  “Are you sure he knows what he’s doing?” asked Greg.

  “He’d better, we’ve got a schedule to keep,” answered Jackson.

  Jonathan rushed around the corner and into their view as the lights flickered and then died, along with the steady hum from the generator room. In his hand he held the flare gun.

  Jackson nodded, giving Jonathan the signal to fire the gun. With a crack he fired directly upwards, the flare arced upwards and burst into colour, for a moment it illuminated the entire site before it started to drop back down. With the signal made Jackson then booted the door open, and ran into the storage warehouse with his pistol at the ready. Greg was close behind and Jonathan followed once he reached the door. As Greg went inside a few feet he was stopped by the surprising view of Jackson standing in the middle, his pistol hanging down at the ground.

  “What is it?” asked Greg as he moved past him to look.

  Jonathan entered and stepped up to the left of the small group.

  “Holy shit! Did you know about this?” he asked in horror.

  No fucking way!” muttered Jackson. “We’ve got a big problem!”

  * * *

  Dr Murphy and Decker examined the data on the computer screen. The imag
es showed massive amounts of information, most of which meant little to Decker.

  “I can see why you’ve got so many of us on retainer, with this kind of work going on,” he said.

  The lights in the room flickered before changing to a much lower tone of red. Some of the computer terminals switched off, though at least half stayed on. A flash from the end of the room indicated the failure of one of the emergency lights.

  “What the?” said Decker as he watched the laboratory staff start running around.

  Dr Murphy pressed a few keys on his terminal to bring up a map of the island. They were positioned on the outskirts of the city, though this part had been abandoned for some time.

  “What’s going on?” asked Decker, sounding more confused than concerned.

  “Well, it’s kind of obvious, but we’ve lost part of our power.”

  He moved the mouse and brought up the power system schematic for what was still working of the power grid on the islands.

  “It looks like the power lines to the power station are down. What concerns me more though is that the auxiliary generators near the docks have been triggered to shut down.”

  “We still have power here though?” asked Decker.

  “For now, but we don’t have the capacity to run everything, that’s why the non-critical gear has already lost power. I’m much more concerned about our storage sites that the military are supposed to be guarding.”

  “You’re kidding? I thought they were the most secure parts of the island?”

  “Well yes, that is kind of the point, Decker,” answered the Doctor sarcastically.

  The map of the island zoomed in close to the dock areas. A series of coloured lines indicated power and data paths to the research laboratory’s various sites. The laboratory was connected to three other sites, all of them close, as well as several smaller ones on the nearest islands. The lines to the smaller islands were still displaying as solid green but three, including the docks’ site, were showing as flashing red lines.

  “Look here. The generators have been sabotaged. Somebody is attempting to access the sub warehouse.”

  “Isn’t that where the…” said Decker before he was interrupted.

  “Yes, we kept them there for maximum security. They’re away from the population and near the sea for removal during testing.”

  More lights started flashing on other parts of the map.

  “Damn, somebody is trying to gain access to our storage sites.”

  “Why, what is the point?”

  “Well, being as nobody here knows what we have there, there can only be two possibilities. Number one, they want our experiments. Two they think we have something else there. Either way I need all security teams out and to the sites immediately,” said Murphy.

  “Could it be Ford?” asked Decker.

  “Ford?” answered Dr Murphy dismissively. “I don’t think so. Since he left the company he’s turned to petty crime. He wasn’t interested in us before the outbreak, why would he be interested now?”

  “Well, he did say he would get his revenge one day, maybe this is his plan.” Decker replied.

  The Doctor paused for a moment, considering Decker’s idea before dismissing it out of hand.

  “I think that you give him more than he’s due. He’s an amateur. Just make sure you and your teams secure the sites and get the power back up in the next six hours.”

  “What if there is any contamination?” asked Decker, as he made for the door.

  “We need containment. Under no circumstances can any of the experiments be allowed to get into the general population,” ordered Murphy.

  “Got it!” said Decker as he walked through the door. He turned and called out to the Doctor.

  “Six hours, what happens then?” he asked.

  Dr Murphy turned and stared hard at Decker.

  “In six hours the reserve power of this facility will fail. When that happens we will lose access to all our security facilities here and at all the storage sites, including the dock warehouse.”

  “Fuck,” muttered Decker, as he turned and left the room.

  He pulled out his radio as he headed for the elevator.

  “Decker here, get the team at the truck in sixty seconds, we’ve got a Code Red security situation. As in a holy, shit storm situation. Make sure you’re packing, we are facing unknown numbers.”

  He entered the elevator and hit the key to take him to the surface.

  “Oh, and bring the hazmat suits, all of them,” he added.

  “Fuck, you mean really serious,” came the reply on the radio.

  * * *

  Jackson stood in the middle of the large storage warehouse and looked on in both awe and surprise. The area was divided up into dozens of cubicles, each like a prison cell but protected with very thick transparent plastic. The room was dimly lit by a series of low power red lights. In the centre of the room was a large pillar surrounded by half a dozen computer terminals and screens. All the computer equipment was off, apart from one small screen that showed a horizontal bar graph. Jonathan moved forward to examine the screen whilst Jackson and Greg went closer to the cells for a better look.

  “According to this the life support systems are all active and running on reserve power.”

  “Life support?” asked Jackson to himself, as he tried to look through the thick plastic door to one of the cubicles.

  “Maybe it’s a hospital of some kind?” said Greg.

  Jackson moved his hand along the sides of the door, trying to find a button or switch to gain access.

  “I very much doubt this is a hospital. It’s unmarked and is guarded by military units,” said Jackson.

  He put his hand in his pocket and fished out his torch. It was a small pencil type design and low power but with a very long battery life, perfectly suited to their current predicament. He pointed it at the door and hit the button. The red light gave a dim glow to the cubicle and after a few seconds Jackson could just make out the shapes inside.

  “There’s a bed, hey, it looks like a patient is in there,” he said.

  “I don’t like this, don’t like it one bit,” said Greg from the doorway.

  Jackson held his hand up to his mouth and whispered to the other two.

  “Listen, they’ve started the diversion.”

  The sound of trucks’ engines was coming from the direction of the main entrance and was quickly followed by gunfire, presumably from Ford and the rest of the decoy unit. A loud clatter from a heavy weapon indicated somebody was using machinegun fire.

  “Greg, check on the door, we don’t want any company,” said Jackson whilst he continued trying to open the cubicle door.

  Jonathan continued reading the data on the computer screen. The reserve power said it was on sixty seven percent, but seemed to be dropping quite fast. He read down the chart and lists of figures until he reached a small menu. At the top was a status option, it was already highlighted, presumably showing the figures further up. Below the button were two more options offering security and support. He pressed the security button and the screen immediately changed to a map of the downtown area.

  “Hey, I’ve got something, look!” he said.

  Jackson ran over, looking at the data intently. The screen showed the warehouse area off to one side and the port area and part of the downtown in the rest. Above the warehouse was a designation, it said Section 3A. At the top of the screen was a green diamond that was moving quickly down and towards the warehouse.

  “What’s this?” he asked.

  Outside a loud noise signalled the arrival of another vehicle. Almost as soon as the sound started three holes opened up in the warehouse.

  “Fuck, there’s a helicopter out there. It’s dropping off a security unit,” shouted Greg from the doorway.

  A series of bullet holes appeared along the wall.

  “Fuck, get down!” shouted Jackson as he checked his Heckler & Koch MP7.

  Greg dropped to the ground and st
arted crawling over to the other two. A banging of somebody’s fist on the door got their attention. It was immediately followed by a familiar voice.

  “Jackson, it’s Ford, are you in there?” he asked.

  “Get in here!” shouted Jackson as another series of bullets struck near the entrance.

  The door swung open and in ran a man in his fifties plus two men carrying carbines. Once inside the two other men pushed the door shut and moved into flanking positions. The older man smiled at Jackson as he looked around.

  “Ah, I see you’ve found my supplies,” he said.

  “Supplies? I thought we were getting weapons?” asked Jackson.

  “These are weapons my friend,” he answered, as he moved up to the computer screen.

  More gunfire came from outside.

  “What about them?” asked Jackson as he pointed outside.

  “We should be okay for a couple of minutes. We have two dozen men keeping them busy on the perimeter,” he answered.

  Ford pressed the small display and hit several options until a new screen appeared. In the centre was a restart button. Without hesitating he hit it and almost immediately half of the equipment in the warehouse switched on. First to activate was the main lighting, quickly followed by two of the computer terminals.

  “The power won’t last long but it’s all we need,” said Ford.

  “I don’t understand,” said Greg as he watched.

  “It’s pretty simple,” said Ford, as he walked over to the nearest cubicle.

  “The company has been working on some horrific projects since the outbreak, some of them before then. I’ve suspected for some time they were doing this though.”

  “Doing what?” asked Greg.

  The lights in the cubicle lit up showing the bed and the subject lying down. It was either dead or unconscious, or perhaps sleeping.

  “Each of these people is infected from the original outbreak in Alaska. The company has been working on them for nearly a year now, trying to find ways to use the infection.”