Dead Team Alpha 2_The Stronghold

by Jake Bible

  “Just this country,” Sister says. “Not the world.”

  “Not the world,” Skye echoes.

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Stanford asks.

  “Never mind,” Sister says. “Skye? Hit us with your plan.”

  “It’s not a difficult plan,” Skye says. “We walk through them.”

  “Really?” Cole asks and laughs.

  “Guys,” Henshaw warns. “We don’t have time to talk.”

  Lang, Shep, Carlotta, Diaz, and Santiago all turn and take a knee, their carbines trained on the line of Zs encroaching on their position.

  “TL, we need to go,” Diaz says.

  “They will accept you when you accept them,” Skye says. “We know the way. We are born into the way. You cannot learn it in time, but you can take what you know and use it.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Alastair asks.

  “Be the zombie,” Sister says. “Be the zombie.”

  ***

  The stink of the smeared guts and gore that covers Val’s uniform almost makes her vomit. With every step she takes, her shifting body pumps more of the stench up to her face, wafting the putrid odor right in her nostrils. She takes a deep breath and holds it.

  But even taking that breath exposes her.

  A hundred heads turn her direction as she and the rest of the Mates slowly shamble their way through the thousands upon thousands of Zs that fill the Peterson AFB grounds.

  A firm hand presses against Val’s back, keeping her moving when her instinct is to freeze at the attention the Zs are giving her. A hard shove makes her stumble, she recovers quickly, turning the stumble into a stutter step then back into a shamble. She turns her head, imitating the Zs that have focused on her, and moans. When she turns back, the Zs have shifted their attention from her and over to the huge bonfire that crackles on the hill above the base.

  The light, the sound, the movement of the flames brings the Zs to it like undead moths finding a porch light for the first time in decades. Slowly, as only a mass the size of the herd can move, the Zs change directions from going further into the base to pushing towards the side fence line and the lure of the blaze.

  While the herd alters its course, the Mates and Code Monkeys stick to the illusion of a rambling movement through the undead, cutting diagonally towards a small metal hut. They cannot take a straight route without drawing attention, so the Code Monkeys lead the mates on a zigzag course that cuts around long forgotten and rusting jet engines and broken machinery. They loop and double back, go one way then turn abruptly another way as the herd continues to shift.

  Finally, after what seems like a hundred years, the group reaches the edge of the herd, a thin spot where only a few dozen Zs mill about, cut off from the herd and trapped by the piles of debris they stumbled into.

  “We move quickly,” Skye says.

  Her voice draws hisses and groans from the Zs, but those noises are silenced almost as fast as they are produced. The Code Monkeys move from Z to Z, piercing skulls and stabbing brains with a speed and rhythm that would make any Mate jealous, especially since they do it all without eyes.

  When the area is mostly clear of the undead, one of the Code Monkeys pushes on a specific pile of debris and opens the hatch that leads down through the broken tarmac and into the dark underneath the former AFB.

  “Now,” Skye orders. “We have only minutes to get below.”

  Cole looks at Stanford. Stanford looks at Val. Val looks at Sister. Sister shrugs and points at the hatch.

  “I’ve already been down there,” she says. “Your turn.”

  “In,” Cole orders the Mates as he drops to one knee and takes a defensive position, his M-4 pointed back towards the way they came.

  “Do not fire your weapon,” Skye says. “It will bring the fast ones.”

  “Yeah, yeah, just go down your hole,” Cole says. “Diaz, Alastair, Santiago, Chase. You stay up here with me while the rest go down. Once we have the all clear, we’ll follow.”

  “You are being foolish,” Skye says. “Get below now or you risk being over taken. A part of the herd has already begun to move our way again.”

  “How does she know that?” Diaz asks, kneeling next to Cole.

  “How do they know anything?” Cole replies.

  “Go,” Sister orders to the Mates that aren’t guarding the position. “Then the Code Monkeys.” She looks at Skye. “Have you thought of changing that name? I do not think it means what you think it means.”

  “We are the chosen,” Skye almost snarls. “Our name is a mark of honor and—”

  “Right, yeah, sorry, my bad,” Sister says. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. Mates? Get your asses down the hole.”

  “I’ll go first,” Val says and slings her carbine. She hooks a leg over the lip of the hatch and moves quickly down the ladder and into the dark. “I’m down.”

  There’s a clang from above her and Shep follows right behind. Val moves out of the way and makes room for him, then Carlotta, Tommy Bombs, Henshaw, Lang, and finally Stanford.

  “Damn,” Stanford says. “Dark as hell down here. NVGs, Mates.”

  Hands move to belts and night vision goggles are unclasped then pulled down over faces and eyes.

  The tunnel they all stand in lights up in greens and grays, broken only by black shadows and the streaky tracers the goggles produce when a head turns too quickly. Which all of their heads do as the Mates realize they are not alone.

  “Excuse us,” Skye says as she and her Code Monkeys climb down the ladder. “Make room.”

  “How?” Stanford snaps, his hand on his M-4, ready to bring it up. “We’re a little crowded down here.”

  “I was speaking to my people,” Skye says. “Make room and stand down. We are using the Mates to our advantage, brothers and sisters.”

  “Someone call my name?” Sister asks as she follows everyone down the ladder. She looks around and nods. “Is this a party? How nice. Will there be cake? I miss cake. I miss wine and chocolate and cake. Chocolate cake! Oh, man, chocolate cake was the best!”

  “You know we had cake back at the Stronghold, right?” Val says.

  “That’s not cake,” Sister says. “Not real cake. That’s cake-like. Just not the same.”

  “Make room for the Mates,” Skye orders. “We are taking them through the sacred passage and into the cathedral.”

  There are several gasps and more than a few angry grunts at the news.

  “They are here to bring about the end with us, brothers and sisters,” Skye says. “We welcome the help since they bring the blood of the chosen to unlock the gates to eternity.”

  “DNA and all that shit,” Sister says. She looks up at the hatch above and is about to call out for the others, but stops when she hears the gunfire erupt. The Mates rush the ladder, but she blocks their way. “No. They can handle it and follow. We need to keep going.”

  “You don’t give orders,” Stanford says.

  “Not an order,” Sister replies. “We have a mission.You have a mission. Cole and the others are fighting up top so we can complete the mission. It’s what Mates do.”

  Stanford starts to argue again, but Val grabs him and yanks him away from Sister.

  “Come on,” Val says. “We have to go or those cannies can do damage that we can’t repair.”

  “She’s right,” Skye says. “Your comrades are well trained. I will leave two guides here to bring them to us after they have secured the area.”

  “What if they can’t secure the area?” Stanford snaps.

  “Do I need to answer that question?” Skye replies. “Come. We must go to the sacred passage.”

  Sister snickers and all heads turn to her, eyeless and those with NVGs.

  “Sorry,” Sister says. “Sacred passage just sounds dirty. Doesn’t it sound dirty?”

  ***

  Cole whips his M-4 to the right, fires a burst of six rounds, then whips it back to the left and fires another six, dropping only eight
Zs, a fraction of the number coming at them.

  “TL!” Diaz shouts. “We’re gonna be toast in like six seconds!”

  “Alastair! Santiago!” Cole yells. “In the hatch now!”

  “Come on, Cole!” Alastair shouts. “I’m not leaving you up here!”

  “Go!” Cole orders.

  Santiago pulls at Alastair’s shoulder and turns to the hatch. His way is blocked by three Zs, mouths open, rotten teeth ready for flesh.

  “Shit!” Santiago yells and opens fire with his M-4, taking one of the Zs out at the legs. It collapses against a second Z and the two tumble to the ground.

  That leaves one Z. It throws itself at Santiago with a speed the Mate isn’t prepared for. He fires his carbine until it is empty, ripping open the Z’s belly, spilling rotten intestines and organs down onto his boots.

  The Z goes for Santiago’s throat, undeterred by its guts dangling from its abdomen. Santiago gets an arm up to block the thing and its teeth clamp down hard, chewing and sawing side to side in order to rip through the protective sleeve of Santiago’s uniform.

  Alastair moves fast and places the barrel of his carbine against the Z’s temple, pulls the trigger, and yanks the thing from Santiago’s arm.

  “Thanks,” Santiago gasps. “That was close.”

  “Get in,” Alastair says and points at the hatch.

  Just before a Z leaps onto his back and rips into his neck.

  Alastair screams and bats at the undead monster, trying to pry it loose, but the Z won’t let go, its jaw locked tight. Santiago sends two rounds into the Z’s forehead and the monster goes slack.

  Collapsing hard under the dead weight of the silenced Z, Alastair’s head slams into the broken tarmac. He tries to push up onto his hands and knees, but blood flows so fast from his neck wound that he can’t gather the strength. Santiago rushes over and pushes the dead Z off then takes a couple of steps back.

  “Al?” Cole yells, his back to them. “What’s going on?”

  Cole can’t turn around and look without risking being overrun by the Zs that swarm towards them and the hatch.

  “Al! Talk to me!” Cole yells.

  “I’m good, TL,” Alastair responds, his voice a ragged croak. “Just helping Santiago get in the hatch.”

  “Good! Move ass!” Cole shouts.

  “TL! Your right!” Billy yells as he swings his M-4 in the direction of four Zs rushing at them. The things move too fast and Billy can only drop one before the others leap and dive through the air. “DOWN!”

  Cole and Diaz drop to the ground as Billy opens fire on the leaping Zs. One skull explodes open, but two make it through and tackle him about the waist and chest. Billy’s carbine swings out from the impacts, still firing, and the rounds catch Santiago in his side, obliterating his ribs and shredding his lungs.

  The man staggers a couple of steps then falls, his life leaving his body in the blink of an eye.

  Cole pushes to his feet and grabs Diaz. He yanks the big man back towards the hatch, his eyes locked onto the screaming form of Billy as he’s eaten alive by the two Zs. His M-4 clicks empty and he throws it aside. Cole pulls his 9mm and puts a bullet between Billy’s eyes then shoves Diaz towards the hatch.

  “Get the fuck in there now!” Cole yells. “Al! Come on!”

  Cole looks over and sees Alastair on the ground, blood everywhere.

  “Not happening, TL,” Alastair whispers. He manages to pull two grenades from his vest and put the pins in his mouth. He winks at Cole and Diaz then pulls the pins and lets the grenades drop to the ground as his last breath slowly eases from between his lips.

  Cole and Diaz literally dive at the hatch.

  They tumble fast, but their landing is softened as several bodies move into position to catch their fall. The grunts of the men and women that Cole and Diaz have landed on are lost in the noise of the grenades going off above. Dirt, debris, chunks of pavement, and plenty of body parts, rotten and fresh, rain down through the hatch.

  Cole rolls to his side and stares up at the hole then scrambles to his feet as a Z crawls to the edge and falls right at him. Before he can hunt for his 9, a Code Monkey stabs the Z through the back of the skull then clambers up the ladder to close the hatch.

  “It is gone,” the Code Monkey announces. “The hatch is destroyed.”

  “We take them to the scared passage,” a woman next to Diaz says. She shoves the man and he groans as he struggles to stand up. “We have seconds. Get up and follow us.”

  “Come on,” Cole says, helping Diaz to his feet. “We can’t stay here.”

  Two Zs try to force their way into the hatch, but the Code Monkey at the top of the ladder slices their heads off with his blade. Black, bloody sludge drips from the necks in globs that add to the gunk that Cole and Diaz are covered in.

  “Great,” Cole says. “Now I smell even more like them.”

  “Fuck me, my head,” Diaz says.

  “Ignore the pain,” the woman Code Monkey snaps. “Follow or be left behind.”

  She disappears ahead of them into the pitch black passageway. Cole and Diaz scramble to get their NVGs on and limp their way after her. They are only a few yards into the darkness when the Code Money on the ladder screams. A scream cut off midway by a harsh gurgle and a choking noise. Cole and Diaz do not stop to look back. They know that sound and what it means.

  It means they are out of time.

  ***

  “What the fuck was that?” Lang asks. “Did you hear that? Sounded like frags going off up top.”

  “It was,” Skye says. She cocks her head, as do the other Code Monkeys. “Our space has been breached. The unclean abominations are now below. I hear the scream of a brother dying.”

  The far-off cry then strangled end barely reaches the Mates’ ears.

  “No time for waiting,” Skye says. “Your friends are lost.”

  Sister looks at Skye and starts to say something then closes her mouth and nods. “Open sesame.”

  Two Code Monkeys move to the wall in front of them and push old crates and piles of trash out of the way to reveal a large, steel door. They each grab a metal ring set into the door and pull, bracing their legs against the wall. It takes a few seconds then the door begins to budge, slowly at first then faster as the hinges loosen and the rust falls away from them. With the heavy steel door open, the two Code Monkeys gesture for Val and the others to step through.

  “Rust?” Sister asks. “You haven’t been this way in a long time.”

  “We have no need for it,” Skye says. “We can navigate the herd easily without harm. This is our sacred passage and is only to be used when the end is finally upon us.”

  Sister gives Skye a strained smile that she knows the blind woman cannot see. Skye smiles back.

  “You’ve been using the front doors this whole time?” Sister asks. “How? I haven’t seen you go in or out.”

  Skye gestures to the door.

  “If you please,” Skye says. “Our time down here is over.”

  “You first,” Stanford says, picking up quickly on Sister’s suspicion. “We’d hate for it to be a trap.”

  Skye sighs and shakes her eyeless head then moves through the doorway and into the corridor beyond. Two of the Code Monkeys follow her while the rest wait for the Mates to move.

  “You have something you want to say?” Stanford asks Sister.

  “I don’t know,” Sister says. She leans forward and sniffs the air coming from the doorway and corridor. “This way hasn’t been used for a really long time. If ever.”

  “It is the way to the cathedral,” one of the Code Monkeys says. “The sacred passage leads to the facility where your blood will unlock the end for all.”

  “Creepy fuckers,” Shep says.

  “Sister?” Val asks. “What’s wrong?”

  “Everything,” Sister says.

  “We are in this together,” Skye says, stepping back out of the corridor. “We do not deceive you. All danger is shared danger from now
on.”

  “Yeah,” Sister says. “Okay.” She takes a step forward. “Follow me, Mates.”

  She moves past Skye and into the corridor. Val looks at Stanford and he shrugs.

  “Your guess is as good as mine at this point,” Stanford says.

  “Come on,” Val replies and follows after Sister.

  The rest of the Mates fall in line with the last Code Monkeys behind them.

  Once everyone is inside, the door is pulled closed. After a few seconds, a bright flash appears next to the handles and a white hot flames works its way around the door completely, welding it shut.

  Only a few seconds after that, the woman Code Monkey, Cole, and Diaz come running into the room and head right for the door. They grab the handles and pull, but it is no good.

  “Fuck,” Cole mutters. He pounds on the door then stops immediately at the huge booming sound it makes.

  “What now?” Diaz asks, cringing as the echoes of Cole’s pounding slowly fades out.

  “We look for another way,” Cole says. “There can’t be only one secret entrance from this base to Cheyenne Mountain.” He turns to the Code Monkey. “You’d know, right? There has to be another way.”

  “This is the sacred passage to the cathedral,” the woman says.

  “That’s not a fucking answer,” Cole snarls. “Is there or isn’t there another way in?”

  “The sacred passage is the way when the time is at hand,” the woman replies. “Only with sacrifice will we be worthy to enter the cathedral.”

  “Sacrifice? What does that mean?” Diaz asks. “TL? That sound good to you?”

  “No,” Cole says. He reaches for the woman, but she swats his hand away and easily steps out of his reach.

  “The door to the sacred passage is now sealed,” the woman says. “The sacrifices have entered the gauntlet and will be tested until their time of truth is revealed.”

  “It’s a fucking trap,” Cole snarls. “I knew it. I fucking knew it.”

  “This scared passage thing,” Diaz says. “Uh, it’s special? Only to be used when the end is close and all that shit?”

  The woman turns her focus on Diaz and nods. The man shivers at the sight of her empty sockets and the way she appears to be more of a phantom than a person in his NVGs.