The Long Way Home

by Phoenix Hays

  Patrick squinted his eyes to see Duke clearly in the dark bunker.

  “Anybody got anything?” Richard asked over the COM.

  “Nope.”

  “Negative.”

  “Quiet as a mouse, here.”

  “Adam,” Duke said. “Do you have anything on thermal?”

  “No, sir,” Adam said. “All scans have been dark.”

  “This is weird,” Duke said. “You’d think the darkness would embolden them.”

  As if in response, a maniacal scream ripped through the night.

  Duke jumped up to the viewing port, rifle at the ready.

  “Where are they?” Richard demanded.

  “I have movement south southwest near the fence line,” Adam said. “Looks like a single intruder.”

  Patrick stood up to look out of the other side of the window in the bunker. Some of the closer pills were visible but the ones farther away were shrouded by the darkness. Smoldering fires danced in and around the remnants of a destroyed bunker in the distance. Is this a bad dream?

  Another scream pierced the night. This time much closer.

  “Get down!” Richard yelled.

  Patrick thought he saw motion just before a pill in front of them exploded into flames. Both he and Duke hit the floor. Bright white light from the explosion filled their bunker and their visors darkened in reaction. Even with the shading, they squinted. Their visors lightened as the light through the viewport slowly faded until a flickering orange light from the fire created by the explosion danced across the walls.

  “That was a suicide bomber,” Adam said.

  “Stevens,” Richard said. “Stevens, report.”

  A groan was the response over the COM.

  “Banks, get over there and help Stevens.”

  “Adam,” Duke said, “any other intruders?”

  “Nothing, no,” Adam said.

  “Everyone, stay alert,” Richard said. “There could be—”

  “Wait, there is something,” Adam interrupted. “But not here. There’s multiple contacts at the fence line on the west side of the complex.”

  Duke and Patrick looked at each other.

  “Victor,” Duke said. “Where are you?”

  There was radio silence for a moment.

  “I’m headed your way,” Victor radioed over the COM.

  “Stop where you are,” Duke ordered. “We have multiple contacts on the west side. You were right. Get back there and take anyone you think that can support you.”

  “10-4. On my way.”

  “I can get there and help him,” Adam said. “Permission to go?”

  “Go,” Duke said.

  “But Duke—” Richard said.

  “Go,” Duke repeated. “He’s going to need your backup.”

  CHAPTER 80

  Joe looked around the gym and saw Lilly across the room. She glanced back and forth and bit at her lip – Lilly looked as nervous as Joe felt. Her eyes met Joe’s and the two exchanged halfhearted smiles.

  Ayrin stood up and pointed. “Look!”

  Joe turned around and saw Victor walking toward them.

  “Come with me,” he said, looking at where Joe and Ayrin stood. “I need your help.”

  Mary’s eyes snapped wide open. “Victor, you can’t tell me it’s safe for—”

  “I don’t have time to debate this.” He waved his arm forward at the kids. “Let’s go.”

  Once they were all out of the gymnasium, Victor started explaining where they were headed.

  “There are bad people trying to break into this complex. Most of our security teams are on the north side where the first ones attacked but more have shown up on the west side. We are the only people that can drive them back. When we get to the bunker, I need you to stay down and out of the way but be ready to hand me supplies as I need them. Understand?”

  “Yes,” Ayrin said.

  Joe nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Alright,” Victor said. “We need to hustle.”

  ***

  Just outside of the gym, Victor led the two kids to a door in the rocky wall between two work stations. He touched the panel next to the door.

  “This is a nav panel,” he said. “My code is 8923. Once activated, this panel will tell me how to get anywhere in the complex.”

  He pushed the “pill” button on the left of the screen and then punched the buttons for “M” and then “7.” The group walked through the door and followed the directions to the bunker.

  They rushed down one hallway after another, their feet clanking on the metal grills lining the floor. Each hall looked like the last with their walls made of alternating gray or white panels and white drop ceiling squares. After making four or five turns through the complex, they reached a small room with a ladder leading upward. Victor walked past the ladder in the center and pressed his thumb against a small black square on the far wall, opening a hidden compartment. The cover panel slid open, revealing a rifle that looked much like his own semi-automatic rifle. It was the only object there and was centered in the space, standing so the barrel of the weapon pointed straight up. He pulled the rifle from its foam supports, slid the sling over his shoulder and turned back to the kids.

  “Follow me.”

  Victor pushed the rifle around to his back and reached for the ladder. Climbing up, he disappeared through the manhole in the ceiling.

  Joe took a deep breath and lifted himself up the ladder.

  Ayrin stepped up to the ladder and gripped the cool metal her hands. She climbed and slowly raised her head up through the manhole to see Victor and Joe in a small gray room with rounded concrete walls connected by a domed ceiling.

  No wonder they call these pill bunkers.

  Victor picked a helmet from the four hanging on the wall and lifted it from its hook. It perfectly matched the black and gray clothing and tactical gear he was wearing. He flicked a button on the side of the helmet to open the slim visor and pulled it down over his head. He took another helmet from the wall and turned around.

  “Remember what I said,” his voice came from the helmet’s speaker. “Stay down. This could get hairy.”

  The two teenagers in front of him nodded.

  He tossed a spare helmet to Joe, touched the switch on his own and Victor’s visor snapped shut.

  Joe pulled the helmet over his head and looked around the bunker. On one side of the room was a rectangular window blocked by silver metal and on the other was a sealed door. A row of gas masks hung on the wall above the helmets. Shelves to the right of the headgear were stocked with MREs, tools and rifle magazines. Victor was quickly going through it all and when he found something of interest, he slid it into a pocket in his cargo pants. He came to a small panel mounted into the wall next to the shelving. Tapping a command into the panel caused the room to shudder.

  Joe had the feeling in his stomach as if he was in a large, slow elevator. He looked up at the window in the room and saw the metal beyond scrolling downward and then transition to brown dirt and rocks. The surface grass appeared and scrolled down revealing the stars shining against the black of night. For a moment, nothing happened and then a flash of light momentarily washed them out. A low rumble in the distance followed a moment later.

  “What was that?” Ayrin wondered.

  “Dad, was that thunder?” Joe asked.

  Victor pulled a silencer out of a box and screwed it onto the end of the rifle.

  “I wish it was,” he said as he loaded a magazine, pulled the charging rod and let go, letting it snap into place.

  Gunfire cracked from somewhere outside the room. Pops of sound echoed against the concrete. Joe and Ayrin instinctively dropped to the floor.

  Victor touched the side of his helmet.

  “Adam! Give me the locations of where the intruders are now!”

  Flashes of light blotted out the night sky in the view port. He stepped up to the window, and more gunfire boomed from the field in front of him.

  “Never
mind,” he said. “I’ve found them.”

  “What’s happening, Dad?” Joe asked.

  “They’ve taken out all but the last sentry gun,” Victor said over his shoulder.

  An explosion ended the gunfire.

  “Looks like that was the last sentry,” Victor said. “Be ready to hand me those magazines.”

  Joe looked at the curved magazines sitting on the bench seat in front of him, reached for one, and picked it up.

  Victor fired a shot through the view port, and both kids covered their ears as the muffled bang of the rifle filled the bunker. He fired five more shots and then re-positioned himself to the other side of the view port. Gunfire cracked from outside again.

  Ayrin looked over to Joe and saw him clutching the magazine. His visor was open and his eyes were wide with fear. She looked back at Victor as he fired 10 more rounds and ducked back behind the wall.

  “There’s a lot of them!”

  Victor stood back up and took aim. He fired three shots and dropped down to take cover. Cracks of gunfire, louder now, echoed in the room, followed by the sound of bullets hitting the sides of the bunker. Victor lifted the rifle again and fired a series of shots at the attackers. The chamber locked in the open position. He dropped the empty mag from the weapon.

  “Magazine, Joe,” Victor said, holding his hand out.

  Joe just stared back at his father as if he had never seen him before. Fear paralyzed him.

  A flash of light accompanied by the sound of an explosion outside filled the room. Both kids dropped to the floor and Joe’s ears rang from the percussion. He closed his eyes.

  I wish I were somewhere, anywhere, other than this.

  “Joe,” Victor said through his helmet, “I need that magazine!”

  “Joe!” Ayrin cried.

  “Magazine!” Victor yelled.

  Joe opened his eyes. Determination replaced the fear. We aren’t dying here tonight.

  He tossed the magazine to his father, who snapped it in place. Victor chambered the round but before he had a chance to turn back to the viewing port, the emergency door was ripped off the back of the bunker. Instinctively, the three inside dove back from explosion of concrete.

  “Whoa,” Joe said, looking up. “Adam?”

  “What are you doing here?” Victor asked.

  “I’m your cavalry. I suggest we move!”

  Ayrin lunged for the doorway as two of Adam’s arms reached inside the bunker and grabbed Victor and Joe. He yanked them up by their arms and pulled them outside.

  Adam positioned himself between them and the bunker just as a grenade detonated inside it, destroying one of the walls. Chunks of concrete flew in all directions with those flying toward the Bayhams caroming off of Adam’s battle rig.

  “We need to get to cover,” Victor shouted.

  “You can make your way back to the main complex if we access another pill,” Adam said.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Victor said. “You’ll have to cover us.”

  He looked over to where Joe and Ayrin stood. “Stay close to me.”

  The group left the cover of the bunker and screams of anger came from the Fatalists as they realized their targets had escaped. Cracks of gunfire rang out and the Bayhams ducked instinctively as they ran. Victor caught sight of an attacker ahead on the left, raised his rifle and fired without missing a step. A scream told Victor he had hit his mark.

  Adam swung his shield arm around and planted it in the ground next to Victor. Dirt exploded up from the impact. Bullets from another angle ricocheted off of the metal plating. Adam pivoted and rotated his arms around so that a gun arm could aim at the shooter. The robot fired twice before the arm had stopped rotating and the attacker screamed as he collapsed.

  Adam yanked the shield from the ground, flipping more dirt up in the process, and spun quickly to the left. He aimed his three gun arms in separate directions and started firing to allow Victor and the kids to run toward the pill bunker ahead of them. A shout announced the presence of another attacker – he stood up out of the tall grass, reared back and threw a grenade at the group.

  “Get down!” Adam said.

  All three humans hit the ground.

  Adam swung his shield arm and swatted the grenade, sending it right back at the man that threw it. The attacker disappeared in the explosion.

  Joe looked back at the sound of the grenade to see the top of Adam’s rig lift up. The ringed top separated at the center and each piece flipped over, revealing a series of small rocket-shaped structures.

  Adam launched a handful of the rockets, and they left fiery smoke trails as they streaked through the night. Each one hit the ground with a small explosion and screams confirmed that at least some hit their targets.

  Victor, Joe, and Ayrin got up slowly and started moving toward the pill bunker again.

  “What is that?” Ayrin asked.

  “Dad, the ground is shaking,” Joe said.

  “It’s the last of the ATS rockets,” Victor said. “Look!”

  The shaking ground was joined by the thunder of three rockets taking off in unison. Joe covered his ears with his hands in reaction to the deafening roar. The blinding glow of their combined exhaust illuminated the area, revealing just how much damage the Fatalists had brought to Site B. Joe’s eyes were wide as he surveyed the damage. Billows of smoke rose from fires in and around damaged bunkers. Patches of grass around them were flattened from the chunks of concrete that had been blown off. Further out, more smoke rose from the destroyed sentry gun emplacements. In the other direction, similar towers of smoke rose from the northern defenses.

  For a brief moment, they stopped to watch the rockets roar up into the night sky as they made their way to become parts of Sanctuary. The light they were casting on the field dissipated until only the orange-yellow light from the fires on the ground remained.

  “Come on,” Victor said. “We have to go!”

  More shouts of Fatalists nearing the group snapped their attention away from the craft streaking up into the night sky and provided the motivation to start running again. Victor fired his rifle without slowing down. Adam raced ahead, his arms rotating around the battle rig creating alternating patterns of shielding, firing on the intruders and using the other arms to grab the ground to support his sharp turns. Several attackers rushed the robot only to be smacked to the ground.

  “Almost there,” Victor shouted. “Run!”

  The group broke into a full sprint to cover the last hundred feet to the bunker.

  Adam moved ahead of them, firing as he rolled and took up position to the left of the pill. He planted the shield into the ground again, but this time he expanded the shield’s plating to almost twice the previous size. The kids ran behind the shield and up to the emergency door. Victor backed up to the bunker’s right side. He turned to scan the area.

  “Aaaaaaghhh!” Victor arched his back and his eyes slammed shut as he screamed in pain and dropped to his knees.

  They turned to look and saw a large man step out from behind the bunker.

  “Remember me?” The hulking man wearing a Fatalist mask growled down at Victor and took a step forward. He was wearing a dirty white shirt that barely covered his bulging gut above his dark jeans. One of his hands was clenched in a fist while blood dripped from the knife in his other hand. A curved scar created a line in his beard.

  Joe’s jaw dropped and he stared owlishly at the Fatalist. It’s the scar-faced man from the highway!

  “Get away from him!” Adam said.

  “Make me,” Scar-face growled. He lunged for Victor.

  Adam fired one of his arms at the attacker. The metal fist hit the side of the man’s head, knocked him unconscious and he crumpled to the ground. With another arm, Adam opened the emergency door.

  “Go inside and head down the ladder,” Adam said. “I’ll get your father.”

  Joe and Ayrin ran to the access hatch, opened it and quickly climbed down the ladder. After activating the nav panel
and pushing the button labeled “Gym,” they ran all the way back.

  CHAPTER 81

  Duke looked up at the distant Odyssey rockets and spoke into the COM.

  “Richard, that was the last of the rockets. It’s time to get everyone to the shuttles.”

  “Everyone, pull back,” Richard said. “Keep your heads down and regroup below.”

  “Well, old friend,” Duke said, turning to Patrick, “it’s time to go. After you.”

  Patrick headed down the ladder with Duke close behind him. They headed down the access hallway and turned right through a doorway into a junction hall for the bunker system. A pair of security personnel one of them Thompson, was already there after retreating from the surface. Their haggard faces and tattered uniforms confirmed they had been in a battle.

  “Thank you for what you’ve done here today,” Duke said.

  The men nodded wearily.

  Richard entered through a doorway across the room and walked directly to the security team members.

  “You two need to get down to medical to get checked out.”

  “Yes, sir,” Thompson said.

  The other nodded and they both turned and headed off.

  “Let’s get a move on,” Duke said.

  Richard followed Duke and Patrick through another door that led to a staircase. Patrick hung back slightly to allow for the narrow walls. They reached a landing, and Duke made a left hand turn to begin down the next flight.

  Bang!

  The crack of a gunshot thundered against the walls. Patrick grabbed his ears and ducked down.

  Duke slowly turned on the step he was standing on to look behind him. His eyes were wide with shock and his teeth gritted in pain. He was clutching a wet section of his shirt with his right hand and staggered a step to his right to lean against the wall. Looking past Patrick, he mouthed the word “why.”

  Patrick stared with cow eyes and turned to see Richard Carter standing on the steps behind him, a black handgun in his hand still pointed at Duke.

  “You are a stupid old fool,” Richard sneered. “How arrogant can one person become to believe that they can stand in the face of judgment and deny the truth?”