“Got ya!” she said.
“What are we doing in here?” he asked.
She didn’t have any clue, but didn’t want to build up the fiction that they were going to be offed. “I think they brought in the upper echelons of the project to keep us safe from the terrorists.”
A couple of people scoffed, but she ignored them.
She continued. “Are you in your wheelchair? How are you?”
“I’m in the chair, yes. As for how I am…” He paused for ten or fifteen seconds. “Faith, I’m not doing well.” He coughed for emphasis, and she noticed his breathing was wheezy and wet. “My heart is weak.”
Faith squeezed his hands for a moment, then got up. “I’m going to get you some help.”
“I don’t think—”
She interrupted. “Don’t bother. I’m doing it.”
Faith felt her way to the wall, then to the front door. The whole reason for shoving them into the room was a mystery to her, but instead of making her curious as to the why, she became angry that it had happened at all. Whoever was in charge, they had to know they were putting Donald in extreme danger.
She banged on the wooden door with both fists.
“We need medical assistance in here!”
Her shouting seemed to agitate the other people in the room. A few of them admonished her.
One of the women hissed, “Don’t antagonize them.”
Her reaction was unexpected. “I’ll do whatever I damn well please. I’m in charge of this facility, and we’re fucking doing this my way, not yours.”
She waited for a second to see if the argument would continue, but the woman backed down.
“Now,” she said, banging her fists again. “Let us out of here!”
A person on the outside jiggled the handle.
“Stand back. We’re opening the door.”
Faith did as instructed. “I’m away.”
The guard opened the door a crack. The light from the windows across the hallway forced her to block the sun with her hand. Even in the few minutes she’d been in the dark, her eyes had become accustomed.
A pair of figures was shoved through the door. The first was a woman from her physics team, and the second was her assistant.
“Missy!” she said as she caught her friend in her arms.
The door slammed shut again.
“I’ve got you,” she said to Missy. “You are both fine. Please find a chair and sit down.”
Faith guided her friend to an empty chair. “I’m so glad to see you again.”
Missy held her hand, as if unwilling to let her boss out of her reach. “I missed you, too. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Why are you here?” In her brief look at the people inside the room, most were senior-level staff. Missy was an administrative assistant, not a scientist.
“Well, since General Smith and his people arrived, I’ve been doing work for them. They saw me in the auditorium that first night, and they put me in charge of food and drink for the staff being kept here against their will. I kept meaning to come up and visit you, especially after I heard there was a bombing attempt on your life, but I couldn’t get away.”
Faith took a stab at what had changed. “But now they have more people to help you.”
“I don’t know. They are moving everyone around. I was kind of in the lead down in the auditorium, so I guess they assumed I was important. That has to be why they brought me upstairs to you guys.”
“Yeah, everyone in the leadership team from both groups is here. Dr. Perkins was brought in too.”
“Oh,” Missy said sadly. “How is he?”
“Okay, for now,” Faith answered.
“Hi, Donald,” Missy called into the darkness.
“Hello, Ms. Paulus. I hope you are doing well.”
“I am. We’ve been—”
A blue dot appeared on the interactive whiteboard at the end of the room.
“Something’s happening,” Faith said in a loud voice.
The digital whiteboard was basically a video screen as big as the wall. A presenter could draw on the board or interact with it on their computer screen.
The dot became a video, which finally provided some light to the room. Two dozen people sat in rows of chairs facing the screen.
Faith squeezed Missy’s hand. “I’ve got to get to my seat. We’ll talk after this is over. Good to see—well, hear—you.”
Missy laughed. “I can’t wait.”
An introductory screen flashed on the wall as Faith made her way to the seat next to Bob.
‘TOP SECRET Codeword.’
After a brief fade-to-black, another panel displayed on the wall, and the audio started.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the voice said, “Azurasia Heavy Industries, in conjunction with the United States Government Procurement Division, proudly presents the Four Arrows Project...”
Red Mesa, CO
Phil made a split-second decision to remain hidden rather than engage the group of men approaching. Even if they were Soviet shock troops, attacking at one-versus-four odds was a bad play. The element of surprise wouldn’t necessarily ensure victory, either. Plus, he had three unarmed charges behind him.
“Keep trying the radio, Grafton,” one of the approaching men said in a quiet voice.
Grafton?
The men closed the distance as they walked through the woods. Once they were within twenty yards, he knew who they were.
He crouched a bit lower to ensure he wasn’t in their line of sight, then called, “Land of Enchantment.”
The approaching soldiers dove for cover, as he’d expected.
Ten seconds later, a man replied, “Land of Lincoln.”
It was a valid response to his challenge. He and Ethan had set it up for the team in case they were separated. They were the mottos for each of their home states.
Phil held his position without looking around his tree. “Colonel Knight?”
“Colonel Stanwick?” came the reply.
“I have three men with me. We’re coming out.”
Ethan and his men came out at the same time.
“Holy shit, Phil, am I glad to see you!” He and Phil shook hands before he continued, “We’ve been wandering around these woods for hours. The radio is dead. My phone is dead.” Ethan leaned in close, so only Phil would hear him. “I don’t even think we’re in Switzerland.”
Phil pointed to Sanchez. “Tell Lieutenant Colonel Knight where we are.”
“Colorado, sir. This is Red Mesa, and you are on top of the SNAKE supercollider.”
Ethan turned serious, like he’d struck pay dirt on intel. “You’re Air Force. Were you guarding this place?”
“Yes, sir. I’m with the NORAD contingent from Peterson. However, Colonel Stanwick had us stake out the exits because a new unit has moved in. We saw them assault one of the scientists.”
Phil was satisfied with the report of his subordinate, but he added his own thoughts. “Sir, it was only one incident, but Private Sanchez was right in his initial observations. It wasn’t the behavior I’d expect from a professional US Army soldier.”
Ethan leaned against a tree and brushed some pine needles out of his hair. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around why we aren’t in Switzerland. Any theories?” He looked at Phil.
“Ever see Star Trek? I think we were beamed from one side of the planet to the other. Not sure how, but the city of Denver is visible a few hundred yards down this path, although I wouldn’t check it out now that the sun is up. They have guards on all the exits.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Ethan said as he stood up. “We’re now in Colorado at the facility we were trying to help by shutting down CERN, and a rogue military unit has taken it over?”
Phil nodded. “It sounds nuts even to me. The only way to be sure is to approach one of their guard posts and see if we can get a handle on who they are.”
It was sound military doctrine, and again, it all came ba
ck to the strangeness of the situation. If the world were perfectly normal, they’d walk right up to the other soldiers and shoot the shit rather than bullets. However, after beaming across the world, it was prudent to treat everyone as an enemy until the truth could be established.
Ethan nodded. “So, let’s go meet the neighbors.”
Nebraska
Buck’s euphoria from kissing Connie faded fast. As they ran back to the Peterbilt and got the convoy back on the highway, he returned to worrying about Garth.
“They said the nukes hit in Nevada and New Mexico. You are from New Mexico. Did they say where they hit?” He pressed the dial of the radio, searching for answers.
“I hope it wasn’t Santa Fe. God help them if it was. I know a lot of good people from there.”
Buck found a news channel, but they were talking about SNAKE again.
“Dammit, I want to hear about those nukes. Are we at war?” Ever since the President had announced the United States wouldn’t drop bombs on enemy powers, he’d worried that was exactly what would happen. The generals wouldn’t be able to resist using their weapons one last time.
“Garth isn’t picking up, Buck. And my son’s phone number, of course, still rings forever.”
“Keep trying,” he said distractedly. The two lanes of the highway ahead were filled with cars and trucks, as if the pair of lanes condensed down to one. “We’ve got construction or a wreck up ahead.”
The CB chirped.
“What now?” he asked with exasperation.
“This is Sparky. Buck, we need to talk when we stop again. I’m beginning to think our goal of making it across the country might be slipping away.”
Not a chance.
Monsignor popped on. “If that ship had landed a few yards to the south, it would have blocked the entire highway. Who knows what we’re going to find as we continue? We should at least plan for a contingency.”
“Damn, he’s right,” Buck said to Connie with frustration. “I’ve known for a while that we aren’t going to make it to the East Coast. Monsignor might make it to his terminal in Illinois, but Eve probably isn’t going to get all the way to Massachusetts to deliver those televisions. A shame, too, since there is probably a big demand for people who want to see the Apocalypse on a big screen tv.”
He chuckled at his joke, but Connie didn’t crack a smile. She held up his phone. “Still nothing. I’ll try again in a few minutes.”
Buck looked over his shoulder at Big Mac. “Hey, you, come here a minute.”
The Golden hopped off the sleeper bed and came up next to his seat. Buck took a few seconds to scratch behind the dog’s ears because he found it relaxing. Mac apparently did, too.
When he was ready, he picked up the CB. “This is Buck. I know I gave you all a pep talk about not dropping your loads and going home, but things have changed. We’ve seen some wild shit the last couple of days, but that ship on dry land was the kicker. I think Sparky has it figured out. We aren’t going to make it too much farther to the east.”
He let off the mic and looked at Connie for strength. The next words out of his mouth were going to sound like a surrender, but he knew it wasn’t that at all. His mission was different from theirs.
“But I’m still going that way, at least for a little while. My son is heading toward us on Interstate 64, so I’m going to drop south and jump on that highway until I find him. Then…” he took a deep breath. “I’m going to come back west and go to Denver.”
Buck set down the mic to wait for the reaction. He expected three different voices complaining to him about going back on his promise to take them to their destinations, but the channel remained silent.
After ten seconds, he picked it up again. “Did you all catch that? Over.”
“Yeah, Buck, we heard you,” Sparky replied. “It’s as good a plan as any.”
Eve spoke next, as if Sparky had handed her the microphone. “The electronics in my trailer won’t rot, so if I take a detour to find safety in Denver for a little while, no one will starve. Except maybe me, if I don’t get paid.” She and Sparky laughed on the airwaves. “My parents are in Seattle, but I’m not ready to turn tail and run back to them. I’ve got plenty of fuel right now, so Sparky and I will hang with you while we make sure you find your son. Then we can all turn around and head for the Mile-High City.”
“Shit, guys. That means a lot. What are your thoughts, Monsignor?” Buck inquired.
“Yeah, I’ll have to think about it. I only have to get to the Mississippi River near St. Louis, so I can follow you down to the 64. I’ll decide whether to turn around once we find your son. I hope you do, Buck.”
“Thanks, guys. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to run into you three.”
Once he was done on the CB, he didn’t waste a second.
“Can you try my son again?”
Seven
Louisville, KY
As the security guard neared, Garth tried to think what his best friend Sam would do.
“I work here. Just closing up for my boss.”
When the guard didn’t immediately laugh at him, he pressed his luck.
“I don’t get paid enough to work with all these crazies, though.” He pointed down the mall, where numerous people still ran back and forth with treasures they had stolen from the stores.
The guard lazily dragged his hand over the table as he walked by. “You have five minutes. Everyone is supposed to be out of here. The mall owner wants it all locked down before the looting gets any worse.”
Garth went back to the keyboard, happy for the grace period.
“I have to find where they keep the numbers…”
Lydia stood close, looking over his shoulder.
He clicked around the menu for a few seconds, but then realized he needed to think like an employee. They wouldn’t bury the application in a menu. It would be—
“Got it!” The company’s logo was on the desktop, and after clicking it, he was taken into the master application.
“Holy shiz,” he said, as if he’d just opened a treasure chest. “We’ve got it all.”
The security guard shouted from about ten stores down the concourse. “Stop him!”
One of the police officers wielded a black baton, which he swung into the ribs of a man running out of an athletic shoe store. Garth heard the crack of bone from a hundred feet away.
“Must hurry,” he said quietly.
After clicking in and out of screens designed for data entry, he finally found one with a search bar on it.
“Search by phone number, customer number, or plan start date. Why can’t I search by name?” He was anxious because the rest of the mall seemed to resist the message of closing time being announced by the security team.
Down the way, several men darted out of the shoe store loaded with boxes. There were too many for the police to catch, although they tried to bash kneecaps of anyone they could. Most of the runners went away from Garth’s little table, but one of them got around the guards and ran his way.
He brushed sweat off his brow as he hit more dead ends inside the program. “Geez. This is worse than a final back in school.”
A few seconds went by, then the runner passed his table. He saw the guy dash out the side door in his peripheral vision.
“Think, man.” He clicked some more screens, always looking for the search bar.
“He stole the cash!” a woman screamed to the police.
Garth didn’t look up. Whatever else happened, he needed that phone number.
Lydia stood up against him and put her hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t think it had anything to do with romance.
“Those people are hurting each other,” she said distantly.
He found a screen marked ‘Lost and Misplaced’ and decided to check it out.
“Jackpot!” It had a button for search, but it included the option to look up by customer name.
He typed in his dad’s info and waited for the result. A small ho
urglass began twirling in the middle of the screen. Ten seconds went by before another distraction made him glance up to ensure he wasn’t in danger.
A second bad guy hustled by at a full sprint. To Garth, it was like watching a television show about cops, because the guy protected one bright blue shoe box under each arm. Behind him, the security guard was in hot pursuit.
A small chime echoed from the speakers of the computer.
“I’ve got it!” His dad’s name and address showed on the screen, but more importantly, his cell number was listed below it. All he had to do was…
“Shit. You don’t have a pencil, do you? I need something to write this down.” He looked at Lydia like he’d just asked for a laser pistol. There was no way the pioneer girl would have one on her.
“My quill is back in the wagon,” she said desperately. “I’m sorry.”
The guard ran by as he chased the shoe thief, but he also noticed the two of them still at the computer. “Get the fuck out of here!”
“My word,” Lydia replied. “What is happening?”
“Dad would say this place is losing its shit. We have to get this over with. Can you remember three numbers?”
Garth looked at his dad’s phone number and read the first three over and over, hoping she would memorize them. He didn’t have to worry about the area code because it was the same as his.
“She’s got a gun!” a man hollered.
He angled his head so he could see around the computer monitor. Beyond the struggling officers and the shoe store, a lone woman stood in the middle of the mall with a silver gun in her hand. She didn’t point it at anyone, but kept it close to her chest as if she wasn’t sure what to do with it.
“It’s our friend,” Garth exclaimed. “What is she doing?”
It was the insane woman he had bumped into earlier.
“Some of you shouldn’t be here!” She shouted the words several times as both officers oriented on her. One of the looters they’d detained got off the floor and ran for it. At the last second, he picked up one of the blue shoe boxes to complete the theft.
Begin Again: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure (End Days Book 4) Page 5