Chapter Eleven
“Almost done __” Kemisola called from the back of the lab.
Taiwo and Mako gritted their teeth; the barrels of their guns still aimed at the door. They’d been like that for over five hours. The last soldier stood over Kemisola his weapon hanging restlessly at his side.
The thuds on the door were ear splitting. You could barely hear yourself think.
“Is there another exit?” Taiwo barked casting a glance back.
“I don’t think so __”
Mako swallowed. He’d never heard her sound so grim. His thoughts started to race. If they couldn’t figure out a way to get out of this lab, the vaccine wasn’t worth a thing.
His eyes drifted to the grenades he had strapped to his belt. There were two of them. Would they be enough to blow a hole through the door and the horde gathered outside? Only time would tell.
“Try to work faster.”
His back was turned so he didn’t see her disgusted look flash his way. ‘Does the moron think I have any means of hurrying the process? He is an imbecile.”
The soldier standing over her couldn’t hear her silent words, but he had a good idea what they were. He averted his gaze turning towards the door. A faint smile lifted the corners of her lips very slightly before she faced the dial of the machine once again.
The machine gave a shrill beep as the process finished. The front slid open revealing two dozen canisters filled with aerosol vaccine. They were the size of small plastic coke bottles with an insecticide like nozzle on the top.
“Is it done?” Mako yelled whirling around.
She nodded looking very weary. What she didn’t tell them was the machine had also produced enough aerosol spray to fill a sixty thousand gallon tank underneath the building. It was being pumped to Abuja as they spoke.
They raced over pulling out long burlap style sacks folded into the packs on their backs. The canisters were loaded in seconds and their troubled eyes returned to the door.
“What do we do?”
Mako removed the grenades. Taiwo’s eyes widened when he saw them.
“You sure about that?”
“No I am not ___ but what choice do we have?”
They lapsed into silence as he hurried to the door laying the grenades on the floor in front of it. He cast a glance back locking gazes with Taiwo who nodded slowly and ducked down behind the machine. Kemisola and the last soldier did the same as he pulled the pins. He barely made it to the back of the machine before they exploded blowing the doors off their hinges and flinging them and almost a dozen infected down the staircase.
They rose coughing as thick smoke filled the room entering their lungs. Taiwo and Mako led the way firing. Their hearts almost stopped beating when they saw the horde of infected racing up the staircase. No way were they getting through that.
“The roof!”
Mako glanced right only just realizing the staircase still went up. Firing more long bursts cleared the path. He raced to the stairs followed closely by the others. They reached the staircase without incident taking them two at a time.
Taiwo waited for the soldier to race past struggling under the weight of the vaccine canisters. He gave covering fire until he heard them reach the next landing before racing after them. He emptied the spent clip and slid in his last one. Things weren’t looking good at all.
The door leading to the roof was open when he reached it. Mako peered round the edge urging him to make haste. He nodded grimly and increased speed streaking through. Mako slammed it shut behind him sliding a thick bolt into the lock. The door bent slightly as the horde slammed into it.
Kemisola was perched on the edge to the far left, her eyes wide and frenzied. She looked like she was seconds away from leaping off the edge. Mako dumped his backpack on the floor in a thrice rummaging through its darkened depths.
“What are you looking for?” Taiwo snapped impatiently. His gun was still aimed at the door which had caved out more under the barrage of blows.
His hands closed over what he was looking for and he pulled it out with a relieved sigh bursting from his lips. He held a satellite phone in his hands.
“You had that with you all the time?” Kemisola gasped with a ‘are you kidding me look on her face.
“They gave it to me for emergency use only. We all have our mobile phones after all.”
“How do I put this in a way you’ll understand __” Kemisola began trying to calm herself by taking several deep breaths.
“__ the phones aren’t WORKING!!!! Are you that thick? Or you just take great pleasure in being ANNOYING?”
Mako ignored her. He punched in the number and waited. It was picked up at the second ring.
“We have the vaccine! We’re on the roof of the LCDCP! Come pick us up NOW!”
The others listened intently trying to make sense of the unintelligible babble coming from the satellite phone. Mako had a relieved look on his face when he lowered the phone.
“They’re sending the army in. Helicopters are already moving in on our position.”
“I pray they get here in time.” Taiwo growled looking at the door which had caved further out. It wouldn’t be long now.
Abdusalam jumped startled as the door to his office was flung open violently. His security operatives raced in, one carrying a satellite phone.
“We just received word from General Mako. They have the vaccine.”
“Where are they?”
“On the roof of the LCDCP.”
“Send the army in for extraction.”
The man nodded slowly raising the phone to his ear.
Colonel Johnson (a big bulky sulky looking man clad in army green combat fatigues) sat in the front seat of an armoured Toyota Prado Jeep parked just beyond Berger area. A horde of men, tanks and trucks were parked behind with their weapons at the ready.
The satellite phone on the dashboard gave a shrill peal. He exchanged looks with the driver before lifting it up and pushing the answer button. He listened intently for about ten seconds before lowering the phone.
“What’s the word?” The driver asked. His voice sounded bored and irritable.
“We are to push forward, our destination is the LCDCP. We have people there that need extraction.”
“O__k! What’s the plan to get through that?” He asked pointing.
The road a few miles ahead was overrun with thousands of infected. Johnson had never seen so many people gathered in one place before. The only thing separating them from the horde were the seven thick meshes of barbwire arranged fifty meters apart. Scores of infected were entangled in the last two preventing those at the back from pressing forward.
“Bring the tanks to the forward position.”
“You intend to blow through them?” the driver asked aghast. “Since we have the vaccine style tranquillizer darts why don’t we use them?”
“That would take too much time. We have to get to them now.”
“But sir__”
“Do you have any suggestions how to get to LCDCP on time without blowing them up? Because if you have another way I’d gladly hear it__”
The man lapsed into silence raising a walkie talkie to his lips.
“Sir?”
“Bring the tanks to the forward position.”
“Yes sir!”
The ground shook as half a dozen tanks powered out from behind the long line of trucks and rumbled to the front. They arranged themselves side by side and slowly lowered their guns into position.
“FIRE!” Johnson barked into the walkie talkie.
The sky seemed to crack open with thunderous explosions as their long guns went off at once. A fiery red miasmic cloud covered everything as the horde disappearing in a haze of fire.
The roar of rotor blades intruded upon the explosions. Johnson leaned out of the jeep looking up at the sky. Six helicopters flew overhead heading deeper into the Lagos metropolis.
“Where are they going?�
�
“Where do you think?”
“LCDCP??”
Johnson nodded slowly as the tanks moved forward still firing into the crowd of infected. Blood and guts filled the streets. Some soldiers grew queasy just looking at everything.
“We best follow __”
The jeep’s engine started with a healthy growl and they moved forward. Hundreds of vehicles followed with the soldiers firing sporadic bursts at pockets of infected who managed to escape the tank barrage.
Holocaust Page 12
