The Savage World Box Set: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure Series: The Vampire World Saga Books 1-3

by P. T. Hylton

  “Nah, we’ll start you out easy. You can spar against Drew and work your way up to me. In the meantime, I recommend you get some sleep. You’ll be glad you did.”

  She was proven correct when the call came at five the next morning telling them all to head to the briefing room immediately.

  The general, CB, and Director Bowen were standing in front of the room when Alex and Owl arrived. Drew and Firefly showed up together a few minutes later. Wesley was last. He walked in blurry-eyed, his hair still freshly mussed from a night of sleep. Clearly, he hadn’t expected to be called in at five in the morning on his first full day on the job.

  He looked around the room for a few seconds, apparently trying to detect whether seating was arranged by some sort of pecking order, before Alex took pity on him and waved him over to the empty seat next to her.

  For Alex’s part, she was glad the waiting was over and it was time to get back to action. She wasn’t always the best at working through her emotions in a healthy way, and she felt like facing another swarm of undead monsters in some underground nuclear facility might do her mental health a lot of good.

  Alex nodded to Director Bowen. “Director, I take it you’ve found another likely spot for the parts we need?”

  “Actually, no.”

  That made them all sit up a bit straighter. The room was silent now, all eyes on Bowen.

  “Captain Brickman gave me an idea yesterday,” she said. “He said he wished there was a way we could get more information on the nuclear facilities on the surface. I believe I’ve found such a way.” She clicked on the overhead projector, and an image of a city appeared, shot from above. “This is Fort Meade, Maryland. Those giant glass buildings are the former headquarters of the National Security Agency, NSA for short. The NSA was an intelligence agency charged with gathering information about threats to the United States. We believe the most thorough information about the nuclear facilities in the United States is housed in this location.”

  The general tapped the building on the screen. “Your mission is to infiltrate that building, power up their computers, and download all information regarding nuclear facilities.”

  “Wait,” Drew said, “we’re not going after the parts to fix the ship?”

  “Not on this trip, no.” Director Bowen held up a stack of paper. “This is a list of the four hundred and fifty nuclear reactors in the world and the incredibly limited information we have on each of them. We can confidently rule out about forty-seven, but the other four hundred and ten are all potential candidates.”

  “Rather than having you risk your lives at random reactors until we stumble across the right parts,” General Craig said, “we’re going to gather the information we need to know exactly where to go next.”

  “This information will be valuable long after our current crisis,” Bowen said. “In all honesty, we should have done this years ago. We’ll be reaping the benefits of this mission for years to come.”

  Owl raised her hand. “Um, maybe I’m missing something. I assume the NSA computers are fairly secure. I’m a pretty big nerd, but I’m not sure I’m up to squaring off against the guys who were literally in charge of computer security for the most powerful nation of the pre-vampire era.”

  “He is,” CB said, pointing at Brian. “Tell them, Mr. McElroy.”

  Brian stood up. “Thanks, Captain, but it didn’t take much effort. Many of the Remnants were former US government. Some of those original nerds you’re referring to were aboard this ship, Owl. So, using their records, I was able to put this together.” He held up a tablet computer. “Power up the computers in the data center, connect the tablet, and the rest is automatic. No nerding required.”

  “That’s what I like to hear,” Drew said.

  General Craig stepped in front of the projector. The faint image of Fort Meade, Maryland, was visible on his dress shirt. “I don’t have to tell you what’s at stake here. You’re the best we have. That’s why we’re sending you. Do your jobs, come home safe, and bring us back the info. We roll out immediately.”

  Alex glanced over at Wesley. The poor kid looked a little shell-shocked. She patted him on the shoulder. “Chin up, man. Your dreams are about to come true. We’re about to go fight a bunch of vampires.”

  A slow smile grew on his face. “Yeah. This is gonna be awesome.”

  Alex wasn’t sure if that’s how she’d describe it, but she had to admire his enthusiasm. “Come on. Let’s gear up.”

  34

  As the away ship descended through the dense cloud cover, Owl began her usual routine.

  “We’re now approaching the city of Fort Meade, Maryland, a place that at its peak held a population of around ten thousand people, but also housed many important military facilities, including the NSA headquarters we will be visiting today. Notable former residents include twentieth-century science fiction and comic book writer Peter David.”

  The crew waited for more, but none came.

  “Hang on, Owl,” Drew said. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got for us? A comic book writer and the population?”

  “Cut me some slack. I just found out about this mission ninety minutes ago. I only had time to glance at one almanac.”

  “Captain,” Alex said, “I’d like to officially make a complaint about Owl’s lack of preparedness for this mission.”

  “Duly noted,” CB said.

  Alex glanced across the aisle toward Wesley. Now that they were only moments away from the real thing, his bravado was gone. His face was pale, and he gazed off into space with a thousand-yard stare. She wondered if she’d looked that way on her first mission. She kinda doubted it. Her nervousness manifested itself in other ways. She’d probably driven everyone crazy with bad jokes.

  They broke through the clouds, and Alex saw their destination below: two massive buildings, one taller and boxier, the other a shorter but far longer structure. Both sported glass walls.

  “At least there will be plenty of sunlight,” Drew said.

  Owl set them down gently next to the buildings. As soon as they touched down, everyone leaped to their feet and started gathering gear. Alex noticed Wesley fumbling with his equipment with shaky hands.

  “Hey,” she said. “You’re gonna be great. Just watch your buddy’s back, and he’ll do the same.”

  “Thanks,” he said, but his eyes were distant.

  She slapped him on the arm. “Look at me.” He did, and she saw fear in his eyes plain as day. “If you could handle those idiots rioting in Sparrow’s Ridge, you can handle this. Unlike the rioters, you’re allowed to shoot the vampires.”

  He smiled and gave a weak chuckle. “I guess you’re right. They probably won’t be chanting any dumb political slogans, either.”

  “Let’s hope not,” Alex said. “I can forgive a creature who tries to drink my blood, but I’ll never forgive a bad rhyme.”

  She glanced over and saw CB watching her, a poorly concealed smile on his face.

  The team convened outside the ship, and CB pulled them together. “It’s nine a.m., and this place is goddamn massive. That means we don’t have a lot of time for sightseeing. Director Bowen believes the data center is more likely to be in the taller building. I wish we had more to go on, but that’s what we’ve got. We’ll start at the bottom and work our way up.”

  Wesley raised his hand.

  “It’s not grade school,” CB said. “Speak your mind, son.”

  “Ah, yes, sir. Sorry. I was just thinking maybe we could get more information in there.” He pointed at a building off to his right. The sign said Visitor Center. “Just a thought.”

  CB shook his head and chuckled. “You’re pulling your weight already.”

  The door to the Visitor Center was locked, so CB told Firefly to blow it off for him. Firefly was thrilled at this chance to ply his trade so early in the mission, and probably used a little more explosive than was strictly necessary for the job. Still, they were far enough from the two main buildings that Alex
doubted the explosion woke any sleeping vampires.

  The team moved through the small, two-story structure, quickly ascertaining that there were no vampires here.

  Owl stopped in front of a large informational plaque near the front door. “Holy hell. Check this out, you guys.”

  Alex skimmed the first few paragraphs. The buildings were dedicated in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. Housed over ten thousand employees. Blah blah blah. “That’s great, Owl. Those facts will come in handy in the unlikely event we ever need to return here.”

  “It’s the last sentence that’s capturing my attention.”

  Alex saw what her friend was talking about. “Holy hell, indeed. CB?”

  The captain wandered over, and they pointed at the last sentence on the plaque. In addition to the two structures, the Nation Security Headquarters also boasts an estimated 10 acres of underground facilities.

  “Well,” CB said, “I guess we’d better get started.”

  Alex gripped her pistol as they entered the stairwell and headed down to the first underground level. They were in the taller of the two large buildings, which was called OPS2A according to the information they’d found in the Visitor Center. Unlike in Texas, the team stayed together. They didn’t sweep the upper floors before heading down, either. For one, they’d learned in Texas that the vampires were smart enough to move from floor to floor to avoid detection. Secondly, and more importantly, there simply wasn’t time. Another nugget of information gleaned in the Visitor Center: the complex boasted over sixty-eight acres of floor space, four times as much as the U.S. Capitol building. They couldn’t possibly hope to search all of it and get back to the ship in the next seven hours.

  So they stayed together and headed downstairs.

  The place looked less like a war zone than the reactor in Texas had, but just barely. Once, Alex had to imagine this had been one of the most secure buildings in the United States. Now, the doors at the dozens of security checkpoints they passed were ripped right off their hinges. The key card readers were still mounted on the walls next to gaping holes where the doors had once been.

  Even though the building was enormous, they were able to narrow their search relatively quickly. So-called red corridors, areas open to visitors who had worn distinctive red badges, were clearly marked, so they knew they could skip those. They also had a pretty good idea that the data center would be on one of the lowest floors. They decided to head straight to the bottom level and work their way up from there.

  The first vampire attacked them five levels down. It leaped out of a doorway just after they’d passed, cutting off their retreat up the stairs. Drew was at the rear of the pack, carrying a small generator on his back for powering up the computers, and there was no way he was going to be caught off guard.

  Alex kept her eyes on Wesley, wanting to see how he’d react. He brought up his assault rifle, aiming it in the general direction of Drew and the creature, but Drew already had his shotgun pointed at the vampire’s head. He pulled the trigger and the contents of the creature’s head splattered on the wall behind it.

  Wesley was breathing heavily after the encounter, but at least he hadn’t wet himself. She walked next to him as the group continued on and spoke softly so the others wouldn’t hear. “Hey, nice job having Drew’s back. Remember, though, you gotta trust your teammates. Tight quarters like this, you gotta let the closest guy take the shot, unless he’s in serious trouble. Last thing we need is one of us getting taken out by friendly fire.”

  Wesley’s eyes widened. “I would never—”

  “Relax. You’re doing fine. Watch where you point that thing, is all I’m saying.”

  As they descended the stairs, Firefly set small charges along the ground. They didn’t have the Daylights this time, and they’d need a way to clear the path if this went sideways again.

  Twelve floors down, they reached the bottom. The doorway was open, and an eighteen-inch-thick steel door lay on the floor a few feet away.

  “Let’s hope whoever did that is napping,” CB said.

  As they swept through the level looking for the data center, there were clear signs of vampire activity. The damaged walls, doors ripped off their hinges, and the lingering smell of death all told the tale that this place was occupied by residents that were perhaps being a bit shy, but were definitely home. They found proof of the theory near the center of the floor. Dozens and dozens of graves—all of them empty.

  Drew whispered into his microphone from up ahead. “Over here.”

  The others trotted over to him and saw a door marked Data Center.

  “This is going a little too well,” Alex said.

  “It won’t last,” CB said. “Looks like these vampires are attempting the same strategy their cousins down south pulled on us. Difference is, this time we’ll be ready.”

  35

  The Data Center was a large, mostly open room filled with servers. There were two entrances, one on each end of the room. As Owl started setting up to do her work, Alex investigated both of them. For the most part, she liked what she saw. While the doors had long ago been removed, both exits led to long, narrow hallways. It was a highly defensible position for a small group facing a larger attacking force. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, but she was glad to know they’d have a chance if it did.

  Drew hauled the generator to the room’s power supply, and he and Owl hooked it up. A few moments later, the servers blinked to life.

  “You sure you can do this, Owl?” CB asked. “I thought you said you weren’t that big of a computer nerd.”

  “I’m not,” she said, “but Brian is. Besides, this is ancient technology. A modern toaster could probably hack it.” She pulled out her tablet and connected it to the nearest server.

  Alex sauntered over to Wesley, who stood rigidly, holding his assault rifle at the ready. “How you doing?”

  “Excellent,” he said. He glanced toward CB, who was busy staring over Owl’s shoulder. “It’s not what I expected, seeing one up close. The smell…I can still taste it in the air, you know?”

  “I know,” she said.

  “And its face? It’s different than in the pictures.” He was talking faster now, getting excited. “It’s pure animal, but there was some humanity in its eyes, too. Like I could almost see the person it used to be.”

  Alex had never noticed that. To her, it was difficult to imagine they’d ever been human. “Well, you’re doing great. Just stay ready. We’ll face more of them before this is over.”

  “How’s it going, Owl?” CB asked.

  Owl sounded distracted when she answered. “Well, I take back what I said about the toaster. The security on this thing is no joke.”

  “Are you telling me you can’t get the info?” CB asked, rising alarm in his voice.

  “No. I’ll get it. I could probably hijack New Haven and crash it into the ocean with all the programs Brian loaded on this tablet.”

  “I vote we don’t do that,” Drew said.

  “It’s just going to take a little longer than I’d hoped.”

  CB sighed. “Okay, keep at it. In the meantime, the rest of you stay frosty. Alex, Drew, you keep an eye out in the north corridor. Wesley, you come with me in the south hallway. Firefly, you stay with Owl and watch her back so she can keep her head down.

  The first pair of vampires attacked ten minutes later. They came down the north hallway, howling in rage as they ran.

  Alex saw them when they were still thirty feet away, and she took her time aiming. She dropped the first one with an explosive round to the head at twenty feet, and the other with three shots to the heart at ten feet.

  “Nice shooting,” Drew said.

  “Thanks.” Even though she’d easily fought off the attack, she found it disquieting. It was too much like the control room in Texas. A few vampires had attacked in singles and pairs, testing their defenses before the main assault.

  From inside the Data Center, Owl let out a triumphant laugh. “Ha!
I’m in. Now I just need to download the information.”

  “How long?” CB asked.

  “Looks like about twenty minutes.”

  “We’ll be home in time for dinner,” Firefly said.

  The others didn’t respond to that. They didn’t want to jinx it.

  Two vampires attacked the south entrance five minutes later. Alex heard the howl of their approach, a cluster of automatic gunfire, a pistol, and then Wesley’s voice.

  “I got one!”

  “That you did,” CB said. “Took his damn head off, too. Nice shooting, kid.”

  “Well, it took me twenty rounds. You took yours down with three.”

  “Practice makes perfect.”

  Alex touched the radio on her chest. “CB, you see how they’re attacking? A couple scouts testing each approach?”

  “I sure do. It’s just like last time. How much longer, Owl?”

  “Ten minutes,” she answered. “Fifteen if we want to take this generator back with us.”

  “Good,” CB said. “Maybe they won’t launch their big attack until we’re already out the door.”

  A moment later, the rumble of dozens of approaching feet, seemingly from every corner of the building, put that idea to rest.

  “Okay,” CB said. “Guess it’s time to earn our pay. Let’s kill some vampires.”

  Alex and Drew stood back to back in the middle of the north hallway. They had no way to tell which direction the vampires would be coming from, but, based on experience, Alex expected they’d come from both directions at once.

  Fighting back to back, relying on your teammate to handle his side of the hallway while you handled yours, required great faith. Alex would have her hands full taking care of her side, and she wouldn’t have time to look over her shoulder and make sure Drew was taking care of business. She’d just have to trust that he was. The same would be true for him. It was a level of trust she wouldn’t have had in anyone a few years ago.