Extinction Cycle (Kindle Worlds Novella): Resistance

by Maxwell, D. C.

  Text copyright ©2017 by the Author.

  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Extinction Cycle remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Nicholas Sansbury Smith, or their affiliates or licensors.

  For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds

  RESISTANCE

  An Extinction Cycle Novella

  BY

  D.C. MAXWELL

  Acknowledgements

  I want to thank Nicholas Sansbury Smith for his wonderful EXTINCTION CYCLE series. If you haven’t read this series, and his other books, you don’t know what you’re missing. I loved reading them so much I moved on to the Extinction Cycle Kindle World novellas and loved them as well. There’s nothing better than finding an engaging series like this one. After devouring them I decided to try my hand at writing one. I contacted Nicholas and he was amazing and encouraging. Thank you, Nick, for giving me the chance to write about your wonderfully, terrifying Variants.

  And thanks to the following authors for their Extinction Cycle novellas. Anthony Melchiorri, Rachel Aukes, Adrian J. Smith, E.G. Michaels, Owen Baillie, WJ Lundy, Brian Martinez, NJ Paige, Michael Patrick Hicks, and Mike Evans. I hope I didn’t miss anyone but if I did, then you know when I find your book I’ll be jumping with joy before I settle down to read it. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful imaginations.

  Check out the EXTINCTION CYCLE series at

  http://nicholassansburysmith.com/

  Edited and Formatted by Anessa Books

  At an isolated military academy in the mountains of Colorado, Grace Walker and a small group of cadets fight to survive when the Hemorrhage Virus reaches the campus.

  Grace, the daughter of a Marine sniper who taught her how to protect herself knows the secrets of the emergency shelter at the Edgar Military Academy. She’s suspected for a long time that it was built as a bunker for someone other than the cadets. She’s about to get some answers to her questions.

  Six cadets, ranging in age from fifteen to eighteen, take refuge in the shelter with Grace. Senior cadet, Luke Matthews’ uncle, Dr. Mike Matthews, works at the CDC. He promised to send someone to rescue Luke, his younger sister, Megan, and any other cadets in the shelter. Until rescue arrives the seven of them fight the infected and rescue other survivors who hid in the buildings on campus the night of the attack.

  Surrounded by the infected, and cut off from the rest of the country, they’re unaware that the infection has nearly wiped out humanity.

  Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Afterward

  One

  April 19th, 2015

  Grace pressed her weight on the suitcase and forced the zipper to move the last inch. With a snap it closed just as her cell phone rang. She answered without checking the identity of the caller, then silently cursed when she heard her bosses’ nasal voice. For a second, she considered hanging up, but before she could he rushed into speech.

  “Ms. Walker, I have a task for you.”

  I just bet you do. Sitting down, she rested an arm on the suitcase and drummed her fingers on the side. A call from him was never a good thing and experience had taught her that trying to hurry him along would just slow him down. “Mr. Edgar, I’m officially on vacation. Someone else will have to deal with it.” While I interview for a job in sunny, warm Florida, she thought, but didn’t say.

  “You’re going to have to postpone your plans. We have an emergency at the school.”

  Drumming her fingers on the suitcase, she waited for him to get to the point. This wasn’t the first vacation he’d ruined with a last minute call. After almost seven years as the Nutrition Director at the Edgar Military Academy she knew that by ‘we’ he meant ‘she.’

  “I can’t think of a single thing that needs my attention.” She ran through a mental list of tasks she’d completed before she’d left the campus the day before. The galley kitchen for the six cadets who remained on campus year round had been stocked; she’d shut down and secured the main cafeteria; and the order for next semester’s food had been sent in, confirmed, and would be delivered the day after she returned from Florida.

  “There’s a problem with next semester’s food order.”

  “You approved it when I gave it to you on Monday—six days ago.”

  “My wife looked it over this morning. You missed a three percent discount we’re eligible to receive. That’s a saving of thousands of dollars and a mistake that should cost you your job.”

  She wanted nothing more than to tell him to take the job and put it where the sun didn’t shine. Instead she drew in a deep breath and remained calm. “Mr. Edgar, we’re only eligible for the discount if we include a delivery of fresh produce. Food that will spoil before the cadets return from break.”

  “On the contrary, with this unpleasant business taking place in Chicago over sixty cadets have been ordered by their parents to remain on campus.”

  “What’s happening in Chicago?” she asked, her mind on the scheduled interview in Florida, and how she could feed sixty cadets without actually being in Colorado to cook for them.

  “My dear Ms. Walker, I realize you’re just a cook—.”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Edgar, but I have a master’s degree in nutrition. I’m not ‘just a cook’, although there is absolutely nothing wrong with that profession.”

  He harrumphed. The sound scraping across her nerves. “My point is that at your professional level you should keep up with current events.”

  I know you’re an obnoxious prick, she thought, then bit her lip to keep from saying so. She couldn’t afford to lose this job before she had another one lined up. “I should have been notified immediately that so many were staying on campus—when did you say you were notified?”

  “I don’t see the significance of that question, Ms. Walker. In any case, this is your job and I expect you to do it.”

  “Mr. Edgar, just one thing. There isn’t enough food in storage to feed sixty cadets for eight days. You’ll have to release funds to purchase food locally.” Take that you tight-fisted son-of-a-gun, she thought, and smiled.

  “No need. I’ve already arranged for the food order to be delivered today—including the fresh produce. The trucks will have arrived by the time you return to the campus today.”

  “Receiving, inventorying, and storing that much stock is a huge job. How do you propose I accomplish this without my kitchen staff?”

  “Call them back.”

  “When they see my number come up they won’t answer—not if they’re smart.” And, they are, she thought, then wished again she hadn’t answered his call.

  Several moments of silence passed. She waited him out, denying him the pleasure of rattling her.

  “Ask Bruce to help you.”

  Grace rolled her eyes. The security guard was the laziest waste of space she’d ever met. “What do you suggest I do when he refuses?”

  “Tell the dorm mother, Hilda Baker, I said I wanted the cadets to help you. It won’t hurt them to earn their supper. Feed them lots of salads and fresh vegetables over the break.” He paused for a moment while someone spoke in the background. “Ms. Walker, straightening out your mess has made me and my wife late for an important charity event in Denver.”

  Before she could retort, he hung up. She wasted a few minutes p
acing and fuming Then, knowing it was useless, she began calling numbers while she watched the snow thicken and dusk arrive. As expected, her calls went unanswered and she knew the messages she left would be ignored. She’d do the same in their shoes. She turned to grab her coat but caught her reflection in the window. It was distorted and a shiver of awareness ran through her. I should have left yesterday but my damn instincts wouldn’t let me.

  Shaking her head, she grabbed her purse and suitcase and carried them down to her SUV. It was going to be an exhausting eight days cooking three meals a day for sixty cadets and processing case after case of fresh produce by herself. She’d sleep in her office as she’d done in the past when Mr. Edgar had managed to screw things up. At least this week she’d lock the cafeteria doors and change into the shorts and shirts she’d bought for the beach while she chopped and froze fresh vegetables.

  The city streets were unusually crowded with people driving crazy and honking their horns. It didn’t take her long to become one of them as she dodged cars and trucks that pulled in front of her without warning. After a nerve-racking twenty minutes she turned onto the road that dead-ended at the Academy. Two sets of tire tracks ran down the center of the road. They hadn’t filled in with snow yet so the supply trucks weren’t very far ahead of her.

  She stayed in their tracks. On the last curve before the straight-away to the school something leapt out of the forest in front of her. Startled, she slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel to the left. Her purse slid off the seat, spilling its contents on the floor as the car slid over the road. She steered into the skid and pumped the brakes, finally getting the car stopped with the headlights pointed into the trees where the animal had disappeared.

  Heart racing, she rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment then searched the forest for the animal. A dark shape crouched in the shadows. Its eyes glowed a strange yellowish-red. Knowing better, but curiosity getting the better of her, she rolled the window down and stuck her head out to get a clearer view. The creature moved toward her, making a clicking noise with each step. A breeze rustled the snow-covered trees. Expecting the scent of clean mountain air she shuddered with primal fear when the stench of rotting fruit reached her.

  Keeping her eyes on the thing in the shadows, she reversed onto the road then shoved the car into drive and stomped the gas pedal to the floor. The tires spun on the slick surface as the clicking sound drew nearer. Cursing, she made herself let up on the accelerator. The tires gained traction, and the car moved forward as she steered with one hand while searching for the button to raise the window with the other.

  The creature slammed into the back of her car, sending it sliding across the snow. She gripped the steering wheel and regained control of the car. She kept her eyes on the road, ahead and behind her, while her heart pounded with fear.

  She’d seen deer, rabbits and raccoons on this road. She’d even seen a bear once, but the thing that had looked at her from the woods was something unknown. Scared, yet feeling a little silly, she told herself she was imagining things. It must have been a mountain lion, the clicking sound made by twigs it broke beneath its paws as it moved toward her. The explanation satisfied her until she remembered the smell of rotten fruit. Logic and experience insisted it had been something else. Something she’d never encountered before.

  Ahead of her the lights on the gate pillars came into view and she breathed a sigh of relief. Stopping, she kept her eyes on the area around her and honked her horn. The blaring sound in the silence of the snow-blanketed campus sent a rush of fear through her. She checked the area behind and around her. The instincts she’d inherited from her Marine father urged her to be quiet. To be still. To hide.

  The door of the gatekeeper’s cottage finally opened. Rogers stepped out with a flashlight in his hand. He pointed the strong beam directly at her, blinding her before she could shield her eyes.

  She rolled her window down and yelled, “Get that light out of my eyes.”

  He lowered the beam to the ground and hurried to the gate, unlocked it and pulled it open. As she drew even with him he signaled her to stop.

  She rolled her window up leaving only a two-inch gap. “Yes?”

  He leaned down and spoke, his breath reeking of cigarettes, cheap whiskey and garlic. “There are two trucks waiting for you behind the cafeteria.”

  “Mr. Edgars called me. He said to ask you to help me unload them. It will only take a couple hours.”

  He scratched his belly through the dirty t-shirt he wore. “Naw, Hilda and I are watching the news. There’s some crazy shit going on in Chicago. People taking attacking each other. Lots of blood and gore.”

  He looked back at his cottage and Grace saw the disheveled figure of Hilda Baker standing in the light of the open doorway waiting for him. Rogers spat on the ground and a string of saliva dangled from his bottom lip as he backed away. “I’ll leave the gate unlocked. You and the drivers go ahead and leave when you’re finished. I’ll lock it later when I walk Hilda back to the dorm.”

  She watched him hurry back to his cottage and knew neither one of them would be sober enough to go anywhere in a couple hours. Disgusted with their behavior, and the Edgars’ refusal to provide housing for the faculty, she studied the campus. Only a few lights lit up the green, and the only building with light in its windows was the year-round cadets’ dorm. She’d bet next month’s pay that Mr. Edgar had moved all the cadets into that building to save money.

  Swearing to find another job soon, she drove to the Main Dorm. Leaving her car running while she grabbed a flashlight, she walked to the back of the car. She played the light over the hatch. It was caved in and the window was cracked. Blood covered them and ran down to the snow. Reaching, out she started to touch it then pulled her hand back. The animal was probably infected with rabies. She studied it again then hurried into the building and up the stairs.

  It took several tries to open the heavy front door. Once inside she followed the hall to the lounge area where most of the cadets were gathered. They looked up when she entered and she sent them a smile and a little wave. A few returned her greeting but most looked away, ignoring her.

  Sticking her hands in her pockets she rocked back and forth on her boots. “I’m sorry to disturb you but I have a problem I hope a few of you can help me solve,” Grace said. “Mr. Edgar has had the food for next semester delivered but my kitchen staff is long gone. Could a few of you help me, please?”

  Luke Matthews, a senior, stood up. “I will.”

  “Thanks, Luke.” Grace smiled. She could always depend on Luke. She called him and his two best friends, Mark Kelton and Neal White, the three musketeers. All three of them were over six feet tall and strongly built. Luke had dark blue eyes and hair so light blond hair it was hard to see as it was cut in a high, tight military style. His face held the maturity of a man years older than his age of eighteen. He was a born leader and she knew most of the female cadets lamented his serous focus on his studies.

  Grace turned, already focused on Mark Kelton when he stood up.

  “I’ll come along and move cases for you, Ms. Walker,” Mark said, the words spoken smoothly in a Texas accent. His dark brown, almost sable hair and bronze complexion and high cheek bones revealed his Native American ancestry.

  “How about you, Neal? Want to come along and help?”

  Neal stepped around her. “I’m going to manage to sneak up on you one of these days.”

  “And, we’ll all hear hell freezing over the day that happens,” she said and looked up into his light brown eyes. He was several inches over six feet with black hair, cut in the same fashion as Luke’s high and tight recon style of the Marines.

  “I’ll come and help move cases. I need the exercise.” Neal lifted his arms showing off his ‘guns.’

  Laughing, she wished she had a dollar for every time she’d seen one of the cadets do that. “You guys are life savers. Anyone else?” She scanned the room for more volunteers, then decided to sweete
n the deal. “I’m offering hot apple cobbler and ice cream as a reward for your help.” None of the other cadets took the bait. “Okay, well, if you change your minds you can always join us. This is going to take several hours.” She glanced at the three young men. “I’ll give you a ride across campus.”

  Luke walked toward her with Neal and Mark behind him. “Thanks, just give us a minute to grab our coats.”

  “I’ll wait in the front hall.” Grace walked back to the front doors alone. The hallway was cold and dimly lit, making her wonder what the rooms were like this time of the year. She’d barely reached the front entrance when her three helpers joined her. Luke reached over her shoulder and forced one of the double doors open.

  “These things stick in the winter.” He held it open until they’d passed through it then leaned his weight on it, making sure it latched.

  They tracked toward her car, the sound of snow scrunching beneath their feet. “Don’t touch the back of the car. Something ran in front of me on the road. When I stopped it hid in the trees, then charged into the back of my car when I drove away.”

  “Must have been a moose,” Neal said, opening the back door on the driver’s side and getting in.

  Grace settled in the driver’s seat. “Sorry, about the stuff on the floor,” she told Luke. “My purse slid off the seat when I slammed on the brakes. Just put your feet wherever you can.”

  She drove the shortest route to the cafeteria, circled around to the back and parked away from the two semi-trucks. One of the drivers sat on the loading dock, smoking. The other one was nowhere to be seen.

  Grace led the cadets toward the man she could see. “Sorry, to keep you waiting. I was just told the delivery was being made tonight.”

  He dropped his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it while he exhaled a cloud of smoke. “You Miss Walker?”

  “Yes, but call me Grace.”