Grace laughed. “That would make me eleven and too young to be in the military”
Luke laughed. “Then, speaking as your commanding officer, it's past your bed time.”
Grace clapped her hands and stood up. “Thank, goodness. When I’m awake all I think about is sleeping.” She smiled. “When chow is over if you’re not on security duty then get some rack time.”
Luke chuckled. “You’re picking up our lingo, Grace.”
“Oo-rah,” she yelled and walked out of the room.
# # #
“Grace, wake up,” Megan said.
Grace put her arm over her eyes and squinted, protecting her eyes from the beam of Megan’s flashlight. “What time is it?”
“Oh three hundred, but that doesn’t matter. I was fiddling with my phone and I found a text from Maggie Fisher’s cell phone that she sent the night of the attack.”
Blinking to clear her eyes, she asked, “Jefferson Mitchell’s girlfriend? I thought she was with him when the creatures attacked.”
“She was,” Megan said.
Confused, Grace sat up on the side of the bunk and ran her fingers through her short blond hair. “What does she say?”
“Actually, its from Jefferson. He typed that he’s hiding in the attic and he demands that we help him.”
“Did he say if anyone else was with him?” Grace asked.
“No.”
“Have you told Luke and John?”
“Not yet. I wanted to tell you first and have you go with me to tell them.”
Sherry sat up. “If you two are trying to be quiet, you suck at it.”
Megan turned to her. “I just found an old text from Maggie’s cell phone.”
“I heard you the first time,” Sherry said. “Let me see it.” Megan handed her the phone. She read the text. “Thank goodness you didn’t see this before. Jefferson can’t be trusted.”
“A text wouldn’t go through now, anyway. The towers are all down,” Megan said.
Sherry threw back the covers. “Let’s go talk to Luke and John.”
“We might as well get dressed,” Grace said. “By the time we discuss this it will be time to get up anyway.” She pulled off her gown and slipped into her clothes then placed the M9 in a holster Grumbling, she headed for the door with Megan and Sherry a few steps behind her.
Luke was already standing in the door watching them approach.
“Megan and Sherry, you’re going to spend part of today learning how to move quietly,” he said, then asked, “What’s up?”
“We’ve got a problem,” Grace said. “Show him, Megan.”
Megan held out her phone. Luke took it and read the text. “Holy crap! Do you think he’s still alive?”
“Hopefully not,” Sherry said. “If anyone deserved to die that night it’s Jefferson. He harassed the others into staying with him and then it looks like he saved himself.”
“The electricity went out ten days ago. How have they stayed warm? What have they been eating and drinking?” John asked.
“I don’t buy it,” Luke said. “Jefferson wouldn’t save anyone but himself.”
Sherry nodded. “Too bad we can’t see the dorm from here. The attic has dormer windows, we might be able to see into it with binoculars.”
Grace glanced at her then stared at the computer and snapped her fingers. “There is a way to see if we can figure out how to use it.”
“What do you mean?” Luke asked.
“There’s a program on the computer that shows every inch of the campus including every hallway and room. Mr. Manning told me Mr. Edgar had it installed and to be careful what I did on campus. I don’t know how to find it on the computer.”
Luke pointed to John. “Get Mark.”
John left and Megan followed him.
“Why Mark?” Grace asked.
Luke smiled. “He can hack just about any system. If anyone can find it and get into it, he can.”
Megan returned, dragging two chairs behind her. “Have a seat, Grace.”
“Thanks, Megan.” Grace yawned and sank into the chair while wondering how military people survived without sleep. Her eyelids were drifting down when John returned with Mark and all the other cadets including Sabrina. They dragged chairs along with them.
Mark sat down at the computer and began typing while the others arranged their chairs around the perimeter of the room.
Five minutes later Mark pointed to the screen. “That’s the program. The last time someone logged in was April seventeenth. We’ll be in as soon as I figure out the password.”
“It will be something simple,” Grace said. “Mr. Edgar isn’t, or wasn’t, the brightest guy around. Try his wife’s name—Beatrice.”
Mark typed it in and it was rejected.
“Try his dog’s name—General.”
He typed it in and was rejected.
“Try the word ‘password,’” Sherry said.
He typed it in and the program opened. He held up his hand and Sherry high-fived him.
“Now, let’s see what we have access to on this.” He scrolled through the menu and whistled. “Old Edgar was a pervert. There’s cameras in every building and in every room, even the showers and bedrooms. There’s even a master list of what camera is assigned to what room.” He flipped through the cameras. Most of the rooms were dark and they could barely see anything. “We’ll have to wait until the sun comes up. Hopefully, it’ll light up the rooms and we can see what’s going on.”
“This really creeps me out,” Sherry said. “He watched us while we slept and showered.”
Megan and Sabrina nodded.
“Can you zoom in?” Luke asked.
Mark nodded. “Yes, but this is even better.” The screen changed, glowing green. “Night vision.” He scrolled through a hall and into a bedroom.
“Megan, that’s your room,” Sherry said. “Everything’s destroyed.”
Megan pointed to a corner. “There’s my bag, packed and ready to go on break.” She rested her hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Go back to the hallway for a moment.”
“Why?” Mark asked.
“Just do it, please,” Megan said.
Mark clicked back to the previous image, and Megan pointed at a dark doorway at the end of the hall. “I’ve always hated my room because that door opens onto the stairs that go down to the basement.”
“So, you’re afraid of dark places,” John said. “Big deal.”
Megan gave him a playful punch on the arm. “No, look at it. The door has always been closed and locked. Now, it’s not just open—it’s almost torn off.” She pointed to a door that hung by one hinge then tilted her head to the side and pointed at the screen. “What’s that stuff on the wall? It looks like lumpy, twisted plastic or that fruit leather stuff mom makes for you Luke.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Luke pointed to the dark stairs. “Is there a camera in the basement on the list?”
Mark searched for and found it. He clicked it and a new view opened, glowing green in the darkness of the basement.
Neal pointed to a row of lumps on the wall. “Is that an arm covered in that stuff?”
“Yes, I think so,” Grace said.
“Look how many monsters there are in there,” Sabrina said.
The creatures scurried around the room, up walls and over the ceiling. One of the prisoners managed to free his arm and tried to pull the rest of the stuff away from his face. His movements attracted the attention of the monsters. A large one jumped on him, taking a bite from his arm while another one spit a wad of goo on the wound. The prisoner continued to fight and several more creatures swarmed him, covering him with the gooey substance.
Grace fought down the need to throw up. “What are we going to do?”
“First, we’re going to use the cameras and check every building for cadets. Then, we’re going to rescue them,” Luke said. “The missions will be volunteer only. Hell, I don’t want to go out there again but we have to do something to save
those people.”
“Count me in,” Mark said and stood with his fist out. One by one, each of them stood, forming a circle with their fists meeting in the middle.
Grace stood to one side, watching them with a feeling of pride. She’d known them they’d first begun attending the Academy. She’d watched them grow from scared kids to courageous cadets. Megan surprised her when she reached out, grasped her hand and pulled her into the group.
Luke bumped each of their fists. “From this moment on we’re not just survivors. We’re the resistance.”
Five
May 8th, 2015
They gathered in the security room after supper. Stephan and Damien had carried a table into the room and set it up with chairs on either side. They’d set Grace’s chair at one end and Luke’s at the other.
“Neal, Sherry and Sabrina saw Jefferson with Rogers yesterday so now we know he’s alive and also collaborating with the monsters,” Luke said, his contempt for the other cadet rang clear in his voice.
“None of us has seen Maggie on any of the cameras. Even though she was always rude to me it still makes me sad to think she’s dead,” Megan said.
“You didn’t answer the text that night so Jefferson doesn’t know you made it to the shelter which is a good thing now that we know he’s a traitor,” Damien reminded them.
“What about the cadets who refused to come with us the night of the attack?” Sherry asked. “Where are they?”
“None of us wants to say it but we have to face facts,” Stephan said. “They were either killed or infected by the creatures. If they were infected, they might be dead from the poison the military dropped. If they survived the poison, then they’re one of the evolved monsters.”
“Or they’re stuck to the wall in the Main Dorm basement,” Damien said.
“That’s so sickening,” Sabrina said.
“Yes it is, but it also means Jefferson can’t be sure any of us made it to the shelter because he can’t identify bodies that have been eaten or who these new creatures used to be.”
“When they were just creatures if you looked close enough you could almost see who they used to be but now that they’ve evolved I can’t identify any of them,” Neal said. “Even though they move around in the open now.”
“Rogers can’t be sure I’m alive either,” Grace said. “We saw him find my car but there’s dried blood all over the back of it and my purse and phone are on the front floorboard.”
“Where did the blood come from?” Sherry asked.
Grace told them about the creature she’d almost hit on the road, how it had attacked her car, and about the second one in the garage.
“Even if Rogers thinks you made it out of the garage alive, he can’t be sure you made it back to the cafeteria,” Luke said.
“Exactly,” Grace said. “There’s one thing I’m worried about though. If we rescue people what if we bring another collaborator into the shelter?”
“First we rescue people who appear to have been hiding since the night of the attack,” Stephan said. “Then, we rescue smaller groups of prisoners in buildings other than the main dorm.”
“I agree,” Neal said. “We don’t tell them the secrets of the shelter until we know we can trust them,” Neal said, then added, “And, we don’t tell them any of the door codes.”
Luke nodded. “After a mission we secure our weapons in the armory and only Grace, Stephan, Damien, Mark and I will carry pistols in the shelter.”
Once we increase our numbers with rescued cadets, then we go after the nest in the main dorm,” Damien said.
Sherry, Megan and Sabrina smiled. “We’ve studied martial arts almost all our lives,” Megan said. “We can handle a traitor or two.”
Luke chuckled. “I feel sorry for anyone who takes on my little sister. She may be tiny but I know for a fact she fights dirty.”
Megan laughed. “Because that’s how you taught me to fight.”
They all laughed, and he relaxed in his chair. “Bravo is made up of me as squad leader with Neal, John, and Sherry. Stephan is squad leader of Charlie with Damien, Sabrina, and Mark. Stephan and I will pick another person from the other team to fill out our fire team. Security is Megan with a second person assisting. Grace is Mother. Someone will always be with Grace on the doors.” He looked them over. “We know Jefferson and Rogers stay in the basement and that the monsters slow down around noon. That’s when Rogers and Jefferson sleep.”
“We should use bows as much as possible,” Sabrina said.
“If we go back to the library, we need books on evolution. Especially insects like scorpions,” Grace said. “Sabrina mentioned the other day that the monsters are more active at night, like scorpions. We need to learn as much as we can about evolution. Especially the evolution of insects because these things remind me of scorpions.”
“Scorpions shine under a black light,” Damien said. “My dad and I used to visit his family in Arizona. We’d camp in the dessert and my cousins and I would hunt scorpions at night.”
The meeting continued until they agreed on a plan to gather intel, find cadets hiding on campus and then form a plan to rescue them.
# # #
May 9th, 2015
“We’ve found seven cadets hiding in the janitor’s room in the Administration building,” Grace said. “I wouldn’t have known they were there, but they opened the door at just the right moment. Three of them searched for food while the others kept watch. The water on campus is gravity fed so they’re okay there but they only found a few packages of snack foods. They’re going to starve or get caught by Rogers, Jefferson or the creatures.”
“That means we need to rescue them now,” Stephan said.
John unfolded a map that was pieced together with tape. “This is the campus.” He pointed to a road that ran down the middle of the campus from south to north. It ran from the gates to the Administration Building. “Academy Street,” he said then pointed to long road that crossed Academy. “Aspen Street goes west and is lined on both sides with classrooms. Opposite it is Spruce Street where all the dorms are located.” He pointed to a building. “This is the Main Dorm where the creatures are nesting. The back of it faces Fir Street where the library, gymnasium, medical center and the cafeteria are located. The faculty parking garage and groundskeeper’s shed are at the back of the campus near the east wall on Cedar Street. The academy armory is in the northeast corner of the campus with the firing range in the southwest corner, here.”
“They couldn’t have chosen a worse place to hide,” Sabrina said.
“Charlie will go at night,” Stephan said. “Grace opens the doors with someone from Bravo team assisting her.”
“Me,” John said.
Stephan nodded. “We’ll also need Grace and another team member to lay down covering fire when we return.”
“John,” Luke said.
“I’ll take rear guard if you’ll have me,” Neal said.
“Accepted,” Stephan said. “Only I speak to security unless something happens to me then Damien takes over. Damien is on point. Mark, left flank, and Sabrina right flank.”
Grace leaned over the map, ran a finger over it then looked up and smiled. “There’s an outside stairway that Mr. Edgar uses when he parks his car behind the building. The janitor’s closet is the first door on your right when you enter that door. You could go through the woods, circle around behind Administration and climb over the wall behind the building.”
“We’d still be seen by the creatures when we leave here and run for the wall,” Damien said.
Luke glanced at Grace and she nodded. “Not if you use the escape tunnel. You could circle back through the woods and climb over the wall behind Admin. There’s lots of cover back there, trees and bushes.”
“Wait, go back to the escape tunnel part,” Stephan said.
“It takes you a quarter mile east of the campus. One of us will have to take you and open and close the hatch as it can only be opened from inside.”
Stephan nodded. “We take bows and rifles but we do this as quietly as possible. Get some rest and be prepared to leave at twenty hundred. Dismissed.”
# # #
“Base One to Bravo. Area clear. Over.”
“Bravo to Base One. Copy. Out.”
Luke reached up and opened the hatch a couple inches. It moved silently. He looked out. All he could see was darkness. He flipped his flashlight on, opened the hatch all the way and climbed out. Stephan stepped out behind him with Damien, Sabrina, Mark and Neil behind him. The room they found themselves in was about thirty feet by twenty feet. Luke pointed his light toward the door that led to the outside. “Good luck,” he said then climbed back down the ladder and secured the hatch.
“Charlie to Base One. We’re ready to go. Over.”
“Base One to Charlie. Area clear. Out.”
Stephan opened the outer hatch. Damien moved out, taking point. Mark and Sabrina moved out and Neil followed them. Damien secured the door and caught up to Damien.
They moved north, stopping every few steps to scope the area around them and to listen for the sound of the creatures when they moved. Stephan signaled them to proceed and they moved again, keeping each other in view but maintaining a field of fire.
When they were directly behind the Administration building, they turned and silently moved south to the wall. Stephan looked over it then dropped to the ground. He pointed to his eyes then held up three fingers and signaled them to follow him.
He led them five meters along the wall then pointed to some bushes behind them and then to the top of the wall.
Sabrina, Mark, and Neal prepared their compound bows then climbed to the top of the wall. Thick, overgrown bushes concealed their presence. They each took aim at one of the creatures, with John taking the one the farthest away. Together they released the steel-tipped arrows. They flew toward the creatures.
Sabrina’s went through the left eye of the monster and it dropped to the ground. Neal’s entered the monster’s mouth and came out the top of its head. Mark’s arrow hit the target in the neck. It howled in pain, the sound loud and shrill. Mark shot another arrow, silencing it but it was too late and they knew it.
Extinction Cycle (Kindle Worlds Novella): Resistance Page 6
