Shelter

by C A Bird

  They went through the plant and down the stairs to the base of the wall where rocks and concrete littered the floor of the cave creating tiny islands in the dark sea of water. Water poured through an opening in the wall approximately ten feet up.

  There was a pounding at the door. The door was on the emergency power circuit but the earthquake has tweaked it and it only partially opened. Each door was equipped with a manual switch but it was on the inside. Mark and the others hurried toward the door when the sound of barrels rolling violently around on the upper level attracted their attention.

  Whirling around, they stared in horrified disbelief! Standing in the ruddy light at the head of the stairs were a half dozen creatures like the one they had killed, giant rotting creatures from the bowels of Hell, one in particular catching Mark’s attention. It appeared to be eight feet tall, massive shoulders, a malevolent gaze trained directly, unswervingly at Mark as though it had a personal grudge to settle with him alone.

  “Damn, there’s more of em! Get the door open!” yelled Lenny. He and David raised their weapons, but not wanting to provoke the creatures, they would hold their fire as long as necessary. Several more of the creatures approached from behind the others.

  Mark jerked the manual lever! Nothing happened! The door jerked, ground to a stop and made a loud screeching sound that galvanized the monsters into action. They plunged down the stairs and everyone not working on the door started firing, the distance causing them to miss most of the shots.

  A dim memory of the danger guns represented caused the creatures to pause momentarily. One of the men on the outside stuck a shovel through the opening and applied leverage. The door ground farther open. Mark put his arm around Lori and pulled her toward the door.

  “Lori, you can get through. Come on you guys, I think it’s wide enough.” Mark yelled.

  Lori slid through the opening with ease and most of the others followed quickly. The Arby-creature saw them escaping, his need to kill overpowering his fear of the weapons. He didn’t understand it but Mark was the embodiment of all that the Arby creature had ever hated, ever murdered or raped or tortured, a representative of the “men of privilege”, an ancient enemy he had seen in his dreams. David dropped the walkie-talkie and opened fire.

  “Hurry, hurry... come on, go, go, go! Mark literally shoved the men through, some of them wedging in the too small opening until, pushing with his shoulder, he forced them through.

  “Go Mark!” yelled Lenny. “We’re right behind you!”

  Mark slipped through the door, the others in the shelter pulling him through by one arm. He whirled back to the door, heard a curse as David ran out of ammo. Lenny jammed another thirty round clip into his AR 15. “David, you’re out of ammo, get through the door! David tried to squeeze through but he was too big. He turned his shoulders and lunged forward. Mark grabbed him and heard him yelp as skin was scraped off his chest. He fell through into the corridor and swirled back to pull Lenny through the gap.

  “Lenny, come on! Come on!” David reached through the door. His huge frame was wedged into the opening, his arm outstretched, reaching for Lenny. David saw the creatures rear up in front of Lenny. Lenny whirled for the door and David saw his face suddenly register fear, a terrified grimace… then he screamed in tremendous pain. Bright red blood poured out through his gaping mouth and soaked David’s arms as he jerked them back through the opening. Mark grabbed David and desperately tried to pull him from the door.

  “David, come on. It’s too late!” Mark looked into the opening and froze, staring up into gleaming, red, hateful eyes. The creature reached through and grabbed a handful of Mark’s shirt and jerked him toward the opening.

  Something smashed Mark from the side as David tackled him, ripping him from the thing’s grasp, the two of them crashing to the ground as their momentum carried them down the hall. The creature screamed in frustration adding his voice to the clamor of the monsters screeching and snarling, as they tore Lenny to shreds. Arby threw himself against the door, over and over trying to break through but it was now solidly frozen in place. The quake had twisted the track, negating any possibility of opening it further.

  Mark jumped to his feet, all of them frozen in horror at the thing bashing itself against the door. They all backed slowly away from the door.

  “Wow,” Mark said. “We’re going to need much bigger weapons!” His eyes were glued to the creature in sheer astonishment.

  Lori broke the spell. “Come on! You’re right. I’m going for the Uzi and we have to warn people!’

  They all raced down the hallway to the staircase, burst through the door and took the stairs two at a time heading for the top floor.

  May 7, 10:30 p.m.

  Pete rushed into the apartment he shared with Sandi, “Sandi! Are you here? He was frantic to see if she was okay following the quake. He’d been in the machine shop with a couple of others when the quake hit and the door had stuck. When the lights went out the three of them were blind. For some reason no emergency lighting had been provided in the shop or it hadn’t worked. They used a welding torch to illuminate the door so they could force it open and get out. It took a long time, too long for Pete.

  “Damn.” he exclaimed. “Where is she?” He checked the bedroom thinking she might be sleeping but she wasn’t home.

  As he left the apartment the shelter was hit by an aftershock, not nearly as strong as the big quake, but strong enough to cause his heart to skip a beat as he braced himself against the wall. He passed other residents, two almost carrying a third who was having difficulty walking, his head bleeding from a large gash.

  “Oh baby, where are you?” He realized she may have gone to the doctor and turned toward the central elevator hearing excited voices ahead as he turned the corner. A crowd of people gathered around the elevator door.

  “What’s going on?” he asked someone at the back of the crowd. Some men were trying to pry the elevator door open.

  “Oh Pete, thank God it’s you!” said the resident. The quake damaged the elevator. It’s stuck between floors with Sandi inside! The car’s closer to the top and your dad and Dr. Jim are on the top floor talking to her. She’s in labor.” But he was talking to Pete’s back as Pete sprinted down the hallway heading for the staircase.

  He entered the dim stairwell and heard a mob of people coming from the level below. Mark, Lori and a large number of others, all fully armed and looking like they were followed by death’s legions, sprinted up the stairs, catching up with him.

  “Pete, where’s Will. We killed the thing in the power plant,…” Mark began.

  “It was horrible. . .”

  “They’re nine feet tall!”

  “Some kind of monster!”

  “Everybody shut up!” Mark yelled. “There are a dozen or so more!” He took Pete’s arm urging him upstairs. “We’re getting heavier firepower. Regular weapons don’t stop them. The door is stuck but they may figure out how to get into the reservoir or farm caves. Everybody needs to hold up somewhere safe until we get them. They’ve already killed two more men!”

  They exited at the top floor. “I’ll tell them, but Sandi’s in labor and she’s stuck in the damaged elevator!”

  Pete ran down the central hallway as some of the others entered the elevator to the weapons locker to get more ammo and higher caliber weapons and the others went looking for their family members to verify their safety after the quake.

  Pete rounded a corner and found another large group of people. He shoved his way roughly through the crowd. “Get out of my way!”

  His dad and the doctor were on their knees at the elevator door. Walter had a crowbar and the door was cracked open a few inches. “She’s fine, son. She’s in early labor but we need to get her out of there.”

  Pete leaned down to the crack. He could see the top of the elevator. “Sandi? Can you hear me?”

  “Pete, please get me out!” She was crying and sounded so scared his heart ached.

  “Don�
��t worry, baby. We will.”

  They had enough room to get their hands into the crack. With Walter pulling on the crowbar and Pete and Jim pulling in opposite directions on the door it gave way and scraped open about two thirds of its width.

  “I can get through!” said Pete. He backed into the opening with the others holding his arms and they lowered him to the top of the car which rested just below the level of the hall floor.

  “Oh damn, I forgot!” he yelled up to them. “Mark killed some kind of huge creature in the power plant but he says there are a bunch more!” He kneeled down and unhooked the hatch cover. “Tell Mr. Hargraves! Everyone needs to get somewhere safe until these things are dead. They’ve killed two more men.” He swung the cover up and dropped through the hatch where Sandi flung herself into his arms.

  Walter turned and told someone to get Will Hargraves. “He’s having a meeting in the auditorium. Hurry!”

  Just then another aftershock struck and the elevator slipped a few inches. Sandi screamed. “Hurry up!” Pete called to them. “I need help to lift her to the hatch!”

  They lowered more men into the shaft with two additional men descending into the car to help lift Sandi to the top. Pete prayed she would fit through the hatch.

  “Sandi, we’re going to hoist you up. Keep your body perfectly straight and don’t bend over or you’ll fall. Okay?”

  She nodded as he and one other man each put a hand under her foot and holding on to her leg they counted to three and hoisted her straight up. The third man braced her and another reached down from above grasping her upstretched arm. Pete breathed a sigh of relief as her abdomen just cleared the sides of the hatch. He could see up through the opening as one man bent down allowing her to step on his back and up and out of the shaft.

  They hoisted one of the men up and Pete made a stirrup of his hands as the second man reached up to grasp hands that extended down through the hatch. Pete was last and tried to jump to reach the hatch. As he landed the car fell another foot. He crashed to the floor.

  Getting slowly to his feet he looked up and saw, to his great relief, a rope trailing through the opening. He grabbed it and wrapped it around his waist as the men above hoisted him through the hatch. As his feet cleared it, the car fell and he was left dangling in the elevator shaft. The others slowly hauled him to the level of the corridor. There was the sound of crashing metal and dust flew up the shaft as he scrambled over the edge and rolled into the hallway. Sandi fell on top of him, shaking and sobbing.

  May 7, 11:15 p.m.

  Hunger and the smell of blood drove Arby from the door to share in the meal. By the time his rage had subsided most of the man had been eaten. He grabbed a leg bone away from a smaller creature and sunk sharp teeth into the meat. Even a full–grown man made a small meal for the monsters. After eating, the creatures spread out, wandering around the lower level and sloshing through the deepening water, trying to find a way out. They became uncomfortable when the water reached their waists. With the water deepening, and after they’d exhausted the possibilities for escaping from the lower level they climbed the stairs to the plant’s upper floor and backed out on the ledge, the noise from the turbines grating on their nerves as they crouched together alongside the door leading to the farm cave. Not knowing what else to do they squatted down, resting and waiting. They knew the creatures would return and they would eat again.

  The water in the cave was now lapping at the few small steps leading into the shelter. In a matter of hours it would begin to spill over, through the stuck open door, into the interior.

  May 8, 1:00 a.m.

  The infirmary looked like a warzone. At least thirty residents had been injured in the earthquake, Sandi was in labor in one of the exam rooms with Pete attending her, and in the operating suite, a body bag held all they could find of Rick’s remains. Mark had led a party to the dragon cave off the reservoir to fetch Rick’s body and they had been in constant fear that the creatures in the power cave would hear them and come to investigate. Apparently, though, they still were unable to open the doors between caves and were unaware of the tunnel wall that had been breached.

  “Is there anything I can do to help you guys out?” he asked Aaron.

  “I think we should just dispose of Rick’s body in the burial chasm and worry about a memorial service later. We can combine services for Rick, Bud, Bill and Lenny. Can you get some help and take care of that?”

  Mark was beginning to feel like a Coroner. “Sure, Aaron, that’s a good idea.”

  He recruited help from the healthy group that had brought in the injured and, using a gurney, they transported Rick’s remains to the cave they had used for burials. The earthquake had caused the chasm to widen even further and rather than trying to jump across they rolled the body, bag and all, over the edge of the chasm and let it fall. Mark almost felt it was sacrilegious but conditions in the shelter had altered dramatically and concessions had to be made. This was the fourth resident buried in this chamber and two more bodies lay in the inaccessible power cave. They had never found Bud’s remains.

  The Crow’s nest was alive with activity when Mark arrived to check on the situation. Micah watched the alarms, hoping to detect any further breech in the dragon doors which would give them advance warning the creatures had gained access to inhabited areas. Darryl was trying to get critical environmental systems back on-line. The computer and all other systems were limited by the diminished electrical power produced by the back-up generator.

  “The generator’s producing uneven power. It’s not that noticeable in the lights but the computer’s picking it up.” Darryl told Will.

  “Does it show the output of the power plant?”

  “Apparently the turbine is still spinning but the relays have tripped. They don’t do that unless there’s a real problem with the operation of the turbine. We won’t be able to evaluate the problem and go back on regular power until we can get to the plant. The generator has enough fuel for two weeks, longer if we shut down some systems.”

  Mark advanced into the room. “Did you inform everyone about the monsters in the power cave?”

  “No, I got the word just after the meeting broke up. As long as the creatures are confined, we’ll let people try and get some sleep and tell them in the morning. I have told them about the escape tunnel and they are prepared to evacuate if necessary.”

  “Okay, I’m going back down to the auditorium. Lori and the other members of the hunting party are there. The earthquake collapsed a portion of the second level ceiling and destroyed part of the living quarters, including mine, so I’ll be in the auditorium until we can get new quarters after these things are either killed or expelled from the shelter.”

  He descended to the first level and entered the auditorium where the vigilante group had congregated.

  An hour passed, and then another, as Mark watched Lori dozing in the auditorium seat and wished he could also get some sleep. He was too keyed up to be able to rest even though he was completely exhausted from the day’s events. After they left the power plant, they’d gone to the weapons locker and secured more weapons. Lori checked on the children but Barbara had put them to bed and they didn’t awaken when she kissed them goodnight. They had all returned to the auditorium to reconnoiter and plan their next move. With the damage to the living quarters many of them had decided to remain in the auditorium to be ready for any eventuality.

  David was alternately despondent and angry. Lenny had been like a brother to him. They’d been best friends since they were teens, joined the marines together, served as each other’s best man and lent support during both divorces.

  “You don’t think they can get out of the power plant do you?” Patterson asked Mark.

  “I don’t think they can get the doors open. If they could, we would know it by now.”

  “Are we going back after them? There must be a dozen of them. How are we going to get them out of there?” Patterson asked.

  David snarled through g
ritted teeth, “Damn straight, we’re going after them! Those fuckers are going down!”

  “Take it easy David. We don’t want any more casualties.” Mark said. “We’ll get some reinforcements in the morning and see if we can herd them back out the way they came. I have no idea how they got that back door open, probably just by chance. Maybe there’s some way to lock out the controls for the dragon doors.”

  “What about the earthquakes?” Lori said groggily after awakening at David’s outburst. “Do you think there will be any more big ones?”

  “I hope the one last night was the ‘big one’ Dr. Whitehorse has been predicting. Otherwise we’re in big trouble. The intensity of the few we’ve had since then seems to be much less, though.” Mark told her.

  Patterson shook his head. “I was one of the ones that wanted to get out of this place, but if those creatures are what’s happening on the outside, I think we should stay in here for a while. You think they’re radiated mutants, or something?”

  No one answered him but that’s exactly what they all thought they were.

  While they considered this revelation, the lights flickered and failed for a second time. They immediately came back on but the intensity was decreased. “What’s happening now?” he muttered.

  He and Lori stirred and again climbed to the Crow’s Nest to ascertain what had happened to the lights and to see if they could lock the Dragon doors.

  “Something’s causing the generator to lose power so we’re cutting all unnecessary functions. I’ve cut the power to the lights and they’re now on batteries. They should last for a few hours and will recharge when we get the generator stabilized. I’ve cut all power to the shops, the gym, the warehouse, and all dragon caves. We absolutely need to keep power to the Crow’s Nest or we lose all communications and worse, the computer. Mark, you want to go down to the generator room and find out what’s wrong?”