by Terence West
The two turned around again and made their way back down the hall. Taking the first right, they found themselves back in front of the room that housed the device.
"Shit. I really don't want to be back here again," Alex moaned.
"I with you on that one," Jake agreed.
The two started to walk past the room when Alex heard a moan. "Did you hear that Jake?"
"Nope. Keep going."
Alex stopped. "I've got to know what the device is doing Jake. I'm a researcher after all."
"No. Let's get the hell out of here while we still can."
It was too late, Alex had already stepped in front of the door. She gasped. "Oh my God, come look at this Jake."
Reluctantly, Jake moved next to her. His eyes went wide. "Jesus. What the hell is it doing in there?"
"I have no idea." She began to move closer, but Jake grabbed her and pulled her back.
"Look over there." He pointed toward what appeared to be a body mummified in the cables. "I don't think you want to end up like that poor bastard."
She nodded.
"Let's get the hell out of here."
The base began to shake again. Dodging the falling ceiling tiles and pipes, they made their way down the hallway and took the next right. At the end of the corridor they found themselves standing in the middle of a cavernous room that appeared to be carved directly out of the mountain. Several white Jeeps were parked there along with an assortment of other vehicles. Grabbing Alex by the arm, Jake led her to one of the park white Jeeps.
Climbing inside, Jake reached down grabbed at the ignition. "Shit. No keys."
Another shockwave rattled through the base. A large rock came loose from the roof and smashed through the windshield of their Jeep. Jake and Alex stared at each other then quickly jumped out.
Jake pointed at a black SUV parked across from them. "Let's try that one."
They weaved their way through the falling debris toward the vehicle. Grabbing the door handle, Jake opened the door and jumped inside. Reaching down he found the keys still in the ignition.
"We're in business here." Twisting the keys hard, he listened to the powerful engine roar to life. Grabbing the stick shift, he smashed the clutch to the floor and popped it into reverse. Looking behind him, he swiftly guided the vehicle out of the parking spot and turned it around.
He pressed down on the clutch and put the vehicle into first. He glanced over at Alex. "Ready?"
She nodded.
Jake stomped on the accelerator. The rear wheels pealed out and began to smoke. Finally catching, they sent the vehicle screaming toward the main gate. Popping it into second gear, they moved faster. Hitting the ramp that lead up to the main gate, the SUV became airborne.
Jake gunned the accelerator as they landed smashing through the guardrail. Two of the men in the guard shack jumped out and tried to squeeze off several rounds, but it was too late. The black SUV had already sped around the corner.
* * * *
Perry stared at the glowing device. He knew this was it. It changed from a bright red color to a deep green and began spin on its axis. It began to emit a high-pitched whine, then suddenly stopped. The orb went black and everything fell silent. For a brief instant, Perry could actually hear his heart beating.
Seconds later it exploded. Fire engulfed the room and Perry was killed instantly. The explosion came in two waves. The first wave was fire. It moved through the base like a flood of water obliterating everything in its path. Soldiers ran frantically through the base trying to escape the flames only to be caught and burned to death. Several men on fire ran screaming through the halls.
The second wave followed with the force of hundreds of nuclear missiles. It immediately knocked down the inner structures of the base causing it to implode. The mountain above the base crushed down burying all the men still inside under tons of rock and debris. Those who weren't burned to death by the fires were crushed to death.
Then as quickly as it began, it was over. The dust slowly began to settle back down. The screams of men trapped in the rocks slowly faded as they suffocated. It was a horrible way to die.
* * * *
Jake and Alex felt the explosion. Turning to look behind them they saw a huge plume of flames and debris reaching high into the morning sky. Jake tightened his grip on the wheel as Alex pulled her seatbelt over her chest and buckled it.
"Drive!" She said without looking back at Jake.
Jake complied, swiftly making his way through the gears until he hit fifth gear. Still staring behind them Alex watched as the second wave of the explosion neared them.
"Drive faster!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!"
The wave of dust and debris caught them and tossed them into the air. Small rocks whizzed past them with the speed of a bullet. A giant rock smashed through the rear window sending shards of glass hurtling through the vehicle. Alex ducked down and covered her head as several of the shards of glass sliced at her arms. The vehicle slammed back into the desert floor front first. Jake tried to regain control of the vehicle as it skidded through the soft desert soil. Twisting the wheel hard in his hands, he skillfully piloted the Jeep away from the wave.
Chapter 25
Several days had passed since they had escaped from Area 51 and finished their assault on S-4. They hadn't stopped when they reached Las Vegas. They both wanted to get as far away from there as they possibly could. They drove straight through central Utah, only stopping for gas in a small town in the middle of nowhere.
Finally passing over the state line into Colorado, Jake finally breathed a sigh of relief. Alex had fallen asleep in the seat next to him. As far as he knew this was the first good rest she had gotten in days. He knew he hadn't had a chance to rest since he took this case.
Nearly an hour later, they began passing through Grand Junction. The stepped mountains around them were stark in comparison to the luscious trees and greens of the orchards on either side of the highway.
Rolling down the window he felt the warm dry air on his face and took a deep breath of the sweet fragrance of the peaches and other fruit growing on the trees all around him.
He needed to rest. He had been driving straight for ten hours. Clicking on the turn signal, he slowly pulled the SUV on to the off ramp and made his way down town. The city was lush with trees and buildings. The streets were a bustle with cars and people making their way to back and forth through their normal lives. He wondered if any of them even suspected what they had just been through.
Pulling on to the main street, he stared at the small shops that littered it and the people moving back and forth on the sidewalks. Taking a left, he followed another street until it connected with Lincoln Avenue
. Guiding the large black vehicle to the right he followed the road until he saw a large hotel to his left.
Pulling into he turn lane he waited patiently until he could pull into the hotel's parking lot. He watched the parade of cars pass by him as his mind started to wander back to what they had done. Shaking it off, he saw an opening in the traffic and carefully pulled into the motels parking lot.
Finding a spot in the front, he turned off the ignition and stepped out. Stretching his legs, he walked in the front doors and up to the empty front register. Everything in the room was a dark shade of brown, form the wooden chairs to the rugs on the floor. He scanned the large room for the clerk, finally deciding to ring the bell.
A door behind the desk opened and a small balding man stepped up to the counter. "Can I help you?"
"I need a room for the night with twin beds."
The man reached behind the desk and pulled out a small card and pen and handed it to Jake. "Please fill this out."
Leaning over on the counter, Jake carefully filled out the card. Signing it at the bottom he handed it back to the clerk. "Here you go."
The clerk scooped up the card and looked it over. "Very good. That'll be sixty-three dollars."
Jake fished a wad of cash out o
f his pocket and flipped out four twenty-dollar bills.
The man graciously accepted the bills and handed Jake the key to his room. He pointed over the desk to the back of the room. "You'll be on the third floor. Take the elevator it's easier." He opened the cash drawer and counted out the change.
"Thanks." Jake took the change and deposited it in his pocket. Turning around he walked outside to wake up Alex. Moving over to the passenger door, he leaned into the window and gently shook her. "Wake up Alex."
She slowly lifted her head and smiled. "Are we there yet?"
"Yeah, were there." He returned the smile. Opening her door, he helped her out. "I got us a room so we can get cleaned up and get some rest."
* * * *
The warm water felt good on her aching body. She stood in the center of the shower and just let the water wash over her. She lifted her arms and ran her hands through her long brown hair letting the water hit her on the neck and shoulders. Reaching down she twisted the shower knobs and turned of the water.
Pushing aside the shower curtain, she stepped out and grabbed a towel off the rack near her. Wrapping it around her body, she stepped over to the mirror and retrieved a small brush off the sink. Wiping the steam off the mirror with her hand, she ran the brush carefully through her hair several times before replacing it on the sink. Reaching over for a small black travel bag, she unzipped it and pulled out a pair of boxers and a white tank top. Dropping the towel, she slowly pulled on the clean clothes.
Opening the door she stepped into the room to find Jake stretched out on one of the beds watching TV. Making her way over to the other bed, she slumped down on it and laid her head on the pillows.
Rolling on to her side she looked at Jake. "You'll feel a little better if you take a shower."
"I know. I just don't have the strength to get up right now."
The both laughed for a moment. A serious look then washed over Alex's face. "Do you think they'll come after us?"
Clicking off the TV, he came to a sitting position facing her. "I'm sure of it." Alex didn't like that answer. "But it'll take them a while. They'll have to figure out what happened."
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life running away."
"Neither do I." He snapped his fingers. "Look at it this way. The only two people that could really identify us, namely General Perry and Colonel Hunter, are dead."
She nodded. "Do you think we did the right thing?"
Jake thought for a moment. "I believe we did."
She ran her fingers through her wet hair. "I miss Griggs."
"I do too. He was a good man and he stood up for what he believed in. He will be missed."
Alex sat silently for a moment. Laying back down she smiled at Jake. "Let's not think about this anymore right now. I want to watch some TV."
Jake nodded and turned it back on. He surfed through the channels past the talk shows and infomercials until he found a show he liked. Laying the remote next to him on the bed he settled back into the bed.
The screen went blank for a moment, but was replaced by a blue screen with the presidential logo on it. That faded into a shot of an empty podium in front of some blue curtains. A man in a dark blue suit and tie stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. Jake instantly recognized him as the President's Chief of Staff. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the President of the United States."
The room was quiet as the president took the podium. "I've called you here today for a very important reason." He took a deep breath and continued. "We have lost a great man and a good friend today. My main military advisor General Joshua Perry died in an accident earlier this morning."
Jake turned to Alex. "Are you listening to this?"
She nodded as she stared at the television. "I can't believe it."
The President cleared his throat and continued. "He was attending the test flight of one of our newest air craft at Nellis Air Force Base, when the plane crashed shortly after take off and killed several of our top men including General Perry." He held his hand over his mouth as he coughed. "Excuse me." He adjusted his papers on the podium in front of him. "He was a great man and he will be missed."
The press corps started shouting questions at him. Slowly he moved away from the podium and was replaced by his Chief of Staff. "No questions, please. The White House will issue a press release later this evening. Thank you for attending."
The image faded back to the Presidential logo, then to a local anchorman back in the studio. "The President has just announced the death of General Josh Perry." Perry's picture flashed up in the corner of the screen. "We'll have more details on this tragic story as soon as they become available." He quickly shifted the notes in front of him then readdressed the camera. "Later, on 'News 5' at five, a major earthquake rocked the southwestern United States this morning. Officials say the epicenter was just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. We'll have all the details tonight. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming."
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