by Mike Kraus
Instead, she kept her head and chin high to avoid smashing her face against the ground. She kicked furiously with her legs, freeing her right one and slamming the heel of her boot into her attacker’s face. He yowled in pain and she felt his grip loosen, then she repeated the motion to dislodge him fully. As she came to a stop she raised her pistol and fired at him, pulling the trigger as many times as it took for the slide to pop back and stick. The man’s head blossomed blood onto the ground and she pushed herself to her feet as she glanced from him to back inside the facility.
From the bottom and upper floors a hailstorm of gunfire rang out, splintering multiple windows open and raining glass down onto Dianne. She heard and felt the whistle and pop of rounds landing all around her, but she bobbed and weaved as she ran along, ducking to the left and right to keep trees, benches, fences and other obstacles between her and her attackers. She had no specific goal in mind as she ran from the facility; she was just trying to escape.
As Dianne tripped and stumbled down the hill from the LTAC building and neared the road, the shots from behind her gradually lessened, but she still heard the occasional crack of a rifle and the shouts of the men who were scrambling to get out of the building and pursue her. When she reached the chain-link she glanced back and forth, trying to orient herself to find the break in the fence she had made when she arrived. She finally found it and slipped through, snagging her backpack and rifle in the process which forced her to waste precious seconds getting them free.
“There she is!” Just as Dianne freed herself and her gear she heard the roar of one of the men from farther up the hill. He charged down toward her, firing his rifle wildly as fast as he could pull the trigger and sending the shots careening in every direction. Dianne bolted away from the man and his companions, making a beeline for the parking garage where she stashed her truck. With stealth no longer an option it was a footrace, with the grand prize being life itself. Faced with that grim reality, Dianne ignored the pain in her legs and pushed herself faster, hoping beyond hope that she could still make it out of the city in one piece.
Chapter 10
Washington, D.C.
“Uhh…” Rick ran his hands through his hair before looking around and motioning to a couple of ash-covered benches sitting on the sidewalk. “Mind if we sit down?” Recker nodded and the trio sat, with Dr. Evans at one end of one bench, Rick at the other end and Recker leaning against the arm of the other bench, his leg half propped up across its length.
“I have a feeling you’re about to tell me that I won’t believe what you’re about to tell me,” Recker said. “So I’ll start by telling you that I probably will. We’re on our way to Mount Weather, part of a rescue mission to save a bunch of eggheads trapped there.”
“Mount Weather?” Rick’s eyes grew wide as he recognized the name.
“Rick, that’s where—” Dr. Evans started.
“I know, I know. They wanted to send me there.” Rick shook his head before looking back at Recker. “You say there are people trapped there?”
Recker nodded slowly. “A bunch of scientists and government officials. They were working on trying to fix all of, well, this.” He gestured to their surroundings. “How do you know about Mount Weather? You were supposed to get sent there?”
Rick glanced at Dr. Evans. “You think we can tell him everything?”
Dr. Evans shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”
“All right,” Rick said, then turned to Recker. “Back before this all started, I was at home down in Ellisville, VA, outside of Blacksburg. I left my wife and three children to fly to Los Angeles and give a presentation for the company I worked for. I landed probably thirty minutes before the cars started exploding.”
“Sweet Mary.” Recker whistled softly. “You’re kidding, right?”
Rick sighed and shook his head. “Not at all. And that’s not even the half of it. We’re here to stop this thing.”
Over the next three quarters of an hour, Rick and Dr. Evans detailed their journeys from the start of the event to the present moment, answering Recker’s questions along the way. As they went on, Rick noticed a change in Recker’s attitude and body language. While he had started off acting aggressively and then softened slightly at the sight of Jane’s injuries, he had still been keeping Rick and Dr. Evans at a distance, unsure whether or not they would turn out to have a hidden nefarious agenda of some sort. By the time their stories caught up to the present, though, he was convinced that the two men sitting next to him were being nothing if not truthful.
“So the NSA’s got the tools to stop this thing, huh?”
“That is our belief, yes,” replied Dr. Evans. “But we won’t know until we get there. Which, again, is what we were trying to do when we encountered you.”
“Captain,” started Rick, “Would you mind telling us what you and your officers are doing out here? With the bulldozers and everything, I mean. You said you’re on your way to Mount Weather, but what’s going on?”
Recker shifted in his seat, feeling his rear end and upper thighs tingling from staying in one position on the bench for too long. “After everything went to hell in a handbasket, we had a few dozen officers who hadn’t either been killed or left to take their family out of the city to safety somewhere else. We linked up with a handful of survivors from the fire departments around the city and started running search and rescue operations, bringing people to the auxiliary police building they shut down on the north side of the city. I guess it was isolated enough that it didn’t get hit by this… ‘Damocles’ thing.
“A few days later we picked up a radio broadcast calling for help from Mount Weather. They were saying they had civilians, military and government officials trapped inside and unable to open the bunker doors.” Recker looked over and pointed at the bulldozers. “We got those suckers running and started clearing a path out of the city so we could try and mount a rescue operation. I’m still not sure how we’ll get through the bunker once we get there, though.”
“I’m really glad I didn’t head off to Mount Weather.” Rick shook his head. “Sounds like that was a one-way trip to hell for a lot of people.”
“No kidding. Hopefully we can pull them out, but it sounds like what you three are doing might actually fix all of this.”
“Fix?” Dr. Evans shook his head. “No. Keep from getting worse? Yes. One hopes so, at least.”
Recker eyed Dr. Evans and Rick closely before nodding at them. “All right. What can we do to help you? I can’t commit any manpower to go with you but I can at least give you supplies and armaments. Those pistols and your one rifle aren’t going to offer up much protection if you run into trouble.”
“Absolutely,” Rick answered enthusiastically. “We’d appreciate any help you can give us. We’ve got food and water for a couple of days, but there’s no telling how long we’ll be digging through the rubble to find what we’re looking for. And yes, some rifles and ammunition would be amazing.”
“How’re you planning on accessing these computer systems if—sorry, when—you find them, anyway? There’s no power in the city.”
Dr. Evans scratched at his nose as he replied. “I’ve been thinking about that. Most of the buildings had backup batteries for running critical systems. My guess is that those systems were shut down by Damocles but there may be some that were shut down without damage. If we can find one of those, then—”
“That sounds way too complicated,” Recker said, standing up as he interrupted Dr. Evans. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
As the captain walked off to talk to a couple of officers standing near the bulldozers, Rick and Dr. Evans looked over at the shop where Jackson was still standing over Jane. She appeared to be talking to him and looked like she was in good spirits, but neither man wanted to interrupt Jackson while he was still working on her so they decided to stay on the bench and wait for Recker to return.
A few minutes later Recker walked back to them and motioned for them
to follow him. “Come on. You’ll want to see this.”
“Can we check on Jane first?” Dr. Evans asked.
“She’s in good hands. As soon as Jackson’s done with her, he’ll let us know. Come on, this way.”
Rick and Dr. Evans followed behind Recker, who headed down the street the way the officers had come from, heading for some unknown objective. After a couple of blocks Recker turned the corner and the three men found themselves in front of a pair of officers who were standing around a couple of Capitol Police squad cars, both of which had their hoods open.
“How’s it going?” Recker asked. The men turned to look at him, saw Rick and Dr. Evans and instinctively reached for their weapons when he raised his hand. “Relax; they’re fine.”
“You sure, sir?” A short, stout officer with a thick mustache and a cap that was halfway on his head eyed Rick and Dr. Evans suspiciously.
“One hundred percent. Now tell me how it’s going with the cars.”
“They’re both running, Captain.” The other man, a tall lanky fellow, wiped his hands on a dirty rag. “Engine’s still rough on this one but I think they’ll both get us where we need to go.”
“Good. Get the other one ready to roll out. I want two rifles, two thousand rounds of five-five-six, five hundred rounds of nine mil, two weeks’ worth of food, a weeks’ worth of water and a couple of purifiers in there within thirty minutes.”
“Sir?” The shorter of the two officers looked at him in confusion.
“Also,” Recker continued, “Make sure the inverter works properly. These gentlemen need to be able to run a computer so don’t forget to check that before you’re done.”
Both officers stared at Recker unblinking, looking as though they had just heard him speaking to them in Mandarin. “Cap… did you… what’s this for?” The tall officer finally replied.
“Your funeral if you don’t do what I’m telling you.” The response was hard, and the two officers glanced at each other before replying to their leader.
“Yes, sir. We’ll have it ready for you.”
“Good. Bring it down the street to the ‘dozers when it’s ready. We’ll be there.” He looked at Rick and Dr. Evans. “Come on, let’s head back.”
Rick waited until they were back around the corner before replying to Recker. “Captain, we appreciate the gesture more than you realize, but it’s really not necessary. We had a vehicle outside the city, an electric car, but we couldn’t bring it in. Maybe if you could help us get—”
“No time for that for either of us. As soon as your friend is patched up we have to get back on the move. And you three will need to keep going, too. We’ve got a few older squad cars that didn’t get burned up that we’re working on restoring, so we’ll be fine. And we can spare plenty of weapons and ammo for you, too.
“You three do what you need to do. We’ve cleared several of the main streets so you’ll be able to move back and forth with ease. The squad car’s got an inverter and a battery big enough to power whatever you throw on it, so you’ll be able to run any systems that are left standing. Assuming you can find them, of course.”
“Captain,” Rick said, stopping and tapping Recker on the shoulder. “Thank you. I don’t understand why you’re helping us like this, but it’s incredible.” Rick extended his hand and Recker shook it, looking the man dead in the eyes.
“You’re welcome, Rick. If we few who are left don’t help each other, what’s the point of surviving?”
“Captain?” A voice from behind Recker made him turn and he smiled at the sight of the person walking toward him.
“Jackson! What’s the good word?”
Jackson pulled off his disposable gloves with a loud snap and threw them to the ground. He looked at Rick and Dr. Evans as he spoke. “Your friend is extremely lucky. There were metal shards on the ground and the rubble drove her legs onto them, embedding the metal in her calves and thighs. They just barely missed her major arteries, though, so she’ll be fine. We got the metal out and patched her up.”
“Can she walk?” Rick asked.
“It’ll hurt like hell for a few days, but yes. She can walk. I’d advise against it, though, but I’m no doctor so do whatever you want.” He tossed a small bottle of pills at Dr. Evans. “Make sure she takes these twice a day for the next week. Her stomach’s going to be a mess but they’ll keep the wounds from getting infected.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“Doctor?” Jackson laughed. “I’m no doctor. But you’re welcome. She’s back at the shop, resting until you all are ready to move out.” He looked at Recker. “I assume you got them some transport, Captain?”
Recker nodded. “Squad car with supplies will be here shortly.”
“Good. She needs to stay off of her feet as much as possible.” Jackson took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, glad to be free of the small shop and back out in the open again. “When do we move out, sir?”
“As soon as their vehicle’s ready.”
“Good, I don’t know how much longer those folks at the bunker can hold out if they’ve lost all power. The air circulation systems might be down, too.”
As Recker and Jackson became absorbed in their conversation, Rick tapped Dr. Evans on the shoulder and the two moved away, heading for the shop where Jane was still located. Once they were a short distance from Recker and Jackson, Dr. Evans whispered to Rick. “I can’t believe they’re helping us like this.”
Rick nodded. “Agreed. I’m not about to argue with it, though. They just seriously upped our chances of success and gave us a shot in the arm where we needed it the most. Now let’s go get Jane and plan our next move.”
Chapter 11
Blacksburg, VA
Dianne leaned on the back of her truck, chest heaving as she sucked in air, trying to recover her breath from the long run she had just endured. Her heart was still racing and she glanced behind, checking once again to see whether the men had caught up with her or not. Dianne’s relative nimbleness compared to her pursuers had served her well, allowing her to escape amongst the cars and ruined buildings while those behind her were slowed down. She soon lost them completely, though their superior numbers meant that they were undoubtedly spreading out to search for her. As soon as one of them figured out where she was, she would quickly be surrounded and flushed out of the enclosed parking area.
“Come on…” Dianne slung her rifle into the back of the truck, quickly reloaded a fresh mag into her pistol and then slipped off her backpack. She unzipped the top and gently fished through the contents, hoping that all of the jarring movement she had endured hadn’t broken any of the vials. The glass was cold and sleek to her touch, and she felt every vial she put into her bag, all intact and still nestled in the protective cushions she had made for them. “Hallelujah,” she whispered to herself. “Something didn’t go wrong for once.”
After retrieving her rifle from the back of the truck, she loaded it and her backpack into the rear cab of the vehicle and ran around to the driver’s door. She climbed inside, feeling her legs begin to shake as the adrenaline started to wear off. As she gripped the steering wheel, preparing to start the truck, she glanced at her right hand and arm. Most of the blood from the second man she had killed was dry, forming a thin crust of red that stained her skin and jacket sleeve even as bits of it flaked off with every movement.
Dianne stared at the red stain, transfixed by the sight. The first person she had killed—back home—had been from a distance. She had shot him, his body had dropped to the ground and she had watched the life drain from him before digging a shallow grave in the woods and burying him without fanfare or even a marker. At the time, she thought that the experience couldn’t be worse. But she hadn’t gotten so much as a drop of blood on her back then, nor had she stared into his eyes from inches away, pressing down on him to keep him from making a sound as his life flowed out onto her hand and arm.
A distant, barely audible shout broke Dianne from her thoughts and she
glanced around, her eyes wide with fear. The men were closing in on her, and she would have to move out or risk being trapped. With a deep breath Dianne turned the key in the ignition and the truck roared to life, the engine noise echoing loudly inside the parking garage. She hadn’t expected the noise to be quite as loud as it was and panic set in as she realized she hadn’t quite figured out how she was going to escape from the city.
Dianne scrambled to buckle her seatbelt as she pulled the truck forward, circling around to get out of the parking garage. Before she pulled out onto the street she glanced down at her pistol tucked between the seat and her leg, making sure it was still there so she could use it if necessary. As shouts echoed closer from outside the structure, Dianne gripped the steering wheel and pushed down hard on the accelerator, flying down towards the exit from the structure and out into the unknown.
Rubber squealed on road as the pickup truck emerged from the parking garage, the massive frame groaning and creaking as it slid during Dianne’s sharp turn of the wheel. She felt the left side of the truck just barely lift up off the ground before the turn was over and she muttered under her breath, urging the vehicle not to roll. While she couldn’t tell where the voices outside the parking garage were coming from, she knew that—based on how crowded the streets were—her only chance to escape would be to follow the path she had used to get into the city and to the garage from before. The vehicles driven by the men had, thankfully, not been parked anywhere in the vicinity, as they used part of her original path to drive to the facility but had parked in various small clear spaces just off of the main road.
The appearance of two men in front of her was not entirely unexpected, but Dianne had to fight the instinct to slow down or turn away to avoid hitting them. Years of driving experience had taught her to avoid running over pedestrians in the middle of the road, but considering that the pair in front of her were raising their weapons at her, she managed to overcome her initial urges and press down on the accelerator instead. One of the men barely managed to jump out of the way, the right-hand side mirror striking him in the back as he escaped. The other wasn’t so lucky, and Dianne winced as she heard a muffled scream from beneath the truck as the man was toppled over, his limbs crushed beneath the steel frame and rubber tires.
