“I think I might be," Laurie said, laying flat on the roof of the elevator and taking a huge shuddering breath. Coal pulled me to my feet, his eyes lingering on mine as he finished his examination and I offered him a shy smile.
“I'm fine too, thanks for checking," Alicia goaded him.
“You're bullet proof Liss. I'm not gunna waste my time worrying about you," he replied casually.
"Or me apparently," Laurie huffed, rolling herself upright.
“Okay, okay - shut up now." Coal stepped away from me and slammed his boot down onto the hatch. It finally gave up and shattered into pieces.
Coal jumped down and thankfully, though it bounced a little, the elevator stayed firmly in place.
Fuck doing that ever again.
The elevator doors opened onto a room with glass partitions splitting it into sections. It was lit with a dim red glow from several lights which hung around the space. Some form of emergency lighting was running on the bottom floor.
There were guard stations on either side of the corridor beyond the elevator and signs stating the floor to be 'Level Eight Security Access Only.'
“Well, would you look at that? Turns out I'm level eight cleared," Coal joked as he whipped out the ID badge he’d pocketed earlier.
A few steps beyond the elevator, a smoked glass wall blocked our path. The centre of it held a door which had a keycard scanner.
“Here's hoping there's enough power left to make this work," Coal said, swiping the card.
“Welcome to level eight, Eric," a mechanical sounding voice greeted us as the door slid open.
Coal grinned and we moved inside. The room was laid out in a kind of twisting pathway which threaded through all of the partitioned zones. Smoked glass encased the zones which each contained a computer console with more buttons than I had any idea what to do with and several screens.
"Jackpot." Alicia smiled broadly and strode ahead. The room twisted on and on and soon I couldn't see the elevator behind us.
A thin, ringing clatter, like something falling to the floor drew my attention back the way we’d come and I paused, glancing over my shoulder.
“Did you hear that?" I asked the others.
“What?" Laurie turned her head too and we stood for a moment, listening.
“I dunno, I must have imagined it." I shrugged and we hurried to catch up to Alicia.
Coal stood for a moment longer, frowning back the way we’d come but he soon followed on too.
Each of the consoles had a bunch of wires rising from them that connected together and ran along the ceiling in a thick braid, leading the way onwards.
“These should lead to the super computer," Alicia said, pointing at the wires.
We moved on, following the twisting path between consoles that headed further and further into the depths of the bunker.
"It must be pretty important if they felt they needed to hide it away down here," Laurie commented.
“Seems a bit excessive to me," I replied.
Movement in the corner of my eye made me turn to look at one of the small desk areas but the shadows didn't shift again as I scrutinised them. I took a step towards the console curiously as I tried to figure out what had caught my attention.
"Ah ha!" Alicia announced in triumph and I turned back to face her and see what she’d found.
She was standing before a huge doorway built into another smoked glass wall, where the wires disappeared inside a darkened room. We proceeded inside carefully. The emergency lights weren't working within so the others flicked their flashlights back on and pieced the room together with the combined beams.
It was massive. Row upon row of black pillars, lit with little lines of flashing blue LEDs, filled it in every direction. The nuclear power source must have had its work cut out, keeping that thing going for all those years. I ran my fingers along the bumps and grooves on the front of one of the panels wondering how we would tell where to plug in the transmitter.
“It's programmed to light up green when we're at the right console," Alicia said, holding up the transmitter as if she’d read my mind.
We started pacing up and down the aisles, our footsteps echoing loudly in the open space. A slight rustling drew my attention back to the room we’d come from but the dim emergency lighting didn't show anything out of place.
Paranoid much?
Around the twentieth aisle, I started to drift behind Alicia who was still striding forward purposefully holding the transmitter in front of her. Laurie was by her side and they were chatting away about something, words like 'transmission' and 'break-horse power' floating back to me as my attention wandered.
"What's going on in your head?" Coal slowed to walk with me.
“I was just thinking, there must have been hundreds of people who worked down here."
“And?"
“And, where did they go? Why did none of them ever come back?"
“I guess they went to find their families."
“And the fact that there are beds, showers, some sort of power source and a massive computer capable of god knows what all tucked away safely down here didn't draw any of them back?"
Coal shrugged.
“It just seems strange that no one would come back, or at least tell someone else about it who would want to come here," I said. “The world had just gone to shit, it seems like a huge underground bunker would be the perfect place to hide away from everything out there.”
“Maybe it's because it's Creeper country. Who knows how long those monsters have ruled around here? Hell, the people who live here could have become the monsters. Or they just ran out of food and had to leave. Even if they intended to come back, the world was in turmoil, anything could have happened to them."
I nodded, though it still seemed odd to me, like we were missing something here.
“Found it." Alicia's voice echoed across the room. She’d disappeared from view with Laurie while we were talking and we moved on quickly to locate them.
Something rattled across the floor and hit the side of my boot and I stilled as I looked around at it.
“What's that?" Coal asked, bending down to retrieve it. He held up a rusted metal drink can with a frown.
“Where did that come from?" I asked.
We looked down the row we stood in as a shiver danced down my spine.
At the far end, a silhouette was outlined by the dim red light of the next room through the smoked glass beyond.
“Laurie?" I breathed, but I knew it wasn't her. The silhouette was too tall, the limbs hung at strange angles and they were standing in an odd position, almost like a wild animal waiting to pounce.
Coal's hand closed around my wrist and he took a step backwards, drawing me with him. The silhouette moved into a crouch and let out an inhuman snarl. Coal's flashlight swung up to illuminate an all-too-human face which was twisted in a growl of rage.
“Run," Coal gasped and flung me around to face the opposite end of the row.
My heart leapt as we broke into a sprint, the sound of bare feet slapping against the concrete floor sounding too close behind us as the Creeper gave chase with another shriek.
Coal pulled a knife from his belt and twisted, flinging it in one fluid motion at the Creeper. We didn't pause to see if it hit the mark but we heard a screech of pain and the footsteps slowed.
“Gunshots will just draw more of them to us, only fire if it’s that or death," he commanded in a low voice.
“Okay," I agreed, shifting my hand from my pistol to the hilt of my first knife.
"Alicia? Laurie?" Coal called as we barrelled from the end of the row and skidded to the left.
Two more figures loomed out of the darkness in front of us. We spun to head back the way we’d come but we were surrounded as more of them appeared there too. Coal shifted to stand between me and the nearest Creepers with a snarl of anger.
I stayed close to him, looking back at the moving shadows behind us as he drew two knives and held them ready.
>
“Stay close,” he commanded, lurching forward to meet the closest monsters.
My grip tightened on my own blade as I did as he’d commanded. As we closed the distance between us, they held their ground seeming unsure, obviously not expecting us to take the fight to them.
We passed another line of computer consoles and Coal stopped holding his ground as he bared his teeth at the Creepers.
"Run," he growled at me.
“What?" I hissed back.
“Don't argue with me, just run." He turned slightly and shoved me sideways with his shoulder.
I gasped as I stumbled into the passage and Coal ran the last few steps between him and the Creepers as he launched an attack.
I hesitated for a moment as the struggle took Coal further away from me. But as I moved forward to help, the remaining Creepers raced to block the end of the passage, cutting me off from him.
They were covered in filth and entirely naked. Their broken teeth formed twisted smiles and wild eyes watched me with a hunger that had my whole body trembling with fear.
I took a step backwards instinctively as they snarled at me, then another. There were four of them and they all seemed intent on coming after me rather than Coal. If I could lure them away from him then he’d have a better chance against the two he was fighting.
The Creepers hounded after me and I did the only thing I could.
I ran.
I attached the device to the console without any difficulty. There was even a handy sign next to the port saying 'USB in' to make it even easier to find. Piece of cake.
I waited for the device to confirm that it was connected and then we could get the hell out of here. A little progress bar ran along the bottom of the screen with the words 'coupling complete in:' followed by a timer which was counting down seconds from sixty.
“I'll give you a driving lesson on the way back if you like," I said to Laurie over my shoulder. It was ridiculous how sheltered they were from living in the city and I intended to rectify that as quickly as possible.
48.
“You're on," Laurie replied, the excitement in her voice making me smile. And Coal said girls didn't like me. I’m totally likeable, the most likeable.
I tapped my thumb on the hilt of my machete impatiently as we waited. The timer was counting down excruciatingly slowly and I just wanted to get back up to the sunlight. It wasn’t natural to be stuck underground like this.
"It's really just a matter of getting used to the stick shift. But if you don't get on with it you can just drive an automatic instead," I said.
“Sounds good to me," Laurie replied enthusiastically. "I was hoping to become a helicopter pilot in the city for the Warden Unit, but everything's changed now."
“Who wants a helicopter when you've got the open road in front of you?” I joked, though a helicopter sounded pretty damn epic. We didn’t have things like that functioning out here anymore.
The sound of Coal’s voice raised in warning echoed across the room from somewhere within the maze of consoles and I stilled. I knew my brother's voice better than anything and he sounded worried. Really fucking worried. Which wasn’t like him at all.
I turned my head back and forth to check either end of the passage we were standing in, hunting for him as my grip tightened on the hilt of my machete.
“Fuck,” I breathed. Every instinct in my body was urging me to go to him, but I couldn’t leave until this upload was complete or this entire mission would have been for nothing.
39.
Laurie noticed the change in my stance and reached for her pistols but I shook my head and indicated the knives on her belt instead.
She quickly drew two blades, holding them ready as her jaw set with determination.
34.
“Run, Maya!” Coal yelled and my heart leapt in panic. Coal didn’t run from anything. Which meant that whatever the hell he’d found was bad. Really bad. And there was only one thing up here that that could be.
Double fuck.
My machete was out and at the ready in a heartbeat and I swung it back and forth before me, loosening my muscles as I prepared for a fight. There were movements in the shadows at either end of the row we stood in and a lick of fear danced along my spine.
I glanced at the device. If we abandoned it before it connected, the whole mission would be a waste. It didn’t need much longer. But it felt like an eternity.
29.
Something approached from the darkness, obscuring the flashing LEDs as it moved along the row we occupied.
Laurie held her knives like a pro, her Warden training taking over as she showed no signs of fear. My lip curl back as the shadow drew ever closer. I held my machete to one side and took a step forward.
21.
As I closed the distance between me and the shadow, the Creeper came into focus and I drew in a sharp breath.
I knew I should have attacked instantly but I hesitated. It looked young, like a child and the lingering signs of humanity in it made me pause.
He glared at me with hate filled eyes and something dark dribbled down its chin. It's scrawny body was ghostly pale, the skin almost seeming transparent in places. There was something so much worse about it being young. I hated the resemblance of humanity and for the longest moment, I struggled with the idea of killing it.
I may have hesitated, but the Creeper didn't. He jumped forwards with an inhuman screech, his hands curled into claws which were aimed straight at my face.
My heart leapt as my moment of indecision evaporated. These things may have looked human but they weren’t and it wouldn’t think twice about killing me if it could.
I ducked and twisted aside, swinging the machete in an arc behind me as I moved. The blade swept across his abdomen and the creature howled in rage and pain before I could finish the job with a second stroke of my weapon.
17.
More Creepers descend on us, drawn by the noise and I swung around, ready to fight them back as we waited on the damn device to finish its download.
Laurie broke into action, throwing her knives with practiced skill. She took out two of the approaching Creepers in quick succession and a ferocious look spread across her face.
Her eyes were still a little wide but she was a Warden first and foremost. She knew how to act under pressure and shock or fear weren’t going to ruffle her.
Three more Creepers ran for us with cries of rage and I strode to meet them, a fierce smile pulling at my mouth as I slipped into the flow of the battle.
The Creepers were grotesque. Their greasy hair and filthy skin shining in the blue lights of the LEDs, bathing them in a sickly glow. Some of them wore rags like a mocking attempt at creating clothing but most were naked, their deformed bodies fully on show.
I spun and ducked and swung the machete in deadly arcs, moving so quickly that the Creepers couldn't react in time to avoid the blows. But they were either too dumb or too angry to flee and they swarmed around me, ignoring their injuries and screaming their rage as they fought to get their hands on me.
11.
With a swing that made my muscles ache, I sent a severed arm flying away from me. The Creeper howled in agony but kept coming as it bared its teeth and charged at me.
Before I could move to meet it, Laurie was there, thrusting a knife into his chest and he dropped dead instantly.
I swung the machete higher, cutting through flesh and bone as blood spilled all around me and I finally finished the others.
3.
We stumbled backwards, tripping over the fallen bodies in the dark as we hurried back to the device.
2, 1.
More Creepers were running at us from the far end of the passage, too many of them. The screen flashed blank then the message I’d been waiting for appeared on it.
'Start synchronisation?'
I hit the green button, smearing the screen with blood.
'Synchronisation underway.'
I grabbed Laurie's arm, wheeling her awa
y from the monsters and we ran as fast as we fucking could in the other direction.
Job done. Now we just needed to get out of here alive.
My feet pounded against the hard floor as I raced for the end of the row and flung myself around the corner. The sounds of pursuit were close behind me but I was maintaining my lead through a pure and unfiltered desire to survive.
I ran so fast that I was afraid I’d fall but I couldn’t afford to slow for a single second. I raced past several more rows of consoles and the layout of the room changed. Instead of long rows of computers, there were round columns dotted throughout the space, the consoles still dimly illuminated by the blue LEDs.
The columns were big, each about two metres in diameter and spaced unevenly which created a maze of paths to take and a chance for me to escape.
I shot through the first gap and twisted between column after column, changing my route constantly to make it harder for the Creepers to follow my trail.
The sounds of pursuit slowed and I chanced a look over my shoulder. Relief spilled through me as I realised I'd lost them. But the thumping of my footsteps on the concrete floor was suddenly a blaring alarm announcing my position and I swung around another console before pulling up short and pressing my back to it.
I drew in a ragged breath and tried to stay calm. I forced my breathing to slow and closed my eyes, listening.
Nothing, nothing, nothing…slap. Just faintly, so faint I wasn't sure I'd heard it at all but then, slap slap.
It sounded horribly like bare feet on concrete and I bit down on my bottom lip as I tried to figure out where the sound was coming from.
I opened my eyes and glanced around the edge of the console. The noise sounded like it had come from that way so I shifted carefully away and moved to hide behind another.
My heart thudded unevenly as I crept across the floor, placing the rubber soles of my boots with care so as not to make a noise.
Slap slap slap. One of them was moving quickly between the columns, trying to find me.
Rebel Rising: A Dystopian Romance (Cage of Lies Book 1) Page 27
