The simulated breeze made the trees, and bushes sway slightly as Coco strode past. Well, technically he thought of it as a breeze, when, in fact, it was the ventilation system circling the air around all twelve zones before sucking it back up and replacing it.
Gilson, from another unit, and Tom, from his, was jogging along the street heading towards Zone 10, to run around the artificial island that was connected to the water-treatment plant. He gave them both a nod as they ran passed in a sweaty mess.
It was early, but he was sure Doctor Hall would be working – he was always working. Regardless of who had come and gone, Hall was a permanent fixture.
Coco looked up at the blocks of flats he was passing; they were all made for the Adam and Eve finalists. The old-style buildings were prefabricated clones of each other.
Coco had been stationed here for just under two years, and he still couldn't quite get his head around the information he received when he was first made part of the unit.
His mind still didn't believe that out there were pods capable of wiping humanity off the face of the planet. He had studied the details of the discovered six pods, that they knew the locations of, and he sometimes wondered where the seventh would be hiding, and would someone touch and activate it in his lifetime?
He prayed not.
The world has enough problems without an apocalypse adding to the mix; he reasoned. Then again, maybe we need a wake up call; we are ruining this world, stripping it off its natural resources and replacing them with pollution and concrete cities.
The underground bunker was homely, in a fashion; it made him feel safe, and having millions of tonnes of soil and rock between him and the impending virus above was comforting. However, at present he came and went as he pleased. He wasn't sure how he felt about being locked down here for decades, without being able to see the sun and sky.
He loved the outdoors – he was an outside person.
Coco grew up in Newton Abbot, a town about twenty miles away. He decided it was fate, ending up posted so close to his hometown. He was the third oldest child of three brothers and two sisters. His father left when he was young, and he had no recollection of ever knowing what he looked like or what kind of person he was. Then again, he always used to reason; he left us when I was five, so I pretty much know what kind of person he is.
Coco had a hard life growing up. His mother was always struggling to pay the bills. She held down two jobs, and she took in washing for other people, even though she had a mountain to do each week of her own.
He could only ever recall seeing her sat down, relaxing, taking time for herself, once in his whole childhood. From the moment he woke up in the morning, until he went to bed at night, she was always working, doing something – always moving – always struggling to put food on the table and clothes on their backs.
They all lived in a council house on an estate called Buckland. Not a nice, or particularly safe area to live, but it was home. A three bed roomed house for six people.
His oldest brother, Raymone, had his own room. Coco shared with his younger brother, Darrel, and his two sisters, Taleisha and Brie shared.
His mother, Jean Ann Franklin slept on a pullout bed in the front room. All her clothes were in a cupboard next to the TV cabinet.
However, his mother never seemed to sleep; he couldn't remember ever seeing her in bed.
Right the way up until Coco was thirteen, and when he wasn't at school, he would be out. As soon as he got home from school, he would gulp down his food and rush to meet his friends, exploring woods, or making camps, or simply spending hours playing in the park, and he would stay out until mere minutes before his curfew.
He felt old seeing children of today sat staring at various sized screens – phones, pads, games, and computers; he felt like they were missing out on so much of the physical world.
His favorite location was Decoy Park, a large wooded area surrounding a vast, deep lake, with exorcise equipment scattered along the path. In the summer, he would swim in the freezing lake – always on the lookout, knowing if he was caught, he would be kicked out.
At the age of thirteen, as soon as he was old enough, he got two paper rounds, for a little pocket money, and to help his mother out. At the age of sixteen, he was working in a local bakery as an apprentice. His mother was proud. He was learning a trade, and he got to bring the old bread and cakes home.
College wasn't an option. He needed to earn money to help his family; he couldn't afford to spend several more years leaching off his mother.
His oldest brother Raymone worked in a local supermarket. Each day, he would bring home products off the damaged cart, paying a fraction of the price.
His oldest sister Taleisha was training to be a hairdresser. She was forever practicing on her brothers and sister, and on their mum, and earning extra cash by cutting the hair of the neighbours.
With three of the children working it took some of the pressure off his mother. She stopped doing other peoples washing and ironing. However, she still seemed to be forever pottering around.
Coco remembered returning from work with a loaf of bread and some dry doughnuts, and when he wandered into the kitchen, his mother wasn't there. He stood and listened. He couldn't hear her banging around. As he went to pass through the front room, to head up stairs to see if she was changing the bed sheets, or dusting, or folding clothes, or the one of a thousand things she did nonstop, he was alarmed to find her sat on a seat in the front room. His mother was just sat still, drinking a cup of tea with her eyes closed.
He rushed to her side, thinking something was wrong. She explained she was just taking a rest, enjoying a cup of tea. It was the first time he had ever seen her doing something for herself, grabbing five minutes before everyone arrived home, and the madness started all over again.
Then everything crashed down around him when he woke up one night when he was seventeen, and he could smell smoke.
When he first awoke, choking, the flames were too high to get out of his bedroom door. He was later told that because his window was open, and his bed was right next to it; he was saved from the worst of the deadly smoke.
He couldn't see his younger brother, Darrel; his bed was empty. He presumed he had gone to use the toilet before the fire started.
Coco's plan was to jump out of the window and rush through the front or back door to help the rest of his family. However, as he jumped to the grass out of his bedroom window, he broke both ankles, and knocked himself unconscious.
He was unable to help any of his family.
He woke up in Torbay Hospital with a social worker next to his bed, who quietly explained that he was now an orphan due to all his family perishing in the fire.
One of his worse and saddest memories was sitting in a wheelchair at the funeral of everyone he loved. Ironically, they were cremated. He remembered thinking, as he watched the caskets enter the cremation chamber one after another, if they got a discount, due to most of the work having already been done at the house fire.
There was only himself and eleven neighbours, as well as his social worker, at the funeral.
Phyllis, the mid-fifties care worker, who looked like she had never heard of conditioner or make-up in her life, squeezed his arm every now and then, but he could tell she was here only because she had to be.
As soon as the ceremony was over, he was whisked back to his new home – a children's home in Torquay, near the hospital. Technically, he was still classed as a minor until he was eighteen.
Due to healing, physically and mentally, he lost his job at the bakery. He would lie on his bed in his room that he shared with two others, and simply stare at the ceiling. He was so used to all his family being around him, always there, always close, that his mind couldn't comprehend their absence, the emptiness they left.
The carers at the home didn't care if he lay on his bed all day, they had enough on their plates with the teenagers that did move around, causing trouble.
A doctor to
ld them he was suffering from survivor's guilt, and to give him the space and time he needed.
Then, after his ankles were healed, and on one of the rare days he did get up, to wander the home, he found a man dressed in military attire in the main commons room. The soldier sat in the corner surrounded by pamphlets. There were a couple of lads chatting with him, so Coco went and sat on a seat by the window and simply watched the man.
A video was playing, that the soldier had brought with him. The recruitment video showed the might of the British military forces.
There were all-terrain vehicles driving through mud, close-ups of rotor blades, and tank tracks, all in slow motion, with motivational, fast, techno music playing in the background. There were soldiers jumping from planes, driving tanks, firing machine guns, with spent bullet casing slowly swirling through the air in wisps of smoke, they crawled through mud with camo paint on their faces and leaves and twigs sticking out of the netting on their helmets. All the while, as the fresh young smiling faces were being shown in close-ups, small titles were hovering beside the individuals, showing that there's more to the army than just cannon fodder – IT Technician, Qualified Electrician, Fully Trained Chef, Licensed Truck Driver, and so on. It ended with the young soldiers playing football on an exotic beach somewhere, with their army trucks parked in the background, as they had the time of their lives with the sun on their bare backs and perfect six-packs with the sound of laughter and surf ringing in their ears, and scantly clad local girls cheering on the sidelines.
Coco wasn't naive; he knew it wasn't all smiles and fun. However, he could see something in the video – he saw others like himself, brought together out of the need to belong to something – needing structure.
The soldier never spoke to Coco; he simply let him sit and watch the video over and over. After the man had packed up and thanked the care home manager, as he was leaving, he simply walked up to Coco and passed him a small card. It had the name and address of the recruitment office in Exeter. He then gave a knowing nod and a smile and left.
As soon as his ankles healed properly, and his eighteenth birthday arrived, Coco joined the army. He had no other family he knew of; his mother was an only child, and she never talked about her own parents. The horrible truth was he had nowhere else to go.
After his basic training, Coco picked Intelligence Linguist, as it turned out; he had a gift for gathering and interpreting information.
Coco returned from his daydreaming when he arrived at the Science Department.
It was the largest building in Zone 1, and took up what would be three blocks in a normal city, and there was only a handful of scientist running it on a skeleton crew.
Coco stepped through the automated door.
3
Coco liked the science block; it reminded him of an expensive blockbuster movie. The place looked like something out of Star Trek. The walls were white and straight-lined. There were swishing automatic doors, eye scanners, and fingerprint pads, with the crème-de-la-crème, the large five story circular chamber in the centre of the building where the samples were kept.
Coco spotted Doctor Hall. He stood with his back to him. Hall was at a console, tapping away on a keyboard.
In the distance, down a glass corridor, Coco could see some other scientists inputting information into computers.
Even with his army boots on Coco made no sound as he walked up behind Doctor Hall.
"How's it hanging Doc?"
"Jesus!" Hall spun around, clutching his hands against his chest. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
"Sorry Doc, thought you would have heard me approaching."
Hall knelt down and picked up his cigarette. It wasn't lit; he just had it in his mouth for habit's sake. He slid it behind his ear.
Doctor Hall looked bedraggled as normal. His white lab coat was covered in stains and pen marks. He had brown corduroy trousers on, and Coco just hoped he had more than one pair, because he had never seen him wearing anything else. His lab coat was open showing a brown-buttoned down shirt and an olive cardigan that had a couple of buttons missing and the sleeves, which poked out the end of the coat, were threadbare.
Doctor Hall used a hand to sweep his brush over back into place, which had flopped to one side when he bent to pick up his cigarette.
"Have you got it?" Coco asked.
Doctor Albert Hall thrust his hands into his lab coat pockets, and just stood staring.
"Why the rush? As far as I'm aware you aren't even dating?"
"Tell me you got it Doc?"
Hall sighed. "Yes I got it." His face turned serious. "And if you only knew the amount of crap I had to take off Heather to get it." His words trailed off as he started to search his pockets.
"I swear I had it on me..."
"Come on Doc, stop messing." Coco was nervous.
"Ah, here it is." Doctor Hall pulled a small dark purple velvet covered box from his lab coat.
"Heather fired off a thousand questions before she handed it over. I had to use all my charm with that woman."
Coco didn't want to imagine the Doc being charming, or what that involved.
"I didn't think you would pull it off," Coco stated as he took the small box from the Doctor.
"You realise if you lose that Heather will cut your balls off and wear them as earrings?"
Coco simply nodded as he opened the small box. There was an old ring with a set diamond peering up at him.
"Heather promised not to mention it to Echo. However, she said you have a month. If she doesn't see Echo wearing the ring by then she wants it back."
The ring was Echo's grandmothers. Heather had used it during her marriage with Hall, and she would have passed it on to her children, if she had any. However, due to the circumstances, the ring was once again available, and Coco had begged Doctor Hall to talk with Heather to get the ring that Echo had mentioned.
Coco was ready for the next step. Even though technically he wasn't dating Echo, he has spent every waking free moment with her. And like Jinks said, if he didn't pull his socks up, someone else will swoop in.
When she got back from her holiday, he was going to ask her out on a real date. He would state he was serious and would explain he has taken so long to ask because he wanted to make sure he was ready for the commitment. He would say she is all he has ever wanted in life, and if she agreed to date him, he would make her the happiest woman alive.
He had run the conversation over in his mind a thousand times.
Coco would then, on the first date, remove the ring and give it to her, as a statement of his love that had been growing and nurturing for years. He would ask her to keep hold of it, and when she was ready, to start wearing it, as a statement that she was willing to spend the rest of her life with him.
"You're a star Doc; I owe you big time!" Coco stated as he put the box in his pocket.
"You're very welcome. So long as you make my niece happy; that's all the thanks I need."
Even though he technically wasn't Echo's uncle anymore, he still considered himself one.
"I gotta run; I need to get back to the mess hall. Once again, thanks Doc, you're a life saver." Coco stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Hall. The Doctor stunk of stale cigarette smoke, and his cheap aftershave didn't quite cover over his strong body odour.
"Now you're just embarrassing me," Hall stated.
"Whatever Doc, you love a hug as much as the next person," Coco said as he let go.
"We'll catch up soon," Coco stated as he turned to head back to the shuttle station.
"Deal," Doctor Hall replied.
Neither of them realised what was about to be announced, and how the world as they knew it was about to change forever, and that the base would be put on high alert and hundreds of others drafted in.
The world, as they knew it, was about to come to an end.
4
All the way on the shuttle back to Zone 6, Coco kept twisting the box in his pocket. He wanted to tak
e it out and look at it again, but he couldn't because there were two other soldiers on the train with him.
He was running a little late. He didn't have to meet everyone in his unit for breakfast, but it was a squad tradition.
The train was just gliding through the underground tunnels when the alarm started blaring.
Coco was confused. He wasn't aware of any drills. They were on Monday and Thursday, which was a waste of time as far as he was concerned. No one took them seriously because they knew they weren't real.
A deep automated male voice – which to Coco sounded like the robotic voice that's piped over a train stations speaker system – followed the klaxon.
"This is a Code Red. Repeat, a Code Red announcement."
Shit, Coco realised what was happening. This can't be? Please God no!
He started to sweat through his uniform. He could hear the soldiers on the train swearing.
"All personnel will gather in their emergency Code Red locations. Repeat, all personnel will gather in their Code Red locations."
The klaxon then continued for ten seconds before the words were repeated.
The train pulled into the station.
Coco, along with the two soldiers on the train, ran out the sliding doors, heading for their particular destinations.
For those below ground at the time of the announcement, they were to meet in the large mess hall. For those aboveground, it would be inside the hub building.
There were people scurrying about, all running in the same direction.
Echo is out there, in another country. I need to warn her.
Coco knew her father would have already contacted her, and would have a plane lifting off the runway the instant the warning was announced.
He ran down the streets, following the small crowd. There weren't too many people in the bunker, just a skeleton crew. That would soon change.
When he reached the mess hall, he could see his unit stood around their table, breakfast going cold and untouched.
The hall was slowly filling up as people ran through the doors. They started milling around, waiting nervously for the announcement, hoping with all their heart that this was an unscheduled training simulation.
The Sixth Extinction & The First Three Weeks & The Squads First Three Weeks Omnibus [Books 1-10] Page 54
