All in all, it sounded like there was absolutely no way inside, and even if they could somehow smuggle themselves in, they would still be killed on sight as soon as they got there. The task of getting anywhere close to Glass sounded impossible.
"What about when he stands on his balcony?" Sarah asked. "Could we get a clear view of him from the woods? Close enough to take him out from afar?"
"I don't think so," Sandra said. "I know he has snipers on the roof right above his balcony that are constantly watching. I've seen their spotters with some kind of scopes, so they might even have thermal imaging. I know that wherever he goes, he doesn't put himself at risk."
"Damn it," Sarah muttered. "So if the place is so heavily guarded, how on earth did someone smuggle you out of there?"
"There's a sewer system that runs underneath the mansion leading out into the woods. It's the weakest point in the security, but even that's pretty heavily guarded. A few nights ago when the security was at its lowest point, Jeb managed to slip me past the other guards and I escaped into the woods."
"Jeb is the soldier that you were dating?"
Sandra nodded.
"Is it possible to get inside the compound at night through the sewer system?"
"No," Sandra said. "Security is light at the entrance to the tunnels, but once you get further inside near the hatches leading up inside the walls, I don't think there'd be any real way past. Not without help, anyway. I'm just one small girl that Jeb could throw a cloak over and sneak through without anyone noticing. I don't know how two or three people would get back the other way, especially people that have no business being anywhere near the place."
Sarah was racking her brain, trying to figure out if there was really any point to trying to do any of this, and she could see that Wayne was doing the same. She supposed that she would only get a final understanding once they arrived at the mansion and she could scope out the place with her own eyes, but it was beginning to sound impossible. When it came right down to it, Sarah suspected that she might abandon trying to get into the mansion and instead try to lie in ambush for Glass whenever he came out on an excursion. But who knew when that would be? And if he did, who he traveled with and by what method would be unpredictable.
"What about a boy?" Sarah asked. "A little boy, he'd look about eight or nine years old. Have you seen anyone like that inside the mansion?"
Sandra thought about this for a moment. "I can't remember. But I don't always see everything that goes in and out of there."
"There's gotta be a way," Wayne muttered, struggling to navigate the uneven terrain beneath his feet.
"There has to be," Sarah agreed. "And whatever it is, we'll find it."
They could hear the sound of helicopters and other vehicles in the distance steadily growing louder as they approached. Before long, sneaking through the unfamiliar woods, they eventually came to a break in the trees at the very far outskirts of the compound.
The mansion loomed in the distance behind high walls. It was bigger than Sarah imagined, and it suddenly made the whole task seem even more daunting. The whole property was built up on a higher elevation than the surrounding woods, so there was no way to get a look inside the property without actually being inside. But they could see the road in the distance to the right winding up toward the front gate, and just like Sandra said, there were indeed two M1 Abrams tanks parked outside.
Sarah first scanned her eyes along the roof of the mansion, looking for snipers. She saw one with a spotter on their side, but they didn't seem to be looking in their direction.
An Apache helicopter swooped by overhead and lowered itself down behind the mansion. It came by relatively low to the ground and made the trees sway around them.
"What do you think?" Wayne asked.
"It doesn't look good," Sarah replied.
"So what's the plan of action?" he asked.
Sarah didn't answer. Her eyes were laser-focused on the mansion and the security that she could see. From their vantage point it was all as Sandra had described, and she didn't see a way in... couldn't think of a way in... at least for her and Wayne.
"I'm sorry I can't be any more help," Sandra said.
"Who says that?" Sarah mused.
"What do you mean?"
Sarah turned to her and smiled. "I want you to go back inside."
"Back inside?" she said, her voice shaky.
"Yes. I want you to get your job back. Do you think you can do it?"
There was a real sense of fear in Sandra's eyes. "I think so," she said after a moment's hesitation. "But why?"
"There might not be a way for Wayne and I to get inside, but you can. I need someone on the inside that I can trust, and you're the only one I have."
Sandra gulped. "Is that really necessary?"
"You've seen Glass and everything he's doing," Sarah appealed, "and I don't have to tell you how dangerous what he's doing is. I don't know if you've seen everything he's unleashing from this place, but you must know how bad all of this is becoming. If we don't strike now, no one's ever going to have another chance."
Sandra gulped again. She was terrified at the idea, especially knowing what Glass would do to her when he found out she'd come back, but she saw the seriousness and look of determination in Sarah's eyes, and she understood what was at stake. "How do I convince them to take me back? No one would actually believe that I would willingly come back. It would look suspicious."
"Can you arrange Jeb to pick you up? He could make it look like he caught you hiding in the woods and bring you back."
Sandra considered this. "I guess I could. There's an old, unused electrical panel not too far into the sewer system that Jeb told me to use if I ever needed to get a hold of him again. If I left a note there, he would find it. Jeb's often on duty in the sewers, but sometimes he'll be stationed inside the mansion or on patrol out in the woods. I'm sure we could set it up."
"Where are the tunnels?" Sarah asked.
Sandra pointed. "Over there."
She was pointing across the winding road, and Sarah wasn't thrilled to have to cross it. They left their spot at the edge of the woods and worked their way back from the compound a little before they attempted to cross the road. Sandra told them that there wouldn't be heavy patrols on it if there wasn't a shipment going in or out, but they would still have to be careful.
They reached the edge of the tree line and came to the road. There was a stretch of empty grass about eight yards wide on either side of the road. It left them out in the open and exposed for longer than Sarah would like to be, so she carefully looked left and right to make sure the coast was clear before they went.
But aside from distant sounds, there didn't seem to be anyone nearby. Even the birds sat in the trees nearby and happily chirped, undisturbed from their day.
"Come on, let's go," Sarah told them, and she helped Wayne navigate the stretch of grass to the road. But just when their feet hit the pavement, they heard a rumbling in the distance. Sarah's head shot to the side, able to see farther down the road now that she was on it, and her heart leapt up into her chest.
An Abrams tank was gunning down the road for them, the huge turret sitting on top pointing toward them.
"Go back!" Sarah shouted.
The three of them retreated back to the side of the woods they came from as the tank rumbled up in front of them. They took cover behind trees, each of them separated from each other. They couldn't make it too far into the woods before the tank arrived, and they didn't dare move in case it saw them.
The tank slowed to a stop on the road in front of them. Sarah's heart hammered, knowing the operator had spotted them. For the longest moment, the tank just sat there. Then, very slowly, the turret on the tank swung around toward the woods. The barrel swept across the trees, recalibrating from one to the next and back again. They'd definitely been spotted.
Sarah held her breath, pressing her back to the tree. She peered over to her right and saw Wayne doing the same, and she
worried about him. Worried that he wouldn't be able to tell exactly where the tank was and that he would accidentally show himself from behind the tree.
Sandra was absolutely terrified, silently and rapidly breathing.
The barrel of the tank adjusted again, this time locking onto the tree that Sarah was hiding behind. She couldn't see this, but she intuitively felt it, and she gripped a clump of dirt with a tight fist as every muscle in her body seized up.
Then the turret of the tank swung back in front of it and the treads started up again as it slowly lumbered down the road and continued on.
The three of them didn't move, staying like petrified statues for quite a while. It wasn't until the tank was long gone that they finally relaxed and began to stir.
Sarah leaned forward from the tree and glanced at each of them. "You weren't kidding," she told Sandra, who still seemed to be in shock. "Okay, let's try this again."
They even more cautiously made their way back to the road and hurried to the other side without incident, slipping into the woods. Sandra led the way, telling them to be careful because there may have been a patrolling squad of soldiers prowling the woods. She directed them down into a valley toward the sewer entrance. Luckily, it was a fair way from the compound, and thus it seemed to be a lot more lightly guarded than the rest of it.
"There!" Sandra said, pointing.
Situated in a big dip in the earth, a round tunnel constructed out of faded brick poked out of the ground. The coast looked clear so far, so they cautiously approached.
"How far in is this electrical panel?" Sarah asked.
"Not too far," Sandra said. "Jeb would've found a place a little safer outside, but he's not allowed to leave the tunnels when he's assigned to a shift there."
Sarah nodded and they carried on toward the entrance.
They peeked around the corner and saw a long and watery tunnel, not unlike the one Sarah had repeatedly traversed to get to Ron's hidden lab. Lights on the ceiling dimly illuminated the interior, but shadows still stretched everywhere and odd noises echoed. The tunnel went down a long stretch in front of them before hitting a fork at the end of it. There were no soldiers in sight, but when they listened closely they could faintly hear distant footsteps and the occasional voice.
"How are we going to leave a note?" Wayne asked.
"Don't suppose you have a pen?" Sarah replied.
Wayne chuckled and shook his head. After Sandra did the same, Sarah stepped out into the woods and looked around. After a little bit of searching, she found a wide strip of dried tree bark. Once she confirmed with Sandra that it would fit inside the box, she pulled out her knife and began carving.
"When will Jeb find this?" Sarah asked.
"He usually works tunnel duty, so I'd say sometime today or tomorrow."
"Does he always check the box?"
Sandra smiled. "Yeah. He said he'll always keep a lookout for me if I ever need him."
Sarah carved the message into the bark, being scant on details but instructing Jeb to pick up Sandra the following night. When the message was written, Sarah put her knife away and clutched the bark as they cautiously entered the tunnel.
Their shoes sank into the water and Wayne immediately grumbled, complaining that no one told him the tunnel was wet. Their shoes got soaked, but Sarah was more concerned about being as quiet as possible.
They all took their time, Sarah's gun drawn and ready in case they ran into anyone. When they reached the fork at the end of the tunnel, they paused and Sarah peered around both corners.
"Which way?" she whispered.
"To the left," Sandra replied. "Not too far down. It's a big blue box on the right wall before the next branch. Do you see it?"
Sarah peered through the dim light, searching along the wall according to Sandra's instructions. Far in the distance, there was a connecting tunnel that led off to the right, and just before, Sarah could see the panel that Sandra was talking about. It was a lot farther into the sewer system than Sarah originally thought, but she realized how far the tunnels must have stretched to reach the compound.
"Okay, wait here," Sarah told the two of them. "I'm going to slip it inside and I'll be right back."
The two of them nodded silently as Sarah broke away from the wall and crept around the corner. The tunnel she found herself in now was wider and there were elevated walkways on either side above the water, allowing her to sneak by on dry footing. But the gap over the water was wide and she took a careful leap to get to the other side.
The cold air inside the sewers chilled Sarah, a stark contrast from the warm summer day outside. She heard the hum and rattle of distant machinery, and it was difficult to tell if there were any approaching footsteps behind the din. She periodically looked behind her, but the shadows loomed and stretched between the lights fastened in the ceiling, creating pockets that she couldn't see. She caught herself holding her breath many times and she had to remind herself to breathe again. The tension increased in her the closer she got, and when she was near, she kept her eyes affixed onto the blue and dented box surrounding the panel. It was about thirty feet in front of her now.
Footsteps sounded around the bend just past the box. They quickly grew louder, and in the claustrophobic and echoing space of the tunnel, it was impossible to tell how close they were. But they were definitely approaching.
Sarah froze for just a second, her heart torn with indecision. She glanced over her shoulder and it seemed like the tunnel where Wayne and Sandra waited was a mile away. She looked at the pistol in her hand and knew that it would be woefully inadequate to do anything to any of the soldiers other than cause a temporary distraction. Then her eyes set on the box.
It was still thirty feet away, and the footsteps were getting closer. Soon enough they would come right around the corner and she would be seen. If that happened, she didn't think any part of her plan would work.
Sarah held her breath again and then she ran for the panel, trying to keep her footsteps as light as possible. She reached it as the loud, clapping footsteps neared the corner. Sarah pulled on the handle of the dented box to open it, but it wouldn't budge. It was so old and beat up that the door was stuck, and Sarah wrenched on it with all her might. After another second, it popped open with a high-pitched squeal.
The footsteps stopped suddenly.
Sarah stuffed the piece of bark inside and quietly pressed the door shut.
"Is someone there?" a booming voice said from around the corner.
Sarah took off, trotting down the length of the wide tunnel back to the entrance. But she wasn't fast enough.
The soldier rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks again, spotting her fleeing near the entrance. The soldier took a step forward and narrowed his eyes, trying to get a good look at the flash of movement in the distance. "Hey, who is that!" he shouted. Then he took off running after her.
Sarah's heart beat like mad as she flew around the corner and pulled Wayne and Sandra with her. They splashed through the long tunnel toward the woods, the churning water catching their toes and almost making them trip. Sarah held Wayne by the collar, helping to keep him upright as they all fled for their lives.
"Who's there!" the soldier shouted from somewhere behind them.
Sarah twisted her head to look and saw the soldier round the corner behind them. She kept running and the three of them soon made it into the woods, taking cover behind a large rock propped against a tree.
The soldier shot out into the woods a moment later and stopped, looking around.
A radio on his hip squawked and a tinny voice said, "Hey Ben, what's going on down there?"
The soldier looked around a little more, then he pulled up the radio. "I don't know, just a couple people wandering into the tunnel. I think there were two or three of 'em, but I couldn't get a good look."
"Well I trust you gave them a warm welcome," the tinny voice said.
"Yeah, I probably made them shit their pants. I don't think they'll be
back." He put the radio away and took another long look at the forest around him, then he turned and disappeared back into the tunnel.
Sarah's breathing began to slow from behind the rock, and she was relieved that their cover hadn't been completely blown. Provided the soldier didn't actually connect the squealing noise he heard to that particular electrical box on the wall, they would still be in good shape.
"That was close," Sandra remarked.
Sarah looked at her. "We're not out of the woods yet. Because tomorrow night, we're taking you back here."
Sandra's mouth turned into a grimace and she felt a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
4
CLUES
When the time came, Sarah mentally prepared Sandra for what she would have to go through as best as she could. Sandra was extremely nervous, not at all looking forward to the task ahead of her and the punishment she would have to endure, but she understood the importance of her mission. If she could be a mole on the inside for Sarah and find some kind of way to get a lead on Glass or find Sarah's son, she knew it would be worth it. Sarah told her all about David and how unreal it was to see him again in captivity.
Sarah still didn't know what was going on, and the whole fiasco with Ron's evil project left her with far more questions than answers. All she knew was she got played, but she wasn't going to let it happen anymore. Even if Sarah could somehow find a way to rescue her son so they could die together, that would bring a peace to her heart that she didn't think she would ever see.
Hell on Earth (Zombie Apocalypse Series Book 7) Page 3
