by A. R. Wise
“You know Hero?” I asked.
“Yes!” She revealed herself by stepping forward, still wary of a trick. She was lithe and beautiful, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
“Goddamn,” said Abe. “Hero sure can pick them.”
“He’s here,” said the girl. “Down below. We were going to try and find him.” She walked into the room, followed by a seemingly endless parade of girls just as pretty as she was.
“What?” asked Abe, amused. “Are you serious?” He pushed at my shoulder and chuckled. “Only Hero man.”
“Only Hero what?” I asked, uncertain what he found so funny.
“Only Hero would have a parade of hot ass girls risking their lives to try and break him out of here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh in agreement.
The blonde girl was deadly serious when she asked, “Are you going to stand around and make jokes or are you going to help us?”
She was a fiery girl, but she couldn’t have been older than twenty. I came to a quick decision. “No. I’ll take the doctor and go looking for Hero. Abe, you’re going to get these girls out of here.”
“Whoa, not a chance, pal.”
“This isn’t a debate,” I said. “Hero wouldn’t want us dragging a parade of teenagers down there to save him. I’ll go.”
“We can’t go back that way,” said Abe. “Those things were all over the place.”
“There’s another way out,” said the doctor. “I’ll show you if you take me with you.”
“I need you to show me how to get to Hero,” I said.
“I can, but you don’t need me to go down there with you,” he said, his desperation evident.
I agreed, and he led us back the way the girls had come from, through a different route that he insisted would get us out safely. I asked about the daycare, and he explained that this level was where the families lived. He said that they’d lived down here for years, cramped into these small rooms, and that some of the children had never even seen the surface. It reminded me of the short time the Rollers had spent at the rehab center, and how much we hated it there. For the first time I considered that, despite how hard life was on the surface, the people stuck down here had it even worse. I couldn’t imagine trading the open air for an underground prison just for the sake of safety.
The doctor led us to an elevator that wasn’t operational. “We can take the stairs up, but you’re going to have to go down to the bottom, and then across the Dawn’s level, through the Administrator’s cubes. You’ll know you’re on the right path if there are security doors on the right with cranks instead of handles. Just keep going straight, and you’ll get to the stairs that will take you to the bottom floor.”
“You should take the doctor with you,” said Abe, and the man quickly pleaded with us not to do that.
I shook my head and said, “No, you need him to help get these girls out. They’re more important.”
“Last chance to reconsider,” said Abe.
“Not on your life buddy,” I slapped him on the shoulder. “You get these girls out of here. I’ll get our boy.”
“How’s your back?” asked Abe.
It was getting worse every second. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, for crying out loud. Get out of here already.”
The blonde girl with the rifle came over to me as the rest of them followed Abe up the stairs. “Get Hero out of here,” she said. “I owe him a lot.”
“Same here,” I said before heading down.
My brace was tied as tight as I could get it, causing me to move stiffly as I went down the stairs. I could feel the ache turning back into pain, and knew that it wouldn’t be long before I was once again struggling to move. “Come on, let’s keep going,” I said to myself. “You can do this.”
I got to what the doctor had called the Dawn’s level, and saw the doors that he’d mentioned. They had circular handles that looked like they belonged on a submarine. One of the doors was open, and I was shocked by how thick it was. They seemed designed to withstand a bomb if needed, which might very well have been the case.
The trip through this area was longer than I’d expected, and I was forced to pause as the pain in my back intensified. I glanced to the side and saw an office chair, which I happily sat down in. “This’ll work,” I said as I moved the chair out of the cubicle and into the hall. I proceeded to push my way across the floor, but the squeaking wheels earned me some attention I’d been hoping to avoid.
Greys emerged from a nearby room, growling and moaning as they came. I couldn’t see them clearly as they pushed their way through the cubicles, tearing down the partitions in a desperate attempt to reach me. I fired when I could, but focused on pushing myself along. More and more of the creatures began to appear, as if they’d been wandering this floor in a daze until the squeak of my wheels alerted them to my presence. For the last few yards of my trip, I fired frequent bursts at the horde that was chasing after me until I slammed into the wall. I opened the door and then pivoted so that I fell into it. I slammed the door shut behind me.
“Another fucking staircase,” I said as I stared down the flight of concrete steps. I took them one by one, slow and steady, grimacing after each one. “Think of Hero. Think of that baby.”
I was crying out in pain by the time I got to the bottom. Sweat was pouring down my brow, and I thought it was because of exertion, but then I set my hand against the concrete wall and found that it was blisteringly hot.
“What the hell?” I asked as I opened the door to the lowest level. A hall stretched out beyond, and it was cooler than the staircase had been. The floor looked abandoned. I passed by a pair of restrooms and then looked in at an office to the right.
“Hello?” I got no reply.
I walked further and found what looked like an examination room. There was a bed with a variety of machines beside it and a contraption above that had several long tubes hanging from it. There was no one in the room, so I left and headed down the only other direction I could.
“Hero?” I yelled out his name as I approached the open door.
He called back, “Billy?”
“Hero!” I couldn’t believe it. I shouted out in joy when I saw him at the end of the hall. He was standing inside of a circular passage, his arm propped against the wall to hold himself up.
“Billy, how in the hell?” he asked as he staggered forward. He was limping almost as bad as I was, and he looked awful. He was in a white gown, and his usually mocha skin had taken on an almost greenish hue. He was thinner than I’d ever seen him, and his face looked gaunt, but there was no doubt that this was him.
“Did you really think I’d leave you here to rot?”
Someone was behind him.
My exuberance ended when I saw the flash of a reflection against steel. The other person in the room was carrying a weapon, and was about to hit Hero from behind.
I raised my rifle and screamed, “Hero, look out!”
He moved to the side just as his attacker bore down on him with what looked like a blade. The figure sliced Hero’s shoulder, but it was a glancing blow.
I took a shot, and the man was knocked back as he yelled in pain. His blade clattered on the floor at Hero’s feet.
I hurried as fast as my back would allow. Hero knelt down to pick up the weapon and I saw that it was long and cylindrical, with a sharpened, hollow end. He looked at his attacker as he tossed the weapon aside. He said, “Man, I fucking hate needles,” as he massaged his wounded shoulder.
When I got to him, I put my arm around his waist. I wanted to embrace him, but then I saw that his attacker was still alive. Every inch of the felled man’s exposed flesh was scarred. His eyes darted back and forth between Hero and me, and he was breathing rapidly as he clutched his chest. Blood was flowering beneath his hand, and I knew that the bullet had punctured his lung by the way he gasped.
Then, to my shock, he started to lau
gh. “Look at this.” He wheezed between sentences. “Reagan’s other pet project.”
“Who the hell is this?” I asked.
“That’s Richard Covington,” said Hero.
“Look at the three of us,” said Covington. “The three... The three true sons.” He laughed again, finding some sick joy in this.
“What the hell is wrong with this guy?” I asked.
“Man, I don’t know. He’s all sorts of fucked up.”
“Here, I’ll show you,” said Covington as he sat up. He was undeterred by the pain as he got up, gasping as he did, and walked over to the side of the room. “Come here. You might as well see.”
“Want to get out of here?” I asked Hero.
He shrugged and said, “We might as well see what the lunatic wants to show us.” We walked further in and watched as the decrepit, burned man opened a glass case that contained what looked like a computer tablet. He worked on it for a minute before pointing to a television screen mounted on the wall to our left.
“Here, watch,” he said.
A video began to play that documented the outbreak of the original virus twenty years earlier. It was uncompromising and graphic, detailing how the virus was spread and who was responsible. Hero and I watched in stunned silence as all of our suspicions were confirmed. Then the video explained the eugenics program, and how the memories of The Electorate were to be transferred into members of the Dawn program, men and women that were designed to be perfect human beings. It was a damning account of the atrocities that Covington and the members of The Electorate had committed. When it was over, I was surprised by the smug look on Covington’s face.
“What are you smiling about, you sick fuck?” I asked.
He was slumped in his chair, his hand over his bleeding chest. “That video is hidden inside of The Electorate’s own computer along with all the proof needed…” he gasped, and I could see that he was in intense pain. “All the proof needed to link The Electorate to this. They’re dead, and they don’t even know it. Just like you two.”
“I’m not dead yet,” said Hero.
“No, but soon enough. The Electorate wanted to kill us to keep us from talking, but even though we’re going to die down here, they’re still not going to win. That file will be sent out to every computer in their system the moment this facility is purged.”
“Purged?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”
“That’s right,” said Covington with a weak grin. “We’re going to burn. I already set the system to purge. We just have to wait for the system to refill, and we’ll all be dead. Then, when this facility is destroyed, the truth will come out. The Electorate will pay as we let burn these sons of Reagan.” He cackled in his throne, like a mad king after his court had abandoned him.
“Hero, we’ve got to go,” I said. “The staircase was boiling hot when I came down. I don’t think this guy’s lying.”
Covington continued to laugh and then said, “You can’t make it out. You’re going to burn with me.”
“Oh fuck you,” I said as I raised my rifle, ready to silence him for good.
“No, wait.” Hero placed his hand on the top of my rifle to stop me from shooting. “Let him burn, just like Reagan meant for him to.”
I nodded, and then spat on the lunatic as he wheezed in his chair.
We did our best to hurry, but neither of us were in very good shape. We supported one another as we staggered down the hall.
“Look at us, man,” I said with a chuckle. “Two old men, barely able to walk anymore.”
“Old?” asked Hero. “Shit, I’m Han Solo’s age.”
I laughed as I held his waist while we walked. He was so thin now. I could feel his ribs under my palm. It saddened me to see him like this, but I was overjoyed to be with him again.
“How far is it to the surface?” asked Hero. “Think we can make it?”
I wanted to lie to him and say that it would be easy, but I shook my head and said, “It’s a long way up.”
We got to the stairs, and it was even hotter than before. Hero cursed when we walked in, and compared it to a Georgia summer. I agreed, but insisted we keep moving. “Let’s try.”
“Wait,” said Hero as he paused on the stairs.
“No, we can’t wait. We’ve got to keep going. If we stop, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get back up again.”
“No, man, I remember something that Beatrice told me.”
“Who?”
“Beatrice, she was this old bitch that was in The Electorate. She told me how these places were designed to purge, but that the Dawn’s rooms would be safe. She said they made it so that the girls would live through a purge.”
I remembered the thick doors that led away from the cubicles on the Dawn’s level. “Hero, we can make it there. I know where that is.”
“All right, brother! We’re gonna live, man. We’re actually going to make it through this.”
“There’s bad news though.”
He deflated and said, “Great. Of course there is.”
“The Dawn’s floor is filled with zombies.”
He shook his head and said, “You know, one of these days you’re going to give me some good news. I don’t know when it is, but goddamn it, you owe it to me.”
A smile as wide as I could make spread across my face. “Hero, I’ve got good news.”
“Good! You owe me. What is it?”
“Come on, let’s get moving and I’ll tell you.” I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and together we started to climb the stairs.
“All right, we’re moving. What’s the good news?” he asked as we took each step carefully.
“Hero, earlier today I was at Jill’s side, holding her hand…” I stopped, overwhelmed with emotion while simultaneously racked with pain.
“That’s it? You were holding my wife’s hand? What the hell sort of good news is that?”
“Let me finish.”
“Well hurry up, I’m starting to worry that your good news is that you got it on with my wife.”
“No. I held her hand as she gave birth.”
He was stunned, and didn’t respond.
“She gave birth to a baby boy, Hero. You’re a father.”
His voice was as quiet as I’d ever heard it and I could feel his body quivering as he asked, “A baby boy?”
“Yes! You’re a daddy, big guy. I’m here to take you to meet your son.”
“A baby boy! I’m a daddy? I’m a daddy!”
“Yes.”
He hugged me, and then started to scream out in joy. “What… Man, I don’t know what to even… A baby boy? Did she name him Mark? Tell me she named him Mark. Man, she promised…”
“She did.”
“What’s he like? Is he healthy? Is he big? Dude, does he have a big dick? I bet he’s got a monster dick.”
I laughed and said, “He’s healthy, although it was a close call. When you see Clyde, you owe him a handshake.”
“For real? What happened?”
“Mark wasn’t breathing at first, but Clyde did his thing. He saved that kid’s life.”
“And what about Jill. Is she okay?”
“Of course she is,” I said. “You know her, man. There’s nothing that could take that girl down.”
“Holy shit, ain’t that the truth? I’m a dad! Billy, I’m a dad!”
“I know.”
He embraced me again, this time with tears streaming down his cheeks. “And look at you, man, risking everything to come and get me. Shit, brother, you’re not so bad after all. You know that?”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I said as we reached the door that led to the Dawn’s level. “We could still burst into flames or get eaten by zombies any minute now.”
“That’s my Billy, always looking on the bright side. Next thing out of your mouth is going to be some insane plan that I think will never work, but somehow it does. Right? So what’s the plan?”
I looked at the door, and then at him and s
aid, “We’re gonna run for it.”
He gave me a sideways frown, and then said, “That’s it?”
“Yeah. The doors to the Dawn’s area are to the left. Let’s run in here, I’ll blast any zombies that get in the way while you focus on getting the door open.”
“In typical fashion, that plan sucks,” said Hero.
I shrugged and said, “That’s all I’ve got.”
“Then let’s do this, brother, because I’ve got a son to meet.”
I counted down, and then eased open the door. I was expecting a horde to greet me, but the group that had attacked earlier had dispersed, leaving only my overturned chair on the floor to greet us. I could see some of the zombies further into the room, inside of the lines of cubicles that they’d demolished in their first attempt to devour me. I motioned for Hero to move, and he did his best to go fast. We were both addled with injuries, but determined to survive.
The Greys saw us, and cried out in hunger as they eagerly climbed over the felled partitions, tables, and computers. I waited to start shooting in fear of attracting more. Hero was struggling with the door as I backed up to him. Finally, I couldn’t help but shoot as one of the Greys got within a few feet of us. This alerted every zombie around that we were here, and they came running.
“Hurry, Hero!”
“I’m trying. This door’s jammed or something.”
I fired off several shots, splattering brains and blood across the far wall. “Unjam that mother fucker!”
“I did,” said Hero. “It’s spinning. Here, here, it’s open!”
The horde pressed in on us as Hero opened the door. Just then, red lights began to spin all around us. I wasn’t sure if it was because Hero had opened the door or if something else was going on. He screamed at me to hurry, but I was walking backward as I continued to spray bursts of bullets at the horde that had surged into the administrator’s room.
“Where do we go?” asked Hero.
The door opened onto a grey hall that led straight with multiple passages turning off to the side. “I don’t know,” I said. “Just go somewhere.”
I couldn’t close the door behind us. It opened outward, and the horde had already massed there. I continued to fire, and the bodies piled up, choking the entrance and giving us a momentary relief.
