It was a quiet trip the rest of the way, lighthearted conversation replaced with somber focus as we neared our objective. Gabriel’s man took an exit and followed Harper’s directions across miles of emptiness, reminding me of my drive after escaping Chicago. I knew we were getting close, though, when a large patch of land was dedicated to transformers and towers, all powered by the reactor’s energy output when they had been active.
“I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but I don’t know if we have enough ammunition to get inside,” Gabriel calmly spoke from the back seat as we rounded a dune, the reactor site coming into view. He wasn’t exaggerating, because there were so many zombies between us and the reactor doors leading into the ground that it looked like an anthill had exploded.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way, I guess…
Chapter 28
The good thing about body decomposition is that bones are softened, putting up less resistance to bullets, so a lot of our shots continued on their trajectory through bodies. In some cases, this meant one shot counted for two, or even three, kills, as long as the height difference wasn’t too drastic. However, as I fired a full clip on semi-automatic, aiming each shot with precision, and created a gap in the seemingly endless waves of zombies, I watched in horror as the hole filled in faster than I could fire.
We had split our forces, sending two of Gabriel’s men to the left and two to the right, forming a triangle of raining lead into the horde. Each of us had brought three magazines, expecting light opposition given the isolated location and objective. It’s not like we were trying to get into the last grocery store, but, as with any plan, it’s always subject to change. Douglas stayed in the back of the transport truck with the coolant, knowing to drive straight through and try to get to the reactor should we all die.
Even coordinating our opening shots, staggering reloads, and using knives when one got too close, the crowd of undead was barely thinning.
“Grenade!” Gabriel shouted, pulling the pin and hurling one into the fray. Seconds later, an explosion went off in the center of their masses, sending shrapnel and limbs flying. That caused a dent in their numbers, but it wasn’t enough. Gabriel had a second grenade, but they were even more scarce than bullets these days and we might need it later. On top of that, the horde was getting closer to the left flank, forcing them to fall back further up the dune.
Sliding in my last magazine, I knew I would need a hell of a lot more than thirty rounds to make a difference. What I needed was a way to shift the battle in our favor, and, unfortunately, I had an idea.
“Hang tight!” I called to Jessica, who looked back with a, “what are you doing?” expression. I ran back to the Humvee, knowing I was about to break my own rule, and jumped behind the wheel.
Flipping down the visor, the keys fell into my lap and I quickly turned the vehicle on, feeling the engine rumble to life as I shoved it into drive. I only thought about it for a second before putting the pedal down, screeching forward off the pavement. Early into the apocalypse, my rule had been to avoid running over zombies, fearing the toll it would take on my vehicle, but this was a drastic measures type of scenario. Hoping the result would be different this far in, with their bodies being more malleable, I felt the Humvee jerk as the bumper collided with the first line of zombies.
The bodies were sucked under the tires as I plowed ahead, knowing that stopping meant trouble. My plan might not kill many of them, but it would hopefully thin the herd and provide time to my team.
Saying that word felt so strange, but it felt good at the same time.
I continued to mow them down, angling my path toward the left flank. Tapping the brakes and throwing the wheel around, I drifted, swinging the back end and bouncing several zombies off the side with a reverberating thump. I heard a rallying cheer between the gunfire, but I spun the wheel left and kept moving.
The tires lost traction for a moment as the bodies were literally beginning to pile up, but I shifted gears and ground over the fallen zombies. What might have been three minutes later, I guided the Humvee through the remaining crowd and pulled to a stop.
Climbing out, I stood on the roof and opened fire, making sure every round reached out and touched something. Pivoting, I turned to help the right flank, seeing the zombies creeping closer to them out of my peripheral vision. I fired at the ones closest to the soldiers, squeezing the trigger until my rifle clicked empty.
Without hesitation, I dropped the M4 to let the sling hold its weight as I drew my Sig. Mills and Gabriel were pushing toward the Humvee, so I started picking off stragglers that had survived my vehicular rampage.
I aimed for the closest ones first, using the bow for easier targets that I knew I could hit even with my rudimentary archery skills, before switching back to the handgun for distant threats. As gunfire dwindled and smoke cleared the chamber of my Sig, Jessica stood next to the Humvee with a concerned look on her face.
“That was reckless, not to mention insane. What if the engine had stalled?” I jumped down next to her, watching Gabriel’s team reassemble near the entrance.
“I had to do something, Jessica. We were running out of ammunition.”
“No, you didn’t, Eric. It doesn’t always have to be you doing the crazy stunts.”
“The important thing is that everyone survived. Now, what do you say we get Douglas and cool down a nuclear reactor?”
A cry split the air and I looked over to see a feral burying a fire ax into one of Gabriel’s men. Gabriel reacted quickly, whipping out his sidearm and blasting a hole into its skull at point blank, but it was too late for the young soldier. With the ax cutting halfway into his neck, he was dead seconds after hitting the ground, though it took his brain a moment to realize it. Jessica ran over while I headed for the transport, collecting my arrows as I went to refill my quiver.
I had always thought about carrying a third weapon, despite the additional weight of another gun, but I never could have guessed it would be a bow. Still, the benefits far outweighed the negatives, with the lightweight frame, reusable arrows, and silence being extremely useful. Maybe I just watched too much Rambo as a kid, but the eight bodies lying on the ground that hadn’t required a bullet were an argument for the bow in an apocalypse.
Douglas and I loaded the canister housing the coolant onto a flat dolly and rolled it to the entrance. The dry ice surrounding the tube of coolant kept the temperature down inside the canister, despite the unrelenting Texas heat. Jessica stepped closer, intercepting me before I reached Gabriel.
“One of the ferals from the ambush party must have gotten away. We figure it made it all the way inside before locking the doors behind it, which explains the welcoming party outside. It all fits, because Gabriel had to pry the doors open.”
“Running is a flight response, though, and ferals don’t feel fear.”
“Maybe it was just regrouping from a fight it couldn’t win? It did see all of its friends get torn apart,” she offered, and I nodded slowly, realizing that maybe ferals retained more of their humanity than we thought. Past her shoulder, Gabriel carried the body bag to the back of the transport and set his fallen comrade down inside. “So much for everyone surviving,” she whispered.
Watching Gabriel say the last rites over his comrade, I couldn’t help but wonder how many more friends I would lose before this was all over, or if anyone would be left to mourn me. Regretting that dark thought, since it meant losing Kat and Jessica, I realized that I was just damn tired of losing people.
Chapter 29
Gabriel’s team took point as we entered the reactor, probably looking for a fight to claim vengeance for their lost member. Jessica and I hung back with Douglas, keeping him and the coolant safe lest all of this be for nothing.
Stairs descended further into the ground, the eerie hallways bringing us closer to our goal. With the power off, our flashlights illuminated everything in a dull glow, but the creepiest part was the sounds. Old machinery and probable wildlife caused a lot
of disturbing creaking and various sounds to echo down the corridors, putting nerves on edge.
“Left at the end of the hall,” Douglas said quietly. I couldn’t tell if he was scared of something that may be lurking in the shadows or reluctant to disturb the hair-trigger temperament of the squad ahead of us. Gabriel just gave a thumbs-up and gestured to his team, so I left Mills with Douglas and stepped up to his side.
“How are your guys?” I kept my voice low, so only he heard.
“They lost a brother that’s been with us in the trenches for almost three years, but they’re solid. They won’t let their emotions get in the way of the mission.”
“And you?” He looked at me and I could see the answer in the pain reflected, but he looked away before responding.
“Joseph lost his family early in the outbreak, so he joined up as soon as he found an outpost. Harper was hesitant to even let him on this taskforce, given his age and inexperience, but his training and work ethic spoke for itself. Joe fought to get on this mission because he wanted to make a difference.” I put a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, man.”
“He was a great kid, Eric, and what happened is bullshit, but we have to keep pushing. I wish there was time to grieve or mourn the loss, but he’s not the first person I’ve buried and he probably won’t be the last. Call it the burden of leadership, or call it waiting until the last one falls, but I’ll be focused until I don’t have to be anymore, however that comes about.”
“Well, I’m really glad to have you watching our backs, Gabriel.” He looked over and nodded before moving back up to his men. Douglas continued to direct our path as we made our way deeper toward the reactor. At one point, as we turned a corner and our flashlights followed our eyes, we must have startled something. Breaking glass sounded from a cracked door that led to a room on the right.
The two men taking point immediately stacked up outside the entrance, hugging the wall. The man in back tapped the first on his shoulder, giving the go-ahead, so he pivoted around the frame and pushed the door open the rest of the way. The second man stepped out, scanning the other half of the room.
I heard squeaking and skittering before they both lowered their weapons, exhaling in unison. These guys were wound tight, even if they didn’t show it.
“I fuckin’ hate rats,” one muttered, pulling the door shut behind them. I withheld a grin, but there was something amusing about a man that size being scared of something so small, though it could’ve been worse. I hate cockroaches, but I’ll never understand men being scared of them.
After descending to what felt like the Earth’s asshole, due to how hot it was, we finally passed a lab station full of monitors and various boards. Directly ahead was a door with the radioactive symbol posted in multiple areas.
“I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that’s the no-no zone?” I joked, but no one laughed.
“This, my friends, is where I leave you. Beyond this door is a sanitation chamber that leads to the actual reactor, which requires a hazmat suit. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll change and get this show on the road before we all sweat to death.”
Douglas walked into the lab office and set a duffel bag on the ground, beginning to undo his Kevlar vest. I turned away, giving him privacy, until he stepped out in a puffy yellow suit a few minutes later.
He wheeled the coolant through the door and we all filed into the office to watch through the observation window, a curved piece of glass that spanned the length of the wall. Douglas entered the room, soundlessly walking to the reactor and studying it for a moment.
Two large tubes ran from the central core to exterior pipes, presumably the cooling and heat exhaust systems. Douglas looked calm as he slowly removed the glass tube from the base of the coolant system and set it to the side. Unlocking the canister we had brought, fog poured out around the coolant.
Wearing a pair of large, cold-resistant gloves over the suit, Douglas lifted the coolant and inserted it into the empty socket, turning it to lock it in place. An air seal pressurized and he waited to make sure everything worked before closing the canister and heading back to the sanitation chamber. With the power off, he had to manually pull a lever to trigger the rinse, making sure it got every inch of the suit. He took the extra precaution to strip down while still in the rinse, washing himself clean of any excess radiation before exiting.
Fully commando, Douglas nodded to us as he passed through the room with the empty canister, pulling a towel out of his duffel bag to dry off. Quickly dressing, he joined us at the window, working the towel into his ears.
“The good news is that this reactor won’t be overheating anytime soon.” He paused, seeming to admire his work. “I’ll admit, I’m a little impressed with myself.”
“What do you mean?” Jessica asked, having averted her eyes until now.
“Well, I had a short period to study this topic, so I’m as relieved as you are that we’re all alive.”
“Wait, you’ve never done this before?” He gave me a bemused look.
“Of course not! I was a biology major, with a secondary interest in chemistry. I am a scientist, but I’ve never worked with nuclear reactors before today. Harper didn’t tell you?”
“No, it must have slipped his mind.” I was angry for a moment, feeling lied to, but I understood. With so much on the line, and the odds already being against us, Harper didn’t want that piece of knowledge to sway us any further from joining.
“What’s the bad news, Doc?” Gabriel interrupted impatiently, nodding to me over Douglas’ shoulder. He must have drawn the same conclusion about being used, but he was staying focused like he said he would.
“Well, the tube I pulled out of that base is supposed to be full of liquid coolant. In case you didn’t notice, it was dangerously low. This whole place could have gone up any day.” I ran my hands through my hair and paced for a moment, getting a bad feeling to where this was going.
“Obviously, I know that’s not good, but why is that bad news? We replaced the coolant, so it won’t happen for a while, right?”
“Right, it won’t happen here, but there’s a good chance that it will happen somewhere else. I mean, critical levels are at twenty percent, but that tube had maybe ten.”
Numerous voices cursed under their breath, knowing what that could mean for the future. A critical failure of this magnitude, at every reactor, would reshape the face of the country, not even taking into account whether there were similar situations around the world.
“Wait, what’s this?” Jessica was across the room, staring at a map on the wall after going through a nearby desk. Douglas walked over, his head tilted as he adjusted his glasses.
“It looks like a map of the active reactors in the United States, but…” He trailed off, running his fingers over the paper. He took a deep breath and exhaled, looking down. “This map doesn’t match the one Harper has, which means this one is probably the updated version.”
“How many more are on this map?”
“There are three that I don’t recognize, maybe more. I have a good memory, but, like I said, this wasn’t my area of study.”
“Someone try that radio,” Gabriel ordered, pointing at a fancy-looking CB on the wall near the door. One of his team moved quickly, checking the battery.
“No dice. This far underground, it should be hooked up to a ground line, but the towers are all dead. I might be able to fix the antenna up with one of our radios, though, see if I can’t boost the signal.” I handed mine over and he got to work, clearly knowing more about technology than I ever would.
Ten minutes of sweating later, he had worked up a piece of art. My radio looked like an 80’s monstrosity, but it would hopefully work as I switched to the right channel and tried to contact Murphy. There was silence on the other end, but I kept trying, clicking the talk button and calling his name in thirty second intervals.
“This is Police Captain Murphy at Outpost One. Who is this?”
&nb
sp; “Murphy, it’s Eric.”
“Eric? Why do I get the feeling this isn’t a house call?”
“Because I don’t make house calls. Look, we’re at a nuclear reactor in Houston and we’ve replaced the coolant, but we found a map with a few more dots than we remember. I need you to get with Colonel Harper in San Antonio and compare our map with his.”
I know we could have taken the map out of there and headed back to San Antonio to have this conversation, but, if what Douglas was saying had any truth to it, every second counted. Minutes passed as we relayed the reactors on our updated map to Murphy, who passed it on to Harper. Ultimately, Douglas wasn’t far off, with four reactors we weren’t aware of.
“We’ve gotten to most of the reactors where we have outposts, because I have scientists who knew about them, too, but we don’t have any outposts in the west, Eric.” Looking at the map, I saw the one in California that he was referring to.
“Murphy, we need to get out there ASAP. Douglas pulled the coolant on this reactor and it was way past critical levels.” He paused for a moment.
“Alright. Pack up and head back to San Antonio. I’ll let Harper know the situation. He’ll start getting proper gear and coolant ready for transport, but the latter might take some time. I’ll see what else I can do from here.”
“Thanks, Murphy, that’ll help.”
“Hey, we’re all in this together. Just be careful and stay safe out there, Eric.”
“WILCO.” I released the button and Gabriel’s tech unhooked my radio from the setup, letting me clip it back on to my belt. Turning back to Jessica, who was already waiting by the door, I took a deep breath. “Looks like you get to work on your tan.”
Part VII
Chapter 30
We had been in San Antonio for almost four months, long enough for Harper to gather supplies and enough coolant to make the trip to California worth it. While those months might have proven vital to avoiding a nuclear disaster, there wasn’t anything we could do without the coolant, so it was nice to spend some time with Katherine and her new husband. Seeing the two of them together was nice and gave me a little more insight into why she chose him.
A Broken World (Book 3): Fractured Memories Page 11
