After recording a few minutes of the carnage inside the Money Pit, the camera operator panned back around to focus on the Ancillary, who was standing with the Money Pit as her backdrop. Inside, the imploring, screaming people trapped within banged on the walls with their bare hands in a vain attempt to break through. Even if they were successful, Melissa was convinced the armed soldiers would cut them down without mercy. There was no escape for those unfortunate people, and no hope of rescue. The gun in Melissa’s hand felt heavy and useless, and Melissa wondered what kind of mind could come up with a plan such as this.
“These people and millions like them - like you sitting at home watching - have defiled the Earth. You have destroyed and plundered, started wars between yourself and your neighbours over land and resources, and done all you can to bring about the destruction of this planet. We will not stand for this any longer. The Teacher has shown us the way to cleanse this world of your deviance, to sweep away all those who don’t deserve the gift of life. You will be our slaves in death and we will build a new world upon the broken, crushed ruins of your society. We are the Reborn, and we will destroy you.” She declared firmly and with icy calm into the camera, before moving out of its line of sight, allowing the camera operator to focus on the last dozen or so people who were being crushed against the back wall by the weight of the infected pressing against them. After a few moments, the camera operator lowered his camera; presumably, the broadcast was complete.
“It’s live, Ancillary and there’s already some mention of it on their social media.” Sebastian reported.
“Good. Now, we’re going to need some of the phone lines opened up, ready for when they call. I want one open in the surveillance room where the security chief and his assistant are trapped and I want a router set up for a line to my personal phone. Get the infected tucked away in the sports bar or the casino; I don’t care where, I just don’t want them loitering on the main floor. Finally, secure the remaining uninfected deviants in the theatre, so we can use them as hostages to delay the police assault if we need to until we’ve done what we came for.” The Ancillary reeled off, while Sebastian stood passively and attentively.
“As you wish, Ancillary.” He acknowledged, and hurried away. The Ancillary took one brief look at the last few people in the Money Pit, who were quite literally being torn apart, then looked away. As she did, Melissa couldn’t help but think she saw a smile on her face.
Chapter Five
Melissa retreated from the railing by crawling, and then, once she was out of the line of sight of those below, managed to get to her feet and hurry to find cover in a sporting goods store in the small courtyard behind her. She pushed inside and then lost herself in the maze of shelves holding various Las Vegas and Nevada themed sport jerseys, shirts, and other apparel. She hunkered down inside a changing room in the back of the store, shutting the curtain behind her as though it would offer protection. She sat on the stool in the corner and looked at her hands, noticing for the first time that they were shaking and looked pale. Melissa realized she was in shock. She thought she’d seen everything horrendous people could do to each other. She had seen people - unarmed, innocent people - gunned down. She’d seen the atrocities of war first hand, having been there when they were committed. Regardless, Melissa thought all of it paled in comparison to what she’d just seen. Developing some kind of virus that turned people into your personal, flesh-eating slaves was a special kind of evil. Furthermore, what did the Ancillary mean about building something new on the ruins of our civilization? Were they planning to deploy their virus worldwide? Why? Their reasoning was a mystery, as much of a mystery as how they had managed to develop the virus in the first place. With these thoughts swirling in her head, and her hands still trembling, Melissa managed to unclip the radio and click it on to inform Roy what she had seen.
“Roy?” She requested, her voice frail and soft.
“Melissa? Is that you?” Roy questioned.
“Yeah. Did you see the broadcast?”
“No, what happened?”
Melissa relayed what she had seen, and what she’d overheard after the broadcast was complete.
“They know you’re in there, Roy. I think they’re going to use you to get some kind of message out and then they’re going to kill you.”
Roy was silent, and Melissa wondered if he was still there.
“I’m so sorry, Melissa.” He said eventually.
“What for?” Melissa questioned.
“For all of this. You really don’t deserve to be here. Listen, there’s nothing more you can do. You have to find somewhere to hide until this is all over. If they’ve already swept through the second floor, then maybe there’s somewhere you can take refuge there. In one of the toilet stalls maybe.” Roy relayed to her.
“There’s got to be something else I can do, Roy. I can’t just leave you in there to die. I can’t leave any of those people in the theatre to die either. I’ve got to do something. Or at least, I’ve got to try.”
“You’re not a commando, Melissa. You’re a journalist and you’ve done everything you can do. It’s time to get yourself somewhere safe. It won’t be long until the police get here, and probably the military if they’ve seen the broadcast. All we have to do is hold out.” Roy continued, doing his best to reassure her, but Melissa wasn’t hearing him. She’d made her mind up what she needed to do.
“I’m going to find a way to save you and the people being held in the theatre.”
“Melissa—”
“I’m not debating this with you, Roy. I’m telling you what I’m doing so that if it doesn’t work out and you somehow make it through this, then you’ll know where to look for me. You’ll know I tried. Now, how the hell am I going to reach you?” Melissa demanded. Roy was silent for a few moments, and she wasn’t entirely sure he was going to respond.
“There’s no way I can talk you out of this, is there?” Roy eventually asked.
“No. So either help me or I’ll blindly find a way to do it, then I’ll kick your ass for not helping me.”
“Fine. There’s a series of utility corridors on the ground floor, with a few service elevators that allow housekeeping to get up onto the guest floors. To start with, you’ll have to get into the utility corridors.”
“Can I use the service elevators? Or is there a service stairwell I can use to get down there?”
“No and no. The service elevators are completely shut down by the malware, and the service stairwells are accessed via key card controlled doors, and there’s obviously no way to get you a spare key card.”
“Okay. So, are there access doors on the ground floor?” Melissa questioned.
“Yes.”
“Don’t give me all the answers at once, Roy. Let me drag them out of you.” Melissa commented sarcastically.
“Fine. If you want to know the truth, all the doors except for one are controlled by a key card lock.”
“Well, where’s the one that isn’t?”
“On the casino floor, in the back near the private rooms; it’s part of the fire escape route so it’s just an alarmed door. The alarm’s been disabled so if you were to reach it you wouldn’t alert anyone by opening it. But the reaching it is the hard part.”
“Inside the casino.” Melissa repeated, the weight of understanding finally falling upon her. If she was going to get to Roy, then it meant she had to head through the area where the Reborn had put most of the infected. Briefly, she wondered if that’s why the Reborn had put them there.
“Right. There’s no way you can get to us, Melissa. That’s why I think you’re better off just holding up somewhere and waiting for help to arrive.”
“So, I’m going to have to try and find a soldier who’s on his own, kill him and take this collar thing so I can sneak past the infected.”
“Only if you can discover how it works, Melissa. Don’t risk it! You’ve done more than anyone else would have.”
“Roy, shut up and let me help you!
I’m going to come for you first then, once we figure out how, we’re going to rescue the hostages in the theatre!” Melissa declared forcefully. “Now, I’m going off communications. I’ll be in touch when I have more to say.”
Melissa shut the radio off before Roy could answer her. She clipped it back onto her belt and stepped out of the changing room. The store had more than just jerseys; it also carried some basic sports equipment: baseball bats, tennis rackets, and hockey sticks. She assumed this was because there was a nearby indoor sports arena. The why was unimportant. She took a wooden baseball bat from a rack and held it in her hands. It was heavy and solid, and perfect for her to use to incapacitate one of the soldiers quietly. Now she just needed to find a way to get one of them alone.
“Melissa, answer me!” Roy called into the radio, but was met once again with dead silence. He tossed it onto Donna’s desk, his face crumpling with anger and concern.
“You did everything you could, Roy. She’s made her choice.” Donna piped up, but Roy waved her off.
“She’s going to get herself killed. I wish we could get out there and help her!” He roared slamming his fist into the desk with so much force he split the skin, drawing a little blood. Donna stood up and hurried over to him with a handkerchief, which he stared at blankly for a few moments before realising why Donna was offering it to him. He accepted it, and used it to dab at the fresh wound.
“You said it yourself: she knows how to fight and take care of herself. If she feels she can do it, then you, we, should trust in her self confidence.”
“I hope you’re right. Have you had any luck getting into the logs for the night Grove Systems came in?” He asked, staring at the radio.
“I have.” Donna replied, returning to the computer station. A moment later, Roy followed her.
“Show me.”
“There was twenty four security staff swiped in for that time of night. We had ten technical staff working in the main security room downstairs. It seems I was working up here that night, alongside Jim and Steve Rowland from tech support.”
“So you or Jim could’ve signed off on Grove? Or Steve I guess.” Roy said in a contemplative tone. “It’s not a lot to go on. Also, if they’ve got this level of malware in the system, then who knows whether the records have been altered; the person responsible could’ve had their status removed from the system and forged your signature later. It’s useless.” He concluded despondently, also realizing that this information didn’t clear Donna from suspicion either.
“It’s not completely useless.” Donna commented. “I’ve used a number of back doors to get this far. If I keep working at it, then I may be able to get to the door control system and get at least one of our key card’s back on the approved list. We’d be able to open the door!”
“I guess if Melissa makes it this far it would be something if we can at least open the door for her. That’s good work, Donna.” Roy declared, and then an idea occurred to him. “If you can get into the door systems, maybe you can see if you can prevent them from being able to open the door. Remove their key cards from the approved list, or something.”
“I can try. I may only have time to do one or the other.” Donna responded cautiously, while doing her best to hide her fear. However, some of it was carried in her voice and Roy caught it. He turned his gaze on her and made a huge effort to look reassuring.
“I’m not going to lie, we’ve got a tough few hours ahead of us. But if we work together we can get through this. Now,” he changed the subject abruptly to enlist her aid, “before you get to that, help me barricade that door with these desks.” He instructed, hoping the physical barrier would reassure them both.
Melissa emerged cautiously from the sporting goods store, her gun tucked into her belt and the baseball bat in her hands. She wanted to get an idea where she was, and so took a step towards a small plinth in the courtyard, where she knew there was some kind of map of the floor she was on. When she reached the plinth, she found it was a detailed store plan, and was able to see that apart from around two dozen boutiques and assorted other stores, there were more bars, restaurants, an indoor tanning salon as well as numerous small gambling venues. Melissa crouched down, went back to the railing and looked down towards the Money Pit. Four soldiers were trying to manoeuvre the infected out of the cage, another four were controlling a group of about two dozen who stood docilely, facing towards the lobby. She needed to get down there, as that’s where the soldiers, or the Reborn as they called themselves, seemed to be, because before she could do anything, she needed one of their collars. But how on earth could she get one? Melissa asked herself. Even if she managed to avoid being seen by the soldiers the infected would be onto her almost immediately, and she’d either be torn apart or joining them. And getting one of the Reborn alone would be difficult, if not impossible. As she continued to observe them, they spread from the four man teams they were in when she first looked, to patrolling in twos but the division was of little help. She felt confident taking on one, she could possibly take on two, though it did depend on how rigorous their training had been in close quarters combat. And, in her favour, she would surely have the element of surprise when she engaged them initially. However, it would be easier if she could sneak up on one who had separated from the rest of the group and take him down before he knew she was there.
As Melissa watched them ushering the infected from the Money Pit towards the sports bar, she suddenly realized she wouldn’t need to isolate one or even a pair of them and was surprised and a little annoyed that she hadn’t thought of it already. She’d already killed two; one was at the top of the building, which was a long way and they may have secured his body, but the other one had gone out of the window when she killed him. It was a long drop, but there was a chance his equipment had survived. If she could figure out where he had landed, she could try to reach him and see if she could remove his collar and discover how it worked. Perhaps, she considered, she could even find his weapon and ammunition; with them her chances of success would improve dramatically.
Melissa slowly retreated away from the railing and returned to the map of the hotel. Scanning it closely, she looked for some detail to remind her which side of the hotel she’d been on when she killed him. It was something of a blur but she had the impression that he’d gone out of the window on the north side of the hotel tower, which meant his body should be on top of the rooftop on the opposite side. Melissa debated whether or not to retrace her steps and follow the railing around or to make use of the bridge. Going back meant crunching over the glass again but there was slightly less chance of being seen. However the bridge was closer and if she stayed low it would reduce the chance of detection if one of the soldiers happened to look up. Her decision made, Melissa put it into action and moments later she had crossed the bridge without incident and was on her way to the hallway for the north elevator bank. From there, she entered the stairwell cautiously, and after a brief check for sounds that would disclose someone moving up or down the staircase, she decided to get moving. She moved swiftly up the stairs until she saw a door. It wasn’t marked, and as she hadn’t passed the marker for the third floor yet, she figured it was the door to the rooftop. Unfortunately, it appeared to be secured via a panel that looked similar to the key card locks which opened the doors to the hotel rooms. The doors locked state was confirmed when she tried to turn the handle and it didn’t yield. She assessed her options. She could use the gun to try to shoot out the hinges and break the door down, but the noise would likely attract the attention of the soldiers on the floor below. She could use the bat to smash the key card lock, but she had no idea if that would actually open the door. Frustrated, Melissa stamped her foot.
As the door wasn’t a viable option, she decided carry on up the stairs to the third floor, where she would at least be able to view the remains of her antagonist via the window, unless he had bounced off the roof somehow. But she didn’t want to think about that; she wanted to remain optimistic. Onc
e on the third floor, she opened the door and stepped out onto what was the first floor of the guest rooms. These were smaller and less luxurious than the ones higher up, but the layout was pretty much the same. She hurried over to the window and saw below her the rooftop of the second floor, where she could just make out a bloody, broken body in the ambient Las Vegas lighting. Melissa took a step back and inspected the window. It was large, practically the width of the corridor, and went from her waist to about five inches from the ceiling. Knowing this was her best bet to reach the dead Reborn soldier, Melissa resolved to break through it, but first she wanted to make sure she was completely alone, so she moved around the corridors for a minute or two, listening and looking for any Reborn or infected. Eventually, Melissa decided she was as safe as she could be under the circumstances, and so returned once more to the window. She held the bat tight in her hands and turned her face away before swinging it as hard as she could against the glass. There was no immediate shattering, but there was a mark on the glass where she had struck it. It was undoubtedly some kind of reinforced safety glass, but she didn’t have any other option other than to get through the window, one way or another. If the bat didn’t work, then in the worse-case scenario she would have to fashion a silencer from the pillows and cushions from the rooms and shoot out it out. She struck it again and again, grunting with exertion until a crack splintered across the glass. Breathing hard and with her arms, especially the arm where she’d been clipped by the bullet, aching from the physical effort, Melissa took a few deep, rallying breaths then roared at the glass as she struck it again. The window broke open where she hit it near the lower left corner, and the glass shattered outwards onto the rooftop. Relieved she’d made some progress, Melissa took a moment and then continued her assault to remove the remaining broken shards until the enough of the glass was gone to enable her to climb out and drop onto the rooftop below safely.
A World Reborn: The First Outbreak Page 11
