What Remains (Book 1): The Outbreak

by Barrett, Tyler

  Chapter 26

  The escape

  Five minutes later, the three of them were all ready to go and took the hallway leading to the residential area. It was apparent that this section of the bunker was meant for higher up government officials, sparing no expense to make this part comfortable. Each room designed like a high-end apartment, with plenty of space. Eerily quiet, it felt odd to be there, knowing that the former occupants were dead. None of them spoke a word to another until they reached the closet towards the back of the hall.

  They passed through the mess hall, to get to the door. The food was still on plates, now expired and slightly rotting. Whenever the virus got out people were still eating their meals. Together they pushed forward through the empty hall, reaching the door they needed. They opened it up and found a small closet with a grate over what looked like an air vent. After some prying and a few choice words, they finally peeled back the grate, revealing the tunnel they saw on the blueprints.

  “Alright I will take the point, Muller stick in the middle with the scientists, and Blake you got the rear.”

  Captain Lewis went first, hunching down slightly so he could fit into the passageway. Next were the two younger scientists, followed by Muller and the older scientist. Blake left the grate where it was and entered in after them. They used the light from their flashlights to move along in the narrow passage. The tunnel stretched on for what seemed like miles and took them longer to move through it because it was so short.

  What they assumed was close to halfway they took a break, nursing a few small scrapes and cuts they had received navigating through the tight space. They quickly decided to get on the move again, feeling trapped in the confined space. They came out into a small room that was big enough for them to stand in. It held a machine that was continually pumping frigid air.

  They could not see a way out of the room and were confused. The blueprint showed that the tunnel met up with another tunnel. What it hadn't shown was the big machine that was bringing fresh air into the bunker. Captain Lewis stared at the machine for some time. It wasn't long before he found where the device was drawing air into the shelter. It was an air duct following their original tunnels direction.

  Captain Lewis pulled out his combat knife and wedged the blade in between two segments of the air duct. He slowly pried them apart before gaining enough leverage for the others to start pulling the two pieces apart. After a minute of struggling to break the pieces apart, they finally snapped, and they shoved the air duct out of the way. Beyond where the air duct had been, they could now see the tunnel again.

  After another long crawl through the tunnel, they finally started to smell the musty smell of public works tunnels ahead. Quickening their pace, they wanted to be able to have the room to stand up and move around again. However, they still had a little way to go before the tunnel had ended.

  They reached the end of the tunnel, which was blocked off by another grate, but this one weaker. Captain Lewis gave it a quick kick at the edge, and it popped out easily. One by one they slid out of the tightly confined space, grasping for air, glad to be in a more open space. They all quickly stretched their muscles, breathing new life into them, and working out the cramps.

  The public works tunnel was close to ten feet wide and eight feet tall, running in two directions. The way to left, they found instead quickly led to a dead end and backtracked. They had walked for about fifteen minutes in the dark before they felt a breeze. Hoping it meant a way up to the street they carefully checked the walls for a ladder up.

  They found the ladder leading up but were disappointed by the discovery that something blocked it and they could not get it to budge. Moving down the tunnel again, the group started to hear the trickling water, and a smell meaning only one thing, they were coming up to the sewer. Together they pushed forward hoping to find another way out soon, to try and avoid the sewer.

  The next ladder led up to a small grate, which upon climbing alerted infected that were at the top. The infected reached down through the holes, as far as they could, hissing at the group below. Lewis Jumped down from the ladder looking up at the infected, watching their tenacity to try to get to them through the solid metal. They heard a cracking noise and realized that one of the infected had broken several fingers trying to jam them through the grate.

  Horrified, they left hoping that infected or other unknown objects blocked not all the exits. The smell of sewer grew stronger and stronger, and they quickly realized they were going to have to brave the sewer to find a way out. The soft splashing noise their feet made trekking through the minor amount of water amplified in the hollow tunnel. Making them stop every so often to make sure it was just their footsteps echoing in the tunnels.

  Eventually, they reached the source of the smell, the sewer main. It was a circular room, with a railed walkway all the way around, with several pipes and other tunnels leading into the depths of the city. Luck was on their side this time; however, finding an access door leading to a stairwell going to the surface. They climbed the sets of stairs, stopping and listening to the door. They quietly opened the door and cleared the room on the other side. It looked like they were in a small basement of a public works station.

  They found the stairs leading up from the basement and ascended. The stairs brought them to an area for workers to store their tools and personal belongings. They pushed forward, finding a garage and a single office with nothing of value. From the office, they went down a small hallway that led to a glass door. Through the glass, they could see the street and freedom. It had been some time since they had been outside and breathed fresh air.

  “Maybe we should try to contact base now?” asked Blake.

  “Good idea.” Said Muller.

  No more than the words left his mouth a hand slammed into the glass door, making them all jump out of their skin. The soldiers raised their guns instinctively but froze once they realized the infected could not get through the door. The infected was a man in a business suit, covered in grime and blood. Even though it was night outside and the lights of the city had long been out, they could see the paleness of his skin and the black demon-like eyes. No one from the group moved or spoke; just silently staring at the infected man.

  The infected looked through the door, moving every couple of seconds as if he was trying to get a better angle to see through the glass. He let out a soft hissing moan and went back into his stupor.

  “Can he not see us in…” whispered Captain Lewis to the scientists. He was cut short by the infected man slamming his hand into the door again, causing them all to jump back. They kept quiet again, and the infected man looked around again, before slumping back into his almost sleep-like state. They all stared at the man, and after a few minutes, he walked away slowly, something else grabbing the infected man’s attention.

  Captain Lewis looked at the scientist, “What was that about? Why could he not see us through the door, but could hear us?”

  “We believe that when the virus makes its way to the brain, it affects the eyes; it bursts all the small blood vessels filling the eyes with blood. It makes the infected nearly blind, but they can still hear which seems to aggravate them. The sound draws them to whatever the source is; they will attack if the source is a living creature.” Said the old scientist.

  They looked out the glass windows of the door, checking to make sure that there were no any infected in the immediate area. A few were down the street moving towards whatever had drawn the infected man’s attention. They decided to make a break for it, opening the door as quietly as they could. They all stuck together, the scientists clung to each other, trying their best to avoid running into things in the dark. They looked for some sign of where they were, but it was impossible in the night.

  Captain Lewis stopped to ask the scientists if they knew where they were. “Are any of you familiar with this area? We need to get closer to the bay, that’s where our base is.”

  The older scientist shook his head but turned t
o his daughter. They spoke to each other in Japanese, and after a moment, he turned back to Captain Lewis. “She says we are almost thirty blocks west of the bay. We need to go that way.” The old scientist pointed right down a street.

  They started making their way down the street indicated by the scientist, still moving slowly to avoid attention. Occasionally the soldiers would stop to let an infected pass by or switch sides of the street to avoid running into an infected. They were forced to find another way around a nasty car crash that blocked the street. They decided to cut through an alley to cut over to the next street.

  As they walked down the alleyway, one of the scientists tripped and fell into some trashcans. The crash of the trashcans was loud and made the soldiers jump. They soon heard the shuffling of infected approaching.

  “Shit, let’s go, we need to move fast!” exclaimed Blake.

  A dozen infected had already made their way to where the soldiers had entered the alleyway, blocking their way. Their only option was to go deeper into the alley and hope to find a way out. Luck was not on their side this time, as they came to a fence that blocked the way further and back onto the street. Looking around, they found a door, which Captain Lewis kicked in.

  It opened to a stairwell that led up to the second floor, of the building. They quickly piled through slamming the door close; a few moments later the infected began beating on the door, trying to force their way into the building. Blake shoved himself against the door offering himself as reinforcement. Captain Lewis and Muller ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, reaching the landing at the top.

  There was an empty doorway, which led into a small single room apartment, a kitchen was on the right and directly ahead was a living room. The scientists followed them shortly afterward huddling in the corner of the living room. Captain Lewis and Muller grabbed some furniture and rushed it down the door, which was starting to crack. Muller ran back up to grab more furniture to blockade the entrance while Captain Lewis stayed to help Blake.

  As Muller grabbed a chair, he heard the ominous sound of the door breaking and giving away. He dropped the chair, rushing back the stairs. Blake was wrestling with an infected woman; Captain Lewis was a third of the way up the stairs and began to fire his rifle at the horde forcing its way through the doorway. Blake lost the struggle with the infected when several more joined in, taking him down to the ground.

  His scream sent a chill down Muller’s spine. Captain Lewis kept firing his rifle until he was out of ammo; he began to slowly back up the stairs fumbling for another magazine.

  “Muller, go and get the scientists out of here, I will hold them!” screamed Captain Lewis.

  Muller turned around heading back into the apartment’s living room, finding the scientists still huddled in the corner. He looked around quickly, trying to find a way out, he noticed a fire escape that was flush with the window in the kitchen. Muller pushed the old window up, but it fought him the whole time. Once he had enough room to look out of the window, he poked his head forward.

  The fire escape went up for another three floors, and the ladder leading down to the street was pulled up. Below the fire escape led down to the alleyway, but on the other side of the fence that blocked them earlier. However, luck was still not on their side as several infected had already moved into the area shambling about, trying to find a way around to where they had entered several minutes beforehand. Muller brought his head back in and ran back to the scientists.

  “Come on; we have to climb the fire escape! It’s the only way out of here.” Muller said as he grabbed the scientists and yanked them up.

  He showed them the window and started to push them out, looking back every so often to make sure the infected hadn’t made it to the top of the steps. Once all three scientists were climbing through, Muller looked back at the doorway to the stairs. Captain Lewis had reached the doorway, slowly backing up as the infected advanced, and he had switched to his sidearm; out of ammo for his rifle.

  The infected were having some trouble climbing over the dead bodies of the other infected but were still gaining ground. Muller waved him over to the window in the kitchen, “There is a fire escape, we can get out that way!”

  “Yeah, give me a mag I’m out.” Said Captain Lewis.

  Muller tossed him a magazine from his vest, and Captain Lewis caught it, reloading his rifle. As he made it to the window, Captain Lewis started firing his rifle again. The infected had made their way up the stairs and had begun to flood into the apartment. Muller bent down and went through the window landing on the fire escape on the other side.

  He looked back through, seeing the infected closing in on Captain Lewis.

  “Come on, quick!” waved Muller.

  Captain Lewis stopped firing and sprint the short distance to the window, bending down the move through the window. He kicked with his feet forcing himself through the opening, landing on his belly. Lewis rolled over just as the infected reached the window and fired his rifle directly into the face of an infected man, splattering his brain matter onto other infected behind him. He scrambled up and kept shooting at the infected, which had bottlenecked at the window.

  The infected forced their weight against the feeble window, shattering the glass, which rained down onto Captain Lewis. He instinctively protected his face, creating a chance for the infected to lunged on top of him. Infected hand and teeth grabbed and punctured what they could. Captain Lewis screamed in pain but did not give up. He knocked back several with his rifle and shot a couple more.

  Muller who was on the next floor of the fire escape rushed down to help Captain Lewis. He shot a few more infected that were making their way through the window, scoring a few kills and stunning the others. Muller’s distraction created enough of a gap to allow Captain Lewis to make it up the stairs. Muller’s rifle flared in short bursts covering his commanding officer's retreat.

  “You ok?” asked Muller in-between burst of rifle fire.

  “Yeah, a few got me, though. Shit, they bit me…I’m infected. FUCK! I’m infected Muller!” said Captain Lewis revealing his wounds.

  He had a chunk of his bicep torn loose, blood flowing freely from the wound. Numerous more bite wounds riddled his body. Captain Lewis looked grim, understanding his fate that would befall him.

  “Go get the scientists to safety, Muller. I can’t go with you, and don’t argue.” Muller opened his mouth to protest, “I will cover you and bring down as many of these bastards as I can. Get to the base, contact command; they need to see that information. Just promise me that you will make sure to get this information gets somewhere. At least, then I will know that all of this was for something.”

  Muller shook his head in agreement, “I promise I will get this information somewhere safe. Lewis…I don’t know what to say…”

  “Don’t say anything; there is nothing to say. I’m done for, infected. I might as well make sure you and the scientists have a chance.” Captain Lewis paused and fired his pistol at a few infected that were making their way up. “GO! You need to get out of here, Muller.”

  Muller steeled himself and started up the next set of stairs. Halfway up he paused and looked back down at Captain Lewis, who was taking shots at the infected that were still trying to make their way to him. Muller wanted to go back and help him, but he knew that he couldn’t, or he would share the same fate. He started up the stairs again, taking the steps as quickly as he could.

  Once he reached the roof, he spotted the scientists near the other side of the building. Muller looked around trying to find a way down but did not see a roof access door. He sprinted over to the scientists who looked at him quizzically.

  “Where is your captain?” asked the older scientist.

  “He is staying behind.” Replied Muller solemnly.

  The older scientist shook his head, understanding. Muller weighed his options, either stand and fight or find a way to another building. He looked over the side of the building hoping for another fire escape but had n
o such luck. He looked across to the building next to the one he was on. It was a floor shorter than the one they were on; however, it had suffered a fire, leaving it weak looking.

  The occasional crack of Captain Lewis firing his sidearm pressured him even more. He tried to think clearly, but the adrenaline caused his mind to race. It was hard to focus, but he quickly pulled ideas into his mind. He thought about going back and holding off the infected with Captain Lewis. He thought about holding his ground where he was and giving the scientists weapons. None of these ideas worked out well in his head, and the almost too familiar scream of pain came from the fire escape.

  Muller took that as his sign to move, decided they did not have a choice but to jump across to the other building, their time was up. He gathered the scientists and told them his plan; they looked at him wide-eyed, scared themselves. Muller lined himself up for the jump, deciding he would have to get a running headstart, before leaping, he back up several feet from the edge. He took a deep breath and raced across the roof as fast as he could, leaping once he reached the edge.

  He landed on the roof, stopping himself when he had both feet planted. He stumbled a bit with the force of his landing but was able to bring himself back up. The building beneath him groaned with his weight. However, it held. Muller turned around and waved the scientists over, and after a few seconds, he saw the older scientist leap across the gap. The older scientist landed hard, falling to his knees, and the building gave a loud creaking groan.

  Muller helped the older scientist up, aware that the roof might give out any second. They both waited for the next scientist to jump across. The second scientist was the other man, who ran and jumped as they had before. However, this time was different, and he landed on the edge of the building. Both Muller and the older scientist moved to help the man, who had slipped and was hanging onto the edge of the building.

  A loud creak echoed, followed by cracking noise. It happened so fast that there was no time to react, and the next thing Muller knew he felt the roof beneath his feet fall out from under him. Time seemed to slow as he fell, and he saw the night sky, filled with clouds. He felt the pain sear through his body, and it was his last conscious moment. A beam fell and hit Muller on the head.