Turning to Wendy, “Wendy, you go Freddie Kruger on the Witchers and it’ll eat at you later, and I don’t want that,” Arthur told her. “You like dealing retribution.”
Not even attempting to deny that, “Arthur, I told you I wouldn’t,” she repeated. “I don’t care what I see, I’ll never break my word to you, babe. Have I ever?”
Arthur grinned, “Nope.”
LL opened the other door, letting some of Albert’s group cover this tower before they moved to the northwest tower. “I hope you know, we’re going to the spot when we get back to the ranch,” she told him.
Shaking his head, “Babe, parts of your body get hard in the cold. You should know by now, nothing on my body gets hard out in the cold,” Arthur told her, grabbing one of the door handles.
“The damn pool is over a hundred degrees,” Wendy moaned, watching Arthur holster his XD and get on his AR.
“Yes, in the pool,” Arthur laughed as LL moved to them. When LL reached them, Arthur opened the door and flipped his goggles down. He gave a shiver as the cold air hit him like a hammer. Slipping out, Arthur saw electric scooters parked outside this door as well. Not crouching over but staying near the outside battlements so those in the bailey couldn’t see him as easily, Arthur headed towards the tower. In a single file behind him, Wendy and LL followed.
Wendy looked out over the bailey at the small fires, and she saw several were actually propane burners. Since she’d been here so many times, Wendy knew the gang had raided stores for those. Midway to the tower, they passed the stone bridge that ran from the north wall to the castle. The bridge was supported by stone archways and ended at a balcony that wrapped all the way around the castle. On the south side there was an identical bridge. There were a few lights, mostly small solar yard lights, scattered throughout the bailey and the bridge, even though this place had power. There’d been solar panels and wind turbines here before the virus. After the Hollywood actor had bought the castle, he’d turned it ‘green’ and the off-grid setup was more than capable of supplying the castle’s power needs.
The solar lights brought a thought to Wendy’s mind. There were plenty of normal outside lights in the bailey to light up the entire ten acres, with enough light a person would think it was noon. Yet, there were no outside lights on. From what she could see, the brightest light looked about twenty lumens. Even as badass as the Witchers thought themselves, they still didn’t advertise where they were. That alone showed they had some intelligence among the group. As high as this castle was, if it’d been lit up with bright lights, it could’ve been seen from many miles away.
Reaching the tower, Arthur led them in and they cleared it the same way, but Arthur let Wendy take the lead with LL to clear the upper apartments. It was only in the lower apartment, with Arthur backing her up, that Wendy found scenes she would have in her nightmares until she died. After clearing the bottom floor and reloading magazines, they headed back up.
“These little bastards are evil,” LL said, opening the door to let in those who’d hold the tower.
“I won’t argue against that,” Arthur admitted, watching Wendy as she breathed through pursed lips.
“Be calm, be calm…” Wendy mumbled to herself over and over in a mantra.
Glad Wendy understood, Arthur headed back out to the north wall walkway. To LL and Wendy’s shock, Arthur climbed on an electric scooter. “Fuck if I’m walking back if I don’t have to,” Arthur told them and took off. LL looked at the two wheels on each side of the deck with a handlebar jutting up from the deck.
“I’ll walk because that thing just looks like it takes more balance than I can muster,” LL declared.
Wendy chuckled, climbing on another scooter. “LL, they have self-righting mechanisms built in. If you can stand straight on the ground, you can drive a Segway. When Joseph was thirteen one of his friends had one, and you wouldn’t believe what it took to make the scooter tip over. Just don’t try to ramp off anything and you’ll be fine,” Wendy told him, showing him the throttle and then she took off.
Getting on the scooter very hesitantly, LL eased the throttle open and found it wasn’t hard at all. It was actually easier than standing. When he rejoined Arthur and Wendy at the northeast tower, “I’m taking one,” LL said, climbing off.
“No, we’ll take some of the ones they have in the basement,” Arthur grinned, walking into the common room. The bags Jill’s people had carried in were laid in a line on the floor, along with two of the smoke generators and four five-gallon cans of diesel. Kneeling beside one of the bags, Arthur unzipped it and pulled out a firefighting breathing apparatus. LL and Wendy moved to their bags doing the same, and Arthur could still hear Wendy mumbling her mantra.
Taking off his fedora, Arthur set it on the empty duffel bag and then pulled the facemask straps over his head. After checking the seal of the mask to his face, Arthur reached back to turn on the air and found it working. Then he reached up on the mask and flipped down the thermal scan eyepiece. It was common equipment among firefighters. Well, firefighters who worked in areas that could afford them. The unit was rugged and could see through smoke to find people inside burning, smoke-filled buildings. Even tiny firefighting departments had handheld units. These units had a small screen in the mask that displayed an image from the camera mounted on the side of the mask, keeping the firefighter’s hands free. Hands-free was why Arthur had collected them.
When the three were ready, Arthur was about to radio to see how long the others would be when the south door opened, with Joseph leading in Samantha and Jason. “I’ve seen and heard some shit in my life, but this takes the cake,” Jason admitted, closing the door. “I hope like fuck we don’t see much more of that inside.”
“They don’t take prisoners inside anymore,” Arthur said, taking off the respirator.
Turning to look at Arthur, “What?” Jason asked, finding that hard to believe after what he’d seen.
“In the basement there’s a torture chamber and a dungeon. Granted, it was put there when the castle was built, to stay with the theme, I guess. The stuff in the chamber are antiques from the Spanish Inquisition, but the dungeon’s all Hollywood props. That’s where the Witchers used to store prisoners, but found out those bars and shackles in the dungeon may seem real, but aren’t. Several prisoners got out, and you know what else the Witchers stored in the basement? Weapons,” Arthur told them. “The prisoners killed several Witchers, but none of the prisoners got away. After that, they didn’t keep them in the basement anymore. Then, they found out there’re many hiding places in the castle, so they don’t even bring little kids in the castle anymore.”
“You said the Witchers never found the passages,” Joseph groaned, pulling his gear from a duffle bag.
“They hadn’t when I was here. That’s how I moved around,” Arthur answered as he waited on them.
“I can’t wait to see real secret passages,” Samantha exclaimed with a grin.
“They aren’t real secret passages,” Arthur told her. “The secret passageways in this castle are what builders refer to as ‘servant passageways’. That way, servants could move about without being seen. They have similar setups in hotels and cruise ships and even Disneyworld, they just don’t hide the doors to the passageways for the workers. Here, like in many castles and mansions, the doors are hidden in plain sight in the rooms where royalty moved about, like behind mirrors, paintings, walls and such. If they’re done correctly, unless you know where they are, you can’t find them. Normally, in the servant areas, the doors are normal doors because royalty didn’t go there, like kitchens, the laundry, and servants quarters. But here, they hid those doors as well. They still find secret passageways in old buildings in Europe all the time. Hell, even in the House of Commons in England.”
Checking her mask as she listened, “Never knew that,” Samantha admitted.
When Arthur turned to Jason, he found Jason just staring at him. “What?” Arthur asked.
“Why didn’t y
ou mention the fact that’s why the Witchers don’t bring prisoners into the castle anymore?”
Shrugging, “It’s not really relevant to the attack. But even if they’ve changed, I didn’t want anyone trying to save a prisoner inside once we started,” Arthur answered.
Letting out a long sigh, “You’re so full of shit,” Jason groaned. “The only way you could’ve found that out was you talked to a Witcher, and it wasn’t over a cup of tea.” Wendy stopped her mantra as she stifled a chuckle at Jason’s irritation. “What did you do with the body? Because you damn sure didn’t carry it out, and I know you didn’t leave them alive.”
Sheepishly looking away, “Um, I buried her in the compost heap for the greenhouse,” Arthur answered in a mumble.
“And that’s what took you so long here?” Jason more accused than asked. “I never understood why it took you so long to scout this castle since you’ve said how many times all of you’ve been here.”
“Sorry, just wanted some answers. I knew you were up in that tall oak tree, so I didn’t have to rush,” Arthur confessed.
“Don’t you think I might’ve wanted to ask some questions?” Jason moaned, and Wendy thought any second Jason was going to start stomping his feet.
Refusing to look at Jason, “I got what she knew,” Arthur told him.
“I might’ve just asked her what fucking shows she watched before this, but I would’ve used goddamn pliers and a hammer to check her answers. At the very least, I would’ve given her a psych exam using a blow torch,” Jason snarled.
Finally turning to Jason, “I’ll get you a Witcher to interrogate,” Arthur offered.
“After tonight, they’ll be extinct,” Jason more or less pouted.
Making no attempt to hide her giggling, Samantha stood up and turned to the boys. “Do I need to make you two kiss and make up?” Jason flipped her off and Arthur ignored her, moving to the door.
Glancing at Wendy, Arthur saw she was chuckling silently as she got to her feet. “You didn’t share your plaything with your buddy,” she smirked.
Pouting in his own right, Arthur grabbed his PTT. “Chad, how much longer do you need?” Arthur called out.
“We’re ready and been waiting on your call,” Chad answered immediately.
Glancing at the others and getting nods, “We’re heading out to the castle,” Arthur replied, and picked up a smoke generator. It weighed nearly as much as one of the five-gallon diesel cans, but Arthur just carried it in his left hand while pulling his XD out with his right. LL and Wendy each grabbed a jerrycan, throwing a strap over their head to help suspend the can from their left side but still used their left hand to keep the can from moving and banging around.
Joseph grabbed the other smoke generator while Jason and Samantha grabbed the other two jerrycans. “Okay, son,” Arthur nodded, and opened the door heading out. He was tempted to use the scooter again, but scratched that idea because he would have to holster the XD.
Leading along the walkway until they reached the north bridge across the bailey, Arthur scanned the balcony and still didn’t see anyone on it. Crossing the bridge, they could hear those partying under them very well. Not surprisingly, many of the Witchers were already trashed.
“Samantha said there weren’t this many out on the south side. How many you guess are outside?” Wendy asked in a low voice behind him.
Turning just enough to speak over his shoulder, “Maybe hundred and fifty,” Arthur whispered, and that seemed to appease Wendy. Reaching the castle, Arthur stopped at two ten-foot-tall massive wooden doors. One of the two had a normal-sized door mounted in it. Sticking the XD under his arm and flipping up his goggles, Arthur grabbed the handle and waited until he felt Wendy tap him that they were ready.
With a deep breath he opened the door, and bright light nearly blinded him. Ahead, he looked and found the hallway clear and he moved inside. The hall ran for ten yards, then opened up into a huge room that Arthur knew was the ballroom, or if this had been a real castle, it would’ve been the throne room.
Not moving very far down the hall Arthur turned to the right, stopping at a picture of a knight who was eight feet tall. At one time it’d been a nice painting, but the Witchers had drawn and spray-painted all over it. Feeling along the edge of the painting, he found the latch and pressed it, causing the painting to swing out. Moving into the exposed passageway, Arthur had to flip his goggles down to see.
He stopped far enough inside for everyone to enter the passageway. “The door’s closed,” Joseph called from the back. “Want me to turn on the lights?”
The servant passageways had their own lights, but Arthur turned around. “No. Some of the doors in the rooms aren’t sealed at the bottom and light can be seen. They don’t know about them so let’s keep it that way.”
Setting down the smoke generator, Arthur moved back and put his hand on Joseph’s shoulder. “Keep your head and stick to the plan,” Arthur told him.
“Dad, I’m not Mom.”
Wendy nearly popped off, but held her tongue as Arthur gave Jason and Samantha a nod. Grabbing the smoke generator, Arthur headed to a spiral stairway and started down, leading his team of Wendy and LL. Joseph moved to the front and led his team of Jason and Samantha. Following Joseph, Jason noted the passageway wasn’t that big compared to the castle. It was just wide enough that two people walking opposite ways could pass without running into each other.
Thinking of a question that’d just popped in his mind, “Joseph, in case the fuckers find the passageways, you think the smoke’ll fill them?” Jason asked.
“Where Dad’s setting his, oh yeah,” Jason answered. “The air conditioner ventilation system that feeds the entire castle is in the basement, and Dad’s going to open it up.”
“That’s one big ass system,” Jason scoffed.
“Yep, it was put in when the castle was built and still works great. The damn condenser unit in the basement is the size of a box truck. The outside unit’s hidden by a fake wooden building by the back-patio landing,” Joseph told them. For a second Jason wanted to ask more because Joseph knew this place, it seemed, just as well as Arthur did. Holding his tongue, Jason just followed to get this night over with.
After walking down three flights of stairs, Arthur was glad to see the basement. The spiral stairways in the passageways were very narrow, bordering on claustrophobic. He stopped at the door and set down the smoke generator. From the other side of the door, they could hear and feel the hum of a generator.
“Why are they running the generator?” Wendy asked putting her jerrycan down.
“Hon, yes, the solar and wind combined can generate nearly eighty kilowatts, but they lose most of that when the sun goes down. The heating system for this place consumes three quarters of that,” Arthur answered.
“You said that was the most economical way to heat this place,” Wendy reminded him.
“It is. If they had to use a central heating unit it would consume, at the very least, twice that.”
Stepping up between them, “That’s all very interesting, but can we carry on?” LL asked. “You think we’ll find any on the other side of the door?”
Shrugging and gripping his XD tight, “Doubt it, this is the generator room. That’s why we came in on the north side, but you never know,” Arthur said, flipping his goggles up and then easing the door open. The engine noise got much louder and bright light washed over them. Able to see the entire room and it was empty, Arthur led them in.
Following Wendy in, LL stopped, looking at the huge engine. “Holy shit, that’s a 1939 EMD 567 twelve-cylinder!” LL cried out over the noise. Despite its age, the engine looked new, with the green paint from the factory showing no real signs of use. “They used these to power locomotives.”
Very impressed LL knew that just by looking at it, because he’d to inspect the engine to find that out, “Yep, and the engine was put here and the castle was built around it,” Arthur replied with a raised voice to be heard over the engine. �
��The fuel tank’s out back. Down the hall, Mr. Hollywood filled a room with lithium batteries. It’s controlled by a computer and cuts on when the batteries are low. With the temperature outside, I’m sure it’s running for twelve hours a day.”
They grabbed their stuff and moved to an eight-foot-wide, thick metal door that led out of the room, and LL turned to look back at the door they’d used. On this side, it was hidden by a peg board that had tools hanging from it. When he turned back, he found Arthur looking at him and Wendy.
“Let me move out there to check the hall. I can do it faster alone,” he told them.
Having been out with Arthur on patrols, LL knew that was a fact so he just nodded. Wendy didn’t like it, but couldn’t argue against it and nodded. Just before Arthur slipped out, the massive engine shut down, startling all three. “Just be a minute,” Arthur said opening the thick door and was soon gone.
Scanning over the room, LL saw an electric panel for the castle on the west wall. Along the floor was a line of transformers. Just looking at those, LL knew they were all new. “I just didn’t think a person could have the money to build something like this,” LL admitted. “It has to be the biggest residence in the country.”
“Please,” Wendy scoffed. “The largest private residence in the US is nearly two hundred thousand square feet. Adding the apartment footage to the castle, this is barely a hundred thousand square feet.”
“You do realize that’s nearly three acres, right? Under a roof, heated and cooled?” LL pointed out, then realized just how big the damn room was but with all the large equipment, it seemed cramped.
“Yes, I do,” Wendy said keeping her eyes on the door. “Two years ago, some computer guy offered the mortgage company thirty million for the castle and they turned him down. They’ve rented it out a few times for movies, a wedding, and to rich people staying for a week or so, but I’ve never been able to find out how much for.”
“More than I would’ve ever seen,” LL said as the door opened up and Arthur eased back inside.
Viral Misery | Book 3 | Revelations Page 33
