Condemn (BUNKER 12 Book 2) (26 page)

He stopped himself, not wanting to say
the names of their dead colleagues.

"We need to get that door off. Do you
think you can help Byron with it? Bix?"

"Y-yes."

"Good." He returned to Danny and asked
how he'd gotten here.

"Private Ramsay. When he was finished
with me, he turned me over to some men. They brought me in the back
of a pickup truck. I tried to escape. That's when they beat me.
They—" He choked back a sob.

"What, Danny? What about
them?"

"They said they were going to sell me,
like a slave. Said they'd already sold others. Except for the women
and girls. They were going to—"

"No." Finn didn't want to
hear.

"Why? Why are they doing
this?"

"Tell him," Bix said. His voice
sounded hollow. "Tell him about Nami and Jonathan. What they did to
them."

"Nami?" Danny asked. "Jonathan? You
saw them? They're here?"

"They were," Finn whispered, and he
silently cursed Bix for speaking out. Danny didn't need to hear
this right now. He was too close to slipping away, and if they were
going to get out, they all needed to focus. "They were brought
here. They died last night."

"Died? How? Did they beat them,
too?"

"I don't think so."

"But Nami wasn't hurt that bad during
the Wraith attack. And Jonathan was getting better."

"Better?"

"The flu. He was never vaccinated. But
they gave him antibiotics."

Finn was silent for several minutes.
He hadn't wanted to tell Danny what had happened overnight, but now
he felt compelled to. "I couldn't understand why Nami wasn't
interested in Jonathan after he was infected, but I have an idea.
Remember what Seth Abramson said about the things in our
bodies?"

"The nano things?"

"Nanites," Finn corrected. "Tiny
machines in our blood. He implied that they were somehow connected
to the Flense."

"Yeah, but he didn't say how. And he
also didn't explain how they got into all of us."

"I thought I knew. I thought it
might've been the shots at the evacuation center, and that they
made us susceptible to the infection."

"Except the Flense was worldwide and
happened before we got those shots."

"Yes. But remember, Seth said the
government had authorized broad distribution of the nanites, he
just didn't explain how. I now think it was the flu immunizations.
The nanites must have been in them. If Jonathan was never
immunized, he was nanite-free. I think it's why Nami wasn't
interested in touching him. He was immune."

"Nanites in the vaccine? The
government wouldn't—"

"What? They forced everyone to receive
it, Danny. Remember? Not just us, but everyone everywhere all over
the world. If you didn't get the shot, you couldn't work or go to
school. You couldn't travel."

"Millions were dying from the flu.
Hundreds of millions. They were trying to control the spread. It's
not because of the shots! It can't be."

"Finn, we don't know if Jonathan was
immune at all," Bix said from the other side of the room. "Maybe it
was the electrical shock—"

"It wasn't."

"Then how do you explain Billy?" Bix
quietly asked. "He touched one, and he wasn't infected."

"The wound on his leg."

"Excuse me?"

"The wound on his leg means he doesn't
have those nanites in his body, either. He was injured before
Adrian got the cut on his forehead. And yet Adrian is almost
healed. And remember what Jennifer told us about Luke and Billy,
how they take forever to heal? Thing is, they don't heal slower,
they just heal normal. It's everyone else who heals
faster."

"Let me get this straight," Byron
interrupted. "You're saying anyone immune to the flu is sensitive
to the Flense. And anyone sensitive to the flu is immune to the
Flense?"

"Yes."

"I was never vaccinated," Bix
said.

Finn had suspected as much. Doc
Cavanaugh had told him that the nanites weren't in Bix's blood.
"It's just a theory," he warned. "It doesn't mean anything until we
can prove it."

The three of them worked at the hinges for several more hours,
switching places when their hands cramped or grew too tired. But
the top and bottom pins simply wouldn't budge.

Danny attempted to help, but though
his recovery seemed extraordinarily rapid — which Bix saw as
more proof of Finn's theory — he remained weak and
sore.

They had just about given up in
frustration when Bix heard the outer door being thrown open. He
hurried down the stairs before the inner door could be
unlocked.

Once again, the light that spilled
down blinded them. Something heavy tumbled down the steps wrapped
in a burlap sack. This was accompanied by Luke's
laughter.

From further out, Billy shouted at
them with considerably less humor. "Y'all better enjoy yer last bit
of daylight," he growled, "cause soon y'all are gonna be the main
attraction."

Then the door slammed shut, and
darkness and silence swept over them.

"What do you think he meant by that?"
Bix asked.

No one answered. It seemed obvious
enough.

"Well, I don't mind being the main
attraction," he went bravely on, though his voice shook. "Now, how
about we see what they got us."

"Don't touch it," Finn warned. "Bix,
don't!"

"Too late. I'm already on
it."

They could hear him moving about and
mumbling to himself as he tried to figure out what was in the
sack.

"Those idiots tie knots like
kindergartners. And . . . it's food. Smells
okay."

"Food?" Charlie asked, and scurried
over from where he and his little brother were sitting.

Jerry hadn't spoken a single word the
entire time Finn and Bix had been down there, and he still didn't.
Finn couldn't help wondering what the boy's issue might be, but he
didn't want to pry.

"What kind of food?"

The last meal
kind
, Finn thought. He didn't say it out
loud.

"Roast beef. Baked potatoes. All cold,
of course." Bix took a deeper sniff and groaned. "Ugh. It might be
spoiled."

Finn's stomach rebelled. This seemed
especially cruel.

"Well, beggars can't be
whiners."

"Don't eat it, Bix. You'll get
sick."

"I don't care. I'm starving. And
there's plastic bottles of something." He shook one. "Sounds like
something to drink."

"We had all better eat," Byron said.
"We need to keep up our strength."

"Mm, yeah, go ahead," Bix said around
a mouthful. "There's enough for everyone."

The roast did smell a little off, but
it didn't taste bad. Finn ate what he could, and within a few
minutes, he felt his strength returning.

The liquid in the bottles turned out
to be water. It also tasted all right, though he was glad he
couldn't see it. He'd bet it was probably from the lake.

The food sat like a lead weight in
Finn's stomach. He felt like puking. The thought of what was
waiting for them above sickened him. He went to Bix and asked how
he was doing. He could hear his friend breathing funny— short,
rapid breaths. "You going to be sick?"

"No." But he sounded like he might.
"I . . . . Listen, Finn, no matter what
happens, I want you to know it's okay. This was my
choice."

"You'd still have been in danger, even
if you'd stayed on the bus. I'm glad you're here with
me."

"That's . . . not what
I meant, but okay. I was talking about tonight."

"What about tonight?"

"What you said earlier."

"About what?"

The inner door slammed open,
surprising them all. Finn instinctively shielded his
eyes.

"Everyone against the back wall!" Luke
shouted down at them. "Y'all try anything, I'll pump yer ass full
of lead. Now move!"

The prisoners joined Danny along the
far wall. It was the first chance Finn had to look at everyone's
face. The bruising around Danny's eyes and the amount of dried
blood that had soaked into his clothes shocked him.

"Time fer asking forgiveness of yer
trespasses!" Luke said, descending the steps. "Time fer damnation
or salvation."

"Now, let's not get ahead of
ourselves," Adrian interjected, following on his heels.

Billy came last, still clearly
limping. All three held semiautomatic weapons in their hands
instead of the stun guns. Finn eyed them warily.

"You!" Luke said, pointing at Danny.
"On yer feet."

"He's hurt!" Finn objected. He pushed
himself off the floor, but Billy stepped forward, moving fast
despite the wound, and slammed the stock of his rifle into Finn's
face. He crumpled to the dirt.

"Damn it, Billy!" Adrian cried. "I
told y'all to keep yer wits!" He sighed and shook his head. "Pull
him up!"

Luke went over to Danny and yanked him
to his feet, the muzzle of the rifle digging into his
side.

"He cain't barely walk," Adrian
growled in frustration. "I told them people not to bring me them
half dead."

"You don't have to do this," Finn said
from the ground. The hit hadn't broken skin, but he could feel the
side of his face swelling up already. His jaw ached.

"What should we do, boss?" Luke
asked.

Adrian studied the huddled group for a
moment, scratching his chin on his arm.

Billy pointed at Byron. "What about
him? They been in here the longest."

"The blind man?" Adrian said, laughing
derisively. "Another waste. Wouldn't have much of a sporting
chance. No, we'll save him and the boys fer somethin else. I got to
think what, though." He swung around again and pointed at Finn.
"Take him."

"No!" Bix jumped up and slammed his
body into Adrian, driving him across the room. The two lost their
footing and went crashing against the wall.

Charlie tried to jump up to help, but
Byron held him back, hissing for him to sit tight. Finn struggled
to stand, but the room was still spinning.

"Get yer ass offa him!" Luke growled.
He kicked Bix in the side. Bix cried out and crumpled to the floor,
coughing and groaning and clutching his stomach.

"You rotten stinking bastard," Bix
spat. "You're an abomination!"

"He's got some fire!" Luke said with
glee.

"I don't care, I want him!" Adrian
shouted, still pointing at Finn.

Once more, Bix charged at the man.
Once more, Luke kicked him in the back.

"Enough!" Adrian screamed, and grabbed
Bix by the hair. "Y'all just took yer friend's place."

"No! Leave him alone!" Finn shouted.
He fell again when the world tilted beneath his feet.

Luke laughed. "You cain't even stand,
neither."

"Y'all heard the man. Get up," Billy
ordered Bix. "Yer gone be tonight's spotlight
attraction."

"No, please!" Finn said. "Take me
instead."

"Oh, we will," Adrian replied, dusting
himself off. "Don't y'all worry 'bout that. Yer time'll come soon
enough."

He stomped up the steps, followed by
Bix at the end of Luke's rifle. A moment later, the door slammed
shut.

* * *

An hour passed. Maybe two. Or maybe it was only ten minutes. Finn
couldn't tell. Nobody came for him.

He redoubled his efforts on the door,
but it all seemed for naught. He'd managed to get the top hinge pin
to move about a quarter inch, but no more. He screamed out in
frustration, then silenced himself worrying he was frightening the
children even more than they already were. He couldn't stand not
knowing what was happening to his friend.

You know what's happening
to him. He's going to die.