Darkness (6 page)

That, for her, must have been the hardest part about surviving here.

Ruth opened her eyes once more. “It’s hard to believe all of that really happened. I mean, there’s a whole
world
out there that I’ve never seen. I’ve been outside only once – when I turned sixteen. I...sort of broke down out there. It was all too much, so Chan said I had to stay here. A few years later, I got married to Mark.” She halted at his name. She then forced herself to on. “I started working here, in the lab. Things were going good, until...”

Ruth’s eyes became distant, and she sighed.

“My husband was a good man. Mark protected me, right to the end. I don’t know where he is now, but I didn’t have to kill him, thank God. I couldn’t have handled that.”

“He would have wanted you to get out of here,” Anna said. “You have that chance now.”

Ruth nodded. “We just have to go out the way we came in. It’s the easiest way out. It’s worth a try before we go the other way.” She sighed. “But let’s try to get some rest first.”

By “the other way,” I knew Ruth was referring to the motor pool. It was on the main level, but it was quite the jaunt to get there. We’d have to walk to the opposite side of the Bunker using the main corridor. We were almost sure to run afoul of some sort of trouble.

As Ruth curled up for sleep, I found that I could use a bit of rest as well. Checking my watch, it was 12:30 already – midday, but the mission had been so eventful and I’d gotten so little sleep the night before that a nap did not sound like a bad proposition. Besides, Ruth was right. We had to give time for the Howlers to go away before we could chance the rock tunnel again.

So, I laid down, and Anna put her back to mine, facing the direction of the door. My last sensation before falling immediately asleep was the green of the plants and the buzz of the grow lights.

***

We awoke sometime later. I checked my watch.

5:00.

“Damn,” I said.

Anna and Ruth were still sleeping. It had been four and a half hours, probably enough time for the Howlers to have cleared out.

I stood, feeling a bit drowsy. I walked over to Ruth and knelt down.

“Hey,” I said.

Ruth started, her entire body doing a little jump. From her eyes it was clear she didn’t know who I was. It lasted half a second before recognition dawned.

“Sorry,” I said quietly. “It’s been over four hours. Maybe we should get going.”

Now alert, Ruth nodded. From behind, Anna stirred.

It didn’t take long to gather our things. We filled my pack with food – apples, oranges, anything that would travel well. We also packed the rest of the walnuts. We refilled our canteens from one of the irrigation lines. It was slow going, so while the girls filled up our canteens, I decided to try and find a better spot for reception to reach Makara.

“I’ll be back,” I said, holding up the radio.

The women nodded as I walked off. This attempt at communication was somewhat pointless, but it was worth a shot. Makara would be worried sick not hearing from us for this long. She might feel forced to come after us unless she realized we had a shot of getting out on our own.

“Makara, you have a copy?”

I walked a few steps more. I left the grow lights behind, entering a shadowy area of the Hydroponics Lab. Thick foliage covered the lane I walked on, reducing Anna’s and Ruth’s voices to nothing. There was nothing but the buzz of lights, the clack of my boots on metal, the hissing of static. On my left rose the one living walnut tree in Bunker 108, its upper roots bathed in translucent hydroponic fluid. The nuts in their thick husks carpeted the floor thickly along with fallen leaves, so much so that as I walked, my boots crunched over them.

I listened intently to my radio, but no voice came through – as expected. I sighed, stopping on the other side of the lab. I was far from both Anna and Ruth. If I couldn’t pick up Makara here, then I couldn’t pick her up anywhere.

I had raised the radio to my mouth once more when...

“...Hello, Alex.”

A male voice I didn’t recognize garbled through the radio. I stared at it, wondering if I’d misheard.

“Who is this?” I asked.

Silence. My heart raced. Finally, the man answered.

“You let him in, three months ago,” the voice rasped. “Now, you’ll have to let
him
out.”

I let him in? It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about: the infected man from Bunker 114.

“I asked you a question,” I said. “Who is this?”

The man didn’t respond for a long time. When he finally did, his voice sent chills down my spine.

“You have to let him out.”

“What do you mean,
him?
No one’s in here.”

I had no idea who or what this crazy man was talking about. I thought of what Ruth told me about Old Darcy. Could this really be...?

“Darcy?”

There was silence for a moment.

“Yes,” Darcy said. “Good to know I’m not forgotten.”

“Everyone knows about you. I didn’t think you were alive.”

Darcy gave a sigh, long and tired.

“I never got enough credit,” Darcy said. “No one believed me about Bunker One. They were hiding it from us. There’s a lesson for you, Alex. You tell the truth and they lock you up.”

“What truth was that?”

“They let it in there. Just like
you
let it in here.” The man sighed. “It was only a matter of time.”

“Is that why you killed them, then?”

Darcy went quiet. “You know nothing. I loved my family. It had to be done. They were infected.”

“Or maybe you were just paranoid.”

“Lies,” Darcy said, with a snarl. “We will all fall, one day. I had to stop it while there was a chance to. Something
you
should have done, Alex. Sacrifices must be made.”

“How do you know my name?”

“I heard your girlfriend talking to you. Makara, was it? She’s got a pretty fancy toy. Not every day you hear
Odin
mentioned.”

“How do you know about
that?”

Darcy laughed. “I know more than you think, Alex. Much more.”

I realized that Darcy knowing about
Odin
probably wasn’t too Earth-shattering. He had been a colonel, after all, and could have been privy to that information.

“But let’s get back to
you,”
Darcy said. “Maybe I should thank you for letting him in. When you did, they let
me
out.”

“Why?” I asked.

Darcy chuckled. “Why? Because I told them what they wanted to hear. And they believed me. People will believe anything they want to be true, Alex. Never forget that.”

“Who
let you out?”

“Officer Burton did personally. Put a gun in my hand himself. Maybe they all died, in the end. I survived. And that’s what matters.”

“Where are you?”

Darcy sighed, disappointed. “Alex, I’m not going to tell you
that.
That would be no fun.”

“What do you want from us?”

“I want
out
of here. I want the open air and freedom and...” Darcy sighed. “I don’t know what I want, to be honest, Alex. I thought I wanted the girl for a while. Elusive, that one. I’m very lonely, you see. I’ve been living in the dark too long.”

I said nothing for a moment. I wondered if I was being too loud – if my voice was only serving to draw the Howlers back to me.

“I’m tired of this,” I said. “Goodbye.”

I paused, waiting for a response. But nothing came.

That was when I heard a metal door slam open from somewhere beyond the lab. All doors to the lab itself were shut and barricaded. Still, I heard the cries of Howlers from outside the door nearest me, maybe twenty feet away. Suddenly, that door was getting slammed, rattling the furniture gathered in front of it.

And judging by the way the furniture was being scooted back along the floor, that barricade wasn’t going to last long.

“Good luck, Alex,” Darcy said.

Somehow, Darcy had let these monsters in.

Chapter 5

I ran back through the foliage, past pea plants, fruit-laden trees, and rows of potatoes. We were getting out of here a little sooner than we’d thought. That was when I ran smack dab into Anna.

She cried out as we both collapsed to the floor. Ruth stood above the both of us, offering us each a hand, her face an expression of alarm.

“What’s going on? We heard the door slamming.”

“There’s Howlers out there,” I said, pointing behind me. “Your friend let them in.”

Ruth narrowed her eyes, looking through the foliage toward the door. “He’s trying to flush us out.”

“Well, where do we go?” I asked.

“The only way we
can
go,” Ruth said. “Out. Follow me.”

She led us through the rows of plants at a run. She turned sharply toward the entrance we had come through to get in here.

“That
way?” I asked. “Isn’t that what he would expect?”

“We’re sure as hell going to try!” Ruth said.

She stopped before the thick metal door, unbolting it.

“Have that flashlight ready,” she said to me.

Anna drew her katana.

Ruth opened the door with a creak, revealing the dark chamber containing the recycling tanks beyond. As I shined my flashlight around, I saw the cylindrical forms of the tanks along with the unused vats of hydroponic fluid.

Anna and I took the lead, Ruth behind with her pole and hook. After we entered the chamber, Ruth shut the door behind. If the Howlers broke into the Hydroponics Lab, then we didn’t want them ambushing us from behind.

I followed the dark line of the corridor, so narrow that it felt like it was pressing against me. Finally, we reached the spiral stairs – the ones that led to the atrium. We began to climb quietly. The screams of the Howlers emanated from behind. They had finally busted through the door leading into the Hydroponics Lab. It probably wouldn’t take them long to find out where we had fled. We picked up the pace.

Finally, I reached the top. I pressed an ear against the cold metal of the door leading into the atrium. I had no idea what lay on the other side, but it was the only way out. If we couldn’t get out this way then were probably going to die in Bunker 108.

“Go,” Anna said quietly behind me.

I unlatched the door, and opened it into darkness. I drew my Beretta, pointing it ahead.

There was absolutely nothing.

“Now’s our chance,” I said.

We walked into the atrium, shutting the door to the stairwell behind. We faced the dark corridors leading deeper into the Bunker, weapons ready, as we backed toward the rock tunnel that would lead out of Bunker 108. The linoleum of the Bunker floor gave way to hard rock as we entered the tunnel. The temperature dropped instantly. I took a few more steps, pointing my flashlight upward –

Only to find that tunnel completely blocked by a Behemoth – at least twelve feet tall, its legs as thick as tree trucks and its torso a sickly pink and ripped with muscle. Instantly, I clicked off my flashlight. It breathed heavily in the darkness, giving no sign that it had noticed the light or our entrance. Its two white eyes glowed like fiery stars.

The radio at my side crackled. I rushed to turn it off, cursing myself for leaving it on. Before I could manage, however, I heard
his
voice.

“I told you that you would have to let him out, Alex.”

From ahead, a low rumble emanated from the Behemoth’s throat as the man cackled from the radio. I cut off his taunting at last and the tunnel was silent once more.

But it was too late. The Behemoth started forward, almost uncertainly, toward us. Obviously it could not see well, otherwise it would have charged right away – but it was quick to pick up some sort of scent, because I could hear its nose sniffing heavily. I also remembered what Ruth had told me – these things were attracted to movement and were able to home in on it, even in darkness. The worst thing we could do right now was run.

We all looked at each other, not saying a word. Together, we backed slowly out of the tunnel as the Behemoth pressed forward at the same pace. Its shadowy bulk paused at our movement. It
sensed
us.

I gradually raised my hand, commanding Anna and Ruth to stand still. In my peripheral vision, Ruth shook from nerves. I wished she would stop.

We waited for what seemed a full minute. Something like a growl escaped the throat of the Behemoth ahead as it started forward again at a walk.

We couldn’t stay here. And we couldn’t back away at just the right speed to both get away from the Behemoth and not completely alert it to our presence.

We had to run.

I looked at Anna, trying to communicate that fact with my eyes. She nodded, slowly, and began to back away. Ruth looked at me nervously. The motor pool was now our only other way out of here.

That was when the Behemoth’s speed increased. We hadn’t even had the chance to start moving again.

“Go,” I whispered.

I spun on my heels, but already, Ruth and Anna were dashing from the tunnel. I charged after them.

From behind a horrible roar shook me to the bone. The ground vibrated as the giant monster gave chase, thundering toward us. Now in the atrium, we ran on into the darkness. I hurried to click my flashlight back on, but was having difficulty. We would be approaching the Caf soon.

From ahead came the screams of Howlers. My flashlight clicked on at just the right time, bouncing up and down, settling on a pair of white glowing eyes – then another...and another...

There were three Howlers ahead of us, mere feet away. And with the Behemoth right behind, we were trapped.

***

There was no time to do anything but raise my Beretta and fire. One of the creatures squealed as my bullets entered its chest as the other two Howlers charged ahead from the darkness. Anna stepped forward, slicing one of the Howlers in its abdomen, causing its fetid bowels to spill out. A horrible reek filled the corridor. The remaining Howler went for Ruth, who stepped backward and jabbed her pole right through one of its eyes. The creature wailed and toppled to the floor, writhing like a bisected worm.