Vampire Apocalypse: Fallout (Book 3) (36 page)

“And we get to come with you,”
Al Warnback smiled as he pulled back the slide on his weapon.
“Good, I was getting bored on this trip.” Harris smiled at the man.
He might spend all his time complaining, but there was no doubting
his courage.

“Okay, we’ll enter from this
side, through the fence below us and up to the service door Trevor
told us about. Philip, we’ll need the two thralls on the platform
below us taken care of before we cut the wire.”

“It will be done,” Warkowski
said simply and Harris nodded before turning toward Atkins.
“Trevor, this is where you have to make your own way. Are you up to
it?”

Atkins gulped but nodded
firmly.

“Good, that’s the plan,
then.”

“But, how do we get back out?”
Atkins asked with a look of confusion.

The men merely looked at the
scientist, and, slowly, realisation came to him. He gulped again
and nodded.

“Ah, I see. My wife?”

“Sandra and the others will make
sure she and the rest of your family get back to your son.”

“Then I too am ready.”

Peter Harris cut through the
last of the chain links on the fence and began to push the sides
apart. A few years ago the fence had probably been connected up to
an alarm system, but it was obvious by the rusting on the metal
that no one maintained the outer defences of the plant. Who in
their right mind would want to break in?

Thunder rumbled again and Harris
thought he could hear a sharper crack that was almost hidden by the
noise. He looked up at the ledge above them and saw one of the
thrall guards slump forward and disappear over the railing to the
ground below.
Even in this poor light Warkowski is amazing,
Harris thought as he pushed on inside the plant’s outer rim.

Carter listened to the thunder
outside.
Was that a gunshot?
He thought and then chastised
himself for being paranoid. There was no good reason for the humans
to come back. It must have been his imagination. Something in his
mind wouldn’t let him dismiss it, though. The humans had a habit of
doing the unpredictable. Maybe he should… “Sergeant,” he called
out. “Take a patrol and check out the perimeter. I have a
feeling”

“Bastard,” the Sergeant muttered
under his breath. “You have a feeling and we get pissed on.”

Harris passed the two bodies and
made his way toward the service door. The rain was still pouring
down and the clouds had blanketed the sun about fifteen minutes
ago. The sun still managed to cast a dull glow on the horizon, but,
from where he stood, it was already fully dark. The lights from the
plant pushed valiantly against the darkness, but they failed to
offer anything more than small pinpricks in the gloom.
At least
no one can see us
, he thought as he wiped away the rain from
his eyes. He reached out and gripped the door handle and turned it.
It clicked open. He looked back to the others and nodded as he
stepped back and let them go in ahead of him. With a quick wave up
toward the spot where they had left Warkowski, he ducked
inside.

Philip Warkowski followed the
men inside through his scope and then took the scope from his eye.
He couldn’t see a damn thing anyway so there was no point in
straining his eyes. He hated waiting in the rain when he had
nothing to occupy his mind.
Would the others need him again?
Harris had told him to stay here but what good was here on the top
of this hill when he couldn’t see anything? He should follow them
down. Maybe he could help.

There was no way he was going to
return to the Cave and face Sandra Harrington with the news that
Harris was dead. He would rather die here than bring that message
back. Sure, he was probably already dying of radiation, so it
wouldn’t matter if he went down to the others. They were all dead
anyway. Weren’t they?

Shit! He cursed to himself.
“Damned if I do and damned if I don’t,” he muttered. Finally, he
made up his mind and stood up. He’d take the dressing down Harris
would give him for breaking orders over this shit any day. He had
to do something.

Harris shivered now that they
were out of the rain. His dried his hands as best he could and
checked his XM8. He signalled for Mendez to check out the corridor
to their left and he led the others into the main corridor on the
right.

“How far from here?”

“It’s up two floors and across
to the other side of the plant, I’m afraid,” Atkins stuttered as
his body shook with the cold.

Harris nodded and led the way
forward. He hated corridors like this; there were no doors or
service hatches along its length. If they were discovered here they
would have no chance. Halfway down the corridor he heard the low
murmur of conversation and he stopped while he strained to pinpoint
their position. He couldn’t tell whether it was on this level or
above him, but they did seem to be stationary. They had no choice
but to continue on so he signalled ahead and led the way.

They were nearly at the top of
the corridor when he heard a shout behind them and he turned. The
others were in his way and he couldn’t see anything. He heard a
burst of fire and Mendez screamed and then Warnback opened fire
down the corridor while he screamed at Harris to continue on.

Harris had no choice; the
corridor was too narrow to push past Atkins and move up to help
Warnback. They were nearly at the end anyway so he grabbed Atkins
and ran on, shouting for Warnback to follow.

“What, and spoil my fun?” he
heard Warnback shout back as he continued to fire down the
corridor.

Harris reached the end of the
corridor and immediately turned and looked back down the corridor.
“Come on, Warnback,” he shouted. “We’ll cover you.”

Warnback began to ease backwards
but bullets slammed into the floor and walls around him. For a
minute Harris thought that he was charmed and that he would make
it, despite the heavy fire, but then he heard Warnback grunt and
stagger as a round hit him. Somehow he stayed on his feet and
continued to fire, reload and fire again as calmly as though he
were still on the training ground.

“Get out of here, Harris,” he
shouted as he fired down the corridor. “And I want a fucking big
statue in my honour if you make it back.” The man staggered as
another bullet struck him. This time he fell to one knee but he
continued to fire regardless.

Harris wanted to rush forward
and help him but he knew he had to go on and try and complete their
mission or they would all be dead. He cursed and slammed a hand
against the wall in frustration. He grabbed Atkins and pushed the
man ahead of him down the corridor. It wasn’t long before the sound
of gunfire stopped abruptly. The plant seemed unnaturally quiet as
the two remaining men ran toward the control room.

Outside Sergeant Al Robinson
heard the gunfire through the downpour and he shouted for his men
to head back toward the plant. That bastard Carter had sent them
out into the rain on a wild goose chase and had left the control
room unguarded.
Bloody officers.
Two of his men suddenly
materialised beside him from the gloom but there was no sign of the
third.

“Masters, you bastard, where are
you?” he shouted into the night.

Suddenly one of the men beside
him was wrenched up into the air so quickly he didn’t make a sound.
Robinson’s heart seemed to stop for a moment and then the body of
the soldier suddenly dropped to the ground in front of him and
remained motionless. He looked at the body and noted that its head
was missing.
Shit. They’re here;
he thought as he grabbed at
the remaining thrall and pushed him toward the plant.

The vampires were here.

Von Kruger watched the two
thralls run toward the plant and laughed. He wiped at the blood
smeared on his mouth and relished the taste of the thrall blood.
The rain was so heavy that even his keen vision was affected but he
could sense his brothers and sisters around him as they tore the
plant’s pitiful defences apart. He called out to them and could
sense their response. The scent of blood filled the air and he felt
his veins singing as the fresh blood coursed through him. It was
time to take care of this Carter once and for all.

Harris followed Atkins as they
raced though the corridors. He hoped the scientist knew where he
was going. He heard more gunfire, and for a moment, thought that
Warnback must still be alive. He stopped but the gunfire seemed
further away than before.
It’s outside,
he realised.
What
are they firing at out there?

Carter paced around the control
room. Around him numerous lights were flashing red and he saw a
number of dials pushing into areas marked in red.
That can’t be
right.

“You,” he shouted at a young
woman in a white lab coat. “What the fuck is going on?”

“I …I don’t know,” the woman
stammered.

“What the fuck do you mean you
don’t know!” he screamed at her incredulously. “Fix it.”

“I can’t!” the woman shouted
back and he could see the wild panic in her eyes. “Jake Warren was
killed today and he was the…”

“Are you telling me that the
only one who knew…oh shit?” He mind raced frantically. Suddenly a
red light began to sweep quickly around the room, casting a red
glow like a demented lighthouse. He had to get out of here. Gunfire
erupted outside. “What the fuck is going on?” he screamed as he
began to lose control. He grabbed a thrall guard and shoved him
toward the door. “Find out what that gunfire is about.”
It can’t
be the vampires
, his mind raced. There is no reason for them to
be here. Shit. “Where’s my pilot?”

The pilot thrall stood up and
approached him.

“Get the chopper ready.” Carter
screamed at him.

“Sir, the storm…”

Carter slapped at his hip and
brought up his pistol and aimed it at the thrall. “Get the chopper
ready now.” Carter could hear the panic in his own voice but he
didn’t care. He had to get out of here.

The thrall nodded soberly and
disappeared out the door.

“You,” he shouted at the woman.
“There must be something you can do.”

“Nothing that helps.” she began
to cry with the tension of the moment. “Nothing I do seems to work.
We have to get out of here.”

“At least turn off that fucking
light!” he shouted as he glanced around at his remaining thrall
guards. Everything was falling apart. Suddenly his Sergeant burst
through the door. He was drenched and his face was deathly
pale.

“Sir,” he gasped as he stumbled
forward. “It’s the vampires. They’re here.”

Harris heard the thrall Sergeant
and cursed. He had just been about to reveal his position when the
Sergeant had come in, but now the room was in turmoil and everyone
was on edge. He was likely to be shot before he could make himself
heard unless he could create a diversion. He looked back at Atkins
but the scientist was looking in terror at the controls.

“Oh my God,” he gasped. “It
might already be too late.”

Suddenly Atkins ran forward
before Harris could stop him and rushed to the control panel.

The thralls turned toward him
and one of them fired before Harris rushed forward and shot the
thrall who had fired. Others now fired toward Harris and he fired
back to keep them off balance. The noise was deafening in the small
room and bullets ricocheted dangerously. Despite the panic in the
room, Harris shouted as he tried to make himself heard over the
bedlam.

“He can fix the plant!”

He saw Carter shout for the
thralls to cease-fire and, for a moment, everyone stood and looked
at each other while the red light continued to sweep relentlessly
around the room. A few of the controls on the panel had been hit by
stray bullets and their exposed wires sparked ominously. Behind
Harris pipes spat steam viciously into the room from where they had
been damaged by bullets.
Shit, that won’t help any
, Harris
thought as he looked at the thralls. Everyone in the room stood
still as if rooted in place as they looked nervously around them.
Everyone except Atkins. He worked furiously at the panel as he
muttered under his breath. He clicked switches, pushed levers and
continued to mutter all the time. Harris wondered idly if he was
praying.

“Can I know who you are?” Carter
asked as he kept his pistol trained on the human with the
weapon.

The human looked at him and
grinned. “Captain Carter, I assume.”

“It’s General, actually,” he
sneered back, “but you have me at a disadvantage.”

“It’s not the first time,” the
human responded and Carter had to force himself not to pull the
trigger. “You!” he shouted over at Atkins. “You by the panel. Can
you fix it?”

Atkins ignored him and as he
dashed around the room.

“I’m speaking to you,” Carter
raised his voice.

“Leave him alone if you don’t
want to whole plant going up,” the other human snapped at him and
he found himself lost for words for a moment. He knew he had to
regain the upper hand but he could not afford another mad
melee.

His embarrassment was spared by
the door behind him suddenly being ripped from its hinges. All eyes
turned toward the door in time to see Von Kruger enter and look
about him.

“Ah, the gang’s all here, I see,
How convenient.”

Harris saw the vampire and knew
that any hope of reason had just died. He dove for the corner and
slid behind a generator. Bullets followed him and slammed into the
metal while he huddled behind his meagre cover. He released the
cartridge in the XM8 and groped behind him for another. He checked
for the patch of tape that marked it as one of the ones containing
the ‘special’ bullets and slammed it home.