Human Extinction Level Loss (Book 1): Nicole's Odyssey (32 page)

“This is amazing!  They have everything here!”

“Walt!” Nicole hissed, trying to get his attention.  Walt was having none of it as he began to rattle off plant names.

“This is Aloe Vere.  Everybody knows what that’s for, you know, burns and such, but look over there, Man.  That’s Marsh Mallow which can help you out with things like too much stomach acid and sprains and aching muscles.”

Nicole continued to try to call after Walt as the others looked nervously around.  Walt paid no heed as he practically skipped further into the rows of plants. 

“Oh man, I think that’s Great Burdock over there.  It can be used for stuff like boils and rashes, and some say even herpes, man.”

Nicole ran after Walt.  The others followed nervously, their guns still held tight against their shoulders.

“Walt, stop!” Nicole called, but Walt was stooping over another plant.

“This here is Pot Marigold.  You got a fever or infection, man, that’s what you want.  Oh man I see Globe Artichoke over there!  That’s for increased liver function and maybe diabetes too, though I’d have to check on that.  Siberian Ginseng, Chinese yam, Sea Buckthorn, looks like a lot more varieties over there.  They have it all, but I guess it only makes sense.  Pharmaceuticals ain’t gonna last forever, you know what I’m sayin, man.”

Nicole finally caught up with Walt.  He was about to continue exploring when Nicole grabbed his arm and spun him around. 

“Walt!”

Finally Walt came out of his reverie and looked down at her. 

“What is it, man?” he asked. 

Nicole stared at him in disbelief. 

“You can’t run off like that.  Who knows what is going on around here,” she said. 

Walt’s mouth clamped shut and he looked sheepishly around. 

“Oh geez, man.  I really lost it there for a minute.  Sorry, but all this natural medicine got me going, you know,” Walt said. 

The others came up and gathered around them. 

“It doesn’t look like there are any Dead in here, place looks pristine,” Paul said. 

Nicole looked at him, then around at all the vegetation. 

“There may not be any Dead in here, but neither are there any people asking us what the heck we’re doing traipsing through their garden either, and that worries me as much as the Dead right now,” Nicole said. 

Sam was about to say something when a loud hissing sounded all around them.  Panic and fear collided on all their faces as they gathered in tight and scanned the greenhouse. 

“Where are they coming from?!” Paul shouted. 

“I don’t know, man.  It sounds like they’re all around us!” Walt hollered back. 

“Tell me, Walt, which of these magic plants stops the Dead in their tracks?” Nicole asked, her question laced with fear and anger. 

Walt did not respond as the hissing grew louder. 

“Do we try to make it back to the elevator?” Billy asked. 

Paul responded.  “It sounds like that is where they are coming from.  How do we know we won’t run into them?”

“Everybody check your weapon.  We stay here, until we know where they are and how many!” Nicole ordered. 

Several tense seconds passed.  Everyone scanned the foliage trying to catch the first hint of movement.  They all jumped when the spray hit them from above.  It took them long seconds to realize that they were being doused by a sprinkler system suspended from the ceiling. 

“Oh, man!  They have automatic watering!  That’s awesome!” Walt said. 

Nicole let her rifle drop in frustration and relief. 

“Unbelievable,” she said before finding the gold line on the floor. She moved off deeper into the greenhouse.  The others regrouped behind her.  Walt basked in the gentle mist as it hit his face.  He enjoyed the moment for a few seconds more before turning and following the others.

Forty-Nine

The group followed the colored lines on the floor.  As they emerged from the line of foliage that formed the extreme grids of the greenhouse, a huge arched passageway greeted them.   It was short and they could see lights on ahead of them.  Cast in a white glow, was  yet another set of doors in the rock wall.  In the doors were reinforced glass, through which they could see a narrow passageway. 

As they emerged from the arch of rock, the cave soared above their heads.  A wide concrete walkway extended out over a massive cistern.  The water line rose to just feet below the guard rails on the bridge.  The group moved across the bridge to the rock wall and the doors.  Here the red line on the floor veered off to the left, and the blue line veered off to the right, both disappearing into darkness beyond. Nicole peered through the window in the door and saw that only the gold line was on the floor. 

“Go for the gold, huh?” Paul said. 

“Yeah,” Nicole said. 

Walt and Sam each grabbed a door and held it open for Nicole.  Jordan pushed Ruby through while Paul and Billy covered the rear.  Moving into the hallway, the doors swooshed closed behind them as Walt and Sam let them go and joined the others. 

As they approached the door at the other end, it became obvious to them that this door was not like the others.  A hand scanner was mounted at waist level.  Above that was a retinal scanner.  A keypad was mounted into the wall on the left side of the scanners.  A glaring red light beamed down on them from above the door, which looked to be heavy steel like the much larger one at the entrance to the base.  A camera to the right and above stared down at them.  A large metal wheel was set into the door.  Knowing in her mind that it was futile, Nicole nonetheless slid her rifle over her shoulder and put her hands on the wheel.  It felt like the wheel was never meant to turn.  Her hands fell to her sides in exasperation.  She closed her eyes and sighed. 

“Maybe one of those I.D. cards from the guys at the front entrance would work on this, man,” Walt offered. 

Nicole did not even look up.  Her head hung low.  She pinched the bridge of her nose and her eyes remained closed. 

“If their I.D. cards wouldn’t work on the door up top, they probably wouldn’t work on the one down here.  Besides, even if one of them did, what about the eye and hand scanner.  What are we supposed to do, cut off all their hands and poke out all their eyes and bring them back down here in the hopes one of them works?!”  Nicole was shouting now. 

She looked up at the cold metal door with its unblinking red lights that seemed to mock them. 

“You got me out here, Dad and for what?!” she yelled. 

She reared her foot back and was about to kick the door when Billy’s words interrupted her. 

“Uh, guys?  I think we have a bigger problem, here.” 

Everyone turned around to see what had gotten Billy’s attention.  As Jordan turned, she took her hands off Ruby’s wheel chair.  Ruby was left staring at the closed steel door. 

“What is it?  What are you all looking at that’s got you—.” 

Ruby slowly wheeled herself around to see what the others saw.  Staring at them through the windows in the door were several pairs of sunken eyes.  The faces of the Dead glared at them with menacing curiosity.  It was as if they were trying to reason out what was at the end of the hall. 

“Are those doors down there locked?” Ruby asked. 

The question hung in the air unanswered. 

“They’re not moving.  Maybe they can’t see us, or—”

Sam’s words were cut off as the Dead began to groan and paw at the doors.  The sounds of scratching hands, hands that had become nothing more than skinless talons, reached their ears.  As the Dead probed the doors, they began to sway inward.  The Dead sensed the give in the unlocked doors and squeezed further in.  The doors continued to part ever wider under their press.

Nicole stared in horror and disbelief.  Her mind raced, then collided with the truth of what she had neglected.  She cringed within herself as she remembered the darkened passageways to the left and right of the doors beyond.  She had committed a fatal error and left the enemy at her back.  In her mind, fatalism fought with the need to survive.  This time nobody looked to her for what to do.  Everyone was transfixed by the scene before them, each knowing within themselves their backs were quite literally against the walls. 

Without preamble, Nicole raced forward to midway down the corridor.  The others’ trance-like state broke and they stared in wonder at Nicole. 

The Dead pushed through the doors and  began to advance.

 Half were dressed in the same civilian garb as the ones at the entrance, but with white lab coats. More disturbing than that was the others.  They were dressed in military uniforms of various branches.  They all moved as one toward Nicole and the group. 

“Oh geez, man!” Walt said. 

Paul tightened the grip on his rifle. 

“Any chance you can get that door open, Nicole?” Paul asked. 

Nicole kept her stare on the advancing horde. 

“Not a chance in the world, Paul,” she said. 

Paul looked over at her, fear evident on his face.  Sam let loose with a three round burst and dropped the lead shuffler.  The others were undeterred and continued at them. Nicole brought her rifle to bear and gave her order.

“Sam, Walt, Billy!  Down in front!  Paul, you and me behind them!  Front row shoots in three round bursts till your empty.  When you are, drop behind us and reload!  Control your spray and don’t waste ammo!”

Nicole drew her pistol and bent down to Jordan. 

“Honey, I hate to ask you to do this, but I’m going to need you to stand next to me and shoot when it’s our turn, okay?” 

Jordan, clearly afraid, looked at Nicole.   She slowly took the pistol from her.  Paul and Nicole locked eyes, then Paul nodded. 

“Stand next to me, honey,” Paul said to his daughter. 

Nicole turned to Ruby. 

“There aren’t near as many as at the bus, Ruby, but if we need more ammo, do you think—” 

Ruby cut her off. 

“If you need more bullets you just sing out, Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, honey.  I’ll fill your hand.” 

Nicole nodded at Ruby, then turned and readied her rifle. 

“Alright!  You know the drill!  Forty yards out and to the head.  When you’re out drop back!  We fire and retreat back down the hall!” 

Walt, Sam, and Billy knelt in front of Jordan, Paul, and Nicole.  They all readied themselves and waited for the horde to get within range. 

“What happens when we reach the door?” Paul asked. 

Nicole gripped her rifle and stared straight ahead.  Her lack of answer was all the answer anybody needed.  Behind them all, Ruby held three full magazines and three boxes of ammo in her lap and stared at what was coming.  Seconds later, what was thought to be fifteen Dead turned into three times that, as more poured in behind the first. 

“Ready!  Fire-team one, commence!” Nicole shouted. 

Walt, Sam, and Billy sighted down range and began shooting.  The first line of the Dead dropped.  The ones behind them stumbled and trampled them under foot and kept coming.  Again, shots rang out, and again those in front dropped.  The process continued as the horde advanced.  Behind Walt, Sam, and Billy, Nicole, Paul, and Jordan each fought within themselves to resist joining the fray until it was their turn.  Seconds later, the clicking of dry fires sounded.  Walt, Sam, and Billy fell back behind Nicole, Paul, and Jordan who now formed the front line.  They brought their guns to bear and started dropping targets.  Behind them, Sam, Walt, and Billy handed empty magazines to Ruby in exchange for fresh.  Ruby then started working her hands as fast as they would go, jamming fresh rounds into empty magazines. 

“Arthritis, you old demon, stay away, in the name of Jesus!” she called as her fingers flew from box to magazine. 

Nicole, Paul, and Jordan commenced firing as Walt, Sam, and Billy knelt waiting with their freshly loaded guns.  Wave after wave of the Dead dropped.  They advanced toward the shooters as Nicole and the others dropped more of the ravenous Dead in front of them.  They were now more than half way back down the corridor to the sealed door with little more than fifteen yards between them and the Dead.  Behind the Dead, fallen corpses lined the floor.  Nicole’s rifle clicked empty at about the same time as Paul and Jordan’s. They stepped behind Walt, Sam and Billy who knelt down. Ruby rolled her wheelchair back behind Nicole, Paul, and Jordan and reloaded their empty magazines.  The moans of the now fully incensed Dead filled the corridor.  It mixed with the sounds of gunfire.   Fear and desperation marked the faces of all the shooters.  The fog of their war threatening to make them give in to the inevitable.  Walt, Sam, and Billy dropped their marks, but before their rifles clicked empty, the last of the Dead dropped a mere ten yards in front of them.  Taut silence filled the corridor as all waited to see if any more of the Dead would make an appearance.  The smell of spent gunpowder mixed with the stink of the Dead and hung in the air.  After what seemed like an eternity, Nicole spoke. 

“I think we’re clear.” 

Everyone lowered their weapons and breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Is everyone-”

Nicole’s words were cut off as a runner in a uniform bearing Lt.Col rank burst through the doors and down the corridor. Everyone froze as it advanced.  Its face was ashen and its eyes were dark wholes sunk deep in its head.  It wheezed and hissed as it charged.  Before anybody could do anything, three shots rang out.  The runner stopped and then fell to the ground, unmoving.  All eyes turned to look down at Jordan, standing in front of them.  Legs apart, shoulders squared, she held the pistol out in front of her for several seconds.  Finally, she lowered the pistol and turned back to the others.  A tear ran down her cheek as she saw all eyes upon her.  Finally Billy spoke.