Orbs (7 page)

CHAPTER 9

W
E
have two options. One is to live off these packaged meals and wait for the seeds to sprout in the hope that the failed emergency communication line and radiation outside is just a test by NTC,” Sophie said, tossing one of the meals onto the metal table. “Or we can have Alexia open the doors so we can figure out what's happened out there.”

Silence washed over the mess hall. Even Timothy remained mute. Sophie studied her team's faces. She knew they were scared and, more than anything, disappointed. The mission was over. There was no salvaging it.

Sophie leaned over the table. “That wasn't a rhetorical question, guys. I want opinions.”

Emanuel crossed his arms, watching the fearless leader reemerge in front of them. This was the Sophie he knew, the Sophie he had fallen in love with years ago—the Sophie he still loved.

“No way in hell am I going out there!” Timothy said.

“I don't know if it's a good idea, either,” Saafi said quickly. “If this is a test, then we'll fail the mission.”

“It is not a test,” another voice said.

The team turned to see Alexia's hologram hovering above the corner console. “The radiation sensors cannot be tampered with without my knowledge. Furthermore, the animals could not have been poisoned without my detection. Whatever has happened, NTC is not the culprit.
I am 99.9 percent sure. This would warrant Section 19.1 of the contract null and void and justify opening the doors.”

“There you have it, guys. The world has gone to hell in a hand basket. And there's no way I'm going to risk my neck to see for myself. Besides, think of it this way—if the world has ended, we basically won the lottery. We're in one of the most advanced self-sustainable shelters ever built,” Timothy said.

Emanuel unfolded his arms. “I'm not going to argue with you about that, but this shelter was only built to be viable for six months. Sure, we could make it last longer, but, there will come a time when we need to go outside. That's what I vote for.”

“Me too,” Saafi said, changing his mind and raising his hand.

“I don't believe what I'm hearing!” Timothy shouted. “We've only been in the Biosphere for a week. Not even that. And you guys want to scrap everything and go outside?”

“Haven't you been listening to what's going on?” Sophie snarled. “I've noted your opinion, Timothy, now pipe down.” She turned away from him and took a deep breath. “What about you, Holly? Where do you stand?”

Holly pulled a strand of long blond hair from her face and tucked it behind an ear. Her large eyes slowly found their way to Sophie's. “I vote to stay here. Where it's safe. We don't know what's happened outside,” she said, looking back down at the floor sheepishly.

“That's okay, Holly. I understand,” Sophie said.

“That makes it two votes for and two votes against,” Timothy piped up.

“I can count,” Sophie replied. “You all know this mission has been my dream for a number of years, and as much as I hate to abandon it, I see no other choice. We can survive in here for a while, but without a solid line of communication or a way to replenish our supplies, we've got a year in here, maybe two—tops. We have to try and make contact with NTC. The only way to do that is to venture beyond the safety of the Biosphere. My vote is to go outside.”

Timothy stood and laughed hysterically. “I'm not going out there!”

“Don't worry. I'm not going to force you or anyone else to go.
Emanuel, Saafi, and I will journey out on our own and report back. Holly, you make sure Timothy stays out of trouble while we're gone,” Sophie said with a stern look. “Alexia, I'm going to need your assistance. Not only will you be tasked with opening the doors, but I will also need you to tell us where the NTC gear room is. I'm sure they have some sort of armory.”

“That is correct. There is an armory stocked with weapons and hazard suits near the blast doors through which you entered the facility. The train will take you there. I will unlock the doors once you get to the building,” Alexia replied.

“I'm also going to need some way to communicate with you from the outside. Do we have any headsets and video cams?”

“You will find both of those items in a storage closet within the control room. I can run the feed through the Biosphere's system. As long as the lithium ion batteries last, Timothy and Holly should be able to track your progress outside from the control room, presuming there is no interference.”

“Excellent, then it's settled. I don't want to waste any more time—there could be people in need of help, so the sooner we find out what's going on, the better.”

Sophie took a deep breath. The main mission had more than likely already failed, but a new one was about to begin. Somewhere inside she knew that it was even more important than the Biosphere—something told her it was connected to her dreams.

The train tore down the dark tunnel, the beam of its headlight cutting through the blackness like a rocket through space. Sophie rested her back against the hard seat. She couldn't help but wonder if they were making the right decision. Holly had advised her to use the scientific side of her brain, the logical side, and that was exactly what she had done. After examining the evidence, she had no reason to believe NTC was testing them. It had to be a solar event or EMP attack. Something so terrible it had knocked out the hardened line to the facility.

She shook her head, trying not to think about post-apocalyptic
scenarios. Deep down she had to believe there was still something worth saving, and that her trip to Mars was just being postponed.

The train slowed as the tunnel widened and opened up into the same hangar she had entered just a week before. Emanuel and Saafi sat in silence, staring at the massive blast doors towering above the small train.

Sophie squeezed through the train's doors as they opened. “This is it, guys. Let's find that gear.”

At the far end of the hangar, just shy of the blast doors, was a small, windowless building.

“That must be it,” Saafi said, pointing at the structure.

Sophie attached a tiny camera to the top of the headset she had retrieved from the command center. She pulled her blond hair back into a ponytail and slipped the device over her head, the speaker resting perfectly in her ear. “Alexia, this is Sophie. Do you read me?”

The feminine voice immediately responded. “Yes, Dr. Winston.”

“We're headed for the equipment room, please advise.”

“I've unlocked the doors; you may proceed.”

Emanuel was the first to reach the building. He pushed a green button on the keypad, and the automatic metal door screeched open. Inside were the guts of what had been some sort of janitorial closet. A surplus of dusty mops and empty buckets sat in a disorganized cluster in the corners. On the opposite side of the room was a wall lined with black lockers, each filled with a plethora of weapons. Next to the lockers were hazmat suits and gas masks hanging from hooks on the concrete wall.

“Looks like we hit the jackpot,” Saafi said, heading for one of the black cages. He swung the door open and pulled out an assault rifle. It looked like an AR-15, but the design was slightly different. It was one of the newer models, equipped with a pulse canon instead of traditional lead bullets.

“I think I'll be taking this,” he said with a grin.

“What do you need that for?” Emanuel asked, thumbing through the different hazmat suits.

“You never know what's going to be out there. Like my academic
advisor always told me, ‘better safe than sorry.' And for the record, I do know how to fire one of these. I paid an entire week's salary for a day of fun at one of NTC's training facilities a few years back. The thing handles like a charm,” he said, looking down the infrared scope.

Emanuel shrugged and pulled open a cabinet with the blue flame symbol of NTC on its doors. Inside were several state-of-the-art matte black armored suits. They were made of carbon fiber and reinforced with a light, Kevlar-like material. He pulled out a charcoal-colored helmet with a silver mirrored visor.

“Holy shit, I've read about these. They're what NTC Special Forces uses in the Wastelands. Protects you from radiation, lightweight. And these bad boys work in virtually any extreme condition you can think of,” he said, holding up the helmet to examine it under the light.

The sight of the suits sent a chill down Sophie's back. She'd seen them before, during the solar storms of 2055. “How many suits are there?” she asked.

“Four.”

“NTC must have been in a hurry to leave this equipment behind,” Saafi said. “It isn't cheap stuff.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Emanuel said.

“Maybe they're just extras. No time to worry about that now. What size are those suits—think one will fit me?” Sophie asked.

Emanuel grabbed the smallest one out of the bunch, holding it up under the white glow of the fluorescent lights. “This one looks like it may be your size.”

“Perfect. I always did look good in black,” she replied with a smile. “Let's suit up and meet in the hangar in five.”

The three team members stood looking at the blast doors, the twenty-five-ton monstrosity that had been built to stop a direct hit by a nuclear-tipped missile. If there was a single piece of the facility that made Sophie feel small, this was it. Even the massive domes of the Biosphere's chambers hadn't given her such a feeling of insignificance.

She couldn't help but laugh when she saw Emanuel and Saafi testing
out their armor, swinging their arms and kicking their legs about. It was a sight to behold: two men from academia, dressed in some of the most advanced suits of armor ever designed, moving around like they were attempting the robot dance.

Emanuel halted in mid-motion. “What's so funny?”

“It's nothing. You just look so . . .”

“So what?”

“Nerdy!” Sophie laughed.

Emanuel strolled over to her, walking awkwardly in the suit. “And you look . . . hot,” he whispered in her ear. The words sent a chill down Sophie's entire body. She pushed him away gently, eyeing Saafi to make sure he wasn't paying attention.

“Did you both remember your nutrition?” she asked, ignoring Emanuel.

Saafi patted a small pack around his waist. “I brought several energy bars, some energy gels, and two bottles of water.”

“Me too,” Emanuel nodded.

“Good. Now comes the important question: How are we going to tell each other apart once we put our helmets on?” she asked.

“Do you mean besides the fact that I am six feet tall?” Saafi laughed.

“Well, just in case, your display will show a color for each of our suits,” Emanuel replied. “We can set them manually. Sophie, you'll be green, Saafi blue, and I'll be red. When you look through your display, my goggles will be glowing red.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Sophie replied, slipping her helmet over her hair. “Are you guys ready for this?”

She watched Saafi and Emanuel nod through her display, the goggles in their helmets glowing back at her. “Alexia, please open the blast doors.”

A loud crunch echoed through the bay as the mechanisms unlocked, hissing from the pressure. The metal groan of the doors shook the room, vibrating throughout the team's suits. Sophie strained to see the opening, waiting anxiously for what lay behind the doors. Adrenaline raced through her veins as she peeked over Emanuel's shoulder for a better look.

“Alexia, report on radiation,” Sophie commanded.

“Sensors are showing minimal traces.”

The groaning doors slowed before finally locking in place with a violent report. Emanuel stepped forward into the night, walking out onto the tarmac. Saafi and Sophie cautiously followed him. A carpet of darkness covered them as they stepped onto the concrete runway. The floodlights and antennae lining the landing strip were all dead, and in the distance Sophie couldn't see a single light through her glass visor. The stars were of little help, hiding behind some kind of fog. To make things worse, they were all alone.

“Switching to night vision,” she said, blinking as the tarmac lit up like a night light, the green outlines of the blacktop filling her display.

“Looks like NTC abandoned ship,” Saafi said, pointing his rifle toward the empty concrete where the NTC choppers had once been.

“They weren't the only ones,” Emanuel replied, heading toward the area where most of the support crew's vehicles had been parked. Only two Humvees remained.

Saafi halted and dropped to one knee. “They were in a hurry, too—check out these tire marks.”

“What the hell is going on?” Sophie said under her breath.

“Where's Colorado Springs?” Saafi asked. He stood and joined Emanuel at the edge of the tarmac.

“Should be right over there . . .” Emanuel trailed off. “What the hell?”

Sophie rushed over to join them, and together they looked into the valley below. The city was dark. If there had been a solar storm, then it made sense that the power would have been knocked out. What didn't add up was the lack of fires. They couldn't see a single one.

“Switch to thermal; I want to see if we can pick up any heat signatures,” Sophie ordered.

Their visors glowed to life. Thousands of tiny specks appeared on their heads-up displays.

“Something's not working on mine,” Saafi said.

“Mine's not working either. I'm getting all of these little specs of red light,” Emanuel said.

Sophie studied her display. “Me too. But guys, I don't think it's our equipment. I think those are actually heat signatures.”

“That's impossible,” said Emanuel. “They're too big to be human.”

“Alexia, report on radiation,” Sophie commanded.

“Still minimal traces.”