Salvation: Secret Apocalypse Book 5 (A Secret Apocalypse Story) (17 page)

“We can clear them out,” Thomas
says. “We’ve got enough ammo. We can clear them out. And then we can re-secure
the prison.”

Ben raises his shotgun but Kenji
stops him.

“No!”

“What?”

“The noise will attract more,”
Kenji explains. “Stealth and speed are our only options.”

Ben reluctantly lowers the
shotgun.

We are about to enter the maze
when suddenly we hear gunshots. Lots of gunshots.

Rapid fire.

Heavy duty.

I look at Ben, at Thomas and
Harry. No one has taken a shot. Thomas’s and Harry’s rifles are slung.

Who is shooting?

Where are the shots coming from?

What the hell is going on?

No more infected are falling over
the railing. They are being shot.

By who?

Ben finally gets in on the act.
No point in playing this quiet anymore. He takes out a few of the infected. The
closest ones. The biggest threats. He is a goddamn surgeon with that shotgun.

Suddenly, more and more infected
are being shot. Their heads are exploding. Their entire upper bodies are being
shot to pieces.

The noise is deafening.

I crouch down and cover my ears.
We all do. Except for Ben.

The gunfire is the loudest thing
in the world and it feels like it goes on forever. In reality, it lasts for
maybe thirty seconds. Maybe less. Whoever showed up with their guns blazing are
good. They are trained professionals. They are using military grade weaponry.
It suddenly dawns on me that even though they just took care of the infected
and possibly saved our lives, the fact that these guys are military is not a
good thing. I look up at the top floor. Standing there triumphantly, pointing
the smoking barrels of their military grade rifles down at us, is a group of
twelve soldiers.

Some of them are shirtless, their
bodies covered in camouflage paint. All of them are wearing gas masks.

These soldiers are what are left
of the General’s men.

They are the elite.

They are tough bastards.

They are the death squad of the
Fortress.

And they have just saved our
lives.

But this is not a good thing.

Not by a long shot.

There are twelve men. Twelve soldiers. Some are shirtless and covered in
camouflage paint. Some are dressed in full desert style uniform. Some are
wearing bullet proof vests. They are all wearing gas masks. The man who
appeared to be their leader takes his mask off. His face is covered in green
and black camouflage paint. He is covered in sweat. He is breathing hard.

“Nobody move a
goddamn muscle,” the leader says. “We have you in our sights and we have the
high ground. Do. Not. Move.”

These men have
no doubt just cleared out the entire horde of infected that were located right
throughout the holding cells, and the interrogation rooms, and the
administration offices.

They have been
working hard. Working up a sweat. Killing is a tough job.

I wonder if they
encountered the rogue nano-swarm that is now on the loose.

I raise my hands
as a reflex. Jack and Kim do the same. I tense up as I feel the smoking barrels
of the death squad’s guns pointed at my head and chest.

Ben has not
raised his hands. He hasn’t even lowered his shotgun.

Neither has
Thomas or Harry.

“Drop your
weapons,” the leader of the death squad says. “No need to get in a fire fight.
It will not end well for you.”

Ben reluctantly
places his shotgun on the ground.

Thomas stands
defiant. So does Harry.

This is not a
smart move.

This is
downright idiotic.

“How do we know
you won’t just kill us?” Thomas shouts up at the death squad. “What guarantee
do we have?”

“We are trained
professionals,” the leader says. “We’re not in the business of shooting and
killing innocent people.”

He says this
with a smirk on his face and I get the feeling he is lying through his teeth.

Thomas is still
hesitating. His gun is still raised and armed.

One of the
soldiers turns on his infra-red laser sight. A red dot appears on Thomas’s
forehead.

Another red dot
appears on Harry’s forehead.

Ben tries to
help Thomas and Harry. Tries to save their lives. “Do what they say, Thomas.
You can’t win this. We have no choice but to do what they say.”

But Thomas is
not willing to budge. “This is bullshit. How do we know you are who you say you
are?”

“You don’t,” the
leader answers. “But if we wanted to kill you, you’d be dead by now. All of you.”

And I believe
him. One hundred percent. These guys are the General’s best men. They are the
Special Forces soldiers that enforced his rules and his law when this facility,
this Fortress, and this entire nation became cut off from the rest of the
world. These guys are the muscle. They are the weapons. The spear head. The
hammer.

Had they killed?

You better
believe it.

Both Ben and
Doctor Hunter had warned Maria and me when we first arrived here, that these
guys had started killing people. They had started killing the civilians and all
non-essential personnel. They were rounding them up and slaughtering them. This
is how they had earned the title of ‘death squad’.

So when this guy
says we’d be dead if he wanted us to be dead, I totally believe him.

The question is;
when is he going to kill us? If not right now, when? What is he waiting for?

Why the hell is
he letting us live?

Why are we still
alive?

This
is a death squad. We should be dead.

I sneak a glance
over my shoulder at the dark entrance to the labyrinth. At this point in time,
it is our only exit point. Our only chance of escape. Our only chance of
survival.

“Come on,
Thomas,” Ben says. “Lower the rifle.”

Suddenly, a
selfish, awful, horrific thought enters my mind. Maybe Thomas could start shooting.

This would
occupy the soldiers long enough so that the rest of us could make our escape
into the labyrinth. Thomas and Harry would die. But we would live. At least for
a little while longer.

I hate myself
for thinking like this.

“Why are you
here?” Harry asks with fear and desperation in his voice. “Just leave us alone.
We’re not causing any trouble. We’re just trying to survive.”

“You people
represent a problem for us,” the leader says.

“A problem?”

“Yeah. You
people are spreading the infection. You are potential hosts. Potential
threats.”

I do not like
where this conversation is heading.

“We need to make
sure you are not infected,” the leader continues. “We need to make sure you’re
not going to be a threat to our operations.”

“We’re not a
threat,” Thomas says.

“Well, as long
as you got that rifle pointed at my men, yes, you are.”

“Drop it,
Thomas,” Ben says again, louder.

I get the
feeling that if these guys don’t kill Thomas, Ben will.

Harry looks at
Thomas. He shifts his weight. He is nervous and terrified and I can’t blame
him. He is not trained for this. He is not prepared for this.

None of us are.

Harry is holding
on to his rifle as tight as he can.

“Gentleman,” the
leader says. “Drop your weapons. This is your final warning.”

“Come on guys,
do what he says.” Anna is now pleading with Thomas.

Thomas shakes
his head. “No. You’ll just kill us. You’ll murder us.”

“I’m giving you
three seconds,” the leader says. “And in three seconds, your weapons will be on
the floor. Or you will be dead.”

“What do we do?”
Harry asks.

“Put the guns
down!” Anna shouts.

Ben is backing
away. So is Kenji. I do the same.

“Three,” the
leader says loudly.

Doctor Hunter
lowers his head and looks away. He knows what’s coming. He has seen it before.

Kim has a hold
of Jack. She is making sure her brother doesn’t do anything stupid.

The leader
points at Harry. “Two.”

And the
countdown never reaches zero.

Harry is
executed.

His head snaps
back and he is knocked clear off his feet.

Thomas is silent
as he stares at Harry’s corpse. He is about to raise his rifle and return fire,
but Ben tackles him to the ground, saving his life.

We are stunned.

Harry is dead. I
hardly knew the guy, but I am stunned and speechless and I feel it.

I feel his death
in my chest and I fall to my knees and I don’t think I can keep going. I can’t
live in this world. I don’t
want
to
live in this world. And then my watch beeps and it says I have twenty-six hours
left, and this reminds me that I won’t have to live in this world for much longer.
I don’t have a say in the matter.

So I better suck
it up. I better get my head together. I better toughen up.

There is no time
to grieve for Harry. Harry, a normal guy. A survivor. Like me. Like us. Like
all of us. A man who had probably seen horrible, God awful things. A man who
had probably lost his home, his family, his friends. Lost everything.

At least he
would suffer no more.

At least he died
instantly.

He
died before he hit the ground.

This terrible
fact gives me comfort for some weird reason and I think I’m going to be sick.

After they shot
Harry, the leader man told none of us to move. “You move; you get a bullet to
the head.”

The death squad
climbs down to us. Some of them clip a rope to the top railing and abseil down,
while the rest cover them from above. Then once the first group of soldiers is
on the ground floor, the rest climb down the fire escape ladder.

We have all
moved away from Harry and the pool of blood that is steadily growing. Once all
the soldiers are on the ground floor, they start making double sure that all
the infected who had fallen over the railing were really dead.

I look at Kenji.
I can tell he is worried. He is ready to run. He knows our only chance of
survival is in the labyrinth. He knows the only way we get out of here alive is
to solve it.

Would we even
get the chance?

The leader
arrives on the ground floor. He moves over to Harry and picks up his rifle. He
also picks up Thomas’s rifle.

He leaves Ben’s
shotgun on the ground.

“I’m sorry you
folks had to see that. But we gave you fair warning. This is what happens when
you don’t follow orders.”

Thomas is silent
and shivering, and he’s as white as the bed sheets that are hanging over the
bars of the cells. Thomas has gone into shock.

“You were all
told,” the leader continues, “When you first arrived here. You were told that
this Fortress was a military installation. Under military command. You were all
told you had to follow orders. You were all told to obey the chain of command
if you wanted asylum.”

Ben steps
forward and confronts the death squad. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

The leader does
a kind of double take. He is surprised to see Ben. “Well, look who it is.
Benjamin Wallace. I thought for sure you would’ve died down here. The General did
quite a number on you. Turned your face into a Jackson Pollack painting. How
the hell are you still alive?”

Ben does not
answer. He is not intimidated.

He
is not intimidated by a death squad.

Sometimes Ben
scares me.

“Answer the question,”
Ben says. “What are you doing down here? We’re not causing trouble. These are
good people.”

“Yeah, I’m sure
they are. I’m sure we’re all good people. Deep down. You know what I mean?”

“If you’re here
for food,” Ben says. “You can take what you want. Take what you can carry.
There’s plenty to share.”

“Food? Sounds
nice. But we’re here for something more important.”

“What are you
talking about?”

The leader
points at Doctor Hunter and Kim. “We’re after security.”

Two of the
soldiers step forward and grab Kim and Doctor Hunter. They do not struggle.

But Jack does.

He has only just
been reunited with his sister. He is not prepared to let her go so soon.

“What the hell?”
Jack shouts. “Leave her alone!”

The leader draws
his sidearm and points it at Jack’s head. “You want to end up like your friend
there?”

Jack backs off
and shakes his head.

“Then calm the
hell down.”

“It’s OK,” Kim
says. “I’ll be fine.”

“What are you
doing?” I ask. “Why are you taking them?”

“We are taking
these two as leverage.”

“Leverage?”

“That’s right.
The company is coming. And when they get here...”

He trails off.

“So we need
these two,” the leader continues. “They are bargaining chips. Security.
Leverage. The good doctor here is a fountain of knowledge about the Oz virus.
And Kim is an extremely valuable specimen. We know for a fact these two are
high priorities for the company. So that’s why they are coming with us. Any
questions?”

We are all
silent and I am secretly praying they don’t execute the rest of us.

They got what
they came for. What’s stopping them?

What’s their
next move?

Suddenly, more
infected arrive on the top level of the prison. And I never thought I’d be
happy to see a bunch of zombies.

The infected
distract the death squad and we are no longer a concern for them.

The death squad
retreats to the cafeteria.

And I know
they’ll be fine. Kim will be fine. They are armed to the teeth. They can hold
the infected at bay.

But we do not
have this luxury. We are relatively unarmed. We only have one shotgun. Maybe a
few shells. One cowboy style revolver. Our only option is to run. Our only
option is the labyrinth.

Kenji waves us
forward. “Come on, let’s go. Into the maze. Follow me. Stay close.”

Jack hesitates
for a split second. It’s almost as if he’s about to run after the death squad
and take them on with his bare hands. I wouldn’t put it past him. That’s just
the kind of guy Jack is. He is reckless and stubborn and he wears his heart on
his sleeve. But I know that if he goes after his sister right now, he will die.
He will be shot in the head. He will be dead before he hits the ground.

I grab him by
his shoulders and drag him into the labyrinth. For a split second it’s like his
feet are nailed to the floor. He does not want to leave. Not without Kim.
“Jack, come on! We are leaving! We have to go!”

“I... I can’t. I
can’t let them take her. I can’t.”

“You have to.
They’ll kill you if you try anything.”

“No. I can’t
leave.”

“They’re not
going to kill her,” I say. “She’s their leverage. She’s too valuable. They need
her.”

Eventually Jack
relents. He stops fighting.

And Kenji leads
us into the labyrinth.