Rotter World (22 page)

Book Three

Chapter Thirty-six

The dirt road that led from the rear gate wound its way through the forest surrounding Site R. Both vehicles creaked and groaned as they jostled along the rutted surface, neither having been designed for terrain such as this. The discomfort was a small price to pay, though, for everyone got to see an area teeming with life. Isolated from the horrors of the rotter world by the security fence, wildlife flourished within the compound. Every time one of the vehicles banged its way through a pothole, a rabbit or deer would bolt, seeking cover amongst the trees. Turning one corner, the school bus’ headlights fell upon a beaver standing in the middle of the road. Upon being caught in the glare, it raced ahead of them, its furry behind seeming to shake in defiance before it darted into a small gulley.

Robson couldn’t help but smile. For the first time in months, the world seemed normal.

That delusion quickly evaporated when the road finally broke through the tree line. Ahead of them sat a large clearing at the base of the mountain, stripped of its natural beauty and replaced by the functionality of a military compound. Originally designed in the 1950s to house and protect the Oval Office during a nuclear war, Site R quickly became obsolete as the world’s nuclear weapons became increasingly more destructive, and was eventually relegated to quartering other, less important government entities. Aesthetics had obviously never factored into the facility’s responsibilities. An endless stream of vehicular traffic had crushed down most of the grass, leaving behind an unsightly expanse of churned dirt and gravel. An abandoned two-and-a-half-ton military truck, a stripped-down Humvee, and several rusted metal sheds littered the area. A large swath of trees had been felled along the ascending slope, and had been replaced with a row of metal towers bearing the electrical wires that supplied the facility. A tunnel dug into the base of the mountain large enough to drive two trucks through further marred the pristine beauty. The tunnel’s entrance glowed red from a string of emergency lights running along its ceiling.

“In there,” said Compton excitedly as he pointed to the entrance.

Daytona looked nervously over his shoulder. “Are you sure?”

“We have to be careful not to get too close to the tunnel entrance by the front gate, otherwise we’ll excite the revenants.”

Daytona nodded. “That’s fine with me.”

The vehicles carefully entered the tunnel. The emergency lights provided just enough illumination to see by, although there was little inside worth viewing. Just smooth rock walls that extended into the distance.

“How far is it?” asked Robson.

“About a third of mile straight ahead, then the tunnel bears right to the access door.” Compton kept his eyes focused on the tunnel ahead of him. “There’s an entrance similar to this on the opposite end of the mountain.”

“Why are the tunnels so long?” asked Daytona.

“Site R was built directly beneath the apex of the mountain. A couple of tons of solid rock lie directly above our heads.”

“Wonderful.” Daytona did not sound pleased. “We’re entering a fucking tomb.”

“Far from it.” Compton smiled, trying to reassure him. “This facility was designed to withstand a blast of several hundred kilotons. A few hundred revenants pose no threat.”

“Unless they trap us inside,” muttered Robson.

Daytona turned at the bend in the tunnel. After another minute, Compton pointed to a huge blast door twenty feet square off to the left. “Stop right there. I’ll open it up and you can drive on in.”

Daytona did as ordered and idled the school bus. Compton jumped out and walked over to the door. He punched a code into the digital display mounted to the right of the door and stepped back. It popped open. Robson whistled in amazement. The door was composed of steel four feet thick. Much to his surprise, the doctor pushed on it with his hand, swinging it aside with the same ease as he might have the front door of his house.

“How the hell did he do that?” asked Daytona. “That thing must weigh a couple of tons.”

“It does,” answered Jennifer who had come forward to join them. “It’s on special hinges designed to allow one person to close it quickly in case of emergencies.”

Robson and Daytona stared at her quizzically.

She grinned. “Each of us had to learn other tasks while we were here to ensure continuity of operations if some of us were killed or incapacitated. I was assigned to the engineering department.”

“So you must know this place pretty well?” asked Robson.

“Like the back of my hand.”

Compton waved them on. Daytona maneuvered the school bus through the opening. Tatyana followed.

Inside the facility they found a service road two lanes wide. A massive concrete wall blocked the path to their right. Two Humvees with Military Police markings and roof-mounted blue lights sat in front of it. To the left, the road extended deep into the mountain as far as the eye could see. A concrete dome stretched from the outer wall to a height of one hundred feet. In front of them, three buildings, each three stories in height, stretched back for a hundred yards. Daytona pulled the school bus over against the wall and shut down the vehicle. Tatyana pulled the Ryder in behind him.

A moment later, Compton stepped back onto the bus. He gestured toward Thompson, who still sat unconscious in one of the seats. “I need to get the colonel to the infirmary so I can start treating him.”

“Before you do that, I want to check out the facility and make certain it’s secure.”

“That’s not necessary. We secured it as we left. There’s no way a revenant could have gotten in.”

“Still, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

“That’s no longer your concern, Mr. Robson.” Compton spoke in a quiet but firm voice. “I hope I don’t have to remind you what Paul said about my being in charge once we arrived?”

Robson did remember and was not happy about how quickly the doctor assumed his authority. Despite his displeasure, he backed down. “No, you don’t.”

Compton placed a conciliatory hand on his shoulder. “There’s an easy way to check this place out. Every part of this facility is covered by security cameras. Miss Wilson can take you to the control room and you can conduct your inspection from there. Is that acceptable?”

“Sure.” Like he had another choice.

“Good. Now, if I could get someone to help me with the colonel—”

“I’ll carry him.” Tibor came forward from the rear of the bus. Crouching down, he slid his hands under Thompson and lifted the colonel off the seat, cradling him like a child. “Lead the way.”

Compton hesitated, seemingly uncertain about trusting a vampire. When no one else volunteered to assist, he gave in to the inevitable. The doctor shrugged, exited the bus, and led the way to the infirmary on the second floor of the far left building. Tibor followed.

Robson mouthed to Natalie for her to send along an escort. She nodded and turned to her Angels. “Ari, take two of the girls and stay with them.”

“Roger.” Ari choose Emily and Bethany. The three set off after the doctor.

Tatyana had shut down the Ryder and joined the others. “What’s the game plan, boss?”

Robson frowned. “To start with, I’m no longer the boss. Compton’s in charge as long as we’re here.”

From where he sat near the back of the bus, Dravko mumbled, “That makes me feel a lot safer.”

A few uncomfortable chuckles filled the bus. Robson ignored them. “I want everyone to stay here with the vehicles. Jennifer and I will go to the control room and use the security cameras to scan this place for rotters. Once we’re certain the area’s secure, we’ll come and get you.”

“I’m coming along.” Natalie stepped forward.

“That won’t be necessary,” said Robson. “We should be okay.”

“It’s your own orders. No one travels without an armed escort while in an unsecured environment.”

Natalie tried to sound forceful, but the look in her eyes indicated she was more concerned with being with him than ensuring his safety.

“Fine. You’re with us.”

Natalie grinned like a school girl asked to the prom. She took the Mauser from Leila and swung the strap over her shoulder.

Robson let Jennifer lead. The group made their way to the building on the far right and entered the foyer. Directly across from them stood another door with a window in the upper quadrant, showing the interior of the building. Off to the left sat two rows of lockers, while a set of stairs ascended to their right. Jennifer climbed the stairs to the third floor landing, opened the door, and stepped inside.

Another corridor ran the entire length of the building, ending at a second windowed door at the far end. The interior was designed with typical U.S. Government functionality. Recessed fluorescent lights, light-colored tiled floors, walls painted white, plain wooden doors with plastic plaques mounted on brass frames in the middle of each one. The only illumination came from the red emergency lights, casting an eerie glow along the corridor.

Jennifer led them into the first room on the right. The door plaque bore the word SECURITY. A chest-high counter separated the room. They stood in a waiting area that contained nothing but three cheap plastic chairs placed against the wall. Jennifer went to the far end of the counter to where a break allowed them access to the other side. Here sat several desks with computer terminals. An empty gun cabinet stood in the far corner.

Jennifer led them to a room off of the left corner that was only a quarter of the size of the main area, with most of the space taken up by a bank of monitors mounted along one wall, divided into four sets of six screens. Those on the left showed various shots around the facility. Robson immediately noticed the tunnel entrance they had entered through, an entrance he assumed to be the one near the main gate, the blast door, the area with the school bus and Ryder, plus others he was not familiar with. The three sets of monitors on the right showed interior shots of the buildings. One screen among the second set showed Compton treating Thompson in the infirmary. Beneath each set of monitors, schematics of various sections of the facility and each building had been attached to the metal surface. Each section of the schematic contained one small red and green light.

Jennifer stepped over to a metal box mounted on the wall off to their left and opened it, revealing a circuit breaker. She flipped into the up position a large switch at the top labeled GENERATOR, waited a few seconds, and then flipped into the up position a second large switch beneath it. Each of the monitors glowed brighter as the facility’s fluorescent lights came on.

“That’ll give us some more light,” she said. “I’ll check out the generator and solar panels later to make sure we have a constant supply of electricity.”

Jennifer sat down in a leather chair in front of the main console. Robson and Natalie stood behind her.

“Security cameras are located all over the facility,” Jennifer explained. She pointed to the schematic on the left. “This shows the location of the cameras in the interior of the cavern. The tops screens show the tunnel entrances and the exterior of the blast door. They’re permanently locked onto those views. The other screens show the main entrance by the blast door, the motor pool, and the supply depot. I can toggle through them to view the other cameras.”

Jennifer pressed one of three lighted buttons beneath the facility schematic. The green light by the blast door entrance changed to the red light, while the red light to the left of the schematic switched to the green one. The scene on the monitor also switched, showing an indoor reservoir. Jennifer pressed the next two buttons, alternating the views on their respective monitors to show a large generator and a rung ladder rising up six feet to a small metal platform and door.

“What’s that?” asked Robson.

“The ladder? It leads to the room containing the air filtration system. It’s located on the far end of the access road.” Jennifer pointed to a larger light at the extreme left of the schematic. “It’s the only part of the facility that’s alarmed.”

“Why?” asked Natalie.

“There’s a ladder inside that leads up through the ventilation shaft all the way to the intakes on top of the mountain. Once the blast door is closed and secured, that air shaft is the only way into the building.” Jennifer pressed the button again. This time the monitor showed a long cement shaft with a ladder mounted onto one of the walls. The view looked down on top of the air filtration unit from a height of approximately one hundred feet. Another press of the button, and this time the view of the shaft looked up to a series of massive HEPA filters, each almost ten feet long. “The alarm was installed during the Cold War to warn against commando raids. Now the only time it goes off is when a squirrel or raccoon gets inside the shaft.”

Jennifer toggled through the other interior cavern views. The crematorium, which she explained was originally designed to dispose of those who died of disease or radiation after arriving at the facility. The machine shop. The meat locker and food closet.

When Jennifer switched to the last view, Natalie stepped close to Robson, pressing against him for comfort. From the angle of the shot, Robson assumed the camera was located on the roof of the access control building out front. It showed the compound’s main gate and the nearly four hundred rotters trapped between the outer and inner security fences. Packed in nearly shoulder to shoulder, they could barely move. They stood listlessly like cattle crammed into the dispatch chute of a slaughterhouse, except these things were already dead.