The Red Phoenix 12: Strength Comes in Numbers (29 page)

Suddenly, the sound of something running towards them from the far end of the foggy corridor drew closer, becoming louder.

“What’s that?” asked Kirk.

“Keep your gun up,” Chris answered, trying not to be scared, hearing his own nervous breaths through his gas mask.

The sounds of growling accompanied by running footsteps became louder, drawing closer to them down the shadowy, misty corridor.

Chris’ breaths became louder. Kirk remained calm as they stood waiting for whatever was coming to show itself.

Three mutated creatures roared as they rushed through the thick mist towards them.

“Holy shit! Fire!” said Chris, frightened.

They pulled their triggers, lighting up the corridor with automatic gunfire, filling the three creatures’ chests, legs and heads with bullet holes that came at them viciously, trying to slash them with their claws.

Kirk yelled as one of the dead creatures collapsed on top of him. Chris moved out of the way as another creature fell dead, face-down on the floor of the corridor, before it had a chance to slash him with its deadly claws.

Chris helped roll the dead beast that was lying on top of Kirk to its back as Kirk pushed it off him. Kirk got up and wiped bits of torn skin, slime and blood of the hulky, tan-skinned monster from his body armor and sleeves. They stood over the unknown creatures’ bodies, breathing heavily.

“I’m not familiar with this species, Chris,” stated Kirk.

“Me neither,” Chris replied, crouching at a creature’s side.

“Where do you suppose they came from?” asked Kirk.

“I haven’t the slightest idea,” Chris answered, touching its forehead, mortified at its dark eyes that were on the sides of its face and its gaping jaws with sharp teeth.

“Are these from Earth?” asked Kirk.

“They look like some type of vicious alien beings but where they came from is the question,” Chris answered, looking over the dead creature’s carcass.

“Perhaps they have something to do with the explosion,” said Kirk.

“Wait a minute,” Chris said in a louder tone, looking at the creature’s forearm.

“Find something?” asked Kirk.

“This creature is wearing a wristwatch,” Chris replied. “You see? The wristwatch is so stretched out its about to snap off.”

“That is peculiar,” said Kirk.

“These aren’t alien beings,” said Chris, standing. “They were people. All of them.”

“That’s terrible,” Kirk replied, scanning the corridor for threats.

“Do I think it had something to do with the explosion? Absolutely, Kirk,” stated Chris, looking at the green mist, running his gloved hand through it.

“Shall we go further down the corridor? Perhaps there are survivors?” Kirk asked.

“It’s the mist,” Chris mumbled.

“What was that?” asked Kirk.

“It’s this green mist,” Chris responded in a louder voice. “C’mon! It’s some type of horrible mutation!”

“We’re leaving then?” Kirk asked, moving towards the elevator.

“Yeah, we’re leaving. We need to get the hell off this level and away from here now!” Chris yelled, running back down the corridor.

They ran swiftly back down the first hall at full speed, heading towards the elevator. Five more creatures ran towards them through the mist, roaring.

“Shit! There’s more of them!” said Chris as he and Kirk opened fire, putting bullet holes in their bodies, causing them to fall dead.

They rushed towards the elevator, leaping over the dead creatures’ bodies, noticing a large crowd of creatures were behind them, roaring and gaining on them.

“Let’s move!” said Chris as they ran into the elevator at the end of the corridor.

“What level?” asked Kirk.

“Minus eighty!” Chris cried, firing his automatic weapon through the closing elevator doors at the creatures, killing a few of them as it closed just in time.

The creatures roared loudly as they pounded on the closed elevator doors as they made their escape downwards into the facility. Chris fell against the wall of the elevator, taking his gas mask off, breathing hard.

“This can’t be happening,” he said.

“It is unlikely there is a safe passage from the facility, Chris,” said Kirk, removing his mask.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Chris muttered.

“What do you want to do now?” asked Kirk.

“Let’s get back to Kerry and the others and form another plan to get out of here,” Chris responded as the elevator descended.

***

Siddoway and Twelve hurried down a stairwell, wasting no time. They entered a door leading into a corridor on level minus fifteen, and crossed the hall that led into an office space. Several employees crawled out from under their desks, surprised to see them.

“Dr. Siddoway?” said Eric Shiftwell, an office worker, standing, sounding confused.

“With President Greenfield?” said Karen Allsop, another employee in the office, standing with several others.

“Listen up, people, we need to make some calls,” said Siddoway, checking the desk phones at the cubicles, one after another. “I need a phone that works.”

The office workers stood by in shock, stunned at the sight of Siddoway with the president.

“All the com systems are down,” Eric responded. “We’ve been down here for hours.”

“Can’t we just leave?” asked Karen. “Aren’t the elevators working?”

“The top several floors are too dangerous,” Twelve answered.

“What do you mean dangerous, Mr. President?” asked Ron Faucher, the manager of the department.

“Was there a gas leak?” asked another employee, sounding scared.

“People, listen to me,” said Siddoway in a loud voice. “From the main lobby down to level minus six, all of the employees have been changed into something dangerous because of toxic vapors that were released after the explosion.”

“Can’t we just take the elevators to the main lobby?” asked Karen, scared.

“The main lobby is a pile of wreckage and rubble,” Siddoway replied. “It might as well be Nine-Eleven on the surface.”

“So, we’re trapped,” said a fourth employee.

“Wait a minute, Siddoway, we heard announcements over the intercom that you were running around with a nuke upstairs and caused this whole thing,” said Ron in a hard tone.

“This is a falsehood and a pure misunderstanding,” Siddoway declared. “It was the security staff and Chris Michaels who caused the explosion, not me.”

“The security staff?” asked another worker.

“Who is Chris Michaels?” asked Eric.

“What the hell are you talking about, Siddoway?” asked Ron, demanding an answer.

“I had authorization by Sam Wickenburg to pick up some of my remaining equipment from my lab, which, regretfully, was combustible and because of a silly misunderstanding with the security staff, they and Michaels mishandled my equipment and some combustible substances detonated in the main lobby,” Siddoway responded, shifting his guilt on to someone else with lies.

The office workers stared at Siddoway, unsure if they wanted to trust him.

“After all, guys, everyone knows that I am a weapons designer, right?” Siddoway added, making himself appear blameless. “And as I have promised President Greenfield, after saving his life, I swear that I will get every single one of you to safety. I’ve been at the Red Phoenix since it opened and I know every corridor, elevator and secret passage in this place, okay?”

They looked at him, appeased. Their gloomy faces lifted with hope. Siddoway felt relieved, noticing that he had gained their silent confidence, for the time being.

“Mr. President, sir, why are you here?” asked Karen.

“I was on my way back to D.C. with Bill Hauser and his assistant and then all this happened, unfortunately,” Twelve answered.

“Do you have any way of contacting anyone on the outside?” asked Ron.

“Right, like a tracking device at least?” asked Eric.

“I’m sorry, people. Like you, we’re all in this thing together,” Twelve responded. “I’ve put my faith in Mr. Siddoway here and trust that he will take us to a safe place.”

“If the president is here, they’re bound to go to extreme measures to find him,” said Ron, sounding hopeful.

“Maybe we should get as close as possible to the lobby, like level minus seven or eight?” said an office worker.

“Guys, stay here,” said Siddoway. “The creatures that are running around up there are far too dangerous to get that close. For the time being, you need to stay hidden and out of sight. Each floor has restrooms and there is a food storage on level minus fifty. Make the best of it until we make contact with somebody on the surface.”

“So, we’re all just going to be sitting ducks?” asked Ron, disapproving.

““You’re going to be safe. We’ll rest for a while and then a small party of us will go search for the food storage and additional firearms for protection on level minus fifty,” Siddoway answered, taking charge.

Ron sat down in a chair, trying not to be flustered.

Helping the president out of here is the only way for redemption. Everyone else is already dead; they just don’t know it yet. The only one who could mess things up for me is Chris Michaels,
he thought.

***

Chris and Kirk hurried down the corridor on level minus eighty then rushed into the lab.

“Kerry?” Chris called in a loud voice as he and Kirk made their way to the rear labs, still carrying their weapons. “Kerry?”

“I’m here, Chris,” she answered, coming around a corner. “We all are.”

“Oh good, there you are,” said Chris. “Listen, we need to—”

The rest of the clones came around the corner too. They were all clones of Kirk. Chris was stunned, looking at each one of them, wide-eyed.

“How did this happen?” Chris asked, amazed.

“I took the liberty of changing them all into the form of Kirk, the son that you lost since you left his blood sample in the port in the other lab,” Kerry answered.

“Why did you that?” asked Chris, staring at each one of them in amazement.

“Because I know how much your son meant to you,” Kerry answered.

“It worked?” asked Chris. “It actually worked on all nine of them?”

“Are you pleased with us, Chris?” asked Number Three.

“Does our appearance suit you?” asked Number Four.

“I hope this isn’t too emotionally upsetting for you,” said Number Five.

“I don’t know what to say,” Chris replied in a soft voice as the rest of the clones nodded at him.