The Ark of Asylum (The Ark Series Book 1) (10 page)

Maggie nervously picks at her fingernails as she stares at what seems like thousands of cars blocking their way home. Gridlock on the Boulder Turnpike is at a standstill as emergency vehicles fly by on the shoulder of the highway. The car is completely silent. Not even the radio is on. Only horns can be heard from outside the car, but the cacophony is soon overpowered by screams of terror.

“Holy shit, did you guys just hear that? It sounded like screaming!” Heather said as she turns her head frantically, looking out at everything around the car.

“Ah, yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what that was. What the hell is going on out there?” Nate looks around at all the windows.

“Maybe we should listen to the news so we can know what’s going on out there. Don’t you guys think?” Heather nervously asks.

              Maggie turns on the radio and tunes to the news station as the broadcast begins. The newscaster is heard repeating the words,
“Stay in your house! Don’t go outside! We are in a state of emergency with rioting, mass violence, and lawlessness seen all over the city!
The turbulence is now beginning to spread to the surrounding areas.”

Maggie turns off the radio and glances back at everyone. “I don’t think that’s going to help. It doesn’t seem like they know anything new, so let’s not freak ourselves out any more than we have to, alright?” No one in the car really responds, just a couple of nods followed by silence.

As the screaming and yelling outside gets more intense, louder, and closer to the car, the sound of gunshots ring out and people run from their cars in pure trepidation. Maggie slowly inches forward in attempt to get the car slightly in the emergency lane. “We have to get out of here now! Those gunshots are close, and the people right outside our car are running for their lives!”

“Just stay calm, babe. It’s probably just the police shooting, I hope, but people are panicking, so who knows what’s going on out there? Let’s just all stay calm and wait a minute.” Eric grabs her hand and tries to appear calm.

Todd grabs the back of the seat while continuing to whip his head around. “I’m with Maggie on this one. Let’s get the fuck out of here. Shit’s about to go—”

Suddenly, they hear the glass from the back window shatter. A man reaches through and violently grabs Todd by the throat. He pulls him out the window and into the street. The two girls in the rear seat scream and practically jump into the front seat as Nate yells out, “Holy Fuck! Someone just pulled Todd outa the car!”

Maggie has already turned around to shield herself from Heather and Kristie lunging at her as Eric yells, “What the fuck? Where the fuck did Todd go? Where did Todd go!”

Maggie starts to cry and screams in fear, “Oh my God! Somebody help him!”

              Eric looks at Maggie then jumps out of the car. “Stay here.” He pulls a pistol from his back waistband and moves toward the back of the car where a large man is crouched over Todd. Eric stands there in shock only to see Todd’s kicking slow down and then stop.

“What the fuck are you doing? Get the fuck off of him now, or I will shoot, mother fucker!” The man immediately turns to Eric and gives out a loud scream as blood drips down his face. Eric looks at Todd. His throat is tore out and his face half eaten. Todd is obviously dead. “What
—
what the fuck did you do, you sick fuck?”

The man lets out another terrifying screech and then lunges at Eric. He panics, stumbles backwards, and almost falls to the ground but somehow manages to pull the trigger three times, punching three holes in the man’s chest. The man falls back from the force of the forty-caliber, Glocks nine-millimeter bullets tearing though his chest.

Just as Nate rounds the car and stops right behind Eric, the man gets back up and comes at them both. Eric pulls the trigger again and puts a single round into the man’s head. As his head explodes, brains and blood propelling from the back of his skull, he falls to his knees and down onto his face, motionless.

Nate’s disoriented demeanor eventually recedes, and he soon fully realizes what just happened. “Holy shit, dude! You just blew that guy’s fuckin’ brains out! What the fuck?” He then rushes over to Todd and drops to the ground to check on him.

Eric just stands there stunned. He stares at what’s in front of him, in shock and unable to move. The muffled screams and the blurred people running by don’t even register. As the shock of the event subsides and the screams from all around slowly become audible again, he snaps to it and looks down at the gun in his still shaking hand.

Nate stands up, his hands bloody, and grabs Eric by his shirt. “Todd’s dead, man! We gotta get the hell out of here! Come on!”

Eric finally comes to, and they jump back into the SUV. All three girls are still crying, but Maggie’s the first to cry out, “What the hell just happened? Where the hell is Todd? Are you guys alright?”

Eric’s non-response prompts Nate to yell, “Drive! Just get us the fuck out of here now, damn it! Use the shoulder. Go! Go! Go!”

Kristie screams in horror as she grabs his face. “Oh my God, is that your blood? Why are you covered in blood?”

Nate grabs his girlfriend’s hands that keep pawing at his face. “It’s not mine!” He turns to Maggie. “Now, just get us the fuck out of here, Maggie!”

Maggie looks at the terror in Nate’s eyes, says nothing, turns the wheel, and slams on the gas. She smashes into the car in front of them, but the Range Rover powers past the car and hits the concrete median slightly before straightening out and accelerating past all the parked cars. They still see people running from their cars, screaming in horror and panicking, not knowing what to do. Maggie slams on her brakes just short of the police car stopped on the shoulder and unattended. She immediately seeks out and finds a break in the median. She quickly pushes the four-wheel drive button, and the Range Rover lifts four inches. She turns the wheel toward the grassy median and hits the gas.

Speeding down the middle of the highway in the dry grass and dirt, Maggie dodges multiple people running in every direction along with other cars that are trying to do the same thing as well as the ones that failed in their attempt. Police cars going the opposite direction fly by, not even giving them a second look.

She wipes the tears from her face, trying to calm herself down, and then glances over at Eric for a second. “I’m not even going to ask you where you got that gun, but I have a good idea. But what the hell happened back there? What happened to Todd?”

Kristie lets out a whimper, clearly stricken with grief. “Yeah, tell us what happened to Todd!”

Eric’s hands finally stop noticeably shaking, and he looks up. “Todd’s dead. That man back there killed him, and I think he was
—
I don’t know what he was doing, but he lunged at me, so I shot him three times in the chest, but he got back up again, so I shot him in the head.”

Maggie looks at Eric in disbelief. “You shot him? Oh my God, Eric, you shot a man to death! Oh my God!”

Eric’s face blanches, but Nate is quick to defend him and responds quickly, “He didn’t have a choice, Maggie. That guy was crazy, and he would have done the same to us as he did to Todd. Eric saved both our lives and possibly all our lives with his actions. You should be thanking him!”

Maggie continues to cry along with Kristie and Heather, none of them able to say a word. She just keeps driving as fast as she can down the center of the highway, maneuvering around every obstacle in her path.

When they finally get back to Boulder, the roads are somewhat quiet with only a handful of people running through the streets, or maybe it just seems that way after what they just went through. They soon reach Maggie’s house, and she pushes the garage door button. The Range Rover thunders up the driveway, and Maggie hits the brakes, squealing the tires and hitting the shelves in the back of the garage.

She quickly presses the garage door button again and jumps out of the car. “Everyone down to the bunker, now! Let’s go!”

Peter finishes the last of the snaps, zippers, and Velcro on his combat fatigues and picks up his rifle. He looks down at his weapon and just now notices how bad he is shaking
—
not something he wants his dad to see, as he does not want to appear scared or weak to his father. He sets his rifle down and looks over at his dad, who’s staring at the news broadcast while occasionally glancing over to monitor the air quality levels.

              Peter slowly walks over to his dad and lets him know that he is ready and locked and loaded. His dad turns in his direction and looks him up and down. “Where’s your weapon?”

Peter turns around and points at his rifle leaning against the wall. “It’s right there, sir. I’ve inspected it completely, and it has a full magazine. I’m all ready to go.”

Simon shakes his head and grips the barrel of his assault rifle. “Your rifle is across the room while you stand in front of me and tell me you’re ready. Why is your rifle not with you, and why isn’t your secondary holstered on your vest?”

“I just set it down for a second, sir. I’ll go get it now, and I wasn’t sure what secondary you wanted me to equip. I apologize. In hind sight, I should have asked you that before I told you I was ready.” Peter darts across the room and grabs his rifle and slings it over his shoulder. He grabs a nine-millimeter handgun off the rack, checks it, and slides it into his vest holster and then rushes back over to his dad and stands at attention.

“Better, much better.” Simon points at the other chair in front of the TV and tells Peter to sit in it and watch the newscast. The shot still displays the helicopter hovering over downtown Denver while the word “Live” is in the corner of the screen. The footage is hard to make out due to the smoke from the still burning fires. The newsman tries his best to describe what’s going on but with obvious uncertainty. Just the same message about staying indoors and getting out of the city, yet with the added news that the death toll is now believed to be in the hundreds if not thousands.

All of a sudden, the intercom light starts flashing and beeping. Simon leaps out of his chair and presses the button that brings the front porch camera feed up on the main screen. Three figures in what appear to be military-issue Hazmat suits stand at their doorstep armed with assault rifles. Two are directly in front of the door, and another is facing the opposite direction, crouched down and scanning the area with his rifle.

Simon presses the intercom button. “What do you want? We are heavily armed, so please leave the premises.”

After a second or two, a voice from the other end speaks into the intercom. “Simon, it’s Jason from down the street. I’m here with my wife and brother. We’re seeking refuge. Please let us in!”

Simon looks at his son and hesitates for a moment then presses the button again. “Jason, what the hell are you doing out there? Listen, I can let you in, but I need to know if you’ve been in your Hazmat suits the entire time. I can’t take a chance of contamination.”

              Jason quickly responds, “We’ve been fully suited since twelve fifteen and not a second later. We suited up as soon as we saw the effects of the tear gas on the public, and we knew something was wrong. You have my word on that.”

Simon converses with his son, and they conclude that they cannot leave them out there. “Alright, check your six and confirm there’s no one else around, and I’ll buzz you in. You will proceed to the basement and into the decontamination area. Do you copy?”

              “Copy that. Our six is clear; my brother’s been covering that since we left the house. Please just let us in!”

The door buzzes, and multiple locks disengage. Jason turns the door handle and opens the door. He enters the room with his rifle up, scanning the house, his wife close behind. His brother, on one knee, takes one last look at his outdoor surroundings, gets up, and moves inside and closes the door. As the large door locks engage, Jason moves down the hall with his wife and brother close behind. They move quickly to the basement and come upon the large steel door with a plastic-encased room attached.

The intercom lights up, and they hear Simon say, “Enter the decontamination room. When you are all three in, push the button on the wall and wait for it to finish then wait for my instruction.”

All three hurry into the plastic-wrap-looking room and close the door behind them. Jason presses the button on the wall. Multiple rotating bars begin spraying liquid from every direction and with intense force, followed by foam covering them from head to toe. Finally, water cleans them off, immediately followed by air blowing them dry. Simon directs them to remove their suits and hang them on the wall along with their weapons, and the cleaning process repeats.

He tells Peter to get his Hazmat suit on as he gets suited up as well. Once they are completely suited up, Simon grabs his portable N.B.C. detection device to monitor air quality levels.  He presses the button to unlock the door and tells Peter to be armed and alert. The door opens as the three stand there in soaking wet shorts and t-shirts waiting for their orders on what to do next. Simon walks through the door as Peter walks right behind him and points his assault rifle directly at the three people. Simon proceeds to scan them up and down with the wand from his device; once he scans everyone, he tells Peter to stand down and then tells everyone to get inside.

Once inside, Simon and Peter remove their suits, and Simon hands them each a towel. “I apologize for that, but we have to be careful and not take any chances. I hope you understand.”

Jason looks at his wife and brother while drying off. “No need to apologize; we completely understand. I’m just grateful you let us in. But anyway, you guys of course know my wife, Kelly, and this is my brother, Dave; he’s a Navy Seal. And luckily, he just happened to be on leave, which is a blessing, of course, and so is his inability to get ahold of his C.O. since this all went down.”

Simon shakes his hand and motions to the chairs. “Please have a seat. Is anyone in need of any water or rations?”

They all shake their heads as Jason looks over at the news screen. “I’m just glad you guys were here. We weren’t sure what to do at first, and then I remembered you had this place. I always thought you were kind of crazy for having something like this under your house, but I guess I’m the crazy one now for not having one of these built under mine.”

“I’m just glad you guys made it safely.” Simon hands them all a bottle of water. “But can you brief me on the situation out there? We’ve been down here since it began, and we’ve only had the news telling us very vague news.”

“The situation has escalated to the state of ‘out of control.’” Jason takes a sip of water and then wipes his mouth. “Those things
—
I mean, those infected humans are everywhere downtown, and they’re aggression is on a level I’ve never seen from a human being before. I didn’t think they’d made it out this far until we had to put two of them down just getting over here. So, somehow they’re getting out this far already, which is confusing since I only thought downtown got gassed. But anyway, the best way to describe them would be like a dog with rabies, hyper aggressive, and with no conscious. I put four shots into one of their chests before my brother finally put it down with a bullet to the head. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Simon mumbles while scratching his chin and shaking his head, “Maybe the virus or whatever it is takes longer to affect certain people?” He avoids eye contact and turns around.

              “What’s that? I couldn’t hear you?”

“Nothing, nothing, just thinking out loud.”

              Jason looks at his wife and pulls her close. He holds her in an attempt to calm her down; she is still shaking like a leaf and crying. He continues to rub her back as they all just stare at the news report describing a scene of epic proportion with a city in disarray and experiencing overall widespread panic.

Dave gets up and walks over to the gun rack. “Do you mind if I take a look?”

Simon peels his eyes away from the television and looks at him. “You’re a Navy Seal, right? So, be my guest.”

Dave pulls an assault rifle off the wall and inspects it. He takes a look at all the weapons in the arsenal and places the rifle back on the rack. “That’s a nice collection of weapons you’ve armed yourselves with. We only have hand guns, so I wouldn’t mind equipping myself with one of those rifles if that’s okay with you.”

“Be my guest. Help yourself to any assault rifle of your choice, and that goes for all three of you. I want everyone armed and ready for anything. We’re safe down here for the time being, but who knows for how long, so we all need to be prepared.”

Kelly wipes a few tears from her eyes and then goes over and hugs Simon and Peter. “Thank you two so much for allowing us into your home. We’re forever grateful. I know we’ve never had the chance to get to know you guys very well at neighborhood block parties and stuff, but I think that’s probably going to change.”

Everyone gives a tiny nod and smile before Jason turns and gives her a kiss and then joins his brother at the gun rack to inspect some of the rifles as well. “I really wish I had some more news to tell you guys on the situation out there, but we’re unfortunately pretty much as much in the dark as you are. But seeing this ample supply of weapons and supplies you’ve got here definitely puts my mind at ease just a little bit.”

Both Jason and Dave eventually join the rest of the group sitting in front of the television. They can do nothing but watch the news report on the situation that’s unfolding.