Authors: Julie Cooper Brown
“Good job.” She told him.
“You mean good job, Pat. I couldn’t try it again. Her hands move quicker than mine. I would have hit three or four at a time, I was so nervous. Now, to activate the time lock.”
Jack entered the code into the control board and the number 365 appeared at the top left hand of the screen and at the top right of the screen 8,759hrs.59m58s appeared. Time lock activated. So far, so good. He opened his hand to look at the heart and he held it to his lips and kissed it. He prayed that this as the key, the slot was just that, a slot. It had no indicative shape to let him know that what he had was indeed the key. He looked at Kate and Pat as he dropped the key into the slot and heard a click and high pitched beep. The screen then displayed the message…
“ACTIVATE ALL LOCATIONS?”
The breath that he had been holding expelled as a heavy high, and he felt as if a ton of bricks had been lifted off of his chest. They had the right key. He commenced to follow the remaining directions.
Ethan and Angel travelled down the corridor in search of the fun room that Ethan had found. He must’ve gotten turned around. The halls were confusing and there were many doors. Though there was light, they were dim and the shadows between the doors had a sinister look to Angel. As they passed a set of double doors, Angel looked up and saw a picture of an eagle. She stopped to reach up to touch it and asked Ethan what it was.
“It’s an Eagle. It’s the presidential seal. That’s a big word, huh? Say it. Presidential, go ahead.” Angel looked at him and watched his mouth as he said the word.
“Pres..identhal.” She said.
“NO, pre..si..den..ti..al. We gotta work on that for you. Anyway. It’s the presidential seal. I only know because my dad works for him.”
“But are vere people in vere?” Angel asked him.
“No, Angel, it’s THERE. I’ll teach you later. No, no one’s in there. I been here a long time,” (when in fact it had only been a day and a half) “I’ll show you.” Ethan grabbed the handles of the door and as Angel gasped, she stepped back in fear of what may come out of the doors. They were locked. Ethan looked at her and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, can’t get in so we can’t tell. Come on, I think I know where we’re at now.” Ethan took Angel by the hand and led her further down the corridor. She glanced back at the double doors, and clutched her teddy even tighter.
Chapter Thirty Five
“But I don’t wanna play this game,” Angel cried, throwing her controller in the floor. “It’s just like the scary monsters outside and I don’t like it!”
“It’s not real, Angel! They can’t hurt us!” Ethan bit his lip as his fingers danced over the controller, shooting down several virtual zombies with an Uzi. A hidden zombie attacked his avatar and Ethan struggled to shake him off.
“If they can’t hurt us, why is your guy limping?” Angel said smartly.
“I can use this plant,” he said while putting the game on pause to access the inventory menu. “See this green plant can be mixed with this red plant and it will make a super healing juice. It’ll make him better! Pick up your controller and play!” Ethan tried to convince Angel, but Pat entered the room and gave him the stink eye.
Ethan’s hands dropped down to his sides, the controller fell to the floor and he watched the scene. His avatar was still being brutally attacked by zombies and quickly fell to the ground at their feet. Bright red splashes of blood slashed across the scene and simulated dripping down into the puddle at the bottom of the screen. The screen faded to black and the words ‘YOU ARE DEAD’ appeared in bold, bloody letters as well as an option for a ‘NEW GAME’ in the bottom right corner.
“Now, turn it off. Why would you want to play such a horrid game? I don’t know why it was even brought here. Come. I’ve made you hamburgers with mac and cheese. After dinner, it’s bath and bedtime.”
“Why can’t I come back here and play? Dad set off the bombs, right? We’ll be okay. It’s not like I have to go to school tomorrow.” Pat looked at him with so much love. He should not have even known that such chaos was devouring the world. All his little friends were more than likely dead, and it broke her heart to think of what his future may hold. They couldn’t even be sure the threat had been eliminated for another year, until then, they would make the best of it, and she would try not to worry.
“You should know better than to argue with me by now, Ethan. You’ll do as I say because you love me,” she said while leaning down to hug him.
“Yea, I do. You win, Aunt Pat.” Pat took both of their hands walked the children through the corridors until they reached the dining area. As they passed the doors of the Presidential wing, she noticed that Angel had cringed and pressed her face into Pat’s thigh. She knew the doors were locked, she had tried them herself. She also knew that the lock was controlled from the inside, leaving her with a creepy feeling about the room as well.
“Well,” Jack said as he finally sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. “Now that that’s over with, all that’s left is to wait it out.”
“I’m fine with that. Sleeping in a real bed, no fighting the dead, no being scared out of my mind for a year, sounds good to me. How big is this place? There has to be a map somewhere.” She began rummaging through the drawers of a desk located next to the door. Coming up empty, she walked the room and scanned the bulletins on the walls.
“I’m going to explore the whole building, after I’ve located the kitchen. I’m starving. Would you care to join me?” Jack stood and stretched, looking five years younger after the tension left his face. Kate thought him handsome and wondered what he would look like without the auburn beard. She wanted to ask him about his relationship with Pat but let it go. They didn’t seem to be lovers so she would assume that they were not. She quickly brushed the thought away and followed him out of the control room. A few feet down the hall there was indeed, a map of the shelter. It was pretty big all right. Kitchen, food storage, an underground greenhouse, dining, a gym, recreation room, library, laundry facilities, several bedrooms and security booths, medical facilities and last but not least, a Presidential wing; set right in the middle of it all. She turned to look behind her and realized that the inner walls of the entire place were the outer walls to the wing. An icy chill creeped its way down her spine to extend all the way to the tips of her toes.
“Jack, didn’t you say that the President had gotten infected?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I got a call from the President’s physician, Dr. Richards. He said that three agents, along with the President and General Harper, had contracted the infection and they had been quarantined. I haven’t heard from them since before I left the CDC to locate Dr. O’Dey. I’ll ask Pat if she heard anything. All this commotion and I haven’t really had time to get caught up on the events that occurred after I left.”
“Well, don’t you think that this would be the undisclosed location?”
“I would think that they probably had been taken to a location closer to home and more private. This is right in the middle of the compound and there would be too many other people brought here, increasing the risk of infection. I’m not sure. We’ll look into it tomorrow. Right now, I’m hungry and tired, and most importantly, I feel safe.”
“Yea, I guess I’ll quit worrying, for now. I just have a nagging feeling that our safe haven may not be so safe. It’s hard to accept that it’s over just like that,” she snapped her fingers. “Maybe I’m just paranoid.” Kate pushed the doors to the dining room open and they joined Pat and the children at a table in the middle of the room.
Ethan and Angel were already eating; Jack grabbed a plastic spoon and was ready to dig into the macaroni and cheese and Pat wasn’t eating at all. Honestly, she didn’t blame her; she didn’t feel like eating either. She was hungry at first but now, exhaustion was getting the best of her. It must’ve shown on her face because Pat told her to go and find a room, get a shower and some sleep and she would take care of Angel for the rest of the night. Taking advantage of the situation, Kate thanked Pat and told everyone goodnight. If she remembered correctly, the map had shown that each of the rooms had their own bathrooms. She pictured herself in a tub full of steamy hot water with bubbles, and afterward, a nice big bed and soft pillows to snuggle her head into.
Chapter Thirty Six
“
Why won’t you open the door? I want out of here!”
Montgomery Mason hissed at Dr. Richards through clenched teeth. They had been trapped in the security office just inside the wing, for almost a month. They would had starved to death it hadn’t been for the unopened box of Cheez-Its that an agent had hidden in a drawer along with several bottled waters and a half of a can of Pringles. They meted them out to each other every few hours, one a time and drank the water sparingly, but the goods were now depleted and they were weak. They would not survive the next few days in such a state. Dr. Richards grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. He was getting impatient and had had just about enough of being trapped in this tiny room, with such a heartless man that he disliked with a passion.
“Because, if I do; they’ll be attacked by the ones that have been staring at us through the fucking glass, this whole fucking time! They’re not expecting this, there are children out there!
We have to wait!
” He strained to keep from screaming at him.
Dr. Richards saw the woman on the monitor, then the children when they had approached the door as well. He was not going to open these doors as long as whoever stood outside of them, looked to be helpless and unarmed. Yes, he was risking his own life at this point, but what was his one life compared to the many that could possibly be saved. He would wait for the time to come, and it would.
Pat made sure that the kids had been fed, bathed and tucked into bed. She was absolutely exhausted herself and longed for a hot bath as well, but couldn’t get the Pre
sidential Wing out of her mind. She couldn’t be sure that The President was brought to this location, but if he were, then that would mean that they were trapped for the next year, with the living dead also in residence. That would also mean that there would be a risk of another outbreak, however small it would be, considering there would be no one left to infect other than those within the compound.
When she last spoke with Dr. Richards, there were at least five infected in their party, and she wasn’t sure just how many their party actually consisted of. She feared that it may be more than they could handle. Yes, she knew the door was locked, but that didn’t mean that they were safe. She decided she’d talk to Jack about it before she attempted to try to rest.
“Efan,” Angel whispered. “Are you sleeping?”
“I’m trying to,” he replied in a whisper as well.
“I’m scared,” she said, sitting up in the bed.
“Why, Angel? We’re okay, now.”
“There are scary monsters here,” said in a lower whisper. “In the… the Pres..ide..nsal wing.” She struggled to say the word correctly.
“Nobody’s in there, and besides, we have my dad. He’s a hero.”
“Yea and Kate’s a hero, too.”
“
AND
Aunt Pat! So, we have three heroes! Don’t be afraid, they’ll protect us. Now, lie down and go to sleep.”
“Will you protect me, too?” she asked.
“Yes. Go to sleep.”
“Teddy, too?”
“Yes, Angel. I will protect you and Teddy. Now, be quiet and go to sleep.” Ethan pulled the covers over his head while Angel sat in the bed looking at the door. Seconds passed and it seemed a lifetime for Angel. The small night light on the wall offered little comfort. She was truly afraid and didn’t want to sleep alone.
“Efan.”
“What?” he asked, throwing the blanket off of his head so he could see.
“Can me and Teddy sleep with you?”
Ethan groaned and said “Sure, but go to sleep. No more talking.” He lifted the blanket so she could get under it and she scrambled into the bed, snuggling close to him.
“Thank you,” she said and closed her eyes.
“And Angel, thank you for trying to say that big word, you almost had it. We’ll work on saying my name next.” Ethan turned over and fell quickly into a dreamless slumber.