Silence.
"I hope you all rot in hell."
She exited back into the cave where the girls from the adjacent building had been waiting. A few were armed with the rifles and revolvers from the fallen soldiers. Sam scanned the crowd, her eyes landing on a blonde-haired girl toward the back of the crowd.
"Do you know Alex?"
The girl nodded.
"Do you know her brother?"
"Yes."
"Bring him here," Sam said. "Cole will go with you in case you run into any resistance." She half-expected some sort of pushback to the request, the girl undoubtedly knowing what she was about to miss, but instead the blonde-haired girl nodded and took off toward the rear of the building. Sam watched as she and Cole disappeared down a corridor in the back of the cave.
She looked back to the group and eyed the girls. All of them had been modified in some way or another. Augmented breasts were coupled with liposuction and glute implants. Facelifts. Nose jobs. Cheek implants. They were all dressed in slutty clothes and all wore the same emotionless expression on their plastic faces. But beyond that, just beneath the layer of modifications, Sam could see the same burning hatred in all of their eyes. Her eyes landed back to the center of the group and then silently she gave a nod.
A dark-haired girl with bright orange streaks and a nose four times removed from its original state entered first. Her rifle, plucked from the clutches of one of the slaughtered, held high in the air, bloodlust in her eyes. A split-second later the rest of the girls followed and then the interior of the building was ablaze with gunfire, protests and screams.
11
"We'll need to get her back to my office," Doc said and plucked a syringe from inside the leather medical bag. He shuffled through the rest of the contents and extracted a small brown vial. He inserted the needle into the rubber stopper at the top of the vial and pulled the plunger. The syringe filled with a clear liquid.
"What is that?"
"A muscle relaxer," the doctor said. He inserted the needle into Alex's forearm and pushed down on the plunger. "She has a possible concussion, but I'll need to run some more tests back at my office."
"We're not going back to your office," Sam said. "We're getting her brother and we're getting the hell out of here."
"But I need—"
"You saw the same computer screen that I did, Doc. The self-destruction sequence has been activated. We're living on borrowed time."
"Well, that's precisely my point," Doc interjected. "If nothing has happened so far, then who's to say anything will? You know as well as I do the computer was ancient. From a probability standpoint, don't you think it's safe to assume whatever was supposed to happen, can't or won't at this point?"
"I'm not assuming anything, Doc."
The doctor shook his head. "Is it possible to at least stop by my office to get some additional supplies? If we're going to be braving the elements then we'll need to be prepared."
"Who said anything about
we
?"
Doc stiffened.
"You're the one responsible for all the modifications, aren't you?" Sam asked. "These surgeries and
enhancements
. The girls have you to blame."
"I was doing what I was told," the doctor said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"The same as the soldiers who stood idly by and let the royalty rape their children?" Sam seethed. "Because weren't they just doing what they were told?"
The doctor stood and took a step toward Sam. "I've never approved of what those men do to the children nor do I approve of the surgeries or the experimentation. Why do you think my face is like this? Do you think I enjoyed performing the surgeries so much that I elected to deform myself? Or could it be that I've used my body as a testing ground to ensure that I don't do any additional harm to my patients?"
"Here's a third option," Sam said and took a step toward Doc, not backing down. "Don’t do the procedures. Stand up and fight."
"You're assuming even a small minority would be willing to revolt with me. If I would have stopped performing their procedures or never performed them in the first place then I would be no better off than one of those monstrosities." The doctor pointed in the direction of the carnage that lay outside of the buildings.
"What does that mea—?”
A severe shout came from the tunnel leading to the mine. Sam raised her rifle and then lowered it as Cole emerged from the darkness. A teenage boy was on his heels and he shouted again as he reached the opening.
"Alexandria!"
The moonlight gleamed in the boy's hollow eyes and his gaunt face was racked with fear. Tattered rags wrapped loosely around his groin and feet. "Where is she?" he called.
Cole pointed in their direction. The boy tried to sprint but slipped and fell to the ground. Cole helped him to his feet, and the boy limped the rest of the way. Blood oozed from the scrape on his bony knee.
Behind Cole and the boy, Sam watched as the blonde-haired girl, tasked with finding Alex's brother, surfaced. She was followed by a countless number of children. They all wore the same confused smile on their face. The girl leading the way called out and the other teenage girls, the royalty's sex slaves, emerged from the building. Squeals of joy erupted as brothers and sister found each other. And then the girls led the children out of the cave and back toward the up-top.
Alex's brother dropped to his knees at his sister's side. The boy's eyes filled with tears and then he wrapped his emaciated arms around her. He sobbed as he pulled Alexandria into his chest.
"She's going to be okay," Sam said. She put a hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed.
"Where is he?" the boy whispered.
"He's dead."
There was a long moment of silence before the boy spoke again. "Good."
The boy released Alex and laid her back on the ground. Then he stood and faced Sam and Doc.
"What's your name?" Sam asked.
"Nick."
"You've met Cole," Sam said. "My name is Sam."
The boy wrapped his arms around Sam's neck. It was an unexpected hug but welcomed and Sam returned the gesture. After a moment, he pulled away.
"So what happens now?" Nick asked.
Sam didn't answer. Instead, a siren ripped through the cave. It was louder than anything she had ever heard. She dropped the rifle to the ground and covered her ears. Cole and Doc also covered their ears. Nick fell back to his knees and wrapped his hands around Alex's head.
"What is that?" Sam shouted.
There was an earth shattering crack as a giant stalactite broke away from the ceiling. It smashed into the building's roof, the one where the girls had been held, and disappeared inside. A thick cloud of stone and debris ejected from the hole and from the door.
A split-second later another of the spiked pillars broke away and then another. The self-destruction timer on the mysterious computer in Gates' office had hit zero. The mines were collapsing.
"We have to go!" Sam screamed. She snatched the rifle from the ground with one hand and grabbed Doc by the collar with the other. Cole gathered Alex into his arms and the five of them were took off toward the tunnel.
Emergency lights that had been hidden by the darkness now illuminated the large corridor, flashing in melodic strobes. Others pushed past them as they made their way up the cramped pathway. Girls carrying assault rifles led children covered in soot past them, most running at full speed with bare feet. Behind, the sound of the cave collapsing was deafening.
"Pick up the pace, Doc!" Sam yelled.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Doc shouted back. He turned his head to look back and lost his footing. His head slammed hard into the ground. Cole and Nick slowed, but Sam screamed at them to continue. Nick tried to protest, but Cole grabbed the boy by the shoulder and pushed him up the pathway.
"On your feet, Doc." Sam jammed a hand under his armpit and pulled. The doctor tried to get his feet under him, stumbled and then fell back to the ground. Sam saw a thick stream of blood emerging from the doctor's white hair.
"Go on. Get out of here while you can."
"I'm not leaving you," Sam said and pulled at his arms. He didn't budge.
"You have to get—"
A large rock broke from the ceiling and slammed into Doc's back. He screamed in agony. Sam pushed the miniature boulder off of him and made another attempt to help him to his feet, the path leading back to the mines collapsing before her eyes.
"Take this," the doctor said and slid the leather bag to Sam. "The answers you seek can be found within."
"I'm not leaving you."
"I can't move my legs. Leave me."
Sam grabbed the bag from the floor and hesitated. She had no reason to feel any sort of sympathy for the man. He was as guilty as the rest of them whether he was willing to admit it or not. But she did feel something.
"Thank you," she said.
"Your friend will become one of them."
"What does that mean?" Sam asked.
But the doctor never got a chance to answer. More of the tunnel wall gave way and collapsed around him. A moment later, he was buried in a mound of rubble. His hand was the only thing left visible; extended as if he were reaching for help.
"We have to go, Sam!" Cole shouted from somewhere in the darkness.
Sam didn't need to be told twice and sprinted as fast as she could. She ran until her veins felt like they were filled with acid. Until her lungs burned with each breath. She ran until she felt like she couldn't go any farther. Until every muscle screamed for her to stop. And then she ran faster.
The four of them reached the mouth of the caverns and then climbed the steel staircase. Sam let Cole lead the way and watched in amazement as he carried not only his weight but the deadweight of Alex up the tight flight of stairs at a breakneck pace. They reached the top and exited into the gaudy hallways.
"Do you know the way?" Sam asked to Nick.
Much to Sam's dismay, Nick shook his head no.
Sam wasn't sure if the destruction of the bunker would stop at the mines or if it would extend to the royal apartments. The ground shook violently, and she wasn't willing to find out. She turned left and led the group down the hallway.
They turned another corner and Sam saw a group of kids up ahead of them. She could only assume that one of the girls was leading them to the exit. Sam yelled to hurry, and they picked up the pace.
The labyrinth of hallways seemed to continue forever, and the building shook more and more. Sam was losing hope but then noticed the decorations of the hallway becoming sparser and then they disappeared altogether. The gold and green marble floor changed to smooth concrete and Sam barely noticed that they were traveling up stairs. Her adrenaline peaked and everything seemed to fade into some dreamlike state. She saw daylight up ahead and smiled. They had escaped. She had kept her promise.
Sam reached the top of the stairs and burst into the outside world. The early morning sun felt glorious against her skin and she took a deep breath of the hot, desert air. And then her eyes adjusted and she stopped in her tracks at the foot of the steps. The muffled dreamlike state disappeared, and the screams came through in stereo.
There was blood everywhere. An older lady screamed at a group of children to keep running as a midnight runner lifted her into the air. It was Greta. The woman emitted a short scream and then the beast ripped her head from her body.
"No!" Sam screamed.
The beast shoved Greta's head into its jaw and tossed the woman's lifeless body to the ground where a heap of headless bodies littered the desert floor. The midnight runner chewed once and swallowed. Sam screamed again, and the creature turned toward her, its hulking body glistening with crimson.
This midnight runner was different than the ones in the caves. It bore a resemblance to them, but it was bigger, and even more muscular. The horns atop its head were pointed forward instead of outward and its skin was a murderous shade of red.
Sam lifted her gun but before she could squeeze the trigger, the midnight runner sprung a foot to the right and then leapt at her. Everything went blurry as the gun was violently ripped from her hands. A second later, she flew through the air. She had just enough time to put her hands up before crashing head first into the hot, desert sand.
There was a moment of pitch-black and then somewhere there was screaming. Sam forced herself to open her eyes. The blinding sun burned her retinas, and she realized she was on her back facing up at an angry sun. She managed to turn her head and saw the beast on top of Cole. It pinned Cole's massive arms with ease. It opened its enormous mouth revealing two rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Sam screamed but her voice seemed distorted and muffled. From her vantage point, she could see the fear in her friend's eyes and could see him screaming for help. She had failed him. Sam choked back tears as she watched helplessly.
Use the remote,
Jordan whispered.
She pawed desperately at the pockets of the khaki cargo pants and cried aloud as her fingers touched the metal casing of the device in her pocket. She extracted it and flipped open the protective glass cover. At the very least, her friend wouldn't have to feel the pain of his death. That was one thing she could provide him.
"Goodbye, Cole."
She mashed the center button and Cole's eyes closed immediately. Sam took a breath of relief and then screamed as the creature lowered its head, slamming it into Cole's face. She waited for the creature to lift its head and reveal a half-eaten face but the midnight runner lay motionless.
Sam looked around, searching for an answer. Huddled by the door leading back to the bunker were Nick and Alex, who was now awake, but neither of them had any sort of weapon. Sam rolled over to her stomach, despite the pain raging inside of her. She eyed the horizon and saw groups of the children, those that had been lucky enough to escape the collapsing mine and then the midnight runner. None of them had weapons either. None of them had caused the beast to stop.
"What the hell?" Sam said.
The remote.
Jordan's words.
She stared at the device in her hand and then to Cole. She forced herself to her feet and walked towards her friend. A slow, deep panic bubbled in her stomach. She was terrified of what she was going to find as she approached the beast.
You know what you'll find.
She did know. The realization washed over her that when she had woken Cole up in the dining room, she had also awoken the monstrosity that lie atop him now. Sam reached the two of them and her heart sank as she saw the small metal device embedded in the back of the creature's skull.