Covington carefully peered around the edge of the door, ready to pull back should something happen. He screamed at the nightmarish scene, tearing the attention of the creatures away from what they were doing.
Covington moved away and Dixon slammed the door. He waited a full minute, counting the seconds in his head. On the other side, he heard scratching and moans, but the door never opened. Was it because of the lock, or were these things too stupid to operate a handle?
At that moment, the handle began to twist and the click of several other doors along the corridor began to open.
They were screwed. “Run!” Dixon yelled.
Arthur struggled to keep up with the group as he dodged groping hands and a few gaping maws set on taking a bite out of him. At the door to the armory, he watched Dixon struggle with the handle and then a puzzled look briefly crossed his face when the knob turned in his hand.
“Inside, now!” he yelled at all of them.
Arthur felt something graze his back as he fell into the room. A shot erupted from Dixon’s gun and the door slammed. The contaminated’s hand must have been in the way, because four decomposed fingers covered in the sticky fluids of death fell on his chest. Arthur swatted at them like a crazy man until each one came unstuck and landed on the floor.
“What’s going on out there? Why are all those people contaminated and not us?” Benson asked with a fear- laced voice.
Dixon ignored everyone, his eyes on the weapons displayed in front of them. Benson repeated his question and Dixon moved on to using the axe to break the hinges on the lockers to get at the items inside.
“Hey, Covington, you have any ideas on what’s going on? Because now would be the time to share,” Smith said.
Arthur let out a sigh, which only fogged, up his mask. First thing he wanted to do was take the damn suit off, but he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. So far, the only ones who weren’t sick were them, and they were in suits. The bodies in the test room were also protected, but had been overtaken was his guess.
A thought caught him. If the masks they wore protected them from what was in the air, why was he able to smell the nastiness of those around him?
“Smith, do you know how these suits work exactly?”
“They protect you, what do you think?” she snapped back.
“I get that,” he said in a patient voice. “What I mean is, the breathing apparatus, what does it do?”
“It filters the air of anything larger than a micron or something, basically nothing gets past it.”
Arthur thought a moment. “The people who are infected aren’t wearing suits.”
Benson chimed in, “Wait a minute, you mean whatever’s contaminating people is in the air?”
Arthur nodded, wondering why the man sounded as if he was about to have a panic attack. “I think so, why?”
“Crap, how much time do we have left?” Benson turned his back to Smith.
Arthur watched as the woman lifted a flap of material, exposing a small panel. Numbers ran across it.
“Little more than two hours,” she said with dismay.
Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted when Dixon chimed in.
“I know this isn’t the time, but we have more pressing matters to deal with. The only doors on the floor that were locked were the lab and emergency exit.”
“Of course they were, it’s protocol,” Smith cut him off.
“Listen, the explosion caused a breach in the ceiling. The sensors would have picked that up and put this place on a Level 5 Biohazard Lockdown. Every single door should be locked, instead they’re all open.”
Arthur stood. “That’s great then. We can get out of here quicker.”
Dixon shook his head. “Okay, for those of you with no survival instincts, whatsoever, it means that every floor is crawling with these things. I thought they’d be locked away and we might have to deal with only a handful, but that isn’t the case--”
“Wait a minute, how do you know these things are on every floor? We’re still operating under the assumption the ventilation system is blocking whatever is in the air, right?” Arthur interrupted.
Dixon glared. “We are no longer operating on that since the circulation system is not set to block such precise sizes as these suits, so as I was saying this also means that someone wanted to make sure Covington and his samples were locked away safely and the rest of the place was unprotected.” He grabbed an M4 Carbine and a Makarov off the wall and shoved several magazines into a backpack. “You all need to get yourselves armed and be prepared for some hairy situations.”
Arthur put two and two together and finally arrived at four. “You mean someone intentionally screwed up the wiring of this place when it was being built to create this opportunity.”
Dixon glanced over his shoulder but didn’t say anything, confirmation enough for Arthur.
“Then maybe the elevators are working as well. Wouldn’t that be the smartest and easiest way to get down here?” Arthur asked.
“The elevators are out of commission and no amount of rewiring could have taken that protocol offline,” Dixon replied.
Arthur watched Benson pick out an M4 Carbine as well as a Glock 9mm. Smith grabbed a Beretta, and to Arthur’s annoyance, the last M4. He went to the panel and felt something pressed into his hand.
Dixon stared at him. “It’s called a Baby Eagle 9915R. It’s solid and made to last.”
“Thanks.” Arthur smiled.
“It’s the easiest weapon to use, I figure that point and shoot is best for someone like you.”
The smile fell from Arthur’s face as Dixon shoved a backpack full of magazines at him.
“Alright, one last thing. The next few floors are going to be tricky, but after Level 12, things will get rough. From then on, each floor has a unique security measure to deter people from breaking in.”
Benson snorted, “But we’re not trying to break in.”
Dixon nodded. “I know, but I didn’t design the place.”
Arthur felt the heft of the gun in his hand and liked it. When no one was looking, he grabbed an FNP-9 and slid it into the holster he’d slipped over his shoulders. Dixon’s comment caught his attention. “Why does that affect us? Benson’s right, we’re trying to break out. Logically, the trigger mechanisms would be on the entry portion of the level, and we’ll be entering via the back way.”
“Irrelevant, Monroe made sure no one would survive if they tried to come in or leave with vital information in a situation like this, so we’re going to survive the gauntlet of a sadistic madman and an unknown number of contaminated enemies.”
Arthur saw Smith cringe and remembered her husband was one level up from them. He tried to inject some positivity into his voice. “Well, we don’t know what happened down here spread to the other floors. I’m sure the ventilation system would have stopped it from going any further.”
“I’ve been over this, but if you want to hang out in the land of denial, fine. But mess up and get one of us killed and I will beat you. Now, get ready.” Dixon ordered.
Arthur wanted to ask if there was something, they could do about the covers on their head. How long did the filters last? Did anyone else find them difficult to see out of, and considering their current situation, how that was to their disadvantage.
Chapter 6 –
Carson let himself into the kitchen and saw the rest of the team waiting; Monroe, their leader, as well as Lightfoot, Grimwood, Felt, and Newell. The baddest of the bad. Hooks was serious about this mission. Carson could smell the blood in the air. With a team like this, the worst was expected.
Monroe glared at him. “Nice of you to join us, Carson. Stop to make some bets on the way?”
“Hey, not my fault the pilot couldn’t find the place. You turned off the exterior lights. Did you expect him to use a Magic 8 Ball to find a landing spot?”
