before it steadied.
Anna heaved an exasperated sigh. “We better get up there.”
I was frustrated that the moment was shattered by something as mundane as turbulence. My main fear was that we would all die down there before I even had the chance to kiss her.
Anna and I stood and went to the cockpit. We strapped ourselves in, and readied ourselves for what promised to be a rough landing.
Within fifteen minutes we would know whether we were going to live, or die.
We entered a layer of red clouds, and the stars above were lost for good. I didn’t know if I would see them again.
The LCD map showed that we were above Bunker One. I had no idea how that thing could even position us. I thought that most, if not all, satellites were no longer operational. But apparently there was
The clouds broke and there was a mountain right in front of us, coated in snow. We would hit it in seconds.
“What the hell?” Samuel grabbed the control stick and tried forcing it left. But the control stick was locked in place.
Makara grabbed his hand. “What are you doing? You can’t fly this thing!”
“Better me than crashing into that mountain.”
“Stop,” Anna said. She pointed. “I see something.”
There was a straight line on the mountainside. At first I couldn’t see what it was. I realized that a long landing strip was built into the side of the mountain. It was illuminated with lights along its length.
“It’s taking us there,” I said. “It was right all along.”
Samuel let go of the control stick. The plane veered to the right, arcing toward the runway.
“I can’t believe we’re back,” Makara said. “It’s so long ago that it happened.”
“Yeah,” Samuel said.
Makara and Samuel were both from Bunker One. They had escaped it as kids from this very landing strip, back in 2048 when it fell to an attack of monsters. During the attack, both of their parents died, as well as most of the other Bunker inhabitants who could not escape.
The landing strip was empty. The lights suggested that someone was inside.
“Looks like they’re already here,” Samuel said.
“I wonder if they know we followed them,” I said. “Did they go to Bunker 40 because they knew about the planes?”
“Maybe,” Lisa said, “but we need to get ready. We’re almost there.”
The long runway stretched out before us. I could hear the plane’s wheels deploy from the bottom of the hull. We descended toward the mountainside.
That’s when I saw that the runway was not completely empty.
A few crawlers covered the runway. We landed with a thud, the skidding wheels nearly sending me out of my seat.
The brakes automatically slowed the plane, but from time to time a crawler crunched under the wheel, rocking the plane and throwing it off-kilter.
The edge of the runway was fast approaching, and there was nothing but darkness beyond. We were slowing — but it would not be enough.
“We need to jump out,” Samuel said. “Come on!”
We got up and struggled our way to the door. Samuel reached it first and popped it open. Below the plane, the tarmac glided by. We were still going too fast.
But the plane tilted forward. We all had to jump.
“Here I go!”
Makara hopped, tucking in and landing with a roll. Anna followed after her, then Lisa.
Samuel nodded. “Go, Alex!”
I jumped, feeling the cold wind rush past my face and butterflies rise in my stomach. God, this was going to hurt. I landed with a thud, tucking in like Makara, rolling forward to break my fall.
Surprised I was still in one piece, I stood, finding myself at the edge of the runway, mere inches from the cliff. I saw Samuel, to my right, roll to a stop.
With a thunderous creak on my left, the plane tilted forward, sliding down the mountainside. The giant vehicle crashed into the rocks below, sending up an enormous plume of flame. The reek of jet fuel stung my nostrils and lungs, the fire heating my face with its glow.
A hand pulled me back.
“Stay
“The colors were too pretty, I guess,” Lisa said.
“We need to get inside,” Samuel said, stepping forward. “Those crawlers are on the way.”
He pointed toward an open door built into the mountain. In their haste, Harland and Drake had not even seen fit to shut it. Their plane was parked neatly just a few feet away.
“We have to reach the Black Files before they do,” Makara said.
“We know this place like the back of our hands,” Samuel said. “We have to make it to the research lab and access the computer.”
The cold ring of steel echoed in the air as Anna drew her blade. “We have company.”
Three of the crawlers loped toward our position. Their long necks and heads undulated back and forth, and jagged teeth jutted from their mouths. Their white eyes burned. I would never get used to seeing those.
The first crawler shot for Makara. Anticipating its move, she dodged to the side in a fluid motion, arching back her knife to deliver a killing blow in its neck. The monster squealed as purple goo sprayed from the wound. It convulsed before growing still.
Anna charged for the other two. They broke, surrounding her on both sides. I ran forward, Beretta in hand, firing at the one on the left. It hissed, and charged after me.
Samuel stepped beside me. The crawler ran toward us, and together, Samuel and I fired at it. With a shriek, the crawler fell dead, its momentum carrying it forward before it stopped at our feet.
Several of the bullets connected. The creature went limp, rolling on the ground with its momentum and stopping dead at our feet.
Anna handled the last one with an expert swing of her blade, severing its head from its body.
“That takes care of that,” she said.
“Inside!” Samuel said.
We ran for Bunker One across the tarmac. The cold wind tore at my skin. It must have been way below freezing in the frigid mountain air. If we were out here for even an hour, we’d die of exposure.
We stepped inside the darkness of the Bunker and slammed the metal door shut behind us. Samuel latched it, and a few seconds later the creatures that had been chasing us slammed against the door.
“I can’t believe it,” Makara said. “We’re actually here.”
Someone had left the lights on in here, too. Before us was a long hallway, with no doors on either side.
“This tunnel goes on for a while,” Makara said. “It leads to some stairs and a bank of elevators.”
“Is this the only way to the runway?” I asked.
“There’s a large hangar, but this is the way Samuel and I came when we escaped. More of a side entrance.” She paused. “Ten thousand people used to live here, and not even ten percent of them survived that night.”
Her eyes were distant. I knew what she was thinking — her parents might be in here, somewhere. Hopefully, they rested in peace and hadn’t turned into Howlers.
“We have to go,” Samuel said. “Get the Files, and bury the past once and for all.”
Samuel headed forward, into the tunnel. We followed.
