By midafternoon, all of the meat they ould possibly salvage had been harvested and packed away. Simon posted guards, then assigned the men to the hunting party he planned to lead that night. He also gave orders for them to get to bed and rest up before the evening.
Simon sat in front of the computer and went over the topographical maps of the areas around the redoubt. Flying drones canvassed the valley where the deer massacre had occurred. He’d also sent out scouting teams on foot.
So far, no one had found the demons preying on the deer.
The door opened and Nathan entered the room. He joined Simon and surveyed the maps as well.
“Thought you were going to get some sleep, mate,” Nathan said.
“I will.”
“The clock’s ticking. You’re not going to have time for a lot of it if you don’t start now.”
“We need to know where to go if we’re going hunting.”
“If we don’t find anything out here,” Nathan said, “we can always go into London. A message is a message.”
“I know. But I’m hoping that whatever demon is out here is just an isolated incident.”
“Not bloody likely.”
Simon heaved a sigh of disgust. “I know.”
“The Burn is spreading farther, too.”
That had been apparent from the drone recon, and from reports generated by scouts that moved in close to the city’s outskirts.
“At best, we only have a few more months in this place,” Nathan said. “It’s time we started thinking about moving.”
“We’ve already been considering that.”
“We need to think more seriously, mate. Children and noncoms are hard to move. If we get trapped in the spring thaw, or if the Burn accelerates and turns the ground around us to mush, we’re going to find the way even harder going.”
“I know.”
“If we wait till summer, we chance our water supply.”
Simon knew that, too. The Burn affected too much of the groundwater.
“The biggest problem is finding somewhere to go,” Simon said.
“You’ve got somewhere in mind?”
“Exeter.” Simon tapped a key and a map of the city replaced the topographical images of the area around the redoubt.
“Why there?”
“It’s centrally located, to a degree. At least we’re not backed up against the English Channel and can be cut off. If we get attacked there, we can run in all directions. Also, there are fortifications there we can use. Military places as well as Exeter Cathedral and other buildings that could withstand an attack.”
“Especially now that the Nodes are somewhat functional.”
“There are tunnels beneath the city that we can use, too,” Simon said. “To fight. To hide.”
“Sounds good, mate, but it’s a bloody long haul. And you try moving these people en masse, you’re going to make an awfully tempting target.”
“That’s the downside.” Simon sat up straighter. “I’ve been working some of the logistics with Wertham. What we’ll have to do is move the people from here in stages. Send them out with Templar escort, leave them with Templar escort to protect them in case there’s a need.”
“The manpower we have is going to be spread pretty thin.”
“That’s the biggest problem. We need more people to make this happen. But it’s the only chance we have. From Exeter, we can try for France if we can find enough boats. Or maybe even the United States if we can find a ship.”
“There’s no guarantee the North Atlantic Ocean is safe. There are stories that the demons have set up warrens along the coastline and attack any ships they find out in those waters. And there’s supposed to be Hellgates that have opened up in the United States and France as well.”
“Staying,” Simon said, “isn’t an option at this juncture. We’re going to keep working on it.”
“I know.” Nathan clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll get it figured out, mate. But you need to get some sleep.”
“I will.”
“Have you heard anything from Leah?”
The topic was a sore point. It had been over a week since Simon had last seen her. She hadn’t been out of his mind for more than five minutes at a stretch.
“No,” Simon answered.
“You given any thought to checking up on her?”
“No,” Simon lied. He’d thought about it, but he knew he couldn’t. He had no idea even where to start looking.
“Well, maybe you should.” Nathan hesitated. “What she did, taking that Node design, you and I would have done it, too.”
Simon took a breath. “I know.”
“In the end, mate, we’re all just trying to survive.”
Simon crouched in a corner of the tube station. He didn’t know where he was or how he’d gotten there. The last thing he remembered was putting his head on his arms at his desk just to rest a moment. With all the signage around, as well as the rubble, the place looked familiar, but a lot of the underground areas in London did.
Darkness filled the low-ceilinged area. His helmet scanned his surroundings with night vision. Something scraped against the wall to his right.
Simon stood and took a better grip on his sword. He slid his shield free from his back and positioned it in front of him.
“Nathan,” he called softly over the comm.
There was no reply.
“Scan for other Templar,” Simon ordered the suit AI.
“Scanning,” the suit AI replied.
The scrape sounded again, closer this time. And higher.
Simon glanced up at the ceiling. It was low enough that he could reach up and touch it. He felt something watching him.
“No Templar in area,” the suit AI reported.
That didn’t make sense. He wouldn’t have come, wherever he was, alone. “Scan for all other life signs.”
“Scanning.”
Simon backed away from the scrape and tried to increase the night vision. Whatever it was, it somehow seemed to know exactly how far his night vision reached. It stayed just out of sight.
“No life signs in area,” the suit AI stated.
“What about undead?”
“Select parameters.”
Simon thought quickly. “Scan for decaying biological matter. Approximately ten pounds and up.”
“Scanning.” Then the suit AI
