Reset: A Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Fantasy (Contaminant Series Book 1) (8 page)

Michael didn’t spend too much time looking at it, he returned back the way he came and veered off to the left in search of food.  What he found was an extensive laboratory complete with personal protective equipment, freezers, a decontamination room and all the rest.  His anxiety was only moderately quelled, though.  The place looked lived in, yet he hadn’t seen anyone. 

Michael only looked at the lab through the window.  He doubled back and went to the right side where he found tiny rooms with bunk beds.  Up to 16 people could be housed.  All four rooms looked used but only one bed
was
used in each room.  Michael continued to walk past the bunk rooms.  When he opened the door at the end of the hall, he could be nothing but astonished at the size of the food storage.  Shelves upon shelves upon shelves of freeze dried foods, whole grains, rice, beans, and MRE’S.  The shelves were categorized and on the wall near the door, a manifest hung with the inventory of food and water, lab equipment, and more.  There were four small hand baskets by the three small steps that lead into the food storage unit. 

Michael’s disbelief caused his face to twitch involuntarily, “YES!” He shouted as loud as he could.  He gathered as deep a breath as he could muster, “YEEEESSSSSSS!”.  His voice rang in the bunker, bouncing off this wall and that.  Michael knew that he must have been gone at least an hour.  He left to return upstairs.

Chapter Nine

When Michael stepped up from the basement, Jenna, Anna, James, and Tessa were standing in the kitchen.  They turned to face him.

“Did I miss anything?” Michael scratched his eyebrow with his thumb.

Jenna slid over to him, “No.” Her eyes had tears welled up, “But there’s no lab, I mean… unless you found one down there.  There’s no way for us to...”  She looked down.

“Yes.” Michael eyes were charged with excitement.

The others in the kitchen looked at him with zero enthusiasm.

Anna’s chest fell heavily, “Yes, what?”

“Yes, I found a lab.”

“You did?!” Jenna was laughing as her eyes were still crying.

“Oh, yeah.  We hit the jackpot.  There’s food, water, a lab and one helluva security system.”

Anna cursed praises, “What are we waiting for?!  Let’s move in.”

Michael got over his stammering, “It looks like people lived there, but I searched.  Nobody’s home.

James stood up straight and unfolded his arms, finally showing proper interest, “Lead the way.”

***

Michael and James carried Peter down the stairs gingerly.  He was awake but Michael insisted that he save his energy for standing in the door frame.  Bruce and Anna walked in front of them and Tessa and Jenna walked behind.  Michael was telling them the story of the shock he got from the door knob, when Bruce started to reach for it.  He hesitated.  Anna stepped in and reached out, getting the shock instead. 

She let out a, “Ouch!” 

Her hand flew back too, hitting Bruce in the face, knocking his glasses crooked.

Once inside the door, everyone made a comment about how creepy the corridor was at least once every five minutes.  James got vertigo and rushed over to the wall to vomit.  Eventually, Anna took point followed by Jenna, Michael, Peter, James, Tessa and then Bruce.  The going was slow and the lights seemed dimmer than Michael’s first time.  The swirling seemed to upset everyone except Michael.  He felt better with everyone close by.  By the time they reached the door frame, no one had said anything in a while.

Michael said, “Okay, this is the door frame.  It’s some kind of scanner.  I don’t know if it scans for weapons, but I’ll try it.  You just step in,” Michael stepped in.  Jenna handed him her gun, taken from the soldier.

“Now,” Michael lifted both hands above his head, “Just lift your hands and hit the gray button.” He hit the gray button.

The metal arms detached and spun around the frame just as before.  When they returned to their resting place, the light on the other side came on and Michael stepped out, “I guess the weapons are good!”

Anna insisted that Peter go next so that he can rest.  She and Tessa helped him inside the frame.  Peter did the same as Michael without a problem, though he practically collapsed trying to leave the frame and landed in Michael’s arms.  Michael put one of Peter’s arms around him and kept him standing until Anna stepped through the scanner.  Together, they eased Peter to ground.

One by one, the others stepped through.  First, James came through, then Tessa.  When Jenna went through, she went to push the gray button and at first nothing happened.  She looked at Michael, horrified at what would happen next, but when the metal bars detached to spin, she took a deep breath.  The arms returned to their resting place and Jenna practically jumped from the frame.  Bruce stepped in the frame, raised his hands and hit the button.  The metal arms detached and began to spin.  Suddenly, the dome began to emit a bright light, a deep blood red.  It was flashing, almost like a strobe light and every bit as bright.

The frame bellowed out, “WARNING! CONTAMINANT DETECTED! WARNING! CONTAMINANT DETECTED!”

Bruce’s face cracked in a thousand places, “What do I do!?”

Tessa screamed, “Get out of there! Hurry!”

James shouted, “NO.  YOU’RE INFECTED!” He was pointing his weapon at the frame, waiting for the arms to stop.

Michael got up, “Whoa, don’t shoot!  This is Bruce!”

James’ decision was made and it was written all over his face.  He was waiting for the arms to stop spinning before he pulled the trigger.

But the arms didn’t stop spinning.  Instead, they began spinning faster.

Bruce screamed from inside the frame, “Help me.  I don’t wanna die.  Do something.”

The arms spun faster and faster.  The electricity build up was almost immediate and it could be felt.  The hair on Michael’s arms, legs, neck and head were rising. 

Bruce was starting to glow blue.  All the rest looked on and
knew
it was too late.  The arms were furiously spinning.  Tessa had her hand over her mouth, crying as she watched.

Bruce was getting brighter and brighter.  He shown and his light could be seen on the faces of his former crew.  They wanted to look away, but they couldn’t. 

“What’s happening to me?!” Bruce was shrieking, turning round and round, pleading with them. 

“Please! You gotta stop this thing!  Please somebody!”  He tried kicking at the fiberglass but his attempts were futile.

Suddenly, he backed up as far as he could go.  In his fear, Bruce tried to jump out of the frame.  The arms got him and he was half caught between the frame and the arms for only a second.  Michael winced as Bruce took hardened metal to the face and torso, again and again and again, before he was thrown back into the chamber, slumping right in the middle.  There should have been nothing but a pile of mush, but electric blue light shined through every crack on Bruce’s face, in place of the blood. The arms continued to spin with ever- increasing frequencies until they could no longer be seen. 

“IT BURNS!”  Bruce’s voice was not his own; he collapsed on the ground.  His blue glow turned into a bright energy that consumed him.  He combusted into flames which burned leisurely as the metal arms began to slow.  When they stopped at last, the arms stopped at the entrance and exit and clamped down, providing a seal.  Bruce burned for a little while longer, before extinguishing all together.

The metal arms unclamped and returned to their resting place.

Michael ran a hand through his hair.  Tears were in his eyes and Anna’s too.  Tessa sobbed quietly.  James took a deep breath and got to his feet.  After a moment, everyone else did the same.  Michael led them inside the bunker and he and Anna eased Peter onto the couch.  Then, he gave them a brief tour of everything he’d looked at before. 

No one mentioned Bruce again.  Nor did they broach the subject of what the hell just happened.

They rejoiced at the sight of the food.  James gave the shelves a brief glance but seemed more interested in the inventory manifest.  He looked over it, while everyone else ran up and down the aisles.

“Hey, guys!”  He called out

“What?!” Nobody came out to meet James.

“Guys, come look at this.”

Anna and Michael came out from the shelves, taking their time.

James pointed to a line on the manifest, “It says the last air filter change was 8 years from now.”

Anna rolled her eyes and continued to walk by James.  He followed her to the laboratory.  Jenna and Tessa came out and Michael followed out after them, shutting the door.  They all went inside the laboratory.

James immediately consulted more logs to see what they were working on, whoever
they
were.

Anna went through some research journals.  Jenna picked up the voice recorder.  She rewound it to the beginning and played it.  Michael’s blood ran cold as he and everyone else listened to the recording.  The voice recorder crackled:

“This is Jenna Olson…” Everyone turned to Jenna.

Anna snapped upright at the next voice, “and Anna Williams, here’s the deal:

If you’ve made it to the bunker, then you’re not infected.  We’re gone now.  We’re trying to stop this thing.  We’ve left copies of our research in case you can help.  Good luck.”

END

Also by Eli Frost Duham

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine