Taking It Back (10 page)

At Pine Bluff Road, the next intersection, I motioned for Tommy to turn right. If the center was around here, this road should take us right to it.

We drove for another half hour, then saw a hasty sign “Illinois State Center Bravo – 1 mile.” I noted the abandoned shack near the road, which I assumed had been used for directing people to the center.

We crested a small hill and were able to see the center in the distance. It was located at the edge of a lake and corrugated rooftops gleamed in the morning sun. I could see it was roughly square in layout, surrounded by twin fences separated by a ten foot cleared area for patrols. Guard towers were placed every sixty to seventy feet with double towers at the corner. Large and small buildings were systematically laid out in an efficient pattern. I didn’t know what the individual buildings were or what their function was, but I could guess.

Surrounding the centers were cars and lots of them. They were parked in neat rows on three sides of the center and they were parked at such angles that a person could not fit between them. I wondered about that for a second until I realized they were put that way as another line of defense, funneling potential zombies into kill zones. Of course, zombies tended to do things rather single-mindedly, so they probably tried to crawl over the cars, which would screw up their orderly disposal.

I focused on the buildings and didn’t see any activity. In fact, the entire base seemed to have been abandoned. I didn’t see any movement in the visible yards, but that meant nothing. I could feel the hairs sticking up on the back of my neck and it wasn’t from the breeze out of the north. Something was not right with this place, but if it had the answers I was looking for, then it was worth the risk.

I put the binoculars away and turned back to the group assembled outside the cars.

“I don’t see any activity, but you all know what it means to let your guard down. We’re going in hot, so everybody watch your muzzles and shoot only as a last resort. We’ll stop for an equipment check before the gate. Any questions?”

Tommy spoke up. “If we’re expected at Coal City, why are we stopping here? Chances are anything left has been looted a long time ago.”

I nodded. “You’re right, I’m sure everything is gone of value. But this is the only place where we might be able to get some answers. What the hell happened to our government? What happened to our military? If these centers were to be manned by state guards, where did they go? Was there a national fall back line we missed? What about other countries? Who’s left? I don’t expect to find all the answers, but I hope to find out something. I’d hate to think we’re killing ourselves just trying to survive when the rest of the survivors are living safe and well just a few miles away.”

Tommy nodded with the rest of the group and we piled back into the cars to see what we could find out. We would likely turn up nothing, but it was worth a look.

We drove up to the front of the gate and I was surprised to see that it was wide open. I expected some sort of barricade, but there was none. The fence was ten feet high with razor wire topping the edge and there was a second fence inside the first. The area in between was covered in fine rock and I could see boot prints pressed into the gravel as soldiers went about their patrols. I could also see what looked like bare footprints and dragging marks in the gravel as well. The grass surrounding the front of the center was flattened down, as if it had been trampled by a thousand feet. A trail led away to the south, but I paid it little attention.

We turned the cars around for a quick exit if we needed it and I figured to leave the vehicles running. We weren’t going to be longer than ten or twenty minutes and the sun was getting higher in the sky. I wanted to get to Coal City as soon as possible without spending the night in an unsecured area.

Once the cars were ready we checked weapons and loaded chambers. Magazines were secured and topped off if needed and clothing was checked for rips and loose material. I hunkered down into the gravel of the driveway and drew a crude map of the complex as I had seen it from the hilltop.

“Okay,” I said, pointing with the stick I had used. “We’re here at the front gate. Back here,” I pointed to twin rows of small buildings, about twenty in total, “are what I assume was the housing for the citizens who made it here. Jason, you and Casey check these buildings, but don’t dig too deeply. Sarah, you and Martin and Rebecca should check out these larger buildings here.” I pointed to the huge buildings in front of the housing units. “Charlie, you check out these buildings here, I am going to assume they were barracks for the soldiers. Keep an eye out for ammo or weapons.” Charlie nodded, adjusting his pack and getting an empty duffle bag from the car. “Tommy, you check these two buildings here.” I pointed to another large building and two smaller ones. “But keep an eye out for any useful intelligence.” I pointed to the last building. “I’m going to check out this building here, I assume it is an administration building of some sort.”

I stood up and checked my watch. “We’re gone in twenty minutes, whether we find anything or not.” I pulled on my balaclava and adjusted my goggles. “Let’s go.”

We split up and headed in different directions, everyone making as little noise as possible. I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary, but while I thought that was normal, it suddenly occurred to me why my senses were tuned up. I didn’t hear
anything
. No birds, no insects,
nothing.

I stopped in front of the admin building and looked around. I could see Charlie moving towards the barracks and Tommy heading towards what looked like a garage. Neither of them seemed to think anything was out of the ordinary, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong here.

I moved into the two story building and the light from the front windows was enough to illuminate the interior. The building was exactly what I thought it was, with a large central area surrounded by offices. Several hallways lead to the back of the building and I guessed that people were herded into the offices, their information taken, and then they were assigned a space in the housing buildings. It seemed very efficient, which struck me as odd for a government facility. I followed several colored lines on the floor, and most of them led to the outside, although one led to another part of the building. I followed that one to a flight of stairs and headed up. At the top of the stairs was an enclosed guard station and my sense of unease became heightened as I stepped on several spent shell casings. Someone had been shooting at something and I had a feeling I knew what they were shooting at. Bringing my rifle up to the ready, I pushed the door open and entered the hallway.

It was darker up here than downstairs, there was only a couple of skylights providing any light for the hallway. I walked slowly down the hall, passing by doors that had odd names on them, like Biolab 3, Specimen room A, Cross Contact Room. I had no desire to open any of the doors, figuring whatever might be in there was better off staying there. I was interested in the door at the end of the hall.

As I moved down the hall, my foot kicked something on the floor, causing a pinging sound to ring off the walls. I thought I heard a noise in response, but when it didn’t repeat, I figured it was a mouse or something.

I reached at the door and figured this was the place for answers. The door read “State Center Bravo – Lt. Colonel Rickerson,” and it seemed logical that Rickerson, whoever or wherever he was, would have some sort of information that might be useful

The door opened with a slight squeak and two desks flanked the door. This small office looked like it was for secretaries, since there was another door on the back wall. The room was sparse and utilitarian, having little more than the desks, chairs, computers, and file cabinets. I didn’t bother with the file cabinets, they probably didn’t have what I was looking for anyway. I did notice there were long scratch marks on the interior door’s wood frame and that added another clue as to what happened here.

I tried the door, but found it locked. I took the butt of my rifle and tapped the glass, the sound seeming enormous in the quiet building. I listened carefully, but didn’t hear anything else. Looking into the room through the hole I had made, I didn’t see anything off kilter. I reached into the hole and pushed on the handle, opening the door.

The office was neat and tidy with a large view of the compound. The sunlight was a welcome relief to the dark of the building and I circled the desk to see if I could find anything.

Boy, did I ever. I turned the high-backed chair around and jumped back as a corpse fell towards me. It thudded to the floor and didn’t move. Once my heart calmed down, I approached the body cautiously. Not seeing any movement, I put the rifle barrel into its shoulder and turned the corpse over. One look told me this one was dead for good. The man had a single bullet hole above his left ear and what was left of his brains was scattered on the far wall. I wondered if this suicide was related to the scratches on the door as I pulled the Beretta out of his hand, tucking it away for future use if needed. A quick search of the office revealed a laptop, which I took, two binders labeled “Communications”, and another binder labeled “Solutions”. I had no idea what might be in that one, but my curiosity was piqued. I figured if the laptop could be fired up, maybe there were files that might shed some clues on the world’s situation. I found a small box of ammunition for the Beretta, so that was a plus.

I packed up the binders and ammo and tucked the Beretta into a side pocket. I heard something, but it didn’t register as important. I looked out the window and I could see Tommy walking back from the building he had checked out. He was dragging something on the ground, but from that distance I couldn’t tell what it was. I couldn’t see anyone else, so I figured they were busy.

I left the office and headed towards the hallway. I would look through the information later. I opened the door to the hallway, then quickly closed it again. The empty hallway I had walked through earlier was now filled with ghouls. The noise I had made earlier must have stirred them. The two in front who turned to look at me when I opened the door were in sorry shape, being little more than emaciated skeletons. But their intent was clear as they stumbled towards the door with clawed hands reaching out for me. They were dressed in filthy hospital gowns, so I wondered what was going on in this building. I locked the door and backed away, bringing up my weapon as dead hands started to beat on the glass. I mentally kicked myself as I watched the glass I had broken start to develop cracks from the undead onslaught. I could see more hands start to pound the door and I knew I had little time.

I moved one of the secretary’s desks in front of the door, then moved the other one on top of the first one. The desks were cheap metal government-issue garbage and not much good for anything, but I just needed a little time. The glass broke as I levered the second desk into place and I shoved the grasping hands back with it. I ran back to the inner office just as the horde of hands shoved the top desk out of the way and corpses began to squeeze through the opening, tearing their skin and clothing on shards of glass still embedded in the door.

I didn’t wait for more. I closed the inner office door and slid the heavier desk in front of it. I didn’t have much time and needed to get out of here fast. I figured I could make it out the window since I was only on the second floor. I grabbed the office chair and threw it at the window and watched the damn thing bounce off and clatter at my feet.

Well, try, try again as the sounds of the outer door crashing open and the desks being shoved out of the way filtered through. I grabbed the chair and threw it harder, causing only a small crack in the glass.

“Fuck this.” I said as dead hands started to pound on Rickerson’s office door, shaking the desk. I drew my SIG and fired two shots through the glass, the reports sounding unbelievably loud in the office and causing the Z’s to groan and scrabble at the door all the harder.

I picked up the chair again and hurled it through the window, the glass finally shattering outward and cascading down like sharp rain. I looked out the window and ducked as Tommy raised his rifle at me. He didn’t shoot and I poked my head up again to see him raise a tentative hand in my direction. I waved back and climbed out the window as the desk gave way and ghouls started falling through the door.

I hung down for a second, then let go, falling about ten feet and landing in a pile of leaves. I looked up to see three zombie heads staring down at me and I scrambled to my feet to get some distance in case they decided to follow me. I walked backwards towards Tommy and the two of us just watched as the office filled to capacity with dead people. They milled around the room, not really understanding where their meal went.

“Find what you’re looking for?” Tommy asked, not taking his eyes off the zombies.

“Don’t know yet. Got some binders that may have some answers, but there were some labs up there that might have some real interesting information” I said.

Tommy raised his eyebrows. “Labs?”

“Yeah, some strange things on the doors like Cross Contact and such,” I said.

“Creepy.”

“Yeah.”

I checked my watch and we saw Charlie heading back our way. He was carrying a small bundle and moving quickly towards us. When he reached our position he stopped and looked back. Apparently what he saw was good news to him because he visibly relaxed.

“Well, that was close,” Charlie said, putting the bundle on the ground.