The Z Contingency

Chapter 68

With Earl bringing up the rear in his F-150 Extended Cab, the small convoy of vehicles led by Simon in the Ford Explorer arrived at the northern edge of town in mid-afternoon. Tyler was stretched out in the back seat of the Explorer even though his leg had healed completely overnight. When Gary, Natalie, and the rest of the expedition had rejoined the others in the parking lot, they fed several small pieces to Tyler, and gave a few to each of the others, just in case. They were all amazed the next morning when they saw that the large, deep gash in Tyler's leg was almost completely gone.

Simon pulled into the parking lot of a large pharmacy on the main road going through the city, which had only recently been home to nearly five thousand residents. Now the streets were empty.

"Where is everyone?" asked Bubba as he exited Earl's truck to join the others standing around Simon. "I didn't see any signs of life down any of the streets as we were driving into town. Or unlife, for that matter."

"It could be that a lot of the residents fled as soon as they heard about the virus outbreak." Natalie suggested. "Maybe they thought the Rocky Mountain Labs had another accident like the one back a few years ago.

The Rocky Mountain Laboratories was a facility of the National Institutes of Health that included a biosafety level 4 lab. It used to be nestled in a residential area toward the southern end of Hamilton, but after an accidental release of a virus many years ago, most of the residents moved away from the immediate vicinity, even though the containment was accomplished swiftly and no one had been exposed to the virus. Since then, the areas around the lab had become largely industrial, with a vast recycling center occupying the area that once lined the entire southern edge of the lab property. "By the way, Simon. Is that the lab you're taking us to? I don't recall that it was a highly secure complex."

Simon nodded. "The lab is in that area, but it is quite secure. Excuse me for a moment." Simon stepped away from the group, pulling out his phone, and started speaking to someone.

"Who do you think he keeps talking to on the phone?" Gary asked Natalie, who shrugged in response. "They're always short conversations, and he never makes any mention of the calls afterward."

I asked him about a couple of those calls, but he didn't give me any answers, so I stopped asking," Tyler added.

As they speculated about the nature of Simon's calls, several vehicles appeared from the south, and drove into the parking lot to the left of where Simon was standing.

A tall, slim woman with long dark hair got out of the lead vehicle and walked over to Simon. Aviator sunglasses and a black, form-fitting jumpsuit completed her look. They exchanged a few brief words before turning to face the other vehicles. She made a single motion, waving them toward herself with one hand, and then turned back to Simon.

As people began to exit the cars which had just arrived, Simon and the woman walked to join the group. "This is Agent Sanchez. She and her colleagues will be helping you..." Simon paused to choose the words he wanted "get settled in at the secure facilities here in town."

"So where is everyone? Are they in those facilities too?" Tyler asked, unable to take his eyes off Agent Sanchez.

Ignoring Tyler, Simon turned to confer with Sanchez and the other agents.

Natalie glared at Tyler, then turned to Gary and whispered, "Where did everyone go? For that matter, I don't recall seeing many people at all the entire trip out here."

Before Gary could answer, Simon spoke again. "Let's make our way to our final destination. It's only a few miles south of here. The secure facilities are in a remote location of the Rocky Mountain Laboratories complex," Simon explained before nodding to Agent Sanchez.

"The access to the site is not actually in the complex itself," Sanchez explained. "We will be going to a recycling center just south of the lab facility. There's a warehouse there where the entrance is. We can park our vehicles in front of the main entrance to the recycling center, and then we will have to walk a short distance to the entrance. That will lead us to an underground hallway to the main site. We will process and brief everybody once we get there. If there are no questions, we can proceed."

"Sounds like a secret lab to me," Dean said to Earl. "I told you those conspiracy theories weren't all a bunch of bunk." Earl nodded in agreement.

"I need to get some things while we're here," Natalie announced, pointing to the drug store.

"Good idea," answered Sanchez. "Everybody, let's take fifteen minutes to go get anything you might need."

Gary leaned down to Amanda, "I'll bet they have a candy aisle. What do you say we go find it and you can pick out your favorite?" Amanda's eyes widened as she smiled and nodded.

Natalie walked over to the pharmacy, and nearly bumped her nose on the glass, clearly expecting the doors to slide open automatically. "They must be locked." Peering inside, Natalie knocked on the glass, hoping someone would let her in.

"I don't think anyone is in there ma'am," said one of the agents. He then pulled a lock pick kit from his jacket pocket, and proceeded to unlock the door. It took him less than thirty seconds to have the door open. "After you."

The group made their way down the various aisles, quickly collecting supplies they each thought they would need. Earl grabbed bandages and other first-aid items, while Bubba got all the beef jerky and other preserved food he could find. Mary stocked up on toothpaste and toothbrushes, and Tyler made his way to the refrigerated section where the beers were kept. When he thought no one was looking, he quickly grabbed a package of condoms and thrust them in his pocket.

As they reconvened at the front of the store, Natalie remembered something that she was going to need soon. "Just a second. I need to grab something. I think it's at the back of the store. I'll be right back."

"I'll help you," Gary volunteered.

"That's okay, Gary, I'll only be a moment," and with that, Natalie dashed down the aisle toward the back of the pharmacy.