Radioactive

Chapter 9

I watch stoically as the flames of the incinerator lap the sides of the small cardboard coffin. Steven cries into his hands as Matt recites a prayer out-loud. Amy and Alex stand next to me, silently. Sadness and betrayal hangs stiffly in the air, making the room feel like it's going to snap at any moment. Matt concludes the prayer and says something that causes everyone to disperse. All I can hear is the angry crackle of the fire consuming the cardboard.

The week goes by in a blur of tears and sleepless nights. Steven has yet to come out of his office since the funeral. He hasn't talked to anyone in days. I haven't left our own room since the funeral either. Amy and Alex bring me food but all of it just sits on various tables around the room.

It's 12:00 in the morning and they are both fast asleep, but I'm still very much awake. Every time I shut my eyes, they pop right back open. Sleep caused him to die...I can't let that happen to anyone ever again.

They didn't even get to finish the mission because of me. They had only just found the power box. When I tried to save him, bullets ripped through my shoulder and tore through my leg. I passed out from blood loss after Steven tried to resuscitate him. I woke up thrashing and screaming his name...and now I can't bring myself to even say it.

I'm sitting on the couch just staring at the clock with my eyes wide open. My revolver sits on the rickety coffee table in front of me. I pick it up and point it at the door, while I imitate shooting it. I then turn it on myself and, again, imitate shooting it. My flashlight lays on the same table. I pick it up and throw on my camo jacket. I grab my gas mask and fit it on my head. I run my fingers over the stitching on it and then carefully stand up. My leg throbs as I put my weight on it but stay standing.

I limp toward the door and attach the flashlight to my jacket. I open the door as quietly as I can and step into the dimly lit hallway. I walk until I get to a portion of the bunker that is pitch black and coated in a thick layer of dust. The floor is smeared with footprints and dried blood. I shudder and step into the dark.

I periodically hear scratching noises and the sound of scrambling footsteps, but I continue walking without hesitation. I come to the giant room from before and pan my flashlight around the walls, looking for the power box. I notice a blinking red light in the far corner of the room and jog over to it.

The red light blinks softly above a locked, rusting, metal box labeled 'High Voltage'. I stick the end of my flashlight in my mouth and break open the corroded lock with the butt of my gun and rip open the door. I take the flashlight out of my mouth and scan the wire filled box.

"What the hell was I thinking....I don't know how to do this..."I whisper to myself.

I move the wires around and then finally see a small, yellow button on the bottom right hand corner of the box. Underneath the button reads in tape, 'Back up Switch'.

"That's nice." I say to myself and push the button.

A loud and violent whirring noise comes to life from behind the power box and echoes through out the room. A blinking red lights appear far above me, all over the ceiling, illuminating the chamber with an eerie glow. I smirk and close the box.

Suddenly, loud screeching rumbles through the room. I turn around and see a hunched over man standing in the middle of the room, clawing at his face. He screams bloody murder and then looks directly at me. Then, the monsters from outside the bunker come pouring in from every crevice in the chamber and they sprint at me blindly.

I lift my gun and shoot into the hoard of monsters galloping toward me. I run down the nearest hallway as fast as I can. I look behind me and see them all funneling down the hall, tripping over each other. My breathing is becoming unsteady as I continue running and my mask is fogs up. I barrel down the next hallway and come back to the giant room. My mind is in a whirlwind and I can't remember which way is back to safety. I choose a hallway on the far side of the room and rush down it.