Steel Virus (2017)

Final

The soldiers backed out of the room and tried to close the door. But it wouldn't budge. The door system was on lock: every door was being held open and there was no one in the security room with access to lock the facility down.

The clamber of metal feet grew faint as the soldiers ran. They had notified their commander of the possible bomb that would go off. But that wasn't quite right.

John looked down in horror as he knew what would happen next. The depressurization alone would be enough to kick some of the "Project" onto Emry's skin. There would be no saving him.

John ran to find the security chief or Catherine. They had to shut down the facility before the air conditioning or elevator shaft let escape even a single nanobot.

John heard a gurgled shout from behind him. Emry must have gotten back up. Maybe the bullets weren't lethal, or maybe he just passed out from shock. Either way, he was gone. John knew that even he might already be a dead man, too. Like small flecks of dust, "Project Conversion" could be seen in numbers and would float in the air after the slightest movement kicked it up. John saw how far away the case fell and opened from where Carl had tripped. It didn't matter.

"Catherine! Where the hell are you?!" John raised his voice as he ran back towards the administration section.

There was a man's voice replying to his own. "Who's there? Are you armed?"

John ran into the office and was stopped by one of the soldiers from earlier. "You, from earlier. What happened to the bomb?"

"It's not a bomb!" John tried to press past the soldier.

"Sir, just come with me. We'll take care of the threat. They're sending in a team now."

"You don't understand! We need to get out of here! NOW!"

The exoskeleton suit gave the man far too much strength for John to break past. The metal bars and joints around his uniform couldn't be budged by him until the soldier moved himself.

John gave up and stated calmly, "Thousands or more are in extreme danger. There is a, virulent, disaster that was dropped and let loose. It will travel through the air conditioning and eventually outside. We MUST close this entire facility off. NOW!"

"Alright sir, I think I understand. Let me notify everyone else..." He pressed a flushed metal switch on the edge of his glove, right above his index finger. "All units: Biological threat. Suggest retreat. Extreme danger!-"

John took the chance to raise his voice to be heard through the microphone, "It's like a virus! You won't know you're infected right away but after five minutes, it becomes obvious. It is carried in the air! We have to close all vents and the elevator immediately! It's probably already halfway there! We need to quarantine this place. If we don't thousands...maybe millions of lives are at stake. This is not a normal virus: it's meant for mass production. It's a man-made small scale robot that finds material and reduces it! It will convert proteins down for reuse...even a live human! It doesn't care what it takes parts from!"

From above ground, the captain nodded as he listened to the explanation. He turned to Catherine and the newly arrived, George.

"Can we make it back down there in time?"

Catherine shook her head.

George started walking as he said, "I'll shut the elevator doors."

Catherine asked the captain, "Do you have anything we can use to seal the cracks for now? And the vents?"

"We can bury some tarps and flag the areas...that'd be best solution I can think of." He turned and waved at several officers that were standing nearby. "Go get our remaining squads together and take out their tarps and blankets. Cover all the vents we've found and then bury them with dirt. Send me a few men for these doors here."

The three nodded and split up, speaking to anyone nearby and gathering groups.

He then turned back to Catherine as the security chief uncovered a small box and twisted one of his keys into it. "We need to get you out of here, just in case."

Catherine followed him as he walked a few steps toward the landing zone.

Then, the captain stopped to confirm, "How many vents are there? We found three."

Her face grew wide. "Four. There's four!..WHERE ARE THE THREE?"

From fifty meters away, Rodger got to work as he had been instructed over the radio. His pack was a little lighter now with the plastic tarp and cloth blanket out. With the folding shovel removed from the side, it was even lighter.

He grunted as he got to work digging up enough dirt why two others removed the fallen foliage and got to work securing the cover over the vent. It was awkward trying to tied down the large sheets over a miniature well-shaped opening when even a small, arched roof was included.

From the radio, Rodger heard shouted, "HAS ANYONE FOUND A FOURTH VENT? ANY ABLE BODIED: SEARCH NORTH NORTHWEST! BRING TOOLS AND SECURE IT! ONE HUNDRED METERS NORTH NORTHWEST FROM LANDPOINT!"

One of the two Rodger had been with stood up and emptied out their pack. She then took her own shovel, tarp and blanket and put all three inside. Rodger set down his shovel as she walked to him.

"Rodger, take these and head to the location. We will finish here." She smiled with only a sliver of fear.

"Okay," he said.

On the way to the helicopters, the captain asked Catherine, "You know how this weapon works, yes?"

"Of course," she replied.

"Good. We need to have you help explain the situation here. This entire area need to be cleared and quarantined by as many countries as are able to help. Including my country, the United States."

Back in the security room, John stood hunched over the long desk. He didn't have the current passcode to log into the security control, but he remembered what the passwords were like. Maybe he could guess the current one.

While he was focused on locking the doors and closing the vents, began to feel a strange tingling sensation on his tongue. And then in his chest, making him cough.

Fear drove him to instead try harder. John began to stumble from the sharp pain in his chest and the burning on his skin. He could hardly breathe, but he fought past it to take a deep breath.

Switching on the intercom, he announced through all the speakers within and just outside the facility, "It's...made it...to...the security...office."

He couldn't draw any more air to continue. His lungs were already torn apart. He passed out from the lack of air soon after.

Above, Rodger finished tying off the temporary cover and went to carry dirt to bury it. It would take a lot of dirt but he didn't mind. Three others were there helping, each with a shovel of their own. With the last vent sealed, everyone would be safe. Though, Rodger didn't really hear what exactly it was that they had to bury inside the place.

Catherine took a step up into the helicopter as it began to spin its blades to fly.

She didn't want to think about how bad things may yet get, but it was hard not to feel the guilt. Someone right under her nose must have been responsible for the various issues of late. Catherine grew frustrated with herself as she came to grips with her ignorance. Someone probably bought out the sponsor and who knows how many staff members, she figured. But it was too late.

The captain spoke to his remaining forces through the radio, "Guard each vent and the exit shaft and await further orders."

He then spoke to Catherine, "Let's get you out of here. We need to warn everyone about this disaster site and get help setting up a quarantine."

As they were lifted up and toward the nearest city, Rodger stood with his rifle readied. He began to feel an itch grow across his skin after he had a sudden cough.