Disclaimer: It's been taped to a pillar charge, go look for it there. Read on to see what a pillar charge is...
Authors note: Thanks for the positive vibes guys. Remember what I said about a rollercoaster back in chapter 21? Well, hold onto your knickers...
Chapter 24
The hallways of the hospital no longer echoed with the screams of the devoured. Instead they were silent, save the dripping of blood and the occasional tinkle of shattering glass. The fledglings were still coming into their powers and had for the moment, retreated to the basement cell area with their master, content to curl up in one cell, lying on and around each other. Now that they were no longer mindlessly consumed by thirst, their maker was teaching them the beauty of being able to commune with each other by forging mental bonds – by the sharing of their blood. They lay enraptured by this new experience, consumed by the voice of their master that resonated through all of their minds.
Except one.
She had been hearing voices for as long as she could remember and had become very good at tuning them out. She wandered through the wards, indulging in a bit throwing things through glass just to hear it tinkle. She ignored the ghouls, knowing that she'd send them for more food when she was ready. Briefly she touched on what her master was busy with and mentally shied away, it was too much like what her strange Uncle Jack had done to her.
Skipping through the hallways, she hummed a tuneless ditty as she looked for more things to play with.
It had been her first helicopter ride and Seras desperately hoped it would be her last. With her preternatural hearing, even the headset had not kept the scream of the engines and the beating of the rotors out of her head. She and Josh had been the last team to be dropped off and they were busy setting up their gear. Seras didn't have to set the sights on a scope, but she was finding the long barrel something of a challenge to get comfortable with. Eventually she used her strength to knock out part of the low wall on the roof, and lay down flat. This arrangement suited her best and she began to lay out spare ammunition within easy reach for reload.
Josh was impressed at the way she dealt with the wall and was secretly glad that she was on their side. His approach was a little different to hers, preferring to rest his rifle on the wall, sitting cross-legged. He was laying out his ammunition as well. He grinned as he thought about the conversation he'd just had with Seras. They had started to set up when he casually asked her to come round to the right side of him, rather than the left.
No." She said, without thinking. Taking up position on his right would put her right in the path of his rifle's ejection port and dodging hot brass casings was not her idea of fun. The look on his face made her realise that she had just spoken the rest of her thoughts out loud and she turned red. Josh burst out laughing and just held out his weapon, not bothering to speak.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "So that's what he meant by lefty."
Seras understood the funny comment Hector had made when talking about pairing them up. Josh was obviously a left-eye dominant shooter, and so his rifle's ejection port had been adjusted to the left, ensuring that he was not hit in the face by the same cases that she had been concerned about. It was a nice piece of customisation and she had no doubt at all it was more of Jane's handiwork. Mollified, she had moved which led them to where they were now.
She studied his ammo layout, so that she knew what he was using. Sometimes firing the same rounds wasn't a great idea, especially if they were explosive. His face took on a sombre cast as he laid out two cartridges, both with red stripes down the casing. They were placed slightly apart from the rest and he sighed heavily as he placed them.
"Something wrong?" she asked, knowing him well enough that sighs were not common to him.
"It's a long story, and I'd rather not tell it now." He said.
"Sure." Embarrassed that she had pried, she turned away to peer out into the night when she felt his hand on hers, warmth radiating even through his gloves. She turned back to him.
"I appreciate that you asked." His smile was a warm as his hand and her awkwardness faded.
*BANG*
"Target down."
"There's another one coming through the bushes. I've got it."
*BANG*
"Nice shot, you got it right between the eyes."
"Shut it you two. Now go and get the bodies."
"What?"
"You hear the Major, no evidence. All bodies have to be dragged into range of the fire."
"So we have to drag what we kill?"
Muttered curses followed as one of the perimeter patrol units gathered up their dubious prizes and carried on slowly through the dark, making sure the only thing moving was them.
Squatting in the far corner, the two demolitionists, Tim and Oliver were checking over their supplies. Reaching out, Oliver snagged the bag that had been thrust at them with a curt:
"Don't fuck up, don't get dead and you both owe me a drink."
They peered into the duffel bag, looked up at each other and grinned. They were already carrying large amounts of ordinary explosives, but these were going to make things just a little easier.
They had holed up in one of the hospital storage buildings and were planning their pathway in. The men that were going to go in with them were covering entrances, taking a quick smoke and generally standing around looking dangerous and bored. No one looked at the sweat dripping down the sides of faces and if a cigarette trembled between fingers as it was lit, no one said a word.
The two welders were also crouched with Tim and Oliver, along with the commanders of the insertion teams. Building schematics were spread across the floor between them, fingers rapidly pointing and conversations running like rapid fire. Tim ran his fingers across a bottom section of the map and then all the way up.
"The oxygen tanks and the gas mains are here, in the sub-basement. I reckon we put at least two pipe cleaners there. That'll start the explosion up the building. Then if we go down the central elevator shaft, placing the rest, that'll make sure of the outward blow that we need."
"What about weakening the structure so it comes down?"
"That's where those lovely balls of hell come in. We need to do the support pillars in the sub-basement, on the first floor, third and forth. The weight of the building should do the rest. What do you suggest for the pillars?"
Scratching his chin, Oliver considered the plans and mentally added up the amount of concussion needed to fracture concrete and steel. He made a see-sawing motion with one hand and said:
"Even after clearing with the balls and suppression from the troops, we won't have time to be elegant. Straight up dynamite packs. Tape them on, run like fun and have these guys weld up the doors behind us."
He jerked his thumb at the welders, and continued.
"The crush of the fall will deal with most of the ghouls and the blow-out from the pipe cleaners should ensure enough fire to eliminate the remains along with any unlucky survivors.
Tim turned to one of the welders and asked:
"You're both carrying portable gear, but how long will it actually take to seal the fire doors?"
The welders took a look at the list of building specs that were laid out along with the plans and then one of them said:
"We're planning on using strips of plate steel to seal the doors, two on each set. Shouldn't take more than five minutes a door, but we're going to need man power to carry it. We're carting that welding gear on our backs and we'll need free hands to work fast."
The insertion team leaders then took over the conversation.
"Okay, so team one goes in at the service bay, using the first ball to clear the stairs so they can start in the sub-basement. Plant the cleaners on the tanks and scram. Because of the access stairs, we'll be going left to right. Clear the ground floor with the ball, weld the door shut behind us, suppress the ghouls while one demo places charges and then out the right side door and weld that shut too."
The other soldier then chimed in.
"Team two will drop in from the roof elevator access, pass the fifth floor while laying pipe-cleaners and come out on the fourth. This'll be harder because we're in the middle of the floor, but we'll toss a ball out first. That should give us enough time to do the same there as team one. Pop back into the shaft and slide down to third."
"So what do we do about the third floor?" asked Tim. "Because that's the most important floor. It's the point where we need to do the most damage."
"We'll be meeting there. Use one ball for clearance, and with us at full strength, it should give you guys enough time to lay extra charges. Run like hell out the other side and weld it up tight."
"What about ghouls in the stairwells?" asked Jack, one of the welders.
"One of the ground teams will be coming in after we do the first floor to clear a path for us."
George, the other welder cleared his throat and asked:
"Please explain what 'pipe cleaners and balls of hell' are? You seem to be basing an awful lot of this plan on them."
"Sorry, we're so used to them; we forget that they're not common." Said Tim ruefully. He reached into the duffel bag and came out with a metal canister about the size of a Pringles tube, which he handed to Ollie and then brought out what looked like a soccer ball made of barbed wire.
Oliver hefted the tube and explained:
"This is an explosive that's designed to ignite explosive gases or liquids in pipes and have fire run along them. We've got natural gas and oxygen to use here and that's going to be spectacular."
"And the other thing?" asked George.
Tim gingerly held the wire ball, trying not to get stabbed by the barbs. He grimaced and said:
"It is exactly what it looks like. It's essentially a grenade, which is wrapped in steel shrapnel and held together by barbed wire. When it goes, it shreds everything it can get. Has a thirty second time once the pin's been pulled, so roll it fast and duck. But you won't be handling these at all. "
"Thank God." Muttered Jack, simultaneously wondering whose savage mind created such things and secretly being glad to be somewhere between the soldiers and the bombers.
"How are we going to set off the explosives?" asked Commander Frost. "We'll need time to get out of the building and range of the fire."
"The cleaners have to go first, so we'll wire them together with a few remote detonators. The same for the pillar packs. But essentially it'll be like dominoes, once one goes, they all go." replied Tim.
"But I want one of the commanders to carry the detonator; after all, it'll be your men coming out last." He added.
"Sounds like a plan." Commander Ives nodded firmly. "Let's get the teams ready. Who's going down the shaft?"
"Me."
Tim spoke in a tone that brooked no argument and Oliver shrugged and began assembling the pillar charges. The commanders went over to brief the rest of the men and the welders did one last check of their own equipment.
Because their attention was focused solely on the tasks at hand, none of the men in the building noticed the sudden drop in temperature. Nor did they see the writhing shadows crawling up the walls. And none of them felt the dark and seething power that passed them by.
But Seras did. She jerked her head in the direction of the out building and grinned like a maniac.
Her master had arrived.