Blood of Patriots by Terry Mixon

Author:Terry Mixon [Mixon, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yowling Cat Press
Published: 2019-07-23T04:00:00+00:00

By the time Brenda saw the approaching lights of the additional people she’d requested to come out to the site, it was dark, and the temperature had dropped significantly. It made her glad that she’d brought along a windbreaker. By dawn, it was probably going to be down into the low fifties.

She’d considered going into the base before the rest had arrived but had worried something would happen where the extra people would be extremely helpful. This wasn’t the time to rush, so she’d waited.

With the reinforcements, she now had three dozen people and plenty of camping gear. If push came to shove, she could survive for weeks off what they had.

That wasn’t going to be necessary here in the wilds of Virginia, where help was a phone call away, but if something happened inside the base and left them trapped, they might need all of the food, water, and other survival implements to make it until someone came looking for them.

By the time they were fully ready, it was after one in the morning. She carefully climbed back up into the entrance, using her bright flashlight as she started inside and looked over everything as she walked.

The tube wasn’t actually completely circular like she’d thought earlier. The area where she was walking was flattened and made it easy to keep her footing. It was also somewhat rough and provided a surface that her boots could grip. Still stone, but better than something smooth.

She’d expected to find lighting in the ceiling, but there was nothing. Perhaps the people that constructed the space hadn’t wanted anyone outside to see a light that they couldn’t explain.

The tunnel began sloping downward within five meters of the entrance, but the slope wasn’t very steep. It also curved slightly. That meant that she was quickly at a place in the tunnel where no one on the outside could have seen her.

That was when the overhead lighting units appeared. They were dark but obviously of Asharim manufacture. She expected them to turn on as she and her people proceeded, but they remained unresponsive.

Even with their lights, the tunnel felt like it was closing in around her. Some water from the outside must’ve gotten into the tunnel, because she could smell organic rot and possibly mold. It was possible something—or many somethings over the years—had used the tube as a den. They might find bones and scat ahead.

As she continued forward, the floor changed from stone into a black material that the Asharim favored for their exterior walking needs. It was nonslip and extremely durable.

After twenty minutes, Brenda estimated they were now thirty or forty meters below the surface, not even counting the hill. She thought they’d made at least one complete circle, but that was also impossible to determine without a compass reading, which she hadn’t thought to take at the start of this walk.

Ahead, she saw that the tunnel was sealed by a heavy metal door. She was not familiar with this specific style, but it was similar to ones she’d seen in the bases that Harry Rogers had discovered.

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