Brian Keene by The Rising

Author:The Rising [Rising, The]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-03-21T22:35:26.377000+00:00

HAVENBROOK NATIONAL LABORATORIES

TOMORROW'S FUTURE TODAY

1IELLERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY Baker remembered passing by it when he'd escaped from Ob and fled south. Since then, somebody had vandalized the sign. Some of the words had been blacked out and the garish, spray painted letters now read:

HELL

TOMORROWS PEAJ>

HELL, PENNSYLVANIA

AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY

ENTER. MEAT

They stopped at the entrance. The security fence stretched away on both sides, and the guard post was unmanned.

Schow's smile was tight-lipped. "Welcome to our new home, gentlemen."

"Looks deserted." Gonzalez observed.

"Not according to our friend here." Schow patted Baker on the head, and the scientist pulled away from him.

The rest of the convoy rolled up behind them. During the attack, they'd lost two Humvees and three civilian trucks. Schow had not yet been given exact figures on how many men hadn't survived, but he considered the probable estimates acceptable losses. The only thing that angered him was the irreplaceable loss of the helicopter.

At his order, the tanks crept forward, turrets leveled at the entrance. Nothing moved.

Page 220

279 "We've stopped," Frankie said. "Get ready. As soon as they open those doors, we make a break for it."

"They'll have guns-" Julie argued.

"We've got one too," Frankie interrupted her, "and besides. I'd rather swallow a bullet than another one of these pig's dicks." She turned to face the other two women.

"I heard that," a Puerto Rican woman named Maria nodded. "I've got your back."

"Me too," agreed the other. "I'm ready."

"What's your name again?"

"Meghan."

"Alright," Frankie turned back to Julie. "Maria and Meghan are with me on this. Are you? Because if not, Julie, then you're nothing more than the whore they want you to be."

Anger flashed across Julie's face, then slowly subsided.

"I'm no whore."

"Then be a warrior, god damn it. Survive. Live!" Frankie aimed the pistol at the door, and they waited.

"So," McFarland asked, "do we just drive through the front door?" Schow's laughter was short and clipped.

"What do you think, Professor?" He grabbed a fistful of Baker's hair and jerked his head upward. "Look at me when I address you! What do you suggest? Is there anything we should know about before we proceed?"

"I'm not telling you anything!" Baker snorted, then spit on him. His eyebrows arched, Schow calmly wiped the spittle from the silver eagle on his shoulder.

"Then we have no further use for you."

He yanked the pistol from his holster.

280 "Colonel Schow, this is Charlie-Two-Seven." Silva picked up the handset and looked at the officers questioningly. Page 221

McFarland grabbed it from him.

"Go ahead, Sergeant Michaels."

"Sir, we've got the remnants from that orphanage coming up on our rear flank. We thinned their numbers during the last skirmish, but I suspect that some of our men are now with them."

"How far back?"

"A couple miles. They're coming on foot. Sir, there's enough of them that we probably don't want to be caught out here in the open." Still clutching both Baker's hair and the pistol, Schow nodded his head to McFarland.

"Have one of the tanks go through the gate first. Tell them not to knock down that fence.

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