Nox by E R Torre

Author:E R Torre [Torre, E R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780972911573
Publisher: Atomic Rocket
Published: 2012-08-28T22:00:00+00:00

27

They went down the stairs outside the office and returned to the garage’s ground floor.

General Spradlin guided Sgt. Delmont and Nox past rows and rows of vehicles. Nox noticed that beyond them, in the darker corners of the garage, were an equally large number of cargo containers. They were labeled. Some held rations, others medicines. Still others carried clothing and tools. The military was stockpiling an enormous amount of material.

“What are you doing with all this stuff?” Nox asked.

The General didn’t say. The loud voices of the crowds farther to their right drowned out any chance for conversation. An enormous group of people remained at the oversized doors leading into the garage and an equally large group moved in an orderly line to the basement doors. Everyone was escorted to the lower levels of the garage.

General Spradlin moved to a smaller door off to the side of the garage. He pushed that door open and, for the first time in a very long time, Nox felt a breeze and smelled outdoor air. She was surprised at how fresh it was. There was little hint of the smog that perpetually floated over the Big City.

Outside it was night and the stars were remarkably bright. The three were in a large courtyard. To their right the bulging line of people continued, extending from the garage entrance in a straight line some thirty feet thick and off to another entry point. The origin of the line was a fortified fence. The fence was part of a large concrete wall that extended at least twenty five feet into the air and served as the military base’s perimeter.

The base’s layout was that of an old time fort. The surrounding wall was designed to keep undesirables out. Generators stationed at the garage walls hummed loudly and were manned by armed guards. Nox wondered why a base this size needed its own electrical power supply.

Nox followed General Spradlin across the courtyard and up a ramp. Armed soldiers manned posts on walkways at the top of the ramp and along a ledge walkway on the inside of the perimeter wall. They carried sniper rifles and were on the lookout for any possible trouble.

A feeling of great unease settled over Nox.

“What happened in the city?” she asked the General.

They reached the top of the ramp and were on a walkway.

“See for yourself,” General Spradlin said.

Nox looked past the walls and toward the Big City. What she saw horrified her.

The heart of the city lay some five miles north and east of their position. It was black as the night and still as a cadaver. There wasn’t a single electric light to be seen in any of its massive structures. Several fires burned out of control and sent out thick black plumes of smoke. There were no aircraft in the sky or evidence of either trains or automobiles traveling the dark streets.

Movement came from the long line of people outside the military base. They were being processed and their belongings thrown aside before being allowed entry into the compound.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.