Steven Konkoly - Event Horizon

“Durham Three-Two!”

“This is Durham Three-Zero. First transmission scheduled for zero-five hundred (0500). Stand by for five minutes, please.”

“I told you he was Special Forces,” said one of the students. “Parent, my ass.”

Alex dismissed the comment and turned up the volume. “No. Negative. SPOTREP. Whatever the fuck you people say!” said Ed.

Something was wrong.

“Take a deep breath, Durham Three-Two, and send your report.”

“The headquarters was just attacked from all sides. I had bullets snapping right over my head,” hissed Ed over the radio.

“Can you estimate the number of hostiles?” said Alex.

“Every gun on the perimeter started shooting at something. Multiple groups. One of the SPOTREPs mentioned a group of four with rifles. It’s all quiet now.”

“Understand. You’re still in the safest place possible. Stick close to the marines and cease transmitting. I did not find either of the kids at Boston University. It looks like Ryan bugged out right after the shockwave hit. I’m moving to the second rendezvous location. Will report again at 0600 or upon arrival, whichever comes first. Switch to our backup broadcast channel. Durham Three-Zero, out.”

He put the radio back into the pouch.

“Is something wrong?” said the student leader.

“Everything is wrong.”

A powerful flashlight illuminated the walls of the hallway to the right of the lobby.

“Who’s watching the stairwell door?” Alex asked quietly, shifting his stance to face the shaking light.

“Which one?” said Piper.

“The one I used,” he whispered.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back.

“Shit. Move this way and don’t make a sound,” he hissed.

Alex snatched the red chemlight from the floor and pocketed it, corralling the group toward the hallway opposite the new light source.

“Get inside any room on this side, and lock the door. Let’s go. Where’s the other stairwell?” he whispered, aiming his rifle across the lobby.

“Down there. There’s a door on the left side, past the lounge,” said Piper, pointing down the long, murky passage.

“Does the lounge connect on both sides?”

“Yes. Same with the stairwell.”

Students scrambled through the darkness, pouring into the rooms and shutting the doors. Alex made a mental map of the dormitory floor. Two long hallways ran parallel to each other, connected by the elevator lobby, lounge and second stairwell vestibule. Three points of access to this hallway and only one viable escape route.

“So, what’s the plan?” she said, peeking around the corner with him.

“Get into a room, and don’t open the door,” he said, crouching. “I’m going for the second stairwell.”

“You’re ditching us?”

“If this is the same group that followed me from the river, you’ll be glad I left,” said Alex.

“What are we supposed to tell them?”

“Tell them I searched one of the rooms and took off, or tell them everything. It doesn’t matter. Gotta go,” he said and dashed across the hallway.

He reached the other side as a concentrated beam of light spanned the elevator lobby.

“Freeze! Step into the hallway with your hands above your head!”

Alex stopped long enough to see that the beams of light had settled on Piper, who covered her eyes with one hand and raised the other.

“Both hands!”

Alex flipped his night vision goggles down and sprinted away from the lobby, toward the opposite end of the hallway. He passed a door labeled “WOMEN,” followed by an unmarked door, which he pushed inward. Several comfortable-looking chairs and a long couch faced a flat-screen television mounted to the wall. Two round tables with chairs sat beyond the couch. Wrong door. He started to back into the hallway when a light appeared under the stairwell door. Alex ducked inside the lounge and shut the door quickly and quietly. Crouched in the pitch darkness, he drew his suppressed pistol and remained absolutely still.

“You got anything!” someone yelled outside the door.

He couldn’t hear the reply over the high-pitched screaming. His grip on the pistol tightened. The shrieking intensified, followed by crying.

“Open your doors and get into the hallway!” another voice boomed.

Alex crossed the room, careful not to bump any of the furniture, and listened at the far door. Hearing nothing, he cracked it open and stared directly ahead at the wall, interpreting the light. The green image of the cinderblock wall shimmered but didn’t flare, giving him the confidence to open the door and verify that the hallway was empty. The hallway near the elevator lobby pulsed bright green, almost washed out by the powerful flashlights. He heard the men pounding on the students’ doors and yelling threats.

He edged toward the lobby, knowing damn well he should leave. He couldn’t skip out now, not after dropping a dangerous enemy right at their doorstep. He couldn’t let the new world order play out on these kids tonight. They had a whole lifetime ahead of them to deal with the newest form of Darwinism that emerged from this disaster. Alex continued, walking heel to toe, constantly checking behind him. No plan materialized as he edged closer to the corner. The sharp sound of multiple slaps caused Alex to grit his teeth.

“I know he was here! I’m not blind!” said an angry male voice. “None of us saw him leave the building!”

“He was only here for a few minutes. He was looking for something in that room. I don’t know if he found it,” Piper whimpered.

“You better not be lying to me,” he grunted. “Get those kids out of their rooms! Shoot the door open if you have to!”

Alex instinctively backed up and crouched, expecting one of them to run across the lobby, but no one came. The pounding intensified in the other hallway, followed by heated shouting. This was his last chance before the hallways filled with students. He holstered the pistol and gripped his rifle, disengaging the safety. Finishing one more scan of the dim hallway behind him, he flipped his NVGs out of the way. A quick peek around the corner gave him hope. Two men dressed in woodland camouflage and tactical vests stood in the lobby with Piper, one of them holding her against the wall by her long blonde hair. The second man shined a flashlight in her face with one hand and gripped her neck with the other.

“He didn’t leave. My people came up both stairwells,” spat the man holding her hair.

“He left over fifteen minutes ago!” she yelled.

Alex emerged and triggered the rifle flashlight. The 150-lumen beam blinded them, and they instinctively turned their faces away from the searing light. Alex fired one bullet at each of their heads, dropping both men to the floor. He deactivated the light and grabbed Piper, pulling her into the hallway before the rest of the militia group could investigate.

“Gerry? Ted? What’s going—”

“They’re dead!” screamed another voice.

“What the fuck are you talking—shit!”

Alex leaned out and aimed at the rightmost corner, hoping to catch the last voice in the open. He centered the red tritium dot on a partially obscured torso and fired twice, yielding an agonized screech.

“Get to the student lounge, quick,” he whispered to Piper. “Don’t open the door.”

He followed her at half-speed, keeping his rifle trained at the corner they had just abandoned, until he bumped into her.

“We’re at the lounge,” she whispered.

Alex lowered his NVGs and gently pushed the door inward, checking the room for surprises.

“It’s clear. I need you to follow the wall to your immediate left and keep going until you hit the corner. You’ll stay there until I come back for you. Understood?”