Carrie and Alice stood at the heavy iron door, Alice with a shotgun, Carrie with her weapons belt, a crossbow, and bolts on her back. It was time to venture out again. They needed to see where the entrance to the underground sewer system was.
Zack decided he should be the one to go again, then asked for a volunteer to come with him.
Everyone knew that they had to be extra careful, looking for aliens roaming around the remains of the city. No one really wanted to go. They were afraid of getting shot and dying the same way Nick did. So far, no one had contracted what he did. Joe stepped forward, making Tracy sob.
"I'll go. I trust Carrie to look after everyone while we're away." Joe said quietly. He didn't want his friend to go alone.
"I'll do my best," Carrie told him, then turned to look at her brother, Zack. "Same as last time, we'll guard the door. If you come running back here, you'll need a way in. If something comes and finds us, it will be closed and locked."
Zack nodded in agreement. "Joe and I are taking blasters. You carry one also. Shoot to kill if they come, and just so you know, blasters don't affect their body armor, so aim for skin, preferably the face and neck."
Carry nodded, handing them both a backpack. Both men were armed with a loaded 40mm, six extra magazines in their belts, and the blasters. They each had a large hunting knife in their boots. They were ready, just in case something were to happen.
Zack and Joe walked down the narrow tunnel, stepping up to the hidden wall door and carefully sliding it open. After they stepped through, they closed it back up. They didn't want anyone finding their bunker. Blasters raised, ready to shoot, they made their way up the staircase to the ground level, watching intently for aliens or other survivors. So far, they found nothing.
Zack and Joe memorized the map to get to the underground system. They followed the streets, heading to the grate that led to the large concrete pipe that was lined with bars as stairs.
Carefully lifting the grate, they made their way down the pipe, one rung at a time. Reaching the tunnel, they carefully dropped down, blasters pointed, scanning the area for threats.
There was a sudden clang, and then a rat ran across the dirty floor, squeaking as it ran. Both Zack and Joe briefly pointed their blasters toward the noise, watching the rat run, then aimed the blasters into the darkness, where the noise originated.
A scuffing sound in the darkness, then another clang. Zack and Joe eyed each other, trying to determine what to do.
"Come out now," Zack ordered into the darkness.
Another scuff sounded this time a soft curse, then a whimper. "If your human, we aren't going to hurt you. Come out now," Zack repeated his order.
The shadows moved, then a young man around 18 stepped out. He looked like he was Hispanic. His black hair was long and dirty, filled with blood. His brown eyes were wet with tears.
Zack looked at Joe. "He looks familiar," he told Joe, then looking at the boy, "What's your name?"
"Neil. Neil Garza," he said. His voice was shaky with fear.
"Are you the only one down here?" Joe asked him, peering into the shadow behind him.
The boy shook his head. "I ran down here when they attacked." He sniffed, rubbing the bloody area of his head. "I tried to get out and fell down the pipe."
"Who's down here with you?" Zack asked.
Neil looked up, confused, so Zack continued. "Joe asked you if you were the only one down here, and you shook your head. Who is down here with you?"
Neil swallowed hard, nervously peering behind him. Zack pointed the blaster at him. "Who or what is down here with you?" he repeated, clear venom in his tone.
"One of the green guys is following me. I got away," he mumbled.
Joe looked at him. "Tell us the truth. Did you fall from the pipe, or did one of those things come after you?" Joe asked, his voice was like steel.
Neil backed away. "I fell from the pipe trying to get away. There are lots of those green aliens down here. They are looking for survivors."
"Are you the only survivor down here?" Joe asked again.
"Yes," Neil nodded vigorously.
"We can help you if you let us," Zack said quietly, not wanting to be overheard by the aliens in the tunnels. "We are a group of survivors. We were scoping this place out in case we have to abandon where we are hiding now. Do you want to join us?"
Relief washed over the boy's face. He nodded. "Please take me with you," he said, half in tears. A tear started to run down his face.
"Joe, help him up, then go behind him," Zack ordered. "Neil, please wait at the top so we can take you to our base. Don't run, or you're on your own, and those guys will most likely get you and kill you. Got it?"
Neil nodded, then let Joe help him back onto the rungs to climb the ladder. Joe followed behind him, then Zack, watching their back. The concrete pipe ladder was uneventful, a good thing; they didn't want to have to fight any of the aliens.
With Neil between them, they made it back to the base, Carrie opening the large, heavy door, letting them in. She looked at the kid with them. "I know you. Your Neil Garza, right?" Carrie asked him.
Neil stopped and looked at her. "Carrie Nelson?"
"Yes," she said, waving them in, then sealed the door locking it. "Where is your family, Neil? Where's your brother Ben?"
Neil burst into tears. "They were in the house when those ships shot it with one of those beams. There's nothing left."
Joe went to the back, bringing back an MRE for Neil and a bottle of water, handing it to him. "Eat only half of it. There are no supplies to be found, so we have to conserve and ration, or we will all starve. This is two days' worth. Make it last."
Neil nodded. "Thank you."
Zack looked up to see that everyone was present, watching Neil. Zack cleared his throat. "I don't think we can get out of the city through the tunnels. That's where we found Neil. He said that those aliens were down there with him. They're in the tunnels searching for survivors."
Neil nodded his head as he ate one of the items out of his MRE. "There were four of them; one chased me. I hid in an alcove. They're looking for survivors."
"You guys weren't followed back here, were you?" Jamie asked, panic in his tone.
Joe looked at his brother. "I walked point; Zack was watching our back. We didn't see anything."
After cleaning Neil's wounds, they set him up in base control. He was now sleeping on the couch. It was decided that, because he was new, they wanted to make sure that he was trustworthy, so they didn't give him a weapon or have him guard the heavy door to prevent the outside from coming in.
In the Middle of the night, a heavy scraping sounded on the outside of the door. All seven friends held weapons up, aiming at the door in case it opened.
Neil stood crying behind a chair, watching, terror in his eyes.
The door rattled, then suddenly, the lock clicked, releasing the locking mechanism. They watched in horror as the large metal wheel on the door began to turn...