Chapter Eight
Taiwo frowned as he pulled down the edge of the bullet proof vest he wore which was digging into his chin. He didn’t know what was wrong with it. Maybe it was a size too big. It seemed to fit when he was standing but immediately he sat down as he did now it poked his chin.
The roar of the rotor blades powering up was a dull throb in his ears. His heart raced like an express train. This was it __ he looked around examining the cabin. If he was a betting man he’d swear most wouldn’t make it back. The seated men seemed to have the same thought because they all had frightened looks on their faces.
He sat beside the window. He watched the other helicopter powering up.
“You look like you’re about to mess your pants.”
Kemisola’s voice had a laughing quality to it. Only problem was, her face was still as expressionless and stoic as ever.
“Only a fool wouldn’t be afraid. I don’t think you’re a fool so I’d advise you DO be afraid. Mako is right __ I have seen these things in action, the worrisome thing is their numbers. Don’t take this venture lightly otherwise you might not survive it.”
“And you think I haven’t seen them in action?”
“Have you?” His voice was hard and challenging.
She sniffed turning away. Incensed he continued staring out the window.
Mako sat in front with the pilot, he gave the signal and the helicopter took off. The second one followed and they increased speed, streaking westwards towards Lagos.
Idowu looked up sniffing the air. It smelt wet, dank even. Rain was coming. A lightning bolt flashed as if in affirmation. It was followed by a rumble of thunder. He wasn’t wrong __ rain was coming. And he hadn’t gotten the supplies he hid a few miles into the forest.
He didn’t like leaving his food in one place. He looked round the tiny cave. He’d been living here for over a month undiscovered by soldiers or the infected.
He’d come across one or two exploring the forest, fortunately none had come here. But to tell the truth he didn’t know how long his good luck would last. He’d come to terms with the fact that in the very near future he might have to abandon this hill and the myriad of caves within it. So just to be on the safe side he’d left caches of food scattered across the forest in a five mile radius, mostly non perishable items like biscuits, indomie noodles, uncooked spaghetti. Yeah he’d raided a downed army vehicle. The headless man in it sure had no use for it.
What floated his boat were the many rounds of ammunition and guns he found stacked inside. He could defend himself from the infected quite well now.
The thunder rumbled again snapping him out of his thoughts. Everywhere appeared darker than usual. He stood up. If he didn’t go out now, he might not go at all. And that meant going hungry tonight. He reached down and picked up his semi automatic rifle. He examined it for a few seconds before slinging it over his right shoulder.
If he saw any game he might take another shot. Though he hadn’t had much success the two dozen other times he tried. Perhaps today might be his lucky day __ he snorted. He seriously doubted it. With his luck he probably had more chance shooting himself in the foot than getting any game. But like they said ___ if at first you don’t succeed __ his thoughts drifted as he took off into the forest at a run.
He kept up the sprint for almost ten minutes before he slowed going into a more leisurely jog. It was almost pitch black. Drops of rain started to fall. He went into a sprint again. His cache wasn’t far, a half mile at best.
He wasn’t sure when he started to hear the sounds. The hint of a growl here, a slur there and a crack, as a twig snapped underfoot. He slowed his pace pulling the rifle from his shoulder, eyes glinting with fear.
They were here ___ all around him ___ in the trees. The heavens opened, rain fell in sheets, he could barely see a thing. Twirling around in a half circle, a shudder ran down his spine when he saw more than a dozen glows light up in the dark. He crouched low, deciding then and there that it was time to return to the safety of the cave; if he could make it that is.
Firing a quick burst straight ahead, he turned, racing back the way he’d come. For a few precious seconds, he was relieved to hear no sound of pursuit. His relief was short lived however when he heard the thunder of more than two dozen footsteps racing after him.
The rain became heavier, the earth bogged up and mud slid down the slightly sloppy landscape. It was becoming difficult to run. He prayed he wouldn’t fall. The running feet were getting closer. He glanced left and saw a deep hollow a few feet away filled with water and mud.
Reaching a decision he leapt to his left, sinking knee deep into the mud. A cluster of tree branches hid his body from view. He tried to remember what the radio stations and documentaries said about the infected. The authorities weren’t sure they responded to smell. If they did he could only pray the mud would mask his scent.
They stopped ten feet away from the tree he cowered behind. Their heads were lifted as if searching for something amongst the stars. The biggest who wore a tattered blue suit stepped out from their ranks. His nose was held high and he kept sniffing intermittently as if trying to catch a scent.
Idowu held his breath. This was the moment of truth. The moment he found out if they could smell him. It wasn’t looking good so far. The infected man turned, his dull red eyes fixed in his direction.
Idowu held his breath, his heart raced as if it wanted to explode from his chest. The man took a step forward. Idowu’s fingers tightened around the gun as he prepared to fire.
The roar of rotor blades intruded on the sound of falling raindrops. For a second he felt he’d imagined it until he saw the infected react too. They screeched loudly for fifteen seconds before they took off, racing in a northwards direction leaving a cold silence in their wake.
Idowu waited almost twenty minutes before he summoned the courage to come out from behind the tree. Taking a deep breath, he swung his rifle over his shoulder looking up at the cloud covered sky for a few seconds before racing back to the camp.
Thirty minutes later
He took the long narrow corridor like opening in the centre of the hill at a sprint, passing the cave he called home and making his way to the top where the outcrop jutting out of the hill was.
He reached it in moments. Pulling small binoculars from his cavernous breast pocket, he raised it looking eastwards towards the Lagos Mainland.
The helicopter swept towards one of the tallest buildings. Several dark shapes approached from the west leaping from building to building. They were big and bulky, much bigger than any infected he’d ever seen.
Bright tracer rounds spat from the helicopter showering the building walls with bullets. Hundreds of bullets struck these dark shapes but didn’t stop them.
They closed the distance in a flash and leapt up. Everything went in slow motion. Three of the creatures smashed into the side of the helicopter and it plummeted streaking towards the roof of a smaller building.
A mushroom cloud lit the sky as it struck. He heard the faint boom of the explosion and sighed. What the hell were they doing flying over Lagos? Didn’t they realize it was a dead zone? He couldn’t help feeling sorry for the poor bastards in the helicopter. Sighing deeply, he turned returning to his cave. If memory served him well he should still have a couple of biscuits in his back pack. They’d probably be soft by now but he really didn’t have a choice. If he was wrong and the back pack was empty, he’d have to go hungry. Go figure __ at least he was alive, unlike those idiots in that downed helicopter.
Taiwo slowly came to, the roars and screams ringing out around him seemed to come from far away. His gun lay a few feet away. He reached for it and rose, staggering before he found his balance. Loud familiar cries rang out ahead. He looked up raising an arm to shield his eyes from the heat and fiery glare of the helicopter’s smouldering remains. The mask on his face was tight and uncomfortable. They all wore one. Radiation poisoning was still a real and pres
ent danger.
Kemisola was perched on the edge of the building’s roof. An infected woman approached slowly her eyes shining with hostile intent. Taiwo raised the gun firing twice. The woman’s head turned to a red pulpy mass.
Kemisola shot a look of gratitude his way but he didn’t have time to process it. Gunshots rang out behind the burning helicopter. He couldn’t see who was firing. Where was Mako? He prayed the hardened bastard wasn’t dead.
Ducking low, he raced round the burning chopper screeching to a halt when he saw Mako and two of his men firing at a group of ten infected closing in on them. He tried not to ponder on the fate of the four men also in the helicopter with them.
Before he could dwell on that further, four darkling’s approached from the north yelling their fury into the pouring rain. His eyes drifted to the rocket launcher lying a few feet away. He raced forward, picked it up and took aim.
It bucked as the missile spat out of the launcher. The fiery end streaked faster than a bullet embedding itself in the side of the building. There was a massive explosion and a maelstrom of fire, concrete and steel erupted in a thick cloud showering the ground below with debris.
The roar of the darkling’s faded as they plummeted disappearing into the gloom. Mako turned with an incredulous look on his face.
“We best get a move on __ we don’t have time.”
“No we don’t __” Another soldier said grimly. They turned facing where his eyes were cast. He faced a westward street stretching into the distance. Innumerable infected raced towards the building they were on. The din of their screeches was unbearable to the ears.
Taiwo turned taking off at a run. He reached Kemisola’s side in seconds and grabbed her arm pulling her towards the door leading into the building.
He paused for the briefest of seconds to fire a round at the lock. It shattered as the bullet struck it. The door opened with a grating groan. Flinching, he ducked in with his weapon raised.
Several steps in, he was incensed to discover Kemisola wasn’t following. He was on the verge of yelling for her when she ran in clutching the silver cylinder of prototype vaccine.
“I was afraid we lost that __” He growled.
“If we did __ getting to the LCDCP would be a complete waste of time wouldn’t it?”
He nodded in agreement moving forward quickly. A bright light burst came on behind. Mako surged to the front holding a halogen lamp.
“I am not going to ask where you got that.”
Mako didn’t even glance his way. The long corridor ended at a staircase. He paused for the briefest of seconds before starting down taking them two at a time.
Taiwo followed, his movements stiff as he readied himself to dive in front of Kemisola if need be. If she died or turned to an infected it was more or less over. He doubted the assistant doctor in the other helicopter could see the aerosol production process to completion.
Mako held up his left arm in warning. They froze, their hands tightly clenched on their weapons; prepared to start squeezing if they heard or saw something underhand. The sound of faint slurs reached their ears. They waited some more. It faded out, eventually disappearing.
Mako started to move again. Taiwo moved closer, getting as close as he could without actually running into him.
“How far do you think we are from the LCDCP?”
“At least two kilometres.”
“Jesus Christ! We’re dead!” A soldier piped up from behind.
“Shut up!” Mako snapped in a furious whisper.
The staircase ended. They were on the ground floor. Mako peered around the side of the wall. The foyer was empty. He stepped out, slowly. A terrifying roar rang out behind and an infected leaped out of the gloom, its sharp incisors aimed for his throat.
The shot came so close to his left ear he was momentarily deafened. The bullet blew a hole the size of a ping pong ball in the infected woman’s head and she fell backwards plummeting like a stone into the darkness behind. Taiwo lowered his gun slowly willing his racing heart to slow its beating.
“Thanks!” Mako growled heading towards the door leading into the street.
He paused with his hand on the aluminium frame.
“What?”
“Once we exit these doors run like hell. Is that clear?”
They nodded, their muscles tense as they prepared. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. He took off running, heading in an eastward direction.
Taiwo followed. Kemisola came behind and three other soldiers followed, one of whom was carrying the cylinder. They didn’t know how long they ran, the fortunate thing was they met no infected on the way.
The tall imposing gates of the Lagos Centre for Disease Control and Prevention came into view. It looked abandoned, with grass already starting to grow around the gate posts.
Mako paused at an intersection his back pressed against the side of a building to his right. The street ahead was empty, devoid of human or infected movement. Cars littered the street. Most had thick films of dust covering their surfaces. They’d obviously not been driven in a while.
He took a deep breath and glanced round the edge of the wall he was leaning against. Scattered dots of infected stood at varying points, their backs facing him. They had this twitchy uncoordinated movement about them. He took a deep breath and turned facing the others.
“What do you see? Is it clear?”
He shook his head slowly taking another deep breath. Their eyes fell at his words.
“So what do we do now?”
“Not sure __ I am hoping we can sneak by without alerting them to our presence.”
“Are you mad? Aren’t they looking in our direction? Of course they will see us.”
The glare Mako sent her way would have floored most men. Sadly, Kemisola wasn’t most men. She was a woman and a no nonsense one at that.
“They’ve got their backs to us OBVIOUSLY! I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise.”
“You don’t have to use that tone with me ___ just asking is all.”
Mako’s face started to blacken with rage. Sensing an explosion Taiwo instantly stepped in.
“We should go then __ am sure you all agree that the sooner we get what we want the faster we get out of here.”
Mako glared at him as he counted to three on his fingers. Once his third finger went up he darted onto the road, crouching low he ran to the gate.
Taiwo took a deep breath and raced after him. The others followed keeping as low as they could. The infected remained stationary their eyes facing the sky as if awaiting instructions from a heavenly being.
He reached the gate sliding his arm through the space between the bars to reach the bolt. It was open. His hand slid up stopping at the cold hard chain wrapped around it.
‘Now what could they do? Shooting the chain would work. The only snag with that idea was the infected would be on to them like white on rice.’ They had to consider other options.
“Maybe we could climb the gate.”
Mako paused looking thoughtful. Maybe they should. They simply had to get into the lab by all means necessary and start cooking the vaccine.
He stepped forward running his arms around the lock of the gate. His hands circled around the lock. Besides the chain there was nothing else. Still looking thoughtful he reached forward pushing the gates. The gate swung open noiselessly.
They exchanged relieved looks and snuck in. Mako went in first, waiting till the others had gone through before he closed the gate as carefully and quietly as he could.