Page 46 of G8
Dumping the bag in the hallway, he noticed a bag sitting outside P8’s door and one outside F8’s. He hurried to join Ingrid and found her almost finished.
“I got his clothes and shoes. G8, did all of you only own two pairs of shoes?”
He went over to the chest of drawers to empty them. “Of course. We never went anywhere that required us to dress up. Why would we?” He straightened. “The world above no longer existed, remember? We were told we all had to do our best with what we had. We felt lucky we had what we did.” He had no idea how harshly he’d spoken those last words until Ingrid came over to put her arms around him. It was an awkward hug, given the barriers of their hazmat suits. He wished he could kiss her for being here with him, but he knew they’d have their chance later when they returned to the campsite.
“Is that everything?” she asked, letting him go.
“Let me check the bathroom for his personal stuff.”
Ingrid was waiting for him, holding the pillowcase she’d absconded from N8’s bed. He added the hairbrush and other personal items he’d gathered, then took the case from her before they left the room.
The others were waiting for them in the hallway. Like G8, they’d also packed their things inside their pillowcases. Ingrid laughed. “You people must be telepathically connected to each other.”
G8 responded with a chuckle. “You have no idea.”
“We need to go up top,” Chief Adams informed them. “We’re almost out of oxygen. We also need to rest a bit, rehydrate, and get a bite to eat before we come back down to check out the last two levels.
Everyone agreed it was a wise idea. G8 grabbed his and N8’s stuffed pillowcases, along with the one F8 had filled for K8. Ingrid took F8’s case due to the woman’s bad arm, and P8 slung his and T8’s over his shoulder.
They trudged up the stairs until they reached the first level. At the same time, two men were exiting the storage room, each with a starred box. The deputies informed Sheriff Korris that those were the last ones.
“What about the refrigerator truck?” Biggs asked.
“It already left to take its contents to the campsite,” one deputy responded.
As soon as they left the main building and walked outside, G8 dragged his helmet over his head and took a deep breath. “I don’t know about you guys, but this is the best smelling damn air I’ve ever smelled.”
“We know how you feel,” P8 admitted. “Speaking of feel, I’d feel a whole lot better if we got as far away from this place as soon as possible.”
“Still getting that icky feeling?” Ingrid asked.
“Still?” F8 snickered. “It never went away. It’s only gotten worse.”
“Which is why we need to get this done and over with before it gets too much later,” Biggs commented.
Korris waved for them to join him. “While I was getting us those trucks, I instructed one of my deputies to order us up some hamburgers. Hey, Tully! Is Tully back yet?”
“He got back about five minutes ago,” another deputy called out and pointed to a tent erected thirty or so feet away from where the second eighteen-wheeler was parked. He indicated the remaining truck. “There’s room for your personables, if you want to dump them in there before it takes off.”
“No, thank you,” F8 said and looked at Ingrid. “Unless they won’t all fit in your car.”
“I’m sure they’ll all fit,” Ingrid confirmed. “Let’s take them over there now before the truck departs.”
Sheriff Korris turned to head for the tent. “I’ll have everything set out for you when you’re done packing up your things.”
“Thanks, Sheriff,” G8 commented.
P8 checked behind them as they headed over to where Ingrid’s vehicle was parked. “I’m not looking forward to going back down there a second time.”
“Neither am I, but it has to be done,” G8 said. F8 shook herself, her head bowed, and he drew an arm around the petite woman’s shoulders. “Once we’re done here, we’ll never have to come back,” he promised.
“I hope you’re ri?—”
The ground shuddered, then suddenly heaved upward, as if a creature underneath it had awakened and was struggling to get to the surface. G8 reached for Ingrid with his other arm as he tightened his grip around F8.
Dirt, grass, and weeds split apart as the land around them cracked and rumbled a second time. The upheaval knocked them off their feet, throwing G8 and the others several feet into the air. As he descended, he pulled the women down on top of him, using his body as a cushion to soften their fall. Before they had the chance to assess what was going on around them, there was the muffled sound of a roar that grew in strength.
The explosion that rocked Docenti Labs blew the entire roof off the main building. Flames gushed out from the center, sending chunks of burning debris nearly a hundred yards into the cloudy sky. G8 rolled over to protect the two women as pieces rained over them. One large section of wood clipped the back of his left calf as it pinned his pants leg to the ground.
