The Secret Bunker Trilogy: Part One: Darkness Falls (13 page)

They both believed that the entire scenario was for real. They carried out the mission with complete conviction and
commitment
In fact, they would never know that it was just a simulation.
They were test subjects Zero-97/4 and Zero-98/4.
Just another test.

A series of metrics, measurements and data that would feed into the
program and get them towards their 99.9% outcome. In actual fact it was 100%, but in scientific and data terms, the tiniest
margin for error was always left. Like the ‘Act of God’ in the home insurance.
Wriggle room.

The metrics were so accurate by this stage that he was almost bored
with the predictability of the outcome he was about to see played out
before his eyes. But then he got the surprise of his life. A jolt out of complacency that was to give him a solution all those
years later.
He’d just found his 0.01%

Attitudes towards Governments vary throughout the world, but on the
most part, we accept who’s in charge and that they pretty well run our
lives, certainly the most important bits. There’s ‘us’ and them - and whether you live in a democracy or under
a totalitarian regime, the Government lies mostly on the edges of our
day-to-day lives, yet defines pretty well most of what goes into it.

There are things that we just accept, which perhaps we shouldn’t. The sky is blue, there is a sun and a moon in the sky and the Earth’s
surface is covered with land and sea. These things are absolutes in our lives.
In more recent years, we’ve heard about the Ozone Layer, the melting
ice caps, our polluted seas and diminishing resources. We accept these things and maybe worry about them a little because
we assume that - largely speaking - there is nothing that we can do.

We accept it all - just like we do the sky, the sea and the sun - and
leave it to Governments to deal with them while we attempt to do our
‘bit’ by recycling our rubbish, composting our vegetables, turning off
the lights and leaving our wheelie bins outside the house every
fortnight.

What if all of that was a lie though?
A distraction from a much bigger, more frightening truth. What if the Governments themselves - who we all trust and leave to
take care of these things on our behalf - what if they were involved in
the biggest conspiracy of them all?And what if the long-promised global catastrophe that we all assumed
would happen long after
we
were dead was happening right now?
Today? Would you want to know about it or would you be happy to leave it in
the capable hands of your Government?

The woman and the child sat close together at the left hand corner of
the bunker door. They’d said very little, and mainly the woman had attempted to
comfort and reassure the child. It was a strange experience to be next to somebody in such blackness,
and with no vision, it was almost obvious to maintain some form of
physical contact. At first they’d just huddled up, but as the darkness became complete,
she’d placed her arm over the child’s shoulders. If it was Dan, David or Harriet she’d have done it instinctively, so it
seemed perfectly normal to do it with this child.

The laptop and Dan’s phone were close to hand, Harriet’s juice had
been discarded in the rush, they were hungry and uncomfortable, but
otherwise - other than being confused and concerned about what was
going on - they had little choice but to wait and stay still. Unknown to her at that moment, her eldest son was doing exactly the
same thing on the other side of the strong, impenetrable blast doors.
Such a short distance between them, yet so far away.

And there was another person close by too, but neither of them were
aware of his presence. He was standing in the entrance area, far enough away not to be
heard, but still and quiet, waiting with the patience of a man who was
accustomed to playing the long game. Yet he had one advantage over them. Because of
who
he was - and where he came from - he had the
advantage of limited vision. Before the darkness dominated, he’d managed to put on a special
visor. This was like nothing you’d see anywhere else. From a secret place. A special organisation. A visor that would protect him from the power of the darkness until
he was able to enter the bunker. For a moment after putting on the visor, he’d silently cursed as his
view was completely obscured. A change from Night Vision to Penetration Mode, and the two figures
huddled together became quickly much clearer and sharper.

He knew the woman, he’d been with her only days before of course. Driving her to the training facility, returning her to the hospital which
they were to use as part of her cover story. She would not recognise him, that memory would be erased via the
implant in her neck.
Or not so much erased.
The brain is a powerful thing. It would be suppressed, as good as being erased as far as the brain is
concerned. No, she would not recognise him, he’d be just another face in the
crowd.
But it was this youngster who was troubling him.
At first he’d thought the woman had just ended up with someone
who’d headed to the bunker at the same time as her.
The first thing he’d noticed was that this person was about the same
height as the boy, probably the same kind of age. But as he stood in complete silence in the darkness, watching the two
huddled figures in front of him, he was struck by a sudden and
shocking realisation. As his view sharpened and he focused intently on the youngster’s face
he grew more certain of what he was seeing.
This wasn’t the eldest child huddled with his mother in front of these
massive blast doors. He was as sure as he could be that this was the child that he’d been
responsible for killing three years earlier.

Kate had found the boy’s presence to be interesting - intriguing even. Initial briefings at the training sessions had indicated that all
personnel would gather in the bunker by 3pm at the latest on the
designated day. They would not know who they’d be stationed with until the sirens
alerted and the bunker doors closed. At that point, all designated staff were to make their way to the
Holding Area on Level 1 - and wait - for half an hour.
At this stage, there would be a mixture of mission critical staff and the
few civilians who were in the bunker, or had made their way down to
it, at the time the alarms sounded.

Civilians were not to be given any explanation of what was happening
during transmogrification. Once clearance was given to exit the Holding Area, bunker staff were
to make themselves known to civilians and accompany them
immediately to the MedLab. There they must be processed for stasis and BioFiltration.
There would probably be concern, anxiety and some resistance, but it
was important that all civilians were contained.
Bunker staff must change into the uniforms provided in the dormitory
areas and immediately head to their stations. Different uniforms to mark different roles within the bunker. Standard security checks must be made.

Bunker personnel should await further instructions, but in the
meantime, they should familiarise themselves with other personnel
and the bunker facility. Everything would be as-per training simulations.

Full mission clarity would be communicated at 20:00 on Day 2.
Everything, so far, had been exactly according to training and
instructions. With the exception of a 24 hour technical technical hitch with lighting
and some small timing issues during transmogrification, the timescale
seems to have been largely as described. With the exception of this boy.
And his family. Kate had expected a few bunker staff from the cottage to be processed
for BioFiltration and stasis. That couldn’t be avoided without raising any concerns elsewhere.
But
nobody
else was supposed to be in the bunker when the sirens
went off. Certainly not full families.
It should have been authorised bunker personnel only - and a handful
of regular staff from the cottage. This boy had full clearance to Red and Green Zones. He had unlimited access to the bunker.

He was listed on the biometrics database. That is uniquely matched to each individual, you can’t cheat it or
pretend that you’re somebody else.
There’s something unusual about this boy, something that she knew
that she’d need to watch. Somehow he was deeply connected with what’s about to happen, but
she didn’t know
how
. She had no power or ability to block him in any way, because he’d got
full clearance to be here. No, it wasn’t a coincidence or freak event that led to this boy being in
the bunker when the darkness fell. Somebody
wanted
him there.

One thing I know for sure is that this man, whatever he is doing, is
heading towards the blast doors that bridge the bunker and the
outside world. And the other thing I know for certain is that my mum is outside those
doors somewhere. All of a sudden what lies on Levels 3 and 4 doesn’t seem quite so
important.
This man must be going to try and find Mum.
So why isn’t he with a security team?

When I was retrieved from the long corridor, three people in hazard
suits came out to get me. They were armed too. I’m not sure what resistance they thought I was going put up, they
could have got me to do anything they wanted to at that moment in
time. No need to wave a ray gun at me - just lead me to a plate of food.
And I’m intrigued by these glowing lights in their necks.
They may be something as simple as a monitoring device - or some
way of establishing status, rank or bunker access rights.
Knowing
how
and
why
these bunker people are different may help me
to navigate this place better. I’m definitely going to mention it to Kate later.

Still hiding in the shadows, I follow him up the long corridor, until he
reaches the blast doors.
The darkness outside doesn’t penetrate here of course. The lack of light that I had to tolerate in this area earlier was simply
the blackness of an underground tunnel with no lighting and no
windows. If he’s going to open that door, I’m not quite sure what to expect.
Kate said that whatever is out there is not hazardous.
And it doesn’t seem to do anything to me, who knows why that is? Maybe eating too many burgers does give you superpowers after all?
But then
anybody
between the ages of nine and eighteen would be safe
from this thing.
I very much doubt that the world is about to be saved by burger eating
kids.

I decide to move a little further back, just in case.
I’m excited though, a chance to move beyond the doors means that I
could be reunited with Mum. She’ll probably have to go in one of those pod things, but if I can see
that Mum is okay, that’s one less thing to worry about.
The
biggest
thing as far as I’m concerned.
The man seems to know what he’s doing at the blast doors.
These people may not know exactly what’s going on, and it may be
true that they have never operated within this bunker before.
What is
very
obvious though, is that these people have been trained
well. They know the layout and the kit very well, looking at the complexity
of the panel that he’s just opened, I wouldn’t know where to begin.
He presses some buttons at the console to the side of the blast doors.
I feel embarrassed for a moment as that’s pretty well where I must
have taken a pee while I was all alone in the corridor. Nice one Dan!
You take a pee right next to the hidden panel which might have helped
your mum find safety inside the bunker. And I hope that nobody was monitoring these cameras at the time,
with any luck they were all in the Holding Area while I was answering
the call of nature all over what is basically the front door handle.

I stop dwelling on my shame when I see what happens when the man
presses the configurations of buttons.
What I can only describe as a fluorescent curtain of shimmering, green
light covers the entire area of the blast doors. It’s pretty amazing actually, I’m almost tempted to make the sort of
noises that you hear at a firework display.
‘Ooooooooooooooo!’ And its partner in crime, ‘Ahhhhhhhhhh!’.
Perhaps not the best use of the English language, but I’m stunned at
the beauty of what I’m seeing to be completely honest with you.

The man presses a few more buttons, makes some gestures across
another screen, then places his hand on what is quite obviously an
identification panel. ‘More Biometrics, probably,’ I think to myself.
There’s Chemistry, Biology and Physics taught at school, and for all the
science in this place, much of it seems to rely on Biology. I wonder if whoever built this place flunked Chemistry and Physics.

The effect of a positive identification is instant.
The huge, iron doors begin to creak into life.
They are starting to move slowly. He’s opening the doors to the area where I last saw Mum.
The doors are heavy and very slow to move.
I can see nothing beyond them. As a small crack appears between the doors, there is just complete
blackness outside.
The fluorescent curtain which the man has activated in front of the
doors appears to act as a barrier between what is inside the bunker
and what is outside.

That’s all very well, but he appears to be getting ready to step
outside
. Why would he do that if he’ll be caught by whatever it is the darkness
does to us? He’s not even wearing one of those biohazard suits for protection.
Maybe that’s what the blue device in his neck does, perhaps it protects
him from the darkness?
My heart is racing now as the tension builds towards me finally being
reunited with Mum. As the gap in the bunker doors begins to widen before me, an alert
sounds out on the bunkers announcement system. It’s Kate’s voice and she sounds very serious.
More serious than I’ve heard her before.
‘Dan, I need to see you in the control room
immediately
,’ she says,
‘We’ve found your mum.’
‘It’s not good news I’m afraid.’