Chapter 15: Escape from the bunker

The bunker shook again as a blast hit. Dust rained from above as James and his team huddled behind flipped-over lab tables. The Black Sun mercenaries moved forward, their gunfire echoing through the underground facility.

"MOVE!" James shouted. He pulled Dr. Voss's collar and pulled him toward the door.

Carter dropped suppressive fire, which killed two of the mercenaries, before ducking for cover again. "We're pinned down, man! We need an exit strategy!"

Maria quickly scanned the room, then pointed towards a maintenance tunnel at the other end of the lab. "There! That's our way out!"

"Go, go, go!" James ordered.

Logan, bleeding from the shoulder and shot, strained forward through clenched teeth. The team sprinted towards the tunnel, but as they reached it, a grenade rolled onto the floor behind them.

"GET DOWN!"

The lab was shaken by the explosion, sending equipment and wreckage flying everywhere. James's ears rang as he hit the ground with a thud. He had blood in his mouth but struggled to his feet.

Dr. Voss collapsed against a wall, shocked but alive. Carter and Maria lifted Logan to his feet and they both dragged themselves into the maintenance tunnel.

Behind them, Kane, The Black Sun's scarred face, watched them disappear. He raised his radio.

"They have the cure," he growled. "Find them.

The corridor was narrow and dim, lit by only smoky emergency lights. James led the way, rifle held tightly in his hand.

"How long does this corridor go?" Maria gasped.

"It's supposed to lead to an emergency exit a few miles that way," said Dr. Voss, who was still frantic. "But they'll come after us."

"We just have to get out," James urged.

Abruptly, a metallic hissing filled the tunnel. Logan raised the rifle. "What was that?"

Then they saw them.

Zombies.

The explosion must have blown open a sealed section of the bunker, and the dead poured in.

They weren't normal zombies, though. These were bigger, faster—altered. Their eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, their muscles swelling with abnormal power.

James cursed. "We don't have time for this."

Carter raised his shotgun. "Then let's make our way through."

The first zombie lunged, its jaws unhinging grotesquely wide. Carter blasted it point-blank, sending it crashing to the ground, but two others pressed on.

Maria chopped her machete, lopping off one head in one motion. Logan, injured, fired his rifle into the horde.

"KEEP MOVING!" James ordered.

They shoved forward, but the zombies kept coming. The tunnel was too narrow to run away from them.

Then James noticed that a fuel pipe ran along the wall. Inspiration struck him.

"Voss! What's in this pipe?"

"Natural gas," replied Voss in a hurry to explain.

James pointed. "Carter, grenade—now!"

Carter pulled the pin from a grenade and rolled it at the fuel pipe. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

The team ran as the grenade exploded. The gas ignited in a chain reaction, producing a fireball that ripped through the tunnel. The blast reduced the zombies to ashes, sealing the path behind.

⸻

The Surface—And a Fateful Decision

They reached the exit hatch at last—a rusty metal door onto the surface. James opened it, and icy mountain air swirled in.

They emerged onto a rocky hillside, staring out over a dark forest. In the distance, they saw Haven's lights glinting in the night.

"We made it," Maria panted.

They weren't safe yet, however.

A Black Sun helicopter thudded overhead, its spotlight sweeping the countryside.

Then, out of the trees, a group of Black Sun soldiers stepped forward, guns leveled.

Kane took a step forward, his expression unchanging. "Give me the cure," he spoke softly. "And I'll spare your life."

James wrapped his hand more securely over the vial in his pocket.

"We both know that's a lie."

Kane exhaled slowly. "Then you leave me no choice."

He raised his hand. His soldiers prepared to fire.

James's mind was racing. There was no escape—except.

He glanced at Carter, who nodded ever so slightly.

Then James tossed the vial into the air.

Kane's eyes flew open.

That momentary lapse of distraction was all they needed.

James tackled the nearest soldier, wrenched the gun from his hands. Carter and Maria fired away. Logan felled a mercenary in spite of being shot.

The vial broke on the ground—untouched.

Dr. Voss dove after it, gripping it tightly as bullets zinged around him.

Kane snarled in anger. "Kill them all!"

But before he could budge, James fired once, hitting Kane in the leg. The Black Sun leader stumbled, and James attacked, delivering a brutal punch to his jaw.

"Your war ends here," James said grimly.

With their leader down, the other Black Sun soldiers wavered—long enough for James's team to eliminate them.

The helicopter, now without orders, took off, vanishing into the night.

⸻

A New Hope

Silence fell over the battlefield.

James took a deep breath, his heart pounding. They had the cure. They had survived.

Maria tended to Logan, wrapping his wound. Carter checked the bodies, making sure no one else was getting up.

Dr. Voss held the vial up, staring at it in awe. "This… this could change everything."

James nodded. "Then let's get it to Haven."

They were on their way home, and they knew the real fight was to follow.