Original Class Three Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The Commander looked through the large observation window, through three inches of glass into the room beyond, there lay nine bodies, dressed in full NBC suits. The large clear panes at the front of each suit displaying a face, with a gas mask still on, eyes closed, lesions marked their pale faces.

“They gave everything sir” said Doctor Kohler, joining the Commander, he held a tablet to his chest, “Without them, we’d have had another disaster on our hands” he added, shoving glasses back up the ridge of his nose. The Commander nodded, “This is true, though it counts for nought, we saved Brokdorf, but how many worldwide will be saved?” he asked, Doctor Kohler edged up closer to the glass, “I do not know sir, but we at least gave people nearby one less thing to have to survive through.”

The Commander nodded again, his hand fell to his holstered P8, “We need to make sure that they do not come back, we have enough of them outside already” he said. Doctor Kohler put his hand on the Commanders arm, “Sir, the team have been dead for some time already, I’ve done some….tests.”

The Commander looked into the eyes of the scientist “Tests? What do you mean?” he demanded. The scientist unlocked the tablet and brought up a series of medical charts and endless reams of data. “Sir, the longest time we’ve observed someone reanimating was just over eight hours, and that was the exception to the rule, most come back at sixty three minutes. On average….give or take.” Doctor Kohler said, pointing out various lines in his report.

“ATTENTION BASE PERSONNEL, we have breaches on Levels Zero, Four and Seven, all base personnel are asked to evacuate immediately” a mechanical voice squawked. The Commander grabbed the tablet off the scientist, and started scrolling through the rows of information, “You mean?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sir, but yes, from what I have been able to get from them, I can find no hint of the mutation within them, they are, to all intents and purposes-”

“Cured” the Commander finished.

The two men looked over the dead bodies, “Yes, though it seems that the ‘cure’ has killed them” Doctor Kohler added. “General Gotz, you know what this means don’t you?” he asked. Gotz passed the tablet back “Yes, all we have to do to cure people is to give them a large, possibly lethal dose of radiation, the exact amount of which we don’t know, and unless we can relocate to a suitable base, one which is not crawling with the ravenous undead, we will never get a chance to work out.”

Doctor Kohler poked his glasses up again, “Correct, I can hypothesise that-” General Gotz raised a hand “Enough conjecture, up until a few days again ALL of this was nothing but hypothetical. We need to deal in absolutes, in facts, not guesswork.”

The General spun on his heels, “Come with me Doctor Kohler”, and marched off down the corridor, taking numerous twists and turns, they entered a stairwell, and ran down a flight of stairs, “General this is level-” the Doctor was cut short by the Generals raised hand again, who raised a finger to his lips, motioning for silence, the scientist nodded.

General Gotz peeled the door open and looked both ways, the emergency lighting was flickering, casting distorted shadows onto the white and green walls. He walked into the corridor and pulled his pistol clear of its holster, “Come” he said, and Doctor Kohler shuffled to his side.

A scream suddenly echoed down the corridor, in the distance a shadow fell, followed by two more. The General shook his head and took a sharp turn, and then another, Doctor Kohler struggled to keep up. Silently they made their way to a green door with a simple sign on it

FUNKRAUM

“Doctor Kohler, I want you to get on the radio and anything else still working in here, set it to a wideband and transmit this information to anyone who is listening.” Gotz cocked the pistol.

“It’s more than a longshot, but if even one person hears it, we might have the slightest chance” he clasped a firm hand on the shaking scientists shoulders, who nodded his agreement, sending his glasses sliding off his nose.

General Gotz turned the handle and slowly opened the door, the hall lighting gutted again, leaving them in darkness, Kohler picked his glasses up and the two men crept into the pitch black room. The lights flickered briefly, showing a large red smear on the floor, the door closed behind them with a gentle click.

From nearby a series of moans rumbled out, the lights flared into life, the two men saw that they were not alone. The lights died again, three gunshots rang out and then the screaming started.