hand.
"Lets go."
Matt took point down the long stairwell, which descended perhaps one hundred feet to another large metal door, which resembled an old naval pressure door with the wheel lock set in the center.
It took the combined strength of Matt and Frank to crank the wheel unlocked. The door opened outward, and they stepped through into darkness. Frank fumbled about for a moment and found the switch and the room was bathed in light from the ceiling. They were in a room perhaps fifteen feet square, made entirely of cold, hard steel. Another pressure door was set in the middle of the floor. It was the only other way in or out. Zack was the last through the door, and when he pulled it closed behind him, it made a dull thud. He spun the wheel tight, and then pulled a lever locking mechanism that prevented anyone from opening the door on the outside.
"At least we know nobody is down here." Frank said.
Zack opened the door set into the floor and saw a long, narrow metal shaft leading down. A thick steel ladder was set into one wall with small fluorescent tubes lighting the shaft. Frank went first, followed by Matt, David, Sharon, Susan, and finally Zack. He closed the door after him, spinning the wheel and setting the lock.
Frank descended what he guessed to be another fifty feet before stepping off the ladder into a large empty darkness. He panned the flashlight around, the beam revealing little of the vast space. Frank turned the light to the nearest wall, finding a set of several light switches. He threw them all as Matt stepped off the ladder.
The light's came on to reveal a huge concrete room, 40' x 100'. There were five large metal doors, two down each side, and one at the far end of the room. Hundreds of cardboard boxes with the red cross symbol were stacked in one corner of the room going all the way to the 20' ceiling. Beside them were dozens of plastic, fifty-gallon barrels filled with clear liquid.
"Look at that." said Frank softly. As they walked the length of the room, they saw dozen's of cases of toilet paper, blanket's, first aid medicine, bandages, winter clothing, gloves, pillows and a dozen other assorted things.
"Can you believe all of this stuff is down here? Untouched!" Matt exclaimed.
Zack was digging into one of the crates. "Spam here."
David was rifling through another. "Chicken noodle soup."
"I bet those barrel's are water." Frank said.
They checked the five metal doors, and they all opened into rooms half as large as the main room. All five were filled with small folding army cots.
"I'll be a son of a bitch," laughed Frank. "This place is a gold mine."
"This place has to be as safe as anyplace else." Matt said.
"Safer." replied Zack. He moved to one of the cots and lie across it, exhaling heavily. He could feel the exhaustion wash through him like a warm, heavy blanket, comforting and welcome. "I need sleep. Very badly."
"I think we all could use some rest." Sharon said. "Lord knows how little we've slept these past few days."
They all lay aside what ever they were carrying, and stretched out, trying to get comfortable. Within minutes, Sharon, Susan, and David were asleep. Frank, Matt, and Zack still sat awake, talking.
"I bet we could hold up here for several months without having to worry about those things." Matt said.
"Those things aren't all we have to worry about." Frank said. "You think my son was the only one who knew this shelter was here? We're lucky as hell there was nobody here when we arrived. We can't expect our luck to last."
"So you're saying we should get out of here as soon as possible?" Zack asked.
"No, not right away. We could survive in this place for months if we had to, but we have to know what’s going on outside. Besides, it would take us a week just to get on the freeway."
"And here’s something else to think about." Zack said, "Say we do stay hidden here safely here for awhile. Things aren’t going to get better, they’ll get worse. Can you imagine how
"Lets go."
Matt took point down the long stairwell, which descended perhaps one hundred feet to another large metal door, which resembled an old naval pressure door with the wheel lock set in the center.
It took the combined strength of Matt and Frank to crank the wheel unlocked. The door opened outward, and they stepped through into darkness. Frank fumbled about for a moment and found the switch and the room was bathed in light from the ceiling. They were in a room perhaps fifteen feet square, made entirely of cold, hard steel. Another pressure door was set in the middle of the floor. It was the only other way in or out. Zack was the last through the door, and when he pulled it closed behind him, it made a dull thud. He spun the wheel tight, and then pulled a lever locking mechanism that prevented anyone from opening the door on the outside.
"At least we know nobody is down here." Frank said.
Zack opened the door set into the floor and saw a long, narrow metal shaft leading down. A thick steel ladder was set into one wall with small fluorescent tubes lighting the shaft. Frank went first, followed by Matt, David, Sharon, Susan, and finally Zack. He closed the door after him, spinning the wheel and setting the lock.
Frank descended what he guessed to be another fifty feet before stepping off the ladder into a large empty darkness. He panned the flashlight around, the beam revealing little of the vast space. Frank turned the light to the nearest wall, finding a set of several light switches. He threw them all as Matt stepped off the ladder.
The light's came on to reveal a huge concrete room, 40' x 100'. There were five large metal doors, two down each side, and one at the far end of the room. Hundreds of cardboard boxes with the red cross symbol were stacked in one corner of the room going all the way to the 20' ceiling. Beside them were dozens of plastic, fifty-gallon barrels filled with clear liquid.
"Look at that." said Frank softly. As they walked the length of the room, they saw dozen's of cases of toilet paper, blanket's, first aid medicine, bandages, winter clothing, gloves, pillows and a dozen other assorted things.
"Can you believe all of this stuff is down here? Untouched!" Matt exclaimed.
Zack was digging into one of the crates. "Spam here."
David was rifling through another. "Chicken noodle soup."
"I bet those barrel's are water." Frank said.
They checked the five metal doors, and they all opened into rooms half as large as the main room. All five were filled with small folding army cots.
"I'll be a son of a bitch," laughed Frank. "This place is a gold mine."
"This place has to be as safe as anyplace else." Matt said.
"Safer." replied Zack. He moved to one of the cots and lie across it, exhaling heavily. He could feel the exhaustion wash through him like a warm, heavy blanket, comforting and welcome. "I need sleep. Very badly."
"I think we all could use some rest." Sharon said. "Lord knows how little we've slept these past few days."
They all lay aside what ever they were carrying, and stretched out, trying to get comfortable. Within minutes, Sharon, Susan, and David were asleep. Frank, Matt, and Zack still sat awake, talking.
"I bet we could hold up here for several months without having to worry about those things." Matt said.
"Those things aren't all we have to worry about." Frank said. "You think my son was the only one who knew this shelter was here? We're lucky as hell there was nobody here when we arrived. We can't expect our luck to last."
"So you're saying we should get out of here as soon as possible?" Zack asked.
"No, not right away. We could survive in this place for months if we had to, but we have to know what’s going on outside. Besides, it would take us a week just to get on the freeway."
"And here’s something else to think about." Zack said, "Say we do stay hidden here safely here for awhile. Things aren’t going to get better, they’ll get worse. Can you imagine how
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