Resurrection Hour - Hidden in Ice(Nanowrimo)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Hannah had no intention of sleeping, and she knew he had no intention of opening the bomb shelter door. There wasn't going to be much time between turning off the power and getting out before he figured it out.

The joys of being the one to tear the place upside down earlier meant that she knew where everything was being stored down here. She'd found some rope inside a drawer and planned to use it to secure his door to the one across from it. That way if anything got inside, it would keep his sleeping butt safe, and he'd have a bit of a hard time coming after her.

Hannah tiptoed down the concrete hallway, careful not to draw attention to herself. The room she had to go to was at the end of the hallway and then she had to go back the same way. The concrete floor made it hard to remain silent, but she knew that if he woke up, her plans would be foiled before they even began. Once she secured his door, she kept going.

Stepping into the generator room, she wandered over to the switch and wrapped her fingers around it. She took a deep breath and turned off the generator. There was a loud click and everything went dark and silent.

"Oh crud," she exclaimed, smacking her forehead, "of all the things to forget."

No flashlight. She'd left it on the counter in the kitchen. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her cellphone. The light wouldn't be the best, but it would work in a pinch. The battery was at 50% and wouldn't last very long, so she had to remember to turn it off when she could.

Rushing through the room and out the hall, Hannah moved to the kitchen to grab the flashlight. As she moved towards the front of the bomb shelter, the thought of having to fight off zombies had her stomach twisting in her gut to the point of acid rising in her throat. And leaving Xavier behind didn't sit well with her either.

"Sorry," she whispered as she ducked under the rope she'd used to secure his door. He'd never let her go if he knew. He wanted to stay down here until everything came to an end, but she couldn't. Her friend was counting on her, and there was no leaving them behind. She may have done some crappy things in the past, but if there was one thing she wanted to be remembered for, it was being a loyal friend to Cleo.

Approaching the door, she wondered how heavy it would be to open. It was a thick vault door with a wheel you had to turn once you put in the code to open it. And she wasn't even sure if one person could do it, but she was gonna try. Hannah put her ear against the crack of the door and listened. Not that you'd be able to hear anything through all that steel, but it didn't sound like anything obvious was in the underground tunnel.

Cautiously, she opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief when her flashlight didn't light up anything in the darkness ahead of her. She stepped out and pulled the door closed behind her, then went off in search of her friends. If they could all get into the vault and strategize, they might make it out of this alive. The greater their numbers, the better their chances of surviving were.

As she wandered towards the ladder leading up to the hatch, her thoughts inevitably went to her family. Were they doing okay? Did they even know that the station was fighting for their lives? Were any of her friends thinking of her or were they all having the time of their lives, not giving her a second thought? She had missed her once a week check-in with Julie, the woman behind the smooth operation of her office back home. Was she even curious?

Hannah gave a hard laugh. Friends were few and far between. The one who stuck by her was upstairs, possibly getting her guts eaten. The mere thought of that had her doubling over, spewing white and green puke over the hard surface, her stomach rolling like crazy.

"Oh god," she gasped, her head resting on her forearm against the wall. Images of their experiences over the last few days assaulting her like crazy.

"Upsie Daisie, little lady," a voice sounded from behind her a second before she was hiked high over his shoulder.