Season of Rot Read Online Free

I just don’t feel
comfortable with him having access to so many key areas, much less
the damn arsenal he has locked up in his quarters. I’m sorry, but
it’s the truth. The guy gives me the creeps.”
    “Mitchell paid for his crimes,” Jack argued.
“When I hired him he was already out on parole. He’s saved my ass
more than once since I met him. I trust the man with my life, and
he’s been instrumental with helping me keep things straight around
this place.”
    “Face it, Jack, he’s your muscle. A thug
who’d put us all to the wall and blow our brains out if you told
him to. God knows what he does when you’re not out there with
him.”
    Suddenly the door to the conference room
burst open. Jack’s instincts kicked in and he drew his sidearm,
barely stopping himself from putting a bullet through Daniel’s
face.
    Daniel stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and
out of breath, staring at Jack’s gun. “Sorry,” he said, holding up
a hand as if to block a bullet. “I... I just made contact with
someone who can help us.”
    Laura fell into her chair. “What? Who?”
    “His name is Martin Kier. He’s military,
holed up in some kind of huge bunker about a hundred miles south of
the city.”
    “Jeez, a hundred miles.” Vince whistled.
    “How many in his group?” Jack asked, getting
right to business.
    “Just him. He’s the only one left alive
there.”
    “One man? A hundred miles away? How can he
help us?” Laura was confused, but she knew there must be some
reason for Daniel’s excitement or he wouldn’t have butted in on the
meeting. He seldom left the radio room.
    Daniel caught his breath and pulled up a
chair at the table. “According to Martin, he’s the sole survivor of
the base, yes, but the compound was built to house a couple of
hundred people: scientists, military, high ranking officials. It’s
essentially a giant underground fallout shelter, but it was being
used as a research lab before the plague hit. There was a staff in
place, working on various projects when the dead virus—or whatever
you want to call—broke out. The base closed itself off
automatically, trapping them all inside.
    “Unfortunately, the virus had already
breached the compound, despite its safety protocols. A war like the
one in the city was fought down there, inside the complex. Unlike
the military up here, they won. It was costly, but they did win.
The virus mutated, though, and became airborne or something. I
didn’t really understand all of what Martin was saying. It was a
bit over my head. He made it through it all though. Now he’s just
sitting around with years of stockpiled supplies: food, meds,
weapons, even fuel!”
    “Still, I don’t see how that helps us,” Jack
interjected.
    “I’m getting to that part. Martin is a pilot
and it’s a military base. There are two helicopters there, both of
them for military transport. He could easily reach the hospital by
air and either bring us some of the stockpiles or take a few of us
at a time to the base. It’s just a matter of deciding what we want
him to do.”
    “You’ve asked him about all this?” Laura
asked, unwilling to accept that such a miracle could simply fall
into their laps.
    Daniel calmed down a bit. “Well, no. I
haven’t asked him to fly us to the base, but he offered to bring
the supplies we need without any prompting on my part.”
    Vince placed his hands on the table. “That
seems odd. If he’s willing to share all this stuff, wouldn’t it be
easier to move us there rather than have him haul it all out here?
Could he even realistically make that many trips? And why waste so
much if he just brings part of it and decides to stay here when he
lands on the roof?”
    “I don’t know,” Daniel admitted, “but I trust
him. I could hear the sincerity in his voice. He has to be lonely
out there. I would be. Maybe all the stuff that happened down there
is haunting him and he just wants out of the place.”
    Laura nodded. “Okay, Daniel. If