The Burning Fields (Surviving the Fall 5)

“Dr. Evans?” A man in an Air Force uniform approaches Dr. Evans, extending his hand.

“Yes?” Dr. Evans realizes that the vehicle has come to a stop and steps off, accepting the handshake.

“I’m Lieutenant Shulman. Would you follow me? We have a room prepared for you.”

“A room?” Dr. Evans looks up at the massive metal structure standing in front of him that is built into the tunnel. The three-story metal building is the original structure that was part of the first five years of construction. While it appears from some angles to be built directly into the rock, none of the structure actually touches the mountain directly. Thousand-pound solid steel springs line the exterior of the structure, keeping it safe in case of an earthquake or a nuclear strike.

“Yes. Right this way, please.” Lieutenant Shulman hurries towards the building before turning abruptly and heading down a long, sloping tunnel farther into the earth. “You’ll have a private room and we’re working on getting your belongings that were pulled from the crash back to you. That may take some time but you’re marked as a priority asset.”

“Priority asset?” Dr. Evans shakes his head. “I’m sorry… I don’t understand what’s going on. I was in Air Force One with the President before we crashed, then we were pulled from the wreckage and flown here. I haven’t been briefed or anything.”

“Continuity of government, Dr. Evans. The President and all other surviving high-ranking members of the United States government have been evacuated to secure locations. You were marked as a high priority asset due to your traveling with the President which is why you were brought here.”

Dr. Evans has been in a fog of sorts ever since the crash a day prior. His mind has been clouded and his thoughts impaired due to shock from the crash and exhaustion from working for days prior. Hardly anyone has spoken to him during his transit from the crash to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex as his physical well-being meant he was tagged as low priority in terms of needing medical attention.

As he speaks to Lieutenant Shulman, though, he starts to remember details about his work. His research and study of the Damocles virus had progressed to advanced stages before Air Force One crashed and he wonders in the back of his head whether it was his work that led to the destruction of the plane.

‘Impossible.’ Dr. Evans thinks to himself as he shakes his head. ‘It’s a coincidence. But a damned scary one.’

As Dr. Evans thinks more about Damocles and his work while walking with Lieutenant Shulman he speaks to the Air Force officer. “Lieutenant? While I was on the plane I was working on some research into the cause of all this mess. I don’t suppose my laptop or research notes survived the crash, did they?”

“I’m afrai

d I don’t know, sir. Transport of the gear recovered from the crash has been held up due to issues at the base. As soon as they’re able to offload everything and bring it up, though, I’ll personally take care of searching for your things for you.” Lieutenant pulls a small notebook from his breast pocket and uncaps a pen. “You say it was a laptop and research notes?”

Dr. Evans holds up his leather satchel. “Yes, they would have been in a case like this one, except larger.”

Lieutenant Shulman looks at Dr. Evans’ bag and nods. “As soon as the gear arrives I’ll look through it.”

“Thank you. It’s extremely important. I was working on ways to combat the cause of this destruction and I believe I was on the verge of some important revelations, so—”

Lieutenant Shulman interrupts Dr. Evans as he stops and opens a large metal door. “Of course, sir. I’ll do everything I can. In the meantime your room is through here, number eighty three. You’ll find a common room down the hall. Your room has a shower inside and you can pick up food and toiletries from the supply room down the opposite hall. We’ll announce meals at regular intervals but if you want to make something yourself we have MREs and other packaged food in the kitchen just off the common room.” The Lieutenant motions for Dr. Evans to step through into the building. “If you’ll excuse me, sir, I need to get back.”

“Oh. Right. Of course.” Dr. Evans steps up into the building and the door slowly closes behind him. He walks down the hall and finds his room after a few minutes of searching. The door opens to reveal a simple bed built into the wall, a small closet with a few shirts and a pair of pants that appear too large for him to wear and a shower that looks frighteningly narrow. A tiny desk sits behind the door with a small metal chair. He sighs wearily at the small accommodations before turning around to head out and explore more of the building.

“Hi there!” A young woman sits on a grey couch at the back of the common room when Dr. Evans walks in. She stands up and waves at him before walking over to him and shaking his hand. “Thank God. I thought I was alone in here!”

“You haven’t seen anyone else?”

The woman shakes her head, her short ponytail bouncing back and forth. “Nope. Nobody else is living here yet. I’ve seen others for meals and stuff but that’s all.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Dr. Evans only had to half-force a smile as the woman’s bright personality had already caused the other half to form on his face. “I’m Dr. Michael Evans. And you are?”

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Evans! I’m Jane. Jane Leverett.”