The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(22)

“How often does the train run?” Maria asked.

“When it’s needed, which isn’t often,” the nameless man with the curly hair and ambiguous uniform answered in an equally featureless voice.

“Who are you?” she asked impulsively, swiveling in her seat toward him.

“Your escort,” he answered.

She became aware of the pistol strapped to his thigh and arched her brow. He ignored her. She fought the feeling of discomfort slithering into her soul. Folding her arms over her breasts, she glowered at her shiny boots. She had nothing to fear. All would be well once she was outside the wall, immune to the Inferi Scourge, and slaughtering them.

Ten minutes later the train’s alarm sounded. Glancing out into the darkness, Maria started when the glow of the train lights flowed over the form of a person standing next to the tracks. The impression of a tattered uniform and ragged face made her jerk away from the window.

“What is it?” the blank man asked.

“I saw someone standing near the tracks.”

“Maintenance,” the man answered dismissively.

She replayed the image in her mind’s eye and suspected that her mind had filled in the other details. She was still tightly wound from her earlier scare. He was probably right. She had seen a maintenance worker and her mind had altered him into an Scourge.

Maria grasped her bags while the train slid past heavy blast doors that clanged shut the instant the last car was clear. The SWD station was filled with light as the train slid to a stop. Another heavily—armed search and destroy squad stood on the platform.

Suddenly, Maria wasn’t too sure she was imagining things. She gave the man beside her an accusatory glare. “They’re in the subway system, aren’t they?”

The doors opened and her escort gestured for her to depart without responding to her allegation.

“What did I see in the tunnel?” she persisted.

“Someone in maintenance,” he answered imperturbably.

“Then why all of this?” She indicated the waiting squad.

“Routine patrols.” Again, he motioned for her to disembark.

Unnerved, Maria exited the train. A quick examination of her surroundings revealed two machine gun nests positioned on a second level facing the heavily fortified blast doors that sealed off the tunnel.

The search and destroy squad brushed past her as they filed into the train.

“Routine, my ass,” she muttered.

Her wristlet beeped and she tapped it.

“Welcome to the Science Warfare Division Facility. Please proceed to the terminal.” A simple and to-the-point message.

Following the directions, Maria departed the station and bounded up a narrow stairway that led to another set of heavy doors. A guard scanned her wristlet, keyed open the door, and waved her through.

Stepping into the main terminal, Maria swallowed hard. It was filled with seek and destroy patrols.





Chapter 6



Mr. Petersen emerged from the gathering of SWD patrols, his starched white suit a vivid contrast to the all-black armor of the soldiers. He slightly inclined his head as he approached Maria.

“Seems you have a lot going on around here,” Maria said, her voice sounding a bit clipped even to her own ears.

“There is some excitement,” Mr. Petersen admitted, slightly shrugging. He was as unperturbed and collected as he had been during their previous interview.

“I saw something in the subway tunnel,” Maria said boldly.

“Did you?” Mr. Petersen started to walk.

Maria fell into step beside him, shifting her bags to her other shoulder. They thumped against her back as she wove her way through the squads waiting to be dispatched. “They’re in the tunnels, aren’t they?”

“We can never be too vigilant when fighting against the Inferi Scourge,” Mr. Petersen answered vaguely.

“How did they get in?”

Guiding her out of the main terminal, Mr. Petersen tucked his hands behind his back and studied her expression. “Whatever makes you believe they’re in the tunnels?”

“I saw something.”

“What did you see?”

Maria started to answer, but faltered. The truth was, she wasn’t really sure if she had seen one of the Scourge, or if it had just been a maintenance worker. “I saw a search and destroy squad at the station where I was picked up. They had what looked like a body bag, and something was in it.”

“There are regular patrols in the tunnels. The teams take equipment to run a variety of tests. I am certain that is what you saw them carrying.”

“And all of the squads back there? Where are they going?”

“Routine patrols for all the tunnel systems under the city. Sewer, maintenance, subway...” Mr. Petersen shrugged. “You just happened to arrive on a very busy day.” Stopping before a lift, he swiped his wristlet over the console and the doors slid open. “After you.”

The cold sterility of the SWD headquarters and all she had seen had her on edge. Staring into the lift, she felt her gut twist. Maria’s instincts were fine-tuned, and she believed in them implicitly. The action of boarding the elevator unexpectedly had a finality that unnerved her to the core of her being. She inhaled through her lips and steeled her resolve.

Maria entered the elevator after Mr. Petersen. Turning on her heel, she faced the closing doors.