Chapter 58: Foray into the Unknown

Dean had positioned the LRAD at just the right distance and altitude to envelop the hospital when active.

The dish-like emitter sat on its tripod in the snow like some strange mechanical flower, pointed toward the shattered emergency entrance.

Meanwhile, the Peltasts were posted around the perimeter, watching the surrounding streets through scopes and thermals. If something went terribly wrong they were prepared to open fire without hesitation.

Whether it was the chimps inside the hospital or potential ambushers drawn by the activity, they never allowed themselves to relax while operating outside Elysium’s walls.

Complacency got people killed.

All the while the snowmobiles continued to idle in the cold, their engines rumbling softly as thin trails of exhaust drifted through the blowing snow.

Dean ran a cable from one of the machines to the tripod.

“Engine’s already running,” he said calmly. “Might as well use it.”

The snowmobile now served as the power source for the LRAD.

Zach watched as Dean began adjusting the control panel, dialing the device toward the desired frequency. His hands moved swiftly and confidently, as if the process were second nature.

There was no hesitation in his movements. To the others it looked like he was simply twisting knobs and flipping switches. But to Dean it was a carefully measured calculation.

After a moment he stepped back and looked downrange once more. Then he rotated the tripod slightly, adjusting the direction of the acoustic emitter toward the broken emergency entrance of the hospital.

One final adjustment.

“Narrow beam,” he muttered to himself. “That’ll drive them straight out the front.”

The drone operator watched the hospital interior through his goggles while everyone else stared at the silent device.

When Dean activated it nothing appeared to happen.

There was no sound… no vibration… nothing.

Zach frowned slightly.

For a brief moment he wondered if the thing was broken. Then the drone operator suddenly spoke in a hushed voice.

“We’ve got movement…”

Inside the hospital, the thermal signatures began to stir.

Several chimpanzees that had been sleeping on hospital beds suddenly jerked upright. One clutched its head in confusion.

Another began rocking back and forth in visible distress. Within seconds the agitation spread through the entire troop.

Whimpers turned into shrill cries. Those cries quickly escalated into full blown howls and panicked screeching.

The chimps began scrambling through the halls in a frenzy. Some smashed through broken windows, tumbling into the snow outside before sprinting blindly into the storm.

Others barreled through the emergency entrance, pounding their chests and clutching their heads as they fled across the parking lot.

Through the magnified lens of his scope Dean watched them scatter. But one detail caught his attention more than anything else.

Several of the females were clutching infants tightly to their chests as they ran. Even in their panic they protected their young.

Dean exhaled slowly through his mask.

He allowed the LRAD to run for several more minutes, making sure the entire building had been cleared.

Inside the hospital the remaining heat signatures scrambled toward exits until eventually none remained.

Finally, Dean shut the device off. Silence returned to the frozen parking lot.

“They won’t be back anytime soon,” he said.

He glanced toward the dark hospital building.

“But we still need to move quickly.”

He turned toward the Peltasts.

“We’re here for the blood testing kits first. Anything else useful can be salvaged as long as it fits on the sleds.”

The young men moved immediately. Within moments the LRAD was dismantled and secured in one of the cargo sleds.

Snowmobiles revved as the team mounted their machines. Dean started his engine and drove straight toward the hospital entrance.

Although he had promised Katherine they would simply observe the hospital and return later with a better plan, the unexpected presence of the chimps had forced him to improvise.

Now the opportunity was too good to waste. The operation had officially begun. And somewhere inside that dark hospital were the supplies Elysium desperately needed.

The hospital doors slid open with a metallic groan as Dean forced them apart. A rush of stale, frozen air rolled out to meet them.

The Peltasts dismounted and followed him inside, rifles raised as their laser aiming modules and IR illuminators white beams through the dark lobby that only they could see through their night vision goggles.

The interior looked like it had been abandoned in a hurry some time ago. Chairs were overturned. Medical carts lay tipped on their sides. Papers were scattered across the floor like dead leaves.

But what caught their attention first was the smell.

Not rot… something else. Animal.

Dean swept his rifle slowly across the room, checking the corners before stepping forward.

“Stay sharp,” he said quietly. “They might not all be gone.”

The young men nodded and spread out slightly, covering different angles as they moved deeper into the building.

Almost immediately the signs of the chimps’ occupation became obvious.

Several hospital beds had been dragged into the hallway, their mattresses shredded and piled together to form crude nests. Blankets and medical gowns had been torn apart and woven into the bedding.

Empty vending machines had been smashed open. Candy wrappers and plastic bottles littered the floor.

Zach stared at the mess.

“They were living here.”

“Smart animals,” Dean replied. “Warm building. Food machines. Shelter.”

They continued down the hallway, passing dark patient rooms. Some doors hung open while others had been ripped clean off their hinges.

One room contained claw marks gouged deep into the drywall. Another had an IV stand bent nearly in half.

The deeper they moved into the hospital the quieter the team became.

Every sound echoed. Every shadow looked like movement. Finally they reached a nurses’ station.

Dean raised a hand. The group stopped instantly… He listened but there was nothing. No footsteps… No breathing.

Just the faint hum of wind outside and the distant rattling of loose window glass somewhere in the building.

He lowered his hand.

“Clear.”

Several of the Peltasts relaxed slightly.

Dean did not. He turned toward a corridor marked LABORATORY SERVICES.

“This is what we came for,” he said.

The door at the end of the hallway stood partially open. Inside lay the hospital’s diagnostic lab.

And if Dean’s luck held… the blood testing kits Elysium desperately needed were still waiting inside.

He stepped forward and pushed the door open.

“Let’s see what we’ve got.”

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