Bonfires Burning Bright by Jeremy Bishop, Kane Gilmour Read Free Book Online Page B

grabbed the two-way radio from the desk and sat on the edge of the surface. He thumbed the toggle switch and called for Griffin.
    After a few seconds, the man came on the line.
    “What’s up, Winslow? Over.”
    “We have it,” Winslow said. “The why . You’re not going to like it. I think I have the theoretical how, and we have enough of the technical how to maybe shut it down, but I’m not sure we can get us home yet. I’m being vague like you told me, but you need to get back to the station now.”
    “I’ll be right there. I’m just across the street.” Griffin said. “Out.”
    “What is it, Mr. Herman?” Lisa asked. “What did you figure out?” She pulled a long strand of her blonde hair away from her face and sat forward to hear the answer. Joshua was also paying rapt attention.
    Just then a louder wave of the shrieking and screaming from outside town came over the breeze, causing everyone in the room to cringe. They sound like tortured souls , Winslow thought, and given the newly discovered why , that might be exactly what they were. “I know where Renford Ellison wanted to go, but I think he found the other place.”

 
     
    10
     
    “I still can’t believe he had an elevator in the gardening shed of the church,” Griffin said, looking back at the weathered shed on the edge of the church’s rear parking lot. The doors to the elevator inside the shed had been cleverly concealed by a fake wall, with a bunch of rusted gardening tools and a lawnmower in front of it. Those things were easily moved by the wall itself, which moved on well-oiled, recessed hinges.
    Turkette nodded, still looking dejected. “He was sneaky. And he has more money than God. That’s how he got everything built, I guess. I haven’t been here that long. I knew about the elevator and the bunker under the church, but like I told you, I didn’t know what all of it was for. I assumed it was a fallout shelter. That the guy was just crazy and security conscious. One of those survival nuts.”
    “And when he didn’t come back you figured he went underground to his shelter?” Avalon asked.
    Turkette nodded. “Obviously, I suspected he was involved in all this once the first shift happened. When I couldn’t find him after the lizard incursion, I knew where he went.”
    They walked through the parking lot, serenaded by the sounds of distant squeals and shrieks. As they crossed the street toward the station, Turkette fell silent. Sullen.
    Guards let them past the bars and into the station. Only a few lights were on inside, most people gathered in the main room trying fitfully to sleep, while the hellish lullaby of tortured voices slipped through the air. Carol Herman, looking tired and frazzled, her gray hair a mess against her deeply tanned skin, came rushing up to Griffin.
    “They all want to know whatever they can to ease their minds. The soundtrack to this place isn’t helping keep everyone calm.”
    “I’m sorry, Carol. We don’t know much about this world yet, but we’re not taking any chances. Better to keep them all inside for now. Try fans.”
    Carol was thrown by his last comment. “What?”
    “Box fans. I think I saw a few in the storage closet. The white noise from a few of them should drown out the...” He pointed into the air.
    “That should help,” she said, “but we can’t stay in here forever.”
    Griffin knew she was right. They might end up stuck in this hellscape for another week. Maybe more. There was no way to know how long they had between shifts. “Winslow radioed that he’s found something that might help us make sense of all this. We might know something solid soon. For now, just try to keep them calm.”
    The woman nodded, and Griffin patted her back as he passed with Avalon and Turkette in tow. As he approached Frost’s office, his arm started itching again, and his shoulders felt sore where he had been attacked two weeks ago.
    “Dad, I’m gonna go lie down for a bit. I’m wiped.”