The Sixth Extinction (Book 4): The Ark by Glen Johnson Read Free Book Online

said over the soldier’s headsets. “I will roll the welcoming mat out for your arrival.”
    “Hello sir,” Echo replied. Her voice changed from her cocky attitude to respectful tones.
    “ Ah, Captain, I see the twenty soldiers I sent on a simple mission have reduced to four, along with two hitchhikers.”
    “I’m afraid you’re breaking up, General Philips,” the Captain said, a hint that he did not want to speak to the General. He switched the radio off. So did the other three.
    They walked through puddles and over chunks of rock, which had fallen away from the wall. The beams of light crisscrossed the tunnel.
    The Captain almost warned the General that the walls were about to be breached, but he knew the General would already know what was happening.
    A concussion boom echoed down the dark tunnel, quickly followed by a series of others. It sounded like a firework display rattling off in the distance.
    “The main attack has started,” the Captain shouted, to be heard through his mask now he had turned the microphone off.
    The Captain shined his light against the closest wall. Cracks had appeared, running down the wall, with dusts and small stones raining down from the roof of the tunnel.

 
    17
     
    Doctor Lazaro , Doctor Hall, and General Philips
    Dartmoor National Park
    Princetown
    Dartmoor Prison in the Hub Control Room
    3:34 PM GMT
     
     
    “ T he walls are breached,” a soldier stated.
    No one needed to be told, they could all hear the loud booms that shook the room they stood inside. The monitors on the walls flickered. The lights dimmed for the briefest of moments before flaring back up.
    “Are the men not in position, like requested?” the General asked, spinning around to confront one of his advisors.
    “Yes sir.” The soldier looked nervous. “They have been firing on the crowds since you gave the order.”
    “I’ve heard no grenades or missile launchers exploding?” His eyes pierced the officer.
    “We thought it might damage the walls to use explosives so close to the perimeter.”
    Melanie could see the officer gulping.
    “Do you really think that matters now?” The General hollered. “Unleash everything we have. Try to contain them near the walls, while we get the people underground.” He turned and marched out of the room.
    Melanie and Doctor Hall followed the General and his group of lackeys.
    The main control room was in chaos. There were people shouting orders, with others running back and forth.
    Melanie noticed the main bank of monitors. It showed the walls had collapsed in several areas. The hordes were pouring through the gaps of tumbling masonry. Soldiers stood in rows, firing into the mass of undulating bodies.
    Large M2 Browning machineguns stood on tripods at intervals along the line. Their destructive .50 caliber bullets shredded everything in their path. The creatures behind climbed over the remains of their companions.
    “I want those people injected and underground now!” the General screamed. He then sprung around to the two doctors. “Doctor Hall, get Doctor Lazaro over to the preparation area, and get her injected and send her underground with the first batch!” He sprung around.
    “Heather, go with them and get yourself injected and underground. Oh, and make sure Doctor Hall doesn’t screw this up.”
    Heather was one of the people who followed the General around like a lost puppy. She looked flustered, as if she believed her place was in the main building, helping to direct operations, not baby-sitting two doctors. She had shoulder length blonde hair and a kindly face. She could have been anything from forty to fifty, and could have passed as a midwife in a maternity ward of any hospital, if it was not for her expensive taste in clothes – she wore a Dolce and Gabbana cream blouse and an auburn, knee-length Fendi skirt, with Manolo Blahnik shoes.
    Melanie ha d also noticed that Doctor Hall had been flicking glances over at the woman since they entered the