K.D. Van Brunt - A Red Sun Rises

Evernight Teen

www.evernightteen.com

Copyright 2020 K.D. Van Brunt

ISBN: 978-0-3695-0132-5

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Audrey Bobak

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction ordistribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of thisbook may be used or reproduced electronically or in print withoutwritten permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodiedin reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names,characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actualevents, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, isentirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To those who fight back

A RED SUNRISES

The New Earth Trilogy, 1

K.D.Va n Brunt

Copyright 2020

Memorandum

To: The Joint Chiefs of Staff

From: Dr. Martha E. Durbin

Director, Centers for Disease Control andPrevention

Date: January 17, 2021

Findings

The GO-3 field teamconfirms that the Rubrum mortis virus is synthetic. Origin: unknown. Purpose:unknown.

The Red is spreading through the air fromthe Karachi and Jakarta epicenters at an alarming rate. We estimatethat the jet stream will carry it to the United States inapproximately forty-three hours, and total global saturation willbe achieved in another three to four days. Incubation period is anastonishing thirty minutes and death occurs within hours.

The CDC projects a mortality rate of99.9955%. Atmospheric toxicity is estimated to persist for 150-200years.

Recommendation

Immediate implementation of ProtocolOmega.

Paige Allyn

Nine Years Later

Raven Rock Mountain Complex

Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania

Paige watched her father step cautiouslyinto the gray, OSHA Level-A hazmat suitan Atmo suitand drag it upover his legs and torso. She helped tug it over the air tankstrapped to his back, making sure the suit didnt snag on anything.John Allyn then pulled the facemask over his head and snugged hishands into the gloved arms. Paige grasped the thick, plasticzipper, and with practiced care, slowly zipped the suit shut. TheTychem fabric was tough, but repeated stress could wear holes init, and holes jeopardized the airtight seal that was absolutelyvital. In the toxic air outside, a rip, however small, meant anagonizing death.

A burst of static erupted from the smallspeaker on the wall-mounted console next to her.

Testing, testing, atinny, metallic voice said, followed by another crackle ofstatic.

Her fathers voice came from inside the suitvia the two-way radio. Paige pinched the tiny button on theover-the-ear mic dangling along the side of her face.

Check, she replied.Air?

I have air, her fatheranswered.

Paige spoke into her mic again. Commencingsuit check.

Proceed.

Paige began studying the suit, using hersmall hands to smooth out wrinkles and folds. She searched forimperfections, holes, rips, anything out of the ordinary, anythingthat looked like a flaw or felt out of place or that mightcompromise the integrity of the suits environment. An Atmo suitwas designed to create a totally encapsulated, vapor-proof habitat.Anything less meant certain death. The Red still contaminated theoutside air and would for God only knew how long.

Suit check complete,Paige said into her mic after several minutes. We are ago.

She gave her father a thumbs-up to emphasizethe point.

Great.

Her father turned around slowly with short,shuffling steps to face the sealed antechamber exit door that ledto the airlock room, which stood between them and the wide open andterrible world outside.

The antechamber in which they stood formedpart of the original entry tunnel to the facility, which had beenwalled off at both ends so it could serve as a buffer between theunderground complex and the airlock room. Since the room remainedmostly sealed off, the air inside had a stale, musty smell, and dimfluorescent lighting cast eerie shadows. Even though the concretewalls were over fifteen feet thick, moisture still leeched inthrough the seams, leaving trails of white mineral deposits on thewalls.

Ready when they are, hesaid.

Theyre late again,Paige replied, not trying to hide her irritation.Jerks.

Stow it, her fatherscolded. Remember, we need them.

The hell wedo!

Paige, I understand youranger. I do. But your mother is never going to walk up that road.Blame her all you want, but its not their fault.

Paige bit back a reply and dropped into achair beside a desk inside the dank antechamber they occupied,gazing intently at the flat-screen vid display in front of her. Themonitor carried the feed from the outside cameras. She tilted thejoystick to rotate the vid-cam lens and centered the screen on therendezvous pada large, circular chunk of cement pavement.Originally, the round slab had been painted with bright-orangeindustrial enamel and outlined with white markings and lightsaround the edges.

Its a helipad, herfather had once explained. Not anymore. It had degraded into acracked, crumbling patch of concrete that looked like a bizarrescab on the land.

Paige had seen a helicopter exactly once inher entire seventeen years of lifethe day she and her motherarrived at Raven Rock, only a week after her eighth birthdaybuther memory of it had faded, just like the hopes that she would everleave this place. Today, nine years after the great die-off, largeportions of the helipads paint had chipped away, and tufts ofgrass grew in the jagged cracks that marred its surface. And hermother? Paige had worked hard over the years to scrub every traceof her from her memory, but it was like trying to wash off a reallyembarrassing tattoo.

Rendezvous plus five,Paige said into her mic, glancing over at the digital clock builtinto the wall in front of her. I dont think the Neanderthals arecoming.

Im getting tired of yourattitude, her father said flatly.

Whatever. I

Her voice cut off suddenly when she detectedmotion on the vid screen.

Paige, what isit?

Wait, she said in aslightly rising voice, I think our prom dates are here. Shestudied the screen, her eyes squinting as if to sharpen the image.Yep, we got ourselves four Outsiders walking in from theeast.

She watched three grown men, along with someyounger dude, approach the underground facility she called home. Aboy. The sight of the Outsiders unnerved her. They moved aroundoutside without Atmo suits. Medically, it shouldnt be possible,but there they were.

Okay, I think itsshowtime, her father said. Spin open the door.

She rose from her chair,taking one last look at the vid feed of the group assembling on thehelipad ruins outside. Stepping carefully around her father, shestrode over to the antechamber door, grasped the metal wheel, andfirmly twisted it counterclockwise. The airtight seal broke with asmall whoosh, and Paige heaved the door open, the heavy steelhinges squeaking in protest. Then her father stepped through theopening and lumbered forward in his suit like a strange alien bug.As soon as he cleared the threshold, she closed the door behind himand sealed it shut, giving the wheel an extra oomph to snug it tightly. In theairlock room, her father had only his suit and a ten-ton blast doorseparating him from the toxic world beyond. He would open that doorhimself by punching in the code on the dial pad adjacent to thedoor to initiate the automated opening sequence.