Purification

replied. ‘They’re about to open the fucking doors!’
    ‘Shit,’ was all that Armitage could say. Before he could react a further crowd of panicking survivors pushed passed him and spilled out into the hanger.
    ‘Get ready to leave,’ Cooper shouted. He hoped they weren’t going anywhere, but he felt duty bound to prepare the group for the worst possible scenario. ‘Get everyone into the vehicles.’
    Without question or delay the frightened crowd began to hurriedly make its way across the cavernous chamber towards the police van, prison truck and motorhome.
    Bernard Heath looked around for Phil Croft. He grabbed the unsteady medic’s arm and pulled him along. Whilst he could walk, his injuries still prevented him from getting anywhere with any real speed.
    ‘Get the kids,’ Michael yelled to Donna across the small, square room where the youngest members of the group tended to gather. She did as he said, ushering the few children towards the door. Emma, frightened and moving against the flow of the others, grabbed hold of his arm.
    ‘What’s going on?’ she began to ask. ‘What are they doing…?’
    ‘Get into the motorhome,’ he snapped anxiously. ‘I’ll be over there in a couple of minutes.’
    ‘But…’ she protested. Michael pushed her away, desperate to get her to safety quickly.
    ‘Don’t ask questions,’ he shouted after her, ‘just get yourself over there.’
    ‘Is that everyone?’ Cooper asked breathlessly as he returned to the hanger after checking the largest room was clear.
    ‘Think so,’ said Jack Baxter as he looked back across the immense cavern. He watched nervously as the rest of the survivors attempted to cram themselves into the back of the group’s three vehicles.
    ‘You two get yourselves over there and try and get that lot sorted out,’ Cooper ordered. Although he had never been formally recognised by the group as their leader, the authority and command in his voice was unquestionable.
    Michael and Baxter turned and ran towards the others.
    Cooper stood his ground and anxiously watched the soldiers. The roar of engines suddenly filled the base and an armoured personnel carrier took up position at the foot of the ramp which led up to the main entrance doors. Two smaller jeeps were driven out of the shadows and parked behind the first vehicle. He cautiously moved forward, his military mind keen to try and work out the tactics and intentions of what was about to happen.
    ‘Cooper,’ shouted Michael as the final few survivors jostled for space in the group’s battered transports, ‘come on!’
    Cooper ignored him and instead moved closer still to the troops. He estimated there were somewhere between eighty and a hundred soldiers in the hanger and there was no doubt that this was a major operation. He knew that the officers (who, as far as he could tell, were still buried safely within the deeper confines of the base) would never risk sending such a large number of troops above ground unless they had absolutely no option but to do so.
    He took a chance. He had nothing to lose.
    ‘Hey,’ he said, standing in shadow and reaching out and grabbing the arm of the nearest suited figure. The soldier nervously span around to face him. The protective mask and breathing apparatus partially obscured the trooper’s face allowing Cooper to see only his eyes. ‘What’s happening?’
    ‘Vents are blocked,’ he answered in a muffled but clearly young and anxious voice.
    ‘So what’s the plan?’
    The soldier looked from side to side, not sure whether or not he should even be speaking to Cooper. He figured that the preparation of the troops and equipment closer to the front of the hanger was a sufficient distraction for him to risk saying a few more words.
    ‘They reckon we can get by for now with at least two of the vents clear, so we’re going out there to sort ‘em and to make sure they stay working.’
    ‘Are you staying out there?’ Cooper whispered. The soldier shook his head.
    ‘You’ve got to be fucking joking,’ he replied quickly.
    ‘No, that’s what the jeeps are for. The vents are low on the ground. Plan is to leave a jeep straddling each vent to block them off and stop those bloody things out there from clogging them up again.’
    The soldiers began to move forward. The trooper next to Cooper pulled himself free from the survivor’s grip and moved up to retake his position in formation next to his colleagues. Still curious, Cooper jogged across