In the meantime, they had covered the dead soldier with a makeshift blanket they had found in one of the cupboards. The other soldier was already standing at the main panel of the control room.
"What just happened here?" Zane repeated his question from earlier in disbelief.
"There seems to have been a fight," replied Nathan, looking around the room.
"The dead soldier has traces of an infection," added Zero, making the situation even clearer.
Nobody dared say out loud what everyone was thinking.
"It seems ... the outbreak has reached the bunker ...", the lieutenant broke the silence.
The reaction was subdued, only Zane questioned it.
"I thought the bunker was protected from radiation?!"
"It is, we passed by the radiation protection in the stairwell earlier..."
"But why? The people should've been safe!" Zane refused to accept the situation.
"Zane ..." Asagi looked at him and suffered alongside him.
"Zane," Zero tried to calm him down.
“But all the effort was in vain! Tyler who holds the position outside and the captain who ..." Zane gritted his teeth.
"We don't know that ...", Zero tried further.
"But how did the radiation get into the bunker anyway?" Nathan tried to find out.
“The hospital partially collapsed. Could it be that the radiation protection was damaged?” Zero tried to answer.
"That is possible, yes, but I doubt it ..." the lieutenant said. "Or maybe ..." he turned his gaze to Zero.
"Maybe?" Asked Nathan.
"Or maybe the outbreak came from within the bunker."
"What ?!" a murmur went through the room.
"You mean an infected is in the bunker?" Nathan asked further.
Zane looked at Zero, who seemed shocked like everyone else, and turned to the lieutenant. "But how is that possible?" He asked.
"I don't know either, but it seems more likely that the entire hospital building fell into the bunker ..."
"So, you mean the outbreak destroyed the bunker?" Asked Zero when the soldier at the console intervened.
“I have a picture!” Everyone turned to him. "Not all of them, but better than nothing."
"Well done!" The lieutenant turned to him and looked at the console screens.
They switched through the individual displays on the surveillance cameras. Some only showed static, while others showed empty corridors and lounges. Damaged walls and doors as well as completely collapsed corridors could be seen.
"How can radiation cause so much damage?" Wondered Zane, who looked over the shoulder of the lieutenant.
"Look there," Asagi pointed to one of the screens. It showed one of the bunker rooms in which people seemed to be lingering. Everyone sat huddled in the corners and on the wall the words 'Help us!' could be seen attached with tape.
"Survivors!" Zane was delighted.
"Apparently not all radiation protection rooms are affected ...", remarked the lieutenant while he continued to stare at the screens.
But something is wrong here ... the outbreak damaged some of the bunkers but why are the corridors in the west affected so badly? thought the lieutenant.
"What do we do now?" Asked Zero, who had regained hope after Asagi smiled at him.
"We'll save them of course!" Zane said confidently.
"What about the doors, can they be opened from here?" The lieutenant turned to the soldier at the console.
"Yes," replied the soldier. "I have access to the control."
"Any signs why they can't be opened from the outside?"
"No, only those in the west seem to be damaged ..."
In the west again? Zane wondered.
"But otherwise ... Maybe it was a malfunction?"
"What about Infected?"
"I can't say one hundred percent, we only get a fraction of the signals in."
"Ok, anyway, I'll tell the leadership and the evacuation troops that we could open the gates so that they can evacuate the civilians in the bunkers," said the lieutenant while he slowly withdrew from the control room. "Keep an eye on the screens and get ready to leave," he ordered shortly before disappearing behind the door.
Immediately, with Asagi's assistance, Zero began to search the control room for useful items while Zane, Nathan, and the soldier continued to stare at the screens.
Zane didn't know what to look out for but the sight of so many people still holding up in the bunkers made him hopeful that all would end well.
"Have you seen Carol somewhere?" Asagi asked, who came back to the control desk with Zero. Zero carried a large bag around his right shoulder and several rifles hung from his left shoulder while Asagi carried a backpack in front of him.
"Unfortunately not ..." Zane shook his head. Asagi looked a little dismayed and Zero sighed worriedly.
"What did you find?" Asked Nathan.
"Some weapons and emergency medical equipment," Zero showed the bag and pointed to the rifles around his shoulder.
"We also found some grenades and a rope," Asagi picked up the backpack.
"Well done," said the lieutenant from the direction of the door, which had previously opened with a low hiss. "I've informed the leadership about the situation," he continued while walking back to Zane and the others.
"How's the situation outside?" Asked Nathan.
"The containment seems to be successful."
"Does this mean Tyler made it?" Asagi said happily.
"I think so, but the Teikoku attacks continue undeterred."
Almost an hour had passed since the Teikoku troops started attacking and the second ring of the wall had become a combat area. Urban warfare raged as the Teikoku tried to claim the sky before reinforcements could arrive.
After a hard fight, Tyler and his team had now eliminated all infected, which slowly began to dissolve. Tyler looked up at the jets flying over his head and turned his gaze back to the hospital entrance.
"Damn Teikoku!" Zane swore.
"What about the infected? Isn't it too dangerous to open the bunker?” Nathan objected.
"Yes, what if the infection spreads?" Asked Zero.
“I informed the leadership about it. Also about us encountering an unknown fourth party,” he began. “We should still open the doors, even if there are still infected people in the bunker. The authorities are of the opinion that since most of the infected we met have already disintegrated, the risk of a further radiation outbreak is much higher.
"Understandable," agreed Zero.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's get people out of there!” Zane exclaimed, whereupon everyone started to smile.
"Exactly," nodded the lieutenant.
At the same time in the streets of the city.
Evacuation troops had positioned themselves outside at the bunker entrances. Because of the Teikoku attack, there were only a few people that could be done without. Soldiers, medical personnel, and volunteers nervously waited for their deployment.
"They're opening the gates," reported one of the soldiers as he took his hand off his headset.
"Ok ..." replied the captain of the group. "Get ready!" He waved to the members of the evacuation team. The minutes passed and everyone got ready for when the gates to the bunker would open.
Some of the gates were set into the ground below the buildings, others were in the large department store passages or in the hospital. Many of the entrances had been spilled by fallen rubble. Ricochets or crashing jets that couldn't be stopped by the inner ring barrier had damaged the buildings, the debris now blocking the entrances. But they all had one thing in common, since the outbreak alarm they had all locked and could no longer be opened.
The soldiers tried to unlock the gates via the panel, but all orders were refused. The system refused all input, so the hope lied on the group around Zane, who had struggled to get into the control room of the bunker.
"Everyone is in position and the leadership has informed the Teikoku about the evacuation, let's prepare to open the gates," the lieutenant ordered the soldier.
"Isn't it dangerous to evacuate while the battle is still raging?" Asagi asked.
"Why don't they stop the attack?" Zane asked annoyed.
"They won't disturb us during the evacuation, but they didn't promise us anything else."
"Damn it!" Zane slammed his first against one of the walls.
"Don't get upset Zane," Nathan patted him on the shoulder. "The reinforcement is surely going to be there soon."
"He's right," confirmed the lieutenant. “It has been a while since I asked for support. They should arrive soon. "
"Is that why they don't want to stop the attack?" Zero wondered.
"What do you mean?" Asagi asked.
"Maybe, much like us, they will not get any reinforcements and want to end it as soon as possible so that they are not at a disadvantage?"
"But then it's stupid of them to give us time to evacuate," Zane wondered.
“It's rather bad for us,” replied the lieutenant.
"Why is that?" Asked Zane.
"We are tying troops to the evacuation that could be used to fight the Teikoku in a normal circumstance," replied Nathan. "Am I right?"
"Unfortunately, that's true ..." replied the lieutenant. "We're spreading our thin powers even more ... and the outbreak isn't exactly an advantage either ..."
"I hope the reinforcements will come soon," Asagi worried.
"Don't worry, we can do it," Zane smiled at her.
"I can open the gates now," reported the soldier suddenly, who until now had been concentrating on the console panel.
"OK, I'll let them know, get ready for us to go into the bunker."
With the sound of the hydraulics in the background, the gates of the bunker entrances to the city opened. The light illuminated the passage that led deep into the bunker. As ordered, the soldiers immediately aimed their rifles at the entrance of the bunker but nothing happened. The corridor was deserted and there was nothing to indicate an infection. The activated evacuation protocol shone arrows on the walls to lead the civilians outside.
The minutes passed, but nothing happened.
It was quiet, only the sounds of battle could be heard in the background. Nobody expected a rush of people as they were all informed of what was going on in the bunker, but nobody at all came.
"Were the people brought outside via other exits?" Asked one of the soldiers, who had grown tired of pointing his rifle in the direction of the entrance, to his captain.
"Not that I know of," replied the captain. “But it seems safe. Let's go in, maybe they need help. "
“OK, we're going in!” One of the soldiers waved to the waiting people.
The soldiers slowly marched down the aisle. They had to hurry as the fighting continued unabated. The city's defenses had held up so far, and the Teikoku had already suffered some losses while their own were relatively small.
The situation gave the citizens of the city hope, but it was still unclear how long it would last. Reinforcements would be arriving soon, but no one could say whether the Teikoku might also get reinforcements.
At any moment, more ships could jump into the combat area, so it was imperative to hurry. But the fear of being the next, if there was another outbreak of radiation, was omnipresent. Nevertheless, the soldiers dutifully marched into the corridors of the bunker and disappeared.
"OK, it's time for us to go," the lieutenant ordered after receiving confirmation that the gates were open.
"OK!" Zane replied motivated.
"What's the plan?" Asked Nathan.
"We will also go into the bunker and try to evacuate one room after the other."
"We weren't even enough people to do that earlier, how is that supposed to work now?" Asked the other soldier. “The maximum capacity of the bunker is 5000 people. How should ... ", the soldier looked at Asagi, "...six people do it?"
“The present evacuation workers will support us, and the troops from outside will also join us. So don't worry,” he tried to calm him down.
"What about that thing from earlier?" Nathan asked.
"Exactly! What about that thing? Shouldn't we go back and help the others?” Zane added.
“The leadership decided that we should concentrate on the evacuation. A rescue team should already be on the way. "
"Hopefully they'll make it," Asagi hoped, clutching the backpack tightly in her hands.
"I'm sure of that," Zero smiled at her and turned to the lieutenant. "Is there a way to find out which people have already been evacuated?" He asked somewhat cautiously.
Asagi, Nathan, and Zane looked at Zero, who reminded them why they were here in the first place. All of them, with the exception of Asagi, were assigned to support services in the event of a crisis. So it was understandable that they were there, however, this was an outbreak. There were no regulations on what the civilian helpers, like Zero or the students of the academy, had to do in such a situation.
Zero had used his paramedic service as an excuse to save Carol. But now he regretted it. He had put Asagi, Nathan, and Zane in danger and there was nothing he could do to support them.
"In the case of a normal evacuation after an attack, yes, but in this case ..."
Zero swallowed.
"Carol will be fine!" Asagi encouraged Zero.
"Right," Zero nodded at her with a smile. "Thank you, Asagi".
Zane and Nathan looked at each other and nodded as well.
"Then we can get started," said Nathan confidently.
"Exactly, let's save Carol and the others!" Zane exclaimed.
"Thanks, guys ..." replied Zero.
"So pack up, we start the evacuation!"
"""YES SIR!"""
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