Poison Paradise - Damned of the 2/19th

Exits and Underwear

Everyone nodded, Lori wincing slightly. Her husband had hated it if she didn't shower in the morning and before she came to bed. He'd hated baths, claiming that all it was was sitting and stewing in your own filth, and had forbid her from taking them. To be honest, she felt absolutely filthy and extremely self-conscious that she could smell herself as well as the heavy greasy feeling to her hair.

"Who put you in charge?" Raincloud asked.

Kevin sneezed then looked up, wiping his hand on his pants leg. "Sounds solid to me."

"I don't hear any ideas from you, Chief Shitting Bull," Mike said, then sneezed.

Raincloud snarled at Mike, who sneezed again, then coughed.

Charlie stepped forward, putting the back of her hand on Mike's forehead. "You're running a fever, Mike," she said, shaking her head. "How long have you felt sick?"

"Last night. I started coughing last night," Mike said. "I kept waking up cold. I swallowed a lot of water after the crash, I figured it was because of that."

Don looked at Sarah. "We need to get everyone somewhere warm or Mike's just going to be the first," he told her, rubbing his chest.

"Then let's get a move on," Sarah smiled. She moved over to the door, checking the clipboard and flipping through the papers till she found the part of the map with the door listed. She cross referenced the number on the door on the map to get the code. Sarah noted there were three  sets of codes per door, one marked 'mil' one marked 'civ' and one marked 'sup'. She punched in the 'sup' code, hoping it stood for "supervisor" and stepped back.

The door opened without a klaxon going off, revealing the short hallway beyond that was labelled "exterior decon hallway" on the map. Everyone filed in, waiting for the water to start when the door closed but nothing happened.

"Why no water this time?" Richard asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"I put in the supervisor code," Sarah admitted.

"There any code like that for the military door?" Renee asked hopefully.

Sarah shook her head. "Nope. The door itself isn't on the map," she said.

Once the door on the interior side shut she moved over and threw the bar for the other door. It rumbled up slowly, quietly, locking into place with a dull thump. They all filed through and Renee noticed that the bar moved itself back into the original position right before the door started closing.

"All right, find clothes, take a shower, get changed," Sarah said, trying to keep her voice upbeat and chipper. She pointed at one of the lockers. "They've all got soap and all of that, so don't forget to take care of yourself."

"One little problem, oh fearless leader," Renee said.

"What?" Sarah asked, still smiling.

"The showers are all against the wall with no dividers," Renee pointed up at the corner. "And a camera watching them."

"I doubt anyone's at the camera," Richard said moving to a locker and opening it. "Besides, we can take turns sitting on the other side of the lockers, that way we can't see each other. It'll just take a little longer if we each take turns."

"God, didn't any of you take gym in school?" Renee asked, shaking her head. "I don't care if the rest of you girls see me shower."

"We'll sit on the other side of the lockers," Don said, getting up slowly. Renee noticed his face was red by the time he was standing up and he moved slowly around the lockers.

"I hope the water's warm," Lori said, her voice small.

"Either way, I need a shower," Renee said. She moved over and turned on the shower, stepping back.