by Dirk Patton
Several long seconds passed before Martinez raised her head and looked at him. He stared back, then opened his arms so she could get off him. She didn’t move for a moment, then grabbed the sides of his face and pressed her lips to his.
Strickland was caught by surprise, but soon enough began to respond. The kiss was long and passionate, then lightning blasted a hole into a large outcropping no more than fifty yards from their position. Some of the electricity traveled across the rain-soaked ground and both of them yelped when they received a strong jolt. They looked at each other in surprise, Martinez rubbing her lips which had been one of the points that had felt the shock.
“Don’t expect the next one to be that stimulating,” she said with a smile.
Strickland grinned, gently moving her off him and sitting up. The volume of water rushing down the slope was steadily growing, now running several inches deep. More lightning flashed, one of the bolts striking the ground again. Fortunately, it was far enough away that they didn’t get shocked again.
“If there’s going to be a next one, we’d better find some shelter. Saw a cave a hundred yards back and a little way up the slope. You okay to walk?”
He had to shout to be heard. Martinez nodded rather than try to scream over the storm and they climbed to their feet. Strickland pointed out their path and when she nodded again, he began leading the way. Martinez spared a glance at the ledge she’d slid over, then hurried to catch up. Walking behind him, she reached up and touched her lips. She could still feel a tingle and wasn’t sure if it was from the kiss or the lightning strike.
***
Admiral Packard looked up with an arched brow when Captain West walked into his office.
“Just spoke with the Reagan, sir,” he said as he came to stand in front of the Admiral’s desk.
“They pull Chief Strickland out yet?”
“No, sir. There’s a storm along much of the southern California coast with gale force winds. Visibility below the cloud layer is zero and they didn’t even have a starting point to begin with. Without satellite surveillance, or some way to communicate with Chief Strickland, we’re asking them to pull off the impossible.”
“They can conduct a thermal search,” Packard said, irritation clear in his voice.
“They tried, sir. There are too many infected in the area that show up on thermal. Additionally, the pilots had to withdraw to avoid enemy patrols.”
The Admiral rocked back in his chair and chewed his lower lip in thought, then checked his watch.
“I’m due for an update from Lieutenant Hunt soon. Have you checked on Chief Simmons’ progress?”
“She is still working, sir. Half the engineers on base are either with her or on the phone, but no progress so far.”
“Okay,” the Admiral said, absorbing the information. “Back to our missing man. What do you know about Chief Strickland?”
“He’s young, sir. Was top of his BUD/S class at Coronado. Two tours in Afghanistan under his belt, so he’s not a rookie. Has a reputation for being a world class wise ass, but also for usually being two steps ahead of everyone else.”
“So, he’s smart. That means he’s not going to just be sitting on his ass, waiting for us to come get him.”
“I would expect you’re correct, sir. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking he’s going to head to the closest military installation he can find. He’ll be able to replenish ammo, probably find some MREs and hopefully some working comm gear. He won’t be able to reach us, but he doesn’t know that.”
“Vandenberg Air Force Base or Point Mugu Naval Air Station are the only two that are close enough. Edwards, Fort Irwin and Twenty-nine Palms are all on the other side of the coastal mountains.”
“Have the Reagan send teams of SEALs to Vandenberg and Mugu. Tell them to sit and wait for Chief Strickland to show up.”
“How long do we have them wait, sir?”
The Admiral took a deep breath before responding.
“Time’s running out, Captain. We should already be moving people to the mainland. I’m considering accelerating the use of the failsafe.”
Captain West’s eyes narrowed slightly at the news.
“And not wait for the results of Colonel Chase’s mission?”
“We don’t even know if he’s alive, Captain. And unless Chief Simmons pulls another miracle out of her hat, we may never know.”
35
Consciousness returned, slowly and painfully. I was wrung out, too weak to even open my eyes, but my ears were working. In fact, they were about the only thing that was at the moment. It seemed like it took forever before I recognized the heavy breathing I could hear was Dog.
What the hell had happened? Had I had a heart attack? Stroke? I’d never felt this level of pain and exhaustion in my life, certainly not after becoming infected. And what the...
Wait. Dog? He was in Hawaii with Rachel! So, if he wasn’t here, exactly what the holy hell was I hearing?
I tried to force my eyes open without success. Tried to move my arms but they refused to cooperate. I may have managed a groan, then pain blossomed anew and I was pulled into a deep, dark abyss.
There was no way to tell how much time elapsed since I’d last been aware of anything other than my own pain. The deep breathing of some large animal was still audible and now I could feel pressure on my chest. The only problem was I couldn’t tell if it was something on me or in me that was causing the sensation. But as I lay there, ever so slowly the pain began to recede and I gained some awareness of the environment around me.
I was on my back on a hard surface. Slightly yielding, but not soft. Then I remembered that I’d managed to crawl aboard the aircraft on my hands and knees. As quickly as that memory flashed through my aching brain, I recognized that I was also hearing a voice. I thought I should recognize it but couldn’t. Neither could I understand the words they were speaking. Something cool touched my face.
Once again I tried to open my eyes, succeeding in cracking the lids far enough apart to allow in a searing light that stabbed through my skull like a King Kong sized dentist’s drill. Squeezing them tightly closed, an involuntary groan rumbled in my chest.
“He’s waking up! I saw his eyes open!”
The voice pierced right through me, adding to the agony of the bright lights, but I recognized it. Mavis! But how the hell was she here when she was supposed to be in Hawaii, too? Fighting the urge to throw up from the pain, I gritted my teeth and opened my eyes a tiny slit. The light was still like molten steel in my head but when I saw Mavis’s smiling face, I didn’t care.
My view was almost immediately blocked when Dog shoved his wet nose in the way. I was unable to raise an arm to push him away and endured a thorough licking before he was pulled away and Rachel leaned down and put her hands on either side of my face.
“How are you?”
I understood Rachel’s question, but it didn’t translate into a response. All I could do was smile at her, but from the frown that creased her forehead it probably came across as a grimace.
“John?”
The concern in her eyes was obvious, and that more than anything made me try to respond.
“Unhhh,” I managed to croak.
“What’s wrong?” Mavis asked and I could see her looking to Rachel for an answer.
“John,” Rachel said softly. “Can you speak?”
I tried again with no better results. After a moment of looking intently into my eyes, Rachel cast a glance over her shoulder. There was a bump followed by a low groan of pain, then Joe peered down at me. His face looked like I felt.
“Stupid fucking white man,” he said, trying and failing to grin. “You’re scaring your wife. How about you tell us what happened to you?”
“Injun... Joe,” I managed to hiss between my teeth.
“He’s fine,” Joe said. “Still the same racist bastard he always was.”
“He’s not racist!” Mavis said, staring daggers at Joe.
“He’s... kidding,” I said, the words coming a little easier.
Mavis looked at me and I could see she wasn’t convinced.
“Do you remember what happened?” Joe asked.
I thought about that for what seemed like a very long time, though I have no idea how long it really was.
“Just collapsed. Pain. Feel like I’m on fire.”
“Not surprised,” he said. “You had a fever high enough to fry an egg on that big shiny thing you call a head.”
I looked at him but didn’t know what to say to that, so settled for turning to Rachel and asking the obvious.
“Lucas saved you! But what are you doing here?”
“Saving you,” she said, leaning in and kissing my forehead. “And we were never in danger. Viktoriya tricked you. There were no snipers.”
The feel of her lips was like an electric current that suddenly jump started my nervous system. I was aware Mavis was holding my hand. I could feel Dog’s chin resting on my shoulder and I could smell the sour stench of sweat coming off my body.
“Viktoriya!” I blurted when the memories began flooding back. “She got my blood and she’s infected like me!”
“We know,” Rachel said. “I shot the bitch. Unfortunately, it was only in the arm.”
I looked at her and this time my muscles cooperated, and I was able to smile.
“Are we safe?”
“For the moment. But...”
The look on her face sent a chill through my feverish body.
“What?”
“It’s Lucas,” Rachel said, struggling to keep looking at me. “Viktoriya killed him.”
I stared at her with my mouth open, a thousand different thoughts and emotions flooding through me. Before I realized it, tears were running down my face.
“I’m so sorry,” Rachel said, taking my hand.
“How did he die?” I asked in a choked voice.
“He was outside the plane with Colonel Chapman and she surprised them. Killed the Colonel, then she and Lucas fought. He was on the ground. Stunned. She kicked him in the head until...”
I lay there, unable to process the loss of my friend. Unable to imagine dying the way he had. Fresh tears began flowing and I turned my head away to face Dog. He pushed his nose in until it was touching my cheek and let out a soulful whine. Closing my eyes, all I could picture were the wife and children that Lucas had left behind.
“Where are we?” I finally managed to ask.
“We’re sitting on an empty freeway in the middle of nowhere,” Rachel said. “And we’re out of fuel.”
There was the sound of a muted bell and Joe moved away.
“You’d better start from the beginning,” I said.
Rachel told me about Chapman and his men coming along to help, then was starting to explain why they’d been left behind when Joe interrupted.
“That can wait,” he said, moving back into sight. He was looking at a strip of paper that had small printing on it. “Found out what happened to you, and it’s what I was afraid of.”
“Were we right?” Rachel asked, leaning in for a look at the paper.
Joe nodded then turned to me.
“Other than a few traces, your body is virus free.”
I looked at him for a long moment, not comprehending what he was saying.
“Someone gave you the cure,” he said after I failed to react. “That’s the only possibility.”
I lay there staring at him, then remembered the IV I’d been connected to at Edwards Air Force Base.
“That fucking bitch! They had me on an IV when they took my blood. Told me it was just to keep me hydrated and help my body recover, but the cure must have been in there.”
“The cure has to be administered IV,” Joe said, looking away and lowering his head. “So that makes sense. I’m really sorry, John.”
“Sorry? For what?”
“I gave her the cure,” he said in a low voice. “Held out as long as I could, but...”
He gestured at his horribly battered face without meeting my eyes.
36
Mavis folded a blanket that had been around my neck and put it under my head so I could see more than the overhead of the jet’s cabin. I was too weak to move and there were few, if any nerve endings in my body that weren’t on fire.
“Exactly where are we?”
I was speaking to the Russian pilot who was seated on the deck near the cockpit. Joe was guarding him with a pistol held firmly in his hand and the man looked worried. Didn’t blame him.
“I’m not really sure,” he said in near perfect English. “There’s no GPS and we left Yuma in a hurry with hardly enough fuel to get off the ground. I got us as far as I could and still land before the engines flamed out.”
“That’s not very fucking helpful,” I groused, the loss of Lucas souring my mood even more than usual. “Which direction did you fly? How fast? How long were we in the air? Are we sitting on a two-lane highway or a four-lane freeway? Christ, are all Russians as fucking stupid as you?”
His eyes flashed in anger at the insult, but I didn’t give a shit. He was supposedly a trained and professional pilot. I shouldn’t have to prompt him for the information I wanted. Joe noted his look and shut it down with a simple wiggle of his weapon, reminding the man he was a prisoner.
“We flew east for nineteen minutes at two hundred knots,” he answered in a tight voice. “And we landed on a four-lane highway, but I don’t know which one.”
“How far is that?” I said aloud as I tried to do the math in my head.
“Seventy-three miles.”
I looked at Mavis in surprise. I hadn’t even figured out the conversion from knots to miles per hour yet. She just shrugged.
“Catholic orphanage. Remember? The nuns were big on making us learn math.”
“Actually, seventy-two and some change,” Joe said.
“I rounded,” Mavis shot right back.
Joe looked at her for a long beat then stuck his tongue out. Mavis giggled and I sighed.
“We have to be sitting on Interstate-8,” I said. “Where were the Marines?”
“We left them where we found you when we flew back to Yuma. Wasn’t too far from Phoenix. They were supposed to follow.”
This was the first good news.
“Then they’re going to drive right past us,” I said, then had a bad thought. “Unless they’ve already been through here and we flew over them. How long from when you found me until Viktoriya attacked us in Yuma?”
“Maybe ninety minutes,” Joe said. “Give or take.”
“Then we should be good. They can’t have gotten past here that fast.”
“That’s good,” Rachel said, taking a seat on the floor next to me. “But the bitch is still out there. And I think she’s controlling the females.”
“What?”
The surprise caused me to begin to sit up, but my body didn’t like the idea and protested by sending a bolt of hot lightning down my spine and through my limbs. Catching my breath, I carefully relaxed my muscles until the pain eased to only a loud roar.
“Just like Nicole,” Rachel said, nodding for emphasis. “That’s why we had to scramble to get out of Yuma. She was at the head of a whole mass of them, charging the plane.”
I didn’t like the sound of that and started to chastise myself for having given her my blood, but I’d had no choice. Viktoriya had successfully fooled me and there was nothing I could do about it.
“She’s going to be coming this way,” I said. “How long have we been on the ground?”
“Half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes. Even infected, she can’t travel fast enough to be a threat for a while.”
“Unless she finds a vehicle.”
I raised my head off the blanket and tried to lever up on my elbows. Sweat from the exertion popped out on my face and when a renewed wave of agony speared through me, I let myself fall back to the deck with a sigh. Dog, grunting his displeasure that I’d m
oved and disturbed him, turned a circle and managed to slap my face with his tail.
“You need time to recover,” Joe said. “The cure plays hell with the body.”
“How long will I be down?” I asked.
“Don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “When I used it on Lucas, he was back up and around in a few hours. Don’t have a clue why you aren’t, other than everyone is different.”
“So I just lay here and do nothing?”
“Pretty much,” Rachel said with a smile. “Besides, if you’re right about where we are, Chapman’s men should be here soon.”
“Great,” I grumbled. “Waiting to be rescued by Marines.”
“There’s worse things.”
Shaking her head, Rachel turned and dug through her small pack until she found a well-worn book.
“Mavis and I stopped at the base library before we went to the movies,” she said, holding it up for me to see the cover.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“You,” she said brightly.
Mavis took it from her and opened to the beginning.
“I’ll read it to you,” she said.
“Why do I need a book on what to do during childbirth?” I asked.
It took me a minute then I could feel my eyes go wide.
“Oh, hell no! Not me!”
“Oh, yes,” Rachel said. “The way the world is, what if you’re the only one around when it’s time?”
“Then I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“And if there isn’t a hospital?”
“Then... well...”
“You’re scared,” Mavis said, sounding delighted at my predicament.
“I am not scared! It’s just not something... I mean... hell, what if I drop one of them or something?”
“Then we’ll have one slow kid and one smart one. They’ll be just like us,” Rachel said with a straight face.
I stared at her for a moment, then looked at Mavis and found no support from that quarter. Turning to Joe, I could see the amusement on his face despite the bruises and swelling.
“Since you can’t get up, you might as well listen,” Mavis said, then began reading.
Surrendering, I closed my eyes and tried not to listen, especially when she got to the part about a mucus plug, whatever the fuck that is.