The Night

by Steinwachs, Mark

  “Nothing we do from this point forward will be easy,” he began, his voice clear and strong. “I have taken everything you told me into consideration. Some of you will not like what I am about to say, but you must trust me and trust each other. We need to stay united in the struggle that is about to unfold. I implore you to bring any concerns you have directly to me as we move forward. Each one of you has been brought here for a very specific reason. Only working as one can we hold this country together.

  “Let me say this officially,” he paused, the room silent, waiting on his words. “The United States of America is under attack.” Another pause as he let his words sink in. “A zombie outbreak has occurred and we are now at war. We do not have a scientific name for them nor do I care if they ever have one. If there is anyone here who thinks I am not correct in saying this, speak up now. When we leave this room, each of you will need to say the word ‘zombie’ often. Say it and believe it. Do not back down from it. Only with true conviction will you be able to fight off the multitude that will decry your name.”

  The president waited. No one spoke up. No one would; no one could.

  “The CDC will lead the medical front and get any support they ask for. General Coleman, your personnel and facilities will be at their disposal as well. There is no military classification that Dr. Boshifski and her team cannot see. I will not have anyone tell me that the US military is hiding anything. Is that understood?”

  He paused and General Coleman gave his agreement, then the president continued, “Dr. Boshifski will be briefing us on a daily basis and will also be speaking publicly on behalf of the CDC.”

  He turned his attention to the rest of his military leadership. “All military personnel, resources, and assets will return home immediately. I will begin contacting our allies and offer our military bases for their use until we are ready to return.

  “As you know too well, the numbers are staggering. There are only one million active members in the armed forces compared to 350 million people in the country. We need everyone,” he stopped, leveling his gaze at those in military uniforms, “I mean everyone, back to support us.”

  He turned his focus back to the group. “All members of the national guard and military reservists will be called to active duty as soon as this meeting ends. Police and all other emergency agencies will now fall under the control of Homeland Security and every employee of those agencies will be on call and on station from here forward.

  “I will be addressing the nation in two hours, sharing the latest information that we have. We will meet again in one hour, at which time we will go over our next steps.”

  He stopped, knowing that what he was about to say would change his life forever. He had no choice. “I am declaring a national state of emergency. The Office of the President will be taking full control of the government until we have this threat under control. Let me be perfectly clear: I do not want this. I did not ask for this. This is the only way to handle situations quickly. There will be times when speed will be our greatest ally.

  “Is there anyone in this room who can tell me why we shouldn’t move forward in this manner?”

  For the second time the president waited; for the second time no one questioned him.

  “Thank you for your faith and trust in me. I will need all of your knowledge and input to guide me, but I repeat, my decisions are final and I will stand behind each one. None of you will be called into question for anything I ask you to do. That is my burden alone.”

  President Lansing turned and left the room. There was nothing more to be said. In one hour that burden would be fully realized.

  The Riot

  Zombies did not account for all the deaths in the time just after The Night. Untold numbers of people were killed by military, police, and fellow citizens. The early battles were over food. Once the initial shock of The Night wore off, everyone knew supplies would dwindle. The government tried to control this as best they could. It was a battle that cost too many lives before the American public realized what needed to be done if their nation was to survive.

  Excerpt from “The Decade”

  Dr. Rudolph Graham

  Corporal Mattias keyed his mic. “East side Post 20, all clear.” He looked over at his partner, Private Nelson. The marine looked exactly like what Mattias thought Private Nelson should look like: totally average. Nothing stood out about him. Nothing except he looked like he was going to throw up every time he got to his post.

  Why the hell did I have to get stuck with this guy. “Nelson? You gonna be okay? We still have another seven hours up here, you know.”

  “I know, Corporal. Look, I have a bad feeling is all.”

  Mattias rolled his eyes. Fucking hell. “Look, Nelson. It’s going to be fine. It’s still curfew, no one’s out. If it moves, shoot it.”

  Mattias turned his head back to face the street. They were at the main entrance of Wal-Mart. The large, open parking lot made it easy for the marines to spot any zombies or civilians. Zombies were shot on sight. Civilians? So far none of them had attempted to get into this store.

  The sun started to break the horizon. Mattias hated this time of day. He pulled his sunglasses down to cut the glare. The four-lane road in front of him should have been empty but someone came from around the back corner of the Taco Bell. “Hey, Nelson. Got one next to the TB. He’s all yours.”

  “What if he’s still human?”

  “What?”

  “He isn’t moving like a zombie.”

  “Christ, Nelson.” Mattias leveled his M-16, got a bead on the zombie, and pulled the trigger. The creature flailed back, its shoulder hung limp from the impact. Mattias shifted slightly and took another shot. Its head exploded and it crumpled to the ground.

  “Z or not, it’s curfew. If it moves, it dies.” Mattias keyed his mic. “East side, Post 20. One kill.”

  ***

  The next two hours went by without any activity. Even though curfew was lifted, no one was on the streets except for a few military and police personnel doing routine scans of the area. Mattias pulled out his binoculars and looked at the houses across the road from them. A few kids played in their backyards, too young to understand what was happening around them.

  He kept scanning the area. He stopped when he noticed the group of cars at the subdivision to his left. What were they doing there? They weren’t there last night, were they? He made a mental note to check back on the situation in a few minutes.

  Mattias shook his head. “I’m going to take a leak. Keep an eye out, Nelson.”

  He got up and headed towards the access point in the roof. Before heading down, he looked back at Private Nelson walking the edge of the roof, a lone marine watching a suburb from the top of a Wal-Mart. He shook his head and climbed down the ladder into the darkened store.

  Mattias walked past the break room. He noted a few personal belongings from employees were still there. He wondered if those people would ever be back, getting ready for another minimum wage shift in a job they probably didn’t care about. I bet any one of them would rather be here today than in this mess.

  He pushed the door to the women’s room open and stopped when he saw the men’s room to his right. Mattias stepped to the side and entered the men’s room. “I’m trained too well,” he chuckled. The door shut behind him.

  He washed his hands when he was finished and looked at himself in the streaked mirror. Ten days ago he heard rumors about some kind of ‘outbreak’ back home. Three days later he was on the first transport out of Afghanistan. Fourteen days into the outbreak he landed in Tulsa. A rapid debriefing later, he was paired up with Private Nelson. The kid—hell, he was only three years younger than Mattias—had almost graduated from boot camp when they stationed him out here. Mattias looked at his sun-soaked, wind-burned skin. He could still feel the desert air blow across his face. He splashed water on it and the desert washed away. He marveled at how much his life changed in the last week.

  He was almost back to
the ladder when Nelson called his radio. “Corporal, ummm, I think something is going on.”

  What the fuck did that mean? “I’m almost there. Unless it is an emergency, just stay calm and I’ll be up in a second,” he said. Something’s going on? That kind of shit would get you and the other men killed.

  He climbed the ladder and strode purposefully, but not rushed, to the corner of the building, where Nelson stood. “All right. What is this something?”

  Nelson pointed over to the subdivision that Mattias looked at earlier. “Another couple cars pulled in while you were downstairs. What’s going on?”

  Mattias pulled up his binoculars. There were approximately twenty adults milling about in front of one of the houses. They shook hands and hugged each other, seemingly normal greetings. It was hard to be sure but he thought a few of them looked in the direction of the Wal-Mart and pointed.

  “Shit.”

  “What is it, Corporal?” Nelson said.

  “It could be nothing or—I don’t know. Think about it, Nelson. It’s been a couple weeks. People are running out of food. Lansing told everyone to stay calm and everything will be fine. But when you’re out of food and there’s a fully stocked Wal-Mart a few blocks away with only a couple of marines to guard it … You do the math. Dammit.”

  “I’m not going to shoot anyone, Corporal. Zombies are one thing, but hungry Americans are something else.”

  Mattias looked at the private. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. All the rules have been thrown out the window. We’ll do what we have to.”

  He scanned back across the rest of the area. A few cars drove past. People chancing the streets to … Mattias didn’t know what they were doing and didn’t really care. If he tried to think about the grand scope of things, it was too much. He had a job to do and he was going to do it. It’s all he could do.

  When Mattias looked back, more people had gathered around the house. Maybe they are talking about some kind of watch program or maybe people are starting to feel safe. Or maybe they are about to make their way to Wal-Mart. Even if they got in, they have to know a group that big would end up fighting each other for food. Don’t they?

  “That’s what the Nazis told each other, and the Russians, and everybody else.” Nelson said.

  Mattias turned, trying to process the statement. “What?”

  “That’s what all those soldiers said, ‘We have a job to do’. Does that make it right?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Mattias grabbed his radio and clicked it on. “Post 20 here. I can’t be sure but it looks like a group of civilians are getting ready to make a move on our location. Reroute patrols to this location. Over.”

  “We do not have personnel to send at this time. Follow current procedure. If they do not disperse, we will scramble men to your location. CP, out.”

  Both marines heard the reply. Mattias spoke, “I’m going to keep an eye on the situation. You’re going to have to handle the rest of the building.” Nelson nodded and began his walk around the perimeter of the Wal-Mart.

  Mattias lay down on the roof and looked through his binoculars again. The cluster of people was starting to break up. Groups of four or five people began to head off in different directions. At least none of them made a beeline for his location. He followed a couple of the groups until they were lost amongst the trees and houses of suburbia. Mattias stood up, his mind racing. Are they going to try and hit us on all sides? There aren’t enough of them. Maybe a group or two will try and distract us while the others break in. They have to know the alarms are on. They could be going through the neighborhood. Clearing the zombies to get the food in the houses.

  “CP, the group has splintered into smaller groups. Alert all personnel in the area to our situation. Make sure—”

  “Corporal Mattias, keep an eye on the situation. Radio if you need assistance, only. Do you understand, marine? Over.”

  “Yes, sir. Post 20 out.”

  ***

  The sun rose farther in the sky, high enough where it was no longer blinding Mattias when he looked to the east. Another two hours and he and Nelson would be done with their shift. Every few minutes he heard a shot fired. They came from all different directions but there were no long bursts of fire to indicate a skirmish of any kind. Mattias kept pace with Nelson so they were on opposite sides of the building. The kid had his M-16 at the ready at least, even though he hadn’t fired it this morning. Mattias kept his finger near the trigger. His eyes were focused ahead of him, letting his peripheral vision pick up anything out of the ordinary. It was a skill he learned in the burned-out cities of Afghanistan and it had saved him more than once. One of those times most of the world knew about, but no one knew he was involved. He looked forward as he walked but his mind replayed the memory.

  ***

  The sound of bullets hit the stone building he was pinned behind. He counted the time between rounds, letting the unseen enemy waste their ammo. A small chunk of mortar from the building burst apart.

  He counted. One, two, three.

  Another chunk exploded. One, two, three.

  A third round. One, two.

  A fourth. One, two, three.

  Mattias focused on learning the rhythm. It’s what he didn’t focus on, what his peripheral picked up, that saved him.

  How long his attacker was hiding, Mattias would never know. He came out of nowhere but the glint from the sun off his knife gave Mattias the moment he needed. He rolled away and the knife dug into his shoulder, not his neck, which would have killed him. He cried out in pain as his attacker pushed the knife deeper and shoved him closer to the edge of the building, exposed to the enemy fire. He heard a rapid burst and the building fragmented around him. Mattias pushed back. He swung his arm around and felt the barrel of his gun lodge against the enemy. He pulled the trigger and a burst of three rounds tore into his attacker. The recoil popped his shoulder and the knife lodged there dug further in. Mattias looked at his attacker. It was a kid, maybe twelve years old. Blood gurgled from his mouth as it simultaneously spilled from his chest.

  ***

  There was movement to his right and Mattias snapped his M-4 up. A figure darted between two trees that lined the grass at the back of the Wal-Mart behind the loading docks. Mattias quickly got a bead on him and called out, “My name is Corporal Mattias of the United States Marine Corps. You are in a restricted area. Come out now with your hands up. If you do not comply, I will have no choice but to think you are a zombie. I do not miss from this range.”

  Mattias paused. Waiting. He pulled his finger halfway back. A woman slowly walked out with her hands up. She looked to be middle-aged with her long, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, sticking out through the back of a baseball hat. She wore a t-shirt and running pants. The words ‘soccer mom’ flashed in Mattias’s mind. “Walk down to the road where I can see you. Make no sudden moves.” She didn’t say a word, just turned and started walking. Mattias scanned the trees. He kept his rifle up as he watched her.

  “Corporal,” Mattias heard Nelson’s call on the radio. “You better get over here.”

  The woman kept walking. Mattias cursed under his breath and jogged to the front where Nelson waited for him. As he crossed the building, more of the parking lot came into view. He didn’t know what he was expecting to see, but it wasn’t the five people that were standing fifty feet from the front entrance, looking up at Nelson. Mattias couldn’t see any guns on them, although each person did have a handheld weapon of some form. There were four men and one woman. He didn’t immediately recognize any of them from earlier but that really didn’t matter to him now. He figured they were part of the group and that meant there were still more out there.

  “I’m Corporal Mattias of the United States Marine Corps. You are in a restricted area. Leave and return to your homes.”

  None of them moved.

  “I have the right to use any force necessary. If you are here to report a zombie sighting, do so now.” />
  They stood their ground.

  The few cars that were on the road began to slow. Two of them pulled off into the Taco Bell parking lot.

  Shit. “This is your last chance.” Mattias raised his weapon, pointing it in the general direction of the group.

  The woman took a step forward. “Good morning, corporal. My name is Nancy Donovan. We’re running out of food and supplies and there are a lot of them in there,” she pointed towards the store and took another step forward. “Please, let us in. We will only take the perishable food items that are about to spoil, then we’ll leave. No one has to know about this. Please, Corporal Mattias.”

  Mattias shifted his aim slightly, focusing on the woman. Nelson spoke so only Mattias could hear him. “It makes sense, corporal, let them in and out the back. The food is going to waste in there.”

  He didn’t shift his body as he replied, his voice muffled by the butt of the rifle, “Jesus, Nelson, what about the rest of the group? Where are they? Once you let one in, then more will follow. No. This needs to end.”

  Mattias spoke louder, “I’m sorry. That isn’t possible. Return to your homes. Now.”

  The woman stepped back. From inside the store alarms began to ring. The group scattered. Each person peeled off in a different direction heading away from the store. Mattias nearly pulled the trigger but stopped before he fired a round.

  Two people to cover a Wal-Mart. Fuck me. “Nelson, get to the back. See if there is anyone outside still. Shoot on sight. That’s an order.”

  Mattias watched more cars stop and people get out, each person armed and ready to fire. Two weeks of living with zombies had them trained. Movement flashed below Mattias. He looked down but it was too late. The sound of breaking glass cut into him as the doors were smashed open. More alarms rang out. Mattias dared to lean over the edge, just in time to see two people sprinting beneath him and inside the store.