The Departed

by Chase McCown

  “It isn’t fair,” said Susan, who was frozen by the shock of the news.

  “I know,” Howard said, turning to her.

  “But we were supposed to be safe here, Howard. It was supposed to be a new beginning. The war was supposed to be over.”

  “There’s still fighting going on out there, Susan. The battle’s still raging, and we can’t win it without you.”

  Susan shook her head. “But I don’t know if I can fight anymore, Howard. I’m tired. Tired of fighting.” She fell to her knees, despondent.

  Howard knelt beside her and put his hand gently on her shoulder. “You aren’t alone, Susan. You know that, don’t you?”

  “What are you saying?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “Well, for one you have us. You know we’ll always be there for you. We’ve come this far…what’s a little farther? But I was actually talking about this.” He held up the cross he wore around his neck. “He can win this fight for you.”

  “He can’t. He wouldn’t. I don’t deserve His help, anyway,” Susan said.

  “This isn’t something you earn, Susan. It’s a gift. It’s something you have to accept,” Howard said.

  “But how?”

  “Pray with me, Susan.”

  The two prayed there for a few long minutes, the room silent save for the sound of Howard’s voice.

  “God, please help Susan. Give her strength to accomplish your will. Show her that you can win this fight for her and through her, if she’ll let you. Show her that no one is beyond salvation. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”

  Susan lifted her head and, although sobbing, she embraced Howard and smiled.

  “Now,” Howard said, standing to his feet, “let’s finish this.” He held out his hand, and she took it and stood up.

  As Susan rose to her feet, an officer stuck his head inside the room. “I just got news that infected have been spotted moving en masse to what looks like a nearby state park. We also got a name on the guy from the video. He’s a former chemistry professor at Harvard named Peter Gramble. He was fired from that job two years ago when questions were raised about the state of his mental health.”

  “Thanks,” said the sheriff. He then turned to Howard, Susan, Mike, and Jacob. “Well, I’m sure the President’s going to want a word with the four of you. Thanks for the help.”

  They left the old New Dawn headquarters and met with Secret Service agent Jones, who took them to the President.

  Chapter 70

  February 5th, 2026. Washington DC, Capital of the New Union.

  Later that day, Jacob, Susan, Howard, and Mike sat in the Oval Office while the President and his advisors contemplated a plan of attack.

  “We have three divisions and enough fuel reserves to supply airdrops to the location,” said the military advisor. “Artillery nearby can support the infantry once they hit the ground, and if we hit them fast enough, we can head off an invasion of DC before it starts.”

  “I disagree,” the President’s domestic defense advisor said. “We should hold back all our forces to defend the city. We can’t risk leaving the city defenseless.”

  “What do you two think? I trust your judgment,” the President said, turning to Howard and Mike.

  “I don’t know, sir, but we need to find this Peter guy and take him down. We could track him down while you take care of the invasion. With him gone, I doubt New Dawn would be much of a threat.”

  “Well, we have some information that might help with that. A satellite took this photo in Birmingham, Alabama. It looks like they’re heading west. We’re sending two of our own with you.”

  “Great. Where do we find them?” Howard asked.

  “You don’t,” said the President. “They’ll find you when it’s time. Until then, get some rest.”

  *

  The four arrived back at their apartment half an hour later. Mike went to his room to think, and Howard retired to his to take a nap. Jacob and Susan remained in the living room, and Susan read through the contents of a folder.

  “What’s that?” Jacob asked, pointing to the folder she was flipping through.

  “I think it’s their research notes,” Susan answered, scanning the headings of each page in the folder.

  “Anything on how to cure the infection?” Jacob asked.

  “Not yet, but I’ve got my fingers crossed,” she said, pulling out a page. “Here’s something! Listen to this. ‘A serum drawn from the blood of alligators has a dramatic effect on the disease, halting and often outright destroying it. It may be possible to create a vaccine from it, but more testing must be done to study the effects it has on the human body and any adverse side effects it may have.’”

  “Alligator blood?” Jacob asked.

  “Yeah, it sounds like they’re immune to the infection.”

  “Interesting. Anything on how to use it as a vaccine?”

  “Well, it looks like the scientists were on the verge of finalizing the cure when they were pulled out. They said they weren’t sure exactly how to allow the serum to enter the body without triggering the body’s own immune system against it. One researcher had a few ideas, but he didn’t have time to test any of them. We could check into each one and see if any of them allow us to create a vaccine.”

  “Sounds easy enough,” Jacob responded. “Hopefully one of his ideas works.”

  Chapter 71

  February 5th, 2026. Washington DC, Capital of the New Union.

  Susan and Jacob headed for the old New Dawn research facility, leaving Howard and Mike a note explaining where they had gone so that they wouldn’t be alarmed to find them missing.

  They had already spent close to three hours working on developing a cure, but they hadn’t had any success so far.

  “Alright,” Susan said, “neither of the other two ideas worked. This is the last plan this scientist had.”

  She grasped the syringe tightly in her hand and looked at the creep shackled to the wall. It strained to reach her, but its arms and head were tethered to the wall. As she approached, its struggling grew more frantic. Its eyes darted to her, and its teeth gnashed and chewed at the chains restraining it. It reached its hands as far as they would go until she moved close enough to inject the antidote into it.

  She stepped away quickly, glad to be done with the grim business.

  “Now we wait,” Jacob said.

  “Next time, you’re sticking the creep,” Susan said, glaring at him.

  “Hopefully there won’t be a next time.”

  An hour later, both were nearly asleep when they heard a moan. It wasn’t the moaning they’d grown used to hearing from creeps—the brutal, bloodthirsty desire to draw blood—but the moan of another human, probably in pain and definitely confused by the sound of it.

  They spun around and saw the officer, now much less pale and minus the twitching eyes, peering down at his shackles. He lifted his gaze to Jacob and Susan.

  “Why am I chained to this wall?” he asked. “Ohhh, and what happened? It feels like I got hit by a truck,” he said, squinting.

  “Are...you talking?” Susan asked, amazed.

  “Well, yeah. Shouldn’t I be? What’s going on?”

  “Do you remember anything? Anything at all?” Jacob asked.

  “It’s pretty foggy. I...I think I came here for some reason. I was looking for something. When I got here... I just don’t remember,” he said, shaking his head.

  “You were captured and infected with RODAS, but we found a cure,” Jacob explained.

  “Captured? Infected? What are you talking about? The last thing I remember, I was investigating New— New Dawn,” he remembered, scratching his scalp.

  “New Dawn was trying to control the infection. They must have captured you while you were investigating and started experimenting on you, but you should be fine now. We found a way to cure the infection,” Susan said.

  “Well, if I’m not infected anymore, can I get out of these restraints?” the officer asked.r />
  “Oh! Sure, yeah. Here, let me get the key. I think it’s in a drawer here somewhere,” Jacob said.

  “What do you mean you think?” the officer asked.

  “Here it is,” Jacob said, unlocking the shackles.

  “Thanks. I’m going to go— No, I think I’ll just sleep right here,” he said, climbing onto the stretcher.

  Susan and Jacob called in doctors to examine the man and transport him to a nearby hospital. After he had been taken care of, they left and headed to the apartment, where they met with Howard and Mike.

  “Hey, guys,” Jacob said. “You’ll never believe the day we’ve had.”

  “Yeah,” said Howard. “I know what you mean.” He held up the photo the President had given him.

  “Where is this?” Susan asked.

  “Birmingham, Alabama.”

  “How are we going to get there?”

  “The President was pretty quiet about that, but apparently we’re getting picked up,” Howard said.

  “So what now? We wait?” Jacob asked.

  “Looks like,” Howard said.

  Chapter 72

  February 6th, 2026. Washington DC, Capital of the New Union.

  “We have new orders,” Robert said, tossing an envelope toward Sam. “Infected are closing in on the city, so half of the squad will stay here to defend the city. The other half will be going after a man named Peter Gramble.”

  Opening the envelope, Sam spotted a picture of Peter as well as a satellite image Birmingham, Alabama.

  “Any volunteers? Those who stay will be on overwatch,” said Robert.

  “I’m a demo expert. Overwatch isn’t exactly my forte. I’ll take field duty,” Fred said.

  “Good deal, Fred.”

  “I’ll take overwatch,” said Jeff.

  “Okay, thanks, Jeff.”

  “Me, too,” said Sam.

  “Okay, thanks, Sam. So I guess I’m on field duty then,” the squad leader said.

  “Let’s go, Robert,” said Fred.

  “Sure thing. Be safe, guys,” Robert said.

  “So we’re supposed to meet up with a guy named Howard?” Fred asked, reading through the briefing.

  “We’ve met him before,” said Robert.

  “Oh, right, the guy who told us about the infected. Well, let’s go pay him a visit.”

  *

  Howard, Susan, Jacob, and Mike sat around a table eating rations when someone knocked at the door.

  “I’ll get it,” Howard said, standing.

  When he opened the door, he saw Fred and Robert standing impatiently outside.

  “Howard?” Robert said. “We’re your ride. Go get the others. We’ve got to leave now.”

  “It’s time to go, guys,” said Howard. “It looks like our ride is here.”

  “What? Now?” asked Jacob.

  “Right now,” said Howard.

  They followed him out, and Robert led them to the roof where an Osprey waited to take them to Peter.

  “Ever rode in one of these before?” Fred asked Mike.

  Mike shook his head.

  “It’s a blast,” Fred said, grinning widely.

  The Osprey lifted slowly and sped off to the southwest.

  *

  “Let’s set up here,” Sam said.

  Jeff slowly dropped his end of the Vulcan. “Sounds good.”

  They fixed the Vulcan to a mount next to one of the windows, and Sam loaded a belt of ammunition while Jeff fixed a sight to the gun.

  Ahead, they could see APCs rolling into position and artillery being set up. Soldiers set up mortars and machine guns along a trench of sandbags.

  “So this is it. Live or die–it’s all going to be decided tomorrow,” Paul said.

  “I hadn’t thought about it,” Jeff said, “but yeah.”

  “Heh, of all the ways I thought I’d go out, this wasn’t one of them,” Paul said.

  “No kidding.” Jeff laughed. “But I guess this beats most. I’m not going down without a fight, though.”

  “Good,” Paul said, patting the Vulcan. “It’d be a shame to let all of these good bullets go to waste.”

  Chapter 73

  February 6th, 2026. A warehouse near Birmingham, Alabama.

  The blades of the Osprey carved up the sky as the crew drew near to their destination.

  “Almost there,” Robert said, gazing down at the empty city.

  “Yeah, but there’s no way Peter is still here. He could be anywhere by now,” Jacob said.

  “He could be, but he isn’t,” Fred said, pointing at a speck below that he could see through his binoculars.

  “Take us down,” Robert called to the pilot.

  As they landed, they saw Peter walk into a large warehouse. Three guards followed in behind him, and the heroes stopped to plan their next move.

  “Wait, where’s our weapons?” Susan asked.

  “Leave that part to us,” Fred said.

  “There’s two of you, and four of them,” Jacob said. “Plus, who knows what’s inside? I’d feel much safer with a gun.”

  “Okay, look. You use my pistol. You use his. You can take this shotgun. The kid’s not going, though,” Robert said.

  “Fair enough. Mike, do you mind waiting in the Osprey?” Howard asked.

  “Sure. Be careful,” Mike said.

  “We will. See you soon.”

  As Mike waited anxiously in the Osprey, the rest reached the warehouse door. Robert carefully opened the heavy metal door, trying to stay as silent as he could. Everyone else snuck in behind him.

  They found Peter at the bottom of a stairwell. He was talking to a group of scientists who were dressed in the same hazmat suits they’d seen a thousand times before at New Dawn. He gave orders to each one before turning to face the stairwell.

  “Right on time,” he said to them.

  His guards aimed their guns at the five, and they aimed back at the guards.

  “I almost feel sorry for you. To come all this way for nothing. A pity, really. If you’re looking for a happy ending, you’ll find none here. I’ve already won. See for yourselves.”

  *

  Jeff and Paul sat, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Eventually, they thought nothing would happen at all.

  Then they felt a tremor.

  The ground began to shake, and a low moan was heard in chorus as the infected began to crest the large hill that stood out against the uninhabited state park on the outskirts of the city. They flooded out into the city like a river.

  The Vulcan spun to life, churning out a barrage of red-hot metal toward the advancing horde.

  The beasts fell in droves. Bombs tore their ranks apart, and the bullets from machine guns raked through them, but still they came. Mortars tore flesh from bone, separated legs from bodies—as did landmines that had been placed before the battle—but still they pressed on.

  They drew closer and closer to the front lines, and Paul knew they didn’t have the manpower or the ammunition to keep up the fight forever.

  Sooner or later, something had to give.

  Chapter 74

  February 6th, 2026. A warehouse near Birmingham, Alabama.

  Peter motioned to the warehouse. “Do you know why this building is here? Do you know what it was built to contain?”

  He got no response but continued unabated.

  “Underneath our very feet lies a missile silo, and it contains an ICBM. The scientists have been working on restoring its functionality, and late last night, they succeeded. Do you know where it’s been aimed?”

  Again, he got no response.

  “The capital of the so-called New Union. It will level the capital as the infected continue to sweep through the smoldering remains and devour the survivors.

  “You’re twisted, Peter. If you think—” Robert began.

  “The launch sequence has already been engaged,” interrupted Peter, “and a timer has been set. In five minutes, it will begin its flight. Men, kill them. Don’t let them ne
ar the controls.”

  Peter then turned and began to walk toward the rear exit of the building.

  “So what’s the plan?” Fred asked as he and the others dove for cover as bullets began to rain down around him.

  *

  The Vulcan continued to churn out a wall of lead to halt the advance of the infected, but it seemed nothing would stop the horde. When one had its leg separated from its body, it simply limped or crawled onward until it finally hemorrhaged. Then, when it passed, its comrades would climb over its limp corpse and continue on their path. It was a sight that even the most battle-hardened soldiers had trouble stomaching.

  Then a sharp crack was heard overhead. Jeff looked up to see what had caused it, but whatever it was moved so quickly he hardly caught a glimpse.

  The infected near the middle of the horde burst into flames. The flames spread through their ranks, clinging to those it touched, but still the infected pressed on. Some, completely engulfed, simply ignored the flames until they were finally cooked by them.

  The infected continued to move closer, now clamoring to ascend the sandbags between themselves and the front lines of the defenders. Their numbers were fewer but still immense, and still more poured out into the fray from the hilltop beyond.

  Soon, the Vulcan gave its last. Paul and Jeff could do little more than sit, watch, and pray.

  *

  In the initial volley, a guard crumpled to the ground, and Robert flinched in pain. They continued firing down the steps, though, by his orders, and the other two guards fled deeper into the warehouse.

  “Are you okay?” Fred asked.

  “I’m fine—it just hit the vest. Let’s go,” Robert responded. “We’ll find Peter. You guys have to prevent that launch.”

  “Yes, sir,” Fred replied.

  They split up. Robert led Jacob and Susan down one side of the warehouse, and Fred and Howard took the other side. Soon the two groups were out of earshot of each other, and Robert set his sights on finding Peter.

  “He had to have come through here,” Robert said, stalking through the dark warehouse.

  “Yes,” a voice called from the darkness, “he did. Now put your weapons on the floor and kick them to the side.”