by SD Tanner
For the first time since he’d met her, she touched his arm and smiled. “You and I make a good team. We don’t get to the same place for the same reasons, but your destination is always right even if your logic is flawed.”
Smiling back at her, he asked with amusement, “How is my logic flawed?”
“You only want to save the one and I want to create solutions that can save many. We have the same objective, but yours is…limited.”
“I would have said mine is personal.”
Leaning into him, he felt the warmth of her body against his chest. “It’s a question of feedback. You want to be a hero to one and I want to leave a legacy to be remembered by.”
Surprised, but not unhappy by her sudden change of behavior towards him, he bent his mouth to her ear whispering, “But no one knows your name.”
Slipping her arms around his waist, she said, “It’s Cheryl.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Mission possible (Hood)
Leaving Ark and Bill to organize what were once his troops, theirs was the first Navigator battle team to hit the road. They’d been given Twin Falls in Idaho as their nest to destroy, and he was sitting on top of one of the two trucks that were driving along Highway 93. Being the first to leave, they’d been supplied with the best weapons, ammo and bombs CaliTech were still able to provide. As a result, they could head straight to their target nest, which also meant his team would probably be the first to die in what was effectively a suicide mission.
The land around him was surprisingly clear of critters. Obviously implementing their final solution for mankind was absorbing all of their time, leaving the country reasonably easy to travel across, and he was hoping the nest would be equally as poorly defended. He wasn’t sure how he felt about knowing his death was imminent, but then he’d never known what to think when it came to dying. After several tours in war zones and having seen his fair share of action, he knew that death came swiftly and always unexpectedly. No one went into combat assuming they would die and every squad prayed theirs would lucky enough to return home safely. This was the first time he was going into an engagement completely confident he wouldn’t return.
His fatalistic attitude was leading him to think about his life. When he’d joined the Marines, he’d been more enamored with the myth and becoming part of something bigger than himself. Reality had set in the first time he’d been dragged out on a cold morning that was still dark and made to hump his gear on a ten-mile hike. After that, it had become a question of surviving his training rather than being impressed by simply managing to sign up. He’d quickly learned he was going to have to dig deep if he was ever going to earn the right to wear the uniform.
Smiling at old memories, he fast-forwarded to his life as a Marine and it was an endless treadmill of training, fighting and classes. Being posted to different bases and regularly deployed hadn’t left him much time to form relationships outside of the Corps, not that he’d been keen to settle down. He’d been privately advised that officers with a stable family life were more positively viewed, but that hadn’t helped him to find the right woman. Thinking of the women he’d known in his time, he smiled even more broadly about the one currently sitting beneath him inside of the truck.
Hellcat was really called Alice, but she answered to both names. Being over ten years younger than he was, they weren’t exactly aligned in many ways except one. She didn’t let fear rule her any more than he did. Despite trying to convince her to stay at CaliTech, fear only brought out an almost hysterical belligerence in her and he respected that. His hellcat hadn’t joined their mission to impress him or even cast revenge on the critters; she’d chosen to face what frightened her the most. He hoped her death would be quick, but then that was something he wished for both of them.
The music that had been playing through his headset cut out and he heard Ark speak. “Hood, you’re fifteen miles from the nest.”
Their target was nestled in the middle of a large town surrounded by a critter fence, meaning there were survivors around the nest. With the people being transformed, he had no idea how many would be on their feet well enough to escape.
“Hey, Ark, have you been demoted to shadow nav again?”
“That wouldn’t be a demotion and no. We’ll be on road soon, but you jarheads need all the help you can get.”
“Aww, I didn’t know ya cared.” He followed his sarcastic remark with the sound of wet smooches by kissing at the air.
“Did your assessments ever mention your inability to stay on point under pressure?”
“Nope. I was always exemplary in all ways.”
His comment was met by laughter on the grid, which considering he was lying was a fair reaction. In truth, his assessments had described him as being above average, but easily distracted. Outside of combat and leadership, he considered much of his work to be “make busy”, meaning his attention had been prone to wandering and it still did when he was bored.
“That’s enough fun, folks. Let’s give our battle team a fighting chance. Hood, I’m seeing several thousand people around the nest, but they’re not clustered like the transformed people usually are.”
“What does that mean?”
“I think it means they’re living around the nest. Unfortunately, it also means the fence is well guarded. I’m guessing that in this prison the aliens haven’t got as far in the transformation process.”
Attacking the nest was a one-way trip and he didn’t see much reason to keep their presence a secret or to worry about how they’d get out again. “Okay, I think we should just drive through the fence and head straight to the nest.”
“You could waste almost all of your ammo just getting close to that nest.”
“Pedal to the metal, dude. We’ll run ‘em over.”
“Hood, there’s tens of thousands of critters behind that fence. You’ll be overwhelmed and never make it to the nest.”
As usual, Ark had a point and a slight flare of resentment ignited inside of his chest. He could accept dying, but only if he took one of the main creatures with him. In his own mind, that would justify his death while satisfying his need to score on the way out. “Yeah, alright. What if we use one truck to batter their way in and they can cover us while we head towards the nest. When we’re close enough we can disembark and run into it.”
“It’s flaky.”
“What about this isn’t flaky?” He asked in disbelief.
They stopped the trucks a mile from the nest. While everyone else organized their weapons and ammo, his hellcat stood by his side as he put on the critter suit. “I’m in your truck, right?” She asked.
In her full armor with her helmet up, he could see her face. As usual, she was anxious and her eyes were darting around the area, as if she expected the battle to start immediately. The moment the fight started, her fear would drive her into action, and it was only while she was still thinking rationally that she was frightened. Once her instincts kicked in, she was a natural born killer.
Wearing the critter suit meant he would probably be the last man standing, and not wanting to watch her die, he gripped her hand fiercely. “Last chance to turn back, Alice. We’re not going home after this.” Looking in the direction of the nest, he added solemnly, “Somewhere between here and the bottom of that nest we’re gonna fall. No one will bury us. There’ll be no one left to mourn for us. We’ll die where we fall and that’s where we’ll stay forever.”
Pulling her mouth down, she pouted. “Are you trying to scare me into staying?”
“No, I just want you to know what’s going to happen. I don’t want you to do this if you have any doubts.” Squeezing her hand even more tightly, he added, “You’re so young.”
Now frowning, she replied, “That doesn’t make me stupid. I get it. You don’t need to baby me. I don’t care. I want them gone and if…when I die then they’ll be gone for me one way or another.” As she turned away to climb inside of the truck, she added churlishly, “I don’t want to live in a world
like this anyway.”
It appeared his hellcat was going into the afterlife sulking and he couldn’t help grinning at her departing back. If only he’d met this woman earlier, he would have made his CO happy by becoming a married officer. Climbing onto the top of the truck, he said, “Move out.”
With the fence only a mile from their position and driving at top-speed, it didn’t take long before they’d driven through it. His driver was hurling the truck wildly, avoiding stopped vehicles and debris on the road. Although the weight of his gear helped keep him on top of the truck, he still needed to hang onto the roof to stay aboard, giving him no chance to fire at the critters following alongside them. Gunfire was erupting from both sides of the trucks, causing the critters to fly away at odd angles.
“Cease fire! Save your ammo. They can’t do anything while they’re chasing us.”
The gunfire stopped and he focused on hanging onto the truck as it weaved unsteadily along the street. He didn’t need his visor to see the people appearing at the windows and on the road. This town was full of survivors and it appeared not as many, if any, had been transformed. The observation filled him with hope that maybe their lives wouldn’t be wasted, and that perhaps more of their people would survive if they could just shut down the nest.
A wall of crashed cars loomed ahead and the driver of the truck in front of them turned sharply to the left. His own driver jammed on his brakes, spinning the truck to follow and he felt both wheels on one side lifting. Just making the corner, the truck slammed down again, and the mad ride continued, only now the sound of harsh cursing filled his headset. The squads inside of the vehicles were being thrown around as if they were marbles in a tin can, and they were letting their feelings be known.
Despite their discomfort, the bad driving meant none of the critters had been able to launch themselves at the trucks. “Maintain speed!”
His orders were met with even more cursing and he grinned, quite pleased to be getting the ride of his life. It was then that he heard Ark’s voice overriding the cursing. “Hood, friendlies on your six.”
Forgetting that he had a camera in the back of his helmet, he leaned into yet another sharp turn, chancing a glance behind him. Sure enough, vehicles were tailing them. “Who are they?”
“Well, they’re not critters. It looks like you have friends.”
In all of their planning, they’d assumed the survivors were useless, but perhaps they’d been wrong. The line of what looked like ten or more vehicles following them could only be survivors. No one would have over ten cars ready to roll for no reason and he wondered where they’d originally intended to go. If each town brought its own army into play then they could fight together and some of them might survive. A small bubble of hope that he might make it home burst through the denial he’d been living in. It seemed he wasn’t as ready to die as he thought he was.
The realization was short-lived when his driver took yet another sharp turn, lifting the right wheels from the ground, only this time they didn’t land. Feeling his body flying from the roof, he was suddenly airborne and the ground appeared to be leaping at him. All he heard was a sickening crunch as he hit the asphalt head first, skidding before he blacked out.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Ray of hope (Stax)
Bella hadn’t wanted to stay behind at CaliTech. She was handy with a gun, but she’d never taken to the Navigator gear, so he’d told her she would present a risk to his battle team. Never a stupid woman, she’d challenged his argument by saying they were supposedly on a suicide mission anyway. In the end, it was Sean and Dean who’d persuaded their mother to stay. In simple terms, they’d explained that watching her die would break them so badly they’d have no chance of surviving the fight. Through their combined efforts, they’d convinced her that there was the smallest ray of hope that they might survive and she’d clutched at it. It was emotional blackmail, but as long as it kept her safe in CaliTech, he didn’t care. Not that anywhere was safe anymore. He wasn’t entirely sure if he hadn’t just left his wife to die an even harder death than the one he was expecting. If they failed, then the critters would systematically wipe out anyone left alive and there’d be no Navigators to defend CaliTech.
Sighing, he eyed the town closest to the nest they’d been ordered to attack. He planned to spend one final night with his boys and the battle team before heading to the nest. It wouldn’t make any difference to their survival whether they died today or tomorrow, but spending the night with his sons would mean something to him. Stopping their truck outside of what was once a small mall, he scanned it for critters and finding it surprisingly clear, he was relieved. Wanting to save his energy for the battle inside of the nest, he hadn’t wanted to fight for somewhere to sleep on his last night.
With a wave of his gloved hand, he said, “Let’s head inside.”
The two squads, each made up of five men and women followed him through the double doors that opened to a wide walkway with stores on either side. With debris and broken glass scattered across the floor, the place had clearly been trashed by what he assumed was the critters. They were in Scottsbluff in Nebraska, some thirteen hundred miles from CaliTech and it had taken them four days to reach the location. While they’d focused on navigating their way across the country, finding fuel and other supplies, it had been easy to forget what they doing and the likely outcome.
Once inside of the mall, they found a bedding store with rows of beds, some of which were torn to shreds, but others were still intact. After pulling a dozen beds to the center of the room, they finally removed their helmets, but he told the team to stay in their gear. Three of the Navigators had brought camp stoves and they were already heating up pots of food. Two more had left in search of alcohol and he was secretly hoping they’d find some. He didn’t want to get drunk, but something that would take away the edge couldn’t hurt.
Lowering himself onto one of the mattresses, the bed sank sharply under his unusually heavy weight. It suddenly straightened again when Sean sat on the other side. “How ya doin’, Dad?”
“I’m worried about your Mom. What happens if this doesn’t stop the aliens? Who’s gonna take care of her?”
“It won’t fail.”
“How do ya know that?”
“I don’t, but I choose to believe it won’t fail, ‘cos if it does then we’re dying for nothing, and as the army guys would say, that’s not acceptable.”
He snorted. “They’ve gotta a way of understatin’ their point.”
Sean shrugged. “They’re alright.”
In prepper terms, being called “alright” was probably the highest form of compliment that could be given. To elaborate any further would be considered unnecessarily effusive and that was usually reserved for their gear rather than a person. Being close to him and Bella, his sons had drifted through life, more interested in hunting and fishing than settling into what he would have called a real job. They’d both despaired that their boys would ever grow up and they’d shared more than a few worried conversations about them. Now looking at his shaggy-haired son, he’d had the most time he could have had with them, making him glad that they’d never gone far.
Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he said gruffly, “I want you to know that I’m proud of you boys.”
Waving his hand dismissively, Sean replied, “Don’t do that. Let’s not have the death chat. It’ll disrupt my whole denial thing.”
Giving his feelings words was something he’d rarely done in his life, and he was relieved at being saved a conversation he didn’t really know how to have. “Good enough.”
In their gear, a critter couldn’t do much to them, but not wearing their visors meant no one had advanced viewing. Realizing he should have left a couple of sentries watching their position, he stood again and picked up his helmet. Walking to the double doors of the bedding store, he was surprised to hear the click of multiple weapons coming from the entrance to the mall. All of his people were inside of the store and only two were out scouting
for alcohol.
“Who the hell are you?” A voice called from within one of the nearby storefronts.
He cursed himself for not having anyone on watch for the twenty minutes it had taken to find the bedding store. “Might ask you the same question.”
“Well, I’m the guy with a gun trained on you, so you go first.”
Quickly pulling his helmet over his head, he shouted, “Is that a thirty cal? ‘Cos if it is you’re wastin’ your time.”
“Why are you dressed like spacemen? Are you from NASA?”
“Why the hell would ya think that?”
“You’re wearing a spacesuit.”
Another voice shouted from the store opposite. “Shut up, Charlie.” Thinking the man had just delivered some good advice, the next comment was directed at him. “Spaceman, we’re gonna need the weapons you’re carrying and the ones you’ve got in those trucks.”
“What for?”
“There’s one of them nests about ten miles from here. We’re gonna blow it up.”
Knowing that they were headed towards the nest made his pulse quicken. “Do you know what’s in ‘em?”
“Yeah, it’s where those little fuckers live. Why?”
“Where have you been for the past three months?”
“In North Platte. The critters had us holed up there.”
“How’d you get out?”
Silence greeted his question, but when the man replied it was in a somber tone, letting him know they’d lost more than he wanted to say. “It wasn’t easy.”
Hearing the subtext in the man’s few words, he intuitively trusted him. Stepping onto the walkway, he showed himself in his full armor. “We’re Navigators. This gear means we stand a chance of fighting our way into that nest. My orders are to blow it up, which is why the trucks are packed with explosives. What say you put down your weapons and join us for dinner?”
Silence greeted his short speech, but eventually a head appeared and peeked around the shop wall at him. With an untidy beard and uncombed hair, he looked like a wild man, but his broad grin was genuine. “I’m Carl.”