“Sure, I want to live. What do I need to do?”
“I want that T-bone cooked a nice medium with a plate of fries. After I’m done eating, we’ll go outside.”
“That’s, that’s all you want?” The man looked puzzled.
“Sir, every time I’ve tried to eat this morning, something, or somebody tries to kill me. I’m so hungry I could eat an MRE. Do we have a deal?”
The man took the T-bone and dropped it in a waste can and then pulled out a tray of tenderloins. “If I’m cooking to see another day, I’ll make you a decent steak, kid.” He looked at the waitress, “You stay ready to jump back into the walk-in if they try to come in here.”
Caleb walked back over to the swinging doors and stuck a mop handle through the door handles. “That’ll slow them down long enough so you don’t have to worry while you cook.” He wiped his forehead and wished it was cooler in the kitchen but knew it’d be more crowded if it was.
“So what the hell is going on in the world?” We’ve lost track of time in here.” Bill asked as he cleaned the grill top.
“Short version is eighty to ninety percent of the world is now infected like the folks in your dining area. Their only purpose in life appears to be to infect anyone they find that’s still normal. They’re stronger and faster than us, but they have their weaknesses, too. The sun kills them, but if you get a major hit on one to the head or heart they go down. If they get shot in the arm or leg, they heal real fast. The only town that’s been cleared of them is Douglas. People that escaped from other areas are already starting to move into the town. It’s a whole new world out there. People from all over the state and the country are trying to get to Douglas.”
“How are you able to get around the infected then?” Sharon asked.
“I’m immune to the infection. They don’t see me as a danger. So far only me and some ninety year old woman have been immune. For all intents and purposes, I guess I’m infected. If I scratched or bit you, you’d turn. That steak is looking good, wish I could smell it over all the other stuff that was burned in here earlier.”
The pair sat and seemed to mull over everything he’d told them. Bill absently flipped the steak and the sizzle of the meat made Caleb salivate.
“Now we saw how things were the first night of this, uh, pandemic. The infected will attack us as soon as we go out that door. What’s your plan? Are you going to shoot them all?” Sharon asked nervously, wanting to be free, yet remembering the creatures in the next room had been her neighbors and friends.
“After I eat that wonderful tasty steak, I plan to empty the walkin of everything edible I can, and then feed the Zs. While they’re eating, the pair of you can walk out the front door. I have experience with things like this.” Caleb couldn’t help but smile as the plate was set down before him. He could smell the steak and fries. “Ahhh, now this is why we continue to go on. I could cut that with a fork. I hope you open a place in Douglas after I get you out of here.”
“I’d just appreciate getting the hell out of here as soon as possible. Especially knowing any second those things could bust in here and we’d end up back in the walkin, if we’re lucky.” Caleb slowed down as he listened to the man express his concerns. He took one last bite and decided to take care of the problem once and for all.
“Find me a busboy cart or something I can load lots of food on. We’re getting the pair of you out of here now.” Caleb took one last bite of his steak, and then pushed away from the table, looking sadly at the remainder of the steak sitting on its plate.
Caleb fought back the urge to laugh as the cook and waitress rapidly filled the cart with piles of meat, desperation showing on their faces. Okay, I’m a dick, he thought, remorse being a new emotion for him. He marveled at the amount of meat on the tray one last time before he began to push it towards the door. Unblocking it, he rolled the cart behind the bar the entire length of the room.
Infected stopped what they were doing and lifted their heads, sniffing the air. “Hey, is anyone hungry?” Caleb tossed a hunk of meat at a girl that was sitting on the floor with three others. The meat landed with a plop in the center of them as they looked at it in confusion before they all grabbed at it at once. Those around them went for the meat at almost the same time. “I got meat for all you bastards!” he shouted as he lobbed the meat into as high into the air as possible, with a theatrical flourish. Infected fought to catch the thrown meat as he proceeded to toss as much meat as quickly as he could. Two bigger infected jumped up on the bar, ready to take any meat that was still left. “It’s all yours, boys,” Caleb said softly as he backed away from the cart and the few pieces of meat left on it. The two started to fight over the meat as others climbed over the bar to get at the cart.
Caleb was halfway to the kitchen door when he decided to play it safe. He grabbed a bottle of rum and a bottle of bourbon, slowly pouring them on the bar top before turning to the main entrance and leaving a trail there as well. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cheap plastic lighter, then lit the bar on fire. He was disappointed in how puny the flames were but they did provide him with the wall of flames he wanted, though short. The infected were totally cowed and retreated to the far wall.
“Bill, Sharon, time to run.” He opened the exit door and was surprised at how much brighter it had gotten outside. The infected started to shriek at the mix of the open door letting the sun in and the fire. The shrieking hit a crescendo when the cook and waitress ran through the dining room as they watched helplessly across the small wall of fire.
“Sorry everyone, I have to go. Enjoy your lunch, it’s on me.” Caleb flinched when he got out to the parking lot and did not see the punch that laid him out.
“You asshole! How could you be so cavalier with our lives in there? Making us wait until you ate before you’d rescue us.” Caleb reached for his nose and was pretty sure it was broken. Well, at least she didn’t break my sunglasses, he thought.
“Is that really the mature thing to do to someone that just rescued you? Heroics are not in style anymore. If I hadn’t come along, the pair of you would have died, or been turned in there.” Caleb got to his feet and noticed the blood from his nose had already stopped dripping. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to finish my meal before it gets cold. I wish the two of you the best luck in the world. Have a great day.” They watched him saunter back into what had been their prison.
I feel more at home with the damn infected than I do with the norms, he thought. The small wall of fire had almost burned itself out and the infected were still shrieking at the open door. “Alright! I closed the damn door, now quit hollering at me!” Caleb stormed into the kitchen and sat down to finish his meal. He heard and sensed the infected that were slowly entering the kitchen. “Why can’t I get a break?” He asked himself, then noticed for the first time his new visitors to the kitchen. The girl whose foot he’d removed the glass from led three other females, all seemed nervous or anxious to Caleb. He watched them warily as he rushed to finish his steak and fries.
He picked up the pieces he’d trimmed from the steak that had too much fat and lobbed them to the girls and was surprised when they caught the pieces and started to eat them without fighting amongst themselves. When he stood, the girl made a cooing noise and hesitantly walked towards him. She grabbed his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, then started to massage it as the others came closer and tried to touch him and rub him.
“Awww crap, I can’t do this!” Caleb shouted as he stood up. The females dropped down and cowered before him. “Shit, now you’re just trying to make me feel bad.” He mumbled as he opened a refrigerator and started lobbing oranges and apples to the girls. The girls scampered about the floor, picking up the fruit as he walked out.
In the truck he tried to blast his music as he headed back to the airport but it just aggravated him even more. Who the hell am I? Seems the only ones that give me slack are the Zs, and they’re starting to really smell. If I try to hang with the norms, I’m a freak and might infe
ct someone if I’m not careful.
Chapter 10
Luke AFB, Arizona. April 5, 2029
“I can’t believe no one’s figured out this gate is open yet.” Gloria said to herself as she wrapped up the chain on the fence, making it appear as just another part of the long fence along the north side of the base perimeter.
It feels weird driving down the middle of the taxiway. On a beautiful day like this there should be dozens of F35s taxiing all around me as others are taking off or landing. Gloria headed for the closest exit so she could start her supply run. Heading for the base shopping mall, she could see more empty cars and trucks outside the commissary and outside the Base Exchange itself. Between the two sat the clothing sales building that was the target of her trip. She wanted her small command to stay in uniform as a reminder of what they represented.
She could sense there were many infected nearby, maybe a hundred or better. They’d stay in the commissary as long as they found food there; same for the Base Exchange and its food courts. The Clothing Sale’s glass doors were intact and secured. After a minute of thought, she got into her truck and headed for the rear of the mall. If I break in from the back it’ll be less obvious and maybe keep others out until I eventually clear it out of everything we need.
The tire iron felt solid in her hands as she tried to slide it in place by the door jamb. Taking a deep breath, she pulled as hard as she could and was rewarded with the plate protecting the door jamb popping off. She slid the tire iron into the space between the door and the lock, and then pulled again; amazed as the door creaked open before she applied any real force.
Slipping on her patrol sling, she checked her M4 before entering. The room that should have been pitch black still looked a little dark but she could easily see the cardboard boxes piled high throughout the storeroom. She continued on into the next room. Three industrial sewing machines were setup along the wall. The little hall continued to the main store area. A mannequin unnerved her as she almost fired when she thought she had company. Gloria gave the pregnant female a vicious side kick and enjoyed the contact as the solidly built mannequin fell to the floor. Feeling safe from anymore mannequin attacks, Gloria went back into the storeroom and started to haul all the boxes of camouflage uniforms she could find to her truck. She went back in and grabbed enough boots to finish filling up the back of her truck, figuring she could make another trip for more boots if needed. Satisfied, she started back towards the flightline, and then Sanctuary. She stopped on the bridge in the center of the base and thought back to only a few days earlier, could it really only have been a few days since she woke alone and disoriented among piles of bodies? The bodies had now been moved to the sides of the bridge, yet the concrete was still red with baked-in blood. One day we’ll need to give them the proper burial they deserve, she thought.
At the base of the bridge she could see a security forces pickup and patrol car blocking her way. Four men were stationed behind the vehicles and already had their weapons trained on her. Guess I can try and explain the load of uniforms in the back of my truck, she thought as she neared the road block.
“Get out of the vehicle and step towards us with your hands in the air.” Gloria complied with the orders and as she drew near to the vehicles, she realized that everyone there in uniform was, in fact, wearing only parts of uniforms. Three men were openly grinning at her, now holding their weapons pointed down. The fourth man caught her from the side, belting the back of her head with a truncheon. She collapsed straight down without a sound while the men cheered.
Chapter 11
Converse County Airport, Wyoming. April 5, 2029
Driving up to the gate, Caleb noticed the airman on duty wasn’t a security forces specialist, but instead an augmentee. He felt a little pity for the girl when he saw her career field badge was admin.
“Can I see your ID card please, Lieutenant?” The girl’s nose was running and her cheeks were red from the wind. She stood as close to the truck as she could to block the wind as she shivered.
“Lieutenant White, you’re to report to Operations before you do anything else, they have a mission on hold until you show up.” The Airman First Class handed him back his CAC, then saluted him. As if my day hasn’t been bad enough already, Caleb thought. He fought the urge to speed to the parking lot but was sure he’d be stopped by the SFs if he tried it.
“Lt White, it’s so nice of you to show up. Decide to take the day off to celebrate your promotion?” Capt Conrad ragged on him, smiling the entire time. “You’ve been chosen to lead a scavenging party back to Peterson to pickup more ammo. Lt Wendel was going to lead the mission, but crapped out on us. When I heard you had come through the gate, I gave my recommendation to start the mission. The C130 is starting engines even as we speak. In a nutshell, you just need to fill the C130 with ammo from the bunkers at Peterson. Don’t bother with 5.56 or 9mm, we can get more at a later date. We need 7.62, .50 cal, and 40mm grenades this trip. When we have better storage facilities here, we’ll look at transferring the rest from there. You have a six man detail assigned; they are already at the aircraft waiting. There’s also another mission going to the base, don’t interfere with them. Do you have any questions?”
“Do we have any transportation once we get there or will we have to provide for ourselves? Do we have a timeline to follow?” Caleb asked, sure he had overlooked something.
“Caleb, just use common sense. Pick up a load of ammo and get it back to the plane, then help the aircrew tie it down for the return trip. Our eyes in the sky have detected a lot of movement around the base during the day and at night. You want to be the hell away from there well before dark even if you don’t bring back a full load of ammo. The plane and warm bodies are too valuable to risk needlessly. If you have any questions use your NCOs, that’s what they’re there for. Now move, I have a truck out front to get you to the plane.”
An airman in a red truck with magnetic signs on the doors that read ‘Security Forces’ motioned for Caleb to get in. Caleb hopped in and admired how nice the civilian truck was as he made himself comfortable on the leather passenger seat.
“Looks like you have some rough duty. Comfortable truck, looks like a nice stereo system too. You put it to the test yet, or don’t you have anything to play?” The airman gave a suspicious glance at the lieutenant riding in his truck before inserting his memory stick into the stereo console. The music immediately blasted out as the airman reached to turn down the volume. Caleb slapped the driver’s hand away, smiling as he nodded his head with the music and shouted, “That rocks!” The driver gave him an uncomfortable half smile and was relieved to pull up to the front of the C130.
“Thanks for the ride, man. You have a cool day.” Caleb jumped out and wondered if the sound of the propellers was as loud as the music he’d just been listening to. A maintainer was pulling a fire extinguisher away from the front of the plane as another escorted him to the crew hatch of the plane, then turned away. Another aircrew member was rolling up the cable to his headphone set as he followed close behind, closing the hatch behind him. Caleb quickly sat down on the red web seat as he heard the engines begin to get louder, and the plane began to move as he tried to figure out how to connect the lap-belt.
This is a hell of a way to get my first ride on a C130 he thought as an NCO next to him showed how the belts connected and then tightened. At the same time, the rumbling of the plane moving onto the flightline stopped and the nose rose into the air. The NCO held out a small plastic bag that looked like it had a couple pieces of yellow candy in it.
“For your ears, sir, just like when you shoot on the range.” Caleb felt foolish as he squished the foam ear plugs into place. It was a little quieter, but still too loud. The motion of the plane and his odd hearing began to make him feel nauseous before the plane was even at cruising level. He looked around the cargo compartment and noticed the center of the plane had large, flat metal pallets the entire length of the compartment. There were a dozen pa
ssengers all spaced out on the red web seats. The web seats ran the length of both sides of the fuselage, facing in towards the center of the compartment. As the plane leveled out, there was instantaneous movement as most of the others unbuckled and laid down on the web seats. The veterans of numerous deployments were quickly asleep, amazing Caleb. He turned to the NCO next to him and found the NCO’s boots facing him as he lay curled up for the short ride. Caleb just sat thinking of how he was going to even determine who his team was once they landed. The engine’s rhythmic wah, wah, wah began to lull Caleb as he fought to stay awake.
Everything around Caleb bounced as he awoke with a start. The sound of the engines got louder as he felt momentum pushing him towards the front of the plane as it used the propellers to slow. The load master was at the back of the plane, dropping the ramp as the air began to smell more humid and then like grass. Two of the other passengers knelt by the open ramp, in the kneeling shooting position, constantly scanning the terrain.
The aircraft seemed to taxi forever. Caleb began to wonder where the plane was headed as it continued to taxi with an occasional turn. “Good afternoon. This is your captain speaking. We were forced to land on runway One Seven on the Colorado Springs side of the flight line because of a cargo loader blocking our regular approach. We are taking the scenic route to our parking spot on Peterson. ETA in five minutes.
Well, now I know how far the cargo loader made it with its load of infected. I think I’ll just leave that as a need to know item, if anyone asks me. Caleb was grinning slightly at the memory of the loader filled with infected, shrieking as they tore across the parking ramp at a whopping five miles an hour, on his last night on the base.
Caleb was caught by surprise as the plane stopped its forward movement. The two man team that had been covering the plane as it taxied was joined by four others as they jumped off the back of the plane and took up positions around the plane.
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