“General Tullos?” Peters asked nervously. He reached his hand out to shake the general’s shoulder. Tullos shrieked, opening his mouth to bite at the hand. A silver-tipped guidon pole slammed into his mouth, breaking teeth as it continued out the back of his skull, pinning him to the chair. The general just seemed to wilt before he lost control of his body.
“Screw it all, I’m going to get it done today!” William looked around embarrassed, he was talking to himself. He finished the short walk to the mobile dining facility and just pointed to a few things, not paying any attention to what went on his tray. He saw his right hand man in the corner downing the last of his coffee.
“Morning James, I want to apologize again for abandoning you today with all we have going on, but I have to know one way or the other.”
“Sir, don’t take it wrong, but you need the break. I can handle the move easily enough and the specialists and technicians know what they’re doing. By the time you get back, the new location should be setup and things running more smoothly. I just wonder how retaking the Air National Guard Base in Cheyenne will work out. Cheyenne had a population of almost seventy thousand, that translates to one hell of a lot of Zs to clean up.”
“We’ll worry about Cheyenne when I get back. I think an interim solution would be to build bunkers. We need the facilities there for our C130s. I’ll have my sat phone with me if something comes up you can’t handle or want to share with me.” Both men stood up at the same time and headed for the exit. “It’s going to be a beautiful day, I’d rather be fishing, flying, or uh, just taking it easy.” The Brigadier General saluted his boss as they went their own ways.
Peter’s was not surprised to see his body guard/ driver Army Staff Sergeant Jody Werner waiting for him in a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, the armored pickup had already saved the general’s life once when he took sniper fire on the road. “I won’t even ask how you knew. Do you also know where we’re going, Jody?”
“Only that you want to find your sons, and maybe your ex.” I kitted us up with supplies for three days, Sir.” Werner looked relieved the general had not told him to get out.
“You’re an old Army man, my money says you knew it’d be easier to babysit a general than all the work that’s going on with the move. Once we get out the gate turn north. After we go a little distance, I’ll give you our destination. I really don’t want any other company. It just so happens with the move today, satellite operations will be almost nil, that’s part of planning.” Peters fought back the urge to laugh when he saw the crestfallen look on the NCOs face. Werner decided not to mention the vehicle had a small communications setup that enabled satellite tracking, among other things.
Neither man said anything, content to watch the scenery fly by as Werner cruised along at eighty. The road was flat and smooth, the ride comfortable. Werner cringed when he watched Peters reach for the communications setup and flip the master power switch to ‘off.’ “It’s just as easy to flip that same switch and turn everything back on, Sergeant. This is a personal trip, though I appreciate you coming along. Peters turned on the AM radio to the only radio station; it had a penchant for playing classic rock, in particular, The Zombies. The start of a song was playing that neither had heard before, yet both grinned at the song’s title, ‘Leave Me Be’. Werner resisted the urge to make a smart remark.
“We’re coming up on Gillette soon. Before we get there, we need to turn right on Garner Lake Road, that’ll be in Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow is the closest thing to a city we’ll see before we turn.” Peters started to think about his two sons, one would be fifteen this year, the other seventeen. He had not visited either in three years and was as apprehensive to see them as he was to see they were okay. Maybe even get back together with his ex. The truck turning brought him back from his daydreaming; they were now on Garner Lake Road.
“Thinking about your family, sir?” Peters looked at the enlisted man and thought about his answer. How personal do I want to get with Werner?
“The road will hit Highway 90, turn east. Then follow it till we hit a fly speck called Moorcroft. There we’ll turn north on US Fourteen. Our final destination is a small town called Pine Haven. One of the few things my ex did right was to keep my vacation home when we got divorced. I’d planned to retire there one day and just hunt and fish.” Werner let his boss talk as he relaxed, just driving and listening to oldies on the radio.
“Boss, looks like there’s no sign for US Fourteen and we’re almost to Moorcroft.” Peters just looked at the road before the light went on for him.
“Shit, I forgot they have the roads screwed up, so you have to go into the town to get onto Fourteen. Take the exit for Moorcroft, and then turn right on, oh crap, I’ll have to see it, I don’t remember the street.” The exit road led to a T-intersection. “Well, that made it easy, just turn right until the next T-section and turn right again. Then follow the signs for US Fourteen.” Werner listened skeptically, convinced he’d be driving all around the small one horse town lost.
“And here we are, right turn to Devil’s Tower, Mulett, and Pine Haven. I’d bet you were thinking I was going to get us lost. Maybe after we find my family we’ll grab some gear and go fishing, I’d kill for some pan fried sunfish.”
Werner turned off the radio as the signal started to weaken and become annoying. He looked up in time to see the sign for Wyoming 113 with Pine Haven under the numbers. He looked over at Peters and saw his eyes were closed.
“I’m just resting my eyes, Jody. I have full faith in you finding Pine Haven from here.” How does the old man do that he wondered as he turned off onto 113.The road forked sharply to the left, Werner tried to turn as gently as he could without waking the general, he let out a little sigh of satisfaction as the general appeared to still be sleeping undisturbed.
“The same time we enter the town, there’ll be a small gas station convenience store on the right, pull in there. If there’s any information to be gathered, it’ll be from there. The town is only about five hundred people, I’m figuring a good number of snow birds will have still been down south so that number may be even less. I know, my ex-wife watches a bunch of houses during the winter. She learned the value of money after we divorced.” Werner looked over at the general, his eyes were still closed and his cap pulled down over his eyes and his arms were crossed like he was hugging himself.
On the right side of the road, a huge store with a bright red metal roof and two gas pumps in front appeared. There was a pair of pickups parked in front of the store, everything appeared normal.
“Drive around the store once, we don’t need any surprises.” Werner wanted to laugh at an Air Force playing tactics, but realized there was nowhere for any hostile to hide other than inside the building or behind it. The back of the building showed no damage as he continued to the front of the building. He pulled up as close as he could to the glass doors, posters and advertisements blocked most of the view through the glass.
“What did you bring for this occasion, Werner? I’d hate to go in with just a 9 mil.” Werner openly smiled as he reached behind the seat and pulled out a small, rigid plastic case. Peters set it on his lap and whistled when he opened it up. He picked up the small weapon and recognized it looked a little like an M4, but was definitely not part of that family.
“Sir, with firing a weapon being tantamount to ringing the dinner bell for the Zs, I managed to get us a couple silenced MPXs, complete with subsonic ammo, that’s about as quiet as a .22. Operation is the same as the M4, you can see how similar the selector switch, bolt catch, and magazine release are. The same goes for the charging handle. The only drawback is it fires 9 mil. Any questions sir?”
“It looks like we’re ready to go shopping.” Peters inserted the magazine and grabbed the other two magazines. “Where do you think I should stick these, Werner?” Peter’s smiled, knowing the first answer that would come from the sergeant’s mouth.
“Sir, I have a set of gear for you in the bed of th
e truck, there’s pouches on it for your ammo, and I have a couple loaded magazines on it along with a holster for that compact M18 you keep stashed in your belt.
“Staff Sergeant Werner, how much change do I have in my front right pocket?” Peters asked as he opened his door, after giving a glance in all directions.”
“Zero, sir. Just your keys in that pocket.” Peters couldn’t hold back his laughter as he walked to the back of the truck and saw the green A3 bag with his name written on the side. Another bag sat near it with ‘Werner’ on it. Opening his bag he quickly donned his vest, noting the weight.
“Taking no chances in case the Zs try to shoot at me, Werner? I notice it still has all the ballistic plates installed.”
“Sir, you have more enemies than just the Zs. Other than the weight, how’s it feel to you? Do you want me to adjust it?”
“Let’s just go into the store and see where we go from there. Peters noticed the helmet in the bag and just shook his head. He looked up in time to see Werner sprint to the building and try to peek into the window. Peters muttered to himself about dead heroes as he charged his weapon and sprinted to the building behind Werner.
“I don’t see any activity, I’ll go in first, then you cover me. I’ll signal you to come in when it’s clear.”
“You go in first and I’ll be glued to your back. You make the call.” Werner checked to see where the general’s weapon was pointed and was relieved to see it wasn’t aimed at him. He was still uncomfortable as he prepared to open the door.
“What the hell do you two think you’re doing?” Both men turned towards the challenge to see an elderly man, easily in his eighties, facing them with his hands on his hips.
“Mr. Ivanov! Sorry about the artillery, I wasn’t sure it I’d find you in the store or the Zs, or even robbers. The world’s turned to shit. I’m glad to see you made it through okay”
“You, you’re Elora Peters’ husband. I thought I recognized you. Some terrible times we’re going through. It’s sad to see your town die.” The man walked by the pair and gestured for them to follow.
“Mr. Ivanov, have you seen my wife and sons? I just now got here and thought this would be the best place to get any updates before I go to the house.” Peters didn’t realize he sounded like he was pleading.
Ivanov pulled out his pipe, packed in some tobacco and then lit it up. “One of the few good things now, a man can smoke his own pipe in his own store without someone trying to tell a grown man how to live his life. We finally got organized here on day three when we realized the demons were killed by sunlight. We got together, about twenty of us, and we went house to house, killing the demons. Two days later, there were twelve of us when we finished going house to house. The good thing is the demons do not travel far at night for fear of getting caught outside when the sun comes up, so no others have tried to come to our town. Let me show you the memorial I’m building to them.” Ivanov walked to a backroom and waited a couple seconds for the fluorescent lights to stop flickering. Then pointed to shelves loaded with shoebox sized cardboard containers, each had a name written on the front. “These are my neighbors, each box contains the personal effects we took from each demon and put into its own container, wallets, ID cards, jewelry, watches, and other small things. We will not forget our fallen. Thank you for being patient with an old man, Mr. Peters. Your wife and sons are not in this room, we did not find them. I suggest you go home and see if they left a clue for you.”
Peters wasn’t sure to be happy or sad. He did feel like he’d been punched in the gut since he expected to find an answer immediately. He walked back to the truck numbly. Werner followed him out to the truck and climbed in. “Where to from here, Sir?”
Peters looked at him as if for the very first time, then returned to alertness. “Head down the road about a half mile then veer right where it splits, go a mile and turn right on Oak Street, it’ll be the last house on a dead end street.”
Werner though he’d made a wrong turn when, at the end of the gravel road, he only found an ancient double wide with a bunch of shipping containers scattered around the property. He continued up to a detached garage. Two boats were parked in front of it with ‘For Sale’ signs.
“That’s my Elora, always trying to sell something. That cheap ass doublewide was salvage when I picked it up from a construction site and paid to have it taken apart and delivered here. ‘Course, that’s when I was a single man. Had a dozen buddies I called the slave gang would come out for a week each year, we’d fish, drink and do repairs. After it was really nice, I got married and let my wife see it, she thought it should be torn down. Later in 2024 celebrities started buying up whatever they could and it’s worth at least a million now, or was. Screw it, let’s go in.”
Werner was glad to see Peters had his game face on, scoping the entire area around them. He trailed behind as the general made a circuit around the doublewide, looking for damage or anything out of the ordinary. Werner noticed a few of the shipping containers had windows cut into them. “That’s my sons there. I planned to work with each of them to build their own place. Let’s see how the house is. The hairs on the back of Peters’ neck felt like they were sticking up as he reached for the door knob. The wood was splintered along the trim where the door had previously been kicked in. Pushing the door open with his foot, he had his small submachine gun ready for what may come. The house was warm with a strong smell of cinnamon. He fought back a laugh at how it was so like his wife who hated the cold and loved to bake. The hardwood floor was scuffed up but otherwise normal, the furniture had not been upset. Nothing appeared changed since he’d last left there five years ago. He relaxed as he walked through the familiar rooms, everything neat and perfect. He opened the door to his eldest son’s room and was immediately concerned; clothing was thrown haphazardly around the room and it appeared to have been tossed. “Looks like my room when I was a teenager,” Werner noted, making Peters jump.
“I should put a bell around your neck!” Peters said as he headed for the master bedroom. Opening the door, the faint smell of his wife’s perfume struck him hard. He looked at the unmade bed and could imagine her still in it. There were a few clothes on the bed and on the floor making him imagine her dressing in a hurry. He went to her nightstand and opened the bottom drawer. The old Ruger P95 automatic and ammunition were gone. He opened the top drawer and noticed the box of batteries she’d kept there and her flashlight was missing as well. He got up and walked over to the built in full length mirror and pushed it. The mirror popped open like a door revealing an empty gun rack, at its base only birdshot remained. He’d left behind a shotgun and .22 rifle for when his sons got older, surprised his wife was receptive to the plan at the time.
“Let’s go down to the kitchen, see if they left any type of note or message.” Peters was feeling relaxed, every step was like a step through memory lane, so many good memories. The kitchen cabinets were open and mostly empty. A cookie jar in the shape of an apple sat on the counter. Peters lifted the lid, happy to see homemade tollhouse cookies. He went to the drawer under the counter and grabbed a couple plastic bags, filling each, then handing one to Werner. The blackboard on the wall only had, ‘milk and eggs’ written on it. “I want to check out the yard and buildings,” Peters said between bites of cookies. Werner only nodded, his own mouth full of the still fresh cookies.
Peters surprised Werner by heading back towards the truck, then turning to the garage door. Peters looked back to make sure he was ready before opening the door. He noticed the door was still in one piece so no one had kicked it in. He reached in and pushed the garage door opener and let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding in. A shiny 2028 SUV was the only vehicle. No wonder where all those alimony and support payments are going. Well, they didn’t drive out of here, unless she got another car and the kids didn’t tell me.
“Nuthin’ in here. Let’s check the buildings in the back yard.” Werner could see Peters’ emotions were like a rolle
r coaster and was afraid the general would soon derail.
Peters looked at the storage containers and was appreciating the work his sons had done without him. The main door had been welded shut and on the side of the container a heavy steel door had been professionally hung. The hairs on the back of his neck rose when he saw the plywood over the windows. He looked closer at the workmanship when he heard scratching from the inside. He turned to Werner just as he was knocked over and the sound of gunfire erupted.
Chapter 22
Surprise, Arizona. April 6, 2029
Gloria sat and listened to Master Sergeant Hale go through his mission debrief for her. She didn’t need her extra senses to feel how torn up he was about the loss of life at Camp Navajo. She wanted to reach over and hold him as he described firing on the car with a family in it to keep from spreading the biological agents they had driven through.
“Do you think the contamination made it as far as Flagstaff?”Gloria asked, concern etched on her face. Hale didn’t like the only answer he had for her.
“Ma’am, there’s only one way to know for sure, and we don’t have the equipment or the trained personnel. If we try to evaluate how far this has spread, it’s going to be measured in lives. I’m pretty sure the contaminated areas are covered in blue or green. However, I don’t know if lightly contaminated areas appear normal or not. I recommend we put advisory signs on Highway 89 and Interstate 17 where they get close to each other, just south of Flagstaff Airport. We can also put signs on the Interstate 40 where we stopped the car that went through the contaminated area. It’d be even better to crater the roads for those non-believers.
“Do we have the explosives and the people to crater the roads? Wouldn’t it be safer to block the roads and put up the signs? It may be a while before we’re able to do major road repair again.” Gloria countered.
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