by Dirk Patton
Shivering in the biting wind, water dripping from my clothing, I tried to think about how I was going to go about locating my wife. Where would she have gone and why had she run off? It didn’t make sense, but not much made sense at the moment. But how the hell was I going to track her?
Tracks! That’s it! Stumbling back down the embankment, momentum overcame my exhausted body and I wound up falling and splashing into the water. Freshly soaked and shivering harder, I crawled to the point where I had dragged her earlier. The sand was wet and had taken prints that were easy to see, even in the near darkness.
It was a jumble in the area where both of us had lain, but as I cast around I found a clear set of prints heading up and over the embankment. Slowly getting to my feet, I followed them as best I could. I stumbled and tripped over a rock as I reached the crest. Getting back up, I finally thought to check for weapons.
I wasn’t surprised that only the Kukri, sheathed at the small of my back, was still attached to my body. No rifle. No pistol. No Ka-Bar knife. Several full magazines were still secure in my vest, but without a rifle they were about as useful as a rock. Almost dumping them to shed weight, I thought better of it at the last moment and began stumbling along the path my wife had taken.
Moving slow, I followed her weaving trek. The wind was getting stronger, working in concert with my drenched clothing to sap my body heat. I could feel myself growing weaker with each step, but I stayed focused on the trail and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
I rounded a low hill and had gone another fifty yards before realizing the path had suddenly straightened. Had she decided where to go or seen something? Standing there, I stared at the prints in the sand. I was so cold I couldn’t feel any part of my body, but it seemed as if the shivering had stopped. That was good. Right?
Walking again, I trudged along following Katie’s trail. My head was bent to look at the ground, all of my energy focused on not loosing my way. One foot at a time, I kept going, failing to notice that the rain that had been falling had turned to snow. Wind drove it against the side of my face. Where it began to stick, I actually felt warmer.
Pushing on, fighting the wind, I wanted to sit down and rest. Just for a few minutes. But I wouldn’t let myself stop. There was a part of me that still had enough awareness to recognize the danger of stopping. A part that knew if I sat down I’d never get up again. Wherever I sat would be my final resting place.
Then the hallucinations began. Katie suddenly appeared right in front of me. She didn’t speak, just stood in the steadily falling snow and looked at me. I reached for her but she stepped away before turning and walking off in a new direction. I called out to her, but she didn’t respond.
Forcing my frozen legs to move, I followed. I called her name and reached for her, but she was too far in front and ignored me. Just kept walking, her long, red hair whipping in the wind. A couple of times she looked over her shoulder to make sure I was still there and my heart leapt when I didn’t see red eyes. She was OK! But why wasn’t she talking to me?
I tried to put on enough speed to catch her, but she easily outpaced me. Stumbling, I fell face first into the snow, unable to look up when she screamed. I heard her race away into the storm when I called her name. With a supreme effort of will, I pushed myself up and tried to follow my wife. I was taking a step to pursue when Rachel suddenly appeared in front of me, wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me down towards the ground.
5
“There, sir.”
Petty Officer Jessica Simmons pointed at a spot on the large display. Admiral Packard, his aide and Jessica’s CO, Lieutenant Hunt, stood behind her and looked where she indicated. The giant, flat panel monitor showed a pallet of greys with two red blobs. They were watching a thermal image of Idaho, having tracked Major Chase and his companions after the havoc he had unleashed on the Russians.
One of the red blobs was following the other. The one in the lead was bright red and easily followed. The one behind enough cooler for the difference to be detectable by satellite. They came to a stop and Jessica zoomed the image.
After a moment, the hotter of the two bodies raced away to the northwest, leaving the other where it was. Then a third person appeared, glowing bright red. The new arrival merged with the one that had been left behind.
“Where the hell did that one come from?” Packard asked, riveted to the image.
“Must have been under or in some sort of shelter, sir,” Jessica replied as the two blobs began to move, then disappeared from the display.
“They’re screened from the bird, sir.”
Jessica zoomed back out. The person who had led the way was still moving fast and Jessica used her mouse to draw a box around the blob. She marked it as target Bravo.
The system’s software would continue to track the target as long as it was visible. A new window opened in the display and began scrolling data related to the target. The location, direction of travel and speed on the ground were continually updated.
“I think that must be an infected female, sir,” Jessica said, peering at the data scrolling through the smaller window.
“Explain,” Lieutenant Hunt said.
“The speed, sir. She’s moving at a steady twenty miles an hour. That’s damn fast. Too fast for an infected male and too fast for an uninfected person unless they’re a professional athlete. I’ve seen some of the females hit twenty-five miles an hour for short distances, and that’s… uh oh.”
The red blob suddenly slowed to three miles an hour before also disappearing from the view of the orbiting thermal imager. Jessica’s fingers flew across the keyboard, the displayed image rotating through several colors as she tried to reacquire the target with different light and heat spectrums, but she was unsuccessful.
“We’ve lost her for the moment, sir, but the system will keep watching the point where she disappeared and lock on again when she’s visible.”
“Did you target Major Chase as well?” The Admiral asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Commander,” the Admiral spoke to his aide without taking his eyes off the monitor. “I want an update on the extraction plan for those people on my desk in fifteen minutes.”
“Sir, the Russians have complete control of the airspace and there are still ground troops arriving as we speak. We have no assets remaining in North America other than the SEAL team at the lab in Seattle. If we go in too soon, we’ll tip our hand.”
“Commander,” Packard’s voice grew hard as he turned his steely gaze on the junior officer. “I didn’t ask you to tell me why it was going to be hard. We are not leaving one of our own behind. You now have fourteen minutes. I suggest you get busy.”
“Yes, sir.”
The younger man snapped to attention before turning and rushing out of the room.
“Petty Officer, are you able to keep track of all of the targets?” Packard asked in a calmer voice.
“Yes, sir. The system will do that and I’ll personally monitor it. The only thing is, if they’ve gone into some sort of cave system and come out at a different location I may lose them. Or if the weather worsens it will blank out the thermal and we won’t have any eyes on them. Sir.”
“Young lady, you’ve done a great job and I have faith in you. Lieutenant, update me immediately if there’s any change.”
“Yes, sir,” they chorused as the Admiral turned on his heel and strode out of the room.
“Good work, Jessica,” Lieutenant Hunt said once the Admiral was gone. “You’re making both of us look good.”
“Just doing my job, sir.”
Jessica smiled at the praise. Hunt smiled back then returned to his work station to continue monitoring Russian troop movements in the western US. Jessica double checked the system to make sure it was properly set to maintain surveillance of the targets, closed out two files she’d been working on and locked her terminal.
“Sir, if it’s OK I’m going to step out for some air,” she said, r
olling her chair back and looking at her CO.
“The system will alert me if there’s any activity?” He asked, looking up over the rim of his glasses.
“Yes, sir. It will beep and transfer to your station.”
Jessica stood and stretched, trying to remember the last time she had eaten or slept. He nodded and returned his attention to his screen.
“OK. Try and keep it short in case the Admiral comes back.”
“Ten minutes, sir. Thank you.”
Jessica grabbed her small purse that held nothing other than a lighter, a pack of cigarettes and two condoms, and headed for the exit. She checked out through the layers of security, finally emerging into fresh air. Taking a deep breath, she ignored the million-dollar view of Pearl Harbor and headed for the bench she liked to sit on while on break.
Rounding a thick planting of Birds of Paradise bushes, she smiled when she spotted the figure seated on the bench. Chief Petty Officer Mark Hiram heard her approach, standing to greet her with open arms. Jessica ran the last few steps, falling into his embrace and lifting her face to accept his kiss.
“Do you have time?” He asked, squeezing her ass with both hands when they finally came up for air.
“I wish,” Jessica breathed, shuddering with pleasure as he pulled her pelvis tight against his. She could feel his manhood pressing hard against her abdomen. “That Army Major I told you about is still alive and there’s going to be an attempt to extract him. They’re going to be needing data from me very soon.”
“We don’t need long,” he purred in her ear, making her knees go weak.
“Maybe you don’t, but I do.”
Jessica smiled and placed her hands on his chest, opening some space between them before she lost all control and took him right there on the bench. Taking a deep breath, she sat, digging out a cigarette and lighting it. Hiram set next to her, circling his arm around her narrow waist and pulled her close.
“How is he still alive? I thought the Russians were closing in on him,” he said, gently rubbing her thigh with his other hand.
“They were. They did. He had some surprises for them and escaped through a storm tunnel. I’m watching him on thermal right now, about ten miles south of town. It’s snowing there and I hope we can get to him in time. At least he made a clean escape from the goddamn Russians,” Jessica said, leaning her head onto his shoulder.
The two lovers talked for a few more minutes as Jessica finished her smoke. They embraced and kissed deeply after checking to make sure no one was around, then she broke away and dashed back to the building where she worked.
When Jessica was out of sight, Hiram turned and strode across the neatly mown grass to the parking lot where he had left his personal vehicle. He had been waiting for two hours for her to take a break and was relieved to be moving again. Getting behind the wheel, he drove across the sprawling base, careful to stay below the posted speed limit.
Reaching the cargo area of the harbor, he parked and stepped out, looking around and seeing no one else. Keeping a close watch, he moved deep into a maze of stacked shipping containers. Stopping close to the middle of the massive storage area, he checked for observers again before removing a key from his pocket and approaching a container at ground level.
He had carefully selected this one, reviewing its history and satisfying himself that it hadn’t moved in over a year. Due to its unique size and shape it would likely sit for another year or more before being loaded on a ship. Well, that would be if the world hadn’t ended. Now, it would probably never move again. It would just sit there until the salt air rusted it into oblivion.
Stepping to the door, he pulled on a pair of thin, latex gloves so he wouldn’t leave fingerprints. He inserted the key into an old lock scrounged from the motor pool where he worked. It was tarnished with age on the outside, but well lubricated and the key turned easily, the hasp popping open. Removing it, he raised the locking lever and tugged the door open, taking another look around before stepping into the container.
Clicking on a small flashlight, he ignored the debris scattered across the floor and stepped quickly to a battered shoe box lying amidst a pile of loose packing material. Raising the lid on the box, he retrieved a small satellite phone and pressed the power button to turn it on as he walked back into the open air to get a signal.
A minute later the phone finished its boot sequence and had locked onto a signal. Hiram pressed a speed dial button and listened as a phone deep within GRU headquarters in Moscow began ringing.
6
I stumbled and fell to my knees when Rachel pulled on me. She was dragging me towards a small hole in the side of a bluff, but I didn’t want to go. I wanted to keep following Katie. To catch up with her and protect her. I tried to push Rachel away, but she was stronger than I was.
A moment later Irina’s face appeared in front of me as Rachel worked my body through the hole. Together, they pulled me into the darkness and rolled me onto my back. Immediately, fingers began unhooking, unfastening and unbuttoning my clothing.
“W-w-w-w-w-hat the hell?” I stammered through a shiver.
“You’re hypothermic,” Rachel’s voice said from the darkness as my vest was pulled over my head. “If we don’t get these wet clothes off and warm you up you’re going to die.”
“K-k-k-k-k-atie,” I mumbled.
“We heard her,” Irina said in my ear as she raised my upper body to work the shirt off my arms. “We thought we were being attacked, but I think she brought you to us. She saved you.”
I understood the words Irina was speaking, but the concept wasn’t registering. All I could think about was that Katie was getting farther away and I was wasting time. I raised an arm and tried to push them away, but I was too weak. Irina worked my final shirt over my head and began rubbing my arms with her hands as she pressed her body against mine.
Rachel had my boots and socks off, now struggling with my pants. I tried to push Irina away, but she held me in a tight embrace. Her face was close to mine and she whispered into my ear as Rachel tugged on my pants.
“Katie is infected. She brought you to us so we could save you. If you go back out there you will die. She is obviously thinking. She will seek shelter.”
I finally understood what Irina was saying. Emotion overwhelmed me and a sob escaped my lips. Tears began flowing and there was nothing I could do to stop them. Laying in Irina’s embrace I cried like a child.
I felt my pants come off and heard Rachel tell Irina to move me on my side. No longer fighting, I cooperated when she gently pushed me into position. A moment later one of them spooned against my back as the other pressed in against the front of my body. I couldn’t tell which was which. Whoever was behind me was vigorously rubbing my exposed arm.
We lay that way for some time as their combined body heat slowly warmed me. Neither of them spoke as I cried, not battling the emotions that had taken over. I drifted, somewhere below the level of consciousness yet still awake and aware of what had happened. Then I slept, but not for long.
Feeling began returning. My skin tingled as it warmed, feeling like ants were crawling over every inch of me. Then the pain set in. Soon it was all I could do to not cry out as every fiber in my body felt like it was on fire.
The pain finally subsided and I was itching all over like I’d been dragged through a patch of poison ivy. As feeling returned, so did greater awareness of the situation and a measure of control over my emotions.
“I need to go after Katie,” I mumbled.
I felt the body in front of me shift as she turned over. Then it was pressed tightly against me as arms went around my neck, pulling me into an embrace.
“The wind is howling and your clothes are still soaked,” Rachel said in my ear. So now I knew which one was where.
“Fire,” I said, wondering why they hadn’t already lit one.
“No way to start one. Wood is wet,” Rachel answered without loosening her hold.
“My vest,” I said. “Ammun
ition. Open a round and use the powder to start the wood burning. Lighter in my pants pocket.”
I was still warming, and with the warmth came exhaustion. It was comfortable between the two women and my eyes were growing heavy. I just wanted to sleep, unable to force my body to start moving to go search for Katie.
My back was suddenly cold as Irina moved away from me and I shivered. Rachel began rubbing her hand across the exposed skin and threw her leg over mine in an attempt to make up for the loss of Irina’s heat.
I could hear Irina going through my clothing as she searched for the items I’d mentioned. A gust of frigid air blew across my bare skin when she moved the jacket covered bush that was mostly sealing the entrance. A few minutes later there was another blast of cold air when she returned.
There was the sound of ammo being ejected from a magazine, then a scrape as she worked bullets out of their brass cases. Branches rustled as she broke and arranged them, then the scrape of the wheel on flint from a disposable lighter. Over and over.
“Flint’s wet,” I said, recognizing the problem without having to see it.
For several minutes I could hear Irina blowing air, presumably across the lighter’s flint. Rachel continued to stay tightly wrapped around me. When Irina tried the lighter again it must have lit as it only scraped once then there was enough light in the small cave for me to see Rachel’s face inches from mine.
The gun powder ignited with a whoosh, the air immediately filling with the odor of burnt sulfur. Irina said something in Russian I didn’t recognize, then lit another round’s worth of powder. This time, after the initial flare of light and acrid odor, there was the crackle of wood starting to burn.
Soon it was brightly lit inside the cave and Rachel slowly peeled herself away from me. For the first time I realized she was nude other than a pair of panties. Painfully sitting up and turning to face the fire, I saw that Irina was in the same state of dress. Looking down I noted that I hadn’t been given the same courtesy as I was completely nude.