by Hunt, Jack
Lynch nodded. She hated being spoken to like a child especially by someone who spent their time reading reports and keeping the president updated. She had no field experience; she didn’t understand how delicate the situation was.
But Lynch did.
At the close of the conference call, Sorenson returned to his duties and Lynch got in contact with Major Brown to get an update on the situation over in Marfa and throughout the town of Alpine. She pulled out of her pocket a small bottle of bourbon. She just needed a little something to take the edge off. A quick swig and she picked up the phone.
“What’s our current situation, major?”
“Not good.”
Her heart leapt into her throat.
“Explain.”
“I’m afraid there has been an increase of attacks in the city. Several of our soldiers have gone missing, and we are finding bodies all over the town. We need more soldiers as this is getting out of hand.”
“Then you know what to do,” she replied.
Chapter 12
They had officially stepped over the line into dangerous, uncharted territory, of that he was sure. Wearing military gear, with their faces covered by masks, they left behind the two soldiers tied up in the back of his truck. Brody had torn out the radio in the unlikely chance the guys managed to escape. It would buy them some time. They had no need to hide the vehicle, as it was pitch dark, that stretch of road had no houses on it and hopefully by the time morning came they would be long gone.
Despite his differences with Jenna, he knew deep down she still loved him but just didn’t know how to work through it after all they’d been through, and the hurtful comments they’d made to each other. He’d been unable to recognize her pain because he’d focused only on why he wasn’t being heard, and why she wasn’t seeing his side of the coin. When reality was, she couldn’t. She was lost in her own storm. Then of course there was the time apart that had eaten away at the closeness and bond they once shared, and now they were bordering on estrangement, one of his greatest fears.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Gottman asked.
“You’re asking me that now?” he muttered from behind his mask as they drove the military vehicle towards the medical center.
“Well, better late than never, right?”
“Are you having second thoughts?” Brody asked.
Gottman didn’t reply which meant he was at least thinking about it.
“Look, you don’t need to go in with me, Gottman. I appreciate what you’ve done so far but we both don’t need to go down for this.”
“Chief, as much as I want to say I’m doing this for you, I’m not.”
“What?”
“My father is in the hospital. He was taken in a few days ago for surgery related to colon cancer. They are hopeful they can get rid of it but that’s still to be seen.”
“When did he have the surgery?”
“About a week ago. He was meant to come out this weekend but then all this blew up.”
There was a long moment of silence.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Ah, he’s a strong guy.”
“But you don’t know if he pulled through?”
“No, I saw him a few days ago and they had him on all these drugs because he’s old, and well, he didn’t do too well in surgery, but they thought he would recover with time.”
Again silence stretched between them. Brody was aware that attempting to get his wife out of there would be challenging but a second person? And one that might not be able-bodied?
“Gottman.”
“I know what you’re going to say,” he replied casting him a sideways glance. “I’m not intending to leave with him.”
“You just want to see him?”
He nodded. “And I’m going to stay there.”
“What?” he said with an expression of shock hidden behind his mask. “They find out you aren’t with the military, you know what will happen.”
“I’m not going to leave this gear on, Brody. I’ll remove it once we get inside and they’ll just think I’m one of the people who are being isolated.”
“Yeah, and what happens if you get infected? Huh? Is it really worth losing your life over it? You think that’s what your father would want?”
The truck rumbled and they bounced in their seats a little as it hit a couple of potholes. Gottman didn’t say anything, instead he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes and pulled off his mask.
“What are you doing?”
“Having one last smoke. This shit has got my nerves on edge.”
Brody chuckled. Besides a few military jeeps that zipped by, the town seemed desolate at least on the stretch of road they were traveling. As they drove around the loop and along Hendryx Avenue, Brody spotted lights in the distance. Several military vehicles were blocking the road.
“Gottman, put your mask back on.”
He eased off the gas, and Gottman tossed the cigarette out the window.
There had to have been at least six soldiers patrolling and monitoring the road. He brought the window down as they got closer. The smell of diesel from the truck lingered making Brody feel even more queasy. Brody glanced down at the badge above his breast pocket, it had the last name Patrick on it.
“Your name,” Brody said as they rolled closer to the checkpoint. The blockade was new as it wasn’t there on the way back. Things must have been getting worse in town.
“What?”
“Your name, remember it.”
Gottman glanced down, his badge had the name Diego. “Shit. Just my luck. I don’t look like a Diego. Let’s hope they don’t ask us to take off our masks.” Two soldiers stepped in front of the truck; one of them had a hand raised. Brody applied the brakes, which squealed ever so slightly. The soldiers parted going around either side.
“Where you heading?”
“To the medical center. Any update?” Brody asked trying to act all nonchalant.
The soldier looked back at the checkpoint. “Yeah, things are getting wild. We’ve had to drop a few locals. I hope they are getting reinforcements as I’m not sure how long we are going to hold back the tide.”
“Damn. That bad?”
He nodded looking back at him and shining a flashlight at his mask.
“Taking precautions?”
“Can’t be too careful,” Brody said. The soldier nodded and then raised his hand to the checkpoint to let them through.
“All right, you’re free to go.”
Inwardly Brody breathed a sigh of relief. But just as they were about to pull away, another soldier jogged up shining a flashlight up at the vehicle. “Hey Diego, I’ve been meaning to have a word with you.”
Shit, Brody thought as the soldier blocked the way forward. He had to think fast. Seconds. That’s all they had as he made his way around and banged on the side of the truck, wanting him to bring the window down. Then it came to him.
“That’s probably not a good idea. You might want to tell him to back up.”
“Why?” the soldier asked while adjusting his grip on the rifle. A shot of cold fear went through Brody.
“He’s been exposed. That’s why I’m taking him to the hospital.”
“What?” The soldier on Brody’s side yelled to the other guy to back up.
Both soldiers took a few steps back.
“Are you exposed?”
“No but that’s why I’m wearing this gear. Look, I need to get him to the hospital. Just to make sure.”
“Right.” He jerked his rifle towards the now open checkpoint. “Go on through. I hope he makes it.”
“Me too.”
Brody gave the truck some gas and rolled forward. All the way, sweat dripped down the side of his face.
“Nice move,” Gottman said peering at the side mirror to see if they were following. They weren’t. The checkpoint closed up and they continued on their way north. When they made it into the parking lot, Brody killed
the engine and they hopped out. “For a while there I was wondering how we were going to get through but I guess we have the story to get us inside,” Gottman added.
“That was for back there. If we say that now they are going to isolate you probably alongside other infected people. No. We can’t do that.”
“Then I hope you have a good idea for getting in the door.”
“I thought you did?” Brody asked.
Gottman shrugged. “I got us the clothes. I don’t work miracles.”
They trudged towards the building, this time taking one of the side exits to avoid running into the same soldier they’d spoken to earlier. Around the building soldiers had been posted by all the exits. Brody could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow as they approached two of them.
“Hey there, we’ve been asked to relieve you. They want you down at the checkpoint on Hendryx Avenue.”
“Hendryx Avenue? How come we didn’t hear about this?”
“Look, it’s your call. If you want to deal with disciplinary action from the major, be my guest but he was chewing out some poor kid back at the checkpoint for disobeying a direct order. I felt sorry for the guy. His radio wasn’t working so it wasn’t his fault but the major didn’t see it that way. Fucking guy’s a lunatic.” Brody shook his head and scanned the perimeter before fixing his gaze on the guy in front of him.
The soldier looked at his buddy and then nodded. They took over their position and once they were out of sight, Brody pulled the doors open and stepped in.
“I’m starting to understand why they chose you over me,” Gottman said, chuckling behind his mask.
Jenna had been isolated with a group of five other staff members — a security guard, another nurse, a lab technician, someone from the pharmacy and an orderly. The room had no windows and no clock on the wall, and they had been relieved of cell phones, watches, and stripped of clothes and were now wearing hospital gowns and paper-thin blue foot covers. She was uncomfortable, overheated and her patience was wearing thin. She wasn’t the only one that thought the same. For the past two hours they’d taken turns venting.
“They’re treating us like lab rats,” the orderly said banging on the door with his fist.
“Stop doing that,” the tech said. “You’ll only incite them.”
“Ah, who cares?” He banged again.
“I care. It’s starting to piss me off.”
The orderly raised both hands and pulled a face. “Well, I’m sorry, did I ruin your peace?”
The tech guy got up to confront him but Jenna was quick to get between them. “Let’s not do this. Let it go. I think we’ve all had our buttons pushed and we’re tired and hungry.”
He scowled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m hungry.”
“What’s your name?” Jenna asked the orderly.
“Michael.”
“How long have you been working here?”
“Six months.”
“You from Alpine?”
“What is this? Twenty questions?”
The tech got up again and Jenna only had to flash him the hand and he backed off.
“Listen, we’re in here together. So we might as well get along.”
Michael shrugged then said, “A year. I’ve been in Alpine a year. Now I wish I had never moved here.”
“What brought you here?”
“A girl. Thought she was my soul mate. Crazy, huh?”
Jenna thought of Brody for a second.
Michael continued. “We met on vacation. I used to live in New York but she convinced me to move out here. A dumb choice. That’s for sure.”
“What went wrong?”
“She had issues. Deep issues. Mental issues. I told her to get help but she refused. I mean she did get some help initially but she just kept blaming me for every little thing. What started out as good slowly got worse until we couldn’t stand being around each other. Anyway, she moved out and that was it.”
“So you feel better for it?”
“No. I miss her like crazy. But what can I do?”
Jenna nodded and thought back to her last conversation with Brody before she packed her bags and walked out the door heading for her parents’ home. The pain of losing Will had taken its toll. It had formed a wedge between them. While she wanted to talk about it, see counselors and work through it, Brody had acted as though it wasn’t affecting him, but it was. His lack of desire to talk about it led to them rarely talking. He would come home from work, eat dinner, watch TV and go to bed and do it all over again. The spark in their marriage dimmed until she was unable to meet his needs. Physical contact which had never been a thing before soon became an issue. She just wanted her space to heal while he desperately wanted to connect. She couldn’t give him that. At least not while she was still reeling from losing Will. But it wasn’t just that. At least that’s what her therapist had said. There was more behind it. Deep-rooted issues from her childhood that had found their way to the surface and in the hardest moments of her pain only made her push him away. Eventually they just got to a point where it was uncomfortable to be around each other. She didn’t know when the next disagreement would turn into blaming or if he would lose his temper and leave. Soon fear took hold and everything made her afraid. Being alone, being with him, thinking of the future. It wasn’t healthy for him or her so she left hoping that space might bring them together. It hadn’t. They became estranged and in time she felt the only option that remained was to let him go. It was unfair to hold him captive and not allow him to get on with his life, or find someone who didn’t have all the hangups she did. The whole thing had broken her heart.
“… Anyway, that’s old news. Here we are stuck in shitville dealing with this crap,” Michael said. “They do not pay me enough for this. The first thing I’m going to do when I get out of here is quit.”
“Geesh, I wish you would quit. Quit bitching,” the tech said.
Michael scowled at him and took a few steps forward.
Before another argument between them could begin, the sound of gunfire erupted. It was a steady staccato, loud but partially dulled by the thick door that separated them from the hallway in the lower level of the hospital.
Chapter 13
Jenna joined Michael at the door as they pressed their ears against it to try and figure out what was going on. There was a lot of shouting, several people screaming, soldiers giving direct orders for someone to back up, then more gunfire. Soon, what sounded like only the military attempting to control a violent confrontation turned into total chaos. Yelling, shouting, doors banging, glass breaking, guns firing and gurneys being slammed into the walls.
They took a step back as something hard collided with the door.
What sounded like a person being thrown against the door turned into multiple thuds like someone kicking the door.
More gunfire, and it stopped.
The sound of a key in the lock, and the door swung open. There was a soldier waving them out. “We’ve had a breach, follow me.”
Outside two more soldiers were on either side of the doorway, rifles raised. Before Jenna had taken a step towards the exit, one of them unleashed a deafening flurry of rounds. “Matthews, there’s too many of them. We need to take a different route.”
All six of them streamed out into the chaotic scene. A bloody handprint was smeared on the wall, a gurney was turned on its side, paperwork was lying all over the floor like confetti and there were brass shell cases surrounding multiple victims, some dead, others bleeding out. Jenna’s eyes widened, her jaw dropped.
“Ma’am, move it!” the soldier said giving her a push towards the south wing. She was followed by Michael and the other four as the sound of gunfire echoed loudly. It was the closest thing to what she imagined war was like in the Middle East. An endless stream of shouting, shooting and devastation. The walls were peppered with rounds, and slumped over a desk was Dr. David Summers. His arms hung down, blood dripping off the hands. She wanted to scream but no words escaped her
mouth. It felt like she was moving in slow motion as she was thrust forward.
“Move it.”
The staccato of gunfire was so overwhelming that she’d frozen in the middle of the hallway, staring at Summers. That’s when she felt someone grab her by the wrist and pull her forward. It was Michael. “Come on.”
Out the corner of her eye she watched as four patients rushed forward straight into the line of fire. Like dominoes they dropped under a hail of bullets. Led into a stairwell, they began making the ascent with two soldiers at the front and another in the rear.
“Where are we going?” Michael bellowed but the soldiers were too focused on plowing through anyone that came at them and it seemed as if the whole damn hospital had gone nuts. The halls were in complete disarray on the main level, a window at the far end of the corridor had been smashed, and several bodies lay on the ground.
Then she saw a woman and some men hunched over what appeared to be a soldier. They were driving a steel rod repeatedly into him. He must have been dead, as his body wasn’t moving but that didn’t stop them from obsessively striking him. While those they saw were infected, as their skin looked leathery and their eyes bloodshot, there were others who appeared to be just caught up in it. Prevented from leaving by soldiers, they were either shot or taken down by the infected. Fear gripped Jenna as they hurried down a hallway only to come face to face with a large knot of people that were going berserk. The soldiers opened fire, and Jenna saw a kid who couldn’t have been more than ten years of age drop.
“Stop!”
But her words were wasted. No one was listening. It was a matter of survival and they weren’t taking any chances. Forced through a door, Jenna stumbled and her knee slammed into the hard floor. She let out a cry, but was promptly hauled to her feet by the soldier behind her while the other two provided cover. She couldn’t understand how this had got out of control so fast. Where had all these people come from? There were a fair number in the medical center but nowhere close to the amount she’d seen down the hallway. Dashing down one more corridor they were led into a room where the doctor she’d seen earlier that day was under the watchful protection of two more soldiers.