Nano Z (Book 2): Salvation

by Brad Knight

  “I’ve had enough. He’s gone too far. It’s time to push for leadership. It’s time for Ted to go.” Sebastian had said those words before. The difference was that that time, he had conviction. He meant it.

  “That isn’t going to be easy. He still has a lot of support here.” Denise was right. She would know. Ted’s assistant heard everything. That included not only conspiracies against her boss, but also those who supported him. The latter outnumbered the former.

  “We’ll do whatever it takes. No matter what, those were the last orders he gives anyone here. I need you to start recruiting. I’ll start with the other suits. If I get them on our side, this’ll be a lot easier.”

  ***

  Hellfire fighter planes screamed past Ted’s helicopter. They were just far enough away that their jet streams didn’t toss the bird into turbulence. But they were close enough that he could see the heads of the pilot’s lit up by console instruments.

  Fly my pretties. Burn this fucking place down to its foundations. Ted seemed mesmerized by the destruction reaped by the Hellfire’s blockbuster bombs. Upon hitting the ground or buildings, the incendiary devices exploded into huge balls of flames setting anything they touched ablaze. Los Angeles burned, and the man who ordered it just smiled.

  I should’ve done this while there were still people here. I don’t even think I would’ve got in trouble. The rest of the country, maybe even the rest of the world, would’ve thanked me. Ted’s eyes were as big as saucers as the city wide fire reflected off of them.

  “How are we going to find them?” asked Isaac.

  “Hmm?”

  “Find them. How are we going to do it?”

  “Who?”

  Isaac raised one eyebrow and gave Ted a strange look. He spoke slowly so that there was no doubt that his employer heard him. “The survivors, the rebels, the people we came out here to kill?”

  “Yes, of course. Tell me something, my friend. What do all the dead have in common? I’ll give you a hint. I’m not talking about their odor.”

  Isaac took a moment to think about it. Ted half expected smoke to come out of the man’s ears. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at sir,” responded the Salt Lake City team leader.

  “They’re cold. As opposed to the living who are…?”

  “Warm. You’re going to use thermals.” If real life were a cartoon, a lightbulb would’ve lit up over Isaac’s head.

  “Exactly,” confirmed Ted. He leaned forward in between the pilot and co-pilot. “Stay close to the coast line. Turn on the thermals and let me know if and when you get any hits.”

  Ted’s helicopter hugged the coast and swept for any signs of body heat and therefore life. All the readings they got were of wild animals who thrived with the absence of people. But nothing shaped like a person showed up.

  The helicopter kept searching. It was long until the sun rose, and fog obscured the passengers’ view. However, that didn’t affect the electronic eyes of the thermal imaging camera. And after a whole night of searching, it found some people.

  “We got something, Mr. Gorman,” informed the pilot.

  Ted had fallen in and out of sleep during the flight. When he heard the pilot tell him that there were some hits on the thermal, he shot up out of his seat and took a look at the monitors.

  Finally. I found you, Mack. There’s no getting away, no running from our destinies. There were two heat signatures in the water. Three others were on a boat. The chances that there was another boat out there with the same exact number of people that Ted and his team were hunting was remote at best.

  “Set us down,” ordered Ted.

  “We can’t. At least not right here. We need to find a clearing.” The pilot had reservations about landing on the top of the cliff below. One strong wind and they could be sent tumbling into the ocean.

  In that moment, Ted fantasized about murdering his pilot ten different ways. The problem was he couldn’t fly. And he had no intention of crashing, despite the fact that he’d probably survive. Nor did he want to walk home after he took care of business.

  “Fine. Hurry up. The more time we waste the further away they’ll get.” Ted had half the mind to jump out the copter and take them down himself. He might have been crazy, but he wasn’t quite that crazy.

  Ted and his helicopter flew around the area till they found a suitable place to land. There was a small clearing in the pine forests a couple miles from the ocean side cliffs. The chopper slowly descended, careful not to clip the tree tops.

  First the meat puppet cargo had to be dropped off. When it was feet off the ground, the co-pilot released the cable holding the metal crate. After hitting the ground, the door of the crate opened and the infected bear bounded out.

  As soon as the Galatea helicopter touched down on the deep green grass, Ted, Isaac and his men disembarked. Ted gave instructions for the pilot and co-pilot to take off and meet them back at the same clearing in twenty four hours.

  “Is that thing safe?” asked Isaac as his finger moved to the trigger of his rifle, his eyes on the meat puppet bear.

  “Sure,” responded Ted with a laugh. “As long as I’m alive, you got nothing to fear from my buddy here.” He tried to pet the meat puppet bear. Pieces of skin, fur and flesh came off on his hand. He quickly wiped it on his pants.

  “And if you die?” asked Isaac.

  “Keep me breathing and you won’t have to find out. Sound like a deal?”

  Isaac grinned. “No promises, boss man.”

  The Salt Lake City team leader and his three remaining men followed Ted and his bear into the pine forest. They only had two ways to track down the New Babylon survivors. Ted’s infected bear could sniff them out. Or they could return to the cliffs from memory. Why not do both?

  Oregon was home to vast stretches of untouched wilderness. Pine trees loomed above. Thick vegetation consisting of ferns and other ground based plants prevented any kind of fast travel. Add to that the wet weather of the Pacific Northwest and you’d have some rough terrain.

  As hard as it was to move through the pine forest, there was no denying how stunning it was. Ted had no idea that there were shades of green that vibrant and lush. Almost everything was covered with some kind of plant life, be it grass, moss or ferns. Even someone as sick and demented as him could appreciate the beauty.

  It took about an hour, but Ted and his security team made it to the cliffs where the thermal cameras registered the hits. There wasn’t anyone there. But Ted spied some things left behind.

  “What’s that?” he asked to no one in particular. He walked over towards the edge of the cliff where there was a large red piece of nylon.

  “Looks like a parachute,” answered Isaac.

  Ted looked over the edge. The cliff was steep, slippery and overall, hostile. He realized what the parachute was used for.

  “They must’ve used it to climb up.” Ted stated the obvious.

  Ted turned his gaze out over the water. Almost completely sunk into the Pacific, he spotted the Sarah’s Gambit. Or to be more accurate, he saw the very top of the cabin. The rest was claimed by cold and salty water.

  Oh well, now that tickles me. There was something else in the water, floating face down next to the top of the boat. Ted couldn't have known, but it was Dr. Bawja. All he saw was a member of the New Babylon survivors that stopped surviving.

  “Looks like we got one less to worry about,” said Isaac as he unwrapped a stick of gum. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I was kind of looking forward to killing those stubborn pricks.”

  Ted backed away from the edge and turned to the team leader. “Is there anything here that we can use to track them, or whatever?”

  “Sure.” Isaac look down at the ground, softened by sea spray and moist air. He observed several pairs of foot prints. “I’m no expert, but their tracks lead into the woods. And seeing that there really isn’t anywhere else to go, I’d say that’s our best bet.”

  “Then back into the woods we
go,” said Ted. He addressed his bear. “C’mon Smokey, it’s time to track down some little weasels.”

  Ted looked down at the corpse of the pilot Mack swiped the aforementioned chute from. He had on a uniform that the Galatea CEO recognized. It was from the United States Air Force.

  He must’ve come from Crawford Air Force base. Come to think of it, that’s not far from here. From the looks of him, he’s been outside for a while.

  “Mr. Gorman!” Isaac tried to get Ted’s attention. The security team leader knelt down and cleared some pine needles and leaves away from the soft dirt.

  “What is it?” asked Ted as he tore his attention away from the dead pilot.

  “More tracks.” Isaac stood up. “They’re heading north.”

  “Why? What the hell are they doing going north? What do they think they’ll find? It’s the same everywhere.”

  “No clue, sir. And frankly, I don’t care. All I care about is putting them down.”

  “You and me both, bud. Let’s get on that.”

  Ted, Isaac and the Salt Lake City guys searched the Western Oregon woods for hours. It wasn’t long until their search breached the night. Still, they didn’t stop. Their ride was set to arrive the next morning, and they intended to finish their task and be there to be picked up.

  The group of killers came across a town called Plymouth. It was small. Back before civilization fell, it was a tourist spot. People came there to go hiking, camp, fish and even hunt.

  Plymouth didn’t have a downtown. There weren’t two buildings within a mile of each other. The first Ted and his men came across was a bait shop.

  “Check it out, Smokey,” said Ted out loud, even though he didn’t have to.

  The infected bear ran ahead into the shop. Ted and the group heard some screeches shortly after, coming from inside the store. But seconds later, more screeches came from the surrounding pine forest. Before they knew it, dozens of meat puppets emerged from the dark. More followed close behind.

  Chapter 14

  : Plymouth

  Welcome to Plymouth. The Steelhead capitol of the Great Pacific Northwest. That so? Mack looked at the sign a few feet in front of him. Amber, Freddy and the twins kept their attention on the surrounding woods. None of them wanted to be caught off guard by meat puppets, or worse, people.

  The sun fell slowly but surely. None of Mack’s group wanted to be out in the open when that happened. They needed to find somewhere to spend the night, and Plymouth was the first and only town they came across.

  “Let’s find somewhere safe to sleep,” said Mack. “But be careful. And stick close together. We’re not losing anyone else.”

  The group did as Mack said. They stuck close. There was no more than a couple feet between them.

  Freddy was the first to spot the bait shop. It was the first building they saw in Plymouth. Before the group could even consider spending the night there, they’d have to clear it and make sure it was secure.

  “We’ll take a look,” said Mack as he raised his gun. He motioned for Amber to follow.

  While they approached the bait shop, Freddy, Simon and Stephanie swept the area around the small structure.

  Pieces of thick plywood covered every door and window of the shop. They were nailed in place, never meant to be removed.

  Mack pressed his face against the plywood over one window. He tried to see through the cracks to get a glimpse inside. All he saw through his nanite enhanced eyes were shelving. Not satisfied with that, he put his ear next to it to see if he heard anything.

  A loud bang against the plywood made Mack jump back. Whatever hit it did so hard enough to crack the board. Mack readied himself for whatever was going to burst through.

  Amber went around to the back door. The wooden board on the exit was loose. Several nails were torn out and on the ground. Written in blue paint were the words, “Run away”. Not one to give in to such hysterics, she wanted a look inside. Like Mack, she pried open the corner without nails and took a peek.

  There wasn’t much to see through the backdoor. The lack of electricity nor light coming through windows left it nearly pitch black inside. But she did spot what looked like a large hulking silhouette. Then she heard whatever was inside bang on the plywood near Mack.

  Amber ran back to him out in front of the bait shop. Freddy, Simon and Stephanie joined them. From the look on their faces, it was clear that they were all thinking the same thing.

  “This isn’t going to work. We need to move on,” said Mack, vocalizing everyone in the group’s thoughts.

  The group left the bait shop and moved on. They chose to follow the roads, as there wasn’t time to wander the woods. Buildings were more likely to be found along it, and that was all that mattered.

  In an hour of walking they only passed a couple of man-made structures. One of them was a gas station that looked like it was derelict long before the outbreak. They didn’t even bother checking it out. The second was a school. It held some promise.

  “How do you want to do this?” asked Simon, as he stood next to Mack and stared at the school. It was much bigger than the bait shop, but not huge. There was no way it housed more than a couple of hundred kids whilst it still operated. In the small parking lot beside the front of the building was a school bus.

  “Not sure,” answered Mack. With his enhanced eyesight, the woods lit up like it was mid-afternoon. He didn’t see any meat puppets. But within seconds he heard them.

  The whole group heard bone chilling screeches. None of them could see where they were coming from. Not even Mack. It was like a signal notifying them that it was time to get indoors. And to do so in a hurry.

  “Turn off your flashlights and follow me.” Mack walked quickly towards the school entrance. The walking turned into jogging after a few steps. His fellow survivors followed him and did the same.

  All around them, Mack saw countless pairs of red eyes emerging from pine and birch trees. They were accompanied by numerous screeches. There were far too many for the group to either fight or outrun.

  The only thing they could do was take refuge inside the school and try to barricade themselves. As he approached the front doors, Mack noticed that they had large glass windows that represented a clear liability.

  Son of a bitch! Mack tried to pull open the front doors, but they didn’t want to open, no matter how hard he yanked. Without time to try and pick the locks or try to open them some other way, the Viking punched through one of the windows. He grimaced as little sharp shards of glass embedded themselves in between his knuckles.

  Ignore the pain. You’ll heal. Just get them open, or we’ll be slaughtered.

  “Give him a little time!” yelled Amber, before she started firing at any meat puppets that got too close. Stephanie, Simon and Freddy joined her in shooting the creatures as they tried to swarm the group. Their muzzle flashes lit up the area, giving them very brief glimpses of highly evolved infected.

  C’mon. C’mon. C’mon. Mack’s hand blindly fumbled for any kind of locking mechanism. It was the only means he could think of to get inside. He bet not only his life, but also Amber’s and the rest of the group on his ability to pull it off.

  About time! Mack felt the latch of a lock and turned it. Even over the gunfire, he heard the door unlock. He quickly swung it open. A rush of stale putrid air hit him, but he didn’t care. To him it smelled like relief.

  “Get in!” Mack held open one of the front doors of the school. Still firing, the others backed into the building. Before slamming the door closed, Mack saw a hulking meat puppet lumbering towards them. It wasn’t the same one from Vegas, but looked to be the same breed.

  When he got inside the school, the first priority for him was finding some way to reinforce the doors. If they managed to get in, the meat puppets would too.

  “Here,” Simon was way ahead of him. He handed Mack some chains.

  “Where’d you…?”

  “Does it matter?” asked Simon as he helped Mack chain close
d the front doors.

  They finished barricading the doors not a moment too soon. Meat puppets slammed into them, shattering the remaining window and sending one half of the twins to the floor. Arms reached through the broken glass and tried to grab anyone they could.

  “I don’t think that’ll hold them for very long,” said Stephanie.

  “So let’s move!” Mack took up the role of the leader of the group. It wasn’t on purpose, but worked out that way. He led his group down the hallways of the school as they looked for a safe place to hide out. What was to come after was a mystery to him. All he knew was that he wanted to survive. And he wanted to keep his comrades alive.

  As they searched for safe refuge, the group of survivors heard meat puppets trying to get into the building. They broke windows and tried to bash open doors. Some of them succeeded.

  “They got through!” yelled Amber.

  The rest of the group looked to see what she was talking about. When they did, they wished they hadn’t. There was a back door they neglected. Unfortunately the meat puppets didn’t.

  Dozens of monsters came screeching down the school hallway towards them. They were unique in that they were mostly metallic skeletons with bits of flesh clinging to the reflective bones. Thick, strong tendons held everything together and allowed them to move. There was something in their glowing red eyes, some semblance of intelligence. That scared the hell out of Mack. He hoped it was just his imagination.

  We have to get out of this hallway. Or we’re going to become supper. Mack body checked the nearest door. The force of his weight easily broke it open. Once inside he wished the door didn’t break.

  There was a classroom filled with little corpses. Most of them were huddled together, but some were laying on the floor. All around them were empty plastic cups. They must have been the students. From what he could see, he figured their teachers poisoned them. Better to die peacefully than by the hands of savage monsters.

  Of all the horrific things that Mack saw and bore witness to, the contents of that classroom was the worst. It disturbed him. All that innocence, thrown away in hopes that it wasn’t torn to shreds by the infected. He wondered if it came down to it, could he do the same to Amber in order to spare her from a more gruesome fate. Meat puppet screeches snapped him out of his thoughts.