Outbreak: Long Road Back

by Van Dusen, Robert

  Tennyson slowly counted to ten in his head. The man had been contemptuous (at best) of the woman while she was alive and now that she was dead he was trying to play like they were best friends or something. “Thank you for your condolences.” the major said at last. He took a couple more slow breaths before continuing. “We know two of your men did it. They also killed another member of the medical staff. And those two killed everyone else they would have saved from here on out.”

  “I’ll have them surrender themselves for trial immediately as soon as the courts are up and running again, of course.” Secretary Bouchard said as he spread his hands in a gesture of contriteness. The burly man shrugged and frowned. “You understand I can’t just let you do anything rash under the circumstances.”

  “I am a hair’s breadth from ordering you and all your people the hell off my FOB.” Major Tennyson said, rising by inches from his seat. There was a feeling in the room like kicking over a rotted log in the woods. Both men stared at each other for a long second or two. “Just so you know where we stand.”

  Bouchard nodded. “I’ve got more men than you do.” he said and smiled like a shark. “Just so you know where we stand.” He shrugged again and chuckled trying to defuse the situation. “Look…we can still get along. So some of my employees get a little excited or whatever sometimes. Gotta let ‘em blow off steam somehow.”

  “You and those animals you got working for you have thirty minutes to get the hell off my property.” Major Tennyson said in the tone of command that only a career military man can muster. “You and me are going to sit right here and wait for your guys to leave. Anybody within sight of my walls after that point? It’s game on, you condescending piece of shit.” Major Tennyson called for Sergeant Hanes and relayed the order to him.

  Tennyson surreptitiously drew his sidearm from its holster and held it in his lap pointed at Bouchard’s guts under the table. “Now let’s not do anything rash, Major.” Bouchard said still with that same patronizing grin on his face “I’d like to remind you that I’m the top civilian authority for this FEMA region. As far as you’re concerned I’m in charge here.”

  The FEMA man leapt to his feet and Major Tennyson’s pistol boomed several times in his hand sending slugs through the table and punching several holes in Bouchard’s torso from groin to upper chest. Bouchard stood there for a moment staring in shock at the gore soaking through his crisp polo shirt and kacki slacks before crumpling to the ground.

  Two men burst into the room and Tennyson brought his M9 up before realizing that it was a couple of his own men. “Piece of shit resisted arrest.” Major Tennyson said as he decocked his pistol and returned it to the holster on his hip. One of them grinned at the corpse and nodded as the two of them came into the room to get a better look at things.

  “Yes, Sir.” The other one said as he removed the pistol from Bouchard’s holster and put it in the man’s hand. “See? He threw down on you, sir. Had to defend yourself. Me and Roberts saw it ourselves didn’t we?” The Marine private dutifully snapped photos with his cell phone camera documenting the whole scene for his report.

  Frays could not help but feel a sense of things being put right in a kind of horrible way. She and the rest of the trainees had taken a position along the perimeter of the Blue Diamond Group’s trailers while a small detachment of Security Forces went from trailer to trailer turning the mercenaries out into the street. A couple of these men had beaten up her brother just a few weeks ago. On the other side of the world a sick evil man like these guys had come close to killing her and had destroyed everything she had in the world. They had reduced her Master’s Thesis to so much slag, setting her back months and causing her so much heartburn she was surprised that she did not get an ulcer or something.

  Now they were the ones getting turned out. Finding out what it was like to be on the receiving end for a change. And, God help her, it made Frays feel pretty good. A tiny little part of her really did hope that one of them put up a fuss. Hopefully it would be the smug South African that had stolen her father’s 1911 and set Carl off.

  She glanced down the line. The trainees seemed to be keeping their cool as they stood guard waiting for the Marines to do their jobs. A blood curdling shriek cut through the late afternoon quiet like a razorblade. Frays glanced at the trainees when a second voice joined the first and gurgled to a halt. There was the sharp crack of gunfire.

  Instinct kicked in. Frays and the rest of them threw themselves to the ground and raised their carbines searching for targets. There were more shots. Frays glanced around, hesitant to go charging in amongst the trailers and other buildings lest they be mistaken for whoever was causing the shooting and get fired upon themselves.

  A figure clutching his throat stumbled around the corner of the nearest trailer and collapsed in a heap. “Stark, Hubbard!” Frays shouted. She waved towards the fallen figure and the two trainees jogged off towards the man. “Everyone else cover them!”

  Stark and Hubbard each grabbed one of the man’s arms and started dragging the casualty back towards the rest of the group. The small blonde woman screamed and kicked the casualty in the side of the head as Hubbard unslung his carbine and fired a quick pair of shots into the man’s temple. The rest of them exchanged nervous glances as Hubbard reached out and tapped Stark on the arm. The two of them jogged back to their lines and Stark hustled over to Sergeant Frays. Stark glanced over her shoulders at the others then whispered “Sergeant…that guy was infected or whatever. That guy was one of them.”

  A puzzled expression came to Sergeant Frays’ face. “What do you mean infected?” she asked. Frays scowled at the crumpled form about seventy meters away. “How the heck did that happen?”

  Stark shrugged. “You’ve got me, Sergeant.” she said quietly as a little tremor ran through her body. “The son of a bitch almost got me. H-er…it almost got a chunk of my forearm.” The woman shuddered and ran her hands over her forearms.

  Frays’ eyes went wide for a moment. “But you’re alright?” she asked and seized the woman’s wrists. Frays checked the woman for bite marks or any other proof she did not get off as unscathed as she thought. The both of them calmed slightly when what Stark had said proved true.

  “What are we gonna do?” Stark asked. By now it appeared that word of what had just happened was making its way to the rest of the group via Hubbard. Frays was quiet as more sporadic gunfire rang out. Some of it did not appear to be coming from the Blue Diamond Group compound anymore… What the hell was happening?

  Sergeant Frays grabbed the little Motorola walkie talkie clipped to her LCS and pressed the talk button. “Big Daddy, Big Daddy Baby Momma.” Frays said quickly into the little yellow and black radio. A little part of her wished they had the time to come up with a different call sign for her… “Sitrep!”

  There was a squeal followed by a little static. Sergeant Hanes had taken the more experienced Marines in amongst the trailers to evict their unwanted roommates almost twenty minutes ago and there had been no word since. “Baby Momma, Big Daddy.” said a tinny voice on the other side of the radio. “Hold your position. Infected…hold tight. Taking fire. Hold tight. Coming…” there was a rattle of gunfire “We’re coming to you.”

  Stark noticed the color drain from Sergeant Frays’ face as she put the radio back. “Good copy, we hold our position here.” Frays said loud enough for everyone to hear over the sporadic gunfire. “Sergeant Hanes and the others are working their way back to us. Be ready to provide covering fire and we’ll regroup. Fix bayonets!”

  There was tense crackling electricity in the air as they waited. The sun shone on the long sharp bayonets of the trainee’s carbines as the ten of them knelt at the edge of the compound. Frays found herself kind of wishing that she had managed to find a bayonet for her M4 but then again she definitely had the edge where firepower was concerned. A handful of figures lurched across the compound towards the last batch of gunshots.

  Frays raised her carbine and slapped the m
agnifier into place with the heel of her hand. At first glance the two mercenaries and a civilian female might have been drunk until she noticed that their clothes were all rumpled and torn. There was a patch of raw infected looking skin on the woman’s neck that might have been a bite or something. She flicked her safety catch off and centered the red dot of her Aimpoint on the lead zombie’s head. “ENEMY FRONT!” Frays cried as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  In a flash the three creatures collapsed in heaps when Frays obliterated their skulls with three well aimed shots. The muffled cracks of the gunshots might help draw some of the zombies away from Sergeant Hanes and his crew if there were any more of those things stumbling around in there. A form stumbled around the corner of a trailer some hundred meters away. There was a louder crack as one of the trainees fired at it then a small spate of quick shots indicating that at least two more of them took shots at it as well.

  More shots as a small knot approached the end of their line. “CIRCLE UP!” Sergeant Frays shouted as she stood up and moved to a position back about thirty meters and the others formed a ring around her just like they practiced out on the range. “WATCH YOUR TARGETS! REMEMBER WE GOT FRIENDLIES INBOUND!”

  There was more firing coming from it seemed like all over the compound now. How the heck did this happen? Frays thought as she dropped one about a hundred or so meters away. She did not have that much ammo on her to start with and now she was starting to become concerned. There were only four more magazines in her LCS and she only had one HE grenade left for her M203. Somebody would have to make a run to supply for more ammo soon if this kept up. However there could not be that many of those things could there?

  Frays felt the blood run away from her face when the sound of the Black Hawk’s rotors winding up reached her over the din. After seeing how fast the aircrew had dealt with the bandits that had tried to ambush them on the way up here she knew they would all be in a world of hurt if the aircrew spun up its crew served and turned it on the Marines. Or would they be on their side? However Frays did not expect to see what happened next: the dark green helicopter lifted off in a cloud of dust and headed west just as fast as its powerful engines would let it.

  A group of six people in field gear worked their way towards the group using the trailers for cover. “Check fire!” Frays cried and the others repeated it as the others approached. She felt a small flood of relief when she spotted Sergeant Hanes amongst them. However there had been fourteen Marines that had gone into the compound… “What’s going on, Sergeant?”

  Hanes looked around and pushed back his helmet with his thumb. “Looks like some of those assholes got infected somehow.” he muttered under his breath. There was a tense silence then he looked around at the other Marines. “It’s spread to some of the civilians. The towers are taking shots inside the FOB. We’re falling back to the TOC. Ready?” The others nodded or answered in the affirmative. “Good. On me, Marines.”

  The whole platoon moved out heading in the direction of the TOC, keeping low and using what structures they could for cover. They were about halfway there when a shot rang out and one of the Marines near Sergeant Hanes fell flat on her face a rapidly spreading pool of dark red blood spurting out onto the grass. “SNIPER!” shouted Hanes as he threw himself to the ground and brought his weapon up. “Get to cover! Move!”

  Hubbard, Stark and Buckley took cover next to the stripped skeleton of what used to be a pickup truck. Stark looked around then bolted for the fallen Marine. “Stark! Wait!” Buckley shouted as he tried to reach out and catch the back of the woman’s shirt. His fingertips succeeded in only just barely brushing against her back.

  “Fuck!” Hubbard spat under his breath as he smacked Buckley on the shoulder. “Give her some cover!” The two men raised their carbines and kept an eye out in case they were able to spot the shooter. A bullet kicked up the dirt just behind Stark’s foot as she reached the Marine and started dragging her back to the others.

  Sergeant Frays rose to her feet and cupped her hands over her mouth. “STOP SHOOTING YOU BIG DUMMY! WE’RE HEALTHY!!” she shouted at the man in the tower. It seemed that was where the shooting was coming from. A bullet whined past her ear and Frays dropped low, scooting for cover in a drainage ditch a few feet away. “Tower, north side!”

  Stark crouched over the Marine she had gotten to safety and sighed. There was nothing she could have done. The poor woman had been nearly decapitated by the sniper’s bullet, her head hanging on only by a few strands of tendon and pale skin. The woman let out a few shuddering breaths as she pounded a fist against the frame of the truck. Buckley reached out and shook the medic hoping to snap her out of it. “C’mon, Stark.” he said quietly as he did his best to not look into the dead Marine’s rapidly clouding eyes. “It’s alright. C’mon. We gotta go.”

  Frays and Hanes started taking shots at the tower eventually hitting the mercenary and sending him falling over the railing and onto the ground below. “Alright, on your feet!” Sergeant Hanes shouted as he stood up. “Come on! We’re almost there.”

  The TOC was bedlam. The removal of the mercenaries was obviously not going as well as Major Tennyson had hoped and the presence of the infected that had somehow gotten inside the walls only served to further complicate matters. So far nobody really seemed to know how that had come about but right now Major Tennyson made it clear to everyone that the mercenaries were top priority. The zombies did not have machineguns after all.

  Hanes and Frays sat through the meeting all the while a tension growing in Frays’ stomach. Throughout all this there was barely any mention made of the civilians in the Resettlement Center. The place was wide open with no nice safe blast walls around it like everywhere else on the FOB. After a few more minutes she felt like she might throw up. Becca and Paulie were probably there with nobody to look after them. The poor kids had to be scared out of their minds! Where were Carl and Lacey and Rodriguez for that matter?

  Rodriguez was likely up at the Med Station since that was her assigned duty. Her mind was going a million miles a minute in a trillion different directions when Sergeant Hanes nudged her under the table. “Huh?” she asked and looked around, clearly startled by the interruption in her thoughts.

  “You’re going to take charge of the trainees, Sergeant. Get to supply and get more ammo if you need it then get over to the Med Center.” Major Tennyson said, obviously not best pleased by the fact that the woman was not paying as close attention as she should have been. “You and Stark are going to help with the wounded and the rest of your men are going to secure the building. Copy?”

  Frays nodded contritely. “Yes, sir.” she said quietly and started to stand up. “What’s going on with the civilians, sir?” Frays asked after a moment’s deliberation. She swallowed hard and glanced at the men seated around the table. A couple of them rolled their eyes.

  “The civilians know to go to the Resettlement Center and bar the doors, Sergeant.” Major Tennyson said quickly and started gathering his things. He glanced at a Hispanic man seated next to him. “Staff Sergeant Hernandez and his squad are holding the place. You’d know that if you weren’t daydreaming during the briefing.”

  Frays could not help but feel more than a little embarrassed as they left the briefing. “Hey Frays.” Sergeant Hanes said as he tapped her on the shoulder. He gave her a small knowing smile as they walked towards the door. “Don’t worry about your brother. I know Staff Sergeant Hernandez. He’s good people. Carl’s safe as can be.”

  Frays smiled and nodded as she exited the building and walked off towards her squad. “Alright, folks!” she called and motioned for them to come closer. “Our first stop is supply where we’re gonna grab up some more ammo if we need it. Then we’re going to the Med Center. Stark and myself will help treat casualties while the rest of you guard the perimeter. If anybody approaches you tell them to stop and identify themselves. You know what the mercs dress like so don’t let them in. I know it’s not what we trained for but do
n’t be afraid to pull a trigger if somebody alive starts anything. Ready? Fix bayonets and let’s move out.”

  The squad moved quickly through the gate and hooked around the perimeter wall making for the Med Center only about a quarter mile or so due north of the TOC. Frays could not help but spare a worried glance at the dilapidated Wal-Mart on the other side of the parking lot as they walked quickly across the blacktop. The screams and the occasional exchange of gunfire did little to help ease her mind as they maneuvered through the clumps of panicked civilians rushing towards the perceived safety of the Resettlement Center a few hundred yards away. How many of them had been bitten and were going to be locked inside with the kids?

  Frays shuddered away that thought as she made sure the trainees were dispersed properly as they hustled towards their destination. They had to be spaced far enough apart that if one of the mercs threw a grenade at them he would not get more than one person but close enough that the team could easily react to an attack if need be. Someone shouting off to the squad’s left caught Frays’ attention. She called the squad to a halt.

  Lacey’s face was flushed from exertion as he rushed towards them. He stopped a few paces from Frays looking like he was only just barely holding back the urge to hug the woman in front of him. For that matter Frays found that she probably would have let him under the circumstances. “What the fuck’s going on, Sergeant?” he asked after an awkward half second.

  “We’re going to the Med Center.” Frays said quickly. The group knelt in the parking lot to make themselves less of a target while they spoke. “The civilians are going to the Resettlement Center. A squad of Marines are there right now making sure everything’s secure there.” A bullet whined overhead making Frays miss her Kevlar for a moment. “Where are your people?”