by Dirk Patton
“You OK?” She asked.
“Fine,” I answered. “I just don’t feel as bad about killing those cops as I should. They were simply scared of the infection.”
“Think there will be more?” Rachel asked after a couple of minutes of thought.
“Maybe. Probably. Maybe not cops, but more scared people. There’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t have any vaccine and I can’t help them. They just need to stay the fuck out of my way so I can get to Katie.” I said.
Either the tone in my voice or Rachel realizing we were only miles from finding my wife killed any further conversation. That was fine with me. I wasn’t in the mood to talk. I had one thing on my mind. Rescuing Katie, and that was all I was able to concentrate on at the moment.
I get like that. So focused on the task at hand that all else is ignored. That’s one thing that made me so good at being a soldier. It also drove Katie to distraction. She was the queen of multi-tasking and had a hard time dealing with my single-mindedness when I had to accomplish something.
We drove in silence for some time as I kept pushing us north. Frequently I had to sidetrack to avoid abandoned vehicles blocking the road. Occasionally we saw other survivors moving around, some driving and some on foot. All too often we came across groups of infected. All of the infected were headed south towards Tinker.
Now that I knew the infected were being controlled, or more accurately they were being “directed”, the previously mysterious herding behavior wasn’t quite as frightening. Well, as long as I knew the location they were being called to and could be somewhere else when they arrived. I wondered what was being done to identify the Russian satellite or satellites that were broadcasting the signal that attracted the infected. Hopefully something, because the defenses at Tinker weren’t great and there were a lot of people that would die if a large herd showed up.
“Fifty four miles to go,” Martinez suddenly spoke from the back seat.
I had been so absorbed in my driving and musings that I’d almost forgotten they were back there. I looked into the rearview mirror, getting a good view of both of them as we were driving through an area that still had power and was well lit by modern streetlights. I nodded my thanks to Martinez and cut my eyes to Rachel.
She was looking back at me and I could tell she had been crying. Her eyes were red rimmed and watery, the end of her nose shiny from being rubbed. At that moment my heart went out to her. I wanted to pull over, open the back door and fold her into my arms. But I didn’t. That wouldn’t help anyone. It would send her the wrong message and would waste time that I didn’t have to get to Katie before something truly bad happened to her.
36
Master Gunnery Sergeant Matt Zemeck stood at the back of the Osprey as it descended for a landing at Tinker Air Force Base. Colonel Pointere stood at his side, both men with rifles in their hands, ready to charge down the ramp the moment the aircraft was on the ground. They had successfully defended the precious oil refinery, wiping out the majority of the herd of infected with repeated fuel-air bomb attacks. The few thousand surviving infected had been handled by the Osprey’s as well as ground troops.
While Zemeck had overseen the battle, Pointere had been closeted in conversations with Admiral Packard and Colonel Crawford. Always a hard case, his resolve to stand against President Clark had been cemented when he learned about the shoot down of the planeload of SEALs in Alaska. He quickly assured the other two officers that he and his Marines would stand with them.
During their conversation the Admiral excused himself, finally coming back on the line after several minutes. When he rejoined them it was with news that General Carrey at Fort Wainwright had called him to say that he too was in support of the Admiral’s opposition to the President. The President was currently being detained by the same MPs who had been assigned to protect her and was in a secure area without any outside communication.
Both the General and Admiral Packard had called General Triplett at Tinker but he refused to come around to their side, remaining steadfast in his support of the President. As a result the three officers had discussed how best to deal with him. All were in agreement that Tinker Air Force Base was a vitally strategic asset for the severely diminished American military, but they were also hesitant to initiate open hostilities.
It was finally agreed that once the Marines finished mopping up the herd that had threatened the refinery, Colonel Pointere would leave a skeleton crew behind to provide security and return to Tinker to augment Colonel Crawford’s Rangers. At that point they would detain General Triplett and take control of the base.
There was concern that the Air Force personnel on the base would view their actions as unlawful, which in the strictest technical sense they were, and resist. The Air Force outnumbered the Marines and Rangers nearly three to one, and it was a very real concern.
All three men agreed that there was a high degree of risk that it would be necessary to fire on their fellow American servicemen and women. None of them were happy about it, but they also recognized the danger presented by allowing the base to remain under the control of General Triplett. If the military was fragmented it would severely hamper their ability to mount a defense against the infected or the Russians, and there were thousands of civilian refugees on the base that needed protection.
Pointere had briefed Zemeck on the conversation and hadn’t been surprised when he immediately agreed with the Colonel’s decision and pledged his support. Now they were moments away from touching down, 30 Marines stacked up behind them and ready to go. All of them had their war faces on, not happy about what they were about to do but determined to do it regardless.
There was a slight bump as the Osprey’s landing gear touched the tarmac, the rear ramp already on its way down. Pointere and Zemeck stepped forward, climbing the ramp before it reached the horizontal plane, then moving quickly forward into the open air as it descended to fully open. As they moved out the Marines behind them charged forward and spread out in a protective bubble.
Pointere relaxed when he saw the Army Humvees waiting to greet him. Colonel Crawford stood surrounded by a dozen Rangers. Glancing around he saw that Rangers had taken control of the flight line, restraining the Air Force personnel with flexi-cuffs. Slinging their rifles, Pointere and Zemeck walked forward to meet Crawford.
“Any problems?” Pointere asked, sticking his hand out to shake Crawford’s.
“None,” Crawford replied. “No shots fired. No resistance of any kind.”
Both men paused and looked up as four more Osprey’s roared in for a landing and quickly disgorged their Marines who melded into the perimeter the Rangers had formed around the area. They turned as Captain Blanchard stepped out of the closest Humvee and walked over.
“Sirs,” he said. “We’ve got eyes on the General’s quarters. He and his wife are inside, presumably asleep. Twenty Security Forces are guarding him. They have one Hummer with a machine gun, the rest armed with rifles and side arms.”
“Is that normal, or does he know we’re coming?” Pointere asked.
“Don’t know, sir. We didn’t start watching until yesterday.” Blanchard answered.
They talked for a few more minutes, reviewing their plans before loading into waiting Hummers and trucks. The drive across the base was short, the heavily armed convoy being eyed by a few people that were out and moving, but no one approached them or tried to interfere. Half a mile from the General’s quarters they came to a halt in a large field, the Rangers and Marines dismounting quickly but quietly in the dark.
A handpicked platoon of Rangers formed up and waited at attention for Colonel Crawford. He approached them and starting at the back walked up and down the ranks, looking each man in the eye and shaking his hand. When he reached the front he stood facing the formation.
“Do everything you can to avoid casualties,” Crawford said to the determined looking young men. “But we do what we have to do to take the General into custody.”
“Y
es, sir!” They chorused quietly in unison.
“Master Gunny, I believe we have a mutual acquaintance,” Crawford turned to Zemeck as he adjusted his vest.
“That would be Major Chase, sir?” Zemeck replied.
“That’s the pain in my ass I’m referring to,” Crawford said with a grin. “He’s gone rogue. Violated a direct order. He knows where his wife is and he’s gone to get her back.”
Zemeck’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the news that Katie was alive. “He does tend to be a little impulsive, sir.”
“Impulsive.” Crawford spoke the word like he was tasting it. Finding it to his liking he smiled and nodded.
“I suppose you’d like me to go find him and bring him back,” Zemeck said, a small grin on his face.
“With Colonel Pointere’s approval, I would appreciate that very much Gunny. Of course, you’d have to bring back anyone else that was with him, and perhaps even ensure that any civilians being held against their will were retrieved and returned to safety.” Crawford said.
“Aye aye, sir. That goes without saying.” Zemeck said, then turned to look at Pointere who simply grunted his approval. Crawford waved Captain Blanchard over then sent him off with Zemeck to provide details on where the Pave Hawk carrying Roach and Katie had landed.
The Rangers were ready to go. Colonel Crawford nodded to their platoon leader and after a few quiet commands from their sergeant they were on the move. They were all veterans of multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Experienced and hardened. Within moments Crawford had silently led them into the dark, heading towards the large house the Air Force provided for the base’s commanding officer.
37
We were out of the metropolitan Oklahoma City area, pushing through dark and empty countryside. There was the occasional house set far back from the narrow highway that showed signs of life in the form of dimly lit windows, but we didn’t see any people, infected or not. It was quiet in the Explorer as I drove.
Dog was curled up on the front passenger seat, snoring loudly, his paws twitching every now and then as he dreamed about whatever a dog dreams about. Rachel and Martinez were uncharacteristically quiet in the back seat. Every time I checked on them in the mirror Rachel was staring out her window at the bleak landscape and Martinez had her head leaned back and eyes closed. She had to be hurting from her wounds and I was glad to see she was resting and gathering her strength.
A glow on the horizon ahead warned me that something large was burning and as we began to climb a low hill I shut off the headlights and lowered our speed. Charging into an unknown situation is rarely a good idea. At the crest of the hill I brought us to a stop.
Half a mile ahead, what looked like a large farmhouse was completely engulfed in flames. Well over a dozen figures were visible moving around the perimeter of the fire, but I was too far away to tell if they were infected or not. The house was no more than thirty yards from the edge of the pavement and we didn’t have a choice other than to drive right past it.
“Everyone awake and ready?” I asked without taking my eyes off the conflagration.
Dog raised his head then stood up on the seat and sneezed explosively, covering half of the inside of the windshield with snot. From the back I heard Martinez start giggling, and when I glanced in the mirror I could see a smile on Rachel’s face. Glad they were alert, I slowly accelerated over the crest and towards the burning house.
As we drew closer I could see more figures running around the fire, but still couldn’t tell if they were infected or just the homeowners in a panic. That is until I saw one of them stumble out of the flames and charge across open ground towards a large piece of farm equipment. The running figure was on fire, trailing flames as it ran. It had to be an infected female.
Drawing abreast of what I thought was a harvester; the fire provided enough light for me to clearly see inside the glass-enclosed cab. A woman and two young children were huddled inside, looks of terror plain on their faces as they watched the group of infected swarm around their refuge.
Neither the survivors nor the infected had noticed me as I was driving with the lights off and the noise of the flames consuming the wooden house masked the sound of the Explorer’s tires on the asphalt. I wanted to keep going, to get to Katie as quickly as I could, but without conscious thought my right foot stepped on the brake pedal and brought us to a stop.
With a sigh of frustration I jammed the transmission into park and after a quick check of my rifle stepped out into the night. Dog climbed onto the driver’s seat then jumped down to stand next to me as Rachel and Martinez got out of the back. The heat from the fire was nearly intolerable even though we were well away from the pyre, and I was once again amazed at the ability of the infected to ignore the pain of mortal wounds.
There were nearly twenty infected in the area, mostly females, and many of them were so close to the heat that their hair and much of their clothing had been burned away. Even over the smell of the house and its contents being burned I could detect the stench of cooked human flesh. At first it reminds you of bacon frying, but there’s a sickly sweet undertone to the odor that is impossible to describe. Certainly one of the smells, just like a rotting corpse, that once you experience you will never forget.
We all lined up on the backside of the SUV, using its body for shooting rests and began targeting the infected. Our rifles were suppressed, and unlike an uninfected human they didn’t notice or care that one of their number had fallen. This was to our advantage as we kept firing until the last infected fell dead.
Out of targets I re-scanned the area but didn’t find any more. The infected had never detected us, but the woman in the harvester had. When the last female went down she popped the cab door open and nimbly scrambled to the ground, turning back to lift her children down.
I whistled Dog into the vehicle, safed my rifle and started to climb in after him.
“Aren’t we going to help her?” Rachel asked.
“How?” I asked in return. “What more can we do that we haven’t already done? She’s probably safer out here than where we’re going. We don’t have any vaccine to give her or the kids. There’s nothing more we can do.”
I didn’t like just driving off and leaving them there, but I also had to be practical. We couldn’t save everyone. Rachel stepped around Martinez and put her hand on my arm as she looked at me.
“I understand you just want to get Katie, but what if someone had the chance to help her, but just left her on the side of the road? They’ve lost everything. It doesn’t look like they even have a gun to defend themselves. Think about what you’re doing.” She held my eyes with hers until I finally sighed.
“Go see if they want to come with us. And if they do, keep a close eye on them. All we need is for them to turn while they’re in the vehicle with us.” Rachel smiled, leaned forward and kissed me then turned to go talk to the woman.
Five minutes later we were back on the road. Our passengers were crammed into the small cargo area behind the back seat, the children quickly consuming nearly half of our water. The woman wasn’t their mother, but a survivor that had sought refuge in the family’s home. The parents had been killed defending the house against the small band of infected. The power was out and in the panic one of the children had knocked a candle into a large set of curtains that had burst into flames that quickly spread throughout the house.
The woman’s name was Stephanie and turned out to be younger than I’d originally thought at only 20. Technically an adult, but still a child to me. When she found out where we were going her mood brightened as she explained that her sister had worked as a cocktail waitress at the casino for the past five years. She knew exactly where it was and claimed to know the interior layout very well.
I know, I know. Karma. If I’d left her behind I’d never have gotten the valuable intelligence she was providing. I glanced at Rachel in the mirror and she had a smirk on her face that I couldn’t get irritated about.
Stephanie
talked for the next several minutes, describing in good detail the different areas of the casino. She also had a thorough knowledge of the service areas as she’d frequently filled in for her sister when the older girl had to stay home with a sick child. I didn’t bother to ask how a 20 year old was able to serve alcohol.
Rachel had found an aluminum clipboard with some papers on it in the back and at my prompting Stephanie drew a rough sketch of the layout of the building. She kept describing everything as “huge” or “giant” and since I’d seen a satellite image of the building I didn’t doubt her. By the time she finished drawing, I had run out of questions and we were within a mile of our destination.
Another hundred yards and the road crested slightly. Below us in a shallow depression sat the massive casino with acres of parking surrounding it. I had cut the lights before we reached the top of the rise and now came to a full stop and killed the engine after putting the transmission in park. Stepping out I moved to the edge of the pavement and raised my rifle to scan the surrounding terrain with the night vision scope as Dog sniffed up a bush before relieving himself.
Moments later Rachel, Martinez and Stephanie joined me, Rachel also raising her rifle to scan our surroundings. As we did this Martinez focused on the building ahead.
“It’s beyond the range of the night vision,” she said. “But, I’m pretty sure I can see a Pave Hawk sitting on the roof.”
“Where?” I asked, focusing on the casino.
“Far right.” She answered without lowering her rifle.
I looked where she indicated and was able to just make out the outline of the building. After looking at the area for a couple of moments I agreed with her that the change in silhouette of the roof looked very much like a helicopter. My heart started pounding when I realized I was only a mile away from Katie.