by Vic Sandel
The previous thought nagged at him though. Holy shit! These things are communicating! He would need to get this information to Dr. Baldwin and Dr. Marco immediately. The ramifications were beyond huge!
It didn't take a genius to realize that if they are communicating like ants, you could turn them. They could draw them to a specific area that was chosen strategically . Let a couple smell the sugar and more and more would come. Then zap the suckers!
Brian ran to the chopper and grabbed the radio mike!
The anchor had just been pulled up on the seventy-foot yacht that housed the families of the Coast Guard guys helping at Wright Patterson. A Several crew members had been given permission to help move the boat out of Lake Erie and into Michigan, where she would join the “Summer Sun”. They had been doing just fine, but was everyone agreed they would be safer in the deeper, fresher water. It would be an easy trip, except for the need to get through a couple of unmanned locks. The channel was narrowed there so plenty of weapons were put on board to deal with any unwanted visitors. It had also been decided that once they arrived there, a helicopter escort would be provided to see them through. The heavily armed and recently repaired Apache attack helicopter, stood ready for the task. There were a number of volunteers to fly her!
Back on Lake Michigan, all was ready for the arrival of the children and their escorts. Of course, thanks to the rescue efforts of Rodney Richards and Dick Grayson, the number of children had almost doubled. Some parents were also saved, and depending upon their skills, would either be utilized at the base or transferred to the ship.
Chapter 45
Finding an Ant Hill
Brian's observations hit the base like a bomb going off. All these months, observing these things, fighting them and figuring out the best ways to terminate these monsters, and nobody had made this discovery. There certainly must be some type of brain activity. To terminate them, one needed to destroy their brain or cut off the connection between brain and body, this had been known for a while. It had been thought that the only purpose served by the zombie brain was to control movement. Was it possible that there was another function? Could there be some sort of impulse emitted and received? Might there even be a sort of “hive” impulse?
It would be simple to test the theory. A dozen members of CAG-23 would go out and capture a couple of “live” zombies. They would be taken to an open field where a domestic animal would be tied. There they would be released and observed. They would then add sounds of human activity which was a known draw.
Luring the undead to large, open areas would make termination much easier and lessen the chance of any unwanted collateral damage. In addition, those areas could be prepared in advance to assure a higher, or even total, kill ratio.
Bradley, who had been taking it easy while his bite healed was ready to go, and was asked to keep an eye on Daryl Westbury, who would be allowed to join the mission the following day. Given the nature of the mission, there was little chance of him encountering humans, other than the team members. For the moment, they had decided not to report his actions to the council, who would most likely order termination.
The following morning the team gathered outside of the giant Chinook, which despite the space taken up by the large air separator and companion generator, could easily accommodate the CAG members and their gear. They had decided to hit up the commissary for large meat scraps and entrails before taking off rather than using a goat or cow. The blood odor given off by these “succulent” morsels would be stronger and more likely to draw in their targets. In addition, portable sound systems were also taken to broadcast human sounds to further the attraction. Spots would be prepared both with and without the sound.
Three former school athletic fields had been selected for the test. They were separated from one another by about two miles.
The area selected had been observed by air the prior day and while it did not have an overwhelming zombie population, the few hundred in the area would suffice for the purposes of this experiment.
A couple of all-terrain vehicles had been loaded aboard the helicopter. Once on the ground, they would be used to chase down a couple of the creepers who would be lassoed, secured and taken to their test area. Two per field seemed adequate.
It was not a complicated plan and maybe not even all that scientific but the communication idea was certainly worth exploring. Unfortunately, with the numbers of the dead coming towards them at the moment, the numbers of men and resources that could be committed to the project were extremely limited.
The whole communication idea had more merit than Colonel Dickerson would like to admit. Hadn't anyone questioned why the hordes of zombies from all of the surrounding areas were headed towards Wright Patterson? Even the Astronauts had thought it important enough to give up the last hours or days of their lives to deliver the message.
It was simply explained. Wright Patterson was the place with the most life. The takeoffs and landings could be seen and heard for miles around. The human activity alone would seem to be all the explanation that was needed. Or was it? Colonel Dickerson couldn't decide.
The Chinook touched down just outside of a lightly treed area where a cluster of targets could be seen aimlessly milling around. Evidently, with the destination driven group still many miles away,the compulsion had not yet affected them.
Three team members hopped onto each ATV and headed out for the capture. Aboard each vehicle was a member who had unusual skill with a lariat. Each proved it by immediately roping their prey. Within ten minutes, each Vehicle was towing three shuffling and grunting creepers.
They were carefully secured and the vehicles pulled back onto the helicopter.
No chances were taken. zombies did not get scared, and if they did, who cared. The captives were left suspended from the ropes as the Chinook skimmed the treetops on the way to drop them off on the selected fields. The meat, as well as other material was already waiting on the ground. Automatic cameras were already in place to record everything that occurred.
The big helicopter landed at each spot and two were released. The initial result was the same in all three cases. As soon as they were freed, they made a bee-line for the bloody food source.
Wherever the sound systems had been placed, they were activated. The Chinook just rose and hovered. They would fly back over the fields every fifteen minutes. Each spot had maybe an hour's worth of “food”.
Spots one and three were the same; 2 zombies plus the food pile. The number two field had the addition of the broadcast sound.
After the first fifteen-minute interval, field one had four feeding, while the third field had three. The area with the noise sent out was up to six. Clearly, the sound was an attractant, but still, even without it, the numbers were beginning to grow.
The half-hour mark showed further increases at all spots. Field one.....now nine. Number three now numbered.....six. As expected , number two's count had really increased and now stood at......twenty two!
Apparently, the undead were attracted to the sound of life, but again, the numbers were also growing in the quiet areas.
Everyone looked forward to the forty-five minute check.
As they hovered over field one, at the forty-five minute mark, something was very strange. THEY WERE ALL GONE! The uneaten meat was scattered about and there was still a good amount on the main pile. Where had they all gone?
Moving on to fields two and three, they discovered the same thing. The bait was abandoned and there was no trace of the zombies.
What would have made all three, separate groups leave their feed and disappear into the surrounding area? Maybe there would be a clue on the cameras. They landed at each spot and picked up their gear. When they got back to the base, they would look at it with the scientists.
Dr. Marco and Dr. Baldwin looked on with the others as the recordings were played back. What clearly showed in all cases was that at exactly the same minute, they all stopped eating, stood, or whatever they could do, an
d moved off into the trees and surrounding area from which they had come.
Something....perhaps even a sound like a dog whistle, above the range of human hearing, had caught their attention.
It was certainly very interesting and something to look into at a later time. Currently,there was an imminent battle that must be prepared for. There was just no time to solve the puzzle at the moment.
Chapter 46
Mobile Artillery?
Despite the pounding the trio of jets had been bestowing upon the advancing zombies, the rest kept coming. They approached from every direction. Maybe over a million had been terminated by the continued fire bombing and the sonic array on the Skycraft.
With just a few days left until the “undead” reached the firebreak, it was time to put their forward defenses in order. They had located a sturdy, poured-concrete building on the edge of the inner cleared area they nicknamed “the moat”, which would serve as the command post for the forward operations.
Once they reached the outer cleared area, two F-16s flown by Bob Eller and Doug Abbington would continue firebombing. In addition, Major Marcus in the C-113 would fly over with his four large sonic arrays set to fry some zombie brains. The area would also be sonically bombarded by Jessie Porter's Skycraft King Air Monarch with its two sonic units. These had already proven effective. Groups that had not yet reached the outer circle could be hovered over and blasted with the arrays now installed and operational on the Chinook.
Anything still moving would be strafed by Brian Sanders and his crew with the Gatling and fifty caliber.
During the testing and calibration of the sonic units, there had been some concern over the possibility of collateral damage. There were still humans, and of course vampires, hit by the sound both in the path of the zombies and in the vehicles operating the units. The latter was easily solved by having everyone involved in the operation wearing shooter's “earmuffs”, which had been proven effective in the tests. As for those in the path, while the “killing sound” was a bit out of the range of human hearing, any living beings could and probably would be killed by the emissions.
Dr. Marco hit on an ingenious, but simple, solution. Along with the lethal frequency, he blended a piercing, uncomfortable, but harmless sound. A human would automatically cover his or her ears instantly while a zombie would not.
It was simple but elegantly effective.
It was felt that this strategy would terminate at least ninety percent of the attackers. If the approaching numbers had not been so high, the sound arrays alone could protect the area.
It was inevitable that some would still get through to the inner “moat”.
The twenty modified fire trucks were lined up by the command center, fueled and ready to go. They had been driven out of Wright Patterson by the members of CAG-23. They also brought the armored flat bed with the air separator for the refueling of the liquid nitrogen.
The Humvees, found in Indiana, with the installed sound blasters also sat ready, along with the small sonic tank also brought back. All of these vehicles could move quickly among the slow moving zombies, freezing them in place and then shattering them with the sound. Several other vehicles, fitted with the larger sonic units could kill directly with the sound at close range.
Eighty miles to the southeast, Jessie was flying his regular observe and destroy route when he spotted an armored convoy. While not in any immediate danger, they were having a tough time getting through the hordes of “undead” moving in the same direction.
Jessie decided to attempt radio contact on a regular CAG frequency. “Hey below in the convoy, this is Skycraft 1 out of Wright Patterson, do you copy?”
“I'll be damned! Jess, is that you? This is Aaron Rogers of CAG-1.”
“Hey Aaron! Man, it's good to hear your voice. What are you doing way out here?”
“We just figured y'all could use a bit of extra manpower, ya know, what with all the creepers movin' in.”
“Like the southern drawl man. But how did you know how bad it is getting here?”
“Like it's a big secret with the space station blowing up and all. What you see in Ohio, we saw in Virginia. Just took us a bit to clean up our mess and begin heading up your way.”
“Well, you guys are surely welcome! You want me to clear you a path through this walking crap?”
“You can do that?”
“You'd be surprised what we can do now. Make sure everyone puts on earmuffs or covers their ears. I'll give you twenty seconds.”
Aaron relayed the order to all the other vehicles and Jessie turned on his arrays.
He came around and flew a pass right over the convoy and in the direction they were traveling. It was like an invisible lawnmower, cutting down everything in its path. They fell like harvested wheat. Everything Jessie passed over fell and ceased all movement.
“OK my friends, Jessie told them, you should have a pretty clear shot right into the base. See you on the ground.”
This is great Jessie thought, another thirty men to help us make our stand. Thirty of the best we could ever hope to have! He banked to the left and turned for home.
They had the equipment, and now they would have the skilled manpower to use it. The armored vehicles they were bringing would be fitted with the remaining sound cannons and left at the gates to Wright Patterson in the final line of defense and for the evacuation of the last remaining personnel.
Everything was in place with a day and a half to spare.
Chapter 47
Evacuation Day
“Summer Sun” swayed gently at anchor as she and those aboard awaited the momentary arrival of her young passengers, and their chaperones and teachers. In addit there would be some non-combatant family members from Rodney's rescue missions.
Rodney and Lou would be loading their Jayhawks at the base and ferrying them to the barges anchored just off shore. A couple of lifeboats were ready to run between the ship and the barges, loading and unloading all of the resident passengers.
The first thirty children, had been put aboard the choppers and were due to arrive at any moment.
The sound of the rotors broke the quiet of the day. Each gently landed and offloaded the kids who were immediately ushered onto the closed lifeboats and taken to the waiting ship.
The two helicopters immediately left for the base and another load.
The sounds of living things did not go unnoticed by all the zombies milling around the surrounding area.
Ninety minutes later, the next load arrived. Lou Harris put his craft down and the children, along with a couple of teachers stepped onto the barge. Lou took off and as soon as he had cleared the landing zone, Rodney landed and began to offload his guests.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the air followed by the sounds of hysterical children.
All around the barge, zombies were pulling themselves aboard!
“Damn,Lou mumbled, that's why we loaded from the water in the first place!”
He had no idea what to do. He couldn't fire down on them from the air. The risk to the children was too great. The two choppers they used were the only ones not yet fitted with sound arrays.
The two men on the barge were armed with sidearms, and there were two more crew driving the lifeboats. They screamed at the kids to get aboard the boats as they tried to push the zombies back into the water with the boat hooks they carried. Rodney faced the same problem. His side doors were open to let the passengers off and each had a mounted fifty caliber machine gun but it was almost impossible to get off a clear shot.
One of his crewmen, Eric, (actually, the guy who was a leader of the criminal Coast Guard businessmen), pulled a fifty off its stand and stepped onto the barge, running around the perimeter spraying the zombies with the heavy gun. Within seconds he had cleared the way for the remaining children and their escorts to board the boats. He grabbed some extra ammo and volunteered to stay with the barge throughout the time it would take for each chopper to pick up two more loads.
/> The ship would be a bit overloaded, but the capacity rating was just including the cabins. Lounges, card rooms and the small night club would now be passenger space.
Robyn and her staff refused to leave. She knew the enduing battle would produce bites. Not only did she need to have as much vaccine as she could produce, but she needed to continue treating anyone who had been previously bitten with further doses. She was bursting with pride over the fact that she had not lost one patient to zombie bites. All of them had healed and nobody had turned.
She did however,take time out to personally escort Dylan onto Lou's Jayhawk and kiss him goodbye before he left for the safety of the ship.
Over the next three-and- a half hours, and with Eric securing the barge, all the children and their escorts were loaded safely aboard “Summer Sun” and she headed out to her position over the nine-hundred foot depths.
The the only remaining problem they would face would be explaining to nine year old Dylan why a new best friend he had made, ten year old Patti, couldn't be his roommate!
Chapter 48
Breathing Time
Finally, all was in readiness. Obviously, ordinance needed to be reloaded on the jets, which had been in the air almost constantly for several weeks, and a bit of maintenance was needed. The mechanics would spend the night seeing to those and other basic needs. Others volunteered to help, and all would be ready by morning.
Colonel Dickerson needed to make contact with Daniel Swensen to inform him of the success of the sound and microwave arrays. The rest of the world needed to know, as they were facing the same problems everywhere. He also needed to know if there were other sites that seemed to be zombie “magnets”.
It troubled him that he couldn't figure out exactly why all the “undead” in the area were headed this way. They had proven that there was some form of a sort of “hive” communication among the zombies but that was to draw them to a spot where some of the “ants” were already located and finding food. To his knowledge there were no zombies on Wright Patterson, at least not yet. What was drawing them here? He called his radio operator to power up the short wave and try everything possible to reach Swensen.