by Dirk Patton
I nodded, looking up as he gave the last of our water to the three horses. While he did that I worked the water bladder out of my pack and tossed it to him, pausing when my eyes fell on the two waterproof battle packs of ammo for the M4 stuffed in the bottom. Each bag had a built in handle and held two hundred rounds. They would also probably hold half a gallon of water each.
Pulling them out I opened them, careful not to damage the heavy plastic, and dumped the ammunition into my pack. I handed these to Joe and he swung onto his horse and raced off to the northwest. I looked down when Rachel made a sound, like a cross between a whimper and a moan. Her eyes were open and she was looking up at me with a weak smile.
“I knew you would find me,” she said in a harsh, dry croak before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
I brushed some hair off her face and re-positioned myself to block as much of the scorching afternoon sun as possible and give her some shade.
16
Rachel threw her body across John and Katie a moment before the Osprey struck the ground. The impact was brutal, the aircraft immediately beginning to disintegrate as it carved a deep furrow into a dark field. All around her people were crying out in fear and pain, then the fuselage hit something hard, most likely a rock embedded in the soil well below the surface, and the tail rose and flipped over violently.
There were more sounds of the plane coming apart then it rumbled to a stop. Rachel was stunned, vaguely aware of sounds around her but unable to move or even form a coherent thought for that matter. She lay on something hard that was digging into her hip, but the thought that she should move to relieve the pain failed to translate into action. Eventually her mind shut down and she lapsed into unconsciousness.
Sometime later Rachel woke to the sounds of a fight. She could hear Dog snarling as he battled with something, then an infected female screamed. That scream was a catalyst for movement, spurring her to climb to her feet. She looked around for John, but couldn’t find him. Another scream sent her pulse racing and she reached for her rifle, but it was no longer slung around her body.
She was turning to start digging through the debris at her feet when two females stepped into the opening at what she thought was the rear of the Osprey. Turning to move deeper into the wreckage, Rachel had barely taken a step when they sprang forward and tackled her to the ground. Struggling, she tried to fight, but they worked in concert and pinned her until she stopped struggling.
Abject terror at being helpless in the embrace of two infected turned to confusion as they did nothing more than hold her down. No slashing with ragged nails. No attempts to tear her open with their teeth. They just held her with inhuman strength until she ceased struggling against them.
A few moments later she was roughly hauled to her feet and dragged outside. She renewed her struggles, but the larger female on her left leaned in and bared her teeth inches from Rachel’s face. She could see the blood red eyes and smell the stench of death on the woman’s breath, and took the warning to stop resisting.
Rachel was stunned when they moved into the open air. The debris field from the aircraft was nothing short of awe inspiring when she considered that she’d just walked away from the crash, relatively unscathed. But what really drew her attention were the bodies on the ground and the large group of females.
From where she stood, still being held by the two infected, she could see several bodies that must have been ejected during the crash. She wasn’t close enough to identify any of them, but recognized Gunny Zemeck because of his size. There was enough moonlight for her to see a large fragment of metal sticking out of his chest.
She also saw one of the women they had rescued from the casino, knowing it was her because of the skimpy outfit that left most of her skin bare. Then there were a large number of dead females. She could tell several had been killed by Dog, but there were several more scattered around the area that had long, thin objects protruding from their heads and bodies. Who or what had killed them? And where was Dog?
She turned her head, trying to find him, but couldn’t see him anywhere. There was a smaller group of the females that were clustered together facing out into the night. Rachel looked in the direction their heads were pointed and was just able to make out Dog’s form. He was thirty yards out, standing and watching. They had worked together to drive him away and keep him from coming back.
What the hell was going on? Along with John, she’d been observing the females growing smarter, but this was like nothing she’d ever seen or imagined. No mindless attacks. They were actually working together and using the strength of their numbers. But to what end? Or did they have a purpose?
Four of the females were moving around the area, pausing to check each of the bodies. Rachel stood in mute shock as one of them began pulling what appeared to be arrows from the dead infected. Arrows? Who had shot them and where were they? Had the females killed them or driven them off or, like Dog, were they waiting for an opportunity to attack?
When the female finished removing the arrows, several of them moved past Rachel and into the aircraft. Soon she could hear banging as they dug through the wreckage. But what were they looking for? As surreal as the whole scene had been, it became even more of a waking nightmare when two of them emerged carrying Martinez.
Rachel couldn’t tell if she was dead or not, but the females brought her out and gently placed her on the ground. A few minutes later, after more searching, two more appeared with Katie, laying her in the dirt next to Martinez. More searching and Rachel was afraid she’d see John’s body carried out next, but it was the young girl that had been with Stephanie.
She seemed uninjured, but was twitching and moaning when they put her down. One of the females who had remained outside squatted over the girl and leaned close, sniffing her body. Examination complete, she moved first to Martinez and then Katie, repeating the process. Finally she was approaching Rachel as the little boy was dragged out into the open.
Where the females had been gentle with the women, one of them had a grip on the boy’s ankle and pulled him along, dragging his body across the debris, unconcerned for any damage that might be done. The female that was approaching Rachel turned and looked at the child, then up at the one dragging him. There was some form of silent communication between them and the boy’s leg was dropped before half a dozen females rushed forward and began consuming him.
Rachel’s state of confusion quickly became one of revulsion. She wanted to look away, but couldn’t stop herself from watching as the small body was quickly stripped to the bone. Gore rising, Rachel snapped her head to the side when a scream from within the downed aircraft split the night. All of the females turned their heads to look as another woman charged out into the night. It was Stephanie.
She paused, looking around, then screamed and charged when she spotted Rachel. The female that seemed to be the leader stepped forward and with a vicious blow sent Stephanie sprawling in the dirt, immediately falling on her. She thrust her face into Stephanie’s and screamed, lips skinned back and teeth bared less than an inch from her face. Stephanie didn’t struggle against the woman, going completely still. After a long minute, the woman relaxed her posture and sniffed just as she had with the girl, Katie and Martinez.
When she stood, Stephanie slowly climbed to her feet and stood docilely as the woman turned and came up to Rachel. Thrusting her face into Rachel’s she sniffed, weaving her head slightly before dipping it to smell part of the way down her body. After a brief examination she turned away and looked into the aircraft, testing the air. For a moment Rachel thought she was going to enter the wreck, but there was the sudden sound of a horse from the darkness and one of the females in the group watching Dog fell to the ground with an arrow quivering in her head.
Their leader screamed and four of them peeled away, racing into the night at a frightening speed. The woman walked over to the freshly killed female and wrenched the arrow out of her head, adding it to the bundle she carried in her left hand.
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Rachel stood there in shock. She wasn’t sure whether or not she was suffering hallucinations as the result of a head injury during the crash. None of this made sense. This wasn’t behavior she’d thought the females were capable of. For that matter, why was she still alive? And Katie and Martinez? The infected never hesitated to kill. That seemed to be their single minded pursuit in what remained of their lives.
A few minutes later, three of the four females that had chased the horseman returned. The leader was still moving around the wreckage, checking bodies. The young girl’s condition hadn’t improved and Rachel started to take a step towards her but was roughly yanked back into the spot where she’d been standing with her two guards. She caught her breath at the strength of the females’ hands on her arms, then movement from the far side of the Osprey caught her attention.
It was one of the Army soldiers that had been picked up while they were in the casino. He was infected, stumbling his way around, apparently following a scent. Seeming to zero in, he turned and began walking directly towards where Katie and Martinez lay on the ground. The females ignored him, until he came within a dozen feet of them and started snarling.
One of the females who had been watching over the two unmoving women leapt at him with a snarl, smashing her fist into his face and sending him sprawling. He was unfazed and began an uncoordinated effort to get back to his feet, looking for all the world like a drunk. The female pounced on his chest and hit him several more times until he lay still, breathing raggedly through his damaged nose and mouth.
“The females are protecting us!” Rachel realized with a shock, her head swimming. But why the hell are they doing that? Different scenarios raced through her head, each of them more frightening than the last. The most terrifying thought was that they were going to be the guests of honor at a feast. Maybe main course was a better description.
After a few more minutes of milling around the area, the infected leader made several guttural sounds that Rachel tried to recognize as language, but settled on them as simply being subdued screams. The grip on her arms tightened and four females bent to lift Katie and Martinez into the air. Rachel couldn’t tell if they were still alive, but couldn’t imagine why the infected would be messing with them if they weren’t.
She had gotten both women’s bleeding under control before the crash, so barring new injuries they should be OK for a while. “For a while,” she reminded herself as the group began moving to the east and she was forced to start walking. Both of them needed a hospital, but Rachel didn’t think any of them would live long enough for something as mundane as gun shot wounds to kill them.
17
The females set a fast pace. Not faster than Rachel could manage without having to break into a jog, but close. Not for the first time in her life she was thankful for her long legs. If she was shorter she would have been trotting, as failing to keep up wasn’t an option. The iron grip on each arm hadn’t lessened at all as they moved.
After a couple of miles, Rachel had settled in to the rhythm of their movement. The horizon they were walking towards was growing lighter by the minute as sunrise approached. It had been a warm and humid night and she was sweating from the exertion of the forced march. Once the sun came up it was going to be a blistering hot day. Would the females stop and seek shelter from the heat, or would they push on?
Not happy that her prediction was accurate, Rachel squinted as the sun climbed into the sky and began baking the earth. The heat kept building but the females seemed to be impervious to its effects. When they came to a wide, shallow river the group waded directly in, stopping in the middle as each female bent and drank.
Rachel took as much as she could force her stomach to hold, not knowing when she would get water again. While they were stopped, the grip on her arms was released and she took a tentative step towards the females that were supporting Katie and Martinez. One of her guards snarled a warning, but didn’t make a move to stop her. After a moment Rachel kept moving, wading through the gentle current.
Katie was conscious when Rachel reached her, and she was glad to see that one of the females was helping her drink.
“What the hell is going on?” Katie asked in a quiet voice when she saw Rachel.
“I have no idea,” Rachel answered in an equally subdued voice. “I don’t know if we’re being kidnapped or protected, but either one is something I didn’t think the infected would do. How are you feeling?”
Rachel moved closer, skin crawling as she came within a foot of the female holding Katie’s upper body. Cautiously reaching out she moved a filthy bra strap aside so she could see the bullet wound. Before the Osprey had crashed she had determined that nothing vital had been damaged as the round punched through, and had successfully stopped the bleeding with a powdered blood-clotting agent pressed directly into the entry and exit holes.
“Hurts, but I’ve felt worse. How’s… I don’t even know her name.” Katie said, looking to her left.
“Martinez,” Rachel said. “She was hurt worse than you. Hang in there. I’m going to check on her.”
“Wait,” Katie reached out and grabbed Rachel’s wrist. “Did you see John after the crash?”
“No. But you know as well as I do that if there’s a breath in his body he’ll be coming for us.” Rachel placed her hand on Katie’s.
“If he survived,” Katie said. “He’s always seemed so damned indestructible, but…”
“He is.” Rachel said firmly. “And just in case we don’t have another chance to talk you should know he never gave up on you.”
“Thank you,” Katie said looking into Rachel’s eyes. “Roach told me some things about you two. Things I don’t want to believe, that I’d normally never worry about, but times aren’t normal.”
“He’s my friend and I love him,” Rachel said, her honesty spilling out before she even thought. “He’s had the opportunity, more than once, but you don’t need to worry. He’s still yours. You should have seen him when he found out your were alive and Roach had you. Nothing and no one was going to stop him.”
Katie smiled and squeezed her hand, tears forming and threatening to spill down her cheeks. Rachel smiled back at her and moved to check Martinez. She didn’t look good, skin pale and clammy with sweat. The bullet wound in her leg was a through and through in the meaty part of her thigh, but other than spoiling the view in a short skirt it wasn’t anything to worry about.
The wound in her abdomen was a different story. The bullet was still in her, and Rachel had no idea what internal damage had been done. There was always a possibility that nothing vital had been hit, but even if that was the case there was still a contaminated foreign object inside the woman’s abdomen. Infection leading to sepsis and death was nearly assured if that bullet wasn’t removed.
The leader walked over and Rachel took an involuntary step back. The woman was obviously of Indian heritage, tall with broad shoulders and heavy muscle. Neither attractive nor homely, she was just intimidating as hell with her size and blood red eyes that seemed to pierce all the way to Rachel’s soul when she looked at her.
She stood staring at Rachel for a long moment, then looked down at Martinez. She leaned forward, sniffing deeply as she inspected the injured woman. When her nose came close to the abdominal wound she jerked her head back and scrunched her face into an expression of disgust. She made a guttural sound and the woman holding Martinez released her and stepped aside as the sluggish current started to take her away.
“No!” Rachel cried, lunging forward to reach for Martinez.
The female that had been carrying Martinez grabbed Rachel to stop her. Rachel struggled, fighting to break free, screaming as she tried to get to Martinez before the river carried her too far away. The leader stepped in front of her and slapped her hard enough to knock her free of the other infected’s grasp.
Rachel stumbled backwards, lost her footing and went under the surface of the water. She was only submerged for a second before the leader latc
hed on to her upper arms and violently pulled her back onto her feet. She pressed her face forward, her nose an inch from Rachel’s as she snarled and bared her teeth.
Tears streaming down her face, Rachel stopped struggling against the much stronger woman. She understood the warning, and part of her knew that without a hospital Martinez was doomed the instant the bullet entered her body. But that didn’t make it any easier to watch the woman who she had come to think of as a friend slowly spin away on the lazy current.
Still crying, Rachel finally relaxed her body and the female released her. Looking around, Rachel met Katie’s eyes. Saw the tears and also the fear that reflected her own emotions. What the hell were the infected doing? Why take them? What could they possibly want with them?
The questions tumbled around in Rachel’s head as her two guards prodded her back into motion. Grief threatened to consume her, but she bottled it up and focused on her anger at the death of another person. A death that could have been prevented if the infected hadn’t interfered. She convinced herself that she could have saved Martinez if she’d only had the medical kit from the Osprey.
18
The group moved for the rest of the day, only stopping twice when they crossed water sources. Rachel was almost delirious from dehydration when they reached the first, a nearly dry river with just a few muddy pools of water evaporating in the sun. She used her shirt to filter as much of the muck and debris out of the water as she could, helping Katie drink.
Katie had been walking for the past several miles, and was holding up surprisingly well. She was well tanned from living in Arizona, but this wasn’t saving her from a sunburn that was spreading across all of her exposed skin. Rachel, dressed in clothes that covered most of her skin was faring much better. Except for her legs. She was still wearing the impromptu booty shorts she’d created to distract the sentries at Tinker so they could escape.