by Dirk Patton
I moved to the closest one, pausing to make sure I could identify her in the ethereal light. It wasn’t Katie, so I thrust the Ka-Bar into the back of her skull. Moving silently but swiftly from form to form, I took a second at each one to ensure I wasn’t about to kill my own wife before sending them on to a permanent sleep.
When I killed the last one I had reached the far side of the chamber and the roar I’d noticed earlier was much louder. It was recognizable as water in motion. There must be an underground river, and the noise I was hearing had to be a subterranean waterfall. So, the females were deeper in the caverns to be closer to water. Their behavior was starting to make more sense.
But now I had a problem. There were multiple ways out of the chamber, and all showed heavy foot traffic. The two closest openings were several feet apart and I moved to stand between them. The roar of the water was coming from the right hand door, and there was a steady flow of cold, clammy air emanating from it.
The left door’s airflow felt warm by comparison. Standing there thinking, nearly mesmerized by the steady sound of the water, I didn’t hear the female that approached from behind and slammed into my back.
I landed face down in the sand, somehow managing to maintain my grip on both blades. The female was tearing at my back, trying to push her face past the protective ridge of my vest and get her teeth into my flesh. Fear that she would start screaming and give away my presence added to the adrenaline already pumping through me and with a grunt of effort I drove an elbow back into her ribs.
Several of them broke with audible snaps and I struck her again and pushed into a roll. She slid off my back as I moved, leaping to a crouch as she prepared to attack. Twisting around, I whipped the Kukri through the air, cutting into her neck as she was opening her mouth to scream. The blade sliced deeply and a gout of blood soaked my arm and splashed onto my chest and face.
Ignoring the unpleasant shower I’d just received, I looked around the chamber, happy to see that she had been alone. But where the hell had she come from? Could have been from any one of the tunnels that branched out from the chamber. OK, how many more were about to show up and surprise me?
27
Colonel Crawford and Captain Blanchard sat in a Humvee watching as the first C-130 left the ground and climbed into the night sky, black smoke trailing from each engine as it gained altitude. The C5s, an escort of eight F-18s and a KC-135 tanker were already in the air, loitering, waiting for the troop carriers to form up for the flight to Nassau.
“Only three hours to the Bahamas?” Crawford asked. “Seems like it should take longer than that.”
“Straight lines, sir. They don’t have to avoid any air space over major cities or worry about flight corridors.” Blanchard answered.
“I suppose that makes sense,” Crawford mused. “Any sign the Russians are taking an interest and might try to intercept?”
Blanchard checked his laptop for the tenth time in the past five minutes. A patchwork Wi-Fi system had finally been restored and he was connected directly to one of the NSA satellites and had an excellent view of the three Air Force bases the Russians were occupying.
The EMP had hit each hard, and so far he’d only seen a few lights restored at Kirtland in New Mexico. As he suspected, the Russians weren’t in a position to launch an intercept on the aerial convoy that was traveling directly away from any of their captured bases. If they tried, it would be a tail chase across most of North America.
“No sir. Nothing. The latest intercept I had translated shows they’re worse off than we are. Apparently that intelligence briefing we received a few years ago was correct and they hadn’t done much to harden their equipment against an EMP.
“All of their radar sets are down as well as over half their air assets need a full overhaul of the electronics. Emergency requests for replacement parts, equipment and technical personnel have been made but they haven’t gotten an answer from the Kremlin yet.”
“Odd,” Crawford said, stepping out of the vehicle and lighting a cigarette. “You go to the trouble and expense to send an invading force half way around the globe, then when they encounter a problem you go quiet?”
“Sir, if I may suggest, this might be a golden opportunity to strike the Russians. They won’t see us coming and their capability to respond is severely degraded.” Blanchard said after getting out from behind the wheel and walking around the vehicle to stand next to the Colonel.
“Or that’s what they want us to think,” Crawford countered. “How confident are you that they’re not waving a false flag, trying to draw us in?”
“I believe the odds are good that what we’re seeing and hearing is genuine, sir.” Blanchard said after thinking for a moment.
“You’re probably right, Captain. But I’m not sure it’s a good idea to expend the munitions and risk losing any more personnel and assets.” Crawford said, turning to watch another heavily loaded C-130 roar down the runway. “If we had something to gain, other than a measure of revenge… perhaps. But it wouldn’t change our situation. We still have to evac before the herds overrun us and planning and executing an attack on the Russians would be a distraction and a drain on very limited resources.”
“Yes, sir.” Blanchard said, masterfully hiding his emotions. “Oh, and you asked for an update on Major Chase.”
The Colonel swiveled his head in surprise. “You found something? I was starting to think he’d finally pushed his luck too far.”
“Perhaps, sir. We identified the Marine Osprey, crashed, about twenty-five miles south of the casino where his wife was being held. Numerous bodies scattered in the debris field. We’ve positively identified Master Gunnery Sergeant Zemeck as one of them. The rest appear to be a mix of infected females and several unidentified Soldiers.”
“No sign of the Major?”
“No, sir. He could be inside the wreckage where we just can’t see him, but we’re not finding Captain Martinez, Ms. Miles or the dog either. There are a lot of tracks in the area. A rather large set heading to the east. I’ve got someone tracing them via satellite, but it’s going to take some time.” Blanchard said.
“Let me go find him,” a voice said from the dark behind them.
Crawford and Blanchard spun around, surprised to see a powerfully built Air Force Tech Sergeant with a cast on his arm. He came to attention but couldn’t salute as his right arm was in a cast.
“Tech Sergeant Scott, isn’t it?” He asked.
“Yes, sir. And I’d like permission to look for the Major and the rest of his party. I just got word of the evacuation and I don’t like to leave anyone behind.” Scott remained at attention, staring at a point over the Colonel’s shoulder as he spoke.
“Stand at ease, Tech Sergeant,” Crawford said. “I don’t like it either, but you don’t look like you’re ready to be out in the field.”
“I’m good to go, sir.” Scott replied, relaxing and meeting the Colonel’s eyes. “If you’ll let me have our two Russian guests, a pilot and a helo, I’ll go collect the Major.”
“What makes you think he survived that plane crash, son?” The Colonel asked, eyes measuring the younger man.
“Begging the Colonel’s pardon, but he’s the goddamn toughest, hardest to kill son of a bitch I’ve ever met. Maybe someday a bullet or an infected will get him, but nothing as simple as a plane crash. He survived, sir.” Scott sounded absolutely certain when he spoke the last sentence.
“Captain?” Crawford turned to Blanchard after looking into Scott’s eyes for close to a minute.
“No helos available, sir. We’ve already started shipping them and the ones that are still here are having their fuel drained and rotors set for transport.” Blanchard said, watching Scott’s eyes fall. “However, we do have more Bradley Fighting Vehicles than we’re going to be able to take with us.”
Crawford looked back at Scott who was grinning. “Will a Bradley suit your needs?”
“Yes, sir! Quite well. Thank you, sir.” Scott answered ent
husiastically.
“Good. Captain Blanchard here will make the arrangements. Are you sure you want to take the Russians with you?”
“Yes, sir. The woman isn’t a combat officer, but Igor is Spetsnaz and both owe the Major their lives. They’ll be just fine.” Scott didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“OK, they’re yours. But you need to know that there are some damn massive herds on the way here. You’ll get out, but you probably won’t get back in.” Crawford said.
“No worries, sir. If we can’t get back on the ground, Captain Martinez is a pilot. We’ll be able to find something.”
Crawford nodded and waved the younger man into the Humvee’s back seat.
“Let’s get back so you can get things in motion,” he said as the last C-130 roared into the night sky.
28
Without making a conscious decision I entered the passage on the right. It was another narrow, winding tunnel, but at least it had a high ceiling and I didn’t have to worry about ramming my skull into a rock. Soon I emerged into an expansive chamber, mist hanging in the air.
Water gushed out of a large crack in the wall, falling twenty feet into a broad pool. The floor of the chamber was covered in an even thicker layer of sand and there were tracks everywhere. The phosphorescent growth was the heaviest I’d encountered so far, seemingly putting off enough light that I could have read a book if I’d had one and been so inclined.
A quick scan of the area didn’t reveal any infected, but to my right was a large pile of something. Moving that way to investigate I paused and wrinkled my nose when the smell hit me. I knew what it was from the odor, but still went forward for a better look.
The remains of at least thirty human bodies were tossed haphazardly against the wall. Bones had been stripped of most of their meat, the few relatively intact corpses missing the majority of their internal organs. The sand beneath was clumped and stained dark with blood and body fluids. Beetles scurried around, feasting on the rotting flesh that hadn’t been stripped completely.
The clothing the poor souls had been wearing was also heaped up, but was so soiled and torn I couldn’t tell if it was for men or women. I suppose eighty years ago it would have been much easier as women almost exclusively wore dresses, but in our modern age one pair of pants looks pretty much like any other. At least to my eye.
I was starting to turn away when a thought struck me. Turning back, I used the tip of the Kukri to dig through the clothing, holding various articles up for a closer inspection. No bras or panties. Maybe the lack of bras wasn’t that definitive on the sex of the wearer, but I found a lot of underwear styles that I couldn’t imagine any woman willingly putting on.
These were men that had been fed on by the females. Were they infected, or were they survivors that had been captured and brought here? A few days ago I would have believed they were survivors, but after seeing the female kill the male she’d mated with outside the casino, I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on anymore.
Leaving the detritus behind, I took a slow walk around the remainder of the chamber to make sure I wasn’t overlooking anything I needed to know about, but other than tracks in the sand I wasn’t finding anything. My mind started to go down the path of wondering what the infected wanted with Rachel and Katie, but I forced myself to stay focused.
Returning to the last room, I looked and listened carefully before entering in case any more females had shown up. Satisfied all was clear, I stepped in just as five females walked out of the tunnel to the adjacent chamber. I froze in place, hoping they wouldn’t see me, but the second one through the gap looked in my direction and her eyes flew wide open.
I lunged forward, burying the Kukri in her mouth and twisting it up into her skull as I stabbed the lead female in the back of the head with my knife. The three following females reacted instantly, rushing me. They hadn’t screamed yet, and I wanted to put them down before they had an opportunity to alert however many more were in the caves.
Spinning, I slashed with the Kukri and took off most of the top of the next female’s head, kicked the body aside as it fell and whipped the two blades into attack position. The next female was fast, ducking under my right-handed strike. She had avoided one blade, but when she lowered her body I was able to stab forward with the knife and bury it to the hilt in her chest, piercing her heart.
The blade stuck and I released it, letting the Ka-Bar fall with her body. I stumbled back when the last female rammed into me, freezing in shock when she bent and snatched my knife out of the corpse on the sand. What the hell was this?
I might have stood there musing about this new behavior, but she charged with the blade held out in front of her. It was a clumsy attack, the knife way too far out in front of her body and held all wrong, but was so fast she nearly gutted me before I twisted away. Hammering with the hilt of the Kukri I heard her wrist break and the knife fell from her nerveless fingers.
She spun, no indication of the damage I’d done other than the knife lying on the sand at her feet. I reversed my grip on the Kukri and stabbed up into her throat as she was opening her mouth to scream. Seeing the strike coming, she had raised her hands to protect herself, but the big blade wasn’t slowed by her defenses, severing three fingers before piercing her body.
The corpse was still twitching as her nervous system refused to accept death, but I ignored it, grabbing my knife off the ground and wiping both blades clean on her clothing. Stepping over the body, I moved through the gap and into the tunnel they had emerged from. It was narrower than my shoulders and I had to walk with my body turned slightly to the side.
It was dryer in this passage and the floor dropped slightly as I progressed. The farther I moved, the dryer the air felt, and the glowing lichen thinned out to the point that I couldn’t see anything beyond a foot in front on my face. Slowing my pace, I forced my breathing to calm and even out. I’m not a fan of caves, and even less of dark ones full of infected that would be happy to have me for dinner.
When I reached the end of the tunnel it was more the feeling of open space around me than any visual cue that alerted me to the change. There were small patches of the lichen growing in random locations on the walls and ceiling. In the darkness it seemed like I was in a planetarium or some high-tech amusement park attraction, the faint spots of phosphorescence making it seem as if I were floating in space and viewing distant galaxies.
The effect was both mesmerizing and disorienting as it was completely dark where I stood. Glancing down I couldn’t see the sand beneath my feet, or anything to either side. Frozen in place I listened hard, hearing the faint sounds of breathing from somewhere to my front. But that was all I could tell. It could have been anything with a set of lungs, from a small dog to a giant dragon waiting to be roused and wreak havoc on whoever dared disturb its slumber.
Chastising myself for wasting time thinking about fantasy monsters when I should be focused on the real life ones, I silently sheathed the two blades and carefully worked the small rifle around to the front of my body. There wasn’t enough light in the chamber for my eyes to be of any use, but there should be for the night vision scope.
Raising the rifle to my shoulder, I looked through the scope which amplified the available light and showed me a crisp green and black image of the area. I slowly turned my upper body, scanning across the floor. My breath caught in my throat when I got a good look at my surroundings.
At least thirty females were scattered around the large room, sleeping on the soft sand. No more than a couple of feet from my left foot lay a small woman with her arm splayed out to the side. If I’d taken another step, the odds were good that I would have stepped on her. That would have been disastrous. There was no way I wanted to face this many infected in such close quarters.
Grimacing, I made another, slower scan. As I moved the scope I counted the resting bodies and cataloged them as best I could. There was a large concentration to my left, seventeen of them bedded down in a tight group. The remain
ing fifteen were spread randomly around the area.
I started to wonder if there was something like a class hierarchy or clique going on with them, then shut down my thinking. It didn’t matter if there was. At least not at the moment. Perhaps that was something that would be useful at some point in the future, but right now it didn’t have any bearing on the situation.
Making a third scan, I spotted an irregularity in the pattern of the bodies lying on the floor. At the base of the farthest wall of the chamber, two bodies were huddled together. This caught my eye because all of the other females each had some space around them, even the ones lying in the group. Focusing on these two, my heart started racing when I realized one of them was dressed like a Victoria’s Secret model.
Katie? I couldn’t tell through the night vision, but the odds were in my favor this was her. After another quick survey of the area to make sure none of the females had awakened and noticed me, I focused on the ground and started making my way across the chamber. Sidestepping the female’s arm to my front, I was grateful for the soft sand that was spread across the floor.
Rifle aimed down, I looked at each spot I intended to place a foot before I lifted it. A stumble in my footing or stepping on an object that could make noise, either one of those could be enough to wake the whole chamber full of females and that would be the end of my night. Sweat popping out on my brow from concentration; I pushed on, one slow step at a time.
Stopping half way across I took the time to scan again. Same count, so there weren’t any up and stalking around in the dark about to attack. I was listening carefully, expecting every step to make some faint sound that would rouse a slumbering female. If that happened, I couldn’t shoot.
Even suppressed, the rifle would make enough noise in the quiet chamber to give me away. I would have to hope for a silent kill with my knife, but knew the odds of being able to pull that off were stacked heavily against me. Taking a moment to ensure the Ka-Bar and Kukri were seated properly in their sheaths and would draw smoothly if needed, I resumed my painfully slow progress.