The Dying of the Light (Book 1): End

by Jason Kristopher

  The anchor swallowed hard, picking up on some of the seriousness from Dr. Givens. “Thank you for your time, doctor.”

  “Absolutely not a problem.”

  The anchor turned back to the camera. “We’ll be keeping that 800-number up for the next ten minutes, and you can also find it on our website. In other news…”

  Alicia Givens let them lead her off the set and remove all the accoutrements of the interview. Heading for the craft table, she poured herself a cup of coffee and then pulled a small flask from her jacket pocket. Just as she splashed a dollop of the strong liquor into the dark brown liquid, she noticed the anchor standing next to her.

  “Is it that bad, Dr. Givens?”

  Alicia sighed and returned the flask to her pocket. “Let me put it this way, Tabitha. Do you have someplace you can get away from everything and everyone?”

  Tabitha nodded, puzzled. “Yes, my husband and I have a place up in the mountains we like.”

  “Get him and go there. Today. Take everything you’ll need for a long stay.”

  Tabitha chuckled at first, but grew silent and pale when Alicia didn’t join her. “R… really? That bad?” The rictus grin Alicia gave her didn’t frighten her near as much as her next words.

  “And Tabby? Learn to shoot.”

  Escalero, Texas

  The west Texas sun beat down hard on the dry plains, and a haze fell over everything. Waves of heat radiated off the tarmac of the small airstrip, and it hadn’t taken more than ten minutes after they stepped off the plane before all of them were soaked in sweat.

  Barnes shaded her eyes and looked down the long slope towards the town as Reynolds lay next to her, binoculars raised. God, it’s hot. I can’t see a damn thing, and Martinez looks more at home than I’ve ever seen him.

  The skinny Army Ranger was lounging against one of the Humvees, not even breaking a sweat as his sunglasses reflected the near-desert conditions around them.

  “Hot like this in L.A., captain?” she asked him, and he grinned.

  “Not really. It’s hotter than this in Oaxaca, but there’s sometimes a breeze from the mountains.”

  “I really hate you, you know.” When he just grinned back at her, she chuckled. “Gunny, you got anything?” she whispered into her throat mike.

  “No, ma’am. No shot at this time.”

  “Rachel?”

  “No, ma’am. Nothing here.”

  Reynolds just shook his head as she glanced his way. Well, shit. So much for easy.

  “All squads move to position.” 1st team moved down the hill, taking advantage of what cover they could. Not much of that out here, though. Sawgrass and tumbleweeds won’t stop much.

  It was a small town of about 400 people, at least four of which were confirmed to have been infected. Two stoplights, a crapload of outlying farms, and one “main street” 185 miles from the nearest major city, and still close enough that the big Strykers would’ve caused too much attention. So she had 1st Team to take care of the infestation. Since all of the infected were supposedly in the doctor’s office, according to the sheriff, this would’ve been an easy mission.

  Of course, nothing in this outfit is ever easy, she thought. Not that I expect that, either. I just wish David was here. Or that we knew exactly what the situation was with these rednecks.

  When word got out — as it does in a town that small — that some of the folks had gotten sick, a group of ‘patriots’ had decided that this was just the beginning of the end, and had made good and damn sure that no ‘rotten, socialist, corrupt regime’ was going to send them off to meet their maker. So these good ol’ boys had appropriated the local supermarket and liquor store and the nearby Escalero Guns ‘N Ammo. After calling the 800-number, letting the CDC know what was going on and assuring all the infected were secure, the local sheriff had tried to intervene.

  They shot him down in the middle of the street, claiming he was trying to ‘poison their minds with government filth.’ The fact that he had known all of them their whole lives didn’t seem to make much difference. Luckily, his deputy hadn’t been quite as willing to put his life on the line, and had provided them with an update when they called the station on their arrival.

  “Alpha Six, Bravo Six. In position.” The confirmation brought Barnes back to reality as she lay on the last ridge just north of the town. She could see pretty much the whole thing from here, not that there was much to see. She counted fifteen, maybe sixteen shops, and a few houses here and there. Bravo was approaching town from the southwest. “Two tangos in sight.”

  Barnes swore. Bravo team was in the best position for a direct assault on the two stores, but she hadn’t expected to encounter the survivalists outside the buildings.

  Maybe it’s a patrol or something.

  “Roger. Hold for my signal. Out.”

  She motioned to Reynolds, who handed her the binoculars, and she took a look at the supermarket and gun store. The supermarket lay at the top of a T intersection, the only intersection in town. The main street ran east-west, then dead-ended at the market, and split to the north and south. The small doctor’s office was next door to the supermarket, right in between it and the gun store. Bravo was sitting about half a klick southwest of the market, according to their plan.

  “Gunny?” The scope on the gunnery sergeant’s rifle was at least as good as her binoculars, if not better. Now that they were closer, maybe he’d have better luck.

  “Two on the roof, ma’am, armed to the teeth by the looks of ‘em. I count one inside the market at the front; I can’t get a visual inside the ammo store. No other movement on the street, ma’am.”

  “What about the doctor’s office?”

  “No movement that I can see, ma’am.”

  Barnes thought for a moment. Everyone must have fled when the rednecks took over the market. Good for us, though. Means little or no collateral damage. Not that this town’s that big anyway. They probably roll up the sidewalks after work. She sighed and pulled out her cellphone; checking the number on her wrist, she dialed the supermarket.

  “Who is this?”

  “Who is this?” asked Barnes. She could hear the nervousness in the man’s voice, along with no small amount of Texas twang.

  “Junior.”

  Of course it is. “Well, Junior, this is Major Barnes with the United States Army.”

  “Uh, did you say the Army, ma’am?” She wasn’t sure, but Barnes thought she heard his voice break, ever so slightly. This guy couldn’t be much out of his teens, she thought. No wonder they call him Junior.

  “I did, indeed. So why don’t you put me on to the guy calling the shots there, ok?”

  “Yes’m. One minute, ma’am.”

  At least he’s polite.

  “This is Orin Wilson. You’re from the Army?”

  “Yes, sir. I am. I need to talk to you about what’s going on here.”

  “Well, this ain’t none of y’all’s affair! We know what y’all are trying to do here, poisoning us off so you can take our land and drill for oil or mine gold or some other such crap. Trying to keep us from our rightful piece of the profit, too.”

  Barnes stared at the phone, glancing at Reynolds, who also looked puzzled. What the hell?

  “Uh, Mr. Wilson, we were given to understand that you had a disagreement with us about trying to kill off the whole town.”

  “One second, Ms. Barnes.” She heard the sound of the receiver being covered with a hand, then a muffled, “Go on now, git! I’ll call ya if I need ya,” followed by a slamming door.

  “My apologies, Ms. Barnes. Some things are better discussed without the ears of one’s compatriots.”

  Kim was only mildly surprised at this point. “Yes, sir, they are. So if I read you correctly, you’re not particularly interested in what’s happening to these townsfolk?”

  “Not even slightly, ma’am.”

  “Well, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I’m not here for you.”

  It was Wilson’s tur
n to pause for thought. “I see.”

  “So, I’ll make you a deal, Mr. Wilson. If you bring all your boys back inside, and let my people take care of our business, we just might miss you slippin’ out the back door, if you take my meaning.” She paused for a moment, and continued in a somewhat more forceful tone and manner. “Otherwise, Mr. Wilson, we are going to come in and kill every last one of you.”

  Silence greeted her demand for a moment. “I see. I must say, Ms. Barnes, this is not the negotiating style I was expecting to be dealing with today.”

  “I imagine not. There is one caveat, though, Mr. Wilson.”

  “Let me guess: you want the man who shot Sheriff Calton.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Well, I think that can be arranged, Ms. Barnes. When should I be expecting the festivities to start?”

  “As soon as you withdraw your men and I’ve confirmed that.”

  “We’ll leave the overly enthusiastic young man who shot Sheriff Calton inside for you when we leave. Do with him as you will. Goodbye, Ms. Barnes.”

  “Goodbye, Mr. Wilson.”

  Reynolds just shrugged when she looked over at him. “We have more important shit to worry about, ma’am.”

  “Yes, we do, Tommy. Yes, we do.” She raised her binos again, and whispered into her mike. “Gunny, can you confirm they’re leaving the roof?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I can’t see any of the targets, ma’am.”

  “Very well. Bravo Six, Alpha Six.”

  “Bravo Six, go.”

  “Alright, Jake, here’s the deal.” She explained the situation, including her deal with Orin Wilson, and the changes to the plan, and heard him snort. “Problems, soldier?”

  “No, ma’am. We’ll move in and take up positions, then retrieve the package once they’ve left.”

  “Right. As far as I know, all of the infected are still in the doctor’s office. We’ll move on that target and keep you apprised.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Bravo out.”

  A moment later, there was a transmission from Gaines. “Movement,” he said. “Friendlies.”

  “Alpha, go!”

  Alpha squad swept down from the ridgeline and onto the street. Gaines clambered up a fire escape and took position on the roof of one of the buildings, Eaton ever-present at his side — in this case, serving as his spotter.

  A sudden scream from one side riveted Kim’s attention and stopped the forward progress of the whole team. “Martinez, Reynolds, go.”

  “Roger,” said Angelo. The pair peeled away to investigate the noise as the squads surrounded the doctor’s office. Barnes could see Bravo moving into position on her right as she crouched across the street from the doctor’s, covering the front door.

  “Alpha Six, Alpha Four.”

  “Go ahead, Angelo.”

  “Turns out it was a lady hiding in one of the shops, ma’am. She saw us and thought we were with the others.” The scorn in his voice was evident. “I guess the uniforms didn’t make an impression.”

  “Let her go and take position out here.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Alpha Six, Bravo Six.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Package is secure, tangos have amscrayed.”

  “Roger, standby,” she said. “Alpha squad, engage.”

  The AEGIS personnel were maintaining a perimeter around the doctor’s office now that everything was said and done, and Barnes smiled as Commander Powell walked up with his protesting prisoner.

  “I didn’t do nothin’, officer. Not a thing. They hornswaggled me into this here crap!”

  I’d recognize the break in that voice anywhere. He can’t be any more than 20, she thought. She shook her head and chuckled as Powell released him in front of her.

  “Let me guess: Junior, is it?” she said, smiling.

  He gulped and nodded. “Uh, yes’m. Please, please don’t kill me, ma’am.”

  “Settle down, kid. I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to go out on a limb here and figure you aren’t the one that shot Sheriff Calton, either.”

  Junior’s eyes widened and he fell to his knees, still handcuffed, and started blubbering. “No! I never shot no one before! I liked the sheriff! He was always nice to me.”

  Kim shook her head, and looked west toward the market as the squeal of tires came from down the block. What was surely the only sheriff’s car in the county came roaring around the corner and stopped short when the machine guns of nearly all the Army soldiers were suddenly leveled at it. Very, very slowly, the largest black man Barnes had ever seen opened the door and got out, his hands on his head. His badge marked him as a deputy, but none of the AEGIS personnel were moved in the slightest.

  “Stand fast! Lower your weapons!” shouted Barnes, in her best parade-ground imitation of Colonel Maxwell. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

  The soldiers lowered their weapons, and she motioned the deputy over. He shook himself as if to reconcile himself to the reality of the Army in his small town, and… well, moseyed on over.

  That’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone do that in person, thought Barnes. It looks… uncomfortable.

  “Deputy Brentwood, I presume?” she asked, holding out a hand. As he shook it, she could tell he was being careful not to squeeze too tight. It wasn’t often that she had to look up at a man, but this big boy was every bit of six-four, if not six-six.

  “Yes’m, that’d be me. But y’all can call me Justin,” he said, smiling. “I see you’ve cleaned up our mess hereabouts.”

  “Something like that. We’ll be taking those folks with us,” she said, nodding in the direction of the doctor’s office. “Nothing more to be done for them now. This guy, however…” Turning to Junior, she pulled him onto his feet. “He’s all yours. One of the boys from the supermarket earlier.”

  Deputy Brentwood scowled. “I see.” He appeared to be fighting the urge to deck the kid right there, but before he could, Barnes took his arm and led him a short distance away.

  “Now, before you go all ‘Texas justice’ on the kid, Deputy Brentwood…”

  “Call me Justin, please.”

  “Okay, Justin, I believe that this kid had absolutely nothing to do with the shooting of the sheriff, and little to do with the market at all. He says he was forced to join, and I, for one, believe him. I mean, look at him.” They both glanced back at the kid and Brentwood snorted as they turned their backs to him.

  “What can you tell me?”

  “Orin Wilson.”

  Barnes grinned as the deputy’s eyebrows shot up.

  “I guess you know him. I would bet you money that he’s the man that shot Calton. And it doesn’t have anything to do with the government or any of that. He wanted a ransom, pure and simple.”

  Justin looked thoughtful. “You’re probably right. Still, we need to do something with him. Where is he?”

  Kim sighed. “I had to let him go,” she said, staring him down as he grew angry. “I had to, Justin. Or else we’d be dealing with who knows how many dead bodies instead of just six.”

  It was the deputy’s turn to sigh as she explained what had happened. She glossed over the part about walkers, mentioning only that they’d found the infected all deceased, and would be returning them to the CDC for analysis.

  He calmed down, and took his hat off and ran a hand over his thinning hair. “Alright,” he said, putting his hat back on. “I’ll lock this kid up, put him through the wringer a bit, and see if I can’t flush out Wilson that way. If not, I’ll let him go, but only when I know for sure I’ll never see him in my jail again.”

  “Good. Now, have you had any reports of anything else like this in the area?” she asked, pointing to the bagged dead. “Anything even sort of similar?”

  The deputy shook his head. “No, ma’am. As far as I know, everyone who was sick was brought here. There were a couple more between the time we called and the time y’all got here, but I guess you know that. Say, why is the Army involved in all of
this?”

  “Have you ever heard of USAMRIID, deputy?”

  “No, ma’am, I have not.”

  “Well, then, to keep it simple, we’re helping out our friends at the CDC with some extra manpower. This is a pretty nasty one, and they’re not equipped to handle some of the violence we’ve seen from the infected.” She glanced around as a muffled whoosh came from the doctor’s office, and laid a hand on the deputy’s arm as he started to call for the fire department.