by Sawyer, JT
“I don’t know how much it will take to stimulate this creature back to regaining consciousness, so stand ready in case these restraints don’t do the job.”
Both men looked at each other then raised their MP5 rifles towards the alpha’s chest. The young sergeant moved in closer to Selene. “Ma’am, we can’t have you in here if that’s the case. I thought you were just coming to collect a sample or something. You are too valuable to put at risk like this.”
She continued studying the EEG monitor, watching the brainwave activity begin to spike. “If this works then it will be worth it. What I do request of you is not to talk again, as the creature will soon be conscious.”
The alpha’s hands started to ball up and it began to emit a low shrill sound from its cracked lips. Selene pinched the skin along the base of the neck, which caused the creature to stir. “It’s awake, but not where I need it to be.” She leaned over and depressed the plunger on the syringe, administering another CC of epinephrine and digitalis. She watched the brainwave monitor spike, this time achieving levels comparable to a fully alert human being. The creature thrashed its head, its jaws snapping and its back arching as it tried to free itself of the restraints.
She carefully picked up the tape recorder from the tray and pressed the play button. General Dorr’s voice filled the room as he gave specific orders to his men along the southeastern flank of MacDill to sweep up from the rear of the drone army, indicating that there were more battalions moving in from behind. Everyone present knew it was a ruse, as Dorr barely had enough troops to hold the perimeter at MacDill. The alpha grew silent, its head fidgeting as it tried to locate the source of the voice. Selene knew the alphas were somehow telepathically connected and that she had nothing to lose by attempting to feed false information on troop movements around MacDill. Dorr figured it was a crapshoot but had been willing to try, providing her with some fabricated logistics about his men afield to the south of the base. The message was on a loop, and Dorr’s voice reiterated the same command as the alpha remained still. Selene watched the brainwaves level off and then saw another set of more vibrant waves oscillate across the screen, overlapping the alpha’s pattern. The second ripple was like a groundswell and indicated much higher brain wave function than the alpha on the table.
So, there must be another creature—an alpha that supersedes these types—as I suspected. The other wave pattern grew in intensity and then subsided and finally faded. The creature relaxed its shoulders and Selene turned off the recording. She leaned forward and depressed the rest of the syringe, driving the deadly cocktail into the body of the alpha until it went limp.
The two men stepped closer still, keeping their rifles fixed on the body. “Did it work?” said the sergeant.
Selene looked up at the digital clock on the wall. “We’ll know in the next thirty minutes when we hear back from the general.”
Chapter 37
After hastily ascending the stairs to the roof of the tac-ops center, Ivins and his team along with Porter, Nash, and Connelly quickly fell into formation alongside the beleaguered Marines along the northwest edge of the building. The deafening roar of .50 caliber machine gun fire filled the air as Ivins and Murphy trotted to a gap in the ranks between the Marines. Lying on the ground were the bodies of three dead soldiers and the remains of a mangled alpha.
“How the hell did that thing get up here?” yelled Ivins to the gunnery sergeant to his left, who was swapping out a new magazine in his rifle.
“They dropped a palm tree against the south edge of the roof and scurried up it like fucking mountain goats,” said the fifty-something man with caterpillar-like eyebrows. “They’re scattered now, making our job harder.” He pointed to the east. “A cluster of them took off in the direction of the airfield.”
Ivins narrowed his eyes, grabbing a Barret sniper rifle off the ground and trotting into position along the edge of the roof. He clicked on his ear-mic, switching channels back to Reisner. “Will, you’re about to have company—alphas are inbound.”
Chapter 38
Martinez glanced around the roof of the former investment building, taking in the sheer number of empty ammo crates, depleted sniper rifles, and piles of brass littering the ground. He shoved his last magazine into his AR and looked at the river of drones swarming in around the entrances below like ravenous carpenter ants descending upon a fallen tree. Pretty soon, we’re going to be down to our fucking knives.
He had lost contact with the commanders of the Bradleys along Riverview, along with his remaining sniper teams to the southwest. Martinez looked over his shoulder across the inky bay towards MacDill. He could see intermittent flashes from muzzle blasts and knew the base must have been breached somehow. He swallowed hard then gasped, realizing the last people he would ever see in this world were the eight operators scattered around the rooftop.
He motioned for the rest of his team to move away from the edge towards his location near the exit to the roof. “Fan out around the stairwell door. They’ll be up here in a few minutes.”
“Sergeant Major—it looks like they’re pulling back,” yelled Draeger, his second-in-command. The beefy warrior was pointing with his muzzle to the avenue below. “They’re peeling off and heading up Falkenburg Road.” Martinez trotted over towards Draeger, eagerly studying the chaos in the streets as a torrent of creatures rushed to the northeast.
“Where the hell are they going?” said Draeger. “There’s nothing up that way, and it’ll only lead them away from MacDill.”
“It’ll loop back towards the interstate and back to Riverview eventually,” said another operator to the right.
Martinez pulled his gaze away, then looked over towards MacDill. “That’s Dorr buying us some time, boys.” He ran towards the stairwell with his AR steadied at the door. “And this is our chance to get free of this area before it’s overrun again. We’re no good here—so let’s see what we can do for the general back home.”
Chapter 39
Reisner and Runa met up with two young air force cadets on their way through the lobby of the tac-ops building. Sinclair and Rosales looked like they were barely old enough to enlist but ensured Runa that they had flown single-engine planes before. The group bounded from building to building until they reached the edge of the airfield. The barrage of gunfire and mortar rounds to the south was rumbling the ground as the Ranger Battalion and MARSOC elements engaged the drones pouring into the outlying neighborhoods. He knew it wouldn’t be long before they overran the soldiers and made their way past the walls of MacDill.
Rounding the corner of the last Quonset hut, Reisner saw the four crop-dusters off to the right of a supply garage. They were small Cessnas, similar to the type Reisner had first learned to fly in younger days. The belly of each plane was equipped with two bulbous fifty-five-gallon containers that served as the dispersal units. Selene had told him each barrel was enough to cover three hundred acres before it was depleted.
“You guys grab the last two planes and Will and I will take the other ones,” said Runa as he looked into the terrified faces of Sinclair and Rosales. The two cadets split apart and trotted off across the tarmac as Reisner and Runa angled off to the right.
Reisner heard the sound of bare feet approaching in the distance and saw four alphas charging across the field. Three of them were quickly dispatched by distant sniper fire, their torsos exploding below the neck from the .50 cal rounds. The last alpha seemed completely unaffected by the loss of the others and increased its speed. It slammed into Sinclair, clawing at his throat with its spindly fingers as arterial blood misted over the runway. As it stood up, its head came apart, completely obliterated from the impact of Ivins’ Barret.
“Damn it,” muttered Reisner as he stared at the mangled body of Sinclair. “Poor kid didn’t have a chance once that thing struck.” He looked over at Rosales, who was biting his lip so hard it had started to bleed. Reisner reached over and squeezed his arm. “Hang tight—you got it.”
; Rosales gave a slow nod then cleared his throat. “Yes, sir.”
“You should be clear for now,” said Ivins through Reisner’s headset. “I don’t see any others in the area and we’re getting attacked on our northern flank.”
“Copy that,” said Reisner as they stood before a cluster of smaller twenty-gallon tanks that were filled with the bioagent. “Let’s load these up too. We’re going to need extra to drop out by hand since we’re down one plane.” He and Runa slung their rifles and began loading the bulbous white tanks into the space behind the front seats of each plane. Reisner saw Rosales climbing into his Cessna and firing up the engine.
Reisner gave Runa a faint grin. “Just like old times, sir.”
“Don’t sir me anymore—it’s just two guys plying their trade now.” Runa glanced back over his shoulder at Reisner. “Sure is good to see you again, Will.” He patted him on the back then bounded off, making a beeline for the first Cessna.
Reisner kept his rifle focused on the tarmac ahead, the sound of gunfire deafening him to the point where he didn’t hear the clatter of bare feet sprinting across the runway to his left. Emerging from a cluster of fuel barrels were four more swift-moving creatures heading towards Runa. The first one was a female that moved with uncharacteristic speed and grace, her gaze focused on his burly boss, who had just arrived at his plane. As soon as the female appeared, it slipped into the shadows near some crates while the other alphas continued moving.
Reisner pressed his right shoulder against the fuselage, then squeezed off two rounds into the head of a short alpha with bushy hair. The other two creatures paused in stride, making a sharp turn and heading towards some pallets of bottled water. Reisner could hear the sound of Runa’s Cessna starting while the two alphas slunk along the backside of the crates, staying concealed enough where he couldn’t get off a clear shot. His breath quickened when he realized he could only make out the silhouette of one creature as it moved along. Dammit, what happened to the other one?
He focused on what he could see and centered his rifle sights on the edge of where the last crate ended, knowing the lone creature would probably dash out from that position. Runa had pulled the plane forward and was turning in the direction of the crates as the alpha sprinted out. He waved for Runa to get moving then refocused his rifle sights, clipping the beast in the shoulder as the alpha rushed forward as if the round had never struck. It ran straight for the Cessna, the bulk of the plane blocking Reisner’s sight window. Reisner dropped to his stomach, splaying out and fixing his AR on the fleeting glimpses of the alpha’s legs. Firing off a controlled stream of rounds, he struck it in the knee and tibia, bringing it to the ground. Runa angled the Cessna off to the side, passing over the thrashing beast as Reisner sent two rounds into the thing’s skull. The plane quickly cleared the runway and was aloft.
Hopping to his feet, Reisner swiveled his head around, searching in vain for the female alpha that had seemingly vanished into the maze of crates. He clutched his weapon and returned to his plane. That’s when he saw a blur of movement as a canister of propane was hurled through the air. It struck the center of Rosales’ Cessna, crushing the driver’s compartment and the young cadet inside, the impact blowing out the tires. Reisner paused in mid-stride, shocked by the sight of the wrecked plane and amazed at the strategic thinking required to pull off such a move.
Approaching the last three Cessnas, he weaved past the first demolished plane. Why isn’t she attacking again? He felt his senses bristling like he’d had happen too many times in the past during cover ops and knew something was amiss. The air behind him grew still and he swung around, seeing a young alpha male bounding like a cheetah towards him from behind the Quonset hut. He spun around, his rifle on target, then he was suddenly blasted aside by the windows from the other Cessna exploding outward as the fuselage was crushed by a steel barrel. He fell to the ground, the shockwave pummeling his sides and the crunching of the aircraft hull hammering his ears. Reisner clutched his rifle, rolling over and refocusing his blurry vision upon the approaching mass of flesh, punching three rounds into the chest. It slowed the creature long enough for him to refocus and fire two rounds into the head. The skull shattered apart, dropping the diminutive alpha.
Reisner dragged himself up, feeling the rivulets of pain from his face and neck where shards of glass had torn into him. He looking at the last intact plane then over by the crates for the last alpha, hoping it was the only creature still left on the airfield. Just give me one clean shot. He sidestepped, moving twenty feet over until he was positioned next to the rear of the fuselage, away from the cockpit windows this time. Where the hell is it?
The barrage of gunfire near the south end of the base had diminished, and he knew the troops there were running out of time. Screw this. He stepped under the other side of the plane, removing two grenades from his vest and lobbing them into the edge of the crates. The explosion ripped through the row of boxes, sending boards and shards of canned food airborne. The alpha was flung forward, landing on her chest a few feet away. Off its charred face hung strips of grated flesh and its mouth gaped open, emitting a tortured shrill sound. It began crawling back towards a clump of burning boards, trying to cover its body. Reisner stepped forward, shooting into the only visible area of flesh in his sights until he emptied his remaining rounds into the left front shoulder of the alpha. He dropped out the magazine and inserted a fresh one while backpedaling towards the plane. Climbing inside, he fired up the engine and swung the Cessna out onto the runway, staring at the burning heap of boards but not seeing the clump that had been the alpha.
Reisner pushed the throttle forward and headed down the airfield, his heart still racing as he lifted off. He arced to the east over the base and could ascertain the comforting sight of yellow mist wafting along the southern boundary of MacDill from Runa’s plane. He could see the line of drones in the distance breaking as they began retreating from the cloud of death. Now, let’s sweep further out and finish this fucking job.
Soaring over the subdivisions southeast of Tampa, he could make out a small cluster of operators sprinting towards the bay as the streets behind them filled with thousands of dead drones in every direction. He heard the pelting of a few raindrops against the front window, his hand hovering over the spray-release control for the crop-dusting canisters attached to the underside of the Cessna. “Just three more minutes—come on!” He pushed the plane to its limits while the metal frame vibrated from the speed. Ahead was the demarcation line where the dead drones from Runa’s work ended and the remaining throngs of creatures remained. Reisner descended until he was two hundred feet over the army of monsters then released the spray. He leaned back, the tension in his chest beginning to disperse as quickly as the yellow aerosol below. He circled back and made two more passes, ensuring the main ranks in the center were decimated, then he flew from pocket to pocket of fleeing creatures, dropping several canisters out of the side window.
Circling around, he flew along Riverview Drive, scrutinizing the effects of the deadly gas. He could see pockets of live drones in a few regions who had managed to stay out of the bioagent’s wake. Reisner swung the plane hard to the right and dropped low, flinging three canisters out over the fleeing crowd of pallid creatures, knowing their eyes and organs would soon burst as their cell structures were liquefied thanks to Selene’s tireless work on another frontline. He made a final pass, watching the last few drones collapse to the ground as gray fluid pulsed out of their orifices. Good riddance, you pasty motherfuckers.
He eased his white-knuckle grip on the controls then veered off to the southwest, flying over rubble-strewn streets and shattered neighborhoods while inspecting the staggering numbers of dead creatures in every direction. Reisner made his way back along Riverview Drive towards the bay. He could hear Dorr’s voice in his earpiece, recalling all units to the base and announcing the satellite imagery results on the effects of the bioweapon. Reisner stared at the intact walls of MacDill ahead, knowing they
had endured another costly battle. We made it—at least for today. He gulped down a deep breath, watching Runa’s plane circle the base in the distance. At least for today.
***
The smell of burning wood and flesh was overpowering as Katherine slowly began freeing herself from the mass of tangled boards enshrouding her. She clawed her way out with her one good arm, dragging the other one along as she moved. When she was clear of the crates, she sat up, inspecting her mangled body. The left arm was dangling out of its socket, the shattered rotator cuff splintered beyond recognition as it clung to her burnt torso by a single tendon. She reached over with her right arm, grabbing the wrist and twisting. She shrieked as the tendon popped and the limp arm fell to the ground. The rest of her body was charred and her face felt like it was made of clay. She brushed something stubby off her cheek and watched her nose fall to the ground. Katherine felt pain as her nerve endings flared but had no recognition of aesthetic loss. She turned then hobbled along, hoping for some message from her brother but sensing that she was the sole alpha left on the base. She knew she was incapable of fighting effectively and turned her attention towards the vacant area of the airfield to the west near the ocean, examining the wall for an escape route. Must get back to him. He is all that matters now.
Chapter 40
Kelly had just tucked Cassie into the cot beside hers and she lay next to her sleepy daughter, stroking her blond hair as the child drifted off. The small administrative office had been cleared out of desks and cabinets and lined with a dozen cots. There were four such rooms on this side of the hallway that were designated for the women and another seven rooms one floor below for the men. On the other side of Cassie was Erica’s cot, and the short-haired woman lay on her side, watching Kelly dote upon her daughter.
“You’re a good mom, Kelly.”