We Go On (THE DELL)

by Stephen Woods

  She was the daughter of French immigrants and had lived in the U.S. since age four. Her parents had both been professors at Institut National Des Sciences Appliquéees De Lyon in Lyon, France. Her father Xavier was a biology professor and a drunk. He drank himself to death when Alanis was twelve years old. Her mother, Justine, was a chemistry professor and was referred to by friends as high strung. She was subject to the same uncontrollable rage that her daughter suffered from. She also suffered lunatic happiness and debilitating depression. In fact, she was an undiagnosed schizophrenic with manic tendencies. She was also the only adult contact her daughter, Alanis, had outside of school.

  School was the only place Alanis felt comfortable. Her IQ was genius level and her mother pushed her relentlessly to excel. At sixteen, she entered MIT to study chemistry where she graduated Magna Cum Laude two months before her twentieth birthday. From there, she accepted a scholarship to Johns Hopkins and completed medical school in record time. Her specialty was virology and she was soon offered a fellowship at Harvard Medical School to continue her research. She was still in her twenties when she came to the attention of the Department of Defense and was recruited to work at USAMRIID, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Ft. Detrick, Maryland, the military’s headquarters for the study of deadly viruses.

  She excelled at her work and soon was a lead researcher trying to develop vaccines for some of the worst bugs known to man. For two years prior to the Event, Alanis had worked on a vaccine for a nasty mutation of the Ebola virus that was first located in Egypt. A very odd place to find Ebola. It had been believed by the United States government that Egyptian scientists were mutating the virus to be used as a biological weapon. Intelligence was developed through signal intercepts by the National Security Agency at Ft. Meade, Maryland. NSA identified one of the Egyptian scientists as Doctor Mohammad Hanif Feroz at the University of Cairo. Dr. Feroz was snatched in a CIA operation and spirited to the Complex where Dr. Dumont could verify his work.

  Dr. Dumont was intrigued by Dr. Feroz's work and through their shared research was able to develop vaccine EV703S1. Experimental Virus 703 Series 1 was supposed to have been a vaccine for the Egyptian mutated strain of Ebola but it had the strange side effect of regenerating dead cells, especially dead brain cells. Dr. Dumont had verified her findings and was preparing a report to DOD when Dr. Feroz escaped from the Complex. This was a complete disaster because he carried the last sample of EV703S1 out with him. Alanis still hadn't figured out how Dr. Feroz got out of the Complex and now she was beyond caring. Her one burning desire was to get out of this tomb. It had been nearly six years since she had been up top and she needed to see the sun.

  That’s the driving force behind her desire to possess the compound identified by “Keyhole.” She sat at the head of the huge conference table and listened to a report given by Dick Whitaker. Whitaker was the fifty-three years old head of the operation section and a GMOI contractor. The former Army Ranger was five-foot-ten with close cropped hair peppered with gray at the temples. He was handsome in a rugged way and had been the subject of several late night fantasies for Dr. Dumont. Alanis would never actually have sex with Whitaker. He was too far below her status but his rock hard physique and rugged face did appeal to her. She attributed her distraction this morning, in part, to her desire. It had been weeks since she had pleasured herself; maybe it was time.

  She considered going to her quarters after the meeting then noticed that Whitaker had stopped talking. As she glanced around the table she became aware that everyone stared at her. Dr. Dumont turned back to Whitaker. "You were saying?"

  Whitaker shook his head almost imperceptibly. "As I was saying, we were completely successful in luring the infected personnel to the compound and the population inside are currently cut off from the outside world. The inhabitants have been unsuccessful in breaking the siege so far and it is our belief based on our observations, that two more months will be sufficient to drive them out."

  "Two months? What leads you to this conclusion?" asked Alanis.

  Whitaker flipped a page in his briefing book and read from the report. "It is believed that the food reserves of the inhabitants of the compound will be expired by the middle of March." He closed the briefing book and looked directly at Dr. Dumont. "Desperation will cause them to try to evacuate. Desperation and starvation." Whitaker looked around the table, and then back to Alanis, "Starvation is an ugly, slow way to die. Once the food runs out they will be desperate to find a new source. That means they will have to come out from behind that wall of theirs. We will be waiting."

  "What is your plan once they do come out?" asked the Doctor.

  Whitaker placed both hands on the table top. "That depends on how forceful you want us to be. I believe they will attempt to fight their way out through the infected personnel. They will of course sustain high casualties. We can have blocking positions set up to intercept any inhabitants that succeed in breaking out. Or we can allow them to leave. Then after a little mopping up of the infected, occupy the compound with no risk to any of our personnel." He opened his hands in a gesture that it was up to her. "It only depends on how forceful you want us to be."

  Alanis considered this for a moment. "I don't want any survivors. If any of them are able to escape, they may re-organize and come back. It will be better for all of us if there are no survivors."

  Whitaker nodded his understanding. "We have the firepower to ensure that is the outcome. It will present slightly more risk to us but it is within our capabilities."

  Alanis smiled for the first time since the meeting started. "Good. Then it's decided. As soon as they come out, we will be there waiting, and you will ensure there will be nobody to reclaim this property. I do not want any more delays and the middle of March is the target. I want the compound clear of all the infected and ready for me to move into by the end of March. Is that clear? The end of March I want to be out of this hole and moving into that compound." She looked around the table holding eye contact with each of the attendees. Whitaker’s the only one that held her stare without looking away. Alanis smiled at Whitaker as they continued to hold the look. Whitaker smiled back and considered what it would be like to take the doctor to bed. Alanis made plans also. Hers were seeing Whitaker tied to a post while he was slowly devoured by the infected variety.

  She finally broke eye contact and glanced at the rest of the group. "If that's it then we will conclude the meeting until there is some new information." With that, she stood and left the room. She felt better than she had in months as she walked back to her quarters. Dr. Dumont had plans, both long term and short. The short term plan was what brought the smile to her lips. As soon as she returned to her quarters she would go shower and then enjoy a nice glass of wine. After the wine she would climb into her king size bed naked and relieve her sexual frustration and she knew exactly what fantasy to use. She could already picture Dick Whitaker and those big strong arms of his. Those big strong arms being eaten by the infected. Her smile spread even further across her face and a slight shiver of pleasure ran down her spine. Yes, she thought this would be fun.

  Chapter 19

  It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn

  The morning dawned overcast and the sky threatened rain. It was cold and gray just like my mood. A perfect day for what we had planned. I climbed out of bed at 5 a.m. after a sleepless night. I fixed a pot of coffee as I did every morning. I felt slow and disoriented after not sleeping and hoped the coffee would help. The two cups I had on an empty stomach only succeeded in making me feel jumpy and irritable. At 5:45 a.m. I decided it was time to go and headed out after kissing Kat goodbye. She would spend her day in the Village Office filling in for Jim. I didn't bother to point out that everything would be over with by 7 a.m. I knew Jim would be mostly useless the rest of the day. I suspected I would be too.

  I cruised the ATV through the quiet little town on my way to the Davis house. Judy stood on the porch waiting for
me as I pulled up. She was bundled up against the cold and a pair of dark glasses covered her eyes. We didn't speak as she came down to the road and climbed on behind me. As soon as she was set I started for the execution site.

  We had placed the small enclosure near one of the far walls and behind a screen of trees. I said I didn't want this to become a public event. As I pulled up to the site, I saw that Dave and a small security detail already stood by. I asked him if everything was in order and he said it was. He told me that he had already checked on Marvin and that Reverend Ballard was with him. I asked if there had been any problems over night and he shook his head no. He said Marvin had slept like a baby. The thought went through my mind that at least somebody had but I told Dave I was glad he'd had a quiet night. Dave said that a detail was standing by to escort Marvin to the site. We were waiting for all the witnesses to show up. Jim was absent and I didn't expect him to show up until the last minute.

  I hadn't seen the actual site of the execution so I left Dave and Judy and walked over to inspect. Dave had selected a small level area for the site and the grass had been cut a couple of inches above the ground. At the far end or bottom of the U shape stood a six-by-six post set into the ground and rising about eight-feet into the air. I noticed the firing squad detail relaxing by one wall waiting to perform their duty. Barry Stone stood at the end of his group of men and I walked over and shook his hand. He appeared stoic and said he was ready to do what had to be done in response to my question if he was ready. I thanked him again and went down the line shaking the hand of each man and thanking them for volunteering for this difficult task.

  After speaking with each of the firing detail, I went back out to see if Jim had arrived. I found him talking to Judy and he turned toward me as I approached. His pale complexion told me he felt sick. I asked if he would be up to this and he nodded and said he would make it. I looked at Dave and nodded and he immediately spoke into his radio telling the escort detail to start this way with Marvin.

  As with any dreaded activity the waiting is the hardest part. It took around ten minutes for the escort detail with Marvin to arrive. Dave had them use one of the full size trucks as the escort vehicle. Marvin sat in the bed against the cab with the security men all around him. As the vehicle pulled to a stop they stood him up and walked him to the end of the bed where the other detail waited to help him to the ground. There was no hesitation. As soon as Marvin's feet hit the ground they started toward the enclosure. Reverend Ballard had ridden up front and hurried to catch up to them.

  As Marvin rounded the corner and got his first glimpse of the post and where he would die; he hesitated for just a second. The escort detail gently urged him forward and they were quickly on the move again. Once they reached the post, the detail worked on securing him. His hands were cuffed behind him with zip ties and a rope was threaded under his arms and across his chest. This rope was pulled up and fixed to a spike driven into the back of the post near the top. This would ensure he stayed upright after the volley was fired. Once he was secured to the post Reverend Ballard stepped forward and spoke to Marvin for a few moments. I waited giving the Reverend as much time as he needed. I couldn't hear what they were saying and was glad because I thought this was Marvin’s last chance for a private conversation.

  Reverend Ballard turned and nodded to me and stepped over against one side wall. I approached Marvin and stood directly in front of him. I addressed him and was determined to maintain eye contact with him. “Marvin Hamilton having been found guilty of rape and attempted murder of Judy Davis you have been sentenced to die by firing squad. If you would like you may make a statement at this time,” I said.

  Marvin looked at me with that same smile on his lips he'd had when I talked to him. I began to think that he wouldn't say anything when he started speaking, "You fuckers are trying so hard to act like the world is the same and it ain't. Your laws don't mean shit to me. So go on and do whatever you want but it don't matter. It ain't gonna make you feel any better." He looked toward Judy. "If it's any consolation, you was the best."

  I saw Judy flinch and look down when Marvin said this and he started laughing. I suddenly felt better about what we were doing. I knew at that moment that I had made the right decision. Given the chance, Marvin would continue to prey on women until he was finally stopped. I had a chance to stop him right now.

  I stepped in to his view of Judy so he could no longer look at her. I asked if he wanted a blindfold and he shook his head no. I turned to Barry and nodded. He immediately called his detail to attention and marched them in a line across the open end of the U. Only twenty yards separated the Detail from Marvin to insure no possibility of missing. Barry brought the detail to a halt and gave them the command to right face. All six turned to face Marvin in unison. I knew we were only seconds from completing the task and realized I wasn’t breathing.

  Marvin faced the detail as Barry gave the commands I'd heard so many times in movies but never thought I'd hear being used for real. Ready, the weapons came to port arms held in front and across the men's chest. Aim, the rifles came up and pointed at Marvin. Fire, the sound was one large bang as each rifle discharged in unison with the others. As I watched, the bullets impacted the center of Marvin's chest. He strained upward for a split second then collapsed against the rope that supported him, his head falling forward. Blood poured from the massive wound in his chest. Barry gave the order for the detail to lower their weapons and he marched forward until he was beside Marvin's limp body. Without hesitation, Barry raised the pistol in his right hand and fired one round into Marvin's head. His head rocked from the impact and more blood flowed to join the ever widening puddle on the ground at his feet.

  Barry holstered his pistol and called the firing detail back to attention. After giving them the command to left face, he marched them out of the enclosure and back toward the village. It was over. Just like that, we had taken Marvin's life. I looked at Jim and he appeared even paler than he had been and struggled not to vomit. I told him to take Judy and go back to town. He nodded and took Judy's arm. She turned and looked at me as they reached the corner. I could tell she had been crying and she removed her dark glasses. She looked me in the eye and thanked me. I nodded and she turned and walked away with Jim.

  Dave and a few of the security guys took Marvin down from the post and carried him to the grave already prepared on the outside of the enclosure. Once laid in it, they immediately covered him with dirt. By 7:30 a.m., the grave was filled in and the last vestige of Marvin was gone like he had never been. His only legacy the horror he had caused in our population due to his attack and what we’d had to do to make sure he never hurt anyone again. We now had to try to heal and forget. I wasn't sure it was possible.

  December ended and January dragged by, the foul weather kept us inside most of the time. I thought it was a good idea to keep the amount of our activity down because the more active we were; the more food we consumed and with the Stinkies still making it impossible for us to leave the compound. Well, food became an issue. We had been working on a solution to the Stinkies situation but hadn't solved it yet. I became more depressed each day we failed to resolve the problem. We had a month and a half of food left and if we didn't do something soon we would have to start sever rationing and that wasn't going to be popular.

  Time passed and we were slow to get over the Marvin ordeal. People were starting to greet each other on the streets again and the whole mood in The Dell improved. We were all still worried about the Stinkies but they were not an immediate, in your face kind of threat so it was almost possible to overlook them. Unless you were near the wall where the moaning and scratching at the concrete was an ever present reminder of what was just on the other side. Jim, Dave, and I, along with different people whose opinions we valued met daily to discuss the problem and possible solutions. So far, we had come up with nothing that worked.

  I thought we had solved the problem early in January when the really cold weather started. On the
morning of the third we tried what I thought was the best idea so far. That morning dawned windy and very, very cold. It was well below the freezing mark and the Stinkies were virtually immobile. A group of us went out with the intent of destroying the frozen Stinkies and barely avoided a disaster.

  We had incorrectly assumed that if they were mostly frozen, they wouldn't be able to attack us and it would be a simple matter to just walk up and club their brains out. We managed to kill several of the things before they overcame their frozen state and attacked us. The cold did save us in a way though. We were all wearing bulky clothing in order to stay warm and the few bites we received trying to get back inside the compound didn't penetrate to skin. Another lesson learned. Thankfully, this one hadn't cost much beyond having a few years of our lives scared out of us.

  The main issue was there were simply too many of them to destroy with the weapons we had. If it had been a couple of hundred spread out around the compound it wouldn't have been that big a problem. But there were nearly three thousand of the things scratching and scrabbling at the wall trying to get inside. We couldn't handle that many. If we didn't come up with something soon though, they would win. All they had to do was wait and they were good at that. We eventually had to come out to find food and that would be all the chance they needed.

  And that's the situation we were in when on the morning of the sixteenth things changed. I've always heard it said that the night is always darkest before the dawn and our night was pretty dark when the sun finally popped out in the guise of more new arrivals. But these weren't ordinary half-starved barely alive survivors. No, these folks arrived with teeth of their own.

  We were having our usual morning meeting in Jim's office. Dave and I were there along with L.B. Davenport and once again the topic being discussed was the smelly, decomposing horde outside the wall. Dave's radio came to life with a message from the guards at the front gate. They asked that we come to the gate, there were vehicles coming. In answer to our question of what kind of vehicles, we were told military. Dave and I looked at each other with surprised looks and headed for the gate.