Dan stepped forward, adopted his genial mask said “For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting me, I am your new platoon commander, Sergeant Jenkins here is the 2IC (second in command). From now on and until further notice no one here is in the Army and no one here is a civilian, what you are all part of is this team, and together we will be the vanguard of the assault on the Infected, we will be the ram that pushes them back and we will do it in our own and inimitable way, for those of you do not know what that means, simply put we are going to kick arse in a way not yet tried!” the Paratroopers started to smile, they liked what they were hearing. Dan continue “What we are trying to achieve here has not been attempted before, it is totally new ground, so if at any time any of you think you see something that we are missing, or you have an idea that you think will help, do not hold back. Come and see me or Sergeant Jenkins and tell us what you are thinking…” he paused looked directly at the soldiers and shook his head in mock despair and said, “Well you never know, sometimes the best ideas come from the most unlikely of places.” This got a laugh from them, they were starting to like this guy that they had heard so much about. Dan knew that he could not totally win the Paratroopers respect with words alone, so he said, “Let me show you what we are training towards.” Dan stepped into the secure compound, then he gave a signal to Sergeant Jenkins, a second later a gate slid open and almost instantly an Infected rushed out toward Dan, Dan did not look at the charging beast and he waited until the last second to draw his sword, when he finally did, he stepped quickly to one side let Infected run past, the sword arced in a blur and the Infected’s head detached from its body and thumped to the ground, then rolled unevenly, coming to a stop against the compound fence a like abandoned ball after a football match. “Stone fucking Cold!” said one of the Paratroopers.
Dan ignored the decapitated head and the body that was still venting its blood in rhythmic red spurts from the severed neck. Then with his face a dead blank he said, “You will learn to do that soon enough… what may take a little longer is this.” Another gate was opened and a second Infected sprinted out, seeing Dan it ran towards him, Dan just stood there looking directly at it as it came on. The Infected faltered, then slowed to a stop, took one last glance at Dan then ignored him completely. “Now that is Stone Cold in action! But how the fuck does he do it?” said another of the Paratroopers. If the men had any doubt about Dan’s right or ability to lead them, his speech and actions had quickly put paid to them, here was a man that they could follow and respect. One of them shouted “When can we get started, Boss?” Sergeant Jenkins smiled when he heard the informal but respectful address of “Boss” being used, some platoon commanders waited years to be referred to as Boss by their men, but Dan had achieved it in the first day, without even realising what a compliment it was.
In fact, Dan did know that Boss was a respectful form of address, but he felt no elation in being addressed as such, it was just a practical necessity that the Paratroopers new to his command would respect and follow him without question. His actions were designed to achieve that, and now that that had been done, he would waste no more time in flamboyant displays of swordsmanship or take any more risks confronting the Infected unnecessarily.
The “Aura” Platoon retired to a waiting area out of sight of the Infected’s compound, here they trained with swords and bows that had been manufactured on site. While the members of Aura practised, with weapons that until recently had been considered obsolete for military purposes, Dan call them forward one at a time to confront the Infected. Each trainee would stand behind the safety of the fence while an Infected would be released in to the compound on the other side. Dan stood out of sight to coach the rookie, “Keep you face neutral, show no fear, act with total distain toward them!” he advised. Some of the trainees, managed to fool the infected for a few seconds before the ruse was up, the illusion was shattered and the Infected tried to attack through the security fence. Most the others did not even manage to fool the Infected for even a second, to those Dan simply said, “Don’t despair, Rome was not built in a day.”
Dan was right, the training with the sword and bow was a lot easier than learning to create the Aura. However, after weeks of trying, a few of the volunteers were showing signs of improvement, of the civilians Salim along with Janet were the most advanced, Peter was getting there but his progress was slower. Amanda just could not make “It” happen, and each time an Infected saw her, it just did what was natural, and tried to get at her to rip her apart. After two more weeks, it was obvious to all that she would not be able master the Aura in any useful time frame, so she opted to leave the course and study medicine full time with Pamela.
She was not alone as it soon became apparent that only thirty percent of the volunteers would be able to achieve even a basic level of Aura within a practical time frame and the majority never would. As each candidate dropped out they were replaced by another two volunteers and after two months of training Dan had a team totalling twenty people that were ready to go forward to the next and more dangerous stage of the training. Those “lucky enough” to be able to subdue the Infected from the safety of behind the fence would now see if they could maintain the aura once they stepped into the compound with the beast, this really would be like stepping in to the lion’s den!
The team were ready for the initial attempt, and Sergeant Jenkins was the first in, he walked across the compound to a predetermined spot where he stood still and waited. The trainees had been told that standing their ground on this spot when confronted by the Infected was part of the test, they had also been told that the snipers had been stood down so there would be no protection from them. However unbeknown to the trainees, the Snipers were in fact still in place and they waited with fingers on triggers ready to despatch the Infected if all went wrong. They had been instructed to fire on Dan’s command, but if they thought the situation dictated, then there were to take out the Infected on their own volition and no recriminations would be forthcoming. “Don’t take any chances if you feel you need to shoot, then shoot.” ordered Dan. The spot that Jenkins now stood on had been specifically selected so that the person in the compound would not get between the snipers and their target, giving them a clear line of fire should they need to engage. The orders to the trainees were simple “Stand your ground at all costs, do not move, do not run! Use your aura to protect yourself.” said Dan to the team on the pre-live exposure brief.
Jenkins stood on the spot and gave a hand signal that he was ready, he carried no weapons, to do so would have given him a sense of security that would skew the results of the test, the test being, could he create and maintain the Aura with no other means to defend himself, as far as he was concerned his only protection from the Infected would be his own ability to maintain Aura!
On seeing Jenkins’s hand signal, Dan spoke into the radio “Snipers standby, open the gate.” The gate slid open and after a few second an Infected emerged into the courtyard, it saw Jenkins standing impassively in the sunlight and started to assess him.
Jenkins kept his face passive, his body relaxed and in his mind, he repeated Dan’s advice over and over again “Keep you face neutral, show now fear, act with total distain toward them, and most important of all remain confident!” It was working, the Infected was not attacking. “Just keep doing what you are doing.” thought Jenkins to himself but he could feel his own jaw clenching as he observed the Infected. “Relax, keep it together, you have got this!” he reassured himself, then he allowed himself a barely perceptible smile as the Infected looked away and pace around the compound ignoring him all together. It seemed like an hour but was in fact only fifteen minutes when a noise from within the cell attracted the Infected back behind the gate which closed immediately trapping it within the cell, leaving Jenkins on his own in the compound.
Sergeant Jenkins was elated, he wanted to punch the air and let out a howl of relief but he remembered his rank and so maintained a dignified posture as he mad
e his way to exit the compound, but inside he was jubilant, he had not felt like this since passing “P-Company” where he earned the highly prized “Red Beret” and had become a member of the Parachute Regiment and the airborne elite.
The rest of the trainees followed Sergeant Jenkins through the trial, most of them passed the test and survived the challenge of “getting up close and personal” but it did not always work out like that. Some failed to maintain Aura and the Infected had to be put down by the hidden snipers as it attacked, the experience left the trainees shaken but unharmed in all cases bar one.
A young trooper, not long in the Army before the outbreak and late to the Aura program, stood on the spot in the compound and waited with the misplaced confidence of youth for the gate to open and the Infected to emerge. He had little doubt that he would dominate the beast and even had a smile on his face when the gate opened. The creature sprang from its cell with speed that startled the young solider and he took an involuntary step back, he realised that to leave the spot meant failing the test and his self-assured demeanour started to erode and his confidence deserted him altogether when the Infected charged towards him. The young trooper turned and ran, the snipers could not shoot for fear of hitting their own man and so could not fire until it was too late. The Infected was full of fury as was its nature and it would not be denied its prey, it’s only reason for existence was to kill and devour and was single-minded in that intent. The pursuit around the compound looked like a macabre kiss chase as the two beings within its confines ran around, when the snipers had a clear shot they fired into the Infected but because of its speed and erratic movement a head shot was out of the question and they pumped rounds into its body to slow it down, but the impacts had little effect on the beast and it closed mercilessly on its quarry like a panther after a gazelle. Finally, a clean shot to the head brought the Infected down, the young solider was dripping with sweat, blowing hard after his exertion and his hands were shaking. He forced a smile and with false bravado he said, “It was not my type, but would not take no for an answer!” He turned and walked towards the gate, putting on deliberate swagger, and almost got there before collapsing to the ground and began to convulse. Dan watched him convulsing, ordered the gate to be opened and strode toward the still quivering body. As he arrived on the scene the newly Infected trooper started to rise from the ground, and there was no trace of humanity in its eyes as it looked towards Dan, but he was not expecting to see any. In one fluid movement, he drew his sword and sliced through the young soldier’s neck, and then in a rare act of compassion he caught the lad and laid him gently on the ground, then he stood back and watched dispassionately as the tainted blood pooled around the body, and thought, “Twenty people have mastered the Aura with the loss of only one dead, better results than I could have hoped for!”
Major Brown knew the Aura Program would be a risky undertaking for all that took part, and he took the news of the loss of the young Trooper with sorrowful acceptance when Dan reported the incident. Dan said, “Despite the death of the young lad, the first batch of twenty Aura trained troops are ready, so my Platoon is ready to be deployed.” This was good news, they were badly needed because the operation to clear the road routes between Porton Down and Camp Pegasus had stalled. The Infected were being drawn to the site in huge numbers, the inevitable noise and activity was a magnet to them, so all work was suspended until they moved on. After three weeks of cessation they had drifted away from the road head enabling work to start again but this time the “Aura Platoon” would be in place as protection for the workers.
The road crew restarted their work clearing the multitude of vehicles from the highway, as before they were guarded by heavily armed troopers who kept close to the road head and the people working there. The difference this time was that Dan’s team were shadowing them further out from the road. He had split his Platoon into three teams, each made up of a mixture of civilian and military personnel, although the distinction between the two was now being blurred as Dan had hoped it would be. The members of the platoon were working well together and the grudging respect they had developed for each other was being replaced by a real sense of belonging. Dan hoped that this, their first operation as an operational unit would complete the process of gelling them together and would justify the whole concept of his hybrid Aura force.
Another change he implemented was the relocation of the helicopters that had previously been providing top cover, he ordered them to fly away from the road head, then fly in a holding pattern to attract the Infected away from the working area. The choppers would do this for an hour before returning to one of the fortified bases that had been set up along the road route as it was cleared. These “Forts” were used initially by the road clearing crews as a sanctuary at night when no work was carried out, then as the road routes were expanded and completed, they would become “Service Stations” and safe havens for vehicles using the road to travel between the two bases and whilst on other missions. These forts would also become a vital part of the mission to eradicate the Infected from the immediate area around the road routes, and the ultimate very long-term mission of reclaiming the entire country from the Infected and to re-establish civilisation. However, a conservative estimate of the number of Infected now roaming the nation was somewhere in the region of thirty-three million, “culling” this many would be a massive undertaking, so the more realistic objective of the creation of two “Safe regions” around the two bases would be the next priority after the road routes had been cleared. These two safe zones could then be joined and slowly expanded. Agriculture and industry could then be restarted in order the supply the army that would be needed to retake the rest of the nation.
Two Aura teams ranged out to two hundred metres either side of the road as the terrain allowed, they worked in pairs with one going forward to engage an Infected with sword or bow while the other stayed back to cover them with a bow or silenced weapon, then the pair would swop positions to avoid fatigue. Each pair always kept in contact with the rest of the team via radio and able to call for assistance should they run into more Infected that they could handle, additional resources would then be directed towards them by Sergeant Jenkins who would also act as a reserve. The third Aura team would range ahead on foot to reconnoitre and clear infected from the road. The whole plan was working well and no Infected made it anywhere near the road-head, but this was through countryside and Dan was acutely aware that when they reached the built-up areas the situation would be much more dangerous, a change of tactics would be required, and he would need more personnel.
As they progressed they neared Army bases, overrun with Infected, but holding resources that would make a significant difference to their continuing operations. One base in particular, would have assets which would fundamentally swing the advantage to the survivors, APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers). Once these vehicles had been acquired, the troopers could use them to take refuge and extract themselves if they were overrun by the Infected. Major Brown despatched a sizable force along the newly cleared road to retake and hold the camp, then acquire and deploy the APCs to the road-head.
A week later, as the road-head was headed east towards a built-up area, Dan heard a convoy of vehicles approaching from the west. In the lead was a familiar truck, it was the road sweeper with Kevin at the wheel. Following in the sweepers wake were five APCs; things would now get a whole lot easier.
With the new resources at his disposal, Dan reorganised his command. Kevin and his Roadsweeper stayed near to the road crew, covering them should they need to fall back to the safety of the two APCs that were kept close by. Along with a trooper who manned the jet wash, a sniper was also located on the roof of the sweeper, this elevated position allowed him to cover a large area affording protection to the road crew and occasionally further out to protect the Aura teams. Two other of the ACPs were used to draw the Infected away from the rear, and these two were ordered to stay in close proximity to each other and work together to
provide mutual support. Dan kept the fifth carrier in reserve to act as a quick reaction vehicle should any of his team get into trouble.
With the two APCs covering the road that had been cleared to the rear, and others on standby to evacuate them, and with the knowledge that the snipers, jet washer and the Aura teams were protecting them, the road crew felt as safe as any time since the operation to clear the roads had started. Now that they were working in relative safety the operation speeded up, the crews were not constantly looking over their shoulders in fear of attack and could concentrate on the job at hand.
The operation to clear the cars, trucks, coaches and other assorted vehicles from the road was managed by the “Road Master”, depending on the situation, he would direct a bulldozer to push the vehicles out of the way, or a JCB to move forward to grab a car in the jaws of its bucket and pull it from the logjam. On other occasions two men would run forward with a chain and attach it to the wreckage, a tractor would then pull the wreck from the jam, the chain would be removed, and moments later the bulldozer would push it clear. It was grisly work; some vehicles would have decaying bodies in them, still strapped in their seats, everywhere there was evidence of death. Bones that had been picked clean by the Infected and other more natural carrion eaters were strewn along the roadside amongst other discarded cornucopia of a bygone age. Suitcases, rucksacks, one skeleton still had one strapped to what would have been its back, but the practicality of the backpacks had not saved this individual. There were other things which clearing crews found strange, almost amusing, the tattered remains of a tuxedo in a dust cover, a hamster cage complete with wheel and mummified rodent and fifty-inch widescreen TV. The savagery of the Infected was illustrated by bloodstained pushchairs and child seats, some still with the mutilated remains of their tiny occupants.
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