Going Home (Soldier Up Book 3)

by Steven Linde

It was very apparent that some animals had somehow gotten out of their enclosures. They approached the zoo, slowly looking for any other animals that might attack them. The Soldiers exited out of the M1126, weapons up and ready. They gathered at the entrance, and PFC Ott stopped by the ticket office to grab tickets, thinking it would be funny. SSG Dabney was not amused, and told the PFC to stop goofing off and get his head in the game. They entered the zoo and spread out into a V formation. They had an hour to determine the overall status of the zoo then had to get back on the road. The first thing they noticed was the monkey’s had definitely escaped and were running free throughout the facility. SSG Dabney ordered the men to keep a sharp eye out for anything. The animals were going to attack and would do it quickly with intent to kill.

  SSG Dabney decided they would check out the enclosures that held the most dangerous animals. If they were gone, then they would get the hell out before anything bad happened. They checked the big cat enclosures and found all of the tigers gone, which raised the pucker factor quite a bit. The lions were gone too, so were the leopards. The black bears were dead inside their enclosures, as well as many of the Asian bears, and all of the grizzlies had escaped. The elephants had broken down their gates and were gone, and half the giraffes had escaped and half were dead. The list went on. Next up where the polar bears and they were gone. To sum it up, the predators escaped and the more passive animals remained and died. SSG Dabney wasn’t comfortable staying in the facility, so he ordered everyone out via the most expeditious means possible.

  As they neared the entrance, one of the tigers popped out from nowhere and charged the men. They weren’t quick enough and didn’t respond until the big cat was on top of Specialist Yoxall. The tiger tore into the man’s throat, instantly killing him. At that point, recognizing that their team member was dead, the men opened fire on the cat, killing it. SSG Dabney ordered the men to grab Specialist Yoxall and bring his lifeless body. They weren’t leaving anyone behind; it’s not what they did.

  They moved as fast as they could back to the M1126, his men were nervous, they didn’t know what was worse: being hunted by people such as other Soldiers or being hunted by animals. At least you could try to counter what another human was thinking and make plans to stop them, but how do you think like an animal? How do you counter that? Once the men had returned to the vehicle, they took off reporting they had one KIA. Command wanted to know the specifics on how the specialist died, and when they were told he was mauled by a tiger they refused to believe them. There were threats of Court Martials or article 15’s. Finally, SSG Dabney got on and demanded to speak with the six, which meant the Brigade Commander. Once the six was on, SSG Dabney explained the situation and wasn’t that the mission to begin with? Six thanked SSG Dabney for his candid evaluation of the situation, and he agreed it was the mission. He apologized for what had happened and told them to continue on with the mission.

  While SSG Dabney was on the horn with six, he was told to look up by his driver for a second. SSG Dabney looked up to see five elephants crossing the road in front of him and they didn’t look happy to see them. He quickly ordered both vehicles to button up and stay that way until they were out of the park. Six was demanding to know what was happening when SSG Dabney told him Six’s response was, “no shit!”

  The last team had made its way to the Port of Tacoma, which was a major port in Washington. There were no known gangs in the area, at least not prior to the event, but it was possible they have moved in. The port was a gold mine. It had all sorts of things in the containers and in the warehouses. It was worth fighting for. The only drawback was that there was no fresh water and food, so they would have to leave the port to scavenge. Once they left the port area, they would be vulnerable to attack. As they came to the port, the gates were shut and locked. SSG Curtis didn’t know if it was good or bad. He ordered the vehicles to bust through the gates and enter the port. He knew busting through the gates was going to cause a ruckus, so he ordered his men to say sharp as they entered.

  They pushed through the gates. It was loud as expected as they drove through the gates, but even with all the noise it caused no one showed up to investigate. They moved through the port, driving up and down the various streets. They didn’t see anyone. Driving along the water, they also looked up at the ships to see if anyone was watching them. Nope it was all quiet. It was a ghost town. As they were making what they hoped was their last right turn around a large warehouse, a man in a security guard uniform stepped out of the security building. He stood right in front of the oncoming vehicle and raised his hand as to halt them. The vehicles came to an immediate halt. SSG Curtis thought it was almost comical. The security guard approached the left hand side of the M1127 where SSG Curtis was standing.

  The guard signaled for the Soldier to cut the engine to the vehicle. SSG Curtis shook his head no. If this was an ambush, he didn’t want to have to worry about the vehicle starting up again. SSG Curtis decided to dismount the vehicle. He told his men to cover his ass, and if something started, he expected them to finish it. SSG Curtis took off his helmet, climbed up out of the vehicle, and jumped down next to the guard.

  “What brings you here, Staff Sergeant?” asked the Guard.

  The guard’s knowledge of his rank surprised him. “We’re reconnoitering the port, the Navy and Army will be moving in soon,” replied SSG Curtis.

  The guard eyed SSG Curtis. “Well we’ve done a damn good job at keeping people out it’s been a tough job for the six of us. I sure hope you guys appreciate it and damn! What took you so long in getting here!”

  SSG Curtis laughed.