by Tim Moon
“Mission accomplished,” she muttered to herself.
The sight of the plane crash still haunted Vanessa. The plane had crushed cars and the bridge that held them, as it burst into a massive flaming inferno. Black Tide was responsible. Any way she cut it, the responsibility for any death or damage as a result of unleashing the virus rested with them. This time she’d make sure they paid for it.
Vanessa took a deep breath. Then she got on her burner phone, a disposable cell phone, and using encrypted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) called a colleague from Eyes of Truth to order the publishing of press releases and social media posts.
“We’re live. Make sure it gets around,” she said. Keys tapped in the background and she heard a click.
“Done,” her friend said before hanging up.
Glancing around the coffee shop again, Vanessa shut down her laptop and slipped it into her bag. Her team would get the article out to their media contacts and blast the social networks to make sure everyone heard about it. At this point, worldwide media cover was only a matter of time. She just hoped they had enough time.
Vanessa took a large gulp of coffee before hunching over her phone to begin sending out tweets and text messages with a speed that would put any text-addicted teen to shame. While the internet and data networks were still up, they had to spread the information as far as possible. People needed to know.
Ever since the bastards had killed her brother, Mike, Vanessa was determined to see Black Tide suffer the consequences of their blatant and intentional disregard for the law. Mike had died while serving in Iraq, as a security guard, because the patrol vehicle he was in wasn’t armored the way the company’s government contract required. They’d also failed to provide adequate gear and ammunition to her brother and others. Profit-motivated neglect led to dozens of them dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. All while the company raked in billions of dollars in profit and the executives took home fat bonuses.
Now it was inevitable. The government would be forced to launch an investigation into the company. No amount of lobbying could protect them this time. Regardless of their political leanings, people would be outraged about government funds filling the coffers of a company developing an illegal biological weapon. Vanessa knew that most Americans were apathetic when it came to politics, but considering the magnitude of the situation she believed they would bombard Congress with calls for action with enough vigor to get the legislators off their rich, lazy asses.
It sounded crazy, but Vanessa truly believed that Black Tide was attempting a global coup. To what end, Vanessa couldn’t say, but at least she could rest assured that she had taken action to oppose them.
This is going to blow the lid on those bastards, she thought.
Vanessa tried to smile to herself, but it died before her lips and facial muscles could coordinate the simple task. It was a bittersweet victory. She locked her phone and placed it in her purse. She paused, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, rubbing her hands together to relieve some of the stress. Vanessa’s eyes blurred as she thought of all the people on the plane that had crashed behind them on the bridge.
Vanessa didn’t have time for that now. Someone was after them and she’d have to keep moving to survive. She had to get Steve out of town and somewhere safe. There was more work for them to do and there was no telling if the people that had chased them earlier knew who she was or where she lived. Going home was out of the question.
It was time for step two of the action plan that her group formulated. Step two called for Vanessa to take Steve to a safe house in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Vanessa opened her eyes. She was focused and ready to go. Grabbing her keys and bag, she headed outside to the car where Steve waited for her.
“Drive Steve to Altoona,” she muttered to herself. “Simple enough.”
She walked out of the coffee shop, scanning the crowd one more time for anyone suspicious. Glancing up and down the street, she let out a breath in relief. There was still no sign of any dark SUVs or infected people. Steve was right where she’d left him in her car. Everything looked normal, safe. People went about their business oblivious to what was happening.
Vanessa shook her head as she opened her door and eased down into the driver’s seat. She started the car. It sprung to life.
“We good?” Steve asked.
“Yeah, we’re good,” she said, pulling away from the curb.
Chapter Seven
Ben watched the airport burning from across the road. He stood atop a small hill of rough lava rock.
Escaping the airport had not been easy, or safe. Ben had killed at least three infected himself, including the one that managed to get a hold of 1LT Franco. He’d flung the infected man to the ground and stomped his head in. Crunching sounds played in his mind and the way it’d felt as the skull split under his foot made him shiver.
Ben squeezed the 9mm pistol in his hand and wished that he had it earlier. He could have helped more people, like the young lieutenant. Unfortunately, it was only after being bitten that 1LT Franco had shoved the gun into his hand.
She had looked at him and said, “I know I’m infected. Take this. You’re going to need it.”
Blood soaked the collar of her uniform where she’d been bitten on the side of the neck. And for what? The woman Franco had bent to help was already bitten and would have died anyway. He didn’t understand.
Very few people from the two dozen or so civilians, not to mention the half dozen soldiers had survived the onslaught after the truck failed to start. The infected had slowly surrounded them. Most of the frightened people scattered as soon as they got out of the truck. However, not everyone had chosen wisely.
Their frightened, dying screams still rang in his ears.
Last he’d seen, 1LT Franco was leading a pair of soldiers in an effort to slow the horde and cover their escape. Ammo ran low, leaving them to fight hand-to-hand with the infected, getting off their last few shots when they could. The last intelligible words he’d heard as they ran away were “Frag out!” followed by the loud booms of a couple hand grenades.
The converging masses of infected slowly beat down those brave men and women.
They were infected, yes, and more specifically, they were zombies.
Ben finally admitted it to himself. Given the evidence before his eyes, there was no point denying the fact that they were indeed zombies. Of course, it sounded absurd. Even when he floated the idea by Ty he hardly believed it himself. It sounded stupid. But it wasn’t. It was reality. How could horror film flesh eating monsters spring from the silver screen and the pages of fiction into real life?
He let out a big breath and wiped his sweaty palm on his shorts. No answers to that question. Just the new, harsh reality of it all and it made his heart race.
Anuhea appeared beside him. “You should sit down and rest.”
“Naw, I’m fine.”
“No you’re not. You’re quaking like a leaf. Rest for a while. For now, we’re safe,” she said.
He looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. She was right.
After running for their lives, they were exhausted and it was too dark to traverse the volcanic terrain safely. Ben turned slowly and looked at those who’d made it.
Behind him at the base of the small hill, his friends sat exhausted and at least a little dinged up from tripping on the ground. The black rock had been difficult to navigate in the darkness with only the glow of airport’s inferno to light their way. He had led them out there, because he didn’t want their group too close to the road just in case any of the infected followed them.
So far, it appeared that the soldiers had succeeded in distracting the zombies. The soldier’s sacrifice meant their survival. Ben vowed to make their sacrifice count. He would always remember them, even if he’d only known them for a short time.
“Is everyone okay?” Ben asked.
“We’re alive,” Charlotte said. She sat on the ground next to Oliver.
> Ty was by himself, leaning against the slope of the hill. He hadn’t spoken to anyone since Ben yelled at him out on the runway.
A middle-aged couple sat near Charlotte. The man had seriously sprained his ankle in their mad dash through the parking lot and rock field, but he’d kept up. Now, his leg was elevated on a rock and he rested his head on his wife’s stomach. She slowly stroked his hair.
“Thanks for not leaving me behind,” the man said.
“Sure. Get some rest.” Ben hadn’t taken the time to introduce himself yet.
No rush, he thought.
Running a hand through his hair, Ben couldn’t help thinking back over everything that had happened. None of it had gone smoothly. From their first flight to their dinner with the girls, the triathlon, the trip to the quarantine center, the drive to the airport, and…the list went on.
How did it all go to shit so quickly?
At least they had survived so far.
Ben sat down and looked at the gun. 1LT Franco had told him to keep everyone safe. She’d made him promise as she handed him the gun, and he had promised. He’d tried his best, but several died after that, including a couple of children. It made him sick to his stomach.
If trained soldiers couldn’t survive, how could they? What hope did they have? He looked back at the airport.
Most of gunshots had died off a while ago. The army’s defenses had crumbled under the relentless pressure. Guns ran out of ammunition. The infected never stopped. Unlike a normal enemy, the infected had no fear of death, no sense of self-preservation to cause them to take cover or run away, or surrender.
Unable to hold their ground or destroy all the zombies, the soldiers had fallen back, retreating from the horde of infected. They had no choice. Ben understood that. Anuhea had pointed out a pair of Humvees escaping the airport while their small group scurried through the north parking lot. They’d flashed by in the distance before they could even think about trying to wave them down. So, they stayed focused on scrambling like blind mice across the lava field. Only two Humvees escaped, which meant that only eight to ten soldiers had survived.
“Unbelievable,” Ben muttered.
His heart ached at their sacrifice, yet he was in awe of their bravery. He couldn’t imagine the position they were in or what they must have been feeling as they fired on Americans and foreigners alike in wholesale slaughter. It was necessary, no doubt about it, but heartbreaking at the same time. Yet the soldiers did their duty defending Ben and the other civilians from the enemy.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
Ben leaned back and stretched his legs out. He clicked the safety on and set the gun in his lap. Both of his thighs were sore, so he massaged them to loosen up the muscles. Tomorrow they would probably have a lot of walking or running to do. His legs were still a little bit sore from the hike up Mauna Kea almost a week ago. Running away from the airport and scrambling over the rocks hadn’t helped any.
It was past time to take a rest.
Ben pushed and kicked the biggest chunks of rock out from under him, seeking out a relatively smooth place to stretch out. He chose carefully. Ben sat down and leaned back against a small hill behind him, so he could keep an eye out for any approaching infected. From his position, they would be backlit by the flames still devouring the airport.
Satisfied with his spot, Ben gripped the pistol again, leaned his head back against a warm rock and watched the flames flicker in the distance. Without realizing it, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Eight
Ben bolted upright.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, gripping the pistol tightly as he scrambled to stand up.
Anuhea stood over him, like his mother used to do when he was in high school and didn’t wake up to his alarm.
“Nothing, we’re fine.” She placed her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “I was thinking we should come up with a plan. I don’t think anyone is coming back here.”
Ben stretched his arms. His back was furious and it forced him to slow down to work out the kinks.
“A plan, huh,” he said. “Shouldn’t we wait for everyone else?”
“Why? This whole time we’ve basically been following you.”
Ben frowned and suddenly felt uncomfortable. He didn’t want the responsibility of deciding things for everyone. He wasn’t the leader. He was just like them; scared and unsure of what to do.
“All I know is that I – we – need to get off this island and I need to get home to my mom. And we need something to eat and drink. You know, essentials.” Ben rubbed his eyes. It was too early and he was too tired to decide this shit right now. A fantasy breakfast of eggs, bacon and hash browns flashed through his mind “But seriously, I think everybody should have a say in what we do. I mean not everyone wants to go to my house, right? You guys all have your own stuff, your own people to take care of.”
“Not me. Besides, that soldier told you to guard us. That’s why she gave you the gun, right?” Anuhea looked down, smirking at the pistol in his hand.
Ben slid it into the pocket of his cargo shorts. “You heard that, huh?”
She nodded.
“I didn’t ask for this,” he said uneasily. “I don’t want to be in charge. I’ve never done this kind of thing before.”
“I know.” Anuhea shrugged and looked out at the smoldering remains of the airport. Black smoke curled into the blue sky, marring the beauty of the islands. “Anyway, I’m sticking with you guys because of Charlotte and I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” she said, her voice trailing off. She glanced over her shoulder at Ty for a moment and something flickered in her eyes. Disappointment? Disgust? It was hard to tell. She looked back up at Ben. “All of you need to hit the mainland. I’m cool with that.”
Yes, the mainland, Ben thought, looking toward the airport.
The sky glowed orange as the sun edged up over the mountains, casting them into shadow. Looking around, Ben realized they hadn’t gone as far as he thought. Last night it’d felt like they walked an eternity. In reality, they traversed maybe half a mile or so. Yet even from where they stood the destruction at the airport was plain to see. Smoke rose from charred airplane carcasses and smoldering airport buildings, drifting across the sky as a warning to all who approached. The parking lot was filled with bodies; they dotted the space between the buildings, and were piled and strewn across the runway. A trail of bodies tapered off in the direction they had fled, all the way out to the multitude of burned out cars sitting in the parking lots.
The most disturbing scene Ben had ever seen in his life was at the south end, where the infected had broken through the security fences. Bodies were piled so high that, at first, Ben couldn’t tell if it was the ground he was looking at. That was until he noticed faint movements. Bodies of the infected that were incapacitated but still “alive,” as much as the infected could be alive, fought to claw free of their fallen kin. Maybe a hundred scattered infected continued wandering around aimlessly. Several were picking at bodies on the ground.
“It’s incredible, don’t you think?” Ben rubbed the back of his neck, attempting to massage out a knot.
“What?”
“How much was destroyed in such a short amount of time. There are so many deaths and so few survivors that it’s hard to describe how surreal this is,” Ben said.
Anuhea didn’t respond, but she nodded. Crossing her arms over her chest, she surveyed the remains.
“Have any ideas on what to do?” Ben asked, gesturing at the airport. “Because that’s obviously not an option anymore.”
Anuhea put her hands on her hips. Ben thought she looked like a soldier surveying the battlefield. She turned and pointed to the north along the highway.
Ben nodded. Abandoned cars sat blocking the road. Infected wandered along the road, meandering without purpose or direction. The airport was no better, infected still moved about slowly hunting their elusive prey. Basically, they were surrounded.
“We should probably head back to the Quarantine Center. The soldiers should know if Hilo’s airport is doing the same thing, you know, taking people to Molokai,” she said with a shrug. Then she turned to face him. “It’s the only other airport, but it’s all the way on the other side of the island.”
Ben groaned.
Oliver stood up. “I have to pee.” His hair was in complete disarray and he had dirt streaks like war paint on his face.
Ben pointed to a spot about twenty yards away. “Go water the bush.”
“And be careful you don’t fall,” Anuhea added.
They both watched as he shuffled over to the bush, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“What are we going to do about him?” she whispered.
“I haven’t really thought about it. The way he tells it his parents are both dead and who knows where his grandparents are…or if they’re still alive.” Ben sighed. “I asked the people at the Quarantine Center, but they didn’t have any information and no missing children reports that matched Oliver. Maybe the Hilo side can give us better information.”
Ben wasn’t sure what to do. He felt responsible for Oliver. After all, it was his decision to rescue the kid at the triathlon. It was worth it, no doubt about that. Ben knew he couldn’t have lived with himself if he had left Oliver in the street to be devoured by those monsters. A chill spread over his body at the thought. “For now he’s better off with us. I guess….”
They stood quietly, looking over the remains of the airport. What had almost been their ticket to safety now stood as a one giant graveyard of dashed hopes.
“What should we do about getting to the QC?” Ben asked with a heavy sigh.
Anuhea shot him a grim look. “I have an idea.”
Chapter Nine
“We need a car or truck, something that runs,” Anuhea said. “It’s a simple plan. We go to the airport parking lot and find something with keys.”
“And we need weapons. I can’t be the only one with a gun.” Ben patted the pocket of his shorts where he kept the pistol tucked away. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I think it’ll work.”