by SD Tanner
He hadn’t smoked since the outbreak, but flipping open the squashed cardboard lid, he turned to the man next to him. “Want one?”
The man grinned and pulled a flask from his ACU pants. “Yeah, wanna drink?”
“Yeah.”
***
Maureen (from New York)
She was lying in their tent listening to the sounds around her, but all she could hear were voices. Where are the insects, she wondered, there should be insects. Their tent was a small two-person tent, and all they had was a mat and a single sleeping bag. Shivering inside the bag, she pulled the fabric that felt like plastic up to her nose, and wished Tom would hurry up. Her feet were sore from the long march, but right now they were so cold she could barely feel them anymore. The flap to their tent flicked open and Tom crawled inside, carefully balancing a cup of something steaming.
“Found soup,” he said curtly.
While trying to keep what little warmth she had inside the sleeping bag, she eased herself into a sitting position. Taking the cup of hot soup from him, she took a small sip, enjoying the sensation of its silky texture as it travelled down her throat and warmed her stomach.
“What’s it like out there?”
Tom shrugged while he ferreted in his backpack for something. “It’s okay. A lot of people seem to be getting busy with one another.” Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a small tube of skin cream and added with a smirk, “Maybe we should get busy too.”
Even after forty years of marriage, she could see why she loved him, and she pretended to be shocked. “Tom!”
Unzipping the sleeping bag and reaching inside, he pulled out one of her freezing cold feet, and lathering his hands with the cream, began to massage her cold foot. As it began to warm under his firm but gentle hands, she thought he might have gotten older and greyer over the years, but he’s still the kindest man I’ve ever known.
Sighing contentedly, she said, “Now don’t be wasting all your energy on my feet.”
He gave her a familiar cheeky smile. “Oh, I won’t.”
***
Greg (combat team from Isle of Wight)
Cutter had drilled them to be prepared, but he couldn’t ask his team to check their gear one more time without going crazy as well. His combat team was made up of Connie, Frank, Marcus, Jock and Jenna, and they were sitting hunched next to the fire, huddled together against the cold. Leaving them to talk, he got up and walked five tents away to find Tess. He and Tess trained together at the bases, and he was pleased to see her tents were pitched near theirs. Even though he’d lost all of his family during the outbreak, he’d quickly adopted new people into his life, and took the time to maintain these new relationships.
Seeing Tess standing outside of a low, squat and tatty looking tent, he waved. “Tess!”
Turning to face him, she immediately began to walk towards him, and they met in the deep gloom between the campfires. Grabbing her in a fierce hug, he asked, “How’re you doing?”
She pulled out of his arms. “Not great. I’m feeling anxious about tomorrow. I…I don’t think we’re gonna make it.”
He didn’t think they were going to make it either. “I know, but we’re kinda outta options. The whole gates to hell opening thing leaves us nowhere to run.”
“I know, but they didn’t train us in how to lead our squads into certain death. They only taught us how to fight to win.”
He chuckled. “You only ever fight ‘cos you think you might win, no matter how small the odds. You know what they say, ‘dance like no one’s watching’?” In the shadowy light, he saw Tess nod and added, “Well, that’s what we have to do tomorrow.”
“What? We’re not going to a dance-off tomorrow.”
With an instant vision of a bad nineties dance fight, he laughed. “No, I mean fight like you’re gonna win, but I like your idea too.”
Tess punched his arm playfully. “You’re an idiot.”
Suddenly remembering his phone still had charge, he pulled it out of his pocket. Pressing the button on the side, the small screen lit up and he selected his music app. Choosing a song at random, he put it on speaker and suddenly the tinny sound of music filled the air. He didn’t remember the song, but it had a good beat and he began to dance. Tess watched him in shock, and then laughing, she began to girate with him. Before long, he was joined by her squad and many more people he didn’t know. Between the flickering campfires, were the moving shadows of people as they danced and sang joyfully for what they believed was their last night.
***
Geraldine (from the small island)
“Geraldine! Geraldine! Wake up!” A voice shouted in her ear, while a hand shook her shoulder.
“Stop it. I’m awake.”
Standing over her was Melanie looking deeply concerned. “But you were talking in your sleep.”
She hadn’t been asleep, she was talking to a demon. With his burning red eyes, misshapen head, and teeth like daggers, he wasn’t a savory character. Unbeknownst to Melanie, this unpleasant demon was currently stroking her hair, and she waved her hand around her head as if she was trying to swat away a fly. With so many of the dead and demons wandering the earth, she was rapidly concluding her paranormal abilities were more of a curse than a blessing.
“She’s stupid,” the demon growled. “But I’ll enjoy her anyway.”
She’d been arguing with the demon, but it was persistent and assured her there was no longer a divide between hell and earth, and it could do as it pleased. With a wide sweep of its bulging muscled arm, the demon backhanded Melanie and she flew across the room, landing against the wall several beds away.
There was no way to reason with a demon, and ignoring her friend now lying crumpled on the floor, she said sternly, “You’re not supposed to be here.”
The demon turned away from her, and shuffling on his bleeding stumps to Melanie, he left a trail of slimy blood across the speckled grey floor that only she could see. With one strong arm, he hoisted her over his broad shoulder and climbed out of the high window. Getting up from her bed, she walked over to the window, but Melanie and the demon had already reached the beach, and then they disappeared into the surf. With tears filling her eyes, she knew she would never see her friend alive again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Shooting star (Gears)
According to his watch, it was four thirty in the morning, and he flicked the curtain above his head to confirm it was still dark. Ip’s warm, naked form was curled into his, but for once he wasn’t tempted to stay with her. Tossing the covers aside, he climbed over her lean body, and when he opened the door to leave the room, Pax appeared in the doorway already dressed for combat.
“What? you’re not up yet? What the hell are you doin’? We gotta get movin’!”
Clearly bursting with energy, Pax spun around and he stamped down the stairs shouting, “Everybody get the hell up! Gotta go! It’s payback time!”
Walking into the hall, he heard the babies begin to cry, and TL walked out of the nursery. “I hate Pax before combat. He’s so fucking noisy.”
Shrugging, he headed to the bathroom and called over his shoulder. “He’s jus’ psychin’ himself up, but he’s right. We gotta go.”
Not bothering to shower or shave, he used the toilet and washed his face. Returning to his room to put on his ACUs and battle gear, he ran into Mom walking up the stairs with full bottles of warm milk for the babies.
Looking at his naked body, she pulled a face. “Really, Gears? You’re going into battle in your birthday suit?
“Yeah, Mom,” he replied sarcastically. “All the best General’s do.”
Putting the bottles down on the bureau in the hallway, Mom put her arms around him and whispered in his ear, “I’m going to miss you boys. You might be Horsemen, but to me you’re still my boys. If you can, come home to us, honey.”
Mom and Pop had been their loving parents from the day they met them, and returning her tight hug, he nodded. “Thank you for everything.”
>
He didn’t want to leave Mom and Pop, but now was not the time to think about how much he would miss them, and he walked into his room to get dressed for combat. As usual, he’d laid out everything he would need before he’d gone to bed. He systematically put on each item and checked his backpack one last time. Ip was already dressed and sitting on the bed waiting for him, but unlike him, she wore no body armor. He always told her to wear her armor, but it was obvious she’d ignore him even in their final hours. It seemed strange to know he was leaving forever, but he knew they wouldn’t return from this battle. If they won, they’d have no reason to stay, and if they lost, they would have died trying not to.
He did believe if they died, they’d return, but they wouldn’t come back until man was ready to fight Ruler again, and that might not be for a hundred or even a thousand years. Today would be a defining moment, and he didn’t know how it would end. He could only hope the people had enough drive to be free of hell, but if they didn’t, then there was little he could do about it. For a man who always liked to be in control, he was feeling decidedly frustrated their right to rule was being challenged by a creature he thought was an idiot. Having no respect for Ruler, he couldn’t understand how he was being beaten by a fool.
Grabbing a coffee from the kitchen, he walked onto the porch where Pax was waiting for him. Dawn hadn’t quite broken, but he could hear people moving around the camp, and beams of light from flashlights flickered eerily across the land. Behind him, he heard the crashing sounds of pots and pans, and someone was preparing their breakfast.
Knowing their last meal would be ready soon, he looked at Pax. “We should walk the camp.”
They walked down the stairs and headed off in opposite directions into the densely packed tents surrounding the Ranch. Most people were still sleeping, but he saw many of the squad leaders were already awake and getting themselves ready for the day. While on route to the Ranch, he’d briefed the platoon leads on how he expected the day to work. Thirty thousand men and women in platoons would stand in a staggered front line, one hundred shooters deep. He’d decided to use a staggered line, hoping it would limit the damage of the enemy armaments. To the left and right of the staggered line would be another thirty thousand shooters split in two equal battalions. He figured he wouldn’t be able to kill all of the hunters, but he might be able to attack the super hunters controlling them. His only hope was to draw the hunters into the center of the combat zone, and use the flanking forces to get behind enemy lines, and attack the demon super hunters controlling them. Bringing down the super hunters would also eliminate the armaments and personal weapons, but it meant everyone in the staggered front line would die. If they were lucky, the flanking troops might be able to kill enough super hunters and survive. He was keeping ten thousand reserve troops safely tucked behind the lines, and planned to use them to fill the gaps as he lost men and women to the onslaught. Back at the Ranch, Hatch and his pilots would be waiting to be given word they could use the birds to provide air support. Arty was left behind with the vehicles, but he figured it wasn’t much of loss since he wasn’t sure he would have got to use it anyway. He had combat medical support at the Ranch and behind the lines with the reserve troops. It was going to be chaotic, and he hadn’t lied to his platoon leads about how bad he expected it to be.
Seeing a woman standing by a tent dressed in ACUs, he walked over to her. “How’re the troops?”
The woman spun to face him. “Good morning, sir. We’ve had a good night and we’re good to go.”
Around her arm was a yellow bandanna, which meant her squad was destined for the staggered front line, and he felt a pang of sorrow knowing she would probably die today. “What’s your name, soldier?”
A brief, but shy smile flashed across her face. “Tess.”
Placing his large hand on her arm, he said, “It’s good to meet you, Tess. Take care of yourself out there today.”
Continuing to walk through the disorganized tents, he saw the ashy remnants of the campfires from the night before, and empty packets of food and cigarette butts along his path. Pax had Hatch fly in some unusual supplies, including cigarettes, alcohol and spare batteries. Once everyone arrived, he had Cutter and Captain Ted distribute pretty much all of their supplies. Pax told him he wanted everyone to enjoy their last night together, and he was glad he’d agreed to turn a blind eye to night’s festivities. To be fair, he and Ip were busy enjoying their last night together as humans, and he wouldn’t have stopped what he was doing either.
He spoke to a few more of the squad leaders who were barely awake, and knew from their bandannas where they were destined to be during the battle. The bright blue bandanna meant they were left flank, a white bandanna meant they were the right flank, and the green bandannas were for the reserve troops behind the lines. TL was leading the left flank, Pax the right, Captain Ted and Cutter had the front line with Jack and Nelson directing the reserve troops. Ip would be in the front line to control as many hunters as she could, and he hoped she could give them a chance to fight the hunters he knew Ruler would send in first. Wanting to comply with Mackenzie’s vision of the battle, he’d agreed Jacob would be at the head of the staggered front line. He and his brothers would be on horseback, and it was his job to travel the whole battlefield to direct what forces needed to be where. Now they were a single fighting force, Wolfie and Mike would support Pax and TL, and take over if he needed his brothers to attack Ruler. That was the last part of his plan for the battle. He figured if he and his brothers could kill Ruler, it might turn the battle in their favor.
He had a plan, but no confidence it would work. At best they might deeply wound Ruler so he’d clear off for a while, and at worst, everyone would die. Finally completing his circuit of the camp, he met Pax at the front door to the Ranch house.
“Whatdaya think?”
Pax shrugged. “I don’t and I try not to.”
He knew they were both unconvinced they would win today. Following Pax to the kitchen table where breakfast was already served, he sat down at the only chair left at the head of the table. Captain Ted, Cutter, Nelson, Isaac, Hatch, Wolfie, Mike, Mackenzie, Max, TL, Pax, BD, Ip, Jacob, Angel and Mom and Pop were already eating from the generous amount of food laid out on the table. Looking at the group, he thought, this is our last mission brief, and it reminded him of their first meeting. He was relieved to see most of the original faces were still there, with the notable exceptions of Lydia and Benny. He still missed Lydia’s intelligence and her feisty nature, and he preferred not to think about Benny.
Unlike all his previous meetings, he couldn’t think of anything to say, so he ate quietly. When no one else spoke, he guessed they all felt the same way. After taking the last mouthful of his egg and sausage breakfast, he wiped his mouth and stood. “Time to go.”
They’d briefed the leads during the long march to the Ranch, and everyone knew who was assigned to them and where to go. Based on their colored bandannas, they pulled their groups of platoons and battalions together, and headed to their assigned locations. He hadn’t agreed an exact meeting point with Ruler, but he figured he didn’t need to, and he would join them wherever they were. Ip was tucked into his lap, and he rode his horse while directing his platoon leaders, and checked they were in position. It took five hours to get everyone in place and by then it was noon. As planned, Jacob sat in his wheelchair in the middle at the front of the staggered line. The other shooters flanked each side of the front line, but were slightly ahead of the line about a mile away. He, Pax and TL were slowly riding through middle of the front line platoons. They were a sea of helmets, all facing forward and waiting for the battle to begin. Sitting higher on his horse, less than a mile away, there was a dust cloud in front of them. He assumed it was Ruler’s army heading towards them being led by the hunters. Like all their equipment, the earpieces didn’t work, but he and the other leaders wore them hoping they might later.
“They’re here,” Pax called.
�
��Yep.”
The dust cloud gradually took shape, and the sandy color of the murky air became the bodies of hundreds of thousands of hunters converging on their position. The first thing he noticed was Ruler’s line of hunters was wider than he anticipated. Between his own flanking troops and the staggered front line, his troop line was over two miles wide, but the line of hunters heading toward them was significantly wider. Despite spreading his troops, it looked like they would be surrounded by hunters and he cursed.
Holding his machete, he swept his arm from left to right and shouted to Pax and TL, “Do you see that?”
“Yep,” TL shouted back. “We need to move our flanks further out.”
By now the hunters were so close, he could see their fierce and angry faces. Over the growing roar of their feet hitting the earth was the sound of revving engines, and he assumed it was the demon super hunters following in their wake. Dust was billowing into to the air, and the sprinting bodies of the hunters were almost obscured by the dirt they were churning.
The hunters were nearly at their front line. “It’s too late.”
Already the first of the hunters were slowing to a stop, no more than a hundred yards from them. They stood with their heads vibrating manically, shuffling forward, clearly keen to attack their prey. He heard a ripple of anxious voices from their troops, who were staring into the angry and hungry eyes of the creatures, intent on killing them. Hunters continued to join those waiting, and they pushed and snarled at one another, eager to be at the front of their own line. With the smell of the dust and the odor of the hunters, the air became thick with the stench of stale vomit. Eventually Ruler’s army came to a complete stop, the dirt in the air settled, and there were millions of hunters spread across the flat land. Behind them were at least five hundred trucks and armored vehicles, with demon super hunters dressed in ACUs manning the mounted guns.
Hoping Ruler would make his presence known, he boomed loudly, “Ruuleeer!”
No one and nothing replied, and angrily he kicked his heels into his horse, determined to cross the divide between them and find him. After his horse bucked slightly, it began to pick up its pace to clear his front line troops. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brothers by his side, but once they reached the front of the line, their horses stopped abruptly.