Hanratty and the Marines cleared St. Croix in slow and methodical fashion. The fighting was almost as intense as the retreat from Iraq, but the hard lessons of the retreat were as ingrained into the Marines as their very names. They fought from behind prepared positions, from within armored fighting vehicles, and did their level best to keep the infected at arm’s length. Casualties were minimal.
Rebuilding on St. Croix had begun, and the island now supported overflow from the fleet and experimental farming efforts. In the end, though, there just wasn’t enough landmass to feed the survivors, and so Hanratty’s long road had moved on from the Caribbean idyll, up the eastern seaboard, to here.
Ironic, of course, given that he’d ended up so close to home. If St. Croix had been rough, Toledo was liable to be hell on earth. Part of him held out hope that his family had made it to a place of safety. The more logical part just hoped that their deaths had been quick.
He’d reached down to begin the process of reassembling the M-240 when a frantic voice cried out from inside the LAV’s crew compartment.
“Captain, the BFT is going crazy! Something’s up!”
Hanratty abandoned the pile of machine gun parts and slid down the side of the LAV. When he hit the ground he was up and inside in only a few steps. He waved Patterson to the side and took his position in front of the BFT screen.
FLASH FLASH ALL STATIONS BE ADVISED WE ARE UNDER ATTACK UNKNOWN NUMBERS OF INFECTED HAVE BREACHED THE PERIMETER.
“What the hell?” Hanratty managed. He’d given them the head’s up with plenty of time to spare. How in the world had they missed a horde large enough to get through the active and passive defenses? He narrowed the channel down to his immediate command and tapped a short message.
HIGHLANDER 5 HERE, PLEASE CONFIRM RECEIPT OF PRIOR INTEL REGARDING APPROACHING HORDE.
He didn’t have to wait long; things must have been hopping in the communication shack.
INTEL RECEIVED BUT NOT CONFIRMED BY RECON. THEY JUST CAME OUT OF NOWHERE. STAND BY FOR COMM HAND OFF.
Hanratty frowned but waited.
THIS IS HIGHLANDER 6 ACTUAL, ARE YOU THERE CAPTAIN?
“Holy shit,” Hanratty breathed. That was General Vincent himself. Things must be going to hell in a hand basket if the old man was taking personal charge.
YES SIR, STANDING BY.
The reply came almost immediately. IS YOUR SITUATION SECURE?
AYE SIR, WALLS ARE SOLID, CIVILIANS ARE WELL EQUIPPED AND WELL TRAINED.
The General and his team stewed over that a little bit longer this time. WE MAY LOSE COMMS SHORTLY, FALLING BACK TO SECONDARY LINES DUE TO PERIMETER BREACH. REMAIN IN YOUR CURRENT POSITION AS YOU MAY BE NEEDED TO EVAC HATCHET. AIRFIELD CURRENTLY UNSECURE AND UNABLE TO EFFECT PICKUP. DIVERTING WHISKEY TO SECONDARY LZ FOR REFUEL.
Hanratty swallowed. “Hell,” he said and tried to visualize the layout of the camp. If they had already lost the airfield and were close to losing the comms shack, over half of the base was overrun already. Then the insinuation behind the General’s words hit him. Ross and his team had just been stranded in the middle of a city that had at one time boasted a population of over 300,000. If the helicopter made it to the backup airfield and was able to refuel, they’d still be short of fuel and have to land somewhere between here and Cincinnati. He grabbed a map and began measuring off distances. The LAV was almost bingo fuel as it was; would the community be able to spare any? It would have been an easier sell with the promise of rapid resupply via helicopter, but given the current situation of his fellow troops he could hardly promise that.
Hanratty rubbed his chin and realized the General was still waiting for a response. UNDERSTOOD SIR. WILL STAND BY AND BE READY TO MOVE AS NEEDED.
One way or another, they’d figure it out. The military hadn’t been in the business of leaving troops on the battlefield before the end. Now, if possible, that practice was even more paramount — the living were far too vital a resource to squander.
He’d stashed his Spider-man backpack outside before heading to school that morning. He figured it would be easier to get up early and avoid any of the other kids rather than having to make the run after school. Most of his housemates tended to play or hang out outside after class was over, but quite a few congregated in the house. Even with a couple of bottles of water, some venison jerky, and an aluminum baseball bat, the bug hung slack on his shoulders as they reached the south fence.
Twigs carried a light load. He’d tucked the arm brace of his slingshot into the waistband of an old fanny pack. The pouch hung low on his hip, heavy with ball bearings. Despite the weight, the smaller boy moved with quick, jerky motions.
Nervous, Alex judged. Hell, so was he.
Trina waited for them at the base of the apple tree behind Miss Val’s house. As they approached, she looked around and stood. She reached behind her back and pulled a wrapped bundle from beneath her shirt. “I got it, no sweat.” She handled the bundle to Alex and stood with an expectant look on her face. “Hey, Twigs.”
“Hey, Trina!” Twigs chirped.
He knelt down and unfolded the rag to reveal a black pistol and a pair of spare magazines. He hefted the pistol to get a good sense of its weight. It wasn’t as heavy as his rifle, but it was sturdy. Alex ensured the safety was on before inspecting it. He ejected the magazine and fingered the slide. The metal on one side had the name ‘Mosquito’ on it. “It’s empty,” he commented.
“I’ve got two boxes of bullets and the silencer over here.” She turned to point at the base of the tree when a fourth voice intruded into their conversation.
“Field trip day, kids?”
Alex froze, then turned slowly. The voice had surprised him, but as he turned to consider Cara’s smirk, he kicked himself for not expecting it. Of course she’d overheard them at lunch. Why wouldn’t she?
“Jeez, Alex, does everybody know about this?” Twigs complained.
“I didn’t tell her,” Alex replied. “She heard us talking.” He looked at Cara with a raised eyebrow and the smirk turned into a grin.
“Pro tip. When planning nefarious deeds, use your inside voices,” Cara pronounced as she marched in their direction. “Good news is, I didn’t rat you guys out.”
“Wait, what?” Twigs said.
“What he said,” Alex added.
Cara settled to the ground and crossed her legs in a single, graceful motion that momentarily overwhelmed Alex’s focus. “I’m going with you guys.” She shrugged. “What the hey. Sounds fun.” She jabbed a forefinger at Alex. “So what’s the plan?”
Flabbergasted, he opened and closed his mouth a few times before his brain kicked back into gear. “Umm, well, we’re going to head down that way and climb the fence. There are a couple of trees down there that we figure will keep the guys on the west wall from seeing us.”
“That’s a terrible place to go over,” Cara said, and Alex shook his head in surprise. She explained. “The best place is right here. The apple tree covers most of the view of the fence from the Crow’s nest and either wall. Once we’re over, we get down to the creek and follow it. Here.” She pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her pocket. She laid it out on the ground and smoothed the creases out. “This is rough, but it’s a decent map of the surrounding area. See the creek, here? It goes right behind the school. We can follow the creek the whole way.” She looked up and grinned. The splash of freckles across her cheeks and the bright white of her teeth once again derailed his train of thought. “What, were you just going to walk on the road?”
A flush rose in Alex’s cheeks, and it was only partly out of embarrassment. “Okay,” he managed. “Maybe I didn’t think this through all the way.”
“Very possible,” she said, dryly. “There’s one other thing.” Cara turned and looked at Trina. “You’re staying behind, kid. We’re just orphans. If you disappear, the entire place will be in an uproar.”
Alex could tell Trina was more than a little offended by the remark. She puffed her chest
up and opened her mouth to respond. Cara’s point, though, gave him the opportunity to amend something that had bothered him since he’d agreed to let her go.
“She’s right, Trina,” Alex interjected. The look she gave him was full of hurt and perhaps a little betrayal, so he added, quickly, “Besides, you can cover for us. If anyone starts looking for us, you can say you saw us somewhere on the other side of the compound.” He glanced at the sky and crossed his fingers. “It’s maybe four hours until sunset. We should be back before then.”
Trina crossed her arms and frowned. “This isn’t fair, Alex.”
He tried and was mostly successful in keeping a grimace off of his face. “Yeah, I know. It sucks that you have parents who would flip out if you up and vanished.”
“That’s stupid.”
“Yeah, maybe so. I know I promised, but Cara’s right. I didn’t think about it when I promised. If I had, I wouldn’t have told you that you could come.” She wasn’t buying it. “I’m trying to keep you safe, here,” he said in exasperation. “If I had anything to give you, I would. But I don’t have anything.”
She straightened. “Eat lunch with me.”
“Wait, what?”
“Eat lunch with me every day. All three of you.”
Twigs sounded as though he was over the entire situation. “Fine, we’ll even feed you lunch, can we get going?”
Alex said nothing. He studied Trina for a long moment. She’s lonely, he realized. The closest thing she has to a friend is Crazy Betty. Without looking at Cara, he replied, “You got it.”
Trina beamed. “Then get going.”
Ross shimmied up onto the top of the maintenance building with the MBITR in an attempt to get a better signal. No dice; Camp Perry still wasn’t answering. He frowned and gave it one more shot. “Highlander 6, this is Hatchet 6, how copy, over.”
The digital radios had eliminated the concept of ‘static’ over the open channel. Despite that, the static-free silence was one of the most ominous things he’d ever heard. He checked his watch. It been right at an hour since they’d inserted, so the Black Hawk should be back at the base by now. Still, the long-range aerials at Camp Perry should be capable of picking up their signal, particularly from the top of an office building. Their last time up here, it had been spotty, but it had worked.
He played a hunch and adjusted the MBITR’s frequency setting. “Whiskey 3, this is Hatchet 6, how copy, over.”
He got a response almost immediately. “Read you clear and slightly garbled, Hatchet, over.”
Ross frowned. “What’s happening, Cartwright? I can’t get command on the horn, over.”
“Long range comms are down. I couldn’t raise command until we got into closer range, and they waved us off.” Cartwright paused, and when he spoke again, the pilot’s voice was tight with stress. “Looks like that horde your civilian told you about ran right into the base defenses. They overran the airfield before we got consolidated. Sounds like we’re missing one hell of a fight, over.”
“Damn it!” Ross cursed with his thumb off of the transmit key. “What are your orders, Cartwright? Over.”
“They’re clearing the airspace so they can bring mortars and the cannon from the ships to bear. I don’t particularly like the idea of flying through an artillery barrage, so I didn’t raise much of a fuss. We’re diverting to one of the secondary LZs for fuel and then we’ll be heading your way. Figure that helipad across the way is better than camping out on the ground, over.”
Ross did the math in his head. They’d topped off the chopper before pickup, but a round trip to Camp Perry and back was right at 400 miles, even accounting for the dogleg to the secondary. A fully-fueled Black Hawk had a range around 500 miles. In this case, the chopper’s current lack of heavy cargo would help some in that regard.
“You going to make it to the gas station, Caleb?” Ross said, his tone mild. The other man took a moment before responding.
“It might get exciting, but we’ll be good. Don’t you worry about me, we’ll be there in time to pick up the mail.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Ross promised. “I hope you won’t have to wait too long, we’re preparing to retrieve the intel now.”
“Be advised, closest LZ shows as having been tapped by another recon flight. There should be some fuel left, but I’m not sure how far it will carry us after we extract you.”
He made a face and keyed the radio. “Copy.”
“Just between you and me, I’m not too keen on having to ditch this bad boy in the boondocks after the sun goes down. Take all the time you need and we’ll plan on a lift-off at first light. Give us a better chance to find a place to hole up in.”
“Roger that. Keep me advised. Over and out.”
Below him, the doors thumped as someone stepped out of the elevator room. He stepped over to the edge of the roof and looked down. Foraker walked out into the light and paused. His head panned across the roof until he settled on a far corner, toward the beginning of the solar panel installation. He cradled something in his arms. Even though the shape was wrapped in a poncho liner, Ross could tell what it was from the contours and length of it.
“We good, Chief?” He called out. Foraker settled the shrouded form on the rocks, just under the angled protection of one of the panels, and turned. The older man nodded.
“Aye aye, sir. Whiz kid got the elevator up and we’re waiting for your orders on deployment.”
Ross looked up and eyed the sun. It was well after midday and the sun had begun to creep toward the western horizon. Three-thirty or so, he judged. Time flies when you’re having fun. He grunted a chuckle to himself. “Be right there.”
Chapter 29
Vir didn’t have much experience with hospitals, but the community’s small one seemed to be bursting at the seams. The problem was only heightened after he and Charlie set chairs on either side of Larry’s bed and brought him up to date.
Despite his color looking more than a bit off, the other man focused on the conversation, even as he winced when he tugged at a sore spot or moved the wrong way. Vir fell silent and turned as brisk footsteps pounded into the small room.
“This is not conducive to bed rest, gentlemen!” Tish barked as she fixed Vir and Charlie in turn with a fierce stare. The latter just shrugged, and before Vir could speak, Larry grumbled his reply.
“I’m resting just fine, kid. If anything I’m having a hard time not nodding off from the silence. You want to let me sleep, or do you want me to stay awake?”
She hissed frustration through clenched teeth. “Fine. Just keep it to a dull roar.”
Larry cracked an eye open long enough to verify that she had walked away. He whispered, “I’d say I taught her everything she knows, but that there is all on her mama.”
“I heard that!”
Larry laughed, then winced. “Ugh, head’s still sore. Okay, so you guys went through Buck’s place again. What did you find?”
Charlie shrugged, realized that Larry had closed his eyes, and waved his hand at Vir. The other man nodded and spoke.
“Charlie spotted it, actually. All the other cabins have a window in the back wall. At some point, Buck took his out and boarded it up, but the patch on the inside was a lot better done than the job on the outside. One of his neighbors remembered him saying something about not sleeping well with the sunlight coming in. Anyway, Charlie realized they’d thickened the wall. The room is just a bit narrower than the blueprints. Never would have noticed it myself; we’ve been living in one of the converted barn apartments.”
“So what’d you find when you got it open?”
“Well, nothing contraband, per se, but it was pretty obvious that Buck was skimming off the top of his runs. There was quite a bit of high-end liquor, bottled water, lots of canned food, that sort of thing. Found a few guns. Pete examined them and said they were Class 3 items, and that you’d know what that meant.”
Larry put a hand on his forehead and sighed. “Fully
automatic. He could have gotten them from a police armory or even someone’s gun safe, it’s hard to tell. Buck, Buck, Buck,” he sighed. “Why did you have to go and turn out to be such an asshole?” He frowned. “Pete was with you?”
Vir shrugged. “He kind of glommed onto us. Didn’t seem to appreciate someone sticking a shiv in you.” He winced and waited for the other man to rage at him. Pete had mentioned some sort of verbal altercation between them when they’d last spoken.
“Now he starts feeling the urge to give back to the community,” Larry mumbled. “That’s fine, though. If he’s with you, you’re less liable to get static from Norma and the others. I’m surprised she hasn’t barged in here demanding a status report.”
“She very well could have,” Vir pointed out. “I’m sure your daughter would have dissuaded her of the notion.”
Larry began to laugh, then winced. “Right. All right. So here’s what I want you to do. Track down Pete and tell him what I told you about sticking with you guys. He can help you avoid any administrative land mines. The only reason I can figure why the shit hasn’t hit the fan yet is because Miles is gone. Norma doesn’t know squat about police work, but she’s got her mind set on results, and she can’t be happy with what happened last night.”
“I’m not happy,” Vir pointed out. “We had him.”
“Couldn’t avoid it,” Larry shrugged. “In all honesty, we needed more people. The problem there is how wide do you go before there’s a possibility of tipping off our guy? I trust Miles and maybe the other four deputies, but that’s it.” He sighed. “And our wannabe serial killer threw a wrench in the works, lest we forget. No, in the end, we did as well as we could with what we had.”
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