by Sawyer, JT
“You’re gonna have to tough it out for another half-mile or so,” said Carlie.
After Pavel fixed his pant leg, he struggled to stand. “Hey, Professor,” said Shane, “we’ve seen a handful of creatures that are different than the rest. They move like pumas and can take a lot of punishment before they go down. Any ideas on why that would be?”
“That’s probably a side-effect of the original genetic research which began out of an interest in isolating compounds that could be used to enhance a soldier’s speed and strength. It never went anywhere due to a viral mutation rendering the program unsuccessful. The virus that was borne from those initial tests garnered far more attention and thus research dollars than the original need to produce a super-soldier. Far easier to kill the enemy with a small pathogen than to build a new army of genetically modified warriors. There must be some victims who, because of their unique biochemistry, are being enhanced by this side-effect of the virus.”
As they prepared to move, Carlie heard the sound of breaking branches coming from either side of the ravine edge. “Let’s go, now!”
Chapter 45
As Bravo Team squatted beside the dock with their rifles fixed on the treeline, Boyd hopped off the tugboat and made his way back to the rest of his team. “The boat’s all set. We can be at the Farragut in fifteen minutes,” he said into his earpiece to Carlie as he stared into the jungle. He only got static in return. “They should’ve been here by now.” His eyes strained to see any movement at the mouth of the jungle where the narrow dirt road began.
He thought about the map he studied earlier and recalled the two routes leading to this dock. One was the dirt road and the other was a narrow ravine to the west. Carlie’s not going to lead those things towards us on the road. She’ll take the other route instead. That’s what I’d do rather than risk an all-out battle in the open here.
He sprang up and instructed all but one of his men to follow him. Boyd instructed his second-in-command to pilot the small boat towards their location and to be ready for a hasty retreat.
“The rest of you are coming with me a half-click over to a ravine where we are going to set up our claymores and turn Carlie’s exfil route into the mouth of hell. Then we’ll have the Farragut pound this shoreline into oblivion if any of those things move in on us.”
Chapter 46
“Keep moving, it’s just up ahead,” said Carlie as they trotted along the ravine floor, darting around fallen branches towards the opening where the passage ended at the beach. The walls were fifty feet high in this section and began flaring out. Pavel was hobbling and moaning with each footstep on the uneven terrain. Carlie could see the foliage above breaking and the sound of movement intensifying. As she turned to check on Pavel, she saw the silhouette of a thin figure leap with surprising agility through the air down into the drainage to her right. She immediately raised her rifle and fired off two rounds at the creature’s head but it had already moved, making a rush for Amy. She smoothly swung her M4, placing a round in the jaw, dropping it in mid-air, then placed another round in the temple while it thrashed on the moss-covered rocks next to them.
“Get Pavel and the others to the beach,” she said to Shane. “This is a natural chokepoint. I’ll buy you some time.”
“The hell you will,” Shane said. “You’re not…”
She grabbed his arm. “Go, Pavel is the light at the end of this tunnel. We need him—the world needs him to make it off this island. Now, leave,” she said, pushing him towards Pavel. “All of you, run!”
Chapter 47
Shane led the group towards the faint opening ahead. Pavel was supported on either side by Amy and Jared while Matias scanned the surrounding ridges.
As they moved, the sound of Carlie’s rifle fire resounded off the earthen walls. With the ravine opening up to the beach, Shane could see men crouched on either side with their weapons fixed on him.
“Hold your fire,” shouted Boyd, who rose from a clump of bushes to the left. He ran up to Shane, waving his hand back for his men to follow him. “Keep walking straight to me,” he said, pointing at either side of the ravine. “There’s a shitload of claymores set up at the mouth.”
“Damn fine sight you are to see,” Shane said.
“Likewise. The boat is just fifty yards offshore from here,” he said, pointing back to the inky black waters.
“Get him on board. He has vital intel that we need,” said Shane as he stepped aside to reveal Pavel behind him. “I’m going back for Carlie.”
“Copy that. The XO said that we’ve got major enemy movement inbound from the jungle towards this location. He’s all set to light up the beach when we give him the go-ahead.”
“Not until Carlie is back here,” he said, sprinting back down the dark passage.
Boyd glanced down at Matias’ handheld device and could see the swarms of creatures moving in on Carlie. “Damn, no way she’s gonna make it out of there with that many fucking pus-brains coming at her.”
Chapter 48
As the moonlight increased, it washed over the surrounding ridges, outlining the forms of the creatures beyond Carlie. From her concealed position amongst a clump of shoulder-high gnarled vines, she could see that there were five of the larger mutants pacing around the edges on either side. They were emitting low hisses and frantically searching the jungle floor. Behind them were another thirty or more of the slower ones milling around as if awaiting direction. Some of them resembled former smugglers clad in blood-soaked garments while others looked like fishermen.
The dense storm clouds returned and painted the area black again. Looking through her rifle’s nightscope, Carlie saw that the five mutants were sniffing the air and scanning the area below for any movement. Did they lose our scent or can’t they see well? The constantly shifting light and weather conditions must be skewing their senses. They can’t adapt in time to get a fix on my location. She studied the more aggressive creatures as they moved around, trying to locate her, noticing that they would sniff the air and then look at each other as if collating information like a pack of wolves. They must have led or directed the other horde of creatures here. That first one I dispatched was probably a scout but how is that possible? They’re supposed to be dead. As these thoughts ran through her weary mind, the rain began to fall again with great intensity, obscuring the images in her scope and eliminating all sound from the ridges. There was no way she would be able to keep track of them now that her senses were hampered.
Knowing she would be doing a blind retreat, Carlie edged her boot backwards and crept slowly over the slippery logs on the ground. As she stalked down the ravine she strained to hear any movement but the rainfall obscured any other sounds. Carlie took a few more steps backwards, keeping her rifle leveled ahead. If I can just make it another twenty feet that should give me more of a lead and then I can turn and move faster. She continued to inch away from the deadly threat above as the rain eased up. One more step over what felt like a clump of downed palm fronds and then she would turn and increase her stride. The storm’s intensity paused again and the clouds cleared briefly enough to jab tiny fingers of moonlight through the canopy. This is it—gotta run now. She turned and saw a large mutant six feet from her, its slimy yellow face aglow in the overhead light. It rushed forward, emitting a low hiss. Carlie had no time to aim at the creature’s head and unloaded her rifle into its torso. With its chest and abdomen leaking fluid, it staggered back briefly until her M4 clicked empty then leaped forward, grabbing the barrel. She tried yanking it free and backpedaling but the beast was too powerful despite its massive wounds. Carlie swiftly drew her Glock and fired into its head three times, watching it collapse onto the slick rocks at her feet.
Within seconds, she heard the howls of the other creatures above as they began leaping over the edge. She hopped over the nearly headless figure and sprinted away. Carlie could hear the ravine behind her filling with frenzied movement as if a flash flood was about to overtake her. Rounding a sha
rp curve, she paused, turning and firing at two of the fast-moving mutants who were nearly ten feet away. She clipped one in the ear, the bullet exiting out through the opposite temple. It went down fast, causing the other slower-moving creatures behind it to get hung up in the narrowing passage. The second mutant almost seemed to know where she was aiming and vaulted off the muddy embankment towards the ridge and came down a few feet to her left.
Carlie kept squeezing the trigger on her Glock, point-shooting at the creature and piercing its snapping jaws until her pistol slide locked back. She unconsciously inserted another magazine and stepped forward, slamming her soiled boot onto the downed creature’s chest. “Oh yeah, take this, you piece of shit,” she yelled while placing two more rounds into its thrashing head. She didn’t wait to look back down the ravine and yanked a grenade off her vest, tossing it into the torrent of creatures rushing towards her while darting in the opposite direction. The blast lit up the path ahead enough for her to almost make it to the mouth of the ravine. The air reeked of a mix of burnt flesh, jungle soil, and rotting leaves as she zig-zagged along the passage of tangled vines and bodily remains. As she raised her forearm to block the stench from her nose, she saw something rushing towards her from ahead.
Chapter 49
“This way, Carlie,” said Shane, who was running up the ravine. He sidestepped and abruptly stopped to fire off several rounds that Carlie heard whiz by her, followed by the soft thump that occurs when lead meets flesh.
Shane kept firing as she approached then he turned to meet her in their sprint to the beach. “This is gonna be close,” she yelled.
“Like a mad dash to the finishing line,” he said.
As they exited the drainage onto the black sand of the beach, Carlie saw Boyd standing in the distance to her left, waving her to the opposite side of his location as Boyd’s men began draining their rifles into the ravine.
She felt Shane tugging on her shirt sleeve as he pulled her to the right towards a series of boulders. Only then did she notice Boyd holding something in his hand. Carlie followed Shane to the ground behind the boulders, hearing the waves crashing behind her. The sound was quickly obscured by the throng of greedy flesh-eaters pouring past the mouth.
Carlie could make out Boyd pressing the trigger device in his right hand, causing the ravine entrance to erupt. She covered her ears and thrust her body onto the damp sand as multiple explosions rang out. The first wave of zombies emerging from the mouth of the entrance was splintered, with dozens of bodies spread out along the beach and treeline. The mouth of the ravine looked like it had suffered a mudslide of human remains and the leaves of palm trees above were dripping with blood.
Carlie inched her way up and peered over the boulder. Boyd was running across the soiled black sand towards her when a mutant rushed from behind him. She raised her pistol and placed two shots squarely in the eye socket, causing the creature to drop instantly. Boyd slid up alongside her. “Damn, I didn’t even see that one,” he said, panting, then grabbed her arm. “The XO says there are more creatures headed to our location. The boat’s this way,” he said, directing her.
She and Shane got up and sprinted to the shoreline, crashing through the waves. Carlie could just barely make out the white bow of the ship glistening in the moonlight. As they swam, the shoreline erupted in fiery explosions as the Farragut’s 20mm canons lit up the jungle. She could feel the thumping of the powerful rounds impacting as the beach was pounded repeatedly. With the flaming treeline illuminating the waves, she could clearly make out the nearby boat bobbing offshore. Her feet lost contact with the rocky surface and she started swimming. A minute later, she was yanked out of the water by Matias and Amy, who pulled her up onto the deck of the small tugboat.
She shook her hair and wiped a hand across her eyes, clearing off the sting of saltwater. After doing a quick inventory of both her teams and Pavel, she turned towards the beach, watching the ribbon of fire searing the remaining treetops near the mouth of the ravine like an orange python was undulating through the forest. As the boat lurched into the waves and sputtered away, she saw a handful of creatures emerge from the smoke and rush to the shoreline. Three of the larger ones were thrashing their hands in the air and bellowing while the others paced around, stumbling into the still-hot craters that dotted the beach.
Most of the storm clouds had been ushered out and the moon provided unobstructed light to the waves ahead and the outline of the Farragut a half-mile out as the tugboat inched closer.
Carlie moved past Shane, patting him on the shoulder as they gave each other grateful nods. She moved alongside Pavel, who was sitting in the corner with his arms wrapped around his knees.
“You OK?”
Pavel looked beyond her at the flaming shoreline of the island and then back up into her eyes. “Do you know what the word ‘toska’ means, Ms. Simmons?”
She tilted her head slightly and then nodded back. “Yes, I understand,” she said, looking up at the moon briefly, then leaned towards him. “We’ll be back aboard the Destroyer shortly and then we’ll see about getting you to our headquarters in New Mexico. You’ll be safe there.”
Pavel didn’t respond and only lowered his head between his knees. Carlie turned and moved back towards the others. “What did he say—toska—what does that mean?” said Jared.
“There isn’t a direct translation into English—it’s a sensation of tremendous spiritual anguish.” She paused to exhale. “It’s a longing with nothing left to long for.”
Chapter 50
Once they were back on board the Farragut, Carlie gathered her two teams into a huddle on the deck as sea spray splashed around their feet.
“You’ve all done a damn fine job and I’m proud to work with such incredible warriors. I especially want to commend Staff Sergeant Boyd’s clairvoyant powers at knowing about the change in exfil plans and providing that spectacular fireworks show,” Carlie said, looking at the sergeant and then at each person around her.
“I’d go into combat any day with you, Ms. Simmons,” Boyd said.
She gave him a slight nod and then put her hands on her hips. “Let’s stow our rifles, packs, and gear back at our bunks for now. The XO has set a course towards Galveston. We’ve got a few days of ocean travel ahead of us before we can fly back to Barksdale Air Force Base and then on to White Sands. Get some chow, a shower, and some well-earned rest.”
She moved over to Pavel, who was standing behind the group with his shoulders slumped forward. “Amy will take you down to medical to get your leg checked out and then find you a quiet bunk. Later, I’d like it if you could meet with the commander, myself, and the rest of my team so we can get a few answers to much-needed questions,” she said, touching his arm.
While Amy escorted Pavel along the deck and Boyd’s group dispersed, she walked up to Shane, Jared, and Matias. “The XO wants to speak with all of us directly to go over what we saw in the smugglers’ encampment and the makeshift laboratory buildings. He’s expecting us on the bridge in an hour so clean up those swarthy mugs of yours and then I’ll see you all up there.”
Carlie walked down below and immediately headed for the berthing area to drop off her pack and vest. She habitually secured the safety on the M4 even though she knew the weapon was empty. She kept the Glock and fixed blade on her belt and made a mental note to resupply her magazines.
She grabbed a pair of dry fatigues while retreating into the tiny restroom at the back. Stripping down to her underwear and bra, Carlie paused before the mirror, staring at her taut face and the lines of tension that radiated out like gnarled roots from her temples. Her bloodshot eyes reminded her of how little she had slept this past week and the lack of alone time.
She splashed water over her face, still looking at her reflection as if it belonged to someone else and then realized how tightly she was gripping the edge of the sink. Carlie lowered her head, taking a deep breath while her mind raced through the events of the past few hours. After several minutes
of practicing rhythmic breathing, she reached for her hair brush and, with great concentration, began trying to unsnarl her golden locks. With each successful pass from her head to her shoulders, she would stop and take a deep breath, trying to reassure herself that there would be order in the world again one day.
Chapter 51
Master-At-Arms Richards was at the rear deck getting ready to cut loose the tugboat when he saw Boyd and his men walking by. “Excuse me, would you guys mind giving me a hand with this for a second?”
Boyd nodded and then walked down the steps to the rear deck. He hadn’t removed his crusty vest or grenades and chunks of jungle mud shook loose with each step. His three men followed behind him.
“Looks like you boys could use a hot shower,” said Richards, who was grinning. “That’s the one thing about you army fellas—always getting gunked up.”
Boyd looked at the man’s white fatigues that held a crease in the pants. “Never could’ve joined the navy as I don’t know how to iron and don’t carry a mirror in my pocket everywhere I go,” Boyd laughed.
“All jokes aside, I’m glad you guys made it back alright,” Richards said, untying the massive ropes from the deck attachments as Boyd held onto a handle on the rear of his life vest.
“Yeah, I hear that. My first and only visit to Cuba and I didn’t even get to enjoy a decent cigar.”
As Richards bent down to release the rope, Boyd felt a powerful tug on his arm and saw the cloth fabric of the life jacket tear loose from his grip as a sickly yellow hand reached up and grabbed Richards’ arm, pulling him over. Boyd lunged forward to grab the man and saw three mutants scrambling up the sides of the Destroyer. His men reached for their rifles instinctively but only heard the sickening sound of their weapons firing dry.