"So what do we do now?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"Well, we have no chain of command left to report to," answered Fitzy. "We need to find a place where we can out last these undead sons-of-bitches."
"We will eventually have to abandon this place," said Van Aldren. "When our supplies run out, we will have to leave. We were considering trying to retake Fort Leonard Wood."
"With only fifty people?" I asked, shaking my head. "There's no way you could seal off an area big enough to sustain your people. There's just too much open space on Leonard Wood."
"He's right," agreed Fitzy. "But what else do we have?"
"How about our place at Bennett Springs?" I replied. "There's plenty of room in the POMCUS cache. With your people, we could really have a shot at making that place completely secure."
"Who would be in charge?" asked the Colonel.
I could see his point. I wouldn't want to turn control of my people over to someone from outside our group either. On the other hand, we were going to need one another if we were going to get through this and re-establish anything even close to what we had before. We were going to have to forget the old established order of things and stand together. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
"I don't think that our standing as leaders will be an issue," I said, after a moment. "Our first priority is to make the place safe for us all. We can let the people decide who they want to be in charge, once that's done."
"That's a good way to look at it," said Van Aldren. "Alright, let's get our people organized and start making plans to relocate. I want to get our two groups together before we lose anyone else to the dead."
"I'll try to contact my group and let them know we’re coming," I said.
"One more thing," said Van Aldren. "Just so you will carry more authority with my people. I've already discussed this with Fitzy. I understand you were an E-6, back in the Army."
"Yes, sir," I replied, confused.
"Well, as the highest ranking authority that we are aware of remaining in the Missouri National Guard, I hereby battlefield promote you to the rank of Major."
"What?" I asked, shocked.
"It doesn't really mean anything," explained Fitzy. "This will give you clout with the rest of the troops. We do have a few officers. It will make you second only to the Colonel. Since there's nothing left of the National Guard, it will only carry any weight here."
"Then, once we're established with your group," continued Van Aldren, "I can either continue to be in charge or I can announce my retirement and defer to you."
I had to admit, it was elegant. It would go unquestioned by the military units, since people were being recalled to duty all over the place when the shit hit the fan. They wouldn't question my leadership in the field and by the time they realized that the ranks didn't mean jack-shit anymore, it would be too late. They would have already come to accept me in a leadership role. It was simple, but very effective.
"Alright," I said. "That’ll work. I'll just explain to my people that you will be joining us on equal terms. They'll accept that."
"Fair enough," said Van Aldren. "Let's get this ball rolling, then."
He handed me new rank insignia for my uniform and I switched them out. With the new Velcro attachments, it was a quick fix. Then, I headed out the door with Fitzy. I asked him to get me a SINCGARS radio with enough range to reach Bennett Springs. They had a communications trailer outside that was capable of reaching several hundred miles. It was a command unit for coordinating companies in the field. So long as someone back at Bennett Springs was listening, I should have no trouble reaching them with it.
I wasn't much of a radio operator, but I managed to power up the system and began adjusting the frequency. I knew the encryption keys that Spec-4 had programmed into all of the sets we used in the Humvees and the base unit. Then it was just a matter of seeing if anyone was listening.
Taking a deep breath, I steadied my hands. I had wanted to do this ever since I woke up from my fever, but my own radio had been destroyed in my trip down the river. It also didn't have the range to reach that far. Up until now, they all must have thought I was dead. By rights, I should have been. Whether by fate or fluke, I was alive and I wasn’t planning on changing that. Now, I just needed to let my friends know.
“Rogue-6, do you copy? Over,” I said into the mic.
I waited for any kind of reply. There was only static on the line. I waited for several agonizingly long moments before trying again.
“Rogue-6,” I said. “Do you copy? Over.”
Static crackled back through the speakers. I was beginning to think that either they didn’t have their radio on or I didn’t have enough power to reach them from here when a reply came unexpectedly through.
“This is Rogue-6,” said the familiar voice of Spec-4. “Who is this? Over.”
I almost dropped the handset in my excitement. I didn’t want to sound crazy on the air, but it was all I could do to stay calm.
“Rogue-6,” I said, “this is 829, over.”
Silence answered me. After a long moment, came a one word reply that conveyed both shock and amazement.
“Wylie?” was all she said, her voice throaty and soft.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I’m alive. I’ve seen better days, but I’m alive.”
“How?” she called back, excitement in her voice.
“It’s a long story,” I explained. “I didn’t come through it unscathed, though.”
“I watched you fall,” she said, her voice sounding strained and emotional.
“I know,” I said. “I’m not sure how, but I survived it. Did you all make it back to camp?”
“Yeah,” she answered. “It took some doing, but we managed it. We probably wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for White Bear’s map.”
“Did you pick him up on the way back?” I asked, grinning.
“Yes, he’s here,” she replied. “He said for us to not write you off.”
“I’m sure he did,” I said. “Look, I’ve hooked up with a group of survivors. I think it would be best if we pooled our resources and brought this group to you.”
“Do you trust them?” she asked, warily.
“I wouldn’t be bringing them to you if I didn’t,” I replied.
We spent the next twenty or so minutes working out the details and letting them know just who would be coming. I also spoke to my wife and sons. It was a tearful time, on both ends of the radio. Everyone was amazed that I had survived and I promised I would tell them the story when we were all together, again. By the time I signed off, we had a plan all set to move. Now all we needed was to organize the trip.
It was full-on dark by the time I walked out of the communications trailer. I saw a group of people gathered near the medical tent talking excitedly and looking up towards the sky. When I looked up, my heart skipped a beat. There, hanging in the night sky like a pair of jewels, were the two comets. They were clear to see with the naked eye. What was shockingly apparent was that they were much closer to the moon than I expected them to be.
As I approached the crowd of people, I saw that one of them was Shura. He saw me coming and stepped away from the crowd to meet me.
“It appears that they are moving faster than we thought, tovarich,” he said, pointing at the sky.
“I see that,” I replied, frowning. “How long until impact?”
“A few minutes, perhaps,” he said, shaking his head. “Maybe longer. Without our instruments, I cannot say for certain.”
We stood in silence for a few moments, watching the two comets that they had named the Wolves grow closer to the moon with each passing second. I removed my hip flask and took a swig before passing it to Shura. He eagerly accepted the flask and took a generous swig.
“Spaciba,” he said, smiling and handing it back.
“Pahjolstah,” I replied, nodding.
He nodded acknowledgement and smiled
, “Your accent is improving.”
“Thanks,” I replied, still watching the sky.
We stood in silence for a few moments before first one, and then the other comet struck the surface. Instantly, large clouds of debris began to fill the area around the moon. Already the moon was beginning to appear to be cloaked in shadow. It looked almost as if something had taken a huge bite out of the moon.
“Skoll and Hati[16],” I whispered.
“In a few days,” said Shura, quietly, “we will no longer be able to see the moon. In a few weeks, we lose the sun.”
“Fimbul Winter,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s begun.”
“We have to find better shelter than this,” said Shura. “When it gets cold, it will make Siberia look like Hawaii.”
“How cold will it get?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“I do not know for certain,” he said, frowning. “My friend Mischa was the climatologist. He did not survive when the station was hit. I would guess it will get very cold. Negative fifty or lower.”
“Fahrenheit?” I asked.
“Nyet,” he said, shaking his head. “Celcius. It will get easily as cold as in Antarctica.”
“Fuck,” I whispered. “We need to get to the other group, and fast.”
“Da,” he said. “It will begin to get colder, very quickly. Maybe a few weeks before things start freezing.”
All I knew for certain was that we didn’t have enough time to prepare. We needed to get the group into the POMCUS cache and start loading supplies as fast as we could. If we didn’t gather supplies now, we might not survive long enough to outlast the coming winter. If the prophecy of Ragnarok was true, we had three years to last through.
Three long years of the worst winter anyone could possibly imagine. Nothing on earth would be the same afterwards. We were literally going into another ice age. Animals that could not adapt would die. The same was going to apply to people everywhere. If they weren’t prepared to last the winter, they’d either freeze to death or starve. Neither one was a prospect that I would wish upon anyone. It was time to get the group mobilized.
Chapter Eight
Mass Exodus
“If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for,
he isn't fit to live.”
- Marcus Tulius Cicero
I could see a large number of people were gathered together in groups, pointing at the sky and talking animatedly amongst themselves. An unsettling feeling began to creep over me as I glanced around the compound. What I was seeing was both soldiers and civilians inside the perimeter. What I wasn’t seeing were perimeter guards. There was nobody on the walls.
“Son-of-a-bitch,” I muttered, heading for the building.
When I got inside, I went immediately to Fitzy’s office. I found him inside putting his gear into bags. It was good that he was already preparing to evacuate. He glanced up and smiled when he saw me walk in.
“Did you get in touch with your people?” he asked, picking up a small box and stuffing it into a duffel bag.
“Yeah, we’re all set,” I replied. “We’re clear to head out as soon as we’re packed and ready to go.”
“Something on your mind?” he said, noticing the look on my face.
“Who is in charge of perimeter security?” I asked, frowning.
“Lieutenant Hadley’s in charge,” he replied. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t see anyone walking security,” I stated, pointing back down the hallway.
“What!” demanded Fitzy. “Why they fuck not?”
“That’s what I was wondering,” I responded. “I figured you would want to know.”
“That wet-behind-the-ears little bastard,” snapped Fitzy. “Van Aldren will have his balls for this.”
Fitzy started to come around the desk when first one, then two more explosions shook the building in rapid succession. The blasts were powerful enough that they nearly knocked us off of our feet.
“That came from the perimeter!” I bellowed.
I turned and headed down the corridor as fast as I could run. I stopped at the door of my quarters long enough to grab my gear bag. Then I headed for the outside compound. I could see that soldiers were running around in the chaos, trying to make sense of what was going on. I hit the door at a run and emerged into utter pandemonium. People were screaming and running in every direction. In the dim light from the moon, I could see that a large section of the perimeter had been blown open and the dead were pouring through.
“Form up!” I bellowed. “Get some fire on that breach!”
A few soldiers began to snap to, but most of them continued to run in a blind panic. I grabbed the nearest soldier and spun them around to face me. As luck would have it, it was Sergeant Leffingwell. She looked relieved to see me and almost snapped to attention.
“Sergeant!” I snapped. “Get the medical personnel and the civilians into the choppers and get them out of here.”
“On it,” she replied and headed off towards the Medical tents.
Sporadic fire began to erupt as people began to get it through their heads that they needed to mount some kind of defense. I could see Fitzy was pulling a group together near the other end of the building and starting to concentrate fire on the incoming dead. I didn’t see the Colonel anywhere.
I began taking shots at the advancing dead in the hopes that my example would inspire the soldiers around me to do the same. A few did, but most of them continued to run. Some headed for the building while others headed for vehicles. This group of mostly kid-soldiers wasn’t ready for this kind of engagement. This attack on their base had panicked most of them into uselessness.
“Concentrate your fire on that gap in the perimeter!” I bellowed. “Don’t fall back unless I give the order! We’ve got to buy some time.”
I heard the helicopters engines begin to spool up and could see the medical personnel shoving people and gear into them both. Despite the blind panic, we were starting to do significant damage to the dead. If we kept up the fire, we might have a chance at sealing the breach in the perimeter. That was when the second series of explosions rocked us all and nearly drove me to the ground. Another section of the perimeter had just come apart.
“Zombies in the wire!” screamed someone from over near the medical tent.
“Keep up the fire!” I bellowed. “Close that gap!”
I turned and ran for the medical tent, passing by numerous people running the other way. I could hear gunfire coming from just beyond the tent and found Shura, Sergeant Leffingwell and Colonel Van Aldren firing at the zombies that were pouring through the opening in the fence.
“We’re being overrun,” called Van Aldren. “We’ve got to evacuate everyone we can!”
“Understood, sir,” I yelled. “Get the group on the choppers organized and I’ll cover you.”
Van Aldren gave me a hard look before nodding and heading towards the choppers. The rest of us continued to fire into the dead as fast as we could. There were too many of them and it would only be a matter of minutes before the entire facility was overrun. The only thing we could do now was to buy time for as many people to escape as possible.
“Shura,” I yelled. “Go with the others.”
“I will not leave you, my friend,” he said, grimly. “You go or we both stay.”
I was about to argue with him when I heard a loud gunshot that sounded very different than the sharp report of the M-4’s that were firing all around us. This was a much heavier caliber. It also came from outside the perimeter. Behind me, I heard a grunt of pain.
Glancing around, I saw Van Aldren stumble and fall to one knee. He’d taken a round through the left shoulder. The choppers were revving up for take off and I knew that they were only moments away from lifting into the air.
“Get the Colonel on one of those birds,” I said to Leffingwell.
“On it,” she replied and ran for the Colonel.
“Shura, you go with her,” I said. “She’ll n
eed you to help carry him.”
I could tell that he wanted to argue, but nodded agreement. Reluctantly, he turned and ran towards the fallen Colonel. I continued to fire into the on-coming crowd of zombies, but was only having a minimal effect on them. They were going to take the compound and we weren’t going to be able to stop them. Movement in the opening made me turn and take notice. There among the undead was a familiar figure. Striding through the opening with a huge rifle in his hand was the giant that I had fought at the crash site.
Not only was he alive, but it seemed that the undead either ignored him or he was in some way controlling them. He strode through the gap in the perimeter and began to survey the carnage all around us. He hadn’t seen me yet, but I knew it was just a matter of time before he did. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to fighting him again, but we did have some unfinished business.
I began to fire into the crowd of the dead and fall back towards the choppers. I could see a small group of soldiers were forming a line to defend the evacuation. From the midst of them, I could hear the unmistakable sound of Fitzy’s voice. I should have known that tough old bastard wasn’t out of the fight.
“Hold the line, you sons-of-bitches!” bellowed Fitzy.
As I ran up to the group, I noticed that there were significantly fewer of them than when they were near the other end of the building. The battle was not going in our favor. It seemed that we were being overrun at every turn. We had to get everyone we could onto the choppers and into the air or they would all die. I could tell that there wasn’t going to be enough room for all of us. We would have to be happy with getting the civilians, the wounded and the medical personnel evacuated. Everyone else was going to have to hold the line.
“Form up and intersect your fire!” bellowed Fitzy. “Pick your targets and conserve your ammo.”
As the last of the medical personnel got onto the chopper, I could see Shura leaning out and motioning for me to join them. There wasn’t enough room for all of us, so I wasn’t going with them. I wouldn’t ask anyone to die in my place. We would hold the line.
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