Almost immediately after this encounter, two additional ships in the Red Sea, along with a land based facility in Saudi Arabia, launched a slew of missiles. One failed outright and crashed in the desert. Three were intercepted. Several more went way off target. Two reached their intended destinations and exploded. Both were equipped with nuclear warheads. Neither was anywhere near Jerusalem, lending credence to the idea that the Caliphate wanted to take it intact, and none of the major settlements were struck. It is assumed they had been targeted by the others. Nevertheless, two thousand innocents were killed outright with another thousand expected to die in the upcoming months due to radiation poisoning. This was on the thirteenth of September.
The next day, Israel formally recognized the Caliphate government. This is something they hadn’t bothered to do previously. It also made them the only nation in existence to acknowledge these bastards as official. This completed, Israel declared war. The question of whether or not the little Jewish state was a nuclear power was answered shortly thereafter. That same day, the IDF reduced Mecca, its nearby civilian camp, Medina, and every single Caliphate settlement, regardless of size, to radioactive rubble. This included several locations that were unknown to the government in Hawaii. It seems Israeli intelligence was better than ours.
They then examined the ship that was sunk in the Suez Canal. It was armed with two short range missiles, both carrying small nuclear payloads. The divers also had to kill a zombie. One of the Caliphate sailors had drowned. Trapped inside the wreckage, it had been unable to get free. The ships that had fired on them from the Red Sea were also sunk, but not salvaged, at least not at the time this news was provided.
Best estimates are that virtually every last citizen of the Caliphate is dead. A few likely survived, but they’re now alone or in tiny groups. They are also in an inhospitable area, made so by both zombies and clouds of radiation. By the way, radiation, even levels that would kill a breather inside of a minute, have no noticeable effect on the shamblers. Some may manage to hang on long term, but if they are ever discovered, they will most likely be killed outright. Israel, China, and the Russian Mongolian alliance have all outlawed Islam. It is now a capital offense to follow that religion. Their toleration for the recent decades of terror was at an end. The centuries of terror proceeding this likely played a part in the decision as well.
The United States, Japan, and the British Switzerland alliance announced that anyone directly associated with the Caliphate government or military would be considered a war criminal and face either imprisonment or death. They did not outlaw Islam itself, however. The First Amendment of the Constitution granting freedom of religion prevents this. The Europeans couldn’t stomach the thought of another genocide. There had been too many already. As for the Japanese, their population consisted of zero Muslims, so it wasn’t really all that relevant to their concerns. They might come across a few in Indonesia when they begin to occupy it, but that’s iffy, and even if they do, the numbers will likely be miniscule. I’ll also go ahead and mention that the U.S. and Europeans have next to no Muslims either, and while the governments are not actively discriminating against or punishing the few living among them, they are apparently being closely watched. There is also an extreme backlash against any attempts the Muslims may make to convert others to their faith. The opposite is not true, and many Christians, Jews, and Atheists are trying to get these people to renounce Islam. It’ll be interesting to see what the end result is.
One final thing, near sunset on the fourteenth of September Israel went ahead and formally declared peace. So, in a single day they declared war, fought and won said war, and declared peace. Bloody or not, justified or not, this has to be one of the most productive days in history.
Chapter XV
“Both of you,” began Renee, as she barged into our living room uninvited and unannounced, “we have a problem.”
“It’s nice to see you, Renee. How have you been?”
Briana stopped picking up Asher’s toys. “What problem?” She was clearly feeling more businesslike than me. “What happened?”
“We spotted more riders, two of them this time, both in denim, although they were too far off to determine if they were raiders or not.”
That was serious. I got off the floor where I had been playing with my son, trying to put together a puzzle – suitable for three to four years old my ass – and took a seat. I gestured for Renee to do the same.
“Where were they?” Briana retrieved a map of the area and set it down on the coffee table.
“Just outside of Belle Fourche, north of the Black Hills.”
“North? I thought every sighting had been to the south, mostly near the roads leading to Custer.”
“That has been where we’ve been focusing,” agreed Briana.
Asher, apparently every bit as incapable of doing the jigsaw puzzle as me, grabbed a plastic dinosaur and wandered off to his room. Based on the noises he was making, I surmised that Mr. T-Rex was busy eating the stuffed animals.
“That may have been the problem. It’s far enough away that we don’t really focus on it. We’ve never looted it, having found it easier to reach stuff to the south and in Rapid City. The town has just been sitting there, ignored.”
I looked at the map, trying to do calculations in my head. “They could take several highways, skirting the Black Hills, so to actually approach from our south. This could be done in a couple hours. That would give them plenty of time to spy on us without giving an indication of where their base might be.”
“We should have seen them,” protested Briana. “Our planes fly all over the place, and there are too many open areas.”
“Not if they travel at night,” pointed out Renee.
“At night?”
“Think about it, Jacob. They are on motorcycles, so they can easily get around wrecks or zombies. If they use night vision goggles, they wouldn’t have to worry about headlights. They couldn’t go full speed, but fast enough. And if we did manage to chase one in the southern area, they would only have to evade until dark. They could then return to their base, which is located in a place we would never think to check.”
“Do they know we’ve spotted them?” Briana was pulling on her hair.
“No. It was one of those environmental flights the guys in Hawaii have been harping about. The pilot just flew in a big circle with the mounted cameras taking pictures. He was up so high, he never saw them. We didn’t know until the photos were run through the computer. Almost missed it even then.”
The government in Hawaii was concerned about the effects of forest fires, pollution, and the decay of cities. That being the case, they had given us special equipment to mount on the underside of several of our aircraft. The pilots would take off, switch it on, and fly their predetermined course. The digital pictures would then be uploaded into a computer and bounced over to Oahu via satellite for their analysts to examine. I didn’t see the point, since they could already view much of this from space, but it made them happy.
“You need to check this out,” decided Briana. “If they are regular survivors, they should be brought in, especially with winter almost here. Maybe they recovered lots of supplies in Belle Fourche and are well situated, but there is no way to know. Even if they do want to stay, we should know who they are, seeing how they are just beyond our doorstep.”
“And if they are raiders?” inquired Renee.
Briana’s face turned grim. “Then you and Jacob will kill them, all of them.”
* * *
There was no reason to delay, so I quickly began making preparations. We would leave at dusk, going straight up the center of the Black Hills and out our northern exit. We planned on arriving in the middle of the night. Assuming they were indeed traveling a few hours prior to sunrise or a couple following sunset, that should hopefully guarantee all were back at their base. We wanted to face the entire lot at once. The entire worrying about those we’d missed thing was getting old.
&nb
sp; Accompanying me were both of our militia captains. I probably should have left either Lizzy or Renee behind, but I found the situation grating. Something was wrong. It would be best to have the extra firepower. Tara and Dale would be there of course. Briana insisted on it, but I would have taken them anyway. Their accuracy and unnerving calm is simply too valuable. Mary would tag along as my assistant, same as always. We’d also have two full squads of militia, twenty well armed, well trained, and very experienced men and women at our side. Finally, if need be, the combat choppers could be called in.
* * *
“Renee! Wait a second.”
She turned and promptly scowled. Rudy was hurrying her way.
“Jerk,” said Mary, as he passed her.
My daughter was heading toward me and Lizzy. The two of us were going over the maps we had of the city trying to determine the most likely spots where somebody might be holed up. We would have a plane fly overhead before we got there using the heat sensing equipment that proved so useful in the war outside of Yellowstone. Hopefully it would spot something. The place was too large for a house by house search.
Rudy ignored the teenager completely, if he even heard her. The man seemed to be focused solely on Renee.
“What do you want?”
“I just wanted to bring you these.” He held out a small bouquet of wild flowers, likely that last anyone would see this year as the nights had dipped well below freezing several times. “And to wish you luck.”
“I don’t need luck. I have skill. I also don’t need anything from a liar like you.”
“It was all a misunderstanding.” Rudy gave her his most charming smile. “You were mistaken by what you thought you saw, and I was a little upset at being accused of misbehaving, which is why I said those unpleasant things.”
At this point, Mary, Lizzy, and myself had stopped doing anything productive and were watching the proceedings with interest. Both Renee and Rudy appeared oblivious to our presence.
“Misunderstanding? You mean you weren’t kissing that tramp?”
“It was just a goodnight hug. She’s a friend. I am allowed to have friends, aren’t I?”
Renee might have begun to grind her teeth. I couldn’t tell.
“So, you think I’m stupid or blind, is that it?”
“Not at all. You are the most beautiful, observant, and intelligent woman here.” He stepped closer. “But it was late, and you were tired. Like I said, it’s just a misunderstanding.”
“Rudy, you haven’t even apologized to me. What makes you think flowers are more… persuasive?”
He frowned. “Why would I apologize? I didn’t do anything wrong. You were the one not paying attention, the one who threw a fit and sent my own emotions all a twirl.” The smile returned. “But I forgive you for all of that.”
If someone spoke to me that way, I think I might have killed him. Mary’s fingers were brushing the grip of her pistol. Only Lizzy seemed confused. I guess she hadn’t heard what happened that night. Actually, I’m not sure if anyone other than Mary and I knew, and we were only in the loop because Renee had to explain why Rudy would never again go on a militia mission with her, under any circumstance.
“I’m done with you.”
That was all Renee said. She turned and walked away. Rudy moved to follow, but the woman gestured at Tara and Dale. The twins stepped between them, rifles in hand. Rudy seemed undecided for a moment, a very short moment. Then he turned and slithered away, the flowers still gripped in his hand.
“What the fuck was that about?”
“Lizzy, I don’t even know how to begin.”
“Remember when Rudy was beginning to act nice to Renee,” said Mary, more than ready to jump in. “Well, when Renee went off to find the Canadians in Rapid City, he was busy messing around with another woman. She caught him, and he blew her off because she wasn’t putting out.”
“Really?”
“Basically, yes,” confirmed Renee. “A little more complicated and far more vulgar on his part, but that’s what happened.”
“And after all that, he comes and blames you for everything.” Lizzy was seething. “That piece of shit has just been struck from the militia volunteer roles until the fucking end of time. Immoral behavior. I’m having that made public before we leave too.”
I said nothing. While I held overall command of the militia, I wasn’t inclined to interfere with the day to day operations of my captains, including on issues concerning discipline. As to the punishment, being thrown off the militia temporarily was bad enough. It was a mark of shame and treated as a such by the entire community. It also led to a person being ostracized. A permanent dismissal was so much worse. It was rare, and most thus punished ended up relocating to Yellowstone or the islands. There had never been a case of immoral behavior as the reason before, and we generally stayed out of people’s personal business. I suspect the residents of the Black Hills would assume the absolute worst about Rudy. Obviously it wasn’t rape or we would have executed him, but they will think, rightfully so, that he had crossed the line in a big way. His social life was over. I would make certain to get the word going in Yellowstone and Hawaii as well. No reason for the piece of shit to have an easy time starting over, should he decide to move.
“I’m not sure if his behavior merits that,” said Renee.
“He is purposely destroying unit cohesion,” I pointed out, before Lizzy could get started.
“Fuck, yes!”
“I agree too,” said Mary. “He’s a bad person, and you know that lots of others don’t want to work with him either, even if they don’t like saying why.”
“The matter of Rudy is closed,” I declared. “Mary, go ahead and call Major Briggs. Let him know that we are doing a night run to check out some suspicious motorcycles. Possibly nothing, but we will let him know either way.”
“Sure thing.”
I have to give Renee credit. She didn’t look like she wanted to argue, and her attention shifted to our upcoming mission.
* * *
It was after midnight when we reached the outskirts of town. Our plane had spotted no living people, but it did identify a delivery van whose engine was still hot. This was parked near a three story concrete building. More telling were the bodies on the ground. All were naked with most bearing visible bite marks. Someone had killed the shamblers and was likely inside. The question was who. My bad feelings had not diminished in the slightest, so I continued to assume the worst.
“Everyone sit tight,” I ordered.
We were in a nearby alley. The entrance gave us a clear view of the building with plenty of debris and a wrecked car providing cover. The rear led to several streets which would permit us to quickly encircle our target.
“Tara, Dale, both of you take the high ground and let me know what you see. Renee, select eight people and pair them up. They are to circle around to these spots.” I indicated them on the street map. “That will cover all possible exits. I don’t want them doing anything, just getting into position.”
“Roger that,” she whispered, before moving off.
“I’m not seeing any movement,” commented Lizzy. She was on the ground staring through a pair of binoculars. “Think they are somewhere else and are using this spot for storage?”
“Don’t know.”
“Dad, Tara just called in. She says there is a sentry on the building’s roof. He’s walking around, not paying much attention.”
That answered Lizzy’s question.
“Advise the pairs of the situation. Tell them to keep out of sight. Ask Tara if she has a clean shot and if there are any others.”
“I can’t see the sentry,” advised Lizzy. “Must be focusing on the other side of the roof.”
“Tara can take him,” confirmed Mary. “Dale says there is someone asleep inside by an upstairs window. Looks to be passed out. The back of his jacket is against the glass. He is definitely a raider.”
Mary sounded scared, disappointed, and deter
mined, all at once.
“That settles that. We are going in. Renee, you take squad one and enter from the back. Have the pairs on that side join you or cover any key spots. It’s your call. Harvey, take squad two and hit the front door. Try to enter quietly. Kill or disable as you see fit. If the prophet is in there, I want him alive, if at all possible. Don’t let any of our people get hurt taking him, but if he can be captured, do so.”
I likely sounded grim because the smiles I received in return were quite malicious.
“As soon as you’re ready, let me know and I’ll have Tara shoot the sentry. Her and Dale can cover the building as snipers. Me, Mary, and Lizzy will stay here as reserves.”
Lizzy, somewhat surprisingly, did not object.
Renee set off. Accompanying her was Michael, who had come on the mission. Harvey also got going, with Tim in his squad. The two boys were anything but friends. Still, they seemed to work well enough together, taking their duties seriously. Better, there had been no fights, shouting matches, or any other conflicts concerning my daughter’s affections.
“They’re ready to go when you are,” said Mary.
“Tell Tara to take the shot.”
As before, we were using suppressed weapons.
“Renee and Harvey are moving.”
“Mary, go ahead and face the opposite direction. Wouldn’t want any zombies coming up behind us.”
“Dad…” She grumbled something but went ahead and shifted position.
“Lizzy, scan the general area as well. If there’s lots of noise, we will bring them down on us.”
She nodded slightly.
“Dale says the building is still quiet,” announced Mary. “Renee is inside what looks to be a loading dock. There are motorcycles there, a mix of dirt bikes and Harleys. Got supplies stacked up too, enough to feed a large group all winter.”
Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation Page 38