Wasteland Rules: A New Dawn (The World After Book 3)

by J. G. Martin

  “What happened to the Major?” Augie asked interrupting her musing.

  “I thought you might know?” She replied in confusion.

  “All I know is that he isn’t with you and you didn’t say anything about him being killed, so…”

  “A group of armed men rushed us as soon as we exited the shuttle. They tased Derek and then dragged him into a Humvee. We saw a plane take off and fly east shortly after that, right before the gang members first grabbed us.” Rora informed him.

  “Any idea who they were?”

  “Not a clue. They had no insignia, all of them wore face masks, and the plane was unmarked. We have to find out who took him and get him back!” Rora insisted.

  “When we get back I will check with my sources, but I think we can rule out the U.S.T.G. I think they would have had insignia or identifiable uniforms.” Augie mused.

  “We ran into the Red Berets on the space station, the same ones from Florida. I think that is who the U.S.T.G. has pursuing Derek, so I agree it probably wasn’t the U.S.T.G. But who else would want him?”

  “I can think of a few groups that might have an interest in him.” Augie replied thoughtfully.

  “Other Illuminati?” Rora asked pointedly.

  “Some crazy things happened here after your mission. I think maybe you better tell me everything that happened on the station and after you crashed.” Augie told her. “Then maybe we can figure out what happened to Derek.”

  It had been a hell of a couple of days for Rora. First they had barely survived a crash landing in the shuttle. Then Derek had been snatched from them while they stood by helplessly. Gang members had grabbed them and they had been forced to make a bloody escape. That was followed by a wild chase and desperate escapes throughout the city. It finally ended with their swift capture and near execution, only for them to be saved at the last minute by a miraculous intervention. She hoped the Red Berets who had shot up the shuttle and nearly killed them were having as a bad of a day.

  Chapter 9

  June 28, 2029

  U.S.T.G. Military Headquarters near Joliet, Illinois

  The feeling of near drowning was indescribable and he struggled not to panic as they poured the water over the cloth covering his face. The enhanced interrogation had been going on for at least a day now and Tom was beginning to weaken. Upon landing, the entire squad had been seized at gunpoint by an entire platoon of troops. They had been separated and he assumed they were all being similarly interrogated.

  He had been stripped, drugged, and interrogated intensively. First had been the shock treatment and then isolation in a small room heated or chilled to the extreme for varying times. Strobe lights flashed at random intervals and loud music blasted in randomly as well. All the classic techniques used for years by government intelligence agencies. The interrogators had wanted to know why he had failed on the station and who he was working for. They had asked over and over. He had no idea what was happening to the others, but he assumed they were getting the same treatment.

  He couldn’t tell them anything because he was loyal and had not betrayed the U.S.T.G. in any way. That damn Derek Storm had continued to foil him at every turn. It was like the man was Superman or something. Tom wasn’t even mad at the interrogators because they were doing exactly what he would have done in their place. He had failed the mission and deserved what was happening. His only hope, which he clung to desperately, was that he would be given one more chance to get revenge on Storm.

  They had moved to the waterboarding after softening him up first. Finally when he thought he couldn’t take any more and he started to hyperventilate, they removed the cloth. Tom struggled to adjust to the sudden light in the room. As he blinked rapidly, he heard the interrogators leave the room. Someone else entered as they left and began releasing his restraints. When his eyesight adjusted, Tom could see it was General Ross.

  “I’m sorry sir.” Tom mumbled the first thing that came to mind.

  “Me too son.” The general replied. “I’m sorry this was necessary, but we had to be sure.”

  “I know. I would have done the same thing.” Tom agreed.

  “Now that we are sure of your loyalty, we have a few things to discuss.” General Ross informed him.

  “I’ve always been loyal sir.” Tom stated strongly.

  “I know Captain, but others had to be assured. Our failure to get the device created great anxiety amongst the Party leadership.” The general replied wryly.

  “What about my squad?”

  “They are fine; we cleared all of them also.” The general informed him. “You can rejoin them once you and I talk.”

  “Do you have another mission for me, sir?” Tom asked anxiously.

  “It’s a little more complicated than that. Come to the briefing room and I will explain.” General Ross said as he handed a clean uniform to his subordinate.

  Freed from the restraints, Tom grabbed the uniform and quickly got dressed. He followed the general to briefing room. He was still unsteady from the interrogation but he held no ill will for the treatment. All that mattered was that it appeared the general was going to provide him another chance. Tom could prove his loyalty and get back in Command’s good graces.

  The briefing room they entered was small and Spartan. There was no one else in the room except himself and General Ross. The general gestured that he should sit at the small table in the center of the room. A large TV monitor took up the far wall. The general joined him at the table and picked up the remote. He clicked on the TV and then addressed Tom.

  “Your mission was both a failure and a success.” General Ross began, to Tom’s surprise.

  “A success?” He asked in confusion.

  “You may not have gotten the device, but it was activated. The satellites magically came back online just before you exited the station. We have full control of our satellites and we now have strategic and tactical superiority in North America.” General Ross continued as he pointed the remote at the TV.

  A map of the North America appeared on the map with color shading indicating the various factions’ zones of control. There were also markers indicating troop strength and disposition for all of the factions except the Collective. The general clicked again and the map zoomed in on the border between the U.S.T.G. and the C.C.A. Detailed troop movements and dispositions were marked around Louisville.

  “We are going to execute Plan Delta Five and invade the C.C.A. before they get too much more organized.” General Ross lectured. “We were already in the final stages; but now that we can see their troop movements and they cannot see ours, we have moved up the timetable. Our assault will begin within the next twenty four hours following a prolonged artillery barrage and air strikes on their bases.”

  “When do we go in sir?” Tom asked with barely contained excitement.

  “Actually, I have another job for you.” The general said slowly. “It isn’t as glamorous, but it is far more important.”

  “You want us to eliminate Storm?” Tom snarled.

  “Not exactly. I want you to retrieve this man.” General Ross informed him as he changed the picture on the screen.

  A slight man with unruly hair and glasses appeared on the TV. He looked pale and weak; even his green eyes seemed washed out. The picture was obviously from an ID badge based on the pose. He looked like an accountant, but Tom couldn’t figure out what was so important about an accountant. This had to be more than it seemed. The general wouldn’t assign him baby-sitting duty while a war was going on. It was a colossal waste of resources.

  “Who is he?” Tom asked.

  “Jason Ducat. He used to work for us as a computer programmer, low level stuff. But he disappeared three years ago. An investigation into his back ground revealed that Jason Ducat wasn’t his real name, we still don’t know what is, and that he is a genius hacker. He managed to gain access to all of our systems; the computer guys are still trying to figure out everything he did. We do know that he stole some seriou
sly encrypted files including personal data on the top leadership. We need to get him back alive so we can find out what he stole.”

  “If he is such a ghost, how am I supposed to find him?”

  “When the satellites came back up we started getting intercepts of all communications in North America. We intercepted a message that indicates that he is trying to sell what he stole to the N.R.T. It details a meeting to take place outside Springfield, Missouri with their representatives. We want you and your team to crash that party.”

  “What about Storm?”

  “All we know is that after their shuttle crash landed at Edwards he disappeared. No sign of him since then. The others were captured by G-21 and ransomed to what turned out to be a fake N.R.T. general. We suspect it was someone from NASA, but we couldn’t track them down. But we did confirm that Major Storm was not with them when they were captured and there were no reports from L.A. that he was still there.”

  “I want his head.” Tom grumbled.

  “I know Captain.” The general soothed him. “One thing at a time. Find Ducat and bring him back. We will look for Major Storm while you are gone. He cannot hide from us forever.”

  “Yes sir!” Tom responded with forced enthusiasm.

  He knew that this mission must be important so he would make sure to succeed and regain his good reputation. But he also suspected that if it was as important as he thought it was that Storm would probably show up along the way. Maybe he could use Ducat as bait to lure Storm into a trap. Either way, it would be good to get out into the field again. He hadn’t tangled with the Texas Rangers before so he was looking forward to it.

  Chapter 10

  September 2, 2029

  Stone Mountain Park, Georgia

  “Derek, Derek!” Said a voice that sounded like Rora’s.

  Those words and a shaking sensation were the first thing he felt as he climbed out of the blackness. Rora’s face swam before his eyes as he struggled to focus. Then, like a lightning bolt clarity struck him and he remembered being tased. Derek instinctually moved to defend himself and grabbed the person in front of him. His fist froze inches from Rora’s face as he realized it was her.

  “Whoa!” She hissed at him.

  “Sorry, it was instinctual.” He whispered back. “Where are we?”

  “We are in the Department of Homeland Security’s secret base under Stone Mountain.” Rora informed him quickly as she worked on releasing his leg restraints.

  “The mountain with the carving in the park in Georgia?”

  “That’s the one.” She replied as she glanced at her watch.

  “How did you get free?”

  She laughed. “They only took you; I’m here to get you out.”

  Derek took a minute to process that before replying. “How did you find me and how did you get here?”

  “We don’t have time for the whole story, our diversion should be starting…right about…now.” She warned him.

  There was the sound of a small explosion and sirens began to blare and red lights began to flash. Derek took a minute to look around the small room he had been imprisoned in. The room had flat white walls with no windows and only one door. The door was solid steel, painted the same flat white, and did not have a window either. Video cameras were mounted inside protective bubbles on the ceiling in each corner of the room. The only furniture was the chair in which Derek had been restrained.

  As he climbed out of the chair he saw a medical monitoring system and an IV set up with an automatic drip. Rora stood beside it dressed in a lab coat disabling the machine. Derek stumbled slightly as he got out of the chair; the drugs they must have using to keep him sedated were still affecting him. He shook his head to try to clear it.

  “Give it a minute.” Rora told him. “Your system should metabolize the drugs pretty quickly.”

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Three months…”She said as she poked her head out into the hallway and looked around.

  “Wow. What happened while I was out?”

  “Later. We have to go now!” She ordered and slipped out of the room.

  Derek followed right behind her. He realized he was wearing a hospital gown and no shoes as soon as they exited. The cold draft he felt only served to help wake him up. The cold painted concrete floor of the hallway was especially bracing. He noticed Rora was wearing scrubs under the lab coat and looked like the stereotypical scientist. A badge hung from her coat pocket.

  “Hey. What about clothes for me?” He asked looking around.

  “I think you look great in that gown.” She joked. “If I had known you were so worried about your clothes I would have brought a Born to Fight t-shirt for you.”

  He laughed. “How about just some pants and boots?”

  “Take out the next guy we see and take his clothes.” She suggested.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Derek said with a smile.

  Seconds later two gunmen rushed out of another room. They looked startled to find a man in a hospital gown in the hallway and he could see their eyes widen as they realized who it was. Surprisingly they didn’t try to shoot him and instead tried to smash the butt of their rifle stock into his face. Derek sidestepped the first man, grabbed his M4 carbine and smashed it back into the gunman’s face. The man released the gun and collapsed backwards.

  The other man changed his mind on shooting and turned towards Derek, raising the carbine as he turned. A vicious kick to the head from Rora dropped him to the ground. Seizing the fallen man’s gun Rora fired a burst into each man’s head, killing them instantly. Derek turned to her in surprise.

  “What did you do that for?” He asked in confusion.

  “Rule #3.”

  “I’m not sure they are enemies.” Derek insisted. “They didn’t kill me when they had the chance.”

  “Take that one’s clothes; he looks to be close to your size.” Rora said as she pointed to the larger of the two gunmen.

  “Rora. What is going on here?” Derek asked seriously.

  “We’re getting out of here, that’s what’s going on.”

  “What else happened while I was out?” Derek wondered aloud.

  “A lot happened; the world is a whole different place. Now we need to quit talking and focus on fighting our way out.” Rora called over her shoulder as she slowly crept down the hallway.

  Derek quickly stripped the man Rora had suggested and found the clothes were a decent fit. He pulled the face mask up to conceal his face and grabbed the remaining carbine. Quickly going through their gear he followed Rule #18 and grabbed all their additional clips of ammo. Then he followed after Rora as she slowly moved along the hallway.

  The hallway was bare concrete walls and a painted concrete floor. Track lighting on the ceiling provided bright yellow light. The alarms had shut off a minute earlier creating an eerie silence. They didn’t see anyone, but now Derek could hear gunfire and screaming. Then he heard a familiar snarling and howling.

  “What was the distraction?” He asked, fearing the answer.

  “They had Drinkers they were experimenting on. I set them loose.” Rora informed him matter of factly.

  “What?”

  “The level below us was filled with cells full of Drinkers and medical labs where they were dissecting them or injecting them with something. I even saw baby Drinkers. Sick stuff.” She said disgustedly. “I hacked the locking system to release them all. While the DHS guys are busy with the monsters, we can escape.”

  Two more gunmen suddenly burst through a set of double doors leading off the hallway in front of them. Rora gunned them down with a sustained burst from her carbine. Derek cursed as he realized they were fleeing, not attacking. A horde of Drinkers spilled through the doorway and started feeding on the fallen men. Rora screamed as some of the beasts looked up and saw the two of them standing there.

  Derek unloaded his entire clip into the bloody mouthed fiends, the bullets ripping through their leathery skin and killing the small
pack. But more of them came pouring out, drawn by the gunfire and the screaming. Rora turned and ran and Derek followed. The brown skinned beasts chased after them, the monsters’ mouths already bloody from previous kills. They howled in excitement as they chased after fresh blood; their claws making a terrifying skittering noise as they ran across the concrete floor.

  Reloading as he ran, Derek fired under his armpit back into the baying mass. He could hear some of the beasts fall, but there were too many of them and the uninjured ones just trampled over the fallen ones in their eagerness to get at Derek and Rora. There were so many they seemed to fill up the hallway and he wasn’t going to violate Rule # 5 and waste ammo by killing a couple, because it wouldn’t make a dent in their numbers. Glancing back it looked like a wave of brown bodies full of snapping teeth and claws rushing after them. The horde drew inexorably closer as Derek and Rora fled down the concrete corridor.

  They passed by rooms with doors broken in and bodies ripped apart inside. Several side corridors had gunmen in black holding back mobs of the monsters with sustained gunfire; spent brass piled up on the floor around them. But he knew it was a losing battle, there were just too many of the creatures and they could sustain a lot of damage before falling. He knew that from personal experience. He could almost feel the hot breath from their drooling maws as the beasts got closer and closer.

  “In here!” Rora suddenly yelled and darted through a doorway along the hall.

  Derek followed her in and they slammed the steel door shut just in time. The monsters slammed against the door trying to get in at their prey, but it held. The monsters outside howled and wailed in anger, but eventually got hungry or bored and moved on looking for other prey. After they left, Derek spared a glance around the room. His blood rushed in excitement when he saw where they were; the armory! Rora must have memorized the floor plans and the turns he had thought were random were designed to lead them here.

  Most of the weapons and ammo had been taken for the defense of the base, but a few remained; as did boxes of ammo. He smiled as a he grabbed an M-60E3 from the wall. The large light machine gun had fallen out of favor because it was heavy and been replaced by the M-249 SAW, but it fired much heavier 7.62mm rounds that had a lot more stopping power. Derek’s greater strength enabled him to handle the weapon with ease and it would be the better weapon against the Drinkers.