Code Frostbite (STORM Book 1)

by John Darling

  “Well, tonight Manchester United is playing Liverpool in an exhibition game at the Maracanã soccer stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, the Slayers are going to have to interrupt the game shortly in order to retrieve one of the players on the field. I’ll be coordinating the operation from here for training purposes. This is to teach you that not all of our battles are fought with weapons in the field.”

  Someone tapped Commander Knight on his shoulder and handed him a headset.

  “Sir, we are ready to start.”

  “Excellent. Everyone get closer and watch the screen closely.”

  We all followed Commander Knight’s instructions as he began speaking into his headset.

  “All right Captain, the mission is a go. Your target is twenty-three year old Roberto Firmino who is a striker for Liverpool. He is currently standing on the sideline and wearing the number eleven. We have approximately two hours before he turns. He needs to be taken as soon as possible. Remember this is a weapons free extract. Are your men in position around the stadium?”

  The screen zoomed in on Roberto, who was standing with the other Liverpool players on the sideline. He was our target? How was the team supposed to get him out of there with all of those people watching? There must be thousands of them in that stadium. There was no way they were going to be able to get him out of there without a lot of people noticing…

  Captain Santos began speaking back with his thick accent through one of the screens to us.

  “Yes, all of my men are in position. We have the double standing by and are just awaiting the go-ahead from cyber defense for our final approach.”

  The screen zoomed in on several operatives all around the stadium disguised as fans and moving towards the field. The screen also showed snipers positioned on the roof and in the corners of the stadium. They must have been there in case the mission went wrong. A different screen showed the rest of the strike team airborne in a helicopter all outfitted in combat gear.

  Commander Knight put his hand on his headset; “Are we good to cut the power?”

  Someone a few rows up turned around and gave him the thumbs up signal. He uncovered his microphone and began speaking again.

  “Captain, instruct your men to get ready. Power will be cut in three, two, one…”

  Just then the screen went dark. Audio played from the game and the announcers expressed their immediate concern from the sudden power outage. Had they really just cut the power to an entire stadium in Brazil?! How had they done that? The announcers continued to frantically express their disposition as well as a feeling of unrest among the spectators.

  “Go, go, go! Take the field!”

  We watched through some sort of thermal imaging movements of several people surrounding one person and then attacking him. I assumed the victim to be Roberto. Luckily Roberto had been standing at the end of his team’s bench, where there were only a few people around him. He struggled against the Stormers before his body turned into a motionless ragdoll. Two men began dragging Roberto off the field as Captain Santos spoke again.

  “Target acquired. Double being sent in his place.”

  We all watched as another figure ran and stood in his place. Did they mean double as in someone who looked like him? They seriously couldn’t have thought that swapping someone would actually work.

  Commander Knight yelled out towards one of the men on the other side of the room; “Time check?!”

  “Sir, just passed ninety seconds!”

  “OK, Captain Santos, we need to get the power back up. Everyone clear?”

  “Stand by…”

  The entire room went silent except for the audio of the announcers from the game. They were still yelling frantically and the state of the rest of the stadium wasn’t much better. Just then one of the men from the front of the room spoke up again.

  “Sir, Cyber Defense Unit Two reports that they cannot prevent the backup generators from coming online for much longer!”

  “Captain Santos! We need your men out now! What’s taking so long?”

  “We’re clear! Target and team ready for helo-extract!”

  The thermal screen showed the team leaving the stadium and getting into a helicopter that had landed some ways away from one of the main parking lots.

  “Sir, time check! Three minutes, twenty seconds!”

  “Flip the switch now!”

  The lights in the stadium went on just as the last person climbed into the helicopter. It hovered for a few seconds before quickly taking off and flying away. The announcers expressed their relief and the game continued a few minutes later. The mission seemed complete, however, everyone in the command center was dead quiet. No one is celebrating, yet it seems like we have a reason to…

  Everyone kept their sights on the giant screen in front of us. We listened as the announcers reported that Roberto Firmino had just taken the field and intercepted a pass. Even though it wasn’t the real version of him, the person they found as a replacement looked extremely like him. He continued to run with the ball when a defender came right to him and slid into his side. In addition to knocking the ball away from him, he completely took out Roberto. Instead of jumping right up, he stayed down and grabbed his leg in pain. The referees’ stopped the game as medics rushed onto the field. The announcers went crazy and yelled about how a rookie defender and the newest member of Manchester United had just taken out Roberto Firmino, one of Liverpool’s best. A few minutes later Roberto was carried off on a stretcher. Had this all been planned? It seemed way too much like a coincidence.

  “Sir Cyber Defense reports no footage captured of Captain Santos’ team. They are en route to the Falls and should be there within the hour. We will have a live feed of Roberto so we can monitor his status. Mission is a success.”

  Everyone in the room burst into celebration. Commander Knight threw his fist in the air and shouted “That’s how’s it done!” across the room. But what would happen to the real Roberto? Were they just going to kill him? I seemed to be the only person not completely satisfied with the mission outcome. Commander Knight spoke into his headset again.

  “Captain Santos! Congratulations. I never thought something like that could work so well but great job! Keep up the good work.”

  He took off his headset and turned to us.

  “Everyone understand what happened? This is the toughest kind of mission because we have to get creative in order for no one to get hurt or caught in the crossfire. Thanks to the work of Captain Santos and his team, not a single shot was fired and no one knows about our involvement. Secrecy and completing the mission are the two most important things. Anyone have any questions?”

  Alexei raised his hand first. “Sir, what happened to the replacement player? Did he really get hurt?”

  “Yes, he did. That whole play was planned and executed perfectly. Now no one will be looking for Roberto since they believe that the real one is injured.”

  I raised my hand and asked Commander Knight what was going to happen to the real Roberto.

  “Our job is serious. Lives are placed in our hands and they will be placed in yours as well. We have to ensure that this infection does not spread. Unfortunately, Roberto is carrying the infection and we expect him to turn very soon. We’ll do our best to help him but there isn’t much that can be done. It appears that his time may just about be up.”

  A few other recruits asked Commander Knight some questions but I zoned out and thought about Roberto. It wasn’t his fault that he had become infected. He was just a victim of circumstance. I understood that it was our job to eliminate infected people but it was easy to kill a zombie once it has turned. However, it was still a person; a person with a valuable life and unknown potential. There had to be a way to save people from this instead of just killing to prevent the end of the world.

  I regained my focus as Commander Knight told the class to huddle around him close.

  “I wanted you all to see what a real mission is like. We do everything poss
ible to train you for the real world, but training will never be the same as real combat. Most of the world doesn’t know about us, and that’s OK. However, they are counting on you to lead. One day you’ll be in charge of Strike teams and you’ll have to instruct young eager people, like yourselves now, to fight the world’s greatest war.”

  He paused for a moment and looked right at me.

  “Lead. By. Example. That’s the best thing you can do as a Stormer, an officer, and as a person. I wish you all the best of luck in the upcoming trials. That’s all I have for you all today.”

  The class slowly began filing out of the room. I was about to follow Alexei over to the elevator when Uncle Keith pulled me aside just before I got to the door.

  “Hey Trevor, I just want to say goodbye.”

  I immediately questioned what he meant by that.

  “I’m heading to Moscow for a mission with another Strike team. I should be back in a week or so, and I’m going to try to get back for graduation. I know you’re going to do great in the trials.”

  Even though I hadn’t seen Uncle Keith that much over the past few weeks, he had been a huge help. Skating on that rink the other day had been fantastic and not only had it relieved a lot of stress, but it had opened up my relationship with Jemma. Just knowing that Uncle Keith was here this entire time and that if I really needed him, I could potentially find him, had helped. I was going to miss him and I wished him luck on his mission. For the first time in a long time, I felt really, really good. All that stood in my way were these trials that everyone kept talking about, and after everything that I’d gone through, I wasn’t going to let that stop me from becoming a Stormer.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight: Cabin In The Woods

  Slowly I opened my eyes, suddenly noticing a thick stench in the air. My nose scrunched up as I sat up and discovered that once again, I wasn’t in my bed. The thick grass around me was about three feet tall and I carefully retraced my last thoughts in my head as I got to my feet. The last thing I remembered was playing Xbox last night with Alexei before going to bed. Before that, we had been in the control center and Uncle Keith had told me he was going to Russia, or at least I was fairly certain that had happened. The memories just became fuzzy for some reason. I looked around and took a few steps forward. Unlike the other weird “dreams” I’ve had, I noticed that I’m not wearing one of my black jumpsuits. Instead, I have a Patriots football T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. I lifted up one of my feet and discovered a white Nike sneaker with patches of mud and leaves stuck to the bottom. I decided to walk a few steps through the grass when suddenly I stepped on something hard.

  “OW! HEY!”

  I immediately took a step back as I recognized the person’s voice.

  “Alexei?”

  He moaned for a moment before jumping up to his feet in a panic.

  “No… no… NO! Where are we?”

  Alexei widened his eyes and looked around. I wished I had an answer for him but I was just as lost as him. Although, my gut was telling me that this was a simulation. He frantically continued to shout while I remained calm, accepting the fact that we might be on the verge of being tested. Even though Alexei was freaking out, I was just happy to be with him right now. If there was anyone I’d have preferred to be stuck with in a situation like this, it was Alexei.

  “I can’t do this man. Those things are going to kill me!”

  I got in Alexei’s face and grabbed his shirt.

  “Relax! We’re going to be OK. Let’s just see if there’s anyone else here.”

  Alexei finally took a breath and settled down. The sun was set about fifteen degrees above the horizon and it felt like about five o’clock or so in the afternoon. The air temperature was cooling off and starting to get a little brisk for shorts. Alexei had street clothes on as well, however, he had somehow gotten lucky enough to get a sweatshirt. He resumed asking questions while I took a harder look at our surroundings.

  Sticking out among the landscape like a sore thumb was a huge wood house neatly nestled up at the edge of a lake. It looked to be half a mile or so away, and it was the only sign of civilization out here. Other than that house, there was nothing but fields of thick grass and pockets of trees. I pointed out the house to Alexei and we agreed to make our way toward it. We only had a short while before the sun went down and we would then have no way of seeing in the dark since we had no supplies. I really hoped that house had something to eat because for some reason I was starving. Of course, knowing Alexei and his habits, I’m sure he was hungry too. Then a thought hit me. What if we were being forced to live off the land and hunt for food? Commander Knight had said that we had to be prepared to work in any environment. I wondered if we were being tested on that today…

  “Hello? Is anyone out there?!”

  The voice made me immediately look up. Alexei’s eyes widened and he instantly took off in the direction of the voice. I looked out across the field and saw Sierra stand up. Alexei ran right to her and gave her a big hug. She hesitated and then reciprocated the gesture by wrapping her own arms around him. It was no secret that Alexei had feelings for her. After their hug, she turned and stuck her hand out. Suddenly, another hand grabbed it and she helped the person to her feet. As soon as I saw her face I raced through the grass to meet them. Like Alexei, I thought about hugging Jemma, but I decided against it. She rubbed her head and then found a clump of dirt in her hair. Out of disgust, she tried to remove it as quickly as possible.

  “See, this is why they need to tell us when this crap is going to happen. I wouldn’t have gone to bed with my hair down.”

  Sierra agreed with her and immediately began running through her hair with her hands before putting it up with a hair tie that was on her wrist.

  “Do you think we’re really on Deck Four? This could just be another trick of theirs…”

  “Don’t be an idiot, Sierra. This is a simulation. Hell, a hundred bucks says that this is our trials.”

  Jemma’s negative tone quickly shot down Sierra optimism. I liked how she thought that this could have been a dream, but I had to agree with Jemma. After everything we’d been through and based on what they told us, this had to be the trials. I’m just glad that I have my team with me…my team!

  “Guys, this is definitely our trials. Look, the four of us are here in this unknown landscape. We have no weapons, no gear, and no information on how we got here. We all need to work together and prepare for the worst. Is everyone good to start moving?”

  The three of them nodded.

  “Good. We only have a few more minutes left of daylight and I vote that we get to that house out there. Alexei and I only woke up a few minutes before we found you both and from what we can tell, that’s the only thing out here. If there’s any food or gear out here, that house is our best bet.”

  Alexei and Sierra agreed, but Jemma froze and quickly pointed to something behind me. I turned around and could see, off in the distance, the one thing I had been hoping to avoid.

  “We’re going to need guns… and fast.”

  Just over the horizon, a huge pack of zombies was coming out of the west. Thankfully, they weren’t running but Jemma was correct. If there was any hope of us getting through these trials successfully, we would need weapons. The four of us sprinted through the grass with nothing but the cabin in our sights.

  The sun had completely set, leaving only a small glow out on the horizon. And with no moon or stars in the sky above us, it wouldn’t be long now before it was completely dark. Thankfully, that wasn’t a major concern at the moment since we were rounding the far side of the lake. We expected to reach the house very soon. Alexei and Sierra were a few feet behind me and struggling to keep up. Jemma was about twenty-five feet in front of me and running up the front steps of the house now. I had a feeling she was going to get there first since she was by far in the best shape out of the four of us. I also noticed throughout the training that she had incredible stamina. Not only was she the fastest girl o
n the O Course, but she had also beaten a lot of the guys too. As far as teams go, I’m glad she’s on mine.

  I reached the steps and looked behind to see how far back Alexei and Sierra were. Alexei had slowed down even more and Sierra yelled out to us saying that we should go in the house. Jemma tried opening the door but it was locked. I recommended that we break a window and she trotted down the steps to look for a rock in the grass. In the process, she noticed an equally large pack of zombies coming from the opposite direction. I looked out at them and then checked on the previous pack that we had spotted. They will more than likely reach the house in a matter of minutes.

  “Trevor… I’ve never been in one of these without a weapon. What are we going to do if we don’t find any?”

  I can tell Jemma was beginning to worry about our ability to succeed. With so much riding on the line and our every move undoubtedly being graded, I completely understood her doubt. However, she was the strongest fighter out of the four of us. If there was any hope for us to get through this and become actual Strike officers, then I needed to keep her calm and focused on the task at hand, which was getting into the house. I quickly encouraged her to keep searching for a rock and assured her that I believed everything we needed to fight would be somewhere in this house. I just hoped I was not wrong.

  “I found one!”

  As soon as I turned to see the rock she had found, I ducked to avoid it flying through the air. I closed my eyes and listened as it smashed right through the window to the right of the front door.

  “Could you give me a heads up before you do that, next time?”

  Jemma ignored my comment and kicked the hole in the window in an effort to remove more glass. Alexei and Sierra finally arrived as she made her way into the house and then opened the door for us. The three of us rushed in and I couldn’t help but notice that every single light in this house appeared to be on. It was acting like a beacon for all of the zombies on their way to kill us. The last thing I wanted to do was help the things that were trying to kill us.