A World Apart (Part 1): 8,000 Miles

by Sean P. Thomas

  “Wait here.” He told them.

  “Hold on.” John pleaded. The guy turned and shut the door behind him. John heard the hasp close and the padlock click. They were locked inside. John scanned the room. The room was lit by large fluorescent lights. They had power. There were no windows and no other doors inside. There were a few empty shelves and a large metal table inside, but nothing else. Three of the walls and the ceiling were constructed of wood, but the back wall was metal. It was obviously the wall of the hanger itself and this room had apparently been built inside, right up against that wall.

  “What the fuck do they want with us?” Shelly asked out loud.

  “Maybe they are just being cautious.” John said. “They haven’t done anything to hurt us, yet.”

  “What should we do?” Ed asked John.

  “I suggest we just wait and see.” John answered him. “Maybe we can still talk our way out of this.”

  “That guy didn’t seem very friendly.” Damien pointed out.

  “Desperate times.” Samir said flatly.

  Before the group could continue their discussion, they heard the door being unlocked, then the door swung open. The guy from before pointed at John.

  “You, come with me.” He ordered. “The rest of you stay put.”

  “What choice do we have?” Shelly asked him.

  “None.” The man told her.

  John followed the man out of the room. The door was locked again, then the man led John towards the door at the back of the hangar.

  “Where are you taking me?” John asked him.

  “The boss wants to see you.” The man responded.

  John was somewhat relieved to find out that this guy was not in charge. They moved to the door and the man pulled it open. He motioned for John to enter, then walked in behind him. This room was constructed much like the one they just left, except that it was much larger. There were several tables with computers and monitors on them. The tables faced the back wall where large television screens were hung across it. John recognized the setup and figured this had been a Tactical Operations Center before the apocalypse. None of the computers were powered on as far as John could tell, but the screens on the back wall displayed camera images from the gate and other portions of the outer fence line. John saw that their other two trucks were still parked in front of the gate, where they had left them.

  “We don’t have much use for any of this equipment except for the surveillance cameras around the perimeter.” A man said as he approached John from the opposite side of the room. This guy was not wearing a uniform like the other men at the base so far, but instead was wearing cargo shorts, a t-shirt, and opened toe sandals. He had a baseball cap on with sunglasses sitting on top of the brim. He didn’t have a weapon on him, that John could see, and he had a friendly, disarming smile on his face. “You see, before the zombies came along, this was our operations center.” He explained. “But since we went dark, we had no need for all of the computers. We keep the cameras on to watch the perimeter, for the living and the dead. It keeps us safe. My name is Brandon, welcome to Shindand Airbase.”

  “Are you in charge here?” John asked him.

  “I suppose so.” Brandon cheerily answered. “Most of these guys are airmen that were left behind, like I was, when the base was evacuated. They were guarding the gate, and their leaders didn’t bother to relieve them of their duties when they flew the last plane out of here.”

  “Why didn’t you leave with them?” John asked.

  “I was the senior agent for the CIA field office here.” Brandon explained. “We were conducting an important surveillance mission over Iran when they called for the last evacuation group. I sent my people ahead so that I could get the drone safely back here. Even with the world falling apart, I couldn’t risk our drone falling into the hands of the Iranians. I completed my mission and ran out onto the airstrip to catch my flight, but I got out there just in time to see it flying away. Alas, this is my home now.”

  “How many are you?” John asked him.

  “Now, now, you don’t really expect me to show you my hand before I know if your intentions are pure, do you?” Brandon said. “I don’t even know your name.”

  “My name is John. We came here looking for help and were taken prisoner.” John replied angrily. “I don’t think it is our intentions that are in question.”

  “Forgive my men’s actions John.” Brandon told him. “Zach here can be overly cautious like that. We don’t get many visitors at our gate, besides the occasional zombie, so I’m afraid it was a bit of a misunderstanding.”

  “Your man Zach said that he was taking all our supplies and equipment, he said that if we didn’t cooperate, that we would die.” John said flatly. “Not much room for interpretation there.”

  “I assure you, while Zach will never win a congeniality award, it was still a misunderstanding.” Brandon declared. “We don’t need your supplies, not even your fuel. This airbase is well stocked. We have plenty of food, water, fuel, weapons, you name it. What you brought with you is nothing compared to what we have. To be honest, it was your explanation that led to your current circumstances. Zach told me of your supposed plan to drive west, all the way to the coast. After hearing your so-called plan, he became suspicious of your group immediately. He figured you were scouting out our defenses with the intent of coming back to take the place. I don’t fault him for his mistrust. You have to admit that your plan sounds like suicide.”

  “It might sound ridiculous, I admit, but it truly is our plan.” John told him. “We would rather die trying to get home than to give up on our families.”

  “That’s admirable.” Brandon said with a smile. “I promise you that you and your group are in no danger here. I would like you to be our guests, for the night at least, so that we can discuss your plan further. Perhaps we can talk you out of it, perhaps not, but I would like you to give me the opportunity. At the very least, I can give you some intel on the road ahead. I probably know more about Iran than any living soul in Afghanistan.”

  John looked at Brandon with skepticism.

  “John, we have working showers here.” Brandon said then. “Get your people cleaned up, we’ll share a meal, then we can talk for a while. What do you say?”

  “You’re telling me that we aren’t your prisoners?” John asked.

  “I swear it.” Brandon stated.

  “We can keep all of our equipment and leave right now?” John asked him then.

  “Yes,” Brandon replied, “but I beg you, please stay with us tonight. I want you to see what this place has to offer before you decide to leave.”

  “I’ll discuss it with my people.” John told Brandon.

  “Great.” Brandon said happily. “Zach will take you back to your people and get you all situated once you’ve made your decision. I expect you will at least stay the night. So hopefully I will see you in a couple of hours.”

  John nodded, then walked out of the room with Zach.

  ***

  A few hours later, John and his friends were sitting in folding chairs outside the hangar with Brandon. They had all taken the opportunity to get cleaned up and had shared a hot meal with the CIA agent. The sun was beginning to set. John hadn’t seen anyone else on the base up to this point and was curious as to how this small group kept the large airbase clear of danger.

  “How is it that this place is so clear?” John asked Brandon.

  “We didn’t get hit hard here.” Brandon explained. “We had a few that got sick and turned eventually, but we were following all of the reports from across the country. We kept them under close watch and then dealt with them as soon as they turned. The Afghan side of the airbase was abandoned shortly after it all began. I guess they all tried to return to their families. The American leadership in Bagram ordered a country wide evacuation. The smaller FOBs were ordered to use helicopters to get their survivors to Kandahar and Bagram. They ordered the leadership here to evacuate immediately. The planes sta
rted leaving soon after. The inside of the base was completely clear of any zombies when the last plane left.”

  “Lucky.” Shelly said. “It is a shit storm everywhere we have seen.”

  “I noticed that the village to the southeast was empty when we drove here.” John said. “It looked like a ghost town.”

  “Well, after I found myself alone, after the last plane few away,” Brandon told them, “I moved around the base looking for others. There was no shortage of vehicles remaining, so I just drove around until I found all the airmen that were left behind. Some of them were still manning their guard posts, others were around their quarters or the mess hall. I got everyone together and explained to them that we were left behind and had to make a home of this base, at least until some sort of rescue might happen. I’m not holding my breath. Anyway, I told them we should check the village for survivors and bring any inside. We went to the village and found it full of undead. The boys cleared it out quickly and we burned the bodies right there in the village. It was a good move, we haven’t seen but a couple of undead since then anywhere near our fences.”

  “Do you know how the rest of the world is managing?” Ed asked Brandon then.

  “The last word I got from the states was that the whole country was affected by the crisis.” Brandon told them. “The President has been moved to a secure location with a majority of his staff. Every state had activated their National Guard according to the last reports I received, but it was looking pretty bad everywhere. There were reports of entire cities being overrun by the dead. New York City, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., to name a few. The first emergency broadcasts had warned people to stay in their homes, but from the later reporting, it sounds like that might have been a bad idea. The virus spread incredibly fast in the populated areas.”

  “Do you know anything about El Paso?” John asked.

  “No, sorry.” Brandon told him. “Similar reports came from Europe, China, Russia, and Australia, this is definitely a global epidemic. That’s why I think you should reconsider your plan. You are facing a hell of a lot of risk trying to make that trip, and it may very well be for nothing. A trip like that could take you months, even a year. Even if you make it all the way to your home, everything might be lost by the time you make it.”

  “We have to try.” John said determinedly.

  “I hear you John, I really do.” Brandon tried to sympathize. “But you have to consider reality. Either the world we knew is gone and forever, or the governments of the world will find a way to fight back and control the situation. Either way, your safest course of action is to stay here with us. We have a secure base, practically untouched by the apocalypse. We have generators giving us power. We have enough supplies to last us at least a year, given the size of our group, even if you were to stay. We can make a go at surviving this thing, at least until we see some sign that things will return to normalcy. If that happens, it wouldn’t be long before we could establish communication with our government and organize a rescue. Worst case, we live as long as we can here on this base. If you go forward with your plan, I fear your deaths are almost guaranteed. Please consider what I am telling you.”

  “I personally cannot go on without knowing if my family is safe, or even alive.” John said. “I do not speak for the group. I speak for myself. I would not expect anyone to risk their lives on behalf of my desires, but I will go forward, even if it is alone.”

  “I want to find my son.” Ed chimed in. “So, you know I am with you John.”

  “I would rather die fighting for a cause than sit here in uncertainty.” Shelly added.

  “I’m with John as well.” George said.

  “Me too.” Damien concurred.

  Samir was mostly quiet throughout the conversation, but he spoke up as well. “I will go to Herat and try to find my family. After that, I don’t know.’’

  Susan didn’t speak up at all.

  “Well if you are all dead set on this crazy plan, who am I to try and stop you.” Brandon conceded. “But I do have some information to share that will impact your journey. First, the last surveillance we had over Herat indicated that the city is lost. I understand that you want to find your family Samir, but I would advise you all to bypass Herat at all costs.”

  Samir hung his head low, but didn’t say anything.

  “I told you before that I was flying drones over Iran.” Brandon continued. “It is in pretty bad shape as of a few weeks ago, but the military was still out in force. The border guards were still in place then as well. If the military is still intact, I guarantee they will not let you travel through their country unchallenged. If civilization is lost in Iran, along with its military, then you have over 70 million zombies within its borders. Neither outcome is promising for you. That’s just Iran. If you make it through that country, then you have all the overpopulated countries of Europe to traverse. I’m telling you John, it sounds impossible.”

  “We have considered all of that, but we still want to try.” John told him. “I thank you for the information and for the hospitality, but we will be leaving first thing in the morning.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, but like I said, we will not stop you.” Brandon assured him. “I hope that you can make it, I really do. If by some miracle, you make it all the way home, and you find some portion of humanity intact, send me a plane. I sure would be grateful.”

  “You got it.” John told him with a smile.

  CHAPTER 34

  Tensions were still high between Patty and Jerry the next day. Roy did his best to try and convince Patty she was out of line, but he had little success in changing her opinion. Angie had spread the word amongst the others, that joined the settlement with them, to avoid Patty altogether, until things were sorted out. She didn’t have to tell Jerry though, he was already avoiding Patty. He originally wanted to do another supply run on this day, but decided not to, because of the events that transpired the day before. Jerry spent the morning at Hector’s bedside. Greg and Alex had done everything they could to treat the wound. There was a new tourniquet in place above the bite wound. The wound itself was cleaned and dressed. Hector was receiving fluids through an IV and a steady flow of antibiotics as well. He had woken up once while Jerry was at his side. He was feverish and in pain, but the young man was in good spirits. Jerry apologized to Hector, but Hector refused to assign blame to anyone but himself. Greg gave Hector something for the pain and Hector went back to sleep a short while later. Greg expressed concern about the supply of antibiotics, so Jerry was determined to make that run to the hospital the next day.

  Jerry had to keep himself busy, so he decided to go and help Chris. Chris was outside the school with Kyle and Alex. They were getting ready to install the well and try to get a constant source of drinking water. The design was actually simple, and it wouldn’t take much work to get it installed. One of the components that Chris had pilfered from the hardware store was a well point, which is basically a perforated pipe with a pointed end that is driven into the ground. The other end of the well point was threaded so that additional piping could be attached to it. Chris selected a spot of bare ground about eighty feet or so from the north wall of the high school to install the well. He placed the pointed end of the pipe against the spot he selected and screwed a cap on the threaded end. Then Alex used a heavy sledge hammer to pound the pipe into the ground. Once the well point pipe was completely submerged, except for about four inches, Chris removed the cap, used thread tape around the threads, then attached a five-foot section of the galvanized pipe to the well point. The end cap was placed on the end of the new pipe and Jerry took over with the sledge hammer.

  The men repeated these steps for several hours, alternating the laborious duty of hammering the pipe into the earth. Sometimes the pipe went in fairly easy, sometimes it barely moved an inch with each swing of the hammer. Finally, after about thirty feet of the pipe had been driven into the ground, a final swing resulted in a loud hollow bong. Chris
held up his hand to halt the swinging of the hammer.

  “We hit the water table.” He told the others. “Give it two more swings, to make sure the screen on the well point is fully immersed in the water.”

  Kyle was on the hammer then and did as instructed. After the hard work was done, Chris went to work installing the electric water pump. He attached the pipe to the pump using some fittings and a piece of flexible rubber hose. Next, they hooked up the pump to a generator and started it up. It took a few seconds, but muddy water started coming out of the electric pump. Chris let it run for a bit until the muddy water became crystal clear. He cupped his hands under the water and took a sip.

  “Delicious.” He told the others.

  All the men let out a cheer. Chris shut off the pump and with the help of the others, laid the PVC pipe across the ground, all the way to the high school. A few hours later, they had all the pipe installed, it ran from the electric well pump to the inside of one of the windows that led into the boy’s locker room. Next, they hooked the other generator up to the main breaker of the high school. Chris started it up, manipulated some breakers, and then the school had power for the first time in weeks. After the power to the school was restored, the men went inside and prepared to finish the job. The next step would require them to run a hose, from the end of the pipe they just installed, to the boiler room, where the main water line attached to the network of plumbing that supplied the whole school with running water.

  ***

  His first indication that something was going on was when the lights in the boiler room came on. Then he heard people approaching from the basement hallway. He darted into a back corner of the room and hid behind a large furnace. He drew his knife and crouched. The door to the boiler room opened and he heard footsteps as a few men entered the room.

  “What the fuck is that?” He heard one of them say.

  “Damn, look at all that food.” Another one said next.