Blue Plague The Fall

by Watson, Thomas A.

  “I will probably add more, but for now that is it. Let’s move out,” Bruce said, walking to the back door, the others falling in behind him. As he reached the door, Alex ran up to him.

  “The university just got overrun. Only two soldiers made it out. They said the Air Force base is close to being overrun. They are starting to fly people out on transports out west,” Alex informed him.

  Bruce looked down, feeling the loss of friends he had not gotten out. A lot did get out but some didn’t. Looking at Alex, Bruce said, “Turn the police radio off and get back on ours. We can’t do nothing about them.”

  Bruce opened the door with his rifle up and went outside. Looking behind him, he saw Buffy was mimicking his movements with her weapon even though it did not have a magazine in it. Smiling, Bruce headed to the wood line behind the school. Once they were in the woods, he turned south, heading toward the farm. Looking at his watch, he saw it was after three. They had been at the school for almost an hour. Well, it could not be helped and at least the new members of the group were prepared. They were an asset and not a total burden, Bruce thought, moving through the woods. They had at least four hours of daylight left, and Bruce wanted to be at least eight miles from here. He did not have much hope in that, but Bruce would be happy with five miles.

  The small group headed through the woods following Bruce. All but one survivor was holding on to a small flame of hope to survive and live in this new world; the last was hoping to rule it.

  Chapter 31

  The group had been moving for over two hours and was all drenched in sweat. Bruce held up his hand for everyone to stop. Motioning everyone close, Bruce pointed at the thin girl with brown hair, telling her to take a water bottle out and pass it around to the other kids. Some of the kids made faces about drinking after others until Bruce told them that half-empty containers of water made a lot of noise. With noise came infected and trouble. The faces of disgust disappeared after he told them that.

  Lynn and Maria were sharing a bottle of water with Susan and Cassandra. Mike, Alex, Angela, and Bruce were drinking out of their Camelbacks. Bruce looked down as Buffy was trying to get her pack off without setting her gun down. Bruce smiled, touching her shoulder, and handed her the tube to his Camelback. She smiled and took a long drink. Bruce knelt down in front of her, adjusting the sling to her submachine gun. He stopped when it was at her waist instead of her thighs. Lifting the gun up to Buffy’s shoulder to make sure there was enough slack so she could fire it, Bruce let it hang back across her abdomen.

  Bruce looked around and saw Jim drinking a bottle by himself. He did not say anything because he did not want to force someone to drink after Jim, as Jim was pretty much hated by everyone. Turning his head, he saw Alex and Angela teaching Cade to drink from their Camelbacks. With the smile on Cade’s face, he looked like he was enjoying it. Taking a closer look at Angela, he saw her hair plastered to her head like she had been swimming. Her M-4 was slung across her backpack, and she had the P90 slung across her body resting on her right side with the magazine pouch on the left. She looked like a young teenager going to kick someone’s ass or die trying. Out of everyone, Bruce was worried about Angela the most. She was carrying more than half her body weight, and when she carried Cade, it was close to three-quarters of her body weight. Alex carried Cade the most, but the baby wanted his mama.

  Bruce made up his mind to slow the pace so Cade could walk some giving each of them a rest. Lynn and Maria took turns carrying Cassandra for Susan. They had taken one of her diaper bags that was full of powdered formula, splitting it between each of their packs. Susan was keeping up well with the group, with Joshua in the backpack baby carrier. Jim never carried either of the kids, and as far as Bruce could tell, they did not want to be near him.

  Walking back, Bruce told Alex that he was slowing the pace so Cade could walk some. Overhearing Bruce, Angela started to protest. Bruce told her he wanted Cade tired so he would sleep tonight, and she said okay, turning back to Cade drinking from her Camelback. Alex looked at Bruce and winked. Walking back through the line, Bruce quietly told everyone to get up and get ready to move. With Buffy at her usual spot slightly off to his left side, he headed to the front of the group.

  He reached into his pocket, pulling out his GPS satellite map. He found where he was then he studied the map. They were coming up on a large pasture that was several miles long. If they stayed along the edge, they could not be seen from the road. It would be much easier traveling for everyone, and the toddlers could walk. Bruce felt it was worth the risk even though anything easy is always paid back double in pain.

  Motioning everyone up, he started off, and in thirty minutes they reached the field. Bruce went over the fence first. Then Buffy cradled her weapon and crawled under the barbed wire. After they had crossed, Bruce whispered to stay close to the fence and always be looking. He started walking the edge of the field with everyone in single file. Well, except the toddlers––they were walking everywhere along the line in the tall grass. Bruce kept the pace at a slow walk. He was looking ahead with his binoculars when Maria came up beside him.

  “Can I walk with you? We need to talk, please,” she said in a low voice.

  “Okay, but no louder than this,” Bruce told her.

  “You need to start calling the kids by their names, Bruce. It hurts their feelings when you refer to them by hair color or ‘hey you’,” Maria said.

  “I don’t know their names, Maria,” Bruce replied.

  “Well, let me teach you. The boy with red hair is Ben. The boy with brown hair is Marty, and the black boy is John. The chunky girl is Christina, and the slim one is Julie. They are all twelve years old and were in the same class. I will teach you their last names later after you have learned their first names,” Maria said with a smile.

  “Thank you, teacher. I will do my best,” Bruce smiled back.

  “Bruce, I want to thank you for taking us with you I know you did not want to,” Maria said.

  “It’s not that I didn’t want to, Maria, I just want to get to my family. With this group, it is going to add days,” Bruce replied with dejection.

  “Why not just drive then?” Maria offered.

  “Because we would die,” he replied. “There are police and gangs everywhere blocking off roads and shooting vehicles to get at the people inside. You, being a woman, should be extra careful because rape and murder are rampant now,” Bruce told her.

  “I have heard,” she replied, suppressing a shudder.

  They walked on, talking some, with Buffy following beside Bruce just listening. As they topped a small rise, Bruce dropped down to the ground. Buffy was lying on his left side. Maria, seeing Bruce drop, just ducked low. Bruce told her to lie down, which she did. Looking back at the group, he saw everyone was on the ground except Jim. He was looking around for place to lie down where he would not get dirty. He finally found a spot and sat down. Bruce made a mental note to kill him later. The parents had grabbed the toddlers and were holding them tight.

  “What is it?” Mike asked over the radio.

  “Infected in the field ahead,” Bruce replied back. Keying his radio again, he said, “Keep everyone down and move them closer to the fence.”

  Mike did not reply back, but Bruce saw him moving up the line motioning everyone to the fence. Bruce crept up the side of the hill until he could see over it. Looking over the crest, Bruce saw two runners chasing a cow. That is what caught his eye and made him hit the dirt.

  Watching the two runners chase the cow, he was amazed that not only were they chasing it, but they were gaining on it. The cow turned back and forth trying to get away from them, but they were not tiring. But the cow was. One of the infected grabbed the cow’s tail, and the other grabbed the head, making the cow trip. All three hit the dirt rolling. The runner that had grabbed the cow by the head was biting it and ripping at it with his hands. The other runner got up and ran over to the cow. Bruce could see by the way it carried its left arm, it was brok
en, but it did not care. The cow was covered in sweat and exhausted. The cow was not kicking much as the two tore into it, making the cow bellow out.

  Bruce was fixing to pull back but thought better of it as he pulled his rifle up. He did not want two runners in the same area as he was. The carnage was a little under a hundred and fifty yards away––well within his range. He turned the power up on his ACOG, lining up the crosshairs on the one with broken arm. Seeing it through his scope, Bruce saw it was a woman and the other was a man, or they had been at one time, for all he knew about the virus it could have changed their sex. Her skin was a dark blue while his was a lighter blue.

  Bruce rested the crosshairs on her head, slowly squeezing the trigger. The bullet hit her in the shoulder, almost taking her arm off. All she did was look up for a brief second and went back to feeding. The male blue never even looked up. Bruce took a deep breath, letting out half of it, resting the crosshairs on her head again, and slowly squeezing the trigger until the gun bucked in his hands.

  The bullet hit her in the back of the head, blowing out the other side as she fell on top of the cow. The male blue never stopped feeding. Bruce eased the crosshairs to his face and slowly squeezed again. The bullet hit him in the forehead, blowing off the back of his skull. He then moved the sights to the cow’s head, putting two bullets in the cow’s head to end its suffering. Bruce looked up out into the field and could not see any more infected.

  “That was some awesome shooting,” Maria said from his side from where she had crawled up to see what was going on.

  “That’s my daddy,” Buffy told her, beaming with pride on Bruce’s other side.

  “Come on you two, we need to get moving,” Bruce said, standing up.

  Bruce called Mike over the radio and told him they were moving out. Mike asked him what happened, so Bruce told him. He could not believe two infected had not only run down a cow but tackled it then started feeding on it. Bruce reassured him that it had happened and they needed to move.

  They reached the end of the field and headed back into the woods. They walked until about an hour before dark. They stopped in a large stand of oak trees. Bruce told the kids–– calling each by name––to clear the leaves out, forming a large circle. He told everyone to break out some food and eat. Taking off his pack and setting it on the ground, Bruce almost felt light enough to fly. He opened his pack and took out an FSR, or first strike ration. One FSR held the same amount of calories as three MREs and weighed much less. Bruce sat, sharing his meal with Buffy and teaching her about the UMP. Alex, seeing Bruce giving a lesson on the submachine gun, came over and sat with them. He showed them how to field strip then reassemble the weapon. By the time it was dark, each of them felt comfortable with the weapon.

  Bruce opened his pack, pulling out his monocular NVG and the thermal scope he got from the cop car. He put the headband on his head, mounting the night vision over his left eye then swiveled it up out of his way. Then he mounted the thermal scope on his SCAR, pulling the skirt on the thermal scope over his red dot. The skirt did not allow any light to escape. Looking over, Mike already had his out and set up. Walking around the group, Bruce instructed them not to leave the circle for any reason during the night. If they had to use the bathroom during the night––Bruce pointed to a spot by Jim––everyone should go there. He and Mike each pulled two blankets out of their packs. Mike told the kids to spread one out and cover up with the other. It was still very hot, so the kids did not want to cover up.

  Bruce said he would take first watch, Mike second, and Alex last. Angela started to say something until Bruce told her to be quiet. Looking at Angela with a scowl on his face, Bruce told her she would take watch when he said, and right now was not it. Mike told Alex he would let him use the NVG for his shift. There were a lot of clouds so there would be little light to see by.

  Everyone settled in, and before long everyone was asleep as the woods became pitch black. Bruce had his back to a tree with Buffy sitting between his legs. His rifle was laying down on his right side, and hers was across her lap. Bruce told her to get some sleep, but she just shook her head no. So Bruce showed her by feel how to use the NVG. The headband would not fit her, but she liked being able to see at night. Then he showed her the thermal scope. Their four-hour shift ended, and Bruce let Buffy use the monocular, holding it to her eye as she walked over to wake Mike for his shift. When she got back, she sat back down between his legs and passed the monocular over her head to Bruce. He put it on, wrapping his left arm around her; his right hand rested on his SCAR. He slowly drifted off to sleep, and the nightmares came.

  Chapter 32

  Debbie was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. She felt like shit after only three hours’ sleep; she would talk to Nancy and cancel a lot of the work outside today. They would bring the cases the boys had dug up and unpack them. Everyone needed a break today. Tonya was making breakfast after sitting up with her mother all night.

  Pam had improved after getting blood yesterday. Nancy had taken her off oxygen and stopped her IV fluids during the night. Nancy had gotten to sleep around three. Steve was in mission control, and Stephanie was still in the fort after relieving Debbie last night. The shift was fixing to end, and David was going to the fort, but Steve was staying in mission control.

  Danny and Mary both walked into the kitchen, heading straight to the coffeepot. The family had over two years’ worth of coffee stored and had started some coffee plants in one of the greenhouses, but Debbie knew they would run out before the plants made any beans. She had her doubts if this house could function without coffee.

  A few minutes later, the boys came into the kitchen, all heading to the coffeepot. Debbie smiled to herself. They all sat down at the table with plates full of food. Some were staring at their plates, and others were eating like the food was going to run off the plate.

  Debbie looked down the table and said, “I’m canceling all work outside today. We are going to unpack the cases and take it easy today.” The kids just looked at her, expecting her to say it was a joke.

  “Are you serious, Mama Debbie?” Mary asked.

  “Yes, I am. We need a break. Plus we need the stuff in those cases,” Debbie said.

  “Mom, Matt and I have a project that we want to work on for the family,” Jake informed her.

  “What is it?” Debbie asked.

  “We don’t want to say; it’s going to be a surprise,” Jake said.

  “Well, I don’t care as long as both of you do your chore list,” Debbie stated.

  “This project will require the use of the machine shop and some stuff from the armory,” Jake said carefully.

  “Jake, you and Matt know how your fathers are about that machine shop. They don’t mind any of you working in it as long as they know what you are doing. As for the armory, you know how your dad is about those guns, son,” Debbie stated.

  “Mama Debbie, it is really important, and I promise you we won’t break anything. Everyone in the family will love it,” Matt pleaded with her.

  Debbie looked at the two boys and could see that this was important to them. “Okay, you two can do your project, and if the duo have anything to say, I will take the blame,” she told them. “Please don’t make an atomic bomb, boys.”

  “Mom, you have to have uranium for that,” Jake said.

  “You know what I mean, Jake. Don’t make me regret my decision,” Debbie said.

  “That is one thing I can guarantee, Mama Debbie,” Matt said.

  “How long will this project take?” she asked.

  “Probably two days but no more than three,” Jake said.

  Debbie looked at the boys; anything those two could work on for two to three days was going to be dangerous. She just hoped it was not dangerous to the boys. She trusted their judgment and abilities, just not their egos. They were so much like their fathers it was scary at times.

  “All right, let’s eat and get the cases unpacked then you two can start,” Debbie sai
d.

  Matt and Jake inhaled the food on their plates then put the dishes in the sink. They went outside, moving the cases into the den and game room. After everyone else finished, they went to help Matt and Jake unpack the cases. The first one contained wrapped canvas bags; each contained parts to make one weapon selective fire. Each bag had a label on the outside that listed parts in the bag. The boys stopped counting at fifty. Also in this container were short barrels for the rifles because any rifle barrel under sixteen inches had to be registered and taxed by the ATF.

  When Matt opened the second case, he let out a long whistle. Inside were more suppressors than he had ever imagined. Each one had a card wrapped on it saying what caliber and thread type. When he picked up a large suppressor, he called Jake over and they both smiled at each other looking at it. Jake reached in and started pulling out five plastic ammo boxes. Opening the boxes up, he saw there were one 5.56, two 7.62, one .338 Lapua, and one .50 caliber. He picked up one of the fifty-caliber rounds and looked at the tip in disbelief. The boxes were full of armor-piercing incendiary rounds. Only the military had this––how in the hell did his father get his hands on this ammunition?

  When Nancy came down and saw what was going on, she told Steve he could go and help. After the second case had been unpacked, Steve told everyone to bring their sniper rifles, assault rifles, and side arms down to the den. Sitting on the floor, Steve started fitting suppressors to the sniper rifles and side arms. Everyone’s sniper rifle already had a threaded barrel, and their primary pistols had extended barrels with threads. Since they could not keep suppressors on all the time, they just put caps on to protect the threads. Steve said he would then start fitting the selective-fire lowers to the assault rifles.