by JT Sawyer
He heard the lab doors screech open, the metal gliders on the bottom emitting a shower of sparks as they ground along the tracks, illuminating the silhouette of the alpha creature. He was helpless to resist as the beast grabbed his ankle and dragged him off into the next room, its shrill voice increasing with each step forward.
Chapter 45
Ivins leaned forward into the front of the helicopter as the co-pilot removed his headset, his face grim. He noticed their velocity had slowed, and the pilot seemed to be searching for a place to land along the coast.
“We just received word from McKenzie that there was an assault on the Reagan strike group. The Halsey was sunk, along with two civilian frigates.”
Ivins’ heart sunk, his lips forming a thin line. “What about the Reagan?”
“She survived, but the command center was destroyed. She’s inoperable until a salvage and recovery crew from Pearl can get out to her. Two hundred and seventy personnel are dead. McKenzie was on the Peary when the Chinese sub struck, so he’s alive, but the Reagan’s XO didn’t make it.”
“Chinese—again. Christ.” They must have been under orders from Lau, who is hopefully rotting in a dark hole in Nanjing by now. Ivins swallowed hard. “Did they sink that submarine?”
“The Peary destroyed it, but not before it delivered its full payload, including one long-range missile that obliterated the GoodWill.”
“Jesus.” He pressed his sagging shoulder into the side of the bench. “They took out the GoodWill too.”
Clark shouted back to Ivins, “Given our present location, we’ve got enough fuel to make it to Calexico. There’s a small U.S. customs helipad there along the California-Mexico border. They’ve indicated they can resupply us. After that, we can get to the CDC in Phoenix or to the marine base in Twenty-Nine Palms.”
Ivins’ mind was still reeling from the loss. So many people dead—and this time not even at the hands of the paras. He had barely had any time to process the loss of his two SEALs on the roof, and now there were more fatalities. When will this madness end? He thought of Reisner and the others left behind in L.A. They will be expecting us to return in a few hours. He is totally unaware of what’s just unfolded in the Pacific.
He looked at Amber, who was awake and sitting with her son Chris. Their survival was a miracle, and he had to focus on the good in this microcosm of humanity before him. Ivins’ eyes settled on the metallic case at Selene’s side and the precious sample inside. There was still a glimmer of hope in combatting the virus. He had to hold on a little longer.
Ivins turned around, knowing Jackson was waiting for an answer on their destination, and he kept his voice low to avoid alerting the others. “Head to Calexico first. We’ll examine all of our options from there once we’re on the ground.” His team and the survivors around him had been through enough, and he didn’t want to shatter the next few hours of rest for them. There would be enough time to talk once they were on the ground and could come to grips with the devastating news.
Selene glanced over at him after tending to Connelly’s head injury. The doctor had a look of contentment about her, and he realized he would soon have to tell her that Reisner and the others were lost to them.
Chapter 46
Reisner was sitting before the security monitors in the server room, watching the hordes of drones outside trying to find a way into the heavily bolstered NSA building. Porter was busy meddling with some overhead speakers, trying to make up another set of sonic weapons, while Nash was doing an inventory of their remaining ammo. Blake was sitting on a couch in the corner, his eyes glazed over from fatigue, while he tried to process everything Reisner had told him about conditions in the rest of the world.
Reisner looked up at the four different clocks on the wall, each affixed to different regions of the world. His eyes floated over to the Pacific clock, and he wondered what Selene and the others were doing since they had boarded the GoodWill. He let out a deep breath and counted down the minutes until Ivins would return in the Blackhawk. His eyes shifted quickly to a blur of movement on the right security monitor, which showed an emergency exit door on the ground level. There was a large rusted disk that had just landed on the ground, and Reisner moved closer to examine the image. A second later, he saw a thin creature move into view, the same one Blake had indicated was the alpha earlier. It bent over, retrieving the heavy manhole cover with both hands and flinging it at the steel exit door.
Reisner was astounded at the strength of the beast as it repeatedly snatched up the heavy object. Again and again, it slammed the cover into the slowly yielding door as hundreds of drones waited behind it. Reisner could see the hinges buckling as the door began to cave in.
He glanced over at Porter. “Hey, how many of those sonic devices can you rig up?”
“I’ve got one completed already, and can have two more in half an hour.”
“That’s time we don’t have.” He grabbed his pack and flung it over his shoulders, glancing over at Blake, who had just hopped up. “Looks like we can use your services as tour guide after all.”
The gruff biker grabbed a pistol off the table near Nash. “Guess this is no longer the most secure place in L.A. —if there is even such a place anymore.” Blake moved to a large map of the city on the wall beside the door. “I got an idea,” he said, tapping his finger on the street behind the NSA building. “I was going to use this route here to make it to the ocean with my own group before we ran into you guys. If we can get down below without being detected and get into that alley, we might have a chance.”
“Nash, head up top and rig up the rope so we can get down into the alley. Blake you go with him. Porter and I will be there in a minute as soon as I get out an automated message to Ivins so he knows that we’re planning to head west.”
He wondered if they were about to engage in another epic battle on the streets below, and he hoped Ivins would be able to locate them once they were on the run through the city. For now, Reisner tried to slow his breathing as he thought of the others in his life that he had to get back to and what was to come if he made it through this day.
THE END
Thank you for reading this book! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay tuned for many more challenges and adventures to come for Will Reisner and his team.
If you are interested in my other post-apocalyptic or thriller books, please consider joining JT Sawyer’s Facebook page. If you would like to receive information on future book releases in the Emergence Series or wish to be a part of my reading team, please visit http://www.jtsawyer.com.
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About the Author: JT Sawyer is the pen name for Tony Nester, who makes his living teaching survival courses for the military special operations community, Department of Homeland Security, US Marshals, FAA, and other federal agencies throughout the U.S. He has over 27 years of experience testing long-term survival skills in the desert, mountains, and forest. He also served as a technical consultant for the film Into the Wild and has been featured on NBC News, Maxim, Discovery, Fox News, NY Times, and the Travel Channel.
Additional Titles by JT Sawyer
First Wave Boxed Set
Special Forces veteran Travis Combs just wanted to forget his weary years of leading combat missions while taking an extended rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. As he and his group complete a 22-day trip on the Colorado River, they find the world has unraveled from a deadly pandemic. Now, he has to show his small band how to live off the land and cross the rugged Arizona desert, while evading blood-drinking zombies, gangs of cartel bikers, and a rogue government agency. The bestselling First Wave Series is now available as a boxed set with all three action-packed volumes.
Until Morning Comes, Volumes 1–5
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br /> Secret Service Agent Carlie Simmons began her day surrounded by trusted colleagues in an inter-agency shooting competition in Tucson. It ended with a staggering body count as the world around her unraveled from a deadly virus. With her mission to extract the President’s daughter from the University of Arizona gone awry, she must choose between her sworn duties and her moral obligations to others as the city is overtaken by roving packs of flesh-eating mutants. If she and her small group are to survive the night and find a way out of the ravaged city, she will have to summon all of her training, mental prowess, and tactical abilities.
Dead In Their Tracks: The Mitch Kearns Combat Tracker Series, Volumes 1–7
Meet Mitch Kearns, a former Special Forces Combat Tracker who works for the FBI hunting down notorious criminals. Crossing paths with Israeli agent Dev Leitner, the two seasoned operators join forces to bring down terrorist cells, rogue assassins, and black-ops mercenaries in these adrenaline-soaked novels that span the globe.
Non-Fiction Survival Books by Tony Nester (aka JT Sawyer):
Survival Gear You Can Live With
Bug-Out Gear for Travelers
A Vehicle Survival Kit You Can Live With
When the Grid Goes Down: Disaster Gear and Survival Preparations for Making Your Home Self-Reliant
The Modern Hunter-Gatherer: A Practical Guide to Living Off the Land
Bushcraft Tips & Tools
Life Under Open Skies: Adventures in Bushcraft
Table of Contents
EMERGENCE Infestation Book 2 By JT Sawyer
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
About the Author:
Additional Titles by JT Sawyer
Non-Fiction Survival Books by Tony Nester (aka JT Sawyer):