by B. T. Wright
“Whatever gets me out of here,” Dylan said with a huff.
“That’s the spirit!” Colt playfully slapped his son on the shoulder before leaving the room.
At the entrance, Colonel Jenkins, the vice president, Bald, and one other were waiting. “There you are. This is Mark Joyner. The president’s chief of staff, he’ll be joining us on the chopper.” The vice president nodded to the other man.
Colt nodded, but let the vice president continue.
“You boys ready for another helicopter ride? I’ve only heard stories of how good a pilot, Colonel Jenkins was back in the day.”
“We can attest to that,” Colt said, smiling as they approached.
“Well then, let’s go!” he said.
The men walked through the half-moon entrance. Once the main door was opened, natural light poured in, guiding their path outside. As they rounded a subtle turn, the road that led out of the complex sloped downward. Colt hadn’t noticed it before, but the road led to another gate—one that needed to be opened so vehicles leading out of the complex could access the main road. He stopped moving at the sight of infected plastered against the fence.
“Wait!” Colt warned.
The vice president and the rest of the men spun around. “What is it, Mr. Maddox?” the vice president said.
“The infected. They’re . . . they’re, behind the fence.”
All looked to the end of the road.
“What, them?” Colonel Jenkins said. “They’ve been there for three days. No need to worry.”
It was true. They were far off, maybe two hundred yards or so. And the fence they were standing behind stood nearly twenty feet high with barbed wire wrapped around the top, much like the fence that parelled the street on both sides.
“The helipad is just over there.” Colonel Jenkins pointed to his left.
Every man followed his gaze toward the chopper. It was sitting there, waiting to be lifted into the air. To carry its cargo far away.
But before any man could take another step, the unmistakable sound of a car horn echoed through the canyon.
“What the hell is that?” Colonel Jenkins said.
Everyone’s attention shifted to the madman speeding through the mass of infected just beyond the closed gate.
“Stop! You sonofabitch, stop!” Colonel Jenkins yelled out.
But the car didn’t. It gathered speed as it came closer to the entrance of the gate.
Colt stepped backward, shuffling his sons behind him, expecting the worst. Bald raised his rifle. “Get behind me, sir.” Colonel Jenkins pushed the vice president behind him, likewise expecting the worst.
Bodies of the infected bounced off the cars bumper as the driver proceeded.
“Colonel,” Bald started.
“What is it, Bald?”
“You recognize that car?”
Colonel Jenkins strained to see. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “No way. You’ve got to be kidding me. Is that?”
“I believe it is, sir.”
“Redding.” Colonel Jenkins shook his head from side to side.
“Apparently he wasn’t too happy with me shooting his buddy Gunderson. Or the fact we didn’t make room for him on the chopper.”
“And now what? He wants to get back at us? Become a meal for the infected? That sonofabitch! Can you take him out?”
Bald stared through his scope. “Negative, sir. Not from here. I’ll have to wait until he gets closer to the gate.”
Colonel Jenkins floundered for Colt’s regard. Shock hung on the colonel’s face. Shock and despair.
The car bowled through the masses, but as it proceeded, a swarm of infected formed behind the car and followed behind its bumper, chasing him down.
“Take the shot! Now, Bald!” Colonel Jenkins yelled.
Bald squeezed the trigger and as the shot spiraled through the air, Colt stood high on his toes to watch the bullet’s path. The shot contacted the windshield and shattered it, but the car didn’t slow, not nearly enough. The front end pierced the gate and rattled it inward, but it didn’t break.
Frozen in place for the moment, the group stood still. But only until the upsurge of infected climbed the roof of the car and, with their momentum and strength, pushed inside the fence. When the first infected dropped from atop the car and onto the roadway that led to the main entrance of the complex, Colonel Jenkins turned around and yelled, “Run!”
30
At Colonel Jenkins’ command, Colt lifted Wesley into his arms. His first step was back toward the gate, but he stopped when Colonel Jenkins yelled, “Can’t go that way, Mr. Maddox. The gate is sealed. We need to make for the chopper.”
Colt altered his path and spoke down to Dylan. “Follow them, and hurry!”
Dylan did as he was told. Colt was quick on his heels and didn’t dare look behind him. He couldn’t, not if he wanted to make short work of the ground they needed to cover to reach the helipad.
As they ran, Colt heard the booming screeches from the infected. Men, women, and children leapt from the roof and hood of the car. One by one the infected chased after Colt and the others as they made their way toward the waiting chopper.
Colt saw Colonel Jenkins hop into the pilot’s chair. He was the first to enter, followed closely by the vice president and chief of staff. Bald stood guard, aiming his rifle toward the gate, back at the infected who were closing in on their position.
Bald squeezed the trigger of his automatic rifle and fired numerous shots that whizzed past Colt and the boys as they ran. Dylan reached the chopper before Colt, and he didn’t hesitate. He leaped into the cargo bay and turned for his brother. After unloading Wesley from his arms, Colt joined Bald, spinning his rifle that was slung across his chest.
Bald witnessed Colt come near and nodded to him. In between shots, he heard the rotors begin to churn overhead.
Finally! Let’s get this thing airborne and get out of here, Colt thought. Quickly, though, he realized Bald wasn’t moving from his position. Why isn’t he moving? How long does this thing take to warm up? Colt didn’t know that Colonel Jenkins would need at least sixty seconds to get the chopper airborne.
With each passing second, the infected multiplied. Once Colt’s rifle was empty, he had the sinking feeling they would be overrun. Bald couldn’t have many shots left in his magazine either. Sure, he had multiple extra magazines, but he’d have to reload, and the infected were gaining ground.
“I’m out,” Colt said.
“Do you have a sidearm?” Bald looked up from the stock and asked.
Without responding Colt turned to Dylan. “Grab the Glock from your bag.”
Dylan ripped his bag open and handed the handgun to his father. Colt stared down the sight as he held the weapon away from his body. With his right arm almost fully flexed, he got an infected in his sights and pulled the trigger just as Bald’s magazine reached empty. Colt glanced at him as he dropped the magazine from the rifle, reached for his side, and shoved in another. In awe of his professionalism and extreme skill, Colt thought of Jake’s face again. But his thought quickly faded when he saw an approaching infected. A woman. She was close, nearly ten feet away. Colt lifted the Glock and put her down.
“Uh, Colonel, they’re getting closer. We need to get out of here,” Bald’s voice shook, but with the reverberating rotors, there was no way the colonel could hear him.
Colt found another target. They were getting close now, within six feet. That was when Colt felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun to see fear in the vice president’s eyes as he waved Colt inside. Colt hopped on the side of the chopper, as did Bald, both still aiming over the edge and firing into the crowd of swarming infected.
With each dropping body, they got closer.
Five feet.
Then three.
Then two.
Finally, as the helicopter lifted from the ground, an infected man leaped for the skid. He held on tight and flailed his feet. Colt looked down to see his gnashing teeth and
the pus dripping from his open mouth until Bald aimed and fired a round through his head. Colt watched the infected man fall into the awaiting arms of the swarm below.
Colt sighed and pushed himself into the cockpit. He put a headset over his ears and caught Bald’s eye. “That was close,” Colt said.
“Nah, we had ‘em all along.” Bald chuckled.
“Great shooting, gentleman,” the vice president said.
“Man’s a natural,” Bald nodded to Colt.
“Just got lucky, I think.”
“Luck or not, you boys saved our lives,” the vice president said.
Colt nodded to the vice president, then sat down hard next to his son’s. He wrapped them close in his arms, knowing once again the hardships they continued to endure with each passing minute of this new world.
Once airborne, Colonel Jenkins pointed the nose north and said. “Sit back and enjoy the ride, fellas. We’ll be in Kansas City in no time.”
As Wesley and Dylan pressed into their father, Colt’s thoughts returned to Anna. Would the infected breach Cheyenne Mountain? Could they? But then he felt a momentary moment of calmness wash over him when he remembered what he’d heard about the city in the mountain. Cheyenne Mountain Complex was a fortress. Nearly, impenetrable.
Then, the calmness faded. From everything he’s seen, these infected were able to test their limits. Adapt and evolve. One way or another, they’d find a way inside.
VOLUME THREE
Book 3
by
B.T. Wright
1
The hum of the boat’s motor was loud in their ears. The river was black in the dark of midnight, and the wind pushing against Jake Maddox’s face felt warm. Though his girlfriend, Jess, his best friend Tyler, and their VIP package—thirteen-year-old Amy—made it without injury, his heart was heavy. The short but hellacious run from the University of Cincinnati to the Rivertown Marina had already claimed the first member of their team. Jerry may have been their weakest link, but he was still part of the chain all the same. A mission is always a failure when a team member is lost. No matter if the desired outcome is reached or not.
The infected had been everywhere on their trip to get to the boat, or at least that was how it seemed. Just four days ago, before they were infected, every one of those black-eyed aliens had been a normal human being just like Jake and everyone else on his team. Now they were all hunters. Looking to take everyone in their path down with them. For what reason, or to what end, was still unknown. But what was certainly clear was that they were getting smarter and more cunning by the day.
Moving from the safety of the small compound under the library at the university at night had been the only thing that saved them. That and they were able to drive to Rivertown Marina with their lights off thanks to the night vision goggles Professor Reed had procured before the fall of earth. Jerry lost his life because a group of infected had been standing guard at the marina, waiting for anyone to come their way. They had waited until everyone was well clear of the RV to make their move. And they came fast. In the end, they had killed every one of the dozen infected that had jumped them, but not before they claimed one of Jake’s ten.
Jake had gone over the risks with everyone who decided to leave the university for the emergency operations center in Mount Weather, Virginia. They knew the risks, but that didn’t make the loss any easier. However, just like any of his many missions with Delta Forces and in the Army, Jake knew the objective must still be reached. They had to keep their minds moving forward, and that was what he was doing now as he stood at the bow of the boat, staring at the black in front of him.
The boat was stocked with enough weapons and ammunition for a small war. If the trek from the university to the marina was any indication of what was to come, that amount of weaponry still wouldn’t be enough. They had plenty of medicine. Yesterday morning Jake led Bryan Hall, the only other survivor with military experience, and two other men that were also on the boat now, out on a Beritrix run. Beritrix is the medicine Jake has been taking since he was an infant when he was diagnosed with WD17, a disease that completely strips the immune system, affecting approximately 1% of the world’s population. But more important for Jake and others that had this disease, it also just so happened to be the medicine that kept them from getting infected. The medicine had been created to restore and amplify the immune system in those who had WD17. Apparently, it restored the immune system in a way that whatever the aliens were releasing into the air to infect people, Beritrix kept those aliens from making hosts out of whoever had been injecting it. “A dose of Beritrix a day helps keep the aliens away”, Tyler had joked. So far, it had continued to be true. And everyone on the mission to Mount Weather would have to have that daily dose to keep from being turned.
What the rest of the population had been turned into was still a point of contention, but with Amy being able to translate the alien conversation, and that conversation being all about taking over humanity, it was hard to argue, even for Jake, that it was anything other than an invasion. What they wanted, and why they wanted it, was still a mystery. And it would remain so, at least until Jake and company got Amy to Mount Weather, where they could begin investigating and running tests as to why she was immune from being infected even though she hadn’t taken Beritrix. The real reason to get her to Mount Weather, other than Jake’s carnal instinct to protect the innocent, was that the thirteen-year-old could actually understand these invaders. Whatever they were. Jake and Jess also believed Amy was what the aliens had referred to as Element Zero. In the conversation Amy was able to translate, these aliens mentioned Element Zero was their only weakness, and that they must find it. They both thought it too big of a coincidence that Amy was immune without medicine and could translate this alien language. Then, of course, there was also the fact that on multiple occasions, the infected, who had never spoken anything before, said the name Amy. One said it to Jake, and one said it to Dr. Emily Fraser at Mount Weather. The coincidence was too strong.
So what did that mean for Amy? Jake had no idea. But if Amy was in fact this Element Zero, and it was the invaders’ only weakness, he was certain they would be coming for her. Therefore he had to get her to Mount Weather alive so maybe the small number of humans left on the planet could possibly learn how to survive this invasion, and in Jake’s mind, find a way to fight back.
2
Jake was just getting ready to leave the front of the boat when he felt someone grab hold of him. He looked back and saw Jess and unhooked his arm so he could wrap it around her.
“Doing okay up here?” Jess said. Her voice was near a shout to be heard over the boat’s motor.
“Just clearing my mind.”
She nodded and gave him a squeeze. Jake was so happy to have her and Tyler with him. Other than his brother Colt and his nephews, they were the only loved ones he had left. He thought of Emily in Mount Weather in that moment. He thought about the spark they’d had when both of them were stationed in Syria a couple of weeks ago. How they had too much to drink one night and made love. Jake had told Emily it was a drunken mistake; that he loved Jess. He saw the hurt in her eyes, and though Jake knew he should never have slept with Emily, because he loved Jess with all his heart, something about her was special. He hated to think that way, especially with Jess on his arm, but he never meant to get to know Emily the way he had. Their bond over the mutual loss of their parents suddenly when they were younger was the catalyst for the close relationship they’d formed. Even though Jake had never meant for things to get physical, they had, and he hoped going forward it wouldn’t ruin what he had with Jess. They’d been together since high school—over fourteen years—and it was the most important relationship in his life. He didn’t know what he would do without her. If one mistake was enough to erase that, he supposed he would have to live with it, because he was the one who made the mistake. But a life devoid of his girl would be dark. Especially in this cold new world.
Jake leaned o
ver and gave her a kiss on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
It was dark, so he had to imagine her dirty blonde hair blowing across her sharp cheekbones and almond shaped eyes.
Jess lifted Jake’s mood. The other thing that kept him in good spirits was the radio conversation he finally had with Colt yesterday. Colt and his two sons, after far more time than Jake would have liked, had finally made it to the Cheyenne Mountain complex outside of Colorado Springs and been able to radio him. Colt had mentioned they’d found trouble several times, but were able to make it alive. His wife—the boys’ mother—hadn’t been so lucky. Colt had also been able to corroborate what Jake had seen in Kentucky: that the infected were most certainly evolving, and getting smarter every day. That was ultimately why Jake had chosen to go as far as they could toward Virginia on the river––hoping their evolution had only made it to on-land skills.
The idea had come when openly formulating a plan with the fifteen survivors at the professor’s university-funded End Of the World project’s underground safe haven. One of the members of the board and current captain of their little river vessel—TW White—was an admitted yachty. He suggested if Jake was so worried about the roads being watched by the infected that they try to make it to his boat at the marina. Jake’s plan had included the river ever since.
TW had mentioned the main problem they would face with the river would be the dams. He said that without anyone running them, most likely they would be closed. And if they were closed, there was no bypassing them, and their journey would have to move to land right then and there. Without the dams, the river could take them as far as West Virginia, making their trek on land much shorter, eliminating a couple hundred miles of risk. But TW said there was no chance all the dams between Cincinnati and West Virginia would be open. In fact, the first major hurdle was supposedly just in front of them now, the first dam, Meldahl, only about thirty miles from Cincinnati. They very well could have gone through all the trouble of getting to the marina for only a thirty-mile boat ride. So everyone aboard the boat, no matter how exhausted, was waiting with bated breath as they approached the dam.