by Gary Hickman
“Sir, both the east and west walls are compromised and the infected are inside the compound,” Her voice and her hands were shaking.
“Fuck me to hell!” Harwell raged.
He grabbed the handset, “Pave One this is HQ, do you copy?”
The Reapers were a few miles out of Frederick when Harwell came over the radio. “Pave One, this is HQ. Do you copy?” He sounded out of breath and stressed.
“Pave One, go ahead.”
“We are being overrun. The infected have breached the outer walls.” Harwell’s voice raised an octave or two, and the fear could be heard in his voice.
At this point HQ’s front doors were being assaulted, and Simmons was trying to search the monitors for the cameras that were facing the doors.
“Are you in a position to support?” It sounded more like a prayer than a question.
Webb answered, “Sorry, Sir. We are over the east coast. The CDC facility was overrun, and we’re heading to North Carolina.” There was a lengthy silence, then some mumbling from Harwell.
The front doors gave way, and Simmons pulled her pistol. She leveled her Glock and took the right side of the closest infected’s face off. Harwell ran towards her and fired at the next two closest.
“Simmons, come on! Come the fuck on!” Harwell screamed at her.
She back peddled as she continued to fire, but the infected were much too fast. They ran and pounced on her even as Harwell was firing into the mass.
The closest infected jumped on top of Simmons and drove her down. Before they even hit the floor, a gangly woman took an enormous bite out of the front of Simmons’s face, coming away with strips of flesh and most of her nose.
Simmons let out a gargled scream as blood spurted from the front of her face. The infected woman didn’t waste a moment and dove in for another bite. This time she tore out most of Simmon’s throat as blood bathed the both of them.
Harwell turned and took off running for the war room. He made it there a couple of seconds before the horde of infected, slamming and locking the door. He turned around frantically, trying to come up with what to do next.
He heard a voice come over the radio.
“HQ this is Pave One, do you copy? HQ, do you copy?”
Major Harwell stared at the radio for a few moments while the infected scratched and pounded on the door, trying to get in. After a pause, his shoulders slumped, and he trudged to the radio.
“Captain Webb, this is HQ. You are not in the vicinity to provide support? Is that correct?” Harwell said solemnly.
“Correct, Sir. What are your orders? Continue to the CDC Facility?” Webb asked.
Harwell then started rambling, “Then it’s over. It’s fucking over. I guess I knew it would all come to this.”
Webb tried to talk to him but Harwell had the transmit button pushed, keeping the line occupied.
“I knew when I had to kill Madison that it was all over. Just too stupid to let it all go, but it’s time.”
There was another long silence, then a click. Webb shouted in the mic, “Major Harwell! Sir, can you hear me? We can redirect and head your direction….” BANG! Then there was dead silence.
CHAPTER 30
“Harwell, Harwell, are you still there? Major Harwell, do you copy? Speak to me, Sir.” Webb looked stunned. He then yelled, “Fuck, fuck, fuck! HQ is gone; it’s fucking gone!”
Priest and the rest of the team looked down, their faces not revealing the emotion inside them.
Dr. Choi looked worried, “What does that mean?
Shin turned to her, “It means we have a home no longer.”
Priest sighed, “It also means that Command is gone, and we have no idea whether any other command still exists. In a nutshell, we are on our own.”
They set down at Frederick Airport and Priest old Doug to shut down. Priest directed everyone to continue to provide security, but to be in earshot to hear. “Ok, unfortunately, we have to bring everyone up to speed, and I’m sorry but we can’t pull any punches on this. Our HQ is gone, overrun. We have tried to hail other command structures along the way with no luck. Basically, we are on our own with no command infrastructure that we know of, no orders beyond what we have already executed, and no idea what’s going on in the rest of the country. Hell, we have no idea what’s going in the world.”
Dr. Caulfield spoke up, “Does that mean you no longer have any responsibility to us anymore?”
“Technically, yes. We can take off and leave all this shit behind,” Priest exclaimed. Worried looks shot all around.
“Don’t worry, we will not do that.” Webb nodded, “We took an oath that transcends any command structure or world event. You guys are stuck with us until we find a place that you will be safe.”
Izzy moved closer to Webb while he spoke, and it was quite obvious that she had gotten close to him during the craziness they recently experienced.
Webb continued, “So, the plans are to get you guys to Boone, North Carolina. Hopefully, it is still intact. Speaking of which, what the hell happened back there?” Dr. Caulfield and Dr. Choi exchanged worried looks, and you could see the fear behind their eyes.
Izzy spoke up. She was shaking, but grabbed Webb’s arm to steady herself. He didn’t seem to mind and even put his hand over hers. “We were performing analysis on the samples we had, but they were quickly becoming non-viable. Fresh samples were needed and the only way to acquire those was to pull them from actual infected people. We met with the head of facility security… Sargent Collins, I think his name was. He had agreed to send a couple of his men to retrieve what we needed. From what we could determine, his men became infected, somehow trying to obtain the samples. Then they faked their way in. Nobody knew who was infected or not, so the actual infected gained their way in and started infecting everyone in the facility.”
Izzy continued, “When the chaos broke out, we locked ourselves in here. They tried to gain access into the lab by telling us they were security and were here to help us. We almost opened the door as they sounded somewhat normal, but then we heard the clicking noise they kept making. I could see them through the camera outside the door before they destroyed it. Their wild eyes and the way they kept tilting their head back and forth was disturbing. It was one of the creepiest things I have ever seen. Gave me shivers,” she finished.
“Wow, we’re just glad you guys are ok,” Webb patted her hand which appeared to give her some courage. She wiped away the tears and stood up straighter.
Izzy looked at the Team, “I want my combat gear back.” She went to a duffle she had brought and removed the gear she had worn previously. She stripped right there and got dressed.
Webb noticed with a quick glance that she didn’t have the stereotypical scientist body and hers was fit and quite nice. Being from Puerto Rico, she had caramel skin and black hair. Webb turned around and glared at those who were still looking. They immediately spun to put their backs to her.
Priest turned to Lia, “You have a second?” She nodded, and they walked off. He led her away and finally stopped and turned towards her, “Look, things have changed quickly and not for the better. We are in an “end of the world scenario” here, and we have no idea what could happen next. I guess what I’m saying is.”
He stopped and took her hands in his. “Normally I would wait awhile to say anything about my feelings. Hell, to be honest, I might have said nothing at all, but these aren’t normal times. I have not felt this way about a woman in a long time. I’m not sure what I’m asking, but whatever we do, or wherever we go, I would like to do it together.”
She just stared at him for a long moment. Priest was on the verge of turning around and
walking away, sure that he had made a mistake, when Lia spoke, “I thought you would never ask.”
Priest stood there dumbfounded. She hugged him, pulled back and kissed him full on the lips.
“Damn,” Doc yelled. “Didn’t see that coming!”
Priest turned toward the chopper, his face a little flush. He floated back to the aircraft, and Lia followed with a grin on her face.
Webb walked over to Priest, “We good with the plan?”
“Huh, what?”
Webb laughed, “The plan. Are we good with the plan?”
“Ah, yeah, yeah. We’re good.” Webb slapped him on the shoulder, shaking his head.
They refueled without incident and were in the air headed to Boone, NC. Priest had the Team check and clean their gear. Lia and Izzy followed suit because they were now part of the Team. Webb had given Izzy a pistol and an M4 and taught her how to fire and clean it.
Dr. Caulfield and Dr. Choi wanted nothing to do with any weapon, which was cool with Webb and Priest. They didn’t want to spend the time trying to teach them, anyway. Training people to shoot, who have never dealt with a weapon before, was a serious pain in the ass.
CHAPTER 31
After an hour in the air, Allison’s voice came over the comms. “Webb, Priest. We are approaching Roanoke Blacksburg Airport. We need to stop and refuel here to make it to Boone, North Carolina.”
“Ok, give us the flyby so we can assess the scene,” Webb replied. “You guys land after we assess Me, Shin and Neville will roll out and provide cover on the east side. Priest, Shaw, and Doc will take the west. Lia and Izzy will provide support from the chopper. You guys take off and hover after we unload, that way we don’t’ risk losing our transportation.”
Doug buzzed the airport a couple times to lure out the infected. A few people appeared out of the buildings and were easily dispatched. Lia was manning the .50 cal and Izzy had an M4 providing support.
Priest’s and Webb’s team exited and knelt down in an outward facing semi-circle on each side. Doug ascended to about 20-30 feet and hovered. Each team spread out to 100 yards, then made their way to the fuel tanks by one of the maintenance buildings.
Priest, Shaw and Doc checked the building for any infected while Webb, Neville and Shin posted guard out front. Priest reported all clear, and they brought the chopper in.
Doug set down near the tanks and spun down to refuel, kept the engine running just at lower torque. Allison exited and refueled. A couple minutes went by, then they heard a siren, and all looked around.
Webb spat, “2 o’clock, emergency vehicle.” They saw a bright lime green emergency fire truck coming their way.
“They have active emergency services working here?” Shaw asked. Nobody really knew the answer to that one, but saw the truck came around one of the main buildings and headed towards them. As the fire truck came closer, they could see the people hanging off of it and the way it was erratically being driven.
“Aw shit,” Shaw spat. “Fucking infected.” The team opened up on the truck.
Priest yelled into his comms, “Allison, stop fueling and get this bird the fuck out of here!” Allison stopped the pump and threw the handle. She jumped back in the chopper and Doug cranked the RPM’s getting the rotors up to takeoff speed.
The team was throwing as much lead down range as they could and rounds were slamming again the truck’s front, shattering the windshield. Two of the infected fell off the sides of the fire truck after being shredded by all the bullets, but the truck was eating up the distance by the second.
“This shit is getting hairy,” Webb shouted. “Get that chopper out of here, Doug!”
“I’m trying, but I have to get enough lift first. It doesn’t just jump in the sky in a second!” Doug yelled. Just then one of the front tires blew out, which caused the truck to flip and slide on its side. The speed and the momentum drove the sliding truck toward the chopper.
“Move! Get out of the chopper!” Priest screamed. Doug lifted off, but it was too late. The truck slid and crashed into the chopper, plucking it out of the sky. As the truck hit the bottom of the helicopter, it tilted on its side. Rotors bounced off the concrete, which broke apart, sending pieces of rotor and chunks of concrete in all directions.
Each of the team dove for cover while attempting to dodge all the fragments being hurdled everywhere. The truck slid into fuel tanks and slammed into the side of the building. BOOM! The leaking fuel exploded, and the explosion pushed the truck back into the helicopter, which was on its side now. This sent the helicopter flipping across the pavement.
The shock wave leveled the team to the ground and sent pieces of debris and bodies flying all over the area along with blood and fuel residue. The landscape took on a toxic feel and fire was everywhere. It was difficult to breathe, and the disorientation made it nearly impossible to gauge their surroundings.
There was screaming and moaning, which faded in and out because of the explosion affecting their hearing. Fear and panic gripped Webb, and he bled from multiple cuts and the mist caused by the fuel in the air bit at every open wound on his body. He was disoriented and was trying to regain his feet under him, as he yelled out, “Reapers, sit rep. Reapers, I need a sitrep.”
The call out was to see who was still with him. Priest tried stumbling to his feet, but the earth was shifting back and forth under his feet and he found it difficult to find his equilibrium. “I’m here, but don’t know shit beyond that.” He looked around at the total devastation surrounding him, which was difficult to see with the fuel mist floating in the air. He also tried to locate the rest of his team. “Shaw, Neville, Doc, Shin, call out!”
“Mother fucker!” Well, there was Shaw. A couple seconds later he came stumbling over to Priest. He was dirty and bloody, but none the worse for wear.
“You see anyone else?” Priest asked.
“Negative Sarge, but we better find them quick. This situation is deteriorating fast.” There were fires all around that were creating columns of smoke. The two were navigating the debris and the fires as best they could.
Shin opened his eyes and was immediately beset by excruciating pain, and he moaned at the stabs of agony. He looked down to see an enormous piece of the tail rotor embedded in his abdomen.
Blood was seeping around the wound, and he couldn’t seem to move his legs. He could hear faint voices calling out, which he tried to clear his throat and answer. His voice was horse, and he was having trouble catching his breath to call out. He managed a yell with no audible words, hoping it was enough to be heard.
A minute later, he saw a figure through the smoke. He couldn’t tell who it was but could determine they were hurt. His voice was low and raspy, “N-Neville, is that you? Doc?” The figure wasn’t big enough to be Priest, Shaw, or Webb. “Hey, I need help here. I am quite injured.” The figure seemed to hear him and made its way toward Shin. “Thank you, I am in some trouble. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Doc, is that you, I hope?” The figure came out from the smoke and the nearby flames illuminated their face.
It was not any of the team, but one of the infected from the fire truck. Half its face had melted off its skull showing a bone jowl and exploded cheek bone. The eye on that side was a bloody mess and looked like slime dropping out of the eye socket. On that same side, its arm and leg were at weird angles and barely functional. “Shit!” Shin uttered. He tried calling out, but his voice just wasn’t loud enough. The infected figure had locked on him with its single eye, which spurred its shambling toward him with a renewed vigor.
Shin reached around him, searching for some kind of weapon to repel the creature. He could see his backup knife sticking out of his boot, but being paralyzed prevented him from reaching down to gra
b it.
Shin panicked and tears streamed down his face. There was nothing in his reach to use, so he tried to move, using any function his body was allowing him to use. The panic was grabbing him and squeezing his breath out of him. The creature was only a couple feet away when he heard Shaw’s voice calling out for him.
Shin gathered all his strength and called out to Shaw.
“Coming buddy, you hold on.” He saw Shaw stumbling over and witnessed his eyes lock on the creature almost on top of him. Shaw was off balance, but fired on the creature, causing it to fall. Shin closed his eyes in relief until he felt the hand grab his arm, followed by intense pain. He opened his eyes to see the infected had taken a mouth sized chunk from his forearm.
Shaw had shot him, but being off balance only managed a couple rounds into its torso. It wasn’t a head shot, and it wasn’t dead. Shin screamed with all the strength he had left and the infected creature’s head blew apart. He looked up to see Shaw holding a pistol at the creature’s head.
“Holy shit. Buddy, are you ok?” Shaw had worry in his eyes and you could hear it in his voice.
“No, no big man, I am not,” Shin responded.
Shaw yelled, “Sarge!” And a second later Shin saw Priest running toward him.
“Fuck Shin, this is no time to take a nap.” He turned to Shaw, “See if you can find Doc.” Shaw got up and started off, “Or Dr. Costa,” Priest called after him.
“Got it,” Shaw called back.
Priest looked back at Shin, “Sargent, I am not well. I will not survive here.”
“What are you talking about? We going to get you out of here and you’ll be all right.” Shin showed Priest his arm. A bite mark was evidently clear.
“No, I will not. I am bitten and you need to send me away before I turn. Do not let my tranquility be tainted by that. Please, Sargent.”