Apocalypsis Immortuos | Book 1 | Syndrome

by de Hoogh, Marco

  She is cute! Ah forget it Jack. Out of your league.

  The British soldier – She had introduced herself as Emily earlier in the day – made her way into the lunchroom and sat down at the table with the rich couple. She was a short, stocky thing. She wore her dirty blonde hair in a simple ponytail, and had sharp features offset by a somewhat square jaw. She was friendly enough though and her English accent was something that immediately disarmed others. And she was one hell of a bus driver!

  Jack watched as another soldier quickly brought her a water bottle. She fumbled with the cap for a bit and drank with evident thirst.

  Everybody sat in relative silence for a minute. Some people spoke in low voices, while others darted looks at each other just like Jack had, sizing each other up.

  The silence became absolute when an officer walked in, flanked by two of his men. Behind them followed Garcia, Brown and Collins. The two soldiers attending to the civilians snapped to. The officer continued through the lunchroom with the sure steps of a commander. He gestured for his men to be at ease with a half wave of his hand as he moved.

  All eyes were on him as he stepped up onto the low stage. The rest of the soldiers stood off to the side and stood at ease.

  The man cleared his throat once. A quick ‘Uh-hem’. Then he started to speak.

  “My name is Captain Hank Matheson. I’m in charge of B rifle company, 1st Battalion, of the newly formed Sooners Brigade.”

  Jack took a closer look at Captain Matheson. The man had deep creases in his leathery but clean-shaven face, and penetrating light blue eyes. Everything about him projected a quiet confidence. And power. A look that clearly stated; ‘do not fuck with me’. His gravelly voice only added to the persona.

  “I have a lot to tell you, and not much time to do it – so I ask that you wait with any questions until I am done speaking.” This was a command, not a request and everybody knew it.

  “First things first. This city’s safe zone has fallen.” Shocked noises from several people were quickly quieted down by those intense blue eyes.

  “We now understand that the syndrome acted slower in some than in others. People that were symptom free were allowed into the safe zone, only to develop symptoms later. Apparently, the safe zone fell when zombies were detected inside the fences and civilians panicked to get out. The gate or fence was compromised, which allowed the undead gathered outside to stream into the camp. The security forces were overwhelmed, and the camp fell.” The Captain grimaced, clearly angered by these developments.

  “The majority of our forces are currently engaged in another operation. So, we can’t even send any troops to this location, to extract any people trapped in the camp.” He raised his hand to scratch his nose. “It’s a mess, folks. We don’t expect a lot of survivors.”

  He continued immediately, not allowing anybody to comment.

  “Which brings us here. This location has been chosen as one of the ‘survival supply drop stations’ by our superiors. The original intent was to leave this school uninhabited. Messages would be sent to survivors in the coming weeks, revealing this and other locations.”

  “What is a survival supply drop station, you may ask.” With a quick hand gesture, he pointed out the door of the lunchroom. “In the gym of this school, you will find supplies. These supplies include the tools that you will need to make it through these times, along with enough food to last fifty adults for three months.”

  Matheson frowned.

  “I advise you to get organized. Take inventory of the supplies and try to ration to the best of your abilities. We have placed four 275-gallon water tanks outside and brought one inside. That gives your group...” He looked around quickly and did a count. “About twenty of you, so that’s roughly three months’ worth supply of fresh drinking water. I advise you to use this school’s utilities for as long as you can, in order to avoid cutting in on your stored supplies. Power and water should last a few more days, and maybe even longer. Take advantage of it.”

  He took a breath and made eye contact with some of the people gathered around him.

  “We have orders to pull out immediately and join up with the rest of our battalion. Your military escort has been absorbed into our unit and will accompany us. We will leave within the next fifteen minutes. My advice to you folks is to lock down this facility and stay inside for as long as you can. Hunker down.”

  People reacted to that. Some people moved around uncomfortably, while others started muttering.

  Matheson cleared his throat loudly. He scanned the group once more, meeting the eyes of several people including Jack. The group got quiet once more.

  “You are the future of this country. If you are still symptom-free then you are likely not infected with the syndrome. Be wary though and know that once somebody is infected there is no way back. They will die, they will likely turn, and they will attack the living.”

  “Alright. Thank you for your patience. Please raise your hand if you have a question.”

  Immediately, half a dozen hands shot up. Matheson pointed to the girl in the track suit.

  “Are you leaving us with any weapons?”

  “We have left behind crates with a mix of handguns and long rifles, including ammunition. I do not advise that you folks attempt to handle any of these weapons unless you have some experience with them. There are more armaments in the sea can outside, but I recommend that you leave that stuff for the professionals. I strongly advise you not to use the weapons in the first place, as the noise tends to attract the undead!”

  “What about hand-to-hand combat?” tracksuit girl interjected.

  “Young lady, I suggest that all y’all stay as far away from the undead as you can. We will try to destroy as many as we can, and we hope that with time they will simply fall apart. I do not recommend hand-to-hand combat!” With that he pointed towards the next person.

  It was Jack’s dad. “Have you left us any communications equipment? How can we get in touch with the government or other survivors?”

  Good question, dad.

  “We have left several communication devices along with instruction manuals and code books. I believe there are some walkie talkies but more importantly a radio. Get that stuff operational asap. We would have done it if we had been given more time.”

  Matheson continued. “There is also a lot of other survival gear. You’ll find these in the pallets that have been put down in the gym.” Matheson waved off to the left towards where presumably the gym was. He held up his clipboard for all to see with his right hand.

  “This is a manifest of all the equipment and supplies that should be present here at the school, some in that gym and some outside in the parking lot. I suggest you folks get organized and inventory what you have.”

  Several people started speaking at that moment, but Matheson continued.

  “Let me re-iterate. You need to set up that communications gear as soon as you can. Any remaining government agencies will attempt to stay in touch with you and send you further instructions”

  Jack knew a thing or two about electronics, so this was of interest to him.

  Before pointing to the next person, Matheson looked at his watch.

  “Folks, I have time for one more question.” With that he pointed to Mr. Collins.

  “Are you leaving us without any protection? Can’t you leave a squad of soldiers to help keep us safe?”

  “Mister...”

  “Collins. Joe Collins.”

  “Mister Collins. We do not have the resources t– “

  “This is outrageous! We need protection here! We’ve seen what these ... things can do to people!”

  “Mister Collins!” Matheson locked eyes with the African American man. Joe Collins’ mouth snapped shut.

  Matheson closed his eyes in a slow blink.

  “We are dead men.” He let that sink in for a moment. “The United States Armed Forces will cease to exist within the next few days. Infection rates within all branches of
the military are estimated at over 99%. The task for the last few of us is to remove as much of the threat while we still can. The biggest reason, Mr. Collins, that we can not leave any infected soldiers here at this location, is because they will surely become a threat to you.”

  There were some shocked gasps in the audience at this.

  Matheson continued. “That’s right folks. It looks like pretty much all of us are infected with the syndrome. Our numbers are down so much, that we are dangerously close to being non-combat effective.”

  Some folks looked confused, so he elaborated. “We’ve lost almost 90% of our forces since this thing started. We’re down to less than two thousand able-bodied men in and around this city and can no longer provide security for all of our strategic locations.”

  “I feel the infection, and most of the men you see around you do too.” Jack looked over at Garcia, Brown and Collins, and noted that the three men looked at each other and nodded. Collins definitely looked the worst off. The young man looked paler than he should, and he was perspiring slightly.

  Matheson continued. “We’re dead men.” He repeated solemnly, then looked up at his audience. “And that means you folks are on your own. I’m sorry. But that’s what it is.”

  Stunned silence met this statement. Jack knew things weren’t going well, but he never considered that there would be no army! Looking around him, he could see that most of the others had made the same assumption.

  Somebody started to say something, but Matheson held up his hand and silenced the person.

  “We’re doing everything we can to destroy as many undead as possible. Our men have been making the ultimate sacrifice – each and every one of them has worked tirelessly until the symptoms have gotten too debilitating. At that point, they have chosen death over reanimation.”

  Matheson’s face betrayed some emotion at that. His eyes wandered to the ground in front of him for a second, before rising up to the expectant faces around him.

  “I’m sorry folks. We’ve done what we could. Believe it or not, this group is in much better shape than most people in the entire country. You have a safe, defendable location, lots of supplies, and enough food and water to last months. I just hope its enough.”

  With that Matheson stepped off the stage and made his way to the lunchroom door. Ern stopped him to thank him for his service and shake his hand. There was a flurry of activity as soon as the Captain had left the room.

  Garcia, Brown and Collins made a beeline for Emily.

  “Let’s go, Jack” His dad got up to join Emily’s group. Several others similarly made their way to Emily’s group to listen in.

  Garcia was the first to speak. “Hill, I need to know: Do you have any symptoms of this syndrome?”

  Emily thought for a moment. “Nope. Nothing. I’m knackered, but my gut is feeling fine.”

  Garcia, Brown and Collins exchanged a knowing glance.

  Garcia continued. “You need to stay here, Hill.”

  “What?! That’s nonsense. You heard the orders.”

  “Naw. Those orders aren’t for you. You’re not regular army. You’re just a volunteer.” This was from Collins.

  “That’s rubbish. I did a full tour for the English army.”

  “Well, we don’t want you coming with us.” Collins retorted. There was no malice in his voice or expression, despite the harshness of his words.

  “This is bollocks!” Emily started getting angry. Jack watched his father step in at that point.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but I think I see what is happening here.” He turned to face Emily. “They’re not the best with words. But what I think that these gentlemen are trying to protect you, Emily.”

  Emily was at a loss for words and was sputtering. She obviously still disagreed with the whole thing though.

  Brown, who had not uttered more than three words all day, chose that moment to speak up. He walked right up to Emily – right into her personal space.

  “He’s right. You heard the C.O. We’re toast. All three of us have symptoms. You don’t. Probably because you weren’t in the army. We all agree that you should stay, and survive, with these people.”

  Jack studied the soldier.

  Private Brown. Funny, he looks just fine. Better than Collins, anyway.

  Garcia jumped in before Emily could respond. “Hill, you’ve got to stay. These people are going to need you. Also, you’re not the only one we’re leaving behind. Moyers got banged up pretty good. He’s broke dick.”

  Jack had no idea what that meant, but assumed it meant he was not able to fight.

  “He’s National Guard – not regular army either. I asked him earlier if he was sick, and he’s not. So, we’re leaving him behind.”

  He paused for a second and looked down at his feet, before continuing.

  “Besides, he’s gonna need some time after what happened with Peters...”

  Emily nodded, finally starting to buy the argument. “Does he know that he is staying behind?”

  “Not yet.”

  Just then a Sergeant walked up.

  “Can I get some volunteers. There’s some material outside and we need to get that stuff brought in here.”

  The nurse spoke up first. “I can help.” Jack’s dad joined in. “Me too. Jack –” He motioned for Jack to follow as well. Brown made a move to come along as well, but Craig raised his hand to the soldiers. “You guys rest for a bit. You’ve earned it.” The three civilians followed the soldiers out of the lunchroom.

  THEY MADE THEIR WAY down the hall and back out of the front door of the school, making introductions as they went along. The nurse’s name was Michelle, but she said to call her Shelley. She was probably in her mid-twenties. Jack couldn’t make out what her heritage was. Oriental? She had the slightest slant to her eyes and her skin was a hue of gold that Jack knew had not come from tanning. She seemed nice though. Soft spoken. Her large, dark eyes clearly showed her emotions. It reminded Jack of those Japanese comic books and cartoons.

  It took them two trips to bring everything inside. They were instructed to place the boxes on an already half-full pallet in the gym.

  Jack was impressed with the amount of stuff in the gym and he immediately started wondering what was in all the boxes, but they didn’t hang around, instead making their way back to the lunchroom.

  As they walked back in, they noticed that most of the group had gathered around Garcia, Collins and Brown. There was a palpable fear in the group. Jack could feel it and see it in the way they clustered around the soldiers.

  The injured soldier: Moyers, had been attended to, and was standing slightly back of the group. His face was bandaged, and his arm was in a sling. He looked a bit calmer and Jack suspected he had some painkillers in his system.

  Jack walked up to him. “Hey, are you ok?” He asked the soldier.

  Moyers flinched before gathering himself. He looked at Jack with serious eyes that slowly softened as he saw the sincere look on the boy’s face.

  “Uh, yeah. I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

  “I’m Jack.” Jack offered his hand. “Bill.” He shook the boy’s hand with his left hand.

  “You’re staying with us?” Jack let the question hang as Bill once again flinched as if he took a physical blow.

  “Y– Yes. I don’t have the syndrome.” He frowned slightly. “Not sure why. But I guess they figure...” Jack just nodded.

  Just then one of Matheson’s men walked up.

  “We are Oscar Mike in five.” He announced. Then turned around and left the room so that they could say their farewells.

  Garcia nodded and looked up at the people around him.

  “Ok.” The crowd drew in expectantly, so they could hear what he had to say. “You are going to have to work together. Rely on each other. My advice is that you find out what people’s skills are. Elect a leader or leaders. And above all else – lock this shit down as soon as we’re gone.”

  Almost as if on cue, a couple of shots could be hear
d outside. Rachel Collins gasped out loud and grabbed her kids. Everybody froze for several seconds. But there were no other shots, so the group relaxed slightly. The soldiers shook hands and offered words of encouragement here and there for the next minute. Another shot could be heard outside, at which point Garcia made a circle motion with his hand, and the three soldiers started making their way out of the lunchroom.

  Everybody followed them.

  It was twilight. The sun had crept just behind the houses across the street. It was quiet. Then the silence was broken as several vehicles started up. They were arranged in a convoy, ready to head out. The heavy armoured vehicle was already outside of the school grounds. The two light tactical vehicles were out there too. Two trucks and one Humvee completed the convoy. A quick look into the parking lot told Jack that they were leaving one truck and one Humvee behind.

  Those could come in handy. He thought to himself as he continued to scan the surroundings.

  He took it all in for a moment. In the fading light it appeared to Jack like all the colour had been drained from the world. Everything around him was displayed in various tones of grey. A glance over his shoulder at the lit-up entrance of the school told him that colour still existed – just not outside. Turning back to face the open air, the contrast was not lost on him. Even those around him looked grey.

  It’s almost like life itself is being drained out here... Jack shuddered at the thought.

  The group stopped just outside the door, while the soldiers continued walking. The three men walked down the concrete steps and turned around at the bottom for one last time. Garcia’s stern countenance softened when he saw the fear and desperation of his former charges.

  “It will be ok. Just make sure that you shut this door tight as soon as we’re gone. Also, it would be a good idea to make sure all other doors and windows are shut and secured. You folks all need to hunker down. Try to get a handle on all the stuff that you’ve got.”

  He said that latest with a wave to the pallets and containers sitting in the parking lot.

  “There is a shit-ton of stuff in the gym too. Check it out and use what you can. But stay undetected. Don’t make noise or attract attention. Stay safe.”