Jack had been responding to accidents for nearly 35 years and had never seen anyone crawl out after being crushed and so near death.
The closest firefighter reached out towards the women in an effort to help her get free of the vehicle. “Easy, Ma’am. You don’t want to hurt…” In a moment, she was on top of the young man and tearing at his throat with her teeth. She shredded his windpipe reducing his screams to a gurgle and with another bite of flesh he ceased moving except for a few sporadic twitches.
“Shit. Everyone back off!” Jack screamed. “Get in the rig!” It was too late. She attacked another one of his men. Jack ran to the pumper truck, jumped in the cab and locked the doors. His heart was pounding and he thought he was probably having a heart attack. He looked over and saw Sam doubled over and throwing up. “Oh no. Sam! Sam!” Jack frantically rolled down the window screaming at his trainee. “In the truck Sam. Damn it. Get in the truck! Sam!”
From behind the car what appeared to be a disheveled limping man in a bloody torn EMT uniform stumbled toward Sam. Jack screamed frantically, “Sam, in the truck! Come on Sam!” The EMT lunged at Sam while he was still throwing up. The EMT took Sam down like a wild predator, sinking his teeth into the young man’s back before they both hit the ground. “No! God no, Sam! Dammit, dammit dammit, what the hell is going on!”
15 Miles from the Accident
Two unmarked MH-60 Blackhawk helicopters sped across the skies of Connecticut. The pilot’s headset came to life for the first time since they lifted off from the “research center” located just outside of New London. “Fury-12, Fury-12 this is New London Command. The target airspace is now clear. Cherubs-Five are on approach to your location Tango ETA 8 minutes. Expedite scrub protocol. Over.”
The pilot responded, “Roger, Cherubs-Five inbound, expediting scrub protocol. Fury-12 out.”
Route 85
Jack just could not believe what was happening. The fear was too intense even for this veteran fire fighter and he completely froze in the cab of his truck. Things appeared to be happening in slow motion. He watched the women from the car drag her broken body across the pavement toward the truck. The entire time, she stared at him with dark blood shot eyes that never blinked. He could see Sam get up off the ground, but Jack knew it wasn’t really Sam anymore. He was deeply saddened and distraught that Sam was now one of those ghouls. Then he noticed another one of his men…alive! He was standing on the wreckage of the car which offered temporary protection from carnage below. Jack wasn’t the only one who saw him, the accident victims; monsters really, noticed him too.
“Run!” Jack screamed. “Run and don’t stop. Just Go!” The monsters turned to look at Jack. In an attempt to save what was left of his crew; he blew the air horn on the engine and yelled at the top of his lungs to attract the dead’s attention. “Come on you bastards. Look at me. I’m over here!” Jack smiled when he saw the stranded fireman leap off the car and run into the woods. Jack realized all his efforts were in vain when he watched two of the more agile dead chase the fireman into the trees. Jack wondered if the creatures would catch up with the last living member of his crew. He whispered a desperate prayer but deep down he knew there was little hope.
The woman from the car wreck had reached the truck while Jack’s attention was focused on trying to save his crew. She quickly found the open window from which Jack was shouting. She pulled herself in with inhuman strength, surprised Jack and bit down on his arm before he could defend himself. His thick fire jacket prevented any injury, but she continued to snap at him and bite him repeatedly. It was only a matter of time before she found some chink in the protection that his fire retardant jacket provided him. Panicked, Jack swung at her trying to beat her back. Jack thought if he could get the truck moving he might be able to get away. He released the emergency brake and jammed the truck into gear. His helmet was knocked off exposing his face and head as he reached to grab the steering wheel. He desperately continued to fend off the woman’s relentless attack. Jack was surprised when he suddenly heard more than felt the bite at the base of his skull. He had lost the struggle and could do nothing to stop the monster’s attack. She bore down with her broken dead teeth. The tearing of ligaments and nerve endings flooded Jack’s body with pain. He furiously flailed his hands and legs in a complete state of panic trying to rid himself of his attacker.
The big fire truck started to roll forward as its driver fought for his life. During the struggle, Jack’s foot slammed into the accelerator and the huge truck lunged forward. The fire engine smashed into the overturned military transport. The force of the impact crushed the bed of the transport including its deadly cargo. Several of the vials broke or were ejected from their carrying case and landed in the stream beside the wreck. The last image that registered in Jack’s brain before it became infected was that of a small circle of brilliant red light dancing along the side of the transport.
1/2 Mile from the Accident
“This is Fury-12. Target has been visually identified and is actively being marked.” The pilot was maintaining a safe distance from the accident but could still see the awful results of the virus. He made the sign of the cross asking God to forgive him and bless the people on the ground. The co-pilot aimed the laser designator directly at the overturned military transport. The specific light frequency would be picked up by two incoming F-16s and used to guide two large laser guided incendiary bombs to their target.
The co-pilot looked back, made eye contact with the pilot and said, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. This isn’t what I had in mind when my recruiter asked me to be all that I can be.”
“Roger that.” The pilot replied.
Route 85
The rain fell steadily on the accident scene and began to wash away the blood smears on the truck. The small drainage ditch filled with water which had an oily sheen from the leaking engine and a red tint from blood seeping from the open wounds of the injured and dead. Some of the dead writhed in the wreckage while others walked or limped about searching for their next meal. A few started to wander down the roadway. The dead ignored the high pitched growl from the ground attack planes as they raced towards the road and quickly pulled up and away from the accident.
Each plane released a single laser guided bomb at very close range. The fins on each weapon made continuous small adjustments to keep the nose of the ordinance on the target. Their electronic eyes homed in on the small red dot from the laser designator in the support helicopters. The two thermobaric bombs traveled at a terminal velocity of over 500 miles an hour and slammed into the wreckage only milliseconds apart. The impact released a highly flammable aluminum aerosol turning the atmosphere around the accident into a modern day powder keg. An instant later the powerful explosives in the incendiary detonators were triggered.
A bright white fireball erupted several hundred feet into the air and consumed everything within a 1,000 foot radius of ground zero. The fire burned so rapidly that air was drawn in creating an artificial wind that swept leaves, branches and other debris towards the explosion and up into the burning clouds. The fire trucks, ambulance, the little Honda, the military transport and most importantly the dead and the contents of the transport were vaporized.
Scout Camp
An intense crack followed by a deep loud rumble startled the scouts. For a moment they thought it could be thunder from the approaching storm, but then one of the scouts pointed to the sky. “Look. The woods are on fire!” Everyone turned to look in the direction he was pointing. The top of the fireball was visible above the tree line. The trees next to the camp shuttered and the shockwave from the explosion rippled across the campground. Jimmy couldn’t believe his eyes and before he could say anything, the pressure of the shock wave thumped against his chest and he needed to take a half step back to regain his balance. “Dad! What’s going on! Dad?”
The scouts started gathering near the leaders. Most of them were vi
sibly frightened and some of the younger ones began to cry. The leaders were just as perplexed by the explosion and grew concerned. Thick black smoke started to billow up as the trees around the explosion started to burn on their own.
North of Camp
Jimmy’s father was about half mile from camp with one of the other leaders. They had hiked to the top of a hill to see if they could get a better handle on the weather and give some of the older boys and less experienced fathers a chance to hone their leadership skills. When they first reached the hilltop, they noticed two helicopters hovering only a couple hundred feet away.
“Check that out Nate. That’s about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen on a campout,” he joked.
“Kinda weird though. They’re so quiet for being so close. What’ya suppose their doing?”
“Training. Maybe search and rescue.”
“Well it’s nice to know they’re around, but I hope we never need to call them.” Nate said half-jokingly. “Rain’s starting to come down now. We should head back to camp.”
“I’m right behind you.”
Just as they turned, two military aircraft screamed by them, pointed their nose to the sky and rocketed away.
“I take that back,
Merit Badge of the Undead Page 3