Final Mercy
The Survival Chronicles VIII
By Fergal F. Nally
Copyright © Fergal F. Nally 2020
“There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy—” Alfred Henry Lewis
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you—” Friedrich Nietzsche
“And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them—” Revelation 9:6
“Media Vita In Morte Sumus”—Gregorian Chant
“We’re pissed, we’ve got your number, and we’re gonna call—” Mercy Dawes
The moral right of Fergal F. Nally to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act, 1988.
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Cover design: Beetiful Book Covers
Cover image: by Nejron Photo (licensed from Shutterstock)
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1—Anticipation
Chapter 2—Intel
Chapter 3—Aviate Navigate Communicate
Chapter 4—Winslow-Lindberg Regional Airport
Chapter 5—Plan C
Chapter 6—Meteor Crater
Chapter 7—Sanctuary
Chapter 8—Willy Pete
Chapter 9—Canyon Diablo
Chapter 10—Twin Arrows
Chapter 11—Road Kill
Chapter 12—Flagstaff
Chapter 13—Thirst
Chapter 14—Haboob
Chapter 15—Confrontation
Chapter 16—Boneyard
Chapter 17—Ingress
Chapter 18—Desert Hills
Chapter 19—Lake Havasu State Park
Chapter 20—Lakeshore
Chapter 21—Shattered
Chapter 22—Paradise Casino
Chapter 23—Little Fox
Chapter 24—Lake Havasu
Chapter 25—Vidal Junction
Chapter 26—Plague
Chapter 27—Ghosts
Chapter 28—Watchers
Chapter 29—The Armory
Chapter 30—C-4
Chapter 31—Interstate-10
Chapter 32—Cat and Mouse
Chapter 33—The Devil’s Playground
Chapter 34—Bad Penny
Chapter 35—The Long Acre
Chapter 36—Point Mugu
Chapter 37—Broken
Chapter 38—The Searing
About the Author
Chapter 1
Anticipation
Loft Mountain Camp, Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park.
“So, what month do you think it is?” Flynn stretched out in the long grass.
“I reckon it’s August, late August… or maybe early September,” Mercy responded, she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Yeah, I’ll go with September. There’s a definite change in the air, it’s colder and the leaves are changing. I wonder what Arizona will be like now. Too hot? Too cold?” Flynn said.
“Maybe, but deserts are supposed to be cold at night, aren’t they?” Mercy looked out over the forest canopy below.
Great day, beautiful mountains, but it’s time to move on. Time to get this biotech removed from our bodies. Unfinished business—
“I can’t believe we’re flying out tomorrow. It’s only been two weeks since we discovered the plane—” Flynn said.
“Yeah, Dimitri’s in love with that thing, he’s not left its side since he found it. Well, at least we know he’s checked it out thoroughly and he’s happy. It’ll only get us to Flagstaff. We’ll be on foot if we don’t find any aviation fuel there to refuel—”
“Yeah, it’s a long way to the west coast from Flagstaff. I-40’s our best route—” Flynn replied.
“I still prefer calling it Route 66, it sounds more exciting,” Mercy responded.
“Are we really doing this? I mean… really?” Flynn said.
“I know, it doesn’t seem real. But yeah, we’re going to California to get our lives back. The naval base has a medical facility, they’ll remove the biotech. I know they will. Imagine what it’ll feel like to have our bodies back. We’ll be free—” Mercy said.
“I don’t know the first thing about Arizona or California, it just seems so far away,” Flynn said.
“Yeah, well, you hadn’t travelled much out of Jersey by the time I’d met you Flynn. Then again I was the same. Long Island was about as far as I’d gone. It’s a big world out there—” Mercy sighed.
“Yeah, a big world full of tropes and other badness,” Flynn paused and rubbed his stubble. “How far is it from Flagstaff to the Naval Base?”
“According to the map, 519 miles via the I-40, the most direct route. That’s a lot of road to cover, we could run into a lot of negativity on that run—”
Flynn pursed his lips and squinted at the sun through his fingers, “Well, I don’t know about that babe, try reframing it. We could be considered to be pretty negative by some people. We’d give a good account of ourselves if anyone picked a fight with us.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to fight people anymore. Why does everything have to be decided by force nowadays? Why is it always a bullet or blade that gets results? Whatever happened to consensus? To reasoned debate? To trust and dialogue?”
Flynn closed his eyes, “Civilization is only skin deep. I remember reading somewhere that the CIA or MI5 had this thing that society was only ever four meals away from anarchy. So, I reckon that reasoned debate you crave is a long way off at the moment.”
Mercy took a deep breath then let the air hiss out through her teeth, “Yeah, well, here’s hoping that those people in the naval base have started to rebuild some semblance of a society.”
“Society is a fragile thing. Democracy even more so, maybe democracy is a luxury in times like this. People always seem to follow strength… and sometimes strength is cruel and vindictive,” Flynn replied.
“Yeah, and brutal. Fear gets results, it always has, look at the Roman Empire and every tyrant and dictator since then. The human race is so predictable. But, who knows? Maybe, maybe this once, this system shock, this reboot, will change people for the better.”
Flynn pulled a face, “You mean the old, evolve or die argument? Yeah, it has a certain logic. I believe in natural cycles and I believe the human race has completed its natural lifespan. Us; you, me, and the other survivors out there, we are the leftovers. To be quite honest, unless there’s some wonder technology that can beat this virus and heal the planet, I reckon we’re done as a species. We’ve cashed our chips in. It’s been a hell of a ride but we’re finished. Kaput.”
Mercy pushed Flynn’s shoulder, “You’re a right barrel of laughs today Flynn. What’s eating you?”
Flynn shrugged and grinned, “I guess I miss stuff. Satellite TV, and sports, and the Super Bowl, and burgers and fries, and mac and cheese, an
d chocolate ice cream, and donuts—”
Don’t hold back will you—?
Mercy raised her hand, “Stop, don’t go down that road, it never ends well, you know that. The whole food thing… it’s the ultimate mood destroyer.”
Flynn shook his head, “Sorry, I know, but sometimes it’s just so hard. I miss the good things, the good stuff, I miss life, the way it was.”
Yeah, the good times. You and me both—
Mercy stood up, “It is what it is Flynn, suck it up. Look on the bright side; you’ve got me instead of all that stuff.”
Flynn jumped up, smiling, “You always know the right thing to say. You’re right, we’re not clinging to the wreckage. Hell, reframe it… we’re actually living the dream.”
“Yeah, get you and your reframing, we get free trope target practice, and as much turnips as we can eat. Life’s awesome. Come on, let’s go find the others. We need to see if Dimitri’s radioed in from the airfield.”
Mercy knocked on the radio room door.
“Yello—” Jethro’s muffled voice came from inside.
Mercy pushed the door open, she wrinkled her nose at the smell of stale sweat inside the cramped shack.
Somebody should tell the poor guy about his hygiene, he’ll never have a chance with Serena. It’s not my place to tell him though—
“Hey Jethro. Shit, it’s hot as balls in here, doesn’t all this radio equipment need ventilation?” Mercy held the door wide open.
Jethro took off his earphones, “Yeah, no, well… yeah, you’re right. It’s just some of the signals I’m picking up are kinda faint so I need to keep the door closed. It’s better in the dark too. I can concentrate more—”
Mercy gave Flynn a look.
Our very own Goth HAM radio operator—
Mercy turned back to Jethro, “So, any word from Dimitri then?”
Jethro pushed the mop of unruly hair from his eyes, “Yeah, he called in. I told the others, everything’s a go. The plane’s all fuelled up, he’s happy with the electronics. He mentioned a problem with one of the starter motors but he’s been able to sort it out. So you’re good to go at first light tomorrow. He reckons the flight time from Weyers Cave to Flagstaff should be between four and five hours. You’ll be in a different time zone when you get there; Mountain Time Zone. Arizona’s two hours behind us here.”
Mercy nodded, “Tomorrow? He wants to go tomorrow? Wow, that’s something else—”
Flynn squeezed Mercy’s arm, “Sure is, babe.”
This is getting real. Real as hell—
“I guess we’ll saddle up then. We’ll need to get to the airport before nightfall,” Mercy said, her tone distracted.
“Shouldn’t be a problem, it’s still early and it takes three hours to get to Weyers Cave. Besides, you’ve had your gear ready for over a week now,” Flynn said, with a wry smile.
Mercy looked at Jethro, “Any more word from the Resistance? Any updates on the naval base in California?”
Jethro shook his head, “That’s Barnes’s area, speak to him, he’s the one with the sat phone.” He paused, “Barnes did mention something about your route though. He was going to look at it again—”
Mercy glanced at Flynn, “What route? The flight to Flagstaff, or the land route after Flagstaff?”
“The land route, I think. Something about some local trouble out there. I guess it’s just like here; we’ve still got pockets of militia down in Charlottesville. Go talk to Barnes, he’ll fill you in—”
Mercy grunted, “Thanks, Jethro… I think—”
She turned away and walked across the overgrown campground carpark towards the main lodge.
How come I’ve got that sinking feeling—?
Flynn fell into step beside Mercy, “So… Barnes has got some intel from Constantine on the naval base. I wonder what’s cooking out there.”
Mercy clenched her jaw, she quickened her pace.
I can feel it, again. It’s over two thousand miles away, and I can still feel it. There’s trouble ahead, it’s always there—
“You getting it too?” Flynn asked.
“Oh yeah. It’s out there, waiting for us—”
I don’t care, I’ll be ready—
Chapter 2
Intel
Barnes looked up when Mercy and Flynn entered the lodge. He gave a nod and returned his attention to the maps spread out on the long dining table. Annalise and Jade were packing saddlebags in the corner. Tawny and Rose were sitting on the floor, cleaning and oiling their weapons.
Full house, almost—
Mercy approached Barnes, “Jethro said I should talk to you. Something about fresh intel on the naval base?”
Barnes sighed and straightened up, “Yeah, well, it’s local knowledge, second hand, probably out of date and maybe not relevant to us, but we need to go in with our eyes open.”
“There’s trouble everywhere, it’s all relative,” Flynn said. He pulled up a chair and sat down.
“So, go on, tell us Barnes,” Mercy said, as she perched on the edge of the table.
Barnes frowned, “Well, apparently there are a number of warlords in the Flagstaff area.”
Mercy sighed, “Of course there are. How many?”
Barnes pointed at the map of Arizona on the table, “One group operate out of what’s left of Las Vegas, there’s another group down here near Phoenix, and then there’s the group we need to be aware of here.” He tapped the map.
Mercy looked down, “Yeah, OK, so there’s a badass VIP in Flagstaff. What’s his name?”
Barnes shook his head, “No, not in Flagstaff exactly. His base is about ten klicks west of Flagstaff. He’s using an Arizona National Guard base; Camp Navajo. He controls this whole sector, including the road. He’ll have eyes and ears in the surrounding area.”
“Look, why don’t we just land somewhere further east? Like Kansas or Colorado… we could refuel there, then fly straight to the west coast without any of this warlord shit,” Flynn said.
“We already went over that Flynn,” Mercy replied. “We have no intel on Kansas or Colorado and once we’ve set down we’re committed. There may well be warlords in those states too; landing our plane could attract unwanted attention, and we might not find any fuel. Too many variables, too much could go wrong. And we’d be further from the coast—”
Flynn stared at the map, “Yeah, I know, I know—”
Mercy turned to Barnes, “So, what are you saying? This Camp Navajo, will they see our plane land? Surely not, you said it’s ten klicks west of Flagstaff.”
Barnes tapped the map again, “Dimitri wants to land here; Winslow-Lindberg Regional Airport. It’s about sixty miles east of Flagstaff. He doesn’t want to rely on Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, it might be fine but there’s always a chance the runway will be blocked with wreckage, and we’d be running on fumes by then.”
Mercy frowned, “That adds sixty miles to our journey. That’ll make it nearly five hundred and eighty miles to the naval base. Jesus—”
Rose walked over to the table, “Dimitri’s got a point, the runway at Flagstaff might be compromised or the runway at Winslow might be compromised, but at least if we try Winslow first and it’s blocked we’ll have Flagstaff as a fall-back.”
Mercy nodded, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. It makes sense. It’s just the extra sixty miles is hard to swallow if we land at Winslow.”
“I’ll take an extra sixty miles over a crash landing any day,” Flynn said.
“OK fine, Winslow first it is then.” Mercy looked up at Barnes, “So, what’s the name of this Camp Navajo warlord then?”
“He goes by the name of the Judge,” Barnes said. He went over to the wood stove and reached for the coffee pot.
“And?” Mercy said, “What else do we know about him?”
Barnes poured himself a coffee. “Not much, except the Vegas and Phoenix contingents are in some kind of turf war with him. The Judge’s ace is the ammunition and weapons stash in Camp Navajo. Camp N
avajo is, was, a munitions storage site. Different units were stationed there pre-Fall; military police, engineers, and an ordnance company. So, all in all even if the Judge’s crew are fewer in number, they’ll likely be better armed than the other two groups.”
“Did Constantine have any other information on this lot then?” Tawny asked from across the room.
“Not much, except some of the hostilities between these groups has spread west and the naval base has had to fend off advances from the Judge’s enemies. They’ve been looking for allies to join their ranks and take him on. Our friends in the naval base are keeping out of it, but seemingly things are hotting up. People are being forced to take sides, the naval base has received threats,” Barnes replied.
Mercy closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair, “Same old bullshit; a few idiots ruining it for everyone else. Why can’t people just get along for fuck’s sake? It’s bad enough as it is with the infection, and the tropes, and the alphas, and the lack of food and clean water, and—”
Barnes raised his hand, “Hey, we know. Don’t shoot the messenger.”
Mercy’s face crumpled, “I know, I’m sorry for the rant. We’ll follow Dimitri’s advice and prepare as best we can. We’ll just have to improvise and adapt as we go.”
“Like we always do,” Rose said.
Mercy glanced over at Annalise and Jade, “So… Jade. Annalise is coming with us, as you know. What about you? Have you decided? There’s eleven seats on the plane, so we’ve plenty of room if you want in.”
Jade looked at Annalise. “Yeah, I’m coming. My dad, he wasn’t happy, but me and Annalise, we need to be together. It’s just the way it is. It’ll be hard for my parents but who knows where this will lead? We’re going to represent Constantine and forge alliances, and you guys with your biotech, you’re hopefully going to get that shit removed. So, it’s going to be a new start for everyone. An opportunity. If I didn’t come along I know I’d regret it—”
Yeah, been there, I’m wearing the T-shirt right now—
“There’s no right or wrong decision Jade. Whatever you’ve decided is fine by me. You sure earned your stripes helping us out in the missile silo,” Mercy said.
The Survival Chronicles | Book 8 | Final Mercy Page 1
