Operation Freedom

by E. G. Michaels

  “Changing,” Hawkins yelled.

  “Covering,” Spags replied. He laid down a layer of suppressing fire, cutting out the legs of a trio of Reapers charging in. Hawkins brought his reloaded weapon back up into firing position and unleashed a barrage of bullets, which struck the crippled monsters in the head and neck.

  “Nice shooting,” Spags said. “Reloading.”

  “Thanks,” Hawkins replied. “Covering.”

  Black looked past his pair of shooters. There were four Reapers running towards Spags and Hawkins. Black heard footsteps, turned towards the group's rear guard, and saw three more had just entered an intersection about a hundred yards away. The SWAT men started firing to repel the next wave of attackers. And that's when Kate's eyes popped open.

  54 Minutes Until The Bombs Fall

  With a loud snarl, Kate ripped her limbs free from the students holding them and then jumped onto the startled Logan. The two of them crashed hard to the ground. The noise caused Black to turn in time to see the newly turned Reaper sink its teeth into the young man's neck and tear a bloody chunk out. Logan screamed and clutched the side of his neck. The blood immediately rushed through his fingers and Black knew Logan was doomed.

  Black pulled out his handgun. He couldn't risk shooting any burst fire and hitting any of the students or his squadmates. As he brought his weapon up to fire, Cindy screamed and stepped into his line of sight.

  “Get down,” Black yelled. He tried sighting the former human around the still screaming students, but more than one of them were moving in and out of his line of sight. Black spotted a glimpse of the newly infected's yellow eyes a split second before it jumped onto Hawkins' back. His squadmate was immediately knocked down and yelped in surprise.

  Black sprung into action and pushed people out of the way to get to his fallen teammate. As the monster bent down to bite Hawkins's exposed neck, Black grabbed a fistful of its hair and yanked it backwards onto the ground. With a practiced motion, he put his gun barrel to the monster's temple and fired. There was a deafening noise as the unsuppressed Glock discharged its .40 caliber bullet into the Reaper's head, blowing its brains over the floor.

  “Holy shit,” Hawkins gasped as he struggled to pick himself up. “Thanks boss.”

  “In front of you,” Black yelled a moment before another Reaper bowled into the half-kneeling Hawkins. Black didn't hesitate and fired his Glock once more, blowing the top of the monster's head off.

  “Hawkins, get your ass up already,” Spags said. “This isn't time to rest.”

  Hawkins scrambled to his feet, swinging his AR-15 up and firing a burst at a Reaper bearing down on him. The creature's jaw immediately disintegrated and it was dead before it landed on the ground.

  Black pivoted and saw the four Reapers he'd previously spotted. The monsters had finally made a decision and they were heading his way to attack. With a practiced motion, Black holstered his Glock and grabbed his MP5/40. He swung the SMG in front of him, pulled the trigger, and emptied the magazine into the infected quartet. The barrage of bullets quickly tore apart the monsters.

  “Reloading,” Black yelled. He swapped magazines for the submachine gun. “How much farther to the lobby doors?”

  “Two hundred yards,” Hawkins shouted back in between gunshots. “But it might as well be a mile because we got a shitload of monsters blocking the way.”

  Black watched as a pair of Reapers ran from the street and began moving up the sloped lawn. The duo ran face first without care for their own bodies and slammed into one of the glass walls about seventy yards from him. He flinched at the sound of impact, fully expecting the glass to break, but it didn't. Two more monsters slammed into the first pair, vibrating the glass again. Then a moment later three crashed into the pile and the glass wall finally started to splinter.

  “Hawkins, are you hurt?” Black called out. He spotted a pair of Reapers coming out of an intersection.

  “Just some scratches. But if we don't get out of here soon, that's going to be the least of our problems.”

  Black pulled a fragmentation grenade from his vest and threw it towards the intersection. “Frag out,” he yelled. The grenade exploded in the midst of the demented duo and they were shredded to bloody pieces.

  “Frag out,” Spags shouted. “Kids, stay the hell behind us.”

  Black heard the explosion and then a chorus of the infected scream out in pain.

  “Gimble, where the fuck are you?” Black shouted into the comms. “We need exfil right now.”

  “Oh shit,” Spags said. “We got a big problem.”

  Black looked towards the street and his spirits immediately crashed. The MRAP was nowhere in sight. There were dozens of Reapers waiting outside the building. Even more were pouring out of other buildings and into the street. He looked towards the lobby doors and saw about ten monsters slamming into the doors. He looked towards their flank and saw another six infected entering the hallway. They were completely surrounded.

  46 Minutes Until The Bombs Fall

  “Sarg, where the hell is Gimble?” Hawkins yelled. “We can't stay here.”

  “Keep shooting,” Black shouted back. “We either get out of here or take as many of these bastards with us as we can.” He grabbed a frag and pulled the pin. He counted to two and then threw it into the intersection full of monsters. The grenade detonated when it landed and Black was rewarded with the corridor's walls crumbling. It hadn't completely sealed the path, but it made it a lot harder for any Reapers to get through.

  There was a loud crash as the splintered glass wall finally broke. A writhing mass of monsters spilled into the hallway. Some of them landed on the floor and were pinned down as others trampled over them in their rush to get to fresh meat.

  Black grabbed his last frag, pulled the pin, and threw it into the pile. The grenade landed, and a moment later, it unleashed its deadly package of metal fragments. Black kept firing his SMG at the monsters, not caring which ones may have already been killed by the grenade. He couldn't risk missing even one of them getting past him.

  “Reloading,” Spags said.

  Black pivoted, trying to watch both the front and back at the same time.

  “SMG is out. Switching weapons,” Hawkins yelled. He dropped his submachine, letting its harness draw back into his body. As he moved to grab his assault rifle, a Reaper ricocheted off the glass wall, crashing into him and knocking onto his back. The monster opened its mouth and lunged for Hawkins' face. Hawkins managed to get his forearm up in time and block the attack.

  Black saw his man fighting for his life. He raised his SMG but didn't have a clear shot. He heard a noise behind him. One of the Reapers had managed to push a piece of rubble out of the collapsed entrance and was squeezing through the newly made hole. “Spags, help Hawkins,” he yelled. “I don't have the shot.”

  Spags pivoted and fired once, striking the Reaper in the side of the head. The impact drove the monster sideways off of his pinned teammate. Hawkins scrambled to his feet, pulling his AR-15 up into a ready position.

  Black switched to his assault rifle, peered through its scope, and took careful aim. He fired once, scoring a head shot on the monster that had managed to crawl halfway through the hole. The Reaper's brain matter splashed against the rubble behind it. Plugged one hole, Black thought as he scanned for a new target. He didn't have to look hard because there were four more Reapers coming in through the broken window.

  “Rifle is out,” Spags yelled between shots. “I got two magazines left for my SMG. Where the hell is our ride?”

  “Gimble, where the fuck are you,” Black shouted over the comms. “We need exfil now, damn it!”

  There was still no reply, and Black fought the overwhelming desire to give up. There had to be a way to save his team and the students. He owed it to them to get them to safety somehow. He owed it to the Sixth District survivors to complete this mission and get them once and for all to the sanctuary known as Hope Island.

  He glanced bac
k towards the street, and his eyes fell upon a Reaper that stood head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. The creature must have been six foot eight and looked like it easily weighed two hundred fifty pounds.

  The beast stood in the middle of the street, roared, and the sound echoed through the block. It started to stomp slowly towards their location and Black felt the bile rise up in his throat.

  All of a sudden, there was a loud sound like a car horn. The massive Reaper turned towards the noise a moment before an armored truck slammed into him. The beast went airborne and landed in a broken heap. The MRAP's driver laid on the horn and Black made eye contact with him. Gimble.

  Black fired his MP5/40 at the glass wall near him. The thick material just spider-webbed but didn't break.

  “Hawkins, make us a new door,” he ordered. “Our ride is here.”

  “About fucking time,” Hawkins said as he brought up his shotgun and fired at the same glass panel twice. The powerful blast blew out the glass, spraying glass fragments out into the charging Reapers.

  “Everybody move out! On me,” Black shouted as he grabbed Cindy by the arm and stepped through the new opening onto the grounds. There was a crunching sound as his boot landed on pieces of glass. He started to move towards the rear of the MRAP. He moved and fired, shooting all Reapers who were between their escape vehicle and him. Black heard the distinctive boom of a shotgun to his left and knew Hawkins was likely using it to take down multiple monsters with each shot.

  Black emptied his magazine, killing three Reapers between him and the rear entrance of the MRAP. He let the submachine's sling catch his weapon and switched to the AR-15. Black opened one of the armored vehicle's doors and turned towards the direction where the group should be coming.

  “Get in the damn truck,” Black yelled. He turned and fired a burst into the throat of one Reaper charging from his left, then turned and fired a double-tap into one who was nearing Cindy and Marcus. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two students dive into the truck. He turned his attention back towards the scene playing out in front of him. There were dead monsters everywhere. A large group of Reapers seemed to be fighting each other to be the first ones to exit through the broken glass walls of the Singh Center and reach the small group of survivors. Spags was backpedaling, firing his Glock, pulling Michelle with him. Black watched in horror as one of the infected jumped from seemingly nowhere and landed on the young student. She was pulled under in the blink of an eye.

  “Spags, get your ass in the truck,” Black yelled. He saw the man's Glock lock open, and then Spags turned, head down, and sprinted as fast as he could towards the MRAP. Black laid down a layer of covering fire, taking out the legs of at least five Reapers who were chasing his squad mate.

  “Get out of here,” Hawkins yelled over the comm. There was a loud boom as he fired the tactical Shotgun again. “I'll cover you.”

  “Hawkins, get your ass into the MRAP,” Black replied. “That's an order.”

  “No can do. I'm not going,” he said. He held up his forearm, showing a fresh bite mark on his forearm. “I lied. It was more than a scratch.”

  Black felt his blood run cold. “You might not be infected.”

  Hawkins laughed bitterly. “I can't take that chance,” he said. “I'd never forgive myself if I got any of my kids or my wife infected. I mean it, sir. Get everybody else out of here. Make sure you get my family on that helicopter. Tell them that I will always love them.”

  “I'm gonna miss you, man.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Hawkins said. He pulled out a pair of fragment grenades, pulled the pins, and held the spools to keep the deadly devices from exploding. “It's been a pleasure serving with you, sir.”

  “I'll keep your family safe,” Black said. He slammed the rear door of the MRAP shut. “I promise.”

  “Thanks,” Hawkins said. He took a deep breath and started screaming at the top of his lungs as he charged into the thickest part of the Reaper pack.

  Black started running towards the passenger side of the MRAP. As he started to pull the door shut, he heard an explosion. Hawkins had just sacrificed himself to buy them a chance to get away. Black pulled the door shut the rest of the way before yelling, “Get us out here.”

  “Where's Hawkins?” Gimble asked.

  “He's gone. Start driving.”

  “Shit, I'm sorry.”

  “You're sorry,” Black scoffed before yelling, “Where the hell were you?”

  “Fucking radio died,” Gimble said. “Probably the battery.”

  “That's not what I asked you.”

  “I couldn't call you and tell you I was stuck in traffic,” Gimble said. “I got within a block of this place and there was about fifty Reapers in front of me on the road. So I figured I'd lure them away from the pick-up location. They've been following me for six blocks now. I decided to come from a different direction so we wouldn't waste time trying to turn around to head out of the city.”

  “Why didn't you use the comms to call me?”

  “I tried, but I guess we were too far apart. It didn't start to work again until I was pulling up in front of the building.”

  Black looked in the side mirror. The street behind them was a moving mass of fur-covered monsters. “My God. Whatever you do, don't stop the truck.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there are about four hundred of them chasing us now.”

  “Wow. Okay, copy that,” Gimble said. “Where to boss?”

  “Head to Route 611. Take it North to the Horsham Air Guard Station. We need to get out of the city before the bombs start dropping.”

  “We have almost seven hours.”

  “Correction. Had. The military moved up the launch time. We have thirty-eight minutes until they turn this city into burnt toast.”

  “Shit, we gotta make up some time then. Tell everybody to hold on,” Gimble said as he pushed the accelerator down a bit more. “I'm not stopping for anything until we're out of the city.”

  0 Minutes Until The Bombs Fall

  They were four miles outside the city when they heard the first of the bombs explode. Black ordered Gimble to stop the MRAP for two minutes so he could watch the devastation happen to the place he once called home.

  Spags sidled up to his commander. “Do you think they got all of them?” he asked.

  “Hopefully,” Black said. He pointed to the burning city in the distance. “I'm not sure anything could survive that.”

  “But?”

  “But the Reapers weren't just in our city. By now, they've probably gone global.”

  “That's a scary thought.”

  “Yes, yes it is,” Black said. He thought for a minute before speaking. “Let's switch places for the next leg.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. Gimble will welcome having somebody different to talk to in the cab.”

  “Damn, I was hoping to grab some zzz's.”

  “All of us are. Best if we wait until we get to the base. Let somebody else be on overwatch for a few hours instead of any of us.”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  Gimble slid out of the MRAP. “Hey Sarg, your two minutes were up awhile ago,” he said. “Best we keep moving before we draw unwanted attention.”

  “Okay, mount up, everybody,” Black said. “Spags, you're riding shotgun with Gimble.”

  “Oh great,” Gimble said. “I'm gonna be stuck in the cab with Motor Mouth.”

  “Motor Mouth?”

  “Yeah,” Gimble complained. “He's gonna talk until my ears start bleeding.”

  “No, I'm not,” Spags said. “Come on, get in the damn truck and start driving already.” He paused for a moment before adding, “But since you asked, I'll tell you everything that happened in the Singh Center while you were nestled safely away in the MRAP.”

  Black chuckled softly to himself and climbed into the back of the MRAP. He pulled the door securely shut behind him and glanced around the interior until he spotted the person
he wanted to talk with. Black made a parting motion and Marcus moved to make a seat for him next to Cindy Rummel.

  “Ms. Rummel, do you mind if I ask you a question?” Black asked.

  “Seeing that you and your men just rescued us,” Cindy said, “answering your questions is the least I can do.”

  “Before all of this happened, what were you studying at Penn?”

  “Dual major,” she said. “Bioengineering and Biochemistry. I was planning on going to med school next year.”

  “So you wanted to be a doctor?”

  “Still do, but I don't see how that's going to happen now. My mother died when I was four. So I've always wanted to go into research. You know, find a cure for cancer, save millions of people. But I guess that won't be needed since the Reapers have pretty much taken over the world.”

  Black gently touched her arm. “Don't be so sure they're going to win,” he said. “I'm sure there are some researchers tucked away someplace secure who are working on a cure or vaccine.”

  “You really think so?”

  “I think it's really important to have something to believe in these days, and that's as good a reason as any to believe in. I'll make a deal with you. Once we get to Hope Island, we'll see if we can get you connected with these other eggheads, okay?”

  “Sounds wonderful. Thank you for coming to get us,” Cindy said.

  “Just doing my job.”

  “Hmmm. I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open,” she said. “Do you mind if I just rest my head against your shoulder for a few minutes?”

  “That's fine.”

  “Thanks,” Cindy said as she gently rested her head against Black's shoulder.

  Black watched as she took one deep breath and then fell asleep almost immediately.

  Twenty-three minutes later, the MRAP reached the Horsham Air Guard Station. Black fully expected all of them would be quarantined for a few days, but it wasn't to be. The Lieutenant Governor must have called in some serious favors because all of them were taken directly to a group of helicopters. With the Guard Station still hurrying to fortify their position, the Lieutenant Governor had successfully argued it was better to move his daughter and the rest of the Sixth District survivors to Hope Island and put them through quarantine procedures there. At least they wouldn't have to worry about any Reaper attacks against the island while they sat in isolation rooms for seventy-two hours. Once they started loading the choppers, Black's men had insisted on riding in the same copter with him. A few minutes later, they were on their way to Hope Island.