What Remains (Book 3): Epidemic

by Barrett, Tyler

  The soldiers regrouped at the door, and Kenji lost sight as the helicopter flew around to the other side. Kenji’s headset was silent for a moment, and he began to panic.

  “Clear. Move up the stairs. Wilson, you got rear.”

  Kenji felt a little better after hearing them once more but knew the mission had only just begun. They still had a large portion of the ship to clear.

  “Wilson, Brown, you clear right.”

  Kenji tensed again, knowing that the two soldiers who didn’t take him seriously were about to clear rooms that could possibly contain infected. He prayed they used his methods, and that nothing bad happened if they didn’t. He was helpless, though, as he listened to their comm channel.

  Brown spoke, “Clear. Wilson, status?”

  A yell broke the otherwise calm channel, “AAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

  “Help! They have Wilson!”

  Garbled audio filled his headset, and Kenji’s heart pounded against his chest. Kenji plastered his face to the window, hoping to glimpse anything, but knew he couldn’t.

  “On our way. Wait, three infected moving our way down the hall.”

  “I’ve got Wilson. Two infected taken care of here,” Brown stated.

  “Report on Wilson?”

  “He is fine, just shaken.”

  “Move to assist in the hall, go loud.”

  Time ticked by as Kenji waited for the all-clear and status report from the team, hoping everything was okay. The helicopter did a complete circle of the ship before someone responded.

  “Overwatch, Viper Five reporting, command deck cleared, no casualties, six infected killed. Moving to the engine deck.”

  Kenji let out a heavy breath, glad that Wilson or the others hadn’t been harmed. The mission was far from over, and only a small portion of the ship had been cleared.

  I wonder if Brown and Wilson used my training or not, and that’s why they got in that position…

  “Entering the Engine room,” Davis stated.

  “Counting eight infected in the lower engine room, moving to dispatch.”

  Two circles of the ship later, Davis gave his report, “Viper Five, engine room clear, eight infected killed.”

  After the incident on the command deck, everything seemed to go smoothly. There wasn’t any panic in the soldier’s voices like there had been with their first encounter with the infected. Shortly after, the soldiers appeared back on the deck of the ship, waiting to be extracted by the helicopter. Lowering back down toward the deck, it hovered just a couple of feet away from the edge. The copilot opened the side door and helped each soldier back inside the aircraft.

  Kenji closed the door, talking to the copilot, “Radio headquarters and tell them the ship is ready for quarantine.”

  Sitting back down, Kenji noticed the soldiers looked different than when they had left no more than an hour before. Davis sat against the wall, breathing heavily, while Bernard just stared, wide-eyed at nothing. Kenji looked over at Brown and Wilson, who looked shell-shocked, and wouldn’t meet his gaze.

  “Are you alright?” Kenji asked, looking amongst the men.

  No one answered, sitting silently.

  The helicopter ride back was quiet, even awkward as Kenji watched the soldiers, unmoving. It was as if as soon as they sat on the helicopter, they immediately were spellbound and couldn’t function. Halfway back to land, Wilson glanced over at Kenji, but quickly turned his gaze the other way, still unwilling to lock eyes.

  It must have hit them all harder than I would have expected. I guess I’m just accustomed to fighting the Yokai. Surely, after some rest, they will be better, right?

  Kenji began to worry about the mental wellbeing of each soldier and contemplated reaching out to Muller.

  Maybe when we land, I’ll call Muller…I don’t want to clear these guys if they can’t handle it.

  It wasn’t too long before they landed at a nearby airbase to refuel before heading back to the headquarters. While they waited for the refueling, Kenji got out to stretch, while none of the soldiers moved.

  Kenji poked his head inside, “Hey, are you guys going to move?”

  Davis shook his head while the others didn’t reply.

  One. I guess that’s better than none.

  Kenji had seen this before, back when the outbreak first swept through Japan. All the survivors he encountered were distant, removed. Eventually, with repeated attempts, Kenji saw the survivors open up and move on. It wasn’t something simple, and each person was different; some took only a day or two, some almost a week. Kenji couldn’t be upset with any of the soldiers since only a few months ago, he sat where they were.

  An hour later, they arrived at the IVC headquarters, and with a soft lurch, they touched down. Kenji opened the door, turning to watch the soldiers. Only Davis moved, climbing out of the aircraft.

  I guess they are going to spend the rest of their day in there…

  Kenji turned to leave before he heard one of the soldiers call out, “Wait.”

  “I’m sorry,” Wilson said quietly.

  “Huh?” Kenji asked, turning back to the soldiers.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t listen to your training, and I almost died. They…They were so strong…I’ve never felt so scared in my whole life…”

  Brown looked up at Kenji, “I’m sorry too. I don’t know how you survived an entire country filled with those things. I thought you were just some civilian trying to tell us how to do our jobs…I’m sorry.”

  Kenji weakly smiled, “I’m just happy you all made it out okay. I was so worried when I heard the screaming.”

  Wilson shifted in his seat, “I would have died if I didn’t use your training. As soon as those creatures grabbed me, your voice filled my head, and I reacted. I can’t say it enough…I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. It’s my job to make sure you guys survived. I did my job, and I’m happy it helped,” Kenji replied.

  “Thank you,” Wilson said, climbing out of the helicopter, staring directly into Kenji’s eyes, “Thank you for doing your job.”

  Kenji followed the soldiers, heading back to the Admin building to write his report, happy that the squad of soldiers was ready for active duty, given a few days to rest and process.

  Chapter 10

  Kenji awoke to someone knocking at his door.

  “Coming!” Kenji yelled, quickly got out of his bed, throwing on a shirt.

  This had better be good. A week straight off work to rest…This was supposed to be my day to sleep in.

  Three months of training had taken its toll physically on Kenji. He was supposed to have an entire week off from training to rest. Today was his first day into the week-long vacation, intending on taking it easy, he knew that plan was already ruined before he even answered the door.

  Muller greeted him, “Good morning Kenji. I need you to follow me, something big has happened. We need to go see Dr. Victoria.”

  Muller didn’t wait for Kenji’s reply, moving down the hall toward the common area. Kenji quickly slipped on his shoes before following him, noticing that the hallway was empty. Once on the ground floor, everyone seemed to be missing from the otherwise busy common room as well as the cafeteria.

  Huh, this must be pretty serious. I hope it’s nothing bad…

  Muller pushed open the door, leading Kenji back to the administration building. Even on their trek across the campus, there wasn’t anyone about the area, which left Kenji’s stomach in knots. After passing Rodger in the lobby, who was also silent, Kenji followed Muller into the elevator. Reaching the floor with Dr. Victoria’s office, they kept a brisk pace.

  I’m not liking how this is turning out so far.

  Inside the once quiet office room, it was alive with people talking and handing off paperwork. Kenji walked past the operations room and could see that what he thought was chaotic before, was nothing compared to today. Men and women ran back and forth between each workstation, while those working at the stations shouted out information t
o those nearby.

  Kenji found himself in the conference room with Dr. Victoria, just like the first day he had arrived, looking over a large stack of paperwork before her.

  “Please, sit,” Dr. Victoria stated without looking up from her paperwork.

  After a few moments of awkward silence, she finally looked up at Kenji.

  “I’ll be upfront,” said Dr. Victoria in a serious tone, “We have a mission that we would like you to lead along with Muller. This mission is extremely time sensitive and important beyond anything we have dealt with so far. Muller give him the briefing.”

  Muller cleared his throat, “Two days ago one of the ships we had posted in the Sea of Japan picked up a distress signal from a survivor. One of our squads was deployed to rescue the survivor. After locating the survivor and checking for signs of infection, they cleared the survivor for an exfiltration back to the ship to be quarantined for a full check-up. Our team made a discovery, though; a healed bite wound. The survivor, a woman, had suffered much trauma and wasn’t fully lucid. They were unable to determine her identity but were able to confirm that her wound was inflicted by an infected person.”

  “Are you saying this woman is immune to the virus?!” Kenji exclaimed.

  “Yes, we believe so. She may be the key to stopping this virus,” replied Muller.

  “That is very good news! But, why do I feel you aren’t as excited about it as I am?” asked Kenji.

  “Well, as good as this is, there is a problem. Once the bite was found, they immediately tested for the virus, and it was confirmed she was infected and survived, we gave the order to have her moved to a lab in Busan, South Korea. That was twelve hours ago… We lost contact with the team transporting her to the lab.”

  “You lost her?!” interrupted Kenji.

  “We don’t know what happened exactly but simply put, yes. That’s only part of the bad news. Four hours after we lost contact with our team, reports of infected appearing nearby their last known location started coming in. We assume this woman while apparently immune herself she might be a carrier, and that’s how the virus has spread,” stated Muller objectively.

  “So, what about containment, have quarantine procedures been put in place?” asked Kenji, starting to feel sweaty.

  Dr. Victoria responded, “The South Korean Government has set up a full quarantine of Busan, using its natural mountains as a means to help stop the spread. The reports we have received are hopeful, as they have effectively managed to contain it to the district.”

  “Although you weren’t supposed to see live duty yet…Kenji, we need you on this mission. Together we would lead a team into this district and attempt to find this woman and secure her. Her immunity to the virus is extremely important, hell, I don’t need to convince you of how important this is,” stated Muller.

  “When can we leave?” asked Kenji without hesitation, “If there is a chance, we can stop this virus, I will do anything to help. This virus… it has taken everything from me.”

  Muller stood up, “In that case, I’ll prep our gear. You can follow me, and we will get outfitted for the mission.”

  Muller and Kenji stood to leave, Dr. Victoria, turned toward Kenji, “Welcome to active duty, Kenji.”

  Chapter 11

  Kenji stood before his bed, staring, knowing that as soon as he reached under and grabbed his sword that it would change everything.

  This is insane. Another outbreak! There’s some small hope in this, though. We have to find this woman; she holds the key. A way to stop this virus.

  He got down on his knees, reaching under his bed, feeling around for his sword. His fingers brushed against the cold sheath that contained it. Hesitating, as bile in his stomach, started its way up to his throat.

  I’ve known this time would come eventually, but am I ready? I knew one day I’d have to fight the Yokai once more. There won’t be any turning back once I grab my sword.

  The feelings of self-loathing surged through his body. Doubt crept into his mind; every fiber in his body fought against grabbing his weapon, knowing the destruction it brought with it. Kenji was immobilized with indecision; old memories flooded his mind. Everything in his being told him, never touch his sword again. He knew the pain that it brought him, and the sacrifice that he would have to make would be a direct consequence of him using it once more.

  The sword was the symbol of all his pain. It was a representation of the worst time in his life, the moment that irreversibly changed him. However, this was his moment to change that narrative, a chance to redeem the past. This was the moment prove he was more than a survivor, and possibly earn the right to be called a hero.

  Kenji made up his mind, deciding that he needed that redemption, not only just to find the woman who held the key to stop all of this. Grabbing the sheath, he pulled it quickly from underneath his bed. In one quick movement, he put the weapon over his back. Gripping the sword, Kenji pulled it out, feeling the familiar weight in his hands. The blade gleamed in the light, looking just as sharp as when he had found it so long ago. He felt the power of holding his weapon in his hands. The bad memories that he had before with the sword were shoved down deep; it was time to make new ones. Kenji sheathed his katana and left his room.

  Muller waited for him in the courtyard, leading him in a different direction, toward the airstrip. As they approached the airstrip, he could see they were prepping a cargo plan on the runway. Kenji walked quickly, shouldering his weapon, making sure it was held tightly against his back.

  “I’m sure the team will be happy to see us; it’s been a while since they were around other people! Also, we have any gear you could ever want for. So, grab anything you want,” Muller said, jogging just ahead of Kenji.

  Kenji hadn’t seen Muller’s team, and technically his own, since his training several months before. He knew they were tasked with something else while he was busy training the troops but had never taken the time to figure out where or what they were doing.

  Haven’t been around other people? Wonder, where they were that, didn’t have anyone around.

  Kenji walked into the hanger, letting his eyes adjust to the darker interior. He hadn’t returned to the armory since his training, feeling slightly out of place. The rows and rows of firearms judging him for wielding such a primitive weapon, he held the strap tightly to him. The team stood nearby, finishing their choices of weaponry, making sure they had plenty of ammo and magazines.

  Muller slowed down just before reaching the armory, “Be glad you were here training. They just returned from their last mission, which was in Japan.”

  They were…in Japan?!

  “What were they doing there?” Snapping his head at Muller.

  “The UN wanted to make sure that all the nuclear reactors were completely shut down and dismantled. Our team provided security for that.”

  “Oi, ‘Ow are ya?” King asked, moving up beside them.

  “Good, how about you guys, any trouble over there?” Muller asked in return.

  “Nothin’ we couldn’t ‘andle. Used a few of Kenji’s methods, came in ‘andy.”

  “Good, are you all geared up yet? I want to be rolling out as soon as possible. We don’t’ have any time to waste,” Muller stated, entering the armory.

  “No rest for us!” King said, jogging over to the others.

  Muller looked at Kenji, noticing his confused face, “That’s his way of saying they will be ready shortly. Let’s grab your gear, and then we can head out.”

  Grabbing the couple of crates Muller had pointed out, Kenji followed him to the back of the cargo plane.

  “I made sure that you have the same rifle and sidearm you trained with; I hope that’s okay?”

  Kenji nodded, “That is perfect, I probably won’t use them much unless I have to.”

  With a heft, Muller set down the crate he was carrying, “We have your armor already packed up too.”

  Kenji set down the rifle crate, glancing over at Muller with a confused look, �
��Armor?”

  “Yeah, after a few near misses on missions, we commissioned some lightweight body armor made to protect our limbs from bites,” stated Muller, “The only problem is it’s extremely expensive to make.”

  “It would seem you are prepared for these missions. I had no idea you guys made armor to protect yourselves,” said Kenji with respect.

  “Remember a few months back when I was discussing that close call one of our teams had, you gave me the idea actually. You said, ‘bites on the arms and legs were most common, but there wasn’t anything to stop the infected from easily taking a bite out of you.’ Well, I thought about it and did some research, came up with some arm and leg guards, that cover the most exposed areas from bites.”

  “These should come in handy. A little piece of mind at least,” Kenji said with a smile.

  Zach walked up the ramp, loading Kenji's rifle case in with the rest of the gear, “That armor has saved me a couple times now. It’s a godsend. You can also use it to help push infected back since they can’t bite through it.”

  “It’s bite resistant! That will be helpful. Does it weigh much?” asked Kenji with surprise.

  Muller shook his head, “I wouldn’t suggest using it to hit the infected, but we had it designed it to be lightweight, yet strong enough to stop a bite.”

  Kenji bowed his head, “It’s a shame we didn’t have this sooner, it would have saved many lives.”

  A silence fell amongst the men until Muller disturbed the moment.

  “Well, let’s finish loading everything on the plane. We have a long flight ahead of us. Try to get some sleep on the way if you can, who knows how long the mission will take,” said Muller loud enough for the others to hear.

  Chapter 12

  Watching the clouds below them pass by, Kenji counted each one as an indication that they were traveling high in the sky. They were aboard a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft carrying them to Busan. They had taken a short break to refuel at an Air Force base located in Hawaii. After refueling, taking a moment to eat a quick meal, they continued their long journey; a little over six hours remained on their flight.