Day 14, 9:00 am: Lord Dameon
Once Lord Dameon reached the center of his brothers, he headed to the communication center. He immediately checked on the status of the installation of the last component. A man in a white lab coat reported that it had been installed and would be ready in less than thirty minutes, as they were finishing the last of the system checks. It would then would take a few minutes to power up and point the dish. The message was already programmed into the computer, and Lord Dameon just needed to hit the enter key.
Lord Dameon left the building feeling that victory was at hand. He walked to the white church where the explosive devices were stored and decided they should be armed in case they were overrun. Once he stepped into the room, one of the bomb technicians greeted him with a warm embrace.
“From the look on your face, it appears that you are ready for me to do my work.”
Lord Dameon placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I need you to arm the bombs just in case our brothers and sisters are not able to keep the unclean at bay for another thirty minutes.”
“Yes, my Lord. It will be ready for your activation in five minutes. How long of a countdown do you want?”
“I suppose sixty seconds should be enough.”
The brother nodded his head and went to work. Lord Dameon walked into the small chapel to get reports from his field commanders. One by one, they reported that they had lost half of their brothers and sisters. However, the enemies were running of bullets so they were starting to get the upper hand.
The report pleased Lord Dameon. “Keep up the attack. It sounds like victory is close at hand. We will either wipe out the enemy army or we will be sacrificed to get our message sent. Then nothing else matters.”
Each of the leaders left the room to personally manage the final attack in their areas.
Day 14, 9:00 am: Tara
Tara’s pulse raced as she rushed towards the crumbling front lines. Their group had been brought in to support the eastern side of the attack. Other than when she had fought in the arena the week prior, she hadn’t been in close-quarters combat since basic training. As she looked around, the look of fear and death was on the faces of the men, women, and teenagers that charged with her.
She was armed with nothing but her 1911 handgun and a large knife, which rested in its scabbard. She knew that she only had about one hundred rounds of ammunition in the five clips she carried, so it was likely that the knife would be needed.
When she was within fifty yards of the front line, a chill ran down her spine. She had been in combat zones before, but it was always behind the stick of a helicopter. Her Marine Corps training ran through her mind as she approached. She prayed that it all would come back to her like it had in the arena.
As her group arrived, the lines they were sent to support had fallen back towards her direction. As the soldiers saw the reinforcements rushing to their aid, it gave them renewed strength. They pushed the enemy back with new determination.
Suddenly, Tara screamed in battle fury. One by one, she took aim at AB monsters in front of her, and they fell to the ground. With her and several of the other reinforcements’ help, they cleared out a small pocket of ABs in their area. Tara and many others formed a circle, all breathing heavily and covered in blood and gore. No one in their group had any more rounds of ammunition. If they still carried their rifles, they were using them as clubs. Most had their knives in hand.
One of the remaining lieutenants shouted out, “Tighten the circle and leave no gaps!” The circle became smaller. At first, it appeared that the enemy was retreating. But as Tara watched, she realized they were actually regrouping and preparing for a counterattack.
Tara’s breath was flowing fast and hard as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her group. Any second, the enemy would attack, and it could be her last moment on Earth.
Day 14, 10:00 am: Blake
Blake made his way through the gap in the lines with twenty-five of his men at a full run. He felt confident the others would be able to handle the light but constant assault. He ordered his small band to head for the old white church. Blake had a feeling that was where they would be keeping the nukes. It appeared that once inside the enemy lines the ABs had little defenses.
The runner with the antibody bomb had a hard time keeping up with the rest of the group as he carried the precious package. As Blake and his men sprinted to cover the mile and a half to get to the church, what he started to hear over the radio caused his heart to sink. The western front was starting to collapse, and the soldiers and sailors were starting to fall back to the beach. Blake knew that they didn’t have long. They kept moving forward, taking out every enemy that they came across. Their pace became slow but constant.
Day 14, 10:00 am: Lord Dameon
Lord Dameon was receiving updates every five minutes from the techs in the communication center and from his commanders. He was told that the transmitter should be ready in ten minutes, and it appeared that his brothers should have the battle won in the next fifteen minutes, albeit at an exceedingly high cost. All this made him say a quick prayer thanking the creators for their considerable fortunes.
Day 14, 10:05 am: Tara
The enemy launched their counterattack on Tara’s small group. The ABs were so thick that Tara couldn’t see an end to them. Most were armed with sticks and rocks, and a few who seemed to be the leaders carried sidearms. However, they weren’t using them. Tara assumed it was because they had also run out of bullets.
Wave after wave of ABs rushed at them. Most of the civilians had been killed, and only a few that were ex-military survived. Their training in hand-to-hand combat skills gave them an advantage, and Tara noticed how many bodies surrounded them. Occasionally, one person in the group of survivors would fall, and the circle would tighten more.
The lieutenant yelled at Tara to get her attention. “Hey, you! Catch!” He threw her his mobile radio.
Tara caught the radio instinctively.
“Fall back to the center of the circle and call command and see if there are any more reinforcements coming,” the lieutenant shouted.
Tara made her way to the center and was pressing the button on the radio as she yelled with a panicked voice. “Command, do you copy? Command, do you copy?” There was nothing but static. Once again, she clicked the button. This time, she tried shouting a little louder to drown out the sounds of the surrounding battle. “Command, do you copy?” This time, the voice of a young woman came over the radio.
“This is Command, over.”
“Command, we need reinforcements on the eastern front. We are about to be overrun.”
The girl on the other end sounded frantic. “There are no more soldiers or civilians to send. Everyone here is either engaging the enemy or dead. The only ones left are medics and wounded.”
“What are your orders then?” Tara yelled.
The only thing that came over the radio was the sobs of the girl. Tara slowly lowered the radio to her side in disbelief; Command didn’t know what to do.
Day 14, 10:06 am: Blake
Blake had been monitoring the chatter over the radio as they made their way forward. It sounded like two of the lines had collapsed and the southern line was in jeopardy. However, what Blake heard next caused his adrenaline to race. He thought that he heard Tara calling out for help. Blake ordered all of his men to halt and take cover a couple hundred yards from the church.
Blake clicked the microphone on his radio. “Who is this?”
He heard muffled noises before she spoke. “Blake, is that you?”
“Tara! What’s your status?”
“I’m in a group of fifty survivors on the eastern front. Things are very serious here. We are surrounded by hundreds of ABs, and there’s no place to retreat. All our ammunition is gone, and we’re fighting hand-to-hand.”
Blake gripped the radio tighter. “What is your location?”
“We are about three miles due east of the old white church and—” Her voice was shak
y and quick before the radio went dead.
“Tara!” Blake yelled over the radio. There was no reply.
Blake’s first thought was to order his men to save Tara’s group. However, the soldier in him kicked in. He knew he was humanity’s best chance to shut down the transmission and retrieve the nukes. He threw off his helmet and rubbed his temples with his fingers for a few seconds. One of his patrol leaders ran up from the back.
“Major, we have movement 400 yards out. What are your orders?”
This brought Blake's thoughts back into the fight. He turned and called for the private carrying the antigen bomb. “Take the pack off and help me take out the package.”
Both men slowly removed the large cylinder and slid it out of its container. “I guess we’re close enough to the center of the ABs. The winds are calm now. Let’s see if this thing works.”
Blake removed the key from around his neck and inserted it into the lock. After he turned it, a couple of lights started to flash, and a large red button appeared from the side. Blake carried the container to the middle of the street.
“Here goes nothing.” He pushed the red button and ran back to his soldiers’ position. A circle of lights started to flash around the top of the cylinder. Slowly at first, but then it flashed much faster. There was a small explosion, and a white mist shot straight into the air.
Blake and his patrol leaders looked at each other, wondering what was next. They thought this powerful secret weapon should have done something more grandiose.
Day 14, 10:06 am: Tara
As Tara was about to give Blake the directions to their group in hopes of getting some reinforcements, an AB somehow leaped over the front line of their group and landed in front of Tara. Before she had a chance to react, the tall thin AB man smashed the radio that she held in her hand with a large pipe.
The radio hit the ground, and a few sparks leaped out the side. Tara’s right hand was slightly numb from the impact, but luckily she was holding her knife in her left hand while she was using the radio. She rolled under the sideswipe of the AB’s club and brought her knife straight up through his jaw into his brain. Blood ran down her arm as the AB stood there twitching as the life drained out of it. Tara looked around and men were falling at a regular rate now. All that Tara could think was, “Blake, please hurry.”
Day 14, 10:15 am: Lord Dameon
Lord Dameon walked out the door from the old white church towards the communication building. Suddenly, he heard a small explosion close by. He turned to see the source of the sound, but before he could locate it, his personal guards, who followed him constantly, rushed him over to the communication building.
As they ran across the street, a messenger approached him. “Sir, I want to report. There is an enemy patrol not far from the church, and they are headed this way.”
Lord Dameon wondered how this could be. He had just received a report that the enemies were either dead or retreating. He had also heard that the transmitter would be ready in minutes.
He turned to the small handful of messengers that followed him everywhere. “Tell our commanders to have all our brothers and sister return. The time is at hand.”
The runners left without saying a word. Lord Dameon assumed it would be about five minutes before everyone arrived, but he still wanted to celebrate with his surviving brothers and sisters.
He ordered the fifty men that were guarding the communication building to meet with the guards at the church and eliminate any approaching enemies. Lord Dameon hurriedly entered the building and walked directly to the control room to finally contact the creators.
Day 14, 10:20 am: Blake
Blake could see the ABs down the street rushing towards them. He turned to the two closest patrol leaders. “I want you two to take your platoon on the west side of the church. Provide cover for each other. I will lead the other two platoons on the east side. We need to strike hard and fast so the enemy doesn’t have time to set off the nukes before we engage them. Now move!”
Blake knew that if they didn’t run into too much resistance, they would reach the building in only a minute before the enemy reinforcements arrived. He silently gave the sign to his men to attack, and they all sprinted straight through without ducking for cover.
As they reached the cars parked across the street from the building, one of the AB guards on the back of the building spotted them and fired. Several soldiers returned fire with their pistols, and the AB guard dropped to the ground. However, the damage had been done; reinforcements ran around the corners of the building and fired at Blake and his men.
The group on the other side had not been spotted yet, so they made their way within yards of the building. They opened fire at the AB guards and rushed passed.
Blake couldn’t wait to see if all the AB guards had been taken out and gave a hand signal to circle the church. He was the first to enter the front door followed by his two platoons. The other platoon took cover and fired on the advancing enemy marching across the street.
As Blake stepped inside the church, a female and male AB in lab coats charged him with metal coat racks. Blake took them out with two shots.
“Start checking the rooms!” Blake ordered. One by one, the rooms were cleared of all ABs. He wondered if he had guessed wrong about the bombs being there but then he heard a slight muffled sound coming from behind the basement door.
Blake silently signaled to two of his men to follow him downstairs. He wanted to surprise whoever was behind it so he rolled a grenade to the base of the door. The explosion sent pieces of wood flying in every direction. After a couple of seconds, the smoke cleared. Blake and his men ran down the short flight of stairs to the basement.
Smoke and dust filled the air, but he could still see a short man in the corner wearing a dirty soldier uniform. On a table in front of him were two large open wooden crates with keys sticking out the tops. Each had blinking lights circling the keys.
Blake raised his gun and pointed it at the man. “Don’t move.”
The AB raised his hands and grinned. “You’re too late! I have already started the countdown.”
Blake examined the bombs and noticed that the timer had less than a minute left. He stepped closer and put the end of his pistol between the man's eyes. “Turn it off!”
“Why would I want to do that? I know that when I die, I will return to the creators.”
“I don’t have time for this shit.” Blake pulled the trigger, and the AB hit the ground with a thud.
Blake wiped the splattered brain and skull fragments off his face and glanced at the other two soldiers in the room. They shrugged their shoulders as they returned his gaze with an alarmed look.
“Soldiers can be brave when they fight an enemy, but how do you fight a bomb?” Blake thought. He turned and stood in front of the bombs. The large keys were turned to the “on” position. Blake watched the clock tick down. 30, 29, 28.
“Just try turning the keys,” one of his men suggested.
He grabbed the key closest to him and turned it counter-clockwise. At first, it didn’t move. He used a little more force and heard it click. The key moved into the “off” position.
He examined the other clock, and it read 15, 14, 13. He quickly reached over and shut off the other nuke. “That was too easy,” he said in bewilderment.
“After this whole apocalypse, maybe we finally have some luck on our side,” he thought. His smile was instantly gone when one of his patrol leaders ran down the stairs and yelled, “You had better get up here!”
Blake and the other two men ran up the stairs. He realized that all the soldiers were inside of the building. He peered out the window and gasped. The building was surrounded by thousands of ABs.
Blake made a call out for an ammunition count. Each man checked and shouted out what they had. Most were on their last rounds.
Blake couldn’t believe how swiftly their luck had changed.
Day 14, 10:20 am: Lord Dameon
Lord Dameon
tried to ignore the gunfire outside the building. Instead, he chose to focus on supervising the last few details of sending the message. Once everything was completed, a sense of relief washed over him.
“I just need to run a few diagnostics, then we will be ready. In the meantime, you can verify the message you want to send on that terminal over there.” His technician pointed to the laptop on the other table.
Lord Dameon walked over to the computer and examined the simple sentence: “We are here.”
He let the technician know that he would go let his people know that the celebration was about to begin. He wanted to be notified when the message was ready to be sent. The technician nodded his head and worked on a separate laptop.
Lord Dameon walked to the porch of the command center and carried a megaphone. Most of the chosen’s attention was focused on the old white church. Lord Dameon pressed the button on the megaphone, which made a loud screech. His brothers and sisters instantly faced him.
“My Brothers and Sisters, the time has come to call the creators. The transmitter is built, and the message will be sent shortly. The creators will be here soon!” Thousands of cheers echoed.
Day 14, 10:25 am: Blake
Blake and his men heard the enemy leader’s speech. Their hearts sank because they knew how close they had come to accomplishing their mission.
Blake brought his men into the small chapel. As his men gathered, his thoughts turned to Tara. “She’s probably dead, and I will probably be joining her soon,” he thought.
“Men, it has been an honor fighting with all of you today. I have never fought with more valiant and brave soldiers. But even with our heroic efforts, it hasn’t been enough. If this bastard is able to send his message, everyone who died today will have died in vain.”
AB (The Blake Reynolds Chronicles Book 1) Page 20
