Pandora 2: Death is not an Option

by McCrohan, Richard

  “I’m out,” yelled Sean.

  Jack turned and took his position.

  Steve was grasping the turret and, while seated on the roof, was kicking any zombie trying to climb on. One grabbed his left leg and began to drag him off, but he kicked at its face with his right leg until it let go.

  Manny finally managed to unsnag the cable and was pulling the hook free when a hand reached out from underneath the vehicle and grabbed his wrist. A zombie that was lying on the ground pulled his hand to his mouth and bit it. Manny swore and pulled away. He quickly stood, kicked the ghoul in the face, and then climbed back onto the armored vehicle.

  At last, all four cables were tethered to the Stryker. Kyle yelled down to Kevin, “Sarge. We’re hooked up. Tell them to haul us up out of this.”

  Kevin relayed the message to the hovering Chinook.

  Tommy noticed Manny’s hand when he attached the last cable. “Manny,” he cried, “You’re bitten.”

  “I know,” he said softly. “There was one fucker under the truck waiting for me.”

  “No,” said Tommy. “There’s got to be something we can do.”

  Manny looked at his sergeant and his best friend. “No, mano. But there’s something I can do.” He reached down and took his side arm out.

  Kyle DeVries was listening to this exchange, and he quickly yelled out, “No, wait!”

  Manny and Tommy turned to him.

  “Wait,” Kyle continued rapidly, “don’t do it. There is a cure. I swear, there is a cure now.”

  Everyone turned at the same time and almost in unison said, “What?”

  Just then, the vehicle jerked, and Dill called out, “Hang onto anything. We’re going up.”

  Everyone quickly grasped the nearest stable thing that they could hold onto. As the big Stryker started to rise, Mike, who was hanging onto the rear cable for dear life, looked over the edge of the roof. What he saw made his eyes go wide and the blood drain from his face.

  “Nooo,” he screamed.

  Holding onto the rear hatch handles was a dark-haired zombie. He was swinging back and forth with the movement of the vehicle. Looking up at Mike, he bared his teeth and hissed at him. As he did, he reached up and tried to find another, higher handhold.

  No, no, no, no, no, kept going through Mike’s mind.

  Almost as if in a dream, he took the rifle off his shoulder with one hand and aimed it down at the malevolent face of the zombie.

  Mike, raging now, sneered at the undead creature. “You fucking piece of shit,” he said. Aiming down, he pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through the zombie’s left eye and blew the back of his black, curly-haired head wide open. The zombie let go and fell back. As his now lifeless body tumbled back down to the ground, the camera bag hanging around his shoulder slipped off, and they both landed atop the mass of undead below.

  As the Chinook flew toward the northwest, a formation of Harriers flew above them heading southeast.

  A few minutes later, the dusk sky was lit up by a series of brilliant orange explosions that, like a chain of fire, lit up the expanse of Alligator Alley.

  20

  Sean and Mike were sitting together outside of their Quonset hut in the civilian annex of MacDill Air Force Base. Both were sipping bottles of water. The civilian annex was a series of enclosed Quonset huts attached to the base. It was used to house any civilian survivors who were found or who had wandered in. More and more were coming every day. In the zombie-free zones that the army was establishing, condo and apartment buildings were starting to be used to house everyone. These were easier to control. New rules were enacted by the government and enforced by the military. Some were rather draconian, but all were meant to protect the civilian population. Military-age survivors who were found were quickly trained and set to work filling in the depleted ranks of the armed forces. Most were just supporting troops, used for the maintenance of the bases and supplying frontline troops. Some of the survivors who were recovered had shown great aptitude in survival skills and zombie extermination. These were put in the actual combat units that had been reduced by the attrition of zombie eradication. Any law-enforcement people were put in MP-type units and used to oversee the residents and personnel.

  It may have seemed harsh, but it really wasn’t. This was all a temporary measure, used until the zombie menace was eliminated. The president created a new cabinet member: housing and relocation. With all the deaths, there would be a surplus of housing available. The problem was finding out what home and condo owners were still alive and making sure they were still able to return home. Any empty units would be used to permanently house any surviving people and families who either lost their home or, for the poor and middle classes, to upgrade their housing. It was like giving everyone the option to jump up a level or two.

  All of this was, of course, down the road. Way down the road. The world was still trying to take back its land and cities from the zombies. It was going to be a long war.

  Sean turned to Mike and said, “Manny is doing well. It’s been over two months, and he is still healthy. I guess this cure is the real deal.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Mike, “great news. I hear Tommy, Jamal, and Paul are being flown to a forward base near Boca to continue the cleanup. Manny’s about to go and join them.”

  Sean nodded. “That’s right. When they assigned me to combat, I asked to be in Tommy’s unit. They agreed. So now I’m working for Col. Di Meola.”

  “Yes, sir, Sgt. Sullivan.” Mike chuckled. He looked sideways at Sean and commented, “What was the army thinking?”

  “Screw you and the horse you rode in on.”

  They both laughed and clinked plastic bottles together.

  “How’s the new teaching gig at the base school coming along?” Sean asked.

  “Great,” said Mike. “There’s a real shortage of teachers, but it’s working itself out.”

  “Hey, guys!” a voice called.

  The two men turned around and saw Regina and Linda walking up to them.

  “Hey, Regina,” said Mike warmly. “How’s our favorite MP doing?”

  “Oh, just peachy,” she said, smiling and shaking her head. “They just put me in charge of policing the base.”

  “Congratulations,” said Sean with a smile.

  “Wow, that’s great,” Mike gushed.

  “We’ll see,” she answered with a little smile.

  Linda gave Sean a big hug and kiss. “How’s my G. I. Joe today?” she said.

  “What,” said Sean, “you too?”

  “I just talked to Malik,” Regina said. “He and Carol are at the base hospital. Carol told me she’s getting a little antsy, so she’s putting in for a field medic unit.”

  Sean, Mike, and Linda, having known Carol as a former mousey wallflower, just had to smile at that.

  “Jack is meeting is here in an hour,” Sean said.

  “Really?” said Regina. “Since he has been doing grief counseling and PTSD therapy with the survivors and troops, I hardly get to see him anymore.”

  “Speaking of not seeing anyone,” said Mike, “has anyone seen Dill or Rube around?”

  “I haven’t,” said Linda.

  “As I understand it,” Regina began, “Dill and Rube are going to be heading up the new incursion force they’re putting together. I hear they practically got carte blanche on the unit makeup.”

  “Wow.” Sean whistled. “I don’t envy them one bit.”

  The incursion force idea was relatively recent. The theory was that after a few rounds with the sound trucks in a new area, it basically was going to be boots-on-the-ground, house-to-house clearing of the rest of the zombies. This was going to be a long, brutal theater of operation. The incursion units would be made up of Special Forces personnel who would go in and identify the “hot spots” of zombie activity. For instance, if a particular building or complex was still teaming with the undead, it would then be decided if they would have to be driven out with troops or if it would be more exp
edient just to send in a smart bomb and level the entire thing. This way, the main zombie “strongholds” would be eliminated before actual troops entered the area. This was a very dangerous job. It called for small, fast-moving units to cover an area and be in and out without being in a continuous firefight the entire time. You would need highly trained operators for this kind of work.

  “You need big balls for that kind of thing,” said Mike.

  Just then, a horn beeped. As they all turned, a Jeep pulled up next to them. It was Max.

  “Hi, guys,” he said jovially. “What’s up?”

  “Hey, Max,” they all said in acknowledgment.

  “What do you think?” Max said with a laugh. “Sixty-six and still in the service.”

  “What do they have you doing?” Linda asked.

  “Supplies,” Max said proudly. “I deliver supplies, run messages, all sorts of things.”

  “Really,” remarked Regina. “That’s great.”

  “You bet,” answered Max. “Steve is heading up a phys-ed training facility at the other end of the base. I was just on my way to see what he needs. Oh, and Luke is in charge of revamping the civilian kitchens. Oh well, I’ve got to go. Nice seeing you all again.” With that, the old man drove off humming.

  Sean shook his head, smiling. “I don’t know,” he said. “He’s the only person I know who is actually thrilled to get drafted.” They all laughed at that.

  “I’ve got to run also,” Regina said. “Some problem in the mess hall.” She gave Mike a small smile, waved good-bye to them all, and then turned and walked off.

  Sean nudged Mike with his elbow. “I think she’s kind of sweet on you,” he said with a wink.

  “No way,” Mike said, pushing him back. “You think?”

  “I’m telling you,” Sean said with a big ear-to-ear grin.

  Mike looked at Linda with a questioning gaze. “He’s right,” she agreed. “I’d go for it if I were you.”

  “Really?” Mike said, looking back at Regina’s retreating form. “I mean, yeah, okay. Right.” He looked from Sean to Linda.

  “Go ahead,” Sean coaxed, laughing. “Catch up.”

  Mike turned and, with a departing, “See you,” took off after the new sheriff in town.

  Sean and Linda looked at each other, smiling. Slowly, their expressions turned serious. Sean stepped closer to her and took her hands.

  “I guess we’re not in New Jersey anymore, Toto,” Sean said quietly.

  Linda’s eyes gazed into the distance for a second. “My God, it seems like forever ago.”

  Sean looked at her lovingly and gave her a sad smile. “One minute we’re all having wine and cheese on the roof, watching the Pandora meteor shower, and the next we’re running for our lives. A quiet life in the Jersey suburbs, and then Pandora and the zombie apocalypse. Unbelievable.”

  Linda stepped closer, and they both held each other tightly. Then they kissed. It was a long and lingering kiss.

  Sean pulled back and looked deeply into her eyes. Then he gave her a slight, impish smile. “You think it’s too late to get married?”

  The End

  AFTERWORD

  I’m sure all of you Florida residents will see that I took some liberties with the geography and transportation system of southeastern Florida. The real roadways aren’t quite as straightforward as I made them out to be. However, this is a novel rather than a travelogue—poetic license, as they say.

  With the characters in Pandora 2, I tried to be honest in my portrayal of the range of emotions and reactions that normal people have during traumatic events. Not everyone is a John Wayne, John Rambo, or John McClane. Most of us are just John Doe. Some of us are even John Wayne Gacy.

  Concerning the world’s reaction to the zombie apocalypse and to the Pandora virus itself, I tried to be as realistic as I possibly could.

  Again, I want to thank all of you readers out there. Your support has been wonderful. If you didn’t do what you do, I couldn’t do what I do. From what I hear from some very young people out there, we are a dying breed. Keep reading…It’s magic.

  Richard McCrohan

  Boynton Beach, Florida

  April 2015