by Matt Hart
“No, it’s fine, we need the security. What can I do to help?”
“Well I wouldn’t say ‘No’ to some dinner.”
“Alright, I’ll fix something up.” I opened a container and started to pull out a bag of rice, but then realized I might as well use up all the food upstairs first. I went back up to the kitchen and checked the refrigerator and pulled out all the food. I threw a few things out, but it had only been a day since the event, so most of it was still okay. The freezer was likewise good, but I figured I’d better cook everything and hope some of it would keep. I went outside and carried a small fire pit around to the back next to the grill and started a fire in both the smoker part of the grill and the fire pit itself. Jen came outside to see what I was doing and immediately started helping me. We cut up the half-frozen roast and venison from the freezer, salt and peppered it, then laid it out in the grill to smoke. We also took out all the cast iron cookware as well as some cans and lids. Hopefully some of the cans would stay sterile and whatever we didn’t eat would keep in the cans.
It took almost an hour to get things going. We had some water left in the tank, and I carried a couple of the sealed five-gallon blue containers from the basement. Jen said she could keep watch on the food as she could see that I was getting antsy to see what Art was up to. I went back in the house and trekked upstairs to get a view of the surroundings, but all I could see was trees except for the driveway, which eventually curved out of sight anyway.
Back downstairs, Art was stacking doors he’d removed from their hinges. “What are you…” I began.
“These doors will serve us better across all these windows you have as well as that sliding glass door in the back,” said Art. “This house certainly won’t pass as a decent bunker right now, but perhaps we can at least keep out the zombies.”
I nodded and took a hammer and screwdriver and took them upstairs to remove the bedroom doors.
A lot of work to survive the apocalypse.
Chapter 39
Salisburg, Massachusetts
“Get in here and clean up this mess!” yelled Richard as the rest of the group walked into the house.
“What the hell, man?” said Mickey. “You shot the woman? Do you know how long it’s been since…”
“Shut up, Mickey,” said Richard. “I aimed at that man and she jumped in front of him.” He shook his head. “What a waste.”
Jeffrey gratefully dropped his uncle’s heavy pack and rubbed his shoulders. He took in the scene in the living room. A smallish woman lay sprawled on the floor, laying on her stomach, apparently shot in the back. A man lay back on a couch. He looked to have been shot over and over. He ran back outside and vomited in the yard.
Watson watched him from the doorway, smiling and shaking his head.
“I said clean it up!” yelled Richard. Watson turned and went back to the living room. He moved aside a coffee table that was sitting on a large rug. Mickey and Watson picked up the woman and laid her in the middle of rug, then dumped the man on top of her. They rolled up the rug and began dragging it to the front of the house.
“Not in front you idiots, dump them in the woods behind the house,” demanded Richard.
“You got it, Big N,” said Mickey. They dragged the bodies out the sliding glass door at the back of the house, off the deck, and pulled the rug across the well-manicured lawn. They walked the heavy rug fifty yards into the woods before dropping it and heading back to the house.
“That kid is a liability,” said Watson. “The wimp is going to get us all killed.”
“I agree,” said Mickey. “And Big N probably agrees as well, but he’s family, so he keeps him on.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and the kid’ll catch a bullet in the next fire fight.”
“You’re probably right,” agreed Mickey. “Too bad he didn’t keep his head down.” The pair chuckled as they walked back up the deck and into the house. Jeffrey was scrubbing the couch cushions and Richard was sitting down in a big easy chair. The smell of the cleaner that Jeffrey was using was strong. Mickey sat down on the edge of the coffee table.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” said Richard. “I want you two upstairs, one watching the front of the house, the other watching the back. We need to know if anything approaches, and maybe get lucky and spot our prey.” Richard paused, then held out his scoped Weatherby. “Take this.”
Mickey groaned as he stood up and took the rifle, then gave a mock salute to Richard. “You got it Richard,” said Mickey. “Let’s go Watson.” Watson picked up his scoped .22 and they both tromped upstairs. Richard leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes as Jeffrey continued scrubbing the cushions. He glanced occasionally at his uncle with fear in his eyes.
Chapter 40
Erin : San Diego, California
Despite all the difficulties, I’d made it to the marina. There were quite a few boats still in the harbor, so I was pretty sure the Wind Spirit was still there as well. The electronic gate was swinging freely open, its magnetic lock useless without power. We stepped onto the walkway to a small rowboat.
“You know, I was hoping for something a littler bigger,” said Joe. “That thing will sink as soon as I step into it.”
“It’s just a skiff Big Joe,” I said. “We row out to the sailboats – their draft is too deep to anchor right here.”
“Okay, but I drown, I’m coming after you as a zombie.”
Erin tapped her baton. “Gotcha covered,” she laughed. She dropped her pack into the skiff, then turned with a look a fright on her face. She coughed, and I tried to say something, but started coughing as well. It took us a minute to get over it, and I felt sore all over, but more awake than I was before.
“What was that?” she asked.
“All this exercise catching up with us?” I asked.
She looked back toward the marina building, then back at me. “Either way, we need to get going.”
I nodded and I gratefully shrugged out of my heavy backpack. I tossed it gently into the boat, but I must have thrown it harder than I’d thought, as it headed right for Erin’s head. She looked up and caught it without even flinching, then set it down in the boat.
I looked at her and she looked at me.
That pack weighs one hundred fifty pounds! What the…
A loud BOOM sounded behind us and we both dropped to our knees and pulled out our guns – Erin her shotgun and me my AK. Another BOOM sounded, this time we could tell that it was somewhere in the distance. A bunch of quieter cracking sounds accompanied the next BOOM.
“What is it, Army Joe?” asked Erin.
“The loud ones sound a bit like mortar rounds going off, but the cracking noises, I don’t know. They sound almost like a transformer popping or something,” I told her. “But the good thing is that it probably isn’t zombies.”
“Someone fighting back,” she said.
“Yep,” I agreed, “Sounds that way. Should we check?”
“Nope.” Erin stood, turned back to the boat and began untying the ropes that held it to the dock. “Let’s get going,” she added. I stepped into the dinghy, which dipped alarmingly toward the water. An orange life vest was in the floor of the boat, so I let my rifle dangle and picked it up. The opening went over my head okay, but the strap wouldn’t fit around me. I held the two ends in front of me and looked helplessly at Erin trying to hold in her laughter.
“Not a word, missy!” I said with mock anger.
“Is laughing a word?” she asked. I looked around and picked up another life vest, then used its straps to tie together the two ends of the one I was wearing. I had one life vest on and another dangling in front of me.
Erin busted out laughing as she handed me a long oar. I dipped it into the water and she laughed again. “Not that way Orange Joe,” she said. She took another oar and slipped the handle into a round ring near the center of the boat. I slipped the other one in and held out my hand for hers. “No, I’ll row. With you rowing, we’d end up going in
circles or halfway out to sea. Besides, you’re sitting in the back of the boat.” She used one oar to push away from the dock and then dipped them both into the water, pulling them back toward her body with practiced ease. The boat lurched away from the dock as though it weighed nothing, and the oars made an ominous cracking noise. She stopped and looked at me, then shrugged and pulled the oars again, a little more slowly this time. I watched her row and looked at my heavy pack again, my eyes squinting as I tried to understand what was happening.
Chapter 41
Interlude - Earth’s Ionosphere
Eight refrigerator-sized drones ascended through the atmosphere. They were lighter than when they’d descended, their contents delivered to the cities programmed by Grodge. The bio-infestor counter-agent acted even more quickly than the original zombie virus. It was very quick to give its hosts healing abilities and stronger organs and bones. It didn’t affect the zombies, unfortunately, but it strengthened almost every human in the target cities.
Chapter 42
Interlude : Boreling Entertainment Assurance Vessel 2
Captain Premrie smiled as his ship appeared over the city. He was smiling because of the big bonuses the network was paying for the increased hazards of operations conducted with half armor power; bonuses that he would be pocketing instead of the troops. Premrie wasn't telling them about the armor, nor was he about to give them more than 25% of the bonus.
“Captain's privilege,” he muttered.
“What was that Captain?” asked Commander Termloe.
“Uh... I was wondering how many bio-creatures at this site.”
“And you need to mind your own business,” thought the Captain.
“Looks like about five million, on continent one, just north of the equator and south of the primary nation one,” said Commander Termloe. Continents on this strangely fractured planet were designated with numbers that started with the highest technology. A typical planet might have lower or higher tech areas, but they generally shared the same level on a single continent, with one language and government. This place was absolutely schizophrenic, with half a dozen or so continents and hundreds of nations and languages.
“What a bunch of weirdos,” muttered Termloe.
“What was that?” asked Captain Premrie, suspicion in his voice.
“I was just thinking of the crazy continents and nations and languages. What a bunch of idiots!” he laughed.
Premrie laughed with him. “You'd think we could run the show just by filming these alien antics as they try to talk with each other. Put a half dozen in a room and watch them flail about!”
“Hilarious!”
“Yes, well,” said the Captain, “five million bio-creatures,” he said. He tapped a console button. “Ultrod,” he called, “Let’s see how many we can cull, and no more than...” He lifted his gloved-thumb from the button. “Commander, how many normal aliens in the city?”
“Should be about six or seven million left.”
The captain pressed the button again. “No more than a million of the regular aliens killed, is that understood?”
A tinny voice seemed to answer out of the Captain's chair. “Yes Captain, five million bio-creatures, destroy as many as possible and no more than a million humans.”
“Right, we hit...” He lifted his thumb from the button. “What's the native name of the place?”
“Uhh...” The Commander rapidly tapped buttons as the Captain began to scowl behind him.
“Captain?” came a voice from the chair.
The Captain ground his teeth as he smashed the button with his fist. “Mind your place Lieutenant!” he yelled, hating it whenever a subordinate prompted him. The Lieutenant wisely chose not to respond.
”Here it is, Mexico City, sir.”
The Captain thumbed the button. “Mexico City, two minutes.” He released the button as the Assurance Troop Leader acknowledged, but Premrie's attention was on a small screen that had popped up from his armrest. As troop after troop powered on their suits, he tapped each one in turn and adjusted their suit power down to fifty percent. He clicked his thumbs, then pulled up the Lieutenant's suit, chuckling as he set it to five percent armor strength.
“Hilarious,” he whispered.
“One minute,” said Termloe.
The ship shook as it blasted into the atmosphere. It’s cloaking did nothing to hide the trail of plasma flame it left, but then there was probably no one on the ground who was watching anyway. The ship circled and finally came to a hover above a horde of creatures filling a city square. The barely-visible craft split open from the bottom and what looked like water droplets fell out, firing downward as they dropped. Lightning seemed to crack loudly as dozens of zombies, and parts of zombies, blew outwards, smashing into the edges of the plaza below. The troopers landed in the temporary gap and began steadily firing on all sides. Zombies began pouring into the plaza and were just as quickly blown apart. The ship picked the vector with the most creatures and dropped nearly to the ground as a gun poked out of the bottom. It spat lightning that made the ship’s cloaking flicker as it mowed down hundreds of the creatures.
“Forward on me!” yelled Lt. Ultrod. He saw the growing piles of creatures and decided to walk in an outward spiral to avoid stacking them up too high. A line of creatures burst as he walked forward through the mob.
—————
“Are you seeing what I'm seeing?” asked Marine Sgt. Solaris. She held the side of a window frame and looked out the window of a Mexican government office onto Zócolo, the main square of Mexico City. She'd been stranded there after the U.S. Ambassador had turned into a zombie and attacked the Mexican Secretary of Economy and his staff. She'd ended up killing him herself using her service knife, but now she was unable to make it back to the U.S. Embassy.
“Sí, I see it,” said Lt. (Teniente) Miguel. “I wish my camera worked,” he added. The two watched for a minute as the creatures burst apart and strange shape flickered in the plaza. “Above the flag, there, you see it?”
Sgt. Solaris stared above the tall flagpole in the plaza center. “No, I don't see anything.”
“Watch,” said Lt. Miguel, “It shimmers like agua.” The short blonde Sgt. looked back at the Lt. to get an angle. He met her bright blue eyes with his dark brown ones before looking back above the flagpole. She put a hand on his shoulder and gazed at the same spot for a minute.
“Yes, a shimmer, like heat rising from the deck of a carrier after a dozen launches, only suspended in midair.”
“What do you think it is?”
She watched for another minute but said nothing. “There, down by the flickering in the plaza, you can see it there too.” They watched for another few minutes as the empty spot moved in a spiral around the plaza.
“I see a small flash sometimes,” said Lt. Miguel, “down in the plaza.”
“And a sound like a distance sonic boom,” added Sgt. Solaris. She walked to a table and picked up her M4. It was mainly for show since she had no rounds for it here in the Mexican government building. She balanced the rifle on the windowsill and put her eye to the scope.
She didn't get a chance to see anything as she and Miguel were smashed backwards.
—————
Entertainment Assurance Troop Leader Ultrod lowered his weapon, checked the reduced power level, then switched it from high power back to normal. He was usually annoyed when the beep of his wrist pad reminded him to check the surroundings for hostiles, but he was glad for it this time as he spotted the end of a weapon as it was poked out of a window.
“Can't break through our armor anyway,” he muttered. He glanced up toward the building and spotted the telltale blip in his visor that indicated a camera drone. He grinned and waved, then turned his weapon on the alien bio-creatures and continued firing.
Chapter 43
Interlude : Boreling Empire : Plannel 113
Apocalypse Fans Watch Party
“Print some more of those, what do they
call them? Doritos? Delicious!” A red and yellow bag popped into the output tray and was scooped up by a fat Boreling. He took it and sat down in the middle of a long couch that was filled with other Borelings. Tearing open the bag, he scooped out a handful of triangles and stuffed them in his mouth. Each Boreling on the couch was eating some sort of Earth food. Expensive, but easily printed. The Network Scouting Advance Team had sampled the foods and had them ready for sale once the show started, with a few select Mayhem Foods Contest winners receiving early samples of the best ones. Doritos, anchovies, green olives, borscht, and gummy bears seemed to be the most popular.
In front of the couch was an entire wall of monitors. The largest was a set of four linked together. It showed a craft that was hovering above a horde of bio-creatures. The ship shimmered a sort of blue color, indicating it was camouflaged, but highlighted for the viewers. Then explosions occurred beneath the craft, blowing a hole in the mob. Shimmering blue figures dropped down and began firing on the bio-creatures. They walked in a spiral, destroying hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands. The figures were practically running as they fired. The ship lowered and began firing as well.
The feed changed to show the point of view of one of the troopers. He fired his weapon and his armor flickered, briefly exposing his weapon and the troopers next to him. He cleared out a hallway and then turned to go back. A loud BOOM sounded and the trooper turned. A human stood in the hallway pointing a weapon at the trooper. It shot again and the trooper stumbled back as it raised its weapon. A third shot hit the trooper and he fell. A sizzle screeched in the air and the human fell into two pieces. The view switched to the trooper who had shot the human. The scene showed the human blowing apart as the first trooper fell backwards, a hole blown in his now fully visible armor.
The watchers on the couch cheered and yelled as the Boreling trooper died. They exchanged fist bumps, and a few laughingly pulled out some credit cubes and handed them to their fellow fans.
