Dan took a sip of coffee and held it on his tongue for a moment before he swallowed. It was so damn good and reminded him of early mornings on the ranch when the smell of freshly brewed coffee filled his childhood home. He locked the memory away and got back to business. “Tell me about the bunker.”
# # #
Grace told him everything she knew while she watched him. He was over six feet by at least several inches and had a commanding presence. Even the cadets had recognized that he was the guy in charge and that was before they’d seen his rank. She figured he was in his late-thirties and in good condition. Nice to look at but much too bossy. She glanced at his left hand then realized what she was doing and looked at the paper napkin she shredded while she talked. She finished with the condition of the solar energy system and the broken panels. Looking up, she came to the conclusion that he hadn’t been surprised by anything she’d just told him. “But, of course, you already knew all this.” The statement was a challenge.
Dan grinned. “Is that it?”
“No. You know our names so why don’t you introduce your men? Otherwise we’ll just assign unflattering nicknames to each of you.” She shrugged. “Which ever you prefer.”
Dan stared at her and she stared back, refusing to be the first to look away. Finally, he broke eye contact but for some reason she felt as if she’d just lost a point or two.
“Sherlock is in the security room.”
She’d seen the guy with Neal, Sabrina and Sherry in security. He had dark red hair and a lighter complexion but he was tall and strongly built with startling blue eyes.
Dan pointed to the guy across from him. “Snake.”
“Because on just about every mission one of the damn things drops or crawls on me,” Snake said.
Grace smiled. Snake was tall and lanky with dark hair, brown eyes, and mahogany skin. He had a quirky smile.
Dan pointed to the guy next to Snake. “Sharp.
Sharp wiped his mouth and pointed at his team members. “Because I have a higher IQ than these three jarheads but I also have great aim and a sweet tooth.” He winked at Grace and put another serving of cobbler on his plate.
Aw, he’s the flirty one, she thought, and why wouldn’t he be? He was gorgeous with the kind of face that made a woman look twice. Six feet tall and in excellent physical condition with gray eyes that seemed to see and take note of everything around him.
Dan pointed to the first guy Grace had seen. “Books.”
“Medic and avid reader,” Books said. “I hope you have some decent books around here.”
Books face was a dark mocha color making his hazel eyes appear lighter. He was the quiet one.
Megan laughed and pointed to a cabinet. “The books are in there, and of course we have an entire library on campus if you can get in and out of it alive.”
“That won’t be a problem for much longer.” Books turned to Dan. “Once we deal with the Variants, Sharp and I will fix the panels on the roof. There are extras in the battery room.”
“Still doesn’t solve the food problem,” Dan said to Grace. “We’re bringing in a platoon.”
“How many is that?” Grace asked, frowning.
Dan smiled. “Around forty including us.”
Grace sighed. “I’ll work on a new menu and stretch the food as far as I can and still keep everyone healthy. Will they bring more food with them?”
“They’re bringing an armament to defend this place,” Dan said. “Very little food if any. It’s hard to get to the food sources in the bigger cities because of the Variants.”
“What about hunting,” Luke asked. “These woods are full of deer.”
“Not any more, kid,” Books said. “The Variants have eaten them.”
“They couldn’t have eaten all of them,” Luke said.
“There are hundreds of millions of Variants,” Snake told him.
“Holy crap, that many still? Even after you killed the first creatures,” Luke asked.
“Yes,” Dan said.
“You’ve been fighting them all this time?” Mark asked.
The Marines nodded but didn’t say anything and it was obvious that they’d lost friends in the battle against the Variants.
“When are you going to begin clearing the campus?” Grace asked. “The ground will be warning up soon and we can plant a garden.”
“First, we’re going to monitor the Variants and see what they’re up to and where they stay,” Dan said. “I want the sixteen of you to move your bunks to the back of the dorms. My men will take the ones closest to the doors.”
“In both dorms?” Grace asked.
“You have a problem with that?” Dan asked.
“No,” she said and glanced at Luke then nearly laughed at the expression on his face. It looked like the Edgar Military Academy was finally going coed after all.
Books picked up his tray and hesitated. “Where do we put these?”
“Megan, Mark and I are on galley duty tonight,” Damien said, standing. “Just leave them and we’ll clear the table.”
Book’s tray didn’t make a sound as it met the hard surface of the table. He moved so silently Grace knew he could walk up behind the enemy and they’d never know he was there. She’d have to watch herself around these guys.
“Books, if you have time would you take a look at John?” Grace asked. “He was stabbed on the ankle by a Variant’s pincers and talons. We cleaned the wounds, put antibiotic ointment on them and bandaged them but I’d like another opinion.”
“Sure, be glad to take a look,” Books said.
“Mark, Damien and I will make up bunks for all of you.” Megan looked at Dan. “How many in each dorm?”
“Three in the women’s and two in the men’s at the front of both rooms,” Dan said. “The rest of you need to move your bunks to the back of each dorm.”
“You heard the Gunnery Sergeant. Let’s get cracking,” Grace said. “Luke and Stephan take over the security room at midnight.”
“One of my guys will be in there at all times as well,” Dan said.
“No offence but you all look like you’ve been fighting for a long time without any down time,” Luke said. “We can move a cot into Security and your men can catch up on their sleep. We’ll wake you if anything happens.”
Dan nodded. “I’ll take first watch. Snake you're up next…” he sent Luke a questioning look.
“Zero four hundred to zero eight hundred,” Luke said. “With Megan, Mark and Damien.”
“Works for me,” Snake said. “I’m getting some shut eye.” He got up and looked at Dan
“You and Books are with me in the females’ dorm,” Dan said.
“Sharp, you’ll take zero eight hundred to twelve hundred,” Dan said. “Books, twelve hundred to sixteen hundred.”
“You’ll be with me then, Books,” Grace said. “I watch the cameras from noon to fifteen hundred.”
Books sent her a thumbs up.
Grace stood. “Books, if you don’t mind waiting about twenty minutes I’m going to do the rounds then I’ll take you to John.”
“We’ll tag along with you,” Dan said and signaled to Books.
# # #
Grace moved the mini-mic into place. “Mother to Base One. I’m beginning the patrol. Over.”
“Base One to Mother. Understood and cleared. Over.”
She unlocked the door to the stairs. Before she opened it, Dan placed a hand on her shoulder and moved her to his side.
“Is the door at the top locked?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, her voice quiet. “This place is soundproof but we’re as quiet as we can be anyway.”
“Books and I go first. You stay behind us. What’s the code?”
She explained all the codes to him. Books moved back, directly in front of the door, weapon up. Dan opened the door. The stairs were empty.
Dan looked up to the other door. “That door opens to your office. When was the last time you checked it?”
&nb
sp; “Just before noon.” Grace realized they really did know the layout of the building. “The door to the hallway is locked. I do the rounds three times a day and I lock the doors behind me as I move from one area to another.”
“Alone?” Books asked.
She shrugged. “I just check to make sure the kitchen and bathrooms up here are in order and that the outer doors haven’t been tampered with while the security team keeps an eye on me.”
Dan moved up the stairs with Books behind him. Grace stayed several steps back, giving them room to fight if needed.
Dan pushed the door open and he and Books rushed into her office. Dan went to the right and Books moved to the left.
“These guys are seriously trained,” Neal said, his voice quiet on the headset. “They make our efforts look amateurish.”
Grace frowned. “You’ve done very well. I’m proud of all of you.”
“We can learn a lot from them,” Neal said.
“Yes, I supposed so,” she said, hanging back and giving Dan and Books enough time to search the area before she joined them.
Dan met her at the top, standing over her. “The two of you need to cut the chatter.”
Before Grace could say anything, she heard two clicks and knew Neal had heard Dan and acknowledged the order. Afraid to speak, she did a zipping motion over her lips. He frowned then stalked to the closed door leading out of her office.
Books moved into place and Dan unlocked it, signaled to him and opened it. They cleared the hallway and moved on.
Grace trailed behind them as they cleared the areas and she checked the doors. When they finished, they returned to the lower level and she led them to John’s bunk.
Books examined the injury and wrapped it with clean bandages. “It’s healing, so keep doing what you’re doing.” Standing, he walked off.
Before she could escape, Dan stopped her. “Show me the rest of the shelter and storage areas.”
“Do you ever say anything without making it a command?”
“No.” He motioned her to move ahead of him.
“That figures.” She took him through the walk-in freezer and cold units, medical, security, and then last, she opened the escape tunnel.
Dan looked around. “This would have come in handy earlier today.”
She smiled and backed out of the narrow space. “So there’s at least one thing you didn’t already know?”
“Can’t know everything.”
“There’s a tray of snacks in the galley fridge and the coffee is on the counter. I’m getting some rack time. You should too. You look like hell warmed over.” She swiveled on the toes of her boots then waved a hand over her shoulder instead of saying goodnight.
Dan watched her walk away, the way she moved reminding him of the Marine sniper again. “Hey, Grace, you remind me of a Marine sniper I met in the sandbox. When a boot asked him about his shooting, he said it’s hard to miss someone—.”
“Who’s too stupid to duck,” she said, and slipped into the shadows of the shelves.
Behind her, Dan said, “Well, I’ll be damned.”
The cavalry, or in this case the Marines, had arrived. The days when she was the only adult worried about the cadets’ or the bunker’s safety were over—even though the fight for humanity in her small part of the world had just begun.
THE END
Afterward
Thank you for taking the time to read Resistance (my Kindle World Extinction Cycle novella). After reading the Extinction Cycle series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith, and the novellas in Kindle World by so many wonderful authors, I knew I wanted to write in this series. I began to wonder what would happen to an isolated community if something like the infected and the Variants happened to our world.
Then, I wondered what would happen to an isolated group of young cadets who have had one to four years of military training. Could they survive? How would they do it? Would they hide or would they fight? I knew that a lot of these young cadets would have come from military families. What if their families made sure they’d be safe in an emergency?
This novella actually began with Grace Walker and her job at the Edgar Military Academy. I knew from the beginning I wanted her in the book. She had a Marine father so she also has secrets. I also wanted an adult in there for a touch of “mothering.” She has a great sense of irony so I wanted her to be saved by an ironic demand from an unpleasant boss. From there the story took off and the Edgar Military Academy came to life along with Grace and the cadets who take shelter with her.
I added Gunnery Sergeant Dan Perryman and his men at the end and I hope to write a sequel in the future.
I hope you enjoyed RESISTANCE. If you did please leave a quick review.
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Books by D.C. Maxwell
EXTINCTION CYCLE
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Extinction Cycle (Kindle Worlds Novella): Resistance Page 9
