Mortal Skies Omnibus
Page 33
BETWEEN THEM, NATE and Captain Marks support Josh as they step out of the basement. Back in the daylight, two jet planes pass overhead, the noise of their engines obliterating all other sound. As they disappear towards the perimeter of the base, a blast erupts from D-Block. Shards of glass and debris spray from the broken windows. In the distance fires blaze, and black smoke billows above intense orange flames bright against the blue sky.
Soldiers, some with rifles, others with handheld and improvised flame throwers step around the corner. As they approach, Taylor recognises Sergeant Pelham. He strides forward with a satisfied grin. Flames lick at the windows as D-Block burns.
“What’s the status, Pelham?”
“D-Block was infested, Captain. The mist was everywhere. I took the decision to burn the place down.”
Taylor raises a brow as another soldier, Private Harry Sykes, joins them. “Littleton won’t be too pleased about that.”
“And those things were everywhere too,” Pelham continues. “Like bloody huge rats!”
“Not like any kind of rat I’ve seen before,” Sykes adds. “They were the size of dogs.”
“What kind?”
“I dunno. Bischon Frise, Cockadoodle-”
“Cock-a-fucking-doodle! They weren’t that big.”
“I don’t know! A cat then.”
Taylor gives the men a withering glare.
“Listen! The first one I saw was the size of a Jack Russel, but there was this one big one,” the man holds his hands apart, “the size of a Staffie.”
“A Staffie!” Taylor says with exasperation.
“Yeah, and not them little pedigree ones either, this thing had pit bull in it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Two hours later, back in the Operations bunker, Taylor scans the screens. Each one is set up to show a different aspect of the base. The largest screen flickers then links to the live feed from beyond the perimeter. The scene is one of devastation; the perimeter fence around the base is blackened and, in places, warped from the fire’s intense heat. Over the fields, and piled up against the railings, the bodies of the infected lay in scorched heaps, their limbs contorted.
The helicopter swoops back down, focusing on the dead. Taylor sits with arms crossed, one hand on his chin as he surveys the carnage. There are hundreds of bodies strewn across the fields. The mist had travelled seven miles from the motel before being destroyed by the teams he’d deployed. Thousands had been infected before the spread was contained.
On the motorway, parked cars sit in scarred rows, their screens shattered, their paintwork dulled and scorched. Beyond the roads, a huge plume of black smoke darkens the sky as the fuel at the petrol station burns. Nothing living moves other than the twisting smoke and the flames still burning at the motel.
Taylor turns to Gareth Smaller at his side. “All this from one boy.” He glances at the screens showing Nate, Josh, and the other civilians who had brought disaster to the base and its surrounding towns and villages. Under strict quarantine, and armed guard, the group have been separated. Josh is isolated in a medical room. As a carrier, he is of significant interest to the research team made up of the world’s leading immunologists currently being collected from their homes and workplaces, and flown to a secure location close by. In another secure room, Nate Penrose, Ellie Fitzpatrick, and the two children are eating a meal as they wait for the arrival of the team of scientists to begin testing their claims of immunity. As the only one without immunity, Mac Baxter sits in solitary confinement until he can be given the all clear.
“Don’t forget Connaught’s part in this,” Smaller adds. “If that damned man had incinerated those rats, our losses would have been far fewer.”
“We should have obliterated that damned thing on sight.”
“It would have been, if I’d had my way.”
Taylor grunts, keeping his thoughts on the Civil Contingencies Secretariat’s part in the disaster to himself, and returns to watch the footage as his teams sweep the base in search of any remaining fog, or spiny man-eating monsters.
THE END
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WHAT TO READ NEXT
If you enjoyed this novel, then you may also like THE KIELDER EXPERIMENT.
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AUTHOR’S NOTES
If you’re reading this then I guess you’ve read through the entire story. I hope that you’ve enjoyed it and thank you for giving up your time to come along for the ride.
I’ve always loved stories that pit man against the elements or overwhelming forces and wanted to write something exciting that would see ordinary, and perhaps quirky, characters in extraordinary situations. How we react to extreme situations fascinates me and it’s not always the obvious candidates that become the heroes of the hour. We’re complex beings. We have emotions, desires and needs. The quietest of men or women can become ruthless when threatened and, when the world turns upside down, we may survive by drawing on strengths we never knew we had. Those who have seemed stalwarts of morality and right can break and turn bad. The survivors aren’t always the good and the strong. What would you do to save yourself?
If you enjoyed this story then stay in touch! Join my newsletter for news of future publications. I love keeping in touch with my readers and am happy to respond to any questions you have about my books. Visit my website and join my newsletter for updates and to stay in touch. I’ll also send you a copy of my story The Storm, an apocalyptic rescue thriller. If you’re not keen on newsletters I also keep my Facebook page updated and you can join me or message me there.
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OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
A WORLD TORN DOWN (post-apocalyptic pandemic survival series)
The Road to Ruin
The Savage Road
The Outcast’s Journey
The Path to Despair
The Route to Justice
The Road to Redemption
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BLACKOUT & BURN (post-apocalyptic EMP survival thriller series)
Days of Fire
Nights of Fire
Land of Fire
Town of Fire
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BLACKOUT & BURN COMPLETE SERIES
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THE KIELDER EXPERIMENT (science fiction survival horror series)
The Kielder Strain
The Alaska Strain
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