Jake and Cassandra decided to get married on the base. Jake asked Dylan to be his best man and asked Miller to be their appointed Chaplain. The wedding took place in the chapel room of the airport. Jake wore his uniform, along with Matthew and Brandon, who were groomsmen. Dylan didn't wear a suit, but he wore the best clothing he had available, which was a dress shirt and a clean pair of pants. Cassandra wore a nice dress that someone loaned to her for the wedding. It wasn't a white dress, but Jake didn't care. To him, Cassandra was still glowing like a shining star on a clear night.
"Jaycob Riley," Miller stated. "Do you take this lovely Cassandra Carter to be your wife?"
"I do," Jake answered.
Miller turned to Cassandra. "Cassandra Carter, do you take Jaycob Riley, as crazy as he is, to be your husband."
"I do," Cassandra chuckled.
Miller started joking. "Are you sure, darling. No take-backs"
"Yes, I still do."
"Very well, then. By the powers invested in me, and on behalf of the United States, I pronounce you husband and wife."
Miller turned back to Jake. "Kiss her, son. That's an order."
"Yes, Chief" Jake laughed.
Jake locked lips with Cassandra, and the kiss was long and good. They were finally married.
“Now that that’s over,” Miller replied. “I need a drink.”
That night, there was a small party in the south side of the lobby. There wasn't much, but everyone could manage with some canned goods and bottled water. There were a few survivors, possibly a small bluegrass band, that carried a guitar, a violin, a banjo, and a drum. They started playing some old jigs and folk tunes at this small party. Other survivors joined in with some dancing. The rest just sat by and watched, being reminded that there is still joy in a dead world, and hope that a new life could be rebuilt.
Jake and Cassandra were in the middle of the dancing crowd, circling around each other and holding each other tight like there was no tomorrow. Dylan walked up to the two.
"Pardon me," Dylan started. "With your permission, may the best man have this dance?"
Jake stared at his lovely wife, then turned his head to Dylan.
"I want her back," Jake answered.
Cassandra took Dylan's hand, and the two started dancing to the music that was playing. Jake looked over through the crowd and saw Miller leaning against a nearby wall, and walked over to him.
"So," Jake started. "I wanna say thanks for what you did, Chief."
"Anytime," Miller answered. "I'm glad you asked me to be ordained for your wedding. And you don’t have to call me ‘Chief’ when you’re off duty. David is fine."
“Yessir, David.”
Then Miller and Jake took one good look at Cassandra, who was dancing in the crowd.
"She is really beautiful," Miller sighed. “An angel incarnate.”
"That she is," Jake agreed. "The most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on."
"You two make a good pair. I've a feeling that the mess that's goin on in this world won't even be able to break the love you two have for each other."
"Yeah, I hope so."
Miller turned to Jake. "I know so. You traveled hundreds of miles, fighting raiders and the undead to get to her, and she held on waiting for you, not knowing if you were still alive. She waited for you when you were on your tours of duty as well. That takes a lot of love, faith, and dedication. Now that you two are man and wife, everything I said about you two is just gonna get stronger, and I know for a fact that y'all are gonna take this thing head on and fight through it together."
Miller stared back in the crowd. "Everyone here has a lot of hope now just because of this wedding. They may not show it, but they know it in their hearts. What you two just did tonight reminded them that there is still a chance for a new life, even in the darkest places."
"Well, I learned a lot of what I know now from the best," Jake replied. "You've been my mentor ever since basic training. Since then, you've been a real good friend to me and Cassandra. She told me that you remind her of her father and you've been there for her ever since that man passed away."
Jake grabbed a water bottle from a nearby table and tapped Miller's flask. The both proceeded to drink when Cassandra walked up to the both of them. She greeted Miller and hugged him.
"Looking lovely as ever," Miller complimented.
"Thank you, David," Cassandra replied. "You wanna dance too?"
"As much as I would love to get in that crowd and swing these old legs around,” Miller joked. “I've gotta get back to the tower and take watch for tonight."
Miller gave Jake a small key.
"What's this for?" Jake asked.
"A wedding present for the both of you," Miller replied. "Me and a few of my men took some time to clean out a closet and lay out a mattress and some pillows and blankets. It's not much, but it's enough room for the two of you to have your own little place for as long as y'all are here."
"Oh my gosh," Cassandra gasped. "Thank you so much."
"You are very welcome."
Cassandra leaned forward and kissed Miller on the cheek. Miller smiled, then turned his attention to Jake.
"Jake," he started. "The room is on the second floor in this building. I posted a sign on the door, so it won't be hard to miss."
"Thank you for everything that you're doing for me and Cassandra."
"Don't mention it. Right now, you have my full permission to take a few days off so you can spend some time with your new wife. When you are ready though, I'm gonna need your help with some of the new recruits."
"Yessir."
Jake and Cassandra proceeded to leave the small party when Miller stopped the two.
"Jake," he replied. "One more piece of advice for the both of you."
Miller paused for a moment, then smiled. "Live each moment as if it was your last, because nobody is promised tomorrow."
With that, Jake and Cassandra just smiled and left their party. They ran up the escalator to the second floor of the airport building. They ran up to a door with a small sign hanging up on the knob:
"For the lucky couple.
Don't have too much fun.
-David-"
Jake took the sign and unlocked the door, opening it so Cassandra could enter first. The room was small, like a janitor's closet, except that there were no metal shelves. The shelves were unscrewed off the wall, and all the supplies were cleaned out of the room. All there was in that small room was a queen sized mattress with some pillows and blankets, and a small table with two glasses, a bottle of wine, some candles and matches, and a small note saying:
"Found this stuff while searching for supplies. Enjoy."
Jake and Cassandra were silent for a moment, just smiling and staring at each other as if they had just laid eyes on each other for the first time. Jake slowly rubbed Cassandra's arms and pulled her close to him. He slowly leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against hers. Cassandra proceeded to unbutton Jake's jacket. They leaned in to kiss each other and hold each other tightly. Jake and Cassandra Riley were finally alone together.
Chapter 15
Up on the tower, Tyrese was keeping watch at the main tower with a few other soldiers. Miller arrived and turned to Tyrese.
"What's the situation, Officer?" Miller asked.
"All is clear on this end, Chief," Tyrese answered. "No sign of undead or raiders. I was just about to tell some of my squad to check the north gate."
"No need to do that. I already sent some of my men over there. We haven't checked the west gate yet. See if you can send some troops over there to cover those grounds."
"Yessir." Tyrese then turned to a group of three soldiers. "You heard the Chief. Head over there and give me a Sit-Rep."
Cassandra was under the covers with Jake, with her head laying against his chest and her hand behind his ear, gently combing his hair with her fingers. Her face was so close to his that he could feel her breath kissing his cheeks.
"I hope that
this trouble in the world will end soon," Cassandra replied. "I hope that there is some place out there that hasn't been infected yet."
Jake kissed Cassandra's forehead. "Well, there may be."
"But what if there isn't?"
"Why do you say that?"
Cassandra paused for a moment. "I mean, I look around and see everybody and there's nothing but hopelessness. Some are thinking, 'Why bother.'"
Jake rolled over on top of Cassandra and stared in her crystal blue eyes. "Well then you and I can do what we've always been doing: Take it on faith. There may be that one place out there right now just waiting for us; and if there isn't, then I'll make a place."
Cassandra just slightly chuckled. "I've never been this negative before. Maybe I'm just scared of losing you or something."
"Well, you don't have to worry. I made it this far, and I haven’t fell yet. Why start now?"
"But this is different. If these things bite or scratch you, then you're already dead. That and they don't go down easy either."
"Hey, you married an Irish sailor," Jake joked. "Scratching and biting happens to be my specialty. They can't take me down if I know what they can do."
"I'm just scared. That's all."
Jake pressed lose to Cassandra. "You don't have to be too scared. You're the only person that really keeps me going out there. Every time I think about you, I always know that I have to get back to you, no matter what."
Cassandra raised her head to kiss Jake. "I love you."
"I love you too. And I promise that I'm gonna find that place where we can all start over, without having to worry about fighting to survive. And we can start right here, in this small room, with just you and me in it, not worrying about what goes on outside."
Cassandra just smiled at Jake, and he smiled back. They both leaned forward and pressed their lips against each other and gripped each other tightly.
The three soldiers arrived at the west gate. The gate was torn open, and there were no guards present. The spot lights were shining in two places outside the wall, but they were not moving. All was silent.
One of the soldiers radioed Miller.
"Tower One," he started. "We may have a situation. The gate's open and the guards are nowhere to be seen. I got a bad feeling about this. Requesting additional troops to the west gate."
Before the soldier could give Miller more information, he looked around to see that the other two soldiers disappeared.
"The two men that were with me have just disappeared! I say again, requesting additional troops to the west gate!"
"Additional troops are on their way," Miller replied. "Your orders are to fall back now. I don't know how long that gate's been open, but I don't want you taking anymore chances."
Before the soldier could reply, he waved his sidearm and his flashlight around, looking for the other two soldiers. One was laying on the ground in front of him, with his eyes wide open. His throat was torn apart and blood was oozing on the ground.
The soldier then looked ahead and saw his other man being held by a zombie. He tried to scream, but he couldn't; his throat was ripped off. He was reaching his arm out to the soldier, who was staring in shock. The zombie was still feasting on the man's shoulder. He was uttering some words to the stunned soldier:
"Help me!!"
The soldier shot at the zombie, firing three rounds in its head. He then fired a round in the soldier's head to end his suffering. With his hands shaking, he grabbed his radio.
"Both of my men are down, Sir!" the soldier shouted. "We've got a breach! I need those men over here now!"
Before the soldier could finish, the man that was laying on the ground stood up behind the soldier and sank his teeth in the soldier's shoulder. The soldier was gripping onto the radio, screaming in pain as the frequency shot up to the tower. The soldier knocked the zombie back with the back of his head, elbowed it to push it further back, then fired a shot between its eyes.
Just then, more zombies ran to the soldier. Some were coming from outside the west gate, while others were running from inside the boundary. They tackled the soldier to the ground and started eating him alive and scratching his arms and face. The soldier was still gripping tightly to his radio, and everyone from the tower could hear the his final agonizing screams.
"I want extra guards at the other gates to keep their eyes out and open fire on anything that moves!" Miller ordered. "Send the Spartans to the west gate and have the rest of our men gather the civilians to the choppers in case this breach gets too hot!"
Jake and Cassandra rose up from their bed, hearing gunfire and screaming.
"Get dressed," Jake replied. "Quickly!"
Jake and Cassandra ran to the airport lobby to see survivors grouping up and soldiers rushing to the lobby doors. Tyrese was giving orders to troops, organizing the lobby defense.
"Officer!" Jake called out. "What's going on?!"
"An onslaught is making an attempt to breach through the gates," Tyree answered. "We're sending Spartans to handle the situation, and we're guarding the lobby in case the airfield becomes compromised."
The soldiers that were given the name 'Spartan' ran to a room where their weapons and armor were stored. They quickly equipped themselves with heavy armor, Desert Eagle pistols with five extra clips, and riot shields. Once they were equipped, they hurried out to the west gate where they were greeted by what seemed to be hundreds of zombies rushing towards them from the outside gate.
There were twenty Spartans against an imminent onslaught. The Spartans grouped together, shoulder to shoulder, and formed a line, using their shields as a barrier between them and the rushing undead. The zombies ran up to the Spartans, pushing them back, but unable to break through their shields.
Once there were enough zombies pushed up against them, the Spartans took the offensive. In unison, they shoved the line of zombies back. Once the undead were pushed back, they immediately shuffled their shields to the left, giving them just enough room to stick their guns out and fire one round in the heads of the hoard.
Pow!
The Spartans fired one round in unison, then slid their shields back in front of them and repeated the process.
Pow! Boom! Pow! Boom! Pow! Boom!
One by one, the zombies fell to the Spartans, who were inching forward to the west gate. More undead ran up from behind them, so the Spartans changed their strategy and moved back to the defensive. The Spartans grouped together to form a circle, using their shields as a barrier so the onslaught couldn't touch them. The Spartans that were in the middle of the circle rose their shields above their heads, converting the circle into a dome.
The undead started piling up around the Spartans, but never broke through their shields.
Boom! Padadap!
Timing was flawless. The Spartans shoved the zombies back and fired their weapons, inching away from each other. As they spread out, the Spartans in the middle of the dome lowered their shields back to the front of them, covering them and the Spartan beside them. As the Spartans inched away from each other, they turned their shields sideways, using the shields border as a gun rest, killing the zombies and shoving them back if they got too close.
The number of zombies at the west gate depleted quickly. One last zombie was crawling on the ground near one of the Spartans. It started making an attempt to bite his leg, but was unable to sink its teeth through the thick clothing and armor he was wearing. The Spartan took a quick glance at the zombie that was grabbing on to his leg, then shrugged it off of him. He then raised his foot over the zombie's head and slammed his steel toed boots on its skull, smashing its brains as if it was a bug on his heel.
The Spartan then grabbed his radio from his side to contact Miller.
"The west gate is cleared," the Spartan replied. "We're working on shutting the gate, but many of the infected may be under the radar in the base."
"I'm sending some ground teams to search the base for the rest," Miller answered. "In the meantime, I need some of
you to stay at the gate until guards arrive to take over. The rest of you fall back to protect the civilians."
Five of the Spartans stayed behind to watch the gate while the rest rushed to the civilians. Meanwhile, the main gate on the east side of the airport was being guarded by a group of soldiers. One soldier was in the control room beside the gate armed with a chain gun. Zombies were trying to break in through the gate, but were hosed down by gunfire from the turret and the other soldiers.
One soldier radioed Miller. "There's too many infected!" he shouted. "We're holding them back to the best of our abilities, but the gate can only take so much! Requesting immediate assistance at the main gate!"
"Hang tight," Miller answered. "I'm sending the Spartans over there to assist you."
The soldier in the control room was firing the chain gun, unaware that zombies from the west gate snuck up behind him. The zombies tackled the soldier, slamming him against a button, opening all of the gates that protected the Lawson Airfield.
The soldier in the control room was shred to pieces by teeth and nails. The main gate opened, and the swarm of undead started rushing at the other guards at the gate. One soldier radioed Miller as he was firing back at the onslaught.
"The main gate has been compromised!" the soldier shouted. "I repeat! The main gate has been... Aaaahhh!!"
Miller was also receiving calls from the other gates.
"Chief, the south gate has been breached! There's too many of them!"
"Chief, we've lost the north gate! We're falling back!"
"Chief, the west gate is open again! There's only five of us Spartans over here against this onslaught. They’re circling around us and we’re low on ammo! We'll hold 'em off for as long as possible, but we're done for!"
Z-Day Chronicles (Book 1): Genesis Page 6
