by Mark Lingane
Brad shouted at them to get a move on. They marched off after the rest of the team.
22
THE TEAM TREKKED into the wild undergrowth and debris. Bricks, twisted metal, and broken glass lay underfoot, tangled with the rampant vegetation, making the way forward treacherous and arduous. A fine rain started to fall, and turned to thick fog as they began to gain altitude.
Once again, Will and Edward started throwing crude comments at Memphis. Sebastian banged their heads together several times until they eventually got the message. Memphis gave him a thank-you bump with her shoulder.
“Are we there yet?” Sebastian called out.
“No. And stop asking every thirty seconds,” Brad shouted.
“How far is it?” Sebastian said two minutes later.
Will and Edward were bouncing along in front of Sebastian and Memphis, hutt-hutting and puffed up, full of bravado. Sebastian sighed at their antics. They seemed so arrogant and full of self-importance, and it drove them to do insane things, occasionally successfully.
The team entered a small grove in a hollow. The fog thickened even more and Brad brought them to a halt. He stared ahead through the dense mist for minutes, still as a tree, as the fog swirled around him like tendrils crawling up his body. He eventually turned back to them and signaled them closer. They crept in, shivering in the cold air.
“I have a bad feeling about this. I can’t see anything, but I can sure feel something,” Brad whispered. He looked over the team and continued in a low monotone. “We proceed with caution. Keep weapons at the ready, and eyes and ears open. This goes double for anyone under the age of twenty. Everyone stay focused. Understand?” he hissed.
They all nodded in response. Brad glared at Edward and Will before he turned and led the way further into the gloom.
Step by step, they crept forward. Sebastian watched Memphis. She was hunched forward staring down at the uneven ground, watching for hidden obstacles. She looked terrified.
The cold air crept down his neck and sent shivers along his spine. He peered through the thick mist, staring until his eyes hurt. Like Brad, he could sense someone out there as well. Or something. He let his mind unwind, but he couldn’t sense anything beyond their team. His lack of concentration made him stumble and he crashed into Will, who turned and glared, then started to say something.
Sebastian stood up straight. Again, at the edge of his sensory periphery there was a strange harmonic. A warning: Danger! Run!
Will pushed him away, breaking the spell.
Sebastian opened his mouth to speak. There was a crunching noise to the left, the sound of glass breaking. His attention snapped back to the mist. A towering shadow loomed above him momentarily before disappearing, leaving him to question whether he had seen it at all. No one else had noticed.
Brad raised his hand. They came to a halt. He signaled for Edward and two other soldiers to go wide. The trio crept away and was soon lost from view. He signaled for the rest to stay put, indicating he would be back in a few minutes. He made his way forward and disappeared.
The fog rolled over the remaining group. They formed up into a tight circle and peered into the mist. Quiet settled back into the grove. The minutes rolled by and there was not a sound except the occasional groan and creak from the ancient trees.
Memphis nudged Sebastian and whispered, “He’s been ages.” She looked worried.
Sebastian nodded, his face radiating his own concern.
A few more minutes crawled past.
“I’m going to look,” he said.
“No,” she hissed. “Brad said to …”
But Sebastian was gone.
Memphis moved closer to the other men. A sudden wave of vulnerability rolled over her. She looked at the soldiers, who were distracted by their surroundings. She hoped it would stay that way and they would forget about the potential enemy in their midst.
She reached around slowly and eased one of her explosives off her belt.
Sebastian walked forward, his eyes darting from side to side, alert to any movement. The trees grew close together and vines hung down, creating heavy curtains that blocked the way. The coldness bit through his clothing, making him shake. He took a couple of deep breaths and pushed on through the vines.
A spider landed on his arm, causing him to jump. He flicked it off and watched it scuttle upward back to its web. He looked up. The mist momentarily parted, revealing a dense clump of cobwebs formed over decades. Things wriggled and crawled up there. Sebastian swallowed nervously at the sight of a stream of large spiders running across the monstrous web.
There was a delicate noise ahead, a twig cracking, then another, closer, to the side. His head snapped around and he stared into the thick mist. There was another crack ahead. He refocused on the foliage and made his way forward. There was a definite flash of movement. The mist curled around in an eddy as something moved quickly ahead of him.
“Brad?” Sebastian called out as loudly as he dared, summoning all the bravery he could muster. There was no response.
He moved forward through the fog and towering foliage. The plants sucked the sound out of the air, deadening everything. Shadows in the dark greenery flashed by, but still he could see no one. He slowed, concentrating on making each step as quiet as possible and listening for any movement. The cold bore down. He shivered. He suddenly felt very isolated.
A vine whipped at him from the side and he spun around. There were sudden quick footsteps, and a black shadow appeared. Edward and the two others soldiers burst out of the mist.
“Where’s the center?” Sebastian shouted. “Where’s Brad?”
23
THE TWO SOLDIERS prodded Brad in the back, directing him down through the forest. Small buildings lay in ruins, crushed by the environment. They entered a low building, formerly a relay station; its solid windowless walls able to resist age and environment. Light came in via the entrance only, and most of the room was in near darkness.
“Center, sir, we found this man wandering nearby,” one of the men said.
Brad shook them free. “Wandering? You kidnapped me. And I’m not simply ‘this man.’”
The shadows moved. There was a man sitting back in the darkness. “Then, who are you?”
“I am Center Brad Williams, of the Oakland Central Defense and Forty-ninth Division. And you, who are not wearing any identifying insignias, are on Oakland territory.”
The man got up and stepped forward. A deep scar ran across his cheek. His arm was heavily bandaged. “I am Center Thomas Maddison of the Chargers, and I dispute your territorial rights.”
Hearing Sebastian’s shouts, the rest of the team came charging through the undergrowth, turning the ground into a thick quagmire under their boots. Memphis felt a wave of relief when she saw Sebastian. She ran over to him. He was still shouting, but no one was listening. Memphis reached out for his arm. He stopped and stared at her.
“You need to stop and be quiet now,” she said. “We have to do something.”
“How could Brad just disappear?” Will shouted. “Fan out. Look for sink holes or something.”
“Who made you boss?” Edward shouted.
The two fullbacks ended up in each other’s faces, bouncing around with extreme testosterone.
“Shut up, you two,” Sebastian shouted, but his voice could not interrupt the machismo show.
Other men started to push and shove, and the situation began to get dangerous. Then a hand grenade landed in the center of the commotion.
“Grenade!” everyone shouted, and jumped for cover.
Memphis stepped in, picked up the grenade, and pinned it. “Now that I’ve got your attention,” she said. “Brad is missing, but that doesn’t mean we fall to pieces. Edward, get the team in a line from Brad’s last known spot and patrol forward. Sebastian, you and I can sweep wide.”
The rest of the team moved away, embarrassed by their loss of control.
Memphis bent over and picked up Will’s rifle
and shoved it into his chest. “And you’re leader.”
“Why him?” Edward shouted.
“Because he’s taller,” Memphis replied.
Will stood up tall and gave Edward a threatening look. Edward snarled, but did as he was told.
“Okay, everyone, you heard the soldier, get to it,” Will shouted, “let’s find the center and get out of this mess.”
“How did you get in?” Brad asked Thomas.
“The gates were open,” Thomas replied. “Why didn’t you respond to our distress message?”
“The gates and our defenses are our priority. You’re the enemy. We thought the distress call was a trap.”
“It wasn’t. You don’t know what we’ve been through with these … creatures. It’s been horrific.” Thomas’s voice cracked. His eyes stared blankly out the doorway and into the vegetation.
“Are you serious about the zombies?” Brad said.
“Yes. We’ve lost thousands of people. The images will haunt me for the rest of my life.” Thomas’s voice was hollow. “And when we cried out for help, a dying people, you turned your backs on us.”
“We’re at war,” Brad said. “Let me make this clear—we are at war with everyone. The Forty-ninth has been defending our land from constant onslaught—from you and from the east—and we’ve had to endure many twisted deceptions. Why should we suddenly believe you?”
Brad had stepped forward and raised his voice. One of the Chargers prodded him in the back with his rifle barrel.
Brad forced himself to calm down. “What do you want?” he said, but Thomas wasn’t listening.
“It’s going to be the most hideous and ghastly experience you could imagine,” Thomas said, “and we’re all going to die.”
“Count off, men,” Will said.
Shouts came in from the men as they numbered off from one onwards. Sebastian shouted “six.” Memphis called “seven.” “Eight”, “nine” and “ten” echoed from up ahead.
“What you did back there, it was pretty good,” Sebastian said.
Memphis gave him a smile and shrugged. “I’ve dealt with worse. They’re just a bunch of scared kids.”
“You’re not that much older than them.”
“I’ve had to deal with a different life.”
“As a terrorist guard?”
“Yeah. That. You know what does worry me?” Her face turned serious.
“What?”
“After we lost Brad, we should have had nine men. Someone’s been drifting in and out of the company.”
A small group of Chargers entered the building with another captured 49th soldier. Brad sighed.
“Why are we going to die?” Brad asked Thomas. He had dealt with madmen before, but this was different. This was madness derived from terror, something so harrowing it had shaken the very core of these men. They were soldiers. They were used to seeing bad things.
“These zombies are coming. You can’t stop them. And they’re growing stronger.” The voice of the enemy center quivered with uncertainty, tickling at insanity.
“Then let us get the power back up and close the gates,” Brad said slowly. “We’ll be safe. But without power and without the gates, yes, we’ll all die.”
“The creatures are already among us,” Thomas replied. “It’s too late.”
Brad looked around. All he could see were the other soldiers. “Wouldn’t it be better to keep only the good people inside, rather than letting these other ones in as well?”
“I don’t know which would be worse,” Thomas said. “Being consumed by the creatures quickly, or being trapped with no place to hide and letting the terror take you. When you see your loved ones so overcome with fear that they voluntarily walk into the pit … there’s nothing worse.”
Will was cleaving his way through the mountain of vines with a machete. Even in the cold, he was sweating with the exertion. Edward was travelling parallel to him with a few men. The remaining soldiers were travelling closely behind Will in single file.
Will stepped over a fallen tree and into a clearing. A small creek ran in front of him. He knelt down to have a drink, and the others crowded in behind him. Several Chargers leaped out of the undergrowth and aimed their weapons at them. They still wore uniforms, but any insignia had been ripped off them.
Recognizing one of the men instantly, Sebastian backed quietly out of view.
Edward and his group appeared. In moments, everyone had a weapon pointing at someone else.
“Identify yourselves or we’ll shoot,” Will shouted.
“You want to see your center again, then lower your weapons,” replied one of the men, sounding as though he was on the point of losing control.
Sebastian recognized the voice. His spirits sank. It was Clint, the crazy spider-tank driver. Having a man with such obvious prejudice and hatred for these people was a recipe for disaster. Instead of having to make do with horrific pictures on the wall of his spider-tank, Clint now had his enemy right in front of him. Sebastian wondered how long it would be before something bad happened.
The tension increased as no one backed down. Clint’s face twitched. Will glanced at the other Chargers. They all appeared to be on the edge of hysteria. He made a decision, closed his eyes, and surrendered his weapon. He raised his hands, and the Chargers rounded them up.
Memphis stepped in close behind Will. “It was a tough choice, but the right one,” she whispered. “Keep an eye open for a chance to strike back.”
Will looked over his shoulder at her with surprise and admiration.
24
THE CHARGERS BROUGHT the captured team into the relay station. Sebastian kept as many people as possible between him and Clint. He spotted Brad at the same time as everyone else, and the team’s spirits immediately lifted.
“It’s him!” Thomas shouted and pointed at Sebastian. “I knew you were a spy.” The Charger center punched Sebastian, who fell to the ground.
“That’s answered one doubt,” Brad muttered to himself.
Sebastian sat on the ground rubbing his jaw. “Hello, Thomas,” he said.
Memphis knelt down next to Sebastian and checked his injury. He smiled at her. She glared at Thomas.
“Oh, and her, too,” Thomas said. “I should’ve known. Shoot them all right now.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute,” Brad said, raising his hands. “We have a treaty.”
“That ended the moment you brought him in,” Thomas spat.
Brad looked at Sebastian and back at Thomas. “What did he do?”
“He brought those infected creatures with him. They caused this chaos. They’re a pox on us.”
“We thought they were with you,” Brad said to Thomas.
“Why would they be with us?”
“Infiltration. We thought they were your spies. One of our patrols conveniently discovered them being chased by one of your tanks. To me, it all looked too well set up.”
“That was me in that tank,” Clint said.
Sebastian glared at him. “Did you fire the guns at us as well?”
Clint grinned evilly and nodded.
Sebastian made a mental note to return the favor one day and see how Clint liked it.
“They were never with us,” Thomas said, rocking back and forth. “I knew they were with you, because of their improbable entrance into our world.” He glared at Sebastian. “How convenient that you crashed, like some savior falling from the sky. We’d only ever had trouble from teslas in the past, and here you were completely different, promising such strength. We thought we could finally win the war.”
Sebastian had a bad feeling about what was going to follow, although he liked the bit about being a savior falling from the sky.
“He had us all fooled,” Thomas continued, “when he took out your Forty-ninth patrol.”
Sebastian stepped away, cringing. “I, um, might just wait over here. Hiding. Behind something very bulletproof.”
“You wiped out that patrol?” Brad cried.
This was difficult. Sebastian couldn’t even say it was an accident. “It was an accident.”
“I saw it,” Thomas said, his voice flat and menacing. “It was no accident.”
“Okay, it wasn’t an accident per se,” Sebastian said. “I was trying to defend Memphis and myself.”
“Memphis and me,” Thomas said distractedly.
“You killed my men.” Brad punched Sebastian in the face.
Sebastian staggered back, clutching his jaw. “Stop doing that. It hurts. Look, it wasn’t personal. It was part of the defense process.”
Both centers stared at him, seething. Sebastian felt highly uncertain. The tension in the room was coiled so tightly that the air nearly sparked.
Memphis gave Will a nudge. He punched a Charger and ripped the weapon off the stunned soldier. The room erupted. Once again, every person had a weapon aiming at someone on the opposing side. The air went deathly quiet.
“So, what do we do now?” Brad said.
“If you ask me, we pull the triggers, because having seen the alternative, it’s the more humane thing to do,” Thomas replied.
“You really are caught up in this infected thing.”
“Tell him, Sebastian,” Thomas said.
Sebastian nodded. “It’s pretty bad,” he said to Brad. “Just like Thomas describes it. I had a friend who became partially infected.”
“Does anything good happen to anyone who hangs out with you?” Memphis said.
“Partially?” Brad said.
“Yes, we cured her.”
“There’s a cure?” Thomas whispered, as though the very idea of a cure was a dream that would dissolve if spoken too loudly.
“Yes, we have an antidote,” Sebastian said. “It took our scientists six months to develop it, without knowing anything about it, but they did it. In fact, most of the work was done by a veterinarian.”
