by Vic Sandel
The staff had become exhausted, but Maura and Robyn became cheerleaders. “Hey if you think you're tired and feel lousy, how the hell do you think they feel?”
In the “operating room” Dr. Largent was finding skills he never knew he possessed as he fought to save every bit of usable tissue possible.
Chapter 60
The Zombie Parade
The “Deadly Dozen” finally reached the front gate of Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Bradley had given them that name and as it was passed around it kind of stuck.
There were to be no humans in sight that might distract these creatures from finishing their journey. The outer gates were opened electrically and like good soldiers the “undead” filed in. The vehicles followed, keeping their distance as when the gates closed, there was nowhere for the creatures to go.
Undisturbed they travelled, across the tarmac and the runways, past the idle aircraft and through the high grass of the unkempt parade field. They moved past barracks and playing fields, ignoring everything.
Ahead was a pristine two story apartment building. It was known as the BOQ, which was short for Bachelor Officer's Quarters.
At this point, Colonel Dickerson, who sat in one of the trailing Humvees, pretty much knew where they were headed. He ordered someone to run ahead and see that the main door to the building was open.
As if they lived there, the “Dozen” entered the building and stopped. Again they wandered, becoming agitated. Obviously they couldn't get to where they needed to go.
“Second floor!” Dickerson shouted.
Of course, they needed to get to the second floor. Zombies do not know how to use an elevator or where to find a stair well. They simply knew they were not where they had to be.
Bradley jumped from the stopped Humvee and ran for the building. Glen was right behind his new buddy, failing to acknowledge the fact that Brad was probably safer without him. They ran through the front door and right through the wandering zombies. At the end of the hall, they opened the door to the stair-well, propping it open with the hydraulic piston at the top of the door and frame.
As neither one wanted to run through the pack again, they opened a large window facing the front of the building and jumped through onto the grass.
As they lay there on the cool, safe grass Bradley stared at Glen. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“Hey, I told you I needed to take care of you!”
“Yeah, you take care of me, RIGHT!”
For the first time in days they both laughed.
Up the stairs they trudged, now followed by a contingent of CAG members, until they stood in front of a particular apartment door. Inside a little metal frame near the doorbell button was a name, “McCaffrey”.
The parade was over. The zombies were once again tied and taken outside to be dispatched.
Colonel Dickerson joined the men as the apartment door was opened.
The place was almost empty. Evidently, the Major did not stay there often, if at all. What was noteworthy was a metal footlocker.
Leading from the locker was a heavy wire, that was threaded through a hole in the bottom of the desk. Forcing the locker open, they discovered several heavy-duty batteries. Power was routed from the batteries to the desk. An attempt to open the desk drawers proved that they had been nailed shut. It was a beautiful, old, roll-top desk and the top yielded fairly easily to a little coaxing from a Kabar ranger's knife. The inside revealed a large radio transmitter tuned to a digital frequency, evidently the same frequency as the unit found in the tunnel. A wire ran up the wall, beneath the draperies and through a hole under the window sill. Later exploration found it running to a large antennae strapped to a chimney on the roof.
So McCaffrey had provided the “honey” that led the zombies from all over the state to this spot! Dickerson reached over and turned off the radio.
“Unhook this shit and bring it along to the office. Also write down that frequency. I'm sure it needs to be jammed all over the country and the world!”
So the question still nagged. Where was McCaffrey and why had he done this?
Chapter 61
McCaffrey
With all the comings and goings, few noticed the large black dog usually sleeping alongside Dickerson's desk. The Colonel had brought “Oscar” with him to every stateside posting he had been assigned to, and a few foreign ones.
The truth was, the giant Rottweiler was a highly trained animal, and while he seemed calm and sedate, withinin seconds, he could be far from it! Among his qualities, the dog was an excellent tracker. Dickerson knew that if McCaffrey was on the base, Oscar would find him.
“Bradley, Sanders, since you two like to run into apartments, take Oscar here, and go back to the apartment. See if you can find anything interesting and let the dog get a good sniff around.”
At the mention of his name, the dog stood up and looked expectantly at the Colonel who bent down and scratched the animal's ears. “Oscar, go with these men and help them find the bad man.”
As the dog stood to his full height, both Bradley and Glen were intimidated. Either one of the men would rather fight a zombie than a 140 plus pound Rottweiler.
“Don't worry about him, he'll obey. Just don't look him in the eye. They take it as a challenge.”
Brad and Glen jumped into the waiting Humvee. Without any command, Oscar jumped through the open back door.
The ride to McCaffrey's quarters was silent as the guys were virtually afraid to do anything to provoke the dog. For his part, Oscar sat awaiting a command from these strangely quiet men.
Arriving at the apartment complex, Glen and Brad got out and opened the rear door. Oscar didn't move. Glen, knowing all about dogs, waved him out. The animal sat stone still. Finally Glen pointed toward the building and said, “come.” The dog hopped out of the vehicle.
“Neat, he responds to verbal commands.” They were beginning to understand how to work with the Rottie.
As they entered the apartment, they noticed that all of the electronics had been removed. They began to open drawers, closets, and cabinets to see if there was anything that might help answer all the questions that everyone had. Oscar began to sniff at clothing hanging from an open drawer. Brad pulled some dirty clothes out of a clothes hamper to give the dog a better scent of the man other than having him track a box of laundry detergent.
As they searched, they realized that there was no mail or paperwork of any kind bearing McCaffrey's name. The only thing they found were a few religious pamphlets from some organization called the “Brotherhood of God anEarth's Resurrection.” They had never heard of such an organization, but in the wake of the zombie awakening, new religions were springing up like weeds.
As they left the apartment they carried a bag of papers, including the brochures that might be of some importance.
Leaving the building, the dog headed back to the Humvee but from here they would walk. This is where the Major had been so this is where we start the search from.
“Oscar, find.” Bradley called out and the great dog began to sniff all around the area.
Meanwhile Glen pulled a few weapons from the vehicle. Brad's pistol and machete, his own BAR and over his shoulder the ever- present Springfield were selected.
Suddenly Oscar's search seemed to be over, he had found a trail and took off at a trot that was pretty hard to follow. Brad, the vampire could do it all day but Glen was only human, and despite being in good shape from his days as a rescue swimmer, he questioned how long he could keep up the pace.
“Hey, slow down!” He called breathlessly.
The dog immediately responded and slowed to a fast walk.
Periodically, they would stop at an abandoned house, shed, or garage. They could see that their quarry had been there, probably for a night, and moved on.
It was almost an hour later, when they reached an older unused, section of the base where ancient and decrepit hangars held a variety of junk from decades past.
&nb
sp; Ever the joker, Brad commented, “Maybe while were here we can find Emilia Erhard.”
“It wouldn't surprise me but we might have to fight Orville and Wilbur for her.”
Oscar was beginning to get excited as they approached one particular hangar. Standing outside the closed door, he began to bark and growl viciously.
“Sit Oscar.” Glen commanded.
“Come on out, McCaffrey, or do I send the dog in? Believe me he'll leave less of you moving than a zombie To punctuate his announcement he let loose a short burst from the BAR.
Suddenly, a side door burst open and the man could be seen running across the cracked pavement towards a nearby closed shed.
Oscar took off after him and so did Brad and Glen.
McCaffrey reached the door first, pulled a pin holding it closed, and threw open the doors.
A stream of nearly twenty hungry zombies crashed out the door, heading for everything living!
Oscar was immediately recalled and sent after the still running traitor.
Glen and Brad began picking off the creatures while the dog had passed McCaffrey and began to heard him back towards his partners. But as they neared the snarling zombies, he began to run towards them, probably to shake the dog.
In an effort to stop him in his tracks, Glen squeezed off a low shot that took out the heel of his boot. McCaffrey went sprawling head first into the remaining eight or ten creatures. They immediately fell upon him.
Recalling the dog, the two team members waded into the remaining zombies and finished them in short order, including the remainder of the traitor who had set them on the base and the state in the first place.
Bradley was reminded of a biblical passage from a time before his short tenure as a vampire. “As ye sew, so shall ye reap.”
If ever there was a case of a man reaping what he had sewn this was it!
Glen called Oscar and began to scratch his massive head and ears. “Good boy, he kept saying!”..............Oscar merely grunted and moaned in pleasure.
Chapter 62
What's Next?
The battle was over. At least in one small state we as a people, had learned to win. The lessons we learned there, would have to be shared with the rest of the people of the world.
The days and weeks ahead were filled with activity and discovery.
Without computers, it was impossible to know for sure, but there seemed to be no official record anywhere of a Major McCaffrey. He simply showed up one day with Lieutenant Beane and proclaimed he was in command. He then proceeded to do absolutely nothing to help the situation at hand.
It seemed that the “Brotherhood of God and Earth's Resurrection” had become a worldwide cult, if you will. They believed that the zombie dilemma was sent by God as a cleansing, much like the waters that spared only Noah and those he chose to save. It became their sworn duty to aid this cleansing and be spared by their Lord. Obviously, McCaffrey was wrong.
It was just another item to be shared. In every country, and every state, these misguided souls (nut jobs) would be using the honey method to send the “undead” to where they wanted them to go.
Jessie Porter and Ron Macklin flew back to Indiana. After flying all over with their arrays booming and performing a lot of police work, they located the owners of the company that they had removed the sound emitters from. Even the aircraft they were flying had been technically “stolen” from that company. Under the circumstances and with promises of full restitution when order was re-established, they agreed to talk. Further negotiations and revealing to them, the modifications made by Baldwin and Marco, found them excited about re-opening their factory. Of course, the promise of security and free labor helped a bit! Better yet, they revealed the presence and locations of several other companies with similar equipment.
Marco and Baldwin had also made some new modifications to the battle plan. No longer would the liquid nitrogen be needed as the killing frequency of the sonic arrays had been tweaked and would only react with zombie tissue. They had even been able to make it safe for vampires to be exposed to it. All fears of collateral damage had been erased and the sound weapons could now be used everywhere safely. Dr. Marco would be going to Indiana to work with the owners on setting up the parameters for the “new and improved” sonic weapons that would now be manufactured and installed. Both the C-113 and the Skycraft had already been modified.
On a particularly happy day, “Summer Sun” tied up to a pier on Lake Erie, near Cleveland. Alongside her was the private yacht that held the families of the men from the Coast Guard.
The area had already been swept by Jessie’s plane just to be on the safe side. The big Chinook was there, no longer holding the air separator but with comfortable cushions spread about for the short flight back to the base. Housing was not going to be a problem, as there was more on base housing than anyone knew what to do with. In a manner of speaking, Wright Patterson had become the first free town in the re-emerging country. Leslie, the teacher who was so very protective of the children, and the other three teachers began the first formal schooling in the country. She commandeered several former pilot training rooms and converted them to very adequate classrooms. Soon,she would be getting children from other parts of the country as well.
Dylan virtually flew down the gangplank to where his mother Robyn awaited. Many children who had not seen their parents had similar reactions. There were many tears shed that day, but for the first time in a long while, they were tears of happiness.
Robyn would receive a special award at a future date but it couldn’t begin to compare with the reward she had already gotten. Despite how badly injured and bitten her patients had been, not one lost his or her life, and not one turned and became a zombie!
As for she and Jessie, she truly loved him. She absolutely knew that he loved her also. There could never be another that she would love as much. He would be an excellent father for her child! But in the end, she just couldn’t get past the fact that she would continue to get older while he would always be the same. How many good years could they have? Besides, there was still a country, and a world out there to save and it had become a proven fact that nobody was better at saving the world than her Jessie.
For his part, Jessie had been bitterly disappointed. He understood though and knew they would always be friends. Robyn was needed here to modify and improve her vaccine, and HE was needed….well…everywhere!
Ronnie Macklin, resigned his position as leader of CAG-23 to fly with Jessie as they crisscrossed the country, meeting with other CAG teams to demonstrate these new and vital techniques and establish a short-wave radio network between all of the teams. As they flew, they would keep their emitters running, leaving a trail of terminated zombies to mark their passing.
Though Jessie had never directly taken a drop of human blood, he and Ron decided to name their aircraft. “Dracula’s Penance” became known, welcomed and respected wherever she flew.
Unexpectedly, Daniel Swensen flew in one day to meet with Colonel William Dickerson. He arrived with three purposes in mind. First, to understand the use of the sonic weapons and the devastating results they produced. Second, he needed to understand this new “Brotherhood” and exactly how they lured the “undead” to where they wanted them. Third in a meeting attended by everyone on the base, and at the request of the representatives of all the countries, Colonel William Dickerson was granted the title of “First General of the World Army”.
Dr. Baldwin would be leaving with Swensen to confer with the world leaders on the modifications to existing sonic emitters to achieve the result they needed.
Bob Eller loved to fly. In the air he could be among the clouds in total freedom. He could forget the old days that still haunted him. Those early days as a vampire when he wasn’t the honorable man he was today. He was proud of himself, and he was proud of what he had accomplished. He had proven himself as a man, again. Yes, he was still a vampire, but he had used his powers only for good and the salvation of all. Wh
at’s more, the two crossover vampires he had mentored had become “stars” in their own right. He had learned much during the past several months. But the biggest lesson was the most recent. The passing of Doug Abbington, had a profound effect on him. Could he ever possess the love of others to the extent that he would readily sacrifice his life to save them.
There was still a long way to go before the Zombie threat was finished and Bob intended to see it through to the bitter end. Pete Marcus told him about another old WWII vintage plane that used to fly the air show circuit with him. Its owner was long gone and he knew the craft had been in top shape. It was a Douglas, Boston III, a small twin-engine bomber. Best of all, it was in a hangar only about forty-five minutes from where they sat. While it didn’t have the longest range, fuel was easy to get for now, and it had the right speed for flying with the sound arrays. It would cruise at 250 miles-per-hour and could reach 304 miles-per-hour. With just the weight of the fuel and the sonic equipment it could make about 1200 miles before refueling. Together they hopped in the Channel 33 chopper and flew to see it.
For Bob, it was love at first sight. It had a front bubble for a gunner and bombardier, and at the back of the fuselage, a glass enclosure for the rear gunner. She was painted in all green shades of Camouflage with a cloud matching white underbelly. She bore the insignia of the RAF, but that could easily be changed.
Over the next couple of hours, they charged the batteries, got her started, and checked every line and wire and all three tires. As Pete had said, she was in great shape.
Bob couldn’t wait to fly her but Pete didn’t fly copters. He flew the chopper back to the base while Pete claimed the first flight in Bob’s new plane.
Once back at the base, Eller had three large arrays removed from Humvees. They would be replaced with the newly manufactured ones, shortly. Other modern armaments were also commandeered, and in just a few days, she was ready to fly. He intended to begin in Indiana, as he felt they owe them for the sonics. It was his intention to fly around the country and go wherever needed, terminating pockets of zombies. As equipment became available and pilots were trained or found, others would join him but for now he would go wherever his CAG brothers and country needed him. He did wish he had someone with him for the ride.
