Infected

by Rolfe, Michael I

  “Ten men lost in one action, in under a minute, and it was my fault!” said the Major to Sergeant Major Tomlinson. He had lost men before, but not on this scale, and although he tried to maintain a professional manner it was just a façade. Inside he was having a crisis, he was full of remorse and assailed by self-doubt. Tomlinson consoled his commanding officer by saying “Sir, it was a risky but necessary operation that was successfully concluded, I know the cost was high but that was just freakily bad luck, and no one holds you responsible.” But Brown knew that he was responsible, he was the commanding officer and it was his orders that had sent those men to their deaths. He remained silent, and for the first time in his military career he felt uncertainty and doubt about his ability to command. He recognised that he was at a crossroads, he could give in, feel sorry for himself and just be a mediocre officer, or he could learn from this episode, stop this self-flagellation and get the job done. The second gate still had to be closed before they could clear the buildings, car parks and the rest of the site. He straightened his shoulders and looked at Mick Tomlinson and said “Right, let’s get this done!”

  The second gate was close to the one building that had already been cleared, this would help, because more firepower could be directed onto the Infected and at a closer range. The light was failing, and Major Brown was waiting unit it was fully dark before implementing his plan, he ordered all his men to keep out of sight and all activity was stopped, this was done to stop attracting any more of the Infected to the area and to allow the ones that were riled up to settle down. The Infected could not see any better in the dark than a Human could, however the Major’s forces were equipped with passive infrared night sights, which when coupled with infrared flood lights gave the soldiers a massive advantage. The flood lights would be invisible to the naked eye but anyone viewing the area through a night sight would see a green floodlit vista, green daylight!

  It was fully dark, the snipers, some with silenced weapons, were in position on the roof tops and at the windows on the second floor of the building that faced the gate and a four-man team stood ready to go. Because he was familiar with the procedure of disconnecting the motor from the gate, the Corporal who had worked on the main gate had volunteered to work on this one, but as he stood there in the dark he was shaking with fear. The infrared flood lights were turned on, revealing to those with night vision, several Infected standing motionless around the area of the gate. Brown whispered into the radio “Clear the area, take them out.” Brain matter and skull fragments flew from their heads, legs instantly gave way and they dropped to the ground with a thud and lay still. All the Infected in the immediate area were dropped to the ground in, as if they were automatons that had suddenly been de-energised.

  “Clear!” came a single word declamation from the radio “Go!” whispered Brown to the four-man gate team and they slipped silently from the safety of the building and headed towards their objective. The Corporal and another combat engineer worked on releasing the motor from the gate while the other two men stood by as close protection. Because of the experience he had gained from working on the main gate, the work on the motor went well, and even though it was dark and his hands were shaking with fear, the Corporal had the gate released much quicker and then it, thankfully, rolled easily from its alcove. He wanted to run back to the safety of the building but just managed to hold his nerve as the gate trundled noisily across the road, alerting the infected who started to make their way towards the source of the sound. The snipers on the roof reported via the radio “We have movement.” and started to fire with silenced weapons.

  With the gate closed, locked and secure the combat engineers, shepherded by their close protection team made their way back towards the safety of the building. All around them, and just out of sight, they could hear the repeated sounds of “smack” and “thud” as rounds hit home, and bodies fell to the ground.

  The four-man team made it back into the building, the door was secured behind them, and they stood in silence waiting for the mandatory minute of quarantine time before they were admitted any further. “You are clear!” came a voice from the dark and the team walked forward where they were met by Major Brown “Well done, very well done!” he said to the team, the combat engineers Corporal opened his mouth to reply but then hurriedly turned away and vomited, finally venting his fear. “Sorry Sir!” he said. “That’s alright!” said Major Brown as he placed his hand on the other man’s shoulder “That’s alright!”

  The next objective was to clear and secure the buildings and this was potentially very dangerous, so the Major was determined to reduce the risk to his troops as much as possible, especially after the loss of the helicopter and his men. F.I.A.B.U.A. or “Fighting-In-A-Built-Up-Area” always produced a high number of casualties, and being aware of this, he was meticulous in his planning. Each building would be cleared from the roof down and then secured. Once cleared, the bodies of the Infected would be removed by a team wearing Bio hazard suits, then the whole building would be decontaminated, and any electronic devices would be assessed before the building would be cleared for use. The same teams would do the same job throughout the operation, and Brown hoped that the experience gained as each task was completed would increase the chances of survival. The buildings would be cleansed one at a time, then there would be a rest period and a debrief where lessons learned would be discussed and procedures fine-tuned before the next one was tackled.

  Using the one building that had already been cleared and with some of his troops “playing” the part of the Infected, each team practised their tasks repeatedly until Major Brown was satisfied that the methodology was sound and the execution slick. It was only then that he allowed the operation to proceed.

  The clearance team made their way over the roof of the walkway bridge from building one to building number two and stood by the roof access door, “Ready?” asked Corporal Jenkins, leader of the clearance team, they gave the affirmative. “Right, slow and steady wins the day, and remember we want to use the place after we have cleared it, so try not to cause too much damage, however having said that do not take any risks. Right let’s go!” The door was torn open and four men carrying riot shields stepped quickly into the dark interior, four more men followed immediately, and the powerful torches slung from under the barrels of their assault rifles illuminating the dark corridor. “Clear!” said one of the riflemen, the second four-man team stepped through the door and Corporal Jenkins said, “Shield Team move!” the team move forward the second team remained static to cover them if they needed to withdraw. “Enemy front!” shouted someone from the Shield Team and then the silence was shattered by rifle fire. Seven Infected were dropped in that first engagement, “Seven down, watch and shoot, watch and shoot!” came the command from Jenkins. Watching over the sights of their rifles the men observed the bodies of the fallen Infected, checking for any sign of life, if anything moved then the men would fire, but nothing stirred. The riflemen from the Shield Team were replaced by men that were standing by and those that had been relieved immediately reloaded their weapons. They could hear the Infected in the building running towards them “Go firm here, we will let them come to us, fire as soon as you get a good shot, we don’t want the bodies piling up too close to us.” shouted Jenkins. He had barely finished giving his orders when the first Infected appeared at the end of a long corridor and was cut down by a well-aimed shot to the head, others followed, too many to count but the bodies were littering the floor. As soon as the men on the Shield Team ran out of ammunition, they simply stepped back shouting “Magazine!” and they were instantly replaced by another man with a full magazine and cooler rifle.

  It seemed to the men on the Shield Team like an hour, but in fact was only a few minutes when the Infected stopped coming. “Watch and shoot, watch and shoot!” came the order again, this time two or three of the Infected attempted to rise from the blood-soaked floor but they were despatched immediately.

  The Shield Team moved
forward and secured the area at the end of the corridor beyond the last of the fallen Infected, then another team moved slowly forward through the cleared area. This team bayoneted each of the fallen Infected in the head as they went then checked and cleared every room and cupboard on the floor. Once the entire floor was secured a team wearing Bio hazard suits picked up the dead and then, without ceremony, hurled them from the windows to the car park four storeys below. Some of the bodies landed on the cars, caving in roofs and shattering windows whilst a few collided with Infected loitering around, breaking their necks saving the soldiers a bullet later.

  Having secured the top floor, the Shield Team made their way slowly down the stairs to the next level and as they did so the Decontamination Team moved into the top floor to cleanse the area of blood, brain matter, bone fragments and body parts. This turned out to be the least desirable job for the soldiers.

  The Shield Teams job was made easier by snipers stopping any more infected from getting into the building, consequently the team encountered less resistance as they descended through the building and the remaining floors were being cleared quickly, so fast in fact that Corporal Jenkins had to restrain his men and slow the pace for safety and so that the following teams could keep up.

  One building was cleared on the first day and was ready for human habitation by the following morning. As soon as it was light the next day, the Clearance Teams started their gruesome work again and by the end of the day three more buildings had cleared. Within a week all the structures on site were done, this just left the car parks, but this was proving considerably easier than had been anticipated as most of the Infected had been shot by the snipers throughout the week, it became a case of watching for movement and administering a shot to the head.

  Once he satisfied that the entire site was totally free of the infected, the Major initiated he final stage, disposing of the eight hundred or so decomposing bodies littering the area. He had given a lot of thought to this, there was no time to give the bodies a respectful send off and there was no point in trying to identify them either as it was highly unlikely that any relatives would be enquiring about them. So, the Major wanted a quick and safe solution to the problem of disposing of this plague risk and contaminated bio hazard. He did not want to risk polluting the local water supply so burying the corpses was not a viable option, but something had to be done or very soon of there would be a problem of disease. He tasked the Engineers to design a way of cremating the bodies which resulted in a large incinerator a short distance away and downwind of Camp Pegasus. Once ignited the pyre burnt for weeks, more bodies were added as the area immediately surrounding the perimeter fence was also cleared. A vehicle was assigned to a daylight patrol which kept the roads leading to Camp Pegasus clear of infected, until finally the Major was satisfied that the base was as safe and secure as possible.

  The decontamination process had taken four full weeks and the base was now fully operational and a haven for all that resided there. Strict quarantine procedures were in place, you could not arrive at the base or even enter a building without going through the mandatory one-minute wait in the secure quarantine zone. Every floor in every building could be blocked off in case of a fresh outbreak or an incursion from the Infected and “Lockdown” drills were practised on an almost daily basis.

  As Lt Colonel Curtis had promised, one third of his force was transferred to Camp Pegasus, and once the military had settled in the scientists arrived to replicate and continue their work on finding a vaccine against the Infection. One building was converted into an infirmary and filled with some of the latest equipment that had been salvaged from hospitals and staffed by the few remaining army medics who did their best to treat the sick and injured, but there was no doctor on site. The Major knew how badly Camp Pegasus need a qualified Doctor, but medical personnel had found themselves at the centre of the outbreak of the infection, and very few had survived. The last people to arrive at Camp Pegasus were the civilian survivors, fifty of them, all of them interviewed to see what skills or expertise they had in order that their knowledge could be put to the very best use.

  Because Brown’s men were holding the Infected well away from the perimeter, people could walk around the camp in the open air, and for some this was the first time they could take a stroll outside without fear of attack for months. The Major was walking with Sergeant Major Tomlinson as they took a rare break from their administrate responsibilities, Brown looked at the faces of the people for whom he was responsible and for the first time since the outbreak he saw people walking with easy gaits and relaxed smiles. He said, “You know, for the first time I really feel that we are getting somewhere, we have built a haven here, somewhere from where we can work to build a better world.” he looked at Mick Tomlinson, saw him smile, and began to feel slightly embarrassed, quickly continued saying “I’m sorry Sergeant Major, that much have sounded a bit precious!” Tomlinson face was serous “Not at all Sir, I understand exactly, I was feeling the same way.” not an easy admission coming from such a hard man, who rarely expressed feelings of a sentimental nature.

  Camp Pegasus was now fully operational and with good road access, so the task of clearing the routes to Porton Down could start. The primary Route was to be cleared first and had begun three weeks earlier from the Porton Down end, but was proving costly in lives lost. The Major delegated the responsibility for the route clearance to one of the newly arrived Platoon commanders, Lieutenant John Walters and his 3 Platoon, he and his men were well versed with dealing with the Infected at close quarters, the same men who were tasked with capturing alive the Infected for scientific research. On this operation 3 Platoon would be responsible for protecting the combat engineers and civilian volunteers who would clear the road of the logjam of vehicles.

  The Major then turned his attention to the continuing task of locating survivors, the constant problem of resupply, and of course the hunt for the elusive Mister Stone Cold.

  Confrontation

  Returning from the trip to the sporting goods store, the 4x4 and the road sweeper pulled on to the garage forecourt, the occupants jumped out of their vehicles and were greeted by the rest of the clan. Dan made his way from his vantage point on the roof to meet them and was surprised to find that he was genuinely pleased to see Peter had returned safely. Other than Pamela, Dan could not think of a single person in the world that he really cared for, but for some reason Peter had struck a chord in a deep recess of Dan’s brain and he found it odd and mildly unsettling that he was concerned for Peter’s safety. He glanced around at the others in the group, seeing them as little more than living utensils that he had to keep alive to recreate a society that Pamela could thrive in. However, as he walked toward Peter the smile of his face was genuine as he said “Glad to see you back safe. Now what did you manage to get?

  With the showmanship of a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat, Peter opened the rear door of the 4x4 and said, “My beautiful assistant with now reveal the fruits of our labour.” he nodded to Amanda and she pulled back a blanket to expose three compound bows, numerous arrows and one crossbow complete with a set of six bolts. There was also some fishing equipment and some small hunting knives. Dan said “Well, didn’t you do well!” mimicking a famous game show host, Pamela chuckled as she got the joke, but not for the first time the reference to a bygone celebrity was lost on the younger generation and Dan shook his head in mock frustration when Peter and Amanda did not response to his witticism. “Let’s get you some food, then we will practise with our new toys.” He said.

  Janet joined the group for breakfast, she was making a good recovery after the abuse she had suffered at the hands of John Smith and she insisted in joining in the archery practise. She had told Dan that she wanted Smith dead and that she wanted to be the one to kill him, so an arrow in that bastard’s stomach seemed like a good way to expedite his demise. Dan had a natural affinity with the compound bow and after a little practise could hit the centre of the target every time fr
om twenty-five metres and to everyone’s surprise Janet was as good, if not better. Peter, despite showing real ability with the sniper rifle, did not fare so well with the bow and complained about the distance they were asked to shoot from “We can let the Infected get closer to the barricade before shooting.” he protested. Dan did not look at Peter, he was looking directly at Janet when he replied, “We are not practising to shoot the Infected at close range, we are practising to shoot John Smith and his merry men from a little further out!”

  Janet also insisted that she be allowed to stand guard at the eastern roadblock, having been told that more Infected approached from that direction and she was soon taking them down with well-aimed shots from the compound bow that she had made her own. At first, she let the infected get close to the barricade to make sure that her shots hit home, but as her confidence grew she was taking them out from further and further away and a miss was a rare event. She practiced nocking the arrow, shooting it, nocking and loosing again in quick succession, she trained with steely determination and became very proficient! When an Infected went down she would climb over the barricade, bow slung on her back and straight handled scythe in hand and walk to the recumbent form. Driving the metal scythe into its brain to make sure it was dead, she would retrieve her arrow, wipe the blood away then walk calmly back to the safety of the roadblock. With her bow and the scythe never far from her side she made a striking figure, getting a reputation amongst the rest of the group for being a determined and efficient killer to rival even Dan, they were soon referring to her as an Amazon warrior. Janet was not concerned by how she was perceived by the others, her only thought was that was each time she killed an Infected it was practise for her goal of despatching John Smith!

  Three days after acquiring the bows they were ready to go hunting for Smith and his gang of murderers. As soon Dan had become aware of Smith’s continued existence, and the fact that he had surrounded himself with men of equally depraved character, he had wanted to eliminate the threat that that they posed immediately. He knew the danger of rushing in and tackling these hardened men before his team was ready, he also knew the risk of taking all his best “fighters” with him, leaving the garage and the people remaining there vulnerable should Smith and co. stumble on to them in their absence. So, the question was, who would go to attack Smith and who would stay to protect the non-combatants left at the garage?