Salim was on the roof of the garage, when he first heard an engine approaching, it did not take him long to recognise it as the sound of a helicopter. The sound faded in and out and then went all together, and he thought it had gone, but then the sound returned and grow progressively louder, but he still could not see the aircraft and he wondered if it was ever going to arrive. Everyone from the group that could walk and was not guarding the roadblocks had made their way on to the garage roof and were looking towards the west. The excitement the group felt was palpable if tinged with a little apprehension when the first of the Army choppers appeared on the horizon, but the unease evaporated when the familiar shapes of the groups own vehicles were seen driving back toward the garage and when Dan appeared and gave the “All clear” hand signal everyone was smiling. Both helicopters landed in the field to the rear of the garage and the Paratroopers deployed to the perimeter to protect them and to relieve the civilians at the roadblocks.
Some Infected had been attracted by the sound of the engines and had made their way along the road towards the barricades, Dan had asked the Major to order his men not to fire on the Infected “The noise will only attract more.” he explained, then Dan and Janet made their way towards the roadblocks to deal with the threat silently.
The soldiers had been searching for this man that carried a sword for months and myths had grown around him, but now as they watched this nondescript man of average height walk towards the roadblock they wondered what all the fuss was about, and somehow, now they were seeing the guy in the flesh they felt disappointed. However, when Janet jumped down from the cab of the lorry carrying her bow to join Dan, the soldier’s interest heightened, here was a woman to write legends about!
After the initial disappointment of seeing Dan, his unrequested reputation was fully restored as the soldiers watched him vault the barricade and dispatch the Infected that had gathered there. The man was a killing machine, he showed no fear and the men watching did not think they even saw him blink. But what they all did see was one of the Infected that came face with Stone Cold, it just stood there looking at him and did not attack. The standoff only lasted a second or two before an arrow shot by the Amazon women ploughed into its head.
Major Brown watched the show and spent the whole time worrying, he had not come all this way and taken this amount of trouble searching for this Dan fellow to watch I him die on the other side of the barricade. However, as he watched him culling the Infected he knew that he had found the right man, and this was further confirmed when, just for a second or two, an Infected had looked at Dan and had not attacked. Alan Brown was fascinated by the Infected’s hesitation, but he was very relieved when the beast was put down by the arrow that was shot by the most striking woman he had even seen.
Dan looked at Janet and gave her an almost imperceptible nod, then he put his foot on the fallen Infected’s head, reached down, grasped the arrow and pulled. The arrow reluctantly emerged from the head and he handed it back to Janet, as she took that arrow she was aware of the soldiers watching her, and for the first time since joining Dan’s group she felt uneasy! The memory of her abuse at the hands of Smith and his men was still very much present, and as she felt the eyes of the men on her now she felt the old feeling of vulnerability creeping into her mind, she shook her head, and said under her breath “I am not the same woman, I am not a victim, I am strong!” besides she thought, these are trained and disciplined soldiers and their officer is here. She glanced at him and saw that he was also looking at her, he smiled, nodded his head and said a simple “Hello.”
Janet did not think that she could ever feel attracted to another man, but something twisted deep down within her stomach and she felt her cheeks glowing red as she looked at the officer who commanded the Paratroopers, she quickly looked away. She was confused and unsettled, and for the first time in a long time she felt attracted to a man, she looked towards him again, but he was no longer there, he was walking back toward the garage with Dan. She felt something, but she was not sure what it was, then realised that she was disappointed that he had not still been looking at her and that niggled her, like a school girl that had a crush on a teacher and had been ignored. Then the Major turned around and said, “Janet would you like to join us in the garage?” and her emotions swung full circle. A very happy Janet had to force herself not to run after him like a puppy, “What is going on with me?” she thought but she already knew the answer. John Smith and his men had not crushed her spirit, she was still a vital woman and she knew now that she could live her life without John Smith’s shadow being cast over her. He and his men were dead, she was alive, and she would live and enjoy her life, she would not give Smith or his men another thought, and so she followed the Major towards the garage with excitement bubbling in the pit of her stomach as she tried to keep the smile from forming on her face.
With the Majors Paratroopers guarding the camp he could brief the whole of Dan’s group, he told them all about Camp Pegasus and his plans and answered their questions. He was impressed by this group, it was by far the largest single party of survivors that he had come across and unlike the other dregs of humanity that he had found they were in good shape, they had food, were well armed and organised and it was apparent that this was thanks to the efforts of Dan, this man was turning out to be more than just killer, he was intelligent and a leader of men, of that the Major was sure! But there was something else about this man that Major Alan Brown could quite put his finger on…
Dan, Pamela and the wounded Lee and Tom would leave in the helicopters with the Major to fly to Camp Pegasus. Pamela smiled when Janet asked if she could also go. As usual, Dan had not noticed, but Pamela cold not help see the stolen glances that the dashing Major Alan Brown and Janet were exchanging, and Pamela was pleased that Janet seemed not to have been too damaged by her ordeal with Smith and his men.
The Major left eight of his Paratroopers to help guard the garage and those remaining within. It had been agreed that the location would be fortified, reinforced and used as a satellite base. June and her grandchildren were excited with the prospect of having Paratroopers to look after them. Salim, Kevin, David, Peter and Amanda were just happy to have more bodies to go on the guard rota, and Heather could not have been happier, at long last she was surrounded by healthy, virile young men, and her only problem now was choosing one… or two!
The two helicopters landed at Camp Pegasus less than an hour later, and once they were through quarantine the Major lead them straight to the newly established hospital, where Lee and Tom were to continue their convalescence. Pamela was impressed by the facilities, and she looked at Dan with an expression that exuded both a question and longing. Dan had not told the Major that Pamela was a doctor because, being cautious, he did not want to reveal too much too soon but it was rapidly becoming apparent that the Major was telling the truth about Camp Pegasus. Dan sighed, nodded his head and said to the Major “Alan, you said that you don’t have a doctor?” The Major nodded uncertainly, fearing that Dan was not impressed with the facilities and that he would insist on being returned to the garage with his people. But Dan continued “Then please let me introduce you to my wife, Doctor Pamela Charles.” The Major smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, a doctor was a valuable asset and a disclosure of this magnitude showed real trust, and so he said, “So does this mean that you would like to join us?” Pamela answered, “For the time being yes, I think we would.” The Major said “Then please consider yourself Camp Pegasus Chief Medical Officer. Oh, and welcome to the Army.” he joked.
Pamela stayed in the hospital to meet her staff, she found it strange that the medical orderlies called her “Ma’am” as if she was an army officer, she kept telling them to call her Pam, but they were all military personal and found it hard to use her first name, so in the end they compromised by calling her “Doc” or “Doctor”. Janet reluctantly stayed with Pamela at the hospital, and as she watched the Major walk away with Dan she had a bereft look on her face,
Pamela laughed out loud and said, “I sure he will be back, and this time apart will give you a chance to find out more about him, first and foremost, is he single?”
The Major needed to persuade Dan and the good doctor to stay permanently so he pulled out all the stops to make them feel at home, he had the quartermaster allocate them comfortable quarters near to his own. He made no secret that he was trying to bribe them to get them to stay and that he needed a good doctor, but not mentioning that Dan was equally or perhaps more important. The Major need not have gone to such great lengths to encourage them to stay, Dan knew almost instantly that Pamela would be happy here and Camp Pegasus was as safe a place as any, so staying was an easy decision to make. However, Dan did wonder what role he could play in this safer environment where he would no longer be the leader and perhaps his skills with the sword were not needed.
Major Brown needed to broach the subject of Dan’s perceived “ability to walk among the Infected”, and that Professor Thompson would like to meet him. In addition, it was obvious that Dan, amongst other things, was a natural born leader and would be an asset if he joined the ranks of Camp Pegasus in a leadership role. The Major suggested that he and Dan take a stroll through the camp, so he could give Dan a personal tour and talked about his plans for the future.
All personnel within the camp were armed in case of an outbreak of infection, so Dan had his rifle slung on his back, carried his sword in his left hand and rested it on his hip as he walked. The Major was laying out his plans for the near and long-term future, but as they walked Dan could not help noticing the way the soldiers were looking at him, the Major said, “Don’t read too much in to it, it’s a long story, but suffice to say you are a bit of a celebrity around here.” He went on to explain how all those months ago, near to the beginning of the outbreak, he had been traveling back to Porton Down in a helicopter and had seen Dan being pursued by the Infected, he related how he had seen him stop towards the end of an alleyway and turn and face them with a shotgun. He described how he had seen him walk away and continue to take them out with the gun and then the sword, and then how he and his men had seen Dan come face to face with an Infected and how it had not attacked. Dan stopped and said, “And you want to know why it did not strike?” The Major needed to keep the conversation light and so donned his best smile as he replied, “Aren’t you at all curious?” Dan suspected that he already knew the answer, and that answer was that one killer was recognising another and that was why he could look an Infected in the eye and walk away. Dan was not sure that he wanted the secret about his “state of mind” to become public knowledge, or how that knowledge would help in the fight against the Infected, if at all!
His initial reaction was to walk away from the whole situation, if these people realised that Dan was in fact a borderline psychopath, they could well feel that he was more of a threat to them than the Infected. Could they handle having a killer within living within their perimeter fence? Surely from their point of view it would be like asking a fox to live in harmony with chickens and in the same coop? But the more he thought about it the more he realised that this was a new world, and in this world, his so called “state of mind” was an asset. In the old world, he would have been feared and considered a pariah, so he had suppressed his nature, and hid his true self. However, judging by the way that the soldiers were looking at him now his “attribute” was being admired and positively celebrated!
Dan decided that he was tired of hiding who he really was, the constant charade was just too damn draining! This was a new world, and in it, he was the apex predator so why the hell should he not roar from the mountain top and declare to the world that he was the king of the jungle?
Dan faced the Major, and made no attempt to adopt the genial mask that he was usually was obliged to wear, his face showed no emotion and his eyes were blank as he looked the Major in the eye and said “Alan, are you sure you can accept what you may find?” As the Major considered those cold dead eyes the reason for his ability became instantly apparent, he suddenly knew beyond all doubt what he was looking at, he was in the presence of the one percent of humanity that were normally hidden, that one percent of humanity that evolution had not managed to eradicate. Like a shark, this perfect, emotionless apex human predator had survived through the millennium and was revealed before him. The Major knew that the man stood less that an arm’s length away was a psychopath.
Major Alan Brown, knew beyond doubt that this man stood before him was born to this world, he was the nemesis of the Infected, he was the monsters monster, and if the Major played his cards right this monster could be on his side. The Major also knew that how he acted in the next few seconds would determine their future relationship, if he showed fear or revulsion then it would all be over, Dan would walk away, and Brown would lose a valuable asset. The Major smiled and held out his hand, because he knew it was only now that he was meeting the real Dan, “Pleased to finally meet you.” he said. Strangely, Dan’s smile when he took Alan Browns hand was genuine, for the first time in his life, he had revealed his true self to someone that he was not about to kill, and he had not been rejected, this truly was a new dawn!
Another thought occurred to Alan Brown, although he kept it to himself. He reasoned that, if psychopaths represented one percent of the population before the outbreak, he strongly suspected that that statistic would now be out of date, and their ratio within the surviving population would now be somewhat greater. It stood to reason he thought, that others with Dan’s attribute would fare much better in this new violent world than humans of a more docile nature. He wondered what ramifications this would have on future civilisation.
The two men continued to walk and talk, each slowly becoming more comfortable with the revelation of Dan’s true status. The Major said, “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Dan replied, “This seems to be a day for disclosure, so why not.” Alan Brown asked, “Does Pamela know about… the real you?” Dan thought for a moment and said “I think she has suspected for a long time, but she has never broached the subject. However, I think perhaps now would be a good time to have that conversation.”
Later, they were alone in their new quarters and Dan ineptly tried to broach the subject of his “psychological state” but he found himself faltering. In truth, he now cared little what the others thought about him, he was what he was, they would just have to deal with it! However, he did care how Pamela would react to the “real Dan”! He tried explaining again but faltered to a stop when Pamela started to smile and then broke in to a laugh, and she said, “For the most decisive and concise person I know, you real are making a hash of trying to tell me that you think you might be a psychopath!” Dan said, “So you do know?” Pamela laughed out loud, and said, “I have lived with you for over a decade, I am a doctor, and I love you. Of course, I know! And if you are worried that it bothers me then don’t be, because I have always felt safe with you, and more so now than ever.” She reached out to him, drew him close and hugged him. After a life time of restrictive existence, faking who he really was, Dan finally felt free. He was emancipated from a life of false mediocrity, and at last he could be his true self. And most importantly of all, Pamela would be there at his side.
Dan said, “Alan Brown wants me to fly to the Porton Down camp to meet a Professor Oliver Thompson, I think the professor wants to ‘research me’, to see why the Infected leave me alone. After the scientists have finished dissecting me, Alan wants me back here to take a ‘leadership role’ although he would not be any more specific than that.” Pamela laughed uncertainly and said, “They are not going to dissect you!” she thought for a few seconds, then her expression became serious before she continued “I’m coming with you.” Dan just smiled, it was funny to have someone thinking they needed to look after him, but it was good that that someone was Pamela.
Lt Colonel Curtis and Professor Thompson waited side by side and watched as two of the helicopters assigned to Camp Pegasus arrive at Porton Down. A littl
e further back and out of sight, stood the newly appointed second in command Major Jensen, he had come in to Porton Down some five weeks before on one of the supply convoys, and by virtue of his rank had been appointed to the position that he now held. Jensen also witnessed the choppers landing and saw Major Brown disembark, Jensen was just about to turn away when he saw Brown turn and offer his hand to an attractive woman to assist her from the helicopter, attractive as this woman was she was not what held his attention, because a second later a nondescript man of average height jumped to the ground, the one thing that was striking about the man was that he carried a Samurai sword, “So Brown has finally found Stone Cold, that’s a real shame!” thought Major Patrick Jensen.
Low powered local radio communication between men on the ground and the helicopters supporting them was a regular occurrence, however there was a moratorium on high powered long-range radio traffic from aircraft to base and from Porton Down and Camp Pegasus. This was to ensure that the radio signals were not monitored by a potential and as yet, unknown enemy.
Because of the radio silence, Lt Colonel Curtis nor Professor Thompson had any idea that Dan was on the flight. However as soon as they saw an attractive looking woman being assisted from the helicopter, being followed by a man who carried a sword, Peter Curtis turned to the Professor, and smiling he said, “It appears that we will be having guests for dinner, I think Major Brown has finally found Mr. Stone Cold for you.”
Once Major Brown, Dan and Pamela were through quarantine, the Major introduced the couple to the Regimental Sergeant Major who was to give them a tour of the site and brief them on camp protocol, Alan Brown said, “I must brief the Commanding Officer, so I’ll leave you in the capable hands of the RSM and see you both at 19:00 for dinner.”
“Pleased to have you back in the fold, albeit for a short time!” said the Colonel to Alan Brown, and he continued “I see you have brought a friend, can we assume that he is the elusive Mr. Stone Cold?” to which the Major replied “Thank you Sir, yes, he is Stone Cold, his name is Dan and the lady with him is his wife Doctor Pamela Charles.” The Colonel raised an eyebrow and said, “A doctor?” Major Brown smiled and said, “Yes Sir, but I have already called ‘dibs’ on her talents and offered her a position heading up the hospital at Camp Pegasus!” the Colonel nodded and said “That is good. Now let’s discuss this Dan character, I’m sure the Professor here is itching to hear all about him.”
Infected Page 27
