by John O'Brien
There is a short pause the door swings outward. She darts through as soon as there is enough of an opening. “With a response like that, there’s only one person it could be,” a Specialist says once she is in and the door closes behind her with a metallic click.
The door opens into the large room where her desk is located, lit by only a half section of light overhead. Four other soldiers are in the room clustered together around the middle, their eyes wide and heads pivoting in every direction. She knows the Specialist behind her from her previous position in the operations center but doesn’t recognize anyone else.
“Specialist Taylor, is there anyone else here?” She asks of the Specialist who opened the door for her as she steps up to the group in the middle.
“No, Sergeant,” he answers.
“Anyone have any idea of what’s going on?” She asks looking at each one.
“I think they’re killing people out there,” one Private says looking back over her shoulder towards the front of the building.
“Easy soldier. We don’t know that,” Lynn says feeling a little more relaxed in the familiar environment of her office and being in command.
Picking up the handset from a phone from the metal desk in front of her, Lynn dials the number for the security shop. She lets it ring for a few times before returning the handset to its cradle. She then tries the gate but no one answers. Several more calls to other locations reveals the same. Turning to Taylor, she asks, “Has anyone tried calling in?”
“No, Sergeant,” he responds. “It’s the same with other bases as well. No one’s home.”
“Is the front door locked?”
“Yes, Sergeant Connell,” another Specialist answers as a shriek sounds outside the front of the building. All heads turn that direction.
“Anyone bring a weapon?” Lynn asks. Their heads swing back toward her and they all give them a shake. “Great! Specialist Taylor, take someone with you and gather all of the emergency flashlights. And don’t make any noise.”
Nodding to the other Specialist and another Private, Lynn says, “You two, I saw lights on through the windows outside. Go turn them off and make sure the windows are locked. I want this building secure.”
They both give a “Yes, Sergeant” and head off. Lynn sits at the desk and ponders over this bizarre day, thoughts and ideas run a blitzkrieg through her head. She tries the security shop again but gets no response as a volley of gunfire sounds faintly outside.
“Sounds like that’s coming from zone 2,” she says softly.
“I think so, Sergeant,” the Private remaining with her says.
“Okay, I’m not sure what’s going on here but we’re treating this as an attack and going on lockdown. No one goes in or out of the TOC unless they identify themselves and show their ID. Clear!” Lynn says once the two groups returned having completed their assignments.
“Yes, Sergeant,” they respond in unison.
“Private, you man the phones,” Lynn orders one of the Privates, “Specialist, you get on the phone and try to raise anyone starting with the security shop.” Both respond with a “Yes, Sergeant” and seat themselves at adjoining desks.
She turns to the other three to give them assignments when a terrific knocking sounds at the door at the front of the building. The Specialist pauses in mid-dial and all eyes turn towards the sound.
“Specialist Taylor, you’re with me. The rest of you stay alert,” she says starting toward the front door and the pounding.
She walks to the locked, steel door, arriving just as the pounding resumes on the door. She stands in front of it with Taylor off to one side. “Identify yourself,” she calls.
“Sergeant Connell? It’s Drescoll,” a voice responds from the other side of the door. “Hurry, they’re right on my ass.”
Lynn bumps her hip against the latch bar running horizontally across the door cracking it slightly but keeping her hand on the bar ready to close it again quickly.
“I need to see your ID,” she says once the crack appears and a thin stream of light pours in from the lights outside.
However, as soon as the door cracks open, she loses her grip on the door, the door flies open as Drescoll pulls on it and darts into the entrance, running past Lynn and into Taylor knocking both of them off balance.
“Close it, hurry, close it!” Drescoll says breathlessly as soon as he is inside.
Lynn grabs the door and begins to pull it closed, the picture outside imprints itself in her mind like a snapshot. The wide sandy avenue, the tan, convex buildings across the way with their entrances lit by lights over the doors spreading circles of light on the ground, the avenue itself lit by pole-mounted lights. The faint sound of generators reach her ears and the sight of approximately ten people running directly for her from across the way freezes in her mind, each member of the group in a different part of their stride.
The picture is cut off by the closing door and disappears entirely with a click. There was a pause as the door was closing during which she contemplated holding it open for them, but given what she has seen and the fact that she issued a lockdown order, they need to ID everyone coming into the operations center. Followed closely by the sound of the door shutting comes several loud shrieks from those running toward it, as if frustrated, along with the sound of many feet striking the ground which grows rapidly louder by the second.
“Holy shit that was close. Thanks,” Drescoll says between gasps of breath and bent over in the semi-darkness of the entrance with his hands on his knees.
A loud thud sounds as something slams against the door in front of them startling the three of them as Drescoll finishes his sentence. Something else slams against the door right on the heels of the first.
“Identify yourself,” Lynn calls out to the other side of the door only to be met by a loud shriek and another large something banging against the door.
“Or don’t,” she says more quietly.
“I think they just did,” Drescoll says just as quietly having caught his breath and standing back upright.
“Specialist Taylor, stay here but don’t open the door and stay quiet. I’m going to send one of the Privates up with you.” Lynn says turning from the door and starting back to the open area with Drescoll on her heels.
“Private, go up with Specialist Taylor at the front door and keep watch,” she says once she returns to the central open room.
Turning to Drescoll who is leaning against one of the desks, Lynn asks, “So, what the hell was that about?”
“Fuck, I don’t know exactly,” Drescoll answers getting a rather faraway look in his eyes. “I was in the Intel shop when about twenty people suddenly stormed into the building. They immediately began attacking everyone there, jumping on them and literally tearing them apart. I tried to help but they were overwhelming and it became apparent very quickly there wasn’t anything I could do. Everyone in the shop was down and just that quickly. I headed out the back but some of them apparently saw me and chased me all of the way here.”
The faraway look vanishes and he focuses on Lynn, staring intensely into her eyes. “They were our own people Lynn,” Drescoll adds, his shock apparent by the use of her first name.
Releasing his gaze and staring at the floor, he goes on, “I recognized some of them. Only, they weren’t really the same. They were just, well, crazed and out of control. All they did was shriek and howl as they tore everyone apart. And, they were pale and blotchy. Christ, it was a mess in there. Thanks again for opening the door,” he finishes looking at her once again with the slamming and shrieks almost continuous outside.
“No worries,” Lynn says and looks at the others in the room. They are alternating their wide-eyed stares between her and Drescoll. “Continue your calling,” she says to the Specialist and he turns back to the phone in front of him, the mesmerization broken.
“Okay, we’re going to continue to man the TOC and try to get contact. Any questions?”
The Privates and Specialist
answer with a “No, Sergeant.”
Lynn turns to Sergeant Drescoll, “I want to get a look outside. Do you mind waiting here and overseeing this for a bit?” She asks, waving her left arm in a circular motion to indicate the room.
“Not a prob,” Drescoll responds.
Lynn walks to where Taylor and the Private are standing by the front door. The shrieks have grown less frequent in nature but the sounds and reverberations of something slamming hard into the building are no longer confined to the door. There are things slamming against the building walls as well. Between the howls and pounding sounds, there is now a continuous growling that seeps into the building from outside. The sporadic gunfire heard in the distance earlier is now either non-existent or overshadowed by the closer sounds.
“I’m heading in the office for a look outside. Have you heard anything different than, well, this?” She asks indicating the obvious noises with a nod of her head, barely visible in the gray darkness.
“No, Sergeant,” Taylor responds and Lynn heads into the office on her right.
In the office, the window stands at about eye level looking out to the front of the building. She steps up to the window and gazes out over the wide avenue. The building is raised from the ground so eye level to her is a ways off the ground outside. Looking left and right, the avenue is clear with the exception of about twenty people crowded in front of the TOC. The crowd consists mostly of fatigue-clad soldiers but mixed in are people in shorts and t-shirts. A couple of them are darker skinned and dressed in jeans and button-down short-sleeve shirts. They are mostly milling about but definitely focused on the building she is in. A few of them take short runs at the building and slam into the sides or up the steps outside and into the front door with their shoulders. Some attempt to run and jump at the other window on the other side of the door but the window and its small ledge seem too high for them to reach.
As she continues to gaze out at the crowd, she notices one detail prevalent in all of them by the light streaming down on them, and that is the paleness of their skin. It seems to be pale gray with both small and large darker gray blotches. Several appear to have blood painted on their faces and hands. Some of their clothing is soaked in what appears to be either dried or drying blood. A very large chill crawls up her spine and a sense of surrealness steels over her. Oh my fucking god, are those freakin’ zombies? She thinks shaking her head not believing entirely what she is seeing outside. No, can’t be. A flash of memory passes through her mind as she recalls the many zombie discussions she and Jack had in the past. Talking about what they would do in the event of a zombie invasion and discussing the various zombie books they had read.
The trip down memory lane is broken when one of the crowd notices her in the window and shrieks out. She looks down at the figure hunched toward her with its mouth open. The others pause in whatever activity they were at and focus on her, running towards her window. The one who discovered her runs at her, launches itself up, and slams into the side of the building. She notes all of them have focused on her and that a distraction could possibly work in the event they need to hastily exit. The shrieks and pounding increase in intensity with their having discovered someone inside. Lynn backs away from the window and out of the office.
“You holler if anyone or anything breaches the front of the building. Watch out for the windows,” she says passing by Taylor and the Private once more.
“Will do, Sergeant,” Taylor responds.
In the open area once again, she signals Sergeant Drescoll to her rather than joining the small group. She relates everything she saw, although not her thoughts. Their voices don’t carry past their position.
“What the fuck is going on?” He asks after hearing her report.
“I have no idea,” she replies back. “We need to keep away from the windows and maintain silence though. We’ll just hole up here and see what the morning brings. In the meantime, we’ll stay on the phones.”
Drescoll nods in agreement. “What about the lights?”
“We’ll turn on a couple to indicate to anyone outside, well, the ones that haven’t gone crazy, that the TOC is manned.” He nods and Lynn steps over to the others in the room informing them of her plans. Next, she heads to the front to notify Taylor and the Private.
The remainder of the evening is spent with little change in their situation. There is no response from any of the calls outbound and none of the lines ring with anyone calling in. The sounds outside become more sporadic with the exception of the constant muted growling. The only change occurs a little after 0200 when the occasional pounding and growling begins occurring along the side of the building under the windows from where their inside lights are emitting outside. After turning the lights completely out, submersing them in almost total darkness, the sounds along the side eventually transition to the back door. With everyone keyed up and facing a very confusing situation, there is no sleep to be had.
Little is said during the rest of the night. Lynn ponders whether this is an isolated incident but the fact that they cannot raise anyone either inside the camp, or any of the other bases in country, leads her to believe this may be on a much larger scale. Calls to other bases within the states or Europe also go unanswered. Could this be happening world-wide? She thinks staring out through the window from her position near the center of the room at the star-speckled sky. I hope Jack is okay and her heart both tightens and warms at the thought of him.
With the coming dawn, the sky not yet lighting with the false dawn but promising it is near, something happens that draws everyone’s attention. Or really, it is more like the lack of something happening that draws their attention. The sounds outside suddenly, and without warning, cease. Complete silence ensues. In the dark gray of the building, Lynn walks into the front office once again and slowly peers out of the side of the window, careful not to draw any attention. The buildings, avenue and lights remain the same but there is no one to be seen. To the east, she can barely make out the sky beginning to light up. The one thing that does draw her attention is a form on the ground under one of the lights far down the avenue to her left. That must be the guy who was attacked by those first two, she thinks and withdraws from the window.
“You two with me,” she says to Taylor and the Private as she passes by them on exiting the office and proceeds back to the other group members.
Drawing the group together in the center of the room, she notifies them of the situation out front. “When it gets fully light, you two will continue to man the TOC,” she says pointing to the Specialist and one of the Privates. “The rest of us will draw weapons and head over to the security shop. I’m not sure what happened so we need to stay together and alert. This facility will remain on lockdown and you ID anyone trying to come in. No ID, no entrance. Any questions?”
Drescoll shakes his head and the others respond with, “No, Sergeant Connell.”
The sun crests the horizon transitioning from night to day. The transition in the desert comes quickly. One moment night holds sway, and the next, the land stands bathed in daylight. After checking through the office window once more and verifying that nothing is moving outside, Lynn opens the front door and steps out into the morning light, squinting against the sudden change in brightness. The chill of the night quickly turning into the heat of the day but moderately comfortable at the moment. With Sergeant Drescoll and Specialist Taylor off each shoulder and slightly behind her, and the two Privates behind them, she starts off through the sand towards the armory to draw their weapons.
On the way, they pass by the form in the avenue. It is indeed a soldier, or rather, what once was one. Its field cap lies on the ground by its head. I say ‘its’ because the gender is unidentifiable. The tissue on the face is completely removed leaving only the facial bone structure staring up at the blue sky lighting up with the rising sun. The uniform is shredded and almost completely removed from the body. The only piece remaining is the belt and small section of the pants just below it. Tha
t piece and the shreds of uniform lying on the ground around are covered in dried blood. The rest of the body appears to have been almost completely eaten with the bones only holding small bits of tendons and flesh. Blood is soaked into the sand around the body which is churned up denoting a frenzy of activity. One lung and chunks of internal organs are the only things remaining within the torso and chest cavity.
One of the Privates leans over and throws up the little in his stomach, dry heaving once everything has been expelled but unable to stop. Lynn looks over at Taylor and he walks to the Private and guides him a little ways down to the avenue removing him from the proximity. As he is doing this, Lynn reaches down and removes one of the dog tags, sticking one in her pocket and leaving one with the body.
“Okay, let’s move on,” she says straightening.
The only sounds in the area are of generator motors running in the distance with some closer. The usual morning activity of people heading off on various assignments and errands are non-existent. A little further away from the TOC and the body of the soldier in the road, a figure steps out from a building ahead and into the roadway. The small group freezes into place, ready for anything that may come. Stopping in the road, the figure ahead looks anxiously to the left and right before sighting the group. Appearing startled by the sight of her group of five, the figure walks warily toward them, tensed and ready to run. Lynn turns her head over her shoulder and tells everyone to remain in place.
As the figure draws near, Lynn observes the wariness and tension from the fatigue-clad soldier. “Identify yourself,” Lynn calls out once the soldier closes in to where they can hear without her broadcasting their location. The tension visibly leaves the soldier as she replies back, “Corporal Horace.”
“You’re the first ones I’ve seen today, Sergeant,” Horace replies as she steps up to the group.
She then relates her story of the night prior detailing how she headed out to the latrine in the middle of the night and was chased repeatedly until taking refuge in one of the buildings for the night. She was over by zone 2 and listened all night to the shrieks, howls, and apparent running gunfights with the sounds of the gunfire dying around 0200. Watching from the windows of her building, she saw several other soldiers attacked and taken down,
