by RWK Clark
Now, Captain Hertz sat in his office with Randy Carstens. The two of them had steaming cups of coffee in front of them, and they were casually discussing the situation there in Monte Vista. It seemed as if the town was in pretty good shape.
“Well, with few monsters being found here, I feel like we are a step ahead,” the captain said.
Randy blew on his coffee and took a quick sip. “The fact of the matter, Captain, is that you put Aspen on lockdown right away. That quarantine was probably far more powerful than any of us understand. And Clemons from the CDC told me that they would be visiting the factory and destroying all the rats in the lab. Heck, they may even be there now, for all we know.”
Hertz nodded and sat back in his chair. He felt like much of the weight he had been bearing emotionally for the last few days was finally easing up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; he felt nothing but relief.
Right then his phone rang.
“This is Captain Hertz,” he answered.
Randy Carstens sat back himself and focused on his coffee. The last thing on his mind was the phone call, though he could hear the voice on the other end, gabbing and enunciating. He gave the captain a glance; he seemed to be calm, so it was likely okay.
“That’s wonderful,” Hertz said into the receiver. “I have already sent several of my men out, armed, in squad cars, to patrol and search for any of them that may have slipped through our fingers. They have reported a small amount to me thus far.”
The voice continued to gab, then Hertz said, “That would be fine. As a matter of fact, a second pair of eyes never hurt anyone. If your men stop by here we can confer and determine how they want to do things in cooperation with my men… agreed?”
When Hertz hung up the phone Randy was looking at him expectantly. “Good news?” he asked.
“That was the FBI,” he replied. “They wanted to let me know they had to totally destroy the lab at Aspen; they did it with fire, and most of the rest of the factory was destroyed in the effort as well. Personally, I could care less at this point.”
Randy smiled and nodded, then the captain continued. “They are also going to send a few Army troops through town to assist in tracking down any stragglers. Those troops will be here within a few hours. I’m just going to advise that they use GPS to scour the town, and use force as desired.”
“What if you suffer losses?” Randy asked. “I know my family is safe, but we live out of town a tad. But what about the others here? What if someone is actually outside, in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
Hertz sat forward, a serious look on his face. “We had a press conference; we released the news on the radio and TV. All I can say is that the citizens should be indoors until otherwise instructed. I cannot worry about that now, not when we have to ensure their safety by patrolling, not to mention shooting to kill.”
It was easy enough to accept. Randy and Hertz left the office and made their way to the staff break room to get a bite to eat. Hertz told his secretary to call him when the military arrived.
It seemed that things might finally wrap up for the best in Monte Vista.
Chapter 21
Shortly after Hilliard, Moss, and the rest of the group settled into the conference room and watched the news, Diana Moss picked up the telephone and dialed 911. She made the operator aware of their presence on the sixth floor of Suburban Medical, and asked how things were moving along as far as getting the infected under control. She, and the others, wanted nothing more than to be out of that building and at home with the people they loved.
But it wasn’t to be, at least, not right at that moment. The operator patched her through to an officer who was down on the street. He listened to her explanation of who she was, who was with her, where they were, and why they were there. He tried to comfort her and reassure her that if they all just stayed put they would eventually be out, but he couldn’t give her any type of time frame. He simply told her, repetitively, to ‘stay put and sit tight’.
They were all exhausted. They managed to get some much-needed sleep, but not much, and only for a very brief period of time. They also only slept in what seemed to be shifts, though none of it had rhyme or reason. By the time all of them, except Megan, were rested and awake, four hours had passed since they first arrived at the conference room, and now they were simply ravenous. But they all managed to ignore the hunger pains, which worked fairly well until Megan woke up.
“How are you doing, little lady?” Hilliard asked the tired-eyed child.
She shrugged shyly and offered a small grin. “I don’t know.”
Diana tousled her hair once again; the action had become something of a habit during their time together. “Do you feel better since you got some sleep, dear?”
“I guess so,” she replied. “I’m really, really hungry.”
Diana Moss immediately looked up at Kyle Hilliard, and he glanced at the others briefly. “Well, I am pretty familiar with this floor. I mean, we have tons of administration meetings up here. There is a kitchen and staff room across the main area. I could go and see if there is anything in there that would provide us with sustenance.”
“I’ll go with you,” Suit and Tie-Man said to him. “Better to do things in twos, I think. What could we carry with us? I mean, for safety’s sake.”
Hilliard looked around and began to take in all the objects in the room with his eyes. Besides the tables and chairs there was a smaller table against one wall; on it was a coffee pot, Styrofoam cups, a basket with powdered creamers and sugars, and another with coffee stirrers.
Next to the door was a coat rack made of metal. It had hangers on it, but they were the kind that didn’t come off; the user had to hang their coat while the hanger remained on the rod. In short, he saw nothing that resembled personal protection in any way.
After a moment Kyle said, “Okay, it looks like slim pickings in here. I say the two of us head out; Diana, you lock the door behind us. We will run for the kitchen area once we get a look around, and if we see anything or anyone who poses a threat, well, we grab the thing closest to us, whatever that may be. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Both of the men stood and stretched their limbs before heading to the doors. Diana was right behind them, ready to lock the doors once they were out. She watched in silence as they moved the tables carefully, trying to not make any noise. Once that was finished, Kyle held his finger up to his lips, unlocked the main door, turned the knob, and poked his head out.
Just as when they first arrived on the sixth floor, the place was empty, almost what you would call ‘dead’. The lights were on overhead, but all of the desks just sat there. Most of them looked as if they had been suddenly deserted, with chairs pushed away, computers still lit up, and papers with pens on top of them still sitting, waiting for their owners to return. Obviously, everyone had made a run for it at the drop of a hat.
He turned back to the group and gave a single nod before looking at Tie-Man. “Are you ready to go for it?”
The man nodded back at him, positioning himself to bolt from the room.
“Make sure you follow me; I know where we are going, okay?”
The man nodded again.
“Okay,” Kyle said. “Let’s go!”
The men ran full-force from the conference room, and Diana Moss rushed to the door and closed it and locked it.
They ran to the kitchen, weaving between desks and chairs as they headed for their goal. On the way there they saw absolutely nothing to worry them or make them afraid. When Kyle opened the kitchen he was relieved to see that it was empty, and he carefully shut the door behind them, holding his finger to his lips once again.
“Did you see or hear anything?” he asked in a whisper.
Tie-Man shook his head. “Nothing.”
With that, the two of them made their way to the cupboards and refrigerators. While Tie-Man went quietly through each cupboard, Kyle opened the refrigerator. He was happy to see numerous bagged lunches
, and even a couple of thermal lunch containers. He grabbed an armful of them, several cans of soda, and a small container of milk.
“How’s this?” he asked his companion.
The man smiled at him. “Perfect.” He then held up a handful of plastic forks and spoons. “Just in case.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
They left the kitchen quickly, and not at all as quietly as they had arrived. In their relief to have found so much food they seemed to have forgotten the danger of their situation. They were even meandering back to the conference room, their need to run all but forgotten. It was then that they heard the noise.
Kyle Hilliard turned suddenly toward the sound, which was much like the breaking of a pencil. There, approximately twenty feet away from the two men, standing right next to the entrance to the fire stairs, was one of the monsters. It appeared to smile and lick its lips in anticipation.
“Hey…” Hilliard began, speaking to Tie-Man. He wanted to tell him to run, to get to the conference room as soon as possible, but the words would not come from his lips as he wanted them to.
But Tie-Man heard him. “What? What are you…?” He turned around then, and he, too, saw the monster, which was now beginning to limp, slowly but surely, toward them.
“R… r… run!” The word came out of Kyle’s mouth in nothing more than a hoarse whisper. He began to back up, his eyes still glued to the inhuman-looking creature that was making its way toward them both.
“Run, now!”
Kyle suddenly turned, his hands and arms clinging blindly to the bags and cans in his arms. He passed Tie-Man, then glanced over his shoulder as he ran, just in time to realize that his companion was literally frozen to his spot.
Hilliard reached the conference room door and, keeping his eyes on both Tie-Man and the monster, began to kick at it with all his might. “Open up! Let us in! Let us in NOW!”
He could hear Diana fiddling with the lock on the other side, but it didn’t matter. In only seconds the monster closed the gap between itself and Tie-Man, who, at the last second, seemed to be able to try to get away. But unfortunately, it was just too late.
Tie-man turned and tried to bolt toward Kyle, but his right foot caught his left, and he stumbled. He hit the floor hard, and plastic utensils flew through the air in all directions. The monster reached him and dropped to his knees next to the scrambling man, then the monster grabbed him by his hair and began to forcefully pound the man’s forehead into the hard floor, over and over again. After several hits, blood began to pour from the man’s head.
The conference room door flew open and Kyle went in quickly. He dropped the bags and cans to the floor, then turned around to relock the door just in time to see the monster scooping a handful of the twitching man’s brains into his mouth. He closed and locked the door quickly, gagging hard the entire time.
After a moment he gained control of himself. “Help me. Help me move the tables, all of them!”
The male nurse ran forward, contributing for the first time since they had arrived upstairs. Together, he and Kyle began moving the heavy tables and placing them on their sides up against the door. They moved all of them, this time. He wanted as much weight against the door as possible. Tie-Man would be turning soon, and then there would be two of them trying to get into the conference room for… fresh meat.
When the tables were all moved Kyle turned around and sat down hard on the floor on his bottom. He put his head into his hands and, for the first time since the whole thing began, he was afraid. He was silent, his breath the only audible noise coming from his body.
When he looked up the first thing he saw was Megan Casperson. She was clinging to Diana Moss with a look on her face that gave away the level of fear she was experiencing. Kyle offered the girl a smile.
“I’m fine, honey,” he said to her. “I’m really fine.”
There was a bang at the door.
“Ignore it,” Kyle continued as he stood up. He grabbed a few bags of food and headed toward the others. “There is no way they are going to get in here; at least, not right away. If we stay quiet they are bound to wander off.”
“Kyle,” Dr. Moss whispered. “Are you sure?”
He nodded at her, the smile still plastered to his face. “As sure as I will ever be about anything.”
All of them sat down on the floor in a circle and began to unpack their food. The entire time the banging on the door continued; they could even hear the frustrated grunting and screaming coming from the monsters outside. They all focused on ignoring them.
But the noise made it terribly hard for any of them to eat.
∞
Down at the parking lot entrance of Suburban Medical, Thornton Police Chief Dan Davis was speaking on his cellular phone to one Charles Cole of the FBI.
Cole was telling him that they were going to be setting forth a plan to go through the town of Monte Vista and shoot every living thing in sight. Cole was telling him it was the only way they could see to rid the town of the infected people that were running amok, murdering the citizens. Cole was also letting him know that if the plan worked, at sunrise Suburban Medical would be next on the list.
“Have any of the deadwalkers managed to escape the facility?” Cole asked Davis.
Davis knit his brow. “Deadwalkers? Oh, you must mean the monsters. No, sir. One attempted, but we put him down and secured the compromised area. The hospital is now completely secure, though we don’t know how many normal people are trying to survive inside.”
“And you won’t until this is over,” Cole finished for him. “Now, we will be contacting you in the morning to let you know how all of us are going to proceed to help all of you in Thornton to solve your problem. Keep your phone charged, chief. It’s going to be a very long night.”
Chapter 22
Helicopters flew the skies over Monte Vista, having no regard for those who may have been sleeping during those early morning hours. After all, loss of sleep was a very small price to pay for the inhabitants of a town threatened by countless zombies. And to be honest, no one cared.
“Okay, men!” General Abel Monroe was pacing back and forth in front of a massive number of troops, delivering a message that needed to be heard loud and clear. He spoke through a large bullhorn, and he used the loudest voice possible. “Today is the day! Now is the time! We are going to rid Monte Vista of the Deadwalkers!”
The troops stood silent, in rapt attention. This was only the Army who he was addressing in the chain-link confined area provided for that purpose at the local high school football field.
“You are all assigned to an outlet road,” Monroe continued. “As you know, you will line up, according to assigned platoons, across the road which you have been assigned to. You will begin to walk into town. All of you have a listing, which is in the possession of your platoon leaders, as to all of the roads you must cover. You will shoot on sight whoever you see or encounter that appears infected or abnormal. It must be a head shot; you must shoot to kill!”
Monroe paused for effect. “From here you will be transported via utility vehicle to your assigned road. Be ready, and be on careful lookout at all times. There is absolutely no room for compassion or mercy; these things are the enemy. Look at them any way you must to get the job done. They are the enemy, and this, boys, is a WAR!”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“Do I have the understanding of all of you?” he asked in a mean voice.
“Sir, yes sir!”
“Do any of you want to pussy out? Now is the time to do it, girls!”
Sir, no sir!”
Monroe smiled and nodded at them all. “Good! That is exactly what I want to hear. I want you to go out and make mincemeat out of these beasts. I want to be able to load their mangled corpses on a truck and haul them out of Monte Vista so these families can get back to their lives. Understood?”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“Now, sunrise is just under seven minutes,” he continued. “We will wai
t here for a call from the Air Force that their men are ready. Stand at attention, men!”
He heard a snicker float through the group, and he had to fight back a smile. They were laughing about the Air Force being included in the mission. “No laughter here, ladies! We are all on the same side, am I understood?”
Silence, then the obligatory, “Sir, yes sir!”
∞
The Air Force’s Chief Master Sergeant Michael Abano was addressing his men in the school gymnasium. Abano’s men went through a nearly identical briefing, including laughter when the Army was mentioned. It seemed attitudes were the same all over. All of the men were nervous, and even a few of them were downright scared. After all, they were dealing with something that they had heard about only from books or science fiction movies.
When his speech was over, Abano flipped open his cell and called Monroe, who he had programmed into speed dial. “We’re ready,” he stated simply.
Within minutes he had his men marching out of the gymnasium and through the secured back door of the high school, which led to the football field. The field itself was surrounded by guards and large trucks, which would haul the men to their assigned destinations. By five-thirty, the trucks were running and loaded with armed men.
Abano and Monroe sat in the leading vehicle, waiting for word that the last of the men were on board and ready to go. Monroe received the text, and he looked over at Abano. He gave the man a bloodthirsty smile.
“Are we ready, Chief Master Sergeant?”
The man grinned back. “We are absolutely ready, General. Let’s go get their blood!”
The chain-link gate before them was opened by two armed footmen, who pulled them wide for the trucks to pass through. One by one they were driven out of the area and turned their individual directions. It wouldn’t be long now; not long at all.
According to calculations, the entire town of Monte Vista would be swept clean in a few hours.
Chapter 23
For all intents and purposes, Captain Hertz was told that the town of Monte Vista, Colorado appeared to be in the clear.
