by RWK Clark
Not only had Aspen Stationers’ Supply Company been completely burned to the ground, but the land and remaining bits of building were sprayed with a rat extermination solution. There were no human bodies anywhere on the grounds. The quarantine was continued, but only because of the chemicals sprayed. It was fenced off, and security was placed around it with guns and gas masks.
Troops came into the small area, but not very many. They were sent on orders from the head of the Department of Defense, Mel Potter. Since the town was thought to be free of threat. It was over in less than an hour, and just as suspected, no threat was found, whatsoever.
Hertz held another press conference, this time to alert the town to the newfound sense of freedom they were all entitled to. He wanted them all to know, as soon as possible, that the issue was over. Not only was the town free of the monsters, but Aspen was no longer in operation, and it never would be again. The only repercussions for the company would be for board members and shareholders who had scurried around so energetically to cover up Randy Carstens’ findings regarding the Lumiosa ink. Yes, Captain Hertz assured everyone, criminal charges would be sought.
Monte Vista, Colorado, the place where it all began, labeled ground zero, was finally free, and it seemed it had suffered far less than anyone else.
∞
At seven-o-five in the morning, Thornton Police chief Dan Davis, who was on easily his thirtieth cup of coffee, answered his cell phone from the Suburban parking entrance. He had been waiting all night for that ring, and when it finally came his relief was obvious to every single person around him.
“Oh, thank goodness,” he began as soon as he answered. “Agent Cole. What’s the verdict?”
“We have been in action here in Monte Vista for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and I have to tell you that it seems this was the right route to take with these… things,” Cole replied. “I want you to know that President Baker is ordering that a couple of groups be sent to Suburban to eliminate the problem there, but before he does I have a few questions I need to ask you for the safety of those involved.”
“Shoot,” Davis said.
Davis could hear Cole shuffling through some papers. “Okay,” he finally said, “how many men do you have in attendance, and where are you located?”
“Well, at the current time the count is just under eighty-three men, and we are stationed all around the hospital, as well as at the entrance. My men have the campus completely secured.”
There was a pause, which Davis assumed was so that Cole could jot down notes.
Cole continued. “Do you have any idea if any civilians are in the building at the current time?”
“Yes, sir. We have word from several individuals, however, the only ones who have managed to keep in consistent contact is a group who says they are located in the sixth floor administration conference room,” he said.
“How do you know that? How often have they called?”
Davis rolled his eyes. “The last call was approximately twenty minutes ago, when they asked if help was on the way. They are five of them, I think, and they have a twelve-year-old girl with them. Two doctors, two nurses, and a girl.”
“Okay,” Cole said, then he took a deep breath. “We will need to find a way to get them out of there before we advance. Does the conference room have a window of any kind? Is there a way to access them from outside, if at all possible?”
Now Davis began to stroll toward the hospital and look the building over, though he had no idea what he was looking at or looking for. “I don’t know, sir, but I can certainly find out.”
“Do that,” Cole said. “Troops are going to be there within the hour, and we will need answers. Find out the same things from any other people in the building who happen to contact you. We need to save civilians if at all possible.”
“Yes, sir.” Davis hung up the phone and turned to one of the deputy sheriffs. “I need to find out if the sixth floor conference room has a window; we need to get those people out if at all possible. Get on it!”
As his man ran off, Davis continued to stare at the building. If there were others in there, and they were still alive, why had they not called him back? Well, in the long run it didn’t matter. Soon the troops would be there, and they would save who they could, but they would take out anyone who got in their way.
Davis couldn’t worry about that.
Chapter 24
It took only three hours for all of the troops, both Army and Air Force, to completely clear the streets of Monte Vista, Colorado of the deadwalkers.
No one came out of the homes. No one walked on the gravel roads on the outskirts of town. No one even tried to threaten the mission that the United States government was in the middle of. So frightened, so petrified was the public that they simply stayed inside their homes and let it all happen.
One by one, bullet by bullet, brain by brain, the deadwalkers were eliminated from the face of the Earth in Monte Vista.
They were loaded onto trucks and transported to the workstations which were set up by the CDC, where they would be studied and scrutinized. Down at city hall in Monte Vista they received reports on each and every single one, and charges were pressed on those who were criminally negligent from Aspen. Next of kin were contacted, and the circle continued to move, slowly but surely.
At exactly ten-twenty-eight the mission was aborted. There were no more Deadwalkers; it was as easy as that. All that remained were grief-stricken families and terrified children. Mayor Tom Donnelly addressed the public to inform everyone that, while they would likely want to remain in their homes while the mess was cleaned up, the horror-story that had filled the last few days was finally over. He said it with a smile and a confidence that enabled everyone watching to breathe huge sighs of relief.
Helicopters were sent, along with limited troops, to Thornton, to the Suburban Medical Center. It was time to clean up the last of it in Colorado. Troops were also in the other states, and they were dealing with the issue in those places just as expeditiously. The outbreaks in the other states were not nearly as bad, and the biggest concern left was Suburban.
Suburban Medical Center, and the people holed up in the sixth floor conference room…
∞
The same morning… Three helicopters flew into the airspace over Suburban Medical Center all at once. At the same time, five military trucks, filled with troops, arrived as well. They pulled into the entrance, and the officer in command found Dan Davis easily enough.
“Chief Davis, I’m Lieutenant Faust of the United States Army,” he began. Have you found out whether or not we can access the area with the civilians?”
Davis immediately snapped to attention. “Absolutely, sir. It is the strip of three windows on the south side of the building, six levels up. I have been in telephone contact, and one Dr. Diana Moss will be waiting at the window for your instructions.”
“Fine,” Faust said. “Now, I will need all men to clear the entrance to the lot and the lot itself. Once we retrieve the innocent we will literally barnstorm this building. You have no other civilians that you are aware of?”
Davis shook his head, a look of deep regret on his face. “No, sir. None.”
After a curt nod, Faust ran to the lot. A helicopter had landed in the far end of it. Davis ordered all cars out of the vicinity, then watched as Faust boarded the chopper and it lifted off the ground.
Finally, this would all come to an end.
The chopper took flight, and for the next half-hour everyone on the ground watched as the men inside of it communicated with the people on the sixth floor through the window. They watched in horror as the people were brought from the building into the craft. It was terrifying, but it was necessary, and when the very last person was transferred those on the ground broke out in deafening cheers.
They were all one step closer to the goal.
Television cameras and reporters were set up on the ground, capturing every last thing they possibly could. Many te
ars were shed when the people were saved, but the stress resumed when the troops entered the actual facility. From ten minutes until eleven all the way to twelve-thirty, shots rang out from inside the hospital. At twelve-forty-three the Army commander gave the ‘all clear’, and trucks pulled up to eliminate the bodies of the monsters from the building.
It happened that fast. The horrible nightmare which had suffocated Colorado and other states was suddenly over. People were freed and safe, and the monsters were all dead. Interviews were held and charges were pressed.
Life, as everyone knew it, began to go back to normal.
Epilogue
Monte Vista, 2 weeks later… Things began to get back to normal for everyone.
Captain Hertz was a local hero. He was heralded for acting so quickly at the Aspen plant, and quarantining the facility like he did. If not for him, who knew what would have happened in that tiny little town. No one, of course, and no one cared to.
Randy Carstens returned home to his wife and family. He narrowly dodged legal charges himself. If not for the fact that he walked away from the bigwigs at Aspen, he would be facing a jail sentence himself. Instead, he was hired by a make-up company who wanted a scientist with integrity. They had just managed to dodge an animal abuse charge for testing, and wanted to save face.
In Monte Vista, many had to literally start their lives over. Out of all the places affected, Monte Vista suffered the greatest loss. Many locals relocated. Some died when the troops tore through. No one there would ever be the same, and Mayor Donnelly knew that all too well. He discovered that his own son had been infected and killed by the troops, and he committed suicide shortly after the incident.
In Thornton at the Suburban Medical Center, the only people to come out alive was the small group in the conference room. Hilliard, Moss, Megan, and the others were spared. Dr. Moss took custody of one very disturbed Megan, and began adoption proceedings almost right away. Everyone else in the facility was killed, either by the deadwalkers or the military.
At the former home of Linda and little Timmy Abbott, there was no life at all.
Her small house, only two city blocks from the Aspen Company, sat empty and dark. Timmy’s little toys were still on the sidewalk, and no one had been there since the outbreak. Not even Linda’s family could bear to set foot on the desolate, lonely property.
Now, two weeks later, out in the country, the house still sat in silence.
A car, a blue Buick, blew a tire right in front of the place on an empty dirt road. Miles Flatt, a travelling businessman, pulled his car over in the darkness to change the tire. He had promised his wife he would be home tonight, and he didn’t have time to spare.
He propped his flashlight up and whistled while he loosened the lug nuts.
Forty feet away, the ground started to move.
A squeaking came from the spot as the dirt was being disturbed, and after a moment a small, furry creature covered in dried blood and grime emerged. What was left of its nose twitched, and it turned toward the sound of the whistling.
ENTREATY
My creativity is fueled by readers like you. If you enjoyed this novel I implore you to please write a review, and share your experience. Tell a friend, tell a loved one about this read. In return I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Humbled, with gratitude.
R.W.K Clark.
ADDITIONALLY
Works by R.W.K. Clark
Permanent Ink: Deadwalkers
ISBN-10: 0997876735 ISBN-13: 978-0997876734
Passage of Time: Search for the Fountain of Youth
ISBN-10: 0997876727 ISBN-13: 978-0997876727
Shattered Dreams The Man in Blue
ISBN-10: 0997876719 ISBN-13: 978-0997876710
Dead on the Water Abandon Ship (Zombie Cruise)
ISBN-10: 0997876700 ISBN-13: 978-0997876703
Brother’s Keeper A Novel of Murder and Deception
ISBN-10: 0692744746 ISBN-13: 978-0692744741
Blood Feather Awakens The Timebound Rebirth
ISBN-10: 0692734082 ISBN-13: 978-0692734087
Lucifer’s Angel The Church of Satan
ISBN-10: 0692733280 ISBN-13: 978-0692733288
In The Depths (DeSai Trilogy Book 1)
ISBN-10: 0692721932 ISBN-13: 978-0692721933
Witches Immortal (DeSai Trilogy Book 2)
ISBN-10: 0692722165 ISBN-13: 978-0692722169
Lucian’s Reign (DeSai Trilogy Book 3)
ISBN-10: 069272219X ISBN-13: 978-0692722190
Living Legacy Among the Dead
ISBN-10: 0692517243 ISBN-13: 978-0692517246
Overtaken Captive States
ISBN-10: 0692489312 ISBN-13: 978-0692489314
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am a father of two beautiful children, Jon and Kim. They are my motivating forces; they are the lighthouse in this vast ocean. In this life, they are the air that I breathe; they are the oasis in this desert of uncertainty. They are my greatest joy in life, and my number one priority. I have a long list of hobbies, and I attribute that to my lust for life! I like to surround myself with positive people, who share the same interests. Family values, the arts, outdoors, nature, and travel are tops on my list. I embrace attending cultural and artistic events because I believe dramatic self-expression is the window to the soul. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I still believe in the act of chivalry, and I always treat people they way I want to be treated.
