by JT Sawyer
Carlie snatched up a few magazines and then both of them ran towards the boats, hopping into the nearest zodiac. Shane grabbed the control and spun off on a hard right, peeling away from the Olympia into Osaka Bay. He made a beeline for the location of the airfield, searching for the buoy that he had first come to after the crash. He needed this as a reference point to triangulate the approximate location of the aquaplex in the dark.
Clutching her gloved hands on the console visor, Carlie lowered her head and let out a soft whimper. “I can’t believe Amy’s gone. One minute she was right beside me and then…then she just got swept away.”
Shane didn’t flinch, holding back his emotions as the mist pelted his face. The waves whisked the boat along, the tumultuous current matching his own inner turmoil. He looked over at Carlie for a second. “The mission was a success like Ellis said—all except for the part where I lost one of our own.”
“What happened to Amy wasn’t your fault. It’s not about you or your leadership. We all knew the risks as we have on any of our missions. You can’t protect everyone, Shane.”
“I’ve always believed that if you fight hard enough—viciously enough—that you could overcome anything life threw at you. For me, that thinking never changed in this new world. But I was wrong—and in the process, I drove you away from me as well.”
“You know, it’s OK to admit you’re afraid sometimes,” she said.
“I’ve been so used to calling the shots my whole life that I sometimes forget to say out loud what I’m thinking and I end up leaving your feelings out of the equation. This is never how I wanted things to unfold between us. After all we’ve been through to make it this far, I didn’t want to risk losing you.”
“I’m not gonna leave you, Shane. We’re in this together—in this life and everything that comes after.”
He nodded, giving her a sorrowful look. “Deep down, I know that. I’ve always known that.” He swerved his vision back to the bay, searching the water. “Let’s get the hell back home and be done with this mission.”
After arcing out from the airfield, he proceeded to the buoy and towards the inner passage. In the spotlight that was bouncing off the choppy waves, Shane saw a slender figure swimming in the distance, the fatigued body barely able to complete his strokes. As they neared, they saw Shiro stop and tread water, his head sinking under in the rough waters.
Shane maneuvered alongside him and handed off the steering to Carlie while he reached out for the nearly spent figure. He hauled the shirtless man over the rim of the boat, noticing the array of tattoos adorning his upper body and arms. Shiro fell back into the zodiac’s walls, flopping his head up towards Shane. “Nora and Tyler…”
Shane squatted down beside him, patting him on the shoulder. “Yes, they’re safe—and they will be thrilled to see your granite face again.”
Carlie spun the boat around and jammed the throttle forward, enroute to the Olympia, whose exterior lights served as her mental talisman.
Shiro strained to see the darkened horizon, looking in the vicinity of where the aquatics center was located. He thought how odd it was that such a place would stir feelings of home but he knew that such warmth was provided by Nora’s presence and the spirited laughter of little Tyler. It stirred in him longings for his childhood home, memories of more carefree days that he was surprised to find surfacing. He felt the jaded veneer on his soul cracking like sunbaked clay during the heat of day. Shiro noticed the ocean breeze rushing across his face and sensed that it was silent, no longer filled with the voices of angry spirits. He clenched the rope railing beside him and took in a deep breath then let it out with a sigh.
He gave Shane a sideways glance. “Before you arrived just now, I was thinking of how ironic it was to have escaped the tunnel and then to meet my fate in the very ocean where my days began as the son of a fisherman.”
“But your willpower overcame your destiny,” Shane said with a grin.
Shiro shook his head and smiled. “Shane-san, you are a funny man.”
“Yeah, he is,” muttered Carlie. “But he’ll grow on you.”
“Hmm,” Shiro said, standing up and joining both of them as he gazed out at the ripple of waves, their whitecaps illuminated in the moonlight. “And what will become of me and my people once we arrive at your Fort Lewis?”
“Well, we’re always in need of men skilled with their hands. That part of the human struggle will probably never change, regardless of the time period.”
Shane leaned his hands on the console, staring up at the moon then glancing over at Carlie.
“Or maybe you’ve got other talents—are you any good at growing crops or farming?” said Carlie with a slight smile, already knowing the answer.
Shiro shook his head and grimaced. “Much better with a sword in my hands than a plow.”
“Likewise,” said Carlie as Shane nodded in agreement.
Chapter 42
Fifty minutes later, the Olympia had relocated eighty nautical miles off the eastern coast of Japan. Commander Ellis announced his intentions to send four nuclear ballistic missiles into the reactor in Kyoto. This would result in an implosion that would consume the city and much of the peninsula. After his speech, the Olympia’s hull throbbed as the missiles were released and the resulting devastation was broadcast on TV monitors throughout the vessel. The flashpoint evaporated buildings, homes, and storefronts in searing vapors that quickly folded in on themselves and a minute later were gone. Only a plum-orange glow remained in the vicinity of Kyoto as if the sun itself had just been pulled down into the foundation of the former city.
Carlie was sitting beside Jared in the officers’ lounge with Matias and Eliza. Jared’s head hung low as he stared in shock at the TV monitor, the white-hot pulse of the implosion matching his own spiraling meltdown. His entire life had been spent flitting from relationship to relationship until the fateful day he realized how much he loved Amy. From that day forward, the narrow doorway to his soul had opened and he allowed her in like no other person before. And now all he felt were jagged splinters ripping through every fiber of his being while the image of her hand slipping from his continuously looped in his fog-enshrouded mind.
Shane came in and tried to console him as the old teammates sat in silence reflecting on all of their missions together with Amy and their many good times together. Shane kept looking over at Carlie, grateful for her presence and never wanting to be apart from her again in any form. He thought back to the previous day when they were all gathered at Fort Lewis. He was not entirely certain they would succeed in such a precarious undertaking but there was no place else he wanted to be than in the company of his band of brothers and sisters that he had come to admire so much. This was the true meaning of family in his life.
In another section of the ship, Shiro was sitting on a bunk beside Nora and Tyler. For the first time since they met, he pulled Nora in close to him, resting his massive hand on top of the little boy’s shoulder. Shiro thought of Yoshi’s smile and his exuberant spirit. He thought of his brother, his childhood, and his small group of survivors that he had fought so hard to protect. He pulled Nora closer, staring into her lovely eyes then kissing her on the lips without restraint.
Epilogue
The device that was extricated from Japan turned a new chapter on human longevity over the coming months. The success of the vaccine was proven time and again in combat from the bite victims who survived and lived to kill one more day. There was cause for great celebration like never before but the supply runs and the missions to rescue other survivors reminded people that the battle was far from over.
As autumn rolled into winter and the cold ocean winds swept over Fort Lewis, Pavel and his tireless researchers continued making the vaccine while Duncan distributed it to communities abroad through the use of the Olympia. Some countries sent sailing vessels to the Pacific Northwest to obtain their supply while others from around the U.S. arrived in convoys of armored vehicles, on horseback, or on fo
ot over the next six months. A few refused to believe there was a cure and remained in their mountain strongholds, clinging to their ideologies.
Life never returned to any semblance of “normal.” The landscape still held plenty of zombies but with each passing month of their physical degradation, their abilities to pursue humans were diminished, except in colder regions like Canada, Alaska, Russia, and parts of northern China.
Carlie was one person who was determined to push on towards a new vision of the future. There was a sense of hope like never before that humans would one day freely walk the earth again, unfettered by constant dread or grisly surprises. She resolved that on August 25 of the coming year she and Shane would be somewhere else other than watching the sunset atop A-Wing. She said to Shane one day, “What now—what will happen when the gates of Fort Lewis are open for good and we can go wherever we choose?”
“Maybe we should return to Arizona—there’s little rain to worry about there,” he said.
“Mmm…I’ll pass. I thought of going there too but the forest and mountains have really attached themselves to my soul.”
Shane just nodded and smiled. “Being close to the ocean sounds good to me. Maybe we’ll find a home of our own in the Redwoods someday.”
***
Over the coming months, Jared channeled his attention into his duties, becoming more studious in the fighting arts and focusing his efforts on training new recruits. Carlie would sometimes see Jared with tears in his eyes during mealtimes. She knew better than to ask and quietly gave him the space to grieve.
Duncan still concentrated upon the eternal quest for food and the means to nourish all of his people. There were no permanent solutions or happy endings. Some weeks were better than others and rationing had to be periodically implemented. His goal was to push his support units into the lush valleys around Yakima in the spring. There they would be able to start planting crops on a larger scale in that productive soil. In the meantime, his main forces would remain centered around Fort Lewis and focus on fishing and their small agricultural operations.
Eliza and Matias often sought out each other’s company. Not in any romantic fashion but as an uncle to a niece. They often went on the same fishing boat security details or the guard duty rotations at the Grand Coulee Dam, each feeling safe in the comfort of their friendship after having lost so much in their lives.
When Shiro wasn’t with Nora and Tyler, he accompanied Shane and Carlie on security details around the state or provided swordsmanship training to his fellow team members. Eventually he erected a handmade shrine of Ameratsu, the Sun Goddess, on the roof of B-Wing, facing the west. And as time went by he dreamed of his childhood while the voices of the wrathful spirits calling his name faded into the wind.
Shane had become something of a cult hero amongst the younger generation of fighters at Fort Lewis and, though, he wasn’t very comfortable with such status, he accepted it and began refining the training protocols for the next group of elite operators. Though there were stories on the airwaves about a daring raid by an allied team of SEAL and Samurai commandos that had brought about the end of the virus, another rumor was spread that the shadow governments of Russia and the U.S. had finally emerged from their subterranean bunkers and released a vaccine into the atmosphere to initiate the final phase of their new world order.
Carlie could live with the stories and every day she counted her blessings, looking forward to the time when the undead menace was only present in the history books and the land was free of the scourge that had shorn the fabric of the world. On that day, she would head south into California and see what had become of her long-lost brother. Until then, she would continue to train, love, and rest easier knowing the tide had finally turned.
Thank you for your interest in this series. Stay tuned for future releases in the post-apocalyptic and sci-fi genres. If you would like to receive updates or want information on survival tips, please sign up for my email notices at [email protected] or by visiting http://www.jtsawyer.com
Post-Apocalyptic Fiction by JT Sawyer
First Wave
The Longest Day
No Place to Hide
Hell Week
Non-Fiction Survival Books by Tony Nester:
Survival Gear You Can Live With
Bug-Out Gear for Travelers
A Vehicle Survival Kit You Can Live With
When the Grid Goes Down: Disaster Gear and Survival Preparations for Making Your Home Self-Reliant
The Modern Hunter-Gatherer: A Practical Guide to Living Off the Land
Bushcraft Tips & Tools
Life Under Open Skies: Adventures in Bushcraft
About the Author
JT Sawyer is the pen name for Tony Nester. Tony is a fulltime survival instructor and the author of numerous non-fiction books and DVDs on survival. His training school is the primary provider for the Military Special Operations community and he has served as a consultant for the NTSB, FAA, Travel Channel, New York Times, Outside Magazine, and the film Into the Wild. For more information on survival gear, fieldcourses, or books, visit apathways.com.
Table of Contents
Copyright November 2015 by JT Sawyer
Prologue
Chapter 1Fort Lewis, Present Day, August 24
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11USS Olympia SSN 17, Fast-Attack Submarine
Chapter 12
Chapter 13Osaka, Japan
Chapter 14
Chapter 15Osaka, Japan
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Epilogue
Thank you for your interest in this series. Stay tuned for future releases in the post-apocalyptic an...
Post-Apocalyptic Fiction by JT SawyerFirst WaveThe Longest Day
About the Author
