by Cliff Deane
“Oh my God! Frank,” shouted Donna, “he was running away. You just deliberately murdered him.”
Frank’s eyes turned cold and hard as he said, “Donna, these men were going to murder Dave and me, and then they would have taken you, the pretty lady, along as a sex slave to be raped and traded for a hit of meth. Did you see the rotten teeth of both men?”
“Yes, I saw their teeth, so what, you can’t kill a man for having bad teeth!” screamed Donna.
Frank said in a very calm and soothing voice, “Heavy meth users tend to develop rotten teeth. One guy with bad choppers, maybe, but two together equals meth heads. Donna, these men were thieves, rapists, and murderers who planned to kill us. Sure, that pig was running away, and if I had let him go, he would have done the same thing to someone else who might not be prepared to stand and fight. That man would lose his life, his goods, and his wife, and all because I failed to rid the world of that piece of pond scum.
“Sure, I shot and killed him, because he and his friend would have murdered Dave and me before turning on you. I shot the wounded Meth-head to put him out of his pain, or maybe just to shut him up. You decide. Would you rather they succeeded in their robbery and murder attempt?”
Now in tears, Donna said, “Frank, you don’t know they would have killed anyone, do you?”
“Donna; think about it. They would have had to kill us to keep the police off their ass. We’ve got to get back to the dig. You can plead your case with Professor Abraham, and then decide whether you still want to hand us over to the cops. Is that reasonable?”
Donna was still upset and crying as she said, “I guess it will have to be okay, since I’m sure you won’t drop by the Sheriff’s Station and turn yourselves in, right?”
“Yeah, Donna, that’s right. You should also realize that Dave saved you from being raped and becoming a sex slave.”
She then looked at Dave and said, “Dave, I know you shot that man because he had a gun aimed at Frank, so you’re probably in the clear. Frank, however, just murdered a man in cold blood. Are you okay with that?”
Dave was clearly torn and angry when he said, “Woman, you are such an idiot. Yeah, it’s true that the guy Frank offed would not have gotten you, but an hour from now, he would have shot first and taken what he needed from someone else. Didn’t you see how dirty he was and how messed up his clothes were?”
“Oh, please, Dave, all that man needed was a helping hand and a hug. If we had shared what we have, he would have probably been very nice.”
Dave’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out; finally, he just closed his mouth and turned around in the seat, refusing to speak to her any longer.
“Frank asked, “Donna, would you like for me to drop you off at the Sheriff’s Office?”
Sarcastically, she said, “Yes, I would like that. Will you do it?”
“No,” smiled Frank, “I just wanted to see exactly how gullible and stupid you really are. Don’t worry though, if we come across any other bums, I’ll drop you off so you can share with those poor misfortunates who just need a hug and some understanding. Oh, one more thing. You are also now a fugitive on the run, and I guarantee both Dave and I will make you out to be the mastermind. Whadaya say, Dave?”
“Oh, hell yes,” said Dave, “She is definitely the Bonnie to our two Clydes.” This shut Donna up, but she cried all the way back to the dig site.
7 March 2118
Mount Weather
Standing before the giant blast door, Specialist Mathers pleaded with Dudley, “Lieutenant, please, you know I can’t open the door. I have my orders from the President.”
At this point, Specialist Mathers hit the alarm button and then quickly lunged at Second Lieutenant Dudley, in an attempt to take his sidearm. In the short struggle which ensued, Specialist Mathers was shot in the left kidney.
Moving quickly, to get the door open before the alarm and shot brought the guard reaction force, Lieutenant Dudley pushed the lever which engaged the door. He allowed it to open only eighteen inches and shouted for the children to be put through.
Five young children made it through the door before the reaction force arrived and as Dudley turned to fire at the reinforcements, he was killed in a hail of gunfire.
The reaction force immediately shut the door and called the Officer of the Guard, who sent word up the line about the incident.
7 March 2118
Dig Site
Moundsville, WV
Once each team had been dispatched on their various and sundry missions, Jacob contacted the University’s PR section. PR then contacted the Moundsville National Guard Group Commander’s Office. They were able to arrange for the Dig Team to set up in the Moundsville National Guard Armory’s Training Room, which was large enough for the entire team to stay, in relative comfort. They could take up their temporary residence on the 13th of March.
Back at the dig site, Jacob and Gale were packing up their personal items for their stay at the Armory.
When Frank’s team returned from the Walmart, Donna jumped out of the truck and ran to tell Jacob how Frank had murdered some poor, hungry man that just wanted a little help. She screamed, “Frank shot him in the back as he was trying to run away. We have to contact the Sheriff and have Frank arrested! Professor Abraham, quick, grab him before he murders us all!”
Frank calmly walked up to Jacob and Donna. He reached into his pocket and took out his pistol. He handed it over to Jacob, just as Dave came running up to be a part of the meeting.
Frank smiled and said, “Sir, would you like to hear my side of this now?”
After hearing what both Frank and Dave had to say, Jacob turned to Donna and asked, “Donna, is what these two men just said true?”
Crying now, Donna said, “Well, yes, but he just shot that poor man in the back, he was only trying to get away. Frank’s a murderer!”
Jacob’s voice took on an icy tone as he said, “Donna, I told you all, before you left, to be prepared for trouble and to handle it, doing whatever it took. Those two men wanted to kill both Frank and Dave, and then take everything, including you. By ridding the Earth of those vermin, Frank and Dave have saved the lives of other innocents. But, having said that, I’ll make you a promise. The government says the pandemic will begin in another four or five days. If that doesn’t happen, then I will personally drive you to the Sheriff’s Office. Deal?”
“No, that is a terrible deal, but since you made us leave our cell phones in your office, I have no way of contacting the Police, I guess I’ll have to go along with it.” She then turned and ran to her tent.
Everyone on the team was enthusiastic about moving into the Guard Armory, well, everyone except Donna. She resented being forced to be quarantined inside an Army Fort where they planned how to kill innocent people. She actually hated the Armory more than she disliked being forced to share living space in mixed company, and she really hated that.
Jacob heard her whining and bitching about how this whole nonsense about some pandemic was a Conservative plot to take over America.
CHAPTER TWO
PANDEMIC
15 March 2118
Moundsville, WV
The morning of 15 March brought chaos and the predicted worldwide pandemic. The entire world came under the spell of this devil virus between 15 and 16 March. No Hospitals were open as the medical staffs were also ill and therefore unable to assist other sufferers.
On 13 March 2118, not one of Jake’s students had become ill. The Dig Team began to relax, thinking that maybe there would be no pandemic after all. That faint hope crashed back to reality during the night of 15 March when, as though an alarm went off, every member of the Dig Team began sneezing; by morning, there was only one person able to get out of bed. Gale Storm had a bit of sniffling and sneezing, but beyond that, she felt okay. It was because of this small miracle that Jake survived when so many others died.
Gale tried to keep her team hydrated and fed. She helped them to the Porta-Potties,
but still a bit over half of them died.
On day seven of the pandemic, Gale was nearly frantic as it appeared that Jake was teetering over the abyss of death. She cried and prayed as she kept cool, damp rags on his forehead and force-fed her love with broth.
Each day Death made the rounds of the University Dig Team, but Jake began to slowly back away from the Grim Reaper’s Scythe.
For ten days everything across the world closed down as there were none strong enough to even leave their homes. Billions died from the flu, starvation, and dehydration. Millions more died from diseases such as dysentery, lack of insulin, failed medical devices, and a myriad of other reasons.
In ten days, the human population of the entire Earth fell to less than two-billion survivors.
25 March 2118, 0700
Headquarters, 175th Ranger Regiment,
Fort Benning, GA
Colonel Tom Merritt, the 175th Ranger, Regimental Commander, awoke feeling like he might survive this horrible flu, that had swept the world, after all. The last ten days had nearly convinced him, on several occasions, that he would not live through this pandemic.
Tom was a confirmed bachelor who, as a young man, dedicated his life and love to the Army of the United States of America. While Tom didn’t have movie star looks, he stood 5'11 with sandy blonde hair, coupled with an athletic build. His face was average and friendly, well, except for the faint scar that ran down his right cheek. You had to look closely to even see it clearly, but somehow it did make his facial features seem just a tiny bit out of kilter. Still, even with some minor defects, it had been those blue eyes that set many a young heart to flutter. Now, after twenty years of hard service as an Army Ranger, his body remained fit and athletic. His face had acquired many more wrinkles than his forty-two years should have held, and those eyes of boyish blue had evolved into Arctic blue ice. After two decades of service to his country, Tom Merritt had matured into a no-nonsense professional soldier.
He decided that reporting in to the Fort Benning Post Commander would be the proper course of action before going to his Headquarters. At this point in time, Colonel Tom Merritt had no inkling of the devastating impact this pandemic had caused the world at large. He turned on his radio but heard only a Conelrad station reminding everyone to remain calm.
By 0900 hours Tom felt better than he had in a long time, and he seemed to be getting better by the hour. Upon leaving his Quarters, his nostrils were immediately assaulted with the sickly-sweet stench of death. The realization that the toll of the dead must be huge, coupled with the penetrating smell caused him to reel back into the house. Quickly closing the door, he made his way to his garage and found several painter’s masks. Tom coated one of the masks with some of his aftershave before placing it over his nose and mouth.
He again left his home and made his way to the 2116 Ford Aero-car. He backed his car onto the street and lifted into the air to an altitude of two hundred feet and keeping his craft between the lane marking buoys headed off to Fort Benning. The virtual lane markers appeared on the windshield in 3-D relief as soon as the driver entered a destination. Onboard computers kept the Aero-Car within the safe boundaries along his route.
Colonel Merritt’s FooF (Friend or Foe) beacon identified and cleared him onto Fort Benning. As he made his way to the Post Headquarters Building, Tom searched, but could see no other vehicles either in the air or on the ground.
Now he was becoming worried; the parking lot fronting the Fort Benning Headquarters sat empty. There was no one walking around. The Fort appeared deserted. No, wait, there’s a ground car pulling into the parking lot.
The Colonel’s AI took control of the vehicle and sat his Aero-car down smoothly. He then pulled into a parking space near the other new arrival. As he exited his vehicle, an E-6 Staff Sergeant walked up to Tom and saluted.
Looking at Tom’s nametag, the Sergeant said, “Colonel, uh, Merritt, sir, it is so good to see you. Do you know how bad things are?”
Merritt returned the salute and checking the Sergeant’s nametag, asked, “No, Sergeant Evans, have you seen anyone else?”
“Yes, sir, I did see two other vehicles on Post. Hopefully, they’ll come here with some info.”
“I do hope so,” said Merritt, “come with me and let’s take a look inside. Maybe the Staff Duty Officer or NCO is there.” The two men walked side by side, with the Sergeant on the Colonel’s left, up the steps to the Headquarters Building.
The main door was unlocked, which gave both men some encouragement, but once inside they found the building completely unattended. Dust had already begun to settle everywhere.
“Oh, crap, sir, what should we do?”
“Sergeant, do you work in this building?”
“Yes, sir, I work in the 18th Airborne Corps, Command Communications Section. It’s on the third floor of this building.”
“Well, there’s a break. All right, lead the way to communications and let’s see if we can contact Mount Weather. They should have some idea of what the hell is going on.”
Just as Merritt and Evans turned to move to the communications room, the outer door opened, and two young men entered. Both men were E-5 Buck Sergeants, Jack Price and Jaime "Moe" Morales
The two newcomers were very happy to see Colonel Merritt and Sergeant Evans. They both reported to Colonel Merritt before asking the now, usual questions.
“All right, hold on, let’s begin by learning a bit about each other. My name is Colonel Tom Merritt, Commanding the 175th Ranger Regiment. Sergeant Evans?”
“Yes, sir, I’m Staff Sergeant Jim Evans, Commo Section, 18th Airborne Corps.” He then pointed to Sergeant Price.”
“Yes, sir, I’m Sergeant Jack Price, Assistant Squad Leader, Bravo Company, 75th Ranger Battalion.”
Sergeant Morales spoke up saying, “Sir, I am Sergeant Jaime Morales, but everyone calls me Moe. I am the Armorer for Bravo Company, 75th Ranger Battalion.”
Tom then asked, “How is everyone feeling? Are you fully recovered?”
Both Staff Sergeant Evans and Sergeant Morales said they felt good and ready for duty. Sergeant Price said that he felt okay, but still just a little weak.
“Well, all right,” said Colonel Merritt, “it looks like we have the cadre of an army to build on. Sergeant Evans, please lead on to Commo.”
Staff Sergeant Evans then turned to lead the four men to the 3rd-floor Communication’s Room. Like every other office they passed, it was empty.
Evans turned on the office lights and made his way to his station. “Sir, from here, you can either hold this device over your AI chip to download the entire military communications network in CONUS (Continental U.S.). Or, I can make contact with Mount Weather for you.”
“Thank you, Sergeant Evans, I think I would like to have both. Let’s download to my AI, then place a speaker call to Mount Weather. Lori, you with us?”
Tom, darling, you know full well that I am always here for you, said Lori, Tom’s soothing and sometimes flirtatious female-voiced AI.
Six years ago, when he reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Tom was required to accept an Artificial Intelligence chip or retire. His AI could be either male or female.
Tom couldn’t readily explain why he had chosen a female AI, but over the few years since they were mated, it just seemed to work. Her capabilities and duties were exactly the same as the male counterparts. Lori was strictly professional when the circumstances required but could be cute and funny at other times. Tom discovered that Lori made for a warm and comforting companion especially when he was feeling a bit deflated. She could also be somewhat snarky at times. All military AIs had this snarkyness built into their programming to help keep the owner more alert and on his or her toes. This feature could also be temporarily turned off with a simple command.
Placing the hand-held device over the left hemisphere of his brain, Tom downloaded the network communications data to Lori, then directed Evans to place the call.
There was initially a
delayed response from Mount Weather Operations. When they finally answered, Colonel Merritt identified himself and was connected to General Howard.
“Colonel Merritt, it is good to hear that you made it through this horrible pandemic. How are things shaping up at Fort Benning?”
“Sir, currently I have found three others who have reported for duty, one Staff Sergeant, and two Buck Sergeants. The Staff Sergeant is assigned to 18th Airborne Corps communications. The two E-5s are both from Bravo Company of my Regiment, the 175th Rangers.
“No one else has, as yet, reported in, but I believe that there will be many others. The four of us currently present for duty just recovered this morning, and to our surprise, three of us feel better than we have in years; very strange, sir.”
“Yes, that is most peculiar, I’ll see that your recovery status is passed on to the CDC. Colonel, I surely hope that you are correct about survivors.”
“Yes, sir, as do I.”
“Good, good, Tom you had better keep an eye on the Sergeant who is not fully up to snuff, though. We wouldn’t want a relapse. Once around the block with this Super-flu is more than enough for anyone. Now, what is your plan for today?”
“Yes, sir, I plan to commandeer Staff Sergeant Evans and return to my Regimental HQ. I am hopeful that I will find more Rangers reporting in for duty. I also intend to send one of the E-5s on a scouting mission to get a count of available rations. Once we have a few more, I will begin securing rations, Class V (Munitions), fuel, and our water supply.”
“Very well,” said General Howard, “I like your plan. Colonel, I am going out on a limb here in telling you what, we believe, is coming. On 7 March we suffered a breach of the main door when the Duty Officer decided to bring in civilians who were outside begging to be let in. He shot the guard and opened the door. Five children made it inside before the door could be secured. That three or four-minute opening allowed the virus to get into the Mount Weather Facility. We all fell ill. We’re just beginning to discover who, and how many made it. The death toll is staggering.”
