Nano Z (Book 3): Oblivion

by Brad Knight

  “Good morning. I hope you all slept well.” He offered pleasantries from his mouth even though the rest of his face didn't convey the same pleasantness.

  “We slept fine,” answered Stephanie, as she handed Amber her orange juice and danish.

  “I'm glad to hear it. Now if you can get ready, the service is about to start.”

  “Service?” asked Mack.

  “Yes. The mother gives a sermon every Sunday. Attendance is mandatory.”

  The service? Sermon? Is this guy talking about church? We're not going to freaking church. Do we look like church goers? These people must be crazy. There's no way we're going to…

  “Sure. Give us a minute,” said Mack. He got up off the bottom bunk.

  “Of course.” Josiah patiently waited with his back turned to the cabin.

  “What!?” yelled Amber before jumping off the top bunk. Orange juice and danishes be damned.

  “Calm down.” Mack wanted to avoid a scene in front of Josiah.

  “Why? You don't believe in any of that crap. And neither do you.” She pointed first at Mack and then at Stephanie.

  “No, we don't,” said Stephanie quietly.

  “Than why!?”

  “These people obviously take their religion seriously. We're their guests. We should try not to piss them off.” Mack finished his coffee then crumpled up his styrofoam cup. “C'mon. Let's get his over with.”

  Amber reluctantly followed them. It was a silent trip up to the deck, on the opposite side of the gardens and livestock. Amber brought up the rear of their tiny caravan, dragging her feet.

  From the lack of other crew members in the hallways, they figured they must've been late.

  Finally the trio of survivors led by Josiah reached the deck of Haven. Every member of the crew stood out in front of a slightly elevated podium. Their collective attention was focused squarely on Jeanine, who was behind the platform preaching. The tall dreaded Josiah ushered them into the back of the “congregation” then joined his boss at the front.

  This is some utter bullshit. Amber rolled her eyes as she listened to the mother of Haven go on and on about Jesus. In the world she's lived in since birth it seemed very unlikely that there was a loving God up in the heavens somewhere looking out for humanity. Even though she'd been alive for less than two decades, she'd seen more misery and suffered more than most who have lived double that.

  Half way through the hour plus sermon, Amber completely tuned out Jeanine's voice. Instead, she focused on the open water all around them. She wondered where they were and where they were going. Then she spotted a dark blob in the water.

  Bored by Jeanine and curious about what was out there swimming around, she wandered away from the crowd towards the edge of the ship. Even then she wasn't close enough to get a good look. So when she saw a pair of binoculars just laying on the floor next to the edge she picked them up. It must have of been providence.

  Amber didn't know what she expected to see, but it wasn't an infected orca. The whale undead was chasing one of its uninfected kin. Just as the scene got too far away for her to see, even with the binoculars, the creature decided to cannibalize its relative.

  As Amber drifted off, Mack paid close attention to every word Jeanine said. He wanted to make sure that the residents of Haven were just very religious and not a cult, because as strong as he was, he wouldn't be able to fight a ship full of zealots.

  “Again we face a great flood. This time there are no great rains. There is no natural catastrophe. This is a flood of mans' own making! It was men who made the virus! It was men who released it! It was men who thought they could play God!” Jeanine had a wild look in her eyes as she ventured into wrath of God territory.

  “All of us here are the chosen few. We are the future of mankind. Here on this great ark we continue our voyage that rivals Moses himself. I can assure every last one of you that when this storm finally passes, we'll be the ones building a better world. No matter what we have to do. That is God's will...”

  Mack looked down at his arm. The needle mark was long gone, but the dry blood was still there. No matter what, huh?

  “That is our will!” said Jeanine and the entire congregation in unison.

  “Before we get to our daily duties, let's read a passage from Psalms...” Jeanine instructed the congregation to open up their bibles and read aloud with her. That was about the time that Mack had heard enough.

  He looked behind him in order to make sure that Amber was still there. She wasn't. He didn't panic but he was anxious to find her.

  Where'd you go, girlie girl? Mack didn't have to look for long. Amber stood near the edge of the deck with a pair of binoculars, looking out at the ocean.

  “What are you looking at?” he asked as he walked up to her. At first she couldn't hear him over the sound of recited bible verses.

  “Amber?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What ya looking at?”

  “Anything but that crazy lady up there.”

  Mack smiled. “She does lay it on a bit thick, doesn't she?”

  Amber turned to him. From her eye contact and voice, he could tell that she was being serious. “I got a really bad feeling about this place. Something's not right.”

  You and me both kiddo. “Wasn't coming here your and Stephanie's idea?”

  It was a rhetorical question. Amber knew it.

  “Yeah but that was before we know that these people were crazy bible thumpers.”

  “Fair enough. But we can't leave. Where are we going to go? Look around us. There's nothing but ocean open in every direction. We have to deal with it until this thing docks somewhere.” Mack tried to rationalize the situation. The truth was that he didn't want to admit to Amber that he too had a really bad feeling about Haven.

  “We need to be ready,” Amber said as she looked back out over the edge of the deck at the seemingly endless ocean.

  “I agree,” said Mack.

  Both of them watched the waves. Neither of them noticed that Stephanie was still watching Jeanine. She was interested.

  Chapter 6

  : Landfall

  The Jiangshi traveled across the Yellow Sea into the Pacific Ocean. From there it crossed the Banda and Arafura Sea. It briefly stopped in Indonesia and New Guinea for fuel and more food. Then it was on to Oz.

  Nestled in the Gulf of Carpentaria thirty miles from the northern coast was the Australian city of Borroloola. It wasn't a paradise but that wasn't the point. The city was isolated and it didn't host a large population. Combine that with the size of the country, the fact that it was an island, and the Phoenix base there, made it an ideal place to start anew. All they had to do was get there.

  Phoenix wasn't necessarily looking to build a new Shanghai in Northern Australia. Or at least not in Borroloola. It had a hot arid climate with a limited number of resources needed to start a new world. But it was a safe place to begin. In the end, that was what was most important.

  The sooner we get off this ship, the better. General Xin wasn't fond of being out on the ocean. He didn't get sea sick or anything like that. He just didn't like it.

  Xin stood on the inclined end of the Jiangshi deck. Originally it was designed to launch airplanes. Without any planes it was just a good place to be alone and look out upon the new world he was about to arrive in.

  The waters in the Gulf of Carpentaria were a beautiful turquoise. From the lighter color it was clear to the General that the water was shallow. That was why Captain Long insisted that they drop anchor and not move an inch closer to the beaches of Northern Australia.

  High above the slowly churning waters of the gulf, General Xin could see the shoreline. Despite being a little rough, the coast had plenty of places for him and his men to come ashore and unload their supplies. But they needed to get to it. The heat and daylight schemed to spoil those plans.

  Shanghai, where Xin was born and raised, got hot at times. During the summer especially it became a rough place to walk around o
utside. That said, it had nothing on Australia in November. The average was thirty degrees Celsius (eighty six degrees Fahrenheit). The day of their arrival wasn't an average day. A thermometer on the deck of the Jiangshi read forty six.

  Refusing to take off his uniform, even though there was no more People's Liberation Army, General Xin slowly roasted under a cloudless sky. He believed that it was important to keep up appearances. If he was going to lead the remains of the Phoenix Organization, than he should look the part.

  Is that them? It better be. And they better have a good excuse as to what took them so long. General Xin spotted the dingy containing the scouts he sent to make sure the shore was secure. He sent them five hours earlier.

  Xin walked down the sloped end of the Jiangshi. A short but strong and grizzled man waited for him. It was Captain Long. He had made it quite clear since the General gave him orders to leave Asia that he was not happy. Thing was, that didn't matter. Like any good military man, he followed orders issued to him from a higher ranked officer.

  “The scout team is on its way back. I need them back up on the Jiangshi as quick as possible so they can be debriefed. I need you to oversee the transport of supplies onto the beach.” General Xin spouted orders as soon as he got within earshot of Captain Long.

  “Sir, may I speak freely?”

  General Xin sighed. “Of course, Captain.”

  “Might I suggest that we wait until tomorrow morning before unloading onto the shore.”

  Captain Long, you are so predictable. Always the careful option. Look where careful has gotten us. No matter how safe we think we are, the creatures always find us. We will not run. We will not cower. We will not show fear. Never again.

  “While I appreciate your input Captain, I do not plan on spending another night on this ship. Neither will my men. Now, make sure those scouts get back on board and oversee the supply transport. That is an order.” General Xin walked away before Long had a chance to say anything.

  Unable to disobey a direct order, Captain Long walked away fuming. He did as General Xin said. The first thing he had to do was make sure the scout team got back aboard safely.

  It was a considerable distance from the water to the deck of the Jiangshi. A long rope ladder was the easiest and quickest way for sailors to get back on board. So Captain Long ordered one to be deployed.

  They had to fight the surf, but the scout team in the dingy managed to steady their raft and start climbing the ladder. Immediately Captain Long noticed something was wrong. There were only four, instead of the five scouts that Xin sent out.

  General Xin had the unnerving ability and habit of sneaking up behind people. One wouldn't know he was even there unless he spoke. He quietly watched the scout team climb onto the Jiangshi from behind Captain Long. And he didn’t like what he saw.

  “What took you so long? This was meant to be a two hour long reconnaissance mission. And where is your lieutenant?” asked General Xin.

  “We lost him shortly after landing, sir,” answered one of the members of the scout team.

  “You lost him?”

  “A snake, sir. It bit him minutes after landing. The snake was infected. We did what we had to do. Once he was dead we followed protocol and burnt the body and buried his remains. It took longer than we expected, sir.”

  So the virus has reached every corner of the planet. This is not unexpected, but still disappointing.

  “Understood soldier. What of the beach?”

  “It is safe, sir. Other than the infected wildlife, there are no infected humans within miles. We were not able to search the town, but we scanned and did not get any hits on thermals. The beach is clear.”

  “Good. We make for the shore.” General Xin walked away, rightly expecting his men to follow his command.

  ***

  The sun started to set before the move from the Jiangshi to the beaches of Borroloola began. And when it did get underway, progress was slow. There weren't many transportation options at Phoenix's disposal.

  With what little boats they had, the remnants of Phoenix made for the beach. General Xin was in the lead boat, alongside his number one, Dr. Ivanova. His crew kept their eyes on the water. The last thing any of them wanted was to get attacked by infected wildlife. They were all but helpless in that stretch of water.

  We need to move faster. They will catch up with us soon. I cannot let any of them know we are in danger. Unlike his men, General Xin's attention was not on the water. He knew where the real threat came from.

  Hours before the fall of Shanghai, the General received a call. Not only had no one called him on his satellite phone for months, but who was on the other end was unexpected.

  For years before the outbreak, Phoenix (which was then a corporation who developed and produced chemical weapons for countries across the world) and Galatea were competitors. They competed for military contracts and influence in the Asia, Africa and the Americas. It was a competition that Phoenix was winning.

  There were theories floating around among those in the know that Galatea released the nanite virus as a last ditch attempt to overtake their rivals. The idea was that they released a virus that only they had the cure for. Those theories were wrong. They didn't take into account a crazed CEO who thought he could build a better world.

  Wrong or right, the conspiracy theories about Galatea and the nanite virus persisted. Eventually they reached the ears of Phoenix, who joined a union of China, India, Russia and Japan against the growing hordes of infected. Together they fought against and destroyed Galatea bases across the continent.

  It didn't take long before Galatea was at war with the world. The thing was, they won. Crazy as he was, Ted Gorman was brilliant. Strategic placing of headquarters and virus delivery systems made them nearly impossible to destroy. Combine that with their unparalleled understanding of the nanite virus and formidable force of mercenaries and other armies for hire, and the world was faced with a seemingly insurmountable foe.

  A man who identified himself as Sebastian made General Xin an offer through their satellite phone conversation. It was simple really. Either Phoenix completely surrendered and got folded into Galatea, or he promised to burn their jewel, their crowning achievement, Shanghai, to the ground. The General refused.

  Though technically, General Xin ordered the Jiangshi to destroy Shanghai, it was only due to being overrun by infected. It appeared that Sebastian kept his promise to see the city razed. And the General knew that Galatea was unlikely to just let him and the remains of Phoenix go free. It was only a matter of time before they came for them.

  General Xin kept his eyes on the air and distant water. He wanted to spot Galatea before they attacked. It was an attack that he was sure was coming. That was why he insisted on unloading the Jiangshi as soon as possible. A battleship made for a convenient target, consolidating all of Phoenix in one place. How could anyone pass up the chance to take all of them out at once?

  Other than the sound of the surf, Xin heard nothing but the low hum of boat engines. It didn't feel right. Was it because he was so used to things going wrong that a smooth operation freaked him out? No, the General didn't “freak” out. He was as cool a customer as they come.

  Captain Long oversaw the unloading of cargo off the Jiangshi. By his estimation it was going to take a couple more trips back and forth from the beach. The sooner it was over the better. Then he could go back to his quarters and get a good night's sleep before informing the General that he was taking his crew and battleship as far away as possible. As far as he was concerned, Phoenix was just about over. There was no reason to stick around and watch it end.

  “Captain!” Long heard someone call him.

  When he turned to see who it was, Captain Long not only saw one of his men running up to him, but he also spotted light in the distant sky. And they were getting closer fast.

  “Sir, we got some hits on radar. Three planes are coming in, straight at us, sir.” Captain Long's subordinate was almost out of breath.


  “I know. Get some men on the FN-6's and Type 95's. Shoot those bastard down before they get any closer.” Captain Long gave the orders to man the anti aircraft missiles and guns, even though he knew it was futile. Judging from how high the oncoming planes were and how fast they approached, he figured they were fighter jets. Chances were they were too quick. If they got lucky and took one of them out with the missiles, two were more than enough to sink the undermanned ship.

  Long decided not to warn General Xin. What good would it do? It wouldn't stop the planes. It wouldn't save anyone. Instead he simply accepted what was coming.

  In the front pocket of his shirt, Captain Long kept a cigar. It was a gift from his daughter a little over a year before the outbreak. Apparently it was from Cuba, a real Havana stogie. He never smoked it. His little girl died shortly after the outbreak. He never smoked it. His wife got infected. He never smoked it. Shanghai fell. He never smoked it. Staring death bearing down on him from the sky at a fevered pace made him bite off the end and put it in his mouth.

  The Type 95 anti aircraft guns started firing. If one wanted to know how they sounded, all they would have to do is imagine cannons fired like machine guns. It was deafening. Captain Long didn't care. He was too busy looking in his pockets for his lighter.

  Next up were the FN-6 anti aircraft missile launchers. With a swoosh the explosive projectiles bore down on their targets. Bright flares were released from the fighter jets. They diverted the missiles and blew them up a safe distance from the planes.

  Captain Long lit his cigar.

  From the boats heading towards the beach, General Xin watched helplessly as the Jiangshi was assaulted from above. He watched as burning phosphorous lit up tracer rounds that tried to hit unseen fighter jets. They looked like living deadly dotted lines.

  Missiles exploded in the air. It happened too far away from General Xin for him to feel a blast wave, but he did see the water around him rippled in the opposite direction.

  “Who's... Why is someone attacking?” asked Dr. Ivanova who stood next to Xin. Her already fairly big almond shaped eyes were wide as saucers as she watched the light show in the air.