by Brad Knight
Look at her. She is panicking. How did this woman become in charge of this place?
“I do not know much about them. They were there in Shanghai before it fell, and it seemed like they led the infected. It was a coordinated attack.”
“So these things are smart?”
“They rode other infected into battle. They organized an assault on the walled city and succeeded. So yes, I think it is safe to assume that they are smart, and very dangerous. If they choose to attack this base, they will succeed. But there is something we can do to avoid that.”
“Which is what?”
“Do not shoot at them or present ourselves as any kind of threat. I think that is why they didn't kill me at the wreckage. I was unarmed and not a threat.”
“So they did kill the rest of the team? I figured as much. Okay well I'll inform everyone not to fire at any of the...” As if on cue, Mrs. Meesang and General Xin heard gunshots.
Without another word, they rushed out of the infirmary and tried to figure out what happened. They hoped that it was an accident. The last thing they wanted to discover was that someone shot at an Alpha or any of the other infected.
What General Xin and Mrs. Meesang discovered was that an overzealous, or perhaps nervous, guard in one of the towers couldn't help but shoot an infected that wandered away from the rest. As if that wasn't bad enough, it didn't go unnoticed. The Alphas saw the whole thing and that was also when those at Borroloola Base discovered that there were more than one of the creatures.
“They're not attacking. Maybe they'll let that pass,” suggested Meesang.
“Put everyone able to fight on our defenses. And do it now. We probably do not have much time.” General Xin found himself falling back into the role he born to, a leader. There was no resistance from Mrs. Meesang. She knew when she was beyond her depth.
“You heard him. Everyone who can hold and use a gun need to take up positions at the fences and towers. The old, the sick and the kids meet with me in the cafeteria. We'll figure out how to get away if necessary. Now, people!” Mrs. Meesang basically echoed General Xin's commands.
For the rest of the day, denizens of the Phoenix Borroloola Base prepared for the fight they were sure was coming. As they set up extra impromptu defenses and schemed an escape route they ignored the danger within. There was an unknowing and willing wolf in the flock.
Chapter 14
: Fate
The night was long, cold and miserably wet for Stephanie, Mack and Amber as they floated southward towards Northern Australia. There was no fighting it. They went wherever the current took them.
That sounds like waves breaking. Mack snapped out of the fatigued trance that he and his two gals were in for the previous few hours. None of them could sleep, so instead they just rested. In order to stop themselves from drifting away from each other they managed to tie the straps of their life vests together.
There was indeed the sound of breaking waves. That was because the beach was only a mile or so away. Apart from Mack, the other two couldn't see it, but just the sound was comforting.
Out in front of him, Mack's enhanced eyes saw sparse tree cover, under which were rocks. From the way they were stacked it was likely that it was man made. Nestled in the trees was a small house.
“Okay, hang on,” said Mack right before he started swimming towards the house on the beach. Stephanie and Amber were both very rudely snapped out of their strange adrift state. Suddenly they were on the move, powered by the big man's labors.
Dragging two people with him it took Mack a little longer than he would have wanted to get to the outcroppings of rocks. Once there he unstrapped himself from Stephanie and Amber.
The rocks were slippery and uninviting. All the light they had to assist them was from a full moon. They needed Mack's guidance to avoid a sprained ankle, or worse.
This actually could have been kind of nice. It's pretty big. Mack took a moment to look over the beach house. Then he turned and looked back at the water. Nice view.
The mood in the modest beach house was a bit down. It was mostly due to fatigue, thirst, and hunger. An undercurrent of hopelessness was definitely there though. Every time they thought they found some peace, it always seemed to end with death and flames.
One downside of living on or just off the beach was the sand. The winds carried the grains onto and inside anything within range. Especially when your door hung on by only one of its hinges, and all your windows were blown out.
The furniture that still had some padding and cushion left were the only real options in which to spend the night. Stephanie and Amber cleaned off as much sand and rodent droppings as they could before laying down. After what they've been through, they needed some rest.
Mack stayed awake. He managed to climb up on the rickety rotting roof. His aim was to survey the area and see any threats coming long before they reached them.
Whoever lived here must've loved their peace and quiet. Mack didn't see any other homes or even buildings. There wasn't even a road. All that he could see was a sporadic spread of skinny sad looking trees and open space.
He heard something, and the direction it came from worried him. It came from the skies.
Mack was easily able to locate the source of the sound. He looked and saw something plummet towards the earth. It was much bigger than a helicopter.
Is that a fucking plane? Mack tracked the falling object in the sky until it fell out of view. He felt and heard it impact with the ground. He didn't know for sure, but the crash site seemed like it was at least twenty miles or so away.
Mack climbed down and went into the sandy abandoned beach house. All that was left for him to get some sleep on was a recliner that most likely was infested by some manner of tiny biting bugs. Still, he needed rest. In the morning he would set off to explore their new continent.
Luckily the reclining mechanism in Mack's chair worked. He leaned back and looked at a hole in the roof of the beach house. Through it he could see the stars. It was a porthole to the cosmos.
Somewhere out there, things are more peaceful. Somewhere there's someone looking at the stars and wondering who is looking back. Hopefully they got better luck than us. Mack slowly drifted away with thoughts of better worlds.
***
Mack saw nothing but red. It was the back of his eyelids. He opened his eyes and found himself bathed in warm sunlight.
His whole body was sore as he got out of the recliner. He could hear some cracks as he stretched his back and let out a man sized yawn. It felt good.
He looked around but Stephanie and Amber weren't on the couch. Normally he would have panicked, but he smelt something unmistakable: cooking meat.
After going outside, he saw Stephanie sitting on a tree stump in front of a small fire pit. There was a grate over the fire and on it were some fish and what looked to be a pot of coffee.
“Looks who's up,” she said as Mack ambled towards her. Not one hundred percent awake, he just grunted in response.
Mack sat down on a stump right across the fire pit from her. He looked around and saw Amber was near the water's edge.
“Where'd you get the fish?” he asked as Stephanie poured him some coffee.
“Amber caught them.” She handed Mack a cup of brew.
Really? “Hmm.”
“I cleaned them too!” Amber came running over, excited to impress him. She succeeded in doing so.
“You caught and cleaned these? That's pretty awesome.”
“I learned how to do it from a book. Never thought I'd actually do it.” Amber looked over at a bloody spot on the beach nearby. There were some oddly colored fish organs. “I didn't quite get it right the first time. Whatever. Mucking up is the best way to learn.”
“Not the way I would put it, but yeah.” Mack took another sip of his coffee.
“It's nice here,” said Stephanie as she looked past Mack and out towards the sapphire waters. “I would have half a mind to just stay here.” Mack nodded and St
ephanie continued. “We all could. It seems safe enough. I haven't seen or heard any of those creatures since we got here.” Stephanie was right. The previous night in the beach house was indeed quiet.
Mack wasn't as optimistic. “Just because we didn't hear any doesn't mean they weren't there. It's just a matter of time before we have to deal with them again.” The fact that the rest of his life would be on the move was accepted. It was reality. Dreams of settling down wasn't. But he kept that to himself. There was no need to pop her balloon, especially first thing in the morning.
“I speared them!” Amber was still psyched about the fish.
“Where'd you get the spear?” he asked.
“She got it from the trees over there,” Stephanie said. “I should know. Was woken up by her hacking away at one.” She pointed over towards a nearby crop of trees.
Amber shrugged. “I needed a spear.”
“You should keep it,” said Mack as he stood up. “Might come in handy later.”
“Where you going? The fish is almost done.” Stephanie watched Mack stand and wipe sand off the seat of his pants. She felt a sting on her arm and instinctively slapped. When she lifted up her hand she saw the smashed bug underneath.
“I need to drain the ole snake.” Mack smiled as he informed them of his need to urinate. Appropriately they were both grossed out. He laughed as he walked towards the trees.
Mack relieved himself on some kind of tropical plant. He leaned back and yawned. As he zipped up he looked out into what looked like a wasteland. Nothing but dry sandy land lay ahead.
He was about to head back when he heard something. It was faint, and could have been easily missed. Something was speaking to him.
Mack had heard the electronic language before. Back on Haven, an Alpha had him at its mercy, and from inside the creature nanites communicated with his own little machines. What they said was beyond him. He was really just their host. But this time, his nanites didn't talk back.
Out the corner of his vision, Mack spotted something sliver by. In the blink of an eye, he knelt down and snatched it out of the sand.
In his hand, Mack held a snake. From it's appearance it was hard to tell that it was infected. He knew a meat puppet when he saw it. It took little effort for him to pull it's head clean off.
He hadn't even considered the possibility of meat puppet snakes. It got him thinking as he walked back to Stephanie and Amber on the beach. If snakes could get infected then why not lizards and bugs? That danger had to be added to the long list of concerns that he felt burdened with.
We should move, take advantage of the daylight. I can see in the dark but they can't. And I don't want one of these creepy crawlers to sneak up on us. As nice as the beach house was, it had one major vulnerability. The most beautiful part of the property, the water, also presented opportunities for them to get pressed into a corner with nowhere to go.
“So... does anyone know where we're going?” asked Amber as Mack rejoined them at the tree stumps and fire pit.
“We're probably somewhere on the Gulf of Carpentaria,” Stephanie guessed.
Mack and Amber both looked at each other, then at Stephanie. She shrugged. “When I was on the ship with Jeanine and her crazies they talked about this place. Apparently this is where they were heading. They called it a new Jerusalem or something like that. I don't know. I feel kind of sick. I think I'm gonna go back inside and lay down for a little while.”
“Sick in the morning?” Amber elbowed Mack who stood next to her. “Morning sickness? Eh? Eeeeehhhhh?”
Mack walked over to the makeshift grill and grabbed some of the fish. “Shut up and finish eating. We need to start moving. Be ready to go in an hour.”
***
“Ready to go?” he asked as he got his stuff together. That was when Mack looked around and realized that he spoke to no one. “Amber!? Stephanie!? You gals ready? We need to get going.”
Amber emerged from the beach house. The look on her face worried him. It was a mix of sadness and surprise. An overwhelming sense of dread took prominence in his gut.
“What's wrong? Where's Stephanie?” he asked. He finished tying a satchel around his shoulder he made from scraps in the beach house.
“I don't… I think she's infected.” Amber looked down at the sand when she broke the news.
“Let me see her. She's probably just sick.” Mack walked past Amber towards the house. The teen wanted to stop him to spare him the painful sight, but she was still too shocked herself to do anything about it.
“Stephanie?” He entered the beach house hesitantly. Stephanie lay on a couch in one of the few rooms. All it took was one look and he knew she was done for.
Her skin was pale and covered in sweat. Underneath it were visible black veins. Her breathing was rapid. Both of her eyes were closed and her face was grimaced. It looked like she was fighting a losing battle.
Shit. I can't just leave her here to die and turn. After everything we've been through together, she deserves to go quickly, quietly and not alone.
“Can you help her?” Amber poked her head inside the beach house.
“Out! Now! And don't come back in!” yelled Mack. From his tone, Amber knew he was serious. He didn't want her seeing what was coming next.
Stephanie's eyes opened. They were clouded over. She had seconds left before all humanity slipped away into a ravenous frenzy. In those last seconds she took out the machete from Haven's armory. There wasn't enough left in her to give it to him. Instead she just kind of dropped it in front of him.
Mack picked up the large blade. He knelt over and caressed Stephanie's hair. His forehead was pressed against hers.
“Don't worry. It'll all be over soon. You'll see Simon again. Me and Amber will be fine,” Mack whispered with his forehead still against hers and the machete raised.
He kissed Stephanie once, closed her eyes and stood up slowly. The idea was to behead her in one swing. With a sharp enough blade combined with his strength, it should've been easy. Unfortunately the blade was dull and took a couple of blows. It was still the kindest thing he could have done for her.
A lot of things had died by Mack's hand at that point. Most of them were infected, and those that weren't were trying to kill him or Amber. Killing Stephanie, putting her out of her misery, made him sick. He threw up all over the sandy beach house floor.
Once he was able, Mack cleared his head. He had to focus on the task ahead of him. He had to keep Amber safe.
The only explanation as to how Stephanie got infected were insects. If they carried the virus it wasn't hard to believe that she got bit by one. They were all over the place. So he had to find a way to keep them away from Amber.
It only took a little time to search the remains of the beach house. Mack did his best not to look at Stephanie's remains as he did so. Lucky for him, at the end of the world no one thinks to look for bug spray. There were three whole cans of it under the sink.
“Is she…?” Amber waited outside. She tried to wipe away her tears and snot to look tougher. But she couldn't stop them from coming. That was okay. If he were still able, Mack would've too. When he exited the beach house and saw her standing there he was reminded of how vulnerable she was. Sure her exterior was all rocks but inside she was still just a teenage girl.
Mack dropped the machete on the sand. He hugged her. She sobbed into his shoulder. He didn't shed a single tear.
This is reality. This is how the world is. I really wish it wasn't.
“It was quick,” he consoled. “She didn't feel a thing.”
That was a lie. But it was the good kind. The kind that spares pain, not causes it.
Chapter 15
: Extinguished
General Xin stood atop the highest roof in the Borroloola Base next to Mrs. Meesang. As he watched the numbers of infected all around them swell, he thought about what led him to that very point in time. He thought about all the mistakes.
It was all for nothing. Shanghai, Borroloola,
Phoenix... all just wastes of time. This is the only way it could have ended. General Xin was a well respected military mind, which is why he knew the situation that faced him and the remains of the Phoenix Corporation were doomed. There weren't enough men, guns or bullets to last very long. As soon as the infected made their first move, they were done for.
As General Xin looked at the endless pairs of glowing red eyes that surrounded the base in the night, he thought about what a Phoenix was. Chinese mythology had something similar to the legendary bird called the Fenghuang. But that wasn't what the company was named after. It's namesake was one mired in flames and resurrection.
The Phoenix legend changes from culture to culture, but they all have certain aspects in common. They involve a great bird colored by brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow. Sometimes the end of it's feathers are always aflame. At some point the phoenix dies and is burnt to ash. From those ashes an even more majestic version arose.
Xin thought about the Phoenix legend because for awhile he thought it was apropos. When the world fell to Galatea's nanite virus, Phoenix rose up out of desperation and cooperation. When Shanghai fell, he survived and so did the company. The question was: How many times could the Phoenix rise? And what if there wasn't even ash left to rise from?
“General!” Xin heard someone with a Russian accent. It was Dr. Ivanova. He honestly forgot that she was even there. Her mystery box from the beach couldn't have been pushed further back into his mind. It was categorized as completely irrelevant.
“Doctor?” asked General Xin. He didn't even do her the courtesy of turning around. His impending doom was much more compelling. At least until he heard what she had to say.
“We've weaponized it!” Dr. Ivanova was very excited.
“Weaponized what?” asked Mrs. Meesang. General Xin may have been indifferent but the leader of the Phoenix Borroloola Base wasn't quite as ready to accept that it was the end. Even the slightest hint of hope and she was all ears.
