Evolution Z (Book 3): Stage Three

by Bourne, David

Ray nodded briefly. Just as he had expected. “Were the soldiers wearing uniforms?”

  „Of course they did. Mr. Thompson, what is the purpose of these questions? The communication window will soon close.” Dixon seemed stressed.

  “Last question: Did the people you sent ever have any direct contact with the undead?”

  The general seemed confused when he looked at the camera. “No, they did not. When should they have had any contact? As you very well know, we have been at sea since the outbreak of the plague.”

  “Thank you, General, that‘s all. We’ll be talking to each other, soon.”

  “Good luck, Mr. Thompson, Master Sergeant.” With a forced smile, Dixon bid farewell to the two men at Fort Weeks, and then the screen once again turned black. Ray really hoped Dixon would take his words seriously and that he would be able to speak with Abbadon next time.

  “When do you want to take off?” Pelletier asked.

  “I still have to talk to some people, but if everything goes smoothly, we can start tomorrow afternoon. The Vice President said I would get any support I wanted. Does this also apply to the composition of my team?”

  “I can give you a list of potential candidates who have already had several combat missions. Afghanistan, Iraq–the whole thing. These boys are well-trained for tasks like this.”

  “I appreciate that, Master Sergeant, but I think I‘ve have made my choice. I‘ll see you tomorrow.”

  22New Friends

  Valeria was the last to enter the natural ravine leading to the town. Duke’s group had to discard all their equipment, and each person was visually inspected to check for exterior signs of infection.

  Nobody complained. The demeanor of Valeria Martinez had certainly had its effect, and most of the new arrivals were too glad to reach safety to even think about resistance.

  Duke was the only one who was in a bad mood. He decided that he would privately talk to Valeria and take her to task for being so rude. Yet he could not help but be impressed by her appearance as he carefully studied her: She was about 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing maybe 120 pounds, and her short black hair was covered in dust. She was also equipped with two MP7 submachine guns, one on her arm, and one slung over her back. Duke had no doubts that she had already used them both several times in the past. She was a fighter, for sure and could have been an attractive woman–maybe even beautiful–if not for that eye patch over her left eye and the scar below it.

  Duke then focused on his surroundings. Behind the narrow pass there was a long canyon, as wide as a two-lane road, and at its end there was a huge gate set in the rocks. There were trails above the canyon for guards to patrol along. Duke noticed boulders had been strategically placed there, and in the event of an attack, these could be rolled down on the invading enemy below; and at intervals of a few yards there were also large metal oil drums. Clever idea. The wide canyon was ideal for pouring down combustible liquids and then setting them aflame. Purgatory on earth. Duke could not suppress an appreciative nod. Here and there he also saw manned machine gun emplacements. Many other effective features were still being constructed, but generally things seemed to be well organized and already in working order to defend against any enemy attack. This pass alone could be easily held for a long time.

  The gap in the mountain led about a hundred yards through the rocks, and at its end there was a robust black gate made of studded wood and metal. The group stopped short of it, after Valeria had given a hand signal. To the left of the gate was an entrance to a natural cave in the rock, and everyone was led inside, with some staring in surprise at the interior’s features. The cave was only partially natural and appeared to have been expanded a long time ago.

  A vault-like structure was at the end of the forty-yard cave that contained sturdy wooden cages. Everyone in the group suspected what would happen now, but no one raised an objection. Valeria stepped in front of the group and signaled for the newcomers to enter the cells, while she spoke:

  “Welcome to the prison ward of Sanctuary. You will be housed here until you have undergone the routine procedures. This means you will get medical attention in an adjacent room and will be given food. Afterwards, your qualifications will be recorded and you are then assigned to a work team. This is just a precautionary measure. Does anyone have questions?”

  Duke was about to lash out, when Danny fixed him with a knowing look. Duke decided not to say what he was thinking and left it to Danny to respond. Danny turned directly toward Valeria. “Excuse me, ma’am, but how long will we have to stay here?”

  Valeria smiled. She made sure all the survivors could hear her answer. “First, I can assure you that I am not a ‘ma’am’, and secondly I cannot give a definite answer to that. You will stay here until Mr. Krueger decides to release you. This will happen once the information gathering is over and you‘ve received your food.” The woman with the eye patch pointed at some men in the vicinity. “There are guards nearby, for your protection. If you need anything, let our people know. I hope you recognize that these measures are necessary. They protect the town population.”

  “That‘s all I wanted to know. Thanks,” Danny replied. Valeria nodded at him and left the cave. The guards stayed near the prisoners and did not let the newcomers out of their sight. Many of the exhausted members of Duke’s group had already collapsed on the makeshift mattresses and fallen into a deep sleep.

  Outside the cave, Valeria turned to the grey-haired man who had frisked Duke. “Richard? Would you please inform Mr. Krueger?” She squared her shoulders and nodded to the cultivated Englishman.

  “Gladly, Miss Valeria. Jenna, Toby, you come along.” A pretty girl with long, strawberry blonde hair and a young man obviously into grunge–judging from his Nirvana T-shirt–separated from the group of guards and hurried to Richard Fuller’s side. The three of them left the cave together, and the sound of the large gate opening could be heard.

  Meanwhile, Duke, Danny and Pam were having a conversation in the cells.

  “How does this bitch dare lock us up like this? Did we go through all this shit to end up in a fucking jail?” Duke hissed.

  “What would you do?” asked Danny. “Let anyone into the town without checking for the infection or contagious diseases? You should be more optimistic. After all, we made it here, and the place is not crawling with walking corpses.”

  Pam nodded. “I agree with Danny. No matter how stressful it was, we‘ve reached our goal–and sometimes it would be good for you to show a bit more restraint, Duke.”

  Duke snorted. “You mean I should just wait around and scratch my balls? And behave like all the other sheep?”

  “At least don’t poke every wasps’ nest. Particularly, if it carries two submachine guns and can talk.” Danny smiled at Duke, as if he could read his thoughts.

  “That damned bitch...” Duke replied and shook his head in frustration. Nevertheless, he understood and wanted to follow Danny’s piece of advice. Of course this compliance did not mean he would put up with everything, but he decided to wait and fit in at first. Basically, they had all gotten off lightly during their difficult journey. He exhaled and lay down on his mattress. Then he turned around and closed his eyes. Duke was about to give in to his exhaustion, when he felt a slender hand touch his. He opened his eyes again and looked into Jane Gerber’s pretty face.

  “I haven’t had the chance yet to thank you, Mr. Powell. What you‘ve done for all of was simply wonderful. You‘ve saved many lives and you‘re really a good person.” Duke noticed that he seemed to have a huge lump in his throat. He cleared his throat.

  “Think nothing of it, Mrs. Gerber–and please call me Duke.” She smiled again.

  “Okay, Duke, sleep well.”

  He turned around winked at Danny, who rolled his eyes, but left it at that. Unnoticed by everyone, a broad-shouldered boy sat with his back against the cage and angrily stared at Duke and the woman he had just talked to. He clenched his fists so hard that they hurt. Sam Gerber felt anger rising
inside him like never before.

  23Walter Krueger

  Inside the cave it was peaceful and quit. The newcomers were allowed to sleep in, which is what most of them desperately needed. Duke was lying face up on his mattress, with his hands folded behind his head. Now and then he cast a furtive glance to the left and watched Jane as she slept. Then he pushed his raunchy thoughts aside and tried to concentrate on something completely different. Don’t get distracted–it’s not the first well-stacked body you’ve seen in your life. Luckily, at that moment some noise could be heard at the cave entrance, and then the gate was opened. Valeria Martinez, Richard Fuller and another man stepped inside and walked toward the cages. The man was around the same age as Fuller and like him, he appeared to be in good physical shape. He wore sturdy shoes, a beige work shirt, a long duster coat and a grey scarf. An enormous grey walrus mustache dominated his weather-beaten face. With his right hand he held a Winchester rifle.

  Duke saw the other two were talking to him and occasionally glanced at the cells. When the man had apparently heard enough, he went straight toward Duke. He leaned his rifle against the wall and stepped up to the cage.

  “Hi there, Mr....?” The man greeted him by holding out his hand into the cage. Duke looked at the hand and recalled yesterday’s conversation with Danny and Pam. He grasped the hand in a handshake.

  “Powell, Duke Powell.”

  “My name is Walter Krueger. I‘m something like the mayor here, so to speak. I heard you‘re the spokesperson for the newcomers.” Krueger had a firm grip and rough hands. I’m pretty sure he didn‘t have a desk job before the catastrophe. He looked at Duke without moving his eyes a fraction of an inch. Duke was familiar with these types. Many people felt uncomfortable being stared like this, but he could stand it. Krueger began speaking again.

  “Would you accompany me on a tour of the town, while my people take care of the rest of your group?”

  “What‘s going to happen to them here?” Duke asked and cast a sideward glance at Danny and Pam.

  “Val should‘ve already explained that to you. All newcomers are examined and receive medical attention. Afterwards, they get food and something to drink. When this is done, their data is entered into a kind of population register of the town. We do have to plan for the supplies and services that are needed in our town. ”

  “Is this all that‘s going to happen to them?” Duke asked skeptically.

  “No–not completely. We‘re also checking their particular skill qualifications. In Sanctuary we offer refuge and protection to all survivors, but at the same time we expect everyone to contribute to the smooth functioning of the town. What this means is that everyone is assigned a job or specific duties to perform.”

  “What kind of duties?”

  “I quite understand your curiosity, Mr. Powell. I think that at the end of our little walk you‘ll have a much clearer impression. Shall we go?”

  “It would be a pleasure, Mr. Krueger,” Duke answered, and he wasn’t even lying. He took one last look at Danny, Pam and Jane before he joined Krueger, who was already opening his cell door. Danny seemed relaxed because no one from the newcomer group really expected that anything bad would happen to them. Even if this were the case, in their current situation none of them could have prevented it from occurring

  Duke left the cells and went with Walter Krueger. At first, Krueger led him to the exit of the large cave, without saying a word. Duke still had no idea about the layout of the town, but he was very curious about what he would see beyond the heavy gate. When they reached the entrance, Krueger signaled for the armed guard to open the gate to Sanctuary.

  24Operation Pegasus

  Ray quickly developed a specific idea about the team he was assembling and was supposed to accompany him to Sanctuary. That afternoon, he visited Screw in his workshop hangar. The tall black man was currently working on his latest project, repairing a Bell UH-1H helicopter.

  “How‘s your baby doing?” Ray asked cheerfully.

  “See for yourself,” said Screw with a grin as he got into the pilot seat. When he started the engine, noise filled the hangar and the rotors started to spin. Screw grinned in an exaggerated fashion from the cockpit and raised his right thumb. Ray thought he looked like an inmate from a state mental hospital who just had been told that today’s dose of happy pills would be doubled.

  “WOOOHOOOO!” Screw laughed gleefully from the helicopter.

  Ray’s clothing was flapping around in the wind created by the rotors. Some tools fell on the ground.

  “Turn it off, Screw!” Ray yelled to be heard over the noise.

  Screw looked out the copter window and was surprised to see that he was about to demolish half of the hangar. He quickly stopped the rotors and got out.

  “Sorry, Captain–everything okay with you? Looks like I let things get out of control here.”

  “Don’t worry, it’s alright,” Ray answered. Even though Screw was basically a levelheaded guy, his enthusiasm for anything mechanical was endless. Ray needed someone just like that.

  “Awesome work, Screw. And the timing could not be better.”

  “What do you mean, Ray?”

  “I have to fly to another mission tomorrow, and the Bell is much more suited for it than the Little Bird.”

  “If you bring it back in one piece, you can have it,” Screw said with a smile.

  Ray admired people who could refrain from intrusive questions in such a situation. Almost everybody else would have asked for details of the mission—location, target, duration–but not Screw. Even though he had not known him for a long time, Ray new that this man was extremely loyal and trustworthy. Therefore, he did not hesitate to share his plans with him.

  “You can take care of the Bell yourself,” Ray said. “I‘d be more than glad if you could come with me.”

  Screw’s raised eyebrows and his surprised expression made Ray smile. Then he told him the whole story about Sanctuary. When he was done, he looked at Screw expectantly.

  “So it looks like you need a bit of divine assistance, eh?” Screw asked and patted the cross hanging around his neck.

  “He‘s welcome to join us, too,” Ray replied with a smile, but then got serious. “I want to be totally honest with you, Screw. I don’t know who or what is expecting us there. I would completely understand if you decide to stay here.”

  “God does what he wants, and man does what he can, Ray. I‘m going to accompany you.”

  Ray felt a surge of relief, realizing just how important it had been to him, to receive this answer from his mechanic friend. Ray was anything but religious, but Screw had an aura around him that made you fell protected when you were near him.

  “Thanks, Screw. I‘ll see you later.” Ray had now three quarters of his team taken care of. Now there was only one person missing.

  Ray found the woman after a lengthy search in the tent city inside Fort Weeks. She was trying to light a campfire in front of her tent. The kindling was already burning, and she was adding larger logs, when she saw Ray.

  “Well, the Captain himself–what a nice coincidence,” she said with a smile.

  Ray immediately noticed her incredibly well-trained body and felt a definite stirring in his nether regions. Her narrow hips gave her a slender appearance, and the muscles on arms and legs were clearly visible below her skintight clothing. Ray wondered whether she had previously been a professional athlete–or maybe a female assassin, considering the precision with which she handled the sniper rifle. According to witnesses, she had eliminated the alpha zombie that little Sarah Mitchell had turned into with a single, well-aimed shot from a hundred yards away and saved Dr. Margaret Pelletier’s life. Plus, Ray had also learned from Chris that this woman had fought extremely well during the rest of the battle. An amazon.

  Ray grinned. “To be honest, ma’am, it wasn’t really a coincidence. May I sit down here?”

  The woman rolled her eyes. “Only if you stop calling me ma’am. My name is Nika.�
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  Ray nodded. “Ray Thompson–pleased to meet you. I‘d like to have a brief talk with you.”

  “If you promise to keep your hands to yourself, you‘re welcome to do that.”

  Ray was shocked for a moment and wondered if she had read his mind.

  “Don’t worry. Yesterday I saw how you treat unwelcome visitors,” he replied. “That is also the reason why I’m here, and I didn‘t properly thank you for all you‘ve done. Please let me do that now.”

  “Never mind. We’re all on the same team, and yesterday you made a far more important contribution to winning the battle.”

  Ray just nodded. Nika was alluding to his daredevil helicopter mission which had probably turned the tide of the battle, but Ray was not here to talk about himself.

  “Unlike me, you seem to have a lot of experience with weapons,” he said.

  Nika looked at him askance, while she stirred the fire with a stick. “Is that so important?”

  Ray had the impression he had touched a sore spot, so he did not give a direct answer. Instead, he tried a different approach.

  “Are you alone here in Fort Weeks? What about your family?”

  Now Nika gave him an annoyed look. “What is this–‘Twenty Questions with Ray’?”

  “Sorry,” Ray replied. “I like to be curious.”

  “No reason to apologize. I just don’t like to tell stories.”

  “Too bad, because I love to hear stories. I have a suggestion: How about if I tell you something interesting first? And then it’s your turn. A story for a story, so to speak. ”

  Nika ran her hand through her long, black locks and rolled her eyes again. “Sounds like an evening program in a vacation camp.”

  Ray looked around and pointed at all the tents near them. “Somehow this seems to fit, I‘d say. So, if you want to play bingo or go to a dance in the next town, I won’t keep you.”

  “Okay,” Nika replied with a sigh. “What the hell.”