by SD Tanner
‘Whatdaya think’s goin’ on,’ Pax shouted over the noise of the weapons.
‘Dunno,’ Gears shouted back. ‘But our enemy likes to fuck with us.’
His cynical observation was immediately followed hunters exploding into action and they launched themselves across the small divide between them and the convoy, landing heavily onto the vehicles. Now frantic, shooters fired ceaselessly into the crowding hunters, but they were falling under the attack. Once bitten, shooters were instantly reborn as hunters and they attacked the living person next them. Drivers and riders of the less armored vehicles were immediately lost with the weight and fury of hunters driving through their windows. Hunters wrenched the shooters through the broken windows, tore into them with relentless teeth and the shooters were instantly turned into newly born hunters.
The situation deteriorated rapidly, one thousand armed combat shooters were no match for three hundred thousand hunters. It was not a fair engagement and it couldn’t last long. Crouched on the roof of a Stryker, Pax was shooting steadily at the hunters around his vehicle and calmly pacing himself. As he concentrated on making every bullet count, his face was impassive. Pausing to reload, a hunter launched at him from behind, knocked him to his knees and bit deeply into his neck. Instantly reborn a hunter, Pax stood up and attacked the shooter next to him. From the top of another Stryker, Captain Ted watched Pax die and be reborn. Aiming his M4A1, he shot Pax through the head, watching him fall before resuming his aim on the teeming hunters around him.
From the top of a truck, TL was firing continuously into the crowd of hunters. Like his brother, he was calm and steady and nothing about his manner indicated he was concerned about his impending death. He aimed, fired and took aim again, but there was a sudden surge of hunters from all sides of the truck he was standing on. Disappearing under the surging crowd of hunters, his vehicle was consumed until the truck bucked and exploded. From within the truck, someone must have fired an armament and the explosion kicked the bodies away. The truck caught fire and the still moving hunters caught fire with it. Oblivious to pain, the burning hunters ran wildly into the surrounding vehicles, setting shooters alight as they attacked them. The shooters burned and became newly born hunters, now oblivious to pain as they continued to attack the last of the living.
The heavily armored vehicles leading the convoy were still trying to push forward through the never-ending horde of hunters. The bodies of hunters were forming a pile in front of the vehicles and creating a seven-foot high wall blocking the vehicles from moving forward. The shooters trapped inside the armored vehicles continued to fire while their vehicles were gradually being buried under the bodies of hunters. The bodies were crushed under the ever-increasing weight of the bodies above them and were compressed into the air vents, cameras and gun barrels. The oozing black fluid clogged every crack and the vehicles lost airflow, while the shooters trapped inside the armored vehicles slowly suffocated.
On top of a Stryker near the front of the convoy, Gears was crouched and firing his M4A1. Being so heavily surrounded by hunters, Ip couldn’t get to the ground without being crushed. She was moving around the roof of the Stryker, killing hunters and their corpses were piling up around the vehicle. Using their dead hunter brothers like a ladder made of limbs the hunters were climbing onto the roof. As Ip killed a hunter that scrambled to get onto the roof, without warning, a stray bullet ripped open the back of her skull. If Gears saw her die, he didn’t react, but continued to steadily fire into the crowd of hunters surrounding him.
Nelson punched open the door to the armored vehicle and he, along with the shooters, came out firing. Captain Ted joined him and together they fired until they were out of ammo. Dropping his gun, Captain Ted pulled out his KABAR. A hunter launched for his throat, grabbing and twisting the hunter’s head, he exposed its neck and slashed deeply, severing its spinal cord. The hunter dropped from his grasp and three more hunters leapt on his exposed back making him fall forward under their weight. As Captain Ted died, Nelson was attacked by another three hunters and collapsing under the assault, he died within seconds of Captain Ted.
Gears was the last man standing. Now out of ammo, he stood up on top of the Stryker and surveyed the battlefield. It was a scene straight from hell. Too few people were left alive to scream and all that could be heard was the growling of the hunters and the occasional burst of gunfire. Stretched before him was a sea of manic movement. He calmly dropped his M4A1, pulled two grenades from his tactical vest and as a cluster of hunters scrambled onto the roof of the Stryker, he exploded. Within moments the entire convoy was swarmed by hunters until other than the birds still circling, there was no evidence humans were ever present.
From the air, Hatch looked down at the hellish vision and shouted, ‘Fire at will!’
Before he and the other pilots could get off a single missile, there was an eruption of energy below them and all that could be seen was the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion. In that one flash, all hunters and humans alike were dead.
***
Mackenzie sat upright in the test room at the CDC. Sweat poured down his face and his t-shirt was drenched. Looking around wildly, he grunted and his body was visibly shaking. He suddenly stopped moving and blinked rapidly as if something was blurring his vision.
Placing his large hand on Mackenzie’s shoulder, Gears said gently, ‘Take it easy, son. You’re somewhere safe.’
Lydia took Mackenzie’s hand and feeling for his pulse, she said, ‘I don’t think he can hear you. His heart rate is extremely high. We think he’s having seizures.’
With no obvious concern for Mackenzie’s welfare, Farrington said, ‘During these seizures, his brain activity is elevated to levels we’ve never seen before.’
Ip walked over and sat next to Mackenzie. Chirping softly to him, she took his hand, Mackenzie appeared to calm down, his breathing settled and he leaned back in the chair looking dazed.
With genuine concern, TL asked, ‘Has he spoken at all?’
‘Not to us,’ Lydia replied plainly. ‘Sometimes he seems to be talking to people who aren’t there. It’s like he’s living in another world.’
TL peered at Mackenzie who was now muttering to himself and asked, ‘Is he dreaming?’
Excited, Farrington said fussily, ‘Yes! Yes! We’ve scanned his brain during the seizures and his subconscious mind is working hard. It’s possible he’s in a dream state and not having seizures at all.’
Pax asked, ‘Ya mean like when ya sleep eat?’
‘Sleep eat?’ TL repeated, sounding confused.
Nodding, Lydia explained, ‘When we sleep the body releases a chemical to paralyze our bodies to stop us from acting out our dreams. Otherwise, if we dream we’re doing something, we might actually do it. In some people, they don’t release enough of the chemical to stop them from acting out their dreams and they do what they’re dreaming about.’
Turning to Pax, Lydia added, ‘Personally I don’t think Mackenzie is dreaming. I think he’s awake and thinks he’s seeing people and places that aren’t there.’
‘Why would he be doing that?’ TL asked curiously.
‘I don’t know,’ Lydia replied candidly. ‘He seems to be making up different worlds with different people in them and he believes that’s where he is.’
Gears asked, ‘What does that mean? Is he crazy?’
‘I don’t know,’ Lydia replied. ‘But I do know he’s not able to function.’
‘Shit,’ Gears said dourly. ‘Ya broke him.’
Two months earlier Mackenzie agreed to be infected with the designer virus. The designer virus interacted with the human host to create a counter virus, which meant a person could kill a hunter just by touching it. Hunters were humans infected by a virus that invaded the human race in a single day and destroyed almost all of mankind. Initially humans became shamblers, but then some evolved into the hunters or super hunters. Although virtually blind in daylight, the hunter, while vibrating manically, would kill
, eat or infect any life. The super hunters could control the millions of hunters, turning them into a ruthlessly effective army of killers. The super hunters didn’t operate alone and they recently learned there was someone who went by the name of Ruler, who intended to use the hunters to take control of earth and evict the human race.
With his foster brothers, TL and Pax, Gears led their self-appointed mission to rid the land of hunters and restore order. It was always going to be a tough job, but the addition of the super hunters and now Ruler changed the dynamic for the worse. In an attempt to even the odds, people were agreeing to be infected by the designer virus. They hoped if they could at least kill the hunters, the super hunters would lack the army being used to destroy what little life was left. At the CDC, Mackenzie, Chris, Faye and the Major were the first to be infected by Lydia with the designer virus.
They learned about the designer virus when they found the CDC that created Ip. She was the most unique carrier of the counter virus and appeared to be both telepathic and able to read human minds. Ruler, like all hunters, was also telepathic and he found and targeted Ip repeatedly and yet, when he finally caught her, he refused to kill her. It seemed Ruler was intent on killing all four of them in one blow. After Ruler kidnapped Ip, they confronted him at the Ranch and she tore his throat out with her teeth.
The designer virus interacted with the DNA of the human host and the outcomes were unpredictable. The Major had been in a coma for several months now. Chris turned out to be more hunter than human and was kept strapped down to stop him attacking the staff, but for all their problems, they fared better than Faye who died within an hour of being infected.
Of the people who were infected, Mackenzie was the one they cared about the most and he was one of their young leaders. Gears, Pax and TL set up two bases on land, an island safe from the hunters for living and farming and they also had a cruise ship with a thousand people on it. Having gathered survivors from land and water, they now had over fifteen thousand people between all of their locations. On arrival at their bases, people were trained and over ten thousand people were able to scavenge and fight as combat shooters. Several months earlier, Ruler infiltrated and infected their island and they lost half the people living there. Over one thousand people were turned into hunters and in pursuing Ruler to rescue Ip, they lost a further twenty-three combat shooters.
Gears and Pax were convinced Ruler was not dead and would return and Gears now believed they needed two armies. A regular army made up of the combat shooters and another made up people infected by the designer virus. Given Mackenzie was trained as a combat shooter and a young leader, Gears hoped he could lead the army of infected people. Looking at Mackenzie now, it was clear he was in a very bad condition and unhappy with the outcome, Gears, Pax, TL and Lydia left Ip with Mackenzie and exited the room to talk in private.
Ip continued to hold Mackenzie’s hand and once everyone had left, Mackenzie tightened his grip on her hand and looked intently into her eyes. Being infected with the designer virus, Ip had blue eyes with no iris and a blue third eyelid. Based on scans, they learned the virus destroyed her language center and she was unable to speak. Anyone infected with the designer or the hunter virus were able to communicate telepathically and Ip did talk to others, but not in words.
She looked back at Mackenzie quizzically and he said, ‘We have to go.’
Mackenzie stood up and continuing to hold Ip’s hand, he led her out of the CDC, only stopping to take a Beretta M9 from a pack leaning against the wall at the entrance to the building. Outside there were several combat shooters lounging in the sun, watching as Mackenzie and Ip walked past them.
‘Hey Mackenzie,’ one of the shooters called. ‘How ya doin, man?’
Mackenzie didn’t reply and he and Ip continued to walk down the road, through a field, past an old farmhouse and then down a steep hill. Eventually they reached the bottom of the hill where there were craggy rocks and dips that smoothed out into an open field.
Walking behind Ip, Mackenzie pulled out the Beretta M9 and, pointing it at the back of her head, he said, ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve seen the futures and you have to die.’
With her eyes wide with shock, she turned to face him, but before she could fully turn, Mackenzie pulled the trigger and shot her point blank through the head, instantly severing her brain stem.
CHAPTER TWO: The British are coming (Philip)
The flotilla was led by a catamaran ferry that was once a beautiful white ship, but now after months at sea, it was weather-beaten, dirty and wrecked. On the ferry were over two thousand hungry, tired and desperate people, but anyone who survived the utter destruction of Europe was tough. The ferry sailed from Southampton, UK to Florida. On the long journey, they were attacked by pirates, fought to survive the weather, lacked supplies and been crammed so tightly together they could barely move.
Following the ferry was a flotilla of mismatched ships including three container ships, a cross channel ferry, a Royal Navy replenishment ship, some fifty fishing boats and a further two hundred small boats. All the boats carried some food and water, but the larger boats carried their extra supplies. In addition to fuel, the replenishment ship carried even more supplies. To make their way to Florida, the flotilla sailed for up to ten hours a day. At night, the small boats were tied to the larger boats and they would continue to move. In the mornings, the boats were refueled and resupplied with food and water. To minimize sailing on the open water, they took the shortest distance across the Atlantic Ocean, to Ireland, across to Newfoundland and followed the east coast down to Florida. In total, the flotilla sailed nearly 5,500 miles.
Philip was a short wiry man with dark hair, peppered with grey and a longish, thin face that retained a boyish air. Always active, he moved with small but precise movements and, if it were not for the undercurrent of aggression in his behavior, he might have been mistaken for fussy.
Before the virus hit the UK, Philip worked as a pilot for several airlines and as a long haul senior pilot, he was experienced at managing people in difficult and stressful situations. He managed the catamaran, with over two thousand people with relative ease, never betraying the stress he carried and keeping people calm when their lives were at risk. His self-control always cost him his marriages and when the virus hit, he was single again and looking for his next wife. He’d already been married three times and with the right woman, he would have married again. Since the virus took out the world, he missed pretty much everything other than paying his ex-wives their monthly payments for the privilege of having once been married to them.
‘How are we gonna find them?’ Dan asked.
He shrugged and said, ‘Just head down to the coordinates they gave us. They said they had an island.’
Looking anxious, Dan asked dubiously, ‘Do you think they’re still there? It’s been months since you spoke to them. I mean we’ve come all this way, lost hundreds of people, all for a ten minute conversation you had with some guy.’
‘Did you have a better plan?’ He asked mildly.
Dan reminded him of a big, friendly, over-enthusiastic, but anxious Labrador. Once overweight, he’d lost over 150 pounds, built considerable muscle and now looked like a well-sculpted body builder. In the ten months since the outbreak of the virus, Dan worked hard, hauling equipment and people around the boats. Standing next to Dan was Axel who was a short, squat, muscular man and was a Sergeant First Class in the British Army specializing in artillery.
Sniffing derisively, Axel said, ‘Give over, Dan. We’re ‘ere now. Worst is done with.’
Refusing to let go of the loss of so many people, Dan asked angrily, ‘At what cost, Axel?’
‘More of ‘em would be bleedin’ dead if we hadda stayed put. Why ‘ave you gotta whinge all the bloody time mate,’ Axel replied aggressively.
Between all the ships, they had about ten thousand people, but making it from the UK to Florida drained them of everything they brought with them. Now sailing for nearly six weeks,
they’d become a floating refugee camp. If the man he spoke to on the radio three months ago was no longer around or had exaggerated his situation, then they were in a lot of trouble. They suffered losses and with such a large flotilla, being less half a dozen ships hadn’t significantly reduced their numbers, but the people were exhausted. He didn’t think they would survive one more obstacle and he wasn’t sure he would either. He needed to get the people back onto land somewhere safe with food and water. Much as he once took the responsibilities of his airline passengers personally, he now felt the same way about the people in the flotilla. He stood on the deck, silently worrying while his two companions continued to bicker.
In his brief discussion with the American called Gears, he’d convinced him he had some sort of control over the situation with the hunters. Either he was right to believe the man or desperation had greatly impaired his judgement, but he sincerely hoped Gears was not just some lunatic with a radio. They were now twenty miles from the East Coast of the United States and 150 miles from where Gears said their island was.
Axel was standing at the helm, peering through his binoculars at the sea ahead and swore, ‘You gotta be fuckin’ jokin’.’
He put his own binoculars to his eyes, but couldn’t see anything on the horizon and confused, he asked, ‘What?’
Directing his line of vision, Axel showed him what he was swearing about this time. Sitting firmly in the water, partly obscured by the ebb and flow of the waves, he briefly saw the top of the metal structure.
Losing sight of the structure and then finding it again, he asked, ‘What is it?’
