by SD Tanner
Looking at the buildings on the mainland, Pax said, ‘Wish we could get into those warehouses. See what they got in ‘em.’
TL shook his head and said, ‘Without Ip we’ll need combat shooters for that.’
He thought they were going to have to get used to taking more risk and said, ‘Let’s go take a look at that warehouse.’
They drove back down the long stretch of road towards the enormous building. Pulling up outside the building and climbing out of the four-wheel drive, Captain Ted said, ‘I don’t think this is a warehouse.’
The building had no windows and multiple entrances, but on closer inspection, they didn’t look like loading bays. They walked around the building and realized it was a huge undercover docking area for submarines, which must have been used for maintenance and repair.
Disappointed, he said, ‘Let’s drive the site and see if we can find any warehouses with supplies.’
Driving inland again, they headed towards another cluster of buildings and once they were closer, they looked more like office blocks and engineering sites rather than anywhere they might find supplies. He sighed and decided there was nothing they could use and they’d need to bring in everything to get the site up and running.
‘Ya know, other than the spit of land, it ain’t got anything else to offer,’ he observed dourly.
‘True,’ TL replied. ‘Do you want me to keep looking?’
Shrugging, he said, ‘It’s close to our bases. We can secure it and it splits us across more sites, which we need to do. Havin’ us all in one place is a risk. If we get overrun, we’ll lose everyone.’
Optimistically, Captain Ted said, ‘I think we can make it work. We can supply it from the Naval base by sea.’
Cheerfully, Pax added, ‘And we can turn the office buildin’s into storage and build up supplies.’
Obviously, Captain Ted and Pax were willing to put the effort in to make the site work and he said, ‘Okay, let’s get the site cleared, but take it slow. I don’t wanna repeat of the island.’
Captain Ted was looking into the distance and asked, ‘What are those weird looking mounds over there?’
He looked into the distance and saw there were rows of grass covered mounds, each the size of a truck, about ten feet apart and with a large door at one end. With the grass that was growing over each mound, they looked like enormous unmarked graves.
Shrugging, he replied, ‘Dunno, but let’s check it out.’
They drove to the mounds and he saw there was about six rows of ten mounds, each identical and secured by large double doors at one end. Climbing out of the truck, they walked to the first of the mounds and saw it was locked tight with bolts and key locks. Taking his Beretta M9, Captain Ted shot the lock off the door. Pax stepped up with a crowbar and between the two men they heaved and levered the door open. Inside was a short flight of stairs and the room smelt musty, but it was dark, cool and dry. Shining a flashlight down the stairs, they could see racking and on the racking, were missiles.
‘What the hell is this?’ TL asked.
Captain Ted walked down the stairs playing his flashlight across the racks and said, ‘Must be for the subs.’
‘Do ya think they’re all full?’ he asked.
Pax said, ‘Could be, but it’s a lotta work to check ‘em all.’
Thinking that access to an arsenal like this might prove useful in the future, he said, ‘Question is whether we can use ‘em.’
TL was shining his flashlight down the full length of the bunker and said, ‘People could sleep in these bunkers. Might be useful if we can’t get enough containers here.’
He nodded and said, ‘We need to get engineers out here to take a look at these missiles. I wanna know if we can use ‘em.’
‘Some of these are nuclear missiles, Gears,’ TL observed. ‘Why would we ever need to use nukes?’
He didn’t know and said, ‘I’d hope never, but in this new world I dunno what’s gonna happen next. Pays to be prepared for anythin’.’
‘True story,’ Pax agreed.
They walked back out into the daylight and he wondered just how many weapons caches like this existed. In the past amassing weapons was a good idea and storing them in the US was common sense, but now the country was compromised and these weapons could easily fall into the hands of their enemies. At some point, they would need to find all the weapons caches and put them under their control, but that was a big job and a problem for another day.
Climbing back into the truck, they prepared to leave when he heard a rumbling noise. Looking through the mirror on the passenger side of the truck, he saw a horde of hunters. There were at least fifty hunters sprinting as a pack with their heads vibrating manically and as they drew close, he could hear their growls of rage.
Opening the passenger window, he jammed his M4A1 out and prepared to fire and Pax asked, ‘Where the fuck did they come from?’
Captain Ted reversed back onto the road and gunning the four-wheel drive inland, headed out of the base. The area was surrounded by marshland and there was only one road they could take to get out of the area, but it was also the only direction the hunters could run.
Pushing his own M4A1 out the window, TL shouted, ‘Why did we drive again?’
‘Road trip!’ Pax shouted.
‘It’s a team building thing,’ Captain Ted shouted back.
‘I think you and I have shared enough, Ted,’ TL shouted.
By now, hunters were converging on the four-wheel drive and it was no longer possible to hear one another over the noise of their gunfire. Captain Ted was picking up speed obviously hoping to outrun the hunters and he was, except now hunters were in front of the four-wheel drive and running towards them. To avoid critically damaging their vehicle, Captain Ted was swerving wildly to avoid running into the hunters and their shots were going wide and wild. Finally they cleared the road they’d driven down to get into the base and without braking, Captain Ted turned left onto the two-lane highway. Usually once hunters commenced an attack, they didn’t break off until they had their prey, but as if they didn’t dare leave the base, the hunters pulled back and they found themselves on an empty stretch of road.
Looking puzzled, Pax asked, ‘Why ain’t they followin’ us?’
He didn’t know and he said, ‘Dunno, but it’s daylight and there’s gotta be a super hunter in there and that’s gonna make clearin’ the base a bitch.’
Shaking his head, Pax said, ‘Damn I miss Ip. Isaac jus’ ain’t got her thrill for the kill. He musta missed one at the hotel on the island.’
They hadn’t spoken about what happened at the island and he figured it was too depressing to discuss. There hadn’t even been any bodies to bring back, so there were no funerals and only a memorial service, but it hadn’t seemed enough. He knew it upset everyone to know their fellow shooters, family members and survivors were now roaming the island as hunters.
Sighing, he said, ‘It wouldna helped if she hadda been there.’
Suddenly sounding frustrated, Pax said, ‘Bullshit, Gears! She would woulda identified that super hunter and we coulda killed it before it used the hunters to kill our shooters. And she would never have left a hunter alive in that hotel. The female shooter that got shot in the water was lucky to survive.’
Feeling a sudden spark of anger himself, he said, ‘Yeah, well Ip’s dead, Pax. Jus’ fuckin’ deal with it.’
Captain Ted slowed his speed and again they heard a noise from behind them, but this time it was the thumping sound of a Harley Davidson twin engine.
Turning awkwardly in the back seat, TL asked, ‘Another biker?’
Looking through his passenger side window, he saw the same rider and pillion they saw earlier that day. This time the motorcycle was travelling fast and it quickly overtook them. As before, the blonde woman was riding pillion and she waved at them as they rode by.
Seeming to forget about his earlier frustration, Pax asked, ‘Do ya think they’re followin’ us?’
/> Thinking Pax was being slow, he said, ‘Yeah dumbass. Why else would they still be on this road?’
TL suggested, ‘They’re probably heading to the Marine supply base and just checking that we’re friendlies.’
Shaking his head, Pax replied, ‘Nah, they knew that earlier when we didn’t try to kill ‘em.’
No longer interested in the motorcycle rider and his pillion, he shrugged and said, ‘People are weird. Who the hell knows what they’re doin.’
Captain Ted agreed and said, ‘We’ll catch up with them at the base.’
***
When they arrived back to the Marine supply base, he and Pax kept the four-wheel drive and continued on to the Naval base to meet with Nelson. They wanted to talk to him about setting up the Navy Submarine base. Nelson and Isaac shared a living container with four other people and their container had three sets of bunk beds, shower, toilet and kitchenette. It was cramped and as he and Pax walked in, their bulky presence made the container seem smaller. Isaac was sitting on one of the bunk beds and Nelson was at the small stove cooking their supper.
Greeting them both warmly, Nelson asked, ‘How was the Navy base?’
Grimacing, he answered, ‘Full of hunters and at least one super hunter.’
Sounding grim, Nelson replied, ‘That’s not good.’
He sat down on the bunk bed opposite Isaac and said, ‘No, it ain’t.’
Isaac was looking distracted and he wondered now Ip was dead, who he might be telepathically communicating with. Sighing heavily, he said, ‘Now Ip’s gone, I think it’s gonna be too dangerous to clear an island, so we’re gonna hafta find space for the survivors on the mainland.’
Immediately Isaac focused on him and said, ‘Ip’s not dead.’
Knowing Isaac was young and often didn’t understand things, he said kindly, ‘She died Isaac. We buried her at Brookhaven.’
Isaac looked at him blankly and repeated, ‘Ip’s not dead.’
Nelson walked over to them and handing him a coffee, he sat down next to Isaac and asked, ‘Why do you say that, Isaac?’
Looking at Nelson, Isaac smiled happily and said, ‘She’s here.’
Pax crouched down next to Isaac and asked, ‘Can ya see her now?’
Isaac narrowed his blue eyes at Pax and said, ‘No. Can you?’
Nelson chuckled and said to Pax, ‘That’s Isaac’s way of telling you to stop asking stupid questions.’
Pax pulled a face and said, ‘Ip could see dead super hunters. I jus’ thought maybe Isaac can see dead Ips.’
Rolling his eyes at Pax, he said, ‘Shaddup Pax.’
When they used Ip and Isaac to find the locations of the super hunters, Nelson always handled the communications between them and turning to Nelson, he asked, ‘Can ya find out what Isaac’s talkin’ about?’
Looking quizzically at him, Nelson said, ‘He must be confused, Gears. He’s young and his grasp of language is quite limited. You know that.’
Clearly getting frustrated, Isaac repeated, ‘Ip’s not dead.’
Nelson asked, ‘When was the last time you spoke to Ip?’
‘I don’t know,’ Isaac replied simply.
He sighed. Obviously, Isaac missed her and so did he.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Bigger mouse, bigger trap (Ruler)
‘You can’t fire a nuclear missile at the US,’ the worried looking man said.
‘Don’t tell me what I can do,’ he replied sternly.
The worried man visibly flinched and in a trembling voice, he said, ‘It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that I don’t know how to.’
Stamping his foot and feeling the loose skin on his buttocks wobble, he roared, ‘Then find me someone who can!’
The worried man practically fell to his knees and said, ‘There isn’t anyone. It’s the way the missiles work. There’s only two ways to detonate them. Either you fire them at one of the predefined designated targets or you have to detonate them physically. In person. Which would kill the person who detonates it.’
Oh, he thought, that’s less of a problem then and he asked irritably, ‘Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?’
‘I don’t see how it helps with your problem, Ruler,’ the worried man replied.
He rolled his eyes at the man and said, ‘You just explained the solution yourself. Why are you all so fucking stupid?’
‘I don’t understand,’ the worried man said plaintively. ‘You can’t fire the missile at the US. The most you can do is detonate it from within the silo.’
Drawing a deep breath, he reminded himself not to kill the man. He needed his expertise and he’d already killed quite a few and was running low on this particular type of expert. Sighing, he said. ‘You just said I could get someone to detonate it.’
‘Yes, but they would die,’ the worried man said. ‘I don’t see how you could get anyone to do that for you.’
He looked at the man as if he was the stupidest thing he’d ever seen and said, ‘There are worse things than dying.’
The worried man looked at the sobbing man who was sitting on the floor looking dejected. He knew him. His name was Colonel Logan Carter and he, along with others, were responsible for managing and restoring the military in the event of a national disaster. It turned out the disaster was too great and the ongoing threat far too lethal. The whole situation came down so fast almost no one made it to the bunkers in time before it became almost impossible to move around the country, and it seemed many people simply refused to leave their families. The concept of the bunkers was a great idea until you faced the reality of abandoning everyone you loved to a horrific fate, while you hid away safe from danger. If the danger was less, or the disaster happened slower and to less people, then maybe more people would have gone to the bunkers, but barely a third of the people assigned had shown up.
Glancing back at the sobbing Colonel, the worried man looked back at him and said, ‘Please don’t do that to me.’
He regarded him with his cold blue on blue eyes and said, ‘Take me to the silo.’
The silo was outside of Erin in Tennessee. On the surface it looked like a low, small concrete bunker and next to it was a grey concrete square with a distinctive looking large hatch. Beneath the hatch was the missile itself and the concrete bunker was the entrance to the maintenance and control area. The missile was designed to be launched from there or remotely. There should be no one in the silo and they let themselves into the concrete bunker. With him was Colonel Logan Carter, the man he called Cry Baby, the worried man, a physicist, one of the engineers from the bunker and six hunters plus several super hunters wearing armor. Tramping down the metal stairs, there were two rooms and inside both rooms were drab grey control panels.
He thought they didn’t look like much to him and with a sneer, he asked, ‘How does it work?’
The worried man said, ‘There’s a control panel that controls the launch. We set the target and then we can fire it, but like I told you we can’t fire it at the US.’
‘Why can’t I just fire it?’ He asked petulantly.
‘What do you mean?’ The worried man asked. ‘What would you aim it at?’
‘Nothing,’ he replied.
Sounding confused, the worried man asked, ‘What? You just want to detonate it?’
‘Yes,’ he replied happily. ‘What if I just detonate it?’
With a doubtful look, the worried man said, ‘That would kill anyone anywhere near here, including the person who detonated it, but there’s nothing here to destroy, so what would be the point?’
Rolling his eyes, he asked disdainfully, ‘Does there have to be a point?’
‘Well it would just be a big explosion with a lot of nuclear fall-out,’ the worried man said.
He shook his head at the obvious limitations of the man and said, ‘If you can’t bring Mohammed to the mountain them bring the mountain to Mohammed.’
The worried man looked even more worried and said, ‘I don’t understand.
’
He smiled and said happily, ‘Actually I think it might be easier to bring Mohammed to the mountain.’ Waving his hand in the direction of the missile, he added, ‘Seeing as the mountain won’t move.’
He clapped his hands in delight then pointed to the physicist and engineer and said, ‘You two should stay here!’
‘Why?’ The worried man asked.
‘Because it’s nice here,’ he replied, as if stating the obvious.
With that comment, he walked out leaving the physicist and the engineer with a super hunter and three hunters. Now he had the perfect plan, he was keen to execute it.
Once back in the truck, he turned to the worried man and said, ‘We’re going on a road trip.’
Warily, the worried man asked, ‘Where are we going?’
‘Yulee,’ he replied. ‘We have a parcel to deliver.’
‘I don’t understand,’ the worried man said. ‘That’s a long way to go.’
Nodding, he said. ‘I know. I should get a helicopter.’ With a pout, he added petulantly, ‘My last one was broken.’
‘It’ll take us days to get there,’ the worried man said.
‘Do you have somewhere else you need to be?’ He asked. When the worried man didn’t answer, he said happily, ‘Road trip!!’
After two days travelling, they were within thirty miles of Yulee and he had the worried man pull over to the side of the road. With a smile, he got out of the truck and took the sobbing man several hundred yards down the road.
Facing the sobbing man, he said softly, ‘You’ve been a very good pet, Cry Baby, but it’s time for you to run free. You know where to go. You know what to do.’ He patted Colonel Logan Carter on the head and said sadly, ‘I’m going to miss you, but when it’s over it’s over.’
Colonel Logan Carter stood unmoving and blankly watched the truck drive away. Slowly his eyes unclouded, he frowned and then as if something had just occurred to him, he started to scream.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: From beyond the grave (Gears)
