What Remains (Book 1): The Outbreak

by Barrett, Tyler

  Something about the way the man said it, the fear in his eyes, told the pilot all he needed to know. Without another thought, the pilot of Big Bird one took off.

  ***

  “Well,” said the pilot, “We did find the command ship, but it was derelict with only two personnel retrieved.”

  “What?! How is that possible? We just were on the command ship about five hours ago, what could have happened?” Smith said into the microphone. Smith turned back around towards the other tents on the roof. “Knight!”

  Knight jogged around the corner of a tent, Ramirez following shortly after him. Both stared at Smith with apprehensive faces. Not knowing what Smith was yelling about.

  “Sir, I have the pilot of one of the helicopters on the radio. It isn’t looking good, but the other chopper is fine as well. Both are inbound to our location.” Said Smith.

  “So, are they here to recall us? This mission doesn’t have the same parameters that it did when we started. I will…” Knight trailed off at the sight of Smith’s face. It didn’t convey what Knight was hoping for. It slightly frightened him. He knew what the answer was to his question, and it could only mean one thing.

  “Sir, the pilots are saying that they found the command ship, but that it was derelict, and they only made off with two survivors.” Smith turned back towards the radio. “What is your eta Big Bird?”

  “About, five minutes,” said the pilot. “We will need assistance with landing since its night. Our Night vision goggles should help, though.”

  Knight turned back towards Ramirez who had just joined the conversation. “Ramirez, we have two birds about to land on this roof, I need you to go find some flares or something to help them with their landings.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The pilot of the helicopter regularly checked his fuel gauge. It was almost empty. He hoped they could make it to the men on the roof in time. He didn’t particularly enjoy the idea of smashing into the ground as his friend had several hours earlier. He just told the man whom he had been in contact with on the roof they had about 5 minutes till they reached them.

  Not more than a minute after that, a red light started to flash. The warning light had come on. The helicopter was out of fuel. There was no way they could make it in time. Now the squawk of an alarm sounded. The pilot looked out up at the rotor blades, which were now beginning to slow down. “Shit, Big Bird one I am tapped out on fuel. Warning lights just came on. Um… Yep there go the engines. We are losing altitude.” Telling the other pilot what was happening.

  The pilot checked all the gauges on his console. He held the helicopter as best as he could, but it started to sway around regardless. “I am going to have to try to land it on the street!”

  “Big bird two, there looks like there is a clear spot to try to put her down up ahead. I have only a limited amount of fuel left as well. I think I might only have enough to make it to the roof.”

  “Over, we are dropping at a fast rate with forward momentum. Negative on the landing zone we are going down too fast, we wouldn’t make it that far. Just continue towards the base. I should be able to land tail end first; that should absorb most of the force. Afterward, try to come find us or we will try to make our way to you.”

  The pilot of Big Bird two watched as the ground got closer and closer. He hoped that he would be able to land unobstructed. However, there were several cars on the road. He tried to hold the aircraft steady for the landing. The pilot and the co-pilot both strapped themselves in a little extra tight.

  This kind of landing wasn’t the preferred landing but based on their high altitude before losing the engines along with their forward momentum; it was their only option. The ground was closing in now.

  Five hundred feet.

  Three hundred feet.

  Seventy-five feet.

  The back end of the helicopter impacted with the ground. The small wheels that were meant to support a vertical landing snapped off. The belly of the aircraft skidded across the road. The tail end began to start to move to the side of the aircraft, turning it sideways. Still sliding with some speed, the helicopter rammed into a parked car. It flipped over on its side and came to a stop.

  The pilot quickly unbuckled himself. He called out to his co-pilot. “Hey! Hey, are you alright!?” There was no answer. The pilot climbed up to help him out of the chair. He checked for a pulse, finding one. The pilot let out a big sigh; they were okay for now. The co-pilot was only unconscious. He scrambled back to the console and tried the radio. No luck, it was damaged.

  Chapter 8

  Strange things are happening

  Two days later he did his regular routine again. He woke up and got ready for work, waited at the same bus stop, went into his same office building. He did his job again, finishing up early today, though. Today was Friday, the end of the work week. He could just relax for two days straight before repeating it all over again.

  He was also excited because later tonight he was going to meet his girlfriend, and he had big plans. They hadn’t seen each other much in the past couple of weeks, mainly due to work. It also didn’t help that she worked and lived on the other side of the city. He did miss her a lot and was glad they could find the time to spend the weekend together. She was a nurse; therefore, she did not get much time off but used some of her precious vacation days for the weekend together.

  He made decent time making his way back towards his apartment since he had got off work early and beat the rush. He headed to his apartment and got undressed. Choosing a shirt and some pants over his work attire, he wanted to wear something more casual. It felt good to be in more comfortable surroundings than a cubicle.

  Deciding that he had some free time before he had to leave to make the bus on time, he turned on his computer. He checked his email, and luckily, he had, his girlfriend was getting off work an hour late, so he had even more free time. He browsed a few of his favorite websites, which one was having a sale on video games. He bought a few cheap games on sale and started to download them. The internet speed was a little slow, so he decided to let his computer run while he watched some TV.

  He watched a favorite game show where the contestants had to pair up into teams of two. Then they had to work together to solve seemingly ordinary puzzles, but there was always a catch to it. After a few minutes, he got bored and started to channel surf, hoping to make time go faster. He nearly passed up the news channel but quickly switched back.

  The familiar scene of the news reporter he had seen earlier this week, reporting on the weather, was now in another town. She stated that another six villages in the outlying area around the original town were under martial law. She had heard rumors that some of the rioters were on some new drug, making them unable to feel pain and become very aggressive towards other people.

  She then stated she had an exclusive with the commander of the military forces currently in charge. A man in his fifties walked into the camera angle, he was slightly buff and seemed relatively relaxed. The live news reporter started her questions, “Now why is it that only some towns are under martial law while most of the country has seen no military presence?”

  “Well, we have reason to believe that this region is the ground zero for a group of people that are anarchists. Several people have joined together to try to overthrow the government in these villages. They have caused chaos, breaking into people’s homes, attacking people, and even murdering a few.” The commander said this with a practiced accuracy as if he didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

  The news reporter continued, “What about the reports that some of these “anarchists” have even resorted to cannibalism? Including the question why no nonmilitary or hospital personnel are allowed near any of the hospitals in the area? We also have several families reporting missing persons, are you doing anything to find them?”

  The commander seemed a little surprised when the reporter brought up cannibalism, and not surprised as if he hadn’t heard that rumor. No, he was surprised by the fac
t that she knew about it. “Again, I want the public to understand that as long as they are following the rules set in place by the military you have no reason not to feel safe. The hospitals are a major source of supplies and are where the main military headquarters located for such an event. We cannot have just anyone approaching military equipment or personnel.”

  The news reporter seemed excited now; she had hit a nerve in the command asking about the cannibalism. Not only that, but he ultimately avoided the question. She pushed him harder now. “Sir, we have video footage of one of these “anarchists” EATING another person, here let’s play the video.”

  The commander went wide-eyed, understanding something he didn’t want to be aired out was about to go public. He was cut away as a video played.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The video started up; it was night time, a darkened street with houses and buildings on either side. Some of the buildings and homes had lights on. The street lights were on causing bright circles of light every ten feet. The moon was blocked out by clouds, making it darker than it should have been. Two men in military gear, heavily armed, walked down the street.

  As they walked down the street, a man shuffled awkwardly out from the shadows of a building. Upon seeing the two military men, he let out a loud shrieking groan. The two men quickly turned towards the man raising their rifles. They yelled for the man to stop, but he didn’t seem to listen. He quickened his pace, now at a fast walk.

  The two soldiers let out a warning shot that landing right at the man’s feet. Again, he didn’t seem to notice; now he was only about fifteen feet away from the men. One man got down on one knee and aimed. He let several rounds out from his gun, the flashes lighting up the area. The man jerked several times with each burst of the rifle.

  He seemed fine though, as he now charged at the man who had just fired at him. He lunged on top of the man. They were held in a battle of strength, the soldier on the ground holding his attacker back. His fellow soldier was dumbfounded, but with some urging by his friend he leaped at the man and hauled him off. The man who was too fast and robust quickly grabbing the second soldier and bit into his arm.

  The soldier screamed in pain and shoved the man back. The soldier raised his rifle and shot the man in the head. The shot echoed out into the night. The soldier on the ground quickly got up and reached out to help the other soldier who was injured. They immediately tore off a sleeve of his jacket and tried to make a dressing for the other man’s wound. Just then the TV screen went blank and then displayed the error message from the station that was broadcasting.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  He was awestruck at what he had just seen. How had the man been shot and acted like he wasn’t hurt? As well why was he so aggressive and trying to bite the soldiers? It didn’t seem to make sense. The video appeared to cut short as well. He wondered what they were missing, and had the government shut the video down? These questions and thoughts disturbed him. He wasn’t sure what to believe in; if any of what he saw. He was slightly freaked out by it.

  He decided that he needed to get some fresh air, and grabbing his coat, he left his apartment. He walked down the street. Tokyo at least it seemed was still in its average day to day atmosphere. People walked the streets eager to spend their time away from work doing leisurely activities. The normalcy of the sounds and lights of the city felt natural to him and helped to clear his mind.

  He decided to put it out of his mind and just walk to the bus and wait for his date with his girlfriend. He made his way towards the downtown restaurant where they had agreed to meet. Arriving only twenty minutes early, he got a table before the dinner rush showed up. He ordered himself water and waited. He pulled out his cell phone checking the time; it was only 7:10 p.m.

  He looked around the room at the other people in the restaurant. They all seemed complacent with their lives, or they hadn’t just seen what he had seen on the news. He thought if they had seen what he had they wouldn’t be sitting in their seats so easily. Still, a little on edge he took a deep breath. It calmed his nerves slightly.

  He jumped in his seat, however, when he heard his name called from across the restaurant.

  “Kenji!”

  He turned towards the entrance seeing her, his girlfriend, Kiyomi. Kenji waved her over, smiling at her. He stood up and held out her chair for her; he showed her the respect she deserved. They sat down together. They both greeted each other, smiling and laughing at how long it seemed since they last saw each other. To him she looked more mature and beautiful; she was an amazing woman. To her, he looked more defined and handsome. They both had grown, it seemed since they last saw each other, even if it had only been a couple of weeks.

  It was quite a funny story of how they became a couple. They both grew up in a small farming community far away from any major city. When they were young, they spent a lot of time together playing in the forest and fields their parents worked. They were the same age even, so when the time came for school, they learned together. Around the time of high school, they had developed a crush for one another.

  They were both too stubborn and proud to admit their feelings towards each other and ended up fighting about silly high school things. When they graduated, they both left to go to school, wanting to get away from the small town and see the world. They ended up in different schools; Kenji went to become an accountant. Kiyomi decided she wanted to help the sick and hurt, so she became a nurse.

  Later, in their schooling, they both by pure chance ended up at the same party. They immediately recognized each other and started to speak to each other again. They couldn’t even remember why they stopped talking in the first place. The sparks of friendship quickly burst into the flames of romance. Within the week after the party, they started to go on dates.

  The place they had a date at tonight was one of the first places he had taken her to as a couple. It had cost him almost his entire paycheck that first time they came here, but it was worth it. Kenji wanted the night to be special as it had been that night, a night to remember. Something they could look back on and cherish.

  Chapter 9

  In the coming days

  The night before was fantastic and had been everything, he had hoped. They talked throughout dinner, about their jobs, and their longing to visit their hometown. They stayed an hour after they were done eating, much to the annoyance of their waiter. Finally, wanting to leave, he paid for their meal and left a decent tip for making their waiter upset.

  They decided to walk around the city for a bit, talking to each other some more. They retold stories about their childhood together, laughing in the night air. Eventually, they made their way towards the bay area and looked out over the sea. There were a few stars here and there, most blocked out by the city lights. The moon, however, was full and bright.

  The temperature had dropped quite a bit since the time the sun was up. With no buildings in the way to block the fresh air blowing off the water in the bay, it made it even colder. She shivered, and Kenji took off his coat and offered it to her. Kiyomi gladly took it and snuggled into it.

  It seemed like the most opportune time; the setting was slightly romantic, they had a good date. Kenji turned to look at Kiyomi; it was time to reveal his big plan. She was looking out over the bay area taking in the night sky and few stars. The light seemed to make her glow as if she were a goddess sent down from the heavens. Kenji asked Kiyomi what she liked most about the night, trying to make small talk. She replied that she loved being with him and remembered all the good times they had as kids. He detected she wanted to say more but held back. Kenji took that as his sign.

  He gently pulled her towards him so that she faced him. Kenji told her about how since they were little that he felt they had more than a friendship. That, how he felt about her, he had never felt about anyone else. He had always thought that he wanted to be with her but thought that he was never good enough for her. That destiny had decided to intervene, and they were meant to be together.

&nbs
p; She looked slightly confused, but not angry or upset. Kiyomi smiled slightly and looked into his eyes. She grabbed his hands and enjoyed their touch. She told him that she felt the same way; she always thought that they couldn’t be together because she was afraid that he wouldn’t want to be with her. She said she had always felt that because she left to go away to school first that he would hate her for leaving him.

  Kenji laughed, mainly from joy and the release of nerves. He told her that he loved her and always would, no matter what happened. He got down on one knee and proposed to her, just as he had planned in his head.

  Kiyomi looked shocked but happy. She let out a girlish squeal and gave her answer.

  “Yes! Yes, I will marry you!”

  Kenji pulled her in close and gently leaned down towards her. Kiyomi leaned towards him, and their lips touched. Both enjoyed the warm feeling of each other’s embrace.

  The rest of the time they spent at the bay was in each other’s arms staring out at into the night. They were both content. After another hour or so they decided to go back to his place since it was getting late and her apartment was about an hour’s journey.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The next morning Kenji woke up early and started to prepare breakfast for them both. He left Kiyomi sleeping, soundly, on his bed tangled in the sheets. He flipped on the TV, quickly turning it down as not to disturb her, and went back to making breakfast. The news channel was giving the daily forecast of the weather; it was to be sunny in the morning with a high chance of rain in the evening. He made some eggs, cured sausage, and toasted some bread.

  Kenji thought again of last night and how well things had gone. He daydreamed about every detail still, the moon casting light on the sea making her shine in the dark. He was pretty sure he had fallen in love with an angel. Her embrace was the best part, the way her…