by J. N. Chaney
“Answer the question, David,” I said, staring at him intently. “Do you know where a crawler is in the jungle?”
“Yeah, there’s one still in its drop container.” David hurriedly explained the rest before someone throat punched him for omitting this vital piece of information. “I didn’t say anything about it because it’s dead. I didn’t think it would matter.”
I caught Boss Creed’s eye in the dark. We were both thinking the same thing. As the two mechanics on the expedition, it would be up to us to get the crawler working if we could.
“You think we can squeeze enough juice out of the rover power core to charge a crawler?” Boss Creed asked. “The better question is can we do it with no tools.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I answered. “I think I have an idea everyone is going to like.”
21
“I hate that idea,” Stacy said after I explained my plan.
“I have to agree with Stacy on this one.” Elon shook his head. “I’m not a fan either.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “It’s a solid plan. I’m the one most qualified to go up against a horde of these infected more than anyone here. I’ll buy you all some time and meet you in the jungle next to the crawler and crate of armor David found. Just be ready once I get there because I’m going to have a few angry—well, whatever we’re calling these infected now.”
“You don’t have to sacrifice yourself for us, Dean,” Lou said, solemnly.
“Who said anything about sacrificing?” I asked with wide eyes. “Do I really put out the suicidal vibe that strong?”
“I just met you, and I’d have to say yes, you kinda do,” David answered.
The cat was already out of the bag with my display at the tent. Everyone here besides maybe David knew that whatever my past entailed, I was a trained fighter. Maybe, in this case, it would be okay to stop running from who I was, just for once.
“Who else here holds the record of twenty-eight knockouts? Who else here has over a decade of training under their belt at putting people down and making sure they stay down? Who else here—”
“We get the point,” Boss Creed interrupted. “You’re one bad man. But I doubt whoever trained you taught you how to fend off an entire crowd of hostiles. This isn’t going to be a fair fight.”
“Who said anything about fighting fair?” I asked, tapping the crate in front of me holding the Lestrium. “I’m going in guns blazing. One of the mechanics back on Earth used to make a show of using this stuff as a flamethrower. I can fashion something with what we have here and that last blaster.”
Boss Creed actually began to buy into the plan. He nodded solemnly.
“He has a point.” Doctor Allbright shrugged. “I would volunteer to make the distraction, but Dean has more experience than all of us combined. If it comes down to someone fighting their way out, it’s Dean, hands down.”
“I’ll let him do it,” Tom said, trying not to sound too eager.
We all stopped to stare at him for a moment.
“What?” Tom withered under our gazes. “He said he wanted to.”
“We can create a distraction for them by blowing most of the Lestrium canisters. I’ll use the rest for the flamethrower,” I said. “When I get on the beach and start laying into them with the flamethrower, they’ll be confused and disoriented. You all swim around the opposite side of the Orion. Once you get to the beach, start running for the crawler. I’ll meet you there.”
At this point, I could tell by their body language only Stacy and maybe Elon were the ones set against my plan.
“I can do this,” I said, looking at Stacy. “Let me do this, please.”
Stacy didn’t say anything.
David, on the other hand, stepped up and began removing his armor. “It’s lightweight, and you should be able to run pretty well in it. It saved me a few times in the jungle. Maybe it’ll do the same for you.”
“Thanks,” I said, still holding Stacy’s gaze.
“All right, but if you don’t make it to the crawler, we’re coming back for you,” Elon said as if this was the only way he was going to let me do it. “We’re not leaving you behind.”
“I don’t intend to get left behind,” I said.
We jumped into action with everyone pitching in. Hope was something on the verge of the abyss when I came up with my plan. Now that everyone had something to do, they went about their work excitedly.
Truth be told, I really didn’t know if I was going to make it out of the crazy plan alive. Odds were there were so many of the infected, I’d run out of Lestrium cooking them all, and they’d still get to me. I just knew this was something I was the best suited for. To be honest, I meant what I told Captain Harold before. I was already dead. If this was my time to go and I could give others the chance to live, I knew Natalie would be proud.
I told Boss Creed how to create the flamethrower out of our last blaster using the Lestrium. He, Lou, and Elon went to work creating the weapon as well as tweaking the Lestrium canisters. The plan was to get them to explode on impact when we threw them at the horde on the beach.
Stacy and Doctor Allbright kept watch while David removed his armor. He and Tom helped me get strapped into the new armor. David was right. The armor was really light. The red and grey suit made me feel like I was some kind of soldier in a futuristic militia. I guess we were living in the future, and I was a kind of soldier now.
“I really admire what you’re doing here,” Tom said as he strapped in my right shoulder. “I—I don’t know if I’d ever have the courage to do something like this.”
“You do,” I told him, not really trying to be nice to the guy after he lied to us, but rather matter of fact. “You can if you choose to. You just haven’t yet. But it’s there.”
I’m not sure what Tom expected me to say to him, but it wasn’t this. He just nodded and continued strapping me in.
“When was the last time you had a haircut or shave?” David asked as he worked my chest plate into place. “You trying to be trendy or something?”
“Nothing like that,” I said as I brushed back my hair for the hundredth time that day. “Until recently, I guess I was trying to hide my past. Be someone else.”
“Well, if the old you can get us out of this mess with his skills, I say we go back to that,” Hannah said, appearing from our left.
The woman had been quiet since the death of her husband and understandably so. I didn’t know how many others here could understand what she had gone through, what she was going through, but I sure as hell did. It felt like someone tore you open then hollowed out your insides with a spork. You were numb, angry, sad, and empty all at once.
She handed me a knife, handle first. “I think it’s time for a haircut.”
I accepted the blade, thinking she wasn’t half wrong. The last thing I needed during the fight with the infected was my hair getting in my eyes, or worse, catching on fire.
“I’m not really big into grooming myself with a knife,” I said to her with a grin. “But thanks. Maybe once we get back to base.”
“Here, let me,” Tom said, opening his hands for the blade. “It’s not exactly what I would use back home at my shop, but I’m well-versed with a straight razor.”
I exchanged looks with David and Hannah. “You were a barber back home?”
“Yep,” Tom said as I handed him the blade. “I know—I know, a far cry from a survivalist expert, I have to admit, but I know my way around a head of hair.”
“If you say so,” I said.
David and Hannah finished suiting me up while Tom worked his magic cutting off my hair and trimming my beard. I had to admit it was strange releasing that part of me.
I had been hiding who I was for so long, I wasn’t even sure if I’d recognize myself without the long hair and beard anymore.
“Like Stacy said,” Hannah chimed in once they were done with my armor, “if you’re not at the crawler by the ti
me Boss Creed has it up and running, we’re going back for you.”
“I’ll be there,” I said.
“Wow, who’s this?” Stacy asked, coming up to us as Tom sliced through my hair with the sharpened blade. “Where did Dean go and who’s this movie star in his place?”
“I guess I never really was that old Dean,” I said, trying to get out of my own head. “Don’t make me think about it too much.”
Boss Creed let out a low whistle as he approached. “You clean up nice, Slade.”
“That’s what I said,” Stacy answered back.
“Enough, you two,” I growled.
We all got a chuckle out of it. I think to some extent or another, everyone there understood what was happening. We were about to set off on a risk that could see us all dead at the hands of alien-infected Transients. Instead of sitting and dwelling on it, we were all trying to do our best to laugh in the face of danger.
Eventually, the moment of mirth passed. When the last chuckle escaped our lips, it was back to staring the grim future in the face.
“I’m about to go above and get the power core from the upper level, but I wanted to show you what we came up with before we do.” Boss Creed motioned to follow him down our level.
I complied, moving in the lightweight armor. Not only was it much lighter than it had any right to be, but it was also maneuverable. It felt like I was wearing no more than an extra twenty pounds dispersed around my body.
I crossed the darkened level to see Elon and Lou grinning down at the modified rifle.
“If I had to guess, you’ll have ten maybe fifteen minutes of use out of it if you use it sparingly,” Boss Creed said as Lou handed me the blaster.
I examined the weapon. Boss Creed had worked a small miracle, using whatever he could find to fit the cylinder of Lestrium to the place where the clip of the blaster’s magazine used to be.
“It’s not a solid job, so you should be careful with it,” Boss Creed warned. “Give me a welding torch and fitting and I’d say it’s a new weapon, but we had to make do.”
I knew what he meant. Securing the Lestrium to the underside of the blaster was stripped cloth and medical tape Doctor Allbright had in her possession for first aid.
“We’ll be right back,” Elon said as he, Lou, and Boss Creed climbed to the upper level to retrieve the power core.
I looked at the tip of the blaster turned flamethrower where the igniter from one of our two flashlights had been secured. It would be a small miracle if this thing lasted even ten minutes, but I was grateful for what we had at the time.
“Here,” Stacy said, bringing the knife Tom used to cut my hair over to me. “You didn’t even get a chance to see what you look like yet.”
She held the knife up to my eyes in the light of the stars. I stared at the man I had been over five years before. Tom hadn’t done a half bad job on the cut. The sides were close with the top a little longer. My beard was still in place but now short and somewhat groomed instead of the wild man look I had before. I recognized the man staring back at me.
“I’m going to leave you with the knife as well,” Stacy said, placing the handle of the blade on the back of my left palm. Next, she secured it there with more of the white first aid tape. “I’ve seen you fight. You have a mean left jab. Now you’ll be cutting with each one of these jabs as well.”
Stacy leaned down to do her work on my hand. I wanted to tell her that I was coming back, that I’d see her again soon, but Stacy wasn’t the type that needed reassurance. She knew the odds just as well as I did.
She wrapped the tape tight around my hand, giving me flashbacks to the many locker rooms I had been in and the way the trainers would tape my hands before a fight. I guess, in many ways, I was preparing for a fight. Except losing this one meant my death.
22
“I know by now you’re not a spiritual man,” Lou said to me as we prepared to embark on my crazy plan. “But I want you to know that I’m praying for you.”
“Doesn’t bother me any,” I said, rolling my neck from side to side. I examined the beach around the curve of the Orion. “Boss, you ready to ignite those canisters of Lestrium and get this party started?”
“We’re ready,” Boss Creed confirmed.
It was clear Lou wanted to talk more about his faith, but he understood there was no time left.
“Care about yourself as much as we care about you,” Lou said, resting a heavy hand on my shoulder. “We’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon, Padre,” I said.
“Remember where the crawler is—”
“I know, I know, I got it,” I interrupted David. “One kilometer east into the jungle and veer left at the rock outcropping that looks like a lightning bolt. I got it.”
I looked down at my gear one last time as Boss Creed and the others began igniting their Lestrium cylinders. They opened the canisters of the gas, quickly stuffing the open end with cloth. The idea was to light the cloth like a Molotov cocktail and send the impromptu bombs to detonate on the beach. It sounded good in my head. But like all good plans, there was bound to be a hitch in the process. We’d have to adjust on the fly. If nothing else, I was good at making things up as I went.
The rifle in my hands was heavy, the knife on the back of my left hand strangely comforting.
The roaming crowd of infected on the beach were calm, even quiet. There were only the rare mumbles or sporadic shrieks rising from one of their infected throats. Every once in a while, I could pick up a few words from them or a phrase.
“Just wait for them here,” a raspy voice said.
“We’ll kill them soon,” another voice answered.
“The invaders must die,” a third voice added, followed by an inhuman shriek.
“Buy as much time as you can without putting your safety in jeopardy,” Elon said as everyone lit their Lestrium canisters using the second light source from the flashlight we had. “Just give us a few minutes.”
“I got it,” I said as my eyes found Stacy’s.
The woman was as hard-nosed as they came. There were no tears in her eyes, just a resolute gaze. She nodded to me. “Let’s get it done.”
I leaned out around the corner of our level and let out a low whistle. “Mutt, Mutt, buddy, you’re going to want to stay where you are for this one. Stay.”
Mutt had taken up a place down the beach away from the group of infected but still within seeing distance. He gave me an excited bark. I doubted he understood what I was saying, but he did understand the command “stay,” and right now, he was far enough away to be out of the danger zone once we started lobbing these things.
“All right,” Boss Creed said. “One by one, start hurling the Lestrium. Spread out your throws as far as possible. When you make the toss, run to the opposite side of the Orion. Jump into the water and swim for shore.”
Everyone nodded in the light of the starry sky. My stomach rumbled and told me that I was not only hungry from missing a meal but nervous as well. Everyone seemed a bit jumpy and understandably so. We had no idea if this was going to work, let alone if we would survive the night.
“Light ‘em up,” Boss Creed said.
One by one, the members of our expeditionary force lit the cloth on top of the canister of Lestrium. Hannah held the exposed power core of the flashlight that would act as the fire starter.
Boss Creed and David went first. They were the two who were going to carry the rover power core back through the jungle. Stacy and Elon would act as their front-runners, fending off any infected that noticed their escape.
It was my job to make sure they weren’t noticed.
Boss Creed lit his canister of Lestrium. The glare of the fire bathed his face in shadows. The man I had known as a foreman for the better of four years looked like something from a nightmare. Muscles bulging, face stern, he walked to the side of the Orion where I stood and chucked his canister of Lestrium so far, it nearly ended up past the beach and into the jungle itself.
/> BOOM!
The first canister exploded in a billow of angry red and yellow flames. The infected screamed in anger.
“Kill them!” one of them shouted.
More took up the cry as they surged forward.
Lucky for us, we had more canisters to keep them busy before they were able to charge into the ocean again. David, Elon, Tom, Hannah, and Doctor Allbright came next. They each threw their canisters at the approaching throng in quick succession, choosing different parts of the beach to light on fire.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each explosion rocked the beach, sending sand flying through the air as well as the bodies of the infected. A small part of me felt bad for the infected that were getting fire-bombed on the beach. As soon as that feeling made its way to the surface, I thought of the strangled man we found in the escape pod and Mark. I didn’t feel so bad anymore.
Lou was second to last as he hurled the canister of Lestrium at the monstrous horde rushing the water.
“Just because you don’t believe doesn’t mean there’s not a plan for us,” Lou said after he hurled his canister. “You’re going to survive this.”
I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that the crazy old man was still trying to convert me at a time like this. Before I could form a response, he was running down the level. Boss Creed had already reached the opposite end and jumped into the water. Everyone else besides Stacy was in the process of doing the same.
Stacy aimed her canister right where the water met the beach. It was a perfect shot.
BOOM!
A wall of flame caught the first infected who gathered themselves, rushing this side of the Orion. They went up in a burst of fire.
Stacy turned and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Hurry.”
That was all there was time for. She joined the rest of our expeditionary force, running down the level and jumping into the water.
