Indestructible: V Plague Book 7 (14 page)

Colonel Crawford and Captain Blanchard sat in a Humvee
watching as the first C-130 left the ground and climbed into the night sky,
black smoke trailing from each engine as it gained altitude.  The C5s, an
escort of eight F-18s and a KC-135 tanker were already in the air, loitering,
waiting for the troop carriers to form up for the flight to Nassau. 

“Only three hours to the Bahamas?”  Crawford asked.  “Seems
like it should take longer than that.”

“Straight lines, sir.  They don’t have to avoid any air
space over major cities or worry about flight corridors.”  Blanchard answered.

“I suppose that makes sense,” Crawford mused.  “Any sign the
Russians are taking an interest and might try to intercept?”

Blanchard checked his laptop for the tenth time in the past
five minutes.  A patchwork Wi-Fi system had finally been restored and he was
connected directly to one of the NSA satellites and had an excellent view of
the three Air Force bases the Russians were occupying.

The EMP had hit each hard, and so far he’d only seen a few lights
restored at Kirtland in New Mexico.  As he suspected, the Russians weren’t in a
position to launch an intercept on the aerial convoy that was traveling
directly away from any of their captured bases.  If they tried, it would be a
tail chase across most of North America.

“No sir.  Nothing.  The latest intercept I had translated
shows they’re worse off than we are.  Apparently that intelligence briefing we received
a few years ago was correct and they hadn’t done much to harden their equipment
against an EMP.

“All of their radar sets are down as well as over half their
air assets need a full overhaul of the electronics.  Emergency requests for replacement
parts, equipment and technical personnel have been made but they haven’t gotten
an answer from the Kremlin yet.”

“Odd,” Crawford said, stepping out of the vehicle and
lighting a cigarette.  “You go to the trouble and expense to send an invading force
half way around the globe, then when they encounter a problem you go quiet?”

“Sir, if I may suggest, this might be a golden opportunity
to strike the Russians.  They won’t see us coming and their capability to
respond is severely degraded.”  Blanchard said after getting out from behind
the wheel and walking around the vehicle to stand next to the Colonel.

“Or that’s what they want us to think,” Crawford countered. 
“How confident are you that they’re not waving a false flag, trying to draw us
in?”

“I believe the odds are good that what we’re seeing and
hearing is genuine, sir.”  Blanchard said after thinking for a moment. 

“You’re probably right, Captain.  But I’m not sure it’s a
good idea to expend the munitions and risk losing any more personnel and
assets.”  Crawford said, turning to watch another heavily loaded C-130 roar
down the runway.  “If we had something to gain, other than a measure of
revenge… perhaps.  But it wouldn’t change our situation.  We still have to evac
before the herds overrun us and planning and executing an attack on the
Russians would be a distraction and a drain on very limited resources.”

“Yes, sir.”  Blanchard said, masterfully hiding his
emotions.  “Oh, and you asked for an update on Major Chase.”

The Colonel swiveled his head in surprise.  “You found
something?  I was starting to think he’d finally pushed his luck too far.”

“Perhaps, sir.  We identified the Marine Osprey, crashed,
about twenty-five miles south of the casino where his wife was being held. 
Numerous bodies scattered in the debris field.  We’ve positively identified
Master Gunnery Sergeant Zemeck as one of them.  The rest appear to be a mix of
infected females and several unidentified Soldiers.”

“No sign of the Major?” 

“No, sir.  He could be inside the wreckage where we just
can’t see him, but we’re not finding Captain Martinez, Ms. Miles or the dog
either.  There are a lot of tracks in the area.  A rather large set heading to
the east.  I’ve got someone tracing them via satellite, but it’s going to take
some time.”  Blanchard said.

“Let me go find him,” a voice said from the dark behind
them.

Crawford and Blanchard spun around, surprised to see a
powerfully built Air Force Tech Sergeant with a cast on his arm.  He came to
attention but couldn’t salute as his right arm was in a cast.

“Tech Sergeant Scott, isn’t it?”  He asked.

“Yes, sir.  And I’d like permission to look for the Major
and the rest of his party.  I just got word of the evacuation and I don’t like
to leave anyone behind.”  Scott remained at attention, staring at a point over
the Colonel’s shoulder as he spoke.

“Stand at ease, Tech Sergeant,” Crawford said.  “I don’t
like it either, but you don’t look like you’re ready to be out in the field.”

“I’m good to go, sir.”  Scott replied, relaxing and meeting
the Colonel’s eyes.  “If you’ll let me have our two Russian guests, a pilot and
a helo, I’ll go collect the Major.”

“What makes you think he survived that plane crash, son?” 
The Colonel asked, eyes measuring the younger man.

“Begging the Colonel’s pardon, but he’s the goddamn
toughest, hardest to kill son of a bitch I’ve ever met.  Maybe someday a bullet
or an infected will get him, but nothing as simple as a plane crash.  He
survived, sir.”  Scott sounded absolutely certain when he spoke the last
sentence.

“Captain?”  Crawford turned to Blanchard after looking into
Scott’s eyes for close to a minute.

“No helos available, sir.  We’ve already started shipping
them and the ones that are still here are having their fuel drained and rotors
set for transport.”  Blanchard said, watching Scott’s eyes fall.  “However, we
do have more Bradley Fighting Vehicles than we’re going to be able to take with
us.”

Crawford looked back at Scott who was grinning.  “Will a
Bradley suit your needs?”

“Yes, sir!  Quite well.  Thank you, sir.”  Scott answered
enthusiastically.

“Good.  Captain Blanchard here will make the arrangements. 
Are you sure you want to take the Russians with you?”

“Yes, sir.  The woman isn’t a combat officer, but Igor is
Spetsnaz and both owe the Major their lives.  They’ll be just fine.”  Scott
didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“OK, they’re yours.  But you need to know that there are some
damn massive herds on the way here.  You’ll get out, but you probably won’t get
back in.”  Crawford said.

“No worries, sir.  If we can’t get back on the ground,
Captain Martinez is a pilot.  We’ll be able to find something.”

Crawford nodded and waved the younger man into the Humvee’s
back seat. 

“Let’s get back so you can get things in motion,” he said as
the last C-130 roared into the night sky.

Without making a conscious decision I entered the passage on
the right.  It was another narrow, winding tunnel, but at least it had a high
ceiling and I didn’t have to worry about ramming my skull into a rock.  Soon I
emerged into an expansive chamber, mist hanging in the air.

Water gushed out of a large crack in the wall, falling
twenty feet into a broad pool.  The floor of the chamber was covered in an even
thicker layer of sand and there were tracks everywhere.  The phosphorescent
growth was the heaviest I’d encountered so far, seemingly putting off enough
light that I could have read a book if I’d had one and been so inclined.

A quick scan of the area didn’t reveal any infected, but to
my right was a large pile of something.  Moving that way to investigate I
paused and wrinkled my nose when the smell hit me.  I knew what it was from the
odor, but still went forward for a better look.

The remains of at least thirty human bodies were tossed
haphazardly against the wall.  Bones had been stripped of most of their meat,
the few relatively intact corpses missing the majority of their internal
organs.  The sand beneath was clumped and stained dark with blood and body
fluids.  Beetles scurried around, feasting on the rotting flesh that hadn’t
been stripped completely.

The clothing the poor souls had been wearing was also heaped
up, but was so soiled and torn I couldn’t tell if it was for men or women.  I
suppose eighty years ago it would have been much easier as women almost
exclusively wore dresses, but in our modern age one pair of pants looks pretty
much like any other.  At least to my eye.

I was starting to turn away when a thought struck me. 
Turning back, I used the tip of the Kukri to dig through the clothing, holding
various articles up for a closer inspection.  No bras or panties.  Maybe the
lack of bras wasn’t that definitive on the sex of the wearer, but I found a lot
of underwear styles that I couldn’t imagine any woman willingly putting on.

These were men that had been fed on by the females.  Were
they infected, or were they survivors that had been captured and brought here? 
A few days ago I would have believed they were survivors, but after seeing the
female kill the male she’d mated with outside the casino, I wasn’t sure what
the hell was going on anymore.

Leaving the detritus behind, I took a slow walk around the
remainder of the chamber to make sure I wasn’t overlooking anything I needed to
know about, but other than tracks in the sand I wasn’t finding anything.  My
mind started to go down the path of wondering what the infected wanted with
Rachel and Katie, but I forced myself to stay focused.

Returning to the last room, I looked and listened carefully
before entering in case any more females had shown up.  Satisfied all was clear,
I stepped in just as five females walked out of the tunnel to the adjacent
chamber.  I froze in place, hoping they wouldn’t see me, but the second one
through the gap looked in my direction and her eyes flew wide open.

I lunged forward, burying the Kukri in her mouth and twisting
it up into her skull as I stabbed the lead female in the back of the head with
my knife.  The three following females reacted instantly, rushing me.  They
hadn’t screamed yet, and I wanted to put them down before they had an
opportunity to alert however many more were in the caves.

Spinning, I slashed with the Kukri and took off most of the
top of the next female’s head, kicked the body aside as it fell and whipped the
two blades into attack position.  The next female was fast, ducking under my
right-handed strike.  She had avoided one blade, but when she lowered her body
I was able to stab forward with the knife and bury it to the hilt in her chest,
piercing her heart.

The blade stuck and I released it, letting the Ka-Bar fall
with her body.  I stumbled back when the last female rammed into me, freezing
in shock when she bent and snatched my knife out of the corpse on the sand. 
What the hell was this?

I might have stood there musing about this new behavior, but
she charged with the blade held out in front of her.  It was a clumsy attack,
the knife way too far out in front of her body and held all wrong, but was so
fast she nearly gutted me before I twisted away.  Hammering with the hilt of
the Kukri I heard her wrist break and the knife fell from her nerveless
fingers.

She spun, no indication of the damage I’d done other than
the knife lying on the sand at her feet.  I reversed my grip on the Kukri and
stabbed up into her throat as she was opening her mouth to scream.  Seeing the
strike coming, she had raised her hands to protect herself, but the big blade
wasn’t slowed by her defenses, severing three fingers before piercing her body.

  The corpse was still twitching as her nervous system
refused to accept death, but I ignored it, grabbing my knife off the ground and
wiping both blades clean on her clothing.  Stepping over the body, I moved
through the gap and into the tunnel they had emerged from.  It was narrower
than my shoulders and I had to walk with my body turned slightly to the side.

It was dryer in this passage and the floor dropped slightly
as I progressed.  The farther I moved, the dryer the air felt, and the glowing
lichen thinned out to the point that I couldn’t see anything beyond a foot in
front on my face.  Slowing my pace, I forced my breathing to calm and even
out.  I’m not a fan of caves, and even less of dark ones full of infected that
would be happy to have me for dinner.

When I reached the end of the tunnel it was more the feeling
of open space around me than any visual cue that alerted me to the change. 
There were small patches of the lichen growing in random locations on the walls
and ceiling.  In the darkness it seemed like I was in a planetarium or some
high-tech amusement park attraction, the faint spots of phosphorescence making
it seem as if I were floating in space and viewing distant galaxies. 

The effect was both mesmerizing and disorienting as it was
completely dark where I stood.  Glancing down I couldn’t see the sand beneath
my feet, or anything to either side.  Frozen in place I listened hard, hearing
the faint sounds of breathing from somewhere to my front.  But that was all I
could tell.  It could have been anything with a set of lungs, from a small dog
to a giant dragon waiting to be roused and wreak havoc on whoever dared disturb
its slumber.

Chastising myself for wasting time thinking about fantasy monsters
when I should be focused on the real life ones, I silently sheathed the two
blades and carefully worked the small rifle around to the front of my body.  There
wasn’t enough light in the chamber for my eyes to be of any use, but there
should be for the night vision scope.

Raising the rifle to my shoulder, I looked through the scope
which amplified the available light and showed me a crisp green and black image
of the area.  I slowly turned my upper body, scanning across the floor.  My
breath caught in my throat when I got a good look at my surroundings.

At least thirty females were scattered around the large
room, sleeping on the soft sand.  No more than a couple of feet from my left
foot lay a small woman with her arm splayed out to the side.  If I’d taken
another step, the odds were good that I would have stepped on her.  That would
have been disastrous.  There was no way I wanted to face this many infected in
such close quarters.

Grimacing, I made another, slower scan.  As I moved the
scope I counted the resting bodies and cataloged them as best I could.  There
was a large concentration to my left, seventeen of them bedded down in a tight
group.  The remaining fifteen were spread randomly around the area. 

I started to wonder if there was something like a class
hierarchy or clique going on with them, then shut down my thinking.  It didn’t
matter if there was.  At least not at the moment.  Perhaps that was something
that would be useful at some point in the future, but right now it didn’t have
any bearing on the situation.

Making a third scan, I spotted an irregularity in the
pattern of the bodies lying on the floor.  At the base of the farthest wall of
the chamber, two bodies were huddled together.  This caught my eye because all
of the other females each had some space around them, even the ones lying in
the group.  Focusing on these two, my heart started racing when I realized one
of them was dressed like a Victoria’s Secret model.

Katie?  I couldn’t tell through the night vision, but the
odds were in my favor this was her.  After another quick survey of the area to
make sure none of the females had awakened and noticed me, I focused on the
ground and started making my way across the chamber.  Sidestepping the female’s
arm to my front, I was grateful for the soft sand that was spread across the
floor.

Rifle aimed down, I looked at each spot I intended to place
a foot before I lifted it.  A stumble in my footing or stepping on an object that
could make noise, either one of those could be enough to wake the whole chamber
full of females and that would be the end of my night.  Sweat popping out on my
brow from concentration; I pushed on, one slow step at a time.

Stopping half way across I took the time to scan again. 
Same count, so there weren’t any up and stalking around in the dark about to
attack.  I was listening carefully, expecting every step to make some faint
sound that would rouse a slumbering female.  If that happened, I couldn’t
shoot. 

Even suppressed, the rifle would make enough noise in the
quiet chamber to give me away.  I would have to hope for a silent kill with my
knife, but knew the odds of being able to pull that off were stacked heavily
against me.  Taking a moment to ensure the Ka-Bar and Kukri were seated
properly in their sheaths and would draw smoothly if needed, I resumed my
painfully slow progress.

The farther I moved across the chamber, the more the skin on
my back puckered.  It was no longer practical to be constantly scanning behind
me, and that meant there were a growing number of females that could wake up,
spot me and attack before I was even aware of the threat.  Hopefully I’d hear
some movement before I was tackled to the ground, but I knew I would most
likely be overwhelmed and killed quickly.

I was within ten yards of Katie when I stepped on what
looked like an undisturbed patch of sand and a loud crack sounded as some
buried object broke under the weight of my foot.  I froze, holding my breath. 
There were several sharp intakes of breath from the females around me and I
dropped to my belly, barely avoiding a sleeping form.

If the sound woke any of them, I didn’t want one to open her
eyes and see me standing there.  Perhaps, if I was on the ground and one of
them did look around I’d appear to be just another of her sleeping sisters.  Of
course, I was assuming their vision was enough better than mine to be able to
see in the darkness.  Maybe they’d wake up, smell me, and come searching.