Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins (26 page)

"What happened?" Nick asked.

"We've got trouble, sir. There's a lot of infected
coming our way."

Nick frowned as he followed Lynch from his office. They
headed for the north fence and he saw worried looks on the faces of the men he
passed by. It had to be pretty bad then. These guys had been through a lot.
Iraq, Afghanistan, there were also operations that weren't public knowledge.
He'd led these men through a lot and he'd never seen looks like this on their
faces. He reached the fence and mounted the platforms they'd set up. They
weren't much, but they allowed the men to fire over the fence at the infected.
They'd mounted gun emplacements on a few of them but it wasn't as effective as
he'd hoped. He had to guard all four walls so he couldn't concentrate fire as
much as he'd like. He reached the top and grabbed a pair of binoculars and
immediately saw why his men looked the way they did. There had to be thousands
of infected heading their way. They'd been fighting infected for days, but they
hadn't seen anything like this. He wasn't sure it had even this bad when they
had evacuated from Atlanta. Nick sighed as he thought quickly, there wasn't any
time to panic. 

"How are the other walls looking?" he asked.

"They're all clear for the moment."

"That's good at least," Nick replied. They'd been
fighting infected since they'd arrived. It was mostly smaller groups, a few
dozen at a time at most but they'd been coming from all directions. This was a
piece of good news. They'd have to leave immediately if they were surrounded.
As it was, they should be able to hold out for a while. "I want an ammo
count done immediately. I also want those emplacements moved from the south
fence. Put two here and for the last two, put one each on the east and west
fences. Also, have someone go inform Agent Terrence. Let him know we will have
to evacuate soon. 

"I'm on it, sir," Lynch said. 

Nick nodded as Lynch left and looked out again towards the
horde coming their way. If their ammo held up, they should be able to hold for
a few days. He heard footsteps on the platform and turned to see Agent Terrence
climbing the stairs. Nick nodded as he reached the top.

"Major, I just received some disturbing news. I was
told we might have to evacuate soon. I have to tell you we need more time. The
doctor says he might be on to something so-" Nick handed Terrence the
binoculars and pointed towards the approaching horde.

"Oh," Terrence said as he looked through the
binoculars.

"We've got a few hours before they arrive," Nick
said. "I'm making some adjustments so we should be able to hold out for a
while but we'll have to leave eventually if more infected keep coming this
way."

"How long can you hold?"

"For as long as our ammo holds for right now. If we
start to lose men that changes."

"I'll have the doctor prep for evac." Terrence
sighed, "Just when he was starting to make a breakthrough."

"How much time does he need?"

"He said he should have something within forty eight
hours."

"I'll have to give you two days then," Nick replied.
He looked Terrence in the eye, "For the greater good right?"

"You're good man, Major."

Nick shook his head. "No, those are good men," he
said gesturing towards the men in the compound, "and a lot of them are
going to die to get you those two days. Make sure the doctor gets this done. I
don't want my men dying for no reason."

Terrence nodded. "I will. I'll leave you to your
preparations."

Nick nodded as Terrence left. Now he just had to come up
with a plan to buy Henry forty eight hours. One that wouldn't get them all
killed in the process.

They came like a wave. Nick stood atop the platform and
watched as thousands of infected made their way towards the facility. Nick
sighed and hoped they had enough ammo to survive.  A howl started amongst
the infected and was quickly picked up by the entire host. It was a low keening
cry that climbed higher and higher until the men were holding their ears to
block out the sound. The infected sprinted forward and a number of men cried
out in fear but to their credit, they stood their ground.

"Get ready!" Nick yelled. "You make every
shot count and we'll get out of this alive!" That was probably a lie but
he needed his men to find their courage. He knew a lot of his men would die
today, but maybe, just maybe a few of them would survive.

Nick gave the order for the gun emplacements to open fire
and row upon row of infected hit the ground as they were cut in half. The
infected behind them tripped over their fellows and chaos ensued as
the gun emplacements tore into their ranks. The victory was short lived however
as the infected just kept coming. For every infected cut down, another took its
place. Nick smiled grimly. It would have been too much to hope that the
emplacements would win the day. 

The infected were also acting differently. Usually,
inflicting enough casualties would cause them to break and run away.
Not so today. Maybe their courage was bolstered because they were so many of
them. Despite the damage being caused by the emplacements, the infected got
close enough that Nick had to order the rest of his men to open fire. Wave upon
wave of infected was struck down but Nick knew this was only temporary. They
could only hold them back for as long as their ammo held out.

Inside the lab Henry worked frantically, doing his best to
ignore the sounds of gunfire.

Nick stood on the makeshift rampart and watched as death
came towards them. There had to be thousands of infected coming their way. Nick
silently hoped their ammunition would out. Terrence said he needed forty eight
hours. Henry was on the verge of a cure but leaving right now would mean he'd
have to start the whole process all over again. Nick glanced around to do
a last minute check on his men. He had never been prouder to serve with these
soldiers. Most of them would probably die before the forty eight hours were up
but each of them stood ready to face their enemy. Nick hated the thought of his
men dying but it was necessary. How many lives would be saved if Henry came
through? He dared not think of the alternative scenario, that Henry would fail.
That his men would have spent their lives for no reason.

Nick shook his head to clear his thoughts. The infected
would be in range in a few moments. Nicked glanced at his aide, "Direct
the emplacements to open fire."

The aide nodded and relayed to order over the walkie. A
moment later there was a thunderous roar as all the gun emplacements opened
fire. Nick smiled grimly as row upon row of infected fell to the ground. His
satisfaction was short lived however as the infected began charging towards the
facility. Nick gave the order for everyone to open fire and his aide quickly
relayed the message. The smaller thunder of his men's rifles joined the
emplacements and more infected fell to the ground.

The infected kept coming and a few survived the volleys only
to be arrested on the electrified fence. The stench of their burnt flesh
assaulted Nick's nostrils and he had to swallow down his bile. The sound of
vomiting nearby told him that some of his men hadn't been so lucky. Nick
steeled himself and carried on. The infected attacked and his men unleashed
volley after volley into their ranks. As night fell, powerful floodlights
provided illumination for his men to see by. The battle continued until the sun
poked over the horizon and the infected finally retreated from the light's
harsh glare.

Nick breathed a sigh of relief and heard the same echoed
from his men. That was the first day. One more and hopefully they could be on
their way to the next facility. Nick turned to his aide, "Get me a status
report ASAP." the aide nodded and left the rampart to carry out the order.

A half hour later, Nick sat with his men eating an MRE. They
hadn't suffered any casualties and Nick dared to hope they might escape this
relatively intact. They used up a lot of ammo for the gun emplacements but
hopefully it would hold out long enough. He desperately hoped Henry would be
finished before the ammo for the emplacements was depleted. If that happened,
they wouldn't be able to hold the infected back and would probably have to
engage in hand to hand. A lot of his men would die then. Nick sighed as he
tossed the remains of his MRE into the trash. He headed for his office to get
some sleep while he could.

Nick awoke to the sound of the base siren filling his ears.
He quickly stood and grabbed his gear, grateful that he had slept fully
clothed. Nick reached the fence and heard the howls of the infected as they
approached. He cursed. He hoped that is men had gotten enough rest. Nick
reached the top of his rampart and saw that his men were all in position. He
nodded to his aide who relayed the order to fire and day two began.

Terrence Matte entered the lab and found Doctor Pendleton
examining a computer screen. "Forgive the interruption, Doctor. I came to
check on your progress."

Henry turned a pair of bloodshot eyes in Terrence's
direction and sighed. Clearly, the experiments the doctor had performed had
taken their toll on his psyche. In addition to the bloodshot eyes, his skin was
unhealthy looking pallor. He also looked as if he hadn't slept in days which
was probably true. Terrence snuffed out that spark of pity. This was necessary.
So what if the doctor had nightmares. What he had done here would save
countless lives. It could be the very difference between their country being
destroyed or coming back from the brink. What was one man in the face of that?

"Almost there," Henry replied.

"How soon can you be ready to leave?"

"This simulation has to finish. If it doesn't I'd have
to harvest more...material. I'm not sure I can go through that again."

Terrence sighed internally. Terrence had hoped the doctor
was committed but he was letting his emotions get the best of him. So what if
they had to 'harvest' more? It would be better to leave while they could and
begin again. Unfortunately, the cure couldn't be found without the doctor's
help so he had to cater to him. 

"Of course, doctor. It's just that the soldiers are
being hard pressed outside. The sooner we can leave for the next facility, the
better."

"A few more hours at least," Henry replied.
"Five, maybe six. That's just an estimate though."

Terrence nodded, "Thank you, doctor."

Nick felt footsteps shake the rampart and turned to see
someone whispering in his aide's ear. "Well?" Nick asked once they
were alone again.

"Agent Terrence reported that Doctor Pendleton needs
about five or six more hours."

Nick nodded and dared to hope. The end was in sight at
least. Maybe they could make it through this after all. "Send someone to
prepare the helicopters. I want to be in the air the second the doctor is
done."

Nick surveyed the fence line again and noticed something
that made his blood run cold. The infected that had managed to survive the
gauntlet of fire were purposely jumping on the fence. They were steadily making
a pile of bodies that might let them get over the fence. Were they getting
smarter? Nick shuddered at the thought of infected using tactics. "Keep an
eye on things here, I'm going to check that fence."

He hurried down the rampart, taking the stairs two at a
time. He motioned to a squad on standby and headed for the fence. It was just
as he had thought. The infected were trying to climb over the bodies of their
fellows so they could scale the fence. "Shoot them before they reach the
fence," he ordered. "You two, find some brooms or mops. No metal
pieces, we've got to clear this fence."

Nick and his men fired on the infected and managed to
prevent any more from adding to the pile. The two soldiers he had sent off
returned and they shoved the brooms between the links in the fence to dislodge
the bodies. The infected roared and headed for the fence again only to be put
down by rifle fire.

"Sir," Nick's aide called over the walkie,
"there's another build up south of your position."

"Acknowledged," Nick replied. He left two men
there to guard against any new infected and led the rest to the new position.
They found themselves at another pile and worked quickly to dismantle it. Nick
sighed. This wasn't a fluke, the infected were making an organized effort to
get over the fence. He made a mental note to inform Pendleton later. His aide
contacted him again and Nick led his men to the next pile. After what felt like
days, Nick finally heard Terrence's voice over the walkie.

"We're done here, Captain. Ready for EVAC."

"Understood," Nick replied. He switched to a
general channel, "Begin EVAC procedure. I repeat, begin EVAC." Nick
returned to his rampart to ensure that his men were getting away safely. The
gun emplacements continued to roar and Nick was grateful the ammo had held out.

The evacuation proceeded in an orderly fashion and Nick was
pleased his men remained calm, despite the thousands of infected just on the
other side of the fence. Several minutes later, the gun emplacements went
silent and they infected roared in what seemed like victory. They surged
forward and began hurling themselves at the fence in several areas. Nick
quickly made his way to a helicopter and put on a headset.

"Everyone accounted for?" he asked his aide.

"Yes, sir," came the reply. "The last group
just reported in."

"Alright. Pilot, get us outta here!"

The helicopters lifted off just as the infected began
clearing the fences. They sprinted into the facility and Nick could hear their
howls over the helicopter blades, furious that they had been denied their
prize.

"Get me a private channel with Agent Terrence."

The aide nodded and fiddled with some nobs on a control
panel nearby. He then gave Nick a thumbs up.