Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (Book 4): Walking In The Shadow Of Death (8 page)

“They pounded and clawed at my
door, scratching and howling ... screaming.” Thomas paused before looking back
down at his cup. “But I hid, I stayed quiet and hid. I think I fell asleep, I’m
not sure. The next thing I remember it was dark. The power had gone out, but I
could hear sirens in the distance, sometimes a gunshot. The streetlights came
on. They shone through my curtains. I knew this must be the infection, that it
must be here.

“We had seen the television reports
from the mainland … At first they told us they were riots. Because of the
border shutdowns and the movement restrictions. But we all knew better, you
could see it in the telecast, the people filled with madness, attacking
everything, killing everything. I knew this was it … It had to be. I packed a
few more things into my backpack, just essentials, some clothes and what little
food and water I kept in the room. I listened by the door. I didn’t hear
anything so I slowly opened it and went into the hallway. They were all dead …
my dorm mates, torn apart. All of them dead,” Thomas said before burying his
face in his hands.

“I’m sorry Thomas, many of us have
experienced the same thing. You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to, we
understand,” Brad said in a low voice.

“No, it’s okay, I want to talk
about it. I haven’t told Mom and Dad, not all of it, not how bad it was, not
really,” Thomas said. “You all,” he said, looking at the hardened faces around
the room, “I can talk to you.”

“Okay … well it’s up to you,” Brad
acknowledged.

“After I saw them … the dead … I
went back in my room and locked the door. I hid again, listening to the sirens and
the screams outside. We had a phone in our room, I tried it but the line was
busy, my mobile wouldn’t connect either. I listened to the sirens and screaming
through the night. The next time I opened my eyes the sun was shining into my
room. And I could smell smoke. I went into the hallway. The smoke was thicker
there.

“I didn’t dare go to the stairway,
the way those things had come up, so I ran down the far hall to the back exit.
The door was locked from the outside. So I went to the common area, it’s like a
TV room, but there is a fire escape there. I tried to open the window but it
was stuck. I remembered that in the hallway there was a case on the wall; it
held an axe. I guess so firefighters could get into our rooms if they ever had
to. I ran through the smoke and broke the glass. The axe was heavier than I
thought it would be, but it felt good in my hands.

“I ran back into the lounge. I
swung the axe and the window shattered. The smoke was thick now and I was
coughing. I went through the window and onto the fire escape.  I ran down
the stairs as fast as I could, all the way down to the ground, then ran across
the yard and hid in the shadows of some tall bushes. I watched the dorm burn.
No one came. Nobody, no firefighters, not the police … nobody. I watched, until
I was sure I was alone.

“I could still hear the sirens, and
the screams, but they were far to the south of me. I could hear more gunshots
now also, automatic weapons, the military I guess. All to the south, so I
headed north. I tried to find a car, but there were no keys in any of them. I
don’t know how to hotwire or steal cars. Maybe I should have learnt that
instead of studying to be an engineer. A lot of good that will do me now.”

“You might be surprised,” Nelson
said, smiling. “I’m an engineer of sorts, and it has worked out pretty well for
me lately.”

Thomas nodded and returned the
smile before continuing. “I found a bike rack. The bikes were all locked, but
the axe made simple work of it. I slung the axe across my back, now I was able
to move faster. I wanted to get to the outskirts of the city and into the woods
as fast as I could. I figured I could hide better in the forest. I’m not a
townie, I grew up in the woods, I feel safe there. I rode across campus and cut
through the park. It sits on the edge of the forest.

“I figured if I could make the
forest trails, I could follow a path to the main road. The road was the way
home. That’s when I saw him. Or he saw me ... He was screaming and running
right at me. I pedaled hard, but he never slowed, I couldn’t lose him. I rode
the trail and would slow to catch my breath and he’d be right behind me. 
I hit a corner too fast and lost it on the bike. I tumbled into the bushes. I
hurried to my feet and grabbed the bike, but I had knocked the chain off. I
scrambled to fix it but I could hear him screaming and running down the trail.

“I readied the axe and choked up on
the handle. The thing rounded the corner, still screaming. I screamed back at
him but he didn’t stop. I swung as hard as I could. I caught him in the jaw. I
saw the splash of blood, I watched his jaw twist and break away from the rest
of his head. The man’s speed and the blow from the axe carried him past me. He
tumbled into a roll, falling into the brush along the trail. My swing carried
me forward and I hit the ground and lost control of the axe.

“I climbed to my feet. I was so
tired. My lungs were burning, my heart was beating out of my chest. I found the
axe near my feet and I picked it up just as the man turned to face me. His jaw
was hanging from his face. He was still screaming. Foam and blood were coming
from the wound. He snarled and started to get to his feet. I ran at him and
smashed him in the top of the head, swinging like I had been taught to split
fire wood.

“I stayed in that spot for a long
time. I thought more would come. You know, attracted to the screams. But no one
came. I stayed there for what seemed like hours. I went through the man’s
pockets and found his wallet. He was an employee of the University, a
custodian. He had pictures in his wallet, a family. What makes a man behave
this way? I have killed others since then, but it’s that one that I cannot
forget.”

Hahn stood and used a spoon to stir
the contents of a kettle on top of the stove before he sat in a chair. “You
won’t forget Thomas, but it will be easier to remember with time. How did you
manage to get home then? “Hahn asked.

“After that,” Thomas continued, “I
decided to leave the bike. It was faster but I didn’t want to be surprised by
one of them again. I stalked the forest trail. Moving slowly, staying hidden. I
made it to the road. It was bad there, cars backed up in both directions.
Survivors, police, military. They were all there. The military were forming
road blocks and checkpoints. People were trying to get out of the city, and
others were trying to get in. Everyone was confused. Nobody seemed to know what
was going on or what to do.

“I met a family there, they were
trying to get into the city to find some family members. But when they were
stopped by the roadblocks and told to turn back … I asked if I could join them.
I didn’t know them personally, but they live far to the north of here, and my
parents’ place was on the way. They agreed and I was grateful for the ride. We
didn’t get far; the road going north was congested with traffic. We sat still
more than we moved.

“We saw them running in the
distance. People left their cars and ran up the road. We could hear the
gunshots from the road blocks. People were panicking. We left the vehicle and
joined the chaos on the road. I tried to stay with them but we were soon
separated. The infected came over us quickly, mixing in with the crowd.
Everyone was lashing out, running, trampling each other.

“I climbed onto a large shipping
truck. I laid on the roof and watched the insanity below. Police were firing
into the crowds, I watched a panicked officer empty his gun into an infected
before being dragged to the ground by a mob of them. I moved to the center of
the roof and laid on my back quietly. I listened to them fighting below me. I
could hear glass breaking and people screaming in fear, and the infected moans.

“I stayed up there until the sun
went down. I looked over the side of the truck. I could still see them, the
crowds of the infected moving about on the road. In large groups, they were
walking back south, back towards the city. I waited for a break, when I thought
they were far enough away. I dropped to the ground and ran back to the woods. I
climbed a tree and I slept there until dawn.

“When the sun came up they were
gone. In the beginning … When it first started we didn’t see them much during
the day. They don’t seem to like the heat or maybe it’s the bright light. It
was early fall then and still unseasonably warm. Anyway, when I came out of the
tree they were all gone, infected and survivors. I followed the highway from
inside the forest, being careful to stay hidden.

“I traveled that way until I got
home. Moving during the day and sleeping in trees at night. The farther I got
from the city and the road the less of them I saw. When I finally got to the
farm, Mom and Dad were sure happy to see me. They didn’t really have a clue as
to what was happening. The farm lost its phone connection and power about the
same time as I did at the University. They had been warned to stay home, of
course they’d heard there were riots in the city, but nothing to the level of
what I described to them.

“I’m still not sure that Mom
totally comprehends our situation. Even after … Well, even after Dad and I had
to put down Mister Emerson and his family. They were neighbors that were
infected, they came at us. But we been really lucky, we haven’t seen many of
them around the farm since then. Usually we find them in ones or twos out
around the pastures. Or closer to the villages,” Thomas said.

“I guess we messed that all up for
ya,” Hahn said.

“Yeah, we seen far more of them in
recent days. I have never seen groups of them this far north or into the hills.
Dad still figures they will make their way back into the city eventually.”

Sean moved his chair so that he sat
closer to them. “Thomas, what do you know about them?”

“The infected? Not much, the news
called it rabies or a virus, but you already know that, your man Brooks
explained where you all came from, and how you got here.”

“More than that,” Sean said, “when
did they get so slow?”

“Yeah, Dad’s been watching them.
They seem to be changing. Some of ‘em started moving real slow as the weather
turned cold, and others don’t seem to be so much bothered by it. Dad thinks
maybe it’s the freeze, or maybe it’s how they feed, maybe the slow ones are
starving.”

“Have you heard anything about
smart ones?” Sean asked.

“What? No, I heard about what
happened on the oil rig. But no, we ain’t seen that. But we stay out here
hidden. I can’t say they aren’t smart ones but we haven’t seen them.”

“Well I don’t want to burst your
bubble kid, but there are smart ones here. We have put a few of them down since
we landed on your island,” Hahn said.

Parker got to his feet and stirred the
contents of a pot resting atop the stove. “Yup it’s done,” he said, lightening
the mood. Quickly, bowls full of the hot stew were passed around. Someone had
cut up the rest of the bread and added it to their plates.

“Eat up tonight, gentlemen, I have a
feeling tomorrow will be a long day,” Sean said.

10.

Brad woke to a bright light shining
in his face. He turned his head and shielded his eyes. “It’s your watch,
Sergeant,” he heard Parker whisper.

Brad grunted as he looked at the
glowing dial on his wrist. “It’s already 4 a.m.?”

“Yup, you awake? I want to grab a
couple more hours before the sun comes up,” Parker whispered.

“Yeah I’m awake, you are relieved,”
Brad said as he sat up. He had taken a spot on the floor next to the stove.
With the fire going and the temperature more bearable, the men had spread out
in the cabin. Brad slowly got to his feet and sat in a chair while he pulled on
his boots. He could hear the creaking up in the attic. He knew it would be
Hahn. They were still pulling two man, hour-long shifts, but they alternated
the start times by thirty minutes to keep them sharp. At the top of each man’s
watch, a new man would be rotated in.

Brad moved towards the kitchen area
and poured himself a glass of water from a pitcher sitting on the counter. He
quietly walked towards one of the front windows and moved the cloth away from
the spy hole so that he could see outside. The moon was still nearly full and
reflected brightly off of the snow. Brad checked the view in front of the
house. He waited patiently for several minutes watching for movement. Observing
nothing, he moved to the back of the house and looked through the window that
overlooked the pond, again finding nothing.

Brad continued rotating between the
front and back of the house. He looked at his watch and saw that enough time
had passed that he should relieve Hahn in the attic. Brad went to the ladder
and climbed up and into the space above. He found Hahn sitting cross-legged and
looking out of the vent. Brad quietly crawled towards him, careful to keep his
weight on the beams. Hahn looked back at him as he got closer.

“Anything?” Brad whispered.

“Saw a nice moose earlier,” Hahn
answered.

“Moose? No shit.”

“Yeah, out there moving towards the
pond. That’s gotta be a good sign, I figure moose wouldn’t hang around if
primals were out there.”

“Good point,” Brad said, straining
to look out of the vent.

“What are you going to do tomorrow,
Brad?” Hahn asked.

“You mean about Kelli?” Brad
responded.

“Yeah. I get where Chief is going,
but I wouldn’t feel right not making the run for her.”

“I know. Chief is a tough one to
figure out. I can’t tell if he is trying to talk us out of it, or just making
sure we understand the risks.”

“Shit Brad, everything we do out
here is a risk … Did you know we talked Kelli into joining Charlie Group? She
had it made out in the fleet,” Hahn asked.

“Gunner told us he brought her on
because she could fly. And because she is also one hell of a shot,” Brad
replied.

“Yeah, girl flew transports. But
most of the big birds were grounded. There wasn’t much work for her.  And
being an officer and all, she was on full time sham duty. Gunner found out
about her one day during one of the briefs. He’s the one who got her assigned
to us.”

“She’s handy with that rifle. Too
bad she ain’t here with us now,” Brad said.

“She
is
one of us Brad,
remember that. I’d go back for you, this is the same thing.”

“I know that, she has proven that
to all of us; she handled herself well on the flights here,” Brad said.

“See Brad, you ain’t getting it.
Gunner went and drafted her into Charlie Group. If it wasn’t for Gunner, she
would be sitting pretty back there on that island. I feel we are responsible
for her now. Regardless of how the vote goes, I’ll be going after those drugs,”
Hahn said before getting up and crawling down the ladder.

Brad sat there alone, quietly
watching out the vent, looking across the snow-covered field and into the
trees. The sky was beginning to grey; dawn would be coming soon. He could hear
Hahn moving around below. He heard him wake Sean to relieve him from his shift.
After a while Sean climbed the ladder and moved into position next to Brad.

Sean leaned forward and looked
through the vent. “Anything to turn over?” he whispered.

“No, it’s been quiet. Hahn said he
saw a moose.”

“Really, a moose? Hmm, wonder if
they are good eating, might have to ask Thomas about that.”

“Chief … about Kelli.”

“Save it Brad, there will be time
enough for that in the morning. Why don’t you let Joey sleep in, I’ll cover the
end of the watch,” Sean said in a serious voice.

Brad nodded and turned to make his
way down the ladder. When he reached the bottom he walked towards the bunks and
grabbed his bag. He separated his assault pack from the back of his ruck and
started moving gear around, putting things in the bag he thought he might need
for his trip into the village. He had already decided he would be going on the
mission.

He knew they would be moving fast
and would want to travel light. He grabbed his stack of MRE entrees and put
them in the bottom of the bag. He added the boxes of 9mm rounds and all of the
5.56mm he had left, along with the rest of his spare magazines. He stuffed in
his poncho liner, several dry T-shirts and pairs of socks along with most of
his first aid kit. The rest of his essentials would be worn on his gear.

Brad zipped and closed the pouches
on his assault pack and the rucksack and placed them back by the bunks. He
added more wood to the fire and placed a fresh pot of water on top of the
stove. The sun was breaking the horizon now and he could see the light begin to
filter in through the vents in the attic. Brad moved into the kitchen and
opened cans of hash and dumped them into a skillet. Joey heard the noise and
jumped out of the bed. He looked at his watch. “Damn man, why didn’t you wake
me, I was supposed to relieve Chief!” Joey said agitatedly as he quickly
dressed and put on his boots.

“Don’t sweat it Joey, you had the
last watch. Chief will be fine,” Brad said.

“Man I hope so, I don’t want to be
on Chief’s bad side,” Joey said.

“Bro! I said don’t worry about it,
why don’t you make yourself useful and take this skillet over to the stove.”

As the hash began to sizzle, the
rest of the men started to wake up. Sean came down from the attic and sat at
the table. Thomas got up and moved towards the stove. “Looks like you found
Uncle Darrin’s stash of corned beef. He does love his hash. We used to eat it
for breakfast every time I stayed here,” Thomas said, smiling.

“Where is your uncle now?” Sean asked.

“Oh … not really sure, he doesn’t
stay on the rock much anymore. When the fishing dried up he took a job in the
oil business. He only comes home a couple times a year now. But he still loves
this place. We spend a lot of time here when he visits.”

“It is a nice spot, I imagine the
hunting is good,” Brad said.

“Oh yeah, great hunting, plenty of
game about,” Thomas said.

Joey came back to the table with
the skillet of sizzling hash. He sat the skillet in the center and the men
divided it amongst themselves and scattered about the room to eat. Thomas was
still sitting at the table with Brad and Sean; Hahn had pulled up a chair
across from them.

“So Thomas, tell me more about this
town. The one with the clinic,” Brad asked.

Sean shot Brad a disapproving stare,
then grabbed for his glass and took a long drink of water. The tension did not
go unnoticed by Thomas who looked away and shied back towards his plate of
hash.

“No, it’s okay, Thomas, you can
answer the sergeant’s question,” Sean said.

“Sir, the town isn’t much to look
at, small place, nowhere near the size of the city on the coast. Used to be a
quarry there. But that work is mostly gone now.”

“How many people live … lived
there?” Brad asked.

“Ahh, I’m not sure. They have a
school, and a nice lake, people go there in the summers on holiday. I had a
friend that stayed up that way. He lived in a trailer park outside of town, and
I’d say at least a thousand folks lived out that way.”

“But you say there are lots of
infected there? That’s what you said yesterday,” Sean asked.

“Yes sir. Dad and I tried to get to
the town weeks back, thought maybe the constable would have answers, but we
only got a few kilometers from the town center before we started spotting them
and we turned back.”

“So if the town is overrun with
infected, how do you think we can just get in and out with what we need?” Sean
asked.

“Well … Brooks, he said you all
were experts at sneaking into places you are not supposed to be. And they be
moving slower now. I think if you go in during the daylight you could do it.
I’ll go with you Chief, if you are worried,” Thomas said.

Sean smiled and finished the last
bite on his plate. He looked up and saw that the others had gathered around the
table and were looking at him. Sean drank the rest of his water and refilled
his glass from the pitcher. “Hmm … I guess we might as well get this out of the
way,” he said.

Sean took the note out of his shirt
pocket and opened it up and placed it on the table. “As we all know, Brooks has
given us a shopping list. He says without it Kelli may die. This is the sort of
thing Charlie Group was known for back in the sand box. So I figure we could
possibly make light work of it. But the risks will be high. There is no
helicopter to insert or extract us, so we have to go in and out by foot. We
have no intel on what’s lurking down there, and we can’t even be sure if this
clinic hasn’t already been looted—”

“Now hold on Chief—”Brad started to
say before Sean put up his hand to cut him off.

Sean continued, looking at the men
around the table. “I will lead a team in by foot. But I need three of you to
volunteer to go with me. If we don’t get three then the mission is a scratch. I
won’t force any of you, and I won’t look down on you if you elect not to go.”

“I’m in,” Brad said, looking at
Sean, surprised that he was offering to lead the trip.

“Shocker,” Sean replied
sarcastically before giving Brad a smile.

“Count me in also,” Hahn said.

Sean looked around the room at the
rest of them. Parker had moved away from the table and was avoiding them near
the stove. Nelson was nervously standing next to him. Joey and Daniel were
talking to each other in the far corner.

“I’ll go, I know the place,” Thomas
said.

“I’m sure you do, Thomas, but
sorry, I won’t be taking you. You and Nelson won’t be going with me. No offense
boys, but I need gunfighters.”

Joey moved back to the table with
his brother. Daniel stood behind Brad. “We will go, but you have to take both
of us. We ain’t splitting up,” Daniel said.

“It’s both of us or none of us,”
Joey said.

Sean laughed out loud as he looked
around the room. “So I have to cut one of you two, to get these two,” Sean
said, looking at Brad and Hahn. “Do you two want to decide amongst yourselves who
will drop out? Both of you going isn’t an option, I don’t want to cut the teams
this much, someone needs to secure the cabin while we are out.”

Hahn spoke first. “I’m going. Brad,
you don’t owe Kelli squat, I’ll go.”

Brad stood and walked to the counter
and grabbed a stack of stick matches. “We both owe Kelli for flying us here,
even if she did crash,” Brad smiled, “I know neither of us will back down, so
let’s draw for it.”

Brad separated two of the matches
from the stack and broke one of them in half. He then held them in his fist and
asked Hahn to draw. Hahn selected a match and pulled the short one from Brad’s
fist. “Damn, you drew the short one, you win, I’m going,” Brad said.

“Wait, now that’s bullshit, the
short stick goes,” Hahn argued.

“Hahn, we drew fair and square. I’m
not going to argue about this, I’m going. You are in charge until we get back,”
Brad ordered.

Hahn threw his piece of the match
down onto the table and stomped off towards the bunks, cussing under his
breath.

“Chief, when do you want to head
out?” Brad asked.

“I think we should get prepped and
move within the next hour.”

Brad looked to the Villegases. “Can
you all be ready to move?”

“Shit son, we’re always ready,”
Daniel answered.