Zombie Theorem: The End Game (26 page)

Brian nudged me. “Hey, we have no idea when we will be eating again, so fill up on calories. You can always take coffee with you to the top. You’ll thank me for it.”

I sliced into my grilled chicken and downed it quickly, then attacked the potatoes and heaps of veggies. Once done eating, my plate was whisked away and refilled. I looked down at it and thought I would be too full to eat anymore, but the second I smelled it, my stomach growled and begged for me to eat more. I downed the steaming coffee and attacked the new food. The fact that I was not eating MREs did not pass me by. This food actually had spices and great flavor, instead of that bland stuff they called ‘food’.

I watched the team between bites, as they attacked their food and drank large amounts of coffee. It then hit me, what about the rest of the soldiers? Are we the only ones eating this good? Were the others relegated to eating the MRE slop? I caught Doc’s eye and asked “Hey Doc, what about the rest of the troops? Are they eating MREs? Cause that does not seem fair.”

“Oh, those bastards are eating good, I promise. Most of them are already done and manning the defenses. We are the last to eat, now stop wasting my time and finish up, because we have things to do, boy,” he spoke in that cowboy accent and squinted.

“Boy? That would be Major Boy to you, Daisy!” I barked out but of course was not taken seriously, since I had a large smile plastered on my face.

I dropped my head and shoveled the food in. I poured another cup of coffee and pushed back in my chair, moving away from the table. I crossed my legs and listened in on the jokes being thrown about wildly. I took small sips from my cup, enjoying the warmth and caffeine rush as it washed over me. Apache caught me relaxing, taking in the scene and ambience. She winked at me and threw a smile in my direction. I returned the wink, smile, and then closed my eyes.

Chapter 5

I was yanked out of my body. I felt it and when I opened my eyes, I was flying away from my body and the table. I went through the ceiling and outside, and I still didn’t stop. I flew into the sky and then, rushed back down so fast that I could not see where I was going till I found myself sitting in the boat. I had to breathe hard to catch my breath. Okay, to be honest, I didn’t. Being on this plane of existence took the need to breathe and the feeling of pain away. But in my psyche, I needed to breathe hard. If you don’t understand me, that is ok. I know it’s taking a leap of faith to follow what is happening here.

I looked around and no one was on the boat with me. Usually, Angel would be here waiting for me. I got to my feet and stalked around, looking for anyone present. It took me a while to notice that the boat wasn’t rocking and that the bay was clear as ice. I climbed to the top of the boat to see if I could notice anything moving on the island that I was calling Paradise. It was also deserted, no wind rustling the palm trees, no one sitting on the beach, no waves washing ashore. I took my seat and looked up to the sky.

I tilted my head up and yelled into the sky. “Look, I’m here I don’t know what you want from me!” I was upset and wanted to go home, I had a battle to get ready for.

I sighed and looked overboard, I considered jumping off the boat and into the water. I figured I could swim to the island and look around for someone to talk to. A male’s voice coming from behind me caused me to jump.

“Why so impatient my friend?” The voice was what you would expect to come from a thirty-five-year-old meek accountant who lived in Fargo, North Dakota with his mom.

I turned and found the man that the voice belonged to. He was small statured, and looked mysteriously like Agent Coulson from the Avengers, complete with black suit, and black, plastic glasses. He sat on a small bench seat with what looked to be a sweaty glass of iced tea, complete with lemon and a little umbrella.

“Come sit down and have a glass of tea, Dan. We need to talk.”

I stared at him for a while till he gave me a disarming smile and held out his glass to me. I took a step closer and took his glass of proffered tea, then slowly sat down opposite of him.

“How do you know who I am? And where is Angel?” I asked.

“She is busy with some other assignments right now. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you.” He smiled showing his bright whites.

I took a sip of the tea and was floored with all the flavors that exploded once it touched my tongue. I was shocked by the flavors and had to take a second to sort some of them out. I tasted peach, blueberries, strawberries, orange, apple, raspberry, lemon, among other flavors I could not identify.

The man smiled at me as if reading my thoughts. “It’s a special blend that I reserve for people I like.”

I took another sip, afraid to gulp it down and lose out on the chance to enjoy it. I cocked my head to the side and thought about the man’s words. I burrowed my brow and looked over at him. “First, I don’t know your name, and second, you just said you only share it with people you like. Do you know me?”

He gave me a gentle smile that reflected the sunlight off his teeth. “Dan, I have known you before you knew you. But we are getting off topic. We need to chat.”

I looked at him with confusion clearly written on my face. I know you want to know what that ‘look’, looks like. Just imagine when you speak baby language to your dog, and he tilts his head at you and his tongue falls out. Yeah except the tongue thing, that was me.

“You keep saying we need to talk, so talk. I’ll sit here and sip this awesome tea and give you my full attention.” I smart-assed.

He was so calm and treated me as if I was a child and he was a parent, suffering my small tantrum. “Dan, please, I have way more tea to share with you. You do not have to sip it. What I brought you here for is to push what Angel has been telling you. The reason you were chosen was your humanity and your inane ability to overcome obstacles. But your humanity may also be your down-fall. We have looked into this coming battle and no matter what you do, people will die. I know others have warned you, but as I watch you, I can see you being apprehensive. You need to make the next leap in leadership. Yes, people who you command will die, it is inevitable. And you must not hesitate to do what it takes, even though you know someone will die. In order for the human race to go on, you need to be the man that everyone relies on. Do not second guess your decisions.” The man stopped talking and looked into the sky for a moment as if seeing something, then brought his gaze back onto me.

I averted my gaze away from the small man and focused on Paradise. I do not know how long I stayed that way, my thoughts rushed through my head and I couldn’t grasp onto a single one. When I did come back, the man sat there patiently, waiting on me. I finished my tea and when I brought the cup down, the glass was full again. I smiled at that.

“Neat trick.” I took another drink.

“It’s all in the wrists.” The man joked and then flicked his right hand out and
wham,
he was holding an identical glass of tea and took a long drink from it. “It is good tea, that is for sure.”

“First, I still don’t know who you are. Although I may have an idea, and let me say I don’t even want to voice it. Cause if it is true, then I need to see a head shrink when you send me back.”

“Dan, I am whomever you choose me to be,” he offered cryptically with a smile.

“Oh please, don’t go there. I don’t want to imagine it. Secondly, you’re telling me the same thing I have already heard. No matter what decision I make in the coming battle, people will die and it will be my fault. That doesn’t sit well with me, but if that is really paradise and you are who I think you are, then I guess this is a truth I just have to accept. But I do not like it, and I will continually try to change fate. That is just who I am.” I took a long swallow of the tea.

“Dan, like I said, I know who you are. You wouldn’t be leading this fight, if you weren’t you.” He stopped talking and looked up again. He sighed sadly and looked over to me, catching my eye and not letting it go. “It is time to send you back, the battle is sooner than you think. Go back and lead these people, for it is the first step in the endgame.”

I started to speak when I was suddenly back in my body, I moved quickly opening my eyes and almost dropping the cup of hot coffee in my hand. I looked wildly around the table and saw that I had not been gone long, for the same conversations and actions were continuing from last I remembered. Apache caught my wild look and gave me a worried stare. I grasped Brian’s arm and squeezed, gaining his attention.

“We need to get top-side now.” He looked at me, confused over my words. But being the man he is, he leapt to his feet and slammed his hands on the table.

“Stop what you are doing grab your gear, and get top-side now!” he roared. The table went silent as they processed the big man’s words and body language. But in a heartbeat, they jumped to their feet, grabbed their weapons and took off for the door.

I stood, placed my coffee on the table and was right in the middle of the group as we left the room, ran down the hallway and up the stairs. Dread filled my emotions and pushed the adrenaline to go wild in my system. Once in the guard room near the big door to the outside, we stopped and crowded around a radio technician manning a small desk and radio set. He looked shocked to see us and then suddenly pressed his headset to his ears. He raised a hand to silence us as he wrote down what he had heard.

“Enemy convoy sighted three mikes out. Four troop transport helicopters, possible Blackhawks inbound, ATM emplacements hunkered down and believe they have not been seen,” he spoke as he wrote. “Count of eleven combatants fast roping from Blackhawks, they are one hundred yards from our front door. All stations awaiting orders.” The man turned to accept new orders from me.

I thought for a quick second. “Tell all to hold their positions and to report when things change. After that, get Delta on that thing.”

The man turned and relayed my orders to the men and then flipped some switches and called out for Delta. After a moment, the man turned back to me. “Delta awaiting orders sir.”

“Ask them what their position and situation is. Also, alert them to our new problem.” I ordered.

This relaying thing was getting on my nerves. I tapped the man on the shoulder and held my hand out, interrupting his transmission. He stared at me for a moment and handed over his headset and vacated his chair. I sat down and removed my notebook from my vest chest pouch.

“Hey it’s Dan, where are you guys? Over.” I called out.

“Dan, good to hear your voice, brother.” It was Heaven’s voice coming over the air. “We are within sight of the facility. Had to make a detour to avoid the enemy convoy and patrols. Where do you want us, Dan? Over.”

“Wait one, over” I pulled out my notebook and perused through the notes I’d made. I looked back to Brian. “Can I have a map, please?”

Brian pulled one from Vic’s thigh pocket and spread it out on the table nearby. I studied, making quick notes back in my notebook and making marks on the map. I looked it over for a couple more minutes and made my decisions.

“Heaven, I want you guys up on the plateau looking down on the garage entrance. Watch those guys who just came off the Blackhawks, and keep me informed of their movements. Over.”

“Roger, Dan. Guard garage entrance and report enemy’s movements. Understood all. Over.” Heaven answered.

“Roger. Out.” I gave the radioman his seat and headset back. “Send someone to get me if Delta reports in.”

“Yes, Sir,” he answered.

I turned and surveyed the team. “Kuppers, take command of the ground forces, and attack when you see fit.” I turned to Brian. “Brian, you have command of the ATM forces. Make sure you keep communication with Kuppers. I expect you two to keep us afloat. Apache, Doc, and Cupcake, I want all three of you in the garage prepared to back up Delta, if they need it.”

Vic tapped me on the shoulder. “Where do you want me?”

I smiled. “By my side the whole time. I need someone who knows military doctrine and can communicate my ideas and plans with the rest of the team. You get the most fun!”

Vic dropped his head and wiped his brow. “Yeah, me!” he joked.

We broke into our teams and moved on to take our commands. Vic and I took one of the guard rooms on the ground floor. We moved the table and taped the map on the wall. The NG who had parachuted in were divided up between the garage, the ATM positions staged on the mountain tops, and the majority in the stairway on the bottom level, ready to move upstairs when needed. My thinking was that if we were bombed or the ground floor of the building was destroyed, they would be able to protect the main part of the facility. Kuppers agreed with my idea and staged them accordingly.

Radio messages came in from all stations as the day went by. Delta reported that the Ridder forces who had come in by air had hunkered down and not moved. The convoy had completely arrived and were in the act of surrounding the whole facility. Amazingly, no one had tried to move in on the garage yet. We waited on pins and needles for the attack we all knew was coming. The stress was getting to all of us. I ordered the cafeteria to make warm food and get the men and women to enjoy the down-time in between shifts. I didn’t want to make the mistake of having our troops too stressed, too tired, or too hungry to fight back.

The problem, was that I could not relieve the forces outside. I just had to believe they would be ok and ready to fight when needed. I wondered what Ridder was doing when it came to me. They were going to encircle us and then pound us into submission. I still didn’t think they would bomb us, but fire heavy weapons into the main facility and assault the garage I knew that had to be their plan. I shared my feelings with Vic, and just suggested that maybe we should move down-stairs and button up, when the building shook from a mighty explosion. I was thrown off of my feet and thankfully, landed on a bunk still in the room. Vic was not so lucky, he fell on his ass on to the tiled floor and knocked his helmeted head against the door frame.