We ate our lunch while we worked so that when we finished clearing the accident, we would be able to get going again. Al had filled a cooler with some fresh fruit and vegetables while we were at the store. It was a good lunch. One we probably wouldn't get too many chances to have in the near future. If we were lucky, next spring I hoped to plant a huge garden. I'd need to find some seeds somewhere. I hadn't thought that far ahead when I first talked to Tim. That reminded me. I hadn't heard from Tim since the crisis started. Gina and I always kept the sat phone with us and the batteries had a full charge. Hopefully, he was still alive.
I was thinking about my son and hoping he was okay when our early warning system went off. “Looks like there's a bunch of zombies headed this way. We'd better get going.” Rick said.
Al looked up the road and saw the small group of about fifteen zombies. They were headed towards us from the direction we were going. “Come on Cindy. Hurry up and get in the truck. Don't worry about it. I got this.” Al said. He and Cindy climbed into the truck and Al took off down the road, drove through the group of zombies, stopped, and then backed up over the ones he'd already smashed.
“That man is nuts.” Gina said. “Rick, I guess you're riding with us.”
Chapter 4
Day 1
The next day I got to work and reported directly to Major Stevens' office. I knocked on his door and he called me in. When I entered his office, he held a finger to his lips and pointed to his ear. The office was no longer secure. He motioned me around his desk and opened a lap top computer. “I want you to read these reports. There were several Facebook and You Tube postings after you left.” He put his finger to his lips again and put a flash drive into the lap top. I looked at the screen and the same Facebook posting that I'd seen yesterday was on. This time I saw the whole thing. There were eight infected Caucasian subjects attacking Arab civilians. The eight were attacking as a group. The scene was in a crowded market place and the Arab people were desperate to get away from their attackers. A women was being held up from behind while being bitten by the men. It was a horrific scene. Her throat was being ripped out by one of the men while several others were biting on her arms. Huge chunks of flesh were torn from both her arms while a stream of arterial blood spurted from her neck. The camera panned over to a little Arab boy being held down on the ground while two men literally ripped him apart. A man tried to come to the boy's rescue with a broom. He repeatedly struck the attackers with the broom to no avail. One of the men attacking the boy grabbed him around the legs and drug him to the ground. Then he jumped onto the attempted rescuer and began chewing on his face.
The camera panned back to the woman being attacked. The photographer zoomed in on her. Her head was down, her body limp. The men that assaulted her continued biting and ravaging her body, She appeared to be dead. Then she lifted her head and stared straight into the camera through clouded eyes. Her attackers released her. She began to stumble towards the person that was filming her attack. The video ended there.
Another posting came on the screen. In this footage the same type of events were playing out. Only the people in this video were obviously of different descent. They looked to be Chinese. There were multiple attackers in a crowded square, at least twenty. Victims were being bitten randomly. This time the attackers didn't appear intent on killing the people they were biting. They would attack one person then move off to the next almost immediately. The crowd wasn't trying to run from the infected like in the last video. They were fighting back. This may have been why the attacks were so short. But in reality, that didn't seem to be the case. It was more like they were trying to spread the infection to as many hosts as possible. One thing was certain. By fighting back and not trying to run, more people were being bitten. I could swear I saw a woman that only moments ago was fighting for her life attacking and biting others. People that had been bitten were still fighting off the assailants when the virus would take them. Convulsing and spasming, they would fall to the ground only to rise and begin attacking others. The camera panned over to a tank coming into the square. The cannon fired and a machine gun mounted on top opened fire into the crowd. I was glad there wasn't any audio. I could see the person firing the gun from on top the tank wasn't being too selective with his targeting. It was easy to see the looks of horror on the faces of the people as they finally started to try to get away from the destruction being rained down on them. The screen went blank.
“As you can see lieutenant, there were ten more postings last night after you left the office. You can be expecting well over one hundred today. You'll be busy but I'll need a report from you by noon. You're dismissed.”
“Yes sir.”
I walked to my desk wondering just how far this virus had spread.. The first video was from Saudi Arabia. The second appeared to be from somewhere in China. I looked at the report Major Stevens had given me. Three internet postings were out of Saudi Arabia, two from China, two from India, and one each from Russia, Egypt, and Ethiopia. The virus was spreading fast. I wondered what other areas of the world had been affected so far. I knew there was no way I'd be able to check for other sources of information while at work. My computer was monitored and I couldn't afford to send out any red flags. I'd have to rely on getting further information by doing my job.
I spent the rest of my morning working with my team shutting down web-sites, blogs, You Tube postings, Facebook sites, and the multitude of other internet sources providing information about the virus. I was trying to get a report together for Major Stevens when he came by my desk.
“Have you had lunch yet lieutenant?”
“No sir. I'm trying to get that report ready for you. I've been so busy shutting down internet sites I fell behind. I'm sorry sir. I know that's no excuse. I'll have it within the hour.”
“I understand. This has been one hell of a day. Take a break. We'll go down to the commissary and get something to eat.”
“Thank you sir. I could use a break.” I could also use some more inside information.
We rode the elevator down to the commissary in silence. When we got to the lunchroom the Major suggested we each get a sandwich and eat outside. When we got out of the building, the Major threw his sandwich into the nearest trash can. I was hungry so I ate mine while I listened to him talk.
“They're going ape shit crazy over at the Pentagon. General Simmons told me that whoever started this virus is doing their best to spread it as fast as possible. Like the damn thing doesn't spread fast enough on it's own. We know the virus is spread through saliva or a blood exchange. The damn thing isn't air born, yet. But they think it's being transmitted another way. The contamination is jumping country to country without any obvious path of travel.”
“Couldn't people unaware of their condition be traveling by plane to other countries? Spreading the virus after getting to their destinations and the infection becomes full blown.”
“No, the virus takes over too fast. If you're bitten just one time the virus can take up to three hours to fully infect you. Multiple bites cause an accelerated reaction. If the victim dies during the attack, reanimation happens in less than a minute.”
“Excuse me sir. Did you say reanimation?”
“Yes Downs, I did.”
“That's not possible.”
“I didn't think so either. But it's true. I've seen it happen. The government over in India has set up a lab where they're experimenting with the virus. They're working with us to try and understand how the virus is transmitted and how long it takes the infection to take control over a host.”
“How are they doing that?”
“They have a caste system over in India.”
“I know that sir.”
“Good, then you'll understand. If you're from a lower caste your life means nothing. They're exposing these lower caste people to the virus and observing reaction times.”
“That's barbaric.”
“Yes it is. And our government is going right along with them. This world is going to change, practically over night. You need to realize that. If you don't get with the program you won't be surviving this thing.”
“I don't know about that sir. Sacrificing those people doesn't seem right. Human life has to count for something, or why bother.”
'We can stand here debating morals all you want. That's not going to keep you alive at the end of the day. You have to know your enemy. Otherwise, you'll never be able to stop him.”
“Speaking of that. How do you stop one?”
“Destroy the brain. I get the feeling we're being watched. Let's get back inside.”
Later that day General Simmons came to my desk. He informed me that Major Stevens was no longer with our project. I was in charge now. He was promoting me to captain and my men and I were going on twelve hour shifts. I had an hour to get home, pack my gear and get back to the base. We were being sequestered.
I hurried home, packed the sat phone in the bottom of a rucksack and filled the rest of it with some personal items. I tried to think of everything I might need for the next few days. But my main goal was to cover the sat phone. Even though I'd accumulated lots of possessions over the years, there wasn't that much I could bring along. I had two changes of clothes, some pictures, and my Army issue 9mm side arm. That was it. I doubted I would ever be returning to my house. I looked around and thought to myself, I live here alone. I was alone. This place wasn't my home. I hadn't had a home in a long time. This was where I slept a roof over my head, not a home. I took a final look around, pulled the door shut, and headed back to Headquarters.
My sector worked out of an office building about a mile from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. There were no residential quarters in our building so we were going to be billeted in a motel near our offices. Since I was now in charge of my division I was given my own room. I was also allowed to bring my personal vehicle to the motel. The rest of my division would be bussed back and forth between the office and the motel.
Things were getting pretty tense. I did have my own room but wouldn't feel safe using the sat phone from the room. There were guards everywhere outside the motel. If I tried to make a call from my room, it would probably get traced back to me. I pictured myself hiding in the bathroom using the phone. Suddenly the door would burst in and I'd be arrested. Then I'd be taken before a court martial, found guilty of treason, and shot as a traitor. I'd have to find a way around the guards. I didn't feel safe making the call from the motel. I was sitting watching the news, trying to think of a way out of the room when my opportunity arose. I received a call from the office. General Simmons wanted me at the office ASAP. There were new developments and he needed to see me. It was still too early to call Dad but maybe I'd get a chance after my meeting with the General. When I got to the office, General Simmons was waiting for me in the Major's old office.
“Captain we've had a security breech. Major Stevens' wife has been calling headquarters looking for him. She says he hasn't been home in days and wants to know if we have any idea where he could be. What I need from you is any information you could have as to his whereabouts.”
“Sir, I have no idea where he could be.”
“Yesterday, he sent you to requisition some weapons and two sat phones from central supply. Any idea what he needed them for?”
“Sir I assumed from the nature of what we have been seeing on the internet he was getting prepared to defend himself.”
“Captain, I assure you. The Major has all the weapons he needs at home. My concern is the sat phones. What I need to know from you is simple. Do you know where the sat phones are?”
“General, I have no idea where the sat phones could be. You'd have to ask the Major.”
I could see my answer pissed the General off to no extent.
“Alright then Captain. You're dismissed. You can head back to the barracks. Get some rest. Tomorrow promises to be an interesting and busy day.”
“Yes sir. Thank you sir.”
I left the General's office knowing they suspected me of having the sat phones. If that was the case, that meant they had the Major in custody somewhere and had already interrogated him about the sat phones. They knew he didn't have them. I was going to have to be cautious. I drove around the city for a while to make sure I wasn't being followed. After twenty minutes of driving in circles I was satisfied no one was tailing me. I pulled the car over and got out. I walked away from the car and found a secluded spot.