The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (19 page)

“I know you feel that what she
’
s doing is the right thing, but does any of this make you nervous at all?”

Dwayne stared at the co
oling
mug of
coffee sitting on this desk, then gave her a short nod. “Absolutely. But I believe in Maria and she is adamant that she is doing the right thing for all of us.” His eyes strayed to the reports on the corner of his desk.

Standing, Lindsey leaned heavily on her cane as she turned to leave. Dwayne noticed her limp was always worse after a long day at work. He walked her to the door, hoping she didn
’
t take it as an insult. With a grateful look, she clung to his arm until she found her balance again.

“I always used to believe that the more you know, the more peace of mind you will have. That is why I started hacking when I was a kid,” Lindsey said, pausing in her steps so the door wouldn
’
t open.

“Do you believe that now?”

“Fuck no. I think the more I know the more terrified I am,” Lindsey admitted. “I
’
m still not thrilled about what the SWD has done to Maria, but I have to say I really hope they succeed.”

Dwayne motioned to the door and it slid open. “Good night, Lindsey.”

Once she was gone, Dwayne sank into his chair and held the small drive in his hand. Every day he felt like he had to fit the puzzle pieces together. The trouble was finding all of them. Like Lindsey he knew enough to frighten him, but ignorance was not bliss at times like these. His gut kept telling him something was wrong with everything
happening
around him. His only hope was that Maria would do her job and come home to him. In the end, he supposed that was all that truly mattered.

* * *

Again consciousness hit her like a fist. Her revived senses swiftly took in her surroundings. Her mind adapted to th
e new scenario, but not without
anger building
inside her.

Omondi sat across from her at a conference table. From the expression on his face, he had also just awakened. They had both retired to their rooms after the incident with Gideon. Obviously, their wristlets had not kept them stimulated and they had fallen into another black out.

Both of them checked their wristlets for the time and date. The function was disabled. Together, they glanced at the clock on the wall. It only told them the time, not the date.

“How long were we out?” Maria wondered aloud.

The doors on the far side of the room opened and Mr. Petersen, immaculate in his white uniform as always, and Dr. Curran, looking more haggard than befor
e, filed into the room and were seated in
the chairs at the end of the table.

“Good to see you again,” Mr. Petersen said to the two soldiers.

Omondi
’
s brow was heavily furrowed as
he glowered at the man. “What
’
s Gideon
’
s condition?”

“I see we
’
re straight to the point on that issue,” Mr. Petersen said with a smile. “Would you like to tell them, please, Dr. Curran?”

Dr. Curran
’
s
blond hair
obscured
her face as she leaned over her pad. Maria had the impression she was trying to hide from the two soldiers glaring at her. Finally, she let out an exhausted sigh and sank back in her chair. “Gideon had an adverse reaction to the
Inferi Boon
Virus. We couldn
’
t stabilize him. One moment he was lucid, the next he was mindless and tried to attack.”

“And?” Mr. Petersen prompted her.

“We gave him the cure and revived him. He
’
s in observation right now recovering. Understandably, he was shaken by the ordeal. He will be transferred to another facility to wait out the rest of the mission. He
’
s earned his vacation,” Dr. Curran said. She kept her eyes firmly directed at her pad, not looking up until she was done speaking.

“I would like to see him,” Omondi said.

“That wouldn
’
t be best at
this time. Psychologically, he
’
s a bit traumatized. We
’
l
l let h
is psychiatrist decide when it
’
s best for him to interact with others,” Dr. Curran answered.

“So another tech will be taking his place?” Maria asked.

“Actually, a medic from the C
onstabulary has transferred to the SWD and has already undergone the procedure. In fact, all of your people have successfully been revived.”

“We were supposed to be there,” Omondi said angrily. “This was agreed upon.”

Mr. Petersen gave the big man a kind and understandin
g look that Maria didn
’
t
believe. “After the incident with Gideon, it was decided that having you in the room would be detrimental i
f something else occurred. You
’
re not trained to deal with this
sort of
situation.”

Omondi
’
s huge hands flexed
,
then he sat back heavily in his chair
, defeated
. “When will we see our team and begin training?”

“Tomorrow,” Mr. Petersen answered. “We just want
ed to make sure you
’
re both up to date on the latest situation now that
w
e
’
re
moving forward. We thank you for your time,” Mr. Petersen said.

The man in white and the scientist exited the room
,
leaving Maria and Omondi alo
ne. Maria had no doubt that she
’
d be awakening in another room sometime tomorrow. She hated how they were using her blackouts to control her.

“It
’
s bullshit,” Omondi muttered.

“You don
’
t think they cured him?” Maria asked, shocked.

“It
’
s bullshit that we can
’
t see him. I know you didn
’
t have much interaction with him, but I did spend time with Gideon discussi
ng his role in the mission. He
’
s a good man and I do consider him a friend. That they won
’
t allow me to see him is bullshit.” Omondi
’
s words were almost a growl.

“It
’
s bullshit that they use the
blackouts to shuffle us around.
” They were probably listening to her, but she didn
’
t really give a damn at this point. Dwayne was probably worried sick about her.

“I am certainly not pleased about that either,” Omondi agreed. “I realize this is not the Constabulary, but you would think the SWD would treat us with a bit more dignity.”

Maria looked around the bland, white conference room, then back at Omondi. “Tomorrow will come a lot faster than you think, you know. We
’
ll black out and tomorrow we
’
ll wake up when we
’
re supposed to head into training.”

Omondi tersely nodded, then tapped his wristlet. “This better not act up when we
’
re out there. I expect to have full control over our waking times. I understand that they feel we should regular
ly go
in
to black
out to alleviate the emotional toll
of our duty
, but I want to control it.
And I will make a fuss until I
’
m given it.”

“Have you studied the new weapons?” Maria asked.

A large smile pushed away his glum expression. “Oh, yes. We shall have plenty of fun with those.”

“Tomorrow,” Maria said with a sigh.

“Which is just a blackout away.”

“I wonder if we keep talking if it will prevent the black out from happening?”

“Want to talk all night like schoolgirls?” Omondi teased.

“And do each other
’
s hair?”

Omondi swept his big hand over his nearly bald head. “Sounds like a fun time.”

“Fuck it,” Maria said, folding her arms on the table and cradling her head on them. “I
’
d rather get to tomorrow and start getting this fucking show on the goddamn road.”

“That
’
s
how I like my soldiers thinking.
” Omondi teased. He folded his arms, too, and lowered his head. He gazed across the table at her. “Ready to save the world?”

“Ready and willing.
” Maria wanted desperately to talk to Dwayne
. Sh
e couldn
’
t reveal the program to Omondi, and t
here was no chance she would be revived in her room. With a sigh, she closed her eyes.

“See you tomorrow,” Omondi
’
s voice said.

“Tomorrow,” Maria answered.

She never even noticed when she slid into torpor.

Chapter 14

Omondi chuckled as the squad of forty people practiced with their bolt weapons. Arms crossed over his chest, he stood next to Maria watching the
squad
dispatching targets erected acros
s an indoor practice field. The
Inferi Boon
Special Ops were isolated fro
m the rest of the SWD facility
. They were never allowed outdoors and never left their dorms in the heavily
-
protected building they were assigned to.

Maria checked her pad, watching the stats scroll next to the names on her list. Each time a dummy was dispatched by a bolt weapon, it recorded every aspect of the attack.

“Jameson, you missed the brain stem!” Maria barked.

The young man gave the dummy an irritated kick and attacked the next one with gusto.

This time he registered a direct hit.

“We cannot leave any of the
Scrags
even remotely animated. The brain stem
must
be destroyed,” Omondi reminded everyone in his booming voice. He glanced over at the readouts, surveying the stats.

“A few are hitting with one hundred percent accuracy,” Maria assured him.

“We have a few below fifty percent,” he noted.

“Newer re
cruits,” Maria said. “T
hose from the SWD.”

The
Constabulary
soldiers had undergone rigorous
battle
training,
but
SWD
S
ecurity
O
fficers had been taught to guard and detain people, not slay the
Inferi Scourge
.

“How
’
s our medic?”

Maria pointed to the score next to the photograph of their newest member. His name was Michael Denman and he was one of their one hundred percent accuracy crew.

Omondi grinned. “I knew I liked him.”

The
Inferi Boon
Special Ops were being deployed in three days and Maria was worried about a few of the squad members. Though there had not been any
more adverse reactions like Gideon
,
a few were having trouble adapting. The lack of sensation and the inability to eat, sleep, or drink was a big adjustment for a few of the soldiers. A psychiatrist was meeting on a daily basis with the handful of people that were struggling. Maria envied them for the help they were receiving. She had been left to ac
climate on her own and it hadn
’
t been easy.

Thanks to Omondi
’
s adamant appeal to the powers that be, all the soldiers now had the ability to control the timers on their wristlets.
The
SWD could still override the alarms if necessary, but Maria found it comforting to know that she could determine her wake cycles. Also, they were finally able to track time on their wristlets again. Dr. Curran had actually int
erceded on the matter. T
he faceless beings making decisions for the SWD had originally believed it was best if the
Boon
had no idea how much time they were losing. It was Dr. Curran
’
s appeal that
it
was better
for
the
psychological well-being
of
the
Boon
if they
did know
.
Maria liked being able to track time. It was strange how knowing the time
and date
made her feel as though she was connected to the world and not apart from it.

Denman successfully maneuvered through his obstacle course, scoring perfectly, before pulling out his own monitoring equipment and examining all the soldiers exiting with him. Though the soldiers were immune to the
Inferi Scourge
now, they could be injured in other ways. Denman would have to patch them up and keep them in top physical condition when out on the mission. Omondi and Maria had both sat in on his briefing whe
n
he was informed of his duties.

One aspect of the mission that Maria never considered
wa
s that one of the soldiers might experience what could be considered a life-threatening wound. Though it would
n
’
t
kill the soldier while they were
Inferi Boon
, once they were restored to life any injury sustained during the mission would impact their health. It would be up to Denman to decide the course of action. Denman
’
s credentials as a medical doctor was a comfort, but Maria wondered what would happen if someone needed emergency surgery.

“Those lower scorers need another round through the course. We can
’
t afford any
Scrags
remaining alive out there,” Omondi said in his proper tones. “Absolutely none.”

“Good thing we don
’
t get tired, huh?” Maria cracked a grin before returning her gaze to the action in front of her.

The soldiers wove through the crowded course filled with dummies. Each one carried a bolt weapon. It was a simple device with a long barrel and a trigger. The soldier just had to place the end of the weapon against the skull of the
Scourge
and fire. A bolt would slam out of the barrel, punching through the skull and obliterating the brain stem. The end of the bolt would expand, exposing sleek, razor sharp blades that whirled about like a fan before retracting, destroy
ing
as much of the brain as possible.

Since ammunition stores were running low, the weapon had been specially created for the operation. It was different from their rifles, so a few of the soldiers struggled with the mechanics of the device at first. The dummies also acted like the
Scourge
, moving side to side, whipping their heads about, not always staying stationary. It made hitting the target correctly a little more than difficult.

Omondi
’
s dark eyes narrowed as Dr. Curran and Mr. Petersen appeared in the observation deck above the course. “I
’
ll be glad when we
’
re out there doing our job and not trapped in he
re being observed like lab rats.
”

“Agreed.”

The last of the soldiers finished the course. Leticia Cruz was one of the last and was one of the higher scorers. Though smaller in frame than some of the others, she was heavily muscled and could easily hold her own. Her dark skin was slick with sweat and she playfully slugged Mikado as he tried to rub her head for luck. The taller Asian man with the devilish grin and high-cheekbones laughed.
They were always teasing each other. It wasn
’
t hard to see the attraction between them.

Most of the squad was bonding, but a few seemed to keep themselves apart.
Jonathan Coleman
only spoke when spoken to. He had already undergone two psych exams since being revived. He was one of the ones that Maria was worried about. Though he was scoring high, he avoided being too close to the others. He had been declared mentally competent for the job, but Maria wondered if he had found a way to fake his way through the tests.

McKinney, tall, blond, and powerfully built,
was another one she was worried about. Not because he avoided the others, but because he was constantly trying to get affirmation from the others that everything was fine. Maria had caught him studying his cloudy dead eyes in a reflective surface one time and his expression had concerned her. But his jokes kept the mood light, so perhaps she was overthinking the situation.

Two soldiers she was not worried about were Ebba Holm and Jes Cormier. Both women were Constabulary veterans of the last push.

Cormier had been decorated for crashing her fuel-exhausted tiltrotor into the
Scourge
and buying time for another tiltrotor to airlift soldiers. Maria felt personally grateful for the woman, remembering the incident well. Cormier was
of
average height, with short black hair, green eyes, and a cocky grin. She always scored one hundred percent in her kills. Though she wasn
’
t piloting a tiltrotor, she would be the driver of their personnel carrier.

Special Sergeant Ebba Holm had pale blue eyes and white-blond hair that were distinctly Nordic. She
looked like a Valkyrie with her twin braids resting on her shoulders,
and was
six f
eet tall.
She was an expert mechanic that had studied the schematics of the gate and was ready to do repairs. She was also a high-scorer and didn
’
t seem the least bit phased by becoming
Inferi Boon
.

As for herself,
Maria
was ready to do the mission. She and Dwayne talked every night and despite what the SWD higher ups thought, having a connection to him gave her strength. Maybe that is why the other soldiers in the squad seemed a little desperate for affirmation from their superiors and comrades at times.

Omondi and Maria quickly reviewed all the stats
,
then ordered a few of the soldiers through the course again. There was no worry about physical exhaustion, just mental boredom.

“Think they
’
ll be ready?” Omondi wondered aloud.

“Without a doubt,” Maria assured him. “We can train them day and night if we have to.”

“It
’
s good to be dead,” Omondi joked.

Maria smiled.

* * *

Dwayne maneuvered through the late night crowds on his way to his flat. It was Friday night and most of the citizens of
The Bastion
were out and about
searching
for something fun to do. Most of the bars were illegal, but the authorities look
ed in the other direction. He
’
d dropped by the pub for a sip of the latest moonshine, not really caring what was in it. He
had a nice little buzz going
and it was a relief after the long
hours he
’
d worked
. Exhaustion
ate
at him and he wanted to just
lie
down and sleep late.

Before Maria had left, he would have been looking forward to a long day with her, prowling through the markets looking for hidden treasures, or a day in bed reading and making love, or maybe a day sitting at the local pub watching the sports vids. It seemed like an eternity since she had left. He knew he was overworking
himself
in an attempt
to mask her absence in his life. B
ut when he was tired his loneliness was even more pronounced.

It was hard to love someone so deeply and yet watch them leave when duty called. It was the thing that had d
elivered
a final death blow t
o
his marriage to Barbara. She couldn
’
t stand his long hours for years, but when he had been wounded in battle she had not been able to cope. Instead of drawing them closer together, his convalescence had been the end of his marriage. And the beginning of his new life with Maria.

The last details of the divorce had finally been settled upon and he would finally be free. The kids were doing a little better now. Hopefully, time would bring them healing so when he introduced them to Maria upon her return they would accept her.

Turning
the
corner onto his much quieter street, his apartment building c
a
me into view. It was just beyond an old subway station. The windows in the buildings lining the street were darkened in the late hour. Only a few were illuminated with the glow of a vid
screen or lamp. It seemed unusually dark and it took him a second to realize all the street lamps were out. Stopping in mid-stride, he studied his surroundings. The stairways to the apartments were all drawn up and several SWD security cars were tucked into the shadows with their lights off.

“Excuse me, sir,” a voice called out as two forms materialized out of the darkness. The facemasks of their helmets were an unyielding black. Most likely they were set to night vision or infrared vision. “Do you live in this area?”

“Yes, I do.” He
swept his wristlet over
the identification unit one of the SWD officers was holding.

“Have you seen any unusual activity around the subway station today?” one of them asked.

“I was at work,” Dwayne answered.

He was clad in civilian clothing and all the SWD security had checked was his address. SWD and Constabulary
didn
’
t
always see eye to eye, so Dwayne shifted his weight, trying to look like a regular civilian. Maria
joked
that he always looked like he was at attention. “What
’
s going on?”