The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (27 page)

* * *

Dwayne stared at Maria
’
s visage in disbelief. She had managed to slip away and turn on her pad to illuminate her face while they spoke. It was well past midnight and he was exhausted, but he
didn
’
t
want to miss speaking with her. He could see the strain in her face and hear it in her voice.

“Are you sure it was constabulary armor?”

“Positive. Omondi and I wondered if he was from the last push, but neither of us recognized him. It
’
s so odd. He didn
’
t have any insignia or anything on his armor that would identify him.”

“And he bit Jameson? That doesn
’
t make sense.”

“None of the other
Scrags
attacked us today. Even after
the
attack, they ignored us. After the last two days, I believe the
Scrags
respond to visual stimulus. If they perceive that a human victim is nearby it heightens their awareness. And once that happens, sound can draw them into attacking. The
Scrags
we were dealing with were docile today and then, this man, this...thing...just appeared and went after the two of us that were not in armor. He went for the vulnerable ones.”

Dwayne sat at the edge of his bed, dumbfounded by what he was hearing. None of it made sense. “But why would it bite if you
’
re obviously…
a Scrag
?”

Maria winced at his words and he instantly regretted what he had said. Shaking her head, she said, “He not only bit Jameson
’
s hand, he ate what he tore off. Denman and I both saw him do it. And I
’
m not sure if Denman heard or not, but I know that the attacker said the word
hungry
.”

“The
Scrags
don
’
t eat their victims. They just infect,” Dwayne said, mystified by what she was saying.

“I saw
a Scrag
bite and eat a piece of Stillson. I reported it, but no one believed me.” Maria frowned. “Dwayne, I think the
Scrag
I saw bite Stillson was...I think it was in uniform.”

Dwayne rubbed his chin with one hand while pondering her words. “None of this sounds right. At all. The
Scrags
don
’
t eat us like those zombie monsters in the old vids. They bite to infect, not eat.”

“Something is really wrong out here, Dwayne. Omondi got the squad to calm down and laugh it off after a while, but I could see in his eyes that he is just as concerned as I am. He wouldn
’
t talk about it though.”

“I
’
m going to look into it,” Dwayne decided. “I
’
ll find out what is going on.”

“How?”

“My hidden sources,” Dwayne answered with a wink. “I can see what I can uncover on this end, but you will need to be careful out there. It
’
s obvious that there is a hell of a lot more going on than either one of us has been told.”

Maria nodded. Her emotions played across her face, fluctuating from fearful to weary. At last she forced a small smile, “Never a dull moment, huh?”

“With us? Never.”

“I still believe in what I
’
m doing,” Maria said after a beat, her cloudy dark eyes staring into the camera. “We killed so many of them today. Men, women, young, old. Up close when they
’
re in torpor they
’
re such sad looking things, but
then
I remember what they did to the world, to my father, to Ryan, and it
’
s so easy to kill them.”

He listened because he knew she needed him to. There was really nothing for him to say. He couldn
’
t imagine seeing the
Inferi Scourge
docile and up close like she was experiencing.

“It
’
s so...intimate,” Maria continued, pulling herself out of her thoughts. “I
’
m seeing who they were before they died, then setting them free.”

Dwayne knew they were pushing it on the time limit, but he didn
’
t want to let her go. He wanted to hear her voice and see her face. He needed to hear her speak and share her thoughts.

“Times up,” Maria whispered sadly.

“I love you,” Dwayne said
.

“I love you,” Maria answered
,
then was gone.

Sliding off his bed, Dwayne turned on his coffee maker and again sent a message to Lindsey. She still hadn
’
t responded and he was becoming increasingly concerned. Sleep would be long in returning
. H
e wasn
’
t
even
sure he wanted to sleep after what Maria had told him. He was just pouring a hot cup of the freshly made coffee when his wristlet beeped that a message was incoming.

“Hello?” he said, answering in voice-only mode.

“I got your message,” Lindsey said. Her voice didn
’
t sound sleepy, but actually quite alert. “I
’
m working on what you asked for.”

“There
’
s more now.”

“Shit. Really? How deep is this rabbit hole?”

Dwayne grinned despite the situation. “That
’
s what I
’
m starting to wonder. The commandant was unavailable today. They
’
re keeping me in the dark about the Gaia Cult situation.”

“That
’
s because they
’
re preparing a huge media blitz on the subject. They realized that they can
’
t keep the news of the gate closure away from the media much longer. The guards on the walls can see it
’
s closed. Also, if they pull the guards on the wall, then the people in the city will notice.”

“They should have thought of all that before,” Dwayne said sourly.

Lindsey
let out a sarcastic snort
. “They did, but their
init
ial plan was to
eliminate the wall patrols
. The president overrode that plan
because he didn
’
t want the population freaking out. He told them to make it work. Now they
’
re in a quandary. They have to rework their story to the media.”

“Interesting.”

“Not all is well at the top.”

“Which I know all too well,” Dwayne admitted.

“So, what more do you have for me?”

Dwayne told her.

Lindsey drew in her breath and was silent.

“What is it?”

“Well,” Lindsey hesitated. “Well, I
’
m not sure yet. But I did trace a few communiques from several years back that made it sound like maybe some of the
Scrags
were acting irregularly. Give me more time. I
’
ll turn up something.”

“Keep me in the loop and don
’
t go quiet for so long.”

“I have a life, you know. But I
’
ll keep in touch.”

The link went dead.

Taking a long sip of his cooling coffee, Dwayne knew for sure he
wouldn
’
t
be sleeping anymore
that night
.

Chapter 19

The next morning
,
Dwayne was almost to the monorail station when his wristlet chimed. Activating it, he glanced down to see his eldest daughter
’
s face. She was the spitting image of her mother when she was the same age and it always startled him. He loved Caitlyn with all his heart, but she also had her mother
’
s temperament
,
which made her a bit difficult to deal with at times.

“Hey, honey, what
’
s up?” he asked taking the metal stairs two at a time.

“Big news is about to break,” Caitlyn said in a tone that was a little too brisk. It meant she was scared. “I thought I would warn you.”

Dwayne hesitated as he reached the station. He stepped away from the other commuters. Caitlyn
’
s job as an assistant to one of the vice president
’
s secretaries was something she took very seriously.
Regardless of
him being the Castellan of the Constabulary, she never divulged any information to him. This was unusual for her. The tiny dot in the corner of the screen revealed this was a high security call.

“What is it?” Dwayne stared into his daughter
’
s eyes. They were
the
only thing she had inherited from him. The same blue, the same intensity.

Sighing, she leaned forward. “The gate is closed. The official story comes out in an hour. The circumstances surrounding the gate closure are top secret.” Caitlyn hesitated then said, “Daddy, I trust you not only as my father, but as the Castellan. I want you to know that. I don
’
t know how much they will tell you, but...”

Dwayne felt his heart seize up. His little girl
was
afraid. He could see it.

“Don
’
t let them keep you out of the loop,” she said at last.

The call ended.

* * *

The face of
an
Inferi Scourge
came into sharp focus
as her vision was restored,
and she
thrust
it away. She hated entering torpor so close to the hordes.
Observing the rest of the squad
, she saw that
they
were still in their blacked out state. Most laid on the ground to emulate
sleep
. It was a way to maintain a little distance between the squad and the undead around them.

Omondi was seated nearby. She was
viewing
him when his eyes suddenly focused. Startled, he studied
the area,
then
cast a questioning look at
Maria.

She shrugged.

They both checked their wristlets. They had been revived early. The sun was barely piercing the sky above
The Bastion
.

“What the hell?” Omondi muttered.

Their wristlets chimed. A quick message scrolled
across the screens
. The SWD would be contacting them within five minutes.

Pointing to a
n
adjacent
position
, Omondi pulled out the screen from his back
pack. In silence,
they
strode to where he had indicated
. Though the squad
wouldn
’
t
awaken until the SWD was done with their conference call, room was needed to unroll the screen. Omondi found an old dead tree trunk
,
and together they spread the screen and fastened it at the corners.

Unease had settled into Omondi
’
s features, and Maria mirrored his feelings. The events of the last two days had been
disquieting
. The mission was supposed to
be
a simple endeavor, yet now
appeared immensely complicated. It was difficult to put into words the myriad of thoughts that boiled within her mind. The silence between them was not
reassuring
.

Omondi linked his wristlet to the screen
,
and they waited.

Exactly five minutes later the screen activated. Mr. Petersen and Dr. Curran appeared, projected in all their holographic glory. Dr. Curran looked exhausted, but Mr. Petersen appeared calm as usual. Unexpectedly, Commandant Pierce of
The Bastion
Constabulary sat at the conference table as well. Her dark eyes and sharp cheekbones always made Maria think of a hawk. Her silvery-black afro was twisted into spirals that were wrapped into a bun at the nape of her elegant neck. She was beautiful, severe, and, according to Dwayne, borderline paranoid about everything.

“Congratulations on the closure of the gate,” Commandant Pierce started.

“Thank you. It was a great success for us personally and for
The Bastion
,” Omondi answered.

Commandant Pierce continued, “The death of Special Constable Coleman was an unexpected tragedy. We reviewed the report of his death. Though it was an unfortunate event, we learned new vital information about the
Inferi Scourge
. That
we now know how
they
identify
their prey is of great
importance
.” She gave Dr. Curran a pointed look.

Dr. Curran
didn
’
t
shrink under the piercing glare. “With the data
w
e
’
re
now receiving from the field we do not anticipate any further setbacks of this kind. Now that we know specifically what stimuli compel the
Inferi Scourge
to attack, we can plan to avoid such situations again
,
” Dr. Curran responded, her tone crisp and slightly defensive. “We will be updating the mission specifics accordingly.”

Commandant Pierce
’
s impassive appearance
didn
’
t
alter when she spoke again. “I have been asked by the president to inform you that
w
e
’
re
releasing the news
of the gate closure
to the public
,
and that a special ops team is destroying the
Inferi Scourge
. Initially we were going to wait to disclose this informati
on, but the president feels it
’
s in the best interest of the city if the population knows about the success
w
e
’
re
incurring on the field. The fact that
you
’
re
Inferi Boon
will not be released to the media. Nor will your names. That aspect of the mission must remain secret. We will determine when to update the population on your progress as time goes on.” The commandant paused, and instinctively, Maria knew what came next
wouldn
’
t
be pleasant. “We
’
re altering your work s
chedule to twenty hours a day.”

“Understood,”
Omondi
said with a brief nod of his head.

“We realize this may be emotionally taxing, but feel that the squad can handle the duress,” Dr. Curran said with a short smile.

Maria didn
’
t think the doctor believed her own words.

“Any questions?” Commandant Pierce asked.

“The
Inferi Scourge
from yesterday who spoke-” Omondi started to say.

“Vanguard Martinez heard a grunt and her mind interpreted
it
as a word,” Mr. Petersen said swiftly over him. Mr. Petersen di
rected his gaze at Maria. “You
’
re still adapting to your new environment. Your mind will play tricks on you. The
Inferi Scourge
do look remar
kably alive at times, but they
’
re not capable of speech.”

Maria started to protest.

“We understand,” Omondi answered, his dark eyes silencing Maria with just a look.

“Vanguard Martinez, your work has been impressive,” the commandant said, directing her fierce gaze at Maria. “You will continue to compile the information
you
’
re
gleaning from your observations and relay them through the Chief Defender. We would like you to work closely with Medic Denman on his reports as well.
It
’
s
best if we keep communication between us to the minimum. The media will be watching closely, attempting to glean any information it can.”

“Understood,” Maria said.

Now that
all the reports
would be funneled through Omondi,
that
also
meant any information coming from the SWD would be seen exclusively by the Chief Defender. Maria liked him well enough and trusted him to lead them, but she was
bothered by the decision
.

“We look forward to your progress reports, Chief Defender
Omondi
,” the commandant said, then the screen went blank.

Just before the transmission had been cut, Maria had seen
a
worried look on Dr. Curran
’
s face. Something was definitely amiss.

Omondi quickly folded up the screen. His jaw was set and tension edged his mo
ve
ments making them sharp.

“What do you think is really going on?” Maria finally dared to ask.

Omondi stared out over the valley, then toward the
closed
gate. It was obvious he was troubled, but at last he merely shrugged. “We have a job to do and we
’
ll do it.” He brushed past her and headed back to where the others remained in torpor.

Maria spiritlessly followed.

* * *

Commandant Pierce glanced up as Dwayne entered her office. He had been surprised by her late night summons. She was usually at home with her daughter
by this hour of the night. The c
ommandant
’
s husband had died of a heart attack a few years after the birth of their only child
. In spite of
her often abrasive and dismissive manner, she was a devoted mother.

Seated behind her desk, she looked older than usual. Maybe it was the light from the lamp on her desk catching the silver in her tightly
-
woven hair, or how the shadows accentuated the lines around her face and eyes.

“Please take a seat,” she said in an unusually tired voice. Her powerful demeanor and finely-toned physique never betrayed weakness. But tonight, everything about her appearance and conduct was weighed down with exhaustion.

Dwayne settled into the black leather chair. Her desk was pristine, the glass and chrome gleaming, but the clutter scattered across it was unusual. Many screens were opened on the desktop and pads and actual paper littered one corner. The photo of her deceased husband and their infant daughter was set at an angle so she could easily view them. Dwayne had never seen the photo before.
It was odd to see such an object of sentimentality on the Commandant
’
s desk.

Soft, short, pudgy with a receding hairline, blue eyes, and skin as white as snow:
Leonard Pierce had been an opposite to his wife. T
he husband and wife had been a study in contrasts. Dwayne had met the man once or twice. He had been impressed with Leonard
’
s humor and kindness.

His gaze drifted from the photo to Commandant Pierce.

“I loved him more than life itself. When he died, I thought I would never breathe again. I wanted to die with him, but I had Lucinda to think about. Sweet Lucy Lou, her father called her. She gave me a reason to continue living when all I wanted to do was die,” the
c
ommandant said in a soft, weary voice.

Dwayne sat in silence, unsure of how to respond. He was mystified by her summons
.
It
was best to allow her to reveal
the reason for their late meeting on her own terms
.

“She
’
s everything to me, Castellan
Reichardt
. Lucy is my reason for life and breath. You
’
re a father of three. I
know
you understand what I
’
m talking about.”