The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (37 page)

Stepping forward, she crossed her arms over her chest, took a deep breath, and told her squad the truth.

* * *

The area surrounding the carrier was a mess. Items retrieved from the
Inferi Scourge
dead lay scattered in heaps. After burning the bodies, the squad had left the containers filled with the salvaged good
s
stacked in heaps to be recovered at a later time. Maria had Cormier drive to each pile
along their route to the hydro
electric station so the squad could rifle through them for any potential weapons.

“
More knives,
”
McKinney said with a sour look, handing them to Maria.

The containers were the ones filled in the first days of the valley clearing.
Maria didn
’
t recall there being anything more exciting than a few hunting knives.
There was an old
gun with no bullets on one body, b
ut that was all.

“
What did you expect?
”
Holm rolled her eyes and kept digging.

“
We
’
re wasting time,
”
Denman decided as he kicked over a container.

Maria shaded her eyes as she looked toward
The Bastion
and the heavy crowd of
Scourge
gathered at the base of its walls. The last estimate of
Scourge
destroyed since they entered the valley had been over t
hree
million. Now they were down to hundreds of thousands gathered around the city perimeter.
The end was near, but not close enough.

“
We
’
re up against projectile weapons. We can
’
t wear our helmets until we
’
re past the
Scrags
, so we
’
re vulnerable any
way you look at it.
”
Maria handed Denman a
dagger
and slid the other one into a sheath on her arm. It had a rusty blade, but she didn
’
t care. It m
ight
help at some point.

Cormier jumped out of the carrier and ran over to them.
“
I think I figured out how to get to the station without
going on foot and wasting time
.
”

“
Let
’
s hear it.
”
Maria followed Cormier back to the vehicle as the squad finished up rummaging through the containers.

“
We
’
ll have to
make a first pass by the hydro
electric station
by
skir
ting
ar
ound the horde that is located
just before it.
We need to
pull them behind us. They
’
ll
definitely
pursue us.
”
Cormier
leaped into the carrier and le
d Maria over to the navigational computer tucked in
beside
the driver
’
s seat.
“
Once they
’
re following us, we
’
ll
head over here at full speed.
”
She pointed to an outcropping of rocks that bordered the foothills.

“
You
’
re thinking about looping around that formation and heading back, aren
’
t you?
”

“
Absolutely.
That passage used to be part of a major supply line that encircled the valley. If the scans are correct, the road isn
’
t that bad off.
We can pull them into the area between those rocks and the base of the mountain, then kick up some speed and head around the formation, doubling back.
If we have enough speed on us, they
’
re not going to see where we went.
The road splits off in three directions fro
m that point. Back to the hydro
electric station, another to
The Bastion
, and a third to the far side of the valley.
”

“
I like it,
”
Maria said, nodding.

“
The trick is not getting hemmed in
.
”

“
I think we might have a solution,
”
McKinney said from behind them.

Holm held up the compact flamethrower they used to incinerate the bodies.
“
I say we burn them alive.
”

“
She
’
s kind of a genius,
”
McKinney said with a grin.

“
If I was a genius, I would have thought of this before.
”
Holm set the flamethrower down on the floor, kneeling beside it.
“
We have twenty of these and the fuel for them is stored in this vehicle, right?
”

“
You
’
re thinking of creating bombs?
”
Maria arched her eyebrows.

“
No, sir. Actually one big flamethrower.
”
Holm motioned to McKinney
,
who handed over his flamethrower. She set them side by side.
“
Like most Bastion weaponry, these are pieces of shit, old as hell and equally clunky. But they were created to store easily and save space.
”
Holm hooked the flamethrowers together using the clasps that were used
to secure them in
storage units.
“
I say we string these babies together, bind them to the top of the carrier and use them to burn anything trying to follow us.
That
’
ll slow them down for sure.
”

Maria grinned slowly.
“
Cormier can you outrun and outmaneuver a mass of burning
Scrags
?
”

Cormier smirked.
“
Hell yeah. I
’
ve been studying the scans for hours. I know exactly where I need to go. We will not have a repeat of that first day.
”

“
Then let
’
s make this happen!
”
Maria ordered.

“
Yes, sir!
”
Holm, McKinney, and Cormier all answered.

Maria
’
s work station paged her just in that moment. Leaning over, she opened the feed.
To her surprise, Dwayne
’
s face filled the screen.

“Vanguard Martinez, we
’
ve noted that you are
e
n route to the hydroelectric station,” he said crisply.

“Yes, sir,” Maria answered in a cautious voice.

Near her, her three squad members looked pensive.

Dwayne
’
s expression was pure business and she felt slightly intimidated. It had been a long time since she had interacted with him as her superior officer.

“And why is that?”

“Chief Defender
Omondi
and his squad are pinned down. We
’
re on our way to rescue them,” Maria answered, sliding into her chair.
She wasn
’
t sure if a reprimand was on the way, but she was ready to kill the feed and disobey him.
She would rescue the others.

“Very good. I
’
ve been asked to coordinate the rescue effort with you,” Dwayne said, a slight hint of warmth entering his gaze.

“That
’
s the best news I
’
ve heard all day,” Maria said with relief.

“
Let
’
s discuss logistics and exactly what will be required for this rescue,” Dwayne continued.

“What
’
s required is weapons,” Maria said. Sliding the dagger out of her armor, she held it up. “This is not going to hack it against creatures armed with projectile weapons.”

Lifting his eyebrows, Dwayne inclined his head in agreement. “I
’
ll see what I can do.”

Chapter 27

“
The situation is grave,
”
Dr. Curran said.
“
Chief Defender
Omondi
has lost most of his squad and the
Anomalies
have him trapped.
They
’
ve retreated to the basement shelter, but are now pinned down.
”

The men and women seated around the table, all members of the government, upper echelon of the SWD, and the president
’
s council, shifted uncomfortably at her words.
Dwayne
’
s
own daughter,
Caitlyn
, was seated behind the Vice President.
She was studiously taking down notes and ignoring her father.
Dwayne respected his daughter
’
s professionalism and directed his attention to the doctor seated acro
ss the conference table
. A
holographic image of the hydro
electric station slightly obscured his view, but he didn
’
t need to see Dr. Curran to know she was afraid.
It was in her voice.

“
Is that what we
’
re calling them now? Anomalies?
”
Mr. Petersen scoffed.

“
Would you prefer we call them your previous failures?
”
Dr. Curran answered briskly.

Mr. Petersen started to retort, but the president said,
“
Enough squabbling.
Keep to the facts at hand, Dr. Curran.
”
President Cabot
’
s voice was as stiff as his manner. He was angry, his usually
-
amicable public face set into a stern expression.

Mr. Petersen sat back in his chair, but said nothing.

“
Chief Defender
Omondi
and his squad were our best chance to wipe them out. The Anomalies are a growing danger to this city. The recent breach into the subway tunnels proves this,
”
Dr. Curran continued.
“
A breach, I would like to point out, that I was not aware of until today.
”

“
You
’
re told what you need to know,
”
Mr. Petersen said with a reptilian smile.

Dwayne had met the man only a few times previously and didn
’
t care for his manner. Though Mr. Petersen was at the heart of the SWD mission, Lindsey
’
s deep forays into the SWD system had not revealed one shred of information on Mr. Petersen.
That was the perfect reason to fear him.
He was most definitely SWD Black Ops.

“
The
Inferi Anomalies
, as you call them,
”
the president said, motioning to the hologram,
“
are only at the hydro
electric plant?
”

“
That is uncertain,
”
Mr. Petersen admitted.

“
They
’
re congregating there because it
’
s the most vulnerable access point into the city and they know it,
”
Dr. Curran said crossly.

“
Why didn
’
t we clear that area first?
”
President Cabot glowered at the silent people at the table.

Again the men and wom
e
n who held the greatest power in
The Bastion
averted their eyes and shifted about in their chairs. They were obviously ill at ease with the discussion. There was a desperate aura about them. Perhaps they, too, were terrified of the days to come if the
Inferi Boon
failed.

“
We didn
’
t know the Anomalies still existed,
”
Mr. Petersen said after an uncomfortable pause.
“
After their last push into the sewers, we killed most of them. We did an inventory of the dog tags collected and all but f
ive
were accounted for.
”

“
May I point out that this information was kept from me and I am hearing it for the first time now,
”
Dr. Curran said, her steely gaze fastened on Mr. Petersen.

“
This mission was doomed from the start.
”
Commandant Pierce
’
s tone was icy and her dark eyes were cold as she regarded Mr. Petersen.
“
You kept me and the Castellan out of the planning stages of this mission.
We
’
re
only here because you need our help to salvage what is left of your plans.
”

“
The SWD
’
s primary mission is to destroy the
Inferi Scourge
. Your mission is to protect the city,
”
Mr. Petersen said in a voice that was slightly on edge.
“
There was no need to include you in our mission.
”

“
Yet you conscripted the best of our people to do the actual dirty work,
”
Dwayne pointed out.

“
SWD security is also part of the mission. In fact, Chief Defender
Omondi
’
s squad that was nearly destroyed today
are
all SWD personnel.
”
Mr. Petersen looked equal parts smug and contrite.

President Cabot pointed a finger at Mr. Petersen.
“
I was told that you would have the valley ready for the big final push within the week.
”

“
Mr. President, there have been
—
,
”
Mr. Petersen started to answer.

“
What is the Constabulary doing to resolve this issue, Castellan
?
”
the president
asked
, directing his focus to Dwayne.
“
I understand you were brought in once we lost contact with
Chief
Defender
Omondi
.
”

“
Vanguard Martinez and her squad, consisting of Constabulary soldiers
, are on their way to the hydro
electric station to rescue the Chief Defender and his team,
”
Dwayne explained. He had spent most of his morning receiving
i
ntel from the satellite feeds and observing Maria
’
s trek across the cleared valley toward the last infested area.

“
Any ideas as to why we lost contact with Chief Defender
Omondi
?
”
the
president asked.

“
We lost contact with
the chief defender
’
s squad soon after
he reported that the
Inferi Anomalies
had ambushed
him and his people at the hydro
electric station. We believe he
fell back to the basement shelter
after
communication
became
an
impossibility
.
”

“
But
we a
re
in communication with Vanguard Martinez?
”
the president asked.

“
We
a
re
.
”
Dwayne could see that the president was pleased to have direct answers. It was clear that the power struggle between Dr. Curran and Mr. Petersen was annoying the president.

“
Will we have a quick resolution to this issue?
”

Dwayne caught the president
’
s slight shift in his weight toward him and the commandant. He was starting to freeze out the SWD, which was exactly what Dwayne and Commandant Pierce wanted.
“
By the time we spoke with Vanguard Martinez, she and her squad were already on their way and had a solid rescue
plan
.
”

“
Vanguard Martinez has requested that we airdrop weapons for them to use against the
Inferi Anomalies
,
”
Commandant Pierce added.

“
I would advise against that,
”
Mr. Petersen
interrupted
.
“
We have the
Inferi Scourge
exactly where we want them for our big…finale.
If we send out aircraft now, we could pull the
Inferi Scourge
out of the range of the Maelstrom Platforms. That would mean we would have to have the
Inferi Boon
kill off any of the stragglers and
—
”

“
This would add time to the mission projected end date,
”
Dr. Curran added with a sigh.
“
But it would be worth it to make sure the squads survive and kill the Anomalies.
”

“
Show me the position of the
Inferi Scourge
right now
,
”
the president motioned to the hologram.

Mr. Petersen changed it to show a scan of the valley. The
Inferi Scourge
glowed red against the brilliant blue hues of the projected valley, mountains and city.

“
Can we handle them with the platforms?
”
President Cabot again looked to the Constabulary officers.

Dwayne kept his
face
neutral.
He
didn
’
t
like where this line of thinking was going.
“
Based on our previous experience battling the
Inferi Scourge
with the Maelstrom Platforms
,
I would say yes.
”

“
Only the ones around the city. Those clusters east of the city are out of range,
”
Mr. Petersen hurriedly added.

“
Do we have the firepower and fuel to eliminate what
’
s left of the
Inferi Scourge
with the tiltrotors?
”
the president asked.

Dwayne
’
s spine stiffened. Next to him Commandant Pierce
’
s eyes narrowed.

“
That is a question for the SWD. They conscripted the
Maelstrom
Platforms and the remaining ammunition per your order
,
”
Commandant Pierce said in a terse tone.

“
Other than the ammunition on reserve for the Section A evac,
we don
’
t control the ammunition stores. The SWD does
,
”
Dwayne added grimly.

President Cabot directed his stern gaze at Mr. Petersen. “Well?”

“We have sufficient ammunition to clear out those pockets,” Mr. Petersen admitted.
“But it will be a significant drain on our resources. That weaponry was set aside for the final elimination of the
Inferi Scourge
around the wall.”

“
We need the
Inferi Boon
to finish their mission,
”
Dr. Curran said firmly.
“
Destroying the Anomalies must be a top priority.
”

“
But we might risk extending the mission when
w
e
’
re
on the verge of a severe food crisis,
”
the president said in a cold tone.
“
We can
’
t afford to have riots in the streets. If
we a
re
forced to begin restrictions, the city will lose faith in us and we will have a mess on our hands. I was promised that this time there
wouldn
’
t
be a failure with the
Inferi Boon
.
”