The Renegades 2 Aftermath (A Post Apocalyptic Zombie Thriller) (11 page)

We stood in silence for a minute or two.

“You think if Arnie and Stallone had a fight Arnie would win?”

I just shook my head and smiled. Despite all that had gone bad, that was one thing that hadn’t changed.

T
here were no safe zones
. Whoever had sent out the signal must have believed that the military were about to establish areas that would be beyond the reach of the dead.

They were wrong.

I breathed in deeply, looking out across a city that lay in ruin. A bright orange sun peeked over the horizon, bringing a warm band of light that chased away a long night. Smoke rose between the buildings in the distance. Were people burning the dead? Trying to stay warm? Or had they failed to escape and suffered an even worse fate?

Standing on the ledge of Salt Lake City Public Library I reflected on what Garret had told me that morning. It still hadn’t sunk in. So far, no one else knew. Most were still asleep when he began to talk. They would soon realize and each one would take the news in different ways. We had got our hopes up. Believed that the city would be a safe haven. How gullible were we? And the worst was about to be made known.

The night before as we rotated shifts, I picked up a second one simply because I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. Even though we had eradicated the dead inside the library, they lived on in our minds, terrorizing us as we closed our eyes. Tiredness would soon catch up with me. It always did.

Garret had joined me that morning out on the roof.

“Like I said, I know it’s not the news you were hoping for, but it’s something.”

He had told me that the only place he knew would hold its ground was NORAD located in the Cheyenne Mountains of Colorado.

“And you? How did you come to be here?” I asked.

Garret groaned a little, taking a seat. He kicked at the graveled roof, and tossed a few small stones at a metal air vent. “I’ve been in the Secret Service for the past twelve years. I’ve seen all manner of threats on the president’s life but none that topped this. It should have been a simple in and out visit. No longer than twenty-four hours. Three weeks ago, Air Force One landed at Hill Air Force Base. President Greer was visiting to speak about the economy. Well, that’s all the media knew. What had not been mentioned was that another visit was added to his itinerary. One to the Centers for Disease Control.”

I turned around. “You knew this was coming?”

“Look, believe it or not, it was under control at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.”

“The Dugway? What the hell is that?”

“A military facility that tests biological and chemical weapons.”

I stared, unable to comprehend what I was hearing.

“Are you telling me we created this?”

“It was a mistake,” he shot back as if sensing that he was somehow to blame.

I scoffed at his response. “Yeah, I kind of figured that much. What is it?”

“I’m no scientist. But I’m certain it was something to do with a biological weapon the military was working on.”

I shook my head. “So if it was under control, how did it get out?”

“That’s the part I don’t know.”

“What the fuck do you know?” I replied, frustrated by his lack of clarity.

“Settle down.”

“Settle down? I lost my father, my friend, and so have they! Settle down?” I raised my voice, scowling at the only person I could direct my anger toward. The only one who represented government, even if he played no role in the creation of the virus.

“Listen, all I can tell you is what I learned from a scientist before he died. Spores were prematurely shipped out to eighty-eight labs in the U.S. and seven other countries. Who authorized it? Not even they knew. It was major fuckup.”

“A fuckup?” I laughed. “Holy shit!” I ran a hand through my hair, trying to grab hold of the enormity of the situation. This wasn’t just about a few cities, or a town being infected. We were looking at an outbreak that had gone global.

“Once they realized what it did to the human body.” He paused and swallowed hard. “The CDC and Salt Lake City Laboratories began work on a possible cure. A search for an anti-virus was underway. They believed they had it.

Along with the president was a group of scientists who were going to return the sample to NORAD so that further tests could be run. Until that point, as far as we knew, the threat was minimal. It had been contained. How the infected escaped is still a mystery to us. Everything happened so fast. When all hell broke loose in the city, the first priority was the safety of the president. Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t have been a problem. We usually had the support of local police to escort us, but this wasn’t normal. They had their hands filled, as did we. It was total chaos. As the dead started attacking, things spiraled out of control fast.”

“Not that it matters, but the president, where is he?”

Garret’s eyes dropped. “I’m not… exactly sure. Dead, maybe.”

It felt like the world around me was caving in.

“Unbelievable,” I said, pacing back and forth.

He let out a sigh, squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to recall. “Initially we were all together, we remained inside the hotel waiting for a team to come in and extract him.”

“And if they can’t?”

“Everything is already planned and mitigated in the event of his death or inability to perform his duties.”

“A transfer of power to the vice president and then the next idiot, though that wouldn’t happen if there was no one alive to transfer it to, would it?” I muttered.

“Right, and as far as we knew others were still alive. But then things got even worse. We soon got word that Hill Air Force Base was overrun, and Air Force One had been destroyed. Those that had managed to get out in time said they would send someone to extract the president. No one came. We were on our own. Myself, six others from the Secret Service, two scientists, and his daughter, Kat.”

“Forgive me while I shed a tear,” I said shaking my head.

Garret ran a hand over his tired face.

“Anyway, as the days went by it just got worse. No one showed up. The hotel was on lockdown to prevent the dead for getting in, and yet they still managed to find entry. When the power went down, we knew we had to get out. Three of the agents escorted the scientists out first. We made it to the stairwell before we were forced back into the room. Only one of them returned. A scientist. His leg had been bitten.”

He paused trying to compose himself. I could see the fear in his eyes as he recalled what had led up to this moment.

He continued. “Behind the door we could hear the sound of the dead trying to get in. I’ll never forget it. It was so loud. It wouldn’t stop. At one point I just covered my ears. Then survival instincts kicked in and we moved the president to the roof using a fire escape. Over a period of two days we remained there exposed to the elements until the real animals arrived.”

“Real animals?”

“The gang you saw last night. They had spotted us from another building. Initially they had pretended to be hotel workers. We couldn’t see them on the other side of the door. They said they would die if we didn’t open. What were we meant to do? I didn’t want to open. The president made the call in the end. Big mistake. They outnumbered us the moment we opened it.”

“You blame yourself for it?”

He fixed his gaze on me. “Not once has the president been hurt under my watch.”

“So how did you get away?”

He was about to tell me when Jess joined us.

“There you are. I was wondering where you’d gone. Dax and the others are up.”

“We’ll be there in a moment.”

Jess nodded, her eyes darting between the two of us.

“Is Kat okay?” Garret asked.

“Yeah. Still shaken up, but as well as can be.”

Jess could tell she had interrupted our conversation. She gestured that she was leaving and then disappeared back down the steps. Garret looked out across the city, shaking his head.

“Even with the best military in the world and we still lost control.”

I prompted him to continue. “You were saying?”

He glanced at me, squinting as if trying to regain his train of thought. “They stopped to siphon gas, we took advantage of the moment, overpowered the two watching over us. I grabbed Kat and we bolted. We lost another guy trying to escape.”

“And the president?”

“He was in a different vehicle. There was no way we could have got to him.”

“Where were they taking you?”

“I heard them say something about Temple Square.”

I blew out my cheeks, registering it.

Garret must have noticed. “You know what’s there?”

“Tongan Crips. We met up with one of their rival gangs. They had told us they had taken it over.”

Garret nodded. “I heard them talking about someone who went by the name Domino.”

“Their leader,” I replied.

Garret tossed a stone over the edge and watched it drop.

“Why didn’t you just leave the city?” I asked.

“Because that’s not my mission. My job is to make sure the president is safely returned.”

“Kind of late for that, isn’t it?”

“Until I know any different, he’s still alive.”

“Even if he is, and you could get him out, where would you take him?”

“NORAD. That’s where they’ll be.”

“Who?”

“Government. Scientists.”

“And if he’s dead?” I asked

“Dead or alive. It doesn’t matter, at least to society. But what he’s carrying — that’s important.”

“Which is?”

“The cure.”

My eyes grew wide.

“There’s really a cure for this shit?” Dax’s voice came from behind us.

I glanced over my shoulder to see him walking towards us.

Garret directed his answer to him. “If the scientist from the CDC was right — yeah. They had created a sample that tested positive for destroying the virus.”

“Well, you can kiss that goodbye. If he had it on him, the Crips have it now.”

“No. It’s a storage device embedded in the president. They wouldn’t know.”

“I don’t believe you,” I said. “Why would they inject a sample into the president? His job is to stay alive, not to be placed at risk. After the screw-up they had with those spores, hell, the Secret Service wouldn’t have allowed it, let alone him.”

“We didn’t allow it. And they didn’t inject it. He did.”

“What?” Dax asked with a look of complete disbelief.

“The moment things started to spiral out of control. Before we lost the last scientist, it was given to him. He wasn’t prepared to let it fall into the wrong hands. He chose to inject the small device into the corner of his hip.”

“And that’s not dangerous?”

“No, the test sample is contained within a fully sealed titanium device.”

“Ok, but why inject it? If it’s just a sample, it would be useless to anyone.”

“Can you imagine what that would be worth in the wrong hands?”

“You think that anyone cares about money?” I paused. “News flash, Garret! There’s no one left to pay for it. And money is obsolete.”

“You’re not seeing the bigger picture here. It’s leverage. Besides, not everyone has died. They have things in place for the continuation of government. Four hundred are at NORAD, and that doesn’t take into account all the other places in the USA and around the world that would be used for the continuation of life. That sample is the most valuable asset on the planet right now, and I’m not leaving without it.”

I squeezed the bridge of my nose before I broke into a rant.

“You’re telling me the only known possible cure that exists for this complete fuckup that was started by our own government, is inside the president of the United States? Who could be, maybe, might be… dead? Walking the streets as one of those things. Or hell, worse — holed up among two hundred Crips! And you want to go in and get him?”

Garret paused a beat. “Yeah, that’s about the extent of it.”

I stared back at him, studying his face before I begun to shake my head. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”

Garret narrowed his eyes.

“Garret, it can’t be done,” Dax said.

He stared blankly back at us.

I threw up my hands and began walking away. “Fuck no, we are not getting involved.”

“We’re talking about the only cure for a global epidemic,” Garret replied.

I came charging back. “And I’m talking about our survival.”

“There won’t be any survival if we don’t get that sample,” he spat back.

For a moment I thought about shoving him off the roof. I don’t know why I was directing my anger at him. Maybe I just needed to vent.

“Why not just go to the CDC and get another? I mean they must have had more, right?” Dax asked.

“Maybe.”

“Johnny?” Dax asked.

I screwed my face up. “Hell, no. We are already up shit creek without a paddle.”

With that I walked away, left the roof, and joined the others down below.

J
ess immediately could tell
something wasn’t right. She approached me but I just shrugged it off and kept my distance. That last thing I needed now was to rehash the shit I had just heard.

I had been eager to save Millie and Caitlin back in Castle Rock. To be someone who might change the outcome for another. This wasn’t Castle Rock. It wasn’t my call. It wasn’t our place to risk our lives. Besides, what had come from all of our help? They had got to live a few more days. A few more fucking days! I wasn’t sure what I was angry with, the dead that shuffled on the streets, or the ones that had created them? They were both equally responsible for death. Yet the dead just acted on mindless instinct. The living should have known better. Creating biological weapons to kill other humans. When would we ever learn that no amount of killing led to peace? I could feel something break inside me. The thought of the military invading another country. All their macho bullshit. I couldn’t blame the soldiers. They were only doing their duty. But so were those who they fought against. Back and forth. One war after the next. To what gain? A few more years of peace? Before more death? Before the assholes in Washington villainized a new target? Created a new war on terror? Had this been another one of their sick games? Playing with human life like Russian roulette. Except this time the bullet had killed us.

I was beginning to lose hope. Did it really matter if we did anything for others, if we would end up dead later?