Wasteland Rules: A New Dawn (The World After Book 3) (8 page)

   In front of the rolling doors; four vehicles, an MRAP and
three Humvees, created a makeshift blockade.  Gunners on top of the vehicles
fired continuously into the swarming horde of Drinkers that surrounded them. More
gunmen stood behind the shelter of the vehicles and fired their carbines
desperately into the writhing mass of beasts. Bodies of the monsters were piled
up in bloody heaps in front of them. The surviving monsters, and there were
still hundreds, were clawing their way over the bodies of the fallen beasts to
get at the remaining gunmen.

  The gunmen were slowly losing the battle as the semicircle
of monsters slowly closed in on them. In the brief pause as they all reloaded,
some of the beasts got to the barricade and dragged away a few frantically
screaming gunmen. They disappeared into the snarling mass of teeth and claws
and were lost. The remaining gunmen reloaded and redoubled their efforts, but
Derek could tell they were running low on ammo and they would run out before
the Drinkers ran out of bodies.

   Derek started to open one of the double doors and enter
the garage, but Rora grabbed his arm and stopped him. “What are you doing?” She
hissed.

   “We need to go help them.” He whispered back.

   “Why in the world would we do that?” She questioned
angrily.

   “Because if they are overrun, we will never get out.” He
insisted. “We need them to help finish off that horde out there which is
blocking our escape. We don’t have enough ammo to kill all of those monsters.”

   “They are going to be overrun anyway.” Rora argued. “Why
risk getting killed for them?”

   “If we attack the Drinkers from behind on the next
reload, we should be able to create enough confusion that the Drinker assault
will falter. That ought to give the gunners enough time to continue firing and
break the horde.” Derek insisted.

   “That still leaves the DHS gunmen blocking our escape.”

   “Better them than the monsters. At least we can reason
with a human.” Derek said firmly.

   “I don’t like this, what about Rule #2?” Rora asked with
concern. “They are certainly not our friends.”

   “There is a corollary to Rule #2, the enemy of my enemy
is my friend.” He said with a hint of humor.

   Rora shook her head. “I’m not going to win this argument
am I?”

   “Let’s go kill some monsters.” Derek replied simply as
the gunfire faded.

   They burst through the doors and opened fire on full
automatic into the backs of the slavering monsters. The machine gun burst to
life with a loud roar and spent brass clattered to the floor around him. The
rounds tore into the mass of brown leathery flesh; there were so many targets
they couldn’t miss. Derek concentrated his fire on the Drinkers that were
closest to the Humvees. It took a few seconds for the monsters to realize they
were being attacked from behind and dozens fell before they reacted.

   The assault faltered as the beasts tried to decide which
target to attack. They were close to the gunmen that they had been fighting to
reach for the last few minutes, but the two humans alone presented an easier
target. The gunners used the momentary lull to reload and renewed their attack
with increased fury. Caught between the two sources of blazing bullets, the
majority of the horde was cut to pieces. The surviving creatures turned tail
and ran, disappearing back into the complex with howls and screams of anger and
fear.

   Once the monsters were gone, the gunfire stopped and a
pregnant silence fell. Derek and Rora took cover behind two of the support
pylons and kept their guns trained on the four DHS vehicles blocking their
escape. A quick glance revealed that while the gunners and gunmen were keeping
their weapons at the ready, they were making no move to attack.

   “Major Storm.” A voice called out from the gunmen. “Can
we talk?”

   “Are you suggesting a truce?” Derek yelled back.

   “We aren’t your enemy Major.” The voice replied.

   “Then why did you taser him and hold him prisoner?” Rora
yelled out.

   “That was perhaps a mistake, but we desperately needed
his blood and didn’t have time to debate the issue.” The man yelled back. “I’m
coming out. I am unarmed. Let’s talk face to face.”

   Derek risked a quick look, and was encouraged when no one
fired on him. He could see a tall distinguished looking older gentleman wearing
the same black uniform walking out from behind the MRAP. The man had his hands
raised and Derek couldn’t see any weapons. The man was different from the other
gunmen in that he did not have a helmet or face mask on. Looking closely Derek
could see that he did indeed know the man. He was older, and his hair was
graying; but it was Martin Conroy, the last official Director of the Department
of Homeland Security prior to the U.S.T.G. coup.

   Conroy had refused to accept the takeover and had
disappeared on the run from U.S.T.G. assassins. He hadn’t been seen since, and
had been assumed dead. Apparently he had been hiding out here the entire time.
He looked tired and Derek could see the toll that the intervening years had
taken on the man. But he still had an air of command about him. Derek
remembered that Conroy had been well thought of and had been considered a very
good Director. Most importantly he had been non-partisan and a true patriot.
Maybe he needed to hear what the man had to say.

   “Have your men drop their weapons and get off the guns
and I will come out and talk.” Derek yelled in response.

  Conroy made a gesture and his men reluctantly lowered
their weapons. They slowly placed their M4 carbines on the ground and moved
away from the armored vehicles. Derek was sure there were a few gunmen still
concealed behind the vehicles, but there was no obvious movement. He waited
until everyone was disarmed and unslung his own weapon. He placed it carefully
on the ground and came out from behind his pylon.

   “Cover me.” He whispered to Rora as he moved forward.

  He saw her nod and grip the carbine tightly to her shoulder.
She seemed laser focused on Conroy and his escort. So Derek hoped she didn’t
get too anxious and accidentally shoot someone. He really wanted to get out of
here without any more bloodshed and the DHS was a possible ally. He was very
curious what they had been up to for the last fifteen years and what their
agenda was. Still, they had kidnapped him and used him for experiments.

   “Don’t believe anything he says.” Rora called softly as
he moved forward.

   Derek walked towards the DHS Director and his men and
Conroy came forward to meet him halfway. They stood face to face studying each
other. Derek could see the lines on the Director’s face and the bags under his
eyes now. The man looked exhausted and worn. He was also exceedingly pale,
probably from spending so much time down in this hole.

   Conroy spoke first. “Let me just apologize for how we
handled our first meeting with you. Based on your alliances we were very
concerned you were working with the enemy.”

   “I gave up on the U.S.T.G. when they tried to have me
executed for treason for refusing to murder innocents.” Derek informed him
coldly.

   “The U.S.T.G.?” Conroy said in confusion. “No, they
aren’t the true enemy...”

   “I agree.” Derek interrupted. “At least they aren’t
experimenting with creating super Drinkers to unleash on an innocent population
like you are.”

   “What?” Conroy replied in alarm. “You have it all wrong;
we aren’t trying to create a better mutant. We are trying to…”

  A single shot rang out and Conroy’s face exploded. He tumbled
over backward in slow motion as Derek instinctively reached for him. The
Director’s escort scrambled for their discarded weapons as Rora opened fire on
them. Derek cast a brief glance backwards at her and saw her determinedly
firing on the now rearmed gunmen. It was too far back for him to go to retrieve
his machine gun; so he went the only direction he could, forward.

   He rushed the nearest gunman and tackled him back into a
Humvee. They collided with vehicle with a loud, meaty crunch that shook the vehicle.
Derek head butted the man square in the nose and knocked him out cold. He
seized the man’s weapon and fired at the gunner popping up on the MRAP’s heavy
machine gun. The man slumped over the gun, dead. The others tried to regroup
behind the other vehicles, but Derek threw the two flash bang grenades he had
grabbed from the armory. The grenades landed right in their midst and sent them
scattering.

   Stunned and blinded by the grenades the remaining gunmen
were easy targets for Derek and Rora. They made short work of the disorganized
and now leaderless gunmen. Derek stalked around the vehicles methodically
putting short bursts into the desperately scrambling gunmen. A couple managed
to shoot him, but they were minor wounds. Rora picked off the ones that tried
to flee as they ran. In a few bullet filled minutes they cleared the entrance.

   He scavenged some more ammo as Rora came running over to
the vehicles. She jumped into one of the Humvees and called for Derek to get
in. He hustled over and jumped in as she started the vehicle. She pushed a
button on the dashboard and one of the steel doors rolled up. Throwing the
vehicle into gear she raced out of the garage and into the bright sunlight.

   As they drove away from the mountain Derek turned to Rora.
“Why did you kill him?” He demanded angrily.

   “I thought I saw one of them reach for a gun and I
instinctively squeezed the trigger. “ She replied apologetically.

   “We lost any chance to find out what was really going on
when you killed him.” He insisted, still angry.

   “I know what they were doing.” Rora said anxiously. “They
were conducting horrible experiments on the Drinkers and you. It’s a good thing
that we ended them. Now we just need to get to our pickup.”

   Derek let it go. He was sure there was more to the story,
but they would never know now. They had kidnapped him and kept him sedated for
months, and the complex had been full of Drinkers. None of those things
indicated that they were the good guys, but you never knew. Suddenly the ground
shook violently knocking Derek out of his thoughts.

   “What was that?” He asked in surprise.

   “The base had a self-destruct system. They must have
activated it when the Director fell.”

   “What happened to the others who were with you?” Derek
asked as he realized she hadn’t been alone.

September 2, 2029

Stone Mountain Park, Georgia

   The pickup was in the parking lot of what had once been a
luxury shopping area near the park. A double rotor Chinook transport helicopter
waited for them there. Several soldiers stood guard nearby, alertly scanning
the area. They took up combat positions as the Humvee approached, but relaxed
when they saw Rora. Ditching the Humvee, Derek and Rora ran to the chopper and
climbed on board. There was only one other soldier in the cargo area when they
got on, but the other soldiers followed them in and the chopper’s engines began
to rev up.

   “Where are the others?” Rora asked the soldier who had
originally been in the chopper alone.

   “They didn’t make it.” He groaned. “The Drinkers got
them.”

  He shifted slightly and Derek could see a large bandage
wrapped around the soldier’s midsection. Blood was already soaking through it.
Rora noticed as well and moved over to check on the man’s wound. She was
checking on him when he passed out. Derek could see the look of concern on her
face as she cut off the bandage. She said something to one of the other
soldiers and the helicopter took off almost immediately.

   Once they were in the air Derek tried to talk to Rora but
she was busy trying to keep the wounded soldier alive. So he sat back and
enjoyed the ride. There would be plenty of time to talk when they got back to
NASA. It seemed as though a lot had changed while he was unconscious. Rora had
become more assertive and confident, and that made him very curious how they
had gotten back from California.

   As they lifted off and turned towards NASA, they heard a
loud rumble. Derek looked back to the mountain just in time to see flames burst
out of several holes. Thick, black smoke began to rise up from various points
on the mountain. He assumed them to be the locations of the secret entrances. The
self-destruct would render the entire place unusable and destroy any evidence
of what the D.H.S. had been doing.

   The flight was short and they landed abruptly at the same
helipad at NASA they had used before. A medical team was waiting for them and
quickly bundled the wounded soldier on to a stretcher. Rora watched with
concern as they whisked him away to surgery. Derek hoped he made it. He didn’t
want yet another life lost on his account. Exiting the chopper, he found Augie
waiting for him with a frown on his face.

   “You keep costing me more men Storm.” Augie growled.

   “I was on a mission for you when I got grabbed.” Derek
argued.

   “That may be, but we lost two men to get you out, maybe
three.”

   “I appreciate the rescue, but it wouldn’t have happened
in the first place if we hadn’t been forced to land in California.”

   “I don’t have a lot of people to waste Storm, you owe
me.” Augie insisted.

   Now Derek saw where this was going. They had yet another
mission they wanted him to perform and Augie was trying to get leverage to
convince Derek to do it. They did rescue him and men had died doing it so he
did owe them something, but how much was in question. He would have to see what
they wanted before he made a commitment.

   “What do you want me to do?” Derek said with a sigh.

   “You are smarter than you appear, Storm. Let’s go inside
and talk about it. A lot has changed while you were out of action.”

   “Everyone keeps saying that. Did the second coming happen
or something?” Derek said sarcastically as he followed the General inside.

   “Not quite, but your actions on the station did set in
motion some world changing events.” Augie informed him as they entered the
conference room.

   Derek and Rora took their seats as Augie made sure the
room was secure. The blinds were lowered and the room sealed. Augie picked up
the remote for the A/V equipment and then sat down. He stared at Derek in
silence as if contemplating what to say.

   “First, let me thank you for severing the LINC.” Augie
said calmly. “Ending the threat from the Collective was of paramount
importance. However, that act triggered a number of events we did not
anticipate.”

   “Like what?” Derek interrupted.

   “When Doors was, for lack of a better term, erased, the
LINC ceased to exist and everything he was controlling reverted to its prior
state.” Augie explained. “That meant all of the satellites suddenly came back
online and under the control of their prior owners, if those systems still
existed.”

   “That’s an added bonus isn’t it?” Derek asked in
confusion.

   “Not exactly. Flight navigation satellites and the weather
satellites are now streaming data to anyone who can access them, which is good
for air travel. And the GPS satellites are as they were before with everyone
able to access them. But the U.S.T.G. is now in control of most of the
satellites once owned by the government or any company in the U.S. They have
complete surveillance and communications for all of North America and parts of
the world. Because of that they were able to determine the C.C.A.s troops’
positions and last week they launched a massive assault across the Ohio River
into Louisville and Paducah.”

   Derek knew this was bad. Those were the only two bridges
left across the Ohio River and therefore the main invasion routes into the
C.C.A. Once across, the U.S.T.G. forces could quickly advance into Nashville
and then into the heart of C.C.A. territory. But it was likely that they would
surrender if Nashville fell.  It was one of the largest remaining cities and
the destruction of the city was likely to cow the other cities into
surrendering to avoid that fate. The ties between the cities in the C.C.A. were
not that strong and he doubted their newly formed government and army would
hold together if a major city fell.

   Louisville had been a unique situation and the farthest
city north to remain outside full U.S.T.G. control. The U.S.T.G. controlled the
small portion of the city on northern side of the river and the southern side
belonged to the C.C.A. The bridge was the lone point of connection between the
two countries. It was heavily fortified on both sides and both armies
maintained several brigades of troops there. Along with Paducah, which was also
fortified, Louisville was a chokepoint that allowed the smaller C.C.A. forces
to prevent the larger and better equipped U.S.T.G. forces from overwhelming
them.

   If the federal forces broke through, they would have a
massive advantage in the more open terrain north of Nashville. And their
mobility would allow them to strike more places than the C.C.A. could defend.
The C.C.A. would be absorbed into the U.S.T.G. and there wouldn’t be anyone left
in North America that could stand against them.

   “How bad is it?” he asked.

   “Bad, but the C.C.A. troops blew the bridge at Paducah
before being driven back. That will delay that advance until the U.S.T.G.s
combat engineers can repair it or build a temporary bridge.” Augie informed
them. “The U.S.T.G. pounded Louisville with a sustained artillery barrage and
air strikes before they moved across the bridge, and they were able to take it
intact. However, C.C.A. troops and militia are dug into the rubble of the city
and are resisting their attempts to break out from the bridge. Reinforcements
are on the way to both cities, but it will be a close thing.”

   “What are we doing to help them?” Derek asked anxiously.
“If they fall, then we will all be under the thumb of the U.S.T.G. We have just
replaced one threat with another.”

   “The only thing that will help is if the N.R.T. comes to
the C.C.A.s aid and opens a second front.” Augie said in a serious tone. “But
they have stayed neutral so far, even though they had a mutual defense
agreement with the C.C.A. They seem to be more concerned with the perpetual
skirmishes with Aztlan in the disputed territory of Arizona.”

   “How could we convince them to honor their agreement?”
Derek wondered aloud.

   “They aren’t exactly fond of NASA right now.” Rora
smirked.

   “What does that mean?”

   “Our friend the general here posed as an N.R.T. general
to get us out of L.A. and made some promises that the N.R.T. couldn’t keep.”
Rora answered. “They have some lingering bitterness towards us over that.”

   Derek eyed the General. “Great! You alienated the one
ally we really need.”

   “Just so we are clear. The Society is not in the habit of
picking sides in a conflict.” Augie retorted. “We are focused on working for
the betterment of mankind.”

   “I would think that preventing the U.S.T.G. from
enslaving the continent would be for the betterment of mankind. And considering
you created the problem by having us eliminate Doors, I think you have a
responsibility to help.” Derek stated angrily.

   “We couldn’t have foreseen this.” Augie bristled.

   “That may be, but we have to do something to fix it.”
Derek insisted.

   “Well, Rora and I did have a conversation about this.”
Augie began. “It is possible there is something we could provide to all the
factions in exchange for their declaring a truce. Something that would benefit
mankind.”

   “So let’s give it to them.”

   “We don’t have it in our possession yet.” Augie
acknowledged grudgingly.

   Derek groaned. “Of course, it’s somewhere dangerous and
guarded by mutants or Reapers or something worse, and you want me to go
retrieve it.”

   “Not necessarily.” Augie replied. “We aren’t sure exactly
where it is, so it might be somewhere safe. I’ll let Rora explain.”

   “Come on, nothing for you guys is ever easy.” Derek
interrupted. “I’ll probably have to crawl over broken glass and walk through
fire to get this thing.”

   Rora laughed. “Just hear me out and then you can whine
about the trials and tribulations we will have to endure to get it. Keep in
mind, I know you love this stuff.”

   “Fine. What are we looking for?”

   “Before the Collapse the world’s governments prepared
backups in case of a doomsday scenario. They created vaults and stored seeds
and other valuable materials and information in them.” Rora explained.

   “Those vaults were sabotaged and everything destroyed.”
Derek pointed out. “Even though most of them were sealed up tighter than Fort
Knox and in remote locations, someone still managed to get in and ruin
everything. Are you saying they missed one?”

   “That is true that all the known vaults were destroyed,
but the U.S. government was working on another vault with the Collective. My
father was involved in the project and he said it was more ambitious than the
existing vaults and included frozen embryos for all life on Earth. When I asked
where it was and what had happened to it, he wouldn’t say. The only thing he
would tell me is that before he left the Collective he made sure that no one
would find it until the right time. So I am assuming it still exists.” Rora
explained to them.

   “We can’t ask him and if he hid it so well, how do you
intend to find it?” Derek asked.

   “I believe that the location, or at least clues to the
location, exist on my father’s computer network.” Rora replied. “I think I can
access the network and find the information, but we need to plug in directly; I
cannot do it remotely.”

   “Okay great, where do I need to take you?”

   “Back to the village where the slavers grabbed us from.”

   “I searched the village, there was no computer equipment
left by the slavers.”

   “There is a secret lab under the village, if you didn’t
find it I doubt the slavers did.” Rora said quietly.

   “You’re kidding.” Derek said in disbelief. “Why didn’t
you tell me?”

   “It never came up, and I was following Rule #24. Don’t
share anything you don’t need to.”

   “Quoting the rules to me now, I like it.” Derek chuckled.
“Okay, is there anything else I need to know before we go check out this secret
lab of yours?”

   “When the station re-entered the atmosphere it broke
apart. The largest pieces crashed into the Gulf of Mexico and sank. But flaming
debris fell all across the Southwest; landing in the N.R.T., Aztlan and in the
contested wastes of Arizona. That triggered skirmishes between the two
countries with each blaming the other for the ‘attacks’.” Rora explained to
Derek. “That’s partly why the N.R.T. isn’t interested in helping the C.C.A.,
they have their own border issues.”

   “One more thing. After the station lost its orbit but
before it crashed back to Earth, there were two transmissions from it.” Augie
informed him. “They were on two different wavelengths, one short and one much
longer. Both were heavily encrypted and we haven’t been to break them. The long
one was directed somewhere into Oregon and was cut off abruptly as the station
started burning up. We think it was some sort of failsafe for Doors. The other
was beamed out into space, but it was so short we didn’t get an exact fix on
it.”

   “That is interesting. I wonder where they went?” Derek
murmured.