Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Day 2

White House Press Room

“A State of Emergency has been declared in the United States of America. Including all overseas dependencies, and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. We face… we, uh…” The President slowly removed his wire-framed glasses, his hands shaking as he did so. The entire room waited in silence as he wiped them on his shirt and slid them back on. “For reasons yet to be determined, the bodies of the recently deceased are returning to life,” He took a deep breath before finishing. “and attacking the living.” As the room burst out into a series of questions, the President held up his hands and continued speaking. “The scope of this… epidemic, is now reaching global proportions.”

“What about our military?”

“How is the virus spread?”

The President rubbed his temples as nervous reporters hammered him with questions. His aid rested a hand on his shoulder and whispered for him to continue.

“As of 8am Eastern Standard Time, the continent of the United States is under Martial Law. A nationwide curfew of 7pm, tonight, has been put into effect. Any citizen caught outdoors between 7pm, and 7am is subject to arrest and detention without counsel.” The press room exploded at this, and his aid had to quiet everybody down.

“All reserve military personnel and national guard are ordered to report for immediate deployment. All law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency personnel will be federalized- effective immediately. All communication facilities, including the use of landlines and cellular telephone facilities will be reserved for military and rescue operations. In order to halt the spread of this contagion, our nation’s borders to Canada and Mexico have been sealed. No longer seek shelter in private residences, no matter how safely protected or well-stocked. Retain all ownership records of private property, but do not attempt to transport or protect said property. Rest assured, looters will be prosecuted with deadly force, as will any attempts at vigilantism…”

The President trailed off, his head and ears ringing and his body heating up. Questions were being thrown at him, but they went unheard. The scratch on his arm throbbed, and he could feel blood seeping through his bandage.

“Mr. President, your helicopter is waiting.” His aid whispered. He nodded, turning back towards the crowd.

“No questions.”





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Rex shakily climbed to his feet, his heart racing and head throbbing. Taft glared at him with eyes full of hatred as he did, and Barnes glared right back.

“Detain him!” Taft barked, pointing a finger at his once loyal Sergeant. Not anymore, this had gone too far. He’d murdered his Cindy, and now twenty-three innocent people, mostly children? Barnes growled as three of the soldiers from the firing squad began slowly walking over, their empty rifles shouldered and hands held out in front of them as they slowly began to encircle him.

“Bring it mother fuckers…” He murmured, slowly turning around as each one came at a different direction.

“Sarge, just calm down.” One of them said, a smug look on his face. Rex grit his teeth as he turned around once more, holding his hands up in defense.

“Barnes, we’re just going to-” Rex cut him off as he drew his sidearm and shot the soldier between the eyes. Everything was quiet for a minute, nobody moved as the soldier’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. Barnes looked over at Taft, time slowing down. Taft’s eyes went wide as he slowly turned the gun on him. Blood slowly leaked down as face before his wobbly legs gave out and he collapsed on the runway- that was when the other two soldiers charged.

As he pulled the trigger, one of the soldiers grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arms around his midsection. The gun went off in the air, completely missing the Colonel.

“Oof!” Rex felt the wind knocked out of him as he received a punch to the side. Thinking fast, he wrapped one arm around the soldier’s head, getting him in an awkward headlock. As the other person came at him from the front, he raised his M9 and pulled the trigger several times, each round exploding into the man’s gut. Blood bubbled from his lips as he fell to his knees, holding his hands over his multiple gunshot wounds, a lock of shock on his face. Before he could bleed out, Barnes shot him in the head.

“Bastard!” The soldier still in the headlock screamed as he tried breaking free. Rex stuck his gun in the man’s face and pulled the trigger twice, looking away as the back of his head exploded outwards and blood splattered against him face. Barnes let go of the corpse, letting it collapse on the runway just like all those children had.

As Barnes wiped blood off his face and looked back at Taft, he saw the remaining soldiers aiming their guns at him. Taft walked forward, slowly clapping as he did so. Each time his hands met, they echoed throughout the airfield.

“Bravo, I do say. Bravo.” Barnes growled as Taft neared him, his muscles straining as he dropped his gun and clenched his fists. “You’re quite the killing machine, aren’t you?” Taft said in more of a statement form than a question. “It’s quite impressive, actually. You’ve just murdered three veteran soldiers in a matter of seconds. Your woman would be proud… by the way, how’s that bitch doing, anyways?” Rex screamed as he grabbed Taft by the throat and slammed him to the ground, preparing to tear his fucking head off.

“Uh, uh, uh.” Taft mocked, his gun placed firmly under Barnes’ chin. Shit, he was fast on the draw. Barnes suddenly felt himself being torn off the Colonel and thrown to the ground, followed by a series of kicks and rifle butts. He didn’t feel them.

“Take that son of a bitch for a ride!” Taft said, standing up and looking at LaRouge, who had been watching from afar. “That means you, soldier!”

“Sir, I-”

“Move out!” Barnes heard Taft fire his gun in the air. “Williams, Withers, escort this piece of shit to his grave.” Rex hung his head low as a rifle was shoved in his back and he was pushed forward. He’d sent so many other’s to their death this way, it only seemed fair that his life would end the same way.





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Tom couldn’t believe what had just happened. He gasped for air as Barnes was taken down and beaten; he didn’t realize he had been holding his breath the entire time.

“Williams, Withers, escort this piece of shit to his grave.” Tom made eye contact with Rex as he was shoved forward via gunpoint. He had never seen such a defeated look in someone’s eyes before. As the Sergeant was led away, there was a tugging on his shoulder.

“Let’s go…” Reese said, her voice low.

“Yeah.” Tom replied as he began walking towards the Blackhawk. LaRouge was already in, the whine of the whipping rotary filling the air. His head was hung down as he walked up to the helicopter, not making eye contact with anybody. He looked at the crowd of people that had gathered, and saw Katharina at the front. Her arms were folded out in front of her, a deep look of concern on her face. Tom looked away, not even managing to crack off a smile.

He reached out and grabbed the cold handle and pulled himself into the hull, the medic following close behind. Tom sighed as Taft walked over to Barnes and grinned that shark-like grin of his; rows of teeth gleamed at the soldier.

“Enjoy your ride.” The Colonel croaked, his coffee-stained teeth still showing. Barnes looked up at him and spit in his face. Taft began slowly nodding, his hands wiping the spit off before he punched the Sergeant in the face. Barnes said nothing as he was pushed backwards and into the helicopter.

Tom saw Taft laughing as the rails of the Blackhawk lifted from the ground and slowly ascended away from the air base. The small crowd of people became little specks as LaRouge flew the helicopter out to the forest, out of sight. Tom saw clouds forming in the sky, hinting at a possible storm in the future. Down below, creatures stumbled about blindly, lost in the trees. Metal against metal was heard behind him. Tom turned around and was shocked to see Barnes strapping himself into the bungee vest.

“Barnes-”

“There’s nothing you can do, don’t even start.” Barnes cut him off as he pulled the straps on the vest. Toms hands ran through his hair as he paced about the cabin, trying to think of something, anything to do.

“Christ, you’re not going down there!” Tom rubbed his eyes, fatigue really taking a toll.

“We don’t have any other choice.” Reese quipped up. Tom shot her an angry glance, and she looked away.

“She’s right Williams.” Barnes said as he clipped himself in, ready to go. “I don’t care, let’s just get this over with…” Barnes walked over to the open doors, the wind rushing against his face. Tom pushed him back.

“God damn it, no!” He ran over to the cockpit and screamed in LaRouge’s ears.

“Land the bird in that clearing!” The pilot cocked his head.

“No shit?” LaRouge said. Tom pulled out his Taurus and jammed it into his neck.

“Do it.” Tom growled.

“Hey, hey I don’t want this to happen just as much as you. I’m landing, but get that fucking gun out of my face.” Tom scowled and shoved it back into his holster.

“God damn it, Williams!” Barnes growled. “Don’t fuck things up for yourself!”

“Shut up.” Tom grabbed onto the pilot’s chair as he descended into the forest. The once motionless water of a lake now had small ripples and waves forming as the wind from the Blackhawk reached the land. Leaves fluttered away as the helicopter touched down, the rails slightly sank in the moist earth. Even over the roar of the Blackhawk, Tom could hear the moans of the dead. Looking out into the trees, he saw dark figures stumbling towards the landed helicopter, arms outstretched and ready for a meal. Over in the lake, he saw a few figures rising, water flowing off their soggy clothes and raggedy skin. He needed to hurry.

“Go.” He explained, pulling out his knife and cutting Barnes out of the vest. His Sergeant had a shocked look on his face as he did so, but said nothing.

“Come on, man! They’re coming!” LaRouge yelled from the front. Reese hopped over to the doors and crouched down on a knee, aiming her gun outside. She swept it between targets, but never fired.

“Hurry it up!” She hissed. Barnes looked outside, then back at Tom.

“I’ll come back for you Williams.” As Barnes jumped out of the helicopter, Tom stopped him.

“Wait!” Rex turned around. Tom pulled out his Taurus and handed it over, butt first. Barnes slowly took the gun in his hands as the dead began to encircle the Blackhawk- then took off running. Tom watched as the Sergeant weaved between the dead and disappeared into the dark forest. He waited a moment, but heard nothing.

“Let’s move!” He shouted over the whipping rotary. Mud fell off the rails as LaRouge lifted off, leaving the small crowd of dead alone again. As they headed back to the base, Tom mentally wished Barnes luck.





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Jack Kingston smoked a cigarette as he watched the others drag the corpses off the runway. If his arm hadn’t been broken, he’d probably be out there helping. He was sitting on the opening hatch of the Chinook, resting. Jack watched as Plonsky dragged away one of the soldiers that Barnes had killed. The soldier’s eyes were wide with shock. He had several gunshot wounds to the chest, and another in his head.

Kingston blew out smoke as he watched the corpse being dragged away. Small clumps of brain matter fell out of the man’s head cavity ever few feet… disgusting. As much as Jack had hated Barnes for everything he did and stood for, he was actually feeling kind of bad now. He was the first person to actually stand up to Taft, and took out a few of his men before he himself was taken out.

“Poor bastard.” He muttered, flicking the cigarette away. It landed in the dirt and rolled away as a slight breeze kicked in, a thin line of smoke trailed behind it. Light thunder was heard overhead as more clouds rolled in; he felt a single droplet of rain on the back of his neck. Kingston didn’t mind though, he liked the rain. It was soothing to him in a way, one of the few things left in this fucked up world.

Stretching out his arms, he yawned, and relished the thought of returning to his bunk. These last couple of days had  been rough, and his arm hurt like a bitch.

“Speaking of bitches…” Jack mumbled. He couldn’t believe she shot him down like that, and then had the nerve to injure his arm like that?

“That whiny bitch.” Jack hissed as he rubbed his arm. It wasn’t like he could just roll up to the hospital, get some painkillers and a fresh cast. His arm was wrapped in bandages you could get from a drug store, and other than a small bottle of aspirin, the pain was a killer.

Jack’s ears suddenly perked up when he heard a slight sound in the hull of the Chinook.

“Huh?” Kingston came out of his train of thought as he heard the sound again. It was like claws clicking on a metal surface. His hand slid down to his holster as he pulled out the USP. The gun had never let him down before, and he’d taken plenty of lives to ensure this.

The sound continued as he stood up and slowly walked into the dark helicopter, the gun aimed out in front of him. His boots clicked loudly with each step as he stopped by a storage unit for equipment. Inside, the clicking continued. Jack was surprised that they didn’t hear it while airborne. Then again, a Chinook was loud as hell, you couldn’t even hear yourself think in one.

“Hello?” The Private asked as he tapped the muzzle of the gun a few times against the latch. The clicking stopped, and he heard a muffled whimpering of sorts.

“What the fuck?” Jack held out the gun as slid the hatch open- and was surprised as a large German Sheppard ran out. “Jesus!” He jumped back and aimed the handgun down as the dog ran around the inside of the Chinook, obviously hysterical. A small pink bandanna was wrapped around its neck, indicating it was a female.

“Hey, calm down girl!” Jack holstered his handgun and kneeled down as the dog barked and sat down. Her tail wagged, and thumped against the metal frame as she barked again. “Hey, hey, it’s ok.” Jack smiled as he slowly reached his hand down to pet her. The German Sheppard licked his hand as he did so, causing him to grin. Jack loved dogs, before the outbreak he had two back home. He tried not thinking about what had happened to them, but this dog really brightened his mood.

As she licked his hand and arm, he reached down and looked at her collar.

“Jesse, eh?” He smiled as he rubbed the dogs ears. She whimpered, her tail wagging again as she licked his face. “Come on, let’s go get you some food.” Jack rubbed her ears and stood up. “Let’s go girl!”

What Jack didn’t see is the almost non-existent scratch on her side.