Chapter 24

Chapter 24




But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the LORD shall be their King forever.

The Word of the Lord





   “Neek! Neek!” Nick was awoken from his slumber by Hua, who was shaking him repeatedly.

“Huzza… wha?” Nick’s eyes fluttered opened, and noticed that his chest was soaked. He blinked a few more times and saw that the ceiling was dripping water. Outside, the wind howled as the storm raged on. He grumbled as he sat up, the remnants of his dream slowly fading away. He thought it was of Carrie, but couldn’t be sure.

“What is it?” He asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Hua’s eyes squinted as he tugged on his arm. He forgot, Hua couldn’t understand a god damn word he was saying.

“Neek, here!” Hua waved his arms frantically as Nick began to fully wake up. It wasn’t until he stood up that he realized it wasn’t the wind howling outside, it was the undead. Hua was pointing over at the hangar doors, where a small crowd of people had already gathered. It became apparent there was a bird in the air by the constant whup-whup-whup of a rotary as Nick and Hua came to entrance.

“The hell?” Nick mumbled, watching the chopper hover in place. Hua pointed over at the patrol, who to was even mesmerized by the chopper and the moans. He then pointed at his mouth.

“He’s hungry?” Nick asked, pointing at the patrol. Hua shook his head, pointing over at the crowd of the undead gathered outside the gates, then over at the patrol.

“They’re hungry for… oh…”

“Oh… this isn’t good…” The patrol said as he ran a hand through his soaked hair.

“What’s going on?” Nick asked curiously. The patrol simply shook his head.

“Watch.” Nick looked up at the Blackhawk, and after a few moments he saw a flash inside the cockpit. A few seconds later, somebody plummeted out. The moans of the undead reached a crescendo as the body fell out and into their grasps. Nick turned away, disgusted. He gave Hua a pat on the back as he walked back to his cot, his boots squelching on the wet floor.

Upon reaching the cot, he moved it back a few feet, away from the ceiling leak. The cot made a screech on the floor that made him cringe, and also woke up Jake. The kid sat up, wide eyed and looking around.

“Nick?” Jake asked, looking over at the crowd gathered at the entrance. Nick sat down, pulling off his boots and lying down, not particularly liking the wet spot underneath him.

“What’s up?” He asked, turning over on his side and facing Jake.

“What’s going on out there?” Jake asked, sitting up and trying to see over the group. Nick shook his head, the kid already seen enough death and despair to last a lifetime. Nick rubbed his stubble, his mind racing to come up with an answer. After a short moment, he spoke.

“Nothing at all kiddo, nothing at all…”





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Rex grunted as he scooped out another shovelful of dirt. Water poured out of the wet mud; worms squirmed about as he tossed it out of the hole. He’d been out shoveling for hours, the rain never letting up. He wanted to make sure the hole was deep, but it was relentless work. For every three scoops he dug out, another shovel full would slide down in the wet mud.

“I’ll be damned if those fucks will eat my girl.” He grumbled, tossing out another shovelful of mud. He heard a lonely moan nearby. Jamming the shovel in the mud, he pulled out his M9 and spun around. Barnes didn’t hesitate as he put two rounds in the bastard’s head; his gun was already in his holster and he was digging again before the zombie even collapsed. It was the seventh one he’d gunned down since digging. They’d kept wandering over to the fence as he dug, as if curious.

Barnes was completely soaked, his uniform clenched to his skin as he continued to dig. His combats were covered in mud, caked all over. As the rain pounded down on him, some of it washed off. But the more he dug, more just got back on. His feet were freezing, on the verge of being numb. Once he’d jumped in the hole when it was deep enough, there was no avoiding the water as it rushed down into his boots. None of that bothered him though, hell he didn’t even care. He had one thing on his mind, and one thing only. This hole was getting dug.

Barnes toughed it out for another half hour until his hands went numb and he couldn’t control his shivering. His whole body shook as his teeth chattered.

“Should be about right…” He said to himself, measuring the hole with his shovel. The hole was about five feet deep, and roughly a few feet on each side. “Good.” He tossed the shovel out of the hole and climbed out. His hands fell through a few inches of mush as he climbed out; a worm wiggled beneath his finger. Barnes grimaced, pulling himself up and wiping the mud off his shirt.

Bits and pieces of mud fell off in clumps as he walked over to the makeshift game area, where Cindy was waiting. He knew what happened to her wasn’t an accident. She was murdered, no ifs, ands, or buts. Barnes already was pretty sure he knew who it was too. Only one person in the entire camp gave him shit, and it just so happened to be his commanding officer.

Rex’s teeth clenched hard as he quickened his pace. That son of a bitch was going to die, and he’d make damn sure he’d be begging for his life. He’d put up with that old bastard’s shit for weeks now. He’d followed every last order to the dot. He’d killed whoever spoke out against Taft. Barnes Never once disobeyed an order, and this is how he was repayed? No, he’d gone too far this time.

Barnes walked into the smaller hangar, slowing his pace as he reached the table. Cindy was exactly as he’d left her, sprawled out on the table with his jacket covering her. There was a small puddle of gore near the table, he tried ignoring it as he slowly pulled the jacket off her.

“Jesus…” He turned away, taking a few deep breaths and trying not to vomit. She’d been out in the rain so long, her skin had puffed up again, and had slid from the bone in a few places. He took a step forward, his boot lightly splashing a puddle as he kneeled down and took one of her hands into his. He ran his fingers between hers, slowly rubbing her palm.

Barnes took a shaky breath as his hand slowly dropped to his side and into his pocket. He pulled out a ring and slowly slid it on her ring finger.

Barnes smiled as he lightly squeezed her hand.

“Looks beautiful…” He sat there for a good deal of time, not really keeping track. Once his knee started to cramp up, he stood up and gently placed her hand down on the table.

“Don’t worry… he’ll be joining you soon.” Barnes looked outside the hangar at the control tower, where a faint light could be seen. Shaking his head, he turned back around and gently lifted Cindy and walked out back into the storm. He was on his way to do a deed no man ever wants to go through; burying their loved ones.





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The Next Day


“Hey.” Tom’s eyes fluttered open as Katharina gently shook him. “Come on, get up.” Tom groaned. He’d been sleep deprived for the last few days, he wanted nothing more than just sleeping in for a day.

“Come on…” Tom complained, feeling like he was arguing with his mother. She smiled as she tugged on him again. Reaching up, he grabbed both her hands and pulled her down on top of him. He tickled her stomach as she thrashed about laughing.

“Come on get up, come on get up!” He mimicked as he kept tickling her.

“Stop it! Seriously-” She laughed, trying to wiggle free from his grasp. Tom flipped her over so she was lying on top of him, and they were looking into each other’s eyes. He ran a hand through her long brown hair, rubbing her cheek with the other.

“I don’t want to go to school today, mom.” He mimicked a whiney kid’s voice. Katharina giggled and leaned down, kissing him.

“Mmm… that’s better.” He kissed her again, his hands running down her back. She pulled away after a few moments, making him frown.

“Your radio went off about five minutes ago.” She said. Tom grunted, so much for getting that sleep.

“What’d they say?” He asked. She sat up on him, shrugging.

“I’m not really sure who it was… they just said to be at the control tower by nine. Tom checked his watch, he had twenty minutes. As he laid his head back on the pillow and looked up at Katharina, she yawned and stretched back. Something caught his eye, and he immediately sat back up.

“Kath… take off your shirt.” He said with a frown. She cocked her head a bit.

“You don’t have time for this, mister.” She said with a giggle. Tom shook his head.

“No, seriously… take off your shirt.” She shrugged and complied. Tom gasped when he saw her side. Large black and blue marks covered her slender stomach. Tom hadn’t really noticed when he woke up, but the cut above her right eye was a bit swollen as well. Katharina realized what he was looking at, and looked down at herself.

“Gee, didn’t know it was that bad…” She sighed, raising an arm as she inspected herself.

“Does it hurt?” He asked, gently pressing against the bruises on her side. She crossed her eyes.

“No, it feels great.” She joked, lightly jabbing him in the chest. He immediately pulled his hand back.

“Sorry.” Katharina got off of him and put her shirt back on. Tom jumped off the cot and began clipping on his utility belt and vest, not bothering with his t-shirt. Judging from the sunlight that was coming in through the window, the storm had passed and it was going to be a nice day.

Once he was dressed and ready to go, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and began walking out. As his hand grasped the doorknob, he felt her hand on his shoulder.

“Hey…” Katharina began. Tom turned around, a look of concern in her eyes. “Promise me you’ll be back?” She asked. Tom blinked and nodded, a smile forming on his lips.

“I promise.” She smiled, her hand resting on his cheek.

“Be careful.” Tom grinned.

“I always am.” He gave her a peck on the lips and left the office. His first instinct on the weather was right, the hangar was pretty toasty. He walked by the various cots, not paying any attention to anyone in particular as he exited the hangar. The sun beat down on the back of his neck as he made his way to the control tower. There was a semi-large group of soldiers there waiting for him, including Barnes. Taft stood in the middle of the group, his arms crossed and waiting.

“Now that we’re all here…” He began. “We got a distress call from a unit station in Cleveland today.” Taft said, walking slowly around each soldier, as if inspecting them. His boots crunched on the dirt. “From the sounds of it, I presume Ohio has been lost.” There were a few murmurs in the group as Taft continued.

“Now, I spoke with the commander a few days ago, and they’ve plenty of provisions just laying around, in addition to a Chinook. I’m sending two teams out, both choppers. Barnes, you’re leading Alpha team.”

“Yes sir!” Barnes said. Tom looked over at him, and saw a look of disgust on the man’s face as he watched Taft.

“Williams,” Tom averted his eyes back to Taft. “you’ll be leading Bravo team.” Tom nodded, kind of surprised that he was picked.

“Yes sir!” Taft continued walking among each soldier, stopping occasionally and looking them in the eye as he talked.

“Alpha team will be in charge of securing these provisions… we’re not in any danger of running low anytime soon, but now is a great opportunity for us.” Barnes stopped at Kingston as he continued. “Bravo team will be in charge of securing that Chinook.” Taft continued, stopping at LaRouge.

“LaRouge, you’ll be in command of the Blackhawk.” LarRouge nodded.

“Yes sir!” Taft took a few more steps forward, stopping at a soldier that Tom had seen a few times before, but never really spoke to.

“Ace, you’ll be in command of the Bell.” The soldier nodded.

“Yes sir!” Barnes suddenly spoke up.

“What about civi’s or military personnel?” Taft stopped and turned around,  averting his path and going back.

“Leave ‘em. They’re already engaged in a battle, they won’t be a problem. What’s left of them, anyways.” Tom shook his head. It seemed that everybody was out for themselves now. Taft walked a few more steps, stopping in front of a young woman that Tom had never seen around before. She medium length blonde hair, and he was sure it was longer then the standard cut. She had a pale skin tone, yet it looked like she’d tan easily if out in the sun. The woman wore military fatigues, and judging from the pack she carried, she was a medic.

“Specialist Reese Withers will be joining you boys on this mission. Our men are dwindling, and not just from those zombie fucks out there.” Taft nodded out past the main gate. “Carelessness. Now, you better make damn sure Withers makes it back alive, she’s the last medic we’ve got.”

Taft continued his slow walk, stopping in front of Tom. The man grinned, his shark-like teeth sticking out of his mouth.

“Any questions?”





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“So what’s with you and Sarge anyways?” Ace called back from the pilot’s seat. Kingston laughed as he rubbed a cloth over his rifle.

“Yeah, he seems to have really taken a liking to you. You two butt buddies of somethin’?” Tom chuckled and shook his head.

“Nah.” They’d been split up into two small units. Ace, Kingston, and Withers were under his command and the Bell chopper. Barnes was with LaRouge and two other soldiers that he didn’t know.

“Bull shit.” Ace laughed, Tom nudged his chair. “We’re coming up on Cleveland, ETA five minutes.” He took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever lay ahead.





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Reese Withers nervously ran her hands along the small sub machinegun she’d been given. It was kind of funny, she wasn’t even a soldier. During the first days of the outbreak, she’d stolen a uniform from a corpse. Reese knew what happened to the average Joe’s, how they were locked away like prisoners. There was no way she was going to end up like them, not a chance.

She had been surprised when she’d passed through the first military blockade, stating that her unit had been overrun. It wasn’t entirely untrue, she had actually seen a until of soldiers slaughtered outside her apartment where she had hidden. What had surprised her even more though, is that they’d let her pass. They didn’t even check her for proper ID. Things were so far gone by then, that they probably just didn’t have the time.

Of all the uniforms to grab, she’d just had to grab the medics. She actually did work at a hospital, before the outbreak anyway. She’d been a waitress and a part-time nurse aid. When the time came to actually apply treatment to a soldier who’d been stabbed, she’d been able to just barely pull it off.

Reese shook her head as she looked outside the window. They were over the city now, fires burned all around. Blockades were set up at every street corner, and thousands of the dead shuffled through the streets. She saw some soldiers in the streets, firing away at the endless wall of flesh that advanced towards them.

“We’re so fucked…” She muttered to herself.

“Hey, you ok?” Reese looked up, and saw that it was Williams. He was actually kind of cute. “Yeah. Just a bit nervous is all.” She ran her hands over her sub machinegun again, the cool metal somewhat calming her nerves.

“What the fu- shit!” Reese turned her head as Ace screamed. Her eyes quickly glanced outside the window, and saw a rocket heading straight for the helicopter. A man on a roof dropped the weapon as the Blackhawk open fired on the man, reducing him to nothing more then a splatter. Before Ace could maneuver out off the way, the rocket slammed into the backside of the bird.

“Shit!” Ace screamed again as Reese flesh out of her seat. Her head banged against the ground, hard. Her vision blurred a bit as she blinked slowly, trying to sit up. A small siren let off inside the chopper, letting everybody know that they were screwed.

“Prepare for impact!” Ace screamed as the chopper spun out of control.

“Damn it, hang on everyone!” Williams screamed as he grasped his chair.

Reese managed to grab the handles of her chair and pull herself up, just in time to see the street rapidly approaching. The helicopter’s rotary decapitated and dismembered a small crowd of zombies as it smashed through them. Gore covered the window as shrieking metal was heard. Reese screamed as her head cracked against the window and she fell back. Darkness began to consume her as she could only watch helplessly as what remained of the helicopter slid across the street in a shower of sparks and slammed into the side of a building.