“Try to rest and let the nanobots do their work,” Jeff said, setting a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll be at the ranch in a few hours—Ryan is pushing this baby like she’s probably never been tasked before.”
“Did you com Doc?” Maybe Melly could talk sense into Jeff. The doctor knew damn well no one beat this disease.
“Not yet, I’m waiting until we’re closer. No need to worry all of them yet. Hang in there.” The captain returned to his seat beside the driver and he and Ryan had a low-voiced conversation.
Cody tested the restraints, hearing the one on his left ankle creak under the pressure from his cyborg power. Blinking, he shook his head. What the seven hells am I doing? The last thing I want is to be loose in here with my brothers. He checked his arm again, dismayed to see the black streaks were rising higher toward his elbow now. The glare from the assembled nanites was intense.
Allowing his eyes to drift shut, he realized his mind was full of angry chaotic thoughts, many of them not his, as if they’d been inserted by an entity outside his body. Was this how the virus transformed humans into ravening beasts? He struggled to combat the encroaching madness by recalling past missions which had been successful and in which he and his teammates had worked together flawlessly. He loved these guys, they had his six and he wouldn’t harm them now, no matter what the damn infection wanted.
Chapter Four
Melly was restless. She hadn’t been apart from Jeff since the moment they landed on Randal Four and introduced themselves to each other, right before their first swarm of infected had attacked. The ranch was peaceful and had a stark beauty about it, Tamsyn was a wonderful hostess, and of course Trent and Zach were here to guard her and the others. All of that notwithstanding, she missed Jeff. The bed was cold and empty without him.
It was going to be a long three days. At least one had already gone by and Zach had reported getting a quick com from the team to say they’d arrived at New Damarkal and were about to enter the base. Nothing since then.
Jeff and his men certainly knew their business. They’d been Special Forces and actually still were on active duty, although the plan had been to go undercover and portray themselves as retired veterans taking up ranching. The infected apocalypse had rendered that scheme moot.
“I guess being a military spouse means a lot of sitting and waiting like this,” she said out loud. In normal times though she’d be wildly busy working as a doctor at the hospital in the capital, not lounging around a ranch in the rural North. Reluctantly she resumed studying the massive report on the so-called Western Flu which had been presented at the last meeting of the planet’s authorities. The meeting had been interrupted by one of the attendees turning and attacking the others and from there the situation in the city had devolved into total chaos from what Melly and the others could tell.
The report contained everything known to this planet’s medical establishment about the Western Flu at that point, including all the desperate methods which had been tried to cure the infections and stop the victims from becoming mindless killers. In a word, nothing worked.
Melly wasn’t a research scientist but she did have some questions and she was excited about the work being done at the secret facility referenced in the document. Its location was said to be further north and Jeff had promised the place was one of their destinations on this long cross country trip to reach the ranchland he and the others had claimed.
Doc, get to the APC now. It was Zach, over the subaural com which his team wore and had outfitted her with.
Startled, adrenaline rising immediately, she dropped the report, grabbed the blaster Jeff in insisted she always have handy and ran for the doorway. There could be only one reason for Zach to issue a terse order like that and no time to waste. She flew down the stairs at a reckless pace, yelling for Mike but there was no answer. My brother?—?
Trent’s getting the boy, the dog and our hostess, Zach assured her. He sounded like he was on the run. Are you at the APC yet?
Almost.
Melly darted out the front door and stopped in horror. At the far end of the long driveway the first members of a large infected swarm shambled their way toward the house. It was hard to make herself move forward when every instinct was to go inside the house and lock the door but the APC was parked close by and had proven itself as a shelter from the infected more than once. She jumped down the stairs, falling to her knees but pulled herself up by the newel post and scrambled to the waiting APC. Jeff had given her the code and now she punched the numbers and symbols in as fast as she could, heaving a sigh of relief as the door opened.
She didn’t enter the vehicle though. Glancing at the approaching horde, she ran around the end of the massive APC and did a quick search of the surrounding ranch. She heard Buddy barking in an excited manner and took two steps in that direction. Trent came into view, rifle at the ready, Mike running by his side and the dog going ahead of them and then back as if to herd them into moving more quickly.
“Tamsyn!” Melly yelled, there being no sign of the rancher. She checked the infected, who were drawing closer. Another minute or two and the swarm would be upon her.
“Get in the APC, doc,” Trent yelled. As he ran he fired a few blasts at the oncoming horde and the first wave of infected dropped, only to be heedlessly trampled by the ones behind.
Melly retreated to the door but waited for Buddy to come up to her. She grabbed his collar firmly so he wouldn’t go after the infected and held on as the soldier and her brother arrived. Trent took up a stand facing the enemy and picked off a few more but there was a growling crowd right behind.
“We’re in,” Melly yelled as she got herself, the dog and her brother inside the APC. Gasping for breath after the sprint to safety, Mike took charge of his dog and headed for their assigned seats. Melly stepped back to the doorway as Trent leaned inside to check on her.
“I’m going to provide cover for Zach and Tamsyn,” he said. “Seal the door until we get back.”
He was gone before she could protest. She allowed the portal to cycle halfway closed but that was as much as she was prepared to acquiesce with his orders. On the vids she watched Zach and Tamsyn coming from the direction of the corral and guessed the rancher had been working with her horses. Probably took time to set them loose in the bigger pasture. Every second counted in these situations though because the infected could be upon you before you expected them. She checked on the advancing group, whose moans and yammering were quite loud now and squeezed off a few shots through the half open door. Too close.
Hurry! She sent to Zach and Trent. They’re nearly here.
Zach picked Tamsyn up and heaved her over his shoulder as he ran. Trent covered his six as a trio of infected made a beeline for them. Melly swore. Her friends weren’t going to make it at this rate. “Mike, take the door—shoot anything that gets close.”
She handed him her blaster and rushed to the ladder for the megablaster turret. She’d made Jeff show her how to use it and now she was thanking herself for the foresight. Slamming into the operator’s seat, she stared at the many controls, trying to remember the lesson. “Safety, off.” She flipped the switch. Putting the headset on, not even waiting to adjust it, she got the full range view of the APC’s perimeter and let loose a stream of fire at the front line of the crowd. The burned and mangled bodies of the infected would continue to crawl and struggle toward their prey but weren’t as big a danger as whole ones on their two feet. Bile rose in her throat at the toll she was taking of what had been normal, innocent citizens of her home world but now they were a deadly threat to those she cared about.
The megablaster would only depress so far but she tried to keep the area clear around the APC and a corridor for her friends to flee through.
Zach barreled through the half open hatch, carrying Tamsyn and Trent was right on his heels,. Mike tumbled to the deck as the two soldiers rushed inside, pushing past him. Trent slapped the door controls and the portal finished its cycle, shutting off access to the outside world.
Melly allowed her shaking hands to drop from the controls and after a few deep breaths she stripped off the control headset and lost her view of the outer world. She wasn’t sure her legs would support her on the rungs of the short ladder just yet. Zach patted her lower leg, making her startle and scream.
