AB (The Blake Reynolds Chronicles Book 1) Page 4

  The whole process had taken less than fifteen minutes. The fate of half his crew had been sealed.

  John fought back the tears as the last crewmember made his choice.

  It only took the Marines ten minutes to ferry the handful of infected crew to the island. When they returned they quickly took up positions to help guard the rest of the infected crew in the brig.

  John was meeting with what was left of his senior staff when one of the Marines came running into the room.

  “Sir, you had better get down to the brig. They are starting to change.”

  John turned to Dr. Fuller. “You should come also.”

  All three ran out of the room, down the hall and down the stairs to where brig was.

  As the three entered the large room, behind the bars, what stared back at them filled them with terror. Many of their friends and shipmates stared back at them with red and yellow eyes. They were reaching through the bars trying to grab them. Their clicking and hissing sounds did not even sound human.

  John scanned the cell. Some had changed; others were lying on the ground unconscious. One young Marine was doing his best moving from person to person to comfort or help the ones lying on the ground.

  In the corner John could see the lieutenant sitting on the ground, very pale and with sweat running down his face.

  “Captain, it is time. I don’t want to turn into one of those things.” He then turned to the sergeant who was now in charge of what was left of the Marines on board. “You have your orders.”

  The sergeant then turned to the captain. John just nodded his head.

  The two then stood back, and the sergeant turned to the other five Marines who were standing guard. “You heard the lieutenant’s orders. Fire.”

  One by one the infected in the cage fell to the ground. Blood covered the floor and started to flow out of the cage.

  Dr. Fuller screamed in horror as the bodies fell.

  John wanted to turn his head but knew that he needed to watch.

  It was over in seconds.

  “Dr. Fuller how many of the bodies would you like to keep on board to run your test on?” Captain Nellis said quietly.

  Stacy had trouble forming a reply on her lips. “Umm… five should do.”

  “Sergeant, with this many bodies we can’t have a proper funeral for them, so just put them overboard and we will consign their souls to the sea. We will have time to mourn them later.”

  Day 4: Blake

  Blake lay in his bed. His dreams were peaceful for a change and didn’t involve any fighting in the battles of his past tours. The phone on the nightstand next to his bed began to ring, softly at first and then much louder. It took a couple minutes for him to notice the noise. He rolled over and squinted through blurry eyes at the clock. It was only four A.M.

  “What the hell,” he thought.

  He reached for his phone while Tara rolled onto her side and pulled a pillow over her head.

  “Hello,” Blake said groggily.

  On the other end was an automated message from his base commander. “We have an Alpha-level event. You are ordered to report to the base for a special briefing in the base’s common area at 06:00.” The call ended abruptly.

  Blake’s senses were immediately at attention. His heart started to pound so hard he thought Tara could hear it even in her groggy state. He knew that this call only went out in cases of severe emergencies or war.

  Tara sat up and in a weary voice asked, “What was that?”

  Blake replayed the message in his mind a few more times before replying.

  “I don’t know, but something bad has happened.”

  Blake shot out of bed and ran to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth in the shower, not wanting to waste any time. As he stepped out of the shower, he hardly dried himself off before throwing on his uniform. He knew there was no time for food or coffee this morning. He kissed Tara and raced out the door to his car.

  As Blake drove to his base, well above the speed limit, his mind raced about what the emergency could be. He scanned all of his usual radio stations, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, other than reports of the meteor and that some people in Australia and southern Asia had come down with a new strain of flu.

  He turned off the radio and started to think about his family as an uneasy feeling started to fill his stomach.

  As he pulled into the parking lot he had to park in the back, as the lot was almost completely full. Blake had to think to himself, “This must be really bad.”

  Blake quickly ran into the large room filled with thousands of other soldiers. He assumed that these were all the soldiers assigned to the base. Towards the front, he could hear someone shouting his name. He immediately saw Stetson. Quickly he made his way forward and sat next to him.

  Stetson put his arm around Blake’s shoulder and said, “Hey, do you know what is going on?” Blake looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

  The base commander, General Starks, stepped in front of the podium’s microphone. Two men in black suits and a woman in a white lab coat stood next to him, their expressions difficult to read. The second General Starks cleared his throat, the crowd fell silent.

  General Starks’s lips were pursed, and his eyes were sunken in. Whatever news he had, Blake knew it wasn’t good. “Many of you have faced some difficult trials in your careers as soldiers. You have executed you duties with honor and dignity. What we will be asking you to do in the next twenty-four hours – and for that matter, days and weeks – is going to take every bit of courage you have.”

  Blake and Stetson exchanged nervous looks with each other.

  “A couple of days ago, many of you saw the meteor streak across the sky. It exploded high in the Earth’s atmosphere over the central Pacific. At first, we thought that the planet had dodged a bullet when it appeared to cause no damage. But we have since learned that something was inside the meteor and that the explosion actually spread some kind of foreign spores or bacteria into the air. It has started to change people and is driving them to a state of psychosis. They appear to attack any non-infected person they come in contact with. Our scientists have been tracking the infection as it spreads around the world. They say that the spores should reach the United States in the next two hours.” He paused for a moment so he could let his words have proper impact with the soldiers. “I would like to introduce Dr. Lynn. She will be describing what will be happening in the next hours and days.”

  Dr. Lynn stepped forward to the microphone and cleared her throat. “The infection first started on the small island of Niue. We had a ship in the area that was sent to monitor the effects of the meteor’s impact. As the General said, it exploded in the atmosphere on the eastern coast of the island. Within an hour, the ship received word that the small hospital on the island had been filled up with people suffering from flu-like symptoms. A couple hours later, the infected patients became psychotic and began attacking and killing any non-infected persons.” Dr. Lynn scanned the room to see if she had everybody’s attention.

  “It was soon discovered that only people of non-O blood type became infected. Let me reiterate: People of type A or B blood type will be infected. We have started to call them ‘ABs’ for short.”

  Blake could hardly believe what he was hearing. He glanced around the room, seeing soldiers that he knew and had fought with. From what this doctor was saying, half of them would become infected. What did that mean for them? As he finished scanning the room, his gaze came back to his friend Stetson. His face had turned pale, and Blake could see Stetson’s pulse racing through the veins in his neck.

  Dr. Lynn continued, “It was only a few hours later that the first reports of the infection were reported in New Zealand and Australia. They had designed a plan, like many other countries, to cope with such a pandemic event. But they weren’t prepared to handle half the population becoming infected. One of the last messages we received from them was only a few hours ago, but it might be what saves this pl
anet.

  “They reported what the symptoms were and what happens to the ABs hours after the initial signs of infection appear. They show behavior that can only be described as an insect-like colony. The ABs seem to be drawn towards each other. Somehow, they can identify other ABs and not show any aggression toward each other. They seem to fall into a caste system identified by the color of their eyes. The people with black eyes become leaders, or like queen bees. They seem to retain all of the cognitive abilities that they possessed before. The others tend to flock to the leaders, and they swarm to a centralized location to form what we refer to as a ‘nest.’

  “Next, we have what is now being identified as the hunters or soldiers. Their eyes turn red. Once a nest has been formed, they are the ones that go out to hunt for fresh meat and protect the nest. That means the uninfected or any other kind of animal. It is not known if they eat anything else. Some seem to have incredible strength and aggression. They don’t talk very often and seem to communicate through broken native language, strange body gestures, and clicking sounds.

  “Next, there are the yellow-eyed drones. They haven’t been observed communicating very much, if at all. They tend to wander around the nest area. We believe their main job is to keep the area clean and gather supplies.

  “All three castes also use some kind of clicking noise and squeals to express their emotions and thoughts.”

  Blake started thinking to himself that he had been through many tests in his career, but nothing like this. How do you fight an enemy that is one of our own?

  As he glanced at the other soldiers, they seemed either unconvinced or terrified.

  Dr. Lynn stepped back and gestured for the general to take over. “I know this might sound ludicrous or frightening, but I want to assure you that I have talked to the secretary of defense directly. I can confirm that everything you have just heard is true. The president and key members of Congress have been taken into an undisclosed underground bunker. At this point, it is unclear if they will be safe there. Now I know what we have said is not easy to hear or comprehend, but what I am about to say is even worse.” The general turned and gave a signal to the military police officers that were standing at the back door. A group of fifty MPs suddenly entered the room. Each of them broke into smaller groups and positioned themselves at each of the five doors.

  “I said earlier that the events we are about to go through would take an immense amount of courage to get through. This is where that courage starts. The last thing I want to discuss with you – and why the MPs are here – is that only people with type O blood will be safe from the infection. That means the rest of you might or will be infected. I want you to remain calm. Each of you will go to the back of the room and form five lines. Once you get to the front of the line, you will present your dog tag to the MP at the table. If you have type O blood, you will return to your seat. If you are A or B blood type, you will be escorted by an MP to a temporary holding area that we have set up. You will remain there until further notice.”

  Everyone immediately looked at their dog tags. Most of the men had seen multiple tours of duty in combat zones, but that couldn’t prepare them for this. Slowly, they all walked to the back of the room. Blake and Stetson were two of the first soldiers in line.

  Blake let out a long breath and tipped his head all the way back as he stepped in line. He knew that he wouldn’t be infected. He also knew that his family wouldn’t be infected.

  But as Stetson stepped forward, his shoulders curled forward, which caused his chest to cave in. He had the blank stare of a dead man. Before Stetson reached the MP, he turned to Blake with a face that had turned ashen white. “Blake, I want you to promise me one thing: If I get sick and start to turn into one of those things, I want you to take me out. Can you promise me that?”

  Blake stared back at his lifelong friend with a fake grin. “I’m sure that it won’t come to that.”

  Stetson grabbed Blake’s shoulders tightly. “Promise me!”

  Blake dropped his sad eyes to the floor and muttered, “I promise.”

  When they reached the front of the line, Stetson’s tag was checked and then he was escorted out of the room by two MPs. Just as he was about to walk out the door, he glanced back one last time to look at Blake. It was the look of a man headed to the gallows to be hanged. Blake knew that he would never be able to get that look out of his head for the rest of his life.

  As Blake returned to his seat, his heart was heavy and survivor’s guilt started to set in. He found himself wanting to be at Stetson’s side.

  The separation took about twenty minutes. The ones that remained in the commons area sat there, mostly staring blankly at the floor taking shallow breaths.

  Blake sat in silence, staring at his dog tag. He was worried for his friend. His thoughts then shifted to his wife and daughter. He knew that Tara was type O because she had given him blood on the battlefield once when he had been wounded in Afghanistan. He assumed that his daughter was type O as well, because both of her parents were. But he wondered what would happen to them if people started changing like the doctor had described. However, he was a soldier first and couldn’t just leave the base to go save them. Blake clenched his fists angrily, hating feeling so conflicted.

  Day 4: Tara

  Tara clutched the TV remote tightly. She had sent Kaya into her room to play with her toys. The TV stations were reporting about the infection that was spreading around the world. As she scanned the channels, she watched video footage of the carnage that was taking place. The non-infected people were being hunted down, killed, and slaughtered. The non-infected were trying to stay alive by banding together with militia groups in neighborhoods. Some reports showed vigilantes roaming the streets, killing anyone that might be non-O blood types.

  One of the experts gave his opinion about how this was the beginning of an alien invasion, and a reporter said this was God’s punishment for the wicked ways of the world. But the most common topic was that the non-O blood types were at risk.

  The news also reported what the different countries around the world were doing to prepare for the infections before they ran out of time. Some nations were doing nothing, and others ordered prayer and fasting. Some countries had even started executing all potentially infected citizens, while others waited until the infection started before executing and burning the bodies.

  One advantage that Tara had when she was in the military was that she was well informed about what really was happening in world events. She hated this feeling of being out of the loop.

  It was late morning before Tara couldn’t take it anymore.

  She had to try and get ahold of Blake. She grabbed the phone and dialed his number and got a busy signal. She hit redial; this time she got the standard message from the phone company saying that all lines where busy. She tried for another ten minutes before she threw the phone on the couch and gave up. She sat in the rocking chair, slowly rocking and watching Kaya play with her toys, all the while clutching the phone till her knuckles turned white.

  “He will call, he will call,” she kept thinking to herself.

  Tara kept glancing at the clock. It was almost eleven. “Damn you, Blake. Why don’t you call?”

  When the phone rang, it startled her so much that she dropped it. It only bounced one before she grabbed it and pressed the answer button.

  “Blake, I’m so glad to hear from you! Is what I am seeing on the news true?”

  Tara could hear the pause in his voice. “I’m not sure what they are saying, but what I hear here on the base is that it is really bad.”

  Tara started to breathe even heavier as Blake recited what he knew.

  “Listen, this is what I want you to do: First go and lock all the windows and doors. Close all the blinds and turn off all the lights. Make it look like no one is in the house. Next, fill up every container that you can find with water and fill the tub with water. Then get your Smith and Wesson handgun out and keep it on you at all times. Get
both of my shotguns and put one by the front and one by the back door,” recited Blake, almost out of breath.

  Even though Tara had been in the military and had been trained to handle this kind of situation, the fear she felt for herself, Blake, and Kaya was almost more than she could bear.

  Blake continued in a hushed, urgent tone, “I don’t know how much longer this line will stay connected. I will come and get you when I can. Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” Tara said in a soft but firm voice.

  “I love you so much! Give Kaya a hug for me and tell her that her daddy loves her. Don’t let anyone through the door until you hear my voice, OK?” The line suddenly dropped, and Tara wondered if she and Kaya would ever see Blake again.

  After she got off the phone with Blake she was glued to the TV. The president was going to address the nation. Tara’s eyes were wide open as he stepped up to the podium.

  “My fellow Americans, for the last several hours you have been hearing many reports on the radio and television about the infections that are spreading around the world. Some of them are true, and some are not. I want you to know that from the reports we are receiving in Washington, most of what you have heard is true.”

  He paused for a moment, looking down at the podium. A trickle of sweat made its way down the side of his face. “From this moment on, I will be imposing martial law on the country. All citizens are ordered to stay in their homes and remain there until given further instructions. The military will be left in charge of all civic and law enforcement duties until further notice. They will also be manning all critical necessities like utilities and hospitals. I know that this will be hard, but if we stay calm and pull together, our country will survive this. Expect another report later today with further instructions. Remain calm, and we will get through this.”

  Shortly after noon Tara scanned the channels to get the most current information. The first reports from central Mexico started to come in. People were showing the usual signs of the infection: fever, unconsciousness, and changing eye colors. The country was in panic, and there were reports of entire towns committing mass suicide. Men killing their wives and children, and neighbors killing neighbors, infected or not. Everyone was panicking in the chaos.