EMERGENCE: Annihilation, Book 6 (The Emergence Series), page 10
Chapter 23
Three Hours Later
After returning from the Caymans, Ivins was met by General Dorr on the flight deck of the Endurance. Given the small size of the ship, there was only one helipad, and the refueling crews immediately went to work on the Blackhawk, making Ivins wonder what the rush was for.
“Welcome back, Commander,” said Dorr, whose breath held the faint trace of alcohol. “I got your SITREP—shame about Ramirez. He would have been a tremendous asset.”
Ivins removed the encased flash drive from his vest pocket. “What he told me about the alphas and their vulnerabilities gave me reason for hope, General. We better get this over to Doc Munroe ASAP.”
He handed it to Dorr, who seemed unaffected by the good news, his face more tense than usual. The general looked at the rest of his team gathering their packs from the helo. “Everyone is back in one piece, good.”
“Porter got dinged up—smashed his shoulder pretty good, so he’s gonna be out for a few days, but no issues otherwise.”
Dorr motioned for Ivins to move out of earshot of the others. “Look, Commander, I know you were just in the fray, but with most of our teams deployed elsewhere or in Nassau, I’m gonna need to send you back out again.”
Ivins clenched his jaw, already feeling the weight of his MK12 increasing. “Yes, sir.”
“Pacelle has been tracking the drone movements in the southern U.S., particularly along the Gulf states. There are massive amounts—we’re talking tens of thousands of creatures—pouring into every region from Texas to Alabama and even down into parts of Mexico. In New Orleans, they have completely inundated the shoreline for miles.”
“Staging for an attack of some kind—but there are hardly any settlements in those regions, as I recall.”
“We don’t think this is about an assault but about destroying our fuel sources—the barges and refueling stations near the shore. They know we have been frequenting the shipping lanes in the Gulf region to procure more fuel for the fleet. If we can’t continue doing that then we will be forced to leave this area.”
Dorr put his hands on his hips, looking around to make sure no one could hear what he said next. “And Tom, there’s some evidence that the paras are employing munitions to destroy the fuel tankers. Pacelle confirmed explosions occurring in three ports already. I believe that the alphas are using grenades they’ve obtained from raids on our smaller outposts.”
Ivins’ eyes widened as much from the stinging odor of whisky on Dorr’s breath as from the alarming development. He’d seen enough startling strategies from alphas during battle to know they possessed tremendous cunning and adaptive abilities, but he had never heard of them being able to use weapons. He knew from Selene’s briefings that the creatures lacked the fine motor skills to shoot a rifle or drive a car, but grenades required little in the way of dexterity. Jesus, they can blow shit up now! He swallowed hard, thinking of the strategic blow a single alpha could do with a few grenades. “So, they’re evolving further, only this time in their guerilla tactics.”
“It would seem so, and we can’t risk losing any further fuel sources.”
“This isn’t just about cutting us off from the resources we need—it’s slash and burn.” He looked out at the ocean towards the direction of the mainland, wondering what would be left of the coast if it all went up in flames.
“Which is why I need you on a helo to Corpus Christi. That part of Texas is still untouched, and there is a barge offshore there that Pacelle has identified as being at full capacity. That fuel could sustain us for a few months longer—at least our three critical ships, the Endurance, Lachesis, and Reliance. The remaining civilian fleet will eventually have to head towards Tampa and dock near MacDill when their supplies dwindle.”
“So, there are no paras in Corpus right now?”
“There are, but the majority are further inland, and nothing on the scale of what is inbound to that region. You’ve got about an eight-hour window before the drones from the west descend on that part of the Gulf. Once you’ve procured that barge, head south for Padre Island. There you will link up with a small contingent of our air assets coming in from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada and another outpost in Arizona. They are counting on that fuel. Resupply them and then get the hell back here.”
Ivins let out a nervous exhale, patting his vest. “Alright, sir, let me re-up on mags and grab an MRE and I’ll be in the air in fifteen minutes with my team, after I find a replacement for Porter.”
“Connelly too—she’s going to be accompanying the Lachesis to Nassau. They’re down a few operatives there after clearing out the island, and I’m assigning her and two more personnel to that location for the time being.”
Ivins nodded, irritated that he didn’t have any say in the matter but knowing that Dorr had few seasoned operators to choose from these days. “Hopefully, Doctor Tso and the staff there can begin mass-production of the bioweapon so we can carpet-bomb the shit out of the drones along the Gulf coast in the coming months.”
“Months being the key.” He held up Ramirez’s flash drive. “But maybe what’s on here will help us in this goddamn war before our world is completely destroyed and we are all dragged under by these abominations.” Dorr turned and walked off, leaving Ivins less optimistic about his commanding officer’s outlook on their prospects. It was the first time he’d heard Dorr openly embracing such a grim perspective, and he hoped that the man wasn’t this blatantly open with every crew member he interacted with or the fleet’s already precarious morale was going to plunge further.
Chapter 24
Four hours later, after the results from Abby’s bloodwork had returned, Selene emerged from the three sequential decontamination chambers adjacent to the BSL-4 lab. She was wearing clean hospital scrubs and rubber clogs as she toweled off her wet hair.
“Seems like you spend as much time going through decon as you do in the lab,” said Runa, who handed her a cup of hot coffee.
“There are some days I crave sunlight, and this is one of them.” She looked beyond him down the hallway for the sight of Reisner or Dorr then looked at Runa.
“Oh, the others will be here shortly,” he said. “But I wanted to talk with you privately first.”
“About?”
Runa moved towards a control panel on the wall, turning off the overhead speaker and security camera.
“OK, now you’ve really got me worried,” said Selene, taking a brief sip of coffee. “Is this about Abby or about Jody?”
“Jody is fine—pretty shaken. I’m planning on getting her reassigned to MacDill at Will’s request.” Runa glanced at the sedated figure of Abby in the next room and shook his head. “My real concern is with Will, actually.” Runa looked back over his shoulder to make sure no one else was in the hallway. “Have you noticed anything unusual about his behavior since the attack he suffered by Roland?”
“You mean other than irritability caused by his lack of sleep and constant nightmares? No, but you can’t expect him to shove aside his feelings of guilt over what happened to Nash and—”
“This isn’t about the effects of PTSD. I know all too well how an operator needs time to bounce back—or sometimes is incapable of bouncing back—from the horrors of combat.” He pressed his back into the wall, arching his head up at the ceiling as he searched his memory.
“Just before he shot Abby in the galley, I heard him conversing with her—but it wasn’t her voice. It was much deeper and raspy. I could swear there was another man in the room with them. The voice mentioned something about how ‘his essence still flows through Will’s veins.’” Runa’s eyes darted around the ceiling then over at Selene. “I couldn’t make out all of it, but it was as if he was having a conversation with someone he knew.”
“That might explain why he’s seemed to be unhinged since he got back from the Nostromo. At first, I thought it might be from what happened to Jody, but now…” Selene set her cup down, folding her arms. “Maybe Abby was being used as a conduit for the other creature—and Roland is the only one we know of who can speak.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He took a step closer to her, lowering his voice. “And here’s one other thing that’s got me rattled: when we were in the corridor approaching the storage bay, he looked like he was about to collapse—his face had a look of terror on it like I’ve never seen before. When I asked him what was wrong, he said that he had just been down that same passageway before—something from his dreams.”
Selene’s eyes widened, then she quickly turned away and walked towards the observation window. She thrust her hands on her hips and stared at Abby’s still figure. “This is starting to make sense now—after our briefing with Dorr yesterday, I saw him nearly turn white when the general discussed the attack on our base in northern New Mexico. I saw Will’s face as he watched the footage of the aftermath of the attack—it was almost as if he’d seen it before and was reliving it in painful detail.”
Runa moved up next to her. “You cleared him from medical after his initial quarantine upon returning from South Carolina. You said he wasn’t infected, but could there still be some lingering effect in his system—or his mind—from the exposure to Roland’s blood?”
“His bloodwork and scans were all clean. I triple-checked all of that.” She tapped a finger on the baseboard below the window. “Whatever he’s suffering from must be residual.”
“Or something that your medical equipment and tests have missed.” Runa narrowed his eyes.
She slowly turned towards him. “Are you saying you think he’s a risk to us?”
“He’s the one who held me back from putting a bullet into Abby’s skull when we fought—even after she threatened to kill Jody. Does that sound like the guy you know?”
“But you’re not entirely sure yourself about any of this, are you? Any more than I am now, or you wouldn’t be letting him walk around, or even carry a gun.” She flung her arms in the air as she walked past him then paced around the room. “This is Will we’re talking about. You know him better than anyone—do you really think he’d put us all in danger if he thought he was under Roland’s control?”
“I’ve seen a part of him that I’ve never seen before, Selene—indecision, terror, and self-doubt.”
“All signs of PTSD,” she shouted.
“And what about the dreams and the lost looks he gives on a more frequent basis—like his mind is somewhere far away when maybe it really is.”
She shook her head, folding her arms again as Runa moved up in front of her.
“Maybe you’re right, Selene, but do you really know who you’re sleeping next to at night and who’s walking around this ship with full access to your lab and data?”
The vault door hissed open at the end of the hallway as Reisner descended the steps.
Selene thrust her thumb at the lab. “If any of this gets out then Dorr will have him in there next to Abby, tied to a table with probes up his ass. The general is becoming more desperate these days.”
“Then help me get some answers, Selene. I’ll do what I can on my end, but you have to open up a dialogue with him about this, because he won’t talk to me about it.”
She nodded at him as Reisner entered the room. Selene let out a sigh, forcing out a feigned grin.
“Dorr wants us all over at the Endurance. Ivins and his team weren’t able to get to Professor Ramirez in time, but he had some critical intel that Dorr wants your input on.” He moved closer to Selene, darting his eyes between Runa and her. “You OK?”
She shrugged her shoulders, rubbing the back of her neck, shocked as much about Ramirez’s fate as the troubling news from Runa. She glanced up at the ceiling. “Just too much time in dark places lately.” She realized the irony of her words as she retrieved her tablet and walked towards the observation window. Selene felt like her heart was being torn apart as she wondered if the man she loved was slowly slipping away from her. Stay with us—with me, Will. We’ll figure this out together.
Chapter 25
Southwest Arizona
“Usually the drive to Yuma would only take three hours, not seven,” said Sam as he maneuvered around another cluster of abandoned vehicles on the two-lane highway. “Feel like I’m back in L.A.”
“You used to live in L.A.?” said Kelly, who was in the passenger seat, habitually scanning the horizon for any signs of paras.
“Grew up there, actually, back in the 60s. In them days, you could still sleep on the beaches. Me and my surfin’ buddies would have huge bonfires and then get up at sunrise to hit the waves again.” He stroked his lengthy beard. “Things started changin’ in the seventies though, when competition surfing became a big hit and you had all these dudes from Hawaii and up north flooding the beaches in Malibu with their fancy boards—and their attitudes.”
“Wow, sounds like you were there at the height of surfing,” said Erica, who leaned forward to hear this story. “You were lucky. I was born in Riverside but never even saw the ocean until I was twelve.”
“Twelve,” said Sam, swerving to avoid swiping the bumper of a tipped-over bread truck. “That’s a shame. What kept you so long away from the beach?”
“Juvey,” Erica said, slumping back into her seat. “Then stealin’ cars, dealing dope, and joining my boyfriend’s motorcycle gang…then juvey again.”
Sam looked in the rearview mirror at her while frowning. “Oh, geez. Sounds like you were surfing through some big waves as it was.”
“Erica’s our wild child, but she’s a helluva woman to have in a tight spot,” Kelly said while leaning back and patting Erica on the knee. “And we’ve had more than a few of those, haven’t we?”
Mary leaned forward, pointing up front. “And we may be in for another one.”
“You might want to slow down,” she whispered as she stared at the road-block three miles away, aware that Sam probably couldn’t see that far out.
As they got closer, she saw two men in green fatigues with their M4s pointing at them while a third man was positioned behind a .50 caliber machine gun surrounded by razor wire. Suddenly the highway seemed a lot narrower, and Kelly instinctively scanned the area for turnarounds. I hope this isn’t some kinda militia outfit.
Sam approached to within fifty feet and then stopped as the two men walked forward, their rifles held at a low-ready. Kelly was surprised at how clean-shaven they were, and they seemed well-fed compared to the gaunt survivors she had seen in the past when they were on the run.
“Where you folks headed?” said the young man next to the driver’s door as he peered into the vehicle while the other soldier walked around the back.
“Yuma—heard there was some kind of outpost,” said Sam.
“That’s correct. We have a temporary base in the desert north of the city. This is our first checkpoint.”
“Is this area under military control?” said Kelly.
“For now—we’re a joint operational base. U.S. Army from three small outposts in the Southwest and California along with what’s left of the Mexican federales. My name is Lance Corporal Miller and that’s Corporal Weatherby. We’re formerly out of Calexico, California.”
“Doing what, if you don’t mind me asking?” said Kelly.
“Trying to stay ahead of the coming swarm of creatures, ma’am.” He waved his hand to the right. “Like the other units, we pulled out of our location just before a wave of nearly ten thousand paras descended on the region. We made it here last night, just before the guys from Creech Air Force Base near Vegas. They brought the birds that will be taking our unit along with a small group of civilians east to the Gulf.”
“What’s out there?” said Mary.
He looked at the three women then Sam, glancing at his colleague, who had just come around by Kelly’s door. “Where the heck you all been this whole time? The U.S. military regrouped in the Gulf of Mexico probably eight weeks ago after the battle of MacDill.”
“You have heard about the battle of MacDill, right?” said Weatherby.
The women all glanced around at each other then at the two men. “Looks like we’ve got a few news articles to catch up on,” said Erica, who was glancing at Miller while twirling a strand of her raven hair.
Kelly pressed closer to Weatherby. “The fleet in the Gulf—that’s where the military HQ is at now?”
“That’s correct, ma’am.”
“Do you know if there is a man by the name of Tom Ivins? He’s a SEAL formerly out of Coronado. He’s my husband.” She wanted to shout the last sentence out across the ocean, wondering if he would hear her. I’m here, Tom. Are you still alive? You have to be!
The man shook his head. “Not sure, ma’am, and I wouldn’t be at liberty to reveal any of our personnel. You’d have to talk to Major Kamien, who’s our CO.”
Her eyes widened as her pulse quickened. “And how do I do that?”
***
Thirty minutes later, after they had passed the medical inspection by the company’s physician, they were allowed past the first two checkpoints and escorted by jeep towards the makeshift airfield. Kelly was surprised at the lack of perimeter security surrounding the eight helicopters and two cargo planes sitting in the open desert.
“No fences or barriers—how can they be so lax with their defenses?” said Kelly.
