Slowly, Sgt. Lewis eroded her power. She had been head nurse in the ER, so initially everyone looked to her for guidance. When the squad fled to the hospital, hoards of the animals gnashing at their heels, she had seen the madness in Lewis' eyes. Now isolated, with no one to answer to, he completely surrendered to the maniacal demon on his shoulder.
Sgt. Lewis' demon was salivating to get at her. Melissa slowly raised her hands in a placating gesture. "Alright, you're the boss," she said in as soothing a tone as she could manage.
Sgt. Lewis stared at her for a few tense moments. "She was threatening my man," he repeated. He sounded like a pouting child. He abruptly lowered his weapon and stalked off down the hall. Melissa glanced over at the mute private. He looked like he was about to upchuck. His face was so pale it rivaled her uniform in whiteness, except that his face was stained with blood and a generous helping of madness.
"Wilson! Pull it together," she ordered harshly. His head snapped back as if she'd struck him. He looked around as if he didn't remember how he'd come to be standing in the hallway. Avoiding eye contact he crouched down and grabbed his rifle. When he stood, Tara sat up. Wilson and Melissa screamed.
Melissa recovered first and noticed the dead woman's hand was tangled in the sling of the gun. Wilson let go of the rifle like it was on fire and stumbled until his back connected with the wall. He slid down, his legs giving out on him and sat there with his head cradled in his trembling hands.
Melissa moved to place a comforting hand on the soldier when there was another crash.
She glanced down at Wilson. She would get no assistance from him. She leaned down and grabbed the rifle. She studied the weapon for a few seconds trying to familiarize herself with its workings. She'd seen the weapon fired enough over the last few hours that she thought she could get by.
Yet another crash echoed down the vacant hallway. The lights flickered but held and Melissa let out a panicked breath. It sounded like the crashing sounds had come from the third floor, so she braced herself and followed the noise.
As she exited the third floor stairwell, more noise came from a patient room on the right. She approached the room slowly, and found the door closed. She leveled the weapon at the door. If it were an animal, opening the door would be suicide. She almost turned away, deciding she needed help, when she heard voices.
"Who's there?" she called out.
The commotion ceased. She repeated her challenge.
"Let's us in for Christ's sake," a woman's voice answered.
Melissa lowered the rifle slightly, turned the knob and kicked the door open. She raised the rifle looking for a threat. Across the room a woman and a man were outside the room's only window. The man butted the window with his shotgun but it merely glanced off the shatterproof glass. The woman saw her and motioned for the man to stop.
"Hey, could you let us in? Thank God someone is in there. Hurry up, there's a lot of them coming!"
Melissa hurried over to the window and unlatched it. The woman and the man tried to get in at the same time. The man moved back, "After you, Wendy," he said.
She pulled herself through, turned and took the shotgun from the man so he could wiggle through.
"Close that window and push the ladder away, Jimmy," Wendy said, then turned to Melissa, "Wendy Van Allen."
"The newswoman," Melissa blurted.
"Uh, yeah," Wendy offered a nervous smile. "This is my sound man, Jimmy. Are you the only one here?"
"No, there's a few of us, some Guardsmen too," Melissa said.
"I need to speak to whoever is in charge," Wendy said. "You're about to have a big problem on your hands."
Dulles Airport, Saarinen Circle Chantilly, VA Robert set the helicopter down without so much as a jolt. He flicked switches powering the chopper down. As he unbuckled his harness he saw a van crash through the security fence at the far end of the runway. It wove around the debris-laden runway, trucking at a pretty good clip. Robert reached under the seat and pulled a 9MM out. He checked the mag, slid it home and racked a round into the chamber. Gibson noticed and started to question him. Robert directed Gibson's attention to the approaching van.
"Trouble?" Gibson asked.
"Don't know, could be though," Robert observed grimly. He hopped from the helicopter and slid the gun into his waistband, in the front so whoever was in the van could see that he was armed. He hoped that seeing the gun would be enough of a deterrent if the occupants of the van were up to no good.
Jody fought the van's swerving as best she could. She grunted as her head slammed into the van's sidewall for the third time. Kevin had put the hood back on her head and warned her to, "Be quiet, or else."
As Johnson sped across the runway, Kevin poked Jody in the side with his boot. Tucker spoke up once and received a backhand for his insolence. He clung to the ragged carpeting as the van veered back and forth. When the van came to a stop, Jody was thankful for the reprieve.
Johnson parked parallel to the helicopter allowing Kevin to emerge from the door, on the far side, hidden from view. With one last verbal warning to Jody, and a boot to the ribs to reinforce it, Kevin slid open the van's door.
He ambled around the side and nodded, "Morning folks." He was grinning like a loon and held up his hands to show he was unarmed. Inside the van, Tucker eyed the rifle that Kevin had hastily, and inadequately, concealed beneath a sleeping bag.
"What do you think?" Gibson asked.
"Dunno, he seems ok," Robert answered, then addressing the stranger, "Hi there, we're just getting some fuel, don't want any trouble."
"Trouble? No trouble, sir," Kevin responded. "Where you guys coming from? That is, if you don't mind my asking. We, my friend, Johnson...say hello..."
Johnson slid from the driver's seat and stretched. She offered a casual wave, "Hello there," she smiled. Both Gibson and Robert paused as they watched the woman stretch. Her breasts strained against the thin, lime green fabric that passed as a shirt. Tight cutoffs revealed finely tanned legs that seemed to go forever. Her feet, with toes painted a bright red, were bare.
Kevin grinned as he watched the men unconsciously lust after Johnson. The sunlight glinted off the handgun jutting from Robert's waistband. Kevin squinted and tried to determine if the other guy was armed. He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean the guy didn't have something concealed just below the fiberglass lip of the helicopter's canopy. A look passed between Kevin and Johnson, he understood that she had seen the gun as well.
"Name's Robert, this here is, Gibson," Robert said as he placed the fuel nozzle into the helicopter's fueling port. He scanned the area looking for animals. He grimaced as he saw what appeared to be charred bodies strewn in the grass bordering the runway. A jagged fuselage sprouted from the blacktop, it had slammed into the ground with enough velocity to produce a crater, twelve-feet deep.
"We're coming from New York City," he continued above the dinging of the fuel pump. "Where you folks coming from? I mean, what did you guys do before, uh, this?"
"I'm a detective actually," Kevin lied.
"So do you have a line on what's going on around here?" Gibson spoke up, eager for information.
"Truthfully," Kevin sighed. "The information I have is almost a day old. The animals overtook lots of the force during the first few hours. I was on vacation with the wife, soon as I found out something was going on, I came back to the city...it was too late by then."
Robert nodded and removed the nozzle from the helicopter. He was in the process of inserting the nozzle into its sheath when Johnson appeared by his side. In one fluid movement she pulled the 9MM from his waistband and leveled it at his head.
"Easy now, sweetie," she cooed. "Easy peasy."
"You're giving us a ride," Kevin said as he pulled a nickel-plated .45 from behind his back. "Gibson, I'd get out of the helicopter now. Keep your hands where I can see them."
Gibson hesitated for a moment, until finally he reluctantly emerged. Kevin directed him to stand by Robert. Johnson ensured Kevin had them covered, then shoved Robert's gun into her tight jean shorts. She briskly patted them down. Satisfied they were unarmed she stepped back and nodded towards Kevin, "They're clean," she stated.
Kevin suddenly stumbled to one knee. He stared at Johnson with a befuddled look, and then fell flat on his face. His nose broke with a sickening crack on the hot asphalt. Johnson was too slow to react and had only begun to pull the gun from her waistband. Robert rushed her and solidly connected his elbow with her face. As she fell back, hands rushing to staunch the flow from her gushing mouth, Robert pulled the gun from her shorts. He trained the gun on the van and shouted, "You in the van, come out now with your hands up."
Gibson placed a hand on Robert's forearm as Tucker came out from behind the van. Tucker tossed the rifle with relief. On the ground, Johnson moaned in agony. Through a mask of blood she spewed curses at Robert.
Robert stalked over to her. "Don't tempt me," he warned. Johnson eyed the gun and promptly shut up. "Check the guy, Gibson. What's your name?"
"Tu-Tu-Tucker," Tucker heaved.
"You're safe now," Robert said his voice soft and reassuring. "Who are these people? These aren't your parents, are they?"
"No, they kidnapped us."
"Us?"
"Jody's in the van...she's tied up," Tucker said.
Gibson stood up and nodded at Kevin. "Kid hit him with a tranquilizer dart," he chuckled. "Nice shot, kid." Gibson moved to the van. Robert heard him call out to the girl inside. "Easy now, we're here to help you," he comforted. "I'm going to take the hood off, ok? There, that's better. You hurt anywhere?"
Robert squatted so he was eye level with Tucker. "Where'd they pick you up, son?"
"They found me after my mom..."Tucker choked up, his words lost in raw emotion.
"Hey, it's ok," Robert soothed. "You're safe now. Hey! You ever ride in a helicopter?" he smiled brightly as he changed the subject.
A short time later they were airborne. They'd left Kevin and Johnson tied up in the back of the van. Gibson had tied the knots loosely. With a bit of effort they'd be free in a few hours. Jody spoke up when they were high enough that the van was a speck, "Are those people down there?"
Gibson and Robert followed her finger with their eyes, indeed, there were people below. Something about the group rubbed Robert wrong way. From this height it was hard to determine how many people were in the group, but he guessed the number was somewhere in the vicinity of thirty. Initially, what struck him was the way the group seemed to move as one, as if they were in formation. It reminded him of how geese flew together.
"That strike you as funny?" he asked.
"Funny?" Tucker spoke up.
"I think he means funny-weird, not funny-ha-ha," Jody pointed out.
"They're headed for the van," Gibson observed. "What do you think?"
Robert didn't answer. He flew back towards the van and hovered forty feet above it. The mob didn't look up or acknowledge the presence of the helicopter. They didn't try to shield their eyes form the grit and debris from the helicopter. In a series of precise movements that would've had an ROTC drill team envious, the people surrounded the van.
It was Jody who finally voiced what they all were trying to grasp. "It's like they're one organism," she whispered and as if the group had heard her, they all looked up instantaneously "One entity," Robert clarified. "What are they doing now?"
The mob focused their attention on the van and one of them, a man in his fifties with a professorial look, slid open the van's door. Robert expertly maneuvered so they could see into the van. Johnson was yelling at the man. Her body language made it clear she was asking the man to untie her. She frowned as the man said something, her face blanched and she started screaming. She struggled to get away from him as he reached towards her. The rest of the group reached out like he had, as one. The man placed his right hand over her mouth and Johnson went rigid.
"What the..."Gibson trailed off.
Johnson started bucking beneath the guy's hand. It looked like she was seizing. The man removed his hand, placed it against her forehead and pushed. She fell back into the van. Now, they could only see her from the waist down.
Again, as one, the group looked up at the helicopter. A large black man raised his hand towards them and the rest of the group followed suit. Something flashed in his hands. Robert cursed and jerked the stick to the right as the canopy spider-webbed. "He's shooting at us!"
Lincoln City, Nebraska Sgt. Lewis looked at Wendy with a smirk. "You're telling me the people are possessed now? Possessed by some bitch named Gaea, Mother Earth," he sneered.
"You won't have to take my word for it," Wendy countered steadily. "There's a mob of them heading this way. You need to prepare these people. What's coming, they're smart, and they're connected."
"Connected?" Melissa spoke up. Lewis shot her a withering look but didn't say anything. He eyed the rifle in her hands and licked his lips.
"It's like they're one mass," Jimmy spoke up. "Like they're communicating and seeing what all the others see. We met one of them, some chick calling herself Honey; she claimed to be one of the prophets. She attacked our cameraman and shoved some kind of freakin' living splinter in his face. I shot him..."
Wendy picked up the narrative as Jimmy choked up. "Whatever she did to him, he changed, became one of them. We picked up Honey's trail and tracked her to the outskirts of the town. There were hundreds of townspeople gathered in this field. Looked like a town meeting. She was up in front of the crowd spouting all kinds of nonsense, when all the sudden, the ground opened up and all those people...they just slid into the ground...screaming the whole way down. Then, the ground closed up. Behind Honey was a bunch of others we hadn't noticed at first. They all turned towards where Jimmy and I were hiding in the tree line. They saw us...without a word, it seemed like something passed between them and they started coming towards us..."
Lewis snorted and crossed his arms, "You expecting us to swallow this horse crap? What happened next?" he taunted.
"We ran, of course," Wendy retorted. "There were only two guns between us and at least fifty of them. We saw what happened to our cameraman..."
"Hey you hear that?" someone called out.
Lewis cocked his head and listened. Wendy walked over to a window and peered out. "It's a helicopter, I think. Can't see, it's too dark out there, but I hear it."
"Maybe it's one of ours," a solider said excitedly.
Lewis pulled his service weapon and panned the crowd. "ANYONE feel like talking?" he challenged. After a few moments, "Fine." With that he stalked off.
"What's the matter?" Gibson asked.
"I think one of those bullets nicked something," Robert said. He strained with the stick as the helicopter yawed left. Sweat beaded on his forehead, Jody reached over and blotted it for him. He nodded his thanks, but kept his attention focused on keeping the aircraft steady. "We're losing pressure," he said. He looked out the window and saw a faint glow in the distance to the west. "Looks like a town over there. I think we're over Nebraska, but not entirely sure since I can't get a fix from any ground beacons."
"We've been flying long enough to be that far, right?" Tucker asked.
"Only one way to find out. Hang on, people," Robert said through a grimace.
"There's something wrong with it," Jimmy observed. They were on the roof of the hospital watching the helicopter struggle across the skyline.
"It's got NYC registration," Wendy said as she lowered the binoculars. She turned her attention to the streets below. The mob was assembling at the park a few blocks from the hospital. Their numbers were growing by the minute. At the center of the park leaning up against the local hero monument, bathed by the flickering street lamps, Honey stared in her direction. Wendy shivered and wondered if the girl could actually see her from that distance. Wendy saw the girl smirk and tip an imaginary hat in her direction. Coming for you soon. Wendy gasped as the girl's voice rooted through her head. Beside her Jimmy grimaced as well. He looked at Wendy.
"You heard that too?"
Wendy merely nodded. Behind them the door to the stairwell banged open. Sgt. Lewis stalked onto the roof. He puffed furiously on a cigar. The glow highlighted his features, pronouncing his anger. "I told you reporters to stay put," he fumed.
"Sergeant, no offense, but, you'd better take a look at this," Jimmy said as he stepped between Lewis and Wendy.
The man puffed madly on his cigar and finally held out his hand. Wendy placed the binoculars in his hand. He snagged them away and peered out to the park.
"Well, I'll be...those are the people out to get us?" he muttered with sarcasm. He looked to the east and saw the helicopter. "What the..." he stammered, it was headed directly for them.
Town Square, Alexander Mattair Memorial Lincoln City, Nebraska "My children," Honey cooed, her voice sensuous and hypnotic. "Our time has come. Our time is now. We will rid the Mother of the scourge that is man."
The gathered crowd murmured their agreement, some began to sway and shake like parishioners at a Pentecostal revival meeting. "Gaea has heard her children cry out and she has seen fit to hear our pleas. You are the new creation, my children. The scourge's time has come to an end. Each and every one of you has been chosen to be the instruments of her Second Coming. Rejoice, my brothers and sisters! For tonight, we shall take back what once was pure and holy and create a new Earth in her sacred image."
As Honey spoke her voice changed with each utterance. The voice seemed to be barely contained within her small frame. Her eyes began to glow emerald green. The words that followed from Honey were in a voice that was no longer hers.
"Take comfort and be of good cheer, my children," Gaea spoke. "For I am coming, soon. Very soon. Be good stewards and obey my urgings. For when I come to you, no shame shall be found. You are but a few, of many, of millions in my domain who will rise up tonight and create a new Earth in my image. Many of the unfaithful will perish tonight, but do not fret, soon the Earth, I, will be as I once was. Tonight. Tonight, we shall prevail. I will show mercy, of that be sure, though they do not deserve it. Some will survive tonight, not because they will have repented. No! I am not strong enough to pass over. Until that time some will be spared to be our servants. Their time is numbered. Now! Rise up and begin the Cleansing, my Children!"
"There," Jody blurted. "There, see it? There's a helipad on that building over there."
"Look's like a hospital," Gibson observed. "Hey! There's people down there," he said as they passed over the park. "Oh man, it's more of them!"
"There's people on that roof," Robert said tightly, the stick was barely responding. It was getting harder to coax a response from the collective as fluid leaked from the aircraft. They wouldn't be airborne much longer. "Get ready," he said through gritted teeth. "This may not be gentle and if those people on the rooftop are some of them, then..."
"Gotcha," Gibson finished for him. "Kids? Whatever happens, stay close, we do this together. We're all in agreement about not wanting to become one of those zombie things out there, right?"
Wendy and Jimmy shielded their faces from the wind and dust as the helicopter came in low and tight. Wendy thought for a second the craft was going to smash into the landing pad, but at the last second the pilot brought the nose up and landed rather softly.
She looked over at Lewis while surreptitiously checking her weapon to ensure the safety was disengaged. It bothered her slightly that she was considering shooting the man, but after what Melissa told her about him, she wasn't taking any chances.