“Yes sir…” Carl responded, but the Lieutenant Commander had already turned on his heels and made his way back toward the power plant.
“Why aren’t they clearing the fence?” Miguel asked, as he limped out from the back of the vehicle.
“They’re out of ammo…” Pam realized. “Whatever ammo they have, they need to defend the plant if the fence fails.”
“What do you mean ‘if the fence fails’?” A civilian man asked.
“Alright!” Carl ignored the civilian’s question and exercised his tone of authority. “Dr. Kelly Damico?”
Kelly stepped forward.
“Get screening… Miguel, go with her and get patched up.” Carl nodded toward the makeshift screening area. “Pam and I are going to supervise things at Building Two. Everyone else head to Building One, and see what you can do to help.”
Kelly Damico and the soldiers instantly broke off to do as they were ordered. The civilians meandered about, unsure of what to do with themselves.
Carl sighed. “Everyone! Make yourself useful! The sooner we load up, the sooner we get the hell out of here! Go!”
Chapter 28
Nicole sat in the back of the Humvee. She hugged her son Vince while they both watched the soldiers and the other civilians outside. The leader — Sergeant Carl Harvey –barked out a few orders before climbing back into the driver’s seat of the Hummer.
“What can we do to help?” Nicole asked Carl. She watched Kelly Damico make her way over to a designated medical area. Soldiers and civilians were already trickling toward the screening facility from all over the power plant. No one wanted to be forced to forfeit their ticket to the fleet because of a technicality.
“We’re loading everything into helicopters and Humvees for transit to the fleet. If you want to help, get screened and head to building one… and keep an eye on your kid. Make sure he’s out of the way.” Carl pulled the vehicle up to the loading dock.
Nicole nodded. She stepped out of the Hummer into the hot afternoon sun and looked around. A large helicopter was taking off from a nearby landing pad. Its ungainly shape seemed unfit for air travel, yet it rose into the air, heavy with food and supplies. Another smaller helicopter approached the landing pad from over the ocean, and a dozen or so sweaty soldiers already stood, arms filled with supplies, awaiting its arrival. The convoy crews broke from their vehicles immediately, and they wandered off to help in whatever capacity they could.
“Mommy, look!” Vince said, pointing to the exterior fence.
Zombies were dense around the perimeter, and a squad of marines scrambled about and shouted at one another.
“Get that red SUV from the lot and park it up against section 33 to reinforce it!”
“Yes sir!” One of the marines broke from the group at a sprint.
“Grab some two-by-fours and buttress section 6.”
“Yes sir!” Three more marines ran off.
“Section 20 and 21 are really thick with WDs. Thin it with bayonets.”
“Yes sir!” a half dozen marines fixed knives to the barrels of their rifles before jogging away.
Beneath all the shouting, the helicopters, and the hiss of the reactor cooling towers, the ever-present moan of the undead rumbled and rolled like a gathering storm.
“Those soldiers are keeping us safe, sweetie.” Nicole reassured her son. “They’re gonna make sure the monsters don’t get in here.”
Vince didn’t respond.
“This is a reminder…” a female voice came over a speaker system “before transit to the fleet, you must be screened by a medical professional at the south wall. Thank you.”
“Should we go see Doctor D, Mommy?” Vince asked innocently.
“Let me see your hand real quick, honey.” During the frenzied escape from the Tierrasanta DDC, she had lost track of Vince for one heart-stopping moment. When the dead had broken past the soldiers, every parent had battled courageously to slow their advance. It had been a bloody fight that had cost lives, but had also bought precious seconds for the children to escape. She had found her son bawling helplessly amidst the confusion, scooped him up, and fought her way to the convoy. It wasn’t until they were safely inside the Humvee that she had seen the cut on Vince’s hand. The cut looked nasty, and she had quietly instructed her son to keep it concealed. Even though it was a harmless scratch, there was a good chance he would not be cleared for transport to the fleet by Dr. Damico. On the cusp of salvation, she was not about to tell her son that they would not be joining the fleet. “You weren’t bitten, right sweetie? It was just some broken glass?”
Vince hesitated for a moment. He knew to stay away from the undead. Nicole had drummed into him over and over again that above all else, he could not get bit. If she had done one job on this earth in the past year, it had been to ensure that he could survive in this world with or without her. That meant staying safely away from ghouls. Vince frowned, tears welling in his eyes, “I got cut, mommy.”
“It almost looks like a bite…” Nicole mumbled to herself. The jagged cut would need a bandage and antiseptic… maybe even stitches.
Vince’s face twisted in grief, and tears streaked down his cheeks. “I’m not bit! I’m not bit!” He pleaded through shudders.
Nicole scooped him up and hugged him tightly. “I know, honey. I know. Mommy was just thinking out loud.” She looked at her son and wiped the tears from his face. “Can you keep your hand tucked inside your sleeve for mommy?”
Vince nodded.
Nicole rocked her son gently and turned to look at the screening facility. She could see Dr. Damico within, ordering men ten at a time to line up behind a curtain and strip. “Okay, stay close to mommy and keep your hand hidden, okay?”
Vince nodded again.
Nicole set her son down and looked around thoughtfully. Building One, a good distance from the screening area, was bustling with activity. Men and women moved back and forth between Buildings One and Two. She guided Vince toward Building One, keeping a safe distance between herself and Kelly Damico. As she approached, she passed some convoy soldiers who were smoking casually in a circle.
“They’re just gonna leave him here?” One of the soldiers said angrily. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he drank deeply from a canteen.
“That’s bullshit! That could be any of us…” Another soldier grumbled.
Nicole froze in her tracks, her worst fears being confirmed. She wanted to speak, but felt awkward about intruding on the conversation. “What happened?” She eventually mustered.
The first soldier turned and looked at her, almost perturbed at the intrusion… but a third soldier answered. “One of our guys, Private Wensel isn’t cleared, but it isn’t THAT bad…” He looked around at his comrades and attempted to take on a tone of reassurance. “He’s hurt, his injury probably isn’t a bite, but they can’t take any chances with the fleet… so he’s going to remain here.”
“Yeah, that’s real safe!” One of the soldiers interrupted, gesturing to the swarm of ghouls raging wildly outside the fence a mere hundred feet away from where they stood. Their numbers seemed to grow with every passing moment. The marines guarding the perimeter were working as quickly as they could to thin their number or reinforce weak areas in the fence. “As soon as we leave here, this whole place will be crawling with WDs…”
“He’s going to remain here in a secure area on top of one of the office buildings. They’re setting up tents and a living area for anyone who isn’t cleared. They’ll transport them to the fleet in a few days via helicopter if they haven’t turned.”