“My hand,” Karina mumbled weakly.
Guessing her intention, Reece located her dropped appendage and carried her body to it. He knelt with her in his arms. She weakly reached out with her other hand to retrieve it from the asphalt. Pressing it against the bloody stump at the end of her other arm, she waited. Nothing happened. The little girl frowned before looking back up at Reece.
“Do you mind?” she asked him, her voice weak and hoarse.
“Of course not. Just take what you need,” he replied, speaking soothingly to try and comfort the girl after her nightmarish experience.
As he gingerly guided the girl’s face to his neck, he finally had a moment to process what had happened. He felt relief flow through him now that he knew she was still alive. He had thought for sure that she was dead. It made him realize how much he cared for Karina. He marveled at how close they’d become in the handful of days they’d traveled together. He was proud of all they’d overcome. Without her, he didn’t know what he’d do. Reece felt the familiar sharp sting in his neck as she bit him, interrupting his musings.
Looking at her ruined appendage, Reece watched in awe as her severed hand reattached itself. Her red eyes flicked open. She squinted contentedly, smiling with her entire face. He started to smile back but found he didn’t have the energy. The girl cocked her head in confusion as the darkness of unconsciousness took him…again.
Waking sometime later, he found himself propped up against one of the buildings surrounding the paved clearing. He noticed that he didn’t have any strange dreams while unconscious. That’s about where the comforting thoughts ended. Casting the observation to the side, he took in his surroundings. Dead creatures lay scattered all around the area. There weren’t any bodies of the cat creatures, but a few recently dead people were lying here and there. Most of the dead looked like they had been that way for a long time. Reece figured these zombies were gathered here to help kill him and Karina.
Mercifully, a breeze blew through the area, replacing the foul stench of death and rot with the crisp saltiness of the ocean. Reece inhaled deeply, feeling his rib cage complain painfully as it stretched to accommodate his expanding lungs. Still, it didn’t hurt as much as it should. He figured he had Karina to thank for that. He felt a bit better. Reece considered getting up but then noticed the blood that had pooled almost everywhere. Spitting in disgust, he decided to sit there, leaning against the nondescript cinder block building for a time.
Angel came walking up to him from around the corner of the building a moment later, saving him from concentrating any longer on the horrific scene before him. The man gave Reece a toothy grin, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Those had a haunted look to them.
“Ahh, you’re awake, amigo. Good…and you are just full of surprises,” said Angel as he knelt to speak with Reece where he sat.
“You and me both, it would seem,” replied Reece with a raised eyebrow. “But anyway…it’s good to see you again, bud. I guess that teaching job isn’t in the cards, huh?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve got a few tricks left to teach,” chuckled Angel.
Reece chuckled. “Somehow, I don’t doubt that.”
Wanting to ensure his limbs worked, Reece checked his body as he got to his feet. Luckily, he didn’t have any gaping wounds.
“Don’t worry,” Angel answered the unasked question. “Your friend took care of you after the battle. You’re good as new. Oh, and if you’re wondering where she is, she went off to get cleaned up and find something new to wear. She was super-pissed that her little schoolgirl outfit was ruined. She said you picked it out for her. I’m not even going to ask. You’ve got yourself a real firecracker there.”
“Yeah, don’t I know it…” Reece chuckled in response, shaking his head for added emphasis. “And the schoolgirl outfit was all her doing.”
“Yeah, sure it was,” responded Angel, stopping further rebuttal by changing the subject. “So…bud, I’ve got to know…what happened after I left the station? I mean, that’s got to be one killer of a story, no?”
“Yeah. Let me give you the abridged version while you help me search this place. I hoped to meet Naeva here, but the commander insinuated that she was dead…not that I trust his word for spit.”
The two men started canvasing the base’s buildings for signs of Naeva, chatting back and forth the entire time. Reece explained most of what had happened on board the station after Angel had left. Angel filled in Reece on what had transpired aboard the shuttle and the events after it had crashed.
“It was crazy,” Angel explained, shaking his head at the brutal memory. “Both Aldo and Taylor put their helmets on right away. Solomon and I just looked at each other and shrugged. I knew it was odd but couldn’t fathom what they had planned. Some knock-out gas must have been released inside the cockpit because I soon lost consciousness. The next thing I know, Solomon is strapped down and screaming. Do you remember that zombie rat thing I showed you on your first spacewalk?”
“Well, it was in the cockpit, and I saw it bite down on Solomon’s forearm. Its teeth were chewing straight through the poor guy’s suit. Blood was pouring from the wound as Solomon continually cried out in pain. I tried to get up to help him but found I was strapped down too. As I struggled to free myself, Aldo picked up the undead thing with heavy-duty gloves and turned to drop it on me next.”
“Fear of death gave me renewed strength. I tore my right arm free, even as Solomon began to convulse in his chair. Taylor grabbed my arm before I could free the rest of myself as Aldo cautiously approached with the rat held before him. Luckily, Taylor was trying to answer the intercom and didn’t give me his full attention. I wrenched my arm free and sucker-punched him in the gut. I was able to unbuckle one of the leg straps as well.”
“Just in time, I kicked the rat thing out of Aldo’s hands before he could drop it on me. The thing flew into the console. You could say it was a lucky shot. Or not, depending on how you saw it. That sorry excuse for a rat’s body hit the flight controls, causing the shuttle to launch forward into the airlock. The collision was jarring and cracked the canopy badly. Still, the rat-thing recovered quickly, scurrying right back at me. Before it reached me, I blocked it with my foot. Once I stopped it, I stomped the little bastard into a pulp.”
“By this time, Taylor had recovered. The asshole started punching me in the face repeatedly. That pissed me off and activated my transformation. With my enhanced strength, I freed myself completely and fought Taylor off. Let me tell you, amigo…boy, were they surprised when I turned into my less groomed form. Oh, the looks on their faces… ah, Reece… there was a satisfaction in that. Aldo, ever the coward, high-tailed it to the cargo hold.”
“I can’t say it wasn’t the right decision, though. You see, the canopy began to crack apart. Not wanting to get sucked into space, I launched myself into the hold after Aldo. Taylor tried activating the impact foam as if that would do him any good. I suppose he was just desperate because it was only moments later that we shut the cargo hold door. That was the last time I saw Taylor, good riddance. As the shuttle hurled towards the earth, Aldo buckled himself into the cargo wall. I turned back and activated the foam remotely to fill up the canopy. That way, we didn’t completely burn up upon re-entry. I knew I had a shot at survival. I had no idea that Aldo did as well.”
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“After we crashed, I awoke sometime later to find myself alone. It looked like Aldo chopped into the foam and released Solomon, though I don’t know how he could have possibly survived at the time. The foam shell must have been heavily damaged from the re-entry because you need a heavy-duty torch to peel off that shell. Aldo just used an ax from the hold. I don’t know why he didn’t try to kill me, except I was buried under all the cargo crates we were returning. Maybe he figured he didn’t have time.”
“I was in the middle of a swamp, so I started after the men. They left a pretty obvious trail. By the time I got to the first town, Aldo had already used Solomon to start the pandemic. Zombies were everywhere, killing people indiscriminately. I can’t and won’t describe just how bad it was. Just trust me that it was inhuman. The rest, I think you’ve got a pretty good idea about.”
During the talk, the two men checked the building from which the giant zombie wolf had emerged. It was empty except for the remains of a few dead bodies and thick pools of dried and drying blood that seemed to be everywhere. They left the building for the large infirmary nearby. As Angel finished telling his version of events, Reece just shook his head in disbelief.
“You have my sympathies,” replied Reece, “That fits with the few clues we had on the station. But how did you meet up with these others, you know… like you… and the rest of the survivors, of course?”
“Oh, right,” responded Angel. “I fell in with a military unit cut off from their platoon and helped them against several incursions of the living dead. You could say I was a mascot at the time. However, one by one, they would get mortally injured. If they weren’t infected, I’d give them a choice. They could turn into something like myself and live or stay human and die. When the time came, they all decided to stay in whatever capacity they could. So, I ended up turning them one by one. After each turning, I trained them to use their abilities and manage their conditions.”
As Angel explained things to Reece, they checked out the infirmary. While they continued their conversation, Reece felt that old camaraderie return. However, they found only blood and death inside the eerily empty building. Undeterred, they continued to the next one. Reece considered Angel’s words before deciding to offer some words of comfort.
“I see,” said Reece, pondering the ethical dilemma Angel had been given and how he would have acted under the same conditions. “You know, I think I would have done the same thing. Our world is in dire threat, and we need every able-bodied person we can get, human or not. Besides, you gave them a choice. That’s a whole lot more than most people got. I mean, look…no one chose to become a member of the living dead, right?”
“Yeah. I suppose,” answered Angel sullenly before perking up a bit. “Well, at least they were able to get some payback here. I had no idea we’d encounter actual Order members and their carnival of nightmares. I can only imagine how many lives we saved by destroying those monsters.”
“Speaking of that,” said Reece, uncertain how to continue. “So, why were you here? Look, I’m glad you were. Karina and I wouldn’t have made it without you. Well…at least I wouldn’t have. It was lucky you all showed up at the right time.”
“Yeah…about that,” answered Angel, rubbing his chin stubble. “Don’t laugh, but I’ve had a few dreams that have seemed prophetic. I’ve never been a big believer in the metaphysical but seeing is believing. Anyhow, I dreamed of this place last night. When I woke up, I felt an urgency to get a crew together and check this place out. I guess you know the rest. Crazy, huh?”
Reece felt a shiver go up his spine at Angel’s explanation. Reece was a realist, but the evidence was mounting that the dreams he was having were more than just his memories rearranging and storing themselves in his long-term memory. He was starting to see a pattern in his dreams that was getting more disturbing each time he dreamed. For the time being, Reece decided to keep that to himself. Angel seemed to notice his silence.
“You okay?” asked Angel. “Apologies. I didn’t mean to freak you out. Pay it no mind. It was probably just a lucky coincidence.”
“Nah, bud,” Reece finally replied. “It’s all good. I’ve seen a lot of crazy things lately, so why not dreams too.”
“Yeah,” replied Angel, clearly not entirely convinced.
Reece and Angel crossed the blood-splattered pavement on their way to another structure. Reece stopped and couldn’t help but smile when he saw Karina walking towards them from another building. She had cleaned herself up and had found an oversized black T-shirt that she was using to cover her girlish frame. The shirt made her look smaller since she was swimming in it.
“This is insufferable. We need to go shopping for some real clothes. This base leaves a lot to be desired,” complained the little blonde lilitu girl.
“I think we can manage that,” answered Reece, still smiling. “By the way, this is Angel Martinez. I was his replacement on the space station. He’s the engineer I told you about. And Angel, this girl here is Karina Ragnarsdottir. She is a lot more than she seems.”
“A pleasure to meet you, little lady,” stated Angel with what grace he could muster.
“And you, kind sir,” replied Karina as she curtsied, haughtiness infecting her voice before she softened. “Thank you for your assistance. It would have been… difficult to win that battle without it. By the way, where did your entourage get off to? I wanted to thank them for their assistance as well.”
“Good point,” added Reece as he looked around for any sign of the band of fighters who assisted them. “I haven’t seen anyone else since I came to.”
“Most are standing guard around the perimeter, but some have started returning the dead to our base of operations,” answered Angel.
“I’m sorry for your dead,” stated Karina solemnly. “Their sacrifices will not be in vain. This I swear to you.”
“As do I,” added Reece. “They died so that we could live.”
“I appreciate that,” replied Angel. “However, they all knew the risks and chose to come anyway. This is a war against the zombies and the ones that created them. There will be many more sacrifices before we see the end of all this.”
“I think you may be right. We should continue our search before they come back,” Reece added before turning to Karina. “We’re looking for any signs of Naeva. We’ve found nothing yet.”
“Alright,” said Karina as she appraised Angel.
“Do you think you can keep him safe?” she continued, indicating Reece with her thumb.
“Of course. Why?” asked Angel.
“I’m gonna run into town and find something more suitable to wear, but I’m not gonna leave him unprotected,” replied Karina.
“Then you have nothing to worry about, mi amiga,” replied Angel.
“Very well,” she said, using her supernatural speed to give Reece a quick kiss on the lips before he could react. “See you in a bit.” As Reece stood there stunned, she winked, smiled, and darted toward the mainland portion of Florida.
Angel looked at Reece with a raised eyebrow, and Reece just shook his head and continued searching for their wayward crew member.
The next building to search was the operations center for the base. Within the center of the large complex lay the control room where ground control once communicated with the space station. They passed through several darkened hallways. After a minute, Reece remembered the Z-Corp spark light and pulled it from his pocket. Once he lit it up, they could better make out the hallway. Angel told Reece he could see fine in the dark, though only in shades of grey. Reece nodded and kept the light for himself as they made their way to the center of the building. A pair of open double doors led into the central control and communications room.
Inside, the control room was empty, except for several overturned chairs and exposed wires where the ground control crew had quickly removed the control systems. Reece remembered that these were systems that ground control would need. They had removed the critical systems from the rows of consoles they had used for everything dealing with station communications, telemetry, remote controls, audio, and video imagery. There was little left except for the husks of the consoles, bare beams, and empty shelves. Ground control had taken everything else.
“What’s that?” asked Angel in a puzzled voice as he furrowed his brow.
Reece looked at Angel, following his pointed finger to a large pull-down screen against the far wall. It was the type that was for an overhead projector. The projector was still attached to the ceiling but didn’t look like it had been used for years. The simple device wasn’t what drew the men’s eyes. Nor was it the screen, but rather what was on it. A simple saying in another language had been scrawled across the old projector screen in a beautiful feminine script.
“That looks familiar for some reason,” said Angel, trying to recall where he had seen the words before.
Reece shook his head and smirked as he helped the other man out.
“It’s Persian,” he stated confidently, his grin widening. “It means that women are like cats. They always land on their feet”.