building, shattering out
the windows on the second floor above their heads. Carlie tucked her chin down
and pulled her parka hood in tighter around her face as shards rained upon
them. The Blackhawk was splintered into jagged fragments while the rotor and
rear fuselage came crashing down onto the helipad, flaming metal groaning and
hissing like the tongue of an orange viper.
“What the hell is this,” Duncan said,
staring at what was left of the two blackened corpses of the pilots inside the
burning wreck. He tapped his earpiece, switching over to a different frequency.
“Shark Tank, this is Hammerhead, do you copy?”
“Go ahead, Hammerhead,” said the woman’s
voice back at Fort Lewis.
“Aries Two has been compromised. Our helo
was just taken out and we are on foot. Request immediate evac at our position.”
There was a long pause on the other end.
“Extraction team inbound in two hours. We are retasking satellites and will
have intel on your location shortly.”
“Copy that.” He stood up and returned to
the front doors, testing the handle, which was locked. He glanced around the
area and saw a small barn twenty yards away near the treeline. He motioned for
everyone to follow him as they crouched and ran along the building past a row
of hedges and into the weathered structure. A heavy odor of hay and horse
droppings permeated the air inside and the walls were lined with lariats and
farrier’s tools.
“The messages requesting you and your team
to come here—those must have been staged,” said Carlie.
“Those were sent two days ago,” said
Duncan. “Someone must have breached the encrypted frequency for this outpost or
coerced Mike into supplying false intel to lure us here.”
“Where is everyone?” said Brinkman. “This
place had over forty personnel. There are no signs of a large-scale battle.”
The woman’s voice crackled into Duncan’s
earpiece again. “Hammerhead, be advised that we have movement of creatures
heading your way from the south. Estimates indicate around a hundred total.”
Duncan grimaced, sending a knowing look at
his team. The voice came back on. “We also show the heat signature of two human
beings in the medical clinic two-hundred meters to the north. One is very
faint, barely registering, and is supine. The other is hovering nearby, moving
back and forth.”
“Alright, we’re heading there now and will
take cover in that building if it’s defensible.”
“Copy that. We are also showing a group of
four individuals clustered in the forest to the southwest between the incoming
horde and then a few lone individuals scattered around the valley. All of the
latter appear to have spotting scopes.”
He tapped off his earpiece and looked at
the others. “Seems like they just wanted to trap us here and have the zombies
do the rest,” he said.
“This is a test,” said Carlie. “Your
tactical specialists, the elimination of the helo, those spotters. This is a
little fishbowl they have us in to study our operational protocols.”
“What’s your assessment?” said Duncan,
looking back at the two men.
“Agree with Carlie. This was too staged
and precise. They knew when we were coming and our immediate capabilities,”
said Kulovitz, a stocky man with red hair.
“They’ve got the high ground and control
the route out of here,” said Brinkman. “We either stay put until air support
arrives or risk heading into the forest to the northeast where the ridgelines
will afford us some protection to make a stand.”
Duncan mulled over their options and quickly
surveyed their escape routes again. “We need to get to the med building and see
about the survivors—if that’s what they are. We’ll have to make our stand here
on the main grounds.”
As they prepared to move, another whir of
mortar fire sang out above them. “Move,” shouted Duncan as the round tore into
the ground behind the barn.
“That was a deliberate miss,” said
Kulovitz. “With how precise
the windows on the second floor above their heads. Carlie tucked her chin down
and pulled her parka hood in tighter around her face as shards rained upon
them. The Blackhawk was splintered into jagged fragments while the rotor and
rear fuselage came crashing down onto the helipad, flaming metal groaning and
hissing like the tongue of an orange viper.
“What the hell is this,” Duncan said,
staring at what was left of the two blackened corpses of the pilots inside the
burning wreck. He tapped his earpiece, switching over to a different frequency.
“Shark Tank, this is Hammerhead, do you copy?”
“Go ahead, Hammerhead,” said the woman’s
voice back at Fort Lewis.
“Aries Two has been compromised. Our helo
was just taken out and we are on foot. Request immediate evac at our position.”
There was a long pause on the other end.
“Extraction team inbound in two hours. We are retasking satellites and will
have intel on your location shortly.”
“Copy that.” He stood up and returned to
the front doors, testing the handle, which was locked. He glanced around the
area and saw a small barn twenty yards away near the treeline. He motioned for
everyone to follow him as they crouched and ran along the building past a row
of hedges and into the weathered structure. A heavy odor of hay and horse
droppings permeated the air inside and the walls were lined with lariats and
farrier’s tools.
“The messages requesting you and your team
to come here—those must have been staged,” said Carlie.
“Those were sent two days ago,” said
Duncan. “Someone must have breached the encrypted frequency for this outpost or
coerced Mike into supplying false intel to lure us here.”
“Where is everyone?” said Brinkman. “This
place had over forty personnel. There are no signs of a large-scale battle.”
The woman’s voice crackled into Duncan’s
earpiece again. “Hammerhead, be advised that we have movement of creatures
heading your way from the south. Estimates indicate around a hundred total.”
Duncan grimaced, sending a knowing look at
his team. The voice came back on. “We also show the heat signature of two human
beings in the medical clinic two-hundred meters to the north. One is very
faint, barely registering, and is supine. The other is hovering nearby, moving
back and forth.”
“Alright, we’re heading there now and will
take cover in that building if it’s defensible.”
“Copy that. We are also showing a group of
four individuals clustered in the forest to the southwest between the incoming
horde and then a few lone individuals scattered around the valley. All of the
latter appear to have spotting scopes.”
He tapped off his earpiece and looked at
the others. “Seems like they just wanted to trap us here and have the zombies
do the rest,” he said.
“This is a test,” said Carlie. “Your
tactical specialists, the elimination of the helo, those spotters. This is a
little fishbowl they have us in to study our operational protocols.”
“What’s your assessment?” said Duncan,
looking back at the two men.
“Agree with Carlie. This was too staged
and precise. They knew when we were coming and our immediate capabilities,”
said Kulovitz, a stocky man with red hair.
“They’ve got the high ground and control
the route out of here,” said Brinkman. “We either stay put until air support
arrives or risk heading into the forest to the northeast where the ridgelines
will afford us some protection to make a stand.”
Duncan mulled over their options and quickly
surveyed their escape routes again. “We need to get to the med building and see
about the survivors—if that’s what they are. We’ll have to make our stand here
on the main grounds.”
As they prepared to move, another whir of
mortar fire sang out above them. “Move,” shouted Duncan as the round tore into
the ground behind the barn.
“That was a deliberate miss,” said
Kulovitz. “With how precise
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