UNSCDF3 Chapter 8- Not as Easy Surviving

Downtown Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan

British Embassy

May 10, 2001

1800 Local Time

            Sarah and Zyrok approached a burnt smoking structure with the words “British Embassy” painted on its wall. The gates and fencing seemed intact, however, the battlements on their left was in ruins. Rubble and debris scattered the ground where a section of battlement once stood. A charred vehicle was parked beside the gates with a burnt corpse in the driver’s seat.

            “Hmm…” Zyrok studied.

            A zombie wearing a standard military outfit limped towards Sarah. She gave a small cry and swung her golf club at the zombie. The zombie growled and waved its arms in an attempt to grab the little girl. Before Zyrok could step in to help, Sarah whacked the zombie to the ground and placed a deadly blow to its skull.

            “Nice.” Zyrok complimented.

            Zyrok crouched to the deceased zombie and saw an ID card on his chest. He examined it and realized it was an access card to the embassy.

            “Let’s head inside.” Zyrok pointed at the destroyed battlement.

            As the pair made their way past the battlements, corpses and bullet shells littered the ground. Zyrok walked up to a SA80 and picked it up. He looked at the magazine and noticed three rounds remaining.

            “It’ll have to do.” Zyrok cocked the gun.

            The front door to the embassy was riddled with bullet holes and burnt marks. It was obvious that a siege took place and the British had lost.

            “Do you know what happened?” Zyrok asked.

            “The zombies got through. We were sent on a military truck, but we crashed. I…was the only one that made it.” Sarah looked at her feet.

            “How long was this ago?” Zyrok stepped inside the building with his newly acquired SA80.

            “Almost a year…I think.” Sarah scratched her head.

            “And you survived that long. Wow…” Zyrok was impressed.

            “I stayed at my parents’ house before it got overrun.” Sarah answered.

            “Did you see us last month?” Zyrok asked.

            “Yeah, but I didn’t know who were the good soldiers. You guys were fighting each other and not the zombies. If I didn’t see my country’s flag, I don’t feel safe.” Sarah followed Zyrok closely.

            Zyrok clicked on the flashlight attached to his gun and scanned the halls. Blood trails and claw marks were etched on the walls. The two walked up to a metal detector and walked around it not wanting to set off any alarms. After a few meters down the hall, they reached the cafeteria. Trays, plates, and utensils saturated the room making it hard to walk without making too much noise. Zyrok panned his flashlight across the room slowly. A person was crouched beside a table moving the trays.

            “Hello?” Zyrok directed the flashlight at the person.

           The person turned its head and his face lit up. Half of his face was decomposed with the lower half of his jaw missing.

            “Sarah...get back slowly.” Zyrok trained his gun at the zombie while backing up slowly.

            The zombie remained in its position when suddenly Sarah cried out loud. Zyrok quickly turned his head and realized that Sarah backed out into a zombie soldier.

            “Sarah!” Zyrok shouted as the zombie tackled the little girl to the ground.

            The zombie that once remained motionless now stood up and ran towards Zyrok. Zyrok hopped onto the zombie pinning Sarah and thrusted his kukri into its neck severing it. Quickly, Zyrok lifted Sarah to her feet and pulled her to the entrance. The zombie ran over the trays and plates causing a moderate level of noise.

            “You alright? You bit?” Zyrok looked at Sarah who was in a state of shock.

            The pair hurried away from the cafeteria and to the nearest room they could find. Zyrok slammed the door shut and locked it. It was a small office with the table turned upside down. He flipped the table over and placed Sarah on the table to closely look at her.

            “Sarah, are you alright?” Zyrok looked at Sarah’s arms.

            “Huh…” Sarah stared blankly at the door.

            “I’m sorry I didn’t watch the back.” Zyrok examined Sarah’s head for injuries and bite marks.

            Next, Zyrok looked at Sarah’s legs and thoroughly scanned for any infections. There was none so Zyrok decided to search the room.

            “Sarah, take deep breaths. It will help you relax.” Zyrok searched the desk.

            Inside the desk were office supplies and nothing more. Zyrok decided to search the cabinets and drawers next to the wall.

            “Jackpot.” Zyrok’s eyes widened as he found two bags of potato chips.

            Sarah turned her head and licked her lips.

            “Here.” Zyrok gave a bag to Sarah who graciously accepted it.

            Zyrok watched as Sarah quickly finished off her bag and looked at the empty packaging.

            “Here, have mine.” Zyrok gave the other bag to Sarah and resumed back to searching.

            After a thorough search, Zyrok only managed to find cash and a few important paperwork. Other than that, the rest was useless junk. Sarah walked to Zyrok and gave him the remaining potato chips. He glanced to see half a bag full and gave it back to Sarah.

            “Eat up, you’re going to need the energy.” Zyrok gave the food back.

            “Thanks.” Sarah stuffed the bag into her pocket.

            “Get ready.” Zyrok unlocked the door slowly and quietly as possible.

            Zyrok glanced at the hall and saw two zombies walking away from them. He clicked on his flashlight and directed across the hall to look for a new place to search.

            “Stay close.” Zyrok waved behind him.

            Sarah crept up slowly behind Zyrok and held onto her backpack with both hands. Zyrok made a quick dash to a room a couple meters down the hall. Again it was another office. A corpse lied on the floor and Zyrok nudged it with his boot while training his SA80 at its head.

            “It’s dead. Come in Sarah.” Zyrok whispered.

            Sarah got into the room and closed the door for Zyrok while he observed the room for threats.

            “Start looking.” Zyrok pointed at a drawer next to him.

            Sarah nodded and began to open the drawers. Zyrok opened a closet and found a small fridge. He opened it and saw three bottles of soda.

            “Sarah, you thirsty?” Zyrok picked up the bottles of soda.

            “Yeah.” Sarah said quietly as she looked through the drawers.

            Zyrok walked over beside Sarah and placed a bottle on top of the drawer.

            “Thanks.” Sarah closed the drawers as she found nothing useful.

            Zyrok opened one bottle and quickly drank the soda as Sarah did the same. He placed the last bottle in his backpack and resumed searching. Zyrok knew his thirst was fulfilled, but not his hunger. Sarah seemed to be fine after the bottle of soda.

            “I found something.” Sarah picked up a bag of mixed nuts lying on the ground.

            “Go on, eat up Sarah.” Zyrok eyed the bag.

            Sarah ripped the bag open and grabbed a handful of the nuts.

            “Here.” Sarah handed Zyrok the bag.

            “Thanks.” Zyrok took the bag.

            “You’re hungry too.” Sarah smiled in understanding.

            “Are you tired?” Zyrok munched on the nuts.

            Sarah nodded and walked up beside Zyrok. Zyrok sat down on the ground next to the wall and placed his backpack in front of him.

            “Get some rest. I’ll take watch.” Zyrok spoke softly.

            Sarah sat down beside Zyrok and leaned her head against his shoulder. She closed her eyes and Zyrok looked at the door for any potential intruders. In a few minutes, Sarah was sleeping soundly beside Zyrok.

Arabian Sea, Coast of Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Perth

May 10, 2001

1810 Local Time

            “Captain, they are not going to make it.” Stewart stood up and watched as a distant Falcon tilted sideways.

            Blake pulled out his binoculars from a nearby drawer and looked at the Falcon.

            “They’ll make it…” Blake studied the aircraft’s movements.

            “Sir, the waters are rough. In addition to the strong winds, they won’t be able to land.” Stewart looked at the turbulent sea.

            “Where’s the current coming from?” Blake looked at the rough waters.

            “Starboard current at 20 knots.” Stewart looked at the computer monitor.

            “Alright, I’ll turn the ship starboard side.” Blake walked to the helm.

            As the ship slowly turned to face the current, the ship began to drift backwards.

            “Counter the current and push the engines to 20 knots.” Blake ordered.

            “Sir?” Stewart placed his hand on the throttle.

            “Do it. Theoretically, we should be motionless.” Blake reasoned.

            “Aye sir.” Stewart pushed the throttle forward and looked at the speed indicator.

            Bit by bit, the forward current had little to no effect as the ship countered the speed.

            “What about the wind?” Stewart looked as the ship remained virtually still in the sea.

            “That’s up to the pilot. We already gave them a stable landing spot.” Blake replied.

*          *          *

            “UNSC Perth, this is Charlie 121. We see the ship, request landing procedures. Winds are too strong up here for us to make decisions.” Daniels spoke on the RaidComm headset.

            “Charlie 121, proceed two kilometers east and turn heading 180.” Stewart replied.

            “Roger, two kilos east turn heading 180.” Daniels repeated and flipped some switches beside him.

            “Can you land this bird?” Frederick asked impatiently.

            “Yeah.” Stewart turned the Falcon left.

            “Charlie 121, prepare descent to 1000 and reduce airspeed.” Stewart spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Copy UNSC Perth. Descending to 1000 and reducing airspeed.” Daniels pulled the throttle back halfway.

            The Falcon slowly wobbled towards UNSC Perth as Daniels listened to Stewart’s instructions.

            “Charlie 121, you are good to go. Continue steady descent and reduce power to one quarter.” Stewart looked out the window at the back of the ship.

            “Roger UNSC Perth. Resuming descent and powering to one quarter.” Stewart pulled the throttle a bit back and pushed a lever down.

            “UNSC Perth, this is Frederick. Is the medical team on standby?” Frederick spoke on the RaidComm as the Falcon was just a couple of meters above the landing platform.

            “Lieutenant Frederick, team’s ready once you land.” Stewart waved out the windows.

            A dark skinned marine bearing the rank of a Sergeant waved his marines to move as the Falcon successfully landed on the pad.

            “Go! Go! Go!” the Sergeant yelled as Frederick carried Hariprasad off the aircraft.