UNSCDF3 Chapter 12- Taking Care of Each Other

Downtown Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan

British Embassy

May 11, 2001

1205 Local Time

        “Not a bad day after all.” Zyrok looked at a stockpile of canned goods in a small closet.

        “Take everything?” Sarah picked up a can of tinned hotdogs.

        “Not all, but some. These canned foods are heavy and decrease our speed.” Zyrok looked at a shelf full of tinned vegetables.

        “Alright.” Sarah grabbed three cans and stuffed it into her backpack.

        Zyrok did the same except he got five cans. Sarah looked at Zyrok and grinned as she grabbed one more can into her backpack.

        “Not so greedy now…” Zyrok teased.

        “That one was for you…since you eat a lot.” Sarah reasoned.

        “Oh…calling me fat now eh?” Zyrok shot an evil glare.

        A clatter was heard outside the closet and Zyrok quickly spun around gun ready. He motioned for Sarah to stay quiet and he slowly stuck his head out the closet. A zombie was walking aimlessly in the room kicking over broken bottles. Zyrok charged out of the room to attack the zombie when suddenly he slipped on some papers which happened to be in his way. He fell to the ground with a loud thud and the zombie immediately headed for him. Before Zyrok could get a clean shot at the zombie, the zombie had pounced onto the marine and clawed at his chest. A few pieces of fabric got ripped from the flak jacket as the zombie attempted to reveal Zyrok’s organs. Zyrok elbowed one arm away and kicked the zombie in the stomach. This only enraged the zombie making it harder for Zyrok to get back on his feet. The flak jacket was deteriorating rapidly as the zombie went on a clawing rampage.

        “Argh!” Zyrok cursed as he tried to block the hits.

        Zyrok knew he was going to die and all it took was one normal zombie to catch him off guard. He attempted to pull out his kukri, but only got it knocked away from his hands. A shadow casted over Zyrok and Zyrok looked up. Sarah swung the golf club sideways into the cheekbones of the flesh-eating monster sending its lower jaw flying off. The zombie looked up at Sarah and roared with fury. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zyrok manipulated the zombie’s center of gravity and tossed it aside. He made a quick dash for the kukri and impaled the blade into its right eye.

        “Thanks Sarah.” Zyrok panted.

        “You…” Sarah pointed at Zyrok’s chest as he stood up.

        Zyrok looked at his chest and saw blood dripping off the body armor. He touched his chest and winced in pain as the adrenaline wore off. Sarah looked at Zyrok with concerned eyes and held her weapon waiting to strike.

        “Sarah, I’m alright.” Zyrok sat down to rest.

        “Zyrok…you…” Sarah held the club firmly in her hands.

        “I need to rest.” Zyrok breathed deeply.

        “You are going to turn aren’t you?” Sarah looked with worried eyes.

        “The blood not transmitted directly. Besides, I had my shot of nanites.” Zyrok touched his chest to examine for internal injuries.

        “Huh?” Sarah was confused.

        “The UNSC has a technology to fight the virus. It’s expensive and hard to make. I was fortunate enough to get a shot.” Zyrok explained slowly.

        “Will you turn?” Sarah pointed at the dead zombie corpse beside them.

        “No Sarah, I won’t. But, I still need to get patched up. After all, I can still bleed to death.” Zyrok removed his flak jacket slowly.

        Upon closer inspection, the chest had a moderate amount of swelling and some open cuts. Zyrok knelt to one knee and opened his backpack. He rummaged through the contents and found a roll of bandages.

        “Help me.” Zyrok lifted up his shirt.

        Blood that once dried underneath the shirt was wiped off making the wounds open again.

        “Ahh…” Zyrok looked at his chest as blood oozed out.

        “What can I do?” Sarah took the bandages from Zyrok.

        “Wrap it over my chest. Wrap it tight to apply pressure.” Zyrok directed.

       Sarah unrolled the bandages and began to wrap it around Zyrok’s bloody chest. After the first layer was applies, what was once a white cloth had now turned to a dark shade of red. Carefully, Sarah began to wrap a second later when it ran out.

        “Any more in my backpack?” Zyrok held the loose end of the bandage for Sarah.

        “I don’t think so…” Sarah emptied out the contents in Zyrok’s backpack.

        “Ok, clip on the safety pin and hold the bandage in place.” Zyrok handed a safety pin from the package of the medical supply.

        “Ok.” Sarah replied quietly.

        Slowly and carefully, Sarah clipped the safety pin from the loose end and attached it to the dressings.

        “There, I’m done.” Sarah turned to face Zyrok.

        “Thank you Sarah.” Zyrok flipped his shirt down.

        Zyrok touched his chest and felt a soft layer of medical dressing. Feeling satisfied, he got up to his feet and placed all the supplies back into his backpack.

        “This?” Sarah held up the damaged flak jacket.

        “No, I don’t need it any more. It’s no good.” Zyrok took the flak jacket and tossed it aside.

        “Oh okay.” Sarah looked at the armor on the ground.

        “Let’s get going. We need to find medical supplies too now.” Zyrok looked at the blood marks on the ground.

        The pair exited the room simultaneously and went on to the next room. The room was similar to the previous room they were in except everything was in perfect order as if no one had touched it.

        “Shame…” Zyrok laughed.

        “What?” Sarah raised an eyebrow.

        “A perfect room in good condition. After we loot it, it will be just the same as the other rooms.” Zyrok walked to a desk and opened the drawers.

       “Maybe we can find things that weren’t looted.” Sarah walked to a metal cabinet mounted on the wall.

        “Perhaps…” Zyrok removed the drawer and dumped the contents on the desk.

        Paper, pens, and coins rolled on the desk and fell onto the ground. Nothing useful was there for the plucking so Zyrok cleared the desk by pushing everything to the ground. He continued to proceed with the next drawer. One by one, the drawers in the desk were emptied onto the desk and later tossed to the ground like all junk.

        “Nothing useful.” Zyrok sighed in frustration.

        “I found some antibiotics.” Sarah held a small bottle of white capsules.

        “That’s good. I think I need a few pills for my chest.” Zyrok studied the medical ingredients marked on the bottle.

        “Here, I’ll go look at the other things.” Sarah gave the bottle to Zyrok and resumed her search.

        Zyrok read the application label and popped open the lid. He grabbed two pills out and tossed them into his mouth and swallowed it.

        “Done, thanks for finding this.” Zyrok placed the bottle into his backpack and watched Sarah.

        “Yeah, no problem.” Sarah replied without turning her head.

        “Hey Sarah…” Zyrok walked to a drawer beside him.

        “Yeah?” Sarah continued searching.

        “Do you think we will be found?” Zyrok turned his head.

        “I don’t know. Why do you ask?” Sarah tossed useless items to the ground.

        “I don’t know…I just don’t know.” Zyrok resumed his search in deep thought.

        “You are a soldier, I think they can find you.” Sarah replied innocently.

        “I am…” Zyrok nodded.

        Zyrok knew he shouldn’t give up hope. Sarah had been in this position for sometime and he needed to be strong for her and his own sake. He bit his lip and continued to search without saying anything for the next five minutes.

        “You okay Zyrok?” Sarah turned to look at Zyrok.

        “I’m fine, thanks for asking.” Zyrok smiled and closed his hands into a fist.

Erazi, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Russian Communications Outpost

May 11, 2001

1300 Local Time

        Dimitri stood behind two soldiers looking at their computers whilst talking on their headsets.

        “Status report.” Dimitri crossed his arms.

        “Captain Dima’s forces have engaged the UNSC.” one soldier took off his headset and looked at Dimitri.

        “And…” Dimitri asked impatiently for the results.

        “A victory sir. Although we lost two scout choppers, it was sufficient enough to wipe out the ship and its entire crew before the rest of Dima’s men got there.” the soldier answered.

        “Any survivors?” Dimitri smiled evilly.

        “A few stragglers in the sea. One that we found was a big fish…” the soldier looked at his desk and pulled out a piece of paper.

        “Oh?” Dimitri raised an eyebrow.

        “A Captain Blake. I’m guessing he was the captain of the ship.” the soldier handed the paper over to Dimitri.

        “Very good work. Inform Dima of his excellent work. Tell him to bring the prisoners over here for interrogation.” Dimitri ordered.

       “Yes sir.” the soldier placed his headset and resumed typing on his computer.

        “The UNSC is in my hands again…this time it won’t be that easy for them to escape.” Dimitri grinned.

        “What’s that sir?” the soldier removed his headset.

        “It’s nothing. Get to your business. I want this settled as soon as possible.” Dimitri waved the soldier away.

        The soldier nodded silently and immediately turned to his computer to relay Dimitri’s orders. Dimitri glanced at the two soldiers and stormed off down the halls without saying another word.

UNSCDF3 Chapter 6- Reaching Out

Downtown Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan

521 Apartments

May 10, 2001

1545 Local Time

            Zyrok opened his heavy eyelids while his head throbbed with pain. He moaned and looked around to see where he was. It was the same room which he had entered to find the girl. As Zyrok tried to touch his head, he realized that his hands were tied to his back against a table. Suddenly, a little girl with black smudges on her face approached Zyrok with a golf club.

            “No, don’t!” Zyrok shouted as the girl lifted the club.

            The girl stopped and studied him like a toy. She nudged Zyrok’s legs with the club and watched for a reaction. However, Zyrok decided to remain calm even though he could have easily snatched the golf club with his feet.

            “It’s okay…it’s okay.” Zyrok reassured with a soft smile.

            The girl walked up beside Zyrok’s backpack on the ground and searched it. She pulled out a bag of mixed nuts and examined it.

            “Go ahead, you can eat it.” Zyrok studied the girl’s movements as he attempted to wriggle his hands free from the ropes.

            As the girl opened the bag of nuts and sniffed it, Zyrok slowly loosened the knots. The girl put one nut in her mouth to taste and then quickly stuffed the remaining contents into her mouth.

            “This girl is hungry.” Zyrok thought as he managed to pull one hand free.

            In a split second, Zyrok pulled himself free and quickly stood up. The girl cried and snatched her club, but Zyrok was faster and yanked the club out of the young girl’s hands. Upon realizing what had happened, the girl cried and ran to a corner as Zyrok blocked her escape. She covered her face and huddled in the corner whimpering in fear.

            “I’m not going to hurt you.” Zyrok crouched and threw the golf club away.

            She shivered and covered her eyes. She was terrified and her breathing speed increased.

            “Hey…hey. I’m a soldier and I’m not going to hurt you.” Zyrok said in a soft voice.

            Zyrok sat on the ground next to the girl and looked at her. She was young and her parents were probably dead or had become zombies. Zyrok looked around the room and saw a picture frame. He picked it up and saw the girl with a man and a woman behind her.

            “Is this you?” Zyrok held the picture close to the girl.

            The girl removed her hands from her face and looked shyly.

            “You got a name? I’m Zyrok, can you talk?” Zyrok spoke quietly.

            She nodded her head and looked at the photo. Tears streamed down her face as she studied the photograph.

            “It’s alright. It’s okay.” Zyrok slowly made his way to the girl and comforted her with a hug.

            “Everything’s going to be okay now.” Zyrok whispered.

            The girl sobbed and hugged Zyrok tightly as tears dripped from her face. Zyrok patted her on the back and released his embrace. He looked at the girl and wiped her face with his shirt sleeve.

            “There, you’re all clean. Don’t cry, you are so pretty.” Zyrok cleaned the girl’s face.

            The girl smiled shyly and touched her cheeks. Zyrok knew the girl wasn’t a local because of her skin color and her hair.

            “You’re not from here aren’t you?” Zyrok asked.

            Within a second, she reached into a pocket and produced an ID card. Zyrok took the card and examined what it wrote.

            “Your parents worked at the British embassy?” Zyrok examined the card.

            A nod was all it took to acknowledge and answer Zyrok’s question. Zyrok knew that their chances of survival increased drastically if there was an embassy. There was going to be food, water, shelter, and defenses. If he was lucky, he might be able to contact the UNSC.

            “Where’s the embassy?” Zyrok asked politely.

            The girl pointed at the window and Zyrok stood up to see where she was pointing. From the height of the current building, Zyrok noticed a fancy structure with a British flag on the room. The only problem was that the building was dark and smoke came out of it.

            “Did you come from there?” Zyrok pointed at the embassy.

            She nodded with a scared face and Zyrok understood what she had experienced.

            “Do you have food or water?” Zyrok looked around the room.

            Zyrok watched as the girl ran into a closet and pulled out a small bag. Inside the bag were two bags of candy and one bottle of water.

            “Can I drink some water? I haven’t drank in a while.” Zyrok pointed at the water.

            The girl opened the bottle and handed it to Zyrok with an uncertain look. Zyrok took the bottle graciously and poured a bit into his dry mouth.

            “Thanks.” Zyrok thanked as he handed the bottle back.

            “Look, I’m going to go to the embassy to see if I can get us some supplies.” Zyrok walked across the room to pick up his kukri and Desert Fox on the ground.

            He turned to the entrance and began to remove the barricade.

            “Don’t go…” the girl spoke in a pleading voice.

            “Oh…so you talk.” Zyrok turned his head.

            “Yeah…” the girl nodded.

            “What’s your name?” Zyrok asked.

            “Sarah.” the girl responded.

            The name hit Zyrok like a train and he froze. His facial expressions changed and he stopped in his tracks.

Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Cobra Squad’s Camp

May 10, 2001

1550 Local Time

            Hariprasad fell to the ground and tried to move away from the sea of hands. One zombie grabbed his leg and sank its teeth into the flesh.

            “Argh!” Hariprasad screamed in pain.

            Suddenly, a few shots came from behind him followed by the sounds of heavy footsteps. Bullets whizzed past Hariprasad and struck the zombies.

            “You alright?” Parker rushed over with her MSG-9 rifle.

            “Hell, I’m bit.” Hariprasad looked at his left leg with a bloody bite mark.

            “Hold on.” Parker pulled out a medic kit from her belt and took out a roll of bandages.

            Hariprasad winced in pain as Parker sprayed an antiseptic spray on the wound. Hariprasad knew he hadn’t taken the nanite shot and that only High Command issued to key members.

            “I’m not going to make it…right?” Hariprasad stared at his leg.

            Frederick and Sears rushed out of the building with guns in their hands and knelt beside the injured marine.

            “You alright?” Sears asked with concern.

            “No Sarge.” Hariprasad pointed at his leg as Parker was applying pressure to the wound.

            “What happened?” Frederick looked at the dead zombies.

            “Turned a corner and they were there.” Hariprasad pointed at the edge of the structure.

            “Damn it. Do you have nanites?” Frederick asked.

            “No, do you have the shots?” Hariprasad looked worried.

            “No…I think it’s on UNSC Perth.” Frederick waved her hand behind her.

            “Yeah, it is in the medic bay on the ship.” Parker added.

            “Take him onto the Falcon and airlift him out of here.” Sears pointed at the roof.

            “Problem…when I was up there, UNSC Perth sent a transmission saying it can’t allow the Falcon to land due to weather.” Frederick pointed at the distant stormy clouds.

            “Aw hell, what are our options?” Sears crossed his arms in frustration.

            “Um…” Hariprasad looked lost.

            “Let’s bring him inside and figure out our options. It will be a while till we get reinforcements.” Frederick waved.

            “Agreed.” Sears assisted Hariprasad to his feet.

            Parker walked a few meters and picked up the M16 Hariprasad had dropped while Frederick assisted by opening the doors.

            “How long do I have before I turn?” Hariprasad spoke with a groan.

            “Listen, I’m not going to let you turn.” Sears reassured.

            “I’m the first casualty and we haven’t even found Zyrok.” Hariprasad chuckled weakly.

            As the pair continued walking, Parker and Frederick assisted by opening the doors. Suddenly Hariprasad stopped talking and collapsed to the floor.

            “He’s unconscious.” Sears checked the pulse of his comrade.

            “Don’t you die on me Hariprasad.” Frederick shook her head in frustration.

UNSCDF2 Chapter 34- Enemies of All Kinds

Reygi, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Secronom Research Facility

April 21, 2001

1900 Local Time

            “Timmins, get the defenses back online.” Williams rushed into the Control Room with Green.

            “On it.” Timmins ran into a room with a computer that was online.

            “They are going to get in any minute now. Hurry!” Williams readied his M16.

            “Sentry guns back online in five minutes. Systems are rebooting.” Timmins hollered.

            “Green, take position next to the doors.” Williams commanded as he saw the elevator numbers descending.

            “We’ve got to hold this area. If we lose it, we put the rest of the team below at risk.” Williams aimed his gun at the elevator doors.

            The elevator dinged and the door slid open. Three marines stood inside the elevator with sweat dripping off their faces.

            “Don’t shoot!” Reid called out.

            “We’re UNSC!” Morgan added.

            Williams glanced at the marines and lowered his gun.

            “I thought you guys were…” Williams exclaimed.

            “Dead? Captured? We managed to sneak out in time.” Reid interrupted.

            “Yeah.” Williams nodded.

            “Turrets online!” Timmins rushed out of his room to tell Williams.

            “You got the sentry guns back online…?” Morgan asked as he looked at Reid with a concerned face.

            “Yeah, the Russians won’t be coming in now.” Timmins replied proudly.

            “That’s good.” Reid said while thinking about the Russians getting slaughtered by the guns.

            “Get some rest marines. We’ll need it.” Williams replied.

            “Where are the defense controls? I want to see what other defenses this facility has.” Reid spoke to Timmins with the thought of shutting down the system.

            “There.” Timmins pointed at a computer inside the Control Room.

            “Okay, thanks.” Reid thanked with a gentle smile as he walked to the computer.

            “Green, take a look at the ground floor and tell me the progress of the Russians.” Williams ordered.

            Green hurried out of the room whilst Morgan and Mendoza sat down on a table and looked at the servers around them. Williams looked at a vent shaft above him and heard chatters and rumbles.

            “I think they are coming through this way.” Williams pointed at the vent with his gun.

            “Really?” Reid typed on the computer and stood up.

            “Staff Sergeant, something’s not right. The sentry guns are going back underground.” Green reported on the RaidComm.

            “What?” Williams shouted back.

            “Defenses are offline. The Russians and the militia are advancing!” Green replied in horror.

            “Get out of there now!” Williams ordered.

            “There’s too many of them. Argh!” Green shouted as gunshots rang in the background.

            “Green, come in. Green!” Williams rushed to the computer for the defenses.

            Williams looked at the computer and saw the message “Defenses offline by manual controls”.

            “What did you do Reid?” Williams turned to look at Reid with a Lock 17 in his hand.

            Before Williams could react, Reid fired a round into Williams’ chest and took him down.

            “What the hell?” Timmins raised his M16 at Reid, but was taken out by Morgan as he fired three rounds into Timmins’ back.

            Timmins collapsed to the ground with a thud and Mendoza nudged the body with his boot.

            “Thanks.” Reid thanked.

            “I can’t believe we killed the marines.” Mendoza looked a bit shocked.

            “We did what we had to do.” Reid reasoned.

            Out of the corner of Reid’s eyes, Williams reached for a nearby Washington 870 he had put aside. Williams crawled to the shotgun and grabbed it. Reid saw the body of Williams moving and turned.

            “Die traitor!” Williams pressed the trigger and a barrage of pellets flung Reid a couple meters into the air.

            Mendoza quickly fired five rounds of his M16 at Williams based on instinct. Morgan rushed to the fallen Reid and noticed that most of the shotgun’s pellets had torn through Reid’s flak jacket.

            “Reid! Can you hear me?” Morgan waved his hand over Reid’s face.

            “Oh…my chest.” Reid coughed blood as he clutched his injured chest.

            “Hold on.” Morgan reached into his backpack for medication.

            “Take this Sergeant. You are in command now.” Reid handed his radio to Morgan.

            “LT.” Mendoza knelt beside his commanding officer.

            “Guess I won’t have my revenge.” Reid closed his eyes and passed out.

            Morgan took out a morphine needle and injected into Reid’s arm. Mendoza grabbed the radio from Morgan and turned it on.

            “We are clear.” Mendoza spoke on the radio in a solemn voice.

            “Good.” Dimitri replied.

            “We need a medic.” Mendoza requested.

            “Got it. We’ll be there in one minute.” Dimitri replied.

            Morgan threw the used needle aside and took out a pack of bandages and wrapped it around Reid’s chest tightly. Suddenly, a group of soldiers rushed into the room and Dimitri walked from behind. Mendoza stood up to greet the Russians.

            “Medic here!” Mendoza shouted.

            “Thank you Mendoza.” Dimitri pulled out his Luger and shot Mendoza in the face.

            Morgan realized the act of betrayal and quickly spun around to shoot Dimitri, but was intercepted by Nikolai as he had already trained his AK47 at his head. Nikolai fired two rounds and struck Morgan in the neck and face. Blood spattered across the room and painted the servers with a hint of red. Morgan’s eyes were wide open as he collapsed to the ground. The gun clattered on the ground and Morgan fell on top of Reid.

            “What about the Lieutenant?” Nikolai pointed at the unconscious marine with his AK47.

            “Leave him be. We’ll let him bleed out.” Dimitri smiled in triumph.

            “What’s next sir?” Nikolai asked.

            “Let’s go underground and claim what’s rightfully ours.” Dimitri pointed at the room beside him.

            “Got it.” Nikolai nodded and waved a squad of militia to follow him.

            “Take as many men as you need to get the job done Sergeant. I’ll be waiting up here.” Dimitri walked out with Nikolai to the room adjacent to them.

            The soldiers walked into the room and noticed a section of the wall had slid open revealing a small room.

            “There.” Dimitri pointed with his Luger.

            Nikolai walked into the room with two squads following him. He looked at the elevator and pressed the button. After a few minutes, the hum of the elevator could be heard as it moved up the shaft.

            “Get ready.” Nikolai commanded as he trained his AK47 at the elevator doors.

            The doors slowly slid open and revealed nothing. Nikolai walked inside and the soldiers all squeezed in. Dimitri walked in front of the elevator and saluted Nikolai.

            “Sir.” Nikolai saluted back and pressed the elevator button down.

            The doors slid down and the elevator descended. Dimitri looked at some soldiers beside him and pointed at the room for them to guard.

            “Yes sir.” one soldier nodded and stood his ground beside the elevator doors.

Reygi, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Secronom Research Facility

April 21, 2001

2045 Local Time

            Zyrok dodged to the side as the multi-limbed zombie flew at him. A couple of limbs hit the door frame and snapped loudly. Schmidt and Nevarez unleashed a torrent of bullets into the zombie. The zombie attempted to snatch at Zyrok, but Zyrok was more agile. He jumped on top of the zombie and fired two rounds into the back of its head. As the marines finished the zombie, guns firing down the dark hallways echoed towards them.

            “Let’s go!” Zyrok commanded as he pointed at the dark halls with his flashlight.

            A figure ran past Zyrok’s flashlight and Zyrok fired one shot in the general direction.

            “Zyrok, this is 2-3. We have a man down. We’re holed up with Forester’s team in Room 5503.” May reported on the RaidComm with some frustration.

            Zyrok looked at a door beside him and saw a “Room 5530” sign on the wall beside the access panel.

            “Shit.” Schmidt looked at the sign.

            “We’re at least twenty rooms away.” Nevarez groaned.

            “Leg it!” Zyrok hustled.

            The three marines continued down the hallways when they came across a mob of zombies in the middle of the hall. Schmidt’s flashlight got a glimpse of the mob as he halted to a stop. The mob consisted of scientist and security guard zombies, but at the back on the ceiling were at least five multi-limbed zombies.

            “Run!” Zyrok turned around as he noticed the zombies growling at them.

            The marines turned around and ran back as fast as they could. They could hear the thundering of footsteps running behind them.

            “There!” Zyrok pointed at a small corridor to their left.

            Zyrok and his marines made a mad dash left and noticed the corridor they ran in was some sort of service corridor. Various pipes hung from the ceiling snaking room to room. Some were so rusted that water was leaking onto the ground creating small puddles.

            “Keep running down.” Zyrok pointed down the hallway as he splashed water onto the walls when he stepped on the puddles.

*          *          *

            “We have to make a run for the stairs. They are approximately three to four rooms left of here.” May suggested as she fired her M16 at some zombies entering the room.

            “Not like this. We have to carry Casey out of here.” Forester looked at Casey with a gash to his chest.

            “I’ll take care of Sarge.” Taylor knelt beside Casey and applied bandages to his wound.

            “I’m going to turn into one of them aren’t I?” Casey coughed.

            “Casey, I’ve got the nanite technology back at Base. We’ll get you the help.” Forester assured.

            “Alright marines, get ready to book it out of here.” May shouted as she reloaded her gun.

            “Ready Private?” Robertson smiled as he picked up Casey’s Sega-20.

            “You bet.” Christopher nodded.

            “Okay, on the count of three, we go. Forester, you and Taylor take Casey out as Robertson clears the way. Christopher and I will get your back.” May briefed.

            “Where’s Frederick’s team?” Christopher asked.

            “No time to ask. Let’s move in three…two…one…go!” May shouted.

            Robertson charged out of the room and pumped two shotgun rounds into a zombie. Forester bashed a zombie with Robertson’s M16 and waved at Taylor. Taylor carried Casey on his back and moved slowly out of the room.

            “Cover!” May shouted as she laid a heavy suppressive fire for Taylor’s retreat.

            Robertson continued blasting away any zombies blocking his path with his shotgun firing only when needed. May and Christopher continued shooting at many multi-limbed zombies headed their way. Forester fired a couple rounds to take out zombies beside Robertson and turned occasionally to assist with May and Christopher as she fired a few bursts at the crowd. Once Robertson reached the stairwell, he pushed the doors open and waved at the remaining marines making their way to him.

            “Come on!” Robertson hollered while quickly reloading his shotgun.

            Forester ran into the stairwell and got into position. As Taylor slowly made his way to the stairwell with Casey on his back, May and Christopher were having difficulties holding the line. Robertson looked at his shotgun and then looked at May and Christopher struggling to get back to the stairwell quickly. Robertson knew he had to take one for the team and divert the zombies. He rushed out the stairwell with the Sega-20 and tapped May on the back.

            “Run to the stairwell! All of you!” Robertson hollered.

            May nodded in appreciation and turned back. Robertson fired a barrage of pellets into the horde and knew he had to buy his team the time.

            “Go Christopher.” Robertson shouted.

            “Get back to us quickly.” Christopher replied as he ran back.

            Robertson looked at the mob of zombies and fired two rounds. He quickly turned around and ran towards the stairwell.

            “The stairwell doors won’t hold.” Robertson thought as he approached the doors.

            “Get in!” May fired a couple of shots.

            “No, the door won’t hold. I’m going to buy you some time. It was an honor!” Robertson replied with a saluted as he forcefully pushed the marines into the stairwell and closed the door shut as he walked out. Seeing his shotgun was out of ammo, he wedged it against the door handle and turned to meet the zombies.

            “Come and get me!” Robertson yelled on top of his lungs as he pulled out his Lock 17 sidearm.

            Robertson quickly dashed to the left continuing down the hall only firing a couple of shots behind him. As he expected, all of the zombies turned to chase him and was no longer going for the stairwell. One multi-limbed zombie flung itself from the ceiling at Robertson and knocked the marine down.

            “Eat lead!” Robertson punched the zombie’s head and fired four rounds into its face.

            The zombie collapsed to the ground and Robertson quickly got onto his feet.

            “Robertson, you copy?” Forester spoke on the RaidComm.

            Robertson ran into an open room and slammed the door shut. He panted and reloaded his pistol. Just as he was about to respond back on the RaidComm, he heard a deep growl behind him. His carelessness made him forget to check the room. As he turned slowly in horror, a multi-limbed zombie jumped on him and tore his armor off.

            “Argh! Ah!” Robertson screamed on the RaidComm as the zombie bit his chest and ripped out his internals.

            A pool of blood formed around Robertson’s body as the zombie munched on the marine. Robertson’s cracked helmet was a couple meters away from him covered in blood.

            “Roberson! Come in Robertson!” Forester’s voice came out of the helmet.

            The zombie turned its head to the helmet and growled.

            “Do you copy? Robertson?” Forester spoke on the RaidComm.

           The zombie smashed two limbs at the helmet thinking it was a prey. The helmet caved in and pieces flew everywhere. The zombie found no flesh and returned to feast on Robertson.

UNSCDF2 Chapter 25- Secronom Research Facility

Reygi, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Secronom Research Facility

April 20, 2001
1510 Local Time

            “They are here somewhere. They couldn’t have gone far.” Williams spoke to Green quietly.

            “Let’s get Christopher off the turret in case they snipe.” Green suggested.

            “Alright.” Williams waved at Christopher.

            Christopher hopped off the Warthog turret and grabbed his M16 from the back of the vehicle. Green knelt down to the ground and saw some blood drips leading away from the dead Russian soldier.

            “Staff Sergeant.” Green pointed at the ground.

            “Get ready.” Williams cocked his gun.

            Christopher ran up beside Williams and looked at him. Williams pointed at the blood trail and Christopher nodded. Green took point as he led the team down the trail. After a few meters, the blood trail disappeared as wind blew dust around.

            “Check those rocks.” Williams pointed at some rocks a couple of meters in front of them.

            Christopher steadied his M16 as he approached the rocks while Green watched his sides. Williams held his SA80’s scope close to his face as he shuffled closely behind Green. As Christopher reached the corner of the rocks, he stuck his fingers up in the air.

            “Three…two…one.” Christopher counted quietly.

            As soon as Christopher’s fingers counted zero, Christopher quickly turned around the corner and scanned for hostiles. Green immediately followed and grasped his M16 tightly. There was a small pool of blood, but there was no one. Williams knelt to the ground and examined for footprints. There were two faint set of footprints leading away from the rocks.

            “There.” Williams waved his hand for his marines to follow him.

            The set of footprints turned around the rocks and back to where they came from.

            “Warthog…” Christopher looked at their Warthog in the distance.

            Two soldiers were running steadily towards their parked Warthog in the distance. One soldier appeared to be injured, but was still keeping his pace towards the Warthog.

            “Freeze!” Green shouted.

            The moment Green shouted, the injured soldier turned around and fired his AK47 while the other soldier continued to run. The marines took some cover and began to fire back. Williams aimed his sights at the injured solider and changed the angle of elevation. He fired two rounds and the injured soldier dropped to the ground dead.

            “Got him.” Williams exclaimed.

            “He’s getting away.” Green rushed forward towards the Warthog.

            “Don’t let him get on the Warthog.” Williams sprinted.

            The soldier climbed into the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition. Green fired a couple of rounds, but missed.

            “The tires.” Christopher shouted as he aimed.

            The Warthog began to move away from the marines as they fired. The bullets had a tough time penetrating the thick rubber tires.

            “Concentrate fire on the left back tire!” Williams ordered and fired.

            The marines fired in unison at the distant Warthog. After a few seconds, the tire popped and the Warthog skidded sideways before flipping. The vehicle cart wheeled three times before rolling to a stop. The marines rushed to the crash site and readied their guns. Green looked at some debris near the flipped Warthog for the soldier while Williams and Christopher searched the vehicle. There was no soldier in the Warthog.

            “How could it be…?” Christopher looked at the ground for blood and footsteps.

            “He can’t just disappear into thin air.” Williams looked around frantically.

            “He may have jumped out early Sarge.” Green called out.

            “Spread out marines.” Williams commanded.

            Christopher walked off to check out a smoking piece of debris a couple meters from their location. As Christopher approached the vicinity, he noticed that smoke was coming from the ground. Upon further inspection, a piece of the Warthog bumper had broken some sort of air shaft and wedged itself between fans.

            “Sarge!” Christopher called out.

            The motor of the fan was heard by a loud grind as it attempted to turn the fan. As the motor grinded its gears and had no effect in turning the fan, sparks flew from its side and smoke formed. Williams and Green jogged up beside Christopher and looked at the medium sized air shaft.

            “He’s in there.” Williams pointed at the blade of the fan.

            There was a piece of military clothing ripped on the fan. Williams pointed his gun down and scanned the shaft with his scope. It was pitch black at the end and the occasional smoke covered his field of vision.

            “What do we do Staff Sergeant?” Christopher asked cluelessly.

            “Well, we know he can’t climb out…” Williams looked at his height to the bottom of the fan.

            “Should we hide this?” Green asked.

            “Well…we should get a ride out first.” Williams pointed at their destroyed Warthog.

            “We can’t cover this up.” Christopher looked at the shaft and then looked around.

            “Leave it.” Williams turned away from the edge of the opening.

            “Call it in sir?” Green asked.

            “Yeah, call it in. Frederick and the others are going to be pleased about what we found.” Williams nodded.

            “Base, this is Williams’ team, request Echo Squad and Jackal Squadron to be on site near the facility.” Green spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Copy from base. Captain Zyrok asks why you request both squads, over.” Sears replied back.

            “Sears, it’s Williams here. Inform Zyrok that we found an access point.” Williams answered.

            “Williams, did you say that you found an access point?” Please confirm.” Sears asked with surprise in his voice.

            “Confirm, that is correct.” Williams acknowledged.

            “Copy that, we’ll be dispatching a Pelican.” Sears replied.

            “Good work gentlemen. Sit tight, we’re on our way.” Zyrok’s voice appeared on the RaidComm.

            “We caught a big fish this time.” Green chuckled.

Downtown Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Mirwais Nikka Hospital

April 20, 2001

1600 Local Time

            Dimitri listened to the RaidComm transmissions and looked at this watch.

            “The UNSC has found an entrance?” Dimitri looked at Timothy.

            “Looks that way.” Timothy nodded as he removed his headset.

            “Any word of Vladamir and his team?” Dimitri tapped Timothy on the shoulder.

            “No sir.” Timothy turned his head.

            “They must be watching or monitoring them.” Timothy guessed.

            “Hmm…no word?” Dimitri rubbed his chin.

        “No sir, not at all.” Timothy turned his head to look at Miller who was busily listening to communications on his headset.

            “No signs here, Dimitri.” Miller quickly replied.

            “Very well, I will dispatch another team to take a look.” Dimitri looked at a soldier standing beside him and waved him over.

            “Sir?” the soldier greeted.

            “Get Sergeant Sasha and his team prepped for Reygi. I want eyes down there to tell me what’s going on.” Dimitri commanded.

            “Understood.” the soldier saluted crisply and walked off.

            “Keep me posted gentlemen.” Dimitri spoke to the two marines and walked out of the room.

            “Will do sir.” Timothy answered and put on his headset.

*          *          *

            Vladamir crouched forward in the dark air shaft. He didn’t want to turn on his flashlight because he was afraid that he might expose his position. He knew the UNSC marines had found him in the shaft, but not the exact whereabouts. As Vladamir moved deeper into the shaft and the light from the sun faded in the background, he clicked on his flashlight. He looked at his arm and noticed a piece of his shirt sleeve ripped with a small gash. He looked at the blood oozing out of his left forearm and grabbed his water bottle from his utility belt. He drank a bit of water and then poured some water over his wound to cleanse it. Vladamir held the flashlight with his mouth as he pulled out a small roll of bandages from his backpack. After wrapping his wound, Vladamir looked at his radio. It appeared to be heavily scratched, but he decided to radio in for reinforcements.

            “Dimitri, this is Vladamir, can you hear me?” Vladamir spoke on the radio.

            The radio buzzed with static so Vladamir decided to head back to the opening to get a better reception. As Vladamir neared the air shaft opening, he clicked off his flashlight and held his radio in the air.

            “Come in Dimitri, can you hear me?” Vladamir spoke on the radio.

            The radio buzzed with static and Vladamir knew the radio he had was busted from the crash. As he studied the radio in his hand, a dark shadow momentarily blocked the sunlight. Vladamir looked up and saw a Pelican fly over the air shaft.

            “Shit…” Vladamir muttered.

            Vladamir knew he had to keep going down the shaft. Sooner or later, the UNSC would be crawling down and doing their exploration. Vladamir turned his head back into the darkness and turned on his flashlight. The shaft was humid and cold as Vladamir crawled slowly keeping his eyes open for ventilation openings. After a couple of meters, he reached a forked road. He panned his flashlight to his left and saw a very long corridor. He turned to the right and saw a turn. From Vladamir’s experience, a turn usually meant that the shaft was nearing an opening so he decided to head right. He continued to crawl down the shaft until he came across a vent opening. He peeked out of the opening and saw an illuminated hallway.

            “No one…” Vladamir thought.

            Vladamir slowly pried the opening with his kukri and stuck out his head. The hallways appeared to be vacant and clear of any hostiles. Vladamir dropped out of the vent opening and wielded his AK47 and looked around. The hallway was very clean and tidy as if nobody was home. Vladamir turned off his flashlight and clipped it to his belt. There was an eerie quietness that resonated from the hall. You could only hear Vladamir’s soft breathing and his gentle footsteps as he began to walk forward. Vladamir approached an elevator and looked at the sign. The sign read “B2” and Vladamir pressed the top button. As Vladamir waited for the elevator, he could hear footsteps echoing from the vent opening he dropped out of. Since the elevator looked like it was going to take a while, Vladamir looked around for the stairs. To his left was the stairwell and Vladamir quickly rushed inside. He looked down the stairs and noticed that there was no floor below him before he ran up. Vladamir ran up to the ground level and pushed the door open. The ground floor was the same as the floor he left, except there was a Secronom logo printed on the wall adjacent to the door. Vladamir panned his gun then walked to the front desk. He looked at the computer monitors and saw security cameras overlooking the buildings. He studied the footage and saw UNSC marines setting up a camp in the background.

            “Freeze!” a man shouted behind Vladamir as he cocked his gun at the back of his head.