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 11- A Near Escape

Arabian Sea, Coast of Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Perth

May 11, 2001

0900 Local Time

            Frederick ran out of the bridge and stopped to look at Blake. Blake looked at her with a face showing that he had accepted his fate. He saluted and went to the computers.

            “Where’s Hariprasad?” Frederick looked around.

            Dozens of bodies and debris littered the deck gave off a sight that made Frederick worry about her marines.

            “Should be in the medical bay…” Dau replied and watched as two missiles hit the tip of the ship.

            The vibration caused Dau’s marine to fall off the ship and into the unforgiving waters.

            “Ma’am we have to go now!” Dau shouted as a missile exploded in the sky.

            “We’re not leaving without Hariprasad. He’s got valuable information.” Frederick pointed below.

            “Fine, go to the Falcon first and meet up with Daniels.” Dau watched as the UNSC Perth fired a missile into the sky.

            “Alright, thanks!” Frederick thanked and ran towards the Falcon.

            Daniels was already in the cockpit and waving frantically at Frederick. A missile flew towards the Falcon and slammed into the rear of the ship. Frederick hopped inside the Falcon and grabbed one of the handrails.

            “Strap on!” Daniels shouted as he lifted the Falcon upwards.

            “Wait, we’re waiting for Hariprasad!” Frederick looked below.

            “LT, the choppers are heading for us. Get on the turret.” Daniels turned the Falcon sideways.

            One Mi-24 helicopter spun around and fired two missiles at the Falcon. Daniels attempted to dodge when suddenly two missiles shot into the sky from the ship and took out the Russian missiles.

            “Go Frederick. We got our back.” Blake spoke on the RaidComm.

            From the Falcon, Frederick could see the ship was heavily damaged and was slowly submerging into the sea. One autocannon was still functioning and firing at whatever it can while most of the marines were using the mounted M60 turrets and their guns.

            “Frederick, this is Dau. I’ve got Hariprasad on level three. We should be up soon. This whole floor is flooded.” Dau spoke on the RaidComm.

            One of the autocannon rounds struck one Mi-24 choppers and sent it spiraling in a ball of fire. This enraged the other chopper and it fired three missiles at UNSC Perth. Frederick watched helplessly as the three missiles hit the bridge causing a massive explosion severing the ship in half.

            “Blake!” Frederick cried out on the RaidComm.

            “Ma’am we have to go. It’s too late.” Daniels turned the Falcon and began to retreat inland.

            “Dau! Do you read, over?” Frederick watched as the majestic UNSC Perth slowly sank into the water.

            “They’re gone.” Daniels pushed the throttle forward.

            “Blake…the others…” Frederick mumbled as she saw the Mi-24 assault chopper circling the destroyed ship for survivors.

            “We’re not done yet.” Daniels called out as he looked at his radar.

            Frederick sighed as the Russian helicopter flew towards them in hot pursuit. It fired two missiles at the Falcon and Frederick attempted to gun them with her mounted turret.

            “Launching countermeasures.” Daniels pressed a button on his console.

            A couple of flares erupted from the aircraft and countered the missiles. Daniels turned the Falcon to face its threat and fired the twin autocannons mounted at the nose. The sound of the cannons firing echoed in the sky and created mini explosions in the air. The Mi-24 countered the Falcon attack with a hard offensive push by firing its armor piercing rounds.

            “Take cover.” Daniels quickly decreased the altitude to evade the torrent of bullets.

            Frederick rotated her turret and aimed towards the Mi-24 and squeezed the trigger. A steady continued fire from the turret was sufficient cover for Daniels to level the Falcon back into battle. Daniels turned the aircraft and fired its guns. One round struck the tail of the Mi-24 and sent pieces of debris into its armaments. Flames ignited and the Russians jumped out of the chopper as the helicopter exploded. One pilot was engulfed in flames while the other one opened up his parachute. Unfortunately, the chute was peppered with pieced of burning debris and the pilot began to freefall into the ground below.

            “Serves him right.” Daniels looked out his cockpit and saw the pilot splattered on the concrete sidewalk.

            “Turn around and look for survivors.” Frederick waved at the sea.

            “Fuel’s not enough ma’am. We didn’t have a chance to fuel her up. We’ll have to go back to Cobra Squad’s Camp to resupply.” Daniels pointed forward.

            “God damn it!” Frederick hit the seat beside her in frustration.

            From the distance, the UNSC ship was no longer visible and only grey smoke in the sky shrouded the clouds casting a shadow across the sea.

Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Cobra Squad’s Camp

May 11, 2001

1015 Local Time

            Sears rushed to the rooftop with Parker as he heard the sounds of an aircraft landing. As the Falcon landed, Frederick dashed out to greet the marines.

            “What happened?” Sears asked.

            “Shit happened.” Daniels got out of the cockpit.

            “Russians came in with their toys and blew everything up.” Frederick explained.

            “UNSC Perth.” Parker asked.

            “Sunk. Daniels, get the Falcon fuelled up. I want this bird to look for survivors.” Frederick waved.

            “How can we help LT?” Sears offered.

            “You keep us posted of air traffic. If they are coming back for round two, we need to be ready.” Frederick directed.

            “On it.” Sears rushed off.

            “Lieutenant?” Parker awaited her orders.

            “Get on the other turret just in case.” Frederick pointed at the Falcon.

            Parker nodded and quickly assisted Daniels in rolling fuel barrels. Frederick walked up to the M60 turret and looked at the magazine. A majority of the rounds were used in the firefight so Frederick decided to reload the turret with a fresh magazine. In a matter of minutes, the Falcon was all supplied and ready to fly.

            “Start her up.” Frederick jumped into her seat as Parker got into hers.

            Daniels turned on the ignition and activated the rotors. He pulled the Falcon off the roof and turned towards the sea.

            “Start by the docks.” Frederick pointed at some debris washed up on the shores.

            Daniels descended the aircraft and slowly hovered off the beach. Many bodies had washed up, but all of them were lifeless.

            “Circle the area where the ship sank.” Frederick waved her hand in a circular motion.

            “Yes ma’am.” Daniels pushed the throttle forward and continued hovering into the sea.

            A few bodies floated on the surface and some ship parts that weren’t dense. A raft was drifting beside a lifeless body and Frederick squinted her eyes. On the raft were two marines lying on the ground, but Frederick was unable to tell if they were conscious.

            “Get closer Daniels.” Frederick pointed downwards at the small raft.

            As the Falcon got closer to the raft, the wind from the rotors blew the raft away from them.

            “Parker, get the cables. I’m going down.” Frederick pulled a cable from the ceiling and clipped it to her belt.

            “Got it.” Parker got up from her seat and watched Frederick tug on her cable to test the firmness.

            With a quick smile, Frederick jumped out of the Falcon as Daniels lifted the Falcon up slowly and carefully. He looked at Frederick dangling below the aircraft and moved her towards the raft. As soon as Frederick grasped the sides of the raft, she pulled herself onto the raft and went to see the marines.

            “Dau! Hariprasad!” Frederick flipped the bodies over.

            The two marines were unconscious, but seemed to be breathing. For that, Frederick felt a bit of hope come back to her.

            “Parker, pull the cable up when I get a marine.” Frederick spoke on the RaidComm and quickly grabbed Hariprasad.

            “Got it LT.” Parker pressed a button on the ceiling and the cables began to pull.

            Once Frederick brought Hariprasad aboard the Falcon, she quickly descended down the cable to bring Dau up. Dau was a heavier marine than Hariprasad and Frederick was having difficulty. She decided to wake Dau up to make her workload easier.

            “Dau, can you hear me?” Frederick clapped her hands beside Dau’s ears.

            No response was given by Dau so Frederick assessed the environment. Dau had a few bruises and cuts, but nothing severe. She unclipped the cable from her belt and attached it to Dau’s flak jacket.

            “Pull him up.” Frederick ordered on the RaidComm.

            Parker nodded and slowly brought the cables up. Frederick watched as Dau swung back and forth in the air as he ascended.

            “Got him.” Parker grabbed Dau inside.

            Parker detached the cable and threw it back down to Frederick.

            “Come on, grab on.” Parker shouted as she buckled Dau to a seat.

            As soon as Frederick got on, the Falcon flew around the perimeter to look for other survivors.

            “Daniels, this is Sears. Our radar is picking up an anomaly a few kilometers south of your location. I suggest you head back in case it’s the Russians.” Sears spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Roger that.” Daniels replied and turned the Falcon homebound.

UNSCDF3 Chapter 10- Full Assault

Downtown Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan

British Embassy

May 11, 2001

0750 Local Time

            Zyrok woke up groggily and wiped his eyes. He got off the ground and looked at Sarah curled up next to the wall. It was still early for Sarah to wake up, so Zyrok decided to check his backpack’s contents. Food supplies were dwindling and Zyrok knew they had to keep searching. After half an hour, Sarah slowly opened her eyes and yawned.

            “Get a good sleep?” Zyrok asked.

            “Not really…ground was too hard.” Sarah pulled out her bag of potato chips from her pocket.

            Zyrok sat down beside her and removed the bottle of soda from his backpack.

            “This is the only one left so we have to share.” Zyrok handed Sarah the drink.

            “Here, have some.” Sarah handed her bag of chips.

            In a few minutes of sharing, the pair had finished their looted food from the day before and knew they had to continue searching to survive. Zyrok walked to the door and slowly unlocked it. He pulled out his kukri and gently pushed the door wide open. The halls were partially illuminated by the rising sun, but most corners remained in the dark.

            “Come on, let’s go.” Zyrok whispered.

            Sarah picked up her golf club and clutched it with both hands as Zyrok approached a locked room with an access panel. He reached into his pocket and swiped the looted ID card on the panel. A green light lit up and the sounds of the locks releasing could be heard. Zyrok opened the door and realized that it was not a room, but a corridor.

            “Watch my back.” Zyrok walked into the corridor with Sarah and the door clicked shut.

            “I remember this…” Sarah touched the walls.

            “What do you remember?” Zyrok stopped in his tracks to listen.

            “They were in and we were evacuated. We ran together, but something happened.” Sarah stared at the end of the corridor where it turned left and right.

            “What happened?” Zyrok looked at where Sarah was staring.

            “They didn’t follow. They told me to go or else we all wouldn’t make it.” Sarah pointed at the end of the corridor.

            “Who are they?” Zyrok walked towards the end of the corridor slowly.

            “My…parents.” Sarah felt her eyes water.

            “I’m sorry.” Zyrok quickly replied apologetically.

            “And I never saw them ever since…” Sarah sighed deeply.

            “Maybe they made it out alive.” Zyrok attempted to bring hope back into Sarah.

            “And they haven’t found me?” Sarah countered.

            Zyrok knew deep down that Sarah’s parents most likely did not survive the outbreak due to the fact that most people didn’t survive the initial pandemic and Zyrok was one of the lucky ones. A majority of Zyrok’s friends and family had perished, but he didn’t give up. His determination to find Sarah focused him and gave him the strength to face his fears. A couple of days before, he was looking for a purpose in life. Now he was taking care of a girl who he has never met and carried the name Sarah.

            “Afghanistan is a big place Sarah. Maybe they haven’t found you yet.” Zyrok reassured.

            Zyrok knelt down beside a corpse wearing body armor and flipped it over. A bullet hole was visible in the center of the forehead with parts of the flesh decayed over time. He removed the flak jacket and placed it onto himself. After strapping the body armor nice and snug to his chest, Zyrok pointed at the first open room that was missing its door.

            “Quiet…I see something.” Zyrok raised his SA80 and pointed his flashlight at a figure hanging from the ceiling.

            The flashlight revealed a zombie with a rope tied around its neck. It was still alive as it waved its arms at Zyrok attempting to eat the living.

            “Sarah, hand me the golf club.” Zyrok stuck out his hand.

            “Here.” Sarah presented the club.

            “Look away.” Zyrok held the club firmly with both hands.

            Sarah had a general idea of what Zyrok was about to do. She turned her head and heard the zombie growling. Zyrok swung the weapon at the zombie’s head twice with blunt force and saw pieces of its skull chip off. With one last hit, the club had cracked the skull in half and the zombie became lifeless.

            “Ok, you can look now.” Zyrok patted Sarah’s shoulders.

            Sarah spun around and looked around the room. A stool was flipped over which may indicate it was used for the person to hang themselves.

            “Here, hold on to this.” Zyrok handed the golf club back to Sarah.

            Sarah took the club with one hand and walked around the room. She opened a drawer and began to quickly search the contents. Again, she found nothing useful and sighed in frustration. Zyrok, on the other hand, seemed to have found a small stash of supplies. He uncovered two bottles of water and a large bag of potato chips.

            “You’re lucky.” Sarah exclaimed as she eyed the looted supplies.

            “Don’t worry, you find something sooner of later.” Zyrok smiled with optimism.

            Zyrok gave Sarah a bottle of water and the bag of chips. Then, he placed the other water bottle into his backpack.

            “Let’s go.” Zyrok walked to the door and glanced at the dead zombie hanging from the ceiling.

            Sarah picked up her backpack and slung it to her back and quickly exited out the room with Zyrok.

Arabian Sea, Coast of Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Perth

May 11, 2001

0755 Local Time

            Frederick woke up to the sound of alarms blaring and flashing red lights. Explosions could be heard from outside the room. She looked out the small window and saw explosions in the water.

           “Attention all marines, we are under attack. Repeat, we are under attack!” Stewart’s voice sounded on the speakers.

            Frederick rushed out of her quarters and quickly made her way to the bridge, she noticed the windows were shot out and a few bodies on the ground.     

            “Glad you’re still in one piece Lieutenant.” Blake rushed from a computer with blood dripping from his face.

            “What’s going on?” Frederick looked out the windows.

            “Two Mi-24 choppers attacking the ship.” Blake pointed to the right of the ship.

            “Russians?” Frederick looked as the choppers circled around.

            “I presume.” Blake ran to a computer and typed something.

            “Captain, missiles inbound!” Stewart shouted.

            “Flak rounds!” Blake pointed.

            The flak cannon turned and fired into the sky. Since there were two choppers, the number of missiles flying towards UNSC Perth increased. Although some missiles got taken out, a majority missed the flak rounds.

            “Launch countermeasures.” Blake ordered.

            “Launching!” Stewart hit the buttons.

            A couple of flares shot up into the sky and diverted a few missiles, but three missiles continued its course. The first one slammed into the tip of the ship and left a small crater while the second and third missiles impacted the flak cannon and blew it to oblivion. The ship shook sideways in the water as the shockwave from the explosions spread throughout the ship. Frederick watched as marines frantically attempted to put out the fire on the ship deck while a couple of marines were using the mounted M60 turrets in an attempt to take down the attack choppers.

            “Attention all marines, this is the Captain. Use whatever weapons we have to take down the helicopters!” Blake spoke on the speakers.

            Frederick watched as the twin GAU-19 guns turned and fired at the choppers. The Russians were smart and split their formation so that they were coming from both sides.

            “Autocannons!” Blake shouted at Stewart.

            “On it.” Stewart rushed to a console.

            Two cannons on each side of the ship turned and fired explosive rounds into the sky. The Russians retaliated by unleashing a barrage of missiles and a hail of armor piercing rounds.

            “Counter it with what we have Stewart.” Blake pushed the ship throttle forward.

            “Flares and missiles left. Firing everything.” Stewart reported.

            The ship’s defenses attempted to take out the threat, but it was greatly outnumbered. Two missiles slammed into the mid-section of the ship creating a massive hole and two more missiles hit the twin GAU-19 guns. UNSC Perth was up in flames and smoke after the Russian assault.

            “Hull integrity at forty percent. Engine rooms one and two are flooded.” Stewart reported.

            Suddenly, Dau and another marine ran into the bridge.

            “Captain, major casualties on all levels sir.” Dau reported.

            “Dau, take your marines and Frederick’s team off this ship.” Blake assessed the situation.

            “Sir?” Dau looked at a Blake and a frozen Frederick.

            “Get to the Falcon now!” Blake shouted as the Mi-24 choppers fired their missiles again.

UNSCDF3 Chapter 4- Yellow Smoke

Arabian Sea, Coast of Karachi, Pakistan

UNSC Perth

May 10, 2001

0845 Local Time

            “Alright Blake, we’ll be back in a couple of hours.” Frederick waved at Blake as she climbed into the boat with her marines.

            “All set?” Sears looked at the marines seated in the boat.

            “Yeah, we’re ready.” Johnson spoke for himself and Parker.

            “Let’s go before the sun really starts to burn.” Hariprasad pointed at the sun.

            Sears pushed the throttle forward and sped the boat away from UNSC Perth. The boat sailed across the choppy waters and came across a wooden dock. Two zombies stood motionless on the dock looking for meat to eat. Johnson aimed his SA80 at one zombie whilst Parker fired her MSG-9 rifle at the other zombie. In a split second, the two zombies dropped to the ground dead unaware of what hit their heads.

            “Move out.” Frederick ordered as she clutched her SA80 and hopped onto the dock.

            Hariprasad wielded his M16 and jogged up beside Frederick.

            “Where can we set up a base?” Hariprasad pointed at some buildings nearby.

            “We need to find a place where there’s cover, but also room for a Falcon.” Frederick pointed at the Falcon on UNSC Perth.

            “Leave that to us ma’am.” Parker interrupted with a smile.

            “Lieutenant, we can do it.” Johnson pulled out a set of binoculars from his backpack.

            “I’m coming with you guys.” Frederick cocked her SA80.

            “What about us ma’am?” Sears asked.

            “You and Hariprasad can watch the boat.” Frederick replied swiftly.

            “Alright.” Sears walked back to the boat and sat down.

            “Move out Cobra!” Frederick commanded.

            The three marines hurried into the city keeping alert of their surroundings. Johnson took point while Parker watched the back. After a few blocks, the group saw a mob of zombies roaming around in the intersection.

            “Hold up.” Johnson halted to a stop.

            “Should we go around?” Frederick asked.

            “I don’t know, but this place looks like a good base.” Johnson pointed at a building behind the mob of zombies.

            “It sure does…little windows and a roof big enough to land a Falcon.” Parker eyed the structure.

            “Behind the mob of zombies…” Frederick reminded.

            “We can take them out. I count roughly…twenty…thirty of them?” Johnson estimated.

            “Shall I call Fire Team Kilo to assist?” Frederick suggested.

            “That won’t be necessary Lieutenant.” Parker adjusted her scope on the MSG-9.

            “You ready Parker? I’ll beat you to kills this time.” Johnson laughed.

            “Try me.” Parker grinned and aimed her rifle.

            “What about me?” Frederick joked.

            “We’ll see.” Johnson fired a round into a zombie’s head.

            The moment the first shot was fired, the mob of zombies turned to face their threat. As they slowly paced themselves to the marines, Parker was lining up headshots one after the other.

            “This is too easy.” Parker bragged as she quickly reloaded her gun.

            “Watch this.” Johnson ran towards the mob and fired two rounds at the closest zombie.

            Johnson bashed the butt of his gun at one zombie and fired; killing two zombies in one fluid motion. Frederick fired a couple of shots and watched the two marines pick off the zombies with deadly precision and skill. Shots echoed the vacant streets as the marines continued their shootout. After a few minutes, the silence resumed and tons of corpses littered the streets.

            “Wow…” Frederick’s face hinted slight amusement.

            “Welcome to Cobra.” Johnson kicked a dead zombie with his boot.

            “Spec Ops at its finest.” Parker slapped on a new magazine into her gun.

            “Indeed.” Frederick nodded quietly.

            Frederick waved forward as she led the team to the building. She bashed the door open with her shoulder and quickly clicked on the flashlight on her gun. A zombie sprung from the darkness and charged at her. Showing her preparedness, Frederick shoved the barrel of the gun into the zombie’s mouth and fired once. Immediately after the shot echoed into the darkness, vicious growls were heard nearby.

            “Light them up.” Frederick ordered as her flashlight illuminated a group of hungry meat-eaters.

            Johnson ran to a table and steadied his gun on the table to shoot whilst Parker went to prone position and began to snipe. On the other side, Frederick was firing burst of three in an attempt to hold the line while using the muzzle flashes from her gun to brighten their surroundings.

            “Reloading!” Frederick emptied out her spent clip.

            “Covering!” Johnson responded by increasing his rate of fire.

            “Take them out marines.” Frederick inserted a fresh clip into her gun and quickly pummeled a zombie with the stock of her gun.

            Parker felt the lack of mobility from her MSG-9 and immediately switched to her USP sidearm. She stood up and fired the pistol with superb accuracy as she danced around the zombies. Just when a zombie was about to get her when the pistol ran out of ammo, she quickly ducked and tripped the zombie. Pulling her combat knife from her belt with one hand and bashing the pistol on the downed zombie, Parker thrusted the sharp blade into the zombie’s forehead putting a stop to the zombie’s flesh-eating career.

            “More zombies…three o’clock.” Frederick warned Johnson.

            Johnson turned his head right and saw a few zombies headed his way. He slung the SA80 to his back and pulled out his sidearm. He charged with his USP firing as he met face to face with his threat. Upon meeting the last zombie in his path, he slid on the floor and tripped the zombie. The zombie growled and slashed its arms wildly, but it was not fast enough to get a hold of the agile marine. Johnson hopped onto its back and grabbed its head with both hands and twisted sideways. A sickening crack was heard and Johnson let go of the zombie. Johnson turned to realize that all the threats had been neutralized and quickly ran towards Frederick.

            “All clear.” Johnson breathed deeply.

            “Huh…I didn’t even break a sweat.” Parker joked.

            “Well Parker…you used more rounds.” Johnson pointed at the spent shells scattered around the floor.

            “Marines…” Frederick attempted to bring the team back to focus.

            “Sorry.” Parker apologized quickly.

            “The two of you can clear the upper floors one by one. I’ll call Kilo here.” Frederick pointed at the stairwell.

            Johnson nodded and waved at Parker to follow him. Frederick tugged her flak jacket and sat down comfortably on a chair.

            “Fire Team Kilo, this is Frederick. Do you copy?” Frederick spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Loud and clear LT. What can we do for you?” Hariprasad replied back.

            “Come to our location. I’ll pop yellow smoke.” Frederick walked out of the building and unclipped a smoke grenade from her belt.

            “Alright ma’am.” Hariprasad responded.

            Frederick pulled the pin and gently rolled the smoke grenade across the street. A small bang was heard and yellow smoke began to form.

            “Visual contact with smoke.” Sears spoke on the RaidComm.

            “UNSC Perth, this is Frederick. Area is clear. Repeat, area is a go. Send in the Falcon.” Frederick looked at the sky and spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Roger, Falcon on station and ready to go.” Daniels replied with enthusiasm.

            “Hit it then.” Frederick commanded.

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.