Watch the World Burn

  “They should let us go. We’ll have the option to stay on the base if we want, but we’ll have the chance to leave. Or some of us may be forced to stay here, maybe even worse, but I doubt that will happen. All that’s left is to wait.” I said with a sigh.

  I really didn’t want to think about what might happen if any of us were found guilty.

  Chapter 20

  One by one, we were slowly taken to the Colonel to be questioned and although we were all nervous, none of us came back any worse for wear.

  Life was actually better behind those bars than it was out in the world for the two days we were there. At least inside the base, we each had our own bed and enough space to stretch out and exercise. We were given hot meals, a real toilet, and a short shower every morning. Best of all, none of us had to worry about guard duty. We were free to sleep the whole night without eminent threat of zombie attack, that was, if we could sleep that long.

  On the second night, I had woken from a nightmare where I had become a zombie and attacked my friends. I was so tired, my eyes would close for a moment or two before the image flashed against my eyelids, forcing them back open. There wasn’t anything to do except maybe pace around a bit. Exercising wouldn’t help, since all I wanted was to go back to sleep but without the dreams. And then I remembered something. When I was little, I remember my dad would sometimes wake up screaming at odd hours, the bed sheets twisted around him. At the time, I was too young to understand, but he had told me it was because of what he had seen and done while he was serving. He didn’t regret it, and loved the thought of protecting his family and our country, but what happened in the course of his deployment would haunt him forever.

  I was just like him.

  On the morning of the third day, Leon was pulled into questioning again. He was gone for such a long time, we were worried about what they might be doing to him. If they tortured people for stealing a little food, what would they do to someone who struck military personnel?

  I don’t know how long it took for him to be returned, but when he was, the guard slid into view in front of me just as Leon’s cell door was slammed shut.

  “Stick your hands through the slot.” He ordered.

  I complied, and he slapped a pair of handcuffs on me, making them tight.

  “Ouch,” I said, wincing. “Would you mind loosening them a little?”

  “No talking! Now stand back, up against the wall.” He growled.

  I backed up, wondering what was with his attitude.

  As the cell door clanked open, the guard raised his gun, keeping me square in his sights.

  “Now come out slowly.” He said, sidestepping away from me as I came out.

  He kept the gun trained on me as we walked to the small room I had met Colonel Colvin in.

  Once, I opened my mouth to ask him what wrong but thought better of it.

  “Miss Dagen,” The Colonel began when I was once again secured to the table, across from him. “Have you been completely honest with me?”

  “Yes,” I said, confused.

  “Do you swear to that?”

  “Yes. What is this about?” I asked.

  “This man you claim to have met only when you were taken into custody in the woods, Leon, now claims that you and your friends met him hours before the incident, and that you four helped him to steal large quantities of food from service members.” He said, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “What?” I said, my voice going up an octave. “That is a lie!”

  “Are you certain of this?” He asked.

  “Hell yes, I am. The first time I have ever laid eyes on that man was when he was on his knees at gunpoint with your men.”

  “Then you do you think he says differently?”

  “I don’t know! Maybe he thinks he won’t get in as much trouble if he points the finger at someone else.” I said.

  I was starting to sweat a bit, despite the cool room.

  “I see,” He said, writing something in his notes.

  “Please, you have to believe me, we had nothing to do with him stealing anything.” I said.

  He stared at me, and I stared back, my eyes soft, pleading.

  “I will be talking to your friends.” He finally said, and then turned to the guard to say “You may return her and bring me Dean Russell. Do not allow the prisoners to communicate with one another.”

  Back in the brig, as I passed Leon’s cell, I glared at him openly. He smiled.

  “Eyes on the floor.” The guard ordered.

  Once I had been locked inside my cell again, he undid the handcuffs and quickly put them on Dean. Just as he left, another guard entered, submachine gun in hand.

  The new guard paced the length of the cell block, glancing at me with every pass. I could only guess he was doing the same to the others. None of us dared to make a sound.

  Each of my friends went through another round of questioning, throwing me sidelong glances at they passed me on their return. That evening, the lights flickered and went out.

  Chapter 21

  The guard pivoted around, the rubber of his boot scraping on the cement floor. It was so dark I couldn’t tell where he was or what he was doing. His clothes rustled and something clicked, like a button being depressed.

  “Meyer to Command, come in, over.” He said.

  The radio crackled. “Go for command, over.”

  “The lights just went out in the brig, over.”

  “The lights have gone out all over the base. We have techs looking for the problem now, over.”

  “10-4. What do you want me to do in the mean time? Over.”

  “You’re watching the prisoners? Over.”

  “Affirmative, over.”

  “Then stay put. We should have everything up and running in no time, over.”

  “10-4, over and out.” Meyer said, apparently sliding his radio back into its pouch.

  He mumbled something and resumed his pacing.

  The lights flickered back on, and I could hear Meyer sigh with relief. The lights flashed again, threatening to go out once more, the electric hum they made reminded me of a bug zapper. They gave one final shudder, then turned off with a pop.

  “Meyer to command, over.” Meyer said, pulling his radio back out.

  The radio crackled in response.

  “Meyer to command, come in command. Can you read me? Over.” He said again, alarm creeping into his voice

  There was nothing but static on the other end.

  “This is Meyer in the brig. Does anyone read me?”

  No one answered. I could hear him shuffling forward, his hands reaching out to either side as he walked to the door and fumbled with something.

  “It has power, and it’s on the right channel. I don’t get it.” He whispered. “This is Private Mayer. Does anyone copy?” He said a little more loudly. “What the…”

  He stopped, and I heard it too, faintly. Someone was running down the hall toward us. The door crashed open and someone stepped inside, out of breath.

  “Meyer, we’re under attack. All coms are down and the power has been wiped out.” The new person said, huffing.

  “What am I supposed to do?” Meyer asked.

  “Stay here. Guard the prisoners. I have to help secure this building.”

  “Who’s attacking?”

  “It’s the infected. There are hundreds of them.”

  “Oh my God.” Meyer said quietly.

  After a moment, “Is everything secure down here?” The new guy asked.

  “Affirmative.” Meyer said, his voice snapping back to a professional tone. “Go, finish securing the building. I’ll be fine here.”

  Without another word, the other soldier turned and ran back down the hall in the opposite direction.

  The room was so quiet you could have heard a mouse twitch its nose, and then it started. The rat-tat-tat of gunfire echoed down the hallways and seeped through the walls from outside. The ground shook and the cell doors slid open. br />
  “Stay where you are!” Mayer said, his voice shaking. Poor guy was afraid.

  “We can help you.” I said.

  “I said stay where you are!”

  “I haven’t moved. Has anyone else?” I asked.

  “No. But I don’t want any of you trying to get out. I have night vision goggles; I’ll be able to see you.” He said.

  “None of us are trying to escape. At least, no one in my group is trying to escape. We can help you.”

  “How?”

  “Sully and I can shoot.” I said.

  “My brother and I can help secure doors. We aren’t that great with guns, but we know how to use them, and other weapons.” Billie said.

  “Who’s to say you won’t turn on us?” Meyer asked.

  “Why would we turn on you? You guys are our only chance of survival right now, and you could use all the help you could get.” Sully said.

  “I notice Leon hasn’t offered to help.” Dean chimed in.

  “I’m not going out there! I have a kid to look out for.” Leon said.

  “Like you did when you were off stealing food?” I asked dryly.

  “I didn’t ask you to come looking for me.” He spat.

  “You’re right. You didn’t. Your daughter did. She was out there at night with a gun, looking for her thieving, lying, backstabbing father.” I snapped.

  “Enough!” Meyer shouted. “Can you really help us?”

  “Yes. Give me a gun, and I will help kill the zombies.” I said.

  “I’ll help kill the zombies too.” Sully said.

  “We’ll do whatever you tell us to,” Dean and Billie said together.

  He paused for a moment, letting the sounds of rapid gunfire swell around us again, then said “Alright. The four of you, come out slowly.”

  “What about me? Are you just going to leave me here?” Leon asked.

  Meyer ignored him. “Little girl?” He said. “Come on out. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to put you in a cell with your father.”

  Small feet pattered quickly out of a cell to our left. I could hear Meyer directing her in the general direction of Leon’s cell, then the door slid shut.

  “It’s not locked; you are free to help us. But if you take anything, or do anything to hinder us, you will be given no quarter.” He said.

  “Daddy!” Camilla squeaked.

  “I’m here.” Leon whispered.

  “Let’s go. We have no time to lose.” Meyer said.

  “One problem,” Billie said. “We can’t see.”

  “Oh, right!” Meyer said, and started searching for something. “Watch your eyes.”

  Something snapped and a green glow illuminated the room. He had activated a handful of glow sticks, handing one to each of us. A pair of night vision goggles sat on top of his head, the strap of his gun slung around his shoulder, the gun itself hung down his side.

  “Are you ready?” He asked.

  Chapter 22

  The very walls rumbled as we ran forward, the sounds of gunfire growing louder the closer we came to the door leading outside. It was like we were about to step into a warzone.

  Outside, in the waning sunlight, the air was thick with gunpowder and decay. Men and women in uniform were everywhere, running around with weapons in hand, loading tanks and Humvees, racing to the gates to fire on the encroaching zombie herd. Officers were shouting orders to their subordinates, enlisted men and women scrambled to comply. Meyer dashed to an adjacent building, my friends and I behind him every step of the way. We entered through a door that was propped open with a heavy bag and even in the chaos, I grinned. We were in the armory.

  Guns, knives, and rocket launchers lined the walls, protected by steel cages. Each cage had its own set of drawers beneath it, filled with cases upon cases of ammunition. Some drawers lay open or ripped out, the contents completely missing, or else most had been taken and the rest spilled on the floor. Half of the rifles and shotguns were missing, their individual holders sat empty and waiting. Meyer unlocked a cage with two high powered rifles, and handed them to me and Sully, quickly pulling out a few boxes of ammo each. He handed each of us knives longer than my forearm.

  “You two,” He said, looking to me and Sully. “Get down to one of the gates. Start putting the infected down.” Turning to the twins he said “You two come with me.”

  We ran off to join the fight, Sully and I stopping at the top of a hill overlooking a swamped gate, the twins and Meyer running in the opposite direction.

  “What are you two doing?” Someone growled behind me.

  I turned and saw Wilkins, staring at the guns in our hands, livid.

  “We’re helping you guys.” I said.

  “Who the hell gave you those?” He asked.

  I ignored him and turned back to the zombies how pressing hard against the gate, their arms reaching through the gaps, and fired a single shot. One zombies’ head jerked back and it fell to the ground, knocking over the zombie behind it.

  “Do you really want to argue right now?” I asked Wilkins.

  He didn’t say anything. I turned my head, staring at him, waiting for an answer.

  Sully took a shot, the bullet blasting out the back of the head of one zombie, and entering another, knocking them both to the ground.

  Wilkins gaped for a moment then said “Carry on,” before joining a group of soldiers running to a Jeep.

  We fired shot after shot, my ears ringing from the noise, picking them off one, sometimes two, at a time. By the time we were done; all of our ammo spent, the stack of corpses pressed against the gate was ten deep. We paused for a moment, trying to figure out where we were needed most, when the sound of protesting metal sliced through the air. Heavy fire rang out from the south gate, stopping almost as quickly as it started, as screams rose above the din. The zombies had broken through.

  Sully and I raced to the armory, yanking open the drawers Meyer had pick up ammo from, trying to find even just one box. Each drawer was empty.

  “Fuck,” Sully said. “What the hell are we going to do? We don’t have keys to get new guns.”

  “I know, I know!” I said, thinking hard.

  A Humvee rumbled past, guns blazing. The volley was reaching a crescendo, a nearly nonstop wave of bullets crashing down on the encroaching enemy, and we were wasting time standing around, doing nothing but thinking.

  “They’re down! They’re down! I repeat, our men are down!Destroy them all! There is no chance of their survival. Destroy the infected!” Someone screamed.

  My head snapped up just as a tank launched an explosive shell, shaking the ground. I tipped sideways, losing my balance and grabbed onto a cabinet to keep myself standing. Metal clinked above me. I looked up and saw the answer to any zombies left standing after the blast.

  “Don’t tell me,” Sully said.

  “Rocket Launcher,” I said hurriedly, grabbing onto it with both hands.

  I struggled to get the chunk of metal out of the hooks holding it up, Sully finally reaching to help me.

  “Damn, this is heavy.” He said.

  “I know,” I said with a grunt.

  “Think you can handle it?”

  “I hope so. Help me load it.” I said, setting my end on the ground.

  It was nearly as tall as I was, making loading it a pain in the ass.

  “So this slides in here like that, right?” Sully said, slipping the end of a rocket into the end of the launcher.

  “That’s what the diagram says.” I said.

  “Oh God, they’re focusing on that one gate now. They’re going to breach the inner perimeter fast!” A voice said, crackling through a radio on a passing soldier.

  “Alright, let’s carry this bad boy outside.” I said, tipping the business end into my arms.

  I backed out the door, constantly craning my neck to see in all directions, trying not to be ran over or hit by possible friendly fire. The fairly short walk seemed to take an eternity with the we
ight in our hands, and the barrage of blasts coming from all manner of guns around us.

  “Are you sure you know how to use it?” Sully asked.

  “Point and shoot.” I said. “Now help me get it balanced on my shoulder.”

  I turned carefully, keeping the cool metal against my shoulder while Sully slid it forward.

  “Can you handle it?” He asked.

  “Yeah, it’s a hell of a lot easier to control this way.” I said.

  Using the crosshairs poking out near eyelevel, I aimed the behemoth at the wall of living dead, taking a steadying breath.

  “Don’t stand behind me.” I warned.

  “I’m at your left.” Sully said.

  “Good.” I said, and pulled the trigger.

  Chapter 23

  The rocket flew forward, barreling through the air. The poor dead bastards didn’t know what hit them. As the rocket collided, an explosion of flames and flesh filled the air. Hundreds of zombies fell to pieces, body parts and whole bodies caught fire, while those closest to the center of the blast disintegrated.

  “Yes,” I hissed.

  Half of the herd was now completely dead.

  A tank closer to the fray fired a shell from its cannon, shattering the remaining zombies, sending chunks of dead flesh and asphalt raining down on us.

  Ducking away from a hunk of thick hot asphalt, I dropped the rocket launcher, pushing Sully with me under an eave.

  “Nice one.” He said.

  “Yeah, it was, wasn’t it?” I said, smiling.

  “Shall we?”

  “Shall we what?”

  “Go find Dean and Billie.”

  “Crap. Yes, we need to find them ASAP. If they got themselves killed,” I said.

  “You’ll kill them?” Sully joked.

  “It’s not a bad plan.” I said.

  We started off in the direction we had seen the twins run, wondering where the hell they went.

  “Hey, are all the zombies taken care of?” I asked a passing soldier. It turned out to be Wilkins.

  “I think all of the infected have been cleared out. You may want to help your friends check, though.” He said.

  “You know where they are?” Sully asked him.

  “Yeah, they were called down with Meyer to help cleanup that mess down by the south gate.” He said.