Author: Derek

Washington DC Beltway, 27 July 2010, 1245 Hours Local: Countdown: 1 Year, 3 months, 5 days

Mateo Cortez felt something hot and hard pushing on his back. It took a few moments for him to realize he was lying on the asphalt. Why was he on the ground? Oh yeah, that entire trailer went up like a baby nuke. Grunting with effort, Mateo managed to roll over. He couldn’t see any of his team. Come to think of it, the road around him didn’t look like the overpass. He cricked his neck around. Sweet Savior, he was maybe three hundred feet from the overpass. What remained of the overpass, at any rate. Dear God, how had he survived that explosion?

"Finally, you’re awake," said a familiar voice. Mateo looked up and met Ted’s eyes. The minion was sitting on the remains of a sedan. His ninja suit was riddled with bloody rips. Ted wasn’t even wearing his mask. Mateo’s hand traveled down his side to his sidearm. It wasn’t there.

"If you’re looking for this, I’ll give it back to you in a bit," Ted said, holding up Mateo’s Sig. "I really wanted to kill you. I really wanted to kill your team. But no, Mikhail said you have to be alive. So, instead of just stepping away when you blew up my truck, I actually had to save all of your hides." Ted slid off the wreckage and stood over Mateo.

"You know, killing Kenn and your wife and wiping out your little base on that island was supposed to be messages, but you and your team are just too thick in the head to understand," Ted said. "Let me explain it all to you. You are not going to win. You are not going to stop the Truth. This is prophecy. If you keep trying to stop us, we are going to keep doing horrific things to the people you love. So do us all a favor, quit." Ted actually sounded compassionate. Mateo grumbled a sentence.

"What did you say?" Ted taunted, bending down to place his ear next to Mateo’s head. Mateo let the adrenaline take over. The blade flashed in the noontime sun a brief instant before Mateo planted it in Ted’s eye socket. The minion let out a horrific scream as blood splattered across Mateo. Both of Ted’s hands flew to his face as he gripped the slippery handle of the blade. The Zombie Strike field commander slowly stood up.

"I said I’m going to stab you in the face," Mateo said, gritting the words out in pain. He took two slow steps and picked up his pistol. Mateo worked the slide, feeling the bullet slide into the chamber. Pain and stiffness made bringing the pistol up a slow and arduous effort. Fortunately, Ted was preoccupied with trying to get the knife out of his head. Mateo had all the time in the world. The double-tap scattered Ted’s brains across the highway.

Before the body even started to fall, a wave of white energy erupted from Ted. The tidal wave of energy passed through Mateo like a ghost and continued speeding out in a circle. Mateo felt like he had been released from manacles. All of his pain and fatigue dropped away. Mateo felt better than he had in months. Even old injuries long since ignored were healed. As Mateo looked around him, he could see his team members standing up from where they landed. From their exclamations and movements, they too had felt the healing energy. Mateo waved them over. They still needed to get to his daughters. Mateo yanked his knife out of Ted’s lifeless corpse. He did a quick search. The Rod of Fiore was gone. Mateo kept Ted’s wallet and some bits and pieces that looked like they would be interesting to the intel folks. Two engines started. They sounded surprisingly loud against the quiet of the abandoned highway. A Mercedes sedan and a large Ford SUV roared up next to Mateo.

"Where to, boss?" The Steve asked from the SUV’s driver’s seat.

"Washington Hospital Center. And floor it."

Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC, 27 July 2010, 1230 Hours Local: Countdown: 1 Year, 3 months, 5 days

Jess Montgomery stared at Collin for just an instant. Then, she snapped the pistol up. Collin almost looked annoyed as he darted to the side. One strong hand gripped her wrist while the other plucked the pistol from her hand. Jess twisted and jabbed with her left. Collin dodged the punch easily, but he was clearly surprised by the move. He shouldn’t have been. This man had been one of Jess’s teachers for the better part of a year. Collin tucked the pistol in the small of his back before dropping into a loose fighting stance. At least he took her somewhat seriously. Jess fell into a stance Collin drilled into her. His eyebrow crooked upward. She just needed to hold his attention for just a bit longer. Collin realized an instant to late that Jess was just the bait.

Billy pounced on Collin. The spirit wolf was back to his normal size, but that was still huge. Almost three hundred pounds of wolf slammed into Collin. Billy and Collin slid nearly twenty feet across the tile floor before stopping. Collin punched Billy in the side, but the pup didn’t move. Billy just growled.

"Let him up," said a commanding voice. Kenn Blanchard, dressed in some borrowed scrubs limped into hallway. Jess beamed when she saw the Zombie Strike commander. She dashed over to him. He grunted in pain as she enveloped him in a fierce hug.

"Easy sweetie, I’m not that healed up," Kenn grunted. Jess chuckled and let go. She motioned to the spirit pup. Billy backed off of Collin. The former SAS commando leapt to his feet. With his head hung, Collin slinked up to stand in front of Kenn. He never saw the right cross. The punch landed with a meaty thwack. Collin staggered back before falling to the floor. Kenn took a step, but an FBI special agent slid in front of him.

"Ease away Mr. Blanchard," Special Agent Tredegar said. The FBI agent looked uncomfortable in the tactical rig. "Mr. DuBois was not the one who shot you." Kenn and Jess paused in surprise.

"We also know about the events surrounding the death of Nigel Brown," Tredegar said. Kenn’s face fell into a sorrowful look. Jess could tell there was something going on that she wasn’t in on.

"What’s going on?" Jess asked of the three men.

"Yes, please, tell us what is going on." Mateo’s voice boomed through the hallway. Jess saw the glint of anger in her foster father’s eyes as he walked in. Behind him, the other members of Zombie Strike waited with neutral faces.

"Collin came to me a couple of weeks ago," Kenn admitted, his voice husky, "He told me that he was being blackmailed into killing me. We figured it would be a good chance to get a mole into their operation. We had it all planned out, but then Nigel stepped in front of the bullet."

"And you didn’t tell me because?" Mateo demanded.

"Neither of us thought you’d be able to pull it off," Collin said, "Matty, you’re a good leader, but you can’t lie to save your life. We needed to sell it. We weren’t sure what kind of spies Giant and his people have."

"Wait, if Collin didn’t shoot Mercedes, then who did?" Jess asked.

"The best evidence supports either Ted or another member of the Truth," Tredegar answered, "Apparently, they didn’t trust Mr. Dubois to finish the job." Mateo stormed back out of the hospital. Jess chased after her foster father. There was an uncomfortable silence as the members of Zombie Strike stood hard-faced at Collin. Slim was the first to speak.

"You bloody piker," he said, "You blinded us and disarmed us right when ten thousand of the undead attacked." Collin’s eyes widened at the number. "You may have left us some supplies and some intel, but we lost people during that assault. People you knew." Collin didn’t flinch. He just stood there as Slim’s words lashed at him. "What, no pretty excuse to spring yourself?"

"I was told what to do by one of Giant’s minions and when to do it," Collin said, "I managed to guess the rest, but I had no idea they would use that many zombies against Skull Island. I don’t even know how they could have gotten that many zombies on the island." Collin shook his head. "What do you want from me, Slim?"

"Vengeance," Slim said with an air of finality.

"You’ll get it," Mateo said, rejoining the team. Jess followed behind him. She was trying her best to hide the tears that stained her cheeks and reddened her eyes. Mateo must have told her about Maria.

"The minion we fought today told me that all of this was a warning to us to stay away from them," Mateo said to the gathered group, "We’ve been fighting this Truth group for nearly a year now. We’ve lost more than we’ve won, but they’ve still gone to great lengths to deal with us. I am tired of playing catch-up to these people. It’s time to make them dance to our tune."

"Sounds good Cortez, but exactly how do you plan on doing this?" Chief Warrant Officer Stahl asked.

"They had to launch all of this from somewhere," Mateo said, "We have the resources of the FBI and M&W at our disposal. We’re going to find them. Then, we’re going on the offensive."

Zombie Strike Part 6 Chapter 57

Washington DC Beltway, 27 July 2010, 1200 Hours Local: Countdown: 1 Year, 3 months, 5 days

Mateo Cortez ducked as a beam of fire shot overhead. For a second, he could feel his entire body burn. For that eternal instant, Mateo could only concentrate on breathing and holding onto his weapon. The air mercifully returned to normal, and Mateo only felt the echo of the pain. Adrenaline was truly a wonderful thing. Now, if they could just deal with the minion and get off this overpass. Mateo and his Zombie Strike team members were up and firing the moment the beam ceased. Jim, Slim, and Quentin were busy on zombie clearing. Mateo focused on Ted. The minion was standing on top of a semi. Mateo fired another useless burst at him. The bullets smacked harmlessly into Ted’s invisible shield, melted, and dropped onto the trailer. The globs of melted lead and copper sounded like loose hail as they struck the metal roof of the trailer.

Ted paced back and forth. After the first five minutes of the ambush, Ted seemed almost bored with tossing blasts of fire energy. Mateo needed to figure out a way to end this. His team – including the small group of soldiers they picked up – needed to get back to the Washington Hospital Center. Jess, his foster daughter, was there to guard Zombie Strike’s leader, Kenn Blanchard and Mateo’s other daughter. Four calls all resulted in a busy signal. Jess knew to keep the line clear during an operation, which meant something bad was happening. Mateo didn’t even want to contemplate what might be happening at the moment. Slim crawled up next to Mateo. The tall Brit was paler than normal and his brown eyes were bloodshot. From what The Steve said, Slim did very well in the fighting on Skull Island. Slim rose from behind the car they were using as cover. He fired twice before ducking back down.

"Mr. Cortez, approximately how much ammunition do you have available?" Slim asked in his odd, formal tone.

"About another four mags," Mateo answered, "Why?"

"I believe I may have deciphered a way off the bridge, sir," Slim answered, "With your leave, sir, I need to confer with Chief Stahl." Mateo nodded. Slim darted between the abandoned cars to where the Army soldiers were covering Zombie Strike’s rear and flanks. Slim traded a few words with the chief warrant officer before dashing back to Mateo.

"Okay, what’s the plan?" asked Mateo as another red beam of painful heat lanced over the team.

"If the team can keep the minion’s attention for a few seconds through concentrated weapons fire, then I can lob this under his perch and blow it up," Slim said, brandishing a grenade. "Even if the blast doesn’t kill the minion directly, it should disrupt him long enough for us to wound or kill him on our own."

"Not bad, Slim," Mateo said, a predatory smile crossing his face, "Are you sure you can get that grenade under the trailer?"

"Mr. Cortez, I am an excellent cricket player," Slim said, "It should be a trifle of a thing." Slim’s smile matched Mateo’s own.

"Okay folks, here’s how we’re going to play this," Mateo said, "Chief, find us a couple of cars and load up. Quentin, you and Jim are going to unload full magazines at Ted. As soon as you’re empty, fall back to the chief. I’ll cover Slim as he tosses the grenade. As soon as Ted is down, we get back to the hospital."

"My troops and I can’t leave if there are any undead," Chief Stahl said, "We’ll finish up here and meet you up at the hospital." Mateo grimaced, but agreed. He hated the idea of leaving shooters behind, but he hated the idea of leaving an outbreak to spread even more.

"Jim and Quentin, GO!" Mateo yelled. The two zombie hunters sprang up and emptied their magazines at Ted. The minion was surprised by the sudden hail of concentrated gunfire, but unconcerned. He posed dramatically as the bullets slapped against his shield. Mateo took over as his teammates’ weapons went dry. The M4 tore through the thirty round magazine only a few seconds after Mateo squeezed the trigger. It was all the time Slim needed. Mateo saw the matte-black metal ball sail through the air, bounce once off the asphalt and roll under the trailer. Mateo smiled as he saw the explosion of the grenade. Then Mateo’s world went white as the entire trailer exploded.

Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC, 27 July 2010, 1200 Hours Local: Countdown: 1 Year, 3 months, 5 days

Jess Montgomery picked herself up off the tiled floor. She still felt a bit dizzy and fuzzy, but she needed to move. Billy was still alive. The bond between her and the spirit wolf pup was still strong in her mind. She could feel Billy’s protective fury. Jess took a few steps towards the front of the emergency room. Medical equipment was strewn over the floor. Most of it had been torn off the walls by the same explosion that tossed her halfway across the emergency room. She picked her way through the debris. Jess still had a magazine left in her Glock. Billy needed her, and nothing was going to stop her from helping the pup.

As she crept around the admission island, Jess could see the zombie horde that initially attacked the hospital. They were standing in the huge entranceway. Zombies avoided gollums. If they weren’t moving, it was because the gollum was still in the front of the emergency room. As Jess rounded the desk, she spied the gollum facing off against Billy. Jess blinked as she saw her pup. The animal was normally the size of a large German Shepard. Billy was now the size of a pony, easily four feet at the shoulder. He was still glowing with an angry white light. The two were frozen in place.

The gollum attacked. The obsidian axe whistled through the air. Billy leapt away from the blow and then dashed in with his own attack. The gollum jumped straight up to avoid Billy’s snapping jaws. As the gollum landed, it whipped its axe around. The blade caught Billy in his front left shoulder. Billy let out a wounded yip. The gollum slashed out again. Billy caught the gollum’s arm in his maw and slammed the gollum into a wall. The gollum scrambled to its feet just in time for Billy to land a double-kick with both of his rear legs. The gollum was driven hard back into the wall. It was enough for the gollum to leave an impression in the dry wall. The gollum staggered forward and lashed out with a sloppy swing. Jess was shocked when the blow connected. Then she saw why. Billy let the blow land. In his teeth was the gollum’s stone medallion – the object that gave the creature its nigh-invulnerability. With a short jerk, Billy tore the medallion from its leather strap and swallowed it. The gollum let out an ear-shattering screech. Billy ended the noise as he stomped on the gollum.

As soon as the gollum withered away to a skeleton, the zombie horde started to pour into the hospital. At this range, Jess wasn’t worried about hitting her targets. She lined up her first shot and let the muscle memory take over. Billy darted in between shots to crush a zombie or two. They’d taken down over twenty zombies when the Jess’s Glock locked back on an empty mag. Her eyes darted over the debris on the floor. Maybe there was something there that she could use to take down a few more. Jess felt her phone vibrate earlier. Mateo had to be on his way. All she needed to do was hold out long enough for her foster father to arrive. Someone grabbed her arm. Training and instinct kicked in. In three moves, she had her assailant on the floor. Unfortunately, it was Agent Blackie.

"Get down!" he screamed at Jess, pointing frantically for the door. What was he talking about? She needed to fight to protect her family. Wait, Blackie had a gun. She knelt down next to him and snatched the weapon from his hand. She popped out the magazine and quickly verified it was full. Before she could jump back into the fray, the budda-budda-budda sound of a heavy machine gun roared through the emergency room. The zombie horde was chewed to bits as the heavy bullets vaporized flesh and bone. Jess heard the cracks as bullets whipped over her. The machine gun stopped, and Jess heard the crackle of suppressed rifle fire. Mateo and the others must be here. She jumped up. It wasn’t Mateo. Jess’s mind froze as she saw Collin DuBois finishing off a crawler with a suppressed M4. Collin smiled as he caught sight of Jess.

"Hello Jess," Collin said, "Aren’t you happy to see me?"

Zombie Strike Part 6 Chapter 56