Nicholas Smith - Extinction Horizon

They were just beginning the coordination with allied nations, but the main focus was on American soil. Rid the cities of the infected and send in the troops to clean up the rest. It was going to be messy, and he doubted there were many survivors left to save.

He shuddered at the ramifications. Even if Operation Depletion did work, the country would never be the same. The population had been reduced to God knew how many people, and the economy was shattered.

The radio at the other end of the CIC blared to life. Corporal Hickman turned her dial and gave a thumbs up. “Lieutenant Colonel, we’re tapped in. ACC has fighters scrambling out of Langley. The squadron is on their way to New York. ETA fifteen minutes.”

Jensen felt his blood warm. Some of the best pilots in the world were headed straight for America’s favorite city to finish what Operation Reaper had started.

“Strike teams are on standby,” Major Smith said. “Beckham and his men are waiting for orders.”

“Thank you, Major,” Jensen said. He closed his eyes, pushing away what felt like emotion-fueled reservations. He was asking the man to go back into the field. After all he had already been through, it was yet another sacrifice.

But Jensen had his orders. General Kennor had taken over Central Command. Brass had assigned each remaining installation a bailiwick of cities to recon after the gas was deployed. Plum Island had picked up New York and a handful of other eastern cities. He was sending Master Sergeant Beckham to lead a strike team to the city after the jets dropped their payloads. Their mission was simple reconnaissance to see how VariantX9H9 worked in the field.

The radio flickered. “Command, this is Raptor, target inbound. Request permission to engage, over.”

Command responded a second later. “Roger that, Raptor. Green light to engage.”

Smith joined Jensen. “Think this is going to work?”

Jensen nodded. The sun was rising over the dark waves, a crimson glow spreading a carpet of light over the ocean. The beautiful view felt oddly divine.

“Approaching target,” Raptor said. “Stand by.”

The radio chatter reminded Jensen that the pilot was seeing the exact opposite view. His jet was racing toward a post-apocalyptic New York City. Jensen had seen the images. Many of the once spectacular landmarks had been reduced to rubble.

“Weapons hot,” Raptor said.

Jensen closed his eyes. He knew what came next.

Kate sat in the conference room staring at her computer, skimming the test results of VariantX9H9 to see if there was anything she had missed. Outside the safety of the island, the military was busy working too. They were dumping her bioweapon on every major city. And in just a few hours, Beckham would be deployed back to the post-apocalyptic world that surrounded them.

Guilt ate at her as she sat there. She was so lucky. Lucky to be protected and safe when everyone else was fighting for survival—lucky that she wasn’t out there.

By the time Kate had brushed her teeth and showered it was nearing 10 a.m. The landing strip outside the hexagon-shaped base was teeming with activity. Groups of Marines were preparing their gear outside a trio of Blackhawks. Another chopper was already lifting into the sky. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it pull away from the island.

Was she too late? Had Beckham’s team already left?

“Hey! Dr. Lovato,” came an enthusiastic voice.

Kate spun to see Riley approaching. He stopped a few feet away and hoisted his huge pack on his back with a grunt.

“You aren’t coming with us, are you?”

“No, no,” Kate replied, shaking her head. “I just wanted to say good luck.”

Riley nodded. “That’s nice of you.” He jerked his head toward the closest Blackhawk. “Boss is over here.”

Kate tried to keep up with the man.

When they got to the chopper, Beckham was preparing his CBRN suit. He glanced up, a smile instantly forming on his face when he saw her.

“Kate,” he said.

It was different seeing the shy side of Beckham—the side she’d only seen a few times before. Back in Atlanta he’d shown no emotion. His focus had been only on saving her and the others.

“Thought I would see you off,” she said. “Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?”

Beckham set the CBRN suit carefully on the ground and wiped his hands on his pants. “Of course not. We aren’t leaving for another hour or so. Just doing a gear check.”

Kate scanned their equipment. They looked like they were preparing for a weeklong trip. “How long will you be gone?”

“Should only be for a few days,” Beckham said. “Maybe longer. Depends on how long it takes for the bug you made to do its work.”

The words chilled her. She suddenly wondered what he really thought of her, what everyone really thought of her. Would she be seen as a savior or a monster?

“Shit,” Beckham muttered. He stepped closer. “I didn’t mean—”

Shaking her head, she brushed a strand of hair blowing in the breeze. “It’s okay.” She changed the subject and said, “What are your orders?”

“Simple,” he replied. “We’re supposed to serve as an extra set of eyes. Nothing more. If we’re engaged, we retreat to a safe location,” Beckham added. He reached into his rucksack and hoisted a pale green square that read Front Toward Enemy on it. “And if we run into trouble, we’ve got backup this time.”

“Is that a bomb of some kind?”

Beckham grinned and said, “It’s a mine. Also called a claymore. If anything survived out there that shouldn’t, this’ll finish the job.” He caught her gaze. “We’ll be fine, Kate.”

Fine. Safe.

The words boomed inside her mind. They no longer held the same meaning.

Riley dropped his rucksack and interjected, “Do you think we’ll find survivors out there?”

Kate snapped from her thoughts. She attempted to mask the dread she felt, the sadness that was slowly sweeping over her.

“I would say so,” said a louder voice. “I’m sure there are people out there that hunkered down and stayed safe.”

Horn approached from the rear, his skull mask already covering his mouth and nose. “There are survivors everywhere, right?” His voice was muffled slightly, but she could hear every hint of apprehension.

Kate remembered his family had been at Fort Bragg. She knew the likelihood they had survived was slim, but still she nodded. “Yes, that’s why the new POTUS wanted to deploy VariantX9H9 as soon as possible. To save those that still remain.”

Horn nodded. He and Riley walked to their stack of gear, leaving Beckham and Kate alone.

“Good luck,” she said to their backs. She didn’t know what else to say, but felt like she should do more than just wish them luck. Before she could find the words, Beckham reached for her.

“Kate, I promise you everything will be fine.”

In that moment she lost all control of her emotions. Her breath caught and tears filled her eyes. Everything that had happened in the past few weeks came crashing to a point. She reached forward and wrapped her arms around Beckham.

He rubbed her back gently as she sobbed into his shoulder.

“You’re saving everyone,” he whispered.

Kate pulled away. Tilting her head back, she locked eyes with him. “Am I?”

“Yes,” Beckham said firmly. “I was wrong before,” he said. “Those things aren’t human. Patient 14 was no longer a person. Those things are monsters. And I would want to die if I became one, too.”

The rap of heavy footfalls on the concrete reminded Kate the clock was ticking. The recon teams were preparing to leave and she was in the way.