John Ringo - Islands of Rage and Hope

“That was not…the pep talk I was expecting,” Dr. Price said after a moment.

“I am glad he did not press me to be part of the vaccine production group,” Rizwana said.

“Have you made up your mind?” Commander Daniels asked.

“I have not,” Rizwana said. “It is a very difficult decision. But that is why I am glad he said that.”

“We’ll leave you to consider it,” Commander Daniels said. “If you wish to talk, feel free. But I think we should respect the captain’s wishes in this. Change of topic.”

“Thank you,” Rizwana said.

“I am wondering why he wants a fleet of helicopters,” Mr. Matveev said. “And we did not take the opportunity to ask about planes.”

“I have been thinking about that,” Commander Daniels said. “It is probably something to raise, again, with the local chain of command. What they could probably use is a small float plane. And we have, between us, more than enough technical expertise to both get one into operation and use it.”

“We have enough expertise between us to make one,” Lyons said, grinning. “Although, I’m almost regretting taking the recall. I can sort of see just retiring to Anguilla. Nah. I’m going to have too much fun killing zombies.”

“I never really saw that side of you on the mission, Troy,” Rizwana said.

“That is because I didn’t pull it out, Doctor,” Lyons said. “The International Space Station is about peace and international brotherhood. But once a SEAL, always a SEAL, Doc. You don’t go to BUD/S, much less pass it, if part of you doesn’t long for combat. It was part of my frustration and stress being up there. That I couldn’t be down here in a very target-rich environment. Admittedly, like the majority of my SEAL buddies I would now be dead or infected. That does not reduce my desire to engage in the fight. Dr. Price, permission to attempt, again, to stand?”

“Wait for the aides to return,” Price said. “If you break a bone it will hold you back even longer. Symptoms check.”

“Continuing fever,” Commander Daniels said. “Still moderate. Malaise.”

“The same,” Kuznetsov said.

“So far so good,” Price said since nobody had any indications of negative effects.

“Now if we could just do something,” Troy said, sighing hard. “I am more than ready for my next therapy session.”

“Follow the program, Troy,” Price said. “You’ll get there.”

“Astro unit,” the intercom squawked. “ Be advised. Flag has left. We are undocking to move to our next objective.”

“They don’t sit around much, do they?” Commander Daniels said.

“Sort of my point,” Lyons replied. “They seem to know what they’re doing and I’d sure like to help…”

“I’m not sure about this,” Anna said. “Why should we get special treatment?”

Anna Holmes, child star of the Wizard Wars movies, had been in St. Barts as a contestant in Celebrity Survivor: St. Barts . Decried as the most blatantly racist TV show since, well, ever , the show mixed a group of skinny white female celebrities with a group of hulking male celebrities, mostly drawn from MMA and WWE, and all “of color.”

If Anna had paid more attention to the line-up, she would have passed on the opportunity. She probably should have, anyway. It wasn’t like she was one of the “reality TV” stars that made up most of the female side. She was just filling time between two A movies. And many of the “challenges” came down to an opportunity for the women to flirt to get the guys to do the work. “Build a rock wall for defense against zombies” was, ironically, one of the challenges. Anna had managed to lift about six of the massive rocks provided for the wall before she gave out entirely. But she at least tried !

All that being said, she’d actually been enjoying it. She hated the majority of the other women. But most of the guys were very down to earth and grounded. She’d teamed with most of them at one point or another, throwing in with a will that was virtually unheard of among the rest of the “celebutantes.”

Then the Plague had been announced. Their challenge coach, famous survivalist Tiger Dour, had just returned from New York and, as it turned out, brought along a hitchhiker called H7D3. So, naturally, the first person to go down from the disease was the one person you’d want in a survival situation.

Air traffic was cut off as soon as Tiger was confirmed as a positive case but by then it was too late. Yachts started punching out in every direction but Anna and most of the cast and crew stayed. For one thing, it was hurricane season. Being in a yacht, even one of the megayachts, in a hurricane didn’t sound like a very good idea. And she, frankly, didn’t know most of the people well enough to trust them.

Then events began to turn for the worst. Tiger was only the first to “turn.” He was quarantined but he wasn’t the only carrier. Others turned. The on-site producer. Crew. Her favorite cameraman. People throughout the island were turning to the point that the police couldn’t control it. Nobody could, judging from the news reports which became more and more sporadic as satellite up-and downlink began to fail. When one of the MMA fighters turned and the police wouldn’t even respond , everyone knew it was out of control.

When the local police finally did respond it was in force and with an edict. The shoot was already shut down and they had their own ideas of how to handle things. The celebrities had been rounded up and marched to the police station for “protective custody.” Apparently that was going on with all the “names” on the island, as in Gustavia they had been herded in with another group.

They were climbing the steep hill to the gray concrete building that housed the local gendarmerie and where they would, presumably, be safe until rescue could be arranged. But she had to wonder what was going to happen to the crew, not to mention most of the rest of the people on the island.

“Because the worst possible thing that could happen to them is to have a bunch of celebrities bitching about how they were treated when this blows over,” Athena Perez said, shrugging. “Rich people will continue to have a lot of power but it’s not the same thing as having, well, you on Letterman or Leno, if they survive, talking about how poorly the St. Barts police handled the crisis. People will want to know about Celebrity Survivor: Zombie Apocalypse. They’re covering their asses.”

Athena was, surprisingly, one of the women Anna did get along with. The heir to the Vinyards Inn fortune was a well known diva and had been among the most manipulative at getting the “guys” to do all the work. But she was also grounded and professional as long as a camera wasn’t on her. It was only when she knew she was being publicly observed that the “little princess” came to the fore.

“Do you know what this place is?” Anna asked. Anna had quickly realized that the “photog whore” was the smartest and most knowledgeable woman in the group by far. “It looks like a fortress.”

“Former DGSE electronic listening post,” Athena said. “This isn’t my first visit to St. Barts. I managed to wheedle my way in when it was still in use. I felt like a Russian spy or something. But the commander was a fan and I totally banged him for the tour.”