Craig DiLouie: Pandemic

All of it was gone. Nothing left to fight for. Only the plague lived on.

Still, she turned toward the sound of the guns. Tenth Mountain was revving up its vehicles, getting ready to move. She wondered where they were going. Was anywhere safe?

Rawlings admired that they were still willing to fight at all. Those Tenth Mountain boys didn’t know when to quit. Maybe they could use a girl like her. She had a handful of dog tags to deliver. That, and their story. As the sole survivor of the group, she was the sole witness to their end.

Once more into the breach?

Hell, no. She wanted to find a house somewhere and take off her boots. Then, she’d get some water and soak in it for a while. After that, she’d sleep the sleep of the dead.

Nonetheless, Sergeant Rawlings found herself walking down the hill toward the sounds of the gunfire, searching for something that was still worth fighting for, living for. Maybe she’d find it outside Boston. Maybe she’d become a mountaineer after all.

The forward operating base at Hanscom was stripped down, packed up and ready to roll at Lt. Colonel Harry Lee’s command. Fighting vehicles and their endless train of logistical vehicles, carrying everything from water to fuel to ammunition, lay coiled like a giant metal snake at rest. The big engines idled. Apaches sat spooled up on the runway. A crowd of civilian vehicles, refugees led by a group of police officers and firefighters, waited their turn at the rear.

A small column of Humvees and five-tons rolled into the compound.

“I believe that would be the prodigal son returning, sir,” Walker said.

The lead vehicle pulled up in front of Lee. Sergeant Andy Muldoon stepped out and grinned. “Miss me, Colonel?”

“Not at all,” Lee said. “But I’m glad you’re back. Outstanding results on that mission.”

“Not that outstanding. I lost Burke and Zeller.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“And there’s still a mortar team back there. I requested air support.”

“That’s a no go, Sergeant. We’re about to move out here.”

“Or I could go back and do it myself. Sir.”

Muldoon wasn’t bluffing. Lee and Walker exchanged a glance. Lee nodded, and Walker went off to give the orders.

“Anything else, Muldoon?” Lee taunted. “How about a foot rub and a nice hot bath?”

Muldoon surprised him by saluting. “No thanks, sir. I hear you suck at giving foot rubs.”

Lee shook his head. “Dismissed. Get the hell out of my sight.”

As always, Lee got what he wanted, and Muldoon got his pound of flesh.

Sergeant Major Turner approached with a woman in uniform.

“We picked her up outside the wire, sir. Dead on her feet. She gave us these.” He showed Lee a handful of dog tags—Tenth Mountain. Turner added, “She and a group of our guys fought their way here all the way from Harvard Stadium. She’s the only one who made it.”

The woman saluted. “Sergeant Sandra Rawlings. Alpha Company, 164th Transportation Battalion. The Muleskinners. Massachusetts Guard.”

“Well, Sergeant Rawlings, it sounds like you got a hell of a story to tell.”

The woman blinked at him. She was obviously trying hard not to lose it.

Lee said, “I’ll bet you kicked some major Klown ass out on that road, soldier.”

Rawlings stiffened. “You got that right, sir.”

“Hooah. Here’s the deal, Sergeant. We’re moving out. You have a choice. You can stay here, or you can come with us. We’re leaving Massachusetts.”

“If it’s all right with you, I’ll tag along. There’s nothing for me here anymore.”

Turner escorted her to the medic platoon.

Walker turned to Lee. “I saw her first, sir.”

Lee shook his head. “You’re a real piece of work, Major.”

Walker smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

It was time to move out. The battalion had lost a few good men. Otherwise, it was a good day. They’d won a few small victories, they’d crawled out from under the hammer, and they had a new mission. They hadn’t saved Boston, but they were still in the game. They could still do some good. Somewhere. Maybe Florida. Maybe they’d go there after all and save America from this horrific, unending nightmare.

First, they had to get to Fort Drum.

Lee climbed into his Humvee and gave the signal.

America. Boston.

The city was burning, its residents fled. The once proud metropolis had been turned into a charnel house overrun by infection.

The infected were gathering into an army. Boston belonged to them now, but they wanted it all. They wanted to make the whole world laugh.

Bedford. Hanscom Air Force Base.

First Battalion was on the move at last.

The lead vehicle crashed through the gate. The next opened fire as it exited, then the next. The giant metal snake growled and uncoiled and flowed onto the road.

West to Fort Drum. Home of Tenth Mountain Division.

All around them, the world was dying, but Tenth Mountain would go on fighting.

Their mission: to save what was left.

The retreat had begun.

Copyright © 2013 The Retreat Series, LLC

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THE RETREAT is a work of fiction including a fictionalized portrayal of the U.S. Army Tenth Mountain Division, the Massachusetts Army National Guard and the City of Boston and its surrounding metropolitan region. It is not intended to depict actual persons, organizations or places.