Mainak Dhar - Zombiestan

Mayukh was about to ask more, but realized that with all the damage he had suffered, he didn't really want to know just how messed up he was. He sat back as the doctor put one injection in his left arm, and then another one on his hip. He grimaced a bit, but in a few seconds, he felt lightheaded.

'Just close your eyes and lie down.'

Mayukh did that and soon he was fast asleep.

***

It was a utilitarian room, stark metal grey with long benches and metal chairs in front of them. The food in front of them was the soup Mayukh had earlier and what looked like instant noodles. He had Swati sitting next to him, Abhi on her lap, and her fingers intertwined in his. Mayukh still hurt in a dozen places, and had been amazed he was alive when the full extent of his injuries was revealed to him. Three cracked ribs, a fractured hand, a broken nose, and nineteen stitches on his head and face. When he first looked at himself in the mirror, he had nearly jumped in fright at the heavily bandaged apparition that stared back. The American doctor had been laconic about it.

'Wounds heal, and chicks dig scars.'

The room was filled with soldiers in uniform, a mix of Indian and American faces, and Mayukh saw General Vij standing up in a corner, dressed in what seemed to be his full dress uniform, with medals and ribbons across his chest and stars on his shoulders. Next to him was a middle aged American soldier, dressed in a blue uniform with similar stars on his shoulders.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to our briefing. Finish your soups and we will begin.'

Mayukh had thought that Swati was the only woman around, but as he looked around he saw at least a dozen American women in uniform, and a few Indians as well. That morning, he had been allowed visitors, and he had spent the whole day reveling in Swati's company. With Abhi awake, it was tough to do anything more than keep him entertained, but when he had taken a nap in the afternoon, Mayukh had finally gotten around to doing what he wanted to do ever since he had woken up.

He kissed Swati and told her that he loved her.

He had learnt a bit of what had happened here. American and Indian troops had been doing joint Mountain Warfare exercises when the first trouble broke out in Afghanistan. As things got worse, Vij and his American counterpart locked down the base and secured Ladakh airfield. Over the next few days, more soldiers flew in seeking safety, and now there were more than ten thousand troops in the base and the airfield, about two thousand of them Americans. Swati had bumped into an advance recon team and they had watched Mayukh hold off the Biters on their night vision optics before they were ordered to intervene and kill the Biters with their high powered sniper rifles.

General Vij now spoke up again.

'This will be our first briefing in three days. As you know, once our latest guests arrived, we have been rather busy.'

Almost every pair of eyes in the room turned towards Mayukh and Swati, and when Mayukh looked back at several of them, he saw only welcoming smiles on the faces of the soldiers. The Indian General continued.

'Over the last three nights we faced no less than sixteen waves of assaults by the Biters.'

One of the soldiers put up his hand.

'How did we do, Sir?'

Vij smiled.

'I don't have sharp teeth, decayed skin, do not wear a black turban and am not trying to bite you. So in summary, we survived.'

Many in the room chuckled, and Mayukh found himself liking the General's easygoing manner as he continued.

'We estimate more than three hundred Biters killed-with no losses on our side. They've never attacked us after the first day, and the fact that they did shows how desperate they were to get to our guests.'

He paused to drink from a glass before continuing.

'I know the last couple of weeks have been tough. We all left friends and families back home, and I know how difficult it has been for each and every one of you to stay here and do your duty as well as you have. But the tide is turning. Let me share some updates from the outside world.'

At that, everyone seemed to be paying attention, and Mayukh heard one of the soldiers near him whisper that they had no idea what was going on outside for several days.

'First, the Indian Prime Minister is alive and well, and is currently on board the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, where the Government of India is currently based.'

Many of the Indian soldiers present cheered.

'They have established radio contact with us, and with the other Indian Armed Forces units like us still holding out.'

There was a palpable buzz of anticipation in the room, as Mayukh guessed many of the soldiers must have wondered if there were others like them.

'The Government has declared a State of War, and while we have been holding out for so long, now we are ordered to take the fight to the enemy. As of tomorrow, we will start coordinating with other units in commencing offensive operations against the Biters.'

Several cheers began echoing through the room as the General continued.

'And this time we will not have to fight the sons of bitches with our rifles and in some cases, our heads alone.'

He glanced at Mayukh and smiled broadly-and many of the soldiers cheered and clapped.

'Air strikes from the INS Viraat and at least four airbases which are still in our hands are beginning, and paradrops are taking place today to occupy and sanitize other airbases so we can bring more air power to bear. Now I pass on to General Edwards for his portion.'

The American General took up where Vij had left off.

'Some good news for the Americans here as well. The President is well and like the Indian Prime Minister, on an aircraft carrier. The same goes for the British, French and Russian leaders. The good news is that the bulk of our strategic arsenal-our naval assets, strategic missile forces, and long range aviation assets are all intact. Together, we are declaring war on these monsters and will reclaim our world. Our first coordinated move is to restore control over gas and electricity, so that we can both restore those essentials to humans stranded in enemy held territory and also restore communications.'

More cheers as he continued, with a more somber tone.

'As you have heard and have seen, the Biters are learning-either evolving or remembering memories. So we've faced Biters with guns and in their last waves, one or two actually fired RPGs at us. Well, the bad news is that in what was Pakistan, we now know some Biters tried to activate their nuclear assets.'

Mayukh could feel the tension in the room as Edwards continued.

'To avoid an escalation and given the real possibility of Biters launching nuclear weapons against human targets, in consultation with surviving world leaders, the US President ordered tactical nuclear strikes against all known nuclear weapons locations in Pakistan.'

He paused as that sank in, and Mayukh heard more than one gasp, as the severity of that decision sank in. He looked around and saw that most of the soldiers had not even touched the food placed in front of them. Swati was gripping his hand tight, and he could feel her head on his shoulder. Edwards continued.

'We will all meet later for detailed orders and deployments for upcoming combat operations, but thank you for all you have done.'

Vij now looked straight at Mayukh.

'Can I request our guests to come up and join me?'

***

As Mayukh, Swati and Abhi walked to the front, he felt really awkward, having thousands of eyes focused in on him. He passed the Gurkha who had served him food, and he smiled. The Gurkha saluted and started clapping. Soon the entire room erupted in thunderous applause as the three of them walked to join the Generals. Edwards shook their hands and patted Abhi on the head, while Vij gently nudged Mayukh to the front.