Shaun Harbinger - Wildfire - Destruction of the Dead

I might not be the most courageous person in the world, but I could never give up on life like they had. It just wasn’t in my nature.

When I opened my eyes again, there were red signs that said SURVIVORS CAMP THIS WAY every mile or so.

I turned to check on Sam. He was looking much better. The color had returned to his face and he didn’t look sweaty anymore. “How’s it going?” I asked him.

“I’m fine, man. I felt a bit out of it earlier but I’m all good now.”

“Glad to hear it,” I said, feeling a sense of relief. Even though Sam had been vaccinated, there had been a niggling voice in my head telling me that he might turn.

Half an hour later, we drove past Killington Lake Motorway Services and came to a stop at a farm gate that led to a dirt road. A red sign had been erected by the gate. It said CAMP PROMETHEUS. One of Price’s men opened the gate to let us through. We followed the road past a tree-lined lake. The area was surrounded by rolling hills and would probably be picturesque if not for the huge fenced camp that had been erected there.

Just like at Camp Apollo, there were guard towers and huts. Unlike Apollo, the military huts and the civilian tents were in separate fenced-off compounds. The gate to the military area was opened and we drove through.

Another thing that made this place very different to Apollo was the number of people in the compound. The place was buzzing with activity. Mechanics worked on vehicles in a large garage, a group of soldiers was engaged in some sort of briefing, listening to a female soldier who was standing in front of a whiteboard and pointing out various areas on a diagram. There were troops jogging around the compound in white tops and camo trousers, being led by a physical training instructor who was barking insults at them.

Tanya parked the Mastiff in an area that was pointed out by one of Price’s men. A number of other vehicles were parked here, from civilian cars to armored personnel carriers.

We got out and stood, watching the hive of activity. The thing that caught my immediate attention was the smell of beef and gravy coming from the cookhouse.

Price waved at us over to join him. When we reached him, he said, “I’m going to take you to see the brigadier. You,” he said, pointing at Sam, “are going to see the medic.”

“Hey, I’m fine, man,” Sam protested.

“It wasn’t a suggestion,” Price said. “My men will escort you there now.”

Two of the soldiers stepped forward to escort Sam to the medic. I assumed that “escort” was a euphemism for “take you there, by force if necessary”.

Sam complied and told us he’d see us later.

Price said, “Come on,” and marched off down the wide graveled area between the huts.

I had to almost jog to keep up with his pace. He took us to a hut that had the name Brigadier James Gordon stenciled in black on the green door. Price knocked.

“Come in.” The voice was strong and confident.

Price opened the door and ushered us inside. He followed us in and closed the door behind him.

The room was a simple office with a large desk.

The brigadier was in his late fifties, maybe older, but he looked fit and solid beneath his uniform, even sitting behind the desk.

Price said, “These are the people from Alpha One, Sir. Lucy Hoffmeister, Alex Harley, and Tanya Lee.”

The brigadier eyed us with a questioning look. “Are you the people who were supposed to bring me a shipment of vaccine?”

“We are,” Tanya said, “and we’d have it here if not for your drones on the coast. We almost got killed trying to get to our boats.”

“They’re not my drones,” he said. “There’s a kill zone being set up along the coast. It’s a huge operation. We can’t let the virus leave our shores so we are quarantining the country. As well as the drones, there will be a military presence on the ground eventually. We’ve already mobilized ground troops to most ports and even some of the larger marinas.”

“Well, if you want the vaccine, you need to let us pass through the zone so that we can get to our boats,” Tanya said.

The brigadier looked at her with an amused twinkle in his eyes. “Do I, indeed? And why should I do that? Marilyn MacDonald might think it’s a good idea to employ civilians in military operations, but I don’t agree. As far as I’m concerned, you should be in the tents with the other civvies. Leave the soldiering to properly trained soldiers.”

“Sir,” Price said, stepping forward, “from what Marilyn MacDonald said, this lot have…”

“Yes, yes, I know what they’ve done.” The brigadier stood up. “I’ve read the report.” He walked around the desk to face us, looking at each of us in turn. “According to MacDonald, you people are the dog’s bollocks when it comes to going up against zombies.” He looked us up and down. “Although I must say I expected something more than what I see in front of me. You all look too casual, too untidy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen combat uniforms worn quite so sloppily.”

“We’re not military personnel,” I reminded him.

“No, you’re not,” he said, pushing his face close to mine. “And that’s the problem, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter how good MacDonald says you are, I’m in charge of Operation Wildfire and I’d rather work with military personnel than a rag-tag bunch of heroes.”

“We don’t have to be here,” Tanya said defiantly. “We volunteered for this.”

As she said it, I could feel my chance to look at the Survivor Board slipping away. If we pissed this man off too much, he would throw us out, or worse, lock us up in the camp.

He stared at Tanya for a moment before turning to Price. “Have them escorted to the cookhouse and get a meal inside them while we discuss what to do.”

“Sir.” Price opened the door and summoned two of his men, giving them the order to take us to the cookhouse.

As we moved to the door, the brigadier said to Tanya, “Miss Lee, whatever happens to you and your friends, you only have yourselves to blame. You want to play at being soldiers but you didn’t learn the first rule of the military.”

Tanya turned to face him. “Oh? What’s that?”

He grinned and said, “Never volunteer for anything.”

We were escorted to the cookhouse, which was like a cafeteria inside with rows of tables and a serving area where servers were dishing out food to soldiers. The smell of food in the air made my mouth water.

Our escorts stood by the exit, chatting with each other. I had the feeling we weren’t allowed to leave here until either the brigadier or Price said so. Sam was brought in through the door and came over to our table.

“What did the medic say?” Tanya asked him.

“Clean bill of health, man.”

“So the vaccine does work,” I said. “I had my doubts.”

“Hey, I never doubted it for a second.” He grabbed a tray and got into the line for food. “I never felt like I was being zombified.”

“And how would you know what that feels like?” Lucy asked him.

He shrugged. “I’d just know. All I felt was like I had the flu for an hour and then it passed.”

We got our food, which consisted of roast beef, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and gravy, and found a table. As we ate, we told Sam about our encounter with Brigadier Gordon and how he and Price were deciding our future.

“Fuck ‘em,” Sam said. “If they don’t want to let us go and get the vaccine, then we’re out of here. I’m starting to think that volunteering to be a part of this operation was a mistake. You try to help some people and they have their heads so far up their own asses, they can’t see that you’re on their side.”