Adrian Smith - The Rule of Three - An Extinction Cycle Novella

“All right, Dusty Hollow. Report in tomorrow. Over.”

“SNAFU, Falcon 1. Wilco, Out.”

Ben reached up. Switching off the radio, he turned to Dee. “Hey, how you feeling?”

“Great! Thanks so much. That shower was heavenly.”

Dee was staring at the monitors and the camera feeds they showed. She could see several Variants moving across the feeds. Pointing at them, she asked, “You’re not worried?”

“Not really. I’m more worried about the ones I can’t see. These ones are just looking for a way in, probing, looking for a weak spot. I don’t get much sleep, though.”

Dee could see from the bags under his eyes that Ben was telling the truth. Hell, no one got much sleep these days. Last night in the boat was the best sleep she’d had since all this began.

“Well, since I’m here, how about I watch for a few hours?”

“Yeah, maybe. We’ll see how we go.”

Dee looked back to the monitors, and she could now see at least twenty of the Variants roaming around, sniffing at everything. Searching.

“You’re seriously not worried?”

Ben shook his head. “SNAFU.”

“SNAFU? I heard you say that.”

“It’s military jargon. It means Situation Normal All Fucked Up. We use it sarcastically, meaning it’s chaos, but that’s normal.”

“Oh right, so you were in the Army?”

Ben nodded. “Yes, I served in the NZ Army, then the NZSAS, two tours of Vietnam, followed by some other stuff. Retired from the NZSAS when I was 45, then trained soldiers until I retired five years ago.”

Dee looked into Ben’s eyes. She could see pain buried deep. Those eyes had seen things no one should see. Not wanting to press him any further, Dee changed the subject. “Do you mind if I ask who you were talking too?”

“No, not at all. I was talking to the Army… or what’s left of it.” Ben pulled out a map of New Zealand and continued. “We have pockets here in Wellington, holed up in the bunker under Government House. There’s a small group in Auckland, under the museum. A few are scattered on the South Island, in the mountains. Most evacuated out to the islands with the Navy. Here on the Chathams, Stewart Island, Great Barrier, and Mayor Island.”

“What about other survivors, like Boss and I?” Dee asked, hopeful of news of Jack.

“A few, yes, when we can find them. We’ve been flying them out to Mayor Island.”

“Then why are you here?”

Ben rolled his shoulders, stretching out a kink, and sighed. “Well, since I have this little bunker, I was recalled to active duty and ordered to stay behind, hunt for survivors.”

Dee allowed hope to float back into her mind. Perhaps Jack was still alive. Maybe he had been airlifted to safety.

“Can we radio Mayor Island and ask about my husband, Jack?”

“It’s pretty chaotic over there, but sure, let’s go for it.”

He turned back to the bank of radios and turned one on. He turned the detent dial until he had the right frequency, then pushed down the talk button on the microphone.

“Falcon 7, Falcon 7, this is Dusty Hollow, over.”

A voice immediately answered, making Dee’s heart leap with excitement.

“Falcon 7 receiving. Over.”

“Falcon 7, looking for civvie, maybe brought a few days back. Over.”

“Name, Dusty Hollow? Over.”

Ben looked at Dee. “Jack, Jack Gee. G-E-E.”

“Falcon 7, Civvies name is Jack Gee, that’s Golf-Echo-Echo. Over.”

“Received. We’ll get back to you. Out.”

Dee paced around the room, grinning from ear to ear. She had hidden in that damp, stinky basement for thirteen days, and in the house for two. Fear of getting torn apart and eaten had frayed her nerves. But she had survived. Boss had provided humour. Her hope of seeing Jack had never diminished. But now it flared up anew, thanks to Ben. He looked like a gentle giant, but Dee had seen the ruthless former SAS soldier in action.

Ben looked at Dee, a twinkle in his brown eyes. Smirking he said. “Wait a minute. Is your married name ‘Gee’?”

Dee laughed. “Yes, I know. Dee Gee.”

It felt good to share a laugh with him.

The radio crackled to life. Dee’s heart hammered in her chest. “Dusty Hollow, Dusty Hollow, this is Falcon 7, Over.”

“Receiving Falcon 7. Over.”

“Nobody of that name on the civilian manifests, Dusty Hollow. Out.”

She was devastated. She had allowed herself to hope. Hope that Jack had made it to Mayor Island. She sat down in a chair, deflated. The roaring in her ears drowned out the rest of the radio conversation.

Ben put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry Dee, I really am. I’ll get you and Boss to the next airlift.”

Dee nodded numbly, eyes downcast. “I should have gone to him. He was in the bush. But I made him come to me.”

“Dee, where was he?”

“Um, he was up in the mountains. Killarney Lakes area.”

Ben got up and started pacing around the small room. “So he would’ve come across the country toward the city, right?”

Dee could feel a spark of excitement. “Yeah. He loves those back country roads.”

Ben fumbled through his pile of maps. Finding the one of the surrounding area, he excitedly pointed down. “Look. All the roads got choked up quickly, so maybe he had to skirt this area, forcing him wide to try to come into the city from the south?”

Dee nodded her head in agreement.

“If he ran into any Variants, he may have been taken.”

Ben placed both gnarled hands on Dee’s shoulders. “Dee, I think I know where he is. If he’s alive, he’s here.”

Dee looked at the map. Ben was pointing at the Waikato River. Next to his finger, she read Karapiro Dam .

“The dam? Why would he be there?”

“Those guys you met? Well, they used to find survivors too, only they give them to the Variants. I captured one of the traitors and extracted some information. The Variants use the dam as a meat locker, a slaughterhouse, and a bloody nest!” Ben spat the last words.

Dee felt herself fall to the ground. Food? Her Jack, now food? The mere thought of it curdled her stomach. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

“We have to try and find him,” she sobbed. “I need to know. Will you help me?”

Ben stroked his long beard. With a steely glint in his eyes, he said, “Hell yeah. Let’s go kill these bastards!”

Dee and Ben spent the rest of the evening making preparations. Planning a rescue was not something Dee had ever thought she would be doing, but the thought of her Jack being stored as food to be consumed was not something she could bear to imagine. This guy, who through kindness and a quirky sense of humor had helped her through the darkness. Who, through sharing his joy of movies, books, and the natural world, had helped Dee see the magic of the universe. She wasn’t going to give up on him. She had to know, and if she could banish some of these monsters to the pit of hell from whence they came, then all the better.

Dee checked on Boss a few times, but the poor kid just slept right through. With exhaustion creeping in, the bunk next to him looked more and more inviting.

“Hey, Ben.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to turn in. Wake me up for my watch, okay?”

“All right, sure. And Dee, don’t worry. We’ll go find him.”

She could see the genuine belief in Ben’s eyes. Seeing it comforted her, but that old demon of self doubt nagged at the back of her mind, threatening to pull her back down.

Dee lay awake for some hours, her body battered and bruised but her mind racing, thinking out all the scenarios. What if Jack is dead? Could I still go on? What chance do we have? Sleep finally pulled her into its embrace.