Chapter 34 International Space Station Outbreak Day 15 Allen Reynolds scratched at the week-old scruff building up on his face as he nervously set up a transmission. He had been trained to deal with the isolation, went through extreme tests dealing with solitary confinement. Allen had undergone a rigorous workout routine prior to being flown up to the station. All for what? “Houston, this is Reynolds…” He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. They haven’t responded in eleven days. Allen waited a few moments, hoping that maybe, just maybe, someone was there. Nobody responded. “Damn.” Allen ended the transmission, his hopes crushed. He looked over at the only other astronaut stationed with him, Yuri Petrov. Usually, there was a 3-man team stationed at the ISS at all times. However, due to the third member of their team coming down with a mysterious illness a few weeks back, they were temporarily sent up without him. Allen shook his head, already knowing what fate had befallen his third team member. “Well this is just fucking great.” Yuri spat, a thick Russian accent trailed with his voice. “How the hell are we supposed to get off this damn station?” Allen felt like he was going to lose it. Him and Yuri were only a temporary skeletal crew, only supposed to be up there for a two week period until Expedition 26 was ready. Except their time was up six days ago, and their replacement team never came for them. “Doesn’t look like we’re going to, Yuri.” Allen sighed as he remembered when they tried using satellite imaging to see what the hell was going on down there. What he saw would forever haunt him, however long that may be. Cities were burning to the ground, chaos seemed to be commonplace no matter where they’d looked. It was hard to tell, but it looked like people were attacking one another. He saw in New York City the remains of a military camp in Central Park, yet no soldiers were in sight, only civilians stumbling about. Why? Allen hadn’t the slightest idea. Both he and Yuri had tried looking up their home towns, and both had been disappointed when they saw that they had suffered the same fate. Was there some sort of anarchy going on down there? Martial law? Yuri had suggested the “feeble Americans” had finally stood up for themselves and overthrew their government. That theory was thrown out the window once they’d checked up on other countries, and saw that it had been the same everywhere else. “How are we on… supplies.” Allen asked Yuri, who had been taking inventory for the last few hours. The Russian looked over at him, a sense of dread seemed to permeate through his thick brown eyes as he shook his head. “Six months, tops. If we ration, and I mean ration… eight months.” Allen stretched out, a yawn suddenly working its way through him. He let his arms float above his head as he let out a large breath of air before lowering them. “We’re going to starve to death, Reynolds. Or die of dehydration, whichever we run of first.” “Lovely.” Yuri sighed as he floated over to the window overlooking their planet. Allen looked away, not really knowing what else to say. He almost knew an exact date that he would pass away, and it wasn’t a comforting feeling. While he didn’t know what the hell was going on down below, he would rather be down, at least having a chance to survive… not rotting away in a giant coffin. “Whoa- hey Allen…” Allen ignored Yuri, lost in his thought. “Allen! Holy shit, look!” Curious, he made his way over to the window, interested in what had caught Yuri’s attention. “What is it?” “Look…” Yuri trailed off as he moved aside for Allen to see. Allen leveled himself and looked out the window, gasping in surprise at what he saw. A massive explosion could be seen on earth, around Southeast Asia. The only way an explosion could be seen from space is if- “Crazy bastards are using nuclear warfare…” Yuri said, completing Allen’s thought. Jesus, they’re using nukes now? What the hell was going on down there? World War III? Whatever it was, Allen wasn’t suddenly so keen on making it back down to earth. “You know, maybe being trapped up here isn’t such a bad thing…” ******************************** Reese grasped her handgun as the screams of the dying filled the air. It had all happened so fast, nobody had been prepared. “Do you see anything?” LaRouge asked, clutching his assault rifle behind her. They’d been ordered to defend the base. Fuck that, she was glad the pilot had felt the same way. “Shut up.” Reese looked through the window, watching as a man was taken down by another soldier. Except the soldier had transformed, and was tearing away at the civilian. She turned back to LaRouge, who nervously awaited an order. Funny, she wasn’t even a medic, yet a trained soldier was taking orders from her. Amazing what a cool head in a situation can do to others, manipulation at its finest. “How would you feel about flying us out of here?” She asked him. His eyes widened at this. “What about the others?” “What about them? If we stay here, we’re going to die. If we try defending this shit hole, we’re going to die. If we try getting out of here, at least we’ll have a chance.” LaRouge’s eyes looked about the room frantically, as if he was trying to think of something to say. “I don’t know, I mean just abandoning everyone to die like this?” “Well, I’m leaving with or without you. Then you’ll be alone, have fun with that.” Reese’s eye twitched as gunfire erupted outside the tiny office they were hiding in. Truth is, she wasn’t leaving without him. She couldn’t fly, and didn’t know how to drive the Humvees. If she couldn’t persuade him, she was stuck. And that would not be a good thing. “Alright… I’ll come, I’m not too keen on dying today.” Reese smiled at him, glad that he was just as much of a pussy as she was. Both of them jumped back and aimed their weapons at the door as it began rattling in its frame, a frantic pounding on the other side. “Open up! Please!” It was Mathews. “Should we let him in?” LaRouge asked. Again, Reese was surprised that he was asking her what to do. “Open the door.” Reese took a few steps back, keeping her gun trained on the door. If anything else was out there and jumped out, better it got him and not her. LaRouge unlocked the door and opened it, and Mathews stumbled in. “Close the door- close the god damn door!” Mathews cried as the pilot slammed it shut. A dull click resounded throughout the room as he locked it. Matthews collapsed on the floor, clutching his arm. A nasty bite mark was evident, the wound had already began to turn gray. Shit, he was infected. “Thanks guys…” Mathews sighed as he leaned his head against the wall. He was drenched from head to toe, his uniform clung to his body as he panted heavily. His eyes closed as he ran a hand through hiss wet hair. She looked over at LaRouge, who seemed to have noticed his wound as well- he nodded. Reese aimed her handgun at Mathews and shot him in the head. The blast in the small confines of the office was deafening, and Mathews’ death was instant. “Your welcome.” ********************************** “Give me the rug!” Tom shouted as Kingston and Jessie were slamming themselves against the door. They left blood smears as they snarled and continued relentlessly pounding away. Tom waited impatiently as Katharina grabbed the rug on the floor and tossed it over; Cindy’s bloodstain appeared once the rug was lifted. Tom grabbed the rug and placed it over the door’s window, holding it in place. “Check the desk for some tape.” Tom strained his head as he heard screams outside the door. Hopefully everyone got out in time… Kingston though, how the fuck did he get infected? Had the virus gone airborne now? “Here!” Katharina pulled out a roll of duct tape and handed it over. Tom held the rug with one hand, and ripped a strand of tape open with his teeth. After a couple minutes, the rug had been completely taped over the window, obscuring the view. He slowly stepped away from the door, watching it shake in its frame. “Oh God, Jessie…” Katharina wept for her friend. He sighed, not really knowing what to say. She was dead, and there was nothing they could do about it now. Tom grabbed her hands and sat down on the cot with her. “Hey, it’s going to be ok…” Shit, he hated to see her cry. The pounding at the door had now stopped, and the door seemed out of place not shaking in its frame. Katharina noticed him watching the door, and her head began shaking back and forth. Her long her swayed as he did so. “Tom, no-” He wrapped his hands around her face, stopping the shaking of her head as he looked into her eyes. “I have to get the others, Kath.” “No, no please stay, please…” Tom sighed as he stood up and crept over to the door. “Hold on.” He peeled the tape back on the rug and pulled it down a bit, peering through into the empty hangar. Kingston and Jessie were gone, along with the entire populace. A few corpses lined the floor, but they weren’t moving. Tom turned back to Katharina, who was waiting for him patiently. This was going to be hard… “I’ll be back soon, I’m going to round up the others, and we’re getting the hell out. We may not have another chance to do this, so we’re not passing it up.” He waited anxiously as she took everything in, and was relieved when she nodded. “Fine, but I’m coming with you.” Damn it. “No, you’re staying here. I’m not having you go out there.” He saw protest in her eyes, and spoke up before she could speak. “Just do this for me, we both don’t know exactly what’s going on out there or how many of those things there are.” Her gaze wavered but she nodded. “Please be safe.” “Always am.” She smiled, wrapping her arms around him. “Good, because if you get hurt, I’ll kill you.” He leaned forward and they shared a passionate kiss. Automatic gunfire outside ruined the moment, causing him to lean back and pull away. “When I leave, push the desk back in front of the door.” Tom pulled the desk away, cautiously peeking out the window again before he fully pulled it free. Katharina gave him a quick hug before he slowly opened the door. “Hurry back.” Katharina said as he stepped out into the hangar. “Don’t worry, I will.” Tom waited until he heard the door lock behind him, and the scraping of the desk on the floor as it was pushed back in front of the entrance. “Good.” He crept through the hangar, keeping to the wall. He turned his head away when he came upon a few women, torn to shreds. Tom had never liked seeing women hurt, much less murdered so gruesomely. “The hell?” Tom stopped outside the hangar as he saw Barnes running towards the control tower. He grinned, the bastard had actually made it! Cupping his hands, he tried calling out to him, but an explosion of thunder muted his voice. “Bar-” Tom had the wind knocked out of him as somebody tackled him. His arm scraped against the ground, drawing blood. A woman shrieked as she tried clawing at him- with a hard shove he threw her off. “Oh, shit!” He crawled backwards as Jessie hopped back to her feet. The once southern beauty was now a bloody mess. Half of her face had been torn off, her right eye was fully exposed, twisting about as her eyes focused on him. The white of bone glistened in the rain as she sprang forward, her chest torn open. Tom grimaced as he raised his arm, preparing for the infected teeth to clamp down on his arm. A single gunshot rang out, and Jessie’s head exploded a second later from the jaw line up. Still running while it happened, her legs suddenly gave out, and she tripped and crumpled to the ground next to him, gore leaking from the wound. Tom looked up and saw Nick lowering an M21, a grin on his face. Behind him, an Asian male looked around wildly as he swept an Uzi across the runway. “Need a hand, stranger?” Tom laughed as Nick extended his arm, he grabbed it and was pulled up to his feet. Tom looked at Nick, who was now wearing his old swat vest and was armed with his rifle that he’d arrived here with. A Spas-12 shotgun was strapped to his back as well, along with a handgun in a holster now strapped along his leg. “Found the armory?” Tom asked, brushing himself off as Hua unleashed a barrage of rounds into a few shamblers stumbling their way. “Yup.” He pulled the shotgun off his back and tossed it to Tom, along with a bandolier of shells. “Looks like you could use it.” “Neek, Jake!” The Asian yelled. Nick noticed Tom looking at him questioningly. “Ah, almost forgot. Tom, Hua. Hua, Tom.” Hua simply nodded at him. “So we gettin’ the fuck out of here or what?” Tom nodded as he slung the bandolier over his shoulder and grasped the shotgun. “Sounds great to me, but I need to get Barnes first.” Nick’s eyebrows raised at this. “That asshole?” Ah, that’s right. Nick and the Sergeant had gotten off on bad terms. “He’s changed…” Nick shrugged. “Whatever. What do you say we leave in style?” He nodded over at the two helicopters, surrounded by shamblers stumbling about as a few survivors ran down the runway, screaming for their lives. Ah shit, now he had to find LaRouge, hopefully the bastard was still alive. “I don’t care if we walk out, but we’re running out of time.” Tom took a step back as he watched the hundreds of shamblers making their way into the compound. “Where’s the kid?” Nick snapped his fingers. “That’s right! Hua, hey, Hua!” Hua turned towards Nick and shrugged. “Go get Jake, watch after him.” Hua simply stared at him. “Yo comprende? Go get Jake!” He spoke slower this time. Hua sighed. “I’m Japanese, not Mexican you fucking idiot.” Nick’s eyebrows raised in shock as Hua spoke in almost perfect English. “Shit, you could understand me this entire time?” Hua winked as he ran off towards the other compound. “Well ain’t that a bit-” Nick screamed as a bullet exploded through his thigh. “Fuck!” He fell to the ground, Tom ducked down as the runway exploded in a shower of dirt as an unknown shooter fired again. Tom grabbed Nick and dragged him behind a Humvee, keeping his head down. “What the fuck!” Nick screamed, holding his leg in agony as blood leaked out. “Barron! You piece of shit, you’re dead!” Private Plonsky screamed from the lookout tower as he pulled the bolt on his M24. “What?!” Nick screamed as he peaked his head out from the military vehicle. “Nick, don’t!” He pulled his friend back as the rearview mirror exploded. “That little prick is dead!” Nick screamed as he grasped his rifle with bloody hands. “Go get Barnes and that pilot of yours, I’ll hold him off.” Nick said through grit teeth, preparing to jump out from behind cover. Tom looked down at his leg, which bled profusely. “You’re wounded.” Nick shook his head. “We’ll worry about that later, those undead fucks will be here soon.” Tom swore, but knew he was right. “Alright, I’ll be back for you soon…” Nick nodded as he slammed his rifle down on the hood of the truck and fired off a string of shots. Plonsky dove for cover as the rounds exploded against the side of the guard tower, splintering the wood apart. “Go!” Tom jumped up and took off running, heading for the control tower. What the hell was Barnes doing?