Z Day -1

  JAMES

  There turned out to be a lot of LARP groups in town, according to Mark. He had called me and asked if I wanted to go out for dinner. I told him I was having dinner with my sister that night but agreed to meet up with him the following evening. Before he’d hung up, he’d suggested trying the Internet for LARP groups.

  A lot of LARP groups were splinters from the same organization. I made several phone calls but had no luck until one “Duke” said there was a girl who matched Shae’s description that came to his park, but she didn’t show up that often. He invited me to come out the next day, and I tentatively agreed.

  I considered returning to Drakes and was trying to figure out a game plan when I was interrupted by a phone call from my unit. It was a contact recall, checking on each of the members of the unit. There were no instructions other than to ensure I maintained availability in case something further developed. I pressed for details, but they wouldn’t give me any over an unsecured line. Usually, that sort of recall only happened when a major incident occurred, usually on a global scale.

  I turned on the TV and scanned through the news channels. Aside from some sort of viral outbreak, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary going on. I didn’t pay the outbreak much attention as the news seemed to be downplaying it. Some bug had hit multiple population centers almost simultaneously. Still, hospitals were keeping it under control, and people were being told the same old stick: wash your hands, avoid direct contact, wear a mask, and stay away from dead animals.

  It sounded like just another slow news day scare; lots of hype but no real epidemic. I shut it off and returned to boxing up my mother’s things.

  By this time, I had checked out of the hotel and was staying at my mother’s place. There were two empty beds, and it gave me more time to get things in order.

  Miria came over and helped when she could, but she was back to work and had little free time. Her boss had been generous and given her time off, but Miria still had bills to pay.

  Whereas I still had another six days of leave before I had to get on a plane. I was hoping to have the house done up by then, but as I looked at the stacks of boxes and the mountainous amount of work still to do, I didn’t think I was going to make it.

  My mother’s will had left the house to Miria. Aside from several outstanding bills and an old truck, it was all my mom had. I had talked things over with Miria and she didn’t find the property so desirable for raising kids. The neighborhood had started slipping downhill and the local schools were following suit.

  I had thought about settling down in the place myself, but with all the years I’d spent in the sandbox, Texas’s climate reminded me too much of that hellhole. I would probably settle down somewhere a bit cooler, such as Colorado. My grandparents always liked the state, and my father lived there now. Maybe in a few years, I would try to see if I could make something of myself up there.

  I laughed to myself and wondered if the military would let me retire when the time came. I was pretty sure I could probably slide into another government program outside the military, but I was not sure how outsourced my “specialization” could be.

  A police car screamed down the street, breaking my concentration. Its tires squealed as it rounded a corner. The first thing I thought was that the cop was going way too fast for this neighborhood.

  A new police substation had moved in a few years back about two kilometers away. I wondered if they always flew like that around here and how many kids had been hit as a result.

  That night at dinner, I kept hearing snippets of people talking about this new illness running around. I saw at least two ambulances while we were in the restaurant, and the talk seemed to put a damper on people’s moods. Every time someone coughed, people would shy away from them. I would have laughed at their overreactions if the people weren’t acting so seriously.

  In the morning, I took my medication and made a grim discovery. The remaining syringes of medication I’d brought had broken their seals and leaked all over the case. I was not sure if it was the heat, the pressure changes from the plane trip, or what, but this was a serious problem. I would probably be fine for another day or two if I didn’t do anything strenuous, but I’d have to get new doses ASAP. With its specialty, there were not many military facilities that could handle it. Austin only had a National Guard base, but it wasn’t set up to handle what I needed.

  I got on the phone and made several calls. I finally found what I was looking for at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio. They could acquire what I needed, shipped by courier, but it would not be there until the following evening at the earliest. They could not ship it straight to me due to the “sensitive” nature of the medicine. I sighed, made plans to head down there tomorrow, and turned my attention to today’s plan.

  I had found a box of my old clothes while sorting through the attic. My mom really did not like throwing anything away. The box was marked “garb” and consisted of the old things I used to wear when I would play Boffguard. I tossed aside the old tabards and such and pulled my old black tactical pants out. I gave them the sniff test, decided they were passable, and pulled them on. They were faded, had a few holes in the knees, and were a bit too large in the waist for me. Nothing a belt couldn’t fix. The old combat boots were a little stiff, so I used my current combat boots instead.

  Ignoring the shirts in the box, I chose one of the simple grey short-sleeved shirts I’d brought with me. Looking in the mirror, I looked a bit scruffy, but I was going out into the woods to beat up people with foam weapons. It wasn’t something you necessarily wanted to look your best for. I passed on shaving, noting my five o’clock shadow was well into its 48-hour mark. I shook my head and made my way to the park.

  When I got there, the event was well underway. I had meant to get there about an hour earlier, but several car crashes on the highway delayed me.

  A group of people were sitting off to one side, dressed in period clothes that were in no way authentic but looked good nonetheless. They were discussing sewing or something. I nodded to them and approached the man standing over a big pile of foam weapons.

  “Hi, care to join us?” the blonde-haired man smiled warmly.

  “Uh, actually, I was looking for Richard,” I said.

  “That’s me,” he said.

  “Hi,” extending my hand, “James Sable, we spoke on the phone.”

  “Oh yeah, you were looking for your friend. You’re in luck; I saw her earlier. I think she’s down in one of the melees…near the far side of the park,” he said, glancing at the field.

  My heart rate suddenly spiked, and I had to clear my throat to continue. “Oh, great. Thanks a lot,” I said, heading off in the indicated direction.

  “Hold on. You ever play one of these games before?” Richard asked.

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, but it’s been a while,” I said.

  “Well then,” he picked up a long foam blade covered in black cloth and handed it to me. “You’ll be needing one of these. Have fun!” Turning away from me, Richard spoke to one of the fallen warriors returning from the battlefield. “Got yourself dead, huh? OK, come over here and sit for five minutes, then you can go back. Drink some water, though; it’s hot today.”

  I hefted the padded weapon and nodded at the “dead guy.” This fight was continuous, where people could come and go and come again. I headed down the hill and saw a group of people milling about near a group of trees. I scanned them and didn’t find Shae among them.

  Something shot past my ear, drawing my attention from the small group. I immediately took cover behind the nearest tree, my instincts taking over. I relaxed when I realized the thing that had buzzed my ear was an arrow with a foam tip attached. It lay on the ground not far away. Glancing around the tree, I pulled my head back just in time as another arrow nearly clipped me on the chin.

  “Sniper!” someone from the previous group yelled. They charged the bowman who’d been sitting in a tree. The group’s charge allowed me to move on without fearing being smacked in the back of the head.

  Moving through a cluster of trees, I could hear fighting behind me as the group attempted to de-tree the marksman. The noise almost covered the whisper.

  “Hey!”

  Looking around, I found a man lying in the shade, a foam axe in his hand and his head propped up on his shield.

  “I didn’t know the dead were allowed to talk,” I said.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Oh, I’m not dead. Just got my leg cut off, and it’s too damned hot to hop back to where the healers are. So, I’m just chilling, waiting for someone to pass by with a healing spell. You wouldn’t happen to have one, would you?” he asked.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Oh well. The rest of them are straight through there and on the right. They’ve been going back and forth for twenty minutes now. Been watching the ‘dead guys’ walk back and forth since I caught it.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “If you see someone with a red healing scarf, send 'em my way, OK?” he asked.

  “Yeah, no worries.”

  “Thanks,” he said.

  I chuckled to myself and moved away from the “injured” man. I could hear the sounds of the fight and made my way towards it. In a small clearing, ten people were going at each other. They seemed relatively even matched as they had spread out, pairing off and lashing out with sword, spear, shield and flail.

  One of the strangers was dressed all in black with a cape and played as a vampire class. I had liked playing that role back in the day, mainly because it annoyed Mark so much. For some reason, Mark had a serious aversion to all things vampire and had no qualms about saying so. If only he knew the truth.

  Round and round, the melee went as I searched each face for Shae. She wasn’t there.

  I was about to head back when I caught sight of a black blur coming out of the bushes. The foam knife struck a man in the back, and he went down. I strained my eyes scanning the bushes, but the knife-thrower did not emerge.

  I heard footsteps behind me as the word “Fireball!” rang out. At the same time, a soft thump struck me on the back. I turned to find a boy in a blue tunic running towards me.

  Picking up his “fireball,” the kid shrugged his shoulders and said, “Sorry,” before running towards the mass melee. His arrival seemed to reenergize the short-manned group, and he began throwing “fireballs” at people who tried to jump out of the way.

  “He get you?” the injured man from earlier asked as he walked up behind me. He now has a red scarf tied around his “injured” leg and seemed fine.

  “Yeah,” I grinned.

  “Tough break. But at least it’s only a five-minute death in this game. You’ll be back in no time. S'cuse me,” he roared and charged into the fray.

  I chuckled and moved around to the other side of the clearing, knowing someone was in the bushes that I couldn’t see. Ignoring the grunts and sounds of weapons striking people going on behind me, I focused my attention into the forest. This was the only reason I saw the foam knife heading straight towards me. I managed to side-step it just in time.

  I caught the flash of a familiar face from inside the trees and shoved my sword towards it. My sword was batted out of the way, and Shae erupted out of the trees.

  She was holding two thin swords, custom-made, not like the generic one I had. Shae wore a brown leather tunic that hugged her shorter athletic frame while green leggings were tucked into soft leather boots. Her hair was startlingly white, pulled back from her strong Irish jaw and tied into a single ponytail. She came at me with those striking blue eyes that still caused my breath to catch.

  Shae lunged and parried my sword, bringing her other sword in close. I stepped back quickly, but she pressed the attack. Her blows relentless, each strike jarred my arm violently as she advanced. I quickly tapped into the reserves of my special abilities to keep from falling under the onslaught.

  “Shae?” I called, but there was no recognition in her eyes. We continued to trade blows, our movements quickening until I had difficulty keeping up. *What was she doing?* I wondered.

  The others had stopped to watch the display, the young wizard asking, “Didn’t I kill that guy?”

  “Maybe he had a shield spell?” someone else said.

  “I didn’t see a yellow sash,” the wizard said.

  “Shae, knock it off!” I barked, my sword striking one of hers with enough force to snap it off at the handle.

  Shae dropped the broken weapon, switched hands, and pressed with a mirthless smile.

  This time, I couldn’t keep up, and as I backpedaled, I tripped over a branch and landed heavily on my rear.

  She lunged, slapped me on the chest with two rough blows, and then stopped. She stood over me in silent triumph.

  I stared up at her, panting. “Don’t you recognize me? It’s me, James.”

  Shae’s sword was still leveled at me, but the cold fury in her eyes flickered. She hesitated for a split second, then turned and sprinted back into the forest.

  I was instantly on my feet and after her.

  “Hey, that’s out of bounds!” someone yelled.

  Ignoring the voice, I gave chase to Shae.

  *God, she’s quick,* I thought as I quickly began to lose sight of her.

  My phone suddenly squealed an emergency tone that caused me to hesitate. I couldn’t help myself; I was forced to stop and check my phone due to the tone. I held the phone to my ear as I looked in the direction she’d disappeared. Shae was long gone by the time I spoke.

  “This is Sable.”

  “This is a real-world recall. Immediately report to the nearest military installation and contact control via a secure line. Acknowledge?” The voice was quick but calm.

  “Copy that. Out,” I sighed and ended the call. Glancing in the direction Shae disappeared, I cursed and made my way back. When I reached the clearing where the big brawl had been, a man was on the ground holding a bloody shirt around his hand.

  “I’m telling you, he f’ing bit me.” I overheard.

  “A dog?” someone asked.

  “No, some guy; I was moving through the woods trying to get a good backstab on and out of nowhere, this guy comes out and bites me,” the wounded man said.

  “Biting’s against the rules,” one voice added.

  “No kidding. I don’t think this guy was playing.”

  “There are homeless guys who live in the woods sometimes,” another voice said.

  “That looks bad; you should go to the hospital,” someone else added.

  “Yeah, there’s a lot of crazy stuff going on lately. I heard another lady got bit in a Walmart parking lot yesterday; it was on the news.”

  “I don’t care, just help me up,” the wounded man said.

  I wondered what was going on as I made my way to my car. First, Shae freaking out and acting how she did, then someone getting bit. I was still lost in my thoughts when I hit another traffic snarl. It was in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and it took me a while to navigate around it.

  Apparently, a minivan had struck someone crossing the street. The woman was crying about how the man just walked out in front of her. “The light was green, and he just walked into traffic!” she’d said in hysterics.

  Camp Mabry ran parallel to one of the highways running through the city's West side. I managed to make good time despite the heavy congestion on the highway. Traffic was moving slowly, and there were reports on the radio of even more accidents. People were being struck on the highway.

  *Who’s stupid enough to walk into six lanes of traffic?* I wondered as I pulled into the National Guard installation.

  Flashing my ID at the gate would normally get me onto any installation. But as I drove up to the post, I noted the sign indicated they were in Charlie, the second-highest defensive posture an installation could be in. We had not been at this level stateside since the last big terror attack. The gate guards searched my vehicle before they allowed me through. I was directed to the provost marshal’s office and made my way there.

  On the way, I saw the post more alive than I had ever seen it. There were troops everywhere. HMMWVs were at the main gate, complete with .50 machine guns mounted up top. It took a few minutes for me to find my way to the correct building, and what I saw worried me. This much activity could only mean something serious was going on.

  I learned just what while waiting for the secure line to come free. After explaining to the desk sergeant what I needed, I was brought back and told to sit and wait until the phone was free. In the meantime, I overheard the shift sergeants talking. The National Guard was being dispatched downtown as soon as they could muster.

  Streets were already being blocked off as there was a riot in progress. The first wave of troops had already been sent to the airport to secure it and a second wave to the state capital building. The next wave was being sent down to the hospital areas where more and more riots were breaking out. People were literally going nuts and attacking each other from the sound of it. There were reports of beatings, shootings, and knifings. The local police department was overwhelmed as the entire city seemed to be going insane from the inside out.

  The line came free, and I jumped on it before someone else could. I contacted my command and secured the line.

  “Sable reporting in,” I said.

  “Sable, where are you located?” the voice of Bob, my “handler,” asked. Bob was my section’s superintendent and direct supervisor for all general purposes.

  “Camp Mabry, sir.”

  “Camp where?” Bob said.

  “It’s a National Guard base in Austin,” I said.

  “Is it secure?”

  I lowered my voice, “It’s a National Guard base, sir.”

  “Understood, what’s your medication status?”

  “Uh…” I explained what had happened, and Bob cursed.

  “Hang on a minute.” It took a full minute before Bob got back on the phone. “OK, you said a courier was heading for BAMC…scratch that. We’re going to try and divert them to Randolph. We don’t think BAMC is secure anymore.”

  “What do you mean? What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Listen, James…things are…well, they’re FUBARed right now. We’ve got a lot of installations that have gone dark on us. Most of them have major medical clinics on them.”

  “Clinics?” Then it clicked. “Are you talking about that virus on the news?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but it’s worse than the news is reporting. We’ve got a full pandemic going here, and it’s not only in the Americas. Your best bet is to make it to a real military base and hole up there.”

  “Can’t you divert the courier to Austin? They’ve got an airport. The guard is securing it,” I said.

  “Listen to yourself, and then tell me how secure you think that place will be.” Bob’s frown was almost audible.

  I had a lot of respect for the guard. I had worked with them in the field during the war and seen them do some pretty amazing things, but security hadn’t been one of them.

  “Just what’s going on?” I asked.

  “Well…I’m having a hard time making out the reports, but our Intel tells us that these supposed “riots” aren’t. They’re people attacking other people,” Bob said.

  “Isn’t that what a riot is?” I asked.

  “Don’t get cute. This isn’t some protest gone wrong. These people commit blatantly violent attacks and straight-out murder for no apparent reason. We’ve even heard rumors of cannibalism,” Bob said matter-of-factly.

  “Cannib…wait. Are you telling me…you’re not serious?”

  “We just went into Delta; we’re ALL going into Delta,” Bob stressed.

  “Are you saying we’ve got zombies?” I whispered the word as quietly as I could.

  “There are no reports that these people are dead. Just that they’re attacking other people randomly and, in some cases, eating them,” Bob said.

  “Sounds like a friggin’ zombie to me,” I said.

  “OK, come back to the real world with me now, James. I need you to get to Randolph and hole up. Don’t let this go to your head, but you’re an important asset to the military, and they want you locked down until all of this is over. So, get to Randolph, get your medicine, and keep your head down. Once this blows over, we’ll bring you back,” Bob said.

  “It’s not like I have a choice. We both know what happens if I don’t get my happy juice,” I mumbled.

  “Let’s not talk about that. Focus on Randolph,” Bob ordered.

  “Alright, I should be able to be there in a couple of hours, depending on the traffic,” I relented.

  “Stay safe,” Bob said.

  “I didn’t know you cared,” I smirked.

  “Oh, I care. Do you know the paperwork involved if you don’t make it?”

  “I can feel the love, boss,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Roger that. Out,” Bob signed off.

  I hung up the phone, and it was immediately seized on by another.

  Outside, I could see smoke coming from downtown, only a few kilometers away. I thought back to how normal the day had started. Now, my hometown was beginning to look like the war zones I currently called home.

  Once back in my car, I turned on the radio and scanned for news.