Designated (Book 1): Designated Infected (23 page)

The three men closest to Legionnaire vanished, their
startled fear swollen screams slipping away as they were dragged
backwards into the dark maw of the tunnel. A pair of eyes latched
onto Legionnaires as the black shadowed-hole enveloped one man's
screaming form.

Legionnaire threw himself backwards firing into the
black, his weapon tracking the shadow soaked forms of his team
mate's. He watched as the bullets smashed into their flailing forms
their screams vanishing into the dark like mist running from the new
morning sun.

Infected spilt like water, gushing forth in a relentless
all consuming torrent, their wild ravenous forms flowing from the
mouth of the tunnel devouring all in their path, soldiers vanishing
beneath them like the tide slowly eroding the bedrock of a cliff
until it falls, crashing into the sea never to be again what it once
was.

Another four members of Templar vanished amidst a tangle
of flesh and bone, stripped of their life and flesh as the horde of
human locusts descended upon them, they vanished with little more
than a whimper their lives stolen before they could scream.

The small, enclosed space of the mine's ventilation
shaft was awash with the blood of the dead and dying, their slowly
paling forms crushed beneath the invading horde as they forced
themselves upon the beleaguered defenders. Man fought man, bullet and
blade against tooth and nail as the Infected fell upon the rapidly
thinning ranks. The smoke scorched their throats, tearing at their
oesophagus, strangling the air as they struggled to breathe in the
thickening pall. Light danced across their features as they fired,
the sharp stink of cordite stung their eyes as they rained fire down
upon the masses. Dictator dropped his weapon, the heavy lump of
overheated metal melting the cloth of his trousers as it crashed into
his leg, the smell of his own burning skin wafted up as he dragged
his pistol from its holster and continued to fire.

The tide of Infected never ebbed as they threw
themselves at the men. Dictator watched in horror as the noose around
his neck grew ever tighter, the cold pull of the afterlife tugging at
him as he watched men vanish beneath a swatch of rippling black
flesh.

'We can't keep this up, we have to move.'

Rook looked at Dictator, scorn and incomprehension
reigned supreme as he met the eyes of his fellow soldier.

'And
where, pray tell, are we supposed to go? That tunnel's caved, that
one's full of fucking Infected and the rest is miles of rock!'

Firing his pistol one handed Dictator pointed upwards.

'We're below the intake vent I told you about.'

Blood curdling screams drowned out the rest as Dictator
became bathed in blood, turning his head he watched as four more of
his men were torn to pieces, their tortured screams the only eulogy
they would ever receive.

Pieces of flesh slapped against Dictator's face as he
watched the grasping hand and pleading eyes of a team mate vanish
beneath the writhing bodies, his leather coated fingers slipping
beneath the wall of skin as his life was extinguished by the ravenous
teeth of the Infected.

Titan
and Legionnaire backed towards Dictator and the remaining members of
Division Thirty-Six. All of them stared helpless and impotent like
children lost in a crowd, they could do naught but watch as the
remnants of S.A.U Templar slowly disappeared beneath the maelstrom.

Infected clambered over each other as they tore into the
men, rending them limb from limb, feasting on the still warm flesh of
the soldiers as they tore their meal from their still beating hearts.

'This is one major cluster fuck,' Dictator screamed as
he emptied one his six remaining magazines into the mass of Infected
slowly edging up the incline.

'Dictator, we need an exit from this. We have several
fast movers inbound with a heavy payload to level this whole area,
mine included.'

Dictator cringed he knew where this was going.

'We have been marked as expendable ain’t we?'

'That's affirmative buddy, we have a sample that the
boys in yellow really need to see, it's from one of the original
contacts in the east tunnel.'

Dictator nodded, he ran scenarios through his mind by
the dozen, settling on one. Turning he opened his mouth, his words
drowning in his throat as his mind exploded in a deluge of white hot
light.

Staring down he saw an Infected, its teeth sunk deep
into the lower portion of his shin, biting back another scream he
lowered his gun until the silencers muzzle was flush to the creatures
skull and pulled the trigger. He felt the round tear into his flesh,
he couldn't really decide which was worse.

Was it worse to have something chew deep into your
flesh; their teeth slicing through your own tissue as they ground
their canines off the white tinted bones of your shin, or was it
worse still to feel the hot piercing sensation of heated lead and
copper pushing itself through the thin layers of your hide knowing
that it was you that had sent that projectile on its path.

He watched the creature's head disintegrate before him,
the high velocity nine millimetre hollow point round pummelling the
collapsing cranium into submission.

Glancing at Rook he saw the resigned look of a man torn
between duty and camaraderie, neither man could call what lay between
them friendship, because it simply wasn't. The closest it came was a
battle hardened mutual respect.

'Knot up!'

Dictator shifted his weight onto his good leg, as
Legionnaire and Titan fought back the advancing wave of Infected.

'What?' Growling under his breath Dictator tightened a
webbing strap round his calf wincing as it bit into his skin.

'You
fucking heard me soldier, I said
knot
up
,
you've got to get out of here and get that shit back to the others,
or this is all for nothing. They're glassing this place anyway;
here.'

Dictator fished six vials out of his side storage pouch
and pressed them into Rook's hands as Crow handed over the one they
had collected.

Rook Glanced at Crow who grinned gamely as he shrugged.

'Just in case.'

Stepping over to the lines dangling through the vent
Dictator fired a flare up through the chimney and watched it bloom,
the glowing phosphorus illuminating the now darkened sky above.

'You have ninety seconds before that chopper winches
these out. Now hook up and get going we got this.'

A low rumbling rolled through the mine, dust motes
dancing in the gloom as the lights in the chamber flickered.

'Well, at least something’s gone right.'

Dictator turned to see Rook and the other three men
snapping the Carabineer's onto their harnesses.

'
Dictator.
'
He turned to look at Rook, 'You may be a Limey twat, but thanks, it's
been an honour.'

Dictator grinned at him. 'Fuck off.'

Rook laughed as his line went taught and pulled him up
through the chimney. Crow locked his line in place as the knot of
Infected tightened around them. His eyes widened as a searing
sensation of tearing flesh and heat ripped through his neck, gagging
he managed to raise his side-arm and fire over his shoulder as blood
soaked his jacket, he clamped his hand to his neck feeling his blood
pulse over the edges of his fingers as the line tightened and dragged
him upwards.

Staring above him he blinked as the light began to swirl
and dim, a halo of black slowly shifting at the edges of his vision.
He clamped his hand tighter to his neck, blood oozing over his
fingers, rolling down his arm as darkness fell swallowing him whole.

Raven and Hawk looked at one another, there was one
chance and one chance only of this working and they both knew what it
was, Raven looked at his friend and locked the Carabineer to Hawk's
harness.

'Tell Sarah I love her.'

Clasping Hawk's hand in his Raven stuffed his dog tags
into Hawk's palm.

Before Hawk could utter a word the line snapped tight,
yanking him off his feet and up through the chimney. Rook leant out
the door of the helicopter, the high tension line feeding through his
hand as the form of a man slowly materialised emerging from the murky
black below, he stared at the coalescing form below him; he watched
the limp form rise through the air fear gripping his heart.

'No, No, No, come on buddy be okay.'

Grabbing onto Crow's harness he yanked the unmoving form
of his friend into the helicopter. Tearing his glove off, he pressed
his fingers to Crow's neck, searching for a pulse. The soft thump
reached back from the depths of Crow's body as Rook watched the man
he cradled in his lap.

Hawk appeared at the door's edge moments later, only to
come face to face with the body of his team mate.

'He's there, it's weak but he's there.'

He shifted as Hawk moved into the cabin of the
helicopter, the soldier watching intently as the medic edged past
him.

A soft jangle reached his ears, looking down he saw
Sparrow's tags bouncing in the wind echoing past them, reaching out
he gently slipped them from Crow's vest.

Crow's eyes fluttered rolling in his head as they fought
to focus.

Rook's
heart went cold as he watched the eyes flicker open, tendrils of ice
lanced through him as he watched the dilated red orbs alight on his
own. Shoving Hawk away, he heaved Crow from the helicopter, the
guttural moan already leaving the man's throat as his hands swiped
the air in front of Hawk's face. The savage, feral sneer tearing
Crow's features burned itself into Hawk's mind as he watched him sail
free from the doorway.

The helicopter jerked with the sudden weight shift, the
tether line snapping tight as the Infected form of their friend
flailed futilely at the end of it. Lifting his side arm from its
holster Hawk leant out the door aiming the pistol. The small red dot
bloomed to life, the laser dancing over the centre of Crow's
forehead.

'Bye brother.'

The muted, muttered sentiment lost in the rotor wash as
he pulled the trigger.

Reaching forwards, he slipped his utility knife from its
sheath on his vest and set it gently against the rope.

The edge bit deeply into the rope, severing it with a
twang as the line broke both men watched as Crow's body fell away,
tumbling through the air disappearing into the ink black-night. Raven
stared up the chimney and smiled, his sister will thank him when they
meet again.

He had known for a very long time of the relationship
between his sister and his best friend, he would be damned if some
Infected lunatic was going to stop her from being happy. Shouldering
his rifle, he turned to face the mass of Infected. Titan and
Legionnaire were holding their own five feet to his left as Dictator
who while pale, sickly, and sweating continued to tear holes in
anything that got close enough to him.

'Better have something to talk about when I get there.'

With a grin on his face and full magazine Raven stepped
towards the mass of Infected before him as his gun roared.

Rook and Hawk sat in the helicopter, neither moving, nor
saying a word. The stench of death hanging over them like a cloak.
The medic looked from one to the other before turning away, watching
the trees and dust yellowed grass roll by as they sped away.

They watched with detached care as the three B-1 Lancer
bombers flew in over head towards the mine, turning, both men stared
after the receding aircraft watching as the night bloomed into
daylight.

The dull crump that echoed back as the planes jettisoned
their payload made both men flinch, the ground below seemed to ripple
as the bombs detonated. A sudden rush of air sent the helicopter
reeling as a flash of incandescent, white light illuminated the sky,
with a distant roar and cloud of boiling dust the mine and everything
around it was gone. Rook dropped his head, the weight of losing so
many people so quickly weighed heavily on his soul, he stared at the
vials in his hands. 'All those deaths for these.'

His fist tightened as he listened to the grinding creak
of the glass as the vials ground against one another. The temptation
to send the vials of plague ridden blood spinning into the fiery
depths of the abyss below almost became to much to bear.

Then, like the hand of an angel descending from the
heavens, Hawk made the choice for him. Hawk's hand enveloped Rook's
as he scooped the vials from his grip slipping them into the padded
case beside him.

'Do that chief, and the others will have died for
nothing.'

Rook sighed and turned his attention back to the scene
below, the sky was ablaze with dancing colour as the fires raged
through the tunnels of the mines and burst out into the waiting arms
of the night sky. 'Hawk, my man it already feels like they have,
twenty-one men for four vials of blood; that don't tally with me, not
one fucking bit.'