U.G.L.Y (33 page)

39
.

-The
Airstrip
-

     To the north of our camp there was an
old
airstrip that was a holdover from a WWII training command.
The
airstrip
was
old
but
the
runway
was
long
enough
to
land
a
C-130
on.
After arriving here, we
managed
to coordinate a weapons drop from an Air Force Base to the east over the
Rockies
. It was very exciting to watch and reminded me of my days on aircraft carriers.

W
hen
the drop was made they didn't even land the plane
.
An
inbound
C-130
did
a
fast
touch
and
go
then
deployed
parachutes
out
of
the
cargo
doors
in the back of the plane. T
he parachutes
pulled
pallets
out
of
the
aircraft
and
onto
the
air
field.

    
The
plateau
was
thickly
forested
with
basically
one
route
to
the airfield.
This
was
an
integral
part
of
this
upcoming
extraction
plan.
We
were
to
lead
as
many
hosts
as
we
could
into the valley surrounding the airstrip
.
When
we
arrived
we were expecting
a
C-130 to be
waiting
to
haul
us
out,
engines
blazing.

The
boxed
valley
could
corral
the
hosts
for
a
long
enough
time
to
facilitate
the
transport
getting
to
a
safe
distance,
then
there
would
be
a
brilliant
explosion
and
as
small
nuclear
warhead would strike
center
in
the
mass
of
hosts
.

We
were
the
bait,
which
was
fine
with
everyone
that was still alive
.
We all
knew
this
was
it,
there
was
no
more
fighting
off
the
inevitable.
We
were
going
to
die
here
if
we
didn't
leave.
If
we
got
out
we
could
watch
the
destruction
of
maybe
thousands
of
hosts.
But
even
then
it
wouldn't
be
enough,
there
would
be
more.

The next several days were long. We were getting hungry and had little energy. I spent much of the second day resting to save energy. Levitt kept his Marines busy with menial tasks. They didn't mind and seemed happy to be doing something that felt important.

As darkness overcame us on the second night we sat silently around a small fire. In the distance we could hear owls and the occasional bat. Some coyotes began to yelp, and as in response, a chorus of infected screeches were heard echoing through the valley.

40
.

-24
Hours-

    
"24
hours
until
we
stage
for
the
assault"
Sofia
spoke
calmly
in
the
doorway
of
the
storage
room
I
was
working
in.
"You
should
get
some
rest".

I
sighed
and
looked
at
her
, squinting in the morning light.

“
It
doesn't
matter
” I
said
“
tired
or
not,
I'm
not
going
to
survive
this
thing
” I
sighed
again,
running
my
fingers
over
a
picture
of
my
kids I had pulled out of my wallet,
“
I
don't
want
to
live
past
today
”
.

Sofia
knew how I felt. She survived because she was away during the contamination that over ran her family. And she listened in horror as they were killed.
She hated herself for being alive. She wasn't there to protect her children.

Neither was I. This last great attack perhaps would be our chance to drop the numbers of infected enough to give the military a chance to fight back. It was the end of the fight for us though.

    
To
the
south
there
was
a
narrow fire road
that
led
up
to
the
plateau,
which
let
out
about
two
miles
from
where
thousands of hosts
had
been
collecting over the last few days.
They
had
found
some
cattle
and
were
feeding
almost
continuously.

The
fire road
was
gated
with
a
fence, ten feet high,
that
ran
a
few
miles
in
either
direction. The fence completely blocked the road.
so
there
was
some
chance
that
these
mindless
monsters
wouldn't
find
a
way
in.
The infected had followed the convoy from Montrose.

“
Devildog,
patrol
one,
do
you
read?
”

The
radio
base
station
in
the
command tent
range
out.
There
were
four
Marines
on
patrol;
A
staff
Sargent
named
Hicks,
two
corporals,
Stephano
and
Dubler,
and
one
pfc
Dalmer.

“
Devildog,
patrol
one,
someone
pick
up
god
damn
it!
”
pfc
Dalmer
was
screaming
over
the
radio
.

“
patrol
one,
devildog,
calm
the
fuck
down.
Whats
the
problem
”
The
radio
operator
on
duty
was
Corporal
Danielle
Cooper. She had short black hair and was very well built. She had a soft temperament normally but could be
tough
as
hell.
Especially
when
it
came
to
the
other
marines.
She
was
one
of
two surviving
women
in
the
unit,
one
was
the
Navy
corpsman,
Janice
and
corporal
C
ooper
was
infantry
like
the
others.

“
We
are
located
south
of
camp
at
the
top
of
the
trail head
to
Tuscan
meadows.
We
have
eyes
on
the
gate
at
the
bottom
of
the
trail
through
the
telescope
and can confirm that the fence has been
breached.
There
are
hosts
headed
our
way
at
full
sprint.
”
Dalmer
said, still screaming.

“
How
much
time
do
we
have?
”
Cooper
responded

“
They
couldn't
be
more
than
half
a
klic
k
at
this
point.
L
ast
check
of
the
gate
was
one
hour
ago
and
it
was
intact.
Given
that,
shit
I
don't
know
how
long
does
it
take
to
run
ten
miles?
”
He
asked
.

“
Keep
eyes
on
em,
I'll
get
the
Major
”
Cooper
ran
out
of
the
radio
tent
and
headed
for
the
dinning
area.