The last mission
Chapter 13 The last mission.
*Sequel to several radio frequencies transmitting at the same time.*
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"We have lost all contact with Japan. The reports coming out of Asia are alarming."
"New virus strain detected in Asia forces some countries to use nuclear weapons to contain the infection."
"The President of the United States is dead, the White House is under siege, and the Vice President was infected while escaping from the White House."
"Activate Cobalt protocol in the main infected cities."
"Military personnel must return to military bases for new orders. Every civilian should be considered hostile."
"Everything is lost, everything."
"The city of Angels is on fire, I repeat the Angels have fallen."
"From this moment on, the National Guard, along with any security organization such as the police, are considered civilians and can be discharged.
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"This is Dr. Candace Jenner from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, we have detected patient 0, I repeat, we have detected the possible origin of the virus."
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Fort Benning, the night of the Atlanta bombing
"Listen to me carefully, we have received a transmission from Dr. Candace Jenner of the Atlanta CDC, according to which she was able to determine the origin of this disease." Colonel Harland says with his hands behind his back. In front of us is a photograph of two men together with a small child in an airport.
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"The military man in the photo is considered patient 0, however, he was stationed in Japan. We have lost all communication with that country." Colonel Harland then points to the other person in the photo, he is pointing to a little boy.
"His mission is to ensure the safety of this child. 11-year-old Justin Smith and bring him to Dr. Candace Jenner at the CDC in Atlanta so she can study him and hopefully come up with a cure for this disease." Colonel Harland explains.
"The last available location we have of the target is that he walked into the Atlanta police station. In case the target is infected, they must locate the body and take it to the CDC in the same way. God be with you gentlemen and remember, this mission must be secret and without witnesses." Colonel Harland stands firm and gives us a military salute, to this, we respond in the same way.
"Sir, yes sir." I respond along with the members of my unit as we start running towards the airfield.
After a moment we started to get on the helicopter that would take us to the city of Atlanta, I'm very nervous, I was never trained for this kind of apocalyptic situation, however, I must remain calm.
My name is Eliot Heisenberg and today I am embarking on one of the most important missions of my career. Catch Justin Smith.
"Eliot, are you alright boy?" My captain and officer in command of the operation ask me.
"Yes captain, I'm just a little nervous." I say giving a small shaky smile.
"Don't worry, it will be a simple mission, locate and transport." Says my captain waving his hands dismissively. The rest of the unit finishes getting into the helicopter and we begin to take off.
The view I get is impressive, the Fort Benning base is closed. Soldiers running from one side to another, loading planes with explosives, outside the base there are thousands of civilians trying to enter, however, the soldiers have orders to open fire on any civilian who crosses the security fence.
"This base is going to go to shit before we get back." Says my captain snorting.
"Why do you say so, Captain?" A member of my unit asks.
"Colonel Harland closed the base, what do you think will happen when the other members of the army and the national guard want to come to the security of the base?" Our captain responds by laughing a little. "Operation Cobalt is underway gentlemen. This will be our last mission."
"I hope they prayed to their gods before leaving." Says our captain before pointing us to one of the entrances to the base. We can see how one of the security fences has fallen due to the crowd of people trying to enter the base, some of these people are armed.
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"Why, we're headed for hell." Says the Captain starting to whistle a sad tune as we fly away from the base, leaving behind the sound of base alarms and gunshots.
Minutes passed and we are approaching the city of Atlanta. "Sir, who is the other person that appears in the photo? The one in the black leather jacket." one of my colleagues asks.
"It's none of our business, I'm sure another unit is tasked with locating him and sending him to the Atlanta CDC. Do not be distracted from your mission." Says the captain preparing his weapons.
I simply remain silent as I watch the city burn below us, the army has just bombed the city in order to contain the infection, however, I highly doubt this can be contained without a cure.
The helicopter landed outside the CDC, this area was not affected by the bombardment. We quickly got out of the helicopter and began to move quickly, there were still some soldiers running around, while others just grabbed anything useful, loaded it into their vehicles, and left. The order has been given to leave the city. The helicopter quickly clears and leaves the city.
"Sir, why didn't the helicopter just drop us off on top of or near the police station?" I ask, the helicopter could have dropped us close to the target.
"Unless you want us to crash into a goddamn building, that won't be possible, follow goddamn orders. Follow me and keep your eyes peeled." Says our captain as we follow him with rifles ready to fire at any infected or hostile person. Our unit is made up of 5 people.
"Infected at 12 o'clock." One of my unit members reports, that at this, we fired rapidly at the infected that were approaching us.
"Remember to aim for the head." Our captain says pointing his finger to his head. "Otherwise they won't die."
Minutes later we located a military Humvee still working with some infected around that we quickly eliminated. We got into the Humvee and started driving to the police station.
Most of the streets were impassable so we had to go around different paths until we reached the police station. More and more infected were crowding the streets, with the sound of the cries of some people asking for help, however, we have our mission.
"Captain, I think this is a suicide operation, we were sent to die." One of my companions says with a sad smile on his face.
"Silence, follow mission orders and hold your position." Our captain rebukes.
When we finally approach the police station, our captain raises his hand. "Inside the police station, we can find 3 options." Says our captain raising a finger. "There are survivors, we located the child and took him to the CDC, ignoring the others." The captain raises another finger. "They are hostile, we eliminate anyone who stands between us and our objective." The captain raises the last finger." Everyone is infected, we break through and locate the target." Says the captain showing us some handcuffs and a muzzle for dogs.
Minutes later we arrived at the police station, we got out of the Humvee and began to advance inside the police station, everyone was infected, and without waiting for an order we began to shoot at the infected, quickly cleaning the lobby.
"According to surveillance cameras, the target's last location was at this police station, locate the body and take it to Dr. Candace Jenner at the CDC." Our captain reiterates orders as we continue to fire at the walkers we come across. We need to locate the target's body.
Everything seemed to be going well, we started cleaning the upper floors until one of my colleagues opened a door. On the other side of the door were dozens of infected huddled and as if that were not enough, the first infected to leave the door had riot gear, with armored helmets.
We started to fire, but we were outnumbered, the walkers were surrounding us from all directions. One of my companions fell to the ground and several walkers started biting him.
Our captain simply took out a grenade from his waist and threw it at our partner who was being eaten alive. At that, we panicked while shooting at the walkers.
"Damn it, captain, I told you this was a suicidal idea!" One of my companions yells.
"He bit me, he bit me, dammit!" Another of my companions was bitten in the arm.
"Retreat, we can't locate the body with so many infected around." Our captain reports when we begin to withdraw. However, several walkers with helmets catch one of my companions who had been bitten seconds before and he falls through one of the windows.
"Damn, we're dropping like flies." I whisper in fear, however, my captain grabs me by the shoulder and pulls me towards the stairs.
"We're leaving, we're leaving, the mission has failed, to hell with everything." Our captain reports, shortly after, we quickly return to the reception eliminating the nearby infected and leaving the police station, near us was the corpse of one of our companions who fell through the window being devoured by some infected.
Our captain just shot him in the head, he didn't bother shooting the other infected. The captain unlocks the doors of the Humvee and starts the vehicle, immediately afterward, we leave the police station behind.
"Try contacting Fort Benning, report mission failed." The captain informs my remaining partner, he is Lenny in charge of communications. I can see him trying to communicate on the radio without any success.
"Sir, we've lost contact." Lenny answers with his hands trembling a little.
"With whom exactly?" asks my captain as he drives the vehicle through some streets.
"With everyone sir, no one answers at Fort Benning." Lenny says, at this, my captain hits the steering wheel hard several times.
"Listen to me well you two, this will be your last order from me. I order you to survive and hold your ground, you must not surrender, you must get through this shitstorm." Says our captain grunting a bit. Something is wrong with the captain.
"Sir… sir, are you alright?" I ask with concern. However, our captain just starts laughing.
"One of the bastards bit me." Says our captain stopping right in front of a military tank, this area is clear of walkers at the moment. The captain gets out of the vehicle and gives a great sigh.
"Go to the CDC, that place will hold out for a while." Says our captain handing over his rifle. Lenny just shakes his head up quickly as he looks away from the captain.
"It was a pleasure serving under you sir." I say standing to attention and giving a military salute to our captain, Lenny quickly follows suit. Our captain just nods before climbing onto the deck of a tank.
"Survive." It is all that our captain says before entering the interior of the tank with only his pistol in hand.
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Some walkers started showing up, so we quickly got back in the Humvee and headed for the CDC. Leaving behind our captain.
Hours later we arrived at the CDC, there was no one left in the facility, only half a dozen people, most left the facility to look for their families after we arrived.
Dr. Candace Jenner was infected and died hours before we got there.
Our mission ended in failure.
We never received reinforcements, the mission was considered secret and only a few people knew the content of it. I guess the higher-ups gave it little thought or considered it a waste of resources.
Days later the command structure fell and the army disintegrated. The end of the world had begun.
The few workers who stayed began to commit suicide in the first week, in the end, there were only 3 people left. Dr. Jenner, Lenny, and myself.
Until weeks later a group of survivors began screaming outside the facility.
"Leave them out, we don't have the resources to keep those people." Lenny responds by looking through the cameras, and even Dr. Jenner agrees.
"As much as it hurts me, we cannot accept people. However, it is what my wife would have wanted." Says Dr. Jenner looking through the cameras with his cup of coffee. Until his eyes snap open and he drops his mug on the floor.
"Is something wrong with you, Jenner?" Lenny asks raising an eyebrow. Jenner just points to a child in the crowd. At this, my eyes widen and my heart begins to race. Lenny also seems to have seen the same thing and focuses the camera on the boy while his hands shake a little. I quickly press the button to open the doors and we all run toward the elevator.
"The mission did not fail." Lenny says with a smile on his face.
"The mission is just beginning." I say as a smile spreads across my face, readying my gun.
"The most important child in the fucking world is finally here." Jenner whispers