Project Terminus (12 page)

“What did you do before the shit hit the fan?”

“I was the head dietician for Emory hospital in Atlanta.”

Wade said, “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He motioned for Randal to follow, then exited the hide.

They walked to the left side of the hide and squatted down under a huge oak tree.

Randal said, “I think we give her a chance, Dad. We just need to keep her on a short leash until she proves herself.”

Wade agreed.

They discussed the particulars for a few more minutes, then returned to the hide. While Wade sat with Sara, Randal took Chris and Bill outside the hide and told them, “Sara is coming to live at Fort-T with us. Take her back with you, but explain the situation to the women before you introduce her to them. And under no circumstances is she allowed to wander around by herself. Make sure she has zero access to any kind of a weapon, and that includes knives. Man the watches as you see fit. We’re going to stay here and police the battlefield. When we get back, we’ll send someone to notify the Northern Groups.”

While Randal was filling in Bill and Chris, Wade was explaining the deal to Sara. When he finished, she started crying. Her body convulsed and she sobbed, gasping for air. After a few moments, she gained control and, with tears rolling down her cheeks, said, “Oh my God, thank you. I won’t disappoint you. I give you my word.”

Two minutes later, Chris, Bill, and Sara headed back to Fort Terminus.

Wade said, “Now the fun begins. We’ll take turns on over-watch with the M24 while the rest of us mop up. First, we need to dispatch any survivors, then pile the bodies and burn them. Sucks, but there it is. When we complete that pleasant little chore, we need to ensure none of those assholes are sneaking back to retrieve weapons or gear. We’ll maintain over-watch, but since we don’t have eyes on the front of the building, one man will guard the entrance while the other two go room to room. We’ll remove firing pins from firearms and disable anything else that might be useful to them. If any of them are left, they’ll sneak back and pick through for anything they can find. We’re not going to leave them anything they can use.”

While Sean took the first sniper watch, the others went down to the field to begin the arduous and distasteful task of burning dead bodies.

Nina was on the throne
when the massive explosion rocked her world and knocked her to the floor. Shards of glass from the picture window blew into the room and shredded the bed where she had been sitting. At first, she had no clue what happened, and for a few seconds was too stunned to move. Black smoke filtered into the bathroom. She shook her head, and with her ears still ringing from the blast, threw open the door. She was greeted by intense heat and thick, acrid smoke. Panicked, she felt her way along the wall to the bedroom door and into the hallway. Her survival instincts kicked in, and her only thought was to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible. Clad only in panties, she ran blindly down the hallway, out the eastern exit, and up the incline to the next tier of buildings. As she entered the main building, she began to gather her wits and recognized the guard running toward her.

He stopped and said, “What the hell’s going on?”

“I don’t know yet, but we have to get out of here,” she said. “Give me your gun and get out to the field. Send anyone you find to the Microtel Inn. I’ll meet you there.”

The guard stared stupidly, mouth open.

She screamed, “
Go!
”

He closed his mouth, nodded, turned, and ran toward the football field.

Nina headed for the double entrance doors. Before she got there, an open broom closet caught her attention and she grabbed a shop coat from a hook on the door. Pausing long enough to put on the coat, she exited and started towards the Microtel Inn. As she ran, she looked back towards the football field. In the distance, she could see a tall, thin figure running towards the hill to the west.

“You little bitch.” She didn’t know how, but instinctively knew Sara was responsible for the devastation. She advanced to the corner of the building, then hunkered down and watched. The wait wasn’t long. Within minutes, three men came down from the top of the knoll and headed toward the gymnasium. She looked back to the hill just in time to see Sara disappear into the brush at the top of the knoll.

A crash behind her startled her, and turning see watched the guard she had spoke to burst out of the exit door with some of her people. She stared after them as they fled toward the center of town. Turning her attention back to the three men, she watched them exit the gymnasium and enter the first set of barracks buildings. There was a short burst of gunfire, then silence. A minute later, two more of her people barged out of the main entrance.

She risked calling to them. “Hey…over here.”

They stopped, looked, and when recognition set in, hurried to her side.

“You, what’s your name?”

“Charlie.”

“Charlie, go to the Microtel Inn and get everyone to the top of the hill behind the hotel. Find some cover and wait for me there.”

The man nodded, turned, and started running towards the Microtel Inn.

Turning to the other cannibal, she said, “Who are you?”

“My name’s Cougar.” 

“Okay, Cougar, you’re with me.”

Deciding she needed a better vantage point, she scanned the area. A copse of trees on a knoll about one hundred yards away looked ideal, and using the buildings for cover, they kept low and made a dash for it.

When they were in position, she risked a peek from behind a big conifer. She had an excellent view of the football field, the school entrance, and the hill the three men came from.

Settled in, she watched and listened as the gunfire inside the school continued sporadically. No more of her people came out, and although she couldn’t see any activity on the hill, she suspected someone besides Sara was there. She decided whoever these men were, they were pros, and considered the possibility that they were government. “No way,” she said. “They’re either remnants of the military or Homeland Security, but they’re definitely not official US Government. That horse left the barn a long time ago.”

After what seemed like an eternity but in reality was not more than half an hour, Nina’s patience was rewarded. The same three men—at least she assumed it was the same three—came out of the HQ building and stood looking at the smoking crater where the stage had been.

Nina realized in that moment that if she hadn’t eaten those damned berries, she wouldn’t be alive right now. Mesmerized by the devastation, her attention was drawn to the carnage on the football field. She could see the bodies of hundreds of her people. Most of them were burning, and all of them were most assuredly dead. A wave of emotion swept over her and she started to shake with rage. It was the first time she had ever consciously thought of The Light as her people. She considered that for a moment, and then decided that they were indeed her people. They were hers to do with as she pleased. She could screw them, kill them, or eat them. It didn’t matter what she did with them.

She silently screamed,
They’re mine!
And she vowed the men who took her people from her were going to pay with their own lives. 

The men remained by the crater and talked for a couple of minutes, then abruptly started walking along the western edge of the field, and climbed to the top of the hill where Sara disappeared. The fact that they entered the brush at the same spot Sara had confirmed her suspicions that the girl was somehow involved in the atrocity. She thought,
You’ll get yours someday, Sara, my love.

Ten minutes later, they came down the hill and walked a grid pattern, stopping occasionally to shoot one of her people who was still alive. Then they started piling bodies and body parts up in the middle of the field. After two hours, one of them went up the hill, and moments later, a different one came down. The piling of bodies and body parts continued. They switched every two hours and she realized someone stayed at the top covering them each time. At 4 pm they stopped, and two of them went into the first set of barracks while another guarded the front door. An hour later, they emerged by the stage carrying a small bag, then walked to the body pile and put something in it. Seconds later there was a muffled explosion and an intense fire started to burn. The smell of kerosene and burned meat filled the air, and Nina watched helplessly as the remnants of her people went up in smoke.

The men watched for a minute, then climbed to the top of the knoll and disappeared.

Bastards
, she thought. While she was considering what her next move should be, her peripheral vision caught movement at the edge of the woods north of the school.

Two men were hurrying towards the knoll where the military guys had been, but they were staying behind cover and wearing black clothing and helmets. When everything went south, Nina recalled men dressed exactly like these two taking people from their homes and putting them in FEMA Camps.

Son-of-a-bitch,
she thought.
Those guys are with the Department of Homeland Security…or what’s left of it, and they’ve been watching this all go down. Why?

Then it dawned on her. The DHS guys were following them. Turning to Cougar, she asked, “Why do they call you Cougar?”

“Because I can sneak up on anyone without being seen,” he replied.

“Outstanding! We’re going to make those bastards pay for what they’ve done, but before we can do that, we have to know where they’re at. The two guys in black are following the guys in the military uniforms. I don’t care about the men in black, but I want you to follow them and see if they’re capable of following the other guys to their base. Can you do that without being spotted?”

“Hell yes,” replied Cougar. “That’s duck soup.”

She grabbed his shoulders. “It’s not duck soup, Cougar. Those guys are not morons. Trust me on that. And the guys in black aren’t either. I don’t want you to take any chances. And whatever you do, don’t let
any
of them see you. If the guys in black find their base, I doubt they’ll do anything more than take notes. Then they’ll report to their boss. We don’t need their exact location, just an approximation. Can you make that happen?”

“Yeah, I can,” said Cougar. “You can count on me, Nina. Where do I meet you when I have the information?”

Nina thought about that for a second. “Look over there, against that hill.” She pointed. “That’s the Robbinsville High School. We’re moving there.”

“What if they come back and do it again?”

“They won’t. They think we’re toast.”

The Homeland Security guys were on the knoll, and Nina said, “Okay, Cougar get going. And don’t fail me.”

“I won’t, Nina. I’ll see you soon.”

She watched Cougar until he disappeared, then crawled backwards to the street. She stood there a moment, looking toward the high school in the distance. Satisfied, she headed towards the Microtel Inn and what was left of her family. At the top of the hill behind the hotel, she stood silently. She couldn’t see anyone, but sensed she was being watched.

She said, “It’s safe, come out.”

A moment later, by twos and threes, what was left of The Light began to assemble around her. A quick count revealed she had fifty-two people…fifty-three counting Cougar.

With her long black hair blowing in the breeze, dressed in a tattered old shop coat, she stood silently in front of them. She was hypnotic. She was majestic. And the remnants of The Light were spellbound. She stared at them for several minutes and suddenly, her voice quavering, she told them what happened. She swore an oath that the brutal murders of their beloved Saadeh, and of their brothers and sisters, would not go unpunished and there would be a day of reckoning. In a calm, clear voice she continued, “We’re going to wait until dark, and then we’re moving to the high school. They think they’ve destroyed us. They’re wrong. Later tonight when it’s safe, we’ll retrieve whatever gear is left. We
will
reorganize.” Then in a louder voice she proclaimed, “
We will avenge our family!
”

One of the cannibals in the front knelt before her. On one knee, with his head bowed and in a loud voice, he proclaimed, “Nina, my Queen. I pledge my life to you.”

Simultaneously, the remaining cannibals followed suit.

Nina felt neither pride nor pleasure in their action. It was a simple truth. She
was
their queen. And they were her subjects. She looked at them for a moment longer, and then, using a lifting motion with her arms, she told them to rise and ordered them to line up in two ranks. She took stock.

Thirty-nine firearms and an assortment of other gear isn’t much, but it’s a lot more than what I started with. And weapons and gear are easily replaced.
She smiled to herself.

Although she lacked people and firepower, she possessed the most important weapon of all. Locked away in her mind was the formula for Saadeh’s hallucinogenic concoction, which he called “the juice.” 

Walking down the two ranks of cannibals, she stopped and looked each one in the eye and asked, “Do you pledge your life to me?”

She asked that question to fifty-one of the fifty-two cannibals and received fifty-one loud and very clear yeses. The last person in the last row, a pretty girl in her late teens, was crying, silently. Tears trickled down her filthy cheeks and silent sobs wracked her frail body.

Taking the girl’s face in her hands, she asked, “Do you pledge your life to me?”

The girl grasped Nina’s hands and nodded. Then she growled, “Yes, my Queen, and when we find them, we’re going to kill and eat every one of those motherfuckers.”

Nina smiled and said, “What’s your name?”

“My name’s Heather,” the girl replied.