The Dying of the Light (Book 1): End (49 page)

“Let the future know us as the ones who redeemed this foul, cruel,
evil
world! Let them not remember the failed sinners who have succumbed to the righteous justice that is this plague upon the world! Let the naysayers and so-called ‘scientists’ talk about prions and illness; we know the truth of our Lord God when we hear it!”

His message reached large groups of followers throughout the United States and the world. In Maryland, they chanted slogans and hurled insults outside the offices of USAMRIID. In Washington, D.C., hundreds had been arrested outside the White House and on the steps of Congress. Military installations across the country were on their highest alerts, and more than a few followers of the Church of the Divine Judgment had been killed in self-defense by those who did not believe as they did.

In Atlanta, soldiers from the Georgia National Guard were supplemented by those from Fort McPherson, to the southwest. They patrolled the grounds of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after some Church members attacked personnel there, claiming that it was God’s will that the plague go uncured.

“We shall overcome this plague, just as the last one, my Children. For we are chosen, the Chosen of God himself. Uninfected by this judgment, we are instead filled with the light of the Heavenly Father and the Son. We are his instruments on Earth to bring about this change, helping to keep those who would do evil from stopping his grand design.”

In Seattle and Tacoma, the mob had grown by hundreds in past weeks, then by the day. More and more adherents of the Church flocked to the only thing they had — faith.

“We will survive, my chosen. Not because we’re better, but because we
believe
. We are not evil, and therefore we will not be purged. We will rise up and cast down the sinners, the unbelievers, and the faithless. They will burn in the fiery pits of their own making, and yes, we will watch and laugh. For it is joyous to witness the end to sin, and that can only happen with the Lord’s righteous fury.

“Let not evil survive among you, my children. Seek out he who would hide his evil from our sight, who would cover the marks of the devil and the filthy lusting for the flesh of his kin. Seek out those who hide themselves among you, pretending their evil does not exist. Find them, and show them no mercy, for they are of the devil, and must be destroyed.”

Wright had really worked himself into a lather, and was nearly foaming at the mouth.

“All the power and the glory be to God, to Jesus and to His holy followers! Long live the Church of the Divine Judgment!”

Chapter Twenty-four

“This is a HealthWatch Special Report. I’m…” Tabitha broke down for a moment, her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and continued in a breaking voice. “I’m Tabitha Greene.

“This is our final report. We will be going off the air in a few moments, as will all satellite and television stations. We will leave our channels broadcasting emergency service messages around the clock as long as the equipment continues to function.

“Here’s what we know: Zombie outbreaks have occurred in every major city, in every state and on every continent around the globe, with scattered civilian resistance. The Army and National Guard are on full alert, helping to evacuate cities that are being overrun, and coordinating defense plans for others.

“There are some areas in some of the larger cities that have been cordoned off. What reports we have from inside seem to indicate that these areas are under the control of local militias, many of whom are well-armed and self-trained, and who are holding their own against the zombies outside the barricades. Those who seek to join these militia-controlled areas are cautioned that living persons have been reported to have been cast out of them to the zombies, for reasons unknown.

“The list of cities that have not and cannot now be evacuated is too long to provide. Here are brief reports on the largest cities.

“Chicago, New York, and Houston have succumbed.

"In Manhattan, both tunnels to New Jersey have been deliberately collapsed by the Army Corps of Engineers. Please be advised that there is no longer any passage to or from the island.”

“San Diego, Denver, and Atlanta have reported massive outbreaks in the last twenty-four hours. Seattle and its suburb of Tacoma are a raging inferno, as is Los Angeles.

“Oklahoma City Kansas City and Minneapolis are reporting successful evacuations in progress.”

“Dallas and Fort Worth are gone, as are Memphis, New Orleans and Detroit. Here in Washington, D.C., we have had several large outbreaks.

“There have been reports of civilian attacks on the entrances to the government bunkers, but these attacks have been met with overwhelming force. Thousands are dead, many left lying where they fell as the Army continues to defend humanity’s last hope for survival.  For your own safety, please do
not
attempt to force your way into a bunker.”

She took a deep breath. “It has been reported that the president and top government officials have begun their evacuations to their top-secret bunkers.

“Latest reports tell us that nearly 90% of those selected have arrived at the bunkers or been accounted for. If you have received a notification letter, government sources tell us that you must arrive at the bunkers in short order or the doors will be closed.

“For those of you still watching, and not evacuating: Remember to isolate anyone who is infected. Bar your doors. Collect what water and food you can. Pool your resources, but only with those willing to prove that they are uninfected. Store drinking water in your bathtubs –” Tabitha broke off and put one hand to her ear, listening through her earpiece. Her face turned ashen.  Her voice was halting as she continued.

“Ladies and gentlemen…” she said, and paused once more, taking several deep breaths but failing to get herself under control. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve just been informed that China has made good on their threat. Seven minutes ago, multiple nuclear weapons were detonated along the Chinese southern border with Myanmar, Laos, and India. The damage… the damage is incalculable. Millions have perished, and millions more will die from radiation poisoning.

“Our weather analysts are already predicting that the fallout will be blown south-southeast, reaching as far south as Indonesia and possibly far northern Australia, in coming weeks.

“Ladies and gentlemen, go to your families, if you can. Be with those you love, and pray for our survival. From all of us here at HealthWatch, good luck, and may God be with us all.”

Fort Detrick, Maryland

The gates that normally barred visitors to the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) were bent and twisted. One of the many trucks that had slammed through them was a flaming wreck just past the entrance.

The bodies of nearly a full platoon of soldiers were scattered nearby, some apparently torn apart by the mob that milled around the entrances to the buildings of the facility itself. Many wore religious symbols of every faith and creed, and carried signs proclaiming the end of days and the glory of the divine judgment sent to earth by God’s hand.

More than a few were covered in blood. Whether it was their own or someone else’s was impossible to discern.

At first, none of the followers of the Church of the Divine Judgment noticed their members falling. They continued to shout and scream at the top of their lungs, demanding entry into the buildings that were, of course, locked up as tight as the prepared defenders can make them.

It was only when those crowding the biggest of the buildings finally heard the screams from the rear of the crowd that they noticed the walkers among them.

The zombies had found a mobile feast. And they were hungry.

The church members didn’t have long to worry. Another follower came roaring over the lawn in his over-sized, extended-cab Ford Excursion. Eyes red and hair uncombed, he was more than a bit overwrought, but he was focused on his target. He ignores the pleas of his brethren, and ran down walkers and humans alike who stood between him and his goal.

It was only when he crashed through the front door of the facility — foot never leaving the gas pedal — that the smarter followers realized that something isn’t right, and turned to run.

Even the fastest of them couldn’t outpace the fireball that reached for them with violent speed. The would-be martyr had learned well from the lessons of Timothy McVeigh, and his ammonium nitrate-fueled truck bomb decimated everything within nearly a half-mile of the building.

The hot, stinking wind from the explosion threw parts of buildings, people and the truck outward, and the shrapnel tore through the flesh of the unfortunates standing near. Broken and severed limbs from the walkers caught in the blast rained in a ghastly downpour over those merely knocked off their feet, their eardrums punctured by the blast.

Church members, walkers, and uninfected humans working hard on a cure: in a moment of blazing light and incomparable sound, all were lost and gone forever.

Atlanta, Georgia

Reverend Sebastian Wright’s voice blared from the shortwave radios carried by his followers, many of whom were protesting and shouting outside the concrete and steel barriers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several had already been shot trying to gain entrance. The soldiers guarding the gates and patrolling the grounds had itchy trigger fingers and weren’t taking any chances.

“Brothers and sisters, now is the time to strike! Our cousins in Maryland, so close to the root of evil in Washington, have already struck a mortal blow for our cause! The enemy is reeling, and they can see their defeat in the eyes of their conquerors! Strike now, while the iron is hot, while we have evil cornered and on the run!”

A younger man moved through the crowd, loudly joining in the slogan-chanting, and earning more than a few friendly slaps on the back for his vehemence. He continued to move closer, his eyes bright and shining with the fire of belief. As he neared the front of the crowd, one of the soldiers standing guard at the gate noticed him and moved a step closer. Then another.

“Don’t come any closer, kid. No one needs to get hurt- ”

“You cannot hurt me, unbeliever,” screamed the young man, throwing open his coat and revealing the C4 explosive and the ball bearings tightly wrapped in plastic bags. A thumb detonator was visible in one hand. “I am a servant of God, and he has chosen me to cast down you sinners and make you pay for the evils you have wrought amongst us!”

As in Maryland, the more perceptive of the crowd began to move away from the kid and his too-bright eyes. These few had a better chance of survival as the sharp-eyed soldier slung his rifle and shot the poor youngster once, in the head. As the youth crumpled to the ground, the bombs strapped to his chest began to beep, and the soldier had just enough time to realize what this meant. He turned to run as well, but only managed a few steps before being consumed in the blast.

“Rejoice, my brothers, for the end is nigh! I am the Reverend Sebastian Wright, and I say to you that the evils of this world can only be cleansed in the fire of retribution and justice. God be with all of you!”

This fireball wasn’t as big as the one outside Washington, but it was accompanied by several others, scattered around the property. Some fanatics had even managed to avoid the military patrols, and slipped inside the gates and fences, right up to the walls. Their explosions were muffled, but it doesn’t take much to knock out a building’s power, if you know what you’re looking for.

Primary and backup power units were destroyed, one by one. The soldiers could no longer hold back the swarm of people at the gates, and the Church’s followers stormed the walls and the last holdouts of the one remai ning place on the world’s surface that could have stopped the prion plague.

The best biological researchers left on the surface — the last hope for those locked out of the bunkers —  were hunted down, dragged from their laboratories, beaten, raped, and tortured, then killed. The violence was all-consuming, a last shout into the void from a dying people.

Advanced bio-research laboratories were destroyed beyond repair, uncountable viruses and diseases releasing into the air or spilling across the floors of the basements and sub-basements.

The CDC had long been prepared for the possibility of an outbreak in any or all of its laboratories. Years before, they had instituted measures to avoid its dangerous inventory from being spread across the globe, should a catastrophic failure occur.

It was doubtful that they had envisioned a zombie plague, but the end result was the same. When the advanced sensors in the air ducts detected the various virii and bacteria entering the system, a series of valves opened, flooding the emergency lines with a liquid helium/oxygen mix… the same fuel that powered the space shuttles.

A few of the vandals noticed the warning sirens when they began to blare, but none left the facility, and when there was no one to turn off the automated countdown — or at least, no one who
would
— the highly volatile mixture sprayed into every nook and cranny of the facility, only awaiting a single spark to ignite.

The few remaining on the surface were singing hymns and chanting in prayer circles when they heard what sounded like the rumble of thunder from far underground. Suddenly, they could no longer keep their feet and were thrown as the ground heaved and buckled beneath them, then dropped.