my first real look at our rescuers.
“Welcome aboard, I am Lieutenant Nichols,” A large, blond-haired man with a buzz cut introduces himself.
“Ryan,” Ryan puts out his hand, drawing the attention away from us girls, and the other man shakes it heartily.
“It’s good to find survivors out here,” the Lieutenant has a booming voice that fills the chopper. “Was that your van back there on the road?” he asks.
Ryan nods. “Flat tire. I tried to change it, but they were on top of us too fast.”
I can feel the eyes of some of the men on me and feel like squirming, but I hold myself rigidly still.
“Where are you taking us?” Abby asks baldly.
“We have a secured camp set up a few miles away. We do daily patrols to collect supplies and look for survivors.”
A smile cracked across my face at the news.
“So everything is okay?” I asked, sure that the army means the government, and the government means civilization.
The lieutenant frowns, and I know his answer before he even opens his mouth.
“We lost communication with Washington early on. There are a few of us that have formed different bases in the area to secure safety for civilians. Our orders were to protect civilian lives and destroy the enemy. We have been following those orders ever since, even with the lack of higher command.”
A hot tear leaks down my cheek, and I brush it quickly away. The government has fallen, the world really has been destroyed by the undead.
Ryan puts his arm around me, but I am unable to take any comfort from the gesture.
“T minus three minutes to rendezvous,” the pilot speaks up for the first time, his voice crackling over the speakers in the cockpit.
I look out the window and discover not a huge army base like I had been expecting, but a high school that has been surrounded by large sections of chain-link fence bolted together.
“It ain’t pretty, but its home,” Lieutenant Nichols pipes up, obviously reading the disappointment on our faces.
The helicopter lands with a bump on a large section of cement that looks like it had been the basketball court, and the pilot cuts the engine. I can still hear the high-pitched whine of the engine in my ears for several minutes as I adjust to the sudden quiet.
“Welcome to Camp Freedom,” one of the soldier announces proudly as he throws the doors open and hold his hand out to help us down. I can see that the school is actually pretty busy; soldiers in uniform are hurrying around. I can also see a few Humvee’s and even a couple of people in regular clothes who are eying us curiously.
“If you will follow me, we will get you situated,” the Lieutenant says, motioning for us to follow him before he takes off across the yard without looking back to make sure we are following.
Two soldiers are stationed outside the double doors of the school. They salute the Lieutenant when we walk by. The Lieutenant salutes them back, and the door swings open to reveal a hallway full of uniform blue school lockers.
“This way,” Nichols says as he leads us down the hallway. He then turns sharply down another smaller hallway that criss-crosses the first. I can’t help but notice that several of the soldiers have followed us inside and are now marching along behind us with their heavy boots echoing off the floor. It’s more than a little intimidating.
“All new arrivals must be inspected and spend an obligatory twenty four hours in quarantine,” Nichols informs us suddenly, coming to a stop.
“Wait…what?” I manage to get out before all four of us are accosted by the soldiers. They frisk us and strip us of all our weaponry.
“Ladies, this way please,” Nichols points to the right side of a doorway that looks like the entrance to a girls change room, and we all look to Ryan for guidance.
“What?” Ryan asks, looking downright riotous to hear that we are being separated. “No way!”
“You will be reunited after inspection,” Nichols says with a stone face. I
“Welcome aboard, I am Lieutenant Nichols,” A large, blond-haired man with a buzz cut introduces himself.
“Ryan,” Ryan puts out his hand, drawing the attention away from us girls, and the other man shakes it heartily.
“It’s good to find survivors out here,” the Lieutenant has a booming voice that fills the chopper. “Was that your van back there on the road?” he asks.
Ryan nods. “Flat tire. I tried to change it, but they were on top of us too fast.”
I can feel the eyes of some of the men on me and feel like squirming, but I hold myself rigidly still.
“Where are you taking us?” Abby asks baldly.
“We have a secured camp set up a few miles away. We do daily patrols to collect supplies and look for survivors.”
A smile cracked across my face at the news.
“So everything is okay?” I asked, sure that the army means the government, and the government means civilization.
The lieutenant frowns, and I know his answer before he even opens his mouth.
“We lost communication with Washington early on. There are a few of us that have formed different bases in the area to secure safety for civilians. Our orders were to protect civilian lives and destroy the enemy. We have been following those orders ever since, even with the lack of higher command.”
A hot tear leaks down my cheek, and I brush it quickly away. The government has fallen, the world really has been destroyed by the undead.
Ryan puts his arm around me, but I am unable to take any comfort from the gesture.
“T minus three minutes to rendezvous,” the pilot speaks up for the first time, his voice crackling over the speakers in the cockpit.
I look out the window and discover not a huge army base like I had been expecting, but a high school that has been surrounded by large sections of chain-link fence bolted together.
“It ain’t pretty, but its home,” Lieutenant Nichols pipes up, obviously reading the disappointment on our faces.
The helicopter lands with a bump on a large section of cement that looks like it had been the basketball court, and the pilot cuts the engine. I can still hear the high-pitched whine of the engine in my ears for several minutes as I adjust to the sudden quiet.
“Welcome to Camp Freedom,” one of the soldier announces proudly as he throws the doors open and hold his hand out to help us down. I can see that the school is actually pretty busy; soldiers in uniform are hurrying around. I can also see a few Humvee’s and even a couple of people in regular clothes who are eying us curiously.
“If you will follow me, we will get you situated,” the Lieutenant says, motioning for us to follow him before he takes off across the yard without looking back to make sure we are following.
Two soldiers are stationed outside the double doors of the school. They salute the Lieutenant when we walk by. The Lieutenant salutes them back, and the door swings open to reveal a hallway full of uniform blue school lockers.
“This way,” Nichols says as he leads us down the hallway. He then turns sharply down another smaller hallway that criss-crosses the first. I can’t help but notice that several of the soldiers have followed us inside and are now marching along behind us with their heavy boots echoing off the floor. It’s more than a little intimidating.
“All new arrivals must be inspected and spend an obligatory twenty four hours in quarantine,” Nichols informs us suddenly, coming to a stop.
“Wait…what?” I manage to get out before all four of us are accosted by the soldiers. They frisk us and strip us of all our weaponry.
“Ladies, this way please,” Nichols points to the right side of a doorway that looks like the entrance to a girls change room, and we all look to Ryan for guidance.
“What?” Ryan asks, looking downright riotous to hear that we are being separated. “No way!”
“You will be reunited after inspection,” Nichols says with a stone face. I
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