CHAPTER 3

Over Maryland
 
The UH-1 helicopter pilot glanced back into the passenger area, looked at Victor and tapped his earmuffs signaling that the pilot had something to say. Victor signaled to Raymond and Erica as he donned his earmuffs.

“We’re getting close.” The pilot said. “To the right is where the lab is located inside Fort Detrick. The General will brief you more about transportation and logistics on how to get there for work. I’m going to fly us over Baltimore so you can get a sense of the environment in our area, but it’s pretty much like the rest of the country, dark and lifeless. Then I’ll give you a buzz over the island we call home.”

“Can you take us over D.C.?” Raymond asked out of curiosity.

The pilot shook his head. “That is a big negative, that area is a no-fly zone for now. Between the suburb street gangs and the well-armed political militias, we don’t dare fly across D.C. anymore after a bird got shot down a while back. It’s worse than flying in Afghanistan, and I’m not exaggerating!”

The conversation weighed heavy on Victor. Why had he brought his family here? He had hopes and dreams of saving America, but was there really anything left to save? Or were they simply on an uphill battle against human extinction at this point?

The pilot dropped altitude to give the passengers a better view of Baltimore as they flew past. Just as the pilot had said, dark and lifeless. Victor had never visited Baltimore, but had always wanted to, until today. There didn’t seem all that much left to visit. He wondered if there was anybody or anything worth saving in Baltimore. Just as he was about to close his eyes and request a return trip back to Lake City, he spotted an odd five-pointed snowflake shaped fortress on a river peninsula below them.

“Sir,” Victor spoke into the intercom. “What is that down there?”

“Fort McHenry” The pilot laughed with a smile on his face. “It’s been referenced in a popular song back in the war of 1812 that you may have heard of called the Star-Spangled Banner!”

Looking down on the old fort warmed Victors heart. Between a failed British land attack and twenty-four hours of naval bombardment, the Americans bravely held the last line of Baltimore’s defense resulting in twenty-nine killed or wounded and over three hundred British casualties. That had been a nasty battle, yet the troops defending that fort had never given up. Victor wouldn’t give up either, and prayed that what was left of their society, could be saved.

“Coming up is Kent Island. I was scavenging through a local gift shop and found a tourist map of the place with some interesting info.” The pilot said. “The island is home of the oldest English settlement in the state of Maryland and the third oldest permanent settlement of the original colonies next to Jamestown and Plymouth. The island is about 32 square miles, mostly farmland. It did have a nice golf course if you play, although I’m sure the grass hasn’t been groomed in a while. Prior to the attack, the island had about seventeen thousand residents, from local workers to Washington politicians. We’ve only found a few dozen survivors though, so between the aircraft carrier and empty houses, there is plenty of lodging.”

The helicopter made two quick laps around the island. The roadways looked clear. Victor could see people milling about in the small village area. The farmland spoken of was mostly overgrown and not freshly plowed. A small bridge that connected the island to the east had been destroyed leaving the only vehicle access being the long Chesapeake Bay bridge to the west. Next to that bridge anchored the largest warship ever constructed, the USS Gerald R. Ford.

Victor thought that the pilot was going to set down on the 1100 foot long flight deck of the aircraft carrier, but instead landed next to several other helicopters and transport airplanes on a small civilian airport runway just a short distance from the bridge. The helicopter engines shut down immediately and as they waited for the rotor blades to stop spinning, the pilot instructed them where to go.

Little Zavier held his dad’s hand as they walked across the flight line to a warehouse type building for their welcome aboard briefing. Each of them bent and twisted and stretched sore muscles and aches from a very long uncomfortable ride.

“So, what did you all think of the helicopter ride?” Victor asked his sons.

“My butt hurts. You’d think they would have better seats.” Zavier complained.

“And larger fuel tanks!” Curtis said. “The refueling stops were not fun, especially in Detroit.”

“Agreed. The ride was pretty fun at first, but I am freezing! I’m glad it’s warmer here than in Michigan.” Michael added.

“Me too. This island looks pretty nice though, but let’s stick close to each other, okay? At least until we get a good feel of the community around here.”

They all agreed to keep their guard up and to stay vigilant.

“That’s a pretty big boat out there in the water, huh?” Victor smiled.

“Do you think we can go on it?” Michael asked enthusiastically.

 “I have a feeling that you’re going to get tired of being on that ship soon enough.” Victor warned him.

“No way, I can’t wait. It reminds me of an Imperial Star Destroyer in Star Wars movies. But in the water of course.” Zavier laughed.

“The good ol’ Empire.” Victor moaned. “It looks like this island is run by military procedures, which means it’ll be overly complicated to get anything done and a lot of worthless paperwork. I wonder if the Empire had the same military red-tape?”

Before the group reached the warehouse, the door opened, and the Lake City mayor and General Lyons stepped out.

“Ah, it’s good to see that you all made it safely. Welcome to Kent Island.” The General said shaking their hands, even the children. “The sailors inside will issue you housing, credentials and give you a quick tour. Get settled in tonight and get some rest, you all have a big day tomorrow. Victor, Raymond and Erica, you three will be briefing our entire Joint Special Operations Command on your experiences over the past couple of months. Expect a full day of Q and A. If you don’t have any questions, I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll have a vehicle pick you up at zero eight.”

The mayor and General continued past them in discussion about the local sewage treatment center.
 
----------BREAK----------
 
“I’ve lived in worse places.” Victor said casually stepping behind Erica and wrapped his arms around her as she stood in front of floor to ceiling windows in their new living room, overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.

“We have electricity Victor.” She whispered, almost getting choked up. “How did they get power fixed so quickly?”

“The island is plugged into the aircraft carrier’s duel nuclear generators. Making power is easy for them. Stable distribution is the hard part. Replacing all the transformers that the EMP blew out is going to take a while which is why only part of the island has power. The ship has only been anchored here for a month, I’m kind of impressed that they managed to get this neighborhood up and running.”

“Do you think the water heater works?” She looked up at him.

“Seriously? You haven’t tried it yet?” He laughed. “I wonder who our neighbors are, do you want to go for a walk and get our bearings?”

“Sure, where do you think we can go with our VIP passes?” She asked with a sinister grin.

“Don’t know, but let’s not get tossed in the brig on the first day.” Victor teased her. He turned his head and yelled for his children. “Boys! Grab your hats and coats, we’re going for a walk.”

The kids came stampeding down the stairs pushing and shoving each other as they ran out the door.

“I think they like it here.” Erica smiled.

Victor slid his rifle sling over his back and grabbed Erica by the hand then led her out the door and turned up the empty street. When they landed earlier, he noticed a lack of vehicles on the island roads, and even here in this neighborhood. Victor wondered if an officer gave his men some busy work of clearing the streets, or if someone had the intelligence to create a vehicle scrap yard to salvage parts from as they did in Lake City.

They strolled casually up the road towards the airport village area. They passed an abandoned cake shop, a yacht club at the marina, a boarded-up pizzeria, tavern, a few dark diners and a couple petrol stations which put Victor on a train of thought about fuel.

Victor flipped his coat collar up to shield his neck from the wind whipping off the bay. He pulled Erica in tighter with a wink and a shiver. They had seen a few light-skinned HMMWV’s driving around shuttling people and supplies back and forth. They had not seen any other civilians yet. For being the new cradle of civilization, he expected to see more activity here on the island. But maybe the lack of crowds was because of the late time of the day, or it could be that most of the 2,600 sailors, were still berthing onboard the ship.

They explored a bit further up the road being nosey and snooping around before they decided to turn around.

“Probably a couple of miles back to the house. We should make are way home before the sun sets.” Erica suggested noticing the sun was close to the horizon.

Victor agreed looking around at dark windows, barely able to make out objects inside vacant buildings. The temperature was dropping fast as the setting sun burned brilliantly on bright red and orange clouds.

Michael and Zavier chased each other up and down the street as Curtis aimed flying pinecones at them. They cut through a plaza parking lot to check the status of some clothing stores hoping they were full of winter wear. As they passed an alley between a hardware store and grocery store Victor stopped, pulling his hand free of Erica’s.

“Do you hear that?” Victor turned his head, fighting to hear past the howling wind and kids playing.

“Is that a woman crying?” Erica looked sideways confused by what they were hearing. “There’s more than one.”

Victor whistled sharply to get his children’s attention, then swirled a knife hand in the air over his head signaling them to rally on him. He unslung his rifle as the sound of children sobbing seemed to grow louder.

“Dad, why is someone crying?” Zavier said a little too loudly.

A small human shape rounded the corner of the far end of the alleyway, then two more large toddlers appeared. Victor could barely make them out as the sun was behind them. The one in front stood up tall on abnormally stable young legs. It jerked and twitched as it seemed to be hyperventilating casting out an eerie sobbing sound.

“Hello, are you lost? Are you Ok? Where are your parent’s little ones?” Erica yelled down the damp narrow alley.

That’s when the micro-pack of infected toddlers sprinted towards them.

“Kids run!” Victor yelled, as he took a knee and braced his support arm against the brick wall while looking through his red dot sights. In his peripheral, he saw Erica’s pistol in her hands.

“Stop!” Victor commanded loudly. “Stop right there!” He shouted again, unsure if the things rushing towards him were actually infected or just some stupid kids playing around. Aiming his rifle at such small shapes just did not feel right to him. He knew that they were Grays, but he couldn’t commit to shooting at unidentified shadows of children. His thumb flicked the AR15 off safe, his finger hovered outside the trigger guard.

As the pack sprinted past the halfway mark of the alley, the sun dipped below the horizon allowing Victor and Erica to see the creatures better. The sobbing sound morphed into echoes of a hyena like cackle. The last detail Victor noticed of the pale gray toddlers were the black eyes, gray where the whites should be and completely black irises.

He squeezed the trigger dropping the first demon, transitioned to the second one directly behind the first and pumped three rounds into its tiny torso. Erica was shooting as well but having a difficult time with such a small fast-moving target with her pistol. The creature was exceptionally fast and agile. The last one jumped onto a closed trashcan, bound across a dumpster on all fours, then leapt through the air towards Erica.

The thing shrieked a terrifying sound, with its mouth wide open at an impossible angle displaying sharp teeth and a disgustingly black tongue. Its hungry black eyes fixated on Erica’s outstretched arms that held a pistol that slid into slide lock after she fired the last round in her magazine. The creature’s boney talons were reaching for Erica’s bare skinned forearms. Using his rifle, Victor stepped in and crushed the creature’s face with a horizontal butt stroke knocking it to the ground.

Victor put his boot on the Gray toddler’s back, struggling to pin the unphased flailing creature to the ground. “Are these Gen 2’s infectious? Can we get infected?” Victor pleaded with Erica.

“I don’t know!” She cried, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen one before!”

Victor had never seen one up close either and hoped that he never would again. But of course, he knew that he would. He wanted to spare this creatures life for science but wasn’t about to risk his family’s safety. Looking down at the thrashing creature he noticed several dark splotches across the creature’s light gray skin, he put the muzzle to its bald skull, and pulled the trigger silencing the pint size nightmare.

So much for a fresh start, Victor thought to himself. “There must be a den close by. There’s probably more of them.”

“Or they were siblings, triplets.” Erica offered. “They seemed about the same age and size.”

“Here comes Shore Patrol, let’s let them know to be on the look out for more.” Victor waved his hands to get the vehicles attention that was roaring down the road. “Do you think there’s a den close by?”

“Where else would they have come from?” Erica tilted her head at his question.

“Swam, maybe? First generation infected are too dumb to swim, but these things seem more animalistic than dumb.” Victor suggested.

Erica raised her eyebrows contemplating the idea that the island might not be as safe as they had originally thought.