Just My Luck
Location: Sidney Ohio Quarantine Zone. Date: July 13 2015 two years since the Cordyceps outbreak.
Many would say that Sidney was one of the luckier towns during the early stages of the outbreak. Being the small town that it was when the infection hit meant that it would take a good deal of time before it's citizens felt its effects. With many of the surrounding cities quickly being over run by the infected hordes many of the remaining military forces along with every survivor from the surrounding area fled to Sidney to escape and thus the Ohio Quarantine Zone was quickly established.
It's been two whole years since then and so much has changed. With Marshal Law now in full effect the military had full control over the country and all of its resources. However with what little military might that remained at this stage of the outbreak, to say it was being stretched to its limits would be an understatement. In the cases of small Zones like Sidney, about all they could manage was maintaining some semblance of order within the walls and to disposing of the infected that would wonder too close. And with the recent emergence of a terrorist group calling themselves the Fireflies, no soldier had a shortage of work on their hands. Our story begins with one such soldier. A young soldier by name of…
"Ramirez!" A gruff male voice called out from behind a closed door. When no response came the door swung open to reveal a tall muscular man wearing a military uniform. "Ramirez, where in the hell are you!? You better not be hiding from me soldier!" The man shouted as he glanced around the room which appeared to be some sort of makeshift armory with rows of lockers in the center and combat gear lining its walls. Still hearing no response to his ranting the man's brows furrowed in annoyance as he began to march past the lockers and towards a curtained off section of the room on the far side of it. He quickly pulled the curtain aside to reveal a small nook with several cots hung from the walls and on top of the nearest cot sat a young woman in military uniform. The woman had her face buried in a magazine and had a set of headphones hanging from her ears. "God Damn it Ramirez!" The man shouted as he pulled the magazine from the woman's hands to get her attention.
"Hey what the hel..lo sir!" The woman shouted in surprise before she sprung up to her feet and offered the man a crisp salute. Then the man began to speak but she couldn't quite make out what he was saying. The man gripped the bridge of his nose and motioned to his ears and mouthed the word headphones. The woman quickly realized her mistake and pulled the headphones out before tucking them into a bag behind her. "Sorry sir! What can I do for you!?" She asked innocently.
"Well I'm so glad you asked Ramirez. First of all, could you tell me where the hell the rest of your squad is!?" The man asked in a tone that suggested this wasn't really a request.
"They went to cash in their ration cards sir!" Ramirez responded promptly.
The man looked confused for a moment before responding in a frustrated tone. "They went to get their rations, of course why didn't I think of that? Oh wait that's right I told you to keep your men on standby tonight! So tell me why you felt the need to disregard my orders!?"
"Sorry sir! They wouldn't shut up so I figured it would be a good way to get a moment of peace. I'm sure they will be back any moment now." Ramirez explained. It looked as if her superior was about to continue his rant when he heard the sound of their barracks gate opening. "See sir, I'm sure that's them now."
The man sighed before speaking. "Fine but, consider yourself lucky this is your last day under my command or I would have had you scrubbing the johns for this! Now get your men geared up and ready to move out!" He commanded.
"Move out? Where am I taking them sir?" Ramirez inquired.
"We got reports of more infected gathering in sector 14. We want you and your squad to go clear them out." The man responded.
Ramirez rolled her eyes. "Another infection sweep, are you kidding me!? That's the sixth one this week!"
The man began to glare. "Watch your tone private! Be thankful that's all you're doing! You should be well aware by now how direr our situation is! We can't afford to have anyone sitting around on their asses while the rest of us work ours off. Do I make myself clear?!"
"Yes sir." Ramirez responded halfheartedly.
"I'm sorry I didn't hear you, care to try again private!?" The man commanded.
"Sir, yes sir!" Ramirez shouted while giving a salute.
"Good now get going!" The man said as he left the nook and headed back out of the door he had come in through. On his way out the door he passed a small group of soldiers carrying bags of what appeared to be canned food. When the soldiers were met by their commanders gaze they all seemed freeze in place before going into a saluting posture. "At easy, you lot got some work to do. Ramirez will fill you in." He told them before he pushed his way past the group and went around the next corner. Once the man was out of sight the group quickly made their way into the armory to face their sour looking squad leader and get their marching orders.
Ramirez's squad consisted of five people in total, four of which were men and the other one a women. Every member of the squad was in their early thirties to their late twenties but they each looked like they could be at least five years older. Once the squad sat their food down and took their place in front of their leader one of the men in the group stepped forward to speak with Ramirez directly. "So, they're sending us out again?" He asked in a somber tone.
Ramirez gave them an apologetic look before nodding. "Sorry guys, they want us to sweep sector 14. Trust me when I say I would rather be doing anything else but, we don't have much of an option here. So let's just gear up and get this over with."
The group let out a collective sigh before complying and spreading out across the room to grab their combat gear. The young man from earlier had just finished strapping on his vest before he went to speak with his squad leader again. "Hey Ramirez, this is your last day right? I still can't believe you're getting transferred. Boston is a long way from here."
"Well you best start Tony, since it's happening weather you believe it or not. And believe me I tried to get out of it. You know how the higher ups can be." She responded dryly.
The man gave her an understanding nod while snapping a magazine into his assault rifle. "What are we going to do without you?"
"Well that's really up to you to decide since your going to be squad leader from now on right? Shit I wish I could get promoted so easily! You should feel lucky." Ramirez said jokingly.
Ramirez's statement was met by a groan. "Hardly, I will say this now boss I never envied your job. Having to deal with command on a regular basis, needing to deal with never ending paper work, and having the lives of your whole squad resting you your shoulders constantly! If gaining all those problems wasn't bad enough, I am also losing my drinking buddy! So when we get back we just have to crack a few open! Think of it as a going away party, what do you say?"
Ramirez began to laugh to herself before responding. "Sure Tony but I'm all out so I guess that means we will be using your stash this time?" It was clear she wasn't really asking.
"Sure thing lets just hope there won't be too many…"
"Infected!" Tony shouts to the rest of his squad when he heard the familiar screech of infected runners as he spotted a group of them rushing towards them from multiple directions. He quickly raised his rifle to meet the charging horde before he opened fire. With deadly precision he unleashes several automatic bursts into the heads of three of approaching runners causing them to reel back before unceremoniously slumping to the ground in a heap of rotting flesh. Then as the last round of his magazine left the chamber he quickly took a step back to reload his weapon and watched as the rest of his squad moved up to form a line and mow down the remaining infected without any further incident. He couldn't help but crack a smile when the last one was effectively turned into Swiss cheese by a concentrated burst from all five of his companions before it crumbled to the ground.
Then once it was clear Tony took a few careful steps forward to confirm the kills and despite himself he jumped when he felt a hand grab onto his shoulder from behind. He quickly spun around to see his squad leader standing behind him. Ramirez gave him a cheeky look before addressing him. "Gees boy, still jumpy are we?" She said jokingly garnering a chuckle from the rest of the squad. She then took a step past Tony towards the fallen infected and glanced down at their work. "Good shooting guys, these fungus heads are real dead. And since no more seem to be coming after all that noise we just made, it looks like that's the last of them in this area."
The group let out a collective cheer but Tony had his doubts. "We sure this is the last of them?"
Ramirez gave him a confused look. "Well this was the area we were tasked with clearing and there's none left. Is there any reason to think there are more near by?"
Tony nodded as he stepped past her and knelt down next to one of the bodies. "It looks like all these guys were infected recently. So it makes me wonder what happened to the infected that bit them. Also I recognize this guy." He said while motioning to one of the fallen infected. "His name was Phil I think. He and his pregnant wife disappeared from the zone a few days ago and I don't see her anywhere. I doubt he would just leave her behind so she must be nearby"
Ramirez gave Tony a wide grin before patting him on the back hard enough to make him nearly fall over. "See I knew you would be perfect for the job. And you thought you guys would be hopeless without me. Anyway, looks like we got a little more work to do so spread out and search the bodies. We are looking for a map, maybe a journal, anything that could tell us what these guys were doing out here and where they were going. It could lead us to the rest of the infected and possible survivors."
The squad members instantly descended on the bodies quickly sifting through their pockets and backpacks pulling out valuables, food, ammo, tools, and several pieces of scrap paper with notes scribbled on them. Within moments one of the squad members a young woman by the name of Megan sprang up with a hand drawn map in hand. "Hey guys I think I found it!"
"What you got Megan?" Ramirez asked as she came closer to inspect it.
Megan quickly unfolded the map and laid it out on the ground. "This map is fairly detailed so I am guessing these guys have been here awhile. That means they must have a safe house set up some where and if I had to wager a guess it would be right here." Megan explained while pointing to one of the several marked locations depicted on the map.
Then Tony decided to join the conversation. "What makes you think that's the place?"
"Well based on all the supplies these guys were logging around with them, I think it's safe to say this was some sort of smuggling operation. And if you look closely all of these marked locations seem to be following a pattern. It's most likely that they were on the move between safe houses and since we found them here it would only make since that the closest place between here and the zone is where they were last." Megan reasoned.
Ramirez shrugs. "Hey makes since to me. This place isn't to far from here so let's go rap this up and get back home!"
About half an hour later and Ramirez's squad found themselves in front of old diner near the highway exit ramp. At first glance it seemed like an odd place for anyone to set up their base camp but the windows were small and elevated and its doors looked strong enough to withstand a few hits. Once they got a little closer they noticed an iron crowbar jammed into the door frame to keep it from being opened. Of course this raised a few red flags right away. It would make since if it was sealed from the inside but seeing it sealed from the outside was usually a bad sign. That meant there was something inside that somebody was trying to keep from getting out. So Ramirez readied her weapon and motioned towards two of her subordinates to advance. "Megan, Jonathan I need you to get us inside." She ordered causing the two squad members to quickly flank the door. With their weapons at the ready the two squad members rushed over to the door while the rest of the squad took up firing positions in front of it. Once everyone was in position Megan gave Ramirez a nod before reaching for the crowbar in order yank it free. However the moment her hand had touched the bar, the group heard the familiar sound of clicking from the other side of the door. The clicking was followed by a loud thud coming from the within the diner. Megan's hand instantly sprang backward in surprise before she glanced back at her squad leader for further guidance. Ramirez's face had now taken on a much more serious expression. She took a deep breath and exhaled softly before speaking. "Do it, we got you." She said calmly as she focused the sights of her rifle on the door.
Megan gave a hesitant nod before rapping her fingers back around the crowbar and giving it a hard tug ripping it free from the doorframe. The moment the bar was pulled free from the door it was thrown open and a group of heavily degenerated infected rushed out screeching and flailing their arms at air. And the moment they stepped out into the open they walked directly into a hail of gunfire that ripped them to pieces. With the infected defeated the group let out a collective sigh of relief before one of them decided to vocalize what they were all thinking. "Damn I hate these things!" Jonathan stated as he stepped over to the downed infected to make sure they were finished.
"No kidding, I mean look at their faces. They have to have been infected for a long time to be this bad, at least a year I would say." Tony added.
Ramirez looked down at them in disgust. "It seems the eyes tend to be one of first things to go. That's why they click like that. It's some kind of echo location apparently."
"Echo location? You mean like a bat?" Megan asked.
"That's right. Anyway I hear they have started calling them clickers." Ramirez responded.
"Clickers, is that right? Well it's real creepy so I guess it kind of fits. I don't want to image what these things would look like in a few more years." Tony chimed in.
"Hey maybe they will swell up so much that they will just explode!" Jonathan said jokingly warranting a round of chuckling from the rest of the squad.
Their laughter was quickly cut short as they heard another screech coming from inside the diner. Ramirez signaled her squad mates to follow her lead inside. They moved with a quite quickness as they pushed their way deeper inside the old building. They passed several fresh bodies and the signs of a battle as they made their way towards the back. It became clear that their suspicions were right and that this was some sort of smuggling operation gone horribly wrong. After a few minutes of weaving through the madness they found themselves staring wide eyed at a lone clicker slamming itself into a bathroom door likely trying to break its way inside. Several of Remirez's squad members raised their rifles to take the shot but she waved them off as she pulled a grenade from her waist. She quietly pulled the pin and chucked it directly at the clicker's feet causing it to roar and swing its arms wildly at the ground trying to kill whatever it was that rolled up to it until the grenade detonated at its feet. When the grenade went off it set hot metal fragments threw just about every part the clicker's body putting it down instantly.
After the grenade went off the squad remained motionless for a moment to make sure they were now truly alone. Hearing no further infected activity after the less then stealthily take down the squad began to move more quickly. Tony turned to Remirez to speak. "Care to explain that one to me? It seemed a bit excessive."
Ramirez shot Tony a wicked grin. "It seems you still got a lot to learn Tony. Other then killing the thing the grenade would have also drawn out the remaining infected in the area without alerting them to are location, which would have made them a hell of a lot easier to deal with don't you think? Of course the more important thing was this." Remirez stated as she motioned to the bathroom door which was now partly blown off its hinges. She proceeded to rip the door completely off and pushed her way through the blockage that was set up on the other side to enter the bathroom and her squad quickly followed suit. Once inside Remirez noticed a moving figure in the back of the room lying on the floor shaking. The figure appeared to be a middle-aged woman. Seeing this Remirez raised her weapon and approached slowly. "Hello? Are you alright?" She called out trying to get its attention. Before getting a response she was grabbed by the shoulder by Tony.
"That's Phil's wife, it looks like she's been bit!" Tony said as he pointed out the bloody marks on the woman's arms and legs. "Since she hasn't tried to eat us yet she must have just turned."
Remirez looked down at the shaking woman with a somber expression that only fell lower as she laid eyes on the woman's large rounded stomach. She let out a long sigh of exasperation before leveling her rifle and firing a single round into the women's head killing her instantly. "What a waste. I'm sorry." She said while shaking her head. Her attention was then pulled back as she heard Megan scream from behind her. She quickly spun around to see Megan lying flat on her ass in a slimy pool of liquid on the floor.
Megan shrieked as she tried to steady herself and slipped on the slimy liquid again. "What is this crap!? It's really gross!" She complained.
Remirez quickly made her way over to inspect it. "This is…" She trailed off a moment as she looked back at the body of the women she had just killed. She noticed that the women's pants looked wet and realization hit her. "Her water broke!" She shouted as she marched back up to the body and glanced down at her round stomach. After a moment she noticed movement inside of it. She then turned back to her squad and pulled out a combat knife from her vest. "Does anyone know how to deliver a baby?" She asked jokingly.
About half an hour later and Remirez was wearing a bright smile and had a new born baby boy rapped up in her arms. While the rest of her squad looked either horrified or incredibly tired. "I can't believe you just did that!" Jonathan stated in disbelief.
"Hey you know how the saying goes no man gets left behind! And we had to do what we had to do." Remirez responded.
"How do we even know this kid isn't infected?" Tony inquired.
Remirez held up the baby and flipped him around a few times in her hands to get a good look at him. "He looks clean to me. So who wants a kid?" She asked proudly as she held him up. She was quickly met with a few weird looks. "What, nobody?"
"Ma'am shouldn't we turn this kid over? None of us have to take him in." Megan responded.
Remirez shook her head. "I have been in the system long enough to know how much it sucks. And that was before all this crazy shit went down. I don't even want to think about what it's like these days. So I guess if there's no takers your all mine now huh little guy?" She said while cradling the baby.
"You're serious about this?" Tony asked causing Remirez to give him a nod. "Alright, so what are you going to name him?"
Remirez hadn't really thought about that. She took another look at the boy and thought for a long moment. "The odds were really stacked against this little guy. So I guess the most fitting name would be…"
Location: Boston Quarantine Zone. Date: July 13 2033
"Lucky, yes I know it's your birthday but I am out on patrol right now dear. I swear I will be home as soon as we are done with this sweep. Ah don't worry so much kid. I'm outside of the Zone tonight. I doubt the Fireflies will bother coming through here. Anyway I have to go see you later champ." Remirez said into the radio of her transport jeep. Then she turned off the radio and laid back into her seat with a sigh.
"That kid giving you trouble again Remirez?" A man in military combat gear sitting next to her asked jokingly.
"Not really, he just worries too much is all. With how fragile that boy is I don't know if he's cut out for this kind of work." Remirez responded.
"It's hard to believe he's already eighteen. He will be graduating from military school in a few days right? Man that's wild!" The man added.
Remirez gave the man a happy nod before strapping on a gasmask and cocking her weapon before the jeep came to a sudden stop. Then the driver turned back towards the pair to speak. "Alright this is it you guys, good luck out there tonight and stay sharp!"
Remirez and the other man nodded before they hoped out the side of the jeep and began taking in their surroundings. "Alright let's get this patrol over with! I can't keep my boy waiting forever."
