52.
Last Alarm
Chapter 52
"The Alamo"
Part Three
"How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams." _Bram Stoker
U.S.S Bonhomme Richard aka "Bonny Dick" (LHD-6),
WASP-Class Amphibious Assault Ship/Commando Carrier
Time: 0139
Current Location – Classified
Z-Day Times Five
Over seven hours had now passed from the time the "nuke" had detonated and the resulting EMP had knocked out all power aboard every ship in our small task force rendering us completely defenseless for hours until the crews aboard each ship were able to make repairs and we could finally get underway again.
But although power to each of the ships had finally been restored, communications with the outside world had thus far remained unsuccessful, and the American Naval Communications Technicians aboard each ship in the small fleet were practically tearing their hair out trying to make contact with someone, anyone, who could explain just what the hell was going on and more importantly…what the hell do we do now?
Unfortunately, no one connected to American or NATO Command seemed to be listening to the frantic pleas of the "Comms" people no matter how hard they tried as the small task force continued it's heading towards the small island airport, everyone still on high alert for another possible attack as hundreds of sailors and civilians aboard every ship continued on with their exhausting tasks in preparation for the mass evacuation of the airport scheduled to take place immediately after sunrise.
But of all the tired, worn out servicemen aboard each and every ship pushing themselves to their very limit and beyond to prepare for the mass "evac" mission about to get underway in a few hours, it was the handful of Radar Technicians manning their stations in the *CIC of each and every ship that were probably feeling the most pressure.
And I couldn't even imagine the strain that all those young men and women must be feeling as they all carefully scanned their radar screens for hours on end, all of them searching for that one tiny, blip that would indicate that the horror we had barely escaped from earlier this evening was once again streaking towards us.
*(CIC – Combat Information Center)
Thus far however, the skies and the "scopes" had remained clear, and since there was really nothing that the rest of us so-called "snake-eaters" could do about the present situation anyway, I had then continued on with my preparations for GREEN Troop's first rescue mission to "evac" the Takagi family and their staff, which had ended up taking several hours to complete before everyone was dismissed in order to try to get some sleep.
It had now been more than an hour since I had finally flopped down upon the small bunk in my stateroom myself in a feeble attempt to try to grab some form of sleep before morning when the Task Force was scheduled to finally drop anchor near Tokonosu International Airport and the mass evacuation of the island could finally commence.
And based on my previous experience aboard the "Bonnie Dick" years ago when I was still with RED Troop, I knew that there would be no chance of getting any shut-eye once the sailors and Marines began landing operations, so I knew that it would be best that my team and I get as much rest as we could before all the "fun" began.
Not that we'd be peacefully sleeping in our bunks during all that chaos anyway, because right in the middle of that major operation the newly-formed GREEN Troop, under my command, would also be going wheels up as well on our very first mission to evacuate my old employer Soichiro Takagi and his family.
And so despite the fact that there was only a few hours left before we were supposed to head back down to the SEAL armory and grab our gear, I had ordered everyone to try to get as much sleep as they could, knowing that sleep might not be a luxury we could afford if something went wrong on our mission and we wouldn't be able to return to the "Bonnie Dick" in a timely manner.
But even as thoroughly exhausted as I was both physically and mentally, the excitement of the upcoming mission and all the other thoughts that plague all warriors about to go into battle would not allow me to fall asleep no matter how hard I tried, as I tossed and turned fitfully in my bunk in frustration.
Of course, my being unable to sleep prior to a combat mission was nothing new to me especially during my time in the SAS, however, it had been awhile since I had been in the field and this mission would be the first one I'd been involved in since being re-instated into "The Regiment".
And while I had participated in numerous "extractions" of high-profile personnel before while still in the SAS, this particular mission would have its own unique level of difficulty given the fact that we had very little *"intel" to work with, as well as the limited assets we had available to support our operation.
(*"Intel"- Military slang for Intelligence – Useful information and data regarding a specific structure, area, or person)
And that being the case, I was leaving absolutely nothing to chance as I pondered upon every minute detail and every conceivable worst-case scenario that could possibly occur once the mission was well underway, and so in all honesty, I guess I really shouldn't have been all that surprised that sleep would have been so elusive for me given all the stuff that was flying around in my head at the time.
Unlike what you see in the movies, an "extract" mission is not just a simple "quick in and quick out" job where a group of black-clad ninjas suddenly swoop in by "heli" and then "fast rope" onto a building and rush in with guns blazing and grenades exploding as they quickly snatch their "package" away from under the noses of the "bad guys" and then haul ass out of there, unscathed.
In reality, when it comes to an extraction or any special operations type mission for that matter, there are literally hundreds of details that need to be tackled in the planning stage of any mission not to mention acquiring an accurate layout of the structure where the "package" is supposedly located which is one of the most difficult pieces of "intel" to acquire in any mission.
Fortunately for us however, one of the things that had really helped me in the planning phase of the mission was the fact that I had already been intimately familiar with the layout of Takagi Manor and the surrounding area from the time that I had spent with the Takagi family as their security advisor and personal bodyguard which had been a short time after I had been forced out of the "Regiment".
Still, just because I knew the place like the back of my hand still didn't mean that the mission would be a "cake-walk" either, especially considering the extreme limitations my team and I would be forced to work under as a result of the nuclear airburst that had occurred over Tokonosu City.
And even now my head still hurt from trying to work out all the details of the mission with only my four-man team made up of myself, Rika, Tajima, and Mac, who was filling in as a last minute substitute, since my mates from RED Troop were still stranded at the airport and would be in no shape to take on a last minute extract mission.
And if things didn't suck enough already, since all air assets were also at a premium due to the mass "evac" of the airport about to take place, the only aircraft the *"CAG" could spare for our mission were one Navy SH-60 "Seahawk" helicopter to transport me and my team, as well as two Marine CH-46 "Sea Knight" transport helicopters to transport the two Marine platoons accompanying us as ground support, and two AH-1W "Sea Cobra" attack helicopter escorts to help cover our asses in case the Infected became a problem during the "evac".
*("CAG"- Navyspeak for the Carrier Air Group Commander who is the Senior Naval Officer in charge of all air squadrons aboard an aircraft carrier)
With such limited air and ground support available to us, if it hadn't been for the fact that we wouldn't be infiltrating through enemy territory or coming under enemy fire in order to extract Soichiro Takagi and his family, I would have called the whole bloody thing off since we were taking one hell of a risk trying to extract the Takagi family and their staff with such a meager force and with no other available assets to back us up in case we ran into trouble.
Still, all things considered it wasn't the worst situation I'd ever been in, and since everyone involved in the mission was visibly spoiling to get into action, there had been no complaints whatsoever by anyone during the mission briefing about the mission being implemented under such short notice or with so few assets.
Of course, being as that we were plagued with limited resources and manpower, every one of us would now be forced to work even harder during the mission in order to compensate for the lack of manpower, and it took a while before I was finally satisfied that everyone was clear on the task they were assigned to carry out before I finally dismissed everyone so that they could to try to grab a little sleep before morning.
But as tired as everyone was, I couldn't help but notice that as each man and woman began to file out of the briefing room as they headed off to their assigned berthing quarters, there was definitely a noticeable electricity in the air which I'm sure was felt by everyone, all of us undoubtedly eager to get back into action after having been cooped up in this floating tin can for so long.
In Rika's case however, I'm pretty sure that her excitement was actually all due to the fact that she was just anxious at being able to shoot at something again since it had been more than six hours since she'd even had a gun in her hand, and she was having shit-fits about not being able to carry a weapon while aboard the "Bonnie Dick".
And it was all Mac and I could do to keep from cracking up every time we saw the frustrated look on Rika's face, knowing that she would have blown a gasket the moment she realized that we had both lied to her about the *"regs" concerning her being able to carry a weapon aboard ship.
*(Regs- Military-speak for Regulations)
While it was indeed true that American Navy regulations did indeed forbid sailors and Marines from carrying weapons aboard ship unless they were assigned to duties that required them to be armed, the same regulations did not apply to Special Operations personnel such as the SEALs who were allowed to carry their sidearms with them at all times.
And since Rika and Tajima were temporarily assigned to "22nd Reg" as members of my newly-formed "GREEN Troop", it would have been completely acceptable for her and Tajima to wear their sidearms as well since they were now technically, "operators", and no longer considered just regular civilian Law Enforcement Officers.
However, since I knew that nothing irked Rika more than not being allowed to have a weapon on her person especially with her being aboard a warship surrounded by Spec Ops operators, I could not resist the opportunity to screw with Rika just a little bit.
Practical jokes in the Military are not unheard of and are practiced quite often especially in elite forces, but if you ask me, no one has ever made it an art form quite like firefighters have.
Guess I must have picked up some bad habits from Jim…
And so just prior to our little visit to the SEAL armory earlier, I had informed Tajima and "Mac" of a little prank I wished to play on Rika, and I have to say, those two did such a great job of keeping a straight face even after Rika's little hissy fit that we decided to go on with the charade despite the fact that Rika would be out for our blood once she realized that she'd been had.
Although if you ask me, being berthed next to Rika "The Human Foghorn" Minami was torture enough as far as I was concerned, and anything Rika would try to do to me as revenge for the prank I had pulled on her would pale in comparison to the agony I was currently enduring as I cringed in response to the loud snore coming from her stateroom next door.
"Bloody hell…!" I swore under my breath as the walls vibrated from Rika's snoring as I turned over in my bunk and covered my head with my pillow in order to muffle the sound. "…it's a bloody miracle anyone could get any sleep with all that f_cking racket!"
Fortunately for me however, there's a limit to how much the human body can put up with before it begins to shut down all on its own, and so eventually after several more frustrating moments of listening to Rika's snoring reverberating off the hull of the "Bonnie Dick", my brain finally decided that it had been pushed just about hard enough and I finally fell unconscious and slept like a dead man.
Time: Past Midnight – Exact Time Unknown
Location: Takagi Manor – Second Floor Bedroom (Saya's Room)
Z-Day Times Five
"I don't care what Ji-san or Marikawa-sensei says, I've done absolutely nothing deserving of this…" Saeko said miserably, unable to remember a time in her entire young life when she had ever been as miserable as she was now as she covered her head beneath her heavy quilt.
For several hours now eighteen year-old Saeko Busujima had fitfully tossed and turned on the thick futon she lay on, her frustration at her inability to fall asleep growing as the minutes that passed from the time she had first laid her head down onto her pillow, turned into hours.
But while the futon she had been given to sleep on was actually quite comfortable in comparison to the one that she normally slept on in her own home, the real reason for the young woman's inability to sleep had absolutely nothing to do with the comfortableness of her bed as Saeko winced as if in pain in response to the extremely loud snoring coming from the sleeping girl lying in the huge Western-style bed next to her.
*"Chikushoooooo…!" Saeko swore no longer able to stand Saya's loud snoring which threatened to shake the paint off the very walls as Saeko quickly sat up in her futon and then glared evilly in the direction of the still form of the young girl lying fast asleep in the luxurious bed next to her, as Saeko then grabbed her pillow and slammed it against her own face.
"ROLL OVER ON YOUR SIDE, BAKAAAAAAAAA!" Saeko screamed into her pillow as loud as she could as she then tossed the pillow aside in frustration and then balled her right hand into a fist and angrily slammed it onto the top of Saya's bed with such force that it awoke the sleeping puppy Zeke lying between the sleeping forms of Shizuka and Alice, who by some miracle, were still fast asleep on their own futon on the other side of the room.
But to Saeko's disgust, the violent strike which had been powerful enough to shake the entire bed had seemingly had no effect on Saya at all as the sleeping teen merely rolled over in her bed and then continued to snore noisily as Saeko glared at her with murderous eyes before the frustrated teen then collapsed back onto her futon and covered her head with her pillow in a desperate attempt to muffle the sound of Saya's snoring.
Yet as harsh to the ears as the almost animal-like roar of Saya's snoring was, Saeko admitted to herself that that alone was not the only reason why was being deprived of sleep as she lay in her futon fuming angrily in silence while Saya Takagi continued to slumber heavily as if without a care in the world.
And it was because of that other reason that continued to nag away at Saeko's conscience that made it almost impossible for Saeko to resist the overwhelming urge to jump up from her futon and wrap her hands around Saya's neck and throttle the spoiled brat for the unjust treatment that she now had to endure because of her.
It hadn't been long after the power had gone out in the mansion earlier that evening that Saeko and the other teens had immediately grown extremely concerned that the situation was far more serious than a simple power outage upon noticing the odd way the adults had started acting afterwards.
But while everyone including herself, were concerned that perhaps the reason that the adults were being overly-cautious was because the situation was indeed more dangerous than any of them realized, Saya Takagi on the other hand, had taken all of the adult's warnings for the group of teenagers to remain indoors as a personal insult, and had started complaining almost immediately.
And no sooner had Saya's parents left the large dining room to join the group of men standing on the lawn outside, than the heir of the Takagi Household had immediately began to conspire with the others to ignore the warnings from the adults and sneak out of the mansion in order to find out exactly what was going on outside.
Although Saeko had been just as curious as her friends as to why the adults were acting so oddly as well, she had respectfully chosen to heed her adopted father's warning to stay indoors, and had immediately made it clear that she was opposed to Saya's plan to sneak away from under the watchful eyes of the guards and had also warned the others against going along with the young hot-head's scheme as well.
However, much to Saeko's surprise, evidently the other teen's curiosity as to all the secrecy going on amongst the adults had proven to be too much for any of them to ignore, because suddenly Rei had then stated that she too felt the adults were treating them too much like children and that perhaps it wouldn't hurt to go along with Saya's plan to sneak out of the room and have a look for themselves, despite Saeko's protests.
Hoping desperately that at least Takashi would at least be the one to listen to reason, Saeko had then pointed out that they had all promised to trust her adopted father that very morning and that by sneaking out of the mansion no matter what their reasons, they would essentially be violating that trust.
And at first, it had seemed that Takashi was in complete agreement with Saeko's concern about violating the adults trust in them, which could jeopardize any chance of the adults ever trusting them again and quite possibly, jeopardize any chance of receiving any help from the adults in finding their families.
To Saeko's dismay however, all it had taken was one disapproving look from Rei for Takashi to go completely against all reason and come to the decision that the group would attempt to leave the house despite Saeko's warnings.
And when Saeko had pressed the issue further, and had even accused Takashi of being foolish for caving in so easily, the teenage boy had then snapped at her angrily in frustration and had then stated to her in front of everyone that if she wished to be a "daddy's girl" and remain indoors like her adopted father had told her to, that was her choice.
Shocked and infuriated that Takashi had so easily given in to Saya and Rei's reckless whims and had refused to listen to reason, Saeko had then angrily confronted Takashi in front of everyone as a heated exchange of words suddenly erupted amongst the group of teenagers.
In the end however, Saeko's protests had been to no avail, and despite her warnings, Takashi had then angrily turned his back on her and then ordered Saya to go along with her plan as the pink-haired teen then brazenly went up to the guards and demanded that she and the others be allowed to leave the large dining room in order to go to the bathroom, as Saeko watched on in angry silence.
However, after having witnessed the heated exchange between the group of teens, the guards had grown suspicious that the Takagi heir and her friends were up to no good and as a result, had flatly refused to allow the teens to leave the room, even when Shizuka had offered to escort the teens to the bathroom in an effort to help the guards keep a close eye on them.
Still angry at the other teens for ignoring her attempts to reason with them, Saeko had smirked with satisfaction at the sight of Saya Takagi's face turning purple with rage as the bodyguards continued to ignore her demands that she and the others be allowed to leave.
"Weren't expecting that were you, you spoiled brat…?" Saeko mumbled under her breath acidly as her eyes suddenly widened in shock when the hot-headed heir of the Takagi House finally blew her top at her being ignored by the guards and then unexpectedly tried to roughly shove her way past them.
And then to Saeko's further shock all hell then suddenly broke loose as a violent struggle begin to ensue between the hot-headed teen and the bodyguards which turned even uglier the moment one of the guards accidentally twisted Saya's arm a little too roughly, causing her to yelp in pain, as Kouta suddenly roared in anger and then jumped onto the back of one of the guards and started punching the man in the head.
Instantly, the scuffle then immediately escalated into a full-out brawl as Takashi and Rei then jumped into the fray in order to help their friends despite Shizuka's attempts to hold them back, as teenagers and adults alike then began to punch, kick, and even bite each other.
Despite every fiber of her being screaming at her to jump in and help put an end to the mess her friends had gotten themselves into, Saeko had hesitated at first, not wishing to make the already bad situation even worse as she shook her head in disgust and continued to watch the melee from across the room.
Saeko's hesitation abruptly ended however, the moment she saw one of the guards suddenly place Takashi in a choke-hold and refused to let go of the struggling teen even as he visibly struggled for air.
Realizing that the situation had now taken a dangerous turn and realizing that she had no other choice, Saeko had then immediately charged into the melee at last, as adults and teens alike suddenly found themselves being flung across the room in all directions.
Quickly disabling the guard who had Takashi in a choke-hold with a series of nerve strikes, Saeko had then immediately disabled the other with a quick jab to the throat before the rest of the teens finally managed to gather their wits together long enough to help Saeko quickly bound and gag the semi-conscious guards, before locking them in a nearby closet.
Momentarily held spellbound by the horror of what the teens had done to the guards, Shizuka had finally snapped out of her trance long enough to make a vain attempt to prevent the teens from trying to leave the room but had ended up being tied to a chair instead, and then locked in the same broom closet with the guards, as Alice watched on in silent horror.
With all of the adults now secured behind locked doors, Saeko realized that she had been left with little choice but to join her friends on their ill-advised adventure as the group of teenagers then stealthily made their way through the ghostly silent mansion unchallenged until they were able to gather near the small group of adults whom were busily engaged in a tense discussion with one another.
Knowing that the adults would more than likely be incensed to find that the group of teens had intentionally ignored their orders to remain indoors, Saya had made it clear to everyone that no mention would be made of the scuffle that had occurred with the guards in the hope that things could be smoothed over with the American and her parents before the whereabouts of the three adults could be addressed.
Unfortunately, the haughtiness and bravado that the young heir to the Takagi House had so brashly displayed before with the guards had completely collapsed under the furious glare of her father's steely gaze once the Security Chief demanded to know what had happened to his men.
And from there, things had swiftly gone downhill…
"If he had only allowed me to explain what had really happened…" Saeko though to herself sulking as Saya coughed suddenly before resuming her loud snoring as Saeko's left eyebrow began twitching in irritation.
"But no, he just had to embarrass us in front of all the other adults and scold us like children…!" Saeko said through gritted teeth as another loud snore echoed in her ears.
"And there was absolutely no reason for Marikawa-sensei to yell at me like that either..!" Saeko said as she shuddered at the image of the former school nurse's face as she stared angrily into the eyes of her and her friends as she scolded all of them severely.
"And if that screaming at us weren't humiliating enough…" Saeko said her blood boiling as a whistle escaped through Saya's teeth.
"Why did she have to lock all of us up in the same room with this braying donkey?" Saeko said aloud as the young woman finally reached her boiling point as she angrily slammed her pillow against her face again.
*"YAKAMASHIIIIIIIIIII…!" Saeko screamed into her pillow, her cry of rage and frustration barely muffled by the thick pillow as she then got up from her futon and then violently slammed her pillow against the sleeping form of Saya Takagi.
But as before, the young heir of the Takagi House appeared to not have been affected at all by the violent force of Saeko's blow as she merely snorted in response and then lazily rolled over in her bed and settled down with her back to Saeko.
"Are you even human….?!" Saeko said through gritted teeth as she glared icily at Saya Takagi's sleeping form just as a raucous noise suddenly echoed loudly in the room as Saya passed gas.
*"Omae wo korosu….!" Saeko said her face twisting in disgust as a pungent smell suddenly wafted towards her as she then fell heavily back onto her futon and quickly buried her face into her pillow in a feeble attempt to escape the foul smell that was swiftly settling over her.
"I don't care what Ji-san says…!" Saeko said as she tried to keep from gagging at the foul odor that seemed to already be permeating into her pillow. "...I am not a little girl who can be sent to her room and grounded for being bad!"
"And even if what I did was wrong, I am legally an adult now, and I am deserving of more respect than this…!" Saeko screamed angrily into her pillow before coughing violently several times as another loud snore echoed in Saeko's ears.
"CHIKUSHOOOOOOOOO!" Saeko screamed in frustration undoing years of extreme mental discipline as she began to spew a stream of obscenities into her pillow.
*(Chikusho- Japanese for "Damn" or "Dammit")
*(Yakamashii-Japanese for "You're noisy!" Or in this case, Saeko is saying… "Shut Up!")
*(Omae wo korosu - Japanese for "I'm going to kill you.")
Time: Hours Later- (Actual Time Unknown)
Location: Takagi Manor – Second Floor Guest Room (Jim's Room)
Z-Day Times Five
I wasn't exactly sure just exactly how much time had passed since I had plopped down on the exceptionally comfortable bed in my room in an attempt to try to get some sleep, knowing that sleep might very well be a luxury I could not afford to indulge in once I left to contact the JSDF rescue team in the morning.
Yet even as physically and mentally exhausted as I was, to my dismay I found that no matter how hard I tried I could not push out the troubling thoughts in my head long enough for my mind and body to settle down long enough for sleep to finally take over, as I lay there in bed staring vacantly at the ceiling for hours.
Of course, my inability to fall asleep was not something I wasn't used to already, and I doubt that there's anyone who's ever worked in the Fire Service, EMS, Law Enforcement, and especially the Military who doesn't suffer from the long-term effects of sleep deprivation, especially considering the type of stress involved being in that type of profession.
It's a hell of a way to make a living, working in a profession like Emergency Services or the Military where your job consists of making everything better at a moment's notice when someone else's life has gone to absolute shit, even though in the end you may not be able to do anything to help resolve the situation or even make it out alive yourself.
And if being a cop, paramedic, or fireman is a tough gig, then one can only imagine how nerve-wracking it is for a combat soldier who knows that they're about to go out on a combat mission that may very well end up in a shit storm from which they or their buddies may not come back from.
And seeing as how I was about to conduct a solo recon mission in a city full of lurking monsters with only the weapons and equipment on my back and absolutely no other assets of any other kind to back me up, I doubt anyone would have been able to fall asleep under the same circumstances either.
However, in this particular instance it wasn't the mission that I was about to undertake or the lives of so many people that were depending on the successful outcome of my mission that was robbing me of much needed sleep.
No, the real reason for my inability to sleep had nothing to do with any of that at all as I swore under my breath in frustration before flinging my legs over the side of the bed and then sitting there staring vacantly off into the darkness trying in vain to grapple with my guilty conscience.
After several minutes had passed though, I finally had to admit to myself that there was just no way I was ever going to win this fight against my conscience as I then reached into one of the loops on my tactical vest and pulled out one of the cyalume lights I had strategically placed there.
Once I had pulled the chemical light free, I then snapped the inner plastic tube and shook it until the chemicals mixed together and began to emit a bright blue glow, before I then walked over towards the bathroom using the glow from the chem-light to light my way before I then laid the glowing stick on the sink and began to wash my face.
After toweling off myself off afterwards, I then paused a moment to stare at my reflection in the mirror before I then gently lifted the end of the balaclava that I was still wearing and gazed at the thick bandage concealed underneath before then covering the bandage up again and letting out a tired sigh as I reflected back on my earlier days when I was still serving as a fireman.
Back then when I was still working in the Fire Service, there were many times when I thought that I was going to die when an already bad call, suddenly went to "oh shit" in a great big frickin' hurry.
And even though by some miracle my buddies and I had all somehow managed to come out of such a bad situation unscathed, I knew for a fact that we had all been extremely fortunate since many of our fellow firefighters in other departments had not survived some of the very same things we had experienced.
Still, even though we had escaped certain death at times, all of us bore scars in one form or another from the things we experienced in a high risk occupation like ours where injuries like burns, broken bones, cancer, and heart and lung issues frequently occurred.
Truth be told though, when the time came that I finally turned in my badge and I had officially retired from the Fire Service, most of the injuries that I had suffered on the job had been more mental and emotional than physical.
And now as I stood there staring at my reflection in the mirror under the glow of the blue chem-light, I couldn't help but be reminded on just how fortunate I had been to have escaped serious injury after all those years on the job, and how blessed I was to also still be breathing after all that.
But the ugly truth was, there had been many days in the past that I had often felt that being alive had become so unbearable that I no longer felt so blessed about having escaped death after all, and in those instances I began to believe that my being alive was not really a blessing at all… but rather, a curse.
And one of those times that I had strongly believed that my being alive was not a miracle but was instead just another example of my being snatched from the jaws of death only to continue a life of seemingly endless misery, had been the day I had found myself still alive on the riverbank after having intentionally jumped off the bridge in order to save Saeko and Takashi from being killed trying to save me, on the second day of the Outbreak.
Even now I knew deep in my heart that there was just no way in hell I could have survived that ordeal, especially considering that I was weighed down with my heavy pack and couldn't swim worth a damn either.
And yet by some unexplained miracle I had survived, and even now I still didn't understand how such a thing could have been possible.
But instead of being overjoyed at the miracle that had just occurred however, I had instead cursed my still being alive and had immediately howled at the top of my voice in a mixture of anguish and rage in the hopes that any of the Infected lurking nearby would come over and end my miserable existence.
But nothing had happened…
And so enraged was I at the time that I had then yanked my pistol from its holster and placed it against my right temple with the intention of ending my misery once and for all, as my finger began to apply pressure to the trigger.
But just as I was a mere heartbeat away from ending it all, a vision had suddenly and unexpectedly appeared before me in the form of Saeko as a little girl lunging at me with tear-filled eyes and screaming shrilly "Daddy… NO!" which had interrupted my almost successful attempt to finally end my life.
Completely shaken by the vision that I had just seen, I had then sat on that riverbank for hours, pondering over the reasons as to why the vision of Saeko had so suddenly appeared before me just as I was on the verge of finally achieving the only real peace I thought had been left to me.
But there had been no answer to my question as to whether the vision of Saeko that I had just experienced had actually been some sort of miraculous intervention or just another illusion manifested to prevent me from making my final escape from the life of misery it seemed that I was destined to endure indefinitely.
But after some time had passed I had then realized that I would never find the answers I was looking for by just sitting there uselessly on my ass by the side of the river, and so I had then shrugged off such depressing thoughts and had even chastised myself afterwards for behaving like a fool when the very fact remained that Shizuka and the kids were still very much in danger and this really was no time for me to be feeling sorry for myself.
But then later, when I had found them again not far from the spot where I had taken my almost near-fatal plunge, I had once again began to question my reasons for being alive the moment Saeko proceeded to slap the shit out of me almost immediately upon my return.
However, when the dust had finally settled and all had been forgiven, it seemed that my purpose for being alive had been revealed when we had then resumed our dangerous journey through the city and I had protected the kids from several dangers we had met along the way, until finally we had reached a place of sanctuary.
Or so we had thought…
And then once again, just when things seemed to be going so well, the rug got pulled out from under me again.
Only this time…my luck had nearly run out.
Barely a couple of days had passed since that time that I lay unconscious on the floor of the condo we had taken shelter in, practically bleeding to death from a grotesque head wound that the Security Chief had inflicted on me with the butt of his rifle in an effort to keep me from killing one of his men.
And the only reason that I was even alive today was because of the courage of eighteen year-old Saeko Busujima who had saved my life by single-handedly taking out the Security Chief and Saya's mother, who were on the verge of ending it.
And not only had my life been saved because of Saeko's courage, but now it seemed that the happiness that had eluded me for so long of having a child of my own had finally been granted me, and it was then that I began to believe that my very reason for my continued existence was indeed a miracle, and not a curse.
But just as it seemed that a life filled with joy and happiness with my adopted daughter was within my grasp, whatever evil it was that seemed to take sick enjoyment in dashing my hopes and dreams of ever experiencing even the smallest measure of real happiness chose that exact moment to come along and rip it violently away from me, leaving me once again… with nothing.
Only this time, there no one to blame, but myself…
And a part of me truly wished that I had just kept my mouth shut about my concerns earlier this evening when my instincts had warned me of the possible threat to everyone at Takagi Manor by a possible attack of the Infected after the ICBM attack had occurred.
And while I knew that I had done the right thing by voicing my concerns to the Takagi's, the truth was that more than likely, most of the Infected were probably on the other side of the city chasing after the fleeing populace, and despite my so-called "instincts" warning me of danger, there really had been no evidence to indicate that the Infected were a threat to any of us at our present location.
And even though I had made the choice to voice my concerns about an imminent attack by the Infected, no one had forced me, or even asked me to volunteer to leave the relative safety of Takagi Manor and embark on a solo recon mission to make contact with the JSDF rescue team…alone.
So why had I?
I mean seriously, I wasn't a fireman anymore, I was for all intents and purposes a mercenary…a soldier-of-fortune…a man paid to fight.
And that being the case, I don't remember anyone stepping forward with an offer to pay me to go make contact with the JSDF which any veteran *PMC worth his salt would have flatly refused on the spot no matter how much money he had been offered, considering the nature of the mission.
*(PMC- Private Military Contractor)
And it sure as hell wasn't because I felt owed anyone anything, including the Takagi's…
Hell, if anything, Soichiro Takagi already owed me a hell of a lot of back pay for my services already rendered as a PMC for Laidlaw whom he had contracted to protect his nephew in the first place, not to mention the compensation he clearly owed me for his wife and her men nearly waxing my ass back at the condo.
And it sure as hell wasn't out of a sense of duty motivating me to protect everyone hiding within the walls of Takagi Manor since every man, woman, and even children had done nothing but try to lynch my ass since the day I arrived.
All things considered, since I was no longer bound by a sense of duty to help anyone nor was I being compensated for my services either, there really was no obligation on my part whatsoever for me to risk my life by going out into the city alone to contact the JSDF, and no one could force me even if there had been.
"But it's not about me…" I said with a heavy sigh as I reflected on the fact that like so many other times in my life, I had once again voluntarily pushed my wants and desires aside, and now the lives of over three hundred men, women, and children were literally depending on me making contact with the JSDF rescue team, and there was no way I could back out of it now.
"But then again it's not about them either, is it…?" I said aloud as I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed my carbine, knowing deep in my heart that there had been only one person amongst all those others whom in my mind was worth the risk to my life that I was now making.
And it was because of that love for my adopted daughter Saeko that I had also finally decided to myself that "enough was enough", and that I couldn't just walk away and allow her to live the rest of her life thinking that I had been killed so horribly by the Infected, especially after all that she had done for me.
Truth be told, I had already been pondering for hours every conceivable way to back out of the Security Chief's plan to stage my "death" so that Saeko and the others wouldn't follow me, and I suppose that even if I hadn't found a way to get out of it somehow, I would have made up something eventually.
But it was while I was staring at my reflection in the mirror at the thick bandage wrapped around my head, that I finally found the one flaw in Yoshioka-san's plan that none of us had thought about before.
And I have to admit, I had breathed a sigh of relief at the realization that despite the morbid brilliance of the Security Chief's ruse, he had not taken into account that Saeko was not your typical high school teenager whose mind revolved around the latest fashions, popular music, college exams, or of course, boys.
Saeko Busujima was on a completely different level than most teenagers, and all the Security Chief had to do to realize that was take one look at the large bandage situated over the bridge of his broken nose.
But evidently, once again the Security Chief had underestimated Saeko, and his mistake had given me the opening that I had been desperately looking for.
While I had been so enraptured at the thought of adopting and raising Saeko as my own child, there could be no denying that Saeko had felt the same way towards me, especially after the many times she had put her life at risk for me already.
And it was that very same devotion that Saeko had for me as her "father" that I finally realized that even if Yoshioka-san's plan succeeded in making Saeko and the other kids believe that I had been killed by the Infected, there was no way the story would have just ended there.
Because even if she had fallen for Yoshioka's plan completely, Saeko, being the person that she was, would not just mourn my "death" for a period of time and then leave it at that.
No, Saeko bless her heart, out of a sense of duty, compassion, or just plain loving devotion to my memory would have then gone off and made every possible attempt to find my family and make contact with them as soon as possible, just to let them know what had happened to me.
And since I had already told Saeko almost every conceivable detail there was to know about my family including exactly where they lived in San Antonio as well as my younger brother's "in-laws" who lived up in the Texas Hill Country, I had no doubts that Saeko would eventually be able to find them, if they were all still indeed alive.
And once she finally came face-to-face with my family, I knew that Saeko would barely have a chance to open her mouth before the truth would finally come out that I was still alive, after all.
Because while my dad, and my younger brother and his wife would have been able to keep the truth about my being alive a secret, there was just no way in hell my mother would have been able to keep the truth from her adopted "grandbaby", once Saeko made her appearance.
As much as I often lamented the fact that I never had a wife and child of my own, my mother on the other hand, was just as miserable about not having a "grandbaby" to gush over like so many of her friends had.
And I knew deep in my heart that the moment my mother caught sight of Saeko…well, if Saeko thought I was overly-affectionate with all the hugs and kisses that I always doted on her, then she was in for one hell of a great big frickin' surprise once my mother got her hands on her.
And of course my mom, being the kind-hearted soul that she is, would have taken one look at her precious "granddaughter" and seen the despair in Saeko's eyes and would have then been completely unable to keep my secret from her, and would then immediately spill the beans to Saeko that I was still very much alive and roaming the earth somewhere.
And once that happened, all hell would break loose…
And then Yoshioka-san's plan to fool Saeko and the other teens from being hurt would have been a wasted effort in the end, because once Saeko learned the truth of what we had done, she would no doubt search every dark corner of the earth looking for me.
And my whole body suddenly shook involuntarily as a cold shiver ran up my spine at the thought of Saeko searching all four corners of the globe looking for me, her eyes burning with murderous intent.
Still, regardless of the ugliness of it all and the repercussions that were sure to follow afterwards, if I truly wanted to keep Saeko and the others from leaving the mansion, then there really was no other choice other than for me to continue to go along with Yoshioka'san's plan, at least for now.
And seeing as how Saya's life also hung in the balance as well, I doubted very much that the Takagi's would have refrained from implementing the plan even if I had refused to go along with it.
However, just because I had reluctantly consented to go along with the plan did not mean that I had to let Saeko live with the horrible belief that I had been killed, only to find out later on from my family that everything that she had been told about my death had all been a horrible ruse to keep her and the others from harm, and that I was still very much alive somewhere.
And that being the case, I knew that there really was no other choice but to make a drastic change in our previous plans to fool Saeko and the others, even though in the end, there would still not be a happy ending when it was all over.
And so I had made up my mind that instead of allowing Saeko and the others to live the rest of their lives thinking I had been killed, my new plan was that once I made contact with the JSDF at the power plant, I would then hop aboard one of the JSDF rescue helicopters and lead the rescue team all the way back to the mansion, instead of being flown back to the nearest Military Base, like I previously intended.
But I knew the moment the landing gear of the JSDF helicopters began to touch down upon the lush landscape of the mansion, unlike everyone else that would be cheering with joy at the sight of their saviors, Saeko and the others would instead be standing there staring in shock at the man they had all been lead to believe was dead, the moment I stepped off the chopper.
And I also knew that while Shizuka and the kids would be stunned to see me still alive and breathing as I stood there before them, I knew that the look of stunned disbelief on Saeko's face would quickly turn into anguish the moment she realized that she had been so horribly deceived, regardless of the fact that it had all been done to protect her and the others.
And then that anguish would turn into anger which would then be quickly followed by tears of pain as she turned her back… and her heart, on me forever.
But as much as I knew that the truth about what I had done would cause Saeko irreparable heartbreak and anguish, I would still rather have her alive and well, in the hopes that perhaps one day she would understand why I had deceived her so horribly, and maybe even perhaps forgive me in time.
But whether Saeko forgave me for what I did to her or not did not matter, the important thing was that she would be alive, and that's all that really mattered to me in the end.
"Because this is not about me, or them…" I said with a heavy sigh as I tossed the blue chem-light in my hand onto the bed and then grabbed a red one from my vest and bent it, snapping the inner capsule in two as I shook the plastic tube so that the chemicals could mix, as a soft red glow began to fill the room.
"It's about her…" I said with firm conviction as I taped the red chem-light to the handguard of my M4 and then walked out the door of my room and down the long, dark, hallway leading to the left wing of the mansion with only the glow of the red chem-light on my weapon to light my way.
Time: Minutes Later- (Actual Time Unknown)
Location: Takagi Manor – Left Wing of Mansion
Z-Day Times Five
As I climbed up the small stairway and walked out onto the small balcony located on the roof of the West Wing of the mansion that closely resembled the watchtower of a castle, I could not help but glance downward at the almost mesmerizing beauty of the brightly illuminated grounds below.
As a security measure and also to give the civilian refugees at least somewhat of a small sense of security, dozens of small ceramic garden torches had been placed all over the grounds of the sprawling estate giving the appearance that a large garden party had just taken place.
And as much as the old fireman in me was still worried that some drowsy "volunteer" might accidentally tip over one of the oil-filled torches in the middle of the night and cause a grass fire, I had to admit, the bright glow coming from all the torches did indeed help provide a feeling of comfort and security as well as provide those of us on watch with a somewhat decent source of illumination, as I watched several civilian volunteers and their Security supervisors making their rounds through the small tent city where the majority of the refugees were still fast asleep in their tents.
And since one of our main concerns had been the possibility of the Infected beginning to approach us from the city, as an added precaution I had asked the Security Chief to have a few torches placed at intervals on the main road leading up to the front gate of the mansion, in order for us to be able to detect anything approaching from that direction.
Although the placement of the garden torches had been for strategic purposes and not merely for ambience, I had to admit that the view from my vantage point of all the torches burning brightly on the grounds below and on the road leading down the hill, was absolutely breath-taking.
And as I gazed upon the dozens of brightly-lit flames dancing in the darkness appearing almost as beautiful as the twinkling of the stars in contrast to the almost sinister-look of the now dead city, whose shadowy outline could barely be seen in the distance.
And as I stood there gazing out onto the brightly-lit grounds of the mansion, I swear that I could have lost myself in the beauty of that scene for hours if not for the fact that at that exact moment I just happened to notice that the small group of men that had been assigned as lookouts on the very same balcony where I now stood, were nowhere to be found.
Immediately growing alarmed at this unexpected lapse in security, I quickly glanced around in all directions thinking that perhaps the small group of men had snuck off for a quick smoke break or had perhaps fallen asleep somewhere.
And my alarm immediately turned into anger at the thought that if "goofing off" were indeed the reason for the guard's unexplained disappearance, then I swore that I was going to make them sorry they were ever born for not taking their frickin' job seriously, and putting the lives of so many in jeopardy.
"Good thing for them this isn't the Military…" I muttered through gritted teeth as I scanned all around the roof of the mansion for any signs of the missing lookouts. "…I'd have f_cking shot them myself for pulling this kinda shit at a time like this."
Yet as pissed off as I was, I knew deep down that I really shouldn't have been all that surprised to find people screwing off when they were supposed to be on alert, after all, these were a bunch of scared civilians, not professional soldiers.
And even if they had been soldiers, guard duty has always been a task viewed as something only slightly better than *"Mess Duty" or even *"burning shitters", mostly because of the extreme boredom that comes with having to remain alert for extended periods of time.
*(Mess Duty- Military speak for Kitchen Duty)
*(Burning Shitters- An assignment loathed by every serviceman which involves the disposal of human waste)
And because of the extreme boredom of trying to maintain a high level of alertness for such an extended length of time can be so grueling, there have been many times in history when a sudden attack by enemy forces proved successful, due to the inattentiveness of a bored or sleeping guard.
And if slacking off at their posts could happen to even trained soldiers in combat, then I really shouldn't have expected a handful of civilians normally used to working an "eight to five schedule" to be vigilant on a midnight watch.
But while the civilians may have proven unreliable in their duties, the two security guards that were supposed to be supervising them had no excuse for allowing such gross lapse of security, and once I found out where exactly those men had disappeared to, even one of Andy's infamous ass-chewing's would pale in comparison to the holy hell I was about to rain down on all of them.
But just as I was about to turn and head back down downstairs in order to report to Yoshioka-san what had happened, I suddenly noticed a big commotion coming from the front lawn of the mansion as I saw a group of four men suddenly come sprinting out the front door and haul ass straight over to where the Security Chief was standing, and then suddenly began jabbering at him in rapid Japanese and pointing excitedly in the direction of the city.
From all appearances, it had seemed to that I had found my missing lookouts, and from the look of things, they had apparently seen something that had excited all of them enough for them to deliberately abandon their post without leaving at least one man behind in order to keep watch, as I glanced down the road in the direction the group of excited men were pointing but saw nothing other than the row of torches still burning brightly in the middle of the street.
"Probably saw a shadow or something, and freaked out…" I grumbled as I shook my head in disgust at the four panicked men practically shouting at the Security Chief in fear on the grounds of the mansion below.
"Everyone's wound up so damn tight around here, I guess I shouldn't be too surpri-…." I began but then stopped as I suddenly noticed some movement just beyond the glow of the last torch, as I quickly fished my monocular from its designated pouch on my vest and then brought it up to my eye and scanned the darkness.
And then I nearly dropped the damn thing as I stared in absolute horror at the nightmarish image magnified in the lens of my monocular, as I then immediately cursed myself for my stupidity at having grossly underestimated just how grave our real situation had been all along.
I guess its times like this when Death is staring you right in the face that you suddenly realize that everything you once thought important, really wasn't after all, and that all the time you spent on such trivial pursuits now seemed so meaningless now that you finally come to realize that your time has finally run out.
And I swore under my breath at the fact that I had allowed myself to be lulled into a false sense of security just like the rest of the civilian refugees around me, and had stupidly focused all of my attention on my own personal matters, rather than preparing to face the looming threat now descending upon us.
And now because I had been so completely engrossed in the drama between Saeko and I, my stupidity was about to result in the destruction of everything and everyone, around us.
In some respects, my mistake at allowing myself to think we were all safe and secure here within the walls of Takagi Manor almost mimicked the same mistake made almost two hundred years ago in my hometown of San Antonio, Texas on the evening of February 22, 1836, when most of the Texan volunteers were having the time of their lives, drinking and dancing and basically whooping it up with the locals in a party that lasted all night.
And just like I had believed that the Infected might head this way eventually, two hundred years ago every one of those Texas volunteers had been firm in the belief that the Mexican army wouldn't arrive until late spring or early summer at most, so why not have a little fun since there was no need to prepare for a battle that was possibly months away?
And just like my fellow Texans so many years ago, I had also wrongly believed that we were relatively safe behind the walls of the mansion and that there really wasn't anything to be too keyed up about since I was certain that the majority of the Infected were on the other side of the city chasing after the fleeing populace.
And because we had all firmly believed that our inevitable evacuation by the JSDF was just a couple of days away anyway, I had believed that there was no reason for me to be overly worried about the Infected, especially when I already had my hands full dealing with the drama occurring within the walls of the mansion between the angry mob trying to lynch me, as well as the situation between Saeko and I.
But like those small group of men whooping it up in the cantinas of the tiny town of San Antonio almost two hundred years ago, by allowing myself to be distracted by things that I had believed were far more important at the time, I had failed to notice until now, that the threat to myself and everyone I held dear was a hell of a lot closer than I had thought.
And worse, the looming threat had turned out to be even bigger than I had previously thought possible.
And just like the small band of Texans who suddenly found themselves standing behind the walls of the Alamo the very next day, anything and everything the Texans had once thought important before now seemed so trivial in the face of the horror that now presented itself before them, as the Mexican army led under the command of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, suddenly arrived in the tiny town of San Antonio, Texas on that fateful day of February 23, 1836.
And just like my fellow Texans probably thought to themselves almost two hundred years as they saw all those Mexican soldiers surrounding the area and cutting off all means of escape, I'm pretty sure the only thing on everyone's mind was…
"Oh f_ck…what do we do now?" I swore under my breath as what seemed like the entire population of Tokonosu City, Japan was steadily shuffling up the hill towards us.
Only problem was, not a single one of them was human anymore.
Time: Zero Dark Thirty– Exact Time Unknown
Location: Takagi Manor – Second Floor Bedroom (Saya's Room)
Z-Day Times Five
Saeko Busujima absolutely hated school.
Ever since her first day at pre-school when she had stood at the window of her classroom crying her eyes out as she watched her mother and father waving goodbye as they drove off, Saeko Busujima had never had never had any fondness whatsoever for the daily ritual that had now become an important part of her young life.
Even as time passed and Saeko grew older her extreme dislike for school never changed with the only bright side being the company of the small group of young girls whom she had befriended over the years who made the long hours of classroom time tolerable, if not enjoyable.
But it was this particular part of her daily ritual that six year-old Saeko Busujima hated about school more than anything else as she heard the dreaded sound of her door sliding open as her father entered her room.
"Saeko-chan..?" Saeko heard her father say gently from her open doorway as Saeko groaned in dismay at being awaken from such a peaceful slumber. "…wake up, little one…it's time for school."
"Mmmmmm…" Saeko mumbled drowsily as she rolled over in her futon and clutched her doll "Meiko-chan" even closer to her body, signaling that she was not at all ready to begin the day just yet.
"Saeko-chan…" Her father said with a chuckle as he entered her room and then knelt down over the form of his sleeping daughter and lovingly stroked her long hair. "…come along my angel, it's time to leave."
"Do I have to, Papa…?" Saeko said sleepily, still not ready to open her eyes just yet as Saeko tried to cover her head with her blanket.
"Yes my child, you must hurry and leave now before it is too late!"Saeko heard her father say with an unexpected sense of urgency in his voice as Saeko again stirred sleepily in her futon.
"Mmmmm…but daddy, I'm shtill shleepy…" Saeko whined sleepily as she thought she heard something like the sound of her father sighing sadly before she then felt a strong hand grip her shoulder.
"Saeko…c'mon baby, snap out of it…!" Her father said urgently as Saeko felt his hand on her shoulder roughly shaking her awake as Saeko then immediately opened her eyes and then narrowed them in response to the bright red glow emanating from somewhere, which filled up the entire room as Saeko then turned over in her futon and stared glassy-eyed at the figure of her adopted American father who was kneeling next to her futon.
"Ji-Ji-san,…wha…what's going on?" Saeko said drowsily still not completely awake as she noticed that the red glow that was illuminating the entire room was actually emanating from several chemical lights hanging down from the man's left arm by strings that had been attached to each one.
"I need you to hurry up and get dressed baby, we're leaving…!" The American said even more urgently as Saeko eyes finally came into focus and then widened upon noticing that the man was no longer dressed in the same casual attire he had been wearing at dinner but was now dressed as if he were about to go into combat.
And as she gazed with growing apprehension at the shadowy figure of the now heavily-armed man kneeling next to her holding his carbine in his left hand with the butt resting on the floor, Saeko couldn't help but notice something odd about the look in the man's eyes under the glow of the red chem-light that had been taped to the handguard of his weapon just above something that looked like a shotgun that had been attached underneath.
"Leaving…?!" Saeko said with growing alarm when she suddenly noticed another familiar figure silently enter the room whom was also carrying a red chem-light in her left hand as she moved stealthily behind the kneeling form of the American mercenary and headed over to where the other sleeping women lay as Saeko suddenly bolted upright in bed.
"Ji-san…what's wrong… why are you and Takagi-san's mother…?!" Saeko began her voice sounding unexpectedly loud in the large room as the American suddenly placed the fingers of his right hand onto her lips.
"Shhh…calm down, baby…calm down." The American whispered in a gentle voice in an obvious effort to calm the frightened teen as Saeko gazed back at him with eyes as wide as saucers as he then moved his hand away from her lips.
"Let's try not startle the others, okay?" The man said smiling as he patted Saeko gently on the head as Saeko gazed into his face and noticed with growing apprehension that while the man was smiling, even in the red glow of the chemical lights hanging from his arm she could see that the man was extremely anxious.
"Ha-hai, Ji-san…" Saeko said in a voice that was very much filled with apprehension as she glanced over towards the shadowy figure of Saya's mother who was now attempting to awaken the sleeping form of her daughter, but to no surprise, was not having much success as she then began to shake Saya's shoulder more vigorously in a desperate attempt to awaken the slumbering girl.
"Ji-san…what has happened?" Saeko said as she returned her gaze back towards the kneeling man as she watched him remove one of the chem-lights hanging on his arm and placed the loop of the cord that the glowing stick was attached to over her head.
"I need you to wear this, honey…" The American said intentionally ignoring her question as he placed the loop over Saeko's head and then let it fall to her shoulders as Saeko reached up and grasped the glowing chemical light in one hand and then stared at it in bewilderment, no longer paying attention to the sound of Yuriko Takagi's voice quickly rising in volume as her frustration with her unsuccessful attempts to awaken her daughter grew.
"And no matter what happens Saeko, this light doesn't come off your neck for any reason, is that clear?" Her adopted father said sternly as Saeko gazed into the man's eyes as the feeling of panic inside her beginning to grow.
"Ji-san...what's goi….?!" Saeko began but was interrupted by the sound of a loud slap that echoed loudly in the room followed by a shrill yelp erupting from Saya Takagi, which was then in turn followed by a loud bark from the puppy Zeke that caused everyone else in the room to bolt upright in their beds.
"Keep it down, dammit!" The American hissed angrily as the puppy immediately dashed into Alice's arms in fright while Saya Takagi stared in bewilderment at her mother's disapproving face as she rubbed the sore spot on her rump from where her mother had smacked her in frustration.
"Minna-san…what's wrong?" Shizuka said sleepily through sleep-filled eyes as the American held a finger to his lips for everyone to be quiet as he then leaned his rifle against the wall before turning to face everyone once more.
"Ladies, I'm sorry about all this, but I need you to listen to me very carefully…" The American said holding up both of his hands as he then reached for the rest of the chem-light "necklaces" dangling from his left arm.
"I'm going to need every one of you to put one of these red chem-lights around your neck…" The American said as he removed the glowing necklaces hanging from his arm and tossed them onto Saya's bed.
"Why…what's going on?" Saya said with growing alarm as she then gasped in fright as her mother suddenly snapped her fingers loudly at her in order to silence her.
"There's no time for questions, Saya-chan!" Yuriko snapped still obviously irritated at her daughter as she then turned her head and gazed sternly around at everyone else in the room. "…all of you just need to put on one of these lights around your neck like C-s-san said, and then get dressed as quickly and as quietly as you can."
"Who…?" Saya asked in confusion as she then recoiled in fear at the angry look her mother flashed at her.
"Your mother means me…" The American quickly replied in response as Saya and everyone else in the room immediately turned their heads and stared at the man in visible confusion.
"I'll explain, later…" The American said waving his hand dismissively as he gestured towards the pile of chemical light necklaces lying on top of Saya's bed. "…but for now, I need all of you to put one of these on like Mrs. Takagi said, and do it quickly."
"Is there any particular reason why we have to wear those things?" Rei asked drowsily from her futon as she yawned deeply and then rubbed her tired eyes as Saeko noticed the American mercenary and Saya's mother quickly glance over at each other nervously.
"Yeah, how come we have to wear these ugly things if you and Mom aren't wearing any?" Saya grumbled under her breath and then cringed as she noticed that her mother was about to snap irritably at her in response when the American suddenly held up his hand to silence her.
"Ladies, there is no time for Mrs. Takagi and I to play "twenty questions" with any of you…" The man said in a cold voice as he glanced sternly at everyone in the room.
"And as ugly as this may sound, from here on I'm going to need all of you to keep your ears open and your mouth shut…!" The American snapped as the school nurse and the four young girls glanced at each other with wide eyes in shock at the way the man was speaking to them as the man suddenly snapped his fingers at everyone in order to gain their attention.
"Pay attention ladies, I'm only going to say this once…" The American continued his voice deepening as everyone gazed back at him with shocked expressions on their faces. "We are in about as serious a situation as we can get, and there's no time to screw around, so listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you, and then do exactly what you're told."
"I'm going to leave right now and go get the boys…" The man said jerking a thumb over his shoulder in obvious reference to Takashi and Kouta's room located down the hallway. "…and as soon as I leave, I need you to put one of those lights on around your neck and then get dressed as quickly and as quietly as you can."
"And then when I get back with the boys…" The American continued in his same eerily calm voice. "…we are all going downstairs together as a group."
"And once we start making our way downstairs…." The man continued casting his gaze upon everyone as they all stared back at him in fear. "…I don't want to hear any loud talking, no sudden noises, and most importantly, absolutely no screaming from any of you no matter what you see down there, understood…?"
"Is that understood?" The American repeated sternly as Saeko suddenly reached out and grabbed the man by the arm.
"Ji-san, what has happened,… why are you and Takagi-sama acting so strangely?" Saeko whispered as the man quickly turned away, intentionally trying to avoid her gaze.
"I'll explain later Saeko…" The man replied as he gazed up at Saya's mother and shook his head at her in an obvious attempt to signal Saya's mother not to say anything in response.
"Just hurry up and get dressed, honey…" The American said as Saeko's grip on the man's arm tightened.
"Ji-san…please…tell me what's wrong!" Saeko her voice rising and growing even more desperate as the man hesitated for a moment as if he were unsure as to how to respond.
"Ji-san, please..!" Saeko said aloud as the American shook his head and then made an attempt to stand as Saeko then immediately grabbed the man by the shoulders.
"Uncle…what's wrong!" Saeko said almost shouting as she clung to the man's shoulders as the American sighed heavily in resignation before finally turning to face her, as he then gently placed his hands on both of her shoulders and drew her close to him and gazed directly into her eyes.
And as she gazed upon the man's face under the soft, red glow of the chemical light he had hung around her neck, there was no mistaking what it was she saw in the man's eyes as Saeko suddenly felt her heart beginning to pound heavily against her chest.
Fear.
But it was what the man said next, that chilled Saeko to her very core.
"Saeko…they're here." The American said as he then pulled her close to him in a crushing embrace as Saeko felt as if her head were spinning as the impact of the man's words hit her with all the force of a sledgehammer.
U.S.S Bonhomme Richard aka "Bonny Dick" (LHD-6),
WASP-Class Amphibious Assault Ship/Commando Carrier
Time: 0518 Hours - (Approximately 40 Minutes Later)
Current Location – Classified
I guess sometime during the night the wheels in my brain had finally decided that enough was enough and had decided to shut down all on their own just long enough for me to drift off into a deep slumber for an hour or so because the next thing I knew I was being jolted awake by the sound of a loud electronic buzzing coming from the telephone handset mounted on the wall in my stateroom.
Swearing under my breath at being awaken from such a peaceful slumber, I yawned deeply and then rubbed my eyes before finally reaching over for the handset and pulling it from its mount on the wall.
"Poynton…" I growled into the handset as a familiar voice responded on the other end in a tone that immediately made the hairs on the back of my head stand up.
"Andy...it's Caroline…" Caroline Walsh said in a voice that was unmistakably grave, even for her.
"Hey Caroline, what's up, lass?" I replied with apprehension knowing that the shit must have really hit the fan for Caroline to be speaking to me in a voice filled with such bleakness as I quickly snapped on the lights in my room and then reached for my trousers.
"Colonel Dempsey just called from the *CIC, Andy…" Caroline went on the growing urgency in her voice causing me to freeze momentarily just as I was in the middle of putting on my trousers.
(*CIC – Combat Information Center)
"And his orders were for me to tell you that you have exactly three minutes to get your team and your kit together for an emergency action response on the Mainland…" Caroline added as I absentmindedly lost my grip on my pants in shocked response to what she had just said.
"He wants me to do what?!" I sputtered in shock as I quickly grabbed my pants just as they were sliding down my hips, accidentally dropping the handset onto the floor in the process as I heard Caroline saying something intelligible in the earpiece of the handset before I finally managed to pick it up off the floor and then place it against my ear again.
"Sorry love, could you repeat that?!" I said as I heard Caroline grumble in frustration under her breath on the other end before she then repeated herself.
"I said that Dempsey wants to brief you and your team in the hangar deck at Aircraft Elevator Number Two in exactly three minutes…!" Caroline said the urgency in her voice now becoming even more noticeable than before.
"Brief us about what…?!" I said growing increasingly anxious not just at the extremely odd order being handed down from Dempsey all of a sudden, but also at the way Caroline sounded so uncharacteristically shaken on the phone, which was the exact opposite of the normally cool, reserved woman who somehow always managed to remain calm no matter how chaotic the situation might be.
Now however, the same woman whose voice could freeze the air around her if anyone was ever foolish enough to piss her off sounded almost like she wanted to cry on the other end of the receiver as I waited impatiently for her to answer me.
"Caroline…!" I said half-shouting into the handset growing even more worried with each passing second as I heard quickly Caroline suck in her breath before finally answering me.
"It seems that about a short while ago, the Americans had the ship's last remaining *UAV do a fly-by over the city after they had re-established contact with our people at the airport, Andy..." Caroline finally continued as I pressed the earpiece of the phone even harder against my ear as I hung on to her every word.
(*UAV- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Commonly referred to as a "drone")
"And from what I gather, it seems that the UAV operators had spotted a series of flares being fired into the sky from a certain section of the city where it seems a very large concentration of the Infected are currently located…" Caroline continued as the wheels in my head suddenly stopped spinning as the reason for Caroline's strange behavior suddenly became clear.
"What section of the city did they see the flares coming from, Caroline?!" I said practically shouting into the mouthpiece, although in truth I already knew the answer especially when for the second time in all the years I'd known her, Captain Caroline Walsh actually hesitated in answering me, something she had never done before except for that one other phone conversation we had on the day when my entire world had suddenly come apart.
"Caroline, is it…?!" I said loudly into the handset as I heard Caroline draw in a deep breath once again before answering.
"I'm afraid so, Andy..." Caroline replied in a voice filled with something that almost resembled despair.
"They're being overrun…" Were the last words I heard from Caroline as I immediately let the handset drop to the floor before she could finish, as I quickly grabbed my boots and quickly hurried out through the door of my stateroom to wake up Rika and the others.
Author's Notes:
Hi all!
Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter of Last Alarm, we're finally nearing the end of Book One, and I can't tell ya'll how excited and how glad I am to finally have gotten to this point at last.
I do have a couple of announcements I want to make though...
First, sorry for the long wait between chapters, this chapter was supposed to only be a small portion of the last chapter so I really didn't think that it would have taken very long for me to finish.
However, I messed up somewhere when I was trying to "save" my work and for some unexplained reason, I lost a large portion of my material and so I was forced to start all over again.
Originally I had wanted to be more detailed about the fight between the teens and the guards as well as build up some other portions of the chapter, but because I lost such a large portion of my work and because it's been two months since my last update, I've decided to just post what I have and maybe later when I finally get a chance to go back and "polish up" all of the chapters in Last Alarm, I'll do a better job on this chapter and try to add more material to it.
Second, work and other priorities are making it hard for me to find time to write, so while I'm not going on hiatus or anything like that, the length between chapters will vary greatly because of my schedule, so please bear with me, it's been rough going.
Third, because Last Alarm is still a "rough copy" there are times I've had to go back and make some changes.
And one of these changes I've had to make is Jim's last name that I goofed up in Chapter 15 of Crossroads -Part Five, in which I wrote Jim's last name as really being Trevino instead of "C-s".
As a result, I went back and fixed my goof, plus, I also re-wrote that entire chapter in the process since I saw just how "rough" that chapter was written, and so I decided to fix the whole chapter.
Fourth, because Poynton90 has been working with me in writing Last Alarm, Andy has decided to completely re-write his side story The Man from Hereford and so if you go back to Chapter 21, you'll see the new version posted, with the other chapters to also be re-written and re-posted over the next few months.
As always….thanks again to you all for your kind words, extremely kind reviews and your continued support.
