CHAPTER THREE: The Guest
The Road Warrior moved undisturbed through the streets of Mabini, heading for Malate. Maybe dead men walking don't like the heat here, Daniel thought offhandedly. It was summer already in this part of the world and the heat that came with it could be crippling at times. Given the hole in the ozone layer, Daniel was surprised and grateful that the Philippines hadn't sunk underwater yet from all the icebergs that had melted over the past few decades. That was one thing the Umbrella plague was good for, he guessed; with less people to contribute to global warming, the hole in the ozone layer would probably remain stable for the next few decades. Maybe Kumander Ashford (his term of endearment for his employer/GCO) and her scientists could find a way to replenish the ozone layer aside from finding a permanent cure for the plague. Although, technically, he reminded himself with a wry smile on his face, there already was a permanent cure—Omega, Bravo, Alpha, and all the other Special Ops squads (formerly known as S.T.A.R.S.) used them on the zombies on a regular basis. The cure came in a wide variety of calibers and millimeters.
Daniel got up from the driver's chair with a chuckle and went to the rear quarters to check on his guest. He found her rummaging through what was left of her belongings. Her bike was leaning close by against one of the storage lockers. From all appearances, she was young—maybe no more than nineteen or twenty, at most. She had been wearing her hair underneath her cap but now it hung down past her shoulders. Her skin had been shaded a nice brown by the sun. She was slender but in an athletic way from all the cycling she did. Or use to do, he thought. It would be a while before she could tool around on her bike again.
"Got everything important?" he asked from where he stood.
"Yeah, looks like I did," she replied, looking up from what she'd been doing. "I put the pans on the stove just like you said."
Daniel looked over and saw his pan and hers sitting next to each other on adjacent burners. He approached the stove and bent down slightly to sniff the food in her pan. A smile came to his face; Lord knew it had been a long time since he'd gotten a good whiff of fish balls, squid balls, and kikiam. She'd already removed them from the oil that they'd been frying in and placed them right above the pan on a wire-mesh strainer to let the excess oil drip off them.
"Nice," he remarked. "You were planning to sell these?"
"Uh-huh," she said. "I was almost done with my rationing for the morning when those things attacked me. Thanks for helping me."
"You're welcome," he said, going over to her. "My name's Daniel, by the way." He held out his hand. She took it and gave it a brief shake. "I'm Tricia," she answered him. "Where can I put these?" She gestured at the things she'd salvaged from her obliterated cart.
"Ref's near by the stove. There's still space for those. Sorry about the LPG. I meant what I said, though. I'll replace it and the cart once we get to a safe area."
"Okay." Tricia went to the fridge with an armload of stuff and began placing each item inside. "I trust you. You're one of those SWAT guys, right?"
"Close but not quite. I'm with Omega Squad." Daniel took off his trench coat and hung it in front of the sleeping berth. He kept his body armor on. He rarely, if ever, took it off whenever he was on patrol. The pistol stayed with him as well. The Ingram and the shotgun were at the ready near the driver's-side door. "You say you were rationing your food?"
"Yes. There are still some people left back where you found me. They stay hidden, of course, so that those things don't find them." Tricia took the lid off the pan of fried rice and looked at it approvingly. "You made this?"
"Yup. I was going to eat it at that plaza in front of Nuestra Seńora De Guia when the dead men walking showed up."
"Well…I'm hungry myself," Tricia admitted. "Tell you what—I'll trade you half of my food for half of your rice."
Daniel made a counteroffer: "What say we just share it? I've still got about half and hour or so left for my lunch break anyway. Or I can just pay for whatever I eat. What say, Tricia?"
Tricia thought it over for a few moments. "Okay—let's just share it. You did save my life."
"Deal," Daniel said and they shook on it. Just then, The Road Warrior beeped a discreet alert. "Come on up to the cockpit and let's see what we've got. I told Road Warrior to find a safe place to eat. I guess he found one."
"Okay," Tricia said. She followed Daniel as he exited the rear quarters and went up front. He motioned towards the passenger's seat. Tricia sat down, looking out at their surroundings. From what she could see, they were nearing Malate Church. She could see the plaza, much larger than the one in front of Nuestra Seńora De Guia. Beyond that was the Baywalk that had made the city government so proud. She smiled a little at that thought. The Baywalk was always full of people who were always willing to buy the food she sold. And even when she went there without her cart, she always enjoyed riding her bike while watching the sun go down Manila Bay with a fiery golden trail. Of course, she reminded herself, that was before all the trouble with the zombies started. Now, the place was deserted, the cafēs were boarded shut or ruined, and the people—the ones who weren't infected with the virus that made them keep on living after they were supposed to be dead—were all gone.
"Looks clear..." Daniel was saying beside her. "Where do you want to eat—the plaza or the Baywalk?"
"The Baywalk," Tricia said, wiping a tear from her eye.
Daniel pointed the AMUV towards the Baywalk. Tricia had fallen silent and he could pretty much imagine what she was thinking. He'd also been saddened when he saw the Baywalk upon returning to Manila. It was one of the first places he'd gone to when he went on his first night patrol. The place was still fairly well-lit but instead of strollers and tourists, he'd seen zombies prowling for a meal. As he could recall, The Road Warrior had used up half of its ammunition as he cleared the place of every non-human or non-living thing that was within firing range. If only Omega Squad could secure this place on a permanent basis…oh, well. He shrugged slightly. Whenever he came here, he cleaned it up anyway.
A few moments later, The Road Warrior was parked along Roxas Boulevard, mini-gun at the ready. Daniel and Tricia picked a bench underneath a coconut tree that still had enough leaves to afford them some shade. Their food had been transferred to Tupperware containers that sat between them, along with a one-liter bottle of Coca-Cola and two plastic cups. Their weapons were hidden but could be deployed when needed.
"This fried rice is good!" Tricia said, helping herself to a couple of serving spoons' worth. "You cooked this in your truck?"
'Yeah, glad you like it," Daniel said. "The galley's small but it serves my purposes. I got the rice and onions and garlic from some people that I helped out a couple of months ago." He forked two kikiam onto his plate. "Man, this is like heaven. I haven't eaten kikiam, fish balls, or squid balls for a while now!"
"Those are proudly Binondo-made," Tricia told him, smiling. She took a sip from her soda.
"No wonder they're good." Daniel ate thoughtfully for several moments, savoring his lunch. The other Omegas are going to be so jealous when they find out about this, he told himself.
"So, Daniel, have you run into any other people today?" Tricia asked him after a while.
"Well…yeah…" he replied, thinking back to the grocery store he'd bought his supplies from. "But they won't be going anywhere anymore."
Tricia got what he meant immediately. "Was it bad?" she asked.Daniel only shrugged; he didn't want to ruin either of their appetites.
"So I'm the only living person you've met so far."
"That's right. And I guess it's a good thing I did. Otherwise, I'd never have gotten to eat fish balls again."
"You really missed eating fish balls, huh?"
"I was born and raised in Manila," Daniel explained, putting his rice bowl down. "You can take the boy out of Manila but you can never take Manila out of the boy. And any true Manileńo worth calling that grew up eating fish balls, squid balls, and kikiam. "
Tricia had to laugh at that one. "I guess you're right. It's one of those things that makes us Manileńos. I was born and raised here myself. Well, in Caloocan, anyway. But then we moved here." She took another drink of her Coke. "So what's it like being part of…what did you call it—Omega Squad?"
"Well, Omega's pretty new compared to Alpha and Bravo and all the other squads. That was the core group of the old S.T.A.R.S.—yeah, the original Special Forces who faced off against the zombies, mutants, and every other creature that came out of Umbrella's labs. Alpha and Bravo were the ones who got sent in to fight those things off and rescue people in the danger zones. They were actually supplied and, sometimes, even trained by Umbrella back then. Usually they were from the SWAT units from local police forces but Umbrella also hired ex-soldiers and mercenaries. Have you heard of Carlos Oliveira?"
Tricia nodded. When the plague had begun shutting everything down in the Philippines, Carlos Oliveira personally led some of the more daring raids on Umbrella's facilities, knocking out virus-production labs and taking out a large number of creatures released deliberately by Umbrella onto the general populace. Oliveira had also been in the thick of the rescue operations that had saved many Filipinos when the plague was burning out of control. "He's with you guys, right?"
"Yeah, and thank God for that because he's a serious Special Operator. He used to be with Umbrella Security; they recruited him after seeing him in action when he was still a mercenary. But then he saw what they were really doing, he turned on them. Right now, he's Commander Ashford's right-hand-man. I saw him face-to-face for the first time during training." Even now, Daniel could remember Commander Oliveira's intimidating yet, at the same time, inspiring presence as he told them about the nature of their mission and the training that they would be undergoing to prepare them for the hazards that awaited them. Oliveira had supervised and, at times, even conducted their training himself. He didn't want the Omegas to be at anything less than one-hundred-percent readiness.
"So what is it that Omega does if Alpha and Bravo do the fighting and the rescuing?" Tricia asked.
"Well, we're the ones who have to go back and make sure that nobody got left behind." Daniel explained. "And then we try to find out if we can take back the danger zones from Umbrella."
He put his empty rice bowl down on the bench. "And from what you've told me, there are still survivors in this area of Manila. That means I've got to get them to a safe zone before they get turned into zombies themselves. I plan to do just that…with your help, Tricia."
"Huh?" Tricia gaped at him. "Why would you need my help? Aren't your other squad members supposed to be the ones helping you?"
"For starters, you know this area better than they do—you've got ground-level intelligence. You know where the survivors are. Plus you know how to handle yourself in a tight situation and you know when you need help in a tight situation. That's why I want you in on this mission."
Tricia was silent for several long moments. True, she did know the area well since she'd been plying the routes as a fish ball vendor when things were still normal. And she did know where the survivors were located. But she had to admit, this was still a bit more assistance than she would have expected him to ask.
"Besides, I owe you for the good meal I just had," Daniel added with a smile.
Tricia looked at him and then out at Manila Bay. She remembered how happy the Baywalk used to be; how happy all of Manila used to be. Well, maybe not happy but it certainly wasn't what it was now—a tomb. One huge version of the North Cemetery, except for the fact that none of the dead were resting in peace because Umbrella had robbed them of everything, down to their right to die as human beings. They were even worse than the grave robbers at the North Cemetery, now that she thought about it.
Tricia looked Daniel in the eye. Her decision was made.
"Okay. I'll help you get them out," she said in a quiet, even voice. "But we have to do it as soon as possible. Just promise me you won't let anything happen to them."
"I promise—nothing will happen to them or to you," Daniel said solemnly. "We'll get them out tonight. Deal?"
"Deal," Tricia told him. And with that, they sealed their agreement.
