The sound of jets taking off, rattling the windows of the Security Forces dormatory, jolted Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Hawke awake an hour before his alarm clock was scheduled to go off.
"Blast it all, don't those flyboys know we ground pounders have to sleep?" Nathan grumbled to himself as he rolled out of bed, then went over to the sink. He flicked on the light above the mirror and groaned when he saw his own reflection.
"I look like a zombie...maybe I shouldn't have gone drinking with Snowman last night," Nathan muttered as he splashed water on his face before grabbing the lonely towel from the rack on the bathroom door which stood next to his sink.
See, in a military dormatory, there is a suite system in which two seperate rooms share a single bathroom. Each room has a sink next to the bathroom door, a refriderator next to a wall locker, a single desk, a small dresser, and a decently sized desk. Nathan had seen fit to purchase a bookshelf of his own, which was already overflowing with various genres of fiction. Despite having an entire bookshelf full of books, he still had more books piled haphazardly throughout his room, making it look like an unorganized library rather than a dorm room.
Nathan knocked on the bathroom door, and upon hearing no answer, entered the bathroom and took a quick shower. Once he was finished, he toweled off and stepped back into his room and shaved at his sink before the slightly distorted mirror. Clean shaven, Nathan got dressed in his ABU's, then sat at his desk and turned on his desktop. He scanned the news absent mindedly, finding nothin interesting, then checked his email and saw that he had no new messages.
"Aren't I such a popular guy?" Nathan shut down his computer, then laced his boots and put on his beret before pulling his law enforcement belt and drop holster out of the wall locker next to the fridge. Casting one last look around the room, Nathan couldn't seem to shake the feeling that he might not see this room again. Shaking his head, Nathan cut off the lights and left the dorm room, locking the door behind him.
It was 1230 hrs, or 12:30 pm, when Nathan walked into the 18th SFS building. He slung the LE belt around his waist over his ABU blouse after he clipped the drop holster to his tan belt which secured his trousers. Several people were milling about, waiting for the armory to open its windows and begin issuing out weapons for the day.
"Hey, Sarge, did you hear about that journalist that just got on island?"
Nathan turned to see a young man with fiery red hair, "Journalist? Oh, you mean the blonde woman who came through Gate 2 last night. I think her name was Harper, right?"
"Lexington Harper, she's doing a piece on the US military here in Okinawa, and she's staying at the Shogun Inn while she's here! We are so lucky that she decided to spend her time on Kadena instead of the other bases," The redhead said, then winked suggestively, "she's pretty hot, isn't she?"
Nathan couldn't help but chuckled as he shook his head, "Redcliffe, is that all you think about? There is more to life than sex, buddy."
"So you say, you're an NCO! I just got out of basic and tech school! I haven't had a chance to exercise my equipment, if you know what I mean," The redhead, Redcliffe, waggled his eyebrows.
Again, Nathan shook his head, "Unbelievable. Oh, I heard there's an SAS guy conducting some training over on the north side of the flightline with the SOG guys. I think he's a Captain."
"I heard that rumor, too. Anyways, where are you posted today, Sarge?" Redcliffe asked.
"Papa 3. I'll make sure to swing by your gate and see if you need anything," Nathan said, turning to the window as he heard it open.
Two hours later, after listening to the Flight Chief drone on about nonsensical subjects, Nathan sat in his patrol car which was a white 2008 Toyota Camry with a Security Forces shield on the driver's and front passanger's doors as well as a red light bar across the top of the vehicle. Something about today didn't sit right with Nathan, and there were sirens being heard off base more and more frequently as time passed on.
Nathan drove over to Gate 1, where Redcliffe was posted, and parked in the pull-off spot where inspections were conducted so as to not block traffic, and walked over to see how the Airman was doing. Just before he entered the gate shack, he could see what looked like a heavily intoxicated individual shuffling along the sidewalk, heading towards the gate where Redcliffe was listening to a radio on full blast.
"Redcliffe! Turn that thing down, man! You'll raise the dead!" Nathan said, plugging his ears jokingly as he closed the door behind him.
"Sorry about that, Sarge, I've just been bored out of my mind since no one came through here in the last hour," Redcliffe complained as he turned the volume down to a more bearable level.
"No one came through in the last hour? It's," Nathan checked his watch, "1550 on a Friday. Something is definately going on here. Maybe we should ask this comfortably inebriated fellow here." Nathan gestured towards the guy who was shuffling towards the gate, having halved the distance now since Nathan arrived.
Redcliffe turned to face the guy, who appeared to be a local national wearing a salaryman's suit, "This guy's shit-faced drunk."
"Alright, see if he's okay while I call the desk and see what's up," Nathan said, picking up the landline and dialing the number of the law enforcement desk. Just as he was connected, he heard Redcliffe shout. Nathan looked up and saw Redcliffe stumble backwards as the drunk lunged at him, gripping the Airman's shoulders before sinking his teeth into the kid's neck just over the jugular.
"Fuck!" Nathan dropped the phone, oblivious to the desk who was asking for Gate 1's status over the radio. He ran outside, already unholstering his expandable baton and snapping it out with a flick of his wrist.
"Let go of him, now!" Nathan shouted, swining the baton in a vicious arc and bringing the metal rod down on the drunk's collar bone as he circled around Redcliffe until he was behind the drunk. The guy, relatively unfazed by the strike, dropped the now convulsing Airman and turned to face Nathan. Glancing over his shoulder, Nathan noticed several more 'drunks' stumbling towards the gate. Significantly more.
"What the hell is this? Get on the ground, now!" Nathan shouted. The drunk lunged just as Nathan swung again, and rather than hitting the shoulder he had aimed for, the ASP struck the guy in the forehead with a sickening crunch. The guy dropped without a sound, and Nathan immediately checked Redcliffe for a pulse.
"Damn it all," Nathan cursed upon finding no pulse. He backed up towards the gate shack, keeping an eye on the approaching individuals. It was then that Nathan heard the chaos over the radio frequency the Security Forces used. He tried the phone again, and upon finding all emergency numbers were busy, slammed the phone back into the cradle. He collapsed his baton and holstered it, drawing his M9 as he saw Redcliffe start moving again.
"There is no way...he had no pulse," Nathan muttered in disbelief as Redcliffe rose to his feet. There were a lot more of Them outside the gate now, at least forty of them stumbling up the inbound vehicle lanes towards the gate shack.
"Redcliffe? You alright, buddy?" Nathan hesitantly called out.
"Kadena to all posts and patrols, Kadena to all posts and patrols, be advised: there are reports of violence throughout the base and reports of canibalism and murders everywhere. If you come across any individuals appearing to be drunk, challenge same and if they don't comply, you are authorized to use deadly force. I repeat, if they don't comply, you are authorized to use deadly force...make sure to assist all surviving personnel to the best of your abilities...guh...Kadena out."
"What the fu..? Redcliffe, you okay?" Nathan called out as he settled into the Weaver ready stance.
The thing that used to be Redcliffe moaned wordlessly as it stumbled towards Nathan in a drunken stupor.
"Don't do this, Redcliffe. If you don't stay back, I will fire," Nathan said, steeling himself as he raised his weapon and aimed at the former Airman. The thing gave a forlorn moan as it coiled up to lunge at the staff sergeant. Nathan fired without another thought, feeling cold inside, then jogged over to the inbound vehicle gates and swung them closed before more of Them could get on the base from here, securing the gate with the thick padlock and chain. He did the same with the out bound lanes, though he ended up shooting two more of Them. After the gates were secure, he knelt next to Redcliffe's body and went through the Airman's pockets and took out his military ID card. He also took his M9 and ammunition, since Redcliffe wasn't going to need them anymore.
Nathan jogged back to his vehicle, holstering his own M9 and dropping the second one in the front passanger seat, starting the patrol car and flicking on the lights even as he thought better of using the sirens. With one last look at the gates, which were beginning to crowd with Them, Nathan put the car in drive and headed back towards the more populated areas of Kadena Air Base.
Lexington 'Lexie' Harper panicked as she crossed the chaos filled street and headed towards the 18th SFS building which was located in the heart of Kadena Air Base next to the base exchange and the commissary, which were pretty much a walmart and a grocery store. Gunfire could be heard in the distance, as well as explosions and screams. It was chaos at the 18th SFS building as well, and there were several armed Security Forces members trying to deal with wounded and sort out the madness that was mobbing the military policemen. One of the wounded convulsed, then bit into one SF member's leg. With a cry, the SF member fire his weapon point blank into the wounded person's skull.
Lexie froze when she saw that, not noticing several people stumbling towards her until the last second. She screamed as she plunged the combat knife her father had given her hilt deep into the eye socket of one of them, but a second managed to get a hold of her black jacket and pulled her towards its gaping maw with seemingly inhuman strength. She closed her eyes, waiting for death and only heard two gunshots from behind her, feeling a sudden burst of warm air against her cheek as the thing's grip went slack, releasing her. She opened her eyes, and upon seeing the two surviving things were dead with neat holes drilled in the center of their foreheads, turned to see a young man standing next to the open door of a patrol car that hadn't been there a moment earlier.
"Get in!" The man shouted as he turned and fired once more, killing another one of Them as it got too close. She stood there for a moment, her mind taking a moment to process what had just happened, then shakily climbed into the passanger seat as the man fired a fourth time before he too climbed in. Rather than driving into the front parking lot where other frightened refugees were crowding, the man drove the patrol car around the building and to one of the back doors.
Lexie turned and looked at the man that had saved her and saw that he had four stripes on the sleeves of his ABU's, meaning he was a staff sergeant. His nametape read 'Hawke.' Besides the man's handsome features, wireframe glasses, and serious expression, Lexie noticed an inch long scar passing through the outside corner of his right eyebrow.
"You alright?" The man asked as he parked the vehicle next to the back door, then turned to look her over, checking for injuries.
"I-I'm alright, thank you for helping me out back there," Lexie said softly.
The man, Hawke, smiled warmly, "No problem, ma'am. If memory serves me right, your the journalist that just got on island, the retired General's daughter, right?"
Lexie blinked a few times, then nodded as she returned Hawke's smile, "Lexington Harper. You can call me Lexie."
"SSgt Nathaniel Hawke. You may call me Nathan. Can you use a gun?" Nathan asked.
"My mother and father taught me and my brothers how to shoot. My brothers are in the Army, over at Torii Station," Lexie said, worry creeping into her tone.
"I'm sure they're doing fine," Nathan said soothingly as he reached into the glove box, "here. It's an M9, a 9mm Beretta that I recovered from one of my friends after he...turned into one of those things."
"I'm sorry," Lexie said sadly.
Nathan shook his head and smiled, "Don't worry about it, Lexie. I'll make sure nothing happens to you so you can see your brothers over at Torii Station. Let's get inside and get some more ammo, shall we?"
Nathan led the way into the building and through the empty guardmount room, making a beeline to the armory door, "Kruze, open up! It's Hawke! I got one person with me!"
"You guys bitten?" Came the muffled reply through the reinforced door.
"No," Nathan said loudly. The door opened and revealed a tall lanky guy holding his pistol.
"Had to make sure, Sarge. Sheffield turned into a zombie and almost got me when I let the SAS captain in," Kruze said, nodding his head towards the guy wearing black fatigues and a black stetson as he holstered his own M9.
"SAS, huh? Nice to meet you, Captain," Nathan said, nodding respectfully to the British soldier, taking note of his different colored eyes.
"I'm afraid I can't say the same," The captain paused, checking Nathan's sleeves, "Staff Sergeant." His accent, obviously British if that even needed to be said, was thick. Nathan took note of the sheathed Kabar and holstered Walther P99 at the Captain's hips.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Captain. I'm SSgt Nathaniel Hawke, and this is Lexington Harper," Nathan said, introducing Lexie to the others as he walked between the weapon racks until he reached the shotguns which were stored in the back.
"Captain Peter Michael Whyte," The SAS Captain said crisply.
"Kruze, you got the keys for this?" Nathan asked, yanking on the padlock that secured the weapon rack even as the SAS Captain's last name rang a bell in the back of his mind, though he couldn't rightly remember why.
"Right here," Kruze said, tossing Nathan the key. Nathan unlocked the rack and pulled out one of the Remington 870's and tossed it to the SAS Captain before he took one for himself.
"We don't have much ammo for the shotguns, Captain, so if you'd rather have an unsighted M4, I'll understand," Nathan said, walking over to a cabinet in the back of the armory and pulling out two boxes of 00 buckshot. He handed one to the Captain and loaded eight shells from the second box into his own shotgun. Captain Whyte said nothing as he loaded his newly aquired shotgun with ease.
"Where are you from, Nathan?" Lexie asked, trying to make small talk as the silence grew to be too much.
"Hm? I'm from Savanah, Georgia," Nathan said, though it sounded as if he pronounced Georgia as Joejah due to his slight southern accent, "what about you?"
"Huh? Ah, I'm from-" Lexie was cut off as there was a loud crash from outside, the sounds of screeching metal and shattering glass easily discernable even through the thick walls of the armory.
Kruze cracked open one of the narrow exterior armory windows and grimaced, "Uh, Sarge? Was that your patrol car out back?"
"Yes, why?" Nathan asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
"Well, some former soccer mom just plowed her oversized van into it. I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon," Kruze said, stepping away from the window so Nathan could have a look.
"That...sucks. You have any other vehicle keys back here?" Nathan asked as he closed the window.
"No, but supply has that olive drab humvee with the brush guard parked in the warehouse," Kruze said. The SFS warehouse was attatched to the main building by a single hallway and contained a lot of gear that was issued to new troops on island.
Nathan cracked a slow grin, "That'll do. Do we have a pinnel mount for the turret in here? I know we have one operational M240b in the back over there."
"Yeah, it's on the shelf there, but we only have four hundred 7.62mm rounds," Kruze said.
"Better than nothing," Captain Whyte said, already understanding where Nathan was going with this, "where is the ammuntion?"
"Follow me, Captain," Kruze said, then led the way to the back.
Nathan took that moment to pocket ten extra M9 magazines, leaving the other twenty for Kruze and whoever else came to the armory before he hefted the M240b which was stored in a foot locker, then snatched the pinnel mount off of the shelf, "Follow me, Lexie. Captain, take this hallway right outside the interior door all the way to the end, walk through the office and to the door on the other side. The warehouse will be through there."
"Understood, Sergeant."
Nathan carried the machine gun by the carrying handle and had Lexie carry the pinnel mount so as to have one hand free should something happen. It was a good thing that Nathan had thought this far ahead since he got knocked off his feet by one of Them as soon as he opened the office door. Lexie squeeked as she jumped back and pulled out her pistol, trying to get a clear shot, but was too afraid of hitting Nathan.
As for his part, Nathan had dropped the machine gun and was holding back what used to be Snowman by planting his forearm in the thing's neck, its snapping jaws mere inches away from his face, "Sonova..!"
Nathan hooked one leg behind the thing's legs and rolled it over so that he was on top, then unholstered his ASP and proceeded to stab it in the eye with the collapsed baton.
"That...hah...was unpleasant," Nathan wheezed as he adjusted his glasses, leaving the ASP where it was, and picked up the machine gun again. The rest of the office, and the warehouse, proved to be clear, so Nathan set about mounting the M240b in the turret. As he finished, Captain Whyte entered the warehouse with two ABU ammo bags in hand, each bag containing two one hundred round ammo boxes.
"All four hundred rounds accounted for, Sergeant," Peter said.
"Thank you, Captain. I just finished up here. Let's see what we can grab out of here before we head out," Nathan said. He opened up the back hatch and loaded the ammo bags into the back of the humvee before he sifted through the crates in the warehouse. After about twenty minutes of scavenging, they came up with six sleeping bags, three full sets of Gortex foul-weather gear, an old BDU poncho, two canteens, an unopened package of MREs, and a case of unopened water bottles.
"Food and water should last the three of us a few days. The rain gear will come in handy since typhoon season is just around the corner, and those sleeping bags'll help us keep warm at night," Nathan commented as he loaded the supplies.
"We need to think about holing up for the night," Peter said, looking out the window at the increasingly orange sky.
"There are still people out there, Captain. We need to do what we can to help them," Nathan said incredulously.
"Do you really want to go fight those things in the dark? There are way too many places to get ambushed since this is a jungle island, Sergeant, and what about Ms. Harper? Are you willing to risk her life trying to save people that are most likely infected with whatever this...this thing is ?" Peter asked in a low tone.
"I...guh," Nathan grunted as he rubbed his chin, "you're right, Captain. We will, however, move out after sunrise so as not to risk Lexie's life. I just hope there is someone left to save at that point. I'll take first watch."
Peter grunted as he pulled a water bottle out from his trenchcoat and took a sip.
Lexie, who been in the back of the warehouse sifting through discarded gear, walked over, "So, Nathan, what's the plan?"
"We'll rest here for the night, since it's getting dark out. We'll roll out after dawn, so make sure you get some sleep, alright?" Nathan said kindly. As Lexie rolled out one of the sleeping bags, and as Peter sat atop the humvee and got himself familiarized with the M240b, Nathan made sure the side doors to the warehouse were locked and that the shutter door was secure.
Nathan went back out the office to the hallway and sifted through Snowman's pockets and pulled out his military ID card, "Well, friend, this is farewell. Sorry I couldn't help you or Redcliffe. I only hope I have what is takes to make sure that anyone I come across makes it out of this alive."
Peter, who had followed him as far as the office door, said nothing as he silently slipped back into the warehouse.
A/N: All right, this is chapter one, people. I have not introduced all of the main characters yet, and I have more than a few more on the way, I just needed to get this idea out there before I lost it. The story will take place in Okinawa. Remember, even if I don't include your submitted OC in the MAIN GROUP, it doesn't mean I won't include them at some point during the story. Don't hesitate to tell me what y'all think!