VIII - Perished From The Earth
Calvin opened up the driver's seat to a police car as he turned on his walkie-talkie.
"Anastasia? You there? Giovanni! Come in! Lyndon! Answer the goddamn walkie!"
He tossed away his walkie-talkie before pressing his earpiece. He rolled it around, changing channels.
"Arlington? Richmond? Any X-Tribes left out there?" asked Calvin. "Come on, come one, come on!"
Calvin growled, removing the earpiece from his right ear and tossed it against the police car. It bounced back and landed on ice. The cannibal then screamed in rage as he stomped the earpiece, cracking it and the ice beneath. Beatrice, Guillermo, Nora, and Moose watched as Calvin continued screaming, his foggy breath roaring out of his mouth.
The clouds lurked in front of the moon. The stars twinkled softly, though the plume of smoke blocked the ones that remained low in the horizon. The wind chimes hummed across the air. A lingering smell of gunpowder and burning grass spread across the city.
Carol panted as she and Becky carried Lana closer to the Lincoln Memorial. Luan wiped away the mucus from her nose with her jacket sleeve and rubbed it against the concrete steps. Bobby's lips shook as he rubbed his red hands together, whimpering softly. Luna and Sam were crying into each other's shoulders.
"Over here, stop here," said Carol.
Becky placed Lana's leg down on a hardened mound of snow. Carol removed the bandages around the butterfly knife in Lana's leg. She looked up at Becky.
"Put her to sleep," she whispered.
"No- no, wait, please," sobbed Lana.
"Sorry for your loss," said Becky.
"Wait!"
Becky placed a towel inside Lana's mouth before Carol handed Becky her snub-nosed revolver. Becky grabbed it, then swung it across Lana's jaw, knocking her unconscious. She then pulled the towel out of her mouth and handed the revolver back to Carol. Lily sniffled as she looked at Carol, who carefully pulled the knife out of Lana's leg.
"You look like hell," said Carol. "What happened to your throat?"
"I don't wanna talk about it," whispered Becky with a raspy voice. "Not now at least."
Lori sat on the steps with her eyes closed and her hands held together in front of her mouth. She pulled out her earpiece and tossed it down the steps. Then, her walkie-talkie emitted noise.
"Lori? You there? Do you copy?"
Lori picked up the walkie-talkie and wiped away the tears from her eyes as she sniffled.
"David. I'm here."
"Great! Is everyone alright?"
Lori looked around at her group.
"Not everyone…"
"What? Who isn't alri—? I mean… damn. That's… that's unfortunate."
"Yeah. Everyone else is fine. Becky and Hana are alright. I mean… Becky looks like she just climbed out of hell— she's covered in blood and has these nasty cuts all over her face. How's Preston and Jeffrey?"
"They're with me. They're doing alright. I mean, we last saw Jace going inside the White House. He never came out. So, we're alive. But this is gonna be tough for Preston to deal with."
"It just wasn't him. Lisa's gone too. And we never saw Lincoln and Ronnie Anne make it out neither."
"Jesus. If you need anything, I can turn this thing around. This trip can wait."
"No, just go. You deserve to be with your son. You can look for us later."
"Alright. Have you decided where you're headed?"
Lori looked at Carol, who was busy stitching up Lana while Becky assisted her. She looked at Luna and Sam as they hugged each other for comfort. She looked at Lynn who carried Lily on her back as they both stared towards the Washington Monument in the distance. She looked at Luan and Benny, as they slowly paced around, kicking the snow, holding each other's hands. She looked at Vonda, who was staring at the cut in her hand whilst petting Kimi. She looked at Clyde, who kept trying to contact Lincoln with his personal walkie-talkie. She looked at Bobby, who was eyeing the White House through his binoculars, staying rooted to where he stood.
"Not yet."
"That's fine. When you do, leave a note somewhere near the Lincoln Memorial. I'm going to Lafayette Square tomorrow to get George's body. We're going to bury him in Arlington."
"Alright. It's been… it's been a pleasure meeting you, David. It really has. You really saved my ass more times than I can count."
"You too, Lori. I can't thank you enough. Don't worry, this won't be the last time we hear each other again. I will come back. But for now… this is the last goodbye we're going to have for a while."
"Goodbye," said Lori. "We're family now. Don't forget that."
"I won't."
"I love you, David. Sandy would've been proud."
"I love you too. Your father would've been proud of you as well," said David. "Goodbye."
Lori heard the static on her walkie-talkie turn off. She dropped the device in the snow and sniffled, covering her eyes. She then raised her head as she heard footsteps approaching her.
"It's done," said Carol, wiping her hands with her towel. "Lana's all stitched up. No arteries were hit, so she didn't bleed too much. She should be fine as long as we hydrate her and keep her on crutches."
Lori sniffled, avoiding eye contact with Carol. Becky stood above them.
"Thank you."
"You shouldn't have to," said Carol. "I've got something for you."
Lori turned towards her and saw Carol handing her a tiny bag.
"It's all the pictures that were in our rooms," said Carol. "I got 'em as soon as I came to the White House. All the pictures that were in your room? They're right in here. Same goes for the stuff you had in Vanzilla."
Lori slowly grabbed the bag. Carol then wrapped her arms around Lori as Becky took a seat behind Lori and Carol.
"Calvin is still out there. But we can't stay here any longer."
Carol then placed her head into Lori's shoulder as she began to sob.
"He can't get away with this. He took away everything we were building. Everything that Lisa did… it means nothing now because of him. My daughter's death… Calvin made it happen in vain. We can't let him get away with it."
"He'll get what's coming for him," said Lori, glancing at Becky. "He didn't take everything from us. He didn't take my best friends."
Carol blinked slowly and smiled softly as she looked at Becky.
"That's true," she said.
Becky nodded softly before she placed her hands on Lori and Carol's shoulders. Lori and Carol rubbed her hands as they looked out into the distance, with the group mourning behind them.
-One Hour Later-
An owl hooted on top of the Lincoln Memorial. Then, it flew away as the beam from a flashlight stared at it. Multiple flashlights began to look around, illuminating the steps in the memorial. They saw fresh blood on a snow mound. They saw footprints in the snow.
A lone roamer on top of the steps lurked near the statue of Abraham Lincoln. It had a mask on, covering its scarred face and golden eyes. Then, it heard footsteps crunching on the snow. It turned its head towards the step before many flashlights pointed at it. Then it was quickly shot with a silenced pistol. The roamer dropped to the ground as the flashlights beamed onto its body.
The flashlights then looked above the body and at the giant marble block that the statue of Abraham Lincoln sat on. They saw words painted onto the block with dirt. It was signed by an L.L.
The flashlights pointed at an aerosol paint spray can being shaken. Then, red paint sprayed across the dirt words. The can dropped and the flashlights moved away. The red X was painted over two words: ROYAL WOODS.
REMEMBER THOSE WHO REMAIN:
Lori Loud
Luna Loud
Luan Loud
Lynn Loud Jr.
Lana Loud
Lily Loud
Clyde McBride
Bobby Santiago
Sam Sharp
Benny
David Jones
Carol Pingrey
Vonda Crowley
Jeffrey Salas
Preston Salas
Becky
Kimi the Dog
REMEMBER THOSE WHOSE FATE IS LEFT UNKNOWN:
Haley Jennings
Hana Konda
Lincoln Loud
Ronnie Anne Santiago
REMEMBER THOSE WHO WERE LOST:
Carly (Chapter 21)
Ted and Mrs. Coleman (Chapter 22)
Frank Weber, Mrs. Anderson, Dr. Feinstein, and Zoey Laura Pingrey (Chapter 23)
Reggie Harrison and Simon Weber (Chapter 24)
Dr. Steven White (Chapter 25)
Sheila and Kotaro (Chapter 27)
George Cane (Chapter 29)
Jace Taylor and Lisa Loud (Chapter 30)
and many more...
-Eight Hours Later-
A soft wind blew lightly past the needles and branches of a tall pine tree that towered in the endless blue sky. A snow bunting carrying a twig in its beak flapped its tiny wings as it flew towards a nest it had built atop said-pine tree. Upon landing, the bird placed the twig someplace around the nest before it sat down on top of its pine-scented eggs. The snow bunting chirped as it watched the sun slowly rise from behind the buildings and skyscrapers standing next to the Atlantic. Then it flapped its tiny wings once more, and flew towards the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
Elsewhere, a small blue fire burned softly from the kitchen stove as a cooking pan was held over it. A thin slice of bacon sizzled amidst some oil before another strip of bacon was placed next to it.
A woman with blonde shoulder-length hair, its ends pointed upwards, hummed as she cracked an egg against the counter, proceeding to dump the yolk onto the pan, away from the bacon, before she tossed the shells into a nearby trash can. Whilst repeating the process with another egg, the woman glanced out the window and looked down at the smooth waves as they flowed alongside the ocean.
A small drop of oil leaped out from the pan and landed on her arm, causing her to recoil in pain. She rubbed her arm and sighed in relief.
Though the room was chilly, the woman wore a stainless white short-sleeve T-shirt, a pair of red and black plaid sweatpants, and a clean pair of white socks. Her blue eyes stared at the eggs in pride as she continued to hum at an enjoyable pace.
Then, she heard a knock at her door. She proceeded to turn off the stove before taking a glass of water, sipping from it as she left the kitchen.
There were a couple more knocks at the door.
"Coming, coming," said the woman with a slight Russian accent.
It did little to interrupt the flow of her words. Often, it transitioned smoothly through one's ears— in fact, had she not familiarized herself with the dialect of the jarheads and GIs, she could have been passed for a Briton. The only imperfection she had, according to those from both the British and U.S. Armies, was her enunciation of the letter 'R.' Always, it'd rolled off the tongue, sounding harsh.
The woman carefully set down her glass next to a pot of daffodils on her desk. She then placed her hand on the doorknob and gave it a twist. Upon opening the door, she found herself face-to-face with a man dressed in green-and-gray camo fatigues and a pair of black boots, with an M4-carbine strapped to his back.
"Private," said the woman, spotting the insignia that indicated the soldier's rank. "What brings you to my door?"
The soldier straightened his posture and stood at attention.
"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your morning, madam. Sergeant Russett wishes to speak with you. He says it's urgent."
The woman casually stood there and eyed the soldier, up and down. He looked to be in his 30s, relatively young.
"What is your name, Private?"
"Bush, madam."
"Your boots, Private Bush. Didn't know they blend with the snow."
"No madam, they don't."
A few minutes passed by before the lobby doors to the high-rise building, formerly known as Purdy's Wharf Tower II, opened. The two guards stationed there turned their attention towards the woman and Private Bush, the former now donning a navy-blue overcoat that reached down to her cargo pants. The woman and Bush continued walking towards the entrance doors, passing a sign that read 'KHAN RAKENNUS'. Before either guard could speak up, the woman raised her hand.
"I'm heading to the American Base," she said. "Take care of this place while I'm gone, ya'?"
Both guards nodded as the woman stepped outside, where she and Bush proceeded to get into a nearby Jeep. Behind the steering wheel sat a man sporting a bomber jacket with the word 'VARTIJAT' on the back. Next to him in the passenger seat was Sergeant Russett, who turned so that he was facing the woman as he told her the news. The driver moved the Jeep onto the road, where it passed by civilians in casual attire, soldiers outfitted either in white or green-and-grey camo fatigues, buildings of various structures and heights, pine trees that had been planted near the sidewalk curb, and mounds of snow piled up on the edges.
"How could this happen?"
"No clue," said Russett. "What we know for certain is that signal's been online for the past two years, then suddenly goes out like a light."
"How recent?"
"… yesterday at twenty-two-oh-hundred."
"And you choose to tell me this now?"
"Your vartijat insisted that it wasn't important enough to warrant interrupting your sleep, madam."
"Ugh. God…"
"Hey, what's got you worried? Any resources and intel we found there was secured, then brought here after we invaded DC."
"I'm worried about Lori Loud!"
Russett and Bush stared at the woman in silence.
"L-Lori Loud?" said Bush. "You think she's been at the White House, madam?"
"I do. Before he left, I misled Dr. Steven White into thinking there were some remnants of a functioning government in DC. There is no doubt he led Lori's group there after Houlton fell. And if we know Lori… she made it there, I'm certain."
"But then… why did the F.A.E.s detonate?" said Russett.
"I don't know. A mistake on Lori's part? Perhaps it was a different party that triggered them? Maybe they wanted to decontaminate the place of roamers or hazardous materials. Whichever it is, we need to make certain Lori was out of the building in time."
"If she was even there," added Russett.
The Jeep stopped in front of two steel gates surrounded by meshed fencing and barbed wire that stretched on for miles. Past the gates was a large field covered in snow, where several low barracks and large tents currently stood, as well as some armoured Humvees, Troop Carrier Trucks, and even a couple of Super Hueys. Across the snow-covered plains, soldiers outfitted in green-and-grey camo fatigues were busily conducting training exercises to hone their survival skills, either through sparring matches, company jogs, target practice, or dispatching any stray roamers that came from the nearby woods.
The woman stepped out of the jeep and fixed her overcoat while approaching the steel gates. One of the soldiers stationed there stood at attention and saluted her.
"Agh, you know that is unnecessary. I don't need you to do any of that crap," the woman said. "Just open the gates."
"Sorry, ma'am," said the soldier in a peppy voice whilst another soldier moved towards the gate controls. "Force of habit. Plus… it's awesome to see you in person."
The woman couldn't help but smile a little before Russett and Bush led her past the gates and onto the field that acted as the grounds for a military base. As the three made their way towards the center, Private Bush was called over to the barracks by Corporal Irons, leaving Russett to escort the woman to where they were headed. The woman's presence did not go unnoticed, as a few soldiers took the time to glance at her while she walked by, some with excitement, but a few others with disdain.
Eventually, Russett and the woman reached a tent with a flag waving from on top of it. They walked inside, where the woman looked upon an officer working behind a desk, filing a report. The officer then looked up, removing her beret before she smiled.
"Commander-in-Chief."
"Colonel Ash."
"I'll give you two a minute," said Russett as he left the tent.
The woman and the officer spent a good few minutes staring at each other, before the woman leaned in close to give the officer a hug.
"Catherine."
"Krissen. So you heard?"
"I have. Where is the Major?"
"He and his men are still in Houlton, wrapping the investigation surrounding our… late general going AWOL."
"I see… In that case, I have a favor to ask. I need you to send a team to D.C. Find out why the White House has gone silent, then secure all footage from the surveillance cameras nearby."
"Any particular footage they'd be looking for?"
"Yes. Confirmation as to whether Lori Loud was there during the past year or so."
"Got it," said Ash as she finished writing some names down on a sheet of paper. "Sergeant!"
Russett re-entered the tent, with Ash proceeding to hand him the list. "You know what to do."
Russett nodded, saluted Ash, then left. A brief silence occurred before Ash spoke, "You really think Lori's alive?"
"I'm certain. And if she's still breathing, then doubtlessly White and Lisa are as well…"
Ash stood up from her desk and began walking outside, with Krissen in tow.
"I understand that Lori's survival is essential to what we're trying to build here. But please, try not to mention her here. Some of the men, they… don't take kindly to the things she's done."
"I've noticed," said Krissen. "How is the Major?"
"Brown? Oh, you know how he is. Rarely the sort to let his personal feelings get in the way of what needs to be done. Still, I can't imagine that Black's… unprecedented demise has been easy on him. Those two were real close back in the Army. I still remember the strings Quentin pulled to get Herbert back in the game."
"As do I… what of the survivors from Houlton?"
"You mean the 'Lucky Ones'? Well—"
"Ma'am!"
Krissen and Ash turned to see Russett with a group of hand-selected soldiers behind him. Russett stepped up to Ash and saluted.
"As you requested, Colonel."
"Thank you, Sergeant."
Krissen placed her hands behind her back while she watched Ash approach the soldiers.
"We have a mission…"
Krissen's mind wandered off as Ash continued addressing the soldiers. The wind blew against her hair as her heartbeat slightly quickened.
She was worried about the possible fate of the cure. Above all, she was worried about Lori Loud.
.
.
.
End Credit Song
So Cold - Ben Cocks
Woah, that was, like, an after credit scenes or something. Crazy. It's not often scenes with Krissen pops up— the story's 'Big Bad'— but when they do, I become more terrified of the KHAN. Lori's group are so lucky they haven't come across them yet.
And damn. Losing Lisa was definitely a huge loss. Like... what's gonna happen now?
'Till the next time. See you again in Chapter 31!