Last Alarm Chronicles

by poynton90

The Outbreak was only the beginning..., Last Alarm Chronicles is a retelling of previous stories written by myself and used now as a continuation of the main story. Even alternate history chapters will be uploaded to show "What if?" certain events had been altered even slightly to change the history of the characters. We hope you enjoy the story! (Age rating to change in future)

2. Chapter 1: We Band of Brothers

The Last Alarm Chronicles

Chapter 1

We Band of Brothers

"Happy Birthday Buddy!"

Written by Poynton90 for FiremanJim

Happy Birthday my friend!

Executive Response International – Private Military Contractor,

Searchlight,

Nevada 89046,

United States of America

15th June 20XX

Three months before Z-Day…

The complex was always quiet this time of the day. The sun had yet to peek the horizon but already glimmers of light could be seen off in the distance. But for the former British Special Air Service operator, Andrew Poynton, it was really the only time of day where he got any peace and quiet away from the other contractors on the base. Not only from the contractors themselves, but also away from long haul truckers that came through the area since they parked up at night and only drove in the day. Plenty of wildlife out in the desert that crossed the roads at night and more often than not in the last six months they had to help local law enforcement with their heavy lift vehicles to move busted semis off the highways after a collision with an animal crossing the road or with the trucker swerving to avoid a collision and making a bigger mess altogether.

He walked along the perimeter of the chain-link fencing while sipping on his freshly brewed large mug of PG Tips tea to check it was still secure before making his way all the way around the two mile squared facility and ending up back at the line of ex-military service Humvee's and the two MRAP's the company had recently acquired from a private company that had brought them from the United States government at a stealers price and after working on them for several months sold them on to ERI after realizing they were more trouble than they were worth at half the original price. Andrew's experience with the MRAP series was only with the British Mastiff, and that had been brief thank fuck he thought. Even if they were designed to take direct hits from IED's and Rocket-Propelled Grenades and the likes, they were bloody sweat boxes if nothing else.

As he leaned against the massive engine block of the vehicle he sighed heavily as he ran down the metal list of jobs he had to do today. They were only a few, but they were daunting enough that he was willing to pawn them off onto one of the new guys to do for him instead. Most of it was paper work, and he hated signing off for about fifty thousand bloody things he had absolutely no idea about. Best thing to do was to make a start on it and then hopefully be done with it all by midday and the he had the afternoon to himself. He had plenty of new DVD's arrive in the post through the Amazon delivery company and most of them were either old British horror and sci-fi classics. He already had all of the James Bond and Carry On series of movies and now started on TV shows.

He had already been watching 'Survivors' from the 1970's and when one of the other boys walked by his room with his door open one evening while he was watching the show it hadn't taken long for a gathering to come along. With the global pandemic winding down and everybody vaccinated everybody started to relax, but this show had put the shitters up some of the boys when they saw just how bad things could have been. The story was almost identical with a pandemic breaking out in an undisclosed Asian country, but it was clearly based on China, and the worldwide outbreak with a virus that had a mortality rate of 99.99 percent wasn't something you wanted to watch after such an event.

Walking back towards the main facility the fist beams of light sprung up from over the horizon and flooded the local area with the light of a new day. Within minutes the perimeter security lights turned off and as he drunk the last of his morning brew watched as the truckers that had stopped in the nearby town were already on the roads again and heading through towards Las Vegas with their haulage of who knew what. Considering it was a city of sin he wouldn't be surprised if it was something naughty.

…

Despite his role in the team when they were out in the field on a job, he had other duties while on site and most of it revolved around logistics and procurement of equipment and supplies. He had an annual budget to complete his tasks and more often than not he would always end up overspending each month leading up towards the end of the financial year. He always tried to find ways to cut down on spending though. Reselling their vehicles that had since been replaced and were gathering dust or become a home or a nest to the local wildlife in one of the warehouses. Coordinating with John Ross Wallace, the current head of ERI, about the letter-organisations in the country for training was also a way to earn money but after a previous training operation with a group of rookies from the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team and getting carried away with the simunitions, pyrotechnics and buckets of fake blood and animal guts and bones he procured from a butcher in town to simulate a detonated team mate they vowed never to return.

"How the bloody hell do you claim anything like that to be 'unfair' if that's how it actually looks? Bunch of fucking pussies."

"What are you grumbling on about now?"

Andrew looked up from his computer monitor to the open door of his room and saw Jimmy C******s, the new team medic for Green team leaning against his door, arms crossed over his chest and looking amused to have caught him grumbling. The Texan had been green in every sense of the word when he had been accepted into the company a few months previously after completing basic training and was currently undergoing continuous training with the other teams to try and cover the spectrum of their combined training. Knowing he already excelled in both basic and advanced medical training, a lot more than some of them together knew, Andrew had been training him with counter-sniping the last two weeks and even bomb disposal. Most of the time the former SAS man had told the Texan that most of their 'disposal techniques' revolved around using one of their two Barrett M82A1 anti-material rifles but on few occasions, he had used dummy or decommissioned ordnance and showed how to disarm primed hand grenades and even a couple of land mines too.

"Just trying to figure out how to earn the company some more cash," he groaned as he spun his chair around to face the man and sighed before pushing himself out of his seat and standing up, "What about you? Don't think any of the others are up yet, are they?"

"I was going to head over towards Goodsprings for breakfast. Figured I'd be going out alone but then heard you clattering away and thought it'd be rude not to ask if you wanted to join me."

"That's one of the things I like about you, Jimmy," he clapped the man on the shoulder firmly, "You know I'll never turn down food. What place you thinking about?"

"Place called the Pioneer Saloon. One of the others said they serve up a big breakfast so I wanted to go and try it out for myself," Jimmy replied as he tapped away on his phone to find a roadmap, "We can head out in my Jeep if you want?"

He thought for a moment and thought 'fuck it', saved his worked and powered down the computer and walked over towards his nightstand table to pick up his own wallet, phone, keys and folding pocket knife before opening the draw and pulled out his concealed carry firearm, a SIG-Sauer P365-XMACRO and worked the slide several times before taking a loaded magazine and pushed it home and chambered a round before holstering it on his hip and taking two more seventeen round magazines and putting them in his hip pouch. Years ago, he would have carried an older Sig design, the P239, but with modern manufacturing and higher capacity magazines it was a much better choice.

"Shall we?" he asked and followed after Jimmy down the corridor and towards the exit and walked out in the morning sun beating down on the Nevada countryside.

…

Breakfast had been good. The plates were large and filled with sausage, bacon, fried and scrambled eggs, slices of ham, hash browns and thick slices of heavily buttered toast. The only downside for Andrew had been they only had coffee on refills and he had opted for a glass of orange juice instead. Jimmy had given him a look when he had turned down the coffee offered to him but said he couldn't take the bitter taste. Former special forces of not, even he didn't like having a dicky stomach. Besides, it wouldn't help with his current line of medication anyway and had been told to stay off the caffeine but had already broken that rule earlier that morning.

He removed the bottle of pills from his shirt pocket and downed two pills with the last of his juice before pulling out his wallet in order to pay.

"What're you doin'?" Jimmy asked him.

"Paying the bill."

"No, you aren't. I asked if you wanted to come out, my treat."

"And last I checked you ended up paying for that large bloody hog we had at the barbecue last week. So, like hell are you paying. Ahh! Sit down," he caught and then motioned for the Texan to sit back down when he tried to leave the booth and headed for the bar to pay, "Besides. Now that I'm out here with you, I might as well head over to Primm. Something I had on back order finally arrived at the gun shop."

"Oh? What is it?"

Andrew just chuckled as he walked over to the bar, staying quiet as he paid for their meals and left a tip in the collection jar for the staff as he then motioned for the man to follow.

"I think you'll like it."

…

The store they entered was new and had been worked on to look something from an old western movie. There was plenty of modern furniture and display cases for their stock but behind the counter Jimmy couldn't but notice the olde' time rifle racks filled with an assortment of lever-action and bolt-action rifles ranging from the original Winchester brand to the modern Remington, SIG-Sauer and Mossberg lines. He walked around the room and looked over the stock and saw several pieces already that caught his eye and figured he would have to come back here another time and put some of them on lay-way. He crouched down as he looked into a glass cabinet and looked at a line of different 1911 handguns and a mixed row of Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers when he looked from the corner of his eye and saw Andy stood at the counter and talking with one of the store employees. They were talking animatedly about something and he could hear them laughing for a few minutes before the Brit turned around and pointed towards him and then motioned for him to join them.

"Zach, this is the new lad I was telling you about that's just joined the teams over at E-R-I. Jimmy," Jimmy reached over and shook the younger man's hand and the man smiled back at him genuinely, "Jimmy, this is Zach. Former United States Army and small arms repairman and local gun nutter."

That got a chuckle from the man as he let go of Jim's hand, "Andy here tells me you just joined up with the company. How are you finding it so far?"

"It's been…, an interesting couple of months. But I think I'm gradually getting a hang of it all now. Did you work for the company?" he asked in return.

"Me? Nah! I did my time in the military and being stuck on that base of yours all the time would only bring back bad memories," Zach huffed, thinking back to the time he had heard from recruits at his old base where he had been teaching small arms repair was going through to officer training courses that he had previously been denied because of how hard the Army had made it to gain the points necessary since they already had enough officers that year, and then he learned this kid just getting out of basic training had been offered it to him on a silver platter, "Anyway, enough with all that. Andy, you're here to pick up that new Sig, right?"

"Yeah. It's a new custom piece a guy in Texas built a few weeks ago and I've been talking to him for a while about this specific pistol. He has a catalogue to choose from and they finally had all the parts needed to build it. Is it actually here this time?" he asked at the last second, remembering he had driven from the base to the store and found it was still going through paperwork and transferal.

"Yeah, it's here. Let me go and fetch it out."

As his friend stood at the counter awaiting a new delivery, Jimmy took the time to further look around the store. He spotted a few things that were interesting. Several Vietnam-era combat knives and daggers lay inside a display case, some with their original leather sheaths but most without. Two of them were Gerber Mark II's and they looked in really good condition and were moderately priced. Along with them were M1911's and Colt Python revolvers used by the legendary 'Tunnel Rats'. There were several other handguns that followed that were used by specialist units but one that caught his eye was an original Browning Hi-Power sitting inside a wooden case. Beside it lay the new copy that had recently been released by Springfield Armory, the new SA-35 9mm semiautomatic. While the M1911 handguns were cool and supposedly carried by all Texan's as the stereotype went, he was far more interested in this. Since arriving in Nevada at the ERI base he had trained with numerous handguns on the range and while he had already chosen the SIG-Sauer P226 as his sidearm of use, just like Andy and several other former operators, he also liked the feel of the original Hi-Power when Andy had allowed him to test fire his on the range.

"Here we go! It was buried beneath several other deliveries we had brought in this morning." Zach's voice came from behind him and quickly walked back over towards where Andy was stood looking at a line of pre-owned SIG-Sauer pistols and noticed how he was looking at a short carbine sitting on a shelf beneath them, an MCX Rattler with a side folding stock and suppressor ready muzzle device with a Surefire 7.62mm can sitting beside it. It was chambered in .300 AAC Blackout and figured it wouldn't be long before that also entered Andy's personal collection. He'd only caught a glimpse of his friend's personal collection a few weeks ago when he was replacing his personal HK416A5 after cleaning it from their day on the rifle range. It had been stacked with magazines and cases of ammunition and there had to have been at least six rifles inside and a number of pistols.

As Andrew took hold of the pistol case and turned it around on the counter, he leaned in just as he opened up the latches and opened the lid. What Jimmy found himself looking at was a heavily customised SIG-Sauer P226 E2 with a stainless-steel slide, an extended threaded barrel with a custom-made muzzle break and target sights in place of the original three white dot sights. The magwell was flared too and when he removed the pistol from the foam padding, he saw the grip had a medallion inserted into the left side of the stippled grip. He couldn't quite see what it was supposed to be as Andy slid the pistol back into the case but left it open as he walked away for a moment towards an aisle in the store that had boxed magazines hanging on the wires and returned after taking several long stick magazines off of one peg and dump them on top of the wooden counter.

"Alright then, I'll pay off the last that I owe for the Sig. And I'll take these too," he tapped the stack of boxed 20-rounder magazines. Unlike the 18-round flush-fit Mec-Gar magazines he and Andy usually used, these were magazines made back during the early 1990's and were still considered popular amongst most shooters. What surprised Jimmy then was when Andy turned around and walked over towards the case contained the 'Tunnel Rats' and MAC-V SOG memorabilia and Zach had followed and saw what the man was pointing at inside, "I'll take that too, along with whatever magazines you have for it in stock. I know they're hard to come by so I'll take whatever you have for now."

"We've got I think thirteen in the back waiting to be put out. You sure you want them all?" Zach asked as Jimmy watched him remove the SA-35 from inside the case and chamber-checked the pistol to make sure it was safe to handle.

"I don't pay for any bills or rent like some of the others I work with. Well, aside from some medical expenses but that's for my prescription. Otherwise, I rarely do or go anywhere to spend my cash."

"As long as you're sure, buddy. What me to start filling out the paper work for this?" Zach asked referring to the SA-35.

"Yeah, but it's not for me. It's going under Jimmy's name."

That had been the last thing Jimmy had expected to hear and it quickly made him snap his head back around from the wall of shotguns he had been looking over. He did like the look of the custom-built Taran Tactical Benelli M4 semiautomatic shotgun. But when he heard Andy say that the other pistol he was also purchasing was for him he wanted to stop his friend from spending too much. He had quickly walked over and was about to stop Zach from disappearing into the back to start filling out the forms when Andy held up his hand instead.

"Before you say anything, I just wanted to say I know you only brought you personal Sig and the Remington with you when you arrived. Most guys on base have at least several personal guns of their own and you only have the two. But at the same time, you can call it a welcome gift. I know it's not much, but I hope you like it."

…

After the paperwork had been filled out and payment completed, they were told they could pick up the pistol next week after it had gone through the system. Jimmy wasn't sure but he had seen Andy hang back and speak with his friend behind the counter and added numerous notes on the paperwork and followed after his friend a minute later. Once outside and back in the truck they pulled from the lot and started heading back to the compound. For a while they sat in relative silence as the first few miles passed them by until Jim broke the silence.

"You didn't have to do that you know."

"Do what?" the Brit seemed to be feigning ignorance as he pulled the vehicle onto the road that would take them back through Goodsprings and back through to Searchlight back home. But when he looked over at Jim, he saw the look his friend was giving him and chuckled, "Mate, all I did at the end of the day was buy you a pistol. Ain't nothing wrong with giving a friend a gift."

"Yeah, but a two-thousand-dollar gift? That's a bit much."

"Not really," Andrew began as he slowed the vehicle and checking the mirrors pulled to the side of the road and brought the truck to a stop, "Look. Money for me isn't really an issue, if that's what you're worried about. But I also didn't do it to flash it off as I've swimming in it. I didn't do it to earn a favor or think that you'd pay me back. I wouldn't do that matey. I know that you've had your eye on that pistol for a while now, I've seen you looking it up after the day we spent on the range after you tried out my Browning."

Jim let the man talk, figuring that there was more to be said.

"Look. This isn't just something from me. We all do things for each other. Sometimes if one of the boys needs a hand with paying off some bills or medical expenses then we're all going to pitch into help. Only a few of us live on the base at all times. And because of that I don't have any outstanding bills to pay off for a home and most of my meals I get from work anyway," Andrew stopped and ran a hand through his short hair and sighed heavily before saying, "Think of it as a welcoming gift. And also an early birthday present."

Jim hadn't told anybody that his birthday was just over a week away and had kinda been hoping to keep it to himself. But then when you had a large group of former military, special forces and agency people all living and working together it was bound to get about sooner or later. Normally it was kept as a special occasion between him and his family and it would only be a small, but a special celebration just between them. At that same moment it seemed as though the man behind the wheel knew what he was thinking and said, "They guys in the teams, I've been listening to what they're said about you during training. About how well you've done in all of your classes and some of the heavy-duty guys are impressed with you too. The sniper training seemed like a piece of piss for you too, so you're a natural shooter. I'm surprised though honestly. If you had gone through to sign up as a SEAL, you'd likely have made it. Maybe not Tier One like many hope, but likely Team Three of Four."

This sudden and unexpected praise was actually nice to hear and the Texan felt it lighten the mood a little.

"So, from me to you, Happy-early-Birthday."

…

Tokonosu City – Exclusion Zone Sixteen,

Tokonosu Prefecture

Japan

10 years later…

NOW

A single infected shuffled along through the empty streets of downtown Tokonosu. It was alone, and had been for the last several hours after it had wandered off away from a large group of infected that had been awoken from their slumber by a large rat. Those that had heard it had attempted pursuit, wanting to tear the rodent apart and feast on what little meat it had on its bones. But the creature was too quick for them to chase, and it had escaped down into the sewers through a broken grating after leading nearly a thousand from inside the office building out into the night.

When they had stopped attempting to pursuit the rat, having eventually lost interest, they slowly started moving through the streets again. This time moving through the brokens roads that were clogged up with the burnt-out husks of old vehicles that had been abandoned some ten years earlier, with some still contained the bodies of those that had been killed in their vehicles when they had first tried to escape the chaos erupting in the city. The creatures ignored them since they had nothing to offer to them and instead pushed through the decaying city in search of something that wasn't like them…something fresh.

But when the crowd had pushed on through the narrow roads that had been completely clogged with vehicles, the lone infected had been pushed aside from the others and it had started shuffling down a long alleyway all by itself and for the next several hours it would continue to walk without a purpose, other than to consume and infected.

As the sun begun to come up over the distant horizon, the dawn of the new day hadn't bothered the infected at all. Its eyes had long since been burned out and it had relied on noise to give it direction to follow. It continued on for nearly another hour before the sound of something heavy dropped on metal caught its attention and now it was sniffing at the air and grunting to itself as it turned its head around in several directions to try and get the scent of its prey when the voice called out to it.

"Hey! Poo-poo brains! Over here!"

The grunting became a growl and when it honed in on the location of the target, it pressed forward. It only got several yards though before the sound of a suppressed pistol fired, a loud 'clack' was heard and a 9mm round cut through the creatures' head and blew out the back of the skull. The body instantly hit the ground with a thud and the shooter slowly lowered the weapon when they saw it was neutralised.

"Poo-poo brains?" another voice asked from nearby as the shooter holstered the SIG-Sauer P365 X-MACRO and gave the man who was leaning against the wall nearby with their arms folded over their chest a funny look as they continued, "That's was the best insult my little girl could come up with?"

"Best I could think of in the moment!" the nine-year-old girl defended herself as she walked back over to him and took the backpack offered to her. Akane Poynton pulled the pink anime idol pack on as her father pushed off from the wall and holstered his own pistol, a SIG-Sauer P226 Navy MK25, that he had kept ready just to be safe and picked up his own ruck off the ground and pulled it on before picking up his Knight's Armament KS-1 rifle. Andrew walked alongside his daughter back towards the port where the landing craft would be waiting for them and the other reconnaissance teams to take back to the island.

He was proud of his daughter. She was just coming up to the end of her first year of studies at school and soon would be entering junior scouts. Unlike the Scout groups he had been with when he was her age, nowadays they focused on survival and combat from an early age. It should not have been something Akane should have to go through at such a young age, but it was the world they lived in now.

Ten years had passed since the outbreak. Many nations had fallen, billions had died over the years and even now the lives of those that remained hung in the balance. The United Kingdom, known by many as 'Fortress Britain', had been one of the few nations on the planet to be able to completely secure its boarders from the rest of the world when the outbreak began. There had been isolated incidents inside the country but they had been quickly squashed by the military forces before they had become a full-blown outbreak. Mainland Europe was gone, decimated by the infection and the creatures they had become. The Mediterranean had faired slightly better over the years, but the Italians and Greeks had been continuously losing ground and people on a daily basis and had eventually been forced to flee across to Malta and the few other tiny islands surrounding them.

Most of, if not all of mainland Asia, was completely dark. China had been a total loss on the first day. It's people so tightly packed together in the cities had been ripe for the infection to take hold and quickly turn all of the inhabitants of several cities before the military remnants decided to try and burn them away with nuclear fire. Kunming, Xi An, Chengdu, Wuhan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Jinan and many others were exterminated by MIRV nuclear warheads by the end of the first week. Beijing had been the last stronghold with over 10,000 PLA troops defending the city from the onslaught that came in the form 10,000,000 infected from just the surrounding cities alone that hadn't been destroyed by nuclear fire because they were too close to the capital.

Both North and South Korea met a similar end. It had taken the end of the world for them to finally settle their decades old ceasefire and underwent reunification within a matter of hours…, to destroying themselves in a matter of minutes. Just like China, nuclear weapons from both sides were launched and those that hadn't been infected or find shelter were instantly vaporised when the first of the missiles hit their targets. Most cities, towns and villages in the North had been left completely abandoned and when a military satellite had travelled over the country saw that even the infected were absent. The only explanation had been that the entire population of the country had taken shelter in the large underground bunkers constructed during the height of the Cold War when threats of nuclear annihilation had been high. Whether they were still alive or not after almost a decade seemed less and less likely everyday and they were now great tombs that would forever remain sealed.

The Middle East, the continent of Africa, the Russian Federation, Australasia and many others had fallen so quickly that the rest of the human race would be considered extinct in three generations.

Walking through the barren streets only a few blocks from their pick-up point, Andrew peeked down at his daughter as she watched their surroundings as they walked and could not help but worry for her future. It was not what he wanted for her and the years to come would only look bleaker and darker. But he had to hold out hope that they were survive. That they would manage to beat this fucking plague into the dirt and eventually snuff it out for good. But after ten years and with supplies becoming less and less every day and fewer people being found it was not looking good for humanity.

Well, maybe not here in Asia. But in the Americas, it was a different story.

In the United States of America, everything east of the Mississippi river had fallen to the infected. The infection had spread so rapidly that there had been nothing the military could have done to prevent the spread. New York, Washington DC, and Chicago were the first three major cities to fall and be subsequently destroyed by nuclear fire in a vain attempt to stop the spread of the virus. But no matter how many bombs, bullets and bodies were thrown at it the spread continued until it hit the Mississippi itself. Whole towns, villages, cities, and communities banded together and fought back. They barricaded the streets, main highways, tunnels, bridges, and every possible means blocked off access west to where the military was gathering for a major counteroffensive strike. To the west, California was the only state that fell to the dead. While they tried their best to hold back the infected, they fell within the first weeks of the outbreak and the Air Force soon deployed tactical nuclear weapons to destroy Los Angeles and several other cities up and down the coast.

Like a beacon, a light shining in the darkness for all that needed it, Texas stood tall and strong. The military forces stationed around Houston, San Antonio and Dallas quickly mobilized and formed a defensive perimeter around the entire state. State sanctioned militias scoured the state, quickly eliminating all infected threats that popped up and even after ten years it was the only state in all fifty that made up the United States that had not suffered a single major outbreak. The newly reformed Texas Rangers rode out into the desert, whether it was on horseback or in a vehicle, they scoured the land that they called home and the 'Screaming Apaches', a detachment of twelve Texas State National Guard AH-64 Apache Longbow gunships, would come running when the Rangers needed assistance. Jimmy had been back home visiting family at the time when he had seen them in action on the outskirts of San Antonio. He had watched through his binoculars as six would bank around and as a group would unleash a hailstorm of 30mm shells on a massive horde of infected that had broken through the lines at the border with Mexico. They had quickly relocated in the aftermath to rearm and refuel. He heard later they had gone down to the border and they had been part of a massive effort to eliminate the largest horde of infected any of them had ever seen.

…

As they walked through the streets of old Tokonosu, the sun was slowly beginning to set on the horizon and it wouldn't be long before they needed to be back on the island. As Andrew looked down to his daughter just as she looked up at him, he smiled at her and then gave a sharp whistle. Up ahead, a lone figure could be seen moving from atop a building near a crossroads they were approaching. No sooner did they reach it a lone figure with a rifle slung over their back reached the ground after repelling down a rope. Corporal Kohta Hirano stood to his full height and nodded to them as he brought about his rifle and followed on behind them.

"Anything to report, Corporal?" Andrew asked. Even though Andrew saw the young man as a son and protégé after spending the better part of the last ten years together, he had to maintain being a professional when in the field.

"Negative, sir," Hirano replied, "Haven't seen anything of the infected or otherwise in the last couple of hours. Seems as though they've either all moved on away from this area or have somehow gone into hiding."

"Have you heard from any of the other stations?" he quickly asked.

"Sigma's Two and Three have reported the same thing. Nothing, neither infected or otherwise. We've yet to hear from Four."

"That's not uncommon," Andrew sighed as he came to a stop in the middle of another crossroads, looking around to check it was clear before keying his radio, "Sigma Four, this is Sigma Command. Do you copy?" and waited for a response but only got back static, "Sigma Four, copy my last, over!"

From around the corner of a building a block away from their position, a headless body fell to the ground and a moment later a tall, beautiful young woman approached while using a rag to clean the gore from the blade of their sword before quickly sheathing it on their hip, "My apologies, Oji-San. I was clearing the sector and thought it would be prudent to put down the abominations that still walk the earth."

Saeko Busujima always had a way with words. Over the years she had taken on more responsibility within the ranks of the military to train those with swords to try and save their ammunition. Andrew was already carrying a shortened katana on his hip, a Wakazashi, and one more than once occasion the blade had saved his life. But now after learning that she was trying to conceive a child of her own he knew she would eventually take leave from the unit. He would be upset to lose her, but happy at the same time knowing she was trying to start a family of her own.

"We're heading back to the harbor. It'll be the last boat back to the island tonight and I don't want to be away from home any longer than needed," he looked around to the others and then down to Akane who smiled up at him before looking back at Saeko, "So, shall we?"

…

The journey back to the island on the Zodiac was less than eventful, which was how they liked it. They had already spent enough of their days worrying about being pursued by a swarm of infected when trying to retreat from the mainland back home and having only a handful of skeletal figures pursue them instead was a pleasing turn of events. When they had reached the docks that had once been held by a strong force of two-hundred soldiers and marines they had quickly moved through the area, carefully checking their corners as they moved through the ruined container yards towards where a small light boat was awaiting them with a single pilot and a guard standing guard thirty yards away atop one of the containers with a suppressed high-powered rifle. As they had approached, they had waved to the sharpshooter, who in turn waved back, and notified them of their tag along party by pointing them out. They had spotted the group of infected stragglers some seventy yards behind them and they had emerged from behind the containers in the yard. Switching between them quickly, the sharpshooter took them down with ease and motioned for them to quickly get into the boat.

As the boat pulled away from the docks and headed back towards the island, Andrew looked back at the city of Tokonosu. In the fading light and a decade of neglect it all looked so eerie. Even over the engines he could still hear some of the moans coming from the infected as they echoed around the dead city. So many years they had spent fighting, trying to retake the city as a staging ground to push back into mainland Japan had been for nought. It was lost. He tried not to think about all the hard work and sacrifices there had been for it, but in the end the cost outweighed the potential of retaking and holding the city. There were just too many infected to destroy that still occupied every building, street, alley, vehicle, subways and even in the sewers for them to retake it completely. And no matter how many of those things they put down, another hundred or more would turn up the next day from the mainland drawn in by their activity. In the end, they had no choice really but to pull out.

Five years earlier they had successfully retaken the islands of Okinawa and despite the fighting against both the infected and the living they encountered and the sixteen months it had then taken to clean up the aftermath of those battles and reconnect the power, gas lines and running water to homes that had gone without for several years had been an immense task. But they managed it. They had managed to relocate nearly 20,000 survivors to Okinawa and then after two years of agriculture efforts and continuous rebuilding efforts they had finally claimed themselves not only a new home but one that would keep them safe from the infected for a long time.

Ofcourse, they had to deal with outside threats. Several ships of the Chinese navy, more specifically a rouge splinter cell that had split from China when the outbreak began, had survived with at least another three ships belonging to the Russian Federation and they had tried to make port on the island on numerous attempts had always been off put by the teeming numbers of infected that had wandered the islands. But now with the US Seventh Fleet anchored off the coast and more than seventy fighter jets, fast-attack helicopters and missile batteries aimed towards them when they had tried to strike at them, they had quickly turned tail and ran. Despite their retreating though, they had not allowed them to get very far. The Russians had tried to launch attacks with several Mi-24's and KA-52's but all had been shot down with FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS before multiple anti-ship batteries launched their payloads and sunk the vessels a few miles from shore. At least they had not had to worry about any survivors swimming to shore. Not with the high-density shark infested waters around the island.

The Russians had claimed before that the United Kingdom, United States of America and any other country that was part of the NATO alliance were their 'eternal enemies'…fuck 'em. They could burn in nuclear fire for all he cared and he wouldn't even spare a single drop of piss to put out the fire.

The zodiac arrived at the island a lot quicker than they had thought, and no sooner had they cleared the small jetty and the boat was pulled ashore they were all quickly making their way up the ramp at the end that led up to the small shuttle bus station that originally would have taken them to the main terminal. Looking around now, all they saw was the single C-130J Hercules military transporter sitting on the runway with the crew waiting for their return. They quickly moved across the open ground, always mindful of what was around them as they moved towards the aircraft. Andrew looked back to where his daughter was lagging slightly because of the large pack she was carrying, and he quickly stopped and asked, "Are you okay? Need help?"

"It's okay, I'm good," she huffed and quickly jogged past him. He smiled and shook his head before picking up the pace and following on after her. As they approached the security team stationed around the open ramp checked them over for any signs of injury or bites before allowing them onto the aircraft. Even if they had left the island secure the last time they had returned to the mainland in the last year it didn't mean it wasn't occupied now. For all they knew there was an entire community of renegade survivors or even a large horde of infected hiding inside the airport terminal buildings and if they decided to attack then at least the security team could try to hold them off and give the flight crew enough time to prepare the C-130 for an emergency take-off.

As soon as Andrew approached the ramp and stopped for the medic to check him over quickly while the security team made sure their flanks were clear of threats, he was checked over and within moments was given a pat on the shoulder and told to head on inside with the others. Everybody onboard knew the drill; make sure your main weapons were unloaded and secured before take-off to avoid any accidents and to make sure that all other cargo and supplies were strapped down tight and you yourself were secured in a seat before the plane was ready to depart. As Andrew unloaded his KS-1 rifle and placed it in the weapons case next to Hirano's sniper rifle and the other team member's M4A1 and HK416 carbines he turned back and sat down in a seat beside Akane and pulled the harness around him and secured it in place. He was about to turn to help his daughter but saw she had already managed to secure it herself and was already checking it was secured in place by tugging the straps.

When Akane turned from carrying out her checks and towards her father, she noticed how he was looking at her with a smile and smiled back she asked him, "Did you get everything you needed today, papa?"

"Aye, I did sweetheart. Took a little foraging but I got what I needed. You?"

"All in my pack, papa. I think that Uncle Jimmy will like it. Took a little time looking through the book store but eventually I found the graphic novel and manga section and got what I needed. Thank Kami for plastic wrap," she said as she opened her jacket and from within pulled out a single manga book that was still sealed in a light plastic wrap that had kept the book from being exposed to the elements and being spoiled. Andrew had learned enough in the last few years with the teens as they grew that normally the only manga's that were wrapped up like this were the series' meant for adults because of their content or if there were hardback editions it was to keep people from reading them and then leaving them. A way of making the customer purchase the book before reading it.

…

A few hours later they were on approach to Okinawa. Normally it wouldn't take more than an hour to reach the islands but with pirates being an issue and some of them having access to anti-air launchers they had to take the routes they had protection. They had countermeasures to repel attacks with shoulder launched missiles and rockets but the pilots preferred not to use them if they had a choice. So, while it took them a little longer to get home the passengers understood a need for safety. Everybody in the cargo area had taken the time to catch up on some sleep. Most of the team had been on the go for the last three days without much rest, let alone getting any actual sleep. So it hadn't taken long for the veterans to fall asleep to the sounds of the engines and the vibrations running through the plane. Andrew was only just holding on to consciousness as he sat back in the seat and watched as Akane was writing in her little pocket book. It had become a hobby for her over the last few months since she started training and he had seen her writing in both Japanese and English.

He had been about to ask her what she was writing about when she looked up at him and was surprised to see him still awake, "Daddy? I thought you were sleeping," she said almost accusingly.

"Didn't want you to think I was being ignorant and letting you stay awake all by yourself. Besides, I know you haven't had much rest either. Would have thought you would have nodded off just after take-off."

"I would rather sleep in my own bed. These chairs are comfortable, but I know if I sleep now I'll have neck pains later," she said as she slipped her book away and after a moment looked around to the others and smiled, "They're all really tired, aren't they?"

"Been gone for too long. Last few days have taken it out of them, and being constantly on the move with little time for resting, eating or even using the bathroom properly is enough to wear out anybody," Andrew looked towards the door to the cockpit when he saw movement and it was the radio operator coming back into the compartment. They looked around and then when their eyes settled on Andrew and Akane he quickly came down to them and whispered, "Didn't want to shout it over the radio, but we're approaching Okinawa airspace now and we'll be touching down in thirty minutes."

"Cheers mate. You head on back up and I'll let the others know."

They watched as the radio operator retuned to the cockpit, careful not to trip on the outstretched feet of the sleeping men and women of the teams, and returned to their station. Andrew hated doing this part but when they got back they would be able to head back to their own beds and sleep as much as they wanted for the next three days before having to return to duty, "Cover your ears sweetie. It's about to get a little loud."

He could have laughed at the expression on her face, because it was almost exactly thee same as the one he used to have when he thought 'oh bloody hell' when something bad was about to happen. Akane quickly pulled out her hearing protection and pulled them on just as her daddy was standing up and stretched as he winked at her with his only good eye and even though it was muffled, she heard him say, "Don't tell your mother what I'm about to say."

It was not until she nodded to him that he took a deep breath and shouted.

…

When the C-130J touched down at the reclaimed Naha airport, there was already a line of vehicles and supply clerks ready to assist with unloading the supplies and materials brought back from the mainland. There were also several ambulances waiting alongside them and it was procedure for everybody coming back be given a through inspection by a professional medical crew. It had been argued that if anybody had been infected in anyway then they would have shown signs before during the flight home since the incubation period from infection to complete transformation only took a few hours depending on the bite or injury location on the body and that person's resilience to the infection. As the pilots brought the C-130 to a complete stop on the runway after reversing the engines, the trucks waiting by the terminal began moving towards the hanger where the large aircraft would taxi towards before its engines were shut down completely and everybody in the cargo compartment cheered to the flight crew for another successful landing.

After the ramp had been lowered, they were all immediately confronted by the medical teams, telling each of them to enter an ambulance one at a time for mandatory checks. Andrew watched as Akane went first towards an ambulance that was reserved for the women and as the doors were closed to give them privacy, he waited with his arms crossed over his chest as the others quickly went to get checked over so they could then leave and head home. Eventually the doors opened at he watched as his daughter stepped out of the truck and walked back towards him, "Everything alright?" he asked her.

"Yes daddy," she sighed and leaned against him, "Can we go home now?"

"Just got to get checked over myself really quickly and then we'll head home and you can get yourself some real sleep, sweetheart," he promised and kissed her on top of the head and looked towards Kohta and Saeko as they emerged from their own ambulances and walked towards them, "Keep an eye on her for me, will ya?"

"Ofcourse, Oji-San," Saeko promised as she knelt beside the girl and gently smiled at her and wrapped a comforting arm around the girls' shoulders before looking back up to him, "You go and get checked over, we will watch over her until your return."

…

The ride back home was in silence and Akane preferred it that way. She was sitting in the back of the Humvee beside 'big sis' Saeko and watching the rows of houses pass them by as they drove through the residential area to reach the private estates where they lived. The only luxury they had was privacy away from the other inhabitants of the island and that gave the young girl comfort. She didn't exactly dislike most of the other people on the island, but she knew well enough despite what they did to keep these folks healthy, happy and alive didn't seem to translate as much as it used to back at the airport island they once lived at. So, she stayed the heck away from them as much as possible and stayed close to her few real friends that she had when at school or at survival classes.

Sitting back in her seat while looking out the tinted window she watched as the sun was now slowly peeking over the horizon. Already she could see people coming out of their homes and heading off to work the fields and the factories. It would be soon time to harvest the seasonal crops and she was glad that they would be getting new rice soon. And all the fresh fruits and vegetables they were growing too were a welcome change to a lot of the packaged, dried and tinned foods they had been living off for years before moving to Okinawa. She remembered hearing from her mother that when she was a baby she had trouble nursing or being able to feed her naturally, and that had caused her daddy to panic and head off to the mainland to hit all the clinics and pharmacy's that stocked formula he could find. He had gone out with a small team without permission, not that anybody could have stopped him anyway, and returned less than six hours later with large duffel bags brimming with several types of baby formula and other supplies and trinkets she would need. It later came out the reason that her mother had not been able to feed her properly came down to a lack of nutrition and it had been something they had all lacked for a long time.

Looking back towards the front of the vehicle, Akane couldn't tell if her papa had fallen asleep during the drive home or if he was simply enjoying the ride as he sat back in his seat. Of all the things she could remember herself from being able to speak and walk on her own two feet to today, he was always there for her. Always ready to put himself in the path of danger if it meant their continued survival and was always willing to do what was needed to make sure they were taken care of and provided for.

A few moments later he stirred in his seat and looked around quickly before falling back into his chair and sighing heavily and rubbing his face and looked out the window and noticed they had stopped. Akane leaned over and grabbed her pack just as she heard her father tiredly ask the driver, "Cheers bud. How much do I owe you for the lift?" and pretended to reach for his pocket.

"Nah, nothing my good man. This was on the house," the driver chuckled in turn and stretched themselves, "I'm heading back to the motor pool with this and I'm turning in for a few hours. We still having barbecue and drinks this afternoon?" they asked, almost hopeful.

"Damn right we are, mate. Haven't had any good food in over a week now. Need to get some proper food back in my diet."

"I'll bring my cooler over later. Got some fish in the freezer that I got from the farm. So, we will have to cook that up later too," the driver said as he pulled the passenger door shut gave him a nod before slowly pulling away from the curb and heading off back in the direction of the base.

Akane waved with her father as the Humvee drove away after leaving them outside their home. It was a quint little place, but plenty big enough for the four of them to live comfortably and also be in close proximity to their other friends and family. As she picked up her pack off the ground where she had left it to grab her other belongings from the Humvee, she saw Auntie Rika across the road standing on the porch with a cup of herbal tea and wearing a dressing gown and slippers. Seeing her she raised her mug to them and they quickly, and silently, went over to her and greeted her.

"Good morning you two," Rika Minami greeted them both kindly as Akane ran up to her, but stopped herself short from slamming into her, and instead gently wrapped her arms around her midsection and hugged her, "Been a tiring journey I take it?" she chuckled and with her free hand patted her niece on her head.

"I wasn't bad. At least this time we didn't have to deal with any bandits," Andrew sighed as he leaned against a support for canopy over the porch, "How have things been here, and more importantly, how have you been?" as he nodded down to where Akane was still carefully leaning against her Aunt and against the small bump that was now visible.

"Amazing," Rika said happily, "We've been learning about everything we can for when the time comes and aside from a cot and deciding on what color to paint the room we're…dare I say ready?" she asked and saw the smirk spreading across her friends face, "What?" she smiled.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. But when you do decide what color you want for the baby's room, let me do the painting."

Rika didn't bother asking why he offered to paint their baby's bedroom, but she was never one to turn down an offer from her family that offered them help. He would tell her eventually but it wouldn't be today.

"Is he awake yet?"

"Not yet, but I doubt he'll be long. As soon as he notices I'm gone he'll come looking," Rika said as she sipped her tea, "Are those his presents?" she asked nodding down to the large packs they had with them.

"Yeah. Just gotta get them cleaned up and wrapped. We're just going to head home and get ourselves some shut-eye for a few hours and then we'll be over this afternoon for the barbecue. Got some beef and chicken and some of the guys are bringing fish and veggies from their own gardening plots."

"Have those tomatoes come through yet?" Rika asked hopefully, "I haven't had a good tomato in ages!"

"I'll pick some off the vines just for you," Andrew promised her and gave her a gentle hug before gently tugging on Akane's hoodie and noticed that she had fallen asleep leaning against her auntie, "This kid, I swear," he chuckled. He hefted both of their packs onto his back and then bent down and carefully lifted his daughter onto his shoulder, "We'll see you later. And hey," he said as Rika had turned back towards the house and looked back at him, "Go gently on him, eh?" he smirked."

…

Entering their own home after unlocking the front door with his personal key, he walked into the living room with Akane still snoozing against his shoulder as he slowly entered. He didn't know why he still did this every time he came home, but he tried to make his foot falls feather light and did his best to avoid the creaking floorboards under the carpets. His old habits would never alter. Normally he would be entering with the muzzle of a suppressed weapon being ahead of him while moving as quietly as possible. That was the new normal these days. But even coming home he felt the need to make sure the area was secure first before advancing further into the room. Gently, he laid Akane down on the sofa near the fireplace and placed their packs on the floor beside her. He would have taken Akane through to her bed but sharing a bedroom with Alice made it difficult to be quiet. Not only over the last few years had the teenager learned how to fight, but she was also deviously known for her traps too and on more than one occasion he had fallen victim to them.

So, for now, the couch would do just fine. He walked back over towards the door and made sure it was locked before turning around and started walking through the house towards the bedrooms. It was still early so the others would likely be asleep for a bit longer yet, but he needed to see Shizuka. Stopping in front of the room he shared with his wife, he stopped when he saw the door to Alice and Akane's room was slightly ajar. Peeking through the crack he saw Alice was still sound asleep and Zeke was, the old pup, was lying beside her and snoring loudly. How she put up with the pup he will never know. In her hand he saw a Nerf pistol resting in her open palm…, then he saw her fingers twitch and heard her breathing change.

He held up a finger gun towards her and said "Pew," and the girl was instantly bolt upright and the pistol knocked clean across the room. The look she sent towards the door was cute, especially when she tried to pretend to be angry, but it quickly melted away when she saw who it was and smiled. He would have entered and gone to give her a hug, but looking down he saw the line of string and how it was connected to something hidden out of view and likely knew it was the airsoft Claymore mine he'd brough her home years ago.

"Nice try," he chuckled and moved back away from the door but whispered, "You sister is asleep on the sofa. Get rid of this shit and I'll bring her through in a minute," he went to go to his room but stopped and went back and whispered, "Hey," and Alice looked at him, "Love you too, sweetheart."

"You too, dad," she smiled back.

…

Akane was now settled in her bed and it had only taken Alice seconds to climb into bed with her and wrap her arms around her little sister with Zeke snuggled between them. Closing their bedroom door and moving towards his own, he slowly turned the knob and pushing it open saw his wife was already awake and coming around. They locked eyes and no words needed to be spoken in the moment. Slowly, he kicked off his boots and pulled off his jacket and letting them drop on the floor before he climbed into the bed and lay down beside her. Their hands were quickly all over each other and they pulled each other close. Being away from home for a short period of time, even if it was just ten days, taught Andrew to appreciate everything he had. Once he had been away from home for several months while stranded on mainland Japan, but that was a story for another time.

"Did everybody come back safely?" Shizuka asked him calmly as she pulled back to look at his face.

"Yeah," he sighed as he rolled over so he was lying on his back and Shizuka moved so she was lying on his chest with her head beside his, "We managed to avoid the larger hordes of infected altogether and no signs of any raiders or anybody else for that matter."

"And how did our little girl do?" she asked as she pulled herself up to be more comfortable, "Do you think she's ready?"

Andrew was silent for a few minutes as he thought about how to answer that question before tilting his head to look at her, "Not yet, no. She did put down her first infected yesterday, but I saw hesitation when she was aiming at it. Until I know for sure that she is ready to face them head on," he sighed heavily with disappointment at himself more than anything, "I'll have her held back, so she can train more and learn with Saeko and Kohta some more."

"She's going to be upset you know, when she finds out," his wife said she looked at him.

"I know. But I'll talk with her first before she goes to her next meeting after school. I won't make any excuses about her not being capable, because I know for sure she is. I just need to make sure she's faster on the draw and pulling the trigger when needed."

They were both silent for a few minutes and for a moment he thought Shizuka was upset with him until she moved and slowly sat up and looked down at him and smiled softly, "Come on. You need a shower before you get any sleep."

"Join me?" he asked, hopeful.

"Not today, my love," she leaned down to kiss him, "Come on now, I don't want to smell of sweaty clothes sticking up the fresh sheets."

…

Freshly showered, several hours of sleep and a fresh change of clothes later and with two large bags filled with wrapped presents the family walked across the road towards Jim and Rika's home. Already there were guests on the porch and inside the house and even in the backyard. They were all happy, animated, and full of cheer. Everyday there was a birthday, either somebody getting a little bit older or a birth of a baby being brought into the world. Every day was something to celebrate, because they were still here and still surviving. They were rebuilding the world, albeit slowly, but one day they would reclaim the world for themselves and do what was needed to make it a better on than before.

If not for themselves, then for their children.

The front door of the home was open and inside they quickly saw Jim on the far side of the room with Rika by his side. Never in all their years had they seen her wearing a summer dress that fit her curves so perfectly that it made her look so radiant. She'd even had her hair done too especially for her husband's birthday. Saeko was stood nearby with Oyuki, the little girl she had adopted years ago that had been found in a meth lab of all places after being left behind by her so-called parents back in Tokonosu days before they left the city behind. The girl was only a year older than Akane, but she looked much older than being eleven years old. She was mature for her age, but she still had the spark a child had before they reached their teenage years.

Seeing the family enter the house, Oyuki came bounding across the room and cutting between the other guests to reach her friends and hugged them both fiercely before quickly pulling them towards the back porch and followed her. They passed Jimmy before disappearing out the back but stopped just long enough to say hello and wish their uncle a happy birthday before rushing off, leaving the Texan to smile at their hasty departure.

"Happy Birthday!" Shizuka greeted him first and threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Shizuka, thank you very much. Nice to see you too!" he thanked her as she pulled away. Andrew placed the bags down beside Jim and waited as Shizuka pulled back and then smirked at his friend.

"You try and kiss me and I'll stab you," Jim said jokingly as he held up a new knife. The size of the blade made Andrew's good eye widen at the blade alone, never mind the hilt as well.

"Never mind then," he feigned hurt but could not hold back the smirk, "Happy Birthday brother," and gave his best friend a bear hug.

"Thank you, brother."