-CHAPTER 10-
JERRY: DEAD AIR (SECOND ACT)
The stewardess and I got away from the burning plane and from those zombies. There are also zombies advancing on our way. The stewardess used her pistol and shot THEM at the head while I used my Gurkha Blade and beheaded THEM to save up some ammo. "Safe house is just ahead!" The stewardess pointed a room at the left side. "OK! I'll blow those bastards out!" I used my very last HE grenade. The zombies were blown away from the explosion. The stewardess and I occupy the room. We barricaded the door to make sure THEY won't enter.
"*sigh* That was close." I said. The stewardess ripped her skirt on the right side.
"Whoa! Don't show those legs of yours! They're distracting me!" I said to her.
"It's because I can't move properly. But, since you helped me, I permit you to look but touching is strictly prohibited." She daringly replied.
"Well, Guess I'll help myself…Wait a minute! Don't change the subject! You haven't answered my questions minutes ago!" I told her as we sat down.
"*sigh* All right. I'm ready for your questions. Just ask one by one, OK?" She replied.
As we take a breather, I started to ask her. "So, who are you?" I asked her name first. "My name is 1st Lieutenant Maria Joanne Singson of the 72nd Infantry Division of AFP. Is that all?" She answered. I can't believe she's in the same ranks as I. I asked her again, "What is your current mission?"
"My current mission is to rendezvous to you, Jerry Dela Fuente. I'm under direct orders from your uncle, General Victorino Zapata. He said that I must aide you in your current mission." She replied.
"My uncle is now a general? He didn't tell me that! All I know is that he's a colonel." I was surprised at his promotion.
"He was promoted yesterday when this hell started." She said.
"I see. Anyway, what's the idea of wearing a stewardess uniform? And, how do you know my brother?" I asked her about her get up and my brother.
"I told you. I'm under direct orders from your uncle so its common sense to learn about your personal background. About this stewardess uniform, let's just say it's a disguise." She replied.
"Some disguise you got there. Anyway, we have to get to the control tower and establish a communication to headquarters. We can also catch up to my subordinates who are already in the control tower." I said.
"The control tower?" She said.
"Yeah, my current mission is to secure the control tower and establish a connection to headquarters." I also told her my point.
"Your subordinates already secured the control tower. You already know that, right?" She replied.
"Well, yeah. I contacted them through radio but they didn't respond. I have to meet up with them. How did you know that?" I asked her.
"It's a girl's secret. Anyway, if you want to go there, I won't stop you. I'll follow wherever you go. However, I have a second option for you." She said.
"A second option? Well, let's hear it." I started to listen to her option.
She used the site map at the wall to show our current location, "This is where we are, the staff room. Northwest from here is Terminal 3's communication center. We can utilize the communication center to contact your comrades in the control tower and/or contact Villamor Airbase. That way, we can find out if they're still alive or not. Let's just hope they are." She added.
"Of course they are still alive. They've survived hell when we're in Mindanao, so they know what they will do." I told her but, back in my mind, I'm really, REALLY worried about them.
"So, what's your decision?" She asked.
"Well, we're going to the communication center since it's not far from here. We're going to contact the control tower and the headquarters. Thanks for the second option, uhmm…" I forgot her name.
"Call me Ria. We ARE in the same ranks, Jerry." She told me her nickname.
"Okay, Ria. For now, let's make preparations for our next destination." I told her.
We made our preparations before going to our next destination. I still can't believe that Ria is under the direct command of my uncle. About my uncle, Gen. Victorino Zapata, he is my mom's younger brother. He became our second father and enlisted me to the military after I graduated from high school after our mother died. Like Jake, I don't give a damn if my father was still alive or not. I'm more worried if Jake will make it in Villamor Air Base in this bloody fucking hell. I forgot to ask her about the plane that crash landed earlier.
"Say, Ria. Do you know something about the airplane that crash landed about an hour ago?" I asked her.
"That plane…was supposed to fly to Cebu. The repairs, however, were only 80% completed according to the engineer because some of his workers became a zombie." She replied.
"What about the passengers?" I added.
"That is a political private plane so only Senator Cabrerra, his family, and bodyguards are the only passengers in that plane." Ria said.
"Senator Cabrerra. Is he the same senator who was involved in a money monopoly scandal?" I confirmed to Ria about the senator.
"Yes. He's becoming a pain already. Even his son is harassing me. He said he wants me to become his bitch. Some public servant, huh?" Ria said.
"Uh huh…So ah, that's why you're here with me?" I wondered.
"I'm only here because of my mission. Nothing more, nothing less." Ria smiled devilishly.
"Ok, ok. I hear you." I replied.
Ria and I were startled suddenly when we heard a loud noise coming from the storage cabinet. "I'll borrow this first." She took my MP5 Navy as her weapon. "I'll go first." I took out my Desert Eagle and went ahead to the cabinet. The noise got louder as we approach it. "Alright! At the count of 3. 1…2…3!" I opened the door and pointed our guns. A female staff got out from the cabinet. "PLEASE DON'T SHOOT! I'M NOT ONE OF THOSE MONSTERS!" She suddenly kneels down and raises both her hands.
"Wow! Looks like I'm lucky on women these days." I smirked.
"Don't push your luck!" She replied. "Are you okay?" She asked the woman.
"Y-y-yes. I-I'm…okay." She is still shaking in fear. Ria helped the woman to get up. "What's your name?" Ria asked her. "My name is Marinelle Garcia. I-I'm still alive like you. Please don't kill me." She said. "We're not going to kill you. Anyway, judging by your uniform, you're a staff at the communications, correct?" Ria asked.
"Yes. I was hiding here when those monsters appeared yesterday. I called the police by cellphone, but no one was answering. I don't know what to do, so I…I…" She said.
"Calm down. You're safe with us." Ria reassured Marinelle's safety. "Th-Thank you." She replied.
"Ok. Now that's settled, we must go on our way to the communications center. Marinelle, we need your skill." I said to Marinelle.
"Ummm. I'm still a trainee, so you can't expect much on me." She replied.
"No shit? How long you've been training here?" I asked her with disbelief.
"Ummm. Just 3 months now." She said.
"Jeez, 3 months? That will do." I replied.
"B-But…I'm not so skillful yet like the rest of the staff. I don't know if I can do it." She hesitantly replied.
"It's better than nothing. C'mon, you can do it." I said.
"Forgive me if I disturb your chat but I think that this door won't hold much longer." Ria interrupted. I saw the barricade won't hold much longer. "Damn! We better get going." I said. Marinelle opened the back door which I didn't notice earlier. "Let's take this detour. I heard that you wanted to go to the communications center, right? This is the alternate route to it." She said. "Thanks." I told Marinelle. "Ria, guard the front. I'll cover your backs." I told Ria. "Okay!" Ria replied. Marinelle stayed at the center and went on our way to the communications center the back door. There are also zombies at the shortcut. Ria shot them quickly using the submachine gun she borrowed from me. I also shot those monsters using my Desert Eagle. Marinelle covered her ears and followed us. More zombies are approaching right at front of us. "Of all the luck! These bastards keep on coming and coming. Ria saw an oxygen tank at the right side. "Jerry, shoot this tank." Ria put down the tank and rolled it towards the zombies. I shot the tank and exploded right through their faces. The route was now clear, we continued onward. We finally made it to the communication center at the northwest. We stopped first at the front of the door.
"Okay. I'll go first. I'll make sure that the coast is clear. Stay here for a while, girls." I used my shotgun and proceed inside. The communication center is clear as heaven. No zombies, no people, no shit. "That's odd. Where's everybody?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious? They either escaped or became one of those monsters." Ria said.
"Uh huh…Hey, Marinelle. Please open a communication." I asked Marinelle.
"I'll try." She went to the console and trying to open a communication. The computer opened the communication line within Terminal 3 only. It's better than nothing, I guess. "Okay, it's open. Where should I connect first?" Marinelle asked.
"Put me through the control tower. I need to know the status of my soldiers who went ahead." I told her.
"Okay. Here it goes." She connected it to the control tower. I hear Sergeant Ermina's voice. I was relieved that she is still alive. "ERMINA! DO YOU READ ME? THIS IS 1st LIEUTENNANT DELA FUENTE! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE ANSWER!" I grabbed the chance to talk to her.
"Base…plea…..send…..ackup…..situation…ca…..handle…" A static is in the way of the communication while I contacted her.
"ERMINA! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" I called her again.
"Lieutenant?...Than…..God!...nice to hear you alive!" She replied as the static becomes clear now.
"Are you alright? Why didn't you reply at my radio contact? I'm so worried!" I told her.
"Sorry, Lieutenant! I tried to contact Villamor Airbase but there was no response. Our radio contact suddenly went off because the static is too strong. By the way, I saw an airplane crash landed at Gate 134." Ermina replied.
"I know! We got separated from each other. I have here 1st Lieutenant Maria Joanne Singson of the 72nd infantry Division and a civilian. We're going to contact airbase using the communication center. After this, we're going to catch up with you. Can you keep up?" I said.
"We can still keep up, but I don't know when we will last." Ermina replied.
"Okay. Once we finished here in the communication center, we will catch up to the control tower. Just hang on and keep your radio open." I replied to her.
"Yes, sir! We'll be waiting!" Ermina cut off the communication.
"Looks like they're still in one piece." Ria said. "Yeah, but they won't hold much longer. Let's contact the airbase." I replied. Marinelle connected us to the airbase. The static was really hurting our ears. "Airbase, do you copy? Airbase, airbase, do you copy?" I send my message quickly to the airbase. "This is airbase. Go ahead." Finally! The airbase responded. "This is 1st Lieutenant Jerry Dela Fuente of the 66th Infantry Division. I'm with 1st Lieutenant Maria Joanne Singson from the 72nd Division and a civilian named Marinelle Garcia. We got separated from my squad captain and I have some of my men secured the control tower. All of the planes have already taken off. Our situation becomes worse. We need back up immediately." I reported our status in Terminal 3.
"Negative! We can't send reinforcements. Repeat. We can't send reinforcements." The airbase responded. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T? We're running out of ammunition here and those zombies or whatever those monsters are everywhere in Terminal 3! We don't know if we're going to make it out alive from this shit!" I furiously replied.
"What's going on?...Hurry….ive….to…..me…." I heard a familiar voice from airbase. "Lieutenant? This is General Victorino Zapata! What's your status?" My uncle took over the communication.
"Uncle! I mean, SIR! The 66th Infantry Division got separated from each other. I rendezvous with Captain Marasigan at 0630 hours. However, a Gulfstream IV private jet crashed at Gate 134 and I got separated from him. I'm now with Maria Joanne Singson from the 72nd Infantry Division and a civilian. My men already occupied the control tower but they will not hold much longer. Please, we need reinforcements." I told him about the situation.
"Hmm…Very well. We can't give the entire backup you need so I'll only send 2 choppers only for your evacuation. You've got only 30 minutes to gather your men and find Captain Marasigan. The extraction point is at the open airfield. Light a signal flare for the choppers to detect you. Is that clear?" He told me.
"Sir, yes, sir!" I replied. The communication was cut off again. "Okay, ladies. After we rescue my men and my captain, we're getting the hell out of here!" I told them.
"Fine by me. Let's go!" Ria replied. The 3 of us are going to catch up with Sergeant Andrada at the control tower. We took the wide airway 100m outside Gate 135. The control tower is located 200m northwest. The longest, but the safest path we took. The coast was clear. No zombies detected at the area. We proceed through the control tower. There are less of those zombies surrounding the control tower, so we shot them to clear them out. "Sergeant! We're going to evacuate Terminal 3. Get down here, quickly!" I shouted at the radio. "SHIT! THEY'RE COMING!" Ria saw the zombies are advancing towards us. "SHOOT TO KILL!" Ria and I started to hit them with all we've got. The zombies were taken down one by one. Marinelle stayed behind us and covered her ears. The wave of zombies seems endless until…CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! We ran out of ammo. Of all the bad luck, we've got no choice but to use our melee weapons. Ria took out her baton while I took out my Gurkha Blade. Just as we start to attack, the door to the control tower suddenly opened. "GET DOWN!" Sergeant Andrada shouted. She and her soldiers shot the zombies using their M16's. One soldier threw a frag grenade, the zombies were blown away. "Let's go to the airfield! We've got 30 minutes to get the hell out of this shithole!" I commanded them. "Have you found Cpt. Marasigan, sir?" Sergeant Andrade asked.
"No, I haven't. But, I believe he'll catch up with us. Don't worry." I reassured her. "Okay, sir." She replied.
"Alright, follow me! Move! Move! Move!" We continued our way to the open airfield.
All of us managed to get away from the control tower as the zombies started to surround the place. We arrived at the open airfield faster than I expected. "Sergeant! Light up the signal flares!" I said. She lighted up the signal flares. All we have to do now is wait for their arrival. Ria saw a familiar figure approaching towards us. "Isn't that your captain?" She said. "Huh. Where?" I replied. "Yes, it is the captain!" Ermina was so happy to see Cpt. Marasigan once again. "Ok! Now we're…OH SHIT!" I saw Cpt. Marasigan is moving like one of THEM. Actually, he became one of THEM. And what's worse is that he brought some of THEM with him. "NO! THIS IS NOT TRUE! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Ermina was shocked at what she saw. "DAMN IT!" I took my Desert Eagle out and started to shoot the zombies. Ermina was hesitating to shoot THEM because of Cpt. Marasigan.
"WHAT ARE DOING? SHOOT THEM NOW!" I told her.
"I…I…I can't!" Ermina was still hesitating.
The soldiers are still shooting the zombies. Ria used her handgun and shot THEM as well. Marinelle was still cowering in fear as she covered her ears. Finally, the 2 choppers are approaching the extraction point. One chopper shot the zombies using the machine gun before landing. "C'mon! Get inside!" The pilot said. The soldiers and Marinelle got inside the first chopper. Ria pulled Ermina inside the second chopper while I'm still busy shooting the remaining zombies. "Get inside, Jerry!" Ria shouted. I managed to get inside before it flies. We got out from the horror, but we lost something important to us. Damn! This is the worst war I have ever fought. I hope my brother gets out of this mess.
I would really like to thank the viewers who put this fanfic as their favorites. Although the update is very slow, this doesn't stop me from finishing this fic. THank you all. Till the next update! ;-)