The biggest issue troubling Emily was the fact that they had no escort. This was the first trip that they would attempt without at least one support vehicle. No Humvees positioned in front to clear the path, and behind to provide support. No helicopter circling overhead, miniguns ready to roar at a moment’s notice.
Yeah. That would have been nice. Like a warm comfy blanket.
But that was not to be. Today, the team was sent out without any support whatsoever. They were on their own. Just Emily and a mixed squad of soldiers patched together. Emily had worked with most members of this crew for a few days, so she knew that there were some vastly different personalities on board. But there was one thing that they would all agree on, and that was that this was fucked up.
The army was stretched thin. Or had bigger fish to fry, depending on what you believed. Emily guessed that it really didn’t matter what the truth was. They had their orders.
The next fifteen minutes was spent in relative silence. There was no traffic on the interstate whatsoever. It almost would have been a relaxing drive if it weren’t for the burnt-out husks of cars in the ditches. That, and the occasional glimpse of bodies lying amongst or in those cars...
The bus moved along the interstate at a monotonous pace. Emily took a quick glance in her rear-view mirror. Six men were sitting in the bus. They sat in silence, but Emily knew that it was anything but silent in their heads.
The shit they had seen... The constant worrying about friends and family. Some of them must have been wondering if it was as bad at home as it was here. Emily knew the answer to that one. Damn right things were bad. They were bad all over.
Welcome to the Apocalypse, lads.
Four of them were regular army. The other two National Guard. One of those was in the reserves, so Emily figured that made him the rookie instead of her.
Emily had served a full tour herself. Spent four years in service of her majesty’s royal armed forces.
Yeah, right Em. You spent most of that time based at Duddleston.
Duddleston Barracks. Located in the West Midlands near Birmingham, England. Emily still remembered the shock and disbelief in her mum’s expression when she had told her that she was enlisting. All those years in private school, all that privilege. All thrown away in a moment of rebellion as Emily signed up for the British Armed Forces.
Several days later she was off to Duddleston. Several years later, when the army spit her out the other end, she was a Transportation and Communications Expert. And disowned by her parents.
During her time in the army she’d rarely been out of England, and certainly never fired a weapon in battle. As a matter of fact, she had fired a rifle on exactly six occasions. Just enough to pass that course. Emily knew herself well. She knew how to operate a radio, and drive lots of different vehicles – but she was no warrior.
Certainly not prepared to deal with this. Well, who in their right mind would be? She considered.
Emily ran a hand over her forehead and looked at the moisture in her palm for a moment, before catching herself. She had a quick look in her rear-view mirror to see if anybody was paying attention to her.
Those blokes probably think you’ve lost your marbles, Em!
Eyes forward once again, Emily slowed the bus slightly as they approached an interchange. The grey of concrete met the bright blue of the sky as the bus ascended an overpass.
At the top of the overpass the team was witness to another example of the chaos that was growing in the city: Fires. From their vantage point they could see several fires burning in the surrounding city scape, including one big one downtown. Those fires would go unchecked, as there was nobody to put them out.
They traveled down the highway for several more minutes. Emily had gotten so used to the droning of the bus engine and the regular clacking sound as the bus tires traversed from one concrete slab to the next one, that she gasped when Garcia spoke up from his seat near the front.
“Our turn off is up ahead. Mason south.”
His next words were directed at the squad leader. “Our first pickup is about five minutes out. Contacting the civilian now.”
“Weapons and gear check.” Peters was all business now.
She looked through her rear-view mirror and scanned her team. The guys had their heads on swivels.
All seven occupants could sense the rise in tension as the bus navigated the off ramp and took a left under the highway. These areas had not been cleared by the armed forces, and it showed. The bus had to weave past several abandoned cars.
Several figures could be seen staggering here and there, all of them would turn to the sound of the school bus and start moving towards it. Thankfully, none of the figures were very close. Everything else was eerily quiet.
“Fuck!” That was Collins. It was the first word he had spoken so far on this ride. Three days ago, he was still all full of bluster. Getting a word in edgewise was a challenge with this guy. But the deteriorating conditions over the last couple of days sure shut him up. Emily could see him grimace.
He was right though. ‘Fuck’ pretty much described what all of them were thinking.
“No response. Calling the next one.” Garcia called out.
The team rode in silence as Garcia attempted to make contact, a ridiculously small phone held up to his ear.
Or maybe his hand is just really big. That took Emily’s mind off tangent once again. It
