What Remains: The Outbreak Read online

  The man in the suit was just finishing the first squad’s objective and continued with the next teams briefing, pointing to another area of the map.

  “However, Charlie team will be dropped to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department located nearby in the Chiyoda Ward. This is where the bunker containing the government officials is located. After making contact with those inside the bunker, wait until the communication tower at the base is up and running, then contact command. They will establish a chain of command under military supervision to gain control of the situation. Delta team will be providing back up for Charlie team, securing the surrounding area of the police station.”

  After hearing his position, knowing he would be part of Delta team, Knight examined the map and began to plan where he and his team would set up. He mentally devised fallback points in case things got crazier than expected. However, he doubted it would. At the front of the room, the man in the suit began talking about the other teams’ missions.

  “Lastly, Echo and Foxtrot will be deployed to Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital, in the Minato Ward, where vital research on this virus was held. Once this research is collected, head back to the forward operating base, and secure it until transport is sent to collect it. This should be a straightforward mission, quick and easy.”

  Chapter 4

  The Jump

  The interior of the chopper was semi-dark; the red jumper light was the only source of light for the eight men sitting inside. The small conversations going on within the belly of the chopper were muffled out by thumping of the blades. Four men sat on each side of the aircraft, already split into their respective team.

  “Five minutes to Charlie team’s drop site,” the pilot called out.

  Knight watched as the four men sitting adjacent from him stood up and waited for the ramp to open. Captain Lewis was the leader of the Alpha team, and Knight's commanding officer. His somber face betrayed no emotion; they were all experienced military men, ready to do their jobs without hesitation. The chopper slowed its acceleration as it neared its destination.

  “Opening the ramp, stand back!” The pilot yelled again.

  Knight watched as the ramp lowered; the mechanical hum of the hydraulics stopping the ramp in place. Charlie team lowered their night vision goggles before grabbing the rope and jumping, one after the other until they all were rappelling down the rope. Knight hauled the rope back up and closed the ramp, leaving Captain Lewis and his men alone on the ground. Knight didn’t bother sitting, they would be nearing their drop site within a minute; then it would be his turn to jump.

  As the leader of Delta team, Knight, sat looking out of the small circular window, his steely gaze reflecting due to the red glowing light within the helicopter. Owing to his calm, infallible nature, he had the respect of his men. Unless they were in the field, they treated him like they would any other soldier, something that he had always appreciated. They were confident in his ability to lead, as he was confident in their skills.

  The pilot’s called over the headsets, “Thirty seconds to Delta team’s drop site.”

  They stood and repeated Charlie team’s previous actions, grabbing the rope. The time seemed to snail by, feeling like it was happening over several hours, but truly only lasting a few short moments. The ramp opened, and loud rotors filled the cabin, lowering itself into position once more. They walked toward the edge of the ramp and, one by one, they took the plunge into the abyss.

  Smith jumped first, shortly followed by Ramirez. They both moved with precise movements and quickly made their way to the street below. Smith moved quickly out of the way and walked a short distance away, gun raised, examining the streets. Ramirez moved close to him, watching the opposite direction, waiting for the others to arrive.

  Carter jumped after Ramirez, and as he did, he felt the familiar rush and blast of frigid air. The whipping wind from the helicopter blades nearly overpowered his grip on the rope. Carter remembered his fast rope training and tried not to loosen his grip any more than he needed to. He looked out at the view before him, everything was in hues of green. In the distance, he could barely make out the second chopper descending towards the roof of the future forward operating base.

  This was his first mission with the others, and he hoped to prove to them that he was up to the challenge. Serving with these men was a privilege and something he had worked very hard to get a chance to do. These men were part of a legendary special forces group and he yearning to demonstrate his abilities and steadfastness in the field was the driving force behind his motivation. Carter would prove to the others that he was an invaluable part of the team. He landed and quickly moved to join his squad mates, Ramirez and Smith, nearby.

  Knight followed Carter down the rope. On his way down, he made a quick mental map on the way to the ground below, making sure he knew his surroundings well. He could see several cars left in the street obstructing the straight path he had hoped for. They would have to take those areas with caution or find an alternate route.

  About halfway down the rope Knight saw the flash of gunfire on the roof of where the forward operating base was supposed to be. The helicopter began to rise off the roof until it reached about twenty feet above it. Abruptly, it began to lurch around and quickly lost control, plummeting straight down towards the street. Something bad was happening, but Knight could only watch. He looked on helplessly as the helicopter impacted with the street below, exploding into several large pieces and showering the street with debris and flame. The explosion blinded Knight for a moment, the light flaring through his night vision goggles.

  Knight finally touched down on solid ground, rolling with his landing. He brought his gun up fast, treating it as an extension of his body. He scanned the area, sensed no immediate threats, and looked further up the street. He could see the silhouette of his fellow team members. He raised his gun again and began to scan the sides of the road moving down towards his team members.

  The rest of the team waited for him not far from where he landed, in the standard formation. Knight approached them and kneeled.

  “Did any of you see that?” he asked.

  “Yeah, we saw the gunfire,” spoke Smith.

  “Shit. Alright, well let’s go check it out. It is our base after all.”

  “We should call Captain Lewis really quick to see what he thinks,” stated Carter.

  Smith looked at Knight with a raised eyebrow.

  Knight sighed, “Smith, get Lewis on the radio and tell him we are going to check on the base before returning to provide overwatch.”

  Smith established contact with Captain Lewis on the radio.

  “Lewis agreed. He wants to know more about the situation and says they are fine until we return.”

  Knight looked at them all, “You heard it, let's move out.”

  The four soldiers formed up together and started on their way to the building that was the site for the base. As they jogged down the street they could see the occasional body but paid no attention to them; their sole effort was on the forward operating base, their link to the outside world. They moved as quickly as they could, dodging cars and other objects that were left in the streets. The sparse moonlight remained as the only lights in the dead city.

  Chapter 5

  Dentsu Building

  Bravo team supervised the unloading all the equipment to make a functional forward operating base. They had everything they needed for the temporary base stored in a smaller shipping container specially designed to be unloaded with ease from a helicopter. All they had to do was move the container out and start unloading while Alpha team set up the perimeter. The four men of Alpha team stood at the back of the helicopter ready to rush out and secure the rooftop. Bravo team stood at the ready behind the container ready to unload it.

  When the helicopter landed, there was a slight lurch as the wheels touched the rooftop. The ramp lowered bringing into view a rather large, elongated, roof. Several air conditioning units adorned the roof, along with
a helipad, alongside the roof access door. The two men closest to the ramp were tensed in a battle stance, guns raised. Upon landing, they moved out of the helicopter and started to perform a sweep of the roof, quickly followed by two more men who did a sweep of the sides of the roof. When they heard the all clear, the four men inside began to push out the shipping container. Two of the men who had surveyed the roof returned to the helicopter to help guide the container out.

  The loud whirring noise from the chopper deafened the men to the threat on the other side of the roof access door.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The previous worker of the Densu building had heard the commotion on the roof. Drawn by the sound, he slowly ascended the stairs reaching the roof access door. Only having a few sets of stairs to climb helped to shorten the time to get there, making it a quick trip to the top. He fumbled with the access door, not quite getting it to open; however, after a few minutes with no success, he was joined by several of his coworkers. Together they all fumbled with the door until a minute later the familiar click of an opening door was heard. Any other sounds were quickly drowned out by the helicopter that was just unloading its cargo.

  The pilot of the helicopter heard the gunfire from the men behind him. He turned just as one of the office workers made their way towards the ramp. The cabin of the helicopter was clear now that the container and the men were out. He could see the co-pilot outside with the rest of the men but made his decision to leave now. The pilot started to raise the helicopter off the ground, trying his hardest to bring it up. Slowly, and with the ramp still open, he ascended and hoped he had made it clear of the fighting below.

  Chapter 6

  The Hospital

  Echo and Foxtrot teams had flown several miles to the southwest of where the forward operating base was supposed to be set up. They knew little of the events that had unfolded there. They made it to their landing zone with no problems. Along with the other teams, they quickly rappelled and formed up.

  They quickly reached the Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital which was only half a block from their landing zone. The eight men systematically entered the hospital lobby, checking the corners and providing cover for one another. They all stopped, horrified, at the grotesque scene before them. The lobby looked like a horror movie, with bodies littering the floor. There were overturned chairs, dark forbidding doorways leading to almost certain death, and blood-splattered walls adding to the terrifying overall effect.

  Two men were posted at the main entrance to make sure they would have no problems leaving when it was time. The remaining six men split up into two groups of three, one group headed up the stairwell, and the other retreated into the main floor of the hospital, which was retrofitted into an ICU. They pushed past more dead bodies and the abandoned medical equipment in the hallways.

  The team leader, who went with the men upstairs, carried a large backpack. The leader and the two men went up to the fifth floor of the hospital, slowly checking each floor’s stairwell door. They stopped momentarily upon reaching the door on the fifth floor, noting the pool of dried blood on the landing. One soldier watched the stairs going to the upper floors, while the soldier in the rear watched the stairs going back the way they came. The team leader crouched down next to the door, opening a side pouch on the bag that he carried on his back, that contained a small thin stick of explosives to mold around the door hinges.

  The door consisted of thick heavy metal that sealed airtight when closed, allowing no sound, or anything else, out. There was an electronic keypad next to the door, blank, and without power. Blowing the hinges of the door would be the easiest method to force their way into it. Standing next to the door, the team leader gave the signal and blew the hinges off. The door fell to the ground landing with a thunderous thud that echoed down the stairs.

  The team leader signaled the soldier watching the stairs leading to the upper floors to stay and keep on the lookout. The other man went with the leader as they went through the dark doorway. Inside they entered a kind of living space, with several rooms breaking off to each side. They shined their flashlights into these rooms as they crept deeper into the lab.

  Stopping near the back of the room they discovered the lab itself. They could see inside and saw that it was destroyed, with almost all the equipment thrown on the floor. Entering the lab, they cleared the room, checking behind the counters. Nothing moved in the room except for the specks of dust in the beam of their flashlights. They lowered their guns, and the team leader began to unpack his bag, pulling out a massive carrying case. His support man scoured the rest of the room while the team leader found his prize: a small, single vial carefully lifted from one of the deserted machines strewn about the place. Slowly and carefully, he lifted it and put in the case.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Meanwhile, the men in the ICU found something they had not been expecting at all: infected. They had been caught unprepared by many infected within the area and killed almost instantly. A minute later, the two men at the main entrance were swarmed from behind, unaware of the chaos that had befallen their fellow soldiers.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The man that had been left to watch the staircase heard a soft scream from the lower part of the hospital. He leaned over the railing, looking down at the bottom of the stairwell. Down on the ground floor, he only saw the concrete base in the dim light given off by the glow stick they had placed there earlier. He relaxed, slowly pulling away from the railing, unaware of the movement behind him.

  His attacker lunged at him from behind. Unprepared for the charge, he lost his footing, causing himself and his attacker to fall over the railing. The soldier only had a few seconds, screaming on his way down, before they both hit the floor with a loud thud. The sound echoed softly in the dark.

  The team leader and his support heard the scream of their lookout. There was a split-second glance at each other before they pivoted and raised their guns to the door facing the hall. They stood there waiting for any form of contact that never came. As they slowly approached the door, their senses heightened. The team leader looked out at the stairwell and saw no one. He looked over the railing, and his eyes grew wide as he saw the bodies at the bottom. The glow stick cast an eerie, incandescent glow around them. They tried to reach the other men that they left on the ground floor on the radio. No reply. Sensing something was not right, they stealthily went down the stairwell, double-checking every floor landing as they went.

  When they reached the bottom, they walked over to the bodies. The team leader knelt and looked over the masses. The fall had made the bodies almost unrecognizable, twisted and mangled. The only difference between the two was what they were wearing. One was dressed in doctor’s attire while the other, who was part of their team, was in all black night ops gear. The team leader noticed the doctor looked odd, grim and deathly, and it was clear that he had been for some time. It was impossible to tell anything else because of the fall. Knowing it was time to move on, the team leader grabbed the soldier’s dog tags and shoved them in his pocket.

  Leaving their comrade behind they emerged into the lobby once again, only to find fresh blood covering the walls and floor, mixing glossily with the old blood. The absence of the men they had left there fifteen minutes before, combined with the new paint scheme, disturbed the two men even more. Realizing they were the only two left of the squad they looked at each other. Silently, they decided to leave and made their way to the hospital door.

  Opening the main doors, they started to move down the dead street. Without realizing, the shuffling of the team leader’s backpack was attracting what lay waiting on the streets. Their screams echoed through the night.

  Chapter 7

  Only One

  Knight led the other three men from his team towards the crash site of the helicopter. Abandoning their previous objective, they moved quickly to check the status of the forward operating base. Hoping their fears were wrong, they rounded a building and brought the helicopter’s final resting pla
ce into their view. They stopped in their tracks, in shock of the downed bird.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The pilot tried desperately to keep control of the helicopter, one hand on the controls the other shoving back. Impeding his efforts to control the aircraft, however, was his attacker, pinning him against the side of the cockpit. Using all his strength, the pilot managed to shift his attacker below him. In doing this, he had to let go of the controls. Looking over the attacker’s shoulders, he saw the ground closing in. Bracing for the impact, he used his attacker to absorb the brunt of the hit. The helicopter blades hit the ground first, snapping in half, wildly slicing through the helicopter. The shock of the impact and the adrenaline of the attack hindered the pilot’s feeling; he never felt the blade slice right through him.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Approaching the gruesome scene, they saw half of a man, his entrails strewn behind him. The pilot had crawled out of the cockpit and died a mere ten feet away. Small fires were around the helicopter, lighting the intersection that it crashed into earlier. Pieces of the road were strewn across cars haphazardly left in the intersection. Carter heaved up the small amount of food left in his stomach onto the street. The others guarded themselves against the sight since they had grown accustomed to seeing death.

  Finding nothing of value, or any clues to the fate of the forward operating base, the team pressed on, quickly climbing the skyscraper’s stairway to the heavens. It took them thirty minutes to climb the stairwell and reach the pinnacle of the building. They promptly formed up against the doorway. When Knight signaled that it was time to move, they burst through the door, clearing the left and the right areas. Carter went straight with the intention of clearing the front but quickly froze at the horrifying sight before him.