Darker Days Read online

  Able to plot courses for ships carrying fuel and supplies, the government didn’t rely on allied help, because other nations shared the same problems. The journey home came with complications, and it took the better part of four weeks before the men and women aboard Ross saw their home port on the horizon. Bryce personally felt a sense of relief, ready to see his wife and son, though the captain provided him with the news that the military commanders at Naval Station Norfolk had an assignment for him that required additional travel. From what he understood, personnel from every military branch convened at the base, creating a disjointed but unified military coalition. Still a few days out from the base, Bryce was able to call his brother one last time, urging him to hurry in his travels.

  “I’m sorry about the orders,” Dascher said quietly to his XO while both men stood in the bridge with the base growing closer by the minute.

  “That makes two of us, sir,” Bryce responded. “Duty calls.”

  “I spoke with one of the other captains. They’re trying to relocate all military personnel to strategic bases, which includes ours in Norfolk. It won’t be long before we’re one big consolidated military.”

  Realizing their words might be overhead by the number of enlisted personnel and the junior officer on the watch, Dascher pointed toward the door.

  “Let’s get some fresh air.”

  Both officers stepped outside, finding clear blue skies greeting them with warm weather and a stiff breeze. They walked to the closest railing, leaning over to look at the water as their ship created a foamy trail in its wake.

  “I don’t know what’s to become of our armed forces,” Dascher confessed. “I think our currency is about to become food and security, but even that won’t last forever.”

  “What exactly are you saying, sir?” Bryce questioned.

  “I’m saying to watch your back, because the writing on the wall says this is the apocalypse and it’s every man for himself.”

  Bryce smirked, and Dascher caught it as intended.

  “I know,” the commanding officer said. “It’s not very loyal of me to speak of our beloved government in such a way, but the society we knew is gone. Mark my words, Metzger, it’s only going to get worse from here.”

  As though on cue, the ship began to slow near the harbor and Dascher fully intended to get inside to make certain his personnel guided her into port without a scratch, but a throaty growl from the water caught the attention of both officers. Floating alongside the ship, several clothed undead with waterlogged, bloated flesh, growled, reaching upward towards the ship at the prospect of seeing live prey. Their skin appeared gray, as though saturated from within, with numerous folds and wrinkles. Without the ability to swim, the undead simply floated in place until the ship’s propulsion pushed them away. Bryce noticed one of them wore a Navy enlisted man’s uniform, wondering how one of his own ended up in the water, among the undead.

  Neither had laid eyes on an actual zombie, having been at sea for so long, and the news footage failed to bring justice to the experience. Bryce felt a shiver through the small of his back, knowing the people in the water once carried out normal lives, now reduced to mindless shells of their former selves. He exchanged an uneasy glance with Dascher before both men turned to enter the bridge to take their ship home.

  ***

  Much of what occurred after that felt like a blur to the lieutenant commander. After a brief, emotional reunion with Isabella and Nathan, Bryce was summoned to a meeting that involved leaders from every branch of the military within one of the buildings on the base. Much of the base appeared to be a refugee camp with tents, clotheslines, and people cooking outside. He suspected the senior officers received the permanent buildings for bunk space, indicating some things didn’t change in the new era. Several times he noticed what appeared to be people pawing at the base’s security gates, but a closer examination caused him to realize a number of the undead wanted inside to attack the living.

  Entering the building, Bryce shook hands with several high-ranking officers from every branch except the Coast Guard, which had representation on the base, but not in this meeting. Every shred of natural light was allowed to flow into the room, because the military didn’t want to waste resources running generators or using up their batteries. Ironic, Bryce thought, that it required an apocalypse to keep the government from being wasteful. Being a nuclear ship, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower could easily power the port once plugged into the grid, but for some reason it wasn’t being utilized. Reworking the existing grid required time and the correct personnel, and it certainly wasn’t an overnight fix.

  Captain David Parry, the man in charge of the base, introduced Bryce to an Army colonel and captain, a major from the Marines, and a major from the Air Force. He shook hands with each man, having met Parry only a handful of times during his brief stays at Naval Station Norfolk.

  Considering Dascher wasn’t invited to the meeting, and no admirals and generals were present, Bryce took notice that the government moved forward without relying on previous policies. He took a seat near the end of the large table that seated almost two dozen when the room reached capacity. The various leaders explained to him that he was flying back to his home state to assist with a mission to discover who delivered and triggered the various explosive devices across the United States. He felt a surge of excitement at the opportunity to discover who caused the apocalypse, killing millions of innocent people.

  “While you’re the highest-ranking officer on this mission,” Marine Major Thom Faulkner said, “we want our guys to take point. We don’t have electronics to guide us, and we need to reach the Hemingway Factory, the primary target in Buffalo the day this mess started.”

  “I know it well, sir,” Bryce replied, recalling the company manufactured electrical components for numerous motor vehicle and tractor companies. His father once said they produced parts for the locomotives he worked on before his retirement. “I can get us there.”

  “We’re sending out units like this across the nation,” one of the Air Force officers stated, “hoping to find the common link between the explosions.”

  “Are we doing this with the hope of finding a cure?” Bryce dared ask since he was risking his life almost immediately after setting foot on dry land.

  “In part,” Faulkner answered. “If we can find the person or group responsible, we hope to learn the extent of their plan, along with the science. A cure would be ideal, but we also want to know if there’s any corner of the Earth that isn’t affected.”

  Bryce nodded.

  “We’re providing you with a C-130 and ground vehicles that should get you where you’re going, short of an entanglement with an invading military force,” the major added. “We’re giving you a unit out of MCB Quantico who work together regularly. The unit has been briefed on what to look for, and they’ll work out the logistics with you en route.”

  He slid a folder across the table to the lieutenant commander.

  “Inside are your mission parameters. We’ll equip you, because we need all hands on deck to get inside, extract the information, and get back here with it ASAP.”

  Bryce nodded, knowing he could read through the folder during the flight. He hesitated slightly, and everyone in the room took notice.

  “My brother is on his way here under my direction,” he added.

  “We’ll take him in,” Parry offered immediately. “I can give the guards his name so they don’t turn him away.”

  “If he arrives before my team departs, I’d like permission to bring him along,” Bryce said, looking at the eyes of every officer.

  In unison they balked at the notion of a civilian tagging along on such a crucial mission, but their thinking originated in the old world.

  “Dan knows the Buffalo area as well as I do, and he’s been on the road for a month,” Bryce added. “He knows how to deal with what’s out there, a
nd he can offer some insight regarding how to handle the infected.”

  Reluctantly the officers agreed, looking to one another and giving slow, affirmative nods. Likely believing Dan Metzger possessed little to no chance of meeting the timeline, they rolled the dice, giving permission for the lieutenant commander’s brother to join the group.

  “The team is ready to go, but we wanted to give you a night with your family before you depart,” Parry said, and Bryce felt as though the captain lobbied to get him the courtesy. “We’ll get everything loaded, and you’ll depart with your team tomorrow.”

  Bryce nodded before standing. He shook hands with the officers once again before heading outside to spend quality time with his family. Again, he observed the undead at the fence after hearing their growls and moans. Several soldiers took knives and sharp weapons to their skulls through the mesh wire fence, putting them down permanently. With Norfolk and the base closed off by water, the undead could only reach town limits via waterways or through the town itself.

  Accustomed to the smell of fresh sea air, Bryce’s nostrils took in body odors, fecal matter, and the stench of decay. Part of him missed the sea already, almost wishing he could stow away on a ship with his family. Nothing about that scenario ended dreamily, because the same problems on land eventually caught up with anyone sailing across blue waters.

  Staring at the fence, he figured eventually the undead numbers would thin out, leaving the base safe from attack to deal with other problems. Food, fresh water, and medical supplies were due to run out with so many people staying at the installation, leaving the survivors to fend for themselves, which might lead to the dissolution of the government as they knew it.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” Isabella said as she and Nathan met up with him near the makeshift camp.

  “This isn’t fair to either of you,” he said, scooping up his son and holding him in a hug for close to a minute.

  “How can they ask more of you?” Isabella asked with a heavy sigh. “They tried explaining it, but how does this mission do anything except put more of you in danger?”

  “We might get answers,” Bryce replied. “That doesn’t necessarily make it right, but they need someone who knows the Buffalo area.”

  He turned to Nathan.

  “How are you holding up, champ?” he asked.

  “I’m okay.”

  “This is like one big summer camp, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.”

  Bryce set his son down once his right arm began to grow numb. Whenever he returned from a tour at sea, he found Nathan a bit taller and heavier than when he left.

  “How are the accommodations?” he asked his wife as she took his hand, leading him toward the camp.

  “They could be worse,” she answered. “Most of us stay in the buildings, or aboard the ships, while the scouts stay in the tents and listen for activity. The dead haven’t breached the fences yet, so that’s good.”

  He wished the small talk would cease as his mind wandered, thinking he wanted to bed his wife for the first time in six months before leaving on a perilous mission. As a respectable father, he knew to never say anything in front of his offspring about wanting to have sex with his mother like a wild animal. He and Isabella would play the game through and figure out a way to distract their son or busy him for adequate alone time.

  “They say the President is aboard one of the ships,” Isabella stated as they walked, holding hands while Nathan skipped around in front of them.

  “I saw him!” Nathan exclaimed, not missing one step as he continued to burn calories with the excitement of his father being home.

  “You did?” Bryce asked with an arched eyebrow, questioning the accuracy of his son’s claim.

  “He waved to me from one of the ships.”

  Isabella shrugged when he looked to her, which meant the statement couldn’t be disproven.

  “We get two or three meals a day,” Isabella said, returning to the original topic. “Everyone pitches in, so we have clean laundry, the occasional shower, and enough meds for now. I just wonder how long we can sustain all of this unless they get the plague under control. People are the biggest resource we have now. Without them, we’ll never reopen factories, have electricity, or use phones again.”

  “We got there once before,” Bryce said, hoping he sounded more optimistic than he felt. “It’s hard to believe everything around us could just turn to relics.”

  He envisioned a sepia tone world like the movies always depicted where dust and sand covered everything, though the beautiful weather around him spoke to the contrary. Both avoided talking about serious topics until Isabella encouraged Nathan to run over and play with one of his new friends.

  “His world opened up when they brought us inside,” she said. “Lots of bored kids with nothing except books and each other.”

  Bryce stared her in the eyes.

  “I’m pretty sure I can get a seaman apprentice to show Nate the ship if you know a private setting for a quickie.”

  If not for his devotion to his trade, Bryce might have suggested his living quarters on his ship. Such behavior got any sailor dismissed from the ship, facing harsh disciplinary action, and Bryce didn’t feel that using the apocalypse as an excuse was kosher just yet.

  “You’re a hopeless romantic,” Isabella said with a laugh. “But, yes, I’d like to fuck, and I’m getting sick of all of these horny assholes undressing me with their eyes.”

  “I’ll show them how it’s done for real,” Bryce promised. “And if any of them get handsy after I leave, you know how to use a gun.”

  “I certainly do,” Isabella answered with a confident nod.

  Bryce gave her a quick kiss before they continued their stroll, putting off their alone time until after things settled down around the base.

  “How’s your family?” he inquired.

  “They’re fine, last I knew. You know they’re tough as nails.”

  “I’m worried about my folks,” Bryce admitted, having last spoken to his mother only days after the terrorist events changed the landscape of the world. “I worried that I sent Dan straight into a trap, but he got out of New York.”

  “Did he make it to their house?”

  “I think so, but we didn’t exactly have time for lengthy conversations. He would’ve said something if he found them, so I’m fearing the worst.”

  Isabella pulled him into a hug, neither of them concerned that military personnel and their spouses might be looking in their direction. Somehow, despite everything around them smelling like trash, her scent reminded him of his mother’s flowers whenever he visited his parents.

  “Where on earth did you find perfume?” he inquired with a whisper into her ear.

  “Just for you, I managed to dig some up.”

  “I could take you right here,” he admitted, feeling an erection forming, which he quickly ebbed by deflecting his thoughts elsewhere.

  Bryce knew from experience that stereotypes told about sailors often held true. While at sea he never stepped out on his wife, though he did so once before they were married with a stranger one night he met at a tavern. He and Isabella were on a hiatus of sorts with their relationship, but looking back, he wished he hadn’t given into temptation so easily. Enlisted men often dashed off the ship in search of a good time during their leave, but officers were held to a higher standard. Particularly as XO, Bryce knew he needed to set a good example, even if his sailors didn’t always follow it.

  Intentionally walking past his ship with Isabella, he noticed unfamiliar soldiers unloading cargo from the ship while most of his sailors set foot on dry land, resting or getting a bite to eat. Bryce decided to grab an early dinner with his wife and son, which he found to be incredibly informal compared to the routine aboard a ship. Following that, he snagged a seaman’s apprentice, requesting the man provide his son with a tour
aboard Ross, particularly the areas any kid would love. Nodding affirmatively, the young man took young Nathan aboard the ship, and Bryce let Isabella lead him to a private room within a building where foreplay lasted less than two minutes, basically consisting of the couple undressing one another.

  Once the couple finished making love, they talked for only a few minutes before Bryce got dressed to find the seaman’s apprentice aboard Ross so he could show Nathan where he worked personally. He thanked the man and finished the tour, which contributed to his son falling asleep in his arms later that evening inside his quarters on the ship. While the military provided some form of housing for everyone on the base, Bryce opted to stay on his ship so he and Isabella could converse before he departed the following morning.

  ***

  Some of his wife’s words stayed with him when he entered the transport aircraft the following morning, leaving his family on the landing strip outside. She made him promise to return safely the previous evening, and he did, because no military man wanted to appear pessimistic about his chances of survival.

  Just before takeoff, Bryce spied his younger brother approaching him inside the aircraft. Despite the growth of a beard, he recognized Dan Metzger immediately, embracing him with a powerful hug before the two exchanged a few words. Informed that his parents hadn’t survived the apocalypse, the lieutenant commander didn’t ask for details because time didn’t permit. His brother offered no elaboration, as though both understood such a deep discussion required privacy and their full attention at a later date.

  Once they were safely in the air, heading for Buffalo, the Metzger brothers sat beside one another to converse. Noise inside the C-130 proved deafening, much like the center of a major factory, making regular conversation impossible. Everyone in the cargo section of the plane put on headsets that allowed them to speak to one another, but not to the pilot or the aircraft’s crew. Most of the Marines onboard turned their volume down, simply using the headphones as noise-canceling devices while they closed their eyes. A row of seats lined each side of the cargo plane, with two Humvees strapped down in the center of the aircraft, ready for use once the group landed.