Dr. Choi looked worried, “What does that mean?
Shin turned to her, “It means we have a home no longer.”
Priest sighed, “It also means that Command is gone, and we have no idea whether any other command still exists. In a nutshell, we are on our own.”
They set down at Frederick Airport and Priest old Doug to shut down. Priest directed everyone to continue to provide security, but to be in earshot to hear. “Ok, unfortunately, we have to bring everyone up to speed, and I’m sorry but we can’t pull any punches on this. Our HQ is gone, overrun. We have tried to hail other command structures along the way with no luck. Basically, we are on our own with no command infrastructure that we know of, no orders beyond what we have already executed, and no idea what’s going on in the rest of the country. Hell, we have no idea what’s going in the world.”
Dr. Caulfield spoke up, “Does that mean you no longer have any responsibility to us anymore?”
“Technically, yes. We can take off and leave all this shit behind,” Priest exclaimed. Worried looks shot all around.
“Don’t worry, we will not do that.” Webb nodded, “We took an oath that transcends any command structure or world event. You guys are stuck with us until we find a place that you will be safe.”
Izzy moved closer to Webb while he spoke, and it was quite obvious that she had gotten close to him during the craziness they recently experienced.
Webb continued, “So, the plans are to get you guys to Boone, North Carolina. Hopefully, it is still intact. Speaking of which, what the hell happened back there?” Dr. Caulfield and Dr. Choi exchanged worried looks, and you could see the fear behind their eyes.
Izzy spoke up. She was shaking, but grabbed Webb’s arm to steady herself. He didn’t seem to mind and even put his hand over hers. “We were performing analysis on the samples we had, but they were quickly becoming non-viable. Fresh samples were needed and the only way to acquire those was to pull them from actual infected people. We met with the head of facility security… Sargent Collins, I think his name was. He had agreed to send a couple of his men to retrieve what we needed. From what we could determine, his men became infected, somehow trying to obtain the samples. Then they faked their way in. Nobody knew who was infected or not, so the actual infected gained their way in and started infecting everyone in the facility.”
Izzy continued, “When the chaos broke out, we locked ourselves in here. They tried to gain access into the lab by telling us they were security and were here to help us. We almost opened the door as they sounded somewhat normal, but then we heard the clicking noise they kept making. I could see them through the camera outside the door before they destroyed it. Their wild eyes and the way they kept tilting their head back and forth was disturbing. It was one of the creepiest things I have ever seen. Gave me shivers,” she finished.
“Wow, we’re just glad you guys are ok,” Webb patted her hand which appeared to give her some courage. She wiped away the tears and stood up straighter.
Izzy looked at the Team, “I want my combat gear back.” She went to a duffle she had brought and removed the gear she had worn previously. She stripped right there and got dressed.
Webb noticed with a quick glance that she didn’t have the stereotypical scientist body and hers was fit and quite nice. Being from Puerto Rico, she had caramel skin and black hair. Webb turned around and glared at those who were still looking. They immediately spun to put their backs to her.
Priest turned to Lia, “You have a second?” She nodded, and they walked off. He led her away and finally stopped and turned towards her, “Look, things have changed quickly and not for the better. We are in an “end of the world scenario” here, and we have no idea what could happen next. I guess what I’m saying is.”
He stopped and took her hands in his. “Normally I would wait awhile to say anything about my feelings. Hell, to be honest, I might have said nothing at all, but these aren’t normal times. I have not felt this way about a woman in a long time. I’m not sure what I’m asking, but whatever we do, or wherever we go, I would like to do it together.”
She just stared at him for a long moment. Priest was on the verge of turning around and
walking away, sure that he had made a mistake, when Lia spoke, “I thought you would never ask.”
Priest stood there dumbfounded. She hugged him, pulled back and kissed him full on the lips.
“Damn,” Doc yelled. “Didn’t see that coming!”
Priest turned toward the chopper, his face a little flush. He floated back to the aircraft, and Lia followed with a grin on her face.
Webb walked over to Priest, “We good with the plan?”
“Huh, what?”
Webb laughed, “The plan. Are we good with the plan?”
“Ah, yeah, yeah. We’re good.” Webb slapped him on the shoulder, shaking his head.
They refueled without incident and were in the air headed to Boone, NC. Priest had the Team check and clean their gear. Lia and Izzy followed suit because they were now part of the Team. Webb had given Izzy a pistol and an M4 and taught her how to fire and clean it.
Dr. Caulfield and Dr. Choi wanted nothing to do with any weapon, which was cool with Webb and Priest. They didn’t want to spend the time trying to teach them, anyway. Training people to shoot, who have never dealt with a weapon before, was a serious pain in the ass.
CHAPTER 31
After an hour in the air, Allison’s voice came over the comms. “Webb, Priest. We are approaching Roanoke Blacksburg Airport. We need to stop and refuel here to make it to Boone, North Carolina.”
“Ok, give us the flyby so we can assess the scene,” Webb replied. “You guys land after we assess Me, Shin and Neville will roll out and provide cover on the east side. Priest, Shaw, and Doc will take the west. Lia and Izzy will provide support from the chopper. You guys take off and hover after we unload, that way we don’t’ risk losing our transportation.”