The Twelve (The Passage 2)

"You mind?"

Kittridge shook his head. They were looking toward the compound's entrance, a hundred yards distant. Under a blaze of spotlights, the area around it glowed like a brightly lit stage.

"I just wanted to thank you," April said. "For everything you've done."

"Anybody would have."

"No, they wouldn't. I mean, you'd like to think so. But no."

Kittridge wondered if this was true. He supposed it didn't matter. Fate had pushed them together, and here they were. Then he remembered the pistols.

"I've got something of yours."

He reached under his jacket and pulled one of the Glocks free. He racked the slide to chamber a round, turned it around in his hand, and held it out to her.

"Remember what I told you. One shot in the center of the chest. They go down like a house of cards if you do it right."

"How did you get it back?"

He smiled. "Won it in a poker game." He nudged it toward her. "Go on, take it."

It had become important to him that she have it. April took it in her hand, leaned forward, and slid the barrel into the waistband of her jeans, resting against her spine.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "I'll use it in good health."

For a full minute, neither spoke.

"It's pretty obvious how all this is going to end, isn't it?" April said. "Sooner or later, I mean."

Kittridge turned his face to look at her; her eyes were averted, the lights of the spots glazing her features. "There's always a chance."

"That's nice of you to say. But it doesn't change a thing. Maybe the others need to hear it, but I don't."

A chill had fallen; April leaned her weight against him. The gesture was instinctive, but it meant something. Kittridge draped his arm around her, drawing her in for warmth.

"You think about him, don't you?" Her head lay against his chest; her voice was very soft. "The boy in the car."

"Yes."

"Tell me."

Kittridge took a long breath, exhaling into the darkness. "I think about him all the time."

A deeper silence fell. Around them the camp had fallen quiet, like the rooms of a house after everyone had gone to bed.

"I'd like to ask a favor," April said.

"Name it."

Kittridge felt her body tense just slightly. "Did I mention I was a virgin?"

Despite himself, he laughed; and yet this did not seem wrong. "Now, I think I'd remember something like that."

"Yeah, well. There haven't been what you'd call a lot of men in my life." She paused, then said, "I wasn't lying about being eighteen, you know. Not that it matters. I don't think this is a world where stuff like that means much anymore."

Kittridge nodded. "I guess maybe it doesn't."

"So what I'm saying is, it doesn't have to be any big thing."

"It's always a big thing."

April wrapped his hand with her fingers, slowly brushing her thumb over the tops of his knuckles. The sensation was as light and warm as a kiss. "It's funny. Even before I saw your scars, I knew what you were. Not just the Army-that was obvious to everyone. That something had happened to you, in the war." A pause, then: "I don't think I even know your first name."

"It's Bernard."

She pulled away to look at him. Her eyes were moist and shining. "Please, Bernard. Just please, okay?"

It was not a request that could be refused; nor did he want to. They used one of the adjacent tents-who knew where its occupants had gone? Kittridge was out of practice but did his best to be kind, to go slow, watching April's face carefully in the dim light. She made a few sounds, but not many, and when it was done she kissed him, long and tenderly, nestled against him, and soon was fast asleep.

Kittridge lay in the dark, listening to her breathe, feeling her warmth where their bodies touched. He'd thought it might be strange but it wasn't strange at all; it seemed a natural part of all that had occurred. His thoughts drifted, touching down here and there. The better memories; the memories of love. He didn't have many. Now he had another. How foolish he'd been, wanting to give away this life.

He had just closed his eyes when from beyond the gate came a roar of engines and a flare of headlights. April was stirring beside him. He dressed quickly and parted the flaps as he heard, coming from the west, a roll of thunder. Wouldn't you know they'd be leaving in the rain.

"Are they here?" Rubbing his eyes, Pastor Don was emerging from the tent. Wood was behind him.

Kittridge nodded. "Get your gear, everybody. It's time."

Where the hell was Suresh?

Nobody had seen the man for hours. One minute he was supposed to be examining Grey; the next he'd vanished into thin air. Guilder had sent Masterson to search for him. Twenty minutes later, he'd come back empty-handed. Suresh was nowhere in the building, he said.

Their first defection, Guilder thought. A crack like that would widen. Where could the man hope to get to? They were in the middle of a cornfield, night was pressing down. The days had passed in futility. Still they had failed to isolate the virus, to draw it forth from the cells. There was no doubt that Grey was infected; the man's enlarged thymus told them so. But the virus itself seemed to be hiding. Hiding! Those were Nelson's words. How could a virus be hiding? Just f**king find it, Guilder said. We're running out of time.

Guilder was spending more of his time on the roof, drawn to its sense of space. Past midnight once again, and here he was. Sleep was only a memory. No sooner would he drift off than he would jolt awake, the walls of his throat closing in. The seventy-two-hour deadline had come and gone, Nelson only raising his eyebrows: Well? Guilder's windpipe was so tight he could barely swallow; his left hand fluttered like a bird. One whole side of his body was dragging as if a ten-pound dumbbell were tied to his ankle. There was no way he could hide the situation from Nelson much longer.

From the rooftop, Guilder had watched the Army's ranks diminishing over the days. How far away were the virals? How much time did they have?

His handheld buzzed at his waist. Nelson.

"You better come see this."

Nelson met him at the door of the elevator. He was wearing a dirty lab coat, his hair askew. He handed Guilder a sheaf of paper.

"What am I looking at?"

Nelson's face was grim. "Just read."

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND

7115 SOUTH BOUNDARY BOULEVARD

MACDILL AFB, FL 33621-5101

010500JUN16

USCENTCOM OPERATION ORDER-IMMACULATA

REFERENCES: EXECUTIVE ORDER 929621, 1st HL Recon BDE OPORD 18-26, Map Sheet V107

TASK ORGANIZATION: Joint Task Force (JTF) SCORCH, including elements of: 388th Fighter Wing (388 FW), 23rd Fighter Group (23 FG), 62nd Homeland Aerial Defense Group (62 HADG), Colorado Army National Guard (CO ANG), Kansas Army National Guard (KS ANG), Nebraska Army National Guard (NE ANG), and Iowa Army National Guard (IA ANG)

1. SITUATION

a. Enemy Strength: Unknown, +/- 200K

b. Terrain: Mixture of high plains/grasslands/urban

c. Weather: Variable conditions, moderate day visibility, limited night visibility, low to no moonlight

d. Enemy Situation: As of 010500JUN16, 763 infected person groups ("pods") observed massed in Designated Areas 1-26. Enemy movement expected immediately following sunset (2116).

2. MISSION

JTF SCORCH conducts combat operations from 012100JUN16 through 052400JUN17 within designated Quarantine Zone in order to destroy all infected persons.

3. EXECUTION

Intent: JTF will conduct air and ground combat operations within Quarantine Zone. Priority task for JTF SCORCH is elimination of all infected personnel within Quarantine Zone. All personnel, including civilians, within Quarantine Zone are assumed to be infected and are authorized for elimination in accordance with Executive Order 929621. End state is elimination of all infected personnel within Quarantine Zone.

Concept of the Operation: This will be a two-phase operation:

PHASE 1: JTF deploys tactical air units of the 388 FW, 23 FG, and 62 HADG 012100JUN16 to conduct massed bombing of Designated Areas 1-26. PHASE 1 complete with 100% bombing saturation of Quarantine Zone. PHASE 2 will commence immediately following PHASE 1 complete.

PHASE 2: JTF will deploy 3 Mechanized Infantry Divisions from tactical ground units of the CO ANG, KS ANG, NE ANG, IA ANG to conduct free-fire assaults on remaining enemy forces within Designated Areas 1-26. PHASE 2 complete with 100% infected personnel destroyed within Quarantine Zone.

It went on from there: logistics, tactical, command, and signal. The bureaucratese of war. The upshot was clear: anyone behind the quarantine line was now forfeit.

"Jesus."

"I told you," Nelson said. "Sooner or later, this was bound to happen. It's less than two hours till dawn. We're probably okay for the night, but I don't think we should wait."

Just like that, the clock had run down to zero. After all he'd done, to accept defeat now!

"So what do you want me to do?"

Guilder took a breath to steady himself. "Evacuate the techs in the vehicles, but keep Masterson here. We can box up Grey and the woman ourselves and call for pickup."

"Should I notify Atlanta? You know, so they're at least aware of the situation."

It was, he thought, to Nelson's credit that he didn't indulge himself with a second I-told-you-so. "No, I'll do it."

There was a secure landline in the station chief's office. Guilder made his way upstairs and down the empty hallway, his left leg dragging pitifully. All the offices had been stripped bare; the only things in the room were a chair, a cheap metal desk, and a telephone. He lowered himself into the chair and sat there, staring at the phone. After some time he realized his cheeks were wet; he had begun to weep. The strange, emotionless weeping that had come to seem like a harbinger of his fate, and the body's unbidden confession of his wretched little life. As if his body were saying to him: Just you wait. Just you wait and see what I've got in store for you. A living death, sonny boy.

But this would never happen; once he picked up the phone, it would all be over. A small comfort, to know that at least he wouldn't live long enough to suffer the full brunt of his decline. What he had failed to accomplish that day in the garage would now be done for him.

Mr. Guilder? Come with us. A hand on his shoulder, the march down the hall.

No.

Chapter 20

By the time they reached the buses, the soldiers had established a perimeter. A crowd was forming in the predawn darkness. Danny's bus was in the third slot; Kittridge glimpsed him through the windshield, hat wedged onto his head, hands clamping the wheel. Vera stood at the base of the steps, holding a clipboard.

God bless you, Danny Chayes, Kittridge thought. This is going to be the ride of your life.

"Please, everyone, keep calm!" Porcheki, moving up and down the line of buses behind the barrier of soldiers, was yelling through a megaphone. "Form an orderly line and load from the rear! If you don't get a seat, wait for the second load!"

The soldiers had erected barriers to serve as a kind of gate. The mob was pressing behind them, funneling toward the gap. Where were they going? people were asking. Was the destination still Chicago, or somewhere else? Just ahead of Kittridge's group was a family with two children, a boy and girl, wearing filthy pajamas. Dirty feet, matted hair-they couldn't have been older than five. The girl was clutching a na**d Barbie. More thunder rolled in from the west, accompanied by flashes of light at the horizon. Kittridge and April were both keeping a hand on Tim, afraid the mob would swallow him.

Once through the gap, the group moved quickly to Danny's bus. The Robinsons and Boy Jr. were the first to board; at the bottom of the steps were Wood and Delores, Jamal and Mrs. Bellamy. Pastor Don brought up the rear, behind Kittridge, Tim, and April.

A burst of lightning, ghostly white, ignited the air, freezing the scene in Kittridge's mind. Half a second later, a long peal of thunder rolled. Kittridge felt the impact through the soles of his feet.

Not thunder. Ordnance.

A trio of jets shot overhead, then two more. Suddenly everyone was screaming-a high, shrill sound of undammed panic that built from the rear, engulfing the crowd like a wave. Kittridge turned his face toward the west.

He had never seen the virals in a large group before. Sometimes, from his perch on the tower, he had seen three of them together-never less or more-and of course there'd been the ones in the underground garage, which might have numbered as many as twenty. That was nothing compared to this. The sight suggested a flock of earthbound birds: a coordinated mass of hundreds, thousands even, rushing toward the wire. A pod, Kittridge remembered. That's what they're calling them, pods. For a second he felt a kind of awe, a pure breathtaken wonder at its organic majesty.

They'd sweep over the camp like a tsunami.

Humvees were racing toward the western wire, rooster-tails of dust boiling from their wheels. Suddenly the buses were unguarded; the crowd surged toward them. A great human weight crashed into Kittridge from behind. As the crowd enveloped him, he heard April scream.

"Tim!"

He dove toward her voice, fighting his way through the mob like a swimmer against the current, tossing bodies aside. A clot of people were trying to jam themselves into Danny's bus, pushing, shoving. Kittridge saw the man who had been ahead of them in line holding his daughter over his head. He was yelling, "Please, somebody take her! Somebody take my daughter!"

Then Kittridge saw April, caught in the crush. He waved his hands in the air. "Get on the bus!"