Danny took a step closer, looked Jimmy’s dad in the eyes, pointed back to the woods and spoke very methodically and slowly. “Coming this way.”
A branch snapped in the woods followed by the sound of rustling leaves and brush being pushed aside. The sounds started to Danny’s left and then his right. Soon it sounded as if the entire forest was moving. It was clear to everyone standing in the field that more than one body was making its way through the underbrush.
Jimmy’s dad locked eyes with Danny. “How many?”
“They’re here!” screamed one of the boys! Jimmy’s dad looked up past Danny to see figures emerge from the tree line. Not just one or two, but ten or more silhouettes appeared. One by one they became visible as they stepped onto the field. Once again, fear spread through the campground, except this time it moved like a shock wave engulfing everyone in the field. The scouts were frightened, but no one panicked. They felt security in their group, but the tension grew as more creatures appeared on the field.
“Look at them all.” said Jimmy.
“There’s gotta be like, twenty of ‘em. “ replied Jordan.
These living dead had an odd appearance. They were shorter, smaller and moved more nimbly. Through the rain it appeared that most of the dead were dressed alike many wearing green sashes.
“Are they?” Jordan couldn’t finish.
Danny the stranger finally spoke up. “Girl scouts. A whole camp was infected. No one made it out. Alive anyway.”
Jimmy’s dad snapped, “Are you kidding me! Freakin’ girl scouts!”
Danny stepped back into view, “You’ve got to leave now. All of you!”
Jimmy’s dad pushed him aside and raised his weapon of choice ready to defend his son and his scouts. Without looking back he shouted new orders, “get the boys together in one group and head out. Now. I’ll trail behind and keep these things back.”
“No!” shouted Jimmy. “You can’t stay back. Please Dad, come with us. Come with me.”
“Jimmy, I’ll be close behind. I just need to make sure the back of the line is protected.”
“Then I’m staying with you.” Jimmy stated defiantly.
“No. You go with the rest of the group.”
Jordan interrupted, “We’re all staying with you.”
Jimmy’s dad looked around and saw that the fear had disappeared. The boys were picking up sticks and stones and taking out their knives and hatchets. As each found a weapon they closed ranks around him.
“They’re right. We should move as a group and fight as a group.” said Mr. Johnson.
“You’re all crazy and you’ll end up just like those girls! I tried to warn you. I’m going.” Danny stepped around Jimmy’s dad and the rest of the boys. No one moved out of his way or tried to stop him. Danny walked to the edge of the camp, took one look back and then bolted into the woods.
A battle was forming up in the muddy rain soaked field; boys on one side and girls on the other; the living on one side and the living dead on the other. Each boy raised his weapon and picked a target as the dead girls were now less than the length of a football field away. From this distance the bloody faces and broken limbs could be seen. Worse, the horrible groaning from the hoard was now audible and it sent chills down the spines of the scouts and their leaders.
“Hang in there boys.” Jimmy’s dad said.
A deep thunderous thumping grew from behind the scouts. Quickly the sound became almost unbearably loud as a dozen Blackhawk helicopters flying at treetop level buzzed over the scouts. Even the undead were distracted by the sound and stopped their approach. The choppers flew over the field and banked sharply to the east disappearing over the foliage. The sound of the helicopters grew loud again as they approached the scouts a second time.
The scouts looked up as three of the helicopters hovered overhead. Thick olive drab ropes fell from the helicopters followed quickly by men clad in black body armor and bristling with guns. Each soldier hit the ground and took a defensive stance with guns pointed at the dead girl scouts. In less than a minute, the soldiers were in position and formed up assault teams. They deliberately moved in unison towards the hideous creatures. The soldiers calmly chose their targets and fired their weapons in short bursts into the skulls of the monsters with deadly precision. Bright muzzle flashes could be seen in the gray rain as the men advanced forward. The sound of the gunfire and helicopters was almost deafening and drown out the sound of the storm. The boys watched in awe of the precision and effectiveness of the military operation. The dead were falling quickly. In less than a minute, the entire group of monsters had been put down. Many of them still squirmed on the ground as the soldiers ceased firing and took a defensive position between the boys and the battlefield. One of the helicopters rolled out of formation and hovered no more than 10 feet above the ground. The door gunners swung his Browning M-60 machine gun towards the field of undead girl scouts. With each pull of the trigger, he sent a high powered round into the head of each of the undead monsters severing their brain from their rotting bodies.
As the helicopter completed its grim task, half the soldiers formed up and moved into the woods to search for stragglers. Two of the gunships flew higher and began to circle the area. The others landed in the field between the scouts and the slain monsters. Almost in disbelief, the scouts and leaders dropped their knives, stones and other weapons. The boys stood dumbfounded by their unexpected rescue.
One of the soldiers exited the last helicopter to touch down. He wore a cap instead of the Kevlar helmet used by the rest of the soldiers. He approached the group followed by two heavily armed men one of which carried a large pack with radio equipment and antennas. The man stopped in front of Jimmy’s father and briskly offered him his hand. “Lieutenant Commander Ericson.”
Jimmy’s father shook the Lieutenant’s hand, “Nate. Um Nathan McCormack.”
“It looks like you gentlemen have had a tough go of it this evening. Anyone need medical assistance?”
“Uh, one of our scouts hurt his hands pretty bad.” Jimmy’s dad said while pointing at Rudy. “Some cuts and bruises I’m sure, but we were pretty lucky. Nothing serious. How did you know, uh where did you guys come from?” said Jimmy’s dad.
The Lieutenant smiled. “Can’t say where we’ve been, but we’re here now and rest assured, no harm will come your way. You’ve got the best this nation has to offer protecting your boys.” A quick burst of gunfire came from the woods as the soldiers put down another monster lurking in the brush. “The best.” the Lieutenant repeated.
He raised his arm and signaled to several of the medics who ran over to to treat Rudy’s injuries.
It was dusk and the smoke and rain mixed to form a haze over the campground turned battlefield. Several soldiers began collecting names of the boys and treating any minor wounds. Others were policing the area, collecting evidence and bagging the dead bodies.
Jimmy’s dad thanked the Lieutenant again and turned to his son. “You O.K.?”
Jimmy looked at his dad and smiled. “I am now, Dad. I am now.”
Father and son stood arm and arm surveying the surreal scene before them.
Evening News
“Thank you Lisa. I have the latest update on the terrorist attack that happened earlier today right here in southeastern Connecticut. The Department of Homeland Security said that the military is in control of the restricted zone and has rescued a number of campers that were stranded in the area. The names of the survivors are not being released, but local sources say there were several groups of scouts camping in the area this weekend.
The Department of Homeland Security is confirming that over twenty people have died in the attack including the alleged bomber, several emergency responders and an unknown number of civilians. They expect that the death toll will rise as rescue
teams and military personnel continue their search.
DHS has also posted an APB of sorts for a Mr. Daniel Freedman. They say he is only a person of interest and not a suspect at this time. However, they are also asking that people immediately call 911 if they see Mr. Freedman and asking that no one approach him directly.
At this time, no organization has taken responsibility for this attack, but the President has made it clear that the US will respond appropriately and forcefully. Some congressional leaders are calling on the President to show restraint until the facts are known.
And of course, there are already skeptics saying that this attack was orchestrated by our own government. There’s always seems to be a small group of crazy people out there.
We will continue to interrupt regular programming in an effort to keep you up to date with the latest developments.
My wife and I are avid fans of zombie movies and have spent many a Saturday night watching sub-titled foreign movies depicting the undead infecting the world and cheering the few survivors that are left standing at the end of the film.
I’ve always enjoyed writing although the scope of my experience is stuck in the creation of technical documents for work. The idea of being able to create whole worlds with just a laptop and some imagination is very appealing. This is my first real effort at constructing a story. There have been a lot of ideas,