“It isn’t safe" #zombie

“Colonel!” Jayce calls out.

            “Granger, is that you?” the Colonel answers.

            Knowing that that the Colonel probably has a gun trained on the door, Jayce tells Stan that they are going to open the door.  Slowly, Ty turns the door handle and pushes the door open.  The unit finds the Colonel sitting on a couch in his office with Tracy at his side in the dark.  The light from the emergency lights in the corridor expose the pistols both of them hold tightly in their laps. 

            “Captain, I ordered you to complete your mission!”

            “Is this what I think this is?” Jayce asks.

            The Colonel solemnly nods as he looks down at the floor.

            “There isn’t much sense in trying to thwart an attack that is already happening.  I did what I thought would be the next best thing, protect our assets.  We don’t have much time, we need to go.” Jayce tells Colonel Wallace as they hear gun fire erupt outside the building.

            Jayce orders Stan and Tracy to stay in the middle of the unit as they begin to make their way back to the Stryker.  They approach the point where all of the corridors come together, and stop to listen.  It is quiet.  Jessop glances down at his rifle magazine.  He only has a couple of rounds left in his gun.  Popping out the magazine, he drops it.  The magazine lands flat on its side with a slap. Ty and Ben watch as two of the creatures stand up to the sound of the magazine hitting the floor.  They signal for the unit to tuck back into the hall leading from the Colonel’s office.  The Colonel taps Jayce on the shoulder.  As the captain turns his attention towards the Colonel, Stan points towards a fire exit.  Jayce shakes his head no, then whispers that the only safe exit is to go out the front door.

            “It isn’t safe, the Stryker is waiting on the front steps.”

            They hear the creatures running through the adjacent hall who then stop in the center trying to locate their prey.  Jayce and his men stand in the shadows, poised.  As the creatures pan the room, it is evident by their animalistic growls they have fixated on the group.  Ben and Ty waste no time as they quickly cut the creatures down.   Jayce turns to the Colonel and Sergeant, informing them that they have weapons for them back at the vehicle.

            They slip stealthily back into the center and look down the other three corridors leading away.  Jayce motions to the group to stop.  It sounds as if several people are running.  Andre calls out for somebody to answer.  With no response, he, Paul, and Patrick point to several grenades they have.  Jayce directs the three of them to throw two each down each corridor.  The three wait until they can see movement, then pull the pins and throw the grenades.  There is a clank of metal on the floor followed by the flash of the explosion. 

            “Go! Go! Go!”  Jayce yells, as the group begins to run towards the front of the building, where the Stryker waits.

“HEAD SHOTS" #zombie

It is a chaotic scene of not only military, but local law enforcement and first responders.  It is clear that they were not prepared for they are encountering.  They drive through the complex of buildings, not deviating from their new mission of retrieving and securing the Colonel.  They make their way to the command center and stop at the front steps.   Jayce orders Harris to stay with the Stryker while they go for the Colonel.  It is a horrid scene with bodies littering the steps and walkway leading to the entrance.  They make their way through the spilt blood staining the steps, only to find that the glass around the command center to be shattered.  Harris watches the team through the windshield. It appears as if they are one machine.

            Granger signals to the unit to stay quiet.  With guns drawn, they make their way into the building. They hear and feel the shattered glass crunch beneath their feet.  Cole is the last to make his way into the building, and catches a glimpse of something moving fast as it flanks them.  He fires several rounds into it with his rifle, tearing apart its torso.  It does not slow down, and Jessop turns firing several rounds.  One of the rounds strikes the combatant in the head, the unit watches as it falls lifeless. 

            “HEAD SHOTS, HEAD SHOTS!”  Cole calls out, directing the men. 

As they make their way through the command center, they pass body after body.  Both military personal, “mostly officers”, and the bodies of what they can only assume are the undead.  Several of the creatures are only maimed and begin to reach for the unit as they pass.  Ben and Ty are on point and take aim at these creatures’ heads.  The officers they pass seem to have bite marks covering their exposed flesh and pieces of flesh torn from their bodies, and lay in pools of their own blood.  Once in the center of the building, the corridor splits off in three directions. The left hall will take them to Colonel Wallace’s office.

            Through the dimly lit hallways, several combatants rush towards them covered in blood.  Several show signs of gunshots, however, the gaping wounds do not seem to be slowing them down.  The unit opens fire.  Cole and Jessop watch the rear for any possible threats approaching them from behind.  They make their way towards the Colonel office.  Jayce knocks on the door.  Ty backs ups towards Sergeant Wood’s desk to wait for the Colonel’s response.  He leans against the desk, lowers his rifle, and immediately feels something firmly grasp his ankle. He kicks his foot out as he spins around yielding his rifle.  The something that had a hold of him, begins to pull its self out from underneath the desk in pursuit.  Startled, Ty backs into the wall on the opposite side of the room, trying to determine what it was that had ahold on him.  The pop of the rifle echoes through the room as Cole fires his rifle, momentarily stunning the unit.

“Let’s go play boys!” #zombie

“You guys are nuts!” one of the flight crew interjects. 

Jayce turns and smiles. 

A couple of men from the unit begins situating the supplies in the Stryker, anxious to see who it is that is attacking their home.   They begin to load the machine guns on top of the vehicle.  Jayce oversees the situating of the vehicle.  He is no longer their friend, but their commander.  One of the flight crew approaches Jayce who has climbed up onto the side of the Stryker to help Ben load the guns.  He tugs at Jayce’s pant leg.

“Captain Granger, sir?”

Jayce looks down at the man.

“What?”

“Your presence is requested in the cockpit.”

Jayce climbs down and enters the cockpit.  Harris informs him that the tower is not granting them permission to land.  Just as Harris finishes, Granger’s phone begins to ring once again.

“Soldier, I told you to carry out your mission.”

“Sir, our mission was to discourage the attack.  It is discernable that we failed.  Sir, we are returning to retrieve you, stay in your office.”

“DO NOT RETURN TO THE BASE! THEY ARE TRYING TO EVACUATE, IT IS NOT SAFE!  THAT IS AN ORDER, CAPTAIN!”

“SIR, THIS IS NOT OPEN FOR DISCUSSION, and sir bring the letter.”

“GRANGER!” the Colonel yells as Jayce hangs up the phone.

Jayce picks up the radio in the C17, “Tower, this is Captain Granger, I have control of the plane we are on a deviated rescue mission, and will be landing!”

The tower reluctantly agrees.  Shortly after, the plane hears the screams through the radio followed by gunshots.  The flight crew tries to regain contact with the air traffic controller, but there is no response.  Approaching the air field, they see the scramble of planes trying to get to the safety of the air.

“Harris, it’s time to go.”  Jayce informs the pilot as he turns ordering Adam to take control of the cockpit.

            The unit climbs into the Stryker.  The anxiety is thick as they feel the jarring of the landing.  Jayce orders Jessop to the turret.  Ben watches as the ramp opens up in front of him as he starts the Stryker, and pulls out of the cargo hold.  There is a sharp jerk as the plane has not fully stopped yet.  Jessop watches the cargo door close behind them as they clear the ramp.

            “Let’s go play boys!” Ty blurts out as they begin driving across the tarmac.

            The unit is appalled at the sight of absolute chaos.  Jayce orders them to retrieve the Colonel first.  Using night vision, they catch a glimpse of two people feeding on a fallen soldier.  Jayce yells up to the turret and asks Jessop if he can get a bead on the creatures, just as the machine gun rattles off.  Jessop yells down questioning how he is supposed to discern from the soldiers and the combatants.  Jayce answers that they probably will not be able until their boots are on the ground and they are engaged.  From the turret, Jessop watches as one of the creatures overtakes a soldier trying to flee.  Jayce orders him back into the Stryker.  Ben is startled as one of the combatants jumps on the front of the vehicle.

            “What the hell is that?” Harris screams out.

            “Granger, is that what I think it is?” Ty asks.

            Stunned, Granger nods as he confirms that he thinks it is.  Ty climbs out of the top hatch.  The passengers in the vehicle hear Ty’s pistol fire.  Ben and Jayce watch as the creature falls from view.  Due to the weight of the armored vehicle, the men barely feel it go beneath the tires.

“It’s what we do" #zombie

Confused, Jayce follows the co-pilot into the cockpit.  The pilot closes the door as the Captain walks through the doorway.  Jayce looks down at his watch and is surprised that they have been in the air for only an hour.

Captain Harris turns around.  The expression on his face is obviously distress.

“Sir, bases are coming under attack, including ours!”

Their conversation is cut short as Jayce’s satellite phone begins to ring.

“Granger, the base is under attack.  You need to finish your mission.  That is an order.  It is not safe for you to come back.  Do you understand?” Jayce hears the Colonel’s voice on the other end.

“Yes sir!”

The phone goes dead on the other end.  The pilot questions Jayce as to the contents of the phone call.  Jayce explains that his orders are to carry out their mission.  Jayce turns and leaves the cockpit, and enters the cargo hold with authority. 

“MEN OUR HOME IS UNDER ATTACK! WE HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO CONTINUE WITH OUR MISION.  OUR FIRST MISSION IS TO PROTECT AMERICAN SOIL.  IT IS UP TO YOU, I WANT A SHOW OF HANDS.  ALL THOSE THAT WANT TO GO TO THE SANDBOX?”

The men’s faces are cold and unemotional, not a single hand is raised.

“ALL OF YOU THAT WANT TO GO HOME AND FIGHT?”

 Before he can finish, the entire unit have unbuckled their seat belts and are now standing.

“I’LL GO INFORM THE CREW WE NEED TO TURN THIS BIRD AROUND!”

  Jayce reenters the cockpit, and informs the flight crew that they are going home to fight.

“Sir, let me remind you of your orders,” Captain Harris starts.

“Captain, you have two choices.  You can help, or my men and I will take control of this plane,” Jayce explains with a smirk.

The flight crew are fully aware of what Granger’s unit is capable of.  They also know they do not stand a chance against them.  Harris explains that he is not against it, he just needed to state what concerns someone may have.  Jayce replies that when they touchdown, his team will go out in the Stryker and gather up the Colonel and any other survivors they may find.  He orders the flight crew to stay on the plane.  Harris pleads for Jayce to allow him to accompany them so that he might go and retrieve his family.  Another pilot asks the same for his live-in girlfriend.  Jayce allows it, knowing that if he had any family here, he would do the same. 

“Captain, we need to go get Anne,” Jayce hears Jensen’s voice behind him. 

Harris turns back around pulling on the controls to turn the plane around.

Jayce returns to his unit, they are already out of their seats and strapping their gear down to them, preparing for battle.

“WHO’S HOUSE IS THIS?” Jayce yells.

“OUR HOUSE!” The men cry out.

“WHO’S HOUSE IS THIS?”

“OUR HOUSE!”

“NOW LET’S GO KICK SOME ASS!”

Captain Harris enters the cargo hold as Jayce is rallying his unit, “Granger, I will go with you and your unit.  I know where the other pilot lives.”

Jayce nods, then orders Adam, “Cooper you stay with the plane, if it moves before we get back, put a bullet in them.”

Harris looks over at Ty concerned.  Ty shrugs with a smile, “It’s what we do.  We never lose, and we always have a contingency for everything.”

Without argument, Harris understands what this unit is capable of and returns to the cockpit to ensure the rest of his crew understands the same.

“We will unchain the Stryker before we land, I want everyone inside of it before we stop moving.  Once the plane stops moving, we will go show them what kind of training we have.” Jayce clarifies. 

The flight crew looks at Jayce’s unit in disbelief.  They ask if the unit always goes out looking for a fight.  Ben swiftly explains to them that they never go out looking for a fight, but they do not back down from one either.