Tales of the Forgotten (9 page)

11.

Sean
was already up and messing with the fire when Brad awoke. He’d opened two cans
of the Afghan slop and had it simmering in a pot. The stench had already begun
to fill the cavern. Sean looked over as he noticed Brad stirring in his
bedroll.

“Good
morning, sunshine. I found some tea and there’s hot water if you want some.
It’s almost 4 a.m. and I want to get moving soon if you can manage to get your
ass up,” he said half-jokingly.

“I’m
up, I’m up. Hell, how could anyone sleep through the smell of that shit?” Brad
retorted.

Sean
put on his vest and lifted his rifle. He walked to the tunnel entrance and
indicated he was going to relieve Brooks for breakfast, and that Brad should do
the same with Hasan when he was ready. Brad took a long drink off of his water
bottle, then walked to the kettle on the bench and filled it with the Afghan
tea. He found the tea bitter but acceptable, especially with no other source of
caffeine nearby. Brooks crawled through the opening of the cavern just as he
was getting himself a bowl of the slop. “So any change on our neighbors?” Brad
asked.

“Nope,
no movement at all. I didn’t see them slip away during the night, so they must
be dug in and hiding good.”

“Yeah,
I guess for them to have survived this long alone, they would have to be good
at hiding,” Brad said. “That guy is good with his steel also; I watched him
remove those primals’ heads with one swing.”

“Well
let’s hope he’s friendly, I’d hate to have to put him down,” Brooks said,
filling a bowl full of the slop.

Brad
finished his breakfast and crawled back through the tunnel opening and into the
house. He gave Hasan a pat on the back to let him know he was relieved, then
took a seat in the corner. He saw Sean sitting in the window silently observing
the ruins of the village. He looked at his watch and figured they still had
maybe thirty minutes till dawn.

“I
got movement,” Sean whispered.

 Brad
got to his feet and took a spot just over Sean’s shoulder and lifted his binos.

In
the area where the group had disappeared, they could see the flickering glow of
a fire and a small trail of smoke going into the sky. “Must be meal time,” Sean
whispered.

 There
was very little sign of movement other than the smoke. They watched as suddenly
the male figure broke cover and climbed out of the ruin. He stood silently
looking for danger. They could tell by his movement that he had experience in
the wild. He appeared comfortable as he began to move toward the river with the
large, empty water bladders.

The
sun was starting to break the horizon and they could easily observe the man now
without the aid of night vision. He disappeared from their view as he dropped
down to the river, but was back within a few minutes. He had the two water
bladders tied end to end and hanging over his neck; they also could see he
carried a large sword in a sheath strapped across his back. When he got closer
to the ruin, they watched the child run out and greet the man with a hug. Then
the woman came from behind the child and took the water bladders from the man.

“Hmm.
They seem friendly enough; let’s keep an eye on them. When Hasan gets back
we’ll go talk to them,” Sean whispered.

They
heard a noise behind them. Brad turned and, as if they had been part of the
conversation, Hasan and Brooks crawled out of the tunnel carrying all the gear.
They lifted their heavy bags and sat them next to the door.

“The
neighbors are up,” Sean said to Brooks in a low voice.

Brooks
stepped to the window and took a peek out. “Looks like a family. What’s the
plan, boss?”

“I
was thinking you and Hasan could take a step out to greet them, your Dari is
better than mine, and I’m sure Hasan has us both beat,” Sean said with a
chuckle.

“We
should leave our weapons; we don’t want to startle them. I’m sure we are more
than safe with these gentlemen’s rifles on us,” Hasan said. He stepped to the
table and laid his newly found M9 pistol and the worn AK on the wooden face.
Brooks looked uneasy, but reluctantly placed his weapons on the table as well.
Before stepping away, he turned back and picked up the MK23 pistol, tucking it
into his shirt.

“Sorry
Hasan, I can’t go outside buck naked,” he said.

They
went to the door and walked out. Sean and Brad watched them move away from the
house and through the small yard. They passed through the gate of the low stone
wall and by the Defender.

“I
have the male, you have the female,” Sean whispered.

Brad
cringed and placed the red dot of his scope on the body of the female; she was
still blissfully unaware of the approach of Brooks and Hasan. Brad watched her
preparing the morning meal; she looked to be removing grains from a bag and
adding them to a pot on the fire.

When
Hasan had moved several paces from the Defender, he stopped in the center of
the road and raised his hands. Brad could tell that he was saying something
just loud enough for the family to hear, but Brad couldn’t tell what from his
location. The woman quickly got to her feet and grabbed the child; then she
scurried back to the safety of the ruin and disappeared from sight. Brad moved
the rifle and changed focus to the male, who now had the sword unsheathed and
was pointing it in the direction of Brooks and Hasan. From the man’s body
language, Brad could tell he was shouting warnings.

 He
watched as Brooks and Hasan closed the distance on the man, the woman still
hidden from sight. Both team members held their hands in the air and showed
their empty palms to the man. There seemed to be an intense discussion before
the man finally lowered his sword. Hasan stepped forward first and continued
the conversation with the man. Brad could tell by their movements that the tone
had improved. Then Hasan turned and motioned Brooks forward. After a few more
minutes and the exchanging of handshakes, Hasan pointed at the house and the
man looked in their direction. Brooks looked up and gave them a hand sign that
it was clear to come down.

“We’re
up,” Sean said.

He
took his rifle and slung it across his back. Then he lifted the MP5 and clipped
it to a ring on the front of his vest. Brad did the same with his rifle and
then followed Sean out the door.

“So
what is our plan with these people?” Brad asked.

“Let’s
not get ahead of ourselves. For now this is just about gathering intel. Our
plans haven’t changed and we’ll be moving out very soon.”

They
walked down the trail and approached the ruins of the house. The woman was back
out of her hide now, but stayed back in the ruins and eyed the men
suspiciously. Brad saw the child, a small boy, staring at him. Brad made a face
at the boy and smiled. The boy laughed and smiled back. The woman took notice
of Brad’s gesture and seemed to relax a bit.

Sean
stepped forward and shook hands with the man, then attempted to look relaxed by
leaning against the wall of the house. Brad took up a spot just a bit further
away where he could still observe the surrounding area, conscious that this was
not a safe spot.

“This
is Farid and his wife; the boy is his nephew,” Hasan said. “They fled from a
village many miles from here and have been moving for weeks.”

“What
do they know of the south?” Sean asked.

Hasan
asked the man the question, to which he made a sour face as he replied.

“He
says the roads are very dangerous, the cities are to be avoided. Farid says
that the south holds many more of the creatures than we have seen here,” Hasan
said. “He says there are large armies of the creatures in the south; the roads
are choked with them. He says he and his wife only travel by the mountain
trails.”

The
man continued speaking and his voice became more desperate. “He is asking for
our help. He asked for us to take his nephew with us,” Hasan said.

Sean
smiled at the man and stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hasan,
tell Farid about the survivors in Hairatan. Tell him about the cavern behind
the house. Tell him we will get them settled in today, but we cannot take him
or the boy with us,” said Sean.

Hasan
relayed the message; the man showed a face of concern, and then spoke urgently
to Hasan. “He is pleading with us,” Hasan said.

“Ask
them to gather their belongings. We’ll show them the house and its provisions;
I’m sure this will ease his worries,” Sean said. “Hasan, you do understand that
we do not have room for these people, don’t you?”

“Yes,
I understand my friend, but I also take great pleasure in that being a decision
which I do not have to make,” Hasan answered.

They
helped the family gather their belongings after they had finished eating, then
led them to the top of the hill towards the house. Apprehensively they entered
the small house and Hasan showed them the entrance to the cave. Brooks elected
to remain outside and stand watch as the rest of them entered the cavern.

Hasan
showed them the fire pit and the clay vases filled with beans and rice. He
showed them the sleeping areas and the small containers of oil for the lamps,
and the spot where fresh water flowed into the cave. Lastly, Hasan walked them
to a corner of the cavern’s main room and removed some earth from the floor; lifting
a panel, he revealed a small hole. In the hole were several objects wrapped in
oil cloth. Hasan pulled one out and removed the cloth to reveal an old and worn
AK74 rifle. It was a smaller variant of the AK47 designed to fire a lighter
round. Hasan handed the rifle to the man, and then kneeling he reached farther
into the hole, grabbing three magazines and two large bandoleers of ammunition.
Then he closed the wood cover and moved earth back to conceal the hole.

He
set the ammunition on a table next to the man, then asked if he was familiar
with the weapon; the man nodded to indicate that he was. Hasan placed his hands
on the man’s shoulder and spoke to him reassuringly, then removed some paper
from his pocket and wrote the man a note, which the man read and then squeezed
in his fist. Looking at Brad and Sean, Hasan said “We should gather our
belongings; we should get on the road soon.”

Brad
and Sean gathered the rest of the gear, taking notice that the woman was
already rearranging the furniture in the cavern as they prepared to exit. Brad
lifted his bag to his shoulder but Farid stepped forward and took the pack from
him and then headed for the tunnel exit. Brad turned to smile and wave at the
boy who returned the gesture, and then he lowered himself into the exit. They
carried their gear to the vehicle and strapped everything down tightly. Farid
helped to attach Brad’s bag to the roof racks and made sure it was completely
lashed down; then he spoke at Brad in words he didn’t understand, and extended
his hand.

They
all shook hands and wished the man luck as they boarded the vehicle. Hasan
walked the man back to the house, and Brad observed him showing the man the
Russian grenade on the ground and giving an explanation of how to set up the
booby trap. He watched the men smile and hug goodbye before Hasan walked back
to the Defender. Silently he took his seat and Brooks pulled the Defender out
of its hide and back onto the trail.

They
rode in silence until they hit the main road and the Defender picked up speed.

“What
was on the note?” Brad asked Hasan.

“I
wrote him an order, it indicated to all that Farid was a caretaker for the
house and cavern. I gave him notice that it would be his responsibility to
assist refugees on the road, and to keep the cavern maintained until we
returned for them,” Hasan said.

“And
if we don’t return?” asked Brooks.

“Then
that would indicate that I am dead, but at least the family will still be
living in the cavern,” Hasan answered.

12.

They
continued down Route A76 heading south and deeper into Afghanistan. The sun was
climbing higher in the sky and they passed more and more homes. The countryside
became more populated, which also increased their sightings of wandering
primals. Often they would slow to bypass a barrier or a blocked vehicle, only
to hear the howling. Brooks would make his way around the blockade and pick up
speed just as the primals came into sight.

“I
hope those bastards don’t follow us,” Brad said.

“Let
them follow. They will have a long ass walk ahead of them; we need to make good
time today, fellas,” Sean answered back.

They
settled in and Brooks kept the vehicle moving at a good speed, considering the
quality of the road. Just as Brad considered nodding off, they heard a buzzing
sound.

“What
is that?” Brad asked as the
buzz buzz buzz
continued.

“Oh
shit,” Sean yelled, startled as he started ripping at his day pack. “It’s the
Sat phone.”

Brooks
hit the brakes and pulled to the side of the road just as Sean found the phone
and pressed the green ‘answer’ button.

“Hello,
hello,” Sean said into the receiver. “Oh, yes, just a second.” He pulled the
phone from his ear and handed it to Brooks. “It’s for you.”

Brooks
grabbed the phone and put it to his ear. “Yes, this is team member four zero
two zero. Oh yeah … my authentication number is
three six nine
victor two seven. Hell
yeah
it’s been a long time! Who is this? Hold on,
I am here with three others, I’m placing the phone on speaker … I have SEAL
team Chief Sean Rogers, Staff Sergeant Brad Thompson, and one local national
with me.”

“Hello?
Can you hear me?” came the voice from the phone.

“Loud
and clear. Who is speaking?” Sean asked.

“This
is Lieutenant Colonel James Cloud of the Coordinated National Response Team.
What is the status of your party?” asked the colonel.

“Well,
as you were just informed, we are four strong, we are also mobile and
well-armed,” Sean answered.

“We
are tracking you by your signal; we show you on Route A76 headed south towards
Baghlan. Does that sound correct?” Sean looked over at Hasan who nodded his
head ‘yes’.

“That’s
the ballpark. We are on the road south headed toward Bagram or maybe Kabul,”
Sean answered.

“You
need to stop and turn around now. The Puli Khumri region is overrun; the
valleys have funneled the infected into the two cities and they are being
contained by the rivers,” the colonel said. “Thermal images show parts of the
mass as close as three miles from your current location. If you stay static in
your present position, you will see them in approximately twenty-five to forty
minutes. They are moving like a swarm of locusts and taking everything in their
path.”

“No,
that’s not right. We haven’t seen that since the outbreak; they aren’t in
groups any bigger than ten or twelve now,” Brad snapped.

“That’s
typically correct. When the spaces open, we have seen them disperse into
smaller groups, but when confined within geographical boundaries or cities,
they are still massing, and they are extremely dangerous. You need to turn
around now,” the colonel ordered.

“What
is your suggestion, sir?” Sean asked.

“You
need to put distance on the mass immediately. When you get to thirty point
seven miles from your current location, drive due west. You should find a small
trail. Follow it up the mountain. The satellite shows the trail, but I cannot
verify its condition.”

“Then
what?” Sean asked.

“Get
to high ground, dig in, and hide. This will be your best defense. The mass
tends to take the path of least resistance. Wait for the mass to pass you. I
will contact you again in four hours. Good luck.”

“Wait,
we have questions, and we have other survivors on the road two hours north of
us.” Sean said.

“I’m
sorry, Chief. You are not the only group we are tracking presently. I will
contact you again in four hours, please hasten your retreat,” the colonel said,
then disconnected the line.

“Screw
that guy Sean! Let’s haul ass back to the cave, we can wait this thing out
there,” Brad said.

“This
road empties into a green valley south of here, and there are two very large
population centers. The man’s story does make sense,” Hasan said.

“Well
for now we’re going to do what the guy said; he is the only connection we have
with the outside world. If we sever that tie, we have nothing. Brooks, turn
this thing around and step on it. Reset the trip meter, we go west at thirty
point seven,” Sean said

“On
it, Chief,” Brooks answered.