Free Zombie Battle (Books 1-3): Trinity by Jacqueline Druga

Manning had an uneasy feeling in regards to the phone call from Berlin.
    Dr. Riesman left without notice, without telling a soul. He took the first flight he could. Something was up. Scared perhaps, but fear wouldn’t send him running like a fugitive trying not to be discovered. Only one thing would: If Dr. Riesman was infected. He indeed would know the outcome of the virus, and that alone would make him want to hide. Yet, Berlin airport stated all was fine and they would detain Dr. Riesman upon landing.
    Despite the fact that Colonel Manning was informed of this, a part of him felt truth was being withheld.
    For as much as he ran the scenario of an outbreak on a plane through his mind, for as much as he wanted to call Saul again and see if there was a way they could double-check the report . . . he didn’t.
    Colonel Manning had other things to contend with. One of those things being the newest orders from health officials and the state department. Clean sweep ground zero and all surrounding areas of the infected; move and detain those not showing any signs of the virus; then pack up and move out. A ‘fire hole’ order was given for a fifteen mile radius. When that was done, not even an insect would be alive to spread the virus.
    That was one order, one proverbial button Colonel Manning had no problem endorsing.
    The immediate area was clean. The last of the moans stopped. The gunfire went from rapid to slow, sounding more like the end of popping corn than the extermination of over four hundred infected men, women and children.
    His last radio call from within the perimeter delivered an ‘all clear’. Colonel Manning and staff began to pack up, but they wouldn’t leave. Not yet. Not until they heard from the Special Force groups that were out in the surrounding villages.
    He hadn’t heard from them yet. Colonel Manning hoped that he wouldn’t. No news was good news, and that meant the virus was confined to the perimeter only.
    He stared at his phone. It had been twenty minutes since he spoke to Berlin. The plane was set to land and Manning debated on whether or not he should call again. Just as he made the decision to do so, a knock came at his make shift office door.
    Clearing his throat, Colonel Manning turned around. “Yes, son.”
    He was a Corpsman with the Marines; he stepped forward and handed a folder to Manning. “We have three more, sedated and prepared for flight to the United States, per Captain Long’s request.”
    “Just three. That’s better than we estimated.” Colonel Manning took the folder and looked at it.
    “I know they needed more than that, possibly earlier stages, but we were efficient with the extermination.” The Corpsman gave a partial smile, almost arrogant.
     “Unlike the movies.”
     “I never doubted for a moment that we’d do better in this situation than the movies depicted the military. Wouldn’t make for good fiction if the undead were annihilated before their numbers could grow.”
    “True.” Colonel Manning reviewed the contents of the folder. “Pretty minor injuries, I see.”
    “Yes,” the Corpsman replied. “Hopefully, with the sedation, we bought our scientists some time to exam them before these victims succumb. But, this is unpredictable. They can turn in an instant. For that, we have an armed soldier watching them during the flight.”
    The flight.
    Manning’s thoughts, once again, went to the Berlin flight. He would, without a doubt, make another call. Even for his own peace of mind. However, total peace of mind would come when his men had returned from the field and the entire area surrounding Carancus was ‘fire holed’ and cleansed.
    Colonel Manning had been on many battlefields in his life time, but this particular one frightened him like no other had ever done.
    It was the start of a nightmarish war that he prayed would end just as quickly as it began.
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    An infantryman for his entire adult life, Sergeant Jack Edwards had known death. He