Free AB (The Blake Reynolds Chronicles Book 1) by Bret Dee Landon

radioed the new base that had
been set up outside the perimeter of the camp. “Command, this is Captain
Reynolds. In fifteen minutes have the Harriers start firebombing the entire
compound. We have been completely overrun.”
    “That
doesn’t give you much time to clear out,” the general replied.
    “I
know, General. But if we aren’t out of here in fifteen minutes, it won’t matter;
we’ll be dead.”
    “Godspeed.”
    Blake ordered
the remaining soldiers to group together, except the people guarding the
entrance. “Listen up. In fifteen minutes, this part of the base will be incinerated.
I want you to load up all the supplies you can in the next five minutes. Then
we will evacuate to the fallback area. Got it?”
    The soldiers nodded
and rushed to load the supplies. As the supplies were loaded, the ABs continued
to attack. But soon they were shrinking in numbers and were no longer armed
since their ammunition had been expended in the early moments of the firefight.
    Within minutes,
the soldiers were ready to move out. As they approached the gate, they only
encountered light resistance and infrequent small arms fire. All the buildings
had been rigged with explosives as a final measure, and as the last group of
trucks passed the gate, Blake flipped the switch on the remote in his hand. In
a thunderous roar, the entire base exploded and was engulfed in flames.
    As the group
cleared the outer perimeter of the base, Blake could hear the familiar sound of
the AV-8B Harrier jets approaching the base.Marine aircraft group 39 had been given its order to
execute “Operation Scorched Earth.” Incendiaries were falling all over the base,
and the surviving ABs were instantly incinerated. Within minutes, there was
nothing left but a few small fires and smoldering bodies in what use to be the
west side of Camp Pendleton.

Day 4: Tara

 
    From the radio
reports, the infection started to spread in her area about an hour ago. However,
the streets seemed unusually quiet, especially for the middle of the day. Tara
was rocking Kaya quietly in her mother’s old rocking chair. “Maybe the reports
were blown out of proportion and nothing’s going to happen…” she thought. As
soon as the thought crossed her mind, she heard a piercing scream echo far down
the street. A few minutes later, she heard a gunshot much closer.
    The gunshot
woke Kaya, and she started to cry. Tara tried to comfort her, but it wasn’t
working well. Tara walked into Kaya’s bedroom and set her on the floor next to
her toy box. With the Smith and Wesson still clutched in her hand, she peeked
out the window and tried to see what was going on outside.
    Tara couldn’t
see any movement nearby, but at the end of the street she could see people being
chased by some men.
    Within minutes
she heard screams coming from next door. Tara’s eyes darted towards the window
next to her neighbor’s house as the shouting grew louder. The pounding on her
front door startled her.
    “Help me!” a
woman screeched on the other side. Tara’s skin pricked at the yelling because
she knew it was her neighbor, Sally. They had been friends ever since she had
moved into the house.
    “Stay here,”
she yelled at Kaya, trying to mask her fear. Tara ran to the front door and
stared into the peephole. She was shocked to see Sally’s husband jump from
behind her and bludgeon her in the back of her head with a baseball bat.
    Tara’s adrenaline
started to flow through her veins, and she threw open the door. Without
hesitation, she raised her pistol and pulled the trigger. A small hole opened
in his chest and Sally’s husband fell to the ground. She quickly pulled Sally
into her front room and relocked the door.
    “Oh no…” Tara
whispered. Blood was rushing out of multiple head wounds, and Sally was hardly
moving.
    “I’m afraid!” Sally
said as she reached for Tara’s hand.
    “It will be OK.
Just hold on.”
    Sally’s eyes
closed, and her breaths slowed until they abruptly