August 3rd, 2013; Cheyenne Mountain Complex
President Barack Obama sat uncomfortably in his chair at the CMC. He wondered if anybody was comfortable anymore, given the circumstances. When he first ran for President of the United States in 2008, he hardly expected to be in this position. What President could? What man could? On today of all days, President Obama realized that he would go down in history as the leader of an America on the verge of collapse. It had been two years since the first infected were identified by Chinese military officers in a small village that probably didn't exist anymore. Barack wasn't informed of this until late 2011, when a nervous Director Panetta of the CIA walked into a meeting with the joint chiefs and gave them the news flat out. There was a virus that had only been encountered before in such numbers that the CDC didn't even think it was real. And it essentially created zombies. The director didn't say that exactly, but when he began showing videos of the infected, the president knew that's what everyone was thinking.Two years later, and that horrifying thought was an even worse reality. Many postulated as to why the President's hair had gone gray in those few months. Little did they know, the burdens of command now included the knowledge that the dead were rising to feast on the living. As such, on July 5th, under a veil of secrecy, the first family and a majority of the essential White House staff was evacuated to Cheyenne Mountain, far away from the swarms. This was only a pitstop on the road to Hawaii, where the planned new capital was to be established. All these thoughts had raced through the President's mind, but it had only been a few seconds. Across the war room was General George Casey, the Joint Chief of the Army, Joe Biden, still up as Vice President after all this time, and the rest of the cabinet. They sat here to discuss what was unfolding in Yonkers. After everyone sat down, he stood and addressed the group.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm sure you've all been briefed about the course of the battle in Yonkers?" the President said, his cool attitude held perfectly. Around the room, solemn nods acknowledged the commander in chief. "Then you all know we're in trouble. General Casey, if you will?". With the motion, the president sat and the general rose. He pressed a button on a remote and a project on the table turned on and displayed a computer desk top. The group looked at the display, and, seeing nothing of interest, turned back to the general.
"Secretaries, Joint Chiefs, Mister President, today I'm tasked with giving you the worst news you'll hear for a long time. As you all know, yesterday the Yonkers plan, named Operation Return, was enacted. At two AM, combined Army, Marine and Airforce units were deployed into Yonkers, New York, along the Saw Mill River Parkway. Defensive positions were set up and our infantry and mechanized units began to dig in, as did on-site press. Miles away, two flights of F35s were scrambled to arrive after daybreak-". The general paused and pressed another button on the remote. UAV video showed what looked like a well prepared combat group assembling on the parkway and in the surrounding suburban terrain.
"After dawn, the entire force was set up and the horde reached the battlements". The UAV footage blinked out to show images of what looked like a group of shambling humans advancing on the frontline. At a glance, the President mentally remarked that there must have been at least three hundred of them. "After a bit of scouting, the individuals were confirmed to be infected. At six-oh-seven AM, eastern standard time, MLRS were fired at the oncoming combatants, to great effect." The images changed to show a scarred, but mostly cleared motorway. However, in the distance, one could easily see a solid wave that was undoubtedly the rest of the horde. "Two minutes later, the Paladins opened up on the approaching mass that you can all no doubt see. Several dozen of the undead were outright destroyed by the barrage. This was not enough. For some reason, the undead aren't affected by explosions as much as living beings are, something to do with their nervous systems being mostly nonfunctional". The image changed again, this time showing a battered group of the undead getting ever closer to the barricades. "It was at this time, six-twenty-three AM, that the main battlegroup began firing." With that, the whole room donned a dark, terrified mood.
The video loaded, and what was shown was a veritable massacre. The undead were being utterly torn apart by the barrage of tank/infantry fire and air support. As Blackhawks and Comanches circled overhead, firing into the mass of humanity gone wrong, the forces on the ground unleashed absolute hell on the approaching swarm. The UAV saw only carnage, muzzle flare and explosions. The only sounds were moans being drowned out by constant weapons fire. Smoke covered the area, and a haze of gray/red-ish debris obscured the bulk of the forward mass of infected. The fire died down, and the moans picked up. The UAV zoomed in on the frontline soldiers, a mix of Marines and armymen, still using desert camouflage and some, likely squad leaders, wearing prototype Land Warrior helmets. The avant-garde soundtrack of moans and gunfire was broken by a voice. "This is Sergeant Miller of the 75th. We've gotta fall back to the APCs, pull out of the buildings. They're still coming!". With that command, the frontline units began retreating steadily back as disfigured bodies emerged from the smoke. Clearly, very little of that fire had actually resulted in deaths. There were infected dragging themselves towards soldiers, some with only one arm. It had only been ten minutes since the force had opened fire, but the infected still went on.
On the screen, the UAV saw utter chaos. In the distance, the F35s were visible and from the speakers, all one could hear were moans, occasional gunshots, and screams from the ground units(both over Land Warrior and merely picked up by the Global Hawk's external microphone). Orders were being barked over the radio, but they were mostly impossible to hear. The UAV had navigated itself into a position where one could see the entire battlefield, and a full view of the parkway. As soldiers ran back for their APCs and news vans struggled to get out, some even slamming into tanks, each other or even the reporters they drove, the undead horde advanced, a few only stopping to feast on the men and women that lagged behind the rest of their comrades. The mass stretched all the way back to New York itself, it seemed. In the distance, Manhattan was visible. The city was burning in some areas, smoke plumes visible. Then, all of a sudden, a clear voice was heard. Whether it was mental that nobody in the room could hear the soldiers before, perhaps blocking out the cries of fear, or technical, there was someone talking now. "THE HOUSES! THEY'RE COMING OUT OF THE FUCKING HOUSES! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE, THE LINE IS BROKEN!" With that, the F35s streaked over the Hawk and dropped one package each. This resulted in three Joint Strike Weapons being detonated in Yonkers. The video ended and the General arose once more.
"Twelve hours ago, we reestablished contact with the surviving forces. The JSFs had limited success and friendly fire was a big problem. Yonkers is overrun, as is most of the tristate area. We have growing swarms all over the east coast, and contained outbreaks in the west. Our military is unprepared to fight this battle. As of yesterday, the United States Army was routed. Morale was bad before the battle, it's worse now. We've got units going AWOL all over the damn place, and our boys just weren't trained, equipped or armed to fight this enemy."
The room was dead silent. Nobody dared say a word, even if anybody knew what to say. This went beyond bad. This was a total, complete cluster fuck like none before. Secretary Clinton looked up at the General and broke the silence.
"George, how bad were the casualties?" she said. She glanced at the President, and Barack could clearly see the fear in her eyes.
"Madam secretary, we're looking at 70% of the ground force KIA or MIA. Roughly 1302 confirmed civilian casualties from the surrounding area, over 1500 military casualties infantry wise, and we lost around 20 tanks to the JSFs and the horde. The artillery units were abandoned when our men retreated." With every word, it seemed like the room became more dreadful. By the time the general was done speaking, everyone in the room had the same face; sullen and grim. Only the President and a few top ranking military officials held their poker faces up. Nobody had seen carnage like this before. There were so many war veterans in the room, but none of them had ever fought in a war where your enemy was already dead. In the back of the room, one of the President's aides vomited into a trash can and rushed out of the room. "And those are just the ones that we've been able to confirm. As I said, 70%. We sent a force of over 10,000 strong to secure the entire region. Most of those were concentrated around Yonkers. The final casualty report is due by tonight, but anywhere from 5000-7000 KIA should be expected. The armored divisions took significantly less casualties, as I said, only 20 out of the 100 or so Abrams deployed were too damaged to be recovered, and the Bradleys are all intact, more or less."
"And the horde? How big is it?"
"Current estimates place the central mass at over 1.2 million undead, not counting outlying groups and most of the NYC swarm." More gasps . This was truly the darkest hour in recent history. "At this point, epidemiologists at the CDC are estimating somewhere between ten and thirteen million undead nation wide, and possibly upwards of 500 million on the entire planet. We cannot confirm the second figure due to a significant lack of intel since the first major outbreaks six months ago. The CIA is coordinating with MI6 to get a total scope of the situation, but no matter what it is, it will not be good."
With that final note, President Obama motioned to the general and he sat down. Once again, as the military fell the politician rose and Barack began his improvised speech.
"That's the situation, ladies and gentlemen. We are facing a disaster unmatched in human history. The Canadians have sealed their borders and there has been no contact with the Mexican government since last week. The United Kingdom has declared an utter state of emergency, and Israel is busy managing it's own outbreaks, which are significantly smaller since their self quarantine. For the past three days we've met in this room to come up with a back up plan. In twenty minutes, I'm going on national television to tell somewhere in the area of 80% of the country that we're abandoning them. Does anybody have any words to say?"
Silence. Just silence. Nobody had their heads up, and nobody even thought say a word. In twenty minutes, they would all be signing their souls to the devil.
"Very well then."
Brooklyn, New York
Winston was 15, but he felt like he'd aged years since the first outbreak in the city. That was three months ago. And now, he sat in his living room, the door bolted shut, the staircase to his house demolished and replaced with a rope, and the windows covered. He didn't know where his parents were. His friends were upstairs looking for whatever water they could find and store. It all felt like some horrible dream. And now, the emergency broadcast system on most channels was replaced with the seal of the Office of the President. The seal disappeared, and on the screen, sat President Obama. He too, looked as if he had aged years, his hair turned mostly gray. What Winston heard next didn't scare him. It just reaffirmed what he and his friends knew; they were on their own now. Things didn't look good, but all they could do was hope to survive. "My fellow Americans, today marks what may be the single worst disaster since Pearl Harbor, and the worst day in US history. With the strategic failure of the armed forces in Yonkers yesterday, and reports of riots and outbreaks of the disease now known as Solanum rapidly encompassing the eastern portion of the United States, we have begun a massive retreat west. A defense line is being established along the Rocky Mountains going southwards towards the Mexican border, and we are reestablishing the government in Hawaii. To those of you left in your homes and shelters in the East, know this; you are not alone. We are going to come back for you. We are going to save you. We will televise updates as they are available, and the news channels still left will not be replaced with the Emergency Broadcast System. Remain calm, stay in your homes and reinforce them. Following this message, a list of symptoms of the virus, how it is passed on and a map of the nation showing the retreat will be displayed, and repeated for the next three hours. May god watch over all of us."
. The first chapter still needs a lot of polish, obviously, but I'm thinking up ideas for the next. Right now, aiming for either SAS without the weaboo or a lowly grunt in Her Majesty's Army. Two extremes, but there is the thought; what exactly does a special forces unit get up to when zombies are about?
