Deadland Rising (part 3 of the Deadland Saga)

Courage (Chapter 29)

Someone pounded on the door. "Martin? Are you in there? Martin? Let us in!"

The man spun in his chair. He opened his mouth, but Griz pressed a knife against his throat, and he clamped his mouth shut again.

"Get those radios ready," Clutch warned.

Griz spun the man's chair back around and whispered something in his ear. The man shook and went back to work.

The handheld radio on Clutch's belt went off.

"Officer team twenty-two reporting in."

"Control station, twenty-two. Report."

"Yusef's not at his post at the radio room. The door's locked, and Martin's not responding."

"Hold your position. We'll send backup."

A brief pause.

"All available teams. Report immediately to the archives. The radio room is believed to have been taken by terrorists."

"Shit," Clutch muttered. "Someone just got their head out of their ass. Come on, Griz."

"It's ready," the man at the radio said softly.

Griz motioned for Clutch. "You're on."

Clutch walked over to the radio and lifted the microphone. He looked back at me once before closing his eyes. He was silent for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he brought the microphone closer to his lips. "This is the New Eden province reporting from the capital. We are hailing all provinces and all survivors. The capital bombed the south, and today we disrupted their plan to drop poison on the entire country. What this means is that if you live in U.S., Mexico, or Canada, you would've been poisoned. Only the capital city in Saskatchewan was exempt. In their attempt to kill zeds, they would've killed everything outside the capital. We found that plan unacceptable."

He took a long breath. "We destroyed the current supply of poison, but they can create more. If you agree with New Eden, do not send resources to the capital. Do not support their plans, which will cause the death of more innocents. There is a better way. We have found an antigen. A vaccine for the virus is possible. We brought the antigen here, but they have taken it and refuse to create a vaccine for anyone outside the capital. Who among you has the resources to create a vaccine so that we can prevent this virus from winning ever again?"

Something slammed into the door, and the wood cracked.

"The zeds out there can be defeated," Clutch continued. "And, if everyone can be vaccinated, we will be safe from future outbreaks. But we need your help."

The door slammed open, and officers rushed in with rifles. Behind them, two men threw down their battering ram. Shouts erupted as they flocked around us. "Down on the ground! Down on the ground!"

Someone shoved me to my knees, and I found myself on my stomach, my backpack yanked off, my hands pulled behind me. As I fought to breathe, I felt someone go through my pockets.

"This is Helena, Montana," a voice came through the radio's wall speakers. "We have heard your broadcast. We have a fully functional CDC facility that is equipped to create the vaccine. Bring us the antigen, and we can produce enough vaccine for every single person in the world."

"Shut down the broadcast!" someone yelled.

"This is Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado," another voice came through. "We have air support and can-"

The radio squealed and then silenced.

I was yanked to my knees and dragged to where Clutch was already kneeling.