The Purging

Third Dawn

CHAPTER 10

“So this has gotta be like a momentous day for you, right sergeant? Coming back home after being away for so long?” Seal team ten's newest member is by far its most talkative, much to the dismay of his commanding officer.

“I haven't considered Detroit my home for a long time Ramirez. This city is a cesspool of crime, corruption and poverty. I haven't given it a second thought since I left for basic training. This is just another sortie. Now cut the chatter, we need to go over some important things before we touch down.”

This homecoming is more of an imposition than a boon. He hoped to never come back to this city. He has nothing but ugly memories of the eighteen years he lived in Detroit. Sergeant Mohammed Rasheed takes a deep breath and addresses his team, “From what Intel we do have, the situation is critical. The city is overrun with vampires. Civilians are panicked and many of those we run into could already be infected. It is of critical importance to remember, we are here to extract VIPs. We are not here to engage in a stand up fight, and we are not here to round up all the survivors we can find. We land, we find our two VIPs, and we get out. We're on a strict time frame here so combat is to be avoided if possible.” His second in command is less than impressed with the last revelation.

“Too bad, I was really hoping to get some use out of this thing.” Corporal Blanchette holds up her brand new flamethrower, calmly stroking the barrel, “So, who are the VIPs? Have we got a fix on their location? Or are we just supposed to walk around blind hoping to stumble across them?”

“The VIPs are Vice President Mitchell and the Governor of Michigan. They are currently holed up in a bunker underneath the city. We're going to touch down just a couple blocks away from the entrance. If we move quickly and don't get sidetracked, this should be an easy hop. If we run across any vampire resistance, we lay down suppressing fire with the flame units and keep moving.”

All six members are in agreement. They’ve been to hell and back together tons of times before. If they all play their parts, it’ll go off without a hitch. After a final set of weapons checks are done, Rasheed gives one last piece of advice, “Everybody stay close. No hero stuff. If someone gets separated or infected by the vampires, we leave them behind or shoot them where they stand. There can’t be any hesitation this time. What happened in Chicago can’t happen again.” If one of them got infected this time out, they had to pull the trigger immediately. The events of the previous evening made that very clear to all of them.

Private Ramirez is quick to reassure him, “It won’t happen again sir. None of us were prepared for what we were dropped into the middle of last night. Nobody blames you for what happened with Ricky.”

Ricky had seemed fine until they got him back to the base. The bite was on his wrist. Nobody saw his skin changing. Mo sent him to the infirmary to have what they thought were superficial wounds looked at. Five minutes later every doctor and nurse in the building was dead. Having to gun down one of his closest friends was an experience Mo would not soon forget. Blanchette backs Ramirez up.

“Exactly. Besides sir, we didn’t have the proper equipment last time out. If we get ambushed this time, we’ll be ready.” Mohammed says one last prayer internally and kisses his crescent moon pendant as the helicopter touches down. He needs Allah’s protection now more than ever. Piling out in tight formation, Sergeant Rasheed barks orders, “Blanchette, Ramirez, and Tate come with me. Everybody else, stay here and cover the bird. We meet back here in twenty minutes. Shoot anything that doesn’t look human.”

The city streets are a mess. Abandoned vehicles dot the landscape as far as the eye can see. Signs of looting are everywhere. Still smouldering fires billow smoke into the early morning air. While there are no people in the immediate area, the team is overcome by the feeling they are being watched. Rasheed and his strike team move quickly along their designated path to the safe house entrance.