Chapter 4

23 Feb 2200Hrs
Today has been nuts! Note to self; the living are just as dangerous as the dead! This morning started out quiet. We thought that once we got to the Ohio/Indiana border we thought we would be home free. As soon as we left Dayton there was a ton of traffic. Live people going nuts, trying to get to a safe zone. There were people from everywhere here. We saw license plates from all over the country. Some of these people look really banged up like they went thru hell to get here. Who am I kidding; they did go thru hell to get here. Some of them thought we were with the ones in charge and started banging on the hummer demanding answers. I told Smith to take off and find us some place quiet. Smith asked me why we had left the road to the safe zone. I told him most likely the safe zone was guarded by military. And that we looked a little out of reg. We took a few moments to shave our beards and trim our hair. To try and look like soldiers again.
We were quickly back in the area of the mob. I told Smith to go off road and speed to the front of the line. Stop for no one. I t felt like we drove for miles past the line of cars. Finally we got to where we could see the blockade. It caused me to take a double take. It was like a massive wall going in both directions for miles. I asked myself, how could they build this so fast? There was only one way in and it was a single car entry. We raced up to the gate, only to be met by a Marine QRF (Quick Reaction Force) before we even got 500 yards out. Their weapons were trained on us and I swear there was a Cobra helicopter overhead. A Marine called out over a loud speaker for us to get out of the vehicle. We did. I had my ID in my hand and quickly let them know that we were active duty military trying to get back to our unit. None the less they had us drop to our knees and put our hands up over our heads. A Marine LT flanked by two armed Marines walked over to us. He took our ID cards and inspected them. He looked me up and down and said “SFC you look like you have lost some weight.” I laughed and explained we were a part of the units coming back from Iraq and we had been running and gunning our way to safety. He let us up. I told him we needed to get in contact with our unit ASAP. He smiled and said that we need to have the medics look us over first and then we could talk. I said the usual “Yes Sir!” and saluted. Next a group of Navy corpsman came over to us and started checking us over. He pricked our fingers and ran some test to verify we were not infected. He then let us move on to what he called phase 2 decon. Phase 2 decon was not fun. They took our clothes to be washed and scrubbed us with hoses. But it was not water they sprayed us with it was some chemical. It reminded me of the way Clorox smelled. While we were being cleaned the Marines ran sacked our Hummer. Accounting for all our gear and threw out our food and water for fear of contamination. After all was said and done they moved Smith and I into the tent city. The civilians were staying in large white tents with a 10 foot fence around it with razor wire. The Marines were in large tan tents. We were put in separate tents based on rank. Poor Smith, he had to bunk with 20 other Marine Privates. I on the other hand was in a tent with only 5 E-7’s. I guess rank still has its privileges. None the less it felt good to get some shut eye without having to worry about my ass getting bit off. But my thoughts are still with my family. I miss them and all I can think about right now is getting to them. ASAP!

24 Feb 1000Hrs
So far today has shown me how chaotic this pace is. The civilians are pissed that they have to wait 5 days before they can leave the holding area. One of the Marine Gunnery Sergeants told me they do that to ensure that no one has the disease and squeaked by the docs. They say they have put down 3 outbreaks this week and have had to kill hundreds of people. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. I asked him what kind of disease this was and where it came from. All the Marines got real quiet when I asked that question. One pulled me aside and said “look man all I know is the dead walk and if they bite you, we shoot you in the head. We have even killed our own men who have come back with bites.” This shit is freaky! I went down to the T.O.C (Tactical Operations Center) today to find out when Smith and I can get underway. Inside the T.O.C it was total chaos. Everyone running around trying to get status updates and issue orders to field units outside the gate. I stopped a young LT and asked her who was in charge and she explained it was a Major General. She pointed me towards his office and went back to her task. Well with me not being a Marine and not really giving a fuck anymore I decided to just walk right in to the old man’s office like I owned the place.
He was sitting behind a large wooden desk staring at his Laptop. Behind him was a large plasma screen with an image of the United States on it. It had some sort of color coding, showing which states were lost to the infection and which ones were still surviving. All the southern states and east coast were red. The Pacific Northwest was amber. Only a few northern states and Alaska were still green. But before I could speak to him or get any more info his board, he took one look at me jumped out of his seat and yelled “Fuck no! Fuck no! I don’t need some damn Army liaison fucking babysitters down here! Who else is with you Sergeant?” But before I could even answer him. He started yelling again. “I don’t give a shit! You, and all your Amy shit need to go the fuck back to Iowa and leave me alone! Tell General Patreous I have this sector under control! The Marines always get the job done! Now get the fuck out of my AO!” Without missing a beat I turned around and walked right out with my marching orders! I now had a 2 star general telling me to move out. Now off to find Smith.
2230HrsWe are eating dinner in a diner in Springfield Illinois. I found Smith today in the dinning tent on KP. I simply grabbed him up and told him to go pack his shit and meet me at the motor pool. I ran to my tent to get my ruck and get out of this place before all hell breaks loose. When I got to the motor pool I found Smith there arguing with a Marine Staff Sergeant. I asked the SSG what the problem was, we had orders from his MG to roll out and deliver a message to our command. He looked a little annoyed to have an Army NCO tell him what to do. But he looked at me and said “SFC I have not been given those orders. My orders from MAJ Stann are to not release this vehicle or its weapons unless ordered by him.” The SSG was wearing a radio. I told him to confirm our story with the T.O.C. He called in with the T.O.C to verify this. “Devil Dog Tango this is Hammer 12 do the Army personnel have authorization to leave? Over.” He was answered quickly. “Hammer 12 this is Devil Dog 7, unless you want the Gen coming down there himself you had better let them go ASAP. OUT!” For a moment the SSG looked spooked. But he led us to the armor cages and got us back our weapons and ammo. We even managed to gain a few more frags. As soon as our gear was put away and the .50 cal mounted we bolted out of there as fast as we could. Things are bound to go bad there. Better to be as far away as possible when it does.