Extinction Cycle (Short Story): Extinction Lost (A Team Ghost Short Story) by Smith Nicholas Sansbury

Author:Smith, Nicholas Sansbury [Smith, Nicholas Sansbury]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Zombies
Published: 2017-03-08T05:00:00+00:00

“It had to have been a Reaver,” Dohi said. “That’s why I can’t find tracks. It must have swooped down and grabbed Stevenson when we were inside searching.”

Team Ghost had sought shelter from the storm under the awning of a house on the edge of town. The village was empty. Completely empty. Not a single body, nor any evidence of what happened to these people. No blood. No tracks. Not even a skeleton. The entire village gave him the creeps and with Stevenson missing, Fitz was losing his cool.

“Did you hear that?” Rico asked.

“What?” Fitz asked. He stepped out into the flurry of snow and looked northwest. Over the growl of the wind came the unmistakable boom of a shotgun.

“Gunfire,” Rico said.

Fitz glared at the frosted foothills. Waves of snow poured from the sky. Visibility was getting worse, but his ears told him what his eyes could not.

Fox Team was in trouble.

The shotgun blast had come from that direction. He stepped back to the protection of the building, pulled his bandana down, and pushed the mic back to his lips while Tanaka, Rico, and Dohi stared at him.

“Mapes,” Fitz snapped. “Mapes, do you fucking copy?”

For the second time there was no response.

Fitz cursed again.

All it takes is all you got, Marine. Fitz repeated the motto three times before he started to feel better.

“Is that Fox Team?” Tanaka said. “It’s got to be, right?”

“What are you orders, Fitz?” Rico asked.

Her firm and formal question got Fitz’s attention. They had seen a lot in the past week, but there was nothing like losing a teammate. He knew he had to make a decision, and make one quick. But first, he needed to get a read on Dohi.

The man was crouched and calm in the snow, staring at the storm with his M4 cradled across his chest.

“You can’t find a single trace of Stevenson?”

Dohi shook his head. “He’s gone.”

“But why didn’t we hear a gunshot, or a scream? And where the hell is everyone else?” Rico asked. She chomped on her gum, her big eyes widening.

Apollo’s tail was still up, but for the first time, Fitz didn’t trust the dog’s senses. Maybe it was the cold, or perhaps it was something else, but Apollo hadn’t been able to detect a single Variant.

Fitz pulled his bandana back up. “We have to keep moving. Stevenson is gone. We have to accept that and focus on the mission‌—‌”

“Ghost 1, Ghost 1….” Crackle. “Fox 1, do you…”

Fitz reached up to cup his hand over his helmet.

“Roger, Fox 1... Mapes, what the hell is going on out there?”

“They got my team.” Static broke the next transmission.

Rico caught Fitz’s gaze.

“Come again, Fox 1.”

“Carol and Johns are dead. Boston’s gone. Fuck. I can’t find Preston or Dixon.”

“Calm down,” Fitz said. “Calm down and tell me what happened.”

There was another flurry of static, and then, “The locals, man. I think it’s the locals that took ‘em.”

Dohi stood, narrowed brows painted white with snow.

“Where are you, Mapes?” Fitz asked. “Tell me where you are, and stay put.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.