Endangered Species

We hit the wall shortly after we finished eating. We locked ourselves inside the I’d barely put my head down before I was asleep.

I woke at four in the afternoon. Mike was still snoring, so I left him sleeping while I checked the room outside. I put an ear to the metal door, waited a minute while hearing nothing, then opened it. I had my tactical flashlight in one hand, the wrist supporting my right hand and pistol. Wherever the light pointed, my Beretta went with it. The attackers had taken every other weapon from here, so it was the best I had.

I did a quick circuit of the basement level, except the room where we’d piled the dead, and verified nothing had changed. There were restrooms but no running water. The smell wasn’t pleasant, but I used it anyway. “You didn’t wake me up,” Mike said.

“You need sleep, and we can’t do anything until after dark,” I replied. “Still four millirem an hour down here, despite the basement and the concrete floors above us.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“Breakfast.” The vending machine food I’d gathered earlier went well with the leftover MREs. Over powdered sugar donuts and warm Mountain Dew, we went over everything we’d learned last night. Everything was fair game, from the people we found dead to the last word of our only survivor.

We spent an hour arguing whether “Werewolves” was literal or figurative. My mind wanted to think it was the nickname of the attackers, like “Wolverines” in “Red Dawn.” Whoever they were, they were good. Werewolves were creatures of the night, able to take down highly trained Marines without being spotted. Werewolves ran in packs, able to take down strong prey and overcome defenses. They were wild animals on a rampage killing everyone, fighter or not. A team name was the logical explanation of a rational mind.

Werewolves were fictional creatures, present only in teen television shows and lurid writer imaginations.

Except.

The ‘except’ was the evidence pointing to animal attacks. We saw men with their throats torn out, and not by knives. One man’s throat was missing, while others had bite wounds on their arms. “Those were dog bites,” Mike said with conviction. “BIG fucking dogs.”

“They could have had dogs with them,” I countered. “That could help them find people and get around in the dark.”

“If they had dogs, he would have said that. He said werewolves, right?” I nodded. “Stupid fucking last word if it’s not true.”

“He was dying of blood loss. His mind could be anywhere.”

Mike shook his head. “Yet everything before that made sense, didn’t it?”

“Yeah.” It was too much to believe, though. “Whoever they are, they might still be on base or nearby. If there were survivors in this building, there are others. This base has miles of underground bunkers and tunnels for the ballistic missiles. They could have everyone else on base hiding inside storage bunkers with nuclear-grade security.”

“Or they could all be dead, and these guys were the last holdouts. Hell, we could be walking right into an ambush, and we’d never know it. Plus, you have the only gun.”

“And it’s a pistol against rifles or more.” Yeah, it didn’t sound good. “

We still had our orders to get a message from the Commanding Officer of the USS Maine to the National Command Authority. It didn’t matter what the odds were.

Mike was still carrying the message, but I’d memorized it. It wasn’t like we had a Xerox machine working. “This is only one of the commands here. I have to check the others to see if anyone is there to receive them.”

“Where to?”

That was a good question. “The briefing room has a map.” We moved into the conference room. I removed the map from the frame and set it on the table, illuminating it with my flashlight. “This is a base with multiple commands. We’re in the main building where Submarine Group Five headquarters. They’re gone. There are two ballistic missile squadrons, SUBRON 17 and 19 for Ohio-class ballistic missile and guided missile submarines, and SUBDEVRON 5 for Seawolf-class submarines. Then you have the Naval Station Kitsap, Submarine Readiness Squadron 31, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion- Bangor, and the Strategic Weapons Facility- Pacific command for the missile support. I’ve got a lot of places to check out.” Naturally, each command had at least one building on the map.

“Well, ANY surviving officer outranks us,” Mike replied. “We better be able to find someone to report to.”

I nodded, then pointed back at the map. “It’s not worth checking the housing and base offices near the Trident gate. If they don’t have basements, they wouldn’t have survived.”

“What about the hospital?”

“Branch clinic. I don’t even know if it has a basement.” It was a hell of a lot of ground to cover at night, with potential threats everywhere. “We have to split up.”

“No way! We can back each other up; it’s safer that way.”

I rolled my eyes. “If a trained Marine is an easy target, an unarmed Youngster is nothing,” I replied. “I want you to head down to the docks and get back in the kayak. Take both backpacks with you and stow them. Stay far enough offshore to be out of rifle range and head for the weapons loading docks here.”

“I remember those from the way here.”

I pointed to a spot just south of them. “Put in here, then head for this building. Check here for the Marine command. From there, head up the road and check the missile bunkers. If you don’t find anything, get back in the kayak and wait for me where you started.”

“I can do that. Where are you going?”

“I get to run down here and check these commands.”

“What if you get caught?”

“Don’t come after me. These people don’t fuck around, so I’m dead or captured. The mission means more than me.” It was a hard lesson to learn, but that was part of being an officer. Sometimes people die carrying out your orders. “If I’m not down there by four, find a place to hide for the day. At nightfall, paddle south of the base, then go overland to Bremerton. See if anyone there is still alive to give the message to.”

Mike patted the message in the waterproof packet inside his overalls. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t. Let’s see if we can find anything else we need, then get packed. I want extra food and water with us, just in case.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

We were bags packed and ready when the sun went down. With no electricity and the mountains, it got dark fast. “Ready to go?” He nodded. “Good luck, Midshipman Newman. Stay quiet and stay safe. I’ll see you at the water.”

“As long as you’re there by four. Good luck, Midshipman Summers.”

I led the way upstairs, keeping my flashlight off once we reached the main floor. There was just enough light left to see the opening from the busted-open entry doors. I kept my pistol at low-ready as we moved across the bloodstained floor. I handed him my backpack after checking outside; everything was quiet. I gave him the thumbs-up, then moved down the stairs and to the left. He would follow me thirty seconds later, heading down towards the docks.

I’d almost reached my first target building when I heard the gunshot. I spun and crouched, pointing my pistol towards the inky darkness. It had come from the area near the docks.

“Drop the pistol, bitch,” I heard from behind me. I froze.

“Don’t make one of us shoot you,” I heard another voice say from my right.

“Yeah, you’re prime breeding stock. It would be a shame if you died first,” a voice said from my left.

I didn’t have a choice. I dropped the pistol. “The Alpha will be pleased,” the first man said.

Something hit my head, and it was blackness.

I woke up in the darkness, draped over a sweaty male who hadn’t bathed recently. They’d stripped my clothes off, so my naked hips bounced around on his shoulder as he walked. I couldn’t move my hands; I could feel the rope tying them together behind my back. My ankles were bound too. I started to wiggle, stopping when a large hand smacked the hell out of my bare ass. “Don’t make me knock you out again, breeder.”

“That’s Midshipman First Class Angela Summers,” I said with as much pride as I could muster. Inside, I was panicking; they’d killed Mike and planned to rape the other women and me.

“You’d do well to learn to keep your mouth shut, Breeder. The Alpha doesn’t take kindly to disrespect.”

“What Alpha is that?”

“You’ll know soon enough. Now shut up and relax. If I drop you, you might get hurt, and it won’t change your fate.”

What else could I do? I forced myself to relax and pay attention to my surroundings. I had to plan my escape.

I had to finish my mission.