Things Are Getting Weird

Posted on Mon Apr 17th, 2023 @ 3:42am by Hale Stratton [Major, United States Army]
Edited on on Wed May 24th, 2023 @ 8:48am

577 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: The Way We Were
Location: Rental Cabin, Partridge Cove, Maine
Timeline: 25 AUG 2010 - 0800

Brown hair still damp from his shower, Hale leaned against the kitchen island, sipping from a mug of dark roast something or other with his cell phone held to one ear. "Yeah, I'm here," he said. Naked, save for a worn pair of jeans, he shifted so that he could pull the travel guide closer, his matte black dog tags make a tinkling sound as they moved forward, hitting the edge of the counter; he thumbed through a few pages and settled on the one that he'd dog-eared back at Fort Campbell when all of this had first been discussed on the return flight from Africa. "The cabin is pretty much as advertised. Plenty of room for all of ..."

He set the coffee mug down, picked up a pen and circled the number of a local outfitter. A few freeze-dried meals to surprise the team when they made camp. And that was probably why, being half-distracted, the only thing he heard was TDY. That brought his head back into the game. "We up," he asked as he straightened. Coming off back-to-back missions, the team was due for dwell time. Overdue. But saying no was never going to be an option for any of them.

"No, well, not you anyway," Pete said, his voice slipping into the cadences of his youth growing up in backwoods Kentucky. "Everyone unlucky enough to be on base got tagged." Pete's voice lowered. "Things are getting weird, brother. "

"Weird," Hale asked. "How so?"

"You're going to think I'm crazy," Pete said. He sighed. "I thought I'd seen everything but this ... Zombies. I swear, I saw a Zombie."

"Just how late did you guys celebrate last night," Hale asked. "I know there was that whole idea of a first night of leave in too darn long party idea ... that I had to miss because someone had to get the cabin ready."

"Well you did draw the short straw but seriously, no, brother. This is real and it looked ninety kinds of diseased. Dead though. Bullet through the brain. We were asked to help with the disposal detail. Hazmat suits and all." There was a slight pause. "I swear, every soldier on the base has been pulled into this."

"I can come back," Hale said. "Just let me talk to the people we rented from and ..."

"Not an option. Go turn on the television," Pete said. "I know you hate them but in this case, ... "

"Okay, just a minute." He went looking for the remote and got the blasted thing turned on. "Commercial," he said, his tone laced with disgust. "Don't see how you guys can stand this stuff."

There was a noise in the background that sounded like someone talking and then Pete said, "Gotta go, brother. Stay frosty." He hung up and Hale placed the phone back on the counter. He stood there for a bit, sipping coffee, and waiting for whatever it was Pete wanted him to see.

Coffee in hand, he walked into the living room and stood in front of the television. Waiting. After a moment, the commercials were replaced by a news broadcast. The salient points were on a scroll at the bottom of the screen. "CDC announces global pandemic. The public is ordered to shelter in place. Airports are shut down. President Obama to address the nation tonight."

He sat down abruptly and settled in to listen. Things were changing and the first rule was always ... be ready.

 

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