New Developments

Posted on Sun Jun 25th, 2023 @ 9:58pm by Hale Stratton & Vienna Quinn & René Rouen

1,415 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Bangor or Bust
Location: Trout Mountain Cabin, Twin Pines at NEOC, Millinocket, ME
Timeline: 27 August 2010 - 6:00 a.m.

The power went out sometime after dawn. He waved to the guards on duty and left the cabin. Restless. With too much on his mind, Hale went for a morning run and thought he'd combine that with a look at the surroundings. To make it more of a challenge, he left the trail behind and ran through the woods, threading between trees, hopping lightly over fallen logs, and keeping his head on the swivel.

Not as demanding as his usual training runs, the ground was too level for that, so he compensated by setting a faster pace. He ran for a stretch along the lake and then circled back toward the complex, running behind and around the cabins and outbuildings. Checking for occupancy. For the dead.

Things were different. That was the message that kept pounding through his brain. Things were different and it felt as though his life, his career, had turned to fine grain sand, slipping through his fingers. Things were different and this wasn't some flu bug they were going to get under control in a minute.

This was end of days stuff and that meant ... things were different. The military had been home but it came with limitations; the notion that that might be changing settled, like a cat curling up for a nap, around his heart. Thing was, he understood that life. This one not so much.

This one had ill-prepared civilians ... teenagers ... and priests and ... a reporter. Hale smiled, softer, the private smile he seldom shared with anyone save for occasional trips to his cabin. He looped around the main structures, found the restaurant (closed) and headed back toward Trout Mountain.

Time to wake everyone up. Get them moving on training and weapons. He was a master at surviving, no matter the odds, and uniquely suited to this job even if it was one he never expected to have. Leading civilians through a world that felt more like a grade-B zombie movie than actual life.

And, he thought to himself, it comes with benefits.

A While Later, Back at Trout Mountain Cabin

René sat outside thinking of their predicament. Vienna, Courtney, Ethan, Jordan and himself were stranded in a small town over a hundred kilometers from Bangor. The dead were reanimating as Soulless beasts with a desire for to consume the living. He had promised Vienna that he would get her home safely, but it seemed to be a daunting task. He was still contemplating the situation when Hale returned from his run. "Good morning Capitan."

"Morning," Hale said as he stopped short of the porch and started going through a series of final stretches. "Everything's quiet. No sign of life ... or not-life for that matter. "

René looked up the road for a moment before shrugging. "Nothing this morning at least. Although a momentary wind shift brought a stench of the dead. I found three of the...Soulless, already dispatched, in the treeline off the road about 70 meters that way." He pointed up the road. "I gather that is why you told me to go inside last night, instead of retrieving Doctor Oloffson's supplies from her auto."

Hale came up short and looked at Rene. "We got a problem, you and me?"

René looked at Hale nonplussed by the US Army officer's statement. He shook his head after a moment. "We don't have a problem. You might, but I don't. You can tell me your problem and I will do what I can to help resolve...said problem."

Hale's gaze stayed fixed on the teen for a moment but chose to let it pass. "Doctor Oloffson chose not to bring in the gear last night," he said. "Were you alone when you were out finding the not-living we took care of last night?"

René nodded as he pointed to the roadside treeline where Hale and Victoire had stashed the bodies. "I don't recall you informing the group regarding a visit by the Soulless."

"Some things," Hale said quietly, "don't need to be said. There's a lot of scared people in there. Traumatized even. Me and Vic took care of it, gave the others a night with take out and easier dreams. There's no harm there."

René pondered Hale's words before he nodded. He did understand the feeling of being lost. He was an ocean's length away from his own family. He didn't know what was going on back in Paris. "Please, just let me know the next time. I am skilled in fighting with blades and can be of assistance in helping protect the group."

"You know," Hale said as he dropped down to sit beside him for a moment, "protecting non-combatants like the priests in there or the woman that came in last night is just as important as facing them head on. Maybe more so. Today you'll get a weapon and we'll all do some training, share what we know, and then you'll help protect the group. Sometimes going out with me or Vic, sometimes, standing guard in camp. Both ways help. You get that?"

René had listened attentively to what Hale said. "Oui. I get that." He extended his right hand towards Hale. "So do we have an accord?"

"Almost," Hale said though he shook the younger man's hand. "I've been at this a lot longer than you. My job? My work? This isn't much different. Dangerous situations. Keeping everyone safe. How it works is ... one person's in charge ... and that 's me. You good with that?"

"Bien sûr." René looked at Hale with a concerned expression. "I don't envy your position. I couldn't do it."

Vienna had woken early, her first night had been one of disturbed sleep. Getting up early she’d quietly and cautiously stepped outside for fresh air, taking in their surroundings in the morning light. The quiet had given her time to think about her relationship with René, when she returned she saw René and Hale talking outside the cabin.

“Good Morning” She smiled warmly especially at René. “Can I talk to you when you have time?”

René turned his gaze to Vienna and smiled back. "Of course." He rose from the steps and gestured towards the lake with a glance. "We'll be at the pier if you need us. We won't be long. Ten, fifteen minutes at most." He started walking off with Vienna, not waiting for permission.

Vienna was surprised, but also relieved that she and René would have a chance to talk. She offered Hale a polite smile and headed off with René.

Inside the Cabin

Vic had been up and about already when Hale left the cabin and had spotted Rene when he stepped outside. She chose to relax a little once Hale was awake as she had been the graveyard watch. Strangely she wasn't tired... this entire situation had thrown everything into Chaos and yet she had found a sense of peace.

Her parents were dead... and then returned to death a second time when she had been with their bodies in the morgue. She had come to Millinocket with the intent of vacation and then everything.... literally everything hit the damned fan and now everybody was covered. But within it all she was at peace because for once; it was as simple as following her training. The training that made both her and Hale deadly in a world such as this. "Keep the Civilians safe; eliminate the threat" simple as that, the reason she had joined the service in the first place. And she was ready to stand as their shield.

She stood up from the sofa in the main hall of the cabin they had all shared and she smiled as she walked into the Kitchen to start a proper pot of Grade A Military Coffee.

Dominic rose from his side of the bed and wandered out to find Victoire starting to brew a pot of coffee on the stove. "You were truly sent by God Doctor Oloffson."

Courtney rose from the bed and slowly made her way to the window looking towards the lake. She opened the curtains to allow in the early morning sunlight and rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake up. She peered out the window and caught a glimpse of something she did NOT want to see. Rene standing on the boat dock hugging Vienna. Making matters worse he watched as the two kissed for at least ten seconds or more. "THAT BITCH!!!"

 

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