Z Day Chronicles: Genesis (Pt. 4)

"Officer Lancaster to Dispatch, do you copy?"

Jake woke up from his slumber, overhearing Officer Lancaster making an attempt to get in touch with the police station.

"This is Officer Arnold Lancaster, Virginia Beach P.D.," Lancaster continued. "I'm in Little Creek Cove. I've hunkered down in a residential home with 5 civilians. Do you copy?"

Jake sat up, trying not to wake up Cassandra or the others, and walked over to the officer, who stood guard at the front door.

"Still nothing?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," Arnold sighed. "I have to meet up with the rest of the guys on the team."

"What do you mean 'team?' Are you in S.W.A.T.?"

"Yeah, I am. I got injured at my last operation, so I was put on patrol duty while recovering."

Arnold then looked at Jake's memorabilia, and the pictures of the sailors that rested on that desk.

"Those guys friends of yours?" Arnold asked.

"They were," Jake answered. "They were killed in action during the Somali Ethiopian Conflict a couple years back."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. They were good people. How bad is it out there?"

Arnold stepped out of the way so that Jake could peep through the window. What Jake witnessed was a grim reality of what he first believed to be a nightmare. Outside the house was a lot of grizzly humanoid figures staggering around the street. Some were the same neighbors they saw laying on the ground dead the night before. Some were digesting the entrails of bodies that were scattered all over. The brutality could have been compared to something seen in a horror flick.

"So that M.O.H. belonged to a father or grandparent?" Arnold then asked, referring to one of the medals in the glass case sitting on the desk. The medal was a gold star connected to a light blue ribbon with 13 stars in the center.

"No," Jake answered somberly. "That's mine."

Arnold paused for a moment, stunned by what he had just heard.

"You're not the recipient that was at that conflict," Arnold continued. "Are you?"

"In the flesh."

Arnold then chuckled in amazement, realizing that he was standing face to face with a Medal of Honor recipient.

"You're him," Arnold then continued. "You're Jaycob Riley; the guy that saved all those men in the line of fire. One of my friends on the force told me about you. He was one of the guys you saved. You have every bit of my respect."

As Jake thanked Arnold and shook his hand, Cassandra woke up and headed to where the two were. She then kissed Jake on the cheek and rested her head on his chest. Selena and Julio woke up as well, followed by Dylan. They went to check the windows, all while making sure that they weren't being seen.

"I'm gonna go and cook breakfast," Cassandra suggested.

"Alright baby," Jake responded. "Hey, Officer. You're more than welcome to go get cleaned up, and I'll keep watch."

"Appreciate it," Arnold said. "But I'll keep watch while you guys get cleaned up first."

"How long have you been up?"

"Roughly an hour before you."

"Alright. Again, I'll keep watch. You're a guest in my house. I insist."

With that, Arnold went away and laid his gun and ballistic vest on the couch. Jake kept watch at the door while everyone got cleaned up until Arnold finished up and took over watch again. Once Cassandra finished cooking a hot meal, everyone relaxed and ate while she turned the t.v. on the local news station. The riots were still being reported, but new details were addressed:

"Reports are coming in that people who were pronounced dead now appear to be awake and in the same condition as those rioting in the streets. There are also 911 calls of many that had minor injuries feeling sick and becoming highly aggressive. A mandatory evacuation has been issued in the Hampton Bay area. The local police and the military are getting involved with evacuating civilians. Planes have already evacuated and many of the roads have been blocked off to contain the area. There are cruise ships being used as evacuation vessels for civilians at Chesapeake Bay, Willoughby Bay, Elizabeth River, James River, and the Atlantic Ocean."

“Not good,” Jake said. "We never had a mandatory evacuation except during a major natural disaster."

"We're about a couple miles away from Chesapeake Bay," Selena replied. “People are probably gonna be fighting each other to get on those ships."

"I worked on cruise lines over the summer,” Dylan added. “They're big enough to fit a few thousand people on them. That gives us a fighting chance."

"But Hampton Roads has roughly 2 million people in it," Arnold added. "That's close to half a million people per checkpoint. Even if half of those people were in the riots, vetting could take hours, maybe days, and not everyone would be evacuated."

"All the more reason we need to hurry,” Jake stated. “Like Selena said, the closest ship is on Chesapeake Bay. I say we grab the B.O.B's and a weapon or two and head there."

Everyone started packing up some canned food, bottled water, clothing, and other necessities. Jake grabbed some items from the memorabilia desk, including the medal Arnold was intrigued with. He then loaded his sidearm and holstered it as a precaution, and Arnold readied his rifle.

"Shit!" Jake shouted.

"What is it?" Cassandra asked.

"The car's gone! So is the motorcycle! Officer, your car is gone too."

Everyone looked out the window and saw the driveway where Jake's car, Arnold's cruiser, and Cassandra’s Harley used to be. There were no other vehicles in sight.

"Dammit!" Arnold jeered. "They must've been stolen while we were caught off guard!"

"If we're going to get to that ship, we're gonna need to hurry by foot," Jake decided. "You guys are gonna need to follow my lead and do not look back. Don’t stop for anything. Understood?"

"Wait a second."

Arnold saw a huge armored truck slowly patrolling the street. It was dark blue, and had S.W.A.T. in bold white letters on the side.

"That's my crew!" Arnold shouted. "Wait here."

Arnold stepped outside while the rest waited at the front door. The truck slowed to a stop the second Arnold stepped outside. The driver, who was suited in full tactical gear, quickly stepped out to greet him.

"Lancaster!" The driver greeted. "We were looking all over for you."

"Same, brother." Arnold responded. "There are 5 civilians inside that took me in. They need to get to Chesapeake asap. Think you guys can handle that?"

"I don't know man. The truck might be able to fit a few more people. 5 is a bit risky."

"Mitch... One of them is Jaycob Riley."

Mitch then paused as he looked behind his friend, spotting Jake, who was right at the front door. The man then removed his helmet and went up to greet him.

"You remember me, Jake?" Mitch asked. "I was one of the SEALs in Miller's unit."

"How could I forget?" Jake responded.

"You saved my life, man. I really owe it to you. I think we can make you and your friend's fit in the truck. I'll see if I can get you guys to the front of the line, or at least as close as possible."

"Thank you."

Everyone then stepped in the back of the truck, which was carrying 6 men in full tactical gear. Arnold then shut the back doors and rode in the front seat before Mitch drove away from Little creek Cove.

No one could see the carnage taking place outside, as there were two tinted windows placed on the truck doors. Jake looked around at the men and noticed that one of them had a torn sleeve.

"What happened to you?" Jake asked.

"Eh, just a little tussle," the wounded officer joked, revealing the huge bite mark over his 82nd Airborne tattoo. "The guy got me pretty good, but not good enough. Freaky as all hell though."

"Damn skippy," another officer added. "I have never in my line of work seen anyone, big or small, take a 7.62 mm round to the chest and still keep coming at us like that."

"You guys are using live rounds?!" Jake then asked, concerned at what the officer had just said.

"I'm just as shocked, honestly," the officer answered. "Protocol says to use non lethal ammunition for crowd control. I started questioning the coordinator when he ordered weapons hot on a crowd of unarmed people. When I was in in the front lines, I figured out why. This is not a normal riot. Those people out there are tearing each other apart, and I mean that literally. I have never seen anything like it before."

Jake became unnerved as he heard the details about the riots.

"Look, man," The officer continued. "I was trained to kill when I needed to, and I have have many times. I'm not proud of it, but it's part of the job. This here... is way different than any other operation I've been on. We're carrying full metal jackets strong enough to pierce through walls and vehicles, as well as hollow points to completely eliminate a target at close range. Some of those rioters aren't wearing any kind of protective armor whatsoever, and they're just taking it like its nothing."

Everyone in the back felt the truck slow down.

"Alright guys," Mitch announced. "We're closing in on Lesner Bridge. I'm gonna get you guys up to the checkpoint."

Jake peeked though the back door window and saw thousands of men, women, and children in a long line waiting to be evacuated. The National Guard was patrolling along the outside of the huge crowd. There were ten lines where checkpoints were set up. Some people would attempt to break through, but end up apprehended in handcuffs.

The truck finally stopped, and Arnold went behind to open up the back doors.

"Alright Jake," Arnold said. "Looks like this is where we part ways. It's still as crowded as expected, but you guys aren't that far from the checkpoints."

"Really appreciate this," Jake said as he stepped out of the van and shook Arnold's hand. "Thank you guys."

"Nah, man. Thank you."

"Guys," the wounded officer winced. "I know I was joking earlier, but my arm's starting to feel like it's on fire, and I'm feeling a little dizzy."

"Alright, Carlyle," Mitch responded. "We'll get you checked out as soon as we leave here. Hang tight."

As the wounded officer nodded his head in agreement, Arnold stepped in the back of the tracking the rest of his men, and then shut the doors. The truck then drove away, leaving Jake and his group at the checkpoint.

Jake was the first of his group to pass through the checkpoint. One of the National Guardsman proceeded to scan him with a wand when he saw Jake's sidearm holstered and K-Bar attached to his belt.

"Sir, I'm gonna need you to step over here and hand me your weapons," the guard ordered.

Jake was hesitant, but complied to the guard's orders. He handed him his sidearm and his knife, and allowed the guard to wand him while other guardsmen checked his Bug Out Bag.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Sir, what's on your neck?"

As the other guards neared closer to Jake, keeping a good eye on him, Jake slowly pulled out his Medal of Honor, which rested around his neck. Once the guards saw that medal, they immediately stopped what they were doing, stood at attention, and saluted Jake. Once Jake saluted back, he was handed back his pistol and his knife.

"Why are you here?" the guard asked. "All the Medal of Honor recipients in Hampton Roads have been evacuated by plane already."

"I had no service at the time," Jake answered. "Didn't get the memo."

"Anybody else with you?"

"Just my fiancee and three friends."

Jake pointed at his group so the guard would know whose was referring to.

"Only a few more people can fit on the ship," The guard continued. "But we can get you guys on there."

Jake thanked the guard, then proceeded to move onto the ship, with Cassandra, Dylan, Julio, and Selena following, being the last people on the ship. As the gate was closing, A middle aged man, his wife, and a teenage boy ran up behind the group. The woman was holding a toddler in her arms. The guard blocked the family, preventing them from getting on.

"There's too many on this ship," the guard stated. "I'm sorry, but we can't allow any more civilians aboard. I'm going to have to ask you to step back."

Tension started rising, and more guards made their way towards the family, armed and ready. Jake reacted quickly before the family was detained or worse.

"Take me off the ship," Jake asserted. "Let one of them take my place."

"Are you sure about this?" the guard asked. "If I allow one of them on, there's no turning back. You will be left behind."

"Let them on the ship, Sir!"

"If Jake's staying, then so am I," Cassandra said.

"Count me in," Dylan replied.

"Might as well," Julio added.

The guard looked at the family, then looked at Jake, who was staring him down.

"Let them on," the guard ordered. He turned to Jake. "I hope you know what you're doing. Good luck."

The family thanked Jake and switched places with him, Cassandra, Dylan, and Julio. Selena started to follow them, but Julio stopped her.

"I'm coming, too," Selena replied.

"No!" Julio exclaimed. "I'm not gonna argue with you. You'll be much safer on this boat with these soldiers than you would with us. I don't know what I would do if something bad happened to you."

Julio kissed his girlfriend goodbye and left with Jake and the rest, leaving Selena behind on the cruise liner with the soldiers and the other civilians that were on that ship. Jake turned his head and watched as the ship started sailing out to the Atlantic Ocean.