Contagion Zone Equestria

by Gearaxis

military coordination

Now that Gear had a long range weapon, Gear was less afraid of traveling around in the city. He led Dew Drop down the stairwell and outside. From what he'd seen from on top of the office building, they needed to head East to get to the docks. Sticking to the shadows Gear made his way through the streets. He was beginning to wonder why there was so much rubble in the roads when they came across an abandoned military convoy. It consisted of two APCs, three jeeps, and a tank. Corpses lined the sides of the convoy, both military and infected, there had to be at least two hundred total. Infected roamed around eating the corpses, too many to safely attack even with one of the turrets on a jeep.

Gear led Dew around the massacre, taking a detour through another office building before stopping on the other side of the gates to a military FOB. He quietly locked the gates and looked around. More corpses, but few infected. It worried him that the military had been overrun so quickly, it was as though the outbreak had caught them so completely off guard that they couldn't respond in any kind of organized way. Even the tents looked hastily put up. He also wondered why he wasn't seeing more infected police, SWAT, and military personnel. He guided Dew into the makeshift armory tent to look around. Inside was completely empty save for a few stray bullets that were the wrong caliber for his gun. Both Gear and Dew flinched when they heard a massive explosion in the distance followed by some stray gunfire.

He heard faint talking nearby. A corpse in a military officer uniform nearby was holding a radio, mouth gaping open like he was about to yell orders into it. Gear picked up the radio, closing the officer's mouth as he did so, and flipped up the volume. "Break-break, this is squad 7, we need assistance near the hospital! There's too many of them and our MG position was just over run! Please respond!" Gear hit the switch to respond. "Squad 7, this is a civilian speaking. Your FOB was overrun, I'm sorry but no aid can get to you. Fall back to the docks, we're heading that way. We have guns." He listened to the radio for a response. "Copy that civilian, if you have time, grab the map in the command tent and a list of the other squad's frequencies. Alright! Fall back to the docks! Abandon the hospital!" The last part was muffled slightly.

Gear took Dew to the command tent which he assumed was the largest and entered. Inside was chaos, papers and radios littered the floor and there was even a small fire in the corner. A large map on one of the walls had red lines and marks all over it labeling troop movements and last known positions. Gear grabbed it and stuffed it under his bandoleer. A nearby radio burst to life. "FOB, come in, FOB, this is squad 3, The entire west end of the city is on fire, repeat, the entire west end of the city is ablaze, do you copy?" Gear motioned for Dew to look for the frequency list and picked up the radio. "Squad 3, this is a civilian speaking, the FOB is gone. Squad 7 is heading toward the docks and requires assistance, do you copy?" The radio burst to life again. "We copy, civilian, heading toward docks now. Tell squad 7 air support is on the way." Gear smiled a bit in relief. "Roger, over and out." He then took out the other radio. "Squad 7, come in, this is FOB civilian, do you copy?" There was static for a moment. "We read you, did you find the map and list?" Dew held up a list triumphantly. "Affirmative, we have them both. Squad 3 is flying in to assist you, keep your eyes open." There was a sigh of relief on the other end. "Roger that, the support is welcome."

Gear set down the radio and took the list from Dew. It had frequencies for squads 1 through 19. Squad 1, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, and 18 were crossed off however. He checked the map and found those particular squads had been sent to various largely populated areas. He assumed they were overrun. A noise outside of the tent caught his attention, pulling him away from the map. He peeked outside and saw the corpses that were lying around standing up. "We have to go, now!" Gear hissed. He grabbed Dew and ran for the back of the tent. Outside was relatively quiet, the infected seemed to gather where there was a lot of noise or corpses so if they stuck to quiet areas, they'd be fine. As they walked, Dew's stomach growled. She laughed nervously. "Sorry, I'm a little hungry..."

Gear's stomach growled then. He smiled slightly. "Alright, let's find some food. It'd be embarrassing if we died of starvation after surviving so many infected." He said with a slight chuckle. He noticed a restaurant nearby and led Dew over to it. It was a fancy restaurant at some point but like most places, it was now abandoned. They made their way to the kitchen where breads, fruits, and vegetables sat out on cutting boards and in fridges. Gear made a crude salad out of the the various ingredients and served them both a bowl full. It didn't taste fancy but it was food. Another explosion, closer this time caused Gear to nearly choke on his food. He listened carefully but no gunfire followed. He turned to Dew. "Are you doing alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine... I wish mommy and daddy were here..." She said sadly. She picked at the salad hesitantly as though she were worried it were poisonous. Gear frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. Dew looked up at him. "I just noticed, your eyes are different colors. They're weird." She said. Gear chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose they are." He said. He had one green eye and one blue eye. He usually wore goggles to hide it, but he had discarded his goggles almost a week ago when they were too bloody to see through. He just hadn't had the time, or thought, to find a new pair. "I suppose we should get going soon." He said. He suddenly became aware of his leg wound. It hadn't been bothering him earlier because of adrenaline so he had forgotten about it. Now that he was just sitting and resting, an intense pain like someone smashing his arm with a sledge hammer started. His eye twitched and he clutched his arm in pain. "C-change of plan, we're going to... to sit here for a while." He said. Dew watched him worriedly for a while then grabbed the radio from him. She switched it to squad 3's frequency and spoke into it.

"Um, excuse me, this is another civilian, Gear, err, the pony you were speaking with earlier, is really hurt and can't walk. Could you send somepony to help us?" She asked. A moment later there was a response. "Copy that, give my your location and how many we're picking up. Over." Gear was focusing too hard on staying conscious to notice Dew on the radio. "Um, we're at a restaurant, It has a big bowl of lettuce on the sign and a bottle of something. There's only two of us." She said. "Read you loud and clear, sending three your way. Tell your companion we've met up with squad 7 and are en route to the docks." Dew thanked them and set down the radio to wait.