“Smoke’em if you got’em”

By: Walter G. Esselman

Captain Ronin Rodriguez let the Hummer drift to a halt in the middle of the barren road.  Lieutenant Epstein, known simply as the Rabbi, looked over to the captain with a nervous look.

“What’s wrong?” asked the Rabbi.

“Is that safe?” asked Ronin. squinting his dark, intelligent eyes at the dense mist that closed over the entire road ahead.  In fact, it stretched as far as Ronin could see, as if the sky had fallen.  Ronin turned and looked at the doctor from Michigan State.  “Is that safe to breathe?” 

Doctor Ellie Savage, in good-old-fashioned lab coat, leaned forward looking past Ronin to the mist beyond.  “I ran all kinds of tests on the samples collected.  It’s just water droplets suspended in the air.”

Ronin looked at her a moment longer and then nodded.  “Okay.”   He looked at the rest of his squad.  “Simple op.  We’re going into that mist to the Collingheath Boarding School and find the general’s granddaughter, one Molly May…”

The Rabbi piped up at that.  “The one he refers to as the Magnificent Molly May?”

“The same.  And if we find others, we bring them with us if necessary.  Otherwise we report what we see.”

“So, what the hell happened?” growled Motor who was sitting next to the doctor.

“Doc?” said Ronin of Savage.

“We’re not sure,” admitted Doctor Savage.  “A meteorite crash landed near the town of Pendersville, Michigan ten hours ago.”

“We lost contact with the town five hours ago,” continued Ronin.  “Now we’re going in to find out what’s happening.”

“And save the general’s granddaughter?” asked Motor whose craggy face scrunched up in distaste.  

“We’re doing this as a favor,” said Ronin smoothly with a firm voice.  “For a grandfather worried about his granddaughter.  Can’t fault the man for that.”

The Hummer crossed the barrier of the mist.  Ronin drove carefully along the two lane through the wood.  Only the first rows of trees were visible in the mist.  Beyond that, there was a seemingly impenetrable grayness.  

“I’ve never seen mist this bad,” whispered the Rabbi.  “And I visited London.”

“How far is Collingheath?” asked Savage.  Her thin hands with their long fingers held the straps of her pink backpack tightly.  She seemed to realize how hard she was gripping the straps and forced herself to loosen up.

“Twenty minutes tops,” replied Ronin without taking his eyes off the road.  “I mean, we could get there sooner by speeding…”

“No!” said the Rabbi too quickly.  And then he collected himself.  “I agreed that we should drive at a reasonable rate.”

“We shouldn’t be here at all,” grumbled Motor.  The big man glowered out the window.  “We were supposed to have the weekend off.”

“I know,” said Ronin and he managed to keep a patient tone in his voice.  “But the general needs his best in here.”

“The general said that some State Police went in over two hours ago,” added Savage.  “They had gotten a garbled call from the sheriff before the lines went dead.” 

“And what did the Staties say?” asked Motor.

“That’s the thing,” said Savage.  “They never came back out.  No word at all.  That’s why the general called you.”

“Throwing us to the wolves,” huffed Motor.

“Or because we can deal, no matter the situation,” reiterated Ronin.

“That’s what the general said Captain Rodriguez,” nodded Savage.

“Please call me Ronin,” said Captain Rodriguez to the doctor.  

“Like a masterless Samurai,” murmured Savage.

“Exactly,” grinned Ronin.  There were not many people who knew the definition of his name.  Ronin nodded at the rest of his squad.  “We didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves, what with the running out the door.  Next to me is the Rabbi.  He takes care of all our communications and Sniper duties.  And next to you is Motor, who takes care of firepower and demolitions.  And Clem is one sleeping in the back.”

There was a tired noise from Clem that sounded like ‘snirk’ before he went back to sleep.

“Does everyone have a nickname?” asked Savage.

“All but one person,” said Ronin.  “It’s a team tradition.”

“Up ahead!” called out the Rabbi pointing forward.  

Ronin slowed down the Hummer as they came upon a car by the side of the road.  The driver’s side door was open, but the car looked empty.  Savage took out a small digital camera and took some pictures of the car.  

Apprehensively, the Rabbi leaned over Ronin to look out his window.

“We’re not going to investigate, are we?” asked the Rabbi uncertainly.  

“I think that would be really bad,” replied Ronin.  “Let’s keep moving.”

The Rabbi leaned back with relief as Ronin drove forward again toward Collingheath.  Savage caught the Rabbi’s eye.

“I’m assuming you’re not the one without a nickname,” said Savage.

“Nope,” replied the Rabbi.  “I had a bit of a tiff with my Dad.”

“Shook Bloomfield Hills to its foundation,” added Ronin and the Rabbi shot him an annoyed look.

“Anyhow,” continued the Rabbi testily to his captain.  His voice returned to normal as he looked back to Savage.  “I joined the Army, but found myself drawn back to my faith during our time in Afghanistan.  The nickname, the Rabbi, was originally ironic, and pretty mean-spirited, since I was very un-religious when I joined.”

“But now he’s our Hoodoo holy man,” finished Ronin.

“MY story,” snipped the Rabbi to the captain.  “Let me tell it.”   

“Sorry,” said Ronin without a trace a regret in his voice.  The Hummer stopped.

“What?” asked the Rabbi, looking alert.

“We’re here,” said Ronin.  His voice was low and cautious.  Beyond the windshield, a short distance away, was an old mansion half-shrouded by the mist.  There was not a soul in front.  “Be ready, but keep safeties on.  This is a rescue mission.”

Everybody tensed up.  Motor reached behind and slapped Clem awake.  

“I’m up!  I’m up!” spat Clem moodily.

Ronin drove slowly in front of the mansion.  A tasteful sign that read “Collingheath Academy Est. 1922” stood in front of the large building.

“General said that this house...,” started Savage.

“House?” barked Motor in dismay.

“For the original owners it was,” continued Savage smoothly.  “They willed it to create a place for Collingheath Academy according to the general.”  Ronin looked at her in surprise and she explained.  “The general and I had time to talk before you arrived.  He went to Collingheath too so he was a font of information.”

“Okay, good,” nodded Ronin.  “Rabbi, Motor.  Go up to the front door and knock.  Let’s see who’s home.”

“Aren’t we all going?” asked Savage.

“I want to do this carefully,” replied Ronin.  “Something about all this is making me very nervous.”

“Besides the fact that we haven’t seen one person,” mentioned Savage worriedly as she looked out her window.

“That, or even any animals,” said Ronin.  He rolled down his window a bit.  Outside, there was no ambient noise from the forest beyond.  After a moment he rolled it back up.  He then turned in his seat to face them all.  “Okay, I want a comm check.”  He activated his comm and then barked out.  “Rock and Roll will Save Your Soul!  Can I get an AMEN?”

“Amen!” chorused his squad.  Ronin looked over at Savage who was trying to suppress a smirk on her face.

“Was that traditional too?” asked Savage with gentle curiosity.

“Yep.”

“Okay then.”

The Rabbi and Motor moved out of the Hummer.  Savage raised her camera and began to take pictures of the area around them including the soldiers stepping up to the door.  The Rabbi knocked but there appeared to be no answer.  The Rabbi opened the front door while Motor covered him.  They stepped into the foyer.

“Looks like everyone left in a hurry,” said Rabbi over the comm.

“Do a quick sweep.  Check closets and hidey-holes,” said Ronin.  “Me and the doctor are coming in.”

Leaving Clem with the motor running, Ronin led Doctor Savage into the mansion.

“You know I can take care of myself,” said Savage with an annoyed tone.

“This isn’t a gender bias,” said Ronin.  “My orders are to get you in and out alive.”  He looked at her and his expression softened.  “Plus, I don’t like this whole thing.  Something’s wrong here.  And I don’t want you hurt.  We may need your science to understand this, so allow me a little Cro-Magnon here.”

“As long as you don’t drag me around by my hair,” sniffed Savage as she touched her long black hair gathered back in a ponytail.  But she smiled too.  As he stepped before her, she noticed his biceps straining against his shirt.

“What do you need to do here?” asked Ronin, interrupting her thought.  She felt oddly guilty, even though she was sure that he had not noticed.  

“Mostly take pictures and collect samples of anything interesting,” said Savage.  “The rest of the science team will be at the base later today.  I just happened to be the closest specialist in their field.”

Ronin had been leading her through the mansion when he stopped cold.  She turned to follow his gaze in concern, but then she saw it.

“Does that count as ‘interesting’?” asked Ronin.

“Oh yea,” said Savage breathlessly with coral colored lips.

Ronin led her out the back of the mansion towards the site.  It looked like the meteorite had just barely missed the building.  But a quick look back showed that its trajectory had actually nicked the roof before hitting the ground.  

“Have you ever seen anything like it?” asked Ronin.

“Not even remotely,” said Savage as she was snapping photos.

Stuck in the ground like a lawn dart was a stone spike covered in crystals.  The crystals gave off a soft blue glow.  Savage pulled out a Geiger counter and took a quick reading.

“Clear,” said Savage.  “The mist seems to be coming from the crystals, which are reacting to the air.”

Savage donned a mask.  Pulling on heavy plastic gloves from her bag she moved closer to the spike.

“Careful,” said Ronin and Savage gave him a Look.  Ronin had the decency to look chagrined.  “Sorry.  Cro-Magnon.”

Savage’s eyes looked amused as she took out a small bag full of sample boxes.  She took samples of the soil first.  Entry into the atmosphere and landing had been kind enough to break off little chips of the stone spike and the crystals.  She collected those in boxes and labeled them using delicate, compressed handwriting.  

“Is that goo?” asked Ronin.  He pointed his MP5 submachine gun at the stone spike.  Savage moved around to where Ronin stood and looked at something dripping from between a crack in a crystal.  The thick blue substance dangled from the spike. 

"It looks like space snot," suggested Ronin.  

“It’s not space snot,” retorted Savage, but without rancor and he grinned with a bright smile.  Carefully, she took out a small plastic container to catch the substance.  A sudden gust of wind made the goo dance.  Ronin ground his teeth to stop himself from urging her to be ‘Careful’ again.  But Savage expertly captured the substance in a jar.  She closed the jar and held it up to the light.

Savage gazed wonderingly at the space goo and asked, mostly to herself.  “What are you?” 

Ronin’s comm barked to life as Clem called out.  “I got contact!  It’s coming straight for me!  Oh sh…”

As the comm went dead, there was the sound of crunching metal from the front of the mansion. 

“Come on!” cried Ronin.  He headed around the mansion only slowing to make sure that Savage was indeed following.  However, she was easily keeping pace with him.  All those years of jogging paid off for her in an instant.  

Ronin ran around the mansion and he first noticed Clem wobbled out of the Hummer gripping a bleeding head.  Just as the soldier was about to fall, he ran over to him and grabbed Clem's vest to help lower him down to the ground.  Ronin looked up as Savage arrived.

“Can you look after him?” asked Ronin.  Seeing Savage’s nod, he moved quickly to the front of the Hummer.  Another truck had collided with the Hummer and from the minged billows of steam wafting up into the mist; both vehicles’ radiators were now toast.  The truck’s front window was broken as if something big had punched through.  Someone dropped out of the passenger side door.  Ronin raised his sub-machine gun.

“Help!” called the passenger.  An old man raised his hands in surrender and Ronin lifted his gun.  Reaching out a hand, he helped the old man up who was thin as a rail and dried like beef jerky.  There was a fresh splatter of blood on the left side of his white shirt.

“Are you okay?” asked Ronin.

“It jumped right through the window,” sputtered the old man with a haunted look in his eyes.  Ronin tried a different tack.

“My name is Captain Ronin Rodriquez of the United States Army,” he said.  “Who’re you?” 

“Sir, Stan Davis sir,” said the old man, drawing up smartly.  From the straightness of his spine, he could tell that Davis had served in the military at some point.  The old man almost saluted.

“Please report Davis?” asked Ronin.  He was looking at the front of the truck.  Something had indeed burst through the window and exited through the driver’s side door, which hung open.

“Ronnie was driving and we saw your Hummer up ahead,” said Davis.  “He started going faster in excitement when something, like a dog, ran into the street.  It jumped...just jumped through the window.  It was horrible.  The minute we crashed, it dragged Ronnie out.”

“What were you headed to?” asked Ronin.

“Running like hell sir!  Just away,” said the old man.  “The town’s infested.”

“Infested?” asked Ronin.  

“It’s not just the dogs, but the people too!” said Davis.  “Something’s come over them.”

“Okay,” said Ronin.  “We’ll talk more later but right now, I need you to go over by the lady in the white coat.”

“We’ve got to help Missy!” cried Davis as if remembering himself.

“Missy…?” started Ronin as the old man went to the back door of the truck.  Ronin quickly glanced under the truck and was glad to see that it was clear.  Davis swung open the door to reveal a very, very pregnant woman.  Her pregnant belly stuck out grotesquely between her too-tight jeans and t-shirt.  

“Oh. Missy,” said a stunned Ronin.  But training snapped him out of his malaise and he moved forward.  He caught the eye of the woman who luckily did not have any blood on her outside of a bite on her leg.  “Captain Rodriguez Ma’am, we’re here to help!”

“Oh good,” murmured Missy slowly.  She seemed out of it.  Eyes unfocused.

“Can you climb out of the vehicle?” asked Ronin as Davis reached inside and undid Missy’s belt.

“Should,” nodded Missy uncertainly.  Ronin and Davis helped her out of the truck.  They carefully walked back to where Savage was bandaging Clem’s head.

“We got more,” said Ronin.  Savage glanced back at him and then did a double take at the pregnant woman.  

“You better get her inside,” said Savage crisply as she helped Clem up and then she added.  “We all better.”

As they all passed the front doors of the mansion, the Rabbi and Motor had appeared and stood on either side covering them.  

“What the hell?” barked Motor upon seeing Missy.

“I’ll get back to you on that,” replied Ronin as he and Davis slowly moved the pregnant woman to the door.

The Rabbi suddenly stiffened and raised his rifle.  He looked through his sniper scope into the mist.

“We got movement,” said the Rabbi.

“How many?” asked Ronin.

“Too many,” replied the Rabbi with a dark voice.

“Friendly?” asked Ronin.

“Definitely not Girls Scouts,” replied the Rabbi.

Ronin nodded gravely.  He and Davis continued through the threshold with Missy.

“New plan,” said Ronin.  “Up the stairs!”  

After everyone was in, they closed the front door and the Rabbi took off as Motor looked after him.

“Where’re you going?” asked Motor testily.

“Be right back,” replied the Rabbi and then he was gone.  

Ronin looked to Davis as they started to head up the central staircase.  He looked at the old man.  “Sir?  What’s following you?” 

“Townsfolk,” said Davis shakily.  “But there’s something wrong with them.  They’re infected with something.  And they attack anyone they see.  We used to have eight people in our group.”

“Attack how?” asked Ronin and then he added.  “Go right at the top of the stairs.”

Ronin and Davis turned right as the old man continued.

“They ate the others,” said Davis.  “Bit down on them like rabid dogs.”

Ronin looked over Missy’s head at the old man who nodded apologetically.

“Rabid dogs,” reiterated Davis.

“Shit,” growled Ronin.  He steered them into a room with a couple of small beds in it.  “In here.”

After laying Missy down on the first bed, he turned to find Savage following with Clem.  Clem looked woozily at Ronin who grabbed his soldier and helped him down onto another bed.  Clem was a lot taller than Missy and his lower legs hung off.

Ronin looked down at Clem.  “You going to live soldier?” 

“Damn straight!” replied Clem, but his eyes were having trouble focusing.  

“I need you to stay here and protect this nice pregnant lady.”

“Yes sir!”

Ronin nodded and went over to Dr. Savage who was turning to the pregnant woman.

“Ever delivered a baby?” asked Ronin.

“Delivered a lot of newborns,” said Savage a little uncertainly.

“Hate to drop this on you,” said Ronin sincerely.  “But I’m not sure we’re moving that quick.”

“I got this,” nodded Savage more certainly.

Ronin grinned.  “I had no doubt.”

The captain turned and saw a dresser in the corner.  It was wooden but someone had carefully stenciled brightly colored flowers on it.  He grabbed it and pushed it out the door.  Savage looked at him quizzically and Ronin shrugged.

“I needed a new dresser for my room.  Besides, I like lilacs, they're pretty."

"All right then," chuckled Savage.

Ronin pushed the dresser to the top of the stairs as the Rabbi and Motor reached the top of the landing.

“All doors locked Captain,” reported the Rabbi.  “But I don’t think that’ll hold them for long.”

Ronin nodded in agreement.  “We dump furniture down the back steps to clog it up, so that no one sneaks up on us.  We have four dressers like this one ready to be dropped down the main stair if they come inside.”

“But clogging up our escape route?” asked Motor.

“He probably wants to go out on the roof if they get inside the house,” said the Rabbi.

Ronin nodded.  “Exactly.  We’re better off up on the roof then down there.  Also, we want to run downstairs to secure some food and bottles for water.  Just in case.”

“Shouldn’t we find out if the people outside want to harm us first?” asked Motor.

“I’m hoping they’ll pass us by,” said Ronin.  “And I’d love to be wrong but…”

“You’re probably right,” agreed the Rabbi wearily.  “I better call this in.”

“Good idea,” agreed Ronin.

After Ronin and Motor had dropped furniture down the back stairs, they levered three more dressers above the front stairs.  The captain turned to Motor.  “Motor, we’re going downstairs to scout and collect food and water, just in case.  Grab cans and bottled water if they have any.  Let’s keep away from the windows.”

“Great,” grumbled Motor, but he moved down the stairs with Ronin.  As Motor went toward the back of the mansion, Ronin carefully moved up toward the window, but did not look outside.  Instead, Ronin found a mirror against the opposite wall that reflected back through the window.  

Outside, there were dozens of people.  But they looked ill.  Their bodies were bloated as if they had drowned giving their faces a puffy, pasty look.  Clothes were stretched taut over swollen torsos and limbs.  And they moved with jerky movements.  Even when they were standing still, one would start to twitch uncontrollably.

“What the heck happened to you guys?” wondered Ronin to himself.  Motor walked right by him up to the window with a bag of food and water.  The big man peered out of the window.  

“What the heck is wrong with them?” demanded Motor.  

“Get down you,” growled Ronin but there was a sudden shout from outside.

“They seem pissed,” observed Motor.

“Upstairs NOW!” ordered Ronin.  He grabbed Motor’s arm pulling the big man toward the stairs.

Someone crashed into the front door.  

“What the hell?” asked Motor.

“Just move!” growled Ronin.  As they ran up the stairs, more bodies hit the front door.  The door groaned under the strain.  An arm smashed through a window in the front room.  Heedless of the broken glass, the puffy arm continued to reach about shredding the flesh.  Through the torn skin, something dark green gleamed below.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Ronin pushed Motor to the right.  Motor turned and glared at the captain trying to loom over him.

“Hey!  Quit shoving!” snarled Motor.  But Ronin did not give an inch.  In fact, he stepped closer.

“What part of ‘Stay Away From The Windows!’ did you not understand?” demanded Ronin.

This made Motor falter and downstairs, the door made a horrible, splintering noise.  

“Drop off the food and water with the wounded and stay out of sight,” ordered Ronin.

Motor began to say something when the door broke open below.

“Now they’re in the house,” hissed Ronin dangerously.  “You have your orders.  Stay down.”

Motor turned away, chastened, and Ronin moved toward the top of the stair.  He knelt against the wall by the dressers waiting there.  There was a tiny crack between the edge of the dresser and a wall.  Ronin peeked through and saw that the people were milling around again.  

“Captain,” whispered the Rabbi behind him and Ronin stopped himself from jumping.  Forcing himself to look calm, he signaled that he was backing up.  They both moved away from the top of the stairs and spoke in hushed tones.

“I think the people downstairs notice movement, but it might be sound too,” said the captain.  “Did you get ahold of the general?” 

“I couldn’t get a signal out on anything,” said the Rabbi.  “I even tried my cell phone.”

“That’s not good.  Okay, so we need to get ourselves out.”

“There are some cars next to the mansion and a little garage in back.  It looked like there is a golf cart in the garage.  Probably for the maintenance people.”

“It’s something.”

“Also, there were fresh bus tracks heading south too.”

Ronin brightened.  “Maybe the kids are still out there.”

“I shall say a prayer to that effect,” said the Rabbi solemnly.

“And one for the pregnant lady too,” said Savage as she came out of the makeshift emergency room rolling on a wheeled chair.

“How’s your patient?” asked Ronin of Savage.

The doctor shrugged.  “She’s doing good, but it’s odd.”

“How so?”

“I asked how far along in her pregnancy she was, but she got confused.  Then I asked her when she got pregnant.”

Ronin grinned.  “She did know that, right?” 

“That’s where it gets weird.  She said it was this morning.”

“She got pregnant...this morning?” 

“That’s what she says,” shrugged Savage.

“Maybe she’s just confused,” suggested the Rabbi and then he continued uncertainty.  “Or she has...mental problems?”

“She seems really lucid otherwise,” said Savage.  “Of course, normally my patients can’t talk at all.”

Ronin paused, opening his mouth, and then closing it.  “Um, what is your degree in?”

“I’m a veterinarian,” said Savage.     

“Oh,” said Ronin carefully.  And then he shrugged.  “Well, you’re still better qualified than any of us.” 

There was a low moan from Missy.  Savage started to move back to the door when Ronin called out in a hushed whisper.

“Those people downstairs are attracted to sound,” explained Ronin.

“I’ll try and get her to bite down on something but…” started Savage.

“I know.”

“I better get back.”

As Savage disappeared, Ronin shook his head.  “Weirdest day ever.”

“Even weirder than Belarus?” asked the Rabbi.

Suddenly they heard scrabbling on the roof.  But it went away too quickly.

Ronin thought for a moment.  “Yep, definitely weirder.”

There was a low moan from below.  Ronin and the Rabbi moved to peer down the stairs.  There were a lot of people down there.  One puffy man suddenly leaned over and made a retching noise.  The soldiers watched in horror as the man spit out his teeth.  White bone clattered against the floor. 

Ronin and the Rabbi leaned away.

“Maybe if we’re quiet,” suggested the Rabbi in a whisper.  “That they’ll go away.”  

Missy let out a howl in pain.

“Sorry,” called out Savage from the makeshift emergency room.

Ronin and the Rabbi looked down the stairs to see the people below look up.  They cried out and headed for the main stair.  

“Damn,” said Ronin.  He and the Rabbi jumped up and pushed the first dresser down the stairs.  It gave a few bounces before plowing into several people.  That created a pile-up at the bottom of the stairs, but it was not enough to create a solid dam.

“Second dresser!” cried Ronin and another dresser dropped down creating significant blockage at the bottom of the stairs.

“That’ll slow them down,” said the Rabbi.

“Can you cover here?” asked Ronin.

“I got it.”

“I want to check on our patient.”

Ronin went into their makeshift emergency room.  Davis was in the back of the room trying not to look.  He looked at Motor and saw the man was looking a little green around the gills.  For such a tough son of a bitch, Motor was not happy about watching a live birth.

To Motor, Ronin said.  “Help the Rabbi cover the stairs.”  Gratefully, the soldier ran out the door and Ronin looked at the tableau.  Missy screamed.  Her knees were raised and Dr. Savage was focused on the birth.  Holding Missy’s hand, Clem spoke calmly and encouragingly to her.

“It’s going to be alright,” said Clem.  “Just breathe.  Do you remember your Lamaze classes?”

“Never had any,” growled Missy through gritted teeth.

“Oh?  Um, okay, then just breathe in and out,” said Clem.  

“I’m already breathing,” snarled Missy.

As Clem tried to help, Ronin noted an angry red welt on Missy’s outer thigh.  It looked like a dog bite.  His attention was called back by a scream from Missy.  Ronin turned out the door and moved back to the top of the stairs.  

“Rabbi?  I want you to scout out the roof,” said Ronin.

“Dresser’s not going to hold?” asked the Rabbi.

“I don’t know, maybe,” said Ronin.  “But I’d feel better if we had two escape routes to the roof on either side.”

“Sure,” replied the Rabbi.

“And be careful,” said Ronin with concern.

“Yes Mom,” grinned the Rabbi.  He took off down the landing.

There was another howl from the makeshift emergency room.

“That’s it!” cried Savage from the other room.  “You’re almost there.”

“They're coming through!” cried Motor from the top of the stairs.  Ronin ran over and he and Motor dropped the last dresser down the stairs which broke open sending pink clothes everywhere.  Motor looked at Ronin out of the corner of eye.  “Pink bomb.”
Ronin shook his head at the bad joke and shouldered his weapon.  

“United States Army!  Move away from the stairs!” called out Ronin.

The infected people below just moaned and clawed at the makeshift barrier, but it was holding.  An infected woman’s face was a mass of stretch marks from the puffiness below the skin.

“Why don’t we just shoot them?” demanded Motor.

“First,” said Ronin.  “Because the general would have our heads for shooting civilians, if they are not an imminent threat…”

“A what?” asked Motor.

“Means they haven’t really tried to kill us,” called out the Rabbi as he ran by.

“What he said,” nodded Ronin.  “Second, we don’t have that many bullets and third…”

Ronin looked closely at the infected people.  Their mouths opened and closed but little sound came out.  It was their eyes that creeped out Ronin the most.  Their eyes were a putrid yellow, which stared dully.  

“Third?” barked Motor.  The big guy was looking nervous.

“Third, shooting them might just piss them off more,” said Ronin.

There was another cry from the makeshift emergency room.  It made the infected at the bottom of the stairs go wild.  The logjam at the bottom of the stairs was holding, but only just.

Motor glared to the room Missy was in.  “I wish she’d shut up!”

“Shut it,” growled Ronin.  “Hold this spot.”

He saw the Rabbi coming back.  

“Roof is clear and we got two exits,” said the Rabbi.  

Missy cried out and Ronin focused on the Rabbi.

“Help Motor at the top of the landing, but don’t shoot unless absolutely necessary,” ordered Ronin.  As the Rabbi ran to the top of the stairs, Ronin went into the makeshift emergency room.

“Almost there!” cried out Savage.  “PUSH!”

“You’re going to do it,” said Clem.

Ronin barely resisted a stupid question like ‘How is she doing?’.  He backed out of the room.  This was not something he wanted to see either, now that he thought about it.  He was back at the landing when the Rabbi pointed with his rifle.

“There’re coming through!” 

Ronin turned the corner and looked down the stairs.  

“STAY BACK!” he barked and fired two shots into the ceiling.  But the infected people did not even blink.

“That’s not good,” murmured the Rabbi.

Ronin was about to order a fall back to the emergency room when he heard Savage call out in surprise.  As he turned to the makeshift emergency room, Dr. Savage tumbled out of the door.  She threw something on her arm hard across the hallway.  It hit a wall with a wet, sickening crunch.

I hope that’s not the baby, thought Ronin absently.  He turned to Motor and the Rabbi.  “Stay here!”

“Savage!” cried out Ronin as he ran forward.  Whatever had hit the wall was not moving as Davis ran out of the room screaming.  The old man tore past Ronin, but Savage was looking inside the room in shock.  He reached down and helped her up.  “What?”

Savage pointed inside the room and Ronin followed her.  He saw what looked like slugs spreading out on the floor below Missy.

“The baby?” asked Ronin.

“What baby?” replied Savage.  “Those things were inside her.”

Clem ran to the first slug-like creature and stomped on it.  His face was contorted in gross horror.

“What the hell!” roared Clem as he went to stomp on another one when Missy jumped up.  The formerly pregnant woman jumped on Clem and bore him to the ground.  

Ronin began to run forward when Missy’s teeth tore at Clem’s throat.  A huge spurt of blood pulsed out of his neck.  Ronin swiftly kicked Missy off who rolled backwards.  He grabbed Clem’s collar, pulling him out the door.  Clem was holding his hands to his throat trying to stop the blood.  

“Watch out!” cried Savage.  She jumped forward and pulled one of the slug creatures off Clem.  She threw it aside when she heard a cry from inside the room.

“Stay away from my babies!” screeched Missy as she tried to stand.  Her legs were wobbling under her.

Ronin kept pulling on Clem, back to the landing.  As they reached the landing though, he looked down at Clem whose red hands gently fell away from the wound.  In a moment, Ronin knew Clem was gone.  Not dead yet, but only a moment away.  He looked up at the Rabbi.

“Take us to an exit!” called out Ronin.  

The Rabbi led them down the hall quickly away from the makeshift emergency room.  Motor reached down to help Ronin drag Clem’s weight.  

Savage turned as they ran.  She heard the infected coming up the stairs and beyond, she saw Missy.  The woman walked slowly out of the room, face smeared with blood and one of the slug creatures curled protectively in her arm.

Inside a small reading room, the Rabbi pulled Savage through the door and slammed it shut.

Ronin and Motor gently let Clem lay down, who was staring with empty eyes up at the ceiling.  Ronin closed his eyes and then reached inside Clem’s shirt to take his tag.  He secured it in a zippered pocket and looked up at the Rabbi.  

“I want you out first,” ordered Ronin.  “I’ll bring up the rear.”

The Rabbi slipped out the open window and after a moment gave the all clear.  As Savage, Davis and then Motor slipped out the window, something hit the door hard.  Ronin backed away from it.

“Let’s move quickly,” urged Ronin.  The door splintered inward.  Masses of infected tumbled through the door.  “Shit.”

Diving out the window, Ronin hit the roof and his boot skidded.  He slipped right over the edge.  Fingers caught the drain and Ronin’s legs slammed into the side of the mansion.  His submachine gun snapped at the end of its strap but held.  Below, something moaned softly and his boots scrambled for purchase against the side of the two story house.

Savage appeared and grabbed his wrist and started to pull.  The Rabbi joined her and the two pulled Ronin up.

“You okay?” asked Savage, looking him over clinically.

“Got anything for wounded pride?” asked Ronin with a lopsided smirk.

“Sorry, no,” smiled Savage as she pushed back a stray black hair from her face.  “Just time.”

There was a low moan from the window they had just exited.  The infected people were reaching out of it in a futile attempt.  

“Maybe we better move farther away,” suggested the Rabbi.

The mist still hung heavily.  It partially obscured the ground making the roof feel like an island.  Motor was pacing the edges like a trapped animal, but Davis had sat on the peak, right in the middle, and did not move an inch.  Ronin led Savage and the Rabbi to the middle as well.

Ronin turned to the Rabbi.  “Have you gotten word to the general out of this…” Ronin waved his hand in annoyance at the mist.

“Not a word.”

“Then we improvise,” said Ronin.  “We’ll get out on our own.”

“How the hell do you plan on doing that?” demanded Motor as he paced.

“I’m working on it!”

“It was horrible,” muttered Davis.  His knees were pulled up right under his chin.  Hands were shaking.  “They just spilled out.  So many.”

“And that is the other thing we’re going to need to know,” agreed Ronin absently.  “Whatever happened to that lady’s baby?”

“So sad,” nodded the Rabbi.

“If there was a baby,” suggested Savage with a distant look on her fine, porcelain skin.

“What the hell are you talking about?” barked Motor.  “Even I know a pregnant woman when I see one at the bar.”

Ronin fixed Motor with a hard look.  “Let her speak.”

“Um, it’s just a thought,” started Savage uncertainly.  

But Ronin gave her a reassuring smile.  “Go ahead.”

“The woman said that she had not been pregnant this morning.”

Ronin nodded.  “Which we assumed was her being shell-shocked by the crazy events.”

“Right.  She also had an odd welt, like a dog bite, on her thigh.”

“And you think the two are related?”

“Sacculina,” said Savage.  “It’s my Dad’s favorite parasite.”

“Your Dad has a favorite parasite?” asked the Rabbi carefully and even Ronin was having a hard time keeping his face blank.

“We’re a family of scientists,” shrugged Savage.  “Except for my sister Polly’s metal band, and even that’s called Schrodinger's Cats.”

“But the Sacculi-whatsist?” asked Ronin.

“Sacculina,” said Savage.  “It infects a crab, usually a female but not necessarily, and makes it think that it’s pregnant.”

“But it’s not having little crabs,” murmured the Rabbi in horror.

“Little baby parasites,” confirmed Savage with a grimace.

“That’s messed up,” growled Motor who stood by the edge of the roof.  “That’s really freaking messed up.”

“I gotta agree with him,” nodded Ronin.  “Do you think that’s what happened down there?”

Savage shrugged.  “Maybe.  I don’t know.  But those things were like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“Okay,” said Ronin, clapping his hands together.  “We can chat more when we’re safe.  Right now, we need to head south.”

“Why South?” asked Savage.

“I wanna get outta here,” moaned Davis.

“Me too,” said Ronin.  “But this was a school full of kids and the school bus was missing.  The tracks go south.”

Davis looked up at Ronin and his vision sharpened in determination.  “School kids?  Out there?”  Davis motioned at the encroaching mist.  

“They might have made it out of the mist,” said Ronin.

“But we can’t be sure of that,” said Davis and he stood up though his knees creaked a little.  Ronin almost reached out to help the older man but held off.  He could tell the old man would not want help as he straightened up.  Davis looked straight at Ronin.  “What are we waiting for?”

“Not a damn thing,” said Ronin.  He looked at the Rabbi.  “Comms?” 

“I’ll try the general again.”

Ronin turned around.  “Motor?  Can you…”

The roof was empty where Motor was.  Ronin touched the Rabbi’s arm.  

“Wha…,” started the Rabbi when he saw the empty patch of roof too.  Ronin lifted his rifle and the Rabbi followed with his sub-machine gun.  They moved carefully to the edge of the roof.  But there was nothing there.  Even the infected below looked bored.  There was no sign of Motor.

Savage was so focused on the missing soldier; she barely heard the movement behind her.  Out of the corner of her eye, a dog crouched to jump at Davis’ back.

Spinning around swiftly, Savage gave it a solid kick born of years of soccer games.  The dog flipped over and tumbled off the roof while Savage’s mind raced.  Whatever it was, it had not looked like a normal dog.  Then she saw the other dogs.  There were more than she could kick at one time. 

“Ronin?” called out Savage as loudly as she dared.  But he did not hear her.  The dogs, if you could call them that, were frozen for the moment.  That moment was only going to last a few more seconds.  Savage tried a little louder.  “Ronin!”

As Ronin started to look over, Davis turned around.  He saw the beasts with their wild, bright eyes and scaly blue skin.

“SWEET BABY JESUS!” cried Davis.  

The dogs charged.  Savage grabbed Davis’ shoulder and dragged him back toward the soldiers.  Ronin jumped forward, leveling his sub-machine gun.  He put himself between Savage and the beasts.  

Firing, Ronin killed one right off, but a second one snapped at his arm.  Unable to point his sub-machine gun at the dog beast, he swung out with the butt of the gun.  Clipping the beast on the side of the head, Ronin pushed it back and then swung his gun down.  He fired into its body killing the poor beast.

Behind them came a rifle retort and another dog jerked aside.  It rolled lifelessly out of sight.  As the Rabbi moved onto the other side of Savage and Davis, the beasts stopped.  They eyed Ronin and the Rabbi wearily.  The Rabbi aimed his rifle at a dog-thing when it ran off.  

There was a quick howl beyond the house and the other dogs disappeared as well.  Ronin and the Rabbi carefully led Savage and Davis back to the middle of the roof.  But Savage peeled off.

“Doc?” called out Ronin as he followed her.  Savage went over to the closest fallen beast.  She knelt down just out of range of its jaws.  Savage slid on blue latex gloves making Ronin nervous.  “Careful.”

“I’ve sat with many wounded animals,” said Savage softly and sadly.  Then she focused on the dying dog.  It looked at her with confusion.  She spoke to it.  “Poor girl.  It’ll be better soon.”

Savage petted it carefully and then scratched it behind the ears.  The dog’s tail thumped once, twice and then it was still.  

“Poor girl,” she murmured.  She kept petting it for a moment and then with a sigh, she began to look over the creature.

“Can we do this at a later time?” asked Ronin eyeing the edges of the roof cautiously.

“I need samples,” said Savage with finality.  “We need to know what’s doing this to these poor creatures.”

“They did just try and eat us,” suggested Ronin.

“That might not have been their idea,” replied Savage.  She quickly took several samples from the animal, including blood.  She stowed the items in her bag and stood up.  Ronin brought her back over to the rest.

“Staying here is not an option,” said Ronin.  “I saw some cars down by the house.  But we need keys.”

The Rabbi grinned and dug in his pocket.  He pulled out a huge set of bright pink keys.  There was even an old fashioned Troll doll grinning madly from the key ring.

“How did they fit those in their purse?” asked Savage.

“It was a big purse,” admitted the Rabbi.

“You stole her keys?” asked Davis in disgust.

“I had seen them earlier in an office downstairs on top of a mammoth purse,” said the Rabbi a little defensively.  “After our car got killed, I had a feeling we were going to need these, so I snagged them.”

“Rightly so,” said Ronin.  “The owner was not in school and they are either with the school bus, or out in that mob in front of the house.  Now we just need a distraction.”  He looked back over to the Rabbi.  “You said there was a golf cart in the storage shed?”

***

Ronin winced as the shed doors squeaked open.  When he did not hear anything in response, he pushed the golf cart out of the shed.  He aimed it to a spot between the house and the meteorite.  Quickly, he tied the steering wheel to drive straight.  The day was looking up since he had found the key already in the golf cart’s ignition.  Turning on the cart, he dropped a brick onto the pedal.

The golf cart sped off loaded with fertilizer, a full gas can and a burning flare.

Ronin ran in the opposite direction towards a bright pink car.  After checking that there was nothing under the car, he opened the door and started up the engine.  He pulled back to the edge of the house.  Savage and Davis had already gotten to the first floor roof.  Ronin parked the car right under them.  Reluctantly, Davis pushed aside his macho pride and let Savage help him down.

The old man dropped onto the roof of the car and Savage followed with a metallic thump.  Inside, while Savage and Davis got in the car, Ronin moved the rear view mirror.  He saw the golf cart.  

It had shot between the house and the meteorite heading for the tree line.  The little vehicle smacked into a tree and shivered before going still.  But it had made enough noise to get the infected people moving.  The mob of infected followed the golf cart.  They were almost upon it when a single bullet fired from the top of the house.

The Rabbi neatly punctured the gas can that sprayed fuel right onto the burning flare.  The whole thing went up and set off the fertilizer with a nifty explosion, much to Ronin and the Rabbi’s delight.  The resulting shockwave also knocked over every infected person all the way to the house.

With a burst of speed, the Rabbi ran to the edge of the roof.  He hopped down to the first floor roof and then on top of the car swinging into the pink vehicle.

“Well don’t just sit there!” he barked at Ronin.  “Let’s drive!”

Ronin hit the gas and retorted.  “We were waiting on someone who was dawdling.”

“Dawdling?” cried the Rabbi.  “I never…”

“Slow poke.”

Both soldiers grinned as they pulled out onto the street and headed South.  Ronin saw that the gas gauge was inching towards empty, but kept that worry to himself.

“What’s next?” asked Savage.  

“We look for the school bus,” said Ronin.  “Or reach the edge of the mist and drive back to base.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” agreed Davis.  “I just want out of this pea soup.”

“I’m sorry about your men Captain Rodriguez,” said Savage softly. 

“Thank you,” said Ronin.  “And please call me Ronin.”

“You guys and your nicknames,” smirked Savage with gentle humor.  “And now you lost Clem, the only one who had a real name.”

“Clem?” asked Ronin with a bark of laughter.

“What?” responded Savage with mock annoyance.

The Rabbi smiled back at Savage.  “Clem loved Westerns and his favorite actor was John Wayne.”

“Kind of a pedestrian choice,” snorted Ronin.      

“So, he was nicknamed after the western ‘My Darling Clementine’,” explained the Rabbi.

“But Wayne wasn’t in that,” said Davis with a furrowed brow.  “It was Henry Fonda.”

“That was supposed to be the joke,” shrugged the Rabbi.

“So wait,” said Savage, interrupting.  “Motor wasn’t his real name and the Rabbi isn’t certainly not his real name…”

“True,” smiled the Rabbi.

Ronin could feel Savage glaring at his ear as he drove.  He sighed.

“My name is Ronin Randall Rodriguez at your service.”

“You’re kidding,” said Savage.

“My Dad wanted me to have a kick-ass name,” shrugged Ronin.  Savage looked the Rabbi to see if this was a joke.

“I’ve seen his birth certificate,” confirmed the Rabbi.

As Savage tried to decide what to say next, a yellow school bus appeared out of the mist.  Ronin hit the brakes and pulled to the side.  He stopped just ten feet away.  The bus was sitting in the middle of the road, at a slight angle towards the shoulder.  The Rabbi suddenly leaned forward to peer ahead.

“What?” asked Ronin in a tense voice.

“Thought I saw something move on the roof as we got close,” said the Rabbi.

“Any idea what it was?” 

The Rabbi just shook his head in frustration.  Ronin turned his attention to inside the bus.  But there did not seem to be anyone inside.  Ronin twisted to look back.  

“Doctor, Mr Davis, wait in the car and lock the doors behind.”

“No problem,” said Savage, all business again.

With a look of agreement, Ronin and the Rabbi slipped out of the car, closing the doors behind as quietly as possible.  They moved carefully toward the yellow bus.  Ronin looked underneath and saw that it was clear.  They approached the door of the bus.  There was no sign of life inside.  Ronin pulled back to smash the glass in the door.  But the Rabbi grabbed his arm.  As the Ronin looked in surprise, the Rabbi knocked on the glass of the door.

“US Army,” said the Rabbi in a loud whisper.  “Anyone home?”

A forest of little heads popped up with a chorus of voices.

“The Army?”

“Really?” 

“Oh cool, they got guns!”

“Can anyone open the door?” asked the Rabbi.

A young girl shushed everyone and came to the front.  She had her hair in pigtails and a school uniform that fit with the seriousness of her look.

“Who are you?” asked the young girl.

“They said they were Army!” hissed a boy from near the front.

“Quiet,” admonished the young girl and she looked back at Ronin and the Rabbi.  “Who are you?” 

“Lieutenant Epstein,” said the Rabbi.  “And this is Captain Rodriguez.”

“General Conrad sent us,” added Ronin.

The young girl’s face lit up suddenly.

“Grandpa?”

“The Magnificent Molly May?” asked Ronin and the young girl rolled her eyes.

“Oh no,” she said in embarrassment.  “He didn’t tell you that!”

“Proudly,” said Ronin.  “And he sent us to help.  Can you let us in?”

The young girl, Molly May, opened the door of the school bus and Ronin and the Rabbi came in.  After closing the door back up, Ronin looked at the kids.  More than a dozen scared faces stared back at him in their school uniforms.  Ronin looked back down to Molly May.

“How did you get this far?” 

“Something happened to Ms. Kennedy so Mr. Stern drove us this far, but then he hit something,” explained Molly May.  One of the kids in back made a scared noise and Molly May looked down embarrassed.

“What?” asked Ronin.

“I tried to stop him!”

“What happened to Mr. Stern?” asked Ronin gently.

“He was worried about the animal and…”

Ronin sighed in exasperation.  “He went outside didn’t he?”

“I tried to stop him.”

“Of course and there was nothing that you could have done,” said Ronin kindly and then he looked at the other kids as well.  “Nothing that any of you could have done.”

And Molly May looked up in relief.  Ronin turned to the Rabbi.  

“Let’s get Dr. Savage and Mr. Davis,” said Ronin.  “Then we’ll get out of here.”

As the Rabbi left the bus, Ronin leaned over the driver’s seat.  But the keys were not in the ignition.  He turned to Molly May.

“You wouldn’t happen to have the keys, would you?” asked Ronin.

“Mr. Stern had them when those...things took’em,” said Molly May quietly.  She pointed into the misty woods.  

“And what took Mr. Stern?” asked Ronin carefully.

“They looked kind of like dogs,” said Molly May.  “Kind of.”

The Rabbi returned with Dr. Savage and Davis.  Ronin gave the Rabbi an update on where they stood but Davis piped up.

“I’m going out with you,” said Davis to Ronin.  

“Wait, who said who is going out, even out at all,” said Ronin.

“I don’t think anyone here can hotwire a bus,” said Davis.  “Can they?”

Everyone looked around and Savage just shrugged.  “That’s not in my repertoire.”

Davis nodded and looked at Ronin.

“And who says you’re going?” asked Ronin more with curiosity than anger.

“You’re not the kind of boss to send your junior officer out on a job like this,” explained Davis.  He nodded to the Rabbi.  “He needs to stay and guard the kids.”  Here he looked at Savage.  “And we need her alive to take her science stuff back so she can explain what the hell is happening here.”  Then Davis pointed to himself.  “And I fought with the Marines, so give me a gun.”

Ronin nodded at the older man with a chuckle.  He pulled his sidearm and handed it to Davis.  The old man quickly and professionally checked the weapon.  Then Davis looked up at Ronin.

“We ready?” asked Davis.

Grinning, Ronin turned to the Rabbi.

“How about a quick prayer?” asked Ronin.

“A prayer?” asked Davis in surprise.

Ronin jerked a thumb at the Rabbi.

“He takes care of all our communication needs,” explained Ronin.

Briefly, the Rabbi said a short prayer in Hebrew.  When he finished, Ronin said “Amen”.

Davis stood there uncertainly.  “Um, I’m not Jewish.”

“Neither am I,” said Ronin.  “But on this team, we take our prayers where we can get them.”

“Makes sense,” agreed Savage.

“Hold the fort,” ordered Ronin of the Rabbi.

“Copy that,” said the Rabbi.  “And be careful out there.”

The Rabbi tried to suppress his emotions for the kids, but Savage could tell that he was worried.  Ronin stepped out of the bus, checked underneath and then motioned to Davis to follow.  

Slipping around the front of the bus, there was a dent in the bumper.  He traced the blood splatter of something that had bounced off the bumper and skidded across the pavement.  But there was nothing there now.  Absently, Ronin lit a flare and dropped it on the pavement.

“Now that we have our bread crumb, let’s follow the bus driver,” said Ronin.  They moved slowly off the road into the mist-encased trees.  Visibility was low and they made the only noises in the woods.  Whatever had grabbed the bus driver, Mr. Stern, had not tried to hide their path.  Silently, they followed the trail of broken plants.

Davis grabbed Ronin’s arm and pointed.  They saw a boot sticking out of the foliage up ahead.  Ronin looked back, but he could still see the light of the flare, though it was getting dim.  Turning to Davis, Ronin motioned for the older man to follow.  Now would not be a good time to split up, Ronin decided.

They circled a little around the body, and it was definitely a body.  It looked like something had already been industriously eating the soft bits.  Davis hesitated making the captain look back in question.

“I never really liked bodies,” whispered Davis.

“Wait here,” said Ronin with an understanding look.  Even after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was not looking forward to seeing this poor man up close. 

Steeling himself, the captain moved up to the body of Mr. Stern.  Something had ripped open the shirt and chewed into his belly exposing a horrible smell.  Ronin knelt next to Stern and patted a pocket.  There was nothing in the right pocket.  He reached for the left and found the keys.

Ronin pulled them out and turned around in triumph.  Something loomed behind Davis.

“Watch out!” cried Ronin and Davis turned.  An infected man grabbed Davis.  It’s mouth opened showing dark-green serrated teeth.  The old man pointed his gun at the infected man.  He fired, but the infected man did not even flinch.  

Ronin tried to circle.  He grabbed the infected man’s shoulder to pull him off Davis.  With a hard pull, Ronin wrenched the shoulder back.  And the infected man’s shoulder came free.  Ronin nearly fell back as the skin under the shirt slogged off.  The infected man, still partially covered by his shirt, snapped its teeth at Davis’ neck.  Its teeth glinted like glass.

Hauling back on the shirt and ignoring the skin, Ronin tried to pull the thing off the old man.  Davis grabbed the infected man’s face.  The puffy flesh split along the fault lines of the stretch marks.  Out of the face came another covered in grayish chitin, like an insect.  Armored plates shifted as the infected man lunged forward and bit through Davis’ neck.  Arterial blood sprayed and Ronin stumbled back.

Screaming, Ronin raised his submachine gun and fired into the back of the infected man.  As the infected man was gunned down, Ronin saw more of the beasts burst out of the wood.  Both infected people and the dog-things.  They howled in a cry that merged animal and insectoid sounds.  

Ronin fired at the creatures and took off running. The spray of bullets made the dog-things falter, but they soon picked up their pursuit.  Ronin dove between the trees as the creatures snapped at his heel.  The yellow school bus came into sharper focus.  Gripping on tothe bus keys, he saw the door open.

The Rabbi came out aiming his rifle.  Ronin could see his lieutenant take a deep calming breath and then the sniper fired.  The captain heard a yip cut off behind him.  The Rabbi fired again followed by the thud of a body behind him.

Stepping on to the pavement, Ronin threw the keys at the Rabbi who caught them.  With a jump, Ronin landed on the bottom steps of the bus.  He twisted to crouch and leveled his MP5 submachine gun.  There were more of the dog-things now, a lot more.  Ronin hesitated for a moment.          

 The throaty roar of the school bus snapped Ronin back to reality.  The Rabbi ground the gears for a moment.

“Sorry,” he called out.

As the school bus pulled forward, Ronin emptied his magazine into the mass of creatures.  Several dropped, but more were coming.

But the bus was picking up speed.  The Rabbi, after a few tries, got the feel of the clutch.  Someone touched Ronin’s shoulder making him jump.  Savage pulled away her hand in surprise, but he loosened.  He reached out gently and took her hand to put it back on his shoulder.  He smiled up at Savage who returned the amorous look.  

The Magnificent Molly May, for her part, rolled her eyes at the gooey display.

As the bus rumbled down the street, a figure stumbled out into the road behind them.  Motor rubbed his pregnant belly that was just starting to show.  There was a rumble within his stomach.

“You kids be quiet in there,” he cooed to his belly with a smile.  “Soon.”

***

“Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts, mutilated monkey meat, choked up parakeet,” sang the children as the bus entered the base.  The Rabbi conducted the impromptu concert with joyful studiousness.

The general ran to the slowing school bus despite his age.  As soon as it stopped, the door flew open and Molly May ran out.  She collided with her grandfather and they held each other tightly.

Army personnel stepped past the reunion to receive the rest of the children.  As the first little boy stepped out, an army doctor smiled at him.

“Hi,” said the army doctor.  “Come with us.  You’re safe now.”

And the child beamed.

Ronin, after checking that the bus was clear of kids, was the last to leave the bus.  He stopped by Savage and the Rabbi.  The general stepped up to them still holding on tightly to Molly May.

“I can’t thank you enough,” said the general.  Then he focused on the team noticing that it was light.  “Is this everyone?” 

Ronin nodded solemnly, thinking of Clem and Motor.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” replied the general.  “I’ll make sure Clem and Motor’s families are taken care of.”  He took a deep breath and looked up at Savage back to business.  “Dr. Savage, report.”

“The mist is holding secrets,” said Savage.  “Something has infected the people and dogs in it.”

“And we couldn’t call out until we got out of the mist,” added the Rabbi.  “No earthly communications got out.”

“Earthly communications?” asked the general.

But Ronin interjected.  “We found something else in there.”

“There was a meteorite,” continued Savage.  “That’s what was causing the mist.”

“Will the mist go away?” asked the general.

“I don’t know,” said Savage.  “But you need to cordon off that entire area, even the wooded parts so nothing infected gets out.  I’d recommend a moat of fire around the mist at least ten feet wide.”

“Tall order, but we’re already working on something like that,” nodded the general.  “We can contain this meteorite and its effects.  Now to the next step…”

There was a crack in the sky, like a mad rumble, which pulled their attention up.  Streaking across the blue, more meteorites dropped towards the earth.  Ronin knew instantly what they were.  He turned to the general.

“I need the rest of my team here,” he said.

“They’re inbound,” nodded the general.

“And we’re adding one more to the team, if she’ll have us,” said Ronin as he looked at the young doctor.  She grinned in response.  “General, meet Doc Savage.”

“Oh God,” moaned the general.  “More nicknames.”

Fin