Pandora's Wake, Part 5

Chapter 4

“We need to be on our way Knut” a worried looking nomad said, glancing from the convoy to the men who where sweeping the road ahead for the strange grub things,
“This one is dead as well!” Joanas reported over the radio, “I have bagged one for the doctor, to go with the corpse!”
Dr. Almandinger had insisted they take the body of the Spanish UNCAIF soldier with them as far as the hospital in Bex. She had explained that if this was something new, that people didn't already know about, it might be vitally important that they perform an autopsy and learn more about these parasites and how they interacted with their human hosts. Knut had been skeptical of the doctors theory at first – she had posited that some how these grubs inserted a parasite into their host that was able to take over the host's motor functions in some way. It sounded like the stuff of old pre-Event movie plots but then, in all honesty – so did the Event itself. What was more, outlandish as her theory sounded, it did seem to explain the evidence they had found here.

They had discovered a small stash of body bags in one of the armoured cars and Knut had agreed to let her take the body of the Spaniard – but only so far as Bex. If they didn't have the facilities there then it would become their problem, Knut reasoned.
The nomad before Knut coughed polity, aware that the caravan's leader hadn't really been paying attention to him,
“Knut! People are getting worse, we need to get them through to that hospital!”
Knut nodded soberly “I know Dominik, I know, and you are right, yes, but...” he paused for effect, “when we get there we must convince the survivors to let us into their town and to their hospital and to use some of their precious medical supplies on us – outsiders. We can not expect them to do that out of the goodness of their hearts!”
Dominik's mouth dropped open, a look of confusion crossed his face. Knut understood. Dominik had yet to fully adapt to this new world, where help had to be bartered for. He was a good man, a kind hearted man. It would never occur to him to ask anyone who needed his help what they could trade for it and Knut loved him for that, but as leader of the caravan he had to be pragmatic.
“B.. but they have to...” Dominik trailed off.
“No Dominik, they don't, that is just it.” Knut smiled ruefully, “It is not like it was before, you see these people don't know when or even if they will see any more medical supplies, and they have to keep their own people alive, do you understand?”
Crestfallen, Dominik let out as sigh “I suppose I do – but how does this delay help us? We could roll the vehicles over those bugs and be on our way, it doesn't help us to clear them?”
Knut nodded “No but it will keep us safe as we scavenge what we can of the wreckage – something to barter. Parts. Ammunition, the 50 calibres, one of the vehicles has a working radio. There are things we can salvage that we may be able to trade for the help we need.” Even as he explained the plan it sounded callous in his ears, but he knew as the months rolled on they would be forced to loot and scavenge from the dead many times if they were to survive,
A look of resigned distaste passed over Dominik's face.
“Whatever we have to do, but we need to do it as fast as we can, people are getting more sick with each moment we spend here”
“Agreed!” Knut nodded, “Will you help the scavenger teams? Go with Shamus and the others to collect what we can once we are sure the area is safe from these grubs?” Knut asked, uncertain that Dominik would have the heart to rob the dead, as he would see it. Dominik stood silently for a moment and then nodded, he seemed to deflate a little as he did and Knut knew then that Dominik was beginning to understand what this new world would be like, and that a little part of Dominik would die. He hated that, but he knew that if the rest of Dominik was to live then he had to come to terms with how the world was changing.
“We are clear!” Joanas's voice came over the radio “Your scavengers can begin”
“You are sure?” Knut was keenly aware that Joanas had swept the area for threats once before, and hadn't spoted the grubs. He was wrestling with the idea of bringing this up when the German seemed to read his mind
“This time I am sure. I missed them before because I wasn't looking for bugs!” he sounded angry, but then Germans always did to Knut, “I checked for IEDs near the vehicles, but these were further out, here I only looked for men with guns and for vehicles” Joanas continued. He was angry, Knut realised, but not at the caravan leader for questioning his thoroughness, at himself for not seeing the grubs to begin with. To be fair, in the dark, with everything else that he had been watching for, a half a dozen small, dead creatures littering the road would have been easy to overlook. They would all have to be more careful in future.
“Okay, salvage teams GO!” Knut called into the night. Half a dozen nomads ran for the vehicles to strip them of anything they could, ammunition, MRE's - the Meals Ready to Eat issued by the various armies that composed the UN's counter Alien Incursion Force,- first aid kits, spare weapons, working radios. Anything they could strip quickly.
“Kurt, get on the radio and see if there is any sign of the strike team yet!” Knut slapped the German corporal on the shoulder as he returned from the sweep and clear mission,
“Jawhol!” Kurt nodded, jogging back to the MRAP he had reluctantly left in the hands of one of the other Nomads whilst he helped his sergeant sweep for live Grubs.

* * * * * * * * * *

“What do you need me to do?” Dominik asked the priest as he clambered into the ruins of the armoured personnel carrier. Father Mathiast seemed to be pre-occupied and Dominik realised he was staring up at Ember who was trying to free the big 50 calibre machine gun from the mounting,
“It's stuck” she called down, “The impact has buckled part of the housing, I don't thinks it has damaged the weapon, but if I can get it out one of you gun-bunnies can have a look and tell me!”
Father Mathias wasn't entirely sure what a “Gun-Bunny” was, but Ember had taken to using the term for anyone that seemed to know what they were doing around firearms, so he assumed it was some slang term she had picked up in her native England, or perhaps from the endless American movies and TV that had washed over most of the western world before the event.
“Can I help?” Dominik asked, drawing closer,
“Pass me a five pound mash out of my tool box!” Ember called, reaching down and waggling her fingers expectantly.
“A what?” Father Mathias asked.
“I know!” Dominik smiled, kneeling down he lifted what looked like a small sledge hammer with a foreshortened handle form Embers tool box and lifted it up to her, “Here” he called.
“Chears M'dears!” she called down, “Now stand back while I introduce Mr. Happy hammer to Mr. Stubborn weapon housing!” she called in English. There were three solid sounding bangs of metal on metal before Ember handed the hammer back down “That should do it, I can get at it with the spanner now! You boys want to get the radio out the front while I rescue your boomstick?”
“Will do” Domanik answered, his English was almost flawless, although he was Austrian he had learned English as a child in school and had spent several years at university in Durham, in England. It had loaned his English a very faint north-east accent that was actually more pronounced than his Austrian one. A fact that always made Ember giggle a little. She had been trying to get him to say “Wey Aye man, Canny like” for the last two weeks, but he was having non of it.

Taking a look at the radio housing Dominick nodded, “Father can you pass me another adjustable spanner from Embers tool kit?” he asked as he flicked a few switches absently, in part to see if he set still worked,

“Roger that 3-7 we have air assets moving in on your position now, ETA...” startled, Dominik jumped pack, his eyes wide and mouth agape as the radio seemed to spring briefly to life, the rest of the message was drowned out by static. The message had been very faint and hard to make out, but it had been in English and sounded like an UNCAIF transmission.
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes!” Father Mathias offered weakly, “Yes, I did”
“Go and get Knut!” Dominik suggested,

“Yes, yes of course!”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Still noting, sir!” Kurt called to Knut, leaning out of the MRAP's open door, he had been trying to raise the strike team that they had sent to take care of the source of the alien spores, but was getting nothing.
Knut nodded “They may still be under radio silence” he hoped he was right, the two groups had been separated now for longer than he liked, but he had no way of knowing how long it would take the strike team to find and destroy their target.

“KNUT!” Father Mathias called, “You have to come and hear this!” The clergy man was leaning out of the back of he armoured personnel carrier and waving a torch, whatever it was he wanted Knut to hear, it seamed to have excited him.

“What is it?” Knut asked breathlessly as he reached the APC, above him he could see Embers boots dangling as she emitted a long string of expletives and grunts and tried to get the 50 calibre from it's warped mountings,
“The Radio!” Father Mathias pointed, “Dominik was trying to get it from it's housing and we heard a transmission!”
“Other survivors?” Knut asked
“It sounded military!” Dominik said as he fiddled with the radio, trying to re-capture the transmission, “And it was in English. Very faint, but it was there. Something about an air strike, or air lift?”
“Where?” Knut asked, excitedly.
“I don't know. I don't know, it didn't say – or if it did then I couldn't here it over the static, there was a lot of static.”
“Why didn't Kurt hear it in the MRAP?” Knut asked
“It was on a UN channel!” Father Mathias explained, “We are using civilian channels now, we monitor the military ones when we can, but we didn't want to clog them with our chatter. If he is still trying to raise the strike team then he won't be tuned to the UN frequencies and wouldn't have heard it.”
“I can't get it back!” Dominik cursed, “I don't understand... wait.. I think..”
“...ul back 3-7, we have you covered from the air, Cas-evac is now air bound with your casualties, withdraw to co-ords...” the static again.

“Mein Gott!” Dominik gasped “There is some one still fighting close enough that we can just about hear them! Do I call them?”
“NO!” Father Mathias barked, a little more sharply than he had intended. “No, not yet. They are heavily engaged, or so it sounds, keep track of the frequency, we will monitor it for now and call them once things seem a little less... exciting for them”
“Agreed!” Knut nodded, “Now we know they are out there we can call them later as long as we know the frequency, right now we need to get as much as we can out of these vehicles and get back on the road. We must hope something we find is worth trading for the medical help we need”
“How about this little Beauty?” Ember asked, her grease stained face split with a slightly self – satisfied smile. In her arms she cradled the APC's 50 caliber.
“Do we have any ammunition for it?” Knut began to sound exited again “Oh yes, we do” Father Mathias pointed to the belt and boxes of 50 caliber ammunition he had retrieved earlier.
“That might just do it!” Knut grinned.