This snippet is set in the near future of my NaNo 2011 Novel, Outbreak.
Hope for the Future
Rough Draft, 642 Words
Allisyn Bridges
Angela Rialto followed her team leader, Tony Perrin into the hallway to the biodome. Once Senator Rebekah Terralynn’s global broadcast had gone out announcing that the quarantine beacons had been sent out and that the colony had been deemed lost to the infection. The communication circuits, which had been shut down by the quarantine protocols, had been unlocked for colony wide use since any survivors were going to need every advantage they could get. Households that had sealed themselves off as soon as the infection had started to spread began to connect with each other and coordinate. Angela’s family had joined with several of their neighbors to protect each other and prepare for a lifetime isolated from the rest of the galaxy. It was a few months before they realized that the food from the synthesizers wasn’t going to sustain them as well as the natural food from the biodomes. After a few weeks of planning they had drawn up a plan of attack for clearing out the biodome and relocating everyone to the biodome. Luckily, their coalition included a good many members of the Colony Security and between their stockpiles and those of the empty houses around them, they were able to arm everyone that was willing and able to carry a weapon.
Their team, cobbled together from the current active service members, was the first wave of the attack on the biodome. Angela watched the hand signals from Perrin and followed the man in front of her in fanning out around the entrance of the biodome. From inside the biodome, they could see dozens of zombies shuffling across the turf. Angela scanned her assigned quadrant and prioritized the visible targets in her mind. She waited patiently for the signal to open fire. It made her nervous to keep standing there as the zombies slowly recognized their presence and began to shuffle towards the six person team. Finally, Perrin gave the signal to open fire. The engagement was quick, despite never having worked together before, the team was solid, well trained and unified in their goal and determination. They systematically wiped out the zombies. Once all of the visible zombies were dead, the order was given to fan out and make sure the dome was clear. Despite all the evidence that the noise would have drawn in all of the zombies that were near by, they had no intention of taking any chances with the safety of their families. Angela heard a few isolated gun shots from other sectors of the biodome but didn’t encounter any stray zombies in her sector. Finally, the team concluded that the biodome was clear of any zombie threat. Perrin dispatched two of the others to sound the all clear to their waiting families and then gave the order to start removing the corpses from the biodome. Working in pairs, it was fairly quick work to move the zombie corpses to the room with the incinerator. They didn’t have time to get rid of the corspes now but later there would be plenty of time and the ashes would be good for the soil.
It wasn’t long before there was more than enough help to clear the biodome of the dead. Angela and her partner, Vicki, approached their last corpse of the day and something small caught her eye on the ground near the unmoving zombie. She knelt down and took a closer look, it was a small yellow flower. Angela plucked the little flower and stood back up.
“What do you have there?” Vicki asked. Wordlessly, Angela held out the small yellow flower for her partner to see. The two had a silent moment of appreciation for the little spot of beauty, then Angela tucked the little flower into a pocket and they carried away the last zombie corpse from their best hope for survival.
