Operation Cobalt

Chapter 8

Day 9

I woke up the next morning with a shiver running up my spine. A heavy feeling was in the air. There was only one day left until 'Operation Cobalt' began.

Getting up from the sofa I had slept on last night, I went to the window and looked out onto the street. Not a living soul was on the street. And no dead people either. It must be because of the gunshots I heard last night. From the sound of it, it was pretty far away, so I didn't even wake up to check.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I hear a cough behind me. Turning around, I see Tristan pale and with dark circles under his eyes.

"You look terrible." I say humorously, to see if he forgets a little that he's dying. Apparently it worked, as he laughed a little before coughing.

"Well, urgh... I feel terrible." He replies in a humorous tone, but with a hoarse voice. The virus is already in its final stages. I reach into my backpack to take out the bread and peanut butter.

"Breakfast?" I ask and he nods. After a rather light breakfast, Tristan and I started training with the rifles and what it would be like if I ever came across similar weapons.

As I'd already got a good aim with pistols, the rifles were a matter of adjusting the weight and using the sights that came with them. In all, it took me two hours to get them all right without making a mistake.

After that, he taught me how to reload a gun quickly, as well as how to assemble and disassemble a gun. Which wasn't particularly difficult. It's like assembling Lego. Only this one can kill you in a second.

As it was midday, Tristan and I went back upstairs to rest. Especially him, who wasn't even at 10% of his capacity because of the bite.

"I've taught you everything I can. The rest will come with practice and experience." He says in a slurred, tired voice. "I don't have much time, so I'll give you my last present." He starts to walk to his room, but begins to stumble. So that he doesn't waste any more energy, I help him to his room.

Now without my help, he opens a false bottom behind his wardrobe and takes out a briefcase. As he opens it, I see a revolver very similar to Rick Grimes', but a little different. And I'm not talking about the color.

He also took out two gun holsters from the false bottom. One for his waist, where there was room to put two guns, one on each leg, and several pockets to put combs or future grenades.

The second was a shoulder holster which, in addition to the spaces for the two guns, had two places to put knives on his back.

To top it all off, the last thing he took off was a kind of modern vest. It looked like it had plates on the chest, abdomen, shoulders and biceps. Perfect for wearing under normal clothes.

And wrapped in a cloth, there was a red mask that hid his face and eyes. It reminded me a lot of DC's Red Hood.

When I took it in my hands, I realized that the mask had a kind of filter and was made of a very resistant material. I was speechless for a while, looking at the gifts he wanted to give me.

"Tristan, are you sure you want to give me all this?" I asked him to see if he was sure.

"Of course. After all, what would I do with all this if I were dead? Ah, the bullets down there are yours too. Now put this on. I want to see how you look." He asks me as he starts to lie down on the bed. Without hesitating any longer, I started to put on the holsters. I also put the revolver on the right side of my leg. I turned to him and spread my arms.

"How do I look?" I ask him.

"Like a great soldier." He tells me, and closes his eyes. Soon his breathing stopped and I could only close my eyes tightly to avoid losing control of my emotions. It's still too early for that.

"I promise I'll live a good life. I'll have a wife. Or maybe two?" I laughed a little while at a stupid joke that only I would understand. A single tear ran down my cheek. Picking up the silver knife I always carried with me, I approached Tristan, stabbing the side of his skull. It was easy, as always.

I stood next to his body for a while, until I thought it was enough. Covering his body with sheets, I go back to the loft room and start getting ready. I grabbed some clothes and put on something better for going out than the sweatshirt I'd been wearing until now.

The clothes were Tristan's. I don't care where he got it. It consisted of a black shirt, a gray jacket with red details, black pants with lots of useful pockets and a super-strong fabric. Finally, a steel-toed boot and a glove with reinforced knuckles.

Of course, I put on my holsters, one of which was visible, showing the revolver and gun I'd found in Dean's father's safe. The other was hidden behind the leather jacket with the two guns I'd borrowed from the military. As I only had one good knife, I put it in the slot on my back as well.

The vest was behind all this. A defense behind a surprise.

There were plenty of bullets in Tristan's stash. Enough so that I wouldn't have to worry about them for a couple of months. Maybe longer, if I ration. Which I probably will, since, unless it's a very large horde, I prefer to fight the zombies at close quarters.

A bit reckless? Maybe.

I put everything in a sports bag I found in the house. That way it would be easier to carry, and I wouldn't have to leave anything behind. Since I had plenty of room, I also put one of the AR-15s in the bag.

With one of the gallons of gasoline I still had, I started spreading it around the building. If no one was to come in and abuse the place, it would be better if it became uninhabitable. Before leaving the house, I also placed the ashes of his wife and daughter next to him.

When I get close to the car, I put the mask on my face and throw a lighter into the puddle of gasoline. I watch for just a second, then I get in the car and drive off.

Already a long way from the building, I see through the rearview mirror as the whole place bursts into flames. A loud sound follows, probably attracting the attention of several zombies. Let's hope some of them burn together.

Before long, I was on one of the roads leading out of Atlanta. Of course, it was crowded. Cars were jammed and there was no way through. There were even a few zombies in and among the cars. But I can't say the same for the other side.

It was similar to the road that Rick will pass in three months' time. The side he passed was empty, the other full of cars.

Of course, I would have to make a slightly longer journey, and it certainly wouldn't be easy, as I could encounter zombies, hostile survivors and even scenarios like this, where the road was blocked.

I managed to drive for 20 minutes, when I found myself in another problem. A horde heading towards the city. It was far away. They probably hadn't seen me yet.

Looking around, I saw a small dirt road leading into the forest. Looking at the map, I saw that this road went around a park and came back to the same road a few kilometers away.

Seeing no other option, I entered the road, hoping that nothing would go wrong.

Although it was daytime, the forest was quite dark. The treetops were all close together, leaving the forest in eternal shadow.

From time to time I checked the map to make sure I wasn't getting lost. It was on one of these checks that I noticed that this road had a fork in it.

Two paths. The path on the right led back to the highway, and the one on the left led to a small town. Quite a small one, actually. I don't think it's even considered a town. I think village is a more accurate term.

But that doesn't mean it's useless, since I didn't know if the horde had already passed the point where I'll be leaving, and it's already getting dark.

So my options are: Go back to the main road, and perhaps still find the horde passing by. Or, go to this small village and see if I can find a place to spend the night, since it wouldn't be long before nightfall.

The answer is quite obvious. Even if the horde has already passed, it would be quite problematic to have to find a place to spend the night. And traveling in the dark isn't an option either.

Taking the path to the left, I start to follow the dirt road to its destination. The more time I spent on this path, I noticed that it was starting to slope. I couldn't see it on the map, but this place is on a hill.

Just as I had predicted, it was getting close to dusk when I reached the village. The first thing I noticed was that the place was empty. There were no people and no zombies. I guess everyone had left or been driven out by the dead. At least that's what I could see. Maybe there's someone or something left here.

I parked the car next to a house and started to take things out of it, to take to where I was going to spend the night. As the house was dark, I took one of the guns out of my jacket and turned on the flashlight. And so that I wouldn't have to shoot, I took the knife out of the holster on my back.

Using the hand that was holding the knife as a support for the one holding the gun, I start searching the house for any threats. Fortunately, I didn't find any. The house was empty.

I grabbed all my things and went up to the second floor bedroom overlooking the front street. I blocked the window with a cloth I had on the bed and made a small fire to prepare some food. I would have used the kitchen, but there was no gas in the stove.

Besides, this is a great place to be. A strategic point in the house. You can see the street in front, and it's close to the stairs, so if anyone starts to climb I'll hear them.

After eating half the canned food, I put out the fire and stare through a small gap in the window. Looking for some movement from something or someone.

As I look out, I suddenly hear the sound of an approaching helicopter. I stick my head out and look up, waiting for the helicopter to start passing. I don't have to wait long, as a squadron of helicopters is passing over this small village.

"I wonder..." I quickly opened the window wide and jumped out. Despite having jumped 6 meters, I didn't feel anything when I landed.

I ran to the edge of the cliff that this place was on, where there was a perfect view of Atlanta. Or whatever it was. Now the city was being bombed. The city was on fire in several places around it and especially in the center.

I could hear the sounds of explosions even from here. Several helicopters were hovering above the city, looking for spots to drop their bombs. They didn't care whether there were zombies or humans.

"From that moment on it's official. The apocalypse has begun." I said it out loud for no one but me to hear. I turned my back on the burning city and went back to the house.