Search and Rescue

Aron73 · September 7, 2020

Disclaimer
This story is IC; only the owner(s) characters I'm using have permitted me to use them. They will also be allowed to read the draft of this story before publishing.

Chapter 1: Phone call

Spoiler

Mikael sits next to his tent at the lake where he and Finan last did sit and talked.
The fire crackles softly, and Mikael drifted away in memory when he and his father used to be out hunting; it seems to be ages ago.
Mikael had already heard the footsteps behind him for a while before he says anything.
"Can I help you," Mikael says as he turns around and places his hand on his sidearm.
"Mikael? Long time no see," Finan says as he steps into the light of the fire.
"Good to see you, Fin."
As the two of them sit down at the fire, both can hear a strange musical signal.
"Is that mobile phone?" Fin asks
"Damn, I almost forgot I had this." He fishes up the phone from a side pocket in his pants and looks at it.
"hmmm, Russian country code." He continues before answering
"Hello?"
For a moment, he thinks it's just a prank call hearing only breathing.
"M-Mikael?" a female voice can be heard.
Mikael is entirely stunned and can't say anything as he hears his wife's voice.
Fin can see the glistening of tears in Mikael's eyes as he answers.
"N-Nora...Are you okay?"
Before Mikael can continue his line of questions
"I need your help; some crazy people are chasing me."
"Anything! Where are you?"
"I think I'm not sure, but there is a sign here. It has Russian letters. big B something that looks like an A with a flat top and a small y."
After a while of talking, the two of them hang up.
"So Fin, I will ask for your help, but considering what I'm about to embark on, I will not take it personally if you can't come."
Fin looks at Mikael for a while and seems to be thinking.
"I'm sorry, but I do have my work cut out for me here, helping people in need, I simply can't abandon them."
"I understand, my friend," Mikael answers with a smile.

"Well, if you want me, I would love to help you find your wife." The voice is female, and someone Mikael recognizes
"Alexis! Long time no see!" Mikael says and is more surprised he could not hear her approach than of the fact that she is here.
"So Russia, huh, well maybe I can help," She says, smiling at Mikael.
"Well, maybe you can tell me where this place is," He says and shows her the small note where he wrote down the city's name.
"Yes, I know where it is, that's the good news. The bad news is that it is not a city; it is a nuclear missile site. You can compare it with an XXXL version of Zelenegorsk."
"Of all the places she has to be at this one."
"It is also really close, just a few kilometers from the border."
"Well, we need to hurry, my wife knows nothing about weapons; she is that person that would look down the barrel to see if it's loaded."
Alexis can help but chuckle but composes her self fast enough.
Mikael stands up and walks a bit further into the woods, and shortly after that, all three of them can see an old military truck.
"I was planning to give you this one to you, but I guess I'm in need of it my self now," Mikael says as he looks at Fin.
"It's okay. I'm more than happy with the tanker you delivered to us." He answers with a smile
"Well, we need to reinforce it before we head out."
"Well, Alexis, you're hired. hop in"
As the two of them dives away, Alexis starts to speak.
"So reinforce how?"
"Well, I did see this old plow that could be cut up and make it a bit harder to shoot the wheels and something covering up parts of the radiator and windows could be good."
"So, how will you see?"
"When deployed, you do not see; you just have to remember how the road goes."
"Sounds risky."
"Well, it's only for emergencies."

Mikael slowly backs the large truck into the garage and jumps out when he is satisfied with his parking.
He looks around and can see the gas cutter and the welder together with a good assortment of tools.
"You have been busy, I'm surprised no one found this place," Alexis says as she looks around in the old barn.
"Only you and I know about this barn as far as I know and even if people find this location. well, what do you expect to find in an old barn."
"I see your point; well, let's get started."
Without a word, Mikael rolls over the gas cutter and starts cutting the old plow in peace, and after a bit of help from Alexis, he velds them in place in a pattern that looks like a heavy steel skirt in front of the truck covering most of the front wheels.
"Well, that should hold, for now, we have to be careful not to get it stuck on steep inclines."
Alexis nods in agreement.
"So, what do we do about the windows." She asks
"I'm not sure...I was thinking something like blinders made from steel bars, but what to use to lower them fast and is strong. enough for its weight."
Mikael looks around a bit before he finds what he is looking for
He picks up a large roll of what looks like a fishing string.
"Damn those Americans," he mumbles to himself.
"Well, I don't know what this LB. merchants are in comparison to kilo, so I guess we have to test it." He says as he cuts of about a decimeter a meter.
He tacks welds a rod and binds the string to it before starting to pull.
"Holy shit, this is strong, well this will do." He says as he is catching his breath.
After drilling two holes in the cabin, he pulls the line there and starts with the rod iron.
"I can't believe your this calm considering it's your wife we are going to rescue," Alexis says as she helps Mikael to tie the knots on the line after putting the rod iron in place.
"oh, trust me, I'm anything but calm, just good at hiding it."
He jumps into the truck and ties the two lines together and carefully pulls on them. The rode iron slowly moves up and covers only a small section of the windscreen.
He looks around and ties the strings to one of the pull switches.
"Well, it's probably going to work ones or maybe two times before the line is cut, but it will work"
"Sounds good, so what about the side windows?"
"That's the easy part; we just put some. sheet metal over them, bullets will pass right through, but at least, they can't see us as we drop down on the seat."
After some more welding, the two of them jump into the truck and drives away.

Chapter 2

Spoiler

The old truck roars as Mikael shifts down, and the engine picks up to 1500rpm and slowly climbs the hill.
As they reach the crest of the hill, some houses show up in the treeline.
Mikael breaks and stops before he fishes up the binos ling on the seat next to him and looks toward the houses.
"Do you see anything?" Alexis asks as she leans forward to see.
"Just a few infected. They seem to congregate around that yellow brick house, so I suggest we sleep in the barn and avoid them," Mikael mumbles.
"You know...You need to prepare your self that you might have to kill someone on this mission of yours." Alexis says as Mikael slowly rolls the truck on idle to avoid upsetting the infected.
"I know, but I'm also going to avoid it as far as I can."
The two of them stepped out of the truck and carefully closed the doors and walks into the small barn.
"I'll take the first watch since you have to drive, and I can sleep in the truck."
"Okey, but wake me up if something happens."
It is early morning when Alexi gently shakes Mikael, and he knows immediately what's going on as he hears voices outside.
He grabs his AKM and looks at the truck as the two men move on the other side of it.
"Damn! This is some serious armor."
"I wonder if it runs." The other man asks
"It does, and it is not up for trade," Mikael says as he switches to his VSD
"So, what makes you think we can't just take it?"
"You can try," Mikael says as he aims the truck at the leg on one of the men.
As soon as he hears the other man open the door, he Slowly squeezes the trigger, The shot almost comes as a surprise, and he almost jumps.
The man drops down on the ground screaming at the top of his lounges and holds his bleeding leg.
"Last chance get out of the truck, or my next shot will be in his head," Mikael shouts as he aims at the man's head.
"Okay, okay, don't shoot."
The two men slowly limp away toward the forest, and Mikael can see they are armed with long rifles.
"We need to leave now before they bring friends," Mikael says in a low tone to Alexis as he switches his mag to a full one.
"I agree, I'll sleep in the truck."
As they get on the road again, Alexis starts to speak.
"I don't think I ever seen you act so aggressively. Are you okay?"
Mikael looks forward, and after giving him some time to answer, Alexis continues.
"Usually, you give people a chance... the benefit of a doubt sort of say."
"We can not afford that now, besides, he will live thought he might have a slight limp."
"I guess It was your first time."
"First time kill...hurting a non-infected yes," Mikael says as he looks over at Alexis for a second, but it is more than enough for her to see that this event bothers him.
"You did good, remember. you did not kill him." Alexis says in a tone as if trying to remind him.
"I know, and thank you."
Mikael pushes the accelerator and gears up as he hits 90 and leans back.
After a long drive, Mikael looks down at the fuel gauge, it is already far into the red, and he looks over at Alexis.
"We need to fill up; we are running on fumes here."
"There should be a fuel station a couple of kilometers up the road," She answers as she looks around.
"Sounds good. How does the surrounding look like?"
"It was a while ago, but I wanna remember a few houses and a small store not too far away from the gas station."
As she tells him, Mikael starts to brake harder and harder to the point. She looks up and notices the roadblock.
"Is that a..."
"Yes, that's a SAS Boeing 737," Mikael says as he picks up his AKM from the seat next to him.
"Wait here; This might be a trap."
"If someone approaches the truck, while I'm having a look around revers back...It's just like driving a car but larger," he continues as she looks slightly worried.
She slides over as Mikeal steps out of the truck and moves to the Massive Aircraft's right-hand side.
The wing has been sheared off and lies in the ditch next to the aircraft.
"Hmmm lucky, I might get past this," he mumbles to himself.
He quickly looks inside the aircraft, where it breaks in half just before where the wings used to be.
"Hmmm, seats are empty, maybe survivors." He thinks as he turns around and looks toward the cockpit and can see a whole different scene.
"Pore bastards." He thinks as he can see at least twenty corpses.
He makes another quick look at the rear of the craft and can see another section of it broken off and more to the road's left.
He walks back to the truck and steps in as Alexis moves over.
"I can get past this. But it will be risky."
"Any survivors?" She asks as Mikael starts to move the truck
"I did see some empty seats, so there might have been some"
The wing in the ditch makes a grinding sound as Mikael slowly steers the truck with one pares of the weals over it in the ditch.
As the space increases between the truck and aircraft, he starts to pick up speed, and shortly, they are on their way again.
After a short drive, the welcoming sign of a white fuel pump on a blue sign is shown next to the road, and shortly after, the fuel station shows up.
"Well, I thought the houses would have been closer." He says as he sees some apartments ruffly 500 meters away.
"I did remember them being closer," Alexis says.
The two of them steps out of the truck and tries the pumps.
"Damn, no power." Mikael mumbles
"Usually, most fuel stations have a manual pump. I'll look for one." Alexis says as she walks away.
As she walks into the small building, she almost jumps as she sees the older man lying dead in the oil pit under a cranked up car."
After a short while of looking around, she finally finds what she is looking for and walks out to Mikael.
"Found it!" she says with a big smile.

Chapter 3

Spoiler

It is completely silent in the truck apart from the low rumble from the engine.
After a short, while they pass a road sign that Mikael recognizes, and it says they got 3km left.
"We should hide the truck close by. I'm sure there will be more people then your wife there."
"I agree, do you know of a good spot?"
"No, I'm sorry; we only past through last time I was here."
"I do remember a dirt road we passed mainly because of the horses I did see. But it is close just a few hundred meters from the city."
"Well, I don't wanna leave the truck any further away than that, so it is perfect."
The two of them almost misses the overgrown road but manages to maneuver the truck on it.

"Nora can hear a familiar voice over the radio and presses twice on the PTT to acknowledge she heard and is okay."
She holds the pistol so hard that her knuckles get white as she hears the Russian voices again saying something she can't understand.
She moves silently away from the voices holding the gun in one hand and her shoes in the other.
"I'm in a gray building with only tiny windows. There are a green truck outside and a...antenna or something that looks like one." She whispers so low she is worried that her husband can't hear her.
"Copy that! Stay put. We will find you." We, as in two or more, is the last thing she thinks before the world goes black.

"If you want to see this beautiful lady again, you do exactly what I say." The voice carries a Russian accent.
Mikael stops in his tracks and looks over at Alexis, and for the first time, she can see the fear in Mikael's but also determination.
"I'm listening." He says with a neutral voice.
"I want you to come where your girl here told you to go, and we can talk about your surrender to us."
"we will be there soon. Do you wish for all twenty of us to come?"
It is silent for a few seconds.
"Twenty? No, only you!"
"He does not know how many we are," Mikael says with an evil smile.
"Okey, I'll be there shortly."

"Okey, you need to trust me now, Alexis," Mikael says as he takes out some different clothing from the truck and hands it to Alexis together with a beard.
"Put this on together with the plate carrier and the beard, and I don't think your voice can be mistaken as male, so keep quiet."
"Ones with the people walk over to Nora and if she is standing. Wrestle her down on the floor. I will be ruffly 500 meters away and start shooting as soon as you two are safe on the floor."
Alexis looks surprised at Mikael.
"Shoot to kill this time." She says as she starts to walk away.

As Alexis sees the first guard, she raises her hands and walks toward him, not saying a word.
The guard opens a door, and she can see Nora still on the floor and walks over to her in hast, ignoring the man's orders.

Mikael can see Alexis as she ducks down on the floor, and without any hesitation, he firest hist first shot.
The second guy goes down with a high shot as his head explodes and sprays the wall behind him with blood and brain matter.
The third guy is about to rais his gun, but the motion is stopped almost like someone flicked a switch.

Alexis almost jumps as the first shot comes and glass rains over her from the window; the second shot comes just in time as she looks up at the confused guard, and for the first time, she gets to see the ugly truth of what happens to a man's head when its hit by a 7.62 bullet.
The third shot almost feels like an eternity as the man starts to rais his gun, and for a moment, she looks straight into the black barrel, and for a moment, she thinks her head will explode next.
She pulls out her gun, and as the guard that lets her in bursts through, she puts three shots center mass and watches the man dropping his gun and slowly falls to the ground.
"Go!" She hears Mikael's voice.
She struggles slightly but manages to pull Nora up on her shoulder and starts to move out.

Mikael watches as Alexis struggles to get Nora's limp body off the floor, and for a moment, he thinks she is dead but is sure that if she were, Alexis would have told him by now.
He puts on his backpack again and starts to jog down toward them, and as he does, he hears more gunfire and starts to run.

Alexis ducks down behind some crates and carefully places Nora's body on the ground in front of her.
Alexis doesn't even know this lady that Mikael loves so dearly and would do anything for, but she can't help, shedding a tear as she realizes she is dead.
She quickly is pulled back to reality as she hears Mikael's gun's familiar sound and more in anger than fear, she stands up and takes down three men on the roof just a few meters ahead and a bow her.

"I'm so sorry, Mikael," She says as she looks up with tear-filled eyes and can clearly see three separate emotions in Mikaels eyes in a matter of seconds Anger, denial, and realization as he looks at his wife for so many years.
Without a word, he walks over to Nora and picks her body up, and starts to walk to the truck.

Chapter 4

Spoiler

The two of them sit in silence as they are driving down the road when Alexis breaks the silence.
"I hope you don't blame me for what happened"
Mikael looks over to her for a few seconds.
"You would be dead if I blamed you for Nora's death...I did not mean to sound like that, You and Fin are the two most trusted people I know around here, and even if there were more people around us when we left, I would not have asked them to come"
"Thank you...I really needed to hear that," Alexis answers and looks a bit surprised at Mikael.
"We need to get a full night's rest, and I suggest the woods. I got a tent we can share"
After a short drive along a dirt road barely wide enough for the truck, Mikael stops and seems to listen.
"Do you hear anything?" Alexi asks after a while in silence.
"Hmmm, That's the thing I should hear something. You should too."
Alexis looks questioning.
"Birds, We are in the middle of the forest, and there are no birds."
Alexis realizes Mikael is right; matter fact, she can barely hear the rustle from the wind even though her door is slightly opened.
"Should we go somewhere else?" She asks
"No...matter fact, I don't think it will be any different even if we go all the way back to South Zagoria. Be honest, when did you hear birds the last time?"
After thinking for a while, she answers.
"I did hear an owl a few days ago before we left"
"About the same time I heard a bird too," Mikael says
The two of them steps out of the truck, and Mikael walks to the back of the truck and looks at Nora´s lifeless body for a moment before grabbing the tent.
As Mikael walks around the truck, he almost bumps into Alexis.
She looks at Mikael for a moment before giving him a long hug.
"I'm sorry for your loss," She mumbles in a low tone.
She lets go of Mikael and looks up at him, realizing the loss has not sunk in yet.
"Thank you...I need to set up this tent before it gets dark." He mumbles and again, having a hard time keeping back his tears.
It doesn't take long for the two of them to set up the tent; just after they are done, Alexis's belly rumbles in protest because she has not eaten in a few days.
"I think we should eat before we go to bed," Alexis suggests.
"I'm not that hungry, but I do have some stakes and potatoes if you're hungry."
Alexis thinks for a moment that maybe she can get Mikael to eat something if he sees her eat.
"Sounds good." She replies and looks as Mikael takes off his backpack and takes out a small gas stove.
It doesn't take long before a pleasant aroma starts to spread around them.
Mikael lifts the lid and looks inside the pot, and Alexis smiles as he picks up a stake and a few potatoes and sits down to eat with her.

With full bellies, the two of them crawl into the small tent and quickly fall asleep.
Mikael looks through the scope as so many times as he has done so many times before, but this time it is Nora he sees 500 meters down range and no one else.
"I was right again; You are good for nothing." The voice that comes from her is not hers; it is his father's voice.
He looks up from his scope, but his father is nowhere to be seen.
As he looks downrange, he spots the guard, he fires, and the bullet seems to travel in slow motion, and halfway downrange, Nora is there.
"move...move!" He shouts as the bullet picks up speed and hits.

It's dark, too dark. Alexis lifts up her head and looks straight into the barrel, that dark, terrible barrel.
She tries to move, but something is holding her.
"Don't go, please help me" She looks down and can see Nora has voken up.
She looks up at the man again, his head half blown to a mess a flash and...

The two of them wakes up at the same time; both can see the fear in each other's eyes.
"I got enough sleep. How about you?" Mikael asks after he composed himself.
Alexis nods silently as she composes her self.
The sun is high on the sky as they take down their camp and walk to the truck.
They step into the truck, and Alexis looks over at Mikael for a moment before he starts to maneuver the truck and eventually turns it around.
"So, what did you dream?" Alexis asks and almost surprises Mikael.
"What should I answer? I might have killed my wife, and I blame my self?" He thinks to himself
He drifts away in thought and can see the moment Alexis puts down Nora on the ground, Nora's body passing through his rifle's scope.
"I swear I did not see any blood." He mumbles herd barely.
"I'm sorry...what?" Alexis asks
"I don't remember. How about you?"
"Dont...please don't lie to me. It was about your wife, was it?"
Mikael looks at Alexis for a moment before he slams on the breaks and jumps out before Alexis can say anything.
He walks to the back of the truck and looks at Nora's body that has skidded further in on the flatbed but is still covered.
Alexis walks up next to him.
"I'm sorry, I did not mean to upset you," Alexis says and looks at Mikael.
"Don't worry...I have to check something." He says but seems hesitant to move.
Alexis stands silently, giving him time.
Mikael jumps up on the flatbed and slowly walking over to Nora's body.
He hesitates again before moving the tarp covering her.
He notices he is literally holding his breath as he slowly moves the tarp below her chest area to reveal the bullet wound.
He exhales loudly as he can see the wound in her chest is an entry wound.
He looks over at Alexis, still standing behind the truck.
"I did not hit her."
Everything fits now Alexis know what that dream was all about.
"I could have told you so; it was the man on the roof I killed."
The two of them jump into the truck again, and Mikael starts to drive.
"So, what was your dream all about?" Mikael asks.

Chapter 5

Spoiler

Mikael looks over at Alexis and notices she is fast asleep.
"Why are you back in my dreams again, father." He thinks to himself.
"I did nothing wrong. It was out of my control."
"You should have recon the area more; you were unprepared." His father's voice can be heard as clearly as if he was right next to him.
"He made mission time-sensitive."
"If he meant to kill her, he would have done so straight away. He wanted something from you."
Mikael realizes he is right, but what the hell did he want from me.
He did not recognize him; after all, he would have called his bluff as soon as he did see Alexis unless he was not in the room.
Suddenly Mikael hears another car engine much smaller than the one in his truck, and for a moment, he forgets and tries to look through his rear mirror.
He takes a sturdier grip on the steering wheel and lets up on the gas slightly to let the person pass.
The small Ada seem to struggle to get past him even though he is down to 70. He keeps a close eye on the car as it comes in view.
Without warning, a man sticks out his head and half his body from the passager front window and aims an AK at them.
Mikael quickly turns the truck to the left-hand side of the road and wakes Alexis in the prosses.
"Duck!" He calls out as he gears down and punches the gas to the bottom.
The truck roars to life and picks up speed.
Just before Mikael slams into the small Ada, the trunk opens up, and the man points his AK at them for a second before Mikael slams into them, causing the man to drop his AK to the ground.
With the full view of the car's interior, he can see it is not two people but three of them.
The second nudge makes the car spin out of control and hits a tree much more sturdy than the car, and Mikael can see two of the men in the front seat taking a dive out of the windshield.

Mikael applies the breaks and comes to a stop, grabs his AK, and slowly and carefully makes his way over to the wrecked car with Alexis closely guarding his flanks.
As they get closer to the car, they can hear a soft groan from the vehicle.
Without a word, Mikael points at Alexis, and with some hand, signs tell her to move on the left-hand side of the car.
Mikael immediately recognizes the man as the man pointing his gun from the trunk.
"Don't move!" Mikael says in a low tone as he reises his AK.
The man in bad shape and Mikael knows he doesn't have much longer to live.
"I'm going to ask you some questions, answer me in truth, and you might still survive this, if not. Well, you and your people just killed my wife, so I will just let that sink in, and maybe you can figure out what I can and will do to you if you lie."
Mikael shoulders his AK and draws his combat knife.
"I will not tell you anything, you dirty rebel," The man says in a heavy Russian dialect.
"Hmmm, interesting. He thinks we are some rebels," Mikael says as he looks up at Alexis.
The man looks confused as he hears Mikael talk.
"So, you think we are rebels. Let me assure you we are not."
"So, who are you?"
"I'm Sargeant Mikael Pavlenko, and this is Private first class Alexis Pavlenko, we are both from CDF."
"Cherno Russian defense force." The man mumbles
"That is correct, now why did you attack us? We are on a rescue mission."
"We got information from some civilians that they got attacked by rebels."
"Let me guess, one of them got shot in the leg."
"Yes."
"Well, let me explain what happened. They tried to steal my truck. I gave them a chance to move away, but they ignored my commands. While the other one tried to get into the truck, I shot his friend in the leg from the truck's other side. After they left, I had the opportunity to kill both of them, but I let them alive."

"Private, patch this man up and give him a working radio."
Alexis shoulders her gun and walks over to the man while Mikael Keeps an eye on the area.
"So, same last name, I guess you two are related?"
"Yes, he is my brother," Alexis mumbles in a low tone.
"So why are you two not in uniform?"
"This is not an official mission." Mikael answers
"So your disobeying orders, You don't need to confirm that. I would have done the same for my wife."
"Sir, this man needs professional help."
Mikael looks at the man for a moment.
"Are your comrades close by?" Mikael asks
"Yes, no more than 20 minutes."
"We are done here then," he says as he gives the man a radio.
"Thank you...and I'm sorry for your loss."

The two of them walk back to the truck and climb in.
"So why did you lie to him," Alexis asks as Mikael starts driving
"Because, I'm sure if I told him we are civilians and in combination with the guns we have, he would never believe we were not rebels."
"Makes sense."
Alexis can clearly see Mikael is deep in thought, and she is pretty sure of what he is thinking about.
"Your second-guessing your decisions."
"Well, how would this mission turned out if I simply shot those guys in the back?"
Alexis looks at Mikael for a while before answering.
"No one knows the future, but more people might have come and killed us hearing the gunshots, or we could have picked up your wife with no problems what so ever or anything else that you and I can't think of."
"You are smarter then you let people know."
Mikael pushes the truck up to 90 again and leans back in the seat.

Chapter 6

Spoiler

As the two of them sit in silence and watch the surroundings and starting to recognize the area around them, Mikael suddenly breaks and turns the truck in on a dirt road.
"Where are we going?" Alexis asks
"I usually think of this place as Sweden two point zero. It is usaly where I go when I wish to be alone...my secret hideout you could call it."
"Sounds like a secret place to me."
"You're the first and most lightly the only one I will bring here...Well, I might bring Fin here to at some point."
As the road gets smaller, Mikael slows down and soon stops.
"We have to walk the rest of the way."
The two of them steps out of the truck, and Mikael walks back and gently picks up Nora in his arms.
The two of them walk into the woods, and a few hundred meters into the woods, they enter a clearing with a small wooden house next to a small lake.
Mikael continues past the house to some trees next to the lake.
"This is a beautiful spot; how did you find this?"
"I use to live here for a while before I felt. I needed to meet people."
The two of them walk back to the cabin, and Mikael picks up a shover from the small shed next to the house.
"So why Sweden two point zero?"
"Well, this place is almost identical to my grandfather's cabin, including the surroundings."
Mikael takes off his jacket and starts to dig a grave.
Alexis looks around, and she can't help but wonder how this place remained so untouched, even the house is in pristine condition.
As she turns around, she can see Mikael kneeling at the open grave and seem to say something before covering the body.
"We should stay here during the night. I would not want drive along that road in the pitch black," Mikael says in a low tone.
Alexis nods slowly, and the two of them walk into the small cabin.
"So, how did you meet your wife?"
The two of them enter the house, and Alexis can't help but gasp when she sees how nice it is on the inside too.
"She was an exchange student at the school I learned to become a car mechanic."
The two of them sit down at the table, and Mikael looks out at the grave.
"I would never believe someone so beautiful would be interested in me at the time."
"She did look so young...how old was she?"
"only a year and a half younger than me."
"and your...46, right?"
Mikael nods
"She was on vacation with her friends in Spain and traveled all the way here, just to die...God, I miss her"
"I just wonder one thing...How did she get your phone number? It's not like it is the same as the one you got at home."
"The phone was given to me. The first thing I did was trying to get hold of her...I left a message. I kind of wish I never did leave that message."
"Remember what I told you No one could predict the future."
Mikael looks away from the window as it gets too dark to see anything outside.
"I'm happy that you trust me both with helping you rescuing your wife and showing me this house."
"You deserve it. You have only been nice to me and helped me in any way you can, even now in this dark time."
"There is a double bed in the next room. if you don't mind sharing, I'm getting really tired."
Alexis can't help but smile as she starts to speak.
"I find it hilarious that you ask that when we did share a tent that was meant for one."
Mikael smiles slightly as the two of them go to sleep.

The end.

Edited September 12, 2020 by Aron73

sung · September 7, 2020

good job aron

Basko · September 7, 2020

Good story! Was nice to read.

Nice to read about my own character as well from Mikael's perspective.

Aron73 · September 8, 2020

Chapter 2

The old truck roars as Mikael shifts down, and the engine picks up to 1500rpm and slowly climbs the hill.
As they reach the crest of the hill, some houses show up in the treeline.
Mikael breaks and stops before he fishes up the binos ling on the seat next to him and looks toward the houses.
"Do you see anything?" Alexis asks as she leans forward to see.
"Just a few infected. They seem to congregate around that yellow brick house, so I suggest we sleep in the barn and avoid them," Mikael mumbles.
"You know...You need to prepare your self that you might have to kill someone on this mission of yours." Alexis says as Mikael slowly rolls the truck on idle to avoid upsetting the infected.
"I know, but I'm also going to avoid it as far as I can."
The two of them stepped out of the truck and carefully closed the doors and walks into the small barn.
"I'll take the first watch since you have to drive, and I can sleep in the truck."
"Okey, but wake me up if something happens."
It is early morning when Alexi gently shakes Mikael, and he knows immediately what's going on as he hears voices outside.
He grabs his AKM and looks at the truck as the two men move on the other side of it.
"Damn! This is some serious armor."
"I wonder if it runs." The other man asks
"It does, and it is not up for trade," Mikael says as he switches to his VSD
"So, what makes you think we can't just take it?"
"You can try," Mikael says as he aims the truck at the leg on one of the men.
As soon as he hears the other man open the door, he Slowly squeezes the trigger, The shot almost comes as a surprise, and he almost jumps.
The man drops down on the ground screaming at the top of his lounges and holds his bleeding leg.
"Last chance get out of the truck, or my next shot will be in his head," Mikael shouts as he aims at the man's head.
"Okay, okay, don't shoot."
The two men slowly limp away toward the forest, and Mikael can see they are armed with long rifles.
"We need to leave now before they bring friends," Mikael says in a low tone to Alexis as he switches his mag to a full one.
"I agree, I'll sleep in the truck."
As they get on the road again, Alexis starts to speak.
"I don't think I ever seen you act so aggressively. Are you okay?"
Mikael looks forward, and after giving him some time to answer, Alexis continues.
"Usually, you give people a chance... the benefit of a doubt sort of say."
"We can not afford that now, besides, he will live thought he might have a slight limp."
"I guess It was your first time."
"First time kill...hurting a non-infected yes," Mikael says as he looks over at Alexis for a second, but it is more than enough for her to see that this event bothers him.
"You did good, remember. you did not kill him." Alexis says in a tone as if trying to remind him.
"I know, and thank you."
Mikael pushes the accelerator and gears up as he hits 90 and leans back.
After a long drive, Mikael looks down at the fuel gauge, it is already far into the red, and he looks over at Alexis.
"We need to fill up; we are running on fumes here."
"There should be a fuel station a couple of kilometers up the road," She answers as she looks around.
"Sounds good. How does the surrounding look like?"
"It was a while ago, but I wanna remember a few houses and a small store not too far away from the gas station."
As she tells him, Mikael starts to brake harder and harder to the point. She looks up and notices the roadblock.
"Is that a..."
"Yes, that's a SAS Boeing 737," Mikael says as he picks up his AKM from the seat next to him.
"Wait here; This might be a trap."
"If someone approaches the truck, while I'm having a look around revers back...It's just like driving a car but larger," he continues as she looks slightly worried.
She slides over as Mikeal steps out of the truck and moves to the Massive Aircraft's right-hand side.
The wing has been sheared off and lies in the ditch next to the aircraft.
"Hmmm lucky, I might get past this," he mumbles to himself.
He quickly looks inside the aircraft, where it breaks in half just before where the wings used to be.
"Hmmm, seats are empty, maybe survivors." He thinks as he turns around and looks toward the cockpit and can see a whole different scene.
"Pore bastards." He thinks as he can see at least twenty corpses.
He makes another quick look at the rear of the craft and can see another section of it broken off and more to the road's left.
He walks back to the truck and steps in as Alexis moves over.
"I can get past this. But it will be risky."
"Any survivors?" She asks as Mikael starts to move the truck
"I did see some empty seats, so there might have been some"
The wing in the ditch makes a grinding sound as Mikael slowly steers the truck with one pares of the weals over it in the ditch.
As the space increases between the truck and aircraft, he starts to pick up speed, and shortly, they are on their way again.
After a short drive, the welcoming sign of a white fuel pump on a blue sign is shown next to the road, and shortly after, the fuel station shows up.
"Well, I thought the houses would have been closer." He says as he sees some apartments ruffly 500 meters away.
"I did remember them being closer," Alexis says.
The two of them steps out of the truck and tries the pumps.
"Damn, no power." Mikael mumbles
"Usually, most fuel stations have a manual pump. I'll look for one." Alexis says as she walks away.
As she walks into the small building, she almost jumps as she sees the older man lying dead in the oil pit under a cranked up car."
After a short while of looking around, she finally finds what she is looking for and walks out to Mikael.
"Found it!" she says with a big smile.

Aron73 · September 9, 2020