A day ago, at a military base south of Canada,.
In a secluded building on the military base, there were about ninety-five soldiers and around sixty civilians, all maintaining silence. Everything had been fine until an internal infection broke out. Due to the chaos, the base was invaded by walkers and the few who could seek refuge in this building.
They had supplies, but the food slowly ran out, even as they rationed what each person ate. Expressions of depression and anxiety were evident on the faces of everyone present.
Colonel Ben Miller held out with his men and managed to contact another military base, but the news was grim. According to those soldiers, they didn't have enough fuel to save them.
Many had suggested leaving the base to take some armored vehicles outside or reach a helicopter. There were even C5 planes on the base, ready to fly without any issues.
However, these suggestions were strongly rejected by Colonel Ben Miller, so everyone slowly ran out of answers, hoping for a miracle. Then, at a man's suggestion, they began to send distress signals, hoping someone outside the army with the capability to save them would come.
"Zz... This is Colonel Ben Miller. To any nearby military base that can hear our transmission, we need your help!"
"Zz... We suffered an internal infection; the base was invaded by walkers, and we couldn't contain the infection! Right now, my attempts to communicate with the bases that contacted me recently are minimal, but I implore you for help!"
"Zz... There are about two hundred and fifty civilians; half of them are soldiers, and we are out of ammunition. We are trapped in a warehouse; the base is infested with walkers, and we can't do anything even if we want to."
"Zz..."
After speaking on the radio, Ben Miller repeated the message several times every day for hours. A soldier beside him, named Jeremy Piven, scratched his head and said, "That won't work, and we all know it. We just have to leave, and we all know how."
"Jeremy, we all know how we can get out, but if you want to face hundreds of walkers with a few magazines, if you're lucky, you won't even make it ten meters."
Jeremy held his head and screamed, "I know that already, damn it!"
"We can't leave all these civilians behind. We still have food, and we can wait for someone to respond."
"Eric, are you also deciding that we'll be rescued?"
Eric looked at Jeremy and remained silent. He wasn't sure about those words, so he said nothing. Their situation was too dire, and they were most likely to die of starvation.
Everyone was discussing what they could do in this situation, repeatedly analyzing the possibilities ahead.
A man named Todd Bloom sat on the floor with a pistol in his hand. When he turned his head, he saw all those people in silence. Seeing their faces without the will to live filled Todd with a strange sensation.
How did everyone end up in this situation?
It was hardly believable that a virus could wipe out all life around the country—an infection that couldn't be contained no matter how hard they tried. The few who survived were on military bases, while others struggled to survive outside with the walkers and the constant danger of being bitten.
"It doesn't matter; the answer has been in our hands all this time."
When everyone heard Todd's words, they turned and saw that he had a pistol in his hand. They all knew what was coming next—a lot of blood and brains splattering to the sides.
Eric, who was closest to Todd, slowly walked towards him and said, "Hey, put the gun down, Todd... You don't want to do this; you're just confused, that's all."
"You don't understand, Eric. Either we die now while we have the chance, or we die later at the hands of those infected. I believe we have the answer." Todd had no intention of stopping; he had made his decision.
"If you shoot now, you'll attract the attention of the infected. If you want to die, do something else instead." Jeremy Piven couldn't help but raise his voice a bit.
"I'm very sorry..."
Just as Ben Miller was about to stand up and intervene, the radio emitted a beep, and then a voice clear enough for everyone to hear filled the increasingly noisy room.
"Zz... This is Sergeant Stuart. Repeat your situation."
The crowd that had risen heard the voice from the radio and immediately stopped talking. Approaching Ben, they all desperately surrounded him, but fortunately, Ben took the radio. Just as Raúl's voice had stopped, he reported their situation immediately.
"Zz... Sergeant Stuart, this is Ben Miller. I am currently trapped in a military base near Port Royal, Virginia, 22535. Are you contacting us by air or ground?" Colonel Ben Miller sounded anxious, preferring that the voice that contacted them be airborne.
Seeing no response, Ben Miller said again, "Zz... We have pilots; there are helicopters or planes to transport us. We just need help to get out of this place."
"Zz... I'm currently on a mission. I'll inform my commander, and then we'll come to rescue you. Rest assured, it won't take more than 48 hours."
"Zz... We thank you, Sergeant. We will be eternally grateful," Ben said with a comforting smile. Now they had contact with possible help, so everyone stopped their movements.
"Do you think that's real?" Jeremy asked, completely ignoring Todd, who was about to shoot himself.
"We just have to trust. They'll come in at least two days, so we need to be ready and keep doing what we've been doing. Wait."
...
At this moment, Dominic had visualized the base and was focusing on the opening, where they evidently had to remove the walkers inside the base.
Three CH-47 helicopters descended slowly from the sky towards the central base, close enough to the ground for the walkers to be slowly attracted by the sound and the large figures in the sky.
None of the helicopters moved, evidently waiting for the third helicopter to approach to begin attracting the attention of all the walkers.
In a short time, not hundreds, but thousands of walkers began approaching the helicopters that hadn't made any other movements. For normal people, the actions of these helicopters were strange, but for Dominic's people, this was necessary to draw all the walkers.
"Zz... Bravo Squadron in position."
"Zz... Proceed to move slowly towards the broken area. You have three minutes to find some vehicles and seal the entrance so no other walkers invade the base."
"Zz... Roger, Commander. We'll be at that place once we secure the survivors."
"Now!"