A few of the troops were starting to cough the closer we got to the States. This always happened when we made the change of atmosphere from east to west.
But the closer we got toward home, the sicker sounding those coughs became. The medics had taken all those that were showing signs of illness and moved them to the back of the plane. Our leaders hung blankets, hoping to avoid the spread of germs in the contained area.
With only about thirty minutes of flying over the water left, a growling sound started coming from the back of the plane.
Screams and grunts erupted from behind the curtain as a blood-covered hand gripped the blanket, pulling it down.
“Buckle in, we’re going to open the cargo door! I repeat, strap yourselves in…” The voice trailed off as everyone tried to grab their guns and strap in at the same time.
A blast of air was sucked out of the plane as the pilot tried to prepare everyone for the difference in air pressure.
I watched in horror as bodies flew out of the cargo door with blood dripping from their teeth. I felt bad for the ones who hadn’t been as sick but were being sucked out of the tail of the plane as well.
When the cargo door closed, I gulped in the fresh air, only to hear more gasping sounds coming from the back of the plane.
Evidently, those who hadn’t been as sick were strapped into their seats and had become the infected dead, but they couldn’t do more than bite the person next to them.
My platoon officer yanked off his restraints, gun in hand, and ran to the back of the plane. Rapid shots followed and all the growling sounds were silenced.
Everyone on the plane watched as he walked around, checking each person and making sure those who were infected were dead.
While hard to watch, I knew it was the right thing to do even though I wasn’t sure if I could have done it myself.
The pilot spoke again. “Due to the growing problem, everyone will have to be inspected before they can leave the area and find a place to shower, eat, and rest up before orders are handed down.”
I groaned on the inside but knew that after what had occurred on the plane, extra precautions were needed.
With the way that things were going, they weren’t going to let us go home to our families. This virus, or one of those things were going to take us out one by one.