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Chapter 17 — Contact & Contagion
Location: FOB Echo Point – Command Center
Time: 18:40 | Day 7 of Infection Collapse
The blue pulse of the new comms uplink matched Logan's heartbeat—steady, focused, ready to respond.
Marcel adjusted the frequency dial, isolating a faint signal. The screen flickered. A string of encrypted data scrolled, followed by a crisp, military-coded ping.
> INCOMING SIGNAL – NATO MILITARY FREQUENCY
SIGINT: BRAVO-CHARLIE 14 – EASTERN SECTOR
"That's military-grade encryption," Marcel muttered. "Could be NATO, or Romanian command remnants."
"Open it," Logan said.
A burst of static, then a clipped, confident voice broke through:
> "This is Captain Ana Dumitrescu of the Romanian Land Forces, Iron Shield Battalion. Receiving your beacon, Echo Point. Identify."
"Echo Point Command. Logan Hale. U.S. Special Forces. Independent operation under active engagement. Still holding."
A pause.
> "American? In Suceava sector? That's… unexpected."
"We thought the same about hearing you."
> "We're dug in near Iași. 34 soldiers, one tank, three BTRs. Fuel's almost gone. Civilians in tow. We're holding by teeth and wire."
Marcel nodded. "Signal's clean. They're legit."
Logan leaned in. "Send coordinates. We'll maintain this channel."
> "Copy that, Echo Point. We'll keep each other alive."
---
Location: Echo Point – Southern Wall
Time: 19:03
The perimeter sensor grid—built from salvaged NATO parts and modified comms—lit up red.
Movement.
Fast. Big.
Marcel's voice crackled through the base loudspeakers:
> "We've got incoming. South quadrant. Wave class: HERD. Estimate—over 280 infected."
Logan moved to the command deck, calling up the Military Command System.
> [WAVE DETECTED: CATEGORY OMEGA — INFECTED MASS MOVEMENT]
[DEPLOYMENT RECOMMENDED: TIER II ASSETS]
[AVAILABLE WAR CREDITS: 1,195.4]
Two clicks. Two orders.
> [DEPLOYED: M1128 STRYKER x2 | Cost: 345 each]
[DEPLOYED: TIER II INFANTRY SQUAD – "HUNTER-1" | Cost: 250]
[-940 WAR CREDITS]
[REMAINING: 255.4 WAR CREDITS]
[ETA TO DEPLOYMENT: 90 SECONDS]
Logan closed the menu, turned toward the gates, and adjusted his gloves. "Everyone to defensive positions. Civilians underground. This isn't just survival anymore. This is Echo Point's test."
---
POV: Sofia – Underground Shelter Bay
She moved fast, directing families and wounded toward the reinforced hatch. Cristian hovered nearby, clutching a rusted pry bar.
"You should stay down here," he said.
Sofia loaded a fresh magazine into her rifle and shook her head. "They'll need every gun."
A teenage boy tugged her sleeve. "Are we gonna die?"
Sofia crouched, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not if we hold. And we will."
---
POV: Reaper One – Wall Turret Nest
The M2 Browning was loaded and warm. Reaper wiped his goggles and slammed the bolt forward.
He could already hear the growl.
Then he saw them.
Like ants pouring over a hillside, the infected surged. Shamblers up front. Sprinters behind. Crawlers darting beneath rusted-out wrecks. And worse—twisted silhouettes moving with military precision. Class Delta.
"Let's do this," Reaper muttered, and opened fire.
The M2 roared like a god's hammer, cutting swaths through the first ranks.
> [WAR CREDITS EARNED: +37]
Reaper laughed. "Welcome to Romania, mother—"
Something slammed into the barricade below. A crawler. No, three.
He pivoted, unleashed another burst. The wall trembled. But it held.
For now.
---
POV: Wraith – East Flank
Wraith adjusted his optic and took slow, surgical shots. His team—three volunteers and a private from Sofia's crew—covered a gap between the Stryker emplacements.
"Infected are pacing," one of them said.
"No," Wraith said. "They're probing."
One infected sprinted and suddenly dropped to a crouch behind a wreck.
That was new.
"Target moving like it remembers combat."
Wraith dropped it with a two-shot burst to the neck. Another flanker crept low, nearly unseen.
"Eyes sharp. They're learning."
---
POV: Petrescu – Southern Trench Line
Petrescu wasn't a soldier. Not really. But his father had been. And right now, holding a loaded LMG behind stacked crates and facing 300 howling monsters, he wished he'd paid more attention to his old man's lessons.
The horde was closer now—less than 100 meters.
He opened up, sending long bursts into the packed crowd. Infected tumbled. Screamed. Some didn't even flinch.
He kept firing.
A crawler lunged over the sandbags. Petrescu pulled his pistol and fired blind. Blood sprayed across his vest.
Hammer yanked the body off him.
"You're doing fine."
---
Location: Echo Point – Vehicle Row
Time: 20:20
> [STALKER-1: ONLINE]
[STALKER-2: ONLINE]
The twin M1128 Strykers moved into position at the southern gate, their 105mm cannons loading high-explosive rounds.
"Fire when ready," Logan said over comms.
The first cannon thundered.
A hundred infected disappeared in a wall of flame and metal.
The second followed, ripping a trench into the oncoming wave.
> [WAR CREDITS +147]
[BATTLE SYSTEM REWARD: PRECISION STRIKE – +50]
The battlefield trembled. Smoke. Screams. Gunfire.
---
POV: Sofia – Rear Gate Defense
Sofia took position atop the supply bunker, scanning for breakthroughs.
One infected—fast, lean, with a shaved military cut—darted between cover, then vaulted toward the bunker ladder.
She took two shots. Missed.
The third hit his eye socket.
He dropped limp at her feet.
She stared at the face.
The body still wore tattered Romanian infantry fatigues.
---
POV: Reaper One – Wall Turret (Continued)
The belt ran dry. Reaper slapped a new one in, hands slick with sweat and blood. The wall beneath him cracked.
A crawler was scaling the supports.
He grabbed his sidearm, shot it point-blank in the jaw.
The thing screamed and fell backward.
"Not today."
He turned back and opened up again.
> [+38 WAR CREDITS]
---
POV: Logan Hale – Upper Command Deck
Logan fired from cover, managing cooldowns between bursts.
Below, Hunter-1 moved like ghosts—Tier II troopers with IR visors and suppressors. One dropped three infected with headshots in a single breath. Another laid down suppression while a wounded Echo soldier crawled free.
> [Hunter-1 Status: Active | 83% Ammo Remaining]
A red alert flashed across Logan's HUD.
> [STALKER-2: ARMOR BREACH – Front Tread Damaged]
[Retreat Recommended – Self-Repair Unavailable]
"Pull it back!" Logan shouted. "Get behind crates and suppress!"
The vehicle reversed, cannon still blazing.
---
Location: Echo Point – Final Push
Time: 20:45
The wave had thinned. Dozens remained, but they were scattered, confused, disoriented by the barrage and kill zones.
Wraith's squad advanced to clean up. Reaper dropped his final burst into a charging Delta that nearly breached the gate.
Sofia found Cristian again—now holding a rifle.
"You fought," she said.
"I didn't run."
They nodded in silence.
---
POV: Petrescu – Aftermath
Petrescu limped toward the wall, boots soaked in blood and grime. The smell was impossible—like hot meat and sewage. But they'd won.
He leaned against a crate, breathing hard.
"We're still here," he whispered.
---
Location: Echo Point – Medbay
Time: 21:10
Dr. Moraru pulled blood samples from three of the downed Deltas.
On her screen: regenerating cells. Neural activity pulsing faintly—after death.
She hit record.
> "Multiple signs of intelligent memory loop. Motor skills preserved. Infection no longer feral. This is selective evolution."
Her voice cracked. "This virus… it doesn't want to kill us. It wants to replace us."
---
Location: Command Center
Time: 21:30
> [WAVE NEUTRALIZED – INFECTED TERMINATED: 287]
[WAR CREDITS GAINED: +684]
[BONUS REWARDS: COORDINATED DEFENSE (+100), NO STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE (+50), MINIMAL CASUALTIES (+75)]
[TOTAL REWARD: +909 WAR CREDITS]
[CURRENT BALANCE: 1,164.4 WAR CREDITS]
Logan reviewed the screen, then dismissed it.
He opened a hidden console.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE: PROJECT SENTINEL – STATUS: ACTIVE]
[FILE LOCKED – NATO BLACKBOX PROTOCOL]
[AUTHORIZED USER: COMMAND NODE ALPHA – LOGAN HALE]
[DO NOT SHARE SYSTEM ORIGINS WITH UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL]
Logan's jaw tensed.
Some truths were still loaded. And too dangerous to fire.
---
Location: Radio Ops – FOB Echo Point
Time: 21:45
The radio lit up again. Marcel looked over, heart racing.
He nodded to Logan.
"It's them."
Logan picked up the mic.
> "Echo Point receiving. Go ahead, Iron Shield."
> "This is Captain Dumitrescu. Coordinates received. We're en route. We'll reach you in two days—if we survive the trip."
Logan looked out at the battlefield, still smoldering.
"You'll make it. We'll hold the line."
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