The Death Trilogy (Book 1): The Death: Quarantine by John W. Vance

to Camp Sierra, will our families be joining us?”
    “Absolutely, Lori, when our work is done at the DIA, we will relocate your families there.”
    That was exactly what she wanted to hear.
    The Osprey banked over Camp Sierra and headed towards the central part of the valley. As it dropped in altitude, the propellers began to tilt up again, once again transforming the aircraft into a helicopter.
    A Marine crew chief spoke on the headset. “Three minutes to touchdown in the LZ. That means no more rubbernecking, people, take your seats.”
    Everyone obeyed his command, sat down, and buckled their seat belts for the landing.
    The pilot brought the Osprey down so gently that Lori swore he landed on a large pillow.
    Once the propellers stopped, the rear ramp lowered, and the crew chief called out, “You’re clear; you can go.”
    Everyone unbuckled, took off their headsets, and stood to get off.
    Lori was almost shaking with excitement. She thought about how much can change in a day. Just yesterday she could barely get herself out of bed because of her depression, and now she was a member of a team that would build what appeared to be the first of many new cities to save the human race.
    She stepped off the metal ramp and onto the tall thick green grasses of the valley floor. Reaching down, she felt the tips of the grasses and pulled some from the ground so that she could hold them. Wanting to lock this moment into her memory, she brought the grasses to her nose and smelled. With her eyes closed, she let the feelings of hope lock in. Opening them, she took in the view. The valley stretched out of sight and was surrounded by the most beautiful mountains, their granite tops still covered in snow from the harsh winter. The temperature was perfect, a moderate sixty-five degrees, and the sky was an intense blue, with not a cloud to be seen.
    “Over here!” Chance hollered.
    She looked and saw him about fifty feet away up on a slight rise, standing next to a red-flagged stake.
    She hurried to the spot with the others, and all stopped just in front of him.
    “Right here, where this stake is, is the center of Arcadia. This will be the exact center of the new capital building that you, Lori, will build.”
    She couldn’t help but smile when he mentioned her name.
    “Look around, people. You are some of the founding members of our new home ,” Chance said; his voice rose at the end as he lifted his arms.
    The mention of a ‘new home’ and ‘founding members’ rang odd to Lori, but she didn’t want to focus on it in a negative way. So much had changed that she didn’t know what was right or wrong anymore, so without a baseline, she went with her gut instinct, and that told her that this was right.
     
    Again, Chance dominated the meeting and talked for almost an hour nonstop. He brought some of his preliminary drawings and plans and glowed with excitement as he pointed out the geographical points. He walked them through what would be the future streets of Arcadia. He asked them to imagine the marble and granite buildings that would line the streets, the bustling shops and markets where the city dwellers would go and purchase their wares. He talked to the point where Lori believed he’d pass out from lack of breathing.
    Lori's imagination was in full gear and saw everything Chance described. No one asked questions as he walked them from one point to another. When they came to the far western edge of the valley, Lori spotted a group of people heading towards them. She squinted to make them out, but it was difficult as they were too far out.
    “Who is that?” Brad asked, seeing them too.
    “Who?” Chance responded, surprised by the question. He looked over his shoulder towards the small group.
    “Are they surveyors?” Maggie asked.
    Chance pulled out a small spyglass from his upper pocket and put it to his right eye. He adjusted the optics till they came fully into focus. A look of astonishment racked his face as he