Clear Water, Hidden Danger

Chapter 44 – Lines We Draw, Lines We Keep

The rumble of the engine faded into a low idle as Hawk and I rolled to a stop at the corner of Golden Boulevard. Afternoon light slanted across the deserted street, cutting sharp angles through the rows of abandoned cars. Wind pushed wrappers and leaves in lazy spirals down the pavement.

Behind us, the horde pressed against the highway choke point like a slow, breathing wall. Thousands of bodies. Thousands of eyes. A single animal made from every ruined life between La Platte Road and the turnoff to Bellevue.

They couldn’t reach us.
Not yet.
The traffic jam kept them penned in, snarling and thrashing against vehicles they couldn’t climb or maneuver around.

But they were there.
Waiting.
Like a tide held back by a sandbar.

Hawk leaned his head back against the seat, exhaled sharply, and muttered, “We’re in deep on this one.”

“No argument here,” I said.

He kept staring out the windshield. “You drag a horde this size up three miles of road, call it babysitting, and somehow I’m still shocked every time.”

“Can’t lose them,” I said. “If we shake them too early, they’ll spread back into town. Turn into clusters. Hit civilians. That’s not an option.”

“Yeah,” Hawk said, “but they don’t exactly come with an off switch.”

Silence settled between us. The kind that grows heavy when you’re both thinking the same thing and neither wants to say it.

We couldn’t abandon the convoy.
We couldn’t return to CWP with three thousand Phase-III snapping at our heels.
We couldn’t burn fuel running circles.
We couldn’t outrun them forever.

We needed a plan.
And for the first time in hours, something finally clicked.

I keyed the radio.

“Sergeant Jackson. Come in.”

Static crackled, then his steady voice filled the cab.

“Jackson here. Go ahead.”

I glanced at Hawk, then spoke.

“Your people aren’t leaving NLC.”

There was a pause. Not surprise—calculation.

I continued. “We’re not shutting it down. NLC stays operational from this moment forward. That’s your home base.”

Another pause. Longer.

“Copy that, Johnson,” Jackson said. “Permission to ask why the change?”

“Because I drove past your building today,” I said. “And because abandoning a facility that size is stupid. It’s defensible. It’s built for emergencies. It’s capable of housing civilians, running long-term medical operations, and supporting coalition traffic.”

Hawk added under his breath, “The thing’s a damn fortress.”

I keyed again.

“We’ll hold the road between CWP and NLC. That corridor stays open. Supply lines stay open. Coalition stays open.”

Jackson breathed out through his nose.

“That’ll change everything for us.”

“It’s supposed to.”

I continued.

“The Iron Battalion can choose to keep their lodging near NLC. Or, if they want to relocate, we’ll take them at CWP. Their call. No pressure.”

“Understood.”

“Good,” I said. “Because we’re not doing a one-site survival anymore. We're building territory.”

Hawk muttered, “Finally playing to our strength.”

I heard movement behind Jackson’s voice—people stopping, listening, maybe even hoping.

I keyed Neal next.

“Neal. Change of plans. Reroute the convoy to NLC. Offload everything they need to stay operational for the next few weeks.”

Neal didn’t hesitate.

“Copy. Taking it to NLC. We’ll give them what they need first.”

“And when you’re done,” I said, “bring it home. That’s it for today.”

“We’ll see you at the CWP soon.”

The radio went quiet again, leaving only the sound of Phase-III bodies grinding against each other in the distance.

“Smart call,” Hawk said. “They need that place. And we need them.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Now all we have to do is figure out how to lose three thousand screaming monsters without letting them slip into Bellevue or circle back into neighborhoods.”

Hawk snorted. “Simple. Just another Tuesday.”

“You and your optimism.”

“Hey, only one of us thought chasing a biblical plague up Highway 370 was a bright idea.”

The sun dipped lower, shadows stretching long across the road. The first hints of evening cooled the pavement beneath our tires.

We sat there, two men in a truck, pinned between a horde big enough to erase a suburb and the weight of every decision we’d made since the world cracked open.

The convoy had its orders.
NLC had a future.
CWP wouldn’t be carrying the load alone anymore.

But us?

We were still stuck at Golden Boulevard with a monster at our back.

And the night was coming.

“Alright,” Hawk said finally. “Let’s figure out how we’re getting out of this without dying.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Let’s.”

The real problem waited behind us in a mass of teeth and hunger.

But at least now, we had a direction.

And a coalition worth saving.

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ANONYMOUS FIELD LOG — ENTRY ALPHA
CLASSIFIED — PROJECT ECHO CLEARANCE REQUIRED:
Anchor departed CWP perimeter as planned, initiating off-site diversion protocol. CWP population remained stable during absence; no further resonance surges or structural vibration events detected beneath WH27. Internal dynamics continue to show elevated tension clusters centered around security personnel uncertain about Anchor’s expanding operational role, but no active dissent. Medical wing remains on restricted access while the Fragile One stabilizes; Cruz maintains strict control of movement around her cot. Patrol rotations continued without incident. No Phase-III presence within detection range, and south-perimeter auditory pattern unchanged. Anchor’s return trajectory unknown; recommend continued observation for resonance variation prior to convoy re-entry.

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ANONYMOUS FIELD LOG — ENTRY BRAVO
CLASSIFIED — PROJECT ECHO CLEARANCE REQUIRED:

NLC command reacted to Anchor’s transmission with mixed internal cohesion. Major Jackson publicly affirmed partnership, but private staff channels show apprehension regarding permanent alignment and dependence on Anchor-driven corridor control. Following announcement of NLC retention as an operational base, facility morale increased markedly; medical personnel resumed long-term planning cycles and began reorganizing patient wings. No awareness of Anchor’s strategic reroute toward Golden Boulevard or the ongoing horde-containment maneuver. Internal sentiment indicates belief that Anchor’s coalition strategy is stabilizing regional collapse, though some personnel question sustainability of a single-point resonance barrier. No hum interference or Phase-III pressure detected near NLC perimeter during this reporting window. Infiltration remains uncompromised; heightened activity provides natural cover.