The Kill Order

Mark fights with the second man, and rage builds inside Mark as the man pushes the button to reopen the ramp. Mark beats the man in the face before jumping toward the button to raise the hatch again. The man attacks Mark again, and Mark responds, falling into a blinding rage. Mark picks the man up and shoves him through the space of the partially open hatch, watching as the hatch crushes the man’s chest. Mark then shoves the man’s body out of the Berg as the hatch closes securely.

Mark is filled with fear as he reflects on the unusual rage he just showed. He worries that he has contracted the Flare based on Anton’s description of how some of the others behaved after being infected with the virus.

Despite his conviction that he has the Flare, Mark is calm because he believes there must be a cure somewhere. He focuses on finding Trina. Mark joins Alec in the cockpit, and Alec assures him the Berg is ready for flight, but they need to hurry because of the approaching crowd. As Alec, a former pilot, prepares for liftoff, someone climbs onto the Berg and uses a hammer to crack the window. The window breaks, and the man gets his arm through the hole. Mark slips through the window as the Berg takes off. The man grabs his arms and pulls him down as Alec grabs Mark’s legs. Alec throws the hammer at the man, and he slips away from Mark. Alec pulls Mark back into the Berg.

Alec pilots the Berg away from the headquarters and finds some food and water for him and Mark. They eat quickly, as they have not eaten in a long time. Mark tells Alec about the rage he felt and his fear of having the Flare, but Alec assures him that there could be other explanations for his behavior. Alec tells Mark to try to get some sleep. Mark does not think he can sleep, but he does.

Mark dreams of the days he, Trina, and the others spent in the Lincoln Building. One day, Baxter wakes Mark and tells him there is a boat traveling toward the building. Mark is surprised because, between the flood and the radiation from the sun flares, there has not been any sign of life for weeks. Baxter and Mark go down to the fifth floor, where Trina is waiting for them. They enter the fire door and find Lana, Alec, and the others waiting near the windows. They can see a yacht approaching but cannot see who is sailing it. When the yacht is close enough, a man with a gun gets off and approaches Alec’s group, ordering them to put their hands in the air. A woman joins the gunman. Everyone puts up their hands except Alec. In a show of power, the man shoots Baxter to get Alec to obey.

In the dream, the woman secures the yacht to the dock, and the gunman demands to be taken to where the group has stashed their food. For several hours, the gunman and his partner search the Lincoln Building for supplies, filling their yacht. When it appears they are done, Alec approaches the gunman and grabs his gun, wrenching it out of his hands. Alec and the gunman fight, falling through the windows as they do. Mark rushes forward and grabs Alec, but he falls before he can brace himself on the frame of the window. Toad grabs Mark and manages to pull them back far enough that Alec can climb back inside after the gunman loses his grip. Next, Toad pulls Mark inside. Lana chases the woman, but she is unable to find her and returns to the group. Alec loads everyone onto the yacht. The gunman attacks Mark, trying to get back onto the yacht, but Mark is able to knock him back into the water. The woman appears in the window and dies by her own hand.

When Mark wakes on the Berg, Alec tells him that he flew around the area and believes he knows where Trina, Lana, and Deedee were taken. In the meantime, Alec and Mark search the Berg, looking for weapons. In one box, Alec discovers a weapon that was too expensive to market before the solar flares, a Transvice. The weapon uses white light to instantly turn people into dust.

Alec explains to Mark that a Transvice breaks down a body’s molecular structure, causing it to become such small particles that it basically dissolves into the air. Mark and Alec charge the Transvices, fill backpacks with food and water, and prepare to find Lana, Trina, and Deedee in a wealthy residential neighborhood. Before they go, they decide to test the Transvice. They go into a smaller residential area. An infected man comes running out of a house as they pass. Alec uses the Transvice on the man, and a bolt of white light causes the man to turn into gray dust. After a few seconds, the dust blows away.

Alec and Mark finish their preparations and Alec flies to the neighborhood where he believes he saw Lana, Trina, and Deedee being taken into a house. As they fly over the area, they see people gathered in large groups. In the middle of one group, Mark spots a dead body. Imagining it might be Trina, he demands Alec land the Berg, but Alec insists on landing some distance away to prevent them from being overwhelmed by the crowds. When they land, they use a remote to close the Berg’s hatch and make their way into the melee.

Alec and Mark make the long walk to the neighborhood, pausing to drink water along the way because of the intense heat. When they approach the line of houses, they see a woman on a roof. The woman briefly disappears and then jumps down onto Mark.

Mark wrestles with the woman, calling for Alec to hit her with the Transvice. Eventually, Mark gets himself free, but Alec refuses to shoot the woman, saying it would be a waste of the weapon’s charge. Mark retrieves his own Transvice and shoots the woman anyway, worried she might regain her feet and come after them. Mark repositions his backpack and follows Alec deeper into the neighborhood.

Mark and Alec pause to eat and drink. Alec is afraid a thief might steal the Transvices and tells Mark to be careful. Alec then says a sort of goodbye to Mark, acknowledging that their fates are at risk. Mark and Alec enter a house and begin searching it. When they enter the basement, they are confronted by a man who has soaked himself in fuel.

The man tells them the people outside are afraid of fire. Mark calls for Trina and the others but gets no response. When it is clear they are not there, Mark and Alec back away, leaving the man alone. At the next house, they meet a woman who insists no one is sick in her house, that it is just her and her children there. Inside, Mark and Alec find dozens of children. Mark wants to take them away, but Alec reminds him they are there for a reason, and they cannot finish their mission if they take the kids with them. They head for the next house and stop when they see three men dragging Lana out of a house five doors down.