Zombie Wars of Somalia

"The Rampart is magnificent," said Colonel Fatima Said, Supreme Commander of the Somali National Army. The tall, dark-skinned and stoic Somali woman readjusted her hijab before she resumed scanning her surroundings through binoculars. In her nearly five decades upon this earth, the Colonel had seen a lot of things. The cruel things that human beings can do to their own kind in the name of religion, race, sexuality and gender never ceased to amazed her. The zombie apocalypse and its global ramifications caught the Colonel by surprise, though.

"Thank you, Colonel," said Sergeant Amir Aden. The six-foot-tall, brown-skinned and dark-haired young man looked sharp in his crisp military uniform. Like the Colonel herself, Sergeant Aden had seen much combat lately. He'd recently returned from a 'mission of cleansing' in the Somali countryside. The village of Ham had fallen to the zombies, and most of its citizens had since joined the ranks of the living dead. Sergeant Aden lost a lot of friends during the battle of Ham, and the Colonel was still distraught about it. The war effort was not going well...

"I have news that the fortifications around the City of Kismayo and the City of Galkayo are complete, our people are ready for the siege," Colonel Fatima Said added with a tight smile. Sergeant Aden nodded. This was good news at least. According to the SMIN or Somali Military Intelligence Network, Ethiopia was close to being overrun with zombies. Yemen, a heartbeat from Somalia, has already fallen to the living dead. The Network lost contact with its counterparts in West Africa and the Middle East as well.

A while ago, back when the global news networks were still working, the people of Somalia watched in horror as the world powers fell. The United States of America, France, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany got overrun by the living dead. Thanks to the rapid spread of the virus and the unfortunate geography of their own heavily populated major cities, the world powers fell. As far as the Somali Military Intelligence Network was concerned, the only nations still standing were Somalia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and for some reason, Big Bad China. Everyone else had quit breathing and was now slouching and ravenous...

"We won't fall," Sergeant Aden said as he saw a pained look fill the Colonel's face. Colonel Fatima Said had long been an icon to the people of Somalia, especially the new generation of Somali women. The soft-spoken, good-natured military woman was a fearsome fighter. The Sergeant fought by her side when a horde of zombies threw themselves at the then-unfished rampart last week. Not the sort of leader who barks orders from a safe space while others fought, the Colonel grabbed an AK-47 and a bayonet and went out to fight the zombies.

"If we fall, it will be my fault," Colonel Fatima Said quipped, shaking her head. Sergeant Aden gently laid his hand on her shoulders. He knew he was breaking military protocol but he did not care. The Colonel was one of the bravest human beings he had ever known. Colonel Fatima Said looked at Sergeant Aden and smiled. The two of them stood on the rampart, watching the horizon. Somewhere out there, hordes of zombies were on the march, slouching toward the cities and towns of Somalia. By the Grace of the Most High, Somalia continued to hang on but for how long?

"I will fight by your side until the zombies are destroyed or we are," Sergeant Aden said firmly. The Colonel smiled and gently touched the younger man's face. The sergeant looked at the Colonel. The younger man looked nervous. The middle-aged military woman nodded gently. The gap between them closed, and they shared a brief kiss. Sergeant Aden smiled. Colonel Fatima Said nodded once more. Without a word, she walked past him. Colonel Fatima Said is keenly aware of the fact that she has breached military protocol by kissing a subordinate. It's the end of the world, so who cares? There isn't anyone around to issue court martials anyway...

"Sergeant, please ensure that the rampart troops are well-stocked, and stop staring at my bieuqib ( ass)," Colonel Fatima Said added as she left the platform. Sergeant Aden grinned and stroked his goatee. The other soldiers standing near him somehow managed to keep from smiling. The sergeant issued orders to the rampart troops and then resumed watching the horizon. There was always a zombie horde out there somewhere. The damned things seemed to pop up just about anywhere. The sergeant was still scoping the surroundings when he saw...them.

A man and a woman staggered out of the rocky outcroppings located near the southernmost point of fortified Mogadishu. The forty-foot wall, a marvel of African and Islamic engineering, had been erected in record time and surrounded the entire City of Mogadishu. There were hundreds of armed men and women patrolling the rampart. The fact that this pair somehow got this close without being shot irked the Sergeant. Shaking his head, Sergeant Aden was about to issue the order to shoot them when something gave him pause...

"Don't shoot," shouted the woman, a tall, attractive yet haggard Somali woman. Next to her was a tall, dark-skinned and bearded, tired-looking Somali man. The two of them staggered to the front of the southern rampart, begging to be let in. Sergeant Aden suddenly wished that Colonel Fatima Said hadn't left on her mid-afternoon break. The sergeant hated to be the one making decisions like this. Who were these two and where in hell did they come from? Zombies were swarming the Somali countryside. Anyone who wasn't hiding in a fortified city or walled town was dead meat...or worse.

"You there, drop your weapons and put your hands in the air," Sergeant Aden demanded. The man and woman exchanged a look and complied. On the Sergeant's orders, the southern gate was opened. A pair of medical officers escorted by a dozen uniformed soldiers approached the couple. They were ushered inside and searched for weapons as well as bites. Satisfied, the soldiers looked to the sergeant as he made his way toward them.

Habiba Dahir and her husband Abdirahman Warsame stood calmly as the soldiers aimed their guns at them. The medical officers concluded that they weren't infected, but trust was rare these days. The zombie apocalypse caused many men and women to get in touch with their inner paranoid. The couple exchanged a look of near relief. For hours they'd roamed in the desert, trying to evade the zombie hordes while trying to get to the City of Mogadishu.

"I am Habiba Dahir and this is my husband Warsame, we have some urgent news to share with you," said the woman. Sergeant Aden approached the Somali couple. The two of them looked grim but determined. He could only imagine what they endured out there in the Somali desert. If the damned zombies hadn't gotten to them then the desert surely would. Between the desert heat, the snakes, the scorpions, the coyotes, the hyenas and a thousand other things, the Somali desert could anybody...

"My wife and I have seen some disturbing shit, the zombies have changed," Abdirahman Warsame said. There was a haunted look on the man's face. Sergeant Aden looked at Abdirahman and Habiba. They had the look of survivors. He wondered which town or village they came from. Most nearby towns and villages had fallen to the zombies and only the City of Mogadishu remained, along with major cities like Kismayo and Galkayo. Some people in Puntland were still resisting the zombie hordes but they weren't having much luck. The damn zombies were too numerous...

"What do you mean, the zombies have changed?" Sergeant Aden demanded. Abdirahman looked ready to answer but Habiba shot him a look. The sergeant smiled. Before Habiba could say anything else, the sergeant asked the soldier near him to bring food and water to the new arrivals. The soldier saluted and complied at once. Moments later, he was back with water bottles and some great-smelling food. Mogadishu was doing well when it came to water, medicine and food supplies, so the sergeant didn't mind sharing.

"Thank you," Habiba said, and she and her husband Abdirahman helped themselves to some food and water. Sergeant Aden decided to give them some time to rest. The inquisitive officer within him wanted to press the couple for answers but they had clearly been through a harrowing ordeal. A few moments later, Colonel Fatima Said approached the group. Sergeant Aden turned and gave his commanding officer ( and crush ) a crisp salute. The Colonel returned the sergeant's salute and then addressed the new arrivals directly.

"As Salaam Alaikum, I am Colonel Fatima Said, sir and madam, welcome to Mogadishu, welcome to the resistance," said the Colonel. Habiba and her husband Abdirahman looked at the tall, well-dressed military woman and exchanged looks of astonishment. Even in the zombie apocalypse, legends do have an effect on the common folk. Colonel Fatima Said, the highest ranking woman in the Somali National Army, is formidable and world-famous. The Somali couple from the countryside seemed suitably impressed...

"Walaikum Salaam, pleased to meet you," Abdirahman said, and the Somali farmer bowed his head gently, as did his wife Habiba. Colonel Fatima Said, imperturbable as ever, bowed her head respectfully. Sergeant Aden looked at her and smiled. This woman right there is the total package. Rank and regulations be damned, if Somalia managed to overcome the zombie apocalypse, Sergeant Aden wanted to make Colonel Fatima Said his wife. He's already accustomed to obeying her anyways...

A few hours later, inside the casern, the Colonel, the Sergeant and other top ranked officers of the remaining Somali National Army debriefed the new civilian arrivals. Well rested and well fed, Abdirahman Warsame and his wife Habiba Dahir were quite forthcoming. In fact, ever since the couple sat down, they had been surrounded by military men and military women. The military folks asked a lot of questions and the civilian couple, simple farmers turned hardened survivors, did their best to answer them. The problem is that the military folks weren't listening...

"When you said the zombies were smart, you mean they were fresh zombies who still retained rudimentary human behavior?" asked Corporal Hodan Ahmed. The tall, curvy and dark-skinned Somali military woman scratched her hair under her hijab as she addressed the couple. Abdirahman sighed deeply while Habiba rolled her eyes. The Somali couple seemed more than a little annoyed. Corporal Hodan Ahmed looked at Sergeant Amir Aden, and the young Somali military man shrugged. The couple's story sounded like nonsense but their body language and tone spoke to their sincerity. That was quite alarming.

"How many times must my husband and I tell you? These zombies were different, they were smart, they used guns, they talked," Abdirahman said, shaking his head. Sergeant Aden snorted. Corporal Hodan Ahmed licked her lips and grinned but said nothing. The only people who hadn't said much during the debriefing were Colonel Fatima Said and a diminutive, taciturn man named Cisman Shariff. The dark-skinned, mustachioed and stocky little captain pursed his lips before joining the discussion.

"When I was in Hargeisa, I saw a fresh zombie grab a rock and throw it at a soldier before he and some other zombies dragged her down and ate her, I thought that zombie was an outlier but it seems they are multiplying," Captain Cisman Shariff said. The Somali military officer looked at his fellow officers and frowned, his imperious gaze silencing them. The Colonel nodded and smiled at the Captain before finally saying her peace.

"Alright, people, Habiba and Abdirahman have warned us that some of the zombies are smart, that they can use weapons, and are coming for us, I say we stop squabbling and prepare for them," Colonel Fatima Said declared. A hush fell over the meeting room. Sergeant Aden smiled, seemingly pleased. Corporal Hodan Ahmed seemed bewildered. Captain Cisman Shariff seemed to be of the same mindset as the Colonel. The senior officers earned their bars the hard way. They hadn't risen to their positions by being foolish...

"Smart or dumb, any zombie can be killed if we destroy their brains, my husband Abdirahman and I killed plenty on our way here," Habiba said with a smile. Abdirahman took Habiba's hand and kissed it. The Somali farmer looked lovingly at his wife. The gathered military brass exchanged smiles. Sergeant Aden looked at Colonel Fatima Said, and amazingly, the military strongwoman actually blushed. The moment of tenderness and levity passed. Time for battle...

"Let us share the news with the rest of the population of Somalia, get our radio men, our morse code people, and anyone with a cellphone to spread the news, the game has changed," Colonel Fatima Said added urgently. The military men and women saluted their commander. They filed out of the room. A pair of soldiers showed Habiba and Abdirahman their new accommodations. The remaining soldiers of the Somali motherland had work to do. The zombies have changed the game but they're not about to give up. Any enemy can be beaten...

The Communications Tower at the center of metropolitan Mogadishu was a center of activity. The Somali men and Somali women working there sent out communiques across Somalia and the rest of the world. They sent out messages in English, French, Somali, Italian, Arabic, and every other language they knew. They sent the messages in morse code, and broadcast it in what remained of the television and radio waves. The rest of humanity had to be informed that the zombies were now smart, able to talk, plan, and use weapons.

The war against the zombies is a war for the future of the human species. America, Canada, Mexico and Western Europe have already fallen to the zombie hordes. The residents of some Caribbean islands continue to survive. Certain populations are still hanging on in Asia and parts of Africa. Truth be told, the human spirit remains undaunted in the face of the zombie apocalypse. Its most unconquerable members are found in Africa's most beautiful and turbulent nation, Somalia. When the Undead decided to invade Somalia, they made a big mistake. This is the fight of a generation. The most implacable plague versus the most indomitable of humans. The end starts now...