Ranger Martin (Book 2): Ranger Martin and the Alien Invasion

by Flacco, Jack

  Before she could finish her sentence, the door burst a crack, shoving Jon’s foot from its position. A rotting hand flung through the opening and reached for the little boy. The hammering continued on all sides of the entrance, pressing it further open for the others to take advantage and infest the roof. Matty had another plan, not really, more of a spur of a moment thought. She pushed her shoulder against the door jamming the hand in the doorway. Screams came from the undead whose hand had locked in place. Still armed with her knife she stabbed it, twisting it forward. Its decomposing bones shattered. She sliced through sinew and rot, and tossed the hand from the doorway. It plopped on the roof like a rubber glove stuffed with tomatoes. The arm withdrew and the door closed shut. She quickly crouched, jammed her knife underneath until its handle had lodged against the roof and the bottom of the door.

  Matty stood on her feet, pressed her shoulders against the door and gave Randy a slight smile. She said, “Glad to see you again.”

  “Same here.” Randy said. “I didn’t think I’d see you again either.”

  “Once this is over, we should go out and grab a bite to eat.”

  “I don’t think there’ll be anything open. Wait, isn’t there a diner not too far from here? We could order a couple of burgers, shakes, fries, you know, the works. I’m dying for a burger.”

  Jon’s mouth fell open, gawking at them as they talked nonsense.

  “Me too.” Matty nodded. “I could sit at the window all night, watching the people pass by while I slowly pick at my fries, dreaming of an island off the coast of the Caribbean.”

  “I could go for that.” Randy inhaled hoping to imagine what real food tasted like again. “I love catsup on my fries.”

  “Aw, me too. Catsup’s to die for!”

  Jon shook his head, thinking he had stepped into an episode of a weird paranormal television show. He asked, “What are you guys doing?”

  Matty and Randy looked at each other, then looked at Jon, “We’re talking.”

  “Talking?” Jon raised his eyebrows and gazed at his shoes. “Okay, I guess we straightened that issue out. Did you want me to get you two a menu? How ‘bout a side order of onion rings?”

  During those moments where the kids’ amusement turned to fantasy, Ranger was rubbing the daze from his head while General Grayson was winding his fist for a final blow. The general had it in his mind to put the zombie slayer out permanently, so he wanted to make sure all his power went into striking Ranger for the last time.

  Just when Grayson’s fist would have collided with his victim’s face, Ranger rolled out of the way, then leaped to his feet. He took a deep breath after he had realized the general would never play fair with him. Not after seeing his willingness to hit someone while down. Ranger needed another plan. That was when he leaned back and waved Grayson in. The zombie fighter wasn’t through with the general yet.

  General Grayson chuckled under his breath as if to say, “You’re good as dead.” He charged his opponent, but Ranger launched a left uppercut to cause the general to lose his footing and slam on his chest a few feet behind him. Stunned, Grayson shook his head from the surprise shot. He lifted himself on his hands and knees with drool stringing from his lips.

  “You still have an opportunity to surrender, General. Are we done here?” Ranger stood on his spot, almost at the edge of the building.

  “Not a chance. I’m going to kill you, you sonofabitch. You and your damn kids. By the time I’m done, you’re gonna wish you were a zombie, so you couldn’t feel the pain I’m about to give you.” The general propped himself to his feet and pulled a knife from the side of his hip. He wanted to ensure the next shot would be the one Ranger would feel right up until the last moments of his life.

  Ranger stood, waiting.

  Ten feet, the general charged with the knife leading the way.

  Seven feet, Ranger didn’t move, but braced for the attack.

  Five feet, the kids’ faces flooded with shock.

  Three feet, Ranger glanced over his shoulder to see the crowd of eaters storming the building below.

  One foot remaining and the general’s eyes turned black like that of a shark ready for the kill.

  At the last moment, Ranger darted to the side. The general couldn’t stop the inertia carrying him forward. He screamed in midair as he dove off the edge of the building, just as Emissary Rodan had done when the general shot him in the head. He flew, letting go of the knife, as if letting go of the extra weight would slow his descent.

  Grayson slammed into the roof of a parked car. The undead below shook in a frenzy at the smell of his fresh blood pouring from under him. They pulled his body from the hood and began to tear him apart, piece by piece. By the time they had finished, General Grayson’s body had disappeared into the mouths of the horde.

  At the top of the skyscraper, with the knife wedged safely underneath the door, Matty and the others shot across the roof into Ranger’s arms. Jon couldn’t help but piggyback Ranger while Randy stopped short and patted him on the shoulder.

  With General Grayson out of the way and the aliens thrown to the wind, one question remained. The zombie horde had the Epic Center surrounded and the pounding wouldn’t last much longer before the undead broke through the door and emptied on to the rooftop.

  “How are we going to get out of here?” Randy asked.

  No sooner had Randy said the words, Jeeps squeaked at the foot of the skyscraper. Guns blasted the horde below. Flamethrowers drenched the crowd as the Resistance turned everything into a living hell. None of the zombies survived. As Resistance fighters burned through the undead population, other fighters pushed their trucks along the sides and opened fire at the mass. The aliens from the blown capsules stationed in the center of the street died as easily as the undead. Bullets pierced their ugly corpses.

  As the billows of black smoke rose into the sky, at the top, a helicopter swooped to the edge where Grayson took the plunge. Piloting the metal beast? Colonel Hendricks waved to Ranger as he brought the helicopter to rest on the roof, its propellers slicing through the air. The kids plugged their ears from the sharp noise of the engine. Ranger and the kids ran to the helicopter.

  “Need a ride?” Hendricks asked.

  “Where’re you headed?” Ranger answered.

  “Anywhere from here. I hear the Bahamas is a nice place.”

  “How could anyone refuse an offer like that?”

  Colonel’s gaze broke from Ranger and zeroed in on the door with the knife sticking underneath. The knife began to slip one pounding after another as moans, screeches, and groans flooded from the other side of the door.

  The kids turned to watch the door crack open an inch at a time. The pounding had jostled the knife enough for the zombies to get a leg, an arm and a head through.

  One of the corners of Ranger’s mouth lifted to a slight smile. He swung his head to the kids and said clearly, “Get in the chopper. I have one more thing to do.”

  By this time, Matty, Randy, and Jon trusted him completely and knew he wouldn’t go far. They hopped aboard without even a word of reproach. Matty smiled knowing Ranger all too well. He had to go out with a bang.

  The sound of the chopper pierced the air with loud flutter. Ranger turned his attention to his shotgun lying halfway to the door and the chopper. No way would he leave without retrieving his best friend that had helped him out of one jam after another. No way would he abandon his true champion he calls his companion. No way would he leave without one more round of fun.

  The smirk pasted on his face turned into a “Yahoo!” He would’ve skipped to his shotgun hadn’t the kids been watching, but instead chose to jog. Once he picked up his weapon, he couldn’t help but admire the finish. Next, he retrieved a few shells from his pants pocket, then took his time loading the gun.

  The zombies hit the door a few more times, almost ready to burst on to the roof. Once there, it wouldn’t take them long to spot Ranger. All they would see was their next meal. A few more
hits was all they needed. A few more hits.

  While the kids waited patiently for Ranger in the helicopter, Jon smiled and shook his head knowing his hero was about to have the time of his life. A shotgun and a horde of eaters plowing through the door was all Ranger ever needed. Even Randy, who sat next to Matty holding her hand, couldn’t help but smile at Ranger’s giddiness. He understood Ranger would always be the perpetual kid in the candy store, waiting for the absolute best treat in the world.

  As for Matty? She had her brother by her side, Randy on the other. Her eyes glowed with joy seeing Ranger about to have the time of his life. Could anything have been better than this?

  The knife under the door shifted more and more with every punch of the zombies’ hands. Ranger didn’t rush loading his gun. The smile on his face could have been the last scene in a new truck commercial.

  Once the door burst open, the zombies slipped through. They staggered from the dark stairwell and saw the zombie slayer standing there, waiting for them and their raging appetites. Clothes torn, skin falling from their faces, the undead trotted to their meal not knowing Ranger had it all planned to the end.

  When three of the zombies got within five feet of Ranger, he knew there and then his life made a whole lotta sense as he flipped the shotgun in their direction. He pulled the loading mechanism back, and cocked his gun.

  A big smirk on his face emerged. He then said, “Come and get it.”