“Angie, I’ll be seeing you. You watch yourself out here now. You’ve been through enough to last the rest of your life,” Ed said.
“I know, Ed. Come home soon, okay?” she said, getting teary eyed.
Nick leaned in gave him a quick hug and then faced the woods to hide his emotions. Cam and Jim said their goodbyes and they watched Ed drive off.
“Load up! Jim, take the wheel. Angie. Nick. In the rear,” Cam ordered.
They got into the older model SUV. Cam didn’t want to sacrifice his new one and have to leave it at the armory, and he wasn’t about to give up a possible fourth Humvee. Angie buckled up, resting her rifle across her lap.
She was getting very nervous.
She hadn’t been out in the wider world since she went to search for Cam and Dale caught up with her.
Dale had been batshit crazy and the world was better off without him. Cam had made him pay, but they had never spoken about how. That was completely fine with her.
The trees passed in a blur. They were all keeping a close eye on possible threats. Cam scanned the radio stations, finding nothing. They hadn’t really expected to.
They made it to the crossroads and turned onto the road that would take them to the armory.
Cam had never talked to Angie about his time in the military, but she suspected he was more than some regular army guy. He knew a lot of unconventional type things, and she knew he spent a lot of time in the Middle East. Maybe one day he would tell her.
The roads were clear of the dead, and they saw no gangs on the way to their target. Angie was more concerned about the possible road gangs than she was about the dead.
She knew what they could do…and had done.
Chapter Fourteen
Enemy Territory
Angie
Five minutes out from the armory, Cam had Jim pull down a back road and turn into a dirt path leading through dense woods. Angie watched carefully through the windows, expecting the dead to start appearing among the crowded trees.
They stopped at a tall fence and Cam told them to get out.
“You guys pull security. I’m going to cut the fence,” he said, pulling the bolt cutters from the front floorboard.
He slung his rifle on his back and his axe over his shoulder.
Jim, Angie, and Nick kept watch while Cam worked. Angie took a knee, listening and smelling as she had been taught.
Smelling was particularly important these days. A person could smell a Z from a quarter mile away. Well, maybe not quite that far. But a group of them? Definitely.
“On me,” Cam murmured near the newly cut fence.
Angie and the others slipped through the gap in the fence and into the woods on the other side. They merged into a diamond formation and made their way through the trees. Cam took point, Jim took the rear, and Nick and Angie took the sides. They rapidly covered the distance until they reached a large, wide-open field.
“Cam, what is this?” Angie asked.
She saw a large built-up levy looking thing in the distance, and some old vehicles out on the other side.
“It’s the range. We need to go into the main armory. I know where the keys to the vault are. Hopefully, they’re still there. We’ll get some Humvees pulled up to the bay doors, and bring them in. We can load them up with gear and drive over to the vault building, where the weapons lockers are.
They widened their formation a bit now that they were out of the trees. Angie looked at the armory nearby. There were vehicles in the lot, not many, but some. She desperately hoped their drivers had left long ago.
Cam called a halt near a tower, and they concealed themselves behind it.
“We’re going in through the rear entrance. It opens up into a large drill hall. Remember, we need to stay quiet. If we draw in the enemy, our mission will be a failure and we will get nothing. Understood?” Cam asked.
They did.
He readied his axe and led them onward.
They reformed and moved up toward the armory, using various structures to provide concealment. Eventually, they came to the parking lot behind the building.
There were shipping containers lined up back there, and they walked between a couple of them.
“People keep some of their gear here,” Cam said, tapping the Conex softly.
They kept moving. On the far side of the lot, near a large steel building, sat the Humvees.
“Bingo,” Jim said.
“Let’s get in and get the keys to the vault,” Cam said.
They crossed to a small doorway, bypassing the large overhead door. Cam peeked in through the glass, then pulled the handle.
It was unlocked!
They filed in, searching the entire large space. Her heartrate was more rapid now that they were in an enclosed space. It wouldn’t take much to get trapped. She found that she very much preferred to be outside.
Angie saw another Humvee sitting inside the large hall. It had a machine gun on the top already. She saw Jim gesture at it, and Cam gave him an okay sign. They would be taking that one later.
Angie followed Cam and Nick, with Jim bringing up the rear. They went around and closed off the doors that were open. It wouldn’t stop the living, but it may deter the dead long enough for them to get the hell out.
She hoped this place was empty.
Cam led them down a hallway lined with empty offices, finally reaching a staircase at the end. He took them up, bypassing the second floor.
The hallway had the familiar old-building smell, kind—like an old courthouse or school, and it was strangely anxiety provoking.
Reaching the third-floor landing, they stopped outside the door and listened.
“I should be able to find the keys in the large office at the end of the hall. Stay alert. Just because we haven’t seen anyone yet does not mean they aren’t here,” Cam told them.
Jim nodded and they filed through the door behind Cam.
They spread out into a modified rolling T-formation, with Jim and Cam clearing the offices on either side. Angie brought up the middle and Nick, the rear.
They were silent. The only sound was the slight creaking of their boots and the muffled tapping of their footsteps. Some of the offices were closed, and they bypassed these.
The rest were clear.
Cam
Cam reached the back office that he’d been heading for. The door was closed, and after a quiet turn of the handle he found that it was also locked.
He looked back. “Watch our six.”
The others fanned out a little and covered the hall. They were doing well so far.
The door was solid, but the frame was not. He thought he may be able to breach it.
“Jim, I’m going to kick it in. Be ready.”
They pulled their machetes and hatchets and got ready. Cam turned back to the door, took a couple of steps back, and rammed his foot into the space beside the knob.
The frame gave way, and the locking mechanism broke through. The door slammed back, echoing with a loud bang through the hallway and beyond.
“Shit!” Cam said in a low voice.
There was a corpse standing near the desk. Its savage gaze landed directly on the doorway.
It snarled and lunged toward Cam in a frenzy of hunger.
Cam raised the axe, but it was too late. The zombie crashed into his chest, trapping the axe handle between them. He was shoved back by its momentum and forced into the wall.
The rotting, putrid stink emanating from its mouth was stomach churning. He readied himself, gathered his strength, and shoved the creature away with the axe handle held between them.
“Cam!” he heard Angie say.
She looked fearfully at the chomping corpse. He wrestled it back to a full arm’s length.
Angie raised her hatchet and buried it into the things neck, spraying gore across the side of her face.
Unfortunately, it didn’t help. It struggled back toward Cam just as hard.
Angie pulled the hatchet ou
t and tried again, putting all her weight into the swing. This time, the hatchet lodged deep in the side of the walker’s head, and it crashed to the floor. She stood and stared at Cam in shock.
He knew how she felt. It was the same way he felt back at the store when he took down his first one.
“Baby, get back to the door.”
“Cam. You good?” Jim asked, eyes not leaving the hallway.
“Dandy,” he answered.
He looked over at the corpse on the floor.
He had known the man.
They weren’t close friends, but they were acquaintances. He was a good man. He wondered what happened to his wife and children.
He went over and searched the desk, breaking the lock on the bottom drawer. They were right where he had expected them to be.
He snatched up the keys to the vault and jogged back to the doorway, sidestepping the dead man.
“Let’s get to the supply room, then we’ll load up some gear in the Humvee down in the drill hall.”
Cam led, axe at the ready. They went back down the stairs and into the large hall again. He jogged over to the Humvee and opened the door.
The wheel lock cable was wrapped securely around the wheel, and he pulled the bolt cutters from his ruck. He cut the cable.
He didn’t want to start it up until they were ready. The sound would travel, and they would need to open the big overhead door. Not a good idea just yet.
This one was definitely going with them though. It already had a .50 cal mounted up on the turret, all he needed was ammo for it.
Something about it just nagged at him. He wondered why they had mounted it up and just left it here? It was extremely odd and went against all policies and safety directives.
He closed the door and led the team to the other side of the large room. The door led to an older side of the building and housed the supply room.
Luckily, it wasn’t too far away.
He opened it up and looked into the darkened hallway. The only light came from the drill hall behind them. He pulled his headlamp from the side pocket on his ruck. The others followed suit.
Switching on the white light, he stepped through the doorway. There weren’t any offices down here. There was the large supply room further down, next to the maintenance room and janitor’s closet. The electrical room was around the corner.
His breathing sounded loud in the enclosed, narrow hallway. It wasn’t nearly as wide as the one upstairs, so they walked single file. His footsteps squeaked on the floor as he walked. He wanted to see what was around the corner before they cleared the supply room.
He reached the end of the hallway and glanced around. The stairwell door at the far end was closed, as was the bathroom.
He turned back and opened the supply room door.
Inside, the cavernous room was pitch black. He swept his headlamp over the looming shelves of gear.
He reached over to the switches, found one, and turned it on.
The lights hummed in the room, illuminating all but the darkest corners. The fluorescent light was harsh and bright, casting odd shadows around and in the maze of shelving units and boxes. Some fixtures in the back flickered, providing an ominous atmosphere to that side of the room.
“Jim, clear the back.”
Jim nodded.
“Angie, I want you to grab some of these duffle bags. Fill them with OCPs, get a range of sizes. We want enough to last a long while.”
“Nick, go over there and grab three pairs of boots in each of these sizes,” he said, handing him a list.
When Jim came back, he had him gathering up the rest of the gear on the list, while Cam concentrated on the radios.
He walked over to the smaller equipment room, sectioned off from the main supply area. In here they had the electronics, radios, and other things. Cam found three manpack radios and took them out to their growing stack.
A loud crash echoed through the main supply room, and he dashed out, alarmed. Nick was standing near a stack of boxes that had fallen over.
“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head.
Cam turned and went back to the room. He took all available handheld radios along with a box of tactical microphones and earbuds. He took extra batteries for all. Further along, on the other side of the room he found the optics.
The others were finishing up. Jim had found everything they needed, and more. He scanned through the pile, looking at his list to confirm. They had everything.
“Nick and Angie, pull security in the hall. Jim, grab some gear and follow me.”
Cam grabbed the three manpack radios and led the way back to the Humvee in the drill hall. He put them in the rear and went back for more.
When they had the last of it loaded up, and he called Angie and Nick over.
“Jump in the back. I’m going to start it up. Jim, stand over by the door and wait for my signal to open it.”
Cam got in the driver’s seat and flipped the switch, waiting for the glow plugs. Several seconds later he started the engine. He gave Jim the signal to open the doors.
The rumbling of the engine was loud in the space, and he gritted his teeth. He knew it would travel. They could pretty much count on being heard by anything nearby.
Jim got the doors open and jumped in the passenger seat. Cam pulled out into the parking lot and turned toward the armory’s vault building. He scanned the area while he drove, looking for any threats nearby. The back was clear, for the moment.
They needed to hurry.
He shut it down and they got out.
The others watched his back while he opened the locks.
They were lucky the facility hadn’t upgraded their systems yet to make a pass card a mandatory part of the unlocking process. He shoved open the heavy door and flipped on the lights. This side was clear.
They filed in, leaving Nick to guard the door. He first went over to the weapons cages containing the M4s. He unlocked it and laid them out on the table. Jim came and carried them out, five at a time.
The Humvee was getting packed tight. They would need to go get another one before they could load up any more gear.
“Angie, go around and collect those rifles there, and then get all the ammo cans out of that locker behind it. Stack them near the door.”
He passed by Jim coming back for another load of weapons and ammo. “I’m going for another vehicle. Stay alert.”
Cam jogged over to the row of vehicles and chose a Humvee that had a weapon ring shield and another mount installed.
The boys had been gearing up for something. They had them ready to go.
Wonder what happened to them?
He started up the Humvee and pulled it over to the first one. He decided to bring the rest as well.
After backing the other two up to the vault, he went back in to get the heavier weapons. He found them in a separate locker and carried them out, one by one, to the vehicles. He loaded up four .50 caliber machine guns and the hardware. He took one MK19, along with as many boxes of 40mm grenades as they could fit.
The others were finishing up their tasks and he took one last look around.
He couldn’t leave the SAWs behind.
There were two of them, and he took them both, along with as much linked ammo as they could fit in the remaining vehicles. They had loaded down the Humvees so much, maybe they should have looked for a deuce and a half too.
They all gathered around the vehicles. Now he had to teach them how to start them up.
“Angie, take this one. Once you start it up, just drive it like a regular truck. First, flip this switch. When the light goes off you can start the engine like this. Then release the brake and put the transmission in gear. When you stop, reverse the process. Got it?” he asked, hoping she did.
It was starting to get late, and they needed to find a place to stay for the night. There were some farms several miles down the road, out in the middle of nowhere. Those would probably be their best bet.
He repeated his instr
uctions to Nick and Jim, then told them to follow him. He fired up the engine and pulled away.
Things had gone remarkably well, and they had gotten everything they needed. Now they would be able to supply their backup location with plenty of weapons and ammo.
He rounded the corner of the building and slammed on the brakes.
“Son of a bitch!” he yelled.
Outside the security fence that surrounded the armory stood an army of the dead.
The eight-foot chain link fence rattled under the stumbling and grasping corpses. Their dead faces glared balefully at Cam and his convoy. Decomposing fingers protruded through the links, and rotting mouths sampled the metal, seeking the living flesh nearby.
He jumped out, motioning the others to reverse. One by one, each Humvee reversed until they were back behind the cover of the building. He clutched his rifle and his axe and ran to the others.
They were scrambling out of their vehicles, probably questioning his sanity.
“The entrance is a no-go. It’s packed full of the dead. That’s the only way out. We’re either going to have to take them out or leave all this gear and go back the way we came in,” Cam explained grimly.
“Are you serious? I’m not leaving this stuff behind. This could save our life someday!” Jim shouted.
“Do we have enough ammo to take them all out?” Nick asked.
“Yes, but it will take a while,” he answered.
“How many are there?” Angie asked.
Cam didn’t speak for a moment. Then, he raised both eyebrows at her. “A lot.”
“That means we’ll be staying here tonight then, right?” Nick said.
Cam nodded.
Nick sighed in annoyance.
“Okay, here’s the plan. We get the fifty loaded up with ammo. Jim, you’ll drive my Humvee up to the gate, and we’ll fire over the shorter section of fencing.”
He turned to Angie and Nick. “You guys take some rifles and a few thousand rounds of ammo upstairs, to that office we went to earlier. Stay alert because we didn’t clear all of those rooms.” He glanced around then finished his instructions. “Set up and start firing down on the crowd. Try for headshots only. We’ll come up when we’re finished and clear that entire floor.”
Refuge From The Dead | Book 2 | Dead Summer Page 17