by Germann, Tom
As they passed another tenement the dead started to climb out of the windows above chasing them and falling to the ground several floors down. In one city block they had close to a dozen dead fall out. Thankfully none of them hit the vehicles. The thought of a body slamming into the top of the vehicle and exploding spreading infected gore over the top of the vehicle and only leaving the small side hatch to exit and even then, not till after the vehicle had been hosed down. It was a bad thought.
They had been driving for several more minutes heading toward what was labeled as residential and a larger grocery and hardware store when they passed a military truck. It had been shot to pieces and there were three bodies sprawled at the front of the vehicle.
They didn’t stop but decided it this must be the Company commander from Outpost Four. Someone had ambushed him and his troops and left the bodies to feed the dead. Even from the vision slits it was clear the bodies had been stripped of useful equipment.
They rode on in silence keeping an eye out. So far, the raiders had only used rifles or machine guns. The armour on the recce vehicles was light but if they were hit with machine gun fire they ran the very real chance of spalling from the rounds impact and no one wanted shrapnel flying around the inside of the vehicle.
The lead vehicle’s turret faced front with the second vehicle facing to the left and the last vehicle covering the right. It was the best they could do and let them keep an eye on arcs of fire.
The reality was that whoever the raiders where they would have left the city after they had finished taking the supplies. Probably.
As they drove up to the outpost they were in a large residential neighbourhood of townhouses with very few clear areas.
They pulled up to what was left of the grocery store. Like the others, it was burned and it looked like there had been an explosion strong enough to bring most of the building down.
Wagner undogged the hatch and stood up. With the merciless sun beating down it was even hotter. He felt the armour over the engine compartment should be glowing given how hot it must be. But it wasn’t even lunch time yet. It was going to get hotter.
Something caught his eye. It was a glint of light from a townhouse across the way. There was a man standing in the large bay window with a mirror. When he saw Major Wagner was looking at him he started waving wildly but made no noise.
“Wagner, we have a survivor in the townhouse across the way. He’s acting out something, I think he’s hurt. I’m going to go and see about getting him. Everyone else stay with the vehicles and cover me. Over”
“Vajjer, this could be an ambush or trap, over.”
“Caisson, agreed, let him come to us. Over.”
“Wagner, negative. I go in with a shotgun. Stay buttoned up. We’re out here to find survivors in the outposts then link up with them. I think the raiders are gone. If anything goes kinky light ‘em up with the machine guns. Out.”
Wagner climbed out of the turret with his shotgun and closed the hatch. His was the only vehicle with only two crew total so the driver would have to lock up and man the machine gun.
He carefully climbed down the vehicle moving quickly given how hot the armour was and moved over to the townhouse. He had brought the shotgun up as soon as he was off the vehicle and kept panning back and forth with it at the shoulder.
There were no dead in the immediate vicinity but there would be soon.
The door was open and had been broken off the hinges a while ago. The inside was dark with all the doors off the narrow hallway broken down.
It looked like the company located here had cleared the neighbourhood. Or maybe someone earlier had, like the police or at the beginning of the outbreak. It didn’t matter.
Major Wagner moved to the end of the hallway and took the stairs up. There was more light from the upstairs so if anyone came along they would be backlit.
At the top of the stairs was a couch across the stairs and behind that another hallway. He pushed the couch to the side. It made a loud squeaking as the feet dragged on the wood floors. There were four more doors off the hallway. All were kicked in except the last one at the front left.
He scanned each doorway as he passed it. There was no furniture in any of the rooms.
He came to the last room and there was a closed door. He moved further down the hall then faced back so he could cover the hallway he had advanced down and the closed door. He hadn’t had a chance to decide if he should call or knock on the door when there was movement.
Wagner could hear furniture being moved behind the closed door then a grunt of effort. The click of a lock being opened then the door swung inward.
He saw a young black man in army uniform that looked too big on him with a long stick fashioned into a crutch under his left arm.
When the young man saw Wagner and the shotgun he put his hands up the best he could and said. “Don’t shoot sir, I ain’t infected. I just locked myself in here after the explosion. I hope you’re here to rescue me cause I ain’t got much food or water left and I can barely walk.”
Wagner brought the shotgun down. “Is it only you? Are there any other survivors? Or soldiers here?”
The young soldier saw the rank on Wagner’s board and tried to stiffen up to attention almost falling over, Wagner grunted a laugh and waved him off. “Don’t worry about the saluting right now. Just answer the question and get your stuff, we are leaving. Who are you?”
The soldier grabbed his rifle where it was leaning against the wall and two small backpacks which he slung over his shoulder as well as a crossbow with a quarrel of bolts. He hobbled out of the room and headed for the stairs quickly. “Sir, I’m Private Jim Henry. I was drafted in at the beginning of the flu and don’t know much army stuff but I can shoot as I grew up in the hills. I don’t rightly know what happened to everyone else. There were thirty-eight of us left in the company after a bunch went off with the Patriots for some mission. The Captain had moved all the gear into the store and sealed up the windows and doors. We had power and could pump water out of the city systems. The grocery store was topped up too.”
The two of them made it down the stairs and were headed for the vehicles. Not so far away coming toward them were the first zombies. They must have sensed the humans because they started lurching along a bit faster. When Private Henry saw them he just tried to walk faster but he was real careful as he walked through the debris on the ground.
“So, we lost most of the boys in the company sir and we were going to hide out more until the reinforcements came. The captain wanted us to make up some boltholes just in case we had more survivors. We hadn’t had any more for about six days or so. But there must be more people. So, we set up a couple of these townhouses with a solid door, food, and some water. I was out walking on patrol with my crossbow, cause it’s silent then there were some shots then a bunch more. I knew the infected were going to come then and I headed for the townhouse. Then everything blew up. It knocked me off my feet and I twisted my ankle. I made it into the townhouse and upstairs to the room which I blocked off. I had a bit of water and food but not much. So, after a few days when the infected started settling down I walked over to the other townhouses and took the food and water out of them.”
Private Henry looked at the three vehicles not sure which one to walk to. Major Wagner pointed at his and helped him climb up the side after he took the backpacks off Henry.
“I was starting to run out again and I still can’t walk too good as my ankle still hurts a lot. I was going to give it till the food ran out in a few more days then hobble back towards the factory and scrounge on the way. I am mighty glad you came by when you did sir.”
Henry nodded at the Major then climbed into the hatch. Wagner was right behind him and the first of the zombies were just getting to the back of the vehicle.
Wagner climbed in and pulled the hatch shut and dogged it.
The vehicles sat there idling then with a clash of gears started rolling ah
ead slowly
OUTPOST SIX
T
he convoy had almost completed a circuit around the city. It was just one in the afternoon and it seemed to be even hotter than the previous days.
They entered an industrial sector of the city with larger cleared roads. This was good and bad for them.
They drove along followed by an ever-growing horde of the dead which they would lose then catch up again. The dead didn’t worry about blockages on the roads, they simply followed the engine noises.
Thankfully as soon as they had entered the industrial sector the number of new followers they had picked up had dropped off dramatically. When the locals had become sick they hadn’t stayed at work. They had gone home to the surrounding residential areas and died and infected others there.
But as the roads were larger for mostly heavy traffic the dead could see further and it was going to be more difficult to lose them when they came to the next outpost. They picked up speed a drove on toward the next marker on the map.
The best piece of information they had now from the Sergeant was that outposts would be in the area indicated on the map but all the company commanders would automatically go for defensible buildings with power and water. If they had to move over a building or two they would have left a large sign for where they were. Additionally, he had confirmed what the map symbols meant. The maps they had were cut down and no legend was included.
It was obvious now every company had chosen buildings that met the requirements and were of solid construction.
They had likely expected one or two bandits but none had been ready for a raiding party with vehicles and machine guns.
The large building ahead met the requirement of the company. Yet as they pulled up anyone looking at the building would have a sense of abandonment. The parking lot was surrounded by a sturdy fence, but the gate was hanging open. The building beyond looked solid with several open roll up doors and smaller empty buildings in the parking lot. There was even a smaller fenced area for what would have been a fuel point. Its gate was hanging open too.
The vehicles rolled to a stop just outside the gate.
“Caisson, well it doesn’t look like this place was blown up, over.”
“Vajjer, it just looks like a spooky abandoned building full of the dead, over.”
“Wagner. Thank you for the positive thought and vibes Sergeant Vajjer. We’re going in for a FAST sweep then gone. Out”
The vehicle hatches opened and the three men hopped out climbing down carefully over the hot armour.
They had all brought their shotguns and had side arms. They looked at one another then Caisson took the lead moving quickly toward the first roll-up door.
They entered the building and were out again in less than thirty seconds running back for their vehicles.
They climbed the outside and closed the hatches.
“Wagner, take thirty seconds for a brief and roll out. Out.”
Major Wagner looked down at his drivers face as well as Private Henry’s.
“There is a big painted message on the wall inside. Power and water died to the building near the beginning and they lost communications so they packed up and left the city heading for a collection point along the rail line. That was it. It also looked like they had not been hit by raiders and they had taken everything with them when they left. Questions?”
There were none.
The vehicles ahead of them jerked into motion and rolled away stopping any possible questions while the rolled for the next outpost.
THE WALKERS
T
he city had been quiet for days. No traffic, no engines and an absence of life which had a noise all its own.
The infected, undead or zombies whatever they were, they had slowly fallen dormant stopping where they were and slumping to the side. Some had fallen while others had stayed standing. There had been no rhyme or reason.
Yet now three armoured vehicles were slowly driving back and forth across the city. Before the noise of the vehicles would never had been audible past the street they were on.
Now in a city that had died the engines heavy growl and the occasional clashing of the gears carried further, much further.
They came out of alleys, homes, businesses and wherever they had fallen when they had gone dormant or been infected. All of them started walking toward the noise of the engines and many were confused by the changing direction of the engine noise as the vehicles changed direction and the buildings caused echoes.
Yet as the dead got up and walked they seemed to become more energetic. If anyone had been there to see what was going on they would have seen some of the infected walking with a spring in their step.
Unknown to the garrison and to the group in the convoy there were not hundreds or thousands of zombies in the city. There were tens of thousands. Now many of them were moving and looking for the source of the sound.
OUTPOST SEVEN
T
he next outpost was in the cow and pig district where all the slaughterhouses were located. Inside the rumbling vehicles with the smell of diesel burping up occasionally from the engine it was easy to picture being inside a smaller nasty version of hell. Especially as the heat increased outside. Looking through the vision slits though and seeing the picture of the cow and pig over the main road into the slaughter area reminded everyone animals had a smell to them. It wasn’t hard to imagine the smell of a slaughterhouse with the stink of death and how nice it must be now with this heatwave going on.
They drove down the main road looking around. They also passed by several rail lines coming in from outlying areas.
The area was clear. No vehicles on the road and no wreckage. The buildings they passed had doors closed and it seemed like none of the windows were open.
Here it looked like someone had carefully shut down operations and left.
There was also no indication of where the deployed company was.
The markings on the map were different for this company as well. Every other company was part of the main military detachment and labelled with a company code. This outpost had no other data on it other than PG One Five Eight.
Major Wagner had asked Private Henry if he knew anything about it but he didn’t.
He wished he had asked Lieutenant Smather but there had been so much other information and he hadn’t thought about unit codes.
They kept driving slowly through the massive complex then it became obvious where the company had been staged out of.
The structure was huge just like everything else in the area. Surrounded by a high fence with a parking lot what gave it away was the four covered watch towers built in the corners. The fencing had been reinforced as well.
Several infected laying in the street with what looked like crossbow quarrels in their heads were another good indication.
They finally pulled up at the front of the building in front of the entry gate which had been chained shut. They were covered by two of the towers. Over the large roll-up door had been painted a huge American flag. Above it was a giant two headed eagle looking both left and right. This was the first time they had seen anything similar.
The entire set up looked professional and well maintained. But it didn’t look abandoned like everything else they had seen and it wasn’t shot up.
When Major Wagner called down about what he saw Private Henry pushed forward to a vision slit and when he saw the flag he went pale. “Sir! That there is Patriotic Guard. The best of the best and ready to fight at the drop of a hat if you say anything bad about the US of A. If it’s alright with you sir I’ll stay in here as they don’t like my type too much.”
Major Wagner just stared at him then nodded. “Anything else you can tell me about the Patriotic Guard Private? Remember I’m from Canada and haven’t heard much about them other than their name.”
Private Henry spoke loudly over the rumbling of the engine. “Not much sir. They are true
patriots and hate communists or those who support them. There are rumours of them doing terrible things down in South America, Sir but I don’t know. Also, they fought against the communists in several battles in different countries where we ain’t supposed to be. Those were probably just stories. I’m sorry I don’t know more, Sir.”
Wagner shrugged. “No worries, it’s more than I knew about them.”
“Wagner. The three of us are going to go in. If the place isn’t full of infected then we chain the gate shut and the vehicles drive away and try to lose the infected that are following us. We’ll call you when we finish checking the building over. Over and out.”
He opened the hatch and climbed out enjoying a breeze that felt wonderful after being stuck in the armoured box for the last few hours. Even the stops hadn’t really been a break as they had only gone out and done quick sweeps which got them out of a rumbling metal sweatbox for a few minutes. He wondered how it felt for the drivers then dismissed the thought. The driver’s seat was a bit more comfortable and they could open the slits just a bit to get some airflow. They were also young. Same with Sue and Tracy. They were in a huge sweatbox but at least they weren’t back in the headquarters compound worried about being attacked by living soldiers.
He closed the hatch and Private Henry had already climbed up and he dogged the hatch shut as soon as it lowered.
Major Wagner climbed off the vehicle and with Caisson and Vajjer walked to the gate. The chain was only wrapped around the gate to hold it shut. They quickly unwrapped it and entered with shotguns up. They left the gate hanging partially open in case they had to exit fast.
The main door was just to the side of the roll up door and when they moved to it and tried the handle it pulled right open. Caisson poked his head inside while Vajjer held the door open and Wagner covered them.