I'm Tired of Zombies | Book 2 | Full Scale War

by Murphy, James W.

  We finished, tying everything down and Dan, Jack and Jeff left in a small convoy for the homes they’d claimed on the southern ridge. Ruth and I were heading back inside when Ruth said, “I hope we don’t have to leave.”

  “Me, too, babe,” I said as we stopped on the porch and looked out over the valley. Sam came up beside me and nuzzled my hand wanting a petting. “I hope we can get back to normal. Do you remember how many of those things the Doc said they were setting off?”

  “I think he said eight,” she answered and slid into my arms. I hugged her close and we stood there on the porch in silence.

  “Let’s go in, clean up and get a bite to eat,” I said finally.

  “No, let’s go up and take a hot jet-tub bath together since it may be our last and have some wine…can we?”

  “Actually, that sounds like a much better idea to me,” I answered with a smile and left the dogs out.

  The Marines were in their garages preparing weapons and more gear to take. They packed their materials, additional weapons and ammunition, and food items in their trucks and trailers. Dan called the three together at his place and together they said a prayer standing in his drive. Turning, they gazed at the mushroom cloud and wondered if it was heading their way. Only time would tell.

  Three hours later feeling more refreshed than I had in quite a while, I went back out to the garage, got in one of the ATVs and drove down to the main road to look north. Even in the darkening sky, I could see the reflection of the fire that continued to rage in the cloud at the blast site. The cloud looked to be moving eastward, not south towards us. I thanked the Lord that I wasn’t any nearer then returned to the house.

  I got up as soon as I woke the following morning and went downstairs after dressing. I started the coffee and the fire then went outside and drove the ATV back down to the main road to look at the cloud’s progress. There was just enough sunlight for me to see and it looked as though the cloud was still moving to the northeast and not towards us. I thanked the Lord once again for that but added a prayer for those that might still be alive in the cloud’s path. They would have a terrible time ahead.

  I drove back up to the house and Dan, Jeff and Jack pulled up behind me in a truck. Ruth was standing on the porch with mugs of coffee and the dog pack. “One of those mine?” I asked her smiling.

  “Nope…the cloud heading our way?” she asked handing the three Marines a mug of coffee.

  “I don’t think so,” I answered with a smile. “However, I do think we need to keep a close watch on it and if it changes direction, we need to head west.”

  “Which way is it heading do you think?”

  “It looks to be heading northeast away from us I’m fairly sure. The prevailing winds out here are to the east and southeast for the most part, but it really looks like the cloud is moving to the northeast. For now, I think we’re out of danger.”

  “That’s a good thing,” Jeff said.

  “Let’s radio Julia and Dave and see what they think,” Ruth said.

  “We’re going to head up to our places,” Dan said. “We’ll talk to you later at dinner.”

  As they left, we went back inside, she to the radio and I went to the coffee pot - priorities you know. Dave and Julia answered as soon as Ruth called, and they agreed with me that the cloud was moving away from our valley for the time being. They said they would come see us for dinner. That left us with the day pretty much to ourselves, neither of us had anything pressing to do so, Ruth said for me to put another log on the fire and she would make breakfast.

  I got the fire going and was sitting on the couch admiring the beginning of the flames when Ruth came around to me, leaned over and kissed me then began unbuttoning my shirt. Needless to say, our breakfast would wait, and the fire was a bit warmer than usual.

  After breakfast, I poured myself more coffee and threw another log on the fire. Ruth had stretched out on the couch and nodded off. I stood there looking at her and soon the urge was back. I knelt and gently kissed her and as she opened her eyes I said, “Your turn.”

  It was a splendid morning. At about noon, I went out to the garage to piddle around. Sam and the other mutt followed. I cleaned the place up some and took out the trash. I was putting the refuse in the pit behind the garage when I heard an unfamiliar sound – engines. Yes plural. I could hear several vehicles, not the sound of the Marines’ trucks, coming down the main road from Centennial. I figured it must be another convoy of black vehicles.

  Running back inside the house herding the dogs along, I told Ruth about the vehicles coming. She became excited and wondered aloud if they were black vehicles when the radio began to crackle. It was Julia yelling about an attack at their place and that they were bugging out to ‘the place’, which meant their underground.

  That’s when Ruth and I heard the crash of our front gate, being rammed by a truck. I grabbed her by the arm, yelling for the dogs at the same time, and headed for the Underground as bullets began coming through the front walls, door, and windows. We hit the armory first and loaded up then flew up the stairs.

  “If they find the entrance to up here, I’ll blow the stairwell and tunnel,” I told Ruth. She nodded and turned left for the western hatch, the dogs on her heels so Ruth put them in the kitchen and closed the door. After closing and barring the tunnel door, I broke right and flew down to the eastern portal, grabbing the fifty as I went up. I quietly and slowly raised the hatch, looked out and could see two large army-looking trucks pulling up in the front yard near the barn. As they pulled up, I could barely hear gunfire and an explosion coming from the direction of Dave’s house. The men began getting out of the trucks and several continued to fire into the house. I counted twenty-two guys with weapons taking up shooting positions around the trucks, garage, and porch.

  I looked over towards Ruth and she had her hatch up and gave me a thumb up. She had seen them also. I saw her pull her .308 out and get ready. I chambered a round in the fifty and took aim at the truck parked east of its twin. If I disabled it, the other truck would not be able to maneuver very well to get out.

  We waited, watching. Finally, one guy shot up the front door, busting through and got inside. That was what I was waiting for. I squeezed the trigger and watched as the bullet tore through the driver’s side of the cab and into the engine well. That did the trick as I could see steam and smoke immediately, not to mention the gore that came out of the driver’s window. The men around the trucks hit the deck and began shooting up the mountain. They really didn’t know where my shot came from other than from up the mountain somewhere. I knew, once I fired again, they would have me pinpointed.

  Ruth fired and I saw one of the men crumple and lie still. Their rate of fire increased and I could see bullets hitting all around Ruth’s position.

  I took aim at two men that were close together and squeezed the trigger. Both men, horribly taken care of by the big bullet, gave me a flashback to when I shot Darrell. I racked another round in, took aim, and hit the second truck like the first, with pretty much the same results.

  My shoulder in pain from the fifty, I decided to switch out for my M4. I saw dirt flying from around the hatch and could hear bullets hitting the hatch cover and rim. I pulled a smoke grenade, threw it out down the hill and waited a moment. The fire died down somewhat, so I poked my head up and there was a thick cloud of yellow smoke billowing all around. I began firing blindly, single shots through the haze down into the front yard.

  Ruth followed my lead, threw a smoke of her own and now she too had smoke covering her position. Shooting her M4 on three-round burst setting, she quickly emptied her first magazine.

  I continued to fire as the smoke dissipated enough so that I could see through and pick out individual targets. I switched to three-round bursts and hit another one of the men below. I saw another drop from Ruth’s fire.

  The fire coming our way died out and I couldn’t see any other men. They had taken cover. I motioned to Ruth to go down and see if she cou
ld hear anyone coming up. She nodded in understanding, her head disappeared, and the hatch closed.

  It was only a moment later when she popped back up and yelled, “Blow it!”

  Dave and I had rigged the stairwell with C-4 and had wired it to a Claymore mine clacker, which I grabbed, flipped the safety off and mashed three times. I don’t know how many of them we killed or buried, but I do know I was tossed down the hatch by the explosion. I clambered back up as fast as I could and looked out. Debris was still falling, and dirt and small stones pelted me as I stuck my head through the opening. I think we used a bit too much explosive. I was suddenly worried about Ruth as her position was closer to the blast than mine and as I looked her way, I saw her head pop up. She looked wide-eyed down the hill and then my way, giving me ‘the look’. I just shrugged my shoulders and looked back down the hill.

  A bullet hit the rim of the hatch in front of me, throwing stinging shards into my forehead and cheeks. That was close. I put a fresh magazine into my M4 and began shooting again. I knew we had hit at least six of the men, and no telling how many bought it in the stairwell explosion, but we still had a fight on our hands. The only way they could get to us now was to climb the mountain, of which we held the high ground thus having the advantage.

  I looked east towards Julia and Dave’s place about five miles in the distance and could see a column of smoke – not a good sign. I couldn’t hear any gunfire or explosions from that direction so became worried about our friends. I was glad they gave us a warning while they could.

  Dan, Jack, and Jeff, had just entered the first of the three homes on the southern ridge when way off in the distance they heard gunfire. Dan was last in, and before he shut the door, they heard the commotion. The gunfire was coming from Dave and Julia’s home and they wondered if they were shooting at Zs. However, when they heard gunfire coming from Paradise Valley, they knew the foursome were under attack.

  Dan yelled, “Weapon up! Check your ammo and frags. Jack, take the sniper rifle Doug gave you and back up Julia and Dave. Jeff, on me with the thumper.”

  The three hustled, gathering weapons and ammunition. Jack was first out the door, running for his truck and without another word, put his weapons in and charged down the hill, turning onto Highway 11 and speeding for all his truck was worth towards the Malone’s place.

  Jeff and Dan had their weapons and ammunition and jumped in Dan’s truck. Jack loaded weapons as Dan fired up the vehicle and charged down their lane to Highway 11, turning west and heading towards Albany. They would cut to the north on South Fork Road and head to Ruth and Doug’s place.

  Jack slowed coming to a rise in the road, knowing he would be able to see the road that crossed the bridge to Dave’s place, as he topped the crest. He stopped, and pulling out his sniper rifle, a Remington SPSX, with Leupold scope and a pouch of loose rounds, he first loaded the black rifle and then slowly eased up to the crest of the hill. Looking over, he could see five vehicles, all black, Parked on the dirt road east of the Malone’s place.

  He could see three men guarding the vehicles and could hear heavy gunfire coming from the direction of the Malone home. He knew time was critical, so he lay in the ditch on the west side of the highway, took careful aim and fired. Two of the men were close together and the third was on the far side of the vehicle line. He is the one that died as Jack’s 147-grain match grade bullet entered just above his left ear and exited just behind his right. The man slumped to the ground in a limp heap.

  Jack quickly switched his aim to the remaining two men, and they were gazing his way, alerted, when he fired his second round. It hit the second man squarely in the chest, mid-mass they call it, hitting his sternum and shattering, causing bone and copper fragments to rupture the heart, lungs and the aorta, the main artery of the body. That man fell back into a vehicle and slid to the ground.

  The third man fired his weapon to the south, but not knowing exactly where Jack was, sprayed rounds all over the place. Jack loaded his third round into his rifle and waited, regulating his breathing, and settling down. This last man would be a waiting game as he had taken cover.

  Dan and Jeff came to the crossroad where Deerwood Road met Doug’s lane, and slowed, watching for enemies. They saw no one so turned down Doug’s lane and slowly drove towards the sound of heavy automatic rifle fire. They heard the massive roar of my fifty once, then again and wondered what I’d destroyed, as they knew I was a good shot. They drove towards the ranch slowly, watching and looking at everything along the way. They pulled up about a quarter mile away and got out, chambered their weapons and, with one on each side of the lane, crept towards the bridge.

  They glanced at each other after every five steps and kept moving. They both knew about the defensive improvements I had done in the flats on both sides of the bridge so knew to be careful and watch where they stepped.

  Jeff was first to see danger and held up his left hand, calling for a halt. He signaled Dan, that he could see three men with weapons on the east side of the garage. Dan gave a signal to him giving him the green light to fire at his discretion. They both had their M4s, Dan with a shotgun and nine-millimeter, and Jeff had his thumper and a nine. Jeff signaled Dan that he was moving up to the creek then opening fire. Dan agreed and they crept forward.

  Ruth and I didn’t know it, but Dave and Julia had had plenty of warning of the impending attack on their place. The men who attacked there tried to sneak up on them by coming in from the east, crossing the creek, cutting the fence, and easing through the woods. As it was, Julia had been in the kitchen washing their breakfast dishes and had looked up and seen several black-clad armed men coming out of the trees. She had yelled for Dave and they had loaded up in their armory then up to the second floor of the house. Not knowing what the men wanted, they held their fire thinking they were just being cautious.

  When a rifle bullet came through the back door to the kitchen, they knew they were in trouble and immediately returned fire from the upstairs windows, dropping two of their would-be attackers. They ran back downstairs, radioed us then moved into their underground as bullets riddled their upstairs and kitchen.

  As soon as they closed the door to their underground, Dave threw the switch and the explosives we’d set in the small house behind their home blew, effectively cutting off entry from that direction. They didn’t know it, but the blast killed four more of the attackers that had entered the place to check it out. Next Dave blew the Claymores he and the Marines had placed around his place. Those took out three other would-be attackers.

  Hearing that explosion, I looked out of the eastern portal and could see smoke rising from the small home behind the Malone house, which was burning after they had blown the escape tunnel to it. At the time, we knew little about this and didn’t know about their safety.

  The attackers shot up their home, especially the second floor, which was heavily damaged. Contrary to what the movies portray, bullets go right through walls, actually several walls, and the bigger the bullet the more walls it can penetrate. A fifty-caliber round would pass completely through their home, not to mention ours.

  Since I was so far away, all I could see was smoke so got back to the deal we had been dealt at my place. I looked down to the front yard and could not see any attackers. They were hiding well. I reloaded my M4 again, chambered a round and got ready, for what I didn’t know.

  The firing at our place stopped and it became quiet. I wondered what they were planning. I kept my eyes on the roofs of the barn and the garage as we could see them clearly from our vantage point. I assumed they would figure out they could see better from up there and would eventually send someone up on one or the other to look. Low and behold, I was right, and I saw a head pop up over the roof edge of the garage.

  I slowly shifted my aim to him and took my M4 off safe, squeezed the trigger, and saw his head snap back as Ruth’s .308 caliber bullet went through. She had had the same thoughts as I and reacted first. Intense fire came after that into both of our
positions. I climbed down into the Underground and yelled, “Nice shot!”

  Ruth climbed down into the main hallway and came my way and asked, “You want some coffee or water?”

  I couldn’t help but smile and said, “Coffee sounds great. I think we’ll need it; how about a snack of some sort?”

  “Can do my lover; why don’t you keep watch while I get the fixins going?”

  “Deal, my lady,” I said, giving her a kiss and climbing back up the hatch. I knew if they tried to climb, we would have the advantage, as we would roll grenades down on them. They wouldn’t stand a chance.

  They had some tricks though. As I eased my head up to take a look, one of the men fired a bazooka-looking thing towards Ruth’s hatch. It flew over, just missing the rim and exploded on the mountainside behind it. I ducked back into the hatch as debris rained down.

  Ruth came running out of the kitchen pod to check and see if I was all right, and seeing me in the hatchway asked, “What was that?”

  “Some kind of a bazooka rocket they fired at your hatch. It went high and blew up on the mountain behind it. I’m going to try and shoot the guy with it when he shows himself again.”

  “OK, be careful, coffee is on and I have some cheese and crackers for a snack.”

  “Got it, and I’ll be careful, I promise,” and climbed back up the hatch. I raised my head much slower this time, leading with my rifle barrel. I saw the guy taking aim at my hatch, so I quickly closed it and hung on. The rocked hit just in front of the hatch rim and shook the whole facility. I hoped it hadn’t jammed the hatch cover.

  Once again, Ruth came busting out of the kitchen yelling if I was OK. I assured her I was and told her to stay out of her hatchway and that I was going to try to get this guy. I climbed back up and quickly opened the hatch, thanking God it wasn’t jammed. Again, I eased out of the opening with the barrel of my M4 leading and looked over the rim. The guy was reloading the rocket launcher thing, so I hosed him with a three-round burst. I saw one of the bullets hit the bazooka thing and hoped it put it out of commission. I continued firing three round bursts at what I thought might have been hiding areas until my magazine ran dry.