“Improvise, adapt, and overcome” blared from the tractor’s public address, with Hopkins happily bouncing on the seat in the glass cab while climbing up the deep slope to the road.
“Reach in and put her in neutral, I’ll push and you steer.” Hopkins lined up behind the car and waited for Noon to signal him forward. The tractor easily pushed the car down the embankment and into the ditch alongside the road. The semi was going to be a little tougher. Hopkins backed up as close as he could get and climbed down. He opened up the box on the back of the tractor and smiled when he saw a huge tow chain inside on the top.
“Nice find you got there, maybe next time you could warn us when you go running off from the detail.” Moon was not mad, just annoyed such an amateur mistake was committed by a fellow professional.”
“No excuse, I saw the tractor outside the barn over there and acted without thinking fully. Let me tie this up to the semi, and you put her in neutral and I’ll tow you out of the way.” Moon climbed into the cab of the Kenworth and marveled at how it reminded him of a cockpit of a plane. Shifting to neutral, he waved to Hopkins to begin the tow. He looked around inside the cab as he was slowly moved and saw where the driver had tried to climb into the back by a mattress and still was killed by the sunlight. He gave a slight shudder and tried not to look back again or breathe too deeply. Five hundred feet later he was more than happy to get out of the cab.
The remaining cars and trucks were easy to finish up. They relaxed in the shade of the trees, enjoying the cool breeze on a warm day compared to being back in either Wyoming or Colorado. Hopkins silently cursed when they stood, his left ankle was stiff from his parachute landing and he knew it would only get worse later without ice.
“Moon, it’s that time. Take one of your Mark 124s and pop smoke on the road for their approach. We should see them any second,” Hopkins ordered. Moon walked down the road a hundred feet and carefully set off his flare, ensuring it stayed on the road to avoid burning the grass. A huge orange smoke cloud engulfed him. At the same time, they could see the specks on the horizon of the two aircraft. He started to jog in the opposite direction to where the tractor was parked.
The aircraft came in, appearing to be in slow motion. The grass between the two lanes of the highway easily took the weight of the landing aircraft as they rolled to a stop.
Chapter 26
Interstate 5, outside Mokelumne City, California. April 14, 2029
Everything seemed like it was shaking apart all around him. Caleb watched the truck next to him appear to fight to break free from the chains holding it to the deck of the aircraft, then the noise of the engines got even louder as it rapidly decelerated, followed by an uneven ride as the plane taxied a short distance before stopping. The loadmasters quickly dropped the aft ramp while everyone else assisted in removing the tie down straps and chains from the trucks. The trucks were already started and ready to drive off the ramp by the time the ramp was fully down. Caleb quickly moved to keep up with everyone else and was surprised when the engines started to increase in pitch and start to roll forward as he jumped off into the grass. The other passengers were already climbing into the trucks when he was pushed forward by the propeller’s prop wash as the C-130s were increasing engine speed, while sitting on the brakes prior to take off. He heard the first C-130 launch and then ten seconds later his plane was slowly disappearing down the grass meridian and into the air, slowly rising, until there was only the faint sound of their engines in the distance.
The trucks all drove forward to where the three man advance team was waiting. Hope got out and spoke with them for only a couple minutes before climbing back into his truck as the team separated to their trucks. Caleb could feel both anger and sadness coming from the group. Noon climbed into the truck and reported to the others, “Johns had a streamer, it was quick. He augured in, by the bridge into the river.” There was a quietness that filled the truck with loss, yet no words were spoken, none were needed.
“Let’s all keep our eyes open, no idea what we’re going to find on our way to the base. For all we know they may have ships or drones flying around the base. Caleb watched the first pair of trucks head down the highway while staying parked for five more minutes before following.” This is a good way to get lost or separated. Why split up a small group to begin with? Caleb wondered to himself.
The driver carefully followed the other truck down the exit ramp, keeping a safe distance. At the bottom of the ramp a stop sign had been tagged with the number 10 and an arrow to the right. Caleb could feel the mood of the men relax a little more.
Walnut Grove Road was a beautiful, tree-lined road with acres of farmland and beautifully manicured lawns. It still appeared nice, if a bit wild. Sung warned everyone to keep an eye out for survivors as the truck neared Walnut Grove before continuing on County Road 160 that paralleled the Sacramento River alongside it.
Fourteen miles later they were at an intersection of 160 and 12. The sign for 12 had been tagged with a ten and an arrow right, taking them directly to the river. I wonder how long bridges like this one will last without maintenance if we don’t rebuild society, Caleb wondered as they began to cross the wide river.
“Sergeant Sung, flash the truck ahead and stop. Everyone follow me over to it.” The moment the truck was stopped, Caleb jumped out, making sure to carry his AR15 pistol. The truck ahead stopped and backed up as they made their way to it. “The others are in trouble close by. I can sense it. Just go slow and be extra alert. I’m changing over to your truck. Widauf, take my place in the other truck.” Caleb opened the door and almost pulled the technical sergeant out before climbing in. “Okay, let’s go!” he said to Pruitt as he rolled down his window and stuck the barrel out. As the truck neared the far side of the river, Caleb could sense everyone was anxious and scared.
Caleb could sense both infected and norms, both were keeping out of sight from the road as they entered Rio Vista. The infected were angry and alert instead of asleep; the only thing that usually had that affect was gunfire.
“There’s gunfire nearby according to the infected.” Then he heard it himself, far off in the distance, but still too far to know from where. He could sense Gloria nearby and tried to see if he could make her aware of his presence. They went a little further down the road and could see what looked like there had been a huge accident blocking the road. Someone popped an orange smoke and the sound of gunshots became louder.
“Turn right up here and let’s get off the main drag before someone sees us.” Pruitt drove for a block and turned left to parallel the main drag and stopped when there were no more houses for cover. A long green fence encircled a large parking lot. They could see over it and the fifty or sixty folks that had the others pinned down inside a fast food restaurant.
Caleb was looking over the fence as the rest of his team was scattered along the fence line. “What do you say to shock and awe? We sneak up on them, unload a grenade each, then fire into them on full auto to get their attention, and persuade them it’s a good day to either run or surrender?” No one had an alternative plan, so they would wait a minute, then all would jump the fence and rush forward, using the parked cars in the lot to hide their approach. Caleb would initiate the attack with the first grenade.
Adrenaline was pumping hard as Caleb landed on the other side of the fence and ran all out to the cars while still staying partially hunched over. He had the grenade in his left hand and holding the AR15 in his right when he stumbled across the first gunman, taking them both by surprise. The teenage girl turned and looked at him. At the same time, she was bringing around her rifle that Caleb quickly identified as a Ruger 10/22 like the one he’d grown up using. He kicked it from her hands and slammed himself on top of her. As they fell, she was stunned by surprise and the sight of the grenade in his hand.
“Girl, I have a company of Green Berets with me, if you want your friends to live, get them to drop their guns and stand up or they’ll be hamburger in five seconds, four secon
ds,” Caleb let the girl rise, still ready to throw the grenade.
“Everyone stop shooting and stand up. It was a trap, we’re surrounded. They’re all around us,” the girl shouted, voice cracking.
“I want to see hands in the air now!” Caleb dropped the grenade back in his pocket, glad he hadn’t armed it as he saw twice the number of people stand up and raise their hands than he had expected. He could see across the street as the others rushed out of the restaurant to reinforce them. The ambushers were quickly corralled to the center of the street. A hundred of them looked almost harmless. They were embarrassed when they saw there were only fourteen total that had captured them.
“What the hell do you people think you’re doing? Someone could have been hurt.” Caleb almost screamed at them as he fought the adrenaline in his system. “Were you going to rob us? Or did you plan to eat us? Someone fucking talk!”
“We’re just trying to survive. We just wanted food for our families.” The old man looked like a stiff breeze could blow him over. These were desperate people.
“I have the weapons piled up here. The most dangerous thing I found is a pump shotgun.” Pruitt announced.
“Have you cleared out the stores of the infected?” Caleb asked, already knowing the answer. He could sense over a dozen from the nearby store. “Don’t even answer. I can see the answer on your faces.” Caleb dramatically handed over his AR15 to Gloria, then held up his stun gun. “Those things, are easy to defeat. If you shock them for a second, they immediately drop and wake up cured, but still infected. Watch this.”
Caleb ran the thirty feet or so and just pushed the door open and disappeared inside. The shrieks of the infected made the townsfolk shudder, and their captors were ill at ease. Gloria could sense the infecteds curiosity as Caleb ran around the store dropping them as if by magic. This is fun, but we have to get moving, he thought as he did a last look around the store and pulled out two cases of soda. Exiting the store, he looked back at everyone staring at him. He tossed the stun gun to the old man. “You want to eat? Clear out a store, it’s just that easy. I want every weapon to go with us. They’re not getting a second chance to pull this shit on anyone else. Go ahead, the store’s open!”
The teen girl he’d almost killed was the first to walk up to the door and peer in. She took a deep breath and dived in, the other townsfolk waiting for the inevitable. She came out with a case of beef stew. Some tried to fight among themselves to take it from her, while others ran into the store for themselves.
“Sergeant Hope, sorry for the delay. We’ll pull our trucks around and continue following you.” Caleb thought he’d phrased it like a question, but saw the older, experienced warriors instantaneously move to comply.” Gloria was looking at him with an enormous grin on her face. He just smiled and nodded, feeling the urge to just shout out loud and take off running. He looked down at the cases of soda in his arms and noticed they were diet root beer. He made eye contact with a kid that was still watching him shyly. He raised his hand and crooked his finger in a ‘come here’ gesture. The kid came over haltingly, unsure of himself until Caleb handed him the two cases and smiled at him.
Hope had the trucks given a quick inspection, surprised the only damage was a single hit to the windshield of his truck, a hit that hadn’t even penetrated the glass.
“We got by lucky this time. If this had been Arizona or Texas, it would have been really ugly.” Hope said, climbing back into the truck.
“Uh, why’s that Sgt Hope? Stuart asked, confused.
“Californian’s have been disarmed for years. You saw what they had, .22s and shotguns. They’re lucky I hadn’t realized that earlier. The kid did a good job.”
Chapter 27
Douglas, Wyoming. April 14, 2029
The auditorium erupted in cheers as they watched the feed from the satellite monitoring the Special Forces team on their mission. Peterson felt like he was watching the Super Bowl and couldn’t break away. If this mission is the end of the world, I need to see it through, the general thought.
General Davis sat down in the seat next to him and handed him a bag of popcorn. “Don’t look gift horses in the mouth. This is from my private stash I’ve been saving. Someone leaked that we have a cure, and now the crazy woman is spreading it on her radio station for the whole world. I’ve heard stories of off-duty units ransacking stores for tasers, cattle prods--anything that’d spark. They’ve already started running clandestine ops in the towns nearby. If Sgt First Class Hope completes his mission successfully, it’s going to be a great day. Peters looked around the auditorium to make sure no one else was in there, other than the half dozen that knew the true score.
“I had Jody steal, I mean appropriate, a cattle prod, and I used it on my ex-wife this morning. I’m figuring I might even sleep with her tonight. I know, no sex or body fluids. I can imagine all our people really want to desert now and find their families, now that there’s real hope. Tomorrow send out units to every town to try and clear out the police stations and stores of tasers, cattle prods, anything that’ll work. We really have to step up our game.”
“I would have loved to use a cattle prod on my ex-wife but for a different reason. A lot of our engineering units and maintenance people are trying to build what they call “crew-served” tasers. Wrapping electrical wire around Strykers and other armored vehicles that will give off mild shocks. They imagine driving them through zombie hordes in the dark, curing thousands a night. I’ve encouraged their experiments. Too bad we can’t zap an entire campus at a time; Bring back the scientists.”
“I was thinking about sending in a team to DC to do the same thing. Get our chain of command up and running, I could take a break then, but I’m scared what would happen, especially from Fort Fumble. Regardless of what we do, in 20/20 hindsight it will have been considered wrong when they are all cured and back at their desks again.”
“Damn, Boss, you’re on a rollercoaster aren’t you, up and then down. I haven’t heard the Pentagon called ‘Fort Fumble’ in at least ten years. ‘Heavy rests the head that wears the crown’. I’ll back any calls you make. If we survive the next thirty plus hours, that is.
“I’m tempted to call off the mission and just take out the base, but we may learn something or acquire technology that might save us the next time someone wants to screw with earth. I should have given them a shorter window to get things done.”
“Why don’t you take a nap? You’re not a young man anymore and you’ve been on the move for over 24 hours. Why not take that nap with your wife? If something happens I can get hold of you easily enough or even send a copter for you if needed.” Davis suggested.
“You have the ball, I’m heading back to the ranch for a couple hours to check on Elora and the boys. I’m too tired to make any important decisions.”
Chapter 28
Outside Travis AFB, California. April 14, 2029
Hofstetter was ready with his can of blue spray paint when Stuart stopped the truck. He quickly sprinted to the sign for Branscombe Road, and sprayed 10 and an arrow to the right. He was nervous when he could see how visible they were from the airbase if anyone was watching in their direction. The planes and buildings were easily visible from where they were. Turning onto Branscombe Road, they went slightly more than a mile when they approached a house with massive old trees surrounding a farm. Nearby hundreds of cattle roamed in the heavily water saturated fields of tall grass.
“Stuart, ‘Change One’ to the plan. When we get to that tree up ahead stop. That farm is going to be our new home.” The truck turned left onto the driveway and stopped by the gate blocking the entrance. All three exited the truck and walked over to the second truck.
“Captain Alban, do you feel anything coming from the house, or farm area?” Hope asked, now a believer in her ability to sense things.
“I can sense both norms and infected, but they’re too far out to be sure where. I don’t sense anything from the farm there, but if there’s infected inside th
at are sleeping, I can’t feel them.” Gloria replied.
“Widauf, you’re sure you know your way around here, and can easily get us onto the base?” Hope asked.
No problem. I used to ride bikes around here with neighborhood friends.” When this mission is complete, I’m also deserting to find my parents and family, he thought happily, now that I hold the cure to the infection on my belt.
“Hopkins, I want you to post yourself under this tree until the others show up in a few minutes. We’ll wait outside the house and then clear it together.” Hope looked at the long shadows and the sun getting close to the hills in the west. “We better be moving soon. I like my infected either dead, or asleep, not running around. No offense, Captain.”
Hofstetter went over to the tree and spray painted a huge blue X visible from the approach from the south. “Make things little easier for you, Hopkins, maybe they won’t shoot you if they see a sign.”
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