“We’ve had access since we arrived.” Pvt. Jordan replied.
“Only limited access… But now that we are using Mordecai’s uplink, we can access the entire network, their spy satellites, complete information on the Orioncorp operations worldwide.” Having its capabilities at his disposal, in conjunction with the military access codes Jenkins had procured in Park City would give David complete access to the military network and all that they were linked to…
David turned back to his work, delving deeper into Mordecai’s systems. The house, outbuildings, and all the grounds were wired and networked as tight as the Main House. Aside from nearly every square inch of his own estate wired for video surveillance, he had installed remote cameras at various points around the lake and surrounding forest, giving him a view of all the houses and estates as well as most of the main trails and pathways. He also had a dozen cameras situated in the town of Kittewa itself!
Most impressive of all was the defense system, complete with remote and motion controlled .30 caliber machine guns, mines and claymores, and a surface to air missile system!
By lunchtime David had gained access to the Military network as far as General Parker’s clearance allowed. After that, he relied on his skills as a hacker.
“Hey you, are you ever going to eat?” David was startled out of his zone by Samantha’s voice. He swiveled his chair and saw her standing in the doorway of the security room.
“W-what?” he asked, confused. He had been so caught up in his work, and he hadn’t been expecting her.
“It’s 1:30; aren’t you going to take a break and eat?” a smile played across her beautiful face, touched upon her large brown eyes.
“Come here.” David extended his arms out to her, and she came to him without hesitation, settling gently across his lap so not to hurt his broken leg and wrapping her arms around his neck. Without another word they kissed, long and passionate, their lust barely contained.
“I’ve been thinking,” Samantha said after they had broken their kiss.
“About?” David asked, kissing the hollow of her neck. The flesh was soft and sweet as cream.
“Marriage…”
David pulled his lips from her throat and met her gaze. “We’ve talked about this before. There is no priest.”
“What about Jenkins?” Samantha asked.
“What?”
“He is the Supreme Commander here.”
“So?”
“Doesn’t that give him the authority to preside over a wedding? You know, kind of like the Captain of a ship…or a judge?”
“I don’t know? I’ve never even considered it.”
“Maybe we should ask him?”
David didn’t answer her. They had talked about marriage. He loved her, and he wanted to marry her, to adopt baby Tyler and baby Mary as his own. But would it be real? The world had fallen apart. There was no society to recognize their marriage. Having the ceremony, whether conducted by a priest or a General, wouldn’t mean anything. So what was the point?
“David? What do you think?” The look on Samantha’s face told him he had not been listening to her.
“I’m sorry, I was in pain.” It was a weak excuse.
“Maybe we should ask Jenkins if he could marry us? If he can’t do it then I’m sure the Council can.”
“Jenkins will stop in to talk with me later. I’ll ask him about it then.” David gave her his best smile.
“Good. I’ll talk to Susan.” Samantha bent down and gave him a kiss. “Your mom’s watching the kids, I’d better get back. Are you coming to eat?”
“My leg hurts.” David said. It was true, but he also didn’t feel like seeing anyone right now. “I’m just going to stay here and see if I can get some work done.”
“I’ll send a plate up, and you better eat it!” she said in mock tyranny.
“Whatever you say, babe… I love you.”
“I love you too.” She left the room, pulling the door closed behind her…
CHAPTER 8
Saturday, July 14, 2001
Rainbow Lake, UT
3:10 PM
“You know what I miss about Park City?” Private Shane Law asked aloud.
“What’s that?” Private Brad Potter responded.
“The whores… Now don’t get me wrong, Rainbow Lake is a nice place, safe and secure, but there ain’t shit in the way of available pussy.” This drew laughs from all four men of Second Platoon, Alpha Company. They were all on horseback, riding single file, following a hiking trail in the woods south west of the Lake. As Pvt. Law continued his crude musings on the pleasures of days gone past, Lieutenant Stan Larsen tuned it out of his mind, focusing instead on how fortunate he was to still be alive.
Lt. Larsen was a large man, built like an ex-linesman, with a thick beard and mustache that hid a round, cheerful face set with icy blue eyes. He was a career Army Vet, who first enlisted in the eighties. After the Gulf War he entered the reserves and moved to Salt Lake City. Before long he married and had a son. When the Deadrise began and the world had fallen to shit, he was contacted by some reservist friends in Park City via CB radio, and told of the situation there. So he loaded up his wife Tina and his son, Stan Jr. and made for Park City. It had been harrowing with the living dead roaming the streets everywhere, searching for warm flesh, but they had made it just hours before the freeway junction at the mouth of Parleys canyon was closed. Upon reaching Park City, he had flashed his US Army Reservist credentials and been conscripted into the Park City Militia, and given command of a platoon of men. They had been stationed at Kimball Junction when it had fallen, and the horrors he had witnessed while evacuating back to the city still haunted his dreams.
He and his family had been living in one of the old resort hotels, and he’d barely gotten them out of the building and into the family vehicle when the Krylok spacecraft began its strafing run of downtown Park City; The first building that collapsed missed them by less than one hundred feet. The family sedan barely made it out of Park City, up an old quarry road at the southeastern end of town, following it up into the forested mountainside. This in turn had accessed another off-road trail used by 4x4 trucks. The sedan had gotten stuck a handful of times, and Stan had been required to get out and push while Tina worked the gas and steering. During those times, Stan had expected a mob of deadfucks to burst out of the trees, swarm upon him and eat him alive while his wife and eight year old son watched helplessly. But despite his overactive imagination, they had encountered no zombies. After a full day and night across the mountainside, they came down and into the town of Wanship. Wanship was crawling with zombies so he quickly drove across town to the Interstate entrance ramp. They were almost out of gas, and desperation was beginning to set in when they came across a group of three other vehicles parked along the side of the highway. It was more survivors from Park City. They were headed to the Town of Kittewa. They’d heard a rumor that the Military had an outpost at Rainbow Lake. As they were headed to a military outpost the group naturally deferred leadership to Lt. Larsen. It turned out there was no Military outpost, just the small Militia led by General Jenkins. He had been a Colonel when Lt. Larsen had served under him in Park City, but that didn’t matter now. Larsen presented his US Army and Park City Militia credentials and Jenkins had taken him into the Militia immediately, honoring his rank of Lt. and making him second in command of Alpha Company.
His family was safe, living in a cluster of cabins to the north of the Main House with four other Militia families. Every morning when he woke and every evening before he went to bed he prayed to God, thanking him for the good fortune he had shown his family, and asked for his continued blessing.
Pvt. Law was just wrapping up his tale of sexual exploits in one of Park City’s finest brothels, to the laughter of the rest of the squad. Lt. Larsen’s horse brought up the rear of the line, allowing him to size up his men.
Pvt. Law rode point. He was a young man in his mid twenties. He wore his dishwater blond
hair shoulder length and his green eyes and handsome features had no doubt been a hit with the whores of Park City. He had been a ski-bum pre-plague, but had proven a competent soldier in the Rainbow Lake Militia.
Pvt. Brad Potter was a compact, stocky man, with light brown hair, brown eyes and a tense, coiled air about him. He kept to himself; speaking only when spoken too, and Lt. Larsen suspected he had lost his family, possibly a wife and kids, before he had found the safety of Rainbow Lake.
The third rider in line was Cpl. Donald Wilcox. He was a big, burly man, nearly Larsen’s size, with a head of thick black hair, a baby fat face, and thick black glasses. A family man like Larsen, Wilcox had been in the Army Reserves pre-plague, and had served in the Park City Militia. He had escaped with his family, a wife and two young daughters. A fellow Militiaman had told him of the rendezvous point at Rainbow Lake. It had taken them almost three days of going cross-country on a pair of horses, but they had made it to Kittewa safe and secure.
They were good men. Law was a cocky punk, and Parker was too uptight for his own good, but they were a good squad all the same. A few more weeks and Larsen planned on having them whipped into crack shape. These routine patrols helped, but it wouldn’t be long until they were sent down to Kittewa or Summittown for a three-day rotation. Those assignments really tested their nerve. Although Larsen would miss his family, he was also looking forward to taking his squad away from the base, out in the field.
Up ahead Pvt. Potter’s horse gave a snort, stomping its feet and giving its rider trouble.
“What’s the problem Private?” Lt. Larsen asked, bringing his own horse to a halt.
“I’m not sure sir.” Pvt. Potter was still fighting to keep his horse under control. It had stopped advancing up the trail, and had taken several side steps into the trees.
“Get that animal back in line Private.” Larsen didn’t hide his irritation.
“I’m trying, sir.”
Lt. Larsen was about to order Pvt. Potter to try harder when his own horse suddenly went skittish, and he had to muster all of his riding skills just to keep it in place on the trail. A cold chill ran up Larsen’s spine. He had played the game of life and death long enough to know when he was being hunted…but by what?
Pvt. Potter’s horse gave a loud scream and reared up, Potter did his best to stay in the saddle, but he was not an experienced rider, and he tumbled backwards out of the saddle and landed hard on the forest floor. There was a loud crack, like a branch breaking, and Potter gave a scream of pain. Free of its rider, his horse turned and bolted back up the trail the way they had come.
“What the hell is going-“ Larsen caught a flash of motion in the forest to the left, moving in Potter’s direction. “Potter! Heads up!” Before Lt. Larsen could say another word a lion pounced from the forest, coming down on Pvt. Potter full force, its jaws seeking his throat.
Larsen’s horse reared, but he managed to stay in the saddle, and when it came back down to all fours, it respected his control. Pvt. Law’s horse tried to rear, but he managed to fight it under control. Cpl. Wilcox had slipped out of his saddle, letting the horse flee while he brought his M-16 to bear.
The lion had tried to tear out Potter’s throat with its massive jaws, but he’d somehow managed to roll aside, and it had him by the shoulder, shaking him around violently.
Cpl. Wilcox stepped forward, taking aim with his M-16 and squeezed off a single shot. The bullet tore into the big cats ribcage and it instantly let go of Potter and leapt free, snarling in furious pain and anger. Wilcox squeezed off three more bullets, each one finding a target in its torso. It took two loping strides toward the forest before it collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from its mouth and nose. It gave a final gurgling snarl, choking on its own blood before it shuddered and died. As the roar of the gunfire faded from their ears, it was replaced by the agonized wails of Pvt. Potter, who was still alive and conscious despite the terrible mauling he had suffered.
Lt. Larsen climbed off his horse. “Law! Radio Home Base and tell them we have engaged hostiles and Potter is down!” As he barked orders he un-slung his M-16 and rushed to Potter. Meanwhile Cpl. Wilcox continued to hold his rifle at the ready, circling about, searching for more lions.
Another lion charged out of the foliage in a blinding rush, snatching one of Potter’s feet in its jaws and began pulling him backward towards the trees. Wilcox had already taken aim and his first bullet creased the lion’s face. It roared in pain and dropped Potter’s leg, fleeing back into the forest. Both Wilcox and Larsen fired at the fleeing beast and one of them did find their mark, the bullet smacking into the cats hindquarters, spinning it out of sight into the trees.
Larsen and Wilcox rushed to Potter. He was lying on his back, his eyes blinking rapidly. His right shoulder was torn from its socket, exposing meat, bone, gristle and fat awash in blood.
“Gha-Gh-k-k-Gha-“ He was trying to say something, trying to sit up.
Larsen knelt beside him and pressed his shoulder to the ground. “Stay down Potter!” Lt. Larsen’s head began to swim, and as he looked around, the forest had taken on a deserts appearance, his vision clouded with smoke and battle haze, his ears still ringing with gunfire. For a moment he lost track of where he was, one battlefield crossing with another…but only for a moment. He shook his head and took a deep breath, and he was back in the forest of northern Utah. A man under his command, Pvt. Brad Potter, had been attacked by lion’s, and was critically wounded.
“Law! Have you contacted base?”
“Yes sir! Bravo Two is on their way right now.”
“Wilcox! Any more hostiles?”
“I don’t see any sir! We winged that last bastard. We should confirm the kill.”
“Negative.” Larsen snapped. “You stand guard while Law and I try to stabilize Potter.”
“Yes sir!” Wilcox snapped back.
“Law! Get your ass over here and help me! Bring your first aid kit!” Larsen turned his attention back to Potter.
“G-Ghk-K-K-K-Ghyk-“ He was still trying to speak.
“Stay quiet Potter! Stay quiet!” He continued to hold Potter down. Pvt. Law knelt beside him, a first aid kit in his hand. But there was little they could do for him except pack his wound until help arrived. After a few breaths he lapsed into unconsciousness, and for that Larsen was grateful.
And that was how they held him until Bravo Two arrived, all four of them on quad off-road vehicles. Doc Norris rode with Pvt. Stuart Corbett, and Pvt. Evans quad pulled a small trailer to transport Potter. Norris went to work on his patient, aided by Pvt. Evans. The rest of the men gathered around the dead lions corpse.
“A lion! Can you believe this shit?” Sgt. George Henry asked. He was the squad leader for Bravo Two. He was a short, muscular man with dark hair and missing one of his front teeth. The tone of his voice indicated the he could in fact not believe it, despite the dead carcass at his feet.
“It’s a female.” Wilcox said, prodding it with his combat boot.
“How the hell do you know?” demanded Pvt. Olaf Lake of Bravo Two.
“No mane. No balls.”
“What about the other one?” Sgt. Henry asked.
“Female.” Wilcox answered. “We winged the cocksucker, but it made it into the trees over there.” he pointed.
“Let’s go take a look.” Sgt. Henry said, looking to Lt. Larsen for approval. Larsen nodded his head, and most of the men sauntered off to search for the wounded lion.
Larsen watched as Doc Norris and Pvt. Evans worked on Potter. Norris really wasn’t a Doctor, but they called him Doc because he had gained so much experience helping Dr. Reilly treat refugees as they arrived at Rainbow Lake, so much so that he could diagnose and treat injury and sickness, as well as prescribe medicine. They had packed the shoulder wound with coagulant powder and gauze then wrapped it tightly with pads of field bandages.
Doc Norris rose to his feet. “If he’s not back at the hospital and on the operating table in a few minut
es he isn’t going to make it.” As they busied strapping him to the portable stretcher and securing him to the trailer the rest of the men returned from the woods.
“Did you find it?” Larsen asked.
“No sir.” Cpl. Wilcox answered. “We spotted a blood trail, but there was no sign of the lion.”
“Ok he’s ready to travel.” Doc Norris said. “Try and take it easy Evans. Quick, but easy.”
“I got you Doc.” Pvt. Evans started his ATV while the Doc hopped aboard, and they headed home for the Hospital. Sgt. Henry followed on his quad. The other two members of Bravo Two helped Larsen and his men round up their horses, and once they saddled up, they all headed back for home. As they did Larsen bowed his head and said a silent prayer for Pvt. Potter…
CHAPTER 9
Saturday, July 14, 2001
Rainbow Lake, UT
6:03 PM
It was a tense group that stood in the lobby of the Hospitals surgical wing when Patty Marshall first entered… General Jenkins, Captain Clint Turner and Lt. Larsen. All Military, all worried about a fellow soldier who had gone down in the line of duty.
“I heard about the attack.” She said.
“I’m sure you did.” Jenkins said off handedly. Patty may have taken offense had his comment not rang of truth. News, and rumor and gossip spread around the Rainbow Lake community like a communicable disease. Patty, Matt and Susan all spent a considerable portion of their time quelling false rumors about massing hordes of zombies, or the return of Mordecai’s white cloaked murderers.
“How is he?” she asked, determined not to be deterred by his masculine arrogance.
“Doc Reilly and Doc Norris are still in surgery with him.” Lt. Larsen said. The big man stroked his fingers through his beard, a troubled look on his face. “I’m going back into the observation room.” Lt. Larsen passed through a large steel door, out of sight.
“I’m going to join him.” Captain Turner said. He had heard the scuttlebutt among the troops that the General and the Councilwoman had a thing for one another. There was no evidence of them fucking, but Turner wasn’t going to be there to interfere in any chemistry that might develop between them. Without another word he followed Lt. Larsen into the observation room.
Deadrise 2: Deadwar Page 4