Deadrise 2: Deadwar
Page 19
The Bastard. You are a Council member! How dare he dismiss you like some subordinate!
Mac made to argue but Mel’s voice in his head stopped him.
No. Let him think he has control. Let him tighten his own noose. When they all turn on him, you will be there to take control…
Without another word Mac walked over and took a seat…
CHAPTER 31
Monday, March 18, 2002
Checkpoint Two, Kittewa UT
4:23 AM
They could hear the hummer coming up the canyon, its engine echoing through the night. The dogs had fallen silent over a minute ago, but they had heard nothing from the hellhound. And now a hummer was coming up the canyon.
“Command, we have a hummer coming up the canyon.” Larsen said into his radio.
“Copy Lieutenant.” Captain Jordan’s voice came back.
“I don’t see any headlights.” Sgt. Buffett said.
“You won’t either. Superzombies don’t need lights to see. Maier? Zabrinski?”
“Yes sir?” the two privates called from their heavy machine gun nests.
“As soon as that vehicle is in range you light it up. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir!” they barked in tandem, eager to unleash their weapons firepower.
“Sgt. Buffett? Pvt. Budell? You keep a look out for that hound. If it’s going to try and flank us it will be now, while we’re distracted” He could feel the adrenaline course through the unit, through himself. He wondered if Private Corbett was among the six superzombies in that vehicle.
“I can see it!” Pvt. Maier said. “Its lights are off but I can see it by the moonlight.”
“As soon as that motherfucker is in range…” Larsen snarled, seeing Law, Corbett and DeBirk killed once again. “OPEN FIRE!”
The roar of the two .60 caliber machine guns drowned out everything else. Larsen watched the twin trails of lead trace their way to the approaching hummer. The driver wasn’t about to play sitting duck though and began to weave the vehicle back and forth across the road even as the bullets peppered into its frame. A dark figure popped up from the top gunners hatch of the hummer and began to return fire. The moonlight wasn’t bright enough to make out any features, but Larsen knew it was a Superzombie.
The gunners shredded the Sentinel on top to pieces before it could shoot anything and now they zeroed in on the hummer and were unloading into it full force, but still it continued to advance. It was now only three hundred yards away. The detonator controls for the row of mortars on either side of the highway rested with him and he contemplated for the thousandth time whether or not he should trigger the explosives. There was no guarantee that it would destroy the hummer, but it would definitely block the road with fallen trees and other debris. But it was only one vehicle. The claymores had been designed for crowd control, wiping out hundred’s, maybe thousands of zombies as they advanced on Rainbow Lake, not single hummers. Suddenly, the front end of the hummer exploded in flames under the onslaught of machine gun fire and it began to decelerate.
Flashing light behind him caught his attention, and Larsen spun around to see Bravo Two’s hummer come to a halt in the compound. Finally, the reinforcements were here.
“Look at that!” Exclaimed Pvt. Maier from his machine gun nest. Larsen turned back to the battle and saw that a pair of superzombies had exited the burning wreck and were charging the gate. Both machine gunners opened up again, desperate to bring their targets down.
Gunfire from behind caused Larsen to turn and he saw that Sgt. Gleason had exited the hummer and was firing into the darkness of the forest behind the wall. One other soldier had exited as well and the rest were scrambling out as fast as they could. Then re-living the nightmare, he saw the hellhound leap out of the darkness and tackle Sgt. Gleason to the ground, its giant fangs locked about his head. With a single tug it ripped Sgt. Gleason’s head of, chomped it twice and swallowed it. Two of the soldiers from Bravo Two had brought their weapons to bear and began shooting the hellhound.
Over the gunfire Larsen could hear Pvt. Zabrinski scream “GRENADE!” He turned to look at the far machine gunner. The Zabrinski was scrambling to get out of his nest, his face wide with terror. Then the grenade exploded. The blast gutted Pvt. Zabrinski and nearly tore him in two, tossing his eviscerated body onto the road behind the wall.
The superzombies were throwing grenades!
“You fucking bastards!” Pvt. Maier screamed. His concentrated fire blew the legs off one superzombie and now he targeted the second.
Lieutenant Larsen froze. He just didn’t know what to do. Death was closing in from all around and he was paralyzed with fear.
Get your shit together Larsen! He thought of his wife Tina and his boy, Stan. They would need his protection. That was all the motivation he needed. Indecision left him replaced with cold, hard determination. He looked over the wall and saw that Pvt. Maier had taken out the second superzombie only fifty feet from the checkpoint wall. That resolved he gave his full attention to the hellhound.
The concentrated fire of the three remaining members of Bravo Two had driven the hellhound away, but it had snatched up Sgt. Gleason’s headless body before it leapt away into the darkness. Before Larsen could bring the chaos under control, shots rang out from the night. Bullets tore through the checkpoint camp. Private Billy McCain of Bravo Two was shot it the stomach and fell to the ground writhing. Pvt. Budell of Bravo Three took a bullet in the throat as he scrambled for cover. He saw no sign of Sgt. Buffett.
“Fuck this!” Larsen snarled. This position was overrun. An unknown number of superzombies had a hidden, elevated line of fire down into the camp. The hellhound was out there, somewhere.
Larsen leapt down from the firing platform along the back of the wall and took cover behind his own Humvee. He looked up to see Pvt. Maier had swung his M-60 machinegun around and began firing into the darkness. The damn fool, he was just drawing attention to himself. And sure enough, several bullets chewed up the sandbags surrounding the nest, but miraculously none hit Maier.
“Fallback to Checkpoint One!” he screamed aloud when there was a momentary break in the gunfire. He turned to look at Maier up in the machinegun nest. “Maier! C’mon!” he waved the Pvt. to come to him. Larsen moved up the length of his hummer, opening the passenger door and slipping inside. He stayed low and slid across the seat behind the wheel. The keys were still in the ignition. Just as he was preparing to start it Pvt. Maier appeared and slid into the passenger seat.
“Are you hurt?”
“No sir.” Pvt. Maier replied. Outside he could see that Pvt. Maxwell Callahan and Pvt. Ben Sanchez, the last two members of Bravo Two had climbed back inside their hummer.
“Radio Home. Inform then that the Checkpoint Two has fallen.” Larsen barked as he started the hummer. He put it in gear and peeled away…
CHAPTER 32
Monday, March 18, 2002
Rainbow Lake, UT
4:30 AM
While the Rainbow Lake defenses were focused on the attack from the canyon, another half-dozen Sentinels in full battle gear emerged from the woods at the north side of the lake. It had taken them several nights to get this close, always moving under the cover of darkness and flanking far around behind the lake to come in from the north side. The attack had been ready to go for over a week, but the Krylok Overseer in charge had held back, waiting for this half dozen to get into place. Due to the close proximity of the mountain and general ruggedness of the terrain it was the weakest point in the perimeter defenses.
Two of the Sentinels moved toward the nearest occupied homestead while the remaining four took off at a full bore run along the jogging path that encircled the perimeter of Rainbow Lake.
Even as these agents of chaos dispersed, another pair of Sentinels several hundred yards up the mountainside behind them had set up a mortar and began lobbing explosive shells down onto the community…
The four Sentinels ran at full speed along the narrow joggi
ng trail that encircled the lake, coming around the northwest curve. They came upon a pair of sentries and shot them both dead without missing a step. They would reanimate minutes later as zombies and add to the chaos.
Two of the Sentinels branched off, swinging away from the trail and emerging onto the main perimeter road and continued ahead full speed. Almost immediately they were spotted by another pair of sentries who focused the beam of a searchlight on them. Instantly the call went out over the radio that superzombies were in the perimeter!
CHAPTER 33
Monday, March 18, 2002
Rainbow Lake, UT
4:40 AM
Matt stood out on the rear balcony of his bedroom and watched another mortar land on the far side of the lake, destroying a small cottage home. It was the third home that had been destroyed. The total number of dead was impossible to know.
Behind him his radio crackled.
“Command to all units. Status update… Checkpoint Two has fallen. Superzombies are in the perimeter! I repeat; Checkpoint Two has fallen and superzombie’s are within the perimeter!” Matt hurried back inside where Susan had been resting on the bed.
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
“Loud and clear.” Matt said. He went over to the gun rack on the wall and took down his AK-47. He, like most everyone else in the community, already wore a sidearm at his hip.
“What are we going to do?” Susan asked. Matt glanced down at her belly, now swollen with child. His child…
“Let Jenkins handle it. He has contingency plans drawn up for such things.”
“Do you think the mortar fire can reach us?” Susan asked.
“Nothing has hit this side of the lake so far. But that might be deliberate.”
There was an urgent knock on their bedroom door.
“Come in!” Matt called aloud. Captain Jimenez poked his head inside, his expression a mixture of excitement, fear and shame.
“Sorry to bother you. The General wants all Council members down in the conference room.”
“Tell him we’ll be right there.” Matt said. The Captain nodded then disappeared, closing the door behind him.
“Time to put on our game faces.” Susan said. Matt looked at her and she smiled, but it was a forced smile. Matt could see the fear etched into her face…her eyes.
“Can you handle this?” Matt asked. Again he glanced don at her swollen belly.
“I’m ok.” She said, hugging him tight. He hugged her back, silently praying for the safety of his wife and unborn child.
When they entered the conference room they saw that they were the last two Council members to arrive. Doctor Reilly was at the Hospital and Lucas Casey was holed up in his ranch on the south side of the lake.
Now that everyone was assembled Jenkins filled them in on what was happening; the superzombies on the loose around the perimeter, the hellhound in Kittewa.
“We’ve taken some hits, for sure, but it will be over soon. Once Major Farrell locates that mortar position the Tincan can take it out with one shot.”
“What about the runners inside the perimeter?” Patty asked.
“They will be stopped. What I need from the Council is leadership when it’s over. Everybody is going to be freaked out and will need to be calmed down. They are going to turn to the Council for answers and direction. Keep them calm. Assure them everything is going to be ok.”
“Is it?” asked Sheriff Busley skeptically.
“Yes.” Jenkins said, staring hard until the old man turned his gaze away.
“We know you will protect us Jenkins. The whole community has faith in you.” Matt interjected himself before it turned ugly between the two.
“I wasn’t implying otherwise.” The Sheriff stammered.
“Of course you weren’t Sheriff.” Matt said. He turned to Jenkins. “We’ll hold up our end of the bargain Jenkins.” The General nodded, taking Matt at his word that the Council would stand firm behind him. Matt also realized that he had just taken it upon himself to make sure that the Council stood firm. Anxiety tightened his stomach, his chest. He took a deep breath to get it under control. Politics. He fucking hated politics.
Outside, gunfire erupted…
CHAPTER 34
Monday, March 18, 2002
Rainbow Lake, UT
4:47 AM
The first Sentinel emerged from the tree line of the driveway and charged right up the center of the lane towards the Main House. At once several soldiers targeted it and its body riddled with bullets.
Then it exploded.
The superzombie was obliterated, as was the forest in a twenty-foot radius; a pair of unfortunate soldiers nearby were killed as well. The remaining guards taking aim were frozen with shock.
That was when the second Sentinel burst out of the trees at the edge of the front yard. It made it halfway across they yard before the concentrated gunfire from the house brought it down fifty feet from the front steps. Seconds later it also exploded. Nobody was killed in the explosion, but most of the windows in the Main House were shattered by the concussion.
The two remaining Suicide Sentinels converged on the Hospital. They burst from the tree line onto the large circular drive at the same time, fifty feet apart. They were spotted immediately and fired upon. One went down quickly but didn’t explode. The other dodged behind an ambulance and crouched low as it ran. When it emerged from behind the vehicle it was only thirty feet from the front entrance. Two militiamen stood in front of the main entrance, both aiming their weapons at the superzombie. The creature charged them, exchanging gunfire with them as it did. A dozen bullets tore into and through its body armor, blasting its chest apart, but it barely threw the superzombie off balance. However, its gunfire had cut one guard down and sent the other diving for cover. Gunfire from above and behind peppered the superzombie but it paid no heed. It ran the last ten feet to the main entrance and then was through the large double doors.
Just inside another trio of armed guards were awaiting and they unleashed on it everything they had. It was enough to bring the monster to the ground, but not enough to prevent it from detonating its explosive backpack…
The explosion took out the back quarter of the Hospital, blowing out the lower floor and causing the upper floors to collapse inward. Over a dozen were killed. The shockwave rippled through the remainder of the building, shattering every window and knocking every inhabitant off of his or her feet…
CHAPTER 35
Monday, March 18, 2002
Rainbow Lake, UT
4:53 AM
Major Farrell raised his head just enough to see over the fallen log, spotting the two superzombies manning the mortar eighty feet away. They were setup on a small ridge that looked down upon the lake while remaining relatively hidden by the surrounding forest. As he watched, one of them looked down on the lake while the other made adjustments to the mortars aim then grabbed a shell from a nearby bag and dropped in butt first down the tube.
Whuump!
A few seconds later an explosion. Had anybody been killed in that explosion?
Gritting his teeth with anger and hatred for the deadfuck monsters he pulled a HE grenade from his belt and pulled the pin, raised up and threw it in a perfect arc and ducked back down behind the log all in one smooth, fluid motion. The grenade landed right beside the bag of mortar shells and the superzombies barely had time to register its appearance before it exploded. The HE grenade ripped their bodies apart and when the mortar shells went the ensuing fireball incinerated them.
Major Farrell sprang to his feet and ran as fast as he could back the way he had come. He knew that the Tincan was standing by down below, waiting for his signal grenade to zero in on and pound the hillside. He had a twenty-second window to get as far away as possible before they opened up and he meant to use it…
CHAPTER 36
Monday, March 18, 2002
Checkpoint One, Kittewa, UT
4:55 AM
Lt. Stan Larsen pulled the ma
chete from its sheath and squared up with the superzombie approaching him like a torpedo. It had no eyeballs in its dry sockets, but Larsen could feel the monsters gaze none-the-less. It bored into him, like a cold, black cloud of fear. But Lt. Larsen had seen far too much in the past hour to fear something so trivial as a lone, unarmed superzombie, and the black cloud dissipated as instantly as it had appeared.
The superzombie dove at him, going for a tackle but Larsen gave a quick sidestep, something he had learned playing football, pivoted as the superzombie shot past and swung the machete down with all the strength his large frame could muster. The blade chopped into the back of the creature’s head, lodging into the skull and driving the creature face first into the ground. It twisted about wildly, pulling the handle from his hands. Larsen staggered back as the superzombie rose to its feet. It reached behind it and grabbed the handle of the machete and wrenched it free from its skull and gave it a test swing before advancing towards him.
Well, this is it! He knew he would be implanted with a slug and turned into a superzombie. They said when someone was about to die, their life flashed before their eyes, but for Lt. Stan Larsen, it was only the past half-hour, since he had fled checkpoint one…
He and Pvt. Maier as well as Pvt.’s Callahan and Sanchez in a separate Hummer had barely made it out of the overrun Checkpoint Two and sped as fast as they could up the canyon to Checkpoint One. It was assembled much like Number Two; A wall blocking the highway with a narrow gate at the center, machine gun emplacements on either end of the wall. On the backside would be a command tent/barracks, a supply tent, and Bravo Three, under the command of Sgt. George Henry. The short, stocky man seemed only too happy to relinquish command to Lt. Larsen. Literally physically relieved. The burden had been too much to bear.
Can I bear it? He asked himself. Nine men under his command had died today…horrible deaths. Now he had just taken responsibility for four more, with Maier, Sanchez and Callahan that made it seven. And if they all were to die could his conscience continue to bear the burden?