Ninety miles and there was still static. They flew low and fast, just over the tree tops. That might be part of the problem, but if they were coming in hot, they didn’t want to present an easy target.
Eighty miles: “Raiders, Raiders: This is Superbird Six Eight, Over.”
“Superbird six eight, this is Raider Six.” Henry’s voice came in over the dead air.
“Good to hear you, Raider Six. We’re inbound. E.T.A. is thirty minutes. Over.”
“Roger that, Superbird Six Eight. We will try to hold. We have unfriendlies in the treeline north and south of our walls. They are on foot and in armored pickups. Over.”
“Roger that, Raider Six. Where are your people? Over.”
“Roger that. Our people are behind the walls and barricades. Our vehicles are regulation. Over.”
“Roger that. Let us know where you want us to set down. Over.”
“Roger. Will advise when you get here. Over.”
“Roger. Out.” Busch and Vandevorde opened the throttles to their birds another hair. Air screamed past the machines as the ground slipped beneath them in a blur.
“You hear those guns, Boss?” Vandevorde asked.
“Christ, yeah. Sounds like it’s hot down there. Crew chiefs, ready on the guns when we get there.” Voices came back from the four crew chiefs on their guns. Busch’s bird was rigged out with two fifty caliber gatling guns; Vandevorde’s was armed with the smaller model that fired the thirty caliber round. Both birds had rocket pods mounted, with a full load of ordinance.
“Thirty minutes,” Henry said to Cody. They worked their way behind the last row of cars, rifles up over the tops. When they saw a cluster of scavengers, they would exchange fire. “I hope this is a fast half hour.”
“You and me both, Boss. They get serious and get organized, we’re in deep shit.” Cody sent another three round burst at the group that was hidden behind a fallen tree fifty yards away. “We could use Jinks on that damned grenade gun of hers.”
Henry added his fire, then turned as two more scavengers made a dash across the open ground toward the barricades. Both fell in splashes of blood. “We’ve got wounded inside. I’d rather have her in there. We can hold.”
Cody sent a blast under the fallen tree. He was rewarded with screams as the bullets tore into the legs and ass of the scavengers hiding there. Two tried to scurry away through the bush. Henry dropped one with a shot to the head. The other managed to get behind a tree.
“Jinks,” Henry keyed his mic. “You been listening?”
“Roger, Boss. We’ve got a half hour. Four more casualties now. Eight total. I hope those birds have room on them.”
Henry ducked a shot from the man behind the tree. Cody returned fire. “Understood. We’ve got two coming. Unless we get overrun, we ought to be okay.”
“Right. I’ll start prepping for the flight. You might want to call Danny and let him know we’ve got multiples coming at him. He can get Heather and Pepper involved.”
“Roger that.”
Henry crouched down behind a car. It was quiet for a moment. He dialed Dan, then radioed back the choppers and gave them a casualty count. They understood. Twenty minutes out. They would do a flyover sweep and clear out as many scavengers as they could.
Twenty three minutes later, two Blackhawks roared overhead. They were preceded by rockets. Explosions beyond the tree line blasted flame and truck parts into the air. Miniguns chewed through the brush on either side of the fields. Henry watched as small figures raced back the way they had come. Guns cut some down, others made it to the truck they came in and raced away from the community. Another set of rockets followed them down the road.
The birds circled the area one last time, then set gently down in a field of wheat, littered with bodies and the burning hulks of trucks. Doors opened as the rotors wound down to idle.
People carried wounded out on doors removed from homes, coffee tables, or slung between quilts. Four were loaded on the closest chopper. Gertrude went in first, strapped to a door. She had a three point bandage over her wound, Harriet held a bag of fluids over her head as she slid in with her. Mart carried Elizabeth in behind her.
More wounded were loaded and Henry recognized Vickie. She had a white bandage wrapped around her thigh. There was a bull’s eye of blood on the outside. Bullet missed the artery and went through meat. She had her left shoulder wrapped as well. Right where the seam of her body armor would be.
The first chopper was loaded. Three men from the flight crew walked toward the small group of Raiders.
“Who’s in charge here?” Captain Busch asked.
Henry saluted, followed by the others. “I am, Sir. Sergeant Henry Hawk.”
Busch returned the salute. “Looks like you people had a rough go of it, Sergeant Hawk.”
“Yes sir. Touch and go for awhile. You got here at about the right time.”
Busch grinned. “We do our best. Sergeant, we noticed as we flew in there are two Abrams laagered out behind this place. Are they operational?”
“Yes sir, they are. We just don’t know much about them.”
“Well, we could use them and my two crew chiefs here are TWATs.”
Henry’s brow knitted in puzzlement. “Sir?”
Busch chuckled. “Tankers Without A Tank.”
“Ah. They’re welcome to them, but I don’t know much about them, or if they’d make the run home.”
“Sergeant, we’re going to be bingo fuel by the time we get to Snareville. If I can lighten my load by having my crew drive something useful home, it’ll save me from having to maybe walk the last fifty miles.”
“Understood, sir.”
Busch nodded to his crew. They slung the rifles they carried and headed for the outbuildings. Doors slammed on the second chopper, as the rpm’s cranked up to takeoff speed. Busch saluted and turned to his bird. Jinks trotted over to Henry.
“Reporting in, Hawk.”
“Get on that damned bird, Jinks.”
“Like hell. You need me.”
“Not near as much as those wounded do.”
“You need me on my gun if they come back.”
“We’ll be fine. They need you if they start to get worse on the flight back.”
“Dammit. That’s not fair, Hawk.”
Henry took her by the elbow. “Welcome to being a combat medic. We’ll be fine. There’s a chance they won’t be. Besides, Leary can use you once you get back. Tell the boss we’ll be along shortly.”
With a curse, Jinks climbed into the second Blackhawk. The door slammed behind her. Busch wound up the rotor and the bird followed its partner into the sky. Behind the back wall, Henry heard the tanks fire to life.
“What now, Boss?” Cody asked.
Henry looked around. Mart stood among the rubble. Elizabeth a few feet away. Henry walked over to Mart. Took her hands. She had a bandage over her arm where the transfusion needle had been. Blood was smeared across her shirt. A sprinkle of crimson ran across her cheek. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms. Small whimpers, on the verge of tears from them both. They drew apart, looked into one another’s eyes, then turned and looked at Elizabeth. They opened their arms and drew her into the cluster. This time, there were tears from the three.
Eventually, they parted. He kissed them both, then turned to his crew. It was a mixture of Raiders and Amish. The men had gathered outside as well. Many were bloody, as they had helped with wounded. The girls were coated in dirt, blood and burnt gunpowder.
“Some got away, Boss,” Johnson said. “They were using radio too. We caught some over our system. They radioed their base about us.”
“Where were they from?”
“Louisville,” Elizabeth said. “I recognized the markings on their trucks.”
“How far is it to there?” Henry asked.
“I think it’s a couple hours.” Mart answered.
“Two hours before they either get reinforcements or get home. I don’t know if they left or not.�
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“I’d bet they pulled back far enough to wait for backup,” Cody said.
“Not much time.” Henry stared out over the destruction. In the field, vehicles smoked. Bodies were strewn out in the short bright green of the young plants. Inside the walls, the second TOW missile had detonated against one of the barns. Splinters of wood still smoldered in the yards.
“We won’t be able to hold them when they come back,” Henry said. “We need to bug out.”
“What?” Mart asked. “We’re leavin’ them?”
“No. They’re going to have to come with us.”
“What?” Elizabeth turned to him. “Leave our home? We will not.”
“Yes, niece, you will. Hawk talks sense.” A man stepped forward. His brown beard was shot through with threads of gray.
“Uncle Bill, you cannot expect us to leave our home like this.”
“I cannot expect you to die either, Elizabeth. The walking dead are easy to fool. You stay quiet and they do not find you. The survivors, they now know where we are. We have much of what they want. Food, livestock. Hawk has said they will not be able to stop them.” His eyes fell on Mart. “You have seen much outside our area. Am I correct?”
“Your Uncle’s right, Elizabeth. We’ve seen it before,” Mart answered. “And in some places, women are hard to come by. It’s never pretty to be captured.”
“There are Dutch living where they are from, Elizabeth. I have spoken of this to Mart. We will not die out. But you must leave.”
“What of you, Uncle Bill?”
More men stepped forward. “They will go with you. We have knowledge that is needed. I will stay behind to ensure that those who return will not get what our families have built for seven generations. With the help of Mart.”
“Me?”
“You know how to make explosions?”
“Yes.” She started to understand.
“I will not allow our community to be used by people such as these.”
Mart looked at Henry. He nodded. “Do it,” He said. He turned to the rest of the group. “Let’s move on this, people. We don’t have long. Grab what you need. Bring what you think you can use.”
Mary offered that they had buggy horses that could be hitched up, work horses that could pull wagons. Henry nodded. In pairs the Amish disappeared into the settlement. Mart called the men in the tanks, asked if they were loaded with cannon shells. They were. She needed six. They would leave in one hour.
Sixty minutes later, two Abrams tanks left the compound. While they were in the woods, they crept along at a walking speed to keep from spooking the livestock. Once across the Wabash River, they took to the road and opened the throttle. At the head of the ragged column was Henry’s rig, Cody at the wheel. Johnson pulled tail end Charlie, with Mart behind the trigger of the cannon.
Between the rigs were five buggies of Amish men and women loaded with household goods and food. Four big work wagons were pulled by teams of draft horses. The cattle and sheep moved with the column. They were used to being herded and followed along easily enough. Assorted dogs ran beside the rigs. Cats were packed into the buggies. There were a few crates of chickens on one of the wagons. Together this unusual group of refugees made their way through the woods, across the Wabash and into Illinois.
William Yoder waved them goodbye. He stood at the back gate of the compound as they left; his heart heavy. He longed to be with them, but he would not allow people he loved to be hurt. He would kill as many of these predators who were coming as he could. That was a sin. A mark upon his soul. Just the thought. But he prayed for God to forgive him for what he needed to do. He was not afraid to die. He would be with his Savior soon. He hoped he was worthy.
They did not return that day and William slept by himself as he had since the first year of the plague. It pained him to do so. He missed his wife and his children so much. They had fallen victim to the virus from a trip into town. So many others had been lost, he felt guilty to mourn in public for his family. The tears came unbidden as he lay in his bed. The house was near the entrance and was scarred from the previous day’s fighting. His great grandfather had built this home for his children and it was part of the family for one hundred years.
Morning came. He walked the streets of the silent community. He looked out the destroyed gate to the east. Above the trees, a large dust cloud had risen. So they would come after all. He stepped back inside his house and retrieved the headset Mart had wired into the cannon shells. Six other sets were attached to rounds spaced out through the buildings of the settlement.
A tank plowed its way out of the trees, followed by three of the Humvees. The sight sent shivers of fear though his body. Maybe he should have left with the others. No. This was his duty. He walked back into the center of the buildings as the tank fired a round. It screamed in, punched a hole in the wall of his home and detonated.
The concussion of the blast knocked him off his feet and rolled him. He stood up, dusted himself off and raced toward the west end of the settlement. At the end of the short street, he ducked behind the home of his cousin, the Fritzes. For the first time, he looked behind him. The second story of his home was gone. Splinters smoked throughout the yards and street. Tears welled in his eyes as the tank clattered through the gate.
Men poured in around the tank, trucks parked behind it. The people fanned out through the community, shooting out windows, yelling for people to come out. They wore an assortment of dirty uniforms and clothes. Tattoos covered exposed, filthy skin. Beards on the men were untrimmed. The few women in the group had long, stringy hair and many tattoos similar to what Elizabeth wore.
A man climbed out of the top of the tank. He shouted for anyone to come out of hiding and talk. Several people ran from homes with armloads of family goods. William stepped from behind the wall.
“I am here,” he shouted.
Several rifles pointed his way. Some of the scavengers slowly approached him, eyes darting to windows that looked out over them.
“Where’s the rest, old man?” the man in the tank shouted back.
“Gone. They left yesterday.”
“Why’re you still here?”
“So you people could not follow them, or take what we worked to build.”
“What?”
William slipped his thumb to the headset. “Forgive me, Father, for what I do.”
He keyed the mic. The electrical spark shot through the air to connect with the six other headsets wired to the detonators of the tank shells. Four high explosive rounds, two incendiaries and several pounds of black powder erupted from around the settlement. Buildings dissolved. Glass shards shrieked through the air, splinters sliced through flesh. The fireball reached hundreds of feet into the air. Men and machines were wiped out. The small Amish settlement of Hickory Run winked out of existence.
Chapter 40
I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting this. I guess I just figured we were invincible. We’d survived a zombie plague. We were still alive. Just the fucking shock of remembering that humans sometimes shot back pulled me back to reality. Shit. The phone call from Tom found me out helping extend our fence around some of the northern fields. They had gone back to prairie grass. We figured to fence in some for pasture for our cattle and turn the rest to garden fields. We were getting so we needed the extra food.
I had rushed back into town on Cherokee, Kevin behind with Chloe. We got Leary going on prepping the Operating Room for casualties and called in the people in town who could help. Cindy, Tess and Heather showed up a few minutes later. Soon enough, they chased me out of the way.
I left and started to call my troop commanders. I told Gibson to make sure the landing fields were clear and get a squad together with trucks to transport the wounded back to the hospital. We’d never done anything like this before and it felt like an old M.A.S.H. episode. The choppers would need to be refueled, so I told him to make sure we had aviation fuel ready in the tanks when they got here.
Afte
r that, I waited. It was a two hour flight to my people in Indiana and an hour flight here. All I could do was stew. Pepper poked her head into the office.
“Hey, Baby. I’m going to help out at the hospital.”
“What?”
“I figure they could use as many hands as they could get. How many do they have coming in?”
“Shouldn’t you be resting?”
“I’ve rested enough. I’ve rested so much I’m going batty. I love you, but you’re too careful with me. I’m not glass. I’m healed pretty well. Besides, I was an E.R. nurse in Peoria. I’ve seen gunshots. How many of the others have?”
Damn. Now she goes and gets all logical on me. “Fine. I’ll walk over with you.”
I stood from the desk, slid my arm around her waist and gave her a kiss. “I don’t mean to baby you. I’m just…”
“Protective. I know. So am I. We lost Jen. We almost lost Cindy. Of our little family, you’re the one that’s been hurt least. You’re charmed, Danny.”
I squeezed her gently. “I’m blessed. C’mon.”
We walked around the corner. The girls moved a couple of benches out of the way in case they had to put more than one truck at the entrance. Seems they didn’t want anything to trip over.
A thought occurred to me. “Hey, who’s watching the kids?”
She looked at me and smiled. “Your girlfriend, our new son and Ella. Cat rode over to see if Kevin was back from the field as I was thinking about leaving.”
She kissed me, tickled my ribs. As she turned to the door, I swatted her on the behind. She grinned at me, shouted for an update as she went through the doors. I heard a babble of voices as the doors swung shut behind her. I didn’t even want to be inside. I’d just cause havoc. At his best, Leary annoyed me. But he damned sure knew his stuff. And he’d been teaching some of the others. We may not have had any neurosurgeons on staff, but we had a good general doctor who was turning his students into general doctors. Weird how things happen.
Snareville II: Circles Page 24