“Thanks,” Bull shouted.
The Captain concentrated on the charging creatures.
Melanie fumbled with the webbing, and finally got a Browning’s pistol free. She turned it over in her hands. It looks so easy when they cocked and loaded it on the TV, she thought. She gripped the top and pulled it back. It was harder than it looked. With effort, she finally got it cocked. It was also heavier than she thought it would be. She gripped it with both hands.
“Behind you,” the Captain shouted. He had evidently witnessed what Melanie was doing in his peripheral vision.
Melanie spun around.
A bloated thirty-something female, who had obviously already been feeding, was wading across the pond towards them with her arms outstretched.
Melanie raised the gun in both hands.
She’s already gone. She’s been taken over by the host virus. She’s just an empty shell being used for transport, nothing more. She will kill and eat me without a moment’s hesitation.
Melanie’s finger gripped the trigger. The heavy gun shook in her cold grip.
The pouring rain bounced back up from the choppy ponds surface.
I have no choice. I have no choice. I have no choice, she repeated like a Tibetan mantra.
The naked female thrashed across the pond towards her.
Melanie aimed, closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
“Release the safety,” Bull shouted. “It’s a little lever on the top.”
Melanie fumbled with the gun. It was so heavy, and her hands were so cold. She found the lever and twisted it. She gripped it again in both hands and pointed it at the thrashing female.
BAM!
The first bullet hit the female in the shoulder, spinning her around. However, it did not slow her down.
BAM! BAM!
Two more shots, one in the chest and one straight through the females left eye. The woman tumbled backwards, and floated on the water, surrounded by her own expanding ring of blood.
“You’re a pro, Doc,” Echo shouted. “Remind me not to piss you off now you have a gun.”
Melanie grabbed some magazines from the container, and then slammed it shut. She did not know how many bullets were in each magazine, or how to change it once it ran out; but one-step at a time.
Melanie lined up the sights and pulled the trigger again. Another naked body hit the grass.
It is just like an arcade game; she reasoned, while trying to divert her mind from the fact that she was shooting real people.
“We need to pull back into a building again. We are sitting ducks out here,” Bull shouted.
The charging horde was unrelenting. They were appearing from side roads and from across gardens and out of smashed windows and broken doors.
Noah was freezing cold, crouched up against the ponds slimy wall. His body was shaking uncontrollably.
A hand appeared over the lip of the wall holding a handgun.
“You still alive down there naked guy?” a voice called.
“What?” Noah was at the first stages of hypothermia, and his mind was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than screaming at him about the cold.
“Do your hands work?” the voice screamed down.
“I-I-I g-guess,” he stuttered with the cold.
“Then stand the hell up, take this gun, and bloody well help us!”
Noah climbed to his feet. “I’m cold and naked,” he mumbled in defense. He saw the female soldier that had saved him holding a gun out with one hand, while still firing the rifle with the other. She also looked cold and wet.
Noah was not cowering and hiding due to nerves; he did not want to bundle up into a ball and hope the world sorted itself out. It was just that he was so cold, numb, and lethargic, and it was such a relief to be near someone who could defend him with real weapons, that all the adrenaline that had been keeping him going all morning had washed away. He felt completely drained. He was too tired to even be embarrassed that he was stark naked in front of a female stranger.
“Do you think they give a shit if you’re cold, wet, and naked? Do you think that will stop them from ripping you apart and eating you while you’re still alive?”
Noah reached for the gun with wet, muddy hands. An image of Red, Betty, and Lennie came up in his mind. They were counting on him to save them.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself.
“Is it all ready to go?” he questioned, while spitting water from his mouth.
“Just point and shoot.”
Noah spun around, and was once again overwhelmed with the amount of creatures charging at them. He lifted the gun in both hands, aimed it at a naked skinny man – who had his right arm missing – and fired. Years of video games had honed skills he never knew he had in the real world. The bullet hit the man right between his disfigured eyes.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Echo shouted.
As if he was playing House of the Dead, Noah used only one bullet per creature; all were headshots. Noah concentrated on those closest to him. He only had a handgun, and he did not know how far the bullets would go and still be deadly.
Movement by the crashed truck caught Noah’s attention. He almost pulled the trigger, then he realized the man had army clothes on. The black man sprinted across the gap, firing at the creatures as he ran.
“Glad you could join us, Coco,” Echo shouted. “Where are Trev and Franco?”
“They didn’t survive the crash,” he stated, as he turned and continued firing.
Echo said no more, she just concentrated on taking down one creature at a time; she would mourn them later with a bottle of Jack.
It seemed hopeless. It almost felt like every creature in the area was heading in their direction. For every one they shot; three more ran around the corner.
We need a miracle to survive. We cannot keep this up for long. Even with the container, we will eventually run out of ammo, Echo thought. She was so tired and cold. Her fingers were going numb, and she had to concentrate on just pulling the trigger. Her bullets were already going wide because the rifle was becoming heavier with every passing minute.
Melanie managed to pull herself out of the pond. Her legs were almost numb from the cold. She leaned over Jimmy, checking he was still breathing. Every now and then, she would aim and pull the trigger, taking a creature down. However, the gun was getting heavy, and it was difficult to see the blurs of pink flesh running along due to the rain lashing against her mask.
The Captain was shaking from the cold. His body was so numb he could no longer feel his limbs. A moment ago, he rattled off a long blast on the machinegun, not because the two figures charging towards him warranted so many bullets, but because his numb finger would not let go of the trigger.
A beeping sound drew his attention. It was not loud, just out of place among the screaming and gunfire. The beeping was coming from the field radio strapped to Bull’s back.
“Captain,” Bull shouted. He was unsure if the Captain had heard the beeping over the noise around them. Bull spun around to give the Captain access to the radio.
The Captain pulled the headset away from the waterproof casing. He forced it over his head.
“We need backup!” he screamed at whoever was on the other end of the military line.
40
Red, Betty, and Lennie
Newton Abbot
In an Old Peoples Flat
12:49 PM GMT
Betty was on her feet and at the door in seconds. She lifted up the small terrier and Sshhhhed it, and then gripped her hand over the dog’s snout to stop it barking. Charlie froze in her hands as if aware a predator was close.
Lennie seemed to understand something was wrong as he placed both hands over his mouth, as his eyes stretched wide.
Outside the scraping continued on the door. Then suddenly there was a thud as something hit the floor hard. Then nothing.
It did not sound like the frantic movements of a naked creature, which
if it had heard them, it would be flinging itself against the door and blaring like a wild animal. It almost sounded like someone was injured.
“Take the dog,” Betty whispered.
Lennie took Charlie and held him close.
There was a spy-hole set in the door. Betty twisted her neck to put her eye to the lens. The fisheye lens distorted everything. There was a figure on the ground, but it was hard to tell anything else.
“Shift over,” she said quietly.
Lennie shuffled along the floor, allowing Betty to open the door a little, very slowly.
The dog started to whine.
As she cracked the door an inch, Betty could see two slippered feet pointing in her direction. It was an old man.
Betty quickly swung the door open, and was about to run out to help him to his feet, when she noticed he was staring at the ceiling with wide deformed eyes.
Infected! her mind screamed. She shut the door quietly, locked it and put the chain across, and then got Lennie to lean his bulk against it.
We need to get somewhere safe; this place is obviously riddled with the different stages. She wondered how long it would be before the old man turned, stripped off his clothes and started hunting for flesh.
She put a finger to her chapped lips to signal Lennie to sit quietly. Betty moved back into the front room to check on Red. She was still out cold, but her hands had warmed up, and she had a bit of colour in her face.
Betty was deciding on what to do when a loud noise startled her. Beyond the door – out in the building’s entrance hall, where the old man lay – an animalistic sound echoed around the confines of the corridor.
Betty ran to stand next to Lennie.
The dog was whining, with its head buried under Lennie’s arm. Lennie sat rocking back and forth with his hands over his ears.
Betty looked through the spy-hole.
Outside, three creatures had found the comatose old man and were ripping into his body. The fisheye lens distorted their naked bodies as they set about chewing off his skin.
Betty pulled away from the lens, while fighting back the urge to vomit, as the sound of tearing flesh and snapping bones echoed around the small flat.
41
Doctor Lazaro, Noah, and the Squad
Newton Abbot
Courtney Park
12:51 PM GMT
“We are at your six. We have room for two on the bird. Over,” the voice stated.
Suddenly, the pond’s water was not just choppy; it was a tempest, as a large military helicopter came to hover overhead. It was the same type as their crashed chopper – a Merlin Transport Helicopter. In addition, suspended below the large helicopter, on thick cables, was a utility flat bed husky all-terrain vehicle.
The pilot hovered over the road and released the lines. The thickset vehicle bounced as it dropped a half meter to the tarmac, crushing a fallen creature. The cables whipped and snapped around. One cable decapitated a creature and severed a leg off another, until the cables settled on the wet road.
“Captain, we will help you clean up a little. Roger.” As the voice said this, the helicopter moved forward to hover overhead. The large .50 mm miniguns suspended beneath the cockpit started to whine and spin, they then started churning out thousands of rounds per minute. The pulsating sound was deafening.
The bodies of the charging creatures no longer tumbled over; the larger powerful bullets obliterated them. Heads disintegrated and limbs evaporated, as the helicopter arched around in a circle, mowing everything down with devastating accuracy. The .50 mm bullets churned the earth up; mud flew high into the air, mixed with blood, and shattered bones. Tree trunks cracked open, and tree limbs severed and fell to the wet ground, as pine needles filled the air along with spraying blood.
The squad lowered their weapons, as they were no longer needed. They gathered together. They could not talk though because of the sound of the machineguns suspended above. Steam rose from the ponds rough surface as thousands of hot casings landed in the cold water.
The Captain had to use hand signals to get the squad’s attention. He motioned to Jimmy and Echo as the Doc started to get him ready to load aboard.
Melanie was expecting it, but it was still a relief when the Captain pointed at her. He outlined a square with a finger, meaning the folder. Melanie pulled up her jumper; the folder was inside the waterproof sheath, tucked into her waistband.
Then realization dawned that she was going to leave behind the people who had sacrificed so much to protect her. Four people died within the last hour, and eleven at the university. In addition, Jimmy was unconscious with pasty white skin, and his breathing was shallow.
The helicopter pulled back. Compartments opened in the underbelly, and three sets of double large wheels lowered down on hydraulics. It landed next to the husky, on the road skirting the huge park.
Everyone fanned out; guns raised, ready to pick off any stragglers. There were one or two, but it seemed like the vast wave was quelled for the moment.
The Captain walked forward a little as the large back hatch slid open, revealing a collection of civilians sitting strapped in. A soldier – one of the four aircrew – jumped to the ground and jogged to where the Captain was standing.
“Captain.” The soldier saluted.
The Captain gave a halfhearted salute in return; his arms were aching and cold, and the rain still lashed down.
“General Philips managed to contact us and divert us to your last-known position, via the transponder on your helicopter. Luckily, we were transporting civilians and a husky when they were eventually able to contact us.” If the soldier had noticed the crashed helicopter, all twisted and spread across the ground behind them, he did not mention it.
“You said something about having room for two?”
“Yes sir, the General wants his daughter to be one of them, so the other will obviously be the individual you were sent to pick up.”
“I’m not going! Jimmy needs medical attention, and this may be his only shot at an evac,” Echo said while wiping water from her faceplate.
“I have my orders,” the soldier stated.
“I don’t care about your orders,” Echo said, spinning away from the Captain to confront the soldier.
Gunfire echoed behind them as Bull took down a lone naked runner.
The soldier flinched. He was nervous and unhappy that he was stood in the rain, surrounded by so much death. In addition, he was a little concerned that he was not wearing a gasmask.
“Doctor Melanie Lazaro was our main objective. She has important information.”
Melanie stood next to Coco, who had Jimmy in his arms.
The soldier nodded at the Doc and pointed to an empty seat.
“First class to Dartmoor Prison,” the Captain said.
Emotions boiled to the surface. There was so much Melanie wanted to say. There was so much she wanted to thank them all for. She realized how much life had been shed in her name, for her sake, and a simple folder. However, as she went to open her mouth, she could not think of any words. Everything seemed so inadequate.
“We shall see you soon,” Echo said, while resting a hand on Melanie’s arm. “We will take the armoured husky, and we should rendezvous at the base within the next hour or so.”
Melanie flung her arms around Echo and squeezed tight. Then she hugged the Captain. She still had not uttered a word. She then muttered thank you into the Captains ear. She then turned and jogged to the helicopter. Tears streaked the inside of the mask.
“Private Philips,” the soldier said, motioning for Echo to follow the doctor.
“Sorry you have the wrong person,” Echo said.
“Pardon?”
“No Private Philips here.” Echo stood ramrod straight, with her rifle at her side.
The Captain did not say a word.
The rain pounded the tarmac at their feet. The soldier could have pointed out that her name was stitched onto her jacket, or that he had seen a picture of he
r, sent along with the orders. Instead, he said, “That’s what your father said you’d probably say.” He spun around to Coco.
“Place him on the floor by the hatch.”
Coco carried Jimmy to the waiting helicopter.
“The husky is fueled and the remote controlled 12.7mm machinegun is fully loaded.”
Gunfire announced another creature had been gunned down.
The Captain nodded.
“I have three friends, waiting to be rescued,” Noah stated.
The soldier had noticed the naked twenty-something man stood to one side, holding a handgun over his groin, but decided it was not his problem.
The Captain nodded. “We will collect them on the way.”
Coco loaded Jimmy, making him as comfortable as possible.
“Hopefully we shall see you soon,” the soldier stated as he saluted for the last time.
“Any message for General Philips?” he asked looking at Echo.
“Tell him I will see him shortly.” Echo turned to look over towards Melanie as the Doc bent over, fussing with Jimmy.
The soldier turned and jogged back; he jumped up and slid the hatch shut. The wind picked up as the blades kicked up a notch. The helicopter ascended slowly, leaving the Captain, Echo, Bull, Coco, and Noah to watch it leave them all behind.
The Captain wasted no time. “Bull, prepare the vehicle.”
42
Red, Betty, and Lennie
Newton Abbot
In an Old Peoples Flat
12:57 PM GMT
Betty could not block out the sound of the creatures eating outside the front door.
Lennie sat hugging Charlie, while rocking back and forth. The small dog was shaking in terror.
They could not leave via the front door, and the windows were too high off the ground for them to safely climb out. In addition, the shattered windows had jagged edges sticking out, and there was no way they could get Red through.
The only option was up. The bedroom ceiling had collapsed, and with a little effort, they could climb to the flat above. Betty had decided that if they made it to the roof, they could barricade the door, and it would be the perfect location to spot Noah’s return. From the high roof, they would be able to see the old ruined, burning house, and the location Noah disappeared in. That is if the rain was not pouring too hard.
The Sixth Extinction & The First Three Weeks & The Squads First Three Weeks Omnibus [Books 1-10] Page 14