by Sikes, A. J.
“Welch?”
“I—I can see it, Sergeant. But—”
“We can all see it, Welch. I’m asking what you’re thinking right now.”
“No talk . . . you talk, he die.”
Gallegos stiffened as the sucker face lifted Mahton high, grabbing him tighter around the neck. Mahton’s face reddened, but the monster relaxed its grip.
It wants him alive. They like living meat, not dead. How the hell do we get out of this?
The smaller ones scrambled around now, shifting the screen they made so none of the Marines had a clear shot at the big fucker.
Not without risking Mahton’s life. Either we hit him or it crushes his neck, or we all go down when the frag drops.
When Welch had dropped the flash-bang in the fire station, the monsters had been neutralized instantly. Only one of them actually recovered in time to be a threat. Mahton had taken it down as soon as it moved. The others had all frozen up, covering their eyes and ears and scurrying for shelter like a bunch of frightened bugs.
She’d given them no more mercy than they’d deserved, and she would do the same this time.
But how do I do that without risking the frag going off?
Mahton struggled and twisted his head to the side. His arm was still held in the sucker face’s iron grip. He locked eyes with Gallegos and flicked his gaze toward his right hand.
She didn’t want to accept it, but she knew what he was saying. She blew out three short breaths and winced when Mahton matched it with three fast blinks.
Mahton, you were a damn good Marine. Semper fi.
☣
Jed couldn’t take his eyes off the big thing. He wanted to kill it, and knew he should. But how could he fire with Mahton held in front of it like that?
Before he could make a decision, Sergeant G told him in a hushed voice to stand down.
“Be ready to fall back. Fast.”
Jed flicked his eyes at Sergeant G. She was tapping her vest pouch where she kept her flash bangs. He looked back at Mahton and could tell from his face that he was ready for what came next.
Damn. We can’t just do him like that. Even if we knock the suckers back with the banger, they’ll tear him apart before we can get all of them.
“Sergeant—”
She hissed him quiet and he stayed that way. Whatever she had decided, he couldn’t change her mind. And it looked like Mahton was in on the idea. He was ready to die so they could live.
Like Meg would have done.
Jed let his finger rest against the trigger guard of his weapon, but he kept the muzzle on the big sucker, waiting for Sergeant G to throw her grenade. She hadn’t pulled it out of her vest yet.
The monster acted like it was smiling again. It lifted Mahton higher still, so he was held up like a trophy. Then it grunted at them.
“This mine . . . Bring more. You live.”
Sergeant G began counting.
“One,” she said.
Jed focused on the enemy as best he could, wondering what she was counting for.
Is she trying to fake it out? Why doesn’t she pull her banger?
The smaller ones kept shifting around the big sucker face. This left Mahton out in front of the whole mass sometimes, so he’d be the first one hit if Jed opened fire.
“Two,” Sergeant G said.
Jed had the SAW angled away from Mahton, aiming at the door to the kitchen. He still couldn’t accept the idea of sacrificing one of their own to the sucker faces. Even if Mahton was okay with it himself, Jed had to do something. He’d fire a burst to take out any suckers in his zone, and then move up and left to catch the big one in the chest or head.
All he needed was a clear shot. Like they were listening to his thoughts, two smaller suckers crept aside, giving him a clear view of the big fucker’s left flank.
He was ready to risk it. If he got one head shot, the monster would drop Mahton, and then Jed could spray the rest of them without hitting his buddy.
That’s how it’ll go. Sergeant G isn’t going to throw a flash bang. She doesn’t even have it in her hand. She’s trying a fake out.
Jed let his finger slide onto the trigger. He angled the muzzle up just enough that he knew he’d miss Mahton with his first burst. The big sucker face shifted its grip on Mahton and Jed saw the dark green ball in the Marine’s hand.
Oh shit.
“Three!”
Gallegos called the last count and reached to her left and right, grabbing her men and lurching backwards. She spun on her heels and came face to face with the firefighters, still carrying all their food and first aid gear. They stood there like they expected to be needed.
“Grenade!” Gallegos yelled as she ran forward, pushing Jo and Matty out of her way. Luce and Dom fell in beside her. She felt someone else turn and run behind her and the others.
“Bring more!” the big one shouted from behind them.
Gallegos looked over her left shoulder. Welch was right there with Jo trailing him. Behind them a group of three sucker faces clung to the wall, scraping at the air. Mahton cried out behind her and then screamed.
The thud of the frag hitting the floor put her heart into her throat and she threw herself forward into a prone position.
I hope you all know what to do—
The explosion clapped loud and sudden, sending Gallegos’ stomach into her mouth. Her ears rang and she heaved a mouthful of spit onto the floor. As she rolled onto her back and brought her weapon up, a burst from the SAW clattered against the humming in her ears.
On her right, Welch had stopped firing. He roved the SAW back and forth across the floor. A spray of blood and bone coated the walls. None of the smaller sucker faces were moving except for one right in front of Welch. Its chest was a constellation of holes leaking blood. It shook once and went still.
Down the hall, the big one lay on its back with Mahton off to the side. Another body lay in the middle of the floor, next to a pile of the smaller monsters.
The bag of oranges Leigh had been carrying was a mess of pulp and juice mixed into the mess around them. Reeve stirred at Gallegos’ left. He got to his feet and she watched him walk down the hall to Mahton’s body. The food the firefighters had collected was scattered around them, with crackers and dry pasta spilling out of split packages or crushed boxes.
Matty and Luce came from behind her and followed Reeve. Together, they squatted on the floor next to the body in the middle of the hall. Dom and Jo crouched against the wall behind Welch. Blood marked Dom’s arm where some shrapnel had caught him. Jo moved over to help him with some bandages and water she’d been carrying.
Welch stayed by them and monitored the hall while Jo treated Dom’s wound.
“It’s too deep to extract easily. We’ll need more than we have in the trauma bag.”
“Just wrap it for now,” Dom said. “I’ll be fine.”
Gallegos stood and went forward to join Matty and Luce, so she could get a look at who was on the ground.
Leigh had jumped toward the grenade and shielded everyone else from the blast.
The sucker faces were dead, even the big one.
Leigh and Mahton were gone with them. His weapon was on the floor where the big fucker had been standing. It was peppered with shrapnel and the butt stock was a jagged shard of blackened metal. Gallegos swept it up and threw it down the hallway, screaming her rage and agony.
☣
Jed waited until Sergeant G was cool again. She hollered long enough that he was worried more of the suckers would show up. But nothing came tearing out of the stairwell. The last ghosts of the grenade drifted down the hallway and Jed let his shoulders relax.
Sergeant G went to Luce and Matty and put a hand on their shoulders. The two men stood and they all shared a quiet second together around Leigh’s body. Reeve stayed back with Dom and Jo, and said something about getting gone. Sergeant G nodded.
Jed stayed focused on the stairwell, but shot a look out the nearest window every few br
eaths.
Just what we need. One more place those things can sneak in from. How the fuck did they get so close without us hearing them?
Sergeant G’s voice broke into his thoughts.
“People, we need to go. We’re down by two now, but we still outnumber Tucker. Let’s get into that arms room and get the rest of you saddled up.”
She marched forward with Reeve at her side. The firefighters gave one more look at Leigh’s body before joining her. Jed stayed at their six, watching the hall, the window, and the stairwell.
Don’t you fucking dare come after us. You got lucky today. Next time will be different.
☣
Gallegos turned the corner at the end of the hall and came face to face with a solid door. It had a coded lock on it.
“How the hell did they get in?”
Jo stepped forward and turned the handle. The lock clicked and she pushed the door open.
“Before the cops left, they gave the code to a few of us. In case we needed to be armed, but then the power went out so it didn’t matter.”
Jo stepped back, making space for Gallegos to push into the arms room with Reeve trailing her. The firefighters all followed them inside.
“Welch,” Gallegos called over her shoulder.
“Rah, Sergeant.”
“You got our six until I say otherwise.”
“Errr,” he said without missing a beat. She didn’t need to check him. She’d seen how shaken up he was after the attack, and the grenade, but his voice told her he was good.
Whatever strength she took from trusting Welch quickly waned when she saw the empty shelves, racks, and lockers in the arms room. The cops’ guns were all gone, along with almost every round of ammo. Empty green cans lay around the floor.
“So much for an arms rooms,” she said.
“I don’t know, Sergeant,” Reeve said. “You think that contraband might be worth taking with us?”
Gallegos shifted her position to look past Reeve. He was pointing into the corner behind the door.
Sport shotguns, a few M9s, and an old Vietnam-era grenade launcher were piled up together behind two ammo cans. The pistols had likely been stolen from people Tucker had killed or taken prisoner.
And that’s as good as having killed them, with what he’s been doing.
“He had a goddamned thump gun,” Reeve said.
“They had a lot more than this,” Jo said as she came deeper into the room.
“That’s the truth,” Matty said from behind Gallegos.
“How much more?” she asked.
“When they got here, they had stacks of those,” Jo said, pointing at the ammo cans. “At least a dozen. Plus guns like you have. Assault rifles.” She turned to leave. Dom put a hand on her shoulder but she pushed past him. Gallegos eyeballed Dom, signaling he should let her go. Jo had just lost a partner. The storm would pass and she’d be good to go.
Right now, she needs that space. I hope Welch knows to give it to her.
“Let’s see what they left us,” Gallegos said to Reeve, moving to the stash in the corner.
The first ammo can was unmarked, and even though it looked like it would hold .50 cal rounds, it was pretty light. She popped it open and found a full magazine of 5.56, two bandoliers of ammo, and an old metal speed loader. She handed the magazine and one bandolier to Reeve.
He reloaded his weapon, dropped his pack, and stuffed the bandolier into it. Gallegos pocketed the speed loader and slung her bandolier on her shoulder. She’d top off her magazine before they moved out. The one in her weapon was her last, and it only had three rounds in it.
The other ammo can wasn’t marked, but she recognized its slim size. It was for 7.62 rounds.
Just our luck they leave us ammo we can’t use.
She lifted it. “Feels about half full,” she said.
“Be nicer if we had the right weapon,” Reeve said.
“We still take it. Weaken him any way we can. We might find a weapon for it.”
“Rah,” Reeve said as he accepted the can from her. He handed it off to Dom while Gallegos checked out the new weapons they did have. She counted five Remington 11-87s. Tucker had probably looted them from a sporting goods store. She lifted one and spotted a bundle of OD green fabric hidden behind the others. When she realized what it was, she almost let out a shout of joy.
Stuffed into the corner behind the guns were two bags holding M18 mines with their blasting caps and detonators. Next to the bags was a belt with six rounds of forty mike-mike for the thump gun.
“Hell yeah!”
Reeve came back to her side in a hurry.
“Sergeant? What’s—”
Gallegos handed him the M79 and the belt of rounds.
“Ammo was behind the shotguns. Give it to Jo. The shottys go to the men, and we take the shells from the ones we don’t need. Everybody gets a sidearm, and now we got these,” she said, holding up the M18s in their bags.
“Claymores? Oh, we are in. The. Business.”
“You only got two of those?” Luce asked.
“What do you mean ‘only’?” Reeve asked.
“They had a lot more than two when they got here. Just like them ammo cans. I seen way more of them bags.”
“So they have two less,” Gallegos said.
“Hey,” Dom said. “This can’s got more of those bandoliers in it.”
He was kneeling next to the 7.62 can they’d found, but he was holding up a bandolier of 5.56.
“Merry Christmas to us,” Reeve said. “Who’s humping the extra ammo, Sergeant?”
“I’ll carry it,” Dom said, closing up the box.
Gallegos gave him a thumbs up. “Way to take charge, Dom. Reeve, get the thumper to Jo, and reload another mag if you can find a good one out there. Give that last SAW box to Welch.”
Reeve gave her an Errr as he stepped past Luce to leave the room.
Gallegos handed out the pistols to Matty, Luce, and Dom. “We have five, so everybody who needs it has a sidearm. Luce, give this one to Jo when you get out there. And I want her carrying the thumper. Welch is gonna stay on the SAW. Y’all get the shotguns. Me and Reeve are good to go with these,” she said, patting her M4.
“I’d rather stick to iodine and gauze,” Dom said.
“I need you armed, Dominic,” Gallegos said, handing him a shotgun. “We’re all targets for the sucker faces. They don’t care what you did before they showed up. And if you’re not armed, you’re probably their first target.”
“Why would they go after him if he doesn’t have a gun?” Luce asked.
“Because they’ve learned our strengths and weaknesses. They know our weapons can kill them. You saw them destroying the magazines out there, right?”
“Yeah, I did. But—”
Gallegos passed the second shotgun to him. As she put it in his hands, she looked him in the eye and said, “I’ve seen the sucker faces tear into a crowd of unarmed civilians, forcing the Marines that were shooting at them to kill the people along with the monsters in order to save themselves.”
“Why did—”
“If they hadn’t, the sucker faces would have taken the Marines down one by one, using the civilians as cover. I saw one platoon make that mistake. We all did, and after that, none of us made the same mistake.”
That shook Luce up, and she was glad to see it. He took the shotgun and held it in the crook of his arm like a hunter.
She needed every one of them to understand that their roles were changing. They’d been rescuers before the world ended. Now they still needed to use those skills to survive, but they would be doing so as warfighters.
Dom and Matty weren’t happy with what she’d told them either. Matty hugged his trauma bag close against his hip as he accepted the shotgun she handed him. Dom rested his weapon on one shoulder and slung the bandoliers of 5.56 over the other.
“We should move out, yeah?” he asked.
“Rah,” Gallegos said. “Let’s go.”
&nb
sp; Outside the arms room, Reeve and Jo were standing near the door. Welch was up at the corner watching the hall.
Gallegos handed Reeve one of the Claymore bags. He dropped his pack again and stowed the mine. Gallegos waited until he was finished before she did the same. Then she dropped her magazine and started reloading from her bandolier. The other men all moved up closer to Welch in a huddle.
Reeve shifted so they were all at his back. “Sergeant, we should grab Mahton’s tags.”
“Good call, Reeve. Oorah,” she said and continued loading her magazine.
When Gallegos finished, she stood up and Reeve asked her in a hushed voice, “You sure they’ll be good to go out there?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“They’re lifesavers, Sergeant. Not life takers. You saw how that Dom guy was acting. He’s not—”
“They’ll be good, Reeve. We aren’t taking lives. We’re avenging them. One of theirs, and one of ours.”
Jed stayed at their six, watching the hallway and forcing himself not to fixate on Leigh and Mahton lying amidst all the dead monsters.
Why’d we have to lose them? Why now?
He stepped back a pace, rounding the corner so it was harder to see his fallen comrades. He was closer to the firefighters now. They stood apart from Reeve and Sergeant G, in a cluster just behind him.
“Hey, y’all,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m sorry about Leigh. She saved us.”
“Yeah, she did,” Matty said. “Sorry about your man, too. Even if he did almost shoot me in the head when he first saw me.”
Jed held in an awkward chuckle. The instinct to laugh made him feel like an asshole and it seemed like Matty felt the same way. A smile faltered on his face and drooped into a grimace in a heartbeat.
Sergeant G moved away from the arms room to stand by Jo. The firefighter had an old-as-hell grenade launcher and a belt with a few rounds on it. Jo slung the belt over a shoulder and held the thump gun at the ready. Jed could tell something was eating her up, and he had a pretty good idea what it was. He was feeling the same pain working on his insides about two people.
First Meg and now Mahton. Doesn’t matter what I do . . .
He turned to Jo again and saw her eyes twitching with tears she was only just holding in.