Gunship - The Series

by John Davis

  She found her own mind easing as Dalton's extensive military background began to show. He was a lot of things, but the soldier of many wars is who she needed right now. They all did. And as Whiskey rose to his feet, standing proudly beside his best friend, Dalton smiled a bit.

  “But the cocktails are a last resort. Got it?” he asked as everyone near him nodded. “Waste not want not.” Dalton said as he glanced to the alcohol, and quickly back at Cambria who was smiling wide.

  “Also be a good idea if we can get a small group to the roof of the building. Be able to assess how many there are and see if we can find a way out for ourselves.” Dalton said.

  “The train,” Cambria replied, gaining everyone's attention. “The airships will see the Drifters long before landing, and that's sure to turn them away. But the train is heavily armed and couldn't stop in time even if it wanted to. We just need to figure out a way to get on it when it comes through.” she added.

  “Is there a way to the roof?” Dalton demanded to know as he clinched the shirt of the bartender in the process.

  “Yes...this way,” the bartender replied, the chubby man then quickly leading them to a small area in the rear of the Trading Post. “Ain't many windows to speak of, but this ladder will take you all the way up to the roof.” the scraggly looking man said as he led them to a narrow red ladder that was firmly bolted to the wall.

  Cambria was the first one up, her perfected backside serving as a man lure of sorts. Both Tank and Dalton nearly began fighting for the chance to climb up right behind her, Tank finally backing off after reading into the scowl on Dalton's face. As the smuggler started up next, he heard Whiskey, who was whining in a begging fashion.

  “Ah shit.” Dalton said with frustration, wanting so badly to enjoy the view of Cambria as he climbed but not daring to leave his faithful pooch behind.

  “Don't worry, I'll enjoy the view for you.” Tank said with a chuckle as he mounted the ladder to climb.

  “Are you guys coming?” Cambria asked, looking down for a moment.

  “Don't I wish.” Tank replied under his breath as he climbed steadily.

  “Damned smart ass.” Dalton said with frustration. As they climbed what seemed to be at least two stories by way of ladder, Dalton clinched Whiskey tightly, all while listening to Tank's lightly spoken sexual innuendos.

  Finally making it to the top, Cambria forced open a thick door of steel and anchor bolts. The thickness of the door was such that she couldn't force it completely open, Tank placing his arm around her to help the steel loose. Dalton scowled at Tank making a play on such a beautiful woman, then turning his scowl to the true guilty party. Whiskey glared back as if to apologize, wide eyes staring through the thickened lenses of his goggles.

  As Dalton and Whiskey made it topside, the brown coat booty chaser slammed the door as if to break up a romance. Tank turned to grin as Cambria remained standing, her eyes locked onto the receiving end of a set of binoculars.

  Dalton approached slowly while the screams of both undead and citizens who would soon join them rang out below, though they had calmed a bit. A very good indication that few living folks remained.

  “Is Skulls on the door?” Cambria asked, her eyes still skimming the area below.

  “Yep, she's locked down tighter than a tick's ass.” Dalton said proudly. Cambria turned to look at him, a daze upon her face.

  “That's pretty good.” she said, smiling a bit.

  “Thanks.” Dalton replied, his thick beard doing little to cover the grin beneath it.

  Finally getting his own hands on the binoculars, Dalton began to skim the surrounding area. “Has to be a way out of this 'sumbitch,” he mumbled as his eyes continued to focus. “What the...” he said under his breath, locking his sight onto a fixed position.

  “What is it?” Tank asked, moving closer to the roof's ledge to stand beside Dalton and his trusty sidekick.

  Dalton stood there, staring out onto the group as he tried to put two and two together. “The Revolver,” Dalton replied in awe. “Johnny fucking Edmonds.” he added, watching the gunslinger tear his way into town by way of pistol.

  Suddenly, the thick steel door sprang open, Selina quickly pulling herself to the rooftop.

  “Woman, what the hell are you doing up here?” Dalton asked sternly as Tank walked with him, both approaching the bar girl slowly.

  “They're in.” she replied frantically.

  “Huh?” Tank asked.

  “They're in!” Selina yelled to confirm their worst fears.

  “What the fuck do you mean they're in?” Dalton asked with emotion. His question was immediately answered by the sound of a sniper's rifle firing below.

  “Oh shit.” Dalton finally said as Tank began helping others up onto the roof.

  “Help them up!” Cambria yelled with panic as screams flooded beneath them, accompanied by seemingly non-stop gunshots.

  The barkeep was up, as well as Selina and two other men who seemed dazed at best.

  “Where's the kid?” Dalton asked with no answer following.

  “Where the fuck is the kid?” he asked again, this time with a commanding voice as his arm grabbed the shirt of the barkeep.

  “We couldn't get anyone else to safety. There are too many.” the man replied in self-disgust as he tried catching his breath. They got in through the front door, pushed it open and before we knew what was going on, they had flooded the place and separated us in the process.”

  “Fucking undead.” Dalton mumbled as he checked the rolling chamber of his capable revolver, reloading it as quickly as he could.

  “Dalton, what the hell do you think you are doing?” Cambria asked.

  “That kid is down there surrounded by a horde of these non-hygienic fucks.” he replied as he headed to the steel trapdoor. “Might be other people down there trapped, we don't know.”

  “What about Skulls?” Tank asked.

  “Skulls is a trained killer with a weapon! This kid 'aint got nobody but us. I'm a lot of things that most people would be ashamed of, but I ain't a coward.” Dalton replied with truth as he readied himself to go downstairs. And at that very moment, Cambria Sims began to feel an emotion she hadn't felt in a very long time. Love.

  “Don't lock this door until I'm back, you got me?” Dalton asked of Tank, answered with a nod of the head.

  “Cambria, don't you let him...” Dalton added, turning to his Captain. Whiskey quickly let loose a firm bark to assure his best friend that if needed, he'd protect the door himself.

  “Don't worry, I won't. You just go get that kid.” she replied, a smile on her face that no crew member had ever seen before.

  As Dalton began to quickly leave the rooftop on his way back down, the group watched him as though he were nothing short of a hero. Something this town needed at the very moment he had arrived, even if their hero cursed the gods on his way downstairs and left a blanket of Rum stench behind.

  “Stay on this door, I'm going to try and get Johnny over here to help.” Cambria said, moving quickly to the roof's ledge as the walking dead continued to terrorize the streets below.

  “Doesn't he want us dead?” Tank asked.

  “Well, that was before all of this. Besides, Johnny is easy to forgive. Just keep your eyes on that door.” Cambria answered.

  “Don't worry, it's locked down tighter than a tick's ass.” Tank said with a smile.

  “Not really that clever now that I've heard it again.” Cambria said, turning to begin finding Johnny Edmonds once more.

  “Well you thought it was funny when Dalton said it.” Tank replied with childish envy.

  “Yea. Yea I did, didn't I?” Cambria said under her breath.

  As she gazed through her binoculars in an attempt to locate and coordinate with Johnny Edmonds, she continued to think about Dalton James. Of course he wasn't the kind of guy she could see herself ever falling for. But every single time she learned something new about the hardened smuggler, it led her to believe he was a co
mpletely different man on the inside. A kind, compassionate man with an exterior that was nothing more than a mask to the world.

  Besides, he did have a damn cute dog. As Cambria broke her stare for a moment to glance down, the lustful eyes of Whiskey glared back at her through thickened goggles. Well, maybe not that cute. she thought as the brown coat sporting dog licked his tongue across his lips.

  Dalton knelt slowly on the floor below the ladder, the tail end of his duster laying slightly on the wood grain. A Colonial soldier is trained to always assess the situation and then react. And as Dalton James remained knelt close to the floor, he first glanced up.

  It was dark, but he saw a handful of stars above that let him know his friends were indeed keeping the door open for his return. As he glanced around the back of the Trading Post, he saw a few bodies, bloody trails and expended shells.

  What stood out as bothersome to Dalton was the lack of noise. Only moments before, gunshots rang out in near parade fashion. Now things had become deathly quiet and that scared the hell out of the former soldier.

  Pulling his large revolver to the ready, a trickle of light refracted from the chrome of the barrel as Dalton slowly made his way to the end of a hallway which led to several smaller storage rooms and eventually the main drinking area. It was the first time Dalton had dreaded entering a bar in, well, forever.

  Glancing out of the doorway momentarily, Dalton began to enter the main room when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. A natural reaction to the sound of steel coming to a ready as a gun stood prepared to fire. He slowly turned to see Skulls kneeling in a small room to his right, large sniper rifle at the ready.

  “It's me damnit!” Dalton said under his breath.

  “Get down.” Skulls replied.

  Taking a moment to fully register, Dalton finally knelt to the floor. A mere second later, dedicated lead burst from the rifle of Skulls, slicing through the air and into the formerly dead flesh of a Drifter who was approaching.

  “We gotta move, now.” Skulls said calmly as he pulled his rifle from the ready in order to exit to the roof.

  “I came down for the kid, we gotta find...” Dalton replied, cutting himself short as he spotted both the man and accompanying child, sitting snugly behind Skulls.

  “Good work,” Dalton said. “I'll be right back, don't let them shut me out.” he added.

  Skulls nodded firmly as the quiet killer led the old man and child to the safe confines of the ladder.

  “Where's Dalton?” Tank asked as he helped Skulls to the roof.

  “Don't know. Didn't say.” Skulls replied as he ushered the older man and confused child to the rest of the survivors.

  “Didn't say?” Tank asked in disbelief.

  “Well fuck that, we need to at least shut the door until we know something.” he added, reaching for the trapdoor.

  The well muscled warrior stopped short, small hairs standing tall all over his body as the sound of a pistol readying halted him.

  “You would dare pull a gun on me?” Tank asked, furious that Skulls had the guts to hold a piece in his direction.

  “You scrawny little bitch, I'll beat the fucking sense back into you.” Tank added, walking slowly to Skulls.

  “Tank! Enough!” Cambria yelled, demanding her crew member stop at once.

  “He pulled a fucking gun on me!” Tank yelled in reply.

  “He's waiting for Dalton. We all are!” Cambria shouted back.

  “We'd be doing the same for you if you would have had the guts to go yourself.” she added.

  Tank scowled for a moment at Skulls to let him know the issue wasn't over.

  “They're here, they're safe,” Tank yelled as he pointed to the older man and child. “My question is where the fuck is Dalton?” he added.

  “Right here, why did you miss me?” Dalton replied as he slowly climbed the ladder, gunshots ringing out behind him.

  “Tank wanted to leave you down there.” Cambria said in disgust.

  “Is that a fact?” Dalton asked as he stood to his feet. “Well sir, no liquor for you.” he added as he pulled three of the tallest bottles of rum from his coat that any of them had ever seen.

  “You risked our lives for liquor? You son of a bitch!” Tank yelled, storming into Dalton's direction.

  The much larger man stopped abruptly, his face merely inches from the barrel of Dalton's revolver.

  “Best think this through. You got the physique and clothes to fit the part, but I'm a true soldier boy. I'm not playing commando; I am one.” Dalton said with wily sarcasm, though his words held nothing short of the truth.

  “Damn. I'm falling in love with this guy more and more every minute.” Johnny Edmonds said as he climbed up behind the experience-worn smuggler, a couple more bottles of whiskey in hand.

  “Now Skulls, you can shut the door.” Dalton said, his eyes still locked onto those of Tank.

  “I won't forget this. Next time maybe I got your back, maybe I don't.” Tank said as Skulls secured the lock that bolted the thickened trapdoor into place.

  “I could give a damn young man, just remember that kind of respect is a two-way street.” Dalton replied as Whiskey growled heavily.

  “Young man. That's clever.” Cambria said in a low voice, intrigued by the man known as Dalton James.

  “What's it like out there beyond town?” Cambria asked as Johnny approached her.

  “It's bad girl. Real bad.” he replied, spitting a bit of tobacco drenched saliva onto the rooftop.

  “What?” he asked as she stared at him in disgust.

  “Over the ledge maybe?” Cambria replied.

  “Oh uh, yea.” Johnny said, spitting a second wad of saliva over into the crowd of undead below.

  “Best we've come up with is getting to the train somehow.” Cambria said as her eyes skimmed the horizon.

  “That's a bad plan. Really bad plan.” the gunslinger replied.

  “Huh?” Cambria replied.

  “Me and the boys,” he said, taking a moment to pause. “We hit the train a few hours ago. Left it sitting out there beyond the hills. At least a six or seven mile walk.” Johnny said.

  “You robbed the train and left our only escape vehicle out in the middle of nowhere? Really?” Cambria asked furiously.

  “Well hell, I didn't know these son of a bitches was gonna get coordinated today. Hell, we was thinking about the money.” Johnny replied in his own defense.

  “And the boys?” Dalton asked as he approached loudly.

  “Some of 'em got dusted during the robbery, the rest are laying nearby. Dead fucks killed 'em on the way in.” Johnny replied.

  “You know I hated your guts until about thirty minutes ago, right?” Johnny asked as he turned to Dalton.

  “Yea, I figured as much. You don't have much of a rack on you though darling, so I wasn't going to lose a lot of sleep over it tonight.” Dalton replied with a grin.

  Cambria watched the two men converse for a moment, all while deep in thought herself. Johnny was the typical cowboy, strong on the outside and empty on the inside. Even though Dalton appeared the same at first glance, Cambria now saw through all of that.

  If nothing else, the broken man used his brown coat to cover the true man inside. He had a heart, and Cambria suspected it was a big one. Her suspicions were confirmed when Dalton gave himself away with a soft glance into her direction while conversing with Johnny.

  “Cambria,” Skulls said as the entire group has stopped to stare her way. “You alright?” he added.

  “Yes, fine,” she replied as she quickly broke from her daydream. “Just trying to think of a way out of here, that's all.” she added.

  “Aint' no way outta here.” Dalton replied as a group of Drifters had begun beating on the steel door which separated them from the small group of survivors that had found refuge on the roof.

  “And even if there was, where the hell would we go?” Johnny asked. “Me and the boys came back to Geartown because we figured it would be
safer. The hills are crawling with the bastards.” he added.

  “Well we can't stay here, that fucking door 'aint gonna hold forever!” Tank yelled as he remained sitting.

  “Relax, would ya?” Dalton said as he glanced at Tank sharply for a moment. “The door will hold, it's a choke point. Hundreds of the fuckers down there, but they gotta come up the ladder single file. And 'aint one of them gonna be strong enough to bust through,” Dalton said calmly. “But eventually we do gotta find a way off this roof. Gonna be needing food and such.” he added.

  “And you're sure we can't get to the Cliffs?” Cambria asked of Johnny.

  “Trust me, if it was doable I'd be there and not here.” Johnny replied.

  “Well we sure in the fuck can't stay here!” Tank yelled with frustration.

  “Well hop on down there and clear the way for us big boy.” Dalton replied, a slight grin on his face. Tank's attempt to get up and confront the smuggler was easily stalled by a warning growl on Whiskey's part.

  “Alright, guys,” Cambria said loudly, trying to overpower the loud beating on the steel trapdoor by the undead. “We need to work together. Figure out an exit strategy.” she added in a more convincing tone.

  “Well the hideout up at Mulden Cliffs, like you said, would be the perfect spot to hold up if we could make it. Got plenty of supplies and and weapons just waiting to be dusted off. It's well hidden and only one way in. Even if the fuckers followed us up, we'd be able to thin them out once they started funneling up the narrow pass to us.” Johnny said as he remained deep in thought.

  “Say they was pretty thick outside of town too?”Dalton asked.

  “Thick as thieves,” Johnny replied. “And coming from a thief that's saying something. They are organized now though, don't make a peck of sense. Just yesterday they were brainless and random.” he added.

  “Best bet would be for us to sleep on it. Get some rest and then maybe sort things out come sunup.” Cambria added.

  “Skulls, you take the door and I'll watch the ledge. We'll pull first watch,” Dalton said. “In a few hours we'll rotate out with Johnny and Tank. Go on down the line until sunup.” he added.