by TW Gallier
"Jake, or Red Leader," I said, making Ralph snort in amusement. Olivia didn't get my Star Wars reference. She probably thought it was just because his Trailblazer was red. "This is Zombie Patrol. Slow down. Officer Hanks said the jeep cruises at 45 to 50 miles an hour."
"Over and out," Olivia corrected me.
"Over and out," I quickly repeated into the walkie-talkie. Then to my friends as I sat back up, "This is too complicated."
The vehicles in front immediately slowed. She took her foot off the gas, and I felt the difference in the jeep's ride. Neither the engine nor the suspension could handle the 60 miles per hour we'd been going.
I didn't think I could handle that wind all of the way back to Carson.
"I thought we were Old Rat?" Olivia said.
"Red Leader to Geek Patrol," Jake replied. "Take the lead, out."
"Ha!" Ralph laughed. "He got it."
"Wait," I said before she started to go around them. "Pull up closer to the truck in front."
"Why?"
"I want to lift up the windshield," I said.
Olivia shook her head vehemently, while Ralph thought I was crazy. I didn't see a problem. I just didn't want a fierce headwind hitting us when I lifted it. That would snap the windshield up and knock me down, if not out of the jeep.
"I told you to do that before we left Emory," she said, glaring at me.
"Just move up close," I demanded. "If there is still too much wind, then I won't do it."
She gave me a dirty look. Ralph sat back and shook his head. I knew it was dangerous, but I wasn't as worried at them. Maybe I should be.
"We wouldn't have this problem if we'd lifted it in place when I asked," Olivia replied.
My face heated up. "Just do it."
Olivia eased us up closer, tailgating the big cargo truck dangerously close. That provided us a nice relief from the straight in our face wind, making it wraparound behind us wind. I carefully stood up, leaned out over the hood, and tried to yank the windshield up. It didn't budge. Then I noticed how it was held down with catches, and released both catches. I was precariously stretched across the hood for a moment, and it was a lot easier said than done, but I got it up after that.
"See? No problem," I said, grinning as I ensured the windshield locked into place. There were latches in front of the driver's and passenger's seats. "Now we can go around them. And you're welcome."
"I almost peed myself," Olivia said, scowling.
I glanced back at Ralph, who was staring at a small group of zombies to our far left. I noticed the driver and gunner on the pickup behind us were both shaking their heads. I grinned at them as Olivia let off the gas a bit, backed away from the cargo truck, and then went around to the left. We hit almost 60 again as we passed the cargo trucks, pickups, and Jake's Trailblazer.
"You're our guides," Jake radioed. "Set the pace, out."
Olivia settled in just over 45 miles per hour. It was kind of slow, but it felt fast in that jeep. While we drove, I had Ralph hand me up an ammo box of 5.62mm cartridges. None of them were in clips, so I had to load them into the empty magazines one at a time.
I had my head down loading magazines when Olivia asked, "How fast do you think it's safe to hit zombies with our cowcatcher?"
My head popped up to see about a hundred of them a mile ahead of us. Zombies didn't move with any kind of organization or thought, so they were spread out across the highway from treeline to treeline. Most of them appeared to be on the road in front of us, too.
"Slow down to about twenty," I said. "Just in case."
The cowcatcher, which I was thinking of a zombie-catcher, looked rather flimsy to me. It was made out of inch thick rebar and vaguely resembled a cowcatcher on an old steam locomotive. I never looked to see how it was connected to the bumper. Truth was, I was afraid 20 miles per hour was going to prove too much for it, but I didn't want to go too slow through the zombies, either. 20 felt like a slow crawl even in that jeep.
"Ralph, clear them out as much a possible!"
"You betcha, Sarge!" Ralph cried. Olivia cast a quick glance and grin my way. Have to admit, being called that was a little thrill. "Die zombies!"
That M60 was loud in my ears. He went through a whole belt by the time we reached them. I opened fire while Ralph reloaded. And a second later we plowed into them.
"Ugh!" Olivia cried. It was quite a jolt, but the zombie-catcher worked like a charm. Walkers went flying to the side, with a few going under the jeep. Ralph was almost bounced out of the back, his hold on the M6O saving him. "Sorry!"
The guys behind us opened up, mowing more down to either side of us. I thought they were shooting dangerously close to us. But then a zombie got close enough to grab my shirt, ripping it open. Ralph quickly kicked him in the head, knocking him away. Olivia pulled her pistol and shot a zombie that got too close to her. Then I spotted one running towards up, about to jump into the jeep. I rose up half out of my seat and slammed the butt of my AR15 into his upturned face. Jake ran over him a second later.
And then we were past that little horde.
"This is much better than the trip down," Ralph said. "We have to take this jeep when we escape."
Olivia and I shared a long look. I could see it in her eyes. Eagerness. I felt it, too. We agreed to lead them to the armory. I didn't recall promising to go back with them. It was understood, I suppose. I grinned at her, and she smiled. When I looked back at Ralph, he was leaning back in the small bench seat and nodding at me.
"All of those pickups can outrun us," Olivia said. "So we have to sneak away."
"Yes. I think we have to do it in Carson," I said. "Probably while they're all loading up their trucks with guns and ammo."
"It's not going to be easy," Ralph said. "Especially if the armory has already been looted, as I suspect it has."
There was that. I agreed, for Emory, it was worth a try. If they succeeded, then they'd have weapons and ammo for months. If they failed, well, they'd run out a couple months earlier than if they didn't try. I suspected that Jake was also after food, since he brought a lot more trucks than I thought they needed just for guns and ammo. Also, there were extra men along who could drive any older trucks they might find in the city.
Chapter 6
"Shhhh," I hissed, crouched over as I skirted the treeline.
It was just me and Ralph. Olivia was waiting in the jeep, while the rest of the convoy waited impatiently behind her. As guides, we were also tasked with the scouting duties.
"I hear something," I whispered.
Voices drifted on the wind, coming from the gas station we were sent to check out. There were two, this one was the smaller, and the one across the highway was a big chain truck stop and café. Jake wanted to fill up our tanks before we entered the city.
It was late afternoon and we were still a good hour out of Carson. Driving 45 miles per hour all of the way made for a long trip. All of the stops to scout out potentially dangerous spots didn't help.
"Follow me," I whispered, turning into the woods.
Sunset was still many hours away. At least the rain finally went away, but it heated up fast. Dead bodies produced an indescribably sickening stench in the summer heat. And there were lots of dead, mostly half-eaten, bodies along the highway. Places like small towns and gas stations were the worst for rotting carcasses.
The woods were cooler out of the direct sun. We moved quietly, mostly thanks to the rains that soaked the dead leaves. As a rule, neither of us was that stealthy. We dropped to hands and knees before reaching the treeline beside the gas station.
"Holy crap, there's a lot of them," Ralph said.
I nodded. The sight before us scared the bejesus out of me. There were motorcycles and RTVs everywhere. There had to be over fifty men and women. Everyone was young, in their twenties, and looked tough. The guys were covered in tattoos, and most of the women, too. Hoodlums was the first thought in my head, an echo from my grandfather. Any unsavory looking young person was always a
hoodlum in his mind.
They looked more like young thugs than outlaw bikers. Many still wore hip-hop clothes, and they were multi-racial. Most were white, but there were black, Hispanic, and at least three Asians visible. All of their motorcycles were dirt bikes.
Several of the RTVs had flags attached to the back. I saw a couple of Confederate Battle Flags, but most were black pirate flags. On a few the word "Deathdealers" was written on them in white. Also, Deathdealers was written on the gas tanks of many of the motorcycles and RTVs.
"Guess they have a name," I muttered.
"It's a stupid name," Olivia whispered. "They're a bunch of morons."
Some of them were still filling their tanks, but most were standing around and smoking. Yeah, smoking in a gas station. I shook my head. And it wasn't just cigarettes they were smoking. I could smell pot smoke in the air. Still, the most interesting thing was they had an older Peterbilt with a gas tank trailer behind it, and they were filling it up from the underground tanks.
"Jake will want that," I said with a sigh. I couldn't imagine Emory having unlimited fuel supplies. I wondered if they'd even thought about finding a tanker on this mission. "Getting it from them will be a mother."
Most of them had a firearm holstered on their hip, and many had hunting rifles and shotguns hanging off their shoulders. I noticed more weapons leaned against waiting motorcycles and RTVs. That was one well-armed group.
"There's a lot more of them, but we have better weapons," Ralph said. "I don't see anything resembling an automatic weapon."
"Come on," I said, crawling straight back very slowly.
We stayed in the woods until we were over the hill. A dozen crew-served weapons swung around towards us when we emerged from the trees.
"Don't shoot!" Ralph cried.
We waited just long enough for everyone to recognize us and know we weren't zombies. I hurried over to the jeep. Jake and Mike Carter were there. Jake was in the passenger seat, with Mike standing awful close to Olivia. Tension filled me when I heard Olivia giggle.
"We're back," I said, getting their attention.
Yeah, I was more than a little pissed and worried. Both men were big, strong, virile, and they were interested. I was pretty sure it was more than just her being the only woman on the mission, too. Olivia looked to be enjoying herself, which was worrisome. They were so focused that they didn't notice our return.
"I can't believe we risked our lives while the two Army guys stayed back to flirt with her," Ralph said.
"Marine," Jake said, giving us a sharp look.
"Supply sergeant in the marines," Mike said, with a vicious grin. "While I was in the infantry. Hmmm."
That pissed Jake off, but he didn't deny it. Our glorious leader was a supply sergeant? I looked at Olivia, who was bright red.
"You got a problem with that, boy?" Jake said, looking straight at me.
"I don't know," I said, and then shook my head. Too much going on. "Neither here nor there right now. We got a problem."
"About fifty well-armed problems," Ralph said. "They call themselves the Deathdealers."
Jake and Mike were instantly all business. Jake dismounted the jeep and hurried around, and even Olivia got out of the jeep. I moved over to the hood.
"Anyone have a pencil and paper?" I asked. Both Jake and Mike pulled a notepad from front pockets. I took Jake's pad and a pen. I started drawing the layout of the gas station. "Okay, we found about fifty men and women at the gas station. They are all well-armed."
I marked where most of the motorcycles and RTVs were parked, the store's location, and the pumps. And then I drew a rectangle and jabbed the pen into it.
"This is the most interesting thing," I said. "They are filling up a gas tanker."
"Really?" Jake said, suddenly interested. "Are you sure?"
"Um, we know what a gas tanker semi looks like," Ralph said. "It says Exxon on the side."
"It complicates things, too," Mike said. "How do we engage them in a firefight and avoid blowing up the tanker?" He looked around, grinned, and continued. "We draw them out of the gas station and into an ambush."
I had a bad feeling I wasn't going to like where this went. Ralph looked at me with a worried expression, too. Jake nodded, before looking all around.
"We need a place to hide the trucks," Jake said. "And then work our way around to the north before we attack."
"Exactly," Mike said. "We send in one vehicle to shoot them up, and then race away to the north. I'll take every one who's not a gunner or driver, hide them just inside the treeline, and then hit them hard as the enemy comes after them."
"And I'll lead the pickups in to finish them off," Jake said.
I looked at Olivia, and then Ralph. They were both staring at Mike and Jake with big eyes. They realized the same thing I did. They intended for us to be the vehicle luring them into the trap.
"What?" Olivia asked. "They're people like us just trying to survive. Why do we have to kill them for gas?"
My face heated up. She was right. Even I was ready to attack them for the gas, and I had no intention in returning to Emory. They had just as much right to that gas as we did. Since they found it, and scavenged a truck old enough to pull the tanker, I'd say that gave them greater rights to it.
"She's got a point," I said. I looked at her and shrugged. "Sorry."
Jake looked disgusted. "They will attack us if we try to pass. This is a new world, new reality, kids. It's kill or be killed."
"You know, Jake, they might have a point," Mike said. "We're supposed to be the good guys. I didn't spend four years in the Army so I could slaughter Americans with impunity."
They started arguing. I interjected my opinion, but they ignored me. Ralph, Olivia, and I were not one of them. We were not from Emory, and I really felt it from those two.
I looked around. The highway crossed a county road where the Deathdealers were fueling up, via a bridge over the county road. The only structures at that crossroads were fast food places and two gas stations, with the forest thick all around. Ideas danced in my head. It could work.
Finally, I offered a solution.
"Listen," I demanded. Mike looked surprised, while Jake glared at me. "What about this. We'll do a drive-by in the jeep, act like we're surprised to see them, and then take off under the bridge. If the Deathdealers pursue," I paused to look at Olivia, "then they probably would've attacked us anyway." I pointed at Mike. "You have your guys in the woods on the other side of the highway, along the service road south of the bridge. We'll turn up the service road and lead them into your trap." I looked at Jake. "You have the pickups up on the highway this side of the bridge, so you'll have the high ground. You can get anyone who comes the other way around the bridge, and any who make it past Mike, too."
"I like it," Mike said. "You're not as dumb as I thought, Kyle."
"Thanks, I think."
Jake and Mike started talking names of who Mike could have on his ambush team. We didn't know any of them, so I pulled Ralph and Olivia to the side and told them my plan. The main thing was to not get killed. I had no intention of firing on the men and women in the gas station. If they left us be, then all would be well for them. I hoped. Jake and Mike were really counting on them being aggressive.
"I don't like attacking other survivors," Olivia said. She made sure she spoke loud enough for Jake and Mike to hear. "It's not right."
"We're not going to attack them," I reminded her. "We're just going to drive by."
"And if they attack us, all bets are off," Ralph said.
I think I wanted a fight. Not sure why. Unlike zombies, those guys would shoot back. Truth was, at first I was spoiling for a fight, too. The whole zombie apocalypse made me crazy, and then those bastards in Emory all but enslaved us to do their fighting. I had a lot of pent up anger. Fortunately, Olivia reminded me of my humanity.
"Don't worry, Olivia," I said. "We'll be fine."
Mike stepped up. He looked at Olivia's chest, lingering a l
ittle longer than I found comfortable. She squirmed, averting her eyes. I coughed, gaining his attention.
"Um, yeah. Olivia and Ralph will be the bait," Mike said. "I need you on the ground with me, Kyle."
Panic set in. My heart started racing. The prospect of being separated from them was more than I could handle. I shook my head vehemently. Olivia whirled on him, eyes flashing. Ralph tensed up.
"No," I said. "I've seen the situation on the ground over there. There are too many of them, and they are all on dirt bikes and RTVs. It'll take both Ralph and me to fight them off long enough to lure into your trap if they attack."
"You know we're a team," Olivia said. "We don't separate."
"You'll do what you're told," Jake said, moving up beside her.
The look on her face said it all. Olivia was pissed. Jake fucked up there. I spoke up before she got herself in trouble.
"Sorry, Jake, but you recruited us as a team. We stay together," I said. "And since they're almost finished filling up the tanker, I don't think we have time to argue about it."
I had no idea if they were close to finishing or had just gotten started. How could I know? For a second I feared he'd call me on it. Jake didn't look like a happy camper. Probably no one challenged him like we did.
"Besides, one less gun won't make or break the ambush," Ralph added. "Mike's team will all have automatic weapons, and we didn't see anything but pistols, hunting rifles, and shotguns."
Mike nodded, though gave me a dirty look. Neither one of them liked to be defied. Mike wanted what he wanted, and so did Jake. Damn control freaks.
"Okay, I'm good," Mike said. "He's not worth wasting any more time over. Let's do this."
"We're going to have a long talk when this is over," Jake said, voice low and menacing.
They left. I looked at Olivia and Ralph, and blew out the breath I was holding. They looked as relieved as I felt.
"We're going to have trouble with him," I said, looking at Jake. "Mount up."