by Chris Hechtl
The round tore right over the rear guard’s heads into the Hellcat about to catch up to them. It hit right between its four eyes, sending it into an end over end flip. It tore through the cars like tissues as its body slammed around like a rag doll.
“Go, go!” she said jumping back on and slapping at his shoulder before getting a grip.
“Shit,” he said pulling out. He rooster tailed the dirt then got back under control and ripped up onto the tarmac to safety. “Lady you're nuts!” he said over his shoulder. He didn't catch her fierce grin, but felt her grip around his stomach tighten briefly.
...*...*...*...*...
“What the hell were you thinking!” Kyle snarled at Hernandez. The private stood at attention, not saying anything.
“I did it daddy, stop making a scene,” Jolie said tiredly, stretching and rubbing at the small of her back. “He didn't even know until we got to the base,” she said. She glanced round to the others who were drinking water and talking softly. They were in the Sears garage. Hopefully the crews could get the bikes cooled down fast.
“I...” Kyle looked like he was foaming at the mouth. Jolie smiled at him. He knew that smile and felt his heart melt.
“It worked daddy, so no harm, no foul. We got the job done. Did they get anyone out?” she asked, shaking her head and running a hand through it.
“Yeah,” Kyle said, taking a deep breath and getting control of his raging emotions with difficulty. “Yeah, I think so,” he said. “They gotta take the long route since we don't want to lead the aliens to our front door.”
“No, that's a gooood idea,” Jolie said nodding. “After what we just saw a great idea,” she said. She glanced at Hernandez who also nodded. “I got good news and bad news,” she said, hands going around her father's neck.
“What?” he asked looking up at her. He wasn't quite fully calmed down yet. “What's so good about this?” he demanded. He waved his hands.
“Well...” she drawled, smiling. “One, I got to fire your pee shooter. Its got some back blast and rocket issues, but it works.”
“Um... we knew that already,” he said. He'd tested it himself after all.
“No I mean it really works daddy, we hit the damn thing right smack dab in the head, damn near tore it off,” she said grinning. Consuela was chugging a water bottle. She gave a thumbs up and a nod. “Yeah we did, that was cool,” she said. “Best to hit the underside or the flank though. The top's pretty heavily armored.”
Kyle looked at the Hispanic woman and she gave him an okay sign. “It worked huh?” he said nodding and returning his attention to his daughter. He looked up at his daughter again. “What's the other thing?” he asked.
She kissed him on his craggy whiskered cheek. “We got some more people to help out, trained people with weapons,” she said, nodding toward the sound of trucks coming in.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Yeah.” He waited a moment. “What's the bad news?” he asked.
“Gremlins get big. And smart,” Hernandez said tiredly.
“Oh shit,” Kyle breathed, clenching his hands. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck, FUCK!”
“Yeah tell me about it,” Hernandez said shaking his head. He looked up at the familiar sound of an approaching diesel engine.
“That what I think it is?” Consuela asked looking up.
“Fuck yeah,” Hernandez said throwing a fist in the air and cheering with the crowd as the first truck could be heard as it pulled into the Towngate defenses.
...*...*...*...*...
“Boss man, we going to pull over and light this thing? They're kinda close you know,” the point truck said as they approached the pile of trash.
Walt was rear guard for a reason, though apparently others didn't know it. He didn't want any of them spoiling his fun. The point reported that they were already pulling into Towngate. Apparently they'd gotten a little further ahead of the convoy than he wanted. He'd have to have a chat later.
Walt looked and took his mike off his visor and keyed it on. “Nah man, keep trucking, I got this one,” he said, pulling a road flare from the pocket on the door. There were three taped together, they looked like a classic ton dynamite pack. He'd thought about using a pistol flare but this just seemed better.
“Here goes,” he said, reaching out the window and popping it off. His passenger grabbed the wheel as he aimed and threw the burning torch. It hit and rolled down the side of the trash and then all hell broke loose as the gas fumes lit. There was a bright flash, bright as day, making him wince and find shelter inside the cab. The heat was intense. Fire ran from the pile, across the road to debris on the other side.
“Go, go, go, don't look back!” Walt said into the mike, sitting back in the truck and shaking his head and blinking as he stomped on the accelerator. “Damn man, sumbitch blinded me for a moment there.” He had totally lost his night vision. Hopefully it would do the same to the alien freaks chasing them. Just to be sure he flipped the flood lights on all over the rig. Some faced in each direction. He was now lit up like a Christmas tree, but the lights would hopefully deter the aliens from following.
“Yeah, I can imagine,” Terrance, his passenger said, hands still on the wheel. They could hear the crackle of the fire over the roar of the engine as they made the turn onto Sunnymead.
...*...*...*...*...
“Medical team, get a medical team forward! Get those trucks cooled off pronto! I want ice packs on the engines and exhausts. Someone get these people inside and under cover now! Let's move it!” Shane bellowed, waving. “Move, move!”
He turned as people sprang into action. Jerry had a crew already on standby. They were loading the walking wounded into the electric Prius and shuttling them back to the base. The two ambulances were serving as triage centers.
“UAV?” Shane asked turning to the kid near him. The kid, teen really checked the tablet strapped to his chest while his hands delicately played with the controls.
“She's fine. The pursuit died off around Heacock and Eucalyptus. I think that distraction Walt arranged took them off the scent, or heat trail or whatever.”
“What distraction?”
“Huh?” the kid asked, watching the screen. “Oh ah, he lit a bonfire with a flare. Apparently they set it up in a field. That's why it took them a little while. They dumped some trash and then hit it with a flare when the last truck passed. Real doozy of a blaze, it ran across the street and everything. I think it'll burn itself out soon though.”
“Um...”
“Musta been soaked in gas. Sucker went off like well... Voom!” the kid said flaring his hands for emphasis. “The aliens stopped and sorta milled around it like at a camp fire when they got to it. Then they just sorta left in small groups.”
“Good,” Shane said nodding.
“Bet they wished they had hot dogs and marshmallows,” the kid said with a grin. Shane clapped him on the shoulder.
“You've got a UAV up?” a battered pilot said coming over. He was limping pretty badly. His right arm and face were torn up. He was holding a rag to his right thigh. He held out his good hand. “Major Watts, at your service whoever you are. I flew Predators at March for a while before the shit hit the fan. Someone said you're in charge?”
Shane turned and offered a seat nearby. “I am. Yes Major, we hooked up a few remote control camera planes and we're using them as recon UAV's. They aren't mil-spec but it's what we have on hand and it works,” he said. Those that the MP's didn't shoot down, he decided not to add. It was time for a little bridge building. Fence mending.
“Good to know. I'm a pilot. If I can help, let me know,” he said, humping his rear onto a stretcher a pair of orderlies provided.
“Let the doc's fix you up Major, then we'll talk. Tomorrow. Get some rest.” He nodded to the air force pilot.
“Thanks. Thanks for saving us,” the Major said shaking his arm again.
“We've got to stick together Major,” Shane said smiling a little. “Now let's let the medics work before th
ey get mean.”
“Yeah,” the pilot said, hand going to his bloodied face. “Yeah,” he said lying back. The paramedic nodded and wheeled him off to a waiting electric van.
“We got these from where?”
“A hobbyist,” Shane said. “That, radio shack, Toys’R’Us, and Wal-Mart. We also found a couple of houses that had some really good hobby aircraft and even one that had blueprints to make them... which we're doing now. Those are pretty pathetic though. This baby is better,” he said pointing.
“Was,” the kid said with a scowl. “Son of a bitch. Gone,” he looked up, scanning the sky.
“What happened?” Shane asked.
“Flier. Dragonfly or something got it. Locust swarm. Damn bugs. Last thing I saw was claws ripping into it. It just sort of wobbled all over the sky and then it was gone.”
“Ah,” Shane said grimacing himself. He looked around. He really didn't like being outside at night, and having a locust swarm in the air made it even more terrifying. He decided then and there not to let people know unless he had to. No sense causing a hysterical panic. A few people were still milling around talking though. He slapped his hands together. A few jumped.
“Get it together people! Get the lead out. Fliers are overhead. We don't want them finding us and swarming. That'll lead the alien’s right to us. Get moving!” He made shooing motions. People sprang back into motion, some quickly, a few groaned and moved at a more sedate pace. They looked dog tired.
“How are things?” he turned, catching Walt by an arm.
“Wayne got chewed up a bit; horn went right through the door into his leg.”
Shane winced. “He okay?”
“Doc says it missed anything vital. We'll see in the morning. They are swamped and I don't want to jog any elbows.”
“Right,” Shane said, looking back to the mall as they walked. “Casualties?”
“No idea. A couple of ours, a couple of theirs. Hell, loads of the March people. A few people stayed behind to cover us.” He looked bleak.
Shane knew what that meant. “Shit,” Shane said scowling. “Damn,” he muttered.
“Yeah I know. War's hell.”
“Don't I know it.”
Chapter 31
There was a knock on the door and then a couple of people came in before anyone could answer. “We've got news,” Yasmine said, coming in. “And it's not good news.” The council looked up as she paused by the door and looked around. “Um...”
“This about the warehouses?” Bill asked. She nodded. He motioned for her to come in and continue.
“Um, well, we ah, got there and well, the food warehouses are gone.”
“Gone?” Jerry asked. “How could they be gone?” he demanded. “They are right over there!” he waved to indicate the direction.
“Gone as in trashed. On fire. You can see the smoke from here. The aliens hit them the same night,” the guy with Yasmine said as he spread his hands helplessly. “I don't think they got out, probably tripped up on their own defenses,” he said shaking his head.
“If they even had a GOTH plan,” Mateo said quietly.
“Serves 'em right,” Bob said nastily. Tamara rested a warning hand on his hand and nodded her chin to an upset Yasmine.
“Some of my friends were there,” Yasmine said quietly, looking away. She dashed away a tear with a flick of her hand.
“Sorry,” Bob said awkwardly.
“That food could have come in handy,” Walt said disgusted.
“And they had no interest in sharing. Hell, they didn't even want to talk to us unfortunately,” Shane said shaking his head. He'd wanted the food too, had counted on enticing the people into trading for it, but what was done was done, they couldn't undo it.
“I did hear something interesting on the radio coming back though,” Yasmine said.
“Radio?”
“Yeah, you know, the news broadcasts on satellite radio?” the guy with Yasmine said.
“Satellite radio? Its back on the air?” Bob asked surprised. Several of the council sat up in surprise. Shane shot Gabe a look. The big guy looked embarrassed. He returned his attention to the scouts. Yasmine looked at the guy who had driven with her and wiped her eyes. He hugged her and shrugged.
“Apparently so,” Shane said turning to Gabe. The big IT guru looked at his laptop and tapped at it. “I... um... we've been getting some stuff... Intermittent. Ham radio crap from doomsdayers, so I've been ignoring it. I'll get back to you on it,” he said.
“Or I will,” Jill said from her screen. They looked at her. “I should have thought of that,” she said shaking her head. “A satellite is something the alien's can't kill.”
“No, but the ground station can be killed.”
“Actually, I thought most of the satellites were either trashed when the aliens came through them or were messed up since their ground stations were dead,” Gabe said, tapping at his keyboard.
“Apparently not,” Jen said dryly. “Or someone just got them up,” she said looking at the two by the door.
The driver shrugged. “I just so happened to hit the radio by accident actually. Force of habit I mean.”
“I didn't know bikes had them,” Walt said. The driver shook his head. “Wait, yeah, you used a truck?” the driver nodded. “I'm surprised you got through the crap on the roads.” The guy smirked a little. “Off road huh?” The guy nodded. “Ah, that explains it then,” he said nodding.
“Whatever,” Gabe said quietly. “Okay, I shot a note off. Someone's getting a receiver and hooking it into the net in a bit. I bet its all emergency broadcast stuff.”
“Or elevator music. Can't have enough of that,” Eric quipped. He smiled a little as the others looked at him with a mix of dirty looks and then his face fell. “Okay, not as funny as it was in my head, shutting up now,” he said in a small voice.
Jen and Jayne exchanged a look as Shane snorted softly. “Gabe, Jill, get someone on this and document everything you can. Once we're set up, maybe you can toss it out for the people to listen to in our net.”
“Um boss, if it's full of nothing but bad news its not going to help morale any,” Hernandez warned.
“The people have the right to know though,” Jen said firmly, shaking her head. She was a big time believer in free speech since her college days.
“The people in general are sheep,” Walt said. “They stampede when they panic. They do all sorts of stupid things. Hell, we used to see it all the time. Remember the crap people did whenever there was some big sale? The crap they pulled on Black Friday? Killing each other to save a buck? We need to maintain calm and order as much as possible.”
“The last time I checked the Constitution was still in service,” Jen said, eyes flashing dangerously.
“We'll work it out,” Shane said resting a warning hand on hers. She glanced his way. “I'm not saying we'll put everything out there, but we're going to listen first. If need be we'll screen it or we'll put it on a delay loop if it has an effect on morale. Or we'll summarize it. Just don't start any fights over it until we know what is there to fight about, okay?” he asked looking at his wife.
Jen gave a slow nod and settled back in her chair. She flicked her hair back with a head shake and then nodded as she retrieved her hand. He gave a one sided smile and then nodded to the messengers.
“How bad is the fire? Is it likely to spread?” he asked.
“It,s smoldering now. I... I'm not sure if they had working sprinklers or not. We can try to get in and check tomorrow or the day after if you want. See if there is anything to salvage.”
“Or any survivors,” Jerry said. They'd spent part of the morning trying to find anyone left alive at the base. No one had been found. Fires were everywhere and quite a few of the buildings were staked out by the Cactus warehouse people. That had pissed a few people off.
“Them too,” the driver said with a nod to the doc.
“Good idea,” Shane said with a nod. “Make it for tomorrow morning. Good
job you two,” he said nodding to them.
They took that as a dismissal and turned and left. When they did the council looked at each other.
“So, the easy way is closed. So be it. That means we just need to focus our efforts elsewhere right?” Shane said looking at Eric and then the others. Slowly a few nodded.
“Good. We're going to need to transfer any we find. Which means medical transports right doc?”
“I'd like to strategically place them with our allies if that's possible.”
“And fire trucks,” Wayne said with a nod.
“I'd also like to place some armored cars too,” Hernandez said. “We don't need them all.”
“Which they can pay for. The armored cars and fuel I mean,” Walt said. “They've been lazy and stingy about doing their part. Time they pay for it.”
“With what?” Jayne asked. “Most don't have anything but scraps!”
“They have man power. And they have more than we think. They are in warehouses after all.”
“Some of them. We'll have to figure out who's got what and work it out.” He shook his head. “I'm serious about it, we need to get back into a straight economy, I'm catching flack about it. Meanwhile, are we getting anywhere with the military?”
“Some, not far though,” Jill said shaking her head. “I've got calls out but so far no returns. Or at least nothing helpful. I don't understand why.”
“Everyone's busy,” Bob snorted. “We should be too.”
“Which doesn't explain why the chain of command isn't working,” Hernandez said with a scowl.
“I agree,” Watts coughed from his screen. Against Jerry's better judgment the Major had been allowed to attend virtually.
“Perhaps it's us,” Shane mused slowly, rubbing his chin. The others looked at him. “Think about it, would any of you answer a call from a civilian on a secure network?”
“Exactly,” Watts said shaking his head. “I should be the one to make the call.”
“We've got your able bodied people making the call Major, it hasn't helped. We've even tried the guard channel. No one's listening,” Jill said, sniffing in disgust.