Wasteland Rules: Kill or Be Killed (The World After Book 1)

by J. G. Martin

  Together they managed to unbolt the machine gun and muscle it into the cargo area of the SUV. Derek covered it with a blanket they found in the Humvee. He smiled gleefully; he couldn’t wait to get that mounted on top of their vehicle. Now he just needed to find a mechanic who could do the body work. Really, the whole vehicle would need some serious repairs and a few upgrades. The back of the SUV was all shot up, the frame was slightly buckled, and the suspension probably needed to be replaced. Given what the vehicle had been through in the last two days it was in pretty good shape.

  After collecting everything the commandos had to offer, Derek and Rora got back on the road. The phone had updated the route map to take them on secondary roads around Tallahassee and on to Jacksonville. It would take a little longer, but it would be harder for any pursuers to find them. They had enough gas so they wouldn’t have to stop and there might be U.S.T.G. spies in the city. So the long way it was.

  The trip to Jacksonville was largely uneventful except for a helicopter buzzing high above them heading East at one point. It didn’t seem to notice them since it didn’t change direction and they never encountered anyone else on the way to Jacksonville. This was odd since he had expected to see some Reaper activity. He saw their tribal markings on the highway signs indicating their territory, but no vehicles or Reapers.

  Jacksonville had been one of the cities first hit by the leaderless and starving horde after they had been driven from Savannah. Looking for food and ships to take them home, they had looted and ransacked the city. Most of it had burned and desperate for food they had eaten some of the population. Many horrible acts had been perpetrated by the foreign soldiers and their complete decimation of the population had earned them their nickname of the Reapers.

  It was still a hotspot for Reaper activity, at least the last Derek had heard. There were rumored to be no less than four tribes that called Jacksonville home, one of them very large. For there to be no sign of them meant something very big had happened. Possible the CCA or U.S.T.G. had launched a military operation to clear them out, but there should have been some sign of military activity if that was the case. But besides the helicopter they hadn’t seen anything.

  He continued to ponder that as they approached the drop off point. The route was taking them to a small airfield, Cecil Field, just outside Jacksonville. Derek assumed someone would fly in and meet them to retrieve the device and to pay his reward. He could then hustle Rora down to Cape Canaveral and then head off to his well-deserved retirement. Although the last week or so had reminded him how much he enjoyed the action and the rush of combat. Maybe he would get this SUV upgraded and tricked out and go back to bounty hunting instead.

  Chapter 39

  June 16, 2029

  Outside Jacksonville, Florida

  The noon day sun was high in the sky as they rolled through the abandoned gates of the airfield. Weeds poked through the tarmac and the place looked completely deserted. There was only one small plane parked at the far end of the runway near a small hangar, it looked like a Cessna. As they headed towards it, they could see that the buildings were run down and overgrown. The hangars were completely empty, stripped of everything that wasn’t bolted down, and there wasn’t a single vehicle on or near the field. When the Reapers had come, whoever had been here had taken everything and fled.

  There wasn’t anyone around the plane, but it was in good condition and he could see that it had recently arrived. Their contact must have gone inside the hangar to wait for them. Derek slowly rolled the SUV to a stop on an angle from the hangar with the passenger side shielded from the hangar bay. Better to have cover in case they needed it. It was possible the contact would just try to take the device. Everyone else had.

  He and Rora grabbed their rifles and got out, starting towards the hangar before Derek noticed the swirl marks in the weeds to the side of the hangar. Cursing, he raced back towards the cover of the SUV, grabbing Rora and dragging her behind him. The plane exploded with a load boom briefly stunning them and knocking them down. He managed to drag Rora behind cover just as the fusillade of bullets came blazing out of the hangar. The rounds peppered the vehicle as they kept their heads down and hid behind it. From the sound of the gunfire; he figured three M-16s and something heavier, probably a SAW.

  Another few assault rifles opened fire from other concealed positions in other hangars lining the runway. He counted what sounded like a total of eight weapons firing at them. They had probably come in the helicopter that had passed over them and the ambushers were like a single squad. That meant there was probably one more out there somewhere. Derek scanned the buildings surrounding the airfield and detected movement in the control tower. Of course, a sniper always seeks the highest vantage point.

  “We have to move!” He yelled to Rora over the continuous roar of the gunfire.

  “Where can we go?”

  “The only way out of an ambush is to go right at it.”

  “Are you insane? They’ll cut us to pieces.” She yelled.

  “If we stay here and do nothing, that sniper in the tower will get us. Provide some covering fire on the hangar across the runway while I get something out of the truck.”

  She held the M-16 over the hood and fired her entire clip at the hangar. The fire from inside the hangar ceased briefly as they instinctively ducked. Derek opened the back passenger door and scrambled into the vehicle. He scrounged about while trying to stay low, looking for the LAW. Yanking it out of the back; he scrambled back outside the vehicle, grabbing a couple of grenades on the way. He pushed Rora out of the way of the back wash and took careful aim at the tower. It was a long shot, but he was pretty familiar with this type of weapon.

  He fired and it raced away leaving a trail of flame as it accelerated towards the tower. The rocket struck home and the tower exploded into flame. The sniper was blown clear by the blast. He watched the body of the sniper fall burning to the tarmac and smiled. Man, he was having fun! He hadn’t realized how much he missed blowing stuff up.

  He turned to Rora. “I’m going to throw these grenades to provide some cover. When they start to go off get in the SUV and grab the wheel. Drive straight at the hangar and then swing around right before we get there.”

  He saw her start to say something, but then she got a determined look on her face and just nodded. He nodded back and then started pulling the pins and throwing grenades over the vehicle and into the hangar. They ended up more in the middle of the hangar before exploding. They probably didn’t do much damage, but the volume of fire from the building slackened tremendously. He followed Rora into the SUV and climbed into the back as she started it up. The volume of fire increased as their opponents tried to prevent them from leaving.

  Only they weren’t leaving, and as Rora drove towards the hangar Derek readied the fifty caliber machine gun. He wrestled it atop a makeshift mount of gear and sat with it between his legs. The sound of bullets hitting the SUV sounded like a violent thunderstorm and he felt a number of rounds impact in the seat behind him. When she swung the vehicle around, he kicked the back gate open creating an open field of fire. He could see the distinctive uniforms of Federal Police commandos on the men hiding in the hangar.

  Derek thumbed the trigger on the machine gun and unleashed a withering hail of gunfire into the hangar. The thin metal walls were no protection against the heavy rounds from the machine gun. The rounds punched through walls, crates, and body armor shredding the four men inside. He whooped as he cut them down mercilessly. The Federal Police were fascist thugs and the commandos were the worst of the lot. The world was better off without them.

  Rora yelled something at him, but he couldn’t make it out over the roar of the machine gun. He looked towards her and she pointed frantically to another hangar to their right. More commandos were emerging from that hangar and firing on the vehicle. The rounds mostly bounced off the seemingly indestructible plow, but a few were getting through and he could see blood on her arm where she had taken a round. He
gestured for her to turn again so they could bring the machine gun to bear.

  But before she could get turned around; one of the commandos started firing an automatic grenade launcher at them. His aim wasn’t too accurate since he was firing on the move, but since the grenade launcher is an area effect weapon he didn’t need to be. Successive blasts took out the front passenger side wheel and sent the SUV spinning. Derek was thrown around in the back as the vehicle bucked and swerved; the machine flying up and smacking him the face. Miraculously, Rora managed to maintain some control and they swerved into the hangar and crashed through the back wall before grinding to a halt.

  The commandos chased after them firing as they came through the hole in the back wall of the hangar. He tried to fire the machine gun but it was jammed. He rolled over into the second set of seats and grabbed an M-16 from the pile. He leapt out the driver side and methodically fired at the oncoming commandos. An accurate burst knocked down one man and caused the others to find cover. Taking advantage of the lull, he moved to check on Rora. She was barely conscious; it looked like she had smacked her head when they went through the wall.

  He pulled her out of the SUV as a grenade came through the open back gate. The blast knocked both of them to the ground. Recovering quickly, he dragged her around to the front of the vehicle so they could use the plow for cover. Gunfire from the commandos bounced off the tarmac around them and he could hear it smacking into the vehicle, but the plow was keeping them safe for the moment. Then he noticed the smell of gasoline and risked a glance around the plow.

  Gasoline was pooling under the SUV, the gas line had been severe in either the grenade explosion or when the crashed through the sheet metal wall. The back of the vehicle was burning and it wouldn’t be long before the whole thing blew up. With all the ammo and ordnance in the back it would probably be huge.

  Risking the gunfire, Derek raced back around and jumped into the back seat. He grabbed their packs and his original weapons and leapt back out. He felt a few rounds graze him, but he didn’t slow until he slid back in front of the SUV. Rora was starting to come around and he shoved a pistol and a pack into her hands. He pulled on his over shoulder holster with the shotgun and the machete and strapped on his pistol and knife.

  “This thing is going to blow. We need to be moving when it does. Stay low and keep your mouth open to diminish the effects of the blast. Are you with me?” He asked.

  She grimaced in pain, but nodded her acknowledgement. “Which way do we run?”

  “Straight away from the SUV. When you feel the blast behind you just fall to the ground.”

  He heard the gasoline pool catch fire and pushed her away from the vehicle. She took off running, slightly unsteady from the blow to her head. Derek was right behind her, but he dropped to the ground facing the vehicle a short distance from the SUV while she continued to run. He waited, what he hoped was a safe distance away, for the vehicle to blow up. It wasn’t long before the gas tank blew and launched the vehicle into the air. He glanced behind him and saw Rora drop from the blast and cover her head.

  The vehicle landed with a crash and continued to burn, black smoke billowing out from the ruined SUV. Derek got to his feet and ran back towards the vehicle, keeping it between him and the commandos. The ammo, grenades, and extra gas cans inside the vehicle starting to go off; the fire causing them to explode and sending rounds and fragments in every direction. He could feel his vest absorb a couple of rounds or fragments as he ran by. The smoke and the secondary explosions provided excellent cover as he had expected they would.

  Emerging from the smoke at a full run he caught the commandos by surprise. Unloading his clip he cut down two of them before they could react, leaving only the man with the grenade launcher. Derek was on the commando in seconds, using his rifle to direct the launcher away from him. The man fired two grenades before Derek slammed knee up into his groin. To his credit, the commando didn’t go down but he was slowed. He tried to pull a pistol but Derek grabbed his wrist with an iron grip.

  With a swift elbow to the face, Derek stunned the man. A blow from the rifle butt rendered him unconscious. Derek looked back to check on Rora. Neither of the grenades had hit her and she was moving so he figured she would probably be ok. The SUV and all the extra gear and weapons they had accumulated were toast though. A couple of final secondary blasts punctuated that as the remaining ammo cooked off. He zip tied the unconscious commando and went to get Rora.

  He found her still on her stomach, slowly crawling away from the burning vehicle. He rolled her over and checked her out for wounds. She was bleeding in multiple places and had a huge knot on her forehead that was already swelling up and bruised. Nothing looked too serious so he picked her up and carried her back to the hangar and put her down next to his prisoner. She struggled with him as he tried to bandage her.

  “Sit still. I’m trying to fix you up.” He ordered.

  “I’m fine, just leave me alone. My head hurts.” She moaned as she tried to bat his hands away.

  “You are not fine, you got shot and you probably have a concussion. I need to patch you up. Now be quiet and let me fix this or your pretty face will have a scar.”

  “You don’t look so hot yourself Derek. But it might be an improvement…”

  A joke. That was a good sign. That meant the concussion might not be too severe. But what was she talking about. He felt his face and his hand came away bloody when he touched his forehead. One of the side view mirrors had been knocked off when they came through the wall and he picked it up. Holding it to his face he could see he had a huge gash on his forehead where the machine gun and hit him during their attempted flight. It was already scabbing over so he just wiped it with an antiseptic wipe and quickly slapped a bandage on it. It would scar; but that was ok, chicks dig scars.

  Rora’s wounds on the other hand were a little more severe. He patched up her bullet wounds and bandaged her head. None of the rounds had hit anything vital which was good and she hadn’t lost a ton of blood, but she would be weak and the concussion would definitely slow her down. He gave her a canteen of water that he had taken from one of the commandos and ordered her to drink it. He left her propped up against the back wall of the hangar while he searched the bodies of the commandos for something useful.

  He probably didn’t have much time. The chopper would return at some point so he needed to be ready for them. Having lost yet another vehicle, that chopper would have to be their ride out. The commandos all had the same things; their standard issue weapons, uniforms, body armor, helmets, water, ration bars, and a radio. Normally he wouldn’t want the uniforms because people were more likely to shoot a commando first in the wasteland then ask questions, but he only needed them temporarily.

  He stripped two of the dead commandos’ uniforms off. Both were covered in blood but that was perfect for what he needed. He hastily pulled one of the uniforms on and then he dressed Rora in the other. She struggled a bit, but he managed to convince her to go along with him. Then he turned to the still unconscious prisoner. Derek grabbed another canteen and awakened the man by pouring water over his head.

  The man spluttered to life and groaned as the pain from his broken nose hit him. Then, suddenly aware of his surroundings he tried to get up and was stymied by the zip ties. He struggled briefly before he looked up and saw Derek standing over him with a shotgun pointed at his face.

  “Welcome back.” Derek joked.

  The man just stared at him defiantly without speaking. The commandos were known for being tough, but Derek knew they were just bullies at heart. So he put the barrel of the shotgun on the man’s knee and held the radio towards him.

  “You are going to call the helicopter in for extraction or I am going to blow your leg off at the knee.” Derek informed his prisoner.

  The man laughed. “You wouldn’t do that. I’m an unarmed prisoner.”

  Derek smiled nastily. “Do you know who I am and what I’ve done? I don’t give a damn about you. Whateve
r honor I might have had I lost in the ten years I’ve spent exiled to the wastes.”

  The man paled but still refused. Fine. It was time for a demonstration. He cocked the hammer on the shotgun and pulled the trigger. The blast blew the knee apart and practically severed the man’s leg. The man screamed in agony and terror. Rora turned away and vomited. Derek calmly applied a tourniquet to the leg using the man’s belt.

  “I’m going to give you another chance before I blow the other leg off. You can still survive this if you cooperate. I hear you can get great bionics from the Collective, you might even walk again…Call the chopper.” He said as he thrust the radio at the man’s face.

  “OK, OK! I’ll do it.” The commando agreed in a panic. “What do you want me to tell them?”

  “Tell them you killed the targets and retrieved the device, but you took heavy casualties. Only you and two others who were badly wounded survived. Have them land near the burning vehicle. If you try to warn them I will blow off your other leg and both arms. Got it?”

  “I got it. Push the button.”

  Derek activated the radio and listened carefully for any sign of treachery as the commando relayed the message. The man delivered the message exactly as instructed and the chopper pilot acknowledged. They would arrive in five minutes and Derek would be waiting for them. Dropping the radio he drew his knife.

  “Wait, I did what you wanted. You said you wouldn’t kill me.” The man screamed in fear.

  “I never said that.” Derek coldly informed him.

  Behind him Derek could hear Rora’s slightly slurred voice say, “Rule #3”, as he cut the man’s throat. He threw the man’s body to the side and grabbed his pistol. Derek stashed all their gear inside the hangar and took a few minutes to stage the scene. Then he pulled the face mask up over his face and waited. It wasn’t long before the chopper circled and then apparently believing the ruse they landed near the still smoking SUV.