by Rob Buckman
“I’d say let’s go up I-395 and try to get to ‘Norden’ before them.”
“We have the same problem, Colonel, Carson City and Reno.”
“True, but Decker doesn’t have two hundred mean mother fuckers backing him up.” Taffy laughed. “Alright, Sergeant Major, let's get this dog and pony show on the road.”
“That's a big fucking ten-four, sir.”
The towns and small cities rolled by, Woodford, Meyers, Camp Richardson, Tahoma and so many more, fire fights and scary moments, losing three of their number to bad luck, rock falls, a wild shot hitting one girl under the chin. These they buried in hidden places with solemn dignity, marking the graves on his map-pad against the day they could come back and give them the burial they deserved. They turned at Tahoe City to follow rout 89 to Truckee after scavenging new boots for everyone. Even so, a week later they were forced to stop after Doc Mason reported an injury.
“How the girl’s been walking is beyond me. Her feet are a mess.”
“Why the hell didn’t she tell someone? Her team leader, for Christ sake.” Decker snapped, not sure who he was angry with. Doc Mason shrugged, as Decker wasn’t in the mood to hear that any one of these girls would walk on bloody stumps if necessary. Decker was a hard role model to live up to, and it was no good her telling the girls he’d been doing this for twenty years. Decker sank to the wet ground beside the weeping girl, gritting his teeth after one look at her feet. He looked up and around, waving everyone except Doc Mason away. One of the wolf pups lay beside her, head on her tummy and looking mournful, as if it knew his friend was hurting.
“Why didn’t you tell someone your boots didn’t fit?” He asked softly, only making the girl cry harder. Months ago, he'd have slapped the snot out of her and told her to quit crying. Now he didn’t.
“I… I didn’t know it was that bad, sir.”
“Come on, you knew the boots didn’t fit, Lacy.”
“I know, but… but I thought I could work them in.”
“Did you think I’d leave you behind, or abandon you?” It wasn’t that he hadn’t threatened to do that originally. She gave him a weak smile and shook her head.
“No… well maybe back when we left Tehachapi. I mean who wants to drag a bunch of sniveling, know nothing girls across the mountains and listen to them bitch and complain for four-hundred miles.” Decker blew his cheeks out and grinned.
“Yeah, who’d be stupid enough to do something as idiotic as that?”
“You, sir. That’s who.”
“So why didn’t you say something to the Doc?”
“I wanted to prove to you I… we could do it.” She sobbed softly. The muscles on Decker’s jaw worked as he drew her into his arms and cradled her head.
“Girl, you don’t have to prove a damn thing to me or yourself. You and the others have done more than many able-bodied men could have done under these conditions. You and the other are just as much SAS troopers now as any I’ve met.” He gently stroked her hair out of her eyes and wiped her tears away.
“Can you ride a horse?” She looked up at him and nodded. “Good. I’ll work out a way for you to ride for a while until your feet heal and we can find you another pair of boots. Soft ones this time.” Turning his head, he nodded at Doc Mason and she returned and continued working on the girl’s feet.
As it turned out, it was better for her to ride in one of the carts than ride as she still had to put her feet in the stirrups, and that hurt her feet. Even with the horses carrying most of the supplies and equipment and the troops walking, they couldn’t go faster than a fast walking pace and nowhere near as fast as the snowmobiles. It was hiding the signature Decker was more worried about, and having enough sheep and animals skins to hide their human form. They made it to rout 89 and Interstate 80 West of Truckee without incident. Decker opt to overnight in the CHP/Department of Motor Vehicle building and search the deserted town for supplies and equipment. That turned out to be a wise precaution as looking at Truckee from a safe distance they could see and hear shots from the center of the town. They managed to find enough supplies and a new pair of boots for Lacy. The boots weren’t exactly new, but worn in, and more importantly they fitted her feet. They all ate well, even the horses as the girls managed to find oats and hay for them. Now the hike up rout 80, and Donner Pass road to ‘Soda Springs’ and the cut off to ‘Norden’. Later that evening, Decker called for a last minute meeting with the team leaders and his command staff.
“You go over everyone, Doc?”
“Yes, from head to toe.”
“Anything we should be worried about?”
“Lots of bruises, small cuts, sore feet and backs but nothing to be concerned about.” She answered, checking her notes.
“I hope not. We have a hard climb tomorrow up to the summit of Donner Pass.”
“The one person I’m worried about is you, as usual you skipped medical parade.”
“I’m okay, Doc…”
“I’ll be the judge of that after I’ve checked you out.” Decker gave her a hard eyed looked but it rolled off her like water.
“Don’t give me that look. I check you out, or we don’t move, clear?” She snapped. Decker smiled slightly and nodded.
“As soon as we’ve finished here.” He replied, turning to June and Grace. “Anything to report?”
“Everything is ready to go, but we are getting short of supplies.”
“I checked all weapons and ammo and we look good in that department.” Grace reported.
“Team leaders?” He asked, looking around that them.
“Other than everyone looking forward to getting to ‘Norden’, we are good to go.”
“Make sure everyone has clean, dry socks to wear and no boot problems. Once we start, we aren’t stopping until we reach ‘Soda Springs’.” Decker turned to Clara Brunner. “How are the horses holding up?”
“As well as can be expected, but I don’t want to overload them for that climb.”
“Understood. If they can carry the bulk of the spare ammo and extra weapons, the teams can carry their own gear the last part.”
“The girls can do it now, Captain.” Grace smiled, thinking back to when they started out.
“The one thing that worries me is the weather, sir. It’s clearing fast which means the UMF’s will be out scouting in force.” Decker nodded as it was one of the things on his mind as well.
“Let's make sure everyone has their Ghillie suit sprayed white and the packs and carts are covered with the sheep skins.” The team leaders nodded.
“That should do it people. Let’s keep our attention focused. Tell everyone to watch their arc of fire. I don’t want to get caught by surprise this late in the game.” After the group broke up, Decker moved behind the privacy screen Doc Mason used for her examination room, and stripped, shivering in the cold air. It wasn’t long before Doc Mason ducked between the sheets and looked him over.
“I’ve seen starving chickens with more meat on their bones than you.”
“We’ve all lost weight, Doc.”
“True, none of the girls have an ounce of fat on them. Hell of a weight loss clinic you’re running here.” That brought a smile to Decker’s tired face, but it didn’t take an expert to know Decker was bone tired and near the end of his strength. If she had her druthers, she would have prescribed a month of bed rest with lots of high calorie food, but she knew that was impossible. Decker had a mission to complete and nothing short of death was going to stop him.
“Hope they have a stock pile of food in this base.” The Doctor went over him from head to foot, including making him remove his shorts. Not that he was body shy, but having the woman he’d slept with prodding and poking him in sensitive places was a little embarrassing.
“About what I expected. I don’t have to ask if you are in pain, I know you are.”
“Don’t worry about me, Doc. You just take care of the girls. Once we get there, I’ll rest.” Even as he said it, he knew it was a lie. T
here would be no rest until the aliens were kicked back off the planet, or he was dead. This fight had only just begun and being tired after a four hundred mile route march was no excuse.
Doc Mason watched him as he got dressed, seeing him wince a few times, as he put his pants and shirt on. She thought of offering him a few pain pills. She didn’t, knowing from experience he wouldn’t take them. To Decker they were a crutch he didn’t need right now, and far too easy to get addicted too. As always, despite what he said, Decker always looked after everyone else but himself. He could no more walk away from the team than he could abandon the kids they’d found. It just wasn’t in his nature.
He was a born sheep dog and had a calm infectious way of dealing with problems, causing others to take the same approach. He seldom yelled or lost his temper even when things got out of hand. Like when Joann and Frederica Brunner finally got into it. Who started it no one was sure, just that they did, but before it could get too bloody, Decker stepped in and grabbed Joann, telling her to drop her knives before letting them get it out of their system. It was one hell of a fight, and unlike most girl fights, there was no hair pulling and scratching. This was a knockdown, drag out punch up. In all they traded blows for twenty minutes before they were both so exhausted they couldn’t continue. After Doc stopped the bleeding and patched up the cuts they sat there glaring at each other. Oddly, it didn’t take long before they were saying sorry while crying on each other’s shoulder. After that, they went off together and were last seen climbing into the same sleeping bag. Much to Decker's relief, as now he could sleep in peace and not wonder if he’d wake up with the little hellion in bed with him.
Early the next morning at first light, they started off with ‘Alpha’ team leading the way and blazing a trail ahead. With the horses carrying most of their load, they made good time on the lower part of the road, due to the rapidly clearing snow and ice. They made good time up Donner Pass Road by ‘Donner Lake’, but once pass the lake the going started to get rough. From then on, it was hard, having to negotiate their way around and over snowdrifts, avalanche falls, and rockslides every half a mile. A few times, the Pack had to muscle the horses through deep snowdrifts by unloading them and carrying the heavy packs themselves before reloading them. It was exhausting work but the girls kept at it without bitching and crying. 14 miles from Truckee to Soda Spring, and a thousand foot climb might not seem much on a map but under these conditions, it was brutal. Even after reaching Soda Springs, Decker just dumped his Bergen and took off back down the road to help others, fearing he might lose someone on this last leg gnawed at him until the last exhausted team member was in ‘Soda Springs’ and safe. Only then did he let go and slump to the floor, totally spent. Sometime in that fuzzy evening, he managed to bolt down some hot food and a cup of coffee before rolling over onto his sleeping bag. After that it was as if someone had turned the lights off, or simply switched him off like a hunk of old machinery.
“Thank god he’s asleep.” Joann whispered as she pulled a spare blanket over Decker’s reclining form.
“I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did.” Doc Mason observed.
“Well, now we are here… wherever here is, maybe he can get a little rest.”
“I doubt it, June. That’s one driven man, and until he gets us and the package to this base, wherever the hell it is, he won’t stop.” She looked out the window at the derelict town. Even with a brief survey there was nothing remotely resembling a military base around here.
“Is there anything you need to get the team settled?” She asked, looking at Grace. She shook her head.
“The team leaders have that sorted out and don’t need us sticking our noses in.”
“Guard rotation?”
“Taken care of. I put them on one hour stags so they can all get a good night’s sleep.” After the powwow ended, they snuffed out all but one of the candles and went off to their respective sleeping bags, all except Kim Drummond who’d taken up to sleeping near Decker, now Joann and Freddy were elsewhere sleeping together. Doc Mason eyed the two as she left and wondered how long it would be before they were in bed together now they’d reach their goal. Not long, she suspected.
Overcast skies greeted them the next morning with the promise of more snow, or rain, but instead of moving the Pack down Donner Pass road to ‘Norden’, Decker kept them indoors and out of sight. The order of the day was to rest, clean up, and other than rotating guard shifts; he told them to stay indoors out of sight and get some rack time. That was met with a small cheer. They'd done it and they were here, but right now, they didn't care. What came next was unknown, but at least they didn't have to think about walking another mile, or fighting another bunch of assholes in their way.
In that, Decker could agree, as he felt like shit, even after eating a good breakfast and drinking several cups of coffee. His body hurt in places he didn't think he had places, and he was tired, bone deep tired, mentally as well as physically. His brain screamed at him to rest, just lay down and go back to sleep, but he knew he couldn't, not yet, not until he'd got the girls to this base, wherever the hell it was. That's what he'd promised them, and once there he could rest, put his feet up and do nothing for a month. In a moment of reflection, he was surprised he was here at all with this many of the Pack. How had he turned a group of soft, pampered females into a kick-ass fighting force able to take on and defeat anything in their path? He shook his head as a slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
With the dogs in tow, he scouted around outside and tried to work the kinks out of his sore body, and it helped to a degree. As he reached a small clump of pine trees, Max let out a 'woof' and took off running. Goldie took a few steps to follow, then stopped and looked back at him. Her head turned a few times as if she was trying to decide what to do, until she gave a half growl and came back to his side. Decker knelt and scratched her behind the ears.
"Don't worry, old girl, he's just off checking on his pack." Goldie sat and leaned against him, looking up and licking his face as if to say she understood.
"Wish I had it as easy with my pack." He looked at what remained of 'Soda Springs' and tried to imagine what this place looked like before the invasion. It probably wasn't much even then, but at least there were people walking around to make this place appear alive. Now they were gone, to who knew where, or they were dead. The bigger question was where was the base? On face value there was nothing here remotely resembling anything military, no signs, no markers and no troops. There should at least be something to indicate a military establishment, but there wasn't. So why had high command insisted his team bring the package and the people here if there was nothing here to bring it too? He sighed, thinking about what he was going to say to the girls. How was he going to explain he'd brought them four hundred miles for nothing? The bigger question was what was he going to do now?
END BOOK ONE
Book two will be available April 2018 after editing.
Extract from book two
“Kim, set the timer for three hours and armed the bomb.” Kim didn’t reply, just knelt at the end of the bomb and activated the control panel.
“All done. Set for three hours. Now what?”
“Back to the main passageway and let’s get as far away as we can.”
Their options were limited and he doubted his team could make it back to the food transport before it launched. His only other option was to head back to the water transport docking port and wait for it to come back up. The last time it took an hour and a half to unload the water and head back down. It was worth a try, as he couldn’t think of anything else they could do to get off this ship.
“Back to the docking port, girls.”
The trip back to the central passageway was quicker without the bomb to carry and they make it in half an hour. What he hadn’t expected was to run into three maintenance grunts coming the other way. As they rounded a bend in the passageway, the two parties crashed into one another and went down in a tangle. T
he unarmed grunts didn’t last long, and no amount of clawing could penetrate their suits.
“Shit! Decker snarled as ultrasonic alarms started blaring out. All the girls felt their detector vibrating against the necks, and knew the game was up. With their telepathic connected they’d warned someone even as they’d died. That cost them time as they now had less than two hours before the bombs exploded.
With no way of knowing what anti-boarding procedures they had in place, Decker knew the UMF would at least know where they were. They’d probably send armed grunts in response to hunt them down. The question, was how many? He doubted the grunts they’d killed would know how many of them there were, which might limit the UMFs response. The main objective now was to get the aliens as far away for the bomb as possible to prevent them discovering, and possibly disarm it. Getting back and boarding the water transport was out of the question now, and it left only one possible option. Create as much destruction and chaos as possible.
“Lock and load girls. We have a fight on our hand.” He hated giving that order, but there was no escape now.
“Where too, Boss?” Kim looked at him, wishing she could say aloud what she was feeling.
“Straight up the middle and do as much damage as we can. Be good if we could find the bridge, CIC or some kind of operations center before we go." He was about to say die, then thought better of it. He could at least give them illusion they were escaping.
“Let’s do it.” Freddy snarled. Like soldiers from time immemorial, they did what Sun Tzu commanded. On deadly ground, fight!
They made it to the central passageway and dropped to the deck just as a group of alien warriors came running towards them. Decker didn’t wait and turning his rifle up to full power he send hypervelocity sabot round screaming towards them. He didn’t just spray and pray, but took a knee as they all did and picked his targets, going for headshots. The results were spectacular as the grunts head simply exploded with the round going on through the first and taking out the one behind him. In a matter of second, all twenty grunts were down, their bodies thrashing around on the deck.